DEC 22 18?'' 



Notes on an Amphioxus obtained in 

 Amakusa, Kyushyu. 

 By H. Nakagawa. 



Biological Laboratory, 5th, Koto Gakko, Kumamoto. 



It was in the middle of August, 1893, that I first dredged up 

 several specimens of Amphioxus in Gosho-no-ura, Amakusa, in the 

 province of Higo, Kyüshyu. Hitherto, Shika-no-shima (Shigajima) in 

 the province of Chikuzen was the only place where Amphioxus could he 

 obtained with certainty, but the number obtained there at a time is at 

 the best very limited. In Gosho-no-ura, the case is quite otherwise ; 

 fifty or even a hundred may be got in the course of five or six hours. I 

 have since visited the place five times, viz.— in November 1893, in April 

 and November, 1895, and in June and July of this year. The animals 

 thus obtained have been used from time to time for other purposes, but 

 a certain number has been employed to make the observations herein 

 recorded. 



I. Collection. 



The best time for collecting is from 9 A. M. to 3 P. M. on calm fine 

 days. The animals live at the depth of six to ten fathoms in coarse 

 shelly sand and are caught by means of a trawl. 



II. Killing, Hardening and Preserving. 



Picrosulphuric acid ^sulphuric acid 2 parts and saturated aqueous 

 solution of picric acid 98 parts) has always been used for killing and 

 hardening. The reagent is added drop by drop to a flat-bottomed vessel 

 containing the animals, with sea-water just enough to cover them, until 

 no sign of life is shown by touching the body. Then they are put into 

 picrosulphuric acid alone and allowed to remain for two or three hours. 



