98 ZOOLOGY OF INDIA. 



3 much more lengthened shape than in the others of the 



genus, and is so constituted as to foTm at pleasure a kind 

 of tubular snout, by means of which tfiis fish possesses the 

 singular faculty of ejecting a drop of water against such 

 insects as happen to alight near the surface, or to hover over 

 the foliage of aquatic plants. 



We may mention, as an example of the flat-fish of the 

 warmer regions of the world, the zebra sole {Pleuronectes 

 zebra), a very elegant species, easily recognised by its con- 

 trasted colouring, the upper parts being white, with a tinge 

 of brown towards the back, and marked from head to tail 

 by numerous double deep-brown transverse bands, which 

 pass also across the fins ; the body is rather longer ir pro- 

 portion than that of the common sole {P. solea), and the 

 dorsal and anal fins are continued onwards in a line with 

 the tail. This inhabitant of the Indian seas is highly 

 esteemed as an article of food. 



Many species of ChcBtodon inhabit the Indian seas. 

 The only example of the genus which we shall here adduce 

 is a fresh-water species,— the rostrated chaetodon (CA. ros- 

 tratus). The length of this curious fish is about six mches. 

 The colour of the "body is whitish, with a dusky tinge upon 

 the back. It is marked by five transverse and nearly equi- 

 distant brown bands, with milk-white edges : the first 

 band, which is narrower than the rest, passes across the 

 head, through the eves ; the next three across the body ; 

 and the last across the base of the tail. The dorsal and 

 anal fins are very broad behind, and the former is marked 

 by a large black spot, bordered with white. This extraor- 

 dinary ifttle creature is famed for the method by which it 

 captures its prev. When it perceives a flying insect either 

 hovering over the water or quietly sunning its gauzy wings 

 on the feaf of some aquatic plant, it shoots out a drop of 

 water from its tubular mouth, so suddenly, and with such 

 unerring aim, as to tumble the insect in a state of stupefac- 

 tion on°the surface of the stream. "In shooting at a 

 sitting insect," says Dr. Shaw, " it is commonly observed 

 to approach within the distance of from six to four feet 

 before it explodes the water. When kept in a state of 

 confinement in a large vessel of water, it is said to afford 

 high entertainment by its dexterity in this exercise, since, 

 if a fly or other insect be fastened to the edge of the vessel, 



