A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)

by David Starr Jordan

In the higher fishes the eggs are spherical, large or small according to the species, and varying in the firmness of their outer walls. All contain food-yolk from which the embryo in its earlier stages is fed. The eggs of the eel (Anguilla) are microscopic. According to Günther 25,000 eggs have been counted in the herring, 155,000 in the lumpfish, 3,500,000 in the halibut, 635,200 in the sturgeon, and 9,344,000 in the cod. Smaller numbers are found in fishes with large ova. The red salmon has about 3500 eggs, the king salmon about 5200. Where an oviduct is present the eggs are often poured out in glutinous masses, as in the bass. When, as in the salmon, there is no oviduct, the eggs lie separate and do not cohere together. It is only with the latter class of fishes, those in which the eggs remain distinct, that artificial impregnation and hatching is practicable. In this regard the value of the salmon and trout is predominant. In some fishes, especially those of elongate form, as the needle-fish (Tylosurus), the ovary of but one side is developed.

Fig. 96.—Egg of Port Jackson Shark, Heterodontus philippi (Lacépède). (After Parker and Haswell.)

Protection of the Young.—In most fishes the parents take no care of their eggs or young. In some catfishes (Platystacus) the eggs adhere to the under surface of the female. In a kind of pipefish (Solenostomus), a large pouch for retention of the eggs is formed on the belly of the female. In the sea-horses and pipefishes a pouch is formed in the skin, usually underneath the tail of the male. Into this the eggs are thrust, and here the young fishes hatch out, remaining until large enough to take care of themselves. In certain sea catfishes (Galeichthys, Conorhynchos) the male carries the eggs in his mouth, thus protecting them from the attacks of other fishes. In numerous cases the male constructs a rough nest, which he defends against all intruders, against the female as well as against outside enemies. The nest-building habit is especially developed in the sticklebacks (Gasterosteidæ), a group in which the male fish, though a pygmy in size, is very fierce in disposition.

In a minnow of Europe (Rhodeus amarus) the female is said to deposit her eggs within the shells of river mussels.

Sexual Modification.—In the relatively few cases in which the sexes are unlike the male is usually the brighter in color and with more highly developed fins. Blue, red, black, and silvery-white pigment are especially characteristic of the male, the olivaceous and mottled coloration of the female. Sometimes the male has a larger mouth, or better developed crests, barbels, or other appendages. In some species the pattern of coloration in the two sexes is essentially different.

In various species the male develops peculiar structures not found in the female, and often without any visible purpose. In the chimæra a peculiar cartilaginous hook armed with a brush of enamelled teeth at the tip is developed on the forehead in the male only. In the skates or true rays (Raja) the pectoral fin has near its edge two rows of stout incurved spines. These the female lacks. In the breeding season, among certain fishes, the male sometimes becomes much brighter by the accumulation of bright red or blue pigment accompanied by black or white pigment cells. This is especially true in the minnows (Notropis), the darters (Etheostoma), and other fresh-water species which spawn in the brooks of northern regions in the spring. In the minnows and suckers horny excrescences are also developed on head, body, or fins, to be lost after the deposition of the spawn.

In the salmon, especially those of the Pacific, the adult male becomes greatly distorted in the spawning season, the jaws and teeth being greatly elongated and hooked or twisted so that the fish cannot shut its mouth. The Atlantic salmon and the trout show also some elongation of the jaws, but not to the same extent.

In those fishes which pair the relation seems not to be permanent, nor is there anything to be called personal affection among them so far as the writer has noticed.

There is no evidence that the bright colors or nuptial adornments of the males are enhanced by sexual selection. In most species the males deposit the sperm-cells in spawning-grounds without much reference to the preference of the females. In general the brightest colors are not found among viviparous fishes. None of the groups in which the males are showily colored, while the females are plain, belong to this class. The brightest colors are found on the individuals most mature or having greatest vitality.