“Tertio,” Conseil replied, “The sturionians, whose gill opening is the usual single slit adorned with a gill cover, an order consisting of four genera. Example: the sturgeon.”
“Ah, Conseil my friend, you saved the best for last, in my opinion anyhow! And that’s all of ’em?”
“Yes, my gallant Ned,” Conseil replied. “And note well, even when one has grasped all this, one still knows next to nothing, because these families are subdivided into genera, subgenera, species, varieties—”
“All right, Conseil my friend,” the harpooner said, leaning toward the glass panel, “here come a couple of your varieties now!”
“Yes! Fish!” Conseil exclaimed. “One would think he was in front of an aquarium!”
“No,” I replied, “because an aquarium is nothing more than a cage, and these fish are as free as birds in the air!”
“Well, Conseil my friend, identify them! Start naming them!” Ned Land exclaimed.
“Me?” Conseil replied. “I’m unable to! That’s my employer’s bailiwick!”
And in truth, although the fine lad was a classifying maniac, he was no naturalist, and I doubt that he could tell a bonito from a tuna. In short, he was the exact opposite of the Canadian, who knew nothing about classification but could instantly put a name to any fish.
“A triggerfish,” I said.