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GROTESQUE JERSEY FISF Many Curious and Freaky Denizen of Eastern Shore Seas Soiin Are Ioisoitniis and Many Odd Shapes Sixes and Orotosqtio fishes nro not confined to tho tropics Tlit temperate anil colder waters have thiir shan In tin two areas between tapc Hitterns anil New founillanil are perhaps as many families anil specie t mtlniulih grotesque or downright hideous ap poarance as are about the islands off tlie coast o tlie soutlicrn United States and from Cape Ilattera to Itraxil ItraxilTlie Tlie greatest nnmlior of species is found along tli New York and New Jersey coast for tills stretch ci water seems to In the point where tiie fishes o the northern and the southern areas meet an mingle with those that ran e from Cape Ilattera to ape Cod CodNaturally Naturally therefore some of the species are alum dant others not uncommon ind some scarce write the weirknown authority on ichthyology AV K Meelian in the Ihihidelphhi IJecord omc liave food value others have none and a few whil edihle have so little flesh on their hodies that the are not worth the trouble of preparing them for tli table Jlost of them take the hook readily an are therefore jireat nuisances Others rarely bite biteAinong Ainong the families of xrutt sriie fishes appearin in greater or less abundance ilonr the New Jerse coast are the swell fishes the porcupine fishes th 1 richer fishes the frux fishes the sea horses th pipe fishes the scabbard fishes the toad fishes th star gazers the wolf fishes the blennies the trnnl fishes and the head fishes Some of these ar union the largest fishes known most of them ar medium size and others re small smallA A good proportion of the families named belong t a single group though not generally considered distinct order because the families comprising tin series differ from each other so widely Some o the characteristics of the series as set forth by Ir Jordan are the reduction and final entire loss o ventral fins the reduction and loss of the spina dorsal tho compression and final partial or tola fusion of the teeth of the upper jaw the specialize lion of the scales which change from bony scute into a solid coat of mail on the one hand and 01 the other are reduced to thorns or prickles and an finally altogether lost lostPOISONOUS POISONOUS FISHES OF JERSEY COAST COASTAmong Among the group and some that arc found alonj the New Jersey coast are families containing specie that are distinctly poisonous The venom is in tin form of alkaloids that produce a disease known a eiguatera characterized by paralysis and gastrii derangements that may cause death among the lowei animals and possibly with men menThe The commonest of the lengthy list of grotesqw types are the swell fishes Kvery person who fishe in the salt water is well acquainted with one o the two species though not with the other for i is scarce as its natural abiding place is farthei south southThe The species lies known is the rommoii puffer bet ¬ ter known in New Jersey as the balloon fish al ¬ though it is also called the swell fish and swel torn tornNo No greater nuisance swims in the temperate so than the puffer It is a ravenous feeder am eagerly swallows almost any sort of food thai comes its way and as it swims in schools am often large ones anglers are sometimes driven friiiu a favorite fishing ground because of the en ¬ thusiastic pertinacity with which the fish takes the bail bailIt It is noteworthy however that annoying as th puffer undoubtedly is its attentions are regarded with less irritation that usual with other pestifcrom fishes the sea robin for instance with its concilia lorv smile anil deprecating grunt when hooked am landed landedInstead Instead of smashing the puffer violently on tin1 bottom of the boat often to the accompaniment of bad language it is more often the custom to ticklt it on the belly till it swells like a balloon and then throw it overboard unharmed unharmedIt It is this peculiar power of expanding the walls of the belly until the fih is as round as a ball that is chiefly responsible for placing the buffei among the grotesque fishes although the outlines of the body do depart from the lines normal U most species speciesThe The expansion is caused by the fish sucking air with its stomach and closing the throat tight N bov could make a better or more complete jol of infliting a football than the puffer can with its own body Furthermore the fish can close its throat so tight that a man cannot force the air out by the strongest pressure he can exert with his hands The inflation of the body is about the only protection the fish has against its enemies enemiesPECULIARITIES PECULIARITIES OF PUFFER FAMILY FAMILYA A