LARGE TUNNY FOUND

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 5, 6 July 1939, Page 20

LARGE TUNNY FOUND

A tunny, weighing 140 pounds, has been brought to the Canterbury Museum from Birdling's Flat, states the "Press." It is the largest tunny that has yet been found off the coast of the South Island, according to Mr. P. J. O'Brien, taxidermist at the museum. The last that was taken, from oft Akaroa, weighed only 30 pounds. Mr. O'Brien has had a mould taken of the specimen now at the museum; and will make a cast later. It is of some interest that such a large specimen of a sub-tropical fish, should be found in these waters. The species has not yet be^n determined, but it was inspected yesterday morning by Professor E. Percival, of Canterbury University College, and later dissected. The tunny is a streamlined fish. Its dorsal and pectoral fins fit into grooves to decrease water resistance when it swims swiftly after its prey, a,nd its scales are covered with a thin skin. It uses its large tail for propulsion when ths fins are folded away. The post-dorsal and anal fins are permanent fixtures to give balance, and cannot be fitted into the body.