VORACITY OF THE FISHING FROG. 291 



under the throat; a fierce, malevolent aspect, and an 

 ungainly mode of wallowing, rather than swimming, through 

 the brine, and it will be apparent, even from this very im- 

 perfect sketch, that such a fish scarecrow could not fail to 

 arrest attention, even had their been no other claim to 

 regard than his portentous ugliness. 



Of its boldness and voracity many anecdotes are related. 

 A fisherman had hooked a cod-fish, and whilst drawing it up 

 he felt a heavier weight attach itself to his line. This 

 appeared to be a frog-fish of a large size, which he com- 

 pelled to quit its hold by a heavy blow on the head, leaving 

 its prey still attached to the hook. In another instance one 

 of these fishes had seized a conger eel which had taken the 

 hook ; but after the latter had been engulfed in the enor- 

 mous jaws, and perhaps in the stomach, it struggled 

 through the gill-aperture of its captor, and in that situation 

 both were drawn up together. 



An incident is related of its swallowing a large ball of 

 cork employed as a buoy to a butler or deep-sea line. 



It has also been stated that when this fish is captured in 

 a net, its rapacious appetite is not in the least diminished, 

 but it generally devours some of its fellow-prisoners. 



The sea-frog, as it can live longer out of water than most 

 other fish, is said to pass some of its time on shore. The 

 naturalist, Rondolet, tells a curious story of one being found 

 on land, holding a fox fast by the leg. The cunning quad- 

 ruped, outreached for once by a fish, had put his foot into 

 the mouth of the sea-frog, who, instantly closing upon it, 

 held it fast as in a trap till next morning, when Rondolet 

 surprised them in this strange position. 



The name of "angler" given to this singular fish is 

 derived from its habit of crouching close to the ground, and 

 stirring up with its fins the sand or mud. In the obscurity 

 thus produced the animal moves its appendages, tentacles 

 or feelers, in various directions, by way of attracting as a 



