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"PETE: AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIST Issued by The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Vol. 7.— 1931-3 aa aviary ul cS Co SEP 29 1939 ty » o Sim Z WITH TWENTY-THREE PLATES, x SS. ona Nendo 2 po And Numerous Text-figures. Sel Sydney: Printed and Published for the Society by The Sydney and Melbourne Publishing Co., Ltd., Sydney. London: Wheldon & Wesley, Ltd., 2, 3, and 4 Arthur Street, New Oxford Street, W.C.2. Registered at the G.P.O., Sydney, for transmission by post as a periodical. SOLD BY THE SOCIETY. a Wha eel ve. © , ’ a hice Wie ' ‘ aw BS Issued by the Ree Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Eaited by RP be Be (A. P. BASSET HULL, O.F.A.0.U., F.B.Z.8. Vol. 7—Part 1 Sydney, August 24, 1931. sts Se me at (Price, 5/-.). Re Al communications to be addiented to the Hon, Secretary, Wes y Box aoe General Baas Office. Sydney. ieacees ’ Publishing Co., Ltd., 29 Alberta St. Y, for transmission by post as a periodical. Ellis Neville W. Cayley, Professor E. J. Bryce, F.R.GS. A. H. Chisholm, C.F.A.0.U. W. W. Froggatt, F.R.Z.S. Aubrey Halloran, B.A., LL.B. K. A. Hindwood. Hon. Auditor: R. J. Stiffe, A.C.A. (Aust.) Avicultural Section. Chairman: Frank Buckle. Hon. Secretary: E. W. Jones. Committee: Clifford Coles, C.M.Z.S., H. E. Peir and W. Turner. Marine Zoological Section. . Chairman: Tom Iredale, FR.ZS. Vice-Chairman: G. P. Whitley. Hon. Secretary: W. Boardman. OFFICERS OF SECTIONS: COUNCIL, 1931-1932. a President: Le Geyt Troughton. | Vice-Presidents: W. J. Dakin, D.Sc., JR Members: : pa te Tom “Iredale, FR. 28. s T.C. eongtiiey 3 G. A. Wateneites: thes ah C.M.Z8. Committee: - “wood. “or Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales THE ANNUAL MEETING, 1930-31. The fifty-second annual meeting of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales was held at Science House, Sydney, on Thursday, 30th July, 1931, at 8pm. His Excellency the Governor (Sir Philip Game) Patron of the Society, and 95 members and visitors were present. The honorary secretary (Mr. Basset Hull) read the FIrTy-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT. Members. On 30th June, 1931, there were 507 members on the register, divided into the various categories, as follows:—Associate benefactors, 4; life members, 26; ordinary members, 286; honorary members, 6; honorary associate members, 5; life associate members, 20; associate members, 160. Four members died during the year, twenty-three resigned, and the names of 28 were removed from the register under Article 9. Forty new members were elected, leaving a net reduction of fifteen, as compared with 1929-30. This result is only what might have been anticipated as a consequence of the general depression. Notwithstanding the practically nominal amount of the subscription (as compared with the benefits conferred on members) this class of expense is generally the first to fall under the guillotine of reduction. A further cause of the reduction in the number of members on the register has been the removal of many who have failed (in some cases for two years) to pay their subscriptions, or to take the trouble to send in their resignations. The Council. Dr. E. A. D’Ombrain resigned during the year, and Mr. Keith A. Hind- wood was elected to fill the vacancy. Twelve meetings of the Council were held during the year, at which the attendances were very satisfactory. Mr. Bryce was absent, travelling in Central and South America. Sections. Owing to the departure from Sydney of some of our most prominent entomologists, and the resulting small attendances at meetings, the Ento- mological Section has temporarily discontinued to function. The other three Sections—Avicultural, Marine Zoological, and Ornithological—have maintained a consistently high standard in attendance of members, and interest in the discussions and lecturettes which have been provided by the executive officers. A general meeting, open to all members and their friends was held at the Australian Museum, as an experiment, represen- tations having been made that such a meeting would be appreciated. The result, however, was not encouraging, few beyond the usual sectional en- thusiasts attending. Professor Dakin delivered an illustrated lecturette on “Plankton,” and exhibits were shown and described by Messrs. Roughley (Oysters), Musgrave (Trapdoor Spiders), and Boardman (Gordian Worms). SEP < 0 1931 2 ANNUAL MEETING. “The Australian Zoologist.” Parts 3 and 4, completing Volume 6, were issued during the year, the number of pages and plates constituting a record for any one year since the Society commenced publishing a journal, a period of seventeen years. Exchanges. The list of Societies and Institutions with which we exchange publita- tions is steadily increasing, the latest countries to be added being China, Czecho-Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, and Russia. Cordial appreciation of our journal is expressed by our new exchange correspondents. Finances. Despite the financial depression, the year’s operations have been most encouraging. For the first time our balance sheet includes the library and other assets, at a conservative valuation. The closing of the Government Savings Bank, and the consequent tying up of our current account com- pelled us to make arrangements with the Commonwealth Bank for tem- porary accommodation to meet current expenses. Hand Book Publication Fund. While this Fund is gradually increasing, it is still far from the re- quired amount of capital to ensure sufficient income to defray the cost of a handbook. A work on the marine zoology of Port Jackson and the neighbouring coast is in preparation for publication when funds admit. Fauna Protection. The recent removal of the protection from the Opossum was opposed by your Council, and it is sincerely to be regretted that the representations of this and other Societies and individuals were unsuccessful. While it was claimed that extreme care would be exercised in the issue of permits to kill Opossums, and strict rules as to the methods to be employed were promulgated, the resulting slaughter was carried out in the usual un- economic manner. Probably 50 per cent. of fhe skins taken represented females carrying young, which were uselessly destroyed. So long as our so-called protection laws are subject to suspension at a few days’ notice by a Minister acting under political pressure, so long will the continued existence of our native fauna be threatened. Apart from the humani- tarian aspect of the question, the succession of open and close seasons, and the absolutely unregulated killing of females, can only result in des- troying a market for furs, which requires continuous supply and high average quality. To shut down the industry for several years, and then rush on to the market a quantity of hastily prepared skins for a few weeks or months is calculated to seriously affect the demand, and consequently the price of skins. : Other Activities. At the request of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Hawaii, the Society arranged for a series of shipments of oyster spat for experi- ments in cultivation. By latest advices these shipments were most suc- cessful, very few of the young oysters dying on the voyage. After nearly two years of growth in prepared beds, young oysters, identified as the spat of our exported species, were found in encouraging quantities. As there are no indigenous oysters in the Hawaiian Islands, and experimental cultivation of Virginian oysters had proved a failure, the success resulting from the Sydney shipments is very gratifying. ANNUAL MEETING. 3 Numerous communications are received from persons keeping animals or birds in captivity, seeking information on various points, most of which has been available on reference to one or other of our specialists. The keeping of fish alive for marketing has also been the subject of inquiry, and dealt with by members of the Aquarium Society, which meets in our rooms. The honorary treasurer (Mr. Phillip Shipway) then presented the balance sheet for the year ended 30th June, 1931. Governor Moves Adoption of Report. His Excellency the Governor moved the adoption of the annual report and balance sheet. After congratulating the Society upon making its ex- penditure keep within its income; he proceeded: “It is not alone in this respect, but it is certainly in the minority! The enormous depredations on the fauna and flora of Australia are to be deeply regretted. This appears to be largely owing to the lack of interest on the part of the general public, a remarkable and disappointing feature, considering that the fauna is perhaps the most interesting in the world. Anyone who has discovered, as I have, the immense trouble that the Lyre Bird takes to build its nest, and knows that it can have only one chance of hatching its egg in a season, will be very chary of interfering with its nest. I am not seriously finding fault with the public whose lack of interest appears largely due to ignorance. The interest can be aroused, for example, the number of people who go to see the Native Bears at Koala Park may be cited. Every natural child is fond of animals and wants to know all about them. I have three of my own, and know of their love for Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’ and other nature stories. It seems to me that the lack of interest is among the ‘grown-ups. The Boy Scouts and Girl Guides offer a big field for cultivating interest in our native fauna. A few weeks ago I was camping in National Park with some Commissioners and Scout masters. On our rambles we were accompanied by an anthropologist, a botanist, and a geologist, but we missed big opportunities by not having a zoologist. So far as I can see modern science is going to result in shorter hours of work all round. A big problem will be what we are going to do with our leisure. Surely the study of the fauna and flora of one’s native land is one of the best ways of employing such leisure. Let us therefore begin with the children, before they get too old.” Colonel Alfred Spain, chairman of Taronga Park Trust, seconded the motion, and referred to his long association with the Society, as a life member and past president. The report and balance sheet were adopted. Election of Council. The six members of Council who retired under Article 23, viz.: Messrs. Clifford Coles, K. A. Hindwood, J. R. Kinghorn, T. C. Roughley, Phillip Ship- way, and Dr. G. A. Waterhouse were re-elected. The president (Professor W. J. Dakin) then delivered his presidential address (vide p. 15). Sir Edgeworth David, K.B.E., in moving a vote of thanks to the presi- dent for his address, referred to the valuable research work in marine biology now being carried on by Professor Dakin and his colleagues. ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30th JUNE, 1931. LIABILITIES. ASSETS. Pa sk. Ch £2 Sande =) s.) a: £° So0Ge General Account— General Capital Account— Capital eyyit Gy) C’wealth Stock in CONTE sae ee 12778. 10 (i.v2) £650) G41, 15) 70 1,403 13 10 N.S.W. Govt. De- Hand Book Fund Account— bentures .. .. 100 0 0O Capital 799 7 6 N.S.W. Govt. Income... .. .. 61 8 9 Funded Stock 50 0 0 860 16 3 Office Furniture and Equipment 100 0 0 Library se ec Ga 0 1,391 5 O General Income Account— Govt. Savings Bank of N.S.W. 43 8 11 Less Overdraft— C’wealth Bank, Balance per Pass Book, PALO / 10ers Add Outstanding Cheque £9/9/3 31 0 1 ——_—__——_ 12 8 10 Hand Book Fund Capital Account— C’th Treasury Bonds (f.v. £800) 199 WG Including :— Albert Littlejohn Endowment 100 0 0 Hume - Barbour Endowment . 106 0 0 Walter & E. Hall Endowment 160 0 0 Hand Book Fund Income Account— Govt. Savings Bank of NS.W. 47 9 5 Cash on Hand .. 1319 4 a 61 8 9 £2,264 10 1 £2,264 10 1 HAND BOOK FUND INCOME ACCOUNT. Twelve Months ended 30th June, 1931. RECEIPTS. DISBURSEMENTS. ot etibe exay RE To Balance at 30th June, 1930— ,, Govt. Savings Bank OF NISIWiitce <3 ,» Cash on Hand 70 4 2 9 311 ,» Hand Book Sales— Thon CAGES same eere 1 “Fishes of N.S.W.” 7 1 , Proceeds Annual Ball 2.0 2 27 8 ,» Interest on In- vestments .. .. 41 18 £157 13 d. to £ 1s: da) £.53sanee By Investment— ,», Commonwealth Treasury Bond . 96 5 0 , Balance at 30th June, 1931.— , Government Sav- ings Bank of NASW. Be aie 1S , Cash on Hand .. 1319 4 Sloe £157 13 9 GENERAL INCOME ACCOUNT. Twelve Months ended 30th June, 1931. RECEIPTS. Sa ee a Sk Os To Balance at 30th June, 1930.— , Government Sav- ings Bank of NGAWAces, «~. GL 13 3 » Less Overdraft Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney, Ltd... Cee Olea —— 59 610 ; subscriptions — Annual .. . 344 8 9 , “Australian Zoolo- gist”’—Sales .. 1114 9 » Rent of Office 38 15 6 , Interest on In- vestments LV ak ee ,» Bank Exchange and Postage .. ie oes », Sales Taronga Park Guide Books 130 , Contribution—Avi- cultural Section Meeting .. . na , Contribution Office Signwriting .. by (0) £509 11 1 ” ” DISBURSEMENTS. _ 22 UC (Vol. 6, Parts 3 and 4)— Printing .. PAIS} aki 9 al Blocks . avs inf ale 96) 3 Postage & Delivery 12 19 6 Office Rent .. - Office Printing and ‘Station- ery .. Exchange. and ‘Bank ‘Fees ie , Life Members’ Badges .. Repairs to Epidiascope .. . Stand for Epidiascope .. Expenses Meetings, Annual, @bC), os sic sane everere Gas and Electricity 6 Library Books .. .. Taronga Park Guide ’ Books Istoyo):.. 1.260 is Potassium sulphate .. .. .. 0.863 - Calcium carbonate ........ 0.123 Pp Magnesium bromide .. .. .. 0.076 ~ 35.000 The term salinity as applied to the sea means the total weight of solid matter in grammes present in 1,000 grammes of sea water when (a) the bromine and iodine are regarded as replaced by chlorine, and (2) the carbonates are reduced to oxides and the organic matter ignited. The average salinity of the sea may be taken as 35 per mille. The ocean water is remarkably uniform in composition in the different regions, varying from say 37.5 per mille to 34 per mille, but coastal waters are sub- ject to greater fluctuations and so are polar seas. The greatest variations are found at the entrances to rivers and the brackish water species of our estuaries, the creatures of the mangrove swamps in the Hawkesbury and Port Hacking inlets, for example, must be capable of living in sea water that varies considerably in salt content. a i SUNLIGHT OXYGEN ae i SEAWATER STARCH HO PROTEIN PUTREFACTION OF DEAD RESPIRATION 4 2 FLLULOSE {| Fate : et Baars UREA A URICAciD nat Wy NITRITES NITRATES PHOSPHATES SULPHATES Fig. 2. 22 ‘MIGRATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SEA. : This saline fluid which is a vast nutrient medium for living creatures supports members of more different zoological groups than any other en- vironment. The bulk of the salts are not necessarily food substances, and, though they enter into the composition of the tissues, they are far in ex- cess of the amounts required. They not only exert a direct influence upon the aquatic life, but they influence to a certain extent the amount of oxygen and other gases present, for salt water has not the same dissolving powers as fresh water. It is the direct influence which I intend to discuss here. The creatures of the sea are living in a salt solution of considerable concentration, and their protoplasm is separated from this salt fluid by delicate membranes of diverse constitution. In the case of the single celled animals and plants the thin cell wall is the only partition. In the higher animals the cells of the body are bathed by an internal solution— the blood or the coelomic fluid—which is itself separated from the sea water outside by some sort of bounding membrane composed of cells. External to this there may be relatively impervious layers of skeletogenous tissue—like the exoskeleton of the crustacea, or the scales of the fishes. The skin of most aquatic vertebrates (with the exception of the amphibia which are not marine and are highly susceptible to salt water) is prac-: tically impermeable. The chemical composition of the internal media—the blood for ex- ample—of the different marine animal types is characteristically diverse. In general, it may be said that as one approaches the higher groups there is a tendency for the development of constancy in the salinity of the blood, notwithstanding the presence of conditions which defy this. Thus, to take man as an example of the mammalia, the salinity of the blood (which is approximately equivalent to a sodium chloride solution of 0.9 per cent.) is practically undisturbed by copious water drinking. The cells of the human body require a constant environment, and this is provided by the blood, which is regulated in an amazing manner in both tempera- ture and chemical composition. It will be noticed, however, that the blood serum is a saline fluid. Now the remarkable thing is that the blood salts present a curious similarity in their relative amounts to the composition of ocean water. It is shown in the following table:— Table showing relative amounts of principle ions in blood of various animal species and in sea water. Sodium. Potassium. Calcium. Magnesium. Chlorine. Sea Water .. .. 100 3.613 3.911 12.106 180.9 Mammals (average) .. .. 100 6.6 2.58 0.8 118.3 Code he eet 1c 100 9.5 3.93 1.41 149.7 INTs AS tees 100 9.2 3.37 1.76 101.4 ODSter® a sacs 100 Shel 4.85 3} 171.2 The similarity was first recognised by Bunge in 1889, and so far back as 1896-97, Quinton, a French physiologist, wrote several papers on the use of diluted sea water for injection into the blood vessels when serious loss of blood had occurred through wounds. The importance of the salinity is demonstrated in physiological laboratories every day, and if a student wishes to keep frog’s muscle or nerve alive whilst he experiments with it, he keeps it moistened with a saline solution. Distilled water or fresh DAKIN. 23 water would be as deadly as fresh water is to a marine fish of an octopus. Thus the tissues of a frog living in fresh water, a reptile far from water, a bird no matter where, and a mammal, whether a whale or a man, re- quire round them a salt solution (the blood), in which certain salts are present in very definite relations. It is no use replacing the solution by one of the same concentration, but of sodium chloride alone. It is little wonder that Quinton (1), Bunge (2) and above all Macallum (3), regarded the salts of the human blood as a relic of the marine exist- ence of some remote ancestor amongst the fishes. In fact, he considered that the saline composition of the blood of the higher vertebrates actually represented the salinity of the ocean at the time when their aquatic ancestor freed itself from the ocean’s influence. In another place (4) I have set forth my objections to this view. Here I want to stress the im- portance of this saline fluid for living cells. Now the blood of the higher vertebrates is not likely to be affected by immersion of the animal in sea water or fresh water because the skin and bounding membranes of the body are as impermeable as a diver’s costume. But it is quite another matter with aquatic animals like the amphibia, the fishes, and all the in- vertebrates. The fact that the oxygen for respiration is obtained from the water by these truly aquatic forms means that there is at least one mem- brane between the blood and the watery environment which is easily permeable by gases and is usually rather delicate. If, however, a per- meable membrane is placed separating two aqueous solutions of different salinity, certain peculiar consequences may follow due to osmotic pressure and to other physical forces. If a piece of parchment or bladder is used to separate a 4 per cent. solution of sugar from a 1 per cent. solution of copper sulphate, water will be found to pass from the weak solution through the membrane to the stronger—the salt, however, will not pass through. A considerable osmotic pressure may be exerted by this water passing through. The bounding membranes of aquatic animals partake of the nature of the membrane abovementioned—they are said to be semi- permeable—permeable to water, but not to salts, or only with some diffi- culty permeable to salts. If, for example, the marine slug, Onchidium, from the Hawkesbury mangrove swamps is placed in fresh water, or diluted sea water, it begins to swell up and increase in weight, owing to the passage inwards of water. If, on the contrary, a specimen is placed in more concentrated sea water, the size and weight both diminish. Obviously the blood must change in composition as a result of any alteration in the salinity of the external environment, and it becomes a question whether the living tissues of the animal can withstand such change (7). We have already seen that the cells of the higher animals demand a constancy in the salinity of the fluids bathing them. It thus becomes of interest to determine the effect of changes in the salinity of the watery environment of aquatic animals upon the internal fluids of the body. The analysis of the blood of the marine teleost fishes shows at once that in these vertebrates the salinity of the blood is very different from the con- centration of sea water. In fact, the saline composition of the blood of these fishes is not unlike that of the mammalia, and it is obvious that the bounding membranes are either impermeable or that some regulation of the salinity is taking place. It is difficult to conceive of the gill mem- branes being altogether impermeable to water, and we must face the fact that a constancy of blood salinity has been attained; that it is essential, and that for some reason.the optimum salinity which has been more or 24 MIGRATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SEA. less selected for these fish and all the higher animals is about one quarter that of ocean water. The next step is to determine whether this blood salinity is absolutely constant notwithstanding changes in the external medium. One way to do this is to put a marine fish in fresh water or diluted sea water and see what happens. Probably death will result, unless certain species which can withstand such a change are taken for the experiment. In order to obviate the abnormal experimental conditions the author made a voyage from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea and sufficiently far into the latter to reach water of salinity only half that of the ocean (5). The same species of fish were captured at numerous stations en route and the osmotic pressure and salinity of the blood carefully determined. It was discovered that the salinity of the blood was affected by changes in the salinity of the sea, but the regulation of the blood composition was such that an in- crease of 75 per cent. in the osmotic pressure of the sea water was only accompanied by a change of 12 per cent.* We may conclude that the blood of the teleost fishes is almost, but not quite, indépendent of the external medium; that this independence is due to some kind of regulation, and that these fishes are very sensitive to changes in the salinity of the external medium. The sensitivity is pro- bably centred at any of the delicate semi-permeable membranes, the gills, for example, where regulatory functions may be taking place. Such sensitivity is demonstrated, not only by the restriction of most fish to either salt or fresh water, but by the directive influences of slight changes in salinity, which are without doubt utilised by species which regularly migrate from the sea to brackish water and vice versa. In addition to the examples previously mentioned, reference should certainly be made to the herring fisheries of the Baltic, which fluctuate considerably because certain races of herring refuse to go into water of less salinity than 33 parts per thousand. A recognition of a change in salinity of three parts per thousand is worthy of note. It is of special interest when we take into consideration the probability that a teleost is constantly expending some energy in the regulation of its internal salinity. The matter does not end with the adult. The teleosts set free their eggs and spermatozoa into the sea and fertilisation of the eggs takes place in the sea water. Osmotic pressure determinations made by the author (6) show that the salinity of the egg contents of the plaice like that of other body tissues is much less than sea water. There is no reason to doubt that the salinity of the secretions of the male gonad is very dif- ferent from the blood. So the reproductive cells are set free from a re- latively dilute medium into a concentrated sea water. Notwithstanding this, the egg contents retain their low salinity, but only so long as the egg membrane is a living one. And this depends amongst other things upon the chances of fertilisation. If within a limited number of hours, the latter does not take place death ensues, the egg contents become more saline (by diffusion of salts inwards or of water outwards), and the egg sinks to the bottom. As a matter of fact, the pelagic eggs won’t float at all unless the water is of a certain salinity and specific gravity. In consequence of the egg contents taking the same salinity as the body fluids of the adult, and that being considerably less than sea water, we have here “For details of the methods employed, see papers quoted in biblio- graphy. ‘ DAKIN. 25 one, but not the only explanation, of the fact that the eggs of fresh water teleosts are demersal, whilst many marine teleosts, possibly most, have pelagic eggs. A reduction in the salinity of the sea water in which developing pelagic eggs are floating can cause them to sink to the bottom—the results could be favourable or unfavourable. Investigation of the elasmobranchii shows that the osmotic pressure and constitution of the blood of sharks and rays is outstandingly different from that of the teleosts. In fact, the blood of the sharks and rays is fundamentally different in constitution from that of all other vertebrates. If we measure the osmotic pressure of the blood of a shark living in the Pacific Ocean, it is found to be approximately the same as that of the ocean water. Moreover, considerable variations in the salinity of the sea water are followed by identical variations in the osmotic pressure of the blood. It is very evident that the blood of the sharks and rays Is greatly influenced by the composition of the sea water. One might imagine that the blood of these animals was of the same salinity as the water bathing their bodies; chemical analysis shows, however, that the explanation of the high osmotic pressure is very different. The blood may contain over 2 per cent. of urea, and it is the extraordinary quantity of this substance which, with the salts, balances the salinity of the external medium. In order to keep alive isolated tissues from a shark, they must be moistened with a suitable saline medium containing about 2 per cent. of urea. Possibly these conditions have some bearing upon the present distri- bution of the elasmobranchii and maybe they evolved in water of much lower salinity. This might explain also the invasion of brackish waters by certain species of sharks at the egg laying season. A dilute sea water would certainly approximate more to the salinity of the blood. We may now turn to the invertebrates, a motley assemblage of phyla in which the marine forms present some fundamental differences from the vertebrates in their relations with the environment. In the first place the internal fluids of marine invertebrates have almost the same osmotic pressure as that of the surrounding sea water. This carries with it the implication that if the sea water varies in osmotic pressure, corresponding changes must take place in the blood or else the animal succumbs. The osmotic pressure is due almost entirely to salts, and this means that in most marine invertebrates the blood and other internal fluids of the body are as saline as the sea itself. But notwithstanding this, and in contrast to the approximation to equality in salt contents and osmotic pressure, the proportion of the different salts (or their ions) one to another is not quite the same as in the sea—the difference is particularly marked in the higher crustacea. Thus the blood of the mangrove crab, Heloecius cordi- formis, which scuttles about the Hawkesbury mangrove flats in thousands is very responsive to changes in the salinity of the environment, and its bounding membranes are permeable to both water and salts. If the water became very highly concentrated indeed by evaporation under a hot summer sun, Heloecius would be able to stand it, although its blood salinity might increase 50 per cent. But dilute the sea water with fresh water and a concentration is soon reached beyond which no further fall will take place in the blood. These crabs will withstand water which is two- thirds fresh and one-third sea water for long periods, but the animals in some way retain a high salinity in their blood. They now resemble the fresh water crayfish and probably all fresh water crustacea. They carry 26 MIGRATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SEA. with them a certificate of a marine existence. Apparently there is noth- ing about this regulation or control of salinity in the fresh water crus- tacea which is absent from species confined entirely to the sea. The dif- ference lies in the fact that the tissues of some marine animals will still function in contact with a blood which has been considerably reduced in salt contents—they are able to invade fresh water or to exist in areas of the sea which have been converted into lakes. Others are extraordinarily sensitive to these changes in blood salinity, especially when made rapidly. They will be seriously affected by changes in the external medium. We have clear evidence that the world of living things has had a very long experience of a salt sea, and it is altogether probable that it was the ori- ginal source of life on this earth. The restriction of cuttlefishes and echinoderms to sea water must be entirely a matter of salinity. These are extreme cases of restriction, but limitations of all grades occur. No one has yet discovered the mechanism which accounts for the re- tention of the salts in the blood of the fresh water crustacea, but we still know very little of the forces controlling diffusion through any living animal membranes. Our studies on salinity bring us face to face with physiological pro- blems of great complexity, and yet this physical factor in the aquatic environment is only one of those we have tabulated in Fig. 1. In the higher animals, the tissues live in a fluid, the blood, which is wonderfully constant in composition, which carries food substances and oxygen, is the vehicle for the transport of waste substances, and the distribution of hor- monic messengers. For a great diversity of marine invertebrates the sea water is almost the equivalent of that remarkable fluid, and its constancy in composition is worthy of note. Factors Determining the Productivity and Migrations of the Tiger Flathead. I have, with set intention, traced the study of the ocean’s tangled story —a romance involving the origin of life at one end, and the composition of the human blood at the other—for the purpose of coming eventually to industry and human affairs. Now with the aid of a “common” sea creature I shall try and em- phasise the complexity of marine studies when all the fundamentals are unknown. The Tiger Flathead is the most important constituent of the trawler catches on the New South Wales coast. We have seen that the produc- tivity of coastal waters depends in the very first case on the physico- chemical conditions of this region, and all the factors indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 and concerned in the production of a good yield of plankton must thus be taken into account. Beyond this, the food of every stage in the life of the flathead from the tiny newly hatched fish to the mature adult must be present in sufficient amount at the right time and place; so, one of the first needs is to follow out the life history of the flathead. Its breeding places must be discovered and the physico-chemical or biological factors which are preferred. Some attempt must be made to ascertain the productivity of the fish- ing banks by determining the age of the fish caught, and whether there is a decreased capture of the older age groups of large sized fish, or a diminished total yield per hour of fishing as the years pass by. Eventually we shall have to analyse the changing composition of the fish itself through the seasons. 27 DAKIN. ysiy 9 — ‘prayyeld JastL ey} JO uyeyo poog “¢ ‘SIa 302 0/FOYD DAISOISSDIOY/, DIYsyngorg- | wiproulny ae Sv4220/204) eI a \ea/ { VEN : O 1ULODIAIAD SAU vp? ee, / sajnudod SauopooUlyy 1 es cosy WOHPRL2D SS SS \ \ } A. XS MH AX / VLISOISSO/DY 1 H aS suzy —o.o9 vy GVIHLV IY Bunok aap Sud 0C — svg — sua SS Cv zH.v7Z bo AVIHIVAL wareapy 28 MIGRATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SEA. The illustration (Fig. 3) gives some idea of our first attempts to gain an insight into the relationships of the Tiger Flathead.* A glance at the diagram will show what an amazing series of inter- woven existences determines the life of this fish. It is by no means a sluggish bottom fish. It has even surprised us by its activity and its wanderings, and it will naturally move where suitable food is most plenti- ful. Its food in the more adult stages is rather varied and our diagram by no means indicates all its captures nor exhausts its possibilities. The most regular food supplies concern us more than the chance meals. This “food” will, of necessity, move after its “food,” and so on down the chain. It is the old story of “Je mange—je suis mangé,” until we reach the world of the minute but numberless. Then comes simple mineral matter. Hence the paramount need of a complete study of the oceano- graphy and biology of Australian waters if we wish to conserve our fisheries. Compared with this, the discovery of new fishing grounds is easy, but it is scarcely the work for scientists, although scientific forecasts of the quality of herrings in the North Sea are being made before their season is due, and attempts to estimate the likelihood of finding fish before shooting a net. The dire need here at the present time is some knowledge of the basal principles which underlie a rational regulation and exploitation of the industry. To regulate and restrict without knowledge is as futile in the end as the attainment of great captures with no information about the possibility of their continuity. The sea is not an inexhaustible welter of life. The story of northern and southern whaling and the history of North Sea fishing is a sufficient indication of that. Trawlers are compelled to go further afield and must venture their nets in almost impossible depths and places. But there is a limit to this, and the courage and perseverance of the fishers is bounded by the “laws” of economic supply of the peoples’ foodstuffs, and by the restriction of large quantities of fish life to the shallower seas where only the conditions are favourable. The present New South Wales grounds all added together are only equal to about two-thirds of the Irish Sea—the area of water between Ire- land and England—and this from the point of view of steam trawling is nothing more than a huge lake. Discussions are frequent in Europe on the impoverishment of the Irish Sea and North Sea owing to the enormous fishing. Well, we have removed from our. coastal area, in one year by trawling alone, four times the catch that the Irish Sea has provided in the same time with its far more boats and men. In 1927, 10,763,600 lb. of fish were trawled from the New South Wales waters, to say nothing of the huge estuarine catch. It is difficult to make comparisons of productivity from the statistics available, but we find that the average trawlers catch per day’s actual fishing off our coast during 1930 was just under 30 cwt. The average catch of a British 1st class steam trawler per day’s absence in the North Sea is given for 1920 (an excellent year because of the war years stopping *I am indebted to Mr. Allan Colefax, B.Sc., who has ably carried out under my direction the investigation supplying most of the data concern- ing the flathead’s food and collected the statistics on board New South Wales trawlers. My thanks are due also to the Commonwealth Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for their financial aid and the Red Funnel Fisheries for their very ready help and hospitality on board their trawlers. DAKIN. 29 fishing) as 24 cwt. This means, of course, more, per actual day’s fishing, but then a British trawler will probably have the nets down for 16 hours per day. Distant fishing grounds like the Iceland waters give the maxi- mum of 50 cwt. per day’s absence from port (say 70 cwt. per day’s fishing of 16 hours). : The hake trawlers 100-250 fathoms off the west coast of Ireland regard 170 cwt. of fish in 100 hours actual fishing time as good fishing and enough to make a big trawler pay. This is equivalent to 17 cwt. in 10 hours, compared with our 30 cwt. in the same time, but hake is a valuable fish and the capture of other fish with the hake might make up the profits. We may, I think, take it that our yields are pretty much the same as those of the North Sea to-day. Will they remain the same? Uniortunately, owing to the lack of detailed statistical information, it is not possible with exactness to picture what has been happening on our grounds. One or two facts are interesting. In 1910, Dannevig, in the second report of the “Endeavour” experi- ments, estimated that a trawler in the Eden district would be abie to land 18} tons of marketable fish and 35 tons of offal and unmarketable fish per. week of 60 hours’ fishing; that is to say, well over 60 cwt. of food fish per day’s fishing of ten hours. In another place he gives 2-1/6th tons of fish per day. Hither Dannevig was extraordinarily optimistic, or the catches were far better in those first years of trawling. As a matter of fact, I think his own tables show a much lower average. The evidence of the trawlers is that there has been a distinct falling off in the catches during the last three years, a reduction per hour’s fishing. A reduction in the captures by the trawlers per hour’s fishing by no means implies that over- fishing has taken place. There are curious ups and downs in the abund- ance of animal species, and remarkable series of changes have been noted in the sea. Different types of American and European fishes have fluc- tuated, quite apart from fishing, when considered over a period of 200 years. x One indication of reduction of fish by overfishing is a diminution in the size of those caught. Unfortunately, no attempts had been made (until we commenced this last year) to collect size statistics. The use- fulness of the fish is a measure of its size, and destruction of fish which have never reached the size correlated with sexual maturity means waste. Now a knowledge of the size of large numbers of fish caught is useful in another way. There is a relation between the length of a fish and its age. A knowledge of the age supplies information about the rate of growth and also about the years which were good breeding years. It has been found, for example, by examining large numbers of the herring of Euro- pean seas that the ages of the fish composing the shoals vary consider- ably, but certain aged fish are far more abundant than others. The fact that the next year these same groups may be represented, but a year older makes it likely that there were “good and bad years” in the past when the fish were hatched (good vintage years we might say). Indeed, the in- fluence of a good year may be marked for many years. The 1904 brood of herrings formed the bulk of all the herrings caught in the years 1908-1911. Something happened in the good year that did not happen in a poor year. Devastating losses amongst eggs and tiny larvae may easily follow unfor- tunate coincidences of hydrographic conditions and hatching seasons. The same thing is with every certainty true of our own fish. Now there are several ways of determining the age of fish. One of these is by scale readings; another is by length statistics. A fish scale 30 MIGRATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SEA. grows by successive additions of material and a series of somewhat con- centric lines indicate these accretions. A number of photographs of scales are given in Plate II. Most fish so far examined come from the northern hemisphere, where there is a marked difference in summer and winter sea temperatures. The growth of fish is slowed down considerably in winter, and, as a result, the rings on the scales are closer together then. The re- sult is a series of bands—so-called growth rings—which correspond with the successive seasons. We need not go into the matter here. Suffice it to say that many of our fish present unfortunate examples. Possibly it is due to the equable temperature of the New South Wales waters favouring very uniform growth rates, but whatever be the cause there are few irregu- larities on the scales. I have examined the scales of a large number of species of the New South Wales food fishes, but it was interesting that the first scales dis- covered to show what may be regarded as seasonal markings came from Hobart—the Tasmanian Trumpeter and the Jackass Fish. Most scales have, however, been obtained from the flathead, and there is a possibility that after some study, scale reading may prove practicable for this species. Two scales are shown in Plate II., which differ by the presence in one, of two, and in the other, of three “rings.” The two-ringed scale came from a fish 25 centimetres long, and the three-ringed scale from a 31 centi- metre fish. We still have to determine by the examination of far greater numbers of scales whether there is consistency in this and what is the age indicated by the first ring. Uncertainty in scale readings, for one thing, and the intention of determining growth rates, etc., has led us to pursue more extensively the method of length statistics. This is based on the assumption that where the breeding season of a particular species is limited to one season of the year (say 2 or 3 months) all the fish of that kind captured must fall into age groups differing by say 9-14 months, but with an average difference of one year. If now the rate of growth is the same for all individuals (and if thousands of fish are measured exceptional individuals are balanced out), a curve depicting lengths should be a many peaked curve, each peak representing a yearly age group. Mr. Colefax has measured at sea 35,000 flathead. A rough result is depicted in Fig. 4; full details of these results will be given in his paper. We have sufficient results now to indicate that the collection of length statistics is going to be just as valuable in assessing the age and growth of the flathead as in the corresponding applications to cod and herring. The curve shows distinct peaks at four points, and there is no doubt what- ever in our minds that this represents four distinct and successive ages. The unknown at present, however, is the age of the first length group. There is a gap in our knowledge owing to the scarcity of very small flat- head captured, and by very small I mean the sizes between hatching and say 14 centimetres. Another point of interest which is not shown in the curves is that the contents of a catch tend to fall into one age group. These results will be of greater value in the future. Meanwhile, an interesting feature of them is the evidence that the flathead tend to associate in age groups as they migrate in shoals about the sea bottom. The shoals do not remain in the same place, although there seems to be a tendency for very small fish to be taken in shallow water and big fish in deeper water, apart from movements associated with the breeding season. Unfortunately, it is necessary to obtain the data from the ordinary fishing grounds, and we Freauenty » Uccunaence DAKIN. 31 Leneth » Crs Fig. 4. badly need figures for very deep water and for very shallow water, the latter especially to fill in our series. If we turn for a moment to Fig. 3 again, it will be seen that one of the most important foods of the adult flathead is the small fish Apogonops anomalus. This creature seems to live very largely on minute crustacea. The crustacea are, however, planktonic; they appear in dif- ferent places in abundance at different times, and, moreover, they mount towards the surface of the sea at night. This diurnal rise and fall of huge quantities of planktonic animals is very remarkable. A minute crustacean, the size of a pin head, may rise from 30 fathoms at the rate of 1 foot per minute. We have abundant reasons here for the wanderings of the flat- head, and confirmation is supplied again by the fact that night catches of the trawlers are often poor, where the day catches had been good. There seems to be only one explanation of this, and that is a vertical movement of the flathead up off the sea bottom. A rise of only 15 feet would remove them from all possibility of capture by the trawl. It is even conceivable that the fish feeds little by day, and is relatively inactive and on the bottom (cf. Hickling’s sleep rhythm of the Hake (8) ). I have no doubt that a series of investigations of the bottom fauna and the plankton would enable us to demonstrate pretty close relation- ships between the abundance of flathead and the richness of some item in 32 MIGRATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SEA. the food chain. But we have only just touched the outermost fringes of a vast subject, and with our own special difficulties correlated with these seas. I have no doubt that many folk with money invested in the fisheries have no interest whatever in scientific research. I am equally certain that their first attitude to scientific investigation would be to ask for directions as to where most fish could be caught. If the question could be speedily answered, it would probably only result in a glut of fish and considerable wasteful destruction. The problem for the scientist is not merely how to get most out of the sea, but how to continue doing so, and how to make the best use of the products. Possibly one of these days we may learn to farm the sea. At the present time, as the old North Sea Shanty has it:— “The farmer has his rent to pay, Haul, you Joskins, haul! And seed to buy, I’ve heard him say; Haul, you Joskins haul! But we who plough the North Sea deep, Though never sowing, always reap The harvest that to all is free; And Gorleston Light is home to me. Haul, you Joskins, haul!” I hope those interested in all scientific investigation will realise how impossibly slow is our chance compared with what is essential. We spend £100 where the United States, or England, or Japan spends £50,000, and that £100 is only equivalent to £50 in those countries. And the Cinderella science in Australia from the school life to the University is biology. It is customary to grumble that our statesmen refuse the minimum equip- ment which would enable us to solve some of the problems, but the blame is not all to be saddled on the politicians. As Howell put it, “They are, after all, laymen.” And very little attempt has been made in Australia to enlighten the public generally on the importance of biological studies and in the case at issue, in the proper appreciation of marine research. LITERATURE. (1) Quinton, R., L’eau de mer, et injections intraveneuses. Compt. rend. de la Soc. de Biol., 965, 1897. Quinton, R., L’eau de mer, milieu organique. Paris, 1904, Masson et cie. (2) Bunge. Lehrbuch der phys. u. Path. Chemie. Leipzig., 1889. (3) Macallum, A. B., Palaeochemistry of the Ocean in Relation to Animal and Vegetable Protoplasm. Trans. Canadian Inst., vii., 535, 1904. (4) Dakin, W. J., Aquatic Animals and Their Environment. Internat. Revue. d. Hydrobiologie., 1912. (5) Dakin, W. J., Osmotic Concentration of the Blood of Fishes from Sea- water of Naturally Varying Concentrations. Bio-chemical Journ., vol. iii., No. 5, 1908. (6) Dakin, W. J., Variations in the Osmotic Concentration of the Blood, etc. Bio-chemical Journ., vol. iii., No. 10, 1908. (7) Dakin, W. J., & Edmonds, E., The Regulation of the Salt Contents of the Blood of Aquatic Animals. Austral. Journ. of Exper. Biology (1931, in press). (8) Hickling, C. F.. The Natural History of the Hake. Fishery Investi- gations, Ser. IT., vol. x. 1927. British Ministry of Agric. & Fisheries. DAKIN. 33 EXPLANATION OF PLATE II. Scales from Australian fishes (magnified approximately four times). Fig. 1. Scale from Tiger Flathead (Neoplatycephalus macrodon Ogilby), 25 centimetres in length. 2. Scale from Tiger Flathead (N. macrodon), 31 centimetres in length. Scale from Snapper (Pagrosomus auratus) . Scale from Tailer (Pomatomus saltator) . Scale from Tasmanian Trumpeter (Latris lineata). Scale from Blackfish (Girella tricuspidata) . eI I) AUSTRALIAN CISTELIDAE—CORRIGENDA. In my Check List of the Australian Cistelidae [Aust. Zool., 1930, p. 270) an omission of two genera makes the following revised table of Group ii. necessary :— PP WiItWwIneSeadantede ton Might Vi Gece Sec alsin tee 2. Without such—at least in the? .. .. Bye teeta tt vets ial 2. Mandibles grooved, scarcely bifid at apex iat at Dimorphochilus. Mandibles distinctly bifid at apex .. 3. 3. Hind femora extending well beyond elytra when at right angles to SUUULEC Werte eet eis EM Wa doiah ie ah rate Rtas Bt Sete atlct i ceetuuets 4. FLINT OMOnaMOLSON ats Ss 5 cen es oe Re 9. 4. Elytra striate-punctate (strial punctures distinct from inter- stitial)! ~. -: 5. Elytra striate ( strial punctures not distinct from interstitial) : aoe ; Barycistela. 5. Antennal segments slender, ‘more | or less linear US SA 6. Antennal segments stout, more or less obconic .. .. .. Te 6. Eyes smaller, in general widely separated .. .. .. .. .. Homotrysis IVES Ieee, Eyojoyday-absskehie) thal cy Go no oo uo wo co Good uo on YeWihordaiter, Yin JehxOovorreb< Glaerin Ghote! EOI Ao Gp ob 00 5a oa ud on OD 8. Prothorax subcordate .. .. .. olodlod ab domed oo Lous 8. Pronotum strongly foveate, elytra obovate — ey masta ses . .. Nypsius. Pronotum not so, elytra NAR Wesel aiael avs - Ommatophorus. 9. Form widely ovate Rees acelin RET Meat ke cuciet an dich cut ave eian capsules lis 3 AN OCAT: Form oblong ovate .. .. 10. 10. Surface convex, antennae very ‘short, “widened | towards apex. .. Taxes. Surface subdepressed, antennae longer, scarcely widened at apex .. 5G ibre ted cs ai pe a bs | AOC a See et AE . Scaletomerus. 11. Epipleurae wide (facies of Otiorrhyncus) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Simarus. Epipleurae narrow .. .. Me 12. 12. Prothorax more or less ovate, elytra ‘striate- -punctate ne 13. Prothorax cordate, elytra tuberculate ee ern VOLOCTSLELCs 13. Epipleurae separated from elytra by carina .. . .. .. Metistete Epipleurae and elytra subcontinuous, without separating carina .0-: Vey MSCa aver apt suctrohat SaRSe tae hel epeeetar Seah rei ol! ON Se Livsrh Uses Paks . Melaps. H. J. Carter. 34 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. By T. D. A. COCKERELL. (Continued from vol. vi., part iii., p. 236.) ANTHOPHORIDAE. These swift-flying long-tongued bees are widely spread over the earth, but are wholly absent from New Zealand and many oceanic islands. In Australia the species are comparatively few, and pertain to only two genera. It was formerly supposed that the genus Tetralonia Spinola existed in Australia (T. brevicornis Smith and T. convicta Ckll.), but it turns out that these are actually forms of Paracolletes with unusually long antennae. The mouth-parts are quite unlike those of the Anthophoridae. The two genera of Australian Anthophoridae are separable thus:— Labial palpi two-jointed, with a brush of stiff hairs at the end; maxillary palpi six-jointed; abdomen never with blue or green bands .. .. Asaropoda Cockerell. Labial palpi four- jointed: ‘maxillary palpi ‘six- jointed; abdomen in many species with metallic or brightly coloured bands .. Anthophora Latreille. Although Anthophora is abundant in both hemispheres, while Asaro- poda is confined to Australia and New Guinea, the latter is not a primitive genus, but has undoubtedly been derived from Anthophora or a close re- lative. Asaropoda was confused with the European Saropoda Latreille, which, however, has four-jointed maxillary palpi. It must be stated that the mouth-parts have been examined only in the type-species of Asaro- poda, A. bombiformis. The other two are referred here, because they ap- pear to be closely allied. Asaropopa Cockerell. Asaropoda bombiformis (Smith). A rather large robust red-haired bee, with a conspicuous broad black band at base of second tergite. The legs are largely red, and the scape is red or yellow in front; the clypeus is without dark markings (except a slender black line along each lateral suture above) in both sexes. Victoria to Queensland. Also Binaturi River in New Guinea. A new locality is Montville, Queensland. (C. Borch). Asaropoda alpha (Cockerell) . Male; differs from A. bombiformis by its smaller size (length less than 12 mm.); hair on hind tarsi entirely black, except a small orange tuft at base above; lateral margins of clypeus with a rather broad black band; flagellum ferruginous beneath, except base of first joint; legs dark, but covered above with orange hair; beneath with black, except that the tarsi are as just described; the bidentate apex of abdomen covered with black hair (fulvous in A. bombiformis). Described from a specimen in British Museum, labelled Australia, and recorded by F. Smith as a variety of A. bombiformis. Asaropoda anomala Cockerell. Male; appearing exactly like A. bombiformis, with broad bare black band at base of second tergite, but easily distinguished by the third an- tennal joint, which is short and thick (instead of being long and slender), and by the longer flagellum, its length fully 5.5 mm. (instead of about 4). Femora clear red, the posterior ones a little dusky beneath at base. The apex of abdomen is obtusely bilobed (without the distinct angles of A. COCKERELL. 35 bombiformis.) The female is like A. bombiformis, but rather larger and more robust. Hair-bands of second and third tergites broad, the anterior half greenish; hair of fourth and fifth tergites greenish, with a beautiful golden lustre. Brisbane. In American Museum of Natural History. (Amer. Mus. Novitates, 346, pp. 15-16.). Friese (Deutsch. Ent. Zeitschr., 1911, p. 448) described Anthophora flava from a female taken at Freemantle, W. Australia. He said it was very like A. bombiformis (with tegument of abdomen black under the hair), but thickly covered with yellow hair; even the abdomen on tergites 2 and 3. Clypeus and labrum yellow, mandibles yellow, legs yellowish, tegulae yellow. He also described Anthophora rufescens as related to (or similar to) A. bombiformis, but this is evidently very close to Anthophora rhodoscymna Ckll. AnTHOPHORA Latreille. There are two groups of species, the first of which is more charac- teristically Australian, while the second is spread over the tropics of the Old World, and presumably reached Australia in comparatively recent times. Abdomen not, or not obviously banded; covered with appressed hair. a Group) 1: Abdomen conspicuously banded, the bands usually brightly ‘coloured. mA keer OER TRO Ne CRC RET Bers ream BAP oin. Vota, Aarne _ Group 2. Group 1. Covered with short green or greenish pubescence, sometimes strongly reddish on abdomen in males; legs always with some bright emerald green hair; clypeus of male orange, with a small black bar on each side above, of female with a large black mark on each side, the pale area coming to a point above .. Fe) apa a sk aeruginosa ‘smith. Covered. with mouse- erey hair Wah Brintiey (ek chopra eral een Deru ©ockerell: Appressed hair of abdomen fulvous .. .. . vy Shoe ile 1. Tegument of abdomen black, except broad hind margins of segments; clypeus of female yellow, with two large brown patches; tegulae clear testaceous .. .. . .. Seymna Gribodo. Tegument of abdomen red: ‘clypeus i in both sexes with a reversed T in yellow; female 16.5 mm. long, with no supraclypeal or lateral face- marks; ee of abdomen above entirely bright ferruginous. ; rhodoscymna Cockerell. Resembling vA. “rhodoscymna, but with a large black spot on disc of second tergite; length, 13-14 mm.; peeuiae yellowish . SO, SEG CLIO CIRO Ce LCOS Cee ET ae eens Ar mn : rufescens Friese. Anthophora aeruginosa Smith. A very distinct and easily recognised species, found from Hunter River, N.S.W., to Northern Queensland and Port Darwin. Anthophora preissi Cockerell. Discovered by Preiss in Western Australia; type in Berlin Museum. There is in addition a race A. preissi froggatti Cockerell, found by Froggatt at Brewarrina, N.S.W. The female of this form is about 16 mm. long, with the same mouse-coloured hair, but has the antennae black, flagellum not red beneath; a transverse yellow supraclypeal band, and lower corners of 36 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. clypeus broadly pale yellow; median pale stripe on clypeus narrow, not tapering above. Female of typical A. preissi is about 15 mm. long. Anthophora rhodoscymna Cockerell. Male about 12.5-13 mm. long, female about 16.5. Discovered by Gilbert Turner in the Mackay district of Queensland, but extending south to Bris- bane. The type is in the British Museum. Anthophora rufescens Friese. Described in 1911, from a specimen taken by Turner at Mackay. It may prove to be a variety of A. rhodoscymna. Anthophora scymna Gribodo. Reported from Adelaide, West Australia and Queensland. A specimen in the British Museum was obtained by Du Boulay at Champion Bay, W. Australia, in 1866-67. GROUP 2. Abdominal bands pale lilac, the first two in the male suffused with ochreous; fifth ventral ua of male with a deep broad rounded emargination .. .. PERS os oo bards Oe ae (ewan) Coonsril. Abdomina] bands not lilac | Fai Usk ile 1. Clypeus light, with a black stripe ‘on each side of upper part; Males ae aC < 2. Clypeus with at least large ‘black marks rales 4. 2. Larger, about 13 mm. long; hair of thorax above bright orange- -fulvous, with black intermixed; abdominal bands bright blue... . . cingulata Fabricius (var. gilberti Ckll.) Smaller: ‘abdominal ‘bands greenish or ochreous or pallid. 3), 3. Hair of thorax above bright orange-fulvous, with black intermixed; abdominal bands emerald green shading to blue .. .. . . cingulata Fabricius (emendata Smith.) Hair ‘of thorax ‘above ochreous or light fulvous, with black intermixed; abdominal bands very light bluish or greenish .. .. .. .. zonata Linnaeus (pulehra ‘Smith.) Looking like A. zonata (pulchra), but with conspicuous black hairs on vertex and front, broader face, deeply emarginate fifth ventral segment, and ee black-haired hind tarsi .. asserta Cockerell.* A. Males)... 5. Females; size larger; clypeus with a light reversed T., ‘its ‘stem tapering above, pointed .. . tf: 5. Sides of clypeus broadly black, leaving a light ‘pyramid, ‘which is notched on each side; abdominal bands dull white; length about 11 mm. . saltert Cockerell. Clypeus ‘yellow, with ‘a ‘large “foot- -shaped ‘mark, ‘with a very long heel, * Since writing the above, I have examined two pairs of Anthophora sent by F. Erasmus Wilson, and find that there are complications yet to be dealt with. They come from Redcliffs, Victoria (L. H. Chandler) and Blackall, Queensland (C. Borch). In both males the clypeus is broad above, the straight upper margin of the yellow much longer than the dis- tance from its ends to the orbits. In a male A. zonata from Thursday Island, the upper edge of the yellow is much shorter than the distance from its ends to the orbits. I am calling all Mr. Wilson’s specimens A. zonata, but I now feel that the value and significance of the names zonata, pulchra asserta need reconsideration, and would urge Australian students to dis- sect specimens from as many localities as possible. COCKERELL. 37 on each side above; abdomen with bright shining blue bands, with no tinge of green .. .. . .. darwini Cockerell. Clypeus with a large reversed T. in yellow, ‘its stem broadly truncate on upper margin .. . 6. 6. Length about 10 mm.; hair of. mesothorax light blue mixed with black; abdominal bands largely green .. . .. .. walkeri Cockerell. Length about 11 mm.; hair of mesothorax yellow mixed with black; abdominal bands light yellowish, with a sort of greenish (abstr arene . .. .. adelaidae Cockerell. 7. Hair of mesothorax light ereenish ‘mixed with black; light hair on outer side of middle legs strongly suffused with blue; abdominal bands light blue .. .. .. aes oe chlorocyanea Cockerell. Hair of mesothorax light blue mixed with black; abdominal bands very bright greenish-blue .. .. . . .. walkeri Cockerell. Hair of mesothorax very bright orange- -fulvous mixed with black; light hair on outer side of hind legs orange-fulvous; larger than the next species .. .. .. .. cingulata Fabricius (var. gilberti Ckll.) Hair of mesothorax paler fulvous, inclining to greenish and mixed with black; light hair on outer side of hind legs white .. . . zonata Linnaeus (pulchra ‘Smith.) Length nearly 13 mm.; ‘hair of thorax above pale fulvous mixed with black; abdomen with four light blue bands, fifth tergite with a tuft of white hair in middle and much white hair at sides; hind basitarsus with a tuft of white hair at base; flagellum dark. Abdominal bands narrower and bluer than in A. chlorocyanea. Beha rhce 3 . asserta Cockerell. Anthophora adelaidae Cockerell. Described from a male in the British Museum, collected by J. J. Walker on the Adelaide River, N. Australia. There are several specimens in the Hope Museum at Oxford. Anthophora asserta Cockerell. Described in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., August, 1926, from specimens in the National Museum of Victoria. Males from Lower Fern Tree Gully, Vic- toria; female from Canterbury. Anthophora chlorocyanea Cockerell. This is the species which was formerly mistaken for A. cingulata. South Australia. Anthophora cinctofemorata Sichel. Published by Dours in his Monograph of Anthophora (1869). It is based on a male from “New Holland,’ 9 mm. long, without head (which was missing in type); anterior wing 7 mm.; thorax and legs with silvery hair; abdomen black, very strongly punctured; tergites 3 to 6 with blue (somewhat greenish) bands; wings dusky. I have never seen a specimen. Owing to the loss of the head, it cannot be placed in the table. Anthophora cingulata Fabricius. This is A. emendatal Smith, but Meade-Waldo found that it was the real cingulata. The larger, very richly coloured form from the Mackay district, which I named gilberti, may perhaps be a valid race. The typical (emendata) form is also from Queensland. For a further discussion, see 38 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., October, 1905, p. 396; but Meade-Waldo states that the type of A. emendata is a male, not a female, as stated by Smith. Anthophora darwini Cockerell. Discovered by Turner at Port Darwin; type in British Museum. Anthophora lilacina Cockerell. Discovered by Dodd at Kuranda, Queensland. Type in Queensland Museum. Anthophora salteri Cockerell. Parramatta and Sydney, N.S.W., the type found by W. R. Salter, and now in British Museum. Anthophora walkeri Cockerell. Found by J. J. Walker on the “Penguin” Expedition, on Baudin Island, Long Reef, W. Australia. Type in British Museum. Anthophora zonata (Linnaeus). Widely distributed in Queensland, and extending to Adelaide, S.A., and W. Australia. A colour variation has been referred to as A. zonata sub- caerulea, but it appears not to be the genuine (Asiatic) A. subcaerulea of Lepeletier, for the characters of which see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., May, 1911, p. 492. It is possible that more intensive studies may indicate the separa- tion of the Australian insect from A. zonata, in which case it will take the name A. pulchra Smith. Smith described A. pulehra from Cape Upstart, Moreton Bay and Hunter River. NOMADIDAE. Parasitic bees related to the Anthophoridae, and, indeed, placed in that family by Perkins (1919), where Nomada is recognised by the absence of a pollen-collecting scopa, and the marginal cell pointed at the apex. How- ever, Nomada differs from the Anthophoridae (except Melitoma) by the absence of the outer comb of the maxillae; the inner comb is also lacking, as in Melitoma and many diverse genera. I have considered Nomada to be derived from an ancestor allied to the Panurgidae, but it is now an isolated genus. There are three cubital cells in the anterior wings; marginal cell pointed on costa; maxillary palpi six-jointed; general appearance usually wasp-like, with ferruginous or yellow markings. The species are generally parasitic in the nests of Andrena, which does not occur in Australia, but many are undoubtedly associated with Halictus. There are some species of Nomada which have only two cubital] cells. This is the case with N. (Heminomada) obliterata Cresson, of North America, but it is not constant, some specimens being found with three cubital cells. Robertson found about 25 per cent. of his specimens, col- lected in Illinois, had the three cells. Thus we see within the species the stages in the production of a condition which is characteristic of the Panurgidae. The Indian Lamproapis Cameron, supposed to be allied to Dufourea, is a Nomada, with two cubital cells, as I have been able to ascer- tain from a specimen received from the British Museum, collected at Simla. The species will stand as Nomada maculipennis Cameron. Nomapa Fabricius. Nomada australensis Perkins. This was taken at Cairns by Turner and Dodd, and at Mackay by COCKERELL. 39 Turner. There are six specimens in the British Museum, where there is also a specimen of an undescribed species from New Guinea. The female N. australensis is 6 mm. long; the size of the male is not stated, but is presumably about the same. The male has the head and thorax black or nearly so; mandibles, cheeks, labrum, clypeus, a narrow line along inner orbits reaching the vertex, antennae beneath, scutellum and postscutellum pale yellowish brown; abdomen dark or blackish brown, more or less paler at the articulations of the segments; second tergite with a round pale yellow spot on each side, third to fifth with smaller spots. The female has the whole face reddish, except the middle of front; mesonotum en- tirely reddish, except a dark median line; legs brownish yellow. A variety from Mackay has the clypeus largely black in the middle and the orbital lines very widely broken. Among all the Australian bees submitted to me at different times, I have never found this species. Mr. T. Rayment (1930) has recently described a species Neoceratina rubinii from Queensland, and this is evi- dently a Nomada. It was taken by Charles Barrett at Townsville. There is a good figure in Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria, xliii., p. 56. It seems probable that it is identical with the species described by Perkins. MELECTIDAE. This family is represented in Australia by one genus:— Crocisa Jurine. Consisting of stout-bodied bees of medium to rather large size, having the scutellum extended posteriorly, in the form of a flattened place, which is deeply incised or emarginate, the margin often having the form of the letter W. These insects are among the most beautiful of bees, the pubescence taking the form of blue or white spots or bands, when blue often shining as if metallic. They are parasitic in nests of Anthophora, and are widespread in the warmer parts of the Old World. One species, as I am informed by Dr. J. Bequaert, has been taken as far north as Bel- gium. Although there are many Anthophora in America, Crocisa is wholly wanting. There are two blue-spotted species of Crocisa, C. novae-hollandiae Lepeletier and C. nitidula Fabricius, which have been reported from Aus- tralia, but appear not to exist there. I know them from Amboina. Dr. P. Meyer has revised the genus Crocisa in Archiv. f. Naturgeschichte, 1921. (A.) White-spotted species. Length, 11-12 mm.; second tergite with an interrupted white band; margin of scutellum W-like .. .. .. .. .. .. .. rotundata Friese. Second tergite with four white spots... .. .. Rona il 1. Middle and hind tibiae white only at base; size ‘ene. .. lugubris Smith. Anterior and middle tibiae covered with white hair on outer and posterior side, except at apex; hind tibiae with the apical half free from white hair, except posteriorly; a much smaller species than C. lugubris, the male only 9 mm. long. waroonensis Cockerell. Middle and hind tibiae covered with white hair on outer Sid Greene MERI yA aie nail fajat iy Qe 2. Larger; margin of seutelum W- like : Pere macleayi Cockerell. Smaller; margin of scutellum pracket- like, ‘the edge on each side of the middle curved .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. quadrimaculata Rads. 40 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Crocisa lugubris Smith. Described from “Australia,” the type in British Museum. C. albopicta Cockerell, from Mackay, Queensland, was described as a distinct species, but on comparing my type, in the British Museum, with Smith’s type of C. lugubris, I concluded that it could only rank as a variety or race of the latter. The spots are of the same colour in both. C. albopicta has a spot of white hair at median base of first abdominal tergite; and the anterior median mark on mesothorax is bar-like. In C. lugubris there is no white spot at median base of first tergite, and the anterior median mark on meso- thorax is pyriform in outline. Crocisa macleayi Cockerell. Female a little over 14 mm. long. New South Wales. Type in American Museum of Natural History, New York. Crocisa quadrimaculata Radoszkowskt. Finke River, South Australia; also Adelaide. Crocisa rotundata Friese. This is C. albomaculata Smith (the name preoccupied) and C. albo- vittata Friese. It is reported from Champion Bay and King George’s Sound, W.A., and Mackay, Queensland. Crocisa waroonensis Cockerell. Discovered by G. F. Berthoud at Waroona, W.A. It is also known from Perth, and from Hermannsburg, Central Australia. (B.) Blue-spotted species. At least some of the tergites four-spotted .. . 1. None of the tergites four-spotted, the lateral marks being un- divided .. .. Inet Oe Gia Gur se Ps 1. Margin of scutellum bracket- like Lcd choy alcopay en ab “lamprosoma Boisduval. Margin of scutellum W-like .. .. .. . ..... turneri Friese. 2. First tergite with the blue extending right ‘across fe novae-hollandiae Lep. and nitidula Fab., not considered Australian. Abdominal] bands all interrupted in the middle... .... . a 3. Blue markings shiny; margin of scutellum bracket- like. 4. Blue markings not shiny; margin of scutellum W-like .. I}, 4. Hair on middle of occiput black with white on each side; apex of male abdomen more narrowly truncate .. . . .. omissa Cockereml. Occiput with a complete conspicuous fringe ‘of white hair; apex of male abdomen more broadly truncate; size smaller, not over 9 fombens G5 oe .. .. darwini Cockerell. 5. Large, length about 15 mm.: markings. of abdomen pale blue. shee . tincta Cockerell. Smaller, about 111 m.; - ‘markings of abdomen bright turquoise-blue, but jalolg (aubolboyeN ey, Yo na ae pA do go oo oo on 4 WSS Cockerell. Crocisa beatissima Cockerell. Described from a female, in the British Museum, collected at Adelaide. Crocisa darwini Cockerell. Port Darwin, the type in British Museum. COCKERELL. 41 Crocisa lamprosoma Boisduval. This beautiful species appears to be rather common in Queensland, and goes south to the Blue Mountains, N.S.W. C. australensis Rado- szkowski, said to go south to Tasmania, appears to be identical, and C. caeruleopunctata Blanchard is probably another synonym. Crocisa omissa Cockerell. Common in Queensland, and also found in New South Wales. It has been erroneously recorded as C. quartinae Gribodo and C. caeruleifrons W. F. Kirby, species which do not occur in Australia.* C. omissa occurs on Dunk Island. Crocisa tincta Cockerell. Toowoomba, Queensland; type in British Museum. Crocisa turneri Friese. Mackay and Cairns, Queensland; Meyer also cites it from Sydney, N.S.W. ANDRENIDAE, Subfamily NoMIrmnaE. Nomza Latreille. The characters of this genus have recently been discussed at length in American Museum Novitates, 433 (October, 1930.) No less than four- teen segregates or subgenera have been proposed for the Nomia of dif- ferent parts of the world, and it is a fact that the genus as now under- stood contains very diverse elements. For example, in some species the tongue is short or dagger-shaped, but it is long and slender in others, re- markably so in the Australian N. gilberti Ckll. Among the Halictine bees there is also a group with linear tongues, paralleling the condition of the long-tongued Nomia, but, of course, arising quite independently. In some species of Nomia the tegulae are very large, in others they are quite ordin- ary. There is a group with spined postscutellum. Using these and other characters, it would be possible to split Nomia up into a number of genera, and, as long ago as 1899, Ashmead recognised four genera. In a paper shortly to be published, I have treated the African Meganomia as a separate genus. No one, however, has yet treated the Nomia of the world in a single monograph, with adequate structural studies. Nomia may be confused with Halictus, and has been by describers of bees; but it is really very different. In the anterior wings, the small second cubital cell, with a large or long cell on each side of it, and the obtuse end of the marginal cell, are very distinctive. The males often have highly modified hind legs. The structure of the base of the metathorax differs from that of Halictus. The straight basal nervure (as in Andrena), contrasted with the arched or curved nervure of Halictus, is not reliable. Various Australian species of Nomia, especially for instance N. brisbanensis Ckll., have the basal ner- vure very strongly arched. Indeed, the arched nervure is normal for Aus- tralia Nomia. The remarkable group Reepenia Friese, with a stigma on the hind wings, was proposed by Friese as a subgenus, based on a species (N. vari- abilis Friese) found in New Guinea. An Australian species has been dis- covered at Cape York, and I am treating Reepenia as a genus. It was, however, an error to refer Tetralonia brevicornis Smith to it. The follow- * See Records Australian Museum, 1929, p. 231, where they are recorded from New Guinea. 42 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. ing key to Australian Nomia includes the species available when it was made, but all the species appear in the list beyond. (A.) Metallic species, with blue or green colours. (a.) N. Australica group; large forms, the male sometimes hardly metallic. Clypeus of female broadly red apically .. .. .. .. .. australica Smith. Clypeus of female wholly dark .. .. .. .. australica reginae Ckll. Male with scape and flagellum ‘poth ‘dark; hair of face, occiput and cheeks white; wings hardly at all dusky; abdomen dark purple- blue, not ice hair-bands white, only slightly tinged with yellowish .. .. .. .. australica regis Ckll. The female N. " subaustralica Ckll., about ctl mm. long, is black, the abdomen somewhat metallic; scape red in front; first recurrent nervure meeting second intercubitus; postscutellum covered with fulvous hair. (b.) WN. flavoviridis group, smaller species. Larger and more robust; mesothorax and scutellum entirely black; abdomen dark blue, not at all green, but may be red at end; female .. .. MPRA eS oeomoe. oo. on Ciiiatin as Siniie.. Smaller and less. robust; " mesothorax metallic; abdomen green or lwish! eee ae de et sail oead Meee eee il: gS OCS) 02) (ee een thereat sa Se (gc 2 Malesij, ss): 3. 2. Dark olive green, with fulvous tegulae: hind tibiae and ‘pasitarsi (ex- cept apically) clear ferruginous; punctures of disc of mesothorax distinct and separate under a lens (very different from N. flavo- viridis phancrura); scutellum with a pair of black shining im- punctate elevations (not present in phanerura) .. hippophila Ckll. Tegulae rufofulvous; hind tibiae and tarsi dark, with white hair; punctures of disc of mesothorax finer or denser; scutellum with no shining elevations .. .. . .. flavoviridis Ckll. Head, thorax and abdomen entirely dark blue: ‘apex of abdomen fringed with pale chocolate hair; anterior half of clypeus black; legs very dark rufofuscous; mesothorax with minute punctures, and scattered larger ones, in the manner of N. australica .. .. flavoviridis doddi Ckll. Antennae dark, flagellum ‘ferruginous beneath; nervures and stigma clear ferruginous; abdomen very green .. .. : flavoviridis adelaidella ‘CI. Smaller than ‘typical flavoviridis, the length about 7 mm.; head and thorax dark bluish green, area of metathorax yellowish green; mesothorax dull and granular, the scattered punctures hard to observe (they are quite distinct in flavoviridis proper); tegulae large, bright apricot colour (in true flavoviridis dark brown, with hyaline borders); stigma and nervures red-brown; fifth tergite and apex of abdomen ferruginous .. flavoviridis phanerura Ckll. Head, thorax and first tergite blue; rest of abdomen almost black; legs brownish black; tegulae very dark rufous .. .. .. babindensis Ckll. 3. Flagellum bright ferruginous, above and beneath; nervures and stigma clear ferruginous; abdomen greener than head and thorax. .. . flavoviridis adelaidella Ckll. Flagellum black above (or. dark ‘brown in N. hippophila. 4. 4. Tibiae entirely ferruginous, not at all metallic; tegulae clear apricot colour; a dark green insect (not at all blue) Z SOLU NIG RIE ACHE a? een Ls aT . flavoviridis phanerura ‘Ckll. 3. COCKERELL. 43 Tibiae red with metallic reflections; tegulae rufofulvous; dark blue bee, with third and following tergites Olive green .. .. flavoviridis doddi ‘CEN. Legs ‘typically coloured as in doddi, ‘varying to dark tibiae; mesothorax yellowish green .. .. . flavoviridis Ckll. Legs dark; tegulae dull rufous (not apricot colour) ; ‘head and thorax dark ae abdomen blue-green; much smaller than doddi .. .. flavoviridis cyanella Ckll. Rather larger, " green, with bright red tegulae; legs mainly red, the tibiae entirely red .. .. ee flavoviridis excellens Ckll. About 7.5 mm. long; dark greenish, ‘less robust and less metallic than flavoviridis; tegulae rather large, shining rufous; legs red-brown, the femora and tibiae more or less oy metallic; stigma paler... .. os hippophila Ck. Head and thorax olive green, ‘with coppery ‘tints: tegulae fulvous (or with a basal black shade), with pallid margins; hind femora metallic green, red at apex; hind tibiae mainly green .. .. . .. hippophila purnongensis ‘Ck. Head, ‘mesothorax and ‘scutellum ‘black, pleura dark green; lower half of clypeus white; tegulae clear bright apricot colour; stigma and nervures fuscous; abdomen olive green; third and fourth sternites each with a pair of light Sa aRe protuberances .. Soi BES OERE CE CRO CRE ROTORS. Co Deas . testaceipes Friese. (B.) Non-metallic species. Postscutellum with a forked process .. .. .. .. .. .... ite Postscutellum without such a process .. .. .. .. .. .. 2. Abdominal bands light green .. .. . .. .. .. Garwinorum Ckll. Abdominal bands suffused with vermillion eo be 6d on dn HOSTS (OIE Abdomen with bright orange tegumentary bands: large species .. En ieee aurantifer swainsoniae Ckll. Abdomen without ‘such. bands ACEC ai, Apical part of abdomen (not merely borders of ‘tergites) broadly med)... : . ferricauda Ckll. (Robust shining ‘female from Como, NS.W. : . ferricauda musgravei Ckll.) Apical part of abdomen not thus red .. .. Reba 4. Anterior wings with a conspicuous dark apical ‘spot . ie 5. 4. to 8. (Apex dusky; abdomen long, claviform .. pseudoceratina aia Anterior wings not thus spotted . : Flagellum about 3.3 mm. long; ‘more robust: ‘hair | on pees pure white .. . teat kurandina Ckll. (macularis Fr.) Flagellum a little over 2 mm.; less robust; hair on face dull and slightly yellowish .. .. : .. .. melvilliana Ckll. (Large form from N. S.w. Be kurandina “fortior Ck1l.) Legs pale testaceous; mesothorax and scutellum dark red; scutellum with two pointed eminences .. .... .. Reepenia eboracina Ckll. Otherwise .. . We Hind tibiae and tarsi ‘clear bright red: ‘tegulae bright ‘red 8. Hind tibiae and tarsi not thus red.. .. .. re 11. Hind margins of tergites black .. .. . A _ frenchi Ckll. (N. frenchi has thin white hair- bands. The following separates it from species with dusky red hind tibiae and tarsi:— Flagellum all black .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. frenchi Ckll., male. Flagellum red beneath. 44 9. Sides of mesothorax broadly covered with fulvous tomentum Leste . tomentifera Friese, both sexes. Sides of mesothorax not so covered 3% Tage Wealeeees Betas) wens 10. 1OMeremale’ . 665. so SA ak Ge ant ot olin ak! So eee nee ene en SETCZC Un CONe ke Male .. . .. .. rufocognita Ckll. (Probably sexes of one species; ‘see Entomologist, 1913, p. 121.) 11. Abdomen with broad bands of tomentum, in style of N. australica .. .. Shc TA een glint 12. Not like N. australica in abdomen Ah eS ae LAGE eee 15. 12. (All have clear red tegulae.) Middle of mesothorax, except es with tegument red. ane i 8a, Gee dimissa CkIl., ‘female. Mesothorax without red. MME octet Sit ket SNC 13. 13°) Keniale;shair-bands ochreous 2. 4. eee) aoa een ee SGLELLeESI@ ails IMalesieye ene. RT MCR. ci monet tos hae 14. 14. Mesothorax more e hairy . wld" 5% ag bots piece oreo a ele mcr SULELLE SEO MIE Mesothorax less hairy .. .. nana Smith. (These two are probably forms of one species.) 15. Abdomen claviform, with narrow base, and narrow ochreous hair- bands .. . 16. (With white hair- bands: knees red: tarsi very pale reddish. Williamsi Ckil.) Abdomen otherwise .. .. Wye 16. Nearly 10 mm. long, first tergite very ‘long . _ pseudoceratina Ckll., male. Not so long; stigma much paler .. .. .. .. .. halictella Ckll., male. 17. Hind tibiae dusky red (red with a black spot in ulongensis) Hind tibiae black, at most red at end (red in ulongensis) 19. 18. Flagellum black (also in ulongensis) .. .. .. frenchi Ckl1L., male. Flagellum red beneath .. .. x ‘brisbanensis Ckll., male. (Antennae much shorter than in frenchi; legs dark brown. geophila Ckll.) 19. Hind basitarsi red (whitish in male williamsi) .. .... .. 20. Hind basitarsi black or very dark brown .. .. é 24. 20. Larger; abdomen very black, margins of tergites not testaceous os ee . .. moerens ulongensis Ckll., male. Smaller: abdomen. with | margins of ya arg pevond first testaceous mile Male (Thursday I.) Sixt boty eke deg & 3 oes MRE Ree oe Oe " semiaurea thor Ckll. Females .... .. 45, See 22. 22. First tergite subtriangular i in 1 outline, seen “from above. S59 a gle . halictella CklL., female. First. tergite ‘short ‘and very ‘broad bicuulters Sf 2 23. 23. Smaller; abdomen more distinctly punctured _ Ree ac " semipallida Ckll. Larger; abdomen less distinctly punctured; hind tarsi obscure Tedgishys. yas =: .. .. tenuihirta Ckll. 24. A light band of hair | in . suture behind “‘mesothorax (traces of band in MANE ETASCMRLIGUTER)), 27, o.c, save, 10)s,.w's no oe oa ee 25. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Flagellum longer, dark above .. .. .. .. brisbanensis Ckll., “male (very near " frenchi.) Flagellum ‘shorter, all-xedure .. .. nana Sm., male. Female with broad ochreous hair- bands on abdomen .. i: . satelles Ckll. (near to nana.) Hind margins ‘of ‘ter gites fulvous or yellowish red .. .. . 9. No such light band of hair w/b) aos, We Se LS SR ee eee 28. COCKERELL. 45 25. The light band, and tomentum covering postscutellum, fulvous .. The light band, and hair on postscutellum, white .. .. a. 26. Area of metathorax broadened in middle .. .. .. .. triangularis Ckll. Area of metathorax narrow in middle .. .. .. .. .. .. halictella Ckll. 27. Larger; area of metathorax sharply bounded .. .. .. moerens Smith. Smaller; area not sharply bounded; postscutellum covered with dense pure white tomentum .. .. .. .. grisella Ckll. 28. Hind margins of pees beyond first broadly ‘pale orange (Thursday SANG) secs 2 ‘ . .. .. semiaurea thor Ckll. Tergites not thus | Siam diene Oa aha heral aioe tire 29. 29. Extreme apex of abdomen clear red A Ee Na Bes sae Ny 30. Apex not thus red .. .. so (oe 31. 30. Broad hair-bands on abdominal ‘tergites 3 ‘and 4 Bens victoriae Ckll. ( fulvoanalis Fr.) Lacking broad hair- bands on n tergites 3 and 4; tergites 1 to 4 with only short lateral stripes of pure white hair .. .. .. amnalis Friese. SHIL. UREUTEM AS Gee a Be cel) PeLGe ah crack ROPER Salt cert rik rie SPA: IMalest 620 4) 3 : 35. 32. Mesothorax covered ‘with short grey hair, ‘behind ‘which is the intense black scutellum, and then dense pure white hair covering post- scutellum ..... eee tera an 7eeesCOStCKlstemale: Not thus ornamented .. .. Ley, Lane eae ers ae Se: 33. $3. Tegulae black; wings very dark . A eeeiene then cks a ere 34. Tegulae dark rufous; scutellum dull ra Co ciate era ‘brisbanensis Ckil. Tegulae pale testaceous, with or without a dark spot . tenuihirta Ckll. of, .. .. Submoerens Ckll. and moerens Sm. ‘(Submoerens has transverse cross-striated channel of metathorax much narrower in middle, its lower margin straight, except at sides; wings shorter, nervures darker; tegulae anteriorly with a pale marginal spot.) 35. Mesothorax covered with short moss-like grey hair .. muscosa CkIll. Mesothorax not so covered .. .. 36. 36. Tegulae very dark brown... .. hypodonta Ckil. var. a. _ (Turner, 697.) Tegulae broadly pale margined .. .. phe gilberti Ckll. (Like gilberti, but antennae a little shorter, mesothorax shining, postscutellum, without the dense covering of pure white hair. geophila Ckll.) Nomia aenea Smith. Based on a male from Port Essington. It is obscurely aeneous; femora rufo-piceous, tibiae and tarsi ferruginous; flagellum fulvous beneath; apical margin of clypeus and mandibles ferruginous; wings hyaline; apical margins of second and following tergites with pale fulvous pubescence. The hind leg is figured in Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1875, pl. 2, fig. 18. This is a small species, of the N. flavoviridis group, not found in recent years. Nomia aerata Smith. Described from a male, with no better locality than Australia. It is even smaller than N. aenea, of a brassy colour, the head and thorax obscurely so. The flagellum, anterior margin of clypeus and mandibles (except extreme base) rufo-fulvous; legs ferruginous, the femora rufo- piceous above; hind femora slightly swollen, and tibiae dilated at apex; abdomen bright and brassy. 46 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Nomia alboscopacea Friese. Recorded from Queensland; Mackay, Cairns, Atherton and Colosseum. Female 9 mm. long, male 8 mm. It is said to be nearest to N. dentiventris Smith, but more robust, with simple hind legs and venter in male. The female is black, the mesothorax densely yellowish-grey haired; tegulae pale, with browner disc. The abdomen has distinct hair-bands only on tergites 3 and 4. I think this is identical with N. tenuihirta Ckll. Nomia analis Friese. Found by Turner at Mackay, at flowers of Cassia. I had it as a variety of N. victoriae, but it appears to be a distinct species, lacking the broad hair-bands on tergites 3 and 4, tergites 1 to 4 having only short lateral stripes of pure-white hair. In nearly ail respects it agrees with N. vic- toriae. Nomia argentifrons Smith. A small species, size of N. aenea (length 4 lines), in the collection of Sir John Lubbock. The sex is not given, but it is evidently a male, having the hind femora incrassate, the tibiae incrassate and broadly expanded at apex. Black, with scape in front, apex of clypeus, mandibles and anterior tibiae in front pale rufotestaceous; flagellum fulvous beneath; wings hyaline, faintly clouded at apical margin; tergites with white hair-bands, the first broadly interrupted. Nomia aurantifer Cockerell. Cairns and Kuranda, Queensland; type in British Museum. N. luteo- fasciata Friese, is the same. JN. aurantifer swainsoniae Cockerell, is a race described from the National Park, Queensland, but also found by Gibbons at Sydney. N. aurantifer is a magnificent species, the female about 12 mm. long, with the hind margins of tergites 2 to 4 broadly smooth and shining, and of the most brilliant orange; the wings are strongly infuscated. The race swainsoniae (found at flowers of Swainsonia) has also an orange band, broadly interrupted in middle, on first tergite; wings dusky subhyaline, with the apical margin broadly darkened. The male swainsoniae has five orange bands, the first very slender, and obsolescent in middle; the hind tibiae are swollen, with a large apical finger-like projection, but no spurs. Nomia australica Smith. This is the common, relatively large, metallic species, found from West Australia to Victoria, and north to Queensland. Two races have been described; reginae Ckll., from Mackay and Townsville, Queensland, and regis Ckll., from north-west Australia. The race reginae, omitted from Hacker’s Catalogue, is described in both sexes in Entomologist, September, 1905, p. 221. Adelaide is to be considered the type locality of N. australica. Specimens from Melbourne show a black clypeus and scape in the female, and scape varying from black to red in the male. The race reginae has the hair-band on second tergite entire. At Sandringham, Victoria, Mr. Rayment finds N. australica visiting Coreopsis and Hypochaeris. Nomia babindensis Cockerell. Female about 6 mm. long, taken by F. X. Williams at Babinda, Queens- land, in 1919. It is known among the metallic species by the small size COCKERELL. 47 and blue colour, with dark tegulae and mainly black abdomen. The antennae are dark. Nomia brisbanensis Cockerell. Brisbane, Stradbroke Island and Bribie Island, Queensland. Related to N. moerens Smith, but less robust and with much lighter tegulae. I thought at first it might be a colour-variety of N. frenchi Ckll., but the fourth sternite in middle is smooth and shining, with a strong sulcus, which ends a little before the emarginate apex; whereas the fourth ventral in frenchi is roughened and slightly ridged in middle, with a rudimentary sulcus at extreme base. Nomia darwinorum Cockerell. Male collected by Turner at Port Darwin; type in British Museum. Length about 10.5 mm.; very close to N. pulchribalteata Cameron from New Britain, but somewhat larger; hair of face very dense, greyish white: Wings clearer; hind femora more swollen; hind tibiae and tarsi without red; abdominal bands considerably broader, apple-green, shot with ver- million; fourth sternite with a very distinct fringe of white hair. The scutellum is bituberculate, and the postscutellum has a pair of long tooth- like structures. Williams collected both sexes at Halifax and Babinda, Queensland. The female proves to agree very nearly with N. rubroviridis Ckll., except that the flagellum is variably reddened beneath, and the hair of the apical tergites is very dark fuscous, not ochreous. It thus appears probable that N. darwinorum is no more than a race of N. rubroviridis. Nomia dentiventris Smith. Based on a small male from Sydney, of the same size as N. aenea. Black, the abdomen with pale fulvous hair-bands, the third sternite with two blunt teeth; hind femora dilated, the tibiae dilated and abruptly narrowed at their base; tegulae dark rufo-testaceous; legs rufo-piceous, with tibiae, tarsi and apex of femora ferruginous. Nomia dimissa Cockerell. Found by F. P. Dodd in the Cairns district, Queensland. The male is like N. australica reginae, but is smaller and more slender (length about 10.5 mm.), with hyaline wings, faintly dusky at apex; hair of face white, hardly perceptibly yellowish; abdomen dark blue; hind tibiae, seen from behind, with the inner margin strongly angulate below the middle; an- terior lobe of hind tibiae much more broadly truncate. Known from N. australica regis by the flagellum ferruginous beneath, and the abdominal hair-bands strongly yellow. The female has a large red patch on meso- thorax in front. Nomia ferricauda Cockerell. Discovered by Hacker at Brisbane in 1911. It is black, about 8 mm. long (female), and readily known by the black and red abdomen. The legs are dark. Mesothorax dull, with scattered large punctures and numer- ous extremely minute ones. At Como, N.S.W., Musgrave and Campbell found a distinct race, N. ferricauda musgravei Ckll., the female with the third tergite all black, with the broad band of appressed hair greyish- white; fourth tergite black at base, and more broadly at sides, the abdomen beyond this red; area of metathorax not so large, and not so distinctly and regularly cross-ribbed. 48 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Nomia flavoviridis Cockerell. The type, from Mackay, is in the British Museum. There are several races or subspecies, the characters of which are given in the table. N. f. doddi Ckll. was based on males from Townsville (F. P. Dodd), and a female from Parry Harbour, Cape Bougainville. N. f. Adelaidella Ckll. is from Adelaide (Schomburgk), the type in the Berlin Museum. N. f. cyanella Ckll. was taken by Turner at Cooktown, Queensland. N. f. phanerura Ckll. was from Mackay (Turner), but has since been taken as far south as Brisbane. N. f. excellens Ckll., collected by C. Gibbons at Sydney, is in the Aus- tralian Museum. (See Records Australian Museum, xvii. 1929, p. 226.) The N. flavoviridis group, whether regarded as consisting of species or races, will only be adequately elucidated by careful field work and dis- sections. Nomia frenchi Cockerell. Male from Woodend, Victoria (French). Black, length about 7.5 mm.; separated from N. generosa Smith, by the enlarged hind femora and tibiae, and the dark hair on the thorax above; and from N. argentifrons Smith by the black flagellum, and red tibiae and tarsi. It is also allied to N. moerens ulongensis Ckll., which is 10.5 mm. long. Nomia generosa Smith. The type is a male from Moreton Bay, Queensland. It is black, closely and finely punctured, the tibiae and tarsi bright ferruginous; antennae as long as head and thorax; tergites after the first with narrow white hair- bands. The hind femora and tibiae are not enlarged. It is recorded from Mackay in Amer. Mus. Novitates, 343, 1929, p. 11. Nomia geophila Cockerell. Male 8 to 9 mm.; black, with hind margins of second and following tergites hyaline. It is closely related to N. gilberti Ckll., but has antennae a little shorter, mesothorax shining, and postscutellum without the dense covering of pure white hair, nor are there conspicuous white hair-patches at sides of scutellum. In N. frenchi the antennae are very much longer. Type in Queensland Museum (Mem. Queensland Museum, x., 1930, p. 49.) Nomia gilberti Cockerell. Mackay (Turner). The female is very like N. tenuihirta Ckll., from the same locality, but is known by the honey-coloured stigma; more hya- line wings, with the apex obviously darkened; piceous tegulae, with a whitish spot on outer margin; and the structure of the metathorax. Nomia gracilipes Smith. Smith described both sexes from Adelaide. Head and thorax black, the abdomen blue, with the apex ferruginous. The flagellum is bright fulvous beneath in the male. This is a conspicuously smaller species than N. australica Smith. In a female from Darra, Brisbane, the last three ter- gites were chestnut red, much brighter than usual. Nomia grisella Cockerell. Female about 9 mm. long, from Cape York, Queensland. It has more recently been taken at Gordonvale. It is very .close to N. muscosa CkIl., COCKERELL. 49 but third joint of labial palpi longer; mesothorax not so hairy, the dull, very finely punctured surface visible; hind margins of second and follow- ing tergites light testaceous. The tongue is long and filiform. Nomia halictella Cockerell. Found by Turner at Mackay, and now known as far south as Brisbane. Type in British Museum. The female is about 8.5 mm. long, with the aspect of an Halictus; the tergites have the hind margins rufescent, those of third and fourth with broad, dense, entire fulvo-ochraceous hair- bands; on the first and second tergites these bands only appear laterally, or the band on second may be nearly complete. The wings are strongly dusky. The form described as variety triangularis is a distinct species. The male N. halictella has a subclavate abdomen. Nomia hippophila Cockerell. The type, in Berlin Museum, was collected by Coulon at Port Phillip, Victoria. The species goes north to New South Wales. The characters of this, and its race purnongensis Ckll., from Purnong, S.A., are sufficiently indicated in the key. Nomia hypodonta Cockerell. Mackay, Queensland; type in British Museum. Allied to N. denti- ventris Smith, but the male (about 8 mm. long) has the pubescence of a different colour (of head and thorax white, a little yellowish on face, vertex, mesothorax and scutellum), the hind femora do not present a large swelling beneath, and the ferruginous colour on the legs is lacking. The abdomen is blue-black, with the hind margins of the tergites pure black; the third sternite has a pair of prominences, each terminating in a short sharp spine. A variety has the flagellum dull reddish beneath. Nomia kurandina Cockerell. Kuranda, Queensland (Turner). Related to N. gilberti, but easily separated by the apical spots on anterior wings. The male is about 9 mm. long. The female has the dark wing spots more dilute; the clypeus and supraclypeal area show a strong median ridge. The type is in British Museum. WN. macularis Friese, described from Mackay, appears to be the same species. N. kurandina fortior Ckll. (Rec. Australian Museum, Xvii., p. 226) is a larger race from Gundamaian, Port Hacking, N.S.W., where it was found by T. G. Campbell. It has the dark apical wing-spots large and very con- spicuous. Antennae and tegulae entirely black. Nomia latetibialis Friese. Male from Adelaide. A very distinct species, rather suggestive of N. gracilipes Smith. Head and thorax black, but abdomen dark red suf- fused with purple, the third and fourth tergites dark dull purple, except the red hind margins, while the last two tergites are pale testaceous. There are no hair-bands. The venter is flat and simple, except that the fourth sternite is emarginate in the middle, and from beneath the emar- gination projects a stout curved red spine. Flagellum very long. Nomia latiuscula Friese. Female collected by Turner at Mackay. Length 8 to 9 mm., said to be nearest to N. cincta Sm., but clypeus short, normal; pubescence fulvous; 50 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. wings with darkened margin; legs rufous or fulvous. So far as I can make out, this is a synonym of N. semiaurea Ckll. Nomia lepidota Cockerell. Female from Sydney; type in British Museum. It is about 7 mm. long, black, with the hind margins of tergites narrowly reddish. It is known by the very large tegulae (about three-quarters length of meso- thorax), and bandless abdomen. The flagellum is obscure ferruginous beneath; legs very dark reddish. Nomia lyonsiae Cockerell. Female collected by Hacker at Brisbane and Stradbroke Island, Queensland. This is a species allied to the Indian N. ellioti Smith, having a bidentate structure on postscutellum, which is like a fish tail in the female, but has sharper points in the male. The male has a pair of small projections on the strongly bilobed scutellum. The abdomen has broad green tegumentary bands, suffused with vermillion. When the female was described, it was suggested that it might belong with N. dar- winorum Ckll., then only known from the male. Now having both sexes of each, I fail to find any very salient differences, though the scutellum (female) of N. lyonsiae is larger and more flattened. I can only conclude that N. lyonsiae is at best a weak race of N. darwinorum, which is itself hardly more than a race of N. rubroviridis. Nomia melanodonta Cockerell. Male, about 9 mm. long, from Wodonga, Victoria; type in Melbourne Museum. It looks like N. frenchi, but has the flagellum bright ferrugin- ous beneath, dark red above; hind tibiae subtrigonal, with a prominent apical anterior broadly truncate lobe; fourth sternite deeply emarginate, and from the emargination proceeds a polished sharp black tooth. There is no such tooth in N. frenchi. Nomia melanoptera Cockerell. Found by Turner at Kuranda, Queensland; type in British Museum. The female is nearly 10 mm. long, similar to N. stalkeri, N. gilbertt, etc., but distinguished by the very dark wings, dark spurs, and feebly sculp- tured abdomen. It is rather robust, with white and black hair; eyes strongly converging below; a more or less evident raised line down middle of clypeus; tongue long and linear. Nomia melvilliana Cockerell. Male, a little over 7 mm. long, from Melville Island (G. F. Hill); type in American Museum of Natural History. It is very close to N. kurandina, but less robust, with shorter flagellum. The tegulae are pale testaceous. (Amer. Mus. Novitates, 346, 1929, p. 4.) Nomia moerens Smith. Appears to be a common species, from Victoria to National Park, Queensland. The characters are indicated in the table. N. moerens ulon- gensis Ckll. (Rec. Austral Mus., xvii. p. 227), from Ulong, East Dorrigo, N.S.W., is based on males, 10.5 mm. long, with deep chestnut red tegulae. The mandibles, clypeus and antennae are entirely black; hind femora swollen, shining, not appreciably curved; hind tibiae stout, trigonal, the COCKERELL. 51 anterior edge bulging, but no apical lobe. Smith suggested that N. generosa was probably the male of N. moerens. Nomia muscosa Cockerell. The type, from Mackay, is in the British Museum; the species goes south to New South Wales. The female, about 10 mm. long, is super- ficially like N. melanoptera, but has the mesothorax covered with a greyish moss-like tomentum, which appears black-speckled from the origin of many bristle-like black hairs; area of metathorax quite different, the apical triangle dull, and not cut off from the very narrow finely cross- ridged basal band; wings not nearly so dark. The male is similar, with the hind legs very little modified. Nomia nana Smith. New South Wales and South Australia. A specimen in the British Museum is labelled North-west Australia, but this habitat seems to need confirmation. Smith described the male as N. ruficornis, and this name being preoccupied, N. smithella was substituted by Gribodo in 1894. The characters of N. nana are indicated in the table. Nomia pennata Friese. Male, 6-6.5 mm. long, from Adelaide. It is said to be like N. turneri Friese, but with long antennae, fulvous tarsi, and a small brown spot at end of anterior wings. Legs black; tibiae and tarsi more or less fulvous, hind tibiae with a dark spot; tegulae brown; wings hyaline. Nomia pseudoceratina Cockerell. The type, from Mackay, is in the British Museum. From recent studies (Psyche, June, 1930, p. 146) I have concluded that this is the male of N. halictella var. triangularis. It is a distinct species, to be called N. triangu- laris Ckll. Nomia pulchribalteata austrovagans Cockerell. The type, from F. Smith’s collection, is in the British Museum, and is labelled as coming from Adelaide. The male, with two long black spines on postscutellum, is very close to N. westwoodiz Gribodo, from Bengal, and N. pulchribalteata Cameron, from New Britain, but is known by the purple tints of the abdominal bands, resembling in this respect N. formosa Sm., from Celebes. A full description appears in Entomologist, September, 1905, p. 218. I cannot help suspecting that the locality is erroneous. Nomia rubroviridis Cockerell. North-west coast of Australia. Female about 10.5 mm. long; post- scutellum with a bifid fish-tail like process; tegulae large, the inner hind corner pointed, the base fuscous, the middle ferruginous, the outer hind part broadly creamy-white; antennae dark; hind margins of first four tergites with very broad entire emerald-green bands, the first two suffused on their anterior half with vermillion; fifth tergite with a dense fringe of ochreous hair, and apical segment covered with the same. ‘Type in British Museum. Although marked North-west Australia, it bears also the accession number 69.50, which is said to mean “purchased from Mr. Du Boulay, collected in W. Australia, Nicol Bay, Swan River and Champion Bay.” Nomia rufocognita Cockerell. Type, in British Museum, from Mackay. It is a male, and was said to 52 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. be closely allied to N. generosa Sm., but distinguished by the fulvous pubescence. The tegulae are ordinary, bright ferruginous, the margins subhyaline; tibiae and tarsi bright ferruginous, the tibiae with a blackish spot in front. Length about 9 mm. In Entomologist, April, 1913. I con- sidered that this must be the male of N. semiaurea Ckll., from the same locality. However, in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., July, 1829, p. 137, I described what I regarded as the true male of N. semiaurea from Thursday Island. It has a remarkable long black flagellum, the joints curved and producing a twisted effect. All the tarsi are bright chestnut red, the anterior and hind tibiae red at apex. This Thursday Island bee was later separated (1930) as N. semiaurea thor Ckll. It is perhaps a fact that N. rufocognita is after all N. semiaurea, and the Thursday Island insect a distinct species, N. thor? Nomia satelles Cockerell. The type was taken by French at Rutherglen, Victoria. It also occurs in New South Wales. It has a general resemblance to N. australica Smith, but is easily separated by the smaller size (male about 8.5 mm., female 9.5 to 10 mm.), and black colour. The first tergite of the female is closely and finely punctured on the disc as in N. australica. Nomia semiaurea Cockerell. Type female from Mackay, in British Museum. For the characters see the table, and the above discussion under N. rufocognita. It is to be noted that N. semiaurea and N. rufocognita were both published September, 1905; being thus of even date, I choose N. semiaurea as the name of the species, if they are united. Nomia semipallida Cockerell. Type female, about 8 mm. long, from Mackay, in British Museum. Known by the broadly whitish margins of the tergites. Antennae wholly dark; mandibles light ferruginous with the apex black; tongue long and slender; wings dull hyaline; tegulae pale rufous, with a dark basal spot. The second cubital cell is extremely small. Nomia stalkeri Cockerell. Type in British Museum, collected by W. Stalker at Alexandria. It is a male, about 10 mm. long; black, the head and thorax with abundant pale hair, white below, faintly yellowish dorsally; antennae short for a male, flagellum less than 3 mm., ferruginous beneath; wings strongly dusky; hind legs not modified. Very close to N. tenuihirta and N. gilberti, but known by the darker wings and red spurs. Nomia subaustralica Cockerell. Based on the female, in Berlin Museum, from Tennant’s Creek, South Australia. Also from Finke River, Hermannsburg. It is about 11 mm. long, the abdomen somewhat metallic, with broad pale ochreous hair- bands. It resembles N. australica, but differs in many points, having scape red in front; base of flagellum (about two joints) lively red above and below, rest of flagellum black, except a reddish stain at apex; tegulae pale testaceous, the margins whitish; mesothorax densely covered in front, behind, and more or less at sides with easily deciduous moss-like light fulvous hair, and with no erect black hair; stigma shorter; abdomen black, the first two tergites strongly tinted with green (or purplish on second). COCKERELL. 53 Nomia submoerens Cockerell. Discovered by Littler at Bridport, Tasmania. It appears to be common on that island. The female is like N. moerens, but the transverse cross- striated channel at base of metathorax is much narrower in middle; wings shorter, nervures darker; tegulae anteriorly with a pale marginal spot. Nomia tenuthirta Cockerell. Collected by Turner at Mackay; type in British Museum. The male is about 8 mm. long; black, even to the tarsi, the flagellum obscure brownish beneath; abdomen without distinct hair-bands. The female is very like that of N. gilberti, but has the basal enclosure of metathorax almost linear at sides, dull, granular, without distinct cross-ridges; tegulae pale tes- taceous, fuscous basally, and with a whitish patch posteriorly; stigma dark reddish-piceous; wings more dusky, the apex uniform with the rest. N. latitarsis Friese is a synonym. Nomia testaceipes (Friese). Male found by the celebrated botanist von Mueller in Central Australia. It is one of the WN. flavoviridis group, distinguished by the black head, mesothorax and scutellum (though dark green pleura); lower half of clypeus white; flagellum bright ferruginous beneath, but dusky above; tegulae clear bright apricot colour; legs red, with the femora more or less dark; abdomen dark olive green, but lighter and brighter on first tergite; third and fourth sternites each with a pair of light ferruginous pro- tuberances. Nomia tomentifera (Friese). A Queensland species, from Kuranda, Babinda, Cooktown and Dunk Island. It is a distinct form, readily determined from the table. Friese sent out both this and N. semiaurea as N. cincta var. tomentifera; the differences are set forth in Amer. Mus. Novitates, 343, 1929, p. 10. Nomia triangularis (Cockerell) . Type from Mackay, in British Museum. See above under N. pseudo- ceratina and N. halictella. The differential characters are given in the table. Nomia turneri Friese. Male, 7 mm. long, taken by Turner at Mackay, at flowers of Eucalyptus in March. It is said to resemble N. nana Sm. (but what Friese had as N. nana was N. halictella Ckll.), but with unusually short and thick antennae, and tergites 2 and 3 with reddish margin. All the tarsi are yellowish; wings almost clear; tegulae brown. Nomia victoriae Cockerell. Type, in the Berlin Museum, from Ararat, Victoria. N. fulvoanalis Friese, from the same locality, is a synonym. For the characters see the table, and note under the closely related N. analis Friese. See also Amer. Mus. Novitates, 343, 1929, p. 9. Nomia williamsi Cockerell. Male taken by F. X. Williams at Halifax, Queensland, in 1919; type in Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. It is about 7.3 mm. long, very close to N. halictella, but smaller, with white instead of fulvous hair, and darker flagellum. The stigma is large, light orange-fulvous, the 54 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. nervures pale testaceous; hind legs not modified; venter of abdomen simple, except for a large patch of pale fulvous-tinted tomentum. The scape is entirely black, whereas in N. argentifrons Sm. it is rufotestaceous in front. I have not tried to sort the above Nomia into subgenera, but the sub- genus Hoplonomia, Ashmead, 1904, includes those with a bidentate process or pair of spines on postscutellum, and metallic tegumentary bands on abdomen. It is found widely distributed in the Oriental Region. The Australian species are very closely allied to the Asiatic ones. Friese, in 1924, published a “Nomia (?) flavopunctata,’ female 7 mm. long, found by Turner at Mackay, visiting Xanthorrhoea in April. It is said to be known by the anterior corners of thorax and the tubercles thickly covered with yellow tomentum. This seems to me to be a Para- colletes of the type of P. irroratus Smith, for the characters of which see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., June, 1926, p. 661. REEPENIA Friese. Published in 1909 as a subgenus of Nomia, the type being N. variabilis Friese. It was separated on the abdominal characters, but the stigma on the hind wings (at least in the Australian species) is more remarkable. Reepenia eboracina (Cockerell). The male was found by Froggatt at Cape York, Queensland. It also occurs at Gordonvale. I have placed the species in the table of Nomia, where sufficient characters for recognition are given. The genus Nomioides is related to Halictus, not to Nomia. NoTE.