Narrative of Bahama Expedition. 205. 



low markings. The teeth are sharp as needles, one or two 

 particularly long ones being planted in the roof of the mouth.. 

 They are said to inflict an ugly wound, and appear quite 

 capable of it. This hsh is eel-shaped, and will defend itself 

 savagely when an attempt is made to capture it. x\ large 

 porcupine-lish, Diodon hystrix L., was bought from a fisher- 

 man. It is armed all over with very strong spines, and can 

 inflate itself into an almost perfectly spherical ball. We found 

 it no easy matter to skin this animal, but finally succeeded in 

 removing the body through the mouth, thus securing a skin 

 without a cut. A relative of the porcupine-fish was found in 

 the '' swell-toad," Tctrudoii spoighri Bloch, a species that 

 we had already encountered at the Tortugas. Another sin- 

 gular form is the remora, Echcncis naucrates L., that has a 

 series of suckers on the top of the head which open and shut 

 like the slats of a window-blind. They serve to attach the 

 fish to the body of a shark or other large animal, and thus the 

 remora gets free transportation, and at the same time is always 

 on hand to pick up the crumbs from the shark's table. It is. 

 said that some of the orientals use this animal for fishing pur- 

 poses, tying a line around it and letting it go forth to fasten 

 itself upon the quarr}-, after which both captor and captive 

 are hauled in by the line. A verv small specimen of the black 

 fish that we secured on the Bahama Banks, which I described 

 as a Ceratias (?) (page 49) is included in the collection from 

 Spanish Wells. Since writing the former description, how- 

 ever, the specimen has been examined b\' Professor Samuel 

 Garman, of Harvard, who pronounces it probably a melanotic 

 specimen of Aidennarius ti^ris Poey. It is now in his hands 

 for description. A form which I am unable to even approxi- 

 mately locate with the literature at hand is a small species,- 

 with the general facies of a Zoarces, but with the ventral fins', 

 united so as to form a sucking disk, and the bodv covered 

 with large cycloid scales. 



We found the edible fish abundant and cheap at Spanish 

 Wells, and were glad to have our table supplied with this 

 excellent food by the native fishermen, who seemed to have 

 no trouble in furnishing all that we could dispose of. 



