. The Australian Museum magazine. Natural history. THE AUSTlfALFAX .MISEUM .MAGAZINE. S3 their front tins, with the head raised, skin into tlie nniiute blood vessels with bearing a pair of gog-gle eyes, which which the tail fln is plentifully sup- seem to protrude from their orbits. The plied. front fins, which are bent at an angle The ground around tiie roots of the like an elbow-joint, are used for hop- mangrove trees is generally well rid- ping over the mud flats or for climbing dle<l with crab holes, which serve as about on the roots of the mangroves. letreats for the calling or fiddler
. The Australian Museum magazine. Natural history. THE AUSTlfALFAX .MISEUM .MAGAZINE. S3 their front tins, with the head raised, skin into tlie nniiute blood vessels with bearing a pair of gog-gle eyes, which which the tail fln is plentifully sup- seem to protrude from their orbits. The plied. front fins, which are bent at an angle The ground around tiie roots of the like an elbow-joint, are used for hop- mangrove trees is generally well rid- ping over the mud flats or for climbing dle<l with crab holes, which serve as about on the roots of the mangroves. letreats for the calling or fiddler cral)S. Since the fisli spends a considerable These crabs are remarkable for tlie. The goggle-eyed mangrove fish (Periopthalmus KieJ'-eiiteri icA", witlx its tail in the water and the head and trunk exposed. Photo—A. R. McCulIoch. amount of time out of water, its gills are probably of very little use to it, and the tail then acts as a breathing organ. The mangrove fish rests with its tail in the water with the head and trunk exposed; under these circum- stances the flsli is able to breathe through its tail, the oxygen dissolved in the sea water passing through the thin enormous size of one of tiie hands, generally the rigiit, in the male, which may actually exceed in size the rest of the body. It is not known what pur- pose this organ serves, but it is sup- posed that the male stojis up the mouth of the burrow with it when he and the female are safely inside. It is also used as a Aveapon in combats witli other. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Australian Museum; Australian Museum. Sydney, Australian Museum
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
