40 ZOMPONA 



water ; if replaced in the water suddenly, out goes the air, and 

 they are off like a flash. It is probably Tetrodon fdhaka. 

 Hlntana, a river-fish, with purple colouring and darker purple 

 stripes from back to belly. It is generally found among weeds, 

 and has four long spines, one on the dorsal fin, two just behind 

 the gills, and one close under the tail. These spines are very 

 poisonous, and anyone pricked by them suffers great pain for 

 several hours, the parts near the wound swelling enormously. 

 I have not, however, heard of the wound ever proving fatal. 

 Horlta, a small species of octopus found clinging to the rocks. 

 The Malagasy esteem them highly, but I found them gluey and 

 sticky in the mouth, as well as rank in flavour. Tofoka, a sea 

 and river fish, probably Mugil borbonicus. It has a habit of 

 jumping out of the water, and if chased by a shark it swims at 

 the surface with great rapidity, making enormous leaps into the 

 air every now and then and often doubling upon the enemy. 

 Perhaps the best of the many edible fish is the Zompona, a kind 

 of mullet, only feeding on soft substances such as weeds. It is 

 silvery in colour, with large scales, and is probably the best- 

 known fish on the east coast. When fresh from the sea, its tail 

 and fins have a yellowish tinge, and it is then splendid eating ; 

 but if this tinging is lost it shows that the fish has been for some 

 time in fresh water, and the flesh has a muddy flavour. It 

 varies in size from nine to thirty inches long. The coast people 

 are very fond of z6mpona ; and when a person is dying and is so 

 far gone that the case is a hopeless one, some outsider is almost 

 sure to say, ' He (or she) won't get zompona again.' ' 



I can confirm my correspondent's statements as to the 

 excellence of the last-named fish, having frequently eaten it 

 when on the coast. He also mentions several kinds of prawns 

 and shrimps ; some of these are large and make an excellent 

 curry. One species of prawn, called Oronkosia, is long and 

 slender, with immense antennae, often a foot in length. One 

 species of shrimp has one large claw, like the crab already 

 mentioned, the other being hardly at all developed. Several 

 species of shark are seen off this coast, among them that 

 extraordinary-looking fish, the hammer-headed shark (Zygcena 

 malleus), which I have never seen in Madagascar waters, but 

 have noticed with great interest in South African harbours. 

 "The saw-fish (Pristis sp.), called by the natives Vavano, 



