XXI. Contributions to the anatomy of the central nervous system in vertebrate animals

Abstract

Marcusen has given a very good résumé of the zoological history of this family from the time of their first discovery by Hasselquist, a pupil of Linneus, up to the date of the publication of his paper by the St. Petersburg Academy, and as his treatise is easily accessible there is no occasion for my going into that part of the subject here. The external appearance of these Fishes gives no indication at all of anything extraordinary in the structure of the brain, and as the zoologist above referred to, did not pay much attention to anatomy, more than half a century elapsed before any steps were taken in that direction. One of the species at least was very well known to the ancient Egyptians, to whom it was a sacred animal, and its portrait is even now quite easily distinguishable on some of the monuments.