SEN Zoology. 573 
“col” of the paunch, than on the rest of the surface. In the stomach 
of a very old animal a different condition exists. The large papillze 
of the “col” are few and far between—two or three times as far apart 
as in the younger animal, much smaller, twisted once on the base, evi- 
dently becoming atrophied. Between these papille can be seen traces 
of many others which have disappeared, leaving their bases only as 
vestiges, and these are entirely covered by the ordinary epithelium of 
the stomach. 
That these papills do not renew themselves is shown by histological 
sections of the papille. In a bison, thirty years of age, the papille 
were almost entirely wanting. An antelope and a ram showed the 
process of degeneration very clearly. 
The second age modification is the appearance of a black coloration 
more or less intense over the entire surface of the stomach. Observa- 
tions so far, however, show that this modification takes place in domes- 
tic animals only. [Bull. Soc. Zool., T. XVII, 1892.] 
. Zoological News.—According to C. H. Eigenmann, the develop- 
ment of the Point Loma blind fish (Typhlogobius californiensis Stein- 
dachner), is a striking example of the degeneration of the eyes. The 
embryo, before it is hatched, has eyes developed as well as the embryo 
of any other fish. When the individuals have reached the length of 
an inch they can still see a short distance, but it is evident that the eye 
has stopped growing long before this age is reached. In the adult con- 
dition the eye has become degenerated and covered with a thick skin, 
and the fish is totally blind. (Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 1892.) 
In his Comparative Notes on Swifts and Humming-Birds, Dr. 
Shufeldt submits 61‘important structural differences existing between 
the Cypseli and the Trochili, These differences, in the author's 
opinion, establishes the fact that these two groups, morphologically 
speaking, are not related. (The Ibis, Jan., 1893). 
A new rat, Perognathus merriamii, is described by J. A. Allen, from 
southeastern Texas. It is allied to P. flavus, but differs from it in col- 
oration, in the general form of the skull, and in the relative size and 
proportions of special parts of the skull. The species is based on 17 
specimens from Brownsville, Texas. (Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1892.) 
Mr. Amos Butler reports that the “ Least Shrew,” Blarina parva 
(Say), the smallest mammal in the United States, is rather common in 
the Whitewater Valley in Indiana. (Proc. Indiana Acad. Science, 
1891, . : 63, 1893.) , , 
