The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-07-14
SEA
SECRETS

@. What fish swims upside down?
A. A rather acknowledgement but
unique small catfish from the Nile
and other African rivers. Synodon.
tbs batensoda. has adopted the re-
markahle habit Of swimming bel
Ily upwards at the surface Of the
water. In contrast to the normal
celebration Of fishes, this species il
Icolored dark on the undersurface
and light above. in order that il
would not be easily spotted by pre-
Idators either in or out of the
water.
Q. Are true seals found in the
Caribbean?
A. Yes. One species df seal, now
believed to be nearly extinct, was
formerly found in moderate mum.
bers off the coast Of certain Carib.
bean islands and Dry Tortugas,
Jas well as having been recorded
from the Florida Keys. This par
Iticuiar seal, Monachus tropicalus
lis commonly known as the Wesi
Indian seal and differs from the
sea lions of the California coast
lin its shorter flippers and absence
lof external ears.
/ Q. What per cent by weight Oi
ioil is contained in cod livers?
A. Cod liver oil may range from
rs to IS per cent of the liver, de
pending on a number Of factors
such as the age Of the fish, time
Iof year 1t was caught, and the par
Iticular type Of food on which Il
had been feeding. Cod taken In
shore usually have q fat, whitish
very soft liver, whereas cod taker
Lat sea have lean liyers ranging
from pink to red and are more
difficult to render. Cod liver oil
contains not only vitamin A but
Ialso vitamin d in appreciable a
mounts.
/ @. Is ii true that seaweed-feC
COWS will increase their butterfai
output?
i Yes. The addition Of copper sui
fate to the diet of milk-producinf
COWS in western Scotland has beer
Iexperimentally shown to increase
their butterfat production In ont
ito six days. The dried seaweed
Ascophyllum nodosum, which |.
Irich In copper was then added il
Imilled form to the feed Of II herd!
'Iof cattle from the same area. Sta
itistics following the experiment
showed that the seaweed fed to th,
COWS had a favorable effect OF
their butterfat production, although
this was not great In most cases
@. What fish lays its eggs inside
the shell Of q living clam?
A. This is the bitterling, small
central European fish related Il
the carp. This species, Rhodeul
lamarus, Is remarkable amOnl
fishes In that the oyiduct, or egl
. tube, Of the female is great,
drawn out during the act of spawn
. ing, and by means Of this she de
posts her eggs within the shell o
la freshWater mussel or clam
where they are out of the reach o
would-be predators. In this Situa
ltion the baby fish undergo theil
early development and final,
leave their host after about on,
month.
Il Q. What species Of fish is cor
rectly called ''kingfish?"
4 A. Two species Of Atlantic coas
fishes are commonly known a
I''kingfish," though they are not il
. amy way related. The northern
lkingfish, Menticirrhus saxatilis, i
/ 10 member Of the drumfish famiI,
land is closely related to the whit
ling. Although II sometimes
found in Florida, it is com
Imon only north Of the Ches
lapeake Bay region. On the sand,
shores where it is found il swim
iclose to the bottom and is re
lmarkable in lacking the swim blad
der found in most other fishes.
feeds on shrimps, crabs, sQuids
fIwOrms, and young fish. The othe
lkingfish, Scombermorus cavalla, j
4 member of the mackerel grOul
, and is more correctly called Oh
king mackerel. This species grow
4 to . length of five feet and
) weight of 100 pounds and is cor
i sidered to be q prime food fish
! Its delicately favored and richl
textured flesh is most commonI
sold in the form Of kingfish steak.
@. II the horseshoe crab q tru
!. crab?
\ A. No. This remarkable sea ami
/ NAL is classified scientifically q
| AN Arachnid, being related to III.
lspidera and scorpions. They ar,
unique In being the sole survivor
of long-extinct group of marin,
animals, the trilobites. The specie.
found along the Florida coast, Ii
Imulus polyphemus may often b,
seen congregated, In enormOu
/ numbers in shallow water, part
! cularly along the west coast Of til
lstate. When thus observed the