SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1875 
Established A. O. 1871, 
S4iaYear, 10 cts a Coby 
Volume 6, Number 2 1 
New Series, Number 80 I 
SOME ODD FISH. 
BY DR. H. C. YARROW. 
The fish it is proposed to call attention of the reader 
to, are not what are generally known as odd fish in the 
common acceptation of the term, but hona fide fish 
of the waters, marine and fresh. One of the most 
curious of them frequenting the semi-tropical waters of 
the Gulf of Mexico, and near the Gulf Stream on the 
Atlantic coast, is known to Ichthyologists by the name of 
Hemiramphus unifaeciatus (Rangani,) to the “banker” 
of the North Carolina coast as the “ red nosed or billed 
Gar,” clearly a misnomer; for, altliough belonging to 
the same family as the Gar, it has very little resem- 
blance to it. We are informed by Prof. Gill, in his 
catalogue of fishes, published in the annual report of 
the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries for 
1873, that this fish belongs to the order of Tdeoccphali 
or fish having the skeleton fully ossified. It is also 
honored in belonging to the sub-order Synentognathi 
to the family Scomberesocida, and the sub-family 
HemMiamphince; and, nothwitbslanding its fearful load 
of names, is really a most interesting little fish. 
My first acquaintance with it on the coast of North 
Carolina was in the vicinity of Beaufort harbor, and in 
this locality it is very abundant in the months of August, 
September and the beginning of October, affording the 
favorite food of the Blue fish (Pomatcmus aaltatrix), which 
greedily devour thousands of them. I have myself seen 
ejected from the stomach of a blue fish taken with a 
hook, no less than twelve or fifteen of these fish full 
grown. 
But before going farther it will be as well to give a 
description of the species in order that it may be readily 
identified if met with by any of ray readers during the 
coming summer vacation. The following description 
is from Gunther, whose labors in ichthyological science 
entitle him to the gratitude of every lover of science 
thiough the world: 
“ The length of the entire head is contained twice, 
and three-fourths or thrice in the total (without caudal), 
the length of the lower jaw (beyond the extremity of 
the upper jaw), from five times and a half to six times 
and a half. Tne length of th ■ head without mandible, 
is contained thrice and a third in that of the trunk, 
without Lead and caudal. The triauLular part of the 
upper jaw, formed by the intermaxillaries, is broader 
than long. The diameter of the eye is rather less than 
the width of the interorbital space, and two-thirds of 
the length of the postorbital part of the head. The root 
of the ventral fin is nearly midway between the eye and 
the base of the caudal. Dorsal and anal fins scaly, the 
former a little longer than the latter ; caudal fin mod- 
erately forked, the central rays being longer than the 
eye. Back, dark greenish ; sides with a well defined 
silvery band as broad as a scale. Radii— D. 15 (16) A. 
16‘17. ; L. lat. 52-56; — vert. 34-18. Hab. Atlantic coasts 
of tropical America, Pacific coast of Panama ; Indian 
Ocean: average size of species, 4 to 10 inches.” 
Singularly enough. Dr. Gunther and other ichthyolo- 
gists who have made special studies of these genera omit 
a character which is as far as known invariably present 
in the species under consideration but is never seen in 
any other of our main fishes, namely, the peculiar crim- 
son excrescence on the end of the lower mandible which 
at night is almost luminous. This e.xcrescence which is 
quite small but at the same time very distinct serves a 
most useful purpose as we shall presently show. 
During the flood-tide the “Red billed Gar,” so called, 
frequents the turbulent waters near sand shoals and 
reefs at the entrance to harbors, but as the receding 
waters ebb, it leaves these localities and comes in to feed 
gi the quiet shallow waters nearer the shore. It is at 
such times that the habits of the species may be care- 
fully studied and the economy of the “red beak” under- 
stood. At ebb-tide it is well known thousands of fish 
fry are in the habit of swimming close along the water’s 
edge, and the Hemiramphus is fully aware of this fact, 
for with a degree of cunning and ingenuity hardly to 
be surpassed, he watches his chance and with a score of 
companions, perhaps, he swims slowly and cautiously 
towards his victims, being very careful not to alarm by 
any violent movements. Unlike his relatives, the pikes, 
he does not dash wildly hither and thither, snatching 
a mouthful of food at every chance, but arrived in a 
good spot, he floats lazily with the current, his red man- 
dible points in th ■ direction of his victims. The little 
fish with no kind parent near to warn of harm and evil, 
gaze in wonder upon the red bait, so temptingly dis- 
played and waxing courageous or hungry, make a dash 
for a meal, and instead of being able to satisfy their 
feeble appetites are gobbled up immediately by the 
hungry jaws of their mortal foe. Even in the act of 
taking food the Hemiramnhus does not betray by an)' 
ill considered eagerness his presence to the remaining 
victims, but with a single stroke of Lis powerful caudal 
fins, he appears to pass his long lower mandible beneath 
his prey and lifting his upper jaw, which moves like 
that of a serpent, the tempting morsel is sucked in, this 
operation is repeated time and again until he is fully 
gorged or the schools of tiny fish disappear with the 
increasing tide. 
