SOME STRANGE NURSING HABITS 347 



large eggs are carried on the under-surface of the body of 

 the female, wtiere they form a shield-like mass extending 

 from a short distance behind the mouth on to the pelvic 

 fins. In some respects the position of the ova recalls a 

 female fresh-water cray-fish in the breeding season ; but 

 a closer resemblance exists between the fish in question 

 and the Surinam toad already described, although in one 

 case the female bears her load upon her back, and in the 

 other upon her abdomen. In both instances the eggs are, 

 however, pressed into the soft spongy skin, the female 

 cat-fish effecting this operation by lying closely upon the 

 newly deposited spawn. Instead of being completely 

 buried in closed cells, the eggs of the fish remain partly 

 exposed, and are thus carried about till* they are hatched ; 

 the rugosities then disappear from the skin of the abdomen 

 of the parent, which resumes its normal smoothness. 



Everybody who has been in the habit of partaking of 

 whitebait will probably have occasionally observed among 

 the contents of his plate a long, slender, bony fish, with 

 a pipe-like nose, which has evidently no claim to kindred 

 with its neighbours. This fish is a young representative 

 of the pipe-fishes, which, together with the so-called sea- 

 horses, so well known for their habit of curling their tails 

 round the stems of seaweed, constitute a family especially 

 remarkable for the variety and curious nature of their 

 nursery arrangements. Among these an Oriental genus of 

 small pipe-fishes (Solenostoma) agrees with the fish last 

 mentioned in that the female takes charge of the eggs. 

 For this purpose she is provided on the lower surface of 

 her body with a roomy pouch, formed by the coalescence 

 of the pelvic fins with the skin of the abdomen. The 

 inner walls of this pouch are furnished with long filaments, 

 which aid in keeping the egg in position; and it is highly 



