MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES. 
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the sides of the under-jaw, a row of long- and pointed teeth. The muzzle is oblong-, obtuse, broad, and depressed. 
They have but one dorsal placed over the anal ; a large forward stomach, continued in a slender intestine with 
two flexures, but without coeca ; and their air-bladder is very large. 
E. lucius, the Common Pike, Jack, Pickarel, Gedd, and many other names, is well known to every one as the 
most voracious and destructive of fishes, but its flesh is good, and easy of digestion. [Besides its fame, as an eater 
and as being eaten, Shakspeare has thrown a ray of glory around the Pike by representing it as the “ White Lucie” 
in the armorial bearings of the immortal Justice Shallow. In some of the still waters of Britain, Pike of thirty- 
four pounds’ weight have been killed. It is generally said that, notwithstanding the havoc which the Pike com- 
mits among smaller fishes, it will not stand the attack of a Trout of equal weight, the immense velocity of the 
latter fish in swimming giving it a decided advantage]. Besides this, two species have been noticed in the fresh 
waters of North America,— £. reticularis, with a net-work of brownish lines ; and E. estor, sprinkled with round 
blackish spots. 
Galajcius, have no visible scales on the body. The opening of the mouth is small, with middle-sized pointed 
teeth in both jaws, the margin of the upper being formed by the intermaxillary, and a few strong crooked teeth on 
the tongue. There are pores in the sides of the head ; and the position of the dorsal and anal fins, and also the 
digestive organs, are like those of the Pikes. 
Alepocephalus. Head naked, body with broad scales, mouth small, teeth minute and crowded, eyes very large, 
and eight gill-rays. A. rostratus, the only known species, is found in the depths of the Mediterranean. 
Microstoma. Snout very short, lower jaw beyond the upper, jaws and intermaxillaries with very small teeth, 
three broad and flat gill-rays, eyes large, body long, lateral line with firm scales, a single dorsal a little in rear of 
the ventrals, and digestive organs as in the Pike. The only known species {S. microstoma of Risso) inhabits the 
Mediterranean. 
Stomias. Snout extremely short, mouth cleft almost to the gills, gill-ray reduced to a little membranous 
lamina, and maxillaries fixed in the cheek ; intermaxillaries, palatals, mandibles, and tongue, armed with long and 
crooked teeth, widely set; body elongated; ventrals far back; dorsal over the anal, and both near the caudal. Two 
species were discovered in the Mediterranean by Risso. Both are black, with rows of silvery spots on the belly. 
E. boa, Risso, has no cirri ; S. barbatus, has a long and stout one, attached to the symphisis of the lower jaw. 
Chauliodus, resemble the former, but have two teeth in each jaw, across the other jaw when the mouth is shut ; 
the dorsal between the pectorals and ventrals, which last are not so far back as in Stomias ; the first dorsal ray 
terminates in a filament. C. Sloani, the only known species, has been found only at Gibraltar. It is about a foot 
and a half long, and of a deep green colour. 
Salanx, have the head depressed, gill-lids folded downwards, and four flat gill-rays ; the jaws short and pointed, 
each furnished with a row of crooked teeth ; the upper jaw formed entirely by intermaxillaries without peduncles; 
the lower jaw is a little lengthened at the symphisis by a small appendage carrying the teeth; the palate and the 
inner part of the mouth are entirely smooth, and there is not even a lingual projection. 
Belone. This genus have the upper jaw— which, as well as the under one, is extended into a long beak— com- 
posed of the intermaxillaries, and both jaws furnished with small teeth, without any others in the mouth, except 
in the pharynx, where they are arranged like a pavement. The body is very long, and covered with scales which 
are scarcely visible, except one keeled row on each side, near the under edge of the fish. They are remarkable for 
the bright green colour of their bones. One species— the Common Gar-fish, Sea Pike, Mackerel Guide, Green- 
bone, and a number of other names— is not uncommon on some parts of the British shores, and as far north as 
the Arctic regions. It is of a greenish blue on the upper part, fading gradually into silvery white on the belly. 
There are several other species, some of which are said to attain the length of eight feet, and bite very severely. 
Notwithstanding the colour of the bones, which renders them repulsive to many persons, the flesh of these fishes 
is not unwholesome. 
Scomberesox, the Mackerel Pike, or Saury Pike, resembles the former in the length of its snout, its general 
shape, and its scales ; but the last rays of the dorsal and anal are detached, and form spurious fins on the upper 
and under sides, like those of the Mackerel. They are found in the Mediterranean ; [and the Common Saury is 
generally distributed along the British coasts, as far to the northward as the Orkneys]. They are gregarious 
fishes ; and are followed and preyed upon by Porpoises, and also by the Tunny, and other large members of the 
Mackerel family. 
Hemiramphus, resembles the Gar-fish in its general characters, but has the upper jaw short, and the lower one 
drawn out into a long beak, without teeth. They are found chiefly in the seas of warm countries, though a stray 
one is occasionally met with in the south of England. 
Exocetus, [literally, “ Fishes out of the water”]. These are at once distinguished from all the rest of the Abdo- 
minal Malacopterygii by the immense size of their pectoral fins, which are sufiiciently large for supporting them 
for a few moments in the air. Their head and body are scaly, with a line of keeled scales along each flank ; their 
head is flat above, and laterally; the dorsal over the anal ; the eye is large ; the intermaxillaries without peduncles, 
and found in the margin of the upper jaw ; both jaws have small pointed teeth, and the pharynx pavement teeth ; 
they have ten gill-rays ; their air-bladder is very large ; their intestine straight, and without coeca ; and the lower 
lobe of the caudal fin much larger than the upper. They do not fly, in the strict sense of the term, but merely rise 
from the water to escape voracious fishes, and soon fall again,— their fins merely serving as parachutes, and being 
incapable of taking a new stroke in the air, as is done by a wing. They are found in all the seas of the warm 
climates ; and it would seem that they have more enemies than most other fishes, for while the voracious fishes 
pursue and capture them in the water, the long-winged sea-birds seize them in the air ; and between themselves 
