OCR Text |
Show 254 PISCES. , J secon d dI. S k b Ym eans of the membrane which unites the pectorals. Several species inhabit the seas of Europe. , In some, th e dorsal and anal are separate. d from th.e caudal, w1th whi· ch, h owever, their membrane is sometimes contmuous, but be. comes narrowet·.( 1) In others, the three fins are united. (2) In the GoniEsox, Lacep. Th none of these double borders, and consequently the in. ere are d' 'd d . terva1 b e t ween the Pectorals and ventrals is not. 1v1 e mt.o a dou. ble disk, forming but a single large one cleft on the two s1des, and extending itself there by membranes. The dorsal and anal are short and separate from the caudal, and the branchial openings much larger.(3) CYCLOPTERus, Lin. This genus is well marked by the ventrals, whose rays, suspended round the pelVis, and united by a single membrane, form. an oval and concave disk, used by the fish as a sucker to attach Itself to rocks. The mouth is wide, and its jaws and pharyngeals furnished 'th small and pointed teeth; opercula small; branchia! closed be· Wl , , low, and provided with six rays; pectorals very large, and umtmg almost beneath the throat, as if to embrace the disk of the ventrals. The skeleton hardens but little, and the skin is viscous, without scales, but studded with indurated granules. There is a large s1o· mach with numerous c~ca, a long intestine and a moderate natatory bladder. We divide it into two subgenera. I l LuMPus, Cuv. The first dorsal more or less visible, although very low, and with simple rays; a second with branched rays opposite to the anal; the body is thicker. Cyclopterus lumpus, L.; BI., 90. (The Lumpsucker.) T~e first dorsal so enveloped in a thick and tubercular skin, that It (1) Lepadog. gouan, Lacep., I, xxiii, 3, 4, or Lep. rostratus, Schn.;-Lep. ba!' ltisso, pl. iv, f. 9, probably the same as the Cyclopt. cornubicus, Sh., orJuratu ' Penn. llrit. Zool., No. 59;-Lep. Decandolle., Uisso, p. 76. (2) Lepadogaster Wildenow, Risso, p. 76. 0 11 . (3) Lepadogaster deutex, Schn., Pall., Spic., VIIT, l, the same as the yc/op rw nudus, Lin., Mus. Ad. Fred., XXVII, 1, and as the Gobi~soce testar, La~: II, xix, 1;-Cyclopterus bimaculatu~, Penn., Brit. Zool., pl. xxu, f. 1;-Cyclop littoreus, Schn., 199. MALACOPTERYGII SUBRACHIAT I. 255 bas the appearance, externally, of being a simple dorsal hump; there are three ranges of thick conical tubercles on each side of it. It feeds on Mcdusre and other gelatinous animals, particularly in the North. Its flesh is soft and insipid; heavy and with scarcely any means of defence, it becomes the prey of the Seal, Shark, &c. The male is said to keep careful watch over the fecundated eggs.(}) '1 f 1 LIPARis, Arted. I I c A single dorsal which, as well as the anal, is rather long; the body smooth, elongated, and compressed behind. Cycl. liparis, L.; Bl., 123, 3, 4. Inhabits the coast of France.(2) a'H .I EcHENEis, Lin. 't ' • I J I This genus, as well as that of Pleuronectes, might form a particular family in the order of the Malacopterygii Subrachiati. The fishes ofwhich it consists are remarkable for a flattened disk placed upon their head, composed of a certain number of transverse, cartilaginous laminre, directed obliquely backwards, dentated ot· spiny on their posterior edge, and movable, so that by creating a vacuum between them, or by hooking on to various bodies by means of the spines, they are enabled to attach themselves firmly thereto, a circumstance which gave rise to the fabulous saying, that the Remot·a possessed the power of suddenly stopping a vessel in the middle of its swiftest course. Their body is elongated and covered with small scales; there is a small soft dorsal opposite to the anal; the top of the head is perfectly flat; the eyes are on the sides; the mouth cleft horizontally and rounded; the lower jaw projects beyond the other and is furnished, as are the intermaxillades, with small teeth resembling those of a card; a ve1·y regular range of delicate teeth, that may be compared to cilia, runs along the edge of the maxillaries, which form the external border of the upper jaw; the anterior edge of the (1) The Cyclopterus pavonius is a mere variety of age of the vulgaris. The Cyclop. gibbosu.9, Will., V, 10, f. 2, appears to be the vulgaris badly stuffed. Add the Cyclop. spinosus, Schn., 46;-Cyclop. minutus, Pall., Spic., VII, iii, 7, 8, 9;Cyclop. ventricosus, Id., lb., II, 1, 2, 3 ?-Gobius minutus, Dan. Zool., CLIV, B. (~)It is the same as the Gobioi'de smyrnecn; Lacep., Nov. Com. Petrop., IX, pl. IX, f. 4 and 6, and pl·obably as the Cyclop. souris, Lacep., IV, xv, 3, and perhaps as the pretended Gobius, Dan. Zool., CXXXIV ;-Add Cyclop. montagui, Wern. Soc., I, v, 1;-Cyclop. gelatinosus, :Pall., Spic., VIr, iii, 1;-Gobius, Dan. Zoo!., CLlV, A. I JfO ' , 1 \ |