Dr. R. Philippi on the River- Fishes of Chili. 427 



animal character. Thin threads, several inches in length, united 

 into a complex network, which, in E. aspergillum arc expressly 

 described as horny and not siliceous, do not form a protruding* 

 tuft, but arc leather external bent hairs, free only at the base. 

 How far these external filaments of the Euplectellai, which are 

 very like those of Hyalonema, likewise resemble tubular cells 

 I cannot say from my own inspection, as these very rare bodies 

 were never accessible to me for examination. But undoubtedly 

 I can detect no character of animal organization in the descrip- 

 tion, inasmuch as gelatinous interstitial parts occur also in large 

 Fungi and Alga3 {Mj/xomycetcs, Tremellce, Ulvce, and Fuci, the 

 latter often edible in consequence of the amount of nuicus and 

 jelly they contain). It is also to be observed that in England 

 no near relation was noticed between Eapledella and Ili/alumena, 

 although the latter had been in the British Museum since 1835, 

 and Valenciennes in 1850 had already referred Hyalomena to 

 the sponges ; it then, as at present, was everywhere placed as a 

 polype in the zoological museums. 



7. The penetrating ammoniacal odour of the sponges occurs 

 also in living Characece and dead Fucoidece. 



8. x\nother portion of the Phytolitharia are fillings up of 

 variously formed vegetable cells analogous to woody deposits, or 

 siliceous membranes, all without double refraction. 



9. The Zoolitharia are isolated and often tubercular calcareous 

 parts of a discontinuous, complete or partial, framework in the 

 Echinodermata and other lladiata, the Corals, and many other 

 forms, without any vasculiform character and with double re- 

 fraction. 



10. The animaliform Bacillaricu furnished with openings, in- 

 ce])ting indigo, and creeping, arc essentially difierent in the 

 formation of their sdiceous shells from the siliceous cells of 

 plants. 



11. It is probable that the great deposits of silica in these 

 ])lants are only effected by means of the flow through them of 

 extremely large quantities of water containing but little silica. 



liUlll.— Remarks on the River-Fishes of Chili. By Dr. R. Phi- 

 lippi, Director of the Mus. of Nat. Hist, at Santiago in Chili*. 



Although we may affirm in general terms that Chili is poor 

 in freshwater fishes, the number of these which it actually 

 possesses is much more considerable than has hitherto been sup- 

 posed. In Gay\s work the only Percoid given is Perca trucha, 



* Translated from the ' Motiatsbericht der Berliner Akademie' for 

 November ISGG, by Arthur W. E. O'Sliaut'hncssy. 



31* 



