818 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



BUTTERFLY FISH 



the autopsy revealed notliing that could have 

 been the cause. Her favorite diet consisted of 

 herring and cod cut into convenient size for 

 swallowing. These strips were always bolted 

 whole without any pretense of chewing, a habit 

 entirely in accord with the dentition of the spe- 

 cies as the teeth are purely raptorial in adapta- 

 tion and are fitted only for holding and killing 

 the slippery prey. 



Some idea of the voracity of a seal may be 

 gained from the fact that this pup consumed or- 

 dinarily six to six and one-half pounds of fish 

 per day, nearly or quite one-fourth of her 

 weight. 



In spite of this amount of food she did not 

 grow very rapidly nor lay on fat, seeming to 

 consume it all in the energy 

 of her swimming m o v e - 

 ments. 



The following table will 

 show the rate of increa,se in 

 weight during the eight and 

 a half months that this seal 

 lived in the Aquarium: 



December 23 23 pounds. 



.January 23 2(5 pounds. 



February 23 2.5^ pounds. 



March 23 26 pounds. 



April 25 26i poimds. 



May 24 21 pounds. 



June 27 27 pounds. 



July 2.5 28 pounds. 



At death 25 pounds. 



The last decline is prob- 

 ably due to the fact that but 

 little food was taken for 

 several days before death. 



The following measurements 

 were taken after death: 

 Tip of nose to tip of tail 

 2 feet 10 inches. Tail 2 

 inches. Girth 1 foot 10 

 inches. Length of front flip- 

 jier 12 inches. Breadth of 

 front flipper Si inches. 

 Length of hind flipper 12 

 inches. Breadth of hind 

 flipper 5 inches. 



That it is not impossible 

 to keep these seals in con- 

 flnement in this latitude is 

 shown by the fact that a 

 pair has lived for nearly two 

 years in the aquarium of the 

 Bureau of Fisheries at 

 Washington and the male 

 and female reached a weight 

 i n July of fifty-six and 

 forty-one pounds respectively. 



We are glad to be able to state that the Com- 

 missioner of Fisheries, Mr. George M. Bowers, 

 has promised us another pair of the pups as soon 

 as they can be secured from the breeding 

 grounds on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. R. C. O. 



A LARGE JEWFISH. 



A RECENT addition to the Aquarium ex- 

 hibits worthy of special notice is a large 

 .S))otted Jewfish {Bromicrnps guttafus) 

 weighing about 250 pounds, the gift of Mr. 

 Danforth B. Ferguson. This is much the larg- 

 est of the Groupers ever seen at the Aquarium, 

 and the largest bony fish on exhibition. 



BLACK ANGEL. 



