Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 169 



a bee. Having put some small carp into an aquarium contain- 

 ing one of these fishes, it rushed at a small example, seized it 

 by the middle of its back, and shook it like a dog killing a rat; 

 at this time its barbels were stiffened out laterally like a cat's 

 whiskers. 



Many fish when captured make noises, perhaps due to 

 terror. Thus the Carangus hippos, Tetraodon, and others grunt 

 like a hog. Darwin (Nat. Journ., vol. vii) remarks on a catfish 

 found in the Rio Parana, and called the armado, which is remark- 

 able for a harsh grating noise when caught by hook and line; 

 this noise can be distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the 

 water. 



The cuckoo-gurnard (Trigla pini) and the maigre (Pseudo- 

 sci&na aquila) utter sounds when taken out of the water; and 

 herrings, when the net has been drawn over them, have been 

 observed to do the same: "this effect has been attributed to 

 an escape of air from the air-bladder; but no air-bladder exists 

 in the Cottus, which makes a similar noise." 



The lesser weaver (Trachinus] buries itself in the loose soil 

 at the bottom of the water, leaving only its head exposed, and 

 awaits its prey. If touched, it strikes upwards or sideways; 

 and Pennant says it directs its blows with as much judgment as 

 a fighting-cock. (Yarrell, vol. i. p. 26.) Fishermen assert that 

 wounds from its anterior dorsal spines are more venomous than 

 those caused by the spines on its gill-covers. 



As regards fighting, I should suppose that, unless some por- 

 tion of the body is peculiarly adapted for this purpose, as the 

 rostrum of the swordfish, or the spine on the side of the tail 

 in the lancet-fishes, we must look chiefly to the armature or 

 covering of the jaws for weapons of offense. 



Lurking Fishes. Mr. Whitmee supposes that most carniv- 

 orous fish capture their prey by outswimming them; but to 

 this there are numerous exceptions; the angler or fishing- frog 

 (Lophis piscatorius] , "while crouching close to the ground, by 

 the action of its ventral and pectoral fins stirs up the sand and 

 mud; hidden by the obscurity thus produced, it elevates its 

 anterior dorsal spines, moves them in various directions by 

 way of attraction as a bait, and the small fishes, approaching 

 either to examine or to seize them, immmediately become the 



