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THE LITTLE SILVER-SPOTS. 
A LITTLE fish first made known by Pennant with the name 
of Sheppy Argentine, is the only British species that has with 
certainty been recognised, of a rather numerous family, which 
in some of its characters shews an affinity to the Salmon tribe; 
but in others it is sufficiently separated from it as to have led 
observers to place them in a distinct family. They resemble 
the Salmon in having the mystache or maxillary bones separate, 
with teeth along the border; but aU the teeth are very small, 
and the less to be observed as the fishes themselves are of 
very small size. They are also marked with an adipose fin on 
the back at some distance in front of the tail, but this is of 
small size, so that by the first dcscriber and other observers 
its existence was not noticed; which circumstance is the more 
easily to be explained, as under ordinary circumstances the fish 
itself may so far become mutilated that so small an organ cannot 
be discerned. It appears also, from my own observation, as of 
some others, that on very close examination there have been 
detected some minute rays in this fin; which circumstance 
removes it still further from the family of the Salmon; in which 
latter what is termed the adipose fin is rather an organ of 
sensation than of action. In their usual appearance also the 
fishes of this section are but distantly allied to the larger 
fishes near which they have been classed; but there is a 
curious conformation that belongs to them, of which the use 
is not evident, but which may be considered a distinguishing 
character of the class; and which consists of a regular 
arrangement of round and shining dots along the lower border 
of the body, from the opening of the gills to the tail; and 
which do not possess the nature of scales. Indeed, in what 
is to be regarded as a separate genus, there are no scales on 
the body, and in no case dots or organs overlap each other 
This family consists of abdominal fishes. 
