Natural-Historical Collections. 994 
seas of Europe, of the Indies, and in the Pacific Ocean, It is most common, 
however, in warm latitudes ; but it appears altogether to be displaced in the seas 
of the Molluccas and New Guinea, by the black-finned shark, (Sq. melapierus, ) 
whilst the scyllii, musteli, notidant, pristes, &c. frequent both our coasts and those 
of America, as do also the zygene and squatine.. There is one genus which 
does not seem to move from the shores of Australasia, and the only species it con- 
tains (cestracion philippi) never attains a large size, and is rare even there. 
The rays (raiz) are found in all seas. Their forms are varied, but seldom very 
characterestic ; the Mediterranean furnishes a great number of species ; our coasts 
possess many, and especially the torpedo, (raia torpedo, ) which is represented 
on the coasts of Brazil, by the electrical ray of Schneider. By no means remark- 
able in their colouts, these species have almost universally a sombre brown tint. 
However the raia thowin of the coast of Peru, is striking from its two marked 
colonrs, and the irygon of the seas of the Molluccas presents beautiful citrine 
tints, spotted with azure. It is principally in the Mediterranean that the sea 
eagles ( myliobatis aquila, ) and the cephaloptera giorna are found ; in the Atlantic 
Ocean of the United States, we remark the great vampyre ray of Dr Mitchell, 
and in the south seas we have frequently observed shoals of rays of an immea- 
surable size, which we know not to what species to refer. As to the two species 
of chimera which compose the genus, one (C. monstrosa, ) inhabits the cold la- 
titudes of the north of Europe, and the other, actually particularized by the de- 
nomination callorynchus Australis is continually caught at Chili,;Dieman’s Land, 
and the Cape of Good Hope, never passing out of southern latitudes. Amongst 
the Sturiones, the common sturgeon of all Europe ( acipenser sturio ) is the object 
of an immense fishery in Russia, whilst two species live in fresh water. The 
spatularia reticulata is found only in the Mississipi. 
The osseous fishes, of which innumerable legions are spread throughout all 
waters, differ from each other to infinity. One may group them into genera, 
which are sometimes numerous in species, whilst under other circumstances they 
contain very few, and are even sometimes unique. But those singular families 
diodon and tetraodon seen to be proper to warm climates. They appear to exist 
upon the coasts of all inter-tropical countries, and to pass their lives especially 
with the dalistes, amongst the reefs of coral. At the isles of Teneriffe, however, 
we meet with the tetracdon lineatus, so abundant in the Red Sea; and it is only 
in the seas of the Isle of France, that we have observed the remarkable species 
which forms the new genus triodon. The balistes, vacillating and irrresolute 
in their movements, people in brilliant swarms all the warm seas, and especially 
those surrounding the islands under the equator. However, the Mediterranean 
nourishes many species, and even those which inhabit those seas, are remarkable 
from the colour of their clothing. Nature has particularly lavished on the ba- 
fistes all kinds of embellishments, and the manner in which their bodies are orna~ 
mented, is as varied as admirable. They principally live in the numerous chan- 
nels of the small islands which are encompassed by Taiti and Barabora, New 
ireland, the reefs of Waigiou, of New Guinea, and the volcanic shores of St He- 
lena and Ascension. In the European seas is found that singular fish, named 
the sun fish, (¢etraodon mola, ) whose orbicular form arid posterior truncation 
is as ecoentric as it is ungraceful. 
The monocanthi, aluteres, and ostraciones are all fishes of the coral seas; and 
their species are the more numerous, as their localities approximate the line. Thus 
from 5° N. lat. to 5° S. lat. the ostraciones, like the spinous balistes, are exces- 
sively varied. 
The fishes whose branchiz are disposed in a tufted form, the lophobranchii, 
are not numerous. ‘The pike-fish (syngnathi ) are found in all warm or tempe- 
rate seas. Amongst the hippocampi, the h. communis lives on the coasts of 
Hurope; the h. feliatus inhabits only the shores of New Holland; the h. ab- 
dominalis, north of New Zealand.; the solenostomus, and the pegasus, in the In- 
dian Ocean. 
The numerous family of Salmonides peoples the fresh waters of our European 
