armouring and the flat head with its derma! plates and strongly armed jaws looks like that of a 

 crocodile. In spite of their formidable appearance they are much less dangerous than the 

 neighbouring muskellunge, only attacking small cyprinid fishes. To get near them, they keep 

 quite still, looking like pieces of floating wood, gently moving forward. Then with a sudden 

 snap of the jaws they devour a complete group of small fishes. Spawning takes place in May 

 in rather shallow waters, each female being surrounded by 3 or 4 males. The eggs are sticky 

 and chng finnly to rocks. After a short period of incubation, the larvae emerge and fix them- 

 selves to stones by means of the adhesive discs at the end of the snout, organs that disappear 

 after the yolk sac has been completely absorbed. Then they swim freely, feeding on the larvae 

 of mosquitoes. Garpike and bowfins can breathe atmospheric air. which passes into their swim- 

 bladder. 



Among the unusual lishes of the nearctic fauna, the blacktish of Alaska may be mentioned. 

 It ]i\es in swamps and peat-bogs and when the weather becomes very cold is frozen in the ice 

 in a state of almost suspended animation. It is claimed that it may be completely frozen and 

 that even its blood circulation is stopped. Turner says that a frozen blackfish was eaten by a 

 dog and on coming to life jumped about, making the dog \omil it u]i. It immediately began 

 to swim on being placed in a bucket of water. 



In the ca\es of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys there are lishes of the family Amblyop- 

 sidae. Ambhjopsis spclocns and Tjiphichtlnis siihlcrranriis have become blind, their eyes being 

 hidden under the skin. They are colourless, ])allid lishes. Sometimes they swim at the sur- 

 face and can easily be caught by hand, for they are quite unaware of danger. However, it 

 does appear that their hearing organs may be quite sensitive, even to the slightest noise. 



As in Lake Baikal, the deeper reaches of Lakes Ontario and MichigaTi contain degenerate 

 forms related to the millers-thumbs (Cottidae). There is the genus Triglupsis and a cottid. 

 Coitus ricci, this having lost the spiny appearance of the marine or freshwater millers-thumbs. 

 These fishes lead lives as dismal as do those species in the great Asiatic lake. 



