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Show ;piSCES, h f th lower 1· aw which are raised yertically and provided branc es Q e · · ' . . . f transparent pointed teeth, formmg a kmd of saw w1th a range o ' 1 d hen the mouth is shut, by those of the upper one. are enc ose , w . . T· here 1• s a1 s o a small series of p. oin·t.e d teeth m each palatme., aucl two m· t h e yo mer · Their stomach 1s fleshy and doubled, theu ere- . · umerous and their intestine long. The resophagus is fur-cums n . , ·u nished inter.nally with h~rd and pointed papl ::e. · Tetrag. Cuvieri, Risso; Cou.rpata or Corbea~, of the Mediter, ranean coast, is the only spec1es known, and ~s never taken exce ·tin very deep water. It is a foot long, and black; the scales h!rd, deeply str~ate anq indented. The f,lesh is said to be poi-sonous.( I) I also place a genus between the Mugiloides and the Gobioides, which does not completely harmoniz~ with any other, ~mean ~h~ ATHERINA, Lin. The body elong.~ted; two dorsals widely separated; the ventrals fur. the.r hac~ than the pectorals; the mouth highly protractile and fur· '!lished with very minute teeth; a broad silvery band along each flank ~m all the ~mown species, There are si~ rays in the branchire; the stomach has no cul-de-sac, and their duodenum no c.::ecal appendages, The transverse processes of the last abdominal vertebr::e are bent, and thus form a little conical bag or cornet, which receives the point of tl;le na.tatQry bladder. These little fishes are highly esteemed for the 9,elicacy of their flesh. The young ot),es remain for a long time in cr_owded troops, and are con~umed on the coast of the Mediterranean upder the 11ame of Nonnat, the .liphyes of the ancients. Several species inhabit f.uropean ~ea~, hithe~·to .confounded with the .Bth, h.epset.'l/-8, ~.,.. .!Jt/1,. hepsetus, Cuv. ;(2) Sauclet qfLang\ledoc, or Cabassoua of Provence; Rondel., 216; Duham., sect. VI, pl. iv, f. 3. The head somewhat pointed; nine spinous rays in the first dorsal; eleven soft ones in the second, and twelve in the anal; fifty-five vertebrre in all. lith. Boyer, Risso; Joel or Cabpssouda, Ronde!., 217. The (~) Tpere i~ no goqd figure of it: Mugil niger, Rondel. 423; Corvus nilotiCUI, Aldrov.1 Pisc., 610; Risso, Ed. I, pl. x, f. 37. (2) This is probably the special type of the hepsetus of Linnreus. It is neces· sal! to observe that the fi~ure call~d .B.therina hepaetus, Bl., pl. ccc:xciii, f. 3, and Syst., pl. xxix, f. 2, is purely ideal. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 173 bead bro.ader and shorter, the eye larger; seven spines in the first dorsal, eleven rays in the second, thirteen in the anal; forty-four vertebr::e in all. .R.th. mochon, Cuv. The form of the Sauclet; but there are seven spines in the fjrst dorsal, fifteen soft rays in the anal, and forty-six vertebr::e. · .R.th. presbyter, Cuv.; the Pretre, /lbusseau, Stc.;(l) Dubam, Sect. VI, pl. iv, f. l, 2., 3, 4, 6, 7. The muzzle a little shorteP than that of the Sauclet; eight spines in the first dorsal, twelve soft rays in the second, fifteen or sixteen in the anal, and fifty vertebr::e. The Atherin::e foreign tp Europe .are numero11s.(2) FAMILY XII. GOBIOIDES. The Gobioides are known by the length and tenuity of the dorsal spines. All these fishes have about the same kind of intestines, that is, a l~rge uniform intestinal canal without creca, and no nata tory bladder. BLENNius, Lin. A strongly marked chat•acter in the ventral fins, which are placed before the pectorals and consist of only two rays. The stomach is slender and has no cul-de-sac, the intestine large but without a crecum, and there is no natatory bladder. The body is elongated and compressed, and has but a single dorsal almost entirely composed of simple but flexible rays. They live in small troops among the rocks on the coast, leaping and playing, and are capable of living without water for some time. A slimy mucus is smeared over their skin, to which they owe their Greek name of Blennius. Several are viviparous, and there is a tubercle near the anus of all of them (1) So called from the silvery band ou the flanks, which has been compared to a stole. (2) .llther. lacurwsa, Forst., Bl., Schn., 112, probably the hepaetua, Forsk., 69;JJ.. tndrachtensia, Quoy and Gaym., Freycin., Zool., p. 334;-.9.. Jacksoniana, Id. 333;-.11.. lrrasilienaia, Id. 332;-.9.. neao-galica, Cuv., Lacep. V, pl. xi, f. 1, which is not the same as the .n.. pinguia of the text.-.9.. mamidia of Lin., which i~ not as he s~pposes the mamidia of Brown, Jam. pl. xlv, f. 3, but is the .n.. notata, Mitch. op. ~~t. I, pl. iv, f. 6; and several others to be described in our lcthyology. \ |