170 The Devil-fish of Jamaica. 



fashions it into a groove, through which the water can pass as 

 through a cylinder, when the fish glides onward. Between 

 these two horned processes of the head, horn-like in appear- 

 ance, but not horn-like at all in structure, extends the crescent 

 curvature of the head, beneath which opens the wide cavity of 

 the mouth. It stands constantly open, the fringes of the five 

 plates of gills being seen to stretch front one side to the other 

 of the vocal floor. The eyes are placed in the straight vertical 

 walls of the head, for the head is very angular. They are, 

 consequently, capable of surveying objects only laterally. One 

 sees clearly that the habit of the Cephaloptera is that of a 

 ground-feeder. It is formed for shoving' through the fields of 

 turtle-grass, testudinaria, but, unlike the rays which are likewise 

 ground feeders, it does not seize its prey on the ground, but 

 pushing on through the marine herbage, it takes into its wide 

 open mouth the congregated living things that are in its way — 

 it may be the fish that nestle in the vegetation, or the naked 

 mollusca that depasture there — at once swallowing them, or 

 rather crammino- them in with its cranial arms into its mouth and 



stomach, without deglutition, having no oesophagus. As the 

 animal in this gathering in of food cannot see forward, it must 

 depend on casualties in the course it steers through the marine 

 meadows for prey. The rolled-up head-fins between the 

 crescented head, sufficiently direct the food to the mouth. The 

 pectorals have the ordinary arrangement of the fins of rays. 

 They move the fish onward by successive flaps, alternately 

 right and left, and left and right. The figure of the fish is 

 flattened, but not fiat; the back is round and humpy; the 

 dorsal fin is small and angular, and situated at the commence- 

 ment of the tail. 



" Most men/' says White of Selborne, ' ' are sportsmen by 

 constitution, and there is such an inherent spirit for hunting in 

 human nature, as scarce any inhibitions can restrain/^ Port 

 Royal, usually exhibiting no stir of life out of the garrison or 

 the dockyard, is thrown into a state of bustle and excitement at 

 the intelligence that the naval and artillery officers are away for 

 a day's sport with the devil-fish. Every boat on the beach is 

 launched, and canoes in numbers are seen gliding rapidly, where 

 it is announced that the harpoon has struck a sea-devil. A 

 string of vessels is now fastened to the boat that contains the 



