Part 11 (1/2)
and spear it whensoever chance affords
GORGEOUS AND CURIOUS
The eous denizen of these waters is likewise one of thethe surf parrot fish (PSEUDOSCARUS RIVULATUS), but see It subsists on limpets andin favourite localities The shape of the head and shoulders reveals soh the purpose of its resplendent appearance th and leverage power The mouth resembles the beak of a turtle or rather that of a balloon fish (TETRAODON)
The under jaw protrudes slightly, and is fitted (in the case of the male) with two prominent canine teeth; the upper jaw has also a pair of projecting teeth of similar character Each of the jaws consists of two loosely sutured seg ullet is horny and rasp-like, and in its exterior opening is an auxiliary set of teeth of most remarkable formation
The upper part of this interior set in some respect resembles the under jaws of a land animal, but there are marked distinctions
It consists of two bony structures, slightly curved outwards, lying parallel to each other and bound together by tough ligaments which not only permit a certain amount of independent lateral movement, but also independent action forwards and backwards Each of the structures is fitted with a dozen to sixteen closely packed teeth, and at the rear of each is a ed with five or six more, ready to move up and forward into position for active service as those ahead are worn away The principle of ly exemplified by these reserve teeth The lower jaw or rather dental plate rese studded with teeth, the edges of which overlap It may be described as a piece of mosaic work in white and ivory There are between sixty and seventy teeth rese incisors on the dental plate The whole seem to be in a state of perennial renewal to compensate for wear and tear As those of the front row are broken or worn down, the next succeeding row occupies the frontal position The teeth are deeply set in the bony base of the inverted palate, or rather obtrude but slightly above the surface, their office being to break down and grind to powder flinty food
The outward and visible teeth of the iven as weapons of defence, since they do not occur in the female, which has four back teeth From their prorasping and levering or pulling steadfast lith as well as science at the back of the force of nearly 2000 tiht The sutures of the jaws of the fish enable it to accorip to the various sizes of limpets, and to take a fair and square hold, while the lower jaw seee is applied But the exterior jaws and teeth are devoid of interest, co apparatus To those who are versed in ichthyology, these are known as pharyngeal teeth, because they are connected with the pharynx Such teeth are present in soraded forhly specialised, otherwise the pulverisation of the hard shell of molluscs would be impossible The interior of the iven specially to a diet of oysters, is thickly set with a series of uniformly diffused izzard cohshark's skin This fish ss cockles and such like izzard
And the colouring of this wonderful creature! The semi-transparent dorsal fin, which extends without a break frohtly scalloped It displays an upper edging of radiant blue, a broad band of iridescent pink with greenish opal-like lights, and a narrow streak of the richest e the back The body is covered with large scales, the colouring of which conveys a general appearance of an elaborate systeenerally blue outlined with pink, soreen; and the colours flash and change with indescribable radiance The head is decorated with bands of pink, orange and green; the pectoral fins are pale green with a bold reen and puce
When the fish is drawn fro marvellously lovely The colours differ, and they also vary in intensity in individuals Though the prevailing tint old in one and with pink in another
The flesh is edible, though (as is coard to flavour It is wonderful and beautiful Are not these qualities all-sufficient? Must everything be good to eat? To the natives of the island this jewel of the sea is known as ”Oo-ril-ee,” and to scientists as belonging to the scaroid family
TURTLE GENERALLY
Three species of turtle frequent these waters--the loggerhead (THALassOCHELYS CARETTA), the hawksbill (CHELONE IMBRICATA), and the green (CHELONE MYDAS) Both of the latter are herbivorous and edible; but the flesh of the first-na, and it is therefore not hunted, the shell being of little if any value Loggerhead, however, is not disregarded by the blacks, though to the unaccustomed nose the flesh has a most repulsive smell It is powerful and fierce whenhauled up to the boat seized the gunwale and left the marks of its beak deep in the wood The creature seereater vitality than the other species, and this fact reen turtle pulsate long after removal from the body, and the limbs an hour after separation shrink from the knife and quiver
The hawks-bill furnishes the tortoiseshell of cohly tainted with the specific flavour of turtle, and therefore objectionable, though blacks relish it
Further north, in soenerally believed that the flesh of the hawks-bill may be imbued with a deadly poison Great care is exercised in the killing and butchering, lest a certain gland, said to be located in the neck or shoulder, be opened, as flesh cut with a knife which has touched the critical part becoh the blacks take precautions in the butchering a hawks-bill (being aware of its bad repute elsewhere), they have had no actual experience of the unwholesoes that he nearly ”pegged out” as the result of a hearty meal of the liver of a hawks-bill As is well known, fish edible in one region may be poisonous in another (Saville-Kent); the same principle may apply to the turtle
The flesh of the luth or leathery turtle (DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA) which diets on fish, crustacea, molluscs, radiates, and other ani; but the luth does not appear to be coh it occurs in Torres Straits
In a standard work on natural history it is asserted that the natives re plates of tortoiseshell fro a fire on the back of the creature, causing them to peel off easily ”After the plates have been reo free, and after a time it is furnished with a second set of plates”
Surely thisthe fabulous stories of Munchausen
As the lungs of the turtle lie close to the anterior surface of the carapace, the degree of heat sufficient to cause the plates to come off would assuredly be fatal Possibly there is explanation at hand The turtle being killed, the carapace is reentle fire, and then the plates are eased off with a knife But that enerally approved Professional tortoiseshell-getters either trust to the heat of the sun or bury the shell in clean sand, and when decomposition sets in, the valuable plates are detached freely Exposure to fire deteriorates the quality of the product unless great care is exercised
The green turtle, with thin dovetailing plates, is the reen turtle are not acceptable
An old bull is so rank, that ”there is no living near it--it would infect the North Star!” There are reen turtle, however tender, delicate, and sweet it may be The worthy chaplain of Anson's fleet rote up” the fareen turtle, which he refers to as the most delicious of all flesh, ”so very palatable and salubrious,”
though proscribed by the Spaniards as unwholesoe appearance of the animal may have been the foundation of ”this ridiculous and superstitious aversion”
Perhaps the poor Spaniards of those days happened in the first instance upon an ancient bull, or a hawks-bill, and tapped the poison gland, or a loggerhead or a luth, and caood cause, a holy terror of turtle, irrespective of species
An interesting phase in the life-history of the green turtle is the deception the fes Her ”nests” are shallow pits in the sand Shea hasty visit to a favourite beach, while postponing the laying until the following day