THE ELECTRIC EEL.
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The great pipe-fish, as it is called, is, in fact, by no means large, as it seldom exceeds from six to eighteen inches in length; and its body is very slender. The tubular mouth is the most extraordinary part of this fish, and it is generally from one-eighth to a quarter of the length of the body. The creature feeds on worms, small molluscous animals, and Crustacea, which it is enabled, by dilating its throat, to draw up through its cylindrical pipe-like mouth, as water is drawn up the pipe of a syringe. This is absolutely necessary to enable the fish to take its food, as the jaws only open at the extremity of the pipe.
The hippocampus, vulgarly called the sea-horse, belongs to the same family. These very curious creatures have also pipe-like mouths, or rather pipe-like united jaws, with a mouth placed at the end. The common kind is frequently found at Guernsey and the other Channel Islands, and also on the Hampshire coast. Occasionally they are discovered curled up in oyster shells, and on several occasions they have been taken alive, and kept for some days in water. In May, 1835, F. C. Lukis, Esq., a gentleman residing at Guernsey, obtained two of these creatures alive, and having kept them more than twelve days in water, he sent an account of them to Mr. Yarrell, by whom it was inserted in his British Fishes, and from which the following particulars are extracted.—"An appearance of search for a resting-place, induced me," says Mr. Lukis, "to consult their wishes by putting straws and sea-weed into their vessel, and this has afforded me an opportunity of observing many of their peculiarities. When swimming about, they maintain a vertical position; but the tail is ready to grasp whatever meets it in the water, quickly entwines in any direction round the weeds, and, when fixed, the animal intently watches the surrounding objects, and darts at its prey with great dexterity. When both approach each other, they often twist their tails together, and struggle to separate or attach themselves to the weeds; this is done by the under part of their cheeks or chin, which is also used for raising the body when a new spot is wanted for the tail to entwine afresh. The eyes move independently of each other, as in the chameleon; this, with the brilliant changeable iridescence about the head, and its blue bands, forcibly remind the observer of that animal."
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The globe-fishes approach very nearly to the cartilaginous fishes. Instead of teeth, the jaws are furnished with a substance like ivory, which resembles that which lines the beak of a parrot. Two of the genera possess the singular faculty of inflating their bodies by swallowing great quantities of air. When thus swollen, they roll over and float on the surface of the water, apparently totally unable to direct their course. One of these is called the porcupine-fish or sea-porcupine (Diodon atinga). The generic name of this fish signifies two teeth, as the jaws present but one piece above and another below. The skin is armed on all sides by strong pointed spines, so that, when inflated, the creature bears considerable resemblance to a gigantic burr. These spines are, however, very dangerous; and one species, especially, which is common between the tropics, when taken by means of a hook, exhibits the most ungovernable movements, and as it alternately inflates and compresses its body, and ascends and descends with rapidity and violence, it is extremely dangerous to lay hold of. When it is fished for, the hooks are baited with small crabs. The sea-porcupine no sooner finds itself fairly caught, than it swells up like a balloon. It then utters a dull sound like a turkey-cock, and seems to become exceedingly furious. In a short time, however, it has recourse to a very opposite mode of action, by lowering its spines, disinflating its body, and becoming as loose and as flabby as a wet glove. The globe diodon, the sun-fish, and the trunk-fish, are all very curious creatures, nearly allied to the diodon. The sun-fish, in particular, looks exactly as though the head had been cut off a large fish, and thrown into the water without the body.
THE PORCUPINE-FISH.
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CARTILAGINOUS FISHES.
This division of fishes in some of the genera approaches very nearly to the reptiles. The skeleton is strictly cartilaginous or gristly, being quite destitute of true bony matter. The flesh of these fishes is generally firm and solid, and tastes like veal.
The sturgeon has a small mouth, which is placed below the snout, and, instead of teeth, it has a hard horny substance on each jaw. The nostrils and eyes are on one side of the head; and the muzzle is furnished with four long tendrils, which have much the appearance of worms, and which are extremely sensitive, appearing to answer the same purpose in this respect, as the whiskers of the cat-tribe. There is no appearance of an external ear, but the labyrinth is perfect within the bones of the head. The sturgeons prey upon the smaller fishes, in pursuing which in the sea they exert much speed; but in the rivers they frequent, they are said to search for worms in the muddy bottom, which they explore with their snouts like pigs. The flesh of the common sturgeon when cooked is white and delicate, and its roe forms the common caviar. A more delicate kind, however, is formed from the roe of the sterlet, the smallest of the European sturgeons, which seldom measures more than three feet long, while the common sturgeon is seldom found less than six or eight feet in length, and sometimes measures sixteen. The isinglass sturgeon, however, is the largest of the genus, sometimes attaining the length of from twenty to thirty feet, and weighing from 1500 to 3000 pounds. The best isinglass is made from the air-bladder of this species, which is cut into fine shreds.
