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A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEAS 



as an auxiliary breathing organ. The caudal appendage 

 is in fact frequently allowed to dangle in the water, thus 

 drawing a supply of oxygen whilst the rest of the fish 

 remains high and dry. After a tropic rain Mud Skippers 

 sometimes invade the paddy fields far inland, and when 

 they do so en masse during thunderstorms such migrations 



Mud Skippers {Periophthalmus) 



may account for the many stories of showers of fish falling 

 from the sky. 



In the Toad Fishes (Cbaunacidae) and Frog Fishes 

 (Antennariidae) the pectoral fins likewise take the form 

 of arms. These have long basal joints ending in " hands " 

 and with these they are able to climb about on sandbanks 

 and coral reefs. 



In the Gurnards (Trig/a) several rays of the pectoral 

 fins are detached from the others and form long " fingers," 



