ADAPTATIONS 



413 



spiders spin a web which entangles 

 in contact with it. Many other 

 aquatic insect larvae construct a 

 trap hke a fish net and these open 

 up stream, so that the current may 

 sweep small edible objects into 

 them. The angler fish lies on the 

 bottom, often very much concealed. 

 His most capacious mouth opens 

 upward and above it hangs an 

 attractive-looking bait, which is 

 phosphorescent in some cases. 

 When the prey approaches near 

 enough the great mouth opens 

 suddenly and the rush of water 

 into it carries the prey along. An 

 African snake (Dasy-peltis) feeds 

 largely on eggs, which are swallowed 

 whole. Some of the vertebrae have 

 pointed processes which project 

 into the oesophagus. The shells of 

 the eggs are broken against these 

 points and the empty shell is then 

 disgorged. 



845. Pollination. — Some of the 

 adaptations of plants, with regard 

 to pollination, have been noted 

 elsewhere, but there are many 

 special cases which are very re- 

 markable. We can only note 

 briefly a few of them. 



846. The papilionaceous blos- 

 som of most members of the 

 pea family is familiar to everyone. 



small insects which come 

 animals set traps. Some 



Fig. 250. — Part of one of the 

 horny baleen plates (" whalebone ") 

 which hang from the upper jaw of 

 the baleen whale. One edge of the 

 plate is split up into a fringe of 

 hairs which form the filter through 

 which the food is strained out of 

 the water. 



This flower in its prime 



