52 
UMBKINA. 
Tlie fish, in careless ease supinely laid, 
The diver’s grasping fingers swift invade; 
Up from the deep he springs, and shews his prey, 
Torn from his cave to gasp his life away.” 
Oppian, B. 4. 
According to Columella it was one of tke fishes that was 
kept in their salt-water ponds by the Eomans. 
It is with the intention of furnishing observers with means 
by which they may be able to decide on the presence of this 
fish, if it shall be found again to visit our coasts, that we 
borrow our description, with a figure, from Willoughby, whose 
observations were obtained from the examination of recent 
examples in the Mediterranean. The specimens he met with 
did not exceed the usual size of a Carp, to the general 
form of which he supposes it to bear a likeness; but Belon 
described it as attaining the weight of sixty pounds, and a 
length of five or six feet. We see above that the English 
example was heavier even than this. The shape is somewhat 
compressed, narrow at the back, and rising higher behind the 
head, but growing more slender behind. The lateral line runs 
along the middle of the side, but is bent near its origin 
and termination. The scales of the body are of good size, 
with incised edges, but on the head they are small, and 
extend over the gill-covers and to the mouth. The middle 
border of the giU-cover is serrated; (Lacepede says there is a 
spine on the hindmost gill-cover.) The under jaw short; gape 
moderate; teeth very fine and slender. The barb on the under 
jaw is so short as by Eondeletius to be termed a wart. The 
dorsal fins two, very close together; tail straight or slightly 
curved. The general colour yellow ; the sides beautifully 
adorned with circles or curved lines, in their course turning 
towards the head, their colour leaden and pale yellow inter- 
changeably: (in some instances a fine blue, becoming white 
lower down; a black spot on the border of the gill-cover; 
pectorals, ventrals, and tail dark; anal reddish; dorsals brown, 
with two longitudinal white bands on the first dorsal.) 
There is some confusion in the writings of Willoughby and 
Eay in their accounts of this and kindred fishes; but there 
does not appear any reason to doubt that the species described 
by Willoughby at page 300, under the name of Umbrino, is 
the same with his Umbra as referred to above, but which he 
