WHEN NIGHT COMES TO WATER 



swimming, breeding season, structure after struc- 

 ture changes, — appendages, skin covering, ten- 

 tacles, eyes — everything except the concealed jaws. 



I think the most constant feature of fish life 

 about the light was youngsters of many species 

 travelling singly. The surface of the water in the 

 darkness of night and in the open bay, must offer 

 many advantages and relatively few dangers to 

 fish of the nursery age. From one-third of an inch 

 up to two inches was the general size of the orphans 

 and the total list of species would be a long one. 

 They came slowly, but increased in numbers 

 steadily throughout the duration of illumination. 

 Many left after a brief circling, or a period of 

 motionless balancing, staring head-on at the glare. 

 Diminutive triggerfish treaded water with their 

 bodies curled up, the tail fin pointing almost for- 

 ward. Both shore and reef fish were represented, 

 but half -beaks, puffers and triggers shared equally 

 in abundance. 



Within the first hour of observation I saw and 

 captured several of the strange, transparent fish 

 larvse called Leptocephalids. I have told else- 

 where ' the remarkable history of the leptocephalus 

 of the common eel, and in this volume^ of the 

 probable larvae of tarpons. Every night I caught 

 and studied as many as possible, a total of several 

 hundred. Many showed characters relating them 

 to unknown species of eels, but others were un- 



' The Arcturus Adventure, pp. 22-25. 

 " Appendix F. 



91 



