i'linin l,y Walter L. Beasley 

 A GIANT SUNFISH CAPTURED IN THE) PACIFIC OCFAN OFF THE CAIJFORNIA COAST 



This huge monster of the sea, measuring ii feet from fin tip to fin tip and lo feet from 

 head to tail, weighed nearly a ton. It looks to be all head and no body, and this condition 

 is believed to he due to the fact that the sunfish spends much of its time in very deep water, 

 \vhere most fishes develop huge heads and very spindling trunks. The big fish has compara- 

 tively a small mouth, and, to provide for the enormous stomach, consumes thousands of 

 small fish and various other marine creatures. The great fins are 3 feet long, and when 

 swimming the upper one protrudes high out of the water. It is thought that the specimen 

 had attained great age, although its age cannot be estimated definitely. It mav have been 

 nearly a hundred years. 



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