CHAPTER XXI 

 MYTHS, LEGENDS, ETC. 



Size : largest and smallest fishes. Longevity. Medicinal uses of Tench and 

 other fishes. Myth of the "ship-holder." Monk-fish, Bishop-fish, 

 Mermaid and Sea Serpent. Fishes from the clouds. The Miraculous 

 Draught. Crucifix-fish. 



Myths and legends concerning fishes are both numerous and 

 diverse, but since it is impossible to include a fraction of them 

 within the space of a single chapter, it must suffice to select a 

 few of the more interesting for consideration here. 



Legends concerning fish of abnormal size and weight are all 

 too common, and incredible tales have appeared in print of 

 monstrous specimens that have just escaped the fisherman's 

 net or the angler's hook, to say nothing of those "fish stories" 

 never actually pubHshed. Certain fishes do, of course, grow to 

 a large size, and as far as the sea is concerned, pride of place 

 must be given to the Whale Shark {Rhineodon) , which attains to 

 a total length of fifty feet or more and a weight of several tons 

 (Fig. 145). The Basking Shark (Cetorhinus) , with a length of 

 some thirty-five to forty feet, comes a good second, with some 

 of the Blue Sharks (Carcharinidae) not very far behind. Certain 

 species of Flat-fishes (Heterosomata) grow to a comparatively 

 large size, the classical example being the Adriatic Turbot 

 (Rhombus) mentioned by Juvenal in his Fourth Satire. This 

 particular fish is described as being so enormous that the 

 fisherman promptly took it as a present to the Emperor Nero, 

 who summoned his senators to view this monster, for which 

 there was no dish of sufficient size. A touch of comedy is given 

 to the scene by the description of the blind Catullus Messalinus, 

 who was profuse in his wonder and admiration of the fish, 

 although turning in the direction exactly opposite to that in 

 which it lay! The Halibut (Hippoglossus) attains to an even 

 greater bulk, specimens of seven or eight feet in length and 

 weighing three hundred or four hundred pounds being by no 

 means rare, and much larger examples have been recorded. 

 Among strictly fresh-water fishes, the record for size is held by 

 the Arapaima or Pirarucu [Arapaima gigas) of the rivers of 



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