. Chimæroid fishes and their development. Fishes; Chimaeridae. i6 CHBL^ROID FISHES AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT. MOVEMENTS. Chinucra collici is essentially a delicate fish. W^hen taken from the water it struggles-fettt little and soon dies (about 15 minutes). It makes no sound, save on rare occasions, when it clicks its dental plates together ; and it shows no effort to erect its dorsal spine. In handling it the fishermen take less account of the formi- dable spine than of the jaws, which are capable of inflicting a painful wound, in one case snapping out at a single stroke a bit of skin and flesh.
. Chimæroid fishes and their development. Fishes; Chimaeridae. i6 CHBL^ROID FISHES AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT. MOVEMENTS. Chinucra collici is essentially a delicate fish. W^hen taken from the water it struggles-fettt little and soon dies (about 15 minutes). It makes no sound, save on rare occasions, when it clicks its dental plates together ; and it shows no effort to erect its dorsal spine. In handling it the fishermen take less account of the formi- dable spine than of the jaws, which are capable of inflicting a painful wound, in one case snapping out at a single stroke a bit of skin and flesh. It is a difficult fish to keep alive, even under favorable conditions. In the aquarium of the Hopkins Sta- tion it lived rarel}^ longer than two daj-s.*. Fig. 4.âChimaera colliei. Sketches of the living fish. A. Swimming fish shown from in front. This indicates particularly the position of the pectoral fins; from the point marked with aD asterisk (*) undulations arise which pass out over the lip of the fin as indicated by the arrows and end at the fin's posterior margin. B. Fish shown in resting position. The tail droops somewhat and the weight of the trunk is apt to fall upon the fleshy pad which is present on the ventral side of the body immediately behind the mixipterygia. The opening of the operculum and the position of the mouth in this, as in the pre- ceding figure, are indicated in their normal position. C. Mouth region, showing the extent to which the jaws open during the process of breathing. As here shown, the opening is even greater than usual. Behind the mandibular plates can be seen the wide breathing valve ^ *", and the prominent anterior nostrils. The latter serve to pass water lateralward under the large labial folds into the mouth. The moving fish is conspicuous in the use of its paired fins. The pectorals are in constant motion, like delicate translucent fansf moving to and from the bod\', and passing undulations one after another along their delicate
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectfishes, bookyear1906
