The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-03-17

The Wnkue Iau of thg baiu
which Iu MAN be- so dcVciopod, N vert
small 1ud insignificant iu fishes There
is some reason ior thinkIug that uc
activities of fishes are nearly 8lI what
s called ronoN A message is sent in-
ward to The brain and the muscles az
once contract Sensations are changed
into movements and actions are, there
fHe. Immediately suggested and direct.
ed by the influence of external things
says n Russell, in the National Re
view
Fear and anger are the chief emo
lions of fishes, and the search for food
and for a mate chiefly occupy their
activities with so simple a brain it
cannot be- supposed that the whole
range of their senses can be very
extensive.
The eyes are probably the most inn
portant sense organs Of a trout, and
ID has been shown by very interesting
experiments that the majority of fishes
seek their food chiefly, il not entirely,
by sight But a certain number such
as the eel family, appear 10 hunt for
it and recognize it by the sense of
smell alone, while few species are
also aided by barbels and special or.
gans of touch.
Whether FISH can perceive the diff
ferences between c0lors is a problem
Of
questions to fishermen. There are some
who boldly assert that fish are quite
color blind TO this the zool9gist may
reply that there is nothing I'm the
general structure of fishes eyes or I'm
the microscopic structure of the retina
TO prove that this must be Sd.
The difficulty is that we know little
about the causes of color blindness in
human beings. In man, color blindness
is congential and incurable. II is prob
ably due TO unknown conditions Of the
retina or the nerves or possibly both
Whether the same conditions affect
fishes in the same way one does not
know.
On the other hand, it seems extreme
ly improbable that fishes are quite in.
capable of perceiying color, because
male fish are often more brightly col
ored in the breeding season. Accord
ing TO a theory, which is still generally
accepted, this is to make them attrac.
tive to their mates, who must there
fore be supposed to have some per
ceptiOn Of color. The evidence from
experiments on color sense In a variety
Of fishes in entirely negative; that is to
say, it goes TO show that fish do not
discriminate much between colors.
The sense of taste does not appear
TO be highly developed in any fishes.
Most of them bolt their food quickly
and without chewing Closely allied
with taste is the sense of smell II is
clear that fish become aware of food
without touch, vision or hearing
| Whether this sense should be called
smell or taste in the case of an animal
living and breathing in the water is
difficult to decide.
Smell to a fish would perhaps be
equivalent to taste at a distance. We
cannot argue from our own sensations
Fishes have, however, olfactory or
gans, and it is not unreasonable tc
suppose that they could Smell" things
as they indeed, appear to do.
There is plenty Of evidence that
fishes perceive violent shocks or con
cussions, such as those caused by fir
ing guns or hammering on the bank
But there is no evidence that their ears
are capable Of approaching those deli
cate vibrations which affect the senses
OF ourselves or other land animals anC
convey sensations which we NEAR
when we speak Of hearing sounds. To
that extent, therefore, fish are deaf.