24 



The ventrals are imbedded in the disc com- 

 mon to this family; it is oval, about equal in 

 length to the greatest height of the dorsal 

 fin. 



The rays in the dorsal, caudal, and anal 

 fins are about ninety eight, though it is not 

 easy to enumerate them; of these about forty 

 seven belong to the dorsal, eleven to the cau- 

 dal, and forty to the anal. 



Color light olive brown, with numerous 

 narrow, waving lines of darker brown run- 

 ning longitudinally, and forming in some in- 

 stances rings and irregular figures; abdomen 

 and throat white; some small brown and 

 white spots on the sides, ona series faintly 

 indicating a lateral line with a slight down- 

 ward curve. 



Liparis mucotus, Ayres — This species is 

 closely allied to the last, L. pulchellus; it dif- 

 fers chiefly in the form of the head, the form 

 and connection of the dorsal, anal, and cau- 

 dal fins, and the colors. 



The head is longer, its length being con- 

 tained in the total length (excluding the cau- 

 dal) four times; in pulchellus the proportion is 

 one to five. The snout is rounded anteriorly, 

 not truncate. The eye is smaller; its longi- 

 tudinal diameter contained nearly six times 

 in the length of the head. 



The dorsal and anal fins both arise at about 

 the same points as in pulchellus, and in their 

 height and structure correspond well with 

 those of that species; they are not, however, 

 continuous with the caudal, but terminate at 

 its base, leaving that fin separate and dis- 

 tinct, with a rounded extremity. 



The dorsal is eraarginated, a short distance 

 from its origin, giving in a degree the ap- 

 pearance of an anterior dorsal. In color, this 

 species is of a plain greenish olive, lighter 

 beneath. 



In the branchial aperture, the form of the 

 operculum, the teeth, the nostrils, the pecto- 

 ral fins, the ventral disc, the loose attachment 

 of the skin, &c, this species agrees well with 

 pulchellus. 



Only two specimens have yet been ob- 

 served, each a little over five inches in length. 

 Commercially, these small Sucking Fish are, 

 of course, of no value. Their peculiar struc- 

 ture and habits, however, may well attract at- 

 tention to them. By means of their ventral 

 disc they attach themselves to stones and 

 other objects, so strongly as to require much 

 force for their removal. They belong to the 

 same group of fishes with the Lump Fish of 

 on Atlantic coast, the Cock Paddle of the 

 Scotch. 



Dr. Winslow exhibited a fragment of the 

 lower jaw of an extinct elephant found in the 

 drift of Texas Flat, in the neighborhood of 

 Columbia, fifteen feet below the surface. It 

 was 7 1-2 inches in length and the same in 

 depth and contained the impression of a tooth, 

 and the maxillary canal in a fine state of 

 preservation. The fragment appeared some- 

 what rounded by attrition among the drift of 

 the mining region, but on the whole is beau- 

 fully preserved. Though teeth of the Ele- 

 phas primogenius correspond in shape to the 

 impression on this fragment, probabilities fa- 

 vor the conclusion that the extinct elephants 

 of this slope of the Continent differ wholly 

 from those which ranged over the eastern re- 

 gions of North America and other parts of 

 the globe. This fragment belongs to Doctor 

 Graves of Columbia. 



The following resolution was adopted. 



That it be the duty of the Recording Sec- 

 retary to notify in writing, all persons who 

 may be elected as resident members of the 

 Academy; and that the Corresponding Secre- 

 ry do the same to Corresponding and Honor- 

 ary members as soon after their election as 

 possible. Adjourned. 



San Francisco, Jan. 15, 1855. 



Col. L. Ransom in the chair. Mr. Charles 

 Girard was elected honorary member of the 

 Academy. 



Mr. Damran, of the Custom House, presented 

 the following works : Capt. Marcy's Explora- 

 tion of Red River ; Cruise of the Dolphin ; 

 Lieut. Gibbons' Report ; Report of Smithsonian 

 Institution for 1853 ; Report of the Superin- 

 tendent of the U. S. Coast Survey, for 1852, 

 and Sitgreave's Expedition. 



The thanks of the Academy were tendered 

 for the donation. 



Mr. Columbus Cooper of Oak Ranch, Sierra 

 County, Cal., through Editor of Pacific, pre- 

 sented a Meteorological Table, taken by him at 

 his residence, at the supposed height of eight 

 hundred feet above the bed of the Yuba River, 

 at Downieville. The thanks of the Academy 

 were tendered to Mr. Cooper, and his communi- 

 cation was referred to Dr. H. Gibbons. 



Mr. II. G. Bloomer presented five volumes of 

 the Edinburgh Encyclopedia. 



