The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-06-14
WORLDS SMALLEST FISH
AN EDIBLE VARIETY NEVER LARGER
THAN A HALF INCH.
Sent from the Philippines = Caught In
Nets by tho Thousands and Iressed
Into Cakes to Be Eaten - These Fish
Are Highly Priced by Our Soldiers.

discovered in the Philippines. is ex-
| citing the wonder and admiration OF
| government scientists.
| 1t is difficult for the layman to I'M
agine a mature and normal amman pos
| sessed of backbone and spinal cord
| and vet so minute and delicate as to
weigh only half grain.
This wonderful little animal is fish
| II was lately found by our soldiers in
Lake Buhi, Southern LuZon. in the de-
partment of Camarines Sur. Medical
| officers connected with the hospital at
Buhi collected numerous specimens in
small bottle and sent them to Wash
ington Surgeon General Sternbery
sent them to the fish commission the
other day, without knowing what
great prize he was donating to that in
stitution. At the fish commission they
were referred to DR.. Hugh M. Smith.
biologist, who has carefully weighed.
measured and examined them micro
scopically. DR.. Smith has christened
the wonderful species, "Mistichthys
luzonensis,' the first word meaning
"the smallest" and the second, in
habitant of Luzon,' "Sinarapan" is the
common name by which the little
creatures are known among the
Bicols who inhabit their region.
The sinarapan is like any other fisn
in shape and proportions. SO far as the
unframed eye can see. On account of
its almost phenomenal minuteness, it
is almost transparent. 1t has black
chin, a black line down It's centre, be-
hind the anal fin, and few black spots
on it's back. Many of the specimens
dissected under the microscope con-
tanned ripe eggs, comparable with the
merest needle-point and measuring
1900 inch in diameter. The females
are slightly larger than the males. the
former averaging fraction more than
half an inch in length. while the males
average just a half inch The smallest
mature specimens are but twC-tifths
of an inch from tip of nose to point
Of tail.
An odd fact in regard to these in
finitcsimal creatures is that they are
utilized for human food. LakeiBuhi is
volcanic basin, in the shadow of Mt
Iriga Here the side of mountain
seems to have been quite recently
blown out by volcanic action: Many
varieties of fishes of every size
abound in the lake, but the siBarapan
are by far the most numerous.
The Bicols when fishing for them use
large sheet of close web which they
dip under the water whenever a school
congregates. They are gathered in
tightly woven baskets from which the
water soon drains, leaving compact
mass of the little creatures. When the
fleets of fishermen bring them to shore
in this condition the natives buy them
eagerly. They are seasoned with pep
per and other spices pressed uncooked
into cakes and dried in the sun
Several cakes made from the little
fishes dried have been obtained by the
fish commission. They are about tn,
size Of ordinary griddle cakes, but are
as thin as waters and very brittle.
Each contains from two to three thou.
sand fish. DR.. Smith and your CORE.
spondent together partook of morsels
of one of these cakes. It
gave of decided fshy
odor which did not belle it's taste
The flavor was also peppery with
a suggestion of sage and a good pro-
portion of salt. The waters are rich
yellow in color and might be palatabl i.
to those fond of caviar and kindred
fishy dishes.
TO be able to brag OF eating ten thou
sand whole fishes at a meal could be
excelled only by boast of having
caught that many mature fishes in
few minutes, with ones own hand. One
of the waters supplies only mouthful
and many are doubtless requisite to
satisfy the hunger of a Bicol at one
meal.
These smallest of all fishes belong to
the great cosmopolitan 'gc1y" family,
of which upwards of 80 species are
known. DR.. Smi.A regards it as not i'm
possible that they are ANIMALS, like
many of our plants, /. e.-that they die
out each year leaving only their I'M
developed eggs. If this be true, there
are months in each year when they are
practically extinct, but potentially
extant. In certain regions this is char
acteristic of the goby.
Comparing this smallest vertebrate
with the largest animal Of that cate
CORY we have an amazing contrast. The
largest vertebrate and likewise the
largest of known animals is the giant
finback whale inhabiting the Atlantic,
within the temperate zone. and which
therefore swims off our eastern coast.
This monster has been known to attain
a length of nearly loo feet and is
commonly 20 feet from muzzle to tail.
But while the whale is the largest
vertebrate, and, as also stated. the
largest known animal of any category
whatsoever, it is not a fish, although
1t is commonly alluded to as such. The
whale is mammal, and hence the
largest of known mammals.
The smallest mammal is little
shrew called the sorex 1t is under
three inches in length, from tip of tail
to point of nose.
To the fish family belongs tho die