17 
E S 
(tight. The end cff the tall is thin, hut becomes thicker 
towards the fins, fo that it forms a trapezium. The la¬ 
teral line, which is near the belly, has a direction totally 
different from all the fillies hitherto dcfcribed : it does 
not begin, as ufual, near the back of the head, neither 
does it end in the midft of the tail-fin ; but it arifes under 
the gill-covert, keeps on by the belly, and lofes itfelf near 
the tail-fin. The fins are (liort in proportion to the length 
•of the body : the pedtorals and ventrals are grey, and 
their rays divide into feveral ramifications; the anal and 
dorfal are bluifli, with limple rays ; the fin of the tail 
has a little furrow, is edged with,blue, and the rays are 
branched at the ends. This fpecies is found in moll large 
feas, fo that it was known to the Greeks and Romans. 
They haunt tlie depths of the fea, whence they come in 
fiioals from March to June, to propagate their kind on 
the lliores and fmooth places : they generally make their 
appearance a little before the mackerel, which filh they 
refevnble in tafle. The teeth with which the jaws are 
armed are fufficient to pronounce this a voracious fifii ; 
but in its turn it is often devoured by the fhark, and other 
more powerful fea-fifli. The gar is commonly a foot or 
a foot and a half long, and weighs from two to three 
pounds. Sir Wm. Hamilton, during his refidence at Na¬ 
ples, fawafifii of thisfpecies which weighed forty pounds; 
it was prefented to the king as a rarity. According to 
Renard, this fifli grows to eight feet long in the Eaft, and 
its bite is mortal : they are taken with a peculiar kind of 
dart, which conti.fts of a wooden handle armed with about 
twenty iron points of fix inches long- The fifhermen fol¬ 
low this fifii in the night in the following manner : there 
are four in a boat ; one man, in the fore-part, holds a 
lighted torch of draw and wood in order to attraCl the 
fifii by the glare of the fire ; the others watch the mo¬ 
ment when the fiflies advance to pierce them with tliefe 
darts or forks, and often Hick feveral at once ; and thus 
they fometimes take twelve or fifteen hundred in a night. 
The gar-filhery is very confiderable in fome countries ; 
though the fifii is'nct much preferred in England. At 
Tranqucbar in the Danifii Eafi Indies, they are well 
efteemed as food ; they grow two feet long, and four inches 
broad, according to the luted accounts from that country, 
and are found in ponds and rivers : kakumen is the name 
they are known by there; and at New York waljbilor. 
One remarkable quality obierved in this fifii is, that when 
either cooked or fmoked, the bones affume a beautiful 
green colour : a circumftan.ee which prevents many per¬ 
sons from eating it. A correct figure of this fpecies is 
given in the Efox Plate I. 
16. Efox hepfetus, the filver-lined pike. Specific cha¬ 
racter, lateral line fi 1 very ; dorfal and anal fins oppofite. 
Fourteen rays in the dorfal and tail fins, 12 in the pec¬ 
torals, 6 in the ventrals, and 15 in the anal. Inhabits 
America. Cepede and Commerfon are of opinion that 
this is the fame with the E. marginatus. 
17. Efox Chilenfis, the Chilian pike. Specific charac¬ 
ter, jaws of equal length, lateral line blue. There are 
ten rays in the membrane of the gills, 14 in the dorfal 
fin, 11 in the peftorals, 6 in the ventrals, 8 in the anal, 
ar.d 22 in the tail. Inhabits the Chilefe feas; from two to 
three feet in length. Body round, covered with bony 
angular deciduous feales, above golden, beneath filvery ; 
flefh white, fomething pellucid, flaky and excellent. 
Head comprelfed ; eyes large, round, lateral ; mouth 
tranfverfe, terminal; teeth fixed, crowded, very fmall ; 
tongue entire, and with the palate fmooth ; aperture of 
the gills falcate, the coverts fcaly, of two pieces ; lateral 
line above, indented ; fins radiate, fliort. 
18. Efox argenteus, the filvered pike. Specific cha¬ 
racter, body brown, with faint yellow or filver irregular 
lines or marks like writing. Diicovered by Forfter in the 
frefli waters at New Zealand and other ides of the Pacific 
Ocean. It is a fmall fpecies, and fhaped like a trout. 
19. Efox marginatus, the margined pike. Specific 
character, dorfal and anal fins oppofite, lateral line fil- 
very ; lower jaw fix times as long as the upper. Thirteen 
Vol. VII. No. 404. 
