THE TOAD-PISHES. 225 



THE TOAD-FISHES 



(Family : Tetrodontidce^ 



THE most familiar example of this family, to most of my 

 readers, is that plump little spotted fish, to be seen usually 

 near the top of the water, swimming around the rocks near 

 sandy localities. This is the Toado (Tetrodon hamil- 

 toni), which reaches a length of 4 to 5 inches. It is some- 

 times caught on the small-boy's line with a "fly-hook" and 

 often comes within the scope of the fisherman's hauling-net. 



All Toad-Fishes have the power of inflating their bodies, 

 puffing them out often to a prodigious extent, until they 

 appear like footballs. Our little Toado possesses this habit 

 and it is known to many of our boys ; who, I am sorry to 

 say, often indulge in the rather cruel "sport" of rolling the 

 little fish on the sand to make it puff itself out; and when 

 it has done this, of jumping on it suddenly; bursting it with 

 a loud report. 



There are many kinds of these Toad-Fishes in our seas, 

 some of which reach a length of more than 2 feet. Most 

 of them have small sharp spines set in to the thick fleshy 

 skin, and when the body is inflated, these spines are erected. 

 Some species have these spines only on the back, some only 

 on the abdomen and many have them on both back and 

 abdomen. 



Fig. 80. TOAD-FISH (Teirwlon Irevigaius). 



Xone of the Toad-Fishes are of use as food and some 

 of them are poisonous. Occasionally, certain kinds appear 

 on our coast in enormous shoals. At such times the water 

 over a large area and for several days appears to be nothing 

 but a living mass of Toad-Fishes. Such a visitation 

 occurred off the coast of New South Wales a few years ago. 



