EIGENMANN: THE FRESHWATER FISHES OF BRITISH GUIANA 



37 



Demerara. It had become evident that during the heat of the day but few fishes 

 could be taken in the shallow water of the main stream, so that from this time on 

 the daytime was used to explore for likely places, which were then seined at night. 

 Most of the mouths of the creeks about Wismar are provided with partial 

 fences built of poles and palm or banana leaves. The center is ordinarily left 

 open for the flow of the tide. A mat can be placed in the gap, which will prevent 

 fishes from coming out of the creek. When the tide is high at night and fish have 



Fig. 7. View of creek, filled with brush- wood above Wismar at low tide. Indians are poisoning the creek. 



left the main stream and entered the creek the mat is put in place. In the morning 

 when the tide is out the fishes trapped are either killed with a cutlass, or poisoned. 

 Many of our specimens were obtained in this way. The creeks are so full of brush 

 that all ordinary methods of fishing are out of the question. Trap-nets could 

 probably be used effectively instead of the fence in the mouths of the creeks. 



Except in a very few favorable places the banks and shallows of the Demerara 

 are so profusely overgrown with Caladium arborescms that the seine could not be 

 used. I engaged fishermen to collect for me some distance below Wismar and had 

 a creek poisoned at Kumaka, several miles above Wismar. From all of these 

 places I secured ninety species, five of which were not taken elsewhere. The speci- 

 mens not taken elsewhere are: Ageneiosus guianensis, Poecilobrycon harrisoni, 



