Sub-classis II.—Teleostei.
Ordo I.—Acanthopteri.
Ordo II.—Anacanthini.
Sub-ordo I.—Anacanthini sub-brachii.
Sub-ordo II.—Anacanthini apodes.
Ordo III.—Pharyngognathi.
Sub-ordo I.—Pharyngognathi acanthopterygii.
Sub-ordo II.—Pharyngognathi malacopterygii.
Ordo IV.—Physostomi.
Sub-ordo I.—Physostomi abdominales.
Sub-ordo II.—Physostomi apodes s. anguillares.
Ordo V.—Plectognathi.
Ordo VI.—Lophobranchii.
Sub-classis III.—Ganoidei.
Ordo I.—Holostei.
Ordo II.—Chondrostei.
Sub-classis IV.—Elasmobranchi s. Selachii.
Ordo I.—Plagiostomi.
Sub-ordo I.—Squalidæ.
Sub-ordo II.—Rajidæ.
Ordo II.—Holocephali.
Sub-classis V.—Marsipobranchii s. Cyclostomi.
Ordo I.—Hyperoartii.
Ordo II.—Hyperotreti.
Sub-classis VI.—Leptocardii.
Ordo I.—Amphioxini.
The discovery (in the year 1871) of a living representative of a genus hitherto believed to be long extinct, Ceratodus, threw a new light on the affinities of Fishes. The author who had the good fortune of examining this fish, was enabled to show that, on the one hand, it was a form most closely allied to Lepidosiren; on the other, that it could not be separated from the Ganoid fishes, and therefore that also Lepidosiren was a Ganoid: a relation pointed at already by Huxley in a previous paper on “Devonian Fishes.” This discovery led to further considerations[3] of the relative characters of Müller’s sub-classes, and to the system which is followed in the present work.
Having followed the development of the ichthyological system down to the latest time, we have to retrace our steps to enumerate the most important contributions to Ichthyology which appeared contemporaneously with or subsequently to the publication of Cuvier and Valenciennes’s great work. As in other branches of Zoology, activity increased almost with every year; and for convenience’s sake we may arrange these works in three rubrics.
1. “Voyage autour du monde sur les Corvettes de S. M. l’Uranie et la Physicienne, sous le commandement de M. Freycinet. Zoologie: Poissons par Quoy et Gaimard.” (Paris, 1824, 4to, atlas fol.)
2. “Voyage de la Coquille. Zoologie par Lesson.” (Paris, 1826–30, 4to, atlas fol.)
3. “Voyage de l’Astrolabe, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d’Urville. Poissons par Quoy et Gaimard.” (Paris, 1834, 8vo, atlas fol.)
4. “Voyage au Pôle Sud par M. J. Dumont d’Urville. Poissons par Hombron et Jacquinot.” (Paris, 1853–4, 8vo, atlas fol.)
1. “Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur. Fishes by J. Richardson.” (Lond. 1844–5, 4to.)
2. “Voyage of H.M.S.S. Erebus and Terror. Fishes by J. Richardson.” (Lond. 1846. 4to.)
3. “Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. Fishes by L. Jenyns.” (Lond. 1842, 4to.)
4. “Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger. Fishes by A. Günther.” (in course of publication).
1. “Reise der österreichischen Fregatte Novara. Fische von R. Kner.” (Wien. 1865, 4to.)
1. R. Parnell, “The Natural History of the Fishes of the Firth of Forth.” (Edinb. 1838, 8vo.)
2. W. Yarrell, “A History of British Fishes.” (3d edit. Lond. 1859, 8vo.)
3. J. Couch, “A History of the Fishes of the British Islands.” (Lond. 1862–5, 8vo.)
1. H. Kröyer, “Danmark’s Fiske.” (Kjöbnh. 1838–53, 8vo.)
2. S. Nilsson, “Skandinavisk Fauna.” (Vol. IV. Fiskarna. Lund. 1855, 8vo.)
3. Fries och Ekström, “Skandinavians Fiskar.” (Stockh. 1836, 4to, with excellent plates.)
1. Nordmann, “Ichthyologie Pontique,” in “Voyage dans la Russie méridionale de Demidoff.” (Tom. iii. Paris, 1840, 8vo, atlas fol.)
