THE SUN- FISH. 289 



other nautical prejudices, is quite without foundation, the flesh being sweet and nutritious, 

 though rather coarse. On the abdomen there is a bony keel, and on each side of the tail there 

 are several rows of horny spines. This species is found in Japanese waters. In color it is one 

 of the most striking of its genus, being tolerably large, and black in color, diversified by some 

 large, pale yellow or white spots upon the sides of the abdomen. Two other species are also 

 given, in order to exhibit, the curious variety of form and coloring found in these remarkable 

 fish. The Bristly Trigger-fish is notable from the quantity of bristledike appendages to 

 the tail, while the general appearance of the Unarmed Trigger-fisii appears to be smooth all 

 over its body. The name of Balistes is derived from the ancient weapon of war, termed the 

 Balista, which projected a spear or heavy stone with exceeding; violence. The curious spine 

 with which the back is armed can be suddenly erected and depressed, as if shot with a spring, 

 and has been compared to the weapon above mentioned. It has been thought, that the flesh 

 of these fishes is poisonous, but the truth of this opinion is very dubious. They are all deco- 

 rated with bold and sometimes beautiful markings, black, ashen-gray, blue, and yellow being 

 their usual colors. 



All the fishes of this genus (which has been divided by some authors into several 

 other genera) are inhabitants of the tropical seas, where they haunt the rocky coasts, and 

 make the ocean radiant with their vivid tintings. To all appearance, they are vegetable- 

 feeders, as nothing- but crushed sea-weed has been found in their stomachs. 



In the members of the family Gymnodontes, or Naked-toothed fishes, the jaws project 

 from the mouth, and are covered with a kind of ivory or bony substances, composed of very 

 little teeth fused together. 



Tile fishes (Aleutera) are equally so. Then there are the Puffers (Tefraodon), Blowers, and 

 Swell-toad, so called, quite curious to behold as they paddle in the sea, like heavy hulks that 

 have little propelling power. Allied here is the curious Porcupine-fish (Diodon), a veritable 

 hystrix in appearance, sometimes reaching three feet in length. 



The Urchin-fish, or Sea Hedgehog, is a good example of the genus Diodon, or Two- 

 toothed fishes ; so called because their jaws are not divided, and only exhibit one piece 

 of bony substance above and another below, looking as if the creature only possessed two 

 large teeth. 



This curious fish is remarkable for the tremendous array of spiny points which it bears 

 on its skin, and for the power of inflating its body into a globular form, and thus causing the 

 spines to project in every direction, like the quills of an irritated porcupine or a hedgehog that 

 has coiled itself into a ball. From this custom of inhaling its prickly body it is sometimes 

 termed the Prickly Globe-fish. 



When full-grown, a fine specimen of this fish will measure more than twelve inches 

 in diameter. 



The Hairy Urchin-fish is easily recognized by the bristle-like fineness of the spines. 



Closely allied to the diodons are the Tetrodons, or Four- toothed fishes, so called because 

 both jaws are divided in the middle, giving them the appearance of possessing four teeth, two 

 above and two below. The spines of these fishes are comparatively small. The Tetrodons are 

 popularly known by the title of Balloon-fish, as, like the diodons, they have the power of 

 distending themselves with air, and causing all the spines to erect themselves. When 

 inflated, they necessarily turn on their backs. The Striped Spine-belly is a good example 

 of this genus. 



Besides the tetrodons, this group includes another genus called Triodons, or Three- 

 toothed fishes, the upper jaw being divided into two parts, and the lower remaining entire. 

 The spines are short, and a moderately large sac is seen beneath the body. The Pouched 

 Triodon (Triodon bur sarins) may be selected to represent the genuc. 



Our last example of this curious order is the well-known Sun-fish, which looks just as if 

 the head and shoulders of some very large fish had been abruptly cut off, and a fin supplied to 

 the severed extremity 



Vol. in— 37. 