—In the account of Megachile (Q.) signifies that the species is represented in the Queensland Museum. 55 A FURTHER CONTRIBUTION TO THE BREEDING HABITS OF MOGURNDA (MOGURNDA) ADSPERSUS CASTELNAU: THE TROUT GUDGEON. By R. Hamiyn-Harris, D.Sc. (Communicated by G. A. Waterhouse, D.Sc.) The breeding of small native larvivorous freshwater fish, such as the Gudgeons, Sunfish, etc., in captivity, will develop quite naturally, along normal lines—(a) when the fish have become used to their surroundings and remain undisturbed, (b) the water in the aquarium has become well balanced, (c) if the fish are mature and in good condition, and (d) if the food supply is abundant and constant. Regular observations made from time to time on other oviparous larvae-eating fish, spread over a period of five years, suggest that their breeding habits are not markedly dissimilar. Some notes on the habits of Queensland larvivorous fish, together with illustrations are given by Hamlyn-Harris (3). On October 24th, 1930, a pair of mature Trout Gudgeons (Mogurnda (Mogurnda) adspersus Castelnau) managed to produce a cluster of about 150 transparent eggs laid on one of the glass sides of an aquarium roughly measuring 14 x 24 x 14 inches; the male, a fine specimen of about 43 inches in length, instantly took charge of the eggs, fertilised them, and then at fairly regular intervals throughout the day kept the water and the eggs in a constant state of agitation by the slow motion of the pectoral fins. At least a week prior to the deposition of these eggs, the male had paid marked attentions to the female, which she on her part did not resent. Her restlessness was characteristic, she kept him constantly on the move, when they did come into contact she would roll over on her side in the most tantalising manner, whilst the male would literally shiver all over and do likewise; meanwhile the display of nuptial colouring was unceasing —or, when cornered, the female would lie prone on the bottom of the sand, whilst the male would poke or prod his mate with his mouth, she rolling over the while. This peculiar method of drawing attention to one another is common in both sexes, and is not confined to any one particular species. The following table gives an excellent bird’s-eye view of what was enacted during oviposition, covering a period of about four months. Batch Egg Laid. Eggs Hatched. Interval in days between No. one batch and another. ile Oct. 24th Oct. 30th 2 days PA: Nov. 2nd Nov. 7th 3 days Bi. Nov. 10th Disappeared 3 days over night 4. Nov. 13th Nov. 19th 4 days 5. Nov. 24th Dec. 1st 6 days 6. Dec. 7th Dec. 13th — Ue Jan. 29th Feb. 5th — The first six batches of eggs were laid by the same female and cared for by the same male—the former died on December 16th, and was re- placed by another mate on January 27th of the following year, and, two days after, the seventh batch of eggs was laid. 56 BREEDING HABITS OF TROUT GUDGEON. The interval between the hatching of the eggs and the laying of the new batch was spent by the male mainly in an ostentatious display of nuptial finery, and the female, in order to demonstrate her affability, like- wise assumed colouring not unlike that of the male. There is not much difference between the male and the female, except perhaps in the size of the fins, though the male colouring is, if anything, more intense. Blewett (1) refers to individualistic differences of size and colour, none of which are of any diagnostic value. Whilst these attentions were in full swing the female remained-afiloat, but as soon as she commenced to resent him, she would sink to the bottom of the tank, in hiding, and change to a darker or less conspicuous colour. As soon as the first batch of eggs had been laid, the male ,treated the female with great hostility, and unless successful in keeping her at a dis- tance of at least a tank’s length, he seemed restless, making menacing darts here and there in the water. This hostility to the female was ex- tended to all other fish in the tank, and for a long time these smaller fish eluded him and sought shelter from his onslaughts by hiding amongst the green vegetation or debris at the bottom of the tank, always assuming a protective colouring so that they became dark and almost invisible in the debris, or grey and mottled in sand. This hostility to other fish persisted until they were finally disposed of. The parents now in full possession of the tank became less agitated, and the male confined himself to the care of the eggs by bringing his body into close contact with them, and by constant working of the pectoral fins, would keep the eggs in a state of movement and agitation; sometimes the ventral fins were also brought into play at the same time as the caudal fin. Whilst this was going on the mouth kept opening and shutting, the whole movement seeming to be in the nature of a caress. This was carried out at intervals of about half an hour or less through- out the whole six days. What happened at night did not transpire, but it is surmised that both sexes would be more or less quiescent during the hours of darkness. I have visited the aquaria on many occasions during the early part of the night and have found the fish invariably lying motionless on the sandy bottom. The eggs hatched out on the 30th, having accomplished exactly six days of incubation, the young fish measured 4-5 mm. long. No sooner had the eggs hatched out than the male once more resumed friendly re- lationship, his attentions being responded to ungrudgingly. The deposition and the fertilisation of the ova of this species is pro- bably done in the early hours of the morning; it never actually fell to my lot to see the process. As a rule these intimate relationships were never observed when anyone was on the move. The impression gained was that these fish are naturally shy and quick to notice the presence of an in- truder; aquarium fish take little notice of their owners, but distinctly re- sent the interference of a stranger. Though Gale (2) makes some re- ference to the fertilisation of the ova, it is quite clear from his description that he never actually saw the emission of the milt. A second batch of eggs, rather less in number than the first, was found deposited on the same side of glass a few inches from the first, on Monday morning, November 3rd. The amount of attention given by the male to this second batch was considerably less than that bestowed upon the first, and yet the great majority hatched out on November 7th and the remain- ing 12 on November 8th, apparently none the worse. By this time the male had once again resumed nuptial colouring, with the constant snapping HAMLYN-HARRIS. am of the jaws and a display of his really beautiful extended fins he had no difficulty in commanding the attention of the female. From observation it seems fairly conclusive that these preliminary tactics are absolutely necessary aS a measure towards the development of the eggs, the fertilisa- tion of which, however, does not take place until the eggs have left the female’s body. On November 10th a third batch of eggs was laid on another side of the tank and the male seemed to take no interest in these at all, possibly they remained unfertilised, for by November 11th the eggs, with the ex- ception of three, had utterly disappeared. By November 13th a fourth and larger batch of eggs was laid over night, between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. the next morning. The devotion of the male towards this fourth lot of eggs was exemplary, the female remaining motionless in the far corner of the tank, whilst the male’s only movements during this period were devoted to the actual care of the eggs. By November 17th the eggs were far advanced, the pigment spots showing up very clearly; they all hatched out by the morning of November 19th. “Courting” started again almost immediately, and by November 24th the fifth batch of eggs consisting of about 100 appeared. This was guarded and fanned just as the others had been, until the hatching of the eggs six days after. Now, in order to give the young fish a chance, it was decided on December 2nd to move the parents to another tank, and the young were left to their own resources. The mortality among these was enormous, for out of the whole five batches of eggs only about a couple of dozen ultimately survived. Blewett (1) in his interesting observations on this fish refers to the inability of the young fry to swim properly. Nothing of this sort was noticed by me; the young seemed perfectly balanced at all times as they moved through the water. Soon after this the parents were fed on a more lavish scale in order to test the extra activities which might result therefrom. Young tadpoles, being particularly plentiful at the time, were placed in the tank, and were devoured by both sexes in large quantities. A diet of mosquito larvae was not by any means refused by either sex at any time during the breeding season. Development was undoubtedly influenced, and another, the sixth batch of eggs was laid by December 8th, the eggs were more numerous than ever and numbered about 200 in all. By December 13th all eggs had hatched by 9 a.m. and, contrary to expectations, the male became ex- tremely antagonistic to his mate, possibly because she found the young a dainty morsel. After this she became completely cowed and remained so until her death on December 16th. It is difficult to say to what cause death was actually due, but she possessed external signs of violence and prior to death seemed to have lost all her “punch.” A cursory macro- scopic examination revealed the ovaries still sufficiently developed to pro- duce further eggs. His mate no sooner dead, than the male commenced to mope, took no interest in anything, but just rested on the sandy bottom of the tank. After a lapse of six weeks a small undersized female was introduced. She was apparently quite immature, so that it came as a great surprise when she produced a normal batch of eggs within three days of her introduction into the tank. Prior to the deposition of the eggs, the colour display by both fish was most elaborate, but the moment the eggs had been laid the female became drab and uninteresting, and the male once more commenced most as- 58 BREEDING HABITS OF TROUT GUDGEON. siduously to guard the eggs, driving the female away as before. This final batch of eggs was hatched out on January 5th, 1931, since which no eggs have been produced. The premature death of this female after a lapse of only three weeks seems rather significant and suggests deliberate inten- tion on the part of the male to get rid of an encumbrance of which he had no longer any need. Summary and Conclusions. 1. In captivity there appears to be but little variation in the breeding habits of the Trout Gudgeon. 2. Stimulative feeding tends to hasten oviposition, and to increase the number of eggs laid. Oviposition does not take place, however, un- less the male is sufficiently energetic in his attentions, which take the form of a constant display of nuptial colouring, and, in addition, a ten- dency to “knead” the body of the female with his mouth. The will and the ability to deposit from 120 to 200 eggs at a time seems dependent upon such attentions, strange as it may appear, in view of the fact that fer- tilisation of the eggs does not take place until after they have been fastened upon a secure foundation. 3. The eggs are laid in rows which tend to converge towards the centre, and are mutually attached to one another, and to the whole batch. 4. Each batch of eggs requires on an average six days to mature, and with few exceptions the individual eggs hatch within a very short time of one another. 5. As soon as one batch is disposed of “courting” commences almost immediately and proceeds normally until the next batch of eggs is laid. 6. Comparatively few young fish survive in confinement; this is due to the cannibalistic tendencies of the female, who, without compunction, eats her own offspring; later on, however, when the male settles down again he becomes just as cannibalistic as she. Literature. 1. BLEWETT, CLARENCE.—‘Habits of Some Australian Freshwater Fishes.” S. Aust. Nat., 10, 1929, 21-29. 2. GALE, ALBERT—‘Notes on the Breeding Habits of the Purple-striped Gudgeon.” Aust. Zool., 1, 1924, 25-26. 3. Hamiyn-Harris, R—“The relative value of Larval Destructors and the part they play in Mosquito Control in Queensland.” Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland, 41, 1929. 59 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. By Tom IreEpALE, Conchologist, and A. F. Basset HuLL, Honorary Correspondent, Australian Museum, Sydney. (By Permission of the Trustees.) Continued from Vol. vi., p. 168. (Plate iii.) V. Family CryproconcHipaE (Continued.) x. Genus NOTOPLAX. 1861. Notoplax H. Adams, P.Z.S., 1861, 385. Type by monotypy Cryptoplaz (Notoplax) speciosa H. Adams. 1878. Macandrellus Dall, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., i., 1878, 299. Type by ori- ginal designation Acanthochites costatus H. Adams & Angas (specimen from Port Jackson, Australia). 1893. Loboplazr Pilsbry, Nautilus, vii, 32. Type by original designation Chiton violaceus Quoy & Gaimard. 1928. Pseudotonicia Ashby, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 58, 1927, 392, February 14, 1928. Type by monotypy Tonicia cuneata Suter. Shells small to medium, broadly oval, tegmentum rather small, sculp- ture generally of granules, but sometimes almost smooth (Pseudotonicia) ; lateral and pleural areas confluent, rarely a dividing rib being formed of massed granules; dorsal area more or less differentiated, rarely distinctly marked off; anterior valve indefinitely radially five ribbed; posterior valve proportionately large; insertion plates large; anterior valve showing five slits, median one slit and posterior multislit; girdle very broad, varying from leathery with obscure sutural tufts, to completely spiculose with dense large tufts. This group is difficult to define, though outstanding members have been easily distinguished as Notoplaz, the type of which group is very notable, and Loboplaz, whose type is also very remarkable. The girdle shows intermediates and the tegmentum also varies, so that it becomes a matter of opinion as to the limits of the groups. Ashby has unfortunately complicated matters for Neozelanic students with a series of papers on these shells, in which his rambling comments generally mutually contra- dict each other. Ashby suggested Iredale did not understand the charac- ters of Craspedochiton when he considered it a section of the genus Acanthochites, yet displays his own ignorance of the essential features by describing as a new species of Notoplar the immature of one of his own species which he allotted to Craspedochiton. We cannot go into detail correcting Ashby’s numerous misstatements and mistakes, but simply warn students that every one of his remarks must be carefully criticised. His value of taxonomic characters in this group is worthless, as he has des- cribed immature shells in different genera more than once, and his so- called “phylogenetic classifications” are not even amusing. 31. NOTOPLAX VIOLACEA. (Plate ili., figs. 1, 5-8.) 1835. Chiton violaceus Quoy & Gaimard, Voy de 1’Astrol. Zool., iii., 403, pl. 73, figs. 15-20. Tasman Bay, N.Z. Type in Paris Museum. 1836. Chiton violaceus Deshayes, Hist. Anim. s. Vert. (Lam.), ed. 2, vii., 519. 1843. Acanthochaetes violaceus Gray, Travels in N.Z., Dieff., ii., 246. 60 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. 1847. Chiton violaceus Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. 8, fig. and sp. 41. 1847. Chiton porphyreticus Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. x., sp. and fig. 56, April. New Zealand. Type in British Museum. 1852. Chiton violaceus Gould, U.S. Epl. Exped., 331, fig. 420. 1872. Katharina violacea Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 182. 1873. Katharina violacea Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 50. 1873. Acanthochaetes porphyreticus Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 50. 1880. Acanthochites porphyreticus Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 117. 1880. Acanthochites violacea Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll. 118. 1893. Acanthochites violaceus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 39, pl. 3, figs. 67-73. 1897. Acanthochites violaceus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 193. 1904. Acanthochites violaceus Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Acanthochites violaceus Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1909. Loboplax violacea Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. i. (Chun’s Zoologica, heft 56), 37, pl. v., figs. 13-15. 1913. Acanthochites violaceus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 30. Atlas. pl. 2, fig. 11, pl. 4, fig. 5. 1914. Macandrellus violaceus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 130. 1915. Macandrellus violaceus Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 425. 1922. Acanthochiton violacea (sic) Ashby, Trans. Soc. South Austr., xlvi., 578 (type examined ?). 1922. Acanthochiton violaceus var. papillo Ashby, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., xlvi., 578 (error). 1923. (Acanthochiton violaceus) Lamy, Bull. Mus. d’Hist. Nat., Paris, 1923, 260, footnote (correction). 1924. Loboplaxr violaceus Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 8. 1926. Loboplax violaceus Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 16, pl. iii., fig. la-c. 1926. Loboplax violaceus var. dunedinensis Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 18, Dunedin, N.Z. 1926. Loboplax violaceus var. papillo Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 18. 1928. Notoplar (Loboplar) violaceus Ashby, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 58, 1927, 401, February 14, 1928. 1928. Notoplax (Loboplazx) violaceus var. papilio Ashby, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 58, 1927, 401, February 14, 1928. As there has been some doubt as to the correct determination of Chiton violaceus Q. & G., we reproduce their description: “Chiton violaceus Q. & G., Planche 73, figs. 15-16 (Le méme, variété, figs. 17-20). Chiton, corpore ovali, convexiusculo, carnoso, levi, subrubro aut luteo, duodeviginti punctis pilosis notato; ossiculis confertis triangularibus violaceis; primo hexago. Varietas, pallio lutescente punctis rubris irrorato. Cette belle espéce fait le passage des Chitonelles de M. de Blainville aux Oscabrelles de M. de Lamarck. En effet, ses valves sont rétrécies, arrondies, en partie recouvertes par le manteau. Elles se touchent cepen-- dant encore, mais seulement par leurs extrémities. Les grand faisceaux de poils sont remplacés par dix-huit pores fort petites, qui contiennent encore des soies qu’on ne peut voir qu’a la loupe. Les branchies ne sont point aussi longues que dans les Chitonnelles; plus cependant que dans lOscabrelle proprement dite, ou nous allons voir les osselets ne plus se toucher du moins en partie. L’Oscabrion violet est ovalaire, un peu allongé, plus elargi en arriére qu’en devant, 2 manteau épais, charnu, lisse, d’un brun de chocolat clair, ayant, de chaque cdté, prés des osselets, deux petits pores rugueux. Les IREDALE AND HULL. 61 osselets, moins le premier, sont en forme de selle, larges, comme ailés, leur partie saillante est triangulaire, en forme d’écusson elargi en arriére, por- tant, au milieu, une carene en V. transversalement striée, tandis que les cotés sont granuleux, écailleux. Les apophyses d’insertion sont beaucoups plus grandes que le disque, subarrondies avec une scissure latérale qui les divise en deux de chaque cote. Tous les osselets sont 2 peu prés de méme grandeur et de méme forme, excepté les deux extrémes. L’antérieur, ar- rondi, a six dents, qui correspondent a autant d’angles en relief de l’ecusson, le postérieur n’en a que cing, qui sont bifurquées. La coquille est d’un beau violet veloute en dessus, un peu plus foncé sur le triangle médian; elle est verte en dessous. Le pied est d’un jaune legérement rougeatre. Les lamelles branchiales, au nombre de vingt de chaque coté, occupent environ les deux tiers posterieurs du corps. Le pied est proportionellement, étroit, et le voile buccal tres-circonscrit. La variete que nous faisons figurer a la manteau jaune, avec des taches et des stries transverses rougeatres. La coquille est plus pale. Il est des individus sur lesquels on ne peut voir les pores lateraux, qui sont les ouvertures de canaux aquiféres, par lesquels nous avons vu jaillir l'eau que ces Mollusques absorbent. Cet Oscabrion habite l’anse de l’Astrolabe, a la baie Tasman de la Nouvelle-Zélande. “Nous possédons un individu, dont les valves usées sont plus larges et moins longues que dans les autres. Dimensions, Longueur 20 lignes. Largeur 13 lignes. Hauteur 6 ou 7.” This is the complete account, and it will be seen that the word ‘“papillo” does not occur in any place. Ashby has written ‘“Acanthochiton violaceus var. papillo” Type. On another card marked ‘Quoy et Gaimard, 1883, N.Z.’ is a dissected specimen with anterior valve missing. All valves smooth and of peculiar shape. I am rather doubtful whether this is re- ferable to the same species. It is referred to in Voy. de l’Astrolabe at top of page 520 under the name ‘papillo.’” This was written from notes carelessly made in a few minutes in the Paris Museum, and, although Lamy has drawn attention to the blunders, Ashby has twice reiterated his errors. We would point out then that on page 520 of the Voy. of the Astrolabe, Vol. iii., a bivalve (Pholas globulosa) is being described. Chiton violaceus appears on pages 403-05, and there is a “varietas, pallio . . .” which may have misled Ashby. However, “Quoy et Gaimard, 1883, N.Z.,” should have warned Ashby, as both these great collectors were dead before then; neither would 1833 have been cor- rect, and apparently the shell examined by Ashby was not related to our species in any sense, but may be Chaetopleura papilio Spengler. Curiously the only synonym is Chiton porphyreticus Reeve, whose description reads: “Shell somewhat elongately ovate, valves punctured in the middle, verrucosely rough on each side, with a single ridge along the edge of the lateral areas, anterior terminal valve radiately five-ribbed, posterior small, blunt; cinereous purple, with a conspicuous yellow spot, dotted with black at the edge and stained with bright purple in the middle, along the umbonal summit of each valve; ligament coriaceous, spreading partially over the sides of the valves, and furnished with small tufts. “Acanthochaetes violaceus Gray, Appendix to Dieffenbach’s, New Zea- land (not C. violaceus Quoy) . “Habitat: New Zealand. “A beautifully painted species, easily distinguished by the bright purple colouring of the umbonal summit, which appears constant in all the speci- 62 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. mens I have seen; the punctures of the central portion of the valves also afford an unusual contrast with the rest of the surface which is raised in small warts.” Ashby has commented: “The Tasman Bay, Wellington, and Doubtless Bay specimens show some individual variation, but not wide differences, while those from Dunedin have the diagonal rib in the median valves ill-defined and completely granulose, and the ray-ribs in the anterior valve do not have the highly raised growth ridges common to the speci- mens from the other localities. If these characters are supported by the examination of a longer series, it might be well to distinguish this variety under the name dunedinensis.” So far the variation seems indefinite, although at first sight Ashby’s distinctions appear tenable, but a series from any locality soon dispels that supposition. The specimen figured shows the anterior valve with strongly raised growth ridges, and it came from Dunedin. 32. NOTOPLAX MARIAE. (Plate iii., fig. 35.) 1908. Acanthochites (Loboplax) mariae Webster, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 40, 1907, 254, pl. xx., figs. 1-11. Orua Bay, Manukau Harbour, N.Z. Type ? in coll. Brookes. 1909. Loboplax stewartiana Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. i, (Chun’s Zoologica, heft 56), 37, pl. v., figs. 8-12. Stewart Is. N.Z. Type in Paris Museum. 1910. Acanthochites (Craspedochiton) mariae Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 102, June (= stewartiana). 1913. Acanthochites mariae Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 28, 1080, Atlas, pl. 4, fig. 3. 1914. Macandrellus mariae Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 130. 1915. Macandrellus mariae Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 425. 1926. Notoplax (Amblyplax) mariae Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 23, April, 30. 1926. Notoplax (Amblyplaz) mariae stewartiana Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., Xvli., 25, pl. ii., figs. 1 a-c. 1926. Notoplax (Amblyplax) mariae haurakiensis Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., Xvii., 26, pl. ii., figs. 3a-c. Hauraki Gulf, 20 fathoms, N.Z. Type in Auckland Museum, N.Z. Webster described this species as follows: ‘Shell elongated, elevated, dorsal angle about 110. Colour greenish-grey, minutely freckled with dark, latero-pleural areas crowded with flattened granules, strap-shaped or oval, as in A. zelandicus, all the valves being bordered with irregular, raised, white, pebble-like granules of the same type as those in A. violaceus, with which this species also agrees in having five prominent lobes on the anterior valve, the ribs being of white raised elongated granules, the ribs of all valves similarly marked; another characteristic feature is the pre- sence of three almond-shaped white granules just within the posterior edge of each median valve. Dorsal areas wedgeshaped, the edges being serrated, sculptured with cuneiform lyrulae. The posterior valve has the tegmentum longer than the breadth, the hooked mucro being slightly postmedian; the area behind it is concave, white, composed of oblong granules, bordered on either side by others of longer form, but of the same colour. Anterior valve with 5 slits corresponding to the ribs; median valves with 1 slit, the posterior with many slits, the denticles being mostly bifid. In the type these denticles are perpendicular, and not visible from IREDALE AND HULL. 63 above; in other specimens they extend outwards, and may be seen beyond the tegmentum; in such specimens the mucro is not so prominent, the white area narrower, and composed of long granules like those bordering the oblong granules of the type, these latter being altogether absent, as also are the raised white borders of the valves. It may be that these specimens have not attained their full development, as none of them ap- proach the type in size. Interior blue-green, white towards the edges. Girdle grey-green, leathery, a minute pore at each suture, 4 on anterior valve. The dotted lines on figs. 5 and 7 show the limit of the white granular patch. Figs. 6 and 7 represent the posterior valve of a second specimen. Length of dried specimen, 35 mm.; width, 18 mm. Habitat: Orua Bay, Manukau Harbour, New Zealand; on rocks at low tide. Type in Coll. W. H. Webster. The type is unique; seven of the less-developed speci- mens were found. The apparent hybridism is striking, especially as I have never found A. violaceus on the west coast, though a very small form of A. zelandicus is fairly common.” Shortly afterwards Thiele described a shell labelled, in the Paris Museum, Stewart Island, as Loboplazr stewartiana, but the description and figures which are here reproduced fit the “mariae”’ of Webster so com- pletely that it was at once regarded by Iredale and Suter as synonymous. Fig. 1. A. Acanthochites (Loboplar) mariae, copy of Webster’s figures. B. Loboplax stewartiana, copy of Thiele’s figures. On account of the locality, Ashby has used the name subspecifically, but we now suggest that the locality is false and that the Paris Museum shells came from the North Island. This is quite a legitimate suggestion, as prior to Thiele’s examination the collection of Loricates in the Paris Museum had been mishandled by Rochebrune, labels and specimens being disarranged and even lost. Since Thiele’s time, Dupuis has continued the confusion and dispersal of specimens, so that Ashby’s notes on the “types” are valueless and misleading, and no good use can be made of reference to the Loricate collection at this time. When Ashby admitted stewartiana as a subspecies he also proposed haurakiensis as a subspecies for speci- 64 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. mens dredged in Hauraki Gulf. We have examined similar shells and cannot separate them by any constant feature from the shore shell, so relegate stewartiana and haurakiensis to mariae absolutely until better material allows of clear distinction. It is possible that haurakiensis may be the same as the species Ashby later called brookesi whose description follows. The variation seen is at present inexplicable, and we can only hope that some student in New Zealand will attempt a study with ample material, and differentiate the species, or else unite them with reliable data. While we are prejudiced in favor of separation, we have been com- pelled to advocate unity. 33. NOTOPLAX BROOKESI. (Plate iii., figs. 33, 34.) 1929. Notoplar (Amblyplar) brookesi Ashby, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 60, 370, pl. 32, figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, August 29. Tauranga Harbour, 3 fathoms, N.Z. Ashby’s description is here reproduced, as this appears to be a very distinct species, but is another example of the valuelessness of Ashby’s taxonomic remarks, as his good photographs show valves of a typical Loboplaz, certainly not of an Amblyplaz, a subgenus of his own intro- duction. “General appearance: Valves reduced, girdle very broad, encroaching slightly at the sutures, anterior valve ray-ribbed, lateral area defined by a diagonal fold, dorsal area strongly raised and longitudinally lined, pleural and lateral areas equally sculptured with flat, elongate, spaced granules, coloured with mottlings varying from dark-grey to greenish-grey, thereby giving to the whole shell a greenish-grey tone. The girdle is almost unique, being densely clothed with very long, slender, adpressed white spicules, almost resembling long, white hairs. “Anterior valve: Five ray-ribs, which are barely raised, but defined by large, flat, elongate, ovate granules, the whole valve is decorated with large, flat, ovate to subacute granules, commencing minute at the apex and increasing in size towards the girdle. “Median valve: Dorsal area beaked, raised, whitish, with longitudinal lining, but only longitudinally grooved near the beak; this area is closely transversely grooved, and in addition is irregularly crossed by several broad growth grooves; pleural area is evenly decorated with large, elon- gate, subacute flat grains; these increase in size anteriorly, and towards the girdle; the lateral area is indicated by a diagonal fold, the posterior margin is recurved slightly at the girdle, sculpture is similar to that of the pleural area, except that the granules are larger. “Tail valve: Mucro posterior of central, slope immediately behind mucro very steep, from there to the posterior margin concave, the broadly wedge-shaped portion immediately behind mucro is white, and the grains are large, circular and convex; the rest of this valve decorated with flat, elongate, ovate, subacute granules similar to the median valves, except that the granules are here less pointed. “Articulamentum: Inside white merging into pale bluish-green to- wards dorsal ridge and posterior margin, slits, anterior valve 5, median 1/1, tail 11, teeth very thick in tail valve, edge blunt, sometimes notched in the middle, shallowly grooved on the outside, the insertion plate rather broader than is usual in this subgenus; sutural laminae in median and tail valves produced forward and broad, sinus between, medium, insertion plate of anterior valve broad, finely grooved on outside, teeth sharp. IREDALE AND HULL. 65 “Girdle: Broad, densely clothed with adpressed, long, slender, white spicules, measuring, in complete example, 812 mmm. long by 37 mmm. at base, tapering to 25 mmm. towards the point; hair tufts composed of white, glassy, straight spicules, measuring 1,320 mmm. in length, by 37 mmm. to 50 mmm. at base, tapering to 13 mmm. at point. “Habitat: Tauranga Harbour, dredged, 3 fathoms. “Comparisons: As compared with oliveri, the insertion plate of the anterior valve is double the width, the insertion plate of the tail valve is broader and more dentate. It is easily distinguished from oliveri, mariae, and the two subspecies of this latter, stewartiana and haurakiensis, by the absence of the “comma-like” grooving of the dorsal area, and the spicu- lose girdle-clothing, from rubiginosus and foveauxensis, by the sculpture, consisting of flat, instead of convex grains, and the long slender spicules of the girdle-clothing. This form is nearer Notoplaz s.s. than any other known member of this subgenus.” We have figured a specimen received from the late Captain J. Bollons, many years ago, as dredged in Hauraki Gulf, which we describe here: — Shell elongate, valves thin, narrow, deep, flattened, back rounded, posterior valve comparatively large, girdle broad, thickly spinulose, sutural tufts prominent. Sculpture fine. Colour dull cream. Anterior valve faintly five-waved, otherwise completely granulose, granules separate, elongate oval, convex, a few larger on the waves towards the margin, apical granules very small. All median valves and posterior valve show- ing a well-developed distinct dorsal area, which is superficially smooth, but under a lens shows pitting longitudinally on posterior half and trans- verse growth-lines anteriorly. The valves are deep, the depth being more than half their breadth, anteriorly narrowing and the posterior edge wavy with apical mucro. Sculpture as in anterior valve, the lateral areas not differentiated, rarely a slight wave or a large granule or two indicating their position. Posterior valve comparatively large, mucro elevated, post- median, postmucronal slope steep, area flattened and concave, but not otherwise differentiated. Girdle densely clothed, with fine white spicules, sutural tufts, large and prominent, their spicules very fine and long. In- terior white. Slits 5-1-7-9, variable in posterior valve. Dimensions: 25 x 12mm. (Fig. 34.) With this specimen was another which we have also figured and here describe: — Shell elongate, valves narrow and deep, flattened, back rounded, pos- terior valve proportionately large, girdle broad, thickly spiculose, sutural tufts prominent. Sculpture coarse. Colour bright orange. Anterior valve with indistinct waves, three noticeable, two lateral ones only detected by large granules; granules large, separate, varying from elongate to rounded ovals in shape, larger towards the edges, apical portion with very small granules. Median valves and posterior valve with well marked dorsal area, fairly narrow, longitudinally pitted, pits becoming obsolete anteriorly where indistinct growth lines appear. Lateral and pleural areas coalesce without distinction, the granular sculpture consisting of large convex ovals. Valves strongly narrowed anteriorly, posterior edge sinuate and mucronate. Posterior valve comparatively large, mucro postmedian, postmucronal area small and deeply concave, granular sculpture smaller than of preceding valves. Girdle broad, densely clothed with very fine white spicules, pro- minent sutural tufts of similar larger spicules densely packed. Interior white. Slits 5-1-7-9, variable in posterior valve. Dimensions: 18.5 x 11 mm. (Fig. 33.) 66 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. Though of different appearance, owing to the coarser sculpture, this latter appears to be conspecific, as other details all coincide, and it is more than possible that this is a variant of mariae, and we now only admit it tentatively. The coarse variety may be named fortior until the puzzles of the Neozelanic Notoplaxr and Craspedochiton be solved. As noted above, it is possible these are conspecific with Ashby’s N. mariae haurakiensis, and also with Miss Mestayer’s Macandrellus oliveri. 34. NOTOPLAX LEUCONOTA. (Plate iii., figs. 3, 19-23.) 1912. Acanthochites leuconotus Hedley & Hull, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., XXXVii., 275, pl. xii., figs. 4, a-f. Lord Howe Island. Type in Australian Museum, Sydney. The original description reads: “Shell elongated, valves carinated. Colour white, 5th and 6th median valves frequently with green spot on each side, the tip and sometimes the valve suffused with pink. Anterior valve with 5 strong radiating pustulose costae. Posterior valve similar to median valves, but without the prominent rib. Median valves; latero- pleural areas irregularly pustulose, the pustules on the lateral areas larger and less in number than those on the central areas; the areas separated by a ray of prominent pustules which increase in size towards the margin. Jugal tract not elevated, margined with pustules, V-shaped, transversely striate. Girdle broad, beset with short white spicules, and having 9 bunches of long white spicules on each side. Interior pearly-white, sinus broad, shallow. Anterior valve having 5, and median valve 1-1 slits. The posterior valve has 3 almost obsolete slits, edge thickened. “Length: 12 mm.; breadth, 5.5 mm. “Station: On the under side or at the edge of the insertion in the sand of small smooth stones, in pools or channels at low tide. “Habitat: Lord Howe Island. “Remarks: It resembles the Australian A. costatus in the strongly ribbed anterior and median valves, but differs from that species in the size and shape of the pustules; is broader and more elevated.” While the comparison with A. costatus was natural, this species shows more leaning to the New Caledonian tridacna Rochebrune,* in which the variation from costatus is exaggerated. A. costatus is the type of Macan- drellus, which has precedence over Loboplax, when the sections are de- finable. Ashby’s note that the species costatus is typically Notoplaz, as contrasted with Loboplaz, is, as usual, incorrect. 35. NOTOPLAX CUNEATA. (Plate iii., figs. 2, 9-12.) 1908. Tonicia cuneata Suter, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 40, 1907, 360, pl. xxviii., figs. 1-2. Bay of Islands, N.Z. Unique type in Coll. Suter, now in Wanganui Museum. 1909. “Tonicia cuneata Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. ii. (Chun’s Zoo- logical, heft 56), 72, 1910.” (“Is a Spongiochiton = Loboplaz.”) 1913. Tonicia cuneata Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 42, 1081. Atlas, pl. 5, fig. 1. 1914. Craspedochiton cuneatus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xv., 130. 1915. Craspedochiton cuneatus Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 422, 425. * Hull & Risbec (Aust. Zool., 6, 1931, 378) used Loboplaz for L. tridacna, following Pilsbry. ———————e—EEEEEeEeEeEeaeEE TREDALE AND HULL. 67 1928. Pseudotonicia cuneata Ashby, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 58, 1927, 393, pl. 40, figs. 8a, b, 9,10. February 14, 1928. 1928. Pseudotonicia cuneata Bucknill, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 59, 626, text figs. 3-4. November 30. This species with the appearance of a Loboplax was placed by Suter in the genus Tonicia, as he thought the suriace was studded with eyes. Thiele indicated from study of the radula its correct location, which was accepted by Suter, whose original description reads:— “Shell oblong-ovate, rather small, valves much raised, the inter- mediate valves beaked, angled above, with cuneiform sculpture. Anterior valve with 4 low and smooth ridges with serrated margins, corresponding with the slits, anterior margin with the same number of slightly projecting lobes, posterior margin a little concave; sculpture between the riblets con- sisting of deeply engraved grooves and punctures, leaving numerous wedge- shaped smooth patches of various size; the whole surface dotted with minute eyes. Of the intermediate valves, the first is notably larger than the following 5, all are sinuated on the latero-anterior sides and narrowed, convex in front and prominently beaked behind; dorsal area V-shaped, smooth, microscopically transversely finely striate; pleural tracts with a few narrow longitudinal and divergent serrated grooves; lateral areas not raised, with an anterior obtuse diagonal ridge, sculpture similar to that of the head valve; the small reddish eyes scattered over the whole surface. Posterior valve with a V-shaped dorsal area, its sides serrated, mucro at about the posterior fourth, posterior slope moderately concave, posterior margin slightly lobed, the lobes corresponding with the slits, sculpture beautifully wedge-shaped, with the postero-lateral ridges corresponding with the anterior slits; the whole surface covered with minute eyes. Girdle moderately broad, leathery, yellowish, almost naked, with very few silvery fine hairs near the margin. Colour a dirty white; anterior valve with the riblets reddish white, the grooves and punctures rusty; intermediate valves with the central area light olive, bordered by white, ornamented with very fine longitudinal reddish lines; grooves on the pleural and lateral areas rusty, a few light-blue spots scattered over the areas; posterior valve hav- ing the central area coloured as the intermediate valves, the grooves rusty, the cuneiform nodules on the pleural tracts light blue; white, with a few blue spots, posteriorly. Inferior greenish-white, without any strong cal- losity. Anterior valve with 4 slits, the 2 central ones broader; inter- mediate valves with 1 slit on each side, and posterior valve with 7 inequi- distant slits; all teeth of the first 7 valves finely pectinated and sharp, but those of the tail valve are stout, deeply grooved, rather blunt-edged. All the insertion plates are high; sinus flat, finely denticulate; sutural laminae angularly produced, rather thin; valve-callus not much raised. Length, 22 mm.; breadth, 11 mm. (dry specimen). Divergence 78 deg. Animal with the gills extending nearly the whole length of the foot. “Habitat: Bay of Islands. “Remarks: This shell is distinguished by its peculiar cuneiform sculp- ture from all the other species of the genus known to me. A curious fea- ture of this species are (sic) the minute punctures scattered over the whole surface of all valves, not confined to the lateral areas, only the inter- mediate valves. I took them for eyes, but I may be wrong. I have only one specimen, and it is highly desirable that more examples should be -ob- tained and carefully examined.” 68 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. A note was added later. “Thiele to whom I sent a piece of the radula has come to the conclusion that the species should be classed under Spongiochiton = Loboplaz.” The figures given, here reproduced, show very crudely a seven-valved shell, and, better, three separate valves. The species was re- cognised later by Mr. A. Brookes, who had “one of the two original specimens,” accord- ing to Ashby, though Suter himself stated there was only one. Mr. Brookes handed his material to Ashby, who published its redis- covery, with the introduction of a new genus Pseudotonicia and a subfamily Pseudotoni- ciinae. The features of the shell are typi- cally those of Loboplax, as our figures show. The specimen figured is not much like Suter’s figure or description, so that we were at a loss to reconcile them until we found a slight suggestion of the sculpture Suter described. ’ _.. The whole surface is shining and smooth, a Fig. 2. Notoplax (Tonicia) few V-shaped cuts towards umbones of cuneata. After Suter. yalves, pleural areas smooth, but in older shells with longitudinal grooves; girdle wide with sutural tufts obsolete. Suter’s remarks about eyes misled Ashby, and we now know that these “eyes” have nothing to do with the Tonicioid eyes and are present in many “eye-less” shells. The dissection shows that in this case the external sculpture can be- come lost while the internal features persist. It seems to be a parallel development in Neozelanic waters of Bassethullia* in Australian waters, the species B. glypta recalling the Neozelanic shell in detail, but not in general appearance. We have suggested that the Australian genus may be regarded as an offshoot of the pre-Notoplazr stem, and we conclude that the present species stands somewhat similarly to the Loboplax series. The difference in status allowed by us is made with due regard to the species and genera dealt with, the variable “mariae” series and the perplexing “rubiginosus” complex, demanding less value for this offshoot than has been deemed suitable in Australia where the species appear to be much less variable and more stable. 36. NOTOPLAX FACILIS sp. nov. (Plate iii., fig. 13.) Shell elongate, valves narrow, very deep, flattened, roundbacked, pos- terior valve long, girdle broad leathery, with very long prominent asbestos- like sutural tufts. Sculpture coarse. Colour greenish-grey, with a few black specks. Anterior valve small, convex, showing no waves; the median and posterior valves with very pronounced dorsal area, narrow, smooth, with transverse growth lines only; pleural and lateral areas not differen- tiated at all, covered with large irregularly rounded elevated pebbles, a few small ones adjacent to the dorsal area; anterior valve covered with similar pebbles, not quite as large, and beginning with small ones at the * Pilsbry (Nautilus 41, 1928, 105, footnote) proposed this genus name for Glyptelasma, I. & H., preoccupied. IREDALE AND HULL. 69 apex. Posterior valve with mucro at posterior fourth, the postmucronal slope steep, a little concave, pebbling a little smaller. Girdle broad, leathery, with very long sutural tufts. Dimensions: 26 x 12 mm. Station: Under a stone in a deep rock pool. Habitat: Shag Point, Otago Peninsula, South Island. Remarks: The unique specimen collected many years ago by Messrs. W. R. Oliver and T. Iredale is so remarkable that the beautiful figure here offered will make its recognition unmistakable. xi. Genus CRASPEDOCHITON. 1853. Craspedochiton Shuttleworth, Mittheil. Naturf. Gesell. Berne, 67. Type by monotypy Chiton laqueatus Sowerby. 1882. Angasia Dall, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 1881, 283, 286, 289, 290. Type by original designation Angasia tetrica Carpenter, Ceylon, shell not described. ? Nomen indet. 1893. Angasia Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 286, ex Cpr. MS. Type by mono- typy Angasia tetrica, pl. 61, figs. 27-32 (ex Cpr. MS.), Ceylon. Not Angasia White, P.Z.S., 1863, 498. 1882. Spongiochiton Dall, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 1881, 283, 286. Type by monotypy S. productus Cpr. Not described. ? Nomen indet. 1892. Spongiochiton Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 26. 1892. Spongiochiton Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 26. Type by monotypy S. productus ex Cpr. MS. described = A. carpenteri Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 35, pl. 1, figs. 14-22. Type described from Carpenter’s MS. figures. Cf. Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 1910, 100. 1893. Phacellozona Pilsbry, Nautilus, vii., 139. New name for Angasia supra. 1909. Thaumastochiton Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. I. (Chun’s Zoologica, heft 56), 34. Type by monotypy Craspedochiton (T.) mobiusi Thiele. - 1926. Amblyplax Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii. 8, 18. Type by original designation Notoplax oliveri Ashby. 1926. Lophoplax Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 11, 29. Type by original designation Lophoplaz finlayi Ashby. This group has puzzled and perplexed all workers, the erudite Carpenter using Craspedochiton, and proposing Angasia and Spongiochiton as well. Pilsbry did not recognise the association of these groups, allowing their wide separation and distinction. Little blame can be attached to this action, as Pilsbry was autoptically unfamiliar with them. Their relation- ship was better recognised by Thiele, who introduced a subgenus Thau- mastochiton for a curious variation. Ashby’s attempts to deal with the series make curious reading, as having seen the type of Craspedochiton he recognised a congeneric species, but the same species in its immature state he allotted to a different genus. The Neozelanic species ascribed, doubtfully, be it noted, by Iredale to Craspedochiton Ashby rejected, and introduced two new names, one for a tailless juvenile shell, so obviously the young of the other that the error is inexplicable. Consequently, if this group can be split up, there are plenty of names available for the components. The striking features of the true Craspedochiton are the short inser- tion plates, the Ischnochitonid sutural laminae, the multislit short inser- tion plate of the posterior valve and the asymmetrical girdle. The animal is very small, and when Iredale studied the series in the British Museum he even suggested that only one variable species existed, and that perhaps 70 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. even the Neozelanic shells would be included. The fact that Ashby should regard the immature as Notoplar and the adult as really Craspedochiton fully indicates the difficulties in connection with these species. Again, Ashby has drawn attention to the “fluted insertion plate, which is typical of the genus Craspedocnhiton,” and then in his diagnosis of his Amblyplax states ‘insertion plate . . . fluted.” As a matter of fact, the anterior valve of Craspedochiton figured by Ashby was from a specimen showing much “fluting,” but other specimens from the same lot even, paratypes, do not show that feature strongly. The degeneration of the insertion plate of the posterior valve so pronounced-in the species separated by Thiele under the name Thaumastochiton is easily paralleled in a series of specimens of Neozelanic shells, which up to the present have even been regarded as conspecific, some shells almost showing an unslit callus, others few slit, others many slit, but all short and characteristic. Amblyplax was diagnosed as “Having multifissate tail valve, posterior insertion plate narrow, thickened, blunt edged, and fluted, girdle clothed with spicules or irregular, minute scales or both. Type A. oliveri Mestayer (MS.).” On page 18, Ashby names as the type “Macandrellus oliveri Mes- tayer,” and then described the species under the name Notoplax (Ambly- plax) oliveri; also adding to the subgeneric definition, “girdle often asym- metrical.” Then Ashby, examining a minute baby shell, only 2 mm. long, with the tail valve missing, introduced a new genus Lophoplaz, a most reprehensible action, as he admitted, “in the absence of this important part of the animal, it is impossible to determine the exact niche in the acanthoid phylum which this peculiar form should rightly occupy.” The word “acanthoid” is a vulgarism of Ashby’s coining, which should never have been printed, being meaningless; he paralleled it with “ischnoid,” another indefensible slang concoction. The word “phylum” should not be used in Ashby’s sense. Ashby then indicates features of this baby shell which he states are “non-acanthoid,”’ but which he had a few pages earlier described under his Notoplar (Amblyplax) foveauxensis of which his Lophoplax finlayi is undoubtedly the very juvenile. As a matter of fact, a little older specimen from the same dredging Ashby himself determined as foveauzensis, but his own figures prove the identity. 37. CRASPEDOCHITON RUBIGINOSUS. (Plate iil., figs. 4, 24-32.) 1872. Tonicia rubiginosa Hutton, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., iv., 1871, 180. Off Island of Kapiti, N.Z. Type in Colonial (now Dominion) Museum, Wellington, N.Z. 1873. Tonicia rubiginosa Hutton, Cat. Mar. Moll. N.Z., 49. 1880. Tonicia rubiginosa Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 114. 1893. Tonicia rubiginosa Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 107. (Hutton’s descrip- tion copied, unidentified) . 1897. Acanthochites (Loboplax) costatus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 194, July. (Type of rubiginosus only examined). 1904. Acanthochites rubiginosus Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Acanthochites rubiginosus Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1905. Acanthochites (Loboplax) rubiginosus Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 68, pl. ix., figs. 12-17, December 30. (Type included but Foveaux Strait specimens described). [The above references include the type of rubiginosus; the succeeding ones mainly refer to Foveaux Strait specimens.] IREDALE AND HULL. 71 1904. Plaxiphora terminalis Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst., 20, 679. (Error only). Suter, Nachr. D. Malak. Ges., 41, 74. Correction. 1909. Acanthochites (Loboplax) rubiginosus Suter, Subant. Islands of N.Z., i 3. Auckland Island. 1910. Acanthochites rubiginosus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 155. 1913. Acanthochites rubiginosus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 29. Atlas, pl. 4, fig. 4. 1914. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 130. 1915. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Iredale, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 47, 1914, 425. 1924. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 8. {The above include any or all of the forms, but the following relate to the localities indicated therewith.] 1926. Notoplar (Amblyplax) foveauxensis Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 20, pl. i. figs. 5a-c. April 30. ex Mestayer MS. Foveaux Strait, 15 fathoms, N.Z. Type in Dominion Museum. 1926. Acanthochiton foveauxrensis var. kirki id. ib., ex Mestayer MS. As a synonym. 1926. Acanthochiton foveauxensis Mestayer, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 56, 585, pl. 100, figs. 9-12, May 5. Foveaux Strait. 1926. Acanthochiton foveauxrensis var. kirki, id. ib., 586, pl. 101, figs. 1-4. No locality given. 1926. Lophoplaz finiayi Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii. 29, pl. iii., fig. 4, pl. iv., figs. 1-4. April 30. 60 fathoms, off Otago Heads, N.Z. 1926. Notoplar (Amblyplax) oliveri Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 18, pl. 1, figs. 4, a-c. April 30. ex Mestayer MS. MHauraki Gulf, 20 fathoms, N.Z. Type in Dominion Museum, New Zealand. 1926. Macandrellus oliveri Mestayer, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 56, 586, pl. 101, figs. 5-9. May 5. Hauraki Gulf, 20 fathoms, N.Z. Examination of Ashby’s photographs or Miss Mestayer’s drawings would allow of the distinction of the three or four or more forms that have been already named. The discrimination into their groups of a series of shells enforces a restraint as to the recognition of these species ‘that be- comes more powerful the larger the series examined. The narrow highly keeled smooth “oliveri” contrasts widely with the broad low rough “foveaurensis,’ while “rubiginosus” is narrow, highly keeled but rough. It is curious that the same kind of variation can be seen in the Australian Craspedoplazr variabilis, where from a collection, broad low shells being the common phase, long narrow elevaced shells may be picked out. In Australia we have allowed geographic variation, but in New Zealand while foveauzrensis seems abundant in the south it is also met with in the north. Hutton described this species as follows: Tovnicia rubiginosa. Chiton rubiginosus Swains. MS. Oblong; margin slightly tomentose; valves rather elevated, sub-carinate, flattened on each side; posterior margins straight, produced into an acute central point; lateral areas indistinct, the whole surface rather coarsely granular, the granules smaller on the back. Length, .45 inch; breadth, .2 inch. Colour: Pink, getting yellowish on the back. This species is named from a specimen from the late Mr. W. Swainson’s cabinet, and now in the Colonial Museum, which is labelled as coming from the island of Kapiti. Suter then subordinated it to the Australian costatus, writing :— 72 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. “On examining Hutton’s type specimen of Tonicia rubiginosa, which is in the Colonial Museum, Wellington, I found it to agree with the des- cription of A. costatus, and two specimens I have, which were dredged in Foveaux Straits, also belong to the same species. The specimen in the Colonial Museum has lost its colour entirely, but of my specimens one is yellowish-pink, and the other, a young shell, is most beautifully ornamented with pink, white, light-brown, and blue. The dimensions of Hutton’s type specimen are: Length, 11; breadth, 5 mm. Habitat: The species has hitherto been found in Cook Strait and Foveaux Strait. In the latter locality it is found with Chiton canaliculatus. Very rare.” This association was incorrect, as pointed out by Pilsbry, and therefore under the name A. rubiginosus Suter described the same shells:— “Shell oblong, small, subcarinate, the whole surface granular, mostly yellowish-pink, girdle with minute spines and sutural tufts. Anterior valve with five ribs which are not very conspicuous, the whole surface granulated, the granules being largest, and sometimes unequal in shape, near the margin, and decreasing in size towards the apex of the valve, which is slightly sinuated. Intermediate valves with the jugum sparsely longitudinally substriated; the pleural tracts are granular; the lateral areas, but slightly raised and not very clearly separated from the pleural tracts, are similarly sculptured, the granules being again largest near the margin, round or oval in shape. The valves are subcarinate, beaked posteriorly. Posterior valve small, the mucro central, with a smooth triangular area in front, beyond which the whole surface is granular, the granules being comparatively large. Posterior slope concave, no signs of radiating ribs. Girdle thick, fleshy, beset with microscopic white spicules; there are sutural tufts of white spicules, 7 on each side, and 4 tufts in front of the head valve. Colour: This is, as I pointed out in my former paper, variable, adult specimens showing mostly a pinkish colour, yellowish on the back, but young shells sometimes have a most beautiful colour arrangement, the granules being white, pink, light brown and light blue. The jugal tract is in the intermediate and tail valves of a darker colour, mostly reddish brown and assuming triangular shape. The girdle is light fulvous with small patches, and radiate bands of whitish-yellow. Interior white, but the centre of the valves, head valve excepted, is pink coloured; the sinus is rather narrow and deep. The anterior valve with 5 slits, corres- ponding with the ribs; intermediate valves with 1 slit on each side, strong teeth, and a stout valve-callous; posterior valve with a low, thick insertion plate and 4 short slits. Length, 17; breadth, 13 millim; divergence, 103 deg.” This description and the figures Suter gave accompanying this correc- tion were drawn up from the Foveaux Strait specimens, not Hutton’s type. These differed in breadth and shape, but agreed in general features, and have been the commonly accepted rubiginosus, as the variation was some- what indeterminate, and most specimens were secured from the oyster beds of Foveaux Strait. When Iredale examined the Loricates in the British Museum, sets from Northern New Zealand showed shells like the Foveaux Strait form, and others, narrow and elevated, superficially dif- ferent, but no good character could be found distinguishing them. These appear to be the ones separated as oliveri by Ashby and Mestayer. Recently, Miss Mestayer regarded the so-called “rubiginosus” as separ- able into more than one species, and specimens were submitted to Ashby, who also separated this series. Each published their results independently, IREDALE AND HULL. 73 but Ashby fortunately used Miss Mestayer’s names, though his account ap- peared a few days earlier. Ashby decided that the true rubiginosus had not since been recognised and therefore named the supposed “rubiginosus” as new. His effuse des- criptions cannot be transcribed here, as they would only be confusing, and unfortunately Miss Mestayer’s descriptions do not emphasise the salient points. Ashby’s results read:— Notoplar (Amblyplaz) oliveri. Hauraki Gulf, 20 fathoms. Notoplar (Amblyplaxr) foveauzrensis. Foveaux Strait, 15 fathoms. Notoplax (Amblyplax) rubiginosus. Kapiti Island, Cook Strait. Lophoplaz finlayi. Off Otago Heads, 60 fathoms. Miss Mestayer’s treatment reads:— Acanthochiton foveauzensis. Foveaux Strait. Acanthochiton foveauzensis var. kirki. No locality. Macandrellus oliveri. Hauraki Gulf, 20 fathoms. Consideration of the descriptions and figures given by these two workers necessitates the supposition that unless Notoplar oliveri Ashby differs from Macandrellus oliveri Mestayer, there is nothing to separate the former from rubiginosus Hutton. The majority of the specimens from the oyster beds in Foveaux Strait in 15 fathoms are low and broad and coarsely sculptured, and differ super- ficially very much from the elevated, narrow finely sculptured shells Miss Mestayer has called oliveri. We have figured the two extremes and would have liked to continue their separation, but so many shells would thus be- come unintelligible that we are compelled to unite them temporarily. Ashby’s oliveri is a narrow elevated coarsely sculptured shell, and his “foveauzensis” from 60 fathoms, off Otago Heads, the adult of his “Lopho- plax finlayi,’ shows the development from fine to coarse sculpture in the valves figured. The insertion plates vary a little in length in accordance with the ele- vation of the shell, and in the least elevated the plate of the posterior valve becomes diminished so that it is scarcely recognisable save by the presence of degenerate teeth. The number varies, according to stress, as some shells show as many as thirteen small irregular slits in the posterior valve, while other may have as few as five as in the figure. The external nodulation begins as small elongate ovals and sometimes continue as such, but usually develop into larger, more convex and become more circular. We describe hereunder the two extremes which we have figured, known as foveaurensis and oliveri. (a). C. foveaurensis. (Fig. 4.) Shell broadly oval, elevated, roundbacked, posterior valve of medium size, valves broad and fairly shallow, girdle broad, finely scaly, sutural tufts not prominent. Colour rose, median ridge darker. Anterior valve with obscure waves, indistinctly marked, granules at edge rounded, small, con- vex, separate, apically smaller and more elongate. Median valves with very narrow striate dorsal area, edged with longitudinal grooves, forming elongate oval pustules, which decrease laterally and become rounded on the lateral area which are elevated but not otherwise distinguished; valves 74 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. in depth about one-third their breadth, posterior edge almost straight, mucro small and not very noticeable. Posterior valve with mucro central, postmucronal area slightly concave. A juvenile shell shows anterior waving more pronounced, sculpture more developed, granules less convex, etc., etc. Dimensions: 19.5 x 13 mm. (b). C. oliveri. (Fig. 32.) Shell elongate, elevated, valves semi-keeled, back slightly rounded, posterior valve small, girdle broad, scaly, with sutural tufts small. Colour, brown-rose. Anterior valve with five indistinct waves not differentiated sculpturally; granulose throughout, small, well separated convex ovals, be- coming larger towards the edge. Median valves broad with depth less than half their width and not narrowed anteriorly; dorsal area not separated, but sculpture less marked, being narrowly longitudinally striate, granules developing from the separated striations, and becoming broader as they are produced laterally; the lateral areas are not differentiated by means of a rib but are elevated and their sculpture is a little coarser; the posterior edge of the median valves is mucronate. Posterior valve small, mucro median, depressed, postmucronal area small and a little concave. Dimensions: 19 x 10 mm. It may be noticed that Miss Mestayer’s foveaurensis is not so strongly sculptured as the shell we figure, while her variety kirki seems more like the form we are regarding as normal. Miss Mestayer also noted the varia- tion in her “Macandrellus oliveri,’ and it may be that she has confused the form of mariae with that of rubiginosus which occurs there. In this respect we may note that we received specimens of rubiginosus (= oliveri) as mariae, but we demurred strongly from this determination, and it was not until some time had elapsed that we unravelled the mystery of the complex, some shells having been compared with mariae and rightly re- garded as conspecific, but others from the same place were sent us which were the “oliveri” form of rubiginosus, the two not being distinguished by the sender. VI. Family CRYPTOPLACIDAE. This family has not yet been recognised in New Zealand proper, but enters into this place through the occurrence of a species on Lord Howe Island. The general appearance of these Loricates is distinctive, being elon- gate, fleshy, with small valves and densely spiculose girdle, this feature at sight separates them from Cryptoconchus, whose description would read similarly. It is noteworthy that, though a feature of the tropics species are abundantly found in southern Australia, and typical valves have been found in the tertiary beds of southern Australia, indicating their long life in that region. The family has undoubtedly developed from Crypto- conchid ancestors, as the juveniles are very like some species of Acantho- chitonid groups such as Notoplaz. The valves show diminution and separation with age, and species differ in that respect also, one species scarcely showing as much tegmentum as Cryptoconchus. In the latter case, however, the articulamentum still remains very large, while in the Cryptoplacidae it also is much reduced. The insertion plates are generally IREDALE AND HULL. 45 large and more or less thrown well forward, the slits becoming obsolete in all except the anterior valve, where three may still generally be seen, but remains of the other two may persist. The external sculpture is granulose in the juvenile, but becomes linear with age, a narrow dorsal area being generally well marked and smooth; the lateropleural areas inseparable; the mucro of the posterior valve commonly terminal. Girdle very large, densely spiculose, in life showing sutural tufts, sometimes apparently miss- ing in dried shells; spicules vary in size and shape. xii. Genus CRYPTOPLAX. 1818. Cryploplar Blainville, Dict. Sci. Nat. (Levrault), xii, 124. Type by subsequent designation (Haddon Chall. Rep., xv., 1886, 37), Chiton larvaeformis Burrow. 1819. Chitonellus Lamarck, Hist. Anim. sans. Vert., vi., pt. 1, 316. Type by tautonymy C. laevis = Chiton larvaeformis Burrow. 1836. Oscabrella Broderip, British Cyclopaedia, ii., 31 (as of Lamarck). Type by monotypy Chitonellus laevis Lamarck. 1846. Chitoniscus Herrmannsen, Index Generum Malac., 225. New name for Chitonellus Lamarck. 1848. Ametrogephyrus, Phaenochiton and Dichachiton Middendorff, Mem. Sci. Nat. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersb., vi., 1847, 97. February, 1848. Type by subsequent designation (Iredale & Hull, Austr. Zool., iv., 1925, 101) , Chiton larvaeformis Burrow. [Only one genus is at present recognised in the family.] 38. CRYPTOPLAX ROYANA. (Plate iii., figs. 14-18.) 1925. Cryptoplax royana Iredale & Hull, Austr. Zool., iv., 108, pl. xii., figs. 8, 16, 24. Lord Howe Island. Type in Australian Museum. 1927. Cryptoplar royana Iredale & Hull, Mon. Austr. Loricates, 98, pl. xi., figs. 8, 16, 24. “Size comparatively small, valves disconnected posteriorly, but not as much as those of C. larvaeformis of the same size. Fifth valve large, the last five being almost all the same size, elongate and narrow. Coloration bright pink mottled with scarlet, anterior valve sometimes white, girdle white. Anterior valve elongately semicircular, ornamented with longi- tudinal wrinkly lines, wavy anteriorly. Median valves with smooth dorsal area, wrinkly longitudinal lines, five in number on each side; juvenile sculpture shown by two nodules. Posterior valve with mucro elevated, ter- minal, postmucronal slope nearly perpendicular. Girdle spicules long and pointed, striate. Interior white. Posterior slope nearly perpendicular. Dimensions: 29 x 7mm. _ Station: In crevices of coral rock. Habitat: Lord Howe Island.” We have figured the anterior valve in which it will be seen that five slits appear, the three median being long, the two outside being short, a feature not otherwise noted in this genus. 16 OOD OP wp THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. EXPLANATION OF PLATE III. Notoplaz violacea Quoy & Gaimard, whole shell. Notoplaz cuneata Suter, whole shell. Notoplax leuconota Hedley & Hull, whole shell. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, whole shell. Notoplax violacea Quoy & Gaimard, exterior of anterior valve. Notoplax violacea Quoy & Gaimard, exterior of median valve. Notoplax violacea Quoy & Gaimard, exterior of anterior valve. Notoplax violacea Quoy & Gaimard, side view of posterior valve. Notoplax cuneata Suter, side view of posterior valve. Notoplax cuneata Suter, exterior of median valve. Notoplax cuneata Suter, exterior of posterior valve. Notoplax cuneata Suter, exterior of anterior valve. Notoplax facilis Iredale & Hull, whole shell. Cryptoplax royana Iredale & Hull, whole shell. Cryptoplaxz royana Iredale & Hull, exterior of anterior valve. Cryptoplax royana Iredale & Hull, exterior of median valve. Cryptoplaz royana Iredale & Hull, side view of posterior valve. Cryptoplax royana Iredale & Hull, exterior of posterior valve. Notoplax leuconota Hedley & Hull, exterior of median valve. Notoplax leuconota Hedley & Hull, interior of median valve. Notoplax leuconota Hedley & Hull, exterior of anterior valve. Notoplaz leuconota Hedley & Hull, exterior of posterior valve. Notoplax leuconota Hedley & Hull, interior of posterior valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, exterior of anterior valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, interior of anterior valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, side view of posterior valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, exterior of posterior valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, interior of posterior valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, interior of median valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, exterior of median valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton, elevation of median valve. Craspedochiton rubiginosus Hutton (oliveri), whole shell. Notoplax brookesi Ashby, fortior Iredale & Hull, whole shell. Notoplax brookesi Ashby, whole shell. Notoplaz mariae Webster, whole shell. 4 17 THE HABITS AND FOOD OF SOME AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS. By ELuIis LE G. TroucHtTon, Zoologist, Australian Museum.* There is a dual purpose in field work, that vital phase of museum activity, which involves the acquisition of nature notes, as well as speci- mens, but unfortunately the scant resources available frequently preclude the observation of wild life in an undisturbed state. The changing con- ditions and extraordinary interest of our fauna render such work of great importance, and it is a regrettable fact that on the rare occasions in the field the rush to secure adequate material in the meagre time available hardly permits an insight into the ways of the wild. With the object of securing material from as wide a range as possible, private enthusiasts have been actively encouraged for many years by the provision of collecting gear and instructions, and, in mammals alone, these activities have yielded excellent series of known forms and occasional new ones as well. An important and very attractive phase of this association with nature lovers has been the provision of interesting nature notes which, whether sought or volunteered, have generously been placed at the author’s disposal. An instance of the valuable results secured was provided by the paper on “The Honey Mouse, Tarsipes spenserae Gray,’ in Vol. iii. of this Journal, my notes on this quaint little marsupial being based upon data and speci- mens supplied by a resident of the district of south Western Australia in which I had been searching for specimens. I am equally indebted to the individuals mentioned below for the privilege of recording their very interesting personal observations, and to them my sincere thanks and full acknowledgments are proffered. Gould’s Lobe-lipped Bat. Chalinolobus gouldi Gray. During my absence abroad, a charming letter was received from the late Lady Cullen, in September, 1930, which detailed observations, made at her home at Leura in the Blue Mountains, of the habits of an insec- tivorous bat which carried on a contented existence for several weeks in a room of the house. The description supplied was so representative of the main features of C. gouldi as to leave little doubt of the identification, subsequently confirmed by presentation of the specimen to the Museum. As the notes are undoubtedly of great interest to students of mammalogy, apart from the keen pleasure they afforded Lady Cullen during failing health, permission was sought and graciously given to use the letter pre- sented below in any way desired. “Having always been interested in bats, I read with much pleasure your section on Bats in ‘The Wild Animals of Australasia,’ in which you mention that insufficient details of specimens are often sent you. “An opportunity came to me lately of making a close study of an un- usually pretty bat—the particulars of which I enclose. This bat was found one evening in winter, bumping itself on the walls and ceiling till it fell on the floor partly stunned. I think it must have been hibernating and was disturbed by a rat or something. Several bats were living in a venti- lator, and I noticed that during the winter, if a mild night came, they * By permission of the Trustees of the Australian Museum. 78 THE HABITS AND FOOD OF SOME AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS. went in search of food. The bat I am describing was picked up and brought to me. After soothing it I let it go and it flew about the room, finally hanging upside down on the bricks by the mantelpiece. At first it flew away when I went near, but soon returned, and when it got used to my voice it took flies and a moth from my hand. It camped in the same place for a fortnight, eating readily from my hand, and finally al- lowing itself to be picked up. It soon became a great pet, showing a sur- prising amount of intelligence. It only recognised my hand and that of one other person, but would have nothing to do with strangers. “When it was running about the floor and I put my hand down as it passed, it would first sniff at my fingers then quickly scramble into my hand, moving its head about and pushing its nose between my fingers look- ing for food. Being winter, it was impossible to get a sufficient supply of flying insects, but I found it would greedily eat the small white grubs out of wood, beginning at the end opposite the head. It usually ate five, from half to an inch in length, then it would sleep from four to ten days. After eating it would lick its wings, clean its fur, and go to sleep in my hand. It no longer lived by the fireplace, but had moved to the window side of a curtain, a very cold place; it found its way there each night from where I had placed it when I went to bed. It also lapped water from a spoon. “We had all become very much attached to the little animal, when, unfortunately, the family had to leave home for three weeks, and, al- though taken every care of (it had to be partly confined in a large basket in another house) while I was away, it was disturbed every other night to be fed, contrary to written instructions, and it was found one morning, hanging in its usual position, dead. “It was preserved in spirit, and I will send it to you later on. This bat had quite a long tongue when extended, which we could easily see by moving the spoon further away when'it was lapping water. Also, when it was eating a grub I would partly remove it from its mouth in order to watch how it managed to support it, and could see that the part inside the mouth was held by the tongue, and that the lips protruded over the part of the grub still to be eaten. All the manipulation when eating a moth and discarding the wings was done entirely by the lips and tongue, not helped by the thumbs, as I had always supposed. I had a partly tamed bat when I was a girl; I never handled it, but it lived in my room and always came when I called it, and fluttered close to my face when I went into my room at dusk, creating a good deal of interest. Only the other day someone was speaking of it, who had seen it. That bat was much larger and had big ears joined by a membrane; it also had a nose leaf. “This bat has no difficulty in rising from the floor. I have never seen it climb up on anything to make a start. It spreads its wings, and with head down it seems to spring with its feet and the thumb-part of its wings from any flat surface. I also noticed that the bat does not seem able to smell any food at a greater distance than an inch from its nose. Experi- ments were made when it ran about the floor, and a moth had to be almost touched by its nose before being snatched up and eaten. Its eyesight seems to be very keen.” In response to my letter of thanks and discussion of the somewhat contradictory point that food had to almost touch the nose before being taken, though the eyesight appeared to be very keen, Lady Cullen wrote: “With regard to the sight of bats, it might interest you to know that it was a favourite amusement when I was a child to throw small pebbles about the size of a pea into the air when bats appeared in the evening and ELLIS LE G. TROUGHTON. 79 watch their flight downward after them as they fell to the ground; from this I always thought that they had good and keen eyesight.” Though several papers have been written detailing the habits of small insectivorous bats, extending even to the temporary obstruction of sight, the data has been taken under caged conditions, so that the above notes are of particular interest in showing that a surprisingly sympathetic ac- cord was established, while the highly sensitive creature was under no irk- some restrictions and able to seek or avoid the human association at will. Although experiment has proved that bats deprived of sight can avoid close-set objects in the dark, there would seem to be little doubt that their eyesight is quite keen, so that it is difficult to conjecture to what extent sight is employed in the search of winged prey. For instance, Lady Cullen noted that the bat had an apparently poor sense of smell as food had to be thrust close to its nose, yet she concluded that the eyesight of bats must be keen owing to their flight after pebbles thrown in the air. In “A Synopsis of the Bats of California,” Hilda Wood Grinnell (Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool., xvii., 12, 1918) has detailed the more important notes published on the habits and senses of bats in a manner too full to quote for the purpose of this paper. Regarding eyesight, Hahn (1908) after extended observa- tions, is quoted as “still unable to form any definite conclusions with regard to the importance of sight to these animals. That they can see light and darkness and moving objects is unquestionable. That the sense of sight is not highly developed is equally certain. The behaviour of some of the animals appears to indicate that at times they depend on this sense to a considerable degree, both in securing food and avoiding objects.” As to the sense of smell, Hahn suggested “that since bats catch their food in the air where a flying insect leaves no permanent path and cannot be de- finitely localised by its odour, we must infer that the bat in seeking food does not rely on its sense of smell,’ and adds: “It must not be inferred that the sense of smell is lacking”; the latter point is supported by the fact that the bat tamed by Lady Cullen sniffed at her fingers before climb- ing into her hand. Owing to the fact that captive bats ignored worms out of the range of vision until they wriggled, Hahn concluded that food may be perceived through tactile organs which are stimulated by air currents set in motion by the moving prey, while J. Grinnell suggests that bats hunt their insect food by sound; there would, however, be little sound or vibration from small pebbles gently thrown. Whatever may be the final conclusion, it hardly seems probable that bats would catch their elusive flying prey if deprived of eyesight, and no doubt the several senses are mutually attuned to a receptivity beyond our comprehension. The Pigmy Opossum or Dormouse Phalanger. Dromicia nana Desmarest. In a letter received in 1928, Miss S. D. Bocking wrote from Lawson, in the Blue Mountains, describing a small marsupial pet for the purpose of identification, and supplied the following notes of its habits and diet. “Eats many insects, spiders, grubs, cockroaches, etc., also sugar and water, honey, milk and sugar, and delights in the bush flowers, especially bottle brushes. . . . He will eat in one’s hand and is very tame... . He sleeps all day but is very lively at night, running up and down the minia- ture trees we put in his box. “His eyes are large and black, and his ears, also very large for his size, when sleeping are kept folded. Food is held in the two front paws, and 80 THE HABITS AND FOOD OF SOME AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS. he sits back on his haunches with feet spread out. He also hangs by his tail, which is often carried like a spare wheel, sometimes running up it. His note is like an opossum’s and he will answer us now.” At the time a request was made for further notes, and the specimen for preservation in the event of its death; in May, 1931, the little marsupial was received, accompanied by the additional very interesting notes given below. “when I brought my tiny pet, three years ago, you asked particulars as to habits and food, and the specimen if it died. He seemed perfectly well yesterday, though he was getting very thin after his semi-hibernation, which they always appear to do twice yearly, when he was very fat. But we gave him all the foods he usually had, so apparently his span of life was over. We have always had in his house fresh gum leaves, banksias and all wild flowers in season, fresh turf and soil, sand, and berries such as black and strawberries, grapes, almost any fruit juice. Many insects, black spiders, grasshoppers, tarantulas, white earth-grubs, moths, flying cockroaches, etc. Rolled oats, bird seed, almonds, honey, and mixed sugar and water. “Twinkle, whom we are sending, has been a great source of amuse- ment and interest to many. Semi-dormant in day-time, feeding well at night, sometimes demolishing parts of six grasshoppers. He knew what he liked and often refused things, never attempting to touch grey garden spiders. He never appeared to care for water alone, but we usually dipped the gum leaves in water which he would lick. Some blue hyacinths were brought me once, and when put in the bunch he tore the petals down with his two little hands, darting his tiny tongue into the centre for the honey. Should we remember any other items we will let you know. Twinkle cer- tainly looked much older than the last one brought in by the cat, so pro- bably he was quite old when we got him.” The earliest notes on the habits of the genus Dromicia are found in Gould’s Mammals of Australia, in which the Western Australian species, D. concinna, is said to haunt the flowering branches of shrubby low trees by night in search of insects and sweets, and in captivity becomes ex- tremely active in the evening in pursuit of insects of which it is exceed- ingly fond. Of a local specimen, Gould wrote: “This beautiful creature was captured near St. Leonard’s, North Shore, Sydney, feeding upon the blossoms of the banksias, and lived a few days in captivity. In its habits it is nocturnal. The tongue of this Dromicia is well adapted for sucking the honey from the blossoms of the Banksiae and Eucalypti, being fur- nished with a slight brush at the tip.” In “The Wild Animals of Australasia,” Le Souef and Burrell record that “Those kept in captivity at Taronga Park took insects, fruits, nuts, sponge cake, biscuits, rose leaves, and eucalyptus flowers. In winter they curl themselves up into a ball and go into complete hibernation, living on the fat stored up in their tails.” Some notes of Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, C.M.Z.S., are also quoted, in which an opossum-mouse found in a dormant state in the Goulburn Valley, Victoria, curled itself into a ball, and when hung up on a twig by its prehensile tail remained hanging by that mem- ber for several hours in the dormant condition. It actually slept in the curled up position for six weeks, during which period it neither ate nor drank, so far as could be observed. On becoming active, it partook of canary seed and bread and milk and was then set free. In 1903, Bensley, in his famous paper on the evolution and relation- ships of the Australian marsupials, stated that “Dromicia is one of the ELLIS LE G. TROUGHTON. 81 most primitive members of the Phalangerinae, and with Acrobates and Distoechurus shows in some respects an interesting approximation to an insectivorous prototype. . . . The pes of Dromicia nana may be taken as representing the prototypal condition, not only for the Phalangeridae, but for all of the Australian families with the exception of the Dasyuridae,” and the unreduced character and wide opposability of the hallux, or great toe, is a striking feature of this condition. According to Bensley, there is an extreme probability that the omnivorous evolution of the Phalangeridae began with diminutive animals which, like the above, were able to live among the smaller branches of trees, and to supplement their insectivor- ous fare with blossoms and honey. He says: “Certain of these must have continued the omnivorous evolution in a normal way, giving rise to the Phalangerinae and Phascolarctinae (opossums and koala), while others resorted largely to a mellivorous habit, giving rise to Tarsipes. The re- duction of the dentition (Tarsipes) is due to the same cause as in ant- eating forms, the food requiring no mastication, and its collection being perfectly provided for by the prehensile development of the tongue.” Though Dromicia has retained a dentition compatible with its marked tendency towards the omnivorous modifications characteristic of the larger specialised genera, upon reading the notes on Tarsipes, by Mr. L. Glauert, B.A. (Journ. Roy. Soc. W.A., xv., 1928), and my notes quoted in the intro- duction above, one is struck with the many similarities of habit in common with the highly specialised little Honey Mouse. There is a marked pre- dilection shown for bottle brushes by both kinds of animal, while the ten- dency to a diet of nectar in Dromicia is emphasised in Gould’s reference to the brush at the tongue-tip, and Miss Bocking’s note of it parting the hyacinth petals and darting its tongue into the centre for nectar. The above serves to illustrate the great importance of nature notes upon our indigenous mammals, which notes are seen to go hand in hand with the twin problems of evolution and relationship, and may often point the way to a solution of their mysteries. The local species usually constructs a nest of soft bark in a hollow limb or crevice in a tree, while D. concinna, both on Kangaroo Island and in south Western Australia mostly favours the tops of grass-trees or “Black- boys” (Xanthorrhoea). Recently, in this Journal (Vol. 6), Mr. Norman Chafier provided delightful notes and photographs of D. nana, including the interesting fact of the specimen being found resting where it had burrowed under the lining of the nest of a Yellow-winged Honeyeater (Meliornis novae-hollandiae). A similar resting place for the Honey Mouse has been noted by Glauert, who records the finding of three young Tarsipes occupying the deserted nest of the Tawny-crowned Honeyeater. Quite a coincidence, this adoption of the deserted homes of feathered fellow addicts of the nectar habit, almost inferring that the parent Honey Mice believe in the influence of environment over heredity. : The Long-nosed Bandicoot. Perameles nasuta Geoffroy. The following interesting notes were supplied by Mr. J. H. Wright, Assistant Taxidermist of the Australian Museum, and provide important data, both as to the diet and method of feeding. “The specimen was caught in a box trap baited with worms on a flat by a creek about 300 yards from the seashore at Carrs Point, Kogarah Bay, near Sydney. Kept in captivity for 19 days, it was fed on minced raw 82 THE HABITS AND FOOD OF SOME AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS. meat, bread dipped in milk and sugared, apple, and earthworms, white grubs out of wood, and cut worms (white) out of the ground. “Rarth worms were the favoured diet, some of which were covered with about two inches of earth when being placed in the cage. Careful observation showed the following method of eating the worms. Sitting back on its haunches, the animal scratched the soil until the head of a worm was uncovered, by which it was seized and drawn from the ground; at the same time the longest fingers of one hand were run down the full length of the worm, a movement repeated by the other hand, the object evidently being to clean the dainty morsel of all grit. “Next in preference for food came the bread and butter, dipped in milk and sugar, though the bandicoot experienced great difficulty in eat- ing it, being rather inclined to use the same method adopted for the worms, and therefore fumbling a great deal and rolling the food in the dirt; this accumulation it continually brushed away, being in all respects an extremely clean animal.” A letter was received from Dr. F. Antill Pockley in January, 1928, com- menting upon a statement in a popular nature article, attributing a mainly vegetarian diet to bandicoots, as follows: “From what I know of the animal this, though the popular belief, is erroneous. My gardens and grounds have been infested by the Long-nosed Bandicoot ever since I have lived here—over 30 years. I have trapped them and kept them in captivity for a time, to find out if there were anything in the statement that they would clear out rats—that these rodents would not come near the place if bandi- coots were in the vicinity. I did not find that bandicoots kept them away, either bush rats or others. “The holes which bandicoots scratch with their long claws in the ground are made in their search for grubs, and especially for the white larva of the Cockchafer Beetle, of which they are fond. When I baited the traps with any kind of root or vegetable I caught none, but when the late J. H. Maiden told me to bait with meat, or one of these grubs, I caught one nearly every time. When I had them in captivity they would not touch roots or any vegetable food, but ate grubs and meat. I do not say that they will not eat roots, etc., but from my experience cannot think that they are not mainly carnivorous.” There is no doubt, as indicated by the dentition and hindfeet of the family Peramelidae, in which the bandicoots are grouped, and the habits recorded for members of the various genera, that the family has evolved from an arboreal ancestral stock which was probably either purely insec- tivorous or only slightly omnivorous. In association with the gradual adoption of an entirely terrestrial existence, they gradually became more completely omnivorous, at which stage, according to Bensley, the dental evolution has been arrested. In his handbook to “The Mammals of South Australia,” Professor Wood Jones has supplied very comprehensive notes upon the habits and diet of several species, including the method adopted by the Short-nosed Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) in dealing with the bodies of dead mice proffered as food, the long process of kneading the body into a shapeless mass with rapid strokes of the forefeet culminating in the head alone be- ing eaten. Of the Rabbit-bandicoot or Bilby, of the genus Thalacomys, it is said that the tolerance shown by early colonists was due to recogni- tion of the fact that it played a useful part in the destruction of mice and insects; and that in captivity bread or cake, meat, either raw or cooked, insects, snails, birds, and mice were all readily eaten. ELLIS LE G. TROUGHTON. 83 Additional and very convincing evidence of the extremely omnivorous nature of the diet of the bandicoots has recently come to hand in relation to specimens of the short-nosed species, and a larger allied form, sent in from Montville, in the Blackall Ranges, north of Brisbane, by Mr. H. C. Macartney. In response to my request, the donor sent some very interest- ing notes, which will be detailed when the species are thoroughly worked out in a subsequent paper, but it may be noted here that Mr. Macartney is definite in stating that sweet potatoes are excavated and gnawed by the bandicoots; the tubers show unmistakable teeth marks and are an un- failing lure for the traps. This must not, however, be taken as indicating that insects are not the usual aim of the small pits dug by these animals. The carnivorous tendency is shown by Mr. Macartney having found the beak, feet, and feathers of a two months old chicken in the stomach of a large male. In view of the marked shrinkage in range and rarity of several striking forms, one must regretfully agree with Wood Jones that the Peramelidae appear to be rapidly disappearing over the whole of continental Australia, though the coastal scrubs of New South Wales and the tropical forests of Queensland may yet prove an adequate stronghold for the local forms. In conclusion, it may be relevant to note here, as pointed out by the late Professor Haswell, in the “Australian Encyclopaedia,’ that the name “bandicoot” is a corruption of a Telugu word meaning pig-rat, originally applied to a large species of rat common in southern India and Ceylon. There is no evidence to show how it first came to be applied to the Aus- tralian animal, but Collins, in 1802 (apparently following Bass in 1799), uses it without explanation as a well-known name. However, as with other foreign names which have become firmly attached to local and fun- damentally differing forms, the only thing to do is to accept the inevitable gracefully, realising that it would be futile to attempt to alter vernacular names which were generally accepted as early as 1802, and that the differ- ences are usually well understood in reference to the countries of origin. THE ‘POSSUM SEASON. By J. E. Youne. (Extracted from The Queensland Naturalist for July, 1931.) Alas! The word has gone forth! An “open season” for Possums has been declared in this State. The announcement was in the nature of a surprise to us, for we had been given to understand that the danger for this year had passed, but the strenuous economic period is given as a reason. Readers will doubtless be aware that this Club has consistently fought against the far too rapid extermination of this interesting marsupial, and its cousin, the Native Bear, as well as other disappearing species. It is to be hoped that the regulations will be rigidly observed on this occasion, especially regarding spotlight shooting and sanctuaries; for, although the gun is probably more humane than the noose, it gives the animals no chance, and an almost clean sweep is made; this is bound to include the protected “Bear,” as the difference cannot well be detected with the light, and our very small remaining number of these will be sadly reduced. 84 THE HARVARD EXPEDITION. Possibly some of our members may be able to advise the authorities of detected or suspected breaches of the law, with a view to action. One is apt to wonder if the institution of some form of Possum farm- ing might not prove a solution, by which the extermination may be averted, and an industry preserved, for, though some quarters report “’possums plentiful,’ we know from actual experience what such reports are worth. May the Possums’ worst days soon be over is the hope of all true Nature lovers. THE HARVARD EXPEDITION. Advice was received from the Premier’s Department that “the Uni- versity of Harvard, Massachusetts, U.S.A., proposed to send an expedition to Australia to gather entomological, zoological, and ornithological speci- mens for their Museum of Comparative Zoology,” and that one of the principal objects of the expedition is to form friendly relations with the various museums in Australia, to assist them, and to co-operate with Aus- tralian scientists. This Society was requested to furnish any comments or information which it desired to offer. A reply was sent to the Premier’s Department, intimating that the President and members of the Council would be very pleased to offer every possible assistance to the members of the proposed expedition in the pur- suit of their objectives. It was considered desirable that types of any new species collected in Australia by members of the expedition should be, in accordance with the proclamation published by the Commonwealth Gov- ernment some years ago, deposited in a museum of the Commonwealth or of the State in which they were collected. The hope was expressed that the necessary restrictions upon collect- ing specimens of protected birds and animals would be treated by the State authorities in as liberal a manner as possible, consistent with a due observance of the Fauna Protection Acts. The personnel of the expedition is as follows: Professor W. M. Wheeler, Dr. Glover Allen, Dr. P. J. Darlington, Mr. William Schevill, Dr. Ira M. Dixson, and Mr. Ralph Ellis: The party arrived by the s.s. Ventura on the 18th August, and were welcomed at Science House by representatives of the Royal Society of New South Wales, the Linnean Society, and this Society. Professor Wheeler, in outlining the objects of the expedition, stated that the party had no intention of despoiling the wild life of Australia. It was only desired to study the curious mammals and birds of Australia, and to take back a reasonable amount of material for research work. He referred to the ancient lineage of our ants in particular, and suggested that they did not appear to have changed materially during the last 60,000,000 years. Dr. Glover Allen hoped that each State would, before it is too late, establish reservations in which both birds and mammals would be strictly protected. It is understood that the expedition is financed by a private benefactor. Reports received by this Society from various American scientific institu- tions are full of records of such private benefactions to science, enabling those institutions to conduct research, not only in America, but to send out expeditions throughout the world, studying and collecting immense stores of valuable material to enrich American institutions. It is regretted that instances of similar benefactions in Australia are so few in number. THE AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIsT, Vol. vii. PLATE I. 1. Tom Wren, with Harmonious Thrush 2. A Peewee posing for its photograph. on his head. 3. The Harmonious Thrush says 4. GR. Gannon and the Peewee. “A word in your ear.” Photographs 1-3 by G. R. Gannon, 4 by K. A. Hindwood. PLATE II. THE AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIsT, Vol. vii. SCALES FROM AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PLATE III, THE AUSTRALIAN ZoOOLocist, Vol. vii. NEOZELANIC LORICATES. Joyce K. Allan and Phyllis Clarke, del. Issued by the. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Edited by A. F. BASSET HULL, O.F.A.0.U., F.B.Z.S. ~ Vol. 7—Part 2 by Sydney, February 5, 1932. (Price, 6/-.) All communications to be addressed to the Hon. Seeretary, Box 2399, General Post Office, Sydney. ie Sydney: Sydney and Melbourne Publishing Oo., Ltd. 29 Alberta St. Registered at the G.P.O., Sydney, for transmission by post as a periodical. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. Established 1879. REGISTERED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 1899 (1917). (ON 3 Patron: “ae His Excellency Sir Philip Woolcott Game, G.BE., K.C.B., D.S.O. | COUNCIL, 1931-1932. President: : < Ellis Le Geyt Troughton. Vice-Presidents: Neville W. Cayley, F.R.Z.S., Professor W. J. Dakin, D.Sc., F.R.ZS., J. R. Kinghorn, C.M.Z.S., and Anthony Musgrave, F.E.S. Members: E. J. Bryce, F.R.GS. Tom Iredale, F.R.Z.S. 4 A. H. Chisholm, C.F.A.0.U. E. F. Pollock, J.P., F.R.GS. W. W. Froggatt, F.R.Z.S. T. C. Roughley, F.R.Z.S. Aubrey Halloran, B.A., LL.B. G. A. Waterhouse, D.Sc., B.E., F.E.S. K. A. Hindwood. F.R.ZS. Officers: Hon. Secretary and Editor: A. F. Basset Hull, C.F.A.0.U., F.R.ZS. Assistant Hon. Secretary: Clifford Coles, C.M.Z.S. Hon. Treasurer: Phillip Shipway. Hon. Librarian: A. 8. Le Souef, C.M.Z.8. Hon, Auditor: R. J. Stiffe, A.C.A. (Aust.) OFFICERS OF SECTIONS: Avicultural Section. Ornithological Section. Chairman: Frank Buckle. Chairman: Tom Iredale, F.R.Z.S. Hon. Secretary: E. W. Jones. Vice-Chairman: K. A. Hindwood. Committee: Clifford Coles, CMZS, H. Hon. Seuetary:, Neville W. Cayley, E. Peir and W. Turner. Assistant Hon. Secretary: Clifford Coles, C.M.Z.S. Marine Zoological : Committee: A. H. Chisholm, P. A. Gilbert, Chai A SOC ‘ enc J. R. Kinghorn, C.M.Z.S., Norman airman: Tom Iredale, F.R.Z.S. Chaffer, and A. F. Basset Hull. Vice-Chairman: G. P. Whitley. Hon. Secretary Field Club: K. A. Hind- Hon. Secretary: W. Boardman. wood. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales New Fellows. The Council of the Society has conferred the title of Fellow upon the following members in recognition of their distinguished services to Aus- tralian zoology:— Harry Burrell, C.M.Z.S. Neville W. Cayley, M.B.O.U. Professor William John Dakin. Gustavus Athol Waterhouse, D.Sc. New Members. The following new members have been elected since the publication of the last list (24th August, 1931) :— Ordinary Members.—Mrs. Stuart Allan, S. S. Arnott, H. H. Baker, Miss Baker, G. Baron, R. P. Breden, J. W. Catt, R. A. Dallen, Mrs. H. E. Howes, L. B. Hart, T. H. Kelly, A. W. Keighley, G. N. Mills, Dr. C. A. Monticone, S. N. Pearson, Professor S. H. Roberts, Miss D. Shirley, Miss H. H. Semple, J. W. Turton. Life Associate—G. H. Hardy. Associate: W. J. Dingeldei, Miss G. Dunsmore, Miss M. Golding, Dr. R. Hamlyn-Harris, Miss L. E. Law, A: M. Lea, Mrs. V. Lowe, Miss T. Kitson, Miss N. McKellow, Mrs. O. Mildwater. REVIEWS. Wuat Bird 1s THatT? A Guide to the Birds of Australia. by Neville W. Cayley. Sydney, Angus & Robertson, Ltd., 1931 (12/6). Very nearly the ideal handbook for Australian bird observers is the work before us. In a compact volume of 320 pages, royal octavo, with 36 coloured plates, and eight half-tone plates, all the 700 odd species of birds found in Australia are figured in colour; their vernacular and scientific names given, with the meaning and pronunciation of the latter; their call notes and song vocalised; their habits, food, nests and eggs briefly described. A novel arrangement (so far as Australian works are con- cerned) is the grouping of the birds according to their natural environ- ment, for which the word “habitat” is used in a restricted sense. Thus the birds of the ocean, sea-shore, swamp and lake, open forest, heathland, brushes and scrubs are each grouped together, according to such environ- ment, with subsidiary groupings into birds of the tree-tops and outer blossoms, and so forth. While this arrangement is suitable to most species, it has the disadvantage of rendering comparison of the various species of any genus difficult, where such species have adopted varying environments. However, the system has been adopted to a limited extent _ _ 86 REVIEWS. in America, with acceptance, although this is the first attempt to so ar- range the whole avifauna of a continent. Admirable restraint has been exhibited by the author, who has resisted a very natural temptation to en- large upon the habits of well known species, only the essential particulars being given; thus the paragraph allotted to each species occupies nearly uniformly one-third of a page. The illustrations are all drawn to a scale shown on each plate; they are life-like in appearance, and pleasingly varied in attitude, there being nothing stiff or*- formal about them. The colour printing has reached the high water mark of perfection in brilliancy and accuracy of register, and the half tone plates illustrating the various classes of environment are from excellent photographs taken by Australian observers. Mr. Cayley, as both author and artist, has certainly produced a work unique in that re- spect; that he fully acknowledges his indebtedness to several fellow orni- thologists and bird observers for assistance in preparing the letterpress does not in any way lessen the debt we all owe to him for the wonderful book he has given to the bird-lovers of Australia. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERATURE OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY. Compiled and Edited by Casey A. Wood, M.D., LL.D. London. Oxford University Press, 1931, £3/3/-. This very handsome volume of 644 pages, quarto size, contains a com- prehensive review of the beginnings of zoological records from those of Aristotle onwards, including not only Greek and Roman authors, but Arabian and Chinese writers on vertebrate zoology. The mediaeval writers; the Renaissance and its effect on the records of zoological science; reports of voyagers and naturalists; the forerunners, contemporaries, and followers of Linnaeus, and the modern exponents of the science are all ably sum- marised in this volume as an introduction to the main work, which con- sists of a series of indices to the contents of the Blacker, the Emma Shearer Wood, and other libraries of the McGill University, Montreal. A beautiful reproduction in colour of an aquarelle of the Dodo, attributed to Charles Collins (ca. 1736) forms a frontispiece to a volume which should find acceptance in every zoological library. Dr. Casey Wood will be re- membered by many Australian zoologists, who had the pleasure of meet- ing him on the occasion of his visit to Sydney in 1922. He is an authority on birds, and is Collaborator, Division of Birds, Smithsonian Institution, 87 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. By Joyce K. ALLAN, Assistant in Conchology, Australian Museum, Sydney. (By permission of the Trustees, Australian Museum.) (Plates iv. and v.) Those who have had experience in collecting nudibranchs, or sea- slugs, know the disappointment that always accompanies their preservation, when their beautiful colours and shape rapidly go. This is probably the reason why the study of this group has been neglected more than that of any other group of molluscs. Much of the earlier work on the group is based on preserved specimens taken from Australia by early zoologists and naturalists attached to expeditions to this part of the world, so that material from the same regions was sometimes described by systematists working independently in different countries. Moreover, in many cases new species were described without figures and from specimens of which the locality and colour were unknown, so that the earlier names and descriptions require to be revised. The only work done locally in the earlier days was by George French Angas, who made water colour sketches from life of Sydney nudibranchs, which he collected while residing there. Many of these were new and were published, with descriptions, by Crosse, in Journal de Conchyliologie, Ser. 3, Tom. 4, 1864, p. 43. This useful paper is excellent for identifying some of the commoner nudibranchs of Sydney Harbour. Basedow and Hedley (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., Vol. xxix., 1905) give a list of the known Australian nudibranchs, with remarks on, and descrip- tions of new South Australian species. They also give a historical sketch of the early collectors and authors. Since then no additions of importance have been made to this list. For some years Risbec has worked extensively on the nudibranchs of New Caledonia, but few of the species he has dealt with so far resemble the northern Australian ones. It is my intention, therefore, to publish from time to time notes on species of interest which are already in, or come to, the Museum collection. Some unidentified species in the collection have entirely lost their colour, and therefore I think it wiser to leave these as doubtful species until others are obtained from the same localities. Several specimens collected locally in the last few years and brought alive to the Museum have enabled me to make colour sketches and notes of the living animal for future reference. The recent expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, have been most profitable, and the collections made have included many new and interesting slugs. These are accompanied in most cases with notes on their habits and colours, which have considerably helped me in their identification. When living specimens are studied, all the species so far met with have been identifiable at sight and very little variation has been found in them. I wish to thank Mr. Melbourne Ward and members of the Museum staff for their kindness in collecting sea-slugs for me at every opportunity, and, in particular, Mr. G. P. Whitley, whose notes and figures of the live animals he collected have been of great assistance. I am also indebted to Mr. T. Iredale for the help he has given me in preparing this paper, and 88 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. to the Director of the Taronga Zoological Park for allowing me to keep material in the Aquarium and to study sea-slugs collected and placed there by members of the aquarium staff. Genus Discoportis Bergh, 1877. Discodoris Bergh, Jahrb. deut. Malak. Gesell., 1877, 61. Type designated by O’Donoghue (Trans. Roy. Canad. Instit., No. 34, Vol. xv., Pt. 2, 1926, 207), Discodoris boholiensis Bergh, Malac. Unters. Semper. Reisen Archipel. Phillip., 1877, 519. Bohol, Philippines. Flat, oval or elongate-oval animals, their surface finely granulose or tubulose, but smooth to the touch and much softer than Platydoris. The mantle and foot are fairly broad. Rhinophores retractile; branchiae generally six in number, retractile into a rounded, sometimes stellate cavity. Foot is grooved and notched on the upper lip. They have an extraordinary habit of discarding portion of, or the whole of their mantle when handled to any extent. The remaining part of the animal appears able to live for some days without this discarded portion. The Discodorids are almost world-wide in their distribution, and are often found under stones or coral reefs. In colour they are generally yellow or light brown, with darker markings. DISCODORIS WHITLEYI, N.sp. (Plate iv., figs. 1 and 2.) Animal elongate-oval, squarish at the anterior end, and rounded posteriorly; body very soft, mantle ample and inclined to break away from the central portion. Whole surface covered with minute granulations, which are inclined to rub off in the preserved specimen. The tentacles are conspicuous, club-shaped and laminated on the upper portion, and are re- tractile into large rounded slightly raised cavities. The branchial plume consist of six tripinnate branchiae, retractile into a large rounded and slightly raised cavity which is not divided into definite lobes. They are set round a tubular elongate anus, which protrudes between the two posterior gills. The foot is widest anteriorly, tapering to a more rounded shape pos- teriorly, the tail projects a little beyond the mantle edge when the animal is crawling, although in preserved specimens it shrinks up and does not give this idea of projection. It is fairly broad, with slightly crenulated edges. The upper lamina is conspicuously divided, and the oral tentacles are long and linear. The general colour of the animal in life is yellowish cream, with irregular sized patches of dark brown colour scattered over the whole of the dorsal surface. These patches, which are smaller, though more numer- ous towards the margins, are composed of stipulations of dark colour, and are easily rubbed off in the preserved specimens. The club-shaped portion of the rhinophores is rich black, and the lower portion whitish. The stems of the branchiae are the same, yellow-cream, as the body, veined and tipped with dark brown, and when protruding slightly from the bran- chial cavity appear very dark. Under surface slightly paler than the upper, the only contrasting marking being numerous irregular sized small dark brown patches along the under marginal end of the foot. Dimensions: Length, 40 mm. Breadth, about 16 mm. in life. Locality: North West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland. Type speci- men (C.57,205), Australian Museum collection. ALLAN. 