30 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. 
Considering tlie fate of our sturgeons at the hands especially 
of the French ichthyologists, it is remarkable that we have not 
a larger synonymy of Polyodon. In its dimensions it varies 
considerably, and in the dimensions of the rostrum this varia¬ 
tion is extreme. Specimens are often seen in which the ros¬ 
trum is very long and slender; in others its width is fully equal 
to one-third the length, while all intermediate forms occur. 
All manuals state definitely that Polyodon has no barbels. 
But it was pointed out by Allis ( Zool . Jahrbucher, Anat voh 
IT, p. 671) and discovered independently by myself ( Science , 
FT. S., vol. 19, p. 554) that these exist. In fifteen hundred 
spoonbills examined by me, I did not find a single specimen in 
which they were absent, so they must be considered a constant 
character. Their size is, however, very variable. 
As is well known, specimens of spoonbills below a foot in 
length are extremely rare. In the fall of 1904, I purchased 
from Mr. Kane of Bay City, Wisconsin, three specimens all 
smaller than any I have seen elsewhere, and the smallest prob¬ 
ably as small as any now in collections. A few notes on these 
may not be without interest. 
Specimen A. Kot in very good condition. Length, 260 mm. 
to tip of dorsal fork of tail; 215 mm. to base of tail. Dis¬ 
tance from tip of rostrum to median point of upper tip, 96 mm. 
Greatest width of rostrum, 25 mm. The eyes point distinctly 
toward ventral side. Edge of rostrum very thin and flexible, 
rayed ossicles only feebly developed. Sensory organs well de¬ 
veloped on dorsal side, only feebly on ventral side. Upper 
jaws dentate only on anterior half, lower jaw dentate through¬ 
out. Teeth show distinct tendency toward arrangement in two 
parallel rows. 
Specimen B. Length, 254 mm. to base of tail. Tip of 
rostrum to median point of upper lip, 98 mm. Greatest width 
of rostrum, 30 mm. Eyes as in A. Sense organs much bet¬ 
ter developed, especially on gular surface, where they show but 
little in A. 
Specimen C. Length, 247 mm. to base of tail. Tip of 
rostrum to median point of upper lip, 109 mm. Central axis 
