Genital System of the Myxinoidea 93 



in their natural habitat. All such attempts, however, have been unsuccessful: the eels 

 will not deposit eggs while in captivity, and refuse to feed, therefore do not live very long. 



Putnam (1873) first recorded observations regarding the spawning time. He con' 

 eluded that the time when eggs are deposited is not the same with all females, for in each 

 lot of specimens of M>ixme collected m the Straits of Magellan during March there were 

 females with eggs in all the different stages of development. This was also true of females 

 of Myxine collected at Grand Manan, Nova Scotia, from August to October. He con' 

 eluded, therefore, that in the Straits of Magellan eggs are probably deposited by April or 

 May, and about the first of the winter at Grand Manan. 



Cunningham (1886.2), after collecting Myxine m large numbers, first concluded that, 

 in the North Sea, the eggs are deposited in December, January and February. Later 

 durmg the same year he wrote : 



Amongst the specimens obtained on January 29th, I recognised for the first time a 

 female which had recently discharged its ova. In place of the 19-25 large ova which are 

 usually present there were a corresponding number of collapsed follicles; each of these had a 

 slitUke aperture at one end, through which the ovum had been extruded. I found after- 

 wards that similar 'spent' specimens were present among a lot obtained on Dec. 24, 1885, 

 and I have obtained them on several occasions smce. Thus it is proved that the deposition 

 of ova occurs in Myxine in the neighborhood of the Firth of Forth during the months of 

 December, January, February, and March. 



Weber (1887.1), in collecting Myxine at Alvarstrommen, Norway, and Bohuslan, 

 Sweden, observed that various stages of ova are present at all seasons, and suggested that 

 oviposition is not limited to any certain months in the year. 



In March, Cunningham (1887-1) stated, ""after examining large numbers of speci' 

 mens every month in a year I found newly spent specimens only from November till 

 March." Tater in the same year (1887.2, June 23rd) he stated that he had taken "spent" 

 females containing ruptured egg follicles in April, May and the first half of June, adding: 



So that there are now six months of the year, November to June inclusive, in which 

 it is, in my opinion, certain that eggs of Myxine are deposited near St. Abb's Head. ... I 

 now expect to find that recently spent females can be captured in any month of the year, and 

 that oviposition is therefore not limited to a particular season. 



Nansen (1887), in collecting Myxine at Alvarstrommen, Norway, caught eels at 

 all seasons of the year with very large (up to 24 mm.) and nearly mature ova, and at the 

 same time found specimens with ova of every smaller si2;e. In addition, he found recently 

 spent females with large empty ovarian capsules at various seasons of the year, in the 

 autumn as well as in the winter and summer. Also, he observed nearly ripe testes in 

 hermaphrodite males at all seasons. He concluded, therefore, ''that Myxme has no limited 

 breeding season, but breeds at every season ot the year." 



Price (1896. 1) collected ripe females of Bdellostoyna stouti in Monterey Bay, California, 

 in late winter and early spring on the same ground where Dean (1899) obtained embryos of 



