116 



THE HORNED ZANCLUS OR CH^TODON. 



Zanclits cormttus^ Cuv. & Val. 

 PLATE IX. 



Chaetodon comutus, Ltnn. Block Le Tranchoir cornu, Cm\ 



and Vol. 



This curious and prettily marked fish is not of rare 

 occurrence, and has been frequently met with by 

 navigators and naturalists who have visited the 

 seas around the Molucca islands, Sandwich isles^. 

 Celebs, &c. &c., and is found not only in the 

 Pacific, but also in the Indian oceans. The ge- 

 neral form is that of the ChoBtodons^ a numerous 

 and gaudily marked family, and from which it 

 was separated by Commerson. From the gi-eat 

 length to which the rays of the dorsal rays some- 

 times extend, it is named by the inhabitants of the 

 coast of the Isle of France, '•'' Jil en dos." The 

 little protruding-Uke horns which project from the 

 front, have gained for it the appellation of " cor- 

 nutus" and its singular form has rendered it an 

 object of superstition to the natives, who return 

 it again to the waters with mai'ks of reverence. It 



