290 



MB. E. W. 1. HOLT ON THE 



[Apr. 19, 



Once well clear of the bottom, the pair soon assume an abs olutely 

 vertical position, and the male, by a sinuous flexure of his trunk, 

 brin<i;s his side, for some part of its length, in contact with that 

 of the female, at the same time turning the front part of his anal 

 towards her. and pointing his now elongated genital papilla in the 

 same direction. The female becomes slightly inclined towards 

 him, so that the edges of their anal fins are in contact for some 

 distance. A funnel is thus formed, and, as I suppose, the ova 

 are shot down it from the backwardly-directed genital aperture 

 and fertilized en passant, a process which is assisted by the gentle 

 fanning of the first few anal rays of the male. The relations of 

 the pair are shown in the drawing (fig. 2, p. 290). There is, and, 



Fig. 2. 



Male and female Dragonets in coition. Eeduced three-fifths. 



from the anatomy of the participators, can be no such apposition of 

 the ventral surfaces as is described by Savile Kent, since such would 

 certainly involve the female quitting her position at the base of the 



