﻿204 BLIND VERTEBRATES AND THEIR EYES. 



up into innumerable rootlets harboring numberless cirolanas and many young 

 and small lucifugas. These trees are found in all the caves of the Caiias region. 

 The roots sometimes extend vertically as much as 40 feet before striking vi'ater. 

 At other times roots run along the ground down the slope of the cave as in Ashton, 

 finally breaking up into rootlets (fig. 70 and plate 12). 



■GENERAL HABITS OF LUCIFUGA AND STYCICOLA. 



The position in the water and action of body and fins in swimming of Stygkola 

 are amply indicated in plate 14, which is from instantaneous exposures on fishes 

 confined in a 5-gallon aquarium. It is seen that the posterior part of the body 

 moves from side to side, eel-fashion. The long dorsal and anal fins move in the 

 same way, waves of motion passing from in front back. These fins, on account 

 of this motion, are not well shown in the photographs. The pectorals move in- 

 dependently of each other. One may be forward, the other back. They are used 

 in guiding largely. When the fish is swimming very slowly, the wave-move- 

 ments passing along the dorsal and anal fins are the chief means of locomotion. 

 In swimming rapidly the motion of the body comes chiefly into play. The fishes 

 swim indifferently up or down, with the back up or lying on their sides. The ac- 

 tions of Lucifuga are essentially like those of Stygkola. 



These fishes are much more readily disturbed than Amblyopsis of the Indiana 

 caves, and when disturbed they swim swiftly in a less distracted way. On the 

 whole they are much harder to catch than the Amblyopsis. 



The action of the stygicolas in the Carboneria well in daytime and at night 

 has been detailed. Two instances that seem to indicate that fishes "remember" 

 localities must be put on record for what they are worth. One of these is of a 

 fish at the right end of the "M" Cave, and the other in the left, dark part of the 

 Donkey. In the "M" Cave the same fish, three times within an hour and a half, 

 apparently made straight for an opening under the wall of the cave and escaped. 

 In the Donkey Cave the same thing happened about a big stalagmite that rises 

 out of the water. Several times within half an hour the fish came out, but each 

 time it darted back among the nooks in the stalagmites with apparently as much 

 decision as a mouse in seeking its hole. Perhaps in both cases the action was a 

 reaction merely to the vibrations set up by my net. Perhaps the location of the 

 solid stalagmite and the wall were perceived by the approaching fish and the escapes 

 into nooks below the wall were simply necessary sequences in following along the 

 solid wall until an opening was reached. Whatever it was, the repeated escape of 

 the two fishes was as interesting as it was aggravating. Very frequently when dis- 

 turbed they descend in the water and escape into depths beyond the reach of 

 the net. 



The character of food has been detailed under the head of Biological Environ- 

 ment. I am unable to give any direct observations on the securing of this food. 



BREEDING HABITS OF STYGICOLA AND LUCIFUGA. 



In March of 1902, on my first trip, Mr. Riddle secured a female lucifuga con- 

 taining 4 young, lacking but 3 or 4 mm. of being as long as the smallest lucifugas 

 caught in the caves (plate 15, fig. c). This was the first intimation we had that 

 these fishes are viviparous. No other embryos were obtained at that time. An 

 examination of the ovaries of all the females caught and the size of the young led 

 me to suppose that March was the close of the breeding season. With the grant 



