166 
THE BOOK OF FISHES 
HOW THE SWELL-FISH 
FRIGHTENS ITS 
ENEMIES 
Photograph by John Oliver La Gorce 
PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE NUMEROUS RAY FAMILY 
The Whip Ray, or Spotted Sting Ray, as he is also known, is now and 
then seen in the shallow waters adjacent to Miami. The ray uses its broad 
cephalic fins much as a bird its wings and seems to fly rather than swim 
through the water. It is beautifully marked with many golden-brown 
rings. It is not edible. 
bony mail, horse-shaped head set at right 
angles, and prehensile tail to grasp the 
seaweed where they are hiding, body 
floating upward erect in the water. 
' THE MALE SEA HORSE HAS AN 
INCUBATOR POUCH 
The male Sea Horse carries the eggs in 
a pouch situated under his tail, until they 
are hatched and the young large enough 
to fend for themselves. 
Sluggish small-mouthed species fre¬ 
quently have hard nipper-like teeth, as 
the small animals which they eat are 
many of them shelly. 
As it is difficult for them to get out of 
A somewhat related 
flat-sided Filefish 
scarcely swims about 
at all, but drifts with 
the tides, more or less 
head downward, and 
can be easily captured 
in the hand. It is so 
striped as to be readily 
overlooked, however, 
among the eel-grass 
which is drifting with 
it. 
The Swell-fishes 
have the power of 
suddenly inflating the 
body with water or 
air until they assume 
an approximately 
globular form several times the normal 
diameter, which must be disconcerting to 
any enemy about to seize one. The Por¬ 
cupine-fish, in addition to doing this, has 
the body everywhere covered with long, 
sharp spines which project in every di¬ 
rection like the quills of a Hedgehog. 
Many persons who are familiar with the 
inflated-skins of Swell-fishes and Porcu¬ 
pine-fish used by the Japanese as pic¬ 
turesque lanterns will be surprised to 
learn that both are common in local 
waters. 
The Trunk-fishes, instead of being pro¬ 
tected in this way, have the body en¬ 
cased in a bony shell, like a Turtle. In 
the way of larger pre¬ 
daceous fish, they are 
variously protected 
against attack, mostly 
being colored more or 
less in resemblance to 
their surroundings. 
The trigger-fishes have 
a stout dorsal spine 
which locks erect, as 
well as a very thick 
leathery hide which 
must be of some pro¬ 
tection. The gaudy 
colors of the Queen 
Trigger-fish (Color 
Plate, page 179) are 
an exception among 
such forms. 
