SUCKING-FISH. 461 



between Cyrene and Egypt there is a fish about the Dolphin 

 (Belphinus), which they call the Louse ; this becomes the 

 fattest of all fishes, because it partakes of the plentiful supply 

 of food captured by the Dolphin." Later writers, then, repeat 

 a story, the source of which is unknown, viz. that the 

 " Remora " is able to arrest vessels in their course, a story 

 which has been handed down to our own time. It need not 

 be stated that this is an invention, though it cannot be denied 

 that the attachment of one of the larger species may retard 

 the progress of a sailing vessel, especially when, as is some- 

 times the case, several individuals accompany the same ship. 

 An account of a somewhat ingenuous way of catching 

 sleeping turtles by means of a Sucking-fish held by a ring 

 fastened round its tail, appears to have originated rather from 

 an experiment than from regular practice. 



Ten different species are known, of which Echeneis remora 

 and JEcheneis naucrates are the most common. The former is 

 short and grows to a length of eight inches only, the latter is 

 a slender fish, not rarely found three feet long. The bulkiest 

 is Ucheneis scutata, which attains to a length of two feet ; 

 individuals of that size weighing about eight lbs. 



The number of pairs of lamella varies in the various 

 species, from 12 to 27. The caudal fin of some of the species 

 undergoes great changes with age. In young specimens 

 the middle portion of the fin is produced into a long 

 filiform lobe. This lobe becomes gradually shorter, and the 

 fin shows a rounded margin in individuals of middle age. 

 When the fish approaches the mature state, the upper and 

 lower lobes are produced, and the fin becomes subcrescentic 

 or forked. 



[See Giinther, "On the History of Eclieneis. " Ann. and Mag. Nat. 

 Hist., I860.] 



