74 BERTRAM G. SMITH 



Das Tier legte seine Eier in tiefe horizontal verlaufcnde Locher, in 

 denen das Wasser sehr ruhig ist. Manchmal is soldi ein Loch 10 oder 

 mehr Fuss tief und kaum fiir das Licht zugiinglieh. Die Brutstellen 

 flir die Eier sind aber nicht iinmer so tief. Oft fand ich Eier in einem 

 Loch nicht tiefcr als 3 oder 4 Fuss. Oeffnet man ein solches Loch, so 

 findet man eine abgerundete Stelle, deren Boden ganz rein gehalten ist. 



The nesting habits of Necturus have been described by Eycle- 

 shymer ('06), and the writer ('11). The eggs are attached singly 

 by their gelatinous envelopes to the under side of a rock, board, 

 or other object lying at the bottom of the water (figs. 55 and 56). 



The eggs of Amphiuma found by Hay ('88 and '90) in an Arkan- 

 sas swamp were in a comparatively dry situation, in a small 

 excavation under a log several rods from the nearest water. 



Brief reference to the nesting habits of some other amphibia has 

 been made in previous papers (Smith, '06 and '07) . Very remark- 

 able are the nesting habits of the anuran Phyllomedusa, described 

 by Budgett ('99); the eggs are deposited in a pocket made by 

 bringing together the edges of a leaf overhanging the water. 



Amongst the dipnoi, the nest of Protopterus (Budgett, '01 a 

 and '01 b) is an oval hole filled with water and surrounded by 

 swampy ground. The nest is at first entirely submerged, but by 

 the partial drying up of the swamp it is left as an isolated pool. 

 Lepidosiren (Kerr, '00) nests in a veritable burrow excavated in 

 the black peaty soil of the swamp. 



Nesting habits are well known in many teleosts, and in Amia 

 (Dean, '96 ; Reighard '03) . According to Budgett ('Ola) the ci^ossop- 

 terygian Polypterus probably makes no nest, and certainly lays 

 but few eggs at a time, these being scattered broadcast through 

 the thick vegetation of the flooded grass lands. Comparison 

 with Cryptobranchus suggests the possibility that these scattered 

 eggs are but preliminary attempts at egg-laying, 



(c). The newly-laid egg and its envelopes. (Figs. 54, 1 and 2.) 

 In eggs taken from the uterus, the outer egg envelope or capsule 

 fits closely about the egg proper; the envelopes are flaccid and 

 much wrinkled. The capsule of the newly-laid egg takes up water 

 rapidly; in the course of one or two hours a space, filled with 

 fluid, appears between the egg and its capsule, sufficient to enable 

 the egg to orient itself with the animal pole uppermost. 



