72 Papers from the Department of Marine Biology. 



off. This extended back to the gall bladder, which lay alongside the 

 small intestine just anterior to the spleen. The gall bladder was 2 

 inches long and 0.5 inch wide, and was shaped somewhat Uke two con- 

 ventionalized wings placed base to base, as shown in the diagramimatic 

 figure 4c. The spleen had the same general shape, but was 3.25 

 inches long by 1 inch wide. 



Lying between the body of the liver and the upturned ''skirts" of 

 the saddle (which were placed against the lateral walls of the abdomen) 

 was the great mass of the pyloric coeca, which mass was shaped much 

 like the hver, but had a greater volume and occupied a greater area. 

 Of these coeca, only those lying on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of 

 the mass were counted, but even these numbered 148. Dorsal to this 

 mass of coeca were the stomach and small intestine. 



The dorsal part of the abdominal cavity is occupied by the much- 

 elongated air-bladder. Anteriorly this is bifurcated to form two horns, 

 posteriorly there is but one wliich occupies the short post-anal exten- 

 sion of the abdomen (this was 1 inch long in a 3-foot 10-inch specimen). 

 A fish 2 feet 10 inches in extreme length had an air-bladder 11.5 inches 

 long, the anterior end of which had a 2.5-inch bifurcation. In a 3- 

 foot 7-inch specimen, the air-bladder measured 15 inches, the horns 

 being 3.5 inches in length. A third specimen, measuring 3 feet 10 

 inches between perpendiculars, had in its 18.5-inch abdominal cavity a 

 16.5-inch air-bladder, the bifurcation of which extended forward 3.5 

 inches. The general shape and appearance of this organ is shown in 

 text-figure 4d. 



Text-figure 5. Spinal column of a fish found embedded in mesentery of a barracuda. 



While dissecting this fish, some hard object was found embedded in 

 the mesentery. At first it was thought that it was a mummified pipe- 

 fish, but when freed of all attached material it was seen to be the back- 

 bone of a fish. This was confirmed when a portion of it was put under 

 a microscope. It was fairly straight save at the upper end, where it 

 was bent as is shown in text-figure 5. It is hard to conjecture just how 

 this vertebral column could have worked its way out through the wall 

 of the intestine into the mesentery. Inclusions, while not common, 

 are not unknown. Some half dozen or more have been noted, but will 

 not be considered here. 



