119 



Aquatic iLlfe 



lies Moendae and Kyphosidae of the group 

 Pcrcoidca of the teleostean fishes, and 

 the general form of many of them is well 

 exemplified by the subject of the present 

 sketch. My photograph of Gcrrcs cm- 

 bryx, here reproduced, presents the form 

 so accurately, with the character and 

 shape of its fins and its scalation, that 

 any description along these lines is ren- 

 dered quite unnecessary. 



In the upper jaw the teeth are minute, 

 movable, and slender, there being none 

 in the lower jaw ; while, as Doctor Jordan 

 points out, the pharyngeals have "short, 

 blunt, pebble-like teeth on the middle, and 

 small, sharp, conical teeth on the outer 

 edge." There are from seven to four- 

 teen short gill-rakers, and four or five 

 rows of scales on the cheeks, with none 

 on the lower jaw. 



This is a silvery fish, palest ventrad, 

 with a darker shade along the back. Ten 

 or eleven dark, narrow stripes run down 

 on either side; one of these covers the 

 lateral line, those above it being parallel 

 therewith ; those below are nearly straight. 

 There is a black spot on the tip of the 

 snout above, while the superior fins are 

 dusky in color ; as a rule the ventral ones 

 are lacking in all color. Jordan describes 

 some seven other species of Gcrrcs, and 

 thev occur on both coasts of the Americas. 



In December, Chicago was honored 

 with the meeting of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, 

 and it was probably the greatest assembly 

 in the history of the organization. Hun- 

 dreds of investigators from all parts of 

 the realm met to confer on recent re- 

 search, talk over old times and lay plans 

 for the future. The membership includes 

 the great men of the day in science, and 

 the men to whom the world turned for 

 aid in the great war. 



Believing that all good things should 



not be confined to a limited circle, the 

 Chicago Aquarium Society invited some 

 of these men to its rooms in the Keedy 

 Studio, that they of the scientific world 

 might rub elbows with business men with 

 whom science is a hobby. And a mighty 

 friendly rubbing it was, our guests rep- 

 resenting the zoological departments of 

 seven universities. With us were Dr. 

 Henry B. Ward, Prof. Frank Smith and 

 Dr. H. J. Van Cleave, of the University 

 of Illinois ; Drs. George R. La Rue, A. J. 

 Ruthven, Peter Ukkelberg, Paul S. Welch 

 and Carl Hubbs, of the University of 

 Michigan ; Dr. Raymond C. Osborn, Uni- 

 versity of Ohio, and Director of the Bio- 

 logical Station at Put-in-bay ; Dr. Van 

 Austin, of the University of Wisconsin ; 

 Dr. Guberlet, of the Oklahoma Agricul- 

 tural Station ; Dr. E. H. Brandquist, of 

 Northwestern University, and Prof. M. 

 H. Stoll, of Detroit Junior College. 



We showed them our pets and swapped 

 fish stories. Dr. W 7 ard, who has done 

 government fishing in Alaska ; Dr. Os- 

 borne, famous for work with Great 

 Lakes fishes, and Dr. Ruthven, who has 

 seen fabulous snakes in South America, 

 made points for their side. The aquarists 

 were ably represented by Dr. George H. 

 Cleveland, of the Chicago Fisherman's 

 Club ; the well-known Chicago Guy — ■ 

 Guernsey — and our president, Dr. H. G. 

 Champlin. After a moist intermission, 

 honorary memberships were presented to 

 Dr. Ward, Dr. La Rue, Floyd S. Young, 

 Guy Guernsey, Carl Hubbs, C. B. Whit- 

 ford and I. J. Ackerman for deeds and 

 activities in advancing aquarian science 

 and the welfare of the society. 



The gathering was then transported to 

 the ( )rpheum Theatre, in the Loop, for a 

 private exhibition by Mr. William l\ 

 ( )rsinger of five reels of aquatic life and 

 deep sea animals. December 29 is marked 

 a red letter day in the annals of the Chi- 

 cago Aquarium Society. 



