OBITUARY NOTICE OF A LUNG-FISH. 35 



placed in an aquarium in water slightly warmed. In a few moments 

 slight movements of the fish could he seen through the papery 

 shell; and upon lifting out the earthen hlock and touching the 

 cocoon, a distinct croaking sound was heard several times. Ke- 

 placed in water, the capsule soon softened and ruptured like wet paper, 

 and for a moment a glimpse was had of the fish tightly rolled up, with 

 its tail folded over the head and only a single thread-like limb pro- 

 truded. This, however, was but for a moment, for with an energetic 

 squirm the animal liberated itself and sank to the bottom of the aqua- 

 rium. For a moment it lay motionless, then swam briskly around 

 the aquarium, coming to the surface several times and gulping 

 air. At this time it showed the crimson flush of blood in the tail re- 

 gion where, according to Wiedersheim, the skin aids the lung as a 

 respiratory organ. The fish, as one might indeed have inferred from 

 the size of the burrow in the clod of earth, proved to be small, meas- 

 uring a little over five inches in length. It was, however, larger than 

 one would have estimated from the diameter of the tubular opening 

 and from the actual size of the cocoon, the latter measuring about two 

 inches in length and one inch in thickness. In Fig. 2 is shown the 

 remains of the cocoon after the escape of the fish, the upper portion of 

 the papery case alone being preserved. 



From the small size of the fish this was possibly its first season of 

 aestivation. How long it had been out of the water was not laiown, but 



Fig. 3. Lung-fish, Protopteriis. Resting position in aquarium. 



certainly this was a matter of several months. I have, indeed, learned 

 from Dr. Forbes that a fish will sometimes survive a period of eight 

 months out of water. 



Shortly after its release from the cocoon the writer's colleague, 

 Dr. Edward Learning, took a number of photographs of the fish, 

 some of which are shown herewith, to give a graphic idea of its 

 appearance and unfish-like movements (Figs. 3 to 6). In side view, 

 Fig. 3, the fish is shown in a position of rest, its body resting upon the 

 bottom, its long, paired extremities extended out, braced against the 

 glass side of the aquarium. When moving, however, the fish would 



