33 



on the Chesapeake, ) were also noticed, of two sjjecies, 

 belonging to the genera CJiilomycterus and CMlichthys. 

 Though the Batrachus is also called the oyster-hsh, but 

 in opening a number to examine the contents of their 

 stomachs I found no evidence of the remains of oysters, 

 nor does the conformation of the mouth indicate that the 

 fish is in the habit of destroying oysters for food. The 

 teeth of the puffers look as if they might be much better 

 adapted to crush the shells of live oysters, especially 

 those not over a year old. In the Museum of the A cad- 

 emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia there is a speci- 

 men of a blenny 3^ inches in length, which was taken 

 from an oyster 4^ inches long by Mr. C. W. Hyatt. On 

 the inner face of both valves the fish, which is apparent- 

 ly a female, has laid its eggs, which are adherent, and 

 cover nearly half the inside of both valves. Although 

 this specimen is interesting and somewhat puzzling, I do 

 not think that the little fish can be accused of destroying 

 the oyster in order to make a comfortable spawning nest 

 for itself. It seems very likely that the animal of the 

 oyster was destroyed in some other way, and that the 

 blenny finding the shell abandoned made it the re|)()si- 

 tory for its eggs, which seem to be partially embedded 

 in a layer of some whitish secretion. 



Prof. Mobius alludes to the observation of Captain 

 Johnston, who says, in the Report on the Oyster Fisher- 

 ies, made to the House of Commons, 1876, tliat he saw 

 small fishes of the genera Gohms and Mullus swallow tlie 

 brood of the oyster as the latter discharged it from its 

 parted valves, and that he afterwards caught and opened 

 the stomachs of the fishes and found the fry in tlieui. 

 Since our oyster discharges its eggs directly into the 

 water l)efore development, when they measure only one 

 five hundredth of an inch in diameter, I tliink we ^vill 

 not need to be alarmed about the destruction of embryos 

 by small fishes, since T know of no species wliicli fre- 

 quents the oyster beds whose gill-rakers are close enough 



