THERE are five or six species belonging to this genus, all of which afford excellent food. The three following, however, are the chief. 1. Common Sturgeon. Acipenser sturio.-LINN. This is a fish of very great size, growing to the length of eighteen or twenty feet; it is an inhabitant of the Northern, European, and American seas, migrating, during the early summer months, into the larger rivers and lakes, and returning to the sea again in autumn, after having deposited its spawn. Its form is long and slender; the body pentagonal, gradually tapering towards the tail, and covered throughout the whole length by five rows of strong, large, bony tubercles, rounded at the base, radiated from the centre, and terminated above, by a sharp curved point, in a reversed direction; of these five rows of tubercles, one is situated on the top of the back, and two on each side the body, the lowermost forming the edges of the abdomen, which is flat; the whole skin also, except on the belly, is roughened by very small tubercles of similar structure; the head is rather large, sloping on each side, and covered with bony plates; the snout long and slender, obtuse at the tip, and furnished beneath, at some distance from the end, with four long, worm-shaped beards or cirrhi; the mouth is placed immediately beneath the upper part of the head, and consists of a transverse oval orifice, totally destitute of teeth, but containing a thick and strong tongue, and is bounded above and below by a strong, cartilaginous edge or lip, which it has the power of retracting or closing at pleasure; the gill-cover, on each side, consists of an oval, radiated plate; the pectoral fins are oval, and middle-sized; the dorsal small, and situated near the tail; the ventral and anal fins are also small, and placed nearly opposite the dor. sal; the tail is lobed or slightly forked, the upper lobe being strengthened above by a bony ridge or carina, and extending far beyond the lower: the general colour is cinerous above, with dusky variegations or specks, and whitish or yellowish beneath; the tops of the tubercles are also of a similar cast. The sturgeon is generally considered as a fish of slow motion, and is observed to lie for a considerable time in the same situation; it even makes but a very faint resistance when first taken, except by sometimes striking with its tail; having great strength in that part; it is however, sometimes, seen to swim with considerable ra. pidity, and to spring with great force out of the water at intervals. During its residence in the sea, it is supposed to live principally on the smaller fishes, and particularly on herrings, mackrel, &c.; and in rivers on various kinds of worms, &c. It is rarely taken at any great distance from shore, but frequents such parts of the sea as are not remote from the estuaries of great rivers. Catesby informs us, that in those of North America, sturgeons appear in great abundance in the months of May, June, and July, occasionally springing out of the water to the height of some yards, and falling on their sides with a noise that may be heard to the distance of some miles. In some of the rivers of Virginia, they are so numerous, that five or six hundred have been taken in the space of two days, by merely putting down a pole, with a strong hook at the end, and drawing it up again on perceiving that it rubbed against a fish *. According to Mr. Pennant and Dr. Bloch, great numbers are taken during summer in the lakes Frischhaff and Curischaff, near Pillau, in large nets made of small cord; the adjacent shores are formed into districts, and farmed out to companies of fishermen, some being rented for six thousand guilders, or near three hundred pounds per annum. Dr. Bloch informs us, that in France, the sturgeonfishery commences in February, in the river Garonne, on the coast of Bourdeaux, and lasts till July or August. The sturgeon is admired for the delicacy and firmness of its flesh, which is white, and when roasted is thought to resemble veal; it is however generally eaten pickled; and the major part of what we receive in that state, comes either from the Baltic rivers, or those of North America. Of the roe, properly salted and dried, is prepared the substance known by the name of caviare, a superior kind of which is, however, made from that of a smaller species, hereafter to be de. scribed. * Penn. Arct. Zool. Append, p. 106. Burnaby's Trav. 8vo. p. 15. In our own country the sturgeon annually ascends rivers, but in no great quantity, and is occasionally taken in the salmon-nets; the largest recorded by Mr. Pennant, as taken in England, was of the weight of four hundred and sixty pounds. In its manner of breeding the sturgeon forms an exception among the cartilaginous fishes, since, as before observed, it is oviparous; it is a very prolific fish, and the globules of the roe or spawn are about the size of hemp. seeds. The sturgeon was a fish in high repute among the Greeks and Romans; and, according to Pliny, was brought to table with much pomp, and ornamented with flowers, the slaves who carried it being also adorned with garlands, and accompanied by music. The fla. vour of the sturgeon is said to vary according to the food on which it has principally fed; for which reason it is distinguished in Sweden, and other northern regions, into mackrel-sturgeon, herring-sturgeon, &c. Dr. Bloch observes that the Linnæan specific character of this fish is not quite correct, since the number of dorsal tubercles varies from eleven to thirteen; neither is the number of the lateral or ventral rows more constant, varying in a similar manner. Some have supposed the tubercles of the sturgeon to be annually cast, in the same manner as those on rays. It may added that the sturgeon is able to survive some days when taken out of water; the gillcovers being edged by a soft membranaceous border, which by closing accurately, prevents the access of atmospheric air to the branchiæ. 