HemirampKus Fluviatilis 



WALTER LAKfMOY BRIMD, F. Z. S. 



"T 



Regardless of the imposing name, 

 Hemiramphus fluviatilis, the half -beak, 

 let not the reader suppose that the fish 

 is striking in appearance so far as color 

 is concerned. Far from it. 'Tis the 

 form, not the color, that is interesting, 

 for the little fellow — an adult female 

 measures about two and one-half to three 

 inches, the male half an inch less — is 

 about as plainly colored as any tropical 

 fish I ever saw. 



The color is uniform light olive brown 

 in both sexes, varying in shade, with a 

 white belly. The general shape is similar 

 to a pickerel. The striking characteristic 

 is the short, broad upper jaw, with the 

 lower one narrow and pointed, and twice 

 the length of the upper one. I was much 

 puzzled when I first saw the species, to 

 understand the reason for this peculiar 

 formation, and why both jaws were not 

 alike, but the problem was solved when 

 I saw it eating Daphne. Then I noticed 

 that the Daphne caught in the surface 

 film and unable to descend into the water, 

 were being adroitly taken by the fish with 

 the aid of this broad, circular, or rather 

 semi-oval jaw, which seemed to work 

 more than the lower, contrary to the 

 usual rule. When the "fleas" were swim- 

 ming below the surface the fish were able 

 to catch them just as well. 



The half -beak is also interesting in that 

 it is apparently the only live-bearing or 

 viviparous fish that the Far East has 

 contributed to the aquarium. It is claimed 

 that it invariably gives birth to thirty 

 young at a time, unless immature, in 

 which case none are delivered alive. In 



— 4 



1910, when business took me to Europe, 

 I bought a male and three females, one 

 of the latter being the largest. From her 

 I secured a litter of eighteen as I now 

 remember, but, of course, the remainder 

 of the "invariable thirty" may have been 

 devoured by adults before I discovered 

 them. 



I kept these specimens in quite a large 

 all-glass aquarium, and succeeded in 



Hemiramphus fluviatilis 



breeding them as stated. The tank was 

 well-planted and contained clear old 

 water. This was in contradiction to the 

 opinion then held that a slight proportion 

 of sea water ( 5 per cent. ) was necessary 

 to their health. In nature the fish in- 

 habits Java, Malacca and Singapore in 

 fresh water, but always near the sea. 

 This may have given rise to the sugges- 

 tion of slightly brackish water for their 

 aquarium. 



The half-beak is a quiet and fairly- 

 peaceful fish, spending much of the time 

 near the surface of the water. 



(The fishes of the family Hemiram- 

 phidae, speaking generally, inhabit the 

 warm seas and are widely distributed, 

 mostly along shore, though a few are 

 pelagic or deep-water forms. The group 



