2 74 THE SUCKING-FISH. 



towards the suspended bait. He did not then hesitate a moment, but seized it and 

 was captured. While the shark was being hauled on board, the Pilot-fish expressed 

 the greatest concern, almost leaping out of the water in their endeavors to follow him, 

 and swimming near the surface with every demonstration of anxiety. 



These faithful little fish were observed to attach themselves to the ship, but attracted 

 little attention until some weeks afterwards, when we spoke the Ttiomas Grenville, East 

 Indiaman, and lowered a boat to communicate with her. One of the fish was then 

 seen to accompany the boat to and from the stranger ship ; and so devotedly did it 

 attend upon what it might have believed to be its lost shark, as to lead the officers of the 

 Thomas GrenviUe to remark that we had a Pilot-fish painted on the rudder of the boat. 



There attendance upon sharks is somewhat capricious : we have seen more than five as- 

 sociated with one shark, while many others of the latter tribe, and assembled in the water 

 at the same time, have not been accompanied by one of these fishes. They have evidently 

 nothing to dread from the voracious companion they select, but swim around, and often 

 a few inches ahead of him, as either their convenience or caprice may dictate." 



The color of the Pilot-fish is grayish blue with a mark of silver, dark on the back, 

 and becoming paler towards the abdomen. Five bands of dark blue pass completely 

 round the body, and there are two faint blue bands, one on the head and the other on 

 the tail. The pectoral fins are clouded with blue and white. The ventral fins are 

 nearly black. The usual length of the Pilot-fish is about one foot. 



EVERY one has heard of the SUCKING-FISH, and there are few who are not acquainted 

 with the wild and fabulous tales narrated of its powers. 



This little fish was reported to adhere to the bottom of ships, and to arrest their 

 progress as suddenly and firmly as if they had struck upon a rock. The winds might 

 blow, the sails might fill, and the masts creak, but the unseen fish below could hold 

 the vessel by its single force, and confine her to the same spot as if at anchor. It is 

 wonderful how fully this fable was received, and how many years were needed to root 

 the belief out of prejudiced minds. Both scientific names refer to this so-called prop- 

 erty, echeneis signifying " shipholder," and rtmora meaning delay. 



That the Sucking-fish is able to adhere strongly to smooth surfaces is a well-known 

 fact, the process being accomplished by means of the curious shield or disk upon the 

 upper surface of the head and shoulders, the general shape of which can be understood 

 by reference to the engraving. This disk is composed of a number of flat bony laminae, 

 arranged parallel to each other in a manner resembling the common wooden window- 

 blind, and capable of being raised or depressed at will. It is found by anatomical 

 investigation that these laminae are formed by modifications of the spinous dorsal fin, 

 the number of laminae corresponding to that of the spines. They are moved by a series 

 of muscles set obliquely, and when the fish presses the soft edge of the disk against 

 any smooth object and then depresses the laminae, a vacuum is formed, causing the fish 

 to adhere tightly to the spot upon which the disk is placed. 



When the creature has once fixed itself it cannot be detached without much diffi- 

 culty, and the only method of removing it without tearing the body or disk, is to slide 

 it forwards in a direction corresponding with the set of the laminae. In the opposite 

 direction it cannot be moved, and the fish, therefore, when adhering to a moving 

 body, takes care to fix itself in such a manner that it cannot be washed off by the water 

 through which it is drawn. Even after death, or when the disk is separated from the 

 body, this curious organ can be applied to any smooth object, and will hold with toler- 

 able firmness. In order to accommodate the disk, the upper part of the skull is 

 flattened and rather widened. 



The Sucking-fish will attach itself to many moving objects, and has been found 

 adhering to the plankings of ships and boats, to turtles, to whales, and to fishes of 

 various kinds. Even the albacore, which eats the Sucking-fish whenever it can catch 

 it, is occasionally honored by its adhesion, and in the British seas a specimen has been 

 captured while sticking to a cod-fish. The shark, however, is its favorite companion, 

 and it often happens that one of these voracious creatures is attended by quite a little 



