The British Guiana Museum. 209 
itself by degrees outside its food. Close by is seen 
a rather large water-camoodie, piftorially mounted, seiz- 
ing an adourie. 
On the next table are shewn cases of metalloplastic paper 
casts of fishes, chiefly of fishes of Guiana. The casts arc 
excellently done and were prepared by a Mr. MATTES of 
Surinam. Unfortunately, the different kinds of fish are in- 
discriminately mixed. Among them are to be seen 
the haimara (Erythrinus sp. } no. 93^ a species found 
in most of the rivers of the colony, and yielding a 
constant supply # of food to the Indians : the bayonet- 
fish or half-beak (Hemirhamphus sp. } no. j6J, allied 
to the gar-pike, and having the under jaw much pro- 
duced while the upper jaw is short and scarcely visible : 
the ship-holder or sucking-fish (Echeneis remora, no. 91^ 
one of the mackerels which derives its common name 
from its power of adhesion to foreign bodies by means 
of the large sucker or sucking-disk on the upper part of 
the head ; it is a frequent parasite of the shark, and is 
also commonly found attached to rocks, ships and floating 
objects generally ; by the ancients remarkable tales were 
told of this small fish, as to its delaying or even prevent- 
ing the motion of vessels, against the force of several 
hundred sailors rowing — hence its specific name ; accord- 
ing to common report, a species of this fish is used in the 
East Indies for turtle-catching, for which purpose a rope is 
attached to the fish, which, being then placed in the sea, 
attaches itself to the floating turtle, both being then 
hauled on board : the electric eel (Gymnotus eleffricus, 
no. 77,), this is the largest electric fish, and derives its power 
from curious organs situated in the region of the tail, and 
composed of an immense number of closely-packed 
