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 

 aquila) utter sounds when taken 

 out of the water (Yarrell, 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 Siara, 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 Silurus, 



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, Be Anim., lib. iv. ch. 



ix. ; iEuAN, De Nat Anim., lib. 



x. ch. xi. ; see also Pliny, lib. ix. 

 ch. vii., lib. xi. ch. cxiii.; Athe- 

 n^eus, 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 River, 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. 



