1884. | ss Zoblogy. 941 
The accompanying -cuts are taken from photographs. — W. D. 
Stevenson, M.D., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
WATER-PORES OF THE LAMELLIBRANCH Foot.—H. Griesbach 
has maintained the existence of pori aguiferi in the lamellibranch 
foot, while J. Carriére held the contrary view. J. T. Cattie has 
studied ą considerable number of species, and does not find the 
least trace of aquiferous pores ; and F, Barrois arrives at the same 
results. He discusses the work of Carriére and himself, and finds 
that they have studied most of the forms where the presence of 
aquiferous pores has been claimed, and in every case finds pores 
absent, or in such position that it seems they are either connected 
with the functional byssogenous organ, or, where such is absent 
in the adult, with the remnant of the same. Barrois sums up his 
views thus: “ No pores exist for the introduction of water into the 
circulation ; the only pores of the foot are those connected with 
the byssus organ, which never communicates with the interior of 
the foot. The blood may have water introduced into it, but this 
may be effected by osmosis, or in some manner not discussed,”— 
Journal Royal Microscopical Society, April. 
Two Spectres oF MANATEE IN BrAziIL.—The mammals collected 
by Natterer, the Brazilian traveler and naturalist, are being worked 
out by A. von Pelzeln, two parts of his memoir having, according 
to a notice in ature, appeared of the Sirenia. Natterer met with 
a manatee high up the stream of the Amazons, in the Rio Negro, 
tio Brancho,and Madeira, and maintains in his notes that the spe- 
cies which inhabits these farinland waters is quite different from the 
Manatus americanus of the South American coast. Natterer called 
it Manatus inunguis, from its nailless fingers,and sent home to the 
Imperial Cabinet of Vienna three complete specimens and several 
skulls of the animal. Natterer also met with two species of 
dolphin in the Amazons and its tributaries. 
ABNORMAL Foop oF Cats.—Strange as it may seem, little has 
been published upon the abnormal appetites acquired by many of 
our domestic animals. A moment's thought shows that all the 
cats which were obliged to capture the fish for themselves, al- 
though I have seen a manx (or so-called tailless) cat bring home 
fishes, even eels, which she had the courage to capture in shallow 
Pools of the tail-race of a saw-mill when the mill was stopped. 
From the natural food of cats, the flesh of vertebrates, one 
might readily expect them to catch and eat insects. | Adolph 
Miller mentions! that his cat regularly hunted at twilight the 
* Zool. garten, Aug., 1880, jahrg. 21, pp. 253-54- 