carnivorous fish has no more chance of biting through that living ball than it would one of India rubber rubberThe The month of the puffer is small but it is armed witli sharp incNors projecting beyond the lips ami rabbitlike in appearance hence the name rab ¬ bit fish that is sometimes bestowed on it itThe The common puffer grows to a length of about a foot although its average is rather less It is dark olive above marbled and dotted with black There an dark blotches forming crossbars on the Miles The belly is yellow yellowThe The other and rarer species of puffer is a larger fish for it often attains a length of two feet Its native waters is in the south but in the summer large numbers roam as far north as Cape Cod CodIt It is quite distinct in appearance from the com ¬ mon puffer It has a smooth body its back and sides are olive green and its belly silvery white with three large rooted spines spinesA A different family but closely related to the swell fishes are the porcupine or burr fishes There are also two species on the Atlantic coast the burr fish proper and the porcupine fish The latter belongs altogether in the south and only a few specimens are met with in northern waters It is the larger of the two species and has long slender spines entirely covering the body bodyThe The common burr fish although really abundant during the summer months as far north as Cape Cod is yet only occasionally caught by anglers for it does not take the hook as readily as the theIt It is emphatically among the oddities in fish life Small seldom exceeding six or seven inches it is shaped much like a flatbottomed dory or rowboat Its back and belly are flat and its perpendicular ides are curved to a point at the tail while nearly square at the head Tlie body to the neutral lilies is covered with a shell of the same character and thickness as the shell of a crab and thickly dotted over this shell are short sharp spines spinesThere There are holes in the sides of the shell for the pectoral fins and in the tail for the caudal Iecanse of this shell the fish cannot swim like other fishes by undulations of the body and tail bust must propel itself through the water by means of the three fins mentioned mentionedAs As a consequence instead of the smooth easy mo ¬ tion so noticeable in ordinary fishes the burr fish proceeds by short quick tremulous jerks remark ¬ ably like the progress of a motorboit Like the puffers the month of the burr fish is small and like them also is fitted with sharp rabbitlike teeth teethThe The eyes are not the least interesting feature oC the fish They are large set high in the head almost like a frogs and this is heightened by a ridge above them The eyes themselves are of a iHautifiil turquoise blue The general color of the body is greenish with a series of parallel blackish stripes on tin back Above each pectoral is a round ¬ ish black spot with a larger one behind it There is another at the base of the dorsal and a smaller one below it itSPIKED SPIKED CUCUMBER OR BURR FISH FISHThe The burr fish in common with the puffer has tho power of sucking air into its body and expanding it into a round ball giving it the appearance of a hestnut burr hence the name burr fish It is also sometimes called encumber fish because of the prickles on the normal body shape shapeIn In the worlds history there have been several pe ¬ riods in which there were great changes in the form r f most fish life One of these changes occurred in the piscene or first part of the tertiary period Many of the freakish types appeared at this time unions them the sculpius For singularity in out ¬ line and characteristics few equal it itIt It developed into a large family with representa ¬ tives in nearly all the colder waters of the world lioth salt and fresh Most of them are quite small innl of no value for food or angling purposes A few however are of fair size and are edible but not of high quality Only one species is found in the ocean as far south as New Jersey and this is the sea raven ravenIt It is rarely caught by anglers for it prefers deep M water than they fish in Karly in the season I lowever when the water is cold the sea raven is frequently taken in the pound nets At a cursory ilance the sea raven looks like a sea robin that has been iu a desperate fight Its large head i covered witli humps and ridges and most of its fin appear to have been lorn to ribbons Its body i russet brown and its wings have harlequin mark ¬ ings while its fins are variegated with blackis waving lines linesFew Few fishes found along the New Jersey coast hav a reputation for being anywise dangerous or un healthful as food Some of the trigger and file fish es are however in the short list of those