William Lundbeck: Some remarks on the eggs and egg-deposition of Halobates. 5 



269) that the eggs are laid on Sargassum or other floating sea-weed, a supposition 

 which was rather naturai. 



As far as I have been able to find, only two cases of deposited Halobates-eggsi 

 have beon published. The lirst publication is from 1886. Witlaczil, who treated 

 the collections of Halobates from "Vettor Pisani's" circumnavigation 1882 — 85, com- 

 municates (Wien. ent. Zeitg. V, 1886, 233 and Zool. Anz. X, 1887, 338) that the 

 expedition south west of the Galapagos Islands found a bird's feather, the vane of 

 which, being of a length of 6 centim, was covered on both sides "mit einer Un- 

 masse von ziegelrothen Eiern". The eggs had a length of 1 mm ; they were sup- 

 posed to belong to H. splendens Witl., which was found in the vicinity, The next 

 pubhcation is a short note by Stamm (Vidensk. Meddel, fra Dansk Nat. For. Køben- 

 havn, 64, 1913 p. VIII); it mentions quite briefly that in the Zoologicai Museum of 

 Copenhagen there is a coUection of Halobates-eggs, deposited on different objects 

 floating in the sea ; it is just the material before me, which will be treated more 

 particularly below; f urther on it gives the highly interesting information, that Halo- 

 bates-eggs were found deposited on a living Noddy (tern-like bird), which was cap- 

 tured in the Red Sea; this also will be mentioned below. 



The material now before me is the following. 



From the Atlantic. 

 No. 1. A Spirula-shell, almost entirely covered with several hundreds of eggs, among 

 which there is a good deal of Lepas-brood, partly in the Cypris-stage, partly 

 older. 20° Lat. N., 81° Long W. Hygom. 



- 2. Three pieces of sea-weed with eggs ; these contain more or less developed 



embryos, and there are also a number of empty shells. 20° Lat. N., 81° Long. 

 W. (PI. I, fig. 3). 



- 3. A Spirula-shell with eggs. 23° 2' Lat. N.. 31° 48' Long W. "/lo 1848. Mathiesen. 



- 4. A fragment of a Spirula-shell with about a hundred eggs. 24° 30' Lat. S., 



28° 30' Long W. 1869. Andrea. (PI. I, fig. 2). 



- 5. A large, roundish egg-mass, consisting of thousands of eggs, laid on a cork; 



this latter is entirely hidden by the eggs, which are laid above each other 

 in many layers. The largest diameter of the egg-mass is about 45, and the 

 smallest 35 centim. All the eggs are alike and without embryos. 14° Lat. 

 N., 27° Long W. i»/io 1858. Hygom. (PI. I, fig. 4). 



- 6. A longish, somewhat band-shaped egg-mass, consisting of several hundred 



eggs: no object is to be seen whereupon the eggs are laid. 6° Lat. N., 26° 

 Long. W. 5/^1 1857. Hygom. " 



- 7. Two bird's feathers with a very great number of eggs placed on both sides 



of the vane, and along the rhachis. 2° Lat. N., 21° Long. W. Hygom. 



