Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon Part 29

EMYDOSAURI.

Crocodilus biporcatus. _Cuv._ pal.u.s.tris, _Less._

BATRACHIA.

Rana hexadactyla, _Less._ Kuhlii, _Schleg._ cutipora, _Dum. & Bib._ tigrina, _Daud._ vittigera, _Wiegm._ Malabarica, _Dum. & Bib._ Kandiana, _Kelaart._ Neuera-elliana, _Kel._ Bufo melanostictus, _Schneid._ Kelaartii, _Gunth._ Ixalus variabilis, _Gunth._ leucorhinus, _Martens._ poecilopleurus, _Mart._ aurifasciatus, _Schleg._ schmarda.n.u.s, _Kelaart._ Polypedates maculatus, _Gray._ microtympanum, _Gth._ eques, _Gunth._ Limnodytes lividus, _Blyth._ macularis, _Blyth._ mutabilis, _Kelaart._ maculatus, _Kelaart._ Kaloula pulchra, _Gray._ balteata, var. _Gunth._ stellata, _Kelaart._ Adenomus badioflavus, _Copr._ Pyxicephalus fodiens, _Jerd._ Engystoma rubrum, _Jerd._

PSEUDOPHIDIA.

Caecilia glutinosa, _Linn._

NOTE.--The following species are peculiar to Ceylon (and the genera Ceratophora, Otocryptis, Uropeltis, Aspidura. Cercaspis, and Haplocercus would appear to be similarly restricted);--Lygosoma fallax; Trimesurus Ceylonensis, T. nigromarginatus; Megaera Trigonocephala; Trigonocephalus hypnalis; Daboia elegans; Rhinophis punctatus, Rh. h.o.m.olepis, Rh.

planiceps, Rh. Blythii, Rh. melanogaster; Uropeltis grandis; Silybura Ceylonica; Cylindrophis maculata; Aspidura brachyorrhos; Haplocercus Ceylonensis; OliG.o.don sublineatus; Cynophis Helena; Cyclophis calamaria; Dipsadomorphus Ceylonensis; Cercaspis carinata; Ixalus variabilis, I.

leucorhinus, I. poecilopleurus; Polypedates microtympanum. P. eques.

CHAP. X.

FISHES.

Hitherto no branch of the zoology of Ceylon has been so imperfectly investigated as its Ichthyology. Little has been done in the examination and description of its fishes, especially those which frequent the rivers and inland waters. Mr. BENNETT, who was for some years employed in the Civil Service, directed his attention to the subject, and published in 1830 some portions of a projected work on the marine fishes of the island[1], but it never proceeded beyond the description of thirty individuals. The great work of Cuvier and Valenciennes[2]

particularises about one hundred species, specimens of which were procured from Ceylon by Reynard, Leschenault and other correspondents; but of these not more than half a dozen belong to fresh water.

[Footnote 1: _A Selection of the most Remarkable and Interesting Fishes found on the Coast of Ceylon._ By J.W. BENNETT, Esp. London, 1830.]

[Footnote 2: _Histoire Naturelle des Poissons._]

The fishes of the coast, as far as they have been examined, present few that are not in all probability common to the seas of Ceylon and India.

A series of drawings, including upwards of six hundred species and varieties of Ceylon fish, all made from recently-captured specimens, have been submitted to Professor Huxley, and a notice of their general characteristics forms an interesting appendix to the present chapter.[1]

[Footnote 1: See note B appended to this chapter.]

Of those in ordinary use for the table the finest by far is the Seir-fish[1], a species of s...o...b..roids, which is called _Tora-malu_ by the natives. It is in size and form very similar to the salmon, to which the flesh of the female fish, notwithstanding its white colour, bears a very close resemblance both in firmness and flavour.

[Footnote 1: _Cybium_ (_s...o...b..r_, Linn.) _guttatum_.]

