WONDERS OF THE DEEP 59 



name, sea horse. It can coil up a portion of its 

 tail and firmly attach itself by it to the stem of a 

 seaweed or to some other object. In length, sea horses 

 vary from two to twelve inches, and their colour 

 changes with the general hue of their environment 

 of seaweed. 



Occasionally, painted eels, remarkable for their 

 bright spotted and mottled colouration and their size, 

 which ranges from six to eight feet in length, are 

 met with. They are armed with formidable teeth, 

 and are held in no little fear both by fishermen 

 and bathers. 



Cat fishes, another species of inhabitants in these 

 and the surrounding waters, are armed with powerful 

 spines which are capable of inflicting serious wounds, 

 either by setting up septic poisoning or causing a vio- 

 lent inflammation of the part of the body that has 

 been lacerated. One of their peculiarities is the 

 absence of scales, their bodies being either entirely 

 naked or armed with bony swellings or overlapping 

 plates. Another characteristic of this species is the 

 presence of sensitive barbels, or feelers, round the 

 mouth, by means of which they procure their food in 

 muddy water. 



Scorpion fish are remarkable for their ugliness. 

 They have skinny appendages projecting from their 

 bodies, which resemble pieces of seaweed rather than 

 parts of fish. By means of the wavy motion of these 

 appendages the scorpion fish can either attract other 

 fish, or it can, owing to its likeness to the surrounding 

 seaweed, seek concealment, if attacked. Certain 



