64 
PISCES ABDOMINALES. MUGIL. 
Length of the subject, one foot eight inches. 
It sometimes appears at the English tables, but is not esteemed. 
REMARKS. 
The spinous rays of the dorsal and anal fins lie close on each other, and their points sometimes not piercing 
the skin (particularly those of the anal fin), may easily pass unnoticed. 
MUGIL. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Labia membra,nacea: inferius mtrorsum ca- 
rinatum. Denies nulli. Denliculus inflexus 
supra sinus oris. Membrana branchiostega 
radiis vii. curvis; opercula lavia , rotun- 
clata. Corpus albicans. 
The lips membranous; the lower lip ca- 
rinated inwardly ; no teeth ; a small 
inflected tooth above the opening of the 
mouth. The branchial membrane has 
vii. curve rays. The opercula smooth, 
rounded. The body inclining to white. 
No. CLXXX. 
Mugil pinna prima dorsali radiis quatuor; cauda lunata. 
The Mugil with a first dorsal fin of four rays; and a lunated tail. 
Mugil Cephalus Linn. S. JV. p. 520. 
Called by the Natives Bontah. 
+_ _L _i_ 
B. vi. D. 4.10. P. 1 7. V. 6. A. 11. C. 18. 
The body oblong, somewhat compressed, smooth, squamous; scales large, ciliate, imbricate, close. 
The head roundish, compressed, blunt; the crown and front depressed, squamous, smooth ; the rest without 
scales; the rostrum short, obtuse, smooth, projects over the mouth. The mouth very small, with hardly any 
lips; without teeth. The jaws short, extractile, the under has a carina internally, which is received into a 
groove in the upper. The tongue thick, fleshy, smooth, fixed. The palate rough. The eyes high, advanced, 
large, orbicular, prominent. Nostrils double, not contiguous, and situated above a striated lamina, in front of 
the orbit. Branchial opercula bony, smooth, without scales; the membrane half concealed; the aperture small. 
The trunk. The back nearly straight, convex; the sides also convex; the abdomen a little arched, not pro¬ 
minent ; the tail continues broad and not much rounded; the branchiae pectinate; the lateral line scarcely 
discernible, nearly straight; the anus very remote. 
