Arizona republican., 1907-05-16
The FATHER OF FISHES
CARES FOR The vOUN6

II is probably not very often that
father stays at home to take care of
the children. The duty usually de-
velops upon mother or sister or nurse.
In any case brother or the butler
would consider il a task outside his
province to see that no harm came TO
the little ones.
Out at the Zoo. too it is usually. the
mother who stands guard over her
young. who watches and cleans and
pets and plays with them.
But pay a visit 10 the aquarium a
fresh-water aquarium in its natural
state. There is the gaudy -colored ia
ther who floats motionless a few inches
above the cup-shaped nest. bright-ey
keen and watchful. or darts with a
fash and rainbow swish to lure away
some curious submarine intruder.
Among the fishes. at least Of the
rivers and lakes. custom has placed
the burden of care of the young in
most cases upon the male. This is
merely one of a number of interesting
facts shown by DIR. Theodore GIL. as
sociate in zoology at the United States
national museum. as the result of a
series of studies upon parental care
among fresh water fishes published by
the Smithsonian institution.
IL has been the general impression
among naturalists from the days OF
Aristotle that fishes are Indifferent to
their eggs and young and leave them
entirely to the care of Mother Nature.
And through the teachings of natural
lists. therefore. the idea that sea ami
mails have not that instinct which is
practically universal among land ami
mails 10 care for and protect their Off
spring even to the sacrifice of their
own lives, has been spread abroad.
"Oliver Goldsmith In I774." SAYS DR..
Gill. told his readers that fishes seem
all except the whale entirely Invested
Of those parental seiicitudes which so
strongly mark the manners of the more
perfect terrestrial animals" Many to
the present time entertain that belief
DIR. Gill has devoted much of his life
to the study Of natural history and is
one Of the foremost authorities of the
country not only upon ichthyology but
upon most subjects connected with ma
tural history. His recent studies show
beyond doubt that this idea is far
from the truth. In fact. ':the species
which manifest care for their young
are so numerous" he says. that the
present article must be restricted to
those which are inhabitants of fresh
water And the curious methods Of
protection adopted by different families
of sea animals, or even cousins and
aunts of the same family are not few.
DR.. Gill has gotten together practically
all that is known among naturalists
on the subject:
Naturally the most common or fire.
quent mode of care is the simplest"
he saws. consisting of little more than
selection of a site for the deposit OF
the females eggs and subsequent
guardianship of those eggs by the
male" The place selected is usually
cleared of stones and weeds. and in
the cleared spaces the eggs are laid.
Some, however go further than this.
certain catfish in Queensland is al
ways very careful to nose and splash
and swish stones up from the riverbed
and pile them in a heap over her eggs.
Then there are a lot of tribes among
our American and African fishes that
instead of laying their eggs in a Ger
tain spot and watching them carefully
while they hatch, carry them about in
their mouths for weeks at time. And
in South American waters there swims
a very distant cousin to our catfish
which has method of attaching eggs
In a mass to the skin. The skin of the
fish then grows out around them like
the cups of acorns around the nuts
and in this manner they are carried
and protected until they hatch.
Probably many. an angler has hap
pened upon a mass of fish eggs float
ing in a stream or lake to all appear
ances deserted by the parent FISH. But
these are not mere fOundlings To be
Matched. There has been much work
expended upon this floating nest. Per-
haps its simplest form. explains DR..
GILL is found in the many coIored fish
Of paradise which a floating nest of a
mere conglomeration of air bubbles
held together by "a stick substance
from the fishs mouth. other fishes
gather together to bind their. RATS
twigs and fallen leaves so that flosft-
ing nest of this sort looks like little
more than a bulk of mud and river
waste. There is one species. the stick
lebacks which is even equipped. spider
like, with special Matchmaking organs
TO weave a binding thread for the ma