P I R
PTQUITINGA, in zoology, the name of a fmall American ri- ver-fifh. It feldom exceeds two inches in length : its mouth appears very fmall, but it can at pleafure open it to a great width : its eyes are very large and black, with a fiivery iris : it has fix fins befides the tail, which is forked ; its head is of a fiivery white : its back olive colour, and its belly and fides are covered with fiivery fcales ; the fins are all white, and the fide-lines arc broad, and very bright and finning. Marggrave's Hift. -Brafil.
PIRA-afff, in zoology, a name by which Marggrave and fame other authors have called a little horned fifh of the Weft In- dies, called by Clufius and others, the 7nonoce>os pifcis., or uni- corn fifh. WiUugkbfs Hift. Pifc. p. 150. See the article
MONOCEROS.
Pir A-acangata, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian fifh, re- fembling the perch iu fize and fhape. It is of a fmall fize, feldom exceeding four or live inches in length : its mouth is fmall: its tail is forked; and it has on the back only one loner fin, which is fupported by rigid and prickly fpines. This ft can deprefs at pleafure, and fink within a cavity made for it in the back. Its fcales are of a fiivery white, but have an ad- mixture of a fine yellow and reddifh glofs, efpecially on the back : the fides are more purely white, and the belly is of a fomewhat bluifh green, mixed with the white : the back fin is very pellucid, and of a fiivery white, and is variegated with brown fpots : the fide fins are white, and the belly ones, and the end of the tail, are blue. It is a wholefome and ■ well- tafted fifh. Margrave's Hift. Brafil. Wilhghbfs Hift. Pifc. P- 338. Pira hefo, in zoology, a name ufed by fome authors for the
milvus, or kite-fifh. Dale, Prurm. p. 376. FiRA coaba, in zoology, the name of an American fifh of the truttaceous kind, much efteemed for the delicacy of its flavour. It grows to about twelve inches in length : its nofe is pointed, and its mouth large ; but without teeth : the upper jaw is longer than the other, and hangs over it in form of a cartilaginous prominence : its eyes are very large, and its tail forked : under each of the gill-fins it has a beard made of fix-white filaments, and is covered all over with fiivery fcales. Marggrave's Hift. Brafil. Yi&A-jurumenbeca, in zoology, the name of a BrTilian fifh, called by many the bocca rnolle, h lives in the muddy bottom of the American feas, and is a long-bodied not flatted fifh. It grows to a vaft fize, being fometimes caught of nine, and fometimes even of ten or eleven foot long, and two foot and an half thick. It has one long fin on the back, the anterior part of which is thin and pellucid ; and has a cavity on the back, into which the creature can deprefs the fin at pleafure : its tail is not forked : its fcales are all of a fiivery colour and brightnefs, and moderately large : it has a greenifh caft on the back, mixed with a fhade of yellow ; and it has a line running along the middle of each fide, of the fame fiivery hue with the reft of the body, but railed above the common furface of the part. It is a very well-tafted fifh. Margrave's Hift. Brafil.
Pir A-pixanga, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian fifh of the turdus or wraffe kind, and called by fome the gat-vifch. Its ufual length is four or five inches . its mouth is confiderably large, and furnifhed with very fmall and fharp teeth : its head is fmall, but its eyes large and prominent: the pupil of a fine turgoife colour, and the iris yellow and red in various ihades: the coverings of the gills end in a triangular figure, arid are terminated by a fhort fpine or prickle : its fcales are very fmall, and fo evenly arranged and clofely laid on the flefh, that it is very fmooth to the touch : its tail is not foiked, but ; rounded at the end : its whole body, head, tail, and fins, are of a pale yellow, variegated all over with very beautiful blood- coloured fpots ; thefe are round, and of the bignefs of hemp- feed on the back and fides, and fomething larger on the belly : the fins are alfofpotted in the fame manner, and are all mark- [ ed with an edge of red. It is caught among the rocks, and j about the fhoresj and is a very well-tafted fifh. Marggrave's I Hift. Brafil, PIRANHA, in zoology, a name given to the American fifh more commonly known by the name piraya. Marggrave's Hift. Brafil. See the article Piraya. PJRAQUIBA, or Ipiraquiba, in zoology, a name originally Brafilian, by which fome authors exprefs the remora, or fuck- ing fifh. Marggrave, 180. PJRATIA-piM, in zoology, the name of an American fea-fifh, which grows to a very large fize, and, while young, is eaten and accounted a delicacy; but, when full grown, is too coarfe, rank, and ftrong. Its jaws are both well armed with teeth ; the under all the way on both fides, the upper only in the middle on each. The lower jaw is fomewhat longer than the upper, and the mouth very large. It is of an oblong and rounded body. Its back is a little prominent, but its belly al- together flat and even. It has fix fins befides the tail, which is made of a very large fin, of a fomewhat fquare figure, and is not at all forked. It is all over of a dufky orange colour, but more obfeurely fo on the back than elfewhere; and its fides are variegated with grey fpots, fo difpofed as to reprefent a fort of network. Pifo's Hift. Brafil. PIRATIAPIA, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian fifh, ap-
P I S
