Abstract
SOME notable papers on marine biology of interest in fishery investigations are contained in the last number of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association. Mr. E. Ford takes up a matter that has hitherto received very little attention—the life-history of the dogfishes. Now that these animals are being utilised as human food (particularly the spur-dog, which enters the markets: as “flake”) their biology has utilitarian value, and this paper is, therefore, of much interest. The author deals mainly with phases in the reproductive cycles of the common species (the spur-dbg, the rough-dog, the nurse-hound, and the sweet-william). The spur-dog and nurse-hound are viviparous, and the prolonged period of incubation in utero deduced by Mr. Ford will come as a surprise to most readers; this, in the case of the spur-dog, may extend to twenty-five months. Biologically, the reproductive processes in the dogfishes are of immense interest, and one may hope that Mr. Ford may continue his investigations and give us much needed information as to the natural history and physiology of these animals.
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References
Journal of the Marine Biological Association, vol. 12, No. 3, Plymouth. September, 1921.
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J., J. Fisheries Biology1. Nature 108, 585–586 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/108585b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/108585b0