THE SUN-FISH. 
289 
other nautical prejudices, is quite without foundation, the flesh being sweet and nutritious, 
though rather coarse. On the abdomen there is a bony keel, and on each side of the tail there 
are several rows of horny spines. This species is found in Japanese waters. In color it is one 
of the most striking of its genus, being tolerably large, and black in color, diversified by some 
large, pale yellow or white spots upon the sides of the abdomen. Two other species are also 
given, in order to exhibit the curious variety of form and coloring found in these remarkable 
fish. The Bristly Trigger-fish is notable from the quantity of bristle-like appendages to 
the tail, while the general appearance of the Unarmed Trigger-fish appears to be smooth all 
over its body. The name of Balistes is derived from the ancient weapon of war, termed the 
Balista, which projected a spear or heavy stone with exceeding violence. The curious spine 
with which the back is armed can be suddenly erected and depressed, as if shot with a spring, 
and has been compared to the weapon above mentioned. It has been thought, that the flesh 
of these fishes is poisonous, but the truth of this opinion is very dubious. They are all deco- 
rated with bold and sometimes beautiful markings, black, ashen-gray, blue, and yellow being 
their usual colors. 
All the fishes of this genus (which has been divided by some authors into several 
other genera) are inhabitants of the tropical seas, where they haunt the rocky coasts, and 
make the ocean radiant with their vivid tintings. To all appearance, they are vegetable- 
feeders, as nothing but crushed sea-weed has been found in their stomachs. 
In the members of the family Gfymnodontes, or Naked-toothed fishes, the jaws project 
from the mouth, and are covered with a kind of ivory or bony substances, composed of very 
little teeth fused together. 
Tile fishes (Aleidera) are equally so. Then there are the Puffers ( Tetraodon ), Blowers, and 
Swell-toad, so called, quite curious to behold as they paddle in the sea, like heavy hulks that 
have little propelling power. Allied here is the curious Porcupine-fish ( Dioclon ), a veritable 
hystrix in appearance, sometimes reaching three feet in length. 
The Urchin-fish, or Sea Hedgehog, is a good example of the genus Diodon, or Two- 
toothed fishes ; so called because their jaws are not divided, and only exhibit one piece 
of bony substance above and another below, looking as if the creature only possessed two 
large teeth. 
This curious fish is remarkable for the tremendous array of spiny points which it bears 
on its skin, and for the power of inflating its body into a globular form, and thus causing the 
spines to project in every direction, like the quills of an irritated porcupine or a hedgehog that 
has coiled itself into a ball. From this custom of inflating its prickly body it is sometimes 
termed the Prickly Globe-fish. 
When full-grown, a fine specimen of this fish will measure more than twelve inches 
in diameter. 
The Hairy Urchin-fish is easily recognized by the bristle-like fineness of the spines. 
Closely allied to the diodons are the Tetrodons, or Four- toothed fishes, so called because 
both jaws are divided in the middle, giving them the appearance of possessing four teeth, two 
above and two below. The spines of these fishes are comparatively small. The Tetrodons are 
popularly known by the title of Balloon-fish, as, like the diodons, they have the power of 
distending themselves with air, and causing all the spines to erect themselves. When 
inflated, they necessarily turn on their backs. The Striped Spine-belly is a good example 
of this genus. 
Besides the tetrodons, this group includes another genus called Triodons, or Three- 
toothed fishes, the upper jaw being divided into two parts, and the lower remaining entire. 
The spines are short, and a moderately large sac is seen beneath the body. The Pouched 
'Triodon ( Triodon bur sarins ) may be selected to represent the genuc. 
Our last example of this curious order is the well-known Sun-fish, which looks just as if 
the head and shoulders of some very large fish had been abruptly cut off, and a fin supplied to 
the severed extremity 
Vol. in.- 37. 
