336 Miscellaneous. 



successfully hitherto. A large number of littoral auimals, finding 

 in this pool a safe shelter from the rough sea, have come to choose 

 their abode in it ; thej^ are found there under conditions exception- 

 ally favourable for uninterrupted observation. Bhnnius sphynx is a 

 case in point. Many individuals belonging to this pretty species 

 have made their way into the basin in order to construct their nests 

 in it. Some have chosen the holes with which the schist forming 

 the sides is pierced in all directions ; others have established them- 

 selves in the tunnels bored by the Teredos in the timbers which 

 have been utilized for the construction of the coffer-dams. 



The male of Bhnnius spliynx selects as the locality of his nest a 

 little cavity with a narrow opening, just large enough to allow his 

 body to pass through. His pretty head, which is black striped with 

 blue, and surmounted by two graceful yellow horns, alone projects 

 from the hole, and the little creature remains constantly on the 

 watch in this position ; as soon as he espies a female searching for 

 food among the surrounding alga?, he raises himself halfway out of 

 the nest, while his spiny dorsal fin, which is greatly elevated and 

 very vividly coloured, assumes a vertical position ; he imparts to 

 the anterior portion of his body a vertical swaying motion, un- 

 doubtedly with the object of attracting the female. If the latter 

 does not respond to this invitation, the male leaves the nest and 

 goes to meet her. His colours become extremely vivid, and his head 

 suddenly darkens, which again causes the blue streaks with which 

 it is adorned to stand out more sharply ; the black, yellow, and blue 

 bands on the sides of his body acquii'e a brilliancy of striking effect, 

 and he darts suddenly upon the female, at the same time again 

 erecting his magnificent dorsal fin. 



These demonstrations do not always succeed in ensuring the 

 Buccess of the little male ; but, if his appeals are listened to, the 

 female enters the nest and soon commences to deposit her eggs, 

 ■which adhere to the walls of the nest by means of delicate filaments 

 of a glutinous nature and follicular origin, attached to the base of 

 the shell around the micropyle. During the whole of the time 

 occupied by the spawning the male is the victim of intense excite- 

 ment. He cruises around his hole to keep watch on its approaches ; 

 when the female, who is completely hidden within the nest, allows 

 her head to be seen and makes a show of wishing to escape, he files 

 at her and bites her in order to force her to reenter. From time to 

 time he penetrates into the nest ; he is seen to move rapidly and 

 then to undergo a sort of violent shudder, accompanied by a slight 

 forward movement, which corresponds to the emission of the semen 

 destined for the fertilization of the ova which have been deposited. 



The scenes which 1 have just described are repeated until, 

 spawning being completed, the female abandons the nest to return 

 to it no more. The male, who is polygamous, remains as the 

 faithful guardian of the ova deposited by the different females 

 which he receives in his domicile, and acquits himself of his task 

 with surprising perseverance and tenacity. 



I have captured males guarding their ova and transported them 



