In fish, we find the arrangement of the teeth nicely adapted to the habits of the different species. For instance, in the Pike, the teeth are placed with their points projecting backwards towards the throat, by which an easy ingress is afforded, but which at the same time prevents all egress, and retains most effectually the prey when seized. The alarm excited among smaller fishes at the approach of the Pike, is thus poetically expressed:
“Beware, ye harmless tribes, the tyrant comes,
Exclaims the silver mantled naiad of the pond;
Beware, ye flirting gudgeons, barbles fair,
And ye, quick-swimming minnows, gliding eels,
And all who breathe the lucid crystal of the lake,
Or lively sport between the dashing wheels
Of river mills, beware; the tyrant comes!
Grim death awaits you in his gaping jaws,
And lurks behind his hungry fangs—beware!“