Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 169 



a bee. Having put some small carp into an aquarium contain- 

 ing one of these fishes, it rushed at a srriall example, seized it 

 by tlie middle of its back, and sliook it like a dog killing a rat' 

 at this time its barbels were stiffened out laterally like a cat's 

 whiskers. 



Many fish when captured make noises, perhaps due to 

 terror. Thus the Caraiigiis hippos, Tctraodoii, and others grunt 

 like a hog. Darwin (Nat. Joum., vol. vii) remarks on a catfish 

 found in the Rio Parana, and called the armado, which is remark- 

 able for a harsh grating noise when caught by hook and line; 

 this noise can be distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the 

 water. 



The cuckoo-gurnard (Trigla piiii) and the maigre {Pseiido- 

 scicrna aqiiila) utter sounds when taken out of the water; and 

 herrings, when the net has been drawn over them, have been 

 observed to do the same: "this effect has been attributed to 

 an escape of air from the air-bladder; but no air-bladder exists 

 in the Cottns, which makes a similar noise." 



The lesser weaver (Tracliiims) buries itself in the loose soil 

 at the bottom of the water, leaving only its head exposed, and 

 awaits its prey. If touched, it strikes upAvards or sideways; 

 and Pennant says it directs its blows with as much judgment as 

 a fighting-cock. (Yarrell, vol. i. p. 26.) Fishermen assert that 

 wounds from its anterior dorsal spines are more venomous than 

 those caused by the spines on its gill-covers. 



As regards fighting, I should suppose that, unless some por- 

 tion of the body is peculiarly adapted for this purpose, as the 

 rostrum of the swordfish, or the spine on the .side of the tail 

 in the lancet-fishes, we must look chiefly to the armature or 

 covering of the jaws for weapons of offense. 



Lurking Fishes. — Mr. Whitmee supposes that most carniv- 

 orous fish capture their prey by outswimming them ; but to 

 this there are numerous exceptions; the angler or fishing- frog 

 {Lophis piscatoriiis) , "while crouching close to the ground, by 

 the action of its ventral and pectoral fins stirs up the sand and 

 mud; hidden by the obscurity thus produced, it elevates its 

 anterior dorsal spines, moves them in various directions by 

 way of attraction as a bait, and the small fishes, approaching 

 either to examine or to seize them, immmediately become the 