2. Isinglass Sturgeon. Acipenser huso.-LINN. A still larger fish than the common sturgeon, having been often found of the length of twenty-five feet: general shape the same; colour dusky or blackish blue above, silvery on the sides and abdomen, with a tinge of rose-colour on the latter: general appearance smoother than in the common sturgeon, the dorsal tubercles being less protuberant, and those along the sides much smaller, and in some specimens of a very advanced growth altogether wanting: mouth much larger than in the A. sturio, with thick, crescentshaped lips skin smooth and viscid. Native of the Northern, Caspian, and Mediterranean seas, migrating from them into the ad. joining rivers: found more particularly in the Volga and Danube. It is from the sound, or air-bladder of this species, that the wellknown substance called isinglass is prepared: this is done by cleansing, splitting, and drying that part, either in the air, or occasionally by a fire, and either twisting or flattening it, according to the parti cular sorts by which it is distinguished in commerce. An ample account of the preparation of this useful article, may be found in the sixty-third volume of the Philosophical Transactions: the skin, tail, stomach, and intestines of the fish are used for the same purpose; and indeed an isinglass, of a somewhat inferior kind, may be pre pared from the same parts of many other fishes. : 3. Sterlet. Acipenser ruthenus.-LINN. The sterlet is the smallest species of sturgeon yet discovered : in length, it rarely exceeds three feet, and is principally found in the Caspian sea, and the adjoining rivers Volga and Ural: it is also found, though much less frequently, in the Baltic sea. It is said to have been introduced into some of the large lakes of Sweden by Frederick the first; and into some parts of Brandenburg and Pomerania, by the King of Prussia. The head of this species is longer in proportion than in other sturgeons, and flattened both above and below the body rather more slender; and the bony shields, with which the upper parts are covered, less protuberant, and of a thinner substance: along the belly are also disposed two ranges of small, flat shields: the general colour is dusky above; whitish, and variegated with rose coloured spots beneath the rows of tubercles are of a yellow cast, and the whole skin is slightly roughened into a kind of scaly appearance: the ventrai, and anal fins, are of a deep rose-colour: the rest blueish-brown: the usual number of shields, or tubercles, is, according to Dr. Bloch, fourteen along the back, and fifty-nine along each side. The sterlet is in much higher esteem, as an article of food, than any other species, and is even considered as one of the most deli cate of fishes. Sterlet soup, it is well known, formed one of the favourite luxuries of that gigantic epicure, Prince Potemkin, of Russia; who, in seasons when the fish happened to be dear, was content to purchase it at a price so extravagant, that a single tureen, forming the mere prelude to his repast, stood him in the sum of The sterlet indeed, in Russia, makes its appearance chiefly at the entertainments of the higher nobility; and the caviare, prepared from its roe, is said to be confined, almost exclusively, to the use of the royal table. Like the rest of this genus, it is a prolific fish, and usually spawns in the months of May and June: it is said to live on worms and small fishes, and is particularly fond of the roe of the common sturgeon, for which reason, it often follows that species in its migrations. [Shaw. SECTION XVII. Large Shark. Squalus corcharias.-LINN. THE animals of the shark genus are altogether marine; and are said to be much rarer in the Baltic than in any other sea: they are viviparous, and are observed to produce more young at a time than the rays, but each included, as in those fishes, in a quadrangular capsule, or involucrum, each extremity of which is extended into a long, contorted, cartilaginous thread of great length. Many of the sharks are said to emit a phosphoric light during the night: they are chiefly of a solitary nature; and, in general, devour with indiscriminating voracity, almost every animal substance, whether living or dead: some few species, however, are observed to feed chiefly on fuci, and other marine vegetables. The great or white shark, so remarkable for its vast size, and its powers of destruction, is an inhabitant of most parts of the globe, though much more frequently seen in the warmer than the colder latitudes: it is said to reside, principally, in the depths of the ocean, from whence it rises, at intervals, in order to prowl for prey, and is considered as the most voracious of all the inhabitants of the deep. It arrives at the length of more than thirty feet, and is of a somewhat thicker or broader form than most of the genus: the head is of a depressed shape, and broad; terminating in front in an obtusely pointed snout: the mouth is of vast width, and furnished, on the margin of each jaw, with from three to six rows of strong, flat, triangular, sharp-pointed, and finely serrated teeth, which are so imbedded in their investing cartilage, as to be either raised or depressed at pleasure: the tongue is broad, thick, and cartilaginous, |