THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
IS 
THE AMERICAN ANGLER, 
Lophius Americanus. 
The American Angler or Fishing Frog, re¬ 
cently received at the Aquarium, is one of the 
most peculiar and unique forms found in the 
sea. The peculiar analogy it has to the move¬ 
ments of the fisherman, give rise to its name; 
and it certatnly deserves it, as a more perfect im¬ 
itation of the angler can scarce be found. Nature 
has adapted it perfectly for its peculiar walk or 
step in life, as being a drowsy, lethardic indi¬ 
vidual, it is unable to secure food by active 
movements. Here Nature comes to the rescue, 
giving it the general appearance of a moss- 
covered rock. The color is olive brown, faintly 
mottled fin and quite completes the delusion. 
Around the lower jaw that protrudes be¬ 
yond the upper, hang a numerous grove of 
barbels of flesh, that are not unlike the fern in 
shape, in fact an exact imitation of vegetable 
growth, so that in a slow movement of the tide 
the moving of leaves can easily be imagined. 
The first dorsal fin is greatly lengthened in some 
cases to eight inches, and upon its extreme tip 
floats a soft inviting bit of membrane that is 
the bait of this Nature’s fishing rod. And now to 
catch the fish; the “Angler" hunts out some 
secluded spot among the sea weed and flattens 
its unwieldy form upon the bottom and defies 
detection, being of the same color as its sur¬ 
roundings. The rod or first dorsal is now raised 
and the luscious bit dangled over the huge 
mouth. Soon an unsuspecting (perhaps re¬ 
lation) ventures near. The rod is slowly raised; 
the victim follows until within reach of the pon¬ 
derous jaw. Like a flash the under one shoots 
out, a quasiyacium is caused; and the unfortu¬ 
nate victim is sucked in, and the cruel teeth 
close upon him, and one more fish has paid the 
penalty of the chances of life. 
In this manner the laziest of fish is helped 
along by nature. If the visitor is not fortunate 
in seeing it, opened mouthed, it will well pay 
him to await such an ordeal. In the present 
specimen this orifice equals in width half the 
length of its body, and presents more the ap¬ 
pearance of a great hole than a receptacle for food. 
In the upper jaw will be seen a single row of 
long slightly re-curved conical, unequal teeth 
on each side, accompanied by a double row of 
large ones. The lower is ornamented with a 
single row oflong, acute teeth, and larger ones 
mounted upon the vomer and palatines. As if 
not satisfied with this armory, two large rows of 
teeth are found on each of the lower pharyngeals, 
which are thrown so far forward that the ordi¬ 
nary observer would certainly believe that 
its very tongue was covered with teeth. The 
dorsal fin, from which it derives its name, is 
composed of six rays, of which the three nearest 
the mouth are distinct and detached, forming 
in fact, three fishing rods, one baited, while the 
others like other fishes are connected by a mem¬ 
brane. The first ray, as we will call it, or baited 
rod is moved by a wonderful arrangement, and 
can only be appreciated by an examination in 
the dissecting room. According to Baily, it is 
controlled by twenty-two distinct mnscles, and 
so can move in any direction at the will of the 
fish. They are found upon our coast, and 
upon the New England shoi-es in numbers 
and of great bulk and are the bane of the 
fisherman, often forcing their huge forms through 
the strongest nets, setting at liberty the entire 
haul. It is known by many titles, viz., the Sea 
Devil, Fishing Frog, Bellows Fish, Goose Fish 
and Monk Fish, but the name given above cer¬ 
tainly most applies to this Lazzarone of the sea. 
The specimen on exhibition in the tank is about 
three and a half feet long, and resembles a flat¬ 
tened, bulky mass of something that would not 
attract general attention were its peculiar points 
not dilated upon. They feed upon small or 
large fish, as few are too large for theii capa¬ 
cious mau ; and so greedy are they that many 
members of the finny tribe are engulfed alive, 
thus giving them a slight chance of commercial 
value, as the fisherman often cut them open and 
secure the prize so lazily won. 
HERMIT CRABS, 
Scattered at intervals on the shingle bottomed 
tank(h) or in closely collected groups,will be seen 
numbers of those quaint Crustacea, remarkable 
for their habit of approaching the deserted shells 
of other animals, for the better protection of their 
otherwise tender and defenceless hinder, quarters. 
This foregoing peculiarity has won for them the 
popular title ot Hermit Crabs, although on ac¬ 
count of their extremely irritable and pugilistic 
disposition, they are about equally well known 
as Soldier Crabs. The Plermit Crab (Pagurus 
bernkardus), is most frequently found, when 
young, inhabiting the cast-off shell of the Dog- 
winkle (Purpura lapi/lus), and at a more ad¬ 
vanced condition of growth than that of the Com¬ 
mon W h e 1 k (z,w ah /z.7?2). The process by 
which the Hermit Crabs have gained possession 
of these highly ornament villa residences, in place 
of their former sybaritic hut, is an artificial one, 
each individual having been originally extracted 
from an ordinary Whelk shell, and left in com¬ 
pany with others of a foreign type from which it 
almost immediately made a selection. On the 
V^hores of tropical seas, Hermit Crabs normally 
inhabit these brilliantly-colored and fantastic¬ 
shaped abodes, including also the beautifully- 
spotted and naturally highly-polished Cowries; 
in this latter instance, the species of Hermit has, 
a specially flattened body and general contour to 
enable it -to utilize these remarkably narrow-ap- 
ertured shells as a suitable protection. 
