ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY Bin.LETIN. 



645 



WEST INDIAN SEAL. 



seal of the same species, formerly kept at the 

 Aquarium) used to accomplish by blowing water 

 from his mouth. 



THE SWELLFISH AND ITS INFLATING 

 HABIT. 



THIS fishj {Spheroides maculatus), inhabit- 

 ing our coast from Massachusetts to Florida, 

 is often abundant in New York Baj- in tlie 

 summer time, and the tanks of the Aquarium 

 usually contain specimens of both the adults and 

 the young. It is the onlj- species of its genus 

 to be found outside of the tropics and is known 

 by several names, the commonest of which are 

 puffer, swellfish and blower. 



All fishes of this family 

 have the habit of rising to 

 the surface when disturbed 

 by their enemies and rapid- 

 ly filling the stomach v.-\i[\ 

 air so that they float about 

 on the water, belly upper- 

 m o s t . The fishes distend 

 theniselvts to such an extent 

 tiiat they become almost 

 globular in form. One lo- 

 cal species of the puffer 

 family (the common spiny 

 boxfish) inflates itself until 

 its fins and tail appear to be 

 mere excrescences upon an 

 animated globe. Wlien in- 

 flated and floating, these 

 fishes are often driven 

 ashore by the wind, where 

 they die and slowly become 

 dried in the inflated condition. 



T h c liabit is without 

 doubt a protective one. 

 When hooked by the an- 

 gler and drawn to the sur- 

 face, thej- are sometimes 

 found to be tightly e x - 

 panded with water. T h e 

 inflated condition can usu- 

 ally be produced in Aquar- 

 ium specimens by merely 

 lifting them from the water 

 with a dip net, the fishes 

 continuing to suck the air 

 until the stomach is dis- 

 tended to its utmost capac- 

 ity. The air is retained 

 by a valve in the throat 

 and is usualh' discharged 

 instantly when the fish is 

 returned to the tank. 

 At rare intervals these fishes have been ob- 

 served to inflate themselves with water while in 

 their tanks at the Aquarium, without disturbance 

 of any sort. It is quite possible that the liabit 

 of inflating with water under natural conditions 

 is more common than is imagined. 



Pictures in this Bulletin show the fish ex- 

 panding itself with air while being held in the 

 hand and doing the same with water while in an 

 aquarium. The picture showing the fish ex- 

 panded with water is especially interesting as it 

 is so rarely seen among captive specimens. Cer- 

 tain large species of puffers are inflated, dried 

 and made into lanterns by the Japanese. 



SWELLFISH INFLATING UNDER WATER. 



