148 REPORTS ON INVESTIGATIONS AND PROJECTS. 



THE PRODUCTION OE VARIOUS ATYPIC LARV^. 



Special interest attaches to those experiments wherein new types of vari- 

 ants were produced. With Hthium-chloride solutions of the proper concen- 

 trations, namely, 1.5 to 2 per cent molecular solution, the characteristically 

 extruded enteron type of gastrula described by Herbst was readily obtained 

 in large numbers. That no specificity obtained between the lithium chloride 

 and this particular variant is shown by the fact that with a 25 to 30 per cent 

 molecular MgS04 solution in sea-water, large numbers of gastrulse with ex- 

 truded entera were also obtained. The same effect was produced by a 50 to 

 60 per cent 5/8 molecular NaCl solution. The detailed study of these gas- 

 trulje is now being made. 



An armless type of variant was produced in a 7.5 per cent molecular NaCl 

 solution. This same variant was also found in an isotonic solution, namely, 

 60 per cent of a 5/8 molecular NaCl solution in sea-water. That this variant 

 is due neither to the Na nor to the CI ions is shown by its formation in 

 large numbers in a 15 to 25 per cent molecular MgS04 solution. As two of 

 the solutions were isotonic with sea-water the result could not have been due 

 to an osmotic effect. 



A new type of variant not heretofore described was produced in a mo- 

 lecular MgS04 solution, a type in which the oral and aboral arms were bent 

 from their almost parallel position until they extended in almost opposite 

 directions. The change in position and relative lengths of arms and body 

 resulted in a pluteus containing a straight tripartite enteron and a body about 

 twice the normal size. 



Report upon Montego Bay, Jamaica, as a Collecting Station for Marine 

 Animals, by G. M. Gray, Curator of the Woods Hole Laboratory. 



Montego Bay, Jamaica, is a rich collecting-ground for the naturalist, the 

 reefs and beaches being readily accessible. The climate is mild and work 

 may be accomplished under excellent conditions. The water, even in winter, 

 is such that one can wade over the reef-flats for hours at a time without 

 injurious results. The region is especially rich in echinoderms, a large num- 

 ber of species being obtained, some of which are abundant in numbers. 

 Many species of corals are found upon the scattered reef-patches. Actinozoa 

 and tube-dwelling annelids are numerous, and in no other place have I seen 

 such an abundance of Octopus. I was at first rather disappointed in the 

 number of shell-bearing Mollusca obtained, but as we became more familiar 

 with the region a greater number and variety of forms were captured. Fish 

 of many kinds appeared to be numerous. Some curious and beautiful Crus- 

 tacea are to be found here, including marine, fresh-water, and land forms. 



In the month spent at Montego Bay we could obtain only an insight into 

 the chief characteristics of the fauna, but the whole region is worthy of a 

 careful and extended investigation. Owing to lack of facilities our collect- 

 ing was confined to the shores and to the shallow water, yet within 5 miles 

 of the mouth of Montego Bay the sea is 2,000 fathoms in depth. 



Summary of Work Done on the Fishes of Tortugas, by B. W. Giidger, State 

 Normal College, Greensboro, North Carolina. 



Especial attention was given to the breeding habits of the nurse-shark, 

 Ginglymostoma cirratum, which was found in considerable numbers in a 

 sandy bay in Bush Key, east of Fort Jefferson. A number were captured, 

 photographed, measured, and dissected. The females were all found to have 



