The natural history of fishes, amphibians, & reptiles, or monocardian animals . nes: some slender teeth, with their tips emarginate,are on the intermaxillaries and the lower jaw ; whilethere is a long band of other teeth, small, and crowded,upon the tongue and under the vomer : the stomach islike a rounded sack, followed by two caeca; and there isa long and slender intestine almost always enveloped inmuch fat. Among these fishes, thus generally charac-terised, there appear several remarkable most singular are those which have the muzzle longand cylindrical [Scrophicephaluslongip
The natural history of fishes, amphibians, & reptiles, or monocardian animals . nes: some slender teeth, with their tips emarginate,are on the intermaxillaries and the lower jaw ; whilethere is a long band of other teeth, small, and crowded,upon the tongue and under the vomer : the stomach islike a rounded sack, followed by two caeca; and there isa long and slender intestine almost always enveloped inmuch fat. Among these fishes, thus generally charac-terised, there appear several remarkable most singular are those which have the muzzle longand cylindrical [Scrophicephaluslongipinnis Sw.,fig. 70.);but among these some have the dorsal fin short, whilein others it is lengthened. Another sub-division hasthe muzzle short and rounded; while in a fourth thereis a gibbous projection on the upper part of the muz-zle, which extends beyond the mouth. The resem-blance which the long-snouted or typical species bear x 3 310 CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES. to the genus Centriscus is so great, that Schneider hasactually called one of them Centriscus Niloticus ; so that. -^ this resemblance being admitted, and the situation of thewhole group intimated by the authorities we have cited,we may feel some degree of confidence in the station nowassigned to these fishes. The resemblance of the Mor-myrincB to Centriscus,FistularidySyngnathus^omphosis,and all other long-snouted fishes, is too obvious to be ex-patiated upon; while no question can remain that thisresemblance is one of analogy, and not of affinity, sinceCuvier and most other ichthyologists agree in placingMormyrus close to the pikes and carps. Whether thesingular genus Diplopterus Gray enters among these,or forms a part of the Esocince, is an interesting but aninferior question : we are now dealing with large assem-blages ; and if these are once determined, the more mi-nute details and relations can be subsequently workedout. CHAP. X. ON THE , OR FLAT FISH, AND THE GADID^,OR CODS. (259.) The Pleuronect
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