Page 76 - Wonderful Creatures: Children! Have You Ever Thought ?

WONDERFUL CREATURES

THE SLEEPING BAG

OF THE PARROTFISH

The fish shown in the picture on the other page is called the par-
rotfish, since it resembles a parrot, as you may have noticed. This

colorful fish employs quite an unusual method to protect itself aga-
inst its enemies. Especially at night, it covers its entire body with a

gelatin-like substance that it produces itself. Before answering the
question "why?", let's see how this substance is produced and used.

This gelatinous sheath of the parrotfish is secreted from the upper

side of the gill cavity. The fish secretes the substance while it bre-
athes. After a while this sheath covers the entire body of the fish.

By doing so the fish places itself within a kind of sleeping bag and
becomes protected from external danger at night. This substance

also enables the fish to conceal itself by camouflage. As a vital func-
tion, the transparent sleeping bag protects the fish from moray

eels, one of its bitter enemies. Moray eels have an excellent sense
of smell and can find their prey with it. However, the protective

sheath of the parrotfish prevents the moray from perceiving its
scent. The moray does not notice the fish in the sheath even if it

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