590 
P E R C A. 
iides, it is a creature vaftly tenacious of life, and will live 
twenty or thirty minutes out of water, without receiving 
much damage. Phil. Tranf. N°478.—This little fifh is 
fhown at Plate III. fig. 11. 
66. Perea acerina, the great ruffe: ^ rays in the dor¬ 
fal fin ; in the pe&orals 25, ventrals •§■, anal A, tail 17 ; 
but the fpecific charafter is not certain, for Cepede and 
fome others give 4 j-§ rays to the dorfal fin. In figure, co¬ 
lour, and habits, this refeinbles the ruffe ;but the head is 
longer, and has feveral indentions; jaws equal. Found 
in the Euxine, or Black Sea, and during fuinmer in the 
great rivers which run into it. 
67. Perea nigra, the Corniffi perch, or black-fifli : body 
black, narrow, with fmall thin feales. This inhabits 
Cornwall; it is a very indiftinft fpecies ; length 15 inches. 
The teeth and feales are fmall; dents in the head ; jaws 
equal; noftrils large, double. 
68. Perea harpes, the fickle-finned perch : very long 
and ftrong jagged teeth in the front and at the articula¬ 
tion of both jaws, with fmall comprefl’ed triangular 
teeth in the upper jaw between the large ones in the front 
and thofe in the corners; dorlal and anal fins very large, 
and fickle-fliaped ; the anal growing round a large fleffiy 
triangular fcaly procefs ; caudal convex in the middle, 
and extended on each fide into .1 very long fickle ; a com- 
prefled triangular barbie on each fide near the joining: of 
the lips. Eight rays in the membrane of the gills, in 
the dorfal fin, 10 in each peftoral, 6 in each ventral, 
in the anal, and 15111 the tail. This fiff), which is re- 
prefented in the paintings on vellum (copied from Plu¬ 
nder's MSS.) in the National Mufeum at Paris, is intro¬ 
duced by Cepede as a new genus, Harpe, which figni- 
fies a fickle, from the fiiape of the fins. It is a beautiful 
fpecies; its broad Alining feales refledf the brighteft tints 
of gold and fapphire-blue. The gold colour prevails on 
the lips, the irides, the fides, the under part of the body 
and tail, top of the dorfal fin, and upon the forks or fic- 
kles of that fin, the ventrals, anal, and tail ; the reff of 
the furface is azure varied and enlivened by the golden 
tints. Noftrils fingle ; head and two-thirds of the oper- 
cula naked, but there are feveral rows of feales on the 
bale of the dorfal fin ; the tail is wideft where it joins 
the fin. 
69. Perea fchraetfer, the bald-head : black ftripes along 
the body; no feales on the head. The membrane of the 
gills has 6 rays, the peftoral fins 14, the ventrals £, the 
anal the tail 15, the dorfal The body is long; 
the head fmooth, and of an oblong fiiape ; there is a dent 
in the upper part, and it is fprinkled with black dots. 
The jaws are armed with file-lhaped teeth; the palate is 
rough alfo, but the tongue is fmooth. The lips are 
fldhy ; the noftrils are double, and near the eyes: thefe 
have a nictating membrane, blue pupil, and yellow iris. 
The anterior operculum is ferrated, the divifions Hand¬ 
ing at a diffance from each other; and underneath lies 
the fingle gill. The feales on the bread are very fmall 
and fmooth, covering the bafe of the pe6foral fins; the 
feales on the body are larger, hard, and ferrated, forming 
a furrow on the back to receive the dorfal fin. The black 
ftripes are ufually three in number, running from head to 
tail, and appearon the (kin when the feales are removed. 
The anus is nearer the tail than the head, though at 
fome diliance from the anal fin. The back and lides are 
yellouilh ; the belly filvery ; the fins bluifii, with black 
fpots on the front part of the dorfal. This fpecies is 
found in the Danube and the rivers which run into it; it 
is probably by miftake that Bonaterra places it in the feas 
of the fouth inftead of the rivers, for it has never been 
deferibed or confidered as a fea-fifii. It grows about ten 
inches long ; the fleth is white, firm, wholefome, and 
well-tafted. It feeds on young fry and aq'uatic infeffs, 
which are often found in its ftomach. It fpawns in 
March and April; it is a hardy fifh, feeks clear ftreams, 
and is fometimes carried by inundations into the lakes, 
where it thrives equally well. The ovary is fingle, but 
the feed-veflels are double ; the air-bladder is long, and 
fattened on each fide to the ribs. The ribs are eight on 
each fide ; the vertebrae 39 in number. The ovary of a 
fingle fifh contains about 120,000 yellow eggs of the fize 
of a grain of millet. 
