Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-09
PECULIAR FISH.
Some Are Able to Walk, While others
Do Curious Things.

Do Curious Things.
From the Boston Herald.
One of the most curious kinds of fish
is that known as the walking fish. a speci-
men was captured some time since in the
mouth of Delaware bay. When one hears
of fish that walk, one thinks fnsunctively
Of the lung fish or mud fish-those odd
creatures, survivors of an ancient fauna,
that seem to have made some advance
toward becoming amphibians, and stopped
short on the road When the Australian
lung fish was first described it was said to
leave the streams and go out among the
reeds and PUSHES on the flats, which are
left uncovered al low tide, and it is prob
able that all the three lung fish, from At
RIGA, Australia and South America respect
lively can move easily through the masses
of aquatic vegetation in their native rivers
and swamps. The name walking fish, is
generally given to some small species allied
10 the gobles OF our coasts, and found on
the shores and estuaries of West Africa
and the countries bordering the Indo-Pa-
cific.
Naturalist Banks speaks of the singular
phenomenon presented by these fish, which,
he says, were about the size of a minnow
and had two very strong breast fins. He
and his party often found them in very
dry places, where 1t was at first thought
they had been left by the tide. Further
observation showed that the fish had
chosen their situation voluntarily. He fix
ed his attention upon one fish, and says
that it Immediately fed, ''leaping as MIN
bly, a frog, by means of its breast fins;
nor did it seem to prefer water to land,
for if seen in the water it often leaped
out and proceeded on dry land, and when
the water was filled with small stones
standing above the surface would leap
from stone to Stone, rather than go into
the water In this manner l observed sew
eral pass over puddles of water and pro-
he hnr Gid a G
Other natura'iStS haye added good deal
to our knowledge of, these strange fish.
Hickson found them in the Celebes and de-
scribed them, as did .jalso Woodford, who
met with them in.Imapgrove swamps in the
Pacific, where, hf3 says, they are exceeding
ly common, hoppipgy and climbing among
the aerial roetaiyto fYhich they chung by
means of their astraHg pectoral fms, and
jumping off into ethe,,Water when any
approaches. He,HIs0 found them in wells
a long distanceIfrank other water, IN stu
atoms to reach Eihich,fhe would have had
to make considerable journey overland.
Moseley saw tBeplr during the voyage of
the Challenger, sando tells how he chased
one in Frincoma5fs harbor, which skipped
it reached a roek,-sN}sere it sat on a ledge
in the sun and waited till he came up,
when it skipped along to another rock.
Dr. FORBES speaks of their having two
modes OF motion on iand-a hop or spring
and walk. In the former case the pee
toral fins are used simultaneously as a base
whence 10 take off, and in the latter aEer-
nately, when curious triple track is left
III the soft mud
AT meeting of the British association in
1886 Hicksen pointed out that these fish
in the Ce-ebes always kept the tail under
water. and this, led Prof Haddon, during
the Torres straits expedition. to make some
experiments, which induced him to believe
that the tail does assist in respiration and
the microscope showed that the circulation
of the blood was exceptionally vigorous in
that organ.
But with these conclusions Dr. Forbes is
unable to agree. The specimens which
nave lived in the aquarium of the Liverpool
Museum have been kept under close and