ALBACORA 109 



they clear an oval space about three feet across as a 

 private love nest. Then they move stones — lampreys have 

 mouths capable of exerting enormous suction — and they 

 place the stones on the bottom all around the nest. Then 

 the female attaches herself, by mouth, to a stone, and 

 the male, also using his mouth, attaches himself to the 

 female's head. The two long thin fish wrap their bodies 

 about one another and start to vibrate with terrific vio- 

 lence. They stir up great quantities of sand, and in this 

 frenzy of action the female excretes her ova and the 

 male excretes his sperm. The excreted matter sticks to 

 the sand and starts to settle at the rocky bottom of the 

 nest. After their ecstasy, a term which I don't think I 

 am misapplying, the two lampreys promptly separate 

 and start moving rocks again so that stones cover only 

 that part of the nest where the eggs and sperm have 

 fallen. Then they dislodge more sand which in turn 

 covers the rocks. Once this has been accomplished, the 

 two lampreys, exhausted and lacerated by their exer- 

 tions, die very swiftly, either from the ravages of other 

 fish, or from a fungus growth which arises in the wounds 

 cut open during their violent mating. 



As with birds, the male is often the most colorful 

 member of a species of fish. Probably only deep-sea 

 fishermen and skin divers really appreciate the mag- 

 nificent range of color that exists among fish. It would 

 be a challenge to set it down on any canvas. In many 

 species, at mating time the male seems to take on an 

 added radiance. There are also species in which both 



