Flute-mouths

Flute-mouths (Fistularidæ), a family of marine fishes, nearly allied to sticklebacks, remarkable for the elongation of the front bones of the head into a pipe bearing the small mouth at its apex. They live near the shore, and are widely distributed in the warm parts of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. There are but few species—e.g. Fistularia tabaccaria, and Aulostoma chinense. The Snipe-fish or Trumpet-fish (q.v., Centriscus scolopax) belongs to an allied family (Centriscidæ).