The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-01-01
Odd Ab0deS of Marine Animals.
Home of Fish in Oyster She'll koIusk HolIoWs House
in Sea Urchns Spine JeIiyfsh Umbrella SheIter~-.-~-.


other day, "either construct very ode
homes or else utilize extraordinary
objects, either animate or inanimate
as such.
"One OF the oldest of homes in.
habited by marine animal is that Of
Fierasferida, a small, eel-like fish
generally ghostly white in color, but
so translucent that its internal Or
gans can be distinctly seen through
the walls Of its body. 1t is noted
for its very singular habit of living
chiefly in the interior of other ami
mails, especially holothurians. The
latter animal is also known as the
bles in shape the common vegetable
and is found in pretty much all seas
When free in the water the fish sWims
head downward, with tail curved to-
ward the back, by undulatOry move
mentS of the anal fin. Coming to a
holothurian lying at the bottom, it
eagerly seeks the posterior aperture
Of the animal, through which the
hOlothurian eXpels and SUCKS in
water. Taking advantage of this, the
fish, during the act of expulsion by
the animal, pushes its head into the
orifice, and, curving its tail to one
side, by a rapid recoil movement in
PRODUCES itself, tail foremost, into the
intestinal canal, pushing further and
further in with every suction of its
in NJ A = -t 10 N &C.
its whole body lodged in its new
home, and with its head near the
anus of the holothurian is in position
to protrude it in search of food when
hunger impels. Occasionally it leaves
its host for short periods, looking
with its peculiar color and trans
parency.
Occasionally this fish makes its
home within the shell of the pearl
oyster. The Museum of Comparative
Zoology at Cambridge, Mass, has a
pearl oyster shell in which can be
seen imbedded in the substance of the
shell fiierasfer. In this case the fish
probably made the fatal error of PEN
etrating between the mantle and the
shell Of the oyster instead Of intro
ducing itself between the two halves
of the mantle. This caused irritation
to the mollusc, which it resented by
Immediately seereting the substance
with which the intruder is now COW
cred. In the specimen in question the
fck &c
pearly substance, through which not
only the general outlines Of the body,
but even the eye and mouth, can be
seen. The time required to imbed
the fish must have been very short,
as decomposition did not have time
to set in.
In New South Wales it has been
observed that Nomeus gronovii, a fish
remarkable for its enormous ventral
fins, which fold in ventral groove,
is to be found only on the coast when
the physalia, or Portuguese men-of-
war are driven ashore, the fish swim
ming beneath them for shelter. The
physalia has tentacle3 which attain a
length of ten to twelve feet and which
have such powerful stringing proper
ties that any animal coming in con-
tact with them is instantly paralyzed.
Nomeus seems to be immune to their
influence, however, and plays in and
out among them with imDunity, which
is most remarkable, when it is con-
sidered that other fishes DO not seem
to possess this immunity.
Internal Parasites.
. "a fairly common fish along our
Atlantic coast is the bag fish, or
bOrer. The second of these names
indicates one of the most marked pc
culiarities of these animals. They
are generally found in the vicinity
of the codfishes, in which they fire.
quently live as internal parasites for
a portion of their life. They attach
themselves to the outside of the body,
and scrape away the flesh with their
teeth, until finally a hole is made
through the wall of the body and
then they creep into the abdominal
cavity. This fish has the power of
secreting slime in almost incredible
quantities. Kept in confinement for
short time in small jar of water,
it will secrete so much of the mucus
as to convert the whole into a mass
Of jelly.
"On the Grand Banks halibut are
taken by the fishermen
with pug-nose cells burrowed in their |
flesh. In the Andean region of South
America are found small catfishes |
which live in the gill cavities of larger
catfishes. They are not parasites, |
seeming to enter these cavities for
protection merely. A very rare fish,
Tetragonurus cuyeri, has been OBJ
served to live. when young. in the |