Evening star., 1934-02-14
SIRENS OF HOMER
BELIEVED FISH
Smithsonian Associate
Finds Two Species Ca
pabIe of Making Sound.

The sirens OF Homer-those sea
nymphs described as half-women and
half birds who dwelt between the isl
and Of Circe and Scylla and infatu-
ated those who passed by their sing
ing in order to destroy them-prob-
ably were singing fish"
Such is the deduction of DR.. Hugh
NJ. Smith, Smithsonian Institution
fisheries Of the Kingdom Of Siam,
who has investigated the Siamese fish
capable of making musical or semi
musical sounds.
When DR.. Smith frst went to Siam
he was told Of the so-called musical
soles"-members of the sole family
who were reputed to fasten themselves
on the bottom Of boats in considerable
numbers and emit in chorus melodious
sounds. Later DR.. Smith himself
heard the phenomenon, but was GER
tain 1t could not have been due TO
soles. who have no sound producing
organs and no means Of attaching
themselves to boat bottoms.
Turns TO Drum Fishes.
Then he turned to two families of
fish represented by numerous species
in Siamese waters who might sing.
First were the numerous drum fishes
They are distributed over large part
Of the world and some striking species
occur in Siam. A fish Of this family
produces sounds through the medium
of a swim bladder which acts as a
sounding board when its tense walls
and the gas contained within It are
made to vibrate by the rapid contrac-
ton of special muscles. The sound
resembles the beating of drum. but
varies a good deal in different species.
The noisemaking. DR.. Smith says,
can be demonstrated experimentally
simply by exposing the large air blad-
der and its attendant muscles and ap-
plying to those muscles, or to the
nerves controlling them, the electrodes
Of q battery. The drumming" can
be made to continue indefinitely
One member of this family. known
locally as the horse fish, is a meter
or more long and might be mistaken
for q humanlike creature. Fish of the
same family as is represented in Siam.
DR.. Smith believes, may have given
rise to the Homeric fable.
Catfish Able to Produce Sound.
But in Siam also are approximately
100 species of the catfish family, many
OF whom are able to produce loud
sounds by means of a special muscular
niEV~a NEFith hG GuTiV
bladder. One genus, especially, has Q
remarkable elastic spring contrivance
by means of which the complicated
swim bladder, incompletely divided
into Q number Of chambers, Is made
to vibrate when muscles relax and the
peculiar springs come into play.
The noisiest of all are catfish known
as pla kots or pla ukS. Both in and
out Of the water they utter sounds
like "kot. kot, kot," or lux, uk, uk"
Different species have calls of differ
ent quality and pitch and uttered
with different volume. Some are very
common river and sea fishes who
travel in schools, are numerous about
boats and landings and follow vessels
II food Is thrown overheard. Among
them are some OF the remarkable
"oral incubators." The large eggs are
carried in the mouth of the male con-
tinuously until they hatch.
Some observers have recorded that
the sounds made by musical fish were
quite melodious. This impression may
have been due. in part. to the strange
ness Of the phenomenon. DR.. Smith
records that he himself has heard
weird sounds on at least dozen oc-
casions. At times, while in a boat at
anchor, have heard such Q volume
rs to indicate a large school,"
DR.. Smiths observations are record
ed in a recent issue Of the natural
history supplement Of the journal of
the Siam society.