42 Papers from the Department of Marine Biology. 



On May 29, 1911, a large fish with a great belly was captured. Touch 

 showed the presence of eggs in this, but they seemed too far forward 

 to be in the ovary. Autopsy made the matter clear. The fish was a 

 male whose stomach contained a great mass of eggs stuck together like 

 a bunch of grapes. These eggs, measuring 18 mm. in diameter, were 

 perfectly fresh and with them was a large number of small eggs 

 and empty follicles, such as are extruded when a female is spawned 

 by pressure applied to the abdomen. Evidently they had been taken 

 up by the male immediately after extrusion by the female and had 

 been swallowed presumably as food. The eggs at this stage are apt 

 to be adhesive and to clump in masses. This was found to be true 

 in the case of the great female spawned artificially, as has been noted 

 elsewhere. 



The other two cases may be considered together. A giant fish 

 with an enormous belly was taken on May 25, 1910. Eggs could be 

 plainly felt, but could not be spawned. Dissection revealed that 

 the fish was a female and from her stomach were taken 23 whole and 

 6 half eggs together with small eggs and partly digested fragments 

 equal in bulk to all the others. On the following day another large 

 fish was taken which also could not be spawned. On performing an 

 autopsy her stomach was also found crowded with 23 full-grown and a 

 large number of small eggs, none of which, however, showed traces of 

 digestion. In both cases it seems probable that the eggs had been 

 swallowed immediately after extrusion and as food; hence we may 

 conclude that the females, unlike the brooding males, are canni- 

 bahstic. 



These fortunate catches seem to the \vriter to offer the explanation 

 of the allegation by Hillhouse (1825) and others, especially Bleeker 

 (1858), that certain catfishes are viviparous, the evidence being that 

 they have seen eggs and foetuses cut out of the belUes of catfishes of 

 various species and genera. These are probably cases in which the 

 eggs and foetuses had been swallowed by the fish as food. 



Possibly the most unique find of contents of stomach was made 

 June 16, 1908. A male taken on this day was found by touch to 

 have some hard object in the stomach. Autopsy revealed a big 

 wooden splinter or fragment some 5.25 inches long. The stomach 

 was empty except for this and a considerable amount of mucus. 

 No suggestion can be offered concerning the presence of this anoma- 

 lous body in the stomach of this fish. 



FEEDING AND GROWTH OF YOUNG WHILE IN PATERNAL MOUTH. 



At the time of hatching, i. e. , bursting of the shell, the j'^oung measure 

 about 45 mm. over all, but when they leave the mouth and begin an 

 independent existence they are about 85 to 100 mm. long. An early 

 egg, 20 mm. in diameter, after having been in 4 per cent formalin 



