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of Eels; but tbey are too indistinctly described to admit of their accurate determination:
two of them are Anguilla, Tliimb., that termed Pohioha, being pale ash-coloured, and
the Oilo, being of a dark ash : of the remaining two, which are referable to the genus
Murana, Thiinb., one has •' the snout depressed, and the crown of the head elevated;
the body variegated with brown; the anterior teeth acute, and the posterior rounded”—L.;
the other, named Puhiiianae, is said, “ when pursued, to conceal its tail in a crevice
of the coral rocks, where it defends itself with great fierceness, innioting severe wounds
with its sharp recurved teeth.”—L. Of the anatomy of a species of Tetrodon, L., which
was “ brown, spotted with white, and fenced with small bony obtuse spines”—L., the
following particulars are g iven: “ The kidneys are large, resembling lungs in their
situation, and liver in their structure; they are plentifully supplied with blood, by large
branches from arteries which pass through them and unite ju s t below. On dissecting
off the sound, which is placed upon the kidneys, a number of vesicles were observed
attaching the sound to these organs. The connecting vesicles resemble the lungs of
birds, aud were probably the parts which led Dr. Garden into tbe mistake of ascribing
to these parts the function of Imigs, and into the consequent error of referring the fishes
in which they were detected to the Linnean order Nantes. Analogy suggests that the
office to which they are applied in the animal economy, is the secretion of air from the
blood. The liver has one principal lobe, of an oblong form, large, of a yellow colour
above, and deep green bene ath; the hepatic ducts unite near the centre into one, by
which the bile is conveyed to the intestine; and at the point of union of the ducts is
suspended, by a tube one-third of an inch in length, the globular gall-bladder : in other
words, the hepatic duct divides into two branches, one of which terminates in the alimentary
canal, and the other in the gall-bladder. The intestines are large.”—L. Two
species of Monacantiius, Cuv., were observed, one of which, the Oilcho, was “ gilded
brown, with pale-brown fins, the edge alone of the caudal flu being pale-brown: it was
furnished with a swimming bladder; had large male organs of generation; and a long
intestinal canal, in which the stomach appeared merely as an enlargement of the intestine.”—
L . The other Monacaidhus, designated as Owiioi, is a new species, of which a
specimen was brought home : it is described on a subsequent page, and a figure accompanies
the description. There were also brought home, from the same locality, the head,
fins, and tail of the Zygana Tudes, Val.
On leaving Oahu, the course of tbe vessel was northwards ; and wliile sailing, but few
fishes were met with. Among them was a small Exocatus, regarded by Mr. Collie as
distinct from those of the Atlantic Ocean, principally on account of a broad translucent
band in its pectoral fins; but it is probable that it was merely the young of the Ex.
mesogasier, Bi. A t the time when this fish was found on board, an extensive shoal of
small Bonitos were around the ship. A few days subsequently was obtained a fish
designated as an Albicore, the falciform pectoral fins of which extended to opposite the
anal fin; on this account it may very probably be referred to the genus Orcynus, Cuv.
" The upper edge of this fin, which is about a line in thickness, corresponds, when it is
lying along the side, to a similar rise above it in the side of the fish, so that there is a
F I S H E S .
uniform surface without any interruption. Its air-bladder tapered towards the anus,
and enlarged towards the thorax, terminating anteriorly in a rounded bifid extremit^y,
rising up on each side of the vertebral column, and reaching to within 2 | mches of the
back - No other part of the air-bladder was within 3 inches of the back. Th e anterior
part of the air-bladder, opposite to the ventral fins, was 3 inches distant from tbe lower
part of the belly. The air-bladder contained about seven cubic inches oi air. The
depth o f the fish at the ventral fins was 8 inches.”—C.
At Avatscha Bay, in Kamtschatka, many species of fishes were obtained, for the
notes respecüng which we are chiefly indebted to Mr. Collie. They included several
new species of tbe Acanthopterygian family àjo u es cuirassées of M. Cuvier, of which
specimens were preserved ; these were the Cottus ventralis and the Cott. clamger, Cuv.
aud Val., üioAspidophormi-cornis, Eor., and the Peropus bilobus, {Blepsias bilobus
Cuv and Val.) Specimens were also preserved of the Cottus diceraus, Pall., and of
the Gasterosteus oholarius, Cuv. and Val. Mr. Collie’s notes refer to two other fishes of
.this family, wliich we have not possessed an opportunity of examining. One of these
is apparently a Cottus : “ its head was flat and broad, with a wide groove along the middle ;
it bad two spines before the eyes, directed upwards ; the eyes were nearly perpendicular
there were two spines on the (margin of thel)praoperculum, and two on the operculum,..
inteiimly and posteriorly. . D. 8. 15. A. 12. with three transverse black bands.
V. 3, placed under the pectorals, and not extending to the vent. Pectoral fins large,
extending as far back as the anus, and to opposite the fourth or fifth ray of the second
dorsal. ASdomen ventricose. Colours, grey and black marbled : iris silvery, crossed
by a longitudinal band. Mouth large. Stomach a large bag, in which was contained a
small fish. Caca seven. Intestinal tube of three convolutions. Liver of a clay colour,
tinged with yellow. No air-bladder.”—C. The other may have been an Aspidophorus:
" Snout long operculum posteriorly acutely angled, without teeth ; teeth on tbe lower
mandible and intermaxillaries (vomer smooth?). Scales small. Lateral lines, two on
each side, tubercqlated. - Dorsal fin in the middle, short. Ventrals under the pectorals,
reaching half-way to the anus. Pectorals reaching about half-way between the
extremity of the ventrals and the anus. Caudal fin rounded, of twelve rays, separated
by some interval from the dorsal and anal. Colour brownish, with pale spots. N o air-
bladder. Stomach a bag. Ctcca eleven. Intestines of three convolutions.”—C. Both
of these were caught in the seine, and were of small size. •
Tbe remaining fishes observed at Avatscha Bay were Malaco,pterygian. Of these four
are species of the genus Salmo, L., two of which are indicated as the Salmo Eperlanus, and
Salmo Trutta, but which it would of course be impossible to identify with those species,
unless on a careful comparison of specimens: the other two, unnamed, are thus briefly
described : “ Salmo, above bluish, beneath whitish, without spots ; teeth in tbe upper
jaw short and distant, none on the palate, a few on the tongue. A thick-bellied fish, from
one to two feet long, and rather pale.” “ Salmo, above dark blue, whitish beneath, spotted
with grey ; teeth numerous. Varying in length from nine inches to two feet.”—C. The
latter was the most abundant in tbe bay, and several hundred pounds’ weight of them were.