The African Mudfish.

Manawatu Herald, 15 October 1892, Page 2

The African Mudfish.

Travellers in Central Af^ca^uri&y? the hot season, often foUowfte'^ry beds of rivers and creeks for miles to obviate the necessity of cuttdpg.ltfeeir way through the heavy jungles; which everywhere abound. Africa, is well known to be the native land of many extraordinary things, animate as well as, inanimate^ This being the case, iihe flrtt 'explorers paid no attention , to .the^ of balls of hardened' mu2 wMch were strewed about in prdfrision in the beds of fihese dried-up streams. One day, however, when a detachment of thri Cameron expedition wasifixpioring what in the wet season have been a tributary of the; Nile* ,. a woodman cracked one of the bails, and was surprised beyond to see a live fish-like animal fall out of the. .centre of flounder'ih the sanf <■ '* -& U H This curious discovery led the explorers td mttke-an invpstigitioff, whereupon every hardened %iH of earth was found to contain a specimen' of the. same animal. F r shj>i6 spherical mud dwellings, which, on account of their likeness to the cases made by several species V6( insects" and worms, have been cocoons, are perforated with ,nj[anj small holes, and , lined- wis' mucus from the animal's body, ; jibe mucus keeping the dried baU damp upon the inside.and the holes being used for the breathing, purposes.. sov want of a more euphonious, this queer animal has been,, dubbed the " mudfish," which is of the creature's curious habits. The remarkable instinct which causes the mudfish to roll itself in a ball of mud when, the dry seasqtt, approaches is a wonderful provision of nature, intended solely, it would > seem, to prevent the extinction of the species. The most interesting fact about the animal is that it breathes by means of gills when in its native element, and by means' of lungs during its voluntary-' imprison-, ment in the mud cocoon. ' v