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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



The so-called " elephaut-eurccl " sunfish, or 

 headfish, which has recently attracted atten- 

 tion as having been taken in Florida, is the 

 species of which the record specimen, with a 

 width of 10 feet, may be seen mounted in the 

 hall of fishes of the American Museum of Nat- 

 ural History. The Florida specimen was 

 seven and one-half feet long, eight feet wide, 

 and three feet thick, — which is not an un- 

 usual size. The creature is remarkable in 

 that the tail part of the body is so little devel- 

 oped that the whole fish has the form of an 

 ordinary fish's head. Mr. Ambrose Monell, 

 who took the Florida fish, has had the brain 

 dissected for the collections of the American 

 Museum. 



This sunfish is only rarely found off the 

 Atlantic Coast, being more common off the 

 coast of southern California. It is seen swim- 

 ming at the surface, more or less on its side, 

 with the tall back fin projecting out of the 

 water. \ Little is known of its life habits and 

 method of feeding. 



An exhibition of Alaskan paintings by Mr. 

 Leonard M. Davis, will be on view in the 

 west assembly hall of the Museum from April 



20 to May 14 inclusive. Li order to afford 

 an opportunity of seeing these paintings to 

 those who are occupied during the day, the 

 exhibition will be open from 7 to 10 p.m. on 

 the evenings of Saturday, April 22; Tuesday, 

 April 25; Saturday, April 29; Tuesday, May 2, 

 and Saturday, May 6. After May 15 an 

 exhibition of paintings, representing life and 

 scenery at the bottom of the sea, by Mr. 

 Zarh H. Pritchard, will be on view. The 

 studies for these interesting pictures were 

 made actually on the sea bottom, among the 

 islands of the Pacific and off the California 

 coast, and at some time during the exhibition 

 Mr. Pritchard will give an illustrated account 

 of his work. 



Through the kindness of Dr. Guy Pilgrim, 

 acting director . of the Indian Geological 

 Survey, the American Mu.seum has I'eceived 

 casts of portions of the jaw of the anthro- 

 poid ape Sipapilhecus indicus, fossil remains 

 of which are found in the Tertiary deposits 

 of the Siwalik Hills. The Museum possesses 

 casts of all the principal types of extinct apes 

 from Europe and Asia and the specimen just 

 received adds an important genus to the series. 



MO- 



..M 



I'll,.'., Lv Mr. //. ./. Parker 



Elephant-eared" siiiili^li, m licadlisli i Muln ninhi) cMishl in I'acilic walcrs oil Sanlu Cakiliua, souUiern 



California — the region in which it is most commonly found. The species has recently attracted considerable 



attention through the iiniisiial event of its having been taken oil" the Florida coast. A record specimen may 



be seen mounted in the hall of fishes of the American Museum of Natural History 



