86 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
sive- 
OCEAN SCORPION, OR FATHER LASHER (CottuS bubdlis). 
fishing. The gar-pike must be looked at with the eyes of the naturalist, or 
else it will fail to be suspected of the mechanical beauty of which it is certainly 
possessed. 
The Pelican Fish {Eurypharynx pelecanoides) is a species discovered only 
seven years ago. It is a deep-sea fish, of which only a few specimens have 
been caught. Its jaws are five or six times the length of its cranium, and 
the lower is provided with a pouch after the manner of the pelican. Its body 
tapers off to a tadpole-like tail, and is spined its whole length. It is a most repui- 
-looking object, but holds high rank among the curiosities of fish life. 
The Catfishes are widely distributed, and everywhere a familiar object to the 
fisherman. The maxillary bone 
forms the support for the fleshy 
barbel which is so distinctive a 
feature of the catfish , and which 
so resembles the whiskers of a 
cat as to have given the fish its 
popular name. The spines of 
the pectoral fins, or horns, as 
they are popularly named, are 
among the painful recollections 
of our boyhood’s life. The ef¬ 
fects of wounds made by the 
catfish's spines are exceedingly 
painful, and not infrequently 
dangerous. The fishers at the 
Southern watering places are not seldom in need of prompt attention from the 
physician. The fish does not poison the flesh, but makes a jagged cut which 
is hard to heal. The flesh of the smaller river species is found very palatable 
by many persons, but the large-sized catfish are eaten only by those who do 
not object to coarse food. As a study for those interested in the evolution of 
animal life, the catfish family has 
special interest as showing its deri¬ 
vation from the sturgeon. 
The catfish’s belly softens when 
the eggs have been laid, and by sim¬ 
ply lying upon the eggs she presses 
them into her skin and carries them 
about with her. Contrary to the 
usual custom of fish life, the female 
is the one which assumes the task of a nurse. There is an Indian catfish 
which has a sucking disc between its pectoral fins, and which it uses in resisting- 
the strong and impetuous currents. One species, being found in the midst of 
matter thrown out by volcanoes, was supposed by Humboldt to live in subter¬ 
ranean streams, and to be unaffected by their high temperature—in short, to be 
like the fabled Salamander. Later naturalists, however, do not accept this 
explanation, but suppose that, having been poisoned by volcanic gas, they are 
swept along by the volcanic torrent. 
The Eel Pout ( Clarias anguillaris ) is a singular embodiment of the catfish 
structure and the appearance of the eel. 
SLY SILURUS, OR SHEAT FISH (5. Glattis). 
