124 A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEAS 



According to this authority the actual flight seems to be 

 carried out as follows : 



" The fish accelerates its speed, rushing along near the 

 surface of the water with its tail moving very rapidly 

 from side to side ; it then makes a sudden leap out of the 

 sea and is borne along through the air with the pectoral 

 fins outstretched and practically motionless. The chief 

 motive power of this soaring flight is supplied by the 

 tail, there being little if any flapping of the wings as in 

 birds or bats. The pectoral fins act merely as parachutes 

 which enable the fish to glide through the air. The 

 nights, sometimes as much as a quarter of a mile in length, 

 take place as a rule quite close to the water, but the fishes 

 may occasionally be carried upwards by air currents to a 

 height of over 20 feet and in this way may land on the decks 

 of ships." Dr. Hankin, who has made a study of the 

 " flight " of these fish, has estimated that under favourable 

 conditions they attain a speed of over fifty miles an hour. 



The commonest species of Flying Fish — Exocoetus 

 evolans — inhabits the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean 

 and the Australian and Chinese Seas. It is an occasional 

 visitor to our southern coasts and not very many years 

 ago a large shoal made its appearance off Weymouth. 



In the Flying Gurnard (Dactylopterus) the upper portion 

 of the pectoral is modified to form a wing which enables 

 the fish to plane over the surface of the water. The lower 

 portions function as feet as in other Gurnards. Dr. William 

 Beebe, in his delightful book, "Beneath Tropic Seas," 

 writes of this fish : " As regards the scope of its life 

 activities it is almost in a class by itself, for while angels 

 and bats have conquered only two elements, the Flying 