1. Heckel and Kner, “Die Süsswasser-fische der Oesterreichischen Monarchie.” (Leipz. 1858, 8vo.)
2. C. T. E. Siebold, “Die Süsswasser-fische von Mitteleuropa.” (Leipz. 1863, 8vo.)
1. Bonaparte, “Iconografia della Fauna Italica.” Tom. iii. Pesci. (Roma, 1832–41, fol.) (Incomplete.)
2. Costa, “Fauna del Regno di Napoli.” Pesci. (Napoli, 4to, about 1850.) (Incomplete.)
1. E. Blanchard, “Les Poissons des eaux douces de la France.” (Paris, 1866, 8vo.)
The freshwater Fish-fauna of Spain and Portugal was almost unknown, until F. Steindachner paid some visits to those countries for the purpose of exploring the principal rivers. His discoveries are described in several papers in the “Sitzungsberichte der Akademie zu Wien.” B. du Bocage and F. Capello contributed towards the knowledge of the marine fishes on the coast of Portugal. (“Jorn. Scienc. Acad. Lisb.”)
1. J. Richardson, “Fauna Boreali Americana.” Part III. Fishes. (Lond. 1836, 4to.) The species described in this work are nearly all from the British possessions in the North.
2. Dekay, “Zoology of New York.” Part IV. Fishes. (New York, 1842, 4to.)
3. “Reports of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries.” (5 vols. Washingt. 1873–79, 8vo. In progress. Contains most valuable information.)
Besides these works, numerous descriptions of North American freshwater fishes have been published in the Reports of the various U. S. Government expeditions, and in North American scientific journals, by Storer, Baird, Girard, W. O. Ayres, Cope, Jordan, Brown Goode, etc.; but a good general, and especially critical, account of the fishes of the United States is still a desideratum.
1. “Fauna Japonica.” Poissons par H. Schlegel. (Lugd. Bat. 1850, fol.)
1. E. Rüppell, “Atlas zu der Reise im Nördlichen Afrika.” (Frankf. 1828, fol.)
2. E. Rüppell, “Neue Wirbelthiere. Fische.” (Frankf. 1837, fol.)
These two works form the standard works for the student of the Fishes of the Red Sea, and are distinguished by a rare conscientiousness and faithfulness of the descriptions and figures; so that there is no other part of the tropical seas, with the fishes of which we are so intimately acquainted, as with those of the Red Sea. But these works have a still wider range of usefulness, in as much as only a small proportion of the fishes is limited to that area, the majority being distributed over the Indian Ocean into Polynesia. Rüppel’s works were supplemented by the two first of the following works:—
3. R. L. Playfair and A. Günther, “The Fishes of Zanzibar.” (Lond. 1866, 4to); and
4. C. B. Klunzinger, “Synopsis der Fische des Rothen Meers.” (Wien. 1870–1, 8vo.)
5. T. Cantor, “Catalogue of Malayan Fishes.” (Calcutta, 1850, 8vo.)
6. F. Day, “The Fishes of India.” (Lond. 1875, 4to, in progress); contains an account of the freshwater and marine species, and is not yet complete.
7. A. Günther, “Die Fische der Südsee.” (Hamburg, 4to; from 1873, in progress.)
Unsurpassed in activity, as regards the exploration of the fish fauna of the East Indian Archipelago, is P. Bleeker, a surgeon in the service of the Dutch East Indian Government (born 1819, died 1878), who, from the year 1840, for nearly thirty years, amassed immense collections of the fishes of the various islands, and described them in extremely numerous papers, published chiefly in the Journals of the Batavian Society. When his descriptions and the arrangement of his materials evoked some criticism, it must be remembered that, at the time when he commenced his labours, and for many years afterwards, he stood alone, without the aid of a previously named collection on which to base his first researches, and without other works but that of Cuvier and Valenciennes. He had to create for himself a method of distinguishing species and of describing them; and afterwards it would have been difficult for him to abandon his original method and the principles by which he had been guided for so many years. His desire of giving a new name to every individual, to every small assemblage of species wherever practicable, or of changing an old name, detracts not a little from the satisfaction with which his works would be used otherwise. It is also surprising that a man with his anatomical knowledge and unusual facilities should have been satisfied with the merely external examination of the specimens. But none of his numerous articles contain anything relating to the anatomy, physiology, or habits of the fishes which came under his notice; hence his attempts at systematic arrangement are very far from indicating an advance in Ichthyology.
Soon after his return to Europe (1860) Bleeker commenced to collect the final results of his labours in a grand work, illustrated by coloured plates, “Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néerlandaises.” (Amsterd. fol. 1862); the publication of which was interrupted by the author’s death in 1878.
1. A. Günther, “The Fishes of the Nile” in Petherick’s “Travels in Central Africa.” (Lond. 1869, 8vo.)
2. W. Peters, “Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. IV. Flussfische.” (Berl. 1868, 4to.)
1. L. Agassiz, “Selecta genera et species Piscium, quæ in itinere per Brasiliam, collegit J. B. de Spix.” (Monach. 1829, fol.)
