The Double-fish, here represented, is a pair of Cat-fish, which were
taken alive in a shrimp-net, at the mouth of Cape Fear River, near
Fort Johnston. North Carolina, in 1833, and presented to Professor
Silliman. One of them is three and a-half, and the other two and a-half
inches long, including the tail--the smallest emaciated, and of sickly
appearance. They are connected in the manner of the Siamese Twins, by
the skin at the breast, which is marked by a dark streak at the line of
union. The texture and colour otherwise of this skin is the same as that
of the belly. The mouth, viscera, &c., were entire and perfect in each
fish; but, on withdrawing the entrails, through an incision made on one
side of the abdomen, the connecting integument was found to be hollow.
A flexible probe was passed through from one to the other, with the
tender and soft end of a spear of grass, drawn from a green plant. But
there was no appearance of the entrails of one having come in contact
with those of the other, for the integument was less than one-tenth of
an inch in its whole thickness; in length, from the body or trunk of
one fish to the other, it was three-tenths; and in the water, when the
largest fish was in its natural position, the small one could, by the
length and pliancy of this skin, swim in nearly the same position. When
these fish came into existence it is probable they were of almost equal
size and strength, but one "born to better fortune," or exercising more
ingenuity and industry than the other, gained a trifling ascendency,
which he improved to increase the disparity, and, by pushing his
extended mouth in advance of the other, seized the choicest and most of
the food for himself.
From the northern parts of British America we have received
extraordinary contributions to our fish collections. One of these is
the Square-browed Malthe, obtained in one of the land expeditions under
the command of Captain Sir John Franklin. R.N. It was taken on the
Labrador coast, and then belonged to a species hitherto undescribed.
Its intestines were filled with small crabs and univalve shells. The
extreme length of the fish is 7 inches 11 lines. The upper surface
is greyish white, with brown blotches, and the fins are whitish. The
head is much depressed and greatly widened; the eyes far forward; the
snout projecting like a small horn. Most of the fish of this family
can live long out of water, in consequence of the smallness of their
gill-openings; indeed, those of one of the genera are able, even in warm
countries, to pass two or three days in creeping over the land. All the
family conceal themselves in the mud or sand, and lie in wait to take
their prey by surprise. The accompanying engraving is from the very
able work of Dr. Richardson, F.R.S., published by the munificence of
Government.
[Illustration: SQUARE-BROWED MALTHE AND DOUBLE FISH.]
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