4-6 The West American Scientist. 



animal pole of the ovum to the ovary. The eg-gs can be collected 

 in great numbers in April and May, but we have not succeeded 

 in finding more than two or three eggs in which the gastrula 

 did not cover at least half of the yolk. The eggs are deposited 

 in the evening, just where we have not been able to find. The 

 later stages are abundant about the P. C. S. S. Go's, wharf. 

 The yolk is collected in large masses and is perfectly transparent. 

 The embryos hatch in two days. We have succeeded in keeping 

 the fishes two days after hatching. At this time the yolk is 

 nearly absorbed. 



Typhlogobins californiensis Steindachner. — This is 

 the most remarkable of the fishes found at San Diego. It is very 

 abundant under large rocks, on the southern shore of Point 

 Loma. It lives in the holes made by a Carideoid crustacean, 

 with which it is usually found associated. It is very tenacious of 

 life and many individuals were kept in confinement several months. 

 Some which were gradually placed in fresh water, remained 

 active for a week, when they began to swell. On being again 

 transferred into salt water all but one survived. They frequently 

 swim (in confinement) at the surface of the water, back down, 

 their ventrals using the surface of the water as a plane for attach- 

 ment. The fully grown individuals are entirely destitute of vision 

 and seem merely to have an uncomfortable feeling in direct sun- 

 light. Ordinarily they will hide under transparent objects as 

 readily as under a dark one. A test tube which was accidentally 

 placed in a vessel containing them was completely filled with 

 them. In individuals four centimeters long, the eyes are not 

 covered by so thick a layer of epide -mis and they can see some 

 distance in front of them. Any object thrust in front of smaller 

 ones usually causes them to turn when the object is about three 

 centimeters from their eyes, while it does not disturb the larger 

 ones. The eye is very small, the crystaline lense comparatively 

 large. The optic nerve is extremely thin, but has been traced to 

 the brain, both by maceration and by dissection. There seems 

 to be no difference in the structure of the visual organs between 

 the smallest and largest individuals. The early stages have not 

 been observed, but we doubtless are here dealing with a case of 

 retardation rather than of degeneration. 



The eggs of this species present some thoroughly new features. 

 Several females spawned while in confinement, but did not de- 

 velop. The eggs are oval. They are surrounded by the usual 

 zona radiata and a ncticork of threads. The meshes of this net 

 are coarsest near the vegetable pole of the ^g^ and finer toward 

 the animal pole, near which they form a second membrane, per- 

 forated by a few holes only. This nettvork of threads is attached 

 to the zona radiata around the viicropylar region. This condition 

 is approached most nearly in osmeus eperlanus, where a second 



