No. 487] 



NOTES AND LITERATURE 



The question thus arises whether the fish which prepared the chubs' 

 nests observed by Dr. Wilson was Seniofilus corporalis^ or *S. atroma- 

 culatus; the former has been declared not to be a nest-maker and the 

 latter is known to be such. 



Our own common catfish does indeed carry "stones aimj/ from its 

 nest" but the following instance of the contrary liahit lias I)cei! de- 

 scribed in my article (p. 453). The Australian catfisli ( . I riu.s- (iiislm/is) 

 according to Professor Kichard Semon resorts to flat, sandy, and 

 stony parts of the river under a rapidly passing cnrn iif to spawn. 

 "When depositing its eggs and building its nest tiie fish oocs to work 

 in the following way. It begins by pre])aring a bedding about half 

 a yard in area, consisting of gravel and small pebbles among which 



venting them fronrbeing washed away by the stream, or carried' off 

 by water birds .... or hy marauding littie fishes. The material for 

 this defensive structure i. derived frotn the aboxe nHMiti..ne<l rin- 

 (surrounding the n(\st) wliich iliereby becomes devoid of all siones 

 and gleams brightly in its smooth garb of wliite siind. It is wonder- 

 ful to observe the accuracy of ihe fish's handiwork and the perfcM t 



circle described by the ring. So far as I could see the fish moved tlic 

 bigger stones by pushing them along widi iis tail, '['lie whole all'air 



fied by hlin as Hh'nnrhllni.^ alnmasu.^. 



Theodore Gill 



