MADRAS FISHERIES DEPARTMENT
Bulletin Vol. 14
MADRAS FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS
1921
(SECOND SERIES)
irv
JAMES HORNELL, f.l.s., l.r.a.l,
Director of Fisheries, Miuiras
MADRAS
PIUNTED BV THE SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERN MEiNT PRESS
Price, 2 ruptes 12 annas
1922
CONTENTS.
, Pages
Report I\' of 1921. — The Fisheries of Xoiway and Denmark. i — 56
„ V „ - The Madras Marine Aquarium (with 25
text illustrations) ... ... ... 57 — 96
,, VI ,, — The Common Molluscs of South India
(with 61 text illustrations) ... ... 97 — 215
3 ^ n < '^
Report No. 4 (1921)
THE FISHERIES OF NORWAY
AND DENMARK.
NOTES GLEANED DURING A VISIT IN 1920
BY
JAMES HORNELL, f.l.s., f.r.a.i.,
Director of fisheries, Madras.
I.--rRELJMINARY.
Norway, Japah, and Newfoundlantl are the three countries in
the world where fisheries bulk so largely in the national economy
that their development is accounted one of the major cares of
Government. In Japan the primitive methods of fishing universally
employed till recent years, have been elaborated and expanded in
a wonderful manner during the past 20 years by the fostering care
of the department charged with their improvement ; the central
and local Governments have been lavish in their expenditure and,
as seen to-day in the enormous expansion of the Japanese fisheries
and associated industries, this expenditure has been recouped to
the nation many thousand-fold.
Norway, a much smaller country than Japan, with a sparse
population and limited funds at her disposal, has been equally
enterprising and, for her resources, even more generous in expen-
diture upon development. The problems in Norway have been
and are to a large extent different. In Japan, a hermit kingdom
till only two generations ago, the world had to be searched
for methods that were improvements on the cruder indigenous
ones ; Norway on the other hand had a fishing reputation second to
none for individual enterprise and for the excellence of the methods
pursued. Her fishery fame dates back to the early days of the
Hanseatic League, whose long-headed merchant princes, with true
Teutonic foresight and power of organization, settled in Bergen and
2 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
made that city the centre of the herring trade — herrings appear in
the League's coat-of-arms. Whatever their faiUts of arrogance
and trade monopoly, these early Germans undoubtedly organized
the Norwegian fisheries on a commercial basis; they it was who
directed the adventurous viking spirit into commercial enterprises
requiring equal courage and daring but without the futility of the
old bloody feuds and forays. The lesson was well learned and
to-day we find Norwegians pioneering fishing industries to the
verge of the Antarctic circle, supported even there by the resources
of the home Government through the medium of the Fisheries
Department. In Norway therefore, the importation or adoption of
new methods has not been the main object. Rather has it been
the intensive study of means for the improvement of existing
methods, and help to the fishing community to take full advantage
of new inventions to this end.
Knowing this, and being already familiar from personal obser-
vation with the Japanese methods of fishery administration, I was
anxious when on leave last year to have an opportunity of visiting
Norway, and there ascertaining on the spot, as well the broatl
principles of administration as the details of fishery organization.
I felt that with a fairly complete knowledge of the methods found
successful in these two countries, I should be in a better position
to elaborate schemes suitable for our peculiar needs in India. My
proposals to this effect, were very kindly approved by the Madras
Government. I desire also to thank the officials of the India Office
for their courtesy in facilitating the necessary arrangements, and
for putting me in coiunumication with Mr. A. E. Hefford, who had
been deputed by the Bombay Government to visit Denmark and
Norway on a fisheries mission having almost identical aims with my
own. The unfailing kindness and courtesy I met with everywhere
is the most abiding memory I shall have of this visit to Scandi-
navia. Of the many who afforded me most material help, it seems
invidious to make mention of particular names ; however I cannot
let this occasion pass without taking the opportunity to express
my especial gratitude to Commander C. F. Drechsel, Secretary-
General of the International Fisheries Commission, Mr. Asserson,
Director of Fisheries in Norway, Captain F. V. Mortensen, Director
of Fisheries in Denmark, and Mr. Fensmark, Manager of the Danske
Frysnings Company's brine-freezing cold storage at Esbjerg. Also
to Prof. Knudsen of Copenhagen for much valuable advice in regard
No. 4 (I921) PRELIMINARY 5
to the choice of hydrographic instruments. The enquiry occupied a
little over six weeks. I landed at Esbjerg in Denmark on 5th August
1920. There, by the courtesy of Herr Fensmark and others, I was
ai3le to learn full details of the Ottesen method of brine-freezing;
to see what is probably the latest and most up-to-date fish cannery
in Scandinavia, and to renew my acquaintance with the merits of
the Danish seine, first seen in 1909 during experiments in its use
from the Irish fisheries steamer " Helga." Of these and of the
wonderful homogeneous fleet of nearly 400 motor-cutters that are
the prifle of this port, I sliall have much to say in the proper
place.
Thence I passed to Copenhagen where Commander Drechsel
most kindly put me in communication with the Director of
Fisheries, with Prof.Knudsen and Prof. Johannes Schmidt. 1 had
the privilege of seeing some of Prof. Schmidt's wonderful plankton
hauls from the breeding places of the European eel situated in
the Western Atlantic, which he was fortunate enough to discover
last year, and thereby to crown with success the labours of long
years of research. After Copenhagen, I visited Christiania where
I learned of the success attending the stocking operations con-
ducted in Norway by Dr. K. Dahl for the improvement of the
fish population in the inland waters of that country. As we are
doing in Madras, so in Norway I find that the object now in
view is not solely to improve these waters from the sporting
standpoint by improving the breeds and stocks of trout, but
also to ensure that the food supply of the general population be
increased even if the fish that be employed are valueless for the
angler's purpose. The ethnological collections both there and in
Copenhagen also afforded valuable information for my researches
on the evolution of the various types of fishing boats and their
bearing upon race origins in the East.
The remainder of my stay in Norway was divided between
Bergen, Stavanger and Trondhjem, and this period was the most
valuable, as it brought me into touch with the personnel of the
Fisheries Administration, afforded insight into the current tech-
nique of canning and brine- freezing (other than the Ottesen system)
and gave opportunities to study the invaluable share in fishery
progress occupied by societies and other public bodies of a volun-
tary nature, but to which Government help in varying extent is
usually afforded.
4 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
A.— NORWAY.
11— THE ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION OF
FISHERIES IN NORWAY.
In Norwa3^ the welfare of the fishing industries is looked after
l)y the Department of Fisheries, one of the constituent sections of
the Ministry of Commerce.
At its head is a Director responsible to the Minister of Com-
merce. 1 he headquarters are situated in Bergen as being more
suitable for several weighty reasons than Christiania. Among these
the principal are its central situation on the Norwegian coast line,
and the fact that having been the centre of the herring trade from
time immemorial, its population by association has an absorbing
interest in fishery development, such as Christiania with its more
varied interests does not possess ; finally the existence there of the
Bergen Museum, an institution founded through the munificence of
the citizens. This museum, wholly unlike the ordinary conception
of a provincial museum, pulses with activity and has long been
a great scientific centre, with a strong scientific staff engaged upon
pure research ; amongst its activities was the establishment of a
Biological Station at Bergen and this has been of the greatest
assistance to the Fisheries Department, for, by arrangement, much
of the department's oceanographic work has been carried out by
the staff of the Biological Station.
Partly by co-operation with non-governmental institutions and
societies such for instance as that just mentioned, the department
is able to carry on its operations with a comparatively small tech-
nical staff. The most important of these comprise two technical
or practical experts, three biological experts, a Superintendent
(chemist) of the experimental station with two assistants, and a
librarian (who is also a biologist and assists the biological
experts). Two lady assistants are provided for statistical and
similar work, and there is suitable but limited provision of messen-
gers and laboratory attendants.
The technical experts are men of practical acquaintance
with seafaring and fishing. The senior of these is Captain
Iverson, master of the Michael Snrs ; to him is given the investigation
of practical fishery problems, such as the adjudication of rights in
disputes between fishermen, supervision of the enforcement of
fishery regulations and the like. The second has charge among
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 5
Other matters of the registration and numbering of fishing boats
(other than open boats).
The three scientific experts are all trained biologists. Each has
a definite subject assigned for investigation, the value of extreme
specialization having been proved here to be the only sound way
in the investigation of fishery problems. In deciding what line of
research should be followed by each expert, primary account was
taken of the fishes of supreme economic value to the country. It
was recognized that however interesting a general investigation of
all species of fishes may be, limited means and the necessity to
arrive at conclusions as quickly as possible if the fishing industry
were to be benefited materially, required- that eft'ort must be con-
centrated on definite problems. Accordingly, to one of these
workers has been assigned investigation of everything pertaining
to the life-history of members of the cod family ; the second occu-
pies himself with parallel researches upon the herring family,
while to the third is allotted the investigation of the plankton of
Norwegian seas.' The work done by the last named is largely
complimentary to that of the second, for it is upon the seasonal
abundance of plankton that most of the movements of the herring
(.lepend. Study of plankton is also necessary for the extension of
our knowledge of the larval histories of the great majority of our
food fishes ; the herring is almost the only exception to the rule
that the eggs of food fishes are pelagic, floating freely in the surface
waters of the sea. The study of plankton is further bound up with
the physical and chemical investigation of variations in the
density, temperature and chemical character of sea water, as these
factors influence and control the abundance particularly of the
plant organisms present, which in turn controls the abundance or
scarcity of the small animals that feed on this food. The greater
part of these investigations is carried out in the laboratories of
the department's headquarters at Bergen. The advantages of
carrying on these researches at headquarters, where there are the
best facilities for reference to literature and for intercommunion
with other workers, are deemed sufficient to outweigh the advan-
tages of work in an outstation laboratory in the midst of the parti-
cular fishery to be studied, for such a location means the isolation
of the worker, delay in procuring literature and the loss to the
Director of the advantage of frequent discussion with the expert of
the problems on hand. The last named ( onsideration is valued
6 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLfeTIN VOL. XIV,
highly, and justly so, by the administration. A working com-
promise is arrived at by occasional visits to the fishing grounds,
usually in the fishery investigation vessel Michael Sars, aboard of
which vessel laboratory facilities are ample. Much of the materia'
required for use by the cod and herring experts is supplied to them
with much saving of valuable time, by the part-time employment
of two travelling assistants who procure samples as required at the
different fishing centres. These men, who are non-commissioned
army officers, are paid daily wages ; their employment is seasonal
and lasts for about six months in each year. The Biological
Stations at Bergen and Trondhjem work in close collaboration, and
in special enquiries are able and willing to afford the department
and its experts invaluable assistance.
Chemical and bacteriological work is carried on under the
charge of another expert ; these enquiries deal primarily with
industrial problems, among the principal being those connected
with the canning trade, and the fish and whale oil industry, and in
analyses for private parties of materials used in fishing" industries.
The operations of the department are best shown by a study of
the budget, and of the way in which this is prepared. The Nor-
wegians are so intensely individualistic and independent in
character that the Governmental machine must have the full con-
fidence of the people if the purse-strings are to be loosened. The
bureaucratic methods which have suited Japan in the past would
not be tolerated for a week in Norway. The administrative
machine must be run in accordance with the wishes of the people
and they must have an effective voice in its control and policy.
To achieve this, each year after the Director of Fisheries has
prepared his budget estimates, the various items become the
subject of a conference between him and the Fishery Council
{Fiskeriraad). In addition to discussing the budget proposals, the
Council debates any other subject affecting fishery interests that
may be brought up by the Director or by the members themselves.
The nineteen members are representatives elected by the principal
fishery societies and other local fishery bodies of each coastal
district. Care is taken that this advisory body shall be truly
representative of every interest in the industry. The members
receive their travelling and out-of-pocket expenses to and from
Bergen and during the duration of the conference, which lasts
usually for over a week. This Fishery Council is a valuable means
No. 4(l92l) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 7
for the harmonious and profitable working of the department ; it
serves the extremely useful purpose of bringing the fishing and
trading interests into personal relations with the Director and his
experts ; the views and schemes of the department are elucidated
and threshed out in friendly discussion with hard-headed practical
men, often with extremely valuable results ; the grounrls of possible
misunderstandings are cleared away before they arise, and the
Director is able, at the end of the conference, to go to Government
with the full confidence of having the fishing trade at his back ;
he is able to say to the Minister that the trade approves his pro-
posals and estimates, and this means that the financial section of
the Government is virtually bound to find the money required
to finance the schemes proposed, unless it is prepared to brave
the resentment of one of the two most powerful industries in the
country. This Fishery Council then is a powerful instrument in
the satisfactory working of the department. It is at once a check on
extravagance and on unpractical proposals and a strength to the
department when its schemes are endorsed. The Council has no
executive power, but naturally it would be inexpedient to do other
than pay heed to its decisions, hence the proposals are prepared
with such care and detail that with advance knowledge of the
feeling of the industry there is seldom occasion for any serious
conflict of opinion. The estimates are submittetl in draft form
under main heads or sections usually numbering between 40 and
50; each head is explained in the accompanying text in as great
detail as is considered necessary. The budget draft submitted to
the Fishery Council is entitled " Proposals for the grant of supplies
for the arrangements concerning sea-fisheries in the Budget for
the year ending 30th June . . . , submitted by the Director of
Fisheries."
Last year the Fishery Council devoted a full week to the
consideration of the estimates for the year 1921-22, each item being
considered and discussed seriatim- If a strong diiference of
opinion is manifestefl a vote is taken to decide the finding of the
meeting. The budget for the year in question is the largest ever
submitted to the nation ; the proposals were received cordially and
the Director, who met the views of the Council to the greatest
extent possible, had the satisfaction of getting all his schemes
through, the chief modification being that the Council increased
the estimate to the extent of Kr. 37.430 on a total submitted of
8 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Kr. 2,991,175, bringing the final figure to Kr. 3,028,605, a sum much
larger than in the years before the war when half a million kroner
was considered sufficient. This sum contains, however, an extra-
ordinary item of Kr. 1,000,000 (say £50,000), as the year's contribu-
tion towards the cost of construction of the new administration
buildings at Bergen. (This amount I may mention is not to lapse
if unexpended in whole or in part. By a special arrangement with
the treasury it is to be put aside and employed as and when
required. The building will cost much more than this, and it is
intended in this way to spread the sum required over the next two
or three years.)
Taking the present value of the kroner as 20 to the sovereign
(normally the exchange in pre-war days was about 18), the budget
total amounts to over £150,000 (say Rs. 22^ lakhs\ a large sum
for a small country like Norway with a population of barely
2^2 millions.
A study of the main heads contained in the budget as finally
sanctioned by Parliament is perhaps the best possible way of
arriving at a clear understanding of the far-reaching and diverse
lines of work carried on by the department and of gauging their
relative importance. At present I have not the details of the
estimates for 1921-22 which amount to rather more than double
those for 1920 21. Hence I must give those for the latter year.
These may be summarized as follows : —
Approximately
KR. RS.
1. Administration and scientific services,
including the cost of the weekly paper
Fiske/s Gafig, published by the Depart-
ment ... ... ... ... ... 163,250 1,22,400
2. Upkeep of the investigation steamer
Michael Sara ... ... ... ... 12,900 9,700
3. Subsidy to the " Norwegian Fishery
News " {Norsk Fiskeritidende) pub-
lished i)y the Norwegian Fisheries
Society Bergen ... ... .,, 11,000 <'^,25o
4. Cost of the Annual Reports and oilier
departmental publications .. ... 10,000 7 500
5 and 6. Salaries and expenses of five fishery
inspectors and two agents in foreign
countries (England and Gertuany) ... 55.700 41, '"^oo
No. 4 ^1921)
FISHERIES OF NORWAY
7. Promotion of the export trade ...
8. Stipends to fishermen and fish curers
sent to other centres to study the
methods of fishing and curing
employed there
9. Education of fishermen in navigation
and marine-motor technique
ro. Fishery experiments
1 1, (rrants to local fishery associations
12 to 28. A long series of items to cover the
expenses of policing the great seasonal
fisheries at various localities on the
coast ...
29. Telegraphic reports on market condi-
tions, supplied to the fish trade during
the gjeat seasonal fisheries ...
30. Contribution to the International Coun-
cil for Fishery Research
31. Branding of mackerel, etc.
3;?. Provision of drinking water for the fish-
ing fleets at out-stations
7,;^. Lobster and fish culture at the Flodvig
Hatchery and the Trondhjem Biolo-
gical Station ...
34. Biological statistics concerning the
herring and cod fisheries
35. Instructors in improved curing methods
(cod) ...
36. Subsidy to the whale fishery in the
Antarctic
37. Repatriation of shipwrecked fishermen ...
38. Grant on account for the construction of
the new Fisheries Administration
building at Bergen
(Permitted to accumulate if not
used during the year for which
voted.)
39. Cost of a new motor vessel, 65 feet long,
for inshore research ...
Approximately
KR RS.
20,000 15,000
15,000
81,000
25,000
93.700
30,000
4,700
20.000
8,500
f5,ooo
2,090
2,000
11,250
6o,75«
18,750
70,275
349,170 2,62,500
22,500
31525
15,000
50,000 37.500
27,800 20,850
^>»37S
4,500
1,500
1,500
100,000 75,000
40.000
30,000
10 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Approximately
KR. RS.
40. Development of motor engines for fishing
boats ... ... ... ... ... 20,000 15,000
41. Scientific investigations on small herring
and bristling ... ... ... ... 3<'^,5oo 28,^75
42. Registration and marking of fishing boats
(a new item) ... ... ... ... 104,000 yS.ooo
43. Revision of the law on fat herrings ... 7,000 5,25°
44. Expenses of a committee to inquire into
what regulations are necessary for the
better conduct of the drift-net fishery
(lights on buoys, etc.) ... ... 5,000 3,75°
45. Promotion of co-operation among fisher-
men ... ... ... ... ... 30,000 22,500
46. Loans to fishermen for boats, motors,
etc 5,00c 3,750
47. Committee to inquire into a scheme for
the re-insurance of fishing boats
already insured in small societies ... 5,000 3.750
48. Contribution to the Bergen Fishery
Museum towards expenses of partici-
pating in the Kristiania Fishery
Exhibition ... ... ... ... i.ooo 750
49 and 50. Expenses connected with the
supervision of the Lofoten Cod
Fishery ... 33.ooo 24,750
5 1 . Contribution to the cost of a new research
vessel for the Trondhjem Biological
Station ... ... ... ... 30)Ooo 22,500
1,406,220 10,54,850
On the credit side of the budget the only items are two —
KK.
Receipts from the E.xperimental station ... 2,400
Do. Branding operations ... 30,000
RS.
32,400 = 14,300
No. 4 (iq2l) FISHERIES OF NORWAY It
The budget for 1921- 22 is much greater, partly because of the
increased cost of labour and materials, partly because of the
vigorous development necessary to counteract the many disastrous
sequelae of the war, and still more to the inclusion of the extra-
ordinary item of Kr. 1,000,000 of non-recurring expenditure
for the new administration building in Bergen (at the present
time the administration is housed in a rented building at a con-
siderable distance from the sea and like that of the Madras
Fisheries department quite inadequate to meet the largely
increased requirements of the staff). In next j^ear's budget the
administration charges are set down at the large sum of Kr. 292,350
(Rs, 2,19,262). While the bulk of this is for salaries, it also includes
an allotment for the expenses incurred by the members of the
Fishery Council when attending the Annual Conference.
A sum of Kr, 15,000 is set apart for the expenses of various
committees of inquiry, a dozen in number in this latest budget.
This system of delegation to committees is a great feature of the
administration at the present time ; in part it has been adopted
owing to the lack of staff in the department itself adequate to
cope with so many and varied new inquiries ; the plan, in spite
of obvious drawbacks, has justified itself, and has been increasingly
made use of in recent years.
After the provisional budget proposals have been discussed in
detail by the Fishery Council, the members take the opportunity of
discussing any subject of interest to the industry and several days
are usually devoted to this. Thereafter the Director of Fisheries,
after giving due consideration to all modifications in the estimates
urged by the Council, submits the amended draft proposals,
accompanied by a full account of the discussions in the Fishery
Council, to the Minister for Commerce, who, if he has no objection
to take, forwards it to the Parliamentary Budget Committee of the
Development departments. This Committee after considering it
with due regard to the financial position of the country, report
upon it and it is then incorporated in the general national budget
for submission to Parliament. This final statement contains, be
it noted, not merely a bald list of items with the individual
appropriation required placed opposite each one ; to each head is
appended a short explanatory note. This is found particularly
useful in curtailing discussion and obviating submission of un-
necessary questions and resalutions. The estimates pass tlirough
t2 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
three printed editicns ; the first with the Director's detailed
explanations is laid before the Fishery Council, the second goes
to the Ministry of Commerce and thence to the Budget Committee
with the comments of the Fishery Council and the Director's
replies; and then finally with the notes curtailed and made as
concise as possible, it goes before Parliament.
III.— CO-OPERATION AND STATE LOANS TO
FISHERMEN.
One of my objects in visiting Norway was to ascertain the lines
upon which co-operation is organized among the fisherfolk, as I
had heard that a new departure had been made there whereby
fishing gear might be insured against loss by co-operative means.
Hardly could I have gone to a country less advanced in this
direction, and before I left the country the reason become plain.
The Norwegian, enterprising and adventurous, is because of these
very qualities, so self-reliant that he becomes individualistic, a
characteristic shared in fully equal degree by his Scots brethren.
Because of this, he is averse to the mutual-help associations
characteristic of people in whom the Mediterranean stock predomi-
nates. Because of his racial origin, the Norwegian is learning
very slowly indeed the value of co-operation in the sense we know
it in parts of Germany, in Italy and in India.
In agriculture a good beginning has been made of late years,
the example of Denmark being an object lesson not to be despised.
The purchase of food-stuffs and of manures has been put largely
upon a co-operative basis as in Denmark, and also the disposal of
dairy produce. In fisheries the tale, as I have said, is otherwise,
and so far as I can find the only societies formed are for the mutual
insurance of their boats against loss or damage. The facilities
thus afforded are widely taken advantage of, but so far as gear is
concerned, the subject I was specially interested in, it appears that
only in one or two exceptional cases is there sufificient mutual
trust among the fishermen to permit of the insurance societies
providing for the insurance of fishing gear. A few of these are
now moving in this direction, and when I was in Bergen, the
Director of Fisheries kindly gave me a copy of the rules proposed
for this i^urpose in one case. These rules are not vet settled
between the society and the deixirtment. The reason the latter is
bJo. 4(1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY I
•♦
interested is to ensure that the rules be framed soundly, both for
the protection of the members and in the State's interest, as the
re-insurance by the State through the Fisheries Department of such
insurance is a scheme contemplated and under investigation
The rules are most simple. They provide for a gear insurance
section in a boat insurance mutual society already in existence;
the accounts of the new section are to be kept separate, and
the benefits are to be extended exclusively to the members of the
boat section only. Gear without the boat may not be insured.
As further precautions against fraud, which is the stumbling block
generally to gear insurance, the gear is to be inspected annually
before the opening of the fishery — for the present, herring nets
and the accessory gear alone may be insured — and of the value
so assessed, not more than two-thirds may be insured. The
premium to be charged was still under discussion when I left
Norway ; it was tentatively put at 3 per cent. In addition
to this each member on admission to the society pays a small
sum (not yet settled) on each net and on each cable with its acces-
sories of buoys, etc. ; these sums will probably be fixed at 20 to 30
ore (2^ and 3^^ annas) and Kr. 2 50 (Rs. 2), respectively. It is
still doubtful whether this gear insurance will be taken up largely.
Mutual trust is essential to its success, and as the opportunities to
practise fraud in regard to claims for the loss of old nets are
many,, the temptation to do so is so great, that even among
associations of men noted for their exceptional honesty there is
distinct hesitancy about embarking upon this new scheme of gear
insurance.
Apart from the mutual insurance of their boats, there are few
•^o-operative societies in operation. At the same time the need for
outside capital to enable new and better boats to be built has been
urgent for many years ; to meet this demand the Government as
far back as 1889 established a loan fund for the purpose of assist-
ing fishermen to purchase boats and fishing gear. This fund
which became known as The Old Sea-Fisheries Fund, was commenced
with an original capital of Kr. 200,000. This was gradually
increased to Kr. 3,950,000.
Interest on loans was fixed at 3 per cent per annum (subsequently
reduced to 2/^ per cent) ; loans were repayable in 10 or 15 years.
Security was given in mortgages on the vessels and gear and in
insurance policies ; loans were granted up to three-fourths of the
t4 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN' VOL. XIV
value of new vessels and two-thirds that of older vessels ; not more
than Kr. 15,000 was advanced on any one keel. The fund also pro-
vided loans ui) to two-thirds of the value for the purchase of new
vessels of large types, suitable for fishing, these loans being covered
by communal or other similar guarantees. Loans were also granted
for the erection of works for preparing and curing fish ; these loans
were similarly guaranteed. A second loan fund called The New
Sea-Fisheries Fund w us established in 1900 ; the amount originally
voted was Kr. 500,000, subsequently increased to Kr. 900,000 and
then reduced to Kr. 250,000. The object was to provide for loans
for purchasing and fitting out steamers for sea-fisheries. Interest
was charged at the rate of 4 per cent per annum and loans were
re-payable during the course of ten years. Security was given in
mortgages on the vessels and gear and in insurance policies. The
extent of each loan did not exceed 50 per cent of the vessel's value
and no loans were granted on vessels more than 5 years old.
The Fin/narks Fund was established in 1905 with a third alloca-
tion, originally Kr. 200,000, gradually increased to Kr. 500,000.
This was a special fund for assisting fishermen in Finmarken who
were, however, also entitled to loans from the other funds. Condi-
tions for loans were practically the same as in the case of The Old
Fisheries Fund, only the rate of interest was 2^ per cent and the
maximum amount advanced on each boat was Kr. 3,000 and on
motor-boats Kr. 4,000.
At the close of 1915 the sums advanced by these three funds
were as follows : —
KR.
74 loans on steamers ... ... ... ... 1,290,600
10 do. curing establishments, etc. ... ... 128,000
1,341 do. other vessels and motor iioats ... 3,5ii»993
Total ... Kr. 4.930.593
In January 1919 the Ministry of Commerce introduced a bill for
the establishment of a Norwegian Government Fisheries Bank ;
when introducing this bill the Minister stated that the sums
which were available from the above mentioned three funds
had become entirely inadequate in view of the very considerable
increase of capital used in the Norwegian fishing industry and that
it was also necessary to provide money to assist fishermen in effect-
No. 4 (1921) FrSHERIES OF NORWAY 1 5
ing extensive repairs to their vessels and in purchasing gear, etc.,
it was also considered that loans might be granted to fishermen's
associations or co-operative institutions formed for the purpose of
treating fish and selling fishery products.
The bill, which became law on the 1st August 1919. provided
for a Norwegian State Fisheries Bank which should grant loans —
(a) for purchasing, rebuilding or carrying out extensive repairs
to hulls and engines of fishing vessels,
ib) to ship-mortgage associations for fishing vessels,
(c) for erecting or altering ice-houses, freezing, drying and
similar establishments for the preservation or working of fish
products,
id) to fishermen's associations formed for the purpose of
purchasing fishing tackle, gear, etc.
The funds of the bank amount to five millions kroner with a
reserve fund of Kr. 750.000; these funds are to be provided by
the Government ; interest on the capital is to be used for paying
expenses of administration, covering losses from loans granted at a
lower rate than is paid by the bank for the money and losses
from mortgagors or guarantors ; any surplus of interest is to be
added to the reserve fund until it reaches Kr. 1,250,000, after which
it is to be added to the capital. The reserve fund is to be drawn
on for covering loss of interest ; if it falls below Kr. 750.OOO, the
difference is to be made up from the Exchequer.
Loans taken up by the bank are to be guaranteed by the
Government; the bank has the authority to issue Bearer Bonds
which will be guaranteed by the Government. The Bank cannot
take up loans for an amount exceeding ten times the capital.
Regarding loans for purchasing, rebuilding or carrying out
extensive repairs to fishing vessels, the law states that these shall
only be granted to Norwegian citizens and, by preference, to fisher-
men who assist in the working of the vessel in question ; loans
shall be covered, either wholly or in part, by communal guarantee
and, if possible, by a mortgage on the vessel and the sum for
which it is insured. Loans are to be granted on motor and sailing
vessels and on fishing steamers of not more than 50 tons gross.
The conditions on which loans are granted vary according to the
tonnage, as follows : —
(l) Under 4 tons (including open boats) — Loans granted up
to four-fifths of the value. Interest 3 per cent per annum and
I6 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
loans repayable within eight years. Full communal guarantee
required.
(2) From 4 to 25 tons — Loans granted up to three-quarters
of the value. Interest 3^^ per cent for vessels between 4 and 15
tons and 4 per cent between 15 and 25 tons. Loans repayable
within ten years. Security : first mortgage on the vessel and, in
addition, a communal guarantee for 30 per cent of any possible loss.
(3) Over 25 tons — Loans granted up to two-thirds of the
value. Interest 4/^ per cent and loans repayaVjle within 10 years.
Security : the same as (2) above.
All vessels in respect of which loans have been granted must
be kept insured for at least 75 per cent of their value ; they must
also be kept in proper repair and be subjected to annual surveys
by the Fisheries Inspector.
With reference to loans to ship mortgage associations for
fishing vessels, the law states that such loans can be granted
against Bearer Bonds issued by such associations, whose statutes
must have the Royal approval.
Loans for erecting or altering ice-houses, freezing, drying and
similar establishments for the preservation or working of fish
products may be granted to Norwegian subjects or to associations ;
preference is to be given to fishermen or fishermen's associations ;
no loans will be granted to canning or similar factories. Security
is to be given in a first mortgage on the works and their insured
value, and a communal guarantee for 50 per cent of any possible
losses. Interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum is to be paid
and loans, which shall not exceed 75 per cent of the value of the
works, shall be repaid within 20 years.
Loans may be granted to fishermen's co-operative associations
for the purpose of buying fishing tackle, gear, etc., if the statutes
of the association have been approved by the King, antl if the
association has at least 50 members who own vessels, gear, works,
etc., to a value of at least Kr. 40,000. Detailed rules have been
drawn up as to the constitution, membership, etc., of such associa-
tions. Loans granted to them shall bear interest at the rate of
4 per cent per annum, they shall be repayable within II years and
shall not exceed one-third of the total value of the vessels, gear
works, etc., owned by the members.
The Norwegian Government Fisheries Bank is to have its head-
quarters in Bergen with branches at other places to be decided
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 17
by the King. The Board is to consist of three members and three
deputies. Two of the members and their deputies are to be elected
by the Storthing and the others by the King. The Director of
Fisheries may be called in as an advisory member of the Board.
I was informed by the Director of Fisheries that the Bank is
not likely to commence operations before 1921, as it has, up to
the present, been found impossible to secure suitable premises in
Bergen.
IV.-TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
At the present time the only branches of education provided by
the Department of Fisheries are strictly practical and technical-
The two most important do not centre round the technique of
fishing methods as we should expect. They aim at making the
inshore fisherman better fitted to handle his boat successfully and
to the best advantage ; this in practice widens his field of opera-
tions as it gives him confidence in himself and his boat to operate
at greater distances from port; his radius of action is extended.
To effect this object, the department has initiated a scheme for
the instruction of fishermen in the two related subjects of naviga-
tion and marine-motor management.
Both of these have till now been taught in the simplest of ways.
No expensive buildings were necessary, or desirable, in view of
the fact that the coast line measures not less than 1,500 miles, with
fishing towns and villages scattered along the whole length. Few
of the fishermen could be expected to attend if only one or two
or even four schools were established as even the nearest would
usually be at a long distance from their home ; the only alternative
was to send the schools to the fishermen and this has been
accomplished by the employment of perambulating instructors.
All the teachers of navigation and motor technique are itinerant;
a programme of work is mapped out for them, care being taken
to arrange the time to be spent at each particular centre with
due regard to the local seasonal fishing requirements, the best
period for the purpose being obviously that when the fishermen's
attention is not absorbed in the prosecution of their calling.
The course in navigation is of an elementary nature compared
with that provided for men who are destined to be navigating
officers in the mercantile marine. In Norway the latter subject is
in charge of a special officer, termed Director of Naval Instruction,
3
I8 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL, XIV,
not connected with the Fisheries Department ; the schools or
colleges under this officer are located in the principal sea-ports '
like all educational centres in Norway where the newest and most
conspicuous building in any town or village is nearly always the
local college or school, the naval colleges are admirably staffed
and equipped.
For the instruction of fishermen in the theory and practice of
marine-motor technique, the services of a teacher from the School
of Engineering are requisitioned. The importance of this subject
is appreciated so keenly that the Fishery Council in the discussion
on the 1920-21 budget pressed for an increased appropriation on
this head and eventually a sum of Kr. 50,000 was voted by Parlia-
ment for more numerous courses in motor instruction. It is signifi-
cant of the foresight of the Norwegians that in the same year
Kr. 60,000 (Rs. 45,000) was voted to the Agricultural Department
for instruction, demonstration and experiment in the application
of the internal combustion motor in its different forms and pur-
poses to agricultural needs. The Fisheries Department has now
amplified its methods in a similar direction and is experimenting
with perambulating motor-instruction boats, in which the teachers
will be able to visit the most out-of-the-way fishing villages.
The navigation course extends over a period of two months ;
that on motor management usually for one month ; the latter may
however be shortened if necessary by having the demonstrations
and lectures at closer intervals.
The fact that the item of Kr. 8l,000 provided in the budget
of 1920-21 for the education of fishermen in navigation and motor
work is raised to Kr. 107,200 in that for 1921-22 is evidence of
the importance attached to the subjects taught and the energy
with which extension of facilities is being prosecuted. Diplomas
are given by the department to those who pass at the examinations
held to test the proficiency attained by the students in these
courses of navigation and motor technique.
In addition to the courses of instruction in these subjects
given by the teachers employed directly by the department,
important work in the same subjects is carried on by several
of the larger and more important fisheries societies, largely
with the help of generous subsidies from the department. These
grants are almost entirely given conditionally for specific purposes,
and among these the teaching of navigation and of motor
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY i^
mechanics form two of the hirger headings — Kr. 15,280 for
navigation and Kr. 4,220 for motor technique in the budget
1920-21.
Apart from the specific budget head " Education of Fishermen,"
a great deal is done and much money spent by the department on
items that may as justly be classed as education, as are navigation
and motor mechanics. The most important of these is the provision
of instructors in improved methods of ciirin^i> codfish,. The sum
expended is not great (Kr. 6,000 = Rs. 4,500) in view of the
keen competition of Newfoundland in the dried codfish trade in
foreign markets. That it is profitable and adequate seems proved
by the fact that the quality of the Norwegian product is acknowl-
edged to have improved greatly of late years, with the conse-
quence that Newfoundland, finding the competition hard to face,
deputed a commission to visit Europe last year to investigate the
situation and devise means to face this increasingly severe
Norwegian competition. One of the commission visited Norway
when I was there with a view to learn what was possible of this
improved technique and of the trade methods pursued by Norwegian
traders. The improvements made are in large part due to the
employment of the instructors alluded to, and this is proving one
of the most useful activities of the department. The instructors
once more, are peripatetic, travelling from town to town and
village to village.
Closely related to this form of technical education is the
scheme whereby the department pays fishermen and fishcurers
stipends and travelling expenses to enable them to visit im-
portant fishing centres both at home and abroad to study on the
spot the methods employed in fishing and fish-curing. Kr.
10,000 was spent on this most practical form of education in
1919-20, Kr. 15,000 in 1920-21 and now in the 1921-22 budget
the allotment has been raised to Kr. 54,000, so satisfactory has
been this method of widening the horizon of the men selected.
These people, chosen carefully for their superior intelligence, on
return home are found to have lost much of their innate conser-
vation and seldom fail to put into practice any improvement in
method that has struck them during their deputation as suited to
their particular local conditions. Each of them becomes an
unpaid demonstrator, one of the conditions on which he is given
the opportunity to study other methods.
20 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
The department spends money also upon popularizing a more
extended use of fish in the household cuisine of the masses and
upon an attempt to make the canning of crabs a cottage industry.
As regards the former the system of employing travelling
instructors is again adopted. The lower classes in Norway retain
much of the primitiveness of the old viking life and quantity is
more regarded than quality ; methods of cookery are often rude
and too frequently, just as in the traditional English workman's
cuisine, not nearly the best is made of the food treated. More
especially is this the case in regard to fish. Hence one of the
department's minor activities is to send lady teachers of fish-
cookery to various populous centres to demonstrate better and
more tasty modes of treating fish for the table. The main object
of the department is primarily to popularize the use of fish in
towns and so to increase the consumption and demand for fish.
Incidentally it assists in raising the standard of living and in
improving the health of the workers.
The development of crab-canning as a home-industry has been
attempted by the Society for the Promotion of Norwegian
Fisheries, the most important of the Norwegian fishery societies.
The work is carried on with the help of a grant from the depart-
ment (Kr. QOO, 1921 22). In Norway, the large edible crab
(Cancer paguriis) is common on many parts of the coast line but
nowhere in sufficient quantity to warrant the establishment of a
fully equipped cannery built and run for this specific purpose ;
neither has it been found practical for the sardine canneries to
include crab-canning even as a side line. The numbers available
are too limited and the supply too erratic to make the proposition
worth consideration in a cannery which must turn out thousands
of tins a day if it is to be a commercial success. Hence the
attempt has been made to devise a canning plant of the utmost
simplicity at a cost within the means of the ordinary inshore
fisherman, who owns perhaps one small row-boat and a number of
crab-pots, the whole operated by himself and a boy. The society
makes arrangements for the supply of tins — bodies and covers — to
the worker, greatly simplifying the proposition, which is then
resolved into instruction in the proper manner of (a) the extraction
of the flesh of the crab, after cooking, (b) the attractive packing
of this into the body of the tin, (c) soldering on the cover, (d)
testing, exhausting, and tipping, and (e) sterilizing. An itinerant
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 21
teacher is employed to teach the rudiments of the principles
involved in successful canning, to teach soldering and to demon-
strate the various steps in the process. Sterilization or processing
is done by means of immersion in pans of boiling water.
The apparatus used is necessarily of the simplest nature ; a
trestle table, a couple of hammers, a brazier and soldering iron,
and an iron boiler or kettle, comprise the essentials, the containers
being bought ready made. The actual canning is carried out by
the fisherman himself with the help of his family. The society
assists also in disposing of the worker's products and gives every
possible encouragement to fishermen to embark on this small
industry and to maintain a high standard of quality. Whether
the industry will have more than ephemeral success is doubtful;
Norwegian fishery experts are by no means unanimously in
favour of the experiment ; adverse critics point to the difficulty of
maintaining an even standard of quality and the possibility of bad
or careless packing and processing with consequences harmful
to the consumer; they point to the difficulty of any man carrying
on successfully two distinc^^ trades. Conversely the advocates of
the scheme point to the notable successes of certain of the men
who have taken it up; on the whole I believe the experiment has
justified itself, not so much perhaps in regard to the main object
of the original promoters, that of creating an extensively carried
on home-industry, as in giving opportunities to enterprising men
to learn the principles of canning and to lay the foundation of
enterprises that may develop into self-contained canning factories
carried on upon a commercial scale.
v.— THE ROLE OF FISHERY SOCIETIES.
The part played in Norway by non-official associations formed
for the promotion of the fishing industry in all its branches is of
the greatest importance, particularly in the direction of catering
for local requirements. They are found in the chief sea-coast
fishing towns (Bergen, Trondhjem, Stavanger, Aalesund, Kristian-
sund), and in most centres where fishing is carried on upon an
extensive scale. They originated generally from private initiative,
relying largely for their resources upon the generosity of the citi-
zens and the trade and upon contributions from the local communes
and municipalities. With growth and wider aims, the aid of the
State, through the Fisheries Department was sought and obtained,
22 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
and at the present day the major portion of the expenses of these
societies is met by a contribution from the State. This is given
subject to the society raising locally a sum equal to not less than
one-quarter of the amount contributed by the State. Except in
most exceptional cases, the State's contribution is earmarked
for specific subjects, a very useful safeguard. The societies
have to furnish an annual report to the Director of Fisheries
detailing their operations, particularly in respect of the
specific items for which State help was forthcoming. They also
submit annually to him their budget estimate for the coming year;
this forms the basis upon which the Director frames his own
estimates in connexion with the working of these bodies. Usually
he is in such close touch with them in their local operations that
he is able to accept their proposals with little or no modification.
The largest of these non-official bodies is that located in
Bergen, the " Society for the Promotion of Norwegian Fisheries."
It is housed in a handsome building whereof the most complete
Fishery Museum and Technical Library I have seen anywhere, are
the principal features ; the secretary and office staff are given
well-lighted roomy accommodation that is in itself an object lesson
of what this should be. The budget proposals for 1920-21,
submitted for approval to the Director of Fisheries, furnishes
except in one item, a clear insight into the very practical working
of this premier society, viz. : —
KR.
Administration ... ... ... ... ... 10, coo
P'ishery Aluseum ... ... ... ... ... 7,400
Library ... ... ... ... ... ... 700
Oyster and shell-fish culture ... ... ... 3,500
Development of the fishery in Vestland ... ... 2,200
Travelling expenses ... ... ... ... 2,000
Fishery school in Bergen ... ... . . ... 600
Experiments in the storing and transport of fresh
fish ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,500
Development of the crab fishery and of crab
canning as a home-industry ... ... ... 600
Propaganda for the greater employment of herring
and fish (sic) in the household... ... ... 3,000
Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... 1,000
RS.
Kr. 33,800 = 25,350
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 23
Towards this the society applied for a State grant of Kr. 21,350
(Rs. 16,012).
What the Director of Fisheries eventually budgeted for was
the following : —
KR.
Administration ... ... ... ... ... 6,000
Fishery Museum ... ... ... ... ... 3,000
Library ... ... ... ... ... ... 600
Oyster and shell-fish culture ... ... ... 2,800
Development of the fishery in Vestland ... ... 2,000
Travelling expenses ... ... ... ... 1,000
Instruction in fishery subjects at the Seamen's
school ... . . ,,, ... ... ... 600
Experiments in storing and transport of fresh fish. 1,400
Crab-fishing development and crab-canning as
a home-industry ... ... ... ... 500
Fish cookery propaganda ... ... ... 2,500
Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... 600
BS.
Kr. 21,000 = 15,750
But the above subjects do not exhaust the activities of this
society, for perhaps its most useful role lies in the preparation and
publication of a monthly fishery journal called the Norsk Fiskeri-
tidcude ("Norwegian Fishery News ")• This journal, prepared by
the publishing Committee of a private society, is able to treat of
matters with a freedom impossible in a Government office, in spite
of the fact that the expenses of printing are borne by the
State. It is able for example to discuss fishery subjects in an
informal and popular way. and to incorporate notes that may be of
interest and value to the trade but which in a staid Governmental
publication might seem trivial and out of place, A private body
is able to treat the advertisement question in a way impossible in
a State department and the same applies to the means often
needful to employ in securing a wide circle of readers. It is
notorious that the average person has an innate horror of any
Government publication ; so many are dull and prosy in the treat-
ment of their subject matter that the exceptions are overlooked
and all are usually avoided and unread by the multitude. To
give a clear idea of the extent to which these local Norwegian
24
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
societies are utilized in the davelopment of the country's fisheries,
the following list is provided of societies, together with the
amounts of grants-in-aid recommended by the Director of Fisheries
to Government for the year Jq20-2I, viz. : —
Society.
Government grant
recommended by
the Director of
Fisheries.
Vadso Fishery Union ...
Vardo Fishery Union
i No grant
V asked for
1 in 1920-21.
KR.
Nordland Fishery Society
9,600
Namdalen do.
3,200
Fosen do. ... ...
5,200
Trondhjeni do.
8,000
Sniolen do.
6,800
Kristiansund do.
6,500
Grip Fishery Union
500
Sondmor and Romsdal Society
7,600
Aalesund Society
3>55°
Sogn and Fjordan Fishery Association
4,850
Norwegian Fishery Society, Bergen
21,000
Hordaland Fishery Association
5,300
Rogaland do.
10,400
Ostland Fishery Society
11,800
Kristiania Fjord P'ishery Development...
800
Kr. 105,100
Items amounting to Kr. 11,400 were eventually deducted and
the net sum finally voted by Parliament was Kr. 93,700. This
grant as I have stated above is made upon the specific condition
that each society shall raise in its own district by voluntary and
communal contribution a sum amounting to not less than 25 per
cent of the sum granted by Government.
The aims of the various societies necessarily vary with local
requirements. Among these, besides those already mentioned
when surveying the scope of work of the Bergen Society, the most
frequently recurring are items for instructional courses in naviga-
tion and in motor technique, the encouragement of the inshore
fisheries by open-boat fishermen, the upkeep of reading rooms
for seamen and fishermen, and grants to communal and other
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 25
ice stores. These local societies have made wonderful strides in
recent years and their usefulness cannot be overrated in the way
they encourage mutual helpfulness, especially in regulating prices
and in focussing attention upon the local needs of the industry.
Perhaps their greatest value lies in the connexion they set up
between the local trade and the Fisheries Department. They
serve as intermediaries and interpret and regularize the local
demands for Government help. An enormous amount of spade
work is being done by these numerous societies, which constitute
auxiliaries of the greatest value to the Fisheries Department, and
enable it to concentrate upon larger problems, and those requir-
ing special expert and scientific training. No feature of fishery
administration in Norway impressed me more forcibly that did
the activity and usefulness of these societies as supplementary to
the wider organization provided by the Fisheries Department.
At the other end of the scale we find help on the ultra
scientific side willingly given to the department by the two great
Biological Stations of Bergen and Trondhjem. In these institu-
tions pure research is the main object pursued, though as a matter
of fact this is utilized specifically in some instances at the request
of the department, in the elucidation of some problem of direct
practical significance. Also at the Trondhjem Station, the hatch-
ing of plaice for the replenishment of the waters of the fjord is
undertaken as an economic measure the expenditure on this head
being met from the Fisheries Department's budget. Again, the
physical observations of Pr-ofessor Helland Hansen at Bergen have
been practically important in the light they had shed upon fishery
problems. The department's experts by working in close colla-
boration with the scientific staff of these Biological stations find
their work facilitated and supplemented by this connexion to such
an extent that were it not available, the department's scientific staff
would have to be largely increased. One of the great lessons
which the Fisheries Department of Norwaj^ gives to the world is
the vast economy of utilizing every agency — popular as well as
scientific — to supplement the work of its own officers.
VL— NORWEGIAN BIOLOGICAL STATIONS.
Biological research in Norway, apart from the life-histories of
the important food fishes, is carried on, not by the Fisheries
Department staff, but by semi-private organizations, subsidized by
4
26 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Government through the Education Department. There are three
public stations, Drobak, Bergen and Trondhjem. The first is in
reality a branch of the University of Christiania, 28 miles away.
The second is intimately connected with the Bergen Museum, the
Director being appointed by the Committee of Management of the
Museum, while the third is practically independent and is not
affiliated with any educational institution.
