408 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



other fishes, as, for example, Syngnathus, where the marsupial pouch for 

 the eggs or voting is found in the males only, and Gasterosteus, where the 

 male constructs the nest and protects the eggs, during incubation, from the 

 voracity of the females. In some individuals the eggs had been recently 

 laid, in others they were hatched, and the fcetus had grown at the expense 

 of some other food than that derived from the yolk, as this last was not pro- 

 portionately diminished in size, and the foetus weighed more than the unde- 

 veloped egg. The number of eggs contained in the mouth was between 

 twenty and thirty. The mouth and bronchial cavity were very much dis- 

 tended, rounding out, and distorting the whole hyoid and bronchiostegal 

 region. Some of the eggs even partially pro traded from the mouth. The 

 ova were not braised or torn, as if they had been bitten, or forcibly held 

 by the teeth. In many instances the foetuses were still alive, though the 

 parent had been dead for many hours. Xo young or eggs were found in the 

 stomach, although the mouth was crammed to its fullest capacity. 



The above observations apply to Njinge-njinge. With regard to Jara- 

 bakka, I had but few opportunities for dissection, but in several instances 

 the same conditions of the eggs were noticed as stated above; and in one in- 

 stance, besides some nearly mature foetuses contained in the mouth, two or 

 three were squeezed apparently from the stomach; but not bearing any 

 marks of violence, or of the action of the gastric fluid. It is probable that 

 these found their way into that last cavity after death, in consequence of the 

 relaxation of the sphincter which separates the cavities of the mouth and 

 the stomach. These facts lead to the conclusion that this is a mouth gesta- 

 tion, as the eggs are found there in all stages of development, and even for 

 some time after they are hatched. 



The question will be naturally asked, how, under such circumstances, the 

 fishes are able to secure and swallow their food. I have made no observa- 

 tions bearing on such a question. Unless the food consists of very minute 

 particles, it would seem necessary that, during the time of feeding, the eggs 

 should be disgoi-ged. If this supposition is true, it would give a very proba- 

 ble explanation of the only fact which might be considered at variance with 

 the conclusion stated abovdfviz., that we have in these fishes a mouth gesta- 

 tion. In the mass of eggs with which the mouth is filled, I have occasion- 

 ally found the eggs, rarely more than one or two, of another species. The 

 only way in which their presence may be accounted for, it seems to me, is 

 by the supposition that, while feeding, the eggs are disgorged; and as these 

 fishes are gregarious in their habits, when the ova are recovered, the stray 

 egg of another species may be introduced into the mouth, among those 

 which naturally belong to them. 



CURIOUS FACT E* REPRODUCTION. 



M. Yon Siebold, in his recent work on parthenogenesis, states, among 

 other extraordinary theories relative to the generation of bees and other 

 insects, rhat the drones, or male bees, are invariably produced from eggs 

 laid by unimpregnated females. 



