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some flying fishes have a single or double barbel hanging from chin,
sometimes quite long and elaborately fringed.
The flying fish fishery in Ratnagiri is seasonal; only during winter a small
quantity is landed; it, however, forms a major fishery on the Coromandal
coast. The flesh of these fishes is firm and palatable and is considered a
delicacy. These fishes, besides being of commercial importance, play an
important part in the life history of many giant fishes such as dolphines,
bill fishes, tunnies and bonitos, whose principal food happens to be the
flying fishes.
(9) SEA-HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES
The order syngnathiformes, as the name implies ( ' syn ' meaning ' together
' and ‘ gnaths ' meaning ' jaw '), includes fishes such as sea-horses, pipefishes,
flute-mouths and ghost pipe-fishes, in which the jaws are fused or
held together. In waters of Maharashtra, it is represented by three families,
four genera and five species
.
Every one has seen a horse with four legs, but believe it or not, the seahorse
has none. While creating a sea-horse, the King Neptune appears to
have combined all sorts of oddities. Sea horses, in our waters, belong to
the genus Hippocampus, meaning in Greek horse and monster, and are
represented by two species, H. trimaculatus and H. kuda. The members of
this group are the quaintest creatures having a head like a horse, body
encased in an armour, and a prehensile tail. With these oddities, they have
become the delight of souvenir-hunters and the idol of fish-fanciers.
The breeding habits of these fish are unique. They display a sexual
diamorphism, the males have a pouch Wherein the female deposits the
eggs. The eggs undergo development in the pouch until the male after
suffering the labour pains, brings forth the young ' pony ' fishes
.
No wonder such a fish should appear in ancient and medieval literature
with many legends associated with it. For centuries, sea-horse was
credited with having strong magical and medical qualities, considered as a
FAUNA 106