THETARPON 19 



lived two months. They might have lived longer had the 

 pool been supplied with pure sea water, but the supply at 

 that time was derived from the harbor, which is brackish 

 and sewage laden. The other tarpons lived about as long. ' ' 

 In 1928, the Aquarium had another specimen for a few days 

 but it died owing to an injury it received in the net. 



The tarpon is a littoral fish but it has been found in the 

 Northern Atlantic as far east as Bermuda, although it is ex- 

 tremely rare there. It is apparently fond of fresh water and it 

 ascends fresh water rivers for a considerable distance — over 

 one hundred miles in several reported cases. It can live in 

 fresh water for a long time, if not permanently. 



It has been observed far up the Apalachicola, Peace, Homo- 

 sassa and many other rivers in Florida and in various rivers 

 in Texas and Mexico, as well as Nicaragua Lake, ''which has 

 long been famous as the home of the species" (Gill). The fol- 

 lowing statements are taken from ''The Nicaragua Canal," 

 by W. E. Simmons (Harper & Bros., N. Y,, 1900). The author 

 is referring to Lake Nicaragua and its outlet, the San Juan 

 Eiver, which flows into the Caribbean and is about one hun- 

 dred ten miles long. He says : 



"But the game fish ijcir excellence of the fresh water is 

 the 'Savalo-real' or tarpon, which fairly swarms in the 

 river and lake. 1 am inclined to think that the San Juan 

 Eiver and Lake Nicaragua are the principal breeding 

 places of this fish and that it is a mere migratory visitant 

 to our coast. Wherever there is a shoal place in the river 

 it is to be seen breaking by the hundreds and at the Toro 

 Eapicls above Castillo they are so numerous that they fre- 

 cjuently jump into the boats ascending or descending. As 

 many as five measuring from 4' to 6' in leng-th have been 

 known to jump into a boat on one trip down the rapids, 

 which are only fifteen miles long. They are apt to hite the 

 occupants of the boat or injure them by floundering about 

 and so a boatman usuallv stands ready armed witli a 



