1 86 GIANT FISHES 



swine ". Dr. Day mentions a 6-foot specimen that became 

 entangled in the fishermen's nets on the Chesil Beach in 

 Dorsetshire. This was dragged ashore, and dashed about on 

 the pebble? with great vigour, and finally expired in about 

 3 hours after uttering " hideous groans ". 



Practically nothing is known of the breeding habits of these 

 fishes, but they seem to be highly prolific. The ovary of a 

 female Sun-fish has been found to contain no less than 

 300,000,000 small, unripe eggs. As far as is known, the eggs 

 are shed and fertilized in the open sea, and, as is the case in 

 all fishes that produce huge numbers of eggs, the almost helpless, 

 newly-hatched larvae are left to the mercy of the elements, 

 and a very small proportion of them survive to reach maturity. 

 The eggs are believed to be about ./,, inch in diameter, and 

 the newly-hatched larvae are extraordinarily minute, when 

 compared with the colossal bulk of their parents. As Dr. 

 Gudger puts it, " the larval Sun-fish is to its mother as a 

 150-lb. rowboat is to sixty ' Queen Marys 



The larva when first hatched is about j\j inch in length, 

 and is quite ordinary, with a paddle-shaped caudal fin like 

 any other young Bony Fish. It soon loses this caudal fin, 

 however, and acquires a regular armour of spines projecting 

 in every direction from the surface of the body. Five of these 

 spines later grow out into long " horns ", one of which projects 

 from the middle of the back, one from the snout, one from the 

 chest, and one from each side of the body. When rather 

 less than half an inch in length, the little fish undergoes a 

 marked change in shape, the body becoming deeper than 

 long, and at the same time the spines shorten and a new 

 tail-fin develops, which connects the abbreviated dorsal and 

 anal fins. 



The flesh of the Sun-fish is generally regarded as worthless, 

 and, as this fish is a relative of the Globe-fishes or Puffers, 

 which have the reputation of being highly poisonous to man, 

 it is rarely eaten. It seems to be harmless, however, but 

 tough and quite tasteless. Dr. Day mentions a portion of 

 Sun-fish that was sent as a present to a gentleman, whose 

 cook made it into a soup that was described as " the best 

 turtle soup he had tasted for a long time " 



The name " Sun-fish " refers, of course, to the habit of 



