No. 465.) STUDIES OF MYXINOIDS. 659 
had obtained from a hagfish which died in the aquarium. They 
were covered, anchor filaments and all, with a tough white mem- 
brane, translucent, but not transparent. When this was stripped 
off there was no second membrane inside, but instead, a thick 
jelly-like substance that filled in all the space between the egg- 
shell proper and the outer membrane. I do not hold with Dean 
that this outer membrane and jelly is shed shortly after laying, 
but think, instead, for two reasons, that the egg is freed from it 
before being deposited. The set of eggs in this condition taken 
from the dead fish, was left in the aquarium, and all but one 
were eaten before morning. That one, however, was left un- 
touched. It had its outer membrane still on it, and remained in 
this condition. My second reason is, that the eggs normally 
laid in the aquarium, seven of which had been undisturbed, were, 
when I first saw them, entirely free from any such structure. 
They were in two groups, a group of four and a group of three, 
joined together by their anchor filaments and forming two 
parallel straight lines. There were no cast off membranes any- 
where to be seen, and whatever might have happened to the 
jelly, the membrane could not have been dissolved by the salt 
water. Moreover, the eggs were joined by the anchor filaments, 
which could easily have happened if they were deposited free of 
membrane and jelly, but would have been impossible otherwise, 
as there was no force in the tank that could have changed the 
position of the eggs after they were deposited, or could have 
arranged them in regular groups. If the membranes were cast 
off after extrusion, what became of them? If they dissolved 
(and the one on the egg of the other set was neither dissolved 
nor cast off) how were the eggs pushed close enough together 
for their anchor filaments, previously separated by at least two 
thicknesses of membrane, to interlock ? wi 
I transferred the seven recently deposited eggs toa dish, in 
Which was a constant flow of fresh salt water, in the hope that 
some of them might prove to be fertilized. The fresh eggs were 
a delicate, brilliant. yellow in color with a white mass at the anı- 
mal pole. I found them Tuesday morning, September 20th. 
Fig. 5, a, shows one in its normal state ; b isthe same egg 
without the anchor filaments, and shows the protoplasmic mass. 
