288 The American Naturalist. ‘[Mareh, 
for in 1861, he had entered as Demonstrator in the Laboratory of 
Paleontology of the Museum of Paris, under the direction of M. 
d’Archiac. His researches concerned above all the living and fossil 
Mollusea. Since 1886, he directed the Journal de Conchyliologie, 
in collaboration with M. Crosse. From the position of demonstrator 
he rose to be aide-naturaliste (assistant), and studied with great suc- 
cess the marine animals of the coast of France, their geographical and 
bathymetric distribution. He indicated the depths at which a large 
number of Foraminifera, Ceelenterata, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Bry- 
ozoa, etc., can be collected on the coasts of the west of France. In col- 
laboration with the Marquis de Folen, he undertook the study of the 
animals dredged in the extremely interesting region of the Gulf of Gas- 
cogne to which the name “ Fosse du Cap Breton” has been given. The: 
two savants discovered a large number of form hitherto unknown, and 
many which recalled species only known in the fossil condition. With 
M. Delesse, he made researches on the submarine sediments of the 
French shores. He was elected member of the Commission of Dredging, 
and took part, from 1880 to 1883, on board the “ Travailleur ” and the 
“ Talisman” in the celebrated expedition directed by Professor Milne- 
Edwards. In the course of these expeditions, he noted the enormous 
extension of a cold fauna characterised by boreal and Arctic species, and 
reaching as far as Senegal, where it lives beneath a superficial fauna 
with intertropical characters. ° 
Among the writings of Fischer, which number not less than 300 
titles, including books, pamphlets and memoirs, we may cite: Paléon- 
tologie del’ Asie Mineure (in collaboration with M. d’Archiac and. M. 
deVerneuil) ; Mollusques du Mexique et de l Amérique centrale (in col- 
laboration with M. Crosse) ; Species général et inconographie des co- 
quilles vivantes; Animaux fossies du Mont Léberon (in collaboration with 
. Albert Gaudry and M. Tournouer) ; Paléontologie de lile de 
Rhodes ; Cétacés du Sud-ouest de la France; Catalogue et distribution 
géographique des Mollusques terrestres, fluviatiles et marins @ une pa 
de l? Indo-Chine ; Sur les caractères de la faune conchyliologique terres- 
tre et fluviatile récemment éteinte du Sahara ; Sur la faune conchyliologr- 
que de Vile d Hainan (Chine); numerous memoirs on the malacologi- 
cal fauna of Lord Howe Island (Pacific Ocean) ; of Cambodia, of the 
Caledonian Archipelago Islands, of the Bay of Suez, ete. In collabor- 
ation with M. E. L. Bouvier, he published papers on the anatomical 
peculiarities of certain groups of Molluses. Finally he wrote a re 
markable treatise on Conchology, which has become classical. In this 
manual, the author shows that the classification of Mollusks ought to 
