THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
31 
THE ALLEGHANY HELL-BENDER, 
Menopoma Alleghaniensis. 
The interest which attaches itself to the series 
of fresh water tanks at the Aquarium is mainly- 
divided at present between the Proteus as seen in 
tank w, and the subject of the present sketch. As 
its name indicates, the Hell-bender is found in 
the Alleghany river and other tributaries of the 
Ohio. It is also known as the Salamander of 
the Alleghanies. The specimens shown in tank 
r were presented to the Aquarium by the Buffalo 
Society of Natural Sciences, through its Secretary, 
Mr. A. R. Gbote, who also read an interesting 
paper on the subject before the American Acad¬ 
emy at its last meeting. This gentleman also 
records, in the American Journal of Science, the 
interesting fact that this animal sheds a trans¬ 
parent membrane, which he believes to be the 
exterior layer of the skin. While observing one 
in the Aquarium of the Buffalo Society df .Nat¬ 
ural Sciences, an almost complete skin, all the 
feet and toes being readily perceived, was seen 
floating in the water, and later the creature was 
discovered in the act of swallowing his former 
covering, a practice which has also been ob¬ 
served in the toad. In a recent communication 
Mr. Grote describes this operation of shedding 
the skin, from which we learn that this thin and 
transparent membrane is first seen to loosen and 
separate from the entire surface of the body, ap¬ 
pearing at this stage like an envelope or glove in 
which the animal is contained. By a number 
of wide gapings, during which the mouth is 
opened to the fullest extent, the skin is parted 
about the lips, and then commences to fold 
backward from the head. Convulsive and un¬ 
dulating movements with the body and fore legs 
are employed to extract these from the loose 
skin. The skin then readily falls backward, as 
the animal crawls forward and out of it, until 
the hind legs are reached, when the menopoma 
turns round upon itself, and, taking the skin in 
its mouth, pulls it over the legs and tail. The 
operation reminds one of taking off clothes. The 
cast-off skin is retained in the mouth and finally 
swallowed. The operation is quickly performed. 
The visitor who watches the menopoma, will ob¬ 
serve a swaying motion of the body; this action 
is not yet fully accounted for, though it is possible 
that it is connected with the animal’s desire to rid 
himself of his ugly skin. 
A female Hell-bender opened on the 21st of 
August contained well developed eggs attached 
'by a membrane to the oviary. These eggs are 
laid in a connected string, and are deposited along 
the muddy banks of the river. At this time 
there is a change in the external appearance of 
the creature. The tail broadens, and there 
is a plaited extension of the skin along the sides 
of the body. 
^The two specimens of Hell-benders 'now on 
view are worthy of special study, and, as in 
many other cases, we would advise those inter¬ 
ested to view them as soon as possible, as al¬ 
ready the confinement of the Aquarium has re¬ 
sulted in the death of one rare creature of this 
class.- 
THE BANDED PROTEUS. 
Menobranchus Lateralis. 
The Banded Proteus now to be seen in table 
tank w of the fresh water series, is one of the 
most curious and interesting of aquatic animals. 
As the visitor to the Aquarium will be able to ob¬ 
serve its peculiarities of form and structure, no 
extended description of them is needed. It will 
be well, however, to direct attention to the pe¬ 
culiar form of the gills, there being three on 
each side, ramified and fringed, and of a red 
color, on account of the blood which circu¬ 
lates through them. Dr. Beall invented an in¬ 
genious arrangement by which this phenomenon 
of circulation could be witnessed. The blood 
dies are of so extraordinary a size that they can 
be distinguished by an ordinary pocket magni¬ 
fier while passing through the vessels. 
The Banded Proteus is found in Lake Cham¬ 
plain and at the outlet of Lake George. It is 
also to be found in certain of our Northern lakes, 
where its presence is a bane to the fishermen, 
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 occasion¬ 
ally to come upon the land. Its color is brown¬ 
ish with blackish spots, and its length varies 
from one to two feet. 
Wood, writing of the proteus anguinus, says 
that the discovery of this animal is extremely 
valuable, not only as an aid to the science of 
comparative' anatomy, but as affording another 
instance of the strange and wondrous forms of 
animal life which still survive in hidden and 
unvisited nooks of the earth. The specimens 
now at the Aquarium are displayed to the best 
advantage, and the visitor can but regard them 
with curious interest. 
