THE FLYING- FISHES. 



205 



Surgeon Fish. (Aoanthurus.l 



bagre, a kind of silurus or sly, inhabiting the Brazilian rivers, that 



inflicts with its long spines such painful wounds as to deprive the 



sufferer of consciousness, and to produce an inflammation that lasts 



for several weeks. The Lance-tails, or 



Acanthuri, have a sharp bony process, 



not unlike the very large thorn of a 



rose-tree, placed on each side of the 



tail; by this they can inflict a deep 



cut on the hand of any one who 



is so imprudent as to seize them in 



that part. 



I could still add a long list of spine-armed fishes, but content 

 myself with noticing the Stickleback, which frequently owes 

 its preservation to the sharp needles with which it is provided. 



The Tetrodons and Diodons have the power of inflating their 

 body at pleasure, and thus raising the small spines dispersed 

 over their sides and abdomen in such 

 a manner, as to operate as a defence 

 against their enemies. These beau- 

 tiful and remarkable fishes chiefly 

 inhabit the tropical waters, but some- 

 times wander into higher latitudes. 

 Man is not the only creature driven 

 by the currents of fate far from the 

 place of his birth. 



The Flying-fishes (Exoceti) are provided with pectoral fins of 

 so great a length, as to be able to carry them, like wings, a great 

 distance through the air. According to Mr. George Bennett 

 ("Wanderings in New South Wales"), they cannot raise them- 

 selves when in the atmosphere, the elevation they take depending 

 entirely on the power of the first spring or leap they make on 

 leaving their native element. Their flight, as it is called, carries 

 them fifteen or eighteen feet high over the water, and the lines 

 which they traverse when they enjoy full liberty of motion, are 

 very low curves, and always in the direction of their previous 

 progress in the usual element of fishes. Their silvery wings and 

 blue bodies glittering beneath the rays of a tropical sun, afford 

 a most beautiful spectacle, when, as is frequently the case, they 

 rise into the air by thousands at once, and in all possible direc- 

 tions. The advantage afforded them by their wing-like fins, in 



Diodon. 



