Identifier: animalsinactions00broo (find matches)
Title: Animals in action; studies and stories of beasts, birds and reptiles; their habits, their homes and their peculiarities
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Brooks, Elbridge S. (Elbridge Streeter), 1846-1902
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, Lothrop pub. co
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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food. It isa beautiful fish. The ground color is olive-gray or grayish yel-low, with a swiftly changing sheen from blue to gold and silver.In the Mediterranean it is often of a pure gold color. Charac-teristic is the deep black eyelike speck encircled with white,on both sides of the body. According to legend, these markswere made by the fingers of the apostle Peter when he drew thefish from the water and took from its mouth the tribute moneymentioned in Scripture. The creature, indeed, is sometimescalled Peters fish. It lives properly in the Mediterranean, butranges as far as British waters. In spite of its somewhat un-gainly figure, it swims swiftly. The flesh is highly prized as anarticle of food. The picture shows a John Dory attacking anoctopus, an animal belonging to the family of the head-feelers.The lengthy body of the octopus is loosely enveloped in a stoutskin, its mantle, while the head protrudes free. The head isseparated from the trunk; on the side are two great eyes, and
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OS o OS John Dory hunting Octopus. JOHN DORY AND THE OCTOPUS. 301 in the mouth two sharp, curled jaws, not unhke a parrots beak.About the mouth are ten arms. Eight of these are compara-tively short, and provided with sucking mouths through theirentire length. The other two are remarkably long, exceedingthe length of the body. On the ends of these are smooth sur-faces, also furnished with mouths. After unrolling these arms,the animal seizes its prey with them and thus conveys it to themouth. The finlike skin extending around the trunk serves asa means of swimming, and the little arms underneath are usedas rudders. The fish has a pear-shaped gland which secretesa black fluid, highly prized as India ink. The color of the beastis reddish with white spots, and edged with violet. Whenexcited it turns a dark chestnut-brown with a coppery glint.The flesh is palatable, and is much eaten in Italy. The fish isfound from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. It reproducesitself by means of eggs whi

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