.IIC) SKALK. 



THE .MUD 1-JSlIKS. 

 I'^amily (liilnonjiluiliiht. (PI. \'. ) 



The mud fishes^ dalag {dalak in Moro), ai'e of considerable impor- 

 tance, especially in the vicinity of Manila where tliey 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 well as the paddies and rivers are ^\'ell filled with dalag. They ha\e 

 the habit i.if burning themselves in the mud as the ponds drj- up and 

 thus of lying donnant until the next rain. They take the hook freely, 

 and it is no uncommcm sight to see the nati\es fishing tor them in the 

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

 frocjuently travel o\i.T]and in tlie wet grass and can live for hours out 

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

 exercises a care ovei- the young fish. 



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

 ale 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 

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

 ci\er the Islands, being found in ahuost all the lakes and rivers. 



THE SX.\ri'Bi;s. 

 Family Liitinnvh, . (PI. W.) 



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

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

 full gi-own from 2:) to 90 centimeters in length. They are distributed 

 over the entire group, some running up rivers to the interior lakes to 

 leed. Se\-eial of the species are bright red in color and are called 

 red snapjiers, one of the most abundant l)eiiig the hnchuiin \_Lutiiiniis 

 iloih'cacaiiiliiis (Bleeker)]. Another snapper called llie raiinnujbtihu 

 {Lvthinus fiisccsccvs (hiv. et Val.) can usually lie found in the markets, 

 <>s]ji'cially in Zamboanga. A very important member of the family is 

 the aids {kutunihany in Moro) {LuHanus ijcin'bra Bloch et Sehn.). 

 These are caught in great numbers in the Xaujan lii\-er at Bates, Min- 

 doro. The adults weigh from 8 to -'J) pounds eacli. I sa\y 108 of these 

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



The best banks for red snapper fishing seem to Ix' in the vicinity of 

 Zamboanga. Dapa and managai 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 35 centimeters long can be bought for 4() 

 centavos. 



