Fishes. 91 



We have now reached the Bony Fishes, possessing- all a bony ske- 

 leton and gill-covers, and hei'e, too, we will start with those living' at 

 the bottom of the sea, where they pass their life hidden in the sand or 

 mud, lying in wait for their prey. They swim about in a very clumsy 

 way. They will be chiefly found in tank Nr. 24. The Star-gazer, Urano- 

 scopus (Fig. 149), is an ugly brown fish with a large thick head and a 

 body tapering off behind like a wedge. The small eyes are placed on 

 the top of the head, hence its name, and the Avide mouth is bent up- 

 wards. It generally lies buried in the sand and there often practises 

 an ingenious stratagem. It protrudes from its mouth a long worm-like 

 filament, which grows on its lower jaw, and lets it move about in tiie 

 water. This allures fishes, which are anxious to catch what they suppose 

 to be a worm, but are suddenly gulped in by the Uranoscopus. When 

 disturbed from its sandy retreat, it swims about for a short time, but 

 soon falls to the ground and with its shovel-like fins burrows into the 

 sand again. It is very common in the Bay and is often seen on the 

 market. 



The Weever or Sting-fish, Trachinus (Fig. 150) , is somewhat 

 similar. It is small and slender and has bright shining eyes. Wiien 

 freshly caught and placed in the Aquarium, it soon drops to the bottom 

 of the tank and buries itself up to the eyes in the sand. When fed, it 

 darts rapidly out of its hiding" place and snaps up the food, before it 

 has fallen to the ground. At the same time (and also Avhen angered) 

 it erects its dorsal fins, the foremost of which has very sharp and poi- 

 sonous spines. The wounds they can inflict are very dangerous, as they 

 often cause violent inflammation. 



The Fishing-frog or Angler-fish, Lophius (Fig. 58), is especially 

 well provided with the means of attracting its prey. It is probably the 

 most hideous monster among the fishes of the Mediterranean. The enor- 

 mous flat head occupies almost three quarters of the body, and the wide 

 mouth is provided with rows of murderous-looking teeth. The mud- 

 coloured monster lies half-buried at the bottom of the tank and gazes 

 upwards with its large expressionless ej'es, while the small lappets and 

 outgrowths of its lower jaw are moved about at each breath it takes. 

 From time to time it raises the fin-rays of its head as a bait and lets 

 their lappets move about. Thus it is a «Compleat Angler» with rods 

 and bait and always ready to engulf with its gigantic mouth the small 

 fry which the bait attracts. It lives in the mud in medium depths and 

 often attains an enormous size. Unfortunately it does not last long in 

 the Aquarium, as it cannot be made to take any food; visitors will 

 therefore only rarely find it (tank 10). Young specimens and also another 

 much smaller species are placed in tank 24. 



In the same tank (No. 24) will be found the Soles. The Flat 

 Fishea or Pleuronectidte to which these belong, form a quite distinct 

 group of fishes. Their body is laterally compressed i. e. from right to 

 left, and tlie head is turned in such a way that both eyes come to 

 lie on the same side (either right or left). The two sides are distinct in 

 colouring. The side wiiich in swimming or resting is the undermost is 

 white, like the ventral surface of many other animals. The other side, 



