POISONS OBTAINED FBOM FISH 113 



toxicaria, BL — Urticacese). The gall Of the fish is dried 

 by toasting over a fire, then powdered, and mixed with 

 the upas sap. This poison is given in the form of a 

 powder which is concealed in food and is said to cause 

 death. To act as a poison the sap of Antiaris toxicaria 

 must be fresh. The gall of the ilcaii siya, if mixed with 

 the juice of rota7i iawar (a rattan or climbing palm, 

 unidentified) and taken internally, is said to cause 

 unconsciousness. The ikan siya is a pretty little silvery 

 fish found in clear jungle streams at the foot of hillsj 

 where it hides amongst the rocks and stones ; it is so 

 elusive that it can only be netted with difficulty. It is 

 about 4^ inches in length when full gi'own ; the dorsal 

 fin contains a sharp bony spine, which is said by natives 

 to cause poisonous wounds. Though used for food, 

 pregnant women do not eat it in Kelantan, because it is 

 said to bring on uterine htnemorrhage. The family of 

 Cyprinidse is represented by over a hundred existing 

 genera, arranged under two sub-families, and of these 

 Maxwell refers to more than a hundred species m 

 Malayan rivers (Ref. 8). 



GLOBE-FISH 



Among the Malayan species of the genus Tetrodon are 

 the smooth " banana-hke " globe-fish {ikan hiintal 

 jyisang; T. lunaris), the "stone-like*' globe-fish {ikan 

 hunial hatu; T. fiuviatilis and T. oblongus), the rough 

 ' ' thorn-hko ' ' globe-fish {ikan hunial d uri ; T. reticularis) , 

 and the " porcupine " globe-fish {ikan hunial landak; 

 Doidon hystrix) . The poisonous properties of the globe 

 or parrot fishes are well known in different parts of the 

 world. The genus contains sixteen species, of which 

 • about half are known to be poisonous. The danger of 

 being poisoned by eating globe-fish depends a good deal 

 on season, and on the age and sexual development of the 



H.P, s 



