Volume 7, Plate VIII / Ichthyology (Fish)

Spined Niphon

Niphon sponosus

Inhabiting the Japanese seas, this species of about eight inches is remarkable for the knife-like spines arming its opercles and the sawed, spined armature of the whole head, with a large dagger-shaped spine at the angle of the preopercle. The first dorsal, ventral, and anal fins are strongly spined; the upper parts are pale brown divided by a pale longitudinal band from the eye, the lower parts silvery, and the tail blackish at its angles.