66 GIANT FISHES 



In addition to providing the Torpedo with effective protec- 

 tion from potential enemies, there can be little doubt that 

 the electric organs are used to kill or stun its prey. In this 

 connection it may be noticed that of two individuals captured 

 in the estuary of the Tees, one had an eel of 2 lb. and a flounder 

 of 1 lb. in its stomach, the other a salmon of nearly 5 lb., 

 and that none of the victims showed any signs of marks or 

 blemishes on their bodies. The power of the shock probably 

 depends to some extent upon the number of electric plates 

 included in the circuit, and it also varies with the size, strength 

 and general condition of the fish. It may be quite sufficient 

 to knock a full-grown man off his feet when he accidentally 

 steps upon a Torpedo buried in the sand. The electrical 

 powers of these rays were well known to the ancient Greeks 

 and Romans, and Aristotle notes that they catch their prey 

 by means of a stupefying apparatus in their mouths or on 

 the backs of their heads. Plutarch points out that their 

 numbing influence has been known to pass from the net to the 

 fisherman's arms. 



The Torpedoes are rather sluggish in their habits, and 

 spend most of their time lying buried in the sand or mud 

 awaiting the approach of suitable prey. The food consists of 

 .fishes, crustaceans, shellfish, and all kinds of other ground- 

 living creatures. 



The young are always produced alive. The late Prof. 

 Fritsch, who made a careful study of their development, 

 records that the embryos pass first through a shark-like, then 

 through a ray-like, and finally through a torpedo-like stage. 

 As in many other Selachians, the very young embryos have 

 long filamentous processes projecting from the external gill- 

 clefts : these are believed to assist their respiration, and are 

 probably also used for the absorption of nourishment from 

 the mother. 



The Torpedoes have no economic value. As food they are 

 practically tasteless, and the flesh is flabby and watery. The 

 classical writers, however, extol the virtues of the Torpedo, 

 not only as an article of food, but as a specific for various 

 human ills. Dr. Radcliffe, in his ' Fishing from the Earliest 

 Times ', has collected a number of classical references to this 

 fish, which was apparently looked upon as a sovereign remedy 



