ANIMAL FLIGHT 1 33 



Chief among the aquatic flying creatures are the flying- 

 fishes which are abundant in aU the warmer seas. These fishes 

 are one of the great wonders of the oceans. Leaving the water 

 with a tremendous rush, the large side fins, which in some 

 kinds reach a length equal to two-thirds the total body length 

 or even more, are rigidly extended like the wings of an aero- 

 plane and held in this position by powerful muscles. Supported 

 by these great fins the fish is able to go for an astonishingly 

 long distance, and in a strong wind to rise to a considerable 

 height. When its momentum is expended it falls back into the 

 water, or sometimes takes a fresh start by the vigorous action 

 of its tail , the lower and larger part of which is dipped beneath 

 the surface. 



The old question, which was created first, the hen or the 

 egg, is replaced at sea by the equally old question, do flying- 

 fishes really fly, or do they not? This question is always being 

 discussed somewhere or other, and has been under continual 

 discussion ever since man first sailed the seas. Every sailor 

 knows that the wings of flying-fishes move, for he has seen 

 them move and heard them hum; nothing but the fish could 

 move them, and therefore he says that the fish does move 

 them, and consequently flies after the manner of a bird. 

 Others say the flying-fishes do not fly because they cannot; 

 the muscles about the base of the wing-hke fins, though large 

 and strong, are merely used to keep the fins extended and 

 serve no other purpose. The sailor retorts that this is pure 

 theory and not to be considered in the light of the observed 

 fact that the wings are actually moved. Both sides, the realists 

 and the theorists, support their views with all sorts of argu- 

 ments from the realms of marine biology, anatomy, and marine 

 mythology, and the discussion finally comes to rest exactly 

 where it started. No real sailor will admit that flying-fishes 

 cannot fly, while no landsman will admit they can. 



In their contentions both are partly right. It has been 

 shown that flying-fishes fly so far that their flight cannot be 

 explained on the basis of the original impetus alone; no one 