Mackerel, carp, whitings, mullet both red and striped, perches and soles are abundant, and a sardine (_Sardinella Neohowii_, Val.) frequents the southern and eastern coast in such profusion that in one instance in 1839, a gentleman who was present saw upwards of four hundred thousand taken in a haul of the nets in the little bay of Goyapanna, east of Point-de-Galle. As this vast shoal approached the sh.o.r.e the broken water became as smooth as if a sheet of ice had been floating below the surface.[1]

[Footnote 1: These facts serve to explain the story told by the friar ODORIC of Friuli, who visited Ceylon about the year 1320 A.D., and says there are "fishes in those seas that come swimming towards the said country in such abundance that for a great distance into the sea nothing can be seen but the backs of fishes, which casting themselves on the sh.o.r.e, do suffer men for the s.p.a.ce of three daies to come and to take as many of them as they please, and then they return again into the sea."--_Hakluyt_, vol. ii. p. 57.]

_Poisonous Fishes._--The sardine has the reputation of being poisonous at certain seasons, and accidents ascribed to eating it are recorded in all parts of the island. Whole families of fishermen who have partaken of it have died. Twelve persons in the jail of Chilaw were thus poisoned, about the year 1829; and the deaths of soldiers have repeatedly been ascribed to the same cause. It is difficult in such instances to say with certainty whether the fish were in fault; whether there was not a peculiar susceptibility in the condition of the recipients; or whether the mischief may not have been occasioned by the wilful administration of poison, or its accidental occurrence in the bra.s.s cooking vessels used by the natives. The popular belief was, however, deferred to by an order pa.s.sed by the Governor in Council in February, 1824, which, after reciting that "Whereas it appears by information conveyed to the Government that at three several periods at Trincomalie, death has been the consequence to several persons from eating the fish called Sardinia during the months of January and December," enacts that it shall not be lawful in that district to catch sardines during these months, under pain of fine and imprisonment. This order is still in force, but the fis.h.i.+ng continues notwithstanding.[1]

[Footnote 1: There are other species of Sardine found at Ceylon besides the _S. Neohowii_; such as the _S. lineolata_, Cuv. and Val. and the _S.

leiogaster_, Cuv. and Val. xx. 270, which was found by M. Reynaud at Trincomalie. It occurs also off the coast of Java. Another Ceylon fish of the same group, a Clupea, is known as the "poisonous sprat;" the bonito (_Thynnus affinis_, Cang.), the kangewena, or unicorn fish (_Balistes?_), and a number of others, are more or less in bad repute from the same imputation.]

_Sharks._--Sharks appear on all parts of the coast, and instances continually occur of persons being seized by them whilst bathing even in the harbours of Trincomalie and Colombo. In the Gulf of Manaar they are taken for the sake of their oil, of which they yield such a quant.i.ty that "shark's oil" is a recognised export. A trade also exists in drying their fins, for which, owing to the gelatine contained in them, a ready market is found in China; whither the skin of the basking shark is also sent, to be converted, it is said, into s.h.a.green.

_Saw Fish._--The huge _Pristis antiquorum_[1] infests the eastern coast of the island, where it attains a length of from twelve to fifteen feet, including the serrated rostrum from which its name is derived. This powerful weapon seems designed to compensate for the inadequacy of the ordinary maxillary teeth which are unusually small, obtuse, and insufficient to capture and kill the animals which form the food of this predatory shark. To remedy this, the fore part of the head and its cartilages are prolonged into a flattened plate, the length of which is nearly equal to one third of the whole body, its edges being armed with formidable teeth, that are never shed or renewed, but increase in size with the growth of the creature.

