298 THE TOBACCO-PIPE FISH. 



are modified into a kind of long tube, at the end of which is placed the narrow mouth. 

 It is thought that the fish obtains its food by sucking it along the tube, the needful 

 vacuum being formed by the dilatation of the throat. 



The BELLOWS-FISH, sometimes called the TEUMPET-FISH and the SEA SNIPE, is most 

 common in the Mediterranean, though a few casual specimens have been taken off the 

 British islands. It prefers to reside in moderately deep water, and is mostly found where 

 the bottom of the sea is muddy. Its food is not precisely known, but is thought to 

 consist of minute marine animals. The first spine of the dorsal fin is enormously large, 

 strong, sharply pointed, and armed on its under surface with a row of saw-like teeth, that 



BELLOWS-FISH. -Centriscus scoloi>ax. 



must render it a very efficient weapon of offence. This spine is also movable. The 

 flesh of this fish is eatable ; but as the head occupies so large a portion, the amount of 

 flesh is rather small when compared with the size of the fish. 



When adult, the colour of the Bellows-fish is bright red on the back, becoming 

 lighter on the sides, and changing to silvery white and golden yellow on the abdomen. 

 The sides of the head are of the same colour as the abdomen. When young, the red of 

 the back and sides is not visible, and the whole body glitters with a silvery lustre. It is 

 not a large fish. 



THE family which now comes before our notice is in many ways remarkable, and 

 deserves some little attention before proceeding to the remaining fishes. 



In the Fistularidae the snout is greatly prolonged, as in the preceding family, and 

 bears the mouth at the end of a bony tube. The body, however, is extremely long and 

 snake-like, and there is no long spine to the dorsal fin. There are only two genera 

 in this family, the one being covered with scales, and the other destitute of those 

 appendages. 



The TOBACCO-PIPE FISH is found in several parts of the tropical Atlantic, and is 

 notable for its very peculiar form. The body is without scales, and the tail fin is deeply 

 forked, the two central rays being sometimes united and prolonged into a lengthened 

 filament, and at others separate, but still elongated. The outer edge of the tube is either 

 smooth, or very slightly notched. The colour of this fish is greenish olive, and the upper 

 parts of the body are marked with blue streaks and spots. In some specimens the back 

 takes a reddish brown hue. 



