Vol. IV. No. 8.3. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



187 



HABITS OF WEST INDIAN WHITEBAIT. 



Mr. Austin H, Clark has contributed to the 

 American Naturalist (May 1905) the following 

 account of the West Indian whitebait. 



The 'tri-tri' occurs also in Dominica. A few notes 

 on the habits of this fish in that island would be 

 interesting: — 



The 'tri-tri' or West Indian whitebait (Sici/dium 

 j)lumiefi), although of small size, is one of the important 

 food fishes of these islands. It is an inhabitant of the 

 mountain streams, and occurs in the quiet pools and eddies 

 formed by the back-water from rapids, from the lowlands 

 well up into the highlands. Its range is about the same in 

 St. Vincent as that of the 'trout' (Agn»ostomus monticola), 

 and, like that fish, it is absent from certain of the rivers. 



The tri-tri reminds one strongly of the common darter 

 (^Boleosoma nif/nim olmsteadi) in habits. They are usually 

 observed lying motionless on the sandy bottom of pools, head 

 up stream. They will lie in one position for a long while, 

 then, with a sudden jerk, move to another place. If 

 disturbed they dart quickly under the overhanging banks, or 

 under rocks or logs in the stream. When seen on a sandy 

 bottom, the colour of these fishes is a very light brownish 

 gray, with seven or eight transverse bands of darker. If over 

 dead leaves, or on darker masses of rock, they are a violet 

 brown, the transverse bands being nearly black. They 

 harmonize so well with their surroundings that they are 

 distinguishable by a careful examination onlj'. The adults 

 measure from Si to ii inches in length. In the waters 

 where this fish occurs there is a small slender crayfish, of the 

 same size and colour, vi'hich is very easily mistaken for it. 

 This crustacean has the same habit of lying for a long while 

 ill one position, then suddenly moving to another, and, if 

 disturbed, takes refuge under the banks or under stones in 

 the same way. They may usually be distinguished by the 

 fact that they move tail first, and then occasionally crawl 

 slowly on the bottom ; they also are much commoner near 

 the sources of the rivers, above the range of the tri-tri. 



In the dry season, the adult tri-tri migrate down stream 

 to the sea, where they lay their eggs, probably near the 

 mouths of the rivers from which they descended, * and then 

 apparently die, as no adult fish are ever seen to return. 



The young fr}', when about | inch to 1^ inches in length, 

 ascend the rivers by thousands during the wet season 

 (August, Seiitember, and October), moving up stream in 

 a continuous line near or under the banks, as do the young 

 of eels (Anguilla). When in a stretch of comparatively (juict 

 water they move steadily onward ; but in rapid water they 

 progress by jerks, resting on the bottom for a few seconds, 

 then making a fresh dash onwards and taking a fresh grip on 

 a i)ebble or rock with the ventral sucker, and after remaining 

 quiet for a few seconds, dashing on again. They even 

 ascend vertical or overhanging surfaces, over which a small 

 amount of water is running in this way, resting for a while, 

 then moving upward an inch or so, resting again, and moving 

 ■on. Sometimes during one of these ascents thay are swept 

 oft" and into the eddy below ; hut in a few minutes they are 

 ready to try it again. I have seen as many as a dozen 

 moving up the face of a rounded rock a foot in diameter, 

 over which the flow of water was not enough to cover their 



* The fact that certain rivers in these islands, apparentfy 

 suitable in every way for tliese tisli, are not inliabitetl by them 

 seems to point toward the fact that tlie fish from the neighbour- 

 ing streams spawn in the vicinity of their mouths ; otherwise 

 we sliould expect to find a few of the young straying into these 

 uninhabited streams every year. 



bodies. After a heavy rain the waters of the St. Vincent rivers 

 rise rapidly, and then fall again, leaving many little outlying 

 pools along the banks, which, under the influence of the 

 scorching tropical sun .soon dry up, leaving dusty hollows. 

 Many of the fishes become cut off from the main stream at 

 such times, and, as the pools dry up may be seen jumping 

 about in the hollows, entirely covered with a thick coating of 

 dust. If these stranded individuals be placed again in the 

 main stream, they soon begin to ascend with the others as if 

 nothing had happened. The tenacity of life of the young 

 tri-tri is remarkable. They will live for several hours ia 

 these dry situations, exposed to the full rays of the sun. 



The journey of the fry up the rivers occurs at the time 

 when the migratory shore birds from the north are making their 

 brief stay in these islands, and cerbiin species appear to 

 feed largely on these fishes. On the Richmond river in 

 St. Vincent, where, on account of the lack of vegetation, 

 consequent on the late eruptions of the Soufriere, biixls 

 may be readily observed, I found the following species 

 feeding on the young tri-tri : Near the mouth were blue 

 herons (Florida cwrulea aeyuksceiis), golden plover {Chara- 

 drius dominicus), turnstones (Arenaria Interpres), willet 

 {Si/mphania semtpalinata), greater yellow-legs {Totanus 

 mdanoleucui), lesser yellow-legs {T. jlnvipes), solitary sand- 

 pipers {Helodromas solitafius), spotted sandpipers {Actitis 

 macitlaria), green herons (Butoiides viresceiis macidata), 

 and kingfishers (Ceryle alcyon). The solitary sandpipers 

 followed the fish up into the lowlands at the base of the 

 hills, the green herons and kingfishers to the edge of, and 

 even just within, the forests, while the spotted sandpipers 

 are found well up into the mountains. About the mouth 

 of the river I also observed white herons (Gai-zetta can- 

 didissiina), gi'eat blue herons (Ardea /u'rodias), and fish 

 hawks {Pandion haiiaeliis cnrolinensis), probably attracted 

 by the larger fish which were following the young tri-tri in from 

 the sea, and which were abundant about the river's mouth. 



On reaching the pools at the higher altitudes the fish 

 select some suitable spot and thei-e remain until maturity, 

 when they return to the sea to deposit their eggs. I was 

 unable to ascertain just how long this period was. 



During their ascent of the .streams, numbers of the 

 young are caught by the natives and eaten, either boiled 

 (whole) or fried into cakes. Although when cooked they 

 bear a strong resemblance to maggots, they are very good, 

 tasting something like whitebait. 



These fish, or a closely allied species, are abundant 

 in certain streams in Grenada, but are not found on the 

 Grenadines. Their local name is a corruption of that 

 given them by the original Caribs. 



MUNGOOSE IN ST. LUCIA. 



The Registrar of Civil Status in St. Lucia states, 

 in his report for 1904, that no deaths had occurred 

 from snake-bite during the year, although the Fer-de- 

 hmce liad not been exterminated, but merely checked. 

 He proceeds to quote as follows from the report of the 

 Magistrate of Districts II and III for 1903 :— 



The muugoose that has done such excellent work iQ 

 ridding the districts of serpents is being hunted down by 

 every one. The destruction of poultry and vegetables is the 

 cause of it. They are now in such numbers that it would 

 take a long time to exterminate them. I do not think the 

 time has j-et come to get rid of them ; they are troublesome 

 in the poultry-yard, but their use as a snake destroyer should 

 not be quickly overlooked. 



