DOLPHIN (FALOOSI) FISHING OFF MOMBASA 848 
The recent recurrence of eruption in Donyo L’Engai is, to 
my mind, clear evidence that this area has not reached a state 
of equilibrium. 
I am indebted to Major E. D. Browne for the particulars of 
this eruption. 
DOLPHIN (FALOOSI) FISHING OFF MOMBASA. 
By Capt. C. W. Woodhouse 
The name ‘ Dolphin ’ probably conveys to most people a 
picture of a large porpoise-like animal, which leaps repeatedly 
out of the water alongside some ocean-going ship ; but the 
dolphin described here is the dolphin of poetry — Coryphcena 
haletus — a true fish, Swahili name ‘ Faloosi,’ well known 
since very early times, owing to the successive waves of colour 
which play over its body while dying. These colours include 
gold, green, green- blue, silver, and, finally, grey when dead. 
The colours, when alive and free, swimming, are a silvery body, 
with rich orange on the belly, and a sort of golden sheen over 
the silver, in some lights ; blue spots on the side (when seen 
from above ; a sideways view, when leaping, is silver). Green, 
mottled with black culmen to the head ; spring back-fin, blue 
and green ; eye, bright yellow. The weight of this fish runs 
from 10 to 80 lb. It is entirely a deep-water fish and, accord- 
ing to fishermen’s reports and personal observation, never 
comes into shallow water. 
It is an exceedingly swift-swimming fish, and has the 
habit of repeatedly leaping out of the water, both when 
swimming free and when hooked. Its food seems to be cuttle- 
fish (squid), sardines (seemu and dagaa), and possibly other 
small fish. With regard to these latter, seemu appears in 
Mombasa, anyhow, to be the sardine or sprat caught in the 
harbour ; while dagaa seems to be pelagic. The writer could 
not distinguish any difference in the two species. The season 
for faloosi is from January to June, but small numbers are 
caught all the year round. The fishermen state the faloosi 
