Semi-weekly herald., 1909-03-25
AN ODD LOT OF FISHES.
(By John N. Cobb,

(By John N. Cobb.)
Fishes have many strange and va
ried ways OF procuring food; but prob
ably the most remarkable is that prac
tised by the Indian chaetodon and ia
allied species. The fish literally shoot,
its prey.
The chaetodon has very keen eye
sight, and when II perceives a fly OF
other insect settle on an overhanging
bush or leaf, 1t approaches as eau
tiously as possible, gradually bringing
its head and long snout close to the
surface of the water, and remains for
an instant motionless, with its eyes
fixed on the insect. while taking aim
Suddenly 1t darts at the insect a drop
of water from It's mouth with such
strength and precision as rarely fail
10 bring down lis prey, often from a
distance of Ave or six feet. 1t can
also shoot flies on the wing.
Another fish Of the same order forms
Its mouth into tube and squlrts wa.
ter at flies so as to cucumber their
wings and bring them to the waters
surface. These fishes, also the Tox.
otes, the archer fish, are often kept
In aquariums In the east and SO tanned
that they will shoot insects held In
the hands of their owners over the wa.
ter.
4
{ The fishing frog, s3r angler fish, has
excited wonder in the minds OF natur-
alists and others from the earliest
times. Aristotle called II the fishing
frog. from the wonderful ingenuity II
displayed In procuring food The fish,
which has a small body as compared
with its enormous mouth. is fitted with
two thick. fleshy pectoral fins shaped
like great human hands, while its tall
Is shaped thus also, with the fingers
all pointing one way. AS II Is n poor
swimmer. It burles itself in n recess
at the bottom, holding on with Its
armlike pectoral fins to seaweeds or
stones, which it resembles so closely
in color that It. is almost impossible
10 distinguish the frog from It's sur
roundings. This effect is also greatly
heightened by the numerous fringes OF
fantastically ragged skin with which It
is covered, which resemble the brown
seaweed growing In tiny patches on
rocks and timbers everywhere in salt
water. When hungry the animal opens
its enormous mouth, which is so color
ed and lined on the inside as to look
like n pleasant dark cleft In a rock.
When its trap is thus set, the fish
begins to angle. which It does by ele-
waiting the long. slender fin ray which
until then had been lying fiat along
its back. This fin is dubious and GOV.
cred with slender flshy flaments
These hang over In front of the fish
ing frogs open mouth. and this sim.
ulate tempting live bait SO closely that
before long little FISH are attracted by
them and when they swim around
them down goes the trap and the Ash
are caught.
Certain deep sea fishes allied to the
angler behave In similar manner
but as the depths OF the sea In which
they live are dark, the end OF ths
fishing rod spine terminates in a phos
phorescent organ. which Is doubtless
used for enticing smaller fishes with
In the reach of their hungry NAV
while still others have a luminous
barbel hanging from the chin. whicl
also serves as lure.
A curious Indian fish that catche
Its prey by strategem Is Uranoscopu
crassiceps. one OF the star gazer
found off that coast In forty-five /,
one hundred and forty-eight fathoms
Here, as In several OF its well know
congeners of the shallow water, tn,
| bait, which Is a potrusibie tag OF mem
brane, Is attached to the very floor @
the mouth, so that the welcome give
to the little fishes that come to tn
supper OF Polonius must be as eas
as II is ample.
Melanocetus johnsoni is a most e,
traordinary species. When closed. 1,
lower jaw Is vertical like the other
but when open 1t droops below righ
angle--the whole front OF the fsh II
as 1t were. opened out. It's belly is
loose sac attached by a cord, whic
floats aboukand apparently allows II
contents TO escape into the body ,
they are needed to sustain life. Q
Its head is a fishing rod similar |
that Of the angler. The animal buril
itself in the ooss. allowing ~ " ,