deeme unwise to cook and eat Most of the members o this family and there are about 100 species in it belong in the tropics and many of them undoubted have an alkaloid poison in the flesh fleshAmong Among the tropical species are many witli color iug that can only be described as loud as fo example big blocks of black and yellow or bin and yellow or red and black or combinations o that character characterThe The one species of trigger fish that is found ii any number along the New Jersey coast however is neither poisonous nor brilliantly colored On th contrary the flesh is quite palatable so much s that in the Bermudas where the fish is abundant it is called the turbot Its color is a dirty brown Along tlie northern coast the fish is known as th ocean trigger leather jacket old wench and some times old wife It is not often caught on hook am line although quite plentiful in the summer as fa north as Massachusetts not because it does no take the hook but because it is a genius for evailini capture When it picks up a bait instead of swal lowing it and swimming away it takes it gentl by its lips and then starts straight up for the sur face Just as like as not during its npwart movement it will bite the line in two with it sharp teeth teethFREAKY FREAKY OCEAN TRIGGERS AND FILE FISH FISHThe The ocean trigger as well as all the other trig gers proper are emphatically in tlie freak class Its body is technically described as oblong hn roughly double triangular seems a more fitting de ¬ scription Tlie black dorsal and the anal fins an large but the front dorsal is low and with three henry spines the second of which is the oporatinf trigger A couple of small spines represent tin ventrals As the pectorals are small the balancing of the fish must be done by the dorsal and tin anal apparently a feat for the ocean trigger is onlj a couple of inches through and five or six timer more than that from the arch of the back t the deepest part of the ventral line Tlie skin 01 this species is used in the south for scouring am polishing purposes and in some places it is usec almost exclusively for polishing fine wood woodThe The file fishes belong to the same family as the triggers but are of a different genus or tribe Tw species are fairly numerous along the New Jersej roast during the warm months One is known at the fool fish and the other as the leather jackei or old maid Ioth when first gazed upon causi an involuntary feeling of pity for they are enia cialcd to the point of little more than skin am bones They have the appearance of being starved almost to the point of death This dreadful ap ¬ pearance is so realistic that it is not in ¬ frequent to hear visitors to public aquariii exclaim indignantly against those in charge for theii heartlessness in not giving the fish enough food If make them plump 1erhaps that is one reason whj the members of the group are called fool fishes fishesThe The fool fish or common file fish is quite small rarely exceeding six inches in length and about I lie same in depth It is a dull greenish in color mottled with darker green The fool fisli is a cor ¬ ner lounger among fishes It spends all tlie time possible leaning up against some object and like the typical lazy man prefers to have its food criimii to it rather than exert itself hunting huntingOld Old maid old wife leather jacket barnacle eater niul fool fish ire some of the names bestowed on the other and larger species of the file fish The name fool fish is not altogether inappropriate aside from its deceptive appearance for it has a rathet silly expression around its small mouth with protuberant lips and it has an apparently purpose ¬ less habit of coining to the surface and ejecting mouthful of water for all the world like a to liacco chewers expectoration The name leather jacket is appropriate only in so far as the skin lias a leathery texture for no leather has the sheen ind the coloring of the covering of the fool fish It is a peculiar golden green with marble and shades of olive and when the fish is perfectly icalthy it shines like burnished metal metalHEAD HEAD AND SUNFISHES AND SEA HORSES HORSESIn In some respects the head fishes are the most remarkable appearing of all the finny tribe To all ippearances their bodies have cither been shorn off lose behind the head or part way along the trunk and a narrow caudal fin attached This hornoff appearance is accentuated by tlie long piky dorsal and anal being close to the rear of the fish fishThe The head fishes are among the largest known and there are but few species known one the great ca sunfish is not uncommon along the North At ¬ lantic ccast in summer It is a huge fish weigh ng close to 1000 pounds and is almost as round is a