256 THE SEA WOLF. 



dissects its head, merely for the purpose of seeing the beautiful structure which has been 

 briefly described. 



The use of these spines is no less remarkable than their form. 



The Fishing-Frog is not a rapid swimmer, and would have but little success if it were to 

 chase the swift and active fishes on which it feeds. It, therefore, buries itself in 'the muddy 

 sand, and continually waves the long filaments with their glittering tips. The neighboring 

 fish, following the instincts of their inquisitive nature, come to examine the curious object, 

 and are suddenly snapped up in the wide jaws of their hidden foe. Many fishes can be attracted 

 by any glittering object moved gently in the water, and it is well known by anglers how deadly 

 a bait is formed of a spoon-shaped piece of polished metal, furnished with hooks, and drawn 

 quickly through the water. 



The arrangement of the spines in this fish which is equally well known in our American 

 waters as our author says, will well repay the examination. We have frequently seen these 

 fishes in the market, brought there as curiosities, but have seen very large specimens on Nahant 

 beaches. One example was about five feet in length, the head being about one-third as much 

 in width. The gape of such a head is enormous, and the creature had partially swallowed a 

 cod-fish of the largest kind, which, with its head protruding, was heavy enough to weigh the 

 Angler to the bottom, when the heavy seas threw it with its prey to the shore. The first free 

 spine on the top of the head is about nine inches in length, and with its bit of membranes as 

 bait, is a veritable fishing-rod. The creature is sluggish, and, lying on the soft bottom, partly 

 covered, it moves this rod gently, and thereby attracts the luckless fishes that form its food. 



q 



THE very odd-looking creature called the WALKING-FISH, is one of the strange and wild 

 forms that sometimes occur in nature, and which are so entirely opposed to all preconceived 

 ideas, that they appear rather to be the composition of human ingenuity than beings actually 

 existing. The traveller who first discovered this remarkable fish would certainly have been 

 disbelieved if he had contented himself with making a drawing of it, and had not satisfied the 

 rigid scrutiny of scientific men by bringing home a preserved specimen. 



THE TOAD-FISH (Antennarius histrio) is the curious little creature that is seen at times 

 floating on the surface, evidently distressed on account of its body being unduly inflated. Its 

 habit is to inflate itself, but often it seems to be helpless in this state. Its curious nest, made 

 among floating algae on the ocean, is familiar to readers of popular books on Natural History. 

 This fish is s.o decorated by algae-like excrescences it becomes a complete piece of deception. 

 It is difficult to distinguish the difference between the fish and the surrounding sea-weed. 



THE BAT-FISH (Mallhea vespertilio) is a sluggish fish, found in the warmer waters. Its 

 whole appearance is that of a creature adapted to live on the bottom. The pectoral fins are 

 developed into feet-like organs, and it actually crawls like a reptile. Its more interesting 

 feature lies in the development over its mouth of an erectile club-shaped fleshy process, which 

 protrudes from a concave locality just over its mouth. Lying in the mud secure in its 

 protective resemblance to the surrounding bottom, it causes this erectile organ to turn slowly 

 in imitation of a worm, which it resembles. Any inquisitive body that comes within reach is 

 taken in below, the great mouth being quite ready, and capable of swallowing anything near 

 its own size. 



THE important family of the Blennies comes next in order. They are all carnivorous fishes, 

 many being extremely voracious, and are spread over the shores of every sea on the globe. 

 They mostly reside on or near the bottom. 



The SEA WOLF, SEA CAT, or SWINE-FISH, is one of the fiercest and most formidable of the 

 finny tribes that are found on our coast, and has well earned the popular names by which it is 

 known. 



The general color of the Sea Wolf is brownish-gray, with a series of brown vertical strips 

 and spots over the upper parts; the under parts are white. On European shores it attains a 



