170 
THE BOOK OF FISHES 
Photograph by E. R. Sanborn, New York Zoological Society 
SISTERS UNDER THE SEA 
The Porcupine fish above is an uncomfortable mouthful for any hungry 
undersea hunter, but when it inflates itself into the form of a large ball, 
its balloon shape and bristling spines, from which it takes its name, offer 
assuring means of defense against natural enemies. The Spanish Hogfish 
(below), sometimes called Lady-fish, is beautifully colored ana excellently 
flavored. 
of the Carangiidae, 
or crevally family. 
On the other hand, this 
same Barracuda is par¬ 
ticularly favored as a 
food-fish in Porto Rico, 
as it is known to sub¬ 
sist entirely on clean, 
live food. 
It is said in Cuba 
that by no means all 
the fishes of these 
species are poisonous, 
and that the smaller 
ones are safer. The 
symptoms of poison 
are sometimes alimen¬ 
tary disorders, some¬ 
times skin troubles. 
The cause is not 
known, but Mowbray, 
writing in the New 
York Zoological 
Society Bulletin, No¬ 
vember, 1916, presents 
a strong case in favor 
of the hypothesis that 
such tropical fish 
poisoning is in most 
cases due to improper 
marketing. He says: 
“It is probable that 
if, when caught, the 
fish were eviscerated 
and bled, a case of 
poisoning would be a 
rarity.” 
Bulletin No. I of 
the Madras (India) 
Fisheries Bureau,! 915, 
thus emphasizes the 
importance of prop¬ 
erly marketing fish in 
a tropical climate: “Of 
all general food, fish is 
most liable to taint and 
most poisonous when 
tainted. . . . Fish 
not kept alive must be 
cleaned and washed at 
sea and properly 
stowed. This brings 
them to shore with a 
much decreased 
chance of taint, even 
if several hours inter¬ 
vene.” 
