458 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS, 



occuring as far north as Newfouudland and south to New Tork. The latter species also occurs on 

 the coast of California north to San Francisco. The Sticklebacks are great favorites with persons 

 who own aquaria on account of the skillful manner in which they build their nests. The two- 

 spined Stickleback attains a length of four or five inches. Schools of them are sometimes found 

 swimming in the open sounds in midsummer. On the California coast, in addition to the two- 

 spined Stickleback, there occurs another species, G. microcephalus, along the whole length of the 

 coast from Southern California to Puget Sound. In Puget Sound, according to Jordan, the two- 

 spined Stickleback is abundant, and forms an important part of the food of the salmon and trout. 

 The stomach of Salmlinus malma, particularly, is often full of them. The name "Salmon-killer" is ' 

 applied to them about Seattle, but whether the wounds are inflicted by their sharp spines in the 

 stomach of the salmon is not known. Ducks catch and swallow the Stickleback, and are often 

 killed by them. Excepting as food for other fishes they have no value, though on the Prussian 

 coast, near Dantzig, where they abound, they are said to be used for feeding ducks, fattening pigs, 

 and in the manufacture of oil. 



156. THE SILVER GAR-FISHES— BELONIDiE. 



The family Belonidce occurs in temperate and tropical waters all over the world, at least fifty 

 species being known. Its members are easily recognized by their long, lithe bodies and by the 

 shape of their jaws, which are prolonged into a long, slender beak, provided with numerous sharp, 

 conical teeth. 



" Swimming along the surface of the water, the Gar-pike seize with these long jaws small fish 

 as a bird would seize them with its beak; but their gullet is narrow, so that they can swallow small 

 fish only. They swim with an undulating motion of the body. Although they are in general 

 active, their progress through the water is much slower than that of the mackerel, the shoals of 

 which appear simultaneously with them on our coast. Young specimens are frequently met with 

 in the open ocean. When they are young their jaws are not prolonged, and during the growth the 

 lower jaw is much in advance of the upper, so that these young fishes resemble a Hemiramphus."^ 



The name " Gar " is said to be derived from a Saxon word meaning " needle," and in the 

 Gulf of Mexico they are commonly known as "Needle-fish." On the Atlantic coast, however, the 

 usual appellative is "Gar-fish." In Great Britain there are several names, such as "Sea-pike," 

 "Mackerel-guide," "Green-bone," "Sea-needle," and "Garrick." They are also here called "Gray 

 Pikes," but this name should be avoided in America, having been appropriated for the species of 

 Lepidosteus^ with bony scales, inhabiting the rivers of the South and West. The name "Sea-snipe" 

 is said to be also occasionally in use, as well as "Bill-flsh," which is also applied by our fishermen 

 to the slender species of the sword-fish family. On our Atlantic coast are at least four species, the 

 most common of which is Tylosurus loiif/irostris which is found in Massachusetts Bay and south to 

 the Gulf of Mexico and the northern parts of Central America, occurring also in the West Indies. 

 This species attains a length of two feet, and ascends the rivers for great distances, having been 

 found in the Connecticut as high as Hartford, in the Susquehanna at Columbia, and in the Potomac 

 above Washington. They are also frequently seen in the harbors along the coast, but are rarely suf- 

 ficiently abundant to be used for food. DeKay states that this species is highly prized by epiciu-es. 



Little attention has been paid to its habits by our naturalists, and we are again obliged to 

 rely upon Mr. Stearns for our information. Ho writes : " It is common on all points of the Gulf 

 coast. At present it is found at Pensacola only in the summer (about eight months), but on the 

 more southern coast all the year. It is a surface-swimming fish that preys largely upon small fish 

 that move in schools. It seems to be rather dull of observation, and I have often watched small 



1 Gunther'8 " Study of Fishes," p. 620. 



