a ube cart sist por Nets it ae 3! +e Treeees GQ iparertmanget heii ® US Steg hey eistey ey: doletesaletstestiarearinnesateaerrien peatedndstaestiemeitrar ee tents" 4 ous ; eed Sah Ds * eeeeles viatehs ae yee pe “y= yw os Eieee i N a - U : vy ied ; Can. —s Prem. 3 Mol. oe. Labuan. Sarawak. Length of the head and body ...... 1 6 bit of the tartiee. 2080 Ae Ps eo Ae bis of the head’) 2:7 404 0 6 0 62 OU CHG CRIB. ye re oe cee Q 2% 0 3 of the tragus. £2070. 7I00% 0 13 0 2 ofthe fore-arm ............ 1 of the longest finger ........ 21 2.3 of the fourth dos ar en b 6 15aF of the thamb.')). ees, 8 98 0 23 Or the troia! 1 Y Ie Ao) er ae, 0 52 0 6 of the foot and claws ...... 0 3h 0 3 Expanse of wings ..........02..65 9 9 8 9 The above are the dimensions of two adulé individuals from the localities mentioned ; younger ones differ in having the fingers con- siderably shorter, and the fore-arm a little shorter. 5. ScoropHtLus circumpatus! Vespertilio circumdatus, Temm. I refer this species, with some doubt, to the V. circumdatus of M. Temminck. It agrees with it in most particulars, such as the form of the head and ears, and in having the wing-membranes extending only to the extremity of the tibize ; but it differs in bemg somewhat smaller, in having the fur shortish and unicoloured, whereas that of circumdatus is, according to M. Temminck, long, and of two colours. For the present, I prefer leaving it under the name above given, until a greater number of specimens can be examined. 3 I have to thank Mr. Dillwyn for the opportunity of describing the species mentioned in this paper, and for the great liberality with which he has allowed me to make any use of his specimens which might be desirable for the purpose of description. Mr. P. L. Sclater on two species of Ant-birds. 151 On Two Species or ANT-BIRDS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE Dersy Museum, at Liverroot. By Pariuire Luriey SCLATER. 1. MyRMECIZA EXSUL, Sp. nov. Obscure brunnescenti-castanea, cauda concolore ; capite toto un- dique et corpore infra ad medium ventrem nigris: ventre imo erisso et hypochondriis dorso concoloribus : alarum tectricibus minoribus nigricantibus ad apicem albo punctatis : campterio albo : rostro nigro, pedibus obscure brunneis: periophthalmio denudato. | Long. tota 5°0, ale 2°5, caudee 1°7, rostri a rictu 0°85, tarsi 1-2. Hab. In isthmo Panama (Delattre) et m rep. Nicaragua. Mus. Derbiano, sp. 4939, et Acad. Philadelph. This species may be placed between M. hemimelena and M. cin- namomea in my arrangement. In colouring it somewhat resembles the former, but it is of a much stronger build, and has no white markings on the interseapularies. The bill is shorter than in MM. cin- namomea, but the form otherwise nearly similar. The single spe- cimen in the Derby Museum is marked with one of Delattre’s tickets, ‘* Male, Panama,” and was acquired by the late Lord Derby in 1846. Another example of this same bird, of which I have a note, is in the splendid collection belonging to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ; it is labelled ‘ Nicaragua.’ I took a description of it in the autumn of 1856, but was loath to publish it without seeing a second specimen. 2. DysITHAMNUS OLIVACEUS. Thamnophilus olivaceus, Tsch. Consp. Av. p. 278, et Faun. Per. p. 174°. Dysithamnus olivaceus, Cab. Orn. Not. i. 223 ; Bp. Consp. p. 199. 3. Olivaceus: pileo cinerascente, capitis lateribus concoloribus : subtus pallide cinereus; gutture ventre medio et crisso albi- cantibus : campterio albo: alarum tectricibus albo anguste marginatis. Long. tota 5:0, alee 2-5, caudee 1°7. Hab. In Bolivia (Bridges). Mus. Derbiano. , A distinct species of Dysithamnus nearly allied to D. mentalis, but recognizable by the absence of the black ear-mark, and darker colour of the sides below. The example in the Derby Museum from which I take my characters, was obtained through Mr. Cuming in 1846, and was doubtless among the Bolivian birds collected by _Mr. Bridges. I have to express my acknowledgments of the liberality of the Trustees of the Derby Museum, in allowing me the use of these and several other birds for examination. Without actual comparison of specimens it is nearly hopeless to attempt to determine species of this and other similarly-complicated groups. 152 Zoological Society — December 14, 1858.—Dr. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair. On Zoantuvus Covucuil, JOHNSTON. By E. W. H. Hotpsworts, F.L.S., F.Z.S., ere. The existence in our seas of a compound Zoophyte belonging to a group so essentially tropical as the Zoanthide, was first made known by Mr. R. Q. Couch, who obtained a small species from deep water near the Cornish coast. It was subsequently described and figured in Dr. Johnston’s ‘ British Zoophytes,’ and has been since eagerly sought for, but apparently without success ; or if captured, its cha- racters have not been positively recognized. There is reason, how- ever, to believe that the original description was imperfect ; and it is probable that specimens of a compound Polype, found by Mr. Barlee * and others along our northern coasts, and some lately obtained by myself in Torbay, may all be referred to Zoanthus Couch. They are certainly identical with the animal which Dr. Johnston placed with some hesitation among the Sponges, and described under the name of Dysidea papillosa ; and this was believed by Prof. Edward Forbes to be the same as the Cornish Zoanthus. . As the specimens recently found differ in some important particulars from those described by Mr. Couch, I have thought it desirable to point out their characters, and to give some details of certain parts of their structure which are peculiar to the family Zoanthide, leaving their specific distinctness an open question, until we know more of the original Zoanthus Couchit. The living polypes exhibited were dredged on the 12th of October last, in 10 or 12 fathoms water, at about a mile from the eastern headland of Torbay, and, although small, agree in other re- spects with the probably maturer examples from other parts of the coast. The special characters of the Zoanthide, which consist in their increase by budding, and their mode of distribution over the surfaces to which they are attached, are subject in this species to considerable variation. One group of six polypes, on the inside of a valve of Cardium rusticum, is arranged in a linear series, as in the typical forms of the restricted genus Zoanthus, and is the result of budding in one direction only ; others are scattered over the surface of a flat stone, and have no perceptible connexion with one another, except in a few instances where two or three of them are united ; the isolated polypes are perhaps the produce of separate ova, and in time may develope their compound character by the usual process of gemmation. Another form of growth is the one under which this zoophyte has been most commonly known as Dysidea papillosa, and may be well seen in a remarkably fine specimen from Shetland, and. now in the collection at the British Museum. In this example the polypes form a compact group, connected in every direction by a general expansion of the basal membrane, which is extended over the whole outer surface of a small univalve shell, and also lines the interior for a considerable distance. Mr. Alder has observed that a Natica is the usual support for this form of development ; but in this instance the shape of the incrusting mass is more like that of a small Mr. E. W. H.-Holdsworth on Zoanthus Couchii. 158 Buccinum, or a Purpura. In these varying modes of growth, we find a gradual transition from the linear budding of Zoanthus proper to the aggregation of the polypes in some species of Polythoa; but in the typical members of the latter genus, the polypes are not only connected at the base, but have their bodies also severally united, so as to form a solid mass ; and a more decidedly compound nature exists in them than we find in any of the varieties of the present species ; so that, although partaking of the characters of both genera, Zoanthus appears to be the one to which this is most nearly allied. An evident approach to the same intermediate form may be observed in the reticulate arrangement of the connecting bands of Z. Bertholetii from the Red Sea. In our British species, the body forms a cylinder from 2 to 4 lines high, by about half that in breadth, and is clothed with a dense coating of fine sand, which at the upper extremity is divided into 14 deeply-cut marginal teeth; these cover the top of the column when the animal is closed, but are turned a little outwards during expansion. The tentacula are moderate in length, slightly tapering, - smooth, and not capitate; they are arranged in two rows containing 14 each, of which the inner series are rather the longer, and are placed opposite the angular prolongations of the column, those of the outer row alternating with them. Fourteen tentacles in each row appear to be a character of specitic value, as I find that number con- stant in specimens of various sizes, and they correspond with the marginal divisions. The disk, which is generally concave, some- what exceeds the diameter of the body; and the prominent mouta opens with a simple linear orifice. The general colour of the disk and tentacula is a pale transparent brown, becoming opake white around the mouth and at the tips of the arms; and all the intermediate parts are finely speckled with the same tint. At first sight the ten- tacles appear to be knobbed, as in Corynactis and some of the Coral- ligenous Polypes; but their form is really quite simple, and the capitate appearance of these organs is due solely to the conspicuous colour of their extremities. —- Ck Among the external characters of this family, the serrated margin of the column is remarkable ; but.an examination of the animal shows that this structure is a simple provision for enabling a polype so peculiarly coated to close its disk perfectly, and in the contracted state to be completely protected by its sandy covering. Closure of the disk in the soft-bodied Actinia is effected by the action of the muscles surrounding the upper extremity of the body; and as the skin is soft and yielding, contraction takes place equally on every side, and is continued until the edges of the column meet in the centre. In Zoanthus, the case is different ; fine sand being densely impacted into the epidermis, little or no contraction can take place, and the polype would be unable to close in the usual manner if this hard covering were uniformly extended to the margin of the disk. Under the microscope, the wall of the column is seen to terminate in a number of triangular processes or teeth, united at the base, and covered externally with sand like the rest of the body; these pro- longations are connected throughout their length by a thin membrane, 154 Zoological Society :-— which is crossed by the ordinary transverse muscles, whose contraction brings the edges of the teeth in contact, at the same time necessarily inclining them towards the centre, and thus effectually closes the disk ; the animal being then entirely covered and protected by the investing sandy coat. It will be observed that the apparently mar- ginal teeth are in reality only parts of the wall of the column, and that intervening triangular pieces are as it were excavated from the integuments, leaving only the internal membrane and muscular bands. The nature of this adventitious covering also deserves attention, being the only character in which this polype at all resembles Dysidea Jragilis, the sponge with which it was formerly associated. It is almost entirely composed of fine angular particles of siliceous sand, brought in contact with the body and connecting membrane of the polype by the action of the sea, and retained by, and incorporated in the cuticle; its extraneous character is evident from the occasional presence of other matters mixed with the sand, but the latter sub- stance is in most cases the only material employed. Similar grains of sand abound in the sponge ;_ they are not confined, however, to the exterior, but are scattered throughout the mass, and cover the inter- lacing fibres in every direction. Independently of its different composition, this sandy coating in Zoanthus cannot be regarded as at all analogous to the true corallum of the Madrepores. Here it is the actual polype which is: enclosed in the hard covering, and this, when tested with nitric acid, shows no trace of calcareous matter ; in the Madrepores, on the contrary, the polype is as delicate and soft-bodied as any of the Actinia, and when expanded, rises above and clothes the upper portion of the corallum, which is entirely secreted by the internal tissues of the animal, and is composed essentially of carbonate of lime extracted from the sea- water; in fact, the hard parts constitute an external covering in the one animal, and an internal skeleton in the other. . In its explanate growth, or increase by budding from the base only, Zoanthus strongly resembles the Caryophyllacea, and by some naturalists is associated with that tribe of Coralligenous Polypes ; but many of its characters point to a nearer relationship to the detinide, in which we sometimes find a similar deposition of extraneous matter on the cuticle, although in a slighter degree and less persistent: the smooth simple tentacula are also very unlike those of the Coral Po- lypes, in which their surface is generally studded with little wart-like prominences enclosing the thread-cells. With our present scanty knowledge of the Actinide found in different parts of the world, and the insufficient descriptions that we possess of most of the coral animals, it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the true position of the Zoanthide among the Helianthoid Polypes. An examination of the tropical seas, in which they abound, and where they attain a size considerably exceeding that of our British species, may lead to the discovery of intermediate forms showing the true affinities of this now isolated group ; but at present I am inclined to regard them as representing the budding form of growth in the Non-coralligenous Zoophytes, as the fissiparous mode of increase is exemplified in many of the true Actiniea. Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Zoanthus Couchii. 155 On the 9th of: November last, Dr. Gray brought before this Society a notice of a curious form of Zoanthus sent to him by Mr. George Barlee from the Shetland seas, and for the reception of which he proposed the new genus Sidisia. He has kindly allowed me to describe this polype; and it is therefore with some regret that, after a careful examination of it, I must question its generic or even spe- cific distinction from Zoanthus Couchii, the subject of the previous part of this paper. "The great peculiarity of these polypes consists in their being entirely free, no parts of the specimens at the British Museum showing any superficial trace of ‘attachment. Another remarkable character is their irregular mode of budding, and may be briefly described.as one polype growing out from another without the intervention of the usual connecting bands ; this budding takes place from the base of the parent polype in an opposite direction, or at various angles with the original line of growth, the branches again sometimes throwing out buds from near their own bases. Mr. Barlee states that some of the specimens were attached, but most of them came up in the dredge free, and that they abounded on muddy ground. This situation is I think very significant, and sufficient to explain the peculiarities of the animal. As I have before mentioned, it is the habit of Zoanthus to be attached to some stone or shell, and the first sign of its increase is in the expansion of the basal membrane either on one or all sides of the polype; from this expansion the young bud forth at various distances from the parent, and they in time develope similar offshoots. Such is the case when the ova fall on places suited to their natural growth; but if by chance they are deposited on a muddy bottom, or where the stones are only large enough to afford attachment to a single polype, I think an irregular mode of growth may be reasonably anticipated, and a variation ex- pected in the character which, above all others, is likely to be affected by the change of circumstances. By the motion of the sea, the position of these free polypes must be continually shifting, conse- quently no part of their surface can be permanently uppermost ; and under these circumstances, with a natural tendency to grow upwards, regularity of budding would seem to be impossible. As might be expected, scarcely two of the specimens I have seen are precisely alike, which adds to the probability of the suggested explanation of their irregular growth. The fact of the characters of the disk, and the number of the tentacula and marginal divisions being identical with those of the animals first described, is a strong argument also in favour of their all being only different forms of the same species. Additional Observations, communicated March 8, 1859. Some fine groups of Zoanthus Couchii from Torbay having lately come under my notice, I have been enabled to obtain a better know- - ledge of the species than I possessed when I recently laid before the Society a description of its characters. I therefore venture to add afew remarks on certain points, which before were considered as re- lating to particular specimens, rather than to the species generally. 156 Zoological Society. First, as to size. The dimensions given in my previous com- munication were those of the largest polypes that I had seen alive, which were described as being from 2 to 3} lines in height by about 1} in breadth; such also is the size of many that I have seen since; but among them have been several examples in which these measurements have been nearly doubled, and with the increase of size a power of varying the shape of the body has been exhibited, almost equalling that of Corynactis, so well known for the remark- able changes of form that it undergoes. This mutability of shape is dependent in a great measure on the degree of density of the external coating of sand, which does not increase in proportion to the growth of the animal ; so that while the half-grown polype is closely im- risoned in its hard covering, older and larger individuals are less thickly clothed ; and when in a state of expansion, the grains of sand are sufficiently separated to allow the integument to be seen between them, and thus to permit that mobility of body which is so characteristic of the Zoanthide. The rigid form in the first spe- cimens that I examined, was one of the difficulties that I met with in identifying them with Mr. Couch’s description of the species. There are some other points of disagreement which I have little hesitation in saying are due to a misconception on the part of Mr. Couch when preparing the original description. I refer especially to the statement that “the surface of the body is minutely glan- dular,”’ and that ‘radiating from the mouth are numerous rows of whitish glandular-looking bodies, which are the tentacula in a con- tracted state ;’’ in both these cases it is evident that the character of the sandy covering has been misunderstood. Secondly, as to the growth of the basal membrane. I have previously referred to it under the linear and expanded forms, which I then ventured to think were only modifications in the development of one species: the re- cently captured specimens throw some further light on the subject, Among various groups on one large shell, I have found lines of po- lypes sometimes sending out lateral shoots from the basal membrane, and these again dividing ; others expanding, so as to include two or three polypes in parallel series, and in one instance a single specimen was observed with the basal expansion extending equally on every side: again, the membrane leading from a group spreads at times over the surface of the shell in an irregular manner for a consider- able distance, without any bud arising from it; so that no special form of growth can be considered as characteristic of the connecting membrane in this species. The rate of development in the members of a group is also of the same uncertain character—a large polype being occasionally followed by a very small one, and that succeeded by two or three of intermediate but varying size; in fact, except in certain characters, the development of this Zoanthus is subject to great irregularity ; and the cases above mentioned appear to me to confirm the opinion that I have before expressed of the specific iden- tity of the linear form of growth with that which has been found in the Northern seas, overspreading the entire surface of small uni- valves. 157 MISCELLANEOUS. Collecting-Basket for the Sea-side. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Claremont Lodge, Park Street, Camberwell, July 18, 1859. GENTLEMEN,—I beg to communicate the description of a basket, the contrivance of a friend, which I have found very convenient for shore-collecting (especially when an assistant to carry tools, &c., cannot be easily obtained), and which I believe will be acceptable to those of your readers who contemplate a visit to the sea-side at this season. The foundation of the basket consists of the creel used by anglers, in the lower part of which is placed a lining of sheet gutta-percha divided into three compartments by partitions of the same material made water-tight and fitting into the right-hand side of the basket (represented in situ, fig. 1 A), and leaving space in the left-hand side | NC CUCU Hh : ! CHit= (| = ili cn NTU | =I for packing a pickle-bottle, B. A bag of canvas, stitched into three divisions, is sewn to the back of the basket at C, for the purpose of receiving three wide-mouthed bottles: two or three chisels, &c., can be laid across the gutta-percha partitions; and the hammer, if not carried in a belt, can rest on the centre division, with the handle through the hole in the lid. The whole contrivance can readily be fitted by any person able to join the pieces of gutta- percha : it is carried by a strap slung over the shoulders, after the manner of the botanist’s vasculum. I used the basket last autumn at Torquay, and found it very con- venient, as it left the hands free and unencumbered—a very desirable matter in climbing among the rocks. ~ Iam, Gentlemen, Yours truly, W. T. Surrouk. 158 Miscellaneous. On the Heating of the Soil of high Mountains, and its Influence upon the Limit of eternal Snow and Alpine Vegetation. By Cu. Marrivs. Theory indicates, and experience proves, that the atmosphere ab- sorbs a notable proportion of the heat transmitted by the sun to the earth. M. Pouillet estimates this quantity at 4 of the total heat transmitted by the sun to the earth at any given moment. As the calorific ray which falls upon an elevated summit traverses a less considerable thickness of the atmosphere than that which arrives at the level of the sea, it ought to heat the summit of the mountain more than that which penetrates as far as the plain; but the rarefied air surrounding the summit does not become so much heated as that of the plain: hence it should follow that the soil at the surface and for about a foot deep, upon a high mountain, should become more heated than the air, while the contrary would take place in plains little elevated above the sea. Now this:is fully confirmed by expe- rience, as I show in this notice, through observations made in August 1842 on the Faulhorn by MM. Bravais and Peltier, and in Sept. 1844 by M. Bravais and myself, compared with corresponding ones made at Brussels by M. Quetelet, and with those made in Spitzbergen in 1839 by the Meteorological commission attached to the expedition of « La Recherche.’ This relatively considerable heating of the surface of the soil exerts a powerful influence upon the physical geography of the high Alps : it is this which moves upward the line of eternal snow, the melting of which is principally due to the heat of the subjacent ground. All travellers who have ascended these elevated regions know that in the Alps the snows melt underneath in consequence of the heat of the soil. Often, when the foot is placed on the edge of a snow-field, the weight of the body breaks a superficial crust which does not rest on the soil. Sometimes we perceive with astonishment underneath these icy vaults Soldanellas in flower (Soldanella alpina, L., and S. Cludii, Thom.), with tufts of the leaves of the Dandelion. It is likewise the melting of the snow in contact with the soil which causes the sliding of the snow-fields which form the spring avalanches of turfy declivities. Finally,.it is this heating which explains the variety of species of plants, and the number of individuals which cover the soil at the very limit of the eternal snows: thus, upon the terminal cone of the Faulhorn, the height of which is about 250 feet, the superficies about 11 acres, and the altitude nearly 9000 feet, I have gathered 131 species of Flowering plants. On the Grands-Mulets (needles of laminated protogene rising in the midst of the glaciers of Mont Blanc, at 10,000 feet above the sea), I have noted nineteen Phanerogamia,—viz. Draba vladinensis, Wulff., Cardamine bellidi- folia, L., Silene acaulis, L., Potentilla frigida, Vill., Phyteuma hemisphericum, L., Erigeron uniflorum, L., Pyrethrum alpinum, Willd., Saxifraga bryoides, L., S. grenlandica, Lap., 8. muscoides, Auct., Androsace helvetica, Gaud., Avena pubescens, DC., Gentiana verna, L., Luzula spicata, DC., Festuca Halleri, Vill., Poa laxa, Miscellaneous. 159 Haencke, P. cesia, Sm., Agrostis rupestris, All., Carex nigra, All. ; but then, on the 28th of July, 1846 (the temperature of the air in the shade being 48°-9 Fahr., in the sun 52°°5 Fahr.), the schistose gravel of the rock in which these plants vegetated indicated a tem- perature of 84°°2. As a contrast, 1 will again cite Spitzbergen. This archipelago, whose shores may equally be regarded as touching the limits of eternal snows, occupies no less than 43° of latitude by 12° of longitude, and yet contains no more than 82 Phanerogamia. In the Alps, the plants are heated by the soil which bears them more than by the air which surrounds them ; a vivid light favours their respiratory functions ; and even when the temperature descends to the freezing-point during the day, a layer of recent snow preserves them even in summer from the accidental chills which always accom- pany bad weather on high mountains. Equally sensitive to cold and heat, they can only bear temperatures between about 32° and 59° ; constantly moistened by clouds or irrigated by the water flowing from the melting snow, they require the utmost care to make them prosper in the plains; for the gardener must defend them against the cold of winter and the heats of summer, yet without keeping them from the influence of light. At Spitzbergen, on the contrary, in spite of the perpetual day of summer, the vegetation is poor and scattered, because the rays of the sun, being for the most part absorbed by the great thickness of the atmosphere. and the con- tinual fogs, can neither heat nor illuminate this frozen country.— Comptes Rendus, May 16, 1859. Note on the Artificial Propagation of Salmon. : By A. D. Barrier. The Committee of the Australian Association have been trying a series of experiments with a view of ascertaining’ the possibility of conveying Salmon to Australia, for the purpose of introducing this noble fish into the rivers of that country. The difficulty is to convey them across the tropics; and the object of these experiments, which have been carried on in the Crystal Palace under my supervision, has been— 1, To filter a sufficient quantity of water to supply a running stream for the spawn or young fish. 2. To ascertain the highest amount of temperature in which they would live. 3. To discover the best and most economical means of lowering the temperature, that they may be kept alive while passing the tropics. In order to accomplish the first object, arrangements were made with the Charcoal Filter Company to fix filters to supply a running stream through long boxes, which were partly filled with gravel and small stones, upon which the Salmon ova were to be placed. Mr. Ramsbottom being engaged to obtain the ova, to ensure their being perfectly impregnated, and to deposit them in the breed- 160 Miscellaneous. ing place in the Crystal Palace, proceeded to..Wales, and on the 5th of February obtained from two female fish at least 20,000 ova, which, by the usual process adopted in the artificial propagation of fish, he rendered fertile, and then starting immediately for the Crystal Palace, arrived there February 7th, and deposited the ova in the breeding- boxes, which had been duly prepared. Unfortunately, at this time the filters had ceased to act, and the water supplied by the Lambeth Water Company was obliged to be laid on in its usual state. Ina few days the ova and the bottom of the breeding-boxes became co- vered with a dark deposit, from the impure condition of the water, and large numbers of the ova died daily in consequence. Another batch of filters was then fixed, and a fresh supply of filtered water obtained ; and no more sediment was deposited upon the ova. Not- withstanding this, they continued to die for some days; but about the 20th, the whole of the deposit, which had settled upon the bottom of the boxes and upon the ova, began to rise towards the surface in the form of Confervee ; the bottom of the boxes and the remaining ova appeared quite fresh and clean; the surviving = ova rapidly assumed the perfect state of the young fish; and on March 7th.the young fry began to move about (the outer covering being thrown off), endeavouring to hide themselves between the stones and gravel. The: temperature of the water during this experiment was 57°. In order. to ascertain if any advantage could be gained by placing some of: these in filtered water at a lower temperature, a number of them were carefully removed to a glass tank, supplied with a. fountain at the temperature of 54°. In this they appeared to be doing well, were evidently larger and more active, and exhibited great promise. Unfortunately, on the morning of the 13th, the workmen having been ordered to make some alteration in the water pipes in the build- ing, turned off the water, leaving the young salmon, together with the ova which had not yet been hatched, five or six hours without fresh water, in the tropical end of the building: in consequence of this, they were all destroyed, and this interesting experiment delayed for a. whole year, as it is impossible to obtain the ova until the next breeding-season. pe There are, however, some important facts learned from this expe- riment, one of which is the early period of hatching. Previous ex- periments have shown that 60 days usually expire before the young come to life; sometimes 140 days have passed. This experiment has proved that the young fish can be hatched in 30 days: it yet remains to be tested whether this is an advantage. It is certain that in the case of more highly organized and warm-blooded animals, their production at an earlier period than the ordinary one is at- tended, if not with death, at least with great debility ; while, on the other hand, it is not possible to retard the operations of nature beyond the ordinary period without destroying the mother or the offspring. There are many circumstances that induce the belief that the young fish would be stronger by the early development ; but no positive conclusion can be arrived at without further experiments.—Proc. Zool. Soc. Mar. 8, 1859. THE ANNALS MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. [THIRD SERIES.] No. 21. SEPTEMBER 1859. XVI.—Description of a new Genus of West African Snakes, and Revision of the South American Elaps. By Dr. Abert GUNTHER. [ With a Plate. | ! Tue publication of the description of the following interesting Snake has been delayed in consequence of the author having some knowledge of another West African Snake, besides Atract- aspis wregularis, with entire subcaudal plates and without loreal shield, described in a MS. said to be ready for publication. This snake, however, has proved to belong to the venomous tribe*, and to be widely different from that in the Collection of the British Museum. The latter is to be referred to the family Calamaride, along with Aspidura and Haplocercus. ELAPpops, n. g. Body and tail moderately elongate, the latter tapering; two pairs of frontals, two nasals, nostril between ; loreal none, united with the posterior nasal; one anterior and one posterior ocular. Scales smooth, in fifteen rows; anal and subcaudals entire. Teeth equal, smooth. Elapops modestus,n.sp. (Pl. IV. fig. C.) Seven upper labial shields. Uniform greyish olive; beneath yellowish olive. This snake has quite the physiognomy of an Elaps. The rostral is rather small, and terminates above in an obtuse angle, not extending on the upper surface of the head. The anterior frontals are irregularly quadrangular, half the size of the poste- rior ones, which extend somewhat on to the loreal region. The * Polemon Barthii, Revue et Mag. Zool. 1858, December, p. 525; and 1859, pl. 5. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3, Vol. iv. 11 162 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Genus of West African Snakes, vertical is five-sided, with an obtuse anterior and an acute pos- terior angle, and with the posterior sides longer than any of the others. The occipitals taper posteriorly. The anterior nasal is small and notched by the nostril; the posterior is evidently formed by the united loreal and postnasal shields. One ante- rior and one posterior ocular. Seven upper labial shields: the first and second are small; the third touches the postnasal, preorbital, and the eye; the fourth below the orbit; the fifth touches the postocular, the sixth the occipital and slightly the postocular, the seventh the temporal: there is another scale-like shield behind the seventh: labial, to which, however, the cleft of the mouth does not extend. A single large temporal shield is separated from the postocular by the intervening sixth labial shield. The first pair of the lower labials form a suture together behind the median one; there are two pairs of chin- shields of nearly equal size. The trunk is surrounded on every part by fifteen rows of scales. There are 160 ventral and 44 subcaudal plates, all being entire. The upper parts are uniform greyish olive, or black after the epidermis is detached. The lower side is uniform yellowish olive, or white if the epidermis is lost. The total length is 19 inches, the cleft of the mouth being one-third of an inch and the tail 23. The specimen formed part of a collection of West African snakes purchased of Mr. Rich for the British Museum, and containing Coronella fuliginoides, Grayia* triangularis, Meizodon regularis, Dipsadoboa unicolor, &c. Among the best-determined genera of Ophidians are those distinguished by entire subcaudal plates. Out of fifteen genera with which we are at present acquainted possessing this cha- racter, no less than five are from Western Africa: namely Ela- pops, belonging to the family Calamaride ; Dipsadoboa (unicolor), to the Dipsadide ; Holuropholis, to the Lycodontide ; and Atrac- taspis, the type of a distinct family, to which perhaps Polemont+ may belong. This is a very remarkable feature of the Ophidian fauna of Western Africa, in which it appears to be very different from the southern parts of the Ethiopian region, where, accord- ing to the present state of our knowledge, but a single snake with the character above mentioned is found, viz. Atractaspis * The name of Heteronotus is inadmissible, it being used for a genus of Lizards; see Gray, Catal. Lizards. ’ + Provided that Polemon (of the venomous tooth of which we are not yet informed whether it is externally grooved or perforated by an internal channel) is a genus really different from Atractaspis. The genera which have only a part of the subcaudals entire are not brought into the above account. and Revision of the South American Elaps. 163 wregularis ; and this is common to Southern and Western Africa, The last-named genus, Polemon, has been lately made known by Prof. Jan in the ‘ Revue et Magasin de Zool.’ 1858, Decem- ber, p. 525, where he commences an abstract of the MS. of his ‘Iconographie descriptive des Ophidiens.’ As I have lately paid much attention to this order of animals, I may be allowed to make a few remarks on Prof. Jan’s mode of treating his subject. Herpetologists who may refer to his paper will be surprised to find that neither the Collection of the British Mu- seum (which, as well as those of Paris and Leyden, is distin- guished for its large series of snakes), nor the publications based on that Collection and published prior to Prof. Jan’s labours, are mentioned in it. On this poimt the following statement will suffice*. Prof. Jan examined the specimens on the spot, but after having done so, declared to me that, “if he could not take them to Milan, he would omit them in his work.” I thought, nevertheless, the time spent was compensated for by the identification of some synonyms in my Catalogue, and of * ‘When Professor Jan requested permission to take with him to Milan the type-specimens of the species of snakes which had been described from the Museum specimens, and also some other snakes which were interesting to him, I informed him that it was against the rules of the Museum to allow any such specimens to leave the walls of the Establishment, and that I could not recommend the Trustees to make an exception and accede to his request, as I considered the rule a very proper and sensible one, for the following among other reasons :— 1, It would be very inconvenient to any herpetologist who might come to examine the snakes, to be informed that the specimens which he wished to see were gone to Milan or any other place,—an inconvenience I have myself experienced when I have made an excursion, for the purpose of examining certain type-specimens, to Paris or some other museum where such loan of specimens is permitted. 2. It is very difficult to make sure, even with the very best intention on the part of the person who borrows the specimens, that they will be re- turned within a reasonable time, if at all. I should like to know, for example, in the present state of Northern Italy, if such a loan would not have been attended with great risk. 3. The manner in which the British Museum is consulted is so different from that of any continental institution, that a rule, such as that of lending specimens, which may not be very objectionable there, where the persons who consult the specimens are few and known, would be very objection- able and impossible here, where any specimen may be asked for at any moment, and expected to be forthcoming. Being desirous of giving Professor Jan all the assistance in my power, even during my absence, I directed that he should have every facility to examine and make a drawing of any specimen which was interesting to him; and that if he would mark any specimens he might like to have figured, and leave or send an example of the kind of figures he might desire, I would have them made for him as soon as they could be exe- euted, and send them to him for his work.—J. E. Gray. 11* 164 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Genus of West African Snakes, some which would probably have occurred in his work. So far as omitting all mention of the Collection of the British Museum, Prof. Jan has only kept his word; and it being allowed to everybody to leave his work as incomplete as he pleases, I have no right to interfere with Prof. Jan’s proceedings on this point. It is another thing, however, with his method of treating the genus Klaps. Being informed by me, during his sojourn at the British Museum, that I had written a paper on Elaps, he expressed himself anxious (in a letter directed to me) to receive a copy of it. The publication of this paper (read be- fore the Zoological Society, January 1859) being delayed by the previously intervening vacation of the Society and the execution of the accompanying plates, I communicated to him the distri- bution of the genus which I had proposed, together with the diagnoses and names of the genera. Now Prof. Jan may have previously arrived at the same results, but he has substituted new names, viz. Helminthoelaps for Callophis (Elaps remains Elaps), Homoroselaps for Pecilophis, Homaloselaps for Vermi- cella. Such a multiplication of synonyms is the less justifiable as the name of Callophis has been applied to East Indian Elaps since the year 1832, and as there exists a second name for it, Doliophis*, The denomination of Vermicella was introduced into the literature early in 1858. So far on this point: on a second, I am happy to say, my remarks are directed against a principle in herpetology which appears to have found a rather strong representative in Prof. Jan. He says of the South American laps, ‘Les espéces offrent dans leur ensemble, et dans la forme et la position des plaques céphaliques, une telle ressemblance entre elles, qu’il est difficile, pour la plupart, de les distinguer autrement que par les dessins qui résultent de la distribution de leurs différentes couleurs, ordinairement au nombre de trois—le noir, le rouge, et le jaune. Ces dessins sont assez constants dans les individus de la méme espéce.” That is, as I understand it, “‘the coloration becomes very constant as soon as you establish for every modi- fication of colour a new species.” Certain as it is that there are different species of South American Elaps, it is equally so that they vary indefinitely in coloration. It is impossible for men who make their observations from preserved specimens to decide in every case where is the boundary between variety and species: this will be possible for those only who observe them on their own native ground, and who are better informed as to their localities than we are at present. On the other hand, we know that there are some species of snakes which show an extra- ordinary tendency to variation in what I call the ornamental * Girard in Proc. Acad. Nat. Se. -Philad. 1857, p. 182. and Revision of the South American Elaps. 165 colours: for instance, Simotes purpurascens, Tropidonotus quin- cunciatus, Erythrolamprus venustissimus, &c. The latter species especially, having the same system of coloration as laps (with black rings on a red ground-colour), and inhabiting the same parts of the globe, shows a strikingly similar gradation of varieties, but with the physiognomy of the head always precisely the same. I have again examined the ninety specimens of South Ameri- can Elaps in the Collection of the British Museum, and com- pared them with Prof. Jan’s account. Two only of the species figured by him could be clearly made out, whilst many other specimens approached to some of the figures, and nearly twice as many could not be referred to any of his specific categories. Now, if we consider that there were examined the specimens of a part of the British, German, French, and Italian Collections only, that these specimens were collected in the most accessible parts of South America, that scarcely two specimens perfectly agree with each other, to what amount will the number of spe- cies finally reach—species of the geographical distribution of which we know extremely little, which never were observed in nature, and which for the greater part show precisely the same shields of the head! I think the synonymy of some species of snails ought to teach us a different lesson. It would be ridicu- lous to deny that different species of Klaps-inhabit the vast continent of Tropical America, and even many more than we at present know ; but we can only cautiously introduce new forms into the list of species; and I think myself at liberty to do so by a combination of the following characters only :— 1. If there is a striking difference in the shape or in the arrangement of the shields of the head. The extent of the sixth upper labial shield (to or not to the occipital) does not constitute a specific difference of itself. 2. If there is a great difference in the general habit of the snake, or in the proportions between the single parts. The number of the ventral and caudal plates is in proportion to the length of the trunk and of the tail. We find that the number of ventral plates in those species of Elaps of which we have the best knowledge from a great number of specimens, is-subject to a variation of seventy and more; therefore we cannot deduce from it alone a specific character, without having examined several specimens. 3. If there is such a difference in the distribution of the colours that we cannot refer it to a typical coloration of one of the known species*. Prof. Jan has illustrated the new species with coloured plates. * Cf. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1859, p. 82. 166 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Genus of West African Snakes, In specimens which are well preserved, and not for a long period in spirits, we are often able to distinguish the yellow rings from the red ground-colour even if both colours have faded, the former being a more saturated white; in others we can deter- mine the colours by analogy, for there is a certain law in their distribution, in spite of all the modifications; in a few this is quite impossible. Now, if Prof. Jan professes to distinguish the species “ par les dessins qui résultent de la distribution de leurs différentes couleurs,” one is not prepared to find the colora- tion of a part of the figures doubtful, or even faulty; never- theless this is the case. 1. Provided that Prof. Jan ascertained the colours of E. multt- _ fasciatus from a living specimen, it is very doubtful whether the light rigs in this species, three specimens of which are in the British Museum, are red or yellow. 2. If in EF. apiatus, Jan, the black rings are not yellow- ~ edged, as represented in the figure, the occipital region cannot be yellow, but red, as in KE. Hemprichii and affinis. 3. In H. Dumerilii the temporal region is represented as en- tirely yellow, whilst the black ring round the neck ought to have an anterior yellow margin only, the remainder being red. In- consistently enough, the same parts in E. decoratus are repre- sented as entirely red, whilst in fact the distribution of the colours is the same as in the former species. 4. In E. Gravenhorstii the colours are entirely confounded : what is red ought to be yellow, and vice versd, according to the law that the rings within the black zone are always yellow. With regard to the new species, we find two distinguished from the others by the sixth labial shield extending to the occi- pital. This appears to be a constant character in E. decoratus, which, especially by a very broad vertical shield*, shows that it is a really distinct species. This is not the case in Elaps Riisei, founded on a single specimen from St.Thomas. The British Museum possesses six specimens—two from Trinidad (one lately arrived), one since ascertained to be from St. Vincent’s, and three without proper locality, all of which were and are referred by myself to #. corallinus. The sixth upper labial is in two specimens separated from the occipital by a temporal; in two this temporal is united with the labial, both forming one shield in immediate contact with the occipital; in the fifth speci- men is a separate temporal on one side and no temporal on the other; and in the sixth there are two temporal shields, but the upper angle of the labial shield touches the occipital: this * In the figures of E. decoratus and Riisei (Rev. et Mag. Zool. /. c.), the sixth labial is represented with a transverse fold. Cf. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1859, pl. vu. f. A. and Revision of the South American Klaps. 167 character therefore cannot of itself constitute a species, much less a subdivision. There are two posterior oculars; and the single postocular of the Milan specimen was accidental, as Prof. Jan rightly supposes. There are seven to eleven black rings round the tail, and seventeen to twenty-eight round the trunk, in the snakes which are ascertained to come from the West Indies. The form of the head-shields being precisely the same as in E. corallinus, what other differences hold good? The black rings are more or less distinctly yellow-edged, which is generally not the case in Z. corallinus ; but then E. Riisei would come into the category of E. circinalis, which Prof. Jan does not appear to admit as a species. I shall now proceed to give the detailed results of the exami- nation to which I have again subjected the specimens in the British Museum, in order to show the vast variability of these snakes, and the degree of possibility of applying to them defini- tions of such species as may be found in the work of Duméril - and Bibron, and in the account of Jan. First Group.—lI begin with those species of Elaps in which the black rings are fully developed, without entirely suppressing the red ground-colour, and in which three black rings are always grouped together, including two yellow rings, and thus forming what I call a zone. The snakes of this group must be specifi- cally distinct from those of the other, as this system of coloration cannot be a mere modification of that of the latter. Further, there can be no doubt that H. surinamensis, Cuv., E. filiformis, Gthr., E. decoratus, E. Hemprichii, Jan, and E. Dumerili, Jan, are specifically different from the long-known £. lemniscatus, as they show remarkable differences in general habit or in the shields. Therefore our attention is directed particularly to the latter and its more or less important modifications. I may ob- serve that in all the specimens which I shall mention as having been examined by myself, the shields of the head are precisely the same. A. The middle black ring is wider than the outer ones, but less than twice as wide. I, The intervening spaces of the red ground-colour are wider than the middle black ring. 1. A white cross-band before the eyes = E. lemniscatus, D. & B. «. A yellow ring is wider than one-half of an outer black one; a single zone round the tail. a. Six zones round the trunk; ventrals 236, caudals 21.—One spe- cimen. b. Seven zones round the trunk; ventrals 224, caudals 28.—One specimen from Pernambuco. ce. Eight zones round the trunk; ventrals 234, caudals 27.—Two specimens from Brazil. 168 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Genus of West African Snakes, d. Nine zones round the trunk; ventrals 238, caudals 24.—One specimen from Bahia. e. Ten zones round the trunk; ventrals 228, caudals 26.— Two specimens from Bahia. 8. A yellow ring is half as wide as an outer black one; one zone and a half round the tail. a. Nine zones round the trunk; ventrals 231, caudals 34.—One specimen from the West Indies. b. Ten zones round the trunk; ventrals 220, caudals 36.— One spe- cimen. c. Ten zones round the trunk; ventrals 245, caudals 33.—One spe- cimen from Trinidad. d. Fourteen zones round the trunk; ventrals 262, caudals 30.— One specimen from Brazil. 2. No white cross-band before the eyes. a. Nasal separated from the preocular by the third labial shield: E. Gravenhorstit, Jan, founded on a single specimen from Brazil ; it is described as having the middle black ring twice as wide as an outer one, but the figure represents it narrower. 8. Nasal in immediate contact with the preeocular. a. The black rings not confluent on the belly. aa. Shields of the muzzle and of the crown black, anteriorly margined with yellow; thirteen. zones round the body, one round the tail_—One specimen from the Argentine Republic. 8B: Muzzle and crown entirely black: E. Margraviu, D. & B. b, The black rings of every zone confluent on the belly, and the yellow rings spotted with black. aa. Ten zones round the trunk, and one or one and a half round me tail; ventrals 230, caudals 22-24.—Two specimens from razil. B88. Twelve zones round the trunk and one round the tail; ven- trals 232, caudals 20.—One specimen from Brazil. 3. Muzzle entirely white : E. frontalis, D. & B. II. The intervening spaces of the red ground-colour are equal in width to the middle black ring: E. Tschudit, Jan. III. The intervening spaces of the red ground-colour are narrower than the middle black ring; a white band before the eyes. 1. Ten zones round the trunk; ventrals 221, caudals 36.—One speci- men. 2. Eleven zones round the trunk; ventrals 240, caudals 39.—One spe- cimen. B. The three black rings of each zone equal in width to one another. I. No white band before the eyes: ?.L. Margravii, D. & B. part. 1. Black rings not confluent on the belly. | a. Eight zones and a half round the body, one half round the tail ; ventrals 222, caudals 22.—One specimen from River Capin (Para). b. Twelve zones round the body, one round the tail; ventrals 228, caudals 23.—Two specimens from Caraccas, 2. Black rings confluent on the belly, a yellow band behind the eyes ; ventrals 199-213, caudals 29-37: E. elegans, Jan, from Mexico. II. A white band before the eyes. 1. The yellow rings are narrower than the black ones; thirteen zones round the trunk, one and a half round the tail.—One specimen. 2. The yellow rings are broader than the black ones; ten zones round the trunk, one round the tail.—One specimen from St. Vincent’s, and Revision of the South American Elaps. 169 which I consider as a variety of EF. corallinus (E. Riiset), where the rings exceptionally approach a triple arrangement. All these different forms are viewed by myself as varieties of Elaps lemniscatus, Ji., as long as no other constant differences in the shields of the head, &c. are poimted out, with the exception perhaps of EH. Gravenhorstui, known from a single specimen only, and of the last form mentioned, referred to E. corallinus. The Srconp Grovur comprises those forms in which the black rings are equidistant, and if fully developed, do not entirely suppress the red ground-colour: some have the black rings edged with ‘yellow; in others this colour appears to be absent. The group certainly contains several species, among which the most northern one is pretty well determined, also with regard to its geographical range: but there is a very great variation among the more southern ones; and which of them are such as to admit of a specific distinction, I attempt to show by the fol- lowing examination and comparison of the British Museum specimens with the descriptions of different authors. Nearly the whole group has been comprised by Schlegel under one species, K. corallinus. A. The red interspaces are spotted with black (besides the black tip of each scale). I. Black rings edged with yellow. a. The interspaces of the red ground-colour extend over ten to twenty scales. #«. The black rings rudimentary, gradually becoming complete and - surrounding the body. aa. Ten round black spots along the back and three rings round the tail: E. epistema, D. & B., from Mexico. . 6b. Black bands irregularly interrupted, separated by ten to fourteen red scales; ventrals 216, caudals 40: FH. affinis, Jan, from Mexico. ce. Black bands interrupted on the sides, separated by sixteen red scales; thirteen round the trunk and five round the tail ; ventrals 204, eaudals 40.—One specimen from Mexico. 8. The black rings complete: E. fulvius, D.& B. dd. Black bands separated by sixteen red scales, twelve round the trunk and five round the tail; ventrals 217, caudals 36.—Four ‘specimens from Mexico. ee. Black bands separated by fifteen red scales, eleven round the trunk and four round the tail; ventrals 213, caudals 41.—One specimen from California. Sf. Black bands separated by thirteen red scales, twelve or thirteen round the trunk and four or three round the tail; ventrals 216, caudals 33.—Four specimens from Mexico. gg. Black bands separated by thirteen red scales, thirteen round the trunk and two round the tail; ventrals 224-237, caudals 26-38 : =E. tener, Baird, from Texas. hh. Black bands separated by twelve red scales, thirteen round the trunk and four round the tail; ventrals 222, caudals 42.—One specimen from Texas. it, Black bands separated by eleven red scales, fifteen round the trunk 170 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Genus of West African Snakes, and five round the tail; ventrals 213, caudals 41.—One specimen from North America. kk. Black bands separated by eleven red scales, twelve round the trunk and five round the tail—One specimen. b. The interspaces of the red ground-colour extend over less than ten scales. ll. Black bands separated by nine red scales, fourteen round the trunk and four round the tail ; ventrals 213, caudals 41.—One specimen. mm. Black bands separated by eight red scales, twenty-three round the trunk and six round the tail.—One specimen. nn. Black bands separated by seven red scales, twenty-three or twenty-four round the trunk, and seven or six round the tail; ventrals 220, caudals 55.—Two specimens from Honduras. II. The black rmgs without visible yellow edge. a. The red interspaces are irregularly spotted with black; thirty-one black rings round the trunk, and eight round the tail: Elaps apiatus, Jan, from Vera Cruz. b. A black cross, formed by four scales, in the dorsal centre of every red interspace; twenty-eight black rings round the trunk, and five round the tail.—One specimen from Mexico. B. The red interspaces have no black spots besides the black tip of each scale. I. Crown of the head (posterior portion of the occipital shields) white. a. The interspaces between the black rings extend over seventeen scales ; the width of a black ring is one-half of that of the red and yellow together ; ten black rings round the body, and four round the tail. —Two specimens. b. The interspaces between the black rings extend over eight to ten scales; the width of a black ring is one-fourth of that of the red and yellow together. a. Nineteen black rings round the body, and four round the tail.—One specimen, perhaps = Elaps diastema, D. & B. 8. Twenty-three black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail ; ventrals 228, caudals 40.—T'wo specimens. c. The interspaces between the black rings extend over four to six scales ; the width of a black ring is more than one-half of that of the red and yellow together; nineteen to twenty-one black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail; ventrals 222, caudals 55.—Elaps Fitzingeri, Jan, from Mexico. d. The interspaces between the black rings extend over two to three scales, and a, are broader on the belly. | aa. Thirty-nine to forty-five black rings round the trunk, two or three round the tail; ventrals 241, caudals 28.—Three specimens from Venezuela. bb. Sixty-five black rings: Elaps mipartitus, D. & B., from New Gra- nada and Cayenne (Elaps decussatus). 8. The interspaces are equal in width, superiorly and inferiorly ; fifty- seven black rings round the trunk, and three round the tail; ven- trals 278, caudals 24: Elaps multifasciatus, Jan, from Central America. II. Crown of the head black. a. The yellow rings are very distinct; the red ground-colour has gene- rally a brown or brownish hue. #. The width of the black rings is less than one-half of that of the interspaces between: Elaps circinalis, D. & B. and Revision of the South American Elaps. 171 aa. ae sixth upper labial in contact with the occipital: E. Riisei, an. we. Twenty-six to twenty-eight black rings round the trunk, and seven or eight round the tail; ventrals 212, caudals 32.—Two specimens. 88. Twenty-five black rmgs round the trunk, and eleven round the tail; ventrals 184, caudals 45.—One specimen from St. Vincent’s. yy. Twenty-two black rings round the trunk, and eight round the tail; ventrals 176, caudals 45.—One specimen from Trinidad. bb. A separate temporal shield between the sixth upper labial and the occipital. ee. Thirty-one black rings round the trunk, and seven round the eo ; ventrals 210, caudals 31.—One specimen from the West ndies. 88. Seventeen black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail ; ventrals 207, caudals 42.—One specimen. 8. The width of the black rings is more than one-half of that of the interspaces between. aa, Twenty-eight black rings round the trunk, and ten round the tail ; ventrals 202, caudals 47.—One specimen from Brazil. bb. Twenty-eight black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail ; ventrals 210, caudals 32.—One specimen. ec. Twenty-five black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail; ventrals 214, caudals 34.—One specimen. dd. Twenty-four black rings round the trunk, and eight round the tail; ventrals 210, caudals 31.—One specimen. y. The black rings and the interspaces between nearly equal in width ; each black ring edged with a single series of isolated yellow scales anteriorly and posteriorly. aa. Thirty-two black rings round the trunk, and nine round the tail ; ventrals 109 (209?), caudals 47: Elaps ornatissimus, Jan, from Central America. bb. Forty-two black rings round the trunk, and ten round the tail ; ventrals 206, caudals 43.—One specimen from Para. b. The yellow rings indistinct or not visible. a. The interspaces of the red ground-colour extend over ten to thir- teen scales: Elaps corallinus, D. & B. aa. Over thirteen scales; seventeen black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail.—One specimen from Trinidad. bb. Over twelve scales. ae. Fifteen black rings round the trunk, and six round the tail; ventrals 194, caudals 43.—One specimen from the interior of Brazil. BB. Nineteen black rings round the trunk, and four round the tail ; ventrals 221, caudals 30.—One specimen. ec. Over eleven scales; eighteen black rings round the trunk, and five round the tail.—One specimen. dd, Over ten scales; twenty to nineteen black rings round the trunk, and seven to eight round the tail_—Two specimens from Brazil. 8. The interspaces of the red ground-colour extend over less than ten scales. ee. Over nine scales. ae, Eighteen black rings round the trunk, and four round the tail ; ventrals 215, caudals 28.—One specimen. 88. Eighteen black rings round the trunk, and seven round the tail. —One specimen. 172 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Genus of West African Snakes, yy. Twenty-one black rings round the trunk, and five round the tail; ventrals 211, caudals 30.—Two specimens from Brazil. Sf. Over eight scales. ewe. Twenty black rings round the trunk, and four round the tail; ventrals 201, caudals 28.—One specimen. BB. Thirty-one black rings round the trunk, and seven round the tail; ventrals 201, caudals 32.—One specimen from Trinidad. gg. Over seven scales; twenty-two black rings round the trunk, and ten round the tail.—One specimen. hh. Over six scales. ; ae. Thirty-three black rings round the trunk, and seven round the tail; ventrals 201, caudals 32.—QOne specimen. 88. Thirty black rings round the trunk, and seven round the tail. —Three specimens. yy. Twenty-nime black rings round the trunk, and ten round the — tail; ventrals 190, caudals 43.—One specimen from the West Indies. We can distinguish, among these numerous variations, two forms: the northern, with the black rings edged with yellow, the red ground-colour maculated with black, and a yellow occi- put—Z. fulvius; and the southern, without yellow rings, with- out black spots, and with black occiput—Z. corallinus. But Schlegel had good reason for not even admitting these two species, because there occur a great many forms which we are at a loss to refer to either of the two, and which we shall be justified in raising to species if we shall have determined their geographical extent and their constancy of character by more than a single specimen. It appears to be perfectly evident, from the synopsis given above, that E. affinis, Jan, and £. epi- stema, D. & B., founded on single specimens, are merely va- rieties of EL. fulvius. In this snake the bands gradually become fewer in number; they are regularly interrupted on the sides ; they are irregularly interrupted (E. affinis), and finally are re- duced to mere spots (Z. epistema). It is, however, remarkable that all these specimens come from Mexico. As long as I could not establish the above series, I held E. epistema for a good species. J. affinis is represented by Prof. Jan without any yellow; but this appears to me rather doubtful. E. tener, discovered by Prof. Baird, from Texas, may probably prove to be a good species, distinguished by a remarkably short tail and a comparatively slender body. More doubtful are EZ. apiatus, Jan; a specimen in the British Museum, closely allied to it (A. IT. 6), which I leave for the present as E. corallinus, var.; and H. Fitzingeri, Jan. The division which I have placed under B. I. d, comprising those specimens in which a great number of black rings nearly suppress the ground-colour, the individuals of which are of much smaller size and of a comparatively slenderer body, is specifically and Revision of the South American Elaps. 173 different from all the others: it comprises H. mipartitus, D. & B., E. decussatus, D. & B., E. multifasciatus, Jan, together with three specimens in the British Museum. The specific distinction of E. multifasciatus and mipartitus is not yet clearly pointed out ; and the British Museum specimens do not completely agree with either, having a white band before the eyes, which peculiarity, however, in my opinion, cannot constitute of itself a specific character, as it is difficult to perceive why a modified extent of the black coloration of the head should be considered as more important than that of the trunk. With regard to the remainder (B. II.), comprising E. coralli- nus, D. & B., E. circinalis, D.& B., E. Riisei, Jan, E. ornatissimus, Jan, I consider them as one and the same species. Even if further observations should point out a specific difference be- tween the E. corallinus from the West Indies and the continental coast nearest to those islands, and between the Z£. corallinus from the neotropical continent, this difference is not to be found in the sixth upper labial shield, as I have proved above, and the name of E. Riisei must be considered as a synonym for an acci- dental form of E. circinalis, D. & B. I can hardly give any opinion on £. alternans and E. gastro- delus, D. & B., perfectly unknown to me, and not admitted in the list of species by Prof. Jan. EH. Langsdorfii, Wagl., is known to me also only by the very short note given on it by Prof. Jan. The discovery that E. calligaster, Wiegm. and EL. collaris, Schleg., really are South American species, will be gratefully received by every herpetologist, the character of the East Indian Flaps, “ corpore vittato,” as given by Wagler, thus being undis- turbed ; but it is rather strange that specimens belonging to those species should be marked, both in the British and in the Paris Museum, as coming from the Philippines. The list of South American species and varieties of Klaps will now be as follows :— 1. Elaps corallinus, L., with the va- rieties : a. E. psyche, Daud. b. E. circinalis, D. & B. c. E. Riisei, Jan. d. E. ornatissimus, Jan. 2. Elaps mipartitus, D. & B., with the varieties : a. E. decussatus, D. & B. 2b. E. multifasciatus, Jan. 5. Elaps tener, Baird and Girard. 6. Elaps bipunctiger, D. & B. 7. Elaps surinamensis, Cuv. 8. Elaps lemniscatus, L., with the varieties : a. EK. Margravii, D. & B. b. E. frontalis, D. B. c. E. elegans, Jan. d. E. Tschudii, Jan. 9. Elaps filiformis, Gthr. 3. Elaps Langsdorfii, Wag]. 4. Elaps fulvius, L., with the varie- ties: a. E. tristis, Baird and Girard. b. E. epistema, D. & B. c. E. affinis, Jan. 10. Elaps decoratus, Jan. 11. Klaps Dumerilii, Jan. 12. Elaps Hemprichit, Jan. 174 Dr. T. S. Wright on Hydroid Zoophytes. Doubtful species are— 13, Elaps gastrodelus, D. & B. 17. Elaps apiatus, Jan. 14. Elaps diastema, D. & B. 18. Elaps Fitzingeri, Jan. 15. Elaps zonatus, Hallowell. 19. Elaps Gravenhorstii, Jan. 16. Elaps divaricatus, Hallowell. 20. Elaps alternans, D. & B. XVII.—Remarks on Professor Allman’s “ Notes on the Hydroid Zoophytes.” By T. Srretuitt Wrieut, M.D. In the Number of the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural His- tory’ for July 1859, is contained a description of three Zoo- phytes by Professor Allman which have previously been described by myself. 1. Manicella fusca (Allman), Bimeria vestita (mihi). After describing this Zoophyte, Professor Allman states, “I have not been able to find any description of the present animal, though Dr. 8S. Wright informed me last year that he had met with a Tubularian Zoophyte in which the greater part of the polype was covered by the polypary.” This Zoophyte was discovered by myself in August (1858), soon after which time I gave an account of it in a letter to Mr. Joshua Alder. In October following I mentioned it and its locality to Professor Allman,—the same locality in which he found it last spring. On the 26th of January last, I described it, with figures, to the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh ; and it appeared in full in the report of the Society’s Proceedings contained in the ‘ Witness’ of the 16th of February, in which paper, under the editorship of the late Hugh Miller and since his death, the “ Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society ” have been regularly reported for some years. Finally, I have de- scribed the animal, with figures, in the ‘ Edin. New Phil. Journal’ for July last. Iam at a loss to account for Professor Allman’s inability to find a description of Bimeria vestita, as an applica- tion to its discoverer would have removed every difficulty. Professor Allman errs in stating that the polypary (the poly- pidom or corallum of other writers) covers the body of the polype and one-half the tentacles. The covering of the polype in Bi- meria consists of the “colletoderm*,” which in this species is * IT have formerly given the term “‘ colletoderm ” (xkoAAnT?s, get) to a glutinous secretion which forms a covering to the hard corallum o zoophytes. In the Corynes it is readily seen on the tips of the growing shoots of the polypary, which are cemented by it to the surfaces over which they creep. It also forms the gelatinous marsupial sacs which sur- mount the female reproductive capsules of Laomedea lacerata, Sertularia pumila, &c., and in which the ova undergo their first metamorphosis. It M. Bronn on the Laws of Evolution of the Organic World. 175 largely developed and thickened with mud, &c. In some of my specimens, which have been kept in dilute alcohol, the mud is removed, and the colletoderm appears as a transparent struc- tureless coat covering the polypes and the corallum, and quite distinct from the latter. I have detected this membrane also on the body of the polype of Coryne decipiens (Dujardin) and Clava repens (mihi), so that Bimeria is not singular amongst Zoophytes in the possession of an overcoat. 2. Eudendrium bacciferum (Allman), Garveia nutans (mihi). This Zoophyte was also described and figured by me before the Royal Physical Society, in the ‘ Witness,’ and in the ‘ Edin. New Phil. Journal,’ under the same dates as Bimeria vestita. 3. Coryne Briareus (Allman), Coryne implexa (mihi), Tubularia wmplexa (Alder). The corallum, destitute of polypes, of Coryne implexa was de- scribed by Mr. Alder, in his Catalogue of Zoophytes of the Northumberland Coast, under the title of Tubularia implexa. In August 1859 I found it with its polypes, and described and published it together with Bimeria vestita.. I have, since the publication of C. Briareus by Professor Allman, placed my spe- cimen of C. implexa in the latter gentleman’s hands; and he is of opinion that it is identical with his. He has, however, unfor- tunately lost his specimen ; so that the coralla cannot be com- pared with each other. The corallum of C. implexa is composed of two very distinct coats, the mner one ringed and horny, the outer one thin, membranous, and not ringed. The latter ap- pears to consist of “colletoderm” in an indurated state. All the above-mentioned Zoophytes exist in the same localities —the Bimer and Garvey Rocks at Queensferry, Firth of Forth. Edinburgh, August 1, 1859. XVIII.—On the Laws of Evolution of the Organic World during the Formation of the Crust of the Earth. By H. G. Bronn. [Concluded from p. 90.] III. Results concerning the relations which connect the present state of the organized kingdom with tts geological states. In all that precedes, we have taken into consideration not only the ancient, but also the present state of things. We have traced the modifications presented to us by the organic world in is very indestructible, and not coagulable by dilute spirit. It is secreted directly from the ectoderm of the zoophyte, the hard corallum being after- wards secreted beneath it. It is probably a modification of chitine. 176 M.Bronn on the Laws of Evolution of the Organic World the ancient periods, not only to the threshold of the present — creation, but also into its very heart. We have seen that these ~ modifications do not by any means all cease at the threshold of existing nature, but that they often continue their course with- out interruption, so that it becomes difficult for us to say exactly where this threshold is to be found. The groups of plants or animals which were in course of rapid diminution at the close of the geological ages have continued diminishing in the exist- ing epoch : amongst all the fossil species the marine Mollusca. are those with which we are best acquainted, and the study of which is most decisive upon this point. Those, on the contrary, which were in course of augmentation have continued their develop- ment. At first there existed a certain number of orders and suborders entirely foreign to our existing creation; and all the genera, with the exception of from 1 to. 3 per cent., were different from those of the present day. By degrees the number of these foreign types diminished, and the number of genera which have persisted to our days became more and more considerable. In the sequence of ages this number rose gradually from 20 to 40, 60, 80, 90, and, lastly, 100 per cent. By degrees, and this even at the close of the Cretaceous period, some isolated species made their appearance, which have persisted to the present day. Starting from the Eocene period, their number rose gradually to 20, 60, 80, 90, 95, and 99 per cent., although it is not yet pos- sible to demonstrate an equally regular gradation for all the classes. But however gradual may have been this passage from the geological faunas and floras to existing nature in the south of Europe (according to Philippi), it is very possible that in other countries a great portion of the series of intermediate beds may be wanting, and that consequently in these regions the distinction between the marine formations belonging to these two periods may appear far more marked than in Eu- rope. In the same way, the separation of two older forma- tions may be far more distinctly marked in one country than in another, for perfectly analogous reasons. This gradual passage from the ancient creations to the existing one does not manifest itself solely in the constantly increasing proportion of identical species, but also in the constantly increasing differentiation of the floras and faunas in accordance with zones, from the Eocene period to the present day. The formation of local floras and faunas, from the Eocene epoch to the Pliocene and Diluvia epochs, exhibited the same local characters as the floras an faunas of the present day: already each country was inhabited by the same characteristic families, the same genera, and a great part of the species which we find dwelling there at present. The most recent tertiary strata of England contain a testaceous during the Formation of the Crust of the Earth. 177 fauna which agrees especially with that of the Northern Ocean ; the fauna of these same strata in Italy finds its congener in the existing fauna of the Mediterranean; in the West Indies we find the fauna of the existing sea agreeing for the most part with the tertiary fauna of the most recent of the islands. The bone-caves of Hurope and the north of Asia are especially rich in remains of bears, hyzenas, oxen, deer, and elephants,—that is to say, genera, species of which (although generally distinct from the diluvian species) still live for the most part in the same countries. In the caverns of South America we find the remains of Platyrrhine Quadrumana and of Edentata predomi- nating, and even, as regards the latter, remains belonging to genera which still exist in that country, or which are very nearly allied to existing genera; some species even are identical. In the bone-caves of Australia, lastly, only bones of Marsupials have been found; and we know that at the present day we scarcely find any Mammalia on that continent which do not be- long to the Marsupial division. One of the most remarkable proofs of the gradual passage from one period to the other is derived from the study of the ancient forests of Taxodium disti- chum in Louisiana (which, however, have for the most part existed in the present epoch). The appearance of Dicotyledonous vegetation at the close* of the Cretaceous and commencement of the Tertiary period has been repeatedly represented as an event of immense importance for the development of the whole terrestrial fauna. Its import- ance is, in fact, incalculable in comparison with the characters to which we are compelled to have recourse in order to separate the Tertiary from the present period, and which are of so sub- rdinate a nature. Thus one is often tempted to throw back the limits of the most recent period to this moment, and to confound the tertiary and recent strata in a single common period. In fact, in order to distinguish the Tertiary period from the actual epoch, we are forced to have recourse to one or other of the three following events, which probably indeed followed each other very closely, but which we cannot show to have been synchronic :— 1. The last appearance of existing plants and animals ; | 2. The last extinction of ancient species without the interven- tion of man ; 3. The appearance of man himself. The date of these three events can only be determined by the investigation of the fossil remains which come to our knowledge. * Not only in the rig ve Chalk of Germany have Credneria, &c., been found, but the Lower Cretaceous beds of Aix-la-Chapelle have yielded numerous leaves of Angiosperms.—Ep. Annals. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 12 178 M.Bronn on the Laws of Evolution of the Organic World But this is a difficult theory ; for the results of our investigations in this direction can never be regarded as definitive, besides that in this case we have probably to do only with very small chrono- logical differences. The marine Pliocene beds also contain species of Mollusca foreign to the previous periods (see Philippi, Wood, and D’Or- bigny), united with others which already existed in the Miocene period ; these have consequently made their appearance in the course of the Pliocene epoch. The lacustrine Diluvian beds pre- sent analogous facts as regards the terrestrial Mammalia. Bones identical with Diluvian remains have been found in the sub- Apennine Miocene sands and in the Mammaliferous crag of England. But no one has yet succeeded (and perhaps no one ever will succeed, from the want of constant characters) in determining at what point in the Pliocene strata these latter species appeared. With the close of the Pliocene and Diluvian formations, the last animal and vegetable species which became extinct, mde- pendently of the action of man, disappeared; for in the strata of alluvium we only meet with the remains of species still actu- ally im existence. It may, however, be objected to this view that, in the most recent Pliocene strata, the number of extinct species only reaching a very small per-centage, the determination of the age must become very uncertain, owing to the organic remains not being abundant. In fact, in this case it may easily happen that the rare extinct species have not been preserved in the locality under examination, although they may have been in others. We consequently run the risk of regarding as alluvium, strata which are in fact Diluvian or Pliocene, and of employing as a proof, the very point which we have to demonstrate. We are by no means sure that such errors have not been committed in cases which have been employed to decide the question. Lastly, how can we believe, after all the facts above cited, that the last 5, 4, 3, or 2 per cent. of the extinct species of the Pho- cene population ceased their existence at the same moment under the equator and at the pole, at the bottom of the ocean and on the surface of the continents ? This is a question as difficult to settle, as to know whether man existed simultaneously with extinct species which have ceased to exist without any historical intervention on his part, or whether he has only appeared after their extinction. The appearance. of man, who has had so great an influence upon the present state of our planet and upon thé whole development of nature—the entry upon the scene of the world of this “lord of the creation,’ for whose reception all the rest could only have been a prepara- tory work, is an event which one would willingly have taken as the starting-point of a new era in the history of the world. It is true that human bones and fragments of artificial objects have during the Formation of the Crust of the Earth. 179 frequently been found mixed with the remains of Diluvian ani- mals: but it has been thought that these facts could be got over by the hypothesis that these bones were not in primitive rela- tions of association, but had been brought together at a sub- sequent epoch by currents of water; or, at least, it has been objected that the nullity of such a hypothesis cannot be demon- strated. Sir Charles Lyell in particular has endeavoured to explain the juxtaposition of human bones with Diluvian remains observed in Louisiana by Dickeson, by means of the disintegra- tion of beds of clay in consequence of subterraneous erosions in a locality where Indian graves existed above Diluvian remains. The following observations would be more difficult to refute, if they had been surrounded by all the necessary guarantees. In a bone-cave in Brazil, M. Lund found a skull similar to that of the present aborigines, together with other human bones, amongst bones of Platonya and Chlamydotherium. All the remains were petrified in the same way, penetrated by perfectly similar ferru- ginous incrustations, and presented the same metallic fracture. Out of twenty-four bone-caves in Brazil, M. Lund states that in six he found human bones associated with the remains of extinct animals ; and although these observations could not be regarded in the light of absolute proof, M. Lund was inclined to think that these men and these animals had lived at the same time. We must also mention here the juxtaposition of human bones, fragments of pottery, and other artificial products, with remains of extinct mammalia in the clay and osseous breccia of Bize, near Narbonne, according to Marcel de Serres, Tournal, and Lecoq; the analogous observations of M. Schmerling in the bone-caves of Louvain; those of M. Marcel de Serres in the caves of Mialet ; the discoveries of the same nature in the recent voleanic matters of La Denise, near the Puy in Auvergne; and especially those of the rock-clefts of the Wiirtemberg Alb, in which five human molars have been found in the deepest parts, and in a state of fossilization identical with that of the bones of Hippotherium, Tapirus, and Mastodon found beside them,—facts which are guaranteed by Jaeger, Kurr, and Quenstedt. One circumstance alone might give rise to some scruples—namely, that these five teeth are all identical in form, and that, although they correspond with the last molar of the lower jaw (in the Mongols, the Finns, and the Negroes), they present a greater resemblance to each other than to this tooth*. All the cases just cited are of such a nature, that a person desti- tute of any preconceived opinion would adopt without hesitation the notion of the simultaneous existence of human bones and _ * See also Mr. Prestwich’s paper at p. 230 of our present Number.—Ep. Annals. @ os --> 12% 180 M. Bronn on the Laws of Evolution of the Organic World remains of fossil animals in the same strata. Nevertheless any one who chooses to submit them to the most severe criticism may still leave the door open for certain doubts. . It is therefore useless, in our opinion, to speak of those cases in which the pretended discovery of human bones, going back to the Diluvian epoch, or even to a still more ancient period, has been completely refuted. Nor shall we dwell upon the tradi- tions which are preserved by the inhabitants of New Zealand and Madagascar with regard to the existence of gigantic birds, such as the Moa (Dinornis) and the A@pyornis in remote countries — birds of which we now find the eggs and bones in strata of very recent origin; for it is very possible that these traditions repose merely upon the existence of these fossil remains, and in any case they are not supported by sufficient proofs*. Nevertheless all these facts, although they do not prove irrefragably the coexistence of man with species of animals now extinct, certainly deserve serious consideration. If, in the pre- sent state of science, we collate them with the discovery men- tioned in this work, of the skull of an Indian at a great depth in the Cypress-deposits of Louisiana+, we cannot but see that it * In the case of the Moa, Mr. W. Mantell’s late observations support the statements as to the cotemporaneity of man with this great bird.—Ep. Annals. + The author alludes to the following facts. Messrs. Dickeson and Brown have discovered in Louisiana a deposit of fossil Cypress-trunks (Cupressus disticha, Linn., Taxodium distichum, Rich.) belonging to the same species which still exists in the regions exposed to the inundations of the Missis- sippi. . This deposit is formed of ten layers of Cypresses, arranged verti- cally one above the other, and separated by layers of earth. Ten trunks of great diameter have been met with, for each of which the counting of the woody layers of growth gave a duration of about 5700 years. Above the most recent of these Cypress-beds there now grows a forest of ever- green Oaks, the age of which is estimated at 1500 years. Mr. Dowler (Jameson’s Journal, 1854, lvii. pp. 374, 375) takes these facts as the basis of the following chronological calculations. The soil formed by the alluvia of the river originally produced .only herbage; it was a vast bog with a moving soil. It was only by degrees, when the soil had been ele- vated and become more solid, that the Cypress-forests could establish themselves upon it. We know (thanks to the ancient data of Strabo) that the Nile, in the space of seventeen centuries, has only elevated the soil of Egypt, by its deposits of alluvium, at the rate of five feet in a century. Adopting a similar standard of measurement, we should have to suppose that it was only at the end of 1500 years that the soil of the moving bog became sufficiently firm to support Cypresses. Now, if we consider that some of the Cypresses which we find in this fossil forest attained the very great age of 5700 years, and if we pay attention to the fact that, for each of the ten layers of the deposit, we are compelled to assume generations of Cypresses succeeding one another, perhaps in great number, to be after- wards thruwn down and left to decompose before the period at which the trees still actually living were developed, we shall not be charged with exaggeration in calculating for the duration of the deposition of each hed during the Formation of the Crust of the Earth. 181 is very difficult to establish a clearly-marked line of demarcation between the Tertiary epoch and the present. New Results. In 1848 and 1849, we had already indicated, in the ‘ Index Palzontologicus’ (second part, pp. 746-913), several of the re- sults contained in the present work with regard to the appear- ance of organisms on the surface of the earth, but without a period of time answering at least to two generations of Cypresses. We see therefore that each of the forests which gave origin to the formation of one of the beds of this deposit lasted at least 11,400 years, before, being buried in the soil, there was a fresh irruption of the waters and formation of anew bog. The marshy soil of this new bog became solidified in its turn, and enabled to produce a new forest of Cypresses, the duration of which was not inferior to that of the former. Then this forest was buried in its turn, and the same phenomenon was repeated ten times in succes- sion. For the last of these alternations, therefore, calculation gives the following result :— Formation and solidification of the bog .......... veda 1,500 years. Duration of two generations Of Cypress ...ccccsscscesesesees 11,400 _,, Duration of the existing forest of Oaks after the drying NUTR OL CHIE WREE ces cc ccestc cian ros sa venoapessgee venice ,000 ,, 14,400 ,, - The first nine times there was no desiccation and elevation of the soil after the development of the forests of Cypress, and the production of intermediate oak-forests was not possible. But as the depressions of the soil which terminated the existence of each forest of Cypress often pro- duced a depression of the surface far below the level of the original bog, we may without much chance of error retain this space of 1500 years for each of the ten preceding periods, and we find then that the formation of the entire deposit required a period of time equal to 11 x 14,400, that is to say, 158,400 years; and durmg the whole of this immense period, the vegetation of the country has for the most part retained the same charac- ters! At New Orleans, at 16 feet below the soil, in the fourth of these beds from the surface, there has been found a well-preserved human skull, corresponding perfectly in its form with the skulls of the actual aborigines of America, and accompanied by the remains of burnt wood. From this we must conclude that this country was inhabited 57,600 years (4 x 14,400) ago by men of the American race. Such is Mr. Dowler’s calculation. It is true that several elements of this calculation are somewhat hypothetical; but the facts suffice to show, with very great probability, the immense duration of an epoch posterior to the Diluvian period, at least if we do not choose to regard the strata below the human skull as still belonging to the czenolithic age—an. opinion which does not appear to be supported by local observation in Louisiana. More- over, it is worth while to remark that this Cypress (Taxodium distichum), upon which it would appear that we may rest, in order to demonstrate the long duration of the post-diluvian epoch, is one of the three species the existence of which may be traced, according to M. Goppert, upon the soil of Europe, from the upper Miocene to the actual epoch (under the name of Taxodites dubius).—K. CLAPAREDE. | 182 M. Bronn on the Laws of Evolution of the Organic World representing these facts as flowing from a positive law—as result- ing from a common cause. Even then we pointed out the passage of species from one bed to another, the variability of the dura- tion of their existence, and the increase in the number of species, genera, orders, and classes in recent periods,—circumstances which support the idea of the existence of a hotter and more uni- form climate in the ancient periods. Even then we indicated the progressive advance to perfection of the different subkingdoms by the successive appearance of more perfect groups and the extine- tion of other groups of inferior organization, and the influence of the external conditions of existence upon the successive appear- ance of the various types of animals and vegetables upon the surface of the earth,—understanding by these external conditions, atmospheric conditions and those of configuration of soil or the action of other organized beings. Before 1848, these different points of view had never been carefully studied in detail; and those which, like the gradual development of creation from more simple to more complex organization, had been the object of special investigations on the part of other authors, appeared to lead to results agreeing but little with older knowledge. The conclusions at which we arrived in the ‘ Index Paleontologicus’ remain true now as then. Recent researches confirm them in all points. Nevertheless the present work is rich; in new results. ‘It places the law of adaptation of the successive faunas and floras to the external conditions of existence, as a fundamental law which governs all the others. Considered on its negative side, this law is absolute, and excludes every phenomenon which would contradict it ; but considered on its positive side, it allows free play to other laws subordinated to or independent of it. This work shows us the necessity of the simultaneous appearance of plants and animals, and teaches us that all the phenomena resulting from this fundamental law flow from it in a necessary and direct manner. It consequently confirms, by palzontological proofs, the geological theory in favour at the present day. By positive and incontestable facts, it overthrows the old idea of distinct faunas and floras confined within perfectly limited strata, determined by lithological limits remaining the same over all the surface of the globe. It demonstrates the inequality of duration of species coexisting in the same stratum. It presents the law of terripetal evolution as an expression of the gradual transformation of the surface of the globe and of its influence upon the totality of the successive characters of the floras and faunas. It establishes the second fundamental law, namely, that of progressive development (advancing in concert with the progression which might result simply from the terripetal law). during the Formation of the Crust of the Earth. 