The station at Bergen is particularly interesting because of its
history and organization. The funds for its establishment were
derived in the main from the profits of the State liquor business,
the Braendevinssamlag, since abolished, supplemented by generous
donations from the citizens and public bodies of Bergen. A site
for the building was found in a private park and the Museum
undertook the organization and management of the station. The
Museum itself is primarily operated by a society aided financially
by the Bergen municipality and to a still greater extent by Govern-
ment. Its management vests in a Governing Committee, whereof
three members are appointed by the parent society, three by the
Bergen municipality, and three by the Government, the Director
of the Museum forming ex-qfficio the tenth. The society, aided by
private donations, has been able to furnish most of the funds for
the erection of the building. Government meeting the major portion
of the annual expenditure.
This biological station has no official connexion with the
Fisheries Department and economic reasons have had little to do
with its inception and management; its aims professedly are
primarily and solely pure research. But through the genius of its
gifted Director, the physicist Helland Hensen, it has done more
than any other agency in Norway to promote the advance of our
knowledge of oceanography. In this subject it has specialized
and its vacation courses of instruction in this subject have been
particularly useful, and highly appreciated.
The Trondhjem Station is equally well equipped for biological
investigation and unlike the other two stations, it links up directly
with the Fisheries Department by accepting a subsidy of Kr. 4,000
to cover the expenses connected with the upkeep and operation of
a plaice hatchery.
When I visited the station last year, I had the good fortune to
be able to inspect the handsome new research vessel, the Giinerus,
built specially for biological investigation. Dr. O. Nordgaard, the
No. 4 (1921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 2/
Director, had great pride in informing me that the greater part of
the cost, amounting to Kroner 200,000 (Rs. 1,50,000), has been met
by private subscriptions. The vessel is fitted with a motor engine
(of Swedish make) of 40 to 50 h.p., which also works successfully
both the big trawl winch and the anchor winch. One engineer
only is kept and Dr. Nordgaard mentions that the engine is so
simple and easily run that this solitary engineer is able to spend
a good deal of his time on deck and gives much help in carrying
on the scientific work !
VII.— THE NEW FISHERIES HEADQUARIERS TO BE
BUILT IN BERGEN.
The Administration of Fisheries together with the scientific
staff are lodged in a rented building in the heart of the residential
quarter of Bergen, not even on the sea front. The accommodation,
good and even palatial as compared with anything that Fisheries
have ever had in, Madras, has become wholly inadequate to meet
the rapidly growing requirements of the department, particularly
on the scientific and technical side. The Director accordingly
formulated proposals for the erection of a building by the State,
planned specifically to give adequate accommodation for all the
activities of the department, present and contemplated ; these
were submitted and approved by the National Fishery Council and
with this backing the Government acquiesced and set apart
Kr. 7,000 forpremia to architects for the best plans submitted. The
competition was keen, 2/ sets of plans being sent in, so many of
such high excellence that adjudication was found difficult.
To Madras which has recognized that before long it will be
necessary similarly to take measures to give proper conveniences
to the local Fisheries Department if utter stagnation is to be
avoided, a study of these plans is most interesting for comparison
with those of the building designed locally.
There will be three floors available for the Administrative
staff, free from any loss of space for the storage of bulky articles
such as stationery reserves, glassware, fishing apparatus and nets,
and the hundred and one things that are required from time to time
in fishery investigation both at sea and in the laboratory. All
these items find accommodation in the basement floor, half sunk
below the ground level.
The ground plan is similar to that of the Madras design, a main
block with two wings, north and south. The main block, with the
28
MADRAS FISHERIES BULI.ETIN
VOL, XIV,
exception of three rooms, is devoted to the purely administrative
and trade sections, the Director, the Fishery Superintendents
(technical experts), the editorial staff of the Fiskets Gang, the trade
statisticians and the Fishery Council Chamber finding accommo-
dation therein.
The southern wing is devoted to marine biology and hydro-
graphy ; the northern to chemical and bacteriological investiga-
tion, to the analysis of material used or produced by the fish trade
and to problems connected with the canning of fish.
To show the need for ample accommodation if work is to be
carried on in a really satisfactory manner, these plans provide for
a total of 75 rooms made up as follows : — •
Ground Floor.
South wing.
Rooms
1. Main Block. R
ooms
;. North wing.
Rooms
Marine Biological
Technical experts ..
2
Canning industry
Laboratories
2
Secretary
I
laboratories
2
Laboratory Superin-
" Michael Sars " ...
I
Bacteriological
tendent ...
I
Various offices
5
laboratory
1
Laboratory store ...
I
Trade statistics and
Offices
2
Students' room
I
"Fiskets Gang"
Lunch room
I
Lavatory
I
Editorial office.
3
Lavatories
2
Watchman ...
I
7
12
8
First Floor.
Biological statistics.
2
Director's offices ...
2
Chemical labora-
Offices
3
Director's private
tories
2
Work rooms
2
room
I
Chemical library ...
I
Lavatory
I
Draughtsman
I
Superintendent of
Main library
I
Chemical labora-
Reading room
I
tories
I
Office rooms
4
Offices
2
Lavatory
I
Rf'serve room
Lavatory
I
I
8
Seccnd Floor.
II
8
Ilydrographic
Fishery Council
Chemical analysis.
3
laboratories
3
Chamber
I
Sound-proof room.
I
Offices for labora-
Lecture Hall
I
Offices
2
tories
2
I'iankton laboratory.
I
Lavatory ...
I
Photography
I
Ofiices for same
2
Retiring room for
Lavatory
I
Lavatory
I
p'ishery Council.
I
^i5. 4 (I92l) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 29
An ideal site for the building has been obtained in the public
park at the seaward extremity of the peninsula of Nordnzes which
divides the two deep inlets that form the two harbours of the city.
Quite deep water is found at the foot of the rocks above which the
building will be erected. When built, it will be the first prominent
building seen by those who arrive at Bergen by sea, and the
citizens are to be congratulated upon their public-spirited action in
giving such a unique site over to this purpose; it is proof indeed,
if proof be needed of the high estimation in which this Government
department is held by the people at large.
The Government have also been particularly generous. Owing
to certain considerations, not altogether financial, it was not
deemed desirable to begin construction during the war, and since
then other difficulties have arisen, causing postponement of the
plans. To facilitate therefore the eventual operations Government
have accorded the department the exceptional privilege of accumu-
lating the annual, sums voted by Parliament towards the cost of
the project and in this way funds for the building are gradually
accumulating, the total vote being spread over a number of years
instead of swelling one particular year with a heavy item of
extraordinary expenditure. It possesses the added advantage of
protecting the project from any sudden change of attitude on the
part of Parliament towards the project, a danger ever present in a
democratic county, where party Government prevails. Work is to
be begun at an early date.
VIII.— FISHERY PUBLICATIONS.
In Norway the rapid and wide dissemination of news of interest
to the fishing trades is accounted one of the most useful and indeed
essentially necessary duties of the Fishery Department and of the
leading Fishery Societies. An important branch of the former
concentrates attention upon the collection and editing of statistics
from home waters and of market reports from home and abroad.
To give satisfactory publicity to these, the department issues a
weekly trade paper, the Fiskeis Gang. It appears as a 12 to l6-page
journal, the page size measuring 12 inches by 9 inches. Four
pages are given over to advertisements. The regular contents
comprise, among other subjects, (l) a concise review of the course
of Norwegian fisheries during the preceding week, (2) telegrams
30 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
from all important fishing centres giving the catches and landings
of fish for the same period, (3) information on the progress of
mackerel and herring fisheries at home and abroad, (4) Consular
reports on the fish trade, (5) publication of new laws and regulations
affecting fishermen, such as that on the registration and marking
of fishing boats, with explanations and illustrations where
necessary and (6) statistical tables of the total catches of all food
fishes from the beginning of the current year to date. Any other
matter, domestic or foreign, directly of interest or value to the trade,
that comes within the ken of the editor is included. The paper is
of the greatest use to the fish-merchant and exporter by giving
them reliable and unbiassed accounts of the state of the markets
for their produce and of the factors that affect prices. It serves as
a useful link in many ways between the department and the trade
who appreciate highly the service thus rendered. It serves also
to keep before the' trade the fact that the department undertakes
for a small'fee the analysis of materials used in fish industries and
of fish products. The advertisement pages are by no means the
least useful feature of this little journal.
Besides the Fiskcts Gang, the department issues a publication
entitled Aarheretning vedkommcjide Norges Fiskerier. Several parts
appear each year. These contain a series of detailed sectional
departmental reports, the annual reports of the various fishery
societies and unions, affiliated to or subsidized by the department,
the debates of the Fishery Council, accounts of scientific work done
by the experts of the department, statistics of the great seasonal
fisheries and similar related matter. Technical and statistical
information of a special nature, too long and detailed to find
a place in such annual reports, is issued separately under various
forms.
Apart from these departmental publications are those of the
chief Fishery Societies. The most useful is the well-known
Norsk Fiskcritiilcnde published monthly by the "Society for the
promotion of Norwegian fisheries," from its offices in Bergen.
This monthly, of handy octavo size, runs usually to 38 or 40 pages
of letterpress exclusive of advertisements. To a large extent it is
complimental to Fiskcts Gang, for while the latter caters chiefly for
fish-traders and exporters and gives chief prominence to market
reports and statistics, the Norsk Fiskeritidcnde devotes its space
primarily to subjects dealing with the catching of fish. It is the
No. 4 (I921) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 3I
fisherman's paper par excellence. Its articles are frequently illus-
trated, always plainly and clearly worded, and with avoidance of
the jargon of the professional scientist; as a result the paper is
valued by fishermen and undoubtedly has a wide and beneficial
influence in the direction indicated by the designation of the
society. Its officials and the editorial committee are men of the
people and as such are able to appreciate and counter the preju-
dices of the fisher classes and their intense dislike of anything
that savours of patronage. The Norwegian is a plain man and if
met on an equality is willing to learn but he would rather remain
ignorant than be lectured by the superior person, particularly if he
suspects him to be an armchair scientist.
32 . MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
B.— FISHERIES AND FISHERY ADMINISTRATION
IN DENMARK.
IX.— DANISH FISHERIES.
The sea-fisheries of Denmark compared with those of Norway
are relatively small, and homogeneous to a far greater extent. The
coastline is long, but on the most productive sections, those to the
west and north, the dangerous character of the coast limits the
number of fishing harbours suitable to the needs of the larger craft
of to-day to a very few, and this renders the control of operations
by the administration a far simpler task than it is in Norway, where
the number of fishing harbours is particularly numerous owing to
the shelter given by the line of islands that front the coast for
hundreds of miles. There are indeed only 23 ports of register in
Denmark and many of these have but few boats sailing under their
distinctive lettering.
Situated at the sea-gate to Germany, Denmark profits greatly
thereby. Her trade, unlike that of Norway, is largely in fresh fish
sent in ice inland to central Europe. This ensures usually good
prices and a particularly profitable trade. The statistics of the
past few years show how flourishing the fisheries are. In 1919, the
latest year for which statistics are available, we find that the value
of the fish landed at Danish ports was Kr. 54,112,300 (Rs. 40,58,422)
as against Kr. 17,515,200 in 1913 and only Kr. 7,759,918 in 1900.
The average price has also steadily tended upward within the same
period, from Kr. 0*30 in 1913 to Kr. 0"6l in 1919. The total weight
landed in 1919 was 88,928 metric tons.
The number of fishermen engaged was 20,599 in 1918, the
value of the vessels employed Kr. 32,033,718, and of the fishing
gear Kr. 20,335,778. In 191 3, the number of men employed was
only 17,697, the value of the vessels Kr. 12,059,763 and of gear
Kr. 8,751,794. This great disparity in the value of l)oats and
gear in 1913 and 1919 is due only in part to the universal rise
in the cost of materials and wages ; the greater part is due to
the universal adoption of the marine motor in the Danish fishing
fleet, which in turn influences owners to build their new boats of a
larger size than formerly. The extent to which motors are used is
shown by examination of the figures for 1919. In that year the
No. 4^921) FISHERIES OF DENMARK 33
total number of fishing craft of all sizes and classes was 16,370.
Of these 7,795 were small open boats used for inshore fishing, 3,914
were sailing boats and 4,661 were motor boats. The value of the
last named was Kr. 29,377,383, while that of the row-boats and
sailing boats together was only Kr. 2,656,335. As many as 544 of
the motor boats were over 15 tons, valued at Kr. 12,783,000 (say an
average value of Kr. 23,500= Rs. 17,600 each) ; 1,129 were between
5 and 15 tons and 2,988 were under 5 tons net register.
X.— THE SNURREVAAD OR DANISH DEEP-SEA SEINE.
Denmark of all north European seaboard countries with import-
ant fisheries, is the only one that does not employ the steam
trawler in her home waters. In its place the Danish fishermen
have brought to perfection a form of net called by them the
Snurrevaad and by others the Danish seine. It is used largely for
the capture of plaice and haddock; the Danes consider it has many
advantages over the trawl for comparatively shallow waters and
their belief seems justified by the wonderful success of the great
fleet of motor-cutters that employ it almost exclusively in their
operations. In 1919 there were 5,401 of these nets in use, of a total
value of Kr. 4,048,000.
Esbjerg, the chief Danish fishery port, is the home of the
Snurrevaad, for it boasts the possession of a homogeneous fleet of
nearly 400 motor cutters and yawls, almost all using this net. In
J 919, this fleet landed 18,922 tons of fish at Esbjerg. Of this 2,205
tons were sent to the provinces, 2,000 tons to Copenhagen ; of the
remainder Germany took n.6oo tons, England 3,000 tons and
Sweden 117. Haddock accounted for 13,672 tons of the fish landed
at Esbjerg, plaice coming next with 4,940 tons.
I dwell specially upon these statistics because it appears to me
that the methods of fishing found successful in Denmark are those
which will serve our purposes best in the development of the
coastal fisheries of Madras. I feel that for various reasons we are
not ready for steam-trawling in Madras ; the leap from the cata-
maran and the canoe to this great engine for the wholesale capture
of fish is too great and too sudden. Hence I look for guidance to
Denmark, where the industry has developed on lines totally
different from what it has done in Great Britain. It may be that
the British have taken a longer view than the Danes ; they have
had the imagination and enterprise to put greater capital into the
5
34 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
business and seek a harvest often many hundreds of miles from
home. The Danes have been content to work on narrower lines,
to devote their energies to the thorough exploitation of their home
waters, within at most a hundred miles from port. In this, as
judged by their success and the wonderful progress of Esbjerg — the
Chicago of Denmark, as they love to call it — they appear to have
had their reward. Already great freezing works, cold storage
installations, and canneries are springing up, with miles of new
docks and quays, where mud flat and sand dune existed not six
years ago. This it is that encourages me to press for development
or at least for extensive experiment on lines which take due note
of methods and apparatus that have been found so eminently
successful under related conditions in Denmark.
The success of the Danes in the use of the snurrevaad and
motor-cutter has not been lost upon the Norwegians whom I found
paying great attention to them in 1920, with a view to their adop-
tion on those parts of the Norwegian coast suitable for their
employment.
The general dimensions of a modern motor-cutter as employed
at Esbjerg are as follows : —
Length of deck (overalllength) ... 14*4 metres.
Length on the water-line ... ... i2'6 ,,
Greatest beam ... ... ... 4*2 ,,
Height forward ... ... ... 30 ,,
Do. amidships ... ... ... 2*2 ,,
Do. aft ... ... ... ... 2 '9 ,,
The gross register tonnage varies from 16—28 tons. These
boats, termed " Haj " ("shark," Danish), are engined with motors
from 30 to 40 h.p., the average being 35 — 40 h.p. The power
installed is generally calculated to give a speed of 6 to 8 knots
with a consumption of 1 50 to 175 kilogrammes of oil per day.
The motors most favoured are the "Alfa" of Frederikshavn,
the " Tuxham " and the " Neptune " of Kopenhagen ; the " Avance "
and "Bolinder" of Stockholm. A crew of four is sufficient to
man and work this handy craft ; one of the crew works the
engine, but does not by any means devote the whole of his time
to it.
The snurrevaad in itself is nothing but a large seine with long
wings and hauling ropes. But in its application to operations in
water from 10 to 25 fathoms and even more, the methods employed
No. 4 (T921) FISHERIES OF DENMARK 35
are highly ingenious antl withal simple. Described briefly it is as
follows : —
On arrival at the spot considered likely by the skipper, a
heavy anchor is put down and a buoy attached to the upper end of
the anchor rope. To the same rope one of the hauling ropes is
made fast ; the cutter then takes a course that describes a sector
of a large circle having the anchor buoy as the centre, paying
out the rope and net as she proceeds ; when all or nearly all of
the net is payed out, the cutter turns towards the mark buoy and
pays out the second hauling rope to its full extent. By the time
this is nearly all out, the buoy should be reached. The end of the
first hauling rope is then taken aboard and led, together with
its companion, to a special reeling-in winch, worked off the motor
engine. By a most ingenious arrangement the ropes as reeled
in, are coiled down automatically on the deck, by an accessory
device, patented by an Esbjerg firm, a great saving of labour
to the crew. If the first haul be successful, the same operation is
conducted again from the same centre, but over a different section
of the circle around the buoy. A third and even a fourth haul
may be taken from the same centre, new ground being covered
each time, if plenty of fish be present.
The dimensions of a typical snurrevaad net as used in plaice
fishing (roedspcettvaadj are as follows : —
Length of wings (as given as Esbjerg), 26 metres (84 Danish feet).
Length of bag do. 10 „
Depth of wings at near end, 50 meshes.
Depth of bag at the mouth, 3 to 4 metres.
Mesh of the wings, 65 mm. knot to knot.
Mesh in the bag, 50 mm.
Mesh of the bunt or tail end, 45 mm.
A snurrevaad for haddock fishing {kullervaad) differs in several
particulars as these fish are more active than plaice. The figures
are: —
Length of each wing (as given as Esbjerg), 26 metres.
Length of bag (as given as Esbjerg), 15 metres.
Depth of wings at stick, 50 meshes.
Depth of bag at mouth, 7 to 8 metres.
Mesh of wings, 65 mm.
Mesh of bag and i fathom of wings, 45 mm.
Mesh of tail end, 35 mm.
36 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
When fishing- in 10 or 12 fathoms, the bridle or hauling ropes
are each 600 fathoms long ; in 25 fathoms the length is increased
to 900 fathoms. They can be used in considerably deeper water,
even to TOO fathoms ; with increased depth bridles or hauling
ropes are made proportionally longer.
The cost of a new net (complete) in 1920 was from 500 to 600
kroner (Rs. 375 to Rs. 450).
Fairly smooth bottom is necessary for good results, and such
we have in plenty on both our Madras coasts. Among the
advantages possessed by this net are (l) the fact that it does not
damage or crush the fish caught as does the trawl too often ; a
proportion may therefore be transported alive to shore in the fish-
well installed in all these boats, (2) the capital required to build
and equip one of these boats is not one-tenth of that required for
a modern steam-trawler, (3) use by boats of a size small enough to
enter harbours where 7 or 8 feet of water is all that is available and
(4) low upkeep and running cost compared with a steamer; 4
hands are enough to man one of these motor-cutters.
The third of these advantages would be particularlv useful on
the Madras coasts, where Madras Harbour is the only one into
which could enter an ordinary steam trawler with a draft of 10 feet
or over. On 6 feet draft, such as the Esbjerg boats have, they
could enter the harbours of Cocanada, Masulipatam, Tuticorin,
Cochin, Beypore and Mangalore ; these ports are therefore potential
centres for fishing boats of this class.
XL— THE ADMINISTRATION OF FISHERIES IN DENMARK.
The Fishery Administration is entirely regulative, statistical,
and technical. The Director's officeo in Copenhagen are modest
and comprise no laboratories ; he has no scientific experts on his
staff, any help required on this side being obtained from scientific
institutions usually connected with the Educational Department.
Apart from the purely supervisory and statistical duties of the
department, which indeed take up a large portion of the attention
of the officers, its activities chiefly concern the provision of
financial assistance to fishermen to buy or build boats larger or
more suitable to their needs, the provision of facilities for technical
education, and the encouragement of co-operation among fisher-
men.
NO. 4(1921) FISHERIES OF DENMARI^ 3»7
Stdtc loans. — Financial assistance is carried on by two nietliods ;
the first involves direct loans to the men themselves, the second is
indirect, the money being distributed through the agency of
co-operative associations. Under the former system Kr. 300,000
(Rs 2,25,000) is at present being utilized for loans direct to boat-
owners; under the second, Kr. 200,000 (Rs. 1,50,000) is set aside
to provide advances /;/ lin//p sums to various co-operative societies,
which are responsible for allocation in a proper manner. Direct
loans are made upon the sole security of the vessel built, bought,
or repaired; those to societies are upon the unlimited liability of
the members — the whole of their property is pledged when they
obtain admission to these societies. No society may be registered
with a membership of less than thirty. The sum advanced may not
exceed two-thirds of the total value or cost of the boat to be bought
or built ; in the case of second-hand boats, the advance may not
exceed one-half the value. The method of repayment varies
according to whether the loan is direct or indirect. When it is
direct full repayment is nominally due within II years — in practice
it is seldom less than 11^. During the first year no repayment of
capital is asked for, merely the interest thereon. This is to allow
for delays incidental to the commencement of any enterprise and
to give time to the fisherman to rehabilitate his finances, strained
usually in providing nets and gear and his share of the cost of the
boat. Besides this, several months' more delay may be obtained for
the payment of the initial instalment, by applying for the loan
soon after one of the half-yearly dates (ist January and 1st July)
on which instalments have to be paid in. The amount of annual
repayment is fixed at one-tenth of the sum advanced, payable in
half-yearly instalments.
In the case of loans obtained through a co-operative society
no repayment of capital is required till the expiry of five years
from the date the loan is made. During this period interest alone
is paid. During the sixth year one-tenth of the amount must be
repaid and the same sum annually thereafter till the debt is cleared
off. This means therefore a 15-year period for repayment. The
rate of interest is to some extent variable, being governed by the
fluctuations of the bank rate. That current in 1920 was 4 per cent
on loans made direct to fishermen, while that chargeable by
societies is fixed at 5 per cent as a maximum. Every boat upon
which a loan is made, must be insured for a sum sufficient to cover
this advance, in an Insurance Society approved by Government.
38 iMADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
The oversight of the insurance of fishing craft is another charge
of Government, a special officer, termed Inspector of Insurances
for fishing- boats, being appointed to supervise the societies
formed for this purpose. One of these is of great importance, its
operations covering the whole of Denmark. Besides this, there are
a number of smaller ones, purely local in their operations. The
rules of some of these latter, being of more recent organization,
are in certain respects better than those of the large society ; I was
informed that these improved rules will be adopted by the latter
society when next its regulations are under revision. The rate of
premium varies according to the locality in which the boats fish;
in the protected waters of the Great and Little Belts and in certain
sounds it is as low as 2 per cent, while for boats working in the
North Sea it rises to ^Yz per cent.
Several of the local societies include a separate section for the
insurance of nets and gear As in the case of the Norwegian
society mentioned previously, no one may become a member of the
net-insurance branch unless he is already a member of the parent
society and has his boat insured therein. The accounts also are
kept separate and the greatest strictness is observed in ascertain-
ing the correct valuation of the gear upon which insurance is
desired ; neither may it be insured for its full value — the owner must
bear a substantial proportion of the risk on his own shoulders.
As in Norway all fishermen in common with seamen and land
workpeople are compelled to be insured against injury or death in
the pursuit of their calling on a system analogous to the British
Workmen's Compensation Act.
The lines upon which technical instruction is afforded to
fishermen approximate to those adopted in Norway, namely, facili-
ties for the acquisition of the elements of navigation in so far as
is suitable for a fishermen's vocation, and instruction in the run-
ning and care of marine motors. In one main respect the Danish
method differs from the Norwegian ; instruction is given at fixed
centres and not by travelling teachers. This is due to the concen-
tration of the Danish fishing industry at a comparatively few ports
and to the comparatively short distance at which any outport is
from one of the teaching centres.
In respect of navigation, there are three special schools main-
tained exclusively for fisheimen. Each is given a subsidy to the
extent of from Kr. 1,500 to Kr. 2,000 by Government, with extra grant
No. 4(1921) FISHERIES OF DENMARK 39
for every fisherman who takes the complete course. The amount
contributed in this way is Kr. 1 5 per head per month. The fisher-
man student has also to pay a fee in addition, amounting usually
to Kr. 20 per month. The course is held in the winter when work
at sea is slack. In each school there is but one teacher ; any man
with the requisite qualifications may be appointed, such as a
retired sea-captain, a harbour master or a pilot. The aim is to run
the school as cheaply as possible, compatible with efficiency.
Usually the teacher has some other calling or is a pensioner.
Motor instruction is run on similar lines.
The department has charge also of the registration of fishing
boats. The law provides that all over 6 metres in length must be
registered and numbered and have their port letter inscribed
conspicuously on the bows. The initial registration is current so
long as the boat remains in the same ownership, all that is
incumbent upon the owner being to keep the marks and numbers
in good order. If sold or the name changed, the certificate must
be submitted for alteration.
The Norwegians, curiously enough, did not register and number
their fishing boats until last year, when under the law of 5th Dec-
ember 1917, all fishing boats other than small open boats must
carry distinguishing numbers and port letters. No fee is charged
for registration.
This short and very incomplete note on Danish fishery organiza-
tion cannot be closed without reference being made to the wonder-
fully useful "Yearbook of the Danish Fishing Fleet " edited by
Mr. F. V. Mortensen, the Director of Fisheries. Outside of England,
I know of no fisherman's handbook so useful as this. The fund
of information contained is extremly well-chosen and extensive,
ranging from a list of all registered fishing boats in Denmark
with their number, tonnage, motor h.p. and ownership, to a poly-
glot list of the names of all common food fishes in six languages,
or seven if we count the scientific name, which is also given. The
laws on boat insurance, boat registration, State loans, and similar
special enactments of interest to fishermen are given in full, to-
gether with particulars of all coast lights, harbour regulations and
so on, far too numerous to catalogue here. The index of subjects
contains 124 items and the little book— it is a small octavo of
7 X 4}/2 inches — runs to 388 pages; from this something of the
extent of information contained may be inferred.
40 ^ MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Further extension of the activities of the department are
expected when the project matures of concentrating in one build-
ing, designed and built specially for the purpose, the three orga-
nizations which have bearing upon the welfare of the fisheries of
the country. I refer to the scheme for a great institution which
will house under one roof — («) The headquarters of the " Interna-
tional Council for the Exploration of the Sea," {b) The National
Fisheries organization, in charge of the Director of Fisheries, (c)
Laboratories for marine biological research in charge of the
University of Christiania.
No. 4(1921) BRINE-FREEZING 4I
c— P)R[xr-frep:zing.
XII— SCANDINAVIAN AND BRITISH METHODS.
One of the principal objects of my visit to Scandinavia was to
observe at first hand the methods employed in the Ottesen and
the Bull methods of brine-freezing. By the great courtesy of Herr
C. C. Kyhne, Manager of the Danske Frysnings Company, the pro-
prietors of the Ottesen patents, and of Herr Bull, the inventor of the
" Blok " system, I was able to see both . The Ottesen Company were
particularly kind as they arranged a special working demonstration
at Esbjerg for my benefit. Besides these I had the wholly unexpect-
ed pleasure of seeing a third and very practical system, that of
Mr. Nicolai Dahl, in ordinary commercial operation at Trondhjem,
and also to see the original models of Wallem's system, which has
given, it seems tp me, the central idea for the apparatus devised by
the Food Investigation Board in its experiments during and after
the war at Billingsgate Market, London. Of this apparatus I was
able to obtain full particulars. The only other important patents
that I know of, taken out for brine-freezing, are those of Hesketh
and Marcet (1S89), Rouart (1898), and Henderson (iQioV Of these
the first two are vaguely stated as immersion of the objects to be
frozen in brine brought to a very low temperature ; so far as I am
aware, they have not been elaborated in a commercial plant, hence
may be disregarded. With the third, the Henderson, I was already
well acquainted as the patentee had been in correspondence with
Sir F. A. Nicholson, to whom he had communicated full details of
this process, coupled with a general permission to use his patent in
India without payment of any royalty. Both Sir F. A. Nicholson
and myself have carried out experiments by this process with a
considerable amount of success. Hence it may be useful here to
review the systems with which I have now acquaintence, and which
comprise all those of any commercial potentialities, viz.. those
of Wallem (1890), Henderson (1910), Ottesen (1913X D^hl (1913), Bull
(1916) and the British Food Investigation Board's method (Adair
and Pique, 1918).
Before doing so, a few words are desirable upon the special
advantages claimed for brine-frozen fish over fish air-frozen in an
ordinary cold storage chamber. Put briefly these are {a) celerity
6
42 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL- XIV,
in operation, (h) retention of the natural appearance of fresh fish,
(r) less loss of weight, (d) better keeping qualities when thawed out,
(i') perfect naturalness of flavour and table appearance when cooked.
Celerity. — By any of the perfected brine-freezing methods herring
can be frozen to the bone within half an hour, sprats in twenty
minutes. If air-freezing were employed, at least twenty-four hours
would be required. In the case of larger fish of about six pounds
weight the period to freeze completely takes from one and a half to
two hours compared with from, thirty to thirty-six hours in
air-freezing. Consequently in brine-freezing the time required to
freeze a fish is from fifteen to twenty times less than if ordinary
air-freezing be employed, obviously an advantage of the greatest
value in the application of the freezing process to commercial
purposes, and particularly in cases of sudden gluts.
The reason for the greater rapidity of the freezing process in an
aqueous salt solution, " brine " as we term it, over the sharpest of
sharp-freezing in air, even at much higher temperature than in the
latter, is due to the fact that brine is much more efficient than air
in abstracting heat from objects immersed in it. This follows
principally from the great conducting power of water; air has a
contrary property and is indeed an insulator, a property made use
of daily by the employment of air spaces within walls to prevent
the passage of heat. In freezing, therefore, the heat of the object
treated is abstracted at a far greater rate when brine is employed
than air.
To those who have no acquaintance with freezing principles,
it may be mentioned that the reason solutions of salt (brine) are
used is due to the fact that these mixtures have a much lower
freezing point than pure water. The more highly concentrated
the solution, the lower the freezing point. That of concentrated
solution of common salt (sodium chloride) is — 2r2*' C. { — 6'l6° F.),
whereas for calcium chloride it is — 55° C. ( — 58° F.). Because there
is some penetration of the salt used, though it be very slight indeed,
it is in practice found preferable to use a solution oi common salt;
this permits of the maintenance of a temperature quite low enough.
Saturation is not necessary in practice and a satisfactory working
solution is obtained by the addition of 3 lb. of common salt to
each gallon of water.
The initial temperature of the brine before the immersion of the
fish should be in the neighbourhood of — 15" C. (5* F.) ; fish do not
Ko. 4(^921) BRIXE-FREEZING 43
completely freeze until their temperature is reduced to — 9"4^ C.
(T5°F.).
Appcarajicc. — Air-frozen fish have often certain outward charac-
teristics that condemn them in the judgment of the corisumer.
Consequently frozen fish -by which is meant air-frozen fish — fetch
low prices compared with fresh fish in spite of all efforts to break
down what the cold-storage firms declare is an unfounded prejudice ;
in the words of the fish salesmen " the British public will not buy
frozen fish at any price if fresh fish be obtainable." The prejudice
is, in fact, well grounded in the vast majority of cases. Impartial
examination of average air-frozen fish shows unmistakable out-
ward signs of deterioration in the sunken, cavernous eyes, and a
slight but distinct shrivelling and wrinkling of the skin. On
thawing, the fish, unless it possesses an exceptionally firm flesh such
as the salmon has, assumes a flabby appearance wholly repellent
and the wrinkling of the skin appears actually to increase. This
soft flabbinesS' characterizes defrosted fish irrespective of the
length of sojourn in the cold store; it is due to the rupture of the
tissues in the manner mentioned below, whereas shrinking of eyes
and skin is caused by the abstraction of water by evaporation
during a prolonged period of exposure to cold dry air— in the case
of air-freezing thirty to thirty-six hours with fish of 5 to 6 lb. in
weight, and longer still when larger fish have to be dealt with.
When fish are frozen in brine, no loss of water by evaporation
is possible; at the end of the process, the fish are absolutely of the
same appearance as when they were put in, or rather they appear
to have improved, being rigid and bright. The diff'erence in the
appearance of the eyes in fish frozen in brine and air respectively
is perhaps the most marked feature; in the one, rounded and
natural, in the other deeply sunken and dull; when thawed out,
the dift'erence in favour of the brine-frozen is intensified.
Loss of weight. — That an appreciably greater loss in weight
takes place during air-freezing, is obvious from what has been
said in the preceding paragraph upon the evaporation that takes
place during the prolonged period necessitated by air-freezing.
Keeping qualities, and retention of fiavour. — As already remarked
air-frozen fish when thawed out, with certain exceptions due to
specially hard and dense flesh, are flabby and soft, and in practice
are found to go bad more quickly than either fresh fish or brine-
frozen fish. Bjth the latter hive almost identical keeping
44 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV^
qualities provided the frozen fish was absolutely fresh when
treated. The reason for this great and vitally important difference
is the mechanical effects caused within the cells and tissues of an
animal (or a plant) by lowering the temperature to some point
below freezing point (a fish does not freeze at 32* F. because of the
saline constituents in the fluids and tissues). The effects are
particularly marked in the case of muscle fibres and this is the
economic fact of importance to us, for the edible parts of a fish are
the great muscles that form the flesh of the body. These muscles
are made up of extremely fine fibres, consisting of a delicate
sheath enclosing stiff semi-gelatinous contents of highly complex
chemical composition. It has been ascertained by microscopical
and other means, that when such animal structures be subjected to
temperature below that of the freezing point of water, the water
contained within the thick semi-gelatinous contents of the fibre
sheath, tends to separate out, gathering into drops which tend to
run together to form large ones and to pass eventually through the
sheath into the spaces between the fibres ; this process goes on till
the protoplasmic mass becomes honeycombed and converted into
a shrivelled sponge-like frame-work. If the temperature be suffici-
ently low, the exuded water freezes and changes into ice crystals.
The alteration thus produced are twofold — chemical and physical.
The former consists principally in the separation of an essential
compound, water, from the protoi^lasm of the cells (fibres), and its
exudation into the spaces between ; this if carried far enough
definitely destroys the protoplasm; it dies, and as a consequence
post-mortem change, autolysis it is called, becomes very rapid in
thawed tissues altered in the way I have described by slow freezing.
Among other chemical changes that ensue from autolysis, is one
that is found to affect antl destroy any particular flavour inherent
in the flesh.
The physical change is more easily understood. It is common
knowledge that water expands on freezing and that the more
slowly freezing takes place the larger are the ice crystals produced.
Consider then the disruptive effect on closely packed muscle fibres
of the formation around them and within them of large ice crystals :
on a microscopic scale the same mechanical effect is taking place
that we see when a water-pipe bursts during frosty weather.
If, however, freezing takes place with great celerity as in the
case of brine-freezing and we have seen that its rapidity is as 15 to
No, 4(1921) brine-freezinC 45
I compared with air-freezing, exudation of water from the fibres
and the formation of large ice-crystals are entirely obviated. If
the process be rapid enough the tissues remain physically and
chemically almost entirely unaltered ; the water within has been
frozen almost in the molecular state. This is what happens in the
case of brine-freezing and fully explains the difference in
behaviour and appearance of air and brine-frozen fish after
defrosting — the former soft and flabby with the cells and fibres
collapsed, the protoplasmic contents dried up and altered, and the
water formerly in combination within the cells and fibres, exuded
and free among the tissues. Can it be wondered at that fish thus
treated is insipid, flavourless, and ready to decompose still further.?
These ill effects are obviated by greater rapidity of freezing and
this is attained more or less eifectively in brine-freezing. Interest-
ing proofs of the absence of chemical or physical change in living
cells if frozen very rapidly have been afforded by experiments
carried out by botanists and physiologists, who have shown that
the life-activities of cells are not destroyed if frozen with great
rapidity, and may be resinned, when thawed again. This is practical
and conclusive proof, reinforcing satisfactorily the theoretical
deduction to the same conclusion.
Methods of Brine-Freezing.
In the middle of last century prior to the introduction of
mechanical refrigeration, the freezing of fish by immersion in a
mixture of salt and ice was in commercial operation in America
on quite an important scale. Subsequently artificial ice in Europe
and America became so cheap that the rough and ready method
of preserving fish for moderate periods and during transit by
packing them in crushed ice became universal and still continues
to hold its own in spite of manifold disadvantages.
An improvement upon the original brine and ice method was
invented by Herr Wallem who about 1890 experimented in the
refrigeration of fish. Models of his apparatus are preserved in the
Trondhjem Fisheries Museum. His earlier model consisted of a
barrel having longitudinally disposed deep ribs or baffle plates
inside. After partially filling with a mixture of salt and crushed
ice, the fish (herrings) to be frozen were put in and the opening
closed, the barrel being then rolled along the ground to ensure
constant movement of the fish within, for even at this early stage
46 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
the great advantage of continuous movement in accelerating the
rate of freezing was recognized.
Wallem's second model was designed to obviate the crudity and
inconvenience of rolling the barrel about on the ground. The later
invention consisted of mounting the barrel lengthwise upon
supports in such a way that it could be revolved readily by means
of a handle attached to the end of an axial rod fitted at one end of
the barrel. A square opening, provided with a hinged lid, permit-
ted of the filling and emptying of the barrel. Whether Wallem's
system was ever utilized commercially I do not know, but it is
obviously directly related to the method elaborated in 1918 by the
Food Investigation Board at Billingsgate Market, London, in the
basal idea utilized in the latter design of a revolving cylinder
provided with baffle plates \.3) to keep the fish in motion during the
duration of the process. The main differences are a ^'reat elabora-
tion of the mechanical perfection of the process and the substitution
of brine for the salt and ice mixture.
In its simplicity and adaptability to varying commercial needs
by the provision of two different types of machine, this British
design appears to be the most satisfactory of any until now devised.
In its simpler form as seen working this apparatus consists of a
number of large fish containers in the form of cylinders with per-
forated walls, revolving horizontally in a tank filled with brine.
This tank has double walls at the bottom and both ends
Evaporator coils fill the space between the floors ; that at one end is
fitted with a filtering arrangement, while at the other are fitted one
or more propellers to ensure the movement and circulation of the
brine. The walls of each cylinder are made either of galvanized
wire netting or preferably of galvanized iron plate with perforations
of about % inch diameter. Part of the cylinder wall is hinged in
order to provide an opening for filling and unloading the cylinders ;
in the inside three baffle plates, made of sheet iron, extend the whole
length of the cylinder .vide Wallem's design of a barrel with
similar baffle plates). The cylinders when required to be unloaded
can be lifted out by hooks worked from an overhead crane. In
the case of an apparatus of large size consisting of several cylin-
ders, each may be filled with different kinds of fish requiring
different times to freeze. The whole apparatus is placed in an
insulated casing, with removable covers-
No. 4 (192 1) BRINE-FREEZING 47
The second type of the apparatus is designed to freeze large
(luantities of the same kind of fish, the cylinders containing the fish
entering and coming out of the brine automatically. It is needless
to describe it here.
In operation, the tank is filled with brine made by dissolving
3 lb. salt in one gallon of water. For herrings this is cooled down
to some point a little below 10'' F. ( — ^I2'2°C.). With other and less
oily fish a lower temperature is required, for salt penetration depends
upon two factors, the oily or non-oily character of the fish and the
degree of temperature. The lower the temperature the less
danger is there of salt penetration, similarly oily fish resist penetra-
tion much better than white-fleshed non-oily fish ; for plaice the
temperature should be as low as 0^ F. ( - lyS'^ C).
When the temperature has been reduced sufficiently, the cylind-
er is loaded with fish to about five-eighths of its capacity, and
then lowered into the tank so that its spindle rests in the bearings
provided. On ope end of the spindle is a cogged wheel which
engages an endless chain; this when set in motion turns the
cylinder slowly ; this rotation aided by the baffle plates keeps the
fish in constant motion and so prevents them from adhering to
one another and also from massing together and so taking a longer
time to freeze completely.
The OttcscH inetliod Rs developed in commercial practice is most
practical. It is, however, in my opinion, inferior to the Billingsgate
method in certain ways— («) it has not such a perfect arrangement
for keeping the fish in constant motion, though I admit that in
working practice the movement obtained appears to be adequate,
and (/?) it entails more handling of the fish, for the freezing recep-
tacles being smaller the operations are less automatic in operation.
On the other hand it appears slightly simpler in design.
The Ottesen process has the merit of being in actual commer-
cial use. A wealthy Danish corporation has acquired the Ottesen
patents and has established large and well-equipped brine-freezing
works and cold-stores at Esbjerg and Skagen in Denmark, at
Gothenburg in Sweden, the North Cape in Norway, and Abo in
Finland. The parent company, the Danske Frysnings Company,
has a capital of Kr. 8,000,000.
The capacity of these factories is as follows : —
Esbjerg, a daily output of 30 tons of frozen fish and cold storage
capacity for 550 tons.
48 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Skagen, the same.
Gothenburg. 40 tons per day of frozen fish and cold storage for 1.200
tons.
North Cape, a daily freezing power of 20 tons and storage capacity for
400 tons.
Abe, the same as the North Cape installation.
The builHing at Esbjerg, which I had the privilege of inspecting
with work in full swing, was specially designed, and appears admir-
able for its purpose. It consists of two floors ; both appropriated in
major part to the purpose of cold storage rooms.
The receiving room on the ground fioor is furnished with deep
washing tanks formed of concrete. Into these the contents of the
fish boxes are emptied and rinsed in fresh water as quickly as pos-
sible to clean them from slime and dirt. Some fish as herring and
mackerel do not stand even a short immersion in freshwater with-
out deterioration, hence the need for celerity. The haddock on the
other hand is tolerant and so constitutes one of the best fishes for
freezing. Salt water is of course preferable but at Esbjerg the har-
bour water is too foul for the purpose !
As soon then as possible the washed fish are removed by means
of hand nets and thrown on trestle tables alongside to be sorted out
according to size, and placed, size by size, in different shallow
wire-net baskets. It is necessary to do this for the size of the fish
naturally controls the time required to freeze them, other conditions
being similar (sardines take 15 minutes to freeze while salmon of
good size require over two hours). The baskets are made with
perforated zinc sides, and bottoms of square mesh galvanized iron
wire-netting. Length 90 cm. by 50 cm. with a depth of 35 cm.
These as filled are stacked in piles 7 baskets high, all containing
the same grade of fish and secured by a special clamping frame.
When complete each pile is considered a unit ami is sent upstairs
by a small electric lift to the freezing room.
The freezing room is on the first floor with the tanks sunk in
the floor. Of these there are three series. At one side is a long
row of small deep tanks or rather pits {18 at Esbjerg\ each capable
of taking a freezing unit of seven baskets. Parallel with these is
a second series of three long tanks occupying the centre of the floor
and outside of this is a third row of six other tanks. The latter
tanks are where the brine is cooled to the necessary degree ( — 14^°
C), the interior being filled with coils of pipes containing CO2.
No. 4 (I921) BRINE-FREEZING 49
The median line of tanks is for equalizing the temperature of
brine from the different cooling tanks before it flows to the freezing
pits. All these sets of chambers connect by high level piping in
the following way : — each set of six fish-freezing tanks connect
with one equalizing tank and each of these with two cooling tanks,
A loiv-level pipe connexion also exists between the cooling tanks
and the freezing tanks; in each of these pipes a propeller is fitted,
drawing partially warmed brine from the freezing tanks to take the
place of the cooled brine that flows out by the high level con-
nexion first into the equalizing reservoirs and thence into the
fish-freezing pits.
When the temperature in all the tanks is reduced sufficiently,
i.e., to — l4/^° C, operations may be started by filling fish baskets in
clutches of seven into the freezing pits after a final souse in fresh
water in a small tank at the fore end of the line of freezing pits.
An instruction board is hung at one end of the room on which is
chalked the time' at which the fish in each particular pit should be
removed. This is necessary as the tanks are not all filled at
the same time, and again one tank may contain small fish which
require only one hour's immersion, while another lot of larger fish
may require two hours to freeze.
A small overhead travelling electric crane is used for carrying
the units to the pits and for lowering in and taking out. After
freezing, the crane takes a clutch of baskets to a pit filled with
fresh water and rinses them rapidly in it, partly to remove any dirt
adherent and also to give a coating of frozen fresh water —
" glazing " as it is technically termed.
From this point the baskets are carried to the packing tables,
where the fish are rapidly transferred to wooden boxes lined with
waterproof paper, and nailed down, the weight of e;ich being
marked legibly on the outside. After that they go to the cold
storage rooms to await despatch. When more fish is received than
can be dealt with in one day, it is stored with ice in an insulated
store adjoining the receiving room. Here the fish can be kept
absolutely good (in summer time in Denmark) for several days at
an expenditure of 8 lb. ice to 20 lb. fish. The insulating material
used throughout is tarred cork particles pressed into blocks.
To keep the fish fully frozen as long as possible when sending
by rail in ordinary covered railway vans, the boxes are insulated
roughly by surrounding the whole mass either with dried seagrass
7
50 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
(Zostera) or with wood shavings- the latter are preferable and
cheaper, but are not always available. A 3-inch layer is laid upon
the bottom of the wagon and up the sides and ends, as well as over
the pile of fish boxes.
The Henderson process, patented three years before the Ottesen
one, in essential features is the same in principle ; its particular
characteristic is a preliminary chilling of the fish, previously
gutted, either in a weak brine of about 5 per cent strength or in a
cold chamber (the former preferably according to Henderson's latest
practice) at or just under freezing point, prior to immersion in a
20 per cent brine solution at a temperature between 5° — 10° F. A
circulation of brine is maintained during the freezing stage to
accelerate the process. The patent provides also for the use in the
freezing brine of a certain secret substance in minute quantity.
There is some mystery about this, one writer speaking of it as a
volatile harmless compound and another as " sugar or some
innocuous material in very small quantity." Whatever it is, its
absence appears to make no appreciable difference in the result,
as judged by the numerous trials of this process made by the
Madras Fisheries Department. The results were generally most
excellent and there was never any question of the superior keeping
quality of fish so treated over similar fish unfrozen, packed for
rail transport in broken ice. The method, however, suffers from
several minor objections : — ■
(a) it entails two handlings in freezing against one in the
Billingsgate and Ottesen methods,
(b) the operation is slower, owing to the provision of a
preliminary cooling tank and the extra handling entailed, and
(c) most serious of all, the slight salt taste sometimes imparted
to the fish by their immersion in the chilling solution.
For all practical purposes, both the Billingsgate and Ottesen
processes are preferable, as they suffer from none of the drawbacks
inherent in the Henderson process.
The "Blok" system was patented in England in IQ16 by Herr
Henrik J. Bull, the Superintendent of the Chemical and Technical
Experimental Laboratory of the Norwegian Fisheries Department.
