Fts
(4°)
FIS
The Emperor Adrian erected the Office of Fifcal Advo- cate in the Roman Empire.
FISH, in Natural Hiflory, an Animal that lives in the Waters, as its proper Place of Aboad. See Animal.
Naturalifts obferve a World of Wifdom, and defign in the Structure of Fifhes, and their Conformation to the Ele- ment they are to refide in.
Their Bodies are cloathed and guarded in the beft Man- ner, with Scales or Shells, fuitable to their refpe&ive Cir- cumftances, the Dangers they are expofed to, and the Mo- tion and Buiinefs they are to perform. See Shell, and Scale.
The Centre of Gravity is placed in the fitteft Part of the Body for Swimming ; and their Shape moft commodious for making way through the Water, and moil agreeable to Geometrical Rules. See Swimming.
They have feveral Parts, peculiar to themfelves ; as FifiS, to ballance and keep them upright. See Fin.
And an Air Bladder, to enable them to rife and fink to any Height and Depth of Water, at pleafure. See Air Bladder.
They have Gills, or Sranchi<e, whereby they refpire; as Land Animals do by the Lungs. See Branchiae, and
RESl'IP.ATION.
The 'Tail is the Inftrument of progreflive Motion, and ferves to row them forward. Sec Tail.
Their Eyes are peculiarly form'd to enable them to cor- refpond to all the Convergences and Divergences of Rays, which the Variations of the watery Medium, and the Re- fractions thereof, may occafion : In which refpecT: they bear a near Refemblance to Birds. See Eye, Chop.oeides, and Bip.d.
Fijbes are difHnguiflVd into Sea or Salt-Water-Fifb, (Pifcis Marinus ; as the Whale, Herring, Mackarel, &c. River or Frefb-Water-Fifb, "Pifcis Fluviatilis ; as the Pike, Trout, ^c. and Pond or Lake-Fijb ; as the Carp, Tench, £5?r. To which may be added others, which abide indif- ferently in frefh Water, or fait, as Salmons, Shad-Fijb, &c.
There are alio an Amphibious, Kind, which live indiffe- rently on Land, or Water; as the Caflor, Otter, &c. See Amphibious.
Arijiotle, and after him Mr. Wi Hough by, more accurately diftinguifh Fijlies into Cetaceous, Cartilaginous, and Spi- nous.
The Cetaceous Kind, called alfo Seller Marine, have Lungs and Breath like Quadrupeds; they copulate alfo like them; and conceive and bring forth their Young alive, whom they fuckle with their Milk.
The Cartilaginous Sort are produe'd from large Eggs, like Birds ; which are excluded the Womb, alfo, likerhofe of Birds.
The Spinous Kind are alfo oviparous; but their Eggs are fmaller, and they have Spina; up and down in their Flefh to Strengthen it.
Willoughby thinks, it would be yet more proper to divide Fijbes into fuch as breath •with Lungs ; and into fuch as breath with Gills : And then, to fubdivide thnfe that breath with Gills, not into Cartilaginous and Spinous, but into Vi- viparous and Oviparous.
"The Viviparous Kind that breath with Gills, he fubdt- vides into Long; fuch as the Galei & Canes., or Sharks, and Dog Fijb: And "Broad, fuch as the Paftinaca, Raja, ike. The Subdivisions of each whereof he gives in his Chap- ter of Cartilaginous Fijbes in general.
The Oviparous Kind that breath ivith Gills, are the mod numerous ; and thefe he fubdivides into fuch as are what wc uluaWy call Flat Fifb $ and fuch as fwim with their Back upright, or at Right Angles to the Horizon.
The 'Plain or Flat Fiflo Kind, called ufually Plant Spi~ noji, are either Quadratic as the Rhombi &n<\P offer es ; or Longiufculi, as the Sole£.
Such as fwim with their Sacks ereB, are either Long, and Smooth^ and 'without Scales, as the Eel kind; or fbortcr and lefs fmooth : And thefe have either but one (Pair of Fins at their Gills, which are called Orbcs, and Congeneres ; or elfe another c Pair of Fins alfo on their Bellies : And this latter Kind he divides into two Kinds.
i°. Such as have no prickly Fins on their Sacks, but foft and flexible ones. 2 . Such as have prickly Fins upon their Backs.
Thofe Fifties which have only foft and flexible Fins on their Backs, may be divided into fuch as have three, two, or but one {ingle Fin there.
No Fifb but the Afelli have three Fins on their Backs. Fifhes with two Fins on their Backs, are either thcTrut- taceous, or Trout Kind ; or the Gobionitc, or Loach, or Gudgeon Kind.
