284 
NATURAL HISTORY 
some have white spots, others brown edged with white* 
The pectoral and ventral fins give this animal the look 
of a quadruped, but the other fins shew it to be a fish* 
It has no lateral line, any more than the rest of the ge- 
nus. The skin on the belly is thin, and only fastened to 
the flesh here and there by little bandages. 
This fish is found in Brazil and China; it generally 
keeps at the bottom of the water among sea-weed, or be- 
tween stones, and grows to the length of nine or ten 
inches. 
Lump Fish. (PL 49.) This fish is remarkable for its 
big belly, which is swelled out by a large double urinary 
bladder. The mouth is in the upper part of the head, and 
very wide; the teeth are numerous, but stand without 
order: the gill -coverts are fastened to the aperture almost 
all round: the skin is covered with a thick mucus; all its 
parts are flabby and loose: the upper surface is mostly of 
an olive colour. This species is found in the sea which 
separates Kamtshatka from North America; it seldom 
exceeds a foot in length. 
Sea Cock. (PI. 49.) The body of this fish is very 
thin, of a silver colour, inclining to red, and without vi- 
sible scales. The head is large, very much shelving; the 
mouth large; the jaws are furnished with very small 
teeth, and the upper lip with two large bones. The nos- 
trils are double, and near the eyes, which are round and 
large; the pupil is black, the iris brown inclining to a 
silver gray: the opening of the gills is large; the covert 
is long, consisting of one plate, under which the mem- 
brane is hid. The lateral line is crooked at is origin; 
the anus is not far from the ventral fins. All the fins 
are of a bright gre>en colour; in the dorsal fin, the nine 
first rays are short and hard, the next four long and soft, 
and both are single; the pectoral, ventral, and tail fins 
are branched. 
This fish lives in all climates, being found, according 
to different authors, at Brasil, Jamaica, the Antilles, the 
East Indies, and Malta. It grows from six to nine 
inches in length, is well tasted, and lives upon worms, 
insects, and other little marine animals. 
