FISHES. 56: 
The Sclerodermata are distinguished by their conical or pyramidal 
snout, terminating in a little mouth armed with true teeth; the 
skin is generally stiff and covered with hard scales. The File-fish, 
Balistes, and the Trunk-fish (Ostracion), are selected for notice. Tha 
File or Rudder-fish (Fig. 368) has the body compressed; the jaws are 
furnished with eight teeth, arranged in a single row on each jaw, and 
covered with true lips; the eyes are nearly level with the skin; the 
mouth is small, and the body enveloped in very hard scales, which 
Fig. 368—The File-fish (Balistes). 
are connected in groups and distributed into compartments more or 
less regular, and strongly connected by means of a thick skin. The 
animal is thus protected by a sort of cuirass and casque very difficult 
to penetrate. 
With the exception of one species, the genus Ba“istes inhabits the 
tropical seas. They are generally brilliantly coloured; they herd 
together in great numbers, and in their gambols produce curious com- 
binations of brilliant colouring in the equatorial seas. Their flesh is 
held in slight estimation, and at certain periods of the year is even 
said to be dangerous. 
The Trunk-fish, or Ostracion (Fig. 369), is without scales, but 
covered with regular osseous plates, which are so jointed the one to 
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