ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



135 



AUSTRALIAN PIPEFISHES 



Thirteen pipefishes iStigmatopnra argust in, 



the green seaweed which thev 



Photograph by A. R. McCll 



"A common species in S. E. Australia, Stir/- 

 matopora arc/us, has just the habits you de- 

 scribe. This is very plentiful in the Zostera 



weed on sandy flats in Port Jackson, and when 

 swaying in the current with narrow leaves, can 

 scarcely be detected ; its tail is prehensile as 

 described. The attached print represents this 

 species among the Zostera leaves." 



Later we discovered in Dr. Thomas Barbour's 

 Notes on Bermudian Fishes, a picture of a new 

 species of pipefish, Stiphostoma dendriticum, 

 taken from a single specimen captured off 

 Ireland Island, Bermudas, in 1904. The curled 

 tail suggested the possibility of prehensility and 

 we therefore wrote Dr. Barbour on the subject. 

 He says "There is no question as to its having 

 a prehensile tail." Although Dr. Barbour 

 originally classified the fish as Siphostoma, he 

 thinks now that it may properly be said to be- 

 long to a new genus of pipefishes. 



There is no longer any doubt that the sea 

 horse is not entitled to the distinction of being 

 called the only fish with a prehensile tail, since 

 several kinds of pipefishes, in different parts of 

 the world, are similarly endowed. 



*Mr. McCulloch is the foremost authority on fishes of 

 Australia. 



THE MIAMI AQUARIUM 



By C. H. Townsend 



ANEW public aquarium is now under con- 

 struction at Miami. Florida, and Mr. L. L. 

 Mowbiay of the staff of the New York 

 Aquarium has been called to take charge of it. 

 The location is on Miami Beach, about a mile 

 from the city, across Biscay ne Bay. The build- 

 ing will be 220 feet in length by seventy in 

 width and will contain fifty large exhibition 

 tanks. There will be three large outdoor pools 

 for sea turtles, manatees and other forms too 

 large for indoor tanks. 



This aquarium will be devoted to marine col- 

 lections only, and will have a reservoir holding 

 75.000 gallons of sea water. It is being erected 

 by the Miami Aquarium Association. The man- 

 agement informs us that space will be provided 

 for a marine laboratory with about ten tables 

 available for biological students and investi- 

 gators. 



The plans for the Miami Aquarium, like those 

 prepared for the aquariums at Detroit and Bos- 

 ton, were brought to the New York Aquarium 

 for further study and suggestions. During the 

 past two years many of the glass-fronted exhi- 

 bition tanks in the New York Aquarium have 

 been vastly improved by being enlarged to three 

 or four times their original size. More than half 



of the tanks of the Miami Aquarium will have a 

 depth backward from the glass fronts of eight 

 feet, a decided improvement over those built in 

 the Detroit and Boston aquariums. 



Although the city of Miami is not large, the 

 situation of the Aquarium on Biscayne Bay gives 

 promise of admirable exhibits of marine life, 

 secured in great abundance and variety from 

 local waters. Much of the expense of aquarium 

 operation can be avoided in a latitude where the 

 water requires no heating in winter, and where 

 the exhibits can be had without expensive trans- 

 portation for long distances. 



Mr. Mowbray, who has left to take up his 

 new work at Miami, has been connected with the 

 New York Aquarium since 1911. He is well 

 equipped for the task, having previously had 

 charge of the aquariums at Bermuda and Bos- 

 ton. Mr. Conway, now in charge of the Detroit 

 Aquarium, was formerly attached to the staff of 

 the New York Aquarium. Inquiries have been 

 received from San Francisco relative to a former 

 member of our staff who may be wanted for the 

 aquarium soon to be constructed under the man- 

 agement of the California Academy of Sciences. 



While we cannot but regret the loss of com- 

 petent men, there is some gratification in the 



