516 SEALE. 



THE MUD FISHES. 

 Family Opliioccphalida'. (Pi. V.) 



The mud fishes, dalag (dalah in Moro), are of considerable imjjor- 

 tance, especially in the vicinity of Manila where they form a large part 

 of the food of the native population. They are usually sold alive in the 

 markets. In fact, it is their ability to stay alive out of water that 

 attracts attention to them. They are primarily a fresh- or brackish- 

 water fish, and after a rain almost all the little pools by the wayside, 

 as M'ell as the paddies and rivers are well filled with dalag. They have 

 tlie habit of burying themselves in the mu.d as the ponds drj- up and 

 thus of lying dormant until the next rain. They take the hook freel)', 

 and it is no imcommon sight to see the natives fishing for them in the 

 rice-fields, or in the most unlikely and recently formed pools. They 

 frequently travel overland in the wet grass and can live for hours out 

 of water. The eggs are deposited in holes in the bank; the mother 

 exercises a care over the young fish. 



In India these are regarded as one of the most wholesome fishes and 

 are given to invalids. In Manila they are looked upon more as scavengers 

 and'are not much eaten by the Americans. These mud fish are distinctly 

 carnivorous, feeding on small fish, refuse, etc. They are well distributed 

 over the Islands, lieing found in almost all the lakes and rivers. 



THE s^^^.-vprERS. 

 Family Lutiankhc. (PI. VI.) 



There are about twenty diflierent species of this family in the Philip- 

 pine waters, all of them important as food fishes. They range when 

 full grown from 35 to 90 centimeters in length. They are distributed 

 over the entire grouj), some running up rivere to the interior lakes to 

 feed. Several of the species are bright red in color and are called 

 red snappers, one of the inost abundant being the bachaan [Lutianus 

 dodecacanthus (Bleeker)]. Another snapper called the lamangbuhu 

 (Lutianus ftisccsccns C'uv. et Val.) can usually l^e found in the markets, 

 ■ esisecially in Zamboanga. A very important member of the family is 

 the aids (katumhang in Moro) (Lutianus gcmbra Bloch et Schn.). 

 These are caught in great numbers in the J^TanJan Kiver at Bates, Min- 

 doro. The adults weigh from 8 to 20 pounds each. I saw 108 of these 

 fish caught in one-half day at the Bates corral. 



The best banks for red snapper fishing seem to be in the \-icinity of 

 Zamboanga. Dapa and managat are other Moro names applied to the 

 red snapper. They are usually caught by hook and line, or in the corral. 

 In Zamboanga a red snapper 3-5 centimeters long can be boiight for 40 

 centavos. 



