474 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 
alive and in the shallow water, and that he had landed it himself. 
“This I very much doubt, but when it was first landed it 
was in a fine state of preservation and could have easily been 
shipped to you, but he had cut it to such an extent that ship- 
ment or preservation seemed out of the question when we first 
saw it. 
“ At the time it came ashore an unusual number of peculiar 
fishes and sharks were found. Among others, I found a small 
oarfish about three feet long in a bad state of preservation in 
a piece of kelp. One side of it was nearly torn_off and the 
other side was decayed.” 
Mr. C. F. Holder gives this account of the capture of oar- 
fishes in southern California: 
“From a zoological point of view the island of Santa Cata- 
lina, which lies eighteen miles off the coast of Los Angeles 
County, southern California, is very interesting, many rare 
animals being found there. Every winter the dwellers of 
the island find numbers of argonaut-shells, and several living 
specimens have been secured, one for a time living in the aqua- 
rium which is maintained here for the benefit of students and 
the entertainment of visitors. A number of rare and interest- 
ing fishes wander inshore from time to time. Several years 
ago I found various Scopeloid fishes, which up to that time 
had been considered rare, and during the past few years I have 
seen one oarfish (Regalecus russell:) alive, while another was 
brought to me dead. From reports I judge that a number of 
these very rare fishes have been observed here. The first was 
of small size, not over two feet in length, and was discovered 
swimming in shallow water along the beach of Avalon Bay. 
I had an opportunity to observe the radiant creature before 
it died. Its *topknot’—it can be compared to nothing else— 
was a vivid red or scarlet mass of seeming plumes—the dorsal 
fins, which merged into a long dorsal fin, extending to the tail. 
The color of the body was a brilliant silver sheen splashed with 
equally vivid black zebra-like stripes, which gave the fish a 
most striking appearance. 
‘The fish was a fragile and delicate creature, a very ghost 
of a fish, which swam along where the water gently lapped 
the sands with an undulatory motion, looking like one of its 
