444 THE DESCENT OF MAN 



many of the latter are now distended with spawn, and these 

 he endeavors by all the means in his power to lure singly to 

 his jprepared hollow, and there to deposit the myriad ova 

 with which they are laden, which he then protects and 

 guards with the greatest care."" 



A more striking case of courtship, as well as of display, 

 by the males of a Chinese Macropus, has been given by M. 

 Carbonnier, who carefully observed these fishes under con- 

 finement." The males are most beautifully colored, more 

 so than the females. During the breeding season they con- 

 tend for the possession of the females; and, in the act of 

 courtship, expand their fins, which are spotted and orna- 

 mented with brightly-colored rays, in the same manner, ac- 

 cording to M. Carbonnier, as the peacock. They then also 

 bound about the females with much vivacity, and appear by 

 "I'^talage de leurs vives couleurs chercher k attirer I'atten- 

 tion des femelles, lesquelles ne paraissaient indiff^rentes h 

 ce manege, elles nageaient avec une molle lenteur vers les 

 mSles et semblaient se complaire dans leur voisinage." 

 After the male has won his bride,' he makes a little disk 

 of froth by blowing air and mucus out of his mouth. He 

 then collects the fertilized ova dropped by the female, in 

 his mouth; and this caused M. Carbonnier much alarm, as 

 he thought that they were going to be devoured. But the 

 male soon deposits them in the disk of froth, afterward 

 guarding them, repairing the froth, and taking care of the 

 young when hatched. I mention these particulars, because, 

 as we shall presently see, there are fishes, the males of which 

 hatch their eggs in their mouths; and those who do not be- 

 lieve in the principle of gradual evolution might ask how 

 could such a habit have originated; but the difficulty is 

 much diminished when we know that there are fishes which 

 thus collect and carry the eggs; for, if delayed by any cause 

 in depositing them, the habit of hatching them in their 

 mouths might have been acquired. 



»9 "Nature," May, 1873, p. 25. 



" "Bull, de la Soc. d'Acclimat.," Paris, July, 1869, and Jan. 1810. 



