422 



Series Plectognathi 



are all very small, three to six inches in length, and prettily 

 colored. In the West Indies Tropidichthys rostratus is found. 

 Tropidichthys solaiidri abounds in the South Seas, dull orange 

 with blue spots. Tropidichthys rivulatus is common in Japan 

 and several other species are found in Hawaii. 



FIG. 360. Bristly Globefish, Tetraodon setosus Rosa Smith. Clarion Island, Mex. 



Other species occur on the west coast of Mexico, in Poly- 

 nesia, and in the East- Indies. 



The Porcupine-fishes: Diodontidae. In the remaining fami- 

 lies of Gymnodontes, there is no suture in either jaw, the teeth 



FIG. 361. Porcupine-fish, Diodon hystrix (Linnaeus). Tortugas Islands. 



forming an undivided beak. The Diodontida, or porcupine-fishes, 

 have the body spherical or squarish, and armed with sharp 

 thorns, the bases of which are so broad as to form a continuous 

 coat of mail. In some of them, part of the spines are movable, 

 these being usually two-rooted; in others, all are immovable 