89 Two specimens of this easily recognised animal were collected in May, 1931, by Mr. G. P. Whitley, after whom I have named it, and who kindly made excellent colour notes and a sketch of the larger one for me while it was alive. These have been most helpful to me in preparing my draw- ing and description, as the specimens have considerably lost their colours and character after only a very few weeks in preservative. Genus PLatyporis Bergh, 1877. Platydoris Bergh, Jahr. Malak. Gesell., 1877, 73. Very flat, oval-shaped animals, with a peculiar hard leathery texture. The dorsal surface is minutely granulated and rough to touch. The branchiae are five, six or seven in number, tripinnate, and retractile into a cavity, which is usually divided into a corresponding number of lobes, and which converge together when the branchiae are retracted. The foot is narrow and grooved in front. They are almost world-wide in distribution, and are found under stones at low tide on coral reefs, where they wedge themselves into rock crevices, often assuming the shape of the crack in which they live. Very lethargic in their movement, and common in tropical seas. Iredale and O’Donoghue (Proc. Malac. Soc. Lond., Vol. xv., Pt. iv., 1923, 195) point out that Bohadsch (Anim. Mar., 1761, Cap. iii., 65-74, Taf. v., figs. 4-5) made the genus Argus, which he did not specifically name, but described well, and which D. argo was based upon. This genus was later named Platydoris by Bergh, on the contention that Argus Bohadsch, was not available. Under the present rules they consider that Argus must be accepted instead of Platydoris. I have seen Bohadsch’s description, and I find that my species agree more with Bergh’s description of the genus Platydoris than with that of Bohadsch’s Argus, so preier to leave them under the former generic name. PLATYDORIS IREDALEI, N.sp. (Plate iv., figs. 3 and 4; plate v., tig. 3.) Body oval, firm, leathery, flattened, mantle wide, with edges slightly crenulated, dorsal surface smooth to touch, but very finely granulated, with minute rounded tubercles. Rhinophores with bulbous tips completely retractile into deep cavities, margins of which are raised and denticulate, laminated. Branchiae six, completely retractile, set round an elongated, thin tubular centrally placed anus; cavity margin formed of six irregular- sized contractile lobes, the direct anterior and posterior ones being the largest. Foot narrow, rounded in front and behind, wider posteriorly than anteriorly, about one-fourth the width of the body, and extending further towards the anterior than the posterior margin. Shallow groove in front, upper lamina a little enlarged and divided medially. Oral tentacles small, flat, and rounded. Colour in spirit light creamy brown, with cloudings of dark brown intergranular markings. This marking is in some specimens very dark and in others lighter, and forms dark irregular network patches which are easily rubbed off the preserved animal. Branchiae same pale colour streaked with dark brown. Rhinophores pale yellow. Undersurface has ground colour as above, perhaps a little paler, sole of foot same colour as the mantle expansion. The sides of the foot are closely and minutely speckled, with the dark granular speckling which appears on the dorsal surface. This is the only marking appearing on the under- surface. 90 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. Dimensions: Length of spirit specimen, 90 mm. Breadth, 60 mm. Habitat: Masthead Reef, Capricorn Group; Green Island, off Cairns, Queensland (coll. C. Hedley); Michaelmas Cay, off Cairns, North Queens- land (coll. T. Iredale and G. P. Whitley); North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland (coll. G. P. Whitley and M. Ward). Type specimen, Masthead Island (C.19,088) in Australian Museum collection. I think I am justified in giving a new name to this species from Queens- land, which Basedow and Hedley (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., Vol. xxix., 1905, 140) recorded from Queensland as Platydoris coriacea Abraham, (P.Z.S. Lond., 1877, 247), an identification which does not satisfy me, as Abraham describes his species from Seychelles, South Africa, and Sir Charles Hardy’s Islands. In a footnote to his descriptions of new species in this paper, Abraham observes that a few of the descriptions may relate to forms already named by other observers, and adds that none of the hitherto published diagnoses can be definitely referred to any of the animals about to be described by him. Basedow and Hedley note that P. coriacea Abraham, is suspiciously like P. scabra Cuvier (Cuvier, Ann. Mus. d’Hist. Nat., iv., 1804, 466, Timor). Cuvier’s description is slight, and as no figure is given is rather unsatis- factory. Basedow and Hedley probably based their decision on Quoy and Gaimard’s figure and description (Quoy & Gaimard, Voy. de 1lAstrolabe, 1832, pl. 18, figs. 1-4) of a species found at Tonga, New Guinea and Vani- koro, to which they doubtfully give the name of P. scabra Cuvier. Mr. Whitley, on his recent trip to North-West Islet, kindly made colour notes of the live specimens to compare with the illustration of Quoy and Gaimard’s species. He found the former was much the same colour in life as when preserved—perhaps a little darker. The ground colour was dirty creamy-white, with smoky grey-brown patches irregularly disposed over the surface. The rhinophores are light brown-yellow at their bulbous tips. The undersurface is creamy-white, except in the crevice between the foot and the mantle, which is thickly dotted with grey-brown speckling. The foot is not bright yellow, with lavender sides, as in Quoy and Gaimard’s figure, of the species they doubtfully call P. scabra Cuvier, nor are the rhinophores red-tipped, and the whole surface has not the lavender tinge over it, but has a definite creamy-brown appearance. The specimens Mr. Whitley collected were found tightly wedged in rock crevices, their shape coinciding with that of the crack in which they lived, and were most difficult to detect, as they closely resembled the colour of the surrounding rock. According to his footnote, Abraham did not consider his species similar to that of Cuvier, and Basedow and Hedley preferred to identify the Mast- head Reef and Green Islands specimens as P. coriacea Abraham, instead of P. scabra Cuvier, and, although they noted a similarity between these two species, by preferring Abraham’s name, they must have found that species compared more favourably with theirs than the former did. Also, Quoy and Gaimard’s species may not even apply to that of Cuvier, who has made identification difficult through the want of a figure and a better descrip- tion. As the Platydorids are so alike in texture and shape, the colour plays a large part in the differentiation of species, and once that has vanished many species would be hard to separate. As Abraham made no dissections, the specimen he records from Sir Charles Hardy’s Islands may be similar to the Queensland ones under discussion, but through preservation may be superficially like the South African and Seychelles specimens. ALLAN. 91 I prefer to leave the name P. coriacea Abraham, for the South African, and the Seychelles species, P. scabra Cuvier, for the species of Cuvier, and, perhaps, of Quoy and Gaimard, and for the Queensland specimens propose the new name ?redalei. PLATYDORIS CAPRICORNENSIS, N.Sp. (Plate iv.. figs. 5 and 6.) Animal small, flat, subcircular. Mantle with widely extended border. The presence of numerous close minute subequal tubercles give a granu- lated appearance to the dorsal surface. Rhinophores clavate, retractile within deep cavities, the margins of which are well raised and crenulated. The portions of the rhinophores showing in the cavities have well-marked laminations, which probably extend along their upper halves. Branchiae six, tripinnate, set round a long thin tubular anus, the contractile cavity containing them having a six-lobed margin. Oral tentacles short, flat and wide at their base. Foot fairly narrow, width about one-third that of the animal; rounded at both ends; shallow transverse groove at anterior end; upper lamina divided centrally. The colour of the spirit specimen is, in general, orange-tan, with a reddish underlying tinge. On the upper surface are two definite rows of irregular sized black-brown patches of colour encircling the animal. These patches are formed by minute speckling of dark colour, situated between the granular tubercles. In the centre of some of the patches the colour has weakened, leaving the outer edge dark, and in some places having a dark ring only. Between these two rows, smaller patches are scattered. The markings are confined principally to the mantle and the lower sides of the body. They are absent on the central dorsal surface, except for a slight suggestion of colour in front of the branchial plume. Undersurface same colour as above. No dark blotches present, except a very faint suggestion of the dark colour on the sides of the foot posteriorly. Rhinophores lighter in colour, tips orange. Branchiae pale, streaked and tipped black-brown. Oral tentacles pale yellow. Dimensions: Length of spirit specimen, 20 mm. Breadth, 16 mm. Habitat: North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland. Type specimen (C.57,207) in Australian Museum collection. Described from a single specimen collected by Mr. Melbourne Ward in May, 1930. No colour notes were made at the time, but it was probably much richer and darker in colour when alive. As this beautiful little speci- men shows all the external characters of the genus Platydoris Bergh, and lack of other specimens prevents me making a dissection at present, I have placed it in that genus. Genus Dictyoporis Bergh, 1880. Dictyodoris Bergh, Reis. Arch. Phil., Bd. ii., Pt. 3, Suppl. 1, 1880, 75-78; HC. Bas ii et. 25 1103: Oval-shaped animal, with wide mantle, texture rather leathery, but surface smooth. Branchiae few, usually four, small, bi-pinnate, and re- tractile into a rounded cavity. Rhinophores retractile. Foot only slightly grooved in front, or not at all. Back ridged, the main ridges often bear- ing large tubercles. DICTYODORIS AURANTIOMACULATA, NSD. (Plate iv., figs. 7 and 8; plate v., figs. 8-10.) Body broad, rounded anteriorly and posteriorly, elevated in the centre, fleshy, mantle edges thin, surface smooth to touch. Along each side of the 92 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. dorsal central portion is a row of large elongated pointed fleshy protuber- ances, which in the live specimen are very erect. A dorsal medial ridge extends from anterior to the rhinophores to half-way between the branchial opening and the posterior mantle margin, commencing and ending with a protuberance and with three large ones arranged along it, each one placed about half-way between those on the side rows. The elevated protuber- ances and the raised ridges formed by the medial line roughly divide the central dorsal area into five slightly sunken compartments. From each side of the first anterior protuberance a fleshy ridge runs out towards the mantle margin and on both sides of the dorsal surface; a similar ridge runs from each of the protuberances to the side mantle margins, and from each posterior one, situated on either side of the bran- chial opening, two ridges run, one to the sides, and one to the posterior margin. A ridge connects the extreme posterior medial protuberances with the branchial opening and the posterior mantle margin. The branchiae and rhinophores are completely retracted in the single specimen found. The opening of the former is small, with regular non- elevated edges. Those of the latter are close together, on either side of the central ridge, and are round and raised. The branchiae, four in num- ber, are very small and stumpy, with a broad rachis, and are divided at their tops into about five small groups. They are situated two on either side of the tubular anus, and the two posterior ones are partly divided into two a little way from the tops. The undersurface of the animal is smooth, with a narrow small foot, which does not extend to the margins. It is broadly rounded anteriorly and slightly narrower posteriorly. Lip well divided, upper lamina forming wide lobes. Oral tentacles conspicuous, linear and narrow at the apex. A vividly coloured and most conspicuous animal, with the ground colour milky opalescent, and the upper surface covered with rich orange-yellow lines, and large irregular-sized oval spots of the same colour, outlined with deeper orange. Along the medial ridge runs a yellow band, interrupted by the fleshy protuberances, which are milky-white, with yellow tops. A similar yellow line extends along the ridges from the protuberances along the sides, broadening as they approach the outer edge of the margin, which is edged with yellow. The raised upper portion of the dorsal sur- face is outlined with interrupted orange lines, and the branchial and rhinophore openings are encircled with similarly coloured elongated markings. Between each raised ridge on the mantle are roughly three very large oval spots in a row with much smaller ones on either side of them, grow- ing smaller near the margins. A rich lavender-blue tinge shows through the central portion. The tips of the branchiae and rhinophores seem light brown. The undersurface is the same ground colour as the upper, with the edges of the mantle and foot outlined with orange-yellow. The tips of the oral tentacles are also orange-yellow. The spots on the upper sur- face faintly show through on the border of the undersurface. Since preparing the above description of the preserved specimen, I have examined a photograph of the live animal taken by Mr. M. Embury when it was collected. It had not apparently had time to change to any extent in preservation. In the photograph, the protuberances were longer and more erect, and the large and small spots seemed to be situated on the tops of soft blister-like pustules. In the preserved specimen, this effect was noticed on the mantle just below the raised central portion, but out toward the margin the’ tendency disappeared, leaving only coloured spots. The ALLAN. 93 tips of the rhinophores were peeping out, but the branchiae were retracted beyond sight. Both Mr. A. A. Livingstone and Mr. W. Boardman, who brought the specimen back from North-West Islet, told me they did not at any time see the branchiae exserted. Radula light yellow coloured, about 42 rows hooked, crowded and slightly denticulate teeth, increasing in size outwards. Formula, 54.0.54. Dimensions: Length in spirit, 77 mm. Breadth, 56 mm. Habitat: Brought back to the Australian Museum by Messrs. A. A. Livingstone and W. Boardman from North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland, where it was collected by Master Embury in January, 1931. Type specimen, C. 57,208. I experienced difficulty at first in determining the genus for this species. The soft raised ridges with lines of colour seemed to ally it with Halgerda Bergh, but the branchiae differentiated it. Eliot (Proc. Malac. Soc., vi., Pt. 4, March, 1905. 229). describing species of Dictyodoris tessellata Bergh, from Madagascar, adds that he thinks that genus should be united with Halgerda and which seems to have priority of name. His specimens have three dorsal ridges, bearing three or four tubercles, which are con- nected by secondary ridges extending towards the margins. The margin is outlined with a coloured border. The main character, however, is the four branchiae, two on each side of the anus, and each with a thick rachis. These are similar to the branchiae in the North-West Islet species. I prefer to place my species in the genus Dictyodoris Bergh, rather than in Halgerda Bergh. Genus AstEroNotTus Ehrenberg, 1831. Asteronotus Ehrenberg, Symbolae physicae, 1831, not paginated, but on p. 97; Bergh, Jahr. Malak. Gesell., iv., 1877. p. 45, 161. Oval animals of large size, with a very leathery texture. The dorsal surface is quite smooth, but bears large ridges and lumps. The branchiae are large and bushy, five to six in number, and are retractile into a cavity, which is usually divided into a corresponding number of convergent lobes. Rhinophores retractile. Foot broad, upper lamina divided generally into flaps. Mouth large. ASTERONOTUS BRASSICA, N.Sp. (Plate v., figs. 12-14.) Animal very large and heavy, with rounded elongated mantle, widely extended and thin towards the edges and irregularly shaped in places. Dorsal surface covered with ridges and large pustules. A wide raised ridge extends down the centre of the dorsal surface from between the rhino- phores and terminating near the branchial plume. From this ridge, wide globular ridges extend towards the margins, about three on each side, which after preservation partly divide into large protuberances. A row of large blister-like protuberances extend down the sides of the dorsal central portion parallel to the median line. Round the marginal edge are rows of narrow parallel ridges which break up here and there into small pustules. Rhinophores large and retractile into ample cavities, with raised crenu- lated edges. Branchial cavity large and raised with six convergent lobes; branchial plume very conspicuous, bushy, six-gilled and retractile to about level of lobes. Foot broad and long, extending well down towards posterior end, truncate anteriorly, narrow and rounded posteriorly. Upper lamina divided; formed into two large flaps. Mouth very large, inner portion sometimes protrudes. Oral tentacles large, flat and leaf-like. Colour bright cabbage-green, with margins and surface of lumps 94 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. lighter in tone. Narrow marblings of lavender-blue are along the sides of the central ridge and encircle the larger protuberances. Gills light brown; ~ rhinophores greyish-green. Undersurface light greenish-yellow; foot more brown than the mantle. Encircling the foot on the mantle is a broad band of dark colour. A margin of confluent blobs of the same dark colour extends round the mantle edge. Odontophore, dark coloured and broad, with 41-43 rows of hook-shaped broad teeth elongated at their base. Formula, 54.0.54. Dimensions: Length in spirit, 155 mm. Breadth, 115 mm. (Average specimen). In life much larger. Locality: Numerous specimens collected between May, 1930-May, 1931, by Messrs. A. A. Livingstone, W. Boardman and M. Ward, at North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland. Type specimen (C.57,210) in Aus- tralian Museum collection. This species resembles somewhat the description of Asteronotus mabilla Abraham (P.Z.S., 1877, 249, pl. xxviii., figs. 1-4, from the Seychelles and Samoa), but is much larger than it and has larger though fewer protuber- ances and ridges. On the undersurface of A. mabilla there is only one dark coloured band which is exactly half-way between the foot and the mantle edge. The definite two bands of the North-West Islet specimens are situated immediately round the foot and round the mantle edge. The odontophore in the former is about 26 rows, as against 41-43 in the latter. Basedow and Hedley (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Australia, Vol. xxix., 1905, 141) placed A. mabilia Abraham, on the Australian list from Sydney Harbour. I have examined this specimen, which is in the Australian Museum collec- tion, and have found it smaller, narrower and flatter than the northern one. Its original colour has completely gone, and it is now a pale cream all over, including the branchiae. The dorsal surface is covered with small pustules, as in Abraham’s figure, and not large ridges and protuberances, as in the species described above. I am doubtful, however, whether this specimen came from Sydney Harbour. It has apparently been in the col- lection for many years, and the only data supplied is “Port Jackson” on a small label. As the nudibranchs hitherto found in that locality have been only small ones, I think that the late Charles Hedley would have made some reference to it in that, or some other paper, if such a large one had appeared. Knowing how well he always labelled material, especially if collected by himself, the insufficient data on the label makes me think that it was collected elsewhere, with other material, and had become separated from it. It is remarkably like a single specimen of Asteronotus in the col- lection from Port Darwin, Northern Territory, which is the same pale cream colour. Mr. A. A. Livingstone collected a single specimen at Cape Leveque, W. Australia, 6 in. x 4 in. in size, resembling somewhat the North-West Islet ones, but it has only a single extremely broad dark band of colour round the foot, extending from the margin of the foot almost to the mantle border. There are, besides, only five branchiae in the five-lobed cavity, and the foot is narrower than the former species. To me it seems to re- semble more the figure of Asteronotus cespitosus (Van Hasselt) (Notes of the Leyden Museum, Vol. ix., 1887, 307, pl. 6, fig. 9) from Java, a browner species than the North-West Islet one, a fact which Mr. Livingstone also noticed in his live specimen, and the sculpture seems smaller and more compact. The specimen has lost its colour far more rapidly than the Barrier Reef ones, although preserved in the same manner. Until I see ALLAN. 95 more specimens of it, I cannot say whether it is a variety or the same thing. There is a possibility that the specimen collected by Mr. Livingstone at Cape Leveque may be an adult form of O’Donoghue’s Asteronotus fuscus from Abrolhos Island (Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool., Vol. xxxv., 551, pl. 28, figs. 12-13). This species is only 27.5 mm. long by 15 mm. wide, has five branchiae, is muddy brown colour in spirit, and in life dirty brown, with some lighter brown spots. ASTERONOTUS WARDIANUS, SDP. Nov. (Plate iv., figs. 16 and 17.) Body rather large, flat, elliptic. Mantle with wide extended border, thin at the edge; dorsal surface smooth, and, though flattened somewhat with preservation, shows irregular-sized blister-like pustules, becoming smaller and confluent towards the outer edge, and with suggestions of ridges running from the centre outwards. Rhinophores conspicuous and closely laminated well down their length, retracted into slightly raised cavities, the thickened edges of which show a very slight crenulation. Branchiae six, retractile, set round a fairly long sturdy tubular anus, en- closed in a six-lobed contractile cavity, lobes irregular in size. Oral ten- tacles conspicuous, flat and leaf-shape. Foot fairly long and medium size; width about one-third that of body, widest in the middle, with suggestion of blister-like pustules, truncate in front and roundly truncate behind; transverse groove at anterior end deeper than in most genera; upper lamina extending well beyond it and divided medially. The colour of the spirit specimen is purplish-brown, with darker mark- ings. A central dark interrupted band seems to extend from between and in front of the rhinophores, along the back to just in front of the branchial cavity. This band appears in parts to be pupilled with a lighter colour. From it other dark markings extend out in patches and rows towards the margins, and are scattered over the surface. A very dark border encircles the edge of the mantle. Tops of the rhinophores are the same purplish brown colour, the edges of their cavities dark. Branchiae and anus very light colour tipped and streaked with the body colour. Undersurface milky- white, shading to blue-white towards the margin. A wide interrupted chocolate brown band of irregular-sized blotches encircles it about half- way between the mantle edge and foot. The outer edge of the mantle is very dark purple-brown. Numerous smaller pale brown spots are scattered about the dark band, with faint bluish ones towards the margins. Foot very pale brown, with purple shading towards the outer edge. Sides of foot rich purple-brown, becoming brown at the junction of the mantle. Oral tentacles light purple-brown. Upper lamina edged with same dark colour as the body. Odontophore: About forty rows of broad teeth; formula, 40.0.40. Dimensions: Length of spirit specimen, 90 mm. Breadth, 60 mm. Habitat: North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland. Type speci- men (C.57,206) in Australian Museum collection. Described from a single specimen collected in May, 1930, by Mr. M. Ward, after whom I have named it. No colour notes were made at the time, but Mr. Ward informed me that it was a very striking and richly coloured animal when alive. The undersurface should make it easily re- cognisable, with its milky ground colour, band of brown blotches and dark marginal border. 96 } AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. The general shape, tentacular and branchial cavities and oral tentacle are similar to those of Platydoris, but the absence of minute granulation, an important character of this genus and the evident presence of larger pustules on the dorsal surface of the species just described, separate it from that genus. The nearest genus to which I can place it is Asteronotus Ehrenberg. Eliot (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1903, Pt. 2, 360) gives a good guide to be followed for the placing of doubtful genera, and this I have taken into consideration when placing, perhaps temporarily, the present species in Asteronotus. Genus DEeNnpDRoporRIS Ehrenberg, 1831. Dendrodoris Ehrenberg, Symbolae physicae, 1831, not paginated, but on p. 94. Type by subsequent designation Dendrodoris lugubris Ehrenberg (Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1847, 164) . Rhacodoris Morch, Journ. de Conch., 3, Ser. iii., 1863, 34. Type by original designation, “Doris laciniata Cuvier.” Doridopsis Alder & Handcock, Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., Vol. v., Pt. 3, 1864, 125. Type by original designation Doridopsis gemmacea. Haustellodoris Pease, Amer. Journ. Conch., Vol. vl., 1871, 299; for the Doridopsis of Alder & Handcock. Large animals, with soft, smooth, often gelatinous bodies, brightly coloured, and generally covered with soft warts and blister-like pustules. Rhinophores retractile, branchiae bushy and large, about 5-8 in number, wholly or partly surrounding the vent, retractile into a common cavity. Foot very broad, oral tentacles small and often represented by small folds. Mouth a small pore, through which a suctorial tube protrudes as a pro- boscis. There is no radula. A genus, comprised of numerous species, which usually inhabit tropical seas and are found under stones. In 1860, Pease (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1860, 32) created the genus Doriopsis for a small oblong or oval depressed Doris characterised by the position of the branchiae, which are placed in a semi-circle on the posterior end of the dorsal surface, convex side caudad, and retractile into a similar- shaped slit. In 1864, Alder and Handcock (Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., Vol. v.. Pt. 3, 1864, 125) made the genus Doridopsis for a species with a large mantle, rhinophores and branchiae retractile within cavities, no oral ten- tacles, mouth suctorial, opening in the front of the margin of the foot, without tongue, jaws or collar, and with a retractile proboscis. The former genus has usually been considered a synonym of Dori- dopsis, but on reading the original description of the two genera, it is seen that Pease’s description refers to an entirely different genus, a fact which Mde. A. Pruvot-Fol (Bull. Mus. Nat. d’Hist. Nat., 2, Ser., Tom. 11, No. 3, March, 1930, 291) also notes. Risbec (Contribution a l’Etude des Nudi- branchs Neo Caledoniens, 1928, 102) also realised that Doriopsis was a dif- ferent genus to Doridopsis, and placed Doriopsis viridis Pease, into a new genus he created, Guyonia. I think that Doriopsis could still stand, how- ever, for those species with the branchiae and other characters described by Pease, and that Guyonia becomes a synonym of it. O’Donoghue (Trans. Roy. Canadian Instit., No. 34, Vol. xv., Pt. 2, 1926, 203) points out, however, that the genus Dendrodoris Ehrenberg, 1831, which Bergh (Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, Heft xiv., 1878, 21) puts aside as un- satisfactory in favour of Pease’s name of 1860, is the same as Doridopsis, and therefore takes precedence over it. The “quite false characters” which Bergh finds in Pease’s genus are the very ones which separate it from Dendrodoris and Doridopsis. ALLAN. 97 DENDRODORIS GUNNAMATTA, N.Sp. (Plate v., figs. 4-7.) Body fairly narrow and elongate, rounded, very soft and gelatinous, mantle extended all round, edges thin and crenulated. Dorsal surface covered with large irregular-sized globular pustules, becoming smaller at the edges. In the spirit specimen these form a more or less definite pattern on the back, as follows: Along each side of the back is a row of three large tubercles, rugose on the top, and each encircled by about six much smaller ones, uniting just before the rhinophores to a single row of two similar constructions, which extends to the anterior border. Similar processes are on the border, and smaller tubercles are scattered over the whole surface. Rhinophores long and slender, upper portion diagonally laminated, retrac- tile in cavities, with edges raised into a short sheath formed of about four tubercles. Branchiae large and bushy, five, tripinnate, set round a large tubular, independently retractile anus, which is situated slightly posteriorly between the two posterior branchiae interrupting the branchial circle. Cavity large and fleshy, formed of five elevated lobes, which seem to bear smaller tubercles. Foot very long and broad, in most of the spirit speci- mens extending well beyond the mantle posteriorly, and in others reach- ing almost to it. Margin slightly crenulated, truncate in front, rounded behind, edges thin, a very slight anterior margin groove, lamina divided by a protruding proboscis, which in some specimens does not protrude, but shows the mouth as a small pore. Lamina attached to the head; anterior to it are two small flat rounded and free flaps which serve as oral tentacles. Colour of the spirit specimen is dirty yellowish grey. Edges of mantle yellow. A greenish grey tinge appears on the large tubercles. On the centre back, between the two rows of tubercles is a longitudinal row of three large irregular-shaped patches of dark slate colour. The shape is formed by the joining of the tubercles around them. Within most of the dark patches is a central lighter patch, with sometimes a small black spot within it. This paler patch I think is caused by the dark markings becoming faded in spirit, commencing with the centre of the coloured mark. An- other row of five such markings runs along each side of the body from the front of the rhinophores to behind the branchiae, the last two posterior ones on each side uniting practically as one big blotch. The area enclosed within the slaty patches is not so tubercular as the remainder of the sur- face, and at first glance appears almost smooth, because the tubercles are much smaller and flatter. Upper portion of the rhinophores slaty-brown, with tips and lamination marks yellow, lower portion transparent colour. Branchiae stalks light yellow, streaked and tipped with slate-brown, giving them a dark appearance. Anus almost black. Undersurface lighter than dorsal, edges of mantle yellow, with dark patches on it, which seems to mark the bases of the surface tubercles. Foot greenish-grey, edges yellow, underneath same colour as above. Oral flaps dark, edged with yellow. Dimensions: Length of spirit specimen, 70 mm. Breadth, 40 mm. Height, 20 mm. As the specimens have not curled at all in preservation, these measurements are practically the same as in life. Habitat: About fifty specimens were collected at the one time on the mud flats at Gunnamatta Bay, Port Hacking, N.S. Wales, by Mr. T. Iredaie and party, from the Australian Museum, in May, 1925. Mr. Iredale noted that a few were found in early May in shallow water at the edge of the sandy mud patch on the flat, and in later May when the larger number were collected they were lying exposed, and noted apparently burrowing in 98 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS, the mud to keep themselves moist until the tide returned. Two were se- cured in November, none in March, and plenty in May. The latter month is probably near the breeding time. Type specimen in Australian Museum collection (C. 51,204). A colour sketch of the live animal was made at the time, but has since been mislaid. I remember it as a very velvety, rich blue, almost blue- black creature, with extremely soft, large blister-like pustules over the sur- face, which did not appear to fall into any definite arrangement as they did in the preserved specimen. Also, there were no decided dark blotches, except the summit of the tubercles, which seemed a little darker. In his notes, based on his visits to Gunnamatta Bay, Mr. Iredale says it has a large dark bluish body surface, with pale greenish tubercles scattered ir- regularly over the surface. The rhinophores are club-shaped and com- pletely retractile, brownish-red in colour, the tips with whitish lines. Branchiae rich reddish-brown. Foot elongate, pale brown, longitudinally lined with blue, the blue sometimes extending from one line to another. The edge of. the foot is yellowish, a narrow band extending round, but vanishing towards the tail. The underside of the mantle shows a crinkled edge, with dark spots appearing as eye-spots. When alive, I had seen nothing like this species, but since being preserved its surface has so settled into a definite pattern that it some- what resembles the sketch of Doridopsis mammosa Abraham (P.Z.S. Lond., 1877, 266, pl. xxix., figs. 20-21. Habitat (?): Obtained during An- tarctic Expedition). The body in the latter seems more convex, the pus- tules smaller, although more elongated, and the rhinophore cavities raised sheath-like, whereas in the species under discussion the pustules are large, soft blister-like, the body is narrow, flatter and elongate, and the rhino- phores are retractile into rounded cavities, edges of which are merely formed by a few tubercles and are not sheaths. Practically all the speci- mens from Gunnamatta Bay are between 60-70 mm. in length. As Abraham’s species has no definite locality, and in view of the differences already noted, I consider the former a new species of Dendrodoris. DENDRODORIS MELAENA, n.Sp. (Plate v., fig. 11.) Body soft and velvety, and when extended elongate and bluntly trun- cate at each end. Mantle margin very wide and thrown into numerous large folds. The posterior end rather wider than the anterior end. The surface of the body is covered with soft blister-like pustules, which are only noticed when inspecting closely. Rhinophores are well separated, reaching beyond the margin of the mantle when extended, retractile, laminated. Branchiae bushy and conspicuous, seven in number, reaching beyond the side mantle edges, retractile into a rounded cavity. Foot very broad, ex- tending well to the posterior end of the mantle. Mouth a circular pore. Oral tentacles rudimentary. Colour of the animal when alive is a rich dark velvety black, with an occasional bluish bloom on the upper surface. Mantle margin has a narrow edging of pale yellow-brown. Rhinophores black, white tipped. Branchiae black, tipped and streaked with pale yellow-brown. Undersurface lighter than the dorsal, with a milky tinge on the foot. The edges of the foot and mantle are outlined with the same light brown tinge as above. A similar coloured area surrounds the mouth. Dimensions: Length, 25 mm. Breadth, 12 mm. ALLAN. 99 Locality: Found under a rock at Long Reef, near Sydney, N.S. Wales, by Mr. G. P. Whitley, in October, 1930. Another specimen was found by Mr. T. Iredale at Queenscliff, not far from Long Reef, some years before, and which I figured at the time. It was placed in the Museum aquarium, but unfortunately disappeared. It was a larger specimen, 37 mm. long and 22 mm. broad, but was otherwise identical with the Long Reef one. DENDRODORIS MORULIFER, N.Sp. (Plate v., figs. 1 and 2.) Body very soft and large, roundly oblong, the mantle well extended, marginal edges thin. Dorsal surface covered with numerous very large protuberances, the surface of which is composed of smaller tubercles, mak- ing the protuberances resemble somewhat a mulberry in the spirit specimen. One of these protuberances is situated between and anterior to the rhino- phores and almost on the mantle margin. Two more are in a row on the central median line, commencing posterior to the rhinophores. Half-way down this line is a suggestion of another, and posterior to the branchiae a large one overhangs the mantle margin, making five in all along the central dorsal line. About five similar large protuberances form a line on either side of the central row, each one being situated between those on the middle row. A well marked one is on each side of the central anterior gill, and one on either side of the posterior gills. Along each side of the dorsal surface fairly large blister-like pustules surround the larger protuberances and fill up the gaps dividing them. The thin edges of the mantle are over- hung by these pustules, which are extremely numerous and crowded round the margin and immediately posterior to, and anterior to, the rhinophores. There is only a suggestion of these pustules on the dorsal central surface. In the spirit specimens, rows of lines encircle the base of the proturber- ances, but it is difficult to say whether in life these are colour markings, ridges, or small faint tubercles. The rhinophores are retractile, large and conspicuous, laminated, and with a tendency to bend backwards. Their openings are wide and the edges are outlined with small pustules. The branchial plume is large and bushy and is slightly withdrawn into an ample cavity, the margin of which is pustulose, a little elevated and faintly divided into five lobes. The branchiae are divided well down to their base, tri- pinnate, five in number, with a free space between the two posterior ones. The retractile anus is situated in its own cavity, slightly posteriorly and practically between these two. The foot is long and broad, with a ten- dency to pustulation, rounded at the anterior end and narrower towards the posterior end. The margins are thin and slightly crenulated. The head is small, with no sign of an anterior marginal groove. Oral tentacles are small, inconspicuous flaps on the side of the head. Mouth a minute pore. The colour of the spirit specimen is dark slaty-green, with the large protuberances and some of the pustules very light brown. Many of the pustules round the mantle seem light colour, with dark green centres. The rhinophores are light brown. Central dorsal surface very dark. Branchiae very dark greenish colour, lighter tipped. The undersurface should make identification of this species simple. It is greenish-slate colour, becoming pale towards the centre, and has numerous large rounded and oval spots scattered over the surface. These, in the spirit specimen, are milk white, with a suggestion of a thin dark ring encircling each. They may have been yellow in life and resemble in their shape and position on the mantle those on the undersurface of Doris tuberculata Q. & G. (Voy. de 1’Astrolabe, 100 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. Zool., 2, p. 248, pl. 16, figs. 1-2) from New Guinea. A narrow darker band of colour is on the mantle round the foot. The foot is a slightly lighter shade than the ground colour of the undersurface. Dimensions: Length in spirit, 5} inches. Breadth, 4 inches. Locality: A single specimen brought back from North-West Islet in January, 1931, by Messrs. A. A. Livingstone and W. Boardman, who were unable to give me any idea of its colour in life as it was collected by an- other member of the expedition on the islet at that time, and was placed in the jar set aside for the nudibranchs, without their knowledge. Type specimen (C.57,212) in Australian Museum collection. DENDRODORIS RAINFORDI, N.Sp. (Plate iv., figs. 14 and 15.) Animal large, plump, softly rounded. Dorsal surface covered with large irregular-sized blister-like tubercles, bearing smaller ones on their surface, and becoming smaller and more congested towards their edges. Margin crenulated. Rhinophores pointed at tip, one retracted in specimen, and the other not, pointing backwards, laminated; cavities raised and rounded. Branchial plume large, conspicuous and bushy, seven in number, tripinnate, not fully retracted in specimen, set in a slightly raised cavity, the edge of which shows an inclination to form faint lobes. Anus, independently re- tracted, and set well back against the wall of the cavity, between the two posterior branchiae. Foot long and very broad, roundly truncate in front and behind, margins crenulated. No pronounced groove at the anterior end; upper lamina divided, forming ample flaps. Oral tentacles incon- spicuous, small folds which do not project freely. Mouth small and pore- like. The whole undersurface, including the foot, is covered with the same blister-like tubercles as on the upper surface. Colour of the spirit specimen is light yellowish-brown, with large round irregular-sized purplish-brown rings scattered over the surface. These rings contain within them numerous small spots and lines forming more or less designs, and giving a hieroglyphic appearance to them. There are six large ones on the central dorsal surface, two about three-quarters of an inch in diameter are situated immediately in front of the branchiae, two a little larger in the centre, and two more before the rhinophores. A much smaller one is between the rhinophores and a similar-sized one is anterior to them. A row of fairly small ones encircles the body where the mantle commences, from the rhinophores to the branchial plume. Immediately posterior to the branchiae is a large purplish-brown blotch. Smaller ones of similar colour appear at intervals amongst the rings along the mantle. The margin of the mantle has a band of large and small rings, about thirteen in num- ber, encircling it. Undersurface paler than dorsal, the pattern on the mantle margin the same as above, as though it was showing through. Foot dark purplish- brown in centre, shading to paler colour towards the edge, with a few dark rings on it, which, as in the case of the mantle edge, appear in the same position on the undersurface. Branchiae light coloured, heavily streaked and tipped with dark brown, giving them an almost purplish appearance. Rhinophores purplish-black, white tipped. This very handsome and conspicuous animal which was found float- ing on the surface of the water by Mr. E. Rainford and presented to the Australian Museum by him would be easily recognised on account of its ALLAN. 101 large dimensions, large branchial plume, and the extraordinary markings on its surface. As only one specimen was found by Mr. Rainford and is still the only one in the MuSeum collection, I do not think it is advisable to dissect it. The specimen has curled up considerably in preservative, giving to the margins of the mantle and foot an exaggerated crenulated appearance, which would not exist to such a degree in life. Dimensions: Length in spirit, 64 inches. Breadth, 4 inches. Habitat: Port Denison, Queensland. Type specimen (C.49,974) in Australian Museum collection. The markings on the surface of this species resemble somewhat those seen in the figure of Kentrodoris annuligera Bergh (Bergh, Reis. im. Archipel der Philippines von Semper, 1892, Heft. viii., Taf. Ixxxv., fig. 8 and Heft. viii, Taf. xli., fig. 1, 1875), but their external characters alone dis- sociate them. Genus PoLycera Cuvier, 1816. Polycera Cuvier, Regne Animal, Vol. ii., 389, “1817,” ie., December, 1816. Type by subsequent designation, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1847, 165; Doris quadrilineata Muller. Themisto Oken, Lehrb. Naturg. Th., iii., Zool., Pt. 1, x., 278, 1815. Type, Doris quadrilineata Muller. Not Themisto Oken, Goetting, gelehrte Anz., 1807, 1168. Cufaea Leach, Synops. Moll. Great Britain, 21, December, 1852. Type by monotypy, Doris flava Montagu. Conspicuous and active animals, usually with vividly contrasting colours on the body. Limaciform shape, with no definite mantle, but the body is marked by a ridge at the sides, which continues round the head. The front part of this ridge forms a veil and bears elongate processes or tubercles. Branchiae generally simple, but may be bi- or tripinnate, with usually one or more appendages on either side of them. The branchiae and rhinophores are retractile. The body swells a little in the centre where the heart is. Mouth large, foot linear. Their range extends throughout the European seas, but previous to the writing of this paper the genus does appear to have been recorded from Australian waters. They are found among sea-weeds in rock-pools and on floating timber and wharf piles. POLYCERA CONSPICUA, N.sp. (Plate iv., figs. 12 and 13; plate v., fig. 15.) Animal slender, elongate, a little swollen in the middle and tapering to a long pointed tail behind, smooth, transparent, white in colour, the in- ternal organs showing through produce a greyish-pink appearance in parts. Rhinophores large and conspicuous, subclavate, set fairly far apart, broad at base, bending slightly backward, upper part with about twenty- eight laminations, grooved down the centre, black, with base and tips smooth and white, non-retractile, and about the same length as the frontal appendages. Frontal veil well expanded and ornamented with six bright yellow elongated pointed appendages of more or less equal length, situated three on either side, the posterior pair in a line with the rhinophores. Branchial plume large, erect and conspicuous, situated about midway along the animal and just behind a small swelling containing the heart. When fully expanded, it stretches well beyond the side body margins. It consists of eleven simply-pinnate tapering branchiae, the two posterior ones very small, and the central anterior one the largest. Colour black, 102 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. with stems whitish and tips yellow. On each side of the branchial plume is a single largé bright yellow tentacle of the same appearance, but about twice the size as the frontal appendages, and with base whitish. Foot linear, grooved down centre, lobed in front, sides slightly undulated, white. Mouth large. A broad black line extends along centre of dorsal surface, from be- tween the two anterior frontal appendages to just behind the branchial plume. Another similar black line extends along each side of the body underneath the last pair of frontal appendages to about midway between tip of tail and branchiae. The black line on the right side is interrupted by the presence of the genital opening. A narrow bright yellow line runs along dorsal surface of the tail, from the tip almost to the termination of the central black line. A line of similar length and colour extends along the upper outer margin of the tail. Dimensions: Length, 2 inches. Breadth, $ inch. Type, Australian Museum collection. Registered No. C. 57,211. Habitat: Sydney Harbour, N.S. Wales. About eight specimens in all have been brought to the Museum since 1927. Previous to that year there had been no specimens in the collection. Some of them were found by members of the crew of the Harbour Trust launches, when examining wharf-piles for borers, and were attached either to the piles or brought up on sea-weed, usually between the months of September and May. One specimen was dredged off Watson’s Bay, Port Jackson, by Captain Com- tesse, of the dredge “Triton,” in September. This conspicuous little animal is easily recognised by its beautifully marked body and large erect black waving branchiae, broad black bands along the sides and centre, contrasting bright yellow frontal appendages and body tentacles. It is far more active than the Dorids, and uses its tail freely for attaching itself to sea-weed or any object it comes in contact with, and with it as an axis is able to revolve into many positions. One specimen had the two body tentacles divided at their bases, but as all the other characters were the same I think this was only an aberration. Resembles somewhat Polycera capensis Quoy & Gaimard (Voy. “Uranie,” Zool., 1824, 417, pl. 66, fig. 4), from the Cape of Good Hope, but this species has the frontal tentacles much smaller, and the black lines on the body do not extend to such length as those in the Sydney Harbour species, and are not so conspicuous. It also resembles the sketch of Polycera nigrocrocea Barnard, from S. Africa (Ann. S. Africa. Mus., Vol. xxv., 1927, pl. xix., figs. 7-8), but several differences separate them. The latter species seems to me to be very close to P. capensis Q. & G., and, considering the localities of the two, it would be nearer that species than the Sydney Harbour one. Genus Notoporis Bergh, 1875. Notodoris Bergh, Journ. de Mus. Godeffroy, Heft. viii., 1875, 64-67, 196-197, Taf. ix., figs. 32-45, Taf. f., 1-8. Eliot, Fauna and Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, Vol. ii., Pt. 1. Animal limaciform in shape, with no clear distinction between the back and sides. Body surface is hard, rough and rugose. Frontal veil ample. The branchiae are small and are protected by a large valve, which is sometimes elaborately divided and subdivided. The rhinophores are smooth and are sometimes also protected by valves. Very few species are known, and they are all yellow in colour, sometimes with darker spots or markings on the dorsal surface. It has been noticed in some cases that ALLAN. 103 they resemble in colour and general appearance the vivid yellow sponge on which they are sometimes found. Professor W. J. Dakin found that what seemed at first sight to be small pieces of brilliant lemon-yellow sponge falling off a straggling mass of lemon-yellow sponge at the Abrolhos Is. were really nudibranchs of the same vivid colour, resembling the sponge also in general appearance. These were the species of Notodorids, dis- cussed by O’Donoghue, and mentioned below. On the other hand, the species found commonly at North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, crawled about amongst rock crevices, where it showed out most vividly against the contrasting background, and made no attempt to conceal itself. They are found in tropical seas, and so far very little is known of their habits. The genus was created by Bergh for a single species, N. citrina, from Raratonga. Eliot obtained another at Zanzibar (N. minor) and with his N. gardineri from Hulule, Maldive Islands, the species described below from North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, brings the known species to four. O’Donoghue (Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool., 1924, Vol. xxxv., No. 237, 565, pl. 28, figs. 13-19; pl. 30, figs. 62-64) describes a species from the Abrolhos Is., Western Australia, which he attributes to N. gardineri. Three specimens of this species were obtained, and he therefore records the genus for the first time from Australian waters. The Barrier Reef species is the first record of the genus from the east coast of Australia. NOTODORIS MEGASTIGMA, N.sp. (Plate iv., figs. 9-11.) Body limaciform, lengthening to a tail which forms almost half the length of the entire animal. Hard, rough and rugose, with a large, rounded frontal veil. The body is covered with irregular-sized thick heavy pro- tuberances, somewhat flattened on their apex, and the larger ones rugose on their upper portions. They are arranged in a row round the frontal veil along the upper sides of the body as far as the branchial lobes, about twelve in number, and diminishing in size around the veil. Two similar rows run down the central dorsal area, from anterior to and between the rhinophores to the branchial lobes. A series, somewhat smaller in size, extends from the area surrounding the anus down the centre of the tail to its tip, and along the sides of the tail and body are several rows of smaller protuberances. The area round the anus is well covered with very small ones. The rhinophores in the specimens are completely retracted, their open- ings being protected by a valve. The numerous, rather small non-retracted gills are well protected by a large conspicuous branchial lobe, composed of three parts, each of which is clearly divided and furnished with small irregular-shaped leaf-like processes. In the spirit specimens, the gills pro- trude slightly beyond the branchial lobe in parts. The flat foot occupies the whole undersurface. Oral tentacles, flat and broad, are hidden by the overhanging veil. The colour is vivid yellow, with large black spots and patches scattered over the dorsal surface, and smaller and more minute ones intermingling. A very large patch extends across the central portion immediately behind the branchial lobes, another one placed on the side of the central dorsal protuberances, midway between the branchial lobe and the frontal veil, and a smaller one anterior to the right rhinophore valve. A spot of similar size to this is posterior to the anus, and a very large elongated patch is on either side of the central tail ridge, with a few smaller spots posterior to it. There are no colour markings on the undersurface. 104 AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. In another specimen there is a black spot anterior to each rhinophore valve, with two more posterior to them, and the large patch on each side of the tail ridge is divided into spots instead of being entire. The spirit specimens have faded to a light greenish-grey, with the branchiae the same colour, and the black patches commencing to fade towards the centres. Odontophore, dark colour, about 45 rows of long curved teeth, large at sides. ; Dimensions: Length of spirit specimen, 65 mm. Breadth, 20 mm. Habitat: Two specimens brought back by Messrs. A. A. Livingstone and W. Boardman from North-West Islet, Capricorn Group, Queensland, in January, 1931, who assert that it was the commonest sea-slug seen on the island at that particular time. It was found crawling among coral crevices, making no attempt to conceal itself, and its vivid colour showed out most strikingly. Specimens were also collected in 1930 at North-West Islet by Mr. Melbourne Ward. Type (C.57,209) in Australian Museum collection. The species somewhat resembles N. gardineri Eliot (Fauna and Geo- graphy of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, Vol. ii., Pt. 1, 548, pl. xxxii., figs. 7-8), but in the latter the spots are very much smaller and fewer, and the ridges mentioned by Eliot on the dorsal surface of his species are replaced by large protuberances in the North-West Islet species. The three specimens described by O’Donoghue from the Abrolhos Is. as N. gardineri Eliot, according to the colour notes made by Professor Dakin, ni oe hg a Ne ei bly ia \ Fig. 2. Teeth of Asteronotus brassica (greatly enlarged). a prt ve ni nn Fig. 1. Radula of Asteronotus brassica. ALLAN. 105 have no black markings, or spots, which are present in the Queensland species. Both the specimens from the Abrolhos Is. and Eliot’s specimen are much smaller in size than the former. i, Pe 3, 4. 5, 6. 7, 8. 9, 10, EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Plate iv. Discodoris whitleyt. Platydoris iredalei. Platydoris capricornensis. Dictyodoris aurantiomaculata. 11. Notodoris megastigma. 12, 13. Polycera conspicua. 14, 15. Dendrodoris rainfordi. 16, 17. Asteronotus wardianus. A Als P+ 3. 15. Plate v. Dendrodoris morulifer. Platydoris iredalei. Internal structure. b = buccal mass, r = rhinophore, n = nerve centre, o = generative organs, s = stomach, i = intestine, 1 = liver, k = pericardium, v = ventricle, y = auricle, g = gills, a = anus. Dendrodoris gunnamatta. Dendrodoris gunnamatta. Internal structure. b = buccal mass, r = rhinophores, n = nerve centre, 9 = generative organs, s = stomach, i = intestine, 1 = liver, k = pericardium, v = ventricle, y = auricle, g = gills, a = anus. Proboscis of Dendrodoris gunnamatta. Internal structure of Dictyodoris aurantiomaculata. b = buccal mass, r = rhinophores, n = nerve centre, o = generative organs, s = stomach, i = intestine, 1 = liver, k = pericardium, a = anus, g = gills. Gills of ditto. Teeth of ditto. Dendrodoris melaena. Asteronotus brassica. Asteronotus brassica. Internal structure. b = buccal mass, r = rhinophores, n = nerve centre, o = generative organs, s = stomach, i = intestine, 1 = liver, k = pericardium, g = gills. Internal structure of Polycera conspicua. b = buccal mass, r = rhinophore, os = oesophagus, o generative organs, s = stomach, i = intestine, 1 = liver, g gills, a = anus. ii ll 106 A RE-EXAMINATION OF GYMNOBELIDEUS LEADBEATERI McCOY. By C. W. Brazenor, National Museum of Victoria. (Plate vi.) The two original animals (N.M.V., Nos. R.12,366-7) upon which Sir Frederick McCoy established the genus Gymmnobelideus were collected in 1867 and described by him in the same year. He assigned to them the specific name of leadbeateri, after J. Leadbeater, the taxidermist of the National Museum of Victoria. In 1900 the late Sir Baldwin Spencer purchased a mounted specimen (N.M.V., No. 58,439) from a Melbourne dealer and presented it to the in- stitution. A fourth specimen (N.M.V., No. R.4,123) was presented by Mr. A. G. Wilson in 1909. A further mounted specimen (N.M.V., No. R.6,042) was recognised by Sir Baldwin Spencer in the office of Mr. F. V. Mason in whose possession it had been for many years, and who presented it to the National Museum. These five skins are the only known examples of the genus. McCoy in his original description notes that “specimens of both sexes are preserved” (in the National Museum). Re-examination of his material, however, indicates that both animals are males. They were originally mounted for exhibition, in which state they remained until 1899, when they were re-made into cabinet skins. The type skull, which is badly damaged, was at that time removed from the skin and placed in the osteological collection. A portion of the occipital region is cut away, though a little of the anterior border of the foramen magnum remains. The premazxillae, the maxillae, and the nasal bones have been damaged by the passage of a wire down the nasal cavity. The posterior end of the palate is broken, but enough remains to enable the length of the posterior palatal vacuities to be determined. McCoy’s figure of the skull, being a lithograph, is reversed. In view of the fact that the National Museum is in possession of the only specimens of this interesting and possibly extinct animal, and that since McCoy described it additional material has come. to hand, it has been thought desirable to give a slightly revised and somewhat fuller description of it. GYMNOBELIDEUS McCoy. General appearance as in Petaurus but without the lateral flying membrane. Digital formula of manus 4—3—5—2—1. The apical pads of the fingers spatulate, striated, and fringed with hair; in length equal to, or longer than the nails, which are much less developed than in Petaurus. Basal third of tail covered laterally and above with fur of body. Under- side lightly clothed with short stiff hairs. Apical two-thirds, with hair gradually increasing in length towards the tips, where it becomes uniformly bushy. Dental formula I.,3.C, }.P,3.M4«x z= 40 Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3), xx., 1867, 287, and Prod. Zool. Vict. Decade, x., 1883; Thomas, Cat. Mars. and Mon. Brit. Mus., 1888, 149; Lydekker, Mars. and Mon., 1894, 111. General form very like Petaurus, but without flying membrane. Fur soft but shorter, and not so silky as in that animal. Hair of dorsal sur- face measures 11 mm. General colour brownish grey with a dark brown BRAZENOR. 107 dorsal stripe from the head to the sacrum. Muzzle short and pointed. Rhinarium naked, finely granular, and cleft. Face lighter than body with a dark patch above and another below the ear. The area around the eye is somewhat darkened. The facial vibrissae are well developed, the mysticial measuring 35 mm. _ All are dark brown in colour. Ears large and oval in outline, the outer surface almost naked towards the tip. Inner surface entirely naked, and with a well developed metatragus. Dorsal sur- face of the body brownish grey with a dark brown dorsal stripe which broadens slightly behind the forelegs, contracting again in the lumbar re- gion. Individual hairs are grey for three-fourths of their length, then fawn grey tipped with brown; the very few long hairs are entirely brown. Chin and throat dull buff. Chest, inner surface of limbs, and ventral sur- face of the body light, yellowish grey; hairs basally grey with light tips. The line of demarcation between the ventral and dorsal surface is sharp. Tail tapering, about as long as the head and body. The basal third is clothed laterally and above with the fur of the body, the hair of the re- maining two-thirds gradually increasing in length towards the tip. Under- side of tail sharply marked -for about basal half with short, stiff hairs, which then become less defined towards the tip where it is uniformly clothed. Manus lighter than body. Palm granular, with five well deve- loped, coarsely striated pads. Apical pads of digits spatulate, striated, and fringed; as long as, or longer than, nails, which are not well developed. Digital formula 4—3—5—2—1. Pes light, brownish grey. Sole naked and granular, with five pads. First digit well developed, opposed and clawless. The syndactylous digits bear stronger claws, and the terminal pads are not enlarged; fourth and fifth digits with spatulate, striated, and fringed pads, the nails showing less development. Digital formula 4—5—2.3—1. Skull: In general form very like Petaurws, but more delicately built and with a narrower muzzle. The great inflation of the posterior squa- mosal portion of the zygomata, which is marked in that genus, is greatly minimised in Gymmnobelideus. The posterior portion of the palate is slightly rounded, the molars being in slightly curved rows, and the margin extends well behind the last molar tooth. The posterior palatal vacuities are large and reach from the mid point of m1 to the posterior border of m3. Teeth as in Petaurus, but smaller. Dimensions of Type Skin: Head and body, 175 mm.; tail, 171 mm.; hind foot, 26 mm.; ear, 19 mm. Dimensions of Skull: Basal length, 32 mm.; greatest breadth, 24 mm.; Nasals, length 14 mm.; nasals, greatest breadth 7 mm.; nasals, least breadth 3 mm.; intertemporal breadth, 7.5 mm.; palate, length 18 mm.: palate, breadth outside m2 9.5 mm.; palate, breadth inside m2 6.5 mm.; palatal foramina, 4 mm.; basi-cranial axis, 13.5 mm.; basi-facial axis, 18.5 mm.; facial index, 137. Teeth: Height of canine, 1.7 mm.; length of p4, 1.7 mm.; length of molars 1-3; 5 mm.; length of lower il, 6 mm. Habitat: Bass River, Western Port, Victoria. The length “from snout to base of tail” given by McCoy as 5 inches 4 lines (135 mm.) is obviously incorrect. Though the present measurements are taken from a cabinet skin, it is not possible that it could have been stretched to the extent of 40 mm. If his “length of head’ (1 inch 8 lines) be added, the total is approximately the correct length. Measurements of the remaining skins are added for comparison. The mounted specimens are measured with a tape following the curves. The cabinet skins are measured in a straight line. 108 A RE-EXAMINATION OF GYMNOBELIDEUS LEADBEATERI MC COY. R. 12,366 58,439 R. 6,402 R. 4,123 Cab. skin. Mtd. spmn. Mtd. spmn. Cab. skin. Head and body .. 169 200 195 174 BETH ich) Bc & Roe 170 185 203 168 Hind foot... 6 27 PE ai, 28 Bars 23: an 21 20.5 21.5 20 Colour: The range of colour in this series of skins is wide. The second specimen of McCoy is lighter throughout than the type, being fawn grey in general colour. The dorsal stripe is not so dusky; it commences on the muzzle and is almost lost on the nape of the neck, reappearing on the shoulders and extending to the base of the tail. The ventral surface is also lighter, though of the same general colour. The tail is uniformly coloured like the body. The specimen presented by Sir Baldwin Spencer agrees in the colour of the body with the type, but the face is darker rather than lighter. The dusky patch under the ear continues across the cheeks and under the chin. The apical third of the tail is slightly darker, and the ventral surface of the body is duller and greyer in tone. Mr. Wilson’s specimen is a grizzled grey in general colour, most of the warm brown being absent. This also applies to the ventral surface and the lighter face, which are not as yellow as in the type. The tail of this specimen is slightly longer in proportion and the apical half is black. The remaining animal is grey, and very similar in colour to Petaurus breviceps Waterhouse. The dorsal stripe is black and sharply defined. The ventral surface is greyish white, very slightly tinged with yellow. The long hairs on the tail are slightly darkened at the tips, otherwise the tail is of the same colour as the body. The hairs of the pouch are bright red. This is the only certain female of the series, though the other grey speci- men may also be of that sex. Distribution: McCoy’s specimens were collected in the scrub country on the bank of the Bass River, South Gippsland, Victoria, and Professor Spencer’s animal is also reputed to come from that locality. The remain- ing two specimens, however, prove that the distribution was very much wider than this restricted area. Mr. Mason has been kind enough to supply the following information regarding the specimen collected by him:— It was taken many years ago. . . “from the edge of the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp (long before the swamp was drained), about three miles due south from Tynong Railway Station. We were felling a tree, and as it fell the little animal came from a hollow branch. I had never seen one before, though we had lived for many years on the place.” No details are known regarding Mr. Wilson’s specimen, except that it was taken at Mount Wills in East Gippsland, some 160 miles from the Bass River habitat. General Conclusions. The colour of Gymnobelideus appears to vary considerably, but the amount of material available is not sufficient to justify any very definite conclusions. McCoy’s original animals were collected in winter (July), but there is no record as to the season in which any of the remainder were taken. The three brownish animals are males, and the grey specimen a female. It is impossible to sex the specimen intermediate in colour, there being no trace of either scrotum or pouch. BRAZENOR. 109 Timber and dense scrub are common to all the recorded localities, but the higher altitude of the Mount Wills country would necessarily involve a colder climate. Professor Spencer’s animal, which, though it has minor differences, agrees in general colour with the type, is reported to come from the Bass River. This needs verification, which cannot now be procured. The Mount Wills specimen is the greyest in the series, and that from Koo- Wee-Rup, collected only a few miles from the Bass River habitat, is inter- mediate in general colour, but differs from both in having a black tail. There is much virgin scrubland in Gippsland in which the small crea- ture could survive. It is nocturnal in habits, and its general resemblance to Petaurus breviceps is close enough to make its recognition by evening light very difficult. When these facts are considered, the possibility of its survival is greater than might at first be realised, and it is probable that a systematic search would re-establish this small creature among the living mammals of Victoria. Explanation of Plate vi. General form of Gymmnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, No. 58,439, Coll. Nat. Mus. Vict., figs. 1 and 2. Basal and lateral view of skull. x 2. No. R. 12,367. Coll. Nat. Mus. Vict., type. NOTES FROM TARONGA ZOOLOGICAL PARK. By A. S. LE Sovuer, C.M.Z.S. Call of the Cassowary—The most usual call of the Cassowary consists of three short grunts, which are uttered when running. This has been heard from the Ceram and the Australian birds. The New Britain Cassowary (C. mitratus) has often been heard to make a peculiar high pitched rattling sound, something like that made by a stick being rapidly rattled in a tin can. When this noise is made the neck is distended and the bird bows the head. “Angler Fishing.’—The striped Angler Fish (Antennarius striatus) in the Taronga Park aquarium has often been seen to try and attract fish with its special frontal appendage. This is a small rod about an inch in length, on the end of which is a reddish protuberance. This is extended forwards and moved about rapidly in the water for a few seconds, and then withdrawn and hidden in a groove on top of the head. If an unwary fish comes too near it is at once snapped up. The Angler Fish itself is perfectly camouflaged, and looks exactly like a rock covered with short seaweed growth. The Death Adder—Mr. John Creevy, who is an observant bushman, states that he has seen the Death Adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) lie in a curled position with the head about an inch from the tail, and move the small spine on the end of the tail, so as to resemble a grub or caterpillar, and thus attract birds to their doom. The snake itself is, of course, per- fectly camouflaged, as it exactly resembles its surroundings. One could hardly imagine the lethargic adder capturing its food in any other way, for, although remarkably quick in movement within its own radius, it is otherwise very slow and inactive. Movements of the Penguin—The Fairy Penguin is remarkably fast under water, and has wonderful eyesight. One placed in the large shark pool at Taronga Park showed the greatest agility, and had no difficulty in capturing fish, which it was able to detect from some distance. It was also interesting to note the number of fish that the bird could consume at one time. We saw it-take seven four inch hardiheads in a few minutes, and it was then still looking for more. 110 I. FACTS AND FANCIES PERTAINING TO PLATYPUS. By Harry BurRELL, C.M.Z.S., F.R.ZS. In this journal, Vol. 6, 301, I mentioned November 13, as being the latest date upon which I have taken eggs from the nests of Ornithorhyn- chus. That statement was incorrect; it should have read November 6. Having to rectify my error here, I will take the opportunity to follow on with further data pertaining to that particular subject. I do this in order to confirm the fact that the November layer was not a solitary example of very late laying, and also to discuss again the matter of platypus, being able, under certain conditions, to lay twice in the one year. In the first place, I may say that I found the breeding season of 1930 similar to that experienced by me in 1928. On each occasion early floods were frequent and sufficiently severe to interfere considerably with the early impregnated brooding platypus of the Manilla rivers. Indeed, so much had the elements interfered with their requirements that I was un- able to secure even one hatched-out young platypus, of any age, and this notwithstanding the fact that I endeavoured to do so, under perfect con- ditions, from October 6 to November 7. During that period my assistants had opened up a few newly excavated burrows that had been put in early in the season. Some of these were of fair length, but without terminal cavities or pug pits, and the condition in which they were found indicated a disturbance that floods would bring about. It was evident that a deliberate attempt had certainly been made by female platypus to burrow for brooding purposes. In one bank, two com- plete brooding burrows were discovered; one was quite ready for the re- ception of nesting material, while the other was already furnished with a complete nest. But both of these burrows were unoccupied and evidently had been deserted because of abnormal adverse conditions occurring at that time. The nest, though new, was dry, and appeared, according to my judgment, to have been constructed early in the season. Perhaps I should explain here that brooding platypus caught in_such a plight may endure a storm flood that will recede as fast as it rises—say, for a day or two, or even longer—but when a repetition of flushes occurs, within a week, the layer is necessarily a subject of a double event in one season, because the creature imprisoned is usually compelled to crawl out through the water and desert its quarters, even at the risk of slipping its eggs to rot any- where. This, not only because of the discomfort to herself at the time, but because the hosts (river weeds) of her food supply will be swept away by the surging waters also. Probably brooding platypus are “wise to” that fact, just as is the scrub turkey to the weather conditions it requires before building its mound. Be that as it may, consider these facts: On November 7, when the prospect of my finding even advanced nestling platypus (because of the lateness of season) appeared hopeless, I had unearthed for me a brooder that had not yet laid. Probably she would not have done so that day, but I will not say any longer, because I find that when a brooder has pugged herself securely in the nesting cavity, as this one had done, she will soon deposit her eggs. Now, providing that she would have laid that day, if we allow two weeks for the incubation of the eggs, and another six weeks for the young to develop well into pelage—an age at which I have taken no less than six specimens from three separate nests in one normal season, and Note:—No attempt has been made to edit this paper, which is pre- sented in Mr. Burrell’s own original and graphic language.—Ed, BURRELL. dil frequently on other occasions also. The young of the female referred to, although hatched in November, would not have permanently deserted the nest until about the second week in January of the following year. Even if the eggs were laid in the middle of December, the young would be hatched out at the end of that month. I mention this principally to show the duration of time an early-laying platypus, in normal times, would have at her disposal for a second laying in one year. If she laid early in August she could desert her brood at the end of September, and so be at freedom during October to become im- pregnated and lay again during the month of November. On the other hand, if through floods she should be forced to slip her eggs in August, six or seven weeks would be at her disposal for copulation purposes to lay again on November 7. This, then, may afford some idea as to the prob- abilities of an occasional platypus, at least, being able to lay twice in the one season. That does not imply, of course, that an exceptionally late probabilities also exist that she had not met a male during the early rutting session. Until further data on this perplexing problem can be ob- tained, I will leave it at that, and touch upon a subject entirely dissimilar. From the time a young platypus commences to nuzzle for its mothers milk, up to the age of approximately four weeks, it nuzzles with its “milk- spur,” a caruncle that is situated on the dorsal surface of the muzzle. But, as the “milk-lips” change in character—that is to say, as the top lip splays and becomes over-shot to dwarf the lower lip—the method then of induc- ing the milk to flow is very different. Of course, the change-over is very gradual, and with this parting of the lips gradually, also, recedes the car- uncle (situated at a point between the divided extremities of the top mandible and the nostrils) probably to sensitise, or at least strengthen, the film that, when necessary, serves to stiffen the lip (see The Platypus, p. 120). The above theoretical statement may appear to be a long-range shot at the target; nevertheless, I consider it to be a feasible conjecture, especially if we take into consideration the following points: Firstly, who can say for certain that the caruncle, so conspicuously developed in the foetus of Ornithorhynchus, is intended for breaking through the egg cap- sule? I certainly cannot, and, further, I fancy that the foetus could break through just as well with the fore-claws, aided by a caruncleless snout. Secondly, in a like manner the creature may possibly induce milk to flow minus a caruncle. Now, providing there is no necessity for the caruncle during those functions, and apart from my previous theories, nothing de- finite has been stated by other investigators on this subject. What other purpose, then, does it serve? It is so perfect and constant a character in all specimens that I have collected that I cannot imagine it to be some rudimentary feature pertaining to past ages. The caruncle is probably the seat of a special nerve centre specifically intended to control the sixth sense that I have repeatedly referred to as appearing so uncanny a trait in Ornithorhynchus. It is situated close to the brain, and is possibly con- nected thereto. Surely this noduled “something” was never intended to dwindle away to nothing, as it appears to do, without serving some func- tion. The sixth sense that I suspect the platypus to possess is without doubt essential to the welfare of the creature in the procuring of its wary prey (shrimps) during its adult career. Therefore, is it not logical to suppose that it would appear to be even more essential to a helpless and blind embryo while “carunclating” or rooting about for nourishment in the vicinity of teatless milk glands? 112 FACTS AND FANCIES PERTAINING TO PLATYPUS. From theory, I return to fact. When the lips of a nestling platypus have taken on the over-shot shape already mentioned, and the creature is yet depending upon mother’s milk for its sole sustenance, the method of the sucker then is to cling firmly with its fore-claws to the abdominal fur of its mother, and repeatedly to score the while the milk-gland area with the undersurface of the upper lip (the action is similar to a teller draw- ing coins from a counter with finger-tips). Actions such as these are certainly the reverse of those practised prior to this stage. Judging by the vigorous way a motherless nestling displays its method of milking, I am convinced that the abdomen of the mother must receive severe treat- ment when encountered by a hungry nestling, to say nothing of how she would fare were she blessed with advanced triplets that are tumbling over . one another for milk. I fear the treatment would be far more severe than that meted out to nippled udders by the offspring of cloven-hoofed mam- mals under sjmilar circumstances. On such occasions, though, I fancy that the mother platypus would deal with her “brood” one at a time. This, from my knowledge of her intelligence, she is quite capable of doing, al- though I, armed with a “teatless-dummy” and much patience, completely failed to accomplish the feat myself. This was not because of the timidity of my charge; nor was it due to lack of perseverance on my part, but prob- ably it was due to my not chastising them, as their mammy certainly would have done had occasion demanded it. How could I bite a nestling platypus? The milk-glands of a platypus, when fully developed, reach from the arm-pits to the groins, and from these points to almost any portion of the precise undersurface of her anatomy milk may be drawn to the perforated outlets (situated on either side of her abdomen) through which the milk oozes. Peculiar as it may appear, the full range of the glands corresponds admirably with the area of light-coloured fur found on the lower surface of the trunk of a platypus. I give this description so as to instil into students the enormous area a young platypus has to grapple with (one way and another) in order to completely drain the glands through their central openings. I fancy, however, that the method adopted by a nest- ling platypus to drain the paired glands of its mother is not so far re- moved from that of other mammals as may be supposed. As it is practically impossible to observe a platypus actually suckling her young, I was compelled to revert my attention to what I considered to be the next best thing, and that was to use a “teatless-dummy,” a device arranged to represent the abdomen, etc., of an adult platypus. This com- pleted, I saturated the centre of it with a semi-liquid preparation called “Platypus pap,” a concoction I had previously accustomed my subject to relish. After I had squatted the baby platypus in a natural attitude over the dummy, he at once grabbed the thing with his fore-paws and eagerly sucked up the surface slop, and, then, anxious for more, he stretched his neck forward and repeatedly scored the dummy with his lip tips. This he did by drawing them strenuously towards the supposed outlets, which were then situated between his fore-paws, and from which he had just received nourishment. But after proving it to be a dry area he, apparently an- noyed, actually got his back up, and, clinging to dummy by all fours, he stiffened up and curled his tail to form the letter S well over his back. So rigid had become the tail that I was able to lift him bodily into space simply by inserting my finger beneath the semi-prehensile turn of the tail. I am not endeavouring to make a greater paradox of Ornithorhynchus BURRELL. 113 than he is said to be, by hinting at the prehensory possibilities of his trowel-like appendage. Too much has been “framed up” in that direction already. What I want,to do is to point out that cat-like extent of rigidity that can be brought to bear by a platypus, right throughout the entire length of its vertebrate column when occasion arises. The occasion in this instance was due solely to anger caused by the creature being deprived of its pap. The more I coaxed my patient by mimicking the plaintive call of its mother (made by her on similar occasions) the more he humped his back and stiffened, and when I scolded him for doing so (with mammy-like imitations) he just refused to have anything more to do, either with me or the dummy, but quietly relaxed his tense attitude and waddled away. So much for my mimicry! However, the following morning I put him to the test again, and he acted similarly to the way already described. The only exception was that when he lost all patience with the dummy he gave it a final vicious pull with his lip that ended with a slap to the chest This was just such another action as that applied by an adult when flex- ing the bill violently to the chest prior to sounding in the water. In the case of my “patient,” however, the bill remained locked to the chest and could not be pulled away without my applying what I considered to be undue treatment. When I endeavoured to work my finger beneath the bill to prise it from his chest, he only stiffened the more, and, embracing portion of the dummy the while, balled up in the tense attitude adopted by an Echidna when molested. After experimenting with both Mono- tremes at that age (three months) I find that the strength of both, in this respect, is about equal. To impart some idea of how strenuous and severe the lip-scoring could possibly be if applied to the abdomen of the mother, the following statement may suffice: Should gritty mud occur in a food receptacle from which the “scorer” is applying its method of gland drain- ing, the result will be a pair of very sore lips for the scorer. Just as the dummy was treated, so the milk-glands of the mother would be, providing the “scorer” happened to be just as hungry as my patient was (a condi- tion which, I fear, is often the case during lean periods). It will be re- membered that the mother has but two perforated zones for her milk to ooze through, and that twins are a normal brood for her to nurse. Triplets are rare, while one occasionally occurs. Therefore, where one advanced “scorer” would be on velvet, so to speak, three would probably be on short rations, unless, of course, foodstuffs other than milk, such as cheek- pouched pap, be supplied occasionally by the mother. On five occasions I have taken from nests material pertaining to triplets, from intra-uterine eggs to nestlings in pelage. I mention this because, probably, on the many occasions where I have collected nestling twins a third one may have died prior to my investigations. However, if a death had occurred through malnutrition, or otherwise, probably the mother would have either brushed it out with her tail or carried it in her mouth, not only from the nest, but completely out of the tunnel. Only once have I discovered the remains (a cranium) of a nestling in a breed- ing burrow. (This was taken to the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, U.S.A.). To return to normal conditions, i.e., a mother suckling twins, I find that each “scorer” would have an equal opportunity of faring well at the fountains of life. Both could receive nourishment simultaneously if necessary, even though they reversed their positions occasionally. Indeed, this they would have to do in order to completely drain, from breast to 114 FACTS AND FANCIES PERTAINING TO PLATYPUS. flank, the contents of the glands through their central apertures. Of course, the mother could assist them considerably to accomplish this task, by twisting and turning as she so desired to cope with the occasion. For in- stance, if she balled up in a squatting attitude it would tend to lessen the distance for “scoring” that would be necessary were she to stretch out upon her back, or straddle her up-turned “scorers” the while. Now, seeing that the gland area at its full could no more than ac- commodate two “scorers” at a time, and that any interference by a third one during that period would only make the two hug more tightly the abdomen of the mother (just as my patient hugged his dummy) where would the third sucker come in? I say sucker in this case because scoring would be apart from the question; therefore, all it could do would be to nuzzle in occasionally for the overflow. This it no doubt could do, and probably does do, but I fancy the same sucker would not be content to play the part of outsider every time, unless it were a weakling doomed to remain a punt. For the benefit of embryos, especially those not of robust nature, I believe the mother could induce her milk to flow by balling up and de- liberately handling her own abdomen. I have repeatedly milked a mammy platypus, and this against her will, by a slight pressure of my finger and thumb. Indeed, if necessary, she could actually suck her own perfora- tions for a like purpose. The possibility of her being able to do so at will is beyond contradiction. For, unlike most other mammals, adult platypus are toothless, semi-sucking creatures, and are capable of contorting them- selves readily into postures that even the Echidna (because of its bristles) could not imitate. Apart from that, I know (to my sorrow) that nestling platypus in captivity draw from their own intestines harmful waste pro- ducts that ultimately proved fatal to them. This practice may be a natural trait of Monotremes, for even the Echidna nuzzles her occupied pouch occasionally in an attempt to keep it clean. In such cases, though, no foreign foodstuff is ejected to be again digested. The assorted foodstuffs I gave to my captive brood of platypus ‘was certainly to their taste, and without doubt they thrived on it until, I sup- pose, the assistance of a mother was found wanting. I, as foster-parent, did my utmost for them, but one cannot play that part and act as wet nurse in six different compartments of a weanery at the same time. Even if I could, to interfere during such periods would be courting trouble of an equally serious nature, for their nervous systems would not stand for it. As this paper will probably be the last I will submit for publication for some considerable time, I wish to point out here an unfortunate mistake that appears in The Platypus. I say unfortunate because, apart from my allowing it to slip into print, I am not responsible for the mishap. On page 158 of the book, it is stated that in walking, the two limbs of one side of a platypus are rotated outwards and forward together. This state- ment is incorrect. The platypus walks similarly to other quadrupeds, and the shuffling, sfnuous motion is caused by the shortness of the creature’s limbs having to uphold and simultaneously propel an unbalanced and cumbersome body, a trying task, which naturally exhausts the bearer if continued fast for long. Platypus, at large, do very little walking, and when they do, it is deliberate, slow, and stealthy. Such actions can best be detected in the movements of nestlings. The statement referred to in The Platypus was submitted to me in galley copy, at a time when I was unable to secure a living specimen to make a personal test, and, as the book was due for launching before I was BURRELL. 115 able to go afield and collect a specimen, I was only too glad to accept the statement made from observations at Sydney University. As a matter of fact, I supplied the live platypus for others to observe, both for their benefit and my own. The cause of the incorrect calculations, I think, was the fact that the specimen supplied was becoming demented through being handled too frequently prior to my sending it along, and probably because of it receiving similar treatment at the University during the try- ing time it had there. An agitated and disgruntled platypus, if tantalised and compelled to put up a performance against its will, especially when in a weak state, will, when attempting to regain freedom from unnatural surroundings, blunder along at any gait, and actually fall over itself, so to speak, in the endeavour to lose sight of its tormentors. This evidently is what oc- curred at the test from which I culled my note for the book. Whatever that platypus did was anything but a natural gait, and can best be described as a scrambling, blundering attempt, as a last resource, to pre- serve its life. A terrified, submerged platypus also scrambles along through water, but obviously to no advantage other than to make it far more difficult for any pursuer to grab hold of its hind-parts (including legs) which, on normal occasions, trail at either side of the tail. II. OBSERVATIONS ON PLATYPUS GRIPS. By Harry BurreELL, C.M.Z.S., F.R.ZS. Although the spurs of Ornithorhynchus are superficially similar to the solid spurs seen on the legs and wings of certain birds, they are so dif- ferently constructed that I have decided to term them “grips.” This oscillating, dual-functioning pseudo-digit, as I know it, no more resembles a true spur than it does a true claw; therefore, those terms are no more applicable than “heel” is to the steel spur affixed to a game-cock. Before attempting to shed light on the actual growth of the platypus grips, I may perhaps remark that their dual purposes will scarcely be touched upon in the present paper. For fuller particulars of this subject see The Platypus (Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1927). In that work Shaw is quoted as including the spur as a sixth digit. This may be a fairly accurate description of it, but apart from its being a movable mem- ber there is little to commend it for such classification. Probably the term ‘pseudo-digit” will be more fitting. When platypus are hatched from the eggs (if not prior to this aston- ishing event) indications of grips can be seen on the legs, just above the feet of both sexes. These continue gradually to grow in the case of the female up to the age of six weeks, and in that of the male for fully twice that period. During the first six weeks the difference of sex cannot be ascertained from the outward appearance of these protrusions, so alike are they. Throughout their growth they are brown, and at the full period of this interesting sexual phase project 4 mm. from quick to tip. The cir~- cumference at the base is 9 mm. At approximately six weeks the protrusions of a female platypus com- mence to recede, and within a further six weeks the tips have reached the precise level whence they first emerged. In the meantime, the true grip of the male is taking shape in quite another direction, and the apparently surface brown of the protrusion is now turning pale, gradually changing from brown to cream, and then bleaching to ivory-white. At this stage (three months old) my observa- tions came to an abrupt end through the untimely deaths of my subjects. 116 OBSERVATIONS ON PLATYPUS GRIPS. This did not perturb me greatly, however, because I was then anxious to operate in order to ascertain if possible what changes were taking place within the now uniformly enlarged yet still stubbed projections. Before dissection, they appeared solid to the touch, so much so that I was con- templating adding a pair of these rare ivory-like grips to the Canberra collection. But this was not to be—not in that shape or form, anyway— for while dissecting them I discovered that the colour referred to was purely capsuled matter, the outer covering of which, though horny, was so thin and transparent that any colour could be readily transmitted through it, thus making it appear like the polished surface of its pigmented con- tents only. When removed from its compact “filling” it resembled a stubbed, conical cap, fairly brittle, but capable of being carefully depressed without causing fracture to its most delicate basal part. There is no fila- ment or rim thickening around the base to prevent it slipping from its dermis-like fastening. In fact, with the exception of being completely surrounded by this quick, it evidently grows, and maintains its position throughout, just as scales and nails of other creatures are known to do. The compact “filling” referred to was fairly firm and decidedly shaped —that is to say, according to the capacity and design of the receptacle allowed for its growth—and it resembled, both in colour and substance, the creamy flesh we find in the nipper of a small (cooked) crab. Embedded in the centre of this muscle-like mass, I discovered a semi-cylindrical, bone-like growth, which, in contour and design, constituted a miniature fac-simile of a matured grip. Measurements: Length, 8 mm.; diameter, at base, 14 mm.; nearing tip, where orifice would eventually appear, 1 mm.; length of solid puncturing point, 2 mm. There was an aperture commencing from the base and continuing to about half the length; the rest as yet appeared solid. But there was no mistaking the fact that, ultimately, the aperture would be completed throughout, as is the case with the fully matured grip of a male. The in- tricate filament of bone that rings the base of the fully matured grip, and, incidentally, projects 3 mm. from it, was conspicuous by its absence (to the naked eye) in this instance, yet when moderately magnified was seen to be taking shape. By judgment, then, this bony structure represented the core of the grip in the growing, and nothing else. But, seeing that it was the only section yet hardened, I suggest that, at that stage, the “filling” surround- ing it may be classed as a form of nourishment and a protective factor combined during the delicate growth of the horny grip to be. The maturing antlers of deer, when “in the velvet,’ may possibly apply as a fair comparison. This being the case, one may surmise that the conical cap with its “filling” would gradually disintegrate after fulfilling this purpose. On the other hand, if the “filling” should finally fuse into the horny substance found in a matured grip, then I feel convinced that the substance of the core proper is of different composition. However, I fancy that the conical cap is nothing more than a protective capsule for the “filling,” and if it does not actually disintegrate then, I believe that it ultimately would be pushed off by the growth of the grip. Anyway, I can- not conceive that it would continue to grow and finally become the veneer- ing to the matured horny weapon. That point, however, remains a secret awaiting further research; consequently my theory cannot yet be enter- tained as fact. Providing I succeed later in rearing platypus, even up to the tender age of six months, I anticipate that this and other problems will be overcome. BURRELL. 117 However, as a rung at a time is sufficient to climb, I return to the re- cessed tip of the female genital protrusion. “Tip” is the correct term to use here, for this was all of the cap that had remained brittle up to this juncture, and it was quite easily removed from position by a touch of a finger-nail. Apparently it would have fallen off of its own accord had the possessor lived a little longer under my supervision, or, better still, had she been at large the while. But what is puzzling me most is this: Seeing that both sexes possess similar projections up to a given age, if the “filling” found in the male capsule goes to form horn, what becomes of the “filling” of the female’s capsule? Of course, it is open to question whether it consists of similar substance or not, but, as I can find no evidence to prove that it does not, I will continue with the theory that it does. Again I ask, then, what be- comes of it? It certainly does not harden into horn; nor does it nourish the growth of a horny grip, for the obvious reason that a female does not show a horny grip at any age. Therefore, solidification is quite out of the question. One may imagine, perhaps, that it either disintegrates gradually or finally softens to form, in contorted folds, the so-called socket peculiar to the sex. I find that early anatomists, who had only adult carcases to work upon, were compelled to theorise on such material as was available, and, evi- dently basing their faith entirely upon anatomical probabilities (as some do to this day), came to conclusions that may yet prove erroneous. For instance, this socket has been referred to by Home as a regular socket, adapted to the reception of the spur. Bauer, another reliable investigator, writes: ‘This socket corresponds exactly in shape to the spur itself.” Knox and Owen have shown that these depressions in the female are merely the rudiments of the male spur, which disappears “prior to the dawn of sexual life.’ Judging by the above statements, these anatomists came to the con- clusion that the grip of the female, like that of the male, developed to the full before collapsing within itself to form the socket. The words “prior to the dawn of sexual life” are sufficiently convincing in themselves to make that point clear. Granted that those investigators were restricted to adult spirit specimens, why did they ignore the probabilities of the female be- ing spurless throughout life? This they evidently did, and notwithstand- ing the fact that, at that time, the platypus was considered to be more BIRD-like than it is thought to be to-day. I stress this point lest it be overlooked in the summing-up of the present paper. As I am now working on material that was not then available, let me furnish others with information that, I am convinced, was unknown prior to my experimenting with nestling platypus in captivity, last year. To begin with, I offer the definite assurance that not at any time during life does a female platypus possess horny grips. During the first two months of her existence she certainly displays budding projections, but these never develop, anteriorty, beyond that stage. This point being settled, I can do no better than relate what I have observed since my previous hypothesis on this subject. On dissecting this very deceptive growth (a tedious task) I found the so-called socket permanently affixed in irregular folds of a gristly nature, and only when this calloused mass was wholly removed and semi-relaxed did it appear sac-like, a shape, I think, impossible for the animal to accomplish by muscular exertion, even during the period of coition excitement. At any rate. this could only be brought about by some uncanny contorting of the ankle muscles that might cause the entire sac with its gristly folds to pout, as it were, from its calloused setting. Assum- 118 OBSERVATIONS ON PLATYPUS GRIPS. ing that such a feat be within the bounds of possibility, then the sac may be regarded as a vacuum-grip to act upon the male grip, as a gaping anemone sucks an inserted finger. Otherwise, the thing is not practicable. For, even granting the possibility of this extraordinary feat being accom- plished at will, the sac of an adult could not, though extended to the utmost, accommodate more than a third of the length of a matured grip without the point of that weapon penetrating it, only to lodge between the bare bones that cradle the seat of the sac. (Similar bones cradle the venom-cyst of a male). Consequently, rather than place faith in any theoretical views that have been advanced in favour of the socket being used as a receptacle for the grip, I prefer to adhere to the statement I made in The Platypus, viz.: ‘‘This so-called socket can best be likened to a calloused area about the ankles, corresponding in dimensions with the base of the male grip. This, then, in the case of the female, would prevent the grip tip from pricking. even accidentally, the ankle.” After weighing all evidence at my disposal, including the observations set out here, I have come to the following conclusions: The “filling” of the female genital protrusion after maturing to the full within a protective capsule gradually recedes to form the calloused area referred to, which in- cludes the depressed gristly folds, while the cap disintegrates, leaving the whole in an indefinite, if not functionless, form. As regards the “filling” contained in the cap of the grip, judging by the condition of it at the time of examination, I venture to state that after fulfilling an essential host- like purpose, or, at least, acting as a protective substance to the maturing grip, which ultimately pierces it entirely by its ever-prodding point, it re- cedes. Then it mingles with the intricate bony ring now rapidly develop- ing at the base of the grip, thus forming the cartilage that will function later as a hinge to that oscillating member. When completely fused to the principal tendons of that area it will serve to prevent sprain, or dislocation, when the grip is being strenuously used. After the grip completely punctures the “filling” (and that substance has been drawn upon as described) it probably forces the cap off holus- bolus in its quickening to maturity. Otherwise, the cap would become punctured also, instead of being gradually drawn from the quick where it may, if left to chance, cause irritation to the now advancing sheath that, ultimately, envelops a considerable portion of the base of the grip. For- tunately (or naturally) the tip is the most solid portion of the cap; there- fore, in this case it would act as a reinforced rather than a fragile point of resistance against the shoving that is taking place to dislodge it whole. However, I do not think that the cap disintegrates, for its usefulness, as a protective covering, is maintained for fully twice the length of time of that required of the female’s; and it develops uniformly to greater dimen- sions before these functions end. The grip and sac examined were dissected from well-fixed spirit specimens, consequently some allowance should be made when imagining what condition the substance which I term “filling” was in before being fixed. For example, it may prove to be more of a glutinous nature during life than it was when I found it. Probably it is a substance that will readily liquefy when drawn upon for final requirements. At any rate, I do know that in the male genital protrusions of the living animal, the colour changes occur exactly as I have stated—from brown to ivory-white. Whether I am right or wrong in my theories remains to be proved, but if I have created nothing more than a starting-point for others, then I have, at least, supplied the key to a dead-lock, 119 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. By Tom IrepALE, Conchologist, and A. F. Basset HULL, Honorary Correspondent, Australian Museum, Sydney. (By permission of the Trustees.) Continued from page 76. VII. Family PLAXIPHORIDAE. This family is characteristic of the Neozelanic Region, its members ranging from small to large, and comprising cne of the smallest degenerate forms, and one of the largest Loricates known. The family is circum-Antarctic and south temperate, ranging in very degenerate forms into the Tropics. North American shells, which have a superficial resemblance, belong to the family Mopatimpar, and the Neoze- lanic shells, though not closely related, have sometimes been referred to that family. The striking features of the group are the girdle characters and the posterior valve. The girdle is leathery, with sutural pores and corneous processes, or (in one genus only) scales, the posterior valve show- ing no projecting insertion plate. The anterior valve is always eight-slit, thus separating the family widely from the five-slit Cryptoconchids. It is very possible that the genera are not so closely allied phylogenetically as here placed, but a great deal of research is necessary in microscopic details to improve the classification. It is obvious that Guwildingia is not very near to Maorichiton, while the latter has been confused with the Australian genus, Poneroplaz. The genera here admitted agree in having the anterior valve eight- slit, the median valves with one slit on each side, the insertion plate of the posterior valve reduced to an unslit callus, the teeth all long and not pectinated. The girdle covering shows tufts of corneous processes at sutural pores, and similar corneous processes scattered more or less thickly over the remaining surface. The external sculpture of the valves, a very characteristic feature of Loricate groups, varies in the genera. By this means the groups can be easily separated, as follows:— External sculpture weak, shell very large .. .. .. .. Plaxiphora. External sculpture with nodu'ous radials and wavy lines, Sutural laminae continuous -2-. ©... .. “4+. «- .. .. Diaphoroplar. sutural laminae separate .. .. ee eee LOTLCILILOTE. External sculpture very fine wrinkles, radials obsolete, girdle covering sca’es .. .. 5 ce on 46 ce bo WONG iON: External sculpture obsolete, size very ‘small ene ae re LLCTILLON LICL: External sculpture none, shell large and glossy .. .. .. .. Guildingia. External sculpture very prohounced, mucro of posterior valve upturned .. .. .. .. 3 : no 60 bo 65 o6 JAANE. xiii. Coane enLeainone, 1847. Plaxiphora Gray, P.Z.S., 1847, 65, 68, 169. Type by monotypy Chiton carmichaelis Wood = aurata Spalowsky. 1853. Euplaxiphora Shuttleworth, Mittheil. Naturf. Gesell. Berne, 193. New name for Plaxiphora Gray. Shells very large, oval, very weak sculpture, girdle large, leathery, with few scattered corneous processes, and sutural tufts of a few corneous pro- cesses; anterior valve with eight indistinct radial ribs over-ridden by con- centric growth wrinkles; an indistinct similar rib separating the lateral areas of the median valves; posterior valve with mucro a little in front of 120 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. the extremity of the valve, a posterior area being indicated, the same con- centric sculpture as in the median and anterior valves. The sutural laminae and anterior insertion plate very large, the former practically discontinuous and one-slit, the latter eight-slit, no pectination; a strong callus developed in the posterior plate, a distinct medial sinus being present. 1795. 1825. 1828. 1828. 1831. 1880. 1880. 1881. 1884. 1885. 1889. 1889. 1889. 1889. 1893. 1893. 1893. 1893. 1897. 1897. 1904. 1904. 1905. 1909. 1909. 