Peculiar Marine Parasites.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 212, 23 July 1887, Page 3

Peculiar Marine Parasites.

We caught a number of sharks, and with them some of their peculiar parasites, remone, small fish resembling catfish, which, by a sucker on top of their heads, attach themselves to the sharks under their fins so firmly it is difficult to pull them off". In some places a larger remoraj is used for catching turtles. The fishermen carry them out in boats with a line made fast to a ring neatly fitted around the tail. When they approach a turtle they throw the remorse toward it, which quickly swims to it and attaches itself to it &o firmly that the turtle is drawn, to the boat by it. One evening we seemed to run into a sea of fire. On all sides the surface of the water was illumined with a greenish blue phosphorescent light. Buckets were thrown over tho side to ascertain the cause, and when drawn up found to contain a number of objects resembling corncobs in size, form and roughness of exterior, but of a hard, transparent, gelatinous substance. Pyrosoinaj is the technical name for them, though very appropriately, as I thought, our men called them sea pickles. An opening at one end and extending nearly the whole length correspondes with the pith of a corncob. Although so solid, each form consists of a great number of distinct, living objects adhering firmly to each other. The whole mass was luminous, of a beautiful colour, and emitted as much light as a candle. Some of the men took them in their hands and had a torchlight procession around the deck. The effect was beautiful but weird.— Brazil Cor. "Baltimore Sun."