Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-11-09
WALKING FISH.
Specimen or the Tribe In Engus"
Geological Collections.
(LondOn Stanodru')

When one hears or reads Of fish that
walk, one thinks lnstinctively OF the
lung-fish or mud-fish-those curious crea-
lures, survivals OF an ancient fauna, that
seem TO have made some advance To-
wards becoming amphibians. and stopped
short on the road. 1t rs only natural that
one should recall them In this connection.
When the Australian lung-hsh was first
described 10 was said to leave the streams
and 20 out among the reeds and PUSHES
on the flats which are left uncovered at
low tide. and settlers averred that on
still nights they often heard 1t moving
on the river banks. This, however, has
been shown not to be the case, though
It is prob3 BILE that all the three lung-iish-
from Africa, Australia, and South Ameri-
ca, respectively-can move easily through
the masses of aquatic vegetation in their
native rivers and swamps. Inc name
''walking-fsh" is generally given 10 some
small species allied to the gobies Of our
own coasts, and found on the shores OF
estuaries Of West Africa and the coun-
tries bordering the Indo-Pacific.
Banks, in his Journal" speaks or the
very singular phenomenon presented by
these fish, which, he said, were about the
size of an English minnow, and had two
very strong breast fins. He and his party
often found them in very dry places,
where it was at first thought they had
been left by the tide. Further observa-
ton showed that the fish had chosen their
situation voluntarily. Sir Joseph fixed
his attention upon one fish, and says that
it Immediately fed "leaping as nimbly
as a frog, by means of it's breast fms;
nor did it seem to prefer water TO land
for il seen i'm the water IL often leaped
out and proceeded on dry land. and when
the water was filled with small stones
standing above the surface. would lea
from stone to stone rather tnan go into
the water. In this manner 1 OBJ
served several pass over puddles
of water. and proceed on the
other side, leaping as before" Other
naturalists have added a good deal to our
knowledge OF these strange fish. Hickson
found them in the Celebes, and described
them, as did also Woodford, who met with
them In mangrove swamps in the Pacific,
where, he says, they are exceedingly COM
mon, hopping and climbing among the
aerial roots, to which they cling by means
of their strong pectoral fins, and jumping
off into the water when any one APP
proaches. He also found them i'm wells
q long distance from other water, in stu
atoms to reach which they would have
had to make considerable journey over
land. Moseley saw them during the voy-
age Of the Challenger, and in his Notes
Of q Naturalist he tells how he chased
one, in TrincOmalee Harbor. which skip
ped along the water by a series OF jumps
until 1t reached a rock, where il sat on a
ledge in the sun and waited till he came
up, when 1t skipped along TO another rock.
Though spirit specimens have long been
known, and DR.. Gunther lent one to
Moseley, who drew it for an illustration
to his Notes, II was not till some three
years ago that living examples were
brought TO Europe. The credit Of intro
ducing these strange fish into geological
collections is due TO DR.. III. Forbes, direc-
tor of the Liverpool Museum. where they
have done remarkably we'll in shallow
saltwater tanks, kept at a temperature
OF about eighty degrees Fahrenheit.
When they came they were exceedingly
timid, but this shyness soon wore off,
and in a short time they learned to
recognize the attendant as no came to
feed them DR.. Forbes speaks OF their
having two modes Of motion on land-a
hop or spring and a walk. In the former
case the pectoral fins are used simulta-
neously as a base whence to take off,
and in the latter alternately, when a
curious triple track is left in the soft
mud. At the meeting Of the British AS
ISOLATION in 1886, Hickson pointed out that
thes fish in the Celebes always kept
the tail under water, and this led
Professor A. G. Haddon, during the
Torres Straits expedition, 10 make some
experiments, which induced him 70 believe
that the tail does assist in respiration.
and the microscope showed that the cir
culation Of the blood was exceptionally
vigorous in that organ. But with these
conclusions, DR.. Forbes is unable to agree.
The specimens which have lived in the
aquarium of the Liverpool Museum have
been kept under close and continuous
observation, with the result that the di
rector believes that no aid can be lent 10
respiration by the immersed portion OF
the tail. The gill-chambers of these fish
are capacious. and. in his opinion, il is
probable that a sufficient amount of water
can be retained in them TO keep up respi
ration during the time the fish are out
Of the water. lie has timed individuals.
both in their natural condition and in the
aquarium, and found that they would sit
for more than half an hour without a
bath They would then walk slowly into
the water, and go below the surface for
a second come up and rest for q brief
space, and walk slowly out again on 10
the margin.
DR.. Forbes has been very generous with
the specimens not required for the Liver
IOol MuStuIu. III DtgtluBtI last ne pre-
scented several 10 the geological gardens,
but they did not thrive, and i'm a short
time all died. He has quite recently sent
another consignment, for which home
has been found in a large tank in the
new tortoise-house. These specimens are
doing very well, and 1t will be a great
advantage for naturalists to have an op-
portunity Of watching these curious iisn,
which seem to be quite fearless and I'm
no wise incommoded by the visitors Wh)
stream through the house. Their re-
semblance TO tadpoles is exceedingly
striking, and their strange appearance is
added TO by their prominent eyes, which
are better adapted for vision in air than
in water, and, from their position. must
command an extensive field in all direc-
lions. They can be protruded and re-
tracted, and, as the fish lies propped Up
by its pectOral fins. 1t often appears 20
wink at the spectator, with one eye or
both. Or. Forbes has. however, explained
that what seems 10 be wnking is the m.
version OF the eye into a depression inn
medately beneath, for the purpose Of Iu-
bricating the organ when IL becomes dry
Trapping Small Animals.
QIarpers Round Table,
The gentle, graceful little jumping
mice. whte-footed mice. short-tailed
meadow rats, and flying squirrels are all
TO be found inside the city limits Of
Greater New York, and some of them arr
to be found in almost any rural place IN
thfg country yVh.e. If,.fl