130. ORTHAGORISCID^ MOL A. 
865 
a. Skia thin, armed with stoat spines; rertical fins not confluent; hody decider than 
long (Molacunthince) Molacaxthus, 485. 
aa. Skin thick, granular or tessellated ; vertical fins falcate, confluent behind. (Or- 
thagoriscince.) 
h. Body not twice as long as deep; skin without hexagonal plates Mola, 486. 
485 :WOt,ACA>'THrS Swainson. 
{Pallasia ^avdo: Acanihosoma Dekay.) 
(Swainson, Class. Fish. etc. ii, 329, 1839: type Diodon mola 'Pal\a3= if olacanthus pallasi 
Svr.—Diodon nummularis Walh. ) 
Body suborbicular, mucb compressed, deeper than long, covered by 
a thin silvery skin on which are many strong spines. Dorsal and anal 
fins high and short, not confluent, the space on the tail between them 
occupied by a row of small spines; pectorals moderate. These small 
fishes have been generally considered as the young of Mola. The fact 
that they are not so was first conclusively shown by Prof. Putnam (Am. 
Xat. Dec. 1870). The species inhabit the open seas. (Mola; azdvda, 
spine.) 
1338. yi. uiimmiilaris (Walh.) Gill. 
Olive brown above ; sides and below iridescent silvery. Body verti- 
cally oval, higher than long; spines on body scattered, striated on sides. 
Head more than half length, Avhich is little more than f depth. D. 25, 
(Dekay.) Atlantic Ocean; rare on our coast. L. about 2 inches. 
{Diodon nummularis W’alhanm, Artedi, Pise. 1792, GOO: Acanihosoma carinaiitm De- 
kay, New York Fauna, Fish. 330: ilolacanthus pallasi Putnam, 1. c.) 
486. — yiOLiA Cuvier. 
{Orthagoriscus Bloch & Schneider.) 
(Cuvier, Lemons d’Auat. Comp. 1800 {fide Gill): type Orthagoriscus mola Bloch & 
Schneider = Mola rotunda Cuvier.) 
Body ovate, strongly compressed, covered with a thick, rough, leath- 
ery, elastic skin, which is without bony plates. Profile forming a pro- 
jecting fleshy nose above the mouth. Dorsal fin beginning not far be- 
hind pectorals, short and high, falcate, confluent with the anal around 
the tail; no large spines on the body. Clumsy fishes, found in most 
warm seas, reaching a great size. (Latin mola, a millstone.) 
1339. yi. rotunda Cu\-. — Sun-fish ; Head-fish; Mola. 
Dark gray; sides grayish brown, with silvery reflections; belly dusky; 
a broad blackish bar running along the bases of the dorsal, caudal, and 
Bull. Xat. Mus. Xo. 16 55 
