Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
INDIAN WEAVER-FISH.
One of the group of scorpion-fishes.
The next family, a comparatively small one, includes the Tassel-fish, so called from the long and delicate feelers springing from the base of the breast-fins, of which they originally formed a part. Varying in number from three to fourteen, these feelers can be moved independently of the fins. As these fishes all live in muddy water, and have the eyes obscured by films, such tactile organs are necessary, in order to enable them to procure their food. In some species they attain an enormous length. The flesh is highly esteemed. Some species have an air-bladder, which yields a good kind of isinglass, and forms an article of commerce in the East Indies. The majority are small species, but some attain to a length of 4 feet.
No less important than the preceding group, from an economic point of view, are the Meagres, a family of coast-haunting species of the tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans, exhibiting a special preference for the mouths of large rivers, into which they freely enter. Some, indeed, have become entirely fresh-water species.
One of the most interesting of the family is the species to which the name of Drum has been given, from the extraordinary noise which it produces—though some other kinds emit similar noises. "These sounds," Dr. Günther writes, "can better be expressed by the word 'drumming' than any other. They appear to be very frequently heard by persons in vessels lying at anchor off the coasts of the United States, where these fishes are very common. The precise method by which these sounds are produced is not known. Since they are accompanied by a tremulous motion of the vessel, it seems more probable that they are due to the beating of the tails of the fish against the bottom of the ship to get rid of the parasites with which that part of their body is infested." The drum attains a length of more than 4 feet and a weight of over 100 lbs.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
RAGGED SEA-SCORPION.
A second representative of the scorpion-fishes.