346 Recreations of a Sportsman 



inches long, large individuals weighing two 

 pounds. The upper portion is a steely blue, 

 a protective resemblance which renders them 

 nearly invisible when seen from above against 

 the remarkable and intense blue of this channel. 

 The head is large and blunt; the eyes staring, 

 black, and very conspicuous. The side or pec- 

 toral fins are developed to an enormous extent, 

 the rays being long and attenuated, like fingers, 

 connected by a web of great delicacy that in 

 fish of the largest size presents a web or wing 

 area of possibly fifty square inches on each side. 

 The tail is an important organ, the lower lobe 

 being so well developed that it is much longer 

 and stouter than the other, forming a powerful 

 screw. 



The two ventral fins are also parachutes and 

 resemble small wings, one upon each side, hav- 

 ing a possible surface of six square inches; so 

 that when its fins are all spread the fish calls 

 to mind some of the whimsical flying machines 

 of the early part of the century, having appar- 

 ently two pinnate wings for flight and two 

 balance or supplementary wings, with a power- 

 ful screw and rudder. There is still another 

 soaring auxiliary which this fish possesses an 

 aerostat or balloon for reducing its specific 

 gravity in the air. This is the air-bladder which 

 in some species is half as long as the fish itself 

 and particularly large, containing in the small 



