OSTRACION. . 123 



Our specimens were obligingly forwarded by- 

 Captain Couthuoy, of Boston, a gentleman to 

 whom our naturalists are under peculiar obli- 

 gations. 



GEN. OSTRACION, 



All the individuals of the genus ostracion, seem 

 to be boxed up in a tri-cornered chest, for their 

 shell is constructed of plates, which unite to form 

 a perfect shield, — in which there are openings to 

 allow the exit of the tail. The tail, fins, mouth, 

 and the branchiae, are the only parts that will ad- 

 mit of motion. 



Trunk-Fish. — Ostracion Triqueter, inhabits 

 the vicinity of Long Island, New York, but rarely 

 makes its appearance so far to the north as Mas- 

 sachusetts, unless driven on shore by the violence 

 of storms, — and then it is presented as an empty 

 shell, three sided, about one foot long, with a 

 white dot near the centre of the hexagonal divisions 

 or lines which define the original sutures of the 

 plates. Boys cleanse the inside, and use them 

 for lantherns, which are very comical contriv- 

 ances. 



Ostracion Bicaudalis. A beautiful specimen 

 of this fish was thrown on the beach at Holmes's 

 Hole, within a few months, and forwarded by Dr 