183 It exhibits in detail and in a decisive manner the importance of the appearance of the angiospermous Dicotyledons as a condi- tion of existence for the whole terrestrial fauna. Lastly, it indi- cates the importance of the synchronic relations which existed between the ascertained depressions of the soil, combined with the emanation of a great quantity.of carbonic acid eliminated immediately by the formation of coal, and the existence of the singular forests of Stigmaria, connected with a vegetation com- posed only of vascular Cryptogamia and gymnospermous Dico- tyledons, to the exclusion of the Angiospermia*. These peculiar conditions of vegetation seem to have made their. appearance again, although with a very local development, in the course of the Jurassic period. We are convinced that the office of these forests was to maintain the atmosphere in a respirable state at a period when carbonic acid was emitted in greater abundance than at the present day, and even to render it more suitable for respiration, although positive proofs of this are wanting. An abundant vertebrate fauna with an active respiration would in course of time have acted injuriously in the opposite direction. If this opinion should be confirmed, the fact of the progressive development of the vegetable kingdom would enter, at least partially, into dependence upon the law of adaptation of the successive creations to the external conditions of existence. By this the unity of the laws and phenomena could not but gain. The results at which we have arrived rest. upon the actual state of our knowledge of the fossil world. New discoveries may therefore at any time introduce modifications of them. Nevertheless the general laws which we have established repose upon too numerous facts to allow any exceptions which may hereafter be discovered to suffice for their complete overthrow. Although, in the creation of organized beings, nature may have followed the course which we have indicated, we cannot, how- ever, but suppose that some exception, some deviation from the rule may have taken place in consequence of causes unknown to us. The phenomena which occupy us here are by no means of such a nature that we may deduce them from a fundamental law with the same certainty that we can deduce the fall of a body or the orbit of a planet from the law of universal attrac- tion. The causes which preside over these phenomena are too manifold and too dissimilar to allow us to calculate the result with certainty @ priori. But even if we supposed that a perfectly strict law was at the basis of all these phenomena, our know- ledge of the remains enclosed in the strata of the earth’s crust can never be otherwise than fragmentary. We can never be sure that certain facts do not escape us, the revelation of which * See previous note at p. 177.—Ep. Annals. 184 Prof. Henfrey on the Development of Roots, would be of high importance to the development of our know- ledge. However the results at which we. have arrived may be re- ceived, we have only searched for truth. The laws that we have developed as resulting from a geological theory, had revealed themselves long since to our eyes in nature; for during many years we have ever been guided by one single motive— “ Naturd doceri.” XIX.—On the Development of Roots, and the Exfolhation of the Cellular Coats of their Extremities. By Anruur HEnrRey, F.R.S. In the ‘ Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England,’ vol. xix. part 2, published in January last, there is an essay on _ the Structure of Roots, by myself, in the latter part of which is described the mode in which the extremities of roots elongate, and the special arrangements by means of which they are enabled to penetrate the soil. The same subject has more re- cently been dealt with by MM. Garreau and Brauwers, who appear to have been ignorant of the existence of my paper above referred to; these authors have made some extensive investiga- tions on a further point connected with these root-ends, viz. the possibility that the exfoliated tissue may constitute an excretion capable of exerting an injurious influence upon the same species, and so account for some of the most puzzling phenomena re- lating to the rotation of crops. As the subject is one of great physiological interest, it may be worth while to extract from the ‘ Agricultural Journal’ those portions of the above-mentioned essay which relate to the anatomy and development of roots, at the same time that I present a translation of the memoir of MM. Garreau and Brauwers. The statements in my own paper are made in somewhat general terms, as it was prepared for a somewhat “ popular” class of readers; but they were based upon an original series of investigations which furnished facts in all respects identical with those related in detail by the French authors, to whom, however, exclusively belongs the merit of that part of the inquiry concerning the nature of the substances cast off by the exfoliating radicles. “The root, as developed in the great majority of plants, pre- sents a highly organized structure, made up of various kinds of true cellular or parenchymatous tissue, together with those kinds of elementary tissue which, under the names of wood-cells, ves- sels, and ducts, form the hard parts of plants. As a rule, we may divide the internal structures.of a root into two regions— and the Exfoliation of the Cellular Coats of their Extremities. 185 the cortical, and the woody or central region; the former of these is altogether parenchymatous; the latter consists for the most part of woody tissue in natural roots, but contains abundance of parenchyma in plants where the roots become fleshy. ” The cortical region is continuous with the rind-structure of the stem, and in young roots consists of a thin layer of squarish parenchymatous cells, more or less densely filled with mucilagi- nous contents, but completely covered in on the outer surface by a layer of cells firmly connected side by side, forming a kind of skin, called the epidermis. This skin is distinguished from that clothing the leaves and young shoots, in accordance with the difference of function, by the absence of the peculiar breath- ing pores or stomata, by which the internal structures of the leaves, &c., are placed in direct communication with the atmo- sphere. There are no openings of any kind through the skin covering the surface of roots; and the notion formerly enter- tained of the existence of sponge-like regions at the extremities of roots was an error arising out of imperfect observation, as will appear presently. The cortical region exhibits some striking differences in its subsequent history in different plants. In most cases, especially in the roots of Dicotyledons, and in the branching roots of Monocotyledons, many of the epidermal cells, at a little distance from the growing point of the root or rootlet, grow out into filaments or hair-like processes, constituting the ‘fibrils’ of roots. These are mostly invisible to the naked eye ; and their presence is chiefly betrayed by the adhesion of the soil tothem. When young roots are carefully washed and placed under a magnifying glass, these fibrils are seen very clearly ; and on such roots as those of barley, for instance, they exist in enormous numbers. , “ At the growing points of roots, the epidermis passes insensi- bly into the mass of nascent or cambial tissue ; but the growing point of a root is not at its absolute extremity, which is covered by a cap-shaped or hood-like portion of epidermis of its own, continuous likewise behind with the cambial structure. This eap-like sheath of the point of the root may be compared with the head of an arrow, forming a firm body, which can be pushed forward by the growing force behind, to penetrate through the resisting soil. This cap is subject to destruction and decom- position by external agencies, and is less distinctly seen in roots growing in earth than in those of aquatic plants. In all cases it is constantly undergoing renewal by cell-development at the back part; and when it remains undissolved, as in many water- plants, it becomes very large ; when it undergoes decomposition in proportion as it is renewed behind, it presents an irregular, 186 Prof. Henfrey on the Development of Roots, ragged appearance, which probably gave rise to the idea of a spongy structure at the end of the rootlets. “Tn some roots the epidermis produces no fibrils, but remains smooth. This is especially the case in the delicate filamentous roots, annually thrown off, of many Monocotyledons, as of the onion, hyacinth, crocus, &c. In these roots the epidermal cells retain their general delicate character throughout their existence; and probably the roots of this character absorb by their surface throughout their whole length; while in woody roots the ab- sorbent action is confined to the rootlets—to the regions near the growing points,—where the epidermis is still delicate and covered with its hair-like fibrils. “In woody roots, as the whole organ increases in size and the internal part becomes lignified, the cortical region changes its character. The epidermis dries up, and its place is taken by a corky structure, formed of two or three layers of the cells pre- viously subjacent to the epidermis. When this change has taken place, the direct absorbent power may be regarded as lost. Simultaneously with this change, the inner cortical parenchyma often increases considerably in quantity, and this is particularly the case in fleshy roots, where this region subsequently becomes the reservoir of accumulated nourishment. “The centre of a very young root is occupied by a cord of cellular tissue of different form from the cortical parenchyma, consisting of elongated cells—the cambium of the future wood, which merges, near the growing point, in the focus of cell- development lying just behind the apex of the rootlet, where the nascent cells are all alike. The central cord very soon dis- plays traces of the structures called ducts, and the cells assume the form, and more or less the substance, of the wood-cells of the stem. Some important differences exist as to the arrange- ment of their constituents in different classes of plants. In Dicotyledons (such plants as turnips, beans, pease, our native timber-trees, &c.), the structure of the central or woody part of the root differs from that of the stem chiefly in the absence of a central pith, together with the circumstance that the so-called vascular structure consists of short-jointed ducts, without the more flexible spiral vessels. ‘In ordinary Dicotyledonous roots, when no tuberous deve- lopment occurs, the central woody structure soon acquires its distinctive character. The wood of the stem consists originally of a number of perpendicularly arranged cords, standing m a circle around the pith, a certain number of which pass out into each leaf to form the skeleton of those organs. The lower portions, inside the stem, extend down for a variable distance in different plants. Those of the lower joints of the stem run down into the and the Exfoliation of the Cellular Coats of their Extremities. 187 roots to form its wood; so that here also we find the woody axis at first in the form of distinct bundles, separated from each cther by cellular tissue (medullary rays), but crowded closely together in the centre, so that there is no pith. In the young root we find the bundles belonging to the cotyledons largest, between these the bundles belonging to a number of successive leaves. As the stem has its leaves developed, the number of these bun- dles is increased, until at length a complete circle is formed. When the stem has its jomts elongated, the number of bundles extending down into the root is apparently more restricted than when the root is crowned by a tuft of leaves. The bundles be- longing to the leaves, formed at a certain height from the root, have their origin at the points where some of the lower ones run out into the leaves, so that they take the place of the latter in the circle surrounding the pith. “When the root is not tuberous, the woody bundles grow by the conversion of their cambial tissue into wood and ducts, and soon form a solid mass of wood, the wedge-shaped parts of which are more or less distinguishable in different cases. Sometimes the medullary rays separating them remain tolerably large; in other cases these are lost sight of, and the separate bundles are then often only roughly traceable by the arrangement of their larger ducts. “The woody axis thus formed exhibits at its outer surface (next the rind) a cambium-region, where new development of wood takes place, as in the stem, in perennial plants forming annual rings, and where the buds giving rise to branches originate. But when we proceed outwards from here, we miss the next consti- tuent of the stem, namely the lider, or bast fibres, which are absent from the root, ending at the ‘collar’ or point of junction of the root and stem. On the other hand, the cellular structure of the rind or bark is mostly very much developed, and is re- newed on the inside by the cambium-region, in proportion as its outer parts are destroyed, The outer part of the rind of oldish roots exhibits a corky texture ; and in the roots of trees this rind acquires great solidity, forming a kind of false corky bark if the roots are exposed. “ Where the roots of Dicotyledons become tuberous, very different departures from the regular structure are met with in different plants,—for example, in the turnip and its allies, the carrot, parsnip, &c., and the beet or mangel-wurzel. In the first group the unnatural production of succulent cellular tissue takes place in the medullary rays which invade and break up the woody bundles, and scatter their elements so that they are found distributed in irregular radiating rows in a great mass of paren- chymatous tissue. This tissue is by no means a continuation of 188 Prof. Henfrey on the Development of Roots. the pith of the stem, although it bears some resemblance to it. There is a distinct boundary of wood where the root joins the stem. This is probably of importance as regards the ‘ keeping’ qualities of the roots. In the carrot there is a similar develop- ment in the woody region, but not so marked; while an equal, if not greater, production of parenchyma takes place on the outer side of the cambium, forming a thick fleshy rmd. A thickened rind of this kind is found in most of the fleshy fibrous roots of perennial herbaceous Dicotyledons, such as groundsel, prim- rose, &e. ‘In the beet, the structure both of the stem and root is un-' like that of ordinary Dicotyledons ; and the changes produced by cultivation cannot be discussed here. “The roots of Monocotyledonous plants, such as those of grasses, onions, ordinary bulbous plants, &c., are temporary structures, thrown off year after year, or dying with the stem in annuals. Their woody structure differs very much from that of the roots of Dicotyledons, so that they are easily known by ob- serving a cross section; but the cortical region and the growing extremities differ little in the roots of the two classes. The principal characteristic of the roots of the Monocotyledons lies in their woody central cord exhibiting no trace of distinct bun- dles separated by medullary rays, but consisting of a central column of wood, with its ‘ducts’ or vascular structures lying on the outside, at the region where the wood adjoins the cortical parenchyma. A kind of cambium exists here also, although no annual rings are ever formed, since it is at this outer surface of the woody region that the root-buds originate. “The structure of the ordinary roots of herbaceous Mono- cotyledonous plants may be well examined in the onion. If we place an onion bulb over water in a long glass, like a hyacinth- glass, it soon sends out a number of slender blunt-ended roots, of white colour, the tips only having a yellowish tinge. By placing longitudinal sections of one of them under the micro- scope, we can trace the mode of development of their roots. The extreme point is clothed by irregularly formed cells, loosely coherent, and evidently being partly thrown off by expansion of the structure beneath; these cells pass laterally into a stratum of elongated cells, which clothe the whole external surface of the rootlet. In the interior of the conical end of the root we find a mass of nascent cells, with their walls scarcely distinguishable, in a state of rapid multiplication by division: this is the chief focus of development of the root. Continuing the examination upward to the older part of the root, the rudimentary cells are soon found arranged im rows parallel to the direction of the root : at first they are very short, then squarish in the side view ; Mr. Jeffreys on British Mollusca. 189 and by degrees they are elongated, until their length is much greater than their breadth ; they also expand laterally to a certain extent after their first formation ; but this growth ceases, so that the rootlet has a fixed diameter. The cell-division seems to be repeated in these cells in the direction of their length after they have attained their full diameter. While young, near the tip of the root, they are densely filled with protoplasmic substances ; as they expand they appear clearer, and contain only a moderate quantity of protoplasm, with abundant watery cell-sap. The rudimentary cells developed in the very centre of the point of growth become cells of much less diameter and more elongated form, and constitute the rudiment of a fibro-vascular cord run- ning through the centre of the rootlet ; at a little distance from the point, traces of spiral markings may be detected on the walls of some of these cells, which are becoming vessels,—the distin- guishing marks of the fibro-vascular bundles. Higher up in the root, the central fibro-vascular cord is clearly recognizable, sur- rounded by parenchymatous cells, themselves enclosed by a continuous layer of delicate epidermal cells. In these roots the epidermal cells do not grow out in hairs (radical fibrils). “ Roots of this kind show very clearly that the elongation of roots takes place by increase at the point only. This is seen by noticing the relative dimensions of the cells in the different parts ; but it may be proved still more evidently by marking the roots, when of some length, at equal distances, with touches of Indian ink. When we watch the further growth of a root thus marked, we see that the spots on the upper part of the root do not be- come removed to a greater distance from each other, but new struc- ture is added on below the marked parts. The same important law of growth isillustrated by the natural marks made by branches arising from the roots, which remain permanently at their ori- ginal distance apart, as nay be clearly seen im the transverse streaks on the surface of the root of a carrot.” XX.— Additional Gleanings in British Conchology. By J. Gwyn Jerrreys, Esq., F.R.S. In continuation of my notices on this subject, I have only occa- sionto make a preliminary remark, that, although I have at present no new species to describe, the communication of any facts which may serve to increase our knowledge of already known species is not less valuable or interesting than the publi- cation of novelties. Acephala Lamellibranchiata. ~Teredo megotara, Forbes and Hanl. Brit. Moll. yol.i. p. 77. 190 Mr. Jeffreys on British Mollusca. Dr. Lukis kindly sent me specimens from Guernsey in which the tube is semiconcamerated at its narrower end or opening, as in 7’. Norvagica. They were found in deal and teak wood. T. malleolus, i. 84. In cork, Plymouth Sound (Mr. Webster); and with the last, ina log of deal balk which was cast up on the shore at Guernsey (Dr. Lukis). Some of the valves sent me by Dr. Lukis measure 2ths of an inch in length, and are so similar in every respect to those of 7. bipennata that I am much inclined to doubt their being distinct species, notwithstanding the difference in their calca- reous styles or pallets. So little is known of the ceconomy of these appendages, that it is possible that the very aberrant forms which they exhibit in these two so-called species may be only a modifica- tion of the same organ, depending on a difference of climate or habitation, Soi ee ~Pholadidea papyracea, i. 123. This local and curious shell has been found by Capt. Bedford in lumps of indurated clay which were brought up on fishermen’s lines from clayey ground, at a depth of about 25 fathoms, near Lismore on the west coast of Scotland. One of the specimens has the dried remains of the animal in it. In the same matrix which contained the Pholadidea are firmly imbedded fossil specimens of Nucula decussata, some of which retain their epidermis. The last-named species is found living in the same lo- cality. This association of species, which, in their recent state, are regarded by some conchologists as being respectively characteristic of northern and southern latitudes, is somewhat remarkable; though I believe the Pholas Vibonensis of Philippi (Enum. Moll. Sic. ii. p. 46, t. 13. f. 5) is the young of Pholadidea papyracea, while the other species has been described and figured by Bronn as well as Philippi under the names of Nucula sulcata and Polii—the first species as a pleistocene fossil, and the last both as recent and fossil. The lumps of clay appear to have been consolidated by a calcareous deposit or infiltration, and they are as hard and compact as many kinds of stone. Dr. Capellini informs me that an equally compact kind of stone, which is considered to be pleistocene, and contains fossil shells of that period, occurs at Leghorn, and is extensively used for building. I have now (August 23) found the P. papyracea, as well as the dwarf variety mentioned in the “British Mollusca,’ alive, in small lumps of. triassic sandstone which were dredged up from a depth of 80 fathoms in the Irish Sea, off the coast of Antrim. I may take this opportunity of observing that all the shells and other animals which I took with the above have their colour quite as vivid as the same species which inhabit a much less depth, or even the sea- shore. Such is the case with Trochus zizyphinus, Tapes virginea, Natica nitida, Munida Rondeletii, Pandalus annulicornis, and a small streaked Actinia. It appears to be a popular error, that at depths exceeding 50 or 100 fathoms, colour becomes less bright or even evanescent. sh Spheenia Binghami, i. 190. Not uncommon in rolled pieces of chalk, as well as among the roots of Laminaria digitata, on the | north-eastern coast of Ireland. I much doubt its having the power Mr. Jeffreys on British Mollusca. 191 of “‘ burrowing,” or excavating the stones and shells in which it is often found. Sometimes adult specimens have their shells strangu- lated, and more or less distorted, so as completely to fit the cavities in which they are enclosed; and I believe this mollusk, like Kellia suborbicularis, only uses the excavations which had been previously made by Annelids. I suspect the same to be the case with Cliona cathe and that this curious Sponge only occupies deserted gal- erles. Mya truncata, i. 163. A young specimen was taken alive in 80 fathoms water, by dredging off the coast of Antrim, at a distance of about ten miles from the shore. This species, as is well known, is usually found between tide-marks. Poromya granulata, i. 204. A comparison of our shell with. a specimen of the Hmbla Koreni of Lovén from Upper Norway induces me to confirm the surmise made by the authors of the ‘British Mollusca,’ that they are one and the same species. Nyst’s specific name, however, has precedence in date. Thracia convexa, 1. 229. A young specimen was taken by Mr. Barlee in Zetland last year. : T. distorta, i. 231. I believe this is only an abnormal form of 7. villosiuscula, and that they constitute but one species. The former name has, of course, the priority, although it is not so generally appropriate as the other. The first lines of growth are evidently the same in each; and it is only after the habitat is changed that a marked difference appears. . The Anatina truncata of Turton may be regarded as. an intermediate form. An analogous difference, occasioned by the habitat being free or enclosed, occurs in Tapes pullastra and its variety perforans, which was formerly considered a distinct species. Lyonsia Norvegica, 1.214. St. Martin’s Bay, Guernsey (J.G.J.); St. Catherine’s Bay, Jersey (Rev. 4. M. Norman). Solecurtus candidus, i. 263. In dredged sand from Belfast Bay. Psammobia costulata, i. 279. With the last. Syndosmya tenuis, 1. 323. Gronville and St. Catherine’s Bays, Jersey (Rev. A. M. Norman). Mactra elliptica, i. 356. I am much inclined to doubt this being anything more than a deep-water variety of M. subtruncata, having intermediate specimens from Guernsey and Ardrossan, in the last of which the transverse sulci only appear in the later period of growth. Tapes pullastra, i. 382. “Naaataa' ep AG GNOLS xo Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies. 209 when it emerges from this organ it does not measure more than one-third of its ultimate length, although the cells composing it have at this epoch already attained almost the term of their development. From these researches it may be inferred that— 1. From its very origin the radicle is formed of two distinct tissues, both cellular. 2. That which constitutes the external layer of this organ, and which must be regarded as the first rudiment of a cortical stratum, is susceptible of exfoliation, more or less prompt, ac- cording to the plants, and the temperature and humidity of the medium in which they vegetate. 3. This exfoliation, which takes place at the apex of the organ, results sometimes in the complete dislocation of the cells, which in this state continue to grow for a certain time in the midst of a viscid matter before being finally thrown off,—some- times in the solution of these cells, in the form of epidermoid _ strips or cups, often confounded with the coleorhiza. 4. The exfoliated cells and the substances accompanying them contain, according to the species from which they are derived, substances which appear, when abandoned to the soil, to constitute what have been called the excretions of roots. 5, The tissue which constitutes the hemispherical extremity of the central portion of the radicle is the seat of the formation and growth of the cells; these formations take place at first by the binary and quaternary multiplication of cells, which ter- minate the apex of the axis; and of the cells newly formed, the most external are pushed forward to constitute the -exfoliable cortical layer, while the more internal become filled with feculent granules, and subdivide again a little below the apex of the axis of the radicle, attaining there, without any other apparent change, the term of their increase. _ 6. The formation of absorbing appendices (hairs) at the apex of the radicle, when it alone is exposed to the contact of moist _ air, while confirming the existence of a rudimentary cortical layer in that region, bears fresh witness to the tendency of the organism to seek the medium suited to its nutrition. XXII.—On the Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies, collected by Messrs. A. and E. Newton. By Dr. A. GUNTHER. [With a Plate. | A sMALL collection of reptiles made by Messrs. Alfred and Edward Newton in St. Croix (S* Cruz), and presented by them to the Collection of the British Museum, offers a contribution Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 14 210 Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croia, West Indies. to our knowledge of the geographical distribution of reptiles throughout the West India Islands, and contains two new species. Messrs. Newton have kindly communicated to me thei valu- able notes, which constitute the portions included within inverted commas (“ ”’). We find a list of animals from St. Croix in Hans West’s “ Beytrage zur Beschreibung von St. Croix. Aus dem Da- nischen.” Copenh. 1794-8. The author mentions the following reptiles (p. 243) :— Testudo mydas, v. Green Turtle. Testudo caretta, v. Caret or Lugger-head Turtle. Testudo greca, v. Land Turtle. Rare. Lacerta principalis (.), v. Lizard. By this name, now applied to a North American species of Anolis, West designates the species which will be described hereafter. Lacerta iguana, v. Guana. Lacerta sputator, v. Slippery-back. This name is applied by West to Mabouia enca: Lacerta rapicauda, v. Wood-slave. Lacerta. Ground Lizard. No snake is mentioned by West. The following species are in the collection of Messrs. Newton :— 1. Dromicus antillensis, D. & B. (Psammophis antillensis, Schleg.). There are four specimens of this species in the Collection, all showing exactly the same characters, although differing from a specimen from St. Thomas. They, like the latter, have eight upper labial shields, the third, fourth, and fifth of which come into the orbit. One temporal i is in contact with the postocular, two others are behind the anterior temporal, and two or three more scale-like shields cover the posterior portion of the tem- poral region. Lach scale is provided with two. small pore-like impressions near the tip; they are of a lighter colour than the remainder of the scale. The coloration and the number of scales, however, is different : whilst the snake from St. Thomas has the body and tail light reddish-brown above, with more or less con- spicuous darker stripes, the inferior parts dull yellowish, marbled with brown, and the scales in nineteen rows, the specimens from St. Croix have the upper parts saturated blackish brown, with equidistant reticulated yellowish transverse lines, the lower parts either of a pure yellow or with scattered irregular brown spots, and the scales in seventeen rows. There is a black streak through the eye, and a longitudinal groove between the labial and tem- poral shields, as in several species of Dromicus. Male and female are alike. Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies. 211 This snake appears to have been known to André-Pierre Ledru, who published a “Voyage aux Iles de Ténériffe, la Trinité, St. Thomas, Ste. Croix, et Porto-Ricco,” Paris, 1810, 8vo, in two volumes. In a list of reptiles, which is less valuable for our purpose than that of West, because it contains promiscué all the reptiles observed in the different islands, Ledru mentions “le cobel ” (ii. p. 213). He says, “ Le fond de sa couleur est tantot gris, tantét brun, mais communément d’un noir assez foncé, avec une multitude de petites lignes blanches transversales.”” The latter character is far more applicable to the variety from St. Croix than to Dromicus ater, which may also be intended. Ledru observed his snake at the river Toa (Porto-Rico), and thinks it identical with Coluber colubella, Gm. (Col. cobella, L.). “ We regret. that we have little information to give respect- ing this snake. It certainly is not very numerous in the island ; for we never saw a living specimen, though we usually went about with our eyes well open. It would seem generally to frequent the waste in preference to the cultivated districts, or-at least where there are most shrubs and bushes; but we have heard of one or more being found in a hole in the brickwork beneath the bed of a steam-engine-boiler. One of the speci- mens was captured in the town of Frederiksted.” The species and varieties of Dromicus, and their geographical distribution, are far from being known. There are several snakes in the Collection of the British Museum, which show consider- able differences from the species to which they are referred for the present; of these, however, I have not the advantage of knowing the habitat, and each of them is represented by a single specimen only. I direct the attention of herpetologists especially to one of them, the anterior portion of the body of which is marked as in D. rufodorsatus, the posterior and the tail being black. The rostral shield is flat and obliquely ascending for- wards; one anterior, two middle, and three posterior temporal shields ; nineteen series of scales. Length 52 inches. 2. Thecadactylus rapicauda, Houtt. “The Thecadactylus is not very common in St. Croix, chiefly frequenting old trees in the uncultivated portions of the island, though sometimes found in wood-cellars near houses. The statement of Dr. West, that it is regarded by the negroes with the greatest aversion, is perfectly true: they believe that, in case of one placing its foot upon them, it can only be got rid of by cutting off the piece of flesh upon which it has fastened. It is certainly difficult to kill, as one will bear the infliction of several sharp blows without much apparent harm being done to it. In St. Croix it is everywhere known as the ‘ Wood-Slave,’—an 14* 212 Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies. appellation which, according to Mr. Gosse, is, in the leeward part of Jamaica, now applied to a species of Mabouia (Nat. Soj. p- 75); though it would appear, from what he elsewhere says, that by Sloane and others this term was used for some of the Geccotide (Proc. Z. 8. L. 1848, p. 60; Ann. and Mag. N. H. 1850, p. 344).” 3. Mabouia enea, Gray (Humeces marbouia, D.& B., Lacerta sputator, West, not L.). “The Mabouia is known in St. Croix as the ‘ Slippery-back ;’ and some of the dread which is inspired by the last-mentioned is also experienced of this species by the negroes. It is supposed. to fasten upon the hand or other exposed part of the body with its mouth; and they assert that there is no way of making the creature let go its hold, save cutting it up, if it once seizes upon one. It is more plentiful than the Thecadactylus, but still not often observed. Two of the examples sent to the Museum were caught in copuld.” 4. Anolis Newtoni, n. sp. (Pl. IV. fig. A.) ? Lacerta principalis, West, not L. Snout moderately elongate and depressed, with the canthus rostralis sharply prominent, and with a pair of ridges arising from the superciliary margins; a slight groove between these two ridges, another between each ridge and the canthus rostra- lis; loreal region rather concave, with five series of very small shields; the space between the orbits is covered with two series of shields only ; occipital shield distinct. Scales on the sides of the body granular, gradually becoming larger towards the dorsal line and the belly, where they are distinctly keeled. No pro- iminent dorsal crest, but two or three series of larger scales along the vertebral line. Pouch of the throat. present, moderately developed. Tail slightly compressed, verticillated, above with a low serrated ridge, beneath with strongly keeled scales of equal size. Greenish olive (in spirits), irregularly spotted with blackish brown on the sides and on the posterior parts of the hinder extremity. Female sometimes with a broad whitish dorsal streak, crossed by narrow black bars. Description.—The snout is moderately depressed and slightly elongate, the distance between the two anterior angles of the orbit being three-quarters of the distance between the orbit and the extremity of the snout; anteriorly it is rather narrow and rounded. The canthus rostralis is sharp and rather prominent ; and there is another pair of low divergent ridges, arising from the superciliary margin of the bony orbit, and extending to the Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croiw, West Indies. 218 middle of the length of the snout; between these ridges is a shallow groove, and another, narrower, between each ridge and the canthus rostralis. There is a series of larger shields along the superciliary margin and the ridge; no other smaller shields occur between the superciliary series, but many in and before the central groove of the upper surface of the snout. The canthus rostralis is formed by a series of elongate shields, angularly bent; two shields between the latter series and that of the interior ridge. The nostril opens laterally, between several small shields, above the anterior extremity of the canthus rostralis. The can- thus rostralis is continued along the outer margin of the roof of the orbit, which is provided with a group of five or six polygonal shields, surrounded by minute granulations. There is an ovoid occipital shield in immediate contact with the suture between the superciliary series, and surrounded by a great many smaller shields. The loreal region is slightly concave, with five longi- tudinal series of small oblong shields. The rostral shield has pos- teriorly five notches (to receive five small shields), of which the middle one is the deepest ; seven very narrow labials, with two or three minute ones behind, form the lateral margin of the upper jaw. ‘The anterior extremity of the lower jaw is covered with a pair of rather broad labials, its margin with seven narrow. shields ; three other series of smaller shields run parallel to that of the labials. The chin and all the throat are covered with very small granular scales. The tympanum is a rather small cleft, without any particular scales round its margin; the scales on ‘the pup are exceed- ingly small. Immediately behind the occipital shield commences the streak of larger vertebral ‘scales; they are arranged in two or three series, and keeled like the ‘other scales on the back. They gra- dually become smaller towards the sides, in the middle of which they form minute granulations.. Those of the belly are distinctly keeled, and larger than those of the back; they are largest on the sides of the pouch, where they are arranged 1 in very oblique series. The pouch is present in both sexes, but it forms a slight fold only in the female. .The scales round the vent do not show any peculiarity, and are granular. The vertebral streak of scales is continued on the tail into a low serrated crest, formed by a single series of scales. The tail is slightly compressed and rounded beneath, verticillated; the single verticils are distant from each other for four scales of the caudal crest, the fourth scale always being larger than the three preceding ones. The sides of. the tail are covered with granular scales, whilst the scales of its lower surface are very large and strongly keeled; the root of the tail is slightly swollen 214 Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies. and provided with small scales in its whole circumference, except on the dorsal crest. The fore leg reaches, if laid backwards, to the loin; it is co- vered with keeled scales on the superior and anterior sides, with granulations on the inferior and posterior. The inner finger is not dilated, the fourth and fifth are of equal size. The hind leg reaches, if laid forwards, to the anterior margin of the orbit ; it is covered anteriorly with keeled scales, all the rest being granular. ‘a The ground-colour is now greenish-olive, in life apparently greenish, shining golden and bluish; most of the specimens have the sides of the neck and of the trunk and the posterior part of the limb irregularly dotted with blackish-brown. One of the females (caught with the male during the act of copula- tion) has a broad dorsal streak, crossed by narrow black bars. The lower parts are uniform yellowish-white. The females are only half the size of the males. All the females had one egg only in the oviduct, those of the ovarium showmg no sign of development: it is very large compared with the size of the animal; and there was no trace of embryo in it, although it appeared to be ready for laying. This observation. seems. to be in contradiction to the abundance of these ‘Tree- lizards ; but it may be possible that they breed several times in every season, and that a single egg only is impregnated by one act of copulation. si Male. Female. Distance between tympanum and the extremity net Pee eae is OF thé MINE 8 So's NR Ak 5 OKRG GS OR } 0 3 016 Distance between tympanum and vent .......... 1) GR pondien Bs Length Of tiie taste a6,» snnnles sine eunk e soueenne s 4 3.6 Distance between the bony orbital margins .....; a | 0 0% bs me biting x angles of the orbit.. 0 3 0.2 3 the orbit and the extremity of the snout .......... 2 $7 } 0.4 a Length of the Magan fis gd » malo. Gee sna eh ae 0 5 0 3h is DECI ©. o sihs os Gb hs chute cae 0 4} 0 3 9 second and fifth fingers .......... 0 2, ....0 > Fr third and fourth fingers .......... 0 4 0 3 3 fore Sept yt i6k ST EOR PEs EOE 0 6% 0 5 + hind leg wees ss xh e pie treg: Wi O 6% 0 5 a Tuttle GOR i es ee bis lew ass 0 7 0 6 UUM WORE 605 dined n bs oe bs hig tng cans 0 3 0 2% “The Anolis is exceedingly abundant, and its great familiarity affords excellent opportunities of studyimg its manners; but Mr. Gosse has already described the habits of the two Jamaica species, A. todurus and A. opalinus, so fully (Nat. So}. pp. 216 et seq.), that we have little more to say of those of the present than that they seem entirely to resemble the former: at any Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies. 215 rate, the differences are probably only such as would be appre- ciated by one who has had the opportunity of observing all three. But we must bear witness to the extreme fidelity of Mr. Gosse’s notes—not a word of them but seems to be literally and entirely true; and especially must we remark on his account of the ‘goitre’ in the species of this genus, the mechanical method of displaying it practised by the animal, and its unvarying colour, all of which is as accurate as the use of that remarkable append- age is to us at present unknown. The brilliancy, however, of this orange disk varies in different individuals. To describe generally the hues of the rest of the body would be impossible,—they are simply those of the rainbow, though never of any great intensity, excepting when, in an irritated or alarmed animal, the prevail- ing tint, whatever it may have been before, becomes a dull smoky brown. This species is much fed upon by birds: a young Bare- legged Owl (Gymnoglaux nudipes) which one of us possessed would scarcely eat anything else; and when offered to it alive, these lizards would make a resistance which often ended in their escape (‘ Ibis,’ 1859, p. 65): we have found their remains also in the stomachs of other birds, especially in the Green Heron (Bu- torides virescens), which seems constantly to prey upon them. The food of the species seems to consist chiefly of ants. There is one peculiarity about it which Mr. Gosse has not recorded,— and that is, that if a small pebble, the size of a pea or so, be thrown near where an Anolis is sitting, it will run after it, pro- bably under the idea that it is a living creature. Among the specimens of this species sent to the Museum were a pair taken im copuld.” 5. Spherodactylus macrolepis, nu. sp. (Pl. IV. fig. B.) Body surrounded by about forty longitudinal series of scales of rather large size; no vertebral streak of smaller ones, those of the back keeled, of the belly smooth. Trunk and tail uniform blackish-brown, in younger individuals some scales with blackish tips ; head greyish-brown, marbled with black ; jaws and throat striolated with blackish. Description.—The snout is of moderate extent, and slightly pointed; all the upper surface of the head and the sides are covered with scales of moderate size; there is an exceedingly small horn-like spine above the middle of the orbit. The rostral shield is low, and bent backwards on the upper surface of the snout; the sides of the jaw are margined with three elongate labials; the nostril is situated above the posterior extremity of the rostral shield and the first labial, and exceedingly small. The anterior lower labial is single ; a series of three other shields covers the lateral margin of the lower jaw. The scales of the 216 Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix, West Indies. throat are small, those of the breast and of the extremities keeled. The ear-opening is very small, one-third only of the width of the eye. The fingers and the toes have an entire and unarmed disk. The tail is covered with smooth scales, rather smaller than those of the trunk ; there is a series of larger ones, plate-like, along the lower medial line. No femoral or anal ores. : I add to the statement of the coloration given above, that the belly is uniform dirty white, and the tail minutely dotted with blackish. -Two specimens were in the Collection. ‘ lines. Distance between the extremity of the snout and the tympanum 2 1 es tympanum and the vent ..........005: 4 Length of tlie tal so en ss cus eic Ses eye cigs bv Cea ES OF ee ene 13 i ROPE IGE ces eh aa bbe he ae ae ee OEE ake 3 wre hind Pep? SPOTS Pah OSU ee a sg 44 “Of the Spherodactylus all we have to say is that it is not very common. ‘The specimens were captured in houses; but we are inclined to believe it chiefly frequents the fields, and especially the cane-pieces.” f “ There are at least two other Reptiles in St. Croix, of which we regret to say we did not bring home examples. “One is a Frog, of which we have never seen a living indivi- dual, though it is very abundant, and may be heard at almost all times of the night or day, by the side of every spring or stream, where it is especially noisy in the mornings and even- ings. The cause of its invisibility is doubtless owing to its sub- terranean habits, and probably also to the fact, as Dr. Giinther has well suggested, that when a sound proceeds from on or be- neath the surface, the vibrations are communicated to the ground equally in every direction; so that there are but few ears so acute as to detect the exact spot whence the noise issues. In- stances of this sort are well known to naturalists ; and one need only mention the cases of a Shrew, a Grasshopper Warbler (Sylvia locustella), or a Cricket, to refer to a sufficient proof of the fact. The cry of these frogs is somewhat similar to the noise made by air-bubbles escaping from a small tube under water, but with a deep metallic ringing about it; and constantly as we have heard, and often as we have tried to discover the whereabouts of the musicians, we have failed to do so. After floods, it is said that, the holes inhabited by these animals being destroyed, they may easily be captured; but without some such favouring circumstances (which did not happen to us) any en- deayour of the kind seems hopeless. “The other animal of which we did not bring home a speci- men is a large lizard, called in the island a ‘Guana,’ possibly Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. 217 a species of Iguana. An example seen by one of us was about 4 feet long, with a large dewlap and high dorsal crest extending down the back. It appears now to be restricted only to the eastern end of the island.” Mr. Riise, of St. Thomas, has sent, during the printing of this paper, two bottles containing frogs from that island. One is marked Hylodes martinicensis, the other, Cystignathus ocellatus. After a careful examination and comparison with the other species of Hylodes and Cystignathus, | have convinced myself that both belong to one and the same species, and that those named C-. ocellatus are merely the young of the other. The toes are not at all dilated; and the frogs belong to a new species of Cystignathus, which I call Cystignathus albilabris. Tympanum distinct, one-half the size of the eye. Vomerine teeth in two short series, behind the level of the interior nostrils. Tongue very slightly nicked posteriorly. Skin smooth, with an indistinct longitudinal fold on each side; a transverse fold be- tween the fore-legs, another across the posterior third of the belly. Snout moderately produced. Tarsus with a Jlongitu- dinal fold; interarticular tubercles prominent. Male with two vocal sacs, communicating with each other, each with a separate slit. A white or whitish streak round the snout to the axil. Colour of the adult :—Above uniform dark bluish-black ; the upper leg with some black cross-bars superiorly, and some whitish spots posteriorly. The lower parts white, the throat speckled with brown. The labial streak whitish, indistinct below the eye. _ Colour of the young :—Brownish-olive marbled with darker ; uniform white inferiorly ; the labial streak white, very distinct. _ These descriptions of the colours are taken from quite fresh specimens in spirits. Hab. St. Thomas. The specimens are now in the British Museum. XXIII.—Characters of some apparently undescribed Ceylon Insects. By F. Waker. [Continued from vol. ili. p. 265.] Fam. Curculionidae. DESMIDOPHORUS DISCRIMINANS. Ferrugineus, crassus, rostro ro- busto nigro nitente striato coxas auticas attingente, thorace tuber- culato, elytris rude lineato-tuberculatis, vix dimidio apicali testaceo- albido, femoribus albido fasciatis. Long. 5 lin. 218 Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. DESMIDOPHORUS FASCICULICOLLIS. Ferrugineus, crassus, rostro robusto nigro nitente basi punctato coxas anticas attingente, tho- race tuberculis duobus dorsalibus fasciculatis, elytris tuberculis nonnullis nigricantibus fasciculatis, fasciis duabus incompletis al- bidis, femoribus albido fasciatis. Long. 3 lin. CAMPTORHINUS REVERSUS. Niger, fusiformis, lateribus pectore ventre pedibusque cinereo-tomentosis, rostro nitente femoribus anticis non breviore basi punctato et cinereo, thorace conferte punctato, elytris punctato-striatis, lituris duabus posticis angulatis albidis, femoribus crassis unidentatis. Long. 4 lin. CAMPTORHINUS INDISCRETUS. Piceus, longi-fusiformis, cinereo- tomentosus, rostro rufo nitente femoribus anticis non breviore apice nigro basi punctato et cinereo, thorace conferte punctato, elytris punctato-striatis nigro et cinereo variis, femoribus crassis unidentatis. Long. 32 lin. Sipatus? porosus. Niger, subfusiformis, rostro nitente subcylin- drico basi punctato et substriato femoribus anticis vix longiore, thorace ruguloso, elytris asperrime punctato-striatis apices versus bituberculatis, femoribus crassis subtus unidentatis. Long. 8 lin. Sipatus? tinctus. Ferrugineo-fuscus, fusiformis, rostro nigro sub- cylindrico striato basi fusco apicem versus nitente femoribus anticis paullo breviore, thorace tuberculato, elytris lineato-subtuberculatis, pedibus subtuberculatis, femoribus non dentatis. Long. 9 lin. RHYNCHOPHORUS INTRODUCENS. Niger, velutinus, subtus nitens, rostro nitente striato, antennis piceis basi nigris, thorace obsolete olivaceo postice conico, elytris striatis, abdominis apice truncato- conico, femoribus basi tibiisque subtus aurato-pubescentibus, tar- sorum articulo 4° dilatato subtus aurato-pubescente. Long. 18 lin. SPHENOPHORUS GLABRIDISCUS. Niger, nitens, fusiformis, rostro punctato, thoracis disco plano, lateribus pectoreque punctatis, ely- tris punctato-lineatis, abdominis apice cinereo punctato. Long. 7 lin. SPHENOPHORUS CRIBRICOLLIS. Niger, nitens, fusiformis, rostri dimidio basali punctato, antennis apice cinereis, thorace confertis- - sime punctato, elytris punctato-lineatis. Long. 5 lin. SPHENOPHORUS Exquisitus. Niger, obscurus, longi-fusiformis, rostro nitente glabro vix arcuato basi punctato, thorace subtilissime punctato, elytris scitissime punctato-lineatis luteo quadrimaculatis. Long. 23 lin. SpHENopHORUS? paNops. Niger, subtus testaceo-tomentosus, rostro nitente glabro, oculis supra contiguis, antennis rufis, thorace subtilissime punctato, elytris scite punctato-lineatis, macula tri- gona basali apiceque testaceo-albidis, fasciis duabus obliquis canes- centibus, pedibus cano-tomentosis. Long. 23 lin, ‘ Cossonus! HEeBEs. Niger, obscurus, longi-fusiformis, rostro brevi lato, thorace subtilissime punctato, elytris scite punctato-lineatis. Long. 24-2} lin. | Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. 219 dy COSSONUS QUADRIMACULA. Niger, fusiformis, rostro sat tenui, 43 me* thorace confertissime punctato, elytris scite punctato-lineatis. Long. 1} lin. : SITOPHILUS DIscIFERUS. Niger, nitens, rostro brevi lato, thoracis disco concavo rude punctato, elytris rufis scite lineato-punctatis apices versus nigris. Long. 13-14 lin. Mecinvus? re.ictus. Ater, ellipticus, nitens, rostro tenui glabro coxas intermedias attingente, thorace scitissime punctato, elytris subtilissime punctato-lineatis. Long. 14-2 lin. Fam. Coccinellide. COCCINELLA TENUILINEA. Nigra, capite testaceo macula discali nigra, thorace testaceo, margine postico maculisque duabus mar- gine connexis maculisque duabus anticis lateralibus nigris, elytris rufis margine tenuissimo nigro. Long. 1} lin. CoccINELLA REJICIENS. Rufa, corporis subtus disco nigro, thorace macula discali nigra, elytris plagis duabus posticis transversis maculisque duabus apicalibus nigris. Long. 2 lin. “* COCCINELLA INTERRUMPENS. Rufo-fulva, elytris vittis tribus bis- interruptis nigris. Long. 14 lin. CoccINELLA QUINQUEPLAGA. Rufo-fulva, capitis thoracisque discis nigris, elytris sutura plaga discali plagaque apicali nigris. Long. 2 lin. 4 CoccINELLA SIMPLEX. Testacea, pubescens, oculis nigris. Long. 2 lin. CoccINELLA ANTICA. Rufescenti-testacea, thorace maculis tribus nigris, elytris glabris. Long. 3 lin. CoccinELLA? FLAvicErs. Nigra, pubescens, capite pedibusque flavescentibus, elytris subtilissime punctatis.. Long. 3 lin. Scymnus variaBiLis. Niger, elytris lutescentibus vitta lata sutu- rali vittisque duabus marginalibus nigris postice abbreviatis. Long. 3 lin. 2 “"s @HILOCORUS OPPONENS. Rufescens, thorace plaga discali maculis- ' que duabus lateralibus nigris, elytris nigris plagis duabus discalibus anticis nigris. Long. 2 lin. : Fam. Endomychide. LyYCOPERDINA GLABRATA. Fulvescens, elytris subtilissime puncta- tis. Long. 1} lin. ADDENDA. | SisyPHUS PROMINENS. Niger, obscurus, capite rude punctato, cly- peo angulato bidentato, thorace conferte punctato, elytris rude lineatis et foveatis, femoribus posticis basi coarctatis. Long. 34 lin. 220 Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. OrpaNus scitissimus. Ater, subtus pilosus, capite conferte punc- _ tato postice glabro, antennis testaceis, thorace subtilissime punc- tato, elytris scitissime punctato-lineatis, pedibus robustis fortissime -dentatis. Long. 4 lin. Ru1zoTRoGus suLCIFER. Piceo-rufus, antennis elytris corpore subtus pedibusque testaceis, capite thoraceque rude punctatis, elytris conferte punctatis, sulcis sex basalibus. Long. 6 lin. PLECTRIS GLABRILINEA. Piceo-ferruginea, viridi subnitens, con- ferte punctata, non pilosa, antennis fulvis, elytrorum foveis duabus humeralibus, lineis tribus glabris. Long. 4¢ lin. PLECTRIS PUNCTULIGERA. Cupreo-picea, pilosa, conferte et rude punctata, antennis lutescentibus, elytrorum foveis duabus humera- _ libus, lineis tribus glabris. Long. 33-4 lin. | ANOMALA INFIXA. Cupreo-viridis, confertissime punctata, capite antico corpore subtus pedibusque viridi-ferrugineis, thorace foveis duabus lateralibus rotundis, elytris scite punctato-lineatis, tuber- ‘culis duobus subapicalibus fuscis. ‘Long. 5 lin. MIMELA MUNDIssIMA. Saturate viridis, subtilissime punctata, sub- tus rufescens, capite antico thoracis et elytrorum lateribus virides- centi-flavis, antennis lutescentibus, pedibus viridi-rufis. Long. 7. lin. é TROPIDERES FRAGILIS. Niger, capite testaceo-pubescente, antennis gracillimis, thorace plaga antica maculisque duabus discalibus testaceis, elytris striatis, maculis duabus humeralibus punctisque ’ testaceis, pedibus ferrugineo variis. Long. 2 lin. Order ORTHOPTERA. Fam. Blattide. PANESTHIA PLAGIATA. Nigra, lata, robusta, rude punctata, capite glabro, thoracis sulco transverso arcuato, elytris costa basi dilatata, fascia brevi lata obliqua testacea. Black, broad, stout, roughly and irregularly punctured. Head smooth. Thorax with a curved transverse furrow. Legs very stout and spinose. LElytra with the costa dilated towards the base, near which they are minutely punctured, and have a broad, short, oblique testaceous band, which is abbreviated hindward. Length of the body 13 lines. Fam. Mantide. HarPAX SIGNIFER. Fulvus, oculis subcornutis, thorace marginato antice carinato postice conico lateribus subdilatatis, pedibus anticis incrassatis spinosis, alis anticis pallide viridibus basi fulvis annulo discali nigro biguttato. Tawny. Head ridged on the face. Eyes produced and slightly diverging, conical or somewhat cornute, with a protuberance between them. Thorax with an elevated border, keeled in front, Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. 221 slightly dilated in the middle, conical hindward. Fore legs incras- sated, spinose. Fore wings pale green, tawny towards the base ; middle part with a large black ringlet which contains two black dots. Length of the body 10 lines. Fam. Gryllide. Acueta suppiicans. Sordide testacea, capitis margine postico discoque antico nigricantibus, thoracis margine postico fasciaque incompleta nigricantibus, oviductu longo, alis lanceolatis, anticis fuscescentibus, posticis longissimis. Dingy testaceous. Head blackish behind and on the disk in front. Thorax with a slight longitudinal furrow, blackish along the hind border, and with an irregular and incomplete blackish band. Abdomen blackish above; ovipositor longer than the ab- domen; caudal setze very bristly, as long as the ovipositor. Legs with slight blackish marks; hind tibize very spinose. Fore wings brownish, lanceolate. Hind wings lanceolate, pale testaceous, twice the length of the fore wings. Length of the body 6 lines. AcHETA xquatis. Pallide testacea, capitis disco nigro semicircu- lum testaceum includente, lituris inter antennas duabus nigris, thorace fascia arcuata liturisque duabus capitatis nigris, pedibus crassis, tibiis nigro-fasciatis, alis anticis longissimis nigro-venosis. Pale testaceous. Head.black above, including a pale testaceous semicircle, and with two black marks between the antennze, which are tawny, except at the base. Thorax with a curved hindward black band which is attenuated on each side, and projects a streak, on each side of which there is an irregular capitate black mark. Legs very stout ; tibiee with black bands. Fore wings very long, with brown reticulations. Length of the body 8 lines. ACHETA CONFIRMATA. Cervina, capitis disco nigro lineam trans- versam maculamque anticam testaceas includente, abdomine supra nigricante, alis anticis parvis, posticis longis lanceolatis testaceis. Fawn-colour. Head shining, with a black disk, which includes a transverse testaceous line behind the antenne and a testaceous spot between them. Thorax minutely rugulose, and with a slight suture, which is obsolete hindward. Hand legs very stout; tibize with thick spines. Abdomen blackish above ; setze bristly, shorter than the abdomen. Fore wings short. Hind wings testaceous, lanceolate, fully twice the length of the hind wings. Length of the body 6 lines. PLATYDACTYLUS CRASSIPES. Rufescens, glaber, capite subconico, antennis fulvis ‘longis subpubescentibus, -palpis testaceis, pedibus testaceis crassis, tibiis anticis spinosis, alis breviusculis pallide fuscescentibus. Reddish, smooth. Head somewhat conical. Antenne tawny, very long, minutely pubescent. Palpi testaceous. Legs testa- ceous, very stout, with a few slight blackish marks; fore tibiee 222 Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. with stout spines. Wings pale brownish, rather short; hind wings a little longer than the fore wings. Length of the body 12 lines. STEIRODON LANCEOLATUM. Fem. Testaceo-viride aut pallide viride, longa, gracilis, capite conico, antennis longis, thorace rectangulato, abdomine brevi, oviductu falcato, alis longis angustis, ‘anticis albido-hyalinis apice viridescentibus. Female. Testaceous green or pale green, long, slender. Head conical, with a reddish band on the vertex. Antenne long and slender. Thorax rectangular, much longer than broad. Abdomen short. Oviduct short, broad, falcate, much compressed. Legs long and slender. Wings long and narrow. Hind wings whitish hyaline, greenish at the tips, longer than the fore wings. Length of the body 8 lines, of the wings 24 lines. TRUXALIS EXALTATA. Viridescenti-testacea, capite cornu longum lanceolatum elevatum subobliquum fingente, oculis valde elongatis, thorace tricarinato, pectore ventrisque dimidio basali nigricantibus, alis longis angustis, anticis viridibus, posticis hyalinis. Greenish-testaceous. Head produced into a long, ascending, slightly oblique horn. Eyes much elongated, near the tip of the horn. Thorax with three ridges. Pectus blackish. Abdomen long, black beneath for half the length from the base. Hind legs very long. Wings long and narrow. Fore wings green. Hind wings hyaline. Length of the body 20 lines. TRUXALIS PORRECTA. Ferruginea, nigricante varia, capite porrecto lanceolato vix ascendente antice sulcato, antennis compressis, alis abdomen sat superantibus, posticis cinereis. Ferruginous, with various blackish marks. Head porrect, lan- ceolate, hardly ascending, rounded and slightly bilobed in front. Antennee flattened, hardly longer than the head. Thorax longer than the head. Abdomen obtuse and vertically expanding at the tip. Wings extending some distance beyond the abdomen. Hind wings grey. Length of the body 10 lines. AcRYDIUM EXTENSUM. Testaceum, fulvo varium, capitis fronte vittaque nigricantibus, antennis luteis apice fuscis, thorace punctato unicarinato vittis tribus nigris, alis cinereis, anticis subluridis nigri- cante notatis. Testaceous, partly tawny, more greenish when living. Head blackish in front, and with a blackish stripe, which contains a slight testaceous keel, and has a row of black points along each side. Antennze luteous, brown towards the tips. Thorax roughly punctured, with a slight blackish keel, and with a black stripe on each side. Wings grey. Fore wings with a lurid tinge, with slight blackish marks; veins tawny. Length of the body 20 lines. ACRYDIUM DEPONENS. Testaceum, capite vittis duabus nigricanti- bus, antennis luteis apice fuscescentibus, thorace fuscescente tri- Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. 223 earinato, pedibus anterioribus fuscescentibus, femoribus posticis extus nigro vittatis, spinis tibiarum posticarum albis apice nigris, alis cinereis, anticis fusco notatis postice luridis. Testaceous. Head with two blackish stripes, which diverge slightly hindward. Antennze luteous, with brownish tips. Thorax mostly brownish, with three keels, the middle one very slender. Anterior legs brownish. Hind legs testaceous; femora with a black stripe on the outer side, which, as usual, has an elevated border and angular sutures ; tibise with strong white black-tipped spines. Wings grey.. Fore wings with various brown marks, lurid along the hind border. Length of the body 15 lines. ACRYDIUM RUFITIBIA. Obscure cervinum, antennis testaceis, tho- race subruguloso supra nigricante unicarinato, femoribus posticis fuscis subtus testaceis, tibiis tarsisque posticis leete rufis, alis an- ticis subcervinis apud costam nigricantibus, posticis cinereis. Dull fawn-colour. Antenneze testaceous. Thorax minutely ru- gulose, blackish above, with a very slight, middle keel. Hind femora brown, testaceous beneath ; outer side as in 4. deponens ; hind tibize and hind tarsi bright red, the former with pale black- tipped spines. Fore wings dull fawn-colour, blackish along most of the costa. Hind wings grey. Length of the body 16 lines. ACRYDIUM RESPONDENS. Cervinum, nigro conferte notatum, femo- ribus posticis extus glaucescentibus, tibiis posticis lete rufis, alis anticis nigris testaceo notatis, posticis cinereis. Fawn-colour, thickly marked with black. Antenne mostly blackish, except towards the hase. Hind femora with a glaucous tinge, and with the usual structure on the outer side; hind tibize bright red. . Fore wings black, with various testaceous marks. Hind wings grey.. Length of the body 10-12 lines. ACRYDIUM CINCTIFEMUR. Cervinum, tuberculatum, nigro varium, subtus testaceum, pedibus nigro fasciatis, tibiis posticis glaucis basi nigris testaceo fasciatis, alis anticis nigris testaceo varlis, pos- ticis cinereis. . Fawn-colour, varied with black, tuberculate, testaceous beneath. Head and antennee mostly black. Legs with black bands. Hind femora of the usual structure; hind tibize glaucous, black and testaeeous towards the base. Fore wings black, varied with testa- _ ceous. Hind wings grey. Length of the body 10 lines. Acrypium? ni@rtrascia. Sordide testaceum, oculis valde extanti- bus, thorace plano tricarinato fascia lata nigra, pedibus nigro variis, tibiis posticis basi albidis, alis anticis nigro vartis. Dingy testaceous, tinged with green. Eyes extremely promi- nent. Thorax somewhat flat above, with a broad black band, and with three keels; the lateral keels angular. Legs of the usual structure, varied with black; hind tibize whitish at the base. Fore wings varied with black. Length of the body. 4 lines. 224 Mr. P.L. Sclater on two new Species of American Parrots. Order PHYSAPODA. PHL@OTHRIPS STENOMELAS. Ater, antennis concoloribus, capite glabro, thorace striis transversis, abdomine lineari apice lanceolato. Deep black. Antenne: submoniliform. Head smooth, nearly as long as the thorax, which is transversely striated. Abdomen linear, lanceolate at the tip. Fore legs thick. Length 1% lin. f EL ant) aa t : is vv | Te ae : XXIV.—Descriptions of two new Species of American Parrots. By Puitie Lutrizy Scrarter, M.A., Secretary to the Zoo- logical Society. 1. Conurus holochlorus. Leete viridis unicolor ; subtus dilutior: remigibus et rectricibus infra saturate flavicanti-olivaceis: rostro albo: pedibus clare brunneis. Long. tota 11°0, alee 6°5, caudee 5°5. Hab. in vicinitate urbis Jalapa in rep. Mexicana. The large collection of birds made in the vicinity of Jalapa, in the Mexican State of Vera Cruz by Sefior Rafael Montes de Oca, contained four examples of this Parrot,—the first which have come under my notice. It is a close ally of Conurus pavua (Bodd.) (Pstttacus guianensis, Gm.), but readily distinguishable by the absence of red and yellow on the under wing-coverts, which are green like the body. The Parrots of which I have now seen examples undoubtedly from Mexico, are the following :— 1. Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha (Sw.), Phil. Mag. 1827, p. 429. Hab. Table-land of Mexico from Rio Grande into State of Vera Cruz. 2. Conurus holochlorus, Sclater. Hab. Vicinity of Jalapa, probably table-land. 3. Conurus Petzii, Hahn, Papag. t. 64. Hab. Tierra caliente of Vera Cruz; Acapulco (Boucard). 4. Conurus astec, Souancé, Rev. Zool. 1856, p.154. Had. Tierra caliente of Vera Cruz; Cordova (Sallé). 5. Conurus lineolatus (Cassin); Psittacula lineola, Cass. Pr. Ac. Se. Phil. vi. 372. Hab. Vera Cruz, vic. of Cordova (Sallé). 6. Pionus senilis (Spix); Ps. leucorhynchus, Sw. Hab. Vera Cruz, vic. of Cordova (Sallé). 7. Chrysotis ochroptera (Gm.) Hab. Tierra caliente of Vera Cruz (Sallé), 8. Chrysotis viridigenalis, Cassin, Pr. Ac. Se. Phil. vi. 371. Hab. Tierra caliente of Vera Cruz (Sallé). 9. Chrysotis estivalis, Bp. MS.; C. autumnalis, Sclater, P.Z.S. 1857, p. 205. Had. Tierra caliente of Vera Cruz. Mr. P. L. Sclater on two new Species of American Parrots. 225 I have not yet been able to identify the two Aras (spoken of, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1857, p. 230); but one, without doubt, is Ara macao (Linn.) (aracanga, Gm.), which is common on the Pacific coast-region of Honduras*. 2. Conurus xantholemus. Leete viridis, pileo summo ceerulescente ; fronte lato, oculorum am- bitu, lateribus capitis et gula aurantiaco-flavis: pectore fulves- cente: abdomine et tectricibus alarum inferioribus pallide flavo- viridibus, ventre medio aurantiaco-flavo: remigibus alarum intus fusco-nigris, extus ceerulescenti-viridibus ; cauda subtus flavicanti- olivacea, supra dorso concolore, apicem versus czerulescente ; rostro nigro, pedibus nigricantibus. Long. tota 9°5, alee 5:30, caudee 4°30. Hab. in insula Sancti Thome, Antillensium. I am indebted to my friends Alfred Newton, Esq., and his brother Edward, who have done so much to increase our know- ledge of the natural productions of the islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas, for an opportunity of examining and describing this apparéntly hitherto unnoticed species of Conurus. The existence of this Parrot in St. Thomas has been known to Mr. Newton for some time; but it is only recently that he has succeeded in obtaining specimens of it. © Joh , This Conurus is of the same form as, and closely allied to, Conurus pertinax of Brazil, C. chrysophrys of Guiana, and C. chrysogenyst of Trinidad, but differs in one particular or the other from each of them. Like C. chrysogenys, it has a blue band on the top of the head, but it may be at once distinguished from that bird (perhaps its nearest ally) by the orange-yellow extending over the throat. The Parrots of the Antilles, like the other animals inhabiting those islands, seem to have a very limited geographical distribu- tion, each island producing peculiar forms, which, though not always separated by trenchant characters from their corre- spondents in the other islands, generally present such differences as seem to require specific distinction. This is the case amongst the Mammalia in the genus Capro- mys; amongst the birds in the genera Lampornis, Todus, Spin- dalis, Saurothera and others ; amongst the Reptiles in the genera Dromicus and Anolis. Were the fauna of the Antilles properly worked out, there is no doubt that numerous other instances would be found of this geographical arrangement of species. * See Mr. Salvin’s remarks in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1859, p. 137. + Of M. de Souancé, but subsequently reunited by him to Psittacus eruginosus of Linneus. This identification I am ‘inclined to consider doubtful. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3, Vol. iv. 15 226 Royal Society :-— I subjoin a list of the Parrots now known to inhabit the different islands of the group :— CuBa. JAMAICA. St. Domineco. Ara tricolor ? Ara tricolor ? | Conurus euops. Conurus nanus. Conurus chloropterus. Chrysotis leucocephala. | Chrysotis collaria. Chrysotis Salleei. cyanorhyncha ? Chrysotis jamaicensis ? agilis. Porto Rico. Sr. THomaAs. Str, VINCENT. Conurus Maugei. Conurus xantholemus. Chrysotis vittata. Chrysotis Guildingii. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ROYAL SOCIETY. March 24, 1859.—Sir Benjamin C. Brodie, Bart., President, in the Chair. “Qn the Vertebral Characters of the Order Pterosauria (Ow.), as exemplified in the genera Pterodactylus (Cuv.) and Dimorphodon (Ow.).” By Prof. Owen, F.R.S. After mentioning various considerations which have tended to invest the question of the vertebral characters of the Pterodactyles with peculiar interest—above all, in reference to carrying out the comparison of their skeleton with that of birds—the author alludes to the scanty information on the subject already on record, which— with the exception of a remark of Professor Quensted as to the apparently proccelian characters observed by him in a dorsal ver- tebra of Pterodactylus Suevicus, and the apparent want of the trochlear form in the cervical articulations of that animal—affords no available data for comparing the vertebral mechanism of these rep- tiles with that of other vertebrata adapted for flight; he then gives a summary of his own observations, made, as opportunities presented themselves, for some years past. From investigations of species of Pterosauria extending from the period of the Lias, as exemplified by the Dimorphodon macronyz, to the upper greensand, as exemplified by the Pterodactylus Sedgwichii and Pter. Fittoni, the author has ascertained the fact that, with respect to the cervical and dorso-lumbar vertebree, the terminal ar- ticular surfaces of the vertebral bodies are simply concave anteriorly and convex posteriorly, and that they consequently manifest the earliest known instance of the ‘ proccelian”? type which now pre- vails in the reptilian class. But in no other reptile are those arti- cular surfaces so narrow vertically, in proportion to their breadth, as they are in the cervical vertebre of the Pterosauria: in the dorsal series the cup and ball present more ordinary Saurian pro- portions. Dr.A. Waller on the means by which the Actiniz kill their Prey. 227 Besides these principal and more general characters, those also which distinguish the vertebree of the several regions of the spine, together with the specialities of the atlas and axis, and of other individual vertebree, are pointed out and described. April 14, 1859.—Sir Benjamin C. Brodie, Bart, President, in the Chair. “On the means by which the 4ctinie kill their Prey.’ By Au- gustus Waller, M.D., F.R.S. Ina Letter to Dr. Sharpey, Sec. R. 8. In the ‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society’ for the 18th November, p. 478*, I perceive that Dr. M‘Donnell’s fresh observations on the Actinize have led him to abandon the opinion which he had been disposed to entertain as to their possessing electrical powers similar to those of the torpedo. During a stay at the sea-side in the winter of 1857-58, I put in hand some experiments for the purpose of ‘testing the supposed electrical powers of these animals, which, as I some months since mentioned to you, led me to negative con- clusions relative to their siderant power. Dr. M‘Donnell’s recent observations. having removed any occasion of controversy, I will briefly mention the results that I obtained. The most interesting fact observed by Dr. M‘Donnell is the contraction of the galvanoscopic frog when the Actinia seized upon the sciatic nerve. On repeating this experiment, I was particularly struck by the uncertainty and irregularity with which these con- tractions were obtained, being sometimes very strong, while at others they were imperceptible notwithstanding all the precautions that I could take as to the frogs being fresh caught and irritable, besides attending to the rules laid down by Matteucci. On the other hand, when, in lieu of a galvanoscopic frog, I pre- sented a Nereis to the Actinia, the result was invariably the death of the animal. The effect of the Actinia’s grasp upon the Annulata is mortal, although the retention may not have been allowed to exceed afew moments. The first symptom which I observed was that of writhing, as if the creature were in great pain, and which in the most marked cases was succeeded by paralysis with flaccidity of the muscles, like a frog acted upon by woorara. The action of the dorsal vessel, which still persisted long after the loss of voluntary power, was very irregular and segmental, the vessel being bloodless and inert at intervals. It appeared indifferent whether the cephalic or the caudal ex- tremity of the Nereis was attacked by the Actinia, similar symptoms being produced in both cases. In order to ascertain how far these symptoms were produced by electricity, I subjected the Nereis enclosed in a glass tube to some violent shocks by means of an electro-magnetic machine, which were merely productive of a slight temporary inconvenience to the animal, unattended by any after evil effects. It is most remarkable what powerful electric action these creatures are susceptible of enduring * Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 3, vol. iii. p. 304, 15* 228 Royal Society :— without injury ; the strongest action of an electro-magnetic machine on Du Bois Reymond’s principle, which affected myself violently up to the elbows, appeared to be easily endured by them. — tae The above experiment is quite sufficient to show how impossible it is to attribute the fatal influence of the Actiniee to simple electrical action. In order to elucidate the real power cf the Actiniee—after having in vain exposed the finger on which the cuticle had been softened by soaking in water—considering that the tongue was better adapted for the purpose in view, by reason of the thinness of its cuticle, I presented its apex to the tentacles of an Actinia mesembryanthemum, of about the size of a half-crown piece. The result was such as to satisfy the most sceptical respecting the offensive weapons with which it is furnished. The animal seized the organ most vigorously, and was detached from it with some difficulty after the lapse of about a minute. Immediately a pungent acrid pain commenced, which continued to increase for some minutes until it became extremely distressing. The point attacked felt inflamed and much swollen, although to the eye no change in the part could be detected. These symptoms continued unabated for about an hour, and a slight tem- porary relief was only obtained by immersing the tongue in cold or warm water. After this period the symptoms gradually abated, and about four hours later they had entirely disappeared. A day or two after, a very minute ulceration was perceived over the apex of the tongue, which disappeared after being touched with nitrate of silver. I have subsequently frequently repeated this experiment on myself and others, using greater precaution, and have invariably obtained similar symptoms of urtication. In only one instance has a minute ulceration been the consequence. It is very evident therefore that the Actinie act by means of an acrid irritant poison, similar in some respects to that of the wasp, or of snakes, which quickly spreads through the system of the Annelida, producing the above-mentioned results. i It remained to determine whether the poisoned weapons existing in such numbers over the surface of the Actinize were left in the part attacked. For this purpose I stretched a thin India-rubber mem- brane over a glass tube. After its seizure by the Actinia, I found that under the microscope it was studded in many points with the poison darts inserted slightly in the membrane, without their having penetrated through. In this respect my observations differ from those of Mr. Gosse, who considers that a fragment of cuticle from the hand was perforated by these darts. May 19, 1859.—Major-General Sabine, R.A., Treas. and V.P., in the Chair. | “On the Anatomy of Victoria Regia.” Part Il. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c., Professor of Botany in King’s College, London. This paper is a continuation of one published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1852 (p. 289), and discusses the general question Dr. J. B. Hicks on certain Sensory Organs in Insects. 229 of the anatomical structure of the stems of Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons, especially in reference to some objections taken against the author’s views respecting the stems of the Nymphezeaceze. Cer- tain peculiarities of the structure of roots are next examined ; and these are shown to be formed on the Dicotyledonous type in Victoria. The germination of the seed is described in a manner differing to some extent from the accounts given by Planchon, Trécul, and Hooker. The error of Trécul, in stating that the earlier leaves are devoid of a stipule, is shown to depend upon his overlooking the true axillary position of that organ. The Phyllotaxy is next treated, with the development and arrange- ment of the leaves and roots ; lastly, a complete history of the develop- ment of the flower, showing that the apparently inferior position of the ovary depends upon a great enlargement of the receptacle after the formation of the various organs forming the flower. May 26, 1859.—Sir Benjamin C. Brodie, Bart., President, in the Chair. **Qn certain Sensory Organs in Insects, hitherto undescribed.” By J. Braxton Hicks, M.D. Lond., F.L.S. &e. The author commences with an allusion to papers published in the Linnean Society’s ‘ Journal’ and ‘ Transactions’ respecting groups of organs, abundantly supplied with nerves, on the bases of the halteres of Diptera, also on the nervures of the wings and on the elytra of Coleoptera, and now gives a drawing which shows forth these organs and the nerve proceeding to them on the halteres. He then describes, for the first time, somewhat similar organs on the apices of the palpi of some Diptera, and on their base in many Hymenoptera, as Apis, Vespa, Nomada, Megachile, Bombus, &c. These are well shown in the Vespa Crabro, or Hornet, where the nerve is seen expanding in the thin membrane which covers in the opening beneath in the wall of the member. | In the paper, also, it is pointed out for the first time, that on the apex of the palpi of Lepidoptera there is invariably found a structure which is more or less of a cavity, generally tubular, and sometimes extending inwards nearly the length of the last segment, but some- times only a depression. ‘To it a nerve is given which expands on the apex of the cavity. | The author then describes groups of organs, allied in form to those on the palpi, which are to be found on the legs of all insects yet examined. There are about three groups situated about the tro- chantero-femoral joint, and to them nerves can be distinctly seen proceeding ; and in Meloé the branch is seen to pass up the opening in the wall, to terminate in a papilla in the centre of the membrane covering it in. It is also shown that the bladder-like apex of the palpi, instead of being smooth, as is generally described, is covered with a great number of small bodies, something in form like ninepins, some- 230 Royal Society :— times exceedingly small, requiring a 3-inch objective to make them out, when they can clearly be discerned to be a modified condition of true hairs copiously supplied with nerves. The author names these “ tactile hairs,’ and points out their existence im all palpi used for touching, and in other organs subservient to that function. These tactile hairs are very large in the palpi and antennee of Dyticus mar- ginalis. The barrel-like organs of the Lepidoptera are next investi- gated, and are shown to have a nerve passing up them ; but whether proceeding to the apex of the nipple-like papilla on them or not, cannot be quite made out. They are pointed out as being nearly allied to the organs on each of the palpi of the Earwig (Forjicula auricularia). The author refers to the sacs found on the antennee of all insects, which have been fully treated of in two papers read by him before the Linnean Society, and published in their ‘Transactions ;’ and he lastly examines the probable functions of all these organs, which must be of sensation, probably special. Attention is also called to the value of bleaching the tissues by chlorine in investigating the structure of insects, which process was first used by the author and described by him in the papers above mentioned. ; “On the Occurrence of Flint-implements, associated with the Remains of Extinct Mammalia, in Undisturbed Beds of a late Geo- logical Period.” By Joseph Prestwich, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S. &e. The author commences by noticing how comparatively rare are the cases even of the alleged discovery of the remains of man or of his works in the various superficial drifts, notwithstanding the ex- tent to which these deposits are worked; and of these few cases so many have been disproved, that man’s non-existence on the earth until after the latest geological changes, and the extinction of the Mammoth, Tichorhine Rhinoceros, and other great mammals, had come to be considered almost in the light of an established fact. Instances, however, have from time to time occurred to throw some doubt on this view, as the well-known cases of the human bones found by Dr. Schmerling in a cavern near Liege,—the remains of man, instanced by M. Marcel de Serres and others in several caverns in France,—the flint-implements in Kent’s Cave,—and many more. Some uncertainty, however, has always attached to cave-evidence, from the circumstance that man has often inhabited such places at a comparatively late period, and may have disturbed the original cave-deposit ; or, after the period of his residence, the stalagmitic floor may have been broken up by natural causes, and the remains above and below it may have thus become mixed together, and afterwards sealed up by a second floor of stalagmite. Such imstances of an imbedded broken stalagmitic floor are in fact known to occur ; at the same time the author does not pretend to say that this will explain all cases of intermixture in caves, but that it lessens the value of the evidence from such sources. Occurrence of Flint-implements in Gravel-beds. 231 ~The subject has, however, been latterly revived, and the evidence more carefully sifted by Dr. Falconer; and his preliminary reports on the Brixham Cave*, presented last year to the Royal Society, announcing the carefully determined occurrence of worked flints mixed indiscriminately with the bones of the extinct Cave Bear and the Rhinoceros, attracted great and general attention amongst geo- logists. This remarkable discovery, and a letter written to him by Dr. Falconer on the occasion of his subsequent visit to Abbeville last autumn, instigated the author to turn his attention to other ground, which, from the interest of its later geological phenomena alone, as described by M. Buteux in his “ Esquisse Géologique du Departement de la Somme,’’ he had long wished and intended to Visit. In 1849 M. Boucher de Perthes, President of the ‘ Socicté d’Emulation” of Abbeville, published the first volume of a work entitled ‘ Antiquités Celtiques et Antédiluviennes,” in which he an- nounced the important discovery of worked flints in beds of undis- turbed sand and gravel containing the remains of extinct mammalia. Although treated from an antiquarian point of view, still the state- ment of the geological facts by this gentleman, with good sections by M. Ravin, is perfectly clear and consistent. Nevertheless, both in France and in England, his conclusions were generally considered erroneous ; nor has he since obtained such verification of the pheno- mena as to cause so unexpected a fact to be accepted by men of science. There have, however, been some few exceptions to the general incredulity. The late Dr. Rigollot, of Amiens, urged by M. Boucher de Perthes, not only satisfied himself of the truth of the fact, but corroborated it, in 1855, by his “Mémoire sur des Instruments en Silex trouvés 4 St. Acheul.’’ Some few geologists suggested further inquiry ; whilst Dr. Falconer, himself convinced by M. de Perthes’ explanations and specimens, warmly engaged Mr. Prestwich to examine the sections. The author, who confesses that he undertook the inquiry full of doubt, went last Easter, first to Amiens, where he found, as de- scribed by Dr. Rigollot, the gravel-beds of St. Acheul capping a low chalk-hill a mile S.E. of the city, about 100 feet above the level of the Somme, and not commanded by any higher ground. The following is the succession of the beds in descending order :— Average thickness. 1. Brown brick-earth (many old tombs and some coins), with an irregular bed of flint-gravel. No organic remains. 10 to 15 ft. Divisional plane between | and 2a very uneven and indented. 2a. Whitish marl and sand with small chalk debris. Land and freshwater shells (Zymnea, Succinea, Helix, Bithynia, Planorbis, Pupa, Pisidium, and Ancylus, all of recent species) are common, and mammalian bones and teeth are Occasional PY AOUMES sissies sesh eons We seescs sist caddvivseiecve 2 to 8 ft. * On the 4th of May, this year, Dr. Falconer further communicated to the Geo- logical Society some similar facts, though singularly varied, recently discovered by him in the Maccagnone Cave near Palermo.—See Proc. Geol. Soc. 232 Royal Society :— Average thickness. 26. Coarse subangular flint-gravel,—white with irregular ochreous and ferruginous seams,—with tertiary flint peb- bles and small sandstone blocks. Remains of shells as above, in patches of sand. Teeth and bones of the ele- phant, and of a species of horse, ox, and deer,—generally near base. This bed is further remarkable for containing worked flints (“‘ Haches ” of M. de Perthes, and “ Langues de Chat” of the workmen) ....cscseseeceeees hewn vn Se aiegonnats 6 to 12 ft. Uneven surface of chalk. The flint-implements are found in considerable numbers in 26. On his first visit, the author obtained several specimens from the workmen, but he was not successful in finding any himself. On his arrival, however, at Abbeville, he received a message from M. Pinsard of Amiens, to whose cooperation he expresses himself much indebted, . to inform him that one had been discovered the following day, and was left im situ for his inspection. On returning to the spot, this time with his friend Mr. Evans, he satisfied himself that it was truly im situ, 17 feet from the surface, in undisturbed ground, and he had a photographic sketch of the section taken*. Dr. Rigollot also mentions the occurrence in the gravel of round pieces of hard chalk, pierced through with a hole, which he considers were used as beads. The author found several, and recognized in them a small fossil sponge, the Coscinopora globularis, D’Orb., from the chalk, but does not feel quite satisfied about their artificial dressing. Some specimens do certainly appear as though. the hole had been enlarged and completed. The only mammalian remains the author here obtained, were some specimens of the teeth of a horse—but whether recent or ex- tinct the specimens were too imperfect to determine ; and part of the tooth of an elephant (Elephas primigenius?). In the gravel-pit of St. Roch, 14 mile distant, and on a lower level, mammalian remains are far more abundant, and include Elephas primige- nius, Rhinoceros tichorhinus, Cervus somonensis, Bos priscus, and Equust ; but the workmen said that no worked flints were found there, although they are mentioned by Dr. Rigollot. At Abbeville the author was much struck with the extent and beauty of M. Boucher de Perthes’ collection. There were many forms of fiints, in which he, however, failed to see traces of design or work, and which he should only consider as accidental ; but with regard to those flint-instruments termed “ axes’? (“haches’’) by M. de Perthes, he entertains not the slightest doubt of their artificial make. They are of two forms, generally from 4 to 10 inches long: the outlines of two specimens are represented in the following dia- * On revisiting the pit, since the reading of this paper, in company with, several geological friends, the author was fortunate to witness the discovery and extraction by one of them, Mr. J. W. Flower, of a very perfect and fine specimen of flint-implement, in a seam of ochreous gravel, 20 feet beneath the surface. They besides obtained thirty-six specimens from the workmen.—June, 1859. t To this list the author has to add the Hippopotamus, of which creature four fine tusks were obtained on this last visit. Occurrence of Flint-implements in Gravel-beds. 233 gram. They are very rudely made, without any ground surface, and were the work of a people probably unacquainted with the use of metals. These implements are much rarer at Abbeville than at Amiens, fig. 1 being the common form at the former, and fig. 2 at : Fig. 2. A. Fig. 1. Front section. Side section. Side section. Front section. One-third the natural size. the latter place. The author was not fortunate enough to find any specimens himself; but from the experience of M. de Perthes, and the evidence of the workmen, as well as from the condition of the specimens themselves, he is fully satisfied of the correctness of that gentleman’s opinion, that they there also occur in beds of undisturbed sand and gravel. At Moulin Quignon, and at St. Gilles, to the S.E. of Abbeville, the deposit occurs, as at St. Acheul, on the top of a low hill, and consists of a subangular, ochreous and ferruginous flint-gravel, with a few irregular seams of sand, 12 to 15 feet thick, reposing upon an uneven surface of chalk. It contains no shells, and very few bones. M. de Perthes states that he has found fragments of the teeth of the elephant here. The worked flints and the bones occur generally in the lower part of the gravel. In the bed of gravel also on which Abbeville stands, a number of flint-implements have been found, together with several teeth of the Elephas primigenius, and, at places, fragments of freshwater shells. The section, however, of greatest interest is that at Menchecourt, a suburb to the N.W. of Abbeville. The deposit there is very distinct in its character ; it occurs patched on the side of a chalk hill, which commands it to the northward ; and it slopes down under 234 Royal Society :— the peat-beds of the valley of the Somme to the southward. The deposit consists, in descending order, of— Average thickness. 1, A mass of brown sandy clay, with angular fragments of flints and chalk rubble. No organic remains. Base very irregular and indented into bed No. 2.........ceesse.eseeeeee 2 to 12 ft. 2. A light-coloured sandy clay (‘‘ sable gras” of the work- men), analogous to the loess, containing land shells, Pupa, Helix, Clausilia of recent species. Flint-axes and mammalian remains are said to occur occasionally in CURIS TE sais vance duncnspp oonseveensdpndeangsans in desis mabaell ieee 8 to 25 ft. 3. White sand (‘sable aigre”’), with 1 to 2 feet of subangular flint-gravel at base. This bed abounds in land and fresh- water shells of recent species of the genera Helix, Succinea, Cyclas, Pisidium, Valvata, Bithynia, and Planorbis, to- gether with the marine Buccinum undatum, Cardium edule, Tellina solidula, and Purpura lapillus. The author has also found the Cyrena consobrina and Littorina rudis. With them are associated numerous mammalian remains, and, it is said, flint-implements..............ccscesscessssescees 2 to 6 ft. 4, Light-coloured sandy marl, in places very hard, with Helix, Zonites, Suecinea, and Pupa. Not traversed ...... 