THE COMPLEAT ANGLER 247 



open, and in this way, like the crocodile in Alice's 

 version of the nursery hymn, to welcome little fishes 

 in with gently smiling jaws. Onirodes glomerosti^s (Fig. 

 32), a denizen of the dark depths of the Bay of Bengal, 

 is one of the Anglers that attracts its unsuspecting 

 prey by showing a light ; and Dibranchtts nasiitus (Fig. 

 46), from the Andaman and Arabian Seas, at depths 

 of 188-406 fathoms, is an example of one whose bait 

 is fleshy. Both of them are typical Anglers, and show 

 the great unwieldly head, the large mouth, the small 

 gill-openings, and the attenuated tail, which are the 

 characteristic features of the family. Their whole 

 organisation bespeaks a sedentary life ; and that they 

 cannot be active creatures that need a large amount 

 of oxygen, is further evidenced by the degeneration 

 of their breathing-organs, Onirodes having only two 

 and a half, and Dibranchus, as the name implies, 

 having only two pairs of gills. 



Another Indian fish that catches its prey by 

 stratagem is Uranoscopits crassiceps, one of the Star- 

 gazers found off these coasts in 45 to 148 fathoms. 

 Here, as in several of its well-known congeners of the 

 shallow water, the bait, which is a protrusible tag of 

 membrane, is attached to the very floor of the mouth, 

 so that the welcome given to the little fishes who 

 come to the supper of Polonius must be as easy as 

 it is ample. What infinite entertainment this species 

 of Uranoscopics must be able to provide for its too- 



