160 The Under-Water World 



sexes, the males usually outnumbering 

 the females. 



The life-history of the greatly com- 

 pressed flat-fish the soles, flounders, 

 dabs, plaice, turbot, etc., may be desig- 

 nated as odd, inasmuch as at birth they 

 do not differ in structure from most 

 normal fish and swim in a vertical 

 position. When a few days old, however, 

 an amazing transformation takes place. 

 The infant flat-fish sinks to the sea-bed, 

 losing its swimming powers, the body 

 tilts to one side, and the skull changes 

 its shape, bringing one eye over to the 

 same side as its fellow. Thus is a flat- 

 fish created from quite an ordinary fish 

 within the course of a few hours. 



The normal fish engulfs any prey that 

 may come its way, but at least one 

 species obtains its meals in a much more 

 sporting manner. This piscatorial sports- 

 man the Archer fish of the streams of 

 the Malay Archipelago has very pointed 



