No. 440.] 



NOTES AND LITERATI' RE. 



559 



while the other Japanese species, externally extremely similar. 

 Lopheonius setigerus has but 17 or 18. The former is a species of 

 northern distribution. It is remarkable that so great a difference in 

 the vertebral column should be developed without any considerable 

 external distinction. About 15 species of anglers are now known. 



Dr. Tarleton H. Bean has published a useful account of the habits 

 and distribution of the fishes found on Long Island. It occurs in 

 the Annual Report of the Forest, Fish and Game C ommission of New 

 York, 1 90 1. 



A new writer on Ichthyology, Senhor Alipio de Miranda Ribeiro. 

 gives an account of eight fishes from Rio Pomba in a report of the 

 Sociedade Nacional de Agricultura for 1902. For the genus usually 

 called Centropomus, Ribeiro uses the name Platycephalus, "in obser- 

 vance of the laws of priority." 



Mr. Cloudsley Rutter, naturalist of the " Albatross," describes the 

 fishes obtained by him in the lakes of North Eastern California 

 {Bull. U. S. Fish Commission for 1902). Most of these lakes are 



Lahontau. The new species are Pautorteus lahontau from Susan 

 River, Chasmistes chamberlain* from Eagle Lake, and Agosia robusta 



Mr. Rutter also gives a report {Bull. U. S. Fish Commission for 

 1902), on five years' work (1S96-1901) of observation on the habits 

 of the Sacramento salmon. It is a very complete and valuable piece 

 of work. Among the important conclusions are these : — 



There is no evidence that salmon returning to spawn seek their 

 native stream. Probably most salmon do not wander far into the 

 sea, and the native river is the nearest one when the spawning season 

 comes. There is no evidence that they remember any particular 

 branch of the river basin in which they were spawned. Most salmon 

 return to spawn after two years in the sea, some remaining three and 

 others four years. 



All die after spawning, none making any effort to return to the 

 sea. Most of them die within 5 to 16 days after reaching the 

 spawning grounds. They will not survive if placed in salt water. 

 The Pacific salmon are like cast off leaves of a tree, when their 

 period of usefulness to the species is past. 



In the Proceedings of the United States National Museum (Vol. 

 XXVI) Messrs. Jordan and Fowler continue their discussions of 