Its chief advantage was based on an alleged drawback in the
Henderson and Ottesen process. Herr Bull pointed out that in both
these, it is found that the frozen fish, by reason of their hard and
stiff condition and frequently more or less curved form, cannot be
No. 4(i92l) BRInE-freEzinG 51
packed in boxes in an economical manner; comparatively few fish
can be packed in one box and as a consequence the expenses of
transport are considerably increased. By the Bull method it was
claimed that this drawback was overcome. Shortly stated, it con-
sists of placing the fish in shallow trays retained therein by remov-
able wire net tops and bottoms, and frozen in situ into solid slabs of
fish. The first procedure favoured was to freeze these slabs of fish
in a mixture of salt and ice. This was quickly abandoned in
favour of immersion in brine with means provided by means of a
propeller at one end of the freezing tank to ensure circulation of
the cooled brine, in a fashion closely related to that adopted in the
Billingsgate method. At one time there was a great boom in
Norway in favour of the " Blok " system and great hopes were
founded upon its apparent practicability. It was pointed out that
the method afforded a means to effect great economies in transport,
and that if a van be filled with such frozen blocks superimposed in
piles, one has a magazine of cold which of itself will keep the fish in
perfect condition for a long time. There is also a great saving of
space compared with the ordinary method of sending fish in boxes
with broken ice packed amongst and around the fish. Only about
93 lb. of frozen fish can usually be put into an ordinary herring
box, but by the "Blok " system over 1 50 lb. of frozen fish can be
filled into the same box. Again, an ordinary fish box measuring
3 X 2 X ij^ feet weighs when empty about 66 lb. and in it are
packed 220 lb. offish and about IIO lb. of ice. In the same
box can be packed an average weight of 309 lb. of " Blok " frozen
fish. The flesh of fish consists of about 80 per cent of water, hence
it contains at least 7S per cent of ice and therefore a bulk of 309
lb. of hard frozen fish will contain or be associated with 23T lb. of
ice, or more than double the quantity of ice used in the ordinary
mode of packing. It will therefore bear a journey of double the
length under the same conditions; concurrently it will reduce the
freight to an extent of about 33 per cent on the same weight of
fish.
The position theoretically appeared sound and exceedingly
attractive. A company was formed and building operations were
commenced. Unfortunately the late war at that particular time
took such a turn as to preclude successful trade with Central Europe
and the capital of the company was exhausted before any start
could be made. The common mistake had been made of beginning
52 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XlV,
operations with a capital insufficient to endure any prolonged delay
in reaching the profit-producing stage. I had the advantage of
being shown the original experimental plant, installed in an out-
building of the Bergen Biological Station, and of having the process
and the vicissitudes of the promoting company explained in detail
by Herr Bull, with whom I sympathize greatly in the extinguish-
ment— for the time being only, I trust — of his hopes. The process
has, I am convinced, substantial and real advantages of its own in
regard to certain classes of fish.
There remains the Nicolai Dahl system to describe, a system
that in spite of certain defects, appears to me the most practical
and satisfactory of all in countries where ice can be obtained at
a very low price. The only plant in Norway is situated at
Trondhjem in the patentee's private packing house, and by Mr.
Dahl's courtesy the opportunity was afforded me, when in
Trondhjem, of inspecting it in detail and having its practical
working explained by the inventor himself. Mr. Dahl, who has been
working at the perfecting of his system since 1911, took out his first
British patent in I913. According to the specification the process
consists in " causing the liquid (cold brine) to trickle down between
the article from a point above the box or the freezing room (store,
railway wagon, the hold of a vessel, etc.) in which the article is
kept, thereby keeping the same constantly cool, while at the same
time the liquid supplied has a preserving effect. In this manner
the article will be thoroughly frozen in quite a short time without
losing its fresh appearance, and thus without its commercial value
being impaired. This is suitably and most advantageously attained
by placing a freezing mixture of ice and salt at the bottom of the
storage room, for instance the hold of a steamer, and utilizing the
cooling and preserving qualities of the liquid generated from
the said mixture."
Mr. Dahl is what is termed a self-made man, without the
advantage of higher education, but extremely shrewd and long-
headed. As may be inferred from this there are several points
about his system, or rather about his way of employing it as seen
during my visit, that outrages theoretical ideas, but to use the
vulgar phrase " the proof of the pudding is in the eating," and the
proof of Dahl's system is the fact that it is highly profitable and
that it is in everyday operation in his packing house. The appa-
ratus as worked in Trondhjem is located in a wooden single storey
Ko. 4(l92l) BRINE-FREEZING 53
building, unprovided with any special insulation. The freezing
work is done on the ground floor, usually with the street door wide
open. This room also contains the ice and salt stores, the salt,
however, being simply piled in heaps on the floor. An ice-crusher
breaks the blocks of natural ice employed in this factory into small
pieces, and these by means of an electric hoist are carried to the roof
and there shot down a shoot into two large square openings that
lead directly into the two main compartments of the brine reservoirs
in the basement beneath. Stretching right and left from the brine
tank openings on the floor level is a long narrow platform with low
sides, a few inches high. Along one side of the platform at a height
of between 3 and 4 feet is the brine supply main, a 2,^'2 or 3 in.
galvanized iron pipe fitted with short branches at intervals of about
3 feet. Each branch is fitted with a cock and a short length of
rubber hose. One end of the brine main connects with the bottom
of the brine reservoir in the basement; the other end is blind. A
centrifugal pump is fixed at the beginning of the main.
The ice and brine reservoirs consist of two main compartments
into which ice is fed, and an end compartment in which the cold
brine accumulates and from which it passes to the brine main and
centrifugal pump. An ingenious system of incomplete vertical
partitions that act as baffle plates, causes the brine to pass through
two masses of crushed ice before reaching the end reservoir. An
essential feature of the system is the packing of the fish to be
frozen, into trade boxes prior to be the freezing operation. These
boxes, of a capacity of 50 kilos of fish (say I cwt.), are of special
construction, the bottom being made of rather narrow boards
spaced a short distance apart, so that the bottom permits of free
drainage for any liquid that may find its way into the box. The
boxes before being packed already have part of the cover nailed
on, a strip along each side. As packed with fish the open boxes
(the central board of the cover being still unplaced) are stacked in
piles of three on the narrow brining platform, each pile directly
opposite one of the short side branches with which the brine main
is furnished. When sufficient boxes are ready for freezing the free
end of the short rubber hose attached to each branch of the main is
placed inside the open top of the uppermost fish box in each pile
and the cock opened. Everything being now ready to begin
operations, the centrifugal pump is started and this forces a steam
of cold brine into the main and thence through the side branches in
54 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Steady flow into the topmost box of each pile. The cold brine as it
rushes from the pipe, bathes the fish in the topmost box and thence
passes by way of the slots in the bottom of the case into the box
beneath and thence into the lowest one. From there it flows back
along the sides of the freezing platform to the open mouth of the
ice-filled reservoir to be rechilled by a double passage through
broken ice, before it returns to the cooled brine reservoir to be
re-circulated to the boxes of freezing fish. As undue dilution of
the brine solution ensues because of the necessity to pass the some-
what warmed brine aj>ain through crushed ice, piles of salt are
thrown into the gutters by which the used brine flows back to the
ice boxes, to restore its strength.
The process is undoubtedly a wasteful one so far as ice and
salt are concerned, and could not be used unless ice can be
obtained at an extremely low price — the ice supplied to this factory
costs only 15 kroner per metric ton, equivalent to about Rs. Il'; if
artificial ice were to be used the cost probably would be prohi-
bitive. But under the conditions that prevail at Trondhjem, it is an
undoubted fact that the system is operated successfully and profit-
ably. As offsets to the great waste of ice and salt involved in the
practice of this system are the small capital required to fit up a
complete installation and the low running costs. The apparatus is
extremely simple and inexpensive. The reservoir for the brine
and ice may be made of wood, the circulatory system consists of a
comparatively short length of iron piping with branches and cocks,
and these with an ice-crusher complete the installation. The only
power requisite is to work the pump and the little ice lift; power
electricity is available everywhere in Norway — so this ofl'ers no
difficulty in regard to capital expenditure.
The capacity of Mr. Dahl's Trondhjem plant is about 2,000
cases of frozen herrings per day, equivalent to 100 tons for the 24
hours. His plant can operate on 38 piles of three boxes each at one
time. The fr^^ezing process takes usually about lYz hour to com-
pletely freeze the contents of the boxes — rather less if the brine be
specially cold or longer when reduced in frigor strength. The bulk
of Mr. Dahl's frozen fish, herrings chiefly, goes to Germany, where it
commands, so he informs me, a price uniformly better than that
obtained for unfrozen fish despatched in broken ice. Usually the
journey to Germany takes five days; for the first 10 hours of this
period— as far as Hamar— the fish travels in ordinary covered
No. 4 (1921) BRINE-FREEZING 55
railway wagons; at Hamar it is transhipped into refrigerated vans
and so passes to Central Europe.
A second plant, similar in operation to that at Trondhjem, is
in operation at Gravarne near Gothenburg in Sweden. Mr. Dahl
informs me that six other plants have been arranged for under
his patent in California, for the freezing of salmon.
Those who have worked upon the brine-freezing of fish are
unanimously of opinion, whenever the process selected has been
properly carried out, that it offers incomparably greater advantages
than air-freezing. Hence it is surprising how slow the British
fish-trade generally has been to recognize the tremendous potentia-
lities of the former process; even yet British firms eye it with
conservative suspicion and disfavour, largely through want of
discrimination between brine and air-freezing results. It was due
solely to the exigencies of the war that the home authorities
began to experiment and even the very successful outcome thereof
has not made any appreciable impression upon those primarily
concerned.
The French, who of recent years appear to have regained
their ancient reputation for boldness of conception and for being
least weighed down among the nations by the inertia of
conservation, have gone much further, and 1920 saw the
establishment by the French Government of a magnificent brine-
freezing and refrigerating installation — so far as I know the finest
in Europe— at L'Orient in Brittany, The plant is capable of
producing 120 tons of ice per day, with ice storage capacity of
1,500 tons.
The object of the works is to deal satisfactorily with the
cargoes of frozen fish received from another Government freezing
installation at St. Pierre, off the Newfoundland coast, and also to
treat whatever fish is caught locally in quantities exceeding the
local demand for fresh fish.
The general method of operation in regard to local fish is
as follows: the fresh fish is landed from the trawlers in boxes
holding about I^ cwt. ; these are placed on electric trucks and
taken into the factory alongside the tables for cleaning and sorting,
on to which they are emptied. Very great care is taken in both
operations, the fish being sorted both into varieties and sizes.
They are then placed in wire-netting trays, each holding about
one cwt., which are taken by an electric elevator over a monorail
56 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV, No. 4 (1921)
to the freezing or the refrigerating tanks- (both systems are
employed), where they are at once placed in cold brine at the
temperature of 5° F. for freezing or 23° F. for refrigerating. When
frozen the trays are again picked up by the electric transporter
and stacked ready for loading into railway vans or into the cold
store chambers.
The time necessary for refrigeration varies usually from twenty
to thirty minutes, and for freezing from 45 minutes to 2V2 hours.
These fish-freezing works are designed to deal with a daily
arrival and despatch of 400 tons of imported fish, in addition to
freezing 30 tons of fresh fish, together with an output of ice of
120 tons.
With regard to India, if we can devise a method that will
successfully counter the special disabilities attending all freezing
propositions in a tropical country, its application on a large scale
should, among other utilities, go far eventually to render it unneces-
sary any longer tq turn immense quantities of wholesome sardines
into manure. To canners, the application of brine freezing to their
particular needs should prove an inestimable boon for stabilizing
the industry; at small expense they would be able to ensure an
ample reserve for use on the learx days when fresh fish are un-
obtainable, scarce, or bigh in price. In Scandinavia the utility of
brine-freezing plants is already recognized by canners, and brine-
frozen fish are now being utilized in this industry. Experiment
has further shown that brine-frozen herrings are equal to fresh
fish for kippering purposes.
The value of brine-freezing plants to obviate the waste that
attends gluts is obvious; indeed this object is one of the principal
reasons for the home Government's interest and experiments in
this process.
n.
Report No. 5 of 1921.
THH MADRAS MARINE AQUARIUM
BY
JAMES HORNELL, F.L.S., F.R.A.I.,
Direclor of Fhheries, Madras.
INTRODUCTORY.
This aquarium has the distinction of being the only one on the
Asiatic mainland ; indeed, except for the ephemeral ones erected
from time to time in Japan, it may be claimed as the first attempt
of its kind east pf Suez.
It was designed by Mr. E. Thurston during the last years of his
tenure of the post of Superintendent of the Madras Museum ; the
present writer well remembers discussing the arrangement of the
tanks with him, and giving what advice lay in his power, little
thinking that the whirligig of time would bring him the responsible
charge of its superintendence.
It was erected by the Madras Government primarily with a
view to give the public an opportunity of learning something of
the wonderful wealth of life in the sea at their doors, and partly
to afford facilities for the study of the habits of marine animals.
From the first it was an immense popular success, so much so that
in 1912, the then Governor of Madras, Sir Arthur Lawley, decided
upon enlarging it. The Fisheries Department had then come upon
the scene and at the urgent representation of the writer that an
aquarium is a necessity for efficient fishery research. Government
decided to incorporate with the proposed new aquarium, a series
of laboratories and offices suitable to form an up-to-date Fisheries
Biological Station. Plans have been drawn out but as they are
not likely to materialize for some years to come, the utmost has to
be made of the existing aquarium.
The present building was opened to the public on the 2lst
October 1909. It remained in charge of the Superintendent of the
Museum till 1919, when it was transferred to the Department of
58 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Fisheries, for the two-fold reason that this department has parti-
cular need for aquarium facilities in the carrying on of its investi-
gations of the life-histories of our local food fishes and because of
the greater facilities it has for stocking and supervision. One
outcome of the department's activities is the present descriptive
guide; another is the installation of electric lighting and fans.
That the improvements effected have been appreciated is proved
by the great increase in the number of visitors who have paid for
admission ; in 1918-19 the total was 96,957 only, in 1919 20 it rose
to 16.^517.
On entering the main hall, five large tanks are seen on either
side ; a central floor pond for fresh-water animals and a number of
table aquaria complete the accommodation available for the fishes
and other animals on view. The aeration of the water in the tanks
is dual, partly by the inflow of filtered sea-water from a high level
reservoir, partly by means of an air compressor delivering air
in a mist of tiny bubbles at the bottom of each tank. To obtain
sufficiently minute division of the air stream, it is delivered
under pressure through a filter candle hung in the tank. By this
means the water is kept so well aerated that it is possible to
maintain a permanent state of overcrowding seldom found except
temporarily in the open sea. Unfortunately it is impossible to
regulate this super-aeration to suit the varying constitutional
susceptibilities of every kind of fish. Some suffer in consequence
from a disease we may call " gas-eye." It arises from an excess of
air finding its way into the blood stream, by absorption through
the gill membranes; the outward sign of the disease is the partial
protrusion of the eyeball. Some fish thus affected eventually
recover, and all do so quickly if transferred to ordinary sea-water.
The majority if left in the tanks and unmolested sicken and die,
the actual cause of death being asphyxiation. But usually the
sight of a protruding eyeball is the signal for an onslaught by its
companions, particularly of certain species, who begin by viciously
tearing out the offending eye and end by killing the victim if they
can possibly manage it. Animal life in the sea has noplace in its
economy for hospitals and panjrapoles. As a consequence one
never meets a cripple and very seldom a diseased animal in the
sea ; life there is for the healthy and the strong alone.
The recent installation of electric light enables the tanks to be
brilliantly illuminated after dark ; it is an improvement that has
No. 5 (1921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 59
been greatly appreciated. In some respects the fishes are actually
seen to better advantage than under daylight conditions ; trouble-
some reflections caused by bright sunshine pouring in through
doors and ventilators are eliminated, while the flexibility permitted
by the use of electric bulbs enables the tanks to be lit from the
best possible angle. The fishes show perfect tolerance of this
artificial lighting, however brilliant it may be.
All the fishes exhibited have been obtained in the neighbour-
ing sea. Varied as is the collection, it represents but a tithe of the
species common in Madras waters. Many, such as the hilsa,
sardines and mackerel, are too delicate to stand handling and
transport to the tanks. Others are unattractive or too bulky for
exhibit and if accommodation is far too scanty to permit of showing
all the interesting fishes procurable, practically none is available
for the host of lower forms of life that constitute such charming
features of public aquaria in Europe. We get in Indian seas
gaudily coloured and quaintly fashioned crabs, wonderful spiny
lobsters, huge prawns with antennse a couple of feet long, sea-
cucumbers in slashed dress of purple and canary yellow, crimson
cushion starfishes covered with great knobs, lovely purple sea-
urchins armed cap-d-pie with poisonous lances, jelly-fishes and
violet siphonophores the hue of the deep sea, pelagic snails
ijcuithiiia) kept afloat by a wonderful raft of living bubbles, to say
nothing of the myriad forms of coral life found on the reefs at
Pamban, Kilakarai and Tuticorin. Scarcely any of these, for want
of space, can be shown. No room in the large tanks can be spared
even for the Octopus, that most fascinating and devilish-looking
product of nature's fanciful marine handicraft.
DESCRIPTION OF EXHIBITS.
An aquarium handbook cannot describe the creatures living in
the tanks in the precise order of their relationship to one another
as found in a text-book of zoology. Of necessity many types are
missing, either because they do not occur in Madras seas or
because of difficulties in bringing safely to the shore or of main-
taining in health when placed in the tanks. Active and delicate
fishes of the sardine and mackerel families are particularly diffi-
cult to keep alive in captivity. Another source of trouble in
placing fishes in their proper order in the tanks lies in the mental
and moral attitude of certain species towards their fellows. As
60 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
with men, there are fishes with the predatory instinct highly
developed ; many are unabashed cannibals ; others are of a nagging
and bullying disposition, never happy except when teasing and
snapping at others; another set revel in combats with their own
or related species. It requires a large experience of the varying
characters of the different kinds to know how to arrange " happy
families" in each tank; sometimes individuals of the same species
have to be kept apart to prevent quarrels and bloodshed. Hence
the following notes cannot be arranged strictly in zoological order.
The whole of the illustrations in these pages are from original
sketches by my assistants, Messrs. M. Ramaswami Nayudu, B.A.,
and K. R. Samuel.
TANK No. 1.
Indian waters abound in numerous species of sea-snakes. All
are highly poisonous, with venom much more deadly than that of the
cobra. Fortunately their disposition is sluggish ; they never attack
man unless trodden on or handled roughly, when, in fear and self-
defence, they attempt to protect themselves by making use of their
deadly poison. The few fatalities that happen among men are due
to incautious barefoot wading about in shallows on coral reefs
where these snakes are plentiful.
Till recently the sea-snakes in this tank had as companions a
number of Muraenids (Sea-eels or Piniiar pambn), dogfishes and
small sharks. They lived peaceably together, but the snakes were
never able to get food as their more active companions gobbled
all up before the slow-thinking snakes made up their minds to try
for any. The sea-snakQs were lately given the tank to themselves
and now the larger species feed ravenously upon chopped up fish
flesh, a curious change of habit, for in nature they prefer their food
alive ; in such a case the snake if it has the chance, seizes its prey
towards the tail; its fangs pierce the flesh and almost instantly,
within a couple of seconds, the fish gives a single convulsive writhe
and subsides into immediate unconsciousness and death. Without
at any time letting go its purchase the snake works its jaw-hold
forwards along the body of its prey till it reaches the head when
it opens wide its mouth and passes as much of the fish into its
gullet and stomach as it can manage. If the fish be large— often
a snake will kill and attempt to eat a fish as large as itself— the
process of engulfment may take hours ; during this time the tail of
No. 5 (1921) MADRAS Aquarium 61
the prey protrudes from the snake's mouth. They are fond of
sardines, but spiny fishes they generally avoid.
A single small fish, one of the sea-perches, lives unmolested with
these deadly snakes, and unconcernedly snaps up morsels of food
from amongst their w^rithing coils at feeding time.
The colouration of the skin is generally inconspicuous, but
one of the most deadly, Hydrophis spiralis (Tam. Kadal sarai),
has developed a livery of black and golden chequers that renders
it most conspicuous; this is generally believed to be an instance
of warning colonratioi/, a sign to any large predaceous fish that the
wearer is dangerous ; the value of this colouring is mutual — it
prevents both creatures losing their lives, for though a shark or
muraena may swallow and kill the snake, the latter would certainly
inject a fatal dose of venom into the attacker before it died.
Sea-snakes are often plagued by the settlement upon their body
of numbers of both acorn and stalked barnacles. The former of
these pests are , closely related to the little conical barnacles
that often render rocks near high-water mark so painful to the
barefooted visitor to the sea-side. Although they look more like a
conical shellfish — ^a limpet with the apex of its shell cut off — in
reality they are relatives of the prawns and sandhoppers as they
belong to the same group, called in science Crustacea. The young
of these acorn barnacles swim free in the sea for some days before
they settle down and attach to some solid body — rock, sea-snake,
turtle or even whale. The rest of their existence is spent in the
same position ; they exchange the pleasures of an unfettered life in
the sea for the comfort of an ignoble but safe lodgment upon
the body of some other animal (in this case) whose movements give
tlie uninvited guest continual opportunity to capture food from the
water around. The stalked forms are related similarly to the
well-known ship-barnacles often found in myriads attached to the
bottom of a ship that has returned from a long voyage.
Mure fortunate than turtles and whales, sea-snakes are able
periodically to rid themselves for the time being of these unwel-
come guests, for like land-snakes those of the sea shed their skin
from time to time. As the time to do this approaches, a sea-snake
becomes lethargic, floating passively just under the surface of
the water. When in a thoroughly healthy condition as they
now are these snakes shed their old skin in one entire piece ;
previously when in a state of starvation, the operation was tedious,
the skin coming away in shreds.
62 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
TANK No. 2.
Various kinds of sharks and of their smaller relatives, the
dogfishes, share this tank with ray-fishes and the snaKe-like
members of the eel family. The sucker-fishes also are usually
found in this tank.
As is well known, tropical seas swarm with many kinds of
sharks, some attaining enormous dimensions. Fortunately man-
eating species do not come near the shore in places where
surf bathing is indulged in. They keep usually to deep water but
the entrances to rivers and harbours, and anchorages frequented
by steamers, have an attraction for them because of the quantity of
garbage to be found there. The larger and more dangerous sharks
are omnivorous and none too dainty in their tastes. On one
occasion I found an enormous mass of feathers in the stomach of
one— it surely must have made a meal of a feather pillow! The
smaller species are often most exclusive in their dietary ; some
feed entirely upon crabs, others upon shellfish. All are usually
most highly infected with parasites, tape-worms chiefly ; books
have been written on the wonderful adaptations evolved by these
worms for retaining their hold upon the wall of their host's
intestine. Hooks, suckers and imbedded bulbous heads are the
chief devices employed ; their variety is infinite, their suitability
amazing for the purpose to be attained. And the names given by
zoologists to these strange creatures are by no means the least
wonderful of the strange things belonging to them. Imasjine
being christened Hori/ellobotlirinui cobrafonnis or Myzophyllohothriiiiii !
But to return to the sharks and their relatives. These form a
separate and strongly marked-off division of fishes, differing from
all others in having a series of openings, called gill-slits, along
each side of the neck. In the case of rays, which are flattened or
disc-shaped fishes evolved from a shark-like ancestor, the neck
being lost, gill-slits are found on the under side of the b )dy some
little distance behind the mouth. Another characteristic of the
shark and ray family is the cartilaginous or gristly nature of the
skeleton ; there are no hard limy bones as in the bamin, sardine, or
whiting. The form of the tail is also peculiar.
The ordinary shark is a handsome fish in the beauty of its
"lines" and the sinuous grace of its movements. Usually their
colours, like those of sea-snakes, are various shades of grey upon
the back, white on the belly. But some of those forms which
No. 5 (192 1) MADRAS AQUARIUM 63
we usually call dogfishes, are chequered and striped. One, the
Tiger Shark {Stcgostoiiiitin tigri)iiini), sometimes attaining a length
of 15 feet, is striped with vertical bands of black in a wonderful
way when young. He is the most brightly coloured of his tribe.
The curious Hammerhcaded Shark (Tarn. Koiubaii surd) is common
in these seas ; young specimens are often entangled in drift nets
and sometimes we are able to exhibit one in this tank. The reason
of the name is obvious; each side of the head is prolonged
laterally into a great rectangular projection, the eye being carried
out with it. Large individuals are sometimes caught up to seven
feet in length : these are accounted savage and are black-listed as
man-eaters.
The Rays {Thinikkai) live on the bottom resting there upon their
wide disc-shaped body ; the upper surface is usually sandy coloured
in life, so that as long as they remain quiet they are difficult to
distinguish. Certain species have bright blue spots scattered over
the back and others have various markings and marblings which
probably are mimetic, that is, they harmonize with the colour
of the bottom frequented by these particular species; a pebbly
bottom or one marked by scattered clumps of low weeds and shells
is imitated readily by fish with a tendency to brownish and whitish
marbling. Among the most peculiar of the ray family are the
Electric Rays {Ncircinc indica and TV. bniimca). They get their
popular name from the electric shock given out when touched.
With an adult ray, the shock is so strong as to paralyse the hand
and arm for the time being. Little ones of 6 or 8 inches in length,
usually shown in one of the table aquaria, give out merely pleasurable
thrills such as children love when handling toy electric
batteries.
Nearly all the rays have long tails. Many have them whip-
like in length and tenuity ; these are often sold as curiosities by
fishermen. Most of these whip tails are armed with one and some-
times two bony spines often a foot or more in length, closely barbed
on either edge with cruel, backwardly-directed teeth. The wound
inflicted by these formidable weapons is greatly dreaded by
fishermen the world over ; the hurt, besides being deep and severe,
often festers and heals slowly. In some species actual poison
appears to be secreted in a gland at the base of the spine.
The Eel family is represented in this tank by a true eel of a
species very closely related to the common European species
/.
64
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
{Auouilla vulgaris) and of similar habits. The form is snake-like,
but unlike the snake, a distinct fin membrane runs like a crest along
the greater part of the back and also on the under side of the tail.
A little fin is also found on each side just behind the gill open-
ing. The life-history of eels is perhaps the most wonderful of any
known among fishes. The baby eel is hatched out in deep
water far away from land and at first is a transparent pellucid little
thing quite different from the adult. As it grows it gradually
makes for the land ; at last it reaches the mouth of some river
together with multitudes of its fellows. By this time it has taken
on something of the adult form, — a little wire-like fish and is now
called an elver. In certain river estuaries these elvers congregate
in their season in enormous numbers, all looking for some likely
stream up which to swim. Although born in the sea, they now
seek to pass inland till eventually they may be found in brooks
and ponds, hundreds of miles from the sea. Gradually increasing
in size the elvers change into the well-known olive brown snake-
like eel and in this condition remain for several years. Sooner or
later a new instinct arises, a desire to leave the quiet inland home
and pass down to the sea regardless of all hazards. Simultane-
ously a brighter livery is assumed, the dark olive brown changing
to a lovely golden yellow — a veritable bridal garment.
KiG. I — Two common Madras Muiaenids.
Reaching the coast, the adult eels swim out to sea and there
complete their life-cycle, by spawning. Presumably the old eels
die thereafter, for no adult eel ever returns to the shallow waters
near the land or to the rivers where it spent its earlier years. Only
in 1920 were the breeding grounds discovered. Dr. J. Schmidt of
Copenhagen, who has devoted many years of his life to this quest,
at last succeeded and found them away on the far side of the
No. 5 (1921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 65
Atlantic, to the north-east of the Bahama Islands. The journey the
young eels have to make to reach European rivers, is the longest
migration known among the young of any animal.
Closely related to the eels, but without their interesting life
story are the Muracna group. These Sea-eels (Tam. Kadal
vilaugu), as they may be termed, in contradistinction to the ordinary
eel, which lives the greater part of its life in freshwater, are many
in species and wonderfully varied in their colouring. Some are
minutely spotted, others of black or brown colour are covered with
a network of white or of orange lines, others are blotched and
marbled. Some are nearly black, others orange yellow and many
brownish in general tinting. They differ markedly from the
ordinary eel in having no pectoral fins.
Were it not for their cruel faces, they might be termed
handsome. Their looks do not belie them ; they are indeed cruel,
ever hungry, ever on the watch for the unwary fish or crab.
Their chosen home is among rocks. The honeycombed surface
of a dead coral-reef is a favourite haunt, and I have actually
been snapped at by one of these vicious creatures when walking
over rocks at low tide. The beast heard my footsteps and
suddenly darted his head out of the little pool where he lay and
snapped at my foot. In this aquarium they show a peculiar
gregarious habit. Till recently they were kept with the sea-
snakes in tank No. I. On one occasion, a new comer was put
provisionally in No. 3 tank ; the next morning it was with its
fellows in No. I tank. The attendant averred that this was a
common habit, so, to test it further, another muraena was taken
from tank No. i and placed in tank No. 3 ; it was restless from the
first and, before long, came to the surface alongside the party wall
dividing it from tank No. 2, reared its head and neck high
enough up to get a purchase on the edge of the wall, and thereby
pulled its body well up and then slid over into tank No. 2; repeat-
ing the process at the other side of this tank, it won home to its
companions. In spite of this wish to be together, a smaller
individual runs the risk of being devoured by his brethren if they
be hungry.
Roman epicures were extremely fond of the muraena ; these fish
were kept by the rich in stew-ponds and there are stories of the
throwing of slaves into the muraena ponds as food for these
voracious brutes.
2
65
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Here or in tank No. 3, are generally to be found specimens of
the curious Sucker-fishes. These fishes, sometimes called Remora,
whereof " the shipholder," Echeneis naucrates (Tam. Appitkkutti) is
the most common species, are so called from the presence of a
sucker-like organ on the top of the head. This sucker is compound,
made up of a number of transverse plates set in an oval frame.
By its help these fishes are able to attach to ships, whales, sharks,
and turtles and so get carried about without effort on their part.
They are commonly to be seen attached by the sucker to one of
Fig. 2.— The Common Sucker-fish {Echeneis fiuucrates).
the walls of the tank. The power of adhesion of the sucker is
marvellous; even a small sucker-fish of two feet in length will
sustain a pail of water weighing over twenty pounds, if it be
allowed to get a firm grip on the inside and then be lifted by the
tail. Under water it can of course be made to drag a much greater
weight with equal ease.
The refuse from a ship and the fragments from a whale's dinner
furnish easily-got meals, but not infrequently they fall victims to a
shark's hunger. The sucker is formed by a modification of the
first dorsal fin.
Columbus, amongst other stories of the curiosities of the New
World he gave to Castile and Leon, described how the sucker-fish
was used by the Carib fishermen of the West Indies for the
capture of turtle and fishes. With a cord attached to its tail, it
was liberated from the canoe near the turtle to be captured ; to
this it attached, probably from no other reason than that it was a
large solid mass, and held on tightly enough to permit the turtle
to be hauled within reach. At the present day, this clever method
of turtle-fishing appears to be unknown to the fishermen of
Cuba. Parallel accounts have appeared of the practice of the
same ingenious method on the Zanzibar coast, and it is said that
Chinese fishermen also employ it. In our own tanks it exhibits
No. 5 (1921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 67
this habit of attaching to any large animal within its reach, even
to a larger individual of its own species if this be the biggest fish
in the tank. The habit has been acquired probably to enable it
to gain its daily bread with the minimum of exertion. In other
fishes (some of the gobies) a sucker is similarly formed by the
modification of the ventral fins. In this case the use is not to
facilitate transport without effort, but conversely to prevent
being carried away by a strong current or the backwash of the
surf. These particular gobies are but tiny fishes and have not
the strength to withstand the force of water without the help of
a specialized organ.
Our common species of Remora is banded longitudinally on each
side with two conspicuous white bands enclosing a median dark
stripe. Like many other fishes it has the power of suppressing
or changing certain colour markings at will, and for a few minutes
the white stripes along the sides often disappear.
A fish of quite a different family is sometimes mistaken even
by fishermen for the common remora. This is the Buttcrfish,
Elacate nigra (Tam. Kadal viral). It has the same white bands
enclosing a dark one along the sides and the slender form of the
body adds to the resemblance. But it has no sucker and its habits
are totally different. Instead of a picker-up of crumbs from rich
men's tables, it forages for itself and its name of kadal viral well
describes its predatory nature and savage instincts.
TANK No. 3.
Among a crowd of pretty fishes in this tank, the palm of beauty
must be given to one of the Butterfly fishes {Hoiiochns macrolepi-
dotiis) (Tam. Sadakkan). Its bold black and white banding and
yellow fins arrest the attention. The dorsal fin carries a long
yellow streamer often missing however, as it is too tempting to
other fishes, who generally bite it off. Heniochiis though slow
moving is of a vicious nature and plays the bully towards the
wounded or sick. A number of Apogoii aureus, the marine goldfish,
were at one time in this tan'<, and as these fishes are very suscep-
tible to " gas-eye," one after another developed this ailment; no
sooner did the eyeball protrude, than one or more of the Hcniochns
made an onslaught and plucked it out, afterwards attacking other
parts of the body.
Another interesting fish here is the Pearl-spot, Etroplus siiratensis
(Tam. Seththa-kendai). Although smill, it is likely to have great
68
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
economic importance in this Presidency; it has a fairly good
flavour, looks well on the table and has the most valuable quality
of being able to thrive as well in fresh water as in the salt and
Fig. 3. — Yellow-fmiied Butterlly-fish {Heiiiochtis niacroUpidotits),
brackish waters of estuaries and backwaters. It lives equally well
/
(#) ^^'^ i » ^ M ^^ P^ ^^ %- ^^ ^
Fig. 4. — The Pearl -spot {Etroplus snrateiisis)
No. 5 (1921)
MADRAS AQUARIUM
69
in the Adyar and the Fort moat as in the great irrigation tanks in
Kurnool, away in the heart of Southern India. The female lays
her eggs on the under sides of stones and logs; both male and
female keep guard over the eggs till hatched, the male showing
special solicitude. The Pearl-spot attains a foot in length and being
largely vegetarian in diet and non-predaceous, is being used
extensively by the Fisheries Department in improving inland
waters by introducing it into tanks where it was previously
unknown. It breeds both in salt and fresh water.
An interesting account of the breeding habits of this fish will
be found in Vol. XII of the Madras Fisheries Bulletin, where
Mr. N. P. Panikkar describes them in much detail.
Those Etroplus that live in fresh water are far paler in colour
than those that live in estuaries ; indeed the degree to which the
bands are darkened is a fair index of the degree of salinity of the
water where they live.
The pretty Spotted Spsdc-fish, Scatopliagus argiis (Tam. Sippili),
so named ((trgus) from the rows of eye-like spots scattered over its
silvery sides, is usually present in this tank, together with other of
the many kinds related to the butterfly-fishes, all of which have
the peculiarity of being flattened from side to side like the pomfret.
Fig. 5. — Spotted Spade-fish {Sc itoph,igtis ar.;iis).
Another inhabitant is Cirrhitichthys aureus, called 5/7;/^'-^;/ by our
fishermen. It is a small fish, rose-tinted in faint longitudinal lines
70
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
and with numerous cleeper-hued blotches. It has a peculiar habit
of resting, tripod fashion, upon the tail and pectoral fins, folding
down close to the body the intervening anal and ventral fins. It
even moves about on the bottom by working the long pectoral
finrays in the manner of legs.
Another pale red fish in this tank is the little Scolcpsis
vosmcri (Tarn. Kddai Diiu), remarkable for the presence of a great
white patch on each cheek — possibly a " recognition mark," like
the white buttocks of many antelopes and the little white bob-tail
of the wild rabbit.
One of the few Sea-Breams of Indian waters, Chrysophrys hcrda
(Tam. Kantppu maltivaii), a stoutly built silvery fish, also lives in
this tank.
Some of the Horse Mackerels and Yellow Tails (Tam. Parai), a
common family in Madras waters, are occasionally on view in
this tank, or in No. 6. They are silvery fish sometimes tinged
on the fins with yellow, and with minute scales like the true
mackerel. Their striking peculiarity is a row of bony shield-like
Fig. 6. — Oae of ihe Horse-Mackerels (Card^ir affinis').
plates on either side of the tail. The larger species find ready
sale although their quality cannot be classed as other than fair.
Young ones have the habit of taking refuge under the umbrella-
like disc of large jelly-fishes.
Examples of two common crawfishes of these seas, the Spiny
Lobster {PamiUnix) and the Squat Lobster {Scyllarus) are occa-
sionally shown in this tank. Bath have the curious habit of
swimming bick wards by means of a vigorous flipping of the
No. 5 (192 1 )
MADRAS AQUARIUM
71
" tail." The dirty khaki colour of Scyllanis appears to be of great
advantage in the struggle for existence, for they are very common
on the Madras coast where many are caught in those fishermen's
nets which sweep over the bottom. (See also page 93.)
TANK No. 4.
The File or Trigger fishes are represented here by several
species, a brown one called Balistcs iiiger (Tarn. Kuravaii), a deep
blue one, which appears however of rich plum colour by electric
light, B. crythrodon (Tam. Pcchchaikkiiravan), and a small orange-
banded species B. iiuditlatiis (Tam. Manjalvarikiiravau). Their
English names are due to the presence of a great rough file-like
spine in the first dorsal fin, that can be erected and locked in this
position. The flesh is poor and in ill-esteem. In many people it
produces poisonous effects, but the fishermen on this coast appear
to be immune and eat large numbers, at least of the sober-hued
species. It is possible that the more gaudy coloured species are the
poisonous forms, and if so, the colouration here is of a " warning "
nature.
Fig. 7. — The Blue File-fish {Balislcs erythrodon).
The Blue file-fish is exceedingly handsome, and has the
peculiarity of having red teeth ; the tail fin is strangely elongate
and crescentic in this species. When resting on the bottom it lies
over on one side. The smallest of these file-fishes, the striped
Balistes iiiidiilatiis, is extremely pugnacious towards its own kind;
if two are in the same tank — males probably — they often indulge
72
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV.
in a fight to the death. They will attack and kill fishes consider-
ably larger than themselves, for example one recently killed a
young tiger-shark, a foot in length.
Fig. 8. — The Yd low -striped File-fish {Ralisles tiKdiilains).
Other fishes are the horizontally banded Therapon jarbua (Tam.
Palinkichdn), a little sea-perch very common in the sea and the
backwaters about Madras. In numbers it makes up what it lacks
in size and though of little market value, it has for that very
reason much importance for the poor.
Fig. 9— The Zoned i'erch {Therapon jarbua). X 3.
TANK No. 5.
A crowd of pretty fishes of diverse relationships are herded
together in this tank. The prettiest and certainly the most strik-
ing in colouration is one of the Sea Perches orSchnappers called
No. 5 (1921)
MADRAS AQUARIUM
73
Liitiaiius scbae (Tarn. Koudankaraikiu). It is common in the vicinity
of Madras, but is never seen at Tuticorin. When first brought in
from the sea its colour is magnificent — broad crimson bands
crossing the body upon a snowy white ground. After a time the
crimson fades to a deep rose, still most lovely in its contrast with
the white. When excited and also during feeding time, the white
ground colour assumes a rosy tinge. Young specimens are
generally attacked by the larger ones when put together in the
same tank. Another species, Lutiauus aiuiularis (Tam- Kattupirioii),
Vie. 10. — I!an(lcd Schnapp'jr { f.iilia it iis setae). X
is usually to be seen in this tank, its forehead marked by a
longitudinal dark band with other bands on the body. Ai
Tuticorin these body bands do not appear. Other species of this
genus are often present in tanks Nos. 6 and Q.
Other noteworthy fishes here are the Spinctails, usually so
much flattened in form and expressionless in features as to give
an impression of artificiality — cardboard fishes ready to paste upon
a screen as a decoration. They are easily recognized by the
presence of a remarkable and powerful spine on each side of the
fleshy part of the tail. Each spine has a sharp cutting edge and
when erected — it lies when quiescent in a groove — serves as an
efficient weapon of defence. Several species are shown. Acan
thunis liiieatus (Tam. Varikkoahimin) is pale blue with yellow lines
3
74
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
while Acaiithunis maioidcs is striped IcrgiUidinally with wavy
bhie lines on a brownish ground. When excited the colours
intensify and darken. These spine-tails are quiet and inoffensive
as a rule, but when excited, they become dangerous, and wounds
inflicted by their spines are dreaded by the aquarium attendants.
Fig. II. — The Banded Spiae-tail {Acauthurwi slr/gosiis).
The curious Unicorn fishes, Naseus unicornis (Tam. Miillik-
kozhimiii) and A^. birvirostris (Tam. PuUikkdshimin) are sometimes
present ; they seem much rarer than their relatives of the genus
Acaiithunis, from which they differ in their smaller and usually
more numerous tail spines. Their distinguishing feature is a
prominent bony projection, the caricature of a nose, jutting out
from the forehead, between the eyes. To meet a shoal of these
fishes, as the writer did once when on the bottom of the sea in a
diving-dress, is a weird and uncanny sight, made more so by the
unblinking stare of the great expressionless eyes.
Of gaudy Parrot-fishes, perhaps the brightest hued of all coral-
haunting fishes, the pretty Jul is liiuaris (Tam. Pacha i-clii:t in) is
usually to be seen here, easily recognized by reason of the metallic
sheen of the blended green and blue and orange that make up its
colour scheme and the handsome crescentic form of its yellow tail,
unfortunately often bitten down to a stump by its tank mates.
The teeth are most powerful in this family, as well they may be,
for they browse largely upon branched corals. They are not
esteemed highly as food.
No. 5 (T921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 75
TANK No. 6.
The little Goat fish {Upciicus iiidiciis, Tarn. Kalnavarai) is one of
the most interesting fishes here. It is closely related to the Red
Mullet, so esteemed among Roman epicures, and like it, is excellent
eating. Under the chin are two stiff white prong-shaped processes
termed barbels; at rest these lie folded back in grooves, in use
they are erected and employed to rake the sand in search of food.
As the fish moves slowly over the bottom these barbels move
alternately like two stiff legs and give the impression of being
used for locomotion. In life the colouring, like that of the Red
Mullet, is red streaked with lines of clear yellow ; if the scales be
scraped off, the bright scarlet of the skin shows up more clearly ;
European fishermen regularly do this to enhance as they think, its
value.
Larger and more striking in general appearance are the
Butterfly fishes belonging to the genera Holocanthiis and Chaetodoii.
They are by fAr the most gaudy of tropic fishes, their haunts coral
reefs and rocky banks abounding with bright coloured sea-fans.
The majority are quite small, but the lovely Emperor fish
iHolocanthns imperator, Tam. Kiillikoshimin), striped bright blue and
canary yellow, reaches the length of about one foot. On the
Tinnevelly coast the fishermen name this gorgeous beauty, the
Vannatthi or " Dhobi's wife," a sly hit that will readily be under-
stood. The varieties of these Butterfly fishes are as numerous and
diverse as are those of the butterflies of the land. Some have
blue sides marked with concentric oval white lines, others have
bright blue stripes on a brown body, or a brown body with j^ellow
shoulder spots and yellow fins, while many have broad dark
bands, oblique or vertical, crossing the white or yellowish sides.
The Chactodons are thick skinned and their colours so striking
that they are favourites with the taxidermist; many museums in
the world show quite large series of atrociously coloured fishes of
this genus that deserve to be relegated to a special chamber for
museum oddities and caricatures.
One foreign Chaetodon, C. capistratiis, the so-called " Four-eye,"
remarkable for a great eye-spot on each side just in front of the
tail, has the curious habit of tending other fish for the same pur-
pose as the white paddy-birds pay such attention to the water-
buffalo. The fishes thus served appreciate the service and will
76
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
open their mouths invitingly to the " Four-eyes " that these may
search within for any parasites that may be there.
The Jew fishes or Sciacnida2 (Tam. Kathdlai) are usually
represented here by several species. They are amongst the most
important Indian fishes of economic value ; on the West Coast
(where they are called Kara) they are caught in great quantity ;
around Madras smaller species abound and it is a curious fact that
Fig. 12. — Jew fisli i^Sciadiia iiiilcs), X \
while the large species are excellent eating, tlie small are soft-
fleshed and insipid. The swim-bladders obtained from large Jew-
fishes are dried and exported as "fish-maws" or "sounds." for
conversion into isinglass.
Various other sea-perches are present from time to time ; to
enumerate them here would be tiresome and of little or of no
service, as a coloured and named figure of each will be found in
the frame along the upper edge of the tank.
TANK No. 7.
This tank is largely appropriated to a fine show of that
magnificently ornate creature, Russell's Scorpicn fish {Ptcrois
nisselli, Tam. Tlmmbimiu), so named in honour of Dr. Russell, the
first Englishman to make a scientific study of Indian fishes.* In
some ways this is the most interesting and striking fish in the
Aquarium. The fins have attained a size far beyond anything
* Whcu slalioned at VizagapaUm he made an extensive collection and in 1S03 the
East India Company published his descriptions of 20Q of these, under the title Fishes
Jroni the Coast, of Coromaiidel.
No. 5 (1921)
MADRAS AQUARIUM
requisite for swimming; indeed it is notably slow-moving and
lethargic, hence this monstrous development must have some
other reason. Besides a great lengthening of the bony rays that
support the fins, the membrane between them has been increased
so greatly that the fins have come to simulate the frills and fur-
belows so common in ladies' dress in the Victorian age. And the
fish is beribboned as well, for many of the fin rays are prolonged
beyond the main frilling of the fins, while leafy outgrowths sprout
from the lower border of the face. As the body colouring of shades
of brownish red on a whitish ground is continued upon the fins
-;■■.■••;■■•■■... -■ '■Vki/".'-
v., -wioH-';-, ^:-v;
•■■■■•■ ^■«:*:^:n'.v,. "iiz.
^ /I V/ /ifi / i M.,f .■■••-X-"" •/
Fig. 13. — Russell's Scorpion-fish {Pierois riissclli). X §
to the end of the uttermost fluttering ray-ribbon, the tout ensemble
is peculiarly arresting. The fish's movements too are those of the
mannequin on show; when it swims, it sails along very slowly
and gracefully with a just perceptible fluttering of the great
butterfly-like fins ; it often halts for quite a considerable time as
though asking for admiration and at times will even slowly rotate
that one may view it from all points.
When in its favourite stationary attitude, its fins gently quiver-
ing, it has much the appearance of a stone decked with fluttering
78
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
red-brown seaweed. Some have suggested therefore that this is a
case of protective colouration, but this I doubt. The quick-eyed
people of the sea are not so easily deceived and in my opinion its
colouration and form are more likely to serve as warning signs
that their owner is an unpleasant morsel, and one best left severely
alone. This seems the more reasonable as this fish is particularly
bony and is able to inliict dangerous wounds with the spines of its
dorsal fin, which are provided with poison glands. The aquarium
attendants have, if anything, more fear of handling this fish than
they have of the deadly sea-snakes.
Possibly the weed-like appearance of this fish has a secondary
mimetic purpose, for while I do not think that large fish that might
prey upon it would be deceived, this may happen in the case of the
tiny fish and fry that it feeds upon. Their outlook in life is so cir-
cumscribed that they may well take the mass of fluttering reddish
ribbons to be a bunch of weed and so approach it in misplaced
confidence with fatal results.
