Sphyrcena barracuda; its Morphology, Habits, and History. 91 



are more poisonous than others. Those caught in the mornings are exposed 

 to the sun's rays much longer, and are therefore much more decomposed. 



"The fishes, when examined externally and internally, appeared to be in 

 the finest condition when caught, and I could detect no difference between 

 them and those of Bermuda or Key West. I have seen specimens at Grand 

 Turk Island with the scales standing almost on edge through the decom- 

 posing of the flesh, which, forming gases, expanded the fish. These fish are 

 frequently sold from house to house, though caught the day before and in a 

 half-putrid condition. It is probable that if, when caught, the fish were 

 eviscerated and bled, a case of poisoning would be a rarity. 



"An interesting antidote for fish poisoning is used by the natives. When 

 a fish has been eaten that is suspected to have been poisonous, the bones are 

 saved for 24 hours, within which time, if at all, symptoms should appear. 

 On the first indication of trouble, the bones are roasted, pulverized, and made 

 into tea for the patient. Belief in the efficacy of this treatment is implicit, 

 provided the bones of the right fish have been used." 



In order to get at present-day notions at Key West, I again called 

 on Mr. Peter Roberts for information and he very kindly wrote me as 

 follows : 



"As to the barracudas, it is not a certain time of the year that they are 

 poisonous, but it is those of a certain kind that are poisonous. The only 

 barracudas eaten around here are the ones caught along the shore and in 

 shallow water. The barracudas that are poisonous are the ones that are 

 caught in the Gulf Stream, and the people around here are very careful not 

 to eat any of them. They are of a distinct kind, known as the 'Blue Backs/ 

 and can be readily distinguished from the non-poisonous kind." 



In this connection it is of interest to note that the beautiful colored 

 figure of Sphyrcena barracuda in Cuvier and Valenciennes (reproduced 

 herein as figure 18, plate v) (1829) is yellow on the sides below the 

 lateral line and on the fins and tail, while the back is a beautiful blue, 

 the blue of the deep blue sky, almost as blue as deep sea-water. Fur- 

 thermore my notes record that specimen No. 10 of the table, on page 58, 

 had a blue sheen on the dorsum in certain lights. 



Captain W. L. Wilson, previously referred to as one of our boatmen 

 at Tortugas, was born and reared in the Bahamas. I wrote to him at 

 Nassau about this matter and he replied: 



"The old and large barracudas are, as a rule, poisonous. I have never 

 known or heard of one under 3 feet being poisonous. After the fish are 

 cooked you can tell if they are poisonous by taking a piece of the cooked fish 

 and breaking it apart. If you find very small dark veins the fish is all right, 

 but if there are no dark veins found it is poisonous." 



The latest information on barracuda poisoning is from the pen of 

 Stephen Haweis (1917) in his book on the sea gardens of Nassau, 

 Bahamas. It seems to be solidly a quotation from the distinguished 

 English ichthyologist, C. Tate Regan, the original of which I have been 

 unable to locate. This statement is as follows. 



