The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-02-22

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careful examination showed that the act
was one Of protection. AS the beam OF
light struck the water, throwing every
object into high relief, I saw a may,
& indefinite mass resting on Il portion OF
n the water. II was the school of almos.
4 microscopic young, making their first
attempt, perhaps at swimming.
"a Around them rushed Alciblades dart
Ing here and there and undeniably draw
q ing into his not over capaclous mouth
Sthe straying individuals Of his flock.
2 But here the cannihalistic act ended, as
sthe young were immediately projected
y out of the little mouth as from a gun
8and propelled with great force through
the water in the direction OF the weeds
which the ingenuity OF the parent had
woven into home. Far from devouriur
his little ones. the fish was taking them
into his mouth to send them flying back
hoping to prevent them from strayiny
away and becoming victims to possible
predatory fishes.
AS the little protector Of this numerous
family remained poised exactly I'm tho
center OF the beam OF light. conl,:
Watch ms every movement and Ii was
interesting to note the care with which
he drew stragglers in. keeping his mouth
Widely diStended all the while no, to in
2 lure the fragile atoms that seemed but
bits OF jelly moving slowly along.
~ AS days passed the cloud OF young
grew more unmanagcn Bile. ana Alcibiu-
deS became at times a veritablr connon.
loading himself in long Limitations with
the active young and shooting them ont
again, to repeat the act with untirintr
patience. But they soon surrounded him
and swan beyond what he evidently
considered the danger line In scores. and
in despair he left them to their own de-
vices, and soon. Invested of the highly
colored coat he had worn through tie
exhauSttng period, assumed lh,. uuiet
garb Of everyday life.
The method OF protecting the Young
may be considered unique but thcr. an.
several fishes which carry IL 10 cvan
greater extremes; not merely taking The
small fry into their mouth. but habitu
ally carrying them there. This is true
oil u very Iong-named fish, Ophioccnha-
lus, found in the sea of 'riberius. When
the masses OF little eggs change i'm their
miraculous way into young they are sed-
uously watched and cared for; and when
alarmed the young in large numbers are
taken into the capacious mouth OF their
protector. This vigilant parent bears
some resemblance To the black bass, but
has large head. nearly third the size
OF the fish itself
One of the most interesting discoveries
made by AgassiZ during his famous trip
to Brazil, related to this singular pro-
lection afforded certain fishes which. To-
nah-like, seemed to find safe refuge In
the mouth of the parent The most re-
markable OF these was dedicated to the
Emperor Of Brazil. ana in these words
Agassiz announced the discovery:
Sire: On arriving here (Tafre) this
morning had the most agreeable and
unexpected surprise. The first fish
brought me was the Acara which Your
Majesty kindly permitted me to dedi-
cate TO YOU and by an unlookcd-for for
tune 1t was the breeding season and il
had It's mouth full of little ones in the
process of Development
B We can imagine the delight with
which Agassiz informed his friend.
Milne Edwards. of this owndertul &C; on
the part of fish. The naturalist Sc
cured number OF AcaraS. several Of
which had this peculiar habit. In one
the eggs are taken into the mouth. pro-
badly OF the male. and held; the young
being kept there until they are able to |
care for themselves. When the little
The eggs are taken into the mouth. pro
fishes, which bore some resemblance to |
our own fish. began to stray they were
perhaps drawn into the mouth Of their