In the same tank are several examples of a large-eyed brilliant
copper-red fish which may appropriately be called the Blotch-eye
{Myriopristis /nnrdjaii; Tam. Miiiidakankdkdsi), of a genus that
had many representatives in byegone days and whose fossil
Fig. 14. — Blotch-eye [J/yrio^r/s/is nitirdjan').
remains are common objects in geological museums. They often
suffer from " gas-eye " and in this condition are unable to maintain
themselves in a horizontal position ; instead however of floating
head up they float vertically with the tail up. A remarkable dark
blotch passes through the eye, with another behind the gill cover
No. 5 (19^1)
MADRAS AQUARIUM
79
or operculum ; the tip of each fin is also ornamented with a similar
dark blotch.
Closely akin to the well-known Pomfrets are the curious Bat
fishes whereof the Black Bat-fish is the commonest. In these
fishes the dorsal and anal fins are so excessively elongated as to
give the body a crescent-like form — a weird black crescent moon
traversing a slow and stately orbit within the limits of this small
tank. In the young condition one of these fishes {Platax vespertilio),
often found in inshore pools on the rocky coast of south-west
Ceylon, has been noted as simulating in form and colour a dead
leaf, resemblance heightened by its habit of reclining on one side
for minutes at a stretch.
Examples of two species of yellow Angler-fishes are always
present in this tank. The smaller one, Autciiiiarius liispidus (Tarn,
Thoppaimin), is common at Madras.
I-IG. 15. — The ^'elluw .\ny;ler {Aiiiciinarius hisj'i.iiis) . X j
Like its well-known relative in European waters (Lop/iiiis) it has
the first dorsal fin-ray modified into a miniature fishing rod with a
fluffy white tassel at the end to represent the bait. The angling
habits of the two differ considerably ; the big European fish buries
his body in the mud, the bait and a length of the rod protruding,
to tempt the curiosity of other fish, whereas the Madras fish is a
lumpy little fellow who loves to hide his yellow body striped with
brown among sea-weeds. There he remains motionless, camou-
flaged exactly in the same way as a tiger in a thicket of reeds or
bamboos. All that ever moves is the rod and bait. The former is
hinged near the base and the tassel bait is often flicked up and
80 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
down to attract the inquiring eyes of some little fish or prawn.
Woe to those who give way to their curiosity ! The little Angler
may be inert as a stone while awaiting his prey but on these
occasions his jaws and throat are galvanized into surprising
activity — the prey is instantaneously sucked into the gaping mouth,
the jaws shutting with a snap. If danger threaten the " bait " — it
would be a misfortune to have it bitten off — the rod folds down
and the tassel-like end snuggles into a little pit between the
two strong fin spines immediately behind the fishing rod. As he
lives almost entirely on the bottom, his breast or pectoral fins and
in less degree the ventral ones also, are modified into hand-shaped
claws, most useful to elbow him quietly over the sand and gravel.
They occasionally spawn in the tanks; the eggs, extremely
numerous and tiny are embedded in a colourless gelatinous band-
shaped sheet, relatively of enormous size compared with the parent.
One such sheet deposited early in September 1919, measured 9/^
feet in length, with a width of 614 inches.
A second species, A. nninmifcr, is also found at Madras, but is
distinctly less common. In this the body is smooth and in colour-
ing irregularly blotched.
The feeding of these anglers causes the attendant considerable
anxiety ; they are so accustomed to have their prey conie to them
and literally fall into their mouth, that when feeding-time arrives,
their more active tank companions give them no chance to get any
food. The attendant gets over this difiiculty by transfixing a
morsel of fish on the end of a long wire and dangling it above the
face of the fish. The temptation does not always succeed; this
fish takes so long to make up its mind that as often as not a
scorpion-fish pounces on the morsel and the whole operation has
to be gone through again — a situation that tries the patience of
the attendant and often results in the angler having to go without
his dinner.
TANK No. 8.
Of the numerous kinds of fishes in this tank, the most noteworthy
are the Glob2 or Puffer fishes, distinguished for the curious pro-
perty they possess of being able to blow themselves up with water .
or air when alarmed. Few are brightly coloured ; among these is
the one called Tctrodoii patoca (Tam. PnUi['iI(ic]uu) which shows
pretty shades of yellow and green on the sides and throat when
distended. The fore part of the gullet in these fishes is enormously
NO. 5 (1921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 8I
developed as a great pouched sac passing backwards between the
skin and abdominal organs. By admitting air or water into
this it puffs out like a balloon, doubling at once the diameter of the
body. At the same time the thorny spines that lie at rest in the
skin, are erected to add emphasis to the horrific appearance of the
creature — a marine counterpart of the fretful porcupine. To add
to its defences, the flesh is esteemed to be poisonous ; indeed it is
the only fish with really unwholesome flesh in our waters, though
under certain exceptional or seasonal conditions some other fishes
may occasionally (rarely) induce symptoms of poisoning.
These Puffers are very common at times in the shore seines
{karai valai). When drawn from the sea they instinctively inflate
themselves and as it is now air with which they are filled, they
float helpless, upside down, if thrown back into the sea. These
animated footballs are, of course, the joy of every child that is
lucky enough to find one on the beach. In Japan the skins are
dried inflated with a filling of paddy husk, and later when emptied,
are often made to play the part of Chinese lanterns, a candle being
ingeniously introduced within.
The scientific name of the genus is Tetrodou, in allusion to the
parrot-like jaws, each armed with two great white cutting teeth,
sharply edged, capable of inflicting a nasty wound. Pufl"ers are
among the many enemies that young pearl-oysters have to contend
with.
Amongst themselves there is continual strife, and the common-
est species at Madras, Tetrodou ohlongus (Tam. Karum pilachai),
is particularly pugnacious when excited or hungry. They are apt
to set upon any weak or sick fish in the same tank, crowding round
it and while one gets hold of the tail, others tear at the pectoral
and other fins and the rest bite pieces out anywhere they can get
a grip with their great parrot-beak teeth. Whenever Puffers are
kept together, they appear a ragged, crippled crowd ; not one
amongst them can boast an entire tail ; the other fins are also often
bitten down to mere stumps.
Several specimens of that handsome and useful food-fish,
Dre pane punctata, the Spotted Dory, find a home also in this tank.
Known in Madras as Pnllithirattai, in the Gulf of Mannar it is called
Painthai. It usually moves about in shoals and is one of those
bottom-haunting fish that should be caught in large quantities
when steam-trawling shall begin to take adequate toll of the
82 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
inhabitants of the sea, which our inshore men with their inefficient
gear are quite uneciual to do.
TANK No. 9.
This tank is the usual home of Pomfrets, Grey Mullets,
Cat-fishes, Soles and other Flat-fishes and of various species of
the larger sea-perches for which room cannot be found elsewhere.
The Pcmfiets, better known on the Bombay side than here, are
represented by three species in these waters, the White Pomfret
{Stroiuatcus sinensis), the Silver Pcmfret (5. cinciriis) known as the
Grey Pomfret when adult, and the Black Pcmfret, which is really
not a Pomfret {Stromateus) at all, being more nearly related to the
Horse-mackerels {Carangida'). All are deservedly among our most
highly esteemed Indian focd-fishes, taking the place on our tables
of the sole and plaice of home waters. Unlike the latter fishes, they
swim upright in the water, but as they are compressed greatly from
side to side and are deep from back to belly, they have much the
same appearance as the plaice when we see them in the cooked
condition. Though common here they never reach the incredible
shoals met with on the Bombay coast, where they share with
Jew-fishes and Bombay-ducks the credit of being among the three
most valuable classes of food-fishes of that coast.
Of extremely compressed form are the true Flat fishes, the Plciiro-
ncctidcc of science. Though not often seen in our markets, they are
common enough, as for example the Indian Sole, Plagusia marmorata,
known to Tamils as the Ndk/cuinin or Tongue-fish, and the Indian
Turhot {Psettodes enunei, 'Tarn. Ernmei ndkku). All these fishes are
much flattened and have the habit of habitually lying upon one
side — the so-called " blind side." This side, besides being bereft
of an eye, is normally white or colourless, whereas the upper
surface is usually speckled and marbled to harmonize with the
colour of the sea bottom. But the underside has not been always
eyeless. The little flat-fishes when hatched from the egg are very
much like other fishes, with a "round " or nearly cylindrical body,
with both sides alike, and with an eye on each side of the head.
For sometime the larva swims freely in the sea but as it grows
older it heads towards the land ; when it reaches shallow water
it takes to the bottom and lies on one side, sometimes the right,
sometimes the left. It is obvious that an eye on the under side
in contact with the sand is useless and reduces materially the
No. 5 (1921)
MADRAS AQUARIUM
83
eye-power of the owner. So, little by little, the still plastic bones
of the orbit on the lower side twist round till they come to face
upwards, taking the eyeball with them. Nothing of this kind takes
place in the equally flattened Ray-fishes, for there the flattening is
from above, causing the si'ics of the body to spread out like wings,
whereas in the Flat-fishes proper, the compression is from side to
side, and so if the fish has to lie prone on the bottom it must be
lying on one side or the other. It seems immaterial which side
shou'd be downwards; whichever it may be, usually it loses all
pigment, while the upper one develops it of such tints as afford the
fish almost perfect concealment.
The true Mullets (Tam. Madavai kendai) are handsome fish of
great value to man, as they abound particularly in backwaters and
estuaries. They are largely vegetarian in diet, browsing on green
weed and conferva. They can live and thrive where other fishes
would starve and hence fill a complementary role in the stocking
of estuarine fish ponds. Several species are also tolerant of
change to fresh-water and we are now utilizing these species for
the stocking of tanks within reach of the backwaters and tidal
rivers where their fry abound in myriads at certain seasons. They
are pretty fishes in their quaker-grey tints. The scales are compa-
ratively large and the snout is peculiarly broad and flattened, an
adaptation to their browsing habits.
Fig. 16. — A common Schnapper {Luiiaims Utnnlatus),
Several Sea-perches of the common genus Lutianus are also
accommodated here, and, like their relatives in tanks Nos. 5, 6 and
8, show perhaps greater intelligence and observation in matters
relating to the feeding arrangements than any other fishes in the
84
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
aquarium. They are ever on the watch for the attendant with his
pail of fish. His coming is sensed long before he reaches their tank
and this is sufficient to throw them into a state of wild excitement.
Other curious but by no means beautiful fishes in this tank are
several kinds of Cat-fishes belonging usually to the genera Plotosiis
and Ariiis (Tarn. Kelcthi)- They get their English name from the
long whisker-like feelers arranged around the mouth. The family
is a large one, with numerous representatives both in the sea and
in rivers and tanks. The skin is smooth and scaleless. Cat-fishes
have considerable value as food. Certain species, as Ariiis, are
met with in the sea in great shoals and single captures may run
into thousands. On the Malabar Coast cooked cat-fish heads,
highly spiced and salted, are sometimes served free to customers
by toddy-shopkeepers to create a greater thirst !
Fig. 17.— a common Cal-ihh {Plo^os//s cam'i/s).
The dorsal and pectoral fins are often armed with formidable
spines capable of inflicting severe wounds if trodden on or incau-
tiously handled. In some cases a poisonous secretion is introduced
into the wound and causes considerable inflammation. As with
the tail spine of rays, so here the fishermen are accustomed to
break off these spines before taking the fish to market.
The male of certain species of Ariiis has the curious habit of
receiving the eggs, as extruded by the female, into his mouth where
he retains them till the young hatch out. As the eggs are
particularly large, about half an inch in diameter, the number that
he can care for is limiteti. As the eggs completely fill his mouth,
the poor father has to abstain from feeding till his family are
born, and able to swim away. What part the unincumbered
mother takes during this time is obscure ; possibly she devotes her
attention to piscine politics !
Many fishes change colour in synipathy with their environ-
ment or when excited. One of the best examples is the case of a
No. 5 (192I) MADRAS AQUARIUM 85
sea-perch, Liitianus jahiigarah (Tarn. Miisidiniiii) inhabiting this
tank. In the mornings it is very pale in colour, nearly white,
except for the fins which are rosy ; towards evening the colour of
the body deepens till it is a distinct dull or smoky red. This deep
red tint is also assumed during excitement or when disturbed or
teased by its tank companions.
Both in tank No. 8 and in this one are usually specimens of a
pretty blue serranid sea-perch, Serranus flavocacndcus (Tarn. Utha
Kalavai). Those in tank No. 8 are the younger and the signifi-
cance of its scientific name " the yellow and blue Serranus " will
be understood if the blue fishes with yellow markings in tank No.
8 be studied in comparison with the entirely blue individual in this
tank. It will be noticed that the shape and other characteristics
of all are the same, except in regard to colour, and they are indeed
one and the same species. The youngest show the fins bright
yellow, with the upper jaw and the edge of the operculum also
similarly coloured. The medium-sized show a great reduction in
the parts coloured yellow, and in the fully adult the yellow is com-
pletely lost. It is seldom that colour changes are so strongly
associated with different ages as in this fish and by having the
three stages in adjoining tanks these changes are more readily
observable than if the fishes were all together.
TANK No. 10.
A family of fat Sca-pcrches (Tam. Kalavai) of the genus
Serranus occupy this tank. They are the oldest inhabitants of the
^^
Fig. 18. — Indian Reck Cod {Serranus iiiididosus^ . X y,-
aquarium; three have been here for II years and have become
very tame. They have their regular hours for sleep, and at sunset
86
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
settle down on the bottom, resting lightly on their fins, just like
any ordinary person as Brer Ribbit would say. Other fish in the
aquarium do the same, particularly the heavily built ones; the Dog-
fishes among others do so and they even close their eyelids. Others
do not rest on the bottom, but remain merely motionless suspended
in the water. Many again never seem to sleep, the sardines and
their kin for example ; these fish are particularly difficult to keep
alive in a tank as they continue to swim about after dark and
receive such injuries by butting against the walls that they
invariably die within a few days or even hours. Only if a light be
kept burning throughout the night can they be protected from
injuring themselves.
Fig. 19. — Velamin [Lethriniis nehnlosus). X ^■
The Serranid sea-perches are among our most abundant and
valuable food-fishes. Many species are found in our seas, varying
enormously in colour and size. The former characteristic renders
their scientific identification peculiarly difficult.
One of the larger and most numerous of these sea-perches is
the Kalawa of the Tinnevelly coast, a Bsh not unlike the cod in
outline and not infrequently called the Indian Rock Cod. It
abounds on the hard bottom that stretches from the southern
extremity of India to the lOO-fathom line, and with other sea-per-
ches of the genera Lutiaiiiis and Lcthriuus may one day be
brought to m:irket by the tens of thousands when steam-trawling
is begun on the rich fishing grounds off Cape Comorin.
No. 5 (1921)
MADRAS AQUARIUM
87
TABLE AQUARIA
The contents of these are variable ; usually they contain some
of the more interesting of the smaller creatures of the sea, which
would perish incontinently were they put among the ravening
inhabitants of the larger tanks. Among these are generally
examples of the Octopus, various curious crabs and lobster-like
Prawns, Sea-anemones, Starfishes and the like.
The little Sea-horse {tIi[ypocni)iptts, Tam. KaJal Kitthirai) is not
uncommon and is more interesting because of the quaintness of his
Fig. 20.— Common Seahorse X t-
shape than for anything curious in his habits as seen in a tank.
Usually he rests quiet and apparently very observant if we may
judge by the quick movements of the eyes; to anchor himself
securely he twists the end of his thin tail round some weed or the
twig of a sea-fan, with body erect and rampant. Near relatives,
88 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
the Pipe fishes, are also taken occasionally and put in the same
tank.
Themale in both groups has the peculiar habit of carrying the
eggs his mate lays, within a long fold of the skin along each side
of the body— a real incubatory pouch. There they remain till
they hatch. One male sea-horse opened his incubatory pouch
one day early in last December and set free over 200 tiny babies,
miniatures of himself, but only 4 to 5 millimetres in length.
Segregated rigorously by themselves are the little Coffer-fishes
{Ostracion coruutiis) creatures so feeble-looking that one wonders
how they manage to escape destruction at the jaws of larger fish.
Put them with other fishes, even considerably larger than them-
selves, and the reason is soon evident. Wounds appear on the sides
of the other fish, bleeding patches where the scales have been
bitten through. This is the work of the Coffer-fishes; harmless
though they look, their small teeth are powerful and exactly adapted
for nipping holes in skin and scales. Their own body is protect-
ed against damage by being encased in a box-like covering of bony
armour, with openings through which project tail, fins and eyes.
In Tamil they are known as Madumin (Ox-fish) from the two horn-
like projections on the upper part of the head. They never grow
to any large size.
Baby Sharks are often exhibited in the table tanks. The embryos
of Dog-fishes usually develop within horny purse-like cases
anchored to weeds by strong filaments looking like catgut ; the
Rays also come forth from flattened purse-like egg capsules, but
the majority of the sharks are viviparous and often a brood of
young are thus obtained when a big shark is brought ashore by
the fishermen.
Perhaps of all sea-animals the Octopus or Devil-fish is the most
curious. Though common enough in Indian waters it never
attains large dimensions ; the largest I have seen here had a
body smaller than a man's fist with arms not more than 20 inches
long. Smaller ones with a body of the size of a walnut and arms
3 to 4 inches in length, are numerous, and in Palk Bay are fished
for in an ingenious manner for use as bait in lining for fish ; shells
with the apex broken off are tied at intervals along a long line ; these
are sunk overnight, raised in the morning and the shells searched
for any Devil-fishes that have ensconced themselves therein. The
Japanese have a more refined method; instead of shells, they tie
narrow-necked vases of earthenware to their lines.
No. 5 (192I)
MADRAS AQUARIUxM
89
The Octopus belongs to the great group of the MoUusca, and
is closely akin to the Pearly Nautilus whose brown streaked
chambered shells are not uncommonly washed ashore on our
coasts after storms. But the octopus long ages ago discarded
3
O
«-*
u
c
c
•3
a
t-i
c:
o
S
s
o
u
V
H
i
the clumsy shell that set narrow limits to his restlessness, and
since then trusts to the sharpness of his eyes and his wits to escape
from his larger enemies to whom he is a luscious tit-bit. As
H. G. Wells has cleverly shown, evolution might easily have
given an octopus-like form to tlio dominant race on earth. And
5
90
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
certainly so far as my experience goes, the octopus is the most
brainy creature in the seas apart from whales and seals. I have
seen the larger European species play pranks on one another,
tamper with the pipe fittings in their tank, make a regular toilet
when the innumerable suckers on their arms wanted cleaning, and
Fig. 22.— The Sacred Chank.
{7\irbinella piriiin'). X \-
Fig. 23. — Egg capsule of the
Chank.
Xf.
change colour according to their surroundings when crawling
stealthily over the bottom ; when cornered they employ the com-
mon cuttlefish device of discharging a cloud of ink from their body
and under cover of this often make good their escape. They have
eight slender arms, each beset with two rows of suckers ; with
No. 5 (1921) ■ MADRAS AQUARIUM 91
these they seize their prey^crabs chiefly — and drag it to their
mouth which is furnished with a black horny beak not unlike that
of a parrot.
Few shellfish are attractive enough to be worthy of exhibition
in our tanks, but one, the Sacred Chank or Conch {Turbinella pinim)
has such absorbing interest from the religious standpoint of the
Hindus that an exception has to be made in its favour. This shell
is common on the Madras coast and is indeed the object of a
special fishery. It is sawn by the tens of thousands into bangles
at Dacca in Bengal, and few valuable bullocks in the Tamil
country are without a small chank tied upon the forehead.
The eggs are deposited in a curious capsule shaped like a
twisted ram's horn (Fig, 23). An account of the varied roles
played by the chank in Indian religion and life is contained in
"The Sacred Chank of India " which forms Volume VII of the
Madras Fisheries Bulletin.
Crabs and their allies do not live well in the tanks, due proba-
bly to iron contamination in the water circulation. From time to
time there are present examples of some of the many handsome
species of swimming crabs found off Madras. Of these, Neptumis
SiVigninolentus, marked by three livid spots on the shell covering
the back (carapace), and Ncptiinus pelagieiis are the most common.
The sexes of the latter are distinguished by great colour diver-
gence ; the male is a big handsome fellow with his legs brightly
tinted sky-blue ; the female shows a network of greyish white lines
on a ground of dull olive. A curious parasite called Sacculiiia,
allied to the ship-barnacles and acorn-shells, often attacks these
crabs, attaching itself under the little tail that is tucked away
beneath the body proper. When this happens to a male, his gay
blue tints fade and he assumes eventually the dull uninteresting
colour scheme of the female. The parasite runs a mass of rootlike
tubules throughout the body of its host and through these drains
its life blood and arrests further growth.
Another common Madras crab is the little Dorippe dorsipes,
particularly interesting because it exhibits wonderful sagacity in
utilizing the defensive weapons of another animal for its own
protection. When caught in nets this little crab is usually found
to be using the last two pairs of its walking legs to hold in posi-
tion on or rather over its back, a single valve of some small clam
on which is seated a pale-coloured anemone. Now, all anemones
92
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
have the power of stinging exactly like their relatives, the jelly-
fishes, and by carrying about this partner, the crab provides itself
with a whole series of ready-made batteries of stinging cells,
enough to frighten away any small fish looking round for a tasty
bonne-bouche of crab. The anemone gains also by this association
Fig. 24. — DoriJ>pe dorsipts^ carrying an anemone seated upon a shell.
for when the crab finds something to eat, in tearing it to pieces
some shreds must float within reach of the anemone's tentacles and
so provide it with food. Such partnerships for mutual benefit in the
struggle for existence are said to be instances of commensalism —
a subject of constant interest to the marine naturalist, so common
and protean is the habit.
At the edge of the tide, the pretty yellow-legged Matuta victrix
is often to be seen. Its carapace is remarkable for the great purple-
tipped spine that stands out threateningly on either side. While
the general tinge is yellow, a great amount of pretty purplish
colouring, composed of innumerable tiny dots, is spread over the
carapace and the legs.
Hermit or Soldier crabs (Tam. Sangii iiandii) inhabiting any
empty shells big enough for them to stow their soft tails inside,
are often shown. In many cases a sea-anemone has settled on the
shell, affording the hermit crab some protection, by reason of its
sting-beset tentacles, against fish enemies, and at the same time
profiting itself from scraps of food that float to it when the hermit
is making a meal. This is another good instance of the habit of
commensalism.
No. 5 (1921) MADRr\S AQUARIUM 93
The Squat Lobster {Scyllarus) is quite common at Madras, taken
in fishermen's nets. It owes its name to its broad short appearance,
due largely to the way in which the appendages of the head are
broadened and flattened. In the lobster proper these are the
KiG. 25. — Tide-mark Crab, IMatuta viclrix.
characteristic long and slender antennae. The Rock Crawfish or
Spiny Lobster {Panulinis) is common among the stones and concrete
blocks that buttress the foot of the harbour walls; the true lobster
is not found in Eastern waters.
Among the smaller inhabitants of the tanks are the Sea-
£ncmoncs, less gorgeous generally in colour and form than
European species. Some make up in size what they lack in colour ;
the giant Discosoma, quite common at Pamban and Tuticorin and
probably also at Madras, attains sometimes the ahiiost incredible
diameter across the disc of over three feet. The disc in this sea-
anemone lies outspread above the sand like the blossom of some
huge flower. In the centre is a slit-like opening, the n^outh, leading
to the bag-shaped stomach ; around the mouth are rows of tentacles
armed with stinging cells used to paralyze the fishes on which
anemones prey. The tentacles in some are long cylindrical finger-
like tubes ; in others, as in the giant Discosoma, they are short and
clubshaped, quite small but immensely numerous.
The small pond in the centre of the hall contains freshwater
fishes and water-tortoises. The former comprise examples of the
94 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Murrel {Opliiocephalus), a valuable food fish in India, and of the
Gourami {Osphromoius gouranii), a highly esteemed Javanese
fish now in course of introduction into this country by the
Madras Fisheries Department. Both are nest-1 uilding fishes,
forming them among the stems of water plants. The parent Murrel
(Tam. Viral) are particularly jealous of any prying into their
domestic affairs when they are guarding their eggs in the nest ;
they have been known to jump out of the water and seize the nose
or a finger of a too inquisitive short-sighted visitor; the flutter of a
handkerchief will always rouse them to an attempt to seize it.
The Climbing Perch {Auabas scandeiis) is another fresh-water fish
usually to be seen in one of the table aquaria. It has special
mechanism for breathing in air as well as in water, as also
has the Murrel ; both are able on occasion to leave the water
and travel over marshland or grass sward. It has been proved
in Madras that the former are able to climb out of water up a
sheet of cloth held tightly in a vertical position and there is
no reason to doubt that individuals may occasionally climb
some distance up the rough bark of a tree margining a pond or
stream. Their Tamil name is suggestive in this connexion —
Panai eri keudai, "the perch that climbs Palmyra palms."
In yet another table aquarium are shown specimens of the two
tiny fishes H iplosliilus inclaiiostigina and Panchax parvus (Tam.
Miiiidakkaii/iiparavai), that have been found by experience to be the
most effective of the kinds which habitually prey upon the larvse
of mosquitoes when they are present in the same pond or well.
Many thousands of these are bred annually in the culture ponds
of the Fisheries Department whence they are sent out in special
carriers to Municipalities and others, for introduction into ponds
and wells infested with mosquito larvee. When properly introduced
and cared for, the way in which the mosquitoes of the neigh-
bourhood diminish in numbers is a most striking testimony to
the efficacy of this simple method of combating" one phase of the
mosquito plague.
Other useful larvicidal fish for fresh water are various small
species of Barbus, as Barbus ticto, together with Polyacaiithus
cupanus, while Therapoii jarbua is excellent in backwaters end
estuaries.
Till the larger aquarium which is planned be built, there is
no opportunity to show any of the myriads of smaller and e lually
No. 5 (1921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 95
interesting creatures that abound in our seas ; we cannot at present
accommodate any of the many magnificently coloured sea-urchins,
starfishes and sea-cucumbers ; we cannot show specimens of the
lovely corals that flourish on the reefs at Pamban and Tuticorin ;
none of the sea-fans, sea-pens, and corallines can find accommo-
dation in the tanks, to say nothing of the jelly-fishes and strange
pelagic flotsam and jetsam met with along the shore during
stormy weather.
The life of the local seas shown in the present aquarium must
be taken merely as a foretaste of the splendours that shall be
when a more commodious building be built, if funds, now lacking,
ever become available for such purpose.
96
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
INDEX TO GENERA MENTIONED.
Page
Acanlhurus
73
Myriopriiiis
Anabas
94
Narcine
Anguilla
64
Naseus
Antennarius
rq So
Neptunus
Apogon .,.
67
Octopus
Arius
84
Ophiocepliahis
Balistes ...
71
Osphromeiuis
Barbus ...
c^4
Ostracion
Caranx
70
Panchax
Chaetodon
75
Paniiiirus
Chrysophrys
70
Plagusia
Cirrhitichthys ..
6^
Platax
Discosoma
93
Plotosus
Dorippe
91.92
Polyacanthus
Drepane
81
Psettodes
Echeneis
66
Pterois
Elacate
67
Reniora
Etroplus
67,68
Sacculina
Haplochilus
94
Scatophagus
Heniochus
67,68
Sciaena
Hippocampus ...
87
Scolopsis
Holocanthus
75
Scyllarus
Hydro phis
61
Serranus
Julis
74
Stegostoma
Lethrinus
86
Stromateus
Lophius
79
Tetrodon
Lulianus
73.^3, 85, 86
Therapon
Matuta
92-93
Turbinelia
Mugil
83
Upeneus
Muraena
60,65
Zygaena
Page
78
63
74
91
88
>S9
91
94
88
94
70
93
82
79
84
94
82
76
n
66
91
69
76
70
70,
93
85,
86
63
82
80,
81
72,
94
90,
91
75
63
Report No. 6 of 1921.
THE COMMON MOLLl'SCS OF
SOUTH INDIA
BY
JAMES HORNELL, F.L.S., F.R.A.I.,
Dircclor of Fisheries^ Madras,
INTRODUCTION.
Till a few years ago the study of zoology in Indian colleges
was greatly handicapped by difficulties attendant upon the supply
of specimens of representative types of the various groups com-
prised in the fauna of our seas. To a large extent students relied
upon a study of text-book figures and had no familiarity whatever
with the animals themselves. In the rare cases where more
thorough work was done, either attention was concentrated upon
land and fresh-water types as more readily procurable, or limited
supplies of material were obtained at a heavy cost of money and
time, from European Biological Stations. The fact that zoological
study was hopelessly fettered for want of supplies that lay abun-
dant to hand, in our waters and on our shores and among the
coral reefs of the Gulf of Mannar, so impressed me at an early
Jate in my fishery work in the Madras Presidency that I decided
to make an effort to diminish the disability, and so to render
zoological study more attractive and profitable to students with a
bent in that direction. It happened at that time that my fishery
duties involved extensive dredging over faunistically rich bottom
in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay ; the riches of extensive coral
reefs were also available. Day after day far more material was
brought aboard the inspection vessel by the dredge and my divers
than was required for my own work and the rest had to be dumped
overboard and wasted. In 1915, I sought and obtained the per-
mission of the Government of Madras, to begin the supply of
zoological specimens to educational institutions throughout India,
at rates calculated just to cover the cost of preparation. Apprecia-
tion of this work was immediate and far beyond my expectations.
The work has now developed so largely that a special statf is
98 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
employed exclusively upon this branch of the department's
activities. A clear idea of the utility of this work is obtained by
an examination of the value of the specimens supplied during the
six years since its inception, namely : —
RS. RS.
1915-16
1916-17
1917-18
360
1918-19
576
I919 20
736
1920 21
1,258
I,6i8
3,131
The unbroken rise in the annual value of the supplies bespeaks
not only increasing appreciation by the educational world of
India, but also a greatly widened and more solid foundation of
the zoological training now current in our colleges.
The improvement of school museums is also amongst our aims.
In very few instances are existing collections of any practical
value; especially is this true of the natural history exhibits. If
the school be in a coast town, a jumble of unnamed shells with
odis and ends of the flotsam and jetsam of the sea, offends the
eye of the zoologist, by reason of its utter uselessness. What
possible educational value can lie in a collection of shells gathered
haphazard and exhibited without order or explanation.-*
To afford a remedy in part for this unsatisfactory state of
affairs in secondary schools, I arranged some time ago for the
preparation of compact glazed wall-cases containing collections
illustrative of the common types of the molluscs and crustaceans
characteristic of Indian seas. The Director of Public Instruction
welcomed the idea, but before ordering a large supply of these
collections, desired that descriptive hand-books should be pre-
pared ; this is obviously the only proper way of promoting a true
interest in branches of zoology represented bv these collections
and I agreed willingly.
The notes which follow are the first outcome of this arrange-
ment, but the scope has been widened somewhat to make them
of use to that large body of people who take interest in the things
they find on the shore and desire to know some of the more
interesting and outstanding facts in their life-histories.
With the exception of a few figures borrowed from various
sources and duly acknowledged, the illustrations are all original
and have been sketched specially for this paper by my assistants
Mr. M. Ramaswami Nayudu, B.A., and Mr. K. R. Samuel, to whom
No. 6 (I92n COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDLA. 99
I am under great obligation for the care they have exercised in
carrying out my ideas, and for the skill shown in the actual
drawings. The exigencies of printing have, I fear, obscured in
too many cases the excellence of their work.
GENERAL.
The conmionest objects on the sea-beach are the shells of
those soft-bodied animals called by zoologists molliisca and popu-
larly known as shellfish. These names appear at first sight to be
contradictory, for the scientific term signifies that the animals are
soft-bodied, while the popular name implies that they are
encased in hard protective coverings or shells. Combining the
two we get a fairly clear idea of their characteristics — they are
soft-bodied animals protected by an outer casing usually hard,
composed of some form of limy or calcareous material, and
without any internal skeleton except in very exceptional instances.
The shells of molluscs are extremely diversified in shape and
colouring. Each may consist of two parts or valves as in the
oyster and the mussel {Bivalves, Lai/iellihranehia or Pelecypoda), of
a series of plates as in C!iiton, the coat-of-mail shell {Auiphiiieiit'a),
cr of a single piece, in most cases spirally twisted (Gastropoda) ;
finally come the highest of the group, the Cephalopoda, comprising
the most active and intelligent of all the mollusca, the octopus-,
cuttlefishes, and squids, together with the nautilus and the whole
host of fossil ammonites. A division (Seaphopoda) has to be made
to receive the elephant-tusk shells, a small number of peculiar
forms with long tapered tubular shells well described by their
vulgar name.
Except in bivalves the body of molluscs can be made out
usually to consist of three regions — an anterior part marked out
as a distinct head, bearing the mouth, tentacles and the chief
organs of sense ; behind this is a swollen dorsal mass, the visceral
sac, containing the intestine, liver, and reproductive organs. The
integument of this mass is the mantle and this is generally
disposed in a fold reflected over the back of the animal. The
outer surface of the mantle secretes the shell ; in bivalves the
mantle is double, formed a free fold or flap on either side of the
body, hence originating the two valves or half shells characteristic
of these molluscs. On the ventral side of the body below the
visceral mass is a large muscular organ, the foot, flattened and
TOO MADRAS FISHERIES BUI.LETlN vOL. XIV,
adapted for crawling in the gastropods and chitons ; hatchet shaped
in bivalves; in cephalopods it is split np into a number of
mobile arms beset with suckers.
The mollusca are a difficult subject for the evolutionist ; they
appear in groups as generally distinct and fully differentiated in
the lower Palaeozoic strata as at the present day ; gastropods and
lamellibranchs are found in the Cambrian and the remaining
classes in the Ordovician or Lower Silurian. There is no geologi-
cal sequence to help us to a decision ; the larval history of some
species gives a hint, for a characteristic larval form of many
molluscs is a tiny globular body furnished with a circlet of cilia
round the middle ; the lashing of the cilia causes it to spin through
the water. This larva is termed a trochosphere and is practically
identical with the larvae of many of the bristle worms (poly-
chaeta). Excepting the lamellibranchs, all other classes (with
the usual qualihcation of " exception " that meets us at every turn
in the study of zoology) possess a ribbon-shaped tongue, or radiila,
set with rows of teeth ; these molluscs generally possess a definite
head, bearing eyes and other sensory organs. If the larval history
of molluscs points to an ancestry among those marine worms that
are typically furnished with a well-marked head and in several
families with a gullet armed with a series of horny teeth, we may
conclude that those molluscs with a head region and a radula are
more akin to the ancestral form than the lamellibranchs, which
have diverged in order to fit themselves for a sedentary life. This
change has led to the loss of a definite head region and of the
tooth-set radula. In specializing, they have become degenerate in
several ways.
CLASS I.— AMPHINEURA.
The Chitons or Coat-of-mail shells are the only members of
this class that need concern us. Like the gastropods proper the foot
is well developed as a crawling organ, flattened and extending the
whole length of the elliptical body. The species most common in
Indian waters gro.v to a length of l^ to 2 inches. They live
among rocks, generally between tide-marks and often may be seen
adhering to the sides of rock pools at Cannanore and on the shore
reef at Rameswaram. Another favourite haunt is the eastern reef-
flat of Krusadai Island (Pamban) where they are often found
clinging to the under side of boulders poised on others.
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDL-\
lOI
They are easily recognized by the jointed shell protectin;^ the
back. It is made up of eight distinct plates fitted to overlap one
another like a row of roof tiles. When detached from their foot-
hold, chitons roll up into a ball like the short millipede or like the
armadillo and the hedgehog. All our Indian chitons are sluggish
creatures feeding on the smaller seaweeds clothing the adjacent
rock surfaces. One outstanding interest they possess is the fact
that some species have developed very minute eyes, complete with
lens, retina and pigment, upon the surface of the shell plates.
They are often thousands in number in the one individual, always
most numerous on the anterior plate. Chitons have no economic
importance in India.
Unlike the gastropods proper, the body and organs of chitons
are bilaterally symmetric, that is, the right side of the body is
exactly like the left. The head is at the front end, and the gullet,
stomach, and intestine form a straight tube through the body,
ending in the anus at the hinder end. The breathing organs are a
series of plate-like gills, arranged on each side between the mus-
cular foot and the edge of the thick leathery mantle in which are
sunk the eight plates that form the shell. Like the alimentary
canal, the heart is straight and tubular as in the ancestors of the
bristle worms from which the mollusca may have been derived.
These points are of much importance to remember, for we shall
find in the gastropoda striking divergences from these simple and
probably ancestral characters.
CLASS II.— GASTROPODA.
Sub-class i.— Streptoneura. Order i.— Diotoc.ardia.
The most primitive and simplest of these show distinct kinship
with the chi~
tons and serve
_ " to bridge the
•-" gap between
the latter and
the spirally
coiled shells
that character-
ize the great
majority of the
gastropods. Of
such simpler forms are the LIMPETS {Patellidae). In these
FlO. I. A Limpet {^Patella riidis).
I02 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. Xl\\
molluscs the shell is conical and forms a stony cap under which
the animal lives secure. The limpets have a broad sole-like
foot as in the chitons. This assists them greatly in clinging to
the rocks on which they have their home ; the broad muscular foot-
disc acts like a boy's leather sucker and by the total exclusion of
air beneath it, atmospheric pressure comes into play and has to be
overcome before the limpet can be pulled away from its foothold.
Atmospheric pressure amounts to 15 lb. to the square inch, and
the conical shape of the shell gives no grip to the fingers ; it is
well nigh hopeless to detach a limpet from a rock unless we can
take it unawares when the edges of the shell are raised slightly
off the rock, and slip a knife under, dislodging the animal by a
sudden wrench.
Limpets live between tide-marks on rocky coasts. They are
not very abundant in India and are usually small. At Covelong,
Pamban, Mandapam and Cannanore, they may usually be found,
often so near to high tide level that the sea leaves them high and
dry for several hours twice a day. They feed upo)i the smaller
seaweeds and their habits are well worth watching. On coasts
where they abound I have often heard a continuous low rasping
hum rising from the rocks around. It was meal-time with the
limpets; a multitude were browsing on the tiny weeds growing on
the rocks, the noise arising from the file-like action of myriads of
minute teeth. The radula or dental ribbon of the limpet is longer
than the whole animal's body. In the common British limpet the
tongue has nearly 2,000 teeth set in about i6d rows of 12 teeth in
each. The hinder part lies coiled up like a watch spring. New
teeth are formed at the hinder end and the ribbon unrolls a little as
equired to make good the waste that goes on at the front end from
the wearing down of the teeth in use. Limpets have a well-marked
homing instinct anil though they may crawl several feet away from
their home, they return there regularly after their foraging ex-
peditions. In soft rocks they make quite a deep pit at the place
they choose as their home ; on hard rocks this spot is marked out
by its smoothness, and may even be a little lower than the
surrounding surface.
In Europe the poorer classes in several countries (France, Italy,
Ireland, etc.) value the limpet as a cheap delicacy ; very large quan-
tities are eaten. At Covelong where they are more numerous than
I have seen anywhere else on the Madras coast, some of the poorer
No. 6 (192T) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA IO3
people are accustomed to collect them for food. They are known
there as Uiiai in Tamil.
The common Indian species are Patella variabilis and P. rudis.
The Keyhole Limpets and the Slit Limpets {FissurdUdae) in
the shape of their shell resemble closely the true limpets, but have
either a perforation at the apex or a tiny slit in the front margin
of the shell. The use of these apertures is to ensure the removal
of foul matter. Pure water is admitted to the gills through the
space between the edge of the shell and the rock surface beneath
and then is passed out by a tubular fold of the mantle through the
hole at the apex or the notch in the front edge, washing out at the
same time any excreta that require removal. The Indian species
are all small and consist of a few species of the keyhole limpet
{Fissiirella) and of the still rarer and smaller Emargimda, one of the
split limpets. These live below low tide line and are not found
except by dredging. Dead and worn shells are occasionally cast
up on the Ramnad and Tinnevelly coast.
Closely allied to the preceding are the Ear-SHELLS or Haliotidae.
A common species is Haliotis varia, found living under boulders
at extreme low tide at Pamban and Krusadai Island and the
other coral reefs that skirt the south-east coast. This species
is quite a small one, seldom exceeding 1% inch in length — a poor
representative of the family. In other lands, in France, Japan,
New Zealand and California, the ear-shells attain a length of 4 to
6 inches, and vie with the rainbow in the gorgeous colouration of
the mother-of-pearl lining of the shell. As a consequence it is
extensively used for pearl inlay work. Pearls are not uncommon
in the mantle, but their value is not great as coloured pearls are
little in demand. Wherever it is found, the ear-shell is highly
valued as food, its great muscular foot being a delicious morsel
when properly prepared and cooked. The Chinese especially
value it and great quantities are prepared in Japan and California
for export to China. It may either be cured dry or put up in tins—
the abalonc of Californian markets. In shape it is a flattened
limpet with a row of holes piercing the shell along the left margin.
The function of these holes is more specialized than in the keyhole
limpet, for here it is only the most posterior one which is used as
an anal funnel to get rid of impure water and debris, whereas the
others, of which there are several, are used apparently to admit
water to the gills.
104
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
In the Ear-shells, although the general shape is flattened, the
essentially spiral form is clearly apparent at the hinder end where a
distinct short spire is seen. In the vast majority of gastropods this
spire is greatly emphasized and in the next family to be described,
the Top-shells, this form is fully established. Such molluscs are
said to be highly asymmetrical, but this lack of symmetry is con-
fined almost wholly to the visceral mass — the part containing the
viscera — the stomach, intestine and so-called liver ; the mantle, the
shell and the gills are also affected by this twisting. The foot and
the head usually remain as symmetrical as in the Chitons. In other
words the " back " of these animals has been twisted and coiled
into a spire, and the shell takes on the same shape, as it is formed
by shell-forming secretions poured out by the fold of integument
that covers the viscera.
TheTOF-SHEhLSiTrochidie) and the TURBAN-SHELLS {Turbi-
nidae) may conveniently be taken together. They are much alike in
appearance, both comprising some of the commonest of our littoral
shells. In shape they are conical and are beautifully pearly within.
The larger kinds are commercially valuable, for the widely spread
" Trocas " shell of trade {Trochus niloticns) and the even more
valuable "Green snail" {Turbo mnrnwratus) of eastern seas are
Fig. 2. The Comaion Tiirhan shell (7'. :!r<;}ros/owa) with inner
and outer views of the operculum X I.
in great demand for pearl button manufacture. The two families
are easily distinguished by the nature of the operculum, a flattened
hard structure found upon the upper surface of the tail end of the
No. 6 (I921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDL\ I05
foot in many gastropods. When the animal retires into its shell,
when alarmed or attacked, the operculum serves as a door to close
the opening and to keep the intruder out. In the Top-shells it is
horny and marked with a closely set spiral ; in the Turban shells,
it is stony and very massive, and there are species so large that
the operculum is heavy enough to be used as a paper weight— two
inches in diameter. The operculum of one species found in New
Zealand, very brightly mottled with green and brown, is highly
valued by the Maoris as a personal ornament set in gold; they
also used it to form the eyes of their idols in former times. Even
in India the operculum of Turbo has value. It finds its place, with
all sorts of local shells and marine curiosities, in numerous booths
within the main entrance to Rameswaram temple, for sale to the
pilgrims and devotees who flock there in thousands from all parts
of India. The best ones are retailed at 8 annas per hundred, sea
worn ones at considerably less. The Valayan women who collect
shells on the Pamban reefs get about 8 annas per measure for these
opercula and 2 annas for the same quantity of any Top-shells they
can collect — another object of sale to pilgrims. The Tamil name
for Turbo opercula is ambiliiiian, meaning "the disc of the moon."
The flesh of Turbo {nathai, Tamil) is eaten by the island people
(Valayans) but that of Trochus {tbalappaikatti, Tamil) is not
esteemed owing to its small size and the difficulty of extracting the
body from the coils of the shell.
All our species of Turbo and Trochus are small except in the
Laccadive Islands where a commercial " Trocas " {Trochus pyramis)
is sometimes found and some fairly large Turbos T. {argyrostoma).
Sometimes on overturning a large boulder among the scrub near the
beach in one of these islands, a score or more of big Hermit-crabs
have scurried away in all directions, the majority hiding their soft
tail in a big Turbo shell.
A rather pretty Top-shell {Clanculus clanguloides) is not uncom-
mon in the Pamban neighbourhood. Like the other Top-shells, the
sides of the body are fringed and provided with a number of long
and slender tentacle-like filaments.
Most common of all the Trochidae is the beautifully variegated
and polished shell of Uiiibonium {Rotclla) vestidrium, a little species
that occurs at the mouths of some of the East Coast backwaters in
enormous numbers. It is one of the most dainty little shells I know.
2
I06 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Usually about a quarter of an inch across, its low depressed spiral
shell is stippled and marbled in dozens of variations and in a range
of colour from pink to brown. Some are nearly white, so few and
pale are the markings, while others are deep chestnut, so closely set
are the spots. Millions must be exported to Europe, for this shell
rs one of the chief of those used in the ornamentation of shell-boxes
sold at every watering place in England.
Grouped with the Turbos are the PHEASANT SHELLS [Phasienella
spp.), prettily patterned tiny shells that occupy to the Turbos much
the same relation as the handsome Umbonium does to the true
Top-shells. Their little polished shells are to be found on rocky
shores at the edge of pools and in sheltered crevices. They are
gregarious and like Umbonium, the patterns of their colouring vary
enormously.
The NERITES show unusual adaptability to varying conditions.
Nerita lives in the sea ; one picks it up just below high water mark
at Pamban and the Ramnad reefs; the closely allied Neritina \s
the fresh-water form, though it may also be found in brackish
water. A third genus, Septaria { — Navicella) is still further removed
from the ancestral marine form, for it has actually acquired the
habit of living in places on the banks of streams where it is only
kept damp by spray or the lapping of the water on the rock or tree
root or stem to which it adheres. The series of transition forms
seen here is an excellent illustration of how fresh-water faunas
have arisen and how from these land molluscs may in turn be
evolved.
Considering their size — barely three-quarters of an inch in
length — the shells of the Neritas are extremely massive. They live
at the edge of the sea and are often tumbled off their lodgment on
the rocks by the waves ; were they less strongly built their shells
would be broken and destroyed.
The shell externally shows distinct spiral markings at one side —
the apex ; internally in adults the whole cavity is simple and
rounded. Study of the life history of Nerita from the very young
stages, shows that it begins life with a well-marked spire wound
round a central column, the columella. As it grows the columella
and whorl partitions are gradually absorbed. It would seem that
the animal has to be so busy in strengthening the external wall of
its house, that it can spare no limy material for interior decoration.
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 10/
The shell is often prettily marked — it varies very greatly — and in
old ones the surface is much corroded and pitted (mollusc shells are
normally protected against damage by a horny skin, the periostra-
ciim, or else by folds of the mantle wrapped over them. If the
periostracum be worn away, the limy shell beneath is liable to
corrosion, especially in shells often exposed by the receding tide).
As in the Turbos, the operculum in the whole family of the
Nerites is stony. Usually, it is roughly semi-lunar in shape ; at one
end is a finger-like projection that hitches behind the columellar
lip and forms a locking device, giving additional security. A
peculiar little hermit crab (Coeiiobita i^ugosns) that frequents the
beach and lives almost entirely out of water, finds the empty shells
of Nerita just suited to his wants ; indeed he has adapted the shape
of his big claw so precisely to the form of the mouth of the shell
that when he shuts himself up inside, the big claw closes the
aperture as perfectly as did the operculum of the living shell.
