The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi = 421 
some other species of Chologaster. Of this species Mr. Garman 
and Mr. Eigenmann have given detailed accounts from some- 
what different points of view. 
Concerning the habits of the blindfish (Troglichthys rose), 
Mr. Garman quotes the following from notes of Miss Ruth 
Hoppin, of Jasper County, Missouri: ‘‘For about two weeks 
I have been watching a fish taken from a well. I gave him 
considerable water, changed once a day, and kept him in an 
uninhabitated place subject to as few changes of temperature 
as possible. He seems perfectly healthy and as lively as when 
first taken from the well. If not capable of long fasts, he must 
live on small organisms my eye cannot discern. He is hardly 
ever still, but moves about the sides of the vessel constantly, 
down and up, as if needing the air. He never swims through 
Fig. 332.—Blindfish of the Mammoth Cave, Amblyopsis speleus (De Kay). 
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. 
the body of the water away from the sides unless disturbed. 
Passing the finger over the sides of the vessel under water I 
find it slippery. I am careful not to disturb this slimy coating 
when the water is changed. ... Numerous tests convince 
me that it is through the sense of touch, and not through hear- 
ing, that the fish is disturbed; I may scream or strike metal 
bodies together over him as near as possible, yet he seems to 
take no notice whatever. If I strike the vessel so that the 
water is set in motion, he darts away from that side through 
the mass of water, instead of around in his usual way. If I 
stir the water or touch the fish, no matter how lightly, his 
actions are the same.” 
The more famous blindfish of the Mammoth Cave, Ambly- 
opsis speleus, reaches a length of five inches. It possesses 
ventral fins. From this fact we may infer its descent from 
