1 88 The Ottawa Naturalist. 



The liver was smooth, solid and compact, not expanded and 

 lobed, as in many fishes, and it was extremely rich in oil. In 

 form and character it reminded me of the same organ in the 

 electric ray (Torpedo) which I dissected in Ireland six years 

 ago. The cheeks and face of the fish are traversed by a com- 

 plex series of mucus canals with numerous rows of pores. These 

 canals are connected with the well-marked lateral line, along 

 the side of the body. The ov^aries in the female fish were lai'ge 

 leaf-like organs, not unlike those of the Skate, and in the semi- 

 transparent tissue pale white eggs were scattered in great 

 numbers, about the size of peas. The ova were not apparently 

 near complete maturity, though the specimens were examined 

 in July, which is usually regarded as the spawning time. I 

 should opine that the specimens examined by me would not 

 have spawned until the fall, say September or October. The 

 eggs deposited are probably few in number as in the 

 sharks. 



In the male specimens I found white, compact ovate organs 

 with complicated tortuous ducts, and other structures found 

 always in the shark tribe. By the kindness of the curator of 

 the Victoria Museum (Mr. Fannin) [ became possessed of an 

 &%^ case of Chimsera. It is an extremely rare object though 

 H. M. Inspector of Irish Fisheries (Mr. Spotswood Green) lately 

 secured many examples in deep water on the west coast of 

 Ireland. Yarrell curiously enough states that the eggs are large 

 and " covered with a horny shell flattened on the edges and 

 velvety," but on what authority is not explained. The egg case is 

 in fact like a dark horny pod, long and narrower at one end 

 than at the other. It is 3^ or 4 inches long, and down each side 

 there extends a flattened projecting edge which may, in some 

 cases, bear hairs. Each case contains one egg, and the young 

 fish is compelled to assume a somewhat peculiar, position, lying 

 flat on its side with its head directed towards the larger end of 

 the case. How it escapes no one knows. Probably an imper- 

 ceptible slit exists through which the fish emerges, but the 

 Chimaera's egg is usually held to be imbedded in the sand with 



