1898] ZOOLOGICAL JAMAICA 105 



curious species of lobster occur in the deep water outside the reefs, 

 and though they differ much from each other, they are equally 

 different from our American species. One is very slender and 

 graceful with very long antennae, while the other is short, thickset 

 and clumsy with very short antennae. Neither species has large 

 chelae on the first pair of feet. The Cays are the resorts of numer- 

 ous sea-birds, especially terms of several species which breed there. 

 The graceful and handsome man-of-war bird is common around 

 Kingston harbour, and roosts on the Cays, as does the brown pelican, 

 which is quite common. One does not easily tire of watching peli- 

 cans fishing, so unerring is their aim, and so remarkable the force 

 with which they strike the water. 



Almost due west from Drunkenman Cay, the shore of Jamaica 

 is a low beach of white sand upon which Spirilla shells may be 

 gathered at any time. Just back of this beach lie a series of three 

 salt ponds, which must have been connected with, and probably 

 were a part of the ocean until quite recently. The strip of land 

 which at the present time separates the first and largest one from 

 the ocean has increased in width very perceptibly in the last three 

 years. The water seems to be much more densely saline in these 

 ponds than in the sea, and animal life is far from abundant, 

 presumably on that account. Gastropod shells occur in great 

 numbers, but we found very few living specimens, and almost the 

 only other animal seen was the large medusa, already mentioned, 

 Cassiopea, of which a few small specimens were observed. Croco- 

 diles and fish are said to be abundant, but we saw only one or two 

 of the former and very few of the latter. One of the fish, known 

 locally as ' Calipeerer,' is highly spoken of as a food-fish, being 

 compared to salmon. We were told that this fish is found nowhere 

 else in the island, that it is marketed in Spanishtown in the spring 

 only, and that no other fish in Jamaica approaches it in quality. 

 Unfortunately we could not verify these statements, as we were 

 unable to get either sight or taste of this remarkable ' calipeerer.' 



Inside Kingston harbour the surface-collecting offers a good 

 deal that is of interest. Several large medusae (Aurelia, Cyanea), 

 are quite common, while on calm mornings the very graceful 

 cubomedusa Chart/Idea is not rare. We only noted one species 

 of ctenophore, but that is a large and beautiful form, and is quite 

 abundant. Two or three species of Sagitta are very common, and 

 the curious decapod, Lucifer, fairly so. Crustacean larvae were 

 abundant, but we found echinoderm larvae very rare, no matter 

 when or where we towed. And this seems more remarkable when 

 one considers that echinoderms are so abundant, and that many 

 of the species were breeding ; and, furthermore, echinoderm larvae 

 were very abundant at the same place in 1801. Dredging gave 



