129 



•aquatic ILitt 



dorsal fins are armed and even small ex- 

 amples, but an inch or two in length ; can 

 inflict uncomfortable wounds. One 

 member of our society, the president, as 

 it happened, placed his hand in a collect- 

 ing tin containing several little catfishes 

 and straightway received a practical 

 demonstration of the efficacy of these 

 weapons of defense. The spines form 

 jagged, punctures which ache painfully 

 for some hours ; although this species 

 does not possess poison sacs at the bases 

 of its spines as do some of the American 

 catfishes. the mucous secreted from the 

 skin possibly acts as an irritant. The 

 spine in front of each pectoral fin fits 

 into a curious basal socket, so modified 

 that a twist of the erected member is 

 analogous in result to a half turn of a 

 screw in a thread ; the fish is thus en- 

 abled to lock these spines at right angles 

 to the body, in which position they re- 

 main even after death. To predaceous 

 brethren this renders the catfish an un- 

 comfortable meal for tbe rigid spikes 

 pierce the stomach or throat of an agres- 

 sor ; the wounds thus inflicted have been 

 known to cause the death of water birds 

 such as Cormorants and Pelicans. 



Catfishes derive their popular name 

 from the presence of the barbels or "feel- 

 ers" around tbe mouth, these having a 

 fancied resemblance to the whiskers of 

 a feline. In tbe species illustrated they 

 are eight in number, four below the chin, 

 one at each corner of the mouth and two 

 on the upper surface of the snout. After 

 watching a newly introduced fish wan- 

 dering disconsolately over the bottom of 

 an aquarium, it is obvious that these are 

 tactile organs, and as such must be a 

 great asset in the depths of the usually 

 murky waters of the Murray. About 1200 

 species of the N ematognathi (thread- 

 jaw) have been described, the majority 

 of them being confined to fresh water. 

 Much has been written of their breeding 



habits, for in this group one of the pro- 

 genitors usually watches over the eggs 

 and young. . Our catfish builds a nest, 

 which has been described by Mr. David 

 G. Stead, Naturalist to the Board of 

 Fisheries for New South Wales, as fol- 

 lows : 



"This species possesses the interesting 

 habit of forming a mound or nest in 

 which to deposit its eggs. The nest is 

 formed either of sandy grit or pebbles 

 (if the latter are available) ; and is often 

 at least three feet in diameter. During 

 the process of incubation it is jealously 

 guarded by one or other of the parents. 

 In regard to the formation of the nest, 

 one man who had been fishing for many 

 years on some of the western rivers of 

 New South Wales, informed me that he 

 had seen the fishes carrying pebbles in 

 their mouths to the desired spot. Others 

 state that the mound is formed by a 

 simple fanning motion of the tail ; this 

 fanning also tends to dislodge the more 

 minute particles, and so leave the coarser 

 particles behind for the formation of 

 the nest." It has also been noted that 

 both sexes seem to unite in the subse- 

 quent attendance on the nest in which 

 the ova are deposited. 



Tandanus tandanus is called "Pamori" 

 by the aboriginals and was at one time 

 largely utilized as food by them. Full 

 grown examples measure about two feet 

 in total length. The color of the young 

 is olive with lighter mottlings, but adult 

 fishes taken from the main stream are 

 much darker, being a mottled reddish 

 brown ; in both cases the abdomen is 

 opalescent. As is usual with most of 

 our fresh-water fishes the intensity of 

 the coloring is rapidly adjusted to har- 

 monize with new surroundings. 



Good judgment is often a lucky guess. 

 Fool friends are worse than wise 

 enemies. 



