252 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



species are held in no little fear by fishermen and bathers, attacks from these fishes being by 

 no means rare. Their distribution is closel>' similar to that of the Serpent-eels. 



The Electric Eel is an extremel\- abundant fish in the ri\ers and lagoons of Brazil and 

 the Guianas. It is the most powerful of the electric fishes, and attains a length of 6 feet. 

 The electric organs of this fish are sufficiently strong to kill by their shock other fishes and 

 e\-en mammals. The traveler Humboldt is responsible for the statement, now generally di.s- 

 credited, that the Indians procured this fish b)^ driving horses into the water, and so pro\-oking 

 such violent discharges from the fish that the\- became exhausted and fell an eas}- prey. 



The C.\T-K1SHES, or She.\TH-FISHES, are an extremely interesting group, one of the principal 

 characteristics of which is the total absence of scales, the bod}- being either entireh' naked 

 or armed with bony tubercles or o\erlapping plates. Another peculiarit)' of these fishes is 

 the presence of feelers round the mouth; these, b_\- their delicate sense of touch, enable the 

 fish to procure its food in extremel}' muddy water, when the eyes would be useless. The 

 latter, indeed, in many species are extremely reduced in size. Many cat-fishes are armed 

 with powerful spines, attached to the body b_v a very complicated mechanism. Such spines 

 are capable of inflicting dangerous w'ounds, either by the introduction of poison or the 

 \iolent inflammation following on the laceration of the wounded part. Some species have 

 elaborate accessory breathing-organs, enabling them to travel overland for short distances 

 from one piece of water to another. Other members of the group possess electrical organs of 

 considerable power; one species inhabiting the Nile attains a length of 4 feet. 



The nesting-habits of the group are exceedingly interesting, some building nests in which 

 to deposit the eggs ; others carry the eggs in the mouth till the\' hatch. In one species the 

 care of the eggs is undertaken by the female, which carries them about embedded in the skin 

 of the under surface of the body, which at this season becomes very soft and spongy. When 

 the eggs are laid, she presses them into the spongy skin by lying on them. 



The cat-fishes are of world-wide distribution, but only one species, the Wels, occurs in 

 European waters. It commonly attains a length of from 6 to 9 feet, and occasionally as 

 much as 13 feet. The majority of cat-fishes inhabit fresh-water, but some are marine. 



CHAPTER XI 



THE CJRP FJMILT 



BV JOHN BICKERDVKE, M.A. 



t'hattt ^) .-;. i. Kudiand fir i'onj 



CARP 



T 



n 



members of the Carp Tribe are •vegetahlefceders. 



Jhe\ hat'e teeth in the throat, but nor:: in 



I HE Carp Fam- 

 il)', like the 

 Perch group, is 

 one of the largest among 

 fishes. It includes the 

 Rudd, Roach, Tench, 

 Bream, Minnow, etc., 

 and is divided into many 

 groups, which again in- 

 clude numerous species 

 found chiefl\- in the 

 temperate and tropical 

 parts of the world. In- 

 cluded among these are 

 the Barbels, of which 

 there aie about 200 

 species, varying from 

 little fishes of 2 inchef 



