FROG-FISHES. 
181 
! habitual place is on the muddy or sandy bottom, 
t on which its flattened form lies close. While 
lying thus, it stirs up, by the action of its pec- 
3 torals and ventrals, the mud around, and thus 
ii renders the water turbid. Under the conceal- 
ij ment thus formed, it moves hither and thither 
;i its coronal filaments, and especially that one which 
I bears a little silvery flag; which, glimmering 
j through the cloudy water, attracts other passing 
I fishes towards it, actuated either by curiosity or 
I appetite. The upturned eyes of the Angler mark 
i the success of his strategic art, and a sudden lift- 
i; ing of his capacious mouth engulfs the unsuspect- 
i ing victims. 
I The voracity of this fish is very great ; in fact 
it seems to be composed of little else than mouth 
I and stomach. Montagu says of one, that when 
I suspended by the head, the contents of the stomach 
i were readily seen, viz., b)^ looking into the mouth 
I and down the throat. The same naturalist re- 
marks, that when the Angler finds itself a captive 
in the fishermen’s nets, its appetite is by no 
means affected by its misfortune ; for it proceeds 
immediately to devour its companions in cap- 
! tivity. Fishes thus swallowed are not infre- 
I quently taken from its stomach still alive, espe- 
cially those which are tenacious of life, such as ^ 
the flat-fishes. Its own flesh is not held in suffi- " 
I cient estimation to make it any prize on its own 
I account, but the frequency with which other 
fishes, more valuable than itself, are found un- 
[ injured within its stomach, renders its capture 
not without value. 
An example of its voracity has already been 
quoted in the earlier pages of this volume ; and ^ 
