Accordingly, when a fisherman catches a weever-fish he always cuts off its back fin and the spines of its gill-covers at once; while in France and Spain he is compelled to do so by law.
The Angler
The angler, or all-mouth, is the name of a hideous creature—about five feet long when fully grown—with a huge mouth, a great broad body shaped very much like that of a seal, two big round eyes which look almost straight up into the water above, and a row of long, slender spines on the back instead of the usual fins. The first of these spines has a broad, tufted, glittering tip, used for a most singular purpose.
It is a creature of prey, feeding entirely upon other fishes; and it has a most enormous appetite, which is hardly ever satisfied. But, at the same time, it is so slow in its movements that if it were to try to chase its victims it would never get anything to eat. It seems to know perfectly well, however, that fishes are very inquisitive creatures, and that they are always greatly attracted by any object that glitters. So when it feels hungry it lies down at the bottom of the sea, stirs the mud gently up with its side fins, so as to conceal itself from view, and dangles the glittering spine up and down in front of its open mouth. Before very long some passing fish is sure to come swimming up to see what this strange object can possibly be; and then the angler just gives one snap with its great jaws, and that fish is seen no more.
Just to show you how successful it is in its fishing, we may tell you that from the body of a single angler no less than seventy-five herrings have been taken, while another had swallowed twenty-five flounders and a John-dory!
There is another kind of angler which lives down at the bottom of the deep sea, where it is always perfectly dark. There, of course, a glittering spine would be useless, for the other fishes would not be able to see it. So this angler has a spine which shines at the tip like a firefly, so that it can be seen from a considerable distance as the fish dangles it up and down!
Gurnards
These, too, are remarkable fishes, having square heads, which look ever so much too big for their bodies, and the first three rays of their pectoral or breast fins made like fingers. These breast-fins are used like fingers, too, for they serve as organs of touch, while the fish also walks with them along the sand at the bottom of the sea.
At least forty different kinds of gurnards have been discovered, but nearly all dwell along foreign coasts. The handsomest of these, perhaps, is the red gurnard, which grows to a length of twelve or fourteen inches, and is bright red above and silvery white below.
Flying Fishes