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The polyodon, which belongs to this family, has an enormously long snout, dilated in the middle into something resembling the leaf of a tree; so that when the creature is swimming with its head on a level with the water, its snout looks like a dead leaf floating on the surface.
The sharks do not lay any eggs, but produce their young alive. The white shark is the most common, and the most voracious. This creature is very curiously formed, as its mouth is so far under its upper jaw that it cannot seize its prey without turning on its side. Its voracity, however, is so great that it has been seen to leap out of the water to snatch a piece of meat suspended from the projecting part of a ship. The shark differs from the other cartilaginous fishes in its jaws being armed with several rows of extremely sharp pointed teeth; and the jaws of the white shark are so powerful as to bite at once through the body of a man. The throat is very large, so that it can swallow an enormous mass, and one captured near the island of St. Margaretta is said to have had a whole horse in its stomach. The extraordinary attachment of the pilot-fish to the shark has been often noticed, and it is, indeed, so great that the pilot-fish (which is one of the mackerel family) has been repeatedly seen clinging to a shark while it has been hoisted on deck. It is also well known that the shark, however hungry it may be, never attacks its faithful friend. What the instinct is that produces this attachment is unknown, but probably it depends upon the pilot obtaining its subsistence from the remains of the shark's prey, as the jackal does from that of the lion.
THE WHITE SHARK.
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The fox shark or thrasher receives its second name from the immoderate length of the upper half of its tail, and as it has a fin along its under side, it gives the organ some resemblance to a fox's tail. It is this species that attacks the whales, which it harasses, by giving them violent strokes with its tail when they rise to the surface for the purpose of breathing.
The hammer-headed shark has a head like a hammer, with an eye on each side. The body is very slender, but it often attains the length of sixteen or seventeen feet. It is found in the West Indies and in the Indian Ocean as well as in Europe, and one species is met with in New Holland. Another species, which is called the heart-headed shark, is found on the coast of Guiana.
The angel or monk-fish is another kind of shark which is very bold and voracious. When captured it bites with great fury. It preys most on flat-fish. This fish appears to be the connecting link between the sharks and the rays.
THE ANGEL, OR MONK-FISH.
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The rays or skates are very curious fish, from the thinness and broadness of their bodies, and their narrow tails. In the common skate this tail has more the appearance of that of a calf than of any kind of fish, while the body is triangular. In some parts of England the common skate is called the maid, and in Dorsetshire it is called the tinker. The eggs of these fishes are square, and have a long drawn-out handle at each corner, so that they look like miniature hand-barrows, with a load in the middle. They are also of a curious dark brown leathery substance, so that when they are thrown on shore by the waves, which is very often the case on the southern coast of Great Britain, no one could possibly imagine that they were eggs who was not previously informed of their nature and peculiar appearance. Those of the common skate, when empty, are very frequently thrown on the beach at Brighton, and the children who pick them up to play with them, call them skate-barrows. The eggs of the dog-fish are still more remarkable, as they are furnished with such curious tassels at each end, that they are frequently called mermaids' purses: they are oblong, of a pale yellowish colour, and semi-transparent; so that those which are not empty shew a faint shadow of the young fish within. The thornback is a species of ray, distinguished by the roughness of its back, and the strong bony oval plates, each furnished with a curved prickle, that are irregularly scattered over both its surfaces.
The sting ray is characterised by having the tail armed with a spine, finely notched like a saw on both sides. Mr. Couch, in his MS., says, "this species keeps on sandy ground, at no great distance from land, and in summer it wanders into shallow water, where it is often entangled in the fishermen's nets; and this is the way in which it is generally caught, as it rarely swallows a bait. The manner in which this fish defends itself, shews its consciousness of the formidable weapon it carries on its tail. When seized or terrified, its habit is to twist its long, slender, and flexible tail round the object of attack, and with the serrated spine to tear the surface, lacerating it in such a manner as to produce the most violent inflammation." Other authors state, that it strikes its weapon into its prey first, and then with its winding tail secures the capture. The eagle or whip ray receives its latter name from the long, slender, and flexible character of its tail, which is sometimes above three feet long, and not thicker than an ordinary whip. This fish is called the eagle ray from the wing-like form of its fins.