32 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1070 



sessing genera common to Africa and America. 

 The African genera are only six, whereas we 

 have very numerous genera in North America. 

 Three, each with a single species, are exclu- 

 sive African, one being from Lake Tanganyika 

 (a remarkable form, with ctenoid scales), one 

 from, the Cameroon-lSTiger region (the exposed 

 surface of the scales said to be regularly hexag- 

 onal), and one which is really Palsearctie, 

 being found on the northern slope of the Atlas 

 Mountains, in hot springs. The last men- 

 tioned, Tellia, is like Cyprinodon, with the 

 pelvic fins wholly absent. Eighteen species 

 are placed in Fundulus — the genus which is 

 persecuted every summer by the biologists at 

 Woods Hole. Forty-two others are referred to 

 Aplocheilus, which Dr. Boulenger calls Hap- 

 lochilus, the only distinguishing feature of 

 which appears to be the fact that the dorsal fin 

 is placed more posteriorly. Other characters 

 have been cited by authors, but they apparently 

 break down in dealing with the African fauna. 

 The weakness of Haplochilus, as now defined, 

 is indicated by the fact that in 1911 Dr. Bou- 

 lenger himseK described the sexes of a species 

 {Fundulus gardneri) as two different things, 

 placing the male in Fundulus and the female 

 in Haplochilus. Another species, Haplochilus 

 liheriensis, certainly seems nearer to F. gard- 

 neri than the latter is to some other species 

 assigned to Fundulus. Thus we have a more 

 or less continuous series, which is divided into 

 two genera principally on grounds of con- 

 venience, by a character which in most of the 

 species can be recognized at a glance. The 

 only objection to this arises from the possibil- 

 ity that the arrangement is artificial, and that 

 our American Haplochilus have no immediate 

 relationship with those of Asia and Africa. If 

 we use the single character employed by Bou- 

 lenger, our Fundulus floripinnis must be re- 

 ferred to Haplochilus, where in fact Cope 

 originally placed it. 



Boulenger's " Freshwater Fishes of Africa " 

 is a book which, although strictly technical, 

 ought to find a place in general zoological 

 laboratories, because it serves so well to illus- 

 trate the modifications which characterize 

 genera and species. Very rarely can we see 



such complete series as are represented by the 

 illustrations, and with the relatively scanty 

 materials at our command, we are little able 

 to appreciate the real diversity of animal life. 



T. D. A. COCKERELL 

 UNrVERSITY OF COLORADO 



A BIBLIOGSAPHT OF FISHES TO BE PUB- 

 LISHED 



The time is ripe — and has, indeed, long been 

 ripe — for the publication of a carefully pre- 

 pared bibliography of fishes, to cover the en- 

 tire range of the subject : fishes fossil as well as 

 living, and fishes from many points of view, 

 such as anatomy, physiology, embryology, 

 pathology, parasitology, distribution, taxon- 

 omy, everything in short excepting matters 

 which deal with clerical details of the fisheries. 

 Such a compilation, it is clear, means much 

 for this branch of zoology; for the literature 

 of the fishes is vast, widely scattered and ill 

 digested. In fact, I believe that there is 

 hardly an investigator to-day who has not 

 been obliged, needlessly, to give weeks or 

 months of his time to searching for references. 



The importance of such a bibliography was 

 brought home to me about 1890 : at that time 

 I began the work of collecting references to 

 be used in my studies, and as years passed I 

 was able to build up a card-catalogue giving 

 author and subject, which proved indispensa- 

 ble. Later my catalogue became known to 

 correspondents, who in turn found it of use 

 in their studies; and they, for their part, were 

 generous in contributing references, and thus 

 added notably to its value. It next, through 

 the kindness of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 absorbed the bibliography which Professor 

 Goode undertook to publish and which his 

 death left unfinished. Thus the value of the 

 work became greater year by year. About 

 1910 the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory allowed me secretarial help in the direc- 

 tion of editing the catalogue for publication. 

 And thereafter, for about a year and a half 

 this secretarial work was carefully carried on 

 under the supervision of my coUeague, Dr. 

 Louis Hussakof, and since 1914 by Dr. C. R. 

 Eastman, of the American Museum. 



