Aquatic Lite 85 
moving the mud, both were found, one 
considerably larger than when put in. I 
have not the least idea upon what they 
subsisted during all this time. Possibly 
they fed on the refuse matter in the mud. 
They lived for some time afterward. 
The adults are known to eat holes into 
the bodies of fishes, upon which they 
fasten themselves to suck out their juices, 
in this way doing great damage in 
streams and lakes. Lampreys, too, are 
nest builders; rearing small mounds of 
stones and pebbles in the streams.”’— 
Ed.) 
The Steinhart Aquarium 
A great public aquarium for San Fran- 
cisco has been provided for in the will of 
Ignatz Steinhart, who died at his home 
in that city on May 15. ‘The sum of 
$250,0co is bequeathed to the California 
Academy of Sciences, to be used for the 
erection of the aquarium building. By 
the express terms of the will the aqua- 
rium is to be in Golden Gate Park, 
adjacent to or adjoining the Museum of 
the California Academy of Sciences. It 
is to be called the “Steinhart Aquarium,” 
and is to be under the management, su- 
perintendence, and operation of the Cali- 
fornia Academy of Sciences. The ex- 
pense of maintenance will be met by the 
city of San Francisco, provision for 
which was made in a charter amendment 
voted by the electorate recently. 
As the entire quarter of a million dol- 
lars will be put into the building, it is 
evident that San Francisco will have one 
of the greatest aquariums in the world. 
Mr. Steinhart was very desirous that, if 
he established an aquarium, it should be 
under non-political control. Until re- 
cently he had not been able to discover 
any entirely satisfactory method ‘by 
which this end could be accomplished, 
and he had practically abandoned the 
project, when he heard through Dr. Bar- 
ton Warren Evermann, director of the 
Museum of the California Academy, of 
the transfer of the management of the 
New York Aquarium from the New 
York Board of Park Commissioners to 
the New York Zoological Society, and 
the splendid success of that aquarium 
under the efficient directorship of Dr. 
Charles H. Townsend. Mr. Steinhart’s 
interest at once revived. It was sug- 
gested that the California Academy ot 
Sciences would probably be willing to 
accept the management of the aquarium 
he desired to establish, should he wish 
it to do so, and the suggestion met Mr. 
Steinhart’s approval. Mr. Steinhart was 
one of the most philanthropic citizens of 
San Francisco, and his name will ever 
be held in grateful remembrance by the 
visitors to the great aquarium which his 
breadth of vision and liberality will have 
made possible-—The American Museunt 
Journal. 
—~<+»—>—___ 
The Mosquito Fish 
JOHN C. MURPHY 
The tiny top minnow, Heterandria 
formosa, is one of the smallest of fishes 
—the smallest of the North American 
species, not even excepting the pigmy 
sunfishes. While aquarians class it as a 
“tropical,” it is really a temperate fish, 
ranging from North Carolina to Florida 
in ponds and ditches. This indicates it 
as a desirable fish for those unable to 
supply the degree of heat demanded by 
those from warmer climes. It will get 
along nicely during the winter under 
ordinary home conditions, even though 
the room be uncomfortably cold. 
This Heterandria, or Mosquito-fish, as 
it is sometimes called, is not remarkable 
for its beauty. The general color is 
brownish or greenish yellow, a dark band 