70. Perea argentea, the white perch : Ihining white, 
with a black fpot on the fpinous part of the dorfal fin ; 
noftrils tubular. In the dorfal fin if rays, peftorals 12, 
ventrals •£, anal ft, caudal 17. Inhabits America ; ante¬ 
rior part of the back carinated. 
71. Perea cabrilla, the red-ftriped perch : four longitu¬ 
dinal blood-red ftripes on the body. In the dorfal fin 
rays, 16 in the pedlorals, £ in the ventrals, ft in the 
anal, 17 in the tail. Inhabits the Mediterranean. Sharp 
teeth, fmaller than the reft, in the middle of the jaws ; 
fides of the head red ; a filament fometimes behind each 
dorfal fin. 
( 3 . It varies with yellow and violet fpots; 14 rays in 
the pedloral fins, and 16 in the anal. 
72. Perea radula, the fcraper-perch : feales crenulate ; 
white dots difpofed in lines on the body. In the mem¬ 
brane of the gills 7 raySj dorfal fin‘-§-£, in the pe&orals 12, 
i in the ventrals, -jSy in the anal, and 17 in the tail. In¬ 
habits India; the dorfal fin is very long 5 no fpots on the 
body. 
73. Perea formofa, the fquirrel-fifh : alternate yellow 
and blue longitudinal ftripes on the head. There are 5 
rays in the membrane of the gills, 16 in the pectoral fins, 
■a in the ventrals, ft in the anal, 17 in the tail, and in 
the dorfal. The head Hopes but little, and is all over 
feales ; the mouth is large, the tongue broad, loofe, and 
flippery ; there is a hairy membrane on the palate. The 
jaws are of equal length, with one row of (harp teeth, 
which are crooked or bent ; thofp in the upper jaw fome- 
what largeft. The noftrils are double, and near the eyes. 
The front operculum is fomewhat ferrated, the hinder 
one fmooth; the aperture of the gills is large, the mem¬ 
brane almoft concealed. The body is broad; the back 
round ; the ventral cavity is long, and the anus is nearer 
the tail than the head. The feales are blue edged with 
yellow, hard and ferrated. The fins are yellow-tawny, 
lpines of the dorfal blue; the anal, being covered with 
feales like the Chtetodons, is fluff; the dorlal and tail fins 
are partly covered with feales ; tail lunate. This fpecies 
is.found in the Eaft Indies and in the Atlantic Ocean ; 
Catefby found it in the Bahama Illes, Dr. Ifertin the Ifle 
of St. Croix, and Renard at the Moluccas. This is a 
large fpecies; and is reprefented on the fame Plate at 
fig. 12. 
' 74. Perea facer, the rofe-coloured perch : body rofe- 
coioured; fecond ray of the dorfal fin very long. This 
is added by Dr. Turton from the Naturalift’s'Mifcellany, 
371. It inhabits the Mediterranean, and is about a foot 
long; the hinder gill-cover ends in a fpine ; tail lunate. 
75. Perea lunulata, the reddifh perch : colour reddifh ; 
a black lunular fpot at the bafe of the tail-fin. In the 
dorfal fin -§§ rays, in the pedlorals 16, ventrals 7, anal 
caudal 17. This and the two following are deferibed by 
Mungo Park in the Linn. Tranf. iii. 35. It inhabits Su¬ 
matra. .Crown convex, naked ; jaws equal; teeth conic, 
a little curved, the canine ones in the upper jaw ftronger ; 
ventral fins golden, the reft reddifli. This delicate fpe¬ 
cies is delineated at fig. 13. 
76. Perea aurata, the yellow-ftriped perch : colour 
whitifh, with a longitudinal yellow ftripe. In the dorfal 
finrays, pe< 5 !orals 18, ventrals 6, analog, caudal 18. 
This alfo inhabits Sumatra. The eyes are large, iris yel¬ 
low ; under the eye a fingle reflefted fpine. Anterior 
gill-covers toothed behind, the pofterior nearly entire; 
lateral line nearer the back, a little curved on the hind- 
part; peftoral fins pale yellow; tail gold-yellow, the reft 
whitilh-brown. 
77. Perea Sumatrenfis, the Sumatra perch: body dark 
filvery; fins'longitudinally ftriate. In the dorfal fin 
rays, peflorals 14, ventrals 6, anal ft, tail 18. Inhabits in 
flioals 
