A Carnivorous Plant

Abstract

WITH reference to Prof. Moseley's letter in your issue of May 22 (p. 81) on “A Carnivorous Plant preying on Vertebrata,” I may mention that in 1881, when surveying at the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, I saw a somewhat similar occurrence. The tide was low on the reef on which I was strolling and admiring the lovely forms of coral existence. As I neared a pool cut off by the tide from the sea, I noticed amongst other submarine verdure a very ordinary-looking flesh-coloured weed about one foot high and of similar girth. My appearance alarmed numbers of tiny fish, which darted to the cover of overhanging ledges, but I noticed about half a dozen apparently seeking cover in the weed. Bending down closer, I saw that they were lying helpless about the fronds, with very little life left in them. Putting my hand down to pick up one of the half-dead fish, I found my fingers sucked by the weed, the fronds of which closed slightly on them. The fish were not caught by the head especially, but held anywhere round the body. The death seemed to be slow and lingering, and where the fish had been held its skin was macerated. These captives may have been caught some time, and were in different stages of exhaustion. I regret being unable to name the plant, or the young fish. They were from an inch to an inch and a half long. The plant had a dirty and rather slimy look about it.