FISHES IN THE SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICT. 49 



Ova were taken from five females, 5^ to 6| inches long, and im- 

 pregnated with milt from three males, 5 to 5| inches. 



The ova underwent the early phases of segmentation, but died before 

 the formation of the head. Half an hour after fertilization six 

 specimens measured from '675 to "690 mm. in diameter, the single oil- 

 globule measuring •14 to '15 mm. It was dark, with a smoky margin, 

 but quite devoid of colour. The yolk and zona presented no feature 

 of importance. 



On the 9th July, in the outer part of Falmouth Bay {Echinus and 

 Peden ground) we trawled a number of scaldtish chiefly of the 

 differentiated form once known as A. lophotes, Gthr., with a few of the 

 smaller undifferentiated type. The same experience was repeated on 

 the 10th July. 



On each occasion I found that the larger differentiated forms com- 

 prised some females from which the eggs could readily be extruded. 

 They measured from 6|- in. to 6f in., and exhibited a distinct pro- 

 longation of the anterior dorsal rays. The smaller females of the 

 A. laterna type were two in number, and measured 5^ in. to 5f in. 

 These were also full of spawn, but not quite ready for extrusion. 



Ova were obtained from two of the large females and impregnated 

 with milt from a number of large males 6f in. to 7 in. long ; and 

 although the testes appeared to be ripe, I found, as also with the 

 small males of the Devon coast, that milt could only be obtained 

 by removing the organs and squeezing them in water. About seven 

 hours later I measured six eggs, which appeared to have been success- 

 fully fertilized. The diameter ranged from "75 to 76 mm. ; that of the 

 oil-globule from '12 to '13 mm. Apart from dimensions, the ova were 

 in all respects similar to those of the smaller forms, save that the 

 zona appeared rather thicker in the latter. A number of the eggs 

 survived for nearly a day, but were subsequently killed, as I suppose, 

 by the intense heat of the 10th July. It was noted that they floated 

 buoyantly in the water of the outer part of the bay, but without 

 crowding at the surface of the vessel in which they were placed. 



It is necessary to remark, in the first place, that my observations 

 deal only with a few individuals, and that I do not know exactly, 

 having mixed the ova obtained from the several specimens, to how 

 many parents those measured should be ascribed. Such as they are, 

 the results suggest that the smaller females produce smaller eggs 

 (which is known to be the case, teste Maitland, in individuals of the 

 Salmonidre). A much more remarkable suggestion is that the eggs 

 of the A. lophotes type have smaller globules than those of the 

 undifferentiated A. laterna; but this may prove to be merely a matter 

 of variety, or may be explained by developmental physiological 



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