. LOBSTER. 
Homarus Americanus. 
The Common Lobster is a well-known mem¬ 
ber of the Crustacea. Its color is blue-black, 
flecked and clouded in a most elegant manner, 
bu t after boiling, it becomes of an almost uniform 
red. Its structure follows th.at of the genus, 
which has been treated generally. Its claws are 
powerful weapons, and are remarkable for being 
dissimilar. One is larger than the other, and 
one is furnished with saw-like elevations, the 
other is marked by rounded knobs. The 
wounds produced by the saw-shaped claw are 
very painful and difficult of healing. The Lob¬ 
ster is extremely nimble, and darts with a-pro¬ 
pulsion of the tail upon its prey, or evades pur¬ 
suit with a surprising celerity. Ifpndangered by 
an enemy, it penetrates into crevices in the rocks 
much smaller than its apparent bulk. It is very 
combative with its own species, and after a fierce 
encounter, the conquered frequently retires 
minus one or more limbs. But as these grow 
again, the damage is not of a mortal kind. It 
is very voracious, and this aids greatly in its cap¬ 
ture, for it cannot resist the bait which is laid for 
it. The traps are made of basket work or pots, 
and the numbers caught are enormous. It 
is found on our northern coasts, even to the 
extreme north, and grows under favoring con¬ 
dition to a great size, some having been taken 
sixteen pounds in weight. It is most prolific, as 
may be observed from the mass of dark spawn 
often found clustered under the abdomen. If 
this were carefully gathered for the purpose of 
reproduction, the supply of this most delicious 
creature would be greatly increased. 
COMMON STICKLEBACK. 
Gasteroskus Pungitius. 
This well-known fish is found in ponds, 
streams, and rivers, and appears equally suited 
to salt water. It is extremely voracious. An 
observer, once standing by the side of an orna¬ 
mental lake, saw a young frog hopping past. He 
threw it in a short distance to exhibit its powers 
of swimming to a young bather, anxious to learn 
the art. The momemt it reached the surface of 
the water, a flash of light seemed to be emitted 
from the bottom. It was caused by a shoal of 
Sticklebacks, which pounced upon the unfor¬ 
tunate frog with great fierceness. In a few 
moments the four legs of the poor creature were 
eaten away, and new shoals came hurrying from 
more distant parts of the lake to the prey. The 
battle that took place round the victim was as 
desperate Us could be imagined. Though pelted 
at with bits of gravel, they would not leave it, 
but continued to nibble and battle among them¬ 
selves as long its a particle remained. This in¬ 
stance of voracity is, however, not surprising, for 
they do not hesitate to devour one another. An 
illustrated description of the Stickleback ap¬ 
peared in the first number of the Aquairum 
Journal. 
--<•— -■ 
THE SKATE, or CLEAR NOSED RAY. 
Raia diapha?ies. 
Among the inhabitants of the deep sea tank, 
C, we find the Skate or Fluke, known as the 
“Clear Nosed Ray.” Although extremely 
common upon oar coast, they form an inter¬ 
esting object of attention from a peculiar habit 
of pressing their anterior side against the 
glass, showing a pure'white surface, while the 
mouth and gill openings form a strong like¬ 
ness to a flat, old fashioned human face, and 
tends to create no little amusement at times 
among its auditors. At times they cover 
themselves with sand, and only the gentle 
movement of the gills tells of the life within 
In the same tank are the peculiar eggs of this 
fish, called by some “ Sea Barrows,” from the 
four appendages that spiing from the four cor 
ners, and unconsciously seize the grass and 
algae, thus holding the young skate in posi¬ 
tion. They feed upon young crustucea, and 
are consequently unlit for use, the flesh being 
usipicl and gelatenious. 
GAR FISH. 
Lepiclosteus Osseus Liu. 
One of the most interesting fish in the large 
fresh water tank, is the Bony Gar Pike, an d 
here we find a liviDg representative of the 
old Ganoid race that) are now only known 
by their impressions in Ihe hardened sand¬ 
stones that tell of s-eas that rose .and fell, per¬ 
haps millions of years ago. The fish is com¬ 
pletely encased in a coat of smooth, thick, 
and rhomboidal scales, an armor equal to any 
foe. They grow to a large size, often exceed¬ 
ing four feet, and with their long bill armed 
with needle like teeth, and powerful fins 
form no mean antagonist to the fish¬ 
erman of sportsman. They are quite com¬ 
mon in Like Erie, where they are known as 
the Buffalo fish, a species, probably the same 
has been found in Lake Champlain. They 
are fed in the Aquarium upon small Dace, and 
their quick movements m securing their - prey 
render them specially worthy of notice at the 
time of feeding. 
