CAVE FISHES OF NORTH AMERICA. 



381 



Pyloric cmca. — In the keys and descriptions in Jordan and Ever- 

 mann's Fishes of North and Middle America, the number of pyloric 

 coeca is taken as one of the characters on which is based the division 

 of the Amhlyopsidx, into genera. I have examined specimens of all 

 of the North American species of this family and get results quite 

 different from those recorded by the above authors and others who 

 have written on the systematic characters of this group. The least 

 number of pyloric coeca found in any specimen was 1 and the highest 4. 



^ T> 



Cut 1. — Alimentary canal of Choloyaster 

 cornutus. pc, pyloric coeca; *•, stomach; 

 V, vent. 



Cut 



-Alimentary canal of C'holo- 

 gaster papillifcrus. 



Four specimens of Cholog aster cornutus Agassiz were examined and 

 in every case the number of pyloric coeca was 4. (Cut 1 shows the 

 intestine and pyloric coeca of C. cornutus: s, the stomach; ^p*?, the 

 pyloric coeca; and '^', the vent.) Choloc/aster jxipUliferus Forbes (cut 

 2), also has 4 ccecal appendages. In previous descriptions of this spe- 

 cies but 2 coeca are noted. The four specimens of the rare Cliologaster 

 agassizil Putnam that were examined had 4 pyloric coeca each (cut 3). 

 Nine specimens of TyyJiliclitliys suhterraneus Girard Avere examined, 5 



Cut 3. — Alimentary canal of 

 Cliologaster agassizii. 



Cut 4. — Alimentary ranal of Typldichlhys 

 subtcrnmcus. 



from Mammoth Cave and 4 from Mitchells Cave, Kentuck}". Seven 

 of these had 2 distinct pyloric coeca each. Cut 4 shows a ventral 

 view of the intestine of T. subterrcmeus and cut 5 a side view of 

 another specimen of the same species with the gall-sac in position, 

 the liver having been removed. In the other two specimens only 1 

 pyloric coecum could be found in each, but the specimens were poorly 

 preserved and possibly the second appendage had disintegrated. The 

 coecal appendages in Aiiiblyopsls spelseus De Kay were found to vary 



