220 MR. F. DAY ON FEAR AND ANGER IN FISHES. [Feb. 19, 



done with the tail. Here I am unable to concur. Fish, the same 

 as other animals, when they commence to fight, employ that portion 

 of the body most suited to such a purpose. Thus the Perch will 

 employ his teeth, the Sword-fish his elongated snout, the Lancet- 

 fish the spine at the side of its tail, the Siluroid may use his dorsal 

 or pectoral spine. Instances of all these modes of attack may be 

 referred to. 



"Continuing Couch's illustration of the Stickleback, he observes, 

 ' The bite of these little furies is so severe that I have frequently 

 known it, when inflicted on the tail, produce mortification and, 

 consequently, death. They also use their lateral spines (ventral 

 fins) with such fatal effect that, incredible as it may appear, I have 

 seen one during a battle absolutely rip his opponent quite open, so 

 that he sank to the bottom and died.' 



" That the Sword-fish employs his sword-like projection for this 

 purpose is well known ; frequent examples occur of his driving that 

 formidable weapon into ships, whilst, according to Swainson, he is 

 very fierce, and attacks a Whale whenever he encounters one ; other 

 observers, however, represent the Sword-fish as gentle and inoffensive 

 except to Whales. 



" The Lancet-fish as it swims past its enemy tears up an open wound. 



" As regards the Siluroids we have more than one mode of attack ; 

 but I do not know of any Siluroid that employs its tail for this 

 purpose. In one of the Siluroids of the Ohio ' the first ray of the 

 dorsal is formed of a very stroug, sharp spine, which the animal uses 

 to kill others of a smaller size ; for this purpose it gets beneath the 

 fish it intends to attack, and then, suddenly rising, wounds it re- 

 peatedly in the belly.' 



" Mr. Whitmee supposes that most carnivorous fish capture their 

 prey by outswimming them ; but to this there are numerous excep- 

 tions. The Angler, or Fishing Frog (Lophius piscatorius), 'while 

 crouching close to the ground, by the action of its ventral and 

 pectoral fins, stirs up the sand and mud ; hidden by the obscurity 

 thus produced, it elevates its appendages (situated on the upper 

 surface of the head), moves them in various directions by way of 

 attraction as a bait, and the small fishes approaching either to 

 examine or to seize them, immediately become the prey of the 

 Fisher' (Yarrell). In India we find a freshwater Siluroid {Chaca 

 lophioides) which ' conceals itself among the mud, from which, by 

 its lurid appearance, and a number of loose filamentous substances 

 on its skin, it is scarcely distinguishable ; and with an immense 

 open mouth it is ready to seize any small prey that is passing along' 

 (Ham. Buchanan). In March 1868 I obtained a fine example of 

 Ichthyscopus inermis (' Fishes of India' p. 261), which I placed 

 in water having a bed of mud : into this it rapidly worked itself, 

 first depressing one side and then the other, until only the top of 

 its head and mouth remained above the mud, whilst a constant 

 current was kept up through its gills. It made a noise, half snap- 

 ping and half croaking, when removed from its native element. 

 This sound I consider most probably due to fear. Some fish, in 



