136 GYM 
late, pointed, fiat, entire, fcatteredj capfule oblong, 
truncate. 
4. Gymnoftomum obtufum : leaves oblong, lanceo¬ 
late, pointed, entire, a little concave and ereft ; capfule 
ovate-oblong, with a fubulate lid. 
5. Gymnoltomum ovatum : leaves ovate, obtufe with 
a point, entire, concave, connivent; capfule ovate. 
6. Gymnoftomum ofmundacfum : Item naked at the 
Tbafe; leaves lanceolate, entire, two-rowed; capfule 
jroundifti; lid without point. 
7. Gymnoftomum Gryffithianum: leaves fpatulate, 
very obtufe, a little fleftiy ; capfule obovate ; lid with¬ 
out point; peduncle thickened upwards, a little curved. 
8. Gymnoftomumaeruginofum: ftem,branched; leaves 
fubulate, imbricate, carinate, entire; capfule campanu- 
late. 
9. Gymnoftomum luteolum : ftem branched ; leaves 
lanceolate, carinate, concave; capfule oblong ; lid he- 
mifphaerical, with a ftiort point. 
10. Gymnoftomum curviroftrum : ftem branched ; 
leaves fubulate, carinate, recurved ; capfule elliptic, 
with a fubulate curved lid. 
11. Gymnoftomum ftelligerum: ftem branched; leaves 
linear, fpread ; upper ones ftellate; capfule hemifphse- 
rical; lid oblique ; peduncle twifted. 
12. Gymnoftomum microftomum : leaves linear, 
fpreading, curled when dry ; capfule contracted at the 
mouth ; lid with a fubinclined beak. 
13.. Gymnoftomum fafciculare : leaves ovate-lanceo¬ 
late, acute, minutely ferrate ; capfules pear-fliaped, 
with a convex naked lid. 
14. Gymnoftomum pyriforsne: leaves ovate, acute, 
concave, fpread ; capfules pear-lhaped; lid obtufely 
pointed. 
13. Gymnoftomum lapponicum : ftem branched : 
leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, carinate, fpread; cap¬ 
fule truncate, becoming ftriate. 
16. Gymnoftomum ciliatum : ftem much branched; 
leaves imbricate, ovate, acute, entire, diaphanous at 
Sop ; capfules feflile, globular. 
17. Gymnoftomum Hiemii: leaves broad-lanceolate, 
pointed, denticulate at top; capfule cylindrical; lid 
with an oblique beak. 
GYMNOTH'ORAX, the B a re-b reAst, / A genus 
of fifties introduced by fome late ichthyologifts, the fpe- 
cies of which are incorporated with the Murtena. 
GYMNO'TUS, f. [yu/a,yo)os, Gr. bare-back. ] In ich¬ 
thyology, a genus of fifties of the order apodes. The 
generic character is, back fmooth, and without any fin. 
The body is narrow, long, and thin, fomewhat like the 
blade ofta carving-knife. The head is fmall, and with¬ 
out fcales; and the teeth are very minute. The eyes 
are fmall, round, and furnilhed with a membrane formed 
from the common tegument. The membrane of the gills 
is fuftained by five rays; the covert is round, fmooth, 
and of one piece." The lateral line is ftraight; the anus 
narrow, and near tlie head; becaufe the body properly 
fo called is very ftiort, and the tail very long. The pec¬ 
toral fins are fmall ; the anal narrow and long; in fome 
the tail-fin joins to the anal. There are two tentacula 
or feelers projedting from the upper lip. The fifties of 
this genus are found in America, confequently were un¬ 
known to the writers in remote antiquity. Richer, in 
71, was thefirft who defcribed the elettrical eel, which' 
is the mod lingular and curious of this genus. 
1. Gymnotus carapo, the long-tailed carapo. The 
protrnlion ot the upper jaw and the length of the tail 
form the fpecific character'. There are 5 rays in the 
membrane of the gills, 10 in the pedtoral fin, and 230 
in the anal. The head is comprefted on the Tides; the 
tongue is ftiort, thick, broad, and armed with Iharp 
teeth, as well as the jaws. The eyes are very fmall, 
with a black pupil and filvery iris. There are little 
boles all over the body^, but principally about the eyes, 
G Y M 
for letting out a vifeous matter. The gill-eovert eon- 
fifts of one large piece and a fmall one; the rays which 
fuftain the membrane are broad and curved. The late¬ 
ral line goes ftraight from the gills to the tail. The 
back is round, and of a black colour; the fides and belly 
are of a reddifti brown, interfperfed with brown fpots. 
