G A S T E R 
and the following' were font from Carolina by Dr. Gar¬ 
den to Linnaeus. Inhabits Carolina. Body oblong- 
ov.il; lateral line flraiglit, fubcarinate at the tail ; dor- 
la 1 and ana.l fia.s falcate ; tail forked. 
8. Gafterolteus (,'anadus, the Canadian llickleback : 
g dorfal (pines, anal o. Seven rays in the membrane 
of the gills, 33 in tlie dorfal fin, only 2 in eacli peftoral, 
7 in each ventral, 26 in the anal, 20 in the tail. Inlia- 
bits Carolina ; differs very little from the preceding. 
9. Gufteroftcus vadigo, the vadigo ; 8 dorfal fpiiies ; 
lateral line crooked. The firft dorfal fpine is reclined 
towards the head ; the pedforal fins confift of many more 
than two rays ; in other refpecls tliis differs little from 
the preceding. It is added by Cepede. 
10. Gafterofteus faltatrix, the (kipjack: 8 dorfal 
fpines connected by a membrane, and 7 rays in tire mem¬ 
brane of the gills. There are 26 rays in tlie dorftl fin, 
16 in the pectorals, 6 in tlie venfrals, 27 in tlie anal, 
21 in the caudal. This inhabits Carolina, defcribed by 
Cateiby and Dr. Garden. It is perhaps the Scomber fa¬ 
llens of Bloch, fince the dorfal fpines are not didincb, 
which is the g neric charafter of the Iticklebacks, 
Gmelinfays it is lefs prickly than the reft, andrefembles 
a perch. There is only one row of teeth in tlie lower 
jaw, tivo in the upper; the dorfal fpines are weak, oc- 
calionally recumbent in a fun'ow, and the membrane 
■which connedfs them is e.xtremely thin. Tail-fin bi¬ 
furcated. 
11. Gafterofteus biaculeatus, the twoTpined ftickle- 
back. Specific characler; twodorfalfpir.es. This and 
the following are delcribed frora Commerfon’s manu- 
fcripts, by Cepede ; he has pdaced them in a diftindt ge¬ 
nus, as the tail is not carinated. The body and tail are 
covered with pretty large round fcales, placed one over 
the other ; but none are obfervable on the head, nor on 
the opercula, which arc covered with broad plates. The 
teeth are fniall, and ftand apart; the .lower jaw is the 
longeft. The lateral line runs nearly in the middle of 
the body, and is marked with four very dark round 
fpots. 'I'he dcirfal fin begins about the middle or high- 
eft part of tlie back ; it is falcated, and readies to the 
tail; the anal fin is juft oppofite or under the dorfal, 
and is nearly of the lame fliapeand extent; it is preceded 
by two Ipines inclined towards the tail ; the tail-fin is 
very deeply furcated; tlie ventrals are much I'maller 
than the pectorals. 
12. Gafterofteus pentaculeatus, thefive-fpined ftickle- 
back. Specific characlei, five dorfal fpines; fcales 
hardly vifible. d he head is much larger and thicker 
than in the preceding, and ends in a very blunt liiout; 
the lateral line is crooked, and witliout any fpot; the ex¬ 
tremities of the tail-fin are much fartlier apart in j'.ropor- 
tion to their length, fo that the fin feems rather femilu- 
nar than forked ; the dorfal fin comes forwarder. 1 he 
fcales are not vifible to the naked eye. In other refpebfs 
it refembles tlie preceding. 
13. Gafterofteus pemilipterus, the fat-finned ftickle- 
back. Specific charatter, 11 dorfal fpines connected 
with the 13 .irticuiated rays ; part of that fin, the anal, 
and tail, adijious. Four rays in the membrane of the 
gills, 15 in eacli pectoral, 5 in each ventral, in the 
anal, and 19 in the tail, which is forked. This Ipecies is 
added by citizen Bofc ; but Cepede has made it a fepa. 
rale genus, irompimele, which in Greek lig- 
nifies fat, amt puron., fin. It poftelles Ibme of the'generic 
marks of the Gt.fterofteus, in particular the ventral fins 
lying farther back tiian the pectorals, but it lias not the 
fpines dililnCt on the back. Bofc difcovercd it in North 
America; and obferves, that in habits it refembles the 
G. diiCtor, or pilot filh, following tlie veflels which tra- . 
verfe the North Atlantic Ocean, and feizingwith avidity 
the fragments of the nutritive fubftances which arc 
thrown into the fea. It is not eafily caught, lor it is 
cunning enough to take away the bait and avoid the 
hook. According to the fume gentleman, the Lngjlilh 
Voi.. VIII. No. 501. 
