THE FAMILY OF GLOBE FISH AND COFFERS.
COFFRE OR OSTRACION.
This forms the first group of bony Fishes, which are distinguished by having the jaw attached to the cranium. In the Globe Fish the jaws have no apparent teeth, but they are furnished with a kind of beak in ivory, which represents them. In the group to which the Coffer Fish belong the nose terminates in a little mouth armed with true teeth. The first group includes the Globe-fish and the Diodons; in the second group we find the Coffers or Ostracions and the File-fish or Balistes.
The skin of the Globe-fish bristles with small slightly projecting spines, which repel their enemies, and even wound the hand that would grasp them. They enjoy, besides, a strange power; they can inflate the lower part of their body, and give it an extension so great that it becomes like an inflated ball, in which the real shape of the Fish is lost. This result is obtained by the introduction of an immense quantity of air into the stomach when it wishes to ascend to the surface. The species of Globe-fish are numerous. Some of them are common in the Nile, where they are frequently left ashore during the annual inundations.
There is a smooth Globe-fish known as the Moon-fish. Its compressed, spineless body, being very round, has been compared to a disk, and more poetically to the moon, to the great circular surface of which the dazzling silvery white disk bears some resemblance. But it is especially during the night that it justifies the name given to it. Then it shines brightly from its own phosphorescent light, at a little distance beneath the surface.
On very dark nights, this Globe-fish is sometimes seen swimming in the soft light which emanates from its body, the rays rendered undulating by the rippling of the water which it traverses, so as to resemble the trembling light of the moon half-veiled in misty vapors. When many of these Fishes rove about together, mingling their silvery trains, the scene suggests the idea of dancing stars. The Moon-fish is common in the Mediterranean, and sometimes reaches the markets of Europe. It is about thirty inches in length.
THE DIODONS.
DIODON.
The curious Diodons differ from the Globe-fish in the form of their bony jaws, each forming only one piece. They differ also in their spines, which are much larger than those of the Globe-fish. These Fishes may be said to be the Hedgehogs and Porcupines of the sea. Like the Globe-fish, they can erect their spines and inflate their bodies.
THE COFFERS.
The Coffers or Ostracions, are without scales, but are covered with regular bony compartments which are so jointed to one another that the body seems to be enclosed in a kind of box or long coffer, which only reveals the fins and a portion of the tail. The body is usually of a triangular shape, although some species are quadrangular; but no matter what the form, this queer bony box gives the Fish an odd appearance, making it distinct from all others.
These singular Fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and in the American seas. They are of moderate size, and of little value as food for mankind.
THE FILE-FISH.
These have a compressed body, and the jaws are furnished with eight teeth arranged in a single row on each jaw. The mouth is small and the body is enveloped in very hard scales. The File-fish or Balistes are inhabitants of tropical seas, with one exception. They are brilliantly colored, and as they herd together in great numbers they form curious combinations of rare coloring in the equatorial seas.