344 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



« 

 times diameter of eye; rays in soft dorsal 36; origin of the fin same distance from pupil as pupil 

 is from tip of lower jaw; anal rays 38; caudal long, posterior margin rounded; pectorals short, 

 1.5 times diameter of eye. Color: grayish brown, with numerous small, round dark brown 

 spots; back and snout dark; caudal black, (punctatus, spotted.) 



The spotted file-fish, which ranges from the West Indies to Brazil, is now 

 recorded for the first time from the east coast of the United States on the strength 

 of 2 specimens taken at Bird Shoal, Beaufort Harbor, in the summer of 1902. 

 The fish, 6.75 inches long over all, were profusely marked with discreet, round, 

 brown spots somewhat smaller than the pupil; the dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins 

 were plain; and the caudal was black. 



Family OSTRACIID^. The Trunk-fishes. 



The trunk-fishes are among the most curious fishes in our waters, and are 

 at once recognizable by the hard 3-, 4-, or 5-angled shell or box in which the body 

 is encased. Body rather short and deep; caudal peduncle rather long and nar- 

 row; shell formed of numerous large, more or less regular, polygonal bony plates 

 which are deficient only about jaws, at bases of fins, and on caudal peduncle; 

 mouth small, terminal, with a single row of slender teeth in each jaw; maxillary 

 and premaxillary closely united; eye large, high, protruding; gill-opening a short 

 narrow, nearly vertical slit below and posterior to eye; vertebrae 14; dorsal fin 

 inserted far backward, single, short, composed wholly of soft rays; anal fin sim- 

 ilar to and opposite dorsal; caudal fin of 10 rays, the posterior margin square or 

 rounded; pectoral fins short, inserted close to lower end of gill-openings; ventral 

 fins absent. There are 25 or 30 known species, representing several genera, 

 inhabiting tropical waters; all the American species fall into 1 genus. 



Genus LACTOPHRYS Swainson. Three-angled Trunk-fishes. 



In this genus the shell or box present 3 well-marked angles, the ventral 

 surface being broad and either flat or convex, and the sides inclining inward to 

 make a more or less acute angle at the back; the shell is continuous across the 

 median line behind the anal fin; the characters by which the species are sepa- 

 rated are the presence or absence of horns on the frontal and ventral regions, 

 the existence of a complete or imperfect shell posterior to dorsal fin, and the 

 coloration. Four American species, 2 known from North Carolina.* The trunk- 

 fishes are sometimes baked in the shell and regarded with favor in Florida and 

 the West Indies. Owing to the ease with which they may be preserved, all the 

 American species became known in Europe upwards of 200 years ago; and as a 

 matter of local interest it may be mentioned that Peter Artedi, the "father of 

 ichthyology' ', in his notes on this group of fishes published in 1738, mentions 

 his having seen several of our species at " The Nagg's Head" tavern in London. 



♦Another species of trunk-fish, LociopArys in'comis, common on the South Atlantic coast and throughout 

 the West Indies, is Icnown from Charleston, S. C, and Chesapeake Bay, and will no doubt in time be 

 detected on the North Carolina coast. It reaches a length of 18 inches, and may easily be distinguished by a 

 projecting horizontal horn in front of each eye. 