In the fresh-water Neritina the shell is thinner and the spire
still less evident ; finally in Septaria the spire is so completely lost
that the shell may easily be mistaken for that of a small narrow
limpet. Internally the columellar lip persists as a thin ledge and
there still remains a little operculum, too small to fit the aperture
and more or less embedded in the foot.
Order 2.— Monotocardia.
In these gastropods the heart has a single auricle only, and the
gill is single, with a single row of plates (monopectinate). The
body is greatly twisted and this results in the shell being frequently
drawn out into a long spire. There is practically no vestige of the
bilateral symmetry that can be traced in some organs in the
Diotocardia even when their shells are spirally coiled, as in the
Top-shells, The group is an exceedingly large and varied one and
includes some 76 families. Many are extremely specialized for life
under abnormal conditions ; some have adapted a life on the high
seas — pelagic — swimming or floating ; others have migrated to the
land and to fresh-water pools; a number have become parasites or
live as messmates (commensals) ; they may be carnivorous and even
possess poison glands, or they may be vegetarian in their diet ;
some move with considerable rapidity, others attach their shells to
rocks and simulate the appearance of certain tube-building worms.
io8
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Owing to this high specialization it is difficult to arrange their
relationship in any comprehensible sequence ; one can form groups
easily seen to have mutual affinities, but these groups stand apart
from others, and it is practically impossible to arrange them in any
satisfactory order that will show the line of descent or of
specialization. They represent the terminal twigs of a great
branch, and while they acknowledge a common ancestry, they
stand to each other as cousins of varying degree.
If we follow the classification of Pelseneer, perhaps the greatest
of living authorities upon the mollusca, we take first two families
living in fresh-water, the Viviparidae and the AmpuUaridae. The
former is represented in India by the common fresh-water snail,
Vivipara, so called because it is viviparous — the young develop
within the parent and are born as tiny miniatures of the adult and
ready at once to begin life independently. The shells are thin and
comparatively fragile, covered with a thick olive-green periostra-
cum ; the shape is like a Turbo — hence this form of shell is said to
be turbinate, coiled like a turban. It lives in tanks and streams
and is occasionally eaten by low-caste people in the Southern
Tamil districts where it is known as uinachchi.
Even more common is the larger APPLE-Snail, Pachylabra
carinata, formerly known as AnipuUaria glohosa {naththai, Tamil), It
^ grows to a comparatively great
size, and may even exceed one and
a half inch in diameter. The shell
is nearly globular with a small
spire and a very large mouth open-
ing. In appearance it is like a big
globular Vivipara ; the two are
often found together in ponds and
paddy fields, but Pachylabra
appears to be the more hardy, for it
has the advantage over Vivipara of
having an air-breathing organ or
rudimentary lung, in addition to a
gill for use under water. This
enables it to live in comfort for some time even out of water
and so to withstand successfully the vicissitudes of a tropical
country. It can also lie hidden in soft mud and still obtain air by
Mm
'
'm
mm
if::/'(t;
Fig.
Apple-Snail {Pachylabra
carinata).
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 109
pushing upwards to the surface of the mud the end of a^ long
muscular tube. Through this air is passed down to the " lung
cavity." Pachylabra is also prepared for the complete drying up
of the mud during the dry season ; it withdraws its whole body into
the shell, closes the opening behind it with its strong calcareous
operculum and remains dormant till the rains come, when the caked
mud enveloping it softens and becomes liquid once more. The
eggs are large and attached together in masses. In the Tanjore
and Tinnevelly districts it is regularly collected after the paddy
has been harvested, by poor people who^use it to eke out their
ordinary meals. It is also used medicinally as an application for
sore eyes. In the Philippine Islands it is a regular market
commodity.
Fig. 4. Life appearance of Pachylabra cariiiata. It has climbed to the surface of the
waler up the glass front of an aquarium and is inhaling air. Note the large
expanse of foot and the wide i]ihalent siphon.
The Periwinkles {Littorinidae) are found on rocky shores in all
parts of the world. They are small turbo-like shells, but differing
therefrom in having no pearly lining ; the operculum is horny.
They appear closely related to the fresh-water snails (Vivipara and
Pachylabra), for they can live a long time out of water especially
on coasts where the rise and fall of the tide is great. In some
species this sub-aerial habit is so highly developed, that indivi-
duals may be found living so high on the littoral as to be reached
ilO MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XlV,
only by the sea-spray at high tide. In these the internal surface of
the mantle is undergoing modification on the lines seen in the lung
chamber of Pachylabra ; another demonstration is afforded us here
of how land gastropods have evolved in the past. It is significant
also that the operculated land snails and pond snails {Viviparidac)
agree with the periwinkle in the arrangement of the teeth on the
radula — in each row a broad median tooth flanked by three some-
what similar ones on each side. In the periwinkles the radula is
peculiarly long, the hinder end being coiled up like a spare rope,
in a pocket at one side of the gullet.
In Europe great quantities are used as food, but in India they
are put to no useful purpose. They are common at Cannanore and
at Pamban and the neighbourhood. An allied Indian genus
Cremnocoiichiis has entirely abandoned life in the sea and has taken
permanently to the land.
The next family, that of the HORN-SHELLS or Cerithiidae, is
another with a tendency to migrate from the sea to the land. All
have the apex of the shell drawn out into a long spire, simulating
the appearance of the true Turret shell, yet to be described, but
differing in having the mouth aperture widely channelled and with
the lip thickened and everted ; the whorls are usually ornamented
with small tubercles or with varicose ridges marking the position
of the lip at different dates during growth.
The marine species are mostly littoral ; Ceritliiiim obeliscns, is one
of the biggest of several that are common in sheltered bays and
saline backwaters. At Ennur and Tuticorin a small species,
Potamides cingulatiis (Fig. 5), is often found in multitudes on mud-flats
and at the edge of the tide, playing the part of humble scavengers;
lime-kiln women collect them at Tuticorin to be burnt into the best
quality of lime for whitewashing, in specially small kilns used for
this purpose. Two large species, the HORN-SHELLS proper, be-
longing also to the genus Potamides, and undoubtedly derived from
the marine Cerithium, are found in abundance crawling in the mud
in the mangrove swamps of the Kistna and Godavari deltas, more
often out of water than in it. These shells are also used for lime
burning. One species, Potamides paliistris, is easily recognized ; it
is obviously a gigantic Cerithium ; the other, often called Telesco-
pium fusciiHi, has a smooth shell without tubercles or ridges. It
may grow to 4 inches in length and village boys in the Godavari
hamlets use it as a spinning top, a feat requiring great skill to
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
III
accomplish. In the Philippine Islands the flesh of the Horn-shells
is esteemed as food ; the shells are thrown on wood fires and when
sufficiently cooked, the apex of the spire is broken off and the
animal sucked out through the broken end. Even the small species
of Cerithium are used in these islands as food. A third but smaller
species of Potamides (P. //m'/V/Z/Y/^) is common in brackish water
Fig. 5. Horn-shells.
A. Potamidcs cingjilatus. X
B. Potamidis palustrh. X
C. Pot am ides fuscum. X
U
it closely resembles Cerithium in the ornamentation of the shell.
In India, under purely fresh-water conditions, the Horn-shells are
replaced by the little Melanin, a tuberculated shell much like Ceri-
thium, but without the deeply channelled aperture characteristic of
the latter.
Peculiarly aberrant in habit are the WORM-SHELLS (F^rw^//rf<2^),
for in adult life they are found always attached to rocks or embedded
in sponges. In early life they are free and their shells are regularly
spiral, but after they settle down, the spiral as it grows becomes
lax and distorted, and may readily be mistaken by the tyro for
that of Serpnla, one of the marine tube-building worms. Under
112 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
these circumstances a foot for crawling is no longer needed; it
has been reduced to a vestige and serves merely as a support
for the strong horny operculum. Two genera are common in
Indian seas, Vermetus and Siliquaria; the former has an entire
tube ; the latter has a narrow slit or else a series of perforations
running along one side for the whole length of the gill chamber.
Their respective habitats further distinguish them ; Vermetus
cements its tube to rock boulders, Siliquaria lives commensal
with sponges, its coils sunk within the mass of the sponge to
which it gives rigidity; possibly the presence of these hard
tubes protects the sponge against enemies which otherwise
might browse upon it. As Vermetus increases in size, it vacates
the hindmost portion of the shell, cutting off the disused portion
by means of a transverse partition. This is repeated frequently
and so produces a series of partitioned chambers at the inner end of
the shell cavity.
The reefs at extreme low water in the Gulf of Kutch are so
covered with the tubes of the common Worm-shell, Vermetus, that
barefoot walking becomes dangerous; it is also found fairly abund-
ant on rocky ground in the Gulf of Mannar, where also Siliquaria
is common.
The SCREW-SHELLS ( Tiirritdlidae) have elegantly tapered shells
of the general appearance of a very elongate and slender Horn-shell.
They grow sometimes to a length of 4 inches. The mouth aper-
ture is simple and thin, without any suggestion of the thickened or
everted lip seen in the Horn-shells. Like Vermetus, the Screw-
shells find the first whorls of their shell too narrow to accommodate
the apex of the body as they grow larger, and have adopted the
same habit of partitioning off the narrow disused portions. They
live in moderately deep water in muddy sand. Their shells are
often cast upon the beach on all our coasts and are quite common
at Madras. The only ornamentation consists of spiral ridges ;
there is never any trace of tubercles or varices. T. dupUcata is a
common species.
The WiNG-SHELLS iStronihidae) include some of the largest
of the gastropods and many most interesting species. The family
is an extensive one with a great range in outward appearance.
Three genera are common in Indian seas ; Stromhus, Ptcroccra, and
Rostcllaria. The first two have short conical spires, and the outer lip
No. 6(1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
113
is dilated into a stout wing-like expansion, which in Pterocera is
armed with enormously stout finger-like spines.
The common Strombus of South India is S. caiiarium {viranjan,
Tamil), a small massive species with a prominent thickened "wing,"
abundant in the shallows of Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar.
The poorer coast people collect them when gathering other shells
for food and sometimes cook them along with more esteemed shell-
fish. The shells have value independently of this ; very large
numbers are used annually at Kilakarai by shell-ring cutters in their
trade. These men, who belong to the Sangu vcttian Muhammadan
community, pursue the most primitive
of methods, such as doubtless pre-
historic men employed for the same
purpose. The two ends of the shell are
first broken down by means of hammer
blows, and then the resultant middle
portion is ground down laboriously
upon a stone. Except a hammer, a
chisel, and a file to smooth the edges, no
other tool is employed. These rings,
known as Sangu modiram, are exten-
sively used as finger rings throughout
the Tamil country as a specific for skin
disease In the Malabar and South
Kanara districts, certain classes of the
poor population — Pulayas, Holayas
and some Mukkuvans use these rings
in the making of necklaces for their women and children.
The stromb is a remarkably active gastropod ; its foot is narrow
and arched, the hinder part elongated and armed with a peculiarly
long claw-shaped operculum strongly serrate along one side. They
progress by a sort of leaping movement ; they are reputed to be
carrion feeders and whatever may be their powers of smell, their
sight is remarkably smart. Holding one in the hand the watchful
alert look in the prominent eyes when at bay, is so different from
the impression of sluggishness given by most other molluscs that
one has no difficulty in giving the strombs credit for comparatively
high intelligence. Cautious handling is necessary, for they have a
habit of lying quiescent for a few moments, watching an opportunity,
Fig. 6. Common Strombus
(.S". canariuni).
114
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
and of suddenly wrenching themselves clear with a quick jerk
and a vicious lash of the opercular claw ; a nasty wound can be made
by this weapon in the case of the larger species.
The Scorpion-shell or Five-fingered Chank {aiveral
s..',n»u, Tamil), Ptcroccra lainbis, is the most common species of this
Fig 7. The Five-fingered Chai.k ( F. lawtis L.).
genus in our waters. It is extremely abundant in the faunistically
rich weedy shallows of the south-western angle of Palk Bay. The
size when adult is considerable ; a length of seven inches is quite
common, and the width, if we include the long fingers, is fully half
this measure. In the immature condition the shell looks like an
ordinary stromb, and only when it attains full size does it form the
great " fingers " which are its characteristics. These are chan-
nelled on the lower side, processes of the mantle passing along the
channels, until they attain full size, when the channels close and
the " fingers " become solid.
From low water to two fathoms, this shell is often numerous,
particularly along the coast between Pamban and Tondi. Some
are collected by the shore people wading in the sea at low tide, but
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH LVDIA
ITS
the great majority are taken either by the Kadayan and Muham-
madan beche-de-mer divers, or accidentally in nets set for crabs,
whereof many miles length are shot daily during the season. The
shells serve a variety of purposes; as food they are broken open
and the flesh extracted, and used for curries; as net sinkers they
have the "fingers " broken off, the shell perforated and then are
tied at intervals along the ground rope of nets ; by burning, white-
wash lime is made; lastly they are used as octopus traps. To fit
them for the last named use, the apex of each shell is broken off
together with the fingers, and each is tied at the end of a short line
Vic. S. Growth changes in the sheil of Pleroccra chiragra from the Laccadive islands.
In the youngest stage no fingers are present. The\' ajiptar at first as wide
channelled projections.
which in turn is tied to the main rope. The branch lines are
attached at intervals of 5 or 6 feet along the main rope. As
many as 30 shells may be attached to one rope. A number of ropes
are tied end to end and then laid in shallow water overnight ;
when raised next morning a number of small octopus are found
sheltering in the cavities of the shells. These are used as bait when
lining for such fish as seer, parai, dogfish and rays. Hundreds of
these shell-trap lines are in use on the Ramnad coast from Devi-
patam northwards. In Japan and in Italy a device on the same
principle is used for a similar purpose ; in place of Pterocera shells,
the Japanese and the Italians use narrow necked vase-shaped
earthware pots, tied by the neck to the main line.
Several other species are found in our seas, but none is nearly
so abundant as P. lambis.
Il6
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
The third Indian genus of the Strombs is Rostellaria, a beautiful
finely tapered, spiral brown shell, not unlike a smooth Screw-shell
except that the walls are thick and the mouth whorl expanded into
Fiu. 9. Living appearance of Roslellaria ciirta, (25 fms. off Malabar). X 3
a wide wing armed with several stout spines at the side, and the
front end prolonged into a long semi-tubular pointed "canal."
(fig. 9). Rostellaria is rare in the Gulf of Mannar but off the
Malabar coast it is fairly abundant in places ; numerous specimens
of R. curtd were dredged in 10 to 30 fathoms during the cruise of the
Margarita in 1908.
Closely related, but very different in outward form, is
Xciiop/wra, a shell not uncommon in deep water in company with
Rostellaria. The shape is trochiform (" like a Trochus ") but more
Fig. 10. Living appearance of the Stellate Xciiophora. (Malabar, 20 fnis.).
No. 6(1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDLA. II/
depressed and wider in proportion, and rather fragile. Tlie animal
is very like a stromb but with the foot even more conspicuously
divided into two parts and equally obviously intended for scrambl-
ing over the ground at a rapid pace. The operculum is fan-shaped
and sculptured. The remarkable characteristic of these shells is
the way they disguise themselves by cementing numerous small
dead shells to the upper whorls of the spire — the last whorl in adult
shells is usually without this decoration. This masking device is
intended to deceive possible enemies ; the trick must be effective
<"or the shell of Xenophora unlike those of its relatives, the true
strombs, is usually thin and easily crushed. Fig, 10 is of a specimen
dredged off Malabar. In this particular species the margin of the
whorls is beautifully stellate; in others it is thin and foliaceous.
On account of this singular habit of collecting shells to conceal
their habitations, the Xenophoridae have sometimes been named
"Conchologists," those that use fragments of s^one being termed
"Mineralogists." They are usually found on level muddy bottom
where the surface is strewn with dead and broken shells.
Of habit wholly dil"ferent are the two families of FalSE-
LlMPETS, Capiilidiie and Calyptracidae. The former includes the
Bonnet Limpets {Cnpulus and Amathinti). Capiilus has a conical
shell not unlike a cap of Liberty, the apex slightly recurved.
In our Indian waters, the common species is Amnthina tricostata, a
small shell with the apex towards the hinder end and without any
trace of the recurved point seen in Capidus. Three stout ribs pass
from the apex to the anterior margin, rendering identification easy.
It seldom grows more than an inch in length, and is generally
found attached to the valves of pearl-oysters in 5 to 6 fathoms in
Palk Bay.
Another interesting Indian Capulid is the little Thyca citocoiicha,
parasitic on the under side of the long arms of the star fish Linckia.
A muscular plate grips the surface of the starfish and through a
hole in this, the pharynx of the parasite works its way into its
host.
The Calyptraeidae include the CUP-AND-SauCER LIMPETS
{Calyptraea) and the SLIPPER LhMPETS {Crcpidida). The former
are small and conical, the latter, as their English name implies,
oval and much flattened. In both an internal plate occurs, the
remains of the original spire of the shell. In Calyptraea this plate
Il8 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
has a half-cup shape whence has come the popular name. Ihese
small shells are not uncommon in fairly shallow water; on hard
bottom they usually adhere to stones, where it is muddy to any
shells that manage to exist there, particularly to the Window-pane
oyster {Placuna). The exterior of the shell is rough and irregular
and always white, in marked contrast to the pale-yellow tint of the
body within.
The form of the SLIPPER LIMPETS {Crcpidiihi) is well express-
ed by the name— a long oval, much flattened, and with a shelf-like
projection within, across the posterior half, exactly like the toe-end
of a slipper. They show a remarkable resemblance in the
shape of the shell to Navicdla, the fresh water Nerite ; the internal
ledge is however not the remains of the lip of the columella, but a
purchase for the attachment of the adductor muscles. Under
favourable conditions slipper-limpets may increase so prodigi-
ously as to become a danger to the prosperity of the oyster
industry. An example of this is the damage done within the last
few years to valuable oyster beds on the east coast of England by
the American Slipper-limpet {Crepidula foniiratd), imported
inadvertantly with a consignment of oysters from the United
States. The intruder found conditions so favourable that now a
dredge sometimes brings up as many slipper-limpets as oysters,
and their consumption of the available food is so great that the
oysters, which live on the same organisms ?s the limpets, have
insufficient food and do not fatten and thrive as they should.
During the war, the plague of slipper-limpets became so alarming
that the Fisheries Department in England, after investigation,
arranged for the oyster fishermen to be paid for all slipper-limpets
collected, and these were then turned into meal and shell-grit for
use on poultry farms.
The Naticidac are active sand-burrowing animals. In Natica
proper the shell is strong and handsome and highly polished,
usually almost globular, but in some cases with the mouth whorl so
expanded as to appear roughly ear-shaped The whorls are few,
the spire small and obtuse. The columella is often much thickened.
They are predaceous in habit, and exceedingly voracious. The
foot is enormously enlarged and has developed a system of water
canals that enables it to burrow with remarkable celerity — a most
ingenious device. Lobes of the foot rise over the shell before and
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
119
behind and completely enfold the shell, protecting it from abrasion.
The burrowing habit renders sight valueless, so we find eyes in the
Naticas either absent or buried in the integument.
Ndtica mclnwstomn and the snowy -white A^ mam ilia are two
Indian species abundant on sandy shores, where they live upon the
burrowing bivalves that abound there. Having found a shell,
Natica seizes it and settles down to bore a hole through one of the
valves. This it performs neatly and much more quickly than one
would think possible. When completed, the long retractile
Fig II. Life appearance of Natica, the sbell sunk in lobes of the foot. X |.
proboscis is inserted through the aperture and the flesh of the
victim eaten out. They must be very numerous along the Madras
coast for their peculiar egg mass, in the form of a broad spiral
ribbon (fig. 12), is quite common at times on sand flats and in
shallows at the mouths of our rivers (Ennur, the Adyar, Pamban
and Tuticorin, for example). The eggs are minute and so mixed
and agglutinated together with sand grains that few even suspect
these sandy ribbons that look like rolls of coarse sandpaper,
to enclose thousands of eggs of a little gastropod.
Fig. 12. Eg-g ribbon of Natica. (Tuticorin.) X i.
A less common Indian genus is Sigaretiis. Here the foot is even
more greatly developed than in Natica, particularly at the front
120 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
where it assumes the form and function of a plough to push the
sand away on both sides as it burrows. In these animals the shell
is ear-shaped with a very wide aperture; the operculum is minute
and of no protective value to its owner-
The lovely VIOLET SNAILS {laiithinidac) are purely pelagic ;
they are found floating at the mercy of the currents in all warm seas ;
particularly common in the Indian Ocean, their beautiful violet
tinted papery shells are common objects along the shore after long
continued onshore winds. Often they are cast ashore alive and if
we put them in a bowl of water we see how cleverly they have
overcome the difficulty of keeping afloat. Under natural condi-
tions, they float head up with the spire of the shell downwards.
The foot is small and attached to it is a long frothy-looking raft,
composed of bubbles entangled in a transparent secretion of the
foot that dries into a delicate tough membrane. They are gregari-
ous and float about in shoals, feeding upon oceanic jellyfishes
Fig. 13. Life appearance of lanthina, showing the float and the egg-capsules
attached beneath. (After Owen ; modified.)
(Siplionophores), usually tinted violet like lanthina itself. Some
species attach their egg capsules to the under side of the float ;
others bring forth their young alive.
Strangely enough in animals that are free-swimming, the eyes
are absent. Neither have they any operculum. Several species
are found in Indian seas.
The Cowries {Cyt^racidac) arc amongst the best known of Indian
shells; the beauty and variety of their splendidly polished shells
render them conspicuous and valued. The adult shell diff"ers in
form from any other ; to understand its structure one must examine
the stages by which it changes from the immature condition to the
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDL^ 121
perfect shell. The young shell is elongated, with a prominent
conical spire, and a long wide mouth aperture bounded by a thin
sharp outer lip. A delicate epidermis covers the surface. As it
approaches maturity, the mantle flaps on either side expand and
become reflected over the back of the shell, the edges meeting a
little to one side. The epidermis becomes absorbed and in its
place the inner surface of the mantle lobes deposits a highly
polished enamel of variegated colouring upon the shell ; this
deposit extends over the spire as well and ends by obliterating and
concealing its coils. A line, usually of paler colour, down the back
indicates where the mantle lobes meet. Coincident with this, the
outer lip turns inwards, thickens and assumes the furrowed appear-
ance so characteristic of the lip in adult cowries ; the edge of the
columella or inner lip also thickens and assumes a similarly
furrowed appearance. In the end the aperture becomes quite
narrow, with a well-marked short canal at each end. The mantle
and foot are even more vividly coloured than the shell and few
objects are more beautiful than a large cowry crawling in a coral
reef pool, the mantle bright with scarlet and yellow and beset with
gracefully branched filaments. The foot is without an operculum ;
though large it can be retracted, together with the great mantle
lobes, wholly within the shell. The cowries live on rocky ground
particularly in and about coral reefs. They are often found hiding
under boulders at low tide and appear limited to shallow water.
The little yellow Money Cowry (C. ntoiieta) is abundant on the
reefs near Pamban, where it attains a larger size than those brought
from the Maldive islands ; the Indian variety is distinctl)^ intenser
in colouring, being a dark yellow. Even yet it is employed as
small change in bazaars in India and enormous quantities are in
circulation in West Africa. In India it is esteemed also as an
ornament and as an amulet ; the lore of the money cowry in India
alone, would fill a bulky volume.
Another small species common on coral reefs is the Eyed Cowry
(C. occUata), the back dotted with tiny greenish spots ringed round
with yellow— ocelli. Larger species comprise the Tiger Cowry
(C. tigris) covered with large bordered spots, the Black Cowry
(C niauritiaiia), a most handsome and elegant form, the Mole
Cowry (C. /'7//>rt), the Serpent's head Cowry {C.caput-serpentis),X.\\t
Arabian Cowry {C.arabica) and several others less well known.
In the Ovulidse, only the outer lip is furrowed (crenulated), the
columella remaining smooth and rounded. The best known is the
122 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
big Egg Cowry {Ovum ovum) used in New Guinea and the islands
to the east as a personal ornament and as a decoration of everything
the natives value and more especially their boats. It is snow white
in colour and is a striking ornament when a number are worn as a
fillet round the forehead or hung like bells from the prows of canoes.
Smaller forms are common in Indian seas as commensals upon the
sea-fans (Gorgonids). Gorgonids are usually brown or yellow or red
and the little Ovula shells {Oviila formosa) always agree in colour
with their host's hue; a yellow Ovula is never found on a red
gorgonid, or a red Ovula on a yellow gorgonid. The colour of the
mollusc resides in the mantle only ; the shell is riot coloured. Even
more beautiful is a species of cowry living upon the cauliflower-
like Spongodcs — one of the soft corals. In this case the host is either
pink or orange in general colour, but this colour is confined mainly
to the terminal parts of the branches bearing polyps ; the main
stem and the branches are generally white. Hence the little cowry
that lives here has the mantle blotched yellow or red as the case
may be ; this obviously harmonizes with the general colour of the
host much better than if the mollusc were self-coloured. The foot
is narrow and admirably adapted for climbing along the round
stems of its host. In size these little commensal cowries seldom
exceed an inch in length. They are active in habits and get along
nearly as quickly as the red (or yellow) spotted commensal crabs
that have the same protective colouring and live the same life
among the branches of Spongodes.
Of the Triton-shells none of the large species used as shell
trumpets in Polynesia and in the Mediterranean is seen in Indian
waters except in the Laccadives ; its place appears to be taken by
the chank or sankha {TurhineUa pirum). Small forms belonging
to the genus Rauclla are, however, common. These shells, known
in Europe as FrOG-SHELLS, are short and stout, with a strong
ridge or varix continuous along the whole length of each side of the
shell. The intervening space is tuberculated ; the lip corrugated.
They live in shallow water on rough bottom, and well deserve their
common name for they have an absurd likeness to a tiny tree-frog
squatting, head up, ready for a leap. Ranella foliata and R.
granifera are common species.
The larger HELMET-SHELLS {Cassididac) are represented in
India by two species, the Great Helmet-shell, Cassis coniuta, and
the Red Helmet, Cassis rufa. The former is the heaviest and
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
123
largest Indian gastropod, its shell weighing several pounds. In
shape it is not unlike a gigantic knobbed strombus but with the
outer lip thickened and the inner one spread iiorizontally over the
body whorl to form a flat polished surface in the fully adult con-
dition. These shells are rare and are found usually in 8 to 10
fathoms on the pearl banks of the Gulf of Mannar. A smaller
species, Cassis ni/a, growing to about six inches in length is found
in the Laccadive Islands. It is of a reddish tint, and the pro-
minent spines of C. coniiita are here reduced to low blunt knobs.
C. canalicidata is a common shore species of small size.
The shell substance of the large Helmet-shells consists of
differently coloured layers, and this peculiarity is taken advantage
of by the cameo-workers of Naples and Torre del Greco, who
employ Cassis rufa for cameos requiring a dark red ground. Other
species give a purplish blue ground, the carved figure appearing
in white relief.
The DoUulae are familiar objects on the Madras beach. The
shells have a widely expanded {ventricose) body whorl with a short
spire. Two genera are common, Doliiiiii, the TUN-SHELL, and
Pirula, the FiG-SHELL. Dolium is remarkable for its globose form,
Fig. 14. Pirula seen crawling. Note the large flattened foot and the maitle
folds enwrapping the shell. (After Owen.)
and the many narrow ribs that revolve round the shell from mouth
to apex. The tun is fragile but so light is it and so round that the
124 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
dead shells seldom get damaged when they are washed ashore.
The two Madras species are Doliiim maculatum and D. olcarium.
The Fig-shells {Pinila) are so named because of their shape.
Their habits are the same as those of the Tun-shells — they live on
sandy bottom not far below low-tide mark ; to enable them to crawl
rapidly and comfortably over soft unstable sand, the foot in both is
very wide, forming a broad flat sole (fig. 14), In Pirula this is
particularly wide and both the upper surface of this foot and the
mantle folds that more or less enwrap the back of the shell, as in
the cowries, are beautifully veined. (These dorsal folds are not
present in the case of Dolium.)
Dead examples of the STAIRCASE-SHELL, Solarium, are fairly
common on sandy beaches around our coasts after storms. The
shell has a handsome low spiral not unlike Xenophora in general
form, but orbicular in outline when viewed from above, the last
whorl angular at the outer edge ; a deep pit or umbilicus passes
down the centre of the columella on the under side of the shell. The
projecting edges of the whorls seen on the sides of this umbilicus
have been fancifully compared to the windings of a spiral
staircase.
RACHIGLOSSA.
The family Turbinellidas is of special interest in India, for the
type genus is TiirbincUa, the Sankha or Chank, a shell around
which has gathered more legend and folk-lore than around any
other in the world. Other important genera are Cynodo/itn and
Melon gen a.
The Chank {Tnrbinella pinim) is a peculiarly Indian species. It
occurs nowhere in Asia outside of India and the Andaman
Islands, its nearest relatives living on the Brazilian coast. Its
finest or central variety is distinctly fusiform or spindle-shaped,
with a handsome, well-balanced spire, but this may be depressed
so greatly in some varieties as to give a distinctly piriform or
pear-shaped appearance. The mouth is wide and prolonged
anteriorly into a long deep canal lodging the great siphon used
apparently in sensing the presence of the worms which form its
principal food. The columella bears three and sometimes four
strong ridges to which the very strong columellar retractor
muscles are attached. Individuals living in shallow water, where
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
125
they are exposed to the influence of strong currents during the
monsoon, have these ridges particularly strong and prominent
giving increased purchase to the muscles connecting the foot with
the shell. The exterior
is covered with a thick
velvety coating of
golden brown perio-
stracum, completely
hiding the snowy
white porcellanous
shell beneath.
The chank is grega-
rious and its haunts
form distinct "beds."
It prefers a sandy
bottom where tube
worms abound ; these
constitute its chief
food. These sandy
beds are most prolific
in depths from 8 to 10^2
fathoms off the Tinne-
velly coast; in Palk
Bay the beds are at a
lesser depth and where
there is much mud
mixed with the sand,
this appears to affect
the growth of the
chanks adversely.
Other beds occur along the Tanjore and South Arcot coast and
extend to some distance north of Pulicat lake. Chanks are found
also off South Travancore and in Okhamandal in Kathiawar. In
the Andamans a distinct variety (.'' species) occurs with elongated
mouth and distinct remains of knobs along the shoulder of the
whorls, a type more akin to the ancestral form than the smooth-
surfaced shells from the east coast of India,
The larval development of the chank is typical of that of many
of the larger Gastropods and is almost identical with that of the
Fig. 15, The Sacred Chank [Tnrbinella firti/ji, L.),
X h
126
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
European whelk (Biicciniim). The ova are deposited in a many-
chambered stiff parchment-like egg-capsule of striking and peculiar
appearance. In general form it is an elongated, loosely spiral, annul-
lated cylinder, divided transversely by partitions into a number
of chambers, each representing one capsule unit ; the whole looks
like a minature ram's horn, corrugated and twisted, set point down-
wards in the sand. When newly formed it is pale opaque yellow
in colour ; with age it darkens, and
becomes covered with low growths
of algce. It stands upright on the
sea-bottom, the lower and first
formed end rooted in the sand by
means of a broad, flange-shaped,
anchoring disc. The lower end is
narrow and neck-like, the chambers
there small ; these gradually in-
crease in size, till at a point about
one-third of the length from the base
they attain a maximum size, which
is maintained thence to the abruptly
truncate summit. The total height
of the capsule is from 7 to 10 inches.
In reality the case is a compound
capsule, consisting of a number, 25
to 30 or more, of discoidal capsules
attached at one point on the edge to
a broad basement band that runs
along one side of the case from
base to summit (fig. 16). Without
this knowledge it would be difficult
to understand the complicated
structure. The various capsules
are closely set, the " roof " of one
practically touching the "floor"
of the one above. In the floor of
each capsule is a crescentic slit
parallel with the front edge, hence
when the case sways to the current, the partition walls of the
individual capsules gape slightly and so allow a circulation of
Fir..
16. Kgg capsule of ihe Sacred
Chank. X i-
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 12/
sea-water to provide the aeration needed by the larvae. The
horizontal partitions or walls are much thinner than the outer or
circular wall of the capsule.
In each chamber or capsule a considerable number of fertilized
ova are deposited, embedded in a transparent, colourless, albumin-
ous nutritive jelly which entirely fills the chamber. In this matrix
the embryos go quickly through the trochosphere stage and then
assume a modified veliger form characterized by the possession of
a s])iral larval shell. This is quite different from that of the adult
and is distinguished by the term protocoiich. In its full develop-
ment it reaches a length of about a quarter of an inch ; the whorls
are all nearly the same diameter, so that it appears when fully
formed as a cylindrical coil of about 2^ to 3 turns. During the
earlier larval period fratricidal war occurs among the brood,
ending in the disappearance of the weaker among them, till only
some half dozen (5 to 7 usually) remain alive to complete their
development within the capsule. The change to the miniature
semblance of the adult takes place suddenly ; there is no grada-
tion from the cylindrical form of the protoconch into that of the
young adult form marked by the expansion of the mouth whorl,
an expansion that widens continuously to keep pace with the
rapid increase in size of the young chank. Differences of colour
and surface also take place ; from the white smooth surface of the
protoconch, the newer part of the shell becomes brown-flecked,
with a distinctly angular shoulder, bearing low knobs
By the time the young chanks attain a length of rather over
half an inch, all the nutritive contents of the capsule have been
exhausted, and being no longer able to devour one another because
of the stoutness of their shell, the ravenous young find it necessary
to leave home in search of food. Their first step is to eat through
the partitions dividing the separate chambers, a proceeding which
results in the bringing together of the whole surviving family,
numbering usually from 200 to 250 in all. The stronger next
either eat a way through the outer wall or force their way out
between the capsules. The whole brood follow, to scatter over the
adjacent sea-bottom to lead independent lives. It is noteworthy
that in the chank, the protoconch persists through life, accidents
excepted, at the apex of the adult shell.
128 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
The breeding season, when the capsules are fashioned and
rooted in the sand, extends throughout January, February, and the
first half of March. Some divers assert that new capsules are also
to be found in June and July, but I have had no opportunity to test
this statement. The sexes being separate the divers have several
stories to tell anent the breeding habits. Among others they
assert that the females are the larger and are attended each by a
number of smaller males, who assist in the making of the capsules !
The chank is an excellent instance of the acquisition by an
animal of characters which appear, for all practical purposes,
absolutely perfect to enable it to hold its own with ease in its
struggle for existence. Against every one of its known enemies it
has evolved suitable means of defence. The massive strength of
its shell protects it from the attacks of all ordinary fishes ; the
density and thickness of its periostracum give during youth and
maturity adequate protection against the insidious attacks of the
boring sponge Cliona and its shell-burrowing congeners; the strong
capsule it constructs for its young gives them protection till they
reach a self-supporting stage endowed even at this early period
with a fairly strong and resistent shell— one cannot crack it between
one's finger and thumb. Its semi-burrowing habits give it defence
against those fishes which have the habit of snapping off the
protruded feet of gastropods. Finally the pale yellowish-brown
periostracum assimilates closely in colouring to the sand and
should be a further protection against its discovery by enemies ;
to this form of protection I am, however, not inclined to assign
great value, for chank divers can distinguish the presence of a
chank even when half buried in the sand, and if they can, I feel
assured that predatory fish are equally clever.
As chanks grow old, their resisting powers diminish, the
protecting periostracum receives damage and the burrowing
sponge Cliona, obtains a lodgment in the shell. Once there it
runs its branching tunnels everywhere in the substance of the
shell, converting it into a honeycombed mass. I greatly doubt if
this contributes except indirectly to the death of the chank. This
probably occurs usually from senile decay on beds that are not
fished commercially. It is noteworthy that beds which have not
been fished for some years, contain great numbers of Cliona-
burrowed shells, whereas on beds that are fished regularly, the
No. 6(1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH LNDLA 129
proportion of wormed shells is so low as to be practically non-
existent.
Among the chanks fished each year are usually a few left-handed
(sinistral) examples, in which the coil of the shell instead of
twisting clockwise from left to right if the shell be held with its
mouth (anterior end) pointing forwards, is reversed and twists from
left to right. It is noteworthy however that the terms used are
also reversed in Tamil, a sinistral or left-handed shell being called
vaJampuri or " right-hand shell " — the converse of the European
way of looking at it !
These abnormal shells on account of their great rarity are
accounted by Hindus and Buddhists of great religious value. A
valampuri chank is one of the emblems of Vishnu, and such shells
are amongst the most important of the treasures of the great Hindu
temples of the present day. Similarly in Tibet a few of the
Buddhist monasteries treasure similar objects. The Emperors of
China considered a sinistral chank the most valuable gift they
could present to one of their Viceroys.
At one time the value of these shells is said to have been asses-
sed at their weight in gold. Good shells are still assessed accord-
ing to weight, the price per tola weight increasing greatly as the
shell becomes heavier. A shell under 30 tolas weight is valued at
from Rs. 5 to Rs. 20 per tola according to quality ; from 30 to lOO
tolas weight Rs. 50 to Rs. 40 per tola, while if above this, the
price will be not less than Rs. 50 per tola. A shell of IIO tolas
weight at this rate would be worth Rs. 5,500, by no means an
extravagant price if the shell be nearly perfect, and without
" worm-holes." -
In one season, 1900-OI, twelve valampuri shells were obtained
from the beds in the south-west corner of Palk Bay, but nearly all
were small and badly " wormed " ; at auction they brought the
comparatively small sum of Rs. 601 for the lot.
Among the ignorant in South India the belief is prevalent that
a valampuri chank blows of its own accord during the night, and
in China, the Viceroy of Fukhien, in the days when Formosa was
included in his jurisdiction, carried one in his State junk on the
occasion of his inspection of the island, as the blowing of a sinistral
chank is believed to have the effect of stilling the waves in stormy
weather.
5
130 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
The chank fisheries of India and Ceylon produce not less than
2,000,000 shells per annum. In some years the number may rise to
2% millions but of this number only 6 to 8 lakhs are " live " shells,
the remainder being sub-fossil shells dug out of the mud of the
Jaffna lagoons where they have lain for hundreds and perhaps
thousands of years.
The bulk of the shells fished in all localities are exported to
Bengal where the great majority are sawn and carved into bangles,
used universally in that province by Hindu women of all castes.
In the Tamil districts of Madras, great quantities of small ones are
used as amulets against the evil eye, especially in respect of draught
bullocks and cows in milk. Another large lot are fashioned into
babies' feeding spouts, while the larger ones are used as shell
trumpets during religious ceremonies.
As an article of food the flesh of the chank has come into local
prominence only since the Great Famine of 1877 when the families
of Parawa chank divers of Tuticorin first made systematic use of it.
On the run home from the fishing grounds, the divers extract the
foot and head region from the shell, using a strong iron skewer for
the purpose. The whole of the glandular tissue in the " tail " of
the mollusc is left within the shell. The part extracted is chiefly
muscular tissue and carries the large horny operculum. This meat,
called sangu sat/iai, is collected in little palmyra-leaf baskets and
taken home as soon as the shells have been handed over to the Gov-
ernment officers. In preparing it, the flesh is boiled, cooled and
then, after pulling off the opercula, cut into thin transverse slices
which are sundried. In this condition they keep indefinitely — hard
and horny slices looking like very thin chipped potatoes. In
cooking, the slices are fried in ghi or in gingelly oil. The bulk of
the flesh is consumed by the divers' own families. Its value is
12 annas to one rupee per measure.
The operculum (Tamil, nagaiiain or navauam) of the chank has a
considerable value, being in demand for use as a glue in the com-
position of incense sticks. An exhaustive monograph upon the
chank fisheries and industries., and of the innumerable supersti-
tions centring around the shell, is contained in Volume VII of the
Madras Fisheries Bulletin.
A close relative of the sacred chank is the DOG CHANK,
Cyjiodonta coniigern, a strong murex-like shell covered with stout
No. 6 (lQ2l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDLA
131
knobs ; like the true chank strong ridges are present on the colum-
ella. It is found on rocky ground, rarely in the Gulf of Mannar,
more frequently in the Laccadive Islands.
Mclongcna vespertilio is common at the mouths of backwaters on
the East Coast ; it may often be found crawling in the shallows near
the bar at Ennur. It has a distinct resemblance to the Andaman
variety of the chank, having a well marked shoulder from which
short conical knobs project at regular intervals. The spire is short
and the canal long. The surface is covered with a velvety yellowish-
brown periostracum. There are no plicae on the columella.
The Fasciolariidac often grow to a great size, particularly so in
the case of Fasciohiria gigantea
which may reach a length of two
feet and Fitsus colossus and F.
proboscidalis. In Indian waters
the largest species is the
Knobbed Chank, Fasdolaria
trapezium, a chank-like shell,
often 4 inches long, with a short
spire, armed with stout knobs.
The columella lip anteriorly is
ridged with several oblique folds.
A thick brown periostracum pro-
tects the shell. It lives on the
same ground as the true chank,
but in comparison is few in
numbers; the chank divers of
Tuticorin bring it ashore when
they find it and eat the flesh.
The eggs are laid in capsules
where the young undergo their
development. A smaller species
is the dark brown F. filamcutosa, with sculpturing reduced to faint
spiral ribbing and the merest vestiges of knobbing on the shoulder.
Much more elegant is our common Spindle-Shell. Fusus
coins. No shell could be more truly named for it is typically fusi-
form or spindle-shaped, the spire drawn out very long and the
canal extremely elongated and narrow. The body whorl is com-
paratively small; the well-defined angular shoulder to the whorls
Fic;. 17. Egg cases of a large Gastro-
pod, probably Fasciolariatrapeziion.
upon a dtacl chank shell.
I32 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV^
is beset with wide rounded ridges. Fiisus antiqitus is an extremely
abundant species in Western Europe; apart from its considerable
economic value as food, a point of great interest is that a separate
race or variety arose in Pliocene times distinguished for its reversed
or sinistral twist. In the chank, this abnormal form is extremely
rare, but even here the bulk of them occur in one particular locality,
indicating that there is in that place a family (in the popular
sense) distinguished by this peculiarity, just as there are occasion-
ally families among men distinguished by six fingers in place of
five on each hand. In Pliocene days such a family evidently
competed successfully with their normally shaped relatives and
formed a race that became dominant ; to-day this sinistral form still
exists in the Mediterranean and on the coast of Spain, but on the
British coasts the normal (dextral) form has ousted completely the
abnormal sinistral variety.
Fig. iS. Egg cases of a, large Gastropod, probahly a .Murcx,
common off Tuticorin.
The Mitre-shells {Mitridac) are handsome, brightly
coloured shells, much sought after by collectors. Unfortunately
the finer species are rare in Indian waters ; the BISHOP'S MiTRE
{Mitra episcopalis) found in the Gulf of Mannar, is particularly
beautiful, its shape elongated into a stout spindle and the surface
decorated with spiral rows of blotches and spots. The mouth is
rather narrow and like that of the chank is distinguished by the
presence of several pleats or folds on the columella. The mitres are
almost exclusively confined to the warm regions of the earth, from
the Mediterranean, where they are small and few, to the East
Indies and thence to Panama. They are most abundant and diverse
in the Philippine region.
No. 6(1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
133
The next family, the WHELKS or Biiccinidae, conversely are
characteristically northern in their habitat, in regard to their most
typical genera. The only conspicuous Indian genus is Eburna
{ = LatruNCHliis\ These are stout whelk-like shells, solid, smooth
and white, usually brightly spotted or blotched with red, obscured
during life by a thin dirty brownish periostracum ; the foot is
similarly spotted. A characteristic feature is the rectangular form
Fig. 19. Elntrna spirata crawlinii; Dver sand.
of the suture dividing the whorls. In the young an umbilicus is
present; with age the inner lip becomes thickened and eventually
spreads over the umbilical opening. The common Indian species
are Eburna spirata and E- zeylauica.
The NASSAS {Nassidac) are all small and often tiny shells of
the outline of a chank, usually covered completely with many rows
of tiny tubercles ; the aperture is usually small, the outer lip thick-
ened and strong and often armed with peculiar and prominent
"teeth," as may also be the inner lip formed by a strong callus
deposited upon the end of the columella. The foot is long and broad
and the siphon elongated. The Nassas are in the main scavengers
living upon carrion; their sense of smell is extremely acute and
they may be trapped in numbers by laying down a dead crab or a
piece of decaying meat in shallows or rock pools and watching the
effect. If Nassas abound it is not long before they are seen trooping
from all sides, each with its siphon extended in front and waving
inquiringly from side to side, to locate the source of the odour they'
have smelled. They cluster round and over a dead mollusc or a
dead crab exactly as ants do over a dead insect they have found,
but instead of dragging it away to their nest the Nassas devour
N>
;08 ^
uj LIBRARY
l^V
134 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
their find there and then. Common Indian species are Arciilaria
austrnlis, and A. thersites, both found in the shallows of Palk Bay
and the Gulf of Mannar.
The family of the Muricidae has a world-wide distribution ;
tropical species are numerous and include many very handsome
and peculiar forms, ornamented not infrequently with prominent
varices fantastically armed with thickly set spines. The basal
form of the shell is fusiform; the aperture is rounded ; in many
species the anterior canal is very long and narrow, with sides so
incurved as to become almost closed and tubular; a posterior canal
absent. The foot is abruptly cut off in front. The proboscis is
long and retractile, armed with strong teeth on the radula capable
of boring circular holes in other shells in a manner similar to
Natica. The Murices are all carnivorous ; living free on the bottom
they fill towards the non-burrowing bivalves a role similar to that
of Natica in the case of those that live buried in the sand ; they are
capable of great damage and some of the smaller species, Urosal-
pinx sp. and others, together with the Purpurid Sistntm, cause
havoc on the pearl banks when the pearl oysters are young and
thin-shelled.
From some of the murices the Phoenicians obtained their
famous Tyrian purple dye; the animal was extracted whole
from large shells, small ones being broken in a mortar. Vestiges
of this industry still exist on the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean
in heaps of broken murex shells and in caldron-shaped holes in the
rocks.
The handsome, long-spined Murex tcnuist>ina is often brought
ashore in considerable numbers by Madras fishermen, entangled
by its spines in their nets ; the same species and the closely allied
M. ternispina are common on the West Coast in moderately deep
water. Both these have extremely long beaks beset with spines ;
the Woodcock-shell, M. haustdhim, has an equally long beak
but no spines; it bears a fantastic resemblance to the head of a
woodcock, whence the popular name. It is common on muddy
sand on both coasts.
