Volume 7, Plate Vignette / Ichthyology (Fish)

Pentaceros Capensis

A native of the Cape of Good Hope known from a single specimen and about three inches long, this singular fish recalls the genus Ostracion in its triangular form, hard joined scales, and horn-like protuberances. The head and cheeks are roughly granulated, blunt horns rise on the nose and above the eyes, and a collar of seven plates behind the cranium bears five horn-like eminences in all, the strong-spined fish being silvery yellow or greenish mottled with deep brown.