The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-09-02
THE QUEER FLOlrNDER.
How His Under Eye Works Its Way to
His Back.

Some Of you may have heard the say
Ing las Hat as founder" and have not
stopped to think. What / wish to tell
you is why this fish is fiat, and what
happens because il Is fiat.
Ii you have ever seen one in market
or elsewhere, you know that the upper
and under parts of its body are of differ.
ent colors, and its two eyes are, strangely
enough, both on the same side of the
head. Ii you were to see one in the
water, you would notice that il swan
not upright, MS other fish swim, lying
over on one side, with its eyes on top.
Now all these things-thc tlatness, the
two eyes together, the twisted mouth,
the differently colored sides, the peculiar
swimming-come from the fact that the
founder 10 not aud never has been an
over-brave fish. We cannot blame the
poor creatures much, because they have
no way to defend themselves, as sword
fish and some others have. Their neigh
bors enjoyed eating them; they know
that they are weak, and so they took,
ages ago, to hiding at the bottom of the
water. This has been done so long, that
now they have actually lost the power
TO come 10 the surface. Other fish rise
and sink by means OF an air-bladder.
Those OF our friends that used theirs and
rose were pounced upon and eaten. The
poor scared ones that hid at the bottom
and saved their lives had no need Of the
rising apparatus, and now, rs is always
the case when an organ is not used they
have lost it,
But when the founder took 10 his hid
ing place ut the bottom he did not settle
himself ut all comfortably, according to
our ideas of fish comfort. Instead OF an
upright position, with the two sides
equally up, he chose, for some reason, to
lie over entirely on one of them, with
the other side up This position ac-
counts for the differently colored sides.
That on which he lay was protected al
ways from the sunlight, and lost its color.
The upper has come to be the color Of
the bottom on which he lives, be that
color what IL may. That IL should be so
il not so strange as IL seems. A bright
founder shining on dark bottom is
easily seen by its enemies, aud seized
and eaten. The same would be true of
dark fish in a bright coral home. Those
who lived to have families OF their own
were those whose color was most like
the color OF their home. Only the safest
color was transmitted, and SO, the world
over, members of this family are the
color OF sand, or mud, or gravel, or
shell, or coral, according TO the place Of
their abode. Some are even knotted
and rough, in way that makes them
wonderfully like their home. We find,
for the same reason. arctic animals white
like snow, and desert insects the color Of
sand.
Another result OF tho natncss ~ ~
fiat fish family TO which tn ..ucr be.
longs Is that its eyes are both on the top
OF It's head. We can best soc how
they have gotten together, and how
other changes have taken place, by
noticing the growth ofa young founder.
In the very beginning OF its existence tho
baby fish Is a clear, transparent little
thing. It's two eyes are where we'll
regulated eyes should be, on opposite
sides OF the head, and II swims vertically
In the water, as do other fish. But In a
few days the influence OF long line OF
founder ancestry is felt. He, too. takes
to lying on one side generally, but not
always, the left. Tho exposed skin dark
ems. In this position the view Of tho
under eye is somewhat limited and 1t
squints upward toward a larger one. 1t
begins TO move; II turns the corner and
comes TO the top. There IL takes stand.
The mouth twists upward and theyoung
fish swims along sidewsc on the bottom.
Il Harper's Young People.