The tail diminilhes to a point. The peftoral fins are 
ftiort, the anal very long, for it begins not far from the 
head, juft below the anus in the males, but beyond the 
belly in the females: the three fins are all brown, with Am¬ 
ple rays. See the Plate, fig. 2. This fpecies is found in 
America, efpecially at Brafil and Surinam, in frefti water. 
Marcgrave deferibes it as being a foot long, but they are 
fometimes as long as three feet, and of ten pounds weight. 
Tlie mouth being fo well armed (hews it to be of the 
voracious kind ; yet, as the aperture of its mouth is but 
fmall, it can only attack fmall fifh and young crabs, the 
ftiells and bones of which have been found in the fto- 
mach. It is fat, and probably good food. 
2. Gymnotus fafeiatus, the ihort-tailed carapo. Spe¬ 
cific chara&er, a ftiort tail, and the lower jaw the longeft. 
Several authors have regarded this and the preceding as 
one fpecies; but by comparing the deferiptions, it will 
be found that they differ very materially and fpecifically. 
There are 5 rays in the membrane of the gills, 13 in the 
peftoral fin, and 193 in the anal. The head is fmall, 
compreffed above and below ; the jaws are armed with 
fmall teeth. The gill-covert is in two fmall plates; the 
aperture is fmall. The body is covered with foft fcales; 
there is a furrow from the nape of the neck to the mid¬ 
dle of the back. The ground colour of this fifh is light 
yellow, upon which are a number of ftripes, which in 
fome are brown, in others reddifti, and fometimes white. 
This fpecies haunts the fame places as the preceding ; 
it is not fuppofed to grow fo large ; but is better eating, 
according to Marcgrave and Pifo. 
3. Gymnotus albus, the white gymnotus. Specific 
character, the upper lip divided, the lower jaw the 
longeft. The peftoral fins have 13 rays each, the anal 
180. This bears much fimilarity with the preceding; 
but it is entirely white, in general without any fpot 
whatever, and the back is raifed up or convex, fo that 
the fifh upon the whole is thicker. There is a kind of 
lobe on each fide of the upper lip. 
4. Gymnotus eleftricus, the ele&rical eel. Specific 
character, the tail blunt or rounded at the end, and its 
fin joined to the anal. The body is long, fmoobh, co¬ 
vered with a mucilage, and moftly of a black colour, 
with lighter fpots. Some are of a reddifti copper colour; 
and thefe have a ftronger eleftric power than the others. 
The head is ftiort, rather broader than the body, and 
flatted above and below. The aperture of the mouth is 
wide; the lips thick and moveable; the upper jaw 
fomewhat tlie longeft, and armed with a great many lit¬ 
tle (harp teeth ; the tongue is.broad, and full of inequa¬ 
lities or warts, as is the palate likewife; there are four 
fmall foramina near the edge of the upper jaw. The 
eyes, which are on the upper, furface of the head, are 
very fmall ; pupil black, iris yellow ; and have a mem¬ 
brane to defend them from accidents. There are fmall 
capillary apertures all over the body, which exclude-a 
thick mucus, ferving the animal inftead of fcales, and 
defending the body from wounds. The apertures of the 
gills are narrow, in an oblique direction, and clofe to 
the pedtoral fins. The ventral cavity is ftiort; tlie anus 
is clofe under the chin. The lateral fine is double, one 
part along the back, the other near the anal fin. The 
"pefloral fins are fmall, the anal long, the tail obtufe; 
the rays-of all the fins are flexible and Angle, but their 
number cannot be exadlly afeertained on account of the 
thicknefs of the membrane wliich covers them. See the 
Plate,, fig. 1. 
This extraordinary fifti is found in the waters of Gui¬ 
nea, Surinam, Cayenne, Peru, on the fhores of the river 
4 Senegal 
