118 SUN-FISH. TRUNK-FISH. 



common names of Swell-Fish, Porcupine- Fish, Balloon-Fish, 

 Blower, &c., and furnishes them with a means of defence ; for, 

 when the skin is distended, the spines with which it is armed, 

 become every where erect, and bristle the whole surface of the 

 body ; and when they are thus swelled, they turn over, the belly 

 corning uppermost, and they float on the surface of the sea with- 

 out the power of directing their course. They are found in the 

 tropical seas, and on the North American coast. 



32. The SUN-FISHES, or MOLES, Cephalitis, sometimes called 

 Moon- Wishes, resemble the Diodon, in the arrangement of their 

 jaws ; but their body which is compressed, and of a strange 

 shape, has no spines, nor is it susceptible of inflation ; and their 

 tail is so short ^nd so high vertically, they appear like fishes 

 having the posterior part cut off. One species, which sometimes 

 attains more than four feet in length, weighing over three 

 hundred pounds, inhabits the coast of France. 



33. The FAMILY OF SCLERODERMI, is easily distinguished by 

 the conical or pyramidal snout, prolonged from the eyes, and 

 terminated by a small mouth, armed with a small* number of 

 distinct teeth. The skin is generally rough, or covered with 

 hard scales. 



34. Some of them, named BALISTES, have a compressed body 

 covered by a scaly or granular skin, but not osseous : they have 

 eight teeth generally trenchant, arranged in a single row in each 

 jaw, and two dorsal fins. They are found in great numbers in 

 the torrid zone. 



35. Others, called TRUNK-FISHES, Ostracion, have, in place 

 of scales, (Fig. 60.) regular, bony compartments or plates, united 



Fig. 60. into a kind of inflexible coat of mail, 



which covers the head and body, so 

 that they can only move the tail, the 

 fins, the mouth, and a kind of small 

 lip, around the edge of their gills, 

 which pass through ^loles in this 

 TRUNK FISH. cuirasse ; each jaw is armed with 



ten or twelve conical teeth. They are found on the coast of 

 the United States. 



32. How are Sun-fishes characterised ? 



33. How is the family of Sclerodermi distinguished ? 



34. How are the Balistes characterised? 



35. What are the characters of Trunk fishes? 



