The Sea Serpent 29 



The deal-fish is one of the most singular of all the strange 

 creatures of the sea. It reaches a length of three or four 

 feet. Its body is thin as a knife, and would be transparent, 

 were it not covered over with a shining white pigment, 

 which gives to the animal the lustre of burnished silver. On 

 this white surface is a black blot, but no other colors. The 

 head is something like that of the oar-fish, to which animal 

 the deal-fish bears a close relationship. Both have small 

 teeth and neither could bite if it would, and neither wants 

 to, for they are creatures of the most inoffensive sort. On 

 the head of the deal-fish, where the oar-fish has its mane, 

 is a long, streamer-like fin. At the end of the tail, instead 

 of the ordinary caudal fin, is a long, slim fin, which projects 

 directly upwards at right angles to the direction of the 

 backbone. No other fish shows this strange peculiarity. 



The deal-fish swims in the open sea close to the surface 

 of the water. It does not often come near shore, but it is 

 occasionally blown on the beaches by storms. It has been 

 recorded two or three times from Puget Sound, and twice 

 from CaHfornia. The finest specimen known, the type of 

 the species, was secured off the Farallones in 1895 by a 

 fisherman named W. C. Knox, and by him sent to the Stan- 

 ford University. The specimen is perfect in all its parts — a 

 condition rare with these fragile creatures — and its picture 

 gives a good idea of the mysterious king of the salmon. 



Two of these fishes have been obtained off the coast of 

 Japan, and have been described and figured by the present 

 writer in the annals of the Imperial University of Tokio. 

 These are different from the California species, and they are 

 probably different from each other, but they show the same 

 bright silver color, and the same streamers on the head and 

 tail. Probably they, too, in Japan, are kings of something 

 or other, or perhaps silver swans from the submarine 

 palace, for along such lines the Japanese fancy is more likely 

 to run. 