Once more, delighted and satisfied with a hearty meal 
away goes Hemiramphus to seek in the shoaly, foaming 
waters an aid to digestion, but alas for him, some one is 
waiting for his meal there, and he, who a few moments 
since, was swimming along with the easy conscience, 
resulting from a well-filled stomach, now reposes in the 
ravenous maw of the Blue fish. Not alone from the 
Blue fish, however, does he suffer, but hosts of enemies, 
Porpoises, Sea Trout {Uynosium Carolimnsis) and aqua- 
tic birds are constantly on the alert to ihake him their 
prey. But so numerous is the species on the North 
Carolina coast that no perceptible diminution in num- 
bers has been noticed for years, on the contrary old 
fishermen say there are more at the present day than 
ever before. I have never known of this fish biting at 
a hook, and have often tried with all sorts of bait to 
entice them without success, and they are even very 
hard to catch in a net with small meshes, their move- 
ments being so quick and wary as to render a capture 
almok impossible. They may, however, be caught 
very easily at night, provided it is ebb tide, by walking 
along the shore with a torch or lantern. The light ap- 
pears to possess a strong attraction for them and they 
will move towards it until their jaws almost touch the 
laud, while they are busily engaged watching it, a small 
scoop net may be placed in rear of them and in this 
way hundreds maybe taken in a single evening. Speak- 
ing of this use of the torch or lantern to capture fish 
I may remark that in taking Flounders or “flukes,” 
as they are called in the south, at night without 
a bright light the fisherman’s efforts would be 
unsuccessful. It is a peculiarity of the flounder that at 
low tide, especially at night, he approaches the beach 
and conceals his entire body in the sand, leaving only 
his nose (which always points to the land) and eyes ex- 
posed. The fisherman, armed with a spear and lantern, 
walks slowly along the beach and watches for the re- 
flection of the light in the fishes’ eyes. Tliese are ex- 
tremely brilliant and green at night and may be readily 
discovered even by a novice. Once seen, the spear is 
dashed into the sand a short distance behind the head 
and the struggling fish withdrawn from his sandy lair. 
I have by this method of killing, for it can hardly be 
called fishing, taken upwards of sixty pounds of fish in 
a single evening, and many of the island men in the vi- 
cinity of Beaufort have done much better. It is a 
beautiful sight of a calm summer’s evening to see the 
lights of these fishermen flitting slowly backwards and 
forwards throughout the marshes which line Beaufort 
harbor, their total extinguishment finally telling of a 
cargo secured for the morning’s market and a quick run 
across the bay to home and family. 
The next most interesting and odd fish that frequents 
the same|waters as the Hemiramphus is called the Sword 
or Scabbard fish, in fact it is known under a number of 
different names in a number of different localities. Its 
sientific name is Trichiurusuptumt Linn., ’or the silvery 
hair tail. It is closely allied to the foregoing species, 
and is one of the most characteristic and formidable 
looking fishes of the coast. A person seeing this fish 
for the first time would be at once struck with its re- 
semblance to the blade of a bright, silvery, shining sa- 
bre. It is about 30 inches in length and 3 inches broad 
at its widest part, the body ending in a sharp point or 
filament. There are no traces of ventral fins to be seen 
but the dorsal is strongly developed and runs along the 
entire length of the spine from behind the occiput nearly 
to the end of the tail, having according to Gunther 135 
rays; toDeKay, 133. The pectorals are well developed, 
being about 2 inches and a half long, having 12 rays. 
The head is about 1-7 of the total length, and is of the 
true predatory type; the lower mandible extends be- 
yond the upper, and is armed with distant acute teeth, 
the two anterior ones being the larger, and which when 
the jaw is closed extend outside of the tip of the 
upper jaw. In the upper jaw, just in rear of the 
anterior teeth are two long curved teeth 
barbed at their tips; these fit into a cavity in the lower 
jaw, which is also frequently provided with a similar 
pair. It is rather curious in regard to these barbed 
teeth that sometimes they are entirely wanting in the 
lower jaw, sometimes in the upper, and still more fre- 
quently there is but a single one in the lower and three 
in the upper. I have noticed this as a peculiarity from 
the study of a number of specimens. The color of 
fresh specimens (not alcoholed) is well described by De 
Kay, as of a “ lustrous silvery hue with indistinct hues 
in the opercles. Eyes with yellow irides. Lateral lines 
greenish yellow. Pectorals light yellowish at their base, 
minute, punctuate, and brownish at the tips. Teeth 
reddish brown at the base, lighter at the tips. Dorsal, 
light yellow, obscurely bordered above with dusky.” 
For a very good engraving of this specimen, which 
shows most admirably the peculiar head and barbed 
teeth, the reader is referred to DeKay’s work on the 
Zoology of New York (Fishes) plate xii. page 35. This 
gentleman states that most of the specimens examined 
by him average 38 inches in length. I have never seen 
them quite so long on an average, but took one specimen 
48 inches in length. The species is widely distributed 
and specimens have been taken in the Caiibbean Sea, 
where it is very numerous, especially in the vicinity of 
Porto Rico, at Montevideo on the Atlantic southern 
coast, at Narragansett Bay, on the coast of Massachu- 
setts, and even off the coast of Africa. Considering its 
wide distribution and comparative abundance, it is 
strange it is so seldom seen in our markets. 
Of its habits little or nothing is knowm, and the •wri- 
ter, who has frequently encountered it on the southern 
coast, hopes to be able to furnish from his observations 
made while there a few facts of interest to the students 
of Ichthyology. The “ Hair tail” is essentially a deep 
water fish, only visiting shallo'w water in pursuit of 
food and the fact is well established for the reason that 
it is seldom or never taken in the usual fishing grounds, 
those secured by me being taken from the nets used in 
deep fishing outside the surf. I have seen a few swim- 
ming in company with gars near the surface of the water 
near the Fort Main wharf, but never close in to shore. 
