THE CUTTLE FISH. 235 
able black spots. One kind of this fish is green and spotted in 
the same manner with the black; perhaps it is of a different sex 
only. He adds—‘‘ the inhabitants of the Bahamas will eat only 
the green sort; they reject the black as poisonous. It is custom- 
ary for this fish, as they lie lurking among the hollow rocks and 
corals, to bite peoples’ legs that are exposed to them, though the 
bite is of no other ill consequence than fetching blood.” 
The Mrtton fish, he also states, for the excellence of its taste, 
is in greater demand than any other at the Bahama islands. It 
has five fins; a long spiny one on its back, like that of the perch, 
of an amber color. The upper part of its head is a dusky black; 
the irides of the eye are a bright red; the upper part of the back 
is a dark reddish brown, the red brightening gradually to the 
portion below, which is white, faintly traced with red. The gills 
are shaded partly with purple and red. 
The common Cuttle fish, (Loligo special,) is found in the 
vicinity of Nassau. It has two large prominent eyes of a greenish 
hue—one upon each side of its head; eight arms project out from 
its head and surround its mouth. These arms have on their 
inner sides rows of suckers in the form of muscular cup-like discs 
with serrated edges, with which the animal can strongly fasten 
itself to any living or inanimate object within its reach. It-is 
also armed with two long tentacles which push out from the head 
and resemble the arms, but exceed them in length. At the end 
of each tentacle or long arm there is a sort of fingerless hand, 
armed also with suckers. This curious creature has a sack in 
which it secretes a brown or black fluid, which contains a large 
amount of acarbonaceous pigment, (‘‘ sepia,”) and various min- 
eral salts. When pursued by an enemy, this colored fluid is dis- 
charged in jets, and by means of its color, and perhaps by reason 
of its offensive character, it aids the cuttle fish in escaping from 
or contending with enemies who are not prepared for this kind 
