No. 629] STUDIES IN ECHENEIS OR REMOBA 



517 



weight. Fig. 11, Plate III, is reproduced from the article 

 in question. 



Dr. Townsend made another and even more pertinent 

 experiment which we will let him describe in his own 

 words : 



By Avay of tfsting its fisli-ealching- capacity, a shark-sucker sixteen 



although if could not be lifted out of th^e tank. When the fish began to 

 strim-de tlie shark-sucker let s'O. When tried on a fifteen pound sea 

 turtle, tlie hilter could easily be drawn to the surface. 



[Echenei>?l a niucl) Inroer sea turtle could be hauled in without 

 difficulty. 



My opportunities for making such experiments have un- 

 fortunately been very few. At Tortugas in 1914, 1 pulled 

 on tbe tail of a sucking-fish, stuck fast to the glass wall of 

 the aquarium, so hard that its muscles could be heard to 

 crack, and I had to desist for fear of pulling the tail off. 

 In 1913 in the Bight of Cape Lookout, N. C, we caught a 

 27.25 inch Echeneis having a sucking disk 6 inches long by 

 2.13 wide. AVhen stuck to the wet deck, I pulled on this 

 fish so hard that I feared that I would tear it in two, but 

 it resisted all efforts to pull it off backwards — a pull of 

 possibly 50 pounds. On pulling upwards on it, it held fast 

 until the disk began to tear loose from the head. 



Another fish 33 inches long, with a sucker 7.25 x 2.63 

 inches, caught on the same day, was also experimented on 

 but it was not in good condition and did not have the 

 ' ' grip " of its predecessor. A spring balance was attached 

 to its tail, and the fish was found to resist a pull of 14 

 pounds lengthwise and 17 at an upwaivl aiiglr of 4.") de- 

 grees. The other fish would undouhloilly Ikim' >lu)wn 

 better results. In both the popping of tiic iim-clc- was 

 noted. The literature is found to be tillr.l witli M.'itriii.Mits 

 that the fi>li ho]iU tiu'lit .trniiolv tlint it uill ^utTer 

 itM-ir in l.r torn ill iwo ratli.T th:ui l('t -o. 



Ill nx-urtaiiiiiii-- H,,. -puir- tlint an Krliciieis might 