[Footnote 1: Two other species are found in the Ceylon waters, _P.

cuspidatus_ and _P. pectinatus_.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HEAD OF THE SAWFISH (PRISTIS ANTIQUORUM)]

The _Rays_ form a large tribe of cartilaginous fishes in which, although the skeleton is not osseous, the development of organs is so advanced that they would appear to be the highest of the cla.s.s, approaching nearest to amphibians. They are easily distinguished from the sharks by their broad and flat body, the pectoral fins being expanded like wings on each side of the trunk. They are all inhabitants of the ocean, and some grow to a prodigious size. Specimens have been caught of twenty feet in breadth. These, however, are of rare occurrence, as such huge monsters usually retreat into the depths of the sea, where they are secure from the molestation of man. It is, generally speaking, only the young and the smaller species that approach the coasts, where they find a greater supply of those marine animals which form their food. The Rays have been divided into several generic groups, and the one of which a drawing (_Aetobates narinari_[1]) is given, has very marked characteristics in its produced snout, pointed and winged-like pectoral fins, and exceedingly long, flagelliform tail. The latter is armed with a strong, serrated spine, which is always broken off by the fishermen immediately on capture, under the impression that wounds inflicted by it are poisonous. Their fears, however, are utterly groundless, as the ray has no gland for secreting any venomous fluid. The apprehension may, however, have originated in the fact that a lacerated wound such as would be produced by a serrated spine, is not unlikely to a.s.sume a serious character, under the influence of a tropical climate. The species figured on the last page is brownish-olive on the upper surface, with numerous greenish-white round spots, darkening towards the edges.

The anterior annulations of the tail are black and white, the posterior entirely black. Its mouth is transverse and paved with a band of flattened teeth calculated to crush the hard sh.e.l.ls of the animals on which it feeds. It moves slowly along the bottom in search of its food, which consists of crustacea and mollusca, and seems to be unable to catch fishes or other quickly moving animals. Specimens have been taken near Ceylon, of six feet in width. Like most deep-sea fishes, the ray has a wide geographical range, and occurs not only in all the Indian Ocean, but also in the tropical tracts of the Atlantic.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RAY (AeTOBATES NARINARI).]

[Footnote 1: _Raja narinari_, Bl. Schn. p. 361. _Aetobates narinari_, Mull. und Henle., Plagiost. p. 179.]

Another armed fish, renowned since the times of aelian and Pliny for its courage in attacking the whale, and even a s.h.i.+p, is the sword-fish (_Xiphias gladius_).[1] Like the thunny and bonito, it is an inhabitant of the deeper seas, and, though known in the Mediterranean, is chiefly confined to the tropics. The dangerous weapon with which nature has equipped it is formed by the prolongation and intertexture of the bones of the upper jaw into an exceedingly compact cylindrical protuberance, somewhat flattened at the base, but tapering to a sharp point. In strange inconsistence with its possession of so formidable an armature, the general disposition of the sword-fish is represented to be gentle and inoffensive; and although the fact of its a.s.saults upon the whale has been incontestably established, yet the motive for such conflicts, and the causes of its enmity, are beyond conjecture. Compet.i.tion for food is out of the question, as the Xiphias can find its own supplies without rivalry on the part of its gigantic antagonist; and as to converting the whale itself into food, the sword-fish, from the construction of its mouth and the small size of its teeth, is quite incapable of feeding on animals of such dimensions.

[Footnote 1: aeLIAN tells a story of a s.h.i.+p in the Black Sea, the bottom of which was penetrated by the sword of a _Xiphias_ (L. xiv. c. 23); and PLINY (L. x.x.xii. c. 8) speaks of a similar accident on the coast of Mauritania. In the British Museum there is a specimen of a plank of oak, pierced by a sword-fish, and still retaining the broken weapon.]

In the seas around Ceylon sword-fishes sometimes attain to the length of twenty feet, and are distinguished by the unusual height of the dorsal fin. Those both of the Atlantic and Mediterranean possess this fin in its full proportions, only during the earlier stages of their growth.

