MARINE ANIMALS THAT STING 



89 



DR AGO NETS 



Dragonets are small, scaleless fishes with flat heads, bearing a 

 preopercle that is armed with a strong spine. These fishes are 

 brightly variegated in color, and have high, and often filamentous 

 dorsal fins. Some species are found in deep water, whereas others 

 are shore fishes inhabiting shallow bays and reefs. The gill spine 

 of the European species, Callionymus lyra Linnaeus, (Fig. 54), 



Fig. 56. Top: Star-gazer, Uranoscopus japonicus Houttuyn. (From Tem- 

 minck and Schlegel) Center: Star-gazer, Uranoscopus bicinctus Temminck 

 and Schlegel. (From Temminck and Schlegel) Bottom: Star-gazer, Urano- 

 scopus scaber Linnaeus. (Smithsonian Institution) 



which is distributed along the Atlantic coast of Europe and the 

 Mediterranean Sea, is said to be venomous. They are said to be 

 capable of inflicting serious wounds and should be handled with 

 care. 



RABBITFISHES 



Rabbitfishes, which belong to the family Siganidae, are a group 

 of spiny-rayed fishes which closely resemble the surgeonfishes. 

 They differ from all other fishes in that the first and last rays of 



