COPEIA 81 



Cutlass Fish (Trichmrus Upturns), "Machete". 



Related species of cutlass fishes are eaten in Malabar. In- 

 dia, (Day, "Fishes of Malabar," 1865). 



Queen Trigger Fish (Balistes vetula) . 



This species is skinned and eaten stewed in Bermuda, where 

 it goes by the name of Queen Turbot, and the skin is used for 

 scrubbing. 



Trunk Fish (Lactophrys) , "Chapin". "Toro." 



In Bermuda, these fishes are baked in the shell after the 

 viscera have been removed and the fish stuffed as one would stuff 

 a chicken. Thev are then eaten from the shell with a small 

 fork. 



Swell Fishes (Tetraodontidae) , "Tambor." 

 "Tamboril." 



These fishes are not fit for food, many of them being deadly 

 poisonous, and the poison is not destroyed by cooking. The 

 muscle of some, if not all, may be eaten, if the viscera, and es- 

 pecially the roe and liver are carefully removed, but the gain 

 is in no way worth the risk. Bermuda fishermen claim that if 

 offered to a cat they will be eaten and the cat will die or at 

 least be made verv ill. 



On Poisonous Fish and Fish Poisoning. 



Various tropical fishes have the reputation of being at times 

 poisonous. We quote below at length remarks on this subject 

 by L. L. Mowbray in the New York Zoological Society Bulletin, 

 Nov., 1916, pages' 1422-1123: 



"Much has been said and written about the poisonous fishes 

 of tropical and sub-tropical seas. It is a known fact that among 

 people eating the same species at the* same time, even caught 

 in the same locality, some have been poisoned, while others have 

 not. Among fishes eaten by man, the species considered most 

 likely to be dangerous as food during the season from May to 

 October, are the barracuda, two species of kingfish, three spe- 

 cies of jack, red rockfish, and tiger rockfish. 



"The barracuda (Sphyraena piciuln), is a pike-like fish 

 inhabiting both shallow and deep water, and is often seen hiding 

 behind the Gorgonias, waiting for its prey. 



