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THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
67 
[THE PROTEUS AND AXOLOTL 
Among the recent additions to the Aquar¬ 
ium which should engage the attention of the 
visitor, are the two specimens of the white 
Proteus (Proteus anguinus). These strange 
creatures were first discovered by Baron de 
Zois in a subterranean lake in the duchy of 
Carniola, at Adelsberg, Austria. From this 
region the specimens now shown in tank 16 
were obtained, and their presence is a renewed 
evidence of the zeal displayed by the manager 
in his efforts to procure 
rare wonders for the 
Aquarium. The Band¬ 
ed Proteus, which has 
long been an inhal- 
itant of tank 17 is an 
old acquaintance. 11 
will be well, however, 
to direct attention to 
the peculiar form of the 
gills, there being three 
on each side, ramified 
and fringed, and of a 
red color, on account 
of the blood which cir¬ 
culates through them. 
Dr. Beall invented an 
ingenious arrangement 
by which this phenomenon of circulation could 
be witnessed. The blood discs are of so ex¬ 
traordinary a size that they can be dis- 
BANDED PROTEUS. 
dwelling place. Like the Banded Proteus 
they have the external gill structure, and it is 
this peculiarity which has gained for it the 
special attention of the student. 
Wood, writing of the proteus anguinus, 
states that at the duchy of Carniola is a most 
wonderful cavern, called the grotto of the 
Maddalina extending many hundred feet be¬ 
low the surface of the earth, and consequently 
buried in the profoundest darkness. In this 
cavern exists a little lake, roofed with stalac¬ 
tites surrounded with masses of rock and 
floored with a bed of 
soft mud, upon which 
the Proteus may be 
seen crawling uneasily, 
as if endeavoring to 
avoid the unwelcome 
light by which its pres¬ 
ence is known. These 
creatures are not al¬ 
ways to be found in the 
lake, though after 
heavy rains they are 
tolerably abundant. 
The same writer adds 
that the discovery of 
this animal is extreme¬ 
ly valuable, not only as 
an aid to the science of 
ng uo^dTiy~an ordinaly pocket magnifier 
while passing through the vessels. 
The Binded Proteus is found in Lake 
Champlain and at the outlet of Lake George. 
It is also to be found in certain of our North¬ 
ern and inland lakes, where its presence is a 
bane to the fislnrmen, since it has a peculiar 
fondness for the spawns of the white fish. Its 
movements in the water are usually slow, but 
from the size of its tail, it is evident that when 
occasion demands it can move with great 
speed. They are said occasionally to come 
upon the land. Its color is brownish with 
blackish spots, and its length varies from one 
to two feet. 
The white Proteus may be regarded with 
more interest, owing to its rarity and also to 
the peculiarity of its habitat and the conse¬ 
quent modifications of structure. Like the 
comparative anatomy, but as affording anoth¬ 
er instance of the sUanr -■ and wondrous 
forms oj animal life, wl^ h suryjyeJn-hitL 
den and unvisited nooks of the earth. For 
several of the specimens of Banded Proteus now 
on exhibition our acknowledgements are due 
to Prof. Birt G. Wilder of Cornell University. 
In the present connection reference may be 
made to the Axolotles in tank 20, these also 
are new arrivals from Mexico. An examina¬ 
tion will at once disclose an ultimate resem¬ 
blance to the Proteus which appears both in 
the lizard-like form and in the gill structure. 
In Mexico, these creatures are esteemed high¬ 
ly for food and it is said that the army of 
Cortez once subsisted entirely on Axolotles 
obtained from a lake near the City of Mexico. 
We have the personal testimony of an army 
surgeon now stationed near the southwestern 
border, that the Axolotl is a dainty dish, 
though as has been so often said of the oys¬ 
ter, it was either a very brave or a very 
SEA HORSES. 
IBJLiHsTXD PROTEHS. 
fish in the mammoth cave these creatures, 
having no need of eyes, these organs are not 
fully developed. The color also is white, a 
condition doubtless due to the nature of their 
hungry man, who ventured to eat the first 
one. Though rot thriving well in confine¬ 
ment, yet the Axolotl has been known to breed 
under artificial conditions. 
To visitors to the great aquaria which are now 
springing up in every part of the country, the 
Sea-horses will be familiar. Their hardy nature 
together with their curious appearance have 
marked them out as aquarium favorites; and 
they may fairly, in respect of their zoological 
fame, divide the honors with any of their com¬ 
panion-tenants. Imagine a little body from four 
to six inches in length, topped by a head which 
in outline exactly resembles that of a horse, and 
tapering off below or behind into a lithe, flexi¬ 
ble, and pointed tail, and we may form a rough 
idea of the general appearance of one of the 
Sea-horses. A pair of large brilliant eyes, each 
of which may be moved independently of the 
other ; whilst to the body itself, may be attached 
long streamers of sea-weed, serving to conceal 
the little beings as they nestle amid their marine 
bowers, each looking like some veritable crea¬ 
tion mythological. 
They are intelligent lively little creatures, 
learning in time to know the hand that 
feeds them. Fixed by their tails, they may be 
seen actively to dart the head at any passing ob¬ 
ject adapted for food. Whilst, when they wish 
to free their bodies from the attached position, 
they appear to manoeuvre with the chin and 
head in order to effect their purpose. Their 
food appears to consist of small crustaceans, 
worms, and others of their marine neighbors, 
land they are known + o be especially fond of such 
_U*r-n- —— ~-rf — 
delicate ut-bits as a T ; ff ded by- . v ggs of 
other fishes. 
Perhaps the most curious part of the history of 
the Sea-horses relates to their care of the young. 
Fishes generally take little or no care of their off¬ 
spring, and it is therefore the more surprising to 
encounter in the little beings before us, a singu¬ 
lar example of parental fidelity and attachment. 
Nor, as might be expected, is it the mother-fish 
who is charged with the task of attending the 
young. Contrary to the general rule, the male 
fish assumes the part of nurse, and well and 
faithfully does he appear to discharge his duties. 
At the root of the tail in the male Sea-horses, a 
curious little pouch is seen. In this pouch the 
eggs laid by the females—which do not possess 
a pouch—are deposited, and are therein duly 
hatched. Nor does the parental duty end here ; 
for after the young are hatched and swim about 
by themselves, they seek refuge in the pouch 
during the early or infantile period of their life 
whenever danger threatens them. This pro¬ 
cedure forcibly reminds one of the analogous 
habits of the kangaroos and their young; but 
the occurrence is the more remarkable in the 
lower and presumably less intelligent fish. 
Some experiments made on Sea-horses seem to 
demonstrate the existence of a more than ordi¬ 
nary degree of attachment to their young. Thus 
when a parent-fish was taken out of the water, 
the young escaped from the pouch; but on the 
parent being held over the side of the boat, the 
young at once swam towards him, and re-en¬ 
tered the pouch without hesitation. Some au¬ 
thorities have not hesitated to express an opinion 
that the young are nourished within the pocket 
by some fluid or secretion from the pouch itself 
But further observation is certainly necessary 
before this latter opinion can be relied upon. 
[Chambers’ Journal. 
