1 69 1.] THE SUCKING FISH. 97 



a Chimera, which Father Tachard} has very well Confuted. 

 This Succet which is reasonably enough thought to be the 

 Rhemora, those good Men of old (who are venerably call'd 

 Antients,^ and who often did not know very well what 

 they said) have render'd so famous and formidable. ■ This 

 Succet, I say, has on its Head, and on the forepart of its 

 Neck a grisly Membrane flat, & in Folds by which it sticks 

 fast to the Back of the Sharks and Sea-Dogs, and sometimes 

 to inanimate things as Wood ; for we have seen it stick to 

 the Deck of the Ship with its Belly upwards.^ There are at 

 least two sorts of them, different in Bigness and Colour, but 

 shap'd alike ; they .have no Scales, and their Skin is as 

 slick and slippery as an Eel's. Those of the biggest sort 

 are two or three Foot long ; the colour of their Backs is a 

 greenish Brown, which towards the Belly turns whitish. The 

 others are not longer than Herrings, hardly so long. Their 

 Snouts are shorter, and not so dark Coloured. The Flesh of 

 both the one and the other is not firm, but 'tis not ill 

 tasted. They are very well provided with Fins, and are 

 thin and long ; so that they dart into the Sea like an Arrow 

 out of a Bow. Their Teeth are a little round at the end, 

 and so short, they are scarce perceptible. 'Tis most certain 

 that these Fish often stick to the Ships in the Water, and 



> Pere Guy Tachard. See Voyage de Siam des Peres Jesidtes, Amster- 

 dam, 1687-9, liv. i, p. 41. 



2 Our author is probably referring to Aristotle and Pliny, who 

 described the Echeneis and attributed to this little fish the power of 

 fastening itself to vessels, and so arresting their course. Thus, it was 

 alleged, Antony's ship was delayed getting into action at the battle of 

 Actium (cf. Rondelet, Licre des Poisso7is, p. 313). Ten different kinds 

 of sucking-fish are known, of which Echineis remora and E. lutucr ate s 

 are the most common. (See Giinther's Stiidr/ of Fishes, p. 460.) An 

 excellent specimen of this remarkable fisb may be seen at the South 

 Kensington Natural History Museum. Our author confuses the sucking- 

 fish with Naucrates ductor, the pilot fish, which is said to follow large 

 sharks. 



3 In orig. : " quand il est tout sortant de I'eau," omitted by trans- 

 lator. 



H 



