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Show l»75.j REV. S. J. WHITMEE ON THE GENUS ANTENNARIUS. 545 The natives frequently get " stung " by the third dorsal spine of this fish, when they happen to pick up a block to which it is attached, before they are aware of its presence. It causes very great agouy, which usually lasts several hours, and sometimes two or three days. Another fish, which I believe is also an Antennarius, but which I have not yet examined, produces effects much more alarming than this one. I have seen the hands and feet of natives swollen and greatly inflamed by a prick from the larger species, and have seen strong men weeping and groaning like children with the agony it caused. Sometimes the effect produced by a prick from this lasts for weeks. Two or three weeks after procuring the fish described above, another living Antennarius was brought to me by one of m y collectors. This, which has been likewise sent to the British Museum, is, as I am told by Dr. Gunther, A. multiocellatus (Cuv. et Val.). I had this example alive in m y aquarium for several days. It was brought to m e out of the water, and had been out several minutes. It seemed somewhat exhausted, but soon recovered when placed in the water. It affected a singular position. It moved occasionally from one place to another, and evidently preferred a position between two coral blocks near together. Here it planted its ventrals firmly on the sand at the bottom of the aquarium, while it fixed its pectorals, in the manner of disks, on the sides of the blocks of coral between which it was stationed, and raised its posterior extremity at an angle not far from the vertical. In this position it reminded me of the antics of " city Arabs " who walk on their hands with their legs in the air; its posture was almost exactly that assumed in such an exercise. The caudal fin was bent over towards the dorsal and in a line with it, while the anal was brought almost into line with the major axis of the body, occupying the position belonging to the caudal. Whenever it fixed itself for any length of time, it was always in this position ; and in that attitude it angled with the ciliated anterior dorsal for some of the small fish in the aquarium. I hoped to see it catch one; but they were too wary. There were seven fish not too large for the Antennarii; but they had been some months in captivity, were quite at home in every nook and corner, and knew too well the nature of the new inmate to allow themselves to be taken off their guard. I am accustomed to feed these with bread-crumbs, and I tried to entice them to the neighbourhood of the Antennarius by dropping some so as to fall immediately in front of it. But it was to no purpose; they kept at a safe distance. When one ventured to dash at a falling crumb rather nearer than usual, it immediately darted away again in evident fear. The way in which these little creatures showed their anger at the intruder amused me. They never approached it from the front, but always behind, and invariably backwards. As the Antennarius was protected behind by the coral blocks they had to approach it through the interstices of the coral; and only small fish could do this. When sufficiently near to suppose they could annoy their enemy, by a ranid motion of the caudal fin thev lashed the water and then 1 35* |