324 Miscellaneous. 



nourishment which varies according to the composition of the pelagic 

 fauna or flora. Verj' different creatures occur in the stomachs with 

 the Copepods. The latter are no longer pelagic forms ; they belong 

 for the most part to the family IIarpacticida3 ; Euterpe gracUis, 

 C'laus, must be noted among other species. Mingled with the re- 

 mains of these Copepods we observe a great number of Cladocera 

 of the genus Podon (P. minutas, G. 0. Sars), which is rarely ob- 

 tained by pelagic surface-fishing. Besides these Entomostraca we 

 have recognized in several stomachs embryos and ova of small 

 Crustaceans, setae of young and adult Annelids, carapaces of Infu- 

 soria of the family Tintinuodea, spicules of Radiolaria, some exam- 

 ples of Peridinium diverr/ens, Ehr., a great number of horns of 

 crushed Ceratia, and some debris of vegetable origin. 



"The sardine by no means chooses animal matters, and it may 

 even happen that its food is exclusively composed of microscopic 

 plants. Thus in July 1874, at Concarneau, the attention of one of 

 ns was called to the yellowish-green coloration of the contents of the 

 intestine in the sardines, which consisted entirely of Diatomaceae. 

 An important fact to note is that the stomachs filled with rorjite (cod's 

 roe serving as bait) usually contain very little food, from which we 

 may conclude that the sardine only loorks (travaille). according to 

 the fisherman's expression, when it is fasting." 



At La Corogne, where the sardine is not captured with bait, but 

 kept alive for several days in a compact mass by means of special 

 nets, the authors found detached scales between the branchial arches 

 and also in the stomach, which further contained examples of Podon 

 minutiis, with some Copepods (Euterpe gracilis, Clans ; Ectinosoma 

 atlnnticum, G. S. Brady) and embryos of Gasteropods. A micro- 

 scopic Trematode (sp. nov. or larva ?), which is often met with at 

 Concarneau in the open, and also attached to Noctilucri', appears to 

 be very ft-equent in the stomachs of sardines at La Corogne. As 

 many as fifty were found in one fish. This is the more remarkable 

 as the sardine is generallj' free from parasites. 



The chief interest of the viscera from La Corogne is the extra- 

 ordinary abundance of Peridinians which fill them. These belong 

 to two types : — Peridinium divergens, Ehr., and P. polyedricum, 

 Pouchet. The latter, hitherto known only on the shores of Provence, 

 literally fills the digestive tube of the sardines, being recognizable 

 even in the rectum. These Peridinians measure on the average 

 i>6 n in diameter ; bringing P. polyedricmn to the spherical form, 

 this gives the volume of an individual as about 25000 fx. The 

 capacity of the intestine (omitting the oesophagus, the stomach, and 

 its caecum) may be estimated at 1 cub. cent., so that it equals the 

 volume oi forty millions of Peridinians : allowing for the intestines 

 this number may be reduced one half ; but twenty millions must be 

 regarded as a minimum, for the Peridinians break up rapidly in 

 the intestine of the fish, — Comptes liendus,'b!LBXch. 7, 1887, p. 712. 



