CHAPTER LIV 

 THE ORDER OF FOOT-FISHES 



PEDICCLATr 



The strange creatures which form the group 

 of so-called foot-fishes are introduced here, not 

 in the expectation of close acquaintance with 

 many of them, but rather that they may not re- 

 main absolute strangers to us. They live on 

 the bottom of the sea, are not edible, and, being 

 devoid of all value to mankind, they are safe from 

 extermination. The most of them are also safe 

 from close observation. Structurally, they stand 

 next to the foot of the Subclass of Bony Fishes. 



The Angler, or Goose-Fish,' is the typical 

 representative of this Order. Among fishermen, 

 it is sufficiently known that it has received twenty- 



By taste and habit the Angler is in the same 

 class as the human fish-hog who fishes with three 

 poles at once. He lies on the bottom of the sea, 

 where the muddy mottlings of his skin give him 

 the appearance of mud and sand, opens his head 

 widely, and props it open, for the free admission 

 of any fish, crustacean, reptile or acjuatic bird 

 that chooses to enter. 



Dr. Goode observes that the Goose-Fish de- 

 rived that name from the swallomng of live 

 geese, and that there is an authentic record of 

 the capture of one which contained seven wild 

 ducks. 



THE ANC^LBR. 



one Enghsh names, and in the languages of con- 

 tinental Europe about fifty more. (G. Brown 

 Goode.) 



It is the glutton of the sea, and its body is 

 merely a purse-like attachment to a mouth that 

 is fearful and wonderful to behold. It has a 

 mouth and an appetite like an old-fashioned 

 carpet-bag, and to it no living thing comes amiss. 

 At present the liody of this creature is piainfvilly 

 small for a mouth so ambitious and all-absorb- 

 ing, but evolution is doing its perfect work, and 

 eventually the maw of the Angler will be dc^'el- 

 oped on the same scale as its mouth. 



' Loph'i-iis pis- 

 i2{ 



A fully-grown Angler is about four feet long, 

 and its mouth is a little more than a foot wide. 

 From snout to tail its lovi-er jaw and the median 

 line of the body are fringed with tiny barbels 

 most cunningly calculated to lure unsuspecting 

 fishes within seizing chstance. 



The weight of a large specimen is from 35 to 

 40 pounds. In our longitudes it is used only 

 for bait, but Dr. Cioode says that "in Italy it is 

 much esteemed as an article of food." No doubt 

 of it. In Naples, they eat stewed octo|)us; which 

 I can testify is as tender and palatable as rubber 

 hose stewed in brine, but not any more so. 

 -ca-to'ri-us. 