Fiflocs with but one foft back Fin, are of three forts : The firii Kind have one long continued Fin, from Head to Tail, as the Hipparus of Rondelctius, &c.
The fecond, have their Fin but Jbort, and placed juft in the Middle of their Back; and thefe are either Marine as the Herring Kind$
Or Fluviatile, as thofe we call leather -mouthed FiJJ:cs ; fuch as Carp, Tench, if-c.
■ Such F/Jhes as have prickly Fins on their Sacks, are of two Kinds.
Firft, fuch as have two prickly Fins on their Backs ; and in thefe the anterior Radii of thctF Fins are always prickly.
Or, 2 . Such as have but one prickly Fin there.
Mr- Willoughby gives us the following Catalogue of our Englijb Fijbes.
(1) Of tha Long Cartilaginous Kind are the
1 Canis Carcharius, or Lamia, the White Shark.
2 Galeus Glaucus Rondeletii, the Blue Shark.
3 Canis Galeus Rondeletii ; called a Tope in Cornwall.
4 Galeus Acanthi as, five Spinax, the Prickled Dog, or Hound-Fifh.
5 Galeus, feu Mujlela levis, the Smooth, or unprickled
Hound-Fifti.
6 Catulus Major, vnlgo Canicula Ariftotelis, the Rough
Hound, called in Corn-wall, the Ttounce. .7 Catulus Minor, the letter Hound-Fifh, orMorgay.
(2) Of the 'Plain Cartilaginous Kind, are the
1 Raja levis undulata, the Skate, or Flare.
2 Raja clavata, the Thornback.
3 Raja afpera nojlras, the White- Horfe.
4 Squatinu, the Angel, or Monk Fifli.
5 Ran a pifcatrix, the Thoad Fifh, or Sea-Devil.
(3) Of the Plain Spinous Kind, are the
1 Rhombus maximns afpero fquamofus, called the Turbot,
or Brett.
2 Rombus non aculeatus fquamojus, in Cornwall called the
Lug-alefe.
3 'Pa/fer Sellonii, the Place.
4 Paffer afper, Jive fquammofus, the Dab.
5 'Paffer fluviatilis, Jive amphibius, the Flounder, Fluke,
or Butt.
6 Hippogloffits Rondeletii, theHoly-But, called in theNorth
the Turbot.
7 Sugloffus, or Solea, the Sole.
(4) Of the Eel Kind we have,
1 Lampreta major, the Lamprey, or Lamprey-Eel.
2 Lampreta parva, and Fluviatilis, the Lam pern.
3 Anguilla, the common Eel.
4 Conger, the Conger, or Sea-Eel.
5 Ammodytcs Gcfneri, the Sand-Eel, or Launce.
6 Gunnellus Conmbienfis, the Butter- Fifli.
7 Mujlela vulgaris Rondeletii, the Sea-Loach, or Whiflle-
Fifli.
8 Mufiela fuviatilis, the Eel-Pout, or Turbou.
9 Lupus marinus, the Wolf-Fifh, or Sea-Wolf.
10 Alauda non crijiata, the Sea-Lark; called in Cornwall
Mulgranock, and Bulcard.
11 Alauda Crijiata, the crefted Sea-Lark.
12 Liparis Rondeletii.
13 Gobio fluviatilis, the Bull-head, or Miller's-Thumb,
14 Scorfana Sellonii Jimilis, the Dutch- Pots-Hog; the
Comifh Boys call it Father- Lajber.
CO Of the Kind of Fijbes wanting the Belly Pair of Fins ; we have,
1 Mola Salviani, the Sun-Fifli.
z Acus Arijiotelis, fpecies major.
3 Acus Arijiotelis congener, the Sea-Adder.
4 Xiphias, feu Gladius pifcis, the Sword-Filh.
(6) Of the Non-fpinous Kind of FifbeS, with three
unprickly foft Fins on their Backs; we have
1 Afellus vulgaris major, the Cod-Fifh, orKaling.
2 The Whiting Pollack.
3 Afellus niger, the Coal-Fi/h, or Rawling Pollack.
4 Afellus lucus, the Bib, or Blinds.
5 Afinus antiquorum, the Haddock.
6 Afellus mollis major, the Whiting.
(7) Of the Non-fpinous Kind, with only two foft Fins
on their Backs, are found with us,
1 Merlucius, the Hake.
2 Afellus longns, the Ling.
3 Thynnus, Thunnut, the Tunny, or Spanijb Mackrel.
4 Scomber, the Mackrel.
5 Thymallus, the Gragltng, or Umber.
4 Al~
