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Show 698 MR. E. P. RAMSAY ON THE HABITS OF CERATODUS. [Nov. 7, transport the body of a wild one. The v.oice is not so strong ~s t?at of the tame Camel. The female produces 111 February 01' the beglnnmg of March, one calf, rarely two, and bears young every year,. whereas the tame Camel brings forth only every two yeal's. The flesh of the wild Camel is much appreciated by the Tanguts~ and they hunt the animal with great zeal.' . " The Kirgiz who tolJ us this assured us he had seen wild Camels himself when travelling with Tanguts through the Gobi to Kuldschen. He had often tasted the flesh, which he found sweeter than that of the tame. " Mr. Harkloff, who takes great interest in natural history, has promised to send me the skin and skull of the wild Camel, as he was sure to be able to obtain them." A letter was read from Mr. E. Pierson Ramsay, C.M.Z.S., containing the following notes on the habits of some'living Oeratodi in the Australian Museum, S ~ dlley :- " You, among others, wiil pe;haps be very glad to hear that I have at last succeeded in landing some Ceratodi alive here. At present they are doing well, and afford me great satisfaction in watching their movements in the large tank in which they are placed. I should like to write a long paper on them, hut have too much on my hands to attempt it at present. " It is now winter-time here, and very cold; so that the Oeratodi are not so lively as they might be, and appear to be too lazy to get. out of the way when about to be handled. " Their chief mode of progression is by waves of the tail, or by paddling with the pectoral fins alone (without either moving their posterior pair of fins or the tail). When at rest on the bottom of the tank, the pectorals are placed at nearly right angles to the body, the posterior fins lying parallel to the tail. If not disturbed, they will remain in this position for hours, and only when stirred up think it necessary to use their fins and tail at all. They then lash out with their great strong tail, and, turning siJeways, squeeze in between some tufts of grass. " I have tried to make them progress in only a few inches of water, but (as far as I have yet seen) without effect. They are exceedingly eel-like in their motions; and when going slowly along, the swaying of the great caudal fin gives them a serpentine course. I do not think they coulJ go forward in a straight line unless swimming very fast or "ery slowly at the bottom ~ when they 00 this they do not use the tail at all, but depend on their pectoral fins. " They are of a light oliye-brown colour (some darker than others) above, and of a pale fleshy pink below. The eyes have a yellowish tinge when looked at sideways; but the iris is of a dull lead-brown colour. They feed on worms and water-weeds, Lymnt£({} and Physa, Oyclas, Anodon, &c. "I am beginning to doubt their ever going quite out of the water to 'graze,' as has been reported, for the simple reason that they are too bulky to progress by their fins, and not long enough in |