O S T E U 
diflike this fifti, but the French eat it. The head ii 
fmall ; lips flexible ; teeth fmall but blunt; tongue 
oval. The iridcs brotvn mingled with white, and a lil- 
vcry line underneatli. 7 'he fcales which cover the body 
and tail are round, large, and of a filvery colour, but 
brown at tlie fides, joining into a confiderablc number 
ol longitudinal brown ftripes, which Cepede makes a 
part of tlie fpecific character. The ufual length of this 
fifli is eight inches, lieight two and a half, breadth one. 
14. Gafterofteus auratiis, tiie foft-finned ftickleback. 
Specific cliaradter, the unarticulated rays of the fins 
almoft as fott as the articulated ones ; the lower lip 
liangsdown very low. Six rays in the membrane of tlie 
gills, 23 in the dorfal fin, ii in each pedtoral, 6 in each 
ventral, 15 in the anal, and 12 in the tail, which is 
rounded. This and the following would not have been 
included in this genus but for the pofition of the venti'al 
fins, for the dorfal contains, properly fpeaking, no 
prickles. Cepede has made them afeparategenus, c/icilio, 
vyliichin Greek fignifies a lip, in allufion to the hanging 
lips. They are both from the manuferipts of Commer- 
fon, who met with them in the fifh-market and boats at 
the Mauritius. The prefent fpecies is of a gold yellow 
colour, with fome little black dots on tlie lateral line. 
Its flefh is white, and well tafted, but not much e-fteeined 
becaufe the fifh is very common ; length a foot or more. 
The upper jaw is longeft, and the upper lip is move- 
able; a row of fmall teeth in each j.iw, but none in tlie 
palate. The tongue is femi-cartilaginous, and partly 
free m its motions, but the tip of it is concealed under a 
little membrane ftretching acrof's the lower jaw. Tlie 
eyes are near togetiier; tlie fcales are fmooth, and 
rounded, but do not cover the head and opercula; each 
operculum is compofed of two pieces, and terminates irt 
a membranous appendage ; they are furrowed, but not 
prickly, nor dentated. d he fwimming-bladder lies 
along under the fpine of tlie back. I'lie whole fifh is of 
a lengthened ionii ; liiont flatted; dorfiil fin very long 
and low ; ventrals very fmall. 
13. Gafterofteus fuf’eus, the foft-finned brown fticklc- 
back. Specific charafter, unarticulated rays of the fins not 
rigid, lips pendent; colour brown; ventral fins white, 
and white fpots on the dorfal and anal fins. Tliis fpe¬ 
cies refembles tlie preceding in the number of rays in 
thefin^. and in niany other refpedts. It is, however, 
fiijalfFr, not exceeding nine or ten inches in lengtli. 
The flat part of the fiiout is very fliort ; tlie peCtoral 
fins are tranfparent, and the irides of a fiery red. 
16. Gafterofteus pungitius, the fmall or ten-fpinecl 
ftickleback, I'lic number of fpines, ten, is the fpecific 
cliaratler. There are 3 rays in the membrane of 
the gills, 10 in tlie pedtoral fins, i in the ventrals, 17 in 
the anal and tail, and 16 in the dorfal. The head of this 
little fifh is like the aculeatus, but the body is of a more 
flender form. I'lie fides are yellow above the lateral 
line ; below it, and on the belly, filvery ; the fides arc 
liiiooth, having iieitlier fcales nor the feuta or bony 
plates of that fpecies. The ventral fin confifts of one 
fingle fpine; and the firft ray of the anaJ fin is fliarp alf'o. 
The pedforal fins are yellowifli ; the anal, dorfal, and 
tail, grey; and the tail-fin is ftraiglit, as in tlie preceding. 
Tliis fifh weighs but an ounce and an half. “ It is the 
fiiialleft of all fifli,” lays Blocli, “and tlie only one of 
wJiicli man can make no ufe.” They are found in the Bal¬ 
tic and North .Sea, and in all lakes and liavens which com. 
municate with tlie fea ; but are rarely caught, as on ac- 
count of their diminutive lize they efcape through the 
mcllies of tlie nets : in the Seine they are found, accord, 
ing to Noel, higher up than Qiiilleboeuf. But, when 
taken among other fifh, the filheniien generally tlirow 
them back as ufelefs. According to Falck, they ap- 
pear in fhoals in all the frefh waters of Ruliia and 'Sibe. 
ria. The heart is triangular, and hardly lb large as a 
grain of hemp-feed ; but the liver is large, confifting of 
three lobes, one of which is fo long that it reaches to 
3 Z th& 
