372 Hawaiian Fishes 



This fish in general is found in the tropical eastern Pacific and 

 Atlantic Oceans. It is distributed from the Cape of Good Hope through 

 the Bourbons, along India, through the East Indies, the Philippines, along 

 the coasts of China and Queensland, through Micronesia and Polynesia 

 as far as the Hawaiian Islands. 



Oopuhue or Burr Fish 



Also known as the Pacific Rabbit Fish, Swell Toad Fish, 



Torabuku, or Tiger Puffer 



133-3 Chilomycterus affinis Gunther 



This burr fish is blue in color above and white beneath and is marked 

 with small dark spots on the forehead and at the bases of the fins. It 

 grows to a large size and will reach a length of over two feet. 



This fish is widely distributed through the Pacific Ocean and is found 

 from Japan to the coast of Mexico and California. It is found throughout 

 the Hawaiian Archipelago and its Leeward Islands. 



THE HEAD FISH OR SUNFISH FAMILY 



134 Family Molidae (Orfhagoriseidae) 



The sunfishes are a group of degenerate fishes in which the body is 

 deep and oval in shape and is covered by a thick, tough, leathery skin. 

 They possess huge heads to which the fins appear to be attached, while 

 the posterior portions of the body are shortened to the point where they 

 appear to be missing. They are in general uniformly colored, either gray, 

 oMve- brown or black with silvery reflections on the sides. They reach an 

 enormous size; specimens will measure eight or ten feet in length and 

 will weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. 



The members of the family are pelagic in their habits and live in the 

 open sea. They swim with a kind of skulling motion and spend a large 

 part of their time at the surface basking in the sun. The young members 

 of the family are variously shortened in form and are armed with spines. 

 The flesh of these giant fishes is coarse and tough and is not often used 

 as food. 



Three members of this family are known from Hawaiian waters. 



