Series Plectognathi 415 



acanthus modestus, with deep-blue fins and the ventral spine 

 immovable. Another is Stephanolepis cirrhifer, known as Kawa- 

 muki, or skin-peeler. Alutera monoceros, and Osbeckia scripta t 

 the unicorn fish, abound in the East Indies, with numerous 

 others of less size and note. In the male of the Polynesian 

 Amanses scopas (Fig. 347) the tail is armed with a brush of 

 extraordinarily long needle-like spines. 



In Stephanolepis spilosomus the caudal fin is of a brilliant 

 scarlet color, contrasting with the usual dull colors of these 

 fishes. In Oxymonacanthus longirostris the body is blue with 

 orange checker-like spots and the snout is produced in a long 

 tube. About the islands of Polynesia, filefishes are relatively 

 few, but some of them are very curious in form or color. 



The Spinacanthidae. In the extinct family Spinacanthidcs 

 the body is elongate, high in front and tapering behind. The 



FIG. 348. Common File fish, Stephanolepis hispidus (Linnaeus). Virginia. 



first dorsal has six or seven spines, and there are rough spines 

 in the pectoral. The teeth are bluntly conical. Spinacanthus 

 blennioides and S. imperalis-are found in the Eocene of Monte 

 Bolca. These are probably the nearest to the original ances- 

 tor among known scleroderms. 



The Trunkfishes: Ostraciidae. The group Ostracodermi con- 

 tains the single family of Ostraciidtz, the trunkfishes or cuck- 