Of short-beaked small forms, M. palniifcrus is peculiarly hand-
some, the spines being stout and branched. It occurs in the Gulf
of Mannar,
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
135
Largest of all the Indian murices is M. ramosiis. This shell is
found associated with the rather larger Horned Helmet-shells
{Cassis corniita) in deep water (lO fathoms) on the pearl banks off
the Tinnevelly coast. The fishermen call it the Elephant-CHANK
(Afii sangn, Tamil). The shell is short and massive, the beak quite
short and wide and the whole surface beset with powerful spines
slightly curved. Closely related is Miirex anguliferus, a small
edition of the elephant chank. So much alike are they that the
smaller one has been supposed by some to be the young of the
larger. The spines in the young are less developed than
in the mature, and in this condition the angular form is well
seen. It is common on the East Coast and at the temple at Tiruk-
kalikkunram this shell appears sometimes to take the place of a
real chank in the miracle enacted periodically at this place, which
lies between Chingleput and Mahabalipuram. Here at intervals
of several years, a chank shell rises to the surface of the temple
tank and among the shells thus miraculously produced and trea-
sured at the temple, I have seen two of Murex aiigiiliferus.^'
The Purples [Purpuridae) are littoral shells of small size found
on all rocky coasts. The largest Indian species, Purpura bufo and
P. rudolphi {par attai, Tamil) are barely 2 inches in length, thick
Fit;. 20. Purples. Purpura rudolphi ^nA Purpura bufo, X 1.
and stoutly built, with a short spire and a fairly large body-whorl
and large aperture. They live on rocks between tide marks at
* " The Sacred Chank of India," p. 184. Madras Fisheries Bulletin t No. 7
Madras, 1914.
136
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Covelong and along with Turbo on the stone-strewn shoals of the
islands and mainland of the Ramnad and Tinnevelley districts
where they are occasionally eaten by the shore people.
In habits the Purples closely resemble the Murices ; they prey
on other molluscs, obtaining access to the soft bodies of their
unfortunate victims by the same expedient of boring holes through
their shells; they also secrete a dull crimson fluid that was used
by the ancients for dyeing, Rapaiia bulbosa is another common
Indian species and a spiny little Sistrum is a companion of
Urosalpinx in its depredations on pearl-oyster brood.
The closely allied family of Coralliophilidae comprises a curious
group of sedentary gastropods that
live in coral reefs, intimately associ-
ated with the corals. Magilus, an
Indian form, is like a thin-shelled
Purpura when it settles down upon a
coral ; as the latter grows, the shell
becomes ever the more deeply im-
mersed, until, to prevent itself being
entombed, it changes the growth of
its shell from the spiral to the straight,
lengthening it as the coral increases
in thickness. As the straight section
lengthens, Magilus fills the hinder
cavity of its tube with solid material.
An operculum is retained.
The VOLUTES ( Voluti(fae) have great interest in India, for besides
the pretty and typical Voliita intcrpuncta of our seas, the family
includes the great MELON-SHELL {Mclo indica). In its youth,
this shell has a well-developed spire as in ordinary volutes;
with growth, the body of the animal increases so fast that the
whorl becomes so inflated and overgrown that the spire is eventu-
ally hidden. Strong folds are present on the columella. The
adult form is almost globular, and the mouth whorl so roomy that
in New Guinea it is commonly used by fishermen as a bailer. Our
Indian species grows to a length of about eight inches.
It is fairly numerous in 5 and 6 fathoms in Palk Bay, less nume-
rous on the Coromandel Coast and in the Gulf of Mannar. The
shell is pale reddish brown blotched with a darker shade. The
Fig. 21. Magilus showing the larval
form of shell (B) and the
abnormal straight form
assumed in adult life (A)
(after Cooke).
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
13/
animal — foot, mantle, and head — is striped like a tiger with yellow
and black. When crawling it presents a remarkable appearance,
the shell all but lost to sight in the enwrapping lobes of the mantle
and foot.
The eggs are deposited in a wonderful egg mass — the strangest
of any produced in these seas. It stands nearly a foot high, a great
honeycombed glassy cylinder made up of some hundreds of clus-
tered capsules each nearly an inch in length. In form and sculp-
turing it resembles a tall cylindrical pineapple, the capsules
representing the bracts. A narrow cavity perforates the centre of
the cylinder. The walls of the different cells are tough, colourless
and hyaline. As in Turbinella, a number of ova are deposited in
each capsule, but with growth all disappear eventually but one,
Fig. 22. Egg-mass of the Melon
shell (Palk Bay). X h
Fig. 23. Another gastropod egg-mass, paren-
tage doubtful (Tuticorin). XL
and this, when it frees itself by eating through the capsule wall, is
nearly an inch in length. Long before they come out, the young
can be seen clearly through the transparent walls. The spire at
this period is distinctly conical, and the whole shell extremely
like the land-snails Bulimus and Achatina. This giant egg-mass
6
138
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XlV,
is not planted in the sand as in the case of the chank ; the parent
carries it about till the young become free.
The family of the OLIVES (Olividae) contains some of the com-
monest shells found on the East Coast ; they are rarely seen in
Malabar. They are notable for their high polish and the beauty
of their marbled colouring. Among themselves there is less differ-
ence in form than usual, the shape being roughly cylindrical, with
a very short spire and a long narrow aperture. The suture is
channelled and is in connexion with the hinder end of the mouth
aperture by a narrow slit in the lip. The columella is overlaid
with deposit and is striated obliquely ; no operculum is present.
As in Natica, where the habit of life is similar, the shell is
partly immersed in the swollen foot ; the mantle lobes are also
large and meet over the back and so maintain the high polish of
the shell. A slender tactile filament is given off behind from the
mantle to pass through the posterior slit and lie when at rest in
the suture furrow.
The Olives are very active; they burrow rapidly in wet sand
in quest of the bivalves on which they
live, and it is said that they may even
be taken on a line baited with a fragment
of flesh.
The common species is OHva gihbosa
(Tamil, kovaiiji in Palk Bay and Madras,
sangii at Pulicat). OHva ispidiila and An-
cillaria ci/ifiainonea are other less common
forms. On the Coromandel coast the
Olives are extensively used as food by
the Pattanavar or sea-fishermen caste.
On the Ramnad coast they have less
importance as a minor food item ; while
being utilized, chiefly by Valayans, in
the same way as other shellfish whenever
found, they are in some cases sought for
separately on account of the price the
shells fetch when sold to the shell-dealers in Rameswaram temple,
who give an anna per hundred for the shells. The chief collecting
season is at the times of spring tides during the fine weather
period from February to April. Towards the end of the ebb tide
Fig. 24. Common Olive
{OHva gibbosa). X i.
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
139
Pattanavar women and lads then engage in the search, from about
extreme low water to a depth of a couple of feet. They find the
shells by turning the sand over with the feet or in the case of
those in the uncovered sand by marking the trail made as the
Olive travels about. The Pattanavars boil their catch in fresh-
water, extract the flesh and then either use it in their curry or fry
it in oil.
Fig. 25. Oliva gihhosa crawling. X i?-
The size of these olives {O. gihhosa) runs from 50 to 60 milli-
metres in length. In the sea-fishing hamlets or kuppams in the
neighbourhood of Pulicat Lake, their shells, with those of Donax,
contribute no inconsiderable bulk to the kuppam kitchen middens
there accumulating.
The Margincllidac are small shells akin in appearance and
anatomy to the olives ; MargincUa angustata is sometimes mistaken
for a young olive. A distinguishing character is that the outer
lip is thickened.
The last family of the Rachiglossa is that of the HarP-
SHELLS {Harpidac), a small group of very beautifully coloured
shells, the polished surface decorated with prominent longitudinal
ribs, suggesting the strings of a harp. The body whorl is greatly
inflated as in Dolium (ventricose), the spire short, and the colu-
mella callous. The foot is very large with a semilunar fore part,
separated by a transverse groove ; no operculum. As is usual in
highly polished shells, the mantle is reflected over the back. The
only living specimens I have found, were in coral reef pools in the
Gulf of Mannar and in the Laccadives. When irritated Harpa
ventricosa. our local species, commits self-mutilation by severing
and throwing off the hinder part of its foot,
140
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
The next three families, the Pleurotoinatidae, Tercbridae, and
Conidae possess a large " poison gland " in the gullet, communicat-
ing by a duct with barbed teeth on the radula ; they constitute
the tribe of " Poison-teeth " or TOXOGLASSA. As may be inferred
from this, they are carnivorous in habit.
Fig. 26. Life-appearance of Conus.
The Cones {Conidae), as their name implies, are more or less
conical in shape. The spire is usually short and may even be
telescoped so greatly as to give the apical end a truncated appear-
ance. The aperture is long and narrow, the outer lip thin ; a
claw-shaped small operculum. Inter-
nally the partitions are partly absorb-
ed. The family is very large, mainly
tropical in character ; it includes many
most brilliantly coloured shells, some
so rare and beautiful that collectors
have paid as much as Rs. 750 for a
single shell. Some species are
dangerous to handle on account of the
poisonous nature of their bite, but
none of the Indian species have ever
attempted to bite me when handling
them and none of our fishermen appear
to fear them ; the South Sea Islanders
on the contrary have a most lively
dread of them, and allege that their bite is often fatal.
Our common species chiefly haunt coral reefs. They include
Conus hcbraciis (the markings resembling Hebrew letters).
Fig. 27. A common Cone
(C. fi^uUmis). X L
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I4I
C. litteratus and C. ceylouensis, the last with a characteristic spiral
white band in the middle of the mouth whorl. C. textile is a mag-
nificent shell, large and beautifully marked.
Fl<;. 2*^'. Kgg capsules of a large Conusor) a broken valve of Placuna (Tulicorin). X 4.
The Slit-lips {Pknrotomatidac) are even more numerous
in species than the cones and unlike them are world-wide in
distribution. They are fusiform in shape, with a tapered spire and
elongated body whorl ending in a long canal. A deep slit or
notch in the thin lip is their characteristic feature. Our common
species are P. marmorata and P. tigr'uia.
Lastly we have the AUGER-SHELLS {Terebridae), very long
tapered shells of many whorls, resembling in general form the
Turret-shells {Tnrritella) but usually are smooth surfaced, and
brightly ornamented with coloured spots. Tcrebra duplicdta is not
uncommon in moderate depths on sandy bottom.
Sub-Class 2.— Euthyneura.
The gastropods belonging to this section have the visceral
nerve straight and not twisted as in the Streptoneura with which
we have just dealt. Another characteristic is the excessive develop-
ment of the sides of the foot into lateral folds or epipoda. These
tend to envelop the shell and in degree as this is more complete
and permanent, so the spiral form of the shell is reduced and its
substance lessened in thickness, till it eventually disappears. In
the most specialized in this direction, the torsion or twisting of the
body tends to disappear and the animals acquire a secondary
externa) symmetry. The section is divided into the orders Opistho-
branchiata and Pulmonata, the former marine, with breathing
arrangements suitable for life in water, the latter without gills and
normallv air-breathers,
142
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Order i.— Opisthobranchiata.
This order includes the Bubble-shells (BuUidac), the Sea-Hares
(Aplysiidac), the Umbrella-shells (Uinhrellidae), one section of the
Pteropods and the large and interesting shell-less group of the
Nudibranchs.
The Bubble-shells {BulUdae) are abundant on sandy bottom
in shallow water. The swollen oval shells of Bulla ampulla, seem-
ingly all " mouth," mottled with pale transparent brownish-red are
often thrown ashore at Madras. In life none of the shell is seen,
the fleshy lobes of the foot being reflected over the shell both at
the sides and behind. In front, the foot, like many other burrowing
molluscs, Natica and Oliva for example, forms a stout head-shield —
the equivalent in its economy of a plough-share.
A closely allied species is the little Cylicluia, belonging to the
family Scaphandridac. The shell is cylindrical, with a long narrow
aperture ; it is not unlike a young Oliva.
An extremely beautiful animal is the Striped Bubble-shell
Hydatifia, belonging to the Aplustridac. The shell has the form of
Bulla but is thin and fragile and ornamented with broad spiral
black bands on a pale ground. The foot is very broad ; the head
Vic. 2^1. Striped Bubble-shell {HydatJna circidata\ life appearance showing ihe broad
foot and head and ear-like tentacles. (After Adams.)
disc extremely large. The true tentacles (there are four small
labial ones') are wide and ear-shaped and of enormous size, partially
covering the shell. The colouring of the foot and the tentacles
partakes of the colour scheme of the shell ; it is a wonderful sight
to see this creature when crawling in a pool, the shell partly
uncovered, the great head with its elephant-ear tentacles stretched
forwards and the wide side-folds partly reflected, undulating
gracefully over roughnesses of the ground. Hydatina is found
but only rarely, on the Ramnad and Tinnevelly coasts.
No. 6(l92l) COiMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
143
In the Philinidac the form of the body is fully specialized for
burrowing. The shell ha? become thin
and small, the spire almost lost and the
aperture wide and ear-shaped ; it is
embedded entirely and there is therefore
no longer a clumsy projecting mass on
the back as in Natica and Oliva, to
hinder progress through the sand; the
lobes of the body are fleshy and smooth,
without any projections, the whole an
animated plough-share perfect for its
purpose of burrowing rapidly. Like
Bulla and Cylichna it has a powerful
gizzard armed with a crushing apparatus
composed of three shelly plates. The
Fig. 30. Life appearance of Common species is shapeless in appear-
Philine. Sh., outline of ance, a mere mass of white fleshy lobes.
shell embedded in mantle. -tj. • . ■ r^ ^ ^
it IS not uncommon in soft wet sand.
Very different is the beautiful little LOBIGER {Loplwcercidae).
This form is often seen in great abundance in quiet sheltered bays
where sea-grass prairies are found, as at Tuticorin. At first sight
one is inclined to take it for one of the naked forms known as
nudibranchs, till the rounded shell is observed. The body is
Fig. 31. Lobiger viridis showing the oval shell between the two pairs of ' fins'
(Tuticorin). X 2.
slender and sluglike, tapering off behind into a long narrow tail.
The head bears two flattened tentacles, while on each side of the
body proper rise upwards two pairs of great leaf-like lobes or fins,
144 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
whereof the anterior pair is the smaller. Each fin is a thin wide
lobe with frilled edges, attached to the body by a muscular stalk.
When alarmed or disturbed, the animal seeks to escape by throw-
ing off its fins ; when cast off, these exhibit slight movement for
some time afterwards. With the help of the mobile "tail "and
these paired " fins," Lobiger is enabled to swim with ease. The
oval shell, slightly convoluted, is transparent and very delicate ;
its convex surface is freely exposed on the middle of the back
between the fins ; there is no need as in Bulla and Philine to
protect it from sand attrition, for Lobiger pursues a free life in the
water, never attempting to burrow. The colour of our Indian
species is normally a brilliant green, harmonizing with the colour
of the sea-grass of the shallows where it abounds. Sometimes
minute dark specks are scattered through the green. The ground
colour of the fins is green likewise, bordered with a band of coral
red speckled with black dots. Lobiger appears to have some
power of colour adaptation, for when placed in a white vessel it
becomes yellow, the bright red border to the fins disappearing.
In Great Britain the place of Lobiger is taken by the little
nudibranch Elysia viridis. This though belonging to a group
altogether different has almost identical habits and a related
scheme of colouring.
Here are now placed the shell-bearing Pteropods, " Butterflies
of the sea " as they are often called. They spend their whole life
in the open sea, often occurring in such vast swarms as to discolour
the water for miles; they form the principal food of the Baleen
Whale. Their shells are either tubular {Crescis) or broad and
pocket shaped {Cavolina); the former (Crescis) are common in the
minute floating life of our waters (plankton) but so small, pellucid,
and needle-like that only under the microscope can it be re-
cognized ; the shell of Cavolina is sufficiently stout to be recognized
when thrown ashore after storms, usually in company with lanthina
and violet-coloured siphonophore jellyfishes.
The Pteropods differ from other molluscs in the transformation
of the foot into a pair of great wing-like swimming fins, arranged
one on either side of the mouth, the head as a distinct organ
having virtually disappeared.
The Sea-HaRES (Aplysiidae), so named from a fancied re-
semblance to a crouching hare, are heavily built grotesque creatures,
No. 6 (I92T) common MOLLLISCS OF SOUTH INDIA
145
lumpy and very soft to the touch, with a thin and much reduced
transparent ear-shaped brown shell all but covered by the mantle
and further protected by two fleshy side lobes of the foot. The
stumpy head is armed with two pairs of tentacles, the hinder the
larger. The middle region of the body rises high with a humpy
back ; behind, the broad flat foot passes into a distinct tail. In
colour Aplysia is mottled and spotted a dirty purplish brown with
points of white scattered throughout.
They are common in most parts of the world and the Indian
species is almost indistinguishable from the British, and equally
abundant in weedy shallows in bays and the seaward ends of
backwaters. They vary greatly in abundance from year to year;
sometimes they appear along the margin of the sea in multitudes;
in other seasons scarcely one is to be found. When handled these
animals discharge a large quantity of purple fluid from under the
mantle. This secretion is quite harmless but is undoubtedly protect-
ive, for it discolours the water for a considerable distance around,
alarming to any fish that may seize one of these animals. The
odour too is unpleasant, and to some people distinctly nauseous.
Aplysia deposits its ova in long greatly tangled cords, of con-
siderable total bulk, the colour pale brownish pink (fig. 33). In India
the spawning time (Ennur and Tuticorin' is February and March.
It is at this time that the animals are particularly gregarious. A
--.-' '■
Fig. 32. l^ife appearance of the Plumed Sea-hare {Notarchus) from Eanur.
Natural size.
member of another genus extremely closely related in form, size
and colour is Notarchus, marked oft" distinctly from Aplysia by the
presence of long filaments, the larger dendritic, scattered thickly
over the whole upper surface of the body. Whether this is in any
7
146
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
way protective 1 do not know. The lateral flaps in this genus
are united behind and not open as in Aplysia, leaving only a
small aperture on the summit of the back. No shell is present, a
stage further, the final one, in the process of the elimination of
what had become a useless structure. Large and beautiful eye-
spots are scattered over the body, the centre peacock green, ringed
round with pale orange ; each is at least 3 millimetres in diameter.
The gelatinous cords filled with opaque dirty reddish ova are
similar to those of Aplysia. Its spawning time is the same and so
is its habitat, all along the East Coast wherever quiet weedy
shallows are to be found; it is very common in some years at
Ennur in March.
The Umbrella-shell [UwhrelUdae) is another clumsy creature
not uncommon in moderate depths on the East Coast and easily
recognized by the flattened shell that covers the back of its fleshy
tuberculated body, very solid and muscular. The shell is quite
^l^' 33- V.gg cord ol Nolarc/iKs. Natural size.
uncovered, and hides the large plumed gill disposed in front and
to the right side. The head is small, and retractile like that
of the tortoise into a deep notch in the front of the massive foot.
Finally as representative of the Pleurobranchidac, v^e \\?iwe ihe
dull unsightly Pleurobratichus, coarsely slug-like in shape, greenish
drab ir colour, and rough surfaced. It is common in dirty nuiddy
pooh between tide-marks at Rameswaram. The head bears two
pairs of fleshy tentacles and like Umbrella ihe foot gives off" no
lobes at the sides as does Aplysia. As if its appearance were
not already sufficiently repulsive, spicules are formed in the mantle.
No. 6(]92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I47
The shell is altogether hidden ; it is a long oblong flexible
plate, slightly convex.
The important group of Naked-gilled Molluscs or NUDIBRANCHS
is not well represented on tlie Madras littoral as their especial
habitat is among weed-grown rocks ; there are certainly many and
beautiful forms but they are cither small and inconspicuous or else
comparatively rare. They are slug-like animals without shell of
any sort, and true gills are absent, their place being taken by
outgrowths from the back, protean in the variety of their form, and
often exceedingly elegant and brightly coloured. In some these
form rosettes, in others richly arborescent filaments, in other club-
shaped knobs, or even simple folds not unlike those of Lobiger.
In certain cases the brilliant hues are assumed as warning
colouration- possible enemies are told to beware of the spicules
present in the skin or of the stinging cells which in some species
{Acolis for example) are developed in the dorsal processes; in
another class the colouring is protective and mimetic, harmonizing
with that of the sea-weeds and animals amid which they live.
The rough yellowish SEA-LEMON, Doris, lives largely on
sponges, while the little Doto, with club-shaped appendages, feeds on
zoophytes. A very peculiar form is the soft gelatinous Mclibe, not
uncommon on the pearl-banks, which has six pairs of large semi-
transparent lobes upon the back, mottled olive green and brown ;
these drop off at a touch and when taken in a net, separate from
the animal, are very puzzling to one who is not acquainted with
Melibe. Some of the colouring within the skin is due to lowly
algse living in virtual partnership — symbiotic as this habit is termed.
Study of our Indian Nudibranchs is much wanted, and offers a
wide field for original research ; we know almost nothing of the
life appearance of many species and still less of their habits.
The origin of the group is clearly shown by the larvae which
possess minute nautiloid shells, furnished with an operculum, both
of which are cast off before the adult form is assumed.
Order 2.— Pulmonata.
With the exception of certain fresh-water forms which have
re-acquired gill-like breathing organs, the Pulmonata are air-
breathers in which the walls of the mantle cavity are traversed
by a net-work of fine blood-vessels, constituting a true lung. Their
I4S
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
most familiar representatives are the land-snails and slugs, the
former with a typical spiral shell ; the latter have none externally
but most of them possess a small internal plate or a few calcareous
particles hidden beneath the skin of the back — a vestige of the
ancestral shell.
In Madras Presidency two distinct land-snail areas exist, the
one, the dry zone with a pulmonate fauna related to the Central
and Northern regions of India ; the other, the wet zone, comprising
the whole of the West Coast with the Anamalai, Nilgiri and Palni
Hills, has much more intimate connexion with Ceylon ; it is indeed
classed as part of the Sinhalese province by faunistic writers.
There is, however, much overlapping of these two regions and
much intermingling of species- For example we are told that
the Sinhalese province is characterized by the dominance and
abundance of the genus Helix while Ariophanta — which differs
from Helix in having a mucous pore at the end of the tail — takes its
Fig. 34. A common Madras snail {^Ariophanta bntrialis'). X 1.
place very largely in the Indian province. As a matter of fact the
Ariophantas are particularly abundant on the hills named and
include the Imperial snail, Ariophanta hasilciis, a magnificient form
growing to 2^ inches in diameter, characteristic of the Cochin
teak forests (where it is occasionally eaten by the semi-wild tribes
who live on forest produce) and found also in the Anamalai and
Nelliampathi Hills. Two smaller species are abundant in Madras
gardens ; one is the single-banded Ariophanta ligiilata, the other the
two-banded Ariop/iai/ta histrialis. Conversely a small dark-banded
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
149
white Helix {Helix [PLniispini] vittata), coloured red brown within the
mouth cavity, is seen everywhere in the Tinnevelly and Ramnad
districts on babul thorns and other dry-district bushes. They are
reputed to have a bitter taste and this probably accounts for their
immunity from attack by birds; their white shells are extremely
conspicuous on the dark leafless thorns in the hot weather when
bird food is scarce. During this period our Indian land snails lie
dormant, closing the aperture of the shell by mucous secretion that
dries hard and prevents evaporation from within. As this resting
stage occurs in hot countries during summer it is termed aestivation ;
it parallels the winter rest or hibernation of animals in temperate
and cold, countries.
In Ceylon a huge snail, Achatina Jiilica, whose home is Africa,
was introduced some years ago and
is now a recognized pest, causing
considerable loss owing to its depre-
dations in vegetable gardens in the
low-country region. It is an ovoid
shell with well developed conical
spire, and grows to a length of five
inches. Its eggs are bright yellow
and about one-tenth of an inch in
diameter. Hitherto it has not
obtained a footing in Madras and as
it is important to be able to recog-
nize it, a figure is given here (fig. 35).
Any occurrence in Madras should be
immediately reported and specimens
forwarded to the Agricultural
Department in order that its com-
plete destruction may be effected
l)efore it makes good its footing. In
Bengal it has been established for
over 60 years and is common in Calcutta gardens.
Of very different appearance are the little EAR-SHELLS, Aiiri-
cuUdae; one species is very common among the roots of mangroves
in tidal back-waters, and others in moist spots near the sea. The
shells are oblong or oval with a well developed spire ; the outer
and inner lips are thickened and expanded ; in one common
Fig. 35. Shell of Achatiua jiilica.
Natural size. (Ceylon.) X I.
T50
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
\'OL. XIV.
species both are conspicuously toothed. Some have a superficial
likeness to the little Nassid Arcularia ; the form of the mouth is
however quite different.
Of fresh-water snails belonging to this division, Limnaea and
Planorbis are typical, the one elegantly spiral, and the other dis-
coidal, coiled in a flat sinistral manner. The shell of Limnaea is
thin and fragile, with a large body-whorl ; the colour brown. In
I'IG. 36. Pldnoibis crawling on water weeds {Vallismria). X I.
Planorbis, usually a much smaller snail, and nearly black, the
shell is stouter. It is specially remarkable because a lobe of the
mantle just outside the pulmonary cavity has been metamor-
phosed into a functional gill ; this genus therefore, derived from an
air-breathing land pulmonate, which in turn originated in a water-
breathing gilled marine gastropod, has returned to a wholly aquatic
life, and has re-adapted its breathing apparatus a second time. It
NO. 6(I92I) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I5I
is noteworthy that the original form of branchiae has not re-
appeared, a wholly different part'of the body being specialized
anew for the purpose, a fact, which, Pelseneer remarks, illustrates
the irreversibility of evolution.
Both Limnaea and Planorbis have the habit of crawling upside
down beneath the surface of the water, the foot gliding along
exactly as if it were moving along a sheet cf glass; the well
known phenomenon of the surface tension of fluids is the expla-
nation of this miracle. Their spawn is deposited in colourless
gelatinous masses on stones and water weeds. In hot weather
when tanks and streams dry up, they aestivate in the mud in the
same way as Pachylabra and Vivipara.
CLASS Ill.-SCAPHOPOPODA.
Standing apart from all other Gastropods is the little group of
the Scaphopods, in many ways so specialized as to appear degene-
rate for there are neither eyes, nor tentacles nor any distinct head
present; neither is there any gill nor any true "heart." The only
well-known species are the TuSK-SHELLS {Dcntaliidac). In these
the edges of the mantle lobes unite to form a complete tube, and
as a consequence tlie shell is tubular. At one end, the posterior,
it is narrow, widening gradually to the other end, through which
protrudes the short beak-shaped foot and a number of long fila-
ments. The tusk-shells belonging to the genus Dentaliiiin are often
very common in sandy ground in depths of a few fathoms
around our coasts; their empty shells are often cast up ashore.
The most abundant species in Indian waters {Doitaliiiiu octogoniDii)
has a very pretty curved shell, snowy white, with eight grooves
running down the entire length, giving an octagonal outline in
transverse section. It grows to a length of an inch and a half.
Another species, very rare, grows to a length exceeding three
inches and is stout in proportion. This species which [ have seen
on only a few occasions, has a shell mottled with shades of dark
red, a very handsome shell. All live buried obliquely in the sand,
pointed end upwards. In this there is a small perforation and it
is through this that the water required for breathing passes in.
The food of the tusk-shells consists of foramJnifera and minute
bivalves.
152 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
It is interesting to learn that the scaphopods were for long
mistaken by naturalists for tube-forming annelids, so close is the
superficial resemblance both of their tubes and of their head
filaments with those of certain of these marine worms,
CLASS IV— LAMELLIBRANCHIA (PELECYPODA).
The most conspicuous characteristic of this class is that the
shell is in two parts or V(7lvcs, hence the convenient semi-popular
term of bivalves often applied to them. The mantle consists of
two lobes, a right and a left, corresponding to the two valves and
enveloping • the body between them. A head is virtually absent,
and no radula or teeth are present, whereas the foot, frequently
developed into a narrow axe-shaped organ, is often of considerable
size and of great mobility and strength in sand-bnrrowing species.
The breathing organs are developed into plate-shaped gills,
varying greatly in structure ; these differences are now made use
of in the classification of the group. The majority of bivalves
pass their lives in burrows in sand or mud; others anchor
themselves by a cable of fine threads, the byssus ; in some one
valve is cemented to rocks; a few bore into wood and stone and
others are so exceptionally active that they swim through the
water by alternately opening and shutting their valves.
Their food consists of minute organisms, animal and vegetable,
swept within the cavity enclosed by the mantle lobes by the
rythmic lashing of microscopic threads or cilia lining the interior-
These particles are intercepted by the filter-like structure of the
gills and wafted to the mouth by other cilia.
Before describing some of the common Indian bivalves, an
explanation of certain technical terms is necessary for the ready
understanding of the subject If an ordinary bivalve such as a
clam [inatti, Tamil) or a mussel {kallikai or pachchiidli, Tamil)
be taken in the hand and held in such position that the hinge is
uppermost and the end at which the mouth is situated is directed
forwards, we are holding the shell with its dorsal side uppermost,
its ventral side down, the anterior end turned forwards and the
posterior end towards the person holding the shell ; in this position
the valve on the right is the right valve, the other the left one.
The elastic pad joining the two valves at the hinge is the ligai/ieiit
and the fine skin on the surface of the shell is the pcriostracuin.
No. 6 (I921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 1 53
Usually the hinge is formed by small interlocking projections, the
hinge teeth. The valves are kept shut by the contraction of large
adductor muscles, usually two in number, one towards each end of
the shell. These pass from one valve to the other; when they
relax slightly, the margins of the shell open, the normal condition;
after death these muscles relax completely and the shell gapes
widely, owing to the elasticity of the ligament which acts precisely
as though a small pad of indiarubber were inserted in the hinge.
In burrowing forms, where the shells lie mouth downwards in the
sand, the two mantle folds join posteriorly to form two apertures —
the inhalent and the exhalent. In bivalves that bury themselves
deeply these apertures are extended into a pair of long tubes or
siphons. Through the inhalent or branchial siphon water laden
with microscopic food is drawn within the mantle cavity, where it
filters through the gills and then passes out through the exhalent
siphon. ,
The two chief orders of the LameUibranchs are the Filibranchia
and the Eulamellibranchia. In the former the thread-like gill
filaments lie parallel to one another and are bent upon themselves
(reflected upwards) at about half their length. In the latter the
filaments instead of being free are united at regular intervals by
cross bars containing blood vessels, and thus form a more efficient
breathing and food-collecting apparatus — a very perfect form of
filter.
Order i.— Filibranchia.
The Indian Auoiniidae include the FalSE-OYSTER {Anoinia achaens)
and the Window-pane oyster, Placuna placenta. Anomia is a small
shell usually about iVz inch diameter, frequently found adherent to
edible oysters in the backwaters on the East Coast. It has a
beautiful pearly shell often golden in colour, very like a young
edible oyster in shape. It rests with its right or flat valve down-
wards ; the left valve is convex. Through a hole in the lower
valve, a shelly plug passes ; by this it attaches itself to fixed
objects. This plug is a modification of the byssus which in most
other bivalves consists of numerous elastic horny filaments.
The WiNDOW-PANE OYSTER grows to a much larger size, often
5 and even 6 inches in diameter. It is orbicular in outline when
adult, very much compressed, and is remarkable for a very
strong A -shaped tooth to which the ligament is attached.
8
154 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
It forms no byssus, lying more or less prone on the muddy
bottom of estiiarine creeks and landlocked bays (Palk Bay,
Tuticorin Harbour, and the Buckingham canal) and in the sheltered
bays along the Bombay coast from Goa to Sind.
The foot is long and trumpet-shaped ; it is employed largely
in freeing the interior from mud that finds its way in and would
otherwise quickly choke up the fine network of the gills. The
shell is peculiarly soft ; both in appearance and softness it
resembles mica, particularly whilst immature. Small shells are
usually colourless, clear, and translucent ; the Chinese ages ago
noted this, and with their usual ingenuity put it to the useful
purpose of glazing windows and verandah roofs. For this purpose
the young shells are cut into squares about 2^ inches across, and
then secured between narrow vertical strips of wood. The
Portuguese borrowed the idea and introduced it into their Indian
possessions in the l6th century. To-day the windows of the older
houses in Goa and Diu are still glazed in this manner — the
Governor's old palace at Marmugoa has fine examples of such
windows.
In some localities — not all — the window-pane oyster produces
a large abundance of seed pearls, soft, often misshapen but still
valuable for use in indigenous medicine in India and China, and
also for the production of an expensive lime for use in betel-
chewing. Four such places in the Indian region are Chittagong,
Tamblegam Bay in Ceylon, the Gulf of Kutch and the creeks of
the Indus. In all these localities Placuna forms beds of great
extent — they are numbered by the million — and the revenue derived
from their fishery is often of considerable importance. Usually
these fisheries belong to the State — a royal prerogative of ancient
standing.
The anatomy and habits of this mollusc are dealt with in
detail in volume II of the " Marine Zoology of Okhamandal." *
The Ark-shells {Arcidae) are a large family including many
Indian species, varying widely in appearance and habit. All
agree however in having the hinge set with a large number of tiny
plate-shaped teeth disposed perpendicular to the edge. The shells
are often angular and the edge of the mantle set with minute
composite eyes. The mantle is open and no siphons are present.
* Hornell, J., London (Williams and Norgate), 1916.
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
155
The best known Indian species are Area granosa, Area tortuosa,
Barbatia barhata, Peetuiieuhis taylori and some small species that
live in crevices in corals.
The Ribbed Ark-shell, Area granosa {vari matti, Tamil), is
a fine shell found widely but sparingly distributed on the East
Coast in backwaters and estuaries. Nowhere is it common. In
appearance it looks like a very rugose cockle; the tlesh is dis-
tinctively coloured red, due to the blood being of this hue, an
exceptional condition among molluscs where the blood is generally
colourless or tinted pale bluish-green. The flesh is tough, but
because, presumably, of its red colour, some shore dwellers have
the idea that it has specially nutritious and strengthening quali-
ties ; on this account it is often given to women during pregnancy.
In size it seldom exceeds 53 mm. in length by a thickness of
43 mm.
It is noteworthy that this species is the subject of very profita-
ble cultivation in Japan, where from a culture area of 830 acres
between 75,000 and 100,000 bushels have been obtained annually.
The method employed is simple ; it depends for success upon the
fact that the fry of Area, after quitting the free-swimming stage,
tend to settle in definite areas in great quantities. Once these are
discovered the young ark shells can be raked up in thousands,
usually when they are about 3 mm. long, and transplanted to
culture grounds where they are strewn and left to burrow into the
bottom. As they grow larger, from time to time they are redistri-
buted in order that overcrowding and food shortage may be
avoided. They are said
to attain a marketable
size in their third year.
The bulk of the produce
is exported to China.
In the open sea,
particularly in Palk Bay,
the estuarine Area
grajwsa is replaced by
the Hairy Ark-shell
Fig. 37. The Twisted Ark-shell, X i.
{Barbatia barbata) and the Twisted Ark-shell, Area {Parallelopipedum)
tortuosa. The former is ribbed and cockle-shaped, covered with a
dense black periostracum thickly beset with short black bristle-like
156 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XlV,
hairs. The second species was well named Parallelopidum tortum
by some authors, for whilst the opposite sides are parallel none of
the angles are right angles and the shell appears as if it had been
twisted out of shape when in a plastic condition. Both of these
are fairly numerous in certain parts of Palk Bay and were shell-fish
more widely appreciated by Indians, they would find a place in
market supplies. The habitat of both is between the 4^ and 6
fathom lines on a bottom of dirty muddy sand. They do not form
continuous beds but occur scattered singly over large areas. Their
shells often give foothold to pearl oysters on the banks north-east
of Tondi.
A small, elongated and very typical Ark-shell not unlike the
Twisted Ark-shell is found in crannies among massive corals, and
sometimes in the empty burrows of boring molluscs, especially
of the Date-shell. The foot is large and secretes a short and
massive horny byssus made up of thin plates of a characteristic
deep green colour.
Belonging to the same family but very different in appearance
is the equivalve Pectunciiliis, a common shell in depths of a few
fathoms on the East Coast. In shape it is orbicular, somewhat com-
pressed and smooth, with central umbones. The hinge is curved
and so the line of the comb-like hinge teeth is somewhat arched
instead of being straight as in Area. The animal lives free and
unattached and so powerful is its crescent-shaped foot that
some species are able to leap to a height of several feet when
disturbed. P. taylori is a common species.
The well-known MUSSELS [Mytilidae) form a large family. The
three common genera of these seas are Mytilus, Modiola and
Lithodoviiis. All have elongated shells with the hinge close to the
anterior end and without hinge teeth. In Mytilus, the umbones
are right at the anterior end; in Modiola they are some little
distance away. Both these live attached by byssal cables ; Litho-
domus is not attached by a byssus, but is equally sedentary as it
bores into limestones and corals, and does not leave its burrow
once it has formed it.
Two species only of true Mussels grow to a considerable size
in the waters of this Presidency. One of these is the very hand-
some Green Mussel {Mytilus viridis), readily recognized because
Ko. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
157
of the handsome green colouration of the horny membrane or
periostracum investing the exterior surface of its valves ; the
other is an even
larger species, less
elegant in contour,
coated with a coarse
brown periostracum
that looks com-
monplace when con-
trasted with the
vivid tint of the
green. The green
species is distri-
buted widely upon
the Madras coasts,
liG. 38. The Green Mussel {Mytilus viridis). X
extending as it does
almost continuously
from South Kanara on the West Coast to the borders of Orissa
on the East. The brown form, on the other hand, is confined so
far as I am aware, to the extreme south of Travancore and of the
Tinnevelly district.
No representatives of the closely related genus Modiola are
eaten, although several species are found, particularly in Palk
Bay, where the sea-bottom is frequently carpeted over hundreds
of acres with vast multitudes of Modiola barhata, Modiola japouica and
allied forms. These seldom grow more than an inch in length and
live generally at a depth of 3 to 5 fathoms, hence their non-utiliza-
tion as food. Could they be cheaply collected in quantity, they
would form both an excellent food and, when dried and pul-
verized, a first-class manure.
Throughout South Malabar the green mussel is usually termed
kaduka which appears to be a corruption of kadalkai (sea-fruit)
by which name it is known amongst better educated people ; in
Cochin this same shell-fish is known as nilakakka, the " long
kakka " in contradistinction to the ordinary kakka which is the
common backwater clam {Meretrix casta ovum). In Kanarese it is
pacile, in Tulu, ageer, and in Tamil kallikai in the south, pachchai-
ali at Pulicat.
Mytilus viridis, although so widely distributed, is found in
large quantity only on the West Coast from South Kanara to the
153 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
northern part of Travancore. Within these boundaries, wherever
rocks are found inside of the three-fathom line, the Green Mussel
usually finds conditions favourable and covers the walls of all
crannies and protected sheltered surfaces with its closely set mul-
titudes. Wherever it is found, it is accompanied by edible-oysters —
chiefly Ostrea virginiaua ; we can clearly distinguish an 0. virgini-
ana — M. viridis formation in such situations on both the East
and West Coasts. The rocky coast of South Kanara from Gangoli
to Kap, and that stretch of the Malabar Coast from Eli Mala to
Kadalundi, are the two localities where conditions are most favour-
able for its growth ; these localities produce the great bulk of the
mussels consumed in these two districts. The south section of
Malabar is too sandy and rockless to give foothold and few mussels
are fished there.
The collection of mussels is a minor marine industry of some
importance at several places, especially in the neighbourhood of
Cannanore, Tellicherry, Mahe and Calicut and also in Travancore.
The flesh is highly esteemed and is eaten by Muhammadans and
Christians and by all Hindu castes inferior to the Nayars ; in Mala-
bar, I understand, however, that even the last named consider
mussels as a delicacy, although those of Travancore will not partake
of them. Kitchen-middens composed largely of these shells are
often to be seen near huts as the train passes along the coast line
between Calicut and Cannanore.
As the higher range of these mussels extends just above the
low-water level of spring tides, the greater quantity are got by
collection from rocks exposed or awash at spring tides ; a consider-
able number are, however, obtained from deeper water by divers.
Both at Cannanore and at Tellicherry there are a few Mappillas
who prosecute this industry for a few months in the year. The
diver carries with him a coir bag and a bamboo stick sharpened at
each end. With the latter he separates the mussels from the rocks
and brings them to the surface in the bag. They are fished only
during the dry months from December to May by which time they
have attained edible dimensions. During the south-west monsoon
it is impossible to gather any owing to the violence of the sea and
for a few months thereafter they are too small in size to be worth
taking.
Cannanore, Tellicherry and Mahe are the only towns in Malabar
where mussels are exposed for sale in the public markets. About
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 159
half a dozen basketsful may be sold per day during the season.
The demand is particularly active when fish are scarce and dear.
In Calicut, Beypore, Badagara and some other large towns they are
occasionally hawked through the streets. In other places there is
no regular trade ; the fisherfolk and other coast people living in
the neighbourhood of mussel rocks, gather supplies at low tide for
their own use and sometimes sell any surplus they have.
On the East Coast, the Green Mussel is comparatively rare ;
nowhere is it found in thickly stocked beds as in Malabar and
Kanara. Yet almost everywhere along the coast occasional strag-
glers are found and in several estuarine backwaters where beds of
the edible oyster {0. virginiaua) occur, they become comparatively
numerous.
In the Sonapur backwater in Ganjam district this mussel is
fairly abundant, considerably more so than at Pulicat. As in the
latter locality, its habitat is the oyster patches in the deeper parts
of the backwater. Particularly numerous is it in the deep main
channel near the fish-curing yard at Revu-Sonapur village. Here
occurs a deposit of large oysters living in great clustered clumps ;
in the angles and crevices of these masses the Green Mussels find
suitable lodgment. They vary from single individuals to groups
of three or four ; seldom do they exceed this number; they never
form a massive deposit nor do they ever cover their habitat with a
living carpet as they do in Malabar. At Sonapur they have econo-
mic value but not as food. Owing to certain characteristics of
this backwater these mussels are largely infected with the larvas
of parasitic worms, and, induced by the irritation thus produced,
pearl formation is frequent. For many years past this peculiarity
cf the Sonapur oysters has persisted, and those of the local fisher-
men who can dive, devote considerable attention to the mussel
fishery at times when the water in the channel is low. The pearls
found are modeiate in size and of poor colour, usually pinkish, but
as the mussels yield them fairly abundantly, the beds are well
exploited.
From the observations made (which I hope to amplify shortly),
these pearls have a related origin to the pearls sometimes produced
in quantity by the common mussel {Mytilus edidis) of France and
England. The Sonapur backwater is the haunt of myriads of
seagulls and waterfowl and it is from the adult parasites contained
I60 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
in the alimentary canals of these birds that the flatworm larvae
found in the adult mussels are derived. Under certain circum-
stances occasional larvse induce the formation of pearls in the
mantle of the mussel, the dead body of the parasite persisting
as the nucleus of the pearl. The life-history of the Sonapur
pearl-inducing parasite has yet to be worked out.
The Brown Mussel {Mytilns sp.) is the largest and stoutest species
found in South India, attaining commonly a length of 4 inches.
It is distinctly larger than the Green Mussel, but unlike the latter
its distribution is limited to a comparatively short length of coast
in South Travancore, where it displaces the green species. The
coast here is exposed to exceptionally heavy seas during the mon-
soon, but in spite of this it thrives in great abundance on rocks
from low-tide level to a depth of about 2^ or 3 fathoms. Annually
large quantities are taken from the rocks by divers. They fcrm an
important food item among fishermen and coast Muhammadans.
Several medium-sized species of the WEAVING MUSSELS {Modiola
spp.) exist in our seas ; in Palk Bay and the pearl bank region in the
Gulf of Mannar one species, the Bearded Weaving Mussel {Modiola
harbata; suran, Tamil) is so abundant that I have seen several square
miles of sea bottom covered continuously with a carpet of these
shells, felted together in a tangle of byssal threads. The presence
of suran in such myriads is one of the adverse influences militating
against the prosperity of our pearl banks; the rapidity of their
growth and their habit of enveloping everything about them in a
dense network of felting fibres, contributes largely to the destruc-
tion of the more delicate pearl-oyster spat. The two molluscs have
identical feeding habits and the competition of hungry myriads of
suran has the same blighting effect on pearl oysters as that of
the American slipper limpet upon the edible-oyster on the East
Coast of England. The larger species, the Tulip Mussel {Modiola
tulipa), is common in Palk Bay where it forms extensive beds. The
average size is not too small for food purposes, and were there any
demand, tons of them could easily be dredged in Palk Ray. The
larger species is excellent eating, while the smaller would make, if
dried and pulverized, poultry meal and fertilizer. A very small
species, Modiola variabilis, characterized by the fine ribbing of the
shell, lives associated with the edible oyster in backwaters,
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I6I
The Date-shells {Lithodomus spp.) are long cylindrical
mussels, growing to a length of 3^ inches, which tunnel into
limestone rocks and corals, and sometimes into massive gastropod
shells such as the chank and the helmet-shell. Two of our common
Indian species are LitJiodoiiiiis a)itiUarum and L. stramineiis. Date-
shells bore only into shells, corals, and calcareous rock, the reason
being that the boring is effected by means of an acid secretion
poured out by glands in the mantle. The secretion decalcifying
the surface little by little enables the animal to scrape off and
remove the resultant debris and so permit of a fresh surface being
attacked.
Of the A^r/z/V/r/c' only one conspicuous species is found in our
waters. This grows to a size of quite 5 inches in diameter ; it is
usually mistaken for a large pearl-oyster. In outline it is nearly the
same and the interior is lined with mother-of-pearl of good quality.
The hing,e is distinctive. Instead of a single oblong mass as in the
true pearl-ovster, the ligament is subdivided into numerous short
sections, each sunk in a separate little pit or fossette. The long
row of these fossettes renders Perna easily identified. It is rare and
I have seen only a few brought up from a depth of several fathoms
from rocky ground in the Gulf of Mannar.
The large family of the AvicuUdae. is of great interest to Indian
students for in the waters of the Indian Ocean are found some of
the best known representatives ; they include the Pearl-oyster
{Mar.s;ai'itifn'a), the Wing-shells (Aviculids proper), the Hammer-
oysiei {Mulleins) and the curious Vulsella,
The Indian and Ceylon PEARL-OYSTER {Margaritifcra vul-
garis), the niuthtlut chippi of Tamil pearl fishers, is amongst the
smallest of its kind ; it seldom exceeds 3^ inches in height (length
from hinge to ventral edge) and compares unfavourably in size with
the huge Gold-lip Pearl-oyster from Mergui and the South seas, a
species with shell large enough for a dinner plate. Our local
species makes up in abundance what it lacks in size ; at the
Ceylon pearl-fishery of 1905, over 80,000,000 of these shells were
fished within six weeks. The pearls produced are correspondingly
small, but in lustre, " skin " and colour, they far excel the larger
ones from the big species. The shell figured here shows the normal
form and size when grown under favourable conditions. The shell
is nearly straight along the hinge line, and is produced at each end
9
1 62
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
into a short " ear, " a modification of the wing-like projection that
gives the Aviculids proper their name of " wing shells." Ventrally
the shell is deep and rounded with a series of finger-like projections
at the ends of radial lines made up of older fingers now outgrown,
worn, and disused. These pearl-oysters reach their limit of size in
about 3^^ years ; if they live longer the shells become worn, the
fingers disappear and the over-all length and depth sometimes
actually decrease ; the thickness increases until death and this
then is our best criterion in determining the age of pearl-oysters.
Flc. 39 The Indian Pearl-oysler {Mart:aritif,ra z-i/Ix'an's).
Natural size.
Pearl-oysters in life-history and habits are akin to the mussels.
