Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-04
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Fish dentists and masseurs with
definite Offices and ONCE hours, flsh
who live in apartment houses, fish
engineers and fish masons, were de-
scribed to the Carnegie Institution OF
Washington last night by DR.. w. H.
Longley of the Institutions marine BIZ
ology station at Tortugas, at the end
of the Florida Keys.
DR.. Longley literally has lived with the
fish to learn their secrets. He spends
hours among them, In diving suit and
carrying a camera, on the sea bottom
of Florida. Thus he has been able to
study the fish as individuals. He has
found real community life in the
pink coral caves and gorgoni jungles.
He found some fish who picked
parasites of the scales Of others. These,
he discovered, remain in places, appar-
emily well known to the undersea COM
munity. When larger fish gets I'M
comfortable with the accumulated load
of tiny worms and crustaceans on his
body. he swims to the ONCE of one OF
the parasite-pickers and Is "deloused."
Apparently these fish never seek
patients, he found but remain in their
offices" waiting for patrons Some
may have built up definite clientele.
Dentist" Swims Into Work.
Still more curious are the fish
dentists. They are small, curiously
formed fish who wait for larger fish to
come to them with mouths wide open.
signifying q desire for cleansing the
teeth, mouth and throat. The dentist
then swirns into the mouth, picks the
teeth clean of parasites, and may swim
out of the gill openings. The entire
operation requires some time.
The larger fish submits patiently
When he begins to get nervous. the
dentist realizes that it is time TO let
the patient 20. The operation Is en-
tirely safe for the operator SO long as
he keeps In a position where the patient
cannot crunch him between his teeth.
His body Is equipped with. sucking disks
BY which he can faSten himself to the
patients mouth or throat. so that 1t Is
impossible to swallow him. Then he
simply waits for the patient to open his
mouth to release the hold and escape
In safety.
Razorfish, Disappearing Artist.
An ambitious builder is the razorfish,
SO called from its very narrow body.
This fish can disappear quickly IN the
sea-bottonn sand due to the peculiar
adaptability of its body for burroW1ng
and also to the lightness of the pebbles
in the water.
Another fish observed by DR.. Long
lev sinks in the sand a long, vertical
shaft. which 1t walls with stones and
hits of shell. This usually leads to
some recess In the rocks where the
owned is safe from pursuit When it
goes in for a long stay, 1t closes the
entrance to the shaft with q stone.
Coral Patches Like Flower Gardens.
The cora! patches were described by
Dr. T,ongley as like submarine mower
earIsns." These corals, animals sHylng
ia d close knit colony, actually are
white. but show attractive comninatlons
of brown, purple, yellow, rose and req
due to the minute plants and worms
which live In the tissues OF their nesn
The tiny worms have cavities In the
coral into which they retire.
One of the most curious inhabitants
of the depths described by Dr. Longley
Is the basket-star, a member OF the star
fish family which looks much Ike q
large fern, although 1t Is q true animal
II spends the day curled up N the
branches of other animals Of the sea
ar,smone family, but probably uIifoids
at night To obtain food.
sponges, sometimes as big as barrels,
serve as submarine apartment houses
for shrimps, worms and smaller fish.
These creatures have their definite loca-
tions Iii the sponge cavities which they
have adapted to tiieir particular needs.