The Portland daily press., 1896-05-16
A WINKING FISH.

tim go.
A WINKING FISH.
The burr-fs has the same peculiar gift
of imitation, though developed to a less
extent, for the size and prominence of
tho spines with which he is armed are a
good defense by themselves; but the
swcll.fish has another power, which, for
a fish, is almost as fantastic. He can
wink In nearly all fishes the eye is
fixedly open. but the sweu-fish can puck
er the loose skin around his until it is
completely shut, and when he settles up
on the bottom, burrowing into the sand
until it is up to his ears, so to speak, he
makes nearer approach to an expression
of solid comfort than you expect of fish,
and you are as astonished as though you
heard him whistle. But he can whis
lie; and when he exhausts the air through
his teeth after fit of transportation
he does SO. But what is still
more wonderful is his power
Of rapidly changing his color to the tone
Of his surroundings. This faculty is pos
sessed by nearly all fishes. and is exer-
oised for the purpose of facilitating con-
cealment from enemies or prey; but, in
the case of the swell-fsh, it is particu-
larly striking because you can see the
change momentarily. When swimming
about his color on the back is dark olive
green, which is rapidly faded out by the
suppression of the pigment cells of his
skin when he sinks to the bottom, until
there ID no color about him distinct from
that of the sand excepting the brilliant
blue and orange of his eyes, which glow
like pair of gems.
FLAT FISH.
But the swell-fish is excelled in the gift
of mimicry by his neighbors, the f1oun-
ders, of which there arc dozen in one
tank, ranging from six to eighteen inch
es in length, so nearly invisible as they
lie with little sand scattered over their
backs that nine out of every ten persons
who look in pass on with the observa-
tion that there is nothing there to see. I
say "their backs'', as the populace who
are not on terms of familiarity with
founders would designate the upperlnost
surfaces, which are. in reality, their sides.
In the outset of its career tho fat-fsh
acknowledges the facts of its anatomy by
frankly swimming in an upright position
and wearing an eye on each side of it's
bend as other fishes do, but as it grows it
gradually assumes an oblique and ulti-
mately horizontal position, while the
eye on the under side, which would be
useless if it remained there, comes rou nd
to a position beside its fellows, and the
structure Of the adjacent parts of the skull
is modified in accordance. The mouth,
meantime, remains in its original situa-
ton, and the effect, from an aesthetic
point of view, is disastrous. But the
object is utility. The fat-fish is not
com Blatant, neither is it agile; but when
you see 1t settle upon the bottom, deep
en1ng or tightening it's color to a perfect
concordance Herewith. and dextrously
flirt little sand over its form, you will
agree that in the art of becoming incon-
spiouous it is an adept.
THE TOAD FISH.
Near py is specimen which might
well crave the faculty of the founder and
put it into effect with good taste. I refer
to the toadfish. When engaged upon the
task of getting up the designs for her
creatures nature must have laid aside all
suggestions and sketches for ugliness
until she came to the toadfish and Law
ished them all upon him. He is a fiabby,
Shiny, 1ooss-skinned monster, with a
head occupying full third of his entire
length, split by an unsightly cash Of a
mouth, which takes up all the space
possible without endangering the integri-
ty of his skull, which is surmounted by
u pair Of dull, protruding, closely set
eyes, each trimmed with a f1eshy crest
which aggravates the stupid maleyolence
of his expression. You look upon the i'll
favored visage of the toadfish, and pray
that he may have redeeming equality
unsuspected-a gentle disposition, per-
haps; but he has it not. He is rs had as
ne looks He bites viciously and sense
lessly, end hangs on with the tenacity
OF a bulldog. He comes honestly by his
bad qualities. His entire family are no.
| UOIiUuS LUZ fOIdOlUy anu hht W
it belongs the only truly venomous fish.
In this species the spiny rays of the
dorsal fins and the spines ON the head
have sacks Of poison at their bases and
are channeled to permit its egress.
STING RAYS.
There are pair of graceless representa-
tives Of another grotesque family in the
two sting rays, which are bad, too, al
though about as innocent looking as
couple OF buckwheat pancakes, if it were
not for the long, slender tails with their
vicious, barbed spines, with which they
are capable of ipflicting most painful
decorations. and are thoroughly hated
therefor by the fishermen. A cousin of
these is the. electric ray or torpedo, an
animated batter capable of administering
! shocks powerful enough to disable Wig
orous man. The spine of the full-grown
sting-ray is often used by savages for