ACANTHOPTERYGII. 
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teeth, lai-gest in the centre ; the pharynx is paved with hemispherical teeth ; the intestinal canal has two flexures, 
but no coeca ; the stomach has no cul-de-sac, and they have a tolerably long’ air-bladder. [Until Cuvier arranged them 
difierently, they were always classed with the Coryphenes, from which they differ much, both externally and in- 
ternally.] They most nearly resemble Labrus, and are not easily distinguished from it, except by the profile of 
the head. Are found in the Mediterranean, and also in the southern seas ; and the flesh of some is much 
esteemed. 
Chromis. These have the lips, protractile maxillaries, pharyngeals, and general aspect of Labrus ; but their 
teeth resemble those of a card, except a range of conical ones in front. Their dorsal fins have long filaments ; their 
ventrals are produced into long threads ; their lateral line is interrupted ; and their stomach forms a cul-de-sac, 
but has no cceca. A small one, of a chestnut -brown colour, is taken in vast numbers in the Mediterranean ; and 
there is one in the Nile, C. niloticus, tbe Egyptian Corycina of the ancients, which attains the length of two feet, 
and is reckoned the best fish in Egypt. 
Cychla, have the teeth small and crowded, formed into a large band, and the body elongated, which are their 
chief dififerences from the preceding subgenus. 
Plesiops, have the head compressed, the eyes near each other, and extremely long ventrals ; but in other respects 
they resemble Chromis. 
Malacanthus. These have the general character of Labrus, and the same teeth in the maxillaries, but their teeth 
in the pharynx are arranged like those of a card. Their bodies are elongated, their lateral line continuous, their 
operculum terminated by a small spine, and their long dorsal has only a few flexible spinous rays in the fleshy part, 
j A species is found in the West Indies, of a yellowish colour, irregularly streaked across with violet, which, like many 
' others belonging to this family, has been improperly ranged with the Coryphenes. 
Scarus. — The fishes of this genus are remarkable for their jaws — that is to say, for their inter- 
maxillaries and premandibles, — which are convex, rounded, and furnished with scale-like teeth on their 
margin and anterior surface. These teeth succeed each other from the rear to the front in such a 
manner that the bases of the newest form a trenchant range. It has been erroneously supposed 
by naturalists that the bone in this state is naked. In the living state, the jaws are covered with fleshy 
lips, but there is no double lip adhering to the suborbital bones. These fishes have the oblong form 
of Labrus, with large scales, and an interrupted lateral line. They have two plates in the upper part 
of their pharynx, and one in the under, furnished with teeth as in Labrus ; but their teeth are in trans- 
verse laminae, and not rounded and arranged like the stones of a pavement. 
The Archipelago contains one species, of a blue or red colour, according to the season, which is the S. creticiis 
of Aldrovandus ; and which, after new investigations, I believe is the true Scarus so celebrated among the 
ancients, which, during the reign of Claudius, Elipertius Optatus the Roman admiral sailed to Greece in order 
to obtain and distribute through the Italian seas. It is still eaten in Greece, and its intestines are used for sea- 
soning. There are numerous species in the tropical seas, which, on account of the form of their jaws and the 
brilliancy of their colours, are called Parrot-fishes. Some have the caudal fin in the shape of a crescent; and of 
these a few have the front singularly enlarged and rounded, while in others it is truncated to a square. These 
constitute the genus Scarus, properly so called, from which two subgenera may be separated ‘.—Calliodon, which 
have the lateral teeth of the upper jaw separate and pointed, and on the same jaw an anterior range, much smaller 
in size ; and Odax, which resemble the true Labrus in their thickened lips and uninterrupted lateral line, but their 
jaws are constructed as in Scarus, except that the bones are flat, not rounded, and are covered by the lips. Their 
teeth, however, resemble pavement, like those of Labrus. 
THE FIFTEENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII. 
Fistularida; (Pipe-mouthed Fishes). 
The fishes of this family are characterized by a long tube projected forwards from the cranium, and 
composed of elongations of the ethmoid, vomer, pre-operculum, inter-operculum, pterygoids, and tym- 
panals, at the extremity of which they have the mouth, composed, as usual, of intermaxillaries, maxil- 
laries, palatals, and mandibles. Their intestine has no great inequalities, nor many flexures ; and their 
ribs are short, or wanting. The family consists of two genera : — Fistularia, with the bodies cylindrical; 
and Centriscus, in which it is oval and compressed. 
Fisiularia, Fishes of this genus receive their particular name from the long tube common to all 
the family. Their jaws are at its extremity, but little cleft, and opening nearly in a horizontal direc- 
tion. Their head, thus elongated, is equal to a third or a fourth of the length of the body, which is 
itself long and slender. There are six or seven rays in their gills ; and some osseous appendages 
extending behind the head, by means of which the anterior part of the body is more or less 
strengthened. The dorsal is directly above the anal ; and the stomach is a fleshy tube extending in a 
straight canal, but with two cceca at the commencement. There are two subgenera. 
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