The Hiftory of ANIMALS, 
299 
S U A L I. 
Divifion the Second. 
Thofe which have acute teeth, and prickles on the back . 
Squalus pinna ani nulla, ambitu corporis fubrotundo . 5 Cf )t 
The Squalus , with a rounded body , and with no pinna ant . JjpOttHlS-fifl)* 
rp H E head is large; it is of a depreffed figure and fubacute, and the roftrum, to- 
ward the extremity, is pellucid : the body is of an oblong form and rounded, 
or from the pedforal fins to the anus a little compreffed, and from thence to the tail 
fomewhat depreffed, but neither in any confiderable degree : the noftrils are fituated at 
the middle between the eyes and the extremity of the roftrum, but they are not on the 
top or fides, but toward the under part of the head 5 each has a double aperture, and 
a mucous matter may at all times be exprefied from them : the eyes are of an oblong 
figure; they are placed on the fides of the head 3 the iris is very large and white5 the 
pupil is extreamly fmall, black, and tranfverfe : on each fide of the head, behind the 
eyes, there is a femi-lunar hole 3 the convex part of thefe apertures is toward the eyes: 
the mouth is a tranfverfe cut, and is fituated on the lower part of the head, and at a 
greater diftance from the roftrum than the eyes are : it is large, and of a fomewhat lu- 
nated figure 5 there are in it three rows of (harp teeth, affixed to a kind of comman 
bone. 
The apertures of the gills are five on each fide, reaching from the head to the pedtoral 
fins: they are placed a little obliquely, and, befide the two apertures over the eyes, 
there are alfo two other very fmall ones between them : the lateral line is ftraight, and 
runs much nearer to the back than to the belly : the whole body and the fins alfo are 
rough 3 this is moft plainly perceived on drawing the hand upwards, from any part of 
the body of the fifth toward the head : the back and upper part of the fides are of a 
greyifh-blue colour 5 the lower parts of the fides and the belly are white, and there are 
on the back about eight or nine roundifh white fpots, placed at a diftance from one 
another: the pectoral fins are large, and are placed horizontally, and are broader at the 
extremity than at the origin : they are thin, but tough, and have no cartilaginous rays: 
the ventral fins are diftin&ly two 3 they are alfo placed horizontally, one on each fide 
toward the anus: each of thefe terminates on it’s inner fide in an oblong body, com¬ 
plicated at the extremity, and terminating in two fpines, the one ftraight, and the 
other formed into a kind of hook 3 the anus is fituated in the middle between thefe, 
and in the males the penis ufually alfo is found hanging out: there are two back fins 3 
the firft of thefe (lands nearer to the pedoral than the ventral fins, and is perpendi¬ 
cularly erected, and has a fpine adjoined to it’s anterior part: the hinder one (lands at 
about an equal diftance from the anus and the tail 3 it is (mailer than the other, but 
has a larger fpine in it’s anterior part: thefe fpines in colour, texture, and fubftance, 
refemble the claws of birds, and they both turn fomewhat backwards: the tail is large, 
and of a compreffed form 5 it is divided into two parts, and the upper portion is more 
than twice as long as the other, and is ere&ed in a perpendicular direction. 
This fifti grows to about two yards in length, though it is more ufually caught of 
four or five feet 5 when it is ftdnned, the body has the appearance of that of an eel: 
there is a rednefs at each of the mufcles externally, but the flefh within is perfectly 
white, and inftead of bones it is fupported by hard cartilages. 
It is frequent in the Mediterranean, and is often caught alfo in our feas, and elfe- 
where : the antients were well acquainted with it. Ariftotle, Athenaeus, and Oppi- 
an call it ’AxavGfa? ; Rondelet, Gefner, and Charleton, Galeus Acanthias 5 Al- 
drovand, Willughby, and Ray, Galeus Acanthias five Spinax 3 Gaza, Beilonius, Sal- 
vian, and Gefner, Muftelus Spinax; Scaliger, Muftelus Spinus 3 Schoneveldt, Canis 
Acanthias. The Germans call it Dornhundt3 the Venetians, Azio; the Italians, Sea- 
zone ; and we call it the Hound-fifh, or the prickled or pickled Dog. 
Zqualm 
