384 
SHELLS. 
[Chap. XI. 
same interesting phenomenon has been observed at the 
mouth of the Pascagoula, in the State of Mississippi, and 
of another river called the " Bayon coq del Inde," on 
the northern shore of the Ghilf of Mexico. The animals 
from which they proceed have not been identified at 
either of these places, and the mystery remains unsolved, 
whether the sounds at Batticaloa are given forth by fishes 
or by molluscs. 
Certain fishes are known to utter sounds when removed 
from the water 1 , and some are capable of making noises 
when under it 2 ; but all the circumstances connected 
with the sounds which I heard at Batticaloa are un- 
favourable to the conjecture that they were produced by 
either. 
Organs of hearing have been clearly ascertained to 
1 The Cuckoo Gurnard {Triglia 
cuculus) and the maigre (Scicena 
aqv/da) utter sounds when taken 
out of the water (Yareell, vol. i. 
p. 44, 107) ; and herrings when 
the net has just been drawn have 
been observed to do the same. 
This effect has been attributed to 
the escape of air from the air 
bladder, but no air bladder has 
been found in the Cottus, which 
makes a similar noise. 
2 The fishermen assert that a 
fish about five inches in length, 
found in the lake at Colombo, and 
called by them " magoora," makes 
a grunt when disturbed under 
water. Pallegoix, in his account 
of Siam, speaks of a fish resembling 
a sole, but of brilliant colouring 
with black spots, which the natives 
call the " dog's tongue," that 
attaches itself to the bottom of a 
boat, " et fait entendre un bruit 
tres-sonore et meme harmonieux." 
— Tom. i. p. 194. A Bilurus, 
found in the Eio Parana, and called 
the " armado," is remarkable for 
making a harsh grating noise when 
caught by hook or line, which can 
be distinctly heard when the fish 
is beneath the water. Darwin, 
Nat. Journ. ch. vii. Aristotle 
and iElian were aware of the ex- 
istence of this faculty in some of 
the fishes of the Mediterranean. 
Aristotle, De Anim., lib. iv. eh. 
ix. ; JElian, De Nat. Anim., lib. 
x. ch. xi. ; see also Pliny, lib. ix. 
ch. vii., lib. xi. eh. cxiii.; Athe- 
njeus, lib. vii. ch. iii. vi. I have 
heard of sounds produced under 
water at Baltimore, and supposed 
to be produced by the " cat-fish ;" 
and at Swan Eiver, in Australia, 
where they are ascribed to the 
"trumpeter." A similar noise heard 
in the Tagus is attributed by the 
Lisbon fishermen to the " C&rvina" 
— but what fish is meant by that 
name, I am unable to tell. 
