10 
INTRODUCTION. 
Mr. Audubon, so well known to every American, has explor- 
ed the air, and opened to the world an enlarged and faithful 
picture of the feathered songsters of the Western Hemisphere. 
His History of Quadrupeds, also, promises for him a fame 
equal to that accorded any who have preceded him in this 
department. 
But amidst all these researches, but little, comparatively 
speaking, has been done in the Natural History of Fishes. 
The boundless ocean, with its vast waters, and numberless 
tributaries, remains unexplored : and the fact, that scientific 
inquirers of all ages, have neglected to penetrate so far into 
the philosophy of this branch of Nature’s productions as into 
many other departments of her wonderful and deep-hidden 
mysteries, is certainly a source both of surprise and regret. 
The objects that continually present themselves in our 
every day relations, naturally invite the attention and awaken 
an interest for the wonderful creations of Nature. Hence we 
have a history of Birds, Beasts, Insects; works on Botany, 
Geology, and Astronomy ; but as yet no standard treatise on 
Ichthyology. The dangers attending navigation, are by the 
aid of steam power becoming daily less formidable; and 
where but few could formerly be tempted, thousands now are 
induced to view the sublimity of Nature on the great deep, 
and will consequently be led to study the natural history of 
its inhabitants. 
Linmeus has defined nearly 400 species of fishes in the 
Old World, while our own country, possessing as it does great 
advantages over any other, cannot boast of a single treatise on 
a subject so fraught with interest to the admirer of Nature. 
