December 2, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



787 



Bay rivers besides some fresh-water and 

 marine fishes was noteworthy for the num- 

 bers of the variable snail Neritina, and for 

 the striking presence of the marine crabs 

 accustomed to life in pure fresh water, 

 Sesai~ma miersii Rathbun and Glypto- 

 grapsus jamaicensis (Benedict), together 

 with numerous prawns and shrimp. 



Zoeas swimming in fresh water a mile 

 above the sea and reared to the adult form 

 in fresh water were novelties here. This 

 adjustment of marine forms to the land 

 is more conspicuous in the common white 

 crab, Cordesima guanhumi Latreille, and 

 the famous edible black crab, Gecarcinus 

 ruricola (Lin.) and the hermit Ccenobita 

 diogenes, all of which invaded the labora- 

 tory building at the period of their down- 

 ward march to the sea to "wash spawn," 

 or let loose their long-carried young as 

 zoeas that swim in the sea and ultimately 

 come back to the long adult life on land, 

 in many cases far from the water. 



Next in order of prominence about the 

 building are the inevitable lizards with 

 their interesting changes of colors or quick 

 utilization of insect food or strange eve- 

 ning cries. One iguana ten pounds in 

 weight brought back alive seemed to be the 

 last survivor on the Bogue Islands, as the 

 one kept at the Jamaica Institute, Kings- 

 ton, years since was thought to be the last 

 in that part of the island. 



Contrary to expectation, some two or 

 three species of snakes were found, though 

 tiU recently the island was reputed to have 

 been cleared of serpents, like Ireland, but 

 by the unsaintly mongoose. This creatur.e 

 was as evident as our squirrel, and though 

 intractable as adult, was, we found, easily 

 tamed when captured j-oung. 



Neglecting the many interesting birds 

 that abounded on all sides, more attention 

 was given to the common pedipalps, scor- 

 pions, centipedes and myriapods and some 



of the conspicuous insects, including the 

 large cucuyo and many smaller but brilliant 

 luminous beetles. 



As an example of the rarity of some 

 animals it may be mentioned that one and 

 only one specimen of Peripatus was found. 

 This species has hitherto been known only 

 from two specimens found by Gosse in 

 1845 near Sav la Mar on the south coast, 

 and about eighty fo\md near Bath in the 

 extreme east of Jamaica by Swainson in 

 1892 and by Duerden and Grobham in 

 1901. 



Conspicuous throughout all this part of 

 Jamaica are the large nests of termites, and 

 the smaller nests of stinging black ants on 

 trees and fences and many near the labora- 

 tory afforded ample material for study. 



A chief object of the expedition being to 

 enable the candidates for the Ph.D. degree 

 to become personally acquainted with the 

 fauna of these latitudes as part of their 

 education, much time was spent in general 

 survey of the different ecological regions, 

 but some special problems were attacked. 



Such were the locomotion of certain echin- 

 oderms; the response of the pediceUarias 

 to light; the life history of the spiny lob- 

 ster, Panularis argos, and of several crabs, 

 notably, Mithrax spinississimce (Lamarck) ; 

 the origin of the remarkable phosphores- 

 cent areas seen on the sea bottom; the bio- 

 logical value of the light emitted by several 

 marine animals and by luminous beetles; 

 the anatomy and life histories of many 

 parasitic copepods, largely unknown 

 species; the daily rhythms of activity in 

 termite communities; the nature of the re- 

 sponses of termites of one colony to those 

 of another; the concurrence of small size 

 and brilliance of coloring with life in brack- 

 ish water in the case of the fresh-water 

 Neritina virginea. 



The six members of the laboratory' en- 

 joyed good health during the entire summer 