O X. 
rays in the membrane of the gills and in the dorfal fin, 
11 in the peCtorals, 6 in the ventrals, 10 in the anal, and 
14 in the tail. This was obferved by Forfkal in the Red 
Sea in Arabia, arid by Commerfon at Rio Janeiro in June 
1767. The latter is of opinion that the kcpfelus has been 
feparated from this merely from 4 mutilated fpecimen 
having reached the examiner. The body is fomewhat 
tranfparent, very much lengthened, as well as the tail, 
and about a fpan and a half long ; body linear, tapering 
on each fide, covered with broad, lax, entire feales, above 
brown, beneath whitifli. Head narrower than the body, 
above horizontal ; eyes vertical, a little remote ; teeth 
numerous,-ereCt, rigid, fmall; tail tapering, (Haight ; 
peCtoral fins lanceolate ; anal final!, triangular, glaucous, 
yellojvifh without ; dorfal yellow without ; tail two- 
lobed, the upper lobe pale yellow, the pofterior edge 
brown ; the lower lobe twice the length of the upper. ■ 
20. Efox Brafilienfis, the piper, or under fword-fifh, 
Specific character, lower jaw (even or eight times as long 
as the upper; body ferpentine. There are 14 rays in 
the membrane of the gills, 10 in the peCtoral fins, 6 in 
the ventrals, 12 in the anal, 18 in the tail, 14 in the dor¬ 
fal. The head is fmall, compreffed, oblong, broad at 
the top, (harp underneath, which makes it triangular or 
wedge-fhaped. The upper jaw is (hort and blunt; but 
the under one is produced long and (harp, being one- 
third as long as the body of the filh, and has a very fin- 
guiar appearance ; both jaws are armed with feveral rows 
of little (harp teeth ; the palate and tongue are fmooth ; 
but the throat is furnifhed with bones on each fide like 
chevaux de frize almoft meeting. The noftrils and,eyes 
are vertical; the pupil of the eve is black, the iris (il- 
very. The gill-coverts are fmooth, and radiated; the 
aperture is wide, the membrane concealed. The body 
is fomewhat compreffed at: the (ides, and long. The fins 
are (hort, with flexible thrfee-branched rays except the 
firft ; the tail is forked, the lower part the longed ; the 
ventral fins lie very backward. The head and (ides are 
filvery ; on the (ides from the back there are foine dark- 
coloured flripes or fpots, which do not reach fo low as 
the lateral line; the fins are bluifli; the lower jaw and 
lateral line are green. This fpecies inhabits botli Indies. 
According to DuTertre, it grows twelve or fifteen inches 
long, and is delicate eating; he adds, that it is eafily 
caught by a light; on fetting fire to a bit of hay, thefe 
fi(h come round the boats in (lioals, and are eafily caught 
in nets. Renard agrees that they are fat and good eating ; 
he fays that the Eaft Indians make excellent fanfages of 
them. See an engraving of this (pecies in the Efox 
Plate II. fig. 3. 
21. Efox gymnocephalus, the bald-headed pike. Spe¬ 
cific character, jaws equal, head naked ; gill-coverts very 
obtufe. Thirteen rays in the dorfal fir., 10 in the pec¬ 
torals, 7 in the ventrals, 26 in the anal, and 19 in the 
tail. Inhabits India ; about the fize of the Ammodytes, 
or fand-eel. 
22. Efox chirocentrus, the (harp-fingered pike. Spe¬ 
cific character, lower jaw longeft ; head and opercula 
naked; a very (hong, - long, loofe, fpine, juft above the 
origin of the peCtoral fin, Obferved and figured by Com¬ 
merfon. The teeth are long and jagged; the dorfal fin 
(horter than the anal, both fickle-fliaped ; the ventrals 
very fmall ; a fort of knob or wen appears above each 
peCtoral fin ; the tail is very widely forked, the lower 
lobe rather longeft. The lateral line runs near the back, 
and follow s the flexure of it. Scales fmall, crowded. 
23. Efox (tomias, the viper-mouthed pike. Specific 
character, four of the teeth much longer than the reft, 
and projecting from the mouth when (hut, in the manner 
of the E. (patula. It inhabits the Mediterranean ; is 18 
inches long ; body greenilh-brown. Lower jaw longeft ; 
two fore-teeth in the upper jaw, and fecond pair in the 
lower, longer, the latter hooked at the tip. Firft ray of 
the dorfal fin, which is near the head, very long and 
fetaceous; body gradually tapering downwards; tail a, 
little forked. 
24. Efox 
F 
