A REPORT ON THE POISONOUS FISHES CAPTURED 



DURING THE WOODROW G. KRIEGER 



EXPEDITION TO THE GALAPAGOS 



ISLANDS^ 



By 

 Bruce W. Halstead and Donald W. Schall^ 



INTRODUCTION 



This paper is the third of a series of epidemiological reports concern- 

 ing the poisonous fishes of the tropical Pacific. The first report (Halstead 

 and Bunker, 1954a) dealt with the Phoenix Islands and the second (Hal- 

 stead and Bunker, 1954b) with Johnston Island. For a general resume of 

 the over-all problem of poisonous fishes and ichthyosarcotoxism, the 

 reader is referred to two earlier reports by the senior author (1951, 

 1953). 



The problem of poisonous fishes has a direct bearing on the develop- 

 ment of future protein food sources of the Pacific area. The existing con- 

 fusion and lack of precise data regarding the identity, geographical distri- 

 bution and biology of toxic fishes and the source of these poisons are 

 problems with which future fisheries economists and scientists must cope. 



The fish fauna of the Galapagos Islands, because of the geographical 



iThis investigation was supported by a research grant from the Division of 

 Research Grants and Fellowships, National Institutes of Health, Public Health 

 Service, and a contract from the Office of Naval Research, Department of the 

 Navy (Contract No. NONR-205 (00) ). 



^Department of Biotoxicology, School of Tropical and Preventive Medicine, 

 College of Medical Evangelists, Loma Linda, California. 



147 



