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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 TRUMPET-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 



BELLOWS-FISH. Ceatrlscus scolopax. 



teeth, that 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 color 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 color 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 

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

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

 ither smooth, or very slightly notched. The color of this fish is greenish olive, and 

 upper parts of the body are marked with blue streaks and spots. In some speci- 

 mens the back takes a reddish brown hue. 



