426 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BITLLETIN. 



tL • ■ * ^ . 



THE CLIMBING PERCH. 



Tliis lobster is now in the American Musuuni 

 of Natural Llistoi-y. 



The largest specimen recorded by Prof. 

 Herrick from the southern part of tiie lob- 

 ster's habitat, was a male said to weigli 

 twenty to twenty-two pounds, captured on 

 tiie Delaware coast. 



In view of the commercial warfare now be- 

 ing waged against the lobster, it is unlikely 

 tliat any specimens of such sizes will 1)o taken 

 in the future. 



FISHES THAT FLY AND CLIMB. 



THE Aquarium has usualty one or more 

 specimens of the climbing perch, (Ana- 

 has scundens), of the East Indies, which 

 has the habit of leaving the water and mov- 

 ing freely on land, even climbing the trunks 

 of trees to the height of five to seven 

 feet. Its habits are well known in the East, 

 and as it is quite hardy in captivity, it is 

 shipped to many parts of the world as an 

 aquarium fish. It can usually be obtained 

 from dealers in aquarium supplies at small 

 cost. When placed on the floor, as has been 

 done at the Aquarium, it progresses readily, 

 keeping an upright position without turning 

 over on its side as other fishes do. The lower 

 part of the gill-cover is rough-edged and can 

 be turned forward. By turning slightly to 

 one side or the other, the spines on the gill 



covers can be made to 

 touch the floor and pull 

 the body along. The tips 

 of the pectorals are pressed 

 downwards to assist in 

 keeping the body upi'ight. 

 When kept in aquaria, the 

 fish will sometimes crawl 

 out of the water if sup- 

 plied with the proper means 

 for doing so. 



It possesses a moisture 

 secreting cavity under the 

 upper part of the gill- 

 cover in which air is re- 

 tained for breathing. The 

 accompanying photo- 

 graph hy j\Jr. Spencer is 

 that of a climbing perch 

 nearly five inches long. 

 This is not the only species of fish which 

 voluntarily takes to the land. There are sev- 

 eral species of mud-skippers which seek their 

 food on land and readily scramble over rocks 

 or climb onto the roots of trees. 



They are very numerous on the shores of 

 some parts of Asia and Polynesia, and belong 

 for the most part to the genera Pcriophtltal- 

 mus and Boleophthulmus. A very active fish 

 of this character in the lizard-skipper, (Alti- 

 cus saliens), of the Samoan Islands, which 

 darts over the rocks with ease and rapidity. 



The well-known flying-fishes have pectoral 

 fins large enough to sustain them on flights 

 greater than an eighth of a mile. I have, 

 in fact, observed the large flying-fishes of 

 the South Seas to go as far as a quarter of 

 a mile. When rising constantly in large 

 numbers under the bows, we could by going 

 aloft, determine the distance of the flight to 

 be at times more than six ship lengths : the 

 Albatross being 250 feet long. By putting 

 insulated electric lights into the water at 

 night, when anchored off" the islands, we 

 caught flying-fishes for food with long-hand- 

 led dip-nets, many of the fishes being from 

 twelve to sixteen inches in length. 



Mr. Edwin C. Kent has just killed in 

 Florida a giant ray (Manta hirostris) meas- 

 uring fourteen feet in extreme width. 



