miller's thumb. 991 



He described its characteristics admirably, saying that it lived nnder stones, and that 

 when the top of the stone was struck, the fish would come out and dart around with 

 incredible swiftness, as if the unwonted noise made it crazy. 



"The Star Gazer lives in clear, cold brooks, and in the Bhelt^red part of lakes; and 

 like many other fishes does not object to eating its smalli r brothers and sisters. The 

 subject of this paper lives near the west shore of the lake, down three or four miles at 

 least, and is especially abundant at the month of cool, spring brooks. 



" There are two interesting points with reference to its eating and respiration that 

 have never been described of any fish in American books so far as I know. Pishes are 

 very quick in their movements, and very slipjiery, so that it is not only difficult to catch 

 them, but to hold them after they are caught. In the Star Gazer, as in mawy oiher 

 fishes, there is a very effectual means of preventing the escape of whatever may be 

 canght. In both jaws there are very nnmerone, sharp, conical, recurved teeth, having 

 a strong hinge on the side toward the throat, and an elastic ba?id on the opposite side. 

 These hinged teeth are set upon a bony base, and from the arrangement of tlje hinge, 

 they are very readily bent toward the throat, but are immediately straightened by the 

 elastic band when the pressure is removed ; but afttr being once straightened the strong 

 hinge and bony base will not allow them to mo^e farther in that dinction. Whenever 

 a fish is canght the teeth are readily bent toward the throat, thus frtely permitting 

 motion in that direction; but if by any means the motion tecded to be in the other di- 

 rection, the teeth would form n myriad of rigid hooks preventing any escape In all 

 the struggles of the prey to escape, every motion toward the Throat woaJd be easy, but 

 mdtion in the opposite direction would be impossible, so that the very efforts to escape 

 only render escape the more hopeless. Truly we might well write over tois fearful 

 portal the gloomy words of Dante, "All hope abandon ye who enter here." 



" The mechanism of respiration is very complex, but its whole office is to force cur- 

 rents of water over the gills and so purify the blood. There is one very interesting 

 point in this mechanism, which has not been described in American books as is stated 

 above, but which is easily understood. As fishes do not have fleshy lips to securely 

 close their mouths, it is evident that when there is an attempt to force the water filling 

 the month cavity over the gills and out through the gill fissures, it will tend to flow out 

 through the month as Well as through the gill fissures To prevent this regurgitation, 

 and insure the passage of the current over the gills there is both on the floor and roof 

 of the mouth, just behind the jaws, a crescent shaped membranous curtain. Tlicse bur- 

 tains are attached at their anterior edges, but their posterior eiJges float freely. When- 

 ever water is drawn into the mouth the curtains float up against the roof anil doWu 

 against the floor of the mouth, offering no resistance whatsoever to the current. When 

 the mouth is closed to force the water over the gills, the water tends to flow out through 

 the opening of the mouth, but in doing so it gets above and below the curtains, moving 

 them so that their free edges meet, and as they are so fastlened in front that they can-_ 

 not move further after their edges meet, the current of water is not allowed to go fur- 

 ther in that direction, and therefore must pass over the gills and out through the fis- 

 sures. These curtains in the mouth of the tiph act precisely like the valves in the heart, 

 thev freely permit a current of fluid in one direction, but not in the reverse. 



"The color of the Star Gazer is reddish brown, with deeper transverse bars. In the 

 spring some of them are entirely black. It is so quick in its movements that it some- 

 times takes five or ten minutes to catch one. If the fish is frightened out of its hiding 

 place under a stone, and chased five or ten minutes before being caught, it will not be 



