among adull specimens. And in order to account for general absence 

 of fall-grown males, they have concluded thai the females had in 

 earlier condition been males. In support of this hypothesis they have 

 found eggs in the anterior portion of the testi« in certain of the im- 

 mature males, a teratologic] condition which is now known to be not 

 uncommon in other chordates. Perhaps in Japan an author mighl 

 fallen into a similar fallacy in examining //. burgen\ had his 

 observations been carried on in the region of Kagoshima (Satsuma), 

 irding to Dr. Schmidt's observation already referred to. I confess, 

 however, my suspicions that even in the localities in which Cunning 

 ham and Nansen collected, full grown males would be forthcoming in 

 comparative abundance fbotli authors agreeing that full-grown males 

 do occur occasionally), if a very large number of specimens are taken 

 :m<l at various *ea onsofthe year. Neither author, by the w;i 

 far as I am aware, has given any definite idea of the relative number 

 and size of the specimen taken, or even of the total number upon 

 which their generalization was based. 



It is i significant feci thai in practically the same locality there 

 occur several (onus of myxinoids. It affords, it seems to me, an ad 

 ditional .support for the belief thai the myxinoids are an ancient group, 

 which has passed through a period of evolutional prosperity, after the 

 fashion of sharks, lung fishes or ganoids, a belief which has already 

 found favor by reason of their singularly wide geographical dis- 

 tribution. Garman, moreover, in his recent (1899) reporl on the 

 fishes collected by the Albatross, has given importanl data which one 

 interprets as bearing favorably upon this matter from the stand point 

 of vertical distribution. And now in an especially conservative 

 locality, as ai Misaki, we can still catch a glimpse, so to speak, of 

 the better days of the myxinoids, for here there are living side by 

 side three distinct genera represented by at leasl four 



