CHAPTER LXIV 

 ORDER OF THE PADDLE-FISH 



SELACHOSTOMI 



TO some persons, the big PADDLE-FISH,* or SHOVEL- 

 NOSED "STURGEON," as it is more commonly called, is 

 one of the wonders of fresh water. Here we find a case of 

 what naturalists call "specialization," which has gone to an 

 astonishing extreme. This is a scaleless fish, with a body 

 very much like a shark, and a half -cartilaginous, shark-like 

 skeleton. It has a low-browed, armor-plated head that runs 

 forward into a broad, thin paddle of bone, one-third the 

 length of the entire fish. 



Beyond doubt, this remarkable implement is used in turn- 

 ing up the mud and gravel of the bottoms of the streams in 

 which the owner lives, in searching for food. It is unfortunate 

 that we never can see it in action, and still more so that this 

 fish has not yet been kept successfully in aquaria. Mr. Charles 

 H. Townsend says that in captivity they always injure their 

 paddles against the sides of their tanks, and do not live longer 

 than two or three weeks. 



In "American Food and Game Fishes," Drs. Jordan and 

 Evermann give a number of size records of this fish which 

 will be a surprise to many persons who, like the writer, have 



1 Po-ly'o-don spath'u-la. 

 303 



