522 



THE WONDER OF LIFE 



FIG. 82. Head of Kurtus. (After Weber.) The 

 upper figure shows the bony hook. The 

 lower figure shows the bunch of eggs. 



literally as far 

 as the poles 

 apart ! 



Extraordin- 

 ary Egg -carry- 

 ing Adaptation 

 in a Fish. In 

 one of the rivers 

 of New Guinea 

 the e x p 1 o r er, 

 Lorentz, found a 

 remarkable fish, 

 Kurtus gulliveri, 

 whose parental 

 care has been 

 described by 

 Prof. Max 

 Weber. In the 

 mature male a 

 bony process on 

 the back of the 

 skull grows for- 

 wards and down- 

 wards like a bent 

 little finger, and 

 forms a ring or 

 ' eye '. In this, 

 somehow or 

 other, a wreath 

 of eggs is at- 

 tach e d. Each 

 egg has an en- 



