March 13, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



433 



probably in blood. To my surprise, I found 

 the spot in every one of the seven babies of 

 pure Indian blood. It seems, however, to be 

 far more evanescent among the Mayas than 

 among the Japanese and other populations, 

 being rarely found in individuals of more 

 than ten months of age. Three babies, less 

 than ten months in age, but of mestizo (mixed- 

 blood) parentage, showed no trace of the spot. 

 The spot is variable in size, shape and position, 

 but it is always in the sacral region; in color 

 it is blue or a bluish-purple: it gradually dis- 

 appears and two or three of the cases seem 

 te show an original single spot broken up 

 into separate blotches which lose distinctness. 



The sizes and shapes of the spots observed 

 are accurately shown in the accompanying cut, 

 reduced to one half the diameter. The notes 

 made regarding each are here presented: 



1. Boy; eight months. Spot well marked; 

 dark purple; median, three inches above the 

 anal fold. An older brother, two years old, 

 showed no sign of the spot, but his raother 

 says he was equally well marked at birth. 



2. Girl; one year. Spot well defined; just 

 to the right of the upper end of the fold. 



3. Girl ; three months. Two faint and badly 

 defined spots jiist to the left of the upper end 

 of the anal fold; a darker and better defined 

 spot above. 



4. Boy; two months. Two faint and badly 



defined spots, one on either side of the anal 

 fold; a third, darker and better defined, above. 



5. Boy; ten months. Only the lower of 

 three spots is fairly defined, and it is faint, 

 like a disappearing bruise; the other two are 

 fainter. The three look like the separated 

 parts of a spot which is disappearing. The 

 group is median and located a little above 

 the anal fold. 



6, 7. Boys; twins of two months. Spots are 

 pale blue but well defined; they are almost 

 identical in form, size, color and position. 

 They just overlap the upper end of the anal 

 fold. Frederick Starr. 



February 6, 1903. 



THE EGGS OF THE EASTERN ATLANTIC HAG-FISH, 

 MYXINE LIMOSA Gir. 



Eggs of a hag-fish from the Newfoundland 

 banks were described by the present writer in 

 1900 (Mem. N. Y. Acad. Sci., Vol. IL, pp. 

 31—43) from specimens in the Verrill collec- 

 tion, Yale University. They were then looked 

 upon as belonging to the common North At- 

 lantic Myxine glutinosa Linn. Since that 

 time, however, the eggs of five other species 

 of myxinoids have been examined, and a 

 fairly defimite knqwledge is at hand in the 

 matter of the degree of variation in these eggs 

 vcithin specific limits. It follows from these 

 studies that the differences between the eggs 

 of M. glutinosa as described by Jensen and 

 those of the Newfoundland form are too gTeat 

 (op. cit., pp. 35, 42) to warrant the eggs of 

 both types to be included under Myxine glu- 

 tinosa. Accordingly I have come to the con- 

 clusion that we must consider the American 

 specimens as probably representing Myxine 

 limosa Girard, the common hag-fish of Maine. 

 I would also note that a study of variation 

 among myxinoids has recently led me to con- 

 elude with Mr. Garman that Myxine limosa 

 is to be accepted, not as a variety of M. glu- 

 tinosa, but as a valid species. 



Bashford Dean. 



ORIGIN OF name MONOTREMES. 



I HAVE been unable to find any reference 

 to the early use of the now familiar name 

 Monotremes, and the information may be of 



