Fig. 110.—Batrachus grunniens (West Indies).
Fig. 111.—Thalassophryne reticulata (Panama; Tropical Pacific). (After Savtschenko.)
The Grunting Batrachus, which does not exceed 30 cm. in length, is especially common in West Indian waters. When taken from the water it makes a peculiar grunting sound, whence its name is derived. The pectoral fins are reddish, the back is brown, and the sides are yellow, marbled with black. It has three spines in the anterior dorsal fin, and a fourth spine on the top of the operculum, with a small poison-sac at the base of each.
Next to this genus come the species of Thalassophryne, T. reticulata (fig. 111), found on the shores of Panama, and T. maculosa, of Bahia (Brazil), which are provided with a precisely similar poison-apparatus.
The physiological action of the venom of these two species has not yet been studied, but it is probable that it does not differ from that of the venom of the Weevers and the species of Synanceia.
Fig. 112.—Lophius setigerus (China Sea and Sea of Japan). (After Savtschenko.)