2. F. de Castlenau, “Animaux nouveaux ou rares, recueillis pendant l’expedition dans les parties centrales de l’Amérique du Sud. Poissons.” (Paris, 1855, 4to.)
3. A. Günther, “An account of the Fishes of the States of Central America.” (In Trans. Zool. Soc. 1868.)
4. L. Vaillant and F. Bocourt, “Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l’Amérique centrale. Poissons.” (Paris, 1874, 4to.) (In progress.)
F. Poey, the celebrated naturalist of Havannah, devoted many years of study to the Fishes of Cuba, His papers and memoirs are published partly in two periodicals, issued by himself, under the title of “Memorias sobre la Historia natural de la Isle de Cuba” (from 1851), and “Repertorio Fisico-natural de la Isla de Cuba” (from 1865), partly in North American scientific journals. And, finally, F. Steindachner has published many contributions, accompanied by excellent figures, to our knowledge of the Fishes of Central and South America.
1. F. W. Hutton and J. Hector, “Fishes of New Zealand.” (Wellingt. 1872, 8vo.)
1. G. Lütken, “A revised Catalogue of the Fishes of Greenland,” in “Manual of the Natural History, Geology, and Physics of Greenland.” (Lond. 1875, 8vo.) Although only a nominal list, this catalogue is useful, as it contains references to all the principal works in which Arctic fishes have been described. The fishes of Spitzbergen were examined by A. J. Malmgren (1865).
The number of authors who worked on the anatomy of fishes is almost as great as that of faunists; and we should go beyond the limits of the present work if we mentioned more than the most prominent and successful. M. H. Rathke, J. Müller, J. Hyrtl, and H. Stannius left scarcely any organ unexamined, and their researches had a direct bearing either on the relation of the class of fishes to the other vertebrates, or on the systematic arrangement of the fishes themselves. E. E. von Baer, F. de Filippi, C. Vogt, W. His, W. K. Parker, and F. M. Balfour worked at their embryology; A. Kölliker and G. Pouchet at their histology. The osteology was specially treated by G. Bakker, F. C. Rosenthal, L. Agassiz, and C. Gegenbaur; the nervous system by Gottsche, Philipeaux, Stannius, L. de Sanctis, L. Stieda, Baudelot and Miclucho-Maclay; the organ of hearing by E. H. Weber, C. Hasse, and G. Retzius. The electric fishes were examined by E. Geoffroy, C. Matteuci, P. Pacini, T. Bilharz, and Max Schultze. The development and metamorphosis of the Lamperns was made the subject of research by H. Müller, M. Schultze, and P. Owsjannikow; Müller’s examination of Branchiostoma was continued by J. Marcusen, A. Kovalevsky, L. Stieda, W. Müller, C. Hasse, T. Huxley, and F. M. Balfour. The most comprehensive accounts of the anatomy of fishes are contained in the following works:—
1. H. Stannius, “Zootomic der Fische,” 2d edit. (Berl. 1854, 8vo.)
2. R. Owen, “Anatomy of Vertebrates,” vol. i. (Lond. 1866, 8vo.)
3. R. Owen, “Lectures on the Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Vertebrate Animals.” Part I. Fishes. (Lond. 1846, 8vo.)
4. T. Huxley, “A Manual of the Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals.” (Lond. 1871, 16mo.)
It has been mentioned above that the great work of Cuvier and Valenciennes had been left incomplete. Several authors, therefore, supplied detailed accounts of the orders omitted in that work. Müller and Henle published an account of the Plagiostomes, and Kaup of the Murænidæ and Lophobranchii. A. Duméril, finally, commenced an “Histoire naturelle des Poissons ou Ichthyologie générale,” of which, however, two volumes only appeared, containing a complete account of the “Plagiostomes” (Paris, 1865, 8vo.), and of the “Ganoids and Lophobranchs.” (Paris, 1870, 8vo.)
So great an activity had prevailed in Ichthyology since the publication of the “Histoire naturelle” by Cuvier and Valenciennes, and the results of the manifold enquiries were scattered over such a multitude of publications, that it became imperative to collect again all these materials in one comprehensive work. This was done in the “Catalogue of Fishes,” published by the Trustees of the British Museum, in eight volumes (Lond. 1859-70). Beside the species previously described many new forms were added, the number total of species referred to in those volumes amounting to 8525. As regards the systematic arrangement—Müller’s system was adopted in the main, but the definition of the families is much modified. This, however, need not be further entered into here, and will become sufficiently apparent in the subsequent parts of the present work.
Fig. 1.—Lower aspect of head of Raia lemprieri.