71^ 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



YOUNG THREAD-FISH. 



1 lead-pencil drawing by Chas. R. Kni; 



long as the fish itself, but the statement was a 

 ver_y modest one. They may be as much as five 

 times as long as the fish, as is shown bj- the ac- 

 comijanying drawing. The specimen here fig- 

 ured was taken at the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries 

 Station at Woods Hole, during the past summer 

 and was accuratel}' drawn by Mr. Charles R. 

 Kniglit, well known as a zoological artist. Mr. 

 Knight reports that the filaments in this speci- 

 men were longer than in any other specimen ever 

 taken at Woods Hole. A specimen with highly 

 developed filaments was brought into the Aquar- 

 ium for identification during the present 

 summer. 



The thread-fish is distributed around the 

 world in tropical waters and reaches a length of 

 three feet. The young ones find their way 

 along our shores as far as Cape Cod in the 

 summer time, probably carried by the Gulf 

 Stream, but the approach of cold weather kills 

 them all, as they can not endure temperature 

 much below 60 degrees. 



BERMUDA FISHES. 



METHODS EMPLOYED IN THEIR CAPTURE AND 

 TRANSPORTATION FOR EXHIBITION. 



By L. L. Mowbray. 



Visitors to tlie .Vquariuui frequently inquire how 

 our tropical fishes are collected and shipped. Mr. L. 

 I.. Mowbray, Curator in charge of the Bermuda 

 Aquarium, has kindly furnished for the readers of 

 the Bulletin the following account of the methods 

 employed by him in this work. R. C. O. 



THE principal method of capturing bottom 

 fish is by the fish-trap, which is placed in 

 depths of from one to twelve fathoms of 

 water. The trap is constructed of galvanized wire 

 netting, fourteen to sixteen gauge, from one-half 

 to two-inch mesh. It is about four feet six 

 inches long, eighteen inches deep and three to 



four feet wide. Tiie entrance is V-shaped, turn- 

 ing down abruptly and forming a funnel. This 

 is jilaced about nine inches from the bottom of 

 the trap, or at half its depth. The reason for 

 this arrangement is that the fish can swim freely 

 under the entrance or funnel. 



On account of theft by poaching fishermen, 

 the collecting traps are set without any buoys 

 or markers of any sort, except that in the case 

 of the deep water ones a submerged buoy is 

 attaclud to float some twelve or fifteen feet un- 

 der water so that the line to the trap can be 

 secured. Tjie position of each trap is taken by 

 means of bearings on points on shore taken with 

 the sextant. In this way it is possible to locate 

 the tra])s with jierfect accuracy, even on the 

 outer reef, nine miles from the nearest land. 

 The exact position of a trap or its submerged 

 buoy is easily noted by means of a water-glass 

 when the locality is reached by the collecting 

 boat. The very clear atmosphere and water 

 make these methods available at Bermuda to an 

 extent that would not be |JOSsible in many other 

 regions. 



The trap is baited according to the kind of 

 fish to be captured. For instance, — when set- 

 ting for angel-fish, (Angelichtliys) , the bait 

 used is mussel, lobster or any of the larger Crus- 

 tacea, crushed and placed in the bottom of the 

 trap. The sea-urchin is also excellent bait for 

 this fish, but a great disadvantage in using the 

 sea-urchin is the damage done to the eyes of 

 the fish by coming in contact with the spines 

 wlien flapjiing about in the trap. These same 

 varieties of bait are also used for the butterfly- 

 fish, (Cliaeiodon) and surgeon-fish, (Hepatus). 

 The trap for these fish is placed in from one 

 to four fathoms of water on the reefs. By plac- 

 ing it in deeper water, six to eight fathoms, with 

 the same kind of bait, and among the broken 



