TRUMPET-FISH. 303 



Mr. Donovan, in his History of British Fishes, refers to 

 two instances of its capture within his knowledge, and ap- 

 pears to have had two specimens in his collection. 



The Trumpet-fish was first described and figured by 

 Rondeletius, and is not uncommon in some parts of the 

 Mediterranean. Risso says it prefers a muddy bottom in 

 moderately deep water, and that it spawns in spring. The 

 young are seen near the shore in autumn, shining with a 

 brilliant silvery lustre, not having then acquired the golden red 

 of the adult fish ; they are not very numerous, but they do 

 not wander far from the locality in which they are bred. 

 Their food is not mentioned by authors, though it probably 

 consists of minute crustaceous animals ; and in reference to 

 their tubular mouths, it is probable that by dilating their 

 throat they can draw their food up their cylindrical beak, as 

 water is drawn up the pipe of a syringe. The beak-like 

 mouth is also well adapted for detaching minute animals 

 from among the various sorts of sea- weed. The flesh of the 

 Trumpet-fish is considered good. 



The snout is elongated, the jaw-bones forming a tube 

 extending an inch and a half before the eyes ; the mouth 

 at the extremity small, without teeth ; the eyes large, irides 

 silvery, streaked with red, the pupils black. The back in 

 the specimen now before me, and from which the figure was 

 taken, is elevated, forming a slight ridge, and ending in a 

 short spine just in advance of the long and strong denticu- 

 lated spine of the first dorsal fin. The first dorsal fin, in 

 my specimen of this fish, has but three spinous rays, as 

 shown in the figure ; but authors generally state them to 

 be four. The first spine is three times as long, and also 

 much stronger, than the others, pointed, moveable, and 

 toothed like a saw on the under part, constituting a for- 

 midable weapon of defence ; the other spines are short, 