3+ , The Mammalian remains enumerated by M. Buteux from this pit are Llephas primigenius, Rhinoceros tichorhinus, Cervus somo- nensis?, Cervus tarandus priscus, Ursus speleus, Hyena spelea, Bos primigenius, Equus adamaticus, and a Felis. It would be essential to determine how these fossils are distributed—which occur in bed No. 2, and which in bed No. 3. This has not hitherto been done. The few marine shells occur mixed indiscriminately with the freshwater species, chiefly amongst the flints at the base of No. 3. They are very friable and somewhat scarce. It is on the top of this bed of flints that the greater number of bones are found, and also, it is said, the greater number of flint-implements. The author, however, only saw some long flint flakes (considered by M. de Perthes as flint knives) turned out of this bed in his presence ; but the workmanship was not very clear or apparent; still it was as much so as in some of the so-called flint knives from the peat-beds and barrows. There are specimens, however, of true implements (‘‘haches”) in M. de Perthes’ collection from Menchecourt ; one noticed by the author was from a depth of 5, and another of 7 metres. This would take them out from bed No. 1, but would leave it uncertain whether they came from No. 2 or No. 3. From their general appearance, and traces of the matrix, the author would be disposed to place them in bed No. 2, but M. de Perthes believes them to be from No. 3; if so, it must have been in some of the sub- ordinate clay seams occasionally intercalated in the white sand. Besides the concurrent testimony of all the workmen at the dif- ferent pits, which the author after careful examination saw no reason to doubt, the flint-implements (‘‘ haches’”’) bear upon them- selves internal evidence of the truth of M. de Perthes’ opinion. It is a peculiarity of fractured chalk flints to become deeply and _per- manently stained and coloured, or to be left unchanged, according to the nature of the matrix in which they are imbedded. In most clay - Occurrence of Flint-implements in Gravel-beds. 235 beds they become outside of a bright opaque white or porcelainic ; in white calcareous or siliceous sand their fractured black surfaces remain almost unchanged ; whilst in beds of ochreous and ferru- ginous sands, the flints are stained of the light yellow and deep brown colours so well exhibited in the common ochreous gravel of the neighbourhood of London. This change is the work of very long time, and of moisture before the opening out of the beds. Now in looking over the large series of flint-implements in M. de Perthes’ col- lection, it cannot fail to strike the most casual observer that those from Menchecourt are almost always white and bright, whilst those from Moulin Quignon have a dull yellow and brown surface ; and it may be noticed that whenever (as is often the case) any of the matrix adheres to the flint, it is invariably of the same nature, texture, and colour as that of the respective beds themselves. In the same way at St. Acheul, where there are beds of white and others of ochreous gravel, the flint-implements exhibit corresponding variations in colour and adhering matrix ; added to which, as the white gravel contains chalk debris, there are portions of the gravel in which the flints are more or less coated with a film of deposited carbonate of lime ; and so it is with the flint-implements which occur in those portions of the gravel. Further, the surface of many specimens is covered with fine dendritic markings. Some few implements also show, like the fractured flints, traces of wear, their sharp edges being blunted. In fact, the flint-implements form just as much a constituent part of the gravel itself—exhibiting the action of the same later influences and in the same force and degree—as the rough mass of flint frag- ments with which they are associated. With regard to the geological age of these beds, the author refers them to those usually designated as post-pliocene, and notices their agreement with many beds of that age in England. The Menche- court deposit much resembles that of Fisherton near Salisbury ; the gravel of St. Acheul is like some on the Sussex coast ; and that of Moulin Quignon resembles the gravel at East Croydon, Wandsworth Common, and many places near London. The author even sees reason, from the general physical phenomena, to question whether the beds of St. Acheul and Moulin Quignon may not possibly be of an age one stage older than those of Menchecourt and St. Roch ; but before that point can be determined, a more extended knowledge of all the organic remains of the several deposits is indispensable. The author next proceeds to inquire into the causes which led to the rejection of this and the cases before mentioned, and shows that in the case of M. de Perthes’ discovery, it was in a great degree the small size and indifferent execution of the figures and the introduction of many forms about which there might reasonably be a difference of opinion ;—in the case of the arrow-heads in Kent’s Cave a hidden error was merely suspected ;—and in the case of the Liege cavern he considers that the question was discussed on a false issue. - He therefore is of opinion that these and many similar cases require reconsideration ; and that not only may some of these prove true, but that many others, kept back by doubt or supposed error, will be forthcoming. 236 Royal Society. One very remarkable instance has already been brought under the author’s notice by Mr. Evans since their return from France. In the 13th volume of the ‘Archeeologia,’ published in 1800, is a paper by Mr. John Frere, F.R.S. and F.S.A., entitled “An Account of Flint-Weapons discovered at Hoxne in Suffolk,” wherein that gentle- man gives a section of a brick-pit in which numerous flint-imple- ments had been found, at a depth of 11 feet, in a bed of gravel con- taining bones of some unknown animal; and concludes from the ground being undisturbed and above the valley, that the specimens must be of very great antiquity, and anterior to the last changes of the surface of the country,—a very remarkable announcement, hitherto overlooked. The author at once proceeded in search of this interesting locality, and found a section now exposed to consist of— Y;, BOWES BUG A SOW WORN oo lean ddanean ts ince ciays wcbhuiheseeudesswiceuetaane 2 2. Brown brick-earth, a carbonaceous seam in middle and one of gravel at base; no organic remains. The workmen stated that two flint-implements (one of which they shortly picked up in the author’s presence) had been found about 10 feet from the surface during the last winter ......00...sccvscsssecsrvecenscedcacenetes 12 3. Grey clay, in places carbonaceous and in others sandy, with recent land and freshwater shells (Planorbis, Valvata, Suecinea, Pisi- dium, Helix, and Cyclas) and bones of Mammalia .........3......4+ 4 4, Small subangular flint-gravel and chalk pebbles ...............008++ 23 5. Carbonaceous clay (stopped by water) .........sseceeneceececes eueeeees $+ The weapons referred to by Mr. Frere are described by him as being found abundantly in bed No. 4; but at the spot where the work has now arrived, this bed is much thinner, and is not worked. In the small trench which the author caused to be dug, he found no remains either of weapons or of bones. He saw, however, in the collection of Mr. T. E. Amyot, of Diss, specimens of the weapons, also an astragalus of the elephant from, it was supposed, this bed, and, from bed No. 3, the teeth of a horse, closely resembling those from the elephant-bed of Brighton. The specimens of the weapons figured by Mr. Frere, and those now in the British Museum and elsewhere, present a singular simi- larity in work and shape to the more pointed forms from St. Acheul. One very important fact connected with this section, is that it shows the relative age of the bone and implement-bearing beds. They form a thin lacustrine deposit, which seems to be superimposed on the Boulder Clay, and to pass under a bed of the ochreous sand and flint-gravel belonging to the great and latest drift-beds of the district. The author purposely abstains for the present from all theoretical considerations, confining himself to the corroboration of the facts :— 1. That the flint-implements are the work of man. 2. That they were found in undisturbed ground. 3. That they are associated with the remains of extinct Mammalia. 4, That the period was a late geological one, and anterior to the surface assuming its present outline, so far as some of its minor features are concerned. Miscellaneous. 237 He does not, however, consider that the facts, as they at present stand, of necessity carry back Man in past time more than they bring forward the great extinct Mammals towards our own time, the evidence having reference only to relative and not to absolute time ; and he is of opinion that many of the later geological changes may have been sudden or of shorter duration than generally considered. In fact, from the evidence here exhibited, and from all that he knows regarding drift phenomena generally, the author sees no reason against the conclusion that this period of Man and the ex- tinct Mammals—supposing their contemporaneity to be proved— was brought to a sudden end by a temporary inundation of the land; on the contrary, he sees much to support such a view on purely geological considerations. The paper concludes with a letter from Mr. John Evans, F.S.A. and F.G.S., regarding these implements from an antiquarian rather than a geological point of view, and dividing them into three classes :— 1. Flint flakes—arrow-heads or knives. 2. Pointed weapons truncated at one end, and probably lance or spear heads (fig. 2). 3. Oval or almond-shaped implements with a cutting edge all round, possibly used as sling-stones or as axes (fig. 1). Mr. Evans points out that in form and workmanship those of the two last classes differed essentially from the implements of the so- called Celtic period, which are usually more or less ground and polished, and cut at the wide and not the narrow end; and that, had they been found under any circumstances, they must have been regarded as the work of some other race than the Celts or known aboriginal tribes. He fully concurs with Mr. Prestwich, that the beds of drift in which they were found were entirely undisturbed. MISCELLANEOUS. Note on the Affinities of Rhynchosaurus. By Prof. Ricuarp Owen, F.R.S. To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. GENTLEMEN,—A second and better-preserved specimen of the rare fossil reptile, RAynchosaurus, from the New Red Sandstone of Shropshire, having been lately obtained from the Grinsill quarries, near Shrewsbury, and kindly transmitted for my examination by the authorities of the Museum of Natural History of that town, I have been enabled to determine the position of the two nostrils a little in front of the orbits, and to discern traces of dental structure in parts of the two bodies which, in the original specimen described by me in 1842, held the place of, and were described as, ‘‘ intermaxillary bones.’ This discovery adds to the reasons for associating the Rhyn- chosaurus with the Dicynodon, in the same natural order or group 238 Miscellaneous. of reptiles, and confirms the opinion expressed in my first memoir on Dicynodon, as to the “close and important relationship between Dicynodon and Rhynchosaurus*.”’ It similarly strengthens the opinion that the formations in South Africa containing remains of Dicynodon belong to the same geological system (the Triassic) as the Sandstones at Grinsill, Shropshire. In the species of Dicynodonts already described may be seen a progressive advance in the position of the pair of descending tusks of the upper jaw, from below the orbits (as in D. strigiceps) to below the nostrils (as in Ptychognathus declivis); but in Rhynchosaurus the bodies which are analogous, if not homologous, take the place of the premaxillary bones, and terminate the anterior contour of the skull, curving down in the present as in the first-described specimen, in front of the symphysis mandibule, and presenting an exaggerated condition of that pair of compound osseous and dentinal bodies which hold the place of the premaxillaries in the rare existing New Zealand amphiccelian lizard, Rhynchocephalus+. There is no trace of the deflected tusk-like bodies, in Rhyncho- saurus, being implanted in bone. I am, Gentlemen, Yours truly, RicHarp Owen. British Museum, Aug. 24, 1859, Note on Bulimus acutus. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e. Bulimus acutus has been generally supposed to be confined, in the British Islands, to the West of England and Wales: it is found in abundance on the low lands on the east side of the Chesil Bank, be- tween Weymouth and Portland, and also on the hills on the west of Lulworth Cove. It seems to appear, in the latter place at least, periodically. It is now extremely abundant, both on the grass and congregated together at the roots of the sea-beet, near the coast- guard signal station; but the coast-guardsman, who has been on the station several years, said he had not seen it before this year, and he believed that they had been blown from the opposite hills! perhaps he only meant to say, in such abundance. Now it is even more common than Helix virgata, with which it is found. Swanage, August 1859. Note on the Opercula of several Species of Megalomastoma. By W. H. Benson, Esq. The structure of the horny operculum of Megalomastoma eylin- draceum, Ch., approaches, at its dorsal side, to that of Hybocystis, differing from the numerous spiral volutions visible on that part of the thin horny operculum of the Himalayan M. funiculatum, and * Trans. Geol. Soc., 2nd ser. vol. vii. p. 67 (1845). + Ibid., vol. vii. pl. 6. fig. 519. Miscellaneous. 239 from the concentric moulding observable in the thickened corneous operculum of the West Indian M. Mani, Poey. A redistribution of the species of Megalomastoma, grounded on the construction of the operculum, is desirable. The specimens above referred to occur in my own collection. It is probable that few cabinets besides that of Mr. H. Cuming possess the materials requisite for the work. August 11, 1859, On two new species of American Ant-Thrushes. By P. L. Scuarer, F.R.S. 1. MyYRMELASTES PLUMBEUS. 3. Nigricanti-plumbeus, alis caudaque obscure nigris ; tectricum alarium apicibus albo guttatis ; rostro et pedibus nigris. ?. Mari similis, sed corpore toto subtus ferrugineo-rufo. Long. tota 6°0, alee 3°1, caudee 2°3, rostri a rictu 1°05, tarsi 1 ‘2. Hab. Upper Amazon, Rio Javarri (Bates). Mus. Brit., P. L.S. The British Museum possesses both sexes of this fine, strong Ant-thrush from collections lately transmitted by Mr. Bates from Ega, but originating, I believe, from further up the stream. I have a single male specimen from the same source. The female has so nearly the same general appearance as Thamnophilus hyperythrus 3 , that they might easily be confounded at first sight. 2. MYRMELASTES NIGERRIMUS. Unicolor nigerrimus, tectricibus alarum superioribus, campterio proximis, albis. Long. tota 6°5, alee 3°3, caudee 2°3, tarsi 1°3. Hab. Upper Amazon (Baées), Mus. Brit. A single example of this bird occurred in the same collection as the former species, and is now in the British Museum. It is quite the same form as Myrmelastes plumbeus, with the exception of the bill being slightly shorter and the feet rather stronger. It is marked ** Trides black, bill black.’? It is without doubt a male; and it will be interesting to see the female.—Proc. Zool. Soc. May 11, 1858. On the Habits of Aplysiopterus viridis. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c. This animal is not uncommon at this season (August) in Swanage Bay. It is very peculiar in not having any distinctly marked foot, except just a little in front of the narrow acute tip of the tail. When walking on the surface of the vase in which it is contained, it only touches the glass by this end of the tail and the front of the body under the head and tentacles, the rest of the under surface of the body being quite free, at some distance from the glass, and rounded, 240 Miscellaneous. without any appearance of a ventral sole. Its favourite position is floating rather below the surface of the water, back downwards and with the edges of the mantle expanded nearly horizontally, and attached to the glass by the under surface of the tip of its tail, or to the side of the vase with its head towards the surface of the water. If the vase is moved or otherwise shaken, the animal contracts its mantle over the back, and descends head foremost, as it were drop- ping down to the bottom, leaving a mucous filament attached to the glass; and it ascends by this filament, apparently eating it as its head rises towards the surface, and at length becomes attached as before by its subcaudal sole. The dark-green colour is produced by minute internal granules which vary in the intensity and in the shade of their colour, some being dark olive and others reddish brown. The margin of the mantle is white in all the specimens I have seen. Description of a new Species of Teenia. By W. Barro, M.D., F.L.S. TANIA SULCICEPS. Caput tetragonum, magnum, acetabulis anticis lateralibus, orbi- cularibus, longe segregatis, sulco interposito. Proboscis nulla. Os terminale inerme. Collum longum, leave. Articuli supremi breviores ; deinde longiores, infundibuliformes, angusti; late- ribus undulatis, crenatis. Aperture genitales marginales, uni- laterales. : Hab. In intestinis Diomedee exulantis. Longitudo exemplorum in possessione nostra, quee sunt fragmenta solum, unciz tredecim. In Museo Britannico. The colour of this Tape-worm is a straw-yellow. The head is tetragonal in shape, large; and the neck is long, measuring nearly two or three lines, and quite smooth. Upon minute inspection, I could discover no trace of a proboscis; and the mouth was destitute of hooks of any kind. The joints of the body are small at first, be- coming larger as they descend ; but even when full-grown are narrow, somewhat undulated on the margin, and slightly but irregularly crenated. The suckers on the head are of considerable size, round in shape, and are separated from each other by a rather deep fur- row. The genital orifices are situated on the lower margin of each joint, and are all on the same side. None of the specimens are quite perfect; but there are two or three fragments, each about 13 inches in length. This Tapeworm was taken by Mr. Edward Gerrard of the British Museum, from the intestines of the Albatros (Diomedea exulans), and is now in the collection of Entozoa in the British Museum.— Proc. Zool. Soc. Feb. 22, 1859. . THE ANNALS MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. [THIRD SERIES. ] No. 22. OCTOBER 1859. > XXV.—On the supposed Existence of Cellulose in Starch-grains. By H. von Montz *. On no vegetable structure has so great a number of micro- chemical researches been instituted as upon starch-grains ; and of none have the structure and chemical composition, in the course of time, been so contradictorily explained. The view of Raspail, that the starch-grain consisted of a vesicular envelope insoluble in water, with soluble gummy contents, was overturned by the researches of Fritzsche and of Payen, who appeared to have demonstrated beyond all doubt that the starch-grain con- sisted of superimposed layers, formed of one and the same che- mical compound throughout the whole thickness of the grain ; but Nageli believed, in his earlier researches at least, that he could discern an outer cellulose membrane,—which opinion was again questioned by myself. Muschke (Journ. f. Prakt. Chemie, lvi. p. 400) still more strongly asserted the presence of cellulose in the starch-grain, thinking he had found the latter to consist of a number of concentric membranes formed of cellulose, be- tween which the starch-substance was deposited, and this in a double modification—one soluble in water, which formed the bright layers of the starch-grain, and one insoluble, of which the dark layers were composed. All these accounts, however, may now be regarded as out of date, since the recent researches of Nageli (‘Die Starkekérner,’ Monographie, 1858) prove indubitably that the whole starch-granule, in all its parts, is composed of two distinct chemical compounds, which in his view form a kind of diffusion+. He arrived at this conclusion * Bot. Zeitung, July Ist & 8th, 1859; translated by A. Henfrey, F.R.S. + A very long account of the structure and development of starch has just been published by Trécul in the ‘ Ann. des Sc. nat.’ sér.4.t.x. It does not contain any new matter of great importance: he advocates the view Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. iv. 16 242 H. von Mohl on the supposed Existence by macerating the starch-grains, at a moderate heat (about 104° to 120° F.) in solvent fluids, particularly in saliva, which ex- tracted the compound which becomes blue with iodine (the proper starch,) and leaves behind the starch-grains essentially unaltered in their anatomical conditions, but with totally different chemical’ properties. For the compound dissolved out of the starch he proposes the term granulose (p. 209); the remaining substance of the grains is described as cellulose*. As my critical repetition of Nageli’s observations leads me to regard this last opinion as unfounded, I venture to publish an account of my investigations. In making the inquiry, I chiefly employed as material the starch of the rhizome of Canna indica. For the extraction of the substance coloured blue by iodine I used saliva, because this acts more quickly than extract of malt. The attempt to obtain the same result by organic acids, in the manner described (certainly in no great detail) by Melsens, was unsuccessful. It is necessary to discover by experiment, for each kind of starch, the favourable temperature at which it is to be treated; for at too low a temperature the action does not take place at all, or only very slowly, while too high a temperature produces swelling up and total solution of the granule. In consequence of the latter circumstance, I was less regardful of the maintenance of a con- stant temperature in the hatching-machine in which I heated the grains than that a certain definite degree of heat should not be exceeded. In the starch of Canna, the extraction of the starch-substance began at a temperature of 95°-104°F., and advanced very slowly and regularly from the periphery of the granule towards its centre, unless it could penetrate by an acci- dental crack in the granule, in which case the solution in the interior of the granule proceeded rapidly onward from the sides of the crack. At a temperature of 120°—131° the extraction of the soluble part of the granule was completed in a few hours. A far lower temperature suffices for the extraction of the starch of wheat, while that of potatoes requires a much higher one. If the operation is carried on at a low temperature, the experi- ment lasting then several days, we must not neglect to pour off that the layers are formed from without imwards, the older expanding to make room for the new ones.—A. H. * As often happens, the same discovery of the composition of the starch- grain was made, apparently independently of Nageli, by Melsens (Institut, 1857, p. 161), who extracted the substance coloured blue by iodine by means of organic acids, diastase, and pepsine, and conjestined! that the residue consisted of a nitrogenous substance and another standing near to cellu- lose. Iam unaware whether he has made known his researches in greater detail than in the work here cited. : of Cellulose in Starch-grains. 243 the saliva daily from the starch-grains, and wash them well, and mix them with fresh saliva, since the putrefactive decomposition of the latter would otherwise ensue, which produces destruction of the starch-grains. The alterations undergone by the starch-grains are described so accurately by Nageli that a repetition of the account is en- tirely superfluous; I confine myself, therefore, to citing the most general features, and to the discussion of those points which appear to me of especial importance for the explanation of the composition of the starch-grain. The first glance at the starch-grain robbed of its soluble con- stituent by saliva shows that it has lost considerably in sub- stance, since it possesses far less refractive power ; and its much greater mobility in water, and the longer time it takes to settle when stirred up therein, show that it has lost considerably in weight. I could not determine how great this loss of weight is, since this would require a different solvent, which could be removed from the starch-grains entirely by washing, while im the use of saliva many epithelial cells of the linmg membrane of the mouth remain mixed up with the granules. The estimate of Nageli (p. 183), that in potato-starch the mass diminishes from 7 or 8 to 1, may be correct, but it rests upon too insecure a base to be depended upon with certainty. The magnitude of the grains diminishes far less than the substance; but the amount of decrease is very difficult to state with certainty, on account of the very variable absolute size of the individual grains; and a great number of measurements would be requisite to obtain an approximation to an accurate determination. That a diminution of size does take place, may be very distinctly seen in the starch-grains of germinating wheat, in which the extraction of the soluble substance frequently pro- ceeds, not uniformly from the margin to the centre of the dis- coid grains, but in separate lines running in the direction of radii, under which circumstance each of these streaks corre- sponds to a notch or depression at the margin of the grain, which indicates a collapse of the substance towards the interior. Not only, however, is there a contraction of the substance in the radial direction, but there is a still stronger contraction in the direction of the separate lamine. This is shown very clearly by the behaviour of those grains of Canna in which the solution has affected only the outermost layers, when these latter laminz frequently crack into polyhedral fragments, like dried clay, be- cause the inner and still unaltered laminz oppose an insur- mountable obstacle to their efforts to contract. A still stronger contraction occurs in the lamine situated between the periphery and the organic centre (likewise in the direction of the laminz), 16* 244 H. von Mohl on the supposed Existence as is evident from the circumstance that all the grains of Canna from which the soluble substance is entirely removed are tra- versed by cracks, some tolerably wide, which run out like rays from the centre to the periphery, and are wider in the middle than in the centre and at the periphery, towards which latter they generally thin off ;—but when they reach the surface, they - frequently cause the grains to fall into sharp-cornered triangular fragments. As these cracks are not connected with the forma- tion of a cavity in the centre of the grain, they do not originate by the inner lamine becoming contracted in the radial direc- tion with a simultaneous drawing outwards towards the firmer outer layers, causing a lateral extension until they are torn across, but the cracks evidently arise from the contraction of the laminz of the grains being stronger in the direction of the tangent than in the radial direction. The lamination undergoes no change by the treatment with saliva. In many cases, particularly when a slow solution of the soluble substance of the grain takes place in the living plant (for example, in germinating wheat), the lamination becomes much more evident in the earlier stages of the process than it was previously, as the solution does not affect all the layers uni- formly, but at the outset shows itself only in the looser lamina, and thereby considerably increases the already existing difference of density of alternating lamine. But when the soluble portion has been entirely extracted from all the laminz, and the whole grain has thus acquired far greater transparency, the lamination is mostly far more difficult to perceive than in the fresh grain, as may be seen particularly in the very distinctly laminated grains of the potato. The substance of the grains which have been exhausted by saliva, so long as they are saturated with water, is in a high degree brittle, and a slight pressure on the covering-glass causes it to crumble into sharp-cornered fragments. When dried, it contracts considerably, which renders the lamination much more indistinct ; and a re-wetting with water does not always restore it in the original clearness. Grains with the starch extracted act upon polarized light exactly like unaltered starch-grains ; 7. e., when the direction of their laminze is observed, in the opposite manner to cellulose membranes. In a former paper in this Journal*, on the inves- tigation of vegetable tissues by the aid of polarized light, I re- garded this diverse action as the result of a chemical constitu- tion of the starch-grain differmg from that of cellulose. The idea might certainly have been entertained that it depended upon conditions of tension in the separate layers of the starch- * Annals, 3rd series, vol. i. pp. 198, 263. ! of Cellulose in Starch-grains. 240 grain: in this case it would be necessary to assume that there existed in the starch-grain, as in a glass globe whose tempera- ture diminishes from the periphery to the centre, a dilating tension in the radial direction, and a compressing tension in the direction of the surfaces of the concentric lamine. It might be urged in favour of this, that distinct reasons for the adoption of this view exist in the behaviour of unaltered starch-granules when dried or caused to swell up (as Nigeli thinks it proba- ble, and I believe justly, that in the fresh granules molecules of water contained in them are interposed in greater number in the tangential than the radial molecules of the substance) ; but we cannot, at all events, conceive such a kind of tension to exist in those granules in which the starch-substance has been extracted from the outer laminz by saliva, and in which, as above-men- tioned, these outer laminz become torn, by cracks which run in a radial direction, into polygonal fragments, since they cannot contract over the still unexpanded inner lamine. Here it is beyond doubt that there exists in these outer lamine an expan- sive tension in a tangential direction, which rises to the point of fracturing the laminz, while there is a compressing tension in the radial direction, consequently the reverse of the above assumption. In spite of this, these lamine freed from starch act in the same manner as unaltered starch-grains. Indeed the optical characters of the grains are not changed by the produc- tion of any mechanical alteration in the starch-grains—or by causing, through the action of alcohol or strong desiccation, the formation of a central cavity and the retraction of the internal layers towards the former periphery, combined with tearing in a radial direction—or by causing a swelling up, by which the outer layers then expand, especially in the direction parallel to their surfaces. It therefore appears as though we had here an example of those cases in which the optical phenomena of a body depend, not upon the density and relative distribution of its substance, but upon the quality of the material, like the conditions found by Greilich (Krystallogr. Opt. Untersuch. 1858, p. 226) in the comparison of isomorphous compounds of potash and ammonia. In such cases we could not doubt that the optical behaviour of the bodies depended on their intimate molecular conditions. We must, doubtless, recognize this mole- cular diversity—such as occurs, for example, in the various kinds of sugar—in reference to its effects upon polarized light, first of all as a physical property belonging to them ; but, since we have no means of acquiring information regarding the peculiarities of the molecules, and since these peculiarities run parallel with the chemical composition of bodies, I believe I am perfectly justified in assuming that the contrast of negative and positive colours 246 H. von Mohl on the supposed Existence exhibited by vegetable structures in polarized light stands in connexion with the chemical composition of these structures. Turning from the consideration of the physical qualities of the starch-grains treated with saliva, to their chemical characters, and looking in the first place to their behaviour with water, we find that they are wholly deprived of the property of swelling up strongly and becoming partially dissolved. It must be pre- mised here, that they are totally destitute of the power of swell- ing up strongly in water after having been crushed. This is a property of unaltered starch-grains which I think is very little — known*. If dried starch-grains, of the potato, for example, are placed on a glass plate, and strongly compressed with a piece of glass of suitable form, so that each grain assumes the form of a flat disk traversed by cracks, and cold water is then added, the flattened grains in the first moment apparently con- tract, because they first of all swell up again into roundish grains ; but they then begin to expand rapidly, as in hot water— less regularly, however, than when they are boiled, often forming pear-shaped curves, evidently because the crushing pressure acts irregularly, and affects one part of the grain more strongly than another. This is particularly evident when a’grain has been exposed to strong pressure only on one side, as in this case the crushed part is pushed out in the form of a large, apparently | vesicular protuberance, while the remaining part is almost un- affected+. From grains crushed in this way, cold water extracts in solution a portion of the starch-substance, which is coloured blue by iodine, as is seen when solution of iodine is added; for the iodine precipitates the dissolved substance in the form of blue gelatinous pellicles. The starch-grains treated with saliva are equally destitute of the property of swelling up perceptibly when boiled in water. Their lamination remains as distinct as before, and the angles of cracked grains retain all their sharpness. If starch-grains, totally deprived of their soluble substance at a tolerably high temperature, are, after thorough cleansing by washing in water, placed in a new portion of saliva, they are found altogether insoluble in it, even when the temperature is * This swelling-up of crushed grains in cold water appears to have been noticed for the first time by myself, and is mentioned in the article “Starch” in the ‘ Micrographiec Dictionary,’ in opposition to the ordinary statement that starch is unaffected by cold water.—A. H. + This has been explained by myself as a result of the cracks in the resisting outer lamime allowing access of the water to the more soluble inner substance of the grain. A similar local bulging takes place when weak acid or potash is allowed to run in upon the slide and attack one side of an uncrushed grain.—A. H. of Cellulose in Starch-grains. 247 raised to 158° F., at which point unaltered starch-grains are very quickly entirely dissolved. It is therefore evident that a strong expansive quality exists only in the starch-substance which can be extracted by saliva, and that the intimate combination in which the two substances composing the grains stand in the grains must have a modify- ing effect upon their respective properties. While the starch- substance is in the fresh grain protected by the substance inso- luble in saliva from the solvent action of cold water, when it swells up from the action of hot water, &c., it carries the latter with it in its expansion, and transfers the solution to which it is subject by the action of saliva at a proper temperature, to the substance which in a pure condition is altogether unaffected by saliva. The substance insoluble in saliva is regarded by Nigeli, as above mentioned, as cellulose. In investigating the grounds on which he makes this determination, we must first of all consider the characters which Niageli uses for distinguishing cellulose and starch. He says (pp. 182, 189): The reaction with iodine forms an essential distinction, and at the same time the only discrimina- twe test, between starch and cellulose. Iodine colours starch, when acting weakly, wine-red or violet; more strongly, indigo-blue or black : pure cellulose, onthe contrary, is coloured from pale and dirty reddish to copper-red or reddish brown. . Cellulose is, on the ‘other hand, also coloured blue when softened by sulphuric acid, and likewise when saturated with tincture of iodine, dried, and. afterwards wetted with water. Since the cellulose is here softened as by sulphuric acid, perhaps iodic or hydriodic acid (or both) may be formed; Nageli thinks the formation of iodic acid probable. The action of sulphuric acid and the drying up with iodine so transform the condition of aggregation of cellu- lose, that it behaves like starch with iodine, or, as Nageli thinks, is converted into starch. This interpretation of facts, which in themselves are certainly true, is, in my opinion, altogether incorrect. Whether iodine produces a red colour (rising from wine-red, through beautiful . purple, to deep violet), or a blue colour (from the brightest sky- blue to deep indigo and apparent black), depends neither on the circumstance that the object is starch or cellulose, nor upon the quantity of iodine, but essentially upon the conditions of the organic substance in respect to water. When very little water is taken up, we have a red, when more, a blue colour. By attending to this point, we may colour cellulose the finest blue, and starch red and violet, without any chemical alteration of the object. it is self-evident that a greater or less swelling-up of the 248 H. von Mohl on the supposed Existence organic substance is connected with the absorption of water ; and hence one might be led to find in the capacity of expansion itself a reason for the blue colouring. But this conclusion would certainly not be justified ; for we frequently find that the capability of becoming coloured with iodine does not increase in the same proportion as the capacity for swelling im water, and that, on the contrary, many parts of plants, composed of hydrate of carbon, swelling up strongly in water, are totally destitute of the power of assummg a colour with iodine. On the other hand, a certain degree of absorption of water and expansion is a necessary condition for the absorption of iodine and coloration _by it, both with starch and with cellulose, as is simply proved by the circumstance that they remain uncoloured when treated in a dry condition with tincture of iodine prepared with absolute alcohol. Now a substance like starch, when placed, in its na- tural condition, in contact with water, absorbs such a quantity as allows it to assume a determinate colour with iodine, while another substance must be brought to absorb this water by the simultaneous action of another means, which absorption of water becomes visible to the eye, first of all by enlargement of the -volume of the substance, and, with simultaneous action of iodine, by the colour which the latter produces. We are not justified in drawing at once from such an exaltation of the expansive pro- perty, and the simultaneously arising alteration of colour by iodine, the conclusion that they depend upon essential chemical changes in the substance, until it has been proved that the other. properties of the substance have been altered. This is unproved, more particularly as regards cellulose which has been saturated with tincture of iodine, dried, and re-softened in water; neither is it proved of cellulose which has been made to swell up in the ammoniacal solution of copper; on the contrary, this may be perfectly dissolved in the said. fluid, and precipitated in an amorphous condition from the solution, retaining all its chemical properties. We see then, on the one hand, that cellulose, with- out alteration of any chemical properties, absorbs more water under the influence of a material which causes it to swell up than it does in a natural condition, the power of absorbing iodine being simultaneously increased, so that it exhibits the same blue colour which the far more hygroscopic starch exhibits in its natural condition when treated with solution of iodine; further, starch, on the other hand, when placed in cireumstances where it cannot become perfectly saturated with water, exhibits the same colour as cellulose only slightly expanded in water. These circumstances undoubtedly furnish proof that the blue or the red colour is not dependent upon chemical diversity of cellulose and starch, but that particular hydrated conditions of both com- of Cellulose in Starch-grains. 249 bine and become coloured in the same way with iodine. The coloration stands altogether on the boundaries between physical and chemical phenomena, and must indeed be connected in the first place with the capacity possessed by various cell-membranes which swell up rather strongly in water, to attract the colouring matter from a solution of carmine in ammonia. As long as no other means was known by which cellulose could be coloured blue with iodine, except the simultaneous action of sulphuric acid, the conjecture was certainly not far- fetched that this acid transformed the cellulose into starch. Hence this view was many times put forth, for instance by Mitscherlich: I have always regarded it as erroneous, because the cellulose swollen up by means of sulphuric acid has none of the other characters of starch. This assumption is now posi- tively refuted by the researches of Béchamp, who has shown that the subsequent products of the conversion of cellulose by sulphuric acid are essentially different from the corresponding transformation of products of starch, which could not be the ease if sulphuric acid converted cellulose in the first place into starch. Long before this was known, the belief in the conversion of cellulose into starch by sulphuric acid, founded on the blue coloration with iodine, must have been shaken by my demon- strating that the action of sulphuric acid was by no means ne- cessary for the blue coloration of cellulose, but that it sufficed to saturate the cellulose with iodine (which in its usual condi- tion it does not readily absorb) before applying water to it; then, if the cellulose is made to absorb water, the iodine renders it blue, until itself is completely extracted again by the water surrounding the preparation. Nageli endeavours to explain this process also by a chemical conversion of the cellulose; for he conjectures that the iodine gives origin to iodic and hydriodic acids, which transform the cellulose. This is an entirely arbitrary and groundless hypothesis. It should at least have been de- monstrated by experiment that these acids have the power of acting in the same manner upon cellulose as sulphuric acid, and of producing a blue colour in it in the presence of iodine. I have made the experiment of saturating purified cellulose with tincture of iodine, and adding the said acids ; they caused neither a visible action upon the cellulose nor a trace of blue coloration. But, without this demonstration that the said acids do not bring about a conversion of the cellulose and its blue coloration, it may be recognized from the behaviour of the cellulose satu- rated with iodine, that it is not transformed into starch. Iodine affects starch infinitely more readily than it does cellulose, so that starch absorbs the iodine out of water when only a minimum 250 H. von Mohl on the supposed Existence of iodine is contained in the latter. At the same time the iodine adheres very firmly to starch, so that repeated washings with much water are required to extract the iodine from blued starch. It is quite different with cellulose saturated with iodine : it certainly also very quickly becomes blue when water is added, for it already contains the iodine; but it retains the latter with very little power, and quickly parts with it to the surrounding water. The cellulose bleached in this way is just as difficult to colour blue with iodine a second time, and takes up as little from an aqueous solution as. cellulose which has never been in contact with iodine. If the saturation with iodine had caused the conversion of even a small portion of it into starch, the behaviour must have been essentially different. The same conclusion, that the blue colouring of cellulose does not depend upon the previous formation of starch, may be drawn from the phenomena which are exhibited by cellulose under the action of chloride of zinc and iodine. I used for these experi- ments, on the one hand, tissues which had been purified by the known method of Schulze, by boiling with a mixture of nitric acid and chlorate of potash,—on the other hand, cellulose in an amorphous condition, which had been prepared .by my colleague Schlossberger by precipitating a solution of cotton in ammo- niacal solution of copper by adding common salt. The reaction of both modifications with iodine was perfectly identical.. The cellulose, brought in a dry condition into contact with the viscid solution of chloride ‘of zinc, absorbed from it so little water that it did not perceptibly swell up with it*. At the same time there was no trace of blue colouring. The-colour is always some tint of red in wood-cells and vessels, in cellulose precipitated from ammoniated oxide of copper more purple or brown-red, approaching more to violet in parenchymatous cells. If. the preparation saturated with iodine is now placed in water, the colour turns suddenly to blue, and very often, especially in the precipitated cellulose, to the finest indigo-blue. Yet the iodine is not firmly retained. under these circumstances, but is washed out by water just as rapidly as out of cellulose with which the iodine has been incorporated by saturating with the tincture. If the chloride of zinc had caused a chemical * This will be seen most clearly from the following experiments. _ It is well known that the leaves of many mosses roll up when dried, and spread out again when they absorb water. I laid stems of Bartramia pomiformis thus dried inthe solution of chloride of zine; but at the end of three days their leaves were as strongly rolled up as at first, although they had become somewhat more transparent; the membrane of their cells had therefore absorbed a smaller quantity of water than it contained in the natural con- dition of the fresh plant. When I transferred the plants from the solution of chloride of zinc into water, their leaves unfolded immediately. of Cellulose in Starch-grains. 251 conversion of the cellulose, and this had led to the production of the blue colour, it must have been rendered evident by dry- ing this cellulose, which had been saturated with water and coloured blue, and driving off the iodine by gentle heating. If the cellulose had been converted into starch, this could not be removed from the preparation by drying, and the blue colour would necessarily make its appearance on the wetting with tincture of iodine. But this does not take place ; for the cellu- lose behaves exactly as before—is coloured red with chloride of zinc, &c. Moreover, if cotton is treated with the ammoniated oxide of copper, yet not exposed to its action long enough to pro- duce solution, but only until the filaments have become swollen up, the latter are coloured blue by tincture of iodine after having been well washed out with water. Under this influence of the ammoniacal solution of oxide of copper, the cellulose has acquired the property of absorbing more water than it can in its natural condition; but that we cannot imagine any conversion into starch in this case, follows from the previously mentioned. cir- cumstance, that the cellulose does not undergo this change even after complete solution, but may be pricipipatedl with all its pro- | perties by salt. Summing up what: has been stated, it becomes evident that the blue coloration of cellulose by iodine by no means furnishes proof that the former is wholly or partly converted into starch, but that its blue colour depends solely upon the circumstance that cellulose absorbs simultaneously iodine and. a_ sufficient quantity of water, while, with a smaller absorption of ‘water, the red tints are produced. Just as we are able to impart a pure blue colour to cellulose saturated with iodine by merely adding water, we can, on the other hand, by suitable operations, impart to the starch-grains the property of becoming coloured red, and not blue; with iodine. And in this case the red-or blue colour depends, not upon the quantity of iodine which we incorporate with the starch, but. upon the water contained in the latter. If. we place potato-stareh: in water, in which it is well known to become rapidly saturated, its grains begin to assume colour with the addition of a minimum of iodine; but: if, little iodine is applied, so that only part of the grains are coloured, and these very slightly, no red colour is produced, but the colour, if not bright, is still decidedly blue: Very different’ results ensue from adding an excess of iodine to the starch, allowing at the same time only slight absorption of water. If, for example, we place dry potato-starch in a solution of cane-sugar concen- trated to the crystallizing poimt (which, from its great power of attracting water from organic bodies, gives very little water 252 H. von Mohl on the supposed Existence to the starch-grains), and add tincture of iodine, the starch- grains do not become blue, but are coloured various tints, from bright wine-red to violet. The colours change to blue directly water is applied. The same result is obtained when dried potato- starch is placed in absolute alcohol, a considerable quantity of iodine dissolved in this, and water dropped in carefully and with frequent agitation, until the starch-grains are coloured: their colour will be from reddish to deep violet, but none will appear blue. A greater addition of water at once brings out the blue colour. Analogous phenomena are displayed during the action of chloro-iodide of zine upon dry starch. The latter is capable of abstracting water from the solution, and gradually becomes strongly swollen up through the influence of chloride of zine. But this process requires much time; and the outermost layer of the granules especially opposes at first a resistance to the expansion. Hence the grains appear at first brown-red, like dry starch-grains saturated with iodine ; subsequently this colour changes while they swell up (which often occurs irregularly and partially), into a bright blue. If, however, the quantity of the starch in proportion to the chloride of zine solution is great, and, after complete swelling-up, forms with it a very tough,. dense, and glutinous mass, the bright blue colour changes in the course of twenty-four or thirty-six hours, during the swell- ing-up and while the toughness of the mass increases, into a fine purple-red. If water is now added without fresh iodine, the colour changes rapidly into blue. Here evidently, at the commencement of the swelling-up of the grains, the quantity of water in the zine solution is sufficient to supply the half-swollen granules with enough water for the production of the blue colour, while with the increasing expansion of the starch-grains it becomes again insufficient, and thus the blue colour is brought back to red. If I have rightly comprehended the above-described phzeno- mena, the reaction of cellulose and starch with iodine, far from being the only test by which to distinguish them, affords, on the contrary, a character of no value for distinguishing between the two chemical compounds. Strictly speaking, Nageli did not regard the colour which the said substances take with iodine as the only distinction between them ; for he mentions as a second the circumstance that cellu- lose withstands solvents more strongly than starch, while starch- grains, on account of the cellulose they contain, are caused to swell up and dissolve with more difficulty than pure starch would be (p. 193). This statement is certainly true im respect to most solvents, and the complete insolubility of cellulose in water must of Cellulose in Starch-grains. 253 above all be brought forward as a distinctive character ; it is, however, not universally valid. Ammoniated oxide of copper dissolves purified cellulose very quickly ; but, so far as my ex- perience goes, it is quite incapable of dissolving a starch-grain, only causing it to swell up. Another solvent for cellulose, which cannot dissolve starch, is the ferment in putrefying potatoes, discovered by Mitscherlich. Niageli thinks the action of this upon cellulose must be attributed to its setting up decomposition in the proteine substances contained in the cell-membranes, and carrying this over to the cellulose, while, as the starch con- tains no proteine, it does not become decomposed. It is pro- bable that this may be the true explanation ; but, before we can admit it as correct, it must be proved by comparative observa- tions on the action of this ferment upon purified cellulose and starch. I have no experience on this point. If we agree with Nageli m regarding that portion of the starch-grain insoluble in saliva as cellulose, we may name a number of other substances which dissolve cellulose but not starch-grains. In any case, it is a partial view to deduce the insolubility or the difficult solubility of starch-grains from the insolubility of the substance insoluble in saliva contained in them, since, on the other hand, this latter substance in a puri- fied condition is very readily dissolved by many materials, while in the starch-grain it is prancetees from their solvent action by its combination with starch. From what is above related, I find it impossible to admit that Niageli has conceived the distinctions between cellulose and starch according to nature ; still less am I convinced that he has arrived at proof of the view that the substance left of the-starch- grains after the removal of the soluble part by saliva is identical with cellulose. The following facts will show that this substance behaves differently, with a number of reagents, from purified cellulose. The grounds upon which Nageli here rests lie especially in the reaction of this substance with iodine (p. 186), its assuming a copper-red or red-brown colour with aqueous solution of iodine, tincture of iodine, or iodide of zinc, and a blue colour when dried up with tincture of iodine and wetted with water, or treated with iodine and sulphuric acid. The characters certainly indicate a great similarity to cellulose. I may mention, as a further agreement, that ammoniated oxide of copper dissolves both substances. But let us look at the differences. In regard to physical properties, it must be observed that the substance of starch-grains is very brittle, while pure cellulose is perceptibly tough ; further, that, as above-stated, the two sub- stances act in opposite ways on polarized light. 254 H. von Mohl on Cellulose in Starch-grains. In reference to the chemical reactions, I met with the follow- ing distinctions, in detailing which I shall, for the sake of bre- vity, simply use the terms starch-grains and cellulose, without especially mentioning that in each case I refer to starch-grains exhausted by saliva, and cellulose purified by Schulze’s method. Solution of caustic potash dissolves the starch-grains suddenly; cellulose swells up in it, but remains undissolved after many hours. Solution of chloride of zine and iodine, when concentrated, dis- solves starch-grains instantly into a brownish-red fluid ; cellulose does not swell perceptibly in it, and resists solution for days. Ammoniated oxide of copper, to which so much carbonate of ammonia has been added that it will no longer act upon cellu- lose, dissolves the starch-grains instantly ; when still more car- bonate of ammonia is added, the starch is no longer dissolved. Ammoniated oxide of nickel dissolves the starch-grains in- stantly ; but cellulose is insoluble in it. Nitric acid dissolves the starch-grains instantly ; but cellulose bears long boiling in this acid mixed with chlorate of potash. Hydrochloric acid dissolves the starch-grains immediately ; cellulose is not perceptibly attacked by this acid. Among these diversities, the different behaviour with polarized light forms the sharpest contrast; the other differences might be regarded rather as gradual, since they all agree in showing that the substance contained in the starch-grains is soluble in a number of media in which cellulose is only slightly or not at all soluble. Hence a question might be raised whether these diver- sities were sufficiently great to warrant the conclusion that the substance of the starch-grains is different from cellulose. In regard to this it must be fully borne in mind, in reference to the distinctions between the two substances relating to their solubility in many of the media named, especially in ammoniacal oxide of nickel, chloro-iodide of zinc, nitric and hydrochloric acids, that I tested the behaviour with these media of purified cellulose derived from a considerable number of plants which exhibited no important differences whatever in the behaviour of the membranes; so that these differences are as constant and striking as the difference between the various kinds of sugar. If therefore we desire to distinguish from one another the hydrates of carbon of which the organic structures of plants are composed, by such reactions, there is abundant ground against ranging the substance of starch-grains exhausted of starch with cellulose, and for giving it a proper name (say farinose). How- ever, I will not in this respect forestall the chemists, before whom the whole matter must come for definitive settlement. Tiibingen, February, 1859. Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madetran Spiders. 255 XXVI.—Descriptions of newly-discovered Spiders captured by James Yate Johnson, Esq., in the Island of Madeira. By Joun Buiackwatt, F.L.S. Tue spiders here described were comprised in an extensive and very interesting collection of Arachnida made in the Island of Madeira, in the year 1858, by James Yate Johnson, Esq., who transmitted the whole to me for examination, kindly permitting me to describe such species as might appear to be new to science. Tribe Octonoculina. Family Drassip 2%. Genus Ciusiona, Latr. Clubiona albidula. Length of the female ths of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax ,3,; breadth +45; breadth of the abdomen ¢; length of an anterior leg }; length of a leg of the third pair 7%. The eyes are nearly equal in size, and are disposed in two transverse rows on the anterior part of the cephalothorax, the anterior row being situated immediately above its frontal mar- gin ; the intermediate eyes of both rows form a trapezoid, whose anterior side is rather the shortest, and those of each lateral pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle. The cephalothorax is oval, convex, glossy, depressed before, and broadly rounded in front ; it is of a pale, dull yellowish colour, faintly tinged with red in the region of the eyes, and has an obscure soot-coloured band extending along the middle, from which an oblique line of the same hue passes on each side of the cephalic region. The falces are powerful, conical, vertical, and of a red-brown colour. The maxillz are straight, and enlarged and rounded at the extremity : the lip is longer than broad, and truncated at its apex. These organs have a yellowish-brown hue, the lip being much the brownest. The sternum is oblong, heart-shaped, with minute prominences on the sides, opposite to the legs: the legs are slender and provided with hairs and fine sessile spines ; the first pair is the longest, then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is termimated by two curved, pectinated claws, below which there is a small scopula. These parts, with the palpi, have a very pale yellowish hue. The abdomen is ovi- form, convex above, and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is thinly clothed with short hairs, and of a yellowish-white colour; the margin of the sexual organs forms an oval opening posteriorly, and has a dark reddish-brown hue. ‘This Clubiona was found among plants brought from the mountains in the vicinity of Estreito. 256 Mr.J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. Clubiona decora. Length of the female ,°,ths of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax ;!,, breadth ;4,; breadth ef the abdomen ,’, ; length of a posterior leg }; length of a leg of the third pair ;5,. The cephalothorax is oval, thinly clothed with hairs, convex, glossy, with a slight, narrow indentation in the medial line, and is of a brownish-yellow colour. The eyes are disposed in two transverse rows on the anterior part of the cephalothorax, and are nearly equal in size; the anterior row, which is the shorter, is situated immediately above the frontal margin, and the two intermediate eyes of the posterior row are wider apart than they are from the lateral eyes of the same row. The falces are powerful, conical, and rather prominent : the maxillz are straight, and greatly enlarged and rounded at the extremity: the lip is long, truncated and slightly hollowed at the apex, and its sides are nearly parallel. These organs have a red-brown hue, the maxille being the palest. The sternum is oval, with small eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs: the legs are mo- derately long, and are provided with hairs and sessile spines ; the fourth pair is the longest, then the second, and the first and third pairs are equal in length; each tarsus is terminated by two curved, minutely pectinated claws, and below them there is a small scopula. These parts, with the palpi, which are short, have a pale, dull yellowish hue. The abdomen is of an oblong oviform figure, moderately convex above, and projects very little over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is clothed with fine, silky, whitish hairs, and of a yellow-white colour; a band extends from the anterior extremity of the upper part, along the middle, fully one-third of its length, and is succeeded by a row of minute spots, which terminates at the coccyx; on each side of the pos- terior part there is a large patch composed of confluent oblique streaks, and there are two minute spots on each side of the spinners, and two below them; the band, spots, and patches are of a dark-brown colour ; the sexual organs are moderately deve- loped, and have a red-brown hue. The male is smaller than the female, but the colours and the design formed by their distribution are similar in both sexes. The radial joint of the palpi is rather larger than the cubital joint, and projects a pointed apophysis from its extremity, on the outer side; the digital joint is oval, convex and hairy exter- nally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs ; these organs are moderately developed, not very complex in structure, with a black filiform spine which, originating near the middle of their inner side, curves round their extremity to the outer side, and are of a red-brown colour. Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. 257 Specimens of this Clubiona were taken among plants growing in a garden 200 feet above the level of the sea. Clubiona virgulata. Length of the female 4,ths of an inch ; length of the cephalo- thorax ;/,; breadth ;,; breadth of the abdomen ;; length of a posterior leg z/;; length of a leg of the third pair }. The eyes, which are nearly equal in size, are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two nearly straight trans- verse rows, the anterior row, which is the shorter, being situated immediately above the frontal margin; the intermediate eyes of both rows almost form a square, the anterior side being slightly the shortest, and the lateral eyes are rather the largest of the eight. The cephalothorax is convex, glossy, compressed before, aud rounded on the sides, which are marked with furrows con- verging towards a slight narrow indentation in the medial line: the falces are conical, rather prominent, and armed with a few teeth on the inner surface: the maxille are straight, convex near the base, and somewhat enlarged and rounded at the extremity : the lip is nearly quadrate, the base being rather broader than the apex: the sternum is heart-shaped, with small eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs; the legs are long, provided with - hairs and fine sessile spines, and. each tarsus is terminated by two curved, pectinated claws. These parts, with the palpi, are of a yellow-brown colour, the lateral margins of the cephalo- thorax having a yellowish-white, and the space between the two rows of eyes a brown hue. The abdomen is of an oblong ovi- form figure, moderately convex above, and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax; it is clothed with short hairs, and of a pale yellow-brown colour; a dark-brown band, which is palest in the medial line, extends from the anterior extremity of the upper part, along the middle, more than one-third of its length; this band tapers to its posterior extremity, on each side of which there is an oblong spot of the same hue; to these suc- ceed three oblique dark-brown bars situated on each side of the medial line, whose enlarged outer extremities coalesce; and between these bars and the spinners there is a longitudinal row of minute contiguous spots of the same colour; the sexual organs are well developed, with a longitudinal septum in the middle, and have a dark red-brown hue. ae Specimens of this species were discovered under stones ‘near Funchal. Genus CiorHo, Walck. Clotho lepida. Length of the female th of an inch ; length of the cephalo- Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 17 258 Mr. J. Blackwall on-new species of Madeiran Spiders. thorax ;4,; breadth 1; ; breadth of the abdomen +';; length of a posterior leg 2%, ; length of a leg of the third pair 4. The cephalothorax is oval, convex, glossy, pointed in front, and without an indentation in the medial line: the falces are short, conical, vertical, and somewhat divergent at the extremity : the maxille are enlarged and convex at the base, rounded at the extremity, and curved towards the lip, which is triangular; and the sternum is oval, with minute eminences on the sides, oppo- site to the legs: the legs are moderately long, and provided with hairs and fine spines; the fourth pair is the longest, then the first, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by two curved, pectinated claws, and below them there is a small scopula. These parts, with the palpi, which are inserted near the middle of the outer side of the maxille, are of a dull yellow colour, the sternum, which has some long dark-brown hairs on its margin, being the palest. The abdomen is oviform, convex * above, and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is clothed with short hairs, and the upper part is of a pale red colour; the under part has a yellowish-white hue, faintly tinged with red; the sexual organs, which are not highly deve- loped, are of a pale red-brown colour; the spinners have a pale haynes hue, and the two inferior ones are terminated y long soot-coloured papille. The eyes are closely grouped on the anterior part of the cephalothorax; four forma straight transverse row immediately above the frontal margin, which is fringed with long hairs, the two intermediate ones being the largest of the eight; the other four are placed in pairs directed obliquely inwards, behind each lateral eye of the front row; the three lateral eyes are near to each other, and form a short, slightly curved line whose sprit is directed outwards, and the posterior eye of each has an oval figure. An adult female of this species was taken in a house among specimens of fossils. It appears to be most nearly allied to the Enyo amaranthina of M. Lucas, but differs from it in various particulars. , Family AGELENIDA. Genus Trextrix, Sundevall. Textriz obscura. Length of the female, not including the spinners, ths of an inch ; length of the cephalothorax 4; breadth 4; breadth of the abdomen ;3;; length of a posterior leg .%; length of a leg of the third pair 2. The legs are moderately long, provided with hairs and spines, and are of a red-brown colour; the fourth pair is the longest, and the other three pairs are equal in length, though, from being Mr. J.‘Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. 259 articulated to broader parts of the cephalothorax, the third ap- pears to be longer than the second, and the second longer than the first; each tarsus is terminated by three claws; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base. The palpi resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. The cephalothorax is large, elongated, much compressed before, and rounded and depressed on the sides, which are marked with furrows converging towards a narrow indentation in the medial line ; it is thinly clothed with hairs, glossy, and of a dark-brown colour tinged with yellow along the middle; the immediate re- gion of the eyes is the darkest, and a fine, longitudinal, brownish- black line oecurs on the lateral margins. The falees are powerful, conical, vertical, convex at the base in front, armed with teeth on the mner surface, and have a very dark-brown hue. The maxillz are enlarged and rounded at the extremity, and slightly curved towards the lip, which is nearly quadrate, being rather broader at the base than at the apex; and the sternum is heart- shaped. These parts are of a yellowish-brown colour, the base of the lip being the darkest. The eyes are disposed on the - anterior part of the cephalothorax in two transverse, curved rows, having their convexity directed forwards; the four consti- tuting the anterior row, which is slightly curved, are near to each other, and minute, the two intermediate ones being the smallest ; and those of the posterior row, which is much curved, are larger and wider apart, the two intermediate ones being the largest of the eight. The abdomen is oviform, hairy, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is of a brown colour densely freckled with black, the under part being the palest, and along the middle of the upper part an obscure series of yellowish-white angular lines extends, which have their extremities enlarged and their vertices directed forwards; the spinners have a brown hue, and the two superior ones are tri- articulate, much longer than the rest, and have the spinning- tubes disposed on the inferior surface of the terminal joint ; the sexual organs are highly developed, rather prominent, and of a red-brown colour. Specimens of Texirix obscura were found among stones in the neighbourhood of Funchal. Family THeripiip2. Genus TuEripion, Walck. Theridion luteolum. Length of the female ;3,ths of an inch ; length of - cephalo- 260 Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. thorax ;4,; breadth ;/,; breadth of the abdomen ;},; length of an anterior leg 3; length of a leg of the third pair ,%. The eyes are seated on black spots, and are closely grouped on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two transverse rows ; the four intermediate ones form a square, the two anterior ones, which are placed on a tubercle, being the smallest and darkest of the eight; the eyes of each lateral pair are seated on a tu- bercle, and are contiguous. The cephalothorax is short, convex, glossy, compressed before, and rounded on the sides, which are marked with slight furrows converging towards a large indenta- tion in the medial line: the falces are slender, conical, and ver- tical: the maxille are obliquely truncated at the extremity, on the outer side, and are inclined towards the lip, which is tri- angular but rounded at the apex: the sternum is heart-shaped : the legs are long, slender, and provided with hairs; the first pair is the longest, then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by three claws; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base: the palpi have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity : the abdomen is oviform, thinly clothed with hairs, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalo- thorax. This spider is entirely of a pale, dull yellowish colour, the falces having a faint tinge of red. An immature female of this species was discovered on a piece of wood in a house. Genus Latropectvus, Walck. Latrodectus distinctus. Length of the female ith of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax ;'; ; breadth ;4,; breadth of the abdomen 74; length of an anterior leg 3; length of a leg of the third pair ,°,. The cephalothorax is oval, convex, particularly in the cephalic region, glossy, with slight furrows on the sides, which converge towards a large indentation in the medial line: the falces are conical and vertical; the maxille are obliquely truncated at the extremity, on the outer side, and inclined towards the lip, which is broad and semicircular: the sternum is heart-shaped: the legs are long and provided with hairs; the first pair is the. longest, then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by three claws; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base: the palpi are short, and have a small, curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. These parts are of a dull yellowish- brown colour; the extremity of the falces is faintly tinged with red, and a fine black line extends along each lateral margin of Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. 261 the cephalothorax. The eyes, which are seated on black spots, are disposed in two transverse, nearly straight rows on the an- terior part of the cephalothorax; the four intermediate. ones form a square, the two anterior ones, which are placed on a tubercle, being the smallest and darkest of the eight ; the eyes of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a tubercle, ‘and are near to each other. The abdomen is oviform, thinly clothed with hairs, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalo- thorax; it is of a dull black hue, the under part being tinged with brown, and has a curved band at the anterior extremity of the upper part, a row of four spots in the medial line, which diminish in size as they approach the spinners, the first having a semicircular form, two spots opposite each extremity of the curved band, and four others on each side, the two intermediate ones being oblong, oblique, and nearly in contact; these spots and the curved band have a yellowish-white colour ; a whitish line extends along each side of the under part to the spinners, which lines, with the coccyx, have a pale yellow-brown hue, that of the branchial opercula being yellowish white. This Latrodectus, which, by the disposition of its eyes and the structure of its oral apparatus, makes a near approach to the Theridia, was captured among herbage growing on the Fossil- bed, at an elevation of 200 feet above the level of the sea. Family LinyPHiip#. Genus Linyputa, Latr. Linyphia Johnsoni. Length of the female jth of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax ;';; breadth 1; breadth of the abdomen ;/, ; length of an anterior leg 5%; length of a leg of the third pair }. The eyes, which are unequal in size, are seated on black spots on the anterior part of the cephalothorax ; the four intermediate ones form a trapezoid whose anterior side is much the shortest, and those of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a small tubercle, and are contiguous ; the posterior eyes of the trapezoid, which are seated on a tubercle, are much the largest, and the anterior ones rather the smallest of the eight. The cephalo- thorax is oval, convex, glossy, with an indentation in the medial line ; it is of a dull yellowish-brown colour, with a broad, longi- tudinal, black band in the middle, and another of the same hue extending along each lateral margin. The falces are long, powerful, conical, vertical, armed with teeth on the inner sur- face, and of a yellowish-brown colour faintly tinged with red at the extremities, which are rather divergent. The maxille are 262 Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. strong, straight, and somewhat quadrate, having the exterior angle at the extremity curvilinear ; and the lip is semicircular and prominent at the apex. ‘These organs are of a dark-brown hue, with yellowish-brown extremities. The sternum is heart- shaped, and of a brown-black colour. The legs are long, slender, provided with hairs and fine spines, and have a yellowish-brown hue, with a small dark-brown annulus at the extremity of the tibize and metatarsi; the first pair is the longest, then the se- cond, and the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is termi- nated by three claws; the two superior ones are eurved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base. The palpi are slender, and resemble the legs in colour. The abdo- men is oviform, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is sparingly clothed with hairs, and of a dull yellowish-brown colour faintly tinged with olive-green, and freckled with white on the upper part; a brownish-black line, slightly ramified at its posterior extremity, extends along the middle, and a broad, irregular, longitudinal band of the same hue, bounded both above and below by a parallel white band, the latter of which is much the more conspicuous, occurs on the upper part of each side; these brownish-black bands meet above the spmners, and a broad band of the same hue extends along the middle of the under part. I have dedicated this Linyphia, which was taken in the vici- nity of Funchal, to James Yate Johnson, Esq., resident in Ma- deira, to whom I am indebted for opportunities of inspecting numerous highly interesting specimens of Araneidea from that island and the Dezertas. Family Epriripz. Genus Eprira, Walck. Epeira.diversa. Length of the female 4th of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax ;1,; breadth ;4,; breadth of the abdomen 4; length of an anterior leg ;4,; length of a leg of the third pair 1. The legs are moderately long and provided with hairs; the first pair is the longest, then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest: each tarsus is terminated by three claws; the two superior ones are curyed and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base; the palpi are short, and have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity: the cephalothorax is convex, glossy, slightly compressed before, and rounded on the sides, which are marked with furrows converging towards a large in- dentation in the medial line. These parts have a yellow-brown hue ; the cephalothorax, which is the darkest, has narrow, dark- Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. 263 brown, lateral margins, and the legs are marked with a few brown spots and annuli. The falces are powerful, conical, ver- tical, and armed with a few teeth on the inner surface: the maxille are straight, and somewhat enlarged and rounded at the extremity. These organs are of a red-brown colour, the maxille being the paler.. The lip is semicircular, and the sternum is heart-shaped: both have a dark-brown hue, the lip being the darker. The eyes, which are nearly equal in size, are seated on black spots on the anterior part of the cephalothorax; the four intermediate ones form a square, the two anterior ones being placed on.a tubercle, and those of each lateral pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle, and are contiguous. The abdo- men is short, broad, ovate, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax; it is thinly clothed with hairs, and has on the upper part a large and somewhat oval figure, with sinuous margins bordered with black, the two posterior lobes of which are the most prominent; it is of a dark greyish-brown colour, densely freckled with minute white spots; the undula- tions of the black margins are followed by an imperfectly-defined whitish band; and a white spot, whose posterior extremity is somewhat bifid, occurs in the medial line of the anterior part of the large oval figure; the sides and a broad space above the spinners are of a greyish-brown colour, thickly freckled with dull white, a brownish-black band extending along the anterior part of the former, and a fine streak of the same hue occupying the medial line of the latter; the under part has a greyish-brown hue freckled with dull white; a broad brown-black band, bor- dered laterally with white and freckled with yellowish white, extends along the middle, and two black and white spots, dis- posed alternately, are situated on each side of the spinners ; the sexual organs are moderately developed, and of a dark red-brown colour. Adult females of this species, which is remarkable in having the fourth pair of legs longer than the second pair, were dis- covered among herbage growing on the Fossil-bed. Epeira hortensis. Length of the male th of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax ;!,; breadth #5; breadth of the abdomen +, ; length of an anterior leg}; length of a leg of the third pair }. The cephalothorax is moderately convex, compressed before, rounded on the sides, and has an indentation in the medial line ; it is clothed with hoary hairs, and of a red-brown colour, with an irregular black band on each side, extending from the lateral eye about two-thirds of its length; these bands are much the narrowest at their anterior extremity, and each projects an an- 264 Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. gular point from its inner margin towards the medial line. The falees are slender, conical, vertical, and of a yellowish-red hue, with a dark-brown spot at the extremity, towards the outer side. The maxille are short, straight, powerful, and enlarged and rounded at the extremity ; and the lip is semicircular, but some- what pointed at the apex. These organs have a dark-brown hue, with pale yellowish-brown extremities. The sternum is heart-shaped, with small eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs; it is of a brown-black colour, with a broad, yellowish- white band extending along the middle, which projects two points from each side into the dark margins. The eyes are seated on black spots on the anterior part of the cephalothorax ; the four intermediate ones form a square, the two anterior ones being placed on a tubercle, and the eyes of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a minute tubercle and are contiguous, the anterior one being the smallest of the eight. The abdomen is oviform, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalo- thorax; the upper part is clothed with whitish silky hairs, and is freckled with dull yellow at its anterior extremity, near which there are four minute spots forming a curved transverse row whose convexity is directed backwards, the two intermediate ones being the smallest ; a minute spot, followed by two streaks, occurs on each side of the medial line, to which succeeds a transverse curved row of very minute spots whose convexity is directed upwards; these spots and streaks have a brownish- black hue; the lower region of the sides and the under part are of a brown-black colour, a somewhat dentated yellowish-white band extending along each side of the latter; the branchial opercula are of a reddish-brown colour, and that of the spinners is yellowish-brown, the extremity of the superior pair having a brown-black hue on the upper surface. The legs are long, slender, and supplied with hairs and fine spines; the femora of the anterior pair are of a very dark-brown colour, that of the femora of the three other pairs being yellowish-brown ; all are tinged with red at the extremity, and the other joints have a red-brown hue; the femora of the third and fourth pairs have a longitudinal black line on their anterior surface, and the coxe of all the legs have a black spot on each side; the first pair is the longest, then the second, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by the customary number of claws of the usual structure. The palpi are short, and of a pale yel- low colour, with the exception of the digital jomt, which has a dark-brown hue tinged with red; the cubital and radial joints are short; the former projects a long bristle from its extremity in front, and the latter is produced and fringed with hairs on the inner side; the digital joint is oval, with a process at its Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madetran Spiders. 265 base curved outwards; it is convex and hairy externally, con- cave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are very highly developed, very prominent, with a strong, curved, black spine, connected with a membrane, near the middle, whose prominent point is directed outwards: the colour of these organs is red- brown. The digital jomts have their convex sides directed towards each other. The spider described above was captured among plants in a garden at an elevation of 200 feet above the level of the sea. Tribe Senoculina. Family DyspERipz. Genus Oonoprs, Templeton. Oonops concolor. Length of the female zzth of an inch; length of the cephalo- thorax 3/5 ; breadth + as 3 ‘breadth of the abdomen Sa; length of a posterior leg 7%; length of a leg of the third pair 2/y. _ The eyes are oval, and are closely grouped in pairs on a black spot at the anterior part of the cephalothorax: two pairs are placed laterally, the anterior eye of each being the largest and the posterior one much the smallest of the six; and the third pair is intermediate, the eyes which constitute it being in contact. The cephalothorax is oval, convex, glossy, and without an indenta- tion in the medial line. The falces are short, conical, and ver- tical. The maxille are convex near the base, obliquely trun- eated at the extremity, on the outer side, and inclined towards the lip, which is triangular. The sternum is heart-shaped and glossy, with slight eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs. The legs and palpi are moderately robust, and are provided with hairs; the fourth pair of legs is the longest, then the first, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by two curved, pectinated claws. The abdomen is oviform, de- pressed, glossy, thinly clothed with short hairs, and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax. This spider is entirely of a reddish-brown colour, the legs, palpi, and spinners, which are prominent, being the palest. The sexes resemble each other in colour; but the male is rather the smaller, and its palpi are very remarkable in strue- ture. Unfortunately the palpi of the only male in the collection were too much injured to be described with exactness ; the hu- meral joint appeared to be small, somewhat conical, and arti- culated by its apex to the cubital joint, which was large, very tumid, and convex at the base, and the radial and digital joints were small. 266 Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. Specimens of this minute spider were found in a house among loose papers. Genus Gcosrvus, Lucas. _ Hcobius navus. Length of the female, not including the spinners, ;/,th of an inch; length of the cephalothorax ;',; breadth 7,; breadth of the abdomen ,',; length of an anterior leg 4, ; length of a leg of the third pair ,5,. | The cephalothorax is circular, glossy, convex above, particu- larly in the cephalic region, with a large indentation in the me- dial line, and the frontal margin, which is produced, covers the base of the falces ; it is of a pale brownish-yellow colour, with a longitudinal brown-black band in the middle, whose anterior extremity is much the broadest, narrow black lateral margins, above each of which three spots of the same hue are disposed in a parallel row, and two black spots of a larger size situated in front. The falces are slender, subcylindrical, and vertical: the maxille are short, convex near the base, pointed at the extre- mity, and strongly inclined towards the lip, which is triangular : the sternum is short, broad, and heart-shaped: the legs are rather robust, provided with hairs, equal in length, and each tarsus is terminated by two curved, pectinated claws: the palpi, which are strong, somewhat pediform, and inserted near the middle of the outer side of the maxillee, have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. These parts are of a very pale brownish- yellow colour ; the sternum and maxille are the palest, and the base of the lip, a few spots on the palpi, and numerous annuli on the legs have a brownish-black hue. The abdomen is ovi- form, thinly clothed with hairs, convex above, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is of a pale yellowish-brown colour spotted with white on the upper part; there is a large eurved band at the anterior part, contiguous to the cephalo- thorax, whose bifid extremities extend to the sides; two minute spots, placed transversely, occur near the superior margin of the band, and are followed by angular lines forming a W, to which - succeed three triangular spots whose vertices are in contact, or nearly so, the anterior one being much the largest, and the sides are marked with spots ‘and oblique streaks; the band, spots, and streaks have a black hue; and a triangular space, conspi- cuously spotted with white, whose vertex touches the coccyx, is bordered with black ; the spinners are of a pale yellowish-brown colour; the two superior ones are long, triarticulate, and have the spimning-tubes arranged along the inferior surface of their terminal joint, which has a dark-brown hue on its superior surface ; and a short brownish-black streak, enlarged at its ante- Dr. E. F. Kelaart on new species of Ceylonese Mollusca. 267 rior extremity, passes from each side of the spinners to the under part. The eyes are grouped on the cephalic convexity ; the four anterior ones form a slightly curved transverse row, whose con- vexity is directed upwards, and the two intermediate ones are _ more distant from each other than from the lateral ones; the two posterior eyes are much the largest and darkest of the six ; they are wide apart, and are situated behind the lateral eyes of the anterior row, which are the smallest and lightest-coloured. Immature specimens of this species were discovered under stones in the neighbourhood of Funchal. If the equal length of the legs of this spider be a permanent character, and not attributable to its immaturity, the genus (icobius, in this parti- cular, will require to be amended. “XX VII.—On some additional Species of Nudibranchiate Mollusks from Ceylon. By H. F. Keraart, M.D. Doris Elizabethina, Kel. Body half an inch long. Mantle broad, spotted with purple on the back ; margin white, spotted with large light-blue spots. A row of crimson spots between the line of blue spots and the purple-coloured back. Under surface of mantle whitish, with a pink shade. Tentacles purplish brown, white-tipped, laminated. Branchiz six, small, bipinnated, of a grizzled grey colour. Foot whitish, upper surface crimson. Mouth with a small veil. This elegantly-coloured Doris was obtained in deep water near the Pearl Banks of Aripo. I have named it in compliment to one who takes more than an ordinary interest in my zoological pursuits. Doris Diardi, Kel. Small. Body 4rd of an inch long, spotted with blue. Mantle spotted with blue and white; margin lined with larger blue spots; under parts blue. Dorsal tentacles red, clavate, lami- nated. Branchie eight, short, pimnated; white, with a red margin. Foot blue; upper surface spotted with blue. Mouth surrounded by a bilobated veil. ; This very rare species was obtained by M. Diard of Java, during his late visit to the Pearl Banks of Aripo. He found it on a pearl-oyster shell from the Modregam Bank. I have named it in compliment to the able and distinguished discoverer (the pupil and friend of Cuvier and Lamarck), who was recently engaged in researches in Ceylon. 268 Dr. E. F. Kelaart on new species of Ceylonese Mollusca. © Doris Lockyerana, Kel. Body 34 inches long, brown. Mantle broad, oval, purplish brown, and figured with yellowish-brown irregular designs, like carpet-work. Under surface of mantle white, and macu- lated with large brown spots; a dark brown line runs near the white margin. Dorsal tentacles large, clavate, slightly truncated, laminated, of a pale red colour. Branchie six, pinkish, bipinnated. Foot purplish, shorter than the mantle. Oral tentacles short, pointed. Found in deep water, Pearl Banks of Aripo. I have named this splendid species in compliment to Major-General Lockyer, C.B., with whose approval my zoological services were secured by the Ceylon Government. Doris Tennentana, Kel. Body 1 inch long, white. Mantle white, with a faint bluish shade, and spangled with golden-coloured and purple spots. Margin cerulean blue. Dorsal tentacles clavate, purplish red, tipped with white, laminated. Branchial plumes red, nu- merous, 12 to 15, linear, bipinnated. Foot white, upper surface spotted with yellow. Oral tentacles white, with a yellow margin. Under surface of mantle white, with bluish reflexions. This beautiful species (allied to Doris preciosa) was obtained from the Cheval Paar Pearl Banks of Ceylon. I have named it in honour of Sir James Emerson Tennent, who, although long absent from Ceylon, continues to take great interest in the natural history of the island. Doris ariponensis, Kel. Body 13 inch long, pale purple. Mantle pale purple, spotted with black. Dorsal tentacles black, laminated. ‘Branchive black, 12 to 15, small, linear, bipinnated. Found in shallow water near the Doric, Aripo. Doris Humberti, Kel. Body 4rd of an inch long, white. Mantle spotted with purple and brown ; margin white, with a row of bright-red spots on the edge ; under parts white. Dorsal tentacles red, spotted with white, clavate, laminated. Branchiz nine, small, den- dritic or irregularly pinnated, red and spotted white. Foot white, a few red spots on the upper surface. Oral tentacles small, bluntly pointed. M. Humbert, Curator of the Museum of Geneva, found this Dr. E. F. Kelaart on new species of Ceylonese Mollusca. 