ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



965 



4* 



THE SEA-RAVEN IX SWIMMING ATTITUDE 



his part. He is a firm believer in the proverb 

 that all things come to him who waits, so he lies 

 in patient obscurity dangling his tempting lure, 

 until some unwary fish is attracted by it and 

 swims above him. Then with one mighty spasm 

 the whole seabottom in his vicinity seems to rise 





L. 



to engulf the unlucky prey, 

 which is held fast by an array 

 of horrid backward-pointing 

 teeth. The success of this 

 stand-pat policy is sometimes 

 his undoing, for fishermen are 

 said to open him up to obtain 

 the numerous fishes contained 

 in his stomach. 



The angler reaches unlim- 

 ited capacity and a length of 

 about four feet. But though 

 this fish is repulsive in every 

 point of person and character, 

 it must not be supposed that 

 he does not attract attention 

 when on exhibition. Quite the 

 contrary — which brings us 

 back to our original proposi- 

 tion that there is a great fas- 

 cination in pure unadulterated 

 ugliness. 



Giant Turtle of the Amazon. — 

 Four specimens of this turtle 

 (Podocnemis e.vpansa) arrived at the Aquarium on 

 February 24 from Manaos, Brazil, — nearly a thou- 

 sand miles up the Amazon river. According to the 

 best of our information it has never been exhibited 

 before in this country. The shell reaches a length of 

 three feet, making it a giant among the fresh-water 

 turtles. Bates in "A Naturalist on the River Ama- 

 zon" treats very interestingly of the habits and eco- 

 nomic status of this species. 



JAW OF THE ANGLER 



The powerful teeth project backward 



to hold the prey. 



THE ANGLER 



One of the lures is seen projecting forward, the other is laid back in tlic resting position 



on the top of the head. This specimen was about three feet Ions. 



