Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-22
EGYPTIAN FAHAKA.
Strange. Fish That May Be Caught
in the Nile.

From the Eastern and Western Review.
A very peculiar fish (Tetrodon fahaka),
which is called "fahak'' by the Arabs,
is found in large numbers in the Ni,e
at high water. The fahak belongs to the
group OF globe fishes. In its normal con-
d.tion it Is ten or twelve inches long
and Of elongated shape. A th.ck mucus
covers it's entire body. with the exception
OF the abdomen. which bears numei Gus
spines. The fish has thick head, with
broad forehead and protruding eyes.
The dorsal and anal fms are small. cir
cular and transpaI ent; the cau4ai fin -
larger and OF orange yei.ow coior. In
general, the colors or the .anak are b, Ign.
and harmonious. The back IS very dark
blue the sides are striped blue and or
ange, the abdomen Is yellow. and the
throat snow wn,te. The mouth is Of pecu-
liar SHADE, each jaw being uiviled In the
middle, SO as ~ produce the appeal ance VI
tour large teeth. whence me nd,ne lei
rOdOn, meaning four-tootned
The most interesting pc. uilarlty or the
.ahak $ its power OF inhaung Itself IKE
a balloon, by d. having In large quantity
of air. Usually 1t swims in the mannet
o, otner fishes, out When danger threat
ems It ri es quickly to the surface OF the
water ana beelns TO pump AR INTO an ex'
tension Of the quiet. By this means the
abdomen of the hsh soon becomes SO
greatly distended that it exceeds The rest
Of the body in size. The nsh loses Its
equilibrium, turns over and floats on It's
back. and at the same time the spines OF
the ABDOMEN are erected. BY TINS trans
formation the lahak Is protected AGAINST
the attacks of its enemies. If one OF
these seizes 1t the aggressor is wounded
by the sp.nes and thenceforth leaves the
unpleasant creature alone. II the IN
f1ated fish is grasped by the hand IL en-
deavors to draw In still more AR. as =.
x,oll -
this action to it's safety. When the dam
Ger is past the air escapes with a sle,ht
Missing noise. and the fish gradually re-
sum.s its normal form.
The fahak is found in many streams
Of West Africa. but mist aDundantly n
the Nile, which il ascendS from the Med1-
terranean. 1t penetrateS into the lrr..
eating canals and ditches and there lays
its eggs. When the flood subsidies great
numbers of fish are left STRANDED and be-
come the prey of birds of all so.ts. They
are also eaten by the peasants. Occa-
sionally the use Of the fish as food ap-
pears to cause poisoning. There is sto-
ry Of two American sailors who died soon
after eating the liver of the fahak. Such
cases, however, appear to be very rare,
and they are perhaps to be attribu ed to
the use OF decomposeu fish. On the otner
hand, the fugu fishes, or Japanese spe-
cfes of Tetrodon, are extremely poison
GUS. AS In the case Of the European bar
bel, the muscular flesh is harmless, but
certain other parts, especially the roe,
liver. milt, but also the skin, abdomina:
wall and intestines are SO poisonous that
they have been used In Japan as a means
of suicide and murder from time imme-
mortal. In the As.atic seas fueu poison
ing often occurs among sailors and ma
tives. and in Japan the sale Of all spe-
cies of Tetrodon is forbidden by law. The
fahak is a great source of de.is hit to the
Egyptian children. who drive the inflat-
ed fish around and harry them until they
literally burst. The children also initiate
the dried fish and make hand balls of
them. The fahak is often found In GU
riosity shops, where it Is bought by trav-
elers as a memento OF the land Of the
pyramids. The fahak was known to
the ancient Egyptians. Its representa-
ton occurs twice on the walls Of a tenn
pie at DER el-Bahari