WALKING FISH.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 July 1924, Page 6

WALKING FISH.

CLIMBERS OF TREES. CURIOUS LIFE IN INDIA. h isliermen’s stories arc usually rectiveu witli incicutility, and one can eusi;y imagine what .reception would be accorded to the enthusiast who described his adventure with a- fish that walked. Aet the walking fish is, perhaps, the commonest of all the inhabitants of the temporary pools and still, waters of the Indian plains. During the hot mouths they bury themselves two or three feet deep in the mud, where they pass the prolonged period of drought. \Yith the coming of the rains they are recalled to life and travel long distances over moist ground. They prop themselves by using tlie 'pectoral and tail fins, first one of the former, than that at the other side.

The walking fish builds nests for its family. He bites o?? the tops of waterweeds and lushes, and after twisting them about the stumps with his tail, places his family inside the structure thus formed, ami mounts guard over them. Closely allied to this strange creature is the koi, or climbing perch. This is a greyish fish several inches long, with a very thorny ventral fin! by means of. which it can climb trees. It can also travel long distances over marshy land. Stories of the climbing perch arc usually received with incredulity. But I have seen specimens in c-apHvity not only walk about a room, but ascend a vertical sheet. Because ol the length of time a koi can live outside its own clement. Indian jugglers carry them about with other paraphernalia .and use them to demonstate their “magic” powers. But the cnly “magic” is Nature’s.

The koi is easily domesticated, and will readily obey a- well-known voice. A much less pleasant fish, which is met with frequently, is the singhi," a member of the catfish family. He is not particularly big, the outermost, spur of each pectoral fin is thick, long, terribly barbed and poisonous. The rohu is prettier, but is also capable of giving you ,an uncomfortable five minutes. Inside its mouth is a sort of inner lip, covered with a. horny sheath, which forms a powerful grasping edge. The rohu is not slow to use this weapon, but there is one thing to be said in its favour —it is the natural enemy of the mosquito, and in the course cf a year one of these fish will destroy the larvae of millions of malaria carriers. . Probably the ugliest fish of all is the gibie, or mud-skipper, which is just as much, at home on land as in water. These fish don’t grow to any size, but their appearance is weird —an elongated body, powerful padding jaws which, in reality, are pectoral fins, and are used for resting or raising the body—something after the manner of elbows—a projecting upper jaw, and conspicuous eyes, capable of protrusion and retraction. Bu#, in spite of their preposterous appearance, mud'iskippers a re‘"very entertaining ; they are always wide-awake, and it is almost impossible to surprise them. Another jumping fish is the mudgil, or gray mullet, which has curious protruding goggle eyes. Newcomers to the country _ are often puzzled by the peculiar antics of what appear, to be hundreds of little bubble floating on the water. The “bubbles” always keep in pairs, and a little closer investigation provides a very simple explanation. Just below 'each pair of “bubbles” will be the mudgil, his eyes projected so far that they appear above the surface of the water, while his body is removed from view.

Not infrequently a great water-lizard is to be seen on the river banks or swimming rapidly with extended neck the Indians are firmly convinced that he is venomous. Certainly, the swelling of his neck the darting of the forked townie and his furious hissing, when irritated might suggest this, but the gho-samp! as it is called, is not venomous, though it- can be dangerous, as its powerful tail is a useful weapon.