aperture of his captor, and both were drawn up together. Cicero also notices this extraordinary creature, in his Treatise on the Nature of the Gods. He observed its wonderful construction when musing on the shores of Sicily. [Illustration: THE FOUR-HORNED TRUNK FISH. (_Ostracion quadricornis._)] THESE singular fishes are distinguished from most others by the bony covering which envelopes them. The head and body are covered with plates of bone, forming an inflexible cuirass, and leaving exposed only the tail, fins, mouth, and a portion of the gill opening. They have no ventral fins, and the dorsal and anal are placed far back. Their liver is large, and abounds with oil. The Trunk-fish is a native of the Indian and American seas. Some of the species are considered excellent eating. [Illustration: THE GLOBE FISH, (_Tetraodon hispidus_,)] IS an oblong fish, inhabiting the seas of Carolina, and endowed with an extraordinary power of swelling its under surface into a large globe. This sudden enlargement not only alarms the enemies of the Tetrodon, but prevents them from making good their hold, by presenting to their grasp little more than an inflated bag. It is also covered with spines, which merely adhere to the skin, and are capable of being erected on any sudden emergency; thus giving to an innocent and defenceless creature a most formidable appearance. When inflated, they roll over on their backs, floating in this position, without any power of directing their course. Some species are reckoned poisonous. One is electrical, (_Tetraodon lineatus_,) and is found in the Nile; when left on shore by the inundations, it always inflates its body, becomes dried in this condition, and is then picked up by the children, and used as a ball. [Illustration: THE SUN FISH, (_Orthagoriscus mola_,)] APPEARS like the fore part of the body of a large fish, which has been amputated in the middle. The mouth is small, with two broad teeth only in each jaw. Its nearly circular form, and the silvery whiteness of the sides, together with their brilliant phosphorescence during the night, have obtained for it very generally the appellations of sun or moon fish. While swimming, it turns round like a wheel, and sometimes floats with its head above water, when it appears like a dying fish. It grows to a large size; sometimes being four or five feet in length, and weighing from three to five hundred pounds. The back of this curious marine animal is of a rich blue colour. It frequents the coasts of both the ancient and new continent, and has been found on the shores of England. [Illustration: THE CAVALLO-MARINO, OR SEA-HORSE. (_Hippocampus brevirostris._)] THIS is a small fish, of a curious shape. The length is from six to ten, and sometimes twelve, inches; the head bears some resemblance to that of a horse, whence originates its name. A series of longitudinal and transverse ridges run from the head to the tail, which is spirally curved and prehensile.