The Key West Citizen

SEA SECRETS

Q. What is an "inkfish"?
A. This odd sea animal is not actually a fish but a large shell-less mollusk somewhat resembling a slug and reaching a length of about a foot. Some species are black, while others may be greenish, cream-colored, or yellow marked with black rings. Although it may crawl about on its under surface like a snail, most inkfish or "sea hares", as they are also called, possess a great pair of fleshy flaps on the body, by means of which they can swim slowly through the water. The local forms (Tethys), like the others, are able to exude a bright purple fluid into the water when alarmed, which accounts for the common name. This fluid is highly irritating, or even fatal, to any fish which may come in contact with it, so the inkfish is well protected from its enemies.

Q. What is the rate of flow of the Gulf Stream as it passes through the Florida Straits?
A. This particular part of the Stream, known as the Florida Current, flows at an average speed of 4½ knots, although it has been clocked at 9 knots, or about 11 miles per hour. Studies of the flow of the Gulf Stream are being carried on by the University of Miami Marine Laboratory in connection with the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Measurements of the actual flow are made with the aid of delicate electrical instruments which measure the voltage induced by the water passing through the earth's electro-magnetic field at any one point. It is estimated that the Gulf Stream, acting as a dynamo in this way, generates a total of about 3 volts across the entire Florida Straits.

Q. What part of the scallop is eaten?
A. The edible part of the scallop is the large cylindrical adductor muscle which serves to open and close the shell. Since scallops are able to swim by rapidly opening and closing the shell, the adductor muscle in this particular shellfish is very large and flexible. It is interesting to note that even in areas where other shellfish may become polluted through infestation with poison-producing dinoflagellates or sewage bacteria, scallops remain edible, since the aforementioned organisms affect the gills, liver, etc., and not the muscle tissue.

Q. What fish has bones so soft that they may be cut with a knife?
A. This is the giant ocean sunfish, Mola mola. In addition to its mammoth size and bulk (10-foot examples may weigh more than a ton), this fish is noted for its extremely sluggish movements and its habit of resting on its side on the sea surface, apparently "sunning" itself, which accounts for its common name. For all its vast weight, the sunfish has flabby flesh and bones of a soft, cheesy consistency, and subsists largely upon a diet of jellyfish. It is sometimes hunted for the oil in its liver, but otherwise the ocean sunfish is worthless commercially.

Q. What are weberian ossicles?
A. These are peculiar bony structures found in fishes of the order Cypriniformes, which include the representative freshwater (and a few marine) fishes of the world, among which are the carps, catfishes, and electric eels. The weberian ossicles consist of especially modified ribs which connect the hollow air-filled swim bladder with the bones of the internal ear. Although fishes are presumed to be deaf, the weberian apparatus apparently makes those fishes possessing it especially sensitive to contractions of the swim bladder caused by vibrations in the surrounding water, such as might be produced by a falling stone, etc.

Q. Are many species of conchs edible? B. M. Marsh, Ft. Pierce, Fla.
A. A number of conchs may be eaten but the only ones commonly used for food locally are the large pink and brown shelled ones belonging to the Genus Strombus and known as "queen conchs". These large mollusks live on grassy or hard bottom and usually are found in shallow water, although they may range into moderately deep water on occasion. They may be recognized by their habit of hitching themselves forward in a series of short "jumps" by means of their hooked opercula (horny structures used to plug the shell opening when the conch withdraws inside). The firm. N pent e' a "fort". r jects several times their own size?
A. Yes. Perhaps the best known of these is the black swallower, Chiasmodus niger, which inhabits the abysmal depths of the ocean. Although not large in size, the black swallower has a stomach so distensible that it can easily engulf other fishes several times their own length and bulk. When this happens, stomach assumes balloon-like proportions and remains in this condition until the meal is digested.