334 NATURE'S TEACHINGS. 



at the Sucking-fish from above, that the apparatus is nothing 

 more than the dorsal fin laid flat. 



I may mention here that the name of Echeneis is taken from 

 two words signifying " ship-holder." It was given to the fish on 

 account of a curious notion which was fully believed until quite 

 modern times, that the Sucking-fish had the power of attaching 

 itself to ships, and holding them so firmly that they could not 

 proceed in spite of sails and oars. The word Echeneis is used 

 by Aristotle in his " History of Animals." The specific name 

 remora, or " delay," is Latin, and is given to the fish for the 

 same reason. 



The little Gobies, which are so plentiful along our coasts, 

 have the ventral fins formed into a sucker, with which they can 

 cling firmly to any object, such as a leaf of seaweed or a 

 smooth rock or stone. A similar modification of the ventral 

 fins is also found in the beautifully coloured Lump-fish, or 

 Lump-sucker, sometimes called the Cock-paidle. One of these 

 fishes, when placed in a bucket of water, adhered so strongly to 

 the bottom, that, when lifted by the tail, it bore the whole 

 weight of the pail and water. 



JUST below the Sucking-fish is drawn a foot of the curious 

 little lizard, the Gecko, so called from its peculiar cry. It is 

 common in the West Indies, and haunts houses, traversing 

 their walls just as flies run up panes of glass. It is enabled to 

 perform this movement by means of the structure of the feet. 

 As the reader may see by reference to the illustration, the toes 

 are greatly widened and flattened. If the lower surface be 

 examined, it will be found to be furnished with a number of 

 plates very much resembling those of the sucking-fish, and 

 performing the same office. 



So rapid is the operation of these plates, that the animal can 

 even leap upon a perpendicular flat surface, and stick there. 

 Perhaps the reader may remember that the beautiful Tree- 

 frogs, which cling so tightly to leaves, are furnished with 

 suckers on their toes, whereby they can hold on even to an 

 upright pane of glass. In fact, the smooth surface of the glass 

 Beems to please them, and when they adhere to it they give an 

 excellent opportunity of examining the structure of the feet 

 with a magnifying-glass. 



