THE TRUE FISHES. 185 



fins as feet. Daldorf, the Danish naturalist, captured an anabas climb- 

 ing a palm the borassus. This latter perionnance, however, is not a 

 habit of the fish. 



Allied to the Anabas is the Gourami, a valued food- 

 fish, that, though originally from the fresh waters of Cochin- 

 China, has been introduced into many other countries. 



NOTE. They are famous nest-builders, forming a nest out of grass 

 (panicum) and mud, about six days being required to erect it. From 

 eight hundred to one thousand eggs are then deposited, the young ap- 

 pearing in about two weeks, and remaining in the nest, only venturing 

 out with the parents, who guard them with great vigilance. The Ophi- 

 ocephalus, an allied Indian fish, also builds a nest for its young by 

 biting off grass and weeds. It also burrows in the mud when streams 

 dry up, but does not migrate overland. 



TautogS (Labridce). The nipper, or cunner, is the 

 most familiar form of this family. The blackfish (Fig. 

 228), or tautog, is common in Long Island Sound, attaining 



FIG. 228. Blackfish, or tautog. 



a large size. They spawn in May and June, depositing 

 their eggs in the eel-grass and other weeds. Allied are 

 the parrot-fishes of Florida, that have bony teeth fused 

 into a parrot-like bill, with which they attack the branch 

 coral. 



NOTE. The related A cam of South America builds a nest in the 

 sand, in which the eggs are deposited, while some species, after the 

 eggs are laid, take them in their mouths. This is continued from time 



