FISHES OF NEW YORK 625 



each terminating in a fine, flexible, bristlelike spine; fins as in 

 D i o d o n , of which the species are possibly the ver;^ young. 



303 Trichodiodon pilosus (Mitchill) 



Hairy Porcii/pme Fish i 



Diodon pilosus Mitchill, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 471, pi. VI, fig. 



4, 1815; supposed to be from New York Harbor; specimen ly^ inches 



long. 

 Trichodiodon pilosus Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 316, 1870; 



Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 862, 1883, name but 



probably fiot description which is from De Kay; Jordan & Ever- 



MANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 1743, 1898. 



Mitchill's description as given by Jordan and Evermann is as 

 follows : " Hairy diodon (Diodon pilosus), with a cov- 

 ering of bristly hair. Length about IJ inches ; breadth less than 

 J inch; depth nearly a quarter, making a blunt lump of a fish; 

 covered all over — back, sides, head and belly — with bristly 

 hair. The bristles strong and flexible, without the power to 

 scratch or to prick; hair about ^ inch in length. Complexion 

 dun or brown, with spots on the back, sides, and toward the 

 belly; has, at first glimpse, the appearance of a young mouse. 

 Mouth small, midway, and horizontal. Eyes vertical, lateral, 

 and large. No ventral fins. Pectoral^ broad. Dorsal and anal 

 very far back, and no hair lietween them and the tail. This is 

 but a small projection from the thick and clumsy body, and is 

 terminated by a fin of seven rays. Dorsal, anal, and pectoral 

 fins contain each about 13 rays." 



Gunther (Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., VIII, 316, 1870) describes a 

 young example, f inch long, and by some authors supposed to 

 be of the same species as Mitchill's hairy diodon, as follows: 

 '' Trichooyclus. Jaws without median suture. Body covered 

 with long, hairlike bristles. No nasal tentacle. (Dorsal and 

 anal fins absent ?). 1. Trichocyclus erinaceus. 



Owing to the indifferent preservation of the specimen, I can 

 give but an incomplete description of it. It is J inch long, and 

 the longest hairs (which are those on the sides) about f inch. 

 The entire body, except the snout, is covered with such hairs. 

 The jaws are prominent, depressed; and the upper terminates 



