Handbook of the marine and freshwater fishes of the British Islands : (including an enumeration of every species) . ed solely by the screw-like undulations of thesoft-dorsal and anal fins. FAMILY XIII.—The Dory Tribe {Cyttidce). Body elevated, greatly compressed; naked, or coveredwith small scales or bucklers ; teeth, small, conical ; no bonystay to the pre-operculum ; the dorsal fin composed of adistinct, soft and spinous portion ; branchiostegal rays sevenor eight in number. This small marine group contains less than a dozenexisting species, referable to the two genera Zeiis and OF THE BRITI
Handbook of the marine and freshwater fishes of the British Islands : (including an enumeration of every species) . ed solely by the screw-like undulations of thesoft-dorsal and anal fins. FAMILY XIII.—The Dory Tribe {Cyttidce). Body elevated, greatly compressed; naked, or coveredwith small scales or bucklers ; teeth, small, conical ; no bonystay to the pre-operculum ; the dorsal fin composed of adistinct, soft and spinous portion ; branchiostegal rays sevenor eight in number. This small marine group contains less than a dozenexisting species, referable to the two genera Zeiis and OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 39 Cyttits, and of which but one form, the well-known JohnDory {Zeus faber), No. 52, is an inhabitant of Britishwaters. Its popular name is apparently a corruption ofthe French Jaune Doree, significant of its typical hueof golden-yellow. The large, dark circular spot, with asurrounding lighter annulus developed immediately behindthe pectoral fin, gave rise in earlier days to the tradi-tion that this fish represented the species from which obtained the tribute-money, the spot on each side. FIG. 9.—JOHN DORY [Zeus faber). being regarded as inherited marks left by the Apostlesfinger and thumb when capturing the fish. Unfortunatelyfor the tradition the Dory is not an inhabitant of LakeGennesaret whence the fish was taken, while a like distinc-tive mark is common to numerous marine and freshwaterspecies. The high reputation enjoyed by the Dory as atable delicacy will be found duly chronicled in the hand-books treating of fish as food. The habits of the speciesas observed by the writer, of several examples successfullyintroduced into the tanks of the Brighton Aquarium, are 40 MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISHES highly interesting. The manner in which the Dory swims,by the rapid undulation of the soft dorsal and anal finsonly, referred to in the account given of the Boar-fish, wasrecorded by the writer so long since as the year 1873,* theonly species of which a very
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectfisheries, booksubjectfishes, bookyea
