1906] Zoological Report 1905-6. 61 



and specimens of various species in the collection which await 

 determination. 



A specimen of a musttrat {Fiber zibethicus) from the Rideau 

 River, near St. Patrick's Bridge ; and a specimen of an otter 

 {Lutra canadensis) from Smoky Falls, some 9 miles from Sturgeon 

 Falls, Ont., have been acquired by the Fisheries Museum. The 

 former is of a cinnamon colour, the hairs being- edged with white, 

 and approaches an albino in its contour ; whilst the latter mani- 

 fests the opposite of this a case of melanism, the specimen being 

 almost jet black, and this is most striking when it is put beside a 

 mounted otter of the usual brown colour. 



A leopard frog {Rana virescens) was found jumping about near 

 the Rifle Range, on the outskirts of the city, on the 27th January, 

 1906, during the unusually mild weather. It was handed alive 

 into the museum of the Fisheries and is now preserved in formalin. 



An article entitled; "The Eggs of the Scarlet Water-mite 

 {Hydrachna sulcata) " by Prof. Prince, was published in the 

 August issue of the Ottawa Naturalist, and since then Mr. 

 O'Dell has been making some remarkable discoveries in regard to 

 the metamorphosis which this mite, or perhaps an allied form, un- 

 dergoes in the course of its life history, and he hopes shortly to 

 publish what he has discovered. 



Another thing of interest was the finding recently of the 

 remarkable eggs of the fresh-water ling {Lota maculosa), an ac- 

 count of which will appear in the forthcoming number of The 

 Naturalist. 



An official list, prepared by Mr. Halkett, representative of 

 such fishes of the Dominion as are preserved in formalin, as well 

 as a list of specimens of other aquatic vertebrates, and of aquatic 

 invertebrates, in the collection of the Fisheries Museum, forming 

 Appendix XIV of the Fisheries Report, is now in the hands of the 

 King's Printer, and will shortly be issued. 



E. E. Prince. 



Andrew Halkett. 



W. S. Odell. 



E. E. Lemieux. 

 Ottawa, 6th March, 1906. 



