THE SAXD EEL. 



L'Tl 



While resident on th- Florida K. . f. ;it l-'m-t .l.-fT.-rson. \v,' discovered a Fieraafer living in 

 a larp- Hnlnthiiiia. At this tiin.-. is.v.. this was a novelty to naturalist*. Since then epw-iwi 

 have been found in other |wirts of the world, and in \arious objects. 



Th<- larp- Il.il.)tluiri:i. or Sea Cucumber <>f tin- K--f. is <>fi-n i-i^ht^-n inrlu-.s in Imgth ; 

 and it is aluind:intly sptvad over the n--f in shoul water. Tin- \i-itnr. i" ssiiliiiK li-isun-lx in 

 th.-s.- wat.-i-x. ni:i\ i-a.-li i>ne easily from his seat in the bout. Lift UH- rn>:ituro intoa htirkft 

 of water: he soon exhausts the oxygen of *> small amonnt of wati-r, and tliere peefia out from 

 his niontli another creature that requires more oxygen than is left, and thus asserts his rights 

 l>\ l.-a\iii-. It isafisb, a Fierasfer, that so appears, and adeli<-at<> tnii^iuin-nt one it is, of 

 eight inches in l.-n-tli. Its name Fierasfer is derived from the Greek, meaning sleek and 



' 



shining, in allusion to its great delicacy. Its habit of living protected within the halls of the 

 great echinoderm renders its exterior tissues delicate, if indeed it be not originally made so. 

 Who can tell? These cases of parasitic or, more properly, commensal lift- an-, indeed, puz- 

 zling. This species is Piera^fer dubius (Putnam), and its locality is recorded as Florida Keys 

 to Cuba. 



ANOTHER species of this genus, the SAND EEL, or HORNELS (Ammodytes tobianu\ is 

 sometimes mistaken for the preceding species, from which, however, it may be distinguished 

 l>\ its greater size, its larger head, the farther M-ttini; back of the dorsal fin. the browner color, 

 and more opaque body, \\li.-n full-grown, the Sand Eel will reach the length of a foot or 



inches. 



