In this nest the affectionate parents carefully
cover up their eggs, the hope of the race, and watch over them with the
utmost attention. Many other fish build nests in the water, of
materials naturally found at the bottom; but Doras, I believe, is the
only one that builds them on the beach, of materials sought for on the
dry land.
Such amphibious habits on the part of certain tropical fish are easy
enough to explain by the fashionable clue of 'adaptation to
environment.' Ponds are always very likely to dry up, and so the animals
that frequent ponds are usually capable of bearing a very long
deprivation of water. Indeed, our evolutionists generally hold that land
animals have in every case sprung from pond animals which have gradually
adapted themselves to do without water altogether. Life, according to
this theory, began in the ocean, spread up the estuaries into the
greater rivers, thence extended to the brooks and lakes, and finally
migrated to the ponds, puddles, swamps and marshes, whence it took at
last, by tentative degrees, to the solid shore, the plains, and the
mountains. Certainly the tenacity of life shown by pond animals is very
remarkable. Our own English carp bury themselves deeply in the mud in
winter, and there remain in a dormant condition many months entirely
without food. During this long hibernating period, they can be preserved
alive for a considerable time out of water, especially if their gills
are, from time to time, slightly moistened.
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