1330 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



studying it. Considerable quantities of small 

 seashore invertebrates are annually given to 

 school teachers for class work. 



The Director of the Aquarium is frequently 

 asked by educational institutions and state fish- 

 ery boards to recommend a young man with lab- 

 oratory training, who is capable of investigating 

 problems connected with fisheries. Within the 

 past month he has found such a worker for the 

 New York Conservation Commission. 



The Aquarium requires a well equipped bio- 

 logical laboratory to carry on the daily study 

 of aquatic life of which so little is known. The 

 embryology, physiology, adaptations and hered- 

 ity of these forms offer interesting fields of in- 

 vestigation which it is the duty of the Aquarium 

 to pursue. 



The problems of heredity appeal to popular 

 interest and the living collections give daily 

 demonstrations of their inherited tendencies. 



In all parts of the world where tides ebb and 

 flow there are hosts of marine animals that in- 

 habit the space that is daily covered or laid bare 

 by tidal action. Most of these creatures have 

 in the course of ages become dependent upon 

 the conditions created by tides. When the tide 

 is out many of them burrow into the sand or 

 mud. They can feed only when it is in. It has 

 been found that some animals accustomed to 

 burrow into the sand at low tide will do so even 

 in an aquarium constantly full of water. The 

 movement of the tides affect them unfailingly, 

 and they begin to burrow twice each day when 

 the tide begins to ebb. 



The eifects produced by daylight and dark- 

 ness are very marked in some marine animals. 

 The phosphorescent creatures of the sea are 

 luminous only at night. Even when kept in a 

 totally dark laboratory room they shine only 

 when it is actuallv night time. 



Certain sea animals with the power of chang- 

 ing their colors, take on in the daytime the 

 colors of the sea-weeds among which they live, 

 while at night they regularly assume paler col- 

 ors. These changes they will make even if their 

 surroundings in the laboratory are actually re- 

 versed. 



Even sea pressure leaves its mark on marine 

 animals. It is the nature of the eel when it 

 reaches maturity to leave the fresh waters and 

 descend into deep water in the sea. where it 

 spawns. 



If forced to remain in the Aquarium tank 

 during this period, gas bubbles form vmder the 

 skin, because of the lack of sea pressure which 

 is necessary at that pei'iod. 



Heredity compels an animal to continue the 

 inherited habits connected with its life proc- 

 esses, and so the revolution of the earth on its 

 axis, the influence of the moon and sun upon 

 the tides, and even the revolution of the earth 

 around the sun, produce effects on some of the 

 simplest of living things. 



We are indebted to the biological laboratories 

 of the world for many of the most interesting 

 discoveries in modern zoology. If the Aquari- 

 um, with its varied living exhibits of marine 

 animals, had a well-equipped laboratory, it 

 could at once take a place among the institu- 

 tions devoted to biological investigation. 



THE GUADALUPE FUR SEAL. 

 A Contribution to Its History. 



By C. H. TOWNSEND. 



THERE is but little recorded concerning 

 the natural historv of the Guadalupe Fur 

 Seal, and the onlj^ known specimens are 

 in the United States National Museum. These 

 were obtained by the writer at Guadalupe Is- 

 land off Lower California in 1892, and were 

 soon after described as a new species (Arcto- 

 cephalus toxvnsendi) by Merriam. 



After visiting Guadalupe, the writer succeed- 

 ed in locating in California some of the seal 

 hunters who had formerly engaged in sealing 

 at Guadalupe and the adjacent San Benita Is- 

 lands, and from whom he obtained considerable 

 information. In some cases old log-books show- 

 ing the numbers of seals killed were available. 

 The information secured from these original 

 sources and published in 1899 represents all 

 that is known of the species. 



The records, wliich are no doubt very incom- 

 plete, show that at least 5,575 fur seals were 

 killed at Guadalupe and the San Benitas be- 

 tween 1876 and 1891. 



After the lapse of more than twenty years, 

 during which time nothing further respecting 

 this seal has been brought to light, it is inter- 

 esting to be able to add something of impor- 

 tance to the record. 



Quite recently, while reading William Mar- 

 iner's account of the Tonga Islands, published 

 in 1827, I learned that fur seals were being- 

 killed at the San Benita Islands in 1806. 



The Port an Prince, whaler and privateer, 

 Mr. Mariner being on board, sailed from 

 Gravesend, England, February 12, 1805. On 

 the first of August, 1806, she reached Cerros 



