SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF PISHES. 



351 



303. OHILOMYOTERUS SPINOSUS (Linnaeus). 



"Swell- toad"; "Lemon-toad"; "Spiny Toad-fisli"; Bur-fisli. 



Diodon spinosua LinnEGUs, Systema Naturae, ed. x, 335, 1758; India.* 



Diodon schoBpii Walbaum, Artedi Genera Piscium, 601, 1792; Long Island, N. Y. 



Chilomycterus geometricua, Yarrow, 1877, 203; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 366; Beaufort. Jenkins, 



1877, 93; Beaufort. Wilson, 1900, 355; Beaufort. 

 ChiU)mycleru8 8ch(Epii Jordan, 1S8Q, 30; Beaufort. Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 1748, pi. cclxvi, fig. 649. Linton, 



1905, 403; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Body short and broad, the depth somewhat less than breadth and .33 total 

 length; depth of caudal peduncle at junction with fin equal to diameter of eye; head less than 

 depth; nasal tentacle as long as pupil; eye large, lateral, about equal to snout; interorbital space 

 concave; gill-slit equal to diameter of eye, opposite upper half of pectoral base; dermal spines 

 broad-based, far apart, and short, their height averaging diameter of pupil; a series of about 9 

 spines between eye and caudal; 2 supraorbital spines, 1 spine on middle of forehead; spines on 

 abdomen smallest and partly imbedded; a short cirrus above each eye; a fleshy tip on some of 

 the posterior spines; cirri on chin; dorsal rays 12, their tips reaching caudal; anal rays 10; cau- 

 dal small, lanceolate; pectorals much broader than long, the upper rays longer. Color: green- 

 ish above, whitish or pale yellow below (sometimes black in young) ; back and sides with 10 to 

 16 black longitudinal stripes about width of interspaces, those on sides becoming oblique;' simi- 

 lar narrower stripes on head extending crosswise; a black oceUated spot about size of eye above 

 each pectoral, a larger black spot behind each pectoral, another black spot on each side of back 

 at base of dorsal, and a smaller black spot below it; a narrow dark bar across dorsal fin near its 

 base; fins otherwise plain; iris blue, {spinosus, full of spines.) 



^i.jjjL-f.f'-m^Wi^^^^ .f^i 



Fig. 159. Btje-fish; Spiny Toad-fish. Chilomycterus spinosus. 



The fishermen of North CaroUna know this species under the names " swell- 

 toad", "lemon-toad", "spiny toad-fish", etc. The fish occurs in the West 

 Indies and along the entire Atlantic coast as far north as Massachusetts, reaching 

 its greatest abundance from Chesapeake Bay to Florida. It is more or less 

 abundant on the shores of North Carolina in summer, and at Beaufort examples' 

 are then taken varying in size from 1.5 to 6 inches. The fish reaches Beaufort 

 early in April and remains at least as late as the latter part of October, and 

 probably does not withdraw from the shoal coast waters until the advent of cold 

 weather. A length of 10 inches is sometimes attained. The strong, bony beak 

 enables the fish to crush and eat mollusks and crustaceans, which are its principal 

 food. 



* It is more than probable that the bur-fish thus designated by Linnaeus is identical with the one called 

 schcepfi by Walbaum 34 years later, as suggested by Jordan & Evermann (1898). Linnaeus' species is said to 

 differ from Walbaum's only in the absence of lines on the back — a character of too uncertain value in a preserved 

 specimen. 



