San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-16
Fresh Waters Fairly Teen
With Scientific Prob
lens.
WORK IS INTERESTING
Variety Of Salt Water Fish
Found in Fresh
Waters.

BROWNSVILLE, Tex, Otpt' 10. II Nv
fresh water life Of the Lower Ri
Grande Valley afford prolific field
for research and offer many complex
problems for the scientist to solve. ac-
cording to Prof. Alfred Z. Weed. fish
expert of the Field Museum of Natural
History, of Chicago, who has con-
clu,ltd four weeks Of scientific irvesti-
CATION of the fresh water life OF the
valley.
"Tac fresh waters Of the Lower Rio
Grandc Valley fairly teen WITH life,
Professor Weed stated, land these are
few sections of the United States
which afford better fields for research
wrok. j have found the work here
extremely interesting, and have col.
lected approximately eight thousand
specimens which l am sending to
Chicago, but the time allotted to the
work has been entirely too short.
sincerely hope l will be able to return
to the valley next summer and devote
three or four months to the WORK
especially in solving many of the COM
rlex problems which the fresh water
life of the valley presents.
Salt Water Fish in Fresh Water.
One of the most remarkable things
noted by Professor Weed was the
great variety Of salt water fish found
in the resacas. lagoons. and ponds OF
the valley, and he was at a loss to ac-
count for these varieties being present
in great numbers. and other varieties
wnicn are found in ubuldancc ON tue
lower gulf coast being absent.
I'm many of the valleys resacas we
found mullet, sheephead, red and
black drum, bone fish or banana fish;
and various other varieties which are
distinctly salt water fish, Professor
Weed stated. "A peculiar fact IL
connection with this was that while
these varieties were present in con'
siderable numbers, there were no sting
rays, founders, soles, shark and many
other fish, which are found on these
coasts in great abundance, to be found
in this fresh water. Ever since be
gan my investigations in the valley
this question has been perplexing me
How these salt water varieties col
into some of the fresh water from
which we have obtained specimens
do not profess to know, and why only
4 limited number of the salt water
varieties should be found instead OF
all of them is n problem would like
to solve.
Valley a Virgin Field.
The fresh waters of the valley are
practically a virgin field for scientific
Investigations. Professor Weed stated
Practically all the specimens and dat'
| Int L,e ear,,ra1 I'm.
fresh water fish of this region was OBJ
tanned by United States army sur
geons who accompanied General Tay
lor's army in 1917. and who devoted
some of their leisure time to collect
ing specimens for the National Mu
scum. Lieut.. Edgar A. Murns. WHIT
was stationed at Brownsville with TIL
federal troops in the late COS, aisd
supplied some interesting data. bu
with these exceptions disciples o
natural science have no information
on the fresh water life of this region
Professor Weed was sent out by tn
Field Museum of Chicago two months
ago to explore the fresh waters o
Southern Louisiana and the Lowe
Rio Grande Valley. He completed hi
work in Louisiana early in August
obtaining many specimens and mucl
valuable information, and with tn
completion of his work here will re
turn to Chicago. where several month
will be devoted to examining an
classifying the thousands of speci
mems he has forwarded.
Whether new varieties have beer
located here will not be known defin
itely until this work of classification
is completed, but Professor Wee,
feels assured that his specimens vii
reveal much of great interest to tn
scientific world.
One of the most interesting dis
coveries made by Professor Weed wa
that the waters Of the Lower Ri
fGrande district are the home OF
minnow which is a close relative o
the ferocious piranha. the man eater
of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers o
South America. This is distinctly
southern fish, and is probably no
found in any other part of the Unite
States. 1t is generally referred to b
fishermen as "shiner." and is fri
qucntly used as bait for the gaspe
COOS. They sometimes attain a lengt
of three inches, and are PARTICULAR
ferocious end voracious fish, havin
peculiarly arranged teeth which pei
nit them to tear chunks from any
thing they attacS.
The piranha, which they greatl
resemble. is also small fish, seldol
exceeding five inches in length
Schools of the piranha have bee
known to attack bathers and LITERAL
tear their flesh from the bones. |
many sections along the principa
South American rivers the piranh'
or "carib" ms il is sometimes Gale,
is more feared than the sharks on til
coast.
Found I'm South Awerica.
Specimens of this variety have bee
found in ,:outh America, Centr;
!, America. Central Africa. and in SON
, parts of Asia. Professor Weed tate
but have never been found in th
United States outside of the Lowe
Rio Grande Valley.
: The black perch, which general
are caught in large quantities in Il
fresh waters OF the valley are also
distinctly southern variety. and he
been found in no other part of Il
United States. These fish seldom a
tain over half a pound in weight, an