269 very pretty species on an old oyster shell on the Pearl Banks of Aripo, during the fishery of 1859, when I had the pleasure of meeting him there. I have named it in honour of the discoverer, with whom I have spent many happy hours at Aripo. M. Humbert also found a small white Doris, with a black- or deep-blue-margined mantle. The creature was scarcely $th of an inch in length, and looked like the young of Doris Mac- carthiana, from its narrow mantle and exposed body. There is also a white species of Doris with a black edge to the mantle, described by Riippel. The following are other Nudibranchiate mollusks found in or near the Pearl Banks of Aripo, in the months of February, March, and April, 1858 :— Doris funebris, D. marmorata, D. grisea, D. atrata, D. rubra, Trevelyana, zeylanica, Pleurobranchus citrinus, Rippel. I have also found a species of Diphyllidia, which is provision- ally named . . Diphyllidia marmorata, Kel. Body 13 inch long, spotted with white. Mantle above yellowish brown, and marbled with darker brown or greenish brown. Tentacles slightly lamimated. Veil white, with a yellow mar- gin. Under parts of mantle greenish brown. Branchiz in- distinct, in longitudinal strize under the mantle. Foot white, longitudinally grooved in centre of posterior third. Genus Bornewia, Gray. Animal elongated. Dorsal tentacles retractile into branched sheaths. Head with stellate processes. Back with two rows of cylindrical, branched, gastric processes, to which small dendritic gills are attached. Foot very narrow. ‘Bornella Hancockana, Kel. Body 1 inch long, narrow, tapering, rounded on the back, and slightly flattened on the sides, Anterior half of an opake white, and posterior half of a light brown colour, reticulated _ with red throughout. Blackish viscera visible in some parts of the body and branchie. Tentacular sheaths longer than branchiz, and divided at their extremities into three or four tentacular or digitate processes similar to those of the bran- chie. Sheath coloured and reticulated as the body. Ten- tacles small, clavate, pointed, and slightly plumose, circularly laminated, of a pale yellowish colour. Head indistinct ; on each side a small cluster of short, unequal, tentacular pro- longations of a white colour, a few with a red ring near the 270 Mr. J.S. Baly on new Phytophagous Insects. extremity. Branchize compound, in four or five pairs on the sides of the body, the anterior ones bifurcated or trifurcated into papillose, conical, pointed processes; and on the inner side of the stem of each are two or three transparent, almost colourless, plumose and branched appendages. Stem coloured like the body; papille white, with subterminal crimson-red ring. Foot broad, tapering, canaliculated, white, pellucid. Ova yellow. This species combines some of the characters of a true Kolis with those of the new genus Dendronotus. The combination of plumose and papillose ramification of the branchiz is very cu- rious. The internal viscera correspond with those of the genus Dendronotus. I have named the species in honour of one who, with his associate Mr. Alder, has separated the arborescent forms of Eolidide from the old genus Tritonia. Eolis Skinneri, Kel. About 4 lines long; white. Dorsal tentacles opake white, with three granular rings. Oral tentacles long, with a subterminal reddish ring. Branchiz in five sets, of three or four papille in each; opake white, with a basal red ring. Found by Major Skinner, Auditor-General, on sea-weed near the South Gate, Fort of Colombo. XXVITI.—Descriptions of new Genera and Species of Phytopha- gous Insects. By J. 8. Bary, Esq. [Continued from p. 128. | Fam. Galerucide. Genus Diasrorica, Erichs. Diabrotica dimidiata. D. ovata, convexa, flavo-fulva, nitida, elytris vix ante medium ad apicem abdomineque ceeruleo-nigris; thorace subquadrato, vix pone medium. transverse sulcato ; unguibus piceis.—Long. 6 lin. Hab. Banks of the Napo. Diabrotica regalis. D. ovata, convexa, fulva, nitida; capite, pectore, scutello elytrisque nigris, his minute punctatis, a basi apicem versus ampliatis, mar- . gine exteriore maculisque decem fulvis, harum 4 ante, 4 vix pone medium, et 2 ante apicem positis; antennarum articulis tribus basalibus tribusque ultimis fulvis, ultimi apice nigro, articulis in- Mr.J.8. Baly on new Phytophagous Insects. = 271 termediis, tibiis tarsisque piceis; thorace subquadrato, convexo, basi unifoveolato.—Long. 43 lin. Hab. Columbia ? Diabrotica Clarkella. D. pallide rufo-brunnea, nitida; capite, thorace subquadrato elytris- que viridibus, his oblongo-ovatis, convexis, lateribus prope medium obsolete carinatis, tenuiter subcrebre punctatis, plaga magna trans- versa communi baseos rufo-brunnea, posticeque fascia communi arcuata flava, extrorsum abbreviata, instructis.—Long. 34 lin. Hab. Brazil. Diabrotica arcuata. D. elongata, pallide flava, nitida, tibiis, tarsis, pectore, scutello ca- piteque nigris ; antennarum articulis penultimis duobus articuli- que ultimi basi albidis; thorace latitudine paullo longiore, disco obsolete transverse bi-impresso ; elytris oblongis, convexis, a basi ad apicem leniter ampliatis, crebre punctatis, macula oblonga humerali, basi connexa, linea suturali longe ante medium abbre- ~ viata, fasciaque communi arcuata, pone medium posita, cyaneis.— Long. 43 lin. Hab. Bogota. Diabrotica exclamationis. D. elongata, nigra, nitida; elytrorum utrumque limbo laterali, vitta mediali postice abbreviata, punctoque subapicali, coxis, trochante- ribus femorumque basi, albidis; thoracis subquadrati lateribus oe articulis secundo tertioque obscure piceis.—Long. 3 lin. me Hab. Brazil. Diabrotica vespertina. D. fulva, nitida, capite nigro, antennarum articulis quatuor ultimis albidis ; thorace transverso, disco trasverse excavato et obsolete tri-impresso ; elytris ovatis, crebre punctatis, leete metallico-viri- dibus. (Mas.) Elytris apicem versus prope suturam carina arcuata, medio unituberculata, et cum illa elytri alteri spatium subelevatum minus punctatum includente, instructis.—Long. 4-5 lin. Hab. Bank of the Napo. Diabrotica Batesii. D. fulva, nitida, capite nigro, antennis piceis, harum articulis tribus ultimis albis, quatuor basalibus subtus fulvis ; thorace transverso, disco transverse depresso, utrinque impresso, rufo-fulvo, maculis duabus piceis ; elytris oblongis crebre punctatis, obseure-olivaceis, limbo exteriore fulvo. wee 272 Mr. J.S. Baly on new Phytophagous Insects. (Mas.) Elytris apicem versus prope suturam spatio semiovato elevato, minus crebre punctato instructis.—Long. 23-3 lin. Hab. Kiga, Upper Amazons. Collected by Mr. Bates. _ Diabrotica Erichsoni. D. fulva, nitida, capite (antennarum articulis quatuor ultimis preeter- missis) nigro ; elytris oblongis, crebre punctatis, subrugosis, utro- que vittis tribus obsolete elevato, plumbeis, margine leevi, fulvo ; thorace transverso, disco fortiter transverse bi-impresso, basi uni- foveolato. | (Mas.) Elytris apicem versus prope suturam carina oblonga nitida instructis, vittis obsoletis, antennarum articulis basalibus subtus fulvis, ultimi apice nigro.—Long. maris 5 lin., foem. 4 lin. Hab. Banks of the Napo. Diabrotica triplagiata. D. supra nigra, nitida, antennarum articulis tribus ultimis flavo- albidis, ultimi apice nigro, articulis ante apicem album _nigro- . piceis, quinque basalibus subtus fulvis; thorace transverso-qua- drato, disco transverse excavato, utrinque impresso, lateribus sinuatis, flavo margiuatis; scutello trigonato, apice subacuto ; elytris oblongis, tenuiter subcrebre punctatis, obsolete carinatis, flavis, plaga magna communi subquadrata, a basi ad medium ex- tensa, et utriusque macula postica obscure metallico-olivaceis ; subtus flava, tibiis extrorsum femorumque dorso piceo-lineatis. (Mas.) Elytris apicem versus prope suturam, carina brevi ele- vata instructis.— Long. 4—4} lin. Hab. Banks of the Napo. This species probably varies in having the posterior patches on the elytra confluent at the suture. : Diabrotica fraterna. D. supra nigra, nitida, thoracis lateribus antennisque flavis, his (ar- ticulis quatuor ultimis exceptis) dorso nigro-signatis; thorace tranverso, disce transverse fortiter sulcato, ante basin breviter transverse canaliculato, lateribus ante medium ampliatis; scu- tello elongato-trigonato, apice obtuse truncato ; elytris oblongis, tenuiter crebre punctatis, obscure metallico-olivaceis, limbo exte- riore fasciaque prope medium flavis ; subtus fusca, pedibus obscure fulvis, femoribus dorso, tibiisque extrorsum, nigris.—Long. 4 lin. Hab. Banks of the Napo. Diabrotica Adonis. D. nigra, nitida, antennarum articulis ultimis tribus, thorace trans- verso pedibusque flavo-albis ; his tarsis, tibiis quatuor anticis fere totis posticisque apice nigris; elytris oblongis, tenuiter crebre Mr.J.S. Baly on new Phytophagous Insects. 273 punctatis, cyaneis, limbo exteriore fasciaque lata centrali flavo- albidis; thorace fortiter transverse arcuatim sulcato, sulco obso- lete bi-impresso. | (Mas.) Elytris apicem versus prope suturam tuberculo oblongo instructis.—Long. 4 lin. Hab. Venezuela. Diabrotica ornata, D. flavo-fulva, nitida, capite nigro, unguibus antennisque piceis ; thorace rufo-fulvo, transverso, disco transverse depresso et utrin- que fortiter impresso, basi unifoveolato; elytris oblongis, crebre punctatis, metallico-viridibus, limbo exteriore fasciaque prope medium flavis; antennis albidis, articulis basalibus quatuor sub- tus, ultimisque quatuor totis, obscure flavis. (Mas.) Elytris apicem versus prope suturam carina arcuata instructis.—Long. maris 5, foem. 4 lin. Hab. Peru. Genus ipronycuis, Latr. Cidionychis Batesii. _., late ovata, convexa, obscure fusco-fulva, nitida; antennis (basi picea excepta) scutelloque nigris, unguibus posticis, vertice tho- raceque rufo-fulvis, hoc ante basin leniter transverse impresso, basi ipsa utrinque nigro marginata, lateribus late reflexis, fulvis ; elytris tenuiter punctatis, flavo-albis, maculis 13, seriebus trans- versis quatuor, 4—3—4—2 dispositis, nigro-ceeruleis ; tarsis, tibiis ad apicem femorumque dorso, pallide piceis.—Long. 42 lin. Hab. Kga, Upper Amazons. CEdionychis bilimbata. CE. late ovata, fulva, nitida, antennis (basi excepta), vertice scutello- que nigris; elytris crebre punctatis, rufo-testaceis, margine exte- riore flavo, basi infra humeros, vittaque submarginali, postice at- tenuata, cyaneis.—Long. 33-5 lin. Hab. Brazil. CEdionychis bella. (, ovata, nitido-nigra, facie inferiore utrinque flavo-maculata, abdo- minis margine thoraceque rufo-fulvis ; elytris tenuiter punctatis, margine exteriore, apice dilatato, lineaque transversa submaculari- formi prope medium, sutura abbreviata, flavis.—Long. 4 lin. Hab. Peru. Cidionychis tetraspilota. di. ovata, nigra, nitida, thoracis lateribus albidis ; elytris metallico- purpureis, tenuissime punctatis, utroque maculis duabus magnis, una prope medium, altera apice, positis, flavo-albis—Long. 33 lin. Hab. Brazil. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. iv. 18 274: Mr.J.8. Baly on new Phytophagous Insects. Cdionychis bifasciata. @. elongato-ovata, fulva, nitida, antennis (basi excepta) femorumque posticorum apice nigris ; supra flava, elytrorum fasciis latis duabus, extrorsum abbreviatis, una basi, altera pone medium, positis, nitido- metallico-ceeruleis.—-Long. 34 lin. Hab. Amazons. ; Cidionychis ornata. G. elongato-ovata, fusco-fulva, pedibus antennisque piceis, supra albidis, vertice nigro; elytris indistincte punctatis, nitidissimo- cupreis, margine exteriore fasclisque duabus, harum una vix ante medium, altera prope apicem, sutura abbreviata, albidis.—Long. 3% lin. | Var. A. Antennis pedibusque anterioribus quatuor, nigris, _ Hab. Guatemala, Amazons, Cayenne. Var., Venezuela, Cidionychis Sallét. di. subovata, pallide flava, nitida, capite, antennarum apice scutello- que nigris; elytris oblongis, crebre tenuiter punctatis, plaga magna discoidali, a basi fere ad apicem extensa, margineque laterali, pos- tice abbreviato, ceeruleo-nigris; antennarum articulis basalibus quatuor supra, tarsisque fuscis.—Long. 3 lin. Hab. Mexico. | Cidionychis semifasciata. @. ovata, flavo-albida, nitida, corpore subtus antennisque nigris, capite rufo-fusco, nigro-maculato; margine laterali indistincte, basi extrema fasciisque duabus, utrinque abbreviatis, harum prima pone medium, secunda flexuosa, prope apicem posita, pallide rufo-brunneis ; tibiis tarsisque posticis nigro-piceis.—Long. 4 lin. Hab. Brazil. Cidionychis quadrivitiata. di. ovata, fulva, antennis extrorsum nigris; elytris ovatis, tenuiter crebre punctatis, margine complanato modice dilatato, utroque vittis duabus, a basi fere ad apicem extensis, apice confluentibus, rufo-brunneis.— Long. 5 lin. Hab. Brazil. CEdionychis trivittata. (@. oblonga, convexa, pallide picea, nitida, supra (capite excepto) fulva, thorace elytrisque crebre punctatis, his sutura et utroque vitta discoidali a basi fere ad apicem extensa, rufo-fuscis.—Long. 42 lin. Hab. Brazil. (Edionychis submarginata. 2. ovata, nigro-picea, nitida, facie inferiore, thorace elytrisque punctatis, albidis, illo maculis duabus disco. transverse positis, Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Digestive Power in the Actinie. 275. his sutura vittaque submarginali, nigris; antennis nigris, articulis - basalibus obscure piceis.— Long. 3} lin. Hab. Brazil. Cdionychis virginella, @. oblongo-ovata, nitido-fusco-fulva, tibiis tarsisque posticis, pedibus quatuor anticis antennisque rufo-fuscis, thorace elytrisque albidis, his subrectis, leevibus, obsolete punctulatis.—Long. 33 lin. Hab. San Paulo, Brazil. XXIX.—On Digestive Power in the Actinie. By E. W. H. Hoxipsworrn, F.L.S. &c. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, Mr. G. H. Lewes having recently published, in ‘Seaside Studies,’ his views of the digestive powers of the Actinia, criti- cism becomes allowable; I therefore propose to offer a few remarks on the subject, and to relate my observations made during a long course of study of these animals. If I cannot always agree with Mr. Lewes, still I have no wish to depreciate the value of his researches ; and my sole object in stating what I have observed is to aid in the settlement of the point in dispute. i In ‘ Seaside Studies,’ page 207, will be found the brief query —Do the Actiniz digest at all?? Mr. Lewes then proceeds to give his definition of digestion, and concludes by saying,— “Thus we see that solubility and transformation are the two digestive effects, to produce which two agencies are needful— the mechanical and chemical.” The first is the one adopted by the author as the sole means of preparing the food for assimila- tion in the Actinia. . In order to test the accuracy of this opinion, it will be desir- able to notice what takes place when these polypes are fed. Any one who has healthy specimens in an aquarium can easily try the experiment, and will observe something like the follow- ing process :— 3 A piece of meat, of suitable size, after being conveyed to the mouth of the polype, is taken into the membranous tube, gene- rally considered as the stomach, where it remains for a few mi- nutes only, and sometimes barely stops there; it then passes into the general cavity of the body, and finally rests at its lowest et The animal now fills itself with water until every part is istended to the utmost, and in this state it continues for several hours, not unfrequently for two days, the average time perhaps 18* 276 Mr. BE. W. H. Holdsworth on Digestive Power in the Actinia. being about twenty hours. Whilst in this condition, some spe- cies become sufficiently transparent to enable us to discern a great part of their internal structure; and a vertical view of the polype shows the stomach suspended like a single flat membrane from the oral disk. On looking through the sides of the animal, the food may be observed at the bottom of the great cavity— usually in the centre, sometimes a little on one side—and rest- ing on the edges of the converging septa. In this position it stays until whatever part of it is not required by the polype is finally returned through the mouth. I shall presently refer to the condition of the rejected portion; but I may now inquire in which part of the animal, during the above process, does the mechanical operation take place that Mr. Lewes states is the only one by which the food is prepared for assimilation? It cannot be in the cavity of the body, for that is fully and rigidly distended with water whilst the food is within it; so that no pressure from mutual contact of the membranous septa can be exerted to extract the juices of the meat. The only timé when such an agency can be employed is during the first passage of the food through the stomach, or subsequently on its return. In either case, the operation would only last for a very few mi- nutes; and undoubtedly some pressure may be exercised during the process of regurgitation, as the rejected food must find its way upwards from the large gastric cavity into the free open extremity of the membranous stomach—a proceeding very much like that of getting out of a flexible lobster-pot : the contortions the polype sometimes makes whilst this is going on show the difficulty it labours under; however, it is soon over, and the morsel is ejected,—but in what condition? Is it in a state that can be accounted for by mechanical action only ? It may be here mentioned that I have various species of Ac- tinié that have been in my possession for periods ranging from six months to as many years; and as they are generally fed once a week, and for the most part on partially cooked beef, frequent opportunities are afforded me for observing the results of feeding these animals on substantial food. I find, then, that the remains of the meat are returned in on of three conditions, viz. : ; 1. Unaltered in shape, the muscular fibre intact, but with the appearance of having undergone simple maceration in sea-water, and enlarged rather than contracted in size. 2. In a rounded mass, reduced in size, not only from being rolled into a ball, but also in consequence of a partial solution of its substance; the muscular striz faintly visible. 3. In the form of minute particles, whose aggregate bulk frequently does not equal one-fiftieth part of the original piece. Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Digestive Power in the Actinie, 277 Some of these particles, when submitted.to a magnifying power of 450 diameters, occasionally exhibit definite structure ; but usually they are all homogeneous in their composition, and show no trace of muscular strie or distinct fibre. In the first two cases the remains are enveloped in a tenacious glairy mucus, proving them to have been ejected from the po- lype; in the third condition this evidence is not so decided. However, in order to avoid any possibility of mistake as to the origin of these particles, separate Actinie were placed in small glass vases, each containing only clean water and a stone bear- ing the single polype: the results of feeding them under these circumstances agreed with what were before observed ; and when the meat was returned in the first condition, it was found lying on the stone: or bottom of the glass; when in the second form, it was most frequently floating at the surface of the water ; and if in the ¢hird and disintegrated state, it was always in that po- sition, and immediately over the polype, unless intercepted and, entangled in the mucous epidermis, as sometimes happens in the case of Act. mesembryanthemum. Now let me ask, can we entirely account for these effects by the simple act of squeezing, or any other mechanical operation that can go on within the soft body of the polype? It appears to me impossible. But strong as the evidence is of the action of some solvent when only small disintegrated particles are returned, my latest experiments are still more conclusive of its existence. Of six Actinie that were fed from the same bit of meat, two threw up a few very small particles; the others, after an interval of more than a week, returned absolutely nothing that could be detected with the aid of a lens. These four polypes are two varieties of Sagartia troglodytes, a S. nivea and a S. viduata—all of them voracious species; the others are S. venusta and Act. mesembryanthemum. No mechanical power will account for these results; and for their explanation I can only have recourse to the alternative, chemical agency, which Mr. Lewes selects as “the specific cha- racteristic of the digestive process,” but whose existence he denies in the Actinie, Of the origin and nature of the solvent I can say nothing; but I would direct attention to the glairy mucus so abundantly produced in the stomach of the polype when its surface is irritated by the presence of food. Possibly this may act only in a preparatory manner ; but that it is concerned in the alimentary process there can be no question, as it is specially called forth under the excitement of feeding. This mucus ap- pears to be a product of the stomach, since it is found coating the food before it has descended into the cavity of the body, as may be proved by giving a polype a piece of meat too large to 278 Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Digestive Power in the Actiniz. be entirely swallowed: on its disengagement from the animal, that portion of it which had passed the mouth will be seen thickly covered with the secretion. One frequent source of error in studying the digestive powers of the Aetinie arises from the belief that all the food these animals swallow must necessa- rily undergo digestion, whatever the nature of that process ma be; but this is far from being the case. Healthy polypes will rarely refuse anything that comes within their reach; and in most cases it is only after the object has passed through the stomach, that the animal finds out whether it is hungry, or if it has swallowed suitable food. In my own tank, a specific-gravity bubble has been gulped down by almost every specimen large enough to accomplish the feat, and by some of them more than once; but of course it is always ejected unaltered: in the same manner, proper food has been taken in and returned after a short time only, not from its being indigestible, but because the animal was not hungry. In our own case, over-eating is generally followed by indigestion; but the polype has a very ready mode of preventing such an unpleasant result. When its appetite is appeased, or its powers of digestion ex- hausted, it simply throws up what remains of the food; and this circumstance will explain the different states of the ejected meat, and the reason why large pieces are so often cast forth with little apparent alteration. A case has recently presented itself which shows this to be a reasonable inference. Two specimens of Cerianthus, which had been living side by side for a couple of years in a tall glass jar, were fed with small and equal portions of beef, and after a time each animal threw up the remains of its dmner. In one case, where the polype had been fasting for a week, the food was returned after twelve hours very little altered in shape; muscular striz were percep- tible under the microscope, and the general appearance of the meat indicated its having undergone maceration, but not com- pression. In the other example the refuse was cast up, after an interval of sixteen hours, in very small particles without any trace of muscular structure, and so far disintegrated as to render their removal from the water a matter of some difficulty. This. polype had not been fed for six weeks ; and the different results from the two animals may be fairly accounted for by the un- equal intervals between their last two meals. In the true Ae- tinie there is the same variation in the extent to which digestion is carried as in the instances just cited, and in a great measure it will bear the same explanation : we also find it partly depend- ing on the digestible nature of the food swallowed. In the account of Mr. R. Q. Couch’s experiments, quoted in ‘ Seaside Studies,’ p. 217, great stress is laid on the fact that the delicate Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Digestive Power in the Actinix. 279 skin of the ventral portions of the mackerel and whiting was uninjured, and the fine metallic lustre untouched: but I should think it is hardly necessary to remind Mr, Lewes that, in the most highly organized animals, portions of food difficult of digestion are frequently unchanged when passed off in the ex- cretions ; so that the circumstance referred to can have no bear- ing on the question of ordinary digestive power, The experiments on the food contained in perforated quills also appear to me to be by no means so conclusive of the absence of chemical action as Mr. Lewes thinks; they rather favour the suggestion I have thrown out as to the nature of the mucus produced in the stomach. From the tenacious character of this substance, it would pass through the perforations in the quill far less readily than would the surrounding water, and conse- quently the appearance of meat freely subjected to its influence might reasonably be expected to differ from that of the partially protected contents of the quill. Such, indeed, appears to have been the case in Mr. Lewes’s experiment. We are told at page 216, “On examination of the ejected quills, I found no appre- ciable difference between the contained meat and similar pieces of meat left in the water during the same period: in one of them, which had the meat protruding somewhat from each end of the quill, there was a maceration of the protruded ends which looked like a digestive effect ;” but this effect, the author goes on to say, was due to “ maceration obviously of a purely mechanical nature,” because the muscular fibre was not disintegrated. Why obviously mechanical? » After what I have observed of the partial and sometimes entire solution and disintegration of the food, may I not as reasonably ascribe “what looked like a digestive effect”’ to the obvious commencement of chemical action? I have now mentioned some of the facts which lead me to believe in the possession of ordinary digestive power by the Ac- tiniade. The cases I have noticed as bearing on the subject are but a few out of many similar ones that have occurred to me and, unquestionably, to other persons who have given their attention to the matter; for I cannot believe that when a Sea- anemone becomes an occupant of my aquarium, it is thenceforth gifted with new faculties, and learns to digest its food in a manner unknown to its brethren in other tanks or along the coast. There are some other points relating to the Actinie, which are treated of in ‘Seaside Studies,’ and on which the author holds opinions at variance with those of most naturalists ; but it must be observed that in almost every case he only brings forward negative evidence in support of his views; and I need hardly say that, in matters of science, such evidence is not always trustworthy. 280 Dr. W. Baird on new species of Entomostracous Crustacea. The question of the existence of a corpusculated fluid in the Actinie need hardly be discussed. The corpuscles have been too frequently observed to leave room for any doubt of their existence. I have never failed in discovering them when I have used a power of 450 diameters; and when the fluid was taken from the body of a polype placed during three days in well- filtered sea-water, the result was only in a slight degree less decisive—the corpuscles were not quite so abundant. At present I can say but little on the albuminous character of the chylaqueous fluid. Experiments on the subject can be satis- factorily carried on only at the sea-side, where there are plenty of healthy polypes to cut up without running the risk of destroying old favourites. On the single occasion when I boiled some quan- tity of the fluid, milkiness was produced ; but at a later period, when small drops taken from other animals were tested with nitric acid, I could not be sure that a change of colour took place in every case. The experiments were made on animals that had been kept both im natural and filtered sea-water; but test- ing the character of a minute drop of fluid is an operation so delicate and novel to me, that I hesitate to give an opinion from the results I then obtained. 1 It must be regretted that Mr. Lewes is so positive in his con- clusions from what certainly look like hasty experiments ; and in questioning their soundness I am justified by the author himself when he tells us, at p. 261, “ We see the necessity of a cultivated caution in the acceptance of statements in matters so complex as those of biology.” I remain, Gentlemen, Yours very truly, EK. W. H. Hoipsworrs. 26 Osnaburgh Street, Sept. 1859. XXX.—Description of several Species of Entomostracous Crus- tacea from Jerusalem. By W. Barrp, M.D., F.L.S. [With two Plates.] In the month of July 1858, Edward Atkinson, Esq., a gentle- man attached as surgeon to the consulate at Jerusalem, and who has resided in that city for some time, sent a quantity of dried mud from the pool of Gihon in Jerusalem to Mr. Denny at Leeds. By the kindness of this latter gentleman, I had a supply of this forwarded to me, which Mr, Denny states had been in all probability in a dry state for some months before it was despatched. It reached Leeds in the end of August, and the small parcel containing a supply reached me at the Dr. W. Baird on new species of Entomostracous Crustacea. 281 British Museum on the 3rd of. June, 1859. Mr. Atkinson, in a letter, informed Mr. Denny that if this mud were placed in fresh water, it would soon produce a crop of Entomostraca. This had accordingly been done at Leeds; and the result was as predicted. Placing the portion of mud which Mr. Denny had kindly sent me to the British Museum in water on the 3rd of June last, I was agreeably surprised to find several young animals of the class Entomostraca make their appearance seven days after- wards, or on the 10th of the same month. These I watched till they had assumed a sufficient degree of development, and I then discovered that they were the young of a species of Estheria. Shortly after this, fresh forms made their appearance; and by the middle of July I found I had a large crop of Entomostracous Crustacea, consisting of at least five different species. These I consider to be distinct from any yet described, and, both from their peculiar history and characters, worthy of a detailed de- scription. In addition to the species here described, Mr. Denny had the kindness to forward me a pair of a species of Chirocephalus, male and female, but which unfortunately died before I was able to secure them for description. They were of a pale whitish co- lour, and considerably smaller than the species found in Great Britain. Estheria Gihoni. PI. V. fig. 1. Carapace oval, rather flat and compressed. Umbo rather pro- minent, and placed near the anterior extremity. Surface of shell encircled with prominent ribs, the intervening spaces being rather broad, slightly convex and irregularly excavately punc- tate. Anterior extremity slightly broader than the posterior. Dorsal margin, from the umbo to the posterior slope, nearly straight, the posterior half sloping downwards. Anterior and ventral margins rounded. The body of the animal is of a beautiful red colour. The male is larger than the female, and the prehensile feet are rather large, and are furnished with strong hooks. The head is large, and the sort of hood with which it termi- nates is long and rather sharp-pointed. Hab. Pool of Gihon, Jerusalem., Mus. Brit. Daphnia Atkinsoni. Pl. V. fig. 2. Female. Carapace of an oval form; lower extremity pointed and terminating in a rather long spine, which is beset on all sides with short spines. Anterior margins of the valves armed with short setee, which spring from the inner edge. The head is rather large and prominent ; beak of considerable 282 Dr, W. Baird on new species of Entomostracous Crustacea. size. The superior antenne, underneath the beak, are rounded, of considerable size, and terminated by four or five short setze. The inferior antennz have the basal portion stout and thick; the joints are all rough with minute spines; filaments plumose. - In the number of joints and filaments it agrees with D. pulex. The surface of the carapace is rough with minute spines, and is finely reticulated ; it is of a very light colour. The eye is large, and the black spot near the beak is very distinct, almost as much as that of the Lynceide. The abdomen is narrow, the lower edge armed with a row of short spines, and the termi- nating spines rather strong and hooked. The sixth segment of the body has three spurs or projections, the upper one of which is curved upwards, the lower sending off two rather long sete, — which are plumose only on the lower half of their length. I have only seen females. - Hab. Pool of Gihon, Jerusalem. Approaches very near D. pulex. Ephippia, from which these young most probably spring, are different in shape, being longer, narrower, and sharp-pointed. : Cypris celtica. PI. VI. fig. 1.. Carapace wedge-shaped, like the most usual form of the stone implements known by the name of celts. Anterior extremity considerably broader than the posterior, and compressed. Pos- terior extremity pointed and compressed also. Dorsal margin rounded, convex. Ventral margin nearly straight, or very slightly smuated. Surface of carapace very smooth and shining, destitute of all appearance of hairs or pubescence. The interior of the valves, owing to the compression of the two extremities, hollow in the centre only; each valve, for a short distance at each extremity, lying upon the other so as to fill up the hollow, and limit the space allowed for the animal, to about the centre. Pediform antennee furnished with a rather long pencil of plumose filaments. The colour of the shell is a light olive- green, with a lighter streak running diagonally across the pos- terior part of the carapace. - This species resembles somewhat the British species C. clavata in the shape of the carapace, but is shorter, has no hairs or setze on its surface, and has larger pediform antenne and feet. Hab. Pool of Gihon, Jerusalem. Mus. Brit. Cypris orientalis, Pl. VI. fig. 2. Carapace of nearly a reniform shape; dorsal margin convexly rounded ; ventral margin rather deeply sinuated. Anterior ex- tremity slightly compressed. Posterior extremity nearly of the & West det et lth. eee oe if t etree eer OF mn sete ee ot oy ar er * hr F.l.la.e. Cypris celtica. Barwa. F.2.2a.e Cypris orientalis. ad. F.3.3.a.Diaptomus similis. #7, , ; has, he .o4 ke ifs Pod eo), aly << > at »— > a i To " wey £ si ‘ ; ; : mm . * he = Sn Aag Wat Hist. 8 INOVALL.V Fl.la.d Estheria Gihoni _ Baad. | : ee G West delec lulv, F.2.2a.c.Daphnia Atkinsoni. g- Rac Dr. W. Baird on new species of Eniomostracous Crustacea. 283 same size as the anterior, but. swollen.and sloping downwards to an obtuse point, Centre of carapace swollen. The surface of the valves is hispid all over with short stiff sete, which beset the edges round the whole circumference. When rubbed off, they leave the appearance of little pits or depressions, Pediform antenne provided with a pencil of rather long plu- mose filaments. The colour of the shell is of a very light olive-greenish hue. The ova appear shining through the carapace like two orange spots. Hab. Pool of Gihon, Jerusalem. Mus. Brit. Diaptomus similis, Pl. VI. fig. 3. In the general form of the body, the number of articulations, &c., it agrees with D. Castor. The head, however, is curved downwards into a short curved beak. The antenne are furnished on the upper edge with short sete at each joint; but these sete are set at right angles with the joint, and are nearly alternatel short and long, the longer ones being nearly double the with of the shorter ones. The third pair of foot-jaws haye the same ~ number of articulations as those of D. Castor, but the setz at the terminating joints are much shorter and slightly aculeate. The fifth pair of feet im the male have the last articulation of the right branch terminated by a long and strong hook, which is much longer than that of D. Castor. The swollen hinge-joint of the right antenna of the male, when under the lens, is finely striated. . 7 Hab, Pool of Gihon, Jerusalem. Maus, Brit. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. PLATE V. Fig. 1. Estheria Gihoni, nat. size: 1 a, magnified; 10, portion of cara- pace, magnified; 1c, terminating hooks of abdomen; 1 d, pre- hensile feet of male. Fig. 2. Daphnia Atkinsoni, magnified, side view: 2 a, Ditto, prone; 2c, portion of carapace highly magnified, to show the structure, PLATE VI. Fig, 1. Cypris celtica, magnified: 1a, b, Ditto, in different positions; 1 e, portion of carapace, highly magnified to show the structure ; | 1 d, lucid spots; 1 e, pediform antenne. Fig. 2. Cypris orientalis, magnified : 2 a, 6, Ditto, in different positions ; 2c, lucid spots; 2d, structure of carapace; 2e, pediform an- tenne. Fig. 3. Diaptomus similis, magnified : 3 a, terminating setz of tail. 284 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Rev. M. A. Curtis on new XXXI.—Centuries of North American Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. Berxexey, M.A., F.L.S., and the Rev. M. A. Curtis, D.D. [Continued from ser. 2. vol. xii. p. 435.] * Agaricus (Amanita) cesareus, Scheeff. South Carolina, H. W. Ravenel. 51. A. (Amanita) Ravenelii, B. & C. Pileo convexo areolato- verrucoso, verrucis pyramidatis; stipite brevi bulboso; volva crassa verrucosa sublobata; annulo deflexo. Amanita bulbosa, Rav. In woods, June, Car. Inf., H. W. Ravenel. Pileus 4 inches across, convex, broken up into distinct ares, each of which is raised into an acute rigid pyramidal wart ; stem 3 inches high, 1 inch or more in thickness at the base, furnished with a thick warty volva and a deflexed ring. A very fine species, allied to 4. strobiliformis, Vitt. 52. A. (Lepiota) subremotus, B. & C. Pileo expanso obtuse umbonato toto verrucoso-squamoso, margine sulcato ; stipite floccoso-farcto e bulbo exqualiter attenuato debili levi ; annulo amplo secedente; lamellis subangustis remotiusculis. Curt. no. 5067. On the ground. amongst fir-leaves, New England, C. J. Sprague. ; White. Pileus 4 inches across, expanded, obtusely umbonate, fleshy, except at the margin,'which is in consequence sulcate, covered to the top of the umbo with raised wartlike scales; stem 5 inches high, clavato-bulbous at the base, attenuated up- wards, + inch thick in the centre, smooth, stuffed with floccose threads, rather delicate; ring uneven, broad; gills white, rather narrow, free, but not separated far from the stem. This species is undoubtedly very near A. mastoideus; but the stem is not sunk into the umbo, as in that species, and in con- sequence the gills are not very remote. 53. A. (Tricholoma) rhinarius, B. & C. Pileo convexo, ob- tusissimo, centro subtiliter areolato-diffracto; margine squamu- loso ; stipite valido furfuraceo; lamellis ex albo flavis confertis emarginatis. Curt. no. 5745. In dense patches amongst dry leaves in woods, New England, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 5 inches across, convex, very obtuse, yellowish white at the margin and minutely scaly, then ochraceous and yellow brown in the centre, where it is broken up into little brown scale- like areole ; surface rimose; margin at first involute, then 3-4 inches high, 1 inch or more thick, solid, yellowish, furfuraceous from the curling up of minute portions of the cuticle; gills: at first white, then yellow, crowded, adnate; emarginate, more or less forked. , Allied to A. scalpturatus. 54, A. (Clitocybe) porphyrellus, B. & C. Pileo convexo glabro -species of North American Fungi. 285 purpurascente; stipite solido sursum incrassato glabro albo- purpureo; lamellis rectis adnatis pallide purpureis. Curt. no. 5520. On the naked soil, Connecticut, C. Wright. Pileus 1} inch across, convex, smooth, of a pale dull purple ; stem 1-14 inch high, 14 line thick, solid, smooth, incrassated upwards, purplish white; gills pale purple, margin straight. Spores elliptic, 7-5 inch long. Differs from A. daccatus in the numerous gills and very dif- ferent spores. 55. A. (Clitocybe) glaucipes, B.& C. Pileo convexo tenui rufulo pubescente, margine incurvo; stipite solido concolore glauco; lamellis adnatis distantibus rectis candidis. Curt. no. 5546. On the ground in woods, Connecticut, C. Wright. Pileus 1 inch across, convex, thin, pubescent, pale rufous ; margin incurved ; stem 2 inches high, } inch thick, solid, of the same colour as the pileus, with a white bloom; gills moderately distant, adnate, straight, white. Allied to A. laccatus. 56. A. (Collybia) preceps, B.& C. Pileo e convexo umbili- eato virgato rufo; stipite deorsum attenuato, pruinoso ; lamellis albidis adnatis. Curt. no. 5758. New England, Aug. 1856, D. Murray. | Pileus 2—4 inches or more across, subcarnose, at first convex, then flat and depressed, undulated, russet-brown, darker in the centre, finely and regularly streaked; flesh white, soft; stem 3-4 inches high, about + inch thick, strongly attenuated at the base, rather twisted, flexible, stringy with a loose pith ; gills dirty white, thickish, somewhat ventricose, acutely adnate; edges at length uneven and the surface wrinkled, sometimes streaked. with brown. A flexible, top-heavy, flabby species, allied to A. fusipes. 57. A. (Collybia) Sprague, B. & C. Albus, pileo umbonato carnoso sericeo-nitente stipiteque cavo glabris; lamellis an- gustis adnatis crispatis. Curt. no.5757. On decayed stumps in shady woods, Sept. 1856, New England, Sprague. White. Pileus 4-5 inches across, convex, strongly umbonate, fleshy, smooth, with a satiny lustre when dry; flesh very thick in the centre, not very compact ; margin thin, slightly turned up; stem 43-5 inches high, 1 inch thick, smooth, stringy, very hollow, splitting and bending with the weight of the pileus ; gills narrow, obtusely adnate, crowded, crisped; edge minutely waved. A moist heavy-topped species, allied to 4. maculatus. 58. A. (Collybia) stereocephalus, B. & C. Pileo convexo, late umbonato firmo brunneo-albo ; stipite farcto candido basi bul- boso; lamellis albis adnatis utrinque rotundatis, Curt. no, 286 = Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Rev. M. A. Curtis’on new 5744, On the ground amongst fir-leaves in wet woods, Sept. 1856, C.J. Sprague. Pileus 2 inches across, convex, very broadly umbonate, fleshy, at length flat, smooth, brownish drab or white; flesh white, very firm and hard; stem 8 inches high, } inch thick, bulbous at the base, stuffed with satiny fibres, externally fibroso-cartilaginous, twisted, flexuous, white; gills white, ventricose, moderately broad, obtuse in front, rounded behind and adnate, crowded.’ Allied to A. maculatus. ; 59. A. (Collybia) /uteo-olivaceus, B. & C. Parvus, luteo-oliva- ceus; pileo convexo-umbilicato glabro tenui; stipite leviter fis- tuloso, subtiliter furfuraceo flexuoso; lamellis adnatis. Curt. ~ no. 5728. On old stumps in wet woods, Aug. 1856, C.J. Sprague. Pileus $ an inch across, convex, slightly umbilicate, thin, smooth, opake when wet, shining when dry, olive-yellow; stem 1} inch long, 1 line thick, flexuous, minutely fistulose and scurfy, of a dirty ochre; gills crowded, adnate, of the same colour as the pileus, moderately broad. Spores white, subelliptic. Evidently allied to A. trochilus. 60. A. (Collybia) semiherens, B. & C. Pileo convexo rufo glabro; stipite gracili solido fusco, sursum pallido pubescente ; lamellis distantibus ex albido luteo-fuscis adnexis. Curt. no. 5528. On dead sticks amongst grass in woods, Connec- ticut, C. Wright. Pileus 4-3 inch across, convex, smooth, rufous, darker with age; stem 2 inches high, not a line thick, dark brown, pale and thicker above, clothed all over with short soft hairs ; gills whitish, changing to pale’ yellowish brown, distant, adnexed, moderately broad ; interstices veiny. A very beautiful species. 61. A. (Mycena) intertextus, B.& C. Densissime ccespitosus ; ‘Se hemispherico, umbonato, demum expanso striato ; stipiti- us villo connatis, subfragilibus ; lamellis distantibus, crasstus- culis, adnatis. Curt. nos. 1741, 2557, 2558. On pine, South Carolina, M. A. Curtis. Pileus 3-8 lines across, carnoso-membranaceous, convex, um- bonate, then expanded, pellucid, fusco-cinereous, margin paler, striate; stems 2 inches high, } a line thick, fistulose, smooth above and fuscous, pale below and joined intimately together by matted down; gills white, thick, adnate. A very beautiful and singular species. ? 62. A. (Mycena) connatipes, B. & C. Dense ceespitosus ; pileo hemispheerico alutaceo ; stipitibus albis basi connatis ; lamellis albido-flavis denti adnatis. Curt. no. 512. On the ground in dense clusters, Upper Carolina, M. A. Curtis. | : , species of North American Fungi. ho 9p Pileus 2—8 lines across, hemispherical, buff; stems 2 inches long, 14 line thick, white, confluent at the base and rooting ; gills whitish yellow, adnate, subdecurrent. Allied to A. proliferus, from which it differs in its hemi- spherical pilets, adnato-decurrent gills, &e. 63. A. (Omphalia) zanthophyllus, B. & C. Pileo depresso rubro-purpureo, floccoso, margine striato; stipite flavo-albo glabro subcompresso fistuloso deorsum attenuato subbulboso ; Jamellis flavis decurrentibus. Curt. no. 2871. On the sides of damp putrid logs, Aug., South Carolina, M. A. Curtis. Pileus 2-3 inches across, depressed, floccose, red-purple ; margin inflexed, somewhat striate; stem 3-4 inches long, }-3 inch thick, yellowish white, smooth, more or less compressed, fistulose, tapering downwards, but bulbous at the base; gills yellow, decurrent. _ A very fine species, allied to A. chrysophyllus. There are two other new allied species, which, however, we cannot describe for want of sufficient materials. 63*, A. (Pleurotus) pulvinatus, P. Curt. no. 53896. On an apple tree, Nov., New England, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 33 inches across, very excentric, pulvinate, wrinkled. and irregularly tessellated, of a dirty reddish-yellow white; flesh firm, white, 1 inch thick; margin undulated, abruptly incurved ; stem extremely short, thick, solid and fleshy; gills narrow, yellowish white, decurrent or much attenuated, rather distant. As this appears to be the plant of Persoon, which is little known, we have given a description drawn up from Sprague’s copious notes, which are accompanied by an excellent sketch. Smell like that of fresh potatoes, or somewhat acid and fruity, so strong as to scent the whole room. 64. A. (Pleurotus) barbatulus, B. & C. Pileo postice adnato hispidulo, margine inflexo glabro ; lamellis distantibus tenuibus, interstitiis levibus. Curt. no. 6390. On dead sticks, Boston, D. Murray. Somewhat imbricated. Pileus 4 an inch across, adnate behind, convex in front, rough, except towards the inflexed margin, with short downy hairs; stem none, gills distant, thin; edge some- times slightly toothed ; interstices even, pulverulent in the young lant. 3 Allied to A. atroceruleus. When dry, it is of a pale ochre, but is probably pearly white when fresh. We have the same species from Cuba, attaining an inch or more in diameter. 65. A. (Pleurotus) semicaptus, B. & C. Pileo e resupinato breviter reflexo irregulari albido pulverulento ; margine crenato ; lamellis angustis distantibus integris concoloribus. Curt. no. 5362. On dead branches of birch, New England, C.J. Sprague, 288 Rev. M.J. Berkeley and Rev. M. A. Curtis on new Gregarious; pileus at first resupinate, then reflexed, about 4 inch across, irregular, narrow, dirty white, pulverulent, with a little thin film extending on the matrix from the resupinate portion ; margin waved or crenate; gills narrow, entire, distant, of the same colour as the pileus. Spores cymbiform, white, so05 ich long. . A very curious and distinct species. Occasionally the white film extends over the whole matrix. 66. A. (Pleurotus) Blakeii, B. & C. Paileo reniformi, conchato, rufo, glabro, postice puberulo ; lamellis latis ventricosis tenuibus subconcoloribus, interstitiis venosis. Curt. no. 6289. On dead fir, Maine, Rev. J. Blake. Pileus 4.an inch across, reniform, conchate, quite smooth, of a deep red brown, obscurely downy behind; margin incurved ; gills paler than the pileus, broad, ventricose, thin, distant ; in- terstices veiny ; stem none, 67. A. (Pleurotus) candidissimus, B. & C. Niveus; pileo reni- formi, 1. dimidiato, glabro, villo parco affixo, margine sulecato ; lamellis distantibus, interstitiis levibus. Curt.no.6191. Maine, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 4 inch across, reniform or dimidiate, stemless, pure white, opake, smooth, like kid-leather; margin suleate; gills white, slightly ventricose, attenuated behind, moderately broad, distant ; interstices even. A very beautiful and delicate species. 68. A. (Pleurotus) racodium, B.& C. Pileo griseo, conchato, atro-strigoso; lamellis griseis. Curt. no. 4058. On rotten wood, Pennsylvania, Dr. Michener. Pileus ~ inch across, conchiform, grey, clothed behind with dense black bristle-like hairs; margin striate; gills of the same colour as the pileus, moderately distant. Closely allied to A. applicatus, but distinguished by the dense black hairs, which make it look, when dry, like a Spheria. 69. A. (Volvaria) emendatior, B. & C. Pileo plano umbonato glabro ; stipite sursum deorsumque incrassato, volva marginata ; lamellis remotis. Curt. nos. 5074, 2546. On rich garden soil, New England, C. J. Sprague; Lower Carolina, M. A. Curtis. Pileus 3 inches across, flat, with an obtuse umbo, smooth, white; margin thin, striate; stem 3 inches high, } inch thick, slightly incrassated above and below, very slightly arachnoideo- fibrous, solid ; volva forming merely a short rim ; gills ventricose, remote, free and rounded behind, white; at length flesh-coloured, extending in front beyond the rugged margin of the pileus, as in Montagnites. Spores broadly cymbiform, gz, inch long. Smell disagreeable, but not strong. In the button state the pileus is areolate. species of North American Fung. 289 70. A. (Pluteus) chrysophlebius, B. & Rav. Pileo convexo flavo reticulato-rugoso ; stipite gracili basi hirsuto sub-bulboso; la- mellis latis remotis ex albo carneis. On putrid hickory logs, September, South Carolina, H. W. Ravenel. Pileus 3 an inch across, convex, yellow, with darker reticu- lated veins radiating from the centre; stem 1-2 inches high, not 1 line thick, enlarged above, slightly bulbous, white and hirsute at the base; gills broad, remote, white, then flesh- coloured. An exquisite species, allied to A. phlebophorus, from which it differs in habit and in colour. 71. A. (Entoloma) Murraii, B.& C. Stramineus, pileo tenui striato glabro; stipite gracili; lamellis latis distantibus adnexis. Curt. no. 5800. In wet grounds, New England, D. Murray. Straw-yellow. Pileus 1 inch across, convex, changing to a rich red brown when dry, regularly striate ; margin crenulate ; stem 2 inches high, | line thick; gills broad, distant, attenuated behind and adnexed; interstices veined. Spores irregular, 330 inch long. An extremely pretty species. 72. A. (Clitopilus) abortivus, B. & C. Pileo e convexo plano, depresse-tomentoso griseo; stipite subsequali subtiliter floccoso albido; lamellis decurrentibus carneis. Curt. no. 5737. In damp wood, Sept., C. J. Sprague. Pileus 2 inches or more across, at first convex, then plane, clothed with close felted pubescence of a clear light grey, smoother in age ; flesh compact ; margin incurved ; stem 3 inches high, 4 inch thick, minutely downy, especially below, often tufted and connate, nearly white, solid, with a loose shining pith; gills strongly decurrent, crowded, thin, pale flesh-coloured, becoming deeper in age. Spores irregular, not elongated and even, as in A. prunulus, s>55 ch long. Often abortive, and _ then presenting subglobose umbilicate downy masses. Closely allied to A. popinalis, which is also frequently abor- tive, but distinguished by its downy pileus and the gills not being grey. The stem also appears to be firmer. 73. A. (Clitopilus) melilotus, B. & C. Graveolens; pileo con- vexo centro depresso glabro ; stipite subzequali striato, fibrilloso ; lamellis latis decurrentibus. Curt. no. 5798. On the ground, New England, D. Murray. ! Pileus 2 inches across, convex, depressed in the centre, smooth ; _ margin incurved; stem 24 inches high, 4 inch thick, striate, fibrillose ; gills broad, thin, decurrent ; spores irregular, 3555 inch across. This is evidently a very well-marked species, distinguished by its strong scent of melilot when dry. We are able at present Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 19 290 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Rev. M. A. Curtis on new to characterize it very imperfectly, but it is too marked to be omitted entirely. 74. A. (Leptonia) assularum, B.& C. Pileo e campanulato explanato, umbonato glabro virgato albido; stipite fuligineo; lamellis ex albo carneis secedentibus. Curt. no. 2842. On rotten bits of wood in swamps, Sept., South Carolina, M. A. Curtis. Pileus 13 inch across, campanulate, then expanded, umbonate, smooth, virgate, whitish with the centre dark; margin striate ; flesh thin, stem nearly 3 inches high, 13 line thick, fuligimous, flexuous, nearly equal; gills white, at length flesh-coloured, sub- ventricose. Spores irregular. Evidently distinct from the other white-gilled Leptonie which grow on wood. 75. A. (Leptonia) variicolor, B. & C. . Pileo umbilicato glabro pallide fusco; stipite farcto; lamellis postice abrupte attenuatis adnatis purpureo-albis. Curt. no. 5530. Amongst bushes in damp ground, Connecticut, C. Wright. Pileus 3-14 inch broad, umbilicate, smooth, pale brown; flesh thin; stem 2 inches high, 14 line thick, greenish blue, smooth, stuffed with woolly fibres; gills broad, distant, some- what ventricose, abruptly attennated. behind, and adnate, pale purplish white. _ Spores irregular, 55455 inch in diameter. Allied to A. asprellus. 76. A. (Nolanea) guadratus, B. &.C. Pileo membranaceo co- nico demum reflexo aurantiaco-fusco ; stipite fistuloso aurantiaco-. luteo; lamellis carneo-aurantiacis latis ventricosis. Curt. no. 5735. Amongst wet mosses in pine swamps, New England, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 13 inch across, membranaceous, at first obtusely coni- cal, then depressed, striate, of a clear orange or brown orange ; stem 3 inches high, tender, fistulose to the very top of the pileus, orange-yellow; gills very broad, ventricose, almost triangular, at first adnexed, then decurrent as the pileus becomes depressed, of a beautiful incornate orange; spores, when seen from above, quadrangular, +7';5 inch across, sometimes irregular. One of the most splendid and singular species of the genus. 77. A. (Kecilia) pyrinus, B. & C. Graveolens; pileo umbili- cato fusco; stipite compresso fistuloso; lamellis ‘albidis. . Curt. no. 5066. In swampy ground, New England, C.J. Sprague. Pileus 1 inch across, at first broadly convex, then flat, umbi- licate, dark brown im the centre, grey at the crenate edge ; stem 13 inch high, 3-4 mch thick, hollow, at length compressed ; gills whitish, slightly decurrent ; | spores irregular, angular. Odour like that of ripe pears. 78, A. (Naucoria) siparioides, B. & C. Pileo hemispheerico species of North American Fungi. 291 flavo-fusco subtiliter squamulato-verrucoso; stipite fistuloso fibril- loso fusco, basi flavo-tomentoso ; lamellis latis secedentibus dis- tantibus. Curt. no. 5051. On the mud of an exsiccated swamp, New England, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 3-? inch across, hemispherical, yellow-brown, minutely and thickly squamulato-verrucose; flesh thin, brittle; stem 1 inch high, not 1 line thick, fistulose, brown, fibrillose at the base, abruptly swollen, and covered with a dull pale-yellowish down; gills plane, distant, attached, but soon free, and with their edge denticulate; spores subelliptic, 75455 inch long. This is undoubtedly close to A. sipartus, which sometimes grows in the same kind of locality ; but in that species the spores are gz'55 inch long, not to mention other points. 79. A. (Naucoria) pennsylvanicus, B. & C. Pileo e conico umbilicato subcarnoso squamuloso ; stipite fibrilloso-furfuraceo ; Jamellis latiusculis denticulatis adnexis subdistantibus. Curt. nos. 3954, 956. Amongst fragments of wood, Pennsylvania, Dr. Michener. : Pileus about 1 inch broad, at first conical, obtuse, then ex- panded and umbilicate, tawny, clothed with minute, erect, some- times wart-like scales; stem 1 inch high, 1 line thick, hollow, clothed with furfuraceous fibrils; gills rather broad, distant, brown, edged with white denticulations; spores subelliptic, La —xp5y inch long. | 2750 3000 ba ' ‘The spores are much smaller than in A. conspersus, with which it agrees in many respects. 80. A. (Crepidotus) malachius, B.& C. Sparsus; pileo cunei- formi subflabellato albo molli; stipite brevissimo, albo tomen- toso; lamellis ventricosis confertis ex albo flavidis. Curt. no. 5730. On the sides of old stumps in wet woods, New England, Aug., C. J. Sprague. Gregarious, but scattered, horizontal ; pileus 1-2 inches across, smooth, white, cuneiform, subflabellate; flesh rather thick be- hind, very thin in front ; stem 1—2 lines long, white, tomentose ; gills at first white, then yellow-brown, ventricose, obtuse be- hind, thin, crowded. Spores nearly globose, ;3455 inch in dia- meter. This species resembles A. nephrodes in the kid-like pileus, but the gills and spores are very different. 81. A. (Crepidotus) pecten, B. & C. Pusillus; pileo pectini- . formi crenato-suleato tomentoso e resupinato reflexo; lamellis latiusculis umbrinis. Curt. no. 4991. On dead branches, Upper Carolina, M. A. Curtis. - Pileus 2 lines across, ochraceous, flabellate, strongly sulcate and crenate, tomentose, attached by a little white down; stem none; gills moderately broad, umber; margin fringed with 3 19% 292 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Rev. M. A. Curtis on new minute clavate hairs; spores subelliptic, pale ochre, soy9—s570 inch long. 2 Looks at first ike a minute Schizophyllum. 82. A. (Crepidotus) putrigena, B. & C. Imbricatus; pileo subreniformi, albido tomentoso; margine striato; lamellis ex albido ferrugineis. Curt. no. 2566. On damp rotten logs, Dec., Santee Canal, South Carolina, H. W. Ravenel. Densely imbricated ; pileus 3-? inch or more across, subreni- form, dirty white, tonientose; clothed with thicker white down at the point of attachment ; margin slightly striate ; stem none ; gills broad, at first dirty white, then ferruginous from the spores ; spores nearly globose, s;455 inch in diameter. This is at once distinguished, without other marks, by the subglobose spores resembling those of A. malachius and ne- phrodes. If this is the same as an Agaric sent me by Mr. Ravenel, which agrees in the spores, it attains much larger dimensions. 83. Coprinus Spragueit, B. & C. Tenerrimus; pileo e cam- panulato conico tomentoso plicato; stipite fistuloso pallide cin- namomeo; lamellis paucis angustis. Curt. no. 5303. In wet springy eround, New England, C. J. Sprague. Pileus ? inch across, at first campanulate, then conical, pale brown, darker in the centre, downy, plicate, interstices pale ; ; stem 2 inches high, 1 line thick, pale cinnamon, fistulose ; gills few, narrow, tender, brown; spores subcymbiform, z;'5y inch long. This is clearly different from C. plicatilis; and the difference is confirmed by the spores being narrower and smaller. The same species, apparently, occurs in Pennsylvania and Upper Ca- rolina (4289 & 485). 84. C. Wright, B.& C. Pileo ex ovali plano striato glauco furfuraceo ; stipite fistuloso glabro; lamellis liberis cinereis. Curt. no. 5534. On little bits of grass, &c., im flower-pots, Connecticut, C. Wright. Pileus j-3 inch broad, at first oval, then flat and expanded, radiato-striate, of a glaucous grey, with small brown chaffy specks; stem 2 inches high, not 3 a line thick, whitish, smooth, pellucid, fistulose, attached by a ‘little down at the base ; gills moderately distant, narrow, free, dark grey; spores subcymbi- form, zs'x¢ inch long. A minute but distinct species. 85. Hygrophorus cerulescens, B. & C. Pileo plano subumbo- nato viscido czruleo-alutaceo ; stipite glabro pallide ceruleo ; lamellis distantibus crassis decurrentibus pileo obscurioribus. Curt. no. 5434. In woods, amongst dead leaves and sticks, which adhere to it, New England, C. J. Sprague. _species of North American Fungt. 293 Pileus 2 inches across, nearly flat, thick and obtuse in the centre, viscid when moist, shining with a satiny lustre when dry, of a delicate blue-drab ; stem 23 inches high, 4 inch thick, attenuated downwards, smooth, pale blue, at first firm, then soft and hollow; gills few, rather thick and fleshy, decurrent, darker than the pileus; interstices corrugated. A very beautiful species. 86. H. aurantiaco-luteus, B. & C. Pusillus, aurantiacus ; pileo e convexo subumbilicato striato glabro ; stipite gracili; lamellis arcuatis decurrentibus. Curt. no. 5571. Amongst moss (Di- cranum), Connecticut, C. Wright. Gregarious, deep orange. ileus ; inch across, at first con- vex, then flat or somewhat depressed, smooth, striate; stem 13 inch high, not 1 line thick, attenuated downwards, smooth ; gills arched, strongly decurrent. This species has precisely the habit of Agaricus fibula. 87. Lactarius hygrophoroides, B.& C. Pusillus; pileo sicco pulverulento stipiteque brevi flavo-rubris ; lamellis decurrentibus, distantibus, luteis; interstitiis rugosis. Curt. no. 6194. On the ground, Aug., Maine, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 14 inch across, convex, at length plane, pulverulent, yellowish red; stem not 1 inch high, 3 inch thick, of the same colour as the pileus; gills very distant, decurrent, yellowish ; interstices rugose. This species has somewhat the habit of L. volemum. *L. calceolus, B. Two forms of this curious species occur in New England, a larger and a smaller. 88. L. subtomentosus, B. & Rav. Pileo subtomentoso com- pacto stipiteque cavo basi albo-umbrinis ; lamellis latis distan- tibus decurrentibus albidis; lacte ex albo flavescente acrido. On the ground in swamps, South Carolina, Sept., H. W. Ravenel. Pileus 2-3 inches across, convex, umber-brown, dry, sub- tomentose, firm; stem 1 inch high, 4 inch thick, of the same colour as the pileus, except at the base, where it is white, hol- low ; gills distant, broad, decurrent ; milk-white, becoming yel- lowish, acrid. Allied to Lactarius fuliginosus. 89. Cantharellus princeps, B. & C. Maximus, aurantiacus ; pileo infundibuliformi-rugoso, stipite deorsum attenuato ; plicis reticulatis. Curt. no. 6196. Maine, C. J. Sprague. Orange. Pileus 5 inches or more across, deeply infundibuli- form, rugose ; stem 5% inches high, 1 inch thick, attenuated downwards; folds forming an open network. This is the largest of the genus, and most distinct. Unfor- tunately we cannot give a more perfect description, as we have no notes. 294 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Rev. M. A. Curtis on new 90. C. Petersii, B. & C. Pusillus; pileo depresso. sub- zonato stipiteque gracili dealbatis; plicis distantibus decurren- tibus ; interstitiis venosis. Curt. no. 6077. Amongst moss at the base of trees, Alabama, Hon. J. M. Peters. Pileus 1 inch across, depressed, white, opake, with one or two concentric furrows; stem 1 inch high, 1 line thick, white like the pileus; folds moderately broad, distant, decurrent ; inter- stices wrinkled. Resembling somewhat the white variety of C. awrantiacus, but a smaller plant, with broader folds. 91. C. lignatilis, B. & C. Rufus; pileo tenui infundibuli- formi striato glabro; stipite subsequali plicis tenuibus decur- rentibus. Curt. no. 1979. On rotten logs, South Carolina, H. W. Ravenel. Reddish brown ; pileus 2 inches across, smooth, infundibuli- form, deeply striate; stem 2 inches or more high, 7-3 inch thick, smooth ; folds thin, decurrent. Of this we have no notes; but the peculiar habitat and cha- racters will distinguish it. 92. C. Wrightu, B.& C. Pileo plano demum depresso, pal- lide rubro; stipite solido striato rufescente sursum incrassato ; plicis demum decurrentibus glauco-rubris; interstitiis venosis. Curt. no. 5559. On the ground in the shade of trees, Connee- ticut, C. Wright. ! Pileus 3-13 inch across, plane, at length depressed, dull red, edge irregularly deflexed; stem 14 inch high, 2 lines thick, solid, striate, somewhat fibrous, brownish red, incrassated up- wards ; folds at first free, at length decurrent, waved, of a pale glaucous red; interstices veined; spores fusiform, with the endochrome retracted to either extremity, 3z/;y inch long. Analogous to Agaricus laccatus. 93. Marasmius velutipes, B. & C. Pileo umbilicato tenui - striato ocbraceo-fusco, |. fusco; stipite striato velutino pallido, 1. basi ferrugineo; lamellis angustis confertis adnexis. Curt. no. 2548. On leaves in dried swamps, Aug., M. A. Curtis. Pileus 4—? inch across, ochraceous, brown or dark brown, thin, dry, striate, umbilicate: stem 13-2 inches high, 1 line thick, straight, clothed with pale velvety down, sometimes a little tawny below, hollow ; gills narrow, crowded, pale, slightly adnate. Differing materially from M. archyropus in the nature of the clothing of the stem, and from M. spongiosus in the more crowded narrow gills and umbilicate pileus. 94, M. Olneti, B. & C. Pileo convexo glabro rufescente striato ; stipite albo subtiliter pulverulento-tomentoso insititio ; lamellis liberis collariatis albis. Curt. no. 1821. On dead twigs, Rhode Island, Olney. species of North American Fungi. 295 Pileus 4 inch across, convex, smooth, striate, pale rufous; stem 13 inch high, not a line thick, white, minutely pulverulent- tomentose, especially below; gills white, distant, minutely toothed, free, forming by their junction a little collar round the top of the stem. . 95. M. viticola, B. & C. Pileo depresso subcoriaceo tenui sulcato striato rufo ; stipite brevi insititio fusco pruinoso, furfu- raceo; lamellis pallidis distantibus; interstitiis levibus. Curt. no. 4604. On dead vine branches, Alabama, Hon. J. M.-Peters. Pileus 2 of an inch broad, dry, subcoriaceous, depressed, sul- cato-striate, pale rufous; stem 1 inch high, dark brown, pul- verulent; gills distant, pale, slightly adnate, moderately broad, ventricose ; interstices even. The stems are sometimes confluent. 96. M. pruinatus,B. & C. Pileo campanulato sulcato prui- nato rugoso; stipite setiformi nitido cinereo; lamellis paucis, interstitiis levibus. Curt. no. 5064. On little bits of grass, &c., New England, C. J. Sprague. Pileus 4 an inch across, campanulate, pale umber, pruinose, minutely wrinkled ; stem 2 inches high, setiform, pale cinereous or tinged with reddish brown, shining with a satiny lustre ; gills ochraceous, few, distant, interstices even. A thin white mycelium like a corticium spreads over the matrix. _ 97. Heliomyces decolorans, B. & C. Albus, exsiccatione rufus ; pileo glabro rugoso sulcato; stipite rigido nitido; lamellis latis decurrentibus. Curt. no. 6079. On dead wood, Alabama, Hon. J. M. Peters. - Pileus 1 inch or more across, white at first as well as the gills, but changing in drying to a deep tawny brown, smooth, wrin- kled, sulcate ; stem 2 inches high, shining, more permanent in colour, but sometimes becoming rufous; gills broad, distant, decurrent ; interstices wrinkled. The change of colour is exactly that which takes place in Hygrophorus eburneus. 98. Pazillus rudis, B.&C. Pileo subcuneiformi sordide fla- vido tomentoso, margine inflexo ; stipite nullo; lamellis crassi- usculis obtusis postice costatis. Curt. no. 5521. On pine timber of a railroad embankment, growing horizontally in the crevices between the timbers, Connecticut, C. Wright. Pileus 2 inches or more across, tomentose, dirty yellow brown, wedge-shaped when growing freely, but often attached behind with a narrow reflected. margin, which is strongly imcurved ; stem none; gills rather thick, obtuse, costate behind, ferrugi- nous, not reticulate; spores dirty yellow, subelliptic, with a pase globose nucleus and hyaline gelatinous coat, yy'79 inch ong. 296 = Dr. J. E, Gray on a new Antelope from Africa. Undoubtedly allied to Pawillus panuoides, but at once distin- guished by the peculiar spores. | 99. Panus strigosus, B. & C. Maximus; pileo excentrico de- presso stipiteque valido strigosis ; lamellis latis distantibus de- currentibus. Curt. nos. 6197, 5170. On oak stumps, New England, C. J-Sprague; Pennsylvania, Dr. Michener. White; pileus 8 inches across, excentric, clothed with coarse strigose pubescence; margin thin; stem 2-3 inches high, 1 inch or more thick, strigose like the pileus; gills broad, distant, decurrent. Allied to Panus levis. : 100. Panus operculatus, B. & C. Fasciculato-erumpens ; pileo cupuleformi apice affixo rufo furfuraceo-villoso glabrescente ; lamellis angustis tenuibus primum velo operculatis. | Curt. no. 5697: On bark, New England, D. Murray. ) Fasciculate, erumpent; pileus cup-shaped, 4 an:inch or more across, fixed by the apex, rufous, clothed with scurfy pubescence, which at length vanishes; gills narrow, of the same colour as the pileus, at first covered by a tympanoid veil. Allied to P. Delastrii, Mont. XXXII.—Notice of a new Antelope (Kobus) from Central Africa. By Joun Epwarp Gray, F.R.S. Tue British Museum has lately received, through Mr. Samuel Stevens, a number of heads and horns of Antelopes, &c., from Awan Bahr il Gazal (lat. 6° 70! N.), in Central Africa, which have been brought to England by Mr. Petherick, who has been in the country collecting ivory, &e, I will first give a list of the. animals brought, to show their geographical range, and then proceed to give a short notice of the new species. 1. Bos Taurus, Gray, Cat. of Ungulata in Coll. B. M. p. 17. Variety with the horns elongate and subspiral. Nader-Sobat, lat. 11°N. ; 2. Bubalus Caffer, Gray, Cat. p. 28. Horns. 3. Adenota Lechée, Gray, Cat. p. 98. Male skin, in a bad state; skull of half-grown male and female. Awan and Raik. 4. Kobus Maria, n. s.. Two heads, male and female. Awan. 5. Kobus ellipsrymnus, p. 99. Head of male and female. Raik. 6. Alcelaphus Bubalis, p. 123. Several heads, of both sexes. Djour. 7. Damalis Senegalensis, p. 126. Head of male and females. Azack. 8. Tragelaphus sylvatica, p. 189. Head of male. Dr. J. E. Gray on a new Antelope from Africa. 297 9. Giraffa Camelopardalis, p. 181. Head of male; pale variety. 10. Rhinoceros bicornis,. Skull, with horns of a large size; half-grown. 11. Hippopotamus amphibius. Skull. From Senaar, lat. 12° 13’ N. I propose to name the new species, after my wife, who has so assisted me in my studies, Kobus Maria, Head of Male. Head of male blackish-brown; lips, chin, gullet, orbits and tem- ple enclosing the base of the ears, and the ears, whitish; the sides of the nose brownish; the hair of the cheek, side of the lower jaw, gullet, and upper part (all that remains) of the neck elongate, rigid ; the horns elongate, rather slender, widely lyrate, with very strong transverse ridges and incurved tips. Head of female brown, with the chin and gullet, base of the ears, and two small spots (one over the front and the other be- hind the lower edge of the eye) whitish; the hair of the head black, with brown tips; of the lower part of the cheek, lower jaw, and neck very long. Hornless. 298 Bibliographical Notices. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. Reports of Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practi- cable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the Direction of the Secretary of War in 1853-6. Vol. x. Washington, 1859. 4to. We have already on two occasions noticed the work of which the present volume forms a part, as containing large and valuable con- tributions towards our knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of North America, and we have explained the circumstances which led to its production. The 10th volume, which has now been received, con- tains the 3rd and 4th Parts of the General Report upon the Zoology, and the separate Reports of several of the different Expeditions upon the same subject. Of the General Report upon the Reptiles of North America we are forced to content ourselves with the plates only, the War Department having “considered it advisable to omit the publication” of this portion of the work on account of “ the General Natural History Reports having been extended so much beyond the limits originally contemplated.” We do not thank the War Office for this. After bearing the burden of the nine thick quarto volumes already issued, it was hardly worth while to kick at the few sheets of letter-press necessary for the General Report on Reptiles, for which the plates had been already prepared. We fear, after all, that the Government at Washington have not quite liberated themselves from the penny-wise and pound-foolish system which prevails in relation to scientific undertakings on this side of the Atlantic. However, the plates, of themselves, will be of great assist- ance to those who are attempting to follow Messrs. Baird and Girard into the numerous new genera and species which they have created amongst the American animals of this class, and may, we hope, con- vince European naturalists of the validity of these new subdivisions, concerning which at present they seem to be rather incredulous*. The General Report on the Fishes collected by the Expeditions, of which the War Department have favoured us with the letter-press as well as the plates, next follows. It is from the pen of Dr. Charles Girard, and, in our opinion, contrasts rather unfavourably with those upon the Mammals and Birds, already issued. The subdivision of genera is here carried to an almost incredible extent ; the numerous supposed new species are but shortly and imperfectly characterized ; and the whole execution, particularly from the misprints being glaring and numerous, bears evident marks of haste. For all that, such a general résumé of the present state of our knowledge of this class of animals, as found in the North American continent, cannot be other- wise than an important work, and one that the ichthyologists of Europe will do well to make themselves well acquainted with. * See ‘ Catalogue of Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British ~ Museum,’ by Dr. A. Giinther (London, 1858), and the same author’s remarks in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 385, Bibliographical Notices. 299 The remainder of the volume is occupied by the special Zoological Reports of some of the separate Expeditions sent out to survey the Pacific Railroad routes,—namely, of those under the commands of Lieutenants Beckwith, Whipple, Parke, Williamson, and Abbott. It would have been better, we think, to have merged all these Re- ports into the General Report, and to have issued the whole in one connected series. It is tiresome to be referred from the Special Report to the General for the description of a species or the characters of a genus, and from the General to the Special for remarks on the habits of animals, their mode of propagation, &c. But it is easy to criticize ; and all the points to which we have alluded detract but little from the great general value of this work. We fear it will be long before our own Government issues a series of ‘‘ Blue-books”’ so generally acceptable to the scientific world, or so likely to escape the usual fate of the British article—being sold for waste paper. LJ Animal Physiology. By Wiiu1aM B. Carpenter, M.D., F.R.S., _F.G.8., F.L.S. New edition, thoroughly revised and partly re- written. Sm. 8vo. London, H. G. Bohn, 1859. Or the series of scientific manuals prepared many years ago by Dr. Carpenter, and published by W. S. Orr and Co. of Amen Corner, the treatise on Animal Physiology was certainly one of the best. It has already passed through two or three editions ; and we have now to announce the publication of a new edition thoroughly revised by the author. The book has undergone considerable alterations in many parts, in order to bring it up to the present state of science ; and three chapters especially have been almost entirely re-written. These are: the first chapter, treating “of the vital operations of animals, and the instruments by which they are performed,” which contains an excellent digest of the distinctive characters of animals, with an ac- count of the nature of their various tissues and the chemical consti- tuents of the latter; the second chapter, giving a general view of the classification of the animal kingdom, which is greatly improved ; and the last chapter, which treats of the phzenomena of reproduc- tion. The changes in the latter are very extensive, as may be sup- posed from the great progress made within the last few years in our knowledge of these matters; and the reader will find in it a very good, although succinct account, not only of the ordinary develop- ment of the ovum, but also of the alternation of generations, and of the singular phenomena to which Siebold restricts the term Par- thenogenesis. On the whole, we may safely recommend the present edition of Dr. Carpenter’s little book as the best popular account of the structure and functions of the animal body for the use of the general reader. 300 Royal Society :— PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ROYAL SOCIETY. [Received May 30, 1859. ] ‘On the frequent Occurrence of Vegetable Parasites in the Hard Structures of Animals.” By Professor A. Kolliker, of Wirzburg. As far as I am aware, Quekett was the first to point out that vegetable parasites, viz. Conferve, occur frequently in the skeleton of Corals (Lectures on Histology, vol. ii. p. 153. fig. 78. and p. 276) ; but although he mentions in the same place that the ¢ubulz described by Carpenter in the shells of Bivalves have also a great resemblance to Conferve, he did not venture any further step, and he adheres to the view of Carpenter, who regards them as a typical structure. Some years later, Rose (‘‘On Parasitic Borings in Fossil Fish- Scales,’’ Transactions of the Microscopical Society of London, vol. x. p- 7, 1855) discovered a peculiar tubular structure in fossil fish- scales, which he regarded as being occasioned by parasites, and possibly by Infusoria, but he was not able to give any good proof of this hypothesis. The same must be said of E. Claparéde (Mill. Archiv, 1857, p. 119), who found similar canals in the shell of Neritina fluviatilis, and showed that they do not really belong to the shell—without being happier in determining the nature of the parasite, only suggesting that it might possibly be a sponge. Such was the state of things, when Prof. Wedl of Vienna and myself, independently of each other, took up the question. The observations of Wedl, which concern only the parasites of the shells of Bivalves and Gasteropods, were communicated to the Vienna Academy on the 14th of October, 1858, and are therefore previous to my own, which were presented to our Wurzburg Society on the 14th of May, 1859 ; but Ireceived Wedl’s memoir only on the 1 6th of May, and may there- fore say that my observations, which, besides, are extended over man more groups of animals, were quite independent of those of the Austrian microscopist. This being the case, it may be regarded as a good proof of the correctness of our observations and the truth of our conclusions, that we agree in the principal facts, there being only this discrepancy between us, that Wedl calls the parasites Con- Serve, whilst I regard them as Unicellular Fungi. The botanists will decide this question better than we; only I beg leave to say that all the numerous parasites observed by myself were unicellular, and that the sporangia were quite of the same kind as those of uni- cellular fungi. I may further add that the frequent anastomoses of the parasitic tubes remind one of the anastomoses observed in the mycelium of some unicellular fungi, whereas such connexions have not yet, so far as I know, been observed amongst the Conferve. I now give a short enumeration of the animals in whose skeleton I observed these vegetable parasites. Prof. A. Kolliker on Vegetable Parasites in Animals. 301 1. Spongie. Two undetermined species of sponges, which I obtained through the kindness of Mr. Bowerbank, show a great many parasitical tubes in the horny fibres of their skeleton. These are most elegant and numerous in one species from Australia, in which the tubes form a superficial network in the outermost parts of the horny sponge-fibres and straighter canals in their interior, and possess a great many round sporangia, which in some cases even showed young outgrowths in the form of short ramifying tubes. ! 2. Foraminifera. In an extensive collection of sections of Foraminifera which I owe to the kindness of my friend Prof. Carpenter, there were many genera which showed numerous filaments of fungi in their shell itself, viz. Polystomella, Orbitolina, Heterostegina, Amphistegina, Cal- carina, Alveolina, and Operculina. The last genus shows best that these parasitic tubes, which sometimes are very large, are quite different from the two kinds of tubes rightly described by Carpenter as belonging to the shell itself. They generally run at right angles to the finer tubuli, and are easily distinguished from both kinds of typical tubuli by their irregular course, and by their frequent branch- ing, and even anastomosing. They are absent in many specimens of the above-named genera, and could not be found in Cycloclypeus, Nummulina, and Nonionina. 3. Corals. All the genera of Corals which I investigated contained parasitical fungi, viz. Astrea diffusa, Porites clavaria, Tubipora musica, Corallium rubrum, Oculina diffusa, Oculina, sp., Alloporina mirabilis, Madrepora cornuta, Lobalia prolifera, Millepora alcicornis, Fungia, sp. The fungi were most frequent in the genera Tubipora, Astrea, Porites, and Oculina, the last three of which contained also many spo- rangia, which in the red coral were very scarce and. often wanting. 4. Bivalves. I agree with Wedl that the tubuli described by Carpenter in the shells of Bivalves are all parasites. Many of them agree in every respect with those found in other hard structures of the Inver- tebrata, of whose parasitical nature there can be no doubt; and even possess sporangia, as those of Thracia, Lima, Cleidotherus, Anomia, Ostrea, Meleagrina. With respect to those of the genera Litho- domus, Arca, Pectunculus, Nucula, Cardium, it is true that their’ straight course and more regular distribution speak in favour of their typical occurrence; but as in some cases true parasites also are ver regularly distributed through the shells, there can be no doubt that even these do not really belong to the structure of the shells. 5. Brachiopods. The test of some Terebratule shows, besides the large well-known canals, minute tubuli running straight through the fibres. A vertical 302 Royal Society. section of Terebratula australis, which I got from Prof. Carpenter, showed that the minute canals referred to belong to a vegetable parasite of the same kind as those of the Bivalves. 6. Gasteropods. Nearly all examined Gasteropods, viz. Cerithium tuberculatum, Aporrhais pes-Pelecani, Turbo rugosus, Murex brandaris, Murex trunculus, Haliotis, Vermetus, Trochus, Littorina littorea, Terebra myurus, Tritonium eretaceum, contained vegetable parasites in their shells ; and in some these were as numerous as in the Bivalves, and showed also sporangia. Besides these fungi, the shell of Trochus also contained in its most superficial layers unicellular pyriform algee — with green contents. | 7. Annelids. Even in this group the unicellular parasites were found, viz. in the calcareous tubes of two Serpule from the Scotch coast. 8. Cirrhipeds. The same parasites also occurred very numerously in the shells of a large Balanus. On the other hand, the genera Diadema and Lepas were free from them ; and with regard to the straight tubes of Polli- cipes described by Quekett, which also occur in Tudicinella, I am inclined to reckon them amongst the typical structures. 9. Fishes. The scales of Beryzx ornatus, from the clay, contain very numerous and pretty parasitic structures, which almost exactly agree with those figured by Rose in his fig. 5.. They undoubtedly also belong to the simplest form of fungi, but are of greater interest, inasmuch as they are fossil and seem to constitute a new genus. I was not able to find parasites in any other fish-scales, notwithstanding that I examined scales of all living and many fossil species of Ganoids and many Teleostet. These are the facts which I have been able to gather, up to this time... I have no doubt that-all will ageee with me in regarding this question as one of great interest for the zoologist as well as for the ‘botanist. The former will now be obliged to study these parasitical structures as thoroughly as possible, in order to decide which tubular structures of the hard tissues of animals are typical and which are . not ; and for the botanist a new field of investigation is opened, which not only draws attention by the somewhat strange forms offered for investigation, but is also of great interest in a physiological point of view. It seems to me probable that the parasites dissolve the car- bonate of lime of the hard structures into which they penetrate, by means of an exudation of carbonic acid, which secretion would seem to take place only at the growing ends of the fungial tubes, as they never lie in larger cavities, but are always closely surrounded by the calcareous mass. In some cases, as in the horny fibres of sponges, it seems probable that the parasites simply bore their canals by Zoological Society. 303 mechanical force, as is the case when vegetable parasites make their way through the cell-membranes of Conferve or other plants. Besides this, it deserves also to be remembered that nearly all the parasites here spoken of occur in marine animals. In concluding this notice, I may further mention that these parasites affurd an excellent means for demonstrating the doudle- refracting power of the shells of the several genera mentioned in this communication. I was first struck with this fact in examining a horizontal section of Lima scabra obtained from Dr. Carpenter, and finding that many tubuli appeared double. In following this matter, it was easy to show that all the tubuli running in a certain direction, and in an oblique way through the section, appeared simple at the upper surface of it, and became double in the inferior layers, so that the distance of the two images increased with the. shortening of the focus. When the preparation was inverted, the reverse was the case. The same phenomena as in Lima were also observed in Anomia, Ostrea, Murex truncatus, Turbo rugosus, Tritonium cretaceum, and Balanus, the shells of which animals have therefore all such a structure that they refract the light in the same way as the well-known double-refracting crystals*. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. January 11, 1859.—Dr. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair. Nores on THE “ Moorvuxk”’ (Casvarius BENNETTII!). By Grorce BENNETT. On the 26th of October 1858, the ‘Oberon’ cutter of forty-eight tons arrived in Sydney, having two fine young specimens of the **Mooruk ” on board, stated to be male and female. On going on board I found them confined in a very small space ; and the Captain informed me he had had them eight months, that he procured them soon after his arrival at New Britain for Sydney, and since that time had been trading about the islands, having these birds on board; they were fed principally upon yams. I observed they were in poor condition, but healthy in appearance, and plumage in good order. They were about half the size of the specimen sent to En- gland; but one, apparently the male bird, appeared a little larger than the other. Captain Devlin informs me that the natives capture them very young, soon after they are hatched, and rear them b hand. The natives rarely or never can capture the adult bird, as they are so very shy and difficult of approach—the native weapons being ineffectual against so rapid and wary a bird. These birds are very swift of foot, and possess great strength in the legs; on the * According to Brewster (Bibl. Univ. de Genéve, 1836, ii. 182), who seems the only person who has hitherto observed the double-refracting power of a shell, viz. of the mother-of-pearl, that shell (Meleagrina) shows the same phenomena as the double-axed double-refracting Arragonite,—on which question [ am not as yet able to give an opinion. 304. Zoological Society :— least alarm they elevate the head, and, seeing danger, dart among the thick brush, and thread about in localities where no human being could follow them, and disappear like magic. This bird, with its strong legs and muscular thighs, has an extraordinary power of leaping: it was from this circumstance the first bird brought from New Britain was lost: from its habit of leaping, it one day made a spring on the deck and went overboard ; as it was blowing a strong breeze at the time, the bird perished. In warm weather, the Captain informs me, they are fond of having a bucket of salt water thrown over them, and seem to enjoy it very much. I succeeded in pur- chasing these birds; and Captain Slater (the present commander of the ‘Oberon’) brought them to my house in a cab; and when placed in the yard, they walked about as tame as turkeys. They ‘approached any one that came into the yard, pecking the hand as if desirous of being fed, and were very docile. They began by pecking at a bone in the yard, probably not having tasted any meat for some time, and would not, while engaged upon it, touch some boiled pota- toes which were thrown to them; indeed we found afterwards they fed better out of a dish than from the ground—no doubt, having been accustomed early to be fed in that manner. They were as familiar as if born and bred among us for years, and did not require time to reconcile them to their new situation, but became sociable and quite at home at once. We found them next day rather too tame, or, like spoilt pets, too often in the way. One or both of them would walk into the kitchen ; while one was dodging under the tables and chairs, the other would leap upon the table, keeping the cook in a state of excitement ; or they would be heard chirping in the hall, or walk into the library in search of food or information, or walk up stairs, and then be quickly seen descending again, making their peculiar chirping, whistling noise; not a door could be left open, but in they walked, familiar with all. They kept the servants constantly on the alert: if the servant went to open the door, on turning round she found a “‘Mooruk” behind her ; for they seldom went together, generally wandering apart. from each other. If any attempt was made to turn them out. by force, they would dart rapidly round the room, dodging about under the tables, chairs, and sofas, and then end by squatting down under a sofa or in acorner ; and it was impossible to remove the bird, except by carrying it away : on attempting this, the long, powerful, muscular legs would begin kicking and struggling, and soon get released, when it would politely walk out of its own accord. I found the best method was to entice them out, as if you had some- thing eatable in the hand, when they would follow the direction in which you wished to lead them. They sometimes also give a smart kick to any person attempting to turn them out forcibly. The house- maid attempting to turn the bird out of one of the rooms, it gave her a kick and tore her dress whilst she was very politely driving him before her. They walk into the stable among the horses, poking their bills into the manger. When writing in my study, a chirping, whistling noise is heard; the door, which was ajar, is pushed open ; and in walk the “ Mooruks,’’ who quietly pace round the room, in- Mr. G. Bennett on the ** Mooruk.” 805 specting everything, and then as peaceably go out again. If any attempt is made to turn them out, they leap and dodge about, and exhibit a wonderful rapidity of movement, which no one would sup- pose possible from their quiet gait and manner at other times. Even in the very tame state of these birds, I have seen sufficient of them to know that, if they were loose in,a wood, it would be impossible to catch them, and almost as difficult to shoot them. One day, when apparently frightened at something that occurred, I saw one of them scour round the yard at a swift pace, and speedily disappear under the archway so rapidly that the eye could hardly follow it, upsetting all the poultry in its progress, as they could not get out of the way. The lower half of the stable-door, about 4 feet high, was kept shut to prevent them going in; but this proved no obstacle, as it was easily leaped over by these birds. ‘They never appeared to take any notice of, or be frightened at, the Jabiru or Gigantic Crane, which was in the same yard, although that sedate, stately bird was not pleased at their intrusion. One day I remarked the Jabiru spread- ing his long wings, and clattering his beak, opposite one of the ‘**Mooruks,”’ as if in ridicule of their wingless condition. ‘‘ Mooruk,”’ on the other hand, was pruning its feathers and spreading out its funny little apology for wings, as if proud of displaying the stiff horny shafts with which they were adorned. The ‘ Mooruks”’ often throw up all their feathers, ruffling them; and then they suddenly fall flat as before : they appear to have great power in raising all the feathers ; and the wings are used to aid them in running, but never seem used for defence. Captain Devlin says, the natives consider them to a certain degree sacred, and rear them as pets; he is not aware that they are used as food, but if so, not generally ; indeed their shy disposition and power of rapid running, darting through the brake and bush, would almost preclude their capture. It re- minds me (from the description) of the habits of the Menura, or Lyre- bird of Australia ; only it is much larger and more powerful in its actions. The natives carry them in their arms, and are very kind to and have a great affection for them; this will account for their domesticated state with us. The noise of these birds, when in the yard, resembled that of the female Turkey; at other times the peculiar chirping noise was ac- companied by a whistling sound also. The contrast of these birds with the Jabiru was very great. The “‘ Mooruks” were sometimes moving about like the female Turkey in rapid motion or excite- ment, or, when walking quietly, always inquisitive and poking their beaks into everything and familiar with every person. ‘The Jabiru, on the other hand, was a perfect picture of sedate quietness, looking upon all play as injurious to his constitution or derogatory to his dignity, remaining stiff in his gait and serious in his demeanour. Only one egg was brought, and that was partly broken; I have it in my possession. The Captain informs me that they can be pro- cured from the natives, and have generally a hole in them about the size of a shilling, through which the contents have been extracted. The height of the largest or male bird, to the top of the back, wa Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 20 306 Zoological Society :— 2 feet 2 inches, and of the female 2 feet. The height of the largest or male bird, when erect, to the top of the head, was 3 feet 2 inches, and of the female 3 feet. DESCRIPTION OF THE ADULT STATE OF VOLUTA MAMILLA, Gray. By Dr, J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z:8., erc. We have had in the British Museum for years a young specimen of a shell from Van Diemen’s Land, which I named Voluta ma- milla, It is figured under that name in Sowerby’s ‘ Conchological Thesaurus,’ t, 50. f, 57, 58; it is described by me in my ‘‘ Obser- vations on the Species of Volutes,’’ Proc, Zool. Soe, 1855, p. 55, under the name of Scapha mamilla ; and it is noticed under the genus Cymbium by the Messrs, A. and. H. Adams, in their ‘Genera of Mollusca.’ But many eonchologists have been inclined to regard this specimen as a mere monstrosity of some other species,—an idea that could only have been entertained by such as were ignorant of the general struc- ture and physiology of molluscous animals. | We have lately received from Van Diemen’s Land three fine spe- cimens of this shell,—two of them fully grown, and the other inter- mediate in size between the young specimen we formerly possessed and the adult state of the species. It may be observed that these shells were all taken while the animals were growing ; the shells have consequently the thin edge incident to that state of the animal, and not the rounded thickened edge to the outer lip which the shell as- sumes while it is in a state of rest after its former growths. Though probably the full size of the species, they are none of them what conchologists generally call adult shells. But this form of the outer lip is no proof of the adult state of the shell; for the animal con- stantly increases the size of the shell after such thickening and periods of rest; thus the thickening of the edge of the lip is only a proof that the shell was taken and the animal destroyed while the animal and shell were not increasing their size. The adult shell greatly resembles Scapha magnifica in form and colouring; but the apex is much larger, irregular, with the apex of the whor! on one side of the tip; and the system of colouring is much broader, and coarser in its character. ScAPHA MAMILLA. Shell ovate; nucleus very large, spire rather irregular, one- coloured, orange, with the apex on one side; the last whorl irregu- larly markled with dark purple-brown lines having triangular pale spots, and with a subcentral and broad posterior sutural colourless band. Pillar dark orange, with three oblique plaits. Throat yellow. This form of the nucleus is found in another species of the genus Scapha, but not in such a highly developed state, viz. in Scapha Susiformis, also inhabiting Van Diemen’s Land ; and it is also found in the genus Fulgoraria. - Dr. J. E. Gray on Notopteris. 307 Several conchologists, for example the Messrs. Adams, have sup- pene that this shell, on account of the size of the nucleus, ought to e referred to the genus Cymbium, which is characterized by having an irregular callous tip to the nucleus ; but if the nucleus of V. ma- milla is properly examined, it will be found that it is distinctly spiral, but has the apex of the first whorl of the nucleus excentric or bent on one side; and this is not very uncommon in several species of Chrysostoma and Fusus, &c. . The species of Seapha may be thus divided, according to the form and surface of the whole of the nucleus :— I. Spire of nucleus regular, with a central apex. a. Nucleus large; whorls erenulated near the suture. S, vespertilio, S. rutila, | S. nivosa, S, magnifica. S. Sophia. , b. Nueleus large; whorls smooth. S. aulica, S. leucostoma. S. Deshayesii. c. Nucleus moderate or small; spire often subcylindrical, generally truncated or deciduous, S. punctata. 8. Ferussacii. 8. colocyntha. S. pacifica. S. magellanica. - S. concinna. S. javanica, II. Spire of nucleus rather irregular; the apex excentric, lateral. _ §. fusiformis, apex moderate. S. mamilla, apex very large. Notice or Notroprteris, A New Genus or Preropine Bar FROM THE Frersrr Istanps. By Dr.J.E. Gray, F.R.S.,eTc. Among a large collection of the skins of Mammalia, Birds, Fishes, Crustacea, &c., sent to the British Museum by the Lords of the Admiralty, which were collected by Mr. Rayner, Dr. Macdonald, and the Medical Officers of H.M. Ship ‘ Herald,’ during the voyage to the Feejee and other Pacific Islands, under the direction of Captain Denman, R.N., there are two specimens of a small Pteropine Bat from the island of Viti, which has the elongated face and the general appearance of the Kiodote (Macroglossus), but is provided with an _ elongated, free, slender, tapering tail, nearly as long as the hind legs, which, like the tail of most Bats having this member enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, is arched, the tip being bent ventrally or downwards, _ . Considering that the best genera of Bats are those established on the external conformation of the members, I am inclined to propose for this animal a new generic designation ; andI have no doubt that, 20% 308 Zoological Society :— when its habits and manners are known, they will be found to differ considerably from those of Macroglossus and Cephalotes, to which it is most nearly allied. NorToprtTerRis. Head elongate ; muzzle produced, subcylindrica] ; nose simple, muffle narrow, bald between the nostrils, with a deep central notch. Ears small, lateral: Body covered with rather crisp hair. Wings broad, short, arising from the middle of the back, bald, only sepa- rated by a very narrow line of hair down the vertebral line, and with soft hair on the under side near the body. Thumb elongate; lower joint half the length of the upper, and enclosed in a web. The index-finger, of three bony joints; the last joint short, clawless. Interfemoral membrane deeply cut out, fringing the hind legs to the heel, hairy above and on the under side near the body, bald at other parts. ‘Tail elongate, slender, tapering, many-jointed, arising from, and with the base attached to, the under side of the narrow interfe- moral membrane; a3 long as the hind legs. The skull elongate, produced and slender in front. Cutting teeth 3 canines —— ; grinders —. The cutting teeth conical, far apart; the upper are very small, rudimentary, on the middle of the intermaxillary bone between the end of the nose. and the canine teeth; the lower rather larger, conical, blunt, separated from each other by a broad lunate space near the front edge of the canine teeth; canine larger, grooved ; grinders compressed, blunt. The upper cutting teeth are conical, small, far apart, placed on the middle of the slender produced intermaxillary bones, which have a small depression near the anterior extremity, like a cavity, whence a second chisel-shaped tooth might be developed ; but as there is no appearance of the tooth in either of the skulls, perhaps it may be where a tooth of this kind has been shed. The lower teeth are small and blunt, placed near the front of the base of the canine tooth. The edge of the front of the jaw between these teeth is rather produced and sharp-edged, and is nicked near the cutting tooth, giving the jaw somewhat the appearance of a se- cond tooth, but it is not enamelled. The canines elongate, conical, acute, curved. The grinders are reniform, compressed, gradually diminishing in size towards the back of the jaws; the front one on each side in each jaw is largest, higher than the rest, and crenated on the crown; the rest have a flat smooth crown. The tongue was not preserved ; but, from the form of the muzzle and of the cutting teeth, I think it is very probably elongate, like that of the genus Macroglossus. | In the absence of the claw on the index-finger, this animal agrees with the genus Cephalotes from Timor, as it also does with the ac- count of the wings and the teeth given in the systematic works ; but it differs from that genus very essentially when the specimens Dr. J. E. Gray on a new genus of Lophobranchiate Fishes. 809 of the two animals are compared. The head of Cephalotes is much shorter and broader. The cutting teeth are exceedingly different : in Cephalotes the cutting teeth are close together, the upper ones chisel-shaped, the lower ones rather conical, entirely filling up the very narrow space between the base of the large canines; while in Notopteris they are only two, far apart, small and isolated. The wings of the two genera arise from the centre of the back ; and the bases of the wings, which cover the back, are naked. But in Cephalotes the nakedness extends over the shoulders to a line even with the front edge of the wings; in Nofopteris the naked part only occupies the hinder half of the back or loins, the shoulders being exposed and covered with hair like the rest of the body. The tail in Cephalotes is short and rudimentary, flattened, and formed of four or five very short joints, and not elongated and in- curved as in the new genus. I may observe that, though the index-finger of the Cephalotes Peronii from Celebes (in the British Museum, received from the Leyden Collection) is not provided with any distinct, well-developed claw, the end of the bone is curved upwards and rather produced into a resemblance of a claw,—there being no indication of such an appendage in the animal from Viti. Pteropus amplexicaudatus, from Timor, has a rather elongated head, a short free tail; and the wings arise from the sides of the back, with a broad hairy space between their bases; but this differs from Cephalotes in having a small distinct claw on the end of the index- finger, and in .having four chisel-shaped cutting teeth in the lower jaw, occupying the whole of the rather wide space between the base of the large canines; aud it has four rather conical cutting teeth in the upper jaw. Nororreris MACDONALDII. Pale-reddish brown above, rather grayer beneath; the hinder half of the back, which is covered by the bases of the wings, bald, with a very narrow line of short hair down the vertebral line. The rump and upper surface of the base of the interfemoral membran covered with hair. Hab. The Island of Viti Leon, Feejees. September 1857... Male and female. Iris dark hazel. (John D. Macdonald.) Male. Length of head and body 43, tail 2, fore-arm bone 24, leg bone 14 inch. Female rather smaller: arm-bone 2} inches. Norice or A New Genus or LOPHOBRANCHIATE FISHES FROM WESTERN AusTRALIA. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., etc. Among the collections made by the Medical Officers of H.M.S. ‘ Herald,’ above referred to, is a curious and apparently new species of Syngnathide, of which I give'a brief description. HALIIcHtTHys. Mouth elongate, quadrangular, with a spine on the middle of each 310 Zoological Soctety. side of the upper edge. Body six-sided, Tail quadrangular. The shields of the head and body with a more or less elongated spine, each ending in a very long slender filiform beard. Under side of body and tail flat, with a very slightly raised central ridge. Pee- toral and dorsal fin distinct. Caudal fin none, or very rudimentary. Egg-pouch ?; none apparent in the specimen. HALIICHTHYS THENIOPHORA. The head compressed, spinose, with a high, arched, central ridge armed with spines, each having an elongated slender filiform beard in front of its base ; the eye-brows produced, crested, with two large curved spines on the upper edge ; the front spine furnished with a very long filiform beard on the front edge; the lower edge of the orbit with two spines, the base of the operculum with one, and the upper edge with a prominent. ridge armed with two unequal spines, the hinder one largest and compressed. The head at the back edge of the operculum with an arched ridge armed with four large com- pressed conical spines; and there is a compressed bifid one on the nape between these two arched ridges. Body hexangular, or sub- heptangular from the obscure ventral keel, formed of nineteen rings ; the lower lateral angles are narrower than the rest, which are sub- equal; each plate of the rings is armed with a subcentral spine ; and the spines on the three or four darker rings of the body are furnished with elongated filiform beards. The tail is quadrangular ; the under side is rather the widest and flat, the others are concave; each shield is furnished with a spine like those of the body, and the greater part of the spines are furnished with a filiform elongated beard. Caudal rings about forty-five, the apical ore obscure. Dorsal fin over the vent 26-rayed. The dry fish is black above, pale beneath, with three distant black spots on each side of the body, and distant black cross bands on the under side of the base of the tail. Hab. Freycinet harbour, Shark’s Bay, W. Australia. Mr. Gould read the following extract from a Letter addressed to him by George Bennett, Esq., of Sydney, dated October 15th, 1858 :— “The semipalmated Goose, I have seen domesticated in Sydney in a poultry-yard, having been hatched by a common hen. This bird in its anatomy evidently approaches the Cranes, and in habits also. Especially when you see it running about the poultry-yard, it re- sembles one of the Gruide more than a Goose. The bird I allude to was one of many hatched under a hen from eggs procured from the blacks at a station on the Mooruya River, near Broulee, south of Sydney. ‘Ten eggs were procured and placed under two hens, five for each, and in three days less than a month produced seven young Geese, which were reared by the foster-mother. The eggs are said to be cream-coloured, not larger than a small-sized goose- eas The birds lay their eggs close to the water in the lagoons ; they commence to lay about September. The bird was an adult, and Miscellaneous. 811 differed materially from your drawing, which I consider to represent either a distinct species or, from the peculiarity of the bill and feet, a bird of the first year. The bill, feet, and legs were of a flesh- colour; the plumage of the head, neck, wings, centre of the back, tail, and thighs glossy-black ; remainder of the plumage white, These birds are readily domesticated, and run about the poultry- yard in the most amicable manuer possible, The beak, feet, and legs were of the same colour when hatched; and the bird, dating from ie time it was brought forth, would be one year and eight months old. MISCELLANEOUS. Obituary Notices—Antuvur Hunrrey, F.R.S, &e. Iv is with the most painful feelings that we have to announce to our readers the death of Professor Arthur Henfrey, which took place on the 7th of September, at the age of thirty-nine. Inthe prime of life, in the fulness of his intellectual vigour—with the great battle of fame, the life-struggle of the professional man of science, nobly fought and won—with the rewards of his perse- vering and conscientious exertions within his grasp,—this great and. gentle spirit has passed from the scene of his labours, leaving a mournful void in the affections of his personal friends, and casting a blight over those expectations which every one must have formed for him, of a brilliant and useful career in the department of science to which-he had devoted himself. Professor Arthur Henfrey was born at Aberdeen, of English parents, on the Ist of November, 1819. He studied medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, where he was a great favourite with his teacher, Dr. Frederick Farre. On leaving the Hospital, in 1843, when he became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, the delicate state of his health, arising from a ten- dency to bronchial affections which adhered to him through- out his life, prevented him from the practice of his profession ; and from that time he devoted himself exclusively to the study of Botany, in which science he had already acquired great pro- ficiency } and by a course of unremitting diligence in investiga- tion, he speedily placed himself in the foremost rank of English botanists. In the year 1847 he was appointed Lecturer on Botany at the St. George’s Hospital School of Medicine, and in 1854 succeeded the late Professor Edward Forbes in the Botanical chair at King’s College. This position he retained until his death, and in the course of the last few years added to it the offices of Examiner in Natural Science at the Royal Military Academy and to the Society of Arts. At the same time his labours were incessant, both in botanical observation and in 312 Miscellaneous. literature; and it is to be feared that these unintermitted exer- tions in the cause of science must have been one of the causes of the melancholy catastrophe which we now deplore, as he was suddenly attacked by an effusion on the brain, which closed his life after only four days’ illness. It is almost unnecessary for us to dwell upon the scientific merits of Professor Henfrey ; his claim to occupy a place in the first rank of botanists has long been undisputed, and the amount of work which he found time to perform is perfectly marvellous. Whilst constantly engaged in the personal investigation of the structure and physiology of plants, and in preparing the original papers in which his observations were communicated’ to the world, and which appeared in the pages of this Journal, in the ‘ Transactions’ of the Royal and Linnean Societies, the ‘Journal of the Agricultural Society,’ &c., his untiring industry also enabled _ him not only to furnish numerous translations and abstracts of foreign memoirs to the Natural History Journals, and to review many botanical works in the pages of the same periodicals and of the ‘Quarterly Review,’ but also to translate several distinct works, — both from the German and French languages, and to write some excellent elementary works on botanical subjects, of which his ‘Elementary Course of Botany,’ published in 1857, is the last and most important. For three years also he was editor of the ‘ Journal of the Photographic Society ;’ and since the commence- ment of the new series of the ‘ Annals,’ in 1858, he has been one of its most active editors." Nor must the deep research and critical acumen displayed in the articles which he wrote in the ‘Micrographic Dictionary’ be forgotten, the last sheets of a second edition of which he had forwarded to the printer a few days before his decease. With all this pressure of almost incessant toil upon his hands, with health which necessitated the greatest care at all times and often laid him for days upon a bed of sickness, the uniform kindness and gentleness of his disposition was never for a moment obscured; and while the vast stores of his knowledge, always freely offered for the instruction of his friends, must of themselves have generated a respect for him in the minds of all who came in contact with him, his friends alone could fully know the extreme amiability of character which coexisted in him with the highest intellectual powers and the most unwearying energy. The kindliness and charity which pervaded his whole nature, his true spirit, and his cheerful and unassuming manners, endeared him to all who knew him well; and his melancholy and un- timely death leaves them the painful consciousness that his loss creates a vacancy which, to them, can never be supplied. Miscellaneous. 313 Biographical Notice, with Extracts from the Correspondence, of the late Mr. Motley, who was massacred at Kalangan, May \st, 1859. By Henry Denny, A.L.S. &e. , Mr. James Motley was born May 2nd, 1822, at Osmondthorp House, near Leeds, and inherited from his father, Thomas Motley, Esq., an ardent love for Natural History. A near relative, in a letter to me, says, “I was much with him in his early years. In our walks he could not pass a flower, or snail, or bee, that was new to him without stopping to examine it, and asking all about its habits. He knew the names of all the trees and plants at Osmond- thorp before he could pronounce them; and his fondness for botany and geology increased with his riper years. He was educated at St. Peter’s School, York, under the Rev. Mr. Creyke (now Arch- deacon), and from thence entered St. John’s College, Cambridge, to study for the Church; he eventually, however, chose Civil Engi- neering as a profession, to assist in some extensive mining operations which his father was connected with in Wales. These proving an unfortunate speculation in a pecuniary point of view*, he obtained, at the recommendation of Sir H. de la Beche, an appointment in a similar capacity at Labuan, and proceeded thither in February 1848, where he remained five years, when, owing to some disagreement with the Company under whom he went out, he left Borneo and passed a year at Singapore, when he again returned to Borneo under an engagement with a Dutch Company, formed at Batavia for working coal-mines in the Netherland Indian possessions. This proved an undertaking of no small labour, as he had to commence operations by a trigonometrical survey of the country and fixing the limits of the Company’s possessions, which were only vaguely expressed in the contract. The spot selected, after more than 100 borings, was at Kalangan in Banjarmassing, on the south coast of Borneo. This speculation promised to be a successful one, the coal being of excellent quality, the pit containing three seams of coal of four feet six inches, three feet, and two feet respectively. The transport, how- ever, from the pit was difficult, on account of the small river which was capable of carrying coal-boats being lost in a dense forest. Mr. Motley overcame this obstacle by cutting an entirely new one, which proved an interesting geological operation, as throwing much light on the formation of the coal-measures of the island which he considered as undoubtedly late Tertiary. He says, “I have here a coal-field so plainly growing under my eyes, and containing just the same plants as I find fossil in the measures we are working, that probably no one was ever in so favourable a position for ob- serving even very minute points of resemblance. 1 have, in fact, the same state of things which would exist in the fen-counties of England if they possessed a tropical climate, or if man had never been there with dykes, dams, canals, and cultivation. The phze- * At this period he published a volume of poetry entitled ‘Tales of the Cymri,’ founded on the early traditions of Wales, which evinced considerable ability, both as a scholar and poet. 314, Miscellaneous. — nomenon of social plants occupying the ature almost exclusively (a state of things which must have existed during the European coal eera to a great extent) can here be easily studied, while in England we have hardly more than two instances of social plants on a large scale, viz. Calluna vulgaris and Zostera marina; and of these only the latter grows under coal-making conditions, and would, I suspect, yield, when fossilized, just such ribands of carbonaceous matter as we see in many of the carboniferous shales. I must not anticipate too much, but I will only tell you that every time I go into the marshes (through which I have been cutting a canal of several miles in length) I see exemplifications of all sorts of coal-pheenomena, so atent and evident as to make me feel almost clairvoyant for the last hundred thousand years or so. The fossils of our coal-measures, of which I possess about 200, comprise Murex, Dolium, Mitra, Pyrula, Scalaria, Magilus, Cerithium, Strombus, Natica, Avicula, Hemi- cardium, Solen, Psammobia?, several species of Crustacea and Echinus, Flustra ?, a flustroid Sertularia, Caryophyllea, a Sponge, teeth of fish (chiefly Squalide, but very rare), a few scales, tooth of a Diodon, tooth of a Sauroid fish. Interstratified with these beds, which are frequently more or less calcareous, are shales with fossil resin in several states, and Dicotyledonous leaves, generally very imperfect ; no Ferns, Calamites, Lepidodendra, and Stigmaria. I am now writing a paper, aud have made large collections of notes on the coal-fields for the Society of Natural History at Batavia, of which I am a member ’’—besides attending to his laborious duties as En- gineer! He employed a native collector of Natural History to proceed into the interior, who preserved skin§ and the specimens tolerably well; but, as he remarks, ‘‘ 1 know, of course, less of the habits of the animals than I did of those at Labuan, where I collected and preserved them myself: my man has just returned from the in- terior after seven months’ absence, and has brought me some novelties, among the rest an enormous Oran Outan.”’ In another letter he he says, “1 do not forget Leeds or the Museum of the Philosophical Hall, which was my Alma Mater in what has always been the greatest pleasure of my life—Natural History. I will send you a lot of bird-skins, and some bottles of reptiles, and freshwater fish, fresh- water and land shells, and an Ouran Outan if I can get one; my collector was in their district and got only two in two months. The three species inhabit very distant localities in different directions. He is now in pursuit of the small species; and I do not expect him back much before the end of the year. I hope he will bring me a fine lot of water-birds, as he goes to a district of freshwater marshes, I have commissioned him to get all the shells he can: half the land shells of Borneo seem to be new.... The Cassowary is not here; it is said to be on the east coast, though I do not quite believe it ; there may be one, but Iam pretty certain, from the vague reports I have heard, that it is not the common one at all events.,..The Dugongs are rare on this coast ; but I am also too far from the sca (16 miles of wilder- © ness by land, and a day at least by the river) to get many marine specimens. I am, however, not sorry for this; for, although I am Miscellaneous. 815 very fond of marine zoology, I have here more chance of getting something new.. I do more at present in Botany than in Natural History, and am in correspondence with Sir W. J. Hooker, to whom I have just sent 1300 species, also a collection of Cryptogams to Mr. Mitten of Hurst Pierpoint, a pupil of the veteran Bower. I have greatly improved my garden, which will soon be very beautiful. I have in cultivation about 150 species of Orchidee alone, and a vast number of epiphytal Ferns. Of Palms I have now 26 species about my house; among the most interesting plants here are the Hoyas, of which we have an immense variety, and some among them very beautiful. I have a large collection. Their cultivation is not difficult ; it is only necessary to hang them up on my garden paling, made of split palm-wood, and there they very soon fix themselves and are almost always in flower. I have managed to inoculate one of my pupils with a taste for Natural History, and we have com- tiented making together a collection of insects. Nobody who has not tried it knows the difficulty of keeping insects here from ants while drying. There are ‘some species which seem proof against everything in the way of smell, except always balsam of copaiba ; that never fails, but it is, after all, a perfume which one cannot well have about one’s house or person. One of the miners here, a rough ’ Northumbrian, declared, with many expletives, that he was d d if he had not been three years in India and had seen a new sort of ant every day; and I think it quite possible that he could have done so. Acollection of them would be very interesting ; but I have been deterred by the difficulty of getting all the various states with any certainty of their identity in species. Do you know whether there exists any Monograph upon Ants? I am sorry to say I do not get very many Lice for you. I have told my hunter to collect them, and he has brought me some; but he says it makes his skin creep to collect them, —a feeling with which I must confess to have some sympathy, though I have no doubt it is a weakness you have got over long ago. I send two species—one from a large species of Heron akin to the Ad- jutant, and the other from a musk-scented Sorex whose name I do not yet know. ‘There is a popular belief (whether true or not) that the Oran Outan has no lice; at least none have been found, and I suppose they must be very rare. The number of letters which I receive with requests for specimens from persons who have no claim upon me you would scarcely believe. I receive applications from literally the ends of the earth. I have now such from Calcutta, Sydney, New York, and New Orleans, all of which lie still sleeping ina bundle. I assure you it is not possible for me to answer all such letters, much less to send what they ask for. One person, from Germany, has had the coolness to ask me to furnish him with vocabularies of as many as possible of the dialects of Borneo. Talking of languages, Babel is reported to have been in Mesopotamia, but I believe it is here; I speak every day, more or less, four languages— English, French, Malay, and Dyak,—and I ought to speak Dutch ; we have also Javanese, Chinese, Bangenese, &c.” From his zeal in the pursuit of Natural History, there is no doubt 316 Miscellaneous. that many valuable additions would have been the result of his labours if his life had been spared. In March last he despatched a box of specimens for the Leeds Museum, amongst which is a series of the fossils of the Borneo Coal-field, which must prove highly interesting, differing so materially as they do from those of the European Coal- fields: these have not yet arrived. Unfortunately, however, the same mail which brought a cheerful letter from him announcing the transmittal of the above, dated March 24th, in which he stated his first cargo of coals was being shipped for Samarang, brought also the sad intelligence of a revolt of the natives and the massacre of all the Europeans in Kalangan, on May Ist, a detailed account of which occurrence was subsequently transmitted to his father by one of the directors of the Company at Batavia. It was as follows :— : ‘‘ Batavia, May 23, 1859. * Dear Sir, —My name is perhaps only slightly known to you; but in the absence of my friend and co-director, Mr. Tiediman, it becomes my painful duty to communicate to you very sad tidings. I feel almost incompetent to the task, and had rather that another had been the instrument of bearing to a father’s heart all the grief and sorrow which this letter will cause. I only trust, as I do earnestly pray, that He who is near to all who call upon Him in faith will afford you strength to receive with resignation the trials with which it has been His will to visit you. The Government steamer Ardgens, which arrived from Banjarmassing two days ago, has brought the fearful tidings of the destruction of our fine establishment of Ka- langan, and the murder of our European employés, not leaving one of them alas! to tell the tale. The massacre took place on the morning of the Ist of thismonth. The people had been paid as usual on that day, and dispersed. Everything was quite quiet to all appearance; and though the insurgents were in movement about Pengaron and the neighbourhood, and had on the 28th made an unsuccessful attack on that place, no fears were entertained of an outbreak at Kalangan. Between seven and eight in the morning, however, the insurgents, assisted by some of the mine people, set about to do their work of carnage. The first of the establishment attacked, and immediately killed, was Overseer Hupperetz, and next to him Overseer Bovelt, and then your son, who, on the first report of disturbances, had left his house unarmed, and proceeded the length of the bridge, when, after a struggle of some duration, he was overcome by numbers, and fell an early victim. Mr. Wymalen was able to retire to his house, and defended himself and family for nearly three hours, when the house was set on fire, and four children were barbarously butchered. Mr. Van Heecheren, Mr. Eisager, and Dr. Huisaigen shared the same fate. Of Mrs. Motley and her three children it is also reported that they have not escaped ; and in fact Mr. Ouddabye writes positively from Banjermassing to this effect ; but, as this report is not confirmed in all its details, there may still remain a faint hope, but nothing more, that this excellent lady and her children, by the aid of servants, may have effected a temporary concealment, and escaped through the country. I would fain give Miscellaneous. 817 you hope on this point ; but I must convey my conviction that the worst is almost certain, but cannot with certainty. be known until the reinforcements to be despatched from this and Samarang in three or four days arrive there, and enable Colonel Anderson, the present acting resident, to recover Kalangan, or establish a communication with it. I sincerely trust to be able to give you certain tidings by next mail. “Not only at Kalangan have these terrors been enacted, but near Poctoi Petak, in the missionary settlement, four missionaries, three of their wives, and nineteen children have been sacrificed ; in fact, the intention of the insurgents seems to have been (incited by some priests lately returned from Mecca) to exterminate the whole of the Europeans in that division of Borneo; and in this they would have fully succeeded, had the small force under Col. Anderson arrived two days later, which alone enabled them to hold their ground at Ban- jermassing. “J am well aware, my dear sir, that in affliction such as yours human sympathy will not console you ; but that you may receive the precious consolations of Him who is to be found of all who call upon Him in time of trouble, is the earnest and sincere prayer of ‘Yours very truly, “‘ Thos. Motley, Esq., Stanley Terrace, ‘ ALEX. FRAZER. Douglas, Isle of Man.” On the 18th of July another letter was received from Mr. Motley, dated April 18th (the last he wrote), cautioning his father against any anxiety on his account should any rumour of disturbances in Borneo reach England, as he had himself heard some reports, which he did not believe. Alas! in twelve days more he had become a victim, and, it is too probable, all he held most dear i this world. - Philosophical Hall, Leeds, Aug. 11, 1859. On a New British Snake. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e. The Hon. Arthur Russell has brought to the British Museum a specimen of a female Coronelia austriaca (Coluber levis, Lacépéde), which was found near the flag-staff at Bournemouth in Hampshire. This snake is commonly found in company with the Lacerta stir- pium, which has only been discovered in England in the same loca- lity. They are equally generally spread and common in different parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. The snake is said to feed often on the lizard. It is curious that as yet the lizard has only been seen in this single locality, though the sandy district in which they are found forms a broad belt across the south of England. The snake may have been overlooked as an Adder, as it is nearly of the colour of the paler specimens (about the usual size) of that species. It is easily known from it by the want of the lozenge-shaped spots on the back, which are replaced in C. austriaca by three rows of small darker spots, by the smooth ses, and the shielded head. Ca There is a dark blotch on the crown, and a dark streak under the eyes on each side of the head. 7 ) 818 Miscellaneous. On the genus Camptonyx. M. P. Fischer, in the ‘ Journal de Conchyliologie’ for June 1859, gives the genus Camptonyx, Benson, as a synonym of Valenciennesia, Rousseau, and includes the recent Kattiwar species, C. Theobaldi, as a second form of that genus. M. Fischer could not have consulted the original paper in the ‘Annals’ for May 1858 ; otherwise he would have observed that the relations of Camptonyx with the fossil Valenciennia had been pre- viously noticed, and that the different positions of the siphonal channels had been relied on as sufficient to prevent their union. M. Fischer has attributed Campt. Theobaldi to Cochin China, while quoting the true habitat, “sur la péninsule qui sépare les Golfes de Kutch et de Cambay.”’ The locality of this peninsula, between Bombay and the mouths of the Indus, will serve the views of M. Fischer still better than the remote station which he has erro- neously assigned to the recent shell.— W. H. B. September 26, 1859, Anatomical and Physiological Investigation of the Pleurobranchus aurantiacus. By M. Lacaze-DutTHiers. Digestion. Mouth protractile into a trunk; lingual bulb containing three corneous pieces : one median, comb-like, im consequence of the accu- mulation of an immense number of small sharp lamellar teeth; and two in the form of laterally symmetrical plates, covered with small points regularly arranged like the teeth of a file. : Esophagus long. Stomach simple, large, placed on the left side. Intestine short, without convolutions, scarcely flexuous, opening on the right side behind the branchia. Accessory glands.—Liver voluminous, blackish, its exeretory. ca- nals opening at the union of the stomach and intestine, formed of ceca with cellular contents, often occupied by calcareous calculi or calculi of some other nature, probably biliary, usually of a dark tint. Two kinds of salivary glands, one of which, not yet described, as far as I know, is placed upon the dorsal face of the pedal disk, that is to say, upon the lower floor of the visceral cavity, and opens by a single canal between the trunk and the tongue ; it is formed of large cca, clothed with a cellular tissue of very large cells. ‘The other salivary glands are, identical with those of other Mollusca, except that their position is different, their parenchyma being intermixed with the liver. : Circulation. The study of this is most important. The venous cireulation is lacunar in the highest degree. ‘The tissue of the animal swells up like a sponge; great venous tissues, irregular around the stomach, circular at the base of the foot and of the dorsal tegumentary lobe, conduct the blood, on the one hand to the branchia, on the other to the branchial vein, near its union with the auricle. Miscellaneous. 319 Heart transverse and dorsal, Arterial eireulation analogous to that presented by the other Mollusca. The external orifice of the apparatus of circulation, placed above the generative apertures upon the right side before the branchial vein, in the form of a button-hole, is only visible in dead and much- softened animals. It disappears with the greatest facility amidst the wrinkles produced by the contractions. It communicates with a canal which opens into the vein coming from the branchia, in front of the auricle. The internal opening of this canal into the vein is oblique, and placed upon a falciform fold directed towards the heart, which may evidently play the part of a valve. All injections, whatever be their nature, or the means by which they are propelled, reach the heart by this orifice from the ex- terior. The external orifices of the circulation have not been remarked and well determined upon the integuments of any of the Mollusca, ex- cept the Dentalia and Pleurobranchi. In these examples ruptures cannot have been taken for orifices. I hope to be able to gene- ralize this fact, not by considerations independent of observation, but by anatomical data, which everything leads me to think accurate, IT should mention that Gegenbaur, Leuckart, and Langer have already indicated relations between the circulatory apparatus and the exte- rior, by the intermediation, however, of the corpus Bojani either directly or through the pericardium in the Pteropoda and Acephala. We have this fact now demonstrated also in the Gasteropoda. It is evident, if we come to the generalization of these facts, that the ideas we have of the nutrition of animals, taking the higher creatures as our type, must be modified for the Mollusca; and the circulation in this group will no doubt present itself in quite a new light. . Nervous System. Three ganglionic centres, as in the other Mollusca. The supra- cesophageal and pedal ganglia very distinct, forming a collar. The right postero-lateral ganglion (the same designated by authors by different names, such as pallio-splanchnic, genito-respirator, &c.) very small, placed close to the collar on the right side. This last centre furnishes two very slender nerves, of which one passes to the generative organs, the other to the branchia. From the pedal centre the nerves of the foot arise. The otolithes are applied against it. From the supra-ceesophageal centre arise the nerves of the tentacles, of the supra-buccal velum, of the trunk, the eyes, and the dorsal tegumentary lobe. The two latter are very voluminous. One of them, that of the right side, gives off very distinct filaments to the branchia. It appears, therefore, that the right postero-lateral gan- glia, called respiratory ganglia by some authors, are not the only ones that preside over the function of respiration. 3 - The great sympathetic nerve is well developed, arises by two ori- gins from the supra-cesophageal ganglia, forms two ganglia under the cesophagus, and is distributed over the digestive tube and the 320 Miscellaneous. lingual apparatus. The trunk and the tongue are thus clearly di- stinguished by the nature of the nerves which animate them. Reproduction. Hermaphroditism ; fundamental and accessory glands, as well as the other parts, analogous in structure and arrangement to those found in most Gasteropoda. Special Secretions. The skin is filled with triangular spicula, or with oval calcareous particles. The latter occur (although in form less regular than in the skin) in the walls of the digestive tube, and even in the neuri- lemma of the nerves. The corpus Bojani is placed to the right of the mass of the vis- cera, and is entirely internal; it turns under the branchia by a distinct pore, which is easily seen. This forbids the supposition which might perhaps be raised, that the excretory pore of the corpus Bojani has been mistaken in this case for the internal orifice of the circulation. In Pleurobranchus testudinarius I have met with numerous calculi in the interior of its tissue. With nitric acid and ammonia they gave the well-known purple-red colour characteristic of uric acid. This is a fresh proof, in addition to so many others, that this body may be regarded as a kidney.—Comptes Rendus, June 27, 1859, p. 1155. . Note on Cyclostoma articulatum. By 8. P. Woopwarp, F.G.S. This land-snail is peculiar to the Island of Rodriguez, and belongs to the subgenus Tropidophora (Troschel), characteristic of the Mascarene Islands. Numerous examples were collected in February 1858 by the late Madame Ida Pfeiffer, who conveyed them to the — Mauritius, where they continued active, but took no food during a stay of two months. Three individuals remained alive after the voyage to England, which occupied ten weeks; and several others were sufficiently preserved for examination. They were brought over packed in paper and rags, in a tin pot with a lid, and were not taken out until a fortnight after their arrival. One of these snails lived for some months under a bell-glass with moss and ferns, and afforded frequent opportunities for examination. The animal was of a pale buff colour, with darker tentacles and muzzle ; the tentacles were acute, rugose, and slightly annulated ; the muzzle annulated, grooved beneath, and bilobed at the end, which was constantly used in walking. The foot was ample, with a deep central groove dividing it into two lateral elements moved alternately in walking. When it retired and closed its shell, it still adhered, and sometimes became suspended, by a tenacious thread of mucus. Madame Pfeiffer also brought home specimens of Cyclostoma ca- rinatum and C.(Otopoma) Lasteri, from Mauritius, which were in a tolerably fresh state. The lingual dentition of these species differs slightly from that of C. articulatum.—Proc. Zool. Soc. May 24, 1859, THE ANNALS MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. [THIRD SERIES.] No. 23. NOVEMBER 1859. XXXIII.—On the Reproduction of the Bark-Lice (Chermes, &c.) ; a further Contribution to the Knowledge of Parthenogenesis. By Rupoirs LevcKart*. si [ With a Plate. ] In my small work upon the alternation of generations and par- thenogenesis in Insects (Frankfort, 1858), I have proved that. a spontaneous evolution of the eggs takes place in the Coccina and allied animals. Among the latter I particularly cited the genus Chermes, which is usually referred to the Aphides by entomologists, and may indeed approach most closely to those animals on the whole, although in many respects it constitutes the transition to the Coceina. What I was able to state then with regard to Chermes related, however, exclusively to the wingless generation of these so- ealled Bark-lice. I had ascertained that all the individuals of this generation were of the female sex, and that they laid eggs capable of evolution without the cooperation of males. The winged individuals had not at that time been investigated, with the exception of a few specimens of C. Laricis, which were also | found to be virgin females. Hoping to be able to extend my observations to the latter also, and thus to obtain an insight into the entire history of the reproduction of these remarkable creatures, my statements with regard to Chermes in general were rather short and aphoristic, forming to a certain extent only an appendix to the observations upon the Coccina and the Aphides with viviparous generations. ‘As I have paid much attention to the animals in question in the course of the past summer, and, in my opinion, have arrived * Translated from the ‘ Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte,’ 1859, p. 209, by W.S. Dallas, F.L.S., Keeper of the York Museum. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 21 322 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. at a pretty good conclusion with regard to them, I have thought it the less advisable to keep back my observations, as they not only furnish us with a new and interesting contribution to the knowledge of Parthenogenesis, but also throw some light upon many other long-known peculiarities in the reproduction of insects. But, before I commence with the special exposition of my investigations, a few words on the mode of life of the animals may not be out of place, sv far as this may be ascertained by mere external observation, especially as it is fully described from actual observation in the works of De Geer (Mémoires, tome iii. pp. 66-84, tab. 8), Kaltenbach (Monographie der Familien der Pflanzenliuse, 1843, pp. 193-206), and Ratzeburg (Forstinsekten, 1847, Theil iii. pp. 195-205, tab. 12, 13) *. We treat in the first place of the common Fir-louse (C. Abve- tis, Linn.), which is divided into two species by both the last- mentioned authors, namely C. Abietis, Kalt.= C. viridis, Ratzeb., and C. strobilobius, Kalt.= C. coceineus, Ratzeb. The distinction of these two species, which, however, may be justified by the size and position of their galls, is of no consequence to us ; for both forms, which are very nearly allied even externally, agree so closely biologically and anatomically, that I have looked in vain for a distinction between them. (I will not, however, omit to mention, in passing, that my investigations were made prin- eipally upon the first of these two species or varieties.) By the investigations of the above-mentioned entomologists it is satisfactorily established that the Fir-louse passes the win- ter in the wingless state, in the form of a plump insect not larger than a grain of sand, beneath the protective covering of a whitish woolly coat, at the base of the scaly young buds of the Fir. It is only in the following spring (April) that the little animal begins to grow. It is then always found in its old place, immoveable; and on closer examination its rostrum is ob- served to be inserted deeply into the axis of the awakening bud. That our insect pierces the individual leaves, as asserted by Kaltenbach and also by De Geer, is incorrect; I have never seen it elsewhere than in the above situation, and might even suppose that it remains in this position until its death, without ever changing the place of insertion of its rostrum to any extent. Close above the perforation, even at this time, before the evolu- tion of the buds, the axis of the young shoot, with the leaves attached to it, begins to swell; thus commences the first founda- * Hartig’s memoir (Germar’s Zeitschrift fiir die Entomol. iii. p. 366) is not in my possession at the moment; and I pass it over with the less reluctance, as his statements are frequently inaceurate and erroneous,—at least as regards C. Abietis. M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. 323 tion of those remarkable pine-apple-like galls which, as we shall see hereafter, serve as the dwelling-place of the second genera- tion of our animal. After the Fir-louse, constantly increasing in size, has re- peatedly changed its skin in the course of the next three weeks, and at the same time renewed its woolly covering (Kaltenbach), which, as is well known, pushes out gradually from the skin of the body in single threads, as a secretion (wax ?), the oviposition commences, still before the evolution of the young shoot. The eggs are attached to the bud behind the mother by means of a short style, and are usually also clothed at the same time with cast woolly threads ; they gradually accumulate here in such quanti- ties, that as many as 200 of them may not unfrequently be counted* towards the close of the oviposition, which, indeed, does not arrive until the death of the mother, when the oldest eggs are already hatched. The exclusion of the young takes place in the latter half of May, soon after the young shoot has broken out through the enveloping scales with its axis, which is abbreviated and thick- ened at its lower end. The young brood immediately quits its birthplace, and moves forward in a mass, to find a new dwelling between the closely approximated swelled leaves of the shortened shoot. Here the young brood completes what its mother had begun. Hundreds of suckers sink mto the juicy leaves; and under the influence of this continual irritation the leaves close up to form that globular or oval head+ which we have already mentioned as the dwelling-place of the second generation. An amalgamation of the leaves, such as has been supposed by some, does not take place, although their outer margins are closely applied to each other. Tolerably spacious cell-like cavities also remain between the leaves in the interior; and each of these is almost constantly inhabited by several young plant-lice, some- times a dozen together. These animals of the second generation are more slender and mobile than the individuals which have lived through the winter, from which we started in our investigations; they also appear to be by no means so continually attached by the rostrum. At least, on opening a cell, a number of animals living free in the interior are almost always found, whilst the rest adhere to the walls. These animals, like their free parents, clothe themselves * Kaltenbach is far below the mark when he estimates the number of eggs deposited by a single mother “at thirty or more.” T Very frequently, however, these galls are attached excentrically upon the shoot, and are then, of course, less regularly rounded. Perhaps in such cases the insect has not penetrated with its rostrum quite to the middle of the abbreviated axis. 21* 324 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. with a woolly down, but this is very much shorter. Like their parents, they are subject to a repeated change of skin as the size of their bodies increases, but they do not by this means perceptibly alter in their appearance. Towards the end of July these larvee become converted into pupz ; they then pre- sent wing-cases, and are all attached, almost immoveably, with the legs retracted, by means of the rostrum, to the wall of the cell. In about a fortnight the metamorphosis is complete ; the cells of the galls open, by the separation of the leaves, which gradually dry; and from the gaping fissures the crowd of pups, which have again become capable of motion, escape, usually in the sunshine. These ascend the leaves in the vicinity, cling firmly with their legs, and then, by another change of skin, become converted in a few minutes into winged Aphis-like creatures, which remain sitting close together for a time on the leaves, and then disperse in all directions. In the course of a few days, single individuals of these Aphides are found dead, with their wings spread out in a rooflike form, here and there upon the leaves, and beneath them a small aggre- gation of pedunculated eggs, partly enveloped in the woolly. hairs, adhering to the abdomen of the mother. The young, which escape from the eggs in the course of a few weeks, dis- perse themselves, and seek the developed buds in the vicinity, usually singly, seldom two or more together; upon these, as above stated, they hibernate, and in the next year, with a more abundant nourishment, produce a new progeny. Our present knowledge of the Fir-lice is confined to the pre- ceding observations. No one has yet seen the copulation of these animals, nor has any one yet proved with certainty the exist- ence of a male. It is a mere assumption that a copulation pre- cedes the oviposition of the winged animals; and it is nothing more than an assumption when Ratzeburg (op. cit. p. 201) regards the smaller individuals of this winged generation as males, and considers the elongated form of their abdomen, and the presence of an obtuse penis-like organ (Ruthe) protrusible by pressure with the compressorium, as characteristic attributes of their sex. The same questions still remain to be answered with regard to the reproduction of the Fir-lice, that ‘De Geer proposes at the end of his account of the natural history of these animals. I am happy that my investigations enable me to give some more definite information upon-the conditions in question. This, however, is not in favour of an opinion which not long since held the place of an irrefragable law, and which also influenced the earlier observers in their suppositions. I have convinced myself that the reproduction of our Fir-lice M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. 325 takes place in both generations by a parthenogenetic process, by the spontaneous development of the eggs. Although I have examined fully two hundred of our animals, I have never met with a male among them. All the individuals, wingless and winged, large and small, were females, and, indeed, virgin females. This was the case not only with animals taken before oviposition, but also with those engaged in depositing their eggs, and even with those whose eggs already presented distinct traces of the commencement of evolution, or even con- tained developed embryos. More than once I isolated the eggs of such virgin animals, and afterwards saw them hatch. After such observations, there can be no doubt that the Fir- lice generally propagate without males. But whether males are entirely wanting, or whether they merely make their appearance _ from time to time, under certain favourable circumstances, and then fecundate the females, I must leave undecided; yet it- almost appears to me as if certain anatomical conditions, to which I shall have to refer hereafter, rendered the first supposition to a certain extent credible. It is, however, not only the common Fir-louse (C. Adbvetis) that behaves in this manner. Towards the end of April I several times observed on the young shoots of the Fir a wingless Louse (C. Picea, Ratzeb.?), which presented an extraordinary resem- blance to the individuals of the first generation of C. Abvetis, but was distinguished therefrom partly by its darker, almost black colour, and partly by its far smaller size. I can state nothing with regard to the mode of life of this species: I afterwards sought in vain upon the infected trees for galls, and must leave it undecided whether our animal, like C. Abietis, subsequently produces a second winged generation; this, however, is very probable. But I am certain that all the individuals examined, : amongst which were several with eggs already deposited although not numerous, proved to be unfecundated females, exactly as in the corresponding state of C. Adietis. I can assert the same thing of the nearly allied Phylloxera coccinea, Von Heyden, of which I met with numerous wingless females, at the commencement of July, on the lower surface of oak-leaves, with eggs deposited in rings. In this case, also, the older eggs (about 30-40 in number) contained an embryo al- ready far advanced in development, although no trace of semen was to be detected in the mothers. Previous observers have overlooked the existence of this first generation of wingless females: they speak of winged animals which made their ap- pearance in August and September, and fastened their eggs to the oak-leaves exactly in the same way as the wingless females. Unfortunately, I have not succeeded in finding these winged 326. M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. Phylloxere, but I have scarcely any doubt that they would have proved without exception to be female animals. From all ana- logy, these winged individuals are the progeny of the wingless forms observed by me, which, on their part, represent the first generation of Chermes, and will have passed the winter either as young animals, or, as their later appearance would almost lead us to believe, as eggs. | If the latter supposition be well founded, our Phylloxera would be distinguished thereby not only from Chermes Abietis*, but also from C. Laricis, which otherwise approaches it most closely in form and mode of life (residence on the surface of the leaves, and incapability of forming galls). Be 6s: With regard to. the conditions of reproduction, however, the same statements apply to the latter as to other species pre- viously referred to. The Larch-louse also only exhibits the female sex in both wingless and winged individuals; it always consists, as far as I am aware, only of parthenogenetic virgins. But with regard to the relation in which these two forms of individuals stand to each other, I have not been able to arrive at so clear a conclusion as in the case of C. Abietis. Nevertheless it almost appears as if C. Laricis behaved somewhat differently in.this respect. According to the statements of Kaltenbach and Ratzeburg, there is indeed no doubt that the minute creatures which pass the winter on the still undeveloped buds are de- veloped first of all only into wingless individuals; but it is equally certain that in this case the winged individuals make their appearance very early, and occur for a long time together with wingless females. J found such winged individuals as early as the end of May, a few weeks after the first eggs, which in this species are but few in number, were met with. Moreover, according to Ratzeburg’s observations, the eggs of the first ge- neration do not produce winged individuals exclusively, as. in C. Abietis, but wingless forms are produced at the same time ; the latter, however, are somewhat different from the original wingless animals, and produce a third generation in the same year. That the winged individuals lay eggs, like the wingless ones, was unknown to Ratzeburg; I have, however, convinced myself of this in the most certain manner, but must remark that the number of these eggs is less than that produced by the wing- less females. By the greater number of the consecutive generations, and also by the fact that these generations are represented, at least in part, simultaneously by winged and wingless individuals, * It was by mistake that, in my memoir on the alternation of generations and Parthenogenesis in insects, I stated that the eggs of C. Abietis passed through the winter. Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 327 Chermes Laricis evidently approaches the ordinary Aphides in its conditions of reproduction, except that the viviparous indivi- duals, as also in Phyllowera, are replaced by egg-laying females, and that male individuals are entirely wanting (at least, as a general rule). [To be continued. | XXXIV.—On some new Anthribide. By Francis P. Pascoz, F.L.S. &c. In common with many other families of Coleoptera, the Anthri- bidee have received very little attention from entomologists. This is, perhaps, partly owing to their being scattered in small numbers over every part of the world, and Europe possessing only about twenty of them out of the twelve hundred which our collections are calculated to contain. Of these, according to M. Jekel, who has specially studied the family, not more than two hundred are published ; and there are consequently a num- ber of new forms, only a few of which I have here attempted to describe, and these principally derived from Mr. Wallace’s re- searches in the Indian Archipelago. Indeed the family may be considered to have its head-quarters in those islands: in all Mr. Wallace’s collections, including those from New Guinea, they formed, from the number both of species and individuals, a very characteristic feature, and in this respect afforded a marked contrast to collections from extra-tropical Australia. It is pro- bable, however, that we shall hereafter find the northern or tro- pical part of the Australian continent to assimilate more to the opposite shores of New Guinea, and that the very distinctly marked region extending from Java to the latter island will have Ceylon, and perhaps a portion of Southern India, on the one hand, with tropical Australia, and not New Guinea, on the other, as outlying or transition provinces. As no attempt has yet been made to classify the family, which contains at least three distinct types of form, I have thought it best to avoid any remarks respecting the affinities or position of the new genera here proposed*. It is, perhaps, as well also to observe that the individuals of many Anthribide vary much more than is usual in regard to size, markings, and the relative proportion of their parts, particularly of the rostrum and an- tenne. * In order to condense as much as possible, I have generally omitted all characters which belong to the Anthribide as a family; and even those here given may perhaps hereafter be curtailed without disadvantage. 328 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. Xenocerus insignis. X. aterrimus, albo-varius ; antennis tarsisque albo-annulatis. santennis corpore quadruplo longioribus, articulis quarto et quinto basi albis. 2 antennis dimidio corporis vix longioribus, articulis quarto et quinto basi, septimo basi excepta, et octavo albis. Hab. Amboyna. : Male. Deep black ; two lines between the eyes, a spot on the front, three stripes on the prothorax (the lateral ones shorter and narrower), a sutural patch expanding below the middle into a broad band, and sides of the thorax beneath, white ; antenne four times as long as the body, base of the fourth and fifth joints white; tarsi with the base of the first and second joints of the four posterior, and the base of the last of the posterior only, whitish-cinereous. In the female, the white on the prothorax is more diffused, shading gradually into the black, and the whole of the upper two-thirds of the elytra is white, except at the shoulders and two black spots near the centre of the patch ; the tarsi have all the joints, except the penultimate, whitish at the base. Length 10 lines. Nearly allied to, or perhaps only a variety of X.semiluctuosus, Bl. ZYGHENODES. Head broadly triangular in front, expanded at the sides into a thin process bearing the eye. Antenne slender, longer than. the body, 11-jointed, the first thick and longer than the second, which is short and obconic, the remainder filiform and subequal, except the three last, which are somewhat stouter; antennal groove broad, commencing beneath the lateral process, and continued to the mandible. Eye oblong. Labrum very small. Mandibles robust. Maxillary palpi moderate, poimted. Prothorax trans- verse, width of the elytra, semicircular anteriorly, narrowed sud- denly behind, the carina distant from the base, and curving shortly round to the front. LElytra short. Legs moderate ; anterior coxz approximate, the middle distant ; first tarsal joint longer than the rest together. Prosternum simple; mesoster- num broad, truncate posteriorly. Zygenodes Wollastoni. Z. nigra, guttis cinereo-albis ornata ; capite antice cinereo-albo. Hab. Borneo. , Dull black, pubescent ; head between the eyes, prothorax, and elytra, covered with small ashy-white spots; front of the head from the eyes to the mandibles entirely ashy-white ; body be- neath, and legs, with a pale ashy pubescence. Length 3 lines. Dedicated to the author of ‘Insecta Maderensia.’ | Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 329 Corrhecerus Jekelit. ‘ C. rufo-brunneus, ochraceo-irroratus ; oculis auratis; pedibus ochra- ceis, tarsis brunneo variis. Hab. Brazil (Para). Reddish brown, closely pubescent, with numerous small ochreous spots, which on the elytra are more or less confluent, giving them a somewhat patchy appearance; antenne reddish brown, the club darker, except the last joint, which is white ; under surface and legs ochreous, the last three tarsal joints of the anterior and middle two of the four posterior dark reddish brown; eyes golden brown. Length 3} lines. The antenne are ciliated, as in C. barbicornis, F., but the eyes are rather more reniform. Dedicated to M. Henri Jekel of Paris, author of ‘ Fabricia Entomologica’ and other works. NESsSIA. Head sub-depressed ; rostrum very broad. Labial palpi elon- gate, hairy. Eyes obliquely oblong. Antenne short, arising from beneath the rostrum; the first and second joints robust, the rest slender and gradually decreasing in length, the ninth and tenth shortly triangular, and, with the eleventh, forming a compressed club ; all the joints with a setose hair at their tips on each side; antennal groove deep, directed obliquely outwards. Prothorax narrowed in front, the carina sub-basal, passing obliquely downwards at the side to about half the length of the prothorax, and terminating in a recurved hook. Llytra rather short, subdepressed. Legs moderate; tarsi short, the first and last joints of nearly equal length. Nessia didyma. N. hirta, rufo-brunnea, sparsim nigro-maculata ; elytris basi striato- punctatis, singulis apicem versus maculis duabus albis. Hab. Borneo. 3 Clothed with short, dense, reddish-brown hairs ; rostrum and round the eyes yellowish; two black interrupted stripes on the prothorax ; elytra striato-punctate chiefly near the base, with a a few scattered black spots, one especially near the apex larger than the rest, above this are placed two narrow approximate white spots ; under surface with a dull greyish pubescence; eyes black. Length 6 lines. Nessia centralis. N. rufo-brunnea, flavescenti-hirta; elytris macula magna communi rufo-fusca. Hab. Borneo. Light reddish brown, clothed with short yellowish hairs ; the 330 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. prothorax clouded with darker brown ; elytra slightly striated, with a few brownish spots and a large deep chocolate-brown patch in the middle common to both; beneath brown, with a dull greyish pile; eyes black. Length 34 lines. Litocerus mestus. L. anthracinus, obscure cinereo-guttatus ; antennis basi rufo-piceis. Hab. Borneo. Shining bluish-black, with several small, scattered, dull ashy spots; rostrum broad, finely punctured ; prothorax rather trans- verse ; elytra broadly punctate-striate; antenne with the two basal joints pitchy red, beneath dull black. Length 3 lines. Litocerus figuratus. L. cervino-brunneus, fusco-maculatus ; rostri dimidio basali griseo ; antennarum articulis tribus basalibus testaceis. Hab. Borneo. Light reddish brown, with large distinct stripes and spots of dark chocolate-brown; prothorax with two principal stripes and an irregular ring on each side; elytra with an oblong spot, followed by another below, which expands on each side into an irregular cruciform figure, between this and the shoulder, other irregular spots, varying a little in individuals; legs testaceous brown, slightly varied with darker; rostrum with the basal half greyish; antenne dark brown, with the three basal joints testa- ceous. Length 4 lines. Apparently allied to L. maculatus, Ol. Litocerus sellatus. L. fuscus, sparsim ochraceo-guttatus ; elytris medium versus plaga magna communi ochracea ; antennis dimidio basali testaceo-variis. Hab. Borneo. Dark: brown, pubescent, sparingly spotted with ochraceous ; elytra slightly punctate-striate, with a large common transverse ochraceous spot before the middle; antennze with the lower half of the basal joints testaceous. Length 3 lines. EczeEsaRIs. Head moderate, narrowed below the eyes, dilated at the apex, the rostrum tricarinated. Antenne half as long as the body, the first two joints short and thick, the third to the eighth very slender, the ninth and tenth broadly triangular, and, with the last, forming a short club. Antennal groove short, oblique. Eyes oblong. Palpi short; terminal joint of the labial ovate, hairy internally ; maxillary pointed. Labium transversely qua- Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 331 drate. Prothorax narrowed anteriorly ; the carina sub-basal, slightly curved forwards at the angle. LElytra short, rounded at the sides and apex. Legs moderate, middle coxz somewhat distant, tibie very stout, first tarsal joint elongate. ~ _Eczesaris atomaria. E. nigra, ochraceo-irrorata; antennarum articulis 3-8° brunneis ; oculis auratis ; tarsorum articulo ultimo albo. Hab. Aru. Dull black, pubescent, everywhere covered, except the tarsi, with small, distinct, ochraceous spots; eyes golden brown; an- tenn with the third to the eighth joints rufous brown; tibiz and tarsi closely ciliated, the last joint of all the tarsi white. Length 4 lines. | Acorynus rusticus. A. pubescens, fuscus, obscure ferrugineo ochraceo fuscoque varius ; prothorace subvittato; elytris fusco-maculatis ; antennis rufo- piceis. , Hab. Borneo. Pubescent, brownish, varied with dull rusty ochraceous and dark brown patches, which on the prothorax assume somewhat the form of stripes of dark brown and ochraceous only, but on the elytra the ochraceous is mingled with light brown, the dark brown forming three distinct spots on each, placed longitudi- nally; antennz reddish pitchy; legs varied with ochraceous, especially on the femora and apical half of the first tarsal joints ; under surface with short rusty ochraceous hairs. Length 7 lines. Acorynus amabilis. A. tomentosus, pallide rufo-griseus ; prothoracis disco bivittato ; oy: tris macula basali, alteraque apice, et pone medium fascia maculi- formi fuscis ; antennis, tarsis tibiisque fuscis. Hab. Aru. Covered: with a short, dense, pale reddish-grey pile; rostrum in front, mandibles, eyes, and antenne black ; prothorax with two broad brownish bands on the disc; elytra rather short, a little swollen at the base, with slightly oblique striz, a spot at the shoulder, a smaller one at the apex, and a spot-like band below the middle dark brown; lower part of the tibie and tarsi black. Length 5 lines. Dirreza. Head small, rounded in front, without a rostrum. Antenne (¢) very short, inserted before the eye, the first jot moderate, 832 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. thickened, the second longer than the third, the fourth longest, - rather compressed and very much enlarged, fifth to the eighth shortly conic, the three last forming a compact, somewhat com- pressed club. Eye oblong, slightly emarginate. » Palpi moderate, pointed. Antennal groove obsolete. Prothorax rounded ante- riorly, broadest behind, the carina close to the elytra, bent for- wards and downwards, and terminating at half the length of the prothorax. Elytra elongate, cylindrical, as wide as the prothorax. Legs short; coxee of the middle pair approximate. Abdomen of six segments. It is possible that this may be the same as Cidecerus of M. Montrouzier (Faune de Woodlark, p. 46); but he describes the third antennal joint as being the enlarged one, and the club as consisting of four joints. Dipieza Waterhouse. Dd. cylindrica, elongata, lanuginosa, albo vel griseo fuscoque varia ; antennarum articulo quarto clavaque nigris, reliquis rufo-testaceis. Hab. Aru. Elongate cylindrical, covered with coarse curled hairs; head pale greyish brown ; prothorax indistinctly striped with brown, greyish and a little white; elytra greyish at the shoulders; a large discal patch also greyish mixed with dark brown, around this and the apex white, the latter with two dark brown spots ; legs varied with grey and white; eyes, fourth antennal joint, and the club black, the rest of the joints reddish yellow; under surface covered with whitish hairs. Length 4 lines. Dedicated to G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., of the British Museum. PENESTICA. Head flattened in front, concealed above by the prothorax ; the rostrum but slightly developed. Antenne short, the first three joints subequal and longest, the fourth shorter, fifth to the eighth gradually shorter and broader, the three last forming a somewhat dilated club. Maxillary palpi slender, pointed. Pro- thorax rounded anteriorly, very convex, the carina basal, and extending at a right angle along the side. Elytra shortly cylin- drical. Legs moderate ; .coxe of the middle pair distant ; tarsi short. Penestica tnepta. P. hirta, albescens, griseo nigroque varia; antennis piceo-rufis, clava nigra. Hab. Aru. Covered with whitish, varied with grey and dark brown, short, Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 333 close-set hairs ; prothorax clouded with grey and having a few indistinct dark brown patches; elytra obliquely striated at the base, with fine greyish patches (in each of which is a central dark brown spot)—. e. one at the base and one at the apex of each elytron, and a large common transverse one in the middle, —the sides also greyish ; legs and under surface greyish white ; antenne pitchy red, with the club and eyes black. Length 3 lines. [To be continued. | XXXV.—On the Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. By W. K. Parxer, M. Mier. Soc., and T. R. Jonzs, F.G.S. II. On the Species enumerated by Walker and Montagu: The Foraminifera figured and described in Walker’s ‘Test. Min.’— Subsequently to 1758 (the date of Linnzus’s 10th edition of the ‘Systema Nature’), and prior to 1789, when Gmelin pro- duced his edition of the ‘ Syst. Nat.’, several authors noticed and figured recent and fossil Foraminifera. Among these, Leder- miller (1764) figured several, but did not aim at giving either specific determinations, or even names. Martini (1769) merely copied the figures and names given by Gualtieri and Plancus ; and so also did others. Guettard (1770) figured several forms of fossil Nummulites, Orbitolites, &c., which may be more or less easily recognized. Schroeter (1776-87), Gronovius (1781), and Spengler (1781)* supplied valuable materials for the Rhi- zopodist, as we have indicated in our former paper (Annals and Mag. N.H. 3 ser. vol. iii. p. 474). Soldani (1780) in his ‘ Sag- gio orittografico,’ &c., illustrated a large series of Foraminifera, but did not adopt the binomial nomenclature in his descriptions. We shall turn to the consideration of this work when we take in hand the much larger, and indeed enormous, accumulation of microzoic materials which Soldani has so industriously and ela- borately depicted in his great work, ‘'Testaceographia et Zoo- phytographia,’ &c. (1789-98). There is, however, one work of the period referred to that requires of us critical examination, as far as the Foraminifera figured and described in it are concerned; and therefore, in pursuance of the object of these papers, we now offer some re- marks on the species and varieties of Foraminifera represented by the figures in plates 1 and 3 of the ‘ Testacea minuta rariora,’ &e., by G. Walker t. * This date was madvertently omitted in our last communication. In the Bibliographic list appended to Prof. Williamson’s ‘ Monograph. Brit. Foram.’ (p. 102) this date should be attached to the reference to Spengler. + Testacea minuta rariora nuperrime detecta in arena littoris Sandvi- 334 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the The history and character of this work are so well given by Prof. Williamson in his elegant Monograph on the Recent Fora- minifera of Great Britain (1857) that we borrow the following extract from pages v and vi of the introduction of that work :— “The earliest British writer in whose works I have discovered any notice of the Foraminifera is Hookef, the father of micro- scopical science in this country. In his ‘ Micrographia,’ pub- lished in 1665, he figures a single specimen, apparently of a Rotalia, which he found in some sea-sand. This figure is copied in the ‘ Micrographia Illustrata’ of the elder Adams (1747)... No further progress was made until the time of Mr. Boys, the well- known conchologist, whose labours converted Sandwich Bay into classic ground. His discoveries amongst minute shells led to the publication of the ‘Testacea Minuta Rariora,’ for which work the drawings were made by Mr. George Walker, an intelli- gent bookseller at Faversham, whilst the well-known Edward Jacob wrote the descriptions*. The volume contained thirty- six figures of Foraminifera, divided into twenty-two supposed species; but the descriptions are very brief, rarely exceeding half-a-dozen words ; and though the twelfth and thirteenth edi- tions of Linnzeus’s ‘Systema Nature’ had appeared, containing both descriptions and binomial designations for the Linnzan forms, Walker avoided assigning trivial names to his objects, ‘through the fear of giving such as might in any way interfere with those already given by Linnzus to shells of the same kinds}.’ The fact that subsequent conchologists have usually ascribed to Walker several of the specific names now employed, requires a word in explanation. In 1787, George Adams the younger published his volume of ‘ Essays on the Microscope.’ A second edition of this work, with considerable additions and improvements, appeared in 1798, edited by Frederic Kanmacher, who introduced into this edition Walker’s figures of the Fora- minifera, and appended to them generic and specific names in censis a Gul. Boys, Arm. S.A.S. Multa adidit, et omnium Figuras ope ae ampliatas accurate delineavit Geo. Walker. 4to, London 1784}. * “No date is attached to this work; but the copy in the library of Mr. J. G. Jeffreys, with the use of which I have long been favoured, and which was originally in the possession of Dr. Turton, contains the manu- script date of May lst, 1784. That this was the date of publication is rendered increasingly probable by the fact that the copy in the library of the British Museum, which formerly belonged to Sir Joseph Banks, con- tains a manuscript letter from Jacobs to Sir Joseph, written to accompany the two copies of the work that Walker sent to the worthy baronet. The letter is dated May 2nd, 1784. For this fact I am indebted to Dr. Gray, of the British Museum.” + Test. Mimut. Rar., Introduction, p. v. Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 335 accordance with the binomial plan of Linneus. These names were chiefly modifications of prominent terms selected from Walker’s, or rather Jacob’s, brief descriptions : for example, the Nautilus subarcuatus geniculis exertis of the latter became the Nautilus subarcuatulus of Adams. These facts would lead us to ascribe the names usually given to the more common British Foraminifera to Adams rather than to the authors of the ‘Tes- tacea Minuta Rariora;’ but my kind friend Dr. Gray has called my attention to a note on p. 844 of Dillwyn’s ‘Catalogue of Recent Shells,’ where, under the head of Nautilus lobatulus, the author observes, ‘It first appeared with the present name in the “ Essays on the Microscope ;”” and Adams there says he had obtained a manuscript corrected copy of the minute shells, to which Walker had added all the trivial names [which he has used].? ‘This,’ as Dr. Gray observes to me in a recent com- munication, ‘sets the matter at rest why they are quoted as Walker’s.’ ”” It is in the second, or Kanmacher’s, edition of Adams’s ‘ Es- says on the Microscope*’ that the binomial appellations are given to Walker’s figures, or rather to some of them, which are faithfully copied in Kanmacher’s 14th plate. In a note at page 633, Kanmacher says, ‘ Being possessed of Mr. Jacob’s own corrected copy of the work (Test. Min.), to which he has annexed the trivial names, I am thereby enabled to affix them to the several’shells here enumerated.’? Kanmacher’s observa- tions (including an extract from a letter written by Sir J. Banks to Mr. Jacob) on the joint work of Walker, Boys, and Jacob, - and on the study of minute shells, are well worth reading (p. 630, &c.). _ The specimens examined and figured by Walker were obtained by Mr. Boys and himself from the shore-sands of Sandwich, Faversham, Sheppey, and the intervening coast; and amongst them we have some fossil Foraminiferat washed by the action of the sea and streams from the tertiary clays and sands of the respective neighbourhoods, and mixed with the recent shells in the mud and sands of the coast f. * Essays on the Microscope, by the late George Adams. The second edition, with considerable additions and improvements, by Frederick Kan- macher, F.L.S., 4to, London, 1798. f Still more fossil specimens from these localities were afterwards figured and described by Cel. Montagu, who worked over Mr. Boys’s col- lection, which appears to have been increased by materials accuniulated during several years subsequent to the time when Walker and Jacob had it in hand. { This was remarked by one of us some years since (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soe. vol. viii. p. 267). Foraminifera from the Chalk also are m many places abundantly mixed with the sea-sand of the Kentish coast; and 336 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the (A. a—e). Walker, Test. Min. figs.* 1, 2,3, 4,& 10. These are Miliole, of the Quinqueloculine type. Some are young - forms, as figs. 2 and 10. Fig. 10 is the double primordial chamber of a carinate Quinqueloculinat. Fig. 2 represents a young striated shell in a more advanced stage of growth than that shown by fig. 10. These forms, which are characteristic- ally the young forms of the Quinqueloculine varieties of Miliola, have been named Adelosina by D’Orbigny. Figs. 1 & 3 represent small specimens of Q. Seminulum§ ; fig.3 is probably a flattish individual||, broken through the middle. Although showing only three chambers (and inso- much Triloculine), fig. 4 (Vermiculum subrotundum, Montagu) is probably an undeveloped form of the common inflated Q. Sem- nulum, var. secans**, (B.) Fig. 5 is a specimen of the common Polymorphina+t, of small growth. This is well known as P. communis, D’Orb. (with interminable degrees of size and shape; but the name lactea (Kanmacher, for Walker and Jacob) is an older appella- tion. : (C. a—d.) Fig. 6 is a well-formed Lagenatt, with strong riblets, and presenting one of the countless modifications of the costate ornament. This is the Serpula (Lagena) sulcata of Walker and Jacob (in Kanmacher’s edition of Adams’s ‘ Essays’) ; also- the L. striata of Montagu. In quoting Kanmacher, Turton in his ‘Linn.’ misnamed this Lagena “Serpula Lagena,”’ instead of S. (L.) sulcata. Montagu appears not to have referred to Kan- macher, but to have used Turton’s list; and he supplied the trivial name “ striata” from the description in the ‘ Test. Minut.,’ whence also Jacob had previously taken the name sulcata, pub- lished by Kanmacher. Prof. Williamson has hence been led to figure and describe as recent two fossil specimens of Frondicularia well known as belonging to the Chalk. * The figures on the plates in Walker’s work are numbered consecutively throughout. + For the plan of growth of Miliole, see Parker, ‘On some Indian Mi- holitide,’ Microsc. Transact. new ser. vol. vi. p. 53; and Williamson’s Monogr. Recent Foram. p. xviii. t ‘* From Sandwich and Reculver; though not common.” § Fig. 1 is referred with a doubt to this species by Walker and Jacob, who also observe, “ It varies in size and shape, and is found in every por- tion of the sea-sand which hath been examined.” It is the Vermiculum intortum of Montagu, who hesitates to place it with M. Seminulum. || “ From Sandwich ; very rare.” 1 Montagu also intimates that it must have been a mutilated specimen. ** “Tn sand of all the different parts of the shore.” +f “From Sandwich; not common.” tt “From Sandwich, Reculver, and Sheppey; very rare.” Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 337 Fig. 9 is a smooth Lagena*, less globose than that shown by fig. 6, and tapering gently to the neck. Fig. 8 is a smooth short-necked Lagenat, or rather represents a specimen having no external, but an internal neck-tube,—a form known as Enfosolenia (Ehrenberg). Fig. 7 represents the Entosolenia marginatat, a compressed Lagena with intussus- cepted apertural tube. The relations of the externally and the internally tube-necked Lagene are so close that we cannot regard them as forming two distinct specific types. To this opinion we strongly bent in the paper on the Norway Foraminifera§ ; and we feel far more convinced by subsequent observations. For the reasons which guided us in the consideration of No- dosaria (Ann. N. Hist. 3rd ser. vol. ii. pp. 476, 478) we regard Lagena sulcata as the type of the species. It exhibits essential features of form and ornament. Rib-patterns appear abundantly on these single-celled Foraminifers, and on their polythalamous congeners, the Nodosarie and Uvigerine, and much less strongly on the Polymorphine, which are also related, but more particu- larly, to the Entosolenian group. The reticulate ornament, formed by minute transverse concentric ridges uniting the parallel ribs, or by sinuous riblets anastomosing with each other, is more specially a feature in the latter group, though traces of it are occasionally to be found on the typical L. sulcata. The marginate condition obtains both in Entosolenian and Kcto- solenian forms. The extrusion and intrusion of the aperture- tube occur to an exceedingly variable extent, and are often com- bined. The modifications of this feature are too numerous to be here described. We may remark that both Ectosolenia and Entosolenia often have tubes at each end of the shell; and .occa- sionally there is a second internal tube attached to the side of the interior, appearing as though the tube had been broken off and its fragment had become attached during life. The Lagene are occasionally elongate and spindle-shaped, with an aperture at each end; these slender individuals are sometimes bent. Professor Williamson figures the section of a double or twin specimen of Entosolenia, in which two individuals had grown off divergently from the primordial cell. : Prof. Williamson prefers the smooth form || as a representa- tive of the type, but objects to use as a specific name the term “levis,” expressive of the absence of ornamentation, inasmuch as, in this case, the varietal names, alluding to the ornament, * «yom Sandwich; very rare.” + “From Sandwich; very rare.” + “From the Reculver; very rare.” § Annals Nat. Hist. 1857, vol. xix. ‘ | In our paper on the Norway Foraminifera (Ann, N. H. 1857, vol. xix. p. 278) we also took this as the type. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 22 338 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the would appear contradictory ; and he proposes “ vulgaris” as the typical name. Taking LZ. sulcata* as the characteristic form of ‘the group, for the reasons already referred to, we think the varietal names levis, squamosa, &c., whether expressing modifi- cation or absence of the ornament, will not be contradictory, and that a new specific name will not be required. (D. a, 6). Figs. 63 and 64 represent the common and well- known Rotaliat Beccarii, recognized as this species by Walker and Jacob. They make the following remarks: ‘The colour, while the fish is alive, is a fine pellucid crimson; when dead, is white. It is found alive on the Fucus vesiculosus, and is a very common shell on all the coast, and seems to be a universal lit- toral one, by the numbers found at Rimini and in the sand of the South Seas.” The sinistral and dextral positions of the spire, which appeared to be an important feature to Walker and Jacob, are non-characteristic in Foraminifera f. (E.) Fig. 65 is the common Polystomella crispa. This also was recognized as a Linnean species by Walker and Jacob. They observe: ‘“‘The finest specimens are from Sheppey: not un- common.” (F. a.) Fig. 66 is a variety of Cristellaria Calcar, rapidly en- larging in its whorls, ribbed, and keeled ; approaching var. Cassis. This was from Sheppey, and most probably a fossil specimen from the London Clay of that island. (F. 6.) Fig. 67 is Cristellaria Calcar, orbicular and smooth. “ From Sandwich and Seasalter: not common.” We find it to be not uncommon in the recent state on the Kentish coast. Prof. Williamson mentions many other British localities for it. A large form occurs abundantly in the Tertiary sands and clays of Kent; and probably Montagu’s specimen, ‘ Test. Brit. Suppl.’ p. 75, pl. 18. figs. 7 & 8, “ from the Boysian Collection,” was one of these fossils. (F.c.). Fig. 72 is a very young Cristellaria, probably of the Marginuline or crozier-like growth. “ From Seasalter and Sand- wich ; very rare.” (F.d.) Fig. 73 is a well-developed, strongly ribbed, Marginu- * Kanmacher’s application of Jacob and Walker’s MS. names should be strictly adhered to ; and sulcata must be taken as the specific name. Among Prof. Williamson’s synonyma of his Lagena vulgaris a part only of Walker’s diagnosis is quoted; S.(.) sulcata is referred to “ Adams, 1787,” instead of Kanmacher, 1798; and Turton’s S. Lagena (Linn. Syst. vol. iv. 1802, p. 609) is omitted. + We agree with Prof. Williamson in discarding the name Rosalina, the iy, once thought to exist between the two forms having very little value. { Prof. Williamson has some good remarks on this point at p. 49 of his Monograph. Nomenclature of the Foraminifera, 839 line Cristellaria*, probably fossil. It was “from Sheppey Island : very rare.” (G. a.) Fig 68 appears to be a small Nonioninat+, common on our shores, and of world-wide distribution, namely a delicate variety of the N. asterisans of Fichtel and Moll. Montagu, however, refers to this figure as being the same as that of his “Nautilus depressulus,” which is a small Cristellaria. This mistake must have arisen from his finding his specimen mixed up with this little Nonionina in the Boysian collection. The many narrow, curved chambers, the rounded septal face, the sunken septal lines (“many depressed joints”), and the some- what umbilicated spire, unmistakeably distinguish this from Montagw’s. (G. b.) Fig. 70 is another variety of Nonionina asterisans, with still more sunken joints or septal lines, and with a more open spire. It is common in some littoral sands. Walker found it at the Reculver,—“ exceeding rare.” _ (H.a.) Fig. 69 is a common form of Truncatulina lobatula, having the outline of the cells uniform or flush ; the septal lines being merely “furrowed.” According to Walker, it was from Sandwich,—“ not common.” Montagu (Test. Brit. Suppl. p. 78) refers to this figure when describing a little Nonionina; and Williamson (Monogr. p. 4:2) makes it a Polystomella. We believe that they must both be wrong, because in the specimen figured by Walker the two faces are decidedly unsymmetrical. : (H. 4.) Fig. 71 represents the usual lobed form of Truncatu- lina lobatulat, which is characteristically littoral. Walker found it at Whitstable,—“ not common.” The more even-surfaced shell, fig. 69, is smaller than the last mentioned, and is generally found in deeper water. The raised, smooth, and nearly conical form, known as 7. refulgens, D’Orb., inhabits still deeper zones. These three are few-celled varietal forms of Planorbulina farcta, Fichtel and Moll, sp., and usually attach themselves to sea-weeds and shells. Varied by their greater or less regularity of growth, and by the relative convexity of their cells, these varieties readily run into each other and into the Planorbuline (or Acervuline) forms, of which P. farcta is the type. (L) Fig. 741s a not uncommon modification of the Vaginulina Legumen of the British coasts. “From Sandwich: exceeding * For further remarks on Cristellarie, see Ann. N. H. 1857, xix. p. 290. + “From Reculver: very rare.” . { In Ann. N. H. 1859, iti. p. 482, we have shown that the term er nautiloides, formerly thought to have reference to T. lobatula (Ann. N. H, 1857, xix. p. 293), belongs to quite another animal. oak 340 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the rare,” according to Walker. We may here remark that we retain “ Vaginulina” as a subgeneric term, in preference to “ Dentalina,” used by Professor Williamson, because Vaginulina is the most perfect mean between the two extremes Nodosaria and Cristellaria ; whereas Dentalina is as intimately connected with Nodosaria on the one hand, as Marginulina is with Cristellaria on the other. At the same time, we must repeat that there is no real divisional line existing between any of these forms. (J.) Fig. 89, described by Walker and Jacob (p. 25) as *Echinus subrotundus planus lobatus. The colour. opaque white. From Reculver; rare;” is manifestly (from its minute size, faintly drawn spire, and peculiarly placed aperture) a com- mon variety of Globigerina bulloides, D’?Orb., which is found on our shores. Walker’s fig. 89 has not been previously recognized (we believe) as representing a Foraminifer. The opposite Table shows the species and varieties figured by Walker. The Foraminifera figured and described in Montagu’s ‘ Test. Brit.’ and ‘ Supplement.’ Subsequent to Walker’s work on the minute shells of the Kentish coast, little was done in England in the natural history of the Foraminifera until Colonel G. Montagu produced his ‘Testacea Britannica*,’ in 1803, and the ‘ Supplementt}’ in 1808. Walker’s species, however, had received names in Kanmacher’s second edition of G. Adams’s ‘ Essays on the Microscope’ (1798) ; and John Adams and other naturalists had noticed a few of the more common littoral species. On the Continent several fossil forms, chiefly Nummulites, had been during this time noticed and figured by Tozzetti, Faujas, Fortis, and others ; and Soldani had produced his gigantic Mo- nograph on the fossil and recent Foraminifera and other minute shells of Tuscany. With the same date as that of the ‘ Test. Brit.’, there was published at Vienna a handsome volume devoted to Foraminifera—the ‘Testacea Microscopica,’ &c., by Fichtel and Moll, containing good figures and careful descriptions. This work we hope to analyze in our next communication. Professor Williamson has the following useful remarks on these works in the Introduction to his Monograph (p. vi.) :— ** The appearance of Montagu’s ‘ Testacea Britannica’ in 1803, and the ‘Supplement’ in 1808, marked a new era in the study * Testacea Britannica; or, British Shells.” Parts I. & II. 4to, Romsey and London, 1803. In the ‘ Bibliegraph. Zool. et Geol.,’ published by the Ray Society, the date of this work is misprinted “ 1803-1808.” + Supplement to the Testacea Britannica, with additional plates. 4to, Exeter and London, 1808. 341 Table of the Species and Varieties of Foraminifera figured in Walker’s ‘ Testacea Minuta.’ Walker and Jacob’s MS. Names in Kan- macher’s edition of Adams’s ‘ Essays on the Microscope’ (1798). References to Walker’s *Test. Minut,’ Corrected Names. 2 Vos > PPP Q2AAdy SOR aeoao Bs My SOP SOR RSA Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 7 . Qh Q my my bj See a bt CH Page 633 633 634 634 Pl. fig. 14 2 14 3 14 4 14 5 14 6 14 29 14 30 14 31 14 32 14 33 14 34 14 35 14 36 14 37 14 38 14 46 Serpula bicornis ... S. perforata ...,..... ee Serre S. (Lagena) sulcata. COPS HTHC ee eeSeeeSeeeeeette Serpula retorta...... Nautilus Beccarii ... N. crispus ......00004 N. Calear. <2. .....:. N. levigatulus ...... N. depressulus ...... N. wmbilicatulus ... N. erassulus ......... N. lobatulus ......... N. carinatulus ...... N. subarcuatulus ... SSeS H ASSET EH ESE EEEEBEH SES Echinus lobatulus... Page Pl. fig. (SURCUR See Oe WO Oe Nee OR ee 18 3°63 18 3 64 18 3 65 19 3 66 19 3 67 19 3 68 19 3 69 20 3 70 20 3 71 20 3 72 20 3 73 21 3 74 25 3 89 WONIANA Ob] 10 Miliola (Quinqueloculina) Seminulum, L. (young). 33 3) 33 39 39 29 Pts — as var. subrotunda, Montagu. Polymorphina lactea, Walker & Jacob*. Lagena sulcata, W. & J. (L. striata, Montagu.) L. (Entosolenia) marginata, Mont. L. (Entosolenia) globosa, Mont. L. sulcata, W. & J., var. levis, Mont. Miliola (Quinqueloculina) Seminulum, L. (young). } Rotalia Beccarii, L. Polystomella crispa, L. Cristellaria Calcar, L., var. Cassis, Fichtel § Moll. C. Calear, L., var. levigatula, W. & J. Nonionina asterisans, F. & M., var. depressula, W. & J. ; Truncatulina lobatula, W. & J., var. umbilicatula, W. § J. ‘[F. & M. Nonionina asterisans, F. &° M., var. crassula, W. & J. [ Type, Planorbulina farcta, Truncatulina lobatula, W. & J. [ Type, Planorbulina farcta, F’. § M. | Cristellaria (young). j C. (Marginulina) subarcuatula, W. & J. ['Type, C. Calear, L. } Nodosaria (Vaginulina) Legumen, L. [ Type, N. Raphanus, L. ] Globigerina bulloides, D’Orbigny, var. lobatula, W. & J. Type, Lagena sulcata, W. & J. * According to Kanmacher ;- see above, p. 335. 342 Messrs, W. K, Parker and T, R. Jones on the of British Foraminifera. Not only were several new forms added to the list, but improved figures and more elaborate descriptions were substituted for the imperfect ones hitherto published. In the first of these publications the difficulty of defining the limits of specific variation obviously dawned upon the mind of the author; and in describing his Vermiculum intortum (Miliolina Seminulum) he distinctly states that this is so variable in its formation, that, without great attention, it might be formed into several species,—a warning that might have been received with advantage by many of Montagu’s successors in the study of Foraminifera. Shortly after the appearance of Montagu’s first volume, the publication of the ‘Testacea Microscopica’ of Fichtel and Moll indicated that these accurate observers had obtained further light respecting the variableness of many of the Foraminifera,—a fact especially demonstrated by their descrip- tion of Nautilus Calcar (Cristellaria Calcar) ; but notwithstand- ng his previous experience, when publishing his ‘ Supplement,’ Montagu was unable to follow these authors in their accurate determinations. ‘If,’ he remarks, speaking of the numerous forms of N. Calcar delineated by these writers, ‘these can be admitted as the same species, we may bid defiance to specific definition.’ Nevertheless Fichtel and Moll were in all proba- bility right.” The ‘ Test. Brit.’ (which consists of two parts continuously paged—Part I., with Introduction and pp. 1-292, and Part II. pp- 293-606) contains thirty short descriptions of specimens that, with few exceptions, were in ‘the Boysian Collection,” and more than half of which had been already described and figured by Walker. Montagu gave figures of six previously undescribed forms, but does not appear to have personally ex- amined all the Boysian specimens, having in some instances worked from drawings and notes received from Mr. Boys. In the ‘Supplement,’ five years afterwards, he described more fully eleven forms, refiguring most of them; and introduced, with figures of all but one, six that he had not previously noticed. By this time Montagu had had the opportunity of personally examining “the Boysian Collection,” presented to him by Mr. Henry Boys, and which seems to have been increased by addi- tions made from the coast-sands since Walker first had it in hand. This examination led Montagu to correct and improve some of his previous descriptions* ; but at the same time, from some cause or other, he was evidently led into mistakes as to the identity of specimens already figured by Walker. Thus * He had also been enabled to enlarge his knowledge of these minute shells by comparing his recent specimens with fossil Foraminifera brought from Italy by Messrs. Mead and Higginson. Nomenclature of the Foraminifera, 343 Walker’s “ umbilicatulus,” “ depressulus,” and “ levigatulus ” - are species or varieties different from those so named by Mon- tagu. ‘The difficulty of recognizing essential differences in mi- nute and very similar forms, the mixing of specimens, or the shifting of labels (numerals) may probably account for these discrepancies. In criticismg Montagu’s nomenclature of the Foraminifera, as well as in noticing Walker’s figures, we frequently refer to Prof. Williamson’s Monograph of the Recent British Foraminifera, the latest and best work on the subject. As the works of these three authors comprise the main bulk of all the published ori- ginal researches on British Rhizopods, it has been especially necessary to keep Prof. Williamson’s elaborate and well-illustrated Monograph in view. Besides the occasions we have of noting our agreement with many of his determinations, we have also incidentally to notice points of disagreement between his views and our own, without systematically corroborating or discussing all the species which he has enumerated. We hope, however, at some future time to compare notes with our highly valued brother-naturalist ; and in the meantime we believe that he will be as ready to take into consideration the points of difference which we notice, as to recognize and be gratified by our general concurrence with the results of his long-continued and important researches. Occasional references are also made by us to the works of Maton and Rackett, Turton, and others; also to names adopted by Lamarck and D’Orbigny. The two last-named authors will supply us with matter for future papers; and then we shall treat of the generic names borrowed from them for the species figured by Walker and Montagu. It may be well to observe in this place that we wish our readers to remember that, although we protest against the adop- tion of the numerous published binomial appellations of known Foraminifera as specific names, yet we are quite cognizant of the general convenience, and sometimes of the necessity, of retain- ing the published names of varietal forms for use among zoolo- gists, and still more especially among paleontologists. (A. a.) Pl. 14. fig. 9, p. 522. “Vermiculum oblongum.” This is a common Triloculine form of Miliola, belonging to the typi- cal species, M. Seminulum, Linn., and has been convenientl designated Triloculina oblonga by D’Orbigny (Tabl. Céphal., Annales des Sc, Nat. vol. vii. p. 300, No. 16). Montagu collected his specimens at Salcombe Bay, Devonshire. It is of frequent occurrence on most shores. (A. 6, c.) P. 519. * Vermiculum bicorne” and “ V. perforatum.” See above, p. 341. | 344 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the (A. d.) P. 520. “Vermiculum intortum.” This is Walker’s fig. 1. Montagu felt much hesitation in separating it from Linné’s S. Seminulum. (A.e.) P. 521. “Vermiculum subrotundum.” See above, p: 336. Maton and Reckett, in the ‘ Linnean Transact.,’ 1807, vol. viii. p. 245, referred Vermiculum intortum, Montagu, and Serpula ovalis, "Adams (Linn. Trans. 1800, vol. v. p. 4. pl. 1. f, 28-30), to Linné’s Serpula Seminulum. They also united Montagu’s Vermiculum bicorne and V. perforatum, terming it S. bicornis. Further, they expressed their doubt whether S. Seminulum, S. subrotunda, S. oblonga, and S. bicornis ought not to be considered rather as varieties than as distinct species. - Prof. Williamson (Monogr. p. 84) refers M. subrotunda, Mont., to M. trigonula, Lam.; but in this determination we entirely differ from him. (B.) P. 522. “Vermiculum lacteum.”” Polymorphina lactea. See p. 336. . | (C.a.) P. 523. “Vermiculum striatum.” Serpula (Lagena) sulcata of Walker and Jacob, according to Kanmacher. Mon- tagu, by following Turton, missed the name applied by Jacob, and gave another. See p. 336. (C. b-d.) Pp. 523 and 524. “ Vermiculum globosum,” “V. leve,” and “V. marginatum.” Montagu thus termed those Lagene which remained unnamed by Kanmacher. . (C.e.) Pl. 14. f. 3, p. 525. “Vermiculum perlucidum.” of an inch. The form of the umbrella is rendered peculiar by the abrupt narrow- ing of its summit. The roof of the bell descends as a conical pro- jection into the axis, and from the truncated apex of this inverted cone there hangs a conical manubrium, whose mouth is furnished with four tentacles, each terminating in a spherical cluster of thread-cells. Four gastrovascular canals take their origin in the base of the manubrium, and, after ascending along the sides of the conical projection from the roof, descend in the walls of the umbrella to open into the circular canal. At the point where each radiating canal enters the circular canal there is a bulbous dilatation, from which two marginal tentacles are given off; and in the middle point between each of these bulbs there is a similar, though smaller, bulbous dilatation of the circular canal, which gives origin to a single tentacle. The tentacles have their endoderm presenting the usual vacuolated condition ; and the thread-cells of their ectoderm are uniformly distributed over their surface, showing no tendency to an arrangement into distinct groups. The velum is moderately wide. There are no lithocysts or ocelli. : 3 In the further development of the Medusa, the marginal ten- tacles are probably multiplied in each group; at least, in one specimen I found three tentacles springing from a single bulb. The Medusa also appears to belong to a type in which the gene- rative elements are developed in the walls of the manubrium, thus affording an exception to the usual condition of the Medusze in the Campanulariade, where the generative elements are formed in special bodies which bud from the radiating canals*. * In Sarsia and its allies the generative elements are formed, as is well known, in the walls of the manubrium, where they lie between the endo- derm and ectoderm, a position quite similar to that assumed by them in the sporosac of Clava, Hydractinia, certain species of Coryne, of Laomedea, Sertularia, &ec., as well as in the Medusa-buds of Eudendrium ramosum, Van Beneden, and certain other species of Coryne. In Laomedea dichotoma, L. geniculata, &c., the generative elements are never formed in the manubrium of the Medusa bud, but in peculiar bodies seated on the course of the radiating canals. Now these bodies, at least in Prof. Allman on the Hydroid Zoophytes. 369 TI. Clava disecreta, nov. sp. In August last I obtained, upon the under surface of a stone near low-water mark, upon the shore of one of the small rocky islands of Orkney, a species of Clava which may be defined by the following short diagnosis :— Char.—Polypes not grouped. into clusters, but distributed at intervals upon a branched creeping stolon. Clava discreta differs from C. multicornis chiefly in the pecu- liar development of the stolon, which consists of a branched creeping tube, invested with a distinct polypary, and sending up, at intervals of from about } to } an inch, very short free simple stems whose height scarcely exceeds the diameter of the stolon, and from whose summit the polypes emerge. The polypes are thus widely separated from one another, instead of being collected into clusters as in C, multicornis. They are of a light brown colour, and are also smaller than those of C. multi- corms, scarcely exceeding 7 inch in height. In other respects they closely resemble them. ‘The tentacula are about twelve in number, and the sporosacs are grouped in two or three clusters just behind the proximal tentacula. The only specimen of this species I obtained was attached to the dead stolon of some other zoophyte, probably a Coryne, which it accompanied in its ramifications over the under surface of the stone on which it grew. III, Dicoryne stricta, nov. gen. and sp. The subject of the present note was dredged at Orkney in August last, in water of about three fathoms depth. It vested an old Buccinum undatum which contained a Hermit Crab, and the Medusa of Laomedea dichotoma, which I carefully examined with regard to this point, are constructed precisely on the plan of the sporosacs in Clava, Hydractinia, &e. These sporosacs must be viewed as special zooids representing one term in the “alternation of generations” of the individual. Just so must the reproductive bodies (sporosacs) which bud from the radiating canals of the Medusa of Laomedea dichotoma be regarded as special zooids, and as representing a term in the life-series of the zoo- phyte. In Eudendrium ramosum, for example, we have therefore this series re- presented by two terms :— [Ovum] polype, medusa ; while in Laomedea dichotoma it is represented by three :— [Ovum] polype, medusa, sporosac. _ In the Eudendrium, the series stops with the production of a seaual zooid in the form of a Medusa; in the Laomedea it goes on through the non-sexual Medusa-bud until it finds its termination in the sexual sporosac- bud of the latter. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 24 870 Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. which was partly covered with Hydractinia echinata. Its generic and specific characters are embraced in the following diagnosis:— DIcoryNE. Char.—Cecenosare branched, clothed with a polypary and ad- hering by a tubular network. Polypes claviform, of two kinds, one sterile, the other proliferous, both borne upon the common ccenosare, and issuing from the extremities of the branches. Sterile polypes with a verticil of filiform tentacula situated be- hind the mouth; proliferous polypes destitute of tentacula (and mouth ?), and having the gonophores clustered round their base. D. stricta. Stem rising to the height of about 4 an inch, irre- gularly branched; branches ascending at a very acute angle from the stem. Polypary slightly dilated at the extremities of the branches, somewhat corrugated near the base, but without distinct annulations. Tentacula about 16, in a slightly alternat- ing verticil. The only specimen of Dicoryne stricta I obtained was male. The polypary possessed but little transparency, and, as well as the polypes, was of a light brown colour. From the basal tubu- lar network, besides the branched colonies, there also sprang unbranched stems which ascended vertically to the length of about a line, and bore each a terminal polype. These are appa- rently young zooids not yet complicated by branching, though many of the polypes seemed to have attained maturity, and pre- sented the same difference of form as in the branched colony,— being in some cases tentaculiferous and sterile polypes ; in others, polypes destitute of tentacles, and loaded with gonophores. The habitat of D stricta seems to be entirely similar to that of Hydractinia echinata*. ; XXXIX.—Characters of some apparently undescribed Ceylon Insects. By F. Wa.ker. [Continued from vol. ii-p-266. | Lv. - 224 Order HYMENOPTERA. Fam. Formicide. Formica ExerciTA. Fem. Nigra, densissime et scitissime punc- tata, antennis subfiliformibus, scapo flagelloque apice rufescentibus, * In Professor Huxley’s beautiful and philosophic memoir on the Oceanic Hydrozoa, just published by the Ray Society, he has proposed a terminology, partly special for the particular groups which form the subject of his memoir, and partly intended to apply to the Hydrozoa in general. I would gladly have adopted several of Professor Huxley’s terms in the present paper, if I could have done so without accompanying them with defi- nitions which would have inconveniently increased the length of these notes. Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects, 871 clypeo subcarinato incisuris duabus anticis, coxis femoribusque rufis, his apice nigris, alis fuscis, venis nigricantibus, stigmate nigro. Mas. Gracilis, antennis apice rufis, pedibus piceis. Female, Black, very thickly and finely punctured. Antennee subfiliform ; tips of the scape and of the flagellum reddish. Cly- peus slightly keeled, with a notch on each side in front. Legs moderately stout; coxee and femora red, the latter with black tips. Wings brown; veins blackish, in structure much like those of Polyrhachis militaris; stigma black. Length of the body 4 lines; of the wings 8 lines. Male. More slender. Antennee slender, red towards the tips. Legs slender, piceous, Length cf the body 3} lines; of the wings 7 lines. Formica ExunpDANS. Mas. Nigra, elongata, scitissime punctata, antennis piceis filiformibus corpore vix brevioribus, abdomine longi-fusiformi, segmentorum marginibus pedibusque pallide pi- ceis, alis cinereis, venis nigricantibus, stigmate nigro. Male. Black, elongate, very finely punctured. Antenne piceous, filiform, nearly as long as the body. Abdomen elongate fusiform ; hind borders of the segments and legs pale piceous; scale of the peduncle large. Wings cinereous; veins much like those of the preceding species; stigma black. Length of the body 4 lines of the wings 6 lines. ForMicA MERITANS. Mas. Nigra, elongata, nitens, pubescens capite impresso, ore fulvo, antennis piceis filiformibus corpore paullo brevioribus, metathorace elongato transverse impresso, seg- mentorum abdominalium marginibus posticis rufis, pedibus piceis longiusculis, alis nigro-fuscis, venis stigmateque nigris. Male. Black, elongate, shining, pubescent. Head with an im- pression between the ocelli and the base of the antenne. Mouth tawny. Antenne piceous, filiform, a little shorter than the body. Metathorax elongate, slightly impressed across the middle. Pe- duncle of the abdomen conical. Hind borders of the abdominal segments red. Legs piceous, rather long. Wings blackish brown ; veins and stigma black, the former like those of I’. exercita in structure. Length of the body 5 lines, of the wings 6 lines. Formica Latesrosa. Mas. Testacea, antennis gracillimis, scapo longissimo, metathorace levi, abdomine nigro, petiolo testaceo, pedibus longis debilibus, alis albis, venis stigmateque testaceis. Male. Testaceous. Antenne very slender; scape very long, slightly increasing in thickness from the base to the tip, much more than half the length of the flagellum. Metathorax smooth. _ Abdomen black; peduncle and its node testaceous. Legs long, slender. Wings white; veins and stigma testaceous, the former in structure like those of F’. ewercita. Length of the body 4 lines ; of the wings 7 lines. Formica pANGENS. Mas. Testacea, scitissime punctata, capite su- pra piceo, antennis filiformibus corpore valde brevioribus, scapo 24% o 372. Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. brevissimo, abdomine elliptico, antice piceo, pedibus brevyiusculis, alis cinereis, venis testaceis, stigmate nigro. Male. Testaceous, slightly shining, very finely and minutely unctured. Head piceous above. Antennee filiform, much shorter than the body; scape very short. Abdomen elliptical, very little longer than the thorax; fore-half piceous. Legs rather short. Wings cinereous; veins testaceous, in structure like those of Ta- pinoma erratica; stigma black. Length of the body 2% lines ; of the wings 4 lines. ForMIcA INGRUENS. Feem. Nigra, scitissime punctata, capite mag- no, mandibulis tarsisque testaceis, antennis corporis dimidio non longioribus, scapo longo subclavato, flagello rufescente subclavato, abdomine lato brevi-elliptico, pedibus robustis breviusculis, alis cinereis parvis, ventis piceis, stigmate nigro. Female. Black, shining, very finely punctured. Head large; _ mandibles testaceous. Antenne about half the length of the body; scape subclavate, much more than half the length of the flagellum ; the latter reddish, subclavate. Abdomen short-elliptical, very much broader than the thorax. Legs short, stout; tarsi testa- ceous. Wings cinereous, narrow, short; veins piceous, in struc- ture like those of F. pangens; stigma black. Length of the body 2} lines, of the wings 4 lines. FoRMICA DETORQUENS. Fem. Nigra, scitissime punctata, capite parvo, antennis subfiliformibus corporis dimidio paullo longioribus, scapo longo, abdomine elliptico, pedibus breviusculis, tarsis testa- ceis, alis pallide cinereis, venis stigmateque testaceis. Female. Black, shining, very finely punctured. Head small, a little more than half the length of the body. Antennze nearly filiform ; scape much more than half the length of the flagellum. Abdomen elliptical, hardly longer or broader: than the thorax. Legs short; tarsi testaceous. Wings pale cinereous; veins and stigma testaceous; the former in structure much like those of Tapinoma erratica, but the discal areolet is open on the exterior side. Length of the body 12 line; of the wings 3 lines. ForMIcA DIFFIDENS. Fem. Fulva, gracilis, aptera, capite nigro elongato, mandibulis magnis fulvis, antennis fulvis subfiliformibus, metathorace petioloque longis, abdomine nigro elliptico, pedibus posticis piceis, tarsis posticis testaceis. Female. Tawny, slender, apterous. Head black, elongate. Man- dibles large, tawny. Antenne tawny, nearly filiform; seape moderately long. Metathorax and peduncle long. Abdomen black, elliptical, shorter than the thorax. Hind legs piceous ; hind tarsi testaceous, long, slender. Length of the body 2 lines. The description is taken from an injured specimen. Formica opscuRANs. Fem. Nigra, sat gracilis, scitissime punctata, capite longi-quadrato, mandibulis magnis fulvis, antennis corporis dimidio vix brevioribus, scapo longo subclavato, flagello fulvo sub- Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects, 878 clavato, mesothorace sublineato, abdomine latiusculo, pedibus pi- ceis, alis albidis, venis stigmateque testaceis. Female. Black, rather slender, slightly shining, very finely punctured. Head elongate-quadrate ; mandibles large, tawny. Antennee nearly half the length of the body; scape subclavate, about two-thirds of the length of the flagellum ; the latter tawny, subclavate. Prothorax and metathorax well developed ; mesothorax with a slight middle line. Abdomen broader than the thorax. Legs piceous. Wings whitish; veins and stigma testaceous; the former in structure like those of T’apinoma erratica. Length of the body 4 lines; of the wings 6 lines. FoRMICA INDEFLEXA. Jem. Picea, gracilis, aptera, scitissime punctata, capite sat magno, mandibulis parvis, antennis subfilifor- mibus corporis dimidio non longioribus, flagello basi scapoque testaceis, thorace subcompresso, pedibus fulvis, tibiis nigris basi fulvis, tarsis testaceis. Female. Piceous, slender, apterous, very finely punctured. Head rather large; mandibles small. Antennze slender, not more than half the length of the body, nearly filiform; scape tawny, much shorter than the flagellum, the latter tawny towards the base. Thorax somewhat compressed ; metathorax, peduncle and its node well developed. Abdomen mutilated. Legs tawny; tibiee black, tawny at the base; tarsi testaceous. Length of the body 4 lines. Formica consuttans. Mas. Nigra, elongata, scitissime punctata, capite parvo antice fulvo, mandibulis minimis, antennis piceis fili- formibus corpore valde brevioribus, scapo brevissimo, abdomine rufescente elliptico fascia media nigra, pedibus testaceis, alis cine- reis, latiusculis, venis testaceis, stigmate piceo. Male. Black, elongate, slightly shining, very finexy punctured. Head rather small, tawny in front; mandibles very small. An- tenn piceous, slender, filiform, much shorter than the body ; scape very short. Abdomen reddish, elliptical, a little broader than the thorax, with a black middle band. Legs testaceous, slender. Wings cinereous, rather broad; veins testaceous, in structure much like those of Formica exercita; stigma piceous. Length of the body 3 lines ; of the wings 5 lines. Po.tyruacnis mLAupAtTus. Mas. Niger, subaurato-tomentosus, clypeo subsulcato lateribus elevatis, antennis filiformibus corpore paullo brevioribus, scuto bispinoso, scutello emarginato, meta- thorace lateribus elevatis incisis postice bispinoso, abdomine lato brevissime elliptico, pedibus robustis. Male. Black, apterous, with slightly gilded tomentum. Cly- peus with a very slight middle furrow, and with a ridge along ‘each side. Antenne filiform, a little shorter than the body; scape very long, but shorter than the flagellum. Scutum with two long sharp spines, which are directed obliquely forward ; scutellum shield-shaped, truncated at the tip, emarginate on each side. Metathorax with a notched ridge on each side. Peduncle- 374 Mr. F. Walker on some undeseribed Ceylon Insects. — thick, widening hindward ; two posterior spines, which are directed hindward. Abdomen very short, elliptical, much broader than the thorax. Legs robust. Length of the body 4} lines. MyRMICA CONSTERNENS.- Mas. Testacea, gracilis, nitens, capite parvo supra nigro, antennis filiformibus thorace non longioribus, abdomine subfusiformi, pedibus parvis, alis albidis, venis stigmate- que testaceis. Neut.? Nigra, capite magno elongato, antennis testaceis subclavatis, thorace testaceo compresso, abdomine brevi- ovato, pedibus testaccis. - é Male. Testaceous, slender, shining. Head small, vertex black. Antennee filiform, paler than the body, not longer than the thorax. Peduncle with two small nodes. Abdomen nearly fusiform, a little longer than the thorax. Legs short, slender. Wings whitish ; veins and stigma testaceous, the former in structure much like those of Polyrhachis militaris. Length of the body 23 lines; of the wings 5 lines. Worker? Black. Head large, elongate. Antenne short, tes- taceous, subclavate. Thorax testaceous, compressed, narrower than the head, attenuated and partly black hindward. Abdomen short-oval, broader than the head. Legs testaceous; femora mostly piceous. Length of the body # line. CREMATOGASTER PELLENS. Fam. Fulvus, gracilis, pubescens, capite subrotundo, mandibulis latis trigonis, antennis testaceis clavatis, metathorace bidentato, abdomine longi-elliptico, pedibus testaceis breviusculis, alis albidis amplis, venis stigmateque testaceis. Female. Tawny, shining, minutely pubescent. Head nearly round ; mandibles short, broad, triangular. Antennee testaceous, clavate, shorter than the thorax. Metathorax with two short stout spines. First node of the peduncle much longer than the second. Abdomen long-elliptical, very convex beneath, longer and broader than the thorax. Legs short, testaceous; femora sometimes darker. Wings whitish, ample; veins and stigma testaceous, the former in structure like those of Crematogaster castaneus. Length of the body 4 lines; of the wings 8 lines. CREMATOGASTER DEPONENS. Fem. Niger, nitens, punctatus, capite elongato subsulcato, mandibulis piceis latis trigonis, antennis bre- viusculis rufescentibus subclavatis, thorace fusiformi subecompresso, metathorace bidenticulato, petioli nodis conicis, abdomine rufo fusiformi, pedibus rufis breviusculis, alis fuscescentibus, venis stigmateque nigris. | Female. Black, shining, punctured. Head elongate, with a slight longitudinal furrow ; mandibles piceous, short, broad, tri- angular, with minute teeth. Antennee short, reddish, subclavate. Thorax fusiform, slightly compressed ; metathorax with two mi- nute teeth. Peduncle with two conical nodes. Abdomen red, fusiform, longer and broader than the thorax. Legs red, short. Wings brownish ; veins and stigma black, the former very strongly marked, extending to the border, in structure somewhat like those Mr. F. Walker on some undescribed Ceylon Insects. 875 of Formica rufa and of Orematogaster castaneus, but differing slightly from both. Length of the body 3} lines; of the wings 6 lines. | CREMATOGASTER FoRTICULUS. Neuf. Niger, sat angustus, scitis- sime punctatus, capite subquadrato, mandibulis parvis piceis, an- tennis subclavatis thorace non longioribus, abdomine longi-ellip- tico latiusculo, pedibus breviusculis, tarsis pallide-testaceis. Worker. Black, rather narrow, slightly shining, very” finely punctured. Head subquadrate, a little broader than the thorax ; mandibles small, piceous. Antennee subclavate, as long as the thorax. Abdomen long-elliptical, longer and broader than the thorax. Legs rather short; tarsi pale testaceous. Length of the body 1# line. PsEUDOMYRMA?! ALLABORANS. Mas. Nigra, gracilis, brevis, nitens, capite antice fulvo, antennis subclavatis pallide luteis, petioli nodis magnis globosis, abdomine fusiformi . suturis pallidis, pedibus fulvis breviusculis robustis, alis albidis, venis stigmateque nigris. Fem. Antennis clavatis, femoribus posticis nigris. Neut. Capite lato, thoracis segmentis bene determinatis ; abdomine longi-ellip- tico. Male. Black, slender, smooth, shining. Head tawny in front. Antennee pale luteous, subclavate. Peduncle with large globose nodes. Abdomen fusiform, longer than the thorax ; sutures pale. Legs tawny, short, stout. Wings whitish; veins and stigma black. Length of the body 2 lines; of the wings 3 lines. Fe- male. Antennze clavate. Hind femora black. Length of the body 3% lines. Worker. Head broader than the thorax. Seg- ments of the thorax much developed. Abdomen long-elliptical, not longer than the thorax. Length of the body 3 lines. Arra pipita. Neut. Picea, pubescens, scitissime scabrosa, capite maximo quadrato scite striato bituberculato, scuto gibbosulo, scu- tello minimo, metathorace valde declivi, petioli nodo 2° globoso lato, abdomine brevi-elliptico, pedibus fulvis. Worker major. Piceous, pubescent, very finely scabrous. Head quadrate, very large, twice the breadth of the thorax, finely striated longitudinally, with two protuberances above. Antenne reddish, subclavate. Scutum somewhat gibbous; scutellum very small. Metathorax very slanting. First node of the peduncle rather narrow, minutely quadridentate; second globose, much broader. Abdomen short-elliptical. Legs tawny. Length of the body 3 lines. Worker minor’. Head much smaller. Thorax less developed. Second node of the peduncle narrower. Abdomen black, round. Legs short, stout. Length of the body 2 lines. : This is probably a distinct species. Meranopuus pimicans. Neué. Rufescens, convexus, brevis, latus, scabrosus, pilosus, capite subquadrato, antennis clavatis, scutello bi- 376 Bibliographical Notice. spinoso, metathorace bispinuloso, abdomine latiore nigro brevi- elliptico, pedibus breviusculis. Worker. Reddish, convex, short, broad, scabrous, pilose. Head subquadrate, a little broader than the thorax. Antenne clavate. Scutellum with two long acute spines, which are directed obliquely hindward. Metathorax with two small spines. Abdomen black, short-elliptical, broader than the thorax. Legs short. Length of the body 2 lines. 7 | Fam. Mutillide. TipH1A DECRESCENS. Jem. Nigra, nitens, scitissime punctata, antennis subtus rufis, prothoracis margine postico rufescente, abdomine fusiformi subtus apice rufescente, pedibus rufis, coxis femoribusque nigris, his apice rufis, alis cinereis, venis stigmateque nigris. Female. Black, shining, very finely punctured. Head a little broader than the thorax; clypeus somewhat truncated, with a transverse furrow at its base. Antenne red beneath. Hind border of the prothorax reddish. Metathorax with two striee, which con- verge hindward. Abdomen fusiform, reddish beneath at the tip. Legs red, short, thick; coxeze and femora black, the latter with red tips. Wings cinereous; veins and stigma black ; third sub- marginal areolet extending almost as far as the marginal areolet, about half the length of the third discoidal areolet. Length of the body 3 lines; of the wings 5 lines. [To be continued. } BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. An Illustrated Index of British Shells, with Coloured Figures of all the Species. By G. B. Sowrersy, F.L.S. Simpkin and Co. 1859. We are glad to find collectors of British shells supplied with a useful and beautiful manual of species at a comparatively small price. Hitherto they have been unable to procure any work containing the whole or any large portion of the species, without incurring an ex- pense of many pounds. Mr. Sowerby now gives them the whole six ‘hundred species, well figured, and arranged in such a manner that the reader can turn to a given plate and its opposite page, and learn ‘at a glance what he wishes to know of the localities, habits, and relative characters of all the species of a given genus. The author claims to introduce about fifty new species. Some of these have been figured in other books as mere varieties, others are figured for the first time from specimens described by Mr. Jeffreys and others in the ‘Annals.’ We are by no means inclined to decide on the specific value of the distinctions asserted; but the author has left us in no doubt as to what they are. We wish success to this well-conceived and well-executed endeavour to supply a public want. Zoological Society. 377 PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. January 11, 1859.—Dr. Gray, F.R,S., V.P., in the Chair. On THE GorRILLA (TROGLODYTES GORILLA, Sav.)*. By Pror. Owen, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., &ce. Before referring to earlier indications of the truly extraordinary animal of which an entire specimen has now been obtained,— indications scarcely more instructive or convincing to the naturalist than those afloat on the Unicorn or Succatyro,—the author proceeded briefly to recapitulate the steps which led to the determination and full know- ledge of the great anthropoid Ape of Africa called T'roglodytes gorilla. The first authentic information he had received of its existence was by a letter from Dr. Savage, dated ‘Gaboon River, West Africa,’ April 24, 1847, inclosing a sketch of the cranium, and requesting that the results of Prof. Owen’s comparison might be communicated to him. That letter and those results are given in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for February 22, 1848; together with the description of three skulls, two of male and one of a female, which had been transmitted from the Gaboon to England, and which established the distinction of the species (Troglodytes gorilla) from the Chimpanzee (Troglodytes niger)+. The skulls obtained by Dr. Savage, at the Gaboon, were taken by him to Boston, U. S., and were described by the Doctor and Prof. Wyman, in the ‘Journal of the Natural History Society of Boston,’ vol. v., 1847, and the name Troglodytes gorilla was proposed for the species, the discovery of which is due to Dr. P. S. Savage. Translations of Dr. Wyman’s and Prof. Owen’s papers being pub- lished in the ‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles’, the attention of Continental Naturalists was strongly excited toward this unexpected addition to the Mammalian class ; and the inducements held out for the collection of specimens speedily led to the acquisition of the requisite materials for completing the zoographical history of the animal which it seems now agreed to call ‘ Gorilla.” The additional materials which reached London, enabled the author to communi- cate to the Zoological Society (‘Proceedings of the Zool. Soe.’ for Noy. 11th, 1851.)} a description of the entire skeleton of the Trog- lodytes gorilla; of which, however, owing to the number and cost of the illustrations, two parts only have yet appeared in the ‘Trans- actions of the Society’ (vol. iv., pt. iil., p. 75, pls. 26-30 & pt. iv., p- 89, pls. 31-36.): but the main facts are recorded in the au- thor’s Catalogue of the ‘ Osteological Collection in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,’ 4to, pp. 782-804. Entire skeletons * This paper will be printed in the ‘ Transactions,’ illustrated with several plates. ; : t ‘ Transactions of the Zool. Soc.’ vol. iii., p. 381, pls. 58-63. tf See also ‘ Literary Gazette,’ Nov. 15, 1851. 378 _ Loological Society :-— of the full-grown Troglodytes gorilla are now set up in the Museum of the College, and in the British Museum ; and Dr. Gray has finally acquired for the National Collection the stuffed specimen of a nearly adult male Gorilla. All the foregoing specimens were obtained from a part of the west coast of tropical Africa traversed by the rivers ‘ Danger’ and ‘ Ga- boon,’ in latitudes 1° to 15° 8, A corresponding series of illustrations, first crania, then the skeleton, finally an entire specimen of the Troglodytes gorilla, have successively reached the Museum of the Garden of Plants, Paris, and have afforded materials for interesting and instructive memoirs from the accomplished Professors in that noble establish- ment for extending and diffusing the science of Natural History. De Blainville had caused a lithograph to be prepared of the skeleton of the Gorilla, shortly before his demise. His successor, Prof. Duvernoy, communicated a description of this skeleton to the Academy of Sciences in 1853, which is published, with some inter- esting particulars of the anatomy of the soft parts, in the_‘ Archives du Muséum d’ Histoire Naturelle,’ tome vii. (1855). The Memoirs and Observations by his accomplished colleague the Professor of Mammalogy and Ornithology, Isidore Geoffroy St. Hilaire, on the Gorilla will be found in the ‘Comptes Rendus de lAcadémie des Sciences,’ January 19, 1852, and subsequent numbers ; in the ‘ Revue de Zoologie,’ No. II., 1853; the whole being summed up in the part of his excellent ‘Description des Mammiféres nouveaux,’ &c. 4to, which appeared in vol. x. of the ‘Archives du Muséum, 1858.’ The differences in the results of the observations by the American, French, and English authors, relate chiefly to the interpretation of the facts observed. Dr. Wyman agrees with Prof. Owen in referring the Gorilla to the same genus as the Chimpanzee, but he differs from him in regarding the latter as being more nearly allied to the Human kind. Professors I. Geoff. St. Hilaire and Duvernoy regard the differences in the osteology, dentition, and external characters of the Gorilla to be of generic importance, and enter it in the Zoolo- gical Catalogue as Gorilla Gina, the nomen triviale being taken from ‘ Weggeena;’ ‘N. Gina’ and ‘D. jina,’ as the name of the beast in the Gaboon tongue, has been diversely written by voyagers*. The French naturalists also concur with the American in placing the Gorilla below the Chimpanzee in the scale. The author returned to the discussion of those questions at the conclusion of his paper, when he also referred to the notion current in some works that the long-armed apes (Hylodates), and not the Orangs or Chimpanzees, were the most anthropoid of apes. | Entering upon the description of the exterior characters of the * The main discrepancy, in regard to matter of fact, is that the arms of the Gorilla are stated by Isid. Geoffroy, to be much longer, whilst Prof. Owen found them to be relatively shorter, than those of the Chimpanzee. “ Bras { de proportions presque humaines ..........++ Genre I. Troglodytes. beaucoup plus longs que chez homme .., Genre II. Gorilla.” i Isid, Geoffr., p. 15 Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 379 adult male Gorilla, the stuffed skin of which is now in the British Museum, Prof. Owen first called attention to the shortness, almost absence, of the neck, due to the backward articulation of the head to the trunk and the concomitant development of the spines of the neck-vertebree ; also to the chin which, in the usual pose of the head, descends below the manubrium sterni; to the great size of the scapulee, to the elevation of the acromion, and the oblique position of the clavicles which rise from their sternal attachments obliquely to above the level of the angles of the jaw. The brain-case, low and narrow, passes in the old male in an almost straight line from the occiput to the superorbital ridge, the prominence of which gives the most forbidding feature to the physiognomy of the Gorilla. It is a feature strongly marked on the skeleton, but is exaggerated in the stuffed animal by the thick supraciliary roll of integument which forms a scowling penthouse over the small déep-set eyes. The nose is a more prominent feature than in the Chimpanzee or Orang-utan ; there is a slight median rise along its upper half, answering to the feeble prominence of the same part of the nose- bones, but the lower or alar part of the nose offers two thick pro- jections, arching, each across its own nostril, and becoming thicker as it subsides in the upper lip. There is a median longitudinal depression between these arched flaps; but their prominence brings them into view in the profile of the face. The point of median confluence of the alee projects a little beyond the fore part of the ‘septum narium.’ The resemblance to the lowest form of the negro nose is much closer in the Gorilla than in the Chimpanzee. The mouth is wide, the lips large and thick, but of uniform thickness, -the upper one terminating by a straight, almost as if incised, margin ; but being relatively shorter than in the Chimpanzee. The dark pigment is continued from the base of the lip to this margin, and no part of the red inner lining would be visible when the lips were naturally closed: a little of this lining, which forms what is com- monly understood by ‘lip’ in man, might be shown by the under lip of the Gorilla, but it is obscured by added pigment, as in most negro races. The chin is short and receding, but the whole face is promi- nent. The circumference of a front view of the head presents an oval with the great end downward and the upper end very narrow, owing to the parietal ridge, in the old male. The superorbital or cranial part is confined to the upper fourth in this view, and the bestial aspect of the visage is much increased when the huge promi- nent tusks are exposed by opening the lips. The eyelids have eye- lashes almost as in man ; but the eyebrow is not defined, the hair of the head extending to the supraciliary roll, which is almost devoid of hair. Ina direct front view the ears are rather above the level of the eyes: they are as much smaller in proportion to the head, as in the Chimpanzee they are larger, in comparison with man; but in structure they resemble the human auricle more than does the ear of any other ape. | The tragus and anti-tragus, the helix and anti-helix, the concha, the fossa of the anti-helix and the lobulus are distinctly defined : the 380 Zoological Society :— chief difference is the large size of the concha compared with the fossa of the anti-helix and the lobulus: but though the lobulus is small it is distinctly marked and pendulous, while it is sessile in the Chimpanzee and Orang. Both tragus and anti-tragus are nearly as prominent asin man. The helix is reflected or folded centrally from its origin to opposite the auti-tragus as in man, whereas, in the Chimpanzee the fold subsides opposite the fossa of the anti-helix, and the rest of the margin of the auricle is simple, not folded. The upper part of the helix is more produced in the Gorilla than in man, and the greatest breadth of the ear is above the concha, in which the incisura intertragica is less deep than in man. _ The skin of the face is naked and much wrinkled; a pretty deep indent divides the nasal ala from the cheek, and becomes shallower as it bends upward, inward, and downward to the median indent between the ale. The hairy part of the scalp is continued to the superorbital prominence, and thence the hair-clad skin is continued outward and downward upon the sides of the deep cheeks, where the hair is long. The chest is of great proportional capacity, and the shoulders very wide across. The profile of the trunk behind describes a slight convexity from the nape, which projects beyond the occiput, downward to the sacrum: there is no imbending at the loins, which seem wanting. ‘The abdomen is prominent both before and at the sides. The pectoral regions are slightly marked - and show the pair of nipples placed as in the Chimpanzee and Man. In the male the penis is short and subconical, the prepuce is devoid of frenum; the scrotum is broader and more sessile than in man: the perineum is longer, the anus being placed further back than in man. There is no trace of ischial callosities. The gluteei are better developed and give more of the appearance of nates than in any other anthropoid ape, but they do not project so as to meet beyond the anus and conceal it. The chief deviations from the human structure are seen in the limbs, which are of great power, the upper ones prodigiously strong, mene by comparison the legs, through the want of ‘calves’, look eeble. The first characteristic is the almost uniform thickness of each segment of the limb: this is seen in the arm, from below the short deltoid prominence to the condyles, neither biceps nor triceps making any definite swelling ; a like uniform thickness is seen in the antibrachium from below the olecranon to the wrist: the leg a little increases in thickness from the knee to the ankle: the short thigh shows some decrease as it descends: but there is a general absence of those partial muscular enlargements which impart the graceful varying curves to the outlines of the limbs in man. Yet this, upon dissection, is found to depend rather on excess, than defect, of deve- lopment of the carneous as compared with the tendinous parts of the limb-muscles, which thus continue of almost the same size from their origin to their insertion, with a proportionate gain of strength to the beast. The difference in the length of the upper limbs between the Gorilla and Man is but little in comparison with the trunk ; it appears Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 881 greater through the arrest of development of the lower limbs. Very significant of the closer anthropoid affinities of the Gorilla is the superior length of the arm (humerus) to the fore-arm, as compared with the proportions of those parts in the Chimpanzee. The hair of the arm inclines downward, that of the fore-arm upward, as in the Chimpanzee. The thumb extends a little-beyond the base of the proximal phalanx of the fore-finger; it does not reach to the end of the metacarpal bone of that finger in the Chimpanzee or any other ape: the thumb of the Siamang (Hylobates syndactyla) is still shorter in proportion to the length of the fingers of the same hand: the philosophical zoologist will see great significance in this fact. In man the thumb extends to, or beyond, the middle of the first pha- lanx of the fore-finger. The fore-arm in the Gorilla passes into the hand with very slight evidence, by constriction of the wrist, the circumference of which, without the hair, was fourteen inches, that of a strong man averaging eight inches. The hand is remarkable for its breadth and thickness, and for the great length of the palm, occasioned both by the length of the metacarpus and the greater extent of undivided integument between the digits than in man; these only begin to be free opposite the middle of the proximal or first phalanges in the Gorilla. The digits are thus short, and appear as if swollen and gouty ; and are. conical in shape after the first joint, by tapering to nails, which, being not larger or longer than those of man, are relatively to the fingers much smaller. ‘The circumference of the middle digit at the first joint in the Gorilla is 54 inches ; in man, at the same part, it averages 23 inches. The skin covering the middle phalanx is thick and cal- lous on the back of the fingers, and there is little outward appear- ance of the second joint. The habit of the animal to apply those parts to the ground, in occasional progression, is manifested by these eallosities. ‘The back of the hand is hairy as far as the divisions of the fingers ; the palm is naked and callous. The thumb, besides its shortness, according to the standard of the human hand, is scarcely half so thick as the fore-finger. The nail of the thumb did not ex- tend to the end of that digit; in the fingers the nail projected a little beyond the end, but with a slightly convex worn margin, resembling the human nails in shape, but relatively less. In the hind limbs, chiefly noticeable was that first appearance in the quadrumanous series of a muscular development of the gluteus, causing a small buttock to project over each tuber ischii. This structure, with the peculiar expanse, as compared with other Qua- drumana, of the iliac bones, leads to an inference that the Gorilla must naturally and with more ease resort occasionally to station and progression on the lower limbs than any other ape. The same cause as in the arm, viz. a continuance of a large pro- portion of fleshy fibres to the lower end of the muscles, coextensive ‘with the thigh, gives a great circumference to that segment of the limb above the knee-joint, and a more uniform size to it than in man, The relative shortness of the thigh, its bone being only eight-ninths the length of the humerus (in man the humerus averages five-sixths 382 Zoological Society :-— the length of the femur), adds to the appearance of its superior rela- tive thickness. Absolutely the thigh is not of greater circumference at its middle than is the same part in man. The chief difference in the leg, after its relative shortness, is the absence of a “calf,”’ due to the non-existence of the partial accumu- lation of carneous fibres in the upper half of the gastrocnemii muscles, causing that prominence in the type-races of mankind. In the Go- rilla the tendo-achillis not only continues to receive the ‘‘ penni- form’”’ fibres to the heel, but the fleshy parts of the muscles of the foot receive accessions of fibres at the lower third of the leg, to which the greater thickness of that part is due, the proportions in this ~ respect being the reverse of those in man. The leg expands at once into the foot, which has a peculiar and characteristic form, owing to the modifications favouring bipedal motion being superinduced upon an essentially prehensile quadrumanous type. The heel makes a more decided backward projection than in the Chimpanzee ; the heel- bone is relatively thicker, deeper, more expanded vertically at its hind end, besides being fully as long as in the Chimpanzee. This bone, so characteristic of anthropoid affinities, is shaped and propor- tioned more like the human calcaneum than in any other ape. The malleoli do not make such well-marked projections as in man; they are marked more by the thickness of the fleshy and tendinous parts of the muscles that pass near them, on their way to be inserted into parts of the foot. Although the foot be articulated to the leg with a slight inversion of the sole, it is more nearly plantigrade than in the Chimpanzee or any other ape. The hairy integument is con- tinued along the dorsum of the foot to the clefts of the toes, and upon the first phalanx of the hallux: the whole sole is bare. The hallux (great toe, thumb of the foot), though not relatively longer than in the Chimpanzee, is stronger; the bones are thicker in - proportion to their length, especially the last phalanx, which in shape and breadth much resembles that in the human foot. The hallux in its natural position diverges from the other toes at an angle of 60 deg. from the axis of the foot ; its base is large, swelling into a kind of ball below, upon which the thick callous epiderm of the sole is continued. The transverse indents and wrinkles show the frequency and freedom of the flexile movements of the two joints of the hallux: the nail is small, flat, and short. The sole of the foot gradually expands from the heel forward to the. divergence of the hallux, and seems to be here cleft, and almost equally, between the oase of the hallux and the common base of the other four digits, These are small and slender in proportion, and their bases are en- veloped in a common tegumentary sheath as far as the base of the second phalanx. A longitudinal indent at the middle of the sole, bifurcating—one channel defining the ball of the hallux, the other running towards the interspace between the second and third digit— indicates the action of opposing the whole thumb (which seems rather like an inner lobe or division of the sole), to the outer division ter- minated by the four short toes. _What is termed the ‘‘instep”’ in man is very high in the Gorilla, owing to the thickness of the carneo- Prof. Owen on ths Gorilla. 383 - tendinous parts of the muscles as they pass from the leg to the foot over this region. The mid-toe (third) is a little longer than the second and fourth; the fifth, as in man, is proportionally shorter than the fourth, and is divided from it by a somewhat deeper cleft. The whole sole is wider than in man—relatively to its length much wider,—and in that respect, as well as by the offset of the hallux, and the definition of its basal ball, more like a hand, but a hand of huge dimensions and of portentous power of grasp. In regard to the outward coloration of the Gorilla, only from the examination of the living animal could the precise shades of colour of the naked parts of the skin be truly described. Much of the epiderm had peeled off the subject of the present description ; but fortunately in large patches, and the texture of these had acquired a certain firmness, apparently by the action of the alcohol upon the albuminous basis. The able taxidermist, Mr. Bartlett, has availed himself of this circumstance in the correct and satisfactory prepara- tion of the specimen now mounted for the British Museum. The parts of the epiderm remaining upon the face indicated the skin there to be chiefly of a deep leaden hue; it is everywhere finely wrinkled, and was somewhat less dark at the prominent parts of the _ supraciliary roll and the prominent margins of the nasal ‘alee :’’ th soles and palms were also of a lighter colour. Although the general colour of the hair appears, at first sight, and when moist, to be almost black, it is not so, but is rather of a dusky grey : it is decidedly of a less deep tint than in the Chimpanzee (Trogl. niger): this is due to an admixture of a few reddish, and of more greyish hairs, with the dusky-coloured ones which chiefly con- stitute the ‘ pelage”’: and the above admixture varies at different parts of the body. The reddish hairs are sonumerous on the scalp, especially along the upper middle region, as to make their tint rather predominate there ; they blend in a less degree with the long hairs upon the sides of the face. The greyish hairs are found mixed with the dusky upon the dorsal, deltoidal and anterior femoral regions ; but, on the limbs, not in such proportion as to affect the impres- sion of the general dark colour, at first view. The hairs are wavy, approaching to a woolly character. Near the margin of the vent are a few short whitish hairs, as in the Chimpanzee. . The epiderm of the back showed the effects of habitual resting, with that part against the trunk or branch of a tree, occasioning the hair to be more or less rubbed off: the epiderm was here very thick and tough. It is most probable, from the degree of admixture of different coloured hairs above described, that a living Gorilla seen in bright sunlight, would in some positions reflect from its surface a colour much more different from that of the Chimpanzee than appears by a comparison of the skin of a dead specimen sent home in spirits. It can hardly be doubted, also, that age will make an appreciable differ- ence in the general coloration of the. Tvoglodytes gorilla. The adult male Gorilla measures five feet six inches from the sole to the top of the head, the breadth across the shoulders is nearly three feet, the length of the upper limb is three feet four inches, 384, Zoological Society :— that of the lower limb is two feet four inches ; the length of the head and trunk is three feet six inches, whilst the same dimension in man does not average three feet, _ In the foregoing remarks the author had given the results of direct observations made on the first and only entire specimen of the Gorilla which had reached England. _ At the period when they were made, no other description of its external characters had reached him ; and if the majority of them be found to agree with previously recorded observations by naturalists enjoying earlier opportunities of studying similarly preserved specimens, the rarity and importance of the species might excuse, if it did not justify, a second description from direct scrutiny of a new specimen by an old observer of the anthropoid Quadrumana. A much more important labour, however, remained. The accurate record of facts in natural history was one and a good aim; the deduction of their true consequences was a better. Pro- fessor Owen proceeded, therefore, to reconsider the conclusions from which his experienced French and American fellow-labourers in natural history differed from him, and in which it seemed he stood alone. | The first—it may be called the supreme—question in regard to the Gorilla was, its place in the scale of nature, and its true and precise affinities. | Is it or not the nearest of kin to human kind? Does it form, like the Chimpanzee and Orang, a distinct genus in the anthropoid or knuckle-walking group of apes? Are these apes, or are the long-armed Gibbons, more nearly related to the genus Homo? Of the broad- breast-boned quadrumana, are the knuckle-walkers or the brachiators, t.e. the long-armed Gibbons, most nearly and essentially related to the human subject ? The author proceeded to discuss the first as the most important question. At the first aspect, whether of the entire animal or of the skeleton, he freely admitted that the Gorilla strikes the observer as being a much more bestial and brutish animal than the Chimpanzee. All the features that relate to the wielding of the strong jaws and. large canines are exaggerated ; the evidence of brain is less, its chamber is more masked by the outgrowth of the strong occipital and other cranial ridges. But the impression so made—that the Gorilla ‘is less like Man—is the same which is derived from comparing a young with an adult Chimpanzee, or some small tailless monkey with a full- grown male Orang or Chimpanzee. ‘Taking the characters that cause that impression at a first inspection of the Gorilla, most of the small South American monkeys are more anthropoid than it; they have a proportionally larger and more human-shaped cranium, much less prominent jaws, with more equable teeth, Referring to the skeletons of the adult males of the Gorilla, Chim- panzee, Orang, and Gibbon, Professor Owen remarked that the glo- bular cranium of the last, and its superior size compared with the jaws and teeth, seemed to show the Gibbons to be more nearly akin to man than are the larger tailless Apes... And this conclusion had been adopted by a distinguished French paleontologist, M. Lartet, Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 885 and accepted by a high geological authority at home*. They cite the experienced Professor of Human Anatomy at Amsterdam as support- ing this view ; but Prof. Owen had failed to find any statement of the grounds upon which it was sustained. In the art. Quadrumana of Todd’s ‘‘ Cyclopzedia of Anatomy,” cited by Lartet,+ Prof. Vrolik briefly treats of the osteology of the Quadrumana according to their natural families. In ‘‘a first genus, Simia proper, or ape,” he in- cludes the Chimpanzee or Orang, noticing some of the chief points by which these apes approach the nearest to man. He next goes to ‘‘the second genus, the Gibbons” (Hylodates); he notices their ischial callosities, and the nearer approach of their molars, in their rounded form, to the teeth of Carnivora than the molars of the genus Simia. Then, comparing the Siamang with other species of fylobates, Vrolik says, ‘‘its skeleton approaches most to that of man ;”” which may be true in comparison with other Gibbons, but certainly is not so as respects the higher Simie. No details are given to illustrate the proposition even in its more limited appli- cation ; but the minor length of the arms in the Siamang, as com- pared with Hylobates lar, was probably the character in point. The appearance of superior cerebral development in the Siamang and other long-armed apes is due to their small size and the con- comitant feeble development of their jaws and teeth. The same appearance makes the small platyrrhine Monkeys of South America equally anthropoid in their facial physiognomy, and much more human-like than are the great Orangs and Chimpanzees. It is an appearance which depends upon the precocious growth of the brain as dependent on the law of its development. In all Quadrumana the brain has reached its full size before the second set of teeth is ac- uired, almost before the first set is shed. If, however, a young orilla, Chimpanzee, or Orang, be compared with a young Siamang of corresponding age, the absolutely larger size and better shape of brain, the deeper and more numerous convolutions of the cerebrum, and the more completely covered cerebellum in the former, unequi- vocally demonstrate the higher organization of the shorter-armed Apes. ‘In the structure of the brain,’ writes Vrolik,t in accord- ance with all other comparative anatomists, “they *”? (Chimpanzee and Orang-utan) “approach the nearest to man.” The degree to which the Chimpanzee and Orang so resembled the human type seemed much closer to Cuvier, who knew those great apes only in their immaturity, with their small milk-teeth and precociously de- veloped brain. Accordingly, the anthropoid characters of the Simia satyrus and Simia troglodytes, as deduced from the facial angle and dentition, are proportionally exaggerated in the ‘ Régne Animal.” § As growth proceeds, the milk-teeth are shed, the jaws expand, the great canines succeed their diminutive representatives, the temporal * Lyell, Sir C. “ Supplement to the Fifth Edition of a Manual of Elementary Geology,” 1859, p. 15. + “ Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, Juillet 28, 1856.” t Art. Quadrumana, “ Cyclopedia of Anatomy,” vol. iv. p. 195. § Ed. 1829, pp. 87, 39. Amn. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 25 386 Zoological Society :— muscles gain a proportional increase of carneous fibres, their bony fulera respond to the call for increased surface of attachment, the sagittal and occipital crests begin to rise: but the brain grows no more; its cranial box retains the size it showed in immaturity; it finally becomes masked by the superinduced osseous developments in those apes which attain the largest stature and wield the most formidably armed jaws. Yet under this show of physical force, the brain of both Orang and Chimpanzee is still the better and the larger, than is that of the little long-armed ape, which retains throughout life so much more of the characters of immaturity, especially in the structure of the skull. The Siamang and other Gibbons have smaller, lower but longer upper canines, relatively, than in the Orangs and Chimpanzees; the permanent ones more quickly attain their full size, and are sooner in their place in the jaws ; consequently the last molar teeth, m3, come last into place as they do in the human species. But, if this be interpreted as of importance in determining the relative affinity of the longer-armed and shorter-armed apes to man, it is a character in which, as in their seeming superior cerebral development, the Hylo- bates agree with some much lower Quadrumana with still smaller canines. The systematic zoologist, pursuing this most interesting compa- rison with clear knowledge of the true conditions and significance of a globular cranium and small jaws within the quadrumanous order, first determines and takes as his compass or guide-point the really distinctive characters of the human organization. In respect to the cerebral test, he looks not so much for the rela- tive size of the brain to the body, as for its relative size in the species compared one with another in the same natural group. He inquires what quadrumanous animal shows absolutely the biggest brain? what species shows the deepest and most numerous and winding convolu- tions? in which is the cerebrum largest, as compared with the cere- bellum? If he finds all these characters highest in the Gorilla, he does not permit himself to be diverted from the just inference because the great size and surpassing physical power attained in that species mask the true data from obvious view: 7 The comparative anatomist would look to the ceecum and the ischial integument: if he found in one subject of his comparisons (Troglodytes) a long ‘‘ appendix vermiformis ceeci,”’ as in man, but no “ callosities,’’—in another subject (Hylobates) the ischial callosi- ties, but only a short rudiment of the czecal appendix,—he would know which of the two tailless Apes were to be placed next ‘the Monkeys with ischial callosities and no vermiform appendix,” and which of the two formed the closer link toward man. He would find that the anthropoid intestinal and dermal characters were asso- ciated with the absolutely larger and better developed brain in the Gorilla, Chimpanzee, and Orang; whilst the lower quadrumanous characters exhibited by the cecum and nates were exhibited by the smaller-brained and longer-armed but rounder-skulled and shorter- jawed Gibbons. Prof. Owén on the Gorilla. 387: Pursuing the comparison through the complexities of the bony framework, he might first glance at the more obvious proportions ; and such, indeed, as would be given by the entire animal. The characteristics of the limbs in Man are their near equality of length, but the lower limbs are the longest. The arms m Man reach to below the middle of the thigh; in the Gorilla they nearly attain the knee; in the Chimpanzee they reach below the knee; in the Orang they reach the ankle; in the Siamang they reach the sole; im most Gibbons the whole palm can be applied to the ground without the trunk being bent forward beyond its naturally inclined position on the legs. These gradational differences coincide with other characters determining the relative proximity to Man of the apes compared. In no Quadrumana does the humerus exceed the ulna so much in length as in Man; only in the most anthropoid, viz. the Gorilla and Chimpanzee, does it exceed the ulna at all in length ; in the rest, as in the lower quadrupeds, the fore-arm is longer than the arm. The humerus, in the Gorilla, though less long, compared with thé ulna, than in Man, is longer than in the Chimpanzee ; in the Orang it is shorter than the ulna; in the Siamang and other Gibbons it is much shorter, the peculiar length of arm in those ‘‘long-armed’’ apes is chiefly due to the excessive length of the antibrachial bones. - The difference in the length of the upper limbs, as compared with the trunk, is but little between Man and the Gorilla. The elbow- joint in the Gorilla, as the arm hangs down, is opposite the “‘ labrum ilii,”” the wrist opposite the “ tuber ischii;’’ it is rather lower down in the Chimpanzee ; it is opposite the knee-joint in the Orang ; it is opposite the ankle-joint in the Siamang. _ Man’s perfect hand is one of his peculiar physical characters ; that perfection is mainly due to the extreme differentiation of the first from the other four digits, and its concomitant power of oppo- sing them as a perfect thumb. An opposable thumb is present in the hand of most Quadrumana, but is usually a small appendage com- pared with that of Man. It is relatively largest in the Gorilla. In this ape the thumb reaches to a little beyond the base of the first phalanx of the fore-finger ; it does not reach to the end of the meta- carpal bone of the fore-finger in the Chimpanzee, Orang, or Gibbon ; it is relatively smallest in the last tailless ape. In Man the thumb extends to or beyond the middle of the first phalanx of the fore- finger. The philosophical zoologist will see great significance in the results of this comparison. Only in the Gorilla and Chimpanzee are the carpal bones eight in number, as in man; in the Orangs and Gibbons they are nine in number, as in the tailed monkeys. The scapulee are broader in the Gorilla than in the Chimpanzee, Orang, or long-armed apes; they come nearer to the proportions of that bone in Man. But a more decisive resemblance to the human structure is presented by the iliac bones. In no other ape than the Gorilla do they bend forward, so as to produce a pelvic concavity ; nor are they so broad in proportion to their length in any ape as in the Gorilla. In both the Chimpanzee and Orang the iliac bones are 25% 388. Zoological Society :— flat, or present a concavity rather at the back than at the fore part. In the Siamang they are not only flat, but are narrower and longer, resembling the iliac bones of tailed monkeys and ordinary quadrupeds. The lower limbs, though characteristically short in the Gorilla, are longer in proportion to the upper limbs, and also to the entire trunk, than in the Chimpanzee ; they are much longer in both pro- portions and more robust than in the Orangs or Gibbons. _ But the guiding points of comparisons here are the heel and the hallux. The heel in the Gorilla makes a more decided backward projection than in the Chimpanzee ; the heelbone is relatively thicker, deeper, more expanded vertically at its hind end, beside being fully as long as in the Chimpanzee: it is in the Gorilla shaped and proportioned more like the human calcaneum than in any other ape. Among all the tailless apes the caleaneum in the Siamang and other Gibbons least resembles in its shape or proportional size that of Man. Although the foot be articulated to the leg with a slight inversion of the sole it is more nearly plantigrade in the Gorilla than in the Chimpanzee. The Orang departs far, and the Gibbons farther, from the human type in the inverted position of the foot. The great toe which forms the fulcrum in standing or walking is, perhaps, the most characteristic peculiarity in the human structure ; it is that modification which differentiates the foot from the hand, and gives the character to the order Bimana. In the degree of its approach to this development of the hallux the quadrumanous animal makes a true step in affinity to Man. The Orang-utan and the Siamang, tried by this test, descend far and abruptly below the Chimpanzee and Gorilla in the scale. In the Orang the hallux does not reach to the end of the metacarpal of the second toe ; in the Chimpanzee and Gorilla it reaches to the end of the first phalanx of the second toe; but in the Gorilla the hallux is thicker and stronger than in the Chimpanzee. In both, however, it is a true thumb, by position, diverging from the other toes, in the Gorilla, at an angle of 60° from the axis of the foot. 4 Man has twelve pairs of ribs, the Gorilla and Chimpanzee have thirteen pairs, the Orangs have twelve pairs, the Gibbons have thir- teen pairs. Were the naturalist to trust to this single character, as some have trusted to the cranio-facial one, and in equal ignorance of the real condition and value of both, he might think that the Orangs (Pithecus) were nearer akin to man than the Chimpanzees (Troglodytes) are. But man has sometimes a thirteenth pair of ribs; and what we term “ribs’’ are but vertebral elements or appendages common to nearly all the true vertebree in man, and only so called, when they become long and free. The genera Homo, Troglodytes, and Pithecus, have precisely the same number of ver- tebree ; if 7’roglodytes, by the development and mobility of the pleur- apophyses of the twentieth vertebra from the occiput, seem to have an additional thoracic vertebra, it has one vertebra less in the lumbar region. So, if there be, as has been observed, a difference in the number of sacral vertebree, it is merely due to a last lumbar having coalesced with what we reckon as the first sacral vertebra in Man. Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 389 » The thirteen pairs of ribs, therefore, in the Gorilla and Chimpan- zee, are of no weight, as against the really important characters sig- nificative of affinity with the human type. But, supposing the fact of any real value, how do the advocates of the superior resemblance of the Siamang’s or Gibbon’s skeleton to that of man dispose of the thirteenth pair of ribs? In applying the characters of the skull to the determination of the important question at issue, those must first be ascertained by which the genus Homo trenchantly differs from the genus Simia, of Lin- neeus. ‘To determine these osteal distinctions, the author stated that he had compared the skulls of many individuals of different varieties of the human race together with those of the male, female, and young of species of Troglodytes, Pithecus, and Hylobates ; Professor Owen referred to his ‘ Catalogue of the Osteological Series in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,’ 4to, 1853, for the detailed results of these comparisons. On the present occasion he would restrict himself to a few of these results. The first and most obvious differential character is the globular form of the brain-case, and its superior relative size to the face, especially the jaws, in man. But this, for the reasons he had already assigned, is not an instructive or decisive character, when comparing quadrumanous species, in reference to the question at issue. It is exaggerated in the human child, owing to the acquisition of its full, or nearly full size, by the brain, before the jaws have expanded to lodge the second set of teeth. It is an anthropoid character in which the Quadrumana resemble man, in proportion to the dimi- nution of their general bulk. If a Gorilla, with milk-teeth, have a somewhat larger brain and brain-case than a Chimpanzee at the same immature age, the acquisition of greater bulk by the Gorilla, and of a more formidable physical development of the skull, in reference to the great canines in the male, will give to the Chimpanzee the appearance of amore anthropoid character, which really does not belong to it,— which could be as little depended upon in a question of precise affi- nity as the like more anthropoid characters of the female, as com- pared with the male, Gorilla or Chimpanzee. Much more important and significant were the following cha- racters of the human skull :—the position and plane of the occipital _ foramen ; the proportional size of the condyloid and petrous pro- cesses; the mastoid processes, which relate to balancing the head upon the trunk-in the erect attitude; the small premaxillaries and concomitant small size of the incisor teeth, as compared with the molar teeth. The latter character relates to the superiority of the psychical over the physical powers in man: it governs the feature in which man recedes from the brute; as does also the prominence of the nasal bones in most, and in all the typical,-races of man. The somewhat angular form of the bony orbits, tending to a square, with the corners rounded off, is a good human character of the skull, which is difficult to comprehend as an adaptive one, and therefore the better in the present inquiry. The same may be said of the production of the floor of the tympanic or auditory tube into the plate called “ vaginal.” 390 ~ Zoological Society :— Believing the foregoing to be sufficient to test the respective degrees of affinity to man within the limited group of Quadrumana to which it was proposed, in the present memoir, to apply them, the author would not dilute his argument by citing minor characters. The question at issue was the respective degrees of affinity as be- tween the anthropoid apes and man. Cuvier deemed the Orang (Pithecus) to be nearer akin to man than the Chimpanzee (Troglo- dytes) is. That belief has long ceased to be entertained. ' Professor Owen proceeded, therefore, to compare the Gorilla, Chimpanzee, and Gibbon, in reference to their human affinities. Most naturalists entering upon this question would first look to the premaxillary bones, or, owing to the early confluence of those bones with the maxillaries in the Gorilla and Chimpanzee, to the part of the upper jaw containing the incisive teeth, on the size and direction of which depends the prognathic or brutish character of a skull, Now the extent of the premaxillaries below the nostril is not only relatively but absolutely less in the Gorilla, and consequently the profile of the skull is less convex at this part, or less ‘* progna- thic’’ than in the Chimpanzee. Notwithstanding the degree in which the skull of the Gorilla surpasses in size that of the Chimpan- zee, especially when the two are compared ona front view, the breadth of the premaxillaries and of the four incisive teeth is the same in both. In the relative degree, therefore, in which these bones are smaller than in the Chimpanzee, the Gorilla, in this most im- portant character, comes nearer to Man. In the Gibbons the inei- sors are relatively smaller than in the Gorilla, but the premaxillaries bear the same proportional size in the adult male Siamang. Next, as regards the nasal bones. In the Chimpanzee, as in the Orangs and Gibbons, they are as flat to the face as in any of the lower Simie, In the Gorilla, the median coalesced margins of the upper half of the nasal bones are produced forward, in a slight degree it is true, but affording a most significant evidence of nearer resemblance to Man. In the same degree they impress that anthropic feature upon the face of the living Gorilla. In some pig-faced baboons there are ridges and prominences in the naso-facial part of the skull, but they do not really affect the question as between the Gorilla and Chimpanzee. All naturalists know that the Semno- pitheques of Borneo have long noses, but the proboscidiform append- age which gives so ludicrous a mask to those monkeys is unaccom- panied by any such modification of the nose-bones as gives the true anthropoid character to the human skull, and to which only the Go- rilla, in the ape tribe, makes any approximation. No Orang, Chimpanzee, or Gibbon shows any rudiment of mas- toid processes; but they are present in the Gorilla, smaller indeed than in Man, but unmistakeable; they are, as in Man, cellular, pneumatic, and with a thin outer plate of bone. This fact led the author, in a former memoir, to express, when, in respect to the Go- rilla, only the skull had reached him, the following inference, viz. : ‘from the nearer approach which the Gorilla makes to Man in com- parison with the Chimpanzee or Orang, in regard to the mastoid processes, t*at it assumed more nearly and more habitually the Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 391 upright attitude than those inferior anthropoid apes do.” * This inference has been fully borne out by the rest of the skeleton of the Gorilla, subsequently acquired. In the Chimpanzee, as in the Orangs, Gibbons, and inferior Simie, the lower surface of the long tympanic or auditory process is more or less flat and smooth, developing in the Chimpanzee only a slight tubercle, anterior to the stylohyal pit. In the Gorilla the auditory process is more or less convex below, and developes a ridge, answering to the vaginal process, on the outer side of the carotid canal. The processes posterior and internal to the glenoid articular surface are better developed, especially the internal one, in the Gorilla than in the Chimpanzee the ridge which extends from the ectopterygoid along the inner border of the foramen ovale, terminates in the Gorilla by an angle or process answering to that called ‘ sty- liform ’’ or ‘‘ spinous”? in Man, but of which there is no trace in the Chimpanzee, Orang, or Gibbon. - The orbits have a full oval form in the Orang; they are almost circular in the Chimpanzee and Siamang, more nearly circular, and with a more prominent rim in the smaller Gibbons ; in the Gorilla alone do they present the form which used to be deemed peculiar to man. There is not much physiological significance in some of the latter characters, but on that very account, the author deemed them more instructive and guiding in the actual comparison. The occi- pital foramen is nearer the back part of the cranium, and its plane is more sloping, less horizontal in the Siamang than in the Chim- panzee and Gorilla. Considering the less relative prominence of the fore-part of the jaws in the Siamang, as compared with the Chim- panzee, the occipital character of that Gibbon and of other species of Hylobates marks well their inferior position in the quadrumanous scale. In the greater relative size of the molars, compared with the inci- sors, the Gorilla makes an important closer step towards Man than does the Chimpanzee. The molar teeth are relatively so small in the Siamang, that, notwithstanding the small size of the incisors, the proportion of those teeth to the molars is only the same as in the Gorilla: in other Gibbons (Hylodates lar), the four lower incisors occupy an extent equal to that of the first four molars, in the Chim- panzee equal to that of the first three molars, in the Siamang equal to that of the first two molars and rather more than half of the third, in Man equal to the first two molars and half of the third: in this comparison the term molar is extended to the bicuspids. The proportion of the ascending ramus to the length of the lower jaw tests the relative affinity of the tailless apes to Man. - Ina profile of the lower jaw, the author compares the line drawn yertically from the top of the coronoid process to the horizontal length along the alveoli. In Man and the Gorilla it is about ;4;ths, in the Chimpanzee ;5,ths, in the Siamang it is only ;4ths. ‘The Siamang further differs in the shape and production of the angle of the jaw, and in the shape of the coronoid process, approaching the lower Simie * Transactions of the Zoological Society, vol. iii. p. 409. 392° Loological Society :— in both these characters. In the size of the post-glenoid process, in the shape of the glenoid cavity which is almost flat, in the propor- tional size of the petrous bone, and in the position of the foramen caroticum, the Siamang departs further from the human type, and approaches nearer that of the tailed Simie, than the Gorilla does, and in a marked degree. . Every legitimate deduction from a comparison of cranial charac- ters makes the tailless Quadrumana recede from the human type in the following order :—Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Orangs, Gibbons, and the last named in a greater and more decided degree. - These comparisons have of late been invested with additional interest from the discoveries of remains of quadrumanous species in different members of the tertiary formations. . The first quadrumanous fossil, the discovery of which by Lieuts. Baker and Durand is recorded in the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ for November, 1836, has proved to belong, like subsequently discovered quadrumanous fossils in the Sewalik (pro- bably miocene) tertiaries, to the Indian genus Semnopithecus. The quadrumanous fossils discovered in 1839, in the eocene deposits of Suffolk, belong to a genus (Lopithecus) having its nearest affinities with Macacus. The monkey’s molar tooth from the pliocene beds of Essex is most closely allied to the Macacus sinicus. The remains of the large monkey, four feet in height, discovered in 1839 by Dr. Lund in oa limestone cavern in Brazil was shown by its molar 3—3 dentition (p* — — m =—,) to belong to the platyrrhine family now peculiar to South America. The lower jaw and teeth of the small quadrumane discovered by M. Lartet in a miocene bed of the South of France, and described by him and De Blainville, are so closely allied to the Gibbons, as scarcely to justify the generic separation which has been made for it under the name Pliopithecus. Finally, a portion of a lower jaw with teeth and the shaft of a humerus of a quadrumanous animal (Dryopithecus), equalling the size of those bones in Man, have been discovered by M. Fontan, of Saint- Gaudens, in a marly bed of Upper Miocene age, forming the base of the plateau on which that town is built. The molar teeth present the type of grinding surface of those of the Gibbons (Hylodates), and, as in that genus, the second true molar is larger than the first, not of equal size, as in the human subject and Chimpanzee. The premolars have a greater antero-posterior extent, relatively, than in the Chimpanzee, and in this respect agree more with those in the Siamang. The first premolar has the outer cusp raised to double the height of that of the second; its inner lobe appears from M. Lartet’s figure to be less developed than in the Gorilla, certainly less than in the Chimpanzee. The posterior talon of the second premolar is more developed, and consequently the fore and aft extent of the tooth is greater than in the Chimpanzee; thereby the second premolar of Dryopithecus more resembles that in Hylobates, and departs further from the human type. The canine, judging from the figures published by M. Lartet*, * ‘Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences.’ Paris, vol. xliii. ‘Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 393 seems to be less developed than in the male Chimpanzee, Gorilla, or Orang ; in which character the fossil, if it belonged to a male, makes a nearer approach to the human type: but it is one which many of the inferior monkeys also exhibit, and is by no means to be trusted as significant of true affinity, supposing even the sex of the fossil to be known as being male. ~The shaft of the humerus, found with the jaw, is peculiarly rounded, as it is in the Gibbons and Sloths, and offers none of those angularities and ridges which make the same bone in the Chimpanzee and Orang come so much nearer in shape to the humerus of the human subject. The fore part of the jaw, as in the Siamang, is more nearly vertical than in the Gorilla or Chimpanzee ; but whether the back part of the jaw may not have departed in a greater degree from the human type than the fore part approaches ‘it, as is the case in the Siamang, the state of the fossil does not allow of determining. One significant character is, however, present,—the shape of the fore part of the coronoid process. It is slightly convex forwards, which causes the angle it forms with the alveolar border to be lessopen. The same character is present in the Gibbons. The front margin of the lower half of the coronoid process in Man is concave, as it is likewise in the Gorilla and Chimpanzee. Prof. Owen was acquainted with this interesting fossil, referred to a genus called Dryopithecus, only by the figures published in the 43rd volume of the ‘Comptes Rendus de l Académie des Sciences.’ From these it appears that the canine, two premolars, and first and second true molars, are in place ; the socket of the third molar is empty, but widely open above ; from which the author concludes that the third molar had also cut the gum, the crown being completed, but not the fangs. If the last molar had existed as a mere germ, it would more probably have been preserved in the substance of the jaw. In a young Siamang, with the points of the permanent canines just protruding from the socket, exhibited by Prof. Owen, the crown of the last molar was complete, and on a level with the base of that of the penultimate molar ; whence he inferred that the last molar would have cut the gum as soon as, if not before, the crown of the canine had been completely extricated. This dental character, the confor- mation and relative size of the grinding teeth, especially the fore and aft extent of the premolars, all indicate the close affinity of the Dryopithecus with the Pliopithecus and existing Gibbons ; and this, the sole legitimate deduction from the maxillary and dental fossils, is corroborated by the fossil humerus, fig. 9, in the above-cited plate. There is no law of correlation, by which, from the portion of jaw with teeth of the Dryopithecus, can be deduced the shape of the nasal bones and orbits, the position and plane of the occipital fora- men, the presence of mastoid and vaginal processes, or other cranial characters determinative of affinity to Man; much less any ground for inferring the proportions of the upper to the lower limbs, of the humerus to the ulna, of the pollex to the manus, or the shape and development of the iliac bones. All those characters which do de- termine the closer resemblance and affinity of the genus T7roglodytes 394, Zoological Society :— to man, and of the genus Hylobates to the tailed monkeys, are at present unknown in respect of the Dryopithecus. A glance at fig. 5 (Gorilla), and fig. 7 (Dryopithecus), of the plate of M. Lartet’s memoir, would suffice to teach their difference of bulk, the Gorilla being fully one-third larger. The statement that the parts of the skeleton of the Dryopithecus as yet known, viz. the two branches of the lower jaw and the humerus, “are sufficient to show that in anatomical structure, as well as stature, it came nearer to man than any quadrumanous species, living or fossil, before known to zoolo- gists *,”’ is without the support of any adequate fact, and in contra- vention of most of those to be deduced from M. Lartet’s figures of the fossils. Those parts of the Dryopithecus merely show—and the humerus in a striking manner—its nearer approach to the Gibbons ; the most probable conjecture being that it bore to them, in regard to size, the like relations which Dr. Lund’s Protopithecus bore to the existing Mycetes. Whether, therefore, strata of such high antiquity as the miocene may reveal to us “forms in any degree intermediate between the Chimpanzee and man”? awaits an answer from discoveries yet to be made ; and the anticipation that the fossil world ‘may hereafter supply new osteological links between man and the highest known Quadrumana}’’ must be kept in abeyance until that world has furnished us with the proofs that a species did formerly exist which came as near to man as does the Orang; the Chimpanzee, or the Gorilla. Of the nature and habits of the last-named species, which really offers the nearest approach to man of any known ape, recent or fossil, the author had received many statements from individuals resident at or visitors to the Gaboon, from which he selected the following as most probable, or least questionable. Gorilla-land is a richly-wooded extent of the western part of _ Africa, traversed by the rivers Danger and Gaboon, and extending from the equator to the 10th or 15th degree of south latitude. The part where the Gorilla has been most frequently met with presents a succession of hill and dale, the heights crowned with lofty trees, the valleys covered by coarse grass, with partial scrub or scattered shrubs. Fruit trees of various kinds abound both on the hills and in the valleys; some that are crude and uncared for by the Negros are sought out and greedily eaten by the Gorillas; and as different kinds come to maturity at different seasons, they afford the great denizen of the woods a successive and unfailing supply of indigenous fruits. Of these Professor Owen specified the following sources :— The palm-nut (Zlais guiniensis) of which the Gorillas greatly affect the fruit and upper part of the stipe, called the ‘t cabbage.” The Negroes of the Gaboon have a tradition that their forefathers first learnt to eat the “cabbage,” from seeing the Gorilla eat it, concluding that what was good for him must be good for man. The “ ginger-bread tree’ (Parinarium excelsum), which bears a - plum-like fruit. * Lyell (Sir Charles), ‘Supplement to the Fifth Edition of Manual of Ele- mentary Geology,’ 8yo, 1859, p. 14. T Ibi Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 395 _. The papau tree (Carica papaya). The banana (Musa sapientium), and another species (Musa para- disiaca). The Amomum Afzelii and Am. grandifiorum. A tree, with a shelled fruit, like a walnut, which ‘the Gorilla breaks open with the blow of a stone. A tree, also botanically unknown, with a fruit like a cherry. Such fruits and other rich and nutritious productions of the vege- table kingdom, constitute the staple food of the Gorilla, as they do of the Chimpanzee. The molar teeth, which alone truly indicate the diet of an animal, accord with the statements as to the frugi- vorous character of the Gorilla: but they also sufficiently answer to an omnivorous habit to suggest that the eggs and callow brood of ‘nests discovered in the trees frequented by the Gorilla might not be unacceptable. The Gorilla makes a sleeping place like a hammock, connecting the branches of a sheltered and thickly-leaved part of a tree by means of the long tough slender stems of parasitic plants, and lining it with the broad dried fronds of palms, or with long grass. This hammock- like abode may be seen at different heights, from 10 to 40 feet from the ground, but there is never more than one such nest in a tree. They avoid the abodes of man, but are most commonly seen in the months of September, October, and November, after the negroes have gathered their outlying rice-crops, and have returned from the bush” to the village. So observed, they are described to be usually in pairs; or, if more, the addition consists of a few young ones, of different ages, and apparently of one family. The Gorilla is not gregarious. The parents may be seen sitting on a branch, resting the back against the tree-trunk—the hair being generally rubbed off the back of the old Gorilla from that habit—perhaps munching fruit, whilst the young Gorillas are at play, leaping and swinging from branch to branch, with hoots or harsh cries of bois- terous mirth. If the old male be seen alone, or when in quest of food, he is usually armed with a stout stick, which the negroes aver to be the weapon with which he attacks his chief enemy the elephant. Not that the elephant directly or intentionally injures the Gorilla, but, deriving its subsistence from the same source, the ape regards the great proboscidian as a hostile intruder. When, therefore, he dis- cerns the elephant pulling down and wrenching off the branches of a favourite tree, the Gorilla, stealmg along the bough, strikes the sensitive proboscis of the elephant with a violent blow of his elub, and drives off the startled giant trumpeting shrilly with rage and pain. In passing from one detached tree to another, the Gorilla is said to walk semi-erect, with the aid of his club, but with a waddling awkward gait; when without a stick, he has ‘been seen to walk asa biped, with his hands clasped across the back of his head, instinet- ively so counterpoising its forward projection. If the Gorilla be surprised and approached while on the ground, he drops his stick, betakes himself to all-fours, applying the back part of the bent 396 Zoological Society :— knuckles of his fore-hands to the ground, and makes his way rapidly, with an oblique swinging kind of gallop, to the nearest tree. There he awaits his pursuer, especially if his family be near, and requiring his defence. No negro willingly approaches the tree in which the male Gorilla keeps guard. Even with a gun the experienced negro does not make the attack, but reserves his fire in self-defence. The enmity of the Gorilla to the whole negro race, male and female, is uniformly attested. The young men of the Gaboon tribe make armed excursions into the forests, im quest of ivory. The enemy they most dread on these occasions is the Gorilla. If they have come unawares too near. him with his family, he does not, like the lion, sulkily retreat, — but comes rapidly to the attack, swinging down to the lower branches, and clutching at the nearest foe. The hideous aspect of the animal, with his green eyes flashing with rage, is heightened by the skin over the prominent roof of the orbits being drawn rapidly backward and forward, with the hair erected, causing a horrible and fiendish scowl. If fired at and not mortally hit, the Gorilla closes at once upon his assailant, and inflicts most dangerous, if not deadly wounds, with his sharp and powerful tusks. 