194 



THE LAU-LAF. 



bony plate which expands to the first dorsal fin. 

 The first ray of the first dorsal and of the pectoral 

 fin is strong and spiny, studded with whitish bony 

 tubercles, and can be depressed or erected at plea- 

 sure. Four barbules below, those nearest the mouth 

 smaller, two above ; nostrils double, about an inch 

 apart. Eyes small; iris silvery. Intestines with 

 numerous appendices or caeci, otherwise simple. It 

 is remarkable that the young of the lau-lau are 

 excluded from the ovarium into the abdomen, in 

 which state they might be likened to the yolk of 

 an egg^ in which the two specks of the eyes, the 

 mouth, and fins, are, however, observable. If a 

 lau-lau should be taken when near parturition, in 

 consequence of fear, the eggs pass ofi^. Mr. Hill- 

 house has assured me that he had repeatedly put 

 the eggs in a glass of water, where they hatched 

 tliemselves, and the young fish appeared with a 

 large yellow protuberance on its belly, like the 

 abdomen of a chicken just hatched. When left to 

 nature, the eggs are hatched in the abdomen ; and 

 when the young are excluded, they swim in large 

 shoals over the head of the mother. In case of 

 danger, the mother opens her mouth, and the fry 

 find a safe retreat in the thorax. 



" They live chiefly upon other fish, but we have 

 likewise found seeds and vegetables in their sto- 

 mach. In spite of their unwieldiness, they swim 

 with rapidity, and their strength may be conjectured 

 from their size. They bite rapidly, but if the line 

 be not calculated fur this giant among the inhabitants 



