An account of the Ophidium barbatum Linnei / by P.M. Augustus Broussonet ; communicated by Sir Joseph Banks.

  • Broussonet, Pierre Marie Auguste, 1761-1807.
Date:
1781
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the Ophidium barbatum Linnei / by P.M. Augustus Broussonet ; communicated by Sir Joseph Banks. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ments of thc apophyfis of the fécond and third vertebræ, of whicli we fpoke before, and which are of a great te;iuiity. In the famé point are faftencd alfo two ligaments each of which belongs to an obLong mufcle paraliel to each other, and fixed to the boues of the low'eft and pofterior part of the head (hg, 4.)- AU this appanatus is certainly fubfervient to the purpofe of fwimming, I fuppofe, by the cavlty of the bladder being made larger or lefs by the motions of the cartilagineous bone; but it is very remarkable, that if thefe parts arenecefîary to (bine animal funâion, they fhould not be found in ail the individuals; for I hâve feen two, of which the vertebræ w^ere not different from the vertebræ of the other Ipecies : which différence dépends, perhaps, on the différence of fex. I am inclined to believe fo ; but the génération in this fîfh feems to bc no lefs myfterious; than that of the eel : I could never difHnguifh a male from a female in this fpecies. I do not know if the other fpecies of Ophîdlum hâve the famé ftrudlure ; I could hot perceive it in fome fpecimens of Majîacemhelus. willoughby mentions that iingular ftruélure, but wîthout any particular defcription. This fifh commonly grows to the fîze of eight or nine inches. It is to be found in ail the Mediterranean Sea, and in great plenty in the Adriatic. It is taken by nets in Provence and Languedoc, together with many other fmall fpecies, which are not efteemed, that is, what they call Ravaillâ, It is often confounded with the Cepola by the fifhermen, though they hâve different names for each fpecies. In Languedoc the Ophidiwn is called Donzellâ^ and the Cepola, jlammâ. In Provence the for- mer has the name of Corrudgiad, and the latter that of Rougeollâ^ But the name of Donzellà, very common on ail the coaft of thc Mediterranean, is alfo applied to the Cepola, and the Sparus julU