Page:Natural History, Fishes.djvu/209

Rh dorsal spine with the fore parts. The under side of the body forms a sharp ridge, running along the abdomen.

Only one species is recognized, Centriscus scolopax, ., two or three specimens of which have been taken at different times on the southern coasts of this island. The earliest example recorded is that of one five inches long, which was cast ashore by the waves, in St. Austle’s Bay, Cornwall, in the year 1804. It is commonly known as the Snipe-fish, or Trumpet-fish; and we learn from Mr. Yarrell’s Synonymy, that in Cornwall it has received the title of Bellows-fish, an appellation pointing to its obvious similarity in form to that useful article of household economy, the caudal fin representing the handles, and the tubular snout the pipe, of the bellows.

The Snipe-fish rarely exceeds the size of the

specimen already mentioned. When full grown the back is red, somewhat paler on the sides, and passing into silvery white, tinged with gold-colour, on the belly. All the fins are greyish-white. The young are of a brilliant silvery lustre, without the