Its dimensions even then are much smaller than in the Indian species; and it is a curious fact that it gradually decreases as the fish approaches to maturity; whereas in the seas around Ceylon, it retains its full size throughout the entire period of life. They raise it above the water, whilst das.h.i.+ng along the surface in their rapid course; and there is no reason to doubt that it occasionally acts as a sail.

The Indian species (which are provided with two long and filamentous ventral fins) have been formed into the genus _Histiophorus_; to which belongs the individual figured on the next page. It is distinguished from others most closely allied to it, by having the immense dorsal fin of one uniform dark violet colour; whilst in its congeners, it is spotted with blue. The fish from which the engraving has been made, was procured by Dr. Templeton, near Colombo. The species was previously known only by a single specimen captured in the Red Sea, by Ruppell, who conferred upon it the specific designation of "_immaculatus_."[1]

[Footnote 1: Trans. Zool. Soc. ii. p. 71. Pl. 15.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SWORD FISH (MISMOPHORUS IMMACULATUS).]

aelian, in his graphic account of the strange forms presented by the fishes inhabiting the seas around Ceylon, says that one in particular is so grotesque in its configuration, that no painter would venture to depict it; its main peculiarity being that it has feet or claws rather than fins.[1] The annexed drawing[2] may probably represent the creature to which the informants of aelian referred. It is a cheironectes; one of a group in which the bones of the carpus form arms that support the pectoral fins, and enable these fishes to walk along the moist ground, almost like quadrupeds.

[Footnote 1: [Greek: Podas ge men chelas e pterygia.]--Lib. xvi. c. 18.]

[Footnote 2: The fish from which this drawing of the _Cheironectes_ was made, was taken near Colombo, and from the peculiarities which it presents it is in all probability a new and undescribed species. Dr.

GuNTHER has remarked, that in it, whilst the first and second dorsal spines are situated as usual over the eye (and form, one the angling bait of the fish, the other the crest above the nose), the third is at an unusual distance from the second, and is not separated, as in the other species, from the soft fin by a notch.]

They belong to the family of _Lophiads_ or "anglers," not unfrequent on the English coast; which conceal themselves in the mud, displaying only the erectile ray, situated on the head, which bears an excrescence on its extremity resembling a worm; by agitating which, they attract the smaller fishes, that thus become an easy prey.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHEIRONECTES]

On the rocks in Ceylon which are washed by the surf there are quant.i.ties of the curious little fish, _Salarius alticus_[1], which possesses the faculty of darting along the surface of the water, and running up the wet stones, with the utmost ease and rapidity. By aid of the pectoral and ventral fins and gill-cases, they move across the damp sand, ascend the roots of the mangroves, and climb up the smooth face of the rocks in search of flies; adhering so securely as not to be detached by repeated a.s.saults of the waves. These little creatures are so nimble, that it is almost impossible to lay hold of them, as they scramble to the edge, and plunge into the sea on the slightest attempt to molest them. They are from three to four inches in length, and of a dark brown colour, almost undistinguishable from the rocks they frequent.

[Footnote 1: Cuv. and VALEN., _Hist. Nat. des Poissons_, tom. xi. p.

249. It is identical with _S. tridactylus,_ Schn.]

But the most striking to the eye of a stranger are those fishes whose brilliancy of colouring has won for them the wonder even of the listless Singhalese. Some, like the Red Sea Perch (_Holocentrum rubrum_, Forsk) and the Great Fire Fish[1], are of the deepest scarlet and flame colour; in others purple predominates, as in the _Serra.n.u.s flavo-caeruleus_; in others yellow, as in the _Choetodon Brownriggii_[2], and _Acanthurus vittatus_, of Bennett[3], and numbers, from the l.u.s.trous green of their scales, have obtained from the natives the appropriate name of _Giraway_, or _parrots_, of which one, the _Sparus Hardwickii_ of Bennett, is called the "Flower Parrot," from its exquisite colouring, being barred with irregular bands of blue, crimson, and purple, green, yellow, and grey, and crossed by perpendicular stripes of black.