proachmg to the nature of the turdus or wraffe. Its body i s oblong, not flatted, and very thick. It is a large fifh, and fometimes grows even to fifty pound weight. Its lower jaw is confiderably longer than the upper, and its teeth are very fharp. Its mouth and tongue are red on the infide, and its eyes are large and prominent. It has only one long back fin, the anterior rays of which are prickly, the hinder fmocth. Its tail is not forked, its fcales are fmall, and its back and belly are of a fine bright red. Its fides of a fiivery grey, with a dufky caft. It is all over fpotted alfo with the fame colour in large round fpots. The fins are all red, with a line of white and a fringe of black at their edges. It is a very delicate and valuable fifh, Marggrave's Hift. Brafil. PIRAL'MBU, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian fifh, fome- what approaching to the nature of the turdus, and called by the Portugucfe chayquarona . It is of the figure of the carp, and its ufual length is fix or feven inches, and its breadth in the broadeft part about three inches; but gradually diminifhing to _ the tail. Its eyes are large and prominent, its mouth like that of the carp. Jt has two fins on the back. Its fcales are very broad, of a fiivery whitenefs, with a fmall admixture of yellow. Its tail is forked The upper half of every fcale is, however, brownifh, and the fins are all grey. Its belly and the under part of the head, are of a fine fiivery white. It is caught among the rocks, and near fhores, and is a well • tafted fifh. Marggrave's Hift. Brafil. PIRAYA, in zoology, the name of a fifh caught in the Ameri- can rivers. There are two kinds of it : the one growing to a foot long, and very broad in proportion ; with a hunched back, and lips that cover its mouth clofely and hid^ its teeth : its head is blunt and fhort, and its back and fides of a pale bluifh grey, and its belly of a dufky yellow: this loves the muddy bottoms of rivers. The other is much of the fame fize, but has two fins on his back, whereas the other has but one; and has a fine yellowifh and reddifh caft mixed among the bluifhnefs on the back, and its belly of a fine clear and ftrong yellow, between a gold and a fafFron colour: this loves the fandy bottoms of rivers. There is alfo a fmaller fpecies of this : all three are eatable fifh. Marggrave's Hift. Brafil. PIRIT, in natural hiftory, a name given by the people of the Philippine iflands to a peculiar fpecies of fparrow, which is very common with them. It is much fmaller than our com- mon fparrow, and feeds only on the feeds of the canary-grafs, which is very commonly wild there. PISCES (Cycl.) — Pisces, fijhes. According to the new Arte- dian fyftem, fijhes in general are divided into five di ft inct or- ders. The generality of fifties have the tail placed perpendi- cularly, but a few of them have it horizontally. Of thofe which have the tail perpendicular, fome have the rays of the fins bony ; and thefe either have the gills covered with a mem- brane, containing feveral bones, or they have no fuch mem- brane : of thofe which have this membrane, with the bones over the gills, fome have the rays, tho' bony, yet not pungent; thefe are called the malaeopterygii, or the foft-finned fifties. Others have them with the rays prickly ; thefe are the acan- thopterygti, or prickly-finned fifties, Thofe which have no bones in the membrane over the gil's, make only one genus, and are called the branchiofiegi. The other kind, which have not bony, but cartilaginous rays in the fins, are called chon- dropterygit. And finally, thofe fijb which have th tail placed not perpendicularly, but horizontally, are called p'.agiuri. See Malacopterygii, &C.
Thufijb thus conrtituting the order of the malaccpteryg-i, are again divided into feveral feries. 1. Thofe which have onjy one fin on the back, and that placed nearly the middle of the back. 2. Thofe which have one fin placed in the middle of the back, and another ftanding farther behind. 3. Thofe which have only one fin on the back, and that placed far backwards. 4. Thofe which have one or more fins running all the way down the back. 5. Thofe which have one long back fin, fcarce difcemiblefrom the tail. 6. Thofe which have either only one very fmall fin on the extremity of the back, or have no fin at all there. Thefe are the principal diftinctions of the malaiolte-ygu.
The acanthopterygii are divided only into two feries : the one confifting of thofe whofe head is fmooth ; the other of thofe whofe head is rough.
Artedi has given a very fhort definition of a fifh, which fevers it from all other creatures ; and feparates from the fifh kind many creatures which fome authors have confufedly treated of among them, as properly of the fame clafs of animals The definition is this : A fijh is a creature having no legs^ and always having fins. There is no other aquatic animal which has not legs, and has fins properly fb called ; and it is very improper- ly, that creatures, wanting the characters of this definition, are by fome ranked among fifties ; as the infects which have legs, and the ferpent kind, which have no fins. The definition may be rendered longer and more exprefs in the following form : A fifh is an animal having fins, having no legs, always refpiring either by means of lungs or gills ; inhabiting the wa- ters, except on extraordinary occafions ; and moving itfelf ei- ther folely by its fins, or by the additional help of a flexuous motion of the body, fometimes coming out of the water on the earth ; and fometimes flying or riling into the air, and con- tinuing
