MAJ.ATAN FISHES. 



T 



Fishep knovvii to produce dL'i)i*^rsa] i.'f£}z» on our i^mU are t\w 

 Gur-Pike (Todak) aiirl tilk> FUin'x-fiKli (Belalanfi^) Hiid their eg*rsi 

 have viscid threads by whieli thev hetomc titt^ched or entan^rWd 

 with foreigD olijeirts or off^js of tho same ii|)t?( ies. The e^j^s of tlic 

 Todak may \w ^wi I'litaii^liHl in fii^hing stakes {kelon^} in raa^^se*:, 

 which look rather like coljwebs. 



When tli« hreeclijig senHon arrives! fishes migrate to the loca- 

 ivtiGs moBt j^iiitiiiile for tlie dopoi*ition of thoir egnfH. At this time 

 OUT princifjal fi:M)d fish wliich pratUiw pela^jit' e;^s prot'ecd far out 

 to 6Gii &ga>mAt ihv prevailing* moTis^ooiml ciirrfmt. This is known m 

 the coil trail a taj it jspawuiiig migration. After ftpawjiiuf!;, the ti|^*rs 

 are hrotight hai-k hy the current twrards the coast, Thi^ is th(> 

 denataut drlTt 



Though the ^i^ir^ of many sj>e{ries of fiah hatch out fr>* wliieh 

 are miuiatyr*! rejyfetie^itatioiia of the adult fish, the of others 

 hatch out (larval forme, known as Leptflcephali, which bear no re- 

 semblance to tln'ir |ifttentj!. The.se l-^eptot-ephali are tmuj^imrent, 

 attenuated creaturew* often riiiion-like in shaiw^ with very small 

 heads. They uiipear to be ineapalile of niiK-h elffirt and to he 

 specially adapted for paesive drift; jn fart, tbi^ l^ptoeephahts 

 stage appear to be a marvellonji provision of Nature to en able 

 the young- of eertain fij*li which s|mn4i far out at sea to reaeh 

 the sbaHows ne«r the eoast^? in a .«tate of siuspended aninmtinn. 

 We know that the Tarfnn {Mri/tilojM a/prifioides) Malay Biilan- 

 bulan and the Giant Herri nj; {Kktpj^ hmrmienm) ihtlay Ban- 

 Jan p&m thronifh a TA^jitoeepliahis jtt^ige, and m no Mahiy 

 ii^hernian whom 1 have cjiicjitiuned, ha^ ever ijeen the Parang- 

 parang (ChimreutriL9 dornb) until it wa*? a few inetie* knig, 

 it may Iw hetHiiM* ihtf^ fisili pa-'^ssefi thr(»n>;h a larval nirtmniir- 

 phosis idso. It is onl\- within recent yeard, that certiiin Lepto- 

 cephalij 3on^ known to natnraiiets, have beea identiRed as larval 

 Eels.^ ' 



For esampie, Lepiocephalus brfiviro^friA is now known to Iw 

 the larva of tlie oomnmn ¥M of Europe {Angmlk vuhjum) and 

 Lepfocephahis mortmi Um been wHtched tlimn^ii it^ metamorphosis 

 itJto the Co!i^!:er Eel {Conger mlgarin). 



If the contraiiatMini p!pflM inn*( mi*f ration is aofaiiii^t the S. W. 

 mouiioonal current, the ova and larvae will drift in a N, E. directiou 

 and those tfnit enter tile Straits of Miilae^a, for instance, would 

 trraduany appn>a<'l! the West (*oa&t of the reninsula. Similarly, 

 a spawning migration in the Sonth China Sea durin*^ the K 

 moiMOon wouhl result in the larvae Ix^inof curried alon^j and dis- 

 persed ftlonp the Ka,*^t coast of the Peninsula. 



As the larvae approach the coas4 they eomo witliin the inttuence 

 of the tideii and while eoniinuing their pnj^^re&s witii tlie monsoon 

 current they are carried backwards and forwards by the daily ©bb 

 and flow of the tides. 



* Meek, Mtgraiiona of Fish. 



