The Hiftory of A N I M A L 8, 391 
We have fpecimens of this brought dried and fluffed from the Eafl, where it is 
frequent about the mouths of large rivers. Authors feerri to have imperfectly defcribed 
it under the name of Orbis muricatus, but they have given the fame name alfo to other 
fpecies, which they have cohfounded with it. Willughby and Ray fuppofe it the 
fpecies Clufius meant by this name, and call it Orbis muricatus Clufii. 
Oftracion conico- oblongus aculeis undique longis teretibus , 
imprimis in lateribus . 
;The conico-oblong Oftracion , with long rounded fpines all 
over it, efpecially on the fides . 
The head of this fingular fpecies is fmall, plane, and exerted; the eyes are very 
large, and covered with the cuticle; the mouth is fmall; the lips are flefliy and 
moveable, and the jaws are bony and naked, but there are no diftindt teeth : the 
noflrils are not very confpicuous, but they have each a double aperture, and are placed 
at a little difiance below the eyes: the body is of an oblong figure, approaching to 
conic, and is covered in all parts with very long fpines; thofe at the fides are often near 
three, inches in length; there are four very (harp and robufl ones juft over the eyes, 
■ and all thofe about the mouth point forwards 5 they ftand very clofe on the middle of 
the body, but more thin toward the tail: the general colour of the fkin is a tawny 
brown, but there are a number of black fpots on feveral parts of it 5 and the general 
colour is deeper toward the head and tail than in the middle. 
This fpecies is caught about the mouths of large rivers in Africa and the Eafl In¬ 
dies, and is defcribed by rnoft of the authors who have written on fifties. Clufius 
calls it Hyftrix pifcis, and moft of the fucceeding authors have borrowed the fame 
name. 
Oftracion oblongus holocanthus aculeis longifftmis 
ad caput. 
The oblong Oftracion , with very large fpines a- 
bout the head. 
The head is fmall and (lender; the eyes are large, and covered with a cuticle : the 
noflrils are confpicuous 5 they ftand high on the head, and have each a double aper¬ 
ture : the mouth is fmall, and the jaws are naked and bony, but there are no regular 
teeth : the body is of an oblong figure, inflated or rounded in the middle, but fmall 
both at the head and toward the tail: the whole body is covered with fpines of an ob¬ 
long form, and tolerably robufl ; but the longed and moft formidable are on and about 
the head : toward the tail they are fhort, and not fo numerous, but they are very ro- 
buft : the general colour is a dufky olive-brown, but the fpines are much paler than 
the fkin. - >\ 
It is brought to us fluffed from the Eafl. Lifter calls it Hyftrix alter capite anguflo, 
fubrotundo, et admodum fpinofo, fcilicet fpinis praelongis in ipfo capite et fcapulis 
donatus. 
«<- 1 
Oftracion oblongusglaber capite oblotigo, cor pore 
jiguris variis ornato . 5Cf )t 
The oblong Oftracion , with afmooth body , orna- 
mettled with figures. 
This is a large fpecies; we fometimes fee it of eighteen or twenty inches long, but 
thofe of about a foot are more frequent : the head is fhort, broad, and fomewhat flat¬ 
ted ; the body is of an oblong figure, but very much diftended and rounded; the 
eyes are large, and are covered with a cuticle : the noflrils are diffidently confpicuous j; 
they have each a double aperture, and are fituated at a fmall diftance before the eyes: 
the mouth is fmall, and the jaws are naked and bony, but there are no regular teeth: 
the pedtoral fins are fhort and broad j the back fin and the pinna ani are oblong and ob- 
tufe; the tail is oblong: the fkin of the whole body is firm, tough, and fmooth 1 
there 
%lyz fiiiati^eaaeB 
f&Mcupt'nNtflj* 
%l)t #0? ctt= 
VinZ'M&h 
