178 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
quick jump on the part of the always agile diver. The moray 
retreated into the crack, but Albert, determined on revenge, got 
a short stout line and hook, baiting the latter with pieces of 
conch meat and dangled it in the crack. The moray promptly 
responded and followed the hook out on to the flagging, making 
quick jumps at the meat in a most voracious manner. It was 
the first time that we had seen a fish come ashore for its food 
and we were greatly impressed with its determination and utter 
fearlessness, being not at all deterred by the presence of several 
of the party who had gathered near to see the sport. Finally it 
made a successful grab and was firmly hooked and taken 
wriggling to the laboratory for preservation. 
These morays seem to be quite local in their habitat. There 
was one big fellow that we saw lurking under a large rock on 
our favorite collecting ground near Rocky Point, and we were 
rather circumspect in approaching too near this particular rock, 
as these fish are capable of inflicting very troublesome wounds 
with their strong and exceedingly sharp teeth. Dr. David 
Starr Jordan once told me that certain natives of the Hawaiian 
Islands were able to dive and take the large morays of that 
region from their fastnesses in the rocks, using their bare hands 
only. This seems to me to require more bravery, as well as 
skill, than to attack a shark in its native element. 
Perhaps the most interesting fishes that we secured at English 
Harbor were collected by the use of the electric light at night. 
The half-beak (Hemirhamphus) is a very bizarre creature, with 
a long snipe-like bill which appears to consist of the lower jaw 
only, the upper not being at all produced. The beak ends in a 
slight swelling that is yellowish by daylight but decidedly phos- 
phorescent at night, a fact that I have not seen noted. These 
half-beaks were attracted in great numbers by the electric light 
and were easily taken in the dip-net. It is interesting to note 
that practically all of the fishes taken in this way were dis- 
tinetly phosphorescent, there being evidently a sort of photo- 
taetie condition associated with the possession of light-producing 
organs. It was also noticeable that fishes that were thus at- 
tracted were as a rule very translucent or at least pallid, 
