. Elements of zoölogy. Zoology. l82 BACKBONED ANIMALS. from Greenland to Cape Hatteras. During the winter they run in deep water, coming in-shore in May and June to spawn, each female depositing from 500,000 to 600,000 eggs, that rise to the surface and float about. After spawn- ing the fishes keep on up the coast until they meet cold water, and at this time are taken all along the shore in vast numbers, entire fleets of vessels being engaged in the trade. Allied is the Spanish mackerel, the bonito, and the horse- mackerel, that attains a length of twelve feet and a weight of 1,200 pounds. Not
. Elements of zoölogy. Zoology. l82 BACKBONED ANIMALS. from Greenland to Cape Hatteras. During the winter they run in deep water, coming in-shore in May and June to spawn, each female depositing from 500,000 to 600,000 eggs, that rise to the surface and float about. After spawn- ing the fishes keep on up the coast until they meet cold water, and at this time are taken all along the shore in vast numbers, entire fleets of vessels being engaged in the trade. Allied is the Spanish mackerel, the bonito, and the horse- mackerel, that attains a length of twelve feet and a weight of 1,200 pounds. Note.—The mackerel is a light-giver (phosphorescent), and so bright is the light of great schools that the fishermen see it at night from aloft, and, by surrounding it with a seine, capture the school. The large allied Jacks (Caranx), of the extreme outer Florida reef, in feeding, rush in thousands upon the beach of the keys, driving schools of small fish before them, leaping upon the sand, and striking the water, creating a sound that can be heard a mile. The occurrence is called a " ; The fishes are utterly oblivious to their sur- roundings, and fishermen stand knee-deep in the almost solid mass, and spear or hurl them ashore with their hands. Pelicans, gulls, man- of-war birds, and human fishermen, all know the sound, and gather from far and near. Sword-Fishes (Xiphiidoi).— The sword-fishes (Fig. 224) have the upper jaw developed into a long, sword-like projection ; they attain a length of from eleven to twenty- five feet, and the different genera are found in va- rious seas; they feed upon mack- erel and other Fig. 224.—Sword-fish (Xiphias). fishes, dashing in- to the schools, cutting their victims down, and picking the dismembered parts up at leisure. The sail-fish (ffistiophorus), of vari- ous seas, has an enormous dorsal fin, that appears like a sail when the fish is at the surface. The sword-fishes do. Please note that these images are extracted
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
