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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    it is thougîit to be. I proceed in the like maniier, in cofnpar- ing the tcrms of the meafures of the other parts ; but the utility of thefe meafures is very apparent in the diftinguiftiing of the fpecies of fome généra which are fb natural as that of Cyprinus, Clupea, and m'any others, of which the fpecies could' not be otherwife eaûly diftinguiflied. I fiiall inftance à fpecies of Perça defcribed in the Commentarti Petropoütani under the name of Perça acerïna, by Mr. gueldenstaedt, which could not hâve been/ diftinguiflied from the Perça cernua but by the proportioiial meafures ; fince the Cernua has the body about three times longer than the head, whereas the Acerina has it but twice as long< though by the other charaâiers they are almoft indiftinguilhable. To exprefs the polîtionof the fins brîefly, andwith ail pof* fible accuracy, which, however, I think may be very weÜ un- derftood by the defcribed meafures, I take the diftance from the upper jaw to the bafis of the pefliôral fin, and then fee into> how many equal parts the whole body may be divided, and to' thefe parts I apply the name of régions ; I meafure thein; to’ the extremlty of the middle of the fin of the tail, and’ I exprefs the pofition of the fins as follow : D. 3. 4. A. 3; V. 2. P. 2. the letters being the initiais of the fins, and the numbers of the régions, the firfi: being from Üie head- to^ the pedOral fin The fcales of the Ophidîüm y hâve been figured by HONDELETius, but ovcrlookcd' by many other writers, hâve * I beg. pardon for the digreffion ; but I thougfat ît would not be improper in ihis place to obferve, that the utUity of this method of meafuremeat will appear not only in diftinguiflûrtg filhes, but alfo animais of other clafles, and jiarticu» larly fnakes, which cannot be well determined otherwife. Behdes, I do not knowuny author on fubjeds'of natural hiftory, who has adoptcd that method.