39. PLAXIPHORA AURATA. (Plate vii., figs. 1-5.) Chiton auratus Spalowsky, Prodr. Syst. Nat. Test, 88, pl. 13, figs. 6a- b. “Die Sudsee” — Falkland Islands. Chiton raripilosus Blainville, Dict. Sci. Nat. (Levr.), xxxvi., 547. Habitat unknown. Type in Coll. Blainville ex Leach. Chiton carmichaelis Wood, Index Test. Suppl., pl. 1, fig. 10 (pref. dated May 17). Cape of Good Hope. Type in Brit. Mus. (name ex Gray MS.). Chiton carmichaelis Gray, Spicil. Zool., pt. 1, p. 6 (dated July 1). Same specimen as of Wood. Chiton setiger King, Zool. Journ., V., 338. Tierra del Fuego. Type in Brit. Mus. Tonicia atrata Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 114 (not of Sowerby). Mac- quarie Island. Plaxifora campbelli Filhol, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. (Paris), xci., 1095. Campbell Island, N.Z. Type in Paris Mus. Choetopleura savatieri Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom., Paris, Ser. vii., Vol. v., 119. Straits of Magellan. Type in Paris Mus. Choetopleura hahni Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom., Paris, Ser. vii., Vol. viii., 34. Patagonia. Type in Paris Mus. Plaxiphora campbelli Filhol, Miss. Vile Campbell, iii., 2, 540. Chaetopleura raripilosa Rochebrune, Miss Sci. Cap. Horn, vi., Moil. H., 135 (= setiger King; two valves of type in Paris Mus. ex- amined). Chaetopleura hahni, id. ib., H., 136, pl. ix., fig. 4. Chaetopleura savatieri, id. ib., H., 136, pl. ix., fig. 3. Chaetopleura frigida, id. ib., H., 137, pl. ix., fig..5. Patagonia (juve- nile showing nodulous radial sculpture). Type in Paris Mus. Tonicia subatrata Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 201. New name for Tonicia atrata Hutton, 1880, Macquarie Island. Plaxiphora superba Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 319, pl. 68, figs. 55-61, ex Carpenter MS. New Zealand. Type in Brit. Mus. = Plaxifora campbelli Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 107. Translation of Filhol’s early description. Chiton raripilosus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 116. Translation of Blainville’s description. Plazxiphora superba Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 188. Plaxiphora subatrata Suter, id. ib., 190, figs. 7-11 in text (ex Pilsbry as new name). Plaxiphora superba Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 87. Plaxiphora subatrata, id. ib. Plaxiphora subatrata Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. Plaxiphora aucklandica Suter, Subant. Isl. N.Z., 2, pl. i., fig. 1 (De- cember 22). Auckland Is. (juvenile specimen). Type in Canter- bury Mus., Christchurch. Plaxiphora superba, id. ib., 3. IREDALE AND HULL. 121 1909. Plaxiphora campbelli Thiele, Rev. Chiton., pt. 1 (Chun’s Zool., heft. 56), 27, pl. iii., figs. 39-40 (valves fig.). 1910. Plaxiphora campbelli Iredale, Proc. Malac. Soc., ix., 94, 95. 1911. Plazxiphora aurata Pilsbry, Nautilus, xxv., 36. 1913. Plaxiphora aucklandica Suter, Man. Moll. N.Z., 18. Atlas, pl. 3, fig. 10. 1913. Plaxiphora superba Suter, id. ib., 21. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 6; pl. 3, fig. 14; 1077; pl. 32, fig. 11; 1079. 1914. Plaxiphora aucklandica Iredale, Proc. Malac. Soc., xi., 31 (= camp- belli) . 1915. Plaxiphora aurata Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 420, 424. 1916. Plaxiphora aurea (sic) Hedley, Austr. Antarct. Exped., 1911-1914, Sci. Rep. Ser. c., Zool. iv., 35 (November 6). Macquarie Island. 1917. Plaxiphora campbeili Dupuis, Bull. Mus. Nat. d’Hist. Nat. (Paris), 534 (type examined). 1917. Plaxiphora raripilosa, id. ib., 535 (type in Paris Mus. examined!) 1922. Plaxiphora raripilosa Ashby, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., xlvi., 576 (type examined!!). 1924. Plaxiphora raripilosa Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 8. (North Is., Auckland I., Campbell I.). 1926. Plaxiphora aurata Finlay, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 57, 333. We do not propose to deal with the curious nomination of the South American form in detail, but will give the history of the Neozelanic names. Thus Hutton in 1880 included Tonicia atrata Sowerby, copying Reeve’s description, but added: “Our species (from Macquarie Island) agrees very well with Reeve’s figure, but not with his description. The anterior ter- minal area is distantly radiately ribbed, and the lateral areas are some- times defined by a single rib. The umbone of the posterior valve is more posterior than in the drawing, and the valves are of a uniform brown colour. The mantle is of the same colour as the valves. Sowerby gives the Falkland Islands as the locality for this species, but Reeve doubts it and gives no habitat at all.” The same year Filhol described Plazifora campbelli very shortly. Translated by Pilsbry, his description reads: “Allied to P. biramosa Quoy, but differing in the greenish colour, by the last valve being covered with projecting concentric lines, and by the presence of very bushy bunches of hairs, not binary. Campbell Island.” No specimen has been seen with very bushy bunches of hairs, but the detailed description Filhol gave a year or two later left no doubt as to the applicability of the name, as was later recognised by examination of the type. In the Manual of Conchology, Pilsbry reproduced Hutton’s remarks, given above, under Tonicia atrata, and added: “These characters seem to me to indicate a distinct species, which may be called Tonicia subatrata.” Further on he introduced Plaxiphora superba solely from Carpenter's MS. description and figures, as follows: “Shell large, oval, elevated, the dorsal ridge acute; mucro subposterior, little elevated. Reddish-olive, maculated with darker and paler. Valves nearly rectangular, but well in- dented at the sutures, having a ‘false apex’ in front. Lateral areas having indistinct, subobsolete radiating riblets. Anterior valve subangled by eight radii, which slightly undulate the peripheral margin; otherwise nearly smooth, except for growth lines. Interior: posterior valve having the in- sertion-plate elevated, rounded, interrupted in the middle behind by a 122 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. very narrow, deep sinus. Anterior valve having eight, centra! valves one slit, teeth long, slightly striated and slightly thickened at the edges of the slits outside. Sinus narrow, short. Sutural laminae continuous over the an- terior false apex. Girdle tough, black, leathery, hardly sinuated behind, smooth, with a few bristles at the sutures and around the margin. Length 60, breadth 40 mm., divergence 110°. New Zealand.” Pilsbry then relegated Plaxifora campbelli Filhol, to the list of in- sufficiently described Chitons, overlooking. Filhol’s extended and accurate description, published a little later than the brief diagnosis above quoted. Under the same heading he translated the description of Chiton rari- pilosus Blainville, as follows: “Body oval, thick, convex, not carinated; girdle moderate, beset with large black flexible hairs, a little more numer- ous around the periphery. Shell of 8 thick valves, a little carinated; the two end valves a little smaller, the anterior semicircular, with 9 large teeth of insertion, the posterior transversely oval, with the insertion-plate en- tire, winged anteriorly; intermediate valves alike, having a rounded pro- jection in the middle of the anterior border; the plate of insertion some- what winged, with a single deep slit on each side. Colour, brown on the girdle, the valves russet white outside and within. Length more than 3 inches. Habitat unknown. (Coll. Blainy. from Dr. Leach). Seems to be a Plaxiphora. Rochebrune has identified it with Chiton setiger King (Polyplac., Cape Horn, 1889).” When Suter four years later reviewed the Neozelanic Loricates he ad- mitted P. superba from Pilsbry’s description, and then fully described Plaxriphora subatrata, following up Pilsbry’s indication of his Tonicia subatrata, thus: “Shell large, oval, moderately elevated; side slopes slightly arched; ridge rounded. Colour reddish-brown, dirty-pink at the jugum. The head valve strongly concentrically ridged, and with eight radiate ribs, which, however, sometimes become obsolete. Central valves beaked an- teriorly and posteriorly; the anterior beak is rather prominent, rounded, the posterior one pointed, forming an angle of about 120°, and is formed by the outer layer only. The whole surface of the median valves is strongly concentrically striated, following the outline of the anterior beak over the jugum. Lateral areas distinct, raised, with two ribs, which are sometimes flatly nodulous, owing to their being crossed by concentric lines; in some specimens the diagonal ribs are only very faint, or disappear alto- Copy of Thiele’s figures of Plaxiphora campbelli Filho! (type). gether; on the other hand, their number may increase to four, but the anterior and slit-rib are always the more prominent. Posterior valve small, depressed, concentrically ridged, slightly beaked anteriorly; mucro inconspicuous, terminal. Interior white, tinged with light-blue. Sinus shallow, rounded. Sutural laminae rather broadly rounded. Insertion- IREDALE AND HULL. 123 plates low. Anterior valve with eight irregularly distributed slits; teeth sharp, striated on the outer side; the whole of the interior light-blue. Intermediate valves with one slit on each side; posterior tooth broad; a strong light-blue callosity extends between the two anterior teeth. Pos- terior valve with the insertion-plate thick, rounded, without slits, a small sinus in the middle behind. In all valves the eaves are very narrow and spongy. Girdle wide, narrower at both ends, leathery, tan-colour, dark brown when dry; at each suture a pore with long corneous bristles, six in a tuft, and alternating with these pores a second row of smaller ones is situated near the margin. In front of head and tail valve six smaller pores with short bristles. The margin beset with horny bristles of varying size. Length 75, breadth 45 mm., divergence 125° (spirit specimen). A specimen from Campbell Island, belonging undoubtedly to the same species, is of olive-brown colour, the jugum horny-yellow. The anterior valve has well-pronounced radiating riblets, the concentric lines on all the valves are less distinct, and the posterior beak on the central valves is almost obsolete. The ribs on the lateral area of the intermediate valves do not run down to the margin, but are intercepted by a broad, smooth, con- centric band, extending along the sides and anterior part of the valves. The valves are more depressed, divergence 135°. Habitat, Macquarie Island. Campbell Island.” The specific name subatrata then came into use, while superba was left indefinite. A most unaccountable lapse was made by Suter when he described a juvenile as Plaziphora aucklandica: “Shell small, elongately oval, depressed, valves very fragile (animal preserved in formol!), dorsal ridge subangular. Colour light brown, jugal tract whitish, white dashes on the sides. Girdle wide, black, with sutural tufts of very long bristles. Anterior valve short and broad, flattish, with eight granulated radial ribs. Intermediate valves wide, depressed, the jugum smooth, with very fine growth lines; lateral areas not raised, with twe narrow granulated ribs, the interspaces smooth. Posterior valve smooth, small, the mucro posterior, the hind slope nearly straight. Girdle broad, with very prominent sutural tufts round the an- terior and a few round the posterior valve; a second series of tufts with shorter bristles near the margin, which is beset with short brownish hairs: remainder of the girdle quite naked, smooth. Colour of the valves light brown; intermediate and tail valves usually with a dorsal triangular white area, with a longitudinal brown median line; one or two white elongated spots are mostly present on the pleural, rarely on the lateral area; girdle black. Length, about 15 mm. Divergence, 105°. The specimen could not be disarticulated without completely destroying the valves. Habitat: Musgrave Harbour, Auckland Islands.” In the meanwhile the South American “setiger” had been identified by Sykes as the same shell Gray had described from the Cape of Good Hope as carmichaelis, which had been figured by Wood. Iredale, working at the British Museum, confirmed this determination, and also Thiele’s separation of the two Neozelanic species confused under biramosa, and used for the second species campbelli Filhol = superba Pilsbry = subatrata Pilsbry, as of Suter. Receiving many specimens from the Falkland Islands, Iredale could not separate these, and therefore concluded that the South American name should be used for the Neozelanic shells. However, Pilsbry pointed out that Spalowsky had, many years previously, given a beautiful figure of this species, under the name C. auratus, the locality, “Die Sidsee,” being written, but obviously a Falkland Island shell, figured. Consequently, 124 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. Iredale advocated P. aurata, citing as synonyms, carmichaelis, setiger, campbelli, savatieri, hahni, frigida, superba, subatrata and aucklandicu. A few years later Dupuis, overlooking Iredale’s paper, revived raripilosa for setiger, pointing out that Rochebrune had previously noted this identity. Dupuis also added veneris Rochebrune, but the description absolutely for- bids this, as “central areas sulcate, the sulci imbricating,’ is not a feature of the present shell. Rochebrune had mentioned that two valves of Blain- ville’s type of raripilosa were in the Paris Museum, and Dupuis also ac- cepted, and Ashby commented upon the type, but according to Blainville his specimen was in his own collection, not in the Paris Museum. Comparison of the huge Macquarie Island shells with the Falkland Islands species still maintains their very close relationship, and if any differential value can be given at present at most it wou!d be subspecific. As above noted, there are plenty of synonyms and the species is very easily recognisable. The preceding descriptions give all the characters necessary, and we will only add the note that the immature show the lateral ribs, and the faint ribbing on the anterior valve to have a slight but distinct nodu- lose character. Suter’s juvenile “aucklandica”’ was only 15 mm., while it ranges as adult to 120 mm. Station: On rocks in littoral zone; under surface of stones at low water. Though common and conspicuous at the sub-Antarctic Islands, it is not well known from the mainland, though it has been recorded from there. xiv. Genus MaoricHITon. 1914. Maorichiton Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 32, March. Type by original designation Chiton caelatus Reeve. Iredale introduced this subgenerically with the definition: “The small size, definite sculpture, and peculiar posterior valve determine this sub- genus; the tegmentum of the posterior valve ends in a pointed plane mucro forming a triangle. “Shells small, elongate oval, depressed, girdle with corneous processes generally bunched at the pores, sometimes scattered over the surface; posterior valve with mucro terminal; external sculpture coarse. General features as in Plaziphora.” : The species of Maorichiton are not well distinguished, as the sculp- ture varies in degree, and young ones are sometimes well sculptured and sometimes nearly smooth. Intensive coilecting may solve the problem of the species, the so-called ‘zigzag’ being still a puzzle. 40. MaorICHITON CAELATUS. (Plate vii., figs. 6, 7.) 1847. Chiton caelatus Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. xvii., sp. & fig. 101. New Zealand. Type in British Museum. 1872. Tonicia zigzag Hutton, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., iv., 1871, 180. Hab. ? = N.Z. Type in Dominion Museum, Wellington. 1873. Acanthopleura caelatus Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 49. 1874. Chiton (Plaxiphora) terminalis Smith, Zool. Voy. Erebus & Terror, Mollusea, 4, pl. 1, fig. 13, ex Cpr. MS. (Coll. Capt. Bolton and Stokes). New Zealand (restricted locality), Auckland. Type in British Museum. 1880. Acanthopleura caelata Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., p. 115 (= zigzag olim). 1880. Mopalia ciliata Hutton, id. ib., 116. IREDALE AND HULL. 125 1880. Plazxiphora terminalis Hutton, id. ib., 116. 1893. Plaxiphora terminalis Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 326, pl. 51, fig. 14. 1893. Plaxiphora terminalis var. zigzag Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 327, ©x Carpenter MS. New Zealand. Type in British Museum. 1893. Plaxiphora caelata Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 328, pl. Iviii., figs. 21- 22. 1893. Streptochiton cupreus, id. ib., “ex Cpr. MS. olim,” as synonym. 1897. Plaxiphora caelata Suter, Proc. Malac. Soc., ii., 189, July. 1904. Plaxiphora caelata Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 87. 1905. Plaxiphora caelata Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1910. Plaxiphora caelata Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 92. June. 1913. Plaxiphora caelata Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 19. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 5. 1098. 1913. Plaxiphora terminalis Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 1078. 1915. Plaxiphora caelata Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 424. 1921. Plaxiphora (Maorichiton) lyallensis Mestayer, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., liii., 1920, 176, pl. xxxvili., figs. 7-8. July 4, 1921. Lyall Bay, Cook Strait, Wellington. Type in Dominion Museum, Wellington. 1924. Plaxiphora caelata Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 8. North Island. 1926. Plaxiphora zigzag Mestayer, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 56, 584, pl. 100, figs. 5-6. Type figured. Reeve’s description reads: “Shell oblong-ovate, somewhat attenuated anteriorly, terminal valves, the posterior of which is small and slanting, and lateral areas of the rest broad-ribbed and neatly curved with close-set waved laminae; central areas very minutely reticulated; beautifully orna- mented with green and pink; ligament horny, here and there bristly. Hab., New Zealand, Earl. “Care must be taken not to confound this beautiful species with the C. setosus.” Nearly thirty years later Smith described Chiton terminalis: “Shell elongately ovate, rather elevated, roundly angled along the top of the valves, black or bluish-black, with a white wedge-shaped stripe, with a black one within it down the centre of the valves, forming a continuous white stripe, divided by a black one along the centre of the shell; in some specimens with a few short white dashes diverging from the radiating ridges. The intermediate valves mucronated, bisected on each side by one raised radiating rib, the posterior margins sinuated and thickened by coarse concentric lamellae; the entire surface is covered with minute striate-wrinkling, those near the ridge being coarser than the rest and radiating from it like the webs from the shaft of a feather. The posterior terminal valve has the mucro quite terminal. The anterior valve radiately eight-ribbed (at times one or two additional minor ones are present), with diverging oblique striations on each side of them. Interior of valves greenish-blue; valve lobes whitish, the sinus between them deep; the hairs or bristles on the mantle-margin are short, few and horny, those arising from the nine pores being thicker than the rest. Largest specimen (in a contracted state), 42 mm. long; width of valves 20. An average specimen. Length, 25 mm.; width, 11. Habitat: New Zealand (Coll. Bolton and Capt. Stokes). The central white stripe with the black one within it appears to be very constant.” A couple of years before Hutton had described Tonicia zigzag: “Oblong; mantle slightly tomentose; valves slightly flattened on each side, but not 126 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. keeled; posterior margins sloping backwards into a point, crenulated on the sides; anterior valve with nine radiating ridges, crossed by fine con- centric zigzag striae; lateral areas with two on each side; radiating ridges crossed by fine zigzag striae; posterior and median areas with very fine oblique striae, diverging from the dorsal line outwards and forwards, crossed by others diverging outwards and backwards, forming an “engine- turned” pattern. Length, .88 inch; breadth, .31 inch. Colour: Mantle white, valves greyish black, with a white stripe on each side of the dorsal line; interior greenish blue. A single specimen is in the Colonial Museum; locality not stated.” Hutton sank his zigzag as a synonym of caelata, but Pilsbry questioned this, and Iredale revived Hutton’s name for a little species from Lyttelton, but Miss Mestayer has figured Hutton’s type, and it is quite referable to caelata. Smith’s terminalis was exactly a synonym, and this is explained by the fact that Carpenter had described in MS. shells in the British Museum as Streptochiton cupreus, which he afterwards determined as Reeve’s caelata. These specimens were used by Smith for comparison, and were undoubtedly different from his terminalis, as they were biramosa Quoy and Gaimard. Recently, Miss Mestayer has described P. lyallensis thus: “Shell oval, flatly arched, side slopes straight, surface dull. Anterior valve with eight radial ribs, rendered slightly nodulous by the irregularly spaced growth lines; the spaces between the radials appear smooth, but a strong pocket lens shows traces of V-like sculpture. Median valves squarish, not beaked, nearly smooth; lateral areas raised, marked off by a strong semi-nodulous rib, the central portion covered with very fine V-like sculpture; the jugal areas with traces of microscopic striae and pitting; the pleural areas with a few horizontal wrinkles in a shallow groove anterior to the lateral rib; this groove is most distinct in valves 4 to 6. Posterior valve small, mucro terminal, slightly upturned; pleural areas bounded by a strong marginal rib, no sculpture. Interior deep blue-green, sutural plates white, sinus rather broad, convex in centre, with a central dark brown spot and a yellow tinge on either side of it. The anterior valve has eight slits, the edges of which are thickened and upturned; the insertion plates lightly grooved. The median valves also have the insertion-plates grooved and one-slit. The posterior valve has a thickened rib-like insertion-plate. Colour: Ground-colour, greenish-brown, irregularly barred with cream, the sixth valve cream, with irregular zigzags of the ground colour; the anterior valve uniform brown. Girdle moderately broad, with a marginal fringe of soft short bristles, and about twenty tufts and pores adjoining the valves; when alive it was a greenish colour. Measurements: Length, 35 mm.; breadth, 20 mm. Lyall Bay, Cook Strait, New Zealand.” Through the courtesy of the Director of the Dominion Museum we have been enabled to examine this specimen, and find it is merely a smooth aberration of the common species. Station: Under stones between tide marks. 41. MAoRICHITON METONOMAZUS, SD. 70V. 1909. Plaxiphora sp. Thiele, Rev. Chitonen, Chun’s Zool., heft. 56, 28, pl. lii., figs. 46, 47. Lyttelton, N.Z., in Hamburg Museum. 1914. Plaxiphora (Maorichiton) zigzag Iredale, Proc. Malac. Soc., xi., 34. March. Lyttelton, N.Z. 1915. Plaxiphora zigzag Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 421, 424. IREDALE AND HULL. 127 Thiele described a small shell from Lyttelton, and Iredale determined it from the description as Hutton’s zigzag, but Miss Mestayer’s figure of Hutton’s type shows this to be incorrect. We assign a name to the shell, which may be found later to be more distinct than we deem it at present. Shell small, generally much eroded and weed- covered when alive, sculpture at edges wrinkly and similar to that of caelata, greenish; girdle Copy of Thiele’s figures. white with black bands; corneous processes at sutures, and a few scattered over the girdle. Upon dissection valves are more flattened; sutural laminae shorter, green, and widely separated, side slit very short; anterior teeth short; posterior valve broad, callus rounded and well developed. Contrasted with the typical caelata, the internal green coloration, which attracted Thiele, is very noticeable; the breadth of the valves, and the shortness of the teeth and sutural laminae being also characteristic, as is the posterior valve. Dimensions: 16 x 8 mm. Station: Between tide marks. Type from Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand. Apparently distributed throughout New Zealand. 42. MAaoRICHITON MIXTUS. (Plate vii., figs. 9-12.) 1914. Plaxiphora (Maorichiton) mixta Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 33, pl. ‘ii., figs. 12, 15, 16, 18. March. Sunday Island. Kermadec Group. Type in Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand. 1915. Plaxiphora mixta Oliver, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 557. Iredale’s description reads: “Shell small, elongate, somewhat elevated; valves keeled and beaked; girdle densely hairy. Coloration generally black, white and green. Some specimens agree most accurately with E. A. Smith’s description of his C. terminalis as regards coloration; sometimes dark blue, with white markings; rarely rich brown, with white markings; girdle always green. Anterior valve with eight radiating ribs not much elevated, and between each rib wrinkled V-sculpture. Median valves with the lateral area bounded on both sides by strong raised, somewhai nodulous ribs, between which appears a transversely wrinkled or V-sculp- ture; the pleural areas sculptured, with irregular fine wavy longitudinal ridges more pronounced at the edges, and becoming very fine on the dorsal area. Posterior valve triangular, with the mucro terminal, and the pos- terior area reduced to raised ribs; the anterior portion sculptured like the pleural areas of the median valves. Inside coloration deep blue-green. Anterior valve with projecting insertion-plate, with grooved, widely spaced somewhat irregular teeth; the slits eight in number. Median valves with projecting insertion-plate with one slit; sutural laminae widely placed apart and whitish in colour, inside as well as out. Posterior valve with no insertion-plate, but a callused semicircular ridge, which is much exceeded by the pointed tegmentum. Girdle densely covered with long hairs, which are somewhat longer and bunched at the pores. Young specimens show the sculpture to be much stronger in the juvenile, the pleural areas of the median valves having well marked and deep longitudinal ridges, and the 128 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. lateral areas are bounded by heavy, somewhat nodulous ribs. The majority of adult specimens are covered with marine growths, and the tegmentum is much eroded. Length of type 32, breadth 15 mm. Habitat: Sunday Island, Kermadec Group (type); ? Macauley Island, Kermadec Group. Station: At Sunday Island it was rarely found in crevices of rocks between tide marks. I collected a few specimens in deep rock pools between tides, but I am not satisfied that these are identical with the one here described.” 43. MAoORICHITON SCHAUINSLANDI. (Plate vii., fig. 8.) 1909. Plaxiphora schauinslandi Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. i. (Chun’s Zoologica, heft. 56), 28, pl. iii., figs. 41-43. Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Type in Berlin Museum, Germany. 1904. Chaetopleura hahni Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst., 20, 73. Error only of nomination. 1905. Plaxiphora glauca Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 66. Not P. glauca auct. of Australia. 1909. Chaetopleura hahni Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Deutsch. Mal. Gesell., 600. Correction of Wissel’s error. 1913. Plaxiphora glauca Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 20. Atlas, pl. 3, fig. 13. 1913. Plaxiphora albida Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 1079. Not P. albida auct. of Australia. 1915. Plaxiphora glauca Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 421. A curious large form of Maorichitgn lives at the Chatham Islands, and was first re- corded as distinct by Wissel, who named it Chaetopleura hahni, a synonym of the South American form of Plaxiphora aurata. Then Suter received specimens and re- corded them as Plaxiphora glauca, an Aus- tralian species. As the shells were refer- able to Maorichiton, while the Australian shells belong to Poneroplaz, the association was obviously incorrect. Thiele did the correct thing and described them as a new species, Plaxiphora schauinslandi. The notable features were large size and coarse sculpture, and Iredale, ignoring geo- graphical divisions, suggested their identity ie - with terminalis Smith, but the type locality \ He Ne [ap of the latter was Auckland. Consequently, N a Sy, schauinslandi must be used for this Chat- — ham Island shell, and it is here regarded ee as specifically distinct. The shell is larger than the mainland Copy of Thiele’s forms, similarly elongate in shape, sculp- figure of Plaxiphora ture of same form, but much coarser, the schauinslandi. wrinkle sculpture standing up as ridges, while the lateral ribs are strong and cut into elongate bars, the anterior valve ribbing similarly striking, the noduling separate. In some cases the IREDALE AND HULL. 129 shell is smoother, even as on the main land, but even then the sculpture is coarse. Xv. Genus DIAPHOROPLAX. 1914. Diaphoroplaz Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 32. March. Type by ori- ginal designation, Chiton biramosus Quoy and Gaimard. This beautiful endemic Neozelanic form may not be referable to this subfamily, but more study will be necessary to determine this point. The study of the megalaesthetes and sections may assist in this direction. Iredale stated: “The exterior of the valves (which are very solid) is sculptured, whilst the sutural laminae are connected, a feature otherwise quite foreign to the genus (Plaziphora s.l.), and the posterior valve is quite differently formed. “Superficially, this shell has the appearance of the true Plazxiphora, but externally is separated by the compiex sculpture, and internally by the continuous sutural laminae and structure. The teeth are fluted and striated throughout, while no fluting nor striation occurs in Plaxiphora s.str. at any stage. The posterior valve also shows striation on the callus, which is definitely sinuate medially. 44. DIAPHOROPLAX BIRAMOSA. (Plate vii., figs. 15, 16.) 1835. Chiton biramosus Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. de 1|’Astrol. Zool., iii., 378, pl. 74, figs. 12-16. French Pass, Tasman Bay, N.Z. Type in Paris Museum. 1836. Chiton biramosus Deshayes, Hist. Anim. s. Vert. (Lam.), Ed. 2, vii., 516. 1843. Chiton biramosus Gray, Travels in N.Z. (Dieff.), ii., 246. 1872. Tonicia corticata Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 180. Habitat: ?. Type in Colonial Museum, Wellington, N.Z. 1872. Acanthopleura complexa Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 181. Habitat: ?. 1872. Acanthochaetes biramosus Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 181. 1873. Acanthopleura ciliata Hutton, Cat. Mar. Moll. N.Z., 49 (Pitt’s I.). 1873. Acanthochaetes biramosus Hutton, Cat. Mar. Moll., N.Z., 50 (includes corticata) . 1880. Plaxiphora biramosa Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 116. 1893. Plaxiphora biramosa Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 39, pl. 68, figs. 51-54. 1897. Plaxiphora biramosa Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 188. July. 1904. Plaxiphora setiger Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst., 20, 603. Error only. 1904. Plaxiphora biramosa Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Plaxiphora biramosa Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1909. Plaxiphora setiger (Wissel) Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Malac. Gesell., 1909 (2), 74. Correction. 1909. Plaxiphora biramosa Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. i. (Chun’s Zoo- logica, heft. 56), 26, pl. iii., figs. 37-38. 1910. Plaxiphora biramosa Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 93 (= cuprea Cpr. B.M.). 1913. Plaxiphora biramosa Suter, Man. Moll. N.Z., 18, 1078. Ailas, pl. 3, fig. 4; pl. 2, fig. 11. 1915. Plazxiphora biramosa Iredale, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 47, 1914, 424. 1924. Plaxiphora biramosa Powell, N.Z. Journ. Sci. Tech., 6, 285. 130 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. It is curious that such a glorious Loricate as this is when alive should have a somewhat chequered history. It was well described by Quoy and Gaimard, thus: “Chiton, corpore ovali planiusculo,: rubro, duabus_ seriebus pilis binis cincto, margine villoso; valvis planiusculis, viridi-rubentibis aut albidis, antice transversim striatis. “Cet oscabrion est ovalaire, allongé, a manteau nu, d’un rouge brun assez vif, entouré de deux rangées écartées de poils rudes, rares et bifurqués. Le premier range touche les osselets, le seconde avoisine le bord du man- Copy of Thiele’s figure of teau, qui est lui-méme villeux, jaun- Plaxiphora biramosa atre en dessous, ainsi que le pied. Q. & G. (type). Les franges céphaliques, au lieu de s’étaler, se resserrent en long sur les cotes de la bouche. Les branchies arrivent a les toucher. Il y a de chaque cété, trente-trois folioles, et de plus, en avant, wne douzaine d’autres lamelles plus petites. Les valves sont trés-transverses, peu élevées, 4 arc surbaissé, sans caréne, un peu cordiformes et striées sur leur limbe en avant, blanches ou verdatres, avec un cercle rouge brun. La premiére a neuf dents sur le bord, et la derniére n’en présente aucune. Les apophyses dinsertion sont peu larges, et ne sont séparées que part une échancrure trés-obtuse. Elles sont entaillées, comme a Vordinaire, sur le cOté. A l’exception du dernier, tous ces osselets décroissent peu. En dessous ils sont d’un blanc mat. Leur forme extérieure était légérement altérée en arriere dans les deux individus que nous possédons: mais la couleur rouge de cette espeéce et ses deux rangées d’aiguillons binaires la feront facile- ment distinguer. Elle provient de la Nouvelle-Zélande, et a été prise dans la Passe des Francais de la baie Tasman. Dimensions: Longueur, 22 lignes. Largeur environ, 15 lignes.” When Hutton wrote his first memorable account of the Loricates of New Zealand, an account well ahead of those of his contemporaries else- where, he introduced :— “Tonicia corticata. Oval; margin naked; valves much depressed: posterior margins slightly concave; lateral areas bounded on either side by a flatly nodulose ridge, the space between being obliquely striated, the striae running outward and backward; median areas rugose, without either distinct lines or granules. Length, 1.25 inch; breadth, 1.13 inch. Colour: Margin black when dry; valves grey; inside white, covered over with white coralline growth, and small marine aigae. “Founded on a specimen in the Colonial Museum; locality not stated.” At the same place Hutton described Acanthopleura complexa: “Oval; margin broad, velvety, with long spines scattered over it; valves depressed, flattened on each side, subcarinate; posterior margins not covering the next at the corners, rather convex, and pointed in the centre; anterior valve with radiating moniliform ridges; lateral areas of intermediate plates granulose, with two prominent, radiating, slightly curved ridges on each side; median areas with finely granular transverse waved lines, which pass imperceptibly into the larger lateral granulations; posterior valve small, — IREDALE AND HULL. 131 like the intermediate ones; centre of valves punctate internally. Length, 1 inch; breadth, .5 inch. “Colour: Margin reddish brown, varied with darker; valves greyish, more or less varied with yellowish-white, yellow, or brown. “From the collection of the late Mr. W. Swainson; locality not stated.” Specimens had been collected by the early workers in New Zealand as Captains Bolton and Stokes, and when Carpenter worked at these in the British Museum he determined them as a new species, which he called Streptochiton cupreus, but later he regarded them as caelata Reeve, and led Smith into the error of describing Chiton terminalis. Hutton, in New Zealand, had identified the species from the French voyages, though the British workers did not do so. Consequently, the species became well known to Neozelanic workers, who, however, on the mainland, appear to have confused aurata with it. Xvi. Genus VAFERICHITON, 70v. Type Plazxiphora murdochi Suter. The very fine close sculpture and appearance of this shell, together - with the remarkable girdle covering, demand a distinctive name. While it shows general Plaxiphorid features in having the anterior valve eight-slit, the median one-slit and the posterior valve with a callus only, the girdle has sutural pores, but is covered with minute triangular scales, some grooved, some plain. There are no true corneous processes present, but a few scattered hairs may be detected. 45. VAFERICHITON MURDOCHI. (Plate vii., figs. 13, 14.) 1905. Plaziphora (s.str.) murdochi Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 67, pl. ix., fig. 11. December 30. Kawhia Harbour, North Island, N.Z. Type in Coll. Suter, now in Wanganui Museum, New Zealand. 1913. Plaxiphora murdochi Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 20. Atlas, pl. 3, fig. 16. 1915. Plaxiphora murdochi Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 424. This species was well described by Suter from a locality little visited, viz., Kawhia Harbour, west coast of North Island, New Zealand, and, of course, is little known, as collections have not since been made from that locality as far)as we are aware. Among a collection of Loricates made by C. R. Laws at Tomahawk, on the south coast of the Otago Peninsula, in the South Island, was a remark- ably well preserved shell, which recalled no species autoptically known to us. We had a beautiful drawing made, and then a familiarity developed which led us to the figure provided by Murdoch and published by Suter. Suter’s description of his Plaxiphora (s.str.) murdochi reads: “Shell rather small, oval, slightly narrowed behind, roundly angled along the top of the valves, blackish-green, finely sculptured, intermediate valves mucro- nated, girdle rather narrow; of a minutely scaly appearance and with sparse hairlets. Anterior valve radiately eight ribbed, with five diverging striae, which are coarser near the anterior margin, and from (sic) elon- gated nodules on the posterior edges. Intermediate valves with a lighter coloured posterior mucro, the whole surface sculptured with fine striae; the lateral areas are distinctly marked off by an elevated ridge descending from the jugum and dissolving into numerous fine striae near the margins, the striae on the lateral areas and the pleural tracts are arranged in such 132 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. a way that they radiate from the ridge like the webs from the shaft of a feather. The posterior margin has a row of nodules on each side, like the anterior valve. Central area with diverging riblets in front of the mucro, but straight and parallel to the jugum on the remaining surface. Posterior valve small, very slightly emarginate behind; mucro terminal, slightly raised, from the elevated postero-lateral ribs; the fine riblets diverge straight in front, obliquely on the posterior side. Girdle has, viewed with an ordinary pocket lens, the appearance of being minutely scaly, but a more powerful lens reveals the fact that the whole girdle is densely and regularly pitted. Near some of the sutures I found tufts of a few light coloured bristles, and a few hairlets were found near the margin of the girdle, but it was not easy to find them. It seems most likely that the whole girdle was originally densely covered with fine, short hairlets, and tufts near all the sutures, but that they are very easily rubbed off. Colour blackish-green, girdle a little darker. The anterior valve has a few con- centric zigzag bands of light blue; the intermediate valves have a number of wavy, longitudinal blue streaks, running over the lateral and pleural tracts; the posterior valve has only an indistinct blue patch on each side. Interior blue, the sutural laminae white. Sinus rather narrow, straight; the sutural laminae broadly arched, short. Anterior valve with eight slits, corresponding to the external ribs: teeth strong, broadly grooved on the outside; intermediate vaives with one slit on each side, corresponding with the ribs of the lateral areas; posterior valve with a smooth insertion-plate, with a posterior median sinus, no slits. Length, 17; breadth, 13 mm.; divergence, 108°. Habitat: Near entrance to Kawhia Harbour; on rocks at half tide. Much exposed to very heavy seas. With regard to the sculpture this species stands nearest to P. biramosa and caelata, but in both of these it is much coarser. The beautiful fine sculpture, colour, and the curiously pitted girdle, when devoid of hairs, separate it at once from the two.” Judging from the densely packed scales on the girdle of the example collected by Laws, it would appear that Suter’s type had been stripped of its scales—hence the “curiously pitted girdle.” Laws’s specimen was collected on rocks at half tide. xvii. Genus GuILDINGIA. 1893. Guildingia Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 329. ex Carpenter MS. Type by original designation Plaxiphora obtecta Pilsbry. 1878. Guildingia Dall, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. (Sci. Res. Expl. Alaska), 332, ex Cpr. M.S. Nomen nudum. 1881. Guildingia Dall, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 284, 288. Nomen nudum. This very beautiful monotypic genus is so unlike the rest of the Plaxi- phorids as to suggest another location, but further research is necessary to determine this. Shell large, oval, smooth and glossy; girdle very large, fleshy and thickly beset with long corneous processes. The teeth are very long in the anterior and median valves, the sutural laminae long, a deep sinus between, in the posterior valve, which has the mucro of the tegmentum terminal. The complete lack of sculpture, save for growth lines, combined with the comparative narrowness of the valves and the great width of the girdle sufficiently characterise this genus. The genus name was proposed by Carpenter, but never characterised, and Dall twice mentioned it without validating it, so that the name was still a nomen indet. until Pilsbry defined it. Nevertheless, an apparent contradiction must be explained. IREDALE AND HULL. 133 Tryon in his Struct. and Syst. Conch., Vol. ii., 1883, 345, wrote: — “Fuplaciphora, Shutt. Sinus wide, planate; girdle set with bristles, not fasciculated. “Guildingia, Cpr. Valves partly immersed; girdle emarginate behind. C. petholatus, Sowb. (1xxxvi., 89).” Reference to the plate shows a figure of “petholatus,” agreeing with the diagnosis of Euplaciphora, not of Guildingia, and in the explanation of plates, p. 427, appears: — “P], 86, fig. 89. Chiton (Euplaciphora) petholatus Sowb. Australia. Page 345.” This proves that the citation of petholatus under Guildingia was merely a printer’s error, and that it should have been placed after Euplaci- phora. Sd ert 46. GUILDINGIA OBTECTA. (Plate vii., figs. 17-23.) 1893. Plaxiphora obtecta Pilsbry, Man. Conch., Ser. 1, xiv., 330 (June). ex Carpenter MS. New Zealand. Type in Mus. Cuming in British Museum. 1894. Plaxiphora suteri Pilsbry, Nautilus, viii, 8. Timaru, Sumner and Port Lyttelton, N.Z. Type in Philadelphia Acad. Nat. Sciences. 1897. Plaxiphora suteri Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 190. 1897. Plaxiphora (Guildingia) obtecta Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 192. 1904. Plaxiphora suteri Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 87. 1904. Plaxiphora obtecta Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 87. 1904. Plaxiphora glauca Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst., 20, 606. Erroneous identification only. 1905. Plaxiphora suteri Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull. No. 1, 41. 1905. Plaxiphora suteri Nierstrasz, Notes Leyden Mus., xxv., 149. 1909. Plaxiphora glauca Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Deutsch. Mal. Gesell., 74. Correction of Wissel’s error. 1909. Plaxiphora obtecta Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Deutsch. Mal. Gesell., 74. (= suteri Pilsbry). 1910. Plaxiphora obtecta Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 92. July. 1913. Plaziphora obtecta Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 23, 1077, 1079. Atlas, pl. PA. ake, YS yolk, Sey nace, al(0), 1915. Guildingia obtecta Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 425. Pilsbry published as Plaxiphora obtecta a description of a specimen in the British Museum which Carpenter had regarded as a distinct genus Guildingia. The description reads: ‘Shell large, broad, partly covered. Valves smooth, most minutely punctulate angulate in front; sutural sinus large, produced forward over the jugum; lateral areas scarcely defined, except by an angle at the forward outer margin of the valves; dorsal ridge rounded. Intense olivaceous, paler on the dorsal ridge. Mucro of posterior valve terminal hardly produced. Interior; posterior valve with flattened insertion-plates. Anterior valve with eight; central valves one-slit; teeth very acute, long, smooth, a little thickened at the slit-edges; eaves narrow, spongy. Sinus deep, very obtusely angular, with a spongy area. Sutural laminae long, separated. Girdle very broad, sinuated behind, with bundles of about three large, horn-like hairs at the sutures and having smaller ones sparsely scattered all over more or less closely (Cpr.). Length, 50; 134 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. breadth, 32 mm.; divergence, 120 mm. New Zealand (Mus. Cum., No. 45). This very interesting shell differs from the typical Plaxiphorae as Fan- nettia does from Tonicia. It is, however, simply an exaggeration of P. terminalis.” Lack of illustration apparently led to this erroneous conclusion by Pilsbry, so that almost immediately he described (from specimens) Plazi- phora suteri thus: “Shell resembling P. biramosa Q. and P. superba Cpr.; but girdle all over sparcely (sic) hairy, without the least indication of pores or sutural bristles. Valves smooth, with slight growth-wrinkles, the diagonal rib but slightly indicated. Ridge with a chestnut band with a stripe of green on each side of it, the pleura and lateral areas uniform blackish olive. Girdle blackish with chestnut hairs. Interior blue, fading to white on the sutural-plates. Length, about 45; breadth, about 25 mm. (specimens all curled and contracted) Timaru, Sumner and Port Lyttel- ton, S. Island, N.Z. (H. Suter). A young specimen has the earlier formed portion of each valve light brown, spotted with white. This is probably the normal colouring of the young shells.” Dimensions: Up to 90 x 60 mm. This fine shell lives commonly on the rocks at low water among kelp roots, and Iredale co-ordinated the two descriptions, but Suter at first demurred. Later, Iredale examined the type of obtecta, and Suter agreed to the identity, which cannot be questioned. XVili. Genus FREMBLEYA. 1866. Frembleya H. Adams, P.Z.S., 445. Type by monotypy F. egregia H. Adams. 1878. Streptochiton Dall, P.U.S. Nat. Mus., 1878, 332, as synonym of Fremblyia (sic). The original diagnosis reads: “Testa ovalis, convexa. Valvae trans- versae, latae, carinatae; apex posterioris; valvae terminalis, producta. fissa. Limbus angustus, postice fissus, setis corneis, dense obsitus. “The covering of the mantle, the form of the visible portions of the valves, and the peculiarity of the terminal valve, render this species dis- tinct from any form of CurTonipaE yet described. It has the appearance of a Lorica, with the mantle covered with long bristles, instead of imbricate scales.” This is another of the remarkable Neozelanic forms classed in the PLAXIPHORIDAE for want of a better location. It is practically certain that later research will remove this genus elsewhere. Shell elongate, oval to broadly ovate, heavily sculptured; girdle com- paratively narrow, sutural tufts prominent, similar tufts in front of the anterior valve probably eight in number, while three or four may be found behind the. posterior valve where the girdle is sinuate. The valves are very wide and somewhat shallow; the sutural laminae wide and the teeth short. In the anterior valve the slits are eight in number, the teeth grooved, the edges fluted; in the posterior valve the plate is reduced to a callus beyond which the mucro of the tegmentum projects. This mucro is upturned, and a receding slope can be distinguished behind. This species (for the genus is at present monotypic) lives inside kelp roots at low tide, and when alive the animal is very fleshy; the gills are distant, though extending the length of the foot. IREDALE AND HULL. 135 47. FREMBLEYA EGREGIA. (Plate viii., figs. 1-8.) 1866. Frembleya egregia H. Adams, P.Z.S., 1861, 445, pl. xxxvili., fig. 9. Hab. ?. = New Zealand. Type in British Museum. 1872. Acanthochaetes ovatus Hutton, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., iv., 1871, 182. Hab.: New Zealand. Type in Dominion Museum, Wellington, N.Z. 1873. Acanthochaetes ovatus Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 50. 1880. Acanthochites ovatus Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 117. 1893. Plaxiphora egregia Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 331, pl. 65, figs. 80, 81, 82. 1893. Streptochiton tortuosus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 331, ex Carpenter MS. in synonymy. 1893. Plaxiphora ovata Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 332, pl. 54, figs. 34-40. 1897. Plaxiphora (Fremblya) ovata Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 192. 1904. Plaxiphora ovata Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 87. 1905. Plaxiphora ovata Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull. No. 1, 36. 1908. Plaxiphora ovata Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xl., 1907, 375; pl. xxxi., fig. 1 (six-valved aberration). 1909. Frembleya ovata Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. i. (Chun’s Zoologica, heft. 56), 29, pl. ili., figs. 50-2. 1910. Plaxiphora egregia Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 92. 1913. Plaxiphora ovata Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 24. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 8; pl. oy, rates, iG} 1913. Plaxiphora egregia Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 1079. 1915. Plaxiphora egregia Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 424. 1926. Plaxiphora ovata Mestayer, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 56, 585, pl. 100, figs. 7-8 (type figured). H. Adams’s description of the species reads: “Shell ovate, a little nar- rower in front, green-brown, paler at the sides. Anterior valve radially ribbed, the ribs pustulose, interstices obliquely lirate; posterior valve and median valves subcarinate, the dorsal areas densely longitudinally lirate; lateral areas radially ribbed, the ribs pustulose. Girdle moderate, fur- nished with short, corneous spicules. “Habitat unknown.” A few years later Hutton described Acanthochaetes ovatus: “Ovate, attenuated in front; margin spiny, with nine small bundles along each side; valves flatly triangular, sub-carinate, posterior valve very narrow, apex re-curved;posterior margins of the anterior plate sloping backwards into a point, those of the posterior plates nearly straight, anterior valve with ten, and lateral areas with two on each side, radiating nodulose ridges; median areas with slightly waved longitudinal ridges; dorsal line smooth. Length, .6 inch; breadth, .5 inch. “Colour: Mantle pale reddish brown; spines white; valves greenish white; yellowish on the dorsal line. Several specimens in the Colonial Museum; locality not stated.” Pilsbry published Carpenter’s MS. description of the type of egregia and associated ovata in the same group, but did not accept their identity. The description reads: “Shell olivaceous, maculated with more or less in- tense; ovate, broad, elevated; dorsal ridge rather acute, much elevated, the side slopes straight. Valves strongly beaked, each one eroded in front trom the attrition of the next valve forward. The central areas have about 16 lirae on each side, about equalling the interspaces in width. 136 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. Lateral areas elevated, bicostate, the ribs strongly granose, granules larger at the sutures, intermediate space obliquely costate or V-costate. Anterior valve having 10 radiating ribs, the interstices sculptured with V-shaped sulci, the V’s meeting over the ribs and rendering them somewhat nodul- ous. Posterior valve with posterior elevated mucro and a single posterior rib on each side; posterior area very narrow and smooth. The girdle has soft hairs, and a few larger, and there is some trace of pores. The posterior slit in the girdle mentioned by Adams seems to be an accidental tear; H. Adams believes the same Length, 15; breadth, 10 mm.; divergence, 133°.” As the habitat was unknown, Pilsbry added: “Newcastle, Australia (Dieffenbach, teste Cpr.),” and through this erroneous locality the two species were kept separate. Dieffenbach collected in New Zealand, and a mistake in locality was made, as the form is restricted to New Zealand. Recently, Miss Mestayer has figured the type of ovata Hutton and advocated two species, but the variation observed is purely individual. Station: Up to the present only found under kelp roots at low tide. Dimensions: Up to 20 x 14 mm. xix. Genus HEMIARTHRUM. 1876. Hemiarthrum Dall, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., iii, 44. February. ex Carpenter MS. Type by monotypy H. setulosum Dall. At the place cited Dall published Carpenter’s MS. account without com- ment. In that description Carpenter concluded that it formed a transition between Hanleya and the articulate chitons through the value of the insertion-plates. Haddon did not add anything of value in his account of the Kerguelen species, consequently Pilsbry allowed the species the same location, i.e., in the LEPIDOPLEURIDAE. Obviously it had no real relation with the majority of the species, and examination of specimens collected at Macquarie Island suggested their reference here. We wrote (this Journal iii., 339, 1925) that “Hemiarthrum proves to be a Plazxiphora, with the anterior and median valves showing unslit insertion-plates and degenerate external sculpture.” Finlay printed Iredale’s note (Trans. N.Z. Inst., 57, 1927, 333): “Hemi- arthrum may be a degenerate Plaxiphorid, the unslit head plate being faintly striated, the sutural laminae of the median valves being more like those of Plaziphora s.l. than of Acanthochiton s.l., while the little unslit projecting tail plate is like that of a young Plaxiphorid, and not at all Acanthochitonoid. Further, the sculpture agrees better with that of the former, and, curiously enough, while Carpenter noted only four tufts around the head valve—the correct number for an Acanthochiton—Haddon pointed out that the specimen he examined had six, while the specimens in the Australian Museum prove to have eight, which pretty definitely determines the relationship.” Shell small, elongate, valves weakly sculptured; girdle leathery, with short corneous processes scattered all over, and bunches of longer pro- cesses at sutural pores, and also eight in front of anterior valve and two behind the posterior valve. Internally, the anterior valve shows a weakly striated insertion-plate, ~ with vestiges of slits indicating its degenerate nature; median valves with sutural laminae fairly widely separated and extending at sides without any slit. Posterior valve with sutural laminae of the typical Plaxiphorid form, and a sinuate callus of similar design, the tegmentum exceeding it. These characters are very different from any of the true Lepidopleurids or Acan- thochitonoids. IREDALE AND HULL. 137 48. HEMIARTHRUM HAMILTONORUM, SD. 70v. (Plate vili., figs. 9-15.) 1916. Hemiarthrum setulosum Hedley, Austr. Antarctic Exped., 1911-1914, Sci. Rep. Ser. C. Zool., Vol. iv., 34. Macquarie I. 1926. Hemiarthrum setulosum Finlay, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 57, 332. [Not Hemiarthrum setulosum Dall, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., iii., 44 (February), ex Cpr. MS. Kerguelen I.] Finlay published Iredale’s note: “The Macquarie Island shells appear to be a little different, the sculpture being finer and the mucro of the posterior valve nearly median and a little elevated, while in the extra- limital shell the mucro is elevated and terminal.” The generic description covers this species, and the detail figures show all the points emphasised, the mucro, however, being shown more posterior than usual. The species is named for the two Hamiltons, father and son, who both collected on the Subantarctic Islands. Dimensions: 10 x 5 mm. Station: On rocks washed by the sea at low water. [49. MMoPpaALIA AUSTRALIS. 1907. Mopalia australis Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., vii., 215, pl. xviii., fig. 12a. Snares I., New Zealand. Type in Coll. Suter now in the Wan- ganui Museum. 1909. Mopalia australis Suter, Subant. Islands of N.Z., i., 2. 1913. Mopalia australis Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 16. Atlas, pl. 3, figs. 12, 12a. 1915. Acanthochiton australis Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 420, 425. 1926. Mopalia australis Ashby, Proc. Mal. Soc., xvii., 32 (nothing). Suter described a curious little shell thus: “Shell very small, elongately oval, with a blackish leathery girdle and sutural tufts. Anterior valve with eight slits, teeth smooth. Intermediate valves with a rounded central posterior projection; insertion-plates with one slit. Posterior valve depressed, with an oblique slit on each side, and bisinuate in the middle behind. Girdle narrow, leathery, slightly broader on the sides, with a few sutural spicules. Colour probably ash-grey, with a few longitudinal brown stripes on the jugum; inside bluish grey with a posterior Copy of Suter’s figures of brown margin. On the intermediate valves Mopalia australis. the tegmentum forms a narrow band by passing beyond the articulamentum. Sinus broad and slightly pectinate, the sutural plates narrowly rounded. The valve callus is quite distinct. Length, 9; breadth, 5.5 mm.; divergence, 120°. Habitat: I am indebted to Captain J. Bollons for two specimens he collected at the Snares Islands (south of Stewart Island). Both examples are so much corroded that it is impossible to recognise the sculpture. The side slits of the posterior valve leave no doubt about its generic position.” Iredale suggested that this might be an Acanthochiton, as the posterior valve is two slit and somewhat sinuate behind, while the eight slits might 138 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. have been due to interslitting. Ashby’s remarks are entirely valueless, thus: “The few setae mentioned by Suter as occurring on the girdle are probably mopalioid” is entirely imaginary, as Suter’s description copied above shows. At present it cannot be exactly determined. ] VIII. Family CHITONIDAE. All the most specialised forms of Loricates with scaly girdles and pec- tinate teeth have been classed, together with similar forms without girdle scales, in the family CuironipaE, which is undoubtedly composed of diverse elements. In Neozelanic waters there are three very distinct series with scaly girdles, the Tegulaplax-Rhyssoplax-Mucrosquama series, the Sypharochiton series, and the Amaurochiton series, and one with a leathery girdle, Onithochiton. As these series have geographic ranges of distinct evolution, it will be as well to name the series as subfamilies at once and place them on a systematic basis. The subfamily Rhyssoplacinae comprises species ranging from the Mediterranean Sea, through the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Australia, and New Zealand to the Pacific Ocean. Curiously enough, the majority of species live in southern Australia and New Zealand, where they also grow to their largest size. They have a very characteristic external appearance, shape, sculpture and girdle scaling, and internally they are just as well-marked, the insertion-plates being long, regular, well cut, teeth and sinus finely denticulate. The slitting in the anterior valve is eight, the median valves one-slit on each side, the posterior valve 10-12 slit, mucro submedian. There is so little variation in this respect that no features of value can be utilised for separative purposes. The scales vary a little in size and striation. They generally live below half tide to below low water, but none have yet been dredged from any depth. All are fairly active; the genus Tegulaplax is very active, while the Mucrosquama (an Australian genus) series tend to become sedentary at an early stage. Only two genera occur in this region: Tegulaplax, with concentric sculpture on the anterior valve and lateral areas of the median valves, restricted to Lord Howe Island at present, and Rhyssoplaz, with the lateral areas and anterior valve radiately ribbed; in Australia a section of Rhyssoplax has the anterior valve and lateral areas smooth, a phase passed through in youth by the Neozelanic shells. The subfamily Amauwrochitoninae contains two species—one in South America, the other in New Zealand; it only occurs in Australia as an estab- lished introduced shell. The curious sculpture and extraordinary girdle scales indicate this subfamily at sight. The subfamily Sypharochitoninae includes species of heavy build, coarse external sculpture (though sometimes obsolete) and large separate scales. Internally, the teething of the insertion-plates is very unlike that of the other subfamilies, being rough and brittle. The genus Onithochiton is notable for very pronounced “eyes,” and consequently anomalous when contrasted with the preceding, as the wide girdle is not scaly, but minutely spiculose, and while the insertion-plates and slits recall those of the Rhyssoplacinae, the posterior valve has lost its insertion-plate, a callus being present. One species is very common in New Zealand and a close relative lives at the Kermadecs, but the Lord Howe Island species is like the Australian one, which does not range far south of Sydney, but goes into Queensland, where it becomes associated with IREDALE AND HULL. 139 Lucilina, a genus only separable by the fact that the posterior valve has a large elevated mucro and strong well toothed insertion-plate. Resembling these, the genus Tonicia occurs in South America, where no Onithochiton has yet been found. In view of the discontinuous range, it will be best to call the Austral-Neozelanic subfamiy, the Onithochitoninae. It may be noted that the genus Lucilina occurs in small forms at the Kermadecs and Lord Howe Islands, but valves have as yet only been recovered from dredgings. xx. Genus TEGULAPLAX. 1926. Tegulaplax Iredale & Hull, Aust. Zool., iv., 171. Type by original designation, Chiton howensis Hedley & Hull. The original account is here repeated as we have nothing yet to add: “This curious genus recalls Rhyssoplaz, but the animal is alert and active like that of Ischnochiton (sensu lato). The elongate shape with the narrow elevated shell and very broad girdle and characteristic sculpture present features easily recognised. It would appear to be an early off- shoot from the ancestral Rhyssoplacid stock, which developed a curious sculpture, and has retained it without modification for a long period.” The known distribution of the genus at present is Red Sea, Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, Ceylon, Moluccas, Torres Strait and Lord Howe Island. 50. TEGULAPLAX HOWENSIS. (Plate vili., figs. 17-24.) 1912. Chiton howensis Hedley & Hull, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxxvii., 278, pl. xiii., figs. Ta-g. Lord Howe Island. Type in Australian Museum, Sydney. This beautiful shell was thus described: “Shell strongly elevated. carinated, side slopes curved and steep. Colour very variable, creamy white, maculated with pink, purple or brown, chiefly on the end valves and lateral areas; central areas green, jugal tract paler, the whole shell finely mottled in colour. Anterior valve with 8-10 somewhat irregular wavy con- centric riblets. Posterior valve; mucro prominent, in front of the centre, posterior slope convex, concentrically ribbed similarly to the anterior valve, but with slight radial depressions. Median valves strongly raised, deeply transversely ribbed with irregular wavy riblets which are traversed by a shallow depression. Central areas smooth; jugal tract finely transversely striate. Girdle irregularly tesselated with broad bands of purple brown, with scattered deep green scales. Scales small, densely imbricating, striate, polished on the margins. Interior bluish white; sinus broad, denticulate. Anterior valve having 10, median valves 1-1, and posterior valve 12 slits. Teeth very finely pectinate on the edge. Length, 18 mm.; breadth, 9 mm. Station: On the underside or at the edge of insertion in the sand of small smooth stones, in sheltered pools, at low tide. Habitat: Lord Howe Island. Remarks: It is not closely allied to any other Australasian chiton.” xxl. Genus RHYSSOPLAX. 1893. Rhyssoplax Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 368. Type by monotypy Rhyssoplax janeirensis Thiele — Chiton affinis Issel. 1893. Clathropleura Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 367. Not Clathropleura Tiberi, 1877 (Cf. Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 40, 1914). 140 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. 1893. Anthochiton Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 377. Type by monotypy Chiton tulipa Quoy & Gaimard. Medium sized Loricates with scaly girdles, anterior valve with eight slits, median with one slit at each side, posterior valve with about ten slits, all teeth finely denticulate; sutural laminae large, sinus narrow and denti- culate. External sculpture generally of radials, more or less nodulose, ribs on anterior valves, median lateral areas and postmucronal area; pleural areas generally longitudinally grooved; the juveniles are smooth and some forms exist in which radials are not developed. Girdle scales oval, striate. The species live below median tide and are comparatively restricted in distribution, so that many species have developed. The Neozelanic Region may yet receive notable additions, as some half dozen distinct species are now known. Their separative features may be tabulated thus:— Anterior valve with few rounded nodulose rays. pleural areas with few ridges .. .. bua os (CLAD REO with many nodulose ribs and many ridges 0 on "pleural areas .. huttoni. Anterior valve with ribs nearly smooth. few ridges crossing the) pleural. pena era ne ee MIScLoeiee few ridges not crossine the pleuraye:) 5.0 2) se eeieels ie eee ee many ridges not crossing the pleura .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. exasperata. Scales! larger; sulei stronger... 2205. $3) fee-s ee oe 3. cong pizere many ridges crossing the pleura .. .. .. .. .. .. -. .. canaliculata. Anterior valve with ribs cut into lozenges. many ridges crossing: the pleutay. s+) soe eeuee ee ec) oe eSLOIg ear [few ridges, most crossing the pleura .. .... .. .. .. .. .. whitleyi.) 51. RHYSSOPLAX CLAVATA. 1907. Chiton clavatus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., vii., 296, fig. 3 in text. Near Auckland, N.Z. Type in Coll. Suter, now in Wanganui Museum, N.Z. 1913. Chiton clavatus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 38. Atlas, pl. 4, fig. 11. 1915. Rhyssoplax clavata Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. Little is known of this species save Suter’s description: “Shell small, elongated oval, acutely raised, surface of all valves minutely shagreened, with nodulous sculpture, colour grey, some valves brown. Anterior valve with eight radiate ribs, each consisting of three flatly convex nodules, the uppermost small and round, the following large and squarish, the lowest a little smaller and oblong; posterior margin crenulate. Intermediate valves have the first longer than the others, sharply angled, and slightly beaked; central areas with five to six deep longitudinal furrows on each side; lateral areas raised, with an anterior and posterior broad rib bearing Copy of Suter’s figure flatly raised, squarish nodules, which are more Of Rhyssoplax clavata numerous on the posterior rib; seventh valve having a few central nodules on the lateral areas marking a third rib; sutures strongly and bluntly crenulated. Posterior valve with two concentric rows of round nodules, representing 10 radiate ribs; mucro slightly in front of the middle, small and pointed, posterior slope straight. Girdle with rather large imbricating, convex, and smooth scales, smaller IREDALE AND HULL. 141 on the inner side. Colour of valves 1, 2, 7, 8 ash-grey, the other valves greyish brown with white spots along the ridge; girdle uniformly grey. Interior; anterior valve with eight, intermediate valves with one, and pos- terior valve with 11 slits; teeth pectinate. Length, 14; breadth, 9 mm.; divergence, 95°. Habitat: Rangitoto Island, near Auckland, between tide marks (H.S.). Of the New Zealand species, C. limans Sykes, is the nearest, from which, however, it is easily separated by the smooth, not sharply raised tubercles, and the rounded, not pointed, and smooth scales. Only one specimen was found.” 52. RHYSSOPLAX SUTERI. (Plate viii., figs. 28, 29.) 1910. Chiton suteri Iredale, Proc. Malac. Soc., ix., 102. June. New name for Chiton stangeri Suter, 1897, not Reeve. Lyttelton Harbour, N.Z. 1897. Chiton stangeri Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 196. July. 1904. Chiton stangeri Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1913. Chiton stangeri Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 40. 1913. Chiton suteri Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 1081. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 19; pl. 4, ine}, US: 1914. Chiton suteri Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 43. March. 1915. Rhyssoplax suteri Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 426, 1914. [1924. Rhyssoplax suteri Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd, 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 9.] Suter recorded as Chiton stangeri a species thus: “In ‘size, shape, coloration, and sculpture very much like Chiton limans, but differing in the following points:—The ribs have no acute, elevated grains, but are flat- tened. The tail valve has very distinct, flatly nodulous ribs. The jugum is less acute, divergence 120°. The imbricating scales of the girdle are very small on both margins, larger in the middle, not mucronated, and very faintly striated, the striae being visible only under strong magnifying power. Length, 13; breadth, 8 mm.” A complete description was published in the Manual: “Shell small, ovate-oblong, elevated, sculpture rather coarse, whitish with green. An- terior valve with about 20 radiate nodulous ribs, apex smooth, micro- scopically shagreened, sinuated. Intermediate valves sharply angled, side slopes straight; central areas with the jugum smooth and shining, minutely shagreened; sides with six to eight longitudinal grooves on each side, very narrow near the middle, broader towards the margins, ribs broad and smooth; lateral areas with three to four broad radiate ribs, cut up by re- gular growth-lines into squarish nodules. Posterior valve with about 20 nodulous riblets, central areas smooth, a few grooves on each side; mucro in front of the middle, pointed, posterior slope concave. Girdle with im- bricating, rounded, and convex scales, largest in the median rows, micro- scopically faintly striated. Colour yellowish-white, tesselated with green and grey spots; girdle banded with light blue, green, and white. Interior greyish-blue; sinus narrow, denticulate; sutural laminae broadly rounded, white. Length, 13 mm.; breadth, 8 mm; divergence, 120°.” Iredale with W. R. Oliver collected two specimens, one at Taylor’s Mis- take, the other in Lyttelton Harbour, which were determined by Suter us his C. stangeri. Iredale later compared them with the type of C. stangeri Reeve, in the British Museum, and found them very distinct, Reeve’s species being apparently C. canaliculatus Quoy & Gaimard. Iredale therefore re- 142 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. named Suter’s C. stangeri as above described, C. suteri, adding from his own shells: “The pleural areas are sculptured with six sulci, widely spaced and extending right across; the dorsal ridge quite smooth. The valves are beaked. The sulci of suteri are perfectly straight, and much fewer than in a canaliculatus of the same size. 53. RHYSSOPLAX AEREA. (Plate vili., figs. 25-27.) 1847. Chiton aereus Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., Chiton, pl. vii., sp. and fig. 36. February. New Zealand. Type in Museum Cuming, now in British Museum. 1873. Chiton aereus Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 48. 1874. Chiton (Leptochiton) aereus Smith, Zool. Voy. Erebus Moll., 4, pl. 1, fig. 9. Type figured. : 1880. Chiton aereus Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 112. 1891. Chiton siculoides E. A. Smith, P.Z.S., 392, ex Carpenter MS., as synonymy of C. aereus. 1893. Chiton aereus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 179, pl. 36, figs. 96-97 (copy of Reeve onty). 1893. Chiton siculoides Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 179, ex Carpenter MS. in synonymy. 1897. Chiton aereus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii, 195; synonymy only, not specimens. 1904. Chiton aereus Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Chiton aereus Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 70 (correction of 1897 error) record of N.Z. specimens. 1908 Chiton aereus Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xl., 1907, 376 (colour varia- tion, etc.). 1909. Chiton aereus Suter, Subant. Islds. N.Z., Vol. i. 4. Auckland I. 1913. Chiton aereus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 36. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 15; pl. 4. fig. 9. 1914. Chiton aereus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 40 (growth stages). 1915. Rhyssoplax aerea Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. 1921. Rhyssoplax oliveri Mestayer, Trans. N.Z. Inst., liii., 1920, 179, pl. 38, figs. 9-11. Lyall Bay, N.Z. 1924. Rhyssoplax aerea Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dans K. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z.Moll.), 9. Auckland I. 1926. Rhyssoplax oliveri Finlay, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 59, 334 (is aerea juv.). Reeve’s description is very brief: “Shell oblong-ovate, angularly raised in the middle, valves rudely impressly striated throughout, umbonal aminence smooth; dull green; ligament granosely coriaceous. Habitat: New Zealand; Earl. Very characteristic in appearance, though simple in detail; the colour is an uniform dull green, except along the rubbed um- bonal summit, where it has a copperas hue.” In 1893, Pilsbry doubted its Neozelanic habitat, but gave Carpenter’s MS. notes on the type, as follows: ‘Central areas having about 20 furrows on each side, not deep, continuing until they are rubbed off in the middle; lateral areas having 4-8 divaricating riblets, much worn, broken up by the concentric rugae of growth; crenate at the sutures; end valves with about 30 riblets. Mucro in front of the middle, posterior slope concave. Interior bluish, sinus with 5-13 denticles, deep, narrow; girdle scales stout, roundish. Length, 39 mm.; breadth, 23 mm.; divergence, 94°.” IREDALE AND HULL. 148 Four years later Suter recorded its recognition from Manukau Harbour, and, though this was a mistaken identity, Murdoch soon after rediscovered it at Cape Egmont, Miss Mestayer at Lyall Bay, and Suter himself in the Hauraki Gulf. Then Iredale and W. R. Oliver found it not uncommon in Lyttelton Harbour, and common at Shag Point, Otago, and all round the Otago Peninsula. Colour variations were recorded as follows: “The normal colouring is a bluish-green, sometimes with the girdle marked with white. Yellow-green occurs in some localities; pure lemon-yellow, yellowish-white, pure white, puce-coloured, and bright red-brown specimens are also rarely met with. 1n Otago, however, shells occur which I call albinos. So far I have obtained five distinct types. The general appearance of the shell is white; first, in which the whole is splashed with greenish-black; then, the valves are pure white, with the girdle blackish-brown; next, the shell is pure white with a greenish tinge, the girdle green and white; a fourth has the valves speckled with green and suffused with yellow, the girdle green and white; lastly, the valves suffused with greenish and the girdle pink.” Later, Iredale recorded: “I examined a series of Chiton aereus Reeve, and found that the most juvenile specimens were unsculptured, then the sulcations on the pleural areas appeared before the lateral radial ribbing was formed.” Notwithstanding this, Miss Mestayer has described Rhyssoplax oliveri thus: “Shell small, oval, smooth, with a subglossy surface, the side slopes almost straight. Anterior valve smooth except for six tiny nodules close to the girdle, and slight traces of radial riblets. The animal is dried inside, but the eight slits are easily seen under a pocket lens. Median valves 4 slightly beaked, the jugal and pleural areas smooth, lateral areas raised, well defined, with very faint traces of radial sculpture. Interior one slit, sinus hidden by the animal, colour bluish, insertion-plates probab!y white. Posterior valve, mucro central, moderately prominent, posterior slope rather steeply concave, bounded by a nearly smooth rib. Interior eight slits. Colour: Ground-colour cream, mottled with dull green and small longi- tudinal flecks of light brown; the whole surface densely covered with micro- scopic white speckles. Girdle scales very finely closely striate, rounded, the largest along the centre, the outer edge with three or four rows of very fine outstanding spicules, which are easily rubbed off. Colour creamy transversely banded with green and tinged with brown. Measurements: Length, 10.5 mm.; breadth, 7 mm. Lyall Bay, Cook Strait, N.Z. Remarks: This species appears to be more closely related to Rhyssoplax translucens (H. & H.) of Australia, than any other New Zealand member of this genus. It differs from R. translucens in being smoother and much smaller, while the girdle scales are proportionately larger and rounder.” This was obviously the young stage of R. aerea, and Finlay very soon after recorded this fact A figure of the type of oliveri is here given as an example of the growth stage. This species appears to range throughout New Zealand from Auckland to Auckland Islands. There seems to be geographical variation, but not enough to separate the forms into species. Dimensions: Up to 50 x 30 mm. Station: Under stones below half tide, as in most other species of Rhyssoplax. 144 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. 54. RHYSSOPLAX EXASPERATA. (Plate ix., fig. 14.) 1914. Rhyssoplax exasperata Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 41, pl. ii., fig. 13. March. Sunday Island, Kermadec Group. Type in Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand. 1915. Rhyssoplax corypheus subsp. exasperata Oliver, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xlvii., 1914, 558. A long and complete account was furnished at the description of this species, as here transcribed: “Shell of medium size, broadly elongate oval, elevated, not definitely keeled, side slopes nearly straight, girdle scaly. Colour variable, green, splashed with lighter or darker, being the pre- dominant tints; the green may be very pale or dark; white prevails in a few specimens, but no absolutely uniformly coloured shell was obtained, though practically a white one and a black-brown one were noted. An- terior valve rayed with twenty raised ribs, slightly nodulous; at the outer edge intercalating riblets occur in adult specimens. Median valves have their lateral areas similarly four or five ribbed; the pleural areas are sculptured with slanting very closely packed sulci, twelve or more in num- ber, none of which reach the anterior edge of the valve, and vanish before the dorsal area is reached, thus leaving the jugal tract smooth and polished. Posterior valve has the mucro elevated, before the centre, the anterior portion sculptured as the pleural areas of the median valves, the posterior portion as the anterior valve, the ribs being fifteen or sixteen and more nodulous in character. Inside coloration greenish, but varying a little, according to the external coloration. Anterior valve has a slightly pro- jecting insertion-plate regularly cut by eight slits, the teeth beautifully pectinated. Median valves with the insertion-plate one-slit, the sutural laminae low and broad, the sinus narrow and finely denticulate. Posterior plate less projecting than anterior, but more developed at side than centre; the slits number eleven, but one is disproportionate, whilst the others are fairly equal, thereby suggesting twelve to be the normal number. Girdle covered with small oval scales, very closely imbricating, and regularly finely grooved (the apices smooth). “The above description is drawn up from a normal specimen selected as type. Some specimens are almost keeled, with fewer sulci, less slanting, on the pleural areas, whilst sometimes the anterior valve-raying lacks nodulosity altogether, and in other cases it is well pronounced. A very juvenile specimen, 5 mm. long, is smooth throughout, the surface minutely quincuncially granulose. It recalls Chiton translucens, Hedley and Hull. Specimens, 6.5 to 7 mm. long, are still smooth, but there now appear five or six sulci on the pleural areas. In some concentric growth lines can be observed. These suggest the Ch. jugosus Gould, group, especially Ch. torrianus Hedley and Hull. An older shell, though only 6 mm. long, shows the ribbing on the anterior valve to commence on the outside, fourteen be- ing counted, which extend less than one-third the distance to the apex; the lateral areas are more strongly marked than in the preceding stage, a slight depression indicating the differentiation into ribbing; at the edge of the posterior valve nine nodules mark the beginning of the radial ribs; the pleural areas are sculptured, with six clean-cut sulci, which extend across the valve. Specimens, 10 mm. long, in some cases show little advance- ment on the previous stage, whilst in others they show almost perfectly developed adult sculpture. Length of type, 18; breadth, 10.5 mm. Habitat: TREDALE AND HULL. 145 Sunday Island, Kermadec Group. Station: On the underside of clean, smooth stones below low tides. It is very close indeed to Ch. corypheus Hedley and Hull, but superficially the Kermadec shell has the ribbing on the anterior and posterior valves less nodulous, which is also the case with the lateral area sculpture of the median valves. Closer examination shows the scales on the girdle to be smaller in the Kermadec species, whilst the sulci on the pleural areas of the median valves are weaker. Internally, as was anticipated, little distinction can be seen, but the sinus in the Ker- madec shells is noticeably narrower.” 55. RHYSSOPLAX CORYPHEA. (Plate ix., figs. 17-20.) 1912. Chiton corypheus Hedley and Hull, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxxvii., 277, pl. xii., figs. 6, 6a-c. Norfolk Island. Type in Australian Museum, Sydney. The original description offered reads: “Shell elevated, carinated, side slopes convex, of medium size. Colour extremely variable, both in shade and pattern, yet two groups appear, one lighter and the other darker. The girdle is usually tesselated with light and dark. A line along the dorsal area is apt to be differentiated by being lighter or darker than the rest. Frequently the umbones are tipped with pink. Sometimes one or two valves oppose a sharp contrast to the rest. No monochromes appear; buff, olive-green, pink, and rarely white display an infinite variety of splashes or marbling. Anterior valve with 14-18 strongly raised granular riblets, increasing in size towards the margin; in mature examples the riblets are multiplied by splitting of the fewer radii of the younger shell. Posterior valve; mucro prominent, in front of the centre, with 14-16 radial riblets similar to anterior valve; central area similar to median valves. Median valves; lateral areas raised, with 2-4 prominent granular riblets, with shorter ones intercalating with age; central areas furrowed by 8-10 longi- tudinal sulci becoming obsolete anteriorly; jugal tract smooth and polished. Girdle unusually broad, scales finely transversely striate, polished at the margin. Interior green, becoming paler at the margin. Sinus narrow and deep. Anterior valve having 8, median 1-1, and posterior valve 10 slits. Length, 18 mm.; breadth, 10 mm. Station: On the under surface of loose stones in pools on the coral reef; on the under side of or in the interstices between large basalt boulders, or on the surface of the rock in ‘potholes.’ Habitat: Norfolk Island. Remarks: This shell appears to approach C. discolor Souverbie, of New Caledonia, but differs from that species in the fewer radial ribs on the end valves, and the fewer and less anteriorly pro- longed sulci in the central areas. Chiton canaliculatus Quoy and Gaimard, from New Zealand, is also related, but is more elevated and sharper keeled and has a harsher sculpture.” [56. RHYSSOPLAX WHITLEYI, Sp. nov. (Plate ix., figs. 15, 16.) Shell rather small, of medium elevation, side slopes a little curved, sculpture of nodulous radials on anterior valve, lateral areas of median valves and post-mucronal area, the pleural areas lightly sulcate, girdle scales striate. Coloration somewhat varied. The type and largest speci- men has the anterior valve pale green, the posterior edges darker, as is the umbonal area; the second valve is creamy white; the third, fourth and fifth grading from pale green to blackish green; the sixth and seventh 146 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. creamy again, and the eighth pale green; the girdle is pale green, banded with whitish. The others of the series vary from green to blackish green to creamy and pinkish white, more or less mottled or spotted with green, the girdle generally more or less strongly banded. Anterior valve with about twenty ribs, divaricating at the edges and the apex smooth; the ribs are cut into rather square nodules, or better composed of six or eight squarish nodules. The lateral areas of the median valves are formed of three or four similar ribs, and the post-mucronal area shows fourteen, the nodules more distinct, yet the ribs divaricate. The pleural areas have about ten slanting sulci crossing the valve, the jugal area smooth. Posterior valve with mucro anti-median, a little elevated, posterior slope straight. Girdle scales of medium size, beautifully striate. Internal features normal. Dimensions: 17 mm. x 10 mm. (type). Station: Under stones at half tide. Habitat: Rarotonga, Cook Island. Type in Australian Museum. This interesting species was collected by Mr. G. P. Whitley, Ichthyologist at the Australian Museum, and is here named to appreciate his great in- terest, on our behalf, in this group on all his collecting and holiday trips. It is here introduced as Loricates are not common in the Pacific, and Raro- tonga is under Neozelanic control. This was the only species found and appears to be related to the Norfolk Island R. coryphea, and the Kermadec Island R. exasperata, while the Huahine and Anaa Chiton pacificus Thiele (Rev. Chitonen (Chun Zool., heft 56), 93, pl. x., figs. 1-4, 1910) seems more distant. ] 57. RHYSSOPLAX HUTTONI. (Plate ix., figs. 8, 9.) 1906. Chiton huttoni Suter, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 38, 1905, 320, pl. xviii. figs. 1-6. Near Dunedin, N.Z. Type in Coll. Suter, now in Wanganui Museum, N.Z. 1905. Chiton huttoni Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 70. December 30. nomen nudum. 1913. Chiton huttoni Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 38. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 17; pl. 4, fig. 12. 1915. Rhyssoplax huttoni Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. [1924. Rhyssoplax huttoni Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 9. North I., South I., Stewart I., is S. sinclairi, fide Finlay, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 57, 1926, 334, from specimens ex Odhner.] Suter gave an excellent description, as follows: “Shell oblong-ovate, angularly raised, valves striated throughout, jugum smooth, girdle with rounded scales; colour yellowish-olive, dull to dark green or brick-red; interior whitish. The flatly convex anterior valve has seventeen to twenty- four subequal riblets reaching to the apex, and broken up by concentric rugae of growth; sometimes a few riblets are interspersed, which do not extend to the apex; the latter is smooth, and mostly a little excavated posteriorly. The intermediate valves have the jugum smooth, projecting a little behind; the pleural tracts have about twenty to twenty-five furrows on each side, which near the central area are narrow and not deep, but IREDALE AND HULL. 147 usually widening and deepening on approaching the margin. Sometimes they are in breadth equal to the riblets, but in some specimens they are narrower. They extend the whole length of the pleural areas. The lateral areas are strongly ribbed, the ribs broken up by the continuance of the grooves on the pleural tracts. Their number is very variable—the usual number is three to four, but sometimes as many as five are found—and some of them may be divaricating, which, however, is not the rule. The posterior valve has the mucro very little behind the middle; the central area is flatly convex, with the same furrows as the pleural tracts of the intermediate valves; the posterior slope is concave, and the posterior area has eighteen to twenty strongly granose riblets reaching up to the apex. The girdle bears roundish medium-sized and compactly imbricating polished scales, which under a powerful lens show faint striation. The colour is very variable; the most common is yellowish-olive, then dull green is met with, and one of these specimens has the end valves blackish-green; one speci- men is brownish-black, and one brick-red. The girdle has the same colour as the valves; sometimes dark bands of variable width and irregular in distribution may be seen. The interior is mostly bluish-white, pinkish- white in the red specimen. The sinus is deep and narrow, pectinate. The slits on a specimen I disarticulated are: Head-valve 9, intermediate valves 1-1, posterior valve 15. All teeth are blunt and pectinate; those of the tail valve are very unequal in breadth. The valve callus is rather prominent. Divergence, 115°. Length, 34 mm.; breadth, 20 mm. Habitat: Near Dunedin.” So far this species has only been found near Dunedin, records from Wellington referring to aerea, and the northern so-called huttoni is here recognised as. the misunderstood stangeri. 58. RHYSSOPLAX CANALICULATA. (Plate ix., figs. 12, 13.) 1835. Chiton canaliculatus Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. de l’Astrol. Zool., iii., 394, pl. 75, figs. 37-42. Tasman Bay, New Zealand. Type in Paris Museum. 1836. Chiton canaliculatus Deshayes, Hist. Anim. s. Vert. (Lam.), ed. 2, vii., 502. 1843. Chiton canaliculatus Gray, Travels in N.Z. (Dieff.), ii., 246 (coll. by Stanger). 1852. Chiton insculptus A. Adams, P.Z.S., 1852, 91, pl. xvi. fig. 4. New Zealand. Type in British Museum. 1872. Chiton canaliculatus Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 176. 1873. Chiton canaliculatus Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 46. 1873. Chiton stangeri Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 48. 1880. Chiton stangeri Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 111. 1880. Chiton insculptus Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 112. 1880. Lepidopleurus canaliculatus Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 112. 1893. Chiton canaliculatus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 177, pl. 36, figs. 4, 5-6 (includes stangeri and insculptus as synonyms). 1897. Chiton canaliculatus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 196. 1904. Chiton canaliculatus Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1904. Chiton canaliculatus (sic) Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst., 20, 655. 1905. Chiton canaliculatus Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1905. Chiton canaliculatus Nierstrasz, Notes Leyden Mus., xxv., 150. 1909. Chiton canaliculatus Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Deutsch. Mal. Gesell., 75. 148 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. 1910. Chiton stangeri Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 102 (type examined = canaliculatus, error) 1913. Chiton canaliculatus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 37. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 16; pl. 4, fig. 10. : 1915. Rhyssoplax canaliculata Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. 1924. Rhyssoplax canaliculata Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 9. 1924. Rhyssoplax canaliculata Finlay, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 55, 518 (littoral near Dunedin) . Quoy and Gaimard described this species as follows: ‘“Chiton, elon- gatus, elevatus, valde carinatus, roseas; valvis triangularibus, longitudin- aliter sulcatis, postice crenulatis; pallio tenuissimo squamoso. “Blégante petite espéce, toujours d’un joli rose, a coquille allongée, rétrécie, élévee, fortement carénée; chaque valve intermédiaire, formant une pointe postérieure. Elles sont fortement striées en long, et ventri- culées sur leur bord postérieur. Leur aire laterale est fortifieé d’un triangle bien en relief, qui atteint jusqu’au sommet. Cette espece de contre-fort a quatre sillons transverses granuleux. Les deux valves terminales ont leurs stries rayonnantes, toutes deux avec dix dents striées, 4 peine perceptibles dans la postérieure. La coquille recouvrant presque tout le corps, le man- teau a peu de développement; il est tapissé de squammes granuleuses extrémement fines, également rosé, quelquefois taché de brun. Le rouge des aires latérales et du sommet est un peu plus foncé; que'ques individus ont des taches triangulaires dans la longueur de ce sommet; d’autres sont verdatres, maculés de rouge. Le dessous du corps est jaunatre. On trouve assez souvent cette espéce dans l’anse de 1]’Astrolabe, a la baie Tasman de la Nouvelle-Zélande. Dimensions: Longueur, 9 lignes. Largueur, 6 lignes. Hauteur, 4 lignes.” A. Adams introduced Chiton insculptus: “Shell oblong, much elevated, terminal valves, and the lateral areas of the others radiately ribbed; ribs granular, the granules transverse, rather crowded, obsolete at the margin; umbones keeled; anterior terminal valve umbonated; median area longi- tudinally strongly lirated; lirae obsoletely rugoso-granulate; median areas red, with two blackish-brown parallel lines down the centre of the valves; mantle with brownish-yellow and brown scales; scales smooth, shining, convex. New Zealand, on dead shells in deep water (Strange) .” Very easiiy recognisable by its beautiful coloration and striking sculp- ture, this species is common on the oyster beds of Foveaux Strait, and many specimens have been picked from the dredged oysters. Finlay has, however, recorded specimens from the littoral of Otago. Twenty years ago Iredale, examining the type of Chiton stangeri in the British Museum, in comparison with the shell misidentified at that time, reduced the name to the synonymy of canaliculatus, which is in- correct. Dimensions: 25 x 14 mm. 59. RHYSSOPLAX STANGERI. (Plate ix., figs. 10, 11.) 1847. Chiton stangeri Reeve, Conch. Icon. iv., pl. xxii. sp. and fig. 150. New Zealand (Coll. Stanger). Type in British Museum. Reeve described this species as follows: ‘Shell ovate, terminal valves and lateral areas of the rest rayed, with rows of closely packed square ap- pressed granules, central areas smooth in the middle, closely ridged on each TREDALE AND HULL. 149 side, interstices rather deep; yellow and green, tessellated with green spots; ligament squamately coriaceous. Habitat: New Zealand; Dr. Stanger. Dedicated to the honour of an- other eminent traveller in New Zealand, whose name is worthy of being recorded under the present genus.” Suter recognised a shell collected by Iredale and Oliver as C. stangeri, and Iredale, comparing the specimen with the Reevean type, found it to be altogether different and named it suteri. The type of stangeri was found to be very like canaliculatus, and was recorded as a synonym. Many shells have now been collected at Tauranga and regarded as huttoni, but Finlay upon comparison with true huttonz from Dunedin found them to be separable and pointed them out as a new species. His differential features were easily confirmed, and the species was figured as distinct. Only when writing up the description and comparing critically with canaliculata which it mostly resembled was it recognised as the missing stangerz. Reeve’s description is exact. The specimens from Tauranga collected by Dr. Bucknill are here described. Coloration generally yellow-greenish, sometimes with darker spots, the girdle banded. Variation will undoubtedly occur, as some valves may be dark green and the jugal ridge paler, with darker lines adjacent. The anterior valve is very closely rayed with about twenty-five rays, bifurcating towards the edges and cut into square nodules; the outer edges thickened. The median valves have the lateral areas similarly ribbed, generally four well definéd squarely nodulose rays developed from two; the pleural areas are deeply sulcate like those of canaliculata, about fifteen distinct ridges crossing the pleura and suddenly dying away, leaving a narrow dis- tinct smooth jugal area. The posterior valve is as usual similarly sculptured. The girdle scales are very small and polished, practically smooth to an ordinary lens. As above noted, they are very near canaliculata in the sculpture of the pleural areas, but are easily separated by the definite squarish noduling of the ribs on the anterior and median valves. Dimensions: 18 x 11 mm. Station: Attached to large shells of Mytilus canaliculatus on sand- banks submerged at lowest tide. xxli. Genus AMAUROCHITON. 1893. Amaurochiton Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 362. Type by monotypy Chiton olivaceus Frembly. 1893. Poeciloplax Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 365. Type by monotypy Chiton glaucus Gray. A very characteristic Neozelanic shell, being the commonest shell after Sypharochiton, and even more notable through its striking dark green coloration. It is well defined in its shape, sculpture and girdle scales. The latter differ from those of all the other Neozelanic Loricates in their size and shape, and the South American species, olivaceus Frembly, is very closely allied, but much larger. It appears to be indubitably congeneric. Shell large, rather ovate, sculpture fine, girdle scales peculiar. The insertion-plates are short, finely denticulate, and the slitting is numerous in the end valves, 9-10—14, the median valves having the usual one slit on each side. 150 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. 60. AMAUROCHITON GLAUCUS. (Plate ix., figs. 1-7; Plate x., fig. 10.) 1828. Chiton glaucus Gray, Spicil. Zool., pt. i. 5. July 1. Hab. ?. Type in British Museum. 1835. Chiton viridis Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. de 1’Astrol. Zool, iii., 383, pl. 74, figs. 23-28. New Zealand. Type in Paris Museum. 1836. Chiton quoyi Deshayes, Hist. Anim. s. Vert. (Lam.), 2nd Ed., vii., 509. New name for Quoy and Gaimard’s species. 1843. Chiton viridis Gray, Travels in New Zeal. (Dieff.), ii., 246. 1847. Chiton quoyi Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. 13, sp. and fig. 68. 1867. Lophyrus glaucus Angas, P.Z.S., 222. 1872. Chiton quoyi Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 177. 1873. Chiton quoyi Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 47. 1880. Chiton glaucus Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 112. 1883. Chiton glaucus Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xv., 1882, 129, pl. xvi., fig. f. (dentition) . 1893. Chiton quoyi Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 172, pl. xxxvii., figs. 6-8. 1897. Chiton quoyi Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 194. 1897. Chiton cereus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 195. Manukau Harbour. Not C. aereus Reeve. 1904. Chiton quoyi Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Chiton quoyi Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1905. Chiton quoyi var. limosa Nierstrasz, Notes Leyden Mus., xxv., 151. April 15, ex Suter MS. N.Z. 1905. Chiton quoyi subsp. limosa Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 69. December 30. Manukau Harbour, N.Z. 1913. Chiton quoyi and subsp. limosus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 34. Atlas, Die hie se 1913. Chiton quoyi subsp. limosus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 34. 1914. Amaurochiton glaucus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 38. 1915. Amaurochiton glaucus Iredale, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., xlvii., 1914, 422, 426. 1923. Amaurochiton glaucus May, Illus. Index Tas. Shells, p'. xvi., fig. 13. 1924. Amaurochiton glaucus Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 9. 1926. Amaurochiton glaucus Iredale and Hull, Aust. Zool., iv., 256, pl. XXXVli., figs. 1-22. 1927. Amaurochiton glaucus Iredale and Hull, Mon. Austr. Loricates, 119, pl. xv., figs. 1-22. The short description given by Gray reads: “ Testa oblonga, convexa, subcarinata, glauca; area centrali regulariter longitudinaliter, laterali valvisque terminalibus radiatim, striatis; margine ——————_ Inhab. — Mus. Brit. Shell oblong, convex, subcarinate, glaucous green; end valves and lateral area of the middle valves finely and regularly longitudinally grooved; laminae of insertion pectinate. Inside white. Margin destroyed.” A few years later an excellent account was published by Quoy and Gaimard, with beautiful figures, as follows: “Chiton, corpore elongato- ovali, elevato, triangulari, margine squamoso, viridi, albo aut subrubro variegato, subtus hitescenti; valvis tenuissime striatis. “Petite espéce, ovale, allongée, 4 dos trés-élévé, triangulaire, avec une caréne obtuse, d’un beau vert uniforme, un peu foncé dans toutes ses parties, quelquefois tapissé de blanchatre ou de roux ferrugineux. Le dessous du corps est d’un jaune pale. Le manteau, fort étroit, est revétu d’écailles fines, arrondies et serrées, également vertes. Le pied est étroit, IREDALE AND HULL. 151 le voile buccal elargi sur les cdtes et touchant le cordon branchial. Tous les osselets sont finement stries d’arriére en avant; les dix (sic) inter- médiaires étroits, et de plus un triangle latéral sillonne en long, tandis que les lignes des deux extrémes vont en rayonnant; le premier a dix dents crénelées, et le dernier quinze. Leur forme est arrondie, tandis que les autres décrivent une voute triangulaire. Les lames d’insertion sont courtes, fortement échancrées, tres-finement denticulées sur leurs bords latéraux, et pourvues d’un sillon. Elles sont d’un vert clair, avec une ligne rougeatre en arriére. Cet Oscabrion est assez répandu dans la Nouvelle-Zeélande. On le trouve surtout a l’anse de |’Astrolabe. Nous en avons rapporte un grand nombre, tous a peu pres de meme taille, c’est-a-dire de quatorze lignes de longueur, sur huit de larguer et quatre de hauteur.” Owing to Quoy and Gaimard selecting a preoccupied name this fine species was renamed by Deshayes, Chiton quoyi, and for eighty years it was thus known, though the identity with Gray’s species had been recorded. Such an unmistakable form was easily recognised, and conseqyently there is practically no complication, a narrow small form being mistaken for the missing aereuws by Suter, and then distinguished as a subspecies. Curiously enough, specimens labelled by Suter having been sent abroad, the first publication was made by Nierstrasz, who wrote: “Chiton quoyi var. limosa. 1 Exemplar von Neu-Seeland mit der Etikette; var. limosa Suter. Diese Varietat ist mir unbekannt. Die Lange betragt 19 mm., die Breite 13 mm. Die Schalen sind gelbweiss und unregelmassig grun gestreift und gefleckt. Die Schuppen sind weiss, griin oder gelbbraun gefarbt.” Suter’s publication took place nearly nine months later, when he re- corded: “It differs from the species (C. quoyi) in being smaller and nar- rower, the jugum angled, not carinated, not always smooth, colour yellowish to green, mostly coated with blackish green. Anterior valve with 8, pos- terior valve with 15 slits, divergence about 100°, against 120° in the species.” Dimensions: Up to 40 x 25 mm. Living between tide marks in considerable numbers many colour varieties have been met with, but it may be noted that probably these are much more common in the North Island than in the South Island, as some years collecting in the South Island by Iredale and Oliver provided very few colour aberrations, though many thousands of shells were seen. Xxill. Genus SyPHAROCHITON. 1898. Sypharochiton Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 365. Type by monotypy Chiton peiliserpentis Quoy and Gaimard. 1893. Triboplax Thiele, Das Gebiss der Schnecken (Troschel), ii., 365. Type by monotypy T. scabricula = C. pelliserpentis Quoy and Gaimard. The typical Sypharochiton is not confined to New Zealand, but also occurs on the east coast of Australia, from Sydney to the south and west of Tasmania. There is a hiatus in southern New South Wales. The species are large, round-backed shells with rather crude sculpture (when contrasted with Rhyssoplar), and large oval striate girdle scales. The internal features are very characteristic, the short thick teeth of the insertion-plates, very coarsely denticulate, being quite unlike those of any other Neozelanic group, while the large separated scales are also diagnostic. The slitting in the anterior valve is always more than eight, and in the posterior twelve, the median with the usual one on each side. Some smail shells are here associated, but more research is necessary to determine their exact relationship. 152 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. 61. SYPHAROCHITON PELLISERPENTIS. (Plate ix., fig. 21.) 1835. Chiton pelliserpentis Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. de l’Astrol. Zool., iii., 381, pl. 74, figs. 17-22. Astrolabe Bay, New Zealand. Type in Paris Museum. 1836. Chiton pelliserpentis Deshayes, Hist. Anim. s. Vert. (Lam.), ed. 2, vii., 508. 1843. Chiton pellisserpentis Gray, Travels in N.Z. (Dieff.), ii., 246. 1847. Chiton pellisserpentis Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. xv., sp. and fig. 84. 1872. Chiton pellisserpentis Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 176. 1873. Chiton pellisserpentis Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 46. 1880. Chiton pellisserpentis Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 111. 1883. Chiton pellisserpentis Hutton, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xv., 1882, 129, pl. xvi., fig. 1 (dentition). 1886. Chiton pellisserpentis Haddon, Rep. Zool. Challenger, xv., Polypl., 22. 1893. Chiton pellisserpentis Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 173, pl. 37, figs. 14- 18. 1897. Chiton pellisserpentis Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc.. ii., 195. 1904. Chiton squamosus Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst., 20, 619. Error only. 1904. Chiton pellisserpentis Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Chiton pellisserpentis Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1908. Chiton pellisserpentis Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xl., 1907, 375, pl. xx«i. (five-valved aberration) . 1909. Chiton squamosus Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Deutsch. Malak. Gesell., 74. Correction of Wissel’s error. 1913. Chiton pellisserpentis Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 33. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 12; pl. 4, fig. 6. 1915. Sypharochiton pellisserpentis Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. 1922. Sypharochiton pellisserpentis Ashby, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., xlvi., 579 (type examined ?). 1924. Sypharochiton pellisserpentis Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 8. This, the most common Loricate in New Zealand, was well described by Quoy and Gaimard, as: “Chiton, corpore ovato-rotundo, squamoso, vires- centi, lineis nigris notato, subtus luteo; valvis fusco-virescentibus, in medio macula nigra signatis. “Assez petite espece, presque orbiculaire, a dos élevé, a manteau peu large sur les cOotes, recouvert de fines écailles arrondies, bien imbriquees, verdatres, marqué de sept a huit lignes brunes transversales, ce qui fait ressembler cette partie 4 la peau de notre coulevre ordinaire. Le dessous du corps est d’un jaune clair, et le chaperon céphalique légérement den- ticulé; on compte environ trente-quatre folioles a chaque branchie, qui le touche presque. Les valves sont finement écailleuses, verdatres, quelquefois légérement jaunatres, avec des taches brunes irregulieres sur les cétes, mais toujours marquées, moins les extrémes, d’un triangle noir au milieu. Elles sont larges, étroites, trés-surbaissées, la seconde la plus large de toutes, finement striées, avec un triangle granuleux aux aires laterales. En dessous elles ont une aréte arquee verte, et leurs cotés fortement denti- culés; les apophyses, étroites, larges, échancrées, sont d’un assez joli vert clair. La premiére valve a onze dents courtes, striées, la derniére treize; toutes deux ont des granulations qui forment des lignes rayonnantes. Les quatre osselets intermédiaires sont presque de méme grandeur; le quatriéme a onze lignes d’étendue. Cette espéce, que les lignes transverses de son manteau font un peu ressembler a la précédente, est extrémement com- IREDALE AND HULL. 153 mune dans l’anse de |’Astrolabe, a la Nouvelle-Zélande. Nous croyons en avoir recueilli deux ou trois cents dans un instant. Dimensions: Longueur des plus grands individus, 14 lignes. Largeur, 13 lignes.” Shell of medium size, depressed, round-backed, elongately ovate, girdle scales large ovals, sculpture crude. Coloration somewhat varied, mostly green, brown and black, variously striped, perfect unicolours rare, girdle generally banded, recalling snakeskin, hence the specific name. Anterior valve ribbed, ribs distant, cut into coarse squarish nodules; ribs fifteen to twenty, divaricating at the edges. Lateral areas of the median valves, as also the post-mucronal area similarly sculptured, three or four ribs on the former and twelve to fifteen on the latter. The pleural areas closely longi- tudinally ridged and crossed with rather deep concentric growth lines. Mucro of the posterior valve elevated, submedian, posterior slope straight. The sculpture may be a little modified, but never reaches the stage of sineclairi, and even, if worn, can be separated from that species by means of the striate, not glossy, girdle scales. Dimensions: 35 x 25 mm. Station: On or under stones above median tide mark. 62. SYPHAROCHITON SINCLAIRI. (Plate x., figs. 1, 2.) 