'The commander of a Bristol trader told the author he had seen a negro at the Gaboon frightfully mutilated by the bite of the Gorilla, from which he had recovered. Another negro exhibited to the same voyager a gun- barrel bent and partly flattened by the bite of a wounded Gorilla, in its death-struggle. Negroes, when stealing through the gloomy shades of the tropical forest, become sometimes aware of the proxi- mity of one of these frightfully formidable apes by the sudden dis- appearance of one of their companions, who is hoisted up into the tree, uttering, perhaps, a short choking cry. | In a few minutes he falls to the ground a strangled corpse. The Gorilla, watching his opportunity, has let down his huge hind-hand, seized the passing negro by the neck, with vice-like grip, has drawn him up to higher branches, and dropped him when his struggles had ceased. The strength of the Gorilla is such as to make him a match for a lion, whose tusks his own almost rival. Over the leopard, invading the lower branches of the Gorilla’s dwelling-tree, he will gain an easier victory; and the huge canines, with which only the male Gorilla is furnished, doubtless have been assigned to him for defend- ing his mate and offspring. The skeleton of the old male Gorilla obtained for the British Museum in 1857, shows an extensive fracture, badly united, of the left arm-bone, which has been shortened, and gives evidence of long suffering from abscess and partial exfoliation of bone. The upper canines have been wrenched out or shed some time before death, for their sockets have become absorbed. The redeeming quality in this fragmentary history of the Gorilla is the male’s care of his family, and the female’s devotion to her young. It is reported that a French natural-history collector, accompanying a party of the Gaboon negroes into the Gorilla woods, surprised a female with two young ones on a large boabdad (Adansonia), which Prof. Owen on the Gorilla. 897 stood some distance from the nearest clump. She descended the tree with her youngest clinging to her neck, and made off rapidly on all fours to the forest, and escaped. The deserted young one on seeing the approach of the men began to utter piercing cries: the mother, having disposed of her infant in safety, returned to rescue the older offspring, but before she could descend with it her retreat was cut off. Seeing one of the negroes level his musket at her, she, clasping her young with one arm, waved the other, as if deprecating the shot: the ball passed through her heart, and she fell with her young one clinging to her. It was a male, and survived the voyage to Havre, where it died on arriving. Professor Owen had examined the skeleton of this. young Gorilla in the museum of natural history at Caen, and was indebted to Professor Deslongchamps, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences in that town, for drawings of the skeleton of this rare specimen. There might be more difficulty in obtaining a young Gorilla for exhibition than a young Chimpanzee ; but as no full-grown Chimpan- zee has ever been captured, we cannot expect the larger and much more powerful adult Gorilla to be ever taken alive. A bold negro, the leader of an elephant-hunting expedition, being offered a hundred dollars if he would bring back a live Gorilla, replied, “ If you gave me the weight of yonder hill in gold coins, I could not do it!” All the terms of the aborigines in reference to the Gorilla imply their opinion of his close kinship to themselves. But they have a low opinion of his intelligence. They say that during the rainy season he builds a house without a roof. The natives on their hunt- ing excursions light fires for their corafort and protection by night ; when they have gone away, they affirm that the Gorilla will come down and warm himself at the smouldering embers, but has not wit enough to throw on more wood, out of the surrounding abundance, to keep the fire burning,—*‘ the stupid old man!” Every account of the habits of a wild animal obtained at second hand from the reports of aborigines has, commonly, its proportion of *apocrypha.”’ The author had restricted himself to the statements that had most probability and were in accordance with the ascertained structures and powers of the animal, and would only add the averment and belief of the Gaboon negroes, that when a Gorilla dies, his fellows eover the corpse with a heap of leaves and loose earth collected and scraped up for the purpose. A most singular phenomenon in natural history, if one reflects on the relations of things, is this Gorilla! Limited as it is in its numbers and geographical range, one discerns that the very peculiar conditions of its existence—abundance of wild fruit—needs must be restricted in space ; but concurring in a certain part of Africa, there lives the creature to enjoy them. The like conditions exist in Borneo and Sumatra, and there also a correlative human-like ape, of similar nature, tooth-armour, and force, exists at their expense. Neither Ourangs nor Gorillas however minister to man’s use either directly or indirectly. Were they to become extinct, no sign of the change or break in the links of life would remain, What may be their real significance? 398 Loological Society. Reverting finally to the ancient notices which might relate to the great anthropoid ape of Africa, Prof. Owen referred to his first Memoir, of February, 1848, in which was quoted (Trans. Zool, Soc., vol. iii. p.418) Dr. Falconer’s ‘ Translation of the Voyage of Hanno,’ (London, 1797) with his dissertation vindicating the authenticity of the “ Periplus.’’ Professor Owen had lately been favoured by the venerable Bishop Maltby, the first amongst our Greek scholars, with the following translation of the passage supposed to allude to the species in question :—‘‘ On the third day, having sailed from thence, passing the streams of fire, we came to a bay called the Horn - of the South. In the recess there was an island like the first, having a lake, and in this there was another island full of wild men. But much the greater part of them were women, with hairy bodies, whom the interpreters called ‘Gorillas.’ But, pursuing them, we were not able to take the men; they all escaped, being able to climb the precipices, and defended themselves with pieces of rock. But three women (females), who bit and scratched those who led them, were not willing to follow. However, having killed them, we flayed them, and conveyed the skins to Carthage ; for we did not sail any further, as provisions began to fail.’’ This encounter indicates, therefore, the southernmost point on the west coast of Africa reached by the Carthaginian navigator. To the inquiry by Bishop Maltby, how far the newly-discovered great ape of Africa bore upon the question of the authenticity of the Periplus, Prof. Owen had replied :—‘ The size and form of the great ape, now called ‘Gorilla,’ would suggest to Hanno and his crew no other idea of its nature than that of a kind of human being; but the climbing faculty, the hairy body, and skinning of the dead speci- mens, strongly suggest that they were large anthropoid apes. The fact that such apes, having the closest observed resemblance to the negro, being of human stature and with hairy bodies, do still exist on the west coast of Africa, renders it highly probable that such were the creatures which Hanno saw, captured, and called ‘ Gorullai.’ ”’ The brief observation made by Battell in west tropical Africa, 1590, recorded in Purchas’s “ Pilgrimages, or Relations of the World,’ 1748, of the nature and habits of the large human-like ape which he calls ‘‘ Pongo,’’ more decidedly refers to the Gorilla. Other notices, as by Nieremberg and Bosman, applied by Buffon to Battell’s Pongo, were deemed valueless by Cuvier, who altogether rejected the conclusions of his great predecessor as to the existence of any such ape. ‘This name of Pongo or Boggo, given in Africa to the Chimpanzee or to the Mandril, has been applied,” writes Cuvier, ‘by Buffon to a pretended great species of Ourang-utan, which was nothing more than the imaginary product of his combinations.” After the publication of Cuvier’s ‘Régne Animal,’ the supposed species was, by the high authority of its. author, banished from natural history; it has only been authentically reintroduced since the intelligent attention of Dr. Savage was directed to the skull which he first saw at the Gaboon in 1847, and took Professor Owen’s opinion upon. 399 MISCELLANEOUS. On Pelamys Sarda, a British Fish. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e. Mr. W. Bearrtir, Secretary of the Montrose Natural History and Antiquarian Society, has sent me the following description and a photograph of a specimen of Pelamys Sarda, which was captured in a bag (salmon-) net at the mouth of the North Esk, in June last (1859). There is no doubt of its being Pelamys Sarda, from the figure. Mr. Beattie observes that “the Pelamys Sarda figured by Yarrell as a vignette to his article on Bonito resembles the Esk Scomber very closely, except in the oblique bars, which in his figure are broad and transverse.’ I may observe that the specimen taken at the Esk is only 4 inches shorter than that described by M. Valenciennes as taken on the coast of Canary by Webb and Berthelot, and is larger than the ordinary size of the Mediterranean specimens, according to the observation of Sir John Richardson. Pelamys Sarda. Description of Specimen.— Length from the point of the nose to the centre of the tail, which is crescent-shaped, 21 inches; extreme, 225 in. Girth, at thickest, 12 inches. Weight 4 lb. 6 0z. From the centre of the eye to the point of the nose 24 inches. From the centre of the eye to the origin of the branchial fin, 34 inches. Ex- panse of tail 42 inches. Space between pectoral and anal fins 8 in. From first dorsal fin to point of nose 53 inches. Body round, taper- ing from the vent to the tail. * A triangular space behind and above the gill-opening, and includ- ing the origin of the branchial fin, covered with projecting scales larger than those on other parts of the body. From the upper and anterior angle of this space, several rows of prominent scales extend backward along each side of the front dorsal, and converge toward the second dorsal fin. Lateral line waved till opposite the termina- tion of the anal fin, when it runs in a straight line to the tail. D. 22 VIII. or IX. Origin of dorsal fin behind origin of pectoral. Ten dark bars run obliquely forward from the back at an angle of 30°. ‘Upper jaw and teeth project over the lower jaw. Teeth conical, curved inwards, those in the lower jaw larger. Front teeth in upper jaw short. Two teeth in front of each lower jaw bent backwards ; these, with the larger ones on the side, measure 4 inch in length. On the sides of the lower jaw the long teeth alternate with smaller ones.— Wm. B.” Occurrence of the. Rufous Sedge Warbler in South Devon. A second specimen of the Rufous Sedge Warbler (Aedon galac- totes) has been killed near Start Point, South Devonshire, on the 25th of September last. It was shot by William D. Llewellyn, Esq., by whom it was presented to the British Museum. That gentleman observed that its flight much resembled that of a Lark, and that it was exceedingly thin. Its visit was probably occasioned by the strong southerly wind which had prevailed for several days. The 400 Miscellaneous. former specimen of this rare bird, which Mr. Yarrell figured in his second Supplement to the ‘ History of British Birds,’ was obtained on the downs near Brighton, in the autumn of 1854.—G. R. G. On the New British Snake*. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e. Mr. Bond has presented to the British Museum a fine large spe- cimen of Coronella austriaca, which he took when searching for Lacerta Stirpium at St. Leonard’s, near Ringwood, in the New Forest, in the year 1854. He always considered it as distinct ; but several of his friends regarded it as only a variety of the young collared snake, Tropidonotus Natriz. On a new species of Catharus. By P. L.Scrarer, M.A., F.LS. CATHARUS OCCIDENTALIS. Cinnamomeo-brunneus, vertice saturatiore: subtus cineraceus, gula albicante, cervice et pectore fusco subobsolete flammulatis : ventre medio et crisso albis : rostro fusco-nigricante, hujus basi et pedi- bus pallide corylinis. Long. tota 6°5, alee 3:5, caudee 2°9, tarsi 1°15. Hab. Western Mexico, Oaxaca, Totontepec (Boucard). M. Sallé’s recent collections from M. Boucard contain four ex- amples of this Catharus. It seems clearly distinct from C. Melpo- mene of Eastern Mexico, in its rather larger size, shorter tarsi, and spotted neck and breast; these parts in C. Melpomene being imma- culate.—Proc. Zool. Soc. June 28, 1859. Prize Questions. The following questions have been submitted to competition by the Utrecht Society of Arts and Sciences :— 1. Inquiries into the development of one or more species of the Mollusca, Annelides, or Crustacea, an account of which has not yet been written, with figures illustrative of the text. 2. A series of researches on the heat generated by plants A gold medal of the value of 30 ducats (£13 st.), or an equivalent in silver, will be awarded to each successful competitor. The answers to the first question must be sent in (post free) previous to the 30th of Nov. 1860—to the second, before the 30th of Nov. 1861; addressed to Dr. J. W. Gunnine, the Secretary of the Society at Utrecht. The author is at liberty to avail himself either of the Dutch, German (in Roman characters), English, French, or Latin language ; but the answers must not be in his own hand-writing. They are to be ac- companied by a sealed envelope, enclosing his name, and, if a member of the Society, having the letter “‘L’’ onthe address. The successful answers will be published in the Society’s works. Further information may be obtained on application to the Secre- tary of the Society. * The reader is requested to make the following correction in the former notice : p- 317, line 3 from the bottom, for smooth sides read smooth scales.—Ep. THE ANNALS MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. [THIRD SERIES.] No. 24. DECEMBER 1859. XL.—On the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. By Grorer Oaitvizr, M.D., Lecturer on the Institutes of Medicine in Marischal College and University, Aberdeen*. [With three Plates. | On the Vegetative Axis of Ferns.—For the following observa- tions the author makes no further claim to originality than that they were suggested to him by researches which he was led to undertake from finding the subject scarcely noticed at all in our common botanical works. External Characters of Fern-stems. By the corm or vegetative axis of Ferns, it is hardly necessary to mention, is meant that part which, in our indigenous species, is commonly termed the root, as being more or less buried in the soil, though it does not differ essentially from the arbores- cent stem of the Tree-ferns of tropical and southern latitudes. Even in our British species, however, the corm or vegetative axis presents considerable diversity of form. The author has to re- gret that his opportunities of investigating the varieties of this organ have been so limited. He has been restricted, not only to our indigenous species, but, with few exceptions, to those growing in his own neighbourhood; for, though specimens of fern-fronds are readily enough to be had in exchange, few col- lectors preserve the rhizomes. From the examination, however, of such species as he has been able to procure, he believes that the corms of our British Ferns—if not of the tribe generally— may be reduced to the three forms of a stoloniferous rhizome, and a caudex, simple or branched. * Communicated by the Author, having been read before the British Association, Sept. 15, 1859. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 26 402 Dr. G. Ogilvie an the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. These varieties depend on the relations and proportionate development of the principal structural elements—the proper axis, the rootlets, and the fronds, whose bases remain perma- nently attached to the stem after the leaf-like portions have withered and decayed away. Organs corresponding to these enter into the constitution of all the higher plants. In the larger forms of vegetation, they are clearly marked off from each other by a wide local separation, the radical fibres coming off from one extremity of the stem, and the leaves from the other ; but this arrangement is not an essential of the vegetable orga- nization ; for in various subterranean and creeping stems, such as those of the rose and the iris, the strawberry and many grasses, we have both rootlets and leafy shoots coming off side by side from a greater or less extent of the vegetative axis ; and even where this assumes an arborescent character, such inter- mixture, though less frequent and less complete, is still an arrangement of occasional occurrence, as in the Banyan and other species of Ficus, Pandanus, Dracena, &c. All these va- riations we have represented in Ferns. In Tree-ferns, as in arborescent forms of other types of vegetation, we have the length of the stem interposed between the rootlets and the bases of the fronds; and though generally, when the plant attains some height, adventitious roots are emitted from the sides of the stem, still they spring from its lower part, and are separated from the growing leaves by a very considerable interval. But in our indigenous species the stems are all more or less of the kind termed rhizomes by botanists, and emit rootlets and leaf- stalks side by side along their whole extent, or nearly so; and, as has just been remarked, it is to diversities in their disposition and proportionate development that the variations in the form of the stem are in great measure due. In the first or stoloniferous variety, the axis is long, slender, and much branched, its subdivisions running horizontally along or just under the surface of the ground, and sending off from below numerous black wiry rootlets, and from the upper aspect the scattered petioles of the fronds. The extremities of the rhizome are scaly, the petioles smooth and naked. When a root of this kind is dissected out of the soil—an operation involving no small expenditure of time and trouble, from its tortuous and brittle character—we can readily distinguish the formations of successive years. At the growing points of the stolons we have the petioles quite fresh, and still bearing leaves; behind these, we have the bases of the last and former years’ fronds in different stages of decay; and lastly, only the creeping stem itself, and this, as we trace it backwards, in a continually iicreasing state of decay, which finally makes it impossible to follow it any fur- Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. 408 ther. By this disappearance of the common connecting portion of the rhizome, the later branches assume the position of inde- pendent plants, and the forest of fronds covering the turf may be compared to the vigorously vegetating leaf-shoots of a sub- terranean shrub whose trunks have already mouldered away. Roots of this description occur in all our Polypodies (PI. VIII. figs. 1,2), in the Bracken, in Hymenophyllum, and probably also in Adiantum, Trichomanes, and in Lastrea Thelypteris. The common Polypody, however, has one peculiarity, in which it stands alone among our indigenous Ferns,—that its petioles break off by articulations, so that the older portions of the stem do not bear the stumps of former leaf-stalks, but only cicatrices marking their insertions. To this variety the form described as the simple caudex stands in the most marked contrast. Its characteristic features are the number and spiral arrangement of the petioles of the leaves. At its growing extremity these form one of the graceful circles of bright green foliage, which are so pleasing a feature in the vege- tation of our larger Ferns. The axis itself is sometimes of con- siderable thickness, but its real dimensions are not distinguish- able at first sight, from its being so completely ensheathed in the persistent bases of the decayed fronds of former years. Its direc- tion of growth varies from horizontal to vertical (Pl. X. figs.7, 8). In the former case, it creeps along or just under the surface of the ground, and forms a more or less considerable angle with the terminal crown of fronds, the axis of which is always vertical, owing to a corresponding curvature of the petioles at their points of origin. In cases, again, where the axis of the stem approaches the vertical, as in some foreign species of Blechnum, Struthio- pteris, &c., it gradually rises above the ground in the course of growth, and assumes on a small scale the features of the arborescent form, the terminal circle of leaves corresponding with that elegant palm-like crown of foliage which is so promi- nent a characteristic of the Tree-ferns. The correspondence between such a caudex and the corm of a Tree-fern is brought ‘out more clearly by cutting off all the bases of the old fronds at their points of insertion, when we obtain a nearly cylindrical stem, marked with rhomboidal scars, answering to those which, in most arborescent species, indicate the points of insertion of fallen petioles (Pl. X. fig. 9). In this operation we have to clear away numerous radical fibres, as well as the petioles of old fronds, for the rootlets are equally abundant in this as in the former or stoloniferous variety, though, from the closeness of the leaf-stalks, between whose insertions they originate, they form but a secondary fea- ture, except at the lower parts of the corm, where the decay of 26% 404 Dr.G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. the petioles allows them greater prominence. This form of stem would probably be better termed a right or straight than a simple caudex, for it generally bears Jateral buds, giving rise to secondary rhizomes (PI. X. fig. 10). Sometimes these appear to be deciduous, or to be pushed off by the growth of the petioles. In any case, they will of course become independent plants when the decay of the lower extremity of the caudex reaches their points of origin. ) As examples of this form of caudex may be mentioned, Lastrea Filiz mas, L. dilatata, L. cristata, Polystichum aculeatum, and P. Lonchitis. The other form of caudex is intermediate between this last variety and the stoloniferous rhizome first described; for the axis branches so repeatedly in a dichotomous manner, by the duplication of its terminal buds, that, when dissected out, it has somewhat the character of the stoloniferous rhizome; but in its natural state it is so thickly set both with foot-stalks and root- lets, that nothing is to be distinguished but a mass of tangled roots, more or less tufted above and densely fibrous below. A caudex of one kind or other occurs in all our larger Ferns except Pteris aquilina, and in the majority it appears to be branched. So at least it is in Allosurus crispus, Blechnum bo- reale, Osmunda regalis, Lastrea Oreopteris, and in Filix feemina and the genus Asplenium generally. (Pl. VIII. fig. 3; IX. figs. 4, 5, 6.) ; It is doubtful if the branched caudex ever becomes arbores- cent as a normal occurrence*. Branched Tree-ferns are cer- tainly met with, but rather, it would seem, as an occasional abnormality than as a regular form. Among our native Ferns, Ophioglossum and Botrychium are remarkable for their vernation being straight, not circinate, as in the rest of the group, and the last-mentioned species also for the edges of the solitary petiole cohering, so as to embrace the point of the axis and form a cavity which lodges the embryo of the next year’s frond; within iés petiole the rudiments of the frond of the succeeding year may in like manner be detected. The stem itself may probably be considered a modification of the simple caudex. Among the Fern-allies of our flora, the stoloniferous is the most common form of stem. In Equisetacez it is subterranean, like that of the Ferns; but in Pilularia and Lycopodium it creeps along the surface of the ground. In the larger species * An analogical argument in favour of this may be drawn from Palm- stems, which are normally simple from the development of a single terminal bud, but which are branched in a few species, as Phenia, or form lateral buds, as in Areca, Caryota, and Chamerops. Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. 405 of Lycopodium the successive stages of annual growth, and the separation of the shoots as independent plants by the gradual decay of the older portion of the stem, are more clearly brought out than even in the stoloniferous roots of Ferns. In Jsoétes we have a peculiarly modified form of the simple caudex. Internal Structure of Fern-stems. The next point to be noticed is the internal structure of the vegetative axis of the Fern, principally as it affects the disposi- tion of the fibro-vascular bundles. Woody fibre and vessels (which, except in a few degraded species, are a universal charac- teristic of phanerogamic plants) occur, it is well known, only in the higher forms of cryptogamic vegetation—the Ferns and allied orders,—and even there but sparingly and with some remarkable peculiarities both in their minute structure and their general disposition. The most observable structural characters are the dark colour of the woody or hard tissue, and the large size, angular section, and scalariform markings on the ducts. In the disposition, too, of the fibro-vascular tissue, the stems of Ferns present some remarkable peculiarities, quite as distinct as those characteristic of the better-known divisions of the so-called En- dogenous and Exogenous stems. ‘These differences do not so much affect the original constitution of the stem as the mode in which the successive annual increments are applied to the pri- mary axis. In vascular shoots of the first year, whether Dico- tyledonous, Monocotyledonous, or Cryptogamic, there is com- paratively little difference. In each we have a single circle of fibro-vascular bundles imbedded in the general cellular tissue of the stem; but when the new bundles of subsequent years come to be added, we find the characteristic differences clearly brought out. Thus the peculiarities of the Exogenous stem depend on the addition to the exterior of the wood and interior of the liber of former years, of annual layers, forming in section con- centric circles of ligneous and cortical tissue. Hence the accre- tions to the wood of a Dicotyledonous stem have been repre- sented by a number of cones of continually increasing dimen- sions placed one over the other, and slightly truncated at the top. In horizontal sections the wood of such a stem presents a series of concentric rings, which represent the bases of the cones, interrupted by radiating bands of muriform tissue, which are the outward continuations of the cellular interspaces between the bundles of the original circle, and represent the small residue of the cellular element of the stem left after the abundant develop- ment of fibro-vascular tissue characteristic of the Dicotyledonous organization. In a tangental section, these same bands are seen cut across, and may be observed to occupy the meshes left 406 Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. by the interlacement of the longitudinal fibro-vascular bundles. Though the formation of wood in Dicotyledonous plants is spoken of as being on the exterior, and has hence given rise to the stem being termed Exogenous, still it is to be remembered that at the growing points the fasciculi do in fact pass from the petioles of the leaves into the interior of the stem, and only gain that position which characterizes the rest of their course by curving outwards again to apply themselves to the exterior of those of older formation. | In the Monocotyledonous stem, again, the fibro-vascular fasciculi, though they tend at last in the same way to place themselves on the outside of those of older development, lose themselves here, by the dispersion and occasional anastomosis of their elements, in what has been termed the fibrous layer of the stem, and do not descend any way on the exterior, or form any new continuous envelope like an annual layer of Exogenous wood. Hence, should we wish to represent the in- crements of a Monocotyledonous stem by a series of superposed truncated cones, we must make them, not, as in Dicotyledons, of continually increasing dimensions, so that the outer shall completely envelope the inner, but we must make them all of the same size, so that the series as a whole may have, not a conical but a cylindrical outline, the outer cones being borne up by those within and below them, whose bases they can no longer cover. ‘They are also more truncated or more open at the top, from the larger size of the cellular core of the terminal bud. Such a stem, on horizontal section, is described as presenting three regions :—1st. A central, which in some respects corre- sponds to the pith of a Dicotyledon, but which contains im- bedded in the cellular tissue the ends of numerous fibro-vascular bundles, divided in their descending but at the same time out- ward-bound course through the interior of the stem. 2ndly. A cortical zone, also of cellular tissue, differing from the bark of a Dicotyledon in not being generally separable from the stem, and in rarely contaiming any fibrous tissue. 8rdly. Intermediate between the central and cortical regions, a ring of densely-matted fibrous tissue, formed by the anastomosis of the lower and outer ends of the fibro-vascular bundles. In the stems of Ferns, the fibro-vascular element is but very sparingly developed in proportion to the cellular, and the dis- position of the fasciculi assumes in consequence a different appearance from that in either of the higher groups; the vas- cular bundles are well developed in the petioles of the fronds, but they enter no further into the structure of the stem than simlpy to effect a union with those derived from the fronds of former years. They have no downward course in the stem; the Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. 407 arched fibres in the interior, characteristic of the Endogenous stem, and the annual layers of descending woody tissue on the exterior (so conspicuous a feature in that of Exogens), are alike wanting ; for the fasciculi, immediately on entering the stem, branch out and anastomose with those derived from former pe- tioles, forming a very beautiful reticulated cylinder near the exterior, analogous evidently to the “ fibrous layer” of the Mo- nocotyledonous stem, but presenting, instead of the dense fibrous interlacement of the latter, a network of thick cords of scalari- form tissue, ensheathed in a layer of brownish pleurenchyma, and separated by large open meshes, through which the. cellular tissues of the central and cortical regions are freely continuous with each other (Pl. X. fig.11). The pile of superposed trun- cated cones, diagrammatically representing the Exogenous stem —already cut down all to one length, and more opened at the top to adapt them to the Endogenous type—must now be re- duced to a series of simple rings placed one upon another. On a longitudinal section along the axis, a fern-stem presents a uniform expanse of cellular tissue, marked only by an inter- rupted line near each margin, indicating the position of the fibro-vascular bundles of the reticulated cylinder, the interrupted spaces answering to the meshes of the network (fig. 10). Ona horizontal section we have a corresponding interrupted circle formed by the cut extremities of the fibro-vascular anastomosing cords (fig. 12). This circle divides the section into a large central - and a smaller cortical region, both composed of cellular tissue, as in the Monocotyledonous stem, but without the descending fibres which form so conspicuous a feature in the interior of the latter. In a certain point of view, these regions correspond to the pith and cellular bark of a young Dicotyledonous stem, in which the cellular tissue has not yet been displaced by the fibro-vascular element; and the interspaces of the reticulations may be held to represent the medullary rays. Indeed, in all the fibrous tissues of Dicotyledonous plants a tendency may be observed to such an interlacement about the medullary rays: it is quite ob- vious to the naked eye in the bast-fibres of the Lime and many other trees; it has been noticed in the medullary sheath of Coniferze, and it may be seen with great distinctness under the microscope, in tangental sections of mahogany and other hard woods. The stems of Tree-ferns are said to be generally hollow, but the character is not an essential one. Fistulous stems are well known to occur both in Endogenous and Exogenous plants*, and * In Endogens, the Cocoa-nut and other Palms and most grasses, in Exogens, many Umbelliferse, Composite, and Labiate furnish instances of this. 408 Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. probably always depend on the shrinking of a lax cellular tissue originally filling the space. Hollow stems are not described as occurring in any of our indigenous Ferns, but it may generally be observed that in the decayed portions of a rhizome the central cellular tissue is the first to disappear. | The most elegant and instructive preparation of a fern-stem is made by dissecting off the outer cortical layer so as to expose the reticulated structure of the fibro-vascular cylinder. Two sets of fasciculi will then be seen to be connected with its exterior, —the one derived, as already noticed, from the bases of the petioles, the other continuous with the rootlets. The rootlets of Ferns are emitted in succession from below upwards, in proportion as they are required for the nutriment and mechanical support of the plant. The latter is probably the main use of the so-called adventitious roots, which are sent forth in such numbers from the lower part of the stem in some Tree-ferns as to cause a remarkable increase in the diameter of the base. The nutriment introduced by the roots must be carried up by imbibition through the cellular matter of the stem, or through the fibro-vascular network derived from the bases of petioles long since decayed. In any case, it is evident that, whatever may be alleged in favour of regarding a Dicoty- ledonous tree as a mere aggregation of slender stem-bound phy- tons, whose leaf-bearing shoots form its present foliage, while their downward extremities are continuous with the active spon- gioles of the roots, such a view cannot be held tenable in the ease of Ferns. In this group at least, and probably also in Monocotyledons, we must admit two fundamentally distinct foci of vital action—the leaf-bud and the rootlet,—the former ori- ginating from the upper extremity of the stem, the latter con- necting itself with its lower portions. In neither of these forms of vegetation can the rootlets be regarded (as some would regard them in Dicotyledons) merely as the onward continuation of fasciculi sent down from the leaves, for the bundles of the leaf- stalks descend, in Monocotyledonous plants, but a small way along the stem, and in Ferns not at all; while, in arborescent species, the radicles are emitted only from the inferior parts, far below the point reached by the former. There is every reason to believe that the emission of the root- lets is a purely local action, and Prof. Henfrey’s description of it in Monocotyledons seems to apply also in Ferns*. According to this author, the first rudiment of the rootlet is a funnel- shaped circle of fasciculi in the cortical region at the base of the stem, which, on the one hand, implant themselves upon the fibrous layer within, and, on the other, converge to form the * Ann. Nat. Hist. i. 187. Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems:; 409 central axis of the rootlet, and force their way outwards through the tissue of the cortical zone in which they were developed. Without venturing to say how far this local formation of root- lets may occur also in Dicotyledons, it may be remarked that in all forms of radical fibres the vascular bundles have an arrange- ment different from that in the stem, and such as would follow from this mode of formation,—the fasciculi lying in the axis of the rootlet, to the exclusion of the pith or cellular core which occupies the central region in all the upward shoots. It may be observed also, that, even in Dicotyledons, a certain vegetative independence is indicated in the origin of rootlets, from the local application of moisture so fostering their production as to cause their development even from abnormal parts. It does not appear that the assumption of two distinct deve- lopments of vegetative power in the guise of leaf-buds and root- lets—or, as they might be termed, phyllophytons and rhizophy- tons,—is at all opposed to the analogy of other forms of organi- zation ; for we observe a corresponding diversity of individualized organs in various compound animals, as, for instance, in the alimentary, generative, and protective appendages of Hydracti- nia, the polypes and avicularia of the Polyzoa, and the cirrhi and ovarian capsules of the Physograda,—parts which may certainly be assumed to be mere modifications of a common original form, but between which it would not be easy to point out much com- munity of structure in proof of such co-relative derivation. There still remains for consideration the arrangement of the dark-coloured tracts commonly regarded as of the nature of woody tissue; but for the present it may suffice to notice the great diversity which prevails in different species in the disposi- tion of these fasciculi. Thus, in Osmunda we have an accumu- lation of dark tissue on the exterior of the caudex; in Blech- num boreale, again, it occupies the interior ; in Pterts aquilina it forms broad bands interposed between an outer and inner layer of vascular tissue; while in Filiz mas it exists only as a thin stratum ensheathing the latter; in Lastrea dilatata it occurs in isolated masses in the cellular core of the rhizome. _ The author may remark, in conclusion, that but a few days ago his attention was called by a friend to an incidental notice —the only one he has yet met with—of the fibro-vascular system of Ferns, in a paper on Sigillaria in the ‘Edinburgh Philosophical Journal’ for 1844, by Mr. King of Newcastle, which, from its geological title, he had previously overlooked. Mr. King’s re- marks, so far as they go, will be found quite in accordance with the foregoing. He surmises that in Tree-ferns (owing to the greater development of the longitudinal fasciculi) the regular rhomboidal meshes may be reduced to long narrow slits. This 410 Dr. G. Ogilvie on the Forms and Structure of Fern-stems. is the more probable from an arrangement precisely of this. kind obtaining in creeping rhizomes, such as those of the bracken. It is well known to botanists that there is a similar diversity in the extension of the medullary rays of Exogens: they are much larger, for instance, in the oak than in most other woods, and in the Clematis they reach the whole length of the internodes, so that, when they decay, the- stem breaks up by the separation of its component woody wedges. | | EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Piate VIII. Fig. 1. A portion of the branched and creeping rhizome of Polypodiwm Phegopteris, showing the fringe of wiry rootlets and the persistent bases of old leaf-stalks. rein, Fig. 2. The branched and creeping rhizome of Polypodium vulgare. - It is more thickly set with rootlets than the last, and marked with the scars of fallen petioles. : Fig. 3. The dichotomous caudex of Blechnum boreale, with the axis exposed by cutting off, close to their origin, all the foot-stalks of former years’ fronds. Puate IX, Fig. 4. The dichotomous caudex of a large bushy specimen of Allosurus — crispus, stripped of the rootlets, the petioles of former years, and of most of the fronds. ;: Fig. 5. The dichotomous caudex of Asplenium Filia feemina, exposed by a section along the axis of its several branches, to show the con- nexion of the bases of the leaf-stalks of successive years with the core of the stem. Fig. 6. Another specimen of the same species, with the caudex stripped of its rootlets and petioles, the scars with which it is marked indi- cating their points of attachment. Of these there must be con- siderably more than a thousand: the plant had certainly upwards of a hundred fresh fronds when dug up. . PLATE X. [Illustrations of the rhizome of Lastrea Filix mas. | Fig. 7. A caudex which has been forced into an upright line of growth. Fig. 8. Another specimen, showing the usual horizontal direction of growth, the terminal bud forming an angle with the rhizome. Both these specimens are in their natural state. Fig. 9. Tessellated appearance of the surface of the caudex when the pe- tioles are cut off close to their origin. The dots indicate the cut ends of the vascular bundles going to the fronds. Fig. 10, Perpendicular section of an upright caudex, showing the inter- rupted line on each side of the axis, where the reticulated fibro- vascular cylinder has been divided by the section. The figure shows also the connexion of the bases of the petioles, and a lateral bud arising from one of them. Fig. 11. A portion of a preparation showing the netted fibro-vascular cy- linder of the caudex, removed entire by careful dissection from JS. LDe Cl. Sowerby, se Ann 4 Mag Nat. Hist. 8:3. Vol.4 PL. VU. | ae. jj), keh Pony WZ | A : RS) yee Kh ht ut LAU SB SOOO —xi SSS yy A * J De C. Sowerby se. Ann. & Mag Nat. Hist. $. 35. VAaLl xX. hil rag v tZ Vadis: a ANN Ved | LZ ta iu NG , i ANG Ve: sOhw my i ty) A fort K SIR S % S\ 7 AMAT ty ' \ iy \ \ 1 = WH oS. \ } || j i Ay ~ mW A ri \\ (I t Ky! iy ANY ae ac ee We WSr cay ies A NY A\ \\\ we \ \ Gow AN. N aN VERAALR RAS \y \\e \ \ \ \ Ss = i \LZ 4 , \ + ee J. Le C Sowerby se. M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. 411 the cellular matrix. The further side of the cylinder is imper- fectly shown, from having been out of focus in the photograph. The secondary fasciculi, proceeding to the leaf-stalks and root- i lets, give the exterior a bristly appearance. Fig. 12. A diagrammatic transverse section of the caudex. The interrupted circle represents the cut extremities of the fasciculi of the netted cylinder, and the scattered dots on its exterior those of the secondary fibro-vascular bundles of the petioles and rootlets. [The above figures are mostly from photographs of the original specimens (now in the Museum of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh) by Mr. Andrew Adams of Aberdeen. | XLI.—On the Reproduction of the Bark-Lice (Chermes, &c.); a further Contribution to the Knowledge of Parthenogenesis. By Rupotpx LevucKarr. [Concluded from p. 327. | Before tracing these differences and analogies further, it is necessary, however, that we should glance at the anatomical arrangement of the generative apparatus in our Bark-lice (Pl. VI1. fig. 1). In the four or five species (three or, if C. Abietis is to be regarded as two species, four Chermes, one Phyllozera) there is a perfectly unmistakeable analogy in the formation of the female parts; and this is the more striking, as it at the same time fur- nishes a perceptible distinction from the female organs of the true Aphides*, which propagate both by oviparous and vivipa- rous generations. On the whole, however, the type of the organs in question is the same as that we meet with in the latter. With regard to the ovaries, it must first be indicated that the ege-tubes of our animals are in all cases composed of two, or even three (Phylloxera) chambers (fig. 1). From the previous statements with regard to the structure of the egg-tubes in the ordinary Aphides, we might suppose that this is the expression of a thorough-going distinction between these two groups; but I have ascertained by my investigations of this year, that among the Aphides there are species with plurilocular egg-tubes, al- though the greater number of them certainly have only one chamber, like the Coccina. Among these species with pluri- * As far as we know, Chermes and Phylloxera are the only Aphides with solely oviparous generations. That there are also species with only vivi- parous generations, as stated by Kaltenbach, appears to me very doubtful. In Schizoneura, which is said amongst others to be in this case, I have proved the existence of an oviparous autumnal generation in the small memoir already repeatedly mentioned. 412 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. locular egg-tubes are Aphis Quercus and A. platanoides*, the wingless females of which exhibit three (and A. platanoides even four) deposits, representing eggs, in the individual egg-tubes. (Dr. Claus of Marburg has also met with wingless females with plurilocular egg-tubes, in two apparently unnamed species of Aphis from Betula alba.) If this latter observation were not sufficient of itself to efface the distinction which apparently prevails, with regard to the formation of the egg-tubes, between our Bark-lice and the other true Aphides, I must further indicate that the second, superior. germ in Chermes (especially in Chermes Laricis, fig. 1) 1s not unfrequently formed only at a later time, or not until the pre- ceding egg approaches its perfect maturity; that therefore, under such circumstances, the same egg-tube may consist some- times of one and sometimes of more chambers, according to the age and state of development of its contentst. Moreover the eggs in the different tubes arrive at maturity at different times, so that tubes of one and two chambers may not unfrequently be met with together in the same ovary. In the same way, at cer- tain times, the tubes of Phylloxera consist only of two chambers f{, those of Aphis platanoitdes of three, &e. Although, therefore, the distinction between the unilocular and plurilocular egg-tubes does not appear to be very great, still, on the other hand, it is not to be altogether disregarded. This is most distinctly evidenced in the different destiny of the superior clavately-inflated extremity of the egg-tube, which, with its peculiar cellular corpuscles, has sometimes been regarded as a proper superior chamber. In the Plant-lice with unilocular egg-tubes this terminal piece, with its contents, is gradually lost during the evolution of the egg-germs; in the species with plurilocular egg-tubes it remains unchanged, just as it was with the first egg-germ, without ever diminishing perceptibly in size or becoming aborted. * Dr. Claus called my attention to the fact that the nurses of this spe- cies are not unfrequently attached after death to the surface of the leaves inhabited by them, by means of a rather large convex disc. On closer examination I recognized in this dise the cocoon of a larva which, from its appearance, would probably be that of an Ichneumonidous insect. This larva lives, up to the time of its change to the pupa state (and indeed always singly), as a parasite in the Aphides, but afterwards breaks through at the ventral surface, and then spins its cocoon between its previous host and the surface of the leaf. + This is also in accordance with the fact that the egg-tubes of our spe- cies of Chermes (C. Abietis) are at first developed as simple tubes, exactly - the same way that I have described for the egg-tubes of Aphis and occus. { Individual egg-tubes of C. Abietis also now and then exhibit a third egg-rudiment. M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. 413 In the small treatise on Parthenogenesis already repeatedly cited, I have referred to this superior portion of the unilocular egg-tubes in the Aphides as the “ vitelligene ;’” and indeed its resemblance to the vitelligenes of the plurilocular egg-tubes described by Stein is unmistakeable. Supposing this interpre- tation to be correct, all analogy would lead us to expect that a. vitelligene of this nature would be repeated between each two egg-germs in the plurilocular egg-tubes of our plant-lice. But this is not the case. The Aphides with plurilocular egg-tubes also possess only a single vitelligene, and this only at the upper — end of the egg-tubes (fig. 1). This cireumstance must render it doubtful, notwithstanding any similarity, whether it be correct to regard the terminal piece in question as a “ vitelligene.” We might now suppose, with apparently greater justice than previously, that the structure in question is a so-called germigene, and regard the individual cellular corpuscles in its interior as egg-germs; and this per- haps might be done the more readily, as the compartment in question resembles, in the formation and appearance of its con- tents, the terminal piece of the so-called germ-stock in the vivi- parous Aphides, the individual cellular corpuscles of which, according to Leydig, become converted directly into the future germs. In this way, therefore, we may establish an analogy between the genitalia of the viviparous and oviparous Aphides, which may also perhaps, in another respect, serve as a guide for the comprehension of the entire mutual relation of these two forms of individuals. I admit that I do not regard this question as yet ripe for decision. It is certain that, from our present observations, the consideration of this terminal piece as a germigene is somewhat seductive ; but the aspect and nature of the cellular corpuscles in its interior are different from those ordinarily met with else- where in the germigenes of insects ; and, moreover, I have never yet succeeded (nor, indeed, with the viviparous Aphides) in con- vincing myself by direct observation of the conversion of these cells into egg-germs. On the contrary, we may detect certain differences in size, behaviour towards reagents, &c., between the germinal vesicles of the youngest ova and the nuclei of these cellular corpuscles (which, nevertheless, must be identical if the latter are to be regarded as egg-germs), such as are scarcely in favour of any such assumption. Thus, for example, in Lecanium Hesperidum I found the germinal vesicles of the youngest ova 0:02 millim. in diameter, whilst the nuclei of the cellular cor- puscles in the terminal compartment measured 0-037 millim. In Coccus Hesperidum the germinal vesicle, at a still earlier grade of development, was 0009 millim., also smaller than the nuclei, 414 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. which measured 0°013 millim. The same thing applies to the Aphides. To this we must add the fate of these cellular cor- puscles in the unilocular egg-tubes of the Aphides and Coccina, which is also scarcely in favour of the opinion that they are converted into egg-germs, although indeed cases of abortive egg-germs are not very rare. On the other hand, the interpretation of the compartment in question as a “ vitelligene” appears by no means to be contra- dicted by its simplicity in the plurilocular egg-tubes of our Aphides. We certainly must not assume, as Stein does, that in the case in question the granular yelk is exclusively furnished by the cells of the vitelligene. This one-sided interpretation may probably find but few supporters at the present day. I think we have arrived pretty generally at the opinion that, besides the cellular corpuscles of the vitelligene, the ordinary epithelial cells of the egg-tubes also take part in the deposition of the yelk. This part is mdeed probably only a subordinate one; but in our Aphides it may suffice for the completion of the maturity of the egg, the rather as the contact with the terminal compartment is not interrupted until a somewhat late period—indeed not until the yelk has already grown to a very considerable mass. With regard to the histological structure of the egg-tubes, there is nothing particular to mention, unless it be the circum- stance that our Bark-lice closely resemble the other Aphides in the great number of the cellular corpuscles occurring in the terminal compartment. Between these and the structureless proper membrane we not unfrequently see a delicate epithelial layer, which, however, also occurs in the same place in the allied animals, and does not appear to be by any means deficient even in the viviparous Aphides. The process of egg-formation is ex- actly the same as described by me in Aphis and Coccus. Even the short and solid peduncles adhering to the inferior pole of the egg-shells in Chermes constitute no characteristic distinction of our animals, since I have found the same structure on the eges of Aphis Quercus and A. platanoides*. With regard to the number of egg-tubes in the ovaries of our Bark-lice, we find very considerable discrepancies, not only in different species, but also in the different winged and wing- less individuals of the same species. In the latter respect it prevails as a law—if we may judge from C. Abietis and C. Laricis —that the winged individuals, as they are on the whole of a more slender structure, also possess a smaller number of egg-tubest. * It may be mentioned here, in passing, that the small winged males of A. platanoides possess three perfectly separated, pyriform testicular tubes on each side. Tt This also appears to apply to the winged and wingless viviparous M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. 415 The greatest number of egg-tubes occurs in the wingless fe- males of Chermes Abietis, which is also by far the most prolific of all Bark-lice. In this species I have counted 20-24 egg- tubes on each side—a number which almost reminds one of the structure of the ovary in the Coccina*, to which our plump animals (like the rest of the wingless Bark-lice) also bear an external resemblance. In the winged individuals the number of egg-tubes varies between far greater extremes: I have met with individuals with 24 and 30 egg-tubes in all, and with others which had only 10. The latter specimens were at the same time much smaller than the others; they are Ratzeburg’s so-called males. In the number of egg-tubes, Chermes Abietis is approached most closely by the genus Phyllozera, the wingless females of which usually exhibit five egg-tubes on each side. Chermes Picea, in the wingless state, possesses three or four egg- tubes on each side (sometimes also nine in all). The number is lowest in C. Laricis, the wingless individuals of which very con- stantly possess six egg-tubes, whilst the winged examples (fig. 1) usually present only four (but sometimes five) in all. The oviducts to which the egg-tubes are attached are, as in the Aphides, of but inconsiderable length, and have a distinct muscular layer, with fibres which principally run in a transverse _ direction and are repeatedly branched. A very similar but still more strongly developed muscularity is also possessed by the single oviduct. In the oviparous Aphides and the Coccina there are, as is well known, two different kinds of accessory structures on this oviduct,—a pair of sac-like or tubular organs with fatty con- tents, which we shall indicate as a lubricating gland (Schmier- driise), and at a greater or less distance above these, a roundish or pyriform pouch, the receptaculum seminis. The case is very different in our Bark-lice (fig. 1). On a superficial examination we find only two accessory organs, which are attached at about the limit of the posterior third of the oviduct, and show themselves to be the lubricating gland, notwithstanding several peculiari- ties, both by their structure and the nature of their contents. Above this gland we may seek in vain for another appendage ; but, on the other hand, far below, immediately over the obtuse individuals amongst the Aphides; at least, I have hitherto met with the unilocular germ-tubes first described by me only in winged individuals of these animals. Nevertheless, it can by no means be said that all winged Aphis-nurses possess unilocular germ-tubes. I also know species the winged nurses of which are provided with plurilocular and multilocular germ-tubes. * In the true Aphides I have never met with more than four egg-tubes on each side. R 416 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. and conical ovipositor (undoubtedly the same structure that Ratzeburg indicated as the penis, but which occurs in exactly the same way in all individuals), we see a very inconsiderable pedunculated pouch appended to the sexual passage. The stalk of this organ is lined with a tolerably strong chitinous plate; but this covering gradually disappears towards the upper part, and at last vanishes so completely that it requires great attention, and particularly favourable preparation, to enable us to make sure of the existence of a cavity in the interior. The wall of the pouch consists of delicate, clear, vesicular cells. It would, of course, be most interesting to ascertain the phy- siological signification of this organ, as by this means the ques- tion would be decided whether these Bark-lice are or are not furnished with a receptaculum seminis. For this purpose, un- fortunately, I possess no data. I have never observed any pe- culiar contents in the vesicle in question, nor have I ever dis- covered it in other Aphides. If, under such circumstances, we may suppose it possible that this represents a seminal receptacle, on the other hand, its position and appearance are so little in favour of this supposition that I am far more inclined to assert that there is an entire absence of a seminal receptacle in our Bark-lice. We are acquainted with many insects in which the secretory appendages on the oviducts are increased (even in the Cicada, which are allied to the Aphides, we meet with many such structures) ; it is therefore possible that the Bark-lice may be amongst this number. The lubricating glands which, in the Aphides, usually appear as roundish pouches, and rarely (e. g. 4. platanoides) as long and wide tubes, likewise differ in their"organization in the Bark-lice. Phylloxera possesses on each side (fig. 4) a cylindrical appendage repeatedly notched, the short and stump-like branches of which all lie in the same plane. The cellular walls are of considerable thickness, and enclose a thin chitinous tube, which, at its lower end, close to its insertion into the oviduct, becomes dilated into a flask-shaped cavity. The contents of these tubes consist of the same yellowish oil which is elsewhere met with in the lubri- cating glands. It may be expelled by pressure from the tube into the flask-shaped cavity, which is also usually filled with it, and thence into the oviduct. At the point where the two acces- sory glands open into the oviduct, the latter is of considerable width. At the same place there is, in the interior of the oviduct, a peculiar loop-like structure, which, on closer examination, proves to be a narrow, much-curled, chitinous band, clothing the oviduct in an annular form exactly at the level of the accessory glands, and amalgamating on sat side with the chitinous wall of the flask-shaped oil-vesicle. This band does not, however, lie M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice, A17 loose in the oviduct; it is rather only an annular thickening in the delicate chitinous coat which lines the entire oviduct. In Chermes (figs. 1-3) there is the same chitinous band as in Phylloxera, and also an evident, though less distinctly separated, funnel-shaped or pouch-like oil-vesicle; but the gland is very strikingly different. It appears on each side as a flattened ear- like appendage of an oval form, with a space of a similar shape in its interior, and a delicate, strongly granulated, chitinous lining. The exterior surface of this chitinous wall is drawn into numerous folds, which are continued between the neighbouring cells of the gland, and are gradually lost. At the point of in- sertion of the glands, the oviduct (fig. 2) forms an inflation of considerable size but with little muscularity, which is constricted in the middle by the elastic contraction of the chitinous band. As soon as an egg passes this spot, this constriction is effaced, whilst the chitinous band at the same time gradually expands (fig. 3) and acquires a rather smooth appearance. I will not here dwell further upon the mechanical importance of this ar- rangement, hitherto discovered only in the Bark-lice; it is, however, evident that in it the elasticity of the chitinous band is of the highest importance. | To the preceding account of the structure of the generative organs in the Bark-lice, and their remarkable mode of reproduc- tion, I shall take the liberty of adding a few further observa- tions. ; _ The first relates to the occurrence of the two different forms indicated by us amongst the parthenogenetic females of these animals. : _ We have characterized these two forms as wingless and winged. It must not, however, on this account be supposed that their distinctions are limited to the presence or absence of organs of flight, and that the differences here occurring may be compared to those which we meet with as regards the formation of the wings in many species of Orthoptera (see Fischer, Entomol. Zeitung, 1852, p. 15) and Hemiptera. The distinctions of these two forms are far more considerable; they extend to the entire external organization of the individuals in question, to their size, form, and the structure of the segments of the body, and affect even the internal structure in a remarkable manner. Without a knowledge of their genetic relations, the two forms would ne- cessarily be regarded not merely as representatives of different species, but even of different genera. ‘The difference is scarcely less than that in the sexes of the Coccina. In other words, it is a complete dimorphism that we here meet with. _ That these distinctions are also expressed in the mode of life is no more than might have been expected; and indeed, on the Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol, iv. 418 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. most superficial examination, the part which the two kinds of individuals have to play in the history of our Bark-lice is seen to be distinct. The wingless females serve especially for the maintenance, the winged ones, on the contrary, principally for the diffusion of the species. The former are highly fertile for a long time, but at the same time (probably in intimate connex- ion with this property—see Leuckart, art “ Zeugung,” in Wag- ner’s ‘ Handworterbuch,’ iv. p. 719) scarcely in a condition to quit their dwelling-place. The existence of the species would perhaps be endangered in many ways, if the timely appearance of winged females did not furnish the means of finding new dwelling-places and sources of nourishment. But with the transfer of the ova the task of these winged females is fulfilled. After depositing the eggs, a few days after their birth, they perish.. : A very similar dimorphism also occurs, as is well known, in the so-called nurses of the ordinary Plant-lice, which in the first generations are likewise wingless, but in the later ones are almost always furnished with wings. These are circumstances to which very little attention has hitherto been paid. We usually speak merely of the difference of two sexes, and tacitly suppose a complete agreement between all the individuals of these sexes. With such a notion, it cer- tainly appears highly anomalous when, in the communities of the social insects, we suddenly meet, besides the unmistake- able males and females, with other forms of individuals, and recognize these as a peculiar, remarkable modification of these sexual animals. The .Plant-lice show us that a similar poly- morphism also occurs elsewhere among Insects, and that espe- cially the female individuals of these animals very frequently differ from each other even by peculiarities of their structure, according to the difference of their appointed tasks. A second observation refers to the relation of the Partheno- genesis occurring in these Bark-lice (and in certain Coceina) to the so-called alternation of generations in the Aphides. That these two modes of reproduction are in many respects allied and similar has already been pointed out by me in another place (‘ Generationswechsel und Parthenogenese,’ p. 44). Not long ago, indeed, it was thought right to speak of an infinite difference between the Aphis-nurses and females; but such a notion now appears erroneous. Our object is rather to test the extent and value of these analogies—to ascertain especially whether the constantly-reviving assertion recently supported by Claus (Generationswechsel und Parthenogenese im Thierreiche, 1858, p. 22), that the so-called nurses of the Aphides are essen-: tially nothing but parthenogenetic females, is correct. M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. 419 The decision of this question is intimately connected with our Opinion as to the nature of the reproduction occurring in the so-called nurses; it depends upon whether we regard this as an asexual reproduction or not. The preliminary question that naturally first presents itself here is, where are we to seck in general for the distinguishing characteristics of sexual and asexual reproduction. If we indi- cate that reproduction alone as sexual in which a cooperation of two kinds of reproductive matter (in other words, a fecundation) takes place, there remains, of course, no ground for bringing the alternation of generations in the Aphides into the question at all. But then, to be consistent, we must refer Parthenogenesis to asexual propagation, as indeed is done by Radlkofer (‘Ueber das” Verhaltniss der Parthenogenesis zu den anderen Fortpflanzungs- arten,’ 1858). Whether this view will some day find general acceptance, | do not know; but to me it appears to be rather bold to regard the same substratum, an egg, sometimes as a sexual, and sometimes, just according to circumstances, as an asexual reproductive material*. In my opinion, it is always the same—always the product of the same (sexual) activity, whether the cycle of conditions under. which it is developed into a new creature be closed by the access of semen, or without this, Wherever we have to do with an egg, there also, in my opinion, sexual reproduction always takes place. It appears to me, therefore, that it is less the occurrence of a fecundation than the nature of the developing substratum that must guide us in the assumption of a sexual or asexual propa- gation. _ In the case now. especially before us, there would also be the question whether the germ-corpuscles of the viviparous Aphides can be regarded as eggs. That these germ-corpuscles are cells like the eggs, and indeed cells which become converted into the embryo in a manner ana- logous to that of the eggs, can no more be doubted, after the recent investigations, than the morphological relations of the germ-tubes and ovaries in which the reproductive matters in question originate. It is even possible that future investigations may demonstrate an essential accordance in the mode of produc- tion of these two kinds of structures. All this must incline us, to a certain extent, to regard the germ-cells and ova of the Aphides as morphologically identical structures. * The criterion of sexual and asexual reproduction put forward by Radl- kofer, namely the idiotypic or zelotypic nature of the product, cannot suffice here (as indeed in other cases in the alternation of generations with larval nurses); for the product of parthenogenesis furnishes, e.g. in Chermes Abietis, not (zelotypic) copies of the parents, but individuals of a different and independent original development (idiotypes). So 420 M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice. On the other hand, however, it cannot be denied that many considerations come in the way of the assumption that the two kinds of reproductive bodies occurring in the Aphides are both of the nature of ova. T will not dwell too much upon the fact that, according to this supposition, the Aphides would produce two kinds of eggs. We are acquainted with similar facts in other animals, especially the Daphnia and Rotifera*, the reproduction of which might also be adduced in favour of this view, inasmuch as, accordmg to the investigations of Lubbock (Phil. Trans. 1857, i. p. 98) and Cohn (Zeitschrift fiir Wiss. Zool. 1858, p. 284), the animals in question also possess the faculty of Parthenogenesis. It is true that the two kinds of eggs of the above-mentioned animals are by no means so strikingly different as the eggs and germ- cells of the Aphides ;. but we must also admit that the peculiari- ties of the latter (judging from my observations upon the ova of the Cestoid worms and their development) by no means over- step the bounds of the empirically established limits of egg- formation, remarkably as these peculiarities, on the other hand, approach to the nature and destiny of unmistakeable germ-cells. (Generationswechsel und Parthenogenese bei den Insekten, p. 20.) - It appears to me to be of far more importance, that the germ- granules of the Aphides are evidently not calculated for any fecundation. I have taken a previous opportunity of pointing out this distinction (Generationswechsel und Parthenogenese, p- 110). At that time it appeared to me sufficiently great, not- withstanding any similarity to Parthenogenesis, to cause me to regard the reproduction of the Aphides as an alternation of generations. An egg which excludes all fecundation still ap- pears to me to be a somewhat problematical structure; but this furnishes no sufficient reason for denying the possibility of such egos. Claus here refers to the eggs of the worker bees, which would also never be fecundated, and we might cite other cases, and especially our Bark-lice, in which. even the organization of the sexual passages, in the same way as in the viviparous Aphides, appears to betray the absence of a sexual intercourse. But all these cases only present limited analogies, inasmuch as the obstacles to fecundation in them (as, indeed, Claus admits) con- sist only in external, more or less accidental conditions, and are by no means caused, as in the Aphides, by the nature of the germinal product. * The Freshwater Bryozoa can scarcely be adduced here, as, accordin to Allman (Monogr. of the Freshwater Polyzoa, p. 37), the so-calle winter-eggs of these animals are not eggs at all, but structures of very different organization and development, which the author regards as asexual reproductive bodies (statublasts). M. Leuckart on the Reproduction of Bark-lice, 421 A second circumstance, of great importance in the inquiry into the nature of the reproduction of the Aphides, is that the germ-granules of these animals are only developed in certain individuals, whilst other individuals, making their appearance under particular circumstances, lay unmistakeable eggs, and fertilize these in the usual manner. From the point of view of the alternation of generations, such a regular alternation of fertilized and unfecundated individuals appears quite natural, and even necessary ; but in the domains of Parthenogenesis, as far as our present knowledge goes, we seek in vain for an analogous case. Although in the Bark-lice, in Lecanium Hesperidum, Solenobia lichenella, and other animals which usually propagate exclusively by Parthenogenesis, a fecundation (by the males, which are still entirely unknown to us) may perhaps take place from time to time, there is still not the least ground for assuming a regular, and, under certain circumstances, necessary repetition of this process. In all these cases we must take the possibility of a fecundation mto consideration for every distinct individual; a fecundation which takes place only occasionally, and then necessarily, in particular individuals, but is and must be just as regularly dispensed with in the intervals, has been recognized at present only amongst animals which are developed in accordance with the alternation of generations. If, in spite of all these considerations, the reproduction of the Aphides is to be ranged under Parthenogenesis*, we are com- pelled, as, indeed, Claus very justly felt, to establish a peculiar form for it. This would then stand in precisely the same rela- tion to the ordinary Parthenogenesis, in which each individual produces eggs capable of spontaneous development, as the alter- nation of generations to ordinary asexual reproduction, which, as-is well known, in the animals with an alternation of genera- tions, is likewise transferred only to particular individuals, pecu- liarly organized for the purpose. The Parthenogenesis of the Aphides would thus still remain to a certain extent allied to the alternation of generations, even if it did not positively coincide therewith. We must leave it to future observers to decide positively as to the justice of one or other of these views. Our observations upon Parthenogenesis are still so recent, and the possibilities of the differences and combinations occurring here so little known and weighed, that it appears scarcely possible at present to formulize * It may be mentioned here, in passing, that, from analogy with the Aphides, the propagation of Gyrodactylus elegans must also be regarded as Parthenogenesis. Here also there is the same analogy between the nurses and sexual animals, the brood-stock and germ-stock, the germ-cell and the egg (germinal vesicle). 422 M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. in either direction. We also still want many important data, necessary, and perhaps decisive, in the estimation of the con- ditions now under consideration. Under such circumstances we cannot emphatically enough recommend the continued careful study of the Aphides. We must still admit the truth of the concluding sentence appended by the acute De Geer to his memoirs upon the Aphides :—“ The Aphides are insects which are in a position to overthrow the entire supposed system of gene- ration, and to confuse those who attempt to investigate this mystery of nature.” Giessen, Sept. 1858. Postscript. In the course of the present summer I have been no more successful than last year in discovering male Bark-lice, or even detecting any trace of their existence. The only thing that I can add to the preceding statements, is that the comparative time of the evolution varies considerably according to external circumstances. Whilst, last year, the second winged generation made its appearance only in August, I observed it this year as early as the end of June. Giessen, July 12, 1859. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII. Fig. 1. Sexual apparatus of the winged female of Chermes Laricis. Figs. 2 & 3. Lower part of the smgle sexual passage of Chermes Abietis, with the two lubricating glands. Fig. 4. The same part in Phylloxera Quercus. XLIL.— Observations on the genus Sacculina, Thompson (Pachy- - bdella, Diesing ; Peltogaster, Rathke). By R,. Luuckarr*. [ With a Plate.] In his “ Travelling Observations in Seandinaviat,” and “ Contri- butions to the Fauna of Norway tf,” Rathke has described, under the new generic name of Peltogaster, two species of a very pe- culiar flat and sac-like parasite, which is attached, by means of a “ sucker-like structure,” to the abdomen of the Paguri and of certaiz Brachyurous Crustacea. Rathke regarded this remark- able animal as a worm, but at the same time indicated (at least in the anatomical description contained in the memoir first quoted above) certain analogies with Cyclops and the Lernee. * Translated from Wiegmann’s ‘Archiv,’ 1859, p. 232, by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., Keeper of the York Museum. + Neueste Schriften der naturf. Gesellsch. in Danzig, 1842, Bad. iii. Heft 4, p. 105. { Verh. der K. L. C. Akad. Bd. xx. Abth. i. p. 245. i + | AnnbeMag. Nat. Hist... VIA PVE, JT Basiveé, 8c y M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. 423 He also remarks expressly that Peltogaster can hardly be placed in the same group with the true suctorial worms and Trematoda, which it approaches as regards its organ of adhesion. Notwith- standing this, however, and although in the interim the simi- larity of Peltogaster with “the parasitic females of some of the lower Crustacea” had been pointed out by me*, we find our animals placed amongst the Leech-like parasitic worms in the ‘Systema Helminthum’ published by Diesing some years after- wards (1850), and now indeed distributed into two genera,—the species with a terminal sucking-dise found by Rathke under the abdomen of Carcinus Menas being formed into the type of a new genus, Pachybdella, Dies. (P. Rathkei, Dies., Peltogaster Carcini, Rathke). That this attempt at a systematic arrangement is a mistake, cannot be a matter of doubt to any one after the critical and historical remarks of Steenstrupt. Steenstrup proves that the animals in question were not only discovered by Kroyer t on Pagurus and Hippolyte simultaneously with Rathke, but were already described and figured unmistakeably by Cavolini§ in the last century. Cavolini also observed the young of our ani- mals, which at certain times issued in abundance from the free opening of the body regarded by Rathke as the mouth. He even recognizes their unmistakeable similarity to the larval forms of the Cyclops. But that the sacs from which these larve pro- ceeded were animals, and, indeed, the parents of the larve, re- mained unknown to the Italian observer ; he regarded them as mere ovisacs which were in this case abnormally attached to a - strange animal (Pagurus). Both by Kroyer and Rathke the animal nature of the sacs in question was certainly recognized ; but their relations remained almost equally uncertain to the Danish zoologists. In their opinion, these parasites form a new genns with several species (Kréyer was acquainted with three from Pagurus pubescens, P. Bernhardus, and Hippolyte pusiola), which, on the one hand, appears to have some analogy with the Lernee, but, on the other, possesses a certain affinity also to the Hirudinea and other Entozoa. Some years after Rathke and Kroyer, the same creatures, as Steenstrup remarks, were also observed by Bell|| on the abdo- men of Carcinus Meenas and Portunus marmoreus, from the English Channel, and cursorily described by him. Bell appears * Morphol. der wirbellosen Thiere, 1848, p. 72, note 2. . + Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1855, p. 15; transjated in Ann. Nat. Hist. 2nd. ser. vol. xvi. p. 153. 3 + Monogr. der nordischen Hippolyte-Arten, in Vid. Selskab. Naturv. og Math. Afh. ix. p. p. 56. ' § Abh. iiber die Erzeugung der Fische und Krebse, p. 161. taf. 2. | Hist. Brit. Crust. 1845, p. 108. 424 M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. ‘ not to have been acquainted with the labours of his prede- cessors; he enters into no discussion of the systematic nature of the parasites observed, but remarks that the pit by which they are attached is probably to be regarded as the mouth, and the second free opening (mouth according to Rathke) as the anus. I am happy that it is in my power to add to the preceding observations, made known by Steenstrup, another, made in the year 1836, which is the more important as it reposes upon a perfectly natural notion of our animals, and also introduces them into the system under the generic name of Sacculina. The observation is due to Thompson, whose numerous important discoveries have, singularly enough, nearly all been destined to ~ remain for a long time unnoticed, and to fall into almost com- plete oblivion. Unfortunately, I know the memoir of our au- thor (which was published in the ‘Entomological Magazine, iii. p. 452) only from Wiegmann’s ‘Jahresbericht’ (1837, p- 248), in which, however, it is treated with a certain degree of mistrust. I learn from it that Thompson observed on the abdomen of Carcinus Menas a new parasitic Crustacean “ be- longing to the Lerneade,” which hung down by a neck-like process between the membranous interstices of the tail of the Crab, “like a bilobed leathern bag.” From the wide orifice a granular substance was pressed out, which, under the micro- scope, proved to be a mass of larve, “resembling those of Ler- neocera*,” So far the report. It is unmistakeably the Peltogaster Car- cini that is here described ; and there is no doubt that this ani- mal, from the form of its larve, its mode of life, and habitus, belongs to the Lerneade, although the circumstance that the larvee are excluded within the body of the mother must certainly be regarded as a remarkable departure from the other animals of this group. Consequently, if we restore the name Sacculina either for Peltogaster in Rathke’s sense, or at least for the form characterized by Diesing as Pachybdella, we are only discharging an old and almost superannuated debt. That Thompson’s view was perfectly correct, has also sub- * Thompson does not regard his Sacculina.as belonging to the Ler- neade, but says “ that it agrees with no tribe of the Crustacea;” and, from his remarks, he seems to think that its nearest affinity is with Cirripedes. He compares the larva with Argulus armiger of Latreille, a microscopic Crustacean discovered by Slabber. He appears also to regard the Saceu- lina as hermaphrodite, saying that its body is ‘‘ entirely filled with the ovaria, and an enormous testicular gland.” His ovaria evidently corre- spond with the organ described in the text as the “ brood-chamber,” and his “ testicular gland”’ is evidently identical with the cordate body described by Leuckart as containing the true ovary and cement-gland,—W., 8. D. M. Leuckart. on the genus Sacculina. 425 sequently been confirmed by the investigations of Oscar Schmidt*. Schmidt likewise observed the larvee of Peltogaster (Sacculina) Carcini, and by that means, independently (without knowing any other investigations than those of Rathke), arrived at a cer- tain conviction that here we have to do with a Crustacean of the group Parasita. The similarity of these animals with the Lerneade could not escape Steenstrup ; but, unacquainted as he was with the inves- tigations of Thompson and Schmidt, by putting together Pelto- gaster and a parasite with Onisciform young also observed in Crabs by Cavolini, and by the apparently accordant statements of Rathke that a small Onisciform Crustacean, described as Lnriope pygmea, Rathke, sometimes occurred in the brood-cavity (Bruthohle; stomach of Rathke), he allowed himself to be misled into arranging our parasites with the Isopod genus Bo- PYFUBs: ©): It is, however, scarcely to be doubted that Steenstrup has now given up this opinion, especially since Kroyer} and Lind- strém { have published their observations on the larval state of the species of Peltogaster, which are exactly conformable with the other statements. It appears, however, from the investiga- tions of the former, as though the young state of the different species presented many diversities ; at least, he states that the larva of one species of Peltogaster, and of the small and globular form parasitic upon Hippolyte (Sylon, nov. gen.) belonged to a more advanced period of development than those of a second species of the genus Peltogaster, which latter (as may also be asserted of those of the genus Sacculina, according to Schmidt) agree closely with Cavolini’s figures, that is to say, present a so- called Nauplius-form. The anatomical investigations furnished no decisive result, and left the author himself in doubt as to the existence of a mouth. | I have had but few opportunities of observing these remark- able animals,—first at Heligoland in the year 1846, afterwards at Nice, and again a few weeks ago, in company with Dr. Pagen- stecher of Heidelberg, at Heligoland. The first time I met with Peltogaster Paguri, Rathke, at the latter place, and the second time with a Sacculina, but of each only a single example. The Sacculina was attached, as usual, to the tail of a Crab, Hyas * Zeitschr. fiir die ges. Naturwissenschaften, Halle 1853, p. 101; Hand- atlas der vergl. Anat. taf. x. fig. 7; a third memoir in the Journal the ‘ Weltall, 1854, p. 19, is still unknown to me. + Ofvers. Kongl. Dansk. Vid. Selskab. Forhandl. 1855, p. 127, trans- lated in Zeitschr. fiir die ges. Naturwiss. viii. p. 419. This paper of Krdéyer’s is, however, only to be regarded as a prelimmary one. I do not know whether a more complete memoir by our author has since appeared. { Ofvers. Kongl. Vetensk, Akad. Férhandl. 1856, xii. p. 361. 426 M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. Aranea, on which, as far as I know, it has not yet been observed. It was of moderate size, 6 lines long and the same in breadth; in its form it differed so much from the ordinary Sacculina that I think I am justified in describing it as a distinct species (Sacculina inflata, n. sp.). The dorsal and ventral surfaces were considerably arched ; and the posterior orifice, which is ex- traordinarily extensible, was situated upon one of the surfaces at some distance from the margin of the body (PI. VII. fig. 5). Although, by the anatomical examination of this single spe- cimen, I by no means obtained even an approximately complete insight into the structure of this animal, some remarks upon it may not be out of place here, considering the complete uncer- tainty of our present knowledge. In the first place, I have scarcely any doubt that the so-called sucking-pit of our animal is actually the mouth. This view is especially supported by the fact that this so-called sucking-pit does not, as would be supposed from the previous descriptions, merely adhere to the body of the Crab externally, but, with its funnel-shaped margins, completely penetrates the integuments in the membranous interstices between two segments, so that the tolerably wide and gaping orifice surrounded by these margins stands in direct communication with the cavity of the body of its host. No mandibuliform structures or projections could, however, be detected on these margins. That the fluids of the cavity of the body of the Crab pass into the interior of our Sac- culina is, under these circumstances, a matter of course*. Close behind the oral funnel, as also in the posterior extremity of the body of this parasite, a broad and clear space (that is to say, a space filled with colourless fluid) was seen shining through the integuments, which can hardly be anything but the intestinal eanal filled with the blood of the Crab. This space attained its greatest development at the hinder extremity of the body, where it extends above the middle on the dorsal surface (the surface turned from the posterior orifice). It is true that after the opening of the Sacculina, when the fluid just mentioned flowed out, no structure could be found, amongst the confusion of the masses floating in the interior, that could be recognized with certainty as an intestine, or even as a reservoir of the above fluid; but if we consider that even in Lernea, the wall of the - * According to recent observations by Wright and Anderson (Edinb. New Phil. Journal, vii. p. 312), a canal rises from this oral orifice in Pelto- gaster Paguri, which, after entering the body of the host, becomes much ramified, and penetrates this in every direction. (Thompson says, “ On removing them (the parasites) by force, the neck presents the appearance of irregular branched joints, and a large opening is seen, which has every appearance of being continuous between the rectum of the _ =f - cavity of the parasite.”-—W. 5. D.] ' M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. 