Note 81 — Chapter VIII · RETURN TO MANAOS.—AMAZONIAN PICNIC.

I was indebted to the President for many valuable specimens on this excursion, many of the birds and fishes brought in by the Indians for the table being turned over to the scientific collections. My young friends Dexter and James were also efficient, passing always a part of the day in the woods, and assisting me greatly in the preparation and preservation of the specimens. Among others we made a curious skeleton of a large black Doras, a species remarkable for the row of powerful scales extending along the side, each one provided with a sharp hook bent backward. It is the species I have described, in Spix and Martius’s great work, under the name of Doras Humboldti. The anterior vertebræ form a bony swelling of a spongeous texture, resembling drums, on each side of the backbone.—L. A.