458 



THE AMEBIC AN NATUEALIST [Vol. LIII 



Another mode of turtling is to call in the aid of the Echeneis remora, 

 or sucking-fish, which is ahont three feet in length, and is easily caught 

 by a hne. When caught the Straits Islanders pierce the tail, in order to 

 insert a strong cord, which is also wound round it for the sake of 

 security. Generally captive sucking-fish are kept swimming after the 



near the sleeper as possible. These sucking-fishes at once attach them- 

 sehes to tlie turtl(^ wli.ch awakes to find itselt a prisoner. The cords 



half-filled witli sea-vvnt..'. imtil !nrilr> ;,,v mv... 



In 1888, Professor \ ( ILuM.mi u.i^ .1 mm miIxt of an 

 expedition to Torres Sti;iit> id >tM<l\ (-(.raU, -'uul while 

 there (some eight iiioiilli.-) lu' iMadc iM)t('s ol the use of 

 Echeneis as a turtle-catcher and of it- supernatural 

 powers. Brief accounts of this remarkable use of the fish 

 were published in 1889, 1890 and 1890a (see in bibliog- 

 raphy under Haddon), but as a much fuller account by 

 him will be given later the above need not be quoted here. 



Stirred up by Haddon 's note of 1889, Sclater later in 

 the same year in Nature called attention to ITolmwood's 

 article. And, stirred by Sclater, TI. Ling l\oth in the 

 same volume of the same journal cittMl the account by 

 Ferdinand Columbus given in ( 'Iiuichiirs XOyages as 

 quoted on page 448. 



Saville Kent in his book, "The Great Barrier Reef of 

 Australia" (1893), has the following to say anent our 

 subject : 



