August 24, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



177 



(Mitchill), Boleosoina olmstedi (Storer), Cope- 

 landellus quiescens (Jordan). The two ma- 

 rine species, Synodus intermedius (Agassiz) 

 and Myrophis punctatus Liitken, appear to be 

 new to the Beaufort fauna. 



Dr. Albert Kuntz, of the St. Louis University 

 School of Medicine, continued the study of the 

 embryological and larval development of fishes 

 carried on during several seasons. Experi- 

 ments in rearing larvae gave only negative 

 results. 



Dr. Kuntz also made a detailed study of the 

 skin of flounders adapted to backgrounds of 

 diifereut colors for the purpose of determining 

 the degree of distribution of melanin and 

 xanthine pigment and the relationship of the 

 guanophores with the chromatophores when a 

 given shade or color is assimilated as nearly as 

 possible. Shade was found to depend primar- 

 ily on the degree of distribution of the me- 

 lanin pigment and the relationship of the gua- 

 nophores with the melanophore. Color depends 

 on a complex group of factors including the 

 relative degree of distribution of melanin and 

 xanthine pigment and the optical effects due 

 to the diffraction of light by the guanin crys- 

 tals in the guanophores. 



Mr. Arthur Jacot, of Cornell University, 

 continued for the second season the study of 

 the life history of the mullets of the Beaufort 

 region. It was definitely determined that the 

 nominal genus QuerimarM comprises the 

 young of the genus Mugil. At a certain period 

 in their lives the young mullets pass through 

 a gradual change which gives them the full 

 adult characters. During this time the first 

 soft ray of the anal fin is transformed into a 

 spine, a change in the sculpture of the scales 

 giving the appearance of a winter line also 

 takes place, and the color is changed more 

 nearly to that of the adult. The "jumiping 

 mullet " {Mugil cephalus) spawns in the fall, 

 from October to December. The young grow 

 rapidly and attain a length of 5 or 6 inches 

 when one year of age. Then they appear to 

 migrate southward by a slow and leisurely 

 movement. In the spring they migrate north- 

 ward, but by a more direct and apparently 

 more continuous run. This migration causes 



a cessation of feeding and therefore of growth 

 which is so marked as to affect the scale, 

 leaving a " migration line." The jumping 

 mullet, as shown from these studies, normally 

 attains maturity when two years of age, but 

 it may continue to grow until at least five 

 years old. The " silverside mullet " (Mugil 

 curema) spawns in the spring and the young 

 grow rapidly. In the fall they leave the har- 

 bor to return only in small numbers. A care- 

 ful search was made for the eggs and larvae 

 within the harbor and along the outer shores 

 of Shackelford and Bogue banks, but no eggs 

 or young less than 20 mm. in length were 

 found. Since the eggs and larvse of the jump- 

 ing mullet too have not been found by the use 

 of similar methods in the same locality, it is 

 inferred that these two species are pelagic in 

 their spawning grounds. 



Mr. O. W. Hyman, of the University of 

 Tennessee, continued his experiments and ob- 

 servations on the larval development of crusta- 

 ceans. The experiments in rearing zoe«e were 

 unsuccessful, but the observational work 

 yielded better results. The first zoea stages 

 of Minippe and Callinectes were secured, but 

 could not be reared beyond this stage. Scat- 

 tered observations were made on the life his- 

 tory and habits of Minippe. The megalops 

 of Callinectes were taken in abundance and 

 it was found that they were hardly in confine- 

 ment and molted readily to the crab stage. 

 The young crabs molted and grew rapidly. 

 The entire life history of the common sand- 

 fiddler (Uca pugilator) was worked out. Cam- 

 era lucida drawings were prepared of each 

 stage and of all appendages of each stage. 



Dr. James J. Wolfe, of Trinity College, 

 Durham, IST. C, continued his investigation 

 of the diatom flora of the Beaufort region. 

 This work has been greatly hampered by the 

 difficulty encountered in securing the very 

 scattered literature on the subject. It is pro- 

 posed in the present work to give carefully 

 revised citations and descriptions of every 

 form occurring in the vicinity. It is also pro- 

 posed to offer carefully prepared illustrations 

 of the commoner forms. 



In addition to the above Dr. Wolfe, assisted 



