CHORDATA 



295 



In India there are fishes provided with respiratory chambers 

 near the gills; by means of these chambers they can breathe 

 air directly, and so live in moist places on land ; further, it kept 

 under water and the respirator)' chamber becomes filled with 

 water, they are likely to die. Closely related to these air-breath- 

 ing fishes is the climbing fish, Anabas scandens (Fig. 302), which 

 bv means of its operculum is able to climb up the sides of wet 

 palm trees for a distance of a couple of meters. 



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Fig. 302. Anabas scandens, the climbing perch. A, entire animal ; B, head dissected to 

 show accessory respiratory organ. (A, after Cuvie'r ; B, after Giinther. From Parker and 

 Haswell's Text-book.) 



A curious fish living at a depth of about three thousand 

 meters, it is said, is the black swallower, Chiasmodon niger ; 

 owing to the great distensibility of its stomach and ventral body 

 wall it is capable of swallowing fishes much larger than itself. 

 The suckfish, Remora remora, is found in tropical waters 

 has a suckerlike plate on the top of its head by means of which 

 it can attach itself to various objects. With a ring fastened to 

 their tail, and a line, they are used by African fishermen for 



