IIARDWICKE S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



i53 



NOTES AT THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM. 



'"fllE cunning exhibited by the Angler {Lopluus 

 JL piscatorius) in the capture of its living prey 

 is a matter of ancient history, and naturalists, from 

 the time of Aristotle to the present day, have variously 

 commented on its extraordinary manoeuvres. The 

 researches carried on during the cruise of the Chal- 

 lenger have recently revealed further interesting de- 

 tails respecting the genus, for closely-allied species 

 were dredged in the Atlantic, at a depth of over 

 2,000 fathoms, with peculiar modifications of struc- 

 ture fitting them for life in the comparative darkness 

 of their habitat in the oceanic abysses. 



A fine specimen of the British species has now 

 been on view in a living state in the Brighton 

 Aquarium for many months, affording an opportunity 

 of studying its habits to unusual advantage, and 

 illustrating the general accuracy of the descriptions 



Fig. 103. Angler-Fish {Lophius piscatoritts), from Taylor's "Aquarium 



given by Messrs. Yarrell and Couch in their admirable 

 works on the history of British fishes. The absence 

 of the Angler from aquaria hitherto, has certainly 

 not been owing to any unusual delicacy of structure, 

 for it is a hardy fish and very tenacious of life, 

 but has resulted rather from the difficulty of procuring 

 it a supply of the living prey necessary for its support, 

 and also from the obstinate sulkiness of the creature, 

 which caused it to refuse food when such was forth- 

 coming ; matters which have now, however, been 

 successfully overcome. In common with many other 

 fishes, the Angler possesses the power of assimilating 

 its colour to the nature of its surroundings. Placed 

 on shingle, it retained a darkly spotted appearance, 

 which disappeared on its removal to a more spacious 

 tank thickly strewn with sand ; it then quickly buried 

 itself in the sand, assumed a pale colour, and was 



hardly distinguishable from it. A third change, to a 

 dark bluish tint, is perceptible when it lies near the 

 mussels placed in the tank to clear the water. About 

 a week after its capture it was induced to feed, 

 and for some time partook freely of small plaice, 

 bass, and gurnards. A little while back it refused 

 food for some weeks, until a fortunate catch of live 

 herrings furnished a change of diet tempting to its 

 dainty palate. They were at once placed in the tank, 

 and the Angler almost immediately commenced to 

 ply his rod and line vigorously, was soon rewarded 

 with a "bite," and the unwary herrings disappeared 

 in rapid succession. A supply of whiting, plaice, 

 gurnards, grey mullet, and herring, is now regularly 

 placed at its disposal. 



The Angler, or fishing frog, is also called wide- 

 gab, frog-fish, and sea-devil. It is a sluggish, slow- 

 breathing fish, generally lying almost motionless at 

 the bottom, and rising but rarely to the surface. The 

 breadth of the body is disproportioned 

 to its length, and the head is large, 

 the mouth exceedingly capacious, and 

 thickly set with minute finely-serrated 

 conical teeth, in addition to the palatal 

 ones ; the eyes are large, beautifully 

 bright, and capable of separate move- 

 ment. The Angler is obviously un- 

 fitted, from the unwieldy nature of its 

 body, for the swift pursuit of its living 

 prey, and is, therefore, compelled to 

 resort to artifice. Among the most 

 noticeable of its many peculiarities, the 

 two long, thin filaments affixed to the 

 top of the head are very remarkable. 

 These generally lie out of sight, but, 

 controlled by special muscles, are 

 susceptible of pliant movement, pos- 

 sessing great freedom of action. When 

 desirous of ensnaring the fishes on 

 N \'hich it feeds, the Angler elevates 

 these filaments and waves them to and 

 fro in a very energetic fashion. The 

 victims, attracted by the flag, or bait, affixed to the 

 end of the fishing-rod, come within reach of the 

 monstrous wide-gaping jaws, and are speedily seized 

 with one quick upward movement. The head is 

 peculiar, and so jointed to the vertebra? that it is 

 capable of independent action, whilst the body of the 

 fish lies almost motionless. Mr. Farrell states that 

 "they stir up the mud and sand with the pectoral 

 and ventral fins," but this movement has not been 

 observed in the specimen under notice, which appears 

 to conceal its presence as much as possible, lying 

 perfectly still in the same position for many hours, 

 and endeavouring to attract the fishes solely by the 

 action of the fishing-rod. In the deep-sea forms "the 

 fly " was luminous and phosphorescent, and was thus 

 rendered visible to the neighbouring fishes in the dim 

 obscurity of the abyssal ocean depths. Many of the 