A strong cable of byssal threads attaches them to rocks, stones
and other shells ; they possess the power of cutting their cable or
rather of casting it off, at will ; they are capable of crawling short
distances and this power to shift their foothold sometimes enables
them to avoid entombment and death through an overwash of sand.
When quite young they are restless and inclined to shift their
position frequentl3^ I have often seen them do so six or seven
times within a few hours, each place of attachment marked by a tiny
tuft of golden byssal threads. The formation of one of the threads
forming the byssus takes only a few seconds; the thread is formed
Uo. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I63
from a glue-like secretion poured into a fine groove on the under-
side of the tongue-shaped foot. On contact with water it hardens
into a strong, slightly elastic substance, golden yellow in young
oysters, dark bronze green in adults.
The sexes are separate, and fertilization of the tiny ova, of
which several millions are produced by one individual, takes place
in the water. Development is rapid, a trochosphere stage first and
then a veliger. In the former stage, the larva is a little sphere
with a ring of rhythmically waving tiny threads {cilia) around the
equator, and a tuft of long filaments from the " North Pole " of the
little creature. The lashing of this ring of cilia carries the larva
through the water rotating on its axis. In the veliger a tiny shell
with triangular valves has been formed, but still for some days yet
the little creature continues its free-swimming existence near the
surface of the sea, a ring of cilia, the veliun, in front of the mouth,
forming the swimming organ. At the end of about a week or even
earlier if conditions be favourable, the larva settles down to the
bottom and makes its first attachment. In this condition it is
called "spat," the earliest stage of the settled period of its life. It
is obvious that a satisfactory "spat-fall" on the pearl-banks is
dependent upon a favourable run of currents at the time the oysters
spawn ; experience shows this to be the exception rather than the
rule ; there are many years when no extensive spat-fall occurs and
hence pearl-fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar, both on the Indian
and the Ceylon sides, are irregular. Blank years are more frequent
than prolific years, especially on the Indian side. Worst of all,
science is powerless ; no human agency can control ocean currents
and it is their influence and interaction more than any other factor
that determine the conditions favourable or otherwise for an exten-
sive spat-fall.
Pearl-oysters occur sporadically all the way along the East
Coast from Cape Comorin to Madras. I have even found a young
living individual in Pulicat backwater. But the only places where
they occur in fishable quantities are the Gulf of Mannar and Palk
Bay. The "banks" off Tuticorin have been worked from time
immemorial, certainly for over 2,000 years. Those in Palk Bay are
a recent discovery, for they were found as recently as 1913 during
an inspection carried out by the writer. In the Gulf of Mannar
pearl-oysters occur on banks where there is a good deal of stony
164 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
bottom, rocks, stones and shells, in depths from 5 to II fathoms.
In Palk Bay they occur on muddy bottom or rather just where the
purely muddy bottom merges into muddy sand at a very uniform
depth of 5^2 fathoms. On this bottom there are no stones, only
occasional dead shells, the valves of Arcti, Modioli and Placiiiia
chiefly. To this precarious foothold the pearl-oysters attach. In
1914 they were found in sufficient numbers to justify an experi-
mental fishery. Though the result showed only a small profit, the
fishery was of great benefit to the villages in the neighbourhood,
bringing a considerable amount of money into circulation.
It is probable that the permanent habitat of the pearl-oyster in
South Indian waters is in Palk Bay and that the beds which were
recently discovered there give rise to the spat that repopulate from
time to time the banks in the Gulf of Mannar.'"
In the Gulf of Kutch a pearl-fishery is carried on by His High-
ness the Maharaja of Nawanagar. The oysters there do not form
banks; they occur scattered along the low-water edges of the
rocky reefs that abound on the Nawanagar coast. They are
collected l:)y men wading in the shallows at low water of spring
tides.
The shell of the common Indian pearl-oyster is too thin for
manufacture into any but the most inferior quality of small pearl
buttons. Pearls are the sole object of the fishery ; the shells are
of such little value that they have usually been left derelict by
their owners at the end of a fishery.
The origin of pearls has long been the subject of speculation,
but it was not till 1912 that the subject as concerning the Ceylon
and Indian pearl-oyster was systematically investigated. In that
year Professor Herdman and the writer went to Ceylon by request
of the Government to investigate this and related questions. The
result was to show that pearls belong to two main classes, orient
and muscle pearls. The best of the former usually owe their
origin to the irritation set up by the presence of a parasitic worm
larva in the mantle. To get rid of the trouble the oyster covers
the intrusive body with layer after layer of nacre, thus forming a
* The anatomy of the Pearl-oyster is described by Herdman and Hornell in Volume 11
of the Ceylon Pearl Fisheries Reports, Royal Society, London, 1904, while the Madras
Fisheries Bulletin, Reports IV and II of \'ol. \'11I, should be consulted respectively
for information regarding the pearl beds in Palk Ba}' and the factors governing the
irregularly cyclic occurrence of Indian pearl fisheries.
No. 6 (192I) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I65
pearl of the finest quality and normally spherical in shape. Very
rarely a grain of sand may be similarly entombed. "Muscle-
pearls " contain no worm nor other intrusive body ; they originate
from some particle of the shell substance dislodged usually by
some strain ; this passes into the mantle and is covered up
eventually by layers of nacre. They are found usually close to
the insertion of certain muscles on the shells; they constitute the
bulk of the little pearls called seed-pearls and are usually irregular
in shape.
Solitary individuals of the larger Black-lip oyster (M. margariti-
fera) are found with the common species. It is a handsome stoutly
built shell, with a shade of green in the very dark ground colour
which is decorated with several radial lines of white spots passing
outwards from the umbo. The "ears" disappear in the adult and
the outline becomes sub-orbicular. The nacre of this species is
thick enough to be of value in button making ; but its dark smoky
colour greatly impairs its market price. It is fairly numerous in
the Persian Gulf.
The Aviculids proper, the true WiNG-SHELLS, have usually an
oval shell with enormously developed " ears " at each end of the
hinge. Several species may be termed common on rocky ground,
such as the rough bottom off Negapatam and in the Gulf of Mannar
and Palk Bay. but they never form beds or banks. Usually they are
semi-commensal, living associated with particular kinds of sea-fans
and hydroid zoophytes. Two characteristic forms with this habit
are the brown Avicida radiata and the brown and white striped
A. zebra. The former is a typical wing-shell, the hinder "ear"
prolonged into a huge backwardly directed spine. It is found
clustering upon the branches of stout sea-fans (Gorgonids)
usually characterized by a brownish orange colour. (Fig. 40.)
When young the aviculid has the identical rich orange brown
colouration of the sea-fan ; its concealment is further aided
by the elongated shape of the "ears" — these simulate branches
of the host ; shape and colour are so similar that the young
shells readily escape observation on casual examination. With
growth, these resemblances become obscured, the Wingshells
becotning much darker in colour and too stout to escape
detection. By such time the shell has thickened sufficiently to
become unpalatable to most of the smaller fishes that are its chief
enemies when young.
1 66
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XlV,
The Zebra Wing-shells (A. zebra) are still more adept at
mimicry; they live chiefly upon a tall handsome zoophyte {Hali-
cornaria insignis). The host has stoutly built pinnate branches of
a deep brown colour. Upon these the little zebra wing-shells often
congregate in numbers, their shells striped brown and white
Fig. 40. Avicttla radiata commensal upon a Sea-fan. (Gulf of Mannar.)
X \.
exactly simulating the brown pinnules and the colourless spaces
between — precisely the same idea is exploited as is seen in the
colouration of the tiger and the zebra ; against their usual back-
ground, they are indistinguishable at a distance.
The smallest of our wing-shells is Avicula vexillum, known in
old pearl-oyster reports as ' false spat,' as it has been mistaken
times out of number for the spat of pearl oysters, thereby raising
unfounded hopes of great pearl-fisheries in the immediate future.
It is a tiny shell, seldom more than one-third of an inch long. It
No, 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I67
occurs frequently in immense numbers in the neighbourhood of the
pearl banks, clustering in myriads on seaweeds and zoophytes.
While quite young it is very difficult to distinguish from real pearl-
oyster spat ; only as growth proceeds do points of difference
emerge.
One species of wing-shell is occasionally found on rough
bottom, of a size exceeding the common pearl-oyster. It is parti-
cularly common off the South Travancore coast. Its shell is brittle
and the nacre thin, so is of no commercial value. It may grow to
a length (height) of 7 inches.
Closely related to the wing-shells is the HAMMER-OYSTER
{Malleus vulgaris), a black misshapen corrugated shell, shaped like
the letter T- The cross bar at the top represents the two enormously
developed ears, the upright, the high narrow body. When young
it has the general form and habits of an aviculid. With increas-
ing age it changes gradually into the monstrous form of the adult,
twisted, rough, and corrugated, and usually overgrown with crust-
ing growths of sponges, hydroids, polyzoa and ascidians. Like all
aviculids a portion of the inner lining of the valves is nacreous ;
but here is much less extensive than usual.
Last of the family is the curious Vulsella rugosa, a deep oblong
shell without ears. It lives imbedded in sponges, not singly but
in numbers, so much so that an association appears to have
sprung up between the two, in the same way and for the same
reason that the gastropod Siliquaria forms a similar association
with another sponge. Vulsella is particularly common both north
and south of Rameswaram Island in depths of 3 to 5 fathoms.
The shell is roughened on the exterior and covered with a coarse
yellowish periostracum. No typical byssus is formed; some
authorities consider its differences from the true Aviculids sufficient
to entitle it to be put in a special family by itself — the Vulsellidae.
The Scallops {Pectinidae) are not well represented in Indian
waters and are all small and insignificant unless we include the
magnificant smooth-shelled Aniussium, which by some is put in a
separate family, the Amussidae.
The true scallops, such as the common Pecten senatorius, have a
deeply ribbed shell, usually round or oval in outline, with two well
developed and conspicuous " ears." In the young condition some
attach themselves to rocks and stones by means of a byssus ;
I68 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
when adult they usually desert this habit and lie free, resting upon
the right or convex valve. They have uncommonly active habits
for Lamellibranchs, especially when quite young, when some
species dart through the water by the alternate and rapid opening
and shutting of their valves. But even the adults have considerable
power of shifting their position in this way. Probably correlated
with this unusual activity, is the presence of highly developed
" eyes " upon the mantle edge. They are placed at the end of
short tentacles at irregular intervals among the long tentacular
filaments margining the "gape" of the shell. They are always
more numerous on the left or superior lobe ; these eyes are brilliant
iridescent green in colour, very conspicuous and arresting when
the animal is watched alive. In structure they are as complicated
and perfect in optical design as the human eye, with a cornea,
crystalline lens and retina of complex structure together with a
well-developed optical nerve. There can be no question as to the
functional value of such eyes ; they are made to see with and
are valuable in warning their owner of the approach of danger
independently of touch.
The colours of scallop shells are usually bright with red and
brown and even canary yellow, but these are believed to have no
special significance. In the days of the Crusades a scallop shell
was the badge of pilgrims returning from Palestine.
Very much finer than the small pectens met with in shallow
water, is the lovely porcellanous A/uussimn picuroiiectes, met with
in deeper water in the Bay of Bengal off the Ganjam and
Orissa coast. Unlike the pectens, this shell is smooth externally,
highly polished and handsomely decorated with reddish brown.
The dredge is necessary to procure it.
The Thorny-oysters {Spondylidac) resemble the scallops in
anatomy, even to the presence of eyes bordering the mantle, but
they have abandoned a free life completely. The valves are both
ornamented with long spines and those of the lower (right) valve
become cemented more or less extensively to a rock or boulder.
Spondylus is a fairly common shell on rocky ground and among
coral reefs, where its brilliant red or yellow valves, decorated with
radial ribbing of long spines are conspicuous. It relies upon
quickness of sight and upon the strength and spinous defences of
its shell to defy enemies. That its valves may not be wrenched
No. 6(1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 169
apart by main force, the locking arrangement of the hinge is
cunningly devised. The ligament is a stout pad lodged centrally
in a deep triangular pit in the hinge area, with two very stout
interlocking teeth in each valve, guarding the ligament. The
adductor muscle is also specially strong.
Order 2.— Eulamellibranchia.
In these the gill filaments are united at regular intervals by
cross branches. Except in the oysters and a few others, two
adductor muscles are present. Many have the edges of the mantle
lobes united in one or two places posteriorly and these are often
prolonged into tubes or siphons, sometimes quite short, sometimes
extremely elongate.
The true OYSTERS {Ostraeidae) are among the least typical of the
order and have much in common with some of the preceding order,
particularly with the Scallops and Spondyles. They all live a
sedentary life after the early free-swimming stage is past — the
description of the larval life of the pearl-oyster is practically
identical with that of all our South Indian oysters. Once they
settle to the bottom they turn over on to the left side (the converse
of the Spondyles and the Scallops) and cement the left valve to
whatever is handy — preferably a stone or another oyster, for they
are gregarious and form regular " beds." Sometimes they may even
attach to the roots of mangroves in backwaters. Their value to
mankind as food is greater than that of any other molkisc ; they are
susceptible to great improvement under cultivation, and the value
of their tonic qualities and easy digestibility when eaten raw is
difficult to over-estimate, particularly in the case of the old, and
those convalescent from illness. Three species are common in
South India, but one of these is local in habitat and does not form
beds, so that the number of our edible oysters is reduced to two,
the Backwater-oyster {Ostrea virgin iana) and the Rock-oyster
{0. cucullata). The former is the one specially valued and the one
v/hich lends itself readily to cultivation ; the second, while well
flavoured, is rather tougher as well as smaller than the other and
is seldom eaten except at one or two places on the Kanarese coast
where it is specially abundant.
The Madras backwater oyster is extremely variable inform,
and passes under many names, scientific as well as local. Among
10
170
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
the more recent of the former under which it has been described
are Ostrea gryplioidcs van ciittackcusis in the Records of tbe Geolo-
gical Survey, and O. madrasoisis by Preston.* It has, however, no
outstanding differences from the common American species and I
agree with Vredenburg in believing it to be in no wise separable
from this widely distributed form. In Tamil ii is known as ali at
Madras and Pulicat, patti at Tuticorin ; in Malayalam it is muringa
in Travancore and Cochin, muni in Calicut.
Fig. 4I. A. Ribbed Ark->hell ( Arci ^i:raiiosa). X I.
B. Common Backwater clam f'JA?'6'/;-zt- ra^Mj. X \-
C. Backwater Oyster (Ostrea virgittiana). X \-
It is very hardy and can sustain considerable fluctuations in the
salinity of the water it lives in. Hence it thrives in nearly every
estuary and backwater on both the coasts of the Presidency ; only
* Preston, H. B. " Report on a collection of Mollnsca from the Cochin and
Enniir backwaters." Records of the Indian Museum^ Vol. XII, pt. i, Calcutta, 1916.
No. 6(1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA i;i
exceptionally, as on some rocks situated near estuaries on the
Malabar Coast, does it form considerable deposits in the open sea,
although odd individuals are often met with wherever rocks occur
upon the littoral. Young oysters of this species are also often
found on shells in water up to 8 fathoms in depth, but these do not
thrive and seldom reach maturity.
Backwater oysters have considerable value to the poorer popu-
lations living in the vicinity; the chief centres on the West
Coast are the backwaters at Tellicherry and Beypore in Malabar,
Cochin and Azhikode in Cochin State and Vembanad backwater
in Travancore. On the East Coast the backwaters at Cuddalore
Covelong, Ennur and Pulicat are famed for the abundance of their
oyster beds, while further north there are extensive beds in the
deltas of the Kistna and Godavari and in the backwaters of
Vizagapatam and Ganjam. The oyster beds of Sonapur back-
water in Ganjam are the most extensive of these latter.
Unfortunately the better classes of Indians do not appreciate
oysters and none will make use of this excellent food supply.
Among Hindus, only the lower classes of shore dwellers eat
oysters, together with some Muhammadans and Indian Christians.
The only good class trade in oysters is that supplying the require-
ments of Europeans and Anglo-Indians in a few of the larger coast
towns, as Madras, Calicut, Cochin and Mangalore. Many of the
sources of supply are however under grave suspicion of possible
sewage contamination. Because of this and in order to provide a
supply of good eiuality oysters free from any danger of being
disease carriers. Government in 1910 permitted the Fisheries
Department to form a model oyster park in Pulicat Lake where
oysters are cultivated under hygienic conditions and thence distri-
buted throughout the length and breadth of the Presidency.
The most extensive oyster beds in South India are those in
Cochin Harbour and in Vembanad backwater in Travancore. In
both localities oysters are exceedingly numerous, the flesh finding
a ready sale among the lower classes. In the Vembanad villages
the flesh, called moringa iracha, is said to be regularly exposed for
sale in the fish markets. In Cochin it is not seen in the markets,
being hawked about the streets in small-mouthed chatties. The
beds in Cochin harbour chiefly lie within Cochin State limits and
the right to fish oysters is let annually by the Darbar for an
172 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
amount seldom exceeding Rs. ICO per annum. In practice, the lessee
sublets the right to individual divers, who pay him a small sum for
each day's fishing. The divers are usually Roman Catholic
Christians. As the water over the beds varies from one to three
fathoms the men require to dive for them ; when the current is
strong the assistance of a pole thrust into the bottom is used, the
diver using this to prevent himself being carried away. As the
oyster clumps are collected they are piled into a small attendant
dug-out canoe and as soon as this is full, a matter of some three
hours' work, the spoil is taken to the shore where women purchase
it at the rate of from ten annas to one rupee per lot — a quantity
usually averaging about 8oo, or a rate of l^^ to 2 annas per
hundred. The buyers proceed to open them, putting the flesh into
an earthen pot containing a little water. This flesh they hawk
through the town at from 2 to 4 annas the hundred. Surplus
oysters are sometimes kept alive in the canals till wanted.
Oyster flesh is never eaten uncooked by Indians ; the common
method of preparation on this coast is to fry the flesh in ghee after
flavouring with salt and condiments. The trade is of considerable
volume in Cochin in spite of the fact that many of the largest beds
are subject to sewage contamination. The fact that the flesh is
never eaten except after cooking appears to be an eff'ective safe-
guard. The discarded oyster shells, in the absence of any local
rock, are put to extensive use in reclaiming swamp land and as
foundations for buildings.
In the Beypore, Elattur and Tellicherry backwaters, oysters
abound wherever rocks occur and good quantities are taken annu-
ally by the womenfolk of the local Hindu fishing communities,
who collect oyster flesh at low tide, breaking open the shells with
short iron knives as they occur /// situ and transferring the flesh to
small chatties which they take with them.
On the East Coast, in the backwaters in the neighbourhood of
Madras, a certain amount of oyster flesh is collected and eaten by
the local pariah population. Sometimes Muhammadans will have
some, but this appears to be done in imitation of the European
custom. In these places the bulk of the oysters consumed, as
already mentioned, is by the Europeans and Anglo-Indians of the
large towns. Further north, in Ganjam district, certain sections
of the fishing population make a limited use of the local oysters,
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OiF SOllTH INDIA 1/3
particularly those in the Sonapiir backwater, where the Bairavi
men are accustomed to visit the beds at low water, break open the
shells and carry away the flesh in chatties to use in their own
curries.
St'dsons and spawning.— ^The season when oysters are in market-
able condition depends upon the time of spawning and this in turn
is controlled by rainfall and sunshine. Heavy rains causing flood
water to enter backwaters in such amount as to greatly lower the
salinity of the water over the beds invariably entails wide-spread
and immediate emission of the reproductive products in all oysters
where the gonads are well filled. Hence as the rainy season
differs on the two main coasts of India, there is a corresponding
divergence in the spawning maxima and in the marketable season
in these two localities.
On the Malabar Coast the chief spawning maximum occurs
about midsummer or even earlier, at the onset of the south-west
monsoon and the oysters are not again in condition till October or
November. From this time onwards they improve in quality till
about the end of March ; thenceforward till the final and complete
spatting at the end of May or early in June, there is a good deal of
irregular spatting induced by the hot weather then prevailing,
emphasized by the exposure and semi-drying of many of the oyster
covered rocks during the low-water of the major spring tides.
Between March and June a considerable percentage of spent
oysters are always found in any number examined ; the gonads of
those that spawned early in March will be partly full again when
the floods arrive in June and these, after enduring the lowered
salinity of the water for a while, will at last emit their spawn
though perhaps only half mature. Long continued floods cause
very extensive mortality on the beds, and few survive except the
small number living on the bottom of deep channels. In these
places saline conditions appear to last much longer than on the
surface, the lighter specific gravity of flood water causing it to
pass over the deeps without clearing out completely the saline
water which was there before the onset of the floods. Spawning
in the case of these few surviving oysters appears to be deferred
till about August when the floods have partly subsided and tidal
conditions are re-established. Much variation exists however in
this cycle of events, for under normal conditions the common
Indian oyster is a most irregular spawner; except when the floods
174 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XlV,
are on, some individuals with ripe gonads can always be found ;
hence there is no definite and universal spawning season as in the
case of English oyster (O. cditlis). The mortality of the oysters
tkiring the rains is confined to those living well within the back-
waters ; those close to the mouth suffer less and many survive,
except in exceptional years when the floods are very long continued.
Much, too, depends on the physical conformation of the backwaters.
In such an one as that at Cochin, the oysters on the betls in the
harbour usually survive, the considerable (relative) depth of water
over the beds constituting a protection.
On the Coromandel Coast, as the floods take place generally
from the end of August until November, the season runs from
January to the middle of August, with a partial break about April
when a large proportion of oysters spawn. August and September
constitute a spawning maximum, induced in part by the hot weather
prevailing then and in part by the lowering of the salinity due to
flood water: in a wet season the latter is the main factor; in
exceptionally dry ones or when the rains are long deferred, the
former in the effective factor. A second maximal spawning some-
times takes place in March and April, and between this time
and August, spawning individuals can always be found.
The reproductive habits of this oyster are similar to those of
the Indian pearl oyster {Margaritifera vulgaris) and closely akin
to those of the Portuguese oyster {Ostrea angiilata). In all these
species the sexes are separate ; the ripe ova and spermatozoa are
poured forth free into the surrounding water when a sufficient
stimulus is experienced. Fertilization takes place in the water
outside the parents' bodies, trochosphere and veliger forms being
in turn assumed during the growth of the fertilized ova. The
free-swimming stages last for several days and in this time they
may be carried by currents for considerable distances, thus ensuring
wide dispersion throughout the neighbouring coasts. The free-
swimming spat when ready to attach is easily obtained in any
suitable estuary or backwater by the employment of spat collectors ;
experience shows that ordinary country roofing tiles, arranged in
low piles of several rows, are the most suitable form to use. During
our first experiments at Pulicat, we arranged these collectors with
a view to catch the spat produced during the September spawning
season; experience shows that it is preferable to aim at obtaining
the necessary spat during spring (April-May) as the parent
NO. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
175
oysters are in much better health then; the results obtained are
altogether better, for operations can then be carried out with greater
facility, the water level in the parks being lower than it is in Sep-
tember and the salinity normal and not unduly reduced.
The ROCK-OYSTER [Ostira aicuUata) differs greatly from the
backwater oyster. Its main distinguishing characters are as
follows : — ■
Outline roughly oval ; the left valve extensively attached, deep
and cupshaped, with a sacciform extension into the hollow beak
region of the hinge, which is moderately elongate in freely grown
individuals; the edges of this valve have a distinct tendency
to grow upwards. Externally the left valve is folded into deep
ridges passing radially outwards from the hinge and ending in a
Fig. 42. ThQ^ock-oy^icr [Osirca I Hciilla la). Natural size.
dentately lobate edge which tightly interlocks with the margin of
the upper or right valve. The latter is flattened and opercular in
form. The muscle scar of both is usually dark purplish-black in
tint, rarely white. Very characteristic is a row of closely set
elongated denticulations seen a short distance inwards from the
margin on the inner surface of the upper valve ; these fit into a
corresponding series of furrows in the lower valve. Externally
the shell is tinted an opaque pinkish purple. Internally it is
white, margined with purple or black. The size is generally
smaller than that of the ordinary backwater or mud-oyster and
seldom exceeds 3 inches in length.
The habitat of rock-oysters is in a narrow band between tide
marks; during ordinary spring tides, these oysters are entirely
176
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
uncovered at low-tide. They are purely a marine species, never
forming beds in backwaters or estuaries, though an occasional
individual is sometimes seen among backwater oysters.
Under favourable conditions they form densely crowded colo-
nies upon rocks between tide marks ; the finest example of such
beds which I know, is on the rocky shores of St. Mary's Isles, off
Malpe, in South Kanara. They are of excellent flavour, but on
account of their small size, both natural and often further reduced
by overcrowding, as well as the difficulty experienced in opening
them by reason of their interlocking edges, they are not of economic
importance.
The third species of South Indian oyster is the COCKSCOMB-
OYSTER {0. crist again), a massive form
occurring singly on stones and shells
on the East Coast — Tanjore Coast,
Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar.
The edges of the valves are deeply
pleated and these pleats are marked
on the surface of the valves as angular
ridges and furrows extending radially
from the hinge. In the rock oyster
similar pleats occur but they are more
numerous and much shallower than
in the coarsely pleated cockscomb
species.
Several species of PINNA {Pinuidae)
occur in Madras waters. The most
common one in the Gulf of Mannar is
Pinna bicolor, a big wedge-shaped shell
often a full foot in length that occurs
commonly on sandy bottom on the East
Coast. It lives in depths from just
below low-tide to about 6 fathoms.
The umbones are at the apex of the
wedge, the hinge-line along the length
of one of the two long sides. It lies
buried to half its length or even more,
point downwards in the sand, the post-
FlG. 43. Common Pinna showing
byssus. X 5. -
erior edges gaping. It is quite common
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 177
in the beds of sea grass along the south side of Palk Bay, and
bathers there must beware of the knife-like edges of its posterior
margin standing erect out of the sand a couple of inches or more.
Pearl oysters sometimes settle in numbers on these projecting
edges; in the 1905 Ceylon fishery when some millions were fished
from such foothold, the divers complained bitterly of the injuries
they received in pulling the Pinnas out of the sand; as many as a
dozen oysters sometimes clung to one Pinna — the reason being
that this area was almost all sand and the projecting shells of
Pinna were the only stable objects to which the oysters could
cling.
Pinna has a tongue-shaped foot and spins a strong byssus of
very fine silky green fibres, wholly unlike the coarse strands of the
byssus of the pearl oyster. Occasionally thread has been spun
from these fibres and silky gloves and stockings woven therewith,
but these are mere curiosities and have no commercial importance,
A second species, shorter and stouter, the SMOKY PiNNA {Pinna
fumata) is common in 5 fathoms in Palk Bay.
No one eats Pinna on the Indian Coasts but in China it is in
great demand; in Japan great numbers of the large adductor
muscle, circular discs of white flesh measuring 1Y2 to 1^/4. inch in
diameter are cut out and dried for export to China, in similar way
to the treatment of the foot of the Ear-shell {Haliotis).
The False Cockles {Carditidac) are often uncommonly like the
ordinary English cockle, thick and heart-shaped and deeply ribbed
with radiating ridges. Typical of this form is Cardita hicolor, a
coarsely ribbed species unevenly spotted v\ ith daik red on a ground
rendered yellowish by thick periostracum. It is common on coarse
sandy or even gravelly bottom. Like the cockle the foot is sickle-
shaped, and highly muscular ; by its aid these molluscs are able to
hop along the bottom.
A circular outline and a pure white shell are features very
general in the Lucinidae. The form of the anterior muscle scar is
still more characteristic ; it is of unusual length and for the most
part lies separate a little distance within the pallial line. Liicina
cummingi is typical, with a long vermiform foot longer than the
length of the body, specially useful in burrowing in the loose sand
where it is found en both our coasts. More conspicuous is the fine
Bladder-shell. Cryptodon vesicnla, a thin fragile wb'te shell almost
globular in form. Unlike i.»a;/<:7, which has a toothed hinge, in the
II
178
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Bladder-shell it is weak and toothless. The foot is short. The
hemispherical valves, papery and delicate, occasionally nearly two
inches in diameter, are very common along the shore at Tuticorin.
The Galcommidae are all tiny creatures, remarkable for the way
the mantle folds are reflected outwards over the edgesof the valves,
nearly concealing them. The foot is long and flattened on the
underside after the gastropod fashion and for the same purpose —
crawling. To this family I refer a beautiful little creature I found
once at Pamban. As is shown in fig. 44, drawn whilst alive, the
-z^
Fig 44. A Galeommid {Scintilla hanUyi) from Pamban showing the (latlened crawling
foot and the mantle reflected almost entirely over tht valves. X 4.
inner edge of the mantle is furnished with six long cylindrical
tentacles, tapered towards tlie free end. These are coloured brown
madder, shading from the tip to the base, where they shade into
the pale buff of the mantle. The edge of the mantle has a line of
madder running along it while the surface is covered with many
minute madder brown tubercles. The upper surface of the fore-
part of the foot is also madder-tinted, the base white.
The Black Clam {Vdorita cochineusis) called in Malayalam Kar
erunthu, is our most conspicuous member of the family Cyrenidac.
It is a small thick-shelled clam found only in the West Coast estua-
rine backwaters, where it is associated with the common clam
{Mcrctrix ovum). Its shell is ribbed concentrically and covered
by a coarse thick blackish-olive periostracum frequently worn away
by corrosion at the umbo, showing the whitish shell beneath. The
interior is characteristically pale pink in tint. This clam can
survive the prevalence of fresh-water conditions longer than the
common clam ; it was originally as other Cyrenids still are, a purely
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
179
fresh-water species, and its presence in quantity in estuarine back-
waters, subject during' a considerable portion of the year to brackish
water conditions, indicates a marked change in its habits and a
re-acquired tolerance for saline conditions. It is used by the same
people who eat the common clam and its valves are also employed
in lime-burning in Malabar. It is not nearly so abundant as Merc-
trix oviii/i ; its habitat is usually further distant from the sea than
that of the latter species.
The shell seldom exceeds 30 mm. in length.
The Fresh-water Mussel {LaiuclUdcus warginaUs). Although
this common Indian species, closely allied to the text-book types
so well known to biological students under the names of Anodonta
and Unio, is very widely distributed throughout the Presidency, it
finds little favour as food. Only in Ganjam have I found it eaten,
and then only by the lower castes, being both flavourless and tough.
Both in Ganjam and Vizagapatam districts, the valves are used
extensively as instruments for peeling mangoes. To prepare one
a hole is made in the convex umbonar region by rubbing this part
of a valve — usually
a right one — upon a
stonv" till a hole of
the right size is
formed ; to use the
peeler thus formed,
it is grasped in the
hand with the hol-
low side towards
the palm, and then
one edge of the
hole is used to peel
off strips of skin.
The advantage claimed for this implement over a knife is that the
mango does not become stained and its flavour impaired from
contract with steel.
It seems probable that the valve of a fresh-water mussel, having
a large hole in the centre, figured in Bruce Foote's "Catalogue of
Prehistoric and Protohistoric Antiquities," Madras, 1915, under the
number 234-129, from Narsipur-Sangam, Mysore, is a mango
scraper of this kind, and not part of a shell necklace as surmised
by the author.
Fig. 45.
The Fresh- water Mussel {LamelliJetis
margiitalis). X f.
i8o
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
This species, although its shell is usually too thin to be of any
use in pearl-button manufacture, sometimes produces pearls in
considerable quantity of fair value. Occasionally they are offered
in the Surada Bazaar (Ganjam) ; these are obtained from a great
irrigation reservoir in the neighbourhood wherein these mussels
flourish, growing to a length of about three inches. The pearls
have a reddish tint and less lustre than those from the marine
pearl oyster. Another species in Bengal is extensively employed
in making buttons. An allied genus, Parrcysia, has coarser
hinge-teeth and generally a stouter shell.
The species of TelliNA [TcUinidac) most common on all our
sandy shores is small and pink-shelled, about M of an inch long,
compressed from side to side. The fore end of each valve is
rounded, the hinder end shorter and slightly angular; the ligament
is external, showing as a prominent black hinge behind the beak or
umbo. The markings on the inside of the valves are distinctive ;
the pallial sinus, which marks the position of the " siphons " when
withdrawn into the shell, is extremely deep, extending from the
hinder margin nearly to the anterior adductor. Without seeing
/-^
Flc. 46. A Masking Crab {Dorifpe dorsifcs) carrying a Tellina shell on which
is an anemone, for the purpose of concealment and defence.
the live animal a zoologist can tell from this that the Tellinas
have long siphons. These in fact exceed twice the length of the
shell ; they are formed by the tubular outgrowth of the mantle
edge at the posterior end of the body ; the evolution of the
siphonal tubes in bivalves is particularly interesting, for among
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
i8i
our common shells we can find a full gradation of transition
stages, beginning with instances where the siphonal openings, one
incurrent (to the gills) and one excurrent or anal, are formed by
the temporary coming together of the mantle edges of opposite
sides at one or two definite points, thus forming temporary open-
ings. The next stage is for these temporary junctions to become
permanent and then for the edges of the openings to lengthen out
gradually into tubes of varying length. The Tellinas aid their
near relatives Donax, Mesodesma and Psammobia are noteworthy
for the extreme length attained by their siphons. The shells are
usually small and as their habitat is in shallow water on sandy
coasts, seafowl and other birds search the sands for them at low-
water, to say nothing of predaceous fish that take up the hunt
whenever the depth of water permits. Hunted continually, these
molluscs lie in deep burrows with just the tips of their siphons
level with the surface — as inconspicuous as may be. If discovered
they withdraw the siphons into the shells lying below at a depth
of may be a couple of inches and begin with lightning speed to
burrow still lower by the help of their wedge-shaped muscular
foot. The longer the siphon, the greater the protection; it is
significant that the four genera named as having peculiarly long
siphons are the commonest bivalves along our sandy shores —
infinitely more numerous than those with short siphons.
Two species of the WEDGE-SHELLS (Donacidae) known on the
Madras Coast are the small Do/iax
cuneatus or MURAL (Tamil) and the
much larger Donax scortum. In
outline the former is a small much
compressed bivalve roughly
wedge-shaped ; the posterior part
of the shell obliquely truncate. It
is abundant between tide-marks
and for some short distance
below low-water level. It never
enters backwaters and is essentially a marine form. In size it
seldom exceeds 40 mm. in length. On the East Coast, the mural
is particularly plentiful on surf beaten sand-flats ; on the Ramnad
Coast the name mural gives place to -vazhiiiiatti. Along the
Malabar shore it is less plentiful and is usually smaller. In
Tamil districts, especially on the Coromandel Coast, the mural is
1-"IG. 47. The Mural {Poiui.x cii-iu' Tins).
l82
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. xiv,
valued as food by the fisherfolk (Pattanavars, etc.) whose lads are
accustomed to collect it when rough weather cuts off the usual
supplies of sea fish. The mural serves largely to meet such an
emergency. It is seldom collected for sale. It lives buried an
inch or two below the surface layer of the sand; the boys who
collect it turn over the wet sand with their feet as each roller
spends its force and slips back into Ihe sea.
The larger and more handsome Doiiax scortuiii is much less
common but its strong boldly sculptured purple tinted valves are
often to be picked upon sandy beaches. The sculpturing takes
the form of coarse concentric ridges upon valves roucjhly triangu-
lar in shape. The beak is angular and prominent, the fore end and
ventral margin rounded, with the hinder end folded and produced
KiG. 4S. Donax scortuni. X i-
sharply to a bold point. They run to 2^i inches in length, and are
among the most easily identified of our local bivalves.
The Mesodcsmidac are represented by the little KakKAMATTI
{Mesodesma [Paphia] glabratum) common in the sands of the island
beaches near Pamban. It grows to a length of l]4 inch. The shell,
Fn".. 49. KakUaiuiUti {Mcsodfsiiia <^]ahrain»t). Shell and hinge plate.
No. 6 (192 1 ) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
183
strong and massive, is sculptured with bold concentric ridges ; the
colour is white, but this is obscured by a skin of dirty yellow except
near the umbo, where this covering is usually worn away. The
ligament is internal as in Mactra.
TheMACTRASiMactridae) are widely distributed on sandy shores
and become plentiful when conditions are favourable. They are
generally thin shelled and smooth surfaced, more or less triangu-
lar in outline, with deep roomy valves, whence the name mactra
(Latin), a kneading trough. The ligament, in the form of a trian-
gular pad is lodged in a deep hollow or pit within the hinge and
immediately under the umbo. Several typically thin-shelled
species are common on both the East and the West Coast. Some
attain quite a considerable size and may exceed two inches in
length (M tiiinida). Numbers of a large species affected by the
peculiar poisonous water that occasionally devastates shore life in
certain places in Malabar were seen washed ashore at Cannanore
in a moribund condition in 1916. The best known species is the
pretty little Sevalamatti {Mactra corbiciiloidcs), tinted a deep violet
Fig. 50. Seva'amatti {Mactra corbic<'.loides). Shell and hinge plate.
colour within, common at Pamban and the neighbourhood ; its
shell is distinctly trigonal in outline, usually about 30 mm. in
length, and with deeply concave valves which are thus able to
give accommodation to a body relatively much larger than is
contained within the shallower valves of the Kakkamatti. Its
colour is most distinctive, externally bluish grey with pink or
purplish blue colouring showing through at the umbo and usually
another distinctly similar colour band within the margin ; inter-
nally the whole surface is characteristically tinted violet. When
partially bleached, the colour fades to a warm pink, whence the
local name of Sevalamatti (red matti).
1 84 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Many of our most familiar and beautiful Madras shells are
included in the Veneridac, small clams characterized by the hand-
some colouring and great strength of the valves. They vary
greatly in shape, ranging from greatly flattened discoidal forms
{Circe scripta) to swollen forms like Circe oibba and oblong ones
such as Tapes and Snnetta. The beaks are usually prominent and
situated above the mid-length of a strong hinge-plate bearing
(usually) three prominent, strong cardinal teeth, flanked by long
laterals.
The genus Venus is purely marine; its shells are ovate with
deep crescent-shaped ventral margin and a strongly beaked umbo.
Widely distributed on sandy shores on both our coasts it never forms
beds. Venus reticulata and V. plicata are two common fojms. The
sea-worn fragments of the Money Venus, Venus merccnaria, when
perforated and strung on leather thongs were the wampum of North
American Indians, used as a rude form of coinage in their business
transactions. A wonderfully lovely Cytherea {Crista erycina) is to
be found in the shallows westward of Kundagal point at Pamban.
It is a thick ovate shell nearly 3 inches long, boldly ribbed con-
centrically, splashed and marbled in rich red brown. So hand-
some is it, that the shell dealers in Rameswaram temple offer
good prices for it ; they know its colouring will tempt the
pilgrims who come from far away inland homes, to whom every-
thing from the sea in this holy place is invested with virtue and
interest.
Much more abundant in South India are the BACKWATER
Clams belonging to the genus Meretrix, distinguished by the fine
striation of the elongated posterior lateral tooth in each valve.
At least three species are of value as food in this Presidency,
namely Meretrix meretrix, M. casta and M. ovum. The first is com-
paratively rare, but is found on both our coasts, the second is
localized to the East Coast, while the third, which appears to be a
sub-species of the second or vice versa, is found only on the West
Coast.
The two latter are known in Tamil as uiatti {<^^-'^) ; in Mala-
yalam as erunthu at Calicut and kahka at Cochin ; everywhere along
the coast from South Kanara in the west round to Ganjam in the
east, either one or other of these little clams is found abundantly
in muddy sand in estuaries and connected backwaters wherever
the water remains saline throughout the greater part of the year.
No. 6 (I921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 185
Suitable conditions prevail over more extensive areas on the West
Coast, and it is there, par excellence, that these clams attain their
greatest importance.
Meretrix ovum. — The valves of this species are smooth, grey in
general tint and either with or without two imperfect brown rays;
in shape the shell varies from a swollen cordate form to one com-
pressed and almost almond shaped. It lives in great abundance
in West Coast backwaters, with a size average from 35 to 40 mm.
in length by 25 to 28 mm. in depth; when overfished as in the
Beypore river, the average size becomes considerably reduced, as
few individuals have an opportunity to reach maturity. Two dark
rays, faint and easily overlooked, are very characteristic of the
species; only occasionally can these rays be traced back to the
umbo; they are usually best marked towards the ventral margin
where they usually terminate in two small reddish brown colour
patches oi) the extreme edge. The periostracum is well developed
and persistent ; it varies from a distinct pale cream to a rufous
yellow or even brown, the darker tints being largely of stain
origin.
This clam is probably the most important food mollusc of the
Presidency. Its flesh is of good flavour, tender and nutritious.
To the poorer classes of shore dwellers, wherever it is obtainable in
quantity, it often takes the place of fish in their curries when this
is dear or scarce and is esteemed both for its cheapness and tasti-
ness. On the Malabar Coast these clams are largely collected by
low caste people who hawk canoe-loads along the backwaters and
canals. The usual retail rate varies from one to two pies per seer,
indeed a pie's worth is considered in Malabar sufficient to make a
curry for a whole household. The Malabar clam fishers usually
use very small dug-out canoes, which are anchored when the fish-
ing ground is reached. Men, women and lads all engage in the
fishing ; the feet are used to locate and dislodge the clams when
these occur in shallow water. In deep channels diving has to be
resorted to.
One of the commonest sights in Malabar is the heaps of dis-
carded shells forming miniature kitchen middens in the neigh-
bourhood of many huts ; these are sold eventually to lime-burners,
as the shell of this clam being exceptionally massive, is valued
as a source of high-class lime, particularly suitable for white-
washing purposes.
\2
i86
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
On the East Coast, the place of M. ovum is taken by Meretrix
casta, a rather larger and stouter species of the same habits, known
i
3 X
a.
u
■*- a
o _
. >
i< G
a
T3
a
3
o
<
M
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDL-^ 187
generally as matti in Tamil districts. Its valves are thick and
massive, the exterior covered with a strongly adherent brownish
periostracum, dull in appearance, that varies much in tint even
in one locality. A purplish black band margins the posterior
edges of the shell to a depth of about a quarter of an inch,
extending from the hinge to the posterior angle of the shell ;
unlike the yellow colouring of the rest of the shell, this dark pig-
ment permeates the substance of the valves and shows equally
upon both the inner and the outer surface. None of the radial
banding of M. ovum is shown, nor any of the diverse colour schemes
of spots and chevrons so often found on the umbos of M. meretrix.
Although often very abundant it is generally less common than
the corresponding species on the West Coast and is held in less
esteem by the people. It is, however, eagerly sought for wherever
it abounds. At Pulicat, for instance, as many as 30 women may
often be seen collecting this shell-fish in the shallows opposite to
the town. Unlike the Malabar custom, men here seldom engage
in this work ; Pariah women and girls alone carry it on. They
work for preference during low tide when the depth of water is
reduced over the beds. From time to time as they gather the
clams, they pile them in heaps on an adjacent sand-bank. When
they judge it time to drop fishing, they adjourn to the sand-bank,
and there proceed to smash the clams one by one by striking
theni against a heavy stone. As each is broken open they deftly
extract the meat with a push of the thumb, dropping it into a
small earthen pot containing a little water. In this way in a short
time each woman has emptied the whole of her catch, amounting
to several hundreds. The broken shells are left behind for the
lessee who has bought the right to the shells for lime-making, and
who permits these women to collect them on this condition.
Women's wages at Pulicat averaged 2^ to 3 annas per day in
1914 and the value of the catch of clams made in a day by one
woman working hard, was usually valued at this amount. The
bulkof the clam meat obtained is however generally used to supply
the needs of the woman's own family; if any surplus is left, it is
often exchanged for paddy, bulk for bulk, I am informed. At times
when specially large quantities are obtainable, the surplus flesh is
sun-dried to serve as stock for use during the rainy season when
the collection of clams is interrupted owing to increase in the
depth of water over the beds.
I88 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
Pariahs and Pallans and some of the Muhammadans and
Christians of coast hamlets are the only people who eat these
clams in Tamil districts.
On the East Coast, spawning appears to take place twice in
each year, the first during April and May, the second about Sep-
tember. The busiest fishing season at Pulicat and the neigh-
bourhood is the hot dry season from June to August when the
level of the backwaters and canals becomes much reduced, facili-
tating greatly the work of collection. At this season the condition
of these clams is at its best, the bodies fat and swollen with
reproductive products.
At Pulicat, Sonapur (in Ganjam) and Tuticorin great beds of
subfossil shells occur in silted up portions of the local backwaters
and the bulk of the shells forming these beds are of this species.
At Tuticorin and Sonapur a curious variety is also common, distin-
guished by an extreme thickening of the hinge plate and umbonar
region. This causes each umbo to become unusually prominent
and distinctly hooded. The general form of the shell is affected,
becoming so trigonal that it has been described as a distinct
species. But all gradations between this form and the typical
M. casta can be traced ; so it is at most a variety.
The Great Clam, Meretrix meretrix, called in Tamil paiija-
matti {u(^^LDi-isf-) at Tuticorin, is a nearly related species to the
common matti (M. casta). It is distinguished by its greater size
and by the smoothness and delicacy of the periostracum covering
the valves. Its average dimensions when adult range between
74 X 60 mm. and 75 x 62'5 mm. with a weight (empty) of about
3^ ounces. The valves are perfectly smooth and so long as the
periostracum is intact have a beautifully polished appearance due
to the smoothness of, this membrane, which is thin, delicate, and of
a pale straw colour in tint. When this is removed the shell is dead
white in colour except along the postero-dorsal margin where there
is a deep band of greyish blue in some and bluish brown in others ;
this colouring occupies precisely the same region as in the common
clam {M. casta). It is a very beautiful shell and the pity is that it
is not more abundant. I have found it in the Silavathurai fish farm
at Tuticorin, in the seaward part of Pulicat Lake, and in a sub-
fossil condition at Surla in Ganjam district. It lives also in Chilka
Lake, and is known also from Tellicherry and Bombay on the West
Coast. There is little doubt that it lives at the mouths of the
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
189
majority of estuaries and backwaters in India, south of the Ganges
and Indus. At Tuticorin it is fairly abundant, as a woman can
easily collect from 30 to 40 in a tide. They are esteemed as food
by the Valaiyans and Pallans who collect them and who use the
empty shells for lime-burning. The flesh is considered less delicate
than that of the common clam; it also seems less hardy; as a
consequence its distribution is more local and restricted — it
mm.
Fig. 52. The (ireat Clam (A/er<;!rix meretrix). Two-colour varieties. Note the short
siphons and the great extensibility of the foot ; in the lower figure the dotted outline
indicates the extreme extension possible. (Tuticorin.) X §•
appears to require a cleaner habitat than M. casta and a strong tidal
current over the bed where it lives. Hence they are usually found
near the entrance to lagoons, where the tidal flow is great. They
spawn about the beginning of September at Tuticorin, probably
also about May.
The shell exhibits considerable variation in colouring, and at
least five well-defined colour varieties are known ; apart from the
umbonar region which is very frequently rayed, the shell usually
exhibits no banding, but in two varieties there are very broad ill-
defined radiating bands of a somewhat livid or purplish colour
extending from the ventral margin to half way to the umbo. The
. jmbo nearly always shows considerable colour, but this is extremely
•/ariable and no two shells are exactly alike in this respect. Most
190
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Fig. 53. Circe gihba, Lamarck. XL
frequently a minute brownish speckling can be made out, either
alone or associated with a more conspicuous and extensive zoning
in a livid tint; in others this speckling resolves itself into a more
distinct pattern of chevron-shaped chestnut markings, which may
coalesce either into short rays or into concentric zones, never
spreading far beyond the umbo. In one variety, the colouring is a
uniform chestnut.
