Evening star., 1909-03-14
By John N. Cobb

|
| The chatodon has very keen eyesight, and
when it perCeives fly or other insect settle on
an overhanging bush or leaf, it approaches as
cautiously 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 it darts at the insect "A drop OF
| water from its mouth with such strength and
precision as rarely fail to bring down its prey,
| often from distance of five or SIX feet 1t
can also shoot flies on the wing
Another fish of the same order forms Its
| mouth into a tube and squirts water at flies
SO as to cucumber their wings and bring them
to the waters surface. These fishes also the
Toxotes, 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 water.
The Fishing Frog
THE fishing frog. or angler fish, has excited
wonder in the minds of naturalists and others
from the earliest times Aristotle called it the
| fishing frog, from the wonderful ingenuity it
| displa we'd in procuring food. The fish, which
has small body as compared with its enor-
nous mouth. is fitted with two thick, aeshy
pectoral fins shaped like great human hands,
| while its tail is shaped thus also, with the
| fingers all pointing one way. AS 1t IS a poor
swimmer, it buries itself in a at the bot
tom holding on with it's armlike pectoral fins
| to seaweeds or stores. which it resembles so
closely in color that it is almost impossible to
| distinguish the fish from its surroundings.
| 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 colored and lined on the in
side as to look like pleasant dark cleft In d
rock.
| When its trap is thus set, the fish begins to
| angle, which it does by elevatng the long,
Slender fin ray which until then had been lying
| fiat along its back. This fin is dubious and
covered with slender teshv filaments. These
hang over in front of the fishing frog open
mouth, and they simulate tempting live bait
so closely that before long little fish are at
| tracted by them: and when they swim around
them down goes the trap and the fish 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 dark, the end
of the fishing rod spine terminates IN phoS-
phorescent organ, which is doubtless used for
enticing smaller fishes within the reach of their
hungry maw while still others have luminous
barbel hanging from the chin, which also
serves lure.
| Strategem of the Star Gazer
| A CURIOUS Indian fish that catches its prey
by strategem is CrdnOSCOpn CrdsSfcepS one
of the star gazers found off that coast in fortyve
| to one hundred and forty-eight fathoms. Here,
| shallow water, the bait, which is protrusible
| tag of membrane, is attached to the very floor
| of the mouth so that the welcome given to the
little fishes that come to the supper of Polon1us
| must be easy as it is ample.
| Meldno6etns iOlnson1 is most extraordinary
species. When closed, its lower jaw is vertical
| like the others; but when open it droops be-
| low right angle,-the whole front of the fish
is, it were, opened out. Its belly is loose
sac attached by a cord, which floats about and
apparently allows its contents to escape into
the body they are needed to sustain life
On its head is a fishing rod similar to that of
the angler. The animal buries itself in the
ooze. allowing the tip of it's tentacle, rod, to
protrude and, when the living bait is touched,
opens its cavernous mouth and SeiZeS the VIC
tim.
Equally curious is the arrangement found
on the head of the batfish, or Mdhie. 1t is
soft heshy object susceptible of being lowered
and raised at will, seemingly a bait without
the rod, and supposed to be used as a lure to
this living trap.
One of the deep sea rays which is quite
blind, has row of minute luminous glands
along the edge of its disk, these probably being
lures to attract its prey. AS the fish Possesses
electric properties also, it probably lures it's
prey close with the phosphorescent lights and
then gives it its quietus by means Of an electric
shock
A Fish with Lantern
A MOST extraordinary species is the torchfish