427 intestine, which is destitute of a muscular coat, possesses little to characterize it, this negative result must not be estimated at too high a value, especially considering the other circumstances that occur here. _ The external integuments consist of a thick and resistent yellowish chitine-layer, which has not the least resemblance to the integuments of the worms, but in its appearance and physi- — cal behaviour closely approaches the chitinous shield of the Arthropoda. From its appearance under the microscope, one might almost suppose that it is composed of numerous mem- branes stuck together and much folded,—a supposition which acquires still more probability from the fact that similar thin and folded chitine-lamelle are also to be met with in abun- dance in the interior of our animal, especially in Rathke’s ovaries. Segmentation, as is well known, is wanting in the Sacculine ; the chitinous skin is throughout of the same thickness and nature. Beneath the chitine coat there lies, besides the ordinary epidermoidal cellular layer, a tolerably thick whitish layer, which separates readily from the outer integuments, and appears to be a sort of fatty body, or a cutaneous muscular sac permeated by fat. In it, besides numerous cellular bodies and granules, we find the above-mentioned chitinous lamelle, and single broad muscular fibres with most beautiful transverse striation. In the part surrounding the posterior orifice, these muscular fibres attain their greatest development ; they become developed here into a regular sphincter, which is so powerful, that, in the con- tracted state, it forms a distinct wart-like elevation (fig. 5). During life, the body of the animal is very frequently seen in slow undulating movement, which is evidently the result of the cooperation of the cutaneous muscles. The posterior orifice (which in Peltogaster with a ventral mouth is turned forwards, that is, towards the head of the host and the orifice of the shell) is certainly not the mouth, as Rathke supposed, but rather a cloacal aperture. It does not lead mto the alimentary organ, but into the brood-chamber of our Saccu- line. ‘This cavity occupies by far the greater part of the whole body, and has its own chitinous walls, which pass over, at the margin of the orifice, into the external integument, and, durmg the contraction of the sphincter, form a number of radiating folds at this point. The thickness of this chitinous wall is cer- tainly much less than that of the external integuments, but still very considerable. . The contents of this brood-chamber consist of a great quantity of flat bands, of about 1 line in breadth on an average; these issue from each other in an iuregular dichotomous ramification’ 428 M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. (fig. 6), and, being repeatedly bent and coiled up, fill the entire space of the cavity, without, however, being anywhere firmly connected: with its walls. When unfolded, it appeared as if all these bands composed only a single body, repeatedly ramified, like a Flustra. Even with the naked eye, these bands are seen to consist of an aggregation of small globules; on examination with the microscope, the globules proved to be ova, which were united together by a common clear and structureless interstitial mass, This interstitial mass formed, to a certain extent, a framework, each of the spaces of which contained an egg, just as is the case in the ovisacs of Cyclops. ‘There could not be the least doubt that the body in question constituted a band-like and much- ramified egg-tube, which in this case, instead of hanging freely down from the body as in other allied animals, was enclosed in a peculiar brood-chamber. The ova were nearly all in the same grade of development. They contained a Nauplius-like embryo with a single eye, like Cyclops, and with three pairs of long natatory feet. They did not seem to have attained their complete development, as indeed appeared from the fact that not a single free embryo was to be found in the brood-chamber. As the attempt to free the em- bryos from their egg-shells by pressure under the glass cover was also unsuccessful, I am unfortunately not in a position to state anything more exactly with regard to their form and structure. The viscera remaining in our Sacculine after the removal of this egg-tube (which was previously seen both by Cavolini and Rathke) consisted, besides the above-mentioned fatty body and the membranes of the brood-chamber, of a large cordate body of compact structure, which lay upon the ventral surface (that furnished with the cloacal aperture), and terminated with its - posterior pointed end close in front of the cloacal aperture. It seemed as if this body was to a certain extent lodged in the chi- tinous walls of the brood-chamber. At any rate, it cohered with this membrane, and, on the other hand, presented similar rela- tions to the fatty body above mentioned. The organization of this body is very complicated, and was but imperfectly unravelled. It consists of a framework of chi- tinous lamell, which pass through it in various directions, and form a kind of lattice, such as is indeed figured by Rathke, but represented as far too regular. In the interstices of this frame- work there is a mass the analysis of which is difficult, in which, however, two kinds of structures could be distinctly recognized. One of these structures was the ovary; the other, no doubt, the cement-gland. M. Leuckart on the genus Sacculina. - 429 The ovary consists of a confused mass of numerous cecal tubes; it is therefore probably similar in structure to that of the other parasitic Crustacea. Here and there closed sacs with jagged processes were also met with, just as has recently been described by Claus in Chondracanthus*, The ovarian eggs were usually smaller than those of the egg- tubes, and partly also still destitute of a membrane. The ger- minal yesicle could only be rendered distinct with difficulty amidst the numerous larger and smaller oil-drops of the tena- cious yelk. (Considering the relation which subsists, in allied forms, between the ovary and the intestinal membrane, the nu- cleus of our animals might also enclose within it a portion of the intestine.) The cement-gland, which accompanies the tubes of the ovary almost everywhere, appears, in its peripheral portion, as a cylin- der of 0°21 millim. in diameter, branched like a stag’s horn. Its thick walls are formed by closely approximated cylindrical cells, having a transverse diameter of 0°01 millim. and a length of 0:035 millim., and continued at the centre of their extremity into tail-like processes of considerable length. The contents of these cells consist of a strongly refractive substance. An ex- ternal envelope could not be detected upon these walls; it ap- peared as if they were only held together by the agglomeration of the cells. With regard to the efferent terminations and orifices of these glands, nothing could be ascertained with certainty ; but future observers may probably be led into the nght track by the two pairs of lateral orifices discovered by Rathke. Even Rathke regarded one pair of these apertures as the openings of the ovary. As to the second aperture, he was in doubt whether it formed the issue of cement-glands, or of male organs, but decided at last in favour of the latter, although he had no definite ground for this course. _ Nothing can now be urged in favour of the hermaphroditism assuined by Rathke, especially as, in my investigations, no trace of seminal filaments could be discovered. The existence of dwarfed males in the brood-chamber is far more probable, but my investigations in this direction furnished no result. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII. Fig. 5. Sacculina inflata, laid upon its back ; natural size. Fig. 6. A portion of the ramified ovisac; natural size. * Ueber den Bau und die Entwickelung parasitischer Crustaceen; Cassel, 1858, p. 13. 430 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on Coleopterous Insects from China. XLITI.—Deseriptions of two Coleopterous Insects from the North of China. By T. Vernon Wottaston, M.A., F.L.S. - Tue two insects the descriptions of which I have given below were collected by Mr. Fortune in the north of China; and I propose to dedicate them to my learned and excellent friend the Bario do Castello de Paiva, Professor of Botany in the Académie Polytechnique of Oporto, and a member of many scientific socie- ties both in Portugal and France, whose botanical researches in Madeira and the Canary Islands have been so long and so justly appreciated by the leading naturalists of his own country. Fam. Melolonthide. Genus Hoplia, Ulliger. Hoplia Paive. H. subovata, supra depressa nigra, prothoracis limbo, linea centrali lineaque breviore intermedia necnon elytrorum sutura fasciisque. tribus transversis squamis subviridescenti-albido-luteis dense vesti- tis, antennis pedibusque rufo-ferrugineis plus minus vestitis, illa- rum clava obscuriore. Variat corpore (supra et infra) squamis pallidis vestito, lineis fasciis- que plus minus suffusis. Long. corp. lin. 33-4. H. subovate, beneath exceedingly convex and densely clothed with yellowish-white scales, having an iridescent or greenish tinge ; above much depressed, black ; but more or less beautifully varie- gated with paler scales of the same colour as those below. Pro- thorax with the margins, a central line, and a shorter interme- diate one on either side (connected with the anterior margin, but not reaching to the hinder one)‘ covered with pale scales. Elytra with the suture and three transverse fascize (sometimes distinct and sometimes interrupted) likewise pale. Limbs rufo- ferruginous, and more or less clothed with paler scales; the club of the antenne darker. [In some specimens the entire upper surface appears to be almost clothed with paler scales, leaving the bands and fascize exceedingly obscure; nevertheless even in examples such as these their form is more or less traceable. | Fam. Erotylide. Genus Languria, Latreille. Languria Paive. L. obseure cyanea, nitida, ubique punctulata, prothorace convexo rufo maculis quatuor rotundatis distinctis necnon per marginem Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 431 posticum maculis quatuor minoribus plus minus confluentibus ornato, elytris leete cyaneis striato-punctatis. Long. corp. lin. 6}. ZL. dark cyaneous, shining, and free from pubescence. Head deeply and closely punctured. Prothorax much more sparingly (and less deeply) punctured, with a very short deep oblique fovea on either side behind, bright rufous, with four large rounded spots (two of which are on the disk, and the other two further apart, towards either anterior angle), and with four smaller ones along the hinder margin (the inner two of which are confluent at their base), dark: the extreme hinder margin itself, and the centre of the fore margin, more or less, also dark. Hlytra brightly cyaneous, finely and regularly striate-punctate, and with the interstices closely and minutely punctulated. Body beneath punctured (the abdomen densely so), dark cyaneous, with the anterior portion of the metasternum rufous. me XLIV.—On some new Anthribide. By Francis P. Pascon, F.L.S. &c. [Continued from p. 333. ] APOLECTA. Head -exserted, oblong, convex in front, with a short broad rostrum widely emarginate at the apex. Antenne approximate, very long, slender, filiform, arising from a large semicircular cavity in front of the rostrum and beneath the eye, the first joint long and much thicker than the rest, the second short, a little tumid at the apex, the rest perfectly linear. Kyes distant, lateral, round, entire. Labruim slightly emarginate. Terminal joint of the maxillary palpi elongate, obconic; of the labial, ovate. Prothorax narrowed anteriorly, the carina forming an angle in the centre towards the base, gradually receding as it approaches the side, where it curves forward to about half the length of the prothorax. Hlytra convex, rather wider than the prothorax, the sides subparallel. Legs slender. This genus has for its type the Mecocerus? parvulus of Mr, Thomson (Arch, Ent. tom. i. p. 437), which differs in many respects from the true Mecoceri,—i. ¢. in the form and insertion of the antenne, rostrum, carina, &e. . Apolecta has a very wide range, being found in Ceylon, Java, Malacca, Borneo, and Aru; but all the species have been hitherto unpublished, except the two here mentioned. _Apolecta gracillima. A, rufo grisea, nigro-maculata; elytris plaga magna communi pone 432 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. medium, pedibus antennisque (articulis duobus ultimis exceptis) nigris. Hab. Singapore. | Oblong, with a reddish grey or a pale dull orange pile; spot between the eyes, three stripes on the prothorax, a large trans- verse patch common to both elytra posteriorly, and a few small spots, principally on the shoulders and base, black: antennze above five times as long as the body, black, except the last two joints, which are white. Length 3 lines, of the antenne 15. | HaABRISSUS. Head oblong, with a short broad rostrum, prolonged at the apex. Antenne short, slender, arising from a groove midway between the eye and mandible, the first two joints short and slender, the last three forming a very moderately thickened club. Eyes round, entire, scarcely approximate. Lip rounded anteriorly. Mandibles stout, triangular. Palpi slender, pomted. Prothgrax narrow in front, gradually enlarging to the carina, which is sub- basal and divided at the side into two short divergent branches. Scutellum very small. Elytra oblong, convex, slightly rounded at the sides. Legs moderate, first tarsal joint as long as the rest together. Mesosternum short, broad, slightly bilobed behind. A genus which has a strong resemblance, particularly as to the antenne, to the South American Corrhecerus, from which, however, it differs in its entire eyes, prolonged apex of the rostrum, which is terminated by the small lip (almost descending to the external margin of the mandibles when closed), and dicho- tomous termination of the carina. Habrissus pilicorns. H. ovato-oblongus, cinereus, fusco varius, tarsis fulvescentibus, unguibus nigris. Hab. Aru. Ovate-oblong, covered with a short, dense, ashy pile, varied with dark brown patches, head and prothorax tinged with yellow, the brown on the latter forming a series of indistinctly curved and slightly connected spots ; elytra punctato-striate, a brownish patch on the anterior two-thirds, in which are several ashy spots, then a band of the same colour, followed by another brownish patch, the apex also ashy ; pygidium ashy, with a black spot on each side; legs ashy, tibise at the base and apex, and claws black; antennze with a few long scattered hairs, black, the first two joints reddish yellow. Length 5 lines. British Museum. Basitropis peregrinus. B. elongato-parallelus, dense tomentosus, fuscus fulvescente varie- Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 433 gatus ; pedibus obscure brunneo-testaceis ; abdomine infra griseo- subsericeo. Hab. Port Essington. Elongate-parallel, covered with a dense dark brown tomentum varied with pale yellowish grey, particularly on the elytra, where it also forms an obscure band near the apex ; legs dull testaceous brown; body beneath with a pale greyish pile, the abdomen subsericeous ; antennz very stout, tomentose. Length 34 lines. Basitropis ingratus. B. ovato-oblongus, tomentosus, fuscus, lutescente-variegatus; pedibus griseo-variis ; abdomine griseo-picta, lateribus fusco-maculatis. Hab. Port Essington. Ovate-oblong, tomentose, dark brown obscurely varied with dull ochreous ; legs varied with reddish-brown and grey; body beneath sparingly covered with coarse greyish hairs, abdominal segments with a reddish-brown spot on each side; antennz reddish-brown, slightly tomentose, comparatively slender. Length 23 lines. British Museum. Basitropis has hitherto been a stranger to Australia; the two species described above are therefore interesting additions to its scanty list of Anthribidee. Basitropis mucidus. B. oblongus, piceus, fuscus, obscure griseo-varius ; prothorace basi lateribus rectis. Hab. Borneo. Oblong, pitchy, with a sparse pubescence sprinkled with dark brown and grey in nearly equal proportions, but everywhere showing the glossy surface beneath; sides of the prothorax at the base nearly straight; antenne and legs dull ferruginous obscurely varied with grey, the first and second joints of the club as long as they are broad. Nearly allied to B. nitidicutis of M. Jekel, but is much shorter and proportionably stouter. Length 3} lines. Eucorynus Stevensit. H. oblongus, hirtus, fuscus, griseo-varius ; antennis rufo-brunneis, clava nigra ; tarsis griseo-annulatis. Hab. Dorey. Oblong, slightly depressed ; head dull greyish mixed with brown ; prothorax finely punctured, dark brown with a few greyish spots; elytra punctured in rows, dark brown mixed with greyish, principally near the apex ; antennz about half the length of the body, dull reddish-brown, the club black ; legs dark brown Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. iv. 28 43.4 Mr. F. P. Pascoe.on some new Anthribide. with greyish rings, which are most marked on the tibie ; under surface dull brown. Length 4 to 6 lines. Dedicated to Samuel Stevens, Esq. of Bloomsbury Street, to whom I owe my best thanks for many valuable specimens. Eucorynus setosulus. E. oblongus, hirto-setosus, fuscus, albo-irroratus ; pedibus albo-annu- latis ; antennis nigris, articulo septimo albo. Hab. Philippine Islands. (Manilla ¢ ?) Differs from E. Stevensii in its coarser and decidedly setose hairs, deeper and larger punctures, longer and thicker antenne, and in its more lengthened form. British Museum. APATENIA, Head narrow, the rostrum lengthened, broad, with a short central costa, the apex entire. Antennze inserted at about mid- way between the rostrum and mandibles, scarcely longer than the head, the first two joints thick, the third to the sixth more or less cylindrical, the seventh and eighth subtriangular, the ninth, tenth, and eleventh forming a club the first two joints of which are ‘triangular and the last ovate. . Eyes large, obliquely lateral, ovate, entire. Mandibles robust, strongly toothed. Palpi slender, pointed. Labrum narrow, elongate. Prothorax slightly transverse, narrow in front ; carina sub-basal, extending at a right angle to about halfway along the side of the prothorax. Llytra slightly depressed. Legs moderate, tarsi rather short.. Meso- sternum rounded posteriorly. Apatenia viduata. A, cinereo-nigra, subargentata, maculis atro-velutinis ornata ; pedibus griseo-variis. Hab. Borneo. Oblong-ovate, ashy black, with a slight silvery tint in certain lights; head thickly punctured, two black spots between the eyes ; prothorax pubescent, indistinctly clouded with four or five black patches, a weli-defined ochreous spot posteriorly ; scutel- lum small, triangular; elytra slightly depressed, regularly punc- tate, rather wider than the prothorax, finely tomentose, with a few black velvety spots, and a large one on each behind the mid- dle; legs obscurely varied with ashy ; ; under surface dull black. Length 4 lines. MIsTHOSIMA. Head rather broad in front, the rostrum subquadrate, rather short, entire at the apex. Antenne slender, shorter than the body, arising from a large rounded cavity below and a little in Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 435 front of the eye; the two basal joints tumid, the last three form- ing a slender interrupted club. Eyes distant, nearly round, entire. Palpi slender, pointed. Labrum transverse, rounded anteriorly. Mandibles slender, toothed. Prothorax transverse, rounded in front and at the sides; the carina basal, terminating in a short curve at the side. Scutellum small, rounded poste- riorly. Hlytra oblong, convex, parallel with the base of the prothorax. Legs slender, anterior pair the longest ; first tarsal joint longer than the rest together. Mesosternum short, slightly rounded posteriorly. Misthosima mera. M. oblongo-ovata, rufo-brunnea, griseo-pubescens; pedibus fulvo- ferrugineis. Hab. Borneo. Oblong-ovate, reddish brown, covered with a greyish pile, which appears to be rather easily rubbed off, then giving the specimen a mottled appearance ; antenne with two basal joints - reddish yellow, the rest gradually darker, the club black; legs and body beneath dull yellowish red, slightly pubescent. Length 2 lines. | } Misthosima marmorea. M. oblonga, fusca, griseo-pubescente-varia ; pedibus ferrugineis. Hab. Borneo. Oblong, dark brown, variegated with a greyish pubescence, i. e. little straggling patches composed of short, scant hairs: antenne with the two basal joints reddish yellow, the remainder, with the legs, ferruginous. Length 2 lines. PLINTHERIA. Head narrow, gradually contracting below the eyes, the ros- trum long, expanding towards the apex, which is broadly emar- ginate. Antenne as long as the body, arising from a scarcely perceptible groove nearly at the extremity of the rostrum; the second joint longer than the first and not thicker than the third, which is longest, the remainder to the eighth slightly but gra- dually decreasing in length, the last three forming a short com- pact club. Eyes round, entire, prominent. Labrum rounded. Mandibles short, triangular. Palpi rather long, pointed. Pro- thorax about equal in length and breadth, narrowed in front, contracted posteriorly; carina sub-basal in the centre, then bend- ing slightly forwards and terminating in a short curve at the side. Scutellum small, triangular. Elytra short, convex, wider than the prothorax at the base. Legs moderate, the anterior longest, the first tarsal joint longer than the rest together. 28% 436 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. Plintheria luctuosa. P. nigra, albo-variegata; tibiis, apice excepto, fusco-testaceis ; antennis rufo-variis, clava nigra. Hab. Dorey. Oblong-ovate, brownish black varied with patches of whitish hairs, particularly on the elytra, which in some specimens as- sume a tessellated appearance ; head and rostrum coarsely, the apex finely punctured; prothorax with close shallow punctures ; elytra deeply and regularly punctured ; legs black, the basal two- thirds of the tibize and antennz dull reddish brown, the club of the latter black. Length 24 lines. Esocus. Head rather broad in front, contracted below the eyes; the rostrum of moderate length, slightly dilated at the apex, which is entire, and with a short central costa. Antenne short, arising from a shallow groove above the dilated apex, the first two joints thick, of nearly equal length, the third longer, the rest rapidly decreasing to the eighth, the last three forming a short, broad, compact club. Eyes distant, prominent, oblong, entire. Labrum rounded anteriorly. Prothorax narrow in front, gradually wider towards the base, the carina sub-basal, shortly recurved at the side. Scutellum small, transverse, rounded posteriorly. Elytra wider than the prothorax, subgibbous towards the base. Legs of moderate length, first tarsal joint as long as the rest together. Esocus lachrymans. E. niger, subnitidus, guttis elongatis albo-pubescentibus ornatus. Hab. Borneo. Oblong-subovate, black, slightly shining, with elongated white hairy spots; head minutely punctured, the rostral costa very nearly central; prothorax slightly punctured, with three principal) vittiform spots; elytra gibbous behind the scutellum, with remote rows of shallow punctures; antenne and legs en- tirely black. Length 3 lines. Hucws. lead broad in front, swollen at the side below the eye; the rostrum rather short, ending in a large transversely subqua- drate, entire apex; between this and the eye, on each side, a strongly-marked costa. Antenne short, arising from the middle of the rostrum directly above its dilated apex, the first two joints thick, of nearly equal length, the third longest, the last three forming an elongate, slender, pointed club. Eyes subapproxi- Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. 437 mate, frontal, large, round, entire. Labrum rounded anteriorly, Prothorax narrowed in front, the side nearly straight, the carina sub-basal, arched forwards, forming an acute angle at its flexure and continued but a short way on the side of the prothorax. Scutellum very small, transverse, rounded behind. Elytra short, convex, the sides slightly rounded. Legs of moderate length, the first tarsal jot much longer than the rest together. Hucus melanostoma. H. ovatus, fuscescente-pubescens, griseo-varius ; oculis, rostro, man- dibularum apice nigris. : Hab. Borneo. Ovate, head and prothorax with a ferruginous-brown pubes- cence mingled with grey, especially on the sides of the latter, on the elytra a darker brown in longitudinal patches partially en- closed by the grey, while posteriorly this latter is surrounded by the brown ; eyes, rostrum, and tips of the mandibles dull black ; legs and antenne ferruginous, obscurely clouded with dark brown. Length 13 line. PHAULIMIA, Head rather broad in front, narrower below the eyes, rostrum short, quadrate, entire at the apex. Antenne arising from a lateral groove midway between the eye and mandible, very short, the first two joints tumid, the last three forming a broadly di- lated club. Eyes oblique, oblong, entire, not approximate. Maxillary palpi rather long, pomted. Mandibles slender. Pro- thorax slightly transverse, narrowed anteriorly, the carina sub- basal, forming a right angle at its flexure and terminating at about half the length of the prothorax. Elytra short, shghtly depressed, the sides nearly parallel. Legs short, coxe of the anterior only slightly approximate, the rest distant, tarsi with the first joint as long as the rest together. Phaulimia ephipprata. P. griseo-rufa, obscure fulvo-varia; elytris macula magna communi basali fusca. Hab. Borneo. Ovate, pubescent, slightly depressed, pale greyish red, obscurely varied with fulvous; on the prothorax the darker colour is con- fined to a few oblique patches, on the elytra it is tessellated on the interstices formed by the punctate strie, and at their base a large dark brown spot; antenne and legs yellowish red; the — club black. Length 14 line. 438 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Anthribide. Dysnos. Head moderate, rounded at the sides, with a very short broad rostrum but slightly emarginate at the apex. Antenne shorter than the body, arising from an oblique groove below and a little in front of the eye; the first two joints tumid, of nearly equal length, the last four formmg an elongated interrupted club which terminates in a subulate process. Eyes lateral, ovate, oblique, slightly emarginate, not approximate. Labrum and mandibles small. Palpi short, pointed. Prothorax wider than the elytra at the base, longer than broad, rounded slightly at the sides, convex above; the carina nearly basal, forming an obtuse angle at its flexure, and continued to within a third of the anterior margin. Scutellum very minute. LElytra convex, the sides nearly parallel. Legs short, the second and third tarsal joints dilated, the anterior tibize and tarsi longest. Dysnos auricomus. D. fusco-lanosus obscure aureo-varius ; elytris striato-punctatis ; an- tennarum basi pedibusque fusco-rufis. Hab. Aru. Subovate, scarcely elongate, covered with short dark-brown, and on the thorax nearly black hairs; with these are obscurely interspersed others of a golden yellow or greenish hue, the effect of which, under a strong lens and im a certain light, is to give the appearance of dark spots on a hght ground; eyes brown; antenne slightly ciliated, the base brownish red, the club black ; legs dull reddish brown; under surface pitchy, closely punc- tured. Length 2 lines. Arecerus rufipes. A. ovatus, fusco-tomentosus ; capitis fronte griseo ; elytrorum inter- stitiis prothoraceque nigris, his fulvo-maculatis; antennarum. funiculo pedibusque rufis. Hab. Borneo. Ovate, covered with a dark brown tomentum; front of the head with greyish hairs; prothorax black, slightly varied with grey ; elytra with the alternate interstices elevated, black, spotted with fulvous; antennz yellowish red, the club black; legs dull yellowish red. Length 2 lines. Arecerus areolatus: A, jate ovatus, nigro tomentosus; elytrorum interstitiis cinereo- maculatis ; antennis basi rufis; pedibus nigris. Hab. Borneo. Broadly ovate, covered with a black tomentum; elytra with Dr. J. E. Gray on Zoophytes with Pinnated Tentacles. 439 the alternate interstices elevated, pure black, spotted with ashy ; antennze reddish only at the base; legs black. Length 2 lines. Besides the difference in colour, which in this genus is per- haps not very important, and the greater width, which attains its maximum at the junction of the prothorax with the elytra in this species, whilst in A. rufipes it is at about the upper third of the elytra, it is also distinguished by the joints of the club being very decidedly longer ; both are also very nearly allied to Arace- rus* Coffee, F., which, however, is smaller and more convex, with proportionably longer antenne, and generally has a patch of several longish grey hairs on the shoulders; from this I find it difficult to distinguish Tropideres fragilis of Mr. Walker, from Ceylon, the type of which is in my collection. XLV.—On the Arrangement of Zoophytes with Pinnated Tentacles. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., Pres. Ent. Soc., &c. CoNsIDERABLE attention has been paid by various authors to the arrangement of the stony Corals (Actinaria), by MM. Milne- Edwards and Haime, and by Mr. Dana among others; but com- paratively little progress has been made in the arrangement of the Zoophytes with pinnated tentacles, or Alcyonaria, since the time of Lamarck. I have for years been studying these animals and the corals which they form, and have only been prevented from publishing the result of my studies by the desire to feel more sure with regard to the distinction between the species of the family of Gorgoniade, and to ascertain with greater certainty than I have yet been able the true synonymy of the species of the genera of that family. ' In the meantime I would suggest the following arrangement of the families, as that which best explains the relation of the various genera to each other. Order I. SABULICOL. Coral-tree symmetrical, with a simple base, supported by more or less distinct calcareous spicula, and strengthened by a single, fusiform, elongate, calcareous, central axis. Living with the base sunk in the sand or mud of the sea-coast. Fam. 1. Pennatulide. Body free, more or less pen-like, with a naked peduncle and a * More correctly Areocerus ; but I hold that the orthography of the ori- ginal authority ought never to be departed from, except in the case of some very gross and insufferable blunder. Schénherr first proposed Arecerus in his “ Curculionidum Dispositio Methodica,” p. 40, and repeated it without alteration in his “‘ Synonymia.” | 440 Dr. J. EB. Gray on the Arrangement of single central axis.. The upper part with the polypes placed in transverse series on one, rarely on all sides. Axis fusiform, elongate, cylindrical and quadrangular, caleareous, as long as the coral. ; ’ Dana divides the Pennatulide into two subfamilies :—1. Pen- natuline, polypes retractile; 2. Pavoninz, polypes not retrac- tile (including Pavonia and Umbellularia)! I may observe here that I do not think the character derived from the retraction and non-retraction of the polypes is of much importance ; for it is observed that all the Gorgonie figured by Ellis from specimens preserved in spirits have the polypes expanded, and it is the same with most Pennatule and many Alcyonia. I. Penniformes. Tlie coral pen-shaped. The polypes in trans- verse pinnules, placed on each side of the ventral surface of the central rachis or stem. Tribe 1. Funicutinex. ‘The coral elongate, linear, slender ; the pinnules small, crowded. Funiculina. Virgularia. Lygus. Scytalium. Tribe 2. PennatuLteax. The coral moderately broad, pen- shaped; the pinnules broad, expanded. . *Pennatula. ** Sarcoptilus. Pteromorpha. Pteroeides. II. Claviformes. The coral club-shaped or leaf-like. The polypes scattered on one side (rarely on both) of the upper part of the club. Tribe 3. KopHopeLEMNONIE#. The coral club-shaped, with the polypes only on one surface of the club, leaving the other bare. Kophobelemnon. Tribe 4. VeretitteEx. The coral club-shaped. The polypes on all sides of the club. Lituaria. Sarcobelemnon. Cavernularia. Veretillum. Tribe 5. Runittem. The coral expanded, foliaceous, with a slender stalk. The polypes only on one surface of the expanded disk. Renilla. Fam. 2. Umbellulariade. The body free, umbellate, with a long stem and a single cen- tral axis. The upper part with a cluster of polype-bearing cells placed in concentric series, forming a large head. Axis fusi- form, elongate, as long as the stem of the coral. Umbellularia. Zoophytes with Pinnated Tentacles. 44] Order II. SPONGICOLA or HYALOPHYTA. Subsymmetrical, living sunken by. the base into a sponge, strengthened by silicious spicula, and supported by a central axis formed of numerous twisted, elongated silicious fibres. The axis is formed of many twisted fibres, its lower end tapering, and parasitically imbedded in a fixed sponge, and thus kept in an erect position. The animal matter or bark is strengthened by silicious spi- cula, similar to, but shorter. and thinner than the fibres of the axis. The fibres are formed of numerous thin concentric layers. Valenciennes and other French naturalists, overlooking the structure of the spicula in the bark, have regarded the latter as a parasitic kind of Alcyonarium growing on some unknown sub- stance,—an idea that requires the belief in the existence of two peculiar bodies which are always found together and are unknown in any other state, instead of regarding them as parts of the same animal growth ; this is proved to be the case not only by their being always found in union, but by the fact that the axis, which is supposed to be the supporting part, is of the same texture as the spines found in the bark, the one passing gradu- ally into the other; and I have no doubt that, in the living state, the fibres of the axis are as much surrounded by flesh as the spicula in the bark itself. Fam. 1. Hyalonemide. Hyalonema. Order III. RUPICOLA. Coral tree-like’ or expanded, fixed by an expanded base, sup- ported by more or less abundant fusiform calcareous spicula, and often supported by a central calcareous or horny tree-like axis with an expanded base. [Living attached by the base of the coral: and axis to rocks on the sea-shore. This order is divided into three suborders. Suborder I. Lirnopnyra. Coral arborescent, supported by a continuous or jointed cal- careous axis, which effervesces with muriatic acid. + Axis continuous, not jointed. Fam. 1. Coralliadz. Axis inarticulate, solid, calcareous. Bark granular, with irregular-shaped spicula. *Corallium. . Annella. Ellisella. (Junceella and Ctenocella.) ?Gorgonella. , Scirpearia. Umbracella. **Subergorgia. A 2 fs 4 of, - = y =< ~ Py AA Ste & .—— ig & ) aS tas 4 oe oo § P ‘ » a =. ‘ ; a rf: ~—S ws if g — Oe, ts Da» ant “> Zr tA % Raed, f< eS ¢ AS 4.4.2 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Arrangement of Fam. 2. Primnoade. Axis inarticulate, solid. Bark formed of flat imbricate scales. Polype-cells prominent, covered with imbricate scales. Primnoa. » Callogorgia. » Primnoella. ++ Axis articulated. Fam. 3. Melitzade. Axis spongy, permeated by flexuous tubular canals inter- rupted by harder, swollen, calcareous joints. Bark granular ; cells in series on the edge of the branchlets. Melitea. Mopsella. ?Solanderia. ive sit Fam. 4. Isidezx, Axis calcareous, solid, divided by narrowed horny joints. Bark granular, with irregular-shaped spicula. Isis (Cynosaire). Isidella. Mopsea. Suborder II. Curatopnyta. Coral arborescent, supported by a continuous (or jointed ?) horny axis, which does not effervesce in muriatic acid. Fam. 1. Gorgoniade. Bark granular, persistent, with sunken irregular-shaped spicula, with a more or less distinct groove down each side, and with the cells in series on each side of the branchlets. * Coral arborescent or reticulated; cells on side of the branchlets. Gorgonia. Arborescent; branchlets subcompressed ; cells on side, moderate. : Pterogorgia. Arborescent; branchlets much compressed; cells minute, on edge. Rhipidogorgia. Reticulated, fan-like; cells on sides. *k Coral frondose ; cells on surface of frond. Hymenogorgia. Axis branched, filiform, branches separate. Phyllogorgia. 4 branches netted. Phycogorgia. Axis expanded, foliaceous, thin. Fam. 2. Plexauride. Bark granular, persistent, cork-like, without any impressed lateral grooves. Cells placed equally on all sides of the branches. Plexaura (Bebryce). Cells not raised, simple. Rhinogorgia. Cells not raised, bounded by a conical process. Eunicea. Cells more or less produced, simple. Gonidora. Cells convex; mouth radiated. ZLoophytes with Pinnated Tentacles. 443 Fam, 3. Muriceide. Bark composed of large imbricate calcareous spicula, without any lateral grooves, Cells equally on all sides of the branchlets. Muricea. Pile Fam. 4. Acanthogorgiade. — Bark thin, formed of slender filiform spicula, without any lateral grooves. Cells campanulate, on all sides of the branches, with ridges of elongated spicula, and with a number of elongate setaceous spines on the margin. Acanthogorgia. ? Fam. 5, Antipathide. Bark fleshy, easily deciduous, soft, simple, only strengthened by large and small, scattered, silicious ? plates. Leiopathes. Antipathes. I have observed pinnate tentacles in Lezopathes, and indica- tions of them in one Antipathes. Dana describes them as simple in two species of Antipathes which he saw alive; so that the position of this family is open to doubt. Fam. 6. Sarcogorgiade. Bark fleshy, when dry skin-like, smooth, without spicula ; the edges of the cells strengthened with granular spicula. Sarcogorgia. Suborder III. Sarcopuyta. Coral arborescent, lobulated or expanded, only strengthened by internal or external calcareous spicula, which effervesce in acid. Fam. 1. Briareide. Coral arborescent, fleshy, supported by a central axis formed of numerous intertwined fusiform spicula. Briareum. ; Fam. 2; Alcyoniade. Coral arborescent or lobed, fleshy, strengthened with imbedded calcareous spicula. Cells simple. Polype retractile or semi- retractile. Aleyonium (Lobularia). Sympodium. Ammothea. Fam. 3. Xeniade. Coral expanded or arborescent, fleshy, soft, creeping or branched. Polype elongate, subcylindrical. Tentacles not re- tractile. * Xenia. Anthelia. Rhizoxenia. Evagora. **Cornularia. us ? alof Add H. von Mohl on the Arrangement of the Fam. 4. Nephthyade. Coral arborescent or expanded, fleshy, membranaceous, often very cellular. Cell of the polypes covered externally with large fusiform calcareous spicula. * Nephthya (Spoggodia). ? Alcyonidia. ** Nidalia. *** Clavu- laria. Fam. 5. Tubiporide. Coral calcareous, tubular. Tubes united by transverse plates formed by the expanded edges of the tubes iia the buds. Polypes cylindrical. Tubipora. XLVI.—On the Arrangement of the Polarizing Microscope in the Examination of Organic Bodies. By Hueco von Monu*. Tuart polarized light is so rarely made use of in the microscopic examination of organic bodies, principally arises from the cir- cumstance that the German and French microscopes, which are almost exclusively used on the Continent, are so badly arranged as to be almost valueless for detecting double refraction in those organic structures which act but feebly upon polarized light. Hence, to mention a few instances, Ehrenberg was unable to ' detect this property in the leaf-scales of Olea Europea, and in the silicious valves of the Diatomacez; nor could Schacht dis- cover double refraction in the primary membrane of the cells of plants; and Pereira, who occupied himself so much with pola- rized light, was unable to see the black cross in the starch-gra- nules of rice ; whilst these structures under my polarizing micro- scope form most beautiful objects, so that not only can I resolve the lines in Pleurosigma angulatum into dots, as well as with common light, but their six-sided form is quite distinct. Even in my first attempts to use this instrument in phyto- tomic experiments, I found that a bright and distinct image could be obtained only by exposing the object to very concen- trated polarized light. The necessity of this is evident from the fact, that three-fourths of the light reflected by the mirror is necessarily lost in its passage through the polarizing apparatus, which loss must be considerably increased by the reflexion taking place at the surfaces of the lenses of the microscope. When, moreover, it is remembered that the depolarizing action of most organic structures is much more feeble than that of in- organic crystals, it may be easily understood that the image of the former is dull and imperfect, or that they remain invisible, if very intense illumination is not applied. Experiment also convinced * Translated from Poggendorff’s Annalen, No. 9. 1859, p. 178. Polarizing Microscope in the Examination of Organic Bodies. 445 me that the intensity of the light can hardly be too great ; hence I took especial care, in the selection of the apparatus, to ensure obtaining as much light as possible. For this reason, and to obtain colourless light, I avoided tourmalines or Herapathite, and made use of Nicol’s prisms. In regard to the polarizing apparatus itself, it is advantageous to use, as the polarizer, a Nicol’s prism of tolerably large dimen- sions, through which a broad beam of polarized light may pass to the objects. The illumination of the object, however, is not brighter with a large than with a small Nicol’s prism ; for when the polarized light, after emerging from the prism, is condensed to a luminous image upon the object by the condenser. to be mentioned presently, this is equally bright, whether the prism be large or small; but the size of the image depends upon the size of the transverse section of the Nicol’s prism used : hence, when this is too small, observation is rendered difficult by a small portion only of the object, lying in the centre of the field, being illuminated. The Nicol’s prism need not, however, be of unusually large dimensions: a diameter of from 10 to 12 lines answers every purpose. As, however, a prism of this size is 2 inches long, care must be taken that there is sufficient room between the mirror and the stage to admit both the prism and the condensers. Hence this space should never be less than 4: inches. _ As regards the position of the polarizing Nicol’s prism, the question arises whether the relative direction of its oblique ter- minal faces to the plane of the mirror is a matter of indifference, or whether the horizontal diameter of its rhombic terminal faces should hold a definite position to the horizontal axis of rotation of the mirror. For, when all the lenses are removed from the micro- scope, on placing a Nicol’s prism upon the eye-piece, and turning the mirror to the light, it will be found, on rotating the prism, that the light reflected from the mirror into the microscope is polar- ized to a considerable extent, and that a marked darkening is produced when the transverse diameter of the rhombic terminal face of the prism is parallel to the horizontal axis of rotation of the mirror, and thus also to the window through which the light pro- ceeds. Hence, when the polarizing prism is fixed in this posi- tion under the object, less light will be transmitted to the latter than when the prism is rotated 90° and retained in this position during the observation. This circumstance is in general of no great importance; for with the bright illumination which must be provided under all circumstances, the loss of light caused by a less favourable pgsition of the polarizer is of far less importance in regard to the brightness-of the image than might at first be supposed. | 446 H. von Mohl on the Arrangement of the Many opticians place the analyzing prism immediately behind the object-glass. This certainly has the advantage of allowing the eye to be placed close to the eye-piece, so that a view of the entire field can be obtained. But this unimportant advantage is counterbalanced by decided objections, and especially by the circumstance that the sharpness of the image is more or less impaired when the light between the object-glass and the eye- piece is allowed to pass through such a massive body as a Nicol’s prism, the surfaces of which, moreover, are not usually ground perfectly flat. It is therefore indisputably better to place the prism above the eye-piece, where it much less impairs the beauty of the image. The objection that the field is thus limited is of no importance, as it is easy to find a prism with which this de- fect does not occur, or merely at the outer margin, which is of little consequence. If the prism is fixed in a tube adapted to the eye-piece, we have, moreover, the advantage that it can be rotated on its axis at pleasure, and may be easily removed and replaced ; whilst placing the prism in the tube of the microscope and rotating it within the latter is a complicated arrangement, and involves a waste of time. Passing to the microscopic apparatus : in the case of this also the greatest possible intensity of light is the first condition of successful results. The most important point is the illuminating apparatus. As regards the mirror, an ordinary plane one may be used; but the best consists of a not too small glass prism, the section of which forms an equilateral triangle. If the sur- faces of this are from 15 to 18 lines in length, that is sufficient. It is essentially necessary that the parallel rays of light, after traversing the Nicol’s prism, should be strongly condensed upon the objects. The best apparatus for this is an achromatic con- denser consisting of three lenses of about 3 lines focus and large angle of aperture, such as exists in the large English microscopes. Stops are only injurious for the present purpose ; but it is evi- dent that the condenser must be capable of being placed in the direction of the axis of the microscope, so that its focus may fall exactly upon the objects. Amici, whose advice I solicited, in case he might improve my arrangements, wrote to me in the negative, considering my apparatus as satisfactory, but suggested that I might substitute a colourless flint-glass plano-convex lens, 5 lines in diameter, and with the convex side downwards, for the achromatic condenser. The result was perfectly satisfactory, espe- cially when ordinary day-light was used, and by no means inferior to that obtained with various achromatic condensers ; but when sun-light was used, as described below, this lens was not so good ‘as the achromatic condenser. For the polarizing microscope to yield a good image, the concentration of the light upon the Polarizing Microscope in the Examination of Organic Bodies. 447 object must be so great, that delicate transparent objects, such as anatomical vegetable preparations, must be almost in- visible in the bright light of the field before the analyser is applied; an amount of illumination such as is used in ordinary microscopic observations is totally insufficient ; and this is the principal reason why such imperfect results have been obtained by most observers with the polarizing microscope. With regard to the object-glass, those who have several at hand will do best by using such as transmit most light. For low powers, magnifying about 200 diameters, the better kind of German object-glasses, e.g. the Nos. 1 and 2 of Keller’s micro- scope, will answer every purpose; but where higher powers are required, as the jth, 4th, and jth, the English glasses are very much the best,especially those made by Ross. The highest object- glasses will of course be used only for the most delicate objects, in which minute details are to be investigated; but, when the illumination is well managed, they transmit sufficient light to allow of the most difficult object being seen distinctly. Equally important with the arrangement of the polarizing microscope, and the selection of the pieces of apparatus ensuring the greatest intensity of the light, is the choice of the source of the light used for illumination. When the power required does not exceed 200 or 300 dia- meters, and when the object exerts considerable polarizing power (as, e.g., the membrane of most vegetable cells, the fibres of spiral vessels, the granules of starch, &c.), common daylight is sufficient ; and on many rather dark days in the winter I found no difficulty in making these investigations. A far more favour- able result is certainly obtained, on those days when there is full sunshine, by inclining the mirror towards a part of the sky not far from the sun. The light from white cumuli also affords good illumination, except that the constant change of the bright- ness interrupts observation and fatigues the eyes. These sources of illumination, however, are insufficient in the case of very dif- ficult objects, in which either a very high power is required, or which act but feebly upon the polarized light; thus, to give an instance in a well-known object, on illumination by ordinary daylight I could distinctly recognize the double refraction pro- duced by the silicious carapace of Pleurosigma angulatum, but I could not detect the six-sided dots in it. In such cases it requires a far more intense illumination to obtain a bright and sharp image. In regard to this point, all may be accomplished by adopting the arrangement of the solar microscope, the direct light of the sun being received upon a mirror and allowed to fall perpendicularly upon a ground-glass plate fixed in the shutter, the condenser being so arranged that the image of this illumi- 448 H. von Mohl on the Arrangement of the nated glass plate coincides with the object. When low powers are used, this illumination may be too strong, which evil may easily be remedied by altering the position of the condenser ; but when the higher powers are used, and the objects are very delicate, the results obtained with it are surprising. It is evi- dent that there is no occasion to darken the room in which the observations are made. But, as all have not the privilege of occupying a detached house, and the opportunity of making use of sun-light through- out the day, and as we are often without bright sun-light, it would be desirable to find a substitute in strong artificial illumi- nation. Whether this is possible, I do not know. Experiments made with lamp-light did not yield satisfactory results. How far the application of Drummond’s light might answer the pur- pose, I have not experimentally determined. I should, however, have no doubt that good results might be obtained with Drum- mond’s light, since those obtained with lamp-light are by no means to. be entirely despised; and the question is not one of the application of light .of the highest degree of intensity, as with the solar microscope,—in the case of which, former experi- ments convinced me that the light produced by the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe and heated lime by no means forms a substitute for sun-light. I may take this opportunity of making a few remarks upon the use of plates of selenite in observations with the polarizing microscope. When one of these is placed between the polarizer and the object, as is well known (the polarizer and analyzer being crossed), the dark field of the microscope becomes light, and presents one of the colours of Newton’s rings, according to the thickness of the plate used. On viewing, under these cireum- stances, a doubly refracting object lying in the focus of the microscope, this, in a certain relative position to the prisms, appears of a different colour from that of the field, often of great brilliancy, and which passes into the complementary colour, when either the selenite plate or the object is rotated 90°. It is usually stated that the plate of selenite is of important value when the object but slightly polarizes light and therefore cannot be di- stinguished in the dark field of the microscope, or exhibits merely very obscure indications of radiation of light. In this case, after the insertion of the selenite plate in such manner that the object appears of a different colour from that of the field, and, on the rotation of the plate, passes into the complementary colour, the doubly refracting power of the object is more distinctly evident. Now I will not deny that, in many doubtful instances, this pro- ceeding leads to a decisive result ; but it is very frequently unsa- tisfactory, because the selenite plates are too thick, and thus act Polarizing Microscope in the Examination of Organic Bodies. 449 very strongly upon the light coming from the polarizer, rendering the field too luminous, and imparting to it too tense a colour. In these cases, the difference between the intense colour of the field and the but slightly differing colour of a very delicate and feebly polarizing object is so difficult to detect, in many instances, that the use-of the entire process is very doubtful. On the other hand I cannot too strongly recommend for this purpose the use of very thin plates of mica instead of the selenite. Mica being so tough and readily split, renders it an easy matter to separate such thin laminz that, when inserted between the polarizer and the object, the field is not coloured, but merely appears more luminous; so that when a very thin plate is used, it becomes dark-grey, and the thicker the plates, the whiter the colour. If a doubly refracting object is then placed under the microscope ; according to its position as regards the plate of mica, it becomes more or less brilliantly white, or more or less dark-black. These so strongly contrasted degrees of brilliancy of the object, and their difference from the uniform grey colour of the field, are more easily and distinctly perceptible to the eye than differences of colour; so that in many cases in which, when the selenite plate is used, a doubtful result is obtained, the use of the plate of mica is successful. A satisfactory result, however, is only ob- tained when the thickness of the plate of mica and its corre- sponding action upon the polarized light coincide with the intensity of the doubly refracting power of the object. The more feeble the latter, the thinner must be the plate of mica, and the less luminous it must render the field. A series of four or five plates, the thinnest of which brightens the field but little, whilst the thickest produces considerable brightness but no colour, is sufficient for all cases. In a paper upon the examination of vegetable tissues by the aid of polarized light (‘ Ann. Nat. Hist.’ 1858, vol.i.), I have shown that different vegetable elementary organs, having the same struc- ture but of different chemical composition, are opposed in their action upon polarized light, one exhibiting positive, the other negative colours. ‘To recognize this relation, the diminution of the grey colour of the object produced by the plate of mica, to a more or less deep black, or its augmentation to white, may be used ; and the application of the mica plates deserves the pre- ference in all those cases in which the object acts but feebly upon polarized light. In the case of objects, however, which possess this property to a considerable degree, the selenite plates are preferable, because the contrast of the brilliant comple- mentary colours, apparent under these circumstances, is very striking. To produce these colours clearly, a series of selenite plates of increasing thicknesses should also be kept, because, Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. iv. 29 OND 280 ¥ Bibliographical Notice. with objects which strongly polarize light, thicker plates are requisite for this purpose. I therefore use plates which render the field of the microscope of a red colour of the first to the fourth order. In the examination of the elementary organs of plants, the red of the Ist and 2nd order was sufficient, and I seldom found it requisite to use the red of the 3rd and 4th order. These plates are best inserted between the polarizer and the condenser. Hence these pieces of apparatus of the polarizing microscope must be separate and sufficiently apart to allow of the interposition of the plates, which must be capable of rotation horizontally. It is scarcely necessary to remark that it is best to cement the plates of mica and selenite between two thin glass plates, and to fix them with paste or some such substance in a circular form. In conclusion, a word upon the preparation of organic bodies for examination under the polarizing microscope.—As is well known, many organic bodies can only be examined microscopi- cally under water; these are prepared for the polarizing microscope in exactly the same manner as for the ordinary microscope. In those objects, however, which may be dried without structural change, as sections of vegetable cellular tissue, starch-granules, &e., it is far better to place them in some more highly refractive liquid than water, as oil of turpentine, or Canada-balsam ; the more nearly the refractive power of the organic body and of the “wena liquid agree, the more transparent does the object ecome, and the more difficult to be distinguished under the ordinary microscope, whilst it yields a so much more beautifully distinct image in the polarizing microscope. Very few struc- tures form an exception to this rule—such as the silicious cara- ace of the Diatomacee after the application of a red heat, which in fact strictly speaking cannot then be considered as organic bodies ; these are best examined in the dry state. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. Ceylon: an Account of the Island, Physical, Historical, and Topo- graphical; with Notices of its Natural History, Antiquities, and Productions. By Sir James Emerson Tennent, K.G., LL.D., &c. 2 vols. Longman & Co.. Tue natural history of the island of Ceylon is a subject so extensive and so important, whether regarded in a scientific or in a commercial point of view, that we must hail with pleasure every new contribution to our knowledge of its animal and vegetable productions ; while such is its mineral wealth and the importance of its gems, that we are no longer surprised at the early traditions of their splendour and pro- fusion having given rise to fabulous stories of their abundance and Bibliographical Notice, 451 value, Regarding the fauna of Ceylon, little has been published in any collective form, with the exception of a volume by Dr. Kelaart, entitled ‘Prodromus Faunze Zeilanice,’ several valuable papers by Mr. Edgar L. Layard, Mr. J. Nietner, and Dr. Kelaart in this Journal, and also some very imperfect lists appended to Pridham’s compiled account of the island. Knox, in the charming narra- tive of his captivity, published in the reign of Charles II., has devoted a chapter to the animals of Ceylon; and Dr. Davy has described the principal reptiles ; but, with these exceptions, the sub- ject is almost untouched in works relating to the colony. Yet a more than ordinary interest attaches to the inquiry, since Ceylon, instead of presenting, as is generally assumed, an identity between its fauna and that of Southern India, exhibits a remarkable diversity of type taken in connexion with the limited area over which they are distributed. The island, in fact, may be regarded as the centre of a geographical circle possessing within itself forms whose allied spe+ cies radiate far into the temperate regions of the north, as well as into Africa, Australia, and the isles of the Indian Archipelago. “In the chapters that I have devoted to its elucidation,” says Sir James, **T have endeavoured to interest others in the subject by describing my own impressions and observations with fidelity and with as much accuracy as may be expected from a person possessing, as I do, no greater knowledge of zoology and the other physical sciences than is ordinarily possessed by any educated gentleman. It.was my good fortune, however, in my journeys to have the companionship of friends familiar with many branches of natural science—the late Dr. Gardner, Mr. Edgar L. Layard (an accomplished zoologist), and others; and I was thus enabled to collect on the spot many interesting facts relative to the. structure and habits of the numerous tribes of animals. These, chastened by the corrections of my fellow-travellers, and established by the examination of collections made in the colony and by subsequent comparison with specimens contained in museums at home, I have ventured to submit as faithful outlines of the fauna of Ceylon.” Such is Sir James Tennent’s modest introduction to the work before us; and most efficiently and delightfully has he accomplished his task: careful research and profound scholarship give value to every page; and the accuracy of his descriptions is surpassed only by the elegance of his language and the felicity of his illustrations. We will, however, as we lightly skim through the book as far as it belongs to our own subject, briefly indicate the scenes which he describes. “Ceylon, from whatever direction it may be approached, unfolds a scene of loveliness and grandeur unsurpassed, if it be rivalled, by any land in the universe. The traveller from Bengal, leaving be- hind the melancholy delta of the Ganges and the torrid coast of Coromandel, or the adventurer from Europe, recently inured to the sands of Egypt and the scorched headlands of Arabia, is alike en- _ tranced by the vision of beauty which expands before him as the island rises from the sea,—its lofty mountains ony luxuriant 452 Bibliographical Notice. forests, and its shores, till they meet the ripple of the waves, briglit with the foliage of perpetual spring. The Brahmins designated it by the epithet of Lanka, ‘the resplendent,’ and in their dreamy rhapsodies extolled it as the region of mystery and sublimity; the Buddhist poets gracefully apostrophized it as ‘a pearl upon the brow of India;’ the Chinese knew it as the ‘island of jewels ;’ the Greeks as the ‘land of the hyacinth and ruby;’ the Maho- metans, in the intensity of their delight, assigned it to the exiled parents of mankind as a new Elysium, to console them for the loss of Paradise; and the early navigators of Europe, as they returned dazzled with its gems and laden with its costly spices, propagated the fable that far to seaward the very breeze that blew from it was redolent of perfume. In later and less imaginative times Ceylon has still maintained the renown of its attractions, and exhibits in all its varied charms ‘the highest conceivable development of Indian nature.’ ”” , The general features of the country are given with an accuracy the very truthfulness of which imparts beauty to the description, and makes us wish, ‘at least for once, in person to witness a scene so lovely, to have one glimpse of a region so paradisiacal. The climate of Ceylon, from its physical configuration and insular detachment, contrasts favourably with that of the great Indian pen- insula. Owing to the moderate dimensions of the island, the eleva- tion of its mountains, the very short space during which the sun is passing over it in his regression from or approach to the solstices, and its surrounding seas being nearly uniform in temperature, it is exempt from the extremes of heating and cooling to which the neigh- bouring continent of India is exposed. The range of the thermo- meter exhibits no violent changes, and never indicates a temperature insupportably high. The mean, on an annual average, scarcely ex- ceeds 80° at Colombo, though in exceptional years it has risen to 86°. The line is faint that divides the seasons. No period of the year is divested of its seed-time and harvest in some parts of the island ; and the ripe fruit hangs on the same branches that are garlanded with opening buds. Moreover, as every plant has its own period for the production of its flowers and fruit, each month is characterized by its own peculiar flora. April is by far the most oppressive portion of the year. A mirage fills the hollows with mimic water; the heat in close apartments be- comes extreme, and every living creature flies to the shade from the suffocating glare of mid-day. At the end of the month the mean temperature attains its greatest height, being about 88° in the day, and 10° lower at night. a May is signalized by the great event, the change of the monsoon, and all the grand pheenomena that accompany its approach. ‘Long before the wished-for period arrives, the verdure produced by the previous rains becomes almost obliterated by the burning droughts of March and April. The deciduous trees shed their foliage, the plants cease to put forth fresh leaves, and all vegetable life languishes under the unwholesome heat. The grass withers on Bibliographical Notice, 453 the baked and cloven earth, and red dust settles on the branches of the thirsty brushwood. ‘The insects, deprived of their accustomed food, disappear under ground or hide beneath the decaying bark ; the water-beetles bury themselves in the hardened mud of the pools ; and the Helices retire into the crevices of the stones or the hollows amongst the roots of the trees, closing the apertures of their shells with the hybernating epiphragm. Butterflies are no longer seen hovering over the flowers, the birds appear fewer and less joyous, and the wild animals and crocodiles, driven by the drought from their accustomed retreats, wander through the jungle, and even ven- ture to approach the village wells in search of water. Man equally languishes under the general exhaustion ; ordinary exertion becomes distasteful ; and the native Singhalese, although inured to the climate, move with lassitude and reluctance. “Meanwhile the air becomes loaded to saturation with aquecus vapour drawn up by the augmented force of evaporation acting vigorously over land and sea: the sky, instead of its brilliant blue, assumes the sullen tint of lead, and not a breath disturbs the motion- less rest of the clouds that hang on the lower range of hills. At length, generally about the middle of the month, but frequently earlier, the sultry suspense is broken by the wished-for change....... As the monsoon draws near, the days become more overcast and hot; banks of clouds rise over the ocean to the west ; and, in the peculiar twilight, the eye is attracted by the unusual whiteness of the sea-birds that sweep along the strand to seize tlie objects flung ashore by the rising surf. At last the sudden lightnings flash among the hills, and shoot through the clouds that overhang the sea—and, with a crash of thunder, the monsoon bursts over the thirsty land, not in showers or partial torrents, but in a wide deluge, that in the course of a few hours overtops the river banks and spreads in inundations over every level plain.” Snow is unknown in Ceylon; fail occasionally falls in the Kan- dyan hills; and in 1852 the hail which thus fell was of such size that half-a-dozen lumps would fill a tumbler. ‘‘ In shape they were oval and compressed, but the mass appeared to have formed a hexagonal pyramid, the base of which was two inches in diameter and about half an inch thick, gradually thinning towards the edge. They were tolerably solid internally, each containing about the size of a pea of clear ice in the centre, but the sides and angles were spongy and flocculent, as if the particles had been driven together by the force of the wind, and had coalesced at the instant of contact.” *« A curious pheenomenon, to which the name of ‘ anthelia’ has been given, is to be seen in singular beauty at early morning in Ceylon. When the light is intense, and the shadows proportionally dark— when the sun is near the horizon, and the shadow of a person walk- ing is thrown upon the dewy grass—each particle furnishes a double reflexion from its concave and convex surfaces, and to the spectator his own figure, but more particularly his head, appears surrounded by a halo as vivid as if radiated from diamonds.” Scoresby describes the occurrence of a similar pheenomenon in the arctic seas, 454, Bibliographical Notice. The variation of the tides is so slight that navigation is almost unaffected by it, the ordinary rise and fall being only 18 or 24 inches, with an increase of about a third at spring tides. On both sides of the island, during the south-west monsoon, a broad expanse of the sea assumes a red tinge “considerably brighter than brick-dust ;” and this is confined to a space so distinct, that a line seems to sepa- rate it from the green water which flows on either side. On obtain- ing a portion of the water so coloured, and examining it under the microscope, it proved to be filled with infusoria. Nearly four parts of the island are undulating plains, slightly diversified by offsets from the mountain-system which entirely covers the remaining fifth. Every district, from the depths of the valleys to the summits of the highest mountains, is clothed with perennial foliage ; and even the sand-drifts, to the ripple on the sea-line, are carpeted with verdure, and sheltered from the sunbeams by the cool ‘shadows of the palm-groves. “Although the luxuriant vegetation of Ceylon has at all times ‘been the theme of enthusiastic admiration, its flora does not probably exceed 3000 Pheenogamic plants. The littoral vegetation of the sea- border exhibits little variation from that common throughout the Eastern Archipelago; but it wants the Phenix paludosa, a dwarf date-palm which literally covers the islands of the Sunderbunds at the delta of the Ganges. Retiring from the strand, there are groups of Sonneratia, Avicennia, Heritiera, and Pandanus or Screw-pine. “A little further inland the sandy plains are covered with thorny jungle; and wherever man has encroached on the solitude, groves of cocoa-nut palms mark the vicinity of his habitations. Remote from the sea, the level country of the north has a flora almost identical with that of Coromandel; but the arid nature of the Ceylon soil, and its drier atmosphere, is attested by the greater proportion of Euphorbias and fleshy shrubs, as well as by the wiry and stunted nature of the trees, their smaller leaves, and thorny stems and branches. “Conspicuous amongst them are acacias of many kinds: Cassia fistula, the wood-apple (Feronia elephantum), and the mustard-tree of Scripture (Salvadora Persica), which extends from Ceylon to the ‘Holy Land. The margosa (Azadirachta Indica), the satin-wood, the Ceylon oak, and the tamarind and ebony, are exaniples of the larger trees ; and in the extreme south and west the Palmyra palm takes the place of the cocoa-nut, and not only lines the shore, but fills the landscape on every side with its shady and prolific groves. . Proceeding southward on the western coast, the acacias dis- appear, and the greater profusion of vegetation, the taller growth of the timber, and the darker tinge of the foliage, all attest the influ- ence of the increased moisture both from the rivers and the rains. The brilliant Izvoras, Erythrinas, Buteas, Jonesias, Hibiscus, and a variety of flowering shrubs of similar beauty, enliven the forests with their splendour ; and the seeds of the cinnamon, carried by the birds from the cultivated gardens near the coasts, have germinated in the sandy soil, and diversify the woods with the fresh verdure of its polished leaves and delicately tinted shoots. | Bibliographical Notice. 455 “‘Pepper-worts festoon the forest. Along with these the trunks of the larger trees are profusely covered with other delicate creepers, chiefly Convolvuli and Ipomeas ; and the pitcher-plant (Nepenthes distillatoria) lures the passer-by to halt and conjecture the probable uses of the curious mechanisia by means of which it distils a quantity of limpid fluid into the vegetable vases at the extremity of its leaves. The Orchidez suspend their pendulous flowers from the angles of branches; whilst the bare roots and the lower part of the stem are occasionally covered with fungi of the most gaudy colours, bright red, yellow, and purple. “Of the east side of the island the botany has never yet been examined by any scientific resident ; but the productions of the hill country have been largely explored, and present features altogether distinct from those of the plains. For the first two or three thou- sand feet the dissimilarity is less perceptible to an unscientific eye ; but as we descend, the difference becomes apparent, in the larger size of the leaves, and the nearly uniform colour of the foliage, ex- cept where the scarlet shoots of the iron-wood tree (Mesua ferrea) Seem like flowers in their blood-red hue. Here the broad leaves of the wild plantains (Musa teztilis) penetrate the soil among the broken rocks; and in moist spots the graceful bamboo flourishes in groups, whose feathery foliage waves like the plumes of the ostrich. “Here peaches, cherries, and other European fruit trees, grow freely ; but as they become evergreens in this summer climate; as if exhausted by perennial excitement, and deprived of their winter repose, they refuse to ripen their fruit. ‘The tea-plant has been raised with entire success in the hills on the estate of the Messrs. Worms, at Rothschild, in Pusilawa; but the want of any skilful manipulators to collect and prepare the leaves renders it hopeless to attempt any experiment on a large scale, until assistance can be secured from China to conduct the preparation. ** Still ascending, at an elevation of 6500 feet, as we approach the mountain plateau of Neura-ellia, the dimensions of the trees again diminish; the stems and branches are covered with Orchidese and mosses, and around them spring up herbaceous plants and balsams, with here and there broad expanses covered with Acanthacee, whose seeds are the favourite food of the jungle-fowl, which are always in -perfection during the ripening of the Nilloo. It is in these regions that the tree-ferns (Alsophila gigantea) rise from the damp hollows and carry their gracefully plumed heads sometimes to the height of 20 feet. At length in the loftiest range of the hills the Rhododendrons ‘are discovered—no longer delicate bushes as in Europe, but timber- trees 50 to 70 feet in height, and of corresponding dimensions,— every branch covered with a blaze of crimson flowers. In these forests are also to be met with some species of Michelia, the Indian representatives of the Magnolias of South America, several arboreous Myrtacee and Ternstreemiacee, the most common of which is the camelia-like Gordonia Ceylonica. These and Vaccinia Gaultheria, Goughia, and Gomphandra establish the affinity between the vegeta- tion of this region and that of the Malabar ranges, the Khasia and Lower Himalaya.” a a, ; ’ 456 Bibliographical Notice, The list of Mammalia belonging to the Singhalese fauna is by no means numerous. Troops of monkeys inhabit the forests, career- ing in ceaseless chase through the loftiest trees; but these are all ranged under five species, four of which belong to one group, the Wanderoos ; the other is the little, graceful, grimacing Rilawa (Ma- cacus pileatus), the universal pet and favourite of both natives and Europeans. The only other quadrumanous animal is the little Loris, which, from its sluggish habits, has acquired the name of the ‘‘ Ceylon Sloth.” The multitude of dats is one of the features of the evening landscape: they abound in every cave and subterranean passage, in the tunnels on the highways, in the galleries of the fortifications, in the roofs of the bungalows, and the ruins of every temple and build- ing. At sunset they issue from their diurnal retreats, and roam through the twilight in search of crepuscular insects; and as night approaches, and the lights in the room attract the night-flying Lepidoptera, the bats sweep round the dinner-table and carry off their tiny prey within the glitter of the lamps. The colours of some are brilliant as the plumage of a bird. Of the Carnivora the one most dreaded by the natives is the dear, which makes the depths of the forests its habitual retreat. Leopards, or rather panthers (Felix pardus), are the only formidable members of the tiger race in Ceylon, but they are neither very numerous nor very dangerous, as they seldom attack man. The jackals (Canis aureus) in the low countries hunt in packs; and the small number of hares in the districts they infest is ascribed to their depredations. They are occasionally subject to hydrophobia; and instances are frequent of cattle being bitten by them, and dying in consequence. Of the Mungoos or Ichneumons five species have been described, some of which feed upon the most poisonous serpents. Numbers of smaller quadrupeds enliven the forests and lowland plains with their graceful movements. Squirrels are in great variety ; and of the *< flying squirrel’’ (Sctwropterus) there are two species, of which one (S. Layardii) is peculiar to the island. Rats are abundant, and of several kinds, among which the tree-rat and the coffee-rat may be noticed ; these latter inhabit the forests, and, like the Lemmings of Norway and Lapland, migrate in vast numbers. The Malabar coolies are so fond of their flesh that they evince a preference for those districts in which the coffee plantations are subject to these incur- sions. They fry the rats in oil, or convert them into curry. The ** pig-rat,”’ or Bandicoot (Mus bandicota), likewise furnishes a dish relished by the planters. Of the Hdentata the only example in Ceylon is the scaly ant-eater (Manis pentadactyla), usually known by its Malay name of Pengolin, a word indicative of its faculty of rolling itself up into a compact ball ; these live principally upon the termite ants. When at liberty, they burrow in the ground to a depth of seven or eight feet, where they reside i pairs. Four species of deer, some varieties of the humped ox which have been introduced from the opposite continent of India, and the buf- falo, represent the Ruminantia. The elephant and the wild boar are the only Pachyderms in the island. Among the rarer mammals Bibliographical Notice. 457 the Dugong (Halicore Dugong, F. Cuv.) may be. enumerated as occurring on various points of the coast. Of the Birds of the island upwards of three hundred and twenty species have been indicated by the persevering labours of Dr. Tem- pleton, Dr. Kelaart, and Mr. Layard; but many yet remain to be identified. In fact, to the eye of a stranger their prodigious numbers, and especially the myriads of water-fowl, which, notwithstanding the presence of the crocodiles, people the lakes and marshes in the eastern provinces, form one of the marvels of Ceylon. Among the Reptiles, one of the earliest, if not the first remarkable animal to startle a.stranger, is the Iguana, a huge lizard of from four to five feet in length, which may be seen at noon-day searching for ants and insects in the middle of the highway and along the fences, This, however, is but the stranger’s introduction to innumerable varieties of lizards, all most attractive in their sudden movements, and some unsurpassed in the brilliancy of their colouring, which bask on banks, dart over rocks, and peer curiously out from the chinks of every ruined wall. The true Chameleon is found, but not _in great numbers. The Ceratophora are likewise remarkable ; but the most familiar and attractive of the class are the Geckoes, which frequent the sitting-rooms, and, being furnished with pads to each toe, are enabled to ascend perpendicular walls and adhere to glass and ceilings. Crocodiles are abundant, and afford a fertile theme, as do tortoises and turtles. Of Snakes the Singhalese profess to distinguish a great many kinds; but so cautiously do serpents make their ap- pearance that the surprise of long residents is invariably expressed at the rarity with which they are to be seen. Davy, whose attention was carefully directed to the poisonous serpents of Ceylon, came to the conclusion that but four out of twenty species examined by him were venomous, and of these only two, the 7%c-polonga (Dabota ele- gans) and the Cobra de Capello (Naja tripudians), were capable of inflicting a wound likely to be fatal to man. The third is the Cara- willa (Trigonocephalus hypnale), a brown snake of about twelve inches in length; and for the fourth the Singhalese have no name in their language,—a proof that it is neither deadly nor abundant. In the numerous marshes there are many varieties of Frogs, which, both by their colours and extraordinary size, are calculated to excite the surprise of strangers ; the graceful Tree-frogs (Hy/a) may likewise be found in great numbers crouching under broad leaves to protect them from the sun. They possess in a high degree the power of changing their colour; and one which had seated itself on the gilt pillar of a dinner-lamp was scarcely to be distinguished from the or molu to which it clung. An interesting chapter is devoted to the fishes of Ceylon, number- ing upwards of six hundred species and varieties. The notices con- cerning the Mollusca, Insecta, Crustacea, Arachnida, Myriapoda, and Radiata are likewise important and copious. Lists are given, which want of space precludes the possibility of more than adverting to. We trust, however, that we have said enough to indicate, at least, the copious stores of information contained in this really 458 Zooloyical Society :-— valuable addition to our literature: We have of course confined our remarks to that department of the work which is more imme- diately devoted to the natural history of the country ; and yet this is by no means the scope of the book before us. ‘The Singhalese chronicles have been ransacked, Buddhism and Buddhist monuments explored with careful minuteness, population and caste, sciences and the social arts, agriculture and commerce, manufactures and litera- ture, are in turn treated of, and the medieval history of Ceylon traced with the hand of a master and an erudition rarely brought to bear upon such a subject. The second voluine is devoted to the modern history and resources of the country, including a chapter upon Elephants, replete with anecdote, and illustrated, as indeed is the rest of the work, with woodcuts of no ordinary excellence. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES, ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Jan. 25, 1859.—E, W. H. Holdsworth, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair. Notes oN THE Hapsirs or THE MyYcTERIA AUSTRALIS OR New Houvann Jasiru (Gigantic Crane oF THE CoLo- nists). By Greorcre Bennett. i A short time since, I purchased this rare bird, which was brought alive to Sydney from Port Macquarie, and so little being known respecting its habits, I considered the following notes might be in- teresting to the Society. It appears to be a young male, and walks about the yard of the house quite domesticated, making no attempt to fly, nor showing any inclination to leave its domicile. These birds have a wide range over the colony, more particularly about the northern coasts of Australia, and are seen occasionally within — the heads and about the sand-banks of the Clarence and Macleay ‘Rivers ; they are very difficult of approach, and consequently but few have been obtained, this being the first specimen ever brought alive to Sydney. Among the principal residents in the interior, some inform me that they have only seen four, others only one, during a residence of from twenty-five to thirty years in different parts of the colony. In Leichhardt’s Expedition (according to the account of Mr. Murphy, now residing in Sydney) only two were seen ; and these could not be approached sufficiently near to be shot. In 1839 a specimen was shot on Hunter’s River, and another on the north ‘shore near Sydney about three years since, both of which were pre- sented to the Australian Museum. The person who shot the last bird had the eee difficulty in procuring it, from its being so very shy and watchful: he was obliged to follow it for several days in its haunts about the salt-water creeks, until he could get sufficiently near to shoot it, which, being a good marksman, he achieved as soon as he could approach within range. Both these specimens were full- Mr. G. Bennett on the Mycteria australis. 459 grown males, and in fine and brilliant adult plumage. These birds being so rarely seen, and difficult to procure when seen, are valuable as specimens when dead, and much more so when alive. Many of the residents of the northern districts had seen the bird, but rarely, and at a distance, and were aware how difficult it was to procure it ; but none had ever seen it in captivity before, and it was therefore regarded with great interest. ‘The number of skins of this bird I have seen during my residence of twenty-two years in the colony only amounts to four. The bird is very graceful: its attitudes, and bearing, whether in a state of repose, stalking rapidly, or walking gently over a lawn or yard with its measured, noiseless steps, have a combination of grace and elegance, and it displays an independence of manner that might be expected in a bird so wild and roaming in its habits. It is gentle and good-tempered, soon gets reconciled to captivity, and seems to take pleasure in being noticed and admired, remaining very quiet to be looked at—keeping a bright eye upon the spectator, however, during the time. Although, when first seen, it has an uncouth appearance, from the large size of the mandibles in proportion to the body, yet on a closer acquaintance its manner wins upon you, anda feeling of attachment arises towards it from its placid, tame, domesticated manner, elegance of form, graceful carriage, and beautiful metallic brilliancy of plumage, more espe- cially over the head and neck. This bird had been in captivity four months previous to its arrival in Sydney, having been captured by the blacks. It permits any one to approach it, only timidly moving away when an attempt is made to touch it. It sometimes stands quite erect, or on one leg, with the other thrown out ; or rests upon the tarsi, like the Emeu and Mooruk, and again upon one leg, with the bill inclined upon the breast. It was very hungry on its arrival at my house, and with the greatest facility devoured 15 lb. of beef cut into small pieces, placed in a tub of water, or caught the meat in the mandibles when thrown to it. It also feeds on fish and reptiles. When the food is hard or gristly, it is reyeeted from the mandibles after trying to masticate it, and bruised with the point of the beak until it becomes sufficiently soft to be swallowed. It feeds generally in the mornings and even- ings ; and although the mandibles look so large, it picks up the smallest object with great readiness, and clatters the mandibles with a loud noise when catching flies. It preens its feathers, and removes any dirt or insects from them very neatly with the bill, accompanying the action with a degree of ease and grace pleasing to observe. When a tub of water was placed near it, it placed one leg in it; and after drinking, filled its bill with water and threw it out again, as if washing out the mandibles. The eye is very large and remarkably brilliant, and yet imparts to the bird a great docility of expression, making it appear—what it is—an amiable bird, familiar with all around it, liking to court admiration, yet on the watch for any act of aggres- sion. It appears pleased to see any stranger, and evinces but little fear. The horses coming into the yard even close to it, or any noise, do not seem to annoy it; it only moves gently out of the way. 460 Zoological Society :— When suddenly startled, it will flap its long and powerful wings as if preparing for flight; and it may be regarded as a bird of flight, the whole bulk of the body being so light in comparison with its powerful organs of flight. This bird is partial to salt-water creeks and lagoons. It is usually seen in such localities on the Hunter, Mac- leay, and Clarence Rivers, which consist, near the entrance and for some miles distant, of salt water with numerous sand-banks, where these birds may be occasionally observed busily engaged in fishing. The beak of this bird is large, broad, conical, and pointed ; the lower mandible is slightly curved upwards ; the colour is black. The head is large, and neck thick; both the head and neck are of a rich deep glossy green, changing when it reaches the occiput into beau- tiful iridescent colours of violet and purple, which, when viewed under a brilliant sunshine or in a changing light, display the irides- cent tints in a most brilliant manner, shining with a metallic efful- gence equal to that seen in the Peacock. The greater wing-coverts, scapularies, lower part of the back and tail, dark brown mixed with rich bluish green, which changes in the adult to a rich glossy green tinged with a golden lustre. The smaller wing-coverts, lower part of the neck and back, and upper part of the breast white speckled with ashy brown, which becomes white in the adult; lower part of the breast, thighs, and inner part of the wings white. Eyes brilliant, and dark hazel in colour. ‘The legs are blackish with a dark tinge of red, becoming in the adult of a bright red colour, which, as I have been informed, when the bird flies with the legs stretched out, looks like a long red tail. The legs are usually dirty with excremental matter, imparting to them a white appearance, so that the natural colour is seldom seen, except when they just emerge from the water. It is a large feeder, and these birds must consume, in their native haunts, a great quantity of fishes and reptiles. It measures 3 feet 10 inches to the top of the head, and is not yet full-grown ; they are said to attain 4 to 5 feet in height. It is shy in disposition and diffi- cult of approach in its wild state ; this can readily be supposed when it is observed in captivity ; for although very docile and readily tamed, still the keen, watchful eye appears always upon you, with a brilliant and piercing look, which causes a feeling of the impossibility of escaping its penetrating glance. Its feeding-grounds and places of rest being about sand-pits, sand-banks, and exposed morasses near the sea-coasts, it is impossible to approach this wary bird without being seen. The first evening it was at my house, seeking for a roosting place, it walked into the hall, gazed at the gas-lamp which had just been lighted, and then proceeded to walk up-stairs, but not liking the ascent, quietly walked down again and returned into the yard, and afterwards went to roost in the coach-house between the carriages, to which place it now retires regularly every evening soon after dark. It is always observed to face the sun, and moves about the yard, following the course of that luminary ; it may always be found in that part of the yard where the sun is shining, and with the face invariably towards it. When hungry, it follows the cook about .(who usually feeds it); and if she has neglected its food, looks into Miscellaneous. 461 the kitchen as if to remind her of the neglect, and waits quietly, but with a searching eye, during the time the meat is cutting up, until it is fed. It is amusing to observe this bird catch flies: he remains very quiet, as if asleep, and on a fly passing him, it is snapped up in his beak in an instant. The only time I observed any manifestation of anger in him was when the “ Mooruks” were introduced into the yard where he was parading about: these rapid, fussy, noisy birds running about his range excited his indignation ; for on their coming near him, he slightly elevated the brilliant feathers of the head, the eyes became very brilliant, he ruffled his feathers, and clattered his mandibles as if about to try their sword-like edge upon the intruding ** Mooruks ;” buthis anger subsided with these demonstrations, except an occasional flapping of his powerful wings. One day, however, on one of the ** Mooruks” approaching too near him, he seized it with his mandibles by the neck, on which the ‘‘ Mooruk” ran away and did not appear in any way injured. MISCELLANEOUS. On the Electrical Organs of Fishes. By M. Scuuurze. Tue remarkable researches of M. Bilharz upon the Malapterurus commenced a new era in the history of the electrical fishes, by the discovery of the so-called electrical nervous plates. The subsequent works of MM. Kolliker, Ecker, Kupffer, and Keferstein tend to show that these plates exist in all the electrical fishes. M. Schultze now furnishes us with more exact details upon these interesting organs in the Torpedo. In their microscopic appearance, the prisms of the Torpedo exactly resemble those of the Gymnotus; nevertheless the employment of the microscope soon shows some remarkable differences of structure in them. ‘The transverse partitions, which in the Gymnoti are formed by fibrous conjunctive tissue, present a far more delicate tex- ture in the Torpedos, being composed of gelatinous conjunctive tissue or mucous tissue (Schleimgewebe). This difference, however, is in relation to the great development which the gelatinous conjunctive tissue in general acquires in the organs of the Plagiostomi. These partitions are traversed by vessels and nerves, like the more resistant and fibrous walls of the prisms. In the spaces enclosed between the gelatinous transverse septa, other transverse partitions, of far greater solidity, are arranged ; these are, properly speaking, the transverse septa hitherto indicated by different authors. A gelatinous partition therefore alternates regularly with a more solid one; and in this latter M. Schultze recognizes an electrical plate. Hitherto the gelatinous partitions (the true septa, according to M. Schultze) were regarded as spaces filled with a liquid, in which the nerves and vessels were freely suspended. Pacini, and after him’ Remak and Kolliker, perceived that in each of these supposed spaces the nerves form a delicate network applied against the Jower surface of each of the solid partitions (electrical plates of Schultze). This arrangement is confirmed by Schultze, who says that the nerves 462 Miscellaneous. always adhere to the ventral surface of the electrical plate, whilst the dorsal surface is completely free. The nervous network of the infe- rior surface forms a very elegant system of regular meshes, which . © agrees perfectly with the figure given of it by M. Kolliker, and which appears to be intimately united with the substance of the electrical plate. These meshes are of extreme fineness, and can only be distin- guished by means of a high magnifying power. The electrical plate itself (septum of authors) is a perfectly transparent homogeneous plate ; its thickness is only 0°001 to 0°002 line, and it presents here and there a few scattered nuclei, It is hardly possible to give a po- sitive proof of the continuity of tissue which M. Schultze assumes to exist between this plate and the minute ramifications of the nervous network, for the latter is of extreme tenuity. However, it is impos- sible to separate the nervous network as a continuous layer from the plate. The author depends principally upon chemical considerations in claiming for these plates the part of electrical plates. In fact, they are not formed of conjunctive tissue, but are of an albuminous nature. Under the action of a solution of sugar and sulphuric acid, they acquire a rose-colour, like the electrical plates of other electrical fishes. Ebullition in water, which dissolves the conjunctive tissue of the longitudinal walls of the prisms and the transverse gelatinous septa, separates the plates from each other. These facts are suffi- cient to show that Kolhiker was wrong in considering these plates as of the nature of conjunctive tissue. _ Relying on the preceding investigations of R. Wagner and Pacini, without having examined the Torpedo for himself, Bilharz thought that the homogeneous membranes with scattered nuclei, of these fishes, might be compared with the electrical plates of Malapterurus. This assimilation now appears to be well founded. Schultze, like Leydig, certainly shows that not only nuclei but also true cells with a very transparent membrane are found here and there in the homo- geneous plates of the.Torpedos, while nuclei alone are met with in the electrical plates of Gymnotus and Malapterurus. But this dif- ference is evidently of no importance. The author thinks, moreover, that these nuclei and cells are of purely embryonal signification, in- asmuch as these elements would be destined to secrete the funda- mental or essential substance of the plate in which the nervous fibrillee terminate. In this point of view, the electrical plate would only be a kind of tabular development of the axial cylinder, The investigations of M. Schultze furnish a new confirmation of the remarkable result previously enunciated by Kupffer and Kefer- stein, that, in all electrical fishes, that face of the electrical plate to which the nerves adhere is turned to the negative, and the free face to the positive side of the fish. M. Schultze terminates his memoir with some profound chemical investigations upon the electrical organ of the Torpedos and the pseudo-electric organ of the Rays, Amongst the substances detected we shall indicate, especially, urea in very large quantities, syntonine, and a peculiar albuminous body.— Re ECHL tee ae I Tees a ne SE : bac hart The Oy Ric pets ys PEN Pape te Ds Ae a wep Pit rsa od bree ie te aru tere ; aie yhtrtsta et " Fy a . 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