1843. Chiton sinclairi Gray, Travels in New Zeal. (Dieff.), ii., 263 (mid January). Great Barrier Island, North Island. Type in British Museum. 1847. Chiton sinclairi Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. 22, fig. 143. 1872. Chiton sinclairi Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv., 1871, 177. 1873. Chiton sinclairi Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 46. 1874. Chiton (Leptochiton) sinclairi Smith, Voy. Erebus and Terror, Zool. Moll., 4, pl. i., fig. 17 (type figured). 1880. Chiton (Leptochiton) sinclairi Hutton, Man. N.Z. Moll., 111. 1893. Chiton sinclairi Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 174, pl. 36, figs. 1-3. 1897. Chiton sinclairi Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., li., 196. 1904. Chiton sinclairi Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Chiton sinclairt Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1913. Chiton sinclairi Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 35. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 14; pl. 4, fig. 7. 1915. Sypharochiton sinclairi Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. 1922. Sypharochiton pellisserpentis var. sinclairi Ashby, Trans. Roy. Soc. South. Austr., xlvi., 579. 1924. Chiion huttoni Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 8, fide Finlay. Gray shortly described this beautiful species as follows: “Pale brown, polished, the terminal valves with many, and the lateral area with few in- distinct broad nodulose ridges, the central area polished, with pale longi- tudinal streaks, and with a few short, deep, irregular longitudinal grooves on the hinder edge of the sides. This species is very like C. pellisserpentis, but is polished, and the central plates are smooth, except at the outer angles.” This description is quite good when the correct shell is compared, and most local collectors have been able to discriminate it without difficulty, but Ashby confused it, writing: “One of the three (pelliserpentis) is quite as carinated as S. sinclairi Gray.’ We have never seen nor heard of 2 carinated sinclairi, whose chief feature is its low round back. Compared with the preceding species, the ribbing on the anterior valve 154 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. and lateral areas is much weaker, and the noduling is more or less obsolete, though the growth lines are generally much more pronounced. The ribbing on the pleural areas is generally obsolescent; when present only a few slight ridges appearing near the lateral edges. The coloration is generally diagnostic, being blackish longitudinally boldly splashed with white. Unicolour varieties are seldom met with. The whole shell is glossy. and this applies to the girdle scales, so that whatever state the shell may be in, the girdle scales will determine it. Sometimes a specimen of the pre- ceding species may be met with in which the sculpture is modified, and it may even show a rather shining surface, but upon actual comparison the differences become striking. Dimensions: Up to.30 x 18 mm. Station: Between tide marks mainly under stones in rock pools. 63. SYPHAROCHITON TORRI. (Plate x., fig. 12.) 1907. Chiton torri Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., vii., 295, fig. 2, in text. Bluff Harbour, New Zealand. Type in Torr Collection, South Australia. 1913. Chiton torri Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 35. Atlas, pl. 4, fig. 8. 1915. Sypharochiton torri Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. Suter’s description reads: “Shell small, elongate, smooth, dark brown. Anterior valve with eleven indistinct riblets, obsolete in one specimen, crossed by fine growth lines, the whole surface minutely wrinkled. Of the intermediate valves, the first is twice as long as the others; all of them are broadly rounded, smooth, and beaked, the central areas with minute transverse zigzag wrinkles; jugum smooth; lateral areas slightly raised, with concentric ridges, very distinct near the margins, but gradually dis- appearing towards the centre, the whole minutely wrinkled. Posterior valve with the mucro central, low, posterior slope strongly convex, a few concentric ridges near the margin, surface wrinkled like the other valves. Girdle with small, rounded, smooth, imbricating scales. Colour dark brown, somewhat lighter on the central and lateral areas; girdle darker brown, nearly black. Interior light brown, sinus microscopically denti- culate, sutural laminae moderately high, and broadly rounded. Anterior valve with 11 slits, teeth sharp and pectinate, irregular in size. Inter- mediate valves with one slit on each side. Posterior valve with a low insertion-plate, having 12 slits, the teeth thick and blunt, with one or two grooves on the outside. Length, 9; breadth, 4.5 mm.; divergence, 100°. Habitat: Bluff, South Island (Dr. Torr). It is easily distinguished from all the other New Zealand species of the genus by the almost total smooth- ness, the small size, and the microscopic wrinkles. It is nearest allied to C. sinclairi.” Since collected by Mr. W. R. Oliver, Director of the Dominion Museum, also at the Bluff. 64. SYPHAROCHITON THEMEROPIS. (Plate x., fig. 16.) 1914. Sypharochiton themeropis Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc.. xi., 43, pl. ii., fig. 14. March. Sunday Island, Kermadeec Group. Type in Canter- bury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand. 1915. Sypharochiton themeropis Oliver, Trans. New Zeal, Inst., 47, 1914, 55S. The original description is here reproduced: ‘Shell small, oval, elevated, keeled, side slopes almost straight, valves beaked, girdle scaly. Colour black: majority of specimens considerably eroded. Anterior valve with sixteen to twenty strictly radial rows of separated tubercles, the IREDALE AND HULL. 155 intervals minutely pustulose, the pustules being flat-topped and circular. Median valves with their lateral areas showing three or four separated tuberculose radial rows, the intervals pustulose; the pleural areas re- gularly pustulose, with no arrangement whatever into longitudinal rows. Posterior valve with the mucro elevate, sub-central, slightly anterior, the posterior slope faintly convex. The anterior portion is sculptured as the pleural areas of the median valves, the posterior as the anterior valve, with few strictly radial rows of separated tubercles. Inside coloration dark blue-green. Insertion-plate of anterior valve with ten to twelve slits, the teeth coarsely pectinated and thick; the plate short, but somewhat pro- jecting, and the slits irregular. Teeth pale green. Median valves have the insertion-plate one-slit, the posterior tooth short and stopping very abruptly before reaching the lateral edge of the valve. The sutural laminae are pale green, rounded, low, and widely separated; the tegmentum generally approaches between, but, when the plate is recognisable, it is seen to be strongly denticulate. Posterior valve with the plate very short and somewhat thrown backward; the slits, ten to twelve in number, are very irregular, while the teeth are thick and coarsely pectinate. The girdle is covered with medium size, rounded, a little separated, deeply grooved scales. The grooves number five to seven on a scale. This description is drawn up from a young shell, as old shells are too much eroded for any sculpture to be determined, save the ends of the radial rows of tubercles; such are more elevated than younger shells. Length of type, 9; breadth, 5 mm. Length of largest specimen, 17.5; breadth, 10.5 mm. Habitat: Sunday Island, Kermadec Group. Station: In crevices of rocks between tides. ‘A Chiton was procured which had developed most peculiar habits; it lived in crevices of rocks between tide marks, huddling together, half a dozen being found one upon another, so that some did not touch the rock at all. This species was entirely black, and allied to pellisserpentis Quoy and Gaimard.... .’ Sypharochiton themeropis differs from Ch. funereus in colour, shape, sculpture, girdle scales, and internal structure. S. themeropis is a heavy crass shell, whilst Ch. funereus is a delicately formed species; the former is always dead black, the latter varies from black to light brown, green, striped forms, etc.; the former is a somewhat elongate oval, the latter is a very broad oval; in the former the anterior valve is radially rowed with tubercles, the rows very distinct and widely separated; in the latter the tubercles are smaller, much more closely packed, and no distinct rows appear; in the former the pustules on the pleural areas of the median valves never show lineal arrangement; in the latter this is generally the case. The girdle scales in S. themeropis are deeply grooved with a few grooves; in Ch. funereus the girdle scales are finely striate. The dissected specimens compared show that in this state no confusion is possible; in the Kermadec shell the insertion-plates are comparatively long, with thick coarsely pectinated teeth, whilst in Ch. funereus the insertion-plates are very degraded, with the teeth very minute, and bearing very fine striae. The differences are so pronounced as to suggest that Ch. funereus can scarcely rank in typical Sypharochiton, whilst S. themeropis needs comparison with the type of that genus. S. themeropis can be readily distinguished from S. pellisserpentis (Quoy and Gaimard) by its smaller size, grooved girdle scales, and lack of longitudinal sculpture on the pleural areas of the median valves.” 65. SYPHAROCHITON FUNEREUS. (Plate x., figs. 14, 15.) 1912. Chiton funereus Hedley and Hull, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxxvii., 279, 156 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. pl. xiii, figs. 8, 8a. Lord Howe Island. Type in Australian Museum, Sydney. The original description is here given: “Shell broad, elevated, carin- ated, side slopes almost straight. Colour dark green or black, rarely red- brown, occasionally flared with lighter. Anterior valve densely covered with small rounded pustules, which tend to radial and concentric arrange- ment. Posterior valve irregularly pustulose, mucro prominent, in front of the middle. Median valves; lateral areas raised, strongly ribbed with 3-4 pustulose riblets, bifurcating towards the margin; the pustules of the lateral areas extending into the outer angles; central areas finely sculp- tured with irregular wavy lines. Girdle alternately banded with light and dark; densely clothed with large scales, not polished, striate. Interior deeply bluish-green, sinus broad, shallow; anterior valve having 10-12, median 1-1, and posterior valve 12 slits. Length, 13 mm.; breadth, 9 mm. Station: Under stones on the coral reef and elsewhere at low tide. Habitat: Lord Howe Island (type locality) and Norfolk Island.” Xxiv. Genus ONITHOCHITON. 1847. Onithochiton Gray, P.Z.S., 65. Type by subsequent designation Gray, P.Z.S., 1847, 168, Chiton undulatus. This is a characteristic genus of the Neozelanic littoral, the brightly coloured clean shell with the broad fleshy non-scaly girdle attracting at- tention. Shell oval, elevated, smooth and shining, girdle broad and fleshy; eyes present. The only sculpture is seen in imperfect rays of small nodules on the anterior valve and lateral areas. Internally the features are well marked; the insertion-plates of the anterior and median valves are short, finely denticulate and regularly slit. eight in anterior valve, one on each side of the median valve, while there is only a callus present in the posterior valve, the mucro being terminal; that this is due to degeneracy is clearly seen by study of juveniles which show a median mucro and a regular but slight insertion-plate. The well developed “eyes” are a notable feature of this group. 66. ONITHOCHITON NEGLECTUS. (Plate x., figs. 18, 19.) 1881. Onithochiton neglectus Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 7, Ser. v., 120. Wellington, New Zealand. Type in Paris Museum. 1835. Chiton undulatus Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. de 1’Astrol. Zool., ili., 393, pl. 75, figs. 19-24. Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Type in Paris Museum. Not Chiton undulatus Wood. 1836. Chiton undulatus Deshayes, Hist. Anim. s. Vert. (Lam.), Ed. 2, vili., 537. 1843. Acanthopleura undulatus Gray, Travels in N.Z. (Dieff.), ii., 245. 1847. Chiton undulatus Reeve, Conch. Icon., iv., pl. xvi., figs. 87, 90. 185?. Onithochiton undulatus H. and A. Adams, Gen. Rec. Moll., 476, pl. 54, fig. 3. 1872. Tonicia undulata Hutton, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., iv., 1871, 179. 1873. Tonicia undulata Hutton, Cat. Marine Moll. N.Z., 48. 1880. Tonicia undulata Hutton. Man. N.Z. Moll., 114. 1881. Onithochiton astrolabei Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 7th Ser., v., 120. New Zealand (Quoy and Gaimard). Type in Paris Museum. 1881. Onithochiton filholi Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 7th Ser., v., 120. Cook Straits, N.Z. Type in Paris Museum. IREDALE AND HULL. 157 1882. Onithochiton decipiens Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 7th Ser., vi., 196. Cook Straits, N.Z. Type in Paris Museum. 1893. Onithochiton undulatus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 245, pl. lv., figs. 14-16. 1893. Onithochiton semisculptus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xiv., 247, pl. 55, figs. 10-11. Habitat unknown. Type in Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila- delphia. iy 1893. Onithochiton filholi Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 106 (translation). 1893. Onithochiton decipiens Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 106. 1893. Onithochiton neglectus Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 106. 1893. Onithochiton astrolabei Pilsbry, Man. Conch., xv., 107. 1897. Onithochiton undulatus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soc., ii., 199. 1904. Onithochiton undulatus Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1904. Onithochiton semisculptus Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., 86. 1905. Onithochiton undulatus Hamilton, Col. Mus. Bull., No. 1, 36. 1905. Onithochiton undulatus Nierstrasz, Notes Leyden Mus., xxv., 157. 1905. Onithochiton semisculptus Suter, Journ. Malac., xii., 71 (recognised from Chatham I.). 1910. Onithochiton filholi Ireda'e, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 154. 1913. Onithochiton semisculptus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 48. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 23. 1913. Onithochiton undulatus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll. 49. Atlas, pl. 2, fig. 24; pl. 5, fig. 5. 1915. Onithochiton neglectus Iredale, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., 47, 1914, 423, 426. 1922. Onithochiton neglectus, undulatus, astrolabei Ashby, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., xlvi.. 582 (types examined ?). 1924. Onithochiton neglectus Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 9. The excellent description and figures given by Quoy and Gaimard allowed easy recognition of this striking Loricate, and the invalidity of their chosen name was temporarily ignored. Their account reads:— “Chiton, corpore parvo. subcarinato, margine griseo vel rubente, tomentoso; valvis cordiformibus, postice acutis, levibus, roseis vel rubes- centibus, undulatis transversimque lineolatis. “Cette petite espéce tient, au premier aspect, de l’Oscabrion lamelleux, dans sa variété verdatre, dont les linéoles simulent des stries. Elle est courte, ovalaire, 42 dos élevé, caréné. Les valves intermédiaires sont uni- formes, un peu en coeur, pointues en arriére, la seconde la plus ample de toutes. Elles sont complétement lisses, polies, rosées, ou légérement verdatres et marquées de linéoles transverses, ondulées, de l’une ou IJ’autre couleur, selon celle du fond. On remarque 4a la loupe, sur les aires latérales, des rangées longitudinales de points noirs; ils recouvrent la premiére valve. Quelques individus ont une teinte rosée au milieu, et des taches vertes sur les cOtes. Le manteau, assez large, est rougeatre et rendu tomenteux par une foule de petits poils courts. La premiére valve a neuf dents ciliées; la derniére en manque a sa lame d’insertion. Les autres apophyses ont une échancrure arrondie, et toutes les valves sont marquées, 4 l’interieur, d’un triangle couleur de rose, caractére qui suffirait pour faire distinguer cette espéce remarquable par l’élégance et la disposition de ses couleurs. Le pied est rose pale ou jaunatre; on compte vingt-neuf lamelles branchiales de chaque céte, assez distants du chaperon céphalique. Ils perdent dans la, liqueur leur couleur rosée, mais conservent fort bien la verte. Ils sont 158 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. assez communs a la baie des Iles de la Nouvelle-Zélande. Dimensions: Longueur, 11 lignes. Largueur, 7 lignes. Hauteur, 3 lignes.” No complications whatever ensued until the erratic and irresponsible Rochebrune ran riot among these shells in the Paris Museum. Using a classification of his own which has defied interpretation, he lost, mislaid and transferred labels and specimens, describing the types of former workers under different genera and then renaming his own new species until there is no confidence in any specimens of this class in that Museum. Thiele examined the material and made possible some determinations, and later Iredale critically studied the series, with the result that, while some forms were fairly recognisable, others were seen to be absolutely indeter- minable. Then Dupuis came along and completed Rochebrune’s work, labelling and disarranging and distributing the original material so that the data allotted is now worse than valueless. Ashby then glanced at the collection and gave some notes on the supposed types, but it is obvious that he was simply following Dupuis’ valueless arrangement, and it would be wise to ignore all these reports at the present time. The fact that Dupuis selected unique types (probably unwittingly) for his own collection in- dicates his ignorance of their value. Rochebrune’s attack on the present species reads (using Pilsbry’s translations for convenience of comparison) :— “Onithochiton neglectus. Shell ovate-elliptical, subcarinated; brown with scattered buff or buffish maculae. Anterior valve and posterior part of the posterior valve most minutely granulose. Intermediate valves hav- ing the central areas smooth, lateral areas radially granose. Marginal ligament very wide, brown, satiny. Length, 26 mm.; breadth, 17 mm. Wellington, New Zealand (Quoy and Gaimard). Rare. Paris Museum.” “Onithochiton astrolabei. Shell ovate; rubescent or green, con- spicuously ornamented with concentric brown lines. Valves transversely rather narrowed, smooth. Lateral areas obscurely lirate, longitudinally and laterally lineated, the lines granulose. Marginal ligament wide, brownish, silky. Length, 16 mm.; width, 10 mm. New Zealand (Quoy and Gaimard). Rare. Paris Museum.” “Onithochiton filholi. Shell ovate, wide, subcarinated; intense olivaceous concentrically ornamented with alternating buff and green lines. Anterior valve radially striated; posterior part of posterior valve lightly sulcate. Intermediate valves smooth on the central areas; the lateral areas most minutely radially striated, at the posterior part, strongly and concentrically bi-lirate. Marginal ligament wide, rubescent, silky. Length, 29 mm.; width, 18 mm. Cook Straits (Filhol). Common. Paris Museum.” “Onithochiton decipiens. Shell ovate, wide, subcarinate; olivaceous ornamented with concentric buff lines. Anterior valve radially striated; intermediate valves having the central areas smooth; lateral areas radially most minutely striated, laterally concentrically bi-lirate. Ligament wide, rubescent, silky. Length, 29 mm.; width, 18 mm. Cook Straits (Filhol). Rare. Paris Museum.” It is obvious that the last is merely a repetition of the one preceding, and that the two before are based on the original specimens collected by Quoy and Gaimard. Pilsbry relegated all these to an Appendix of insufficiently described species, and then introduced as new:— “Onithochiton semisculptus. Shell oblong, elevated, subangular, dark olive-green, having snowy angular lines and dots on the lateral areas, and IREDALE AND HULL. 159 closer, more regular transverse lines on central areas. Surface shining and smooth on the central areas, closely and finely striated radially on the head valve and lateral areas, the striae crowded and subgranose, about 12 in number, on each lateral area. Interior white. Girdle narrow, brown. Length, 274 mm.; breadth, 16 mm. Divergence about 95°. Habitat un- known. This species resembles the stout, elevated, dark olive forms of O. undulatus, such as occur at Auckland, N.Z., in contour and coloration. It differs markedly from undulatus, and all other known species in the sculp- ture of the lateral areas.” Some years later Suter recognised the Chatham Island form as agree- ing with Pilsbry’s description, and therefore used his name. However, similar shells occur commonly on the mainland, and there is no doubt that this curious variation is not geographic as present material proves. Further, the Rochebrune descriptions particularise the same details as emphasised by Pilsbry. It is possible that the Chatham Island form may be separable as it ts larger and generally shows more distinctly the “semisculptus” features. Dimensions: 46 x 25 mm. (Suter). Dimensions: 35 x 21. : Station: On or under stones between tide marks. 67. ONITHOCHITON SUBANTARCTICUS. (Plate x., fig. 13.) 1907. Onithochiton undulatus Quoy and Gaimard, var. subantarcticus Suter, Trans. New Zeal. Inst., xxxix., 1906, 268. Auckland Islands. Type in Coll. Suter, now in Wanganui Museum, N.Z. 1909. Onithochiton undulatus subantarcticus Suter, Subant Islands, N.Z., i, 4. ; 1910. Onithochiton subantarcticus Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., ix., 153. 1913. Onithochiton undulatus var. subantarcticus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 49, 1915. Onithochiton subantarcticus Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. 1926. Onithochiton subantarcticus Finlay, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 57, 335. Suter only introduced this: “At the Auckland and Campbell Islands there occurs a very constant colour variety, chocolate brown, which cer- tainly deserves a varietal name. Sometimes one or several intermediate valves are transversely banded with white. The girdle is always buff coloured. Type from the Auckland Islands in my collection.” In the Manual he still regarded it as a colour variation, adding: “Cook Strait and New Brighton, but rare.” Iredale pointed out that the additional localities were erroneous and referable to a different unnamed species. Finlay collected this latter and also confused it (Trans. N.Z. Inst., 55, 1924, 521), but later corrected this determination and admitted swbantarcticus as a distinct species. All the specimens examined are dark coloured, smooth on the lateral areas, no pustules being seen at all, elevated, and the teeth are very short. 68. ONITHOCHITON OPINIOSUS, sp.nov. (Plate x., fig. 20.) Under kelp roots, especially in Otago, in addition to Frembleya egregia, and whose characteristic station this is, an Onithochiton commonly oc- curs. It is superficially very different to the common form, as it is very depressed, the valves narrow, and entirely smooth. Ocelli are also very few and scarcely noticeable. The valves are much deeper than those of the common shell, and the insertion-plates are longer, while the sutural 160 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. laminae are strongly developed, and internally there is a great formation of callus, apparently to counteract the attacks of some microscopic living animals. This may be an ecologic variant, but offers such distinct fea- tures that it is here named. 69. ONITHOCHITON MARMORATUS. (Plate x., fig. 11.) 1904. Onithochiton marmoratus Wissel, Zool. Jahrb. Syst., xx., 660, figs. 67-69. New Zealand. Type in Nat. Hist. Mus., Bremen. 1907. Onithochiton nodosus Suter, Proc. Mal. Soe., vii., 297, fig. 4 in text. Foveaux Strait, New Zealand. Type in Coll. Suter, now in Wanganui Museum. 1909. Onithochiton marmoratus Suter, Nachr. Blatt. Deutsch. Malak. Gesell., xli., 75. 1910. Onithochiton marmoratus Thiele, Revision Chitonen, pt. ii. (Zoo- ligica Chun, heft 56), 99, pl. 10, figs. 64-67. 1913. Onithochiton nodosus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 47. Atlas, pl. 5, fig. 4. 1913. Onithochiton marmoratus Suter, Man. N.Z. Moll., 1081. 1915. Onithochiton marmoratus Iredale, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 426. 1924. Onithochiton marmoratus Odhner, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. Nat. Foren. Bd., 77 (N.Z. Moll.), 9. North Is. Suter described an extraordinary little shell as follows: “Shell small, elongately ovate, shining, flesh colour, variegated with white and brown, lateral.areas with nodulous ribs. Anterior valve with about 20 radiating nodulous riblets, crossed by four concentric furrows; about 14 radiate rows of minute silvery eyes. Intermediate valves slightly beaked, with the jugum sharply rounded; central areas minutely punctate, with longitudinal ridges in front of the lateral areas, short near the centre, but extending nearly the whole length on approaching the margins; several trans- verse furrows extend over the central areas and jugum. Lateral areas scarcely raised, with three nodulous ribs, the two posterior ones close together, sutures slightly crenulated; one row of eyes between the first and second rib. Posterior valve with the mucro terminal, minutely punctate, a con- centric marginal row of nodules, interspersed with eyes. Girdle narrow, leathery (dry specimen!), with narrow white stripes below the sutures: colour light pink over the jugum, minutely dotted with white, margined by rows of triangular white spots; central and lateral areas reddish brown, variegated with white on some of the intermediate valves. Anterior valve with 10 irregularly spaced siits, teeth pectinate; intermediate valves with one slit on each side; posterior valve with a low, smooth, and rounded callus. Length, 17 mm.; breadth, 7 mm.; divergence, 70°. Habitat: Foveaux Strait in 18 fathoms (one specimen) .” A couple of years later Suter came across and criticised an essay by Wissel, who wrote a paper full of inexcusable blunders, not even placing the species in their right families. Wissel had described an Onithochiton marmoratus, and Suter recognised in the description only a colour varia- tion of the variable O. undulatus, a conclusion merited by the description. From examination of Wissel’s type, however, Thiele was able to show that Copy of Thiele’s figures of type of O. marmoratus Wissel. IREDALE AND HULL. 161 it was the species described as nodosus by Suter. Thiele gave figures sup- porting this conclusion, and explained that Wissel had not described the sculpture (the only characteristic of the species) amongst other errors. It is unfortunate that such a name should be allowed to take precedence, but Suter acknowledged the identity. 70. ONITHOCHITON OLIVERI. (Plate x., fig. 17.) 1914. Onithochiton oliveri Iredale, Proc. Mal. Soc., xi., 46, pl. ii., fig. 11. Sunday Is., Kermadec Group. Type in Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand. 1915. Onithochiton oliveri Oliver, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 47, 1914, 558. Iredale’s description is here reprinted: “Shell of medium size, rather broadly oval, slightly keeled, girdle densely spiculose. Coloration variable; dark green with lighter marblings being normal; one small shell is dark chocolate, varied with cream and pink, whilst another is bright vermilion with cream markings. The whole shell is absolutely smooth and glossy, a few growth lines only showing, the lateral areas of the median valves being indicated by a slight elevation. On the anterior valve twenty to twenty- five irregular radiating rows of eyes, about ten eyes to a row, can be counted. On the lateral areas one row, often doubled and trebled. can be noted. Inside coloration pinkish white, the anterior valve with two reddish- brown marks on posterior edge; the first median valve with a large red- brown blotch similarly placed, which is more or less extensive on the suc- ceeding valves, but absent from the posterior valve. Anterior valve with projecting plate regularly eight-slit, the teeth beautifully pectinate. Median valves with large sutural laminae, higher near the sinus, which is clearly denticulate. Insertion-plate one-slit and pectinate. Posterior valve with the insertion-plate reduced to a callus, beyond which the tegmentum ex- tends. Girdle covered with long sharp pointed, glassy spikes. Length of type, 24 mm.; breadth, 15 mm. Habitat: Sunday Island, Kermadec Group. Station: Living in crevices of rocks between tide marks. Remarks: This species is closely related to Onithochiton filholi Rochebrune (= un- dulatus, auct.) from which it is at sight separable by the girdle characters. Every specimen found was perfectly smooth, and showed no approach to the ribbing, which caused the ‘semisculptus’ confusion in the case of the Neozelanic species.” 71. ONITHOCHITON DISCREPANS. (Plate x., figs. 3-9.) 1912. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley and Hull, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., XXXVli., 280, pl. xiii., fig. 9a, fig. 1. December 13. Lord Howe Island. Type in Australian Museum, Sydney. The original description is given: “Shell elevated, the dorsal ridge rounded. Colour olive butf, variably flamed with orange, wood-brown and green. The colour of different specimens varies considerably; in some the orange predominates, others are chiefly green. Anterior valve having 8 or 9 radiating ribs, distinctly raised, and concentrically grooved, separating 9 or 10 rows of ocelli; the posterior margin of the valve with smooth thick- ened ridge. Posterior valve smooth, mucro posterior. Median valves moderately beaked, the lateral areas raised, radially grooved by 4 to 6 furrows; rows of ocelli between the anterior rib and the furrows. Central areas with shallow sulci, originating at and denticulating the anterior rib and vanishing towards the margin. Girdle leathery, two-thirds the width of exposed portion of valves, pale yellow, veined with orange brown; 162 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. densely clothed with microscopic down. Interior pearly white; sinus broad, deep, denticulate. Anterior valve having 8 and median valves 1-1 slits. Length, 19 mm.; breadth, 12 mm. Station: In interstices of waterworn fragments of coral rock, or attached to the rocky sides of pools in the reef at low tide. Habitat: Lord Howe Island. Remarks: Compared with the Australian O. quercinus, the new species is apparently far smaller. In the median valves of O. discrepans the eye rows part radial from transverse ridges, whereas uninterrupted transverse ridges prevail in O. quercinus. The anterior valve of the Australian form is concentrically furrowed, but in the Lord Howe Island species radial ridges are dominant.” It may be recorded that in this case the Lord Howe Island shell is quite unlike the Kermadec one, which is closely related to the New Zealand common species, but is more like the Australian subtropical series. The relationships of the species of Onithochiton would form an interesting study. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII. Fig. 1. Plaxiphora aurata Spalowsky, whole shell. 2. Plaxiphora aurata Spalowsky, exterior of anterior valve. 3. Plaxiphora aurata Spalowsky, exterior of median valve. 4. Plaxiphora aurata Spalowsky, exterior of posterior valve. » 5, Plaxiphora aurata Spalowsky, interior of posterior valve. 6. Maorichiton caelatus Reeve, whole shell. 7. Maorichiton lyallensis Mestayer = juvenile caelatus Reeve. 8. Maorichiton schauinslandi Thiele, whole shell. ,» 9. Maorichiton mixtus Iredale, whole shell. » 10. Maorichiton mizxtus Iredale, exterior of median valve. » 11. Maorichiton mizxtus Iredale, exterior of posterior valve. » 12. Maorichiton mizxtus Iredale, interior of posterior valve. , 13. Vaferichiton murdochi Suter, whole shell. , 14. Vaferichiton murdochi Suter, girdle scales. , 15. Diaphoroplax biramosa Quoy & Gaimard, whole shell. ,» 16. Diaphoroplax biramosa Quoy & Gaimard, exterior of anterior valve. , 17. GQGuildingia obtecta Pilsbry, whole shell. , 18. Guildingia obtecta Pilsbry, exterior of anterior valve. , 19. Guildingia obtecta Pilsbry, interior of anterior valve. ,» 20. Guildingia obtecta Pilsbry, exterior of posterior valve. , 21. Guildingia obtecta Pilsbry, interior of posterior valve. , 22. Guildingia obtecta Pilsbry, exterior of median valve. , 23. Guildingia obtecta Pilsbry, interior of median valve. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIII. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, whole shell. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, exterior of posterior valve. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, interior of posterior valve. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, exterior of median valve. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, interior of median valve. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, exterior of anterior valve. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, interior of anterior valve. Frembleya egregia H. and A. Adams, side view of posterior valve. Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull, whole shell. Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull, exterior of posterior valve. Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull, exterior of anterior valve. ; = i SOON anpRwNE _ i ” IREDALE AND HULL. 163 Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull, interior of posterior valve. Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull,, interior of anterior valve. Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull, exterior of median valve. Hemiarthrum hamiltonorum Iredale & Hull, interior of median valve. Rhyssoplar aerea Reeve (juv. = type of oliveri Mestayer). Tegulaplaxr howensis Hedley & Hull, whole shell. Tegulaplax howensis Hedley & Hull, exterior of anterior valve. Tegulaplax howensis Hedley & Hull, exterior of posterior valve. Tegulaplax howensis Hedley & Hull, interior of posterior valve. Tegulaplar howensis Hedley & Hull, interior of anterior valve. Tegulaplax howensis Hedley & Hull, interior of median valve. Tegulaplax howensis Hedley & Hull, exterior of median valve. Tegulaplar howensis Hedley & Hull, girdle scales. Rhyssoplax aerea Reeve, whole shell. Rhyssoplax aerea Reeve, sculpture of median valve (Auckland Islands). Rhyssoplar aerea Reeve, sculpture of median valve (Tauranga). Rhyssoplax suteri Iredale, whole shell. Rhyssoplax suteri Iredale, sculpture of median valve. EXPLANATION OF PLATE IX. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, whole shell. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, exterior of anterior valve. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, interior of anterior valve. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, exterior of posterior valve. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, interior of posterior valve. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, exterior of median valve. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, interior of median valve. Rhyssoplaxr huttoni Suter, whole shell. Rhyssoplar huttoni Suter, exterior of half of median valve. Rhyssoplaxr stangeri Reeve, whole shell. Rhyssoplax stangeri Reeve, exterior of half of median valve. Rhyssoplar canaliculata Quoy & Gaimard, whole shell. Rhyssoplax canaliculata Quoy & Gaimard, exterior of half of median valve. Rhyssoplax exasperata Iredale, whole shell. Rhyssoplar whitleyi Iredale & Hull, whole shell. Rhyssoplar whitleyi Iredale & Hull, exterior of half of median valve. Rhyssoplax coryphea Hedley & Hull, whole shell. Rhyssoplax coryphea Hedley & Hull, exterior of anterior valve. Rhyssoplax coryphea Hedley & Hull, exterior of median valve. Rhyssoplax coryphea Hedley & Hull, posterior valve. Sypharochiton pelliserpentis Quoy & Gaimard, whole shell. EXPLANATION OF PLATE X. Sypharochiton sinclairi Reeve, whole shell. Sypharochiton sinclairi Reeve, girdle scales. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, exterior of posterior valve. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, exterior of anterior valve. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, interior of posterior valve. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, exterior of median valve. 164 THE LORICATES OF THE NEOZELANIC REGION. Fig. 7. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, interior of median valve. , 8. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, interior of anterior valve. , 9. Onithochiton discrepans Hedley & Hull, whole shell. , 10. Amaurochiton glaucus Gray, girdle scales. , 11. Onithochiton marmoratus Wissel, whole shell. , 12. Sypharochiton torri Suter, whole shell. , 13. Onithochiton subantarcticus Suter, whole shell. , 14. Sypharochiton funereus Hedley & Hull, whole shell. , 15. Sypharochiton funereus Hedley & Hull, half of median valve. , 16. Sypharochiton themeropis Iredale, whole shell. ; , 17. Onithochiton oliveri Iredale, whole shell. , 18. Onithochiton neglectus Rochebrune, whole shell. , 19. Onithochiton neglectus Rochebrune, half of median valve. , 20. Onithochiton opiniosus Iredale & Hull, median valve. BIRDLAND FILMS. Members who attended the January meeting of the Ornithological Section enjoyed one of the most successful exhibitions of “birdland” films ever placed before them. Mr. Norman Chaffer, who has for several years past been engaged in studying and taking “still” photographs of the Bower- Birds in National Park, has now turned his attention to cinematography, with most gratifying results. Opening with a charming film of the Rufous Fantail feeding a young Square-tailed Cuckoo, he showed a delightful reel in which the foster parents displayed their wonderful activity and the fascinating play of their fanshaped tails, while they fed the clamorous Cuckoo with insects. This was followed by a remarkable film showing the Brown Warbler building its pensile nest, and weaving the webs and bark into the overhanging portico above the entrance. The gem of the evening, however, depicted the Satin Bower-Bird constructing his bower by press- ing the sticks into the ground and bending them over at the desired angle: painting them with a brush of stringy bark saturated with pigmented mud; and placing bright objects as ornaments at each entrance to the bower. The day on which the film was taken was rather windy, and the play of light and shade, as the shadows of the gum boughs passed over the bower, produced a remarkably natural effect. As the bright sunlight fell on the glossy plumage of the bird it showed almost a brilliant white in the pic- ture. The whole entertainment was vastly appreciated, and when Mr. — Kinghorn displayed a British film depicting the life of the Kestrel, the opinion was unanimously expressed that the local amateur production was equal if not superior to the best of the British professional nature films. It may be appropriate here to recount an incident in Mr. Chaffer’s ex- perience in bird photography. A Melbourne publisher (with a German appellation) of bird “studies” wrote to the section asking for a photograph of the Bower-Bird in its bower for inclusion in a sketch to be published by the writer. Mr. Chafier very kindly supplied one of his best photographs, but it was returned with the following comments: “I was very disappointed about this photo—a bower-bird, stuffed, also an occasional one, in a bower, perhaps an occasional one, too? That kind of photos. I don’t want... . I hope that you will understand that I don’t like to poke fun at anybody with stuffed birds; for such kind of people my articles are not written.” Possibly the brilliant blue eye of the Bower-Bird, which appears white in a photograph, deceived the casual writer of the letter, but ignorance does not excuse impertinence, although they are often found in con- junction. THE AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIST, Vol. vii. PLATE Iv. AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS, Joyce K. Allan, del. THE AUSTRALIAN ZooLocist, Vol. vii. AUSTRALIAN NUDIBRANCHS. Joyce K. Allan, del. THE AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIST, Vol. Vii. PLATE VI- LEADBEATER’S OPOSSUM. Gymmnobelideus leadbeateri. THE AUSTRALIAN Zoo.ocist, Vol. vii. PLATE VII. a NEOZELANIC LORICATES. Joyce K. Allan, del. THE AUSTRALIAN ZooLoGist, Vol. vii. PLATE VIL. NEOZELANIC LORICATES. Joyce K. Allan and Phyllis Clarke, del. THE AUSTRALIAN ZooLocist, Vol. vii. PLATE IX. LAA ra } ( | iat ee ' Hy, 2: ats NEOZELANIC LORICATES. Joyce K. Allan and Phyllis Clarke, del. THE AUSTRALIAN ZooLoctstT, Vol. vii. PLATE X. NEOZELANIC LORICATES. Joyce K. Allan and Phyllis Clarke, del. vet es 7 AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIST Issued by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Edited by A. F. BASSET HULL, 0.F.A.0.U., P.B.Z.S, Vol. 7—Part 3 Sydney, September 15, 1932. (Price, 5/-) All communications to be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Box 2399, General Post Office, Sydney. Sydnoy: Sydney and Melbourne Publishing Oo., Ltd., 29 Alberta St. Registered at the G.P.O., Sydney, for transmission by post as a periodical. ene eae —————E——e Hon. Secretary: E. W. Jones. Committee: G. A. Duncan, H. E. Peir, C. Chairman: Neville W. Cayley. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. Established 1879. REGISTERED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 1899 (1917). Patron: His Excellency Sir Philip Woolcott Game, G.B.E., K.C.B., D.S.O. COUNCIL, 1932-1933. President: Neville W. Cayley, F.R.Z.S. Vice-Presidents: Professor W. J. Dakin, D.Sc., F.R.Z.S., Tom Iredale, F.R.Z.S., T. C. Roughley, F.R.Z.S., and Ellis Le G. Troughton. Members: E. J. Bryce, F.R.G.S. J. R. Kinghorn, C.M.Z.S. _ A. H. Chisholm, C.F.A.0.U: Anthony Musgrave, F.E.S. W. W. Froggatt, F.R.Z.S. E. F. Pollock, J.P., F.R.G:S. Aubrey Halloran, B.A., LL.B. G. A. Waterhouse, D.Sc., B.E., F.E.S. K. A. Hindwood. FR.ZS. Officers: Hon. Secretary and Editor: A. F. Basset Hull, C.F.A.0.U., F.R.Z.S. Assistant Hon. Secretary: Clifford Coles, C.M.Z.S. Hon. Treasurer: Phillip Shipway. Hon. Librarian: A. 8. Le Souef, C.M.Z.8S. Hon. Auditor: R. J. Stiffe, A.C.A. (Aust.) OFFICERS OF SECTIONS: Avicultural Section. Marine Zoological Section. Chairman: Frank Buckle. Chairman: G. P. Whitley. Vice-Chairman: Clifford Coles. Vice-Chairman: F. A. McNeill. Ornithological Section. Chairman: K, A. Hindwood. . Vice-Chairman: Mrs. R. C. Tobin. Buageragar Chr: Hon. Secretary: Clifford Coles. V. Thomson, and W. Turner. Mackie. Committee: C. Camp, A. E. Clarke, E. Hull. Hargreaves, W. S. Hollingsworth, P. Hon. Secretary Field Club: Miss E. Tancred, and H. W. Taylor. Butters. Hon. Secretary: Miss G. Charter Smith. d ; Committee: Norman Chaffer, A. H. Hon. Secretaries: E. W. Jones and J. Chisholm, P. A. Gilbert, T. Iredale, J. R. Kinghorn, and A. F. Basset Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales THE ANNUAL MEETING, 1931-32. The fifty-third annual meeting of the Society was held at Science House, Sydney, on Friday, 29th July, 1932, at 8 pm. His Excellency the Governor (Sir Philip Game), Patron of the Society, the Hon. Frank Chaffey, Chief Secretary, and 112 members and visitors were present. The Honorary Secretary (Mr. Basset Hull) read the Firty-SEconD ANNUAL REPORT. Members. On 30th June, 1932, there were 498 members on the register, divided into the various categories, as follows: Associate benefactors 4, life mem- bers 25, ordinary members 279, honorary members 6, honorary associates 6, life associates 24, associates 155. Five members died during the year, 34 resigned, and the names of 15 were removed from the register under Article 9. 45 new members and associates were elected, leaving a net reduction of 9, as compared with 1930-31. The depression may again be assigned as the cause of the reduction, and it may also be stated here that the sub- scriptions of 55 members and associates are in arrears, and it will prob- ably be necessary to remove most of them from the register during the current year. The Council. The vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. David G. Stead at the end of the previous financial year was filled by the election of Mr. Tom Iredale. Ten meetings of the Council were held during the year, the aver- age attendance at which was 14.6 members. Sections. The interest in the work of the sections is increasing to such an ex- tent that the Society’s room is frequently filled to overflowing, so much so, indeed, that it is proposed to make arrangements for meetings in a larger room in future. The sectional reports, which will appear in The Australian Zoologist, set out in detail the work accomplished during the year. Finances. Owing to the continued depression, the Society’s funds have not in- creased at the rate shown in previous years. The usual donation of the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust has been suspended for the present, and the considerable arrears in membership subscriptions have had a marked effect on the receipts. However, the balance sheet shows a satisfactory accumu- lation of assets. Publications. Two parts of The Australian Zoologist were issued, the papers presented being of standard merit and interest. Mr. Anthony Musgrave has completed the manuscript of a Biography of Australian Entomological Literature, and the Council decided to under- take its publication. Application was made to certain scientific institu- 166 ANNUAL MEETING. tions in Australia for contributions to the cost of the work. Several pro- mises have been made in response, and the Trustees of the Australian Museum have contributed £25. With a view to meeting the cost of print- ing this work, £200 (face value) of consolidated stock was converted into cash, and is now available for the purpose. It was felt that the work is too technical to be a charge on the Handbook Publication Fund, and it will therefore be paid for partly by drawing upon the general account, and partly by donations from other institutions or Societies. Fellows. The title of “Fellow” was conferred by the Council on four members in recognition of their distinguished services to Australian Zoology; they were as follows: Harry Burrell, C.M.Z.S., whose researches and studies of the life-history and habits of the Platypus are of outstanding interest and value. Neville W. Cayley, M.B.O.U., the artist and author of What Bird is That, a guide to the Birds of Australia and one of the most comprehensive hand- books ever issued in respect of the avifauna of any country. William John Dakin, D.Sc., Professor of Zoology, University of Sydney, whose contributions to the Knowledge of marine forms, and particularly the plankton, have received world-wide acceptance. Gustavus Athol Waterhouse, D.Sc., whose monumental volume (in con- junction with George Lyell) on Australian Butterflies is the standard work on the subject. By resolution, the Council has decided that the number of Fellows to be elected shall not exceed four in any one year. Fauna Protection. Earnest consideration has been given to the various phases of fauna protection which arise from time to time, such as the desirability for limitation of open seasons for certain furred animals, the total protection of rarer forms, and the restriction of permits for the collection of protected species. In the face of representations made by interested parties that certain animals are a menace or a pest, or that the unemployed will benefit from their slaughter, it is becoming increasingly difficult to check the un- regulated and indiscriminate killing of females bearing young in their pouches. Wianamatta Shale Country. In the Counties of Cumberland and Camden, within easy reach of the metropolis, there are some areas of land upon which the vegetation peculiar to the Wianamatta shale still flourishes. The Society is making inquiries as to the possibility of preserving some of these areas in their natural state, as there is a fauna which frequents this vegetation almost exclusively, and which would disappear if its food supply were destroyed by clearing. The Department of Lands is rendering the Society valuable aid in the work of locating suitable areas for reservation. Taronga Park. The Trustees have kindly conceded a reversion to the former practice of recognising the “extra” tickets issued to members without limitation as to their period of validity. This is granted experimentally for one year, and members may therefore use any 1931-32 tickets left over during the whole of the 1932-33 year. ANNUAL MEETING. 167 In the absence of Mr. Phillip Shipway, Honorary Treasurer, the Honorary Secretary presented the balance sheet. The Governor Moves Adoption of Report. His Excellency the Governor moved the adoption of the annual report and balance sheet. He said he was still acutely conscious of his ignorance of matters zoological, and admitted having looked up “Zoology” in the Encyclopaedia. Here he found that his old friend Aristotle was mentioned as one of the earliest zoologists. There was no mention of Noah, although it was obvious that the preservation of so many different species of animals from the flood argued at least an elementary knowledge of the subject. He referred to the handicap imposed on the general reader by the use of technical scientific terms, and suggested that scientists might put their knowledge into simpler language. A great deal had been done by books on popular science, but much remained to be done. He thanked those who had taken to heart his remarks at the previous annual meeting, and had given instructive zoological talks to the Boy Scouts. In this connection he especially mentioned the work of Mr. Clifford Coles. In conclusion, he congratulated the Society on its fifty-three years of honourable and honorary work. Colonel Alfred Spain, chairman of Taronga Park Trust, seconded the motion, and extended his congratulations to the Society, especially for hav- ing kept its finances in such a satisfactory position in a period of de- pression. Presidential Address. The President (Mr. E. L. Troughton), then delivered his address on “Australian Furred Animals: Their Past, Present, and Future.” The Hon. Frank Chaffey, Chief Secretary, moved a vote of thanks to the President for his address, and referred to the necessity for maintain- ing a balance between the demands of the fauna protectionists, and the man on the land, who had to make his bread and butter out of his holding and could not be expected to regard predatory marsupials as objects of in- terest to be treated kindly. However, so long as he held office he would see that no general open seasons were proclaimed, and that the destruction of animals would be kept within bounds. He regretted the gradual dis- appearance of the Native Bear, and other bush friends, and congratulated the Society on the splendid service it was rendering the community. Death of Miss Hume-Barbour. On the day our annual meeting was held, Miss Emily Hume-Barbour, our first Associate Benefactor, passed away. It was at the Jubilee of the Society function in March, 1929, that Miss Hume-Barbour suggested the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary in connection with the Handbook Pub- lication Fund. She subsequently organised the auxiliary, and was its first president, a position she subsequently vacated in favour of Mrs. Norman Lowe. Her donation of one hundred guineas to the Handbook Fund was recognised by the Council conferring upon her the title of Associate Bene- factor. Her interest in literary and scientific societies was evidenced by generous donations to their funds. Dn cnn ere Bs te te OCT 19 19939 ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. BALANCE SHEET AS AT 20th JUNE, 1932. LIABILITIES. 5 8 Gl Lissa: General Account— Capital:— Balance at 30th apmvary ais 4, 8 ilathl by (0) Add Investment 1050’ 0 Adjustment to face value on conversion of Inscribed Stock 815 0 1,410 0 0 Less Transfer to General In- come Account, £200: Hand Book Capital Account, £200 400 0 0 1010 0 O Ibo(oyesls) 55 Go oc 270 7 10 ————_ 1.280) °7 10 Hand Book Account— Capital: — Balance at 30th June, 1931 . 199°" 7 6 Add Adjustment to face value on conversion of Inscribed Stock 12 6 800 0 0 Transfer from General Capi- tal Account . 200 0 0 1000 0 O InGome ac creme SE} ils} al aL{tle}s) als al £2,376 0 11 Govt. Savings Bank of N.S.W. Cash on Hand .. ,» Hand Book Sales » Surplus on Bond Conversion , Interest on In- vestments .. .. 5 Se Cl Balance at 30th June, 1931— 47 9 5 1319 4 ASSETS. Australian Con- solidated In- scribed Stock . Office Furniture and Equipment (at Valuation) Library (at Valuation) £ 410 100 500 Sa) Gd: General Capital Account— 0 0 0 General Income Account— C’th Bank C’th Savs. Bank Balance as per Pass Book, £231/2/5: Less Outstanding Cheque, £2/12/- Cash on Hand .. Cheques held to be re-presented 15 9 228 10 5 16 18 11 Yo 1,010 0 0 270 7 10 Hand Book Fund Capital Account— Australian Con- solidated In- scribed Stock . Australian Con- solidated Trea- sury Bonds Including :— Albert Littlejohn Endowment Hume - Barbour Endowment .. Walter & E. Hall Endowment C’th Savs. Bank Cash on Hand .. 250 750 100 106 160 0 0 0 0 0 9419 6 13 7 1,000 0 0 | Hand Book Fund Income Account— 95 13 1 £2,376 0) il Se £95 13 Twelve Months ended 30th June, 1932. d. DISBURSEMENTS. oy SE Il, By Balance at 30th June, 1932— » Commonwealth Savings Bank Cash on Hand .. 9419 6 13 7 £ ss agy 95 13 1 £95 13 1 GENERAL INCOME ACCOUNT. Twelve Months ended 30th June, 1932. RECEIPTS. “5 Sh, GE = Ss: To Balance at 30th June, 1931— Government Sav- ings Bank Less Overdraft Commonwealth Bank .. Subscriptions — Annual Subscriptions — Life Sales “Australian Zoologist” .. .. Rent of Office .. Interest on In- vestments Bank Exchange and Postage .. Surplus on Bond Conversions Sale of Bonds (f.v., £200) Sundries} <. 2. Donations: Australian Museum —towards cost of publishing Anthony Mus- grave’s Biblio- graphy of Aus- tralian Entomo- logical Litera- ture .. Harry Burrell e 43 8 11 SHES (Nie a 12 8 10 322 7 0 11 5 0 333 12 7 16 25 5 45 13 15 21 18 189 0 11 25 0 0 Oeom0 30 5 0 £667 6 5 DISBURSEMENTS. By Publication “Australian Zoologist” (Vol. 7, Parts 1 and 2)— Printings) Blocks Postage Delivery and Office Rent .. .. Office Printing and Stationery Exchange and Bank Fees Repairs to Epi- diascope .. .. Expenses Meet- ings, Annual, OUCeiee rious ck oe Gas and Elec- trICiby eyes Library Books .. Book Cases .. .. Telephone Charges “6 Post Office Box MCE ve Sore Weve ee Insurance Pre- MLUIMSie ee Postages and Freights a5 Stamp Dut Lease) .: 3. =: Advertising .. .. Sundries . 2 ,, Investment—Con- solidated In- scribed Stock . 23 Bb. Gh £ Balance at 30th June, 1932— C’th Bank .. Commonwealth Savings Bank . Cash on Hand . Cheques to be re- presented .. 148 19 3 45 5 2 712 5 201 100 14 1 7 6 15 13 1 2 15 1 2 1 10 il) &) 228 10 5 16 18 11 ) 8 @ ——— _ 270 £667 s. d. o fF OO oO ooo 7 10 6 5 I have examined the books and vouchers of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for the twelve months ended 30th June, 1932, and certify that the above Balance Sheet and accompanying Statements are properly drawn up so as to ex- hibit a true and correct view of the state of the Society’s affairs as at 30th June, 1932, and the transactions for the year ended that date respectively, as disclosed by the books of the Society and information supplied. Sydney, 20th July, 1932. ROBT. J. STIFFEH, F.C.A. (Aust.), Hon. Auditor. PHILLIP SHIPWAY, Hon. Treasurer. 170 REPORTS OF SECTIONS. Marine Zoological Section. (Read 7th June, 1932.) To-night marks the close of the Marine Section’s sixth year. It has been a year of activity and steady progress in the interests of marine science in this State. Despite the depressing times, members have maintained steady in- terest in the work of the Section. The attendance at meetings has been much more consistent and satisfactory than during last year. By far the most important work of the members has been centred in the elaboration and completion of the proposed marine handbook of our local shore. A meeting of a committee from the Council and represen- tatives from our Section has recently taken place to discuss the final stages of the work and co-ordination of the MSS. and illustrations. It is con- fidently hoped that the volume will be in the printer’s hands very shortly. During the year two successful field excursions were organised—one to the Bottle and Glass Rocks, and the other to Pussy Cat Bay, near La Perouse. The need for excursions such as these has been long felt by members, and it is anticipated that the activities of the coming year will include further outings of this kind. As previously, lantern lectures have been an important feature of the monthly meetings. The syllabus for the year just closed embraces a series of lectures, which have maintained the standard and provided the mem- bers at once with instruction and entertainment. A list of the lectures given is appended. 3rd August.—“Crab-hunting on the North Coast,” by Mr. J. R. Kinghorn. 7th September.—‘Shells,” by Mr. Tom Iredale. 6th October—‘“Aquarium Observations,” by Mr. A. S. Le Souef. “Animal Associations,” by Mr. W. Boardman. 2nd November.—‘‘Sea Slugs (Nudibranchia) ,” by Miss Joyce K. Allan. 7th December.—‘Rarotonga,” by Mr. G. P. Whitley. lst February.—‘“Lord Howe Island,” by Mr. A. Musgrave. 7th March.—‘Nor-west Islet, Capricorn Group,” by Messrs. A. Musgrave and F. A. McNeill. 2nd May.—‘“Sea Snakes,” by Mr. J. R. Kinghorn. G. P. WHITLEY, Chairman. W. Boarpman, Secretary. Ornithological Section. During the session ended, the attendances have been maintained and there has been no lack of interest in the proceedings. Before dealing with the routine events of the season, two outstanding items must be emphasised as indicative of the energy and quality of our members. Mr. Neville Cayley, our enthusiastic secretary, has published a bird book, entitled, “What Bird Is That?” This book is almost unique, in that it was planned and carried out entirely by the artist-author, who prepared the plates from his own designs and saw the whole through the press. It achieved a phenomenal sale, proving that it filled a want, and has been favourably reviewed by ornithologists all over the world. The parent Society has enrolled Mr. Cayley among its list of Fellows, making the third from this Section to achieve that high honour, the total number of Fellows being only ten. We congratulate Mr. Cayley, and the Section must be proud of his success. REPORTS OF SECTIONS. 171 Mr. Alec H. Chisholm followed his previous successes with another book, entitled, “Nature Fantasy in Australia,’ but mainly dealing with the flora, fauna, and geology of Sydney-side. This book, written in his delightful literary style, has received acclamation everywhere, and our familiar friend has been compared with those great classical writers of bird literature, W. H. Hudson, Burroughs, and Gilbert White. Our congratulations are again well merited, and further gems are anticipated. Again, before passing on, we may note the progress of the Avicultural Section, a companion to our own, and whose inception was mainly due to the initiative of our Secretary, Mr. Cayley. We may anticipate that Mr. Cayley has in the press a book dealing with Australian finches, both in the wilds and in the aviary. As contributors to The Emu, Australian Museum Magazine, etc., Messrs. Hind- wood, Marshall and others have continued with healthy essays, the former with his historical account of the Emu Wren, furnishing an essay compar- ing more than favourably with any published in any part of the world. Mr. Marshall, one of the youngest of our senior members, has been exploring the wilds of mid-Queensland searching for lost birds and accumulating knowledge which will later prove very valuable to him and to this Society. Our photographers have been by no means idle, Mr. Norman Chaffer taking up cinema photography, and advised by one of our veteran photo- graphers, Mr. J. S. P. Ramsay, producing pictorial results equal to the world’s best. We had the pleasure of the attendance of members of the American Harvard Expedition, and were able to provide a good evening, so that we were complimented upon our activity. As a matter of fact, we can look back upon the season’s work with great satisfaction, and look forward to improving upon a great record. The meetings may be epitomised thus:— July 17th, 1931—Mr. P. A. Gilbert, “Birds of Eastern N.S.W.”; their migratory movements and nesting habits, illustrated with his own lantern slides. August 21st—-The American scientists, Dr. Glover M. Allen, Dr. Philip J. Darlington and Mr. Ralph Ellis, junior, were welcomed, and paintings were exhibited by Mr. E. Gostelow and Mr. N. W. Cayley; lantern slides were shown and lecturettes were given by Messrs. P. A. Gilbert, K. A. Hindwood, J. R. Kinghorn, and A. J. Marshall, dealing with the fauna they might meet with. September 18th—Mr. N. W. Cayley, “Owls,” illustrated with his paintings of all the Australian species. A discussion on owl-calls ensued and some vivid imitations, notably one of the Powerful Owl, by Mr. K. A. Hindwood were rendered. The untimely death of Mr. B. C. J. Betting- ton was regretfully recorded. October 16th—Mr. M. S. R. Sharland, “Birds of Tasmania and Victoria,” with unexcelled lantern slides. Welcome back to Mr. E. J. Bryce from ° his world tour. November 20th.—Mr. E. J. Bryce, “Through Persia and the Caucasus,” illus- trated with lantern slides, a delightful account. December 18th.—Mr. A. J. Marshall, “Denizens of the Bush,” illustrated with lantern slides. January 15th, 1932—Mr. Norman Chaffer exhibited motion pictures of Rufous Fantail, Satin Bower Bird and Brown Warbler. Mr. J. R. Kinghorn showed an English motion picture of the life of the Kestrel for com- parison. 172 REPORTS OF SECTIONS. February 19th—Mr. J. S. P. Ramsay showed his excellent series of motion pictures of many sp€cies, and Mr. N. Chaffer continued with an ex- cellent motion study of the female Regent Bower Bird at nest and young. This meeting acclaimed the exhibitors for their brilliant suc- cesses in this difficult branch of photography. March 18th—Mr. P. E. B. Barnett showed us the spiders of the district by means of beautiful lantern slides. April 15th—Mr. E. J. Bryce, ‘“‘The Land of the Incas,” an excellent account with beautiful pictures. May 20th—NMr. N. W. Cayley, “Bird Talk,” with a very fine series of lantern slides from photographs taken by Messrs. R. T. Littlejohns, the Hervey Brothers, Otho Webb, F. C. Morse, and D. Gaukrodger. Master Frank Clark gave delightful imitations of the calls of well-known birds. Owing to his intensive work on his book, Mr. N. W. Cayley was given leave of absence from his secretarial duties for six months, and these were carried out by Mr. C. Coles, to whom our thanks are here tendered. Tom IREDALE, Chairman. Avicultural Section. I have much pleasure in submitting a resume of the activities of the Avicultural Section for the past 12 months. During the year the regular monthly meetings were well attended, and it was gratifying to see many new faces at our meetings. The average at- tendance was 20, and your executive urges you to make the existence of this Society known to your bird-loving friends, invite them to one of our meetings and see if we cannot double the membership during the coming year. The matter of procuring birds for our members was fully discussed, and it was thought that it would be possible to obtain a quantity of birds through the Society for distribution amongst members on a pool system on the understanding that the birds are not to be offered for sale, and that the requirements of each member were not to exceed three pairs of any one variety. Recognising the increasing popularity of the Budgerigar as a cage bird, a suggestion was made to the Royal Agricultural Society to include classes for the newer coloured varieties in their show schedule for the Easter Show in order that the public be given an opportunity of seeing these beautiful birds. The suggestion was accepted, six classes were provided and ac- counted for the exhibition of 48 birds, which were greatly admired by all. The Hon. Chief Secretary was requested to allow members of this Society to obtain a limited number of wild green Budgerigars to infuse strength and stamina into the stock held by members who are endeavour- ing to produce new colour phases of Budgerigars, and he replied, stating that if the Society applied for a license to obtain birds for this purpose it would receive favourable consideration. In closing the year, your executive wishes to place on record its sincere thanks to the following gentlemen, who, on several occasions, brightened the meetings by very interesting and educational lectures, which were at all times appreciated—Messrs. J. Ward, J. R. Kinghorn, E. Le G. Troughton, Neville Cayley, C. Coles, A. J. Marshall, and N. Chaffer. I believe that the Avicultural Section will grow by leaps and bounds, and that the membership will have more than doubled itself by the next annual meeting. E. W. JoneEs, Hon. Secretary. 173 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS, THEIR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS, BY ELLIS LE G. TroucHToN, Mammalogist, the Australian Museum. Although it is just over three centuries since the Dutch navigator Pelsart provided.the first authentic description of an Australian marsupial, this is probably the first occasion upon which a mammalogist, one devoted to the study of furred animals alone, has occupied the Presidential Chair of an Australian society. It is fitting therefore that my address should deal with the fascinating subject of mammalogy, the only diffidence being not that the subject should prove unattractive, but that one might fail to do justice to its manifold interests. The romantic history of the discovery, settlement, and exploration of our continent has been associated page by page with the discovery of unique kinds of mammals which proved a source of wonderment, controversy, and inspiration to Cuvier, Owen, Huxley, and such giants of the scientific world. The basic reason of this absorbing interest is the fact that geological isolation since prehistoric times con- stituted Australia both a cradle and preserve of marsupial life, which it is a national duty to uphold as a sanctuary for all time. Alas, the task is as difficult as it is worthy, for by an irony of natural law, past security, which permitted the slow and varied development of marsupials, now leaves them unable to cope with changed conditions and naked to their introduced enemies. The evolution of our furred fauna may be divided into three very un- equal periods—that prior to man’s advent, the early aboriginal, and the white occupation. The aim of this address is briefly to review the fascinating scope of mammalian research, point out the drastic changes wrought during the brief period of occupation by the cultured whites— which is as a clock beat in antiquity—and to ask the vital question, what are we doing towards adequate conservation and study of this heritage from the ages. A natural, if possibly somewhat superfluous preliminary, is to define what a mammal really is. In the choice of lecture titles one is struck with the thought that terms such as mammal, or mammalogy, appear technical and unattractive when applied to so delightful a study, yet they are essential fo separate the furred from the feathered and lowlier vertebrates. For example, we have Birds and Animal Protection Acts, but the term animal includes birds and all zoological life, from jelly-like organisms oozing an almost senseless way through slimy haunts, to man himself. The term mammal serves to dis- tinguish furred animals from the animal kingdom as a whole, and is de- rived from the mammae or milk-glands associated with the suckling of the young, a universal characteristic of all furred animals, or those once cov- ered with hair, such as whales and elephants. It is this habit, apart from the furry covering, which strikingly emphasises the distinction between the egg-laying platypus and the egg-laying reptilia from which the primeval origin of all mammals is traceable. Breathing the atmospheric air as we humans do, at no stage of life do mammals develop functional gills, which is significant when one considers that whales and dolphins, once regarded as fishes, are actually descended from land mammals of the geological long ago, which are adapted for a seafaring existence. Most of you are familiar with the old woodcuts depicting a whale spouting like a garden hose in mid- summer, but the “spout” of whales is really the condensation of heated air, like one’s breath on a frosty morning. 174 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. The warm-blooded character of mammals may be emphasised also by comparison with whales, the young of which show traces of the hairy cover- ing which nature replaces with a thick eiderdown of blubber to act as a non-conductor of heat and cold, thus retaining the body-warmth, a pro- vision quite unnecessary for the cold-blooded fishes. It is not necessary to stress the matter, beyond the illustration of mammalian characteristics, and, anyway, London “Punch” said the last word on the distinction between whale and fish in a pithy little rhyme: — And this is what punctures the bubble, As Jonah, no doubt, was aware, “A fish” was the cause of the trouble, But a whale is a mammal, so there. While the basic skeletal structure and anatomical features are common to all mammals, an amazing variety of forms has evolved in the course of adaptation to specialised habits and environment. Nature, like a musician, has taken a single elementary theme and woven endless variations, yet preserving an unmistakable unity or motif throughout all the changes. Thus are grouped in the Class Mammalia—the egg-laying platypus and spiny ant-eaters, the marsupials of Australia and America, rodents such as the tiny mice and house-building beavers, the whales, some of which attain a length of a hundred feet and live on tiny crustaceans sieved from the sea by the whalebone-fringes, hoofed grass-eaters represented by such oddities as giraffes, elephants, and the homely Hippo—and their domes- ticated cousins, sheep, cattle, and horses; then there are the flesh-eaters such as cats and bears, the fish-eating seals, and, lastly, bats, monkeys, apes, and man. Of some fourteen orders of living mammals, of which the majority are listed above, but four—the egg-laying monotremes, marsupials, mice and rats, and bats inhabited this continent prior to man; the mammals now present may therefore be divided into the kinds which existed long before white men arrived to harry them with poison, gun, and trap, and those transported by man’s agency. Everyone becomes so used to thinking of Australia as the land of marsupials, that they are apt to overlook the fact that there are scores of non-marsupial species indigenous to our continent. Man brought with him the two plague-carrying rats, and the house-mouse, but Australia already possessed over fifty species of mice and rats, most of which are living to-day. Some of these rodents are quaintly shaped, with large ears, long kangaroo-like feet and brushy-tails, while others have thick- ened tails associated with the storage of fat against lean seasons. One species has the peculiar habit of building a strong stick-nest several feet high, interwoven with the trunk and limbs of small trees, as a protection from its enemies. There are also over fifty species of bats, of which the fruit- bats, or “flying-foxes” as they are inappropriately called, are pests in orchards. Against these half dozen large fruit-eating species there are about forty small insectivorous ones which consume myriads of harmfui insects and are thus man’s ally, taking the night watch in the avian battle against insect pests. The Prehistoric Invasion of Mammalian Stock. It has been said that the little “up side-down” bats were masters of the air long before man walked upright, and, as their flight may be as facile and sustained as that of many birds, their introduction needs no ex- planation. Ages before man’s appearance in Australia, however, nature wove her complex marsupial pattern from primitive earth-bound stock, in TROUGHTON. 175 a splendid isolation which has rendered their means of introduction the subject of controversy between rival factions favouring either an early southern land connection with South America. or a series of discontinuous land bridges linking up with Asia. It is not possible to deal here with the relative merits of theories so ably summarised by my chief, Dr. Charles Anderson, M.A., in his Presidential Address to the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1925, which made it clear that the question must remain in doubt pending the discovery of some common ancestral form in the fossil beds of Asia or Antarctica. It is evident, however, that such land bridges, even if discontinuous, could not have permitted the free passage of mar- supials and acted as a barrier to other types of grass or flesh-eating mammals, unless the land mammals of the outer world had consisted en- tirely of marsupial progenitors at the time of invasion. The possibility of introduction across narrow straits by means of float- Ing debris must not be overlooked in regard to the small and probably arboreal marsupials. As Dr. Anderson pointed out, it is generally supposed that the indigenous rats and mice (Muridae) entered in this manner, add- ing that our late colleague, Allan R. McCulloch, had informed him that floating islands of vegetation were frequently seen when travelling with Captain Hurley in the vicinity of the Fly River estuary of Papua. The latter observation is significant regarding invasion from the north, as the numerous islands and cays in Torres Strait harbour species of mosaic- tailed mice (Melomys) which are inter-related generically with southern New Guinea and northern mainland forms, and are barely distinguishable specifically by mere coloration; it seems evident, as Bensley suggested, that the marsupials may have entered in a similar way, by means of natural rafts and intermediate insular stages. Finally, it is notable that the mammalian fauna of New Zealand, separated by much greater distances from other land masses, consisted of but two species of bats, apart from the small Pacific islands’ rat, obviously introduced in the vessels of the intrepid Polynesians, and a small dog brought either by the dark or early white voyagers. Whatever the means of entry, recent opinion favours the view that the ancestral marsupials reached Australia millions of years ago as small in- sectivorous creatures which at that time, perhaps the late Cretaceous or early Eocene, were probably the highest types of mammals and practically cosmopolitan. As they evolved and overran the country the forces of nature adapted them to various circumstances, so that members of the single marsupial order have paralleled the habits and often the general structure of representatives of distinct orders of foreign mammals. For example, the grazing habits of kangaroos parallel those of the hoofed animals, while the flesh-eating habits of native cats and the Tasmanian Wolf have resulted in a remarkable external and dental resemblance to the non-marsupial weasels, cats, and dogs. Earliest Records—Western Australia. Though there are many records of Dutch visits to the northern and western coasts of Australia before 1629, the wreck of the Batavia, under Captain Pelsart on the Abrolhos Islands in that year, is of the greatest in- terest to naturalists, as it led to the first observation of a member of the kangaroo family, namely, the Dama Wallaby, Macropus eugenii, of Peron and Lesueur, which is plentiful on the two largest islands. As Alexander pointed out, because of the popular supposition that the first discovery of a kangaroo was made by Sir Joseph Banks on Captain 176 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. Cook’s first voyage in 1770, the following excellent account, written by Felsart nearly 150 years earlier, is of exceptional interest. “We found in these islands large numbers of a species of cats, which are very strange creatures; they are about the size of a hare, their head resembling the head of a civet-cat; the forepaws are very short, about the length of a finger, on which the animal has five small nails or fingers, re- sembling those of a monkey’s forepaw. Its two hind legs, on the contrary, are upwards of half an ell in length, and it walks on these only, on the flat of the heavy part of the leg, so that it does not run fast. Its tail is very long, like that of a long-tailed monkey; if it eats, it sits on its hind legs, and clutches its food with its forepaws, just like a squirrel or monkey. “Their manner of generation or procreation is exceedingly strange and highly worth observing. Below the belly the female carries a pouch, into which you may put your hand; inside this pouch are her nipples, and we have found that the young ones grow up in this pouch with the nipples in their mouths. We have seen some young ones lying there, which were only the size of a bean, though at the same time perfectly proportioned, so that it seems certain that they grow there out of the nipples of the mammae, from which they draw their food, until they are grown up and are able to walk. Still, they keep creeping into the pouch, even when they have be- come very large, and the dam runs off with them when they are hunted.” Although it was so much later that Cook’s famous voyage made the more fertile eastern shores known to the world, and the introduction of the name kangaroo gave promise of the new types of mammals existing in Australia, Banks’s description was not so complete as Pelsart’s earlier one. The shipwreck of this Dutch navigator and keen observer was associated with a tragic incident, after his departure for Batavia in search of assist- ance, when the villainoys Cornelis and some associates murdered over 100 fellow castaways with the intention of seizing the relief ship and becoming pirates. On the return of the rescue party the design was frustrated and the wretches captured and executed, excepting two, who were abandoned on the mainland and thus became the first white inhabitants of Western Australia. The next record of a marsupial is found in a brief account by the Dutchman, Samuel Volckersen, published in 1658, referring to Rottnest (rat- nest) Island: “two seals and a wild cat, resembling a civet-cat, but with browner hair,” which alludes to the short-tailed wallaby, Macropus brachyurus, Quoy and Gaimard, the only mammal on the island. In 1688 the first visit of the Englishman, William Dampier, in the buccaneering ship “Cygnet,” who “fell in with the land of New Holland” in what is now the Kimberley District of Western Australia, led to the first published account of the aborigines. His general account also referred to the animals seen, and stated that “Our strikers brought home Turtle and Manatee [Dugong] every day, which was our constant food.” The Dutch accounts of Western Australian natural history conclude with those of de Vlamingh, made in 1696; meanwhile Dampier had become famous by the publication of his travels, and urged the English authorities to equip an expedition for the exploration of Australia in the hope of discovering gold. He was placed in command of H.M.S. Roebuck, an ancient almost rotten ship, and after call- ing at many places en route entered Shark’s Bay on the 6th August, 1699. According to his journal, “The Land-Animals that we saw here were only a Sort of Raccoons, different from those of the West Indies, chiefly as to their Legs; for these have very short Fore-Legs; but go jumping upon them as the others do (and, like them, are very good Meat).” This des- TROUGHTON. 177 cription, often claimed as the first account of a kangaroo, actually refers to the Banded Hare-Wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus), as the French naturalist Peron pointed out when naming it, and giving a delightful description of its habits. The bands on the fur naturally recalled the Raccoon to Dampier, who knew of it from his residence in the Spanish Main. Dampier’s observations led him very much astray on one occasion, in which he describes the stomach contents of one of the sharks, of which he says, “we caught a great many, which our Men eat very savourily. Among them we caught one which was 11 Foot long... . . In which we found the Head and Boans of a Hippopotamus; the hairy Lips of which were still sound and not putrified, and the Jaw was also firm, out of which we pluckt a great many Teeth, 2 of them 8 Inches long, and as big as a Man’s Thumb . the rest not above half so long”; the flesh of the shark was divided among the men who “took care that no waste should be made of it.” The head found in the shark’s maw was doubtless that of a Dugong or sea-cow, as Peron later pointed out, and it seems strange that he failed to recognise the head of the marine mammal which as “Manatee” was previously said to have been a constant food. Referring to the habits of the dugong, the French naturalist generously added: “It is to this herbivorous character, which only the dugong shares in this region with the hippopotamus, that the mistake of Dampier must doubtless be attributed; the mistake was the more excusable since the celebrated traveller saw only a head half decom- posed by digestion.” It is not possible to traverse the various notes upon mammals which are listed in Alexander’s valuable papers on “The History of Zoology in Western Australia,’ which concludes with the accounts of the French ex- peditions and the several voyages of Captain Philip P. King, R.N., who in 1817 was directed to complete the survey of the Australian coast begun by Flinders. Earliest Records—Eastern Australia. Regarding the discoveries made by Cook and the popular belief that kangaroos were then observed for the first time, it is interesting to note that, contrary to general belief, Captain Cook did not observe a kangaroo at Botany Bay. The indications only of such animal occurs when Cook wrote of the doings at Botany Bay on May ist, 1770, that “In the woods between the Trees Dr. Solander had a bare sight of a Small Animal some- thing like a Rabbit, and we found the Dung of an Animal which must feed upon Grass and which, we judge, could not be less than a Deer; we also saw the Track of a Dog, or some such like Animal.” This completes the account of the Botany Bay kangaroo, and we must travel north to Cook- town, where the Endeavour was beached to reach the spot where all Cap- tain Cpok’s kangaroos were killed. Extracts from Cook’s narrative con- tinue, June 24th: “I saw myself this morning a little way from the Ship, one of the Animals before spoke of: it was of a light mouse Colour and the full size of a Grey Hound, and shaped in every respect like one, with a long tail which it carried like a Grey Hound; in short, I should have taken it for a wild dog, but for its walking or running, in which it jumped like a Hare or Deer... .” July 14: “Mr. Gore, being in the Country, shott one of the Animals before spoke of; it was a small one of the sort, weighing only 28 pound clear of the entrails: its body was long: the head, neck and Shoulders very Small in proportion to the other parts. It was hair lipt, and the Head and Ears were most like a Hare’s of any Animal I know: the Tail was nearly as long as the body, thick next to the Rump, and 178 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. Tapering towards the End: the fore Legs were 8 Inches long, and the Hind 22. Its progression is by Hopping or Jumping 7 or 8 feet at each hop upon its hind Legs only, for in this it makes no use of the Fore, which seems to be only design’d for Scratching in the ground, etc. The Skin is covered with a Short hairy furr of a dark Mouse or Grey Colour. It bears no sort of resemblance to any European animal I ever saw: it is said to bear much resemblance to the Jerboa, excepting in size, the Jerboa being no larger than a common rat.” . . . July 27: “Mr. Gore shott one of the Animals before spoke of, which weighed 80 lbs. . . . this was as large as the most we have seen.” After leaving Cooktown, in epitomising the natural history, Cook wrote: “Besides the Animals, which I have before mentioned, called by the natives Kangooroo, or Kanguru, here are Wolves [probably dingoes], Possums, an Animal like a ratt, and snakes, both of the Venemous and other sorts. Tame Animals here are none except Dogs, and of these we never saw but one, who frequently came about our Tents to pick up bones, etc. The Kanguru are in the greatest number, for we seldom went into the Country without seeing some.” At once so strange an animal received scientific names, Zimmermann and Erxleben both in 1777 calling it Jerboa gigantea and Jaculus giganteus respectively, simply basing the names on the description and figure given in Cook’s Voyages of the small animal killed at Cooktown. It was natural that the first settlers at Port Jackson should regard their animal as the same as Cook’s famous northern beast, but even in Phillip’s Voyage (p. 104) we read: “The largest kanguroo which has yet been shot weighed about one hundred and forty pounds. But it has been discovered that there are two kinds, one of which seldom exceeds sixty pounds in weight; these live chiefly on the high ground; their hair is of a reddish cast, and the head is shorter than in the larger sort.” In the “Australian Zoologist” in 1925, Iredale and Troughton traversed the various accounts, and Solander’s original description of the Cooktown animal and concluded that the available evidence establishes beyond reasonable doubt that it was not the Great Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) of southern Queensland, New South Wales, and other States, but more probably a species of Wallaroo. As then indicated, additional material has been sought with a view to settling the identity of Cook’s animal, and it is hoped to submit a paper involving more definite con- clusions in the near future. The most amusing, if least informative, account of an animal in Cook’s Journal is that “one of the seamen, who had been rambling in the woods, told us at his return, that he verily believed he had seen the devil’: asked in what form, “He was, says John, as large as a one gallon keg, and very like it; he had horns and wings, yet he crept so slowly through the grass, that if I had not been afeared I might have touched him. This formidable apparition we aiterwards discovered to have been a batt [fruit-bat Pteropus], and the batts here must be acknowledged to have a frightful appearance, for they are nearly black, and full as large as a partridge; they have indeed no horns, but the fancy of a man who thought he saw the devil might easily supply that defect.” The inclusion of this account seems to indicate a very human side of the great navigator’s character, and one can almost picture the amusement which it caused him and his officers. To a museum worker the seaman’s description of the fruit-bat is strangely reminiscent of the composite ones often employed by inquirers in describing animals which they may have even examined by hand, in which a favourite TROUGHTON. L79 term such as “face like a pig’ may be applied to a surprising variety of creatures. It is evident throughout the accounts of early voyagers and naturalists, from the use of names such as civet-cat, racoon, and jerboa, that they were misled by the superficial resemblance of our mammals to those already known; thus we have the kangaroo classed as a jerboa, a rodent no larger than a rat, as Banks remarked, because of similarity of form moulded by adoption of a hopping mode of progression. Again, the ring-tailed phalangers seen by Cook’s party were given the name opossum, a word borrowed from the North American Indians and applied to an entirely different family of marsupials. There is a tendency nowadays to shorten the word to “possum” to distinguish the Australian kinds, and it is interest- ing to note that Cook anticipated the Australian love for brevity by coining the word “Possum,” as shown in the above quotation from his Journal. An- other foreign name applied to a distinct family of marsupials is “Bandi- coot,” which is a corruption of a Telugu word meaning pig-rat, originally used for a large species of rat common in southern India and Ceylon. There is no evidence of its first application to the Australian animals, but Collins in 1802, apparently following Bass in 1799, uses it without explanation as a well known name. Early Exploration—New South Wales. Though there is not space enough to detail the observations of the early inland explorers, important mammal discoveries recorded by the then Surveyor-General, Major Mitchell, in the journal of his “Expedition to the Rivers Darling and Murray in the year 1836” are of special interest. While near the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee, Mitchell first observed the now rare marsupial which became known to the personnel as the “pig- footed bandicoot” owing to but two digits of the fore foot being fully deve- loped. The original specimen had lost its tail, as bandicoots often do, which resulted in Ogilby applying the specific name of “ecaudatus” to Mitchell’s description and figure, subsequently discarded as inappropriate for an animal normally with a well-developed tail. This type specimen was lodged in the Australian Museum, but some time afterwards unfor- tunately disappeared. There still exist in the Museum, however, the original specimens of the first known species of kangaroo-mouse, taken in the same area, which Mitchell said “appears to be the Jerboa, thus, for the first time, seen by us in Australia.” He also described the first stick-nests of the so-called Native Rabbit or Rabbit-Rat (Leporillus conditor), an indigenous rat then plentiful about the plains of the Murray and Darling, though Sturt secured the first specimen which was named by Gould. After recording that his party frequently observed piles of dry sticks and brushwood which they supposed to be for aboriginal signal fires, Mitchell continues: “Minute examination, however, soon convinced us of our error . . . the materials were not thrown promiscuously together, as would naturally have been the case had they been collected by the natives” for signal fires... . “Our kangaroo-dogs also drew our attention . . . barking and scratching when- ever we fell in with them . . . intimating that they expected to find some- thing inside. At length, we broke several of them open, a work of no small difficulty from the solidity of the structure, and were not a little surprised to find in the interior a small nest occupied by an animal something be- tween a rabbit and a rat, which had constructed this formidable and massive stronghold to protect itself against the attacks of the native dog. For this purpose the little animal chooses some small bush or shrub, as a 180 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. fixed point d’appui, to commence its operations; and by gradually working round this, and interlacing the materials of its fortalice, first of all with the growing branches of the centre bush, and afterwards with one another, gradually extends it to enormous dimensions . . . and enjoys the reward of its perseverance and ingenuity in subsequent security and repose. This little animal has ears exactly resembling those of a small rabbit, soft, downy, wool, and short hind legs, and, but for the tail. might readily pass for a small rabbit.” The sagacity of these rodents, which were long ago forced from the plains where Mitchell observed them, is shown on the barren Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, where the writer observed some of the nests to consist of low heaps of sticks placed over rabbit warrens; as the bushes are not large enough to support the nests, many of them have small stones rolled or placed on top to counteract the effect of strong winds, much as weights are placed on roofs to keep loose coverings down. Egg-laying Mammals. The settlers about Port Jackson soon became interested and sent to England specimens of the curious fauna so that its general characteristics rapidly became known to the scientific world. The discovery of the egg- laying platypus will doubtless ever remain the outstanding discovery amongst the Australian mammals; variously known as Duckbill, Duckmole, and even Watermole, platypus were apparently first discovered in 1797 on the banks of the Hawkesbury, according to the first written account by Collins in his New South Wales: “The Kangaroo, the Dog, the Opossum, the Flying Squirrel, the common Rat, and the large Fox-bat (if entitled to a place in this society), made up the whole catalogue of animals that were known at this time, with the exception which must now be made of an amphibious animal, of the mole species, one of which has been lately found on the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury . . . the most extraordinary circumstance observed in its structure was, its having, instead of the mouth of an animal, the upper and lower mandibles of a duck. By these it was enabled to supply itself with food, like that bird, in muddy places . while on shore its long and sharp claws were employed in burrowing; nature thus providing for it in its double or amphibious character.” So contradictory did the furry mammal coat, duck-like bill, and webbea feet then appear to scientists that one named the animal paradoxus, while another considered that the first skin might have been a fake constructed by an oriental taxidermist for sale to credulous seamen; such as the “eastern mermaid,” consisting of the forepart of a monkey skillfully stitched to the tail of a fish. Fortunately for the zoologists’ peace of mind, the even more paradoxical fact that the platypus laid eggs and then suckled its young in the mammalian way was not then known. In 1802, however, dissection of complete specimens by the great anatomist Everard Home re- moved all doubt of the existence of the quaint creatures, while discovery of mammary glands in 1824 by the German anatomist, Meckel, and subse- quent proof that they actually secreted milk, definitely settled the mam- malian character of the platypus. The intriguing question as to whether eggs were laid was then debated, Professor Richard Owen believing the young to be hatched within the parent, whereas the Frenchman Geoffroy rightly contended that eggs were actually laid. In spite of a published report that two white compressible eggs were found in a box imprisoning a platypus over-night, the matter was keenly debated for over eighty years, the question not being finally settled until 1884, when a Cambridge zoologist, W. H. Caldwell, obtained TROUGHTON. 181 eggs of both platypus and spiny anteater or “porcupine” in the Burnett River district of Queensland, the discovery being dramatically announced by cable to the British Association for the Advancement of Science then sitting at Montreal. Although repetition renders commonplace any reference to Australia being a land of living fossils, the fact remains that the egg-laying mam- mals are literally living fossils walking in a kind of geological sleep, having like zoological Rip Van Winkles retained their unusual form and habits as if they had slept for millions of years and awakened to continue their primitive existence. That they have altered but little for ages is indicated by the fact that no fossil remains have yet been found to illustrate a gradual development, while the skeleton retains definitely reptilian ele- ments which evolution has eliminated from all other furred animals. Ex- cepting the remains of two extinct species of ant-eater, and some of the platypus, from the Post Tertiary (Pleistocene) deposits of Australia, the monotremes are not certainly known as fossils in any part of the world. The discovery in 1888 of true teeth in young platypus was expected to re- veal ancestral links, but, although the two largest teeth in each jaw are said to be analogous to molars in form, position, and function, the gaps be- tween the dentition and that of any known mammalian type appear to be so great that there can be no presumption of real relationship until the discovery of closer points of comparison, or intermediate forms. Marsupials—their Infinite Variety. Although several kinds of marsupials occur in America, and fossil re- mains are known from the Paris Basin in Europe, the maximum variety has been evolved in Australia. To the student of mammalian evolution their development in continental isolation is most fascinating in providing per- fect illustrations of two great developmental forces, that of adaptive radia- tion in which the original stock spreads out and becomes modified for various environments, and that of convergence in which adoption of similar environment and habits by animals worlds apart genetically, as well as geographically, moulds them to an extraordinarily deceptive superficial re- semblance. In this haven of refuge the natural process of adaptive radiation organised a regular army corps of marsupials, with the marsupial mole and wombats representing the tunnellers, the flying possums the aerial forces, and a vast array of kangaroos, wallabies, and smaller creatures as a land army. The discovery in 1888 of the marsupial mole, representative of a distinct family, provides the most recent notable event in mammalian re- search, mainly because of the extraordinary example of convergent evolu- tion. Though the method and choice of terrain is different to that of the European Mole and Cape Golden Mole, the burrowing existence has resulted in so striking a resemblance between the marsupial mole and that of an entirely different order as to first mislead scientific opinion into the belief that they were genetically related. Once supposed to be restricted to the central region between Charlotte Waters and Alice Springs, its distribution has been extended south to the East-West Railway, and to Wollal on the Ninety Mile Beach, north Western Australia, where a specimen was found in 1910. The development of skin-folds between the limbs for the spurious or parachute-like flight of our flying possums, or so-called “Squirrels,” affords striking evidence of convergent evolution in that a South American Squirrel, and the Cobego or Kaguan of the Malay Archipelago, have independently 182 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. evolved a similar appearance, in the orders rodentia and insectivora re- spectively. The marsupial gliders comprise several genera, the smallest of which is represented by the tiny insectiverous Pigmy Flying Possum with head and body smaller than a mouse and tail haired like a feather, and the largest is the Greater Flying Possum with a head and body about seventeen and a brushy tail about twenty inches long, the favoured diet of which is gum leaves interspersed with wild and occasionally cultivated fruits. Most of us are familiar with the common grey and the ring-tailed possums, but in Victoria occurs a rare genus represented by Leadbeater’s Possum which, though first collected and described in 1867 is now known by only five specimens in the National Museum; this genus is considered very closely allied to the “flying” forms, and, though without the gliding mem- branes at the sides, may have been the primitive form from which the more specialised gliders developed. A very striking though less rare member of the family Phalangeridae, to which all Australian possums belong, is the Striped Possum found in the Queensland coastal forests and tablelands from Townsville to Cape York, the genus also being well represented in New Guinea. The body coloration consists of sharply defined black and white longitudinal stripes, and, as though conscious of being the most spectacularly coloured of their family, if not all marsupials, the Striped Possums are of shy nocturnal habits. In Queensland, according to the Swedish collector Mjoberg, they hunt eagerly for the nests of small stingless bees for the sake of both insects and honey. The main diet, however, consists of the larvae of beetles and flies which are scratched out from crevices in wood by the disproportionately elongated fourth finger, while the powerful front incisors are adapted for gnawing out the grubs. It is a remarkable fact that these adaptations find a parallel in the lowest member of the Primate order, the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia) of Madagascar, in which the powerful rodent-like incisors are used in gnawing away the bark, and the small hooked claw of the greatly elongated finger scratches out larvae from the crevices. Perhaps the most striking degree of specialisation in the possum family is found in the quaint little Honey Mouse of south Western Australia in which the mouth parts are elongated in a trunk-like way to aid the long brushy tongue to secure nectar and insects from the flowers in the manner of honey-eating birds; in climbing, the opposability of the great toe to the others and the prehensile tail bring blossoms within easy reach, and the dentition shows remarkable degeneration from the original ancestral type in its adaptation to a pulpy and honey diet. In research upon mammals the dentition is of paramount interest, not only in identifying individual species, but in linking the extant with the extinct, and tracing origin and the course of adaptations to present circum- stances. Amongst the marsupials, due to convergent development, we have the beaver-like outward appearance of the wombat associated with a gnawing rodent-like dentition, while the dog-like marsupial wolf of Tas- mania has the teeth of a typical flesh-eater, paralleling those of dogs to a remarkable degree, with long canines for grasping the prey, cutting teeth to tear flesh from the bones, and powerful rear molars for crushing bones. Belonging to the same family of marsupials (Dasyuridae) is the Tasmanian Devil, and the!native cats which are represented by several species on the mainland, and in New Guinea, and which parallel the foreign stoats and weasels, both in general appearance and their habit of attacking and suck- ing the blood of poultry. As with the possum family, the smaller mouse- like relatives of the flesh-eating marsupials, of the genera Phascogale and TROUGHTON. 183 Sminthopsis, have the dentition more in accordance with the ancestral in- sectivore prototype, in which the teeth have needle-like cusps for piercing and breaking up tough insect bodies. The kangaroos and wallabies are typical grass-eaters, and the molars have broad crowns and sharp grind- ing ridges like those of horses and cattle, though some of the smaller rat- kangaroos show changes due to a partially insectivorous diet. Marsupial Birth and Transference to the Pouch. The main claim to popular interest regarding marsupials has, and will doubtless ever be associated with the method of birth and transfer of the young to the pouch. The observations of laymen have usually been upon kangaroos, and there are many country men at the present day who would strenuously support that first account by Pelsart in 1629, which regarded it as certain that the young grew out of the nipples of the mammae. This belief is still a regular source of inquiry at the Museum, and argument oc- casionally wages fiercely in the press. Some years ago, in response to a brief outline of facts in the “Daily Telegraph,” one of the born-in-the- pouch diehards informed Mr. A. H. Chisholm that in spite of “Le Troughton and Co., and all your Pitt and George Street naturalists,” he would stick to his opinion. This estimate of one, though amusing, is not entirely correct, as in the course of field work I have a vivid recollection of shattering the life-long belief of an old hunter on Kangaroo Island by dissecting out the unborn young of a kangaroo before his reluctant eyes. There is, of course, considerable justification for views held by untrained observers, who are misled by the smallness and undeveloped appearance of the “pouch em- bryo,” the firmness of its hold upon the teat, and the fact that the mouth bleeds upon forcible removal. The explanation of these matters may be of interest, though it is hardly necessary to stress the anatomical impossibility of young marsupials being born upon the teats which are entirely associated with the supply of milk in the normal mammalian way. Actually, volun- tary muscular action lapses on attachment to the teat, and the mouth be- comes constricted about the swollen nipple, resulting in rupture and bleed- ing upon forcible removal. The early birth of marsupials is due to the union between the em- bryonic and maternal tissues not being so complete as in the truly placen- tal mammals, in which full union of the blood stream exists by means of placentation of which the navel cord is part. Mainly because of this, the period of development within the parent is limited and marsupials are therefore born in a relatively undeveloped condition. The manner of birth was never doubted scientifically, and can be demonstrated by simple dis- section, but the method of transfer of the tiny embryo to the pouch has gradually become known by much patient observation of the shy animals. The belief has been strongly held both here and in America that the parent transferred the young either with her lips or forepaws, but, while there are no known authentic records of this, it is definitely known that the newly- born usually reach the pouch quite unaided. The first recorded obser- vation of this was made over a century ago, when Professor Barton, of Philadelphia, published, in 1806, the following remarks on the birth of the American Opossum in a pamphlet, a copy of which is in the University of Tasmania :— “The young opossum, unformed and perfectly sightless as they are at this period, find their ways to the teats by the power of an invariable, a determinate instinct, which may, surely, be considered as one of the most wonderful that is furnished to us by the science of natural history. It is 184 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. not true, as has been often asserted, that the mother, with her paws, puts the young ones into the pouch.” Over a century later, Dr. Hartmann elaborated similar observations upon American opossums, while there are several authentic records in Aus- tralia and America of the unaided journey to the pouch in captive kan- garoos. The first Australian account known to me is that of the Hon. L. Hope, read in 1882 and printed in vol, iii. of the Transactions of the Philo- sophical Society of Queensland, which refers to a kangaroo hunter’s obser- vation “that the embryo was working its way through the fur straight towards the orifice of the pouch.” His own observation of the young, on the fur of a kangaroo which he shot, was that “closer inspection showed it to be working actively with its fore legs—arms, in fact, which were con- siderably developed, with the claws apparent.” In baby kangaroos the fore limbs are much larger than the hind ones, which is so completely reversed in the adult as to imply that it is a provision of nature to aid in the upward journey to the pouch, which is accompanied by a sort of swimming motion of the arms, and grasping action of the tiny clawed digits. The most re- cent local observation was made at Taronga Zoological Park in 1926 by three members of the staff, who observed the “foetus” moving slowly up through the fur “with an automatic kind of movement of the fore limbs.” The Balance of Nature. There is a natural factor known as the balance of nature by which plants and animals retain an approximate equilibrium in their normal habitat. Therefore, if animals are prolific breeders, their population reaches a degree capable of being sustained under normal circumstances. If slow breeders, many species may be on the verge of extinction, like some of our marsupials—others may slowly fade, hold their own, or increase, according to losses sustained before the young are capable of reproducing their kind. The balance is therefore delicately adjusted and may swing in various directions as the result of fire or flood, starvation or plenty, or the introduction of disease or more powerful or prolific enemies. The pheno- menal increase and spread of the introduced rats, rabbits, and predatory foxes and cats in Australia is a striking example of species thriving in new surroundings when shorn of the controlling factors of their original habitat. Unfortunately, the majority of marsupials are comparatively slow breeders, few of the larger forms producing more than two young at a time, and so in the disappearance from natural haunts, which threatens extinction for many marsupials, the swing of the pendulum is in the direction of decrease, due to man’s disturbing activities. I have compared the marsupial array to an Army Corps, and it was mainly a peaceful army, a fauna unique in this respect and in its isolation. There were so few predatores—the big fellows mostly amiable grass or leaf- eaters—the smaller ones mostly insectivorous. Nature balanced the scales by kindlier means than usual, so that the young were less in those leading sheltered arboreal lives, and more prolific in the small forms leading a more precarious ground existence. Mere size alone, however, carries no guarantee of survival, and ages before white man’s arrival the giant mar- supials, Diprotodon and Nototherium, which were about the size of the rhinoceros, had outgrown their environment and faded to the long sleep of their fossil beds. Advent of Man. The aboriginals probably wrought but little change owing to their in- ability to cultivate and thus form settled populations, but their bad example TROUGHTON. 