“ A fish thus blown out turns over and floats belly upwards, driving before the wind and waves. Many of these fishes are highly poisonous when eaten, and fatal accidents have occurred from this cause. It appears that they acquire poisonous qualities from their food, which frequently consists of decomposing or poisonous animal matter, such as would impart, and often does impart, similar deleterious qualities to other fish. ”

“ They are most numerous between the tropics and in the seas contiguous to them, but a few species live in large rivers, as, for instance, the Tetrodon fahaka, a fish well known to all travellers on the Nile. Nearly 100 different species are known. ”