The Mythology of Fishes 



361 



The Bishop-fish. — "I have seen a portrait of another sea- 

 monster at Rome, whither it had been sent with letters that 

 affirmed for certain that in 1531 one had seen this monster in 

 a bishop's garb, as here portrayed, in Poland. Carried to the 

 king of that country, it made 

 certain signs that it had a 

 great desire to return to the 

 sea. Being taken thither it 

 threw itself instantly into the 

 water." 



The Sea-serpent. — A myth of 

 especial persistency is that of 

 the sea-serpent. ]\Iost of the 

 stories of this creature are sea- 

 man's yarns, sometimes based 

 on a fragment of wreck, a long 

 strip of kelp, the power of sug- 

 gestion or the incitement of 

 alcohol. But certain of these 

 tales relate to real fishes. The 

 sea-serpent with an uprearing 

 red mane like that of a horse 

 is the oarfish (Regaleciis), a 

 long, slender, fragile fish com- 

 pressed like a ribbon and 

 reaching a length of 2^ feet. 

 We here present a photograph 

 of an oarfish (Regalecus riis- 

 selli) stranded on the Cali- 

 fornia coast at Newport in Orange County, California. A figure 

 of a European species (Regalecus glesne) is also given showing the 

 fish in its uninjured condition. Another reputed sea-serpent is 

 the frilled shark (Chlamydoselachits angineus), which has been 

 occasionally noticed by seamen. The struggles of the great 

 killer (Orca orca) with the whales it attacks and destroys has 

 also given rise to stories of the whale struggling in the embrace 

 of some huge sea-monster. This description is correct, but the 

 mammal is a monster itself, a relative of the whale and not a 

 reptile. 



235; — "Le monstre marin en habit 

 d' Eveque." (After Rondelet.) 