185 in introducing the first non-marsupial carnivore, the dingo, was all too readily followed by the superior white brother. Prior to the dingo, which Wood Jones has shown to be akin to domestic dogs in northern wolf as- sociation, the largest predatore was apparently the marsupial wolf or Thy- lacine. This swift and powerful animal, sometimes known as the marsupial tiger because of the camouflaging transverse stripes on its back, not only parallels the dog in appearance, but has adopted the predatory habits of its canine and feline namesakes, even in its attacks upon sheep and poultry. The pouched-wolf and its smaller carnivorous cousin, the Tasmanian Devil, are now confined to Tasmania, being represented only by fossil re- mains on the mainland where they were possibly exterminated by the fierce competition of the dingo, which found entry to Tasmania barred by Bass Strait. In this respect the dingo has done an economic, if not aesthetic, service to man, but the underlying tragic significance is this. If the dingo could oust a mammal of similar habits, size, and speed, the inference is that prolonged isolation had left the carnivorous marsupial no match for the more worldly canine. If this be so, then what possible hope of ultimate survival is left the smaller, more timid terrestrial forms, when even the burrowers find their refuges invaded by the wily fox. Their very method of progression limits endurance when pursued, while even the dainty tree-dwellers have no security from their introduced arch-enemy, the domestic cat gone wild. Effect of Introductions—Useful and Otherwise. The hunt club formed in Victoria about 1868 to introduce fox-hunting would have much to answer for if charged with a faunal reckoning. Spread- ing slowly at first, foxes wele noticed in Queensland about 1906. While collecting towards central South Australia in 1921, I personally observed the fox to be plentiful, while early in 1932 a correspondent reported that foxes were plentiful adout Hughenden in northern Queensland, where they were previously unknown. The one redeeming feature of both fox and dingo is in their preying upon rabbits, but it is all too evident that inroads in that direction are no compensation for their faunal and economic sins. Unfortunately, the early days of settlement knew none of the strict laws which now govern the introduction of insect, bird, and mammal, and, even though the common rabbit was known as a pest in ancient times, they were deliberately introduced by the first settlers. A return of live- stock by Governor Phillip in 1788 reported that three rabbits belonged to the Governor—the officers and men owning another two. They were kept in yards with paling fences to keep them in—not wire-netting to keep them out—while a special game-keeper fed them and destroyed their enemies. Floods swept away the fences, and it is an ironical fact that they were re- ported “doing well” in 1825, as they have certainly been doing themselves well at our expense ever since, and in 1923-24 alone over a million and a half pounds was spent in netting. Although rabbit-fur is of the best for making felt} hats, and doubtless in masquerading as “coney seal” and “kolinski”—an animal as fictitious as it is supposedly rare—rabbit skins may lessen the demand for those of marsupials, the economic return from exploitation can never balance the losses sustained in grazing capacity and fencing costs. The rabbit has undoubtedly played a serious part in upsetting the faunal balance by crowding out indigenous mammals from favourable habitats, but worst of all in being responsible for the poison-cart with the dreadful mortality of native bird and beast which accompanies that fatal trail. 186 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. Even the really essential importations, such as pigs, sheep, cattle, and horses, which have supplied food, transport, and clothing throughout the ages, have played a drastic if unavoidable part in civilisation’s advance upon the indigenous army, forcing many fascinating species to un- suitable environments and ultimate oblivion. Apart from the clearing and fencing needed for stock, the white man’s domestic animals ever revert to the wild in great spaces, and so wild pigs and other stock in our State, like the buffalo in the north, and wild cats and dogs everywhere, extend their influence far beyond man’s scope. When one adds human greed for ex- ploitation to the prejudicial total of man’s effect upon nature’s balance, it is clear that every effort should be strained, and some sacrifice made, to lessen the fatal consequences in regard to the survival of much of the unique fauna. Economic Value of Our Mammals. It is a mistake to consider the value of indigenous mammals merely in terms of fur or food, as many of them, quite apart from the well known usefulness of insectivorous bats, aid man by their destruction of insect pests and mice. In his “Mammals of South Australia,’ Wood Jones pointed out the usefulness of small pouched-mice, of which there are some fifty odd varieties, and that havoc by insect pests would he lessened if the mice were not preyed upon by domestic cats. He also points out that, although bandi- coots are somewhat unpopular because of their habit of scratching in culti- vated land, they do an immense amount of good by their untiring energy in seeking and destroying insects. Regarding destruction of mice, Krefft wrote that bandicoots were excellent, and that “we have noticed fifty and more mice killed by one of them” in a little time, while Wood Jones states that the early colonists’ tolerance of the rabbit-bandicoot, since then ruth- lessly slaughtered, was due to recognition of its extremely useful part in the destruction of mice and insects. Even the poultry raids of the blood- thirsty marsupial Native and Tiger Cats are probably more than atoned for by their destruction of mice, rabbits, and insects. Thus many of the native mammals in their unequal struggle for existence are playing’ a useful part against man’s enemies in maintaining the balance of nature. Extinct and Fading Races. There appears no doubt that several species of marsupials have actually become extinct within the brief period of white occupation, and that a considerable number are threatened by extinction in the near future. Even in the hospitable coastal scrubs of south Western Australia the small terrestrial forms are threatened, and two delightful species of rat-kangaroo, which Gould described and figured in his “Mammals of Aus- tralia” (Potorous platyops and gilberti) from near King George’s Sound, have not been recorded alive since 1840. Even at that time the former was regarded as rare, while the latter was killed in immense numbers by aboriginal’s drives, according to the collector Gilbert. In 1912, Shortridge reported picking up several old skulls of P. gilberti, and heard of a small wallaby once plentiful which may have represented it; owing to its sluggish habits and the prevalence of cats and bush-fires it disappeared, and there seems little doubt that both species are almost if not already extinct. In this same region, the first fat-tailed pouched-mice (Sm. crassi- caudatus), described by Gould in 1844, were, according to his collector, Gilbert, “brought into the station by a domestic cat, which is constantly in the habit of going into the bush and returning several times during the night with a small mammal or bird in her mouth.” From this early ex- TROUGHTON. 187 perience, it is not difficult to imagine the appalling wastage of harmless marsupial life which has since resulted over most of the continent from the ravages of tame and wild domestic cats. According to recent infor- mation from Mr. L. Glauert, B.A., Curator of the Perth Museum, the dainty Crescent Nail-tailed Wallaby is probably extinct in the settled area, but may still be found in the inhospitable country east of Kalgoorlie, while there is a marked shrinkage in the range of the local Rock-Wallaby. Writing of the sudden and unaccountable reduction of mammals in Western Aus- tralia, said to have been first noticed about 1880, Shortridge wrote that the entire disappearance of many species over large tracts of country was generally considered to be due to some epidemic or disease which appeared to be a kind of “marasmus,” possibly brought by introduced mammals. In his “Mammals of South Australia,’ Professor Wood Jones has given striking evidence of the extinction or drastic shrinkage in the range of many fascinating forms. Of the highly specialised Banded Ant-eater once existing quite near Adelaide, Wood Jones writes: “It is surely a tragedy that this interesting animal has probably passed out of existence in our State, and is rapidly repeating the process in a neighbouring one without any proper study being made of it, and without any representative collec- tion having been made of its remains. It will not be long before Myrme- cobius will be as extinct as those Mesozoic Marsupials of the English Jurassic beds of which it has been said to be ‘actually an unmodified sur- vivor.’” Even more tragic has been the fate of the Toolach Wallaby (Macropus greyi) as its extinction is definitely due to man’s greed and folly. Probably the most beautiful and elegant of all wallabies, distinguished by its bold face-markings and waved appearance of the long pale greyish-fawn fur, the Toolach was always confined to south-eastern South Australia. Accord- ing to Wood Jones, many people remember them as plentiful, and that owing to their fleetness, chasing them was once a favourite form of sport, while the beautiful pelts were marketed in very great numbers in the sales- rooms at Melbourne. It is not correct, he wrote, to say that this fine wallaby is extinct as at the present moment (1924) five or six individuals still exist, but “Any effort to preserve this remnant must be made im- mediately and with vigour if it is to be of any service whatever.” In 1927, Mr. H. H. Finlayson, Honorary Mammalogist to the South Aus- tralian Museum, gave a distressing account of the result of efforts to cap- ture living specimens for transfer to the sanctuary on Kangaroo Island. He wrote that by 1923, apart from isolated pairs possibly scattered through rougher country, the sole remnant of the Toolach population living in suit- able country was a small band of perhaps fourteen individuals. Two at- tempts to capture live specimens resulted in over much driving, and four dead or dying animals of this precious remnant. These attentions raised the cupidity of a few unscrupulous people, and survivors have been wantonly killed for the sake of trophies. The sum total of the effort at preservation, according to Finlayson, is that a doe rescued from kangaroo dogs may well represent the last of her race, as in the opinion of a resident the band has been extirpated. He points out also that the species is very poorly represented in Museums, recent inquiry showing that there are but six skins and seven skulJs in the public collections of Australia. Shrinkage of Fauna in New South Wales. The above instance is quoted at some length to illustrate the urgency of the very real problems to be faced in the conservation of the fauna. 188 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. Nearer home, in our own State of New South Wales, there is abundant evidence of the same alarming shrinkage of many beautiful and interest- ing species. In this regard, it is a striking fact that all the more interest- ing marsupials and rodents listed in 1865 by that accomplished observer Gerard Krefft, in his paper on “The Vertebrates of the Lower Murray and Darling,” appear to have long since vanished from the scene. Of the stick-nest building rats observed as plentiful by Sturt and Mitchell, Krefft wrote: “It is one of the many species which will soon be extinct, as I found that it had already retreated before the herds of sheep and cattle across the Murray.” The quaint and singularly gentle Pig-footed Bandicoot which had been discovered by Mitchell in 1836 was reported by Krefft twenty years later as exceedingly rare and disappearing as fast as the native population. The difficulty in securing specimens was increased by his showing copies of Mitchell’s tail-less animal to the natives, which resulted in them bringing large numbers of the common bandicoot with the tail screwed off, to secure the proffered rewards. According to Wood Jones, although its distribution in the Centre is wide, it must be regarded as a disappearing animal, and that the moment open country to which they are now confined is invaded by the fox their doom is sealed. One of the most striking instances of a fading fauna is provided by the rapid disappearance of the Rabbit-Bandicoot or Bilby from New South Wales. My paper. appearing in this issue, shows that this highly specia- lised and pest-destroying marsupial, once distributed over the State east- ward to the dividing range, has either completely disappeared or been forced to the furthermost barren western regions. A fine specimen in the Australian Museum was received from Bathurst in 1891, the last of fifteen to reach the Museum since then coming from Moree in 1908. The last account of the living Bilby in our State, to my knowledge, is provided by my colleague, Mr. K. C. McKeown, who had a pair under observation in rocky hills on the Wagga Experimental Farm for about five years prior to 1912, when they were unfortunately slaughtered by shooters from the town. There is unfortunately abundant evidence of a similar shrinkage in the range of all the species of smaller wallabies and rat-kangaroos. The White- throated Wallaby (Macropus parma) once plentiful in the INawarra district south of Sydney is apparently quite extinct, and represented by only five specimens of which three are in England and two are in the Australian Museum. Gould wrote in 1856 that it “is so very distinct from all the other small Halmaturi [wallabies] inhabiting N.S.W., that the aborigines who hunt these animals recognise it immediately by the native term I have selected as a specific appellation; this remark applies more particularly to the natives of Illawarra, in which district I myself saw it in a state of nature. In these extensive brushes it doubtless still exists. . . . How far its range may extend westwardly towards Port Phillip, or eastwardly in the direction of Moreton Bay, I am unable to state.” This uncertainty of range, which Gould illustrated with some uncertainty as to orientation, will never be cleared up now, as the last of the two Australian Museum specimens was collected in 1889, and there have been no recent evidences of its possible survival. Other coastal forms which show a continual shrinkage in range are the brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, which is such an attraction about the Jenolan Caves, the pretty Bridled Nail-tailed Wallaby, and the Padymelon, Black-striped, and Red-legged wallabies which are now confined to the North Coast of the State, and all species of the quaint little rat-kangaroos. It is not possible to elaborate these instances of shrinking fauna, but TROUGHTON. 189 when it is realised that evidences of fading, and the effects of settlement were noted by Krefft as early as 1865 on the plains of the Murray and Darling, and this before the advent of the foz, it seems evident that any hope of New South Wales providing a sanctuary for many of these harm- less and fascinating indigenes has gone forever. The history of our State in this respect is but the history of Australia, and there is urgent need for all Governments and Societies to unite in the national cause of conser- vation. Research, Survey, and Conservation. An unfortunate but very natural result of the early recognition of the paramount interest of our mammals was that the collections of officials, settlers, and visiting naturalists were sent overseas to be described and stored for all time. Until recently, therefore, the bulk of mammalian re- search has been carried out abroad, and local workers have been handi- capped by the fact that many species are known only by meagre descrip- tions of material not represented in their collections. Additional confusion has resulted in that for a long time no attempt was made adequately to localise individual discoveries, so that a great amount of field work remains to be done in checking, not only the present range of many species, but their identity as well. There is at present a sort of renaissance in mammalian research which makes it abundantly clear that the work can be carried out in Australia. An essential to progress, however, lies in the active carrying out of field in- vestigations of which the collecting of adequate study material is a vital part. There is a tendency in misinformed circles to regard this field work as being in the nature of a pleasure jaunt or luxurious relaxation for the naturalist, but to those who have experienced the gruelling routine of the dawn patrol of traps, day long tramps, and long nights of skinning, tabu- lation, and preservation, such criticism becomes intolerable, especially when it limits the very work for which sacrifices are made. Of recent years, this lack of appreciation has led to the unreasonable practice of professional workers frequently having to expend both their own time and resources upon furthering a national duty. Splendid service has been rendered by private individuals, such as in the fine series of acquisitions to the Australian Museum, made possible by the enthusiasm and personal expenditure of Mr. A. S. Le Souef, C.M.ZS., while the recent rediscovery of the “extinct” Plain Rat-Kangaroo (Calo- prymnus campestris), by Mr. H. H. Finlayson, Honorary Mammalogist to the South Australian Museum, is a striking example of the importance oi field work. Although this remarkable marsupial was made known to science by John Gould in 1843 upon examination of three specimens sent to the British Museum from South Australia by the Governor, Sir George Grey, no further specimens were obtained for over eighty years, and the species had apparently become extinct without a single trace in an Aus- tralian museum. The first hint of its survival in the Diamantina region of South Aus- tralia came to Mr. Finlayson from his friend and collaborator, Mr. L. Reese, and a visit towards the end of 1931 resulted in the securing of an excellent series of specimens, notes and photos, upon which a paper is soon to be published. As the discoverer wrote, “Imagine the feelings of a naturalist in search of a small creature which the world had placed among the ex- tinct species, at seeing before him a dainty creature, a ‘pale ghost of the 1840’s,’ recalled as it were from the long dead past to become the quarry in one of the most eager hunts man ever made. ” The notable achievement 190 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. was accomplished entirely at the expense of Mr. Finlayson during his vacation, and that it was no easy task is shown in the following extract from one of his letters: “I was naturally pleased about Caloprymnus, but have endured some torment to get him. . . . Sand hills, gibbers, and clay pans, and a blistering heat, with flies, mosquitoes, and sand-flies thrown in. I have been almost constantly in the saddle, have ridden 350 miles and done 800 by car. I shall never forget the last day’s ride across the western end of Sturt’s stony desert, with the temperature at 113°.” The above is but one instance of the importance of the vast amount of field work which remains to be done throughout the length and breadth of our continent, and which all must realise is the basic need of any attempt at adequate control and conservation. The importance of making an organised attempt to study the fauna in its natural surroundings was urged by the late Professor Sir Baldwin Spencer in 1921, while in the same year the Zoology Section of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science carried a resoluticn favouring an immediate co-ordinated in- vestigation of the fauna. Also in 1921, in his Presidential Address to this Society, Mr. W. W. Froggatt, F.L.S., urged the necessity for setting up a Bureau of Biological Survey and detailed the American achievements in this regard. In the following year in his Presidential Address to the Linnean Society of New South Wales, Dr. G. A. Waterhouse endorsed the plea for the immediate undertaking of a zoological survey of Australia, pointing out that, while the need for systematic surveys had been recog- nised in Geology and Botany, zoology had not been provided for. Over a decade has passed since these urgent and authoritative repre- sentations were made, yet nothing of a co-ordinated or systematic nature has been attempted. In the United States the Division of Biological Survey has achieved unity in the research, control, and exploitation of the fauna, and it is sincerely to be hoped that a similar institution may be established in Australia in the very near future. In spite of the unique interest of our fauna the science of mammalogy has been comparatively neglected in Australia, mainly due to the under- staffing of museums, and the tendency to bind research workers too closely to the wheel of fixed routine. Local museums do what they can with in- adequate funds, and of recent years the Australian Museum has actively encouraged private enthusiasts by the provision of collecting gear and in- structions. With the object of securing material from a wide range of localities at present out of reach of local workers, collecting cans have been sent to various places on the mainland, and to New Guinea and the Pacific islands. In this way excellent series of known forms hitherto unrepre- sented in, Australian collections, and sometimes new species, have been ob- tained. Occasionally such gatherings are supplemented by brief expedi- tions to the field by museum men, usually at the partial expense of the worker, and it is a regrettable fact that on these rare occasions the rush to secure material with the meagre funds and time allotted prejudices re- sults and gives little insight into the ways of the wild. The need for an active survey of our fauna from a national point of view is indicated by the activity of overseas collectors in the past. During my tour of foreign museums in! 1930, for the purpose of studying mammals, and the technique of display and storage, I examined Australian and New Guinea species in British, German, and Scandinavian museums, which are not yet represented in any Australian museum, and which may become ex- tinct before we acquire representatives, unless effective field-work is carried out. In America, field-work is not only an integral part of museum prac- TROUGHTON. 191 tice, but is now recognised as part of the university graduate course in zoology. There is also an American Society of Mammalogists which pub- lishes a quarterly Journal and meets in annual congress in different cities. In America, too, the great museums are objects of national and civic pride, and regarded as attractions to visitors, a notable example being the American Museum of Natural History, New York, with a staff of 500. The large scientific staff is required to undertake considerable field-work, often totalling as much or more than half the actual working time, and in one year recently over thirty expeditions were undertaken, to places as far afield as China, Africa, and Australasia. These remarkable activities can only be carried out with the aid of endowment by wealthy citizens with a patriotic interest in the fauna, as an entire dependence upon govern- mental funds automatically limits activities, both as to scope and the claims of official regime. These helpful endowments are largely obtained in America from a list of subscribing patrons, who receive titles such as “Endowment Member” or “Benefactor,’ according to the assistance pro- vided, and who receive certain publications and privileges by means of which their interest is maintained. It seems quite evident that similar methods will have to be adopted in Australia if museum work upon the fauna is to progress. The paramount matter of a zoological survey, however, cannot be carried out by independent action in the various States, but should be controlled by a centralised bureau which could organise a systematic survey. In America, as early as 1885, recognition of the importance of birds to agriculture led to Congress appropriating 5,000 dollars to be ex- pended, under the direction of the Federal Division of Entomology, and the following year the work relating to birds was given separate status as the Division of Biological Survey, which now includes the mammals. We have reached a stage in Australia, nearly fifty years later, when we should follow America’s proved example, with the advantage of much ex- perimental legislation to guide us, and with a simplified task in only hav- ing six instead of fifty individual States and territories to consider. We already have a Commonwealth Division of Economic Entomology, which shows a striking parallel with the inception of the Biological Survey in America, and one may venture to suggest that in view of the economic importance of birds and mammals, the time is opportune for the Federal authorities jto initiate the formation of a Bureau, or to arrange for an advisory conference. Apart from the Division of Economic Entomology, we have our Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, our National Research Council, numerous scientific societies, and State Universities and Museums, and a conference of representatives should have no difficulty in advising upon at least some measure of Biological Survey. The first duty of the Bureau would be to co-ordinate game and pro- tection acts and thereby control exportation, and prohibit the importation of undesirable fauna. The economic value of the Bureau regarding mam- mals would include investigation, and attempted control of mouse and rat plagues, depredations of wild dogs and foxes, and the spread of such ani- mals as deer, which are now a pest in New Zealand. The rabbit industry might also be utilised to better advantage in limit- ing pastoral damage, as it is uneconomic to declare open seasons for harm- less marsupials, such as native bears, and so divert rabbit trappers from a useful occupation, while poison is extremely wasteful of the fauna and 192 AUSTRALIAN FURRED ANIMALS. might possibly be eliminated if rabbit destruction was more systematically planned. To nature lovers, however, biological survey is important as providing the only hope of survival for much of the unique fauna. There is an amaz- ing variety of faunal regions in Australia, and it would be the work of the Bureau to chart the natural populations, report conditions, advise upon adequate reservations, and attend to their control. There is also a distinct. educational value in such a Bureau, the propaganda of which would tend to make people sufficiently mammal-minded to prohibit cruel and un- economic slaughter of harmless species. Cost of the Bureau would be con- tributed to by a small levy on exportable skins, and from their sale, when limitation of kangaroos or possums became necessary in any area. There is a world-wide movement for the conservation of native fauna, and in 1930, while visiting the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, I met the President of the International Office for the Protection of Nature, who had crossed from Brussels for a discussion with the American Com- mittee for International Wild Life Protection. The anxiety of the American Committee to co-operate in conserving the Australian fauna is shown in the suggestion that laws could be considered which would prohibit the importation to the United States of species for which total protection was desired. In view of this international concern, we must not continue our exploitation of the marsupials until some measure of biological survey is instituted. Only by such control, and international co-operation, uniting Governments and nations alike in a veritable league of nature, can many fascinating creatures be saved for posterity. Errors of Exploitation and Need for Protection. In the cause of wild life preservation we must sacrifice something to a national ideal and forego the sordid profits of commercial exploitation. If the dole is a bad thing save as an urgent expedient, surely it is unsound to cultivate in any section of the community a dependence on the slaughter of our unique mammals. It is necessary, of course, for the protection of pastoral interests that undue invasion of kangaroos or emus must at times be checked, but the declaration of open seasons purely for revenue pur- poses constitutes a kind of “back to nature” movement which is a nationally unworthy one. In last year’s brief open season 750,000 possums were slaughtered by means of gun, poison and snares which all too often result in slow strangu- lation. When it is considered that an additional danger lies in the en- couragement of trappers to take skins illicitly in the hope of later open seasons, or with the intention of disposal in other States, it may be realised with what genuine relief and appreciation the Government’s recent de- cision against an open season was received by the Council of your Society. The common possum is utterly harmless when restricted to the bush, and when troublesome about the homestead or in orchards is readily dealt with by local action. The Koala, however, is utterly harmless everywhere, and what a delight it would be for both young and old if they were plentiful enough to haunt the suburbs and homesteads as possums often do. They seek only the freedom of the trees, and if the continued slaughter of such innocents leads to their extermination, it must inevitably appear to later generations as an indictment of the cultural degradation of our time. The past wholesale uneconomic exploitation of possums, Koala, and kangaroos and wallabies is so well known as to hardly require the repetition TROUGHTON. 193 of oft quoted figures, but the appalling slaughter as far back as 1906 is shown by the fact that in that year 4,161,685 possums, and 60,000 wallaby skins were marketed in London and New York alone. In 1924, the colossal total of over two million skins of the Koala or Native Bear were exported and mainly sold under the name of “wombat” to mask the wholesale slaughter. In the Queensland open season of 1927, approximately 600,000 Koala were massacred by 10,000 licensed trappers, and this in spite of the fact that the fascinating creatures have been almost swept from Victoria, largely due to an epidemic disease, and are rapidly vanishing in New South Wales. The first essential towards conservation of the fauna lies in a unified governmental agreement against the exploitation of harmless species for revenue. Who can doubt that the platypus with its lovely fur would be in danger of extermination were it not for total protection, and the rest of the fauna is all too heavily handicapped by the inroads of civilisation, with its sins of commission in the introduction of natural enemies and com- mercial exploitation, and omission in the lack of adequate reserves and protective measures. The introduced mammals are the prosaic essentials, put the monotremes and marsupials are amongst the natural glories of our Australian garden. Age has not withered them, nor could custom have staled their infinite variety, but now we must act quickly and concertedly to preserve the already vanishing stock. Pleading protection’s cause in Museum lectures to school children, I have sometimes reminded them of Barrie’s “Peter Pan” and his fantasy of the fairy kept alive by the children’s belief in their existence. The children of to-day—all too soon—are the grown-ups of to-morrow, and young and old alike must put the weight of their united opinion behind any move- ment for the provision of sanctuaries and general protection for the ancient inhabitants of our adopted land. Only by such universal belief in their right to existence can we hope for the survival of many fascinating crea- tures, for the delight and instruction of the generations to follow, so that, in the words of Kipling’s beautiful L’Envoi:— “Bach for the joy of the working, And each in his separate star, Shall draw the thing as he sees it, For the God of things as they are.” 194 ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. Election of Officers, 1932-33. At a meeting of Council, held on 3rd August, 1932, the following officers were elected :— President: Neville W. Cayley; Vice-Presidents: Professor W. J. Dakin, T. Iredale, T. C. Roughley, and E. L. Troughton; Hon. Secretary and Editor: A. F. Basset Hull; Assistant Hon. Secretary: Clifford Coles; Hon. Treasurer: Phillip Shipway; Hon. Librarian: A. S. Le Souef. New Members. The following new members have been elected since the date of the last list (5th February, 1932) :— Ordinary Members.—K. M. Crawford, Miss H. McRobert, L. J. Perry, P. Leahy, P. Radford, Mrs. A. F. Cleburne, F. O. Clarke. A. Durbridge, H. E. Peir, E. Blattman, J. W. Catt, E. Drew, A. C. W. Hill, M. Kent, P. Marks, P. Wood, and L. H. Winkworth. Associate Members.—Miss M. Feldwick, W. Healy, L. Franzen, N. McGilvray, A. F. Norris, M. S. Sharland, P. N. Whitley, Mrs. Whitley, S. Ayling, J. E. Burns, Miss K. English, T. Flynn, S. French, J. C. Fay, K. Hard- wick, Dr. Z. Halloran, E. J. Horn, J. Lumsden, Miss L. Lodge, R. J. Murray, H. Napier, B. O’Brien, E. J. Priestley, Dr. J. I. Parer, S. E. Shutt, R. W. Taylor, T. White, R. F. Woods, and Mrs. K. Zieman. SYLLABUS OF SECTIONAL MEETINGS, JULY-DECEMBER, 1932. Avicultural Section. (Second Monday in the month.) 12th September——‘Moving Pictures,’ by Norman Chaffer. 10th October.—“Doves and Pigeons,” Tom Iredale. 14th November.—‘Our Honey-eaters,” P. A. Gilbert. 12th December.—“Birds of Paradise,” J. E. Ward. Marine Zoological Section. (First Monday in the month, except on public holidays, then on the following Tuesday.) 5th September.—“Around Australia’s Northern Boundary,” A. A. Living- stone. 4th October (Tuesday) —“Not Quite Fishes,” G. P. Whitley. 7th November.—“Marine Life of the Local Shore,” W. Boardman. 5th December.—‘Goldfish in the Home,” T. C. Roughley. Ornithological Section. (Third Friday in the month.) 19th August.—‘‘Extinct Birds,’ Tom Iredale. 16th September.—‘‘Birds of Tasmania and South-eastern Australia,” Michael Sharland. 21st October.—‘“Sidelights on Nature,” P. A. Gilbert. 18th November.—‘Victorian Days,” A. H. Chisholm. 16th December.—General discussion. Meetings are held at the office, Bull’s Chambers, 28 Martitn Place, at 7.30 p.m. Members may bring friends. 195 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN PAPILIONIDAE. a (Part i.) Papilio aegeus, Donovan. Descriptions of a new female form and two aberrations. By G. A. WaTERHOUSE, D.Sc., B.E., F.E.S., F.R.Z.S. Plate xi. In this series of notes, I hope from time to time to give some interest- ing facts about these large and handsome butterflies. The popular name of “Swallowtails” was applied to them over a century ago, owing to the only species found in Europe having tail-like projections to the hind- wings. Many of them, however, are without tails. They are more plenti- ful in the tropics, but extend to the temperate regions of Australia, one even being found in Tasmania. Like most Australian butterflies, they are more common within 50 miles of the sea coast, only one occurring com- monly inland. Papilio aegeus is one of the most interesting butterflies of the Aus- tralian region. It is found in varying geographical races throughout New Guinea and the adjacent islands, such as the Bismarks, Aru, Key, Banda, Mysol, Salawatti and Waigeu, and also in Eastern Australia. In the Southern Moluccas it is represented by a very closely allied species, Papilio gambrisius. The sexes are dissimilar, and in many parts of the range of the species two or more female forms are found. Six different female-forms from New Guinea have received names. The usual female is the one that is so well known in Eastern Australia, and a form similar to this is found wherever the species occurs, accompanied in some localities by one or more other females, which vary in the direction of being almost white above, or in the other direction of having the forewing above entirely dark brown. The New Guinea race is known as P. aegeus ormenus. All the speci- mens I have seen from Darnley and Murray Islands show the characters of ormenus, rather than of typical aegeus from Sydney. From Banks Island and the islands adjacent to Cape York, though the specimens are not quite typical aegeus, they belong to that race rather than to ormenus. Amongst other characters, the female of typical aegeus can be recognised by the ex- tension of the central white area ox the hindwing below towards the costa as a white bar between veins 7 and 8. This white bar varies in width, usttally being much wider in the south than in the north. In the Victorian Naturalist, Vol. xxv., p. 118, 1908, I described the white female form of Papilio aegeus from Cape York and Prince of Wales Island. Only twelve specimens of this form, which I called beatriz, are known. Additional localities are Thursday Island and Ingham, Herbert River (one specimen). I now give the description of a much rarer female from within the limits of Australia, which corresponds to the form timozena of P. aegeus ormenus. 196 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN PAPILIONIDAE. PaPILIo AEGEUS, female form TULLIA, Nov. Female: Length of costa of forewing about 70 mm. Upperside: Forewing brown-black, with a band of 5 irregular creamy- white spots between veins 4 and 10, bordering the outer end of cell. Hind- wing dark brown-black, with a large central creamy-white area between veins la and 7; this crosses the outer end of cell and extends half-way towards termen; it is followed by a series of blue scalings, more developed in spaces 2 and 3, and a subterminal row of 7 prominent red lunules. Cilia of both wings cream, broadly interrupted at terminations of veins. Underside: Forewing dull black; spots white; a broad spot near end of cell and a series of spots between veins 1a and 10, those between 4 and 10 much longer than above. Hindwing black; central white area more re- stricted basally than above, not crossing end of cell and extended as a thin white line between veins 7 and 8; blue scalings more developed than above, subterminal lunules orange red. One female from Moa (Banks Island) in Australian Museum, Sydney, from J. W. Schomberg. This specimen differs from the five ordinary females from Banks Island in the Australian Museum in the absence of the large pale spot near end of cell in forewing above; by the presence of the five distinct spots of jerewing above; by the less pure white colour of the central area of hindwing above; by the smaller white spots of forewing below; by the central white area of hindwing below not entering end of cell. From Darnley and Murray Islands I have two females of the correspond- ing form (timoxena) of P. aegeus ormenus. Both are without the spot in cell of forewing below and the white bar between veins 7 and 8 on hind- wing below. On the hindwing both have less blue scalings above and below and the subterminal spots are much paler. This brings the number of female forms of typical Papilio aegeus to three. The ordinary female which occurs over the whole range and the only one found from Townsville south; the beatriz from Cape York, Prince of Wales and Thursday Islands, and one from near Ingham; and tullia, one specimen from Banks Island. Mosaic hermaphrodites. Two very interesting mosaic hermaphrodites are known. In examining these specimens it should be noted that both the dark and light scales of the sexes can be easily recognised. The dark scales of the male are black and easily distinguished from the brown-black scales of the female. In the female the pale scales are pure white, but in the male dull white. The first specimen (plate xi., fig. 1, upperside; fig. 2, underside) be- longs to the typical race P. aegeus. Left side, above and below, wholly male. Right side, hindwing above ana below, wholly female. Right side: Forewing; upperside chiefly female; black male scales as follows: Two longitudinal streaks in lower half of cell, below cell and vein 4 numerous streaks and patches, above vein 4, female except in space 5, which has several patches of black and of white male scales. Underside WATERHOUSE. 197 chiefly female; black male scales as follows: One longitudinal streak near lower edge of cell, patches between dorsum and vein 4, but not so extensive as above. Above vein 5 to costa female. Space 5 has male scales above but none below. Space 4 has no male scales above, but patch below close to the cell. This specimen is in the National Museum, Melbourne, and is from Queensland, Mr. Pilchard’s collection, December, 1882. The second specimen (plate xi., fig. 3, upperside; fig. 4, underside) be- longs to P. aegeus ormenus, and is a much more complex specimen than the first. Right side: Forewing above, male except some dull brown-black female scales between end of cell and termen and a small patch near anal angle. Below male with female scales in cell and irregularly between cell and ter- men and dorsum. Right side: Hindwing above, upper half female above a line from base aiong middle of cell and vein 5, below this line male with a few female scales scattered over the wing and two red female subterminal spots. Be- low all female. Left side: Forewing above chiefly male, most of cell female excepting a central longitudinal male streak; mostly female from end of cell to apex. Below almost as above. Left side: Hindwing as right side, but no female scales in lower male half. Below upper half female, lower half male with a few female scales. This specimen is in the Australian Museum, Sydney, from Darnley Island, 23rd June, 1910, caught by H. Elgner. In this specimen the differences in colour between the scales of the sexes is well shown in the large central white patch of the hindwings above. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI. Fig. 1, upperside; fig. 2, underside of mosaic hermaphrodite of P. aegeus aegeus from Queensland. Fig. 3, upperside; fig. 4, underside of mosaic hermaphrodite of P. aegeus ormenus from Darnley Island. All figures about two-thirds natural size. NEW GENERA OF AUSTRALIAN HESPERIIDAE AND A NEW SUBSPECIES. By G. A. WATERHOUSE, D.Sc., B.E., F.E.S., F.R.ZS. During the visit of Brigadier W. H. Evans to Australia early in 1932, the opportunity was taken to thoroughly discuss this family of Australian butterflies. General Evans brought with him a very large number of species from the Australian and Oriental regions, which, together with those in the Australian Museum, made a greater number of species than had ever been gathered together before from the Australian region. It was mutually agreed that I should describe new genera, species and subspecies belonging to Australia, whilst General Evans would describe those from the Papuan and Polynesian subregions and the Oriental region. A paper describing a number of new subspecies has already been read before the Linnean Society of New South Wales, and will be published in September. This communication is the result of study begun in Sydney, but not concluded before General Evans left Australia. General Evans finished the work on the voyage to England, and at the British Museum. He has sent his notes to me with the suggestion that I should publish the Australian portion. Without his great assistance the work would not have been so complete, as many of the genera range beyond Australia, and a study of Papuan and Oriental forms is necessary to understand the Aus- tralian species. In this family, there are no great differences in wing venation, but variations in the shape of the antennal club have been found to furnish reliable clues to the separation of genera. The presence or absence of secondary sexual characters, though useful, are not of primary importance. The male genitalia show a certain amount of variation; generally speak- ing, differences in the clasp are not of generic value, but marked differences in the uncus may be of importance. Subfamily TRAPEZITINAE. Of the fifty-four known species, fifty-one are confined to Australia, where their development has presumably proceeded without external inter- ference. The remaining three species occur in the Papuan subregion. The only allies appear to be a few species from Madagascar, which however may not even belong to this subfamily. ANISYNTOIDES, n.gen. Antennae shorter than half the length of costa of forewing; antennal club bent beyond the middle, with apiculus short and blunt. Forewing with vein 5 almost straight; origin of vein 2 nearer base than end of cell; origin of vein 3 near end of cell. Male without a sex brand. Genotype argenteo-ornatus, Hewitson, from Western Australia. This genus contains the one species which is a much stouter built in- sect than cynone, the gentotype of Anisynta, and the species congeneric with it. In its antennal characters it differs from Trapezites and Anisynta. PasMA, n.gen. Antennal club bent before the middle, apiculus blunt. Forewing with origin of vein 2 midway between base and end of cell. Male without sex brand. Genotype tasmanica, Miskin. This genus will also contain the rare species polysema, Lower. The two species have pointed forewings and are stoutly built, WATERHOUSE, 199 ANIsynta, Lower. In “The Butterflies of Australia,” 1914, p. 181, it was pointed out that the genus as treated there contained somewhat divergent species. I have separated the three stoutly built species above and propose to extend the genus to include monticolae, Olliff, and dominula, Plotz, both of which have a sex brand on the forewing in the male. The antennal club is short, arcuate about the middle, apiculus blunt. Forewing with origin of vein 2 midway between base and end of cell. Palpi half as long again as head, instead of as long as head in the other genera. Male without or with a sex brand. Genotype cynone, Hewitson. ANISYNTA CYNONE, Hewitson. Cyclopides cynone, Hew., Exot. Butt., v., fig. 14, 1874. General Evans has examined the type in the British Museum, which is a male labelled “Australia.” He considers that neither the South Aus- tralian nor the Victorian specimens he took to London are identical with the type, but should both be regarded as races of cynone. The locality of the type cynone must for the present remain in doubt. CROITANA, n.gen. Antennae about half the length of costa, antennal club bent well be- fore the middle, apiculus very blunt. Forewing with origin of vein 2 much nearer end of cell than base. Male without sex brand on forewing. Hind tibiae with only one pair of spurs. Uncus ending in three blunt points. Genotype croites, Hewitson, from Western Australia. The position of this species in the genus Mesodina has never been satis- factory. Its facies is very different to the two species of Mesodina, and its main point of agreement is the presence of a single pair of spurs on the hind tibiae. FELICENA, n.gen. Antennal club bent beyond the thickest part to a finely pointed apiculus. Forewing with vein 5 sharply bent down at origin, vein 2 at origin midway between base and end of cell. Male with a black discal brand on the fore- wing above composed of very long hairs. Uncus ending in four prongs. Genotype dirpha, Boisduval, from New Guinea. One of the most important factors in this subfamily is the early stages of the insects. I have been able to find larvae and pupae of twenty-three of the species, and have some information concerning several others. These early stages may be divided into three sections. (a) Trapezitine: Fat, humped larvae, usually some shade of brown, feeding on Xerotes and grasses. Short, stout, pupae with anterior end rounded, usually brown. (b) Hesperilline: Long, cylindrical, semitransparent larvae, usually greenish, resembling the larvae of the Pamphilinae, feed chiefly on species of Gahnia. Pupae long, cylindrical, green or black, anterior end ending in two long blunt projections or two flattened projections, these head pieces become detached on emergence and provide specific characters. (c) Mesodine: Subcylindrical, hairy, larvae covered with long hairs, feed on Patersonia. Pupae dull black, with head piece smooth and slightly raised knobs, pupate head downwards. On account of the early stages it has been found necessary to remove malindeva, Lower, from Tozidia and place it in Hesperilla. 200 NEW GENERA OF AUSTRALIAN HESPERIIDAE. The Australian species of this subfamily will fall into the genera as follows, the first species being the genotype. TRAPEZITES.—_symmomus, iacchus, eliena, heteromacula, lutea, petalia, sciron, iacchoides, maheta, phigalioides, phigalia. ANISYNTOIDES.—argenteo-ornatus. ANISYNTA.—cynone, sphenosema, tillyardi, monticola, dominula. DisparR.—compacta. Pasma.—tasmanica, polysema. S1ieneta—flammeata, tymbophora. Toxip1a—tyrrhus, parvula, peroni, sexguttata, crypsigramma, doubledayi, leucostigma, melania. NEOHESPERILLA.—crocea, xiphiphora, senta, ranthomera. OREISPLANUS.—™munionga, perornata. HESPERILLA.—ornata, picta, crypsargyra, mastersi, idothea, donnysa, chryso- tricha, chaostola, andersoni, malindeva. MorasincHa.—dirphia, atralba. Mesopina.—halyzia, aeluropis. CROITANA.—croites. Of the three species from the Papuan subregion dirpha, Boisduval (= albicilla, Joicey and Talbot) is in the new genus Felicena and inornatus, Butler (= maykora Plotz), and arfakensis, Joicey and Talbot fall into Toxidia, being closely allied to melania. Subfamily PAMPHILINAE. The information General Evans has sent me since his return to Eng- land necessitates the following changes. ARRHENES Mabille. The gentotype is marnas, Felder. There are two marnas-like species in North Queensland. Under the impression that the larger and com- moner species was the Australian race of marnas from Amboina, the smaller and rarer form was described as a new species, under the. name affinis. This is not the case, as the smaller species is the only one found in Amboina, and the type is in the Tring Museum, and affinis is the Aus- tralian race. The larger species belongs to colattus, Plotz, though it was described from Delagoa Bay. General Evans has examined a copy of the unpublished figure of Plotz, and is certain that it represents the larger marnas-like species from New Guinea, and that the locality given by Plotz is a mistake. Both marnas (with the Australian race affinis) and colattus fall into Mabille’s genus Arrhenes. PADRAONA TANUS, Plotz. Apaustus tanus, Plotz, Berl. Ent. Zeit., 29, p. 228. Padraona sunias, Auc- torum. The species sunias was described from Amboina, and is without the sex brand in the male, which is present in the Australian species, to which the name sunias has been wrongly applied. Two races are found in Australia, WATERHOUSE. 201 and are described by Lower, Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust., 1911, p. 150-1, as Ocybadistes rectivitta and O. sunias, and in “The Butterflies of Australia,” 1914, p. 204, figures as Padraona sunias. PaDRAONA TANUS NIHANA, Fruhstorfer. Ocybadistes tanus nihana, Iris, 1911, p. 44. On the upperside of the forewing the orange-yellow band is as wide as the black marginal band, the entire basal area is orange-yellow: on the upperside of the hindwing the discal orange-yellow band is wider than the marginal black band, and there are usually orange-yellow spots in areas 6 and 7. On the underside of the hindwing the markings are complete. Typically from Waigou; also found at Port Darwin and in North Queensland, the Key and Aru Islands. PADRAONA TANUS NOLA, n.subsp. Male: Upperside, forewing brown-black, with cell broadly orange, ex- tending to base, but not continuously to dorsum, and just touching sub- apical dots, discal orange band narrow, internally bordered from veins la to above vein 4 by an oblique sex brand; longitudinal orange streaks above and below vein la towards base. Hindwing brown-black, with a moderately broad orange discal band, with a minute spot in area 6, sometimes absent, and an orange spot in cell. Underside with the markings as above, but very much obscured in the orange-brown colour of the apex of forewing and the hindwing, an additional faint spot in area 7 of hindwing, which also has a faint greenish tint. Female: Upperside, brown-black, with markings much narrower and darker than in the male, the base of forewing wholly brown-black. Under- side as in the male. Described from six males and one female from Port Macquarie in November in the Australian Museum. The range of this race will be from the Manning River to Brisbane. It differs from the northern race in that the orange markings are much narrower, and there is also a brown-black streak in the male, under the median vein, reaching the base. On the underside, the markings are not so prominent as in the northern race. BaorRYNNIS, n.gen. Antennae very short, not as long as vein 12; antennal club stout, rounded with a short pointed apiculus. Forewing with apex of cell pro- duced, vein 5 opposite vein 9. Hyaline spots on both wings. Male without a sex mark. Genotype amalia, Semper. This genus forms the transition from the Pamphila group to the Baoris group. 202 FOUR NEW SPECIES OF DRYOPIDAE, TOGETHER WITH NOTES ON THE FAMILY. (Order COLEOPTERA.) By H. J. Carter, B.A., F.E.S., and E. H. ZEck. (Plate xii.) Since the publication of our Monograph (1) a more general interest has arisen in this family, and many friends have sent their captures from all the Eastern States. The examination of these shows a large number of individuals, but little increase in the number of species. As with other fresh-water fauna, there is a wide distribution of certain common species. Up to the present not a single example has yet been recorded from South Australia, though the streams of Mt. Lofty have been searched. In Western Australia a single specimen of Simsonia tasmanica, Blkb., was taken by Mr. F. Lawson Whitlock in the Preston River, Bunbury district. The extension of the Tasmanian aquatic fauna to the south-west of the continent is con- sonant with the affinities of certain ants quoted by Mr. John Clark. That Mr. Whitlock worked with some diligence in the streams of his region was shown by his capture of numerous minute Hydrophilidae, Dytiscidae and a new species of Georyssus. Clearly, Dryopidae are uncommon west of the Murray River. Mr. Leathom Wassell’s researches around Brisbane; in the Pine River and Oxley Creek show the family to be extremely numerous. Three species, Stenelmis pallidipes, Cart., Coxelmis v. fasciata, Lea., and Austrolimnius luridus, C. & Z., were especially common, while two new species of Austrolimnius have rewarded his efforts. The most interesting of the new finds is the third recorded species of Stetholus, taken by Mr. F. H. Taylor in the Upper Shoalhaven River. Several larvae have been examined, but no evidence of their relation to the imagines of the same district has been shown. The possessors of aquaria could carry out a valuable research in the study of the physiology and life-history of these curious beetles. Four new species are described and figured below. STETHOLUS LATICEPS, N.Sp. Elongate oblong; head, prothorax and elytra subnitid brown; abdomen and underside of legs red, upper surface of legs yellow, antennae with two basal segments yellow, the rest brown. Head very wide, eyes very large and very prominent; surface pubescent, antennae relatively longer and less transverse than in S. elongatus; 1st segment long, stout and curved; 2nd widely oval; 3-4 triangular, much narrower than 2nd; 5-10 of gradually increasing width; 11th longer than 10th oval. Maxillary palpi having apical segment less elongated than in elongatus. Prothorax at apex much narrower than head, widest at base, thence lightly narrowing to apex, with feeble sinuations in front and behind, apical part closely embracing prosternum, hind angles somewhat ex- planate and subacute, base bisinuate, disc with faint transverse line at apical third, two wide longitudinal sulci at base, surface punctate, with pale pubescence especially at base and sides. Elytra wider than prothorax at base and thrice as long; subparallel, shoulders rather prominent; striate-punctate, the striae lightly impressed, (1) Aust. Zool., 1929. CARTER AND ZECK. 203 seriate punctures round and close, intervals flat and rather thickly punc- tate and pubescent. Legs moderately long and slender, tarsi more slender than in S. elongatus. Dimensions: 5 x 1.5 mm. Habitat: New South Wales, Tallong, Upper Shoalhaven River (Mr. F. H. Taylor). We are indebted to Mr. Taylor for 5 examples of this interesting find. It is conspecific with S. elongatus, C. & Z., by the characteristic short prosternum, the wide antennae and palpi. The eyes are round and extend wholly beyond the front edge of pronotum. The prothorax is rather longer and without the transverse sulcus of elongatus. The prosternum is wider than in that species and sparsely nodulose, its process is without a carina and bluntly rounded behind. The tibiae are grooved as if for the reception of the tarsi. Holotype in Coll. Carter. AUSTROLIMNIUS ATRICEPS, N.Sp. (Fig. 6.) Elliptic, head black, prothorax, elytra and underside red, surface opaque, antennae and tarsi testaceous. Head, eyes not prominent, forehead with sulci extending backward be- hind eyes. Prothorax longer and flatter than in other species, widest behind middle, thence very lightly narrowed each way, apex emarginate, produced in middle, hind angles rectangular, wide lateral explanation delimited by carinae, the marginal one finely serrulate, medial sulcus wide, not quite reaching apex, surface lightly asperate. Elytra obovate, margins finely serrulate, the two exterior carinae closer than in A. politus or montanus, all carinae less raised than in those species; seriate punctures close, intermediate in size between those of politus and montanus, intervals minutely wrinkled and asperate. Prosternum longer, narrower, with more sinuate sides than in other species, its narrowed apex squarely rounded, its border raised, surface finely asperate; metasternum minutely punctate, abdomen finely pubescent. Dimensions: 1.7 x 0.7 mm. Habitat: S. Queensland, Pine River (Mr. Leathom Wassell) . Seven examples sent. The species is distinct, not only by colour, but by its more elongate, depressed form, different sculpture and characters indicated above. Holotype in Coll. Carter. var. concolor. One example, inseparable otherwise from the others, has its whole upper surface opaque, black, and deserves varietal distinction by name. AUSTROLIMNIUS VARIABILIS, N.sp. (Fig. 8.) Elliptic, yellow to dark brown above, underside brown, antennae and tarsi testaceous—in the darker examples the femora and sometimes the tibiae also dark colour; in the pallid examples the legs are concolorous with the upper surface. Head subvertical, enclosed in prothorax to the eyes, the width here equal to that of the apex of prothorax; eyes large, antennae slender, ex- tending nearly to base of prothorax. 204 FOUR NEW SPECIES OF DRYOPIDAE. Prothorax subconic, widest at base, thence for a short way subparallel, then arcuately narrowed and deflected towards apex, this convex in surface and outline; front angles lightly produced, the posterior angles rectangular; lateral margins finely serrulate; disc with fine medial sulcus, not quite ex- tending to apex; the usual carina separating a wide foliation from disc; surface minutely asperate. Scutellum oval. Elytra slightly wider than prothorax at base, ovate or lightly obovate, lateral margins serrulate throughout, the usual lateral carinae present; seriate punctate, the serial punctures small, round and well separated; intervals flat with some microscopic ground punctures. Underside very finely punctate, the prosternal process wide, its sides straight. Dimensions: 1.1 x 0.5 mm. Habitat: Queensland, Pine River, Petrie district (17 miles N.W. of Brisbane), Mr. L. Wassell. Another of Mr. Wassell’s discoveries shows a minute, narrowly ovate species that is close in form, size and structure to Neosolus tropicus, C. & Z. We are unable to distinguish the dark from the pallid examples by any structural character. These were taken in company. Holotype in Coll. Carter. Seven examples examined. N.B.—tThe above species has led us to a reconsideration of the genus Neosolus, which we now think insufficiently differentiated from Austro- limnius, and should be eliminated as a synonym. Austrolimnius luridus, C. & Z. By an oversight the dimensions of this species were omitted from our Monograph (p. 63). These are 1.2-1.4 x 0.6-0.7 mm. NOTRIOLUS MINOR, N.Sp. Obovate, subnitid black; antennae and tarsi red. Head partially enclosed in hooded thorax, antennae with four apical segments slightly wider, longer and of darker colour than the preceding, apical longest. Prothorax, apex and base bisinuate, apical half strongly convex, widest behind middle, thence very lightly converging to the prominent subacute front angles, more evidently narrowing behind, posterior angles obtuse; foliate margins moderately wide, widening to apex; disc evenly punctate (less so than in allynensis, Cart.), a light transverse depression near base. Elytra obovate, considerably wider than prothorax at base; with dis- tinct subhorizontal margin on basal half, gradually obsolete behind, ex- treme border finely denticulate, especially towards apex; elytra separately rounded at apex; striate-punctate, the strial punctures round, much larger than in allynensis, becoming smaller posteriorly, intervals nearly flat, sparsely punctate, with a few transverse ridges on basal area. Underside with medial area coppery brown, the rest with a paler felt- like clothing; prosternum coarsely punctate, its process with raised borders, nearly straight, lightly narrowed to its subtruncate apex. Dimensions: 3.5 x 1.5 mm. Habitat: New South Wales, Dorrigo (W. Heron). Two examples examined are clearly distinct in their genus, near N. allynensis, Cart., but abundantly distinct by smaller size, narrower form, straighter prothorax, and much coarser seriate punctures of the elytra, Holotype in Coll. Carter, CARTER AND ZECK. 205 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XII. Notriolus minor. . Sternal process of Notriolus minor. Stetholus laticeps. Sternal process of Stetholus laticeps. Antenna of Stetholus laticeps. Austrolimnius atriceps. Sternal process of Austrolimnius atriceps. Austrolimnius variabilis. Sternal process of Austrolimnius variabilis. SOTCR I CR OL Re COO The small figures indicate the actual size of the specimens REVIEW. NATURE FANTASY IN AUSTRALIA. By Alec. H. Chisholm. London. J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, Ltd.). 1932. (16/6). Once more Alec. Chisholm presents us with a charming nature narra- tive, and this time, recognising the value of specialisation, he gives us a pen picture of the natural beauties of a restricted area—the Hawkesbury Sandstone Area. It may be that his previous books have contained more varied pictures, but this one shows how much there is to be discovered by the trained observer in the immediate vicinity of his own home. Roaming over the ridges and descending into the gullies of the sandstone, the author shows us how and where to find the birds and flowers of the sandstone country, and how to distinguish the few areas where the Wianamatta shale influences the vegetation, and consequently the flora and the birds feeding in its branches. This study of the interrelation of soil, vegetation, and fauna is not only fascinating in itself, but is an indispensable adjunct to the wider study of nature in general. While in this book we meet with some of the friends of previous works, here we find them framed in sur- roundings familiar to all metropolitan dwellers, and so described and located as to make the book a valuable guide to the local bush lover. The section devoted to the Cuckoos—‘“the World’s Strangest Parents,’ is a concise description of the parasitic habits of the numerous varieties of Cuckoo fre- quenting Sydney and suburbs, and the questions as to the origin and object of these habits furnish subject matter for ingenious theory. The book is profusely illustrated by photographs taken by the author and his naturalist friends —A. F.B. H. 206 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. By T. D. A. COCKERELL. (Continued from vol. vii., part i., p. 54.) HALICTIDAE, Subfamily HaLIcTINAE. The Halictidae are spread all over the world, wherever it is possible for bees to exist, and the number of species is enormous. Most of them have been referred to the genus Halictus, but this may be divided into a number of subgenera, and there will no doubt be an increasing tendency to elevate these to generic rank. Nomiores Schenck. A genus of small bees, found in Europe, Asia and Africa, with one species extending to Australia. In the Australian fauna it is easily known by its small size (female about 5 mm. long, male about 4 mm.), the head and thorax shining bluish-green, the abdomen piceous, with yellow mark- ings. The female clypeus is light yellow, with two broad black bars, which are sometimes practically obsolete. Nomioides perditella Cockerell. Described from the female, taken in the Mackay district by Turner. In 1925 (Stett. Ent. Zeit., 86, p. 71) Bluthgen gave an elaborate description of the male. Friese, in 1924, redescribed it as Halictus (Nomioides) obliquus. Its nearest relative is N. valdezi Cockerell, from the Philippine Islands. PARASPHECODES F. Smith. This genus was established by Smith in 1853, who remarked that the species resembled Sphecodes in a general way, but the females had the characteristic caudal rima or furrow of Halictus. The males, as is common in Halictus, have an elongated abdomen, with the clypeus produced and yellow at the apex. The venational character (first recurrent nervure meeting second intercubitus) relied on by Smith is not constant. The hind spur of the hind tibiae in the female lacks the prominent spines or teeth often seen in Halictus. It was considered that all the species had the abdomen red or reddish, but it now appears that there is a series of en- tirely black forms, which can by no means be separated generically from the others. Thus we are compelled to conclude that Parasphecodes has very little basis as a genus distinct from Halictus; but as it is confined to Australia, with a long series of species, and has a characteristic appearance, it seems best to retain it. Smith described a number of species, using anagrams of the word Halictus for the names. Dr. Reinhold Meyer revised the genus, recognising 51 species, in Archiv. f. Naturgeschichte, December, 1920. He gave tables for the determination of the species, but actually he had only a small series before him, and had to depend mainly on the literature. At present we know 17 species from Queensland, one (P. vau Ckll.) from N.W. Australia, two from W. Australia, five from South Australia, nine from New South Wales, 27 from Victoria, 24 from Tasmania, and three from Australia without more definite locality. These statistics require modification to the extent of stating that two of the Victorian species extend up the coast into Queensland. In general, however, the species seem to be of limited range. The great concentration of species in Victoria and Tasmania suggests that the genus belongs to the ancient Australian fauna, in this respect contrast- ing strongly with Nomioides. The genus is a difficult one to study, owing COCKERELL. 207 to the large number of closely allied species, and the fact that so many are known only in one sex. Much larger series than have yet been collected, with field observations, are necessary in order to put the subject on a sound basis. I have proposed (1930) a subgenus Aphalictus for P. bribiensis Ckll. and P. bribionsiformis Ckll. The females have a brown abdomen, with bosses on the first two tergites. The following key to the species in my collection may be used to supple- ment those already published: — 10. Abdomen black, or (P. atrorufescens) so dark reddish as to appear Dlackere tle Abdomen black, slightly stained with red: mesothorax red Saat . callomelittinus Ck. Abdomen ‘distinctly red, “at least ‘in. part BEE Waves pense bv 9. Area of metathorax large, without plicae .. .. .. .. .. De (Area large, with very fine striae on basal half . : " paramelaenus Ckll. = tamburinei FY.) rent of metathorax with plicae, at least at sides .. .. 4. Area ere on apical half; tegulae very dark . ; ‘ atronitens Ckll., females. Area, dull Re wet ALP ea eee (a? ae Larger; tegulae black or ‘almost. Kitt Som A Ae plorator Ckll., female. Smaller; tegulae red .. .. .. .. insculptus Ckll., female. Male; clypeus chrome ‘yellow, ‘except a large quadrate black mark on each side above; antennae very long, entirely black; second sternite elevated .. .. .. .. eervicalis Ckll. Male; clypeus ‘with : a broad pale yellow apical band . . infrahirtus Ckll. Females .. .. Bs Abdomen very dark red on first three tergites; “first recurrent nervure not meeting second intercubitus; second abdominal sternite with a large conical tubercle .. .. .. .. atrorufescens Ckll. Abdomen broadly dark reddish on ‘first two tergites apically; first re- current nervure meer intercubitus .. . . fulviventris Frieze. Abdomen black .. .. 6. Mesothorax with white hair; ’ shining rim of ‘metathoracic area con- tinuous, not evidently eae or broken in middle; stigma rufous .. .. Doe ee ee ee ee a... @issimulator CkM. Mesothorax with ‘black hair Pee be Ue Apical half of abdominal venter with black hair: tegulae black; first tergite with only a very narrow smooth margin. fumidicaudus Ckll. Apical half of abdominal venter with silvery white hair .. 8. Punctures of first tergite, though very fine, going nearly to margin; area of metathorax very short, the plicate part a transverse band; tegulae black; stigma very dark .. . . .. cervicalis Ckll. First tergite with a rather broad apical smooth band; area of meta- thorax not so short; swollen second sternite very hairy .. .. Aue : noachinus Ck. Tegument of scutellum clear red A 2 a RO SI Peale ce 00 10. Tegument of scutellum not red .. . itil, Mesothorax entirely clear red; first three tergites light ‘red, the others black, contrasting .. .. . .. aurantiacus Ckll. Mesothorax more or less dusky or black: ‘abdomen dark red to ADCXe cee ae ae ae EER Sis SL LOOLOOMenSis: CEL: 208 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. al. 22. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. (The var. musgravei Ckll. has the female head, mesothorax and meta- thorax entirely black, while the scutellum and postscutellum are clear bright ferruginous; the prothorax is red; abdomen with basal half dark reddish, apical half black.) Scutellum and postscutellum densely covered with fulvous tomentum; abdomen light red, dusky apically; tibiae and tarsi light red or more or less darkened .. .. .. 12. (See also P. vau CkIll.) Scutellum and postscutellum not so covered .. .. .. .. 15. Area of metathorax dull, weakly sculptured .. .. .. .. 13. Area of metathorax apically shining .. .. .. .. . 14. Larger; first three tergites clear to apex .. .. .. .. ’ bryotrichus Ckll. Smaller; first three tergites dusky apically. bryotrichus sordidulus Ckll. Middle and hind femora clear red, or mid femora dark .. .. ? basilautus ‘Ck. Thorax ‘above with ‘fulvous ‘hair; ‘tegulae ferruginous; second cubital cellfshort =... fultoni Ckll. (P. cirriferus CkIl., with fourth ‘and following tergites black, is allied.) Hair-or, thorax above) noterulvouse.-) een eer 16. IMBIES ERS ai ose cos. The Wie eee RC eke ie” Wes acts atta koe eee Lie Females .... . Soot Marncwtaree aie 22. First tergite black in ‘middle, except at apex Sy ie! 7 18. First tergite not black in middle .. .. . 19. Larger; abdomen conspicuously Saad first recurrent nervure meets second intercubitus .. . ‘ froggatti Ckll. (topotype.) (Compare here P. perustus Ckll., ” from ‘Tasmania; red of abdomen very bright.) Smaller; abdomen not hairy; first recurrent nervure reaches third cubital cell; tegulae red .. .. . .. rufotegularis Ckll. (Compare P. tripunctatus Ckll., “with tegulae red; first recurrent nervure meeting intercubitus; a deep sulcus between first and second tergites.) Area of metathorax hardly sculptured; second sternite elevated into a large low tubercle .. .. . .. .. Qretferus CK: (Closely allied is P. fulviventris Friese, the abdomen very dark.) Area of metathorax coarsely sculptured .. .. 20. Second sternite of abdomen elevated into a large mammiform tubercle; first three tergites chestnut red, those beyond black, con- trasting .. . slat lene oss RYOOOIMUS CKNe Second sternite ‘not thus tuberculate es 21. First tergite somewhat blackened in middle; ’ flagellum red be- neath .. .. : froggatti Ckll. First tergite not at all ‘blackened. in ‘middle: flagellum ‘all black. . vermiculatus ‘Ck. Second sternite ‘elevated into & a “conspicuous tubercle: base of abdomen black! 2)... .. .. arciferus Ckll. (Compare 12 julviventris Friese, with a conspicuous tubercle, but abdomen very dark.) (In two other species the second sternite is gibbous; they separate thus: Abdomen black at base .. se) ee C2TETALS, Ck. ‘(see also ‘fulviventris Friese.) Abdomen not at all plackatibase!s-) oe) ene eee re 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. COCKERELL. 209 1. Tegulae pure black; first recurrent nervure meeting inter- CHDILUST eee . .. .. wilmattae Ckll. Tegulae reddish: “first ‘recurrent joining apex of second cubital Cel ce: . .. .. leptospermi Ckll.) Second sternite not ‘elevated into a ‘tubercle Ae ee 2B}, Base of abdomen more or less narrowed, the first tergite not shouldered; abdomen reddish brown, not chestnut red; first two tergites with shining bosses laterally; oe fulvous (subgenus Aphalictus) bribiensis Ckll. First tergite wide, shouldered: “the red a . chestnut colour. 24. Base of abdomen black or strongly blackened .. .. .. 25. Base of abdomen not blackened .. .. 28. Wings very strongly reddened (somewhat ; so in “ latissimus) ; tegulae CarksrUfOUSMe es Seu krke cue tae Me Oem elseif ee wellingtoni Ckll. Wings not reddened .. .. a0 Ne 26. First tergite black only in . middle: ‘first “recurrent nervure reaches second cubital cell well before end; area of metathorax dull, with merely fine rugose sculpture .. .. .. wellingtoni griseipennis Ckll. First tergite very broadly black .. .. A PALI Much larger; red of the broad abdomen dark; ‘wings rather reddened .. .. .. .. latissimus Ckll. Smaller; red of the. abdomen ‘pright: tegulae rufous .. .. excultus Ckll. Mesothorax moderately shining in middle; tegulae black; recurrent nervure meeting intercubitus .. .. alae tals wilmattae Ckll. Mesothorax dull; tegulae usually more or less reddened. 29. Tegulae clear fulvous red; wings very red .. .. .. .. rhodopterus Ckll. (P. speculiferus may have the tegulae quite red, but wings not red, and area of metathorax shining apically.) Tegulae not thus fulvous red ..... : 30. Smaller; second cubital cell narrow ‘or ‘not very broad: area of meta- thorax shining apically .. .. Sas craves terete paca ce Ckll. Larger; second cubital cell very broad . ce ee CAE 31. More robust; first two tergites dark red, ‘dull . Aeseas lichatus Smith. Less robust; first two tergites clear red, moderately ‘shining heer .. .. leptospermi Ck. The following key separates some species of the P. cirriferus group, with fulvous or ochraceous hair on thoracic dorsum: TNE EHS Bh ie” SiO CAG OTS. = COA Oe REMERON icv ct cho ee ie Females .. .. Soe SP eeeReS Ci "0.6. SOROS oF Flagellum red beneath . Pee ee mefe iehes/4 SSE ets ILOLESCE IIS. CEI Flagellum black .. .. 2. Fifth tergite plack; black ‘marks ‘at ‘sides of third and fourth tergites; hind tibiae black .. .. fultoni Ckll. Fifth tergite reddish; ‘no plack marks ‘at ‘sides. of third and fourth; hind tibiae dull red .. .. .. .. rufulus Friese. Front and middle tibiae dusky. red; “fourth tergite dusky red . 5 f notescens CkIl. Front ‘and middle tibiae ‘plack, ‘more ‘or less marked with red. se 4. Fourth tergite practically black, with red hind ‘margin: third with red hind margin, contrasting with blackish area before it .. .. fultoni Ckll. (type.) (In P. cirriferus ‘Ck, ‘the ‘fourth and following tergites are black.) 210 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Fourth tergite red... .. ay: Red of abdomen rather bright ‘chestnut: wings clearer .. fultoni Ckll. Red of abdomen dark; wings dark . BRE cic tesu ore subjultoni Ckll. The following was published in 1910: First recurrent nervure entering second cubital cell; flagellum red above and beneath .. .. .. .. .. Schomburgki Ckll. First recurrent nervure meeting intercubitus ah eee if. Tibiae and tarsi red; clypeus ‘aaa red (females) or yellow (males) .. .. Osta ho\oy ee Re 2: Tibiae and tarsi mainly dark . oh 4. Scutellum and postscutellum densely | covered with “ochraceous moss- like hair .. .. Re re 3. Scutellum and postscutellum without ‘such hair ARRANDERA “rrumbcq o[LLABO Fee > Ly rey R. VICTORIA Ae Fig. 1—Map of New South Wales, indicating the past range of the Bilby, Macrotis lagotis cambrica, indicating the localities where specimens in the Australian Museum were taken. Localities ——Mossgiel, Coombie, Groongal, Narrandera, Illabo, Wallend- been, Grenfell, Goulburn, Bathurst, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Bourke, Moree, Wellington caves (pleistocene). Remarks—tThis race, intermediate in size between its nearest western and southern neighbours, sagitta and grandis, has evidently been present in New South Wales for a very long time, according to its once wide dis- tribution, and the fossil remains found at Wellington; Krefft remarked that the fossil teeth were larger and rather different to recent ones, but this may be discounted by his probably not being aware of the marked growth changes, and the remains may reasonably be taken as indicative of the long establishment of the local race. 7. MACROTIS MINOR. Peragale minor Spencer, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. (n.s.), ix., 1897, 6, pl. ii. figs. 1-4. Thalacomys leucurus Le Souef (not Thomas), Australian Zoologist, vi., 2 1930, 110. Diagnosis —A small species which differs from sagitta, the smallest race of lagotis, in its definitely smaller size, coloration of the undersurface and ? 232 A REVISION OF THE RABBIT-BANDICOOTS. tail,* and different habits. Analysis of Spencer’s description provides the following general characteristics. Colour and Fur.—Fur very long, soft, and silky; composed almost en- tirely of underfur. General colour fawn-grey; apparently darker than sagitta, which Thomas described as a little paler than the typical western lagotis. On the back and sides the underfur is black basally, then fawn- coloured; the stouter hairs are very little longer than the underfur, and black-tipped. On the undersurface, the chin and inner side of the fore- limbs are white; rest of limbs and undersurface grey, the fur with a dark grey basal part and white distal half. Manus white. Pes white above, the hairs on the posterior two-thirds of sole black, white anteriorly. Tail with proximal two-thirds short-haired and black above, final third white-haired and crested dorsally; sides and undersurface of tail with scanty stiff white hairs. External Characters.—Size small, the head and body length not attain- ing 300 mm.; the tail relatively short as in sagitta, averaging about two- thirds the length of the remainder, instead of five-sixths as in leucura. Rhinarium naked but no backward prolongation on the snout as in lagotis. Hindfoot decidedly smaller than in sagitta, ranging from 57-73 in the typical series of adults of both sexes, against 91 mm. in the adult male type of sagitta. A small rounded pad at the base of the fourth toe and a much larger one at the base of the fifth. Mammae 8. Skull and Dentition—Skull smaller and more delicate than in lagotis, the basal length of an adult male is 66 mm. against 76.5 in the adult male type of sagitta, the smallest race of that species. The upper anterior extremity of the premaxillary not so strongly produced as in lagotis, the muzzle therefore not appearing so markedly trifid antero-laterally. Ac- cording to Spencer’s figure, the posterior end of the palate extends well behind M4, the hind margin of the nasals is separated by about 4 mm. from the line joining the lachrymal foramina, and the molar portion of the palate is slightly rounded. Posterior palatal vacuities extending from about the middle of Pm3 to the hind edge of M2. These features, derived from a single example, are doubtless subject to a considerable degree of varia- tion, as indicated under the genus. Molars small, in slightly curved rows, with considerable spaces between the lingual margins of adjacent teeth. Front of canine to back of M4 28 mm., against 36 in sagitta. Comparison with Allies—Apart from its size, which is intermediate be- tween leucura and the smallest race of lagotis, this species is distinguished from both by having the basal half of the belly fur dark grey, instead of white or yellowish-white to the roots. According to the description, minor is further distinguished by having the black tail-mark on the dorsal sur- face only, instead of encircling the tail as in lagotis, while the entire tail of leucura is white. The Mungeranie Specimen.—This was, in my opinion, incorrectly re- corded as leucurus by Le Souef, and I am indebted to Mr. Brazenor, of the National Museum, for the following points, derived from his manuscript notes, which tend to ally the specimen with minor. The length of the head * Since preparing the following description of M. minor, Mr. C. W. Brazenor, of the National Museum, Melbourne, has kindly examined the typical series and confirmed the distinctive characteristics of bi-coloured belly-fur, and restriction of black on the tail to a dorsal band, TROUGHTON. 233 and body suits the range given for minor and is considerably larger than that of leucuwra; that this is not merely due to age is shown by the relative shortness of the tail which agrees with minor in being about two-thirds the length of the head and body, instead of five-sixths as in leucura. A photo of the Mungeranie animal clearly shows the tail* to be parti- coloured, lack of which distinguishes Jeucura, while the brown mark on the posterior part of the sole agrees with minor rather than leucuwra, which is without dark hairing along the sole. The length of the skull (60 mm.), only 6 mm. less than listed for minor, and the length of C-Mé4, agree well with the latter, the size therefore being less than in sagitta, and consider- ably more than in leucura. Distribution.—As only the typical series has been recorded, from the sandhills about forty miles to the north-east of Charlotte Waters, just north of the South Australian border, there is a tendency to regard minor as of a definitely more central range. As pointed out regarding sagitta, however, the range is probably more extensive than supposed, which is supported by the National Museum specimen, apparently reconcilable with minor, which comes from Mungeranie, east of Lake Eyre, only a little north of the type locality of sagitta. Holotype and Allotype-—Only one specimen, adult male (e) of Spencer’s list, has the skull removed, and this specimen, which is numbered R.12,430, with its skull as tabulated by Spencer, may definitely be designated as the holotype. Allotype, adult female (d) of Spencer’s list, registered No. R.12,313. In the National Museum, Melbourne. Remarks.—As was the view of Spencer, in which Thomas concurred, there can be little doubt of the specific distinction of minor, in support of which I now emphasise the restriction of the black on the tail to a dorsal band, and the bi-coloration of the belly-fur, characters not hitherto stressed, but, if consistent, serving to distinguish minor from all other forms. It is noteworthy that in his personal copy of the “Catalogue,” which was thoughtfully placed at my disposal when working at the British Museum, Mr. Oldfield Thomas had pencilled “two specimens from Char- lotte Waters, C.A., at once distinguished by tail black along top only for proximal half or two-thirds, in a narrow line or low crest, the sides dull whitish and the end of its long crest pure white.’ The feature was verified by the specimens, and it seems remarkable that its diagnostic importance was not stressed in Spencer’s description. Apart from differences of size and various features, the notes of Mr. Byrne, given by Spencer, showed the habits to differ from those of sagitta, and that this is recognised and exploited by the aboriginals. The scanty white hairing of the undersurface of the tail, opposed to the thick en- circling of dark hairs in lagotis, and the absence of the naked prolongation on the snout in the adult series, supports the inference of different diet and habits to those of the races of lagotis. As Thomas stated, sagitta is clearly the “Urgarta” which Spencer referred to the typical lagotis, in contrasting its habits and characters with those of minor, known to the aboriginals as “Urpila.” The coincident range of the two forms, in conjunction with differences in size, characters, and habits, leaves no doubt of the specific distinction * The dark dorsal band on the tail and the bi-coloured belly-fur are as in minor, but somewhat lighter, according to Mr. Brazenor. 234 A REVISION OF THE RABBIT-BANDICOOTS. from lagotis sagitta, but it is possible that minor may be subspecifically al- lied to leucura. 8. MACROTIS LEUCURA. Peragale leucura Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xix., 1887, 397, and Cat. Mars. Monotr. Brit. Mus., 1888, 225, pl. ii. (animal), pl. xxi., figs. 9-10 (manus and pes). Diagnosis—Apparently the smallest of the genus, from all members of which it is distinguished by the wholly white tail, which is also propor- tionately longer, and by the wholly white pes which lacks a dark mark on the sole. Molars, according to Thomas, differing considerably from the true lagotis. Habitat: Central or North Central Australia. Colour.—General colour uniform pale yellowish fawn. Top of head and back fawn, suffused with slaty grey, the hairs slate-coloured at the base and tipped with brown. Hairs of the muzzle, chin, chest, belly, limbs, and tail pure or yellowish white to the roots. Fore and hind limbs pure white, the pes without a dark mark along the sole. External Characters—Size small, form slender, the head and body length much smaller than that of females of minor, although the hindfoot almost equals the minimum for that series. Rhinarium hairless, but no naked prolongation on the snout. Tail proportionately very long, about five-sixths the length of the head and body; the hairs of the terminal third forming a prominent crest. Two small but distinct pads on the com- pound terminal projection opposite the 4th and 5th toes, closer and more like enlarged granules than those of minor. Skull and Dentition—Skull small and delicate compared with young lagotis, the general characters very similar, except that the bullae are more evenly hemispherical, and not so prominently bulbous postero- externally. Teeth, according to Thomas, in comparison with an immature speci- men of lagotis with unworn dentition, much smaller, but of similar shape and relative proportions. Molars small and quadrangular, their summits with numerous sharp-pointed cusps as in Perameles; their general struc- ture therefore much more distinctly insectivorous than in Jagotis; they also differ in the much earlier period at which they form roots, the roots of the two anterior molars being already formed and closed up in the very young holotype, while in lagotis the crowns are very long and the roots unclosed until quite late in life. Comparison with Allies—Although the holotype male was immature and the hindfoot-length approximates the minimum of females of minor, the nearest ally, it seems evident that leuwcura is distinguished by having the head and body proportionately smaller, the tail much longer, and by the coloration, in which the belly fur is uni-coloured, instead of bi-coloured, and the tail is wholly white instead of being black above for the dorsal two-thirds proximally; the wholly white pes also distinguishes it from all other species of the genus. Skull and dentition apparently smaller, and crowns of molars differing from those of minor. Distribution —The holotype, in the British Museum, was part of a small collection obtained from Mr. Beazley, then Museum Taxidermist in Adelaide. Though it was unfortunately unlocalised, Thomas stated that “other specimens in the collection belong either to North Australian species or to such as may have been obtained in the neighbourhood of Adelaide itself.’ As demonstrated in this paper, the small race lagotis sagitta, and minor, probably have a much larger range in south central Australia than 6 Ly P 1 4 Lv €L Gal €T al Sel 8'It ay 98 Le te oF BE Wo 8& AZ 6 86 vP 98 L&E GPE 18 8 rE £61 X21 STx96 OL Ot 9IXOLT GLX 6 8°Se 20% 0% 0¢ L8G 9°83 £°*9 vo 99 0S OS SP 699 eS PEL Tal €T eae cat VEL Q'IT OL 8°9 GL 8 L gL 99 6h VIP SP Ov OF £8 2 GP 8°Lé 96 18 FOL GOL 18 GAL 8'P8 LLL *XPUL “Lut ‘solies [[ NJ p oddqureg | POL 86 PIT 16 36 96 9°36 £6 gotle6 —«- 88/8 LL 6L 06 L6 28 08 8LzZ 8G 094 Sta 004 O42 GES LOG 009 OBE ogg gle O6E G9 Sle £08 “ys Pedgty 984 ‘edgITy Pedy Pada)P eda } edtty “Brue1o qs Pp odqry jP prod A,0joH pa ae gotias [ny ‘sedAq jo} ‘oprejepy jo yynog IMOISUAIIp [BUIE4IXq| “ISI VOIApURxXeyy Sate YjNog May DOLLQULDD *] “IN ‘oye vdjen “SIPUDLB “7 * BITRAysny “44S ‘oth oyu] JO oy ‘euuraed erry IN BITVIASNY “44S ‘ABM [Y-SUBAT, ‘4WBog BvoploOo “DUWODS *] “WT Sadr162U “7 RITRAISNY 490 ‘ACM ey “aqsny -SUvIy, ‘VUUIT Ae *‘pjaaliazur 2 “We 69 8 SFL eI 68 ge ey a4 FY IF @StXtT 1X11 g-0g &% "29 6g eI II g 89 OL) = OPP 8°F6 18 *xBul megares *‘Sotas [[NF Q°R0T TOT 98 28 L9G G&S P pe & pe VITBIGSNY SOM “pjeyoovry 817060] ‘1 “WW '$21306D] S11010D Iq aL & & 86 L GL 107 If q°9 GE 99 P eL 99 ras) 26 18 G8 O9T L&T 6ST OLZ hs OFG *XBUL “ULUL “XBUL Lg 89 8IT 006 radu a eee zIpeaqsny [eayued *s1098 9}40[1BYO JO “AN SIS OPF “LOULUL “JT ol og LB ‘aqsny [e1jzUED sunok Area ‘(qrards ur) ‘syinpe ‘setses teorddy, | P edAgoioH “‘pinana)] “WW sW 5° Y9PIA OSIOASTBIY, ne Tet 8 aT go Ygsue] [ey uoZzI0 boo" 008 ; mq Jo Yg8ue] [eyUozIIO 6 ;ug yo 49909] [eyuozTIOy ee + Jo youq —oUlU¥d Jo JuOLT " WOULBIO; [BILle i eA Optsyno YPvoerq “o4Vls gq Wy Suey ogee “* yerodure4.1e30y Y4pverq 45 ‘speseyy Y93ueT ‘syese jy "79 Sue] [eaeg INAS ss gooypurg, “eg TL Kpoq pws pox, ‘s1]010D Shues ay} JO setoedsqns puv sarlseds Jo SUOISUBTUIP [eIUvIO pues [eUIEIXH 236 A REVISION OF THE RABBIT-BANDICOOTS. supposed, so that it seems highly probable that leweura is the most northern representative of the genus. That it inhabits the more sandy central region is supported by the paler coloration, and possibly by the more insectivorous phase of the dentition, noted by Thomas; the bodv coloration may have been affected by long spirit preservation. Remarks.—Apparently in conformity with their smaller size, the absence of a naked area back from the rhinarium suggests a similarity of habits and diet in leucura and minor, in which surface insects, in leucura at least, enter more generally than in lagotis. The restriction of the black on the tail of minor tends to support the affinity, so that it is just possible that additional material may ally the small forms subspecifically, though the comparative length of the tail of lewcura is decidedly greater, being five- sixths as opposed to about two-thirds of the length of the head and body in minor; the bi-coloration of the belly fur and the white-haired sole further distinguish leucura. It seems, however, in spite of the unsatisfactory nature of the un- localised material, that there can be no doubt of the specific distinction of this small and very striking rabbit-bandicoot. The molar structure probably confirms this separation in its approxi- mation to that of Perameles, which was regarded by Lydekker as an in- dication that the Rabbit-Bandicoots were probably a specialised offshoot from that genus. 237 THE TRUE CRABS OF THE CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. (Class Crustacea, Order DecapopA BRACHYURA.) Part 1. XANTHIDAE. By MELBOURNE Warp, F.Z.S., Honorary Zoologist, Australian Museum, Sydney. Introduction. The true crabs of the Capricorn Group have previously been studied by Grant and McCulloch; McNeill and Ward. The data for the following paper has been gathered during several visits made by the author to this interesting locality. The first visit was in 1926, when ten days were spent on Heron Island. During that period the fauna of the lagoon, beach and beach rock zones formed the subject for study, and as a result a small paper appeared in “The Australian Zoologist” on the Ecology of a Coral Reef. In 1927, Mr. E. F. Pollock organised a party of naturalists and holiday-makers to visit the islands of both the Capricorn and Bunker Groups during the summer breeding season of the sea birds and turtles. In the Bunker Group, Lady Musgrave, Hoskyn and Fairfax Islands were visited, and Heron, One Tree, Wilson and North West Islands in the Capricorn Group. The zones collected on were the same as on the first trip, and a little dredging was indulged in in Lady Musgrave Lagoon. In June, 1929, Mr. William Boardman, of the Australian Museum, and I spent ten days on North West Island, and had our first opportunity of examining the outer edge of the reef flat, which is only exposed at very low tides. This we found supported a fauna of New Caledonian forms. In December, 1929, Messrs. Hayter and Embury organised a trip to North West Island and, through their kindness, I was able to obtain.interest- ing forms by dredging for several hours each day. The new species which have been collected in this locality are being described and figured and will appear at a later date. The same gentlemen organised two other ex- peditions—in May, 1930, and May, 1931, on which I had the pleasure of acting as naturalist. In spite of the fact that in a previous paper I dealt with some of the interesting ecological problems, it has been deemed advisable to briefly reiterate, as well as augment this data. There are seven zones in all. Commencing from the land and pro- ceeding seawards, the first is the beach above sea level. Here three species of Ocypoda are to be found, living in burrows and obtaining their food on the line of flotsam at the tide level. The portion of the beach covered by the high tide supports the smallest crustacean fauna of the zones, occasional small colonies of Mycteris species and Uca species occur, though during the high tide there are several nomadic species which search for food. This steep intertidal beach meets the silt or mud-flat zone at a very clearly marked line, the surface of the mud is firm and is inhabited by the burrowing Macophtalmus species. Small fragments of dead coral abound and form the shelters of Thalamita integra. The free swimming Achelous species moves rapidly about in search of prey and Calappa hepatica occurs commonly. Masses of living coral appear on the mud-flat at some distance from the island, these become more and more numerous until they form great 238 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. patches between which narrow aisles of white sand wind their tortuous ways. These passages finally end at the rampart or reef-crest zone, which is a belt of dead coral extending along the reef separating the lagoon from the New Caledonian zone; the characteristic niggerheads extend along the higher part of the crest and shelter wanderers from the outer New Cale- donian zone. This is the actual edge of the reef, and is only exposed at spring tides. There is a substratum of coral rock over which a carpet of living corals is spread, these corals are very fiat, owing to the rush of the surf, and the few inches of water with which they are covered at the spring low tides. This water is the overflow from the lagoon, which cascades out to the surrounding sea. In some parts of the zone the superficial layer or carpet of coral forms a perfect covering over the substratum; in others the coral rock is free of such covering and is encrusted with Lithothamnion which is also present on dead portions of all the coral zones. In the parts where the live corals are not so numerous the surface of the reef presents a succession of basin pools, each on a lower plane, so that the water overflows from one to the other. After leaving the Crest the sides of the pools met with are coated with algae and have occasional masses of living corals. None of the basin pools is very deep, two feet on an average; the floors of the pools are covered with white sand. There is another type of pool in the zone which occurs very near the edge of the reef, these are deeper, some are Several fathoms in depth and the sides or walls are made up of masses of corals superimposed. In collecting on this area one finds it an easy matter to prise up the superficial layer, large fragments being turned over. At the extreme edge of the reef the underlying surface or substratum presents the entrances to labyrinths down which the denizens disappear quickly. Here are to be found Cyclax suborbicularis, Xanthias punctatus, Neoliomera insularis, and Carpilius maculatus. Where the superficial layer is on a substratum which has collected an inch or two of sand, deposited by the receding tides, Pararanthias notatus is the outstanding species. ° In the basin pools are, as previously remarked, masses of live coral which lie upon the sloping sides of the pool; the larger specimens of Ater- gatis dilatatus find refuge under such masses. The Conglomerate zone assists greatly in the formation of the islands. The rocks are formed entirely of coral sand, and the whole zone is a flat layer crossed and recrossed by cracks and crevices. The fauna bears con- siderable resemblance to a mainland reef, Leptodius, Grapsus and Ozius are characteristic genera. As is to be expected, the inhabitants of one zone overlap those of an adjoining zone, but nevertheless the general facies of, for instance the New Caledonian zone, differs markedly from that of the Lagoon zone. Eriphia sebana occurs both on the Rampart or Crest and the Conglomerate zone near the island, but not in the lagoon. The crabs of the family XantHmaE form the greater part of the collections, under consideration, and have been dealt with, not in the usual order of classification, but rather on account of the large number of species included. It is my intention to deal with the PortTunipaE, GONOPLACIDAE, GRAPSIDAE, OCYPODIDAE, OxysTOMATA and Drom1paE in a later paper. WARD. 239 Family XANTHIDAE. Genus CaRPILIUS. Carpilitus Leach, in Desmarest, Dict. Sci. Nat., Vol. 28, 1823, 228. Type: C. maculatus = Cancer maculatus, Linn. 1758. Habitat in Asia. Carpilius Leach, Rathbun. Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus., Washington, 1930, 239. CARPILIUS MACULATUS. Cancer maculatus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., xii., edit. 1, pt. 2, 1767, 1042. Carpilius maculatus (Linn.) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal (n. ser.), Ixvii., 2, No. 1, 1898, 79. Idem. McCulloch and McNeill, Rec. Austr. Mus., xiv., 1., 1923, 54. Idem. McNeill, Aust. Zool., iv., pt. v., 1926, 312. Since it has been possible to examine the New Caledonian zone it has been found that this apparently rare species is really not uncommon under the superficial layer of living coral. Material—One female, 64.5 mm. total carapace width. North West Island, May, 1930. CARPILIUS CONVEXUS. Cancer converus ForskKal, Desc. Anim., 88. Cancer adaspersus Herbst Krabben, I., ii., 244, pl. xxi., fig. 1, 1790. Cancer marmarinus Herbst Krabben, III., iv., 7, pl. Ix., fig. 1, 1804. Carpilius converus Ruppell, 24 Krabben roth., Meeres, 1830, 13, pl. iji., fig. 2 and pil. vi., fig. 6. Carpilius converus Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal., lxvii., 2, 1898, 80. This is the largest species inhabiting the masses of corals in the outer lagoon zone, each crab is usually found in compartments formed by the stems of corals. Material—One male, measuring 17 mm.* Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. Two females, 20 mm. and 21 mm. Heron Island, Sep- tember, 1926. One female, 41 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. One female, 79 mm. Heron Island, November, 1927. Genus CARPILODES. Carpilodes Dana, Amer. Journ. Sci. (2), vol. xii., 1851, 126. Monotypic type C. tristis (specific name not given until 1852). Carpilodes Dana, Rathbun. Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus., Washington, 1930, 241. CARPILODES SERRATIPES. Carpilodes serratipes Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, 1925, 29, 1, 19, pl. 1, fig. 15. Holothuria bank, N.W. Australia. This small species is interesting on account of not having been col- lected since Odhner’s record; also it has not appeared before on the eastern Australian coast line. During the short visit to the British Museum, London, the author had the pleasure of handling the type of the species and was able to compare the Queensland specimen with it. The dorsal surface of the carapace of fresh specimen is white; legs and sternal surfaces purple. Material—One female, 8 mm. Dredged in 8-10 fathoms off North West Island, May, 1930. * Note——In this paper the measurement given is that of the total width of the carapace. 240 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. CARPILODES TRISTIS. Carpilodes tristis Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. 1., 1852, 193, Atlas, 1855, pl. 9, fig. 7a-d., Paumotu Arch.? Idem. Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, 29, I., 1925, 12, pl. 1 fig. 1. This Carpilodes inhabits the under surfaces of coral masses in the lagoon zone. Material—Two females, 14 and 23 mm. Fairfax Island, November, 1927. Two males, 11 and 10 mm. Heron Island, November, 1927. CARPILODES BELLUS. Actaeodes bellus Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 196. Atlas, 1855, pl. ii., fig. 2. Samoa, Wakes Island and Paumotus. Carpilodes vaillantianus A. Milne Edwards. Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, i., 1865, 231, pl. xi., figs. 3, 3a, 3b. Red Sea. ‘Isles Maurice et Bourbon,” Samoa. Carpilodes bellus Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, 1925, 29, 1, 16, pl. 1., fig. 9. Africa, Indian Ocean. East Indies with East Australia, Mid-Pacific and Hawaiian Islands. This species, fide Odhner, has a very wide distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific and African Coast, but has not been previously recorded from the southern end of the Barrier Reef. Material—Two males, 8 and 9 mm.; two females, 9 mm. Heron Island, November, 1927. CARPILODES CINCTIMANUS. Carpilius cinctimanus Adams and White, H.M.S. Samarang, Crust. II., 1849, 37, pl. vii., fig. 5. Philippines. Carpilodes cinctimanus Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, 29, 1, 1925, 14. Gulf of Aden to Tahiti. This is the commonest species of the genus occurring on the Capricorn reefs; it inhabits the outer New Caledonian zone, where it shelters under the living coral. It wanders up on to the crest of the reef, but is by no means common under the niggerheads. The variation in colour seems to be associated with the growth of the individual, the smallest in the present series, a male 11 mm. in carapace width, has a white carapace and pink legs. The larger forms show the gradual spreading of the red colouring from the gastric towards the bran- chial areas; in the largest of the series the white entirely disappears and the red deepens; the distal parts of the ambulatory legs are white, the tip of the dactyl brown. Fingers of the chelipeds brown with light tips. The broad dark band on the manus is only developed in the male from Hoskyn Island. Material—One female, 35 mm.; one male, 10 mm. Heron Island, November, 1927. One male, 22 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. CARPILODES MONTICULOSUS. Carpilodes monticulosus A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 181, pl. v., fig. 1. New Caledonia. Idem. Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, 29, I., 1925, 21, pl. 1., fig. 18. Africa (Natal) to Paumotus. This species occurs under coral on the New Caledonian zone. It is a prettily marked species, the carapace is white with a few scattered splashes WARD. 241 of pink, the legs are pink, fingers of the chelipeds are pale brown with white tips. Material—One female, 9.5 mm. January, 1930, North West Island. CARPILODES RUGATUS. Carpilodes rugaius Milne Edwards, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, I., 1865, 230, pl. xii., figs. 3, 3a, 3b. Indian Ocean; Coast of China. Carpilodes rugatus (Milne Edwards) Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, 29, 1, 1925, 20, pl. 1., fig. 16. Daedalus shoal, Red Sea to Honolulu, Hawaii. The species inhabits the caverns in the New Caledonian zone. Carapace and legs uniform dark plum, varying through a series, some specimens being slightly lighter than others. Dactyles of the ambulatory legs tipped with white. In the lighter individuals the fingers of the hand are red at the base with tips white; in the darker forms the red is replaced by brown and the tips are white. Material—Two males, 13 and 15.5 mm. Four females, from 10 mm. to 15mm. Collected in May, 1930. Genus NEOLIOMERA. Neoliomera Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, No. 1. 1925, 25. Type, N. insularis (Adams & White), Philippines. NEOLIOMERA INSULARIS. Atergatis insularis Adams and White, Zool. Samarang, iv., Crust. I1., 1849, 38, pl. vili., fig. 2. Philippines. Neolkiomera insularis, (White) Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Hand- lingar, Bd., 29, I., 1925, 32, pl. ii., fig. 14. New Guinea, Santa Cruz. Samboanga, Mindanao, Bonin Islands, Port Lloyd. Atergatis Montrouzieri A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 186, pl. v., fig. 5. New Caledonia. The species is apparently rare on the Australian reefs. The present series was obtained on the New Caledonian zone, where it inhabited the under surfaces of the superficial layer of living coral. All four specimens are uniform light red, the smaller males are paler than the large female. Material—Three males, 7, 11, and 15 mm. North West Island, June, 1929. One female, 40 mm. North West Island, June, 1929 (retained in Ward Coll.). Genus ATERGATIS. Atergatis de Haan, in Siebold Fauna Japon., Crust., 1833, 17. Type, A. integerrimus de Haan, Japan. Atergatis de Haan, Alcock Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxii., pt. 11, No. 1, 1898, 94. ATERGATIS OCYROE. Cancer ocyroe Herbst, Naturg. d. Krabhen u. Krehbse, III., 2, 1801, 20, pl. liv., fig. 2. East Indies. Atergatis ocyroe (Herbst) McNeill and Ward, Rec. Aust. Mus. Sydney, xvii., 9, 1930, 382. New South Wales. This is an abundant species on the coral reefs and on the mainland rocky reefs. It is a form not directly associated with living coral. 242 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. Material—oOne female, 46 mm.; one male, 36 mm. Heron Island, Sep- tember, 1926. Two males, 42 and 53mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. One female, 24mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. ATERGATIS DILATATUS. Atergatis dilatatus de Haan, Siebolds Fauna Japon., Crust., 1835, 46, pl. xiv., fig. 2. Japan. Idem. A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, I., 1865, 238, and Nouv. Archiv. Mus Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 183, pl. v., fig. 6. New Caledonia. Jdem. Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bangal, Ixvii., II., 1, 1898, 96. Ceylon; Andamans. The coloration of this species makes it one of the most beautiful of the reef forms. The carapace is orange yellow in the central portions; white on the margins. The limbs are violet and the fingers of the chelae dark brown. The colours are more brilliant in small, becoming faded in old in- dividuals. Material—Four males, 35, 36, 67, and 72 mm.; one female, 50 mm. North West Island, June, 1929. Genus PLATYPODIA. Platypodia Bell, Trans. Zool. Soc. London, Vol. 1, 1835, 336. Type, P. granulosa (Ruppell). Red Sea. Platypodia Bell, Rathbun Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 246. PLATYPODIA ANAGLYPTA. Atergatis anaglyptus Heller, Abhandl. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien., 1861, 6, and S.B. Akad. Wien., xliii., 1861, 312, pl. ii., figs. 11, 12. Red Sea. Lophactaea anaglypta (Heller) A. Milne Edwards, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., II., 1, 3, 102. Galle, in Persian Gulf. The species occurs under nigger heads and in the crannies between living and dead corals. Material—Three females, 32, 33 and 32mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One male, 13 mm.; one female, 14 mm. Fairfax Island, November, 1927. PLATYPODIA FISSA. Lophactaea fissa Henderson, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (2), Zool., v., 10, 1893, 355, pl. xxxvi., figs. 8-8a. Tuticorin. Platypodia fissa (Henderson) Edmondson, Bernice Bishop Mus. Bull., 5. Honolulu, 1923, 13. Palmyra Island. The first specimens collected of this species were found in masses of living Tubipora musica in the outer Lagoon zone, but later others have been obtained under the layer of living corals on the New Caledonian zone. Material—Two females, 15 and 25 mm.; one male, 27 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. PLATYPODIA SEMIGRANOSA. Atergatis semigranosus Heller, Sitzungsber. Kais. Akad. Wiss. Wien., Bd., 43, 1861, 313. Red Sea. Lophactaea semigranosa (Heller) de Man, Abh. Senckenb. naturf. Ges., Xxv., 1903, 582, pl. xxi., fig. 19. Batjan. and synonymy. Material—One male, 10 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. PLATYPODIA GRANULOSA. Xantho granulosus Ruppell, 24 Krabben roth. Meeres, 1830, 24, pl. v., fig. 3. Red Sea. WARD. 243 Lophactaea granulosa (Ruppell) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ilxvili., TI., 1, 1898, 101. Australia and Samoa. Material—Eight males, from 13 to 41 mm.; five females, 14, 15, 19 and 36 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. Four females, 16 to 40 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One male, 18 mm. North West Island, November, 1927. One male, 30 mm. Fairfax Island, November, 1927. Genus ZozYMUS. Zozymus Leach (Dict. Sci. Nat., xii., 75, Miers), and in Desmarest Consid. Gen. Crust., 1825, 105. (Footnote). Z. aeneus (Linn.) (In India, Linn.). Zozymus Leach, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., pt. II., No. 1, 1898, 103. ZOZYMUS AENEUS. Zozymus aeneus (Linn.) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., pt. ii, No. 1, 1898, 104. Andamans and Laccadives. The species is abundant on the reef at One Tree Island, where it occurs under the masses of dead corals, nigger heads, which are numerous on the reef crest. On the other reefs it is not so numerous. An interesting association is to be observed in the appearance of the Rhizocephalid genus Thomsonia upon the sternal surface and walking legs of certain individuals. Materials—Nine males, from 33 to 85 mm.; six females, 49 to 76 mm. One Tree Island, November, 1927. One male, 25 mm. North West Island, November, 1927. One male, 25 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. Two females, 47 and 42 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. Genus LOPHOZOZYMUS. Lophozozymus A. Milne Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. (4), xx., 1863, 276. Type, Lophozozymus incisus (H. Milne Edwards), Australasia. LOPHOZOZYMUS PICTOR. Cancer pictor Fabricius, Entom. Syst. Suppl., 1798, 335. Lophozozymus pictor Rathbun. Archiv. fur. zool. Bd., 16, 23, 1924, 15. Singa- pore and Malay Arch. to Japan, and N.W., N.E. and Central Australia; Fiji and Samoa. Lophozozymus octodentatus Ward, Aust. Zoologist, Vol. v., Pt. iii., 1928, pl. Xx1x. Capricorn Group, Queensland. This species is more numerous on the mainland reefs than on the Capricorns. EUXANTHUS. Euzanthus Dana, Sillimans Amer. Journ. Sci. and Art. (2), xii., 1851, 125; Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1852, 75; and U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust., pt. 1, 1852, 173. Type, Euxranthus sculptilis Dana. Fiji or Tongatabu. EUXANTHUS MELISSA. Cancer melissa Herbst, Krabben., III., ii., 1801, 7, pl. li., fig. 1. Habitat un- known. Euzanthus melissa (Herbst) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., i. 1898, 110. Andamans; Mergui and Ceylon. The species occurs under living coral on the New Caledonian zone; oc- casional specimens are obtained in the Lagoon zone under the live corals. Material—Three females, from 41 to 66 mm. North West Island, December, 1929, January, 1930. 