Wrasses.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE 



147 



The troad flnned nword-fljh (Istiophorus platypterus) i« of a 

 tliinnpr and more elvgant form than tlie ordinary upt-ci™, and is also 

 •lT»tini;ui,licd hy an extremely broad hack fln.nnii hy very long «harp- 

 Winled thoracic appendages, whicli are entirclv wanting in the other, 

 nie general colour of th- fl,h is of silvery blui.h-white except on 

 toe l,a<k, hea.1, tail, and fins, which in the living *nini«l are of a 

 «ep blue, fading inu. brown in the diied specimens. This lish is 

 loimd in the Brazilian and East Indian seaa. and also in the Northern 

 •'!as, where and elsewhere it is a great enemv to whales, piercing 

 tllem with lU formidable weapon. A specimen of this Hah occupies 

 » very conspicuous situation at the British Museum In a distinct case. 

 Which also contains three specimens of detached swords. In the 

 •ame room there is a small specimen of the common sword-lish. 



Vol. II. 



the object of their rancour, antl inflicted upon him 

 the most severe slaps with their long tails, the sound 

 of whicli resembled the reports of muskets tired at 

 a distance. The sword-fish in return attacked the 

 distressed whale, stabbing from below ; and thus 

 beset on all sides and wounded, when the poor crea- 

 ture appeared, the water around him was dyed with 

 blood. In this manner they continued tormenting 

 and wounding him for many hours, until we lost 

 sight of him ; and I have no doubt they in the end 

 completed his destruction." It is a well established 

 fact that this species of sword-fish, and another of 

 still more gigantic size found chiefly in the Indian 

 and Brazilian seas, Istiophorus platypterus* (Xiphias 

 platypterus, Shaw), often drive "violently against 

 vessels, mistaking them, as it is supposed, for whales. 

 The captain of an East Indiaman sent to Sir 

 Joseph Banks an account of an astonishing but not 

 singular instance of the strength of an individual of 

 this broad-finned species : the bottom of his ship 

 was pierced through by its sword in such' a manner 

 that it was completely imbedded, or driven through 

 almost to its base, — the animal having been killed 

 with the violence of the shock. It is a fortunate 

 circumstance that the fish is generally either killed 

 in this manner or else perishes from being unable 

 to withdraw its weapon, for could it effect this ob- 

 ject, the vessel must inevitably founder in conse- 

 quence of the leak ; and indeed instances are re- 

 corded in which some vessels, probably old or of a 

 slight description, have been greatly endangered, or 

 even lost, in consequence of having been struck by 

 a sword-fish. In the present instance, the wood, 

 with the sword imbedded in it, was sawed out, and 

 is now in the British Museum. 



Pliny mentions the power of the sword-fish to 

 transfix vessels ; and this was for a long time re- 

 garded a.s one -of the exaggerated statements which 

 are so common in the works of the ancient naturalists. 

 Dr. Shaw thinks that Pliny, not being acquainted 

 vfilh the distinction of species, must have attributed 

 to the common sword-fish what is true only of this 

 species ; but the operation seems to be as often per- 

 formed by the common fish as by that with the 

 broad fin. 



Dr. Jerome V. C. Smith, in his history of the 

 fishes of the Massachusetts, 1833, narrates the 

 following : 



" On a calm sunny day during the last summer, 

 as a pilot was leisurely rowing his little skiff over the 

 glossy bosom of the gently swelling waves, he was 

 suddenly roused from his seat by the plunge of a 

 sword-fish, thrusting his long spear more than three 

 feet up through the bottom of his slender bark, 

 when the pilot, with that presence of mind for 

 which the whole fraternity are distinguished, broke 

 it off on a level with the floor, by the butt of an oar, 

 before the submarine assassin had time towithdravv 

 his fearfully offensive weapon. 



" Within five or six years, a Boston ship, on a 

 return from a long voyage, being overhauled for 

 repairs, presented the stump of a sword-fish's blade, 

 the point of which was driven a considerable way 

 into the hard oak. In repairing his Britannic Ma- 

 jesty's ship Leopard, in 1725, on her return from the 

 coast of Guinea, a sword of this fish was found to 

 have gone through the sheathing one inch, next 

 through a three-inch plank, and beyond that four 

 inches and a half into the firm timber. It was the 

 opinion of mechanics that it would require nine 

 strokes of a hammer, weighing twenty-five pounds, 

 fo drive an iron bolt of similar size and form to the 

 same depth in the same hull ; yet this was accom- 

 plished by a single thrust." 



That the vessel came from the coast of Guinea is 

 certainly one circumstance in favour of the claim of 

 the common fish to the credit of this feat. 



" The Hon. Josiah Robbins," proceeds Dr. Smith, 

 "of Plymouth (United States), related to us the fol- 

 lowing extraordinary fact. On the return of the 

 ship Fortune, of Plymouth, from a whaling voyage 

 in the Pacific, some time in the year 1826 or 1827 

 (he does not recollect which), the stump of a sword- 

 blade was discovered on the outside of the hull, 

 which, on examination, was found to have pene- 

 trated through the copper sheathing, an inch-board 

 sheathing, a three-inch plank of hard wood, the 

 solid white oak timber of the ship, twelve inches 

 thick, through another two and a half inch hard 

 oak ceiling plank, and lastly perforated the head 

 of an oil-cask, where it still remained immov- 

 ably fixed, so that not a single drop of oil had es- 

 caped." 



Fig. 2405 will serve to illustrate the above anec- 

 dotes, being copied from a specimen in the Adelaide 

 Gallery of the weapon of a sword-fish thus run 

 through the outer and inner timbers of a copper- 

 sheathed vessel. Such evidence seems almost 

 needful to render credible ihe accounts given 

 of the astonishing strength of this formidable 

 creature. 



Fig. 2406 represents the picturesque island of 

 Capri, in the Mediterranean, celebrated for its fish, 

 its flights of quails, its wine, and its antiquities. 

 The fishing-boats have high pointed prows. 



Family MUGILID^ (THE GREY MULLETS). 



The Grey Mullets and the Red Mullets belong 

 to difterent families; the latter to the Percid.'e. The 

 former constitute the type of a distinct group, with 

 the following generic charactars : the body is almost 

 cylindrical, covered with large scales; there are two 

 dorsal fins, separated from each other, of which the 

 first has only four spinous rays ; the ventral fins are 

 seated posteriorly to the pectorals ; the branchios- 

 tegous rays are six; the head is depressed; the 

 muzzle is very short ; the mouth presents an angle 

 produced by a bold prominence at the apex of the 

 lower jaw, received into a corresponding notch of 

 the upper ; the teeth are minute. 



The Mugilidae, says Cuvier, are "excellent fishes, 

 which in troops enter the mouths of rivers, taking 

 great leaps out of the water: our seas produce 

 several species as yet not well determined." 



2407.— The Grey Mullet 

 {Mugil Capita, Cuv.). This species, confounded 

 by Linnaeus with the Mugil Cephalus, is an inha- 

 bitant not only of the Mediterranean, but also of 

 the western shores of temperate Europe. It is ' 

 common along our southern coast, and that of 

 Essex, and is found also along many parts of the 

 Irish coast ; it occurs in the Baltic. 



Mr. Couch, a gentleman who paid much attention 

 to the habits of fish on the shores of Cornwall, com- 

 municated the following interesting facts respecting 

 the grey mullet to Mr. Yarrell:— "The fish never 

 goes to a great distance from land, but delights in 

 shallow water when the weather is warm and fine ; at 

 which time it is seen prowling near the margin' in 

 search of food, and imprinting a ripple on the placid 

 surface as it snatches beneath any oily substance that 

 may be swimming. It ventures to some distance 

 up rivers, but always returns with the tide. Carew, 

 the Cornish historian, had a pond of salt water, in 

 which these fish were kept ; and hesaysthat having 

 been accustomed to feed them at a certain place 

 every evening, they became so tame that a knock- 

 ing like that of chopping would certainly cause 

 them to assemble. The intelligence this ajgues 

 may also be inferred from the skill and vigilance 

 this fish displays in avoiding danger, more espe- 

 cially in effecting its escape in circumstances of 

 great peril. When enclosed within a ground-sean 

 or sweep-net, as soon as the danger is seen and 

 before the limits of its range are straightened, and 

 when even the end of the net might be passed, it is 

 its common habit to prefer the shorter course, and 

 throw itself over the head-line and so escape ; and 

 when one of the company passes all immediately 

 follow." 



The grey mullet will rise freely at flies, like the 

 trout, and affords good sport to the angler, as it is a 

 vigorous fish and requires skilful management. It 

 feeds upon soft and unctuous substances, and is 

 often seen thrusting its mouth into the mud in 

 search of small decomposing morsels, for the selec- 

 tion of which its lips appear to be endowed with a 

 high sense of taste. It avoids large and hard sub- 

 stances, and will often take the bait between its lips 

 and immediately reject it if suspicion be at all ex- 

 cited. The best bait for ordinary fishing, according 

 to Mr. Couch, is a small bit of the fat intestine of a 

 fish, or cabbage boiled in broth. Midsummer is 

 the breeding season of this species. 



Mr. Yarrell, alluding to the old proverb, that the 

 county of Sussex is celebrated for six good things, 

 gives as one the Arundel mullet. The town of 

 Arundel, on the Arun, is ten miles from the sea, 

 and, he continues, "during the summer of 1834, 

 probably owing to the warmth of it, the grey mullet 

 migrated much farther up the river than usual, and 

 numbers were caught above even where the spring 

 tidesflow, as high up as Amberg Castle, which is 

 by the river nearly ten miles above the town of 

 Arundel, and nearly twenty miles from the sea." 



That the grey mullet will not only live entirely 

 in fresh water, but even thrive, has been proved by 

 Mr. Arnould, who put a number of the fry into his 

 pond at Guernsey, covering about three acres ; and 

 a few years afterwards mullet of four pounds weight 

 were caught, fatter, deeper, and heavier, for their 

 lenijth, than those obtained from the sea. 



The colour of this species above is dusky bluish 

 grey, pa^ssing into silvery white on the sides and 



belly, marked with parallel longitudinal dusky 

 lines; irides reddish bi own ; pupil black. 



Family GOBIAD^: (BLE.NNY, GOBY). 

 .In this family the dorsal rays are slender and flex- 

 ible; and there is no swimming-bladder. 



2408. — The Ockliated Ble.n.ny, oe 

 butterfly-ush 

 (Slennim ocellaris). The Blennies are remarkable 

 tor their blunt and rounded head, and for their 

 single long dorsal fin ; the venttal fins are placed 

 be ore the pectoral, and are generally composed of 

 only two rays united at the base. The teeth are 

 slender and in a single row. Five species frequent 

 our coasts. The Ocellated Blenny was first de- 

 scribed as a British fish by Montagu, who obtained 

 hree specimens from the southern coast of Devon • 

 the specimen figured by Mr. Yarrell was obtained 

 among the rocks about the Isle of Pdrtland This 

 species, which ajipears to be of rare occurrence on 

 our shores is scarcely three inches in length; its 

 short round head is furnished with two slender fim- 

 bricated appendages above the eyes, which latter 

 are large with a golden iris. The skin of the head 

 IS loose, and here and there studded with small 

 warty papillae. The general colour is pale brown, 

 with darker patches, and a dark rounded spot is on 

 the anterior part of the dorsal fin, the first rav of 

 which IS elongated. 



Formula of the fin ravs:— I). 26 P 1" V o 

 A. 17, C. 11. ' ' -" • - 



This singular little fish, remarkable for the de- 

 velopment of its dorsal fin, is common in the .Medi- 

 terranean ; it haunts spots covered with sea-weed 

 and leeds on minute crustaceans and moliusks. ' 



2409. — The Gemmeous Dragonet 

 (CallionT/mus Lyra). The Dragonets have a taper- 

 ing depressed head, with the eyes on the upper sur- 

 face and close together; there are two dorsal fins 

 considerably elevated ; the first ray of the first fin 

 strong and elongated ; the, ventral fins exceed the 

 pectoral ; the mouth is capable of great protru.sion, 

 and furnished with numerous small teeth on the 

 n:^axilial■y bones only. Gill aperture very small- 

 branchiostegous rays six. This brilliant fish is 

 rather rare on our coasts, and appears to frequent 

 deep water, keeping close to the bottom; it is found 

 in the Mediterranean, and, according to Nilsson, on 

 the coast of Norway. Its food consists of Crustacea 

 and shelled moliusks. The length of this species is 

 ten or twelve inches ; the skin is smooth ; the head 

 is spotted and striped with blue on a yellowish 

 ground. The prevailing colour of the body is a 

 glossy golden yellow, whence its name of Yellow 

 Skulpin in Cornwall, and Gowdie in Scotland. The 

 first dorsal ray reaches to the extremity of the body. 

 The dorsal fins are pale brown, with darker longi- 

 tudinal bands ; the other fins are bluish black. 



Family LABRID/E (WRASSES, or ROCK- 

 FISHES). 

 The Labridae have an oblong scale-clad body, 

 and a single dorsal fin, the anterior portion of which 

 is sustained by spinous rays, each garnished at the 

 tip, at least in general, with a little membranous 

 filament : the lips are large and fleshy ; the teeth 

 are conspicuous and strong ; the swimming-bladder 

 is large. 



2410.— The Ballan Wrasse 

 {Labrus macutatus). In the genus Labrus the 

 scales are large and thin, and cover the cheeks 

 and operculum ; the lips are very fleshy ; the teeth 

 conical and sharp ; tail rounded. 



The Ballan Wrasse haunts submarine rocks off 

 our coast and that of the adjacent continent. It 

 has been taken also on the coast of Ireland. It 

 feeds on various kinds of Crustacea, and, according 

 to Mr. Couch, takes a bait freely; the fishermen, 

 he says, remark that when they first fish in a place 

 they take but few, and those lew of large si^e, but 

 on trying the same spot a few days afterwards they 

 catch a greater number, and those smaller, whence 

 they conclude that the large fish assume the do- 

 minion of a district and keep the younger at a dis- 

 tance. They breed in April, and the young are 

 seen swimming about the rocks in clear shallow 

 water during the summer. 



The flesh of the Ballan Wrasse is soft and worth- 

 less ; in beauty of colouring, however, this fish is 

 exceeded by lew. The head and cheeks are of a 

 rich deep bluish green, reticulated with fines of fine 

 orange red. The back and sides are of a deep 

 bluish green, becoming paler on the belly; and 

 every scale is margined with orange red. The fins 

 are spotted with verditer, the fin-rays being reddish 

 orange. Lips flesh colour. Length from sixteen 

 to twenty inches. 



A fine specimen of this beautiful fish some years 

 ago came under our immediate notice. When put 

 into spirits, for the sake of preservation, its fine blue 



U2 



