Deep-Sea Fishing in Polynesia. 119 
The tau-tau is exactly like an English salmon 
as far as appearance goes, save that the entire 
head is formed of a series of hard, long plates, 
and the jaws are fitted with teeth that resemble 
those of a rip-saw. The palu is caught only 
in deep water and varies from 2ft. to 6ft. in 
length. It has a dark brown skin, is scaleless, 
but covered with minute horny projections that 
curve outward and backward like the feathers 
of a French fowl. Its flesh is greatly relished 
by the natives, both as a food and for its highly 
medicinal qualities in some complaints. It is, 
however, of such an oleaginous character that it 
is only eaten alone when needed as a purgative ; 
generally it is mixed with beaten-up puraka , 
and is very palatable, even to European tastes. 
The takuo is a species of gigantic albicore, and 
I have caught them in both the Caroline and 
Marshall Groups in the North-West Pacific up 
to i2olb. weight. Like the palu and tau-tau , it 
is of semi-nocturnal habits, and is seldom caught 
but just before the dawn, or an hour or so 
before sunset. 
Preying as they do unceasingly upon the 
swarms of flying fish that hover about the coral 
reefs of the Equatorial Islands, the tau-tau are 
