TETRAODON, a genus of fishes, belonging to the order of amphibians. The jaws are bony, stretched out, and cloven at the point: there is a linear aperture; no ventral fins. There are seven species; of which the most remarkable is the lineatus, called by Mr Haselquist sahaka, which is the Egyptian and Arabic name. It has of late been found in the Nile about Cairo, but was never known in former times. It is said to grow to a prodigious size. When just caught, it pricks the skin if it is taken in the bare hands, and
produces small pustules in the same manner as nettles. The flesh is poisonous. Mr Forster confirms the account of the poisonous nature of a species of tetraodon, in his account of New Caledonia.