344 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



in the construction of it. With all of these 

 species the diameter of the nest is considerably 

 greater than the length of the fish excavating 

 it. Sand is moved by the fanning action of the 

 fins and tail, while the larger gravel is earned 

 to the rim of the nest in the mouth. Like the 

 basses and sunfishes, the catfishes also protect 

 the nest and lead away the schools of young 

 fishes, the parent, as Thoreau says in the book 

 above mentioned, seemingly "caring for them 

 as a hen for her chickens." 



The bowfins, (Amia calva), are hardy fishes 

 in captivity, and there are specimens in the 

 Aquarium which have lived there many years, 

 but they have never shown any tendency to 

 make nests or deposit eggs. Under natural 

 conditions the male bowfin excavates a shallow 

 nest under the shelter of water plants, digging 

 more or less with the snout. The female may 

 deposit eggs in more than one nest, or two of 

 them may spawn in the same nest. There 

 may also be several thousand eggs laid in one 

 excavation. When the male assumes guard, 

 intruding fishes are driven off with great ac- 

 tivity, his work lasting more than two weeks 

 before the young are ready to leave the nest, 

 and probably for a still longer period before 

 the young scatter. 



The catfish and the bowfin have frequently 

 been observed to take the eggs and young 

 in their mouths in working about the nest, and 

 to eject them uninjured. 



Among the sea-horses and pipefishes also the 

 male is responsible for the care of the eggs, 

 receiving them directly from the female into 

 his abdominal pouch, where they are carried 

 until the development of the young gradually 

 crowds them out to shift for themselves. 



The male of the sea-catfish, (Galeichthys 

 fclis), takes the eggs, which are large and 

 few in number, in his mouth where they are 

 carried until hatched. 



POISONOUS FISHES. 



MANY kinds of fishes are provided with 

 poison-glands in connection with the 

 spines on the gill covers and fins. This 

 is especially true of the group of catfishes 

 found in tropical America. In some cases the 

 poisonous spines are barbed or serrated, as in 

 that of the sting-ray. The spine in this 

 species is located on top of the tail, and severe 

 wounds are sometimes received in the leg by 

 persons stepping on the fishes, the tail being 

 thrown forward with considerable force. 

 There is more or less poisonous matter about 



the head and dorsal spines of some of the scul- 

 pins, and irritating wounds are often received 

 in handling them. The writer's hands have 

 been made very sore at times by the spines of 

 South American catfishes. 



The spines of the common catfishes of the 

 LInited States are poisonous enough to injure 

 the hands severely, in fact the family of fishes 

 called scorpsenoids are so named because of 

 their scorpion-like stings. Poisonous spines 

 are in most cases a means of defense to the 

 fishes possessing them. Most injuries received 

 from them are caused by wading bare-footed in 

 waters where such species are abundant. Even 

 the mucus of many fishes is irritating if it 

 gets into cuts on the hands. 



The flesh of some fishes is also poisonous, 

 especially in tropical regions, and many edible 

 species are known to be dangerous at certain 

 seasons. 



This is believed to be caused by the fishes 

 feeding on mussels, sea-cucumbers, coral po- 

 lyps, and jellyfishes at their spawning seasons, 

 when alkaloids are developed by eating such 

 foods. Poisons of this kind may be encoun- 

 tered in eating mussels and clams at the spawn- 

 ing period, but while serious illness may fol- 

 low, death from this cause is rare. In the 

 case of fishes suspected of being occasionally 

 poisonous, it is a desirable precaution to re- 

 move the head and viscera at once after the 

 fish is caught. 



Among the fishes whose flesh sometimes be- 

 comes dangerous, are the barracouda, filefish, 

 globefish, moray, lancet-fish, toadfish, some 

 of the herrings and wrasses. In Cuba more 

 than seventy species have been catalogued as 

 occasionally injurious. When the flesh of 

 fishes is poisonous it may often be recognized 

 by its reddened coloration, caused by the food 

 they have been eating. The roe and eggs of 

 some fishes are also definitely poisonous at 

 times. 



The writer observed, while in Polynesia, that 

 the islanders often would not eat fishes from 

 the lagoons, but they had no hesitation about 

 using those taken in outside waters. Natives 

 often remove the spines of fishes before cook- 

 ing to avoid the danger of scratches from them. 



THE DRUM-FISH. 



THIS large fish, (Pogonias cromis) is 

 found on our coast from Cape Cod to 

 Florida, coming to the north in summer. 

 It is said to reach a weight of 140 pounds. 

 The size of the largest specimen now in the 

 Aquarium does not exceed fifty-five pounds. 



