Dancing Fish

Familiar to residents of southern California is the grunion, or sand-smelt (Athenmdae), a little fish that comes out on the beach at high tide, stands on its tail and dances in the moonlight. But few Cahfornians have inquired into the reason tor this strange nocturnal dance. In the May issue of Field & Stream, Fisherman Neil Frost described a grunion run, explained the dance:

"In a hollow [of the beach] a great wave left stranded what appeared to be countless scintillating particles of silver . . . Some appeared to be standing on their tails, swaying vibrantly back & forth. Then on beyond we made out another great school. ... For perhaps eight or ten minutes this abundant run continued and then, as though a mysterious knell had summoned them back into the depths of the sea, the fish became fewer & fewer on the sand.

"The grunion come out on the beaches to spawn. . . . After the female fish has been washed up with a high wave she buries her tail in sand that is light and all but dry. In this position she lays her eggs. The male lies arched beside her ready to fertilize the eggs. It is when the females are struggling to extricate themselves from their half-buried positions that they seem to 'stand on their tails and dance to the rhythm of the surf.' "

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