New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-06-04
SOME QUEER FISH STORIES.
SPECIMENS THAT HOP. SKIP AND WALK
THEY CAN LIVE OUT OF WATER HALF AN HOUR
POWERFUL BREAST FINS.

POWERFUL BREAST FINS
From The London Standard
yt-h.r one hears or reads OF Ash that walk.
ons thinks instnctively Of the lungnsh or muu-
Ash-those curious creatures surVNais Va o..
ancient fauna, that seem to nave , msue so IND
ADVANCE toward becoming empnipians' aiu
sfopped short on the road 1t is only ha,u a
that one should recall them In TINS connee'i an
when the Australian lungnsh was ni "a 90
scrihea II was said to leave the streams ana go
ont among the reeds and rushes on the nats
which are left uncovered at low tide ana s se,
tiers averred that on sun hlgh.s This how
hear Il moving on the river banks inns, NV
ever has been shown not 20 be the case thousn
u is probable that all the three lunghshLlro.ii
Africa Australia and south Aie el ,osae ~
tivelv-can move easily through the MASSES ",
sr.y Vegetation in their native rivers ana
swamps. 49,, Il, xo,ara,Iv given TO
sonoe small species allied to the goples Oh oui
avn coasts and found on the shores ana es.u
aries OF West Africa and the countries porueiiiis
the Indo-Pacific Banks IN ,n ms pre-
sented by these FISH. which. he says, weIe 80
the size of an English minnow, ana nau f ssO
very strong breast fms he anu ns nA q was at
AIRS; thought they had been left by t ash had had
Further observation showed that 'he rs" ""N
chosen their situation voluntarily. 0ro fab
Sir Joseph fixed his attention upon one as
.nd saws that II Immediately fed, leaphs 90
nimby as q frog, by means OF its nies tor ~
nor did 1t seem to prefer wafer s ~ ont and pro-
seen In the water II often leapeu out a u,as
ceedsd on dry land, and when the water We
filled with small stones standing apo Nn rather
face would leap from stone 10 s.o + Oh
thar go into the water In this manner "a
served several pass over puddles OF water, anu
proceed on the other side. leapng as set Sno, "a
other naturasts have aHdeo a sSoo rStc1son
o,,r knowledge OF these strange nsh: l1iS t
Sound them in the Celebes, and described theII'
AZ did also Woodford. who met Win tne., ,,s 20
mangrove swamps in the PACING, "he, ,e,,,ns and
they are exceedingly common, hopPhS ANY. a,,u
climbing among the aerial roots, TO wnlcn n . a
cling by means OF their strong pec'oIa, In" nnn
and jumping off into the wafer VIZ a,,s long
snnroacbes He also found them in welis lols
distance from other water. in situations TO reaI"
which thew would have had 10 make consul
cradle tourney overland. Moseley saw tne ~,
during The VOYAGE of the Challenger. and IN nls
Notes of a Naturalist he tells now ne Sna 'Sed
one. in Trncomaee Harbor. whicn skI iH a.
along the water by series OF JUMPS " -, ,he
raached a rock where 1t sat on a ledge IN the
sun. and waited till he came up. wnen II sA'ppeu
along 10 another rock - .on
rThouah spirit specimens have long oeep
tnown and Dr. Gunther lent one 10 Moseley.
who drew it for an illustration to his Notes,
II was not till some three years ago s . III. a
90 ,n,roducine these strange fish into geological
collections is due to DR.. II. FORBES. DIRECTOR VI
the Liverpool Museum. where they nav -
remarkably we'll in shallow saltwater TANKS
Lant AZ a temperature of about 80 degrees
Fahrenheit When they came they were eS S,
eeedingly timid: but this shyness soon wore on,
and in a short time they learned 10 recosnIAe
shn attendant as he came TO feed them. Dr.
Forbes speaks of their having two modes or
motion on land-a mop or spring ana d Wa az
In the former case the pectoral fms are usee
simultaneously as a base whence TO TAKE OH,
ana m the latter alternately. when curious
triple track is left in the soft mud; ,..,o. -
AZ the meeting Of the British Association III
1855 dickson pointed out that these hsh, IN lhe
Celebes always kept the tail under Watei, a ,ra
this led Professor A. T. .Haoooh' uulil, srerI
ments which induced him 10 believe that the
tail does assist in respiration ana tne n nSao1
scope showed that the circulation OF the 49, o..
was exceptionally vigorous IN tha' orsali ~
with these conclusions Dr. Forbes Is unaole 10
agree The specimens which have llVeo IN tne
aquarium OF the Liverpool Museum nave pe pee.
kent under close and continuous observation,
with the result that the director beleVes tnat no
aid can be lent TO respiration by the immersed
portion of the tail The giil-cnaoe's =. V =; nrob
hsh are capacious. and in his opinion IL Is PROP
able that a sufficient amount of water can pe
retained in them to keep up respiration dur hn
the time the fish are out OF the water he mas
timed individuals both in their natural condl-
tion and In the aquarium, and has found tnat
they would sit for more than half an nour "itI-
cut q bath They would then walk slowly into
the vatsr and go below the surface Tor sec
ond cene up and rest for a brief space ana
walk slowly out again onto the margin, A..
DR. Forbes has been very generous with the
specimers not required for the Liverpool mu-
scum In December last he presented several 10
the Geological Gardens. but they did not thrive
and in a short time all died. He has quite re-
Gently sent another consignment. for which a
home has been found in large tank In the new
tortoise house. These specimens are uOlnB Nely
WELL and II will be a great advantage Tor natu-
ralists to have an opportunity Of watching these
curious fish. which seem to be quite fearless, and
in nowise incommoded by the VISITORS VINO
stream through the house
Their resemblance 10 tadpoles Is exceedingly
striking. and their strange appearance is aooeo
70 by their prominent eyes, which are better
adapted for vision in air than in water and,
from their position. must command an extensive
held in all directions They can be pr0,p9d Zee,
and retracted and as the fish lies propped up
by its pectoral fms 1t often appears to wink at
the spectator. with one eye or both. DR.. FORBES
has however explained that what seems TO be
Y winking is the inversion Of the eye into de-
IA preston Immediately beneath, for the purpose
OF ubricatng the organ when IL becomes dry.
The climbing perch of India seems to have
been well known to the ancients, for Theo-
phrastus records the existence in that country
OF certain little fishes which leave the rivers
for time and again return to them This
agrees pretty closely with the habits Of this
species. The Malays call it by name which
signifes the "tree-climber," but while there is
no reason 10 doubt the truth Of Daldorfs story
that In 179i ne took one from moist cavity
IN the stem Of palm tree growing near lake.
there has hitherto been no confirmation OF 1t by
any European
In this Ash the hinder border of the gl-cover
is armed with spines. the neutral fins are
spinous, so as to afford some support. and It
its pectoral fms 10 oar itself along through
the grass and reeds. There is no doubt that
IT can travel for considerable distance on land.
or that IT can live for some time out or the
water; but that is no reason for accepting the
medieval Arab story that it climbed palm trees
10 drink the milk of the nuts.
This fish and its allies have a supplementary
gill-like organ on each side above the true
gills. which enables them to exist for a con-
siderable time out of the water. A less complex
arrangement, serving a like purpose. is found
In the Indian fish popularity known as serpent
heads" which can travel a good way over moist
ground. moving first one peotoral An and then
the other. in some such fashion as a man would
elbow his way through crowd.
The OF the pectoral fms means Of loco
motion other than swimming is not unknown
among British fishes
A REMARKABLE WOMAN.