MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 107 



The following- statement bearing on this subject, is taken from a newspaper: 



A curiosity has boon taken by a Pierce City, Missouri, man from his well. It is a living fish about one and one- 

 half inches in length. The external markings are those of a catfish, but there are no feelers about the mouth. The 

 little creature is almost colorless, the red blood showing through the translucent flesh. It does not seem to have 

 eyes, though it is hard to decide whether it has or not.* 



Regarding the blind deep sea fishes, I sought information from the highest authority, Dr.'Giin- 

 ther, superintendent of t.he zoological department of the British Museum, who kindly wrute me 

 the following letter in regard to them : 



"British Museum (Natural History), 



" Cromivell Road, London, S. W., April 25, 1887. 



"Dear Sir : Your question is not quite so easy to answer as may appear at first sight. 'Eye- 

 less' fishes there are none; all have at least a rudiment of the organ of vision preserved. 

 ' Blind ' fishes there are many, but some of them have well-developed eyes, only the integument 

 which passes over the eyes is so thickened as to render the organ below functionless. In fact, 

 there is the most perfect gradation from the most highly-developed organ to the most rudimentary; 

 and in not a few fishes the adults are quite blind, whilst in the young the eye is comparatively 

 not only larger, but covered with transparent skin and performing the functions of vision. 



"Thus the following list may be open to criticism, but I will endeavor to enumerate those 

 fishes which seem to have the organ of vision at a similar stage of abortion as Amblyopsis and 

 Lucifuga (I do not know Gronias from autopsy) ; that is, fishes which are blind in consequence of 

 the rudimentary condition of the eye-ball. 



Amblyopus. Several species. 

 Trypauchen. Several species. 



Lucifuga. Several species. 

 Typhlonus nasus Giinth. Deep sea. 



GOBIIDiH. 



Trypauchenichthys typus. 



OPHIDIID^E. 



Aphyonus gelatinosus Giinth. Deep sea. 



PLEURONECTID^. 

 Soleotalpa unicolor. • l 



SILURTD^E. 



Amblyceps. Several species. j Brontes prenadilla. 



Cetopsis. Several species. 



Ipnops murrayi Giinth. Deep 



SOOPELlD^E. 

 sea. 



MYXINID^). 



Myxine. Several species. J Bdellostoma. Several species. 



"Ail further particulars as regards localities, etc., which you may wish to ascertain you will 

 find either in my 'Catalogue of Fishes' or in my 'Introduction to the Study of Fishes.' If I 

 have some copies of the figures of the three deep-sea fishes I will send them by this post, and 

 should have great pleasure in supplying any further information you may desire. 

 " Believe me, yours, truly, 



" A. GtJNTHER." 



* Sue also an article by A. W. Chase in Amer. Journ. Sci. and Arts, vii, 1874, p. 74. An article appearing in the 

 Providence Journal January 4, 1887, states that " a well that for forty years has furnished water for a large community 

 of negroes on the Coolewahee plantation, Georgia, was cleaned the other day," when "two crawfishes, perfectly white 

 and without eyes," were taken out, with numerous articles of human manufacture. 



