97 



in a fish, they take an occasional nibble in passing, always 

 returning until the victim, which may be a much larger fish, 

 is done to death. 



This is the only fish which has been observed eating sponges, 

 and only on one occasion. A large piece of " red bait," in- 

 crusted with a white sponge, was put in the tank, and one of 

 the Dasjes began nibbling at it. It tore off a small piece with 

 a sharp jerk, and swam off a little way chewing it. It then 

 ejected the remains from its mouth, and came back for more. 

 It repeated this until little of the sponge was left. That this 

 was not a mere idle or wanton nibbling, which fish in general 

 sometimes indulge in, was evident from the systematic and 

 sustained way in which the operation was carried on. The 

 living tissue was apparently crushed out and swallowed, while 

 the residual horny and silicious skeleton of the sponge was. 

 rejected. 



Shoals of Dasjes may occasionaUy be seen among the rocks 

 or out in the open. Their normal food is apparently floating 

 Crustacea, etc., of open water, but chiefly the smaller forms 

 of life growing on the rocks ; it is quite possible, however, that 

 they may make combined attacks on disabled or injured fish 

 in the open sea in the manner described above. 



The fish is a typical gregarious fish living in shoals. It has 

 small floating eggs and fertilisation is probably effected, if the 

 generally accepted statement on this point be correct, by the 

 more or less accidental mixing of eggs and spermatozoa shed 

 promiscuously in the water. The same phenomenon observed 

 in other fish was, however, found to occur here, viz., two fish 

 were occasionally seen together, stationary or slowly moving 

 about in a restricted area, darkly coloured, and close to the 

 bottom. Such cases seem to indicate that the process of 

 fertilisation of many pelagic fish eggs may not be such a for- 

 tuitous occurrence as is generally supposed. 



The Red-Stumpnose {Chrysophrys gibbiceps). 



While the Dasjes find the food, which they crush between 

 their molars, in very varying locahties and circumstances, 

 some of this family of fish specialise in particular directions, and 

 adopt special methods. Of these, one of the most interesting 

 is that adopted by the Red-stumpnose. Like the Dasje and 

 most other fish, they will of course take other kinds of food, 

 which come in their way, but their usual source of food seems 

 to be the molluscs and Crustacea which occur in sand. When 

 undisturbed, these fish may frequently be seen in a peculiar 

 attitude. The head is directed downwards and is close to the 



[C.P. 6-'i4.] 



