The lesser weaver (Trachinus) buries itself in the loose soil at the bottom of the water, leaving only its head exposed, and awaits its prey. If touched, it strikes upwards or sideways; and Pennant says it directs its blows with as much judgment as a fighting-cock. (Yarrell, vol. i. p. 26.) Fishermen assert that wounds from its anterior dorsal spines are more venomous than those caused by the spines on its gill-covers.
As regards fighting, I should suppose that, unless some portion of the body is peculiarly adapted for this purpose, as the rostrum of the swordfish, or the spine on the side of the tail in the lancet-fishes, we must look chiefly to the armature or covering of the jaws for weapons of offense.
Lurking Fishes.—Mr. Whitmee supposes that most carnivorous fish capture their prey by outswimming them; but to this there are numerous exceptions; the angler or fishing-frog (Lophis piscatorius), "while crouching close to the ground, by the action of its ventral and pectoral fins stirs up the sand and mud; hidden by the obscurity thus produced, it elevates its anterior dorsal spines, moves them in various directions by way of attraction as a bait, and the small fishes, approaching either to examine or to seize them, immediately become the prey of the fisher." (Yarrell.) In India we find a fresh-water Siluroid (Chaca lophioides) which "conceals itself among the mud, from which, by its lurid appearance and a number of loose filamentous substances on its skin, it is scarcely distinguishable; and with an immense open mouth it is ready to seize any small prey that is passing along." (Ham. Buchanan.) In March, 1868, I obtained a fine example of Ichthyscopus lebeck (Fishes of India, p. 261), which I placed in water having a bed of mud; into this it rapidly worked itself, first depressing one side and then another, until only the top of its head and mouth remained above the mud, whilst a constant current was kept up through its gills. It made a noise, half snapping and half croaking, when removed from its native element.
In the Royal Westminster Aquarium, says Dr. Day, is a live example of the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) which has in its electric organs the means of showing when it is affected by anger or terror. Some consider this curious property is for protection against alligators: it is certainly used against fishes for the purpose of obtaining food; but when we remember how, when the Indians drive in horses and mules to the waters infested by the eels, they immediately attack them, we must admit that such cannot be for the purpose of preying upon them, but is due to anger or terror at being disturbed. (Day.)
Carrying Eggs in the Mouth.—Many catfishes (Siluridæ) carry their eggs in the mouth until hatched. The first and most complete account of this habit of catfishes is that by Dr. Jeffries Wyman, which he communicated to the Boston Society of Natural History at its meeting on September 15, 1857. In 1859, in a paper entitled "On Some Unusual Modes of Gestation," Dr. Wyman published a full account of his observations as follows, here quoted from a paper on Surinam fishes by Evermann and Goldsborough:
"Among the Siluroid fishes of Guiana there are several species which, at certain seasons of the year, have their mouths and branchial cavities filled either with eggs or young, and, as is believed, for the purpose of incubation. My attention was first called to this singular habit by the late Dr. Francis W. Cragin, formerly United States consul at Paramaribo, Surinam. In a letter dated August, 1854, he says:
"'The eggs you will receive are from another fish. The different fishermen have repeatedly assured me that these eggs in their nearly mature state are carried in the mouths of the parent till the young are relieved by the bursting of the sac. Do you either know or believe this to be so, and, if possible, where are the eggs conceived and how do they get into the mouth?'
"In the month of April, 1857, on visiting the market of Paramaribo, I found that this statement, which at first seemed to be very improbable, was correct as to the existence of eggs in the mouths of several species of fish. In a tray of fish which a negro woman offered for sale, I found the mouths of several filled with either eggs or young, and subsequently an abundance of opportunities occurred for repeating the observation. The kinds most commonly known to the colonists, especially to the negroes, are jara-bakka, njinge-njinge, kœpra, makrede, and one or two others, all belonging either to the genus Bagrus or one nearly allied to it. The first two are quite common in the market, and I have seen many specimens of them; for the last two I have the authority of negro fishermen, but have never seen them myself. The eggs in my collection are of three different sizes, indicating so many species, one of the three having been brought to me without the fish from which they were taken.
"The eggs become quite large before they leave the ovaries, and are arranged in three zones corresponding to three successive broods, and probably to be discharged in three successive years; the mature eggs of a jara-bakka 18 inches long measure three-fourths of an inch in diameter; those of the second zone, one-fourth; and those of the third are very minute, about one-sixteenth of an inch.
"A careful examination of eight specimens of njinge-njinge about 9 inches long gave the following results: