348 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



bryozoans, together with seaweeds and watermelon seed. The fish is often 

 caught in nets, and will also take the hook, but has no food value and is regarded 

 as useless. 



300. SPHEROIDES SPENGLERI (Bloch). 

 "Swell-toad"; Puffer; Balloon-fish; Swell-fish. 



Tetrodon spengleri Bloch, Ichthyologie, i, 135, pi. 144, 1782; West Indies. 

 Spheroides spengleri, Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 1732, pi. cclxiv, fig. 644. 



Diagnosis. — Shape as in Spheroides maculatus; head contained 2.4 times in length; eye 

 rather large, .5 snout and nearly .25 head; interorbital space narrow, slightly concave or flat; 

 skin of body prickly, sometimes smooth; usually a patch of small prickles on middle of back; 

 belly spinous from anterior to vent to chin; head, sides, and tail mostly smooth; small dermal 

 flaps or cirri on sides; young more prickly and with more conspicuous flaps than adult; dorsal 

 rays 7, short, less than twice diameter of eye; anal rays 6, similar to dorsal; caudal less than 

 .5 length of head, the margin rounded. Color: above greenish brown, thickly marked with 

 small light green spots; small black spots on back, and a row of 12 to 16 along middle of side 

 from chin to caudal, these becoming less distinct in adult; belly flesh color; caudal with two 

 dark bars; pectorals yellow. (Named for a Mr. Spengler, who sent the type specimen to Bloch.) 



A very widely distributed species, known from the West Indies, Brazil, 

 Canary and Madeira Islands, the Gulf coast of the United States, and recently 

 recorded by the writer from Massachusetts, where it occurs as a straggler in 

 summer. The fish is now reported from North Carolina for the first time, a 

 small specimen having been taken at Beaufort in the summer of 1900. A 

 length of 1 foot is attained by the species. 



Genus LAGOCEPHALUS Swainson. Rabbit-fishes, or Puffers. 



Similar to Spheroides, but the dorsal and anal fins longer and falcate, each 

 with 12 to 15 rays, the caudal concave behind; the skin prickles in American 

 species confined to the inflatable abdomen, the skin otherwise smooth and tense; 

 the under side of caudal peduncle with a fold. Size rather large. Two American 

 species. The rabbit-fishes are so called from the resemblance of the snout, mouth, 

 and teeth to those of a rabbit. (Lagocephalus, hare head.) 



301. LAGOCEPHALUS L^VIGATUS (Linnaeus). 

 Puffer; Rabbit-fish. 



Tetrodon Icevigatus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. xii, 411, 1766; Charleston, S. C. Yarrow, 1877, 204; Beau- 

 fort. 



Lagocephalus Icevigatus, Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 366; Beaufort (after Yarrow). Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 

 1728, pi. cclxiii, fig. 642; "rare north of Cape Hatteras". Wilson, 1900, 355; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Body elongate, greatest depth .25 length; caudal peduncle slender, its least 

 depth equal to diameter of eye; head contained 3.7 times in length; eye rather large, contained 

 5.5 times in head, 3 times in snout, and 2.5 times in interorbital space; mouth very small; gill- 

 openings somewhat wider than base of pectorals; skin of belly beset with large, sharp, 3-rooted 

 spines, skin elsewhere very smooth; dorsal rays 13, the anterior much longer than posterior, so 

 that fin is pointed or falcate, its height contained 1.5 times in head, origin of fin midway pos- 

 terior between edge of eye and base of central caudal rays; anal fin opposite and similar to dor- 

 sal, its rays 12, the longest contained 1.75 times in head; caudal fin with deeply concave margin, 

 the longest rays nearly .7 length of head; pectorals broad, .5 length of head. Color: above 

 blackish green, sides and belly silvery white. (Icevigatus, smoothed.) 