Circe is another genus of the Veneridas of considerable economic
value in the Madras Presi-
dency, for the little COCKLE-
CLAM {Circe gibba) known as
varimatti in Tamil, is particu-
larly plentiful in Palk Bay and
the Gulf of Mannar where,
especially in the former area,
its collection is important to
the Kadayans, Valaiyans and
allied coast castes. It is a
strongly ribbed white shell
with a superficial resemblance to the European cockle {Cardium
cdule)—the ridges running radially from the umbo to the margin —
and of about the same average size. Its dimensions average when
fully grown 45 mm. x 37 mm. with a thickness of about 33 mm.
It spawns about the beginning of September at Tuticorin. It
frequents muddy sands near low-tide level along the open coast.
The flavour is good and the flesh tender.
Collection takes place at low water during spring tides, when
the poorer women of the coast villages devote themselves to this
work for two or three hours daily. In this time each can gather
between 300 and 400 shells.
The muddy flats between Pamban and Kundagal Point are rich
collecting grounds and many women may be often seen there
engaged in the search at spring tide. Very frequently a couple of
shells are kept in one hand and rubbed or struck against one
another to produce a clicking sound. When questioned the women
say that this has the effect of attracting the clams to the surface ;
they watch for a slight movement wherever they see clam burrows
and scoop up the sand where this occurs, generally getting one or
two clams. I am inclined to think that in reality the clicking sound
has an opposite effect to that believed by the clammers ; it really
No. 6(I92I) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I9I
alarms the clam and causes it suddenly to retract its siphons and
close its valves. In so doing a slight movement of the mud at
the entrance of its burrow is necessarily caused and it is this
that reveals its presence. Alphaeids — the so-called "clicking
prawns" — are common on these flats and possibly the noise made
by striking two shells together is mistaken by the clams for the
clicking of Alphaeids.
The flesh is used either to form a curry, a soup, or a savoury,
this considerable variety betokening the high esteem in which it is
held. In all cases the preparatory operation is to steam the shells
open and extract the flesh. This may then be made forthwith into
a curry with the usual condiments, or it may be ground fine with
coconut and spices, and boiled to form a highly tasty and nutritious
soup, or, lastly, it may be ground to a paste, and fried in ghee or in
sesamum oil and eaten with other food. The last mode of prepara-
tion is a strong favourite with those who habitually utilize this food.
Probably no other bivalve is so universally valued on the shores of
Palk Bay as is this cockle-clam ; everybody seems fond of it with
the exception of the higher caste Hindus.
The empty shells are used for lime-burning on the shores of
Palk Bay, where it is the most abundant littoral mollusc. Along
the Coromandel Coast, Circe gibba is scarce and does not seem to
be used there as food. It is not found or at least is very scarce on
the Malabar Coast.
More characteristic in shape of the true Circes are C. scripta and
C. personata. These are greatly compressed nearly circular shells
found sparingly in the neighbourhood of Pamban and along the
Tinnevelly coast. The colouring of the former, which is the more
common, is yellowish, with a broken chevron pattern on the outer
half of the valves that suggests the idea of writing. Closely set
concentric ribbing covers the whole surface.
The Tapestry-shells {Tapes), so called from the close
ribbing and handsome markings that recall the texture and the
patterns of tapestry, are generally characteristically oblong
in shape with perfectly smooth ventral margins. A superb
species is Tapes adspersa, found in the shallows south of Pamban.
It grows to a length of three inches and the handsome colouring
and bold concentric ribbing make it one of the most striking
of our commoner bivalves. Tapes textrix is another typical form,
in this case with smooth valves marked with closely set dark
192
MADRAS FISHERIES BULI ETIN
VOL, XIV
Fig 54. Vazhukkumatti {l^aft's
ceylofietisis). X I.
chevrons on a yellow ground. Other smaller species as T. pingiits
are fairly common on both our coasts, but with the exception
of Tapes ceylonensis, they are seldom to be found alive unless
very diligent search be made, or a shell dredge used. 7-
ceylonensis departs greatly from the typical compressed Tapes
form. It is a handsome inflated species, with a superficial resem-
blance to the Backwater Clam
[Mcrctrix casta), being about the
same size, shape and colour; it
differs, however, in having radiat-
ing bands of a reddish brown tint
running from the umbo to the
margin. The pallial sinus is
much better marked, and is deep
and angular. Average length
l^/i inch. In the neighbourhood
of Pamban, where it is called
Vazhukkumatti, it is found and
fished with the Se-vala Diatti [Mactra corbicidoidrs). It is also found
on the West Coast, at Cannanore, Tellicherry, and elsewhere.
Flatter and more like a true Tapes is Paphia malaharica, strong'i\
ribbed, but in its colour closely related to T. ccylo)icnsis.
Closely allied to Tapes, are the pretty SUNETTA shells.
Detached valves are conmion on our sandy beaches, and maybe
recognized by their coarse concentric ribbing and the attractive
colour design, usually some arrangement of bold reddish brown
chevrons ; a fine milling occurs just inside the ventral edges of the
valves. They are small shells seldom exceeding i3^ inch in length.
5. meroc and S. ejfcssa are two common species.
The true COCKLES {Cardiidae) are represented in Indian seas
by several large and handsome species, notably the Asiatic cockle
{Cardium asiaticum) found on all our sandy coasts. This species
is thin-shelled and highly inflated, with the exterior sculptured
with fine ribbing. In size it runs to two inches in depth, the length
being appreciably less. The foot is very large, bent in the middle
nearly at a right angle; it is used for leaping and some species can
jump a foot or more from off the bottom. Unlike the thick-shelled
and smaller common cockle of European seas, none of the Indian
cockles has any appreciable economic value, as they do not appear
ever to occur in thickly-populated beds.
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDL\ 193
The HOLY-WATER Clams {Tridacnidae) are so called because of
the use to which their huge ribbed valves are put in Roman Catholic
churches in Europe. They grow to a larger size than any other
bivalve, the shell attaining in exceptional cases a weight of over
500 lb. The substance of the shell is white and porcellanous and
very thick and strong. A single adductor of enormous power
controls the opening and closing of the valves. The smaller species
usually bore into dead coral with the help of a great mushroom-
shaped foot, forming roomy burrows ; others, often of great size, are
non-boring in habit and either lie loose among coral blocks or cling
to the rock by means of the foot. Stories are told of the great power
of their grip and pearl divers in the South Seas dread as one of
the greatest dangers of their calling, the possibility of setting a
foot within the gape of a Tridacna shell. The valves are deeply
corrugated with a number of very bold ridges. They live associa-
ted with corals and are most numerous and of greatest size in
the South Seas, the eastern section of the Malay Archipelago and
on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. In our Indian seas, we
find them among the coral reefs of Pamban and the Gulf of Mannar ;
they are especially abundant at the Laccadives. To see the
gorgeous colouring of the mantle frilling as these molluscs lie
with their shells agape in a clear pool is one of the many wonders
of a coral reef; the glory of Joseph's coat was as naught compared
with the sparkling loveliness of the iridescent blues and pur-
ples and oranges of the mantle filaments protruding from between
the open valves.
The next family, the Chainidac, has several essential morpho-
logical features common with the cockles and tridacnas ; but
unlike them its members live their adult life with one valve, the
left, cemented to stones, corals and shells. The Chamas are all
small and may be taken for the Thorny Cockles {Spoudylidae) if
the form of the hinge be not noticed. In Chama, the ligament is
external and not in a pit within, and there are fewer hinge teeth,
two in one valve and one only in the other. The brilliant florid
colouring of the spondyles is also absent, Chama being a pale
insignificant little shell.
Of the Psamnwbiidac, the lovely Snlctdliua dip/105 is the best
known representative on our coasts. It is a long, oval, purple
coloured shell, rounded in front and narrowed behind to a some-
what pointed form ; in life the colour is masked by a 'smooth dark
13
194 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
yellow periostracum. In length it grows to five inches ; this large
size and the unusual colour of the shell render it conspicuous
when thrown up on the beach. It must be fairly common on the
Coromandel Coast, so often are its valves seen, particularly in the
vicinity of the bars of the backwaters in the vicinity of Madras,
Cuddalore and Negapatam. Like most of the other members of
the family, this mauve Psammobia has extremely long siphons,
each separate from the other. It lives buried deeply in the sand,
keeping open communication with the water above by means of
its siphons which open level with the surface. When retracted
these long siphons occupy much space within the valves; this
space is indicated by the deep bay marked upon the hinder part
of each valve and known as the pallial sinus ; in this family the
sinus is unusually well developed. Several other species, chiefly
of the genus Psammobia, are found in India ; they are all much
smaller than SoIctcUiua diphos and instead of a pointed posterior
end the skjjne is usually blunt or sub-truncate.
The RAZOR-SHELLS {Solcuidae) are long scabbard-shaped
shells living in deep burrows in sandy bays. The foot is enor-
mously developed, cylindrical in form, mobile and protean in
action, capable of swelling out with lightning rapidity or of thin-
ning to a point capable of easy penetration into loose sand. At
low tide the slot-like openings of their burrows are often exposed
and as one walks near the edge of the sea, little jets of water shot
up here and there bespeak the retreat to the bottom of their bur-
rows of razor-fish that have felt the vibration of feet upon the sand.
It is difficult to dig them out, so far and fast do they burrow ; even
if one does manage to seize one by the uppermost or posterior end
it is hard to pull a large individual out, for the foot can be
expanded at the lower end to form a living bulbous anchor after
the fashion of the well-known mushroom anchor used for mooring
buoys. Sometimes they hold on so tightly that the swollen end is
broken off and left behind. «
Most Indian species are small in size {Solcu corneus, etc.). They
are found on all sandy shores wherever the water is shallow and
protected against surf.
A very pretty relative of the Solens is the Indian SUNSET-
SHELL {CidtcUus radiatus). The shell is smooth and oblong and
marked by broad wedge-shaped bands of mauve radiating from the
umbo. It is found on sandy shores in company with the more
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I95
deeply tinted Soletellina ; the occurrence of this peculiar colour in
molluscs that live completely buried in the sand is evidence that
colour may be often of no significance in the economy of an animal
save as the visual evidence of the presence of some waste excre-
tion. A curious oblique ridge or rib extends on the inner surface
of each valve from the beak across the shell to the ventral margin.
In no other family is any similar structure seen.
The habitat and shell structure of the BORERS {Pholadidac)
exhibit peculiar features of great interest. In countries where the
coast rocks are comparatively soft, these molluscs excavate burrows
in the same style as the Date-shells do in coral. In India, the
Borers are seldom found in rock — our gneiss and schist are too hard
for them ; instead they affect stiff peaty and clayey deposits where
boring is comparatively easy. The finest instance of this is on
the north coast of Palk Straits, to the west of Point Calimere.
Here a stiff clayey deposit is found ; the conditions must be ideal
for burrowing and food must be plentiful, for here a truly magni-
ficent shell, the Oriental Borer (Dactylina orien talis), is found in large
numbers and of a larger size than any European species. A length
of 4 to 4^ inches is common. The shell is beautifully proportioned ;
long and tapered behind, snowy white in colour, papery in appear-
ance, brittle but exceedingly hard. The surface is covered with
prickly sculpture, rasp-like in arrangement. There is no true
hinge, and the ligament has given place to an accessory shell plate.
More peculiar still, the dorsal edges of the valves have grown
outwards in such manner as to become reflected over the umbones
protecting them from damage. These umhoiuil plates are further
strengthened by supporting pillars and plates, dividing the space
under these strange outgrowths into a number of chambers.
Within the shell a short stout rod projects inwards from the edge
of the umbonar cavity. The Pholads appear to excavate their
burrows largely if not entirely by patiently rasping down the
walls by the semi-rotation of their shell, first to one side and then
to the other. The foot takes some part also in the operation.
The valves gape at each end. From the hinder one project the
siphons, here united externally into a single organ, tubular in form.
The extremity, slightly bifid, projects beyond the mouth of the
burrow when the animal is feeding. The long narrow gills extend
into the inhalent siphon.
196 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
A smaller species is found at Tuticorin, its valves washed
ashore in great quantity after storms. This also appears to live in
stiff peaty deposits, such as are formed by the consolidation of
old sea-grass beds. It is also common at Calicut.
In floating timber, other Borers of this family are found ; a
common Indian species is Pholas {Martesia) striata.
The Ship-worms {Tercdinidac) are still more specialized for
boring, but they confine their attention entirely to wood. The
body is long and worm-like, the siphonal tube being of extra-
ordinary length, united through the greater part of its course. The
shell is small and globular, covering only the thick anterior end.
where the visceral organs are situated. The tiny valves show
resemblance in essential features with those of the Pholads, espe-
cially in the presence of a calcareous " spur " in each umbonar
cavity ; Teredo has evidently descended from a Pholas-like
ancestor, suffering extreme modification in its successful attempt to
perfect its form to a burrowing habit. The body of some of the
common species may reach a length of a couple of feet or more
with a diameter of about a quarter of an inch. As it starts making
its burrow when quite tiny and never quits it, the aperture to the
exterior is minute. The burrow is lined by a calcareous tube, not
connected in any way with the body of the Teredo, but deposited
from a secretion poured out by certain glands. Ship-worms
are extremely destructive to timber, especially in the tropics ;
unless protected by sheathing, woodwork under water becomes
riddled with the multitude of their burrows within a few months.
The hardest wood is not immune. I have seen ironwood piles
completely destroyed, reduced to a mere shell of honeycombing, at
Tuticorin. Dealwood perishes within a few weeks. Their ravages
cause constant anxiety to the owners of small coasting craft and
fishing canoes ; the old Indian method of combating the ship-
worm is to haul the boat ashore or else to careen her, and after
drying as thoroughly as possible to daub the under-water parts
with a mixture of chunam, dammar and oil. Canoes being easier to
handle are frequently hauled ashore, dried, and the bottom
smeared with rancid fish-oil, of an odour warranted strong enough
to disgust any ship-worm that comes near.
A short length of the siphon tubes is free at the hinder end and
at the point of junction of these free ends with the long united
siphonal region, are situated a pair of tiny palette-like limy plates
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 197
supposed to be of use in protecting their owner against the intru-
sion of any unwelcome visitor. These pallets may be likened in
function to the operculum of a gastropod.
Last of all and more degenerate and quite unlike the typical
bivalve are the WATERING-POT SHELLS {Claoagellidae). They
are common on our shores, washed up after storms; they may
also be found at very low tides embedded upright in the sand. In
form their shells are short, stout brittle cylinders about three inches
long with several delicate upstanding frills round the open or upper
end. The lower extremity is closed, slightly convex, perforated
with holes and fringed with a number of short open-ended
tubes — the whole suggestive of the rose of a watering-pot, whence
the name. When seen first, the impression is that the short open
cylinders fringing the "rose "are the broken bases of root-like
tubes ; this is not the case. That the creature is a bivalve is seen
not only by a study of the soft parts of the body, but by the
presence of a tiny but perfect bivalve shell embedded in the
surface of the main tube just above the " rose." The larger
structure, the frilled cylinder, is a secretion of the siphons.
A common Indian species is Brechitcs didiotonius or Aspcrgillum
dichotomiDii as it was formerly called.
CLASS v.— CEPHALOPODA.
The Cephalopods are so called because the foot, here divided
into a number of tentacle-like arms, is attached apparently to the
head. The body is a muscular sac containing the viscera and
gills. In many forms an internal " bone " or "pen" stiffens the
body in a manner comparable with the backbone of the higher
animals. The head, joined to the body by a narrow neck, is
furnished with a pair of large eyes, perfectly constructed optically
but evolved by quite a different line of development to the
vertebrate eye. The arms, eight to ten in number, arise in a circle
at the fore-end of the head. Except in the case of the Pearly
Nautilus, these are armed with a large number of suckers, enabling
the animal to cling tenaciously to any object. Each sucker is a
round disc with a little bulbous cavity at the centre that enables
the creature to work the sucker apparatus like an air-pump; the
vacuum created causes the sucker to adhere by atmospheric
pressure and this continues so long as the central intelligence
198 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
controls the muscles working the sucker's piston, in a state of
tension. The mouth, situated in the centre of the circlet of arms,
is armed with a horny parrot-like beak, in large species so powerful
as to be capable of rending its prey.
The class is divided into two sections according as the number
of gills is two or four. Those characterized by the latter number
were predominant in former geological times, but to-day the Pearly
Nautilus is the only existing form with four gills. The two-gilled
section is in turn classed, according as the arms are eight or ten,
into the Octopoda and the Decapoda. The common Octopus and
the Paper Nautilus {Argonauta) are types of the former; the cuttle-
fishes, squids (or calamaries), and the curious little Spirula, are
the best known representatives of the other.
The Octopoda have neither internal nor external shell, with the
partial exception of the Paper Nautilus where the female forms an
extremely fragile and delicate transparent shell in which she
brings forth and shelters her eggs. Some attain a large size and
mythological stories tell of huge individuals that have seized men
from boats. In our Indian seas the largest I have seen, Herdman's
Octopus {Polypus herdmani), had a body less than the size of the
fist, with arms about 2/^ feet long when fully extended. The
Octopus is by far the most intelligent of the mollusca, indeed it
seems an absurdity to class it with snails, chanks, oysters and
clams; in one sense the name of Devilfish sometimes given to it in
England, seems justified. If several Octopus be watched in capti-
vity and if they are at home in their surroundings, the cleverness of
the creatures in stalking their prey and their cruel rapacity in tear-
ing the victim into pieces when caught, are uncanny and devilish.
I have watched an Octopus on the prowl sliding stealthily over the
bottom with all the skill of a high intelligence ; every bit of cover
is made use of and even the colour of the bottom is imitated for
concealment. Passing over yellowish sand the dark body tints of
the Octopus fade away and there is nothing but a slight movement
to betray its presence. Anon it crawls over a mass of brown
weed — dark tints come back in a flash and once more the animal
is indistinguishable from its background. This ability to make
lightning changes in its colour disguises is due to the colouring
matter in its skin being in little sacs controlled by muscles. If the
muscles contract the pigment spots grow and expand, giving dark
tints to the body ; if they relax, the spots close to pin points
No. 6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
199
and a greyish yellow pallor suffuses the body. Crabs are the
favourite food of the Octopus, l)ut they will also open bivalves,
and fishes are occasionally caught by the cruel snake-like, sucker-
beset arms.
Si /\
;3
a
o
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c
3
a.
o
o
o
c
a
<
t-l
Everywhere along the East Coast several species of small
Octopus are abundant. They abound in the weedy shallows of
Palk Bay where they are known to the fishermen under the names
of Sa kauavai, Pey kaiiavai and Sangn kanavai. They are in keen
demand by line fishermen as they make the best bait known to
200 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
them, the flesh firm and not easily pulled from a hook, and the
odour tempting beyond measure to the fish sought after.
To capture them long lines are prepared having some hundreds
of short branch lines tied on at intervals of from five to six
feet. To each of these branch lines a large Pterocera shell
{P. laiiibis) is attached, the apex and "fingers" being first broken
off. These lines are sunk on the bottom in places which these
Octopus frequent, and when lifted next morning many of the
shells are tenanted by Octopods that have sought concealment
therein.
Every village on the Ramnad mainland fronting Palk Bay pos-
sesses these Octopus lines, and the number of Octopus thus caught
is very great indeed ; the industry is an important one both in
itself and because of the dependence thereon of the line fishermen,
who find it difficult to get other suitable bait if squid be wanting.
This bait fishery is said to have existed at Rameswaram a decade
ago, being given up when line fishermen abandoned this occupa-
tion, because, according to some, their boats being too small and
unseaworthy, fishing on the offshore banks was found to be too
dangerous for these timid and unenterprising souls.
The number of shell-traps used on a Devilfish long line usually
runs to upwards of 800. The crew of a line-fishing boat on the
Tirupalagudi coast consists usually of five men, and each of them
when he joins, brings 5 or 6 lines, each armed with from 25 to 30
shells, say a total of 150 to 180 per man, or a grand total of 25 to
30 lines carrying 700 to 900 shells in all. The lines tied end to
end are laid out in a depth of 2^ to 3 fathoms of water, one end
being buoyed with a large wooden float. Each morning the fisher-
men haul the line and the attached shell-traps ; so common are these
small Devilfish that a considerable number of the shells are
tenanted by them. Enough for the day's requirement of bait are
removed, the line and its traps are relaid, and the fishermen
proceed to bait their fish hooks with the captured Octopus.
Every third week or thereabouts the lines are brought ashore
and dried for a day to prevent rotting and then relaid for a further
active period. At the beginning of the rainy season lines
are brought ashore, dried, and stored till the rains are over.
The most frequent name used for this creature is Pcy kaiiavni —
literally " Devil Squid " — the exact equivalent indeed of " Devilfish,"
the popular English name of the Octopus. The fishermen say they
NO. 6 (igni) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 201
call it so, because of the devilish restlessness which it exhibits
when taken from the water and the impression of concentrated
malignity which its appearance and habits make upon them.
Often on the pearl banks I have come across small ones hiding in
empty pearl oyster shells ; they certainly do appear uncanny in
their activity when attempting to escape ; they dash hither and
thither like some great fleshy spider of the sea, their arms writhe
and twist with a speed the eye cannot follow; small as these are,
the play of the little suckers closely set over the arms is unpleasant
on the skin and to restrain them is as difficult as to hold a globule
of quicksilver. Their eyes, huge for their size, are too human to be
pleasant, and it is no wonder the fishermen think they have a
devil's malevolence and ingenuity. They credit them too with a
great deal of sagacity ; amongst other clever tricks attributed to
them, is that when they enter an empty shell, they are careful to
close the entrance with a shell or piece of stone, as a screen against
their enemies, the crabs. I cannot vouch for the truth of this story,
but I think it quite probably true. They are also said to sham
death when they realize that they are finally cornered. Another
favourite trick is to eject a cloud of inky fluid from a special sac
within the body. This diffuses at once and forms a dense dark
cloud. Under cover of this the Octopus frequently escapes.
Another species of small Octopus called Visha kanavai (lite-
rally " poisonous kanavai ") is occasionally caught in shell traps in
the relative proportion of one or two per hundred to the numbers of
the Pey kanavai. The fishermen make no use of it as they say no
fish will take it as bait. I have not seen it alive, but from dead
specimens it is seen to be a slender-armed Octopus, looking very
much like an immature example of the larger Octopod called
Kmidal kanavai at Tirupalagudi.
The common belief is strong that it is endowed with marked
poisonous qualities ; when caught it is usually thrown overboard
at once. The fishermen say that it is equally active as the Pey
kanavai and if it has the chance will fasten on a man's leg or foot
and bite through the skin. The sensation is likened to the sting of
a scorpion and if a remedy is not quickly applied, the limb will
swell and a feeling of giddiness will be experienced. The accept-
ed remedy is a curious one ; betel juice is spat upon the place or
chunam (slaked lime) smeared over the wound as soon as possible.
Then when shore is reached, jaggery (palm sugar) is rubbed over
202
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
the place bitten and a dog being brought, is induced to lick the
jaggery off ; in so doing it is believed that the poison will also be
removed. In spite of this curious and complicated treatment,
after effects of the poison are said sometimes to be experienced for
several months afterwards, the usual complaint being that of a
continued swelling of the leg bitten.
Although the bite of the Visha kanaval is esteemed so poisonous,
the flesh is considered innocuous and when accidentally brought
ashore with other species, it is cooked and eaten together with them.
Small Octopods are common on the pearl banks during a fishery
and it is not uncommon to find their tiny colourless eggs attached
to the inside of an empty pearl-oyster shell. As these fisheries
occur in March and April, this then is one of their spawning
seasons; possibly like many other tropic sea-creatures a second
may occur in September.
Large species such as P.
herdmaiii are scarce. They
are found on rocky bottom
in the Gulf of Mannar.
Of the ten-armed Cepha-
lopods, the Squids or
Calamaries {Loligo) and the
Cuttlefishes {Sepia), several
species ore common on our
Indian coasts. The Octopus
has solitary habits, and fre-
quents rough bottom where
he can ambush his prey ; not
so the Decapods. They
have far less intelligence
and instead of quartering the
bottom in quest of prey, swim
swiftly through the water in
shoals, often of immense
numbers. The SQUIDS
{Loligo) are the more active,
their body long and torpedo
shaped and armed with a
powerful triangular fin at
each side of the body. The
Fig. 56. Common Squid (Loligo).
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 203
Octopus on occasion is able to dart swiftly backv/ards by expelling
the water in the gill chamber through a siphon on the under side
of the body. The Squids also have this power, but they have so
greatly developed their caudal fins that swimming is their ordinary
method of locomotion. A shoal of these elegant creatures in flight
through the water is an entrancing sight, never to be forgotton.
Unlike the arms of the Octopus, those of Loligo are short and
stumpy with the exception of the extra two -the tentacular arms ;
these latter are very long and instead of the suckers being distribut-
ed throughout the entire length, they are restricted to a broad
pad-like swollen region at the far end. Each of these long arms is
rectractile into a pouch on either side of the head ; they are used to
seize their prey when at a distance. An internal support, the pen
or gladiits, is present in the dorsal region. It is a thin, light, nearly
transparent horny structure, with a stiffening rib down the centre
on one side.
Alike with the Octopus and the Cuttlefish, the Squid has an ink
sac for defence. In the presence of danger the contents are
discharged as an inky cloud ; under cover of this the animal
frequently evades its pursuer. It is a favourite morsel with most
large fish.
Squid are very common in Palk Bay where they are known as
Kundal kanavai at Rameswaram, and as Eeki kanavai on the western
shore of the Bay. The species represented under these vernacular
names is the only large Squid found in abundance in Palk Bay.
Shoals appear in shallow water off" Rameswaram Island about the
month of April and during the height of the S.W. monsoon — June
and July^the shoals reach their maximum, and then consist of
immense assemblages of individuals sheltering under the lea of the
land from the violence of the monsoon, to feed upon the smaller
fry that seek similar shelter and to deposit their egg capsules
among the weeds common in the places favoured.
Two methods of fishing are employed, the one a wholesale net-
ting in which thousands are caught at a haul ; the other where the
skill of the fishermen is exercised in catching the Squid singly by
means of a jigger.
The first method is largely practised in Rameswaram Bay
during the south-west monsoon ; a seine is used having a large
close-meshed bag in the centre, with long wing-ropes closely set
with strips of palm leaf (o/cn) to serve as scare-lines, and so to herd
204
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
the Squid into the bunt of the net. In the season there are usually
four sets of these squid seines — called ^/^7/ iv7^/z locally — in daily use
at Rameswaram. When the shoals are about, catches may occasion-
ally range up to 5,000 a haul. The bulk of the Squid caught are
sold to fish runners who come from Pamban and Rameswaram, at
rates varying from Rs. I-I2 o to Rs. 2-8-0 per lOO; the balance is
consumed locally. When demand is weak and little is sold for
consumption fresh, the Squids are sun-dried and sold eventually at
Ramnad and other inland markets at about Rs. 3 per lOO.
o «
• • •
I'lc. 57. jigging platform used for spearing Squid al Kameswara
m.
Jigging for Squid is practised chiefly for home requirements by
individual fishermen, who sun-dry any surplus they may have.
NO. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 205
This method is largely employed along the northern coast of
Rameswaram Island, especially at the village of Aryakundu, near
Tangachimadam. during the squid season. To carry it on the
fisherman erects a small outlook in shallow water — a form of
machan (fig. 57). The main portion of the structure consists of a
stout bifurcated tree branch of Y shape, the main stem embedded
firmly in the sea-bottom; across the ends of the two arms, which
project upwards several feet above the surface of the water, a
strong pole is fixed horizontally to serve as a rest for the
fishermen. The height of this seat above the sea-bottom is
generally about 6 feet ; 8 feet at the utmost. A pile of leaves
is tied or anchored at the foot of the staging to attract the Squid ;
the fisherman when ready, takes his stand on his outlook armed
with a slender pole 12 to 15 feet long, furnished at one end with
five or six stout hooks set grapnel-fashion, thus : —
Fig. 58. Squid jigger used at Kameswamm.
Watching the bottom intently, the fisherman waits till he sees
a Squid approach to investigate the heap of leaves. As soon it
comes within range he cautiously moves his jigger into a favourable
position and with a deft jerk imbeds the jigger hooks in its flesh
and lifts it from the water. The reason why the Squid seek
shelter amid the leaves set as a lure, seems, on the part of the
female, to be for the purpose of laying her eggs therein, as she
requires such objects whereto to attach the great gelatinous candle-
like capsules in which the ova develop (fig. 59). The male is
said to follow the female at this time, so that sometimes both fall
a prey to the fisherman's jigger. What is not used or sold imme-
diately is split open, washed and sun-dried ; it makes a very clean
and attractive looking product.
This method of fishing is generally carried on in the morning,
the fisherman occupying his outlook for four or five hours at a
stretch. The branched post employed is cut generally from a
babul, the one tree that manages to thrive well on this sun-scorched
sandy coast. At Ariyakundu there are nearly one hundred of
these squid machans.
206
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL XIV,
Cuttlefishes {Sepia spp.), called Oltn kamwai in Palk Bay
where they abound more than anywhere else on our coasts, have a
large fleshy flattened body, bordered with a narrow frill-like fin on
either side, a head furnished with two great goggle eyes, and beset
with tentacles of the same general character as in Loligo, but
instead of the long horny " pen " seen in the latter, the cuttlefish has
a broad stoutly built " bone " composed of fine calcareous lamina
enclosing air spaces. This cuttle bone has value for rubbing down
paint in fine coachwork and a minor industry on the Ramnad
Fig. 59. Egg Clusters of Squid (Loligo) attached to a rope.
coast is the collection of these bones during the monsoon when
they drift ashore in numbers. The brown pigment called ' sepia '
is another minor commercial product obtained from the cuttle and
its relatives ; the brown pigment, when genuine, represents the
dried and pulverized contents of the ink-sac.
Cuttlefish are far less abundant than Squid in Palk Bay and are
not the object of any special fishery, though some are occasionally
NO. 6 (I92I) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
207
taken in the casting net {vichchu valai) and in drift nets and shore
seines. Their bones are, however, thrown up in large quantities on
the southern and south-western shores of Palk Bay during the
north-east monsoon, and at this period of the year, numbers of
Kadayan women scour the littoral in their search. After long
continued northerly winds, the supply is often very abundant,
particularly during February and March, and a woman can collect
several hundreds in a day. These are eventually sold to agents of
Kilakarai, Devakkottai and Pamban merchants, who tour the coast
to buy up the stocks available. A gunnybag full of cuttle bone of
all sizes fetches frcm As. 10 to Re. 1-4-O; sometimes they are
Fig. 6o. Common Indian Calilefish (Sepia).
sold by number and size, the price varying from two to eight annas
per ICO ; a common price is one pie (one-twelfth anna) for large bones
and two or three per pie for small ones, A regular price cannot be
said to exist ; rates vary with the needs of the seller and of the
purchaser.
On the south coast of Rameswaram and other islands near
Pamban cuttle bones come ashcre during the south-west monsoon
208 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
but not nearly so plentifully — only about one-tenth the quantity — as
they do on the north coast of Rameswaram Island during the
north-east monsoon. In a single season the collection of cuttle
bones from Rameswaram alone amounts to from lO to 14 cwt., a
quantity representing a very large number of bones. The total
Indian export amounts to a considerably larger quantity. Several
fishing villages on the mainland, such as Morepanai near Uppur,
report an annual collection of 20 to 50 bags each per annum. A
considerable quantity is also obtained from the Travancore and
Malabar coasts ; most of this is exported through Tuticorin. From
Kilakarai 14^ cwt. were shipped to Colombo during 1914-15.
A considerable demand exists in Europe for cuttle bone, especi-
cally for large sizes.
Palk Bay fishermen cherish the belief that cuttlefish cast their
bones annually in February and March, this being the season
when the bones are thrown ashore in great quantity. Strangely
enough no shoals of cuttlefish are ever caught in nets — only stray
individuals ; that large shoals do abound is evident, for it
occasionally happens after a severe storm that very great numbers
are thrown up on the beach, dead but quite fresh. The village
women collect them, cure them in the sun and take to market,
where they generally find a ready sale.
A small and very pretty form of Cephalopod is Sepiola, a stout
form seldom exceeding an inch or an inch and a half in length.
Its distinguishing feature is the presence of a rounded paddle-like
fin on each side of the rotund body.
The last of the ten-armed forms is the mysterious SPIRULA of
which only a single species, SpiniJa prroiiii, is known. It must live
in great profusion in some locality in the tropics, for multitudes of
its curious, loosely coiled "ram's horn " shell are to be found on
every beach in the Pacific and Indian Oceans after a spell of long
continued onshore winds. Only a very few specimens of the
animal have ever been found ami absolutely nothing definite is
known of its habits. It has the appearance of a long-bodied
Sepiola l^ereft of its fins, and measures about ?? inches in length.
It has the usual eight short arms and two long tentacular ones.
Towards the end of the body on each side, the last whorl of the
shell projects slightly, but still covered by a thin fold of the
mantle ; hence it is an internal shell like the " bone " of the cuttle-
fish. A terminal sucker or pore exists at the posterior extremity
No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDLA
209
of the body and it has been surmised that this enables it to anchor
itself to rocks. The life-history and habits of this strange crea-
ture are still among the mysteries of life awaiting solution.
The shell is a loosely coiled cylinder, snowy white without,
nacreous within. At frequent intervals throughout its length, it is
divided into short chambers by thin concave partitions as in the
shell of the Pearly Nautilus about to be described. As in the latter
each partition is traversed by a tube or siphuncle. This tube
passes close to the inner wall of the whorls, whereas in Nautilus it
passes through their centre.
Last of the Indian Cephalopods, but represented solely by
shells drifted ashore, is the four-gilled PEARLY NAUTILUS, the
sole living representative of a great host of strange molluscs that
flourished exceedingly in Palaeozoic times. The Ammonites, though
closely related in shell form, are not so nearly akin as the earlier
straight-shelled (9r^//^c^n75. Though the shell of Nautilus like that
of Spirula is one of the familiar objects of tropic beaches, nothing
Fig. 61. Pearly Nautilus in the atiitude of crawling (after Willcy).
was known of its habits until comparatively recently. Dr. Willey
was one of the first to throw light on its life-history, and to watch
it in captivity. The seas around the islands of the Western
Pacific are its headquarters ; there in moderate depths Willey was
»5
210 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIV,
able to capture numbers by the simple expedient of sinking traps
to the bottom. He found Nautilus to be gregarious and nocturnal,
crawling over the bottom in troops at night time in search of the
crabs and molluscs on which it feeds. Figure 6l shows its
ordinary attitude when crawling. It is also able to swim after the
usual manner of Cephalopods. The earliest specimens captured
were taken floating or swimming on the surface. In this position
the numerous tentacles, 6o to 90 in number, which here take the
place of the arms in other cephalopods, are arranged in a radial
manner around the mouth and this accounts for the description
given of it when seen on the surface as " a shell with something
like a cauliflower sticking out of it." These tentacles are prehen-
sile and are given off from lobes of the foot surrounding the mouth.
A dorsal lobe of the foot forms a thick and strong hood which
protects the whole animal when withdrawn into the great terminal
chamber of its shell. Unlike other cephalopods Nautilus has no
ink sac.
The shell is a pretty object often thrown up on our shores during
the monsoon. The size is considerable, often reaching 4 to 5 inches
in diameter. It is a discoidal shell, coiled in one plane, and divided
by concave septa into a large number of chambers increasing
gradually in size as they approach the open terminal chamber. In
this the whole body of the animal is lodged. The chambers are
connected by a narrow siphuncle as is Spirula, and in life a narrow
membranous tube passes from the animal backwards through the
siphuncle. With increase in size, the Nautilus periodically finds
the body chamber too small, so lengthens and widens it in front,
while behind it shuts off the hinder portion of the chamber by a
new transverse partition. The chambers are filled with a nitro-
genous gas. This has value in lightening the shell and is useful
in adjusting the weight of the body to the particular needs
of the moment. It is what is known in physics as a hydrostatic
apparatus.
The interior of the shell and all the septa are pearly, while the
outer layer is porcellanous, barred irregularly with broad reddish-
brown bands upon a whitish ground.
No. 6 (I921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
211
INDEX TO GENERA.
Achatina
Aeolis
Amathina
Anipullaria
Amussium
Ancillaria
Anodonta
Anomia
Aplustrum
Aplysia ...
Area
Arcularia
Argonauta
Ariophanta
Aspergillum
Auricularia
Avicula
Barbaiia
Brechites
BuccinuTi
Bulla
Callista ...
Calyptraea
Capulus
Cardita . .
Cardium
Cassis
Cavolina
Cerithium
Chama ...
Chiton
Circe
Clanculus
Clavagella
Cliona
Coenobita
Conus
Crepidula
Creseis ...
Cryptodon
Cultellus
Page
149
Cylichna
...
147
Cynodonta
117
Cypraea
108
Cyrene ...
167,
168
Cytherea ..
138
Dactylina
179
Denialiuni
153
Doliuni ...
...
142
Donax
155. 164,
144
170
Doris
Doto
133
150
Eburna ...
198
Elysia
14S
Emarginula
197
Fasciolaria
149
Fissurelia
...
165
155
Fusus
Galeomma
...
197
Haliotis ...
126,
133
142
184
Harpa
Helix
tiydalina
117
lanthina
117
Lamellidens
177
Lalrunculus
... 190,
... 123,
192
135
144
no
Littorina
Lithodomus
Lobiger ...
Loligo ...
...
193
100
Lucina
Maclra ...
... 184,
19c
105
Magilus ...
Malleus
■••
197
Margaritifera
..
1 28
Marginelia
107
Martesia .
k*«
140
117
144
177
194
Melania...
Melo (=Cymbiuni
Melongena
Meretrix
Mesodesma
Page
• •
142
124,
130
..
121
..
178
• ■
184
195
151
123
181
• •
147
• •
147
133
••
144
• •
103
..
131
••
103
- 131,
132
178
.. 103,
^77
139
149
142
..
120
* t
179
• •
133
109
.. 156,
161
•• 143:
147
202,
2C6
• •
177
.. 183,
192
..
136
.. 161,
167
.. 161.
174
■■
139
196
■ •
III
••
136
124,
131
157. 178
1 84
.. .81,
182
212
Mitra
Modjola ...
Murex
Mytilus ...
Nassa
Natica ...
Nautilus
NaviccUa
Nerita
Neritina ...
Notarchus
Nudibranchs
Octopus
Oliva
Oitrea
Ovula
Ovum
Pachylabra
Paphia ...
Parreysia
Patella ...
Pecten
Pectunculus
Perna
Phasianella
Philine ...
Pholas , .
Pinna
Pirula
Placuna ...
Planorbis
Pleurobranchus
Pleurotonia
Polypus
Potamides
Psammobia
Pterocera
Pteropods
Purpura
Ranella ...
Raptna ...
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
Patre
132
Rosleilaria
...
156, 160, 164
Rotella ...
134
Scintilla ...
15')- 160
Sepia
...
133
Sepiola ...
iiS, 138
Seplaria ..
209
Serpula .
106
Sigaretus...
106
Sili(4uaria
106
Sistrum ...
145
Solarium...
...
147
Solen
198-202
Soletellina
138
Spirula ...
...
... 158, i69
Spondylus
122
S trombus
...
122
Sunetta ...
...
108, 151
Tapes
.-.
192
Telescopium
...
180
Teliina ...
...
101-103
Terebra ..
167
Teredo ...
...
156
Thyca
161
Tonna ( = Do
iinii)
106
Trjdacna
...
143
Triton ..
195
Trochus ...
...
176
Turbinella
... 123, 124
Turbo
...
118, 153, 164
Turritella
...
150
Umbonium
...
146
Umbrella
...
141
Unio
198
Urosalpinx
...
no
Velorita ...
...
iSi, 194
Venus
...
113
Vermeius
144
Vivipara ..
135
Voluta ...
122
Vulsella ...
...
136
Xenophora
..
VOL. XIV,
1
'age
.
116
..
105
..
178
202.
206
208
..
106
ni
•
119
n2
• ■
136
• •
124
194
••■ J93
195
..
208
16S,
193
..
112
1S4,
192
.. 184,
191
no
..
180
141
..
196
n7
123
193
• •
122
••
104
122,
124
104,
105
112
141
105
146
..
179
..
136
..
178
• ■
184
..
in
108, no
151
..
136
••
167
..
n6
No.6(l92l) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA
213
APPENDIX.
MOLLUSCAN FAUNA OF THE LACCADIVE ISLANDS.
In Prof. J. Stanley Gardiner's Fauna and Geography of the Maldive and
Laccadive Archipelagos, a long list of molluscs is given by the late
Mr. E. A. Smith. Unfortunately it relates solely to collections made in
Minicoy and the Maldives. So far as I know no list exists of shells
collected exclusively from the sister archipelago of the Laccadives. It
may therefore be useful if I append here the names of the shells brought
back in 1920 by my assistant Mr. Ramasvvami Ayyangar from a hurried
visit to these islands. The short time allowed in each island did not
permit of more being done than the collection of the commoner shells
found on the beach and on the reefs ; in many cases these were water-
worn and brolcen ; systematic work was impossible. The collection has,
however, its own value, as it shows us exactly what are the shells most
abundant and characteristic of these islands- The list will form a basis
from which to work in any future investigation of their moUuscan fauna.
I am indebted to Dr. W. T. Elliott for his kindness in identifying the
collection.
Haliotis ovina, Chemn. Pterocera chiragra, L.
Turbo argyrostoma, L.
Trochus maculatus, L.
Do. pyramis, Born.
Nerita plicata, L.
Do. undata, L,
Do. polita, L.
Do. lambis, Z.
Modulus tectum, Gml. v. candida»
Petit.
Mitrularia porosa, Rve.
Hipponyx australis, Quoy.
Vanicoro cancellata, Latn.
Do. albicilla, Z. var. venusta ' Natica melanostoma, Lam.
PhiL
Cerithiuni articulatum, Ad. and
Reeve ^ var.
Do. echinatum, Lam.
Do. morus, Lam.
Do. nodulosum, Brug.
Melania tuberculata, Midler.
Strombus gibberulus, Z.
Do. lentiginosus, Z.
Do. auris-dian^e, Z.
lanthina fragilis, T^am.
Cypraea arabica v. histrio, Afeus-
chen.
Cypraea caput-serpentis, Z.
Do. carneola, Z.
Do. caurica, Z v. oblongata,
Mdv.
Do. erosa, Z.
Do. errones, Z.
Do. lynx, Z.
214
MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN
VOL. XIV,
Cyprjea mauritiana, Z.
Do. (Pustularia) nucleus, Z.
Do. ocellata, Z.
Do. poraria, Z.
Do. tigris, Z.
Do. vitelluSj L.
Triton tuberosum, Lam.
Do. lotorium, Z.
Do, (Persona) anus, Z.
Ranella bufonia, Z.
Do. rubela, Z. = lampas auct.
Cassis rufa, L.
Dolium pomum, Z.
Do. olearium, Brag.
Do. perdix, Z. var,
Pyramidella sulcata, A. Ad.
Vasum (=:Cynodonta) cornigera,
Lam.
Latirus (Leucozonia) smaragdulus,Z.
Latirus craticulatus, Z.
Peristernia nassulata, Z.
Engina mendicaria, Z.
Canth^rus undosa, Lam.
Nassa papillosa, Lam.
Do. monile, Kiener.
lopas serta, Brug.
Ricinula hystrix, L.
Do. horrida, Lam.
Do. lobata, Blainv.
Do. tuberculata, Blainv.
Do. spectrum, Reeve, var.
Purpura pica, Blainv.
Coralliophila madreporarum, Phil.
Conus arenatus, Hwass.
Do. canonicus, Brug.
Do. coronatus, Dillwyn.
Do. eberneus, Brug.
Do. hebrceus, Z.
Do. do. var, vermiculatus,
Lam.
Conus miles, Z.
Do. monachus, Z.
Do. nussatella, Z.
Do. rattus, Hwass.
Do. tessallatus, Brug.
Do. tu'ipa, Z.
Do. virgo, Z.
Do. zonatus, ^r/^^i,^
Terebra maculata, !,arn.
Do. affinis, Gray.
Do. duplicata, Rzeve.
Do. crenulata, Z
Do. cingulifera, Za///.
Bulla vernicosa, Gould.
Atys naucum, Z.
Melampus fasciatus, x^e^^//.
Margaritifera vulgaris, Schum.
Pecten senatorius, Grnl.
Spondylus violascens, Lam.
Ostrea cucullata, Born.
Pinna zebuensis. Reeve (probably ;
much broken).
Cardita rufescens, Lam.
Cypricardia guiniaca. Lam.
Lucina (Codakia) bella, Conr.
Do. ( do. ) punctata, Z.
Tellina elegans. Gray.
Do. scobinata, Z.
Do. virgata, Z.
Mesodesma glabratum, Gml
Mactra olorina, Phil.
Venus toreuma, Gould.
Do. reticulata, Z.
Pitaria obliquata, Hanky.
Cardium australe, Soiverby.
Do. leucostoma, Born.
Do. fragum, L.
Tridacna elongata, Lam.
Asaphis deflorata, Z.
Spirula peronii, Lam. '
No. 6(I92I) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA 215
Notes. — Chank shells {Turbinella pirum) are used in certain of the
islands as trumpets when the people are summoned for any work of import-
ance to the community, as at the launching or beaching of boats and at
their periodical rat hunts. Some of the fishermen aver that they occur
alive in the islands. This statement requires early investigation ; if true it
would have ? very important bearing upon the geological history of the
archipelago. Large Triton shells (? Triton tritoms L.) are also employed
largely as shell trunpets by the men, while boys often make use of Cassis
r«/a and some of the medium-sized Tritons; even the large frog-shell,
Ranella rubela, is occasionally employed.
Pterocera chiragra. — This is very abundant and its flesh is eaten
extensively. The little Capulid, Hipponyx australis, is often taken adher-
ing to its shell.
Fresh-water molluscs are rare. The only one found in quantity was
Melania tuberculata ; this occurs in all the islands, its shell thin and
fragile, and, prettily marbled. It is noteworthy that corrosion of the
apical portion which is so characteristic of Melanias of the mainland, is
not shown by this species under insular conditions.
Pinna zebuensis. — This is the only species of mollusc that is looked
upon by the islanders as a frequent pearl-producer. It grows to a great
size, ths valves broadly cuneate and massive. Before the introduction of
the iron ramotti of European manufacture, the islanders state that single
valves of this shell were used by their women when digging pits in the sand
for the soaking of coconut husks.
Mesodesma glabratum is probably the most abundant sand-burrowing
lamellibranch in the islands. It is collected extensively for food purposes.
Extensive beds of a species of Modiola recur at Androth ; tiny pearls are
occasionally obtained from this source, but too few and inferior in quality
to have any commercial value.
J.H.
ipf
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