THE FISHES OE PORTO RICO. 
271 
228. Diodon hystrix Linnaeus. Porcupine-fish; Erizo; Puerco Espino; “ Guanabano.” 
Head 3; depth 3.5; D. 13 to 15; A. 13 to 15. Spines strong, dilated at base, with a pair of basal 
grooves; frontal spines not as long as post-pectoral spines (in adults not half as long, about as long as 
eye) ; post-pectoral spines longer than any others, especially in adult, usually about as long as pectoral 
fin, those of posterior part of back and tail short and broad, 3-rooted, and therefore not erectile; pre- 
dorsal spines, very short, 3-rooted, fixed, or nearly so; about 20 spines in a series between snout and 
dorsal; upper lobe of pectoral little longer than lower; upper and lower part of tail with 2 or 3 pairs 
of 3-rooted, immovable, recumbent spines. Adult above everywhere covered with small, round, black 
spots, these largest in front of dorsal, smallest on naked area about mouth; white below; fins all more or 
less spotted in adult, nearly plain in young. 
This species attains a length of about 3 feet. An inhabitant of the tropical seas, everywhere 
common, north to Lower California, Florida, and Hawaiian Islands; abundant in collections, being 
stuffed and dried as a curiosity; not used as food: recorded from the Tortugas, Key West, Biscayne 
Bay, and Indian River in Florida, and by Jordan & Rutter from Jamaica; not seen by us in Porto Rico, 
but recorded from there by Professor Poev and Dr. Ltahl. 
Orbis echinatus Rondelet, De Piscibus, 324, 1558, Northern Ocean. 
Guamajacu guara Marcgrave, Hist. Nat. Bras., 159, 1648, Brazil. 
Ostracion conico oblongus, Artedi, Genera Piscium, 60, No. 19, 1738. 
Erizo, Parra, Desc. Dif. Piezas, Hist. Nat. Cuba, 60, pi. 29, fig. 1, 1787, Havana. 
Eioclon hystrix Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed.X, 335, 1758, India; after Artedi. 
Diodon atinga Bloch, Ichth., IV, 75, pi. 125, 1787; not of Linnseus. 
Le Diodon (Plumier) Lac6p6de, Hist. Nat. Poiss., II, 1 and 10, pi. 3, fig. 3, 1798, Martinique; on a drawing by Plumier. 
Diodon brachiatus Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 513, 1801, Cuba; after Parra, pi. 29, fig. 1. 
Diodon punctatus, Cuvier, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat., IV, 132, 1818, no locality. 
Diodon echinus (Rafinesque) Bonaparte, Cat. Met. Pise. Eur., 87, 1846, Mediterranean Sea: accidental. 
Paradiodon hystrix , Poey, Fauna Puerto-Rjquefia, 1. c., 346, 1881; Stahl, 1. c., 81 and 166, 1883. 
Diodon hystrix Jordan & Evermann, l.c., 1745, 1898. 
229. Diodon holacanthus Linnseus. 
D. 12; A. 12. Very similar to Diodon hystrix , but with frontal spines usually longer than spines 
behind pectoral, about twice as long as eye. Predorsal spines not shortened, 2-rooted, erectile; about 
14 to 17 in a series between snout and dorsal; post-pectoral spines not especially elongate, but movable; 
pectoral broader than long, upper lobe pointed, lower lobe rounded. 
Coloration much as in Diodon hystrix , but more variable, spots fewer and larger; usually a broad 
black bar from eye to eye, continued below eye as a narrow bar; a broad bar across occiput; a black 
blotch above each pectoral; a short bar in front of dorsal; another in which dorsal is inserted; a blotch 
behind pectoral, and many small spots and blotches on the upper parts; fins with few spots, mostly 
immaculate in young. 
Found in all warm seas, north to Florida Keys, Lower California, and Hawaiian Islands, its range 
coinciding with that of Diodon hystrix, from which it may prove to be not distinct. The distinctions 
are generally evident in the adult, but young examples apparently intermediate are often found. 
Possibly the two are different sexes of the same species. Length I to 2 feet. The single specimen 
obtained by us was seined in Guanica Bay, January 28, and is 5 inches long. 
