28 



Zoarces anguiUavis, or viviparous blenny; but in the Emhiotocidse we 

 have a family of considerable size, all the members of which bring 

 forth their young alive and fully formed. The interior of each ovary 

 is divided by highly vascular membranes into longitudinal compart- 

 ments, in which the young are systematically arranged; and no bet- 

 ter idea of the appearance of an ovary thus packed with living young 

 can be formed than by comparing it with the interior of a pome- 

 granate, the pips representing the young, and the partitions those 

 dividing the ovaries. Only it must be remembered that there are 

 of course no transverse partitions in the ovary of an embiotocoid, as 

 in that case there would be no means of exit. The appearance, how- 

 ever, is similar to that of the fruit, as the longitudinal membranes 

 form a fold between each embryo. Between the ventral fins and the 

 vulva there is a scaleless space upon the abdomen, forming a sort of 

 sheath or fold, usually concealed by the projection of the scales of 

 the sides. The shape of these fishes is not unlike that of the sun- 

 fishes or pond perch {Centrarchida;), or of the sheep's head and porgee 

 of the Atlantic; but the scales are cycloid or smooth, and rather 

 large; the lips well developed (in some cases excessively thick), and 

 the mouth very extensible, characters which prove a rather near 

 relationship to the Labridse or Wrasse family. The cheeks are scaly, 

 and a narrow sheath of scales extends along the base of the soft 

 dorsal. During the winter months the supply of these fishes was 

 comparatively small, and chiefly confined to the kinds which inhabit 

 the bay, but during April and May the supply has been very abun- 

 dant, the species constituting the bulk of the catch being Embiotoca 

 jacksoni, Embiotoca lateralis, Hypsurus caryi, Holconotus rhodoterus, 

 Phanerodon furcatus, Bhacochilus toxotes, Damalichthys vacca, and Hy- 

 per prosopon argenteus. Most of those brought to market are females, 

 full of young, and it is safe to say that at least twenty perfectly 

 formed young fishes are killed for every adult taken at this season. 

 The greater part of the spring supply comes from the north of our 

 bay, near Tomales Bay; and some of the kinds found in our own 

 bay all the year round are not largely represented. Among these 

 are Amphistichus argenteus, Cyrnatogaster [Micrometrus) aggregatus, 

 and Abeona minima, the latter the "shiner" of the angling fra- 

 ternity, and the only one of the marine species of the group which 

 is too small to be of much value for food. As the habits of 

 this tribe of fishes are not well known, I will only suggest the 

 desirability, for the sake of ensuring the permanence of the supply 

 of a group which is only second to the salmon in its importance as 

 an article of food for the people of this coast, of some legislative 

 regulations which may give the females a chance to perpetuate their 

 race before they are taken. How to do this I do not venture to say, 

 as I do not know whether many of the species are procurable at any 

 other than the season of reproduction, and I here ask all who have 

 leisure to investigate the matter, to endeavor to ascertain at what 

 season the various species of this tribe seek the shallower water, and 

 whether they are to be found at other seasons in such localities that 

 they can be taken. 



Unless some means is found of protecting some of the more useful 

 and abundant of our fishes, so that they may have a chance to repro- 

 duce their kind; our supply of fish, even now too limited for the 

 demand, will, in a few years, dwindle to next to nothing. Our bay 

 will be "fished out" as many a river and bay in Europe has been 