244 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. Genus XaNTHO. Xantho Leach, Malac. Pod. Britt., 1815, pl. xi., and text, and Trans. Linn. Soc. London, xi., 1815, 320. Devon, England. Type = Cancer floridus Montagu, Trans. Linn. Soc., ix., 85, pl. ii., fig. 1. XANTHO DEMANI. - Xantho subacutus (Stimpson) de Mau, Abh. Senckenb. Nat. Ges., Frankfurt, Bd., 25, 1902, 595. Xantho demani Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, 1924 1. The species occurs on the New Caledonian zone under the layer of living coral. Material—Four males, 10 to 24 mm.; one female, 20 mm. North West Island, May, 1930. Genus LEPTODIUS. Leptodius A. Milne Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (4), xx., 1863, 284. Type, L. exaratus (Milne Edwards), Cotes de L’Inde = Chlorodius exaratus. Leptodius A. Milne Edwards, Rathbun. Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washing- ton, 1930, 296. LEPTODIUS SANGUINEUS. Chlorodius sanguineus H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., 1834, I., 402. Ile-de-France. Xantho (Leptodius) sanguineus (H. Edwards) A. Milne Edwards, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., 1, 1898, 3, 1, 119. Andamans and Laccadives, Nicobars, Ceylon and Persian Gulf. The species occurs commonly under the slabs of conglomerate beach rock on sand; each individual hollows a small compartment in the sand. This is one of the forms which feigns death after the stone under which it is hiding has been removed. Material—Six males, from 11 to 28 mm.; six females, 12 to 28 mm. Heron Island, 1926. LEPTODIUS NUDIPES. Chlorodius nudipes Dana, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1852, 79, and U.S. Explor. Crust., I., 1852, 209, Atlas, 1855, pl. xi., figs. 12a-c. Mangsi Islands. Xantho (Leptodius) nudipes (Dana), A. Milne Edwards, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., 3, 1, 1898, 121. Andamans and Mergui. The species occurs under the slabs of dead coral in the Lagoon zone. Material—One male, 12 mm. (specimen compared with specimens in Paris Museum). North West Island, July, 1929. Genus CyYCLOXANTHOPS. Cycloxzanthops Rathbun. Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 289. Type, C. serdecimdentatus (Milne Edwards and Lucas). Mexico? CYCLOXANTHOPS CAVATA. Cycloxanthops cavata Rathbun, Mem. Mus. Camp. Zool. Cambridge, xxxv., 2, 1907, 41, pl. v., fig. 8. Paumotus. This is one of the interesting species of the New Caledonian zone, where it occurs under the layer of coral in situations where an amount of sand has been caught, the crabs burying themselves when the protecting coral WARD. 245 is lifted. The colour is usually white, some have the carapace and legs speckled with dark brown, two of the females have a red blotch on the carapace just behind the front. A specimen of the original series in the National Museum, Washington, was examined, and the Australian series compared with it. Material—Four males, 5-7 mm. North West Island, June, 1929. Six females, 5-9 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. Genus ETISUs. Etisus H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., I., 1834, 410. Type, FE. dentatus (Herbst) = Cancer dentatus Herbst. Etisodes Dana, sub-genus of Etisus. Etisodes Dana, Sillimans Amer. Journ. Sci. and Arts (2), xii., 126 (foot- note); Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1852, 77; and U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., I., 1852, 185, 184. Type, E. frontalis Dana. Sooloo Sea. Etisus (Etisodes) Klunzinger, Nova Acta der Leop. = Carol. Akad., Bd., 99. Halle, 1913, 234. Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. = Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, No. 1, 1924, 83. ETISUS LAEVIMANUS. Etisus laevimanus Randall, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1839, 115. Idem. Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., ii., i., 1898, 131. Persian Gulf; Karachi; Bombay; Laccadives; Andamans; Singapore. IJdem. Klun- zinger, Nova. Acta. Abh. du Kaiserl. Leop.-Carol. Deutschen. Alsademie der Naturforschen, Bd., 1c., No. 2, 1913, 237, pl. vi., figs. 13a-b. Red Sea. Idem. Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, No. 1, 1925, 83. Material—Two males, 47 and 55 mm.; four females, from 36 to 52 mm. Heron Island, 1926. One male. North West Island, 1926. Etisus (ETISODES) ANAGLYPTUS. Etisus anaglyptus H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., 1834, 411. Australia. Cancer anaglyptus H. M. Edwards, in Cuvier, Regne Anim. Crust., 1836, pt. Xi., fig. 4. Etisodes anaglyptus Lanchester, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1900, 739, pl. xlv., fig. 5. Samoa; Australia; Philippines; Timor; Flores; Pulan Setang; Singa- pore; Persian Gulf. Idem. de Man, Abh. Senckenb. Ges., xxv., iii., 1902, 605. Etisus (Etisodes) anaglyptus Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Hand- lingar. Material—One female, 45 mm. Heron Island. Etisus (ETISODES) ELECTRA. Cancer electra Herbst, Krabben., iii., ii., 1801, 34 and 36, pl. li, fig. 6, and pl. liv., fig. 3. Etisodes electra Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., pt. ii., No. 1, 1898. Etisodes electra (Herbst) Calman, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (2), Zool., viii., I., 1900, 7. Etisus (Etisodes) electra Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar., Bd., 29, No. 1, 1925, 83. The species is common under blocks of coral in the lagoon. Material—One female, 19 mm. North West Island. Two females, 11, 16 mm. Heron Island. Two females, 14, 16 mm. Lady Musgrave Island. Nine females, 13 to 17 mm.; five males, 14to0 17 mm. Heron Island, 1926, 246 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. Genus AcTAEA. Actaea de Haan, in Siebold, Fauna Japon. Crust., 1833, 4 and 18. Type, A. savignii (Milne Edwards).= Cancer savignii Milne Edwards, 1834. Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. = Cancer granulatus Audouin, 1825, not C. granulatus Linn., 1758, America. Actaea de Haan, Rathbun. Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 250. ACTAEA ACIES. Actaea acies Rathbun, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (2), Zool., xiv., IL, 1911, 219, pl. xvi., figs. 8-9. Saya de Malta; Salomon, Egmont Lagoon. The species occurs in holes in the living masses of Tubipora musica in the lagoon zone. Material—Two females, 17 and 18 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. ACTAEA BANARIAS. Actaea banarias Rathbun, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (2), Zool., xiv., I1., 1911, 223, pl. 18, figs. 7 and 8. Salmon, Egmont Reef lagoon. The species is common in the passages and crannies of the living Tubipora musica in the lagcon zone. Material—Two males, 9-10 mm.; 11 females, from 9-12 mm. North West Island, November, 1927. One female, 10 mm.; one male, 10 mm. Heron Island, Novemnper, 1927. One male,7 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. ACTAEA CAVIPES. Actaeodes cavipes Dana, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1852, 78, and U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 199. Atlas, 1855, pl. xi., figs. 5a-b. Fiji, Samoa. } Actaea cellulosa Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 164. Atlas, 1855, pl. viii., fig. 2. Tutuila, Samoa. Actaea schmardae Heller, Beitr. z. Crust. Fauna d. Rothen. Meeres, in S.B. Akad. Wien., Bd., 43, I., 1861, 318, pl. 1., fig. 18. Red Sea. Glyptoranthus cymbifer Rathbun, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1914, 658, pl. 1., 11, figs. 6, 7. Monte Bello Islands. The species inhabits the deep crannies in dead or partly dead corals in the lagoon zone. Material—Two females, 13-15 mm.; one male, 10 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. One female, 15 mm.; one male, 13 mm. Heron Island, November, 1927. Four females, 10 to 13 mm.; two males, 9 and 11 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. ACTAEA CONSOBRINA. Actaea consobrina A. Milne Edwards, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, Heft. 4, Ham- burg, 1873, 79. Upolu, Samoa. Actaea suffuscula Rathbun, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (2), Zool., xiv., II., 1911, 220, pl. 17, figs. 10 and 11. Salmon; Cotivy. Actaea consobrina A. Milne Edwards, Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, 1, 1924, 67, pl. iv., fig. 14. Bonin-Marshall, Gilbert, Ellice, Samoa, Marquesas Islands. Rathbun, loc. cit., remarks the light brown of the fingers extending over the palm; this occurs in both males in the present series; the female, however, has only the fingers brown. Material—Two males, 6-9 mm.; one female, 8 mm. North West Island, May, 1930, WARD, 247 ACTAEA POLYACANTHA. Chlorodius polyacantha Heller, S.B. math. naturw. Cl. Akad. Wiss. Wien., xliii., I., 1861, 339, pl. ili., fig. 21. Red Sea. Actaea polyacantha (Heller) Rathbun, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, xiv., II., 1911, 222. Coetivy. The species occurs under the living coral on the New Caledonian zone. Material—Two males, 7.5 mm.; two females, 7. mm. and 11.5 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. ACTAEA RUFOPUNCTATA. Xantho rufopunctatus Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust. I., 1834, 389. Ile de France. Actaea nodosa Stimpson, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1860, vii., II., 203 (fide Odhner) . Actaea garetti Rathbun, Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., 1903, III., 852, pl. ix., fig. 8. Hawaiian Islands, Kingsmill Islands, Society Islands, Mauritius (fide Odhner) . Actaea rufopunctata (Milne Edwards), Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, I., 1925, 60. Red Sea; Gulf of Aden; East Coast of Africa; Mombasa; Tamatave; Madagascar; Mauritius; Singapore; East Celebes; Timor; Moluccas; New Guinea; Marshall Island; Gilbert Islands; Fiji Islands; Samoa; Tahiti (fide Odhner). This is one of the rarer species of the New Caledonian zone, where it is found under the superficial layer of living coral. Material—One male, 11mm. North West Island, December, 1929. One male and one female, 12 mm. and 21 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. ACTAEA SPECIOSA. Actaeodes speciosus Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped. Crust. I., 1852, 198, pl. xi., fig. 4. Samoa. Actaea speciosa (Dana) Ortmann, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., 1, 1898, 143. Persian Gulf, Ceylon and Andamans. The single specimen, a female measuring 3 mm. total carapace width, was collected from the cavity in the base of a small mass of live coral on the New Caledonian zone. June, 1929. ACTAEA TOMENTOSA. Zozymus tomentosus H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust. I., 1834, 385. In- dian Ocean and in Couvier Regne Anim. Crust., 1836, pl. xi., bis., fig. 2. Actaea tomentosa Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., 1, 140. Idem. Rathbun, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard. Coll., xxxv., 42. Nicobars, Andamans, Palk Str. and Laccadives, Mauritius, Australia and South Seas. This is a very common reef species, and one which has a wide range in the Indo-Pacific, and occurs upon the east Australian coast as far south as Port Jackson, N.S.W. Material—Two males, 13 and 14 mm.; one female, 20 mm. Lady Mus- grave Island, November, 1927. Three males, 15 to 34 mm.; two females, 20 and 24mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. Genus PARAXANTHIAS. Parazranthias Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. = Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, No. 1, 1925, 85. Type, P. notatus (Dana). Paumotu and Sandwich Islands. 248 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. PARAXANTHIAS NOTATUS. Xanthodes notatus Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped. Crust., xiii., I., 1852, 18, 8, fig. 12, 1855. Paumotu and Sandwich Islands. Paraxanthias notatus Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, I., 1925, 85. Material—One female, 19 mm. North West Island, November, 1927. One male, 17 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. Three males. 15, 16, 18 mm. One Tree Island, November, 1927. Two females, both 15 mm. One Tree Island, November, 1927. Six males, from 14 to 20 mm.; one female, 19 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. PARAXANTHIAS PACHYDACTYLUS. Xanthodes pachydactylus A. Milne Edwards, Ann. de la Soc. Entomol. France, vii., 1867, 268, and Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 201, pl. vi., fig. 4. New Caledonia. Parazanthias pachydactylus A. M. Edwards, Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. = Samh. Handlingar, Bd., 29, No. 1, 1924, 84. Material—Five males, from 8 mm. to 15.5 mm.; one female, 15 mm. North West Island, December, 1929, January, 1930. Genus XaNTHIAs. Xanthias Rathbun, Bull. 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 464. Type, Xanthias lamarckii (Milne Edwards, 1834). Ile de France = Xantho granosomanus Dana, 1852. XANTHIAS PUNCTATUS. Xantho punctatus H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust. I., 1834, 396. Mauri- tius. Idem. A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 199, pl. vii., fig. 6. New Caledonia. Liozantho punctatus (Milne Edwards) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., II., 1, 1888, 91. Ceylon, Mauritius and Samoa. Xanthias punctatus (Milne Edwards), Odhner, K. Vet. O. Vitterh. Samh. Hand. Bd., 29, 1, 84, 1924. Odhner, loc. cit., gives a very interesting note on the species of the genus Xanthias and Lioxranthus, and in the present study I have followed his example. The species is not uncommon under the superficial layers of live corals on the New Caledonian zone. The coloration is very beautiful and characteristic, specimens ex- amined in continental museums display similar markings. The posterior regions of the carapace are dotted with red brown; the mid-gastric area is clouded with brown; the hepatic and anterior branchial regions are also clouded with brown. Material—Four males, 11, 16, 26, 31 mm.; three females, 16, 34, 36 mm. North West Island, January, 1930. XANTHIAS LAMARCKIL. Xantho lamarckii Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust. I., 1834, 391. Tle de France. Xanthodes lamarckii Milne Edwards, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., 1, 1898, 157. Andamans; Madras Coast and Ceylon. The species occurs under nigger heads, but is most abundant on the New Caledonian zone, where individuals are found sheltering under the layer of living corals. WARD. 249 Material—One female, 11 mm.; three males, 17 to 22 mm. MHeron Island, November, 1927. Two females, 20 and 22 mm. One Tree Island, November, 1927. Two females, 14 and 16 mm.; one male, 18 mm. North West Island, November, 1927. One male, 17 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. One male, 17 mm.; one female, 16 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. One female, 20 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. NEOXANTHIAS gen. nov. Type, Neoxanthias impressus (Lamarck) = Xantho impressus (Lamarck) Milne Edwards, Alcock. Ile de France. NEOXANTHIAS IMPRESSUS. Cancer impressus Lamarck, Hist. Nat. Anim. Sans. Vert., v., 1818, 272. Isle de France. Xantho impressus (Lamarck) H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., I., 1834, 393. Isle de France. Idem. Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ilxvii., 11, 1, 1898, 115. Mergui; Andamans; Mauritius. The type species, Xantho floridus of European seas, has been examined and compared with specimens of Neoxanthias impressus, and found to differ markedly in the dimensions of the carapace, in the shape of the chelipeds and the shape of the merus of the external maxillipeds. Xantho floridus approaches Leptodius rather than Neoxanthias, which in turn resembles Xanthias in the chelae, being equal in size, but differs from the type species Xanthias lamarcki in having the first lobe of the antero-lateral margins produced beyond the orbit, and in having the carapace deeply areolate. The male copulatory appendages resemble those of Xanthias, but are less hooked at the tips. Eudora de Haan, 1834? is preoccupied by Eudora Peron and Lesueur, Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, xiv. (83), 1810, 326. Med. The species is one of the rarities of the Queensland reefs and inhabits the New Caledonian zone, where it shelters under the layer of living coral. Material—One female, 57 mm. North West Island, December, 1929, January, 1930. Genus CHLORODIELLA. Chlorodiella Rathbun, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. 11, 1897, 157, and Bull. 52, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 462. Type, C. niger (Forskal) = Chlorodius Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., Vol. 1, 1834, 399 and 401, C. niger (Forskal). Red Sea. CHLORODIELLA NIGRA. Cancer niger Forskal, Descr. Anim., 1775, 89. Chlorodius niger (Forsk.) Ruppell, A. M. Edwards, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., II., 1, 3, pt. 1, 1898, 160. Andamans, Nicobars, Mergui, and Merkran Coast and Indo-Pacific. Chlorodiella niger (Forsk.) Rathbun, Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., 1903, IIT., 857. Hawaiian Islands. Material—Six males, 13 to 28 mm.; 19 females, 9 to 23 mm. Heron Island, 1926. One male,17mm. Hoskyn Island. One male, 20mm. Heron Island. Two males, 13 and 14mm. One Tree Island. One female, 11 mm. North West Island. Three females, 10 to 12 mm.; six males, 8 to 23 mm. Fairfax Island. The coloration of this species is uniform dark brown in the adult, but the immature have the carapace mottled with a greenish light brown. As 250 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. evidenced by the large series in the collection, this is the common Xanthid on the Capricorn reefs, being found in the crannies between the branches of the living and dead corals. CHLORODIELLA BARBATA. Chlorodius barbatus Borradaile, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1900, 587, pl. xli., fig. 4. Rotuma. The emphasis placed by the artist on the grooves of the carapace in Borradaile’s figure is misleading, for, upon examining specimens from Saloman in the British Museum, Sealark Expedition, and, comparing them with the figure quoted, the grooves prove to be faintly marked, as stated by Borradaile in the text of the quoted paper. The species occurs commonly amongst Halimeda weed, which grows thickly on dead branching coral in the lagoon. Material—One male, 9 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. Genus PHYMODIUS. Phymodius A. Milne Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (4), xx., 1863, 283. Type, P. ungulatus H. M. Edwards. Australasia. Phymodius A. Milne Edwards, Rathbun, Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washing- ton, 1930, 249. PHYMODIUS SCULPTUS. Chlorodius sculptus A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 217, pl. viii., fig. 4. New Caledonia. Phymodius sculptus (A. Milne Edwards) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., II., 1898, 164. Andamans, Mergui; Ceylon. Jdem. Grant and McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxxi., 1906, 13. Masthead Island, Capricorn Group. Material—One male, 18 mm. One Tree Island, November, 1929. PHYMODIUS UNGULATUS. Chlorodius ungulatus H. M. Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust. I., 1834, 400, pl. 16, figs. 6-8. Australasia. Phymodius ungulatus (Milne Edwards) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., No. 1, 1898, 162. Andamans, Ceylon. Phymodius ungulatus (Milne Edwards) Rathbun, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard., xxxv., 2, 1907, 46, pl. iii, and iv., No. Mohican Reef; Tahiti; Paumotus; Society Islands; Tongatabu; Ellice Islands; Tari Tari Island; and Carolines. Idem. de Man, Abh. Senckenb. Ges., xxv., IIL., 1902, 618. Ternate. Material—Six females, from 18 to 35 mm.; 11 males, from 15 to 35 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One male, 33 mm.; two females, 21-31 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. Two males, 12-25 mm.; five females, 16-17 mm.—One Tree Island, November, 1927. Five males, 12 to 31 mm.; one female, 16 mm. Lady Musgrave Island. One male, 18 mm. North West Island. Genus CHLORODOPSIS. Chlorodopsis A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 227. Chlorodopsis Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., No. 1, 1898, 165. Type, Chlorodopsis melanochirus A. Milne Edwards. New Caledonia. CHLORODOPSIS SCABRICULA. Chlorodopsis scabricula (Dana) Rathbun, Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., 1908 WARD. 251 (1906), III., 859. Hawaiian Islands; and Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. Har- vard, xxxv., II., 1907, 50, pl. 1., fig. 3, pl. ix., fig. 5. Tahiti. The species occurs amongst living corals, New Caledonian zone. Material—tThree males, 7, 7 and 7.5 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. CHLORODOPSIS MELANOCHIRUS. Chlorodopsis melanochirus A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 228, pl. viii., fig. 5. New Caledonia. Chlorodopsis melanochira A. Milne Edwards, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., IT., 1898, 168. Andamans. The species occurs on the under surfaces of nigger heads and masses of corals in the basin pools on the outer reef crest zone. Material—Two males, 8 and1l mm. North West Island, June, 1929. CHLORODOPSIS SPINIPES. Pilodius spinipes Heller, S.B. Ak. Wiss., xliii., 340, pl. iji., fig. 22 (1861). Red Sea. Chlorodopsis spinipes Calman, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (2), Zool., 1900, 12. Murray Island; Red Sea to New Caledonia. Material—Three males, 10.6 mm. to 11.5 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. CHLORODOPSIS MELANODACTYLUS. Chlorodopsis melanodactylus Milne Edwards, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 229, pl. viii., fig. 7. New Caledonia. Chlorodopsis melanodactyla Lenz, Abh. Senckenb. Ges., xxvii., 1905, 355. Zanzibar. Idem. de Man, Abh. Senckenb. Ges., xxv., 1902, 624. Ternate. The species is common in the Lithothamnion covered dead coral portion of the New Caledonian zone. Material—Four males, 12, 13, 14 and 14.5 mm.; two females, 10 and 13 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. CHLORODOPSIS AREOLATUS. Chlorodius areolatus H. Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust. I., 400. New Holland. Chlorodopsis areolatus Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixviii., II., 1898, 166. Andamans, Nicobars, Ceylon, Mauritius and South Seas. Genus Crmo. Cancer (Cymo) de Haan, in Siebold Fauna Japon., 1834?, 22. Cymo de Haan, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., No. 1, 1898, 172. Type, Cymo andreossyi (Audouin) Egypt. CyMO ANDREOSSYI. Cymo andreossyi Stimpson, Smithson. Insti. Washington Misc. Coll., 49, 1907, 60. Bonin Islands. Jdem. Grant and McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. Sydney, xxxii., 152. Masthead Island, Capricorn Group. The species is found in the branches of the living “Staghorn” coral in the lagoon and New Caledonian zones. Material—Four females, from 13 to 15 mm.; two males, 12 and 12 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One female, 13 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. One female, 15 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. Genus PSEUDOZIUS. Pseudozius Dana, Sillimans Amer. Journ. Sci. and Art (2), xii., 1851, 127; 252 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1852, 81; and U.S. Explor. Exped., xiil., Crust. I., 1852, 232. Pseudozius Dana, Klunzinger, Nova. Acta. Abh. d. Kaiserl. Leop.-Carol. Deutsch. Akad. Natur., Bd. IC., nr. 2, 1913, 283. Type, Pseudozius cays- trus (Adams and White) “Maria Orientalia” = P. planus Dana, Water- land Island, Raraka Island, Paumotu Arch. and Wakes Island, North Pacific. PSEUDOZIUS DISPAR. Pseudozius dispar Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 235, pl. mii., fig. 9. Sooloo Sea. Idem. Calman, Trans. Linn. Soc. (2), Zool., viii., I., 1900, 14, and syn., Murray Island, Torres Strait, New Caledonia, Sooloo Sea. In certain parts of the lagoon zone there are dead masses of coral covered by a thick growth of algae, which entirely fills the spaces between the coral branches, and it is amongst this weed that Pseudozius dispar is found. Material—One female, 11 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. One female, 8 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. Two females, 8 and 11 mm. North West Island, November, 1927. Six females, from 7 to 9 mm.; three males, 7 to 9mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One male, 11 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. Genus PILUMNUS. Pilumnus Leach, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, IT., 1815, 309 and 321. Type, P. hirtellus. European? Pilumnus Leach, Rathbun, Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 481. PILUMNUS SLUITERI. Pilumnus sluitert de Man, in Weber’s Zool. Ergebn. Nierderl. Ost.-Ind., II., 1892, 283, pl. 1., fig. 2. East Indies. Idem. Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II, 1, 1898, 194. Andamans and Samoa. Occurs under living coral on the New Caledonian zone. Material—One female, 33 mm. North West Island. PILUMNUS TERRAE-REGINAE. Pilumnus terrae-reginae Haswell, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., vi., 1882, 752. Port Molle, Queensland. Idem. Grant and McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxxi., 1906, 15, pl. 1, figs. 1-la. Port Curtis, Queensland, Mast- head Island, Capricorn Group. This is one of the few mainland species which ranges out to the coral reef. Material—One male, 9 mm. Heron Island. Three females, 8-11 mm. North West Island. PILUMNUS SPINICARPUS. Pilumnus spinicarpus Grant and McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1906, I, 15, pl. 1., figs. 2-2a. Masthead Island. This is without a doubt the commonest species of Pilumnus in the locality. It occurs under the nigger heads. and in the deep crannies of the masses of coral in the lagoon zone. Material—One female, 15 mm. Lady Musgrave Island. Four females, from 11 to 17 mm.; one male, 14mm. Heron Island. One female. Hoskyn Island. Five females, 11 to 16 mm.; five males, 9 to 15 mm. Heron Island, 1926. WARD. 253 PILUMNUS CAERULESCENS. Pilumnus caerulescens A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 242, pl. ix., fig. 3. New Caledonia. Idem. McNeill, Aust. Zoologist, iv., 5, 1926, 315. North West Island, Capricorn Group. The species occurs on the New Caledonian zone under the living coral. Material—Three males, from 9 to 10 mm.; three females, 9 to 10 mm. North West Island. One male, 9mm. Heron Island, 1926. PILUMNUS ACTUMNOIDES. Pilumnus actumnoides A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 247, pl. x., fig. 3. New Caledonia. The occurrence of this species is of great interest owing to the fact that it has not been previously noted on our coast; also that, apart from the original description, it has not been recognised outside the type locality. It is very common in circumscribed areas on the New Caledonian zone, where it is found under the living corals, and was particularly numerous during the mid-winter trip in 1929. I was unable to find either types or specimens in the Paris Museum. Material—Two males, 14 and 17 mm.; one female, 13 mm. North West Island, May, 1930. Genus ACTUMNUS. Actumnus Dana, Sillimans Amer. Journ. Sci. and Arts (2), xii., 1851, 128; U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii, Crust. I., 1852, 243. Type, A. tomentosus Dana. Tahiti or Upolu, Samoa. ACTUMNUS PUGILATOR. Actumnus pugilator A. Milne Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ix., 1873, 195, pl. vii., figs. 1-la. New Caledonia. Idem. Rathbun, Biol. Results F.I.S. Endeavour, v., 3, 1923, 126, pl. xxvii., figs. 3-4. Pine Peak, Queensland; Platypus Bay, Queensland. The species occurs on the shelly bank outside the reef at North West Island 20 fathoms deep. Material—One female, 15 mm. North West Island, December, 1929. ACTUMNUS INTEGERRIMUS. Actaeodes ? integerrimus Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 201. Atlas, 1855, pl. xi., fig. 7. Sandwich Islands. Actumnus integerrimus Rathbun, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., xxxv., 2, 1907, 56, pl. 1., fig. 12. Tahiti, Paumotus (outer reef). The species occurs in considerable numbers in the small holes in the Lithothamnia on the New Caledonian zone. The Australian examples have been compared with the photographed individual in the National Museum, Washington. Material—Four females, 6 mm.; one male, 5 mm. North West Island, May, 1930. Genus ERIPHIA. Eriphia Latreille, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., xx., 1817, 404. Eriphia Latreille, Rathbun, Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 545. Type, E. spinifrons (Herbst) = Cancer spinifrons Herbst. Adriatic. ERIPHIA SEBANA. Cancer sebanus Shaw, in Shaw and Nodder, Nat. Misc., xv., 1803, pl., 591. 254 TRUE CRABS OF CAPRICORN GROUP, QUEENSLAND. Eriphia sebana (Shaw) McNeill and Ward, Rec. Aust. Mus. Sydney, xvii., 9, 1930, 381. New South Wales. Material—Two females, 15 and 19 mm.; one male, 21 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. Genus TRAPEZIA. Trapezia Latreille, Encyc. Method, xx., 1825, 695. Trapezia Latreille, Rathbun, Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, 1930, 556. Type, T. dentifrons Latreille, 1825. — T. cymodoce (Herbst, 1801). East Indies. TRAPEZIA FERRUGINEA Val., AREOLATA. Trapezia areolata Dana, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1852, 83, and U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 259. Atlas, 1855, pl. xv., figs. 8a-b, 9. Sooloo Sea; Tahiti. Trapezia ferruginea areolata Dana, Ortmann, Zool. Jahrb. Syst., x., 1897, 203-206. Ceylon; Nicobars; Java; Celebes; Sulu Sea; Liu Kiu Islands; Pelew Islands; New Guinea; New Caledonia; Fiji; Samoa Islands and Tahiti, Amboina. Trapezia ferruginea var. areolata Dana, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., II., 1, 1898, 221. Andamans; Nicobars; Ceylon and Mergui Arch. As noted elsewhere, this species is associated with certain living corals in the lagoon zone, and the net work of fine lines on its body and limbs harmonise with the environment. Material—One male, 11mm. North West Island, November, 1927. One male, 11 mm.; two females, 11 and 15 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One male,13 mm. North West Island, May, 1930. TRAPEZIA DIGITALIS. Trapezia digitalis Latreille, Ency. Method. Hist. Nat. Entom., x., 1825, 696. Red Sea. Trapezia digitalis Latreille, Rathbun, Bull., 152, U.S. Nat. Mus., 1930, 559. Lower California, Mexico to Panama, Red Sea to Indo-Pacific region. The carapace in this species is creamy white in colour and the limbs are brown. Material—Three males, from 7 to 10 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One female, 10 mm. Hoskyn Island, November, 1927. One male, 11 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. TRAPEZIA CYMODOCE. Cancer cymodoce Herbst, Krabben. III., ii., 1801, 22, li., fig. 5. East Indies. Trapezia cymodoce (Herbst) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, lxvii., II., 1, 1898, 219, and synonymy. Andamans; Nicobars, Mergui; Palk Straits and the Mekran Coast; Indo-Pacific. This is the commonest species of the genus in the locality where it inhabits the living coral masses. Material_—Eight females, from 10 to 20 mm.; six males, 8 to 20 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. Two males, 10 and 13 mm.; two females, 13 and 18 mm. One Tree Island, November, 1927. One female, 14 mm.; one male, 14 mm. Lady Musgrave Island, November, 1927. One male, 13 mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. One male, juv., 11 mm. MHoskyn Island, September, 1927, WARD. 255 Genus TETRALIA. Tetralia Dana, Sillimans Americ. Journ. Sci. and Art (2), xii., 1851, 128; Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1852, 83; and U.S. Explor. Exped., xiii., Crust. I., 1852, 261. Type, T. nigrifrons Dana. Paumotus. = T. glaberrima (Herbst) fide Alcock. TETRALIA GLABERRIMA. Cancer glaberrima Herbst, Krabben., I., viii, 1790, 262, pl. xx., fig. 115. Locality unknown. Tetralia glaberrima (Herbst) Dana, U.S. Explor. Exped. Crust. I., 1852, 263. Atlas, 1855, pl. xvi., fig. 3. Paumotus; Tahiti and Tongatabu. Tetralia glaberrima (Herbst) Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Ixvii., IL., 1, 1898, 223. Mergui; Ceylon; Maldives and Mekran Coast. Tetralia is found inhabiting the finer branching corals of the lagoon zone. The male is usually ivory white on the carapace, the limbs pale yellow, faintly tinged with pink. The frontal, anterolateral, and postero- lateral margins are jet black. The female has the carapace and limbs pale pink, frontal, anterolateral and posterolateral margins as in the male. Material—Two males, 6-9 mm.; one female, 8 mm. North West Island, May, 1930. One male, 9mm.; one female, 14mm. Heron Island, September, 1926. BARRIER REEF EXPEDITION—CUMBERLAND AND WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS. An expedition of nature lovers, under the direction of Mr. E. F. Pollock, F.R.G:S., is to leave Sydney on the 19th December next, for Mackay, Queens- land, where boats will be joined for the purpose of visiting several islands of the Cumberland and Whitsunday groups, between Mackay and Bowen. The expedition will be away a month, and Mr. Pollock, whose address is at Carrington Avenue, Strathfield, will be pleased to forward a syllabus to anyone who is interested. Mr. Pollock, who was formerly the Honorary Secretary of the Royal Zoological Society, has organised similar expeditions, to attractive spots, every year since 1925. 256 THE LANCELETS AND LAMPREYS OF AUSTRALIA. By GILBERT P. WHITLEY, Ichthyologist, The Australian Museum, Sydney. (By permission of the Trustees of The Australian Museum.) (Plate xiii.) In the present paper, the taxonomy of the various species of Australian lancelets and lampreys, the lowest forms of recent fish-like animals, is dis- cussed, and each species is figured, either from typical or authentic speci- mens. Further research may bring to light new records, or even new species * of these creatures in our waters, and it is the aim of this review to render the recognition of such an easy matter. Our knowledge of the lampreys has not progressed very far since Ogilby wrote his masterly Monograph of the Australian Marsipobranchii, published by the Linnean Society of New South Wales in 1896, though the researches of Dr. Maskell in New Zealand indicate that perhaps the forms here regarded as Yarra may be immature Geotria. Phylum CHorpata. Subphylum CEPHALOCHORDATA. Class Leprocarpir (The Lancelets) . Order BRANCHIOSTOMI. (Amphioxi, Myelozoa, Cirrostomi, and Protochordata of authors.) Family BRANCHIOSTOMIDAE. Gonads in two rows. Sympodium (“ventral fin’) rayed. Dorsal fin not elevated. Anterior and posterior ends of notochord not produced into a rostrum and urostyle respectively. Genus BRANCHIOSTOMA Costa, 1834. Branchiostoma Costa, Ann. Zool. (Cenni Zool.), 1834, 49. Haplotype, B. lubricus Costa = Limaz lanceolatus Pallas, Spic. Zool., x., 1774, 19, pl. i., fig. 11. Amphiorus Yarrell, Hist. Brit. Fish., ii., 1836, 468; ed. 2, 1841, 618. Haplo- type, Limaz lanceolatus Pallas. Amphyoxrus Bonaparte, Fauna Ital., iii., 1841, Intro., pag. extrema (fide Sherborn, Index Anim.). Type, Limazx lanceolatus Pallas. Amphioxys Agassiz, Nomencl. Zool., 1846, Index Univ., 18. Emendation for Amphioxus Yarrell, 1836. Logotype, Limazx lanceolatus Pallas, by present designation. The type-species of this genus is European and not strictly con- generic with the Australian form with symmetrical gonads, which may be defined as a distinct subgenus. AMPHIPLEURICHTHYS, new subgenus. Orthotype, Branchiostoma (Amphipleurichthys) minucauda, new species. Form more elongate and less robust than in Branchiostoma and with the myotomes more acutely tapering at each end of the animal. Rostral fin distinguished from the low dorsal fin by a definite notch. Caudal fin reduced to a low fold. Gonads in two lateral series. Epipleura continuous with sides of oral hood and ceasing posteriorly just behind atriopore. Oral ~ Whilst this paper was in the press, Franz’s description of a new Bathyamphioxrus came to hand (see page 260, under Epigonichthys). WHITLEY. 257 tentacles united by a low web. Sympodium rayed, distinct from epipleura. Snout and tail not produced. BRANCHIOSTOMA (AMPHIPLEURICHTHYS) MINUCAUDA, new species. Small-tailed Lancelet. (Plate xiii., fig. 1.) Branchiostoma belcheri Giinther, Rept. Zool. Coll. Alert, August 1, 1884, 32 (Prince of Wales Island, Torres Strait, Queensland). Not Amphiorus belcheri Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., pt. xv., May 17, 1847, 35, from Lundu River, Borneo; redescribed by Kirkaldy, Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., XXXVil., 1895, 313, pl. xxxv., fig. 8. Branchiostoma belcheri Raff, Zool. Res. Endeavour, pt. iii., 1912, 305. Id. Ogilby, Mem. Qld. Mus., v., 1916, 72. Jd. Hubbs, Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich., cv., 1922, 6. Not Amphiorus belcheri Gray. Amphioxrus belcheri Willey, Zool. Res., vi., 1902, 724, footnote (Moreton Bay . record only). Not A. belcheri Gray. Heteropleuron belcheri Haswell, Rec. Austr. Mus., vii., March, 1908, 35. Not Amphiozus belcheri Gray. Branchiostoma belcheri McCulloch & Whitley, Mem. Qld. Mus., viii., 1925, 127. Id. McCulloch, Austr. Mus. Mem., v., 1929, 1. Not Amphiozrus belcheri Gray. Myotomes 37 + 14 + 12 = 63. Agrees in general characters with Kirk- aldy’s figure of Branchiostoma belcheri (Gray), but has the caudal fine re- duced to a low fold. The number of gonads is difficult to distinguish as some are missing, but the eighteenth pair occurs below the 28th myotome and there appear to be six or seven behind them. Other characters as in subgeneric definition. The holotype of this species is a specimen 44 mm. in total length dredged in Port Curtis, Queensland, in December, 1929, by Messrs. Melbourne Ward and William Boardman. Australian Museum, registered No. IA 4190. Amphiozrus belcheri Gray, is a briefly described Bornean species, which has been recorded from Queensland by Gunther. Kirkaldy described and figured the species in her excellent revision of lancelets, from which the Queensland form is seen to differ notably in having much reduced caudal fin. Jordan and Snyder (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxiii., 1901, 727) have wrongly recorded this species from Bass Strait. See also infra, p. 264. Family EPIGONICHTHYIDAE. Lancelets with a single row of gonads developed on the right epipleuron. Snout and tail not produced or attenuated. BATHYAMPHIOXUS, new genus. Orthotype, Asymmetron australis Raft. Gonads uniserial, large. Myotomes less than 60. Body deep anteriorly. Sympodium rayed. Rostral fin separated from the dorsal by a small notch. Dorsal fin-rays extending to beyond level of anus. Caudal sagittiform. This genus also includes B. franzi, nov., from W. Australia (see p. 260). BATHYAMPHIOXUS AUSTRALIS (Raff) . Deepwater Lancelet. (Plate xiii., fig. 2.) Asymetron sp. Zietz, Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., xxxii., 1908, 288. Forty miles east of Cape Spencer, South Australia; 100 fathoms. 258 LANCELETS AND LAMPREYS OF AUSTRALIA. Asymmetron australis Raff, Zool. Res. Endeavour, pt. iii, August 29, 1912, 303, pl. xxxvii. South of St. Francis Island, Great Australian Bight; 35 fathoms. Paratypes in Australian Museum examined. Epigonichthys australis Waite, Rec. S. Austr. Mus., ii., 1921, 8, and Fish. S. Austr., 1923, 18, and of later authors. i This species has been well described by Raff, but a new figure of it is here given, prepared from a paratype in the Australian Museum, from south of St. Francis Island, Great Australian Bight. Registered No. IA 4946. Genus PaRAMPHIOXUS Haeckel, 1893. Paramphioxus Haeckel, Zool. Forschungs. Austr. (Semon), i., 1893, xiii. and xv. Haplotype, Branchiostoma bassanum Gunther, 1884. Heteropleuron Kirkaldy, Rept. 64th meet. Brit. Assn. Adv. Sci., 1894, 686. Logotype, Branchiostoma bassanum Giinther, by present designation. Id. Kirkaldy, Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., xxxvii., 1895, 314. Dorsal fin low and separated from the rostral fin by a notch. Right epipleural fold continuous with sympodium. Seventy or more myotomes. The generic name Heteropleuron was first proposed in 1894 by Kirkaldy in a short paper to which she refers in a footnote in her better known 1895 revision. Hubbs in 1922 selected H. cingalense Kirkaldy, 1895, as logotype, but, though that species was described in the earlier paper as H. singalense, I am following custom in regarding Branchiostoma bassanum as the geno- type of Heteropleuron Kirkaldy, 1894, thus making it a synonym of Param- phioxus Haeckel, 1893. PARAMPHIOXUS BASSANUS (Giinther). Southern Lancelet. (Plate xiii., fig. 3.) Branchiostoma lanceolatum Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., viii., 1870, 513 (Bass Strait specimens only). Not Limazx lanceolatus Pallas, 1774. Id. Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1882, 141 and 1890, 39. Jd. Lucas, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. (2), ii., 1890, 47 (Port Phillip and Westernport, Vic- toria). Branchiostoma bassanum Giinther, Rept. Zool. Coll. Alert, August 1, 1884, 31. Bass Strait [10-12 fathoms; H.M.S. “Herald”]. New name for B. lanceolatum Gunther, non Pallas. Types in British Museum. Id. Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, x., 1886, 695 (off North Head, Port Jackson, N.S. Wales) . Branchiostoma (Heteropleuron) bassanum Kirkaldy, Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., xxxvii., March, 1895, 314, pl. xxxiv., fig. 6. Amphioxrus sp. Sayce, Vict. Nat., xviii., 10, 1902, 152. Living with worm in Westernport, Victoria. Heteropleuron bassanum Willey, Zool. Res., vi., 1902, 725, footnote. Jd. Has- well, Rec. Austr. Mus., vii., March, 1908, 34. Heteropleuron (Paramphiorus) bassanus Lonnberg, Thier-Reichs (Bronn), vi., 1, 1905, 242. Asymmetron bassanum Morris & Raff, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. (n.s.), xxii., 1909, 85, pls. xvill.-xx. Id. Raff, Zool. Res. Endeavour, pt. iii., 1912, 303, pl. Xxxvii., fig. 2 (N.S. Wales to South Australia). Jd. Flynn, Tas. Nat., ii., 3, 1910, 58 (Schouten’s Island, south-east Tasmania). Epigonichthys bassanus McCulloch, Austr. Zool., i., 7, 1919, 218, fig. la, and of later authors. WHITLEY. 259 Kirkaldy noted “Myotomes, maximum number 78, minimum number 70, usual number 75.” The large number of myotomes readily distinguishes this species from the cther Australian lancelets. Morris and Raff further characterise this species by the possession of a paired postatrioporal caecum. I have examined specimens in the Australian Museum from the follow- ing localities: Port Phillip, Victoria (Bracebridge Wilson, Haswell); east coast of Flinders Island and East Sister Island, Bass Strait (“Endeavour”) ; Port Stephens (Old Collection), Shoalhaven Bight (“Endeavour”), and Montague Island, New South Wales (Hedley). Surface to seven fathoms or more. MERSCALPELLUS, new genus. Orthotype, Heteropleuron hedleyi Haswell, 1908. Notochord extending a short distance beyond the myomeres anteriorly and posteriorly, but not forming a club-shaped terminal or a urostyle. Rostral fin not distinguished from the dorsal fin by a notch. Preoral tentacles forming a continuous series. Dorsal fin low, its rays becoming obsolete before the vertical of the anus. Less than sixty myotomes. Rays of sympodium obsolescent. Caudal fin slightly elevated above and below, not attenuated beyond notochord. MERSCALPELLUS HEDLEYI (Haswell) . Hedley’s Lancelet. (Plate xiii., fig. 5.) Heteropleuron hedleyi Haswell, Rec. Austr. Mus., vii., 1, March 9, 1908, 33, fig. 1. Murray Island, Queensland; 5-8 fathoms. Id. Raff, Zool. Res. Endeavour, pt. iii., 1912, 305. Epigonichthys hedleyi Ogilby, Mem. Qld. Mus., v., 1916, 72, and of authors. Id. Whitley, Rec. Austr. Mus., xvi., 1927, 3 (Michaelmas Cay, Qld.; 2 fathoms) . Myotomes 33 + 11 + 10 = 54. Gonads 19. Oral cirrhi 25-30. Velar tentacles 10-12. Form elongate, compressed, with low dorsal fin and expansive epipleura. Rostral fin confluent with the dorsal, which is rayed as far back as about the fortieth myotome. Preoral tentacles longest below and connected by a broad web. Velar tentacles short. Pharyngeal gill-slits very numerous. Opening of oral hood opposite the fifth myocomma. Atriopore at the base of the thirty-third myotome. Anus on left side at base of forty-fourth myotome. Notochord not club-shaped anteriorly or produced posteriorly. Sympodium continuous with right epipleuron, but not well developed and with only incipient ray-formations. Caudal slightly expanded. Gonads nineteen, in a single row on the right epipleuron. Described and figured from the lectotype of the species, the better pre- served of two co-types, 28 mm. long, in the Australian Museum; registered No. I.9254. These were collected by the late Charles Hedley and Allan R. McCulloch at Murray Island, Torres Strait, in 5-8 fathoms. Other Queens- land specimens are preserved from Port Denison (Rainford), Michaelmas Cay (Iredale and Whitley), Albany Passage (Ward), and Eagle Island, 3 fathoms, 24th July, 1916 (Hedley and Briggs). Genus EPIGONICHTHYS Peters, 1877. Epigonichthys Peters, Monatsb. K. Pr. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1876 (1877), 325. Haplotype, Z. cultellus Peters. 260 LANCELETS AND LAMPREYS OF AUSTRALIA. EPIGONICHTHYS CULTELLUS Peters. Knife-back Lancelet. (Plate xiii., fig. 4.) Epigonichthys cultellus Peters, Monatsb. K. Pr. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1876 (1877) , 325 and 853, pl. —, figs. 1-5. Peale [i.e., Peel] Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland; 8 fathoms (H.M.S. “Gazelle”), and of modern authors. Branchiostoma cultellum Giinther, Rept. Zool. Coll. Alert, August 1, 1884, 32. Moreton Bay and Thursday Island, Queensland. Jd. Willey, Amphioxus and Ancest. Vertebr., 1894, 40. Epigonichthys pulchellus Tenison-Woods, Fish. Fisher. N.S. Wales, 1882, 187 (Moreton Bay, Queensland). Lapsus calami. Amphiozrus cultellus Studer, Zool. Forsch. Gazelle, iii., 1889, 263, pl. xix., figs. 1-5 (Moreton Bay and Thursday Island). Heteropleuron cultellum Haswell, Rec. Austr. Mus., vii., 1908, 35. Asymmetron cultellum Raff, Zool. Res. Endeavour, i., 3, 1912, 305. This species, the monotype of the genus, is easily recognised by the elevated dorsal fin and club-shaped anterior expansion of the notochord. Twelve Queensland specimens in the Australian Museum from Moreton Bay (Ogilby), Bowen (Rainford), Torres Strait (Haswell), Albany Passage and Endeavour Strait (Ward). Franz (Fauna Sitidwest-Australiens, v., 1927, 219-222, 2 figs.) described Asymmetron cultellus ? from Shark’s Bay, Western Australia, but his account deals with a distinct species, Bathyamphioxrus franzi, nov. Family ASYMMETRONTIDAE. Elongate and slender lancelets, with the posterior end of the notochord produced into a long urostyle. The gonads are developed on the right epi- pleuron, and there is a sexual dimorphism in the form of the rostral and caudal fins. NOTASYMMETRON, new genus. Orthotype, Asymmetron caudatum Willey. Size considerably larger than in the American genus Asymmetron Andrews, 1893. Origin and termination of dorsal fin farther forward in re- lation to the myotomes. NOTASYMMETRON CAUDATUM (Willey). Long-tailed Lancelet. (Plate xiii., fig. 6.) Asymmetron caudatum Willey, Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., xxxix., 2, August, 1896, 219, pl. xiii., figs. 1-4. Deboyne Group, Louisiade Archipelago. Id. Willey, Zool. Res., vi., 1902, 725, fig. 14. Jd. Whitley, Rec. Austr. Mus., Xvi., 1927, 1927, 3 (Michaelmas Cay; field notes), and of most authors. Epigonichthys caudatus Jordan & Seale, Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., xxv., 1906, 181. Based on Willey, 1896. Id. Fowler, Mem. Bishop Mus., x., 1928, 17. Asymmetron lucayanum Haswell, Rec. Austr. Mus., vii., 1908, 35 (Murray Island record only). Not A. lucayanum Andrews, 1893, from the Bahamas. This attenuated lancelet is easily recognisable, even in the field, by its long, pointed tail. Specimens collected at Michaelmas Cay had the viscera pinkish in colour, showing through the body wall, and giving the lower parts WHITLEY. 261 of the myocommas a pink tinge. The anus was green, and the eye-spot pink, and there was a row of dark hyphen-like marks on the anterior myotomes. A specimen, 30 mm. long, collected by Hedley and McCulloch at Murray Island, Torres Strait, in 1907, is here figured. Austr. Mus., registered No. I. 9254. Subphylum CrRanraTa. Branch Monoruina (fide Professor W. J. Dakin). Class MaRsIPoBRANCHII (The Lampreys) . Order HyprEroarTIA. Family GErorTRIIDAE. Genus Gerotria Gray, 1851. Geotria Gray, List. Spec. Fish. Brit. Mus., i. Chondropt., pref. July 25, 1851, 137 and 142. Haplotype, Geotria australis Gray. Id. Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., pt. xix., 1851 (published July 26, 1853), 235 and 238. GEOTRIA AUSTRALIS Gray. Pouched Lamprey, or Wide-mouthed Lamprey. (Plate xiii., fig. 7, and text-fig. a (1).) Petromyzon sp. Grant, Tasm. Journ. Sci., ii., 1846, 392 (Meander River, Tas- mania). Jd. Milligan, Proc. Roy. Soc. V. Diem. Land, i., 1851, 173 and 300 et ibid. 1853, 330 (Oyster Cove, etc., Tasmania). Geotria australis Gray, List. Spec. Fish: Brit. Mus., i. Chondropt., pref. July 25, 1851, 142, pl. ii. “River Inkar pinki, South Australia” — Hobson’s Bay (fide Castelnau, 1872), or Onkaparinga (fide Waite, 1923). Type in British Museum. Id. Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1851 (published July 26, 1853), 239. Jd. Gunther; Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., viii., 1870, 508. Jd. Klunzinger, Sitzb. Akad. Wiss. Wien, lxxx., 1, 1879, 429 (King George’s Sound, W. Austr.). Jd. Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxi., De- cember 22, 1896, 422. Jd. Dendy & Olliver, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxxiv., 1902, 147 (“Velasia” stage and metamorphosis). Jd. Dendy, Rept. 76th meet. Brit. Assn. Adv. Sci., 1906 (1907), 604 (pineal organ). Jd. Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), vii., 1911, 197 (Australian records only). Jd. Favaro & Mozejko, Tier-Reichs (Bronn), vi., 1, 1913, 534, pl. xxix. Jd. Leach, Rept. 84th meet. Brit. Assn. Adv. Sci., 1914 (1915), 399, and of authors generally. Geotria allporti Giinther, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., June-December, 1871, 675, pl. lxx., Tasmania (Allport). Type in British Museum. Noted by various authors in Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1865, 77; 1875, 41; 1876, 9; 1881, xxii.; 1882, 141; 1890, 39. The mouth has a single supraoral lamina and is surrounded by ex- pansive fringes. Labial teeth well separated. A large gular pouch is developed by members of either sex. Attains a length of 20 inches. Tasmania, South and South-western Australia; extralimital. Genus Yarra Castelnau, 1872. Yarra Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict., i., July 15, 1872, 231. Haplo- type, Y. singularis Castelnau. Neomordacia Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict., i. July 15, 1872, 232. Haplotype, N. howittii Castelnau, 262 LANCELETS AND LAMPREYS OF AUSTRALIA. YARRA SINGULARIS Castelnau. Narrow-mouthed Lamprey. (Plate, xiii., fig. 8, and text-fig. a (2).) Geotria chilensis Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., viii., 1870, 509 (Swan River record only). Not Velasia chilensis Gray, 1851, from Chile. Yarra singularis Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict., i., July 15, 1872, 231. Lower Yarra River, Victoria. Neomordacia howittii Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict., i., July 15, 1872, 232. Cape Shanck, Victoria. Type in Paris Museum. Velasia stenostomus Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxi., December, 1896, 409. South-eastern and southern Australia, Tasmania, etc. Type- locality hereby designated Victoria. Id. Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., iv., 1902, 179 (Canning River and off Pinjarrah, W. Australia) . Geotria stenostomus Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., v., 1904, 232. Geotria stenostoma Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), vii, February, 1911, 197 (Australasian records only). Jd. Alexander, Journ. Proc. Roy. Soc. W. Austr., vi., 1, 1920, 21, and Herbert, ibid., 23-24, pls. vi.-vii. (ascend- ing river). Jd. Rauther, Tier-Reichs (Bronn), vi., 1, 39, 1924, 682. Id. McCulloch, Austr. Mus. Mem., v., 1929, 2. Mouth area surrounded by only moderately developed fringes, the suc- torial disc much narrower than in Geotria. A single supraoral lamina. Labial teeth close together. No gular sac. Second dorsal fin separated from the caudal. Most authors are agreed that Yarra singularis and Neomordacia howittii are names given by Castelnau to young Velasia stenostomus Ogilby, but the first name, being the oldest, must be employed for this species. It is not definitely proven that this nominal species is merely a form of Geotria australis, but Dr. Maskell’s researches in New Zealand indicate that such may perhaps be the case. An original figure, taken from Waite’s Pinjarrah specimen, which is 22 inches long (Austr. Mus., Registered No. I. 4793), is here given. The species is found in Tasmania, Victoria, South and south-western Australia, and attains a length of nearly two feet. Family Morpactrbak. “Two distant lateral tuberculigerous laminae developed from the upper arch of the annular cartilage” (Gill, Ogilby). Genus Morpacta Gray, 1851. Mordacia Gray, List. Spec. Fish. Brit. Mus., i., Chondropt., 1851, 137 and 143. Haplotype, Petromyzon mordazx Richardson. MorDACIA MORDAX (Richardson). Short-headed Lamprey. (Plate xiii., figs. 9 and 10, and text-fig. a (3 and 4).) Petromyzon mordax Richardson, Zool. Voy. Erebus & Terror, Fish. 1846, 62, pl. xxxvili., figs. 3-6. Seas of Van Diemen’s Land. Type in British Museum. Mordacia mordax Gray, List. Spec. Fish. Brit. Mus., i, Chondropt., 1851, 144. Id. Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxi., 1896, 400, and of most authors. Mordacia sp. Stephens, Abstr. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, May 26, 1886, iv. (Camden, N.S. Wales). Specimen in Macleay Museum, University of Sydney. WHITLEY. 263 ~ : . nf, Ye 00 ey a 4 = it / 2. ey UDA . SS Fig. A. SuctToriaL Discs oF AUSTRALIAN LAMPREYS. 1. Geotria australis Gray, from Tasmania (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. I. 9830). 2. Yarra singularis Castelnau, from Torrens River, near Adelaide, South Australia (1.15). 3. Mordacia mordax (Richardson). Ammocoetal specimen from Prospect, N.S. Wales (IA. 4951). 4. Mordacia mordax (Richardson). Adult specimen from Renmark, South Australia (IA. 2539). Caragola mordax Waite, Rec. S. Austr. Mus., ii., 1, 1921, 9, fig. 4; Fish. S. Austr., 1923, 20 and fig. Id. McCulloch, Austr. Mus. Mem., v., 1929, 3. Fringes around mouth absent or vestigial. No gular sac. Two supra- oral plates, each bearing about three teeth. This species is occasionally caught in the Murray River system and gives rise to much needless argument as to the presence or absence of “eels” in that river. The older writers mention is as always being common, 264 LANCELETS AND LAMPREYS OF AUSTRALIA. but such is apparently not the case nowadays. In a letter dated 18th De- cember, 1925, Mr. W. S. Coombe, of Renmark, South Australia, stated: “The foreman in charge of the local pumping station informs me that they are very common at the time of the first irrigation in October, but fewer are seen later on during the summer season. The first irrigation began on October 13th this year and then they were very plentiful; now they are not so numerous.” This species grows to a length of about eighteen inches and is found in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and, occasionally, in New South Wales rivers. A young specimen caught with others in the water-pipes of Prospect Reservoir, near Sydney, is here figured to show the eyeless, tooth- less ammocoetal form. ADDENDUM. The New Zealand Lancelet—From the North Island of New Zealand, Benham (Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxxiii., July, 1901, 121, pl. i.), described Hetero- pleuron hectori, which is typical of Zeamphiorus, a new genus allied to Paramphiorus, but with more than 80 myotomes, rostral fin sagittiform and caudal fin lanceolate, expanding about midway between atriopore and anus. The fin-ray boxes extend to the end of the fins, though they are un- occupied posteriorly and along the sympodium of Zeamphiozxus hectori. The Chinese Lancelet, which forms the basis of a fishery at Amoy, has been identified as Branchiostoma belcheri ?, by A. M. Boring and Hui-lin Li (Peking Nat. Hist. Bull., vi., March, 1932, p. 9, and figs.), but topotypes of Amphioxus belcheri Gray, from Borneo, require figuring for comparison, Kirkaldy’s best specimens obviously being Queensland forms (B. (Amphi- pleurichthys) minucauda, supra, p. 257) —G.P.W., September, 1932. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIII. Fig. 1. Branchiostoma (Amphipleurichthys) minucauda Whitley. Port Curtis, Queensland. Type, 44 mm. long. Austr. Mus., regd. No. IA. 4190. 2. Bathyamphioxus australis (Raff). South of St. Francis Island, Great Australian Bight; 35 fathoms. Paratype, 26 mm. No. IA. 4946. 3. Paramphioxus bassanus (Gunther). Bass Strait. Topotype, up to 43 mm. After Kirkaldy, 1895. 4. Epigonichthys cultellus Peters. Torres Strait, Queensland. A specimen 35 mm. or less in length. After Kirkaldy, 1895. 5. Merscalpellus hedleyi (Haswell). Murray Island, Queensland. Lecto- type, 28 mm. Austr. Mus. Regd. No. I. 9254. 6. Notasymmetron caudatum (Willey). Murray Island, Queensland. A specimen 30 mm. long. Austr. Mus., Regd. No. I. 9253. 7. Geotria australis Gray. South Australia. Type, 20 inches long. After Gray, 1851. 8. Yarra singularis Castelnau. Pinjarrah, Western Australia. A specimen 22 inches long. Austr. Mus. Regd. No. I. 4793. 9. Mordacia mordar (Richardson). Tasmania. Type, 104 inches. After Richardson, 1846. 10. Mordacia mordar (Richardson) Prospect Reservoir, New South Wales. Ammocoetal specimen, 79 mm. long. Austr. Mus. Regd. No. IA. 2689. All original drawings unless otherwise stated; in the lancelets (figs. 2-5) the gonads of the right side are depicted as showing through the body. 265 NOTES ON SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. By ArtHuR A. LIVINGSTONE, Assistant Zoologist, The Australian Museum. (With the permission of the Trustees of the Australian Museum.) The purpose of this contribution is to add to our knowledge of the re- presentatives of the complex genus Culcita so as to lighten, in some degree, the task of future workers when endeavouring to formulate a better and more comprehensible classification. Much has already been written on the genus, but continued effort seems essential before the vast array of variation can be subjected to a classi- fication. Fisher’s (1) remarks that C. novaeguineae “appears to be in a state of flux” seems to be very true, but his belief that “every new specimen of Culcita seems to augment rather than relieve the difficulties relative to the species problem” does not hold good in most cases if the specimens before me are any criterion. For the most part, the present series of specimens supports the views expressed by Doderlein (2) and later followed by Goto (3). The specimens herein dealt with are housed in the Australian Museum, Sydney. CULCITA NOVAEGUINEAE Var. TYPICA. Culcita novaeguineae Muller and Troschel, Syst. der Asteriden, 1842, 38. Culcita novae-guineae var. typica Doderlein (in Semon) Zool. Forschungsr. in Austr. und dem Malay Archip., v. (Jena Denkschr., viii.), 1896, 315, pl. xix., figs. 3, 3a. Culcita novae-guineae var. typica Goto, Journ. Coll. Sci., Tokyo, xxix., Art. I., 1914, 517. Culcita novaeguineae Forma mnovaeguineae Fisher, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bull., xxvii., 1925, 70. (Pl. xv., fig. 3; pl. xvi., fig. 6; pl. xvii., fig. 4.) Two specimens, considered referable to the typical form, are before me. One is labelled “South Seas” and has much in common with Doderlein’s figures. It fits exactly into the var. typica section of Goto’s key. In a dry condition R. = 116 mm. The body is pentagonal, swollen and ridged inter- radially, with a slight bulge interradially near the margin as shown in Doderlein’s Fig. 3a. The non-poriferous areas on the abactinal surface of the specimen are practically as shown in Fig. 3, and the contained spinelets are also similar in both size and distribution. The spinelets on the poriferous or papular areas do not appear to be so numerous, or of such an even size, as depicted in D6derlein’s Fig. 3. On the whole they are a little larger, apparently ap- proaching closer to Fisher’s (loc. cit.) specimen from Johnston Island, but not so closely to Doderlein’s Fig. 7 on pl. xix., as Fisher thought was possible (1) Fisher, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bull., xxvii., 1925, 70. (2) Doéderlein (in Semon) Zool. Forschungsr. in Austr. und dem Malay Archip. (Jena Denkschr., viii.) , v., 1896, 315, etc. (3) Goto, Journ. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, xxix., Art. I., 1914, 515 onward. 266 SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. with his specimen. The spinelets on the non-poriferous areas are generally greater in size than those on the poriferous areas. As in Fisher’s Johnston Island specimen, the whole abactinal surface is covered by a fine, close, and distinctly conical granulation, from which arise conical spinelets and numerous upright two-jawed pedicellariz. The pedicellarie are similar to those described by Fisher, being “higher than wide, with the broadened, rounded tops bent tongs-like toward one another.” They are fairly abundant and rise most definitely above the general granulation, but they are not as high as any of the surrounding spinelets. The actinal surface is the same as in Doderlein’s Fig. 3a, except that the present specimen does not possess the evenly radiating furrows so clearly shown in that figure; the furrows, where present, are uneven and irregular. It seems reasonably certain that this character is governed by the methods of drying and the amount of shrinkage undergone in the process. The second specimen of the typical form was collected in the New Hebrides near where the type of acutispinosa was secured. It has, how- ever, characters which at once separate it from that variety. The specimen conforms to the requirements of the typical form, as set out in Goto’s key, and agrees with Doderlein’s Fig. 3 in all important points. The variation to be seen on the abactinal surface is confined to the number of spinelets present. There are fewer spinelets present on this example than shown in Fig. 3, and even less than in the first example described above. The conical spinelets carried on the non-poriferous areas appear to be present in almost normal numbers, the paucity of the spinelets being most apparent on the poriferous areas. Actinally, this specimen from the New Hebrides has the radiating furrows developed a little better and more regularly than in the first specimen, and almost as well as those shown in Doderlein’s Fig. 3a. Localities—‘“South Seas” (Austr. Mus., Reg. No. G. 7741); Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Reg. No. J.3170). Distribution—Amboina to Samoa. CULCITA NOVAEGUINEAE Var. ACUTISPINOSA. Culcita acutispinosa Bell, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xii., 1883, 344. Culcita novae-guineae var. acutispinosa Doderlein (in Semon) Zool. Fors- chungsr. in Austr. und dem Malay Archip., v. (Jena Denkschr., viii.), 1896, 315, pl. xx., figs. 8, 8a. ? Culcita acutispina Whitelegge, Mem. Austr. Mus., iii., 1897, 157. Culcita novae-guineae var. acutispinosa Goto, Journ. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, xxix., Art. I., 1914, 517. Culcita novaeguineae forma acutispinosa Fisher, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bull., 27, 1925, 71. (Pl. xiv., fig. 5; pl. xvi., fig. 3; pl. xvii., fig. 5.) Only when additional records and figures are published will one be able to obtain some idea as to the extent of the irregularities of this variety. To-day we Know very little about it, and even Bell’s description gives but scanty information. The variety is at present recognised by the continuous papular areas and the smallness and irregularity of the scattered non- poriferous areas; also by the presence of numerous coarse spinelets uni- formly distributed, or nearly so, over the entire abactinal surface. It must be admitted that this diagnosis is very elastic and can be made to meet a number of types all different in some degree. As a proof of this LIVINGSTONE. 267 one need only look at the records of the variety to date. However, it would seem at present, as we have no information available to point to the con- trary, that all the types so far assembled under the varietal heading (with the possible exception of Whitelegge’s record) are referable to the one form, and that obvious differences are due to age and shrinkage during the pro- cess of drying. Doderlein’s photographs were obviously prepared from young speci- mens, hence the differences seen when they are compared with mature examples. Whitelegge’s record of the variety, which he recorded as a full species, is queried in the above synonymy for the reason that his description seems to apply to the typical form or to the var. plana rather than the variety acutispinosa. A re-examination of Whitelegge’s material is impossible as the two specimens have been lost. The specimen before me was collected in the Solomon Islands, and, although it does not fit exactly into any available description, or compare favourably with either of Doderlein’s figures, it possesses many points in common with Fisher’s specimen from Agana, Guam. The body is pentagonal with the “rays” slightly produced. R. = about 84 mm. in a dried condition. The sides are steep, almost upright, and the abactinal surface is slightly convex. The papular areas merge, there be- ing only isolated and irregularly disposed non-poriferous patches. The abactinal granulation, so evident in the typical form, is much less in extent on the present variety, and is confined, for the most part, to the non- poriferous areas. The entire abactinal surface is covered by a large number of sharp, stout, conical spinelets, a few as large as, but most larger than, the biggest occurring on the typical form. Generally these large spines are 1.75 mm. in height, and as much across the base, including the granulation, which extends up the spinelets for a short distance. In certain places near the margins the spines are arranged in lines, giving the surface a reticulated appearance. In no respect is the reticulation the same in character as in other varieties. Again, no such formation is seen anywhere but near the margins. As in Fisher’s specimen, the pedicellarie are smaller and nar- rower than those of the typical form. The pedicellarie are extremely abundant, so much so that they appear to take the place of the usual granulation. Actinally the specimen fits the description given by Fisher for his specimen from Guam so perfectly that nothing more need be added. Locality—Government Station, Tunabuli Harbour, Ysabel Island, British Solomon Islands, July, 1925 (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J. 4732). Distribution—New Hebrides; Viti Islands; Guam; Ysabel Island, British Solomon Islands; ? Funafuti, Ellice Islands. CULCITA NOVAE-GUINEAE Var. TYPICA-ACUTISPINOSA. Culcita novae-guineae var. typica-acutispinosa Doderlein (in Semon) Zool. Forschungsr. in Austr. und dem Malay Archip., v. (Jena Denkschr., viii.) , 1896, pl. xx., fig. 7. (Witxve hes 2 pleexvi- fies 2seple xvaie. fics 12) This Culcita was collected at Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides, along with one described above, under the heading of the typical form. It agrees with no known member of the genus better than with the one figured 268 SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. by Doderlein in the reference above, and, judging by its peculiarities, ap- pears to represent a phase between the typical form and the var. acuti- spinosa. The abactinal spinulation is, for the most part, the same as in the var. typica, except that it is a little denser. It has, however, the continuous papular areas so characteristic of the var. acutispinosa. The fact that the specimen was collected in the New Hebrides, and that it may be Bell’s acutispinosa, has not been overlooked. With so little information available the question is difficult to decide, and for the present I have arrived at a judgment founded upon Déderlein’s work. If the present specimen is ultimately found to be Bell’s variety some change will have to be made in regard to the specimen mentioned elsewhere in this paper as var. acutispinosa. The specimen has been figured in order to show a comparison between it and its two extremes, var. typica and var. acutispinosa as here under- stood. R. = 90 mm. approximately. Locality—Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3196). Distribution—South Sea (Doderlein) ; New Hebrides. CULCITA NOVAEGUINEAE Var. PLANA. Culcita plana Hartlaub, Notes Leyden Museum, xiv., 1892, 84. Culcita plana Leipoldt, Zeitschr. Wiss. Zool., lix., 1895, 637, pl. xxxii., figs. 10a-b. Culcita novae-guineae var. plana Doderlein (in Semon), Zool. Forschungsr. in Austr. und dem Malay Archip., v. (Jena Denkschr., viii.) , 1896, 315, pl. xix., figs. 1-la; 2-2a; 4. Culcita novae-guineae plana Fisher, U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 100, iii., 1919, 361. (Pl. xiv., fig. 1; pl. xvi., fig. 4; pl. xvii., fig. 2.) Four specimens before me are considered referable to this variety. Slight differences are noticeable, but on the whole the characters fall well within the varietal limits. The first specimen (R. = approximately 92 mm.) bears a locality label “Great Barrier Reef, Queensland,” and is identical with Doderlein’s Figs. 1 and la on pl. xix. The papular areas are roughly circular and are en- tirely separated by well-defined non-poriferous patches. The non- poriferous patches are provided with a number of stout conical spinelets of large size, but here and there blunt or even flat ones are noticeable. The spinelets generally are not as large as those occurring on the var. acuti- spinosa. The poriferous areas are armed with a few spinelets, the majority of which are smaller than those occurring on the non-poriferous patches. Poriferous areas near the margins carry a greater number of spinelets than the areas more central in position. Pedicellarie are fairly numerous. They are notably shorter and more heavily built than those of any variety of the species. The second specimen of the var. plana before me was identified by Dr. H. L. Clark (4) as Culcita novae-guineae and recorded from the “Great Barrier Reef,” Queensland. It is the largest of the four available speci- mens; R. = about 100 mm. as stated by Dr. Clark. Owing, no doubt, to its large dimensions the spinelets on the non-poriferous areas are of consider- (4) Clark, H. L., Rec. Austr. Museum, xv., 2, 1926, 195, LIVINGSTONE. 269 able size, but not as abundant as in the first specimen described above. All the poriferous areas are separated by well-developed non-poriferous patches and carry conical spinelets of small size. Pedicellarie are fairly abundant, and, although they are not so stout as those seen on the first specimen, they are not as slender as those on the other varieties of the species. Actinally this specimen resembles the var. acutispinosa in that the tubercles gradually flatten from the mouth, where they are distinctly rounded, toward the margins. Near the margins the tubercles broaden to form a flat polygonal tessellation. Although flat and crowded, the tubercles do not in any place totally obscure the underlying coarse granulation. A third specimen (R. = approximately 90 mm.) was collected at Ugi, Solomon Islands. It is closest to Doderlein’s Fig. 4 on pl. xix. The non- poriferous areas, which effectively separate the poriferous areas, are, for the most part, devoid of the usual granulation, being bare and with the integument leathery and like ebony in appearance. This unusual condli- tion of the specimen is no doubt brought about by its long sojourn in a collection and by wear through handling. In other features the abactinal surface corresponds to that of the first specimen, except that in the present specimen no pedicellarie can be traced. Even in protected areas, where wear is not apparent, pedicellarie are absent, and therefore it can be reasonably assumed that they were never present. The tubercles of the actinal surface, although of average size for the variety, are sparse and consequently widely spaced. Owing to this condi- tion the underlying granulation is very conspicuous. The tubercles exhibit no signs of flattening. The fourth specimen, which was taken at Palm Island, Queensland, is no doubt referable to the var. plana, despite its somewhat variable appear- ance, due to the smallness of the abactinal spinelets and the flat smooth- ness of the papular areas. R. = approximately 96 mm. Abactinally it is closest to the first specimen, but there are differences to be seen when a comparison is made. The smallness of the spinelets is most noticeable, but, situated at random on the well-defined non-poriferous areas, are larger and more conical spinelets comparable in size with those occurring on the other specimens of the variety before me. Many of the small spinelets are blunt and rounded; some are flat and not at all conical in shape. The non-poriferous areas are covered by a dense granulation, and are re- sponsible for the isolation of the papular areas. The papular areas con- tain a few small conical spinelets as a general rule, but there are some areas which are totally unarmed. The singular smoothness of the papular areas in this fourth specimen is due to the lack of the usual number of minute conical spinelets, the absence of pedicellarie and the less obvious ruggedness caused by the general granulation rising collar-like around the papular pores. As in the second specimen, the actinal surface of the present example bears tubercles, which gradually flatten from the region of the mouth out- wards toward the margins. Near the margins the tubercles form a poly- gonal flat tessellation, obscuring most of the underlying granulation. Localities—Great Barrier Reef, Queensland (two specimens); Ugi Island, north-east of San Cristoval, British Solomon Islands; Palm Island, near Townsville, Queensland (Austr. Mus., Regd. Nos. J.5139; J. 4678; A. 11,679; G.3226). Distribution—Amboina; Mauritius; Philippines; Viti; New Guinea; Samoa; Sumatra; Queensland. 270 SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. CULCITA NOVAEGUINEAE Var. ARENOSA. Culcita arenosa Perrier, Recherches sur les Pedicell., 1869, 66, pl. ii., fig. 6. Culcita arenosa Perrier, Rev. Stell. Mus. d’Hist. Nat. Paris, 1875, 264. Culcita arenosa Hartlaub, Notes Leyden Museum, xiv., 1892, 92. Culcita novae-guineae var. arenosa Doderlein (in Semon) Zool. Forschung. in Austr. and dem Malay Archip., v. (Jena Denkschr., vili.), 1896, 315, pl. xix., figs. 5-6. Culcita novae-guineae var. arenosa Bedford, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1900, 296. Culcita novae-guineae var. arenosa Goto, Journ. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, xxix., 1914, 517. Culcita novaeguineae Forma arenosa Fisher, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bull., 27, 1925, 71, pl. vi. (Pl. xv., fig. 1; pl. xvi., fig. 5; pl. xvii., fig. 6.) In the single specimen available R. = approximately 86 mm. It was collected at Port Moresby, Papua, and agrees perfectly with Doderlein’s Fig. 5 on pl. xix. of the abactinal surface. Judging by the description given by Bedford, the present specimen resembles the one examined by him. Although a few isolated conical spinelets occur on the abactinal surface of the specimen, it lacks the small well-spaced spinelets described and figured by Fisher and set out in Goto’s key as occurring on the poriferous areas. These facts point to the conclusion that two phases of arenosa are in existence—one with an almost smooth abactinal surface as figured by Doderlein and referred to herein, and one well spinulated as figured by Fisher. Whether the differences are of any significance is a question to be answered when more material is available for examination. In the mean- time, it is best to accept the two phases as belonging to the one variety. The present specimen is roundly pentagonal, with a conspicuously domed abactinal surface. The papular areas merge, but in isolated cases they may be bordered on one or two sides by thin, line-like, non-poriferous patches. Except for a few small conical spinelets, almost unnoticeable, the poriferous areas are relatively smooth. The granulation surrounding the actual papular pores is depressed and even, not conspicuously raised collar- like, as seen in other varieties. The non-poriferous patches, which are generally irregularly shaped, flattened, and finely granulated, are provided with a few (1 to 16, usually 1-6) bluntly pointed or entirely rounded spinelets of comparatively con- spicuous size. Pedicellarie do not occur. Actinally the specimen is almost inseparable from a specimen of var. plana with flattened tubercles. Locality——Port Moresby, Papua (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. G. 11,336). Distribution —Hawaiian Islands (Sandwich Islands); Amboina; Singa- pore; Ceram Laut; Papua. CULCITA GREX. Culcita grex Muller and Troschel, Syst. der Asteriden, 1842, 39. Culcita grex Perrier, Rev. Stell. Mus. d’Hist. Nat. Paris, 1875, 260. ? Culcita grex Bell, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1887, 140, 142. Culcita grex Hartlaub, Notes Leyden Museum, xiv., 1892, 87, pls. i.-ii. Culcita grex de Loriol, Rev. Suisse Zool., 1., 1893, 382. Culcita grex Doderlein (in Semon) Zool. Forschungsr. in Austr. und dem Malay Archip., v. (Jena Denkschr., viii.), 1896, 316. LIVINGSTONE. 271 Culcita grex Bell, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1898, 849. Culcita grex Goto, Journ. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, xxix., 1914, 517. (PlSxive fie. 6: plo xvi) fies iS ple xvi; fic. 3:) Five specimens, all approximately the same size (R. = 115 mm.), are before me. They agree with existing descriptions and keys, and so well with Hartlaub’s excellent figures that no doubt is entertained as to the identity of the specimens. Judging from the present series the species is constant in form, exhibiting no variation, thus making it an easily recog- nisable Culcita. Having been in Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Group, at the time the above specimens were collected, I am able to give some information regarding the life colours and habits of the species. Culcita grex was not found between tide marks. It seemed to prefer the quieter waters outside the fringing coral reefs, where it occured in abundance in a depth of about four fathoms on beds of sand and loose dead coral. When brought to the surface by divers, examples were seen to be of considerable size, often measuring four- teen inches and more in diameter, and bloated and swollen with water to an amazing degree. When they were taken from the water and placed on the deck of a vessel the water oozed quickly from the mouth, leaving the body flat and limp. From some individuals a small commensal fish (Cara- pus homei) emerged from the stomach along with the ejected water. An earlier note concerning this case of commensalism was accompanied by a figure (5), but through an error specimens of Culcita schmideliana var. africana were photographed in association with the fish, instead of the specimens of Culcita grex before me. In life the non-poriferous areas, the small spinelets, and the under- lying granulation are of a deep yellow brown hue. The papular areas are darker, owing to the deep brown of the papular pores. The actinal surface, like the greater part of the abactinal surface, is deep yellow-brown in colour. Drying after preservation in alcohol causes the colours to fade and become paler almost to a biscuit shade. Dried specimens are roundly pentagonal in shape with both surfaces perfectly flat. The species seems to lack the sturdy skeletal structure of its allies, and is more prone to total collapse when taken from the water. The non-poriferous areas are well defined, destitute of large conical spinelets, and clothed only in a very fine granulation. This granulation is, in the main, dense and made up of vast numbers of minute, sharply pointed, elongate, and delicate spinelets. The non-poriferous areas vary in size, but are always sufficiently well developed to isolate the papular areas. The papular areas are roughly round in outline. They possess several medium-sized spinelets. some of which are conical and some blunt and rounded. The granulation is sparse and of the same character as that seen on the non-poriferous areas. A definite and abrupt line separates the two surfaces. The tubercles and the underlying granulation on the actinal surface are weakly developed and furnish a striking contrast when compared with other representatives of the genus. Although the tubercles are abundant they rise very little above the general granulation and are always only (5) Troughton and Livingstone, Austr. Mus. Magazine, iii., No. 4, 1927, 120. 272 SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. slightly rounded. The granulation is fine and separates the tubercles much as in other species of Culcita. Locality—Three to four fathoms off the mouth of Sunday River, Vani- koro Island, Santa Cruz Group, August, 1926 (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5106). Distribution—? Andaman Islands; Bay of Amboina; Funafuti and Rotuma, Ellice Group; Moluccas; Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Group. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Plate xiv. Fig. 1. Culcita novaeguineae var. plana Hartlaub. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5139). Half natural size. Fig. 2. Culcita novaeguineae var. plana Hartlaub. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Palm Island, Queensland (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. G. 3226). Slightly over half natural size. Fig. 3. Culcita novaeguineae var. plana Hartlaub. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J. 4678). Two-thirds natural size. Fig. 4. Culcita novaeguineae var. plana Hartlaub. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Ugi, British Solomon Islands (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. A.11,679). About two-thirds natural size. Fig. 5. Culcita novaeguineae var. acutispinosa Bell. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Ysabel Island, British Solomon Islands (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.4732). About two-thirds natural size. Fig. 6. Culcita grex Miller and Troschel. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Group (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5106). About two-thirds natural size. Plate xv. Fig. 1. Culcita novaeguineae var. arenosa Perrier. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Port Moresby, Papua (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. G. 11,336). Three fourths natural size. Fig. 2. Culcita novaeguineae var. typica-acutispinosa Doderlein. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3169). About two-thirds natural size. Fig. 3. Culcita novaeguineae var. typica Miller and Troschel. Portion of abactinal surface of specimen from Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3170). Slightly over half natural size. Plate xvi. Fig. 1. Culcita grex Miller and Troschel. Portion of actinal surface of specimen from Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Group (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5106). Natural size. Fig. 2. Culcita novaeguineae var. typica-acutispinosa Doderlein. Portion of actinal surface of specimen from Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3169). Natural size. Fig. 3. Culcita novaeguineae var. acutispinosa Bell. Portion of actinal surface of specimen from Ysabel Island, British Solomon Islands (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J. 4732). Natural size. LIVINGSTONE. 273 Fig. 4. Culcita novaeguineae var. plana Hartlaub. Portion of actinal surface of specimen from Great Barrier Reef, Queensland (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5139). Slightly under natural size. Fig. 5. Culcita novaeguineae var. arenosa Perrier. Portion of actinal surface of specimen from Port Moresby, Papua (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. G. 11,336). Slightly under natural size. Fig. 6. Culcita novaeguineae var. typica Miiller and Troschel. Portion of actinal surface of specimen from Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3170). Slightly under natural size. Plate xvii. Fig. 1. Culcita novaeguineae var. typica-acutispinosa Doderlein. Enlarged section of abactinal surface of specimen from Southwest Bay, Male- kula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3169). X3. Fig. 2. Culcita novaeguineae var. plana Hartlaub. Enlarged section of abactinal surface of specimen from Great Barrier Reef, Queens- land (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5139). X 3. Fig. 3. Culcita grex Muller and Troschel. Enlarged section of abactinal surface of specimen from Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Group (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.5106). X 2.5. Fig. 4. Culcita novaeguineae var. typica Miller and Troschel. Enlarged section of abactinal surface of specimen from Southwest Bay, Malekula, New Hebrides (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.3170). X 3. Fig. 5. Culcita novaeguineae var. acutispinosa Bell. Enlarged section of abactinal surface of specimen from Ysabel Island, British Solomon Islands (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. J.4732). X 2. Fig. 6. Culcita novaeguineae var. arenosa Perrier. Enlarged section of abactinal surface of specimen from Port Moresby, Papua (Austr. Mus., Regd. No. G. 11,336). X 2. A NEW SPECIES OF FROGGATTIMYIA TOWNSEND. Family TacHInrmpaE (Diptera). By J. R. Mautoc#. FROGGATTIMYIA ANGULIVENTRIS, N.sp. Male and female——Head black, interfrontalia reddish but obscured by the grey dust, the parafacials and jowls reddish to brownish testaceous, slightly shining, but quite densely grey dusted; antennae black, the extreme apex of second and but a narrow line at base of third segment reddish; palpi testaceous yellow. Hairs and bristles black, the occipital hairs white, postocular cilia dark. Thorax and abdomen black, slightly shining, with rather dense grey dust, the abdomen in the male with the sides of first and second visible segments usually rather distinctly red. Mesonotum with four black vittae; apex of scutellum reddish; all hairs and bristles dark. Legs black. Wings greyish hyaline. Squamae white, the margin yellow. Halteres dark brown to fuscous. Frons of male about one-sixth of the head width at vertex, widened to anterior extremity, with two strong verticals, no developed postverticals nor ocellars, one or two recurved upper orbitals and a series of inner mar- ginal incurved bristles on each orbit which diverge below base of antennae 274 NEW SPECIES OF FROGGATTIMYIA TOWNSEND. and extend to or almost to level of apex of second antennal segment, the orbits and parafacials quite densely haired on their entire extent; frons of female about one-fourth of the head width at vertex, with all four verticals strong, a weak pair of postverticals and a stronger pair of diver- gent ocellars, the usual recurved upper and two proclinate bristles in each of the outer series, a series of strong incuryed inner margins on each orbit, which are in two series anteriorly, the parafacials and orbits not as densely hairec as in the male, the former haired to lower level of eye; antennae of female distinctly longer than in the male, third segment about four times longer than second as against three times longer in male, the third segment rather narrow; aristae bare; face with a poorly developed central carina; eyes bare; parafacials about twice as wide as third antennal segment and about half as wide as height of gena; vibrissae above level of epistome and almost in line with lower level of eye. Thorax as in other species of the genus, the hairs on centre of pro- pleura quite dense, all dark. Abdomen of male normal, ovate, that of female more elongate than usual, the apex conical, fourth visible tergite on its median line fully as long as the remainder of abdomen at same point, the third tergite narrowed centrally, widened on sides (Fig. 1). Fore tarsi of male normal, the claws elongated slightly, longer than those of mid and hind tarsi, the female with the fore tarsi slightly widened from near base, : AN XSNNS the fifth segment slightly longer than wide, oS AY the pulvilli very small and the claws rudi- Cds mentary, visible only under a high power lens. Third wing vein with four or five setulae at base above and below. Length, 8.5-11 mm. Type, female, allotype, and 15 paratypes, reared from larvae of Paropsis reticulata Marsh., various dates in March, April, and May, 1932, Canberra (F.C.T.). This species will run down to ftillyardi in my key * to the species of the genus, but is distinguished therefrom by the entirely black fore tarsi and the fact that the vibrissae are a little closer together than either is from the nearest part of the eye. I have seen no other species of the genus in which the abdomen is of similar structure in the female, though there may be such as some of the species are unknown to me in that sex. It may be well to note here the distinctions in the chaetotaxy of the frons in the sexes as not infrequently the lack of the ocellar bristles is considered as of value as a generic character. In no male before me are there distinguish- able ocellar bristles, while in all females these are well developed. The postverticals may be represented by two or more erect setulose hairs in some of the males, but they are not as strong as the bristles in the females. * To be published in my paper, Notes on Australian Diptera, xxxiv., in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of N.S. Wales. 275 SOME NEW AUSTRALIAN SARCOPHAGID FLIES: AND NOTES ON OTHERS. By G. H. Harpy. Walter and Eliza Hall Fellow in Economic Biology, Queensland University, Brisbane. As the genus Sarcophaga has come into prominence again in Aus- tralia, being associated more widely than hitherto with economic problems, it is advisable to publish the following new species. Since the revision of this group by Johnston and Hardy, in 1923, four more species have been discovered, and in addition there are two species known that are suspected importations, but I am unable to associate the genitalia of these with any published figures. The genus Sarcophaga, in its widest sense, but not accepted as such in the previous papers, contains Helicobia australis, Johnston and Tiegs, but that species is not congeneric with the remainder in Australia, and it is preferable to retain it apart. The generic name Helicobia is a synonym of Sarcophaga, as accepted by most authors, and I have been unable to as- sociate the typical form with the Australian species placed under the name, although the two species have some characters in common. I retain the name Helicobia as being one of convenience, rather than propose a generic name at the present time, because there is no unanimous opinion with re- gard to the limits of the various associated genera. The two concepts may be distinguished as follows:— Vein R1 with a row of bristles. Only three postsutural dorsocentral PEIStIES# ee oe ; Helicobia australis, J. & T. Vein R1 bare. Four postsutural ‘dorsocentral bristles and often a fifth is DECSCM eerie meen tee salsrep petemrs ae oale) arecielues> cic ay have ats SONCODAAGA SDD: This Bes only to the Australian element and cannot be applied successfully to the world forms, but there is a tendency shown in the works of various authors to limit the genus Sarcophaga, and so the sinking of the two above under one generic name would be premature. SARCOPHAGA ALCICORNIS N.sp. The outer vertical bristle on the head is present, and there is only one postocular row. The presutural and prescutellar acrostichals, one pre- sutural and three intraalar occur on the thorax. One row of strongly developed discal laterals occurs on the first abdominal segment. In other respects the chaetotaxy agrees with that of other species in the genus. The aedeagus contains a well developed lobe, a bifid lateral process and a trifid apex. The last has on each side a rearwardly directed process which is two-pronged on one and three-pronged on the other, giving the general shape of an elk-horn, and is an outstanding character. The for- ceps are strongly curved and the claspers are about equal in length; the anterior one has a small flange on its basal half. This fly has the average appearance of all Australian members of its genus with a strong tendency towards the golden tone. Habitat—Queensland: Brisbane, 1931. One male. This fly was originally discarded, and its nature was discovered some months later and then labelled. There is no doubt about its locality being Brisbane, how- ever, as no Sarcophagas were secured from elsewhere over the period. 276 SOME NEW AUSTRALIAN SARCOPHAGID FLIES. Fig. 1. Sarcophaga alcicornis. (See explanation.) HARDY. 277 SARCOPHAGA SPINIFERA n.sp. The outer vertical bristle is not developed and there are two postocular rows. The presutural acrostichals are probably absent, but the pin has penetrated too near this region to be certain. The prescutellar acrostichals, two presuturals and two intraalar bristles are present. On the first abdominal segment there is one row of discal laterals. In other respects the chaetotaxy agrees with that of other species. The genitalia contain normal shaped forceps and the claspers are of equal length, the anterior one having a slight flange. The aedeagus is very unusual, being provided with a tomentose covered apical area that is de- pressed and out of the depression arises a row of thick angulated spines, this being the most outstanding character. The fly bears the same appearance as others in the genus with the golden coloration only slightly developed. It is one of the so-called grey forms, but much darker than the exotic ones that are truly grey. Habitat—Queensland: Brisbane, December, 1929. One male. SSS a p-¢c. (> Q Fig. 2. Sarcophaga spinifera. (See explanation.) SARCOPHAGA FURCATA N.Sp. The outer vertical bristles are not developed and there is only one post- ocular row of bristles. The presutural and prescutellar acrostichals, two presutural and two intraalars are present. On the first abdominal seg- ment the discal laterals form into two rows of bristles. In other respects the chaetotaxy conforms to the normal type. The aedeagus seems to be without the usually developed lobe, but there is a strong lateral spine-like projection that occurs near that area. The lateral process is probably represented by processes that lie adjacent to the 278 SOME NEW AUSTRALIAN SARCOPHAGID FLIES. apex and are reminiscent of those that occur on S. epsilon J. & T. The trifid apex contains two pairs of small lateral processes, comparable to similar structures on S. howensis J. & H., and there are no filaments per- ceptible. The forceps are strongly developed and curved as in the antilope- group. The anterior clasper is very long, with a short lateral branch, and the posterior clasper is long but simple. The fly tends towards being one of the so-called golden ones, but the colour on the frons and on the majority of the thorax is too pale to permit it to be so classed. Habitat—Queensland: Brisbane, December, 1929. One male. Note.—The remarkable resemblance this fly bears to the antilope- group leads me to suggest placing it there. It misses the small knob near the anterior clasper, but the forceps, bifid anterior clasper with the cleft that does not reach to the base, associated with the trifid apex of the aedeagus would bring the species near S. beta J. & T., S. howensis J. & H., and S. antilopoides Hardy. There are a number of characters that will distinguish it from these, the lack of the protruding filament and the long anterior clasper being the most noticeable. ) Fig. 3. Sarcophaga furcata. (See explanation.) aA.a. SARCOPHAGA ALEICEPS-group. The character that most readily allies all forms that come under this group is found in the shape of the anterior appendage. This arises from a slender stalk expanding abruptly into a plate that is often with the ap- pearance of being cup-formed, but with two diverging long processes on the anterior edge. As far as I have gathered them, the names of the various species belonging here are:— HARDY. 279 albiceps Meigen, 1826, Europe. hirtipes Wiedemann, 1830, Egypt. rufipes Wiedemann, 1830, Egypt. ochidea Bottcher, 1913, Formosa. knabi Parker, 1917, Philippine Islands. gamma Johnston & Tiegs, 1921, Queensland. froggatti Johnston & Tiegs (nec Taylor), 1921 = omega J. & T.., Queensland. omega Johnston & Tiegs, 1921, Queensland. brunneopalpis Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 = gamma J. & T., Queens- land. flavipalpis (var of knabi), Senior-White, 1924, India. prosbaliina Baranoff, 1931. It will be noted I previously placed S. knabi Parker, as probably be- longing to the misera-group, but that is now shown to be an error. It is further possible that the present group is represented in the Americas by S. gula Fabricius, 1805, and the synonyms standing under this name are hirtipes Walker, 1852, lamanensis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830, amorosa Schiner, 1868, and wiedemanni Aldrich, 1916. S. gula Fab., is said to be related to S. bakeri Aldrich, 1916, but the figures published are not sufficient for me to judge if either be truly related to the albiceps-group. In a letter dated 2nd October, 1928, Mr. R. Senior-White started a correspondence with me affecting the identity of S. froggatti and S. knabi, expressing the view that these were the same. The species of S. froggatti Fig. 4. Sarcophaga albiceps group. (See explanation.) 280 SOME NEW AUSTRALIAN SARCOPHAGID FLIES. referred to was that of Johnston and Tiegs, not that of Taylor, and was placed as a synonym of omega by Johnston and Hardy, who mentioned a specimen was labelled by Aldrich as S. knabi. As only a few odd specimens were available, I was unable to submit specimens to Mr. White, who instead kindly forwarded to me specimens of forms he identified as knabi from India. I have now made a series of drawings of S. omega, S. knabi and S. albiceps with a view of finding differences in the genitalia and, although several apparent ones were there, these were found to be no more than due to the curvature of the various parts and not to structure. It seems to me that illustrated differences appearing plausible in literature may be no more than those due to circumstances, and, if my view be correct, then there will not be any structural differences between these three forms to be found in the genitalia. I have taken the fifth sternite into consideration too, but find these do not show consistent char- acters such as one would expect to find. Mr. White informs me that pros- baliina Baranoff, is similarly difficult to distinguish from S. knabi, and so presumably it belongs to the same complex. I would suggest that these forms may represent quite valid species as they fail to conform in certain characters other than genitalia. I have examined the intermediate and posterior femora of the three before me, and I find that very probably the differences pointed out there by Mr. White will be maintained, but if so, then S. knabi before me is not con- specific with S. omega. In addition, the Australian representative is quite a dark species, whereas the other two are very pale, the face is golden and not yellow, a deeper gold than that on S. albiceps. In the figure given here, the lateral view of the aedeagus of S. albiceps is represented by Fig. E, and the ventral view of the anterior appendage is also given to show the comparatively flat nature of this structure. A similar view is given for the anterior appendage of S. omega, where the structure is still further curved up, but on following out the lines I find there is not the difference in the outline that might be expected, and both flattened out would come to the same lines. Another outstanding difference due to circumstances is to be found in a specimen of S. omega from Adelaide. Normally, the lateral pro- cesses are long, slender and rounded, but on the Adelaide specimen they are flattened out so that the portions that would curve out of sight ap- pear to be flanges attached to that portion that is normally seen. Both forms are illustrated in Fig. F. The holotype of S. omega has the lateral processes corresponding to those on the Adelaide specimen. Fig. C. is a carefully outlined drawing of the claspers on S. omega, but I cannot see that these differ structurally from those of the other two species. The two bristles may be both short, or one longer than the other, but invariably both are to be detected. The lobe is liable to under- go differences in appearance, but here again it would seem that no struc- tural differences are to be detected. At the base of the second segment of the aedeagus there is aj large membraneous distended portion present on all specimens of S. omega, but on the other two species this is largely missing; nevertheless, oc- casionally it is preserved on specimens that are dried out, but not quite so distended if the material before me is reliable enough for judgment to be formed on it. An outline dotted is shown on Fig. E, to show where thig should come, although it is not perceptible on the specimen from which the drawing was made. HARDY. 281 LITERATURE. 1923. JoHNstTon & Harpy. A revision of Australian Diptera belonging to the genus Sarcophaga. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xlviii., 94-129. 1927. Harpy. Notes on Australian and Exotic Sarcophagid flies. ibidem., lii., 447-459. 1932. Harpy. Notes of Sarcophaga peregrina-group. Bull. Ent. Res., xxili., 45-48. The above references, in addition to the references to be found in those works, make a complete list of all the literature on genus Sarcop- haga that is likely to be needed in the study of the Australian represen- tatives of the genus. TEXT FIGURES. Fig. 1. Sarcophaga alcicornis n.sp., lateral view of the genitalia, together with enlarged details (lettered) as follows:— . forceps seen posteriorly. apex of same seen laterally. claspers: d.c., anterior clasper. p.c., posterior clasper. second segment of the aedeagus seen laterally. the same seen more ventrally. . the same seen posteriorly and an enlarged outline as seen from a more tilted position. d.a., anterior appendage. 1., lobe. l.p., lateral process. (This lettering is in conformity with that of prior papers and applies to all figures.) Fig. 2. Sarcophaga spinifera n.sp. (lettering as in Fig. 1). Fig. 3. Sarcophaga furcata n.sp. (lettering as in Fig. 1). Fig. 4. Sarcophaga albiceps-group (lettering as in Fig. 1; in addition, E was drawn from a specimen of S. albiceps, and the remainder from S. omega). AHH AWp 282 OCCASIONAL NOTES. By A. S. Le SoueEr. ANEMONES AT TARONGA. The Taronga Park Aquarium has been successful in maintaining a splendid show of anemones. Several species are on view from as far separated localities as California, Hawaii, Lord Howe Island, the Solomon Islands and Port Jackson. The most spectacular is a large dish-shaped form (Discosoma sp. ?) that came from the Solomon Islands. It is about the size and shape of a large soup plate. It has very short tentacles of even length. When it arrived, about eight months ago, it was sage green in colour, but is now almost pure white. This change in colour has been noted in several species from tropical waters, and I understand that it is due to the tentacles be- ing covered with a small parasite, which seemingly does not thrive in captivity, and when it comes off the animal is left in its natural colour. This change in hue is not due to environment, as the rocks on which the anemone lives in the tank are dark in colour. The amount of food that these anemones require is surprising. Con- sidering that they are stationary and almost immobile in mind and body, it should not take much to maintain them, but we find that they will take rather more than a fish of similar weight would. The one under review will absorb most of the meat from five prawns daily. These have to be cut up very finely, otherwise the food is not digested. These notes apply to another species from the same locality, but which has longer tentacles. In the same tank as these anemones are kept many of the specialised anemone fish which are said to be always in association with them. Of these several species are shown. During the day individual fish will be seen worming their way in and out of the folds and tentacles of the ane- mone. Only two or three, of perhaps one hundred fish, are interested in the anemone, and, as far as can be judged, it is the same fish every day. It is to be noted that other species of fish in the tank never go near the anemones. Practically all our aquarium fish are given at times to wiping their sides on the sand at the bottom of the tank. The anemone fish never do this, but apparently clean themselves, when necessary, on the anemone. At night most of the anemone fish will be seen clustered on the anemones. Several kinds of truncated anemones from Hawaii, California and Lord Howe Island are also shown. Some of these have also been noted to change in colour from green to white. These also have the same prodigious appetite. One particularly large specimen, about 7 inches across when ex- panded, only thrives on oysters. We have some difficulty in gauging what is a fair ration. The one mentioned has taken nine large oysters in an hour and a half, and next day seemed ready for more. ‘Truncated ane- mones seemingly only take oysters, and dish-shaped kinds thrive only on prawns. The local long tentacled green anemones do well in captivity, staying quietly in fairly deep water in the well-lighted tank. The small red forms, however, do not like deep water or light, for they climb to the top of the tank and make for the darker corner, and even then do not seem happy. The flesh-coloured warted anemones do not live at all in our tanks. It is noticeable that the anemone fish take no interest in our local LE SOUEF. 283 species of anemones. In fact, fish of any Kind only go near them at their peril, for quite large specimens are at times caught and eaten, the Sea- horse (Hippocampus) often falling a victim. DISPLAY OF THE TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE. The family Paradiseidae is noted for the extremely different types presented by its many genera. In this they resemble the orchids in the botanical world and the Edentata among the mammals. Probably no family of birds is more given to display than the Birds of Paradise, and the male of each of the genera has a characteristic way of showing off his charms. This is as might be expected, for the different species support elaborate plumage decorations, which they are able to show to great advantage when the mood takes them. Display is not necessarily made to the female, for her presence or absence seems to make no difference to the vigour put into the “show off.” A beautiful pair of Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucides nigricans) are at present housed in Taronga Park, and the male often shows off his ornamental plumes. He is strikingly coloured in deep purple-black and yellow, the lower part of the body only showing the latter tint. The chest is covered with a movable fan-like structure, which is margined with metallic green. Normally, the bird has a characteristic quick movement of the wings, which is operating more or less constantly, apart from display. During display activity is increased. A fantastic dance is indulged in. This con- sists of running up and down a perch, frequent angular movements of the head and flicking of the wings and semi-erection of the chest fan. The perch is sometimes circled and the body not infrequently hangs upside down. At times the wings are raised and a pair of small crests on the crown are ereeted. This is all accompanied by tapping the perch with the long bill. The female shows an interest in her mate’s charms by sometimes erecting his breast fan with her bill. CORRESPONDENCE. BREEDING PARRAKEETS IN CAPTIVITY. The Hon. Secretary, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney. Dear Sir,— I am not aware as to whether it is permissible for you to publish in “The Australian Zoologist” the following notes, written, as they are, by one who is not a member of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. My only excuse for forwarding them to you is that I think it may possibly interest your members to read of the attempts that are being made by the South Australian Zoological Society to breed in captivity, certain Parrakeets which are threatened with extinction in the natural state. In July, 1930, this Society erected a series of cages which now house a pair each of the following:— Neophema elegans (Elegant Parrakeet). Neophema bourkii (Bourke’s Parrakeet) . Neophema pulchella (Turquoisine Parrakeet) . Neophema splendida (Scarlet-chested Parrakeet) . Psephotus dissimilis (Hooded Parrakeet) . The Hooded Parrakeet is not particularly rare in the natural state, but last season we were fortunate enough to rear three young out of four 284 CORRESPONDENCE. actually hatched. The eggs are laid on alternate days, and the incubation period is 18 to 19 days. The first youngster to leave the nest did so when 30 days old, but the last two did not venture into the open world until 7 days later. Apart from the fact that they are smaller (length at 30 days old, 6.5 inches) the young resemble the adult female as to plumage, but the beak is orange, whilst that of the adult bird is greyish white. The sexes of the young are difficult to distinguish, but the male bird begins to show a brighter blue on the cheeks and a richer orange colour on the under tail- coverts when about six weeks out of the nest. The Turquoisine Parrakeets are proving to be the most prolific of the Neophema family. In the 1930-31 season one pair nested twice, rearing three and one respectively. This season the same pair have reared four young in their first nest and have two young in their second brood, which have not yet left the nest. One of the 1930-31 season’s hens was mated to a wild caught cock, and so far they have reared in two broods this season, seven young, and, at the time of writing, the hen has just begun to lay her third clutch for the season. It seems that in captivity Neophema pulchella is normally double brooded, but it is unusual for them to nest three times in one season. In some broods the sexes of the young can be distinguished almost as soon as they leave the log, but at other times the red on the shoulders of the cocks is not discernible until a fortnight or three weeks after they have left the nest. The Elegant Parrakeet will breed readily in captivity, but appears to nest only once in a season. Four young were reared last summer, but owing to lack of space no attempt was made to breed them this season. Four Bourke’s Parrakeets were reared this summer. A second pair nested but deserted their young when about twelve days old. Several private persons in Adelaide have bred this species during the present season and many pairs have nested twice. As far as can be ascertained, it is sixty years since Neophema splendida has been kept in captivity, and this is the greatest rarity in our collection of Parrots. The pair consist of an adult female, purchased last August, and a young cock, which was taken from the nest this season and reared by hand. As yet it is smaller than the female, and the scarlet on the chest is patchy and inter-mixed with light greenish-yellow. We believe this bird to be about four months old, and hope to be able to record the breeding of the Scarlet-chested Parrakeet next season. All the birds that are reared here are rung with numbered rings and careful records are kept so that no in-breeding will occur. With the assist- ance of others interested in this work, it is hoped that some of these rare birds will be saved from extinction, which with the human occupation of the country and the many imported pests seems almost inevitable unless efforts are made to breed them in captivity. The success with which this venture has been rewarded is an incentive to this Society to make further funds available as soon as circumstances permit. Yours faithfully, R. R. MINcHIN, Assistant Director, South Australian Zoological \ and Acclimatisation Society’s Gardens. Adelaide, 12th February, 1932. Note: Mr. Minchin has since become an associate member of the Society. THE AUSTRALIAN ZooLoacistT, Vol. vii. PLATE XI. Mosaic Hermaphrodites of Papilio aegeus Donovan. THE AUSTRALIAN Zoo.oacistT, Vol. vii. PLATE XII. RAS E.H Zeck Del. NEW SPECIES OF DRYOPIDAE. THE AUSTRALIAN ZooLocist, Vol. vii. PLATE XIII. HUONNOMCNNME — —— SS SP, AUSTRALIAN LANCELETS AND LAMPREYS. G. P. Whitley, del. THE AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIST, Vol. vii. PLATE XIV. REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. THE AUSTRALIAN Zoo.ocistT, Vol. vii. PLATE XV. REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASTEROID GENUS CULCITA. THE AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGIST, Vol. vii. ; PLATE XVI. Oa ~ ‘ee 44" = ~ ae Avicultural Section. Chairman: Frank Buckle. Vice-Chairman: Clifford Coles. Hon. Secretary: EH. W. Jones. Committee: G. A. Duncan, H. E. Peir, C. V. Thomson, and W. Turner. Budgerigar Club. Chairman: Neville W. Cayley. Hon, Secretaries: E. W. Jones and J. Mackie. Hargreaves, W. Tancred, and H. W. Taylor. Committee: C. Camp, A. E. Clarke, E. S. Hollingsworth, P. Hull. Hon. Secretary Field Club: Miss E. Butters. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales New Meeting Room. On ist February, 1933, the Society moved from the first floor to the ground floor of Bull’s Chambers, 28 Martin Place, Sydney. The new room is much larger than the one previously occupied, and it is now possible to accommodate up to 75 members at any meeting. New Members. The following have been elected since the publication of the last list (15th September, 1932) :—Ordinary Members.—A. A. Atkinson, A. F. Barker, W. Barrie, H. J. Bernard, A. T. Bolton, A. Burton, V. Duclos, S. Dummett, Miss E. M. Hayes, H. W. Ireland, Miss Macansh, W. E. Mitchell, K. Mont- gomery, A. E. Nichols, C. D. Paterson, Mrs. H. E. Peir, H. D. Preston, N. L. Roberts, J. D. Sutton, J. D. Tipper, E. Tomkins, S. V. Toose, A. J. Turkington, and Mrs. C. Q. Williams. Associate Members.—H. B. Atkinson, A. J. Bearup, Miss G. W. Barker, A. H. Brain, R. W. Bush, K. J. Clinton, H. F. C. Davis, J. Forward, Miss B. French, D. Frost, W. P. Griffin, A. R. Hammill, J. L. Hattersley, Mrs. E. Hurt, G. W. James, E. H. Johnston, Miss G. Kennedy, M. Kent, F. C. Kitchen, G. Lewers, P. Murphy, F. D. McCarthy, Rev. E. N. McKie, R. McRowan, T. J. McSwiggan, G. S. Nock, H. Paul, W. L. Penny, J. Phelps, H. W. Pocock, W. Relton, Miss D: Risby, Miss E. Sanderson, F. W. Sands, J. F. Scott, J. Shaw, Dr. C. D. Sherborn, F. Shoults. A. E. J. Thack- way, T. Webster, Mrs. T. Webster, A. Whiteley, and E. F. Wilks. New Honorary Associate. Dr. Charles Davies Sherborn, compiler of the monumental “Index Animalium,’ recently completed, has been elected an honorary associate member of the Society, in recognition of his distinguished services to Aus- tralian zoology. Mr. A. H. Chisholm. In consequence of his appointment to the staff of the Melbourne “Argus” and “Australasian,” in succession to the late Mr. Donald Macdonald, Mr. A. H. Chisholm has resigned from the Council of this Society. Mem- bers of Council met on the 25th February, and tendered him a cordial fare- well, coupled with good wishes for success in his new field. Appreciative references were made to his valuable work in placing before the public several popular works dealing with the birds of Australia, and particularly those of coastal New South Wales and Queensland. His keen and always constructive criticism of the work of the Society, together with his close observation of the habits and excellent photographs of our birds have done much to further the objects of the Society. Election of Councillor. Dr. E. A. D’Ombrain has been elected to fill the vacancy in the Council caused by the resignation of Mr. A. H. Chisholm. Dr. D’Ombrain was first elected a member of Council in 1918. He resigned in November, 1930, and has recently recovered from the result of an accident, His return to the Council was received with cordial appreciation. _ ae APR 28 1933 286 ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY—NOTES. Fellows Qualification Committee. The rule governing the election of Fellows of the Society has been amended by the omission, in section 2, of the words “the President, and Honorary Secretary, ex officio, together with two other members of the Council,” and the insertion of the words “those members of Council who are Fellows.” The effect of this amendment is that the Qualification Com- mittee now consists of those Fellows who are members of Council, who have power to co-opt another zoologist. Election of Fellow. In recognition to his distinguished services to Australian zoology, and particularly the compilation of his “Bibliography of Australian Entomology,” Mr. Anthony Musgrave, F.E.S., has been elected a Fellow of the Society. Appointment of London Agent. Wheldon & Wesley, Ltd. has been appointed London agent of the Society, and the firm will supply the Society’s publications to applicants residing in Great Britain or Europe. EXHIBITION OF CAGE BIRDS. The Avicultural Section of the Society held its first exhibition of Cage Birds on February 15th, 16th and 17th. Messrs. Farmer & Co., Ltd., very generously made their spacious Blaxland Galleries available for the pur- pose, and the great floor space was tastefully laid out with tables. A central aviary contained a series of interesting colour variations of the Budgerigar, while miniature aquaria were placed here and there, pleasantly breaking the sequence of cages. Lounges were available at convenient places, and the walls and ceiling were decorated in lavish colouring, so that the whole atmosphere was harmoniously composed for the display of - birds. The Exhibition was opened by the Lord Mayor, Alderman R. C. Hagon, in the presence of a large gathering. Particular reference was made by the Lord Mayor to the growing interest in Aviculture, and to the delightful field it opened up for intelligent observation and the study of our native birds. The Hon. Frank Chaffey, Chief Secretary, moved a vote of thanks to the Lord Mayor for officiating. Mr. Chaffey remarked that our fauna held a high place in the affections of the people. It was his duty to hold the balance between the man on the land, who was fighting for a living and those who desired protection for birds and animals, regardless of the dam- age which they may cause to our primary producer. Colonel Spain, Presi- dent of Taronga Park Trust, seconded the motion, which was carried with enthusiasm. The President of the Society, Mr. Neville Cayley, moved a vote of thanks to Messrs. Farmer & Co., for placing their Blaxland Galleries at the disposal of the Society. Mr. Wright acknowledged the compliment. At the conclusicn of the formal speeches, an inspection of the exhibits revealed some wonderful results which have been attained by colour selec- tion in the breeding of Budgerigars. More than twenty distinct colours were on exhibition in a series of classes, which included green, yellow, light blue, cobalt, mauve, olive suffused white, grey wings, with many beautiful body colours. Outstanding amongst them was a team of yellowish olives ringed with cinnamon, and grey-wing jade greens and blues. More than EXHIBITION OF CAGE BIRDS. 287 300 Budgerigars were on exhibition, altogether an amazing series, which might well inspire the aviculturist to extend his experiments to other of our birds, particularly the broad tails (Platycercus), there is much promise in such an undertaking. Many exhibits could not successfully compete, as much has yet to be done to correctly classify new colours or combinations which are constantly being produced. Parrots were well represented, both Australian and foreign, the small Agapornis of East Africa in five species, the Nyassa, the Fisher, the Black Cheeked, the Peach faced, and an outstanding bird, the Yellow Collared or Masked Love bird, tried to attract attention, whilst a sulphur crested Cockatoo talked insistently and danced before an admiring throng. In the near distance a red and blue Macaw screeched defiance at opposition and would not be silenced until a Bopal nut was given him to crack. This task accomplished, the glorious monarch of the parrot world yielded to the fondling of his admirers. He was in splendid condition. Other parrots claimed considerable attention, delightfully tame, they lived up to their reputation as the monkeys of the bird world. Some delightful Whydahs and Weavers were on show, a giant Whydah claiming special attention. Lesser Finches of outstanding merit were the violet eared Waxbill and Melba Finches from Africa, two Buntings and the tiny blue breasted Waxbill. The Rice Finch or White Java Sparrow in different stages of development gained many admirers; there are few birds which show themselves so perfectly. A special prize, valued at £3/3/-, donated by the President for the best display of birds was won by the Messrs. A. & E. Hargreaves. Prizes, valued each at £1/1/-, donated by Dr. Garnet Halloran, were won by W. Hollingsworth, for the most successful ex- hibit of Australian Finches, and by C. Springall for Foreign Finches. Mr. A. L. Turner donated seeds and undertook the feeding of the whole of the birds whilst on exhibition, and so well was this done that no losses were reported. The judging was in the hands of Messrs. Peir, Mackie, Buckle, Cayley and Coles. Splendid service was rendered by the executive; outstanding workers in addition were Messrs. Hargreaves, French, Mackie and Reg. Jones. The exhibition sets a new standard for shows of this nature, and an insistent demand is heard that the Society should regard the affair as an annual fixture. SYLLABUS OF SECTIONAL MEETINGS, Marcu To JUNE, 1933. Avicultural Section. (Second Monday in the month.) 13th March.—‘Australian Finches,” by Neville W. Cayley. 10th April—‘Birds of North Australia,” by Price Conigrave 8th May.—‘Rambles in Birdland,” by K. A. Hindwood. 12th June—‘“Some Australian Birds,” by Clifford Coles. Budgerigar Club. (Third Tuesday in the month.) 2ist March—‘Management of Budgerigars,” Ernest W. Jones. 18th April—“My Experiences,” E. Hargreaves. 16th May.—“The Great and Small in Aviaries,” Charles Camp. 20th June—“The Why and Wherefore of Breeding Budgerigars,” by H. E. 2Bn. (An open discussion follows each talk.) 288 REVIEWS. Marine Zoological Section. (First Monday in the month.) 6th March.—‘Marine Mammals,” by E. L. Troughton. 3rd April.—‘Crabs,” by Mel. Ward. 1st May.—‘Fisheries,’ by A. N. Colefax. 7th June (Tuesday) —Presidential Address by G. P. Whitley. Ornithological Section. (Third Friday in the month.) 17th March.—‘Islands and Birds,” by A. F. Basset Hull. 21st April—‘“Wild Animals in Africa,’ by E. J. Bryce. 19th May.—‘Reminiscences of a Birdman,” by Clifford Coles. 16th June—“Birds and Mangroves,” by K. A. Hindwooc. REVIEWS. Wuat BUTTERFLY Is THaT?.—By G. A. Waterhouse, D.Sc., FES. (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, Ltd.). 1932. (12/6). When Lord Chelmsford was Governor of New South Wales he per- formed the ceremony of opening a new wing of the Australian Museum, and on this occasion he referred to the want of cheap handbooks to the butterflies, birds, and other native fauna of Australia, attributing the dearth of Australian boy collectors to this want. Taking this public utter- ance as a text, the Royal Zoological Society endeavoured to establish a Handbook Fund. It had amongst its members men capable of writing and illustrating the required books, but after fifteen years of endeavour the Society has only been able to accumulate £1,000, whereas at least £5,000 would be required as a capital fund to provide income sufficient to pro- duce at most one book per annum. That enterprising firm, Angus and Robertson, of Sydney, has stepped into the arena, and has published this, the second handbook, to fill the want emphasised by Lord Chelmsford. The first work, Neville Cayley’s ‘What Bird is That?,”’ recently reviewed in this journal, was written and illustrated by a member of this Society. The second, “What Butterfly is That?,” is also written by a member of this Society, and illustrated by Neville Cayley. Dr. Waterhouse is known as the “Butterfly Man” of Australia. His monumental work on the Butterflies of Australia, written some years ago in collaboration with George Lyell, is too highly technica! and expensive to be regarded as a “Handbook,” but it established his reputation in the field of Entomology. His recent donation of his magnificent collection of Australian butterflies to the Australian Museum has established his claim to be regarded as a public benefactor, and the work under review has earned for him the gratitude of every person who delights in collecting and preserving our beautiful butterflies. Opening with a disquisition on the position of the butterfly in nature, the author proceeds to describe in general terms the life-history of the Lepidoptera or scale-winged insects. This is followed by a short note on classification, both of these introductory sections being couched in popular language, scientific terms being used only where absolutely necessary. The main part of the work deals with each family in detail, and the scientific name is followed by the popular or vernacular name. The egg, larva, pupa, and imago, or perfect butterfly, are each described in respect of each family. The families are again divided into genera, and the genera into species. Where known, the life-history of the species, its food plant, distribution, etc., are given, and it is surprising how few species have yet to be supplied REVIEWS. 289 with these details. Of course, the coloured plates are of wonderful assist- ance to the student, and a delight to even the casual observer. Very many are of natural size, and all are remarkably clear in detail of marking and brilliancy of colouring; Mr. Cayley’s work in this respect being even superior to his bird plates. A most useful chapter on “Collecting” provides the field naturalist with every direction necessary to enable him to successfully capture and preserve his specimens. In every way this work is an ideal realisation of a collector’s handbook, and author, artist, and publishers are to be congratulated upon its production. ACh eR eH: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGY, 1775-1930. With Biographical Notes on Authors and Collectors. By Anthony Musgrave, F.E.S., Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney. Published 16th Sep- tember, 1932. Quarto, pp. vill. + 380. Price, 10/-; postage extra. Every modern specialist must at times be appalled by the amount of “literature” dealing with his subject and sigh, in the words of the preacher, in Ecclesiastes, “Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” One kind of book which is welcome, however, is the carefully compiled bibliography which acts as a key to unlock the store of accumulated records, the study of which is imperative before ori- ginal research can be performed. Such a key, so far as Australian entomo- logical writings are concerned, is provided by Mr. A. Musgrave’s Biblio- graphy, a work foreshadowed in his Presidential Address, The History of Australian Entomological Research, delivered to our Society in 1930. The objects of this Bibliography are to list all papers and books touch- ing on Australian Entomology which have appeared between 1775 (when Fabricius described the insects from Cook’s voyage) to 1930; to give infor- mation about the authors and collectors themselves; to record the scientific expeditions which have visited Australia; and to summarise the principal entomological collections and types in our Museums. The scope of this work is thus a very broad one, but the ground has been remarkably well covered, especially as pains have been taken to verify practically all references. The modern entomologist who seeks type localities, original descriptions of genera and species, or exact dates of pub- lication, and abstracts of old or rare books, will find this work invaluable. It is too little to say that this Bibliography should be on every entomologist’s book-shelf, where dust and silverfish may corrupt; it should be taken down from the shelf and used daily. A subject index gives a handy guide to the vast store of papers listed, and there is a section on Australian Fossil In- sects. The library technique suggested in the Introduction, would, if fol- lowed by describers of new genera and species, result in the avoidance of preoccupied names and other errors. As a contribution to Australiana, this Bibliography is of great value as the routes of old voyages, and much hitherto unpublished biographical data are included. Captain James Cook and later British and foreign explorers are fully dealt with as regards the entomological results from their voyages. In a work of this magnitude it is inevitable that errors creep in or omissions are made, but these are relatively few, and, to quote David Starr Jordan, “We must not expect a degree of accuracy which the subject in question does not permit.” It may, however, be pointed out that the death of Dr. H. W. Horn, reported in Musgrave’s Bibliography, is somewhat exaggerated, as Mark Twain might have said, as that eminent entomologist is happily still alive. This Bibliography is of convenient size and has been excellently printed by the Australasian Medical Publishing Company, Ltd., Sydney. —GILBErt P. WHITLEY. 290 REVIEWS. “AUSTRALIAN FINCHES IN BusH AND Avrary.’—By Neville W. Cayley, Sydney. Angus & Robertson, Ltd., 1932. Price, 12/6. Mr. Cayley, President of the Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W., adds another interesting book to our growing list of Australian productions. The author breaks new ground, giving us a book primarily as an aid to bird-keeping—a hobby so much in evidence all over the world, and of which our beloved King is a recent recruit. Aviculture is greatly aided by this new arrival, the author giving us breeding results from many local aviaries, which are full of information touching upon the subject of feeding, care and management, in sickness and in health. The building and furnishing of aviaries is well handled, photographs help the general purpose. Of outstanding merit are the re- productions in colour of all of our known varieties and hybrids in ten plates, and numerous half tone plates which enable the beginner to identify any Finch at a glance, and add greatly to the usefulness and attraction of the work. Interesting information is furnished as to the habits of the birds in the bush, their known breeding seasons, and the types of nesting sites, nests, eggs, and the hybrids which have been definitely identified, the re- sult of much close searching for accurate detail. The introduction might have given us a word or two on the place our Finches take in the great order of Fringillidae and, to quote Newton, “of the greater or less affinity anyone of them might bear to the rest.” We are too prone to accept our Ploceidae or Weavers as Finches, without argu- ment. On this subject there is room for enlightenment. It is sadly miss- ing in the book under review. The work reflects great credit on the author, blockmaker, printer, and publishers.—C. C. Water Lire—By Charles Barrett, in collaboration with Tom Iredale (Con- chologist) and Gilbert P. Whitley (Ichthyologist), Australian Museum, Sydney. Sun Nature Book, No. 4, quarto, pp. 44, 7 col., plates and numerous illustrations in black and white. (Published by The Sun News-Pictorial, Melbourne, February 6th, 1933.) Price sixpence. The fourth of the “Sun” Nature Books is, perhaps, the most useful of the series, since it places before the Australian public information upon groups of animals which have hitherto escaped popular treatment. Mr. Barrett has been particularly. fortunate in enlisting the aid of such well-known authorities as Messrs. Iredale and Whitley, and their names set a seal upon the work. Under the headings of The Fishes of Australia, Australian Sporting Fishes, The Coral Pool, The Story of the Seals, Aus- tralian Shells, Australian Kingfishers, is given a mine of information set forth in a manner which should have an appeal to all interested in the animal lite of stream or ocean. The illustrations call for very favourable comment, the coloured plates, one by Miss Joyce K. Allan, and others by Miss Ethel A. King, are very well- produced, and the remainder of the pictures, based on photographs or draw- ings from scientific publications, should prove useful aids in the identi- fication of the animals. As no work of a similar nature exists in Australia, “Water Life” should prove immensely popular with fishermen, school-teachers and children, and all those who find pleasure in Nature, and the extremely modest price of sixpence brings it within the reach of all. Ato 291 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. By T. D. A. CocKERELL. (Continued from vol. vii., part ili., p. 218.) Hauictus Latreille. The genus Halictus is found in every part of the world where bees exist, except in the far north, where the only bees are Bombus, and on certain groups of islands, as the Hawaiian Islands. It is rather easily distinguished by the venation of the wings, the marginal cell being pointed (not blunt as in Nomia), and the basal nervure strongly arched or bent. The species are excessively numerous, and often difficult to describe or identify. Thus the details of the sculpture, which afford excellent specific characters, are hard to express clearly in words. Australia is exceedingly rich in Halictus, and undoubtedly many remain to be described. The student is recom- mended to gather together as much material as possible, and then con- struct tables to separate all the species, regardless of their names. When this is done, the more evident characters of the various forms will be familiar, and then it will be much easier to use the literature. The tables given below, and the short accounts in the list of species, will usually not suffice for certain identification, but they will make it possible to exclude most of the species from the possibility of being identical with the one in hand. The Australian museums contain identified specimens of many of the species, including numerous types. A paper in Annals and Magazine of Natural History, September, 1904, contains a table of F. Smith’s species, so far as represented in the British Museum. Three Tasmanian species are lacking; they are separable thus:— Nervures fuscous, antennae black, middle tergites white-tomentose at RASChe PEELE Ee terri suas ve tian Samiltarism(hrichns:) INCEVULCS PDAleRLESEAGCEOUSHis, east feiial cia cele eee doles if, 1. Female; margins of tergites narrowly rufopiceous .. .. .. orbatus Sm. Male; disc of thorax aeneous; flagellum fulvous beneath; apex of CLYMEUSHV.EllOWiv tn csoae he ee ey et DEAR e tr eer he . cognatus Sm. (Probably male of H. globosus Sm.) _ The above was compiled from the descriptions, but H. orbatus has since been recognised, and is given in the tables below. In 1902 Robertson proposed the generic names Chlorelictus and Evylaeus for Halictus of rather small size, without hair-bands on the apical margins of the tergites, and with the outer recurrent and intercubital nervures perceptibly weakened. These have been accepted as valid sub- genera in America, but they occur equally in the Old World, and may be observed in Australia. The subgenus Pachyhalictus Cockerell was proposed in 1929 for the “Halicti nomiiformes” of Vachal and Bluthgen. The female is stout, with peculiar sculpture, and the male has short antennae. The typical species are Asiatic, but the Australian H. stirlingi Ckll. and H. maitlandi Ckll. be- long to the same group. A peculiar Australian group is typified by H. macrops Ckll. It is robust, with a very broad abdomen, although a male. A female of the same group has been described as H. barretti Ckll. (Amer. Museum Novitates, No. 346, p. 14); it has just the same sort of abdomen. Under the microscope the mesothorax of H. macrops shows sparse strong punctures on a non-sculp- 292 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. tured surface, while H. barretti shows weaker punctures on a minutely lineolate surface. H. barretti is from Victoria, H. macrops from Tasmania. The species described by Friese are discussed in Amer. Museum Novi- tates, 343 (1929). The species collected by F. X. Williams in Queensland, and now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, are described or recorded in Psyche, xxxvii., No. 2 (1930). Fourteen new forms, the types in the Queensland Museum, are described in Mem. Queensland Museum, x. (August, 1930). Eight species, belonging to the Australian Museum, are described or recorded in Records Australian Museum, xvii., No. 5 (1929). The Australian species of Halictus are all confined to Australia. Vachal recorded H. urbanus baudinensis Ckll. from New Caledonia, but I am con- fident that this was an error. The species I obtained in New Caledonia (H. polygoni Ckll., H. risbeci Ckll., and H. crotalariae Ckll.) are all endemic. Thorax at least partly metallic, blue or green. Abdomen wholly or partly red .. .. .. ils (first tergite red in limatiformis scrupulosus Ckll.) Abdomen not red .. .. Oe eer eee 15. 1. Mesothorax with large coarse punctures ene .. .. punctatus Sm. (Mesothorax dull blue-green; see brisbanensis Ckll.) Mesothorax with fine punctures .. . 2: 2. Abdomen very dark, practically black i in middle, reddened at base and apex; femora black, with knees red .. .. .. .. .. .. .. tatez CkIll. Abdomen. not thus dark eects ee 3h 3. Base of abdomen red .. .. as was 4. Base of abdomen black (green ‘in ‘vitripennis) , or with a very large black mark .. .. SiS Soee Aso eveserer. otce Forsaken “iam age 8. 4. Stigma pale testaceous Be a Reist | eve Berke (ete MONE ROE ES Spas 5. Stigma: brownvor dark. ate cee hela ees ee Y fs 5. Femora mainly black .. .. RAH vitripennis Sm. (Pale reddish stigma and dark femora, “put mesothorax much darker, blue-green, and not polished .. .. tarltoni Ckll.) Legs, including femora, pale clear red .. .. .. .. .. .. 6. 6. Mesothorax somewhat shining .. .. 5 eyrei Ckll. Mesotnorax oe pees emerald ereen: ‘stigma dilute Seplaaeeae ies eee Gacy Tho aan 400 , dotatus CkIl. tie Stiema very dark . ree aie tatei Ckll. (Stigma dark reddish ‘brown: head ‘and thorax yellowish green, metathorax blue; apical third of abdomen infuscated; male .. . Sphecodopsis Ckll.) Stigma large, reddish, not:dark 1.9.2 =. i. 5. =. «4 5. «2 COTLLOTIZEGRNS 8. Base of abdomen green .. .. .. .. vitripennis Sm. Base of abdomen black or with a large plack ‘mark hoor 9. 9" VAt least tibiae and tarsiliclear red! .5 fe0-.) -o) eee ee 10. Legs dark .. .. 11. 10. Male; the shining 1 mesothorax ‘practically black, with ‘very little metallic OIG ss. wid sacapthse Gio eres ere ene ay ovat Sine Sea uee COSI10 CIR TO Cee 11. Stigma very dark .. . di APE ee Ze Stigma light reddish to pale ‘testaceous ace his WA eee Oe 13. 12. Mesothorax shining blue... .. . Nee oxoniellus Ckll. Mesothorax dull blue-green (indications of large shallow punctures) . brisbanensis Ckll., var. a, 13. (All have black metathoras and ‘abdomen red at end.) 14. 15. 16. Te 18. 19. 20. 2. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. a7. 28. COCKERELL. 293 Abdomen with large black spots at extreme sides; mesothorax blue- green... bo Go ao oo Ae) Soe, (Oa Abdomen without ‘such lateral spots 5 LOL ARO RCRA ERE 14. Mesothorax green .. .. era) one eeaveire Para erythrurus Ckll. Mesothorax small, dark blue Sal systuistey fave tke ‘erythrurus atrocyaneus Ckll. MWaICe . RYT icici Giciioramatanrata sean crs 16. Females .. ... BY ey tore 21. Clypeus without : a light mark: very small species SSeS Tf (Not very small, see flindersi Ck1l.) Clypeus with a light band or mark... .. .. .. .. .. 18. Area of metathorax blue, scutellum green .. .. .. .. “ kesteveni Ckll. (See also hilli Ckll., about 6 mm. long.) Area of metathorax green, scutellum brassy .. .. .. hackeriellus’ Ckll. (Mesothorax brassy, see microchalceus Ck1l.) (Near to kesteveni, hind tibiae and tarsi red, stigma dark .. .. : williamsi Ckll.) Head very Jaree: mandibles iyellow: ‘flagellum Tae orange-ferruginous Denea thw. nevis. cae os ctr cee eis eae bret als IN Head ordinary aia FS MOORE MO iaeC Ira 19. Middle and hind tibiae red . : OTA SAC alien - dampieri Ckll. Middle and hind tibiae mainly black . hove cet alse rise Gets 20. Abdomen black .. .. . . .. cognatus Sm. Abdomen brownish- black, ‘hind margins of tergites discolored: flagellum red i. sn4 00 60 0c of 00 0a 00 oe IMA ee (CO) ul Abdomen shining green iC Seam ioe) eer cinema eT OiCae Cll: Abdomen black or dark brown .. rept gets L Giaaeatema abot tena acs 22. Abdomen blue or green .. .. eS ea Hot 36. Legs clear red, including femora SA cme eau che “eyrei darwiniensis Ckll. (Tibiae and tarsi red .. .. .. .. williamsi Ckll.) At least the femora dark .. .. 23. Abdomen more or less pruinose-hairy, and hind margins of tergites discolored .. . : 24. Abdomen shining black, hind ‘margins of. tergites not. discoloured .. 30. Mesothorax prilliant peacock green; ‘tibiae clear red .. 2 . urbanus Sm. (see also v. baudinensis Ckll.) Mesothorax not so coloured . ee 25. (Mesothorax polished; flagellum bright. red: ‘male. ‘haematostoma Ckll.) Mesothorax not polished .. 26. (All have flagellum red beneath: ‘it is dark ‘brown beneath IN ae aa . williamsi Ckll.) Tegulae large, testaceous, colourless anteriorly; mesothorax dull and Ganka Zin ukSah SATA Oye tinctes lee 27. Tegulae ordinary, small, darker yates ne 28. Smaller; mesothorax dark blue; stigma pale testaceous . inclinans Sm. Larger; mesothorax dark green; abdomen may be slightly metallic .. era eceieeel lace astra syera bol varar na rl cierateladeeam Grate sa . subinclinans Ck1l. (Mesothorax yellowish green, stigma dark .. .. williamsi Ckll.) (Close to williamsi, but mesothorax more shining, scutellum shining . F .. suburbanus CkIl.) (Mesothorax rather bright green: abdomen Caaees metallic .. .. .. .. holochlorus Ck1l.) Larger: “mesothorax Gark blue or ereenish blue .. subinelinans Ckll. 294 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Smaller; mesothorax dark green .. .. elites 29. Abdomen with dark red tegumentary bands MEN oat ie " rufotinctus Ckll. Abdomen without such bands...... . .. ee es Mundulus Ckll. (Area of metathorax with conspicuous eninine margin; first recurrent nervure going to basal corner of third cubital cell . lwetificus Ckll.) Mesothorax polished .. . Sie GicH MENA NGenel cts os 8 *eSTeMamers a itle Mesothorax with a dull surface ROP cc tia sta eae 32. THAT OL ese et Sie eae NEA. coe SRS eh REINS. ceed creOtn ‘demissus Ckll. Smailer’>.) =. =. ey es _ demissus Ckil., var. (Like demissus, but iiesottinteae a 1 little duller, sia area of metathorwe quite different... ...... we ehie.d cles 0 LEMOALYOTIMIS |Ckie) Mesothorax not Brightly Colnteeale od oie Seek ee ah. Mesothorax very brightly coloured, blue or ereen Pee? on: 34. Larger; abdomen red at apex... .. efarntcias Pistia) “ius, oe) Fane Eg SOLA C GIO RSE Much smaller; metathoracic area blue Ve oseo at: wie «=, i CSLEUETG Kale (Metathorax black; mesothorax dark blue .. .. .. dorsicyaneus Ckll.) (Very small; mesothorax brassy green; hind tibiae red at base and apex; abdomen faintly submetallic; male .. microchalceus Ckll.) Mesothorax ‘peacock blue .. 0). i205. Selec ae ee oe oe oe DUTT OU Cae Mesothorax green .. .. Fan AG LODE ROD ee Comoe 35. More strongly bluish green. te : . urbanus Sm. ‘(see also \ var. _ stradbrokensis Ckil.) (A. ‘urbanus “from Sydney is larger and appears different from the others. The type locality is Champion Bay, W.A.) (Mesothorax duller, etc... ................ .. suburbanus Ckll.) Mesothorax shining blue .. . a, Sta Ckll. (typical.) Mesothorax rich dark blue, with dull ‘surface . Wl s alg Sit(- Mesothorax green .. .. BT age aaede ete seer 38. Stigma very dark, EEeuiate npicaliy te the oe wee ee Pavonelius Ck Stigma very pale testaceous, of usual shape ta as tn. wae FLOTARS Sim (Extremely small, with brassy mesothorax and dark stigma; male .. . microchalceus Ckll.) Not ‘extremely small, etc. a hens 39. Tibiae and tarsi red, or tibiae partly darkened Pea oe as 40. At least tibiae dark .. . Pg oP ol Otage eval Manet ease hoes 43. Mesothorax with a dull ‘surface hoe ie et ee ee, tee 41. Mesothorax: shining). 0°32) al. 8 te eee See eee 42. Stigma pale-testaceous: )3eas.ce oe eee ee eee floralis Sm. Stigma dark brownish .. .. : eevee eee ‘subcarus Ckll. Mesothorax peacock green, approaching ‘blue : : behri transvolans Ckll. Mesothorax olive green .. .. (4 flindersi thor Ckll. (Related, but larger, with olive green ‘instead of bluish abdomen .. .. . luteoaeneus Friese.) Area ‘of ‘metathorax with strong coarse rugae Ce pee 44, Area of metathorax finely sculptured .............. 47. (All have dark stigma.) Mesothorax with oblique striaé .. .. .. 3. 2. 1... .. « 45. Mesothorax without oblique striae .. .. .. ...... 46. Mesothoramiyellower green iy 22 os). 6 se eon caloundrensis Ckll. Mesothorax bluer green .. .. .. .. .. .. caloundrensis leucurus Ckll. Head broader... .. .. eva’ sual -joitel sees Youee deus) wis) PECIRLE CHAO RLIn Head narrower; scape red ‘at pase . wih ‘ede! erty avec evap edy cule (e.5 4 COONSE CR COCKERELL. 295 47. Abdomen feebly metallic; hind margins of tergites reddened; stigma light rufotestaceous .. ........ .... «. .. .. .. Rolochlorus ‘Ckll. Abdomen strongly metallic .. .. . 48. 48. Area of metathorax very long, very “minutely sculptured . ‘dampieri Ckll. Area crescentic, ordinary .. .. Bs AE Sey ent ee a 49. 49. Clypeus very short, dark purplish . ER oie ay Oe wae. DiCtorigenCkil. Clypeus much longer, brilliant ereen eee SOs NO Oe one . callaspis Ck (stigma amber colour.) The following supplementary tables of metallic species will further facilitate determination :— (1.) Abdomen green; tibiae and tarsi cite ferruginous; male .. .. . dampieri ‘CkIL. Abdomen black . een Si etne nate) Eieh eee, SAYA il. 1. Small species, with “ved (or sae red) tibiae: females .. . PMR bas eee a ate 2. Larger species, with dark tibiae Ata eee ee 3h, 2. Green of thorax very bright . . .. urbanus Sm. (see also murrayi CkdL., “legs. black.) Green of thorax obscure; stigma very pale yellowish Rete . .. mundulus Ckll. (See also williamsi CkIL., ‘stigma dark, “mesothorax dull yellowish green.) 3. Mesothorax shining, sparsely punctured .. .. .. demissus Ckll. Mesothorax dull, much more closely punctured beth s Weve subinclinans ‘Ckl. ( subinclinans has flagellum fulvous beneath: mesothorax much duller than in male cognatus.) (Od mA DO OMEN REG aor ieee Ger, Ser keine ot seco faye) Vetellyoicy ole ede vases il. Abdomen not red.... Teh ccienanas cole, Sieh evel can giemck dace Be 1. Abdomen red at ‘base .. .. .. Tasmanian species; specimen without head. Abdomen blacksatiPAs@reccn (ers acne) niches dace 2. 2. Mesothorax blue; stigma piceous We eaeVe Ree edeh aoe ‘oxoniellus Ckll. Mesothorax olive green (Brisbane specimens) or obscure brassy (Yallingup specimens) ; aca rae NOt Gankinee e . erythrurus Ckll. 3) Abdomen shining black e . Ton EE eas teen OCIS (SIN: Abdomen metallic .. .. .. Eye, (ida Sian aaa ake vaio 4. 4. Larger; abdomen purple blue .. .. cdloundrensis leucurus Ckll. (first regarded as a variety of H. flindersi.) (Very close to H. behri transvolans; differs by dark tibiae and tarsi, and angular tubercles. The dark legs and mandibles also distinguish it from true H. behri. It differs from H. flindersi by the light hair of caudal fimbria.) Smaller; abdomen dull green; male with long black antennae .. . .. dampieri Ckll. (HA. hackeriellus “differs “from. ‘dampieri ‘by being smaller; scutellum brassy, contrasting with metathorax; antennae shorter.) Thorax black, not metallic. (In H. rowlandi Ckll. the thorax is rufofulvous. In H. ruficollis Friese it is largely red.) Abdomen) red, wholly orin) part =. 22 25 2. 5... .5 22 .- ile 296 10. 11. 12. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. (H. niveorufus Friese, female 10-11 mm. long, has red abdomen.) Abdomen not red .. .. 7. Scutellum and postscutellum densely covered ‘with fulvous tomentum; abdomen black with two broad red bands; female .. .. doddi Ckll. Scutellum and postscutellum not so covered .. . 2. Abdomen entirely red from base to apex, at most (H. clarigaster) somewhat dusky ‘on japicalshaliemseeees ene ee 3. Abdomen not entirely red... .. 4. Mesothorax very coarsely punctured; ‘tibiae ‘and ‘tarsi ‘pale red) jee . ewarti Ckll. Mesothorax very finely punetured; tibiae ‘and tarsi mainly dark . ; 3 . clarigaster Ckll. (HA. “blandulus CKIL, “from. King George's ‘Sound, has the abdomen entirely red.) Abdomen red with shining black base; very small female .. . . basilucens ‘CkIL. Abdomen ‘darkened or black ‘apically b aee be Abdomen very broad, dull red, dark brown Ay ‘pase and apex; female ..... Sete Bid ee ws os «- CYClUTUS CHIE (Abdomen with broad red bands’ Js PeoelNeYeh. eis mesembryanthemi Ckll.) Abdomen narrow; males .. .. . 6. Red almost confined to second tergite; stigma dark ‘brown Sie : hedleyi Ckll.,, var. a. Red much more extensive: stigma ‘light reddish with a dark margin .. t cen esits oot) ole ae mien, COSTILIUACIO RUS (Male with abdomen largely red . ay Fes .. .. @isclusus CkIL) (H. rufibasis Ckll. has abdomen beyond base of third tergite black.) First tergite with a strong median carina; abdomen with white hair- Spots: female <-) 2. .. .. mirandus Ckll. (H. alboguttatus Friese has white spots sh ples of tergites 2 to 4.) Without: such characters!) 225 --) see een ee 8. Males .. .. Gta. ‘elu Lhvoy shi belelloLans fet ice to mieioh, Geie me et eee te 9. (See also clelandi CkIL, warburtoni Ckll., waterhousei Ckll., and isthmalis Ck1l.) Females .. .. wis a dee Mees, es 35. Tegument of clypeus ‘entirely black . An ie np A 10. Clypeus with a light mark .. . p28 (Male 8 to 9 mm.; clypeus yellowish-white apically. obscuripes Friese.) Tegulae black; face broad; supraclypeal area very prominent; clypeus is a little pe apically, when looked at from below .. .. Ae . bursariae ‘Ck. Tegulae rufous; "face covered with white hair | Pas teva tet ates 11. Area of metathorax entirely dull; larger species .. . .. clariventris Friese (my specimen lacks abdomen.) Area ‘of ‘metathorax with a shining rim; very minute species .. .. .. niveifrons Ckll. (Very small; ‘extreme edge of. clypeus “hardly ‘noticeably pallid; first recurrent nervure joins third cubital cell .. .. micridoneus CkIll.) Very broad face and abdomen; aspect of a female .. .. macrops CkIl. (A related female is H. barretti Ck1l.) (Allied, with long antennae .. .. .. H. euryurus CkIll.) Head extremely large and broad, broader than thorax; clypeal yellow with a median upward extension; legs mainly red .. PSO wie 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. COCKERELL. 297 . pachycephalus Ckll. Head more ordinary . So ec Bern Nori 118}. Flagellum of antennae clear red beneath . SRO Me neta 14. (Flagellum clear red beneath, last three joints black; a small EE STICGIOS och oe fas a Pare aa sisi ace lesduitere Chan aT RG uae) verbo see Ears Ckll.) Antennae dark .. ... 15. Extremely minute; anterior tibiae and tarsi light red . for ticornis Ckll. Larger; anterior tibiae black; abdomen broad; basitarsi creamy WRItE aa cs 3d .. .. victoriellus Ckll. (The male H. enema CkIl, with white basitarsi, is hardly different.) (H. clariventris Friese differs from H. victoriellus by the broader, very dull mesothorax, all black tegument of clypeus, and dense white hair on face.) Large; anterior wing 7.8 mm.; second cubital cell very broad; legs blacker a. .. .. leucorhinus Ckll (H. lanarius sm. ‘has anterior ‘wing 6. 4 mm.) Much smaller... .. . Bi tei Gens Petr aoe mie, anh Wee 16. Hind tibiae and tarsi red . ca ONG. tos Ud) Gina eomatOn Oe 17. At least hind tibiae dark .. SIRE NOR cir ASOLO Ri Cone DORA n 22 Hinde marcins Of uergitesspallid! sa) soya. sae 2 eevee oe ee Cede CK. Hind margins of tergites not pallid .. .. .. . 18. Abdominal tergites, at least the second, with ‘laterobasal hair- PEVEITES a5 eh ob so Se 86 eo se oo do CLUE VOES TAN (CHUL Abdomen without such patches awe ils). Larger; mesothorax very highly polished on disc; ‘labrum yellow .. 3 . mirandus Ckll. smaller (H. bicingulatus may ‘be large); mesothorax dullish, or shining posteriorly; labrum not yellow .. . 20. Tegulae piceous, with a red spot; scutellum highly polished: area of metathorax large, entirely dull.. .... .. .. .. .. sanguinipes Ckll. Tegulae clear rufofulvous .. .. .. ees 21 Apical part of wings strongly auisky: Seren more Sipoinicd eocass haematopus Ck. Wings not thus darkened: ‘stigma more obtuse Ae ‘bicingulatus Smith. (These two are very close, but appear distinct.) Stigma dark; all tarsi pale red... .. .. .. blackburni Ckll. (If tarsi pale (not red), and stigma dark, ‘see ‘forresti Ckll., which is much larger.) (With dusky stigma, and very slender dull red tarsi .. plebeius CkIll.) Stigma not dark, or if so, tarsinot pale red.. .. 23. Area of metathorax very coarsely sculptured; tarsi whitish Ro RO ph ichnetse Gare . forresti CkIl. Area. not thus. coarsely ‘sculptured pegs : % 24. Abdomen very broad; hair bands (interrupted in cis) at bases of second and third tergites; face covered with white hair; stigma light reddish .. .. . Ao ea nee expansifrons Ckll. Abdomen otherwise, though ‘sometimes ‘broad . a rersieL kf 25. At least hind basitarsi black or dark brown (dark dusky red in H. bursariae) .. . Oe REF aM Each MORSE Tuy laa a oetve 26. Tarsi pallid or reddish sitesinde : 28. Smaller; abdomen broad, hairy, hind margins of ‘tergites paler; mesothorax [OUI 55 54 49 05 co 0G 06 do do un oo COMMoueT (oral, 298 aT. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. (See here also H. pulvitectus Ckll. (clypeal band cream colour), H viridarit Ckll. (mesothorax dull), and H. sculpturatus Ckll. (smallish; abdomen shiny black, not hairy) .) Larger; abdomen black, robust, but not specially broad .. an. Clypeal mark lemon yellow; abdomen dull, with very broad shining hind margins of tergites .. .. . .. .. kurandensis Ckll. Clypeal mark cream colour; abdomen shining all over: the abdomen much more robust than that of lanariellus, and stigma darker .. . spenceri Ckll. Clypeal ‘mark small, whitish; abdomen hairy ‘ ‘ .. .. .. lanarius Smith. Clypeal mark whitish, small; abdomen narrower than in lanarius, less distinctly punctured, and not so hairy .. .. .. .. lanariellus Ckll. (H. excusus Ckll. runs to lanariellus, but differs by the entirely dull mesothorax; H. subplebeius Ckll. is small; abdomen shining black, not hairy; hind tarsi very dark reddish.) Hind margins of second and third tergites narrowly but conspicuously red; tarsi clear red; scape eae ape, mark whitish .. j . idoneus CkIl. Hind margins not thus ‘red . ise bat late elas 29. Excessively small, with is ieee oad pecs cream-coloured mandibles; head large for size of insect .. .. .. cyclognathus Ckll. (Hace much narcowenee seme micridoneus Ckll.) Larger; mandibles different .. .. 30. Anterior tibiae clear red in front; area ae metathorax ‘with a shining Tim. Lowe «. Tepertulus Ckie (If antes! partly, pled in Gone area Sritnone Aint rim, see idoneus Ckll.) Anterior tibiae not clear red in front... .. . ; 31. Stigma pallid, with dark margin; area appears without shining rim, but seen from behind, shows a shining margin .. .. .. idoneus Ckll. (Much smaller .. .. .. .. micridoneus Ckll.) Stigma with solid colour, dark or reddish .. ... 32. End of abdomen with a bright red rounded plate; ‘face broad . es - repertus Ckll. (Comes! H. ates and H. mortar fate ene has red tibiae, in the latter neither tibiae nor tarsi are red; repertus has red tarsi.) End of abdomen without such a plate.. ........ 33. Mesothorax dull... is ios) .2/ eer cat ae eee oes . blackburni Ckll. Mesothorax shining bc eet se 34. Light mark on clypeus very “obscure; " supraclypeal area forming a flattened, highly polished plate .. .. .. .. bursariae Ckll. Clypeus with a very distinct mark; supraclypeal area not peculiar; smaller species .. .. Maer .. .. plebeius Ckll. (Tarsi very dark reddish . SAE, vase ‘ subplebeius CkIl.) Postscutellum and sides of pronotum densely covered with yellow or reddish tomentum; large species... .. ts an oe MUSICUS CHE (H. waterhousei Ckll. is allied.) Not thus ornamented .. .. .. eee 36. Large or rather large species, the andamenl with red or fulvous bands) 22: : rains, Aare 37. Smaller species, or abdomen. without such bands a ees 40. Postscutellum not covered with tomentum, but a cuneiform mark of 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 47. 48. 49. 50. COCKERELL. 299 fulvous tomentum at each side of prothorax above; scape dark .. TOE aise aiale es wicl wlarisipe ere tis Male . tertius Dalla Torre. Postscutellum with a patch of dense tomentum .. .. .. 38. Scape bright red; bands of orange tomentum at bases of second and third : Saaa sometimes hidden when abdomen is contracted .. . peraustralis Ckll. Scape black . aac SHEL On Tepe Ane 39. Hind margins ‘of tergites red . a : so on Uae Cobh Hind margins of tergites not or slightly red . at bicingulatus Smith. Scutellum and posteuecrum densely covered with pale fulvous tomentum .. .. Se cacao ne DOR aCOWen nus» OKT: Scutellum not so covered . as F Fi ees 41. Postscutellum densely covered with fulvous tomentum:; area of meta- thorax dull, with raised lines (subgenus Pachyhalictus) .. .. .. Stirlingi ‘Ck. (Another ‘Pachyhalictus ‘is Wee maitlandi Ckll., postscutellum densely covered, area of metathorax without raised lines.) (Postscutellum covered; tibiae and tarsi clear red; large species .. . moreensis Ckll.) Seine oe OEY RC Very minute species, with at least tibiae and tarsi clear KEG =. «i eye igebisaieVsp) avoMpateni fale ahs 43. Otherwise; legs not sO coloured . apes Paced deal sence NOs he 44, WEMIGnAMEMOIN Ely LEG sien ae Bankes Give tee) Pens) osteo ebawvee vies ‘eurhodopus Ckll. Femora black, red at apex hE .. .. cassiaefloris Ckll. Hind margins of first three tergites ‘broadly clear med\..5 ; wine mesembryanthemi ‘Ckil. (Margins more or less pallid - in ‘the larger H. helichrysi Ckll., var., and in H. pulvitectus Ckll.) Hind margins not thus red .. .. HORNS Rec 45. Abdomen black, without any traces of bands heer ese 46. Abdomen with hair bands or tomentum at bases of tergites, sometimes thin; or delicate Se uaa and hind margins more or less pallid) 235. Sane 50. (The abdomen is brown. in | Parasnhecotes briblensis CkIl.; it is greenish, with the hind margins of tergites brown, in the New Zealand H. smithii Dalla Torre.) Comparatively large and robust, length 9 mm.; area of metathorax without plicae; hind tibiae with much black hair .. .. davidis Ckll. (Aspect of H. davidis, but smaller, with darker wings, and area finely JECENS - oO doad ob do 60 06 IMHO IU BER) Much smaller .. .. 47. Area of metathorax large, appearing roughened, but microscope shows delicate wavy plicae; mesothorax dullish .. .. .. blackburni CkIl. (H. semipolitus Ckll. might be looked for here, but mesothorax shining.) Area with plicae readily visible underalens.......... 48. Mesothorax shining, practically impunctate .. .. .. .. .. sturti Ckll. Mesothorax conspicuously punctured . Me Hares 49. Area of metathorax very long; wings very brown . 50 60 00 CIECTEG (Ue (Larger and more robust, with much shorter area .. franki Friese.) Area short; wings clear hyaline (Port Darwin) .. .. nigropolitus Ckll. Larger species, of build of H. lanarws .. .. .. .. . 51. ‘Srrallersorcsmallispeciesise.as ur) mis sien, oe cone ees 58. 300 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Abdomen very hairy, especially on third and fourth tergites; area of metathorax very finely sculptured .. .. .. .. .. lanarius Smith. (A variety with black tegulae occurs at Tooloom, N.S.W.) (Very similar, but smaller, with much more finely punctured meso- thorax. 3. La Pee ane Jc 2nStAbiis CEs vanmar Abdomen not thus hairy . seeds aig RO) ore 52. Area of metathorax large, ‘dull, ae afastis a eye “instabilis Ckll., type. (Area very feebly plicate. Abdomen broad, dullish, hind margins of tergites subrufescent .. . instabilis Ckll., var. a. Abdomen narrower, shining pure black .. .. .. .. seminitens Ckll.) Area distinctly plicatulate . “LV ex : 53. Basal bands of abdomen pure white, narrowed or broken Insmiddles.] o.'n. Bsa? 54. Basal bands of tergites greyish, “proad and continuous on third and fourth ne 56. Area of metathorax strongly shining, piicate, concave, not pointed DEhHING Mi.) ace eee =~ Ms ash Morente) uate Hehe) CUCLINICALUSEC cals Area dull .. .. 55. Area very large, delicately sculptured ‘all over, ‘little concave Jona : . asperithorax Ckll. (var. 2) ( Allied but smaller, ‘with narrower, Shining abdomen. seminitens Ckll.) Area of metathorax short, concave, moderately pointed behind; wings brownish .. .. Pan littleri Ck1l. Tegulae pure black: “mesothorax posteriorly, with large punctures on a shining ground .. .. .. .. .. eboracensis Ckll. Tegulae dark reddish; area pointed behind . AE Reet Ne Bile Larger; mesothorax dull, with coarse punctures 2. ee «. SEQUCTUS CEE Smaller; mesothorax shining, with small punctures .. Belek repraesentans ‘smith. ( Differing by area not at all pointed behind >. 2... Canariellus CK) (Area large and dull, not at all pointed behind .. instabilis Ckll. var. a.) (With clear white bands of tomentum at bases of second and third tergites .. .. . .. griseovittatus Ckll. var.) Tergite 4 with fine ‘thin: pruinose " pubescence all over .. 59. Tergite 4 not thus covered .. . 3 61. Smaller; area of metathorax. shining at sides: “mesothorax shining .. plebeius Ckll. (Small, ‘with flagellum bright red beneath . 3 : pieticornis Ckll.) Larger; area wholly dull... .. .. ae : 60. Mesothorax dull . 35 granulithorax Ckll. (Allied is H. willsi ‘CK, put second cubital cell different.) (Very near H. granulithoraz, but smaller; first tergite more shining; scutellum dull except on anterior margin .. .. Clariventris Friese.) (The first tergite is excessively densely punctured all over in granu- lithorax, but minutely transversely lineolate in clariventris.) Mesothorax shining, but closely punctured .. .. .. .. pulvitectus Ckll. (Area of metathorax large, glistening, finely sculptured all over .. .. hte So On MAR SSR ea! SA! . imitans Ckll.) Hind tarsi red; small species with reddened wings .. speculellus Ckll. (Larger, with shining black abdomen .. .. exceptus CkIl.) Hind tarsi not red, or if dusky reddish, much larger SPECIES laisse aid Ris Se), 2h ee, RC ee ee 62. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. COCKERELL. 301 Small species, 5.5 to 6.5 mm. Rn ei 63. Larger, and usually more robust .. . 66. Tegulae pale testaceous; mesothorax ‘highly polished: second cubital cell broad; outer intercubitus and recurrent nervures hardly visible; the microscope shows the metathoracic area minutely reticulate .. POP Nae oY > Binh Ways (Sy) ah sini sh zy evap evaib cave ayo eee . mediopolitus Ckll. ReovlsAewruUrLOuUs tO TULOPICEOUS!)..... 2. 20 «aes «re ae we sc 64. Face not conspicuously hairy .. .. ... Madde 65. (Male; face very broad, camnaiaicinernelle Saeed oie second cubital cell very narrow; microscope shows area with vermiform rugae all GVCIS Se ee deat ess ileran cide tutes cages se ayes we macrops 'Ck1l.) Tegulae red .. . RCC rth at .. .. semipolitus Ckll. Tegulae practically black apa oR ey Soca ‘semipolitus expulsus Ckll. (The microscope shows that semipolitus has the metathoracic area with strongly wrinkled rugae on basal half. In exrpulsus the area is finely reticulate on basal half, and beyond that minutely tesse- late; also the second cubital cell is narrower, especially above.) (Compare also H. victoriellus Ckll. and H. helichrysi Ckll.) Tegulae clear rufous; mesothorax dull; second cubital cell broad. = -- MAU Ate tat ares chats 67. Mesothorax shining, or tegulae very dark . AMES Hanae 70. (In H. opacicollis and H. instabilis var. b. ihe tegulae are darker than in the others.) Wings reddish .. .. Bee Ge App sey ucide Rist a se weeds 68. Wings not at all reddish . BS eve teal oh 69. Larger; abdomen very broad, with a "very ‘broad band of pale grey tomentum at base of third tergite .. .. .. instabilis Ckll., var. b. Smaller; abdomen not so broad, and basal band of third tergite hidden in middle; area of metathorax very large, with very fine longi- tudinal plicae, between them finely tesselate .. .. opacicollis Ckll. Sides of mesothorax posteriorly with areas of large punctures on a shining ground; area of metathorax with very fine irregular plicae all over, and microscopically tesselate between the plicae .. .. .. orbatus Smith. Mesothorax dull ‘all over; area of metathorax large, minutely reticulate, at sides with straight plicae,.5. 4. .. .. granulithorax Ckll. Second and third tergites with hind ‘margin seas rufous or pallid .. . ; rile Second and third tergites with margin ‘black, or with | a broad dark reddish suffusion .. .. 73. Flagellum bright chestnut red beneath: area “of metathorax with very fine wrinkled plicae allover .... . 56 60 60 vo HAO UFR CLs (What I recorded from Bribie ied as nevchrysi. var., was pulvitectus.) Flagellum much darker .. . 12. Wings reddish; area of metathorax ‘with fine rugae all over, having little projections at sides, as in H. imitans .. .. pulvitectus Ckll. Wings not reddish; area of metathorax with fine wrinkled rugae, producing a reticulation; scutellum finely and densely punc- Guedes ae oo a0 36 CHETEK Olle (The last three : are . very closely ‘allied; possibly to be considered races of one species.) 302 73. 74. 75. 76. tide 78. THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. (Allied to victoriellus, but smaller, and first tergite smooth .. .. : barretti CkIl.) Scutellum large, ‘dullish, “not bigibbous; ‘abdomen very broad; area of metathorax with fine weak wee on basal half only, no cross striae on apical middle .. .. .. . .. .. instabilis Ckll. (type.) (Var. a. has cross- striae « on ‘apical middle of area.) Scutellum polished, often more or less bigibbous .. .. 74. Area of metathorax with a conspicuous shining rim .. 75. Area without such a shining rim .. . 76. Hair-band of fourth tergite extremely broad, ‘covering “all of tergite except depressed portion; area of metathorax with very fine irregular plicae all over .. .. BY lanariellus Ckll. Hair band of fourth tergite narrow, ’ pasal: ‘area of metathorax with very fine wrinkled rugae, producing a reticulation es ‘ ‘ supralucens ‘Cll. Fourth tergite pruinose- ‘pubescent all over: area of metathorax with fine distinct plicae, having little projections at sides in pulvitectus style; scutellum well punctured .............. .. imitans Ckl. Fourth tergite not pubescent all over a he LUE Basal bands of tergites 2 and 3 in good specimens broad and very conspicuous; area of metathorax with very fine wrinkled rugae, forming a fine reticulation, but not reaching apical margin; scutellum densely punctured; second cubital cell broad, receiving recurrent nervure at apical corner .. .. .. .. griseovittatus Ckll. Basal bands not thus conspicuous .. .. .. 78. Mesothorax well punctured; area of metathorax ‘shorter and well plicate as seen under lens, the microscope shows fine vermiform rugae, failing apically, and straight plicae at sides .. . F confusellus ‘CkIL ( Mesothorax. dull, very coarsely punctured Jc 2 Cae be, IevasSUS 1CKHR) Area of metathorax much larger, with finer -seulpture, very fine plicae, only regular on basal part . a .. .. .. seminitens Ckll. (Hind tarsi dark red; wings quite dark . 36h exceptus Ckll.) Supplementary tables of black Halictus. Table 1. (Males.) Lower margin of clypeus not yellow; aspect of a female. macrops Ckll. Lower margin of clypeus yellow .. . Bigs oe es ule Very small, less than 5 mm. long; tarsi yellow .. .. .. forticornis Ckll. Larger, at least over 5 mm... ..... sets ot ants 2. Marsieblack 2- . iwAds, Rony deere spenceri ‘Ck. and lanarius Sm. Tarsi red or yellow ADs 3. Stigma ferruginous; head broad ‘and massive | as - pachycephalus Ckll. Stigma fuscous .. .. se 4, Small species; antennae not especially long eG. ic blackburni Ckll. Larger; antennae very Bases Shi nace o Seated ere! peeeereeee 5: Mesothorax Shining ... .. 2. .. <2 !.. ss a... atl .. GOUchocernisiGkilE Mesothorax@ull 2... «.. 2/5) Gus ss) oe sme oe ae ee GeMmatopusac mie Table 2. (Males.) Clypeus all dark .. .. 3 eis ore bE See il Clypeus with a light marginal band . CMC ANON Gio 3. Antennae rather short; face ate hairy. ae sel wel ee VeUTONS Ck Antennae very long ...... .. ne iiss Clear 2. COCKERELL. 303 Mesothorax dull .. .. . .. .. blight Ckll. Mesothorax shining (one specimen has only two cubital cells) eae Solas He bassi Ckll. Very ‘minute; “mesothorax very ‘shiny . Bee ‘cyclognathus Ckll., var. a. Medium size (if tegulae amber and tibiae red .. haematopus Ckll). Ae Smaller; tarsi red or reddish .. isthmalis Ckll. and pulvitectus Ckll. Mareen bars Garkeeies cs nics oe eemOoaiain? Ckile land bowen? CkIl: Table 3. (Males; the clypeus with a light apical band.) Femora red; abdomen without pale hair-bands or patches .. 5 . bicingulatus sm. Femora not red ara Wate Anigio Neb Na uineate li, Larger; hind basitarsi dark brown He aie enue kurandensis Ckll. Smaller; hind basitarsi clear ferruginous ‘or ‘yellowish . a Mesothorax rough, the dense punctures visible under a Tensei. . idoneus Ckll. Mesothorax dull, ‘not rough, ‘the punctures not evident under a lens .. ris cea MeO Dehn Gey ee vast i Greece ahs . blackburni Ck. Table 4. (Females; comparatively large species.) Mesothorax finely punctured .. .. 2 Bava waver alt ie ity Mesothorax coarsely punctured or rugose as 2. Area of metathorax strongly striate, pointed behind; sides of middle of mesothorax sparsely punctured 55 Bo oo oe RAMRIRAOATIOS ica, Area finely rugulose, striate at sides, not at all pointed behind .. . . instabilis Ckll. Mesothorax rugose ‘as “well as punctured; area ‘of. metathorax strongly striate, pointed behind; abdomen shining .. .. .. .. seductus Ckll. Area of metathorax not pointed behind... .. . 3. Smaller; dise of scutellum with extremely fine ‘regular ‘punctures, and a very few larger ones; front dull .. .. .. .. .. orbatus Sm. Larger; disc of scutellum with more irregular punctures, and con- spicuous larger ones; front shining between the punctures .. .. A Merch ce oepaie aveAavsue or eMelee varet Mofehs cheiberohknere - 6 . lanarius sm. Table 5. (Females; H. bicingulatus group.) Disc of mesothorax glaucous, with sparse punctures; scape piceous; abdominal bands orange .. .. . .. .. tertius Dalla Torre. Dise of mesothorax dull, minutely eranular: scape PEGs au 3). LE ate peraustralis ‘CK. Disc ‘of ‘mesothorax ‘finely (very " densely) punetured; scape black . 5 EE OLCTILOULATUS sm. (Hind margins of tergites ferruginous ~ se vo (Mani (tL) Table 6. (Females.) Small species with extremely shiny mesothorax and scutellum; basal hair bands of abdomen very dense, broad laterally .. .. Ley eis hr telsU-cueldasPy ae GiarneMeda alana tans arent Srav ss : mediopolitus CkIl. Not so. Sp eue ores al Large species, with area of metathorax strongly striate or plicate, and truncation very strongly obliquely striate or plicate. 2. INGE BO ob os 6 Mr (oh ah 3. Apical part of area of metathorax dull . en CU LCCSCIULO US OI. 304 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Apical part of area very shiny .. .. .. .. circumdatus Ckll. 3. Mesothorax very strongly punctured; tegulae rufotestaceous; scutellum with very minute punctures and scattered larger cnes . orbatus Sm. Mesothorax not so strongly punctured .. .. 4. 4. Mesothorax with a dull sericeous surface; scutellum shining; area of metathorax very large; wings brownish . .. .. .. Opacicollis Ckll. Mesothorax excessively densely punctured .. .. granulithorax Ckll. (Very like H. willsi Ckll.; second cubital cell differently shaped.) Notethusi. cee De 5. Larger, more robust; postseutellum large, ‘almost’ angulate behind .. omits, Tee -=. .. instabilis CK yarns Smaller and ‘otherwise Rare As OF ’ victoriellus Ckll. and imitans Ckll. Table 7. (Females; small or smallish species of Queensland.) Femora clear red; small species .. .. .. .. .. .. .. eurhodopus Ckll. Femora.dark; with little if any red’). 2 a. a. -~ -. © s =e if 1. Tibiae clear red; small species -. 2.6.25 =... .. .. CassigeflonsiGkie Tibiae dark .. .. SSR Cosme 2 2. Abdomen without hair- bands ‘or " spots: " mesothorax not closely and distinctly punctured .. .. Br oy hae ae 3. Abdomen more or less hairy: ‘mesothorax closely and distinctly punctureds 3... +s sittin Bie ese Bee ee ce eee ee 4. 3. Mesothorax shining . Le 5 o« SEUTTtIICE Mesothorax dull, it and the scutellum very faintly “greenish eee 50 blackburni Ck. 4. Hind margins of tergites ‘plack; ‘proad ‘pasal bands of white tomen- Wiblea os as .. .. griseovittatus Ckll. Hind margins of tergites reddened: ‘abdomen ‘hoary, but no basal bands of tomentum: ... 2. sis anise oe Ss cae me Bee suRelenrysTe ke List OF SPECIES OF HALIcTUS. Those marked (M.) have at least some metallic (blue or green) colour. Halictus alboguttatus Friese. Central Australia. Judging from the description, this seems to be a synonym of H. conspicuus Sm. Length 8 mm., with white hair-spots at sides of tergites 2 to 4. It was collected by von Miiller. Halictus asperithorax Cockerell. Melbourne (C. French) ; type in British Museum. Also at Sandringham, V. Female about 8 mm. long; black, dorsal hair dull pale ochreous. Re- lated to H. chapmani Ckll. Halictus barretti Cockerell. Seaforth, V. (W. F. Hill). Allied to H. macrops Ckll. Female about 5.5 mm.; black, with very broad abdomen. Halictus basilucens Cockerell. Bribie Island (Hacker); type in Queensland Museum. Female hardly 5 mm. long; abdomen bright castaneous, the first tergite black, polished, except the broad apical margin. Differs from H. cyclurus by the distinct rugae of area of metathorax. Halictus bassi Cockerell. Mount Wellington, Tasmania (R. Turner). Type in British Museum. Male about 5.5 mm. long. A variation (var. a.) has only two cubital cells. Disc of mesothorax shining between punctures (dull in H. blighi). Keys COCKERELL. 305 to separate this and other black Tasmanian Halictus are given in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., August, 1915, pp. 100, 101. Halictus baudini Cockerell. Mount Wellington, Tasmania (R. Turner). Type in British Museum. Male about 7 mm. long; black; larger than H. repertus, with a quite dif- ferent area of metathorax. Halictus behri Cockerell (M.) Port Darwin, N.T. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female, length 6.5 mm.; close to H. flindersi, but mesothorax brilliant blue, and there are differences in sculpture. Halictus behri transvolans Cockerell (M.) Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female with meso- thorax peacock-green; abdomen shining dark green. Resembles H. flindersi in ventral scopa on abdomen, and the transverse lineolation in front of anterior ocellus, but with ferruginous (more or less infuscated) tibiae and tarsi. Halictus bicingulatus Smith. Melbourne, V., to Mackay, Q. Type in British Museum. Legs dusky red; bases of second and third tergites with broad bands of orange tomen- tum. Halictus bicingulatus leai (Cockerell). Victoria (French) to Brisbane, Q@. Type in British Museum. Described as a distinct species, but better regarded as a variety or race of bicingu- latus. The male is described in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1913, p. 32. For a discussion of this group see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., May, 1914, p. 508. Female nearly 9 mm. long; scape black. Halictus blackburni Cockerell. Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. H. crinitus Friese is a synonym. Female about 6 mm. long; male much more slender. Super- ficially resembles H. sturt?. The male has all the tarsi clear ferruginous; antennae only moderately long, dark. Halictus blandulus Cockerell. King George’s Sound, W.A. Type in Australian Museum. Female nearly 6 mm. long, broad and robust; head and thorax black. Resembles H. clarigaster Ckll., but abdomen much broader and duller; known from H. ewarti Ckll. by the dull abdomen, colour of legs and sculpture of thorax. In the original description (Records Australian Museum, 1929) a line has been omitted. Halictus blighi Cockerell. Mount Wellington, Tasmania (Turner). Type in British Museum. Male about 6 mm. long; looks like H. plebeius, but antennae quite different (extremely long, black), dark clypeus, and dullish and sculptured scutellum. Halictus boweni Cockerell. Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania (Turner). Type in British Museum. Male a little over 6 mm. long, very like H. baudini, but anterior and middle tibiae light red in front, abdomen much narrower, stigma darker, etc. Halictus brazieri Cockerell. Yallingup, W.A. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female (not male, as given in original description) about 11 mm. long; resembling Parasphecodes noachinus, and connecting Halictus with Parasphecodes. 306 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Halictus bremerensis Rayment (M.) W. Australia. Female about 5 mm. long; resembles H. demissus Ckll. (Jn. Roy. Soc. W. Australia, xvii., p. 171). Halictus brisbanensis Cockerell (M.) Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Female about 5 mm. long; head and thorax black, with the mesothorax dull blue-green; abdomen shining chestnut-red, hind margins of first three tergites with broad black bands, not reaching extreme sides; stigma large and dark; legs largely red. Varies to forms with much darker abdomen, and the mesothorax may be yellowish green. Allied to H. sphecodoides Sm. Halictus burkei Cockerell. Hobart, Tasmania (J. J. Walker). Type in British Museum. Female about 5 mm. long; black, with the abdomen rufo-piceous; mesothorax very shiny; tegulae pale testaceous, with a dark mark in front; stigma very large, dull reddish-brown. The abdomen beneath has much white hair, used for collecting pollen. Halictus bursariae Cockerell. Brisbane, Q. (Hacker); also Caloundra and Queensland National Park. Male about 6 mm. long, shining black; antennae long, entirely dark. Be- longs to a group which includes H. cambagei, H. repertus, H. isthmalis and H. repertulus. The dark tibiae distinguish it from H. isthmalis; the black tegulae from H. repertulus. Halictus callaspis Cockerell (M.) Bribie Island, Q. (Hacker). Female about 6.5 mm. long; mesothorax yellowish green, much brighter than head; scutellum peacock-green; abdomen shining olive-green. The amber-coloured stigma and very finely lineolate area of metathorax distinguish it from H. flindersi, H. caloun- drensis, etc. Halictus caloundrensis Cockerell (M.) Caloundra, Q. (Hacker); also Bribie Island. Female 6 mm. long; of the group of H. behri, transvolens and flindersi, but easily separated by the mesothorax, which is very brilliant yellowish green, with transverse wave-like plicae, directed obliquely, so as to meet at an angle in middle line. Abdomen shining steel-blue, the venter with a curled white scopa. The form leucurus, described as a subspecies of H. flindersi, is nearer to H. caloundrensis. Halictus cambagei Cockerell. Adelaide, S.A.- (Behr). Type in Berlin Museum. The male has the head very broad; sculpture of metathoracic area extremely tine (the area has evident ridges in H. repertus and H. isthmalis). Length about 5.5 mm. Halictus cassiaefloris Cockerell. Mackay, Q. (Turner). H. tenwis Friese is a synonym. Female about 5 mm. long; black, with dull white hair, not forming bands or spots on abdomen; mandibles clear red; scape clear red, the apical half above black or nearly; knees, tibiae and tarsi clear ferruginous. Allied to H. eurhodopus. Halictus chapmani Cockerell. Western Australia (Preiss). Type in Berlin Museum. Female about 7 mm. long. Very close to H. repraesentans Sm., but smaller. Abdomen shining, hind margins of tergites broadly very dark reddish; mesothorax shining. Rayment records it from Denmark, W.A., and notes that it is superficially similar to H. victoriellus Ckll. COCKERELL. 307 Halictus circumdatus Cockerell. Rutherglen, V. (French). Female about 8.5 mm. long; black, shining, with thin greyish-white hair; mesothorax shining, strongly, but not very densely punctured; basal area of metathorax concave, shining, strongly longitudinally plicate, sharp-edged, with the apical marginal area smooth and shining, depressed in middle; abdomen pure black, with clear white tomentum at bases of second to fourth tergites. Resembles H. repraesen- tans, but easily known from this and H. seductus by the area of metathorax. Halictus clarigaster Cockerell. Caloundra, Q. (Hacker). Female about 6.5 mm. long; head and thorax black; abdomen clear bright ferruginous, slightly dusky apically; labrum and mandibles dark red; tegulae light ferruginous; legs black, with all the knees, anterior tibiae in front, and the other tibiae on inner side, ferrugin- ous. General aspect like H. ewarti Ckll. Halictus clariventris Friese. Adelaide, S.A. Female very like H. granulithoraz Ckll., but considerably smaller, without the strong median sulcus on anterior part of mesothorax, while the first tergite is considerably more shining, and the scutellum is entirely dull except the anterior margin. The male resembles H. victoriellus Ckll., having a broad abdomen, like a female; the tegument of clypeus is all black. Halictus clelandi Cockerell. Adelaide, S.A. (Schomburgk). Type in Berlin Museum. Male about 6 mm. long; head and thorax black, abdomen and legs dark reddish brown; lower part of clypeus cream-colour, the actual margin ferruginous; mandibles ferruginous, dark at base; flagellum long, dark coffee-brown beneath. Halictus cognatus Smith. Launceston, Tasmania. Male with disc of thorax aeneous; flagellum fulvous beneath. Probably male of H. globosus Smith. Halictus confusellus Cockerell. Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Female about 7 mm. long; separated from H. imitans by the ferruginous stigma and shorter area of metathorax; from H. pulvitectus by hind margins of tergites black. Halictus conspicuus Smith. “Australia.” Female with tibiae and tarsi clear red; abdomen without bands, but with conspicuous patches of ochry-tinged white tomentum at lateral bases of tergites 2 to 4; tegulae fulvous; postscutellum transversely striate. Halictus converus Smith. Victoria. Female smaller and less hairy than H. lanarius Sm. Halictus cyclognathus Cockerell. Croydon, V. (S. W. Fulton). Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania. Male not quite 4.5 mm. long; black, with scanty greyish-white hair; head very large and broad; cheeks broad and flattened, angled behind; mandibles long, strongly curved, cream-colour, red apically; clypeus with an apical pale band; abdomen short for a male, shining black. By the form of the head recalls H. purnongensis. Halictus cyclurus Cockerell. Mount Tambourine, Q. (Hacker). Female about 5.5 mm. long; head 308 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. and thorax black; abdomen very broad and short, rather dark chestnut- red, the first tergite black except a marginal band; second with a trans- verse blackish band; fourth and following tergites fuscous. Allied to H. hedley?. Halictus dampieri Cockerell (M.) Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. It extends from Brisbane to Cairns. 4H. strangulatus and H. indigotews of Friese are synonyms; the latter the form with bluish-green mesothorax. The male is described in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., August, 1910, p. 228. Halictus darwiniellus Cockerell. Sydney, N.S.W. (Charles Darwin). Type in Hope Museum, Oxford. Belongs to subgenus Evylaeus. Black; flagellum ferruginous beneath ex- cept basally; upper part of clypeus with a shining median groove; anterior wing 6.6 mm. long; second and third tergites with basal bands of white tomentum, failing in middle; fourth with a broad entire speckled band. Halictus davidis Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum H. nigroscopaceus Friese is a synonym. Female about 10 mm. long; abdomen shining black, without hair-bands or patches; resembles Parasphecodes carbonarius (Sm.), but less strongly punctured. Male about 8.5 mm. long; greater part of clypeus light yellow; flagellum very long. Pleura striated in both sexes. Halictus demissus Cockerell (M.). Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Female nearly 5.5 mm. long; meso- thorax shining green, polished; hind spur with four obtuse spines. Near H. humilis, but with dark legs and striate area of metathorax. Rayment (1930) has described the male, from Victoria. Halictus disclusus Cockerell. Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania (R. E. Turner). Type in British Museum. Male about 6 mm. long, black, with the first three tergites bright chestnut red, but the first dark basally and with large dusky median cloud, second and third with a dark spot at each laterobasal corner; tegulae black. Re- sembles H. tasmaniae (Ckll.), but distinguished by the dull mesothorax. Halictus doddi Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Dodd). Female about 8 mm. long; rather slender, black, the first two tergites light ferruginous, with a large transverse black dorsal patch. This has a dorsal patch of dense tomentum in the manner of H. leichardti, from which it is easily known by the colour of abdomen. It ap- proaches Parasphecodes, especially P. basilautus Ckll. Halictus dolichocerus Cockerell. Yarrawin, N.S.W. (Froggatt). Also at Brewarrina. Male 5 to 6 mm. long; antennae extremely long, dark; legs bright ferruginous, femora largely black, tibiae marked with black. The shining mesothorax at once separates it from H. haematopus. Halictus dorsicyaneus Cockerell (M.). Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Female about 5 mm. long; meso- thorax small, dark blue, shining, but not polished; scutellum blue, with two polished shining spaces; metathorax black; abdomen shining black. Differs from H. kesteveni Ckll. by the black (instead of blue) metathorax. Com- pared with H. inclinans Sm., it is less robust, with darker tegulae and dif- ferent abdomen. COCKERELL. 309 Halictus dotatus Cockerell (M.). Sydney, N.S.W. (Froggatt). Also Tooloom. Female about 5.5 mm. long; head and thorax green, abdomen and legs bright ferruginous. Allied to H. vitripennis, but scape red and base of abdomen not black. Halictus doweri Rayment (M.). Mentioned in discussion of H. occidentalis. “May be near vitripennis.” Halictus eboracensis Cockerell. Ebor, N.S.W. (A. J. Turner). Also at Barrington Tops. Black; the bases of tergites 3 and 4 with very broad bands of pale greyish tomentum, and base of second with a cuneiform patch of the same on each side. Allied to H. seductus Ckll., but mesothorax not dull anteriorly, and plications at base of metathorax not so fine. Male unknown. Halictus elliotii Rayment. E. Gippsland. Female 8.5 mm. long; allied to H. lanarius Sm. It ap- pears blacker, being less hairy. Rayment figures the spurs. (Victorian Naturalist, October, 1929.) . Halictus erythrurus Cockerell (M.). Croydon, V. (S. W. Fulton). Also Launceston, T.; York, W.A.; Brisbane, Q. Known from the similar H. tarltoni Ckll. and H. raymenti Ckll. by the highly polished clypeus. Rayment discusses the variation in Jour. Roy. Soc. W. Australia, xvii., p. 169. The female is a little less than 5 mm. long. The var. a. is rather smaller; mesothorax more shining, dark bluish green. Halictus erythrurus atrocyaneus Cockerell (M.). Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Female about 4 mm. long; mesothorax very dark blue, thorax otherwise black; abdomen chestnut red, the first tergite black, except apically; mandibles red. Halictus erythrurus maiusculus Rayment (M.). Perth, W.A. Larger. Length, 5 to 6 mm. Halictus etheridgei Cockerell. Yallingup, W.A. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female 9.5 mm. long; black, very robust; clypeus with a deep median sulcus; head extremely broad; wings dusky; no hair-bands or patches on abdomen. Halictus eurhodopus Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Female about 5 mm. long; rather slender, black, with the legs, except the coxae, bright clear ferruginous; abdomen with a narrow red apical plate, the venter with a curled white scopa. Al- lied to H. cassiaefloris, but distinguished by the red femora. Halictus euryurus Cockerell. Adaminaby, N.S.W. (A. J. Turner). Type in Queensland Museum. Male nearly 6 mm. long; black, the abdomen broad-oval, the hind margins of the tergites beyond the first stramineous; tegument of clypeus entirely black. The metathorax (area with sharp straight plicae, only two or three in middle wrinkled) and antennae separate it at once from H. macrops. The mesothorax is much more coarsely punctured than in H. clariventris Friese. Halictus evasus Cockerell. Coolangatta, Q. (A. J. Turner). Type in Queensland Museum. Female 7 mm. long; black, head and thorax with rather long white hair, quite dense on cheeks and postscutellum; mesothorax dull, very coarsely punc- 310 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. tured; abdomen broad, shining. Very near to H. confusellus Ckll., but easily separated by the more robust dull, coarsely sculptured mesothorax, and the shining area of metathorax. Halictus ewarti Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female nearly 7 mm. long; abdomen entirely bright chestnut red. It looks like a Sphecodes. Halictus exceptus Cockerell. Tooloom, N.S.W. (Hacker). Female about 7 mm. long; robust, black, including antennae; pubescence very scanty and short; mesothorax shin- ing; abdomen shining black, with small white hair patches at sides of second and third tergites. Allied to H. seminitens Ckll., but easily distin- guished by the rather pale reddish brown tarsi. Halictus excusus Cockerell. Pyengana, Tasmania (Littler). Male about 7.5 mm. long; slender, black, with a large triangular cream-coloured mark on clypeus (but labrum and mandibles black); antennae very long, flagellum moniliform, entirely black; abdomen densely and rather coarsely punctured. Separated from H. lanariellus Ckll., by the entirely dull mesothorax. Halictus expansifrons Cockerell. New South Wales. Male about 6 mm. long; black, robust (like a female) ; head broad; mandibles dark; clypeus with a transverse pale yellow band; antennae rather long, flagellum obscure reddish beneath; mesothorax shining, strongly punctured, sparsely in middle; tarsi cream-colour, be- coming pale ferruginous apically. Closely allied to H. clelandi Ckll. Halictus eyrei Cockerell (M.). Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Also at Brisbane and Caloundra. H. claripes Friese is a synonym. Female a little over 5 mm. long; abdomen entirely bright red. Halictus eyrei darwiniensis Cockerell (M.). Port Darwin, N.T. (Hill). Female with abdomen very dark brown, almost black, often with the base more or less red. Halictus flindersi Cockerell (M.). Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 6 mm. long; head, thorax and abdomen shining purple-blue, the upper part of clypeus and anterior part of mesothorax peacock-green. Male scarcely over 5 mm.; abdomen darker, little metallic. The female var. a. has meso- thorax and scutellum entirely Prussian-green. Halictus flindersi leucurus Cockerell (M.). Bribie I., Q. (Hacker). This is better regarded as a variety of H. caloundrensis Ckll.; it has the hair at apex of abdomen entirely brownish white (dark fuscous in H. flindersi). See Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., July, 1915, p. 7. Halictus flindersi thor Cockerell (M.). Thursday Island (Cockerell). Clypeus and supraclypeal area more or less coppery red, mesothorax and scutellum shining yellowish green; abdo- men shining dark blue-green, the depressed portions of tergites more steel- blue; a large curled ventral scopa. Halictus floralis Smith (M.). H. vividus Smith the same. Female with abdomen green; mesothorax very bright green, but surface dull, COCKERELL. 311 Halictus formosus Rayment (M.). Albany, W.A. Female about 6 mm. long; allied to H. callaspis Ckll., and superficially resembles H. demissus Ckll. Halictus forresti Cockerell. Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. This is H. scutellatus Friese, male, but not female. The abdomen is very dark reddish, and the insect approaches Parasphecodes. Male about 6 mm. long; flagellum ex- tremely long, black; mesothorax dullish; upper edge of prothorax, tubercles and postscutellum with white tomentum. In the original type the abdomen was entirely black; it seems to vary in colour. Halictus forticornis Cockerell. Kalamunda, W.A. (R. E. Turner). Type in British Museum. Male about 4 mm. long; very close to H. cyclognathus, but head smaller, antennae longer, and area of metathorax different. The flagellum is light orange- ferruginous beneath. Halictus franki Friese. Fremantle, W.A. Looks like Parasphecodes plorator Ckll., but area of metathorax quite different. Abdomen shining, broad and short, very finely and closely punctured, without hair-bands or spots; hind spur with short noduliform teeth. Wings distinctly dusky, with dark stigma; mesothorax excessively densely punctured all over. Halictus furneauzi Cockerell. Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 7 mm. long; superficially like H. sturti, but easily separated by the less shining mesothorax and more delicately sculptured area of metathorax. Halictus gilesi Cockerell. Victoria. Type in British Museum. Female about 8 mm. long, re- sembling H. repraesentans, but mesothorax much more coarsely sculp- tured. For microscopic characters, see Entomologist, 1905, p. 302. Halictus glauerti Rayment (M.). Perth, W.A. Female about 5 mm. long; very close to H. vitripennis Sm. (Jr. Roy. Soc. W. Australia, xvii., p. 170). Halictus globosus Smith. Tasmania. Female with mesothorax appearing black (Smith says with a brassy tinge); abdomen dark brown, tergites 3 to 5 pilose; outer inter- cubital and recurrent nervures almost obsolete. Halictus granulithorax Cockerell. Victoria (C. French). Female about 6.5 mm. long; black, robust, hind margins of tergites suffusedly reddish; tegulae fulvous. Very like H. willsi Ckll., but differs in venation and sculpture. It was taken by J. A. Kershaw at Pt. Lonsdale. Halictus greavesi Rayment (M.). Western Australia. Female 4.5 mm. long. Name misprinted greavessi. Abdomen and legs largely red; allied to H. raymenti Ck1l. Halictus griseovittatus Cockerell. Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). H. mjobergi Friese, from Mt. Tambourine, is a synonym. Female about 7.5 mm. long; black, robust, with dull white hair; clypeus and supraclypeal area brilliantly shining, with large punctures; mesothorax shining, but strongly and quite closely punctured; bases of ter- gites with pale greyish tomentum. Looks rather like a small H. repraesen- tans, but metathorax quite different. 312 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Halictus hackeriellus Cockerell (M.). Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Male about 5 mm. long; resembling H. kest- eveni, but head yellowish green; mesothorax and scutellum dull brassy, but the shining scutellum contrasting with the bluish green postscutellum and metathorax. Known from male H. dampieri by the smaller size, much shorter antennae, and absence of a yellow band on clypeus. Halicitus haematopus Cockerell. Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Male about 6 mm. long; resembles H. sanguinipes Ckll. and H. bicingulatus Sm. Flagellum wholly black; tegulae light orange-ferruginous; tibiae, tarsi and apical part of femora bright ferruginous; clypeus with a broad pale yellow band. 4 Halictus haematostoma Cockerell (M.). Windsor, V. (French). Male about 4.75 mm. long; robust, with dull white hair; head and thorax black, with mesothorax and scutellum shining dark bluish green; flagellum bright apricot colour; labrum, mandibles (ex- cept base) and lower margin of clypeus bright ferruginous; wings clear; abdomen piceous, with hind margins of tergites pallid. Although a male, this has the build of a female, with robust body and short antennae. Re- lated to H. inclinans Smith. Halictus hedleyi Cockerell. Port Philip, V. (Coulon). Type in Berlin Museum. Also at Chelten- ham. Male about 5.5 mm. long; second and third tergites, and much of fourth, red; tegulae clear light reddish-testaceous; apex of abdomen with a broad plate as in Sphecodes subgenus Proteraner. The var. a. has the second abdominal tergite red, with a very broad dusky apical shade; the third red only at sides of base, fourth black. Halictus helichrysi Cockerell. Mt. Tambourine, Q. (Hacker). Also Brisbane and Bribie I. Female about 7 mm. long; black, the broad abdomen thinly hairy at sides and dorsally beyond middle, but not banded. Known from H. victoriellus and H. plebeius by the mesothorax strongly punctured, and hind margin of fourth tergite broadly whitish hyaline; from H. imitans by the flagellum red beneath. Halictus hemichalceus Cockerell (M.). Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Type in Queensland Museum. Female about 5.5 mm. long; mesothorax and scutellum dark brassy green; abdomen dull ferruginous. A key separating this from others having mainly or wholly red abdomen is given in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., August, 1932, p. 240. Halictus hilli Cockerell. Port Darwin, N.T. (Hill). Male with head and thorax steel blue, scutel- lum with the polished disc olive green; head broad, eyes very strongly con- verging below; abdomen steel-blue, broadly reddened at bases of third and fourth tergites. Related to H. caloundrensis Ckll., but with lighter stigma and different coloration. There are transverse striae before the middle ocellus. Halictus holochlorus Cockerell (M.). Cheltenham, V. (French). Female a little over 6 mm. long; green, with dull white hair; known from H. urbanus by the light reddish stigma and green abdomen. It is larger than H. floralis. The legs are black or Piceous, knees and small joints of tarsi more or less ferruginous; tegulae ferruginous. COCKERELL. 313 Halictus humei Cockerell. “Australia.” Female about 5.5 mm. long; black, with greyish-white pubescence; flagellum brownish beneath; lateral bases of tergites 2 to 4 broadly covered with whitish tomentum. For microscopical character see Entomologist, 1905, p. 302. It nearly agrees with the brief description of H. familiaris (Erichs). Halictus humiliformis Cockerell (M.). Ebor, N.S.W. (A. J. Turner). Female resembling H. limatiformis, but mesothorax shining blue, with a polished surface. Differs from H. humilis by the black legs, with anterior knees red, and the entirely black antennae. The hind spur is not pectinate. Halictus humilis Smith (M.). Champion Bay, W.A. Female with mesothorax small and shining, dark green; abdomen shining black. See also Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., August, 1910, p. 228. Halictus idoneus Cockerell. Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Male about 7 mm. long; slender, black, with white hair; lower half of clypeus cream-colour, depressed in middle; flagellum long, entirely dark, very strongly crenulated beneath; legs black, with the tarsi, and extreme apices of tibiae, clear ferruginous. Known from H. blackburni by the rough mesothorax, the dense punctures visible under a lens. Halictus imitans Cockerell. Victoria (C. French). Type in British Museum. Also Georgetown, Tasmania. Female about 6.5 mm. long; black, robust; antennae entirely dark, the flagellum faintly brownish beneath; lateral bases of second and following tergites with rather inconspicuous patches of dull white tomen- tum; wings dusky. Halictus inclinans Smith (M.). Victoria and W. AuStralia. Female larger than H. limatus Sm.; meso- thorax greener, duil; abdomen dark brown, with a sericeous surface. The type is from Champion Bay. Halictus instabilis Cockerell. Croydon, V. (Miss A. M. Fulton). Female about 8 mm. long; black, resembling H. griseovittatus, but larger, and the bands on abdomen slightly ochreous. The hind spur of hind tibiae in this and griseovittatus is of the same type, with a single stout oblique tooth a little before the middle, and beyond this a very long low lamina or keel. The variety a., with slightly reddish wings, and stigma clearer red, is from Windsor, V. Variety b., with longer postscutellum, subangulate behind; area of metathorax sharply de- fined, with stronger plicae; second cubital cell broad; is from Victoria. Halictus isthmalis Cockerell. Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania (Turner). Type in British Museum. The male has the antennae long, black; a large broadly rounded red plate at end of abdomen. Length about 5 mm. The var. a. is smaller, with area of metathorax more finely sculptured, tegulae with a large red spot. It comes from Mt. Wellington. Smaller than H. repertus, with ridges of meta- thoracic area not limited to basal part, and tibiae red, as well as the tarsi. The female (about 6 mm. long) is described in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., August, 1915, p. 97. 314 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Halictus kesteveni Cockerell (M.). Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Goes north to Cape York. Male 4 to 4.5 mm. long; head and thorax dark green; metathorax blue; abdomen shining black, without bands; labrum and margin of clypeus dark. Resembles H. saycei. Halictus kurandensis Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Male about 6.5 mm. long; rather robust, black, with dull white hair; apical half of clypeus (narrowing laterally, not reach- ing sides) bright lemon yellow, but the actual margin light ferruginous; flagellum very long (about 4 mm.), strongly crenulate beneath; abdomen shining, without hair-hands. Resembles H. circumdatus by the striated pleura, and H. tertius by the glaucous mesothorax. ‘ Halictus lanariellus Cockerell. Yarrawin, N.S.W. (Froggatt). Also Kewell and Middle Harbour. Des- cribed from the female, but the male is described in Records Australian Museum, Xvii., p. 229. Female about 8mm. long. For characters see key. Halictus lanarius Smith. Widely distributed, from Devonport, Tasmania to Brisbane and Mt. Tambourine, Q., and as far as Halifax. Also at Adelaide, S.A. H. lanu- ginosus Smith is the same species. The male type (lanuginosus) has the clypeus with a yellowish white band; face with much white hair; whole in- sect very hairy. This may have to be calied H. infimus (Erichson). Erich- son’s species, described (1841) under Andrena, cannot be precisely recognised from the description. See Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., August, 1910, p. 236. Halictus leichardti Cockerell. Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Also Kuranda and Dunk I. dH. paracoiletinus Cockerell and H. scutellatus Friese are synonyms. Wings with a strong fuscous tint. For diagnostic characters, see table. For male, see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., April, 1912, p. 387. Halictus leucorhinus Cockerell. Sandringham, V. (Rayment). Male about 10 mm. long; apical half of clypeus white, except the black margin; legs black. Resembles H. ebor- acensis, but wings darker, with darker and stronger veins. Halictus limatiformis Cockerell (M.). National Park, Q. (Hacker). Female about 5 mm. long; very close to H. limatus, but area of metathorax granular and dull, feebly plicate, with a shining margin; tegulae dark castaneous. Halictus limatiformis scrupulosus Cockerell (M.). Nanango District, Q. (Hacker). First tergite, and sometimes much of base of second, clear red. Halictus limatus Smith (M.). Tasmania. Female smaller than H. inclinans Sm.; mesothorax bluer, dull; abdomen shining black. Halictus littiert Cockerell. Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Female about 8.5 mm. long; close to H. circumdatus Ckll., but clypeus rough, more closely punctured; vertex and mesothorax with conspicuous black hair; tegulae much darker. The second tergite is finely punctured, except the broad apical part, which is minutely lineolate, with only scattered rudimentary punctures. COCKERELL. 315 Halictus luctificus Cockerell (M.). Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Female about 5.4 mm. long; head black; mesothorax dull, very dark green, scutellum dark blue, with two polished areas; abdomen shining black. Allied to H. mundulus Ckll., but distinguished by the shining margin of metathoracic area. Also allied to H. dorsicyaneus Ckll. Halictus luteoaeneus Friese (M.). Victoria (von Muller). About as large as H. flindersi Ckll.; head and thorax golden green, with coppery tints on clypeus and posterior part of mesothorax; basal half of scape clear red; tegulae clear rufofulvous; wings clear, with dark brown stigma; legs, except base, clear ferruginous, hind femora broad basally and bent in middle; abdomen shining green, curled ventral scopa large. Halictus macrops Cockerell. Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Male about 5 mm. long; black, robust, looking like a female; head very large and broad; antennae entirely dark and not very long. Known from H. niveifrons by the broad face. Halictus maitlandi Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 7 mm. long, superficially similar to H. stirlingi, but structurally very different. Black; head, thorax and abdomen dullish, with a sericeous lustre; tegulae ferruginous; tibiae and tarsi rather dark chestnut red; hind tibiae and tarsi with much black hair. Halictus mediopolitus Cockerell. Purnong, V. (S. W. Fulton). Also Murray R., S.A. Female about 6.5 mm. long; black, with very pale ochreous-tinted or creamy hair; meso- thorax and scutellum bare, highly polished; wings clear, the dusky rufous stigma very long; abdomen with dense conspicuous hair-bands at bases of tergites 2 to 4. Halictus megastigmus Cockerell (M.). Hobart, Tasmania (C. E. Cole). Type in Victoria Museum. Female about 7 mm. long; mesothorax shining green. Recognisable by the shining mesothorax and large stigma, which is red with broad dusky margins. Halictus melanopterus Cockerell. Yallingup, W.A. (R. E. Turner). Type in British Museum. Female nearly 10 mm. long. Very near H. instabilis Ckll., but larger, with darker wings and darker stigma, and the abdominal bands not entire. The abdo- men is much like that of H. circumdatus Ckll., but the metathorax is quite different. Halictus melanurus Cockerell. York, W.A. (O. H. Sargent). Type in U.S. National Museum. Female about 4 mm. long; black, with abdomen about as far as middle of third tergite shining yellowish-ferruginous; legs dusky red, anterior tibiae in front and all the knees clear red; hind spur without teeth, only minutely serrulate or spinulose. Allied to H. disclusus, but easily separated by the red tegulae. Halictus mesembryanthemi Cockerell. Sandringham, V. (Rayment), and north to Brisbane. Female about 6 mm. long; male about 5.6. For characters, see key. The abdomen is red- banded; the male suggests H. repertus, but has the flagellum light fer- ruginous beneath (entirely black in H, repertus), 316 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Halictus mesocyaneus Cockerell (M.). Bribie I., Q. (Hacker). Female about 5 mm. long; smaller than H. inclinans, and easily separated by the polished abdomen and black scutel- lum. The mesothorax is deep blue, somewhat shining, but not polished, but the thorax otherwise is black, and the head is black. Halictus micridoneus Cockerell. Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Male about 4.5 mm. long; shining black, with rather short abdomen; head large and rather broad; antennae short, like those of a female. H.idoneus Ckll., is much larger. H. cyclognathus Ckll. is also allied, but H. micridoneus has the face much narrower. The first recurrent nervure joins third cubital cell some distance from base. Halictus microchalceus Cockerell. Thirroul, N.S.W. (Cockerell). Male slightly over 3 mm. long; head and thorax yellowish green, area of metathorax blue-green; abdomen greenish- black. Tibiae pale red at both ends, tarsi reddish. Differs from H. hack- eriellus Ckll. by the much narrower head and colour of legs. Halictus mirandus Cockerell. Yallingup, W.A. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female 10 to 10.5 mm. long; black, with femora (anterior ones only apically), tibiae and tarsi bright chestnut red; front and mesothorax obscurely aeneous or greenish; first tergite with a prominent keel-like tubercle (lacking in the allied H. conspicuus Sm.). The abdomen has patches of snow-white tomentum. Halictus mitchelli Cockerell. Hobart, Tasmania (J. J. Walker). Type in British Museum. Female nearly 9 mm. long; black, very like H. warburtoni Ckll., but not its female, as the wings are quite different, the stigma smaller and yellower (a sort of dull amber), nervures lighter, etc. For microscopical characters, see En- tomologist, 1906, p. 56. Halictus moreensis Cockerell. Moree, N.S.W. (A. P. Dodd). Type in Queensland Museum. Female about 8 mm. long; black, with very broad abdomen (its width over 3 mm.); tibiae and tarsi entirely clear bright ferruginous; tegulae ferruginous; ex- treme apex of abdomen with red hair. Allied to H. conspicuus Sm., but with bands instead of spots on the abdomen. Halictus mundulus Cockerell (M.). Kalamunda, W.A. (R. E. Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 5 mm. long; mesothorax and scutellum dark bluish green; flagellum clear ferruginous beneath; tegulae amber colour. Allied to H. urbanus, but mesothorax quite differently coloured. Halictus murrayi Cockerell (M.). Adelaide R., N.T. (J. J. Walker). Type in British Museum. Also occurs in Queensland. Thorax usually purple-blue, varying to blue-green; tegulae rufous; legs black; abdomen shining black; area of metathorax more or less distinctly plicatulate. Close to H. urbanus Sm. Halictus musicus Cockerell. ; Mt. Tambourine, Q. (Hacker). Also Tooloom, N.S.W. H. trimaculatus Friese is a synonym. Female about 10 mm. long; black, the abdomen with a faint green tint, especially on the first two tergites; postscutellum with a Saba of orange tomentum; legs black, with coarse black hair; wings dilute uscous. COCKERELL. 317 Halictus nigropolitus Cockerell. Port Darwin, N.T. (Cockerell). Female nearly 6 mm. long, robust, with very broad abdomen; pure black, including legs; mandibles red in middle. Mesothorax highly polished. Near H. sturti Ckll., but with different sculp- ture of mesothorax, and also less robust. Also near H. semipolitus Ckll., but much larger and more robust. Halictus niveifrons Cockerell. Tasmania (Lea). Also Sandringham, V. Male about 4.75 mm. long; black, with white hair, copious and snow-white on face and front; man- dibles bright red at apex; clypeus with tegument entirely black; antennae wholly dark; tegulae clear testaceous; wings clear. The abdomen is broad, black, and shining. Halictus niveorufus Friese. Ararat, V. Female 10-11 mm. long, like H. gibbosus Fr. (which is a Parasphecodes) , but abdomen clear red, first tergite without a prominence; legs black; wings dusky. Doubless a Parasphecodes. Halictus oblitus Smith. Swan River, W.A. Female with stigma black, or practically so; area of metathorax very finely and minutely wrinkled; abdomen with hair-patches. Halictus occidentalis Rayment (M.). Perth, W.A. Female 5.5 mm. long; allied to H. tarltonit Ckll., H. ray- menti Ckll., and H. doweri Raym. Legs clear ferruginous; abdomen chest- nut red. The specific name is preoccupied. Halictus olivinus Cockerell (M.). Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Male about 5 mm. long; slender, head and thorax shining dark olive green, the metathorax steel blue; flagellum long and slender, ferruginous beneath; wings hyaline, faintly dusky; abdomen dark brown, polished. Known from H. hackeriellus by the red tibiae. Halictus opacicollis Cockerell. Victoria (C. French). Female about 7 mm. long; black, with scanty dull white hair; flagellum very obscurely brownish beneath; hind spur of hind tibia with a large blunt tooth near the middle, and beyond that a long low keel. The mesothorax is less strongly punctured than in H., orbatus. Also taken at Hobart, Tasmania, by Lea. Halictus orbatus Smith. Widely distributed, from Tasmania to Brisbane. See characters in table. Near to H. converus Sm.; see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., May, 1914, p. 511. Halictus ozleyi Cockerell. Adelaide, S.A. Type in British Museum. Male about or nearly 7 mm. long; black, with the pubescence yellowish, especially on face, where it is abundant; mandibles rufous, lighter and almost yellow in the middle; flagellum light ferruginous, above and below; nervures and stigma amber- colour. Halictus oxoniellus Cockerell (M.). Bribie I., Q. (Hacker). Female about 5 mm. long; head and thorax black, except the mesothorax and scutellum, which are a fine dark blue; abdomen bright ferruginous, the first tergite black, except a broad apical band, the others with black patches on extreme lateral margins; legs black, hind spur with three large teeth. Known from H. erythrurus by the dark stigma and blue mesothorax, 318 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Halictus pachycephalus Cockerell. Yarrawin, N.S.W. (W. W. Froggatt). Male about 6 mm. long, with very large broad head; legs mainly ferruginous; stigma red. Related to H. spenceri, but easily separated by the colour of the legs. Halictus pavonellus Cockerell (M.). Bribie I., Q. (Hacker). Female about 4.25 mm. long; mesothorax and scutellum dull, rich deep blue, rest of thorax very obscure blue-green; abdomen with a strong tinge of blue-green or bluish. Differs from dH. floralis by the dark rufopiceous stigma (pale testaceous in floralis); the apically abbreviated stigma and blue mesothorax distinguish it from H. dam pieri. : Halictus peraustralis Cockerell. South Australia to Brisbane. Type in British Museum. Resembles a small Eumenid wasp. For characters, see keys. Halictus picticornis Cockerell. Caloundra, Q. (Hacker). Black, male about 4.5 mm. long, female 5.5 mm. Male flagellum bright ferruginous beneath, with the last three joints black; tubercles clear ferruginous. Female very near H. plebeius Ckll., but smaller, with yellowish and fuscous hair on hind legs. Type in Queens- land Museum. Halictus platycephalus Rayment. Victoria. Female. Length about 4.5 mm.; black, with large broad head; mesothorax shining; wings almost clear, stigma dark ferruginous; tibiae light at end; tarsi ferruginous; hind spurs with one tooth and three nodules. Belongs to subgenus Evylaeus. Halictus plebeius Cockerell. Purnong, V. (S. W. Fulton). Female about 6.5 mm. long, like H. imitans, but mesothorax and scutellum much more shining, with fine punc- tures; flagellum dull red beneath; stigma smaller; hind spur of hind tibiae yellowish white (red in imitans). Male a little over 5 mm. long; clypeus with a broad ivory-coloured band on apical half; flagellum long and rather thick, obscurely brownish beneath; legs black, with very slender reddish- brown tarsi; abdomen shining, not hairy. Halictus puluitectus Cockerell. Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania (Turner). Type in British Museum. It was also reported from Sandringham, V., but this was really H. victoriellus Ckll. Female 6.5 to 7 mm. long; black, with hind margins of tergites testaceous. Male about 6 mm. long; clypeus with an apical cream-coloured band; flagellum long, very slightly brownish beneath; tegulae ferruginous. H. victoriellus is smaller, with a much more finely punctured mesothorax. Halictus punctatus Smith (M.). Mesothorax green, with very large shallow punctures; abdomen very shiny, red at sides. Female. The name is preoccupied, and I have sug- gested that the species may be called H. exlautus (Ckll.), based on H. punc- tatus exlautus Ckll. For characters and localities, see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., April, 1912. ; Halictus punctatus exlautus Cockerell (M.). Abdomen entirely orange-fulvous (apricot colour), except a faint dusky median stain and a small black spot at each side of tergites 3 and 4. The legs are red. Type in British Museum. See Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., June, 1922, p. 662. i , COCKERELL. 319 Halictus purnongensis Cockerell (M.). Purnong, V. (S. W. Fulton), and north to Brisbane. Male 5 mm. long; head and thorax shining olive-green; abdomen piceous, with first tergite dark greenish; head very large, with toothed cheeks. Halictus raymenti Cockerell (M.). Sandringham, V. (Rayment). For characters, see tables. Female about 5.5 mm.long. Resembles H. erythrurus. Associated with this species is the Chloropid fly Ephydroscinis raymenti Curran.* Halictus repertulus Cockerell. Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Male about 5.5 mm. long; black, moderately robust; nearly the apical half of ciypeus very pale yellow; flagellum only moderately long, very obscure reddish beneath. The rufous tegulae dis- tinguish it from H. bursariae; the head is not so broad as in H. cambagei, and the mesothorax is more regularly and distinctly punctured. It is smaller than H. repertus. Halictus repertus Cockerell. Near Melbourne, V. Also taken by Charles Darwin at Hobart, Tas- mania. The male differs from H. cambagei by having the tarsi red, and the area of metathorax with evident ridges; it is larger than H. isthmalis, and has the ridges absent from apical part of area (not thus limited in isthmalis) , and the tibiae dark (tibiae red in isthmalis). Length about 6.5 mm. Halictus repraesentans Smith. Hobart, Tasmania (J. J. Walker). Area of metathorax with strong re- gular striae. For other characters, see tables. For microscopical charac- ters, see Entomologist, December, 1905, p. 302. Halictus rowlandi Cockerell. Kuranda, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female hardly 5 mm. long; thorax and legs entirely light rufofulvous, the coloration recalling that of the wasp Pison melanocephalum Turner, living in the same district. Halictus rufibasis Cockerell. National Park, Q. (Hacker). Type in Queensland Museum. Female about 5 mm. long; robust, with very broad abdomen; head and thorax shining black; abdomen with first tergite clear ferruginous, second broadly red basally; hind tibiae and tarsi with stiff black bristles. Halictus ruficollis Friese. Adelaide, S.A. Male 9 mm. long, the thorax red, except the black scutellum and metanotum; abdomen with tergites 1 to 3 reddish-yellow, 4 and 5 brown, 6 and 7 black; legs red, with yellow tarsi; wings dusky, with dark margin. From the description seems near Parasphecodes aurantiacus Ckll. Friese compares it with H. pilicollis Fr., which is Parasphecodes basilautus Ckll. Halictus rufipes Smith. Melbourne, V. All the femora rufous. This is H. tertius Dalla Torre. * Curran describes this (Amer. Mus. Novitates, June 10, 1930) from the female. Rayment (Victorian Naturalist, March, 1931) describes the male of what must apparently be the same species as Neoborborus speculabundus, placing it in Borboridae. 320 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. Halictus rufoaeneus Friese (M.). Sydney, N.S.W. Collected in the Botanic Gardens, 1897. Female 5 to 5.5 mm. long, like H. luteoaeneus, but smaller, with brown legs and reddish tarsi. Wings clear. Halictus rufotinctus Cockerell (M.). Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Female 4 to 4.25 mm. long; robust, with short broad-oval abdomen; mesothorax and scutellum olive-green (in var. a. the mesothorax is dark blue-green); abdomen largely castaneous; legs black. Allied to H. inclinans Sm. Halictus sanguinipes Cockerell. Windsor, V. (French). Male about 8 mm. long; black, with bright chestnut-red legs; clypeus with a very broad pale yellow band; mandibles black; wings reddish. Known from H. bicingulatus by the clavate abdomen, the tegulae piceous with a rufo-testaceous spot, and the basal area of meta- thorax very long, irregularly wrinkled. Halictus saycei Cockerell (M.). Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 4.5 to 5 mm. long; thorax black, with the dull and granular mesothorax dark green; abdomen smooth and shining, wholly without bands; scape red basally, flagellum dark. Allied to H. limatus. Halictus sculpturatus Cockerell. Stradbroke I., Q. (Hacker). Male about 6.5 mm. long; black, moderately robust, the abdomen without hair-bands or patches; clypeus with a trans- verse cream-coloured band; mesothorax shining, strongly punctured, median groove strong, and on each side of it anteriorly oblique striae. Al- lied to H. spenceri Ckll., but mesothorax and area of metathorax quite dif- ferent. Halictus seductus Cockerell. Windsor, V. (French). Also Sandringham, V., and Bridport, Tasmania. Female about 10 mm. long; black, robust, with greyish-white hair, mixed with fuscous on vertex and mesothorax. Resembles H. repraesentans, but easily separated by the mesothorax, which is roughened and strongly punctured, dull, with the disc somewhat shining. The wