54 THE TARPON 



In March, 1928, Dr. C. H. Townsend wrote Mr. Madison 

 Grant of the Museum of Natural History of New York the 

 following- letter which found its way into the bulletin of the 

 Society and thence into the newspapers: 



"In conversation with Mr. S. A. Venable of the Zone 

 Police Force, an experienced tarpon fisherman, I was in- 

 formed that the fish is viviparous. He has repeatedly ob- 

 served the females seeking shallow water, generally less 

 than 4 feet deep, where a continuous stream of young fish 

 was poured from her vent, the young being apparently 

 little more than 14 inch long. The young immediately 

 seek refuge in groups, under the large scales of the moth- 

 er, each scale standing outward at an angle of probably 

 30 degrees. The young clustered in these scale shelters 

 as thickly as they could. Mr. Venable 's many observa- 

 tions led him to believe that the young shelter under the 

 scales ten days or more, when they are % inch long. The 

 mother soon rids herself of the young by shaking herself 

 and by leaping. 



"I have myself no personal or book knowledge of the 

 tarpon. The above notes may be a record of something 

 entirely new, and may explain the remarkably large scales 

 of this fish. If it isn't new to science, it is to many, in- 

 cluding myself." 

 When the article was called to my attention I wrote Mr. 

 William Markham of the Canal Zone and requested him to in- 

 vestigate the matter. I was informed that the fish which Ven- 

 able had reported and produced as tarpon were in fact young 

 herring, one species of which has a prolonged ray of the 

 dorsal fin, and that there was no foundation whatever for the 

 yarn which he spun to the Doctor — a story that reflects great 

 credit upon Mr. Venable 's imagination. 



Although I have corresponded with ofiicials, societies and 

 anglers at many places, I have not been able to gather any- 

 thing more than the data here set forth. 