cartwhce and it is almost as proportionately thin thinThe The sea sunfish is among the largest of fishes mil spends hours on the surface of the water suu iiig itself Hence its name Sometimes it rests in its side and sometimes holds itself in an np ight position In that case its long narrow dor ¬ sal projecting far above the water and waving lowly to and fro renders it an object that can be seen for a long distance The fish is so lazy that t is easy to approach near enough with a rowboat o harpoon it the usual manner of capture captureAlthough Although the sea sunfish is not uncommon in lortherii waters it is seldom seen because being if a true pelagic character it usually keeps well out o sea Sometimes probably two or three times each milliner one in its sluggishness allows itself to be irifted into the breakers where it be ics help ess and is washed ashore As a pelagic fisli the ea sunfish is found in both the Atlantic and acific and in nearly all the big seas seasThe The sea sunfish is scaleless but rouuh and eathery The mouth is small but contains strong eeth This is peculiar for its chief food is snp losed to be jellyfishes While not poisonous the lesh is not palatable for when cooked it separates nto oil and tough fiber The oil however is re mted to be a good remedy remedyIn In the entire world of fishes then is perhaps 10 fish more freakish in appearance or that causes nore interest than the sea horses There are not nany species in the world and most of them are 0 much alike that it is hard to distinguish them Inly one species is common along the New Jersey oast and it is one of the smallest of the family familyThe The fish is well named sea horse for its outline s the exact reproduction of a horses head and iCck with a curly prehensile tail attached The fish s abundant in the shallows of the bays and water loles where it is concealed among the seaweeds and rasses to which it clings by means of its tail Its oods are small shrimps and animalculae The color s black and the skin leathery covering little flesh 11 that the fish when captured dries readily ami nakes a favorite curio object objectCURIOUS CURIOUS PIPE AND SCABBARD FISHES FISHESWonderful Wonderful as the sea horse is in appearance its reeding habits are more wonderful still II is per aps almost the only creature in the world in which he male parent is iu every respect excepting tin dual production of the egg the mother of tin onng In the body of the sea horse near the base f the tail is a pouch and in hat punch the female eposils unfertilized eggs These eggs the male ertilies and carries them around in the pouch nlil hatched and the young are strong enough to merge and look out for themselves themselvesScarcely Scarcely less curious and closelv related to the ei horses separated indeed by tribal differences lily are the IJH fishes There is but one species omnion along the New Jersey coast It is a small rcaturc rarely exceeding seven inches from the ip of its snout to the end of its tail The body f the pipe fish is round and as slender as the olil iisliioned clay straight pipcstom The head is liiinle bat the snout is nearly as long as he ody and on the 1 of it is a protuberance similar 1 appearance to the nostrils of a hog The little reenish body as though it needed reinforcement i banded with numerous little rings or bands bandsThe The cutlass or scabbard fish may properly be laced iu the list of freakishlooking fishes It is i a family in which there is no other representative i this part of the world Closely related to the lackerel family it is totally unlike any of those reat food fishes in appearance It does not even ave the graceful outlines of the pelagic fishes It hough it is one oneThe The fisli has the drawnout Iwdy of the eel with nt its rotundity indeed one of its popular names i silver eel and it has a head somewhat resembling pike with a mouth filled with sharp unequal ickedlooking teeth some of them barbed The ntlass fish has no caudal fin instead its tail ipers to a point The fish is also without ventral ins and its dorsal is low and extends nearly the hole length of the back Only the small smooth iles Intray the pelagic fish The color is bluish ilver somewhat ileei er on the back The cutlass ish is a wicked savagelooking fish and its ac ons bear out its appearance appearanceOne One of the names scabbard fish is given lxcause i shape and general appearance the body resembles le scabbard of a sword For this reason in Florida ml southern Louisiana it is sometimes called sword sh Hecanse of its leaping tendencies it also bears le name skipjack in some places Tho cutlass fish seldom taken on the hook and line only because s Is farther away from the shore than anglers suully venture
