OSSEOUS FISHES. 
mandibles of the beak of the parrot. They are perfectly arranged to 
crush the shells of the molluscs, as well as the resisting envelope of 
the crustaceans on which they feed. The skin of these fishes bristles 
with small slightly projecting spines, the number of which compensate 
for their brevity, which repel their enemies, and even wound the hand 
that would grasp them. They enjoy, besides, a singular faculty ; they 
can inflate the lower part of their body, and give it an extension so 
considerable that it becomes like an inflated ball, in which the real 
shape of the animal is lost. This result is obtained by the introduction 
of an immense quantity of air into the stomach when it wishes to 
ascend to the surface. The species of globe-fish are numerous. Some 
of them are common in the Nile, where they are frequently left ashore 
during the annual inundations. 
The Globe-fish ( Orthagoriscus mold), in the upper part of the en- 
graving, is easily distinguished from the Tetraodons by its compressed 
spineless body ; being very round in its vertical contour, it has been 
compared to a disk, and more poetically to the moon — whence its 
popular names — to the great circular surface of which the dazzling 
silvery white disk bears some resemblance. But it is especially during 
the night that it justifies the name given to it. Then it shines brightly, 
from its own phosphorescent light, at a little distance beneath the sur- 
face. On very dark nights, the globe-fish is sometimes seen swimming 
in the soft light which emanates from its body, the rays rendered 
undulating by the rippling of the water which it traverses, so as to 
resemble the trembling light of the moon half-veiled in misty vapours. 
When many of these fishes rove about together, mingling their silvery 
trains, the scene suggests the idea of dancing stars. The moon-fish 
is common in the Mediterranean, and sometimes reaches the markets 
of Paris. It is about thirty inches in length, and its weight is con- 
siderable. Its flesh is fat and viscous, and by no means pleasant 
to eat. 
The Diodons (Fig. 357) only differ from the globe-fish in the form 
of their bony jaws, each forming only one piece. They seem to have 
two teeth, whence their name from two, oSou?, teeth. They differ 
also in their spines, which are much larger than those of the globe-fish. 
These fishes may be said to be the hedgehogs and porcupines of the 
sea. Like the globe-fish, they can erect their spines and inflate their 
bodies. 
