Under the two bony fish in the photograph will be seen, on a shell, one of the remarkable toad fish clinging to its support and lying in ambush for unwary small fry. This particular specimen, of which I give an enlarged presentment, seems a very primitive creature, with its handlike fins and tiny eyes and general absence of vitality, yet it is admirably equipped for satisfying its own greed and escaping that of its enemies. It is all but invisible clinging to the shell against a deceptive background of weeds, and its gaping mouth is striped black and white inside in an attractive manner that proves the doom of many fish endowed with a fatal curiosity. This particular individual, indeed, had actually swallowed a young snapper of exactly its own weight and half an inch longer than itself! I relate this merely as it came under my own notice, for I took the one from the other, but I hardly expect to be believed.
THE GAR OR NEEDLE FISH. THEY LEAP ASTONISHING DISTANCES IN THE AIR ESPECIALLY WHEN PURSUED BY A KING FISH.
THE GAR OR NEEDLE FISH. THEY LEAP ASTONISHING DISTANCES IN THE AIR ESPECIALLY WHEN PURSUED BY A KING FISH.
A MARMORATUS LYING MOTIONLESS.