244 



LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



and, also a blackish spot at the base of the pectoral fin. The goui-ami, if we can 

 credit reports, occasionally reaches a gigantic size, for it is claimed that it sometimes 

 attains a length of six feet, and weighs one hundred and fifty pounds, but if 

 this is true, the size is at least exceptional, and one of twenty pounds is a very large 

 fish ; indeed, they are considered very large if they weigh as much as twelve or four- 

 teen pounds, in which case they measure about two feet in length. 



The countries in which the gourami is most at home lie in tlie intertropical belt. 

 The fish is assiduous in the care of its young, and prepares a nest for the recep- 

 tion of the eggs. The bottom selected is muddy, the depth variable within a narrow 

 area, that is, in one place about a yard, and near by several yards deep. 



They prefer to use for the nests, tufts of a peculiar grass {Panicumjumentorum), 

 which grows on the surface of the water, and whose floating roots, rising and falling 



Fig. 139. — Osphromenus goramtj, goui'ami. 



with the movements of the water, form natural galleries, under which the fish can 

 conceal themselves. In one of the corners of the pond, among the plants which grow 

 there, the gouramis attach their nest, which is of a nearly spherical form, and com- 

 posed of plants and mud, and considerably resembles in form those of some birds. 



The gourami is omnivorous, taking at times flesh, fish, frogs, insects, worms, and 

 many kinds of vegetables ; and, on account of its omnivorous habit, it has been called 

 by the French colonists of Mauritius ^o^-c des rivieres, or ' water pig.' It is, how- 

 ever, essentially a vegetarian, and its adaptation for this diet is indicated by the 

 .extremely elongate intestinal canal, which is many times folded upon itself. It is 

 said to be especially fond of the leaves of several araceous plants. Its flesh is, accord- 



