CH. VI MABINE FAUNA OF TALI88E SH0BE8 143 



In a few days, however, notwithstanding every care and 

 precaution, the tubs were slightly putrid, and then they 

 swarmed with these jumping larvae. I watched the larger 

 ones carefully for some hours, and actually saw the mos- 

 quitoes emerge from them. In some of the low small islands 

 near Manado the air is black with mosquitoes, and yet 

 there is not a drop of fresh or even brackish water. The 

 mosquitoes must, then, in such places pass their larval 

 stages of existence in salt water. 



Upon the outskirts of the swamp the jumping fish, 

 Periophthalmus, is very common. It rarely penetrates 

 very far into the swamp, and is never seen in such numbers 

 as it is upon the more rocky coasts, such as we find at 

 Bohoi and the north end of Limbe. Where I found Peri- 

 ophthalmus in the swamp, I also observed a curious and 

 interesting form of sea-anemone, with bright green tuber- 

 culated tentacles, apparently allied to the Corallimorphidae, 

 Thelaceros rhizophom (47 A) . It might be thought that it 

 is the simplest thing in the world to ' collect ' a sea-anemone, 

 but I had a fine struggle before I succeeded in obtaining 

 a perfect specimen of this one. It is usually found in 

 shallow pools near the roots of the mangrove trees, and when 

 frightened, rapidly retreats below the roots. It is necessary 

 to use both spade and hatchet to effect a capture, and even 

 then one has to be pretty sharp to prevent it sinking 

 altogether out of reach. It might seem rather ludicrous 

 to see two men starting off with axe and spade to catch 

 a ' sea-anemone,' but I would defy anyone who was not so 

 armed to catch this beautiful actinian. 



Of the birds that may be shot in the swamps those most 

 commonly seen are the swifts {Macropteryx and CollocaUia) 

 feeding in their rapid flight upon the thousands of winged 

 insects that abound, kingfishers perching on the roots or 

 lower branches of the trees, cuckoos, and occasionally, but 



