Evening star., 1902-01-25
THE SMALLEST YET
Tiny Vertebrate Recently Found in
the Philippines.
IT WEIGHS ONLY HALF 4 GRAIN
Ranges of Size in Various Animal
Families.
INTERESTING COMPARISONS

Writte:, for The Evening Star.
The worlds smallest vertebrate just dis
covered in the Philippines, is exciting the
wonder and admiration Of government
scientists here
1t is difficult for the layman to imagine
mature and normal animal possessed Of
backbone and spinal cord and yet SO mi
mute and delicate as to weigh only half
grain.
This wonderful little animal is a fish. 1t
was lately found by soldiers in Lake
Buhi, southern Luzon, in the department
of Camarines Sur. Medical officers con-
nected with the hospital at Buhi collected
numerous specimens in a small bottle and
sent them to Washington. Surgeon Gener-
al Sternberg sent them to the fish commits
sion the other day, without knowing what
a great prize he was donating to that in
stitution. At the fish commission they
| were referred to DR.. Hugh M. Smith, biol
ogist, who has carefully weighed, meas
ured and examined them microscopically.
DR.. Smith has chrstened the wonderful
species ''Mistichthys luZonensiS," the first
word meaning 1.-The smallest and the sec
ond 'inhabitant 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 fish in
shape and proportions, SO far as the un-
trained eye can see. On account of its
phenomenal minuteneSs it is almost trans
parent. 1t has black chin, black line
down it's center, behind the anal fin, and a
few black spots on it's back. Many Of the
specimens diSsected under the microscope
contained ripe eggs, comparable with the
merest needle point and measuring loo of
an inch in diameter. The females are
slightly larger than the males. The former
average fraction more than half an inch
IN length; the males just a half inch. The
smallest mature specimens are but two
fifths Of an inch from tip of nose to point
of tail.
Thousands in a MOuthfuI.
An odd fact in regard to these infinitesi-
NAL creatures is that they are utilized for
human food. Lake Buhi is volcanic basin
In the shadow of Mt. 1riga. Here the side
or a mountain seems to have been quite re-
Gently blown out by volcanic action. Many
varieties Of fishes of every size abound in
the lake, but the sinarapan are by far the
most numerous.
The Bicols when fishing for them use a
large sheet Of close web, which they dip
under the water whenever a school congre-
gates. They are gathered in tightly woven
baskets, from which the water soon drains,
leaving compact mass of the little crea-
lures. When the fleets Of fishermen bring
them to shore in this condition the natives
buy them eagerly. They are seasoned with
pepper and other spices, pressed uncooked
into cakes and dried in the sun. Our SOL
diers are reported to have already grown
fond Of this strange diet.
Several cakes made from the little fishes
dried have been obtained by the fish COM
mission. They are about the size of ordi-
nary griddle cakes, but are thin as wa
fers and very brittle. Each contains from
two or three thousand fish. DR.. Smith and
your correspondent together partook of
morsels of one of these cakes. 1t gave off
decidedly fishy odor, which did not belle
its taste. The flavor was also peppery,
with a suggestion of sage and a good pro-
portion of salt. The waters are a rich
yellow in color and might be palatabe to
those fond Of caviar and kindred fshy
dishes.
To be able to brag of eating ten thou
sand whole fishes at a meal could be eX-
celled only by the boast of having caught
that many mature fishes in a few minutes,
with ones own hand. One Of the waters
supplies hardly a 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 "goby family, of which
upward of 600 species are known. Dr.
Smith regards 1t as not impossible that
they are ANNALS, like many of our plants
|. e., that they die out each year, leaving
only their undeveloped eggs. If this be
true there are months in each year when
they are practically extinct, but potentially
eXtant. In certain regions this is charac-
teristic of the goby.
The Largest Animal.
the largest animal Of that category we
have an amazing contrast. The largest YER
tebrate, and likewise the largest of known
animals, is the giant finback whale, inhab-
iting the Atlantic, within the temperate
zone, and which therefore swims off our
eastern coast. This monster has been
known to attain a length Of very nearly
100 feet, and is commonly seventy feet
from muzzle to tail.
Out of his left nostril the finback whale
blows a cloud of vapor, which betrayS his
presence to whalers. On account of his
enormous size he can be hauled only with
the harpoon gun throwing bomb lance,
the latter exploding upon penetration.
While hand harpoons were in use 1t was
impossible to capture whales Of the finback
variety.
But while the whale is the largest YER
tebrate, and, as also stated, the largest
known animal of any category whatsoever,
it is not a fish, although 1t is commonly al
luded to as SUCH The whale is a mammal,
and hence the largest of known mammals.
The smallest mammal is a 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 the distinction
Of having the greatest range in size This
little fish, two-fifths of an inch long, just
discovered in the Philippines being the
minimum. we will compare it with giant
shark of the Indo-Pacific region, known as
"Rhinodon typicus." This is known to ex-
ceed length of fifty feet, and, hence, is
the largest fish. 1t is even stated on fair
authority to grow to length of seventy
feet, but few Of our modern scientists be-
lieve this to be true.
Basking sharks, which obtain their name
from the fact that at certain seasons they
collect in large schools and lie motionless,
their dorsal fins and backs rising above the
surface of the water, number among the
giants of the fish family. They abound in
the north Atlantic and often attain length
Of forty feet. These giant fish are priced
on account of their enormous livers, from
which a valuable oil is obtained.
Range In Reptile Family.
The range of size is less in the reptile
family.
The largest reptile is the great man-eat-
ing, salt water crocodile of southern Asia
and Australia. 1t measures thirty feet in
length from tip of nose to end of tail. One
man would make but reasonable mouthful
for it. The largest boas and pythons reach
very nearly and perhaps fully this length,
but must be counted as smaller, because of
their inferiority Of girth and weight.
The smallest reptile is a thick-tongued
nocturnal lizard known as the "gecko."
1t averges two inches in length from end
of snout to tip of tail. 1t is an African