112 NOTES ON THE REPrvODUCTION OF TELEOSTEAN FISHES 



substantially bore out its correctness, and, on making acquaintance 

 with the Mediterranean egg which probably belongs to C. maculatus, 

 I concluded that I must really have been dealing with that species. 

 C. maculatus is apparently not very rare on the Irish coast, and I 

 had not measured the eggs from which my first Irish larvie were 

 hatched. 



However, it is a fact that black pigment is not invariably present 

 in the early larva of C. lyra. In examining a drawing made by Mr. 

 Scott in January from a larva a few hours old, I noticed that no 

 black chromatophores were shown. The specimen was again examined 

 by Mr. Scott and by myself, and the drawing proved to be correct. 

 The egg from which the larva was hatched measured "90 mm. in 

 diameter, and belonged without any doubt to G. lyra. The absence 

 of black pigment must, nevertheless, be regarded as exceptional, since 

 I was careful to examine all subsequent ova of Callionymus, and in 

 all cases the embryo or larva exhibited some black chromatophores. 



I think that without much doubt all the ova we obtained are those 

 of C. lyra, since the difference in size observed seems to be roughly 

 in accord with the date, though by no means all the eggs obtained 

 were measured. The sizes run as follows : — January, '90 ; February, 

 •83; March, '91 and '92; April, no observations; May, "78 to "84. 

 I hope that it may be possible during 1898 to pay more continuous 

 attention to the subject. 



Scomber scomber. Linn. Mackerel. 



? Agassiz and Wliitmau, Mem. Mus. Com]}. Zool. Harv., xiv., 1885, p. 3G, 



PI. XVII. Unidentified Sp. 10, in part. 

 Cunningham, J. T., Joum. M.B. Assoc., N.S., i., 1889, p. 25, Tls. Ill,, IV. 



Egg. 

 Cunningham, J. T., ibid., N.S. , ii., 1891, p. 71, PI. IV. Vitclligerous larva. 

 Holt, E. W. L., Set. Trans. R. Bub. Soc., S. II., v., 1893, p. 10, PI. I. Egg, 



vitelligerous stages of larva. 

 Holt, E. W. L., Joiirn. M.B. Assoc., N.S., ii., 1892, p. 396. Late larval stages. 

 Holt, E. W. L., Ann. Mus. Marseille, 1898, Sp. I., egg and larva referred to 



Mediterranean mackerel. 



Young stages of the maclcerel are conspicuously absent from our 

 tow-net records for 1897, although the fish was common enough in the 

 neighbourhood in June. The spawning period is protracted at least as 

 late as that month, and the eggs and larvie are quite familiar to me. I 

 must therefore conclude that little if any spawning took place on the 

 grounds over which the tow-nets were worked, or at any point close to 

 them. It will be observed that our expeditions did not extend beyond 

 four or five miles off the Mewstone in the early part of the month, 

 while during the latter part of May the Btcsy Bee was occupied in the 

 bays east of the Start. 



