PLATE XXXI. 
in June, 1765, one was caught at a small distance below Carmarthen, 
in the river Towey, being brought up by the tide which flows as 
far as the town. It was seen by John Strange, Esq. at Carmarthen, 
and an account of it communicated to Mr. Pennant. 
The vastly disproportionate size of the pectoral fins in this genus 
of fishes, compared with others, affords them an extraordinary ad- 
vantage in effecting their escape from the larger and more voracious 
kinds’-when closely pursued in the water, but this advantage exposes 
them to a far greater number of enemies, and they not unfrequently 
escape danger in their native element to become the prey of GuJls, of 
Corvorants, and other aquatic birds that hover over the surface of the 
Water to catch them in their aerial flights. It can only remain for a 
short time suspended in the air, for the instant its fins become dry, it 
must again dip into the water to moisten them. They often quit 
the water in shoals, and sometimes alight on board of ships in 
immense numbers in warm climates. 
Of this genus, two species are known, beside the present, E. 
Volitans : the latter may be easily distinguished by having each 
side of the belly carinated, and the ventral fins placed much nearer 
to the head than in either of the others. It inhabits the Red and 
American seas, and also those in the warmer parts of Europe ; espe- 
cially the Mediterranean, where it is very common. 
Our specimen is somewhat larger than the figure represents. In 
the dorsal fin are fifteen rays : pectoral sixteen : ventral eight : anal 
fifteen ; and in the tail, twenty. 
