FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
347 
154. Genus LAGOCEPHALUS Swainson. Rabbit fishes or Puffers 
Large puffers with smooth skin, except on the abdomen, where prickles are present; lower edge 
of caudal peduncle with a fold; dorsal and anal fins long, each with 12 to 15 rays; caudal fin concave 
behind. Two American species are known; only one of these comes within the scope of the present 
work. 
195. Lagocephalus laevigatus (Linnaeus). Puffer; Rabbit fish; Swellfish. 
Tetraodon Ixvigatus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. XII, 1766, p. 416; Charleston, S. C. Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 87; ed. 
II, p. 73. 
Lagocephalus Ixvigatus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1728, PI. CCLXII, fig. 642. 
Head 3 to 3.75; depth about 3 to 4; D. 14; A. 13. Body elongate, somewhat deeper than 
broad; head rather long; snout conical, its length 1.7 to 2.75 in head; eye 4.15 to 4.8; interorbital 
2.05 to 2.75; mouth small, nearly terminal; teeth in continuous plates, with a median suture, more 
or less beaklike; lateral line present, branched anteriorly; lower edge of body with a longitudinal 
fold or keel; abdomen with short spines; skin elsewhere smooth; dorsal and anal similar, the origin 
of dorsal somewhat in advance of that of anal; caudal fin deeply concave; pectoral fins short and 
broad, 1.55 to 1.95 in head. 
Color dark greenish to dusky above; sides bright silvery; white underneath; gill opening black 
within; dorsal and caudal mostly dusky; anal and pectorals greenish to slightly dusky. 
Only two specimens, 185 and 570 millimeters (7% and 22J4 inches) long, were preserved. 
Another large individual, 625 millimeters (24 % inches) in length, was examined in the field. The 
foregoing description is based upon these three specimens, the only ones seen in Chesapeake Bay 
during the present investigation. This puffer is readily distinguished from the others known from 
the Chesapeake by the smooth, shining skin on the sides, the large dorsal and anal fins, and the 
concave tail fin. 
This is the largest of the American puffers. It reaches a length of fully 2 feet. Its feeding 
and breeding habits are still virtually unknown. One small specimen, 724 inches long, was taken 
on September 26. This puffer is rare in Chesapeake Bay, where it is known as “rabbit fish," 
because of the rabbitlike eyes. It nowhere has economic value. 
Habitat . — Massachusetts to Brazil, uncommon north of Cape Hatteras. 
Chesapeake localities . — (a) Previous record: Southern part of Chesapeake Bay (Uhler and 
Lugger, 1876). ( b ) Specimens in collection: Lynnhaven Roads, Va., taken in pound nets June 
9 and September 26, 1921. Another specimen observed at Ocean View, Va., was taken in a haul 
seine on October 20, 1922. 
155. Genus TETRAODON Linnaeus. Puffers; Swellfishes 
Body oblong, plump, capable of considerable inflation; nasal canal single, with two openings 
near tip; skin often smooth, sometimes with more or less distinct scalelike dermal development, 
often also with prickles, at least on back and abdomen, and not infrequently with dermal cirri; 
dorsal and anal fins similar, small, each consisting of six to eight rays; caudal fin usually straight 
or convex, rarely slightly concave. Two species of this genus have been recorded from Chesa- 
peake Bay. 
