The Sword-Fish is distinguished by the upper jaw, which runs out in the figure of a strong and sharp sword, sometimes to the length of three feet, with which he scruples not to engage the whale himself.[145] The Sun-Fish is one round mass of flesh; only it has two fins, which act the part of oars.
The great Creator has beautified the innumerable myriads that swim in the vast ocean, giving the greatest proportion to their shapes, the gayest colors to their skins, and a polished surface to their scales. The eyes of some are surrounded with a scarlet circle; while the backs of others are diversified with crimson stains. View them when they glance along the stream, or when they are fresh from their native brine; the silver is not more bright, nor the rainbow more glowing than their vivid, glossy hues! But we are lost in wonder at the exquisite contrivance and delicate formation of their gills: by which they are accommodated, even in that dense medium, with the benefits of respiration! A piece of mechanism this, possessed by the meanest of the watery tribe; yet infinitely surpassing, in the fineness of the structure of its operation, whatever is curious in the works of art, or commodious in the palaces of princes.
As the spinous order of fishes is extremely numerous, various modes of classing them have been followed by different naturalists. The simplest is that of Linnæus, who ranks them in four divisions, according to the positions of the fins. The 1st division is what that celebrated naturalist terms Apodal; and includes the most imperfect of the order, namely, those which want the ventral or belly fins, and it consists of the following genera:—The Eel, the Wolf-Fish, the Launce, or Sand-Eel, and The Sword Fish.—The 2d division consists of the Jugular fishes, or those which have ventral fins before the pectoral, or nearer to the gills; and includes the Dragonet, the Weever, the Cod, and the Blenny. The 3d division is called the Thoracic, or those fishes which have the belly fins immediately under the pectoral; and includes the Goby, or Roch-Fish, the Bull-head, the Doree, the Flounder, the Wrasse, the Perch, the Stickleback, the Mackerel, the Surmulet, and the Gurnard. The 4th division consists of the Abdominal, or those which have the ventral fins behind the pectoral, nearer the tail, and includes the Loach, the Salmon, the Pike, the Argentine, the Atherine, the Mullet, the Flying-Fish, the Herring, the Carp, &c. To the fishes, included in these four divisions, must be added, all the several species belonging to each, some of which are numerous.
There are two classes of animals inhabiting the water, which commonly receive the name of fishes, entirely different from the preceding ones, and also very distinct from each other. They are divided by naturalists into crustaceous and testaceous: both of which, being totally unlike fishes in appearance, seem to invert the order of nature. As those of the cetaceous, cartilaginous, and spinous orders, have their bones on the inside, and their muscles externally placed for the purpose of life and motion; so these, on the contrary, have all their bony parts on the outside, and their muscles within. For instance, persons who have seen a Lobster, or an Oyster, perceive that their shells bear a strong analogy to the bones of other aquatic animals; and that by these coverings they are sustained and defended.
Crustaceous fishes, such as the Crab and Lobster, have shells resembling a firm crust, and in some measure capable of yielding to pressure or strength. Testaceous fishes, such as the Oyster or Cockle, are furnished with shells of considerable hardness, very brittle, and susceptible of yielding to compressure like the others. Of the crustaceous kinds, are the Lobster, the Crab, and the Turtle:[146] and the testaceous, includes the numerous tribes of Oysters, Muscles, Cockles, and Sea Snails. Some of these are extremely prolific. Under the tail of a Lobster, Dr. Baster says, he counted 12,444 eggs, besides those that remained in the body unprotruded. The female Turtle lays about eighty or ninety eggs at a time, each the size of a pigeon’s egg, in a hole prepared with her fore feet in the sand, a little above the high-water mark, which she covers so dexterously, that it is no easy task to find the place; and then returns to the sea, leaving them to be hatched by the solar rays. At the end of fifteen days, she deposits about the same number of eggs again: and in fifteen days more, repeats the same; three times in all, using the same precautions every time for their safety.
Among shell-fish, how various is their figures? The shells of some seem to be the rude production of chance, rather than of skill or design. Yet, even in these, we find the nicest dispositions. Though uncouth, they are exactly suited to the exigencies of their respective tenants. Some, on the other hand, are extremely neat; their structure is all symmetry and elegance; no enamel is comparable to their polish. Not a room in all the palaces of Europe is so adorned as the tenement of the little fish that dwells in Mother of Pearl. Where else is such a mixture of red, blue, and green, so delightfully staining the most clear and glittering ground? But what is more admirable than all their beauty, is the provision made for their safety. As they have no speed to escape, so they have no dexterity to elude their foe: so that, were they naked, they must be an easy prey to every free-booter. To prevent this, what is only clothing to other animals, is to them clothing, habitation, and castle. They have a fortification which grows with them, and is part of themselves. And by means of this, they live secure amidst millions of ravenous jaws. The dark inky fluid, which the Cuttle-Fish emits when alarmed, not only tinges the water, but, at the same time, is so bitter, as immediately to drive off its enemies.
“Th’ endangered cuttle thus evades his fears,
And native hoards of fluid safely bears.
A pitchy ink peculiar glands supply,
Whose shades the sharpest beams of light defy.