SOME RARE OR UNCOMMON FISHES 291 



Northumberland, one or two more from various parts of 

 Scotland, and one only from the Cornwall district. It would 

 therefore seem that these have come from northern seas. 



This is a scaleless fish, but there are rough tubercles on 

 the skin. The mouth is devoid of teeth, and Banks' oar-fish 

 has always, possibly on this account, been regarded as a great 

 enemy to the spawn of other fishes. 



The Bellows-fish {Centriscus scolopax'), or Trumpet-fish, has 

 been recorded in our seas on half a dozen occasions only, 

 visiting our seas at rare intervals from the south, and ranging, 

 in fact, as far south as Tasmania. One measuring only 5 in. 

 was thrown ashore near Fowey many years ago ; but about 

 the other " British " examples there seems, for various reasons, 

 to be some little doubt. 



The long and tubular bill of this fish has gained for it the 

 name of " snipe-fish," and the species is further characterised 

 by the long, serrated dorsal spine, which points towards the 

 tail. There are no teeth, and the fish has been thought to 

 probe in the mud for food, like a woodcock ; but this must 

 be mere surmise based on the structure of its mouth, for there 

 is absolutely no evidence of its habits at first hand. The 

 scales are small, and on the lower edge of the fish there are 

 short, sharp spines. In colour it is pink, with metallic 

 reflections and some silver on the sides and belly. It is 

 regarded as a deep-water species. 



Coryphanoides rupestris is one of those very rare treasures 

 of the dredge for which no English name has been devised. 

 It is one of the " longtails " {<Macrurid,e), deep-water relatives 

 of the cod family, a small silvery fish with a curious truncated 

 head, pointed tail, and long, sickle-shaped, serrated dorsal fin. 

 The first dorsal is short ; the second is long, low, and soft. 



