SCIENCE- G OSSIF. 



A CURIOUS CHINESE FISH. 



By J. C. Kershaw, F."F.S. 



A T one of the many creeks that make a network 

 -^-^ of the district round the mouths of the 

 Canton Eiver, and which forms the harbour of 

 Macao, an odd fishing industry is carried on by 

 the poorest class of Cliinese. Like the other 

 brandies of tlie Canton River, this creek brings 

 down an enormous amount of matter in suspension, 

 whicli is gradually but surely filling up the har- 

 bour. At low water large expanses of mud-flat 

 are uncovered. There are miles of it, of a yellowish- 

 brown tint, consisting of the soil of the country 



A Chinese Goby. 



which the river traverses. With this is a consider- 

 able proportion of sewage and filth of all kinds from 

 Canton or other large towns and villages, with 

 that from the shipping, or rather boat population. 

 This mud, by the way, is of marketable value, 

 great quantities being dredged up by native mud- 

 boats, and used at Macao and Hong Kong for 

 cement-making. 



These mud-flats are the home of a species of 

 goby of the genus Boleopthalmus, very nearly allied 

 to the so-called walking fish, PerioptUalmus. They 

 are, like the mud, of a yellowish-brown colour, 

 mottled with darker brown, and spotted with a 

 few bright blue markings on the upper part of the 

 body and dorsal and tail fins. These gobies, like 

 their allies, are soft-skinned fish, with exceedingly 

 small scales, and average about five inches in 

 length. The eyes are very close together, and on 

 the top of the head. 



When the tide is out, these fish lie on the surface 

 of the mud in vast numbers, sometimes taking a 

 series of little jumps like a frog, and at others 

 moving slowly by the aid of their fins, which they 

 use like the flippers of a seal or walrus, so that 

 they appear as if walking. When disturbed they 

 burrow vertically into the mud. If in water they 

 lie on the bottom, seldom rising much above it. 

 They have a habit of raising and' depressing the 

 dorsal fins, especially when chasing one another. 

 This goby is very fond of climbing on to a stone 

 or mangrove stem, right out of the water, where 

 it will stay for a considerable time. 



Hundreds of Chinese, men, women, and children, 

 catch these fish when the water is low. Some of 



Marc h 1902.— No. 94, Vol. VIII. 



these people simjjly wade in the mud, which takes 

 them up to the knees. They are furnished with 

 baskets, made with a wide mouth and narrow neck, 

 strapped on their backs. Most of them use a sort 

 of mud-sledge, which is merely a board four or 

 five feet long and a foot broad, slightly turned up 

 at the front end, where a piece of wood or rough 

 rail is provided as a hand-rest, or, to use a 

 bicycling term, a handle-bar. On this sledge they 

 rest with one knee, whilst with the other foot they 

 propel themselves along the mud at a good pace, 

 taking advantage of all the little depressions where 

 there is an inch or two of water, and every now and 

 then getting off the board and groping for the fish 

 in the mud with both hands up to the elbows. 



During the summer the men are clad only in 

 the scantiest of garments, usually just a waist- 

 cloth. The women wear more, but we once 

 observed one who had just finished fishing, and 

 was packing up on the shore : she held her boai'd 

 up on end in front of her as we passed, with an 

 elaborate show of modesty. When the tide is on 

 the ebb, one meets a motley crew of old and young, 

 decrepit and able-bodied mud-fishers, going to the 

 tidal flats with their mud-boards on their heads or 

 shoulders, and armed with baskets, pots, and pans 



Chinese searching for G-gbies. 



of every description. Some of the sledges have a 

 box nailed on them to act both as a handle-bar 

 and a receptacle for the fish. A woman will even 

 fish with a child strapped on her back, in the 

 usual Chinese fashion. These poorer peojDle do 

 not eat the fish themselves, but sell them at about 

 twenty cents per catty ; that is, about fivepence for 

 one and a third pounds — and it takes many of the 

 fish to weigh a pound. 



This fish has many enemies besides the Chinese. 

 Herons of several species, and even the kites, and 

 no doubt other birds, are always on the watch for 

 it. It must be very prolific, as the numbers do not 

 seem to decrease, and it is in season, as far as 

 Chinese ideas go, all the year round ; but then any- 

 thing " chow-able " is in season to a Chinaman. 



43 Praya Ciranda, Macao, China. 



Published February 25th, 1 902 . 



