THE FEELERS OF THE BARBED MULLET 



two feelers which are attached beneath the tip of their 

 snout, under the mouth. Like long, conical wands, 

 light-coloured, almost white, these, previously lying 

 beneath the throat and laid back against it, rise up, 

 project to one side, or forward, feel around them with 

 their flexible points as though in search of something, 

 then fold up again and resume their place until the next 

 time they are thrust forward. 



To see them thus, one can hardly think of them as 

 anything but organs of touch. They might be two 

 mobile fingers, supple and prying, situated on the chin 

 and able to move in all directions. This resemblance to 

 fingers, this situation beneath the lips, is the reason why, 

 in descriptions of them, they are often described as 

 " tactile whiskers ". But the impression changes when 

 we see what takes place when we feed the mullet. The 

 food, fragments of fresh fish, crustaceans, or molluscs, 

 is put in at the top of the tank and has to sink to reach 

 the fish. But before it gets to them, zigzagging down 

 through the water, and as soon as the first tiny 

 pieces begin to reach the bottom, the mullet, though 

 they may not have been touched, rise, move around, and 

 swim about ready to snap them up. Their feelers rise 

 up, stick out, then fall back and rise again, moving 

 feverishly, although there has not yet been any contact 

 between them and the falling fragments. 



It is obvious that some sensation more delicate than 

 that of touch has been aroused, a sensation capable of 

 perceiving the presence of prey at a distance; and that, 

 besides touch, the feelers possess another sensitive 

 capacity, one that is more delicate and more penetrating. 

 In the face of this examination we are compelled to 

 take another line of thought. There can no longer be 

 any question of a functional comparison with fingers 

 concerned only with touch. As regards sensation, the 

 resemblance becomes that to a double or branched 

 tongue, particularly susceptible of taste. The fish ex- 

 tends its two feelers in the water to perceive taste 

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