HERMIT CRABS. 
Scattered at intervals on the shingle-bottomed 
tank(j) or in closely collected groups,will be seen 
numbers of those quaint Crustacea, remarkable 
for their habit of approaching the deserted shells 
of other animals, for the better protection of their 
otherwise tender and defenceless hinder- quarters. 
This foregoing peculiarity has won for* them the 
popular title of Hermit Crabs, although on ac¬ 
count of their extremely irritable and pugilistic 
disposition, they are about equally well known 
as Soldier Crabs. The Hermit Crab ( Pagurus 
bernhardus), is most frequently found, when 
young, inhabiting the cast-off shell of the Dog- 
winkle (. Purpura lapillus), and at a more ad¬ 
vanced condition of growth than that of the Com¬ 
mon Whelk ( Buccinum undatum ). The process by 
which the Hermit Crabs have gained possession 
of these highly ornamental residences, in place 
of their former sybaritic hut, is an artificial one, 
each individual having been originally extracted 
from an ordinary Whelk shell, and left in com¬ 
pany with others of a foreign type from which it 
almost immediately made a selection. On the 
shores of tropical seas, Hermit Crabs normally 
inhabit these brilliantly-colored and fantastic¬ 
shaped abodes, including also the beautifully- 
spotted and naturally highly-polished Cowries ; 
in this latter instance, the species of Hermit has 
a specially flattened body and general contour to 
enable it to utilize these remarkably narrow-ap- 
ertured shells as a suitable protection. 
JAPANESE KINGIYO. 
The presence in the Aquarium of this won¬ 
derfully beautiful, and strangely grotesque fish, 
should be a cause for special congratulation. 
The specimen exhibited in table tank p, of the 
fresh water series, was brought from Japan by a 
gentleman who has furnished the following in¬ 
teresting facts regarding it: 
Starting from Japan with eighty-eight, he ar¬ 
rived in Baltimore with but seven, all ot which 
are now alive and in good health. The captain 
of the steamer taking great interest in his efforts 
to introduce the fish to America, built a tank on 
the steamer to accommodate them, and took in 
a supply of river water ; but it was soon found 
that the motion ol the ship dashed the fish 
against the sides of the tank and many were 
lost. To obviate this a smaller tank was built 
and suspended like the compass, which counter¬ 
acted the motion of the ship ■ but notwithstand¬ 
ing all the care bestowed on them only fifteen 
arrived in San Francisco, all in a very weak con¬ 
dition. Of these eight subsequently died. 
The Japanese claim that the brilliant colors 
displayed in this fish, and the wonderful de¬ 
velopment of its triple tail, is the result of many 
years careful breeding. This one is an unusually 
fine specimen. In Baltimore great care was 
taken ot the seven survivors, and during the 
summer they spawned, the result being about 
fifty young fry, which exhibit all the peculiarities 
of the originals. It is the intention of the owner 
when he has a sufficient stock, to donate them 
among persons who will take an interest in them • 
and carefully raise them. 
-For the benefit of any of our readers who have 
not as yet been able to visit the Aquarium, we 
would state that in outline and general appear¬ 
ance the above illustration, drawn from life by 
Mr. Vance, is exact and truthful in every par¬ 
ticular. The body is red in color, similar to 
that of a brilliantly-hued gold fish ; the tail, 
however, is a pearly white, and as it rests in the 
water presents the appearance of a fine, silken 
fabric, terminating in a delicate fringe. In ad¬ 
dition to the peculiar "attraction which the form 
of the fish is to the general observer, the natural¬ 
ist will find in its very existence and the tradition 
regarding its origin theme for thoughtful study. 
If the Chinese can accomplish such results in 
the modification of special features, by aid of 
their crude appliances, there is every reason to 
believe that, with our more complete arrange¬ 
ments, still more marvelous results may be ob¬ 
tained. At least the attempt is to be made, and 
already the naturalist of the Aquarium has 
taken measures to apply and test the Chinese 
.methods with the hope that still more valuable 
results may be secured. A careful record of 
these experiments shall be kept, and at a future 
day we shall hope to present to our readers, and 
exhibit to the public, specimens of fish, the re¬ 
sults of special culture, which will rival in 
interest the oriental beauty now on exhibition. 
