304 MR. H. A. BAYLIS ON THE 



anj evidence that such is the case *. Of course, there is always tlie possibility 

 that such appendages may serve merely to increase the resemblance of the 

 animal to its surroundings by simuiating bits of seaweed and the like, or by 

 merely breaking tbe continuity o£ its outline, as is no doubt the case among 

 various fishes, such as Scorpcena. But this offers no explanation of the 

 presence of specinl sense-organs in the tentacles, and could not, therefore, in 

 this case be considered the sole justification for their existence. 



Note. — In Blennius ocellaris somewhat similar supraorbital tentacles are 

 found, but tliey are more flattened in shape, with expanded extremities. 

 They do not appear to contain any fusiform cells, though in other respects 

 their histolooy closely resembles that of the tentacles of B. (jattorugme. 

 There are no nasal tentacles, but there is a small flattened dermal appendage 

 on the back, on either side of the first or anterior ray of the dorsal fin. In 

 sections of these appendages no fusiform cells or taste-buds were found, but 

 there are a very few " Kolben '' and numerous globular mucous cells. The 

 corium is very thick, and consists of fine fibres arranged in a conspicuously 

 concentric manner, with large vertical bundles internally. The connective 

 tissue in the centre of the organ is rather loose, with a few small nerve- 

 bundles running longitudinally through it. 



Literature cited. 



1. Bateson, W. — "The Sense-organs and Perception of Fishes.'^ Journ. 



Marine Biol. Assoc. 1889-90. 



2. Jobert, M — '' Rtudes d'anatoniie comparee sur les organes du toucher." 



Ann. des Sc. Naturelles, tom. xvi. (1872). 



3. ScHULTZE, M. — " Die kolbenforiuigen Gebilde in der Haut von Petro- 



mijzon, &c." Archiv fiir Anat., Physiol., u. wissensch. Medicin (du 

 Bois-Eeymond), 18G1, p. 228. 



4. ScHULZE, Franz F. — "Epithel-und Driisen-Zellen.^^ Archiv fiir Mikros- 



kopische Anatomic, Bd. iii. (18G7). 



5. ZiNCONE, A. — " Osservazioni anatomiche sn di alcune appendici tattili dei 



pesci." Rendiconto della Reale Accademia delle Scienze tisiche e 

 matematiche, Fasc. 9° — Settembre 1876. 



6. Morrill, A. D. — "The Pectoral Appendages of Prionotus and their 



Innervation." Journal of Morphology, vol. xi., 1895. 



* Mr. O. Tate Regan, of the British Museum, lias suggested to me that these tentacles 

 might serve to gauge the amount of space in the crannies of rocks such as these fishes love — 

 much as the whiskers of cats, to quote a familiar case, are supposed to gauge spaces through 

 ■which they creep. 



