1466 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



TURK ISLANDS CACTUS 



It is the red crown or "Turk's Cap" of this cactus which 



gives the island its name. 



A FISH COLLECTING TRIP TO THE 

 TURK ISLANDS. 



By L. L. Mowbray. 



ON JUNE 14, I started on a collecting 

 trip to the Turk Islands, a group of small 

 islands southeast of the Bahamas, some 

 450 miles from Nassau and 1,175 from New 

 York. The object was to obtain fishes that 

 were new to the collections of the Aquarium. 

 I landed on the island of Grand Turk on the 

 18th, and on the following day commenced 

 work. Collecting proved to be somewhat diffi- 

 cult, all of the fishes caught having to be trans- 

 ported in tanks by small boats to the floating 

 fish-cars, there being no boats with live wells 

 available. This method, in a hot climate where 

 it only takes a few minutes for the water to 

 become over-warm, necessitates constant chang- 

 ing of the water by hand. 



The fish traps used by the native fishermen 

 are made of cane, with two funnels to enable 

 the fish to enter from either side. They work 

 well in places where the current runs one way 

 on the falling tide and in an opposite direction 

 on the rising tide. The cane trap is best for 

 collecting fishes alive, as their eyes are often 

 injured by the sharp edges of wire traps when 

 the latter are taken into the boat to remove the 

 catch. A iDhotograph of this form of fish trap 

 is presented in this Bulletin. 



The collecting was most successful as to the 

 number of varieties and individuals. Between 

 400 and 500 specimens were taken, represent- 

 ing sixty or more species, eleven of which had 

 never been exhibited at the Aquarium. The 

 work was finished on July 10 and everything 

 in readiness for the coming of the north bound 

 steamer. On July 13 and 14, a hurricane was 

 reported between Porto Rico and San Domingo, 

 and the wind on the morning of the 14th shift- 

 ed to the north and northwest, a most unusual 

 thing in the summer months, as the trade winds 

 blow continuouslj'' from east to southeast. The 

 passing of the hurricane caused a very heavy 

 sea to break for four days on the only sheltered 

 part of the island. Our live cars were pounded 

 to pieces one after another by the force of the 

 waves, until all were lost but one. On the eve- 

 ning of the 18th the steamer arrived and the 

 remaining fish were taken on board, most of 

 which were too much bruised to be of any use 

 as Aquarium specimens, and only a few arrived 

 in good condition. A large number of crus- 

 taceans were saved, together with some snakes, 

 iguanas, cacti, shells and gorgonias, which were 

 brought for the decoration of exhibition tanks. 



A large collection of alcoholic fishes was se- 

 cured for study. 



The Turk Islands have many interesting fish- 

 es very desirable for the Aquarium, but collect- 

 ing should evidently be carried on in May or 

 June. Among the forms that are easily taken 

 are the queen trigger, black trigger, rock beau- 

 ty, queen angel, green parrot, and red parrot. 

 In fact, most of the West Indian parrot fishes 

 are available at Turk Island. The tiger rock 

 fish is abundant. These are among the most 

 showy of Aquarium fishes, and are much more 

 abundant than at Bermuda or Kev West. There 



CONCH MEAT 

 The chief article of export from Turk Islands. 



