Texas Nature Observations and Reminiscenses Page: 71
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TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 71
onic minnows, still encased in the
e'g lh)embranlle.
rThis is a 'l characteristic
phenenomenon in the minnow-not
generally known- not even to
some observant naturalists-that
these 'minutest of .fish develop
their offspring alive, a character-
istic observed only in a few other
fish variety, as the majority of
fish hatch their eggs out after
they have been lai1. Tle ininno w.
however, cooniis in its myriads of
more or less advanced e-gcs a liv-
ill!' fis 1 !' r1 l, ill 15 111: '-This phenomenon of our minnow
being a viviparous fish. is a lso
well known to my friend and for-
mer city bacteriologist. Dr. Chase.
A. R. Campbell, and we have both
made experiments in this line of
observation at the old Dreiss' la-
boratory on Alamo Plaza many
years ago.
These fish have a very slairp
eyesight; and the eyes are, pro-
portionately, very large; and th
eye lens, on microscopic examia-
tion, is very complete-a hyeline
and exceediinf'ly refractive crystal' tO}i (IIrI\ ( Ii .I'B (F (,InRY()NI IN EGG M.FMBRANE, INSIDE THE
II oNW'fs O()VituI. (Considerably Magnifiedbra0neous , S' surronllllin ', and as
seen in the microscopic photo here-
in. And. that they breed alive
young fish, can be easily seen if
an old female minnow be put in
a class of water and observed for
a few days or weeks-according
to the advanced cycle of develop-
ment-and it will be noticed that
gradually a number of young min-
nows swim around the glass of wa-
ter. In other fish species this
process is not witnessed, as the
ers are first laid and hatched out
afterwards.line and oval-shaped disc. For such
reason, it is plausable how these
minute fish easily find their prey.
consisting of animalcules and veg-
etable matter; and they also feed
on the eggs and larvae of such in-
sects as the mosquito. And to the
latter they have easy access at
such places where the mosquito
deposits its eggs, i. e., at places
near the water's edge. where the
small fish have access to reach the
e.,gs or larval mlos uites. In its
embryonic state, and as seen on
the micrographic-photo herein,i"
Y yI
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Menger, R. Texas Nature Observations and Reminiscenses, book, 1913; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143558/m1/75/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas Health Science Center Libraries.