appreciation is undoubtedly due to a local variation in diet, for the poisonous power of fish 

 flesh often comes from the stinging corals that are eaten and whose toxins accumulate in the 

 tissues of the fishes. These are also particularly dangerous from March to December during 

 the " flowering " of the madreporic corals. 



Agile butterfly-fishes swim in running water oxygenated by the breakers and there are 

 labrids or wrasses, inexpressibly beautiful when alive but losing their colours when taken from 

 the water. The breeding-dress of male Cheilimis fishes is most somptuous, but they have 

 no gastronomic value. On the other hand, the lutianids are excellent fishes. They are called 

 " snappers " because of the sudden forcible opening and shutting of the jaws during their death- 

 throes. This can cause nasty wounds on the hands of imprudent Mauritian Creoles, who call 

 them " blasted dogs ". 



On each side of the tail of the acanthurids or surgeon-fishes are erectile spines capable of 

 dealing cruel jabs. The balistids or " cross-bow " fishes with their dorsal fins locked in position, 

 crush the branches of madrepores. A tetraodont or pufTer-fish (Arotliron stellatus) is extremely 

 poisonous because its skin, liver and viscera contain a virulent toxin causing severe pain and 

 death to its predators and, on occasions, to human beings who have tried to eat it. Now and 

 then large carnivorous fishes have been found with a tetraodont in the throat. Fishes that 

 may also be mentioned are: carangids (Caranx and Chorinemus), tachysurids or cat-fishes, 

 sciaeniids or false-whiting, epinephelids or groupers and a great many others. 



For the most part these fishes have kept the picturesque Creole names that were given them 

 by the first settlers in the He Dauphine (Madagascar) or in the He de France (Mauritius) or 

 in the He Bourbon (Reunion) — names such as " captain long-in-the-mouth " (Lcthrinus 

 inigralas) " drunken woman of the breakers " (Tenlhis ncboliisus) ; " great-tailed surgeon- 

 fish " (Acanllninis nic/ricanx); " fallen lady " (Clieilinns); " little priest " ( Engratilis baelama) 

 " blasted red dog " (Etclis carbunculns ) " cow unicorn " (yaso unicornis) and " paving-stone 

 mouth " (Chrysophrifs sarba). 



The powerful, fast-swimming migratory fishes consist of scombroids; yellow tunny, white 

 tunny, scaly-tunny and bonitos. The false-tunnies or scomberomorids yield nothing to them 

 in the delicacy of their flesh, and the " lamatra " ( Scomberomonis commersoni ) is much appre- 

 ciated in Madagascar. One of the swiftest sea-dwellers is the peto ( Acanlhocifbium solandri). 

 When hunting, it can often be seen making acrobatic leaps, and it is a line sporting fish. The 

 barracudas, with their accustomed ferocity, roam over the Indian Ocean. 



The remoras (shark-suckers) deserve particular mention. These 16 to 20 inch long fishes 

 have a very large sucking-disc — a modified dorsal fin — on top of the head, and this enables 

 them to cling with great tenacity to all floating bodies. They were known to the ancients, 

 having the reputation of being able to hold back galleys. Mark Antony's defeat at Actium 

 was attributed to their immobilising his ship at a critical point in the battle. With naive sym- 

 bolism rerhoras are used in Madagascan magic to keep or bring back an unfaithful wife to the 

 conjugal dwelling-place. So as to make her stay at home the sorcerer fastens a small piece of the 

 sucking-disc to her neck. To make her return, he burns the disc in front of the husband's 

 house and guides the smoke in the direction taken by the unfaithful departed-one. Captive 

 remoras, with a long line attached to the tail, are used to catch tortoise-shell turtles. Fieleased 

 into the open sea, they fasten themselves so securely to the breast-plate of one of these chelonians 

 that it is enough to haul in the line to bring fish and turtle alongside. 



The rays of the Mozambique Channel include very dangerous species (Dasyatidae), with 

 a long tail armed with a serrated spur connected to a poisonous mechanism. They can inflict 

 mortal wounds. The devil-fish (Mania biroslris) is a giant ray spanning 20 to 26 feet. There 

 are two large horns on the head and its very narrow digestive canal only allows it to eat small 

 prey. Sometimes it floats at the surface with one of the fins raised above the water or it may 

 make great leaps out of the sea and fall back with a resounding splash. These giant animals 

 are gentle and harmless, but if they are harpooned their struggles may sink the boat of their 

 foolhardy attackers. The sawfishes (Pristis) which reach a length of 25 feet, have the snout 

 prolonged into a great flat, bony blade armed with teeth along each edge. 



For the most part, the sharks frequenting this region are small sized, being less than 7 feet 



149 



