56 THE TARPON 



The Bureau of Fisheries is authority for the statement that 

 the sense of smell, along with that of touch, plays a greater 

 role in the life of a fish, so far as obtaining its food is con- 

 cerned, than that of sight. The sense of sight in fishes seems 

 to be limited more to the perception of changing lights and 

 shadows since a fish will usually snap more quickly at a mov- 

 ing object. 



The theory of the leap of a fish is explained in the Loco- 

 motion of Fishes, (C. M. Breder, Jr., 1926, 4 N. Y. Zoological 

 Society, No. 5) where it is said: 



"The leaping of fishes may be considered simply as a 

 rapid swimming up through the surface of the water, mo- 

 mentum alone carrying the fish forward after the tail has 

 left the water entirely. In leaping, the passing into air, a 

 less dense medium, comparatively accelerates the speed 

 and makes possible leaps that otherwise would appear too 

 great for what seems to be a slight effort. The active pro- 

 pulsion is obtained in water, a dense medium, with its pat- 

 ent advantages of comparative solidity whilst the glide 

 produced by momentum is in a light medium which has 

 comparatively little resistance. The course the fish takes 

 after leaving the surface is dependent on the manner in 

 which the body is held and is modified by external forces, 

 such as wind velocity and the angle of its direction to the 

 fish. 



"If the body is held rigidly in a straight line the path 

 will be straight, barring external factors. If the body be 

 flexed, the fish follows the curve and falls to the concave 

 side. Salmo and Tarpon usually show this. The final 

 stroke before leaving the water is often of great ampli- 

 tude in those fishes and sends them upward in a great 

 curving path. ' ' 

 The tarpon is a most prodigious and consistent jumper. It 

 throws itself into the air by the aid of its caudal fin assisted 

 by a powerful sweep of its lithe and muscular body. Its clean 



