ICELAND

Rhomboidal carbonate of lime. SPAROIDS, Sparoides. The name of a tribe of Acanthopterygian fishes, of which the genus Sparus is the type. The palate is edentulous, but the jaws are generally well armed with teeth: sometimes these are all of a conical form, adapted for killing and lacerating; sometimes they are all rounded and obtuse, fitted for bruising. In some species, the anterior teeth are shaped according to the laniary type, and the posterior ones are grinders; in others, the anterior teeth resemble the human incisors. The genera of Sparoid fishes are chiefly founded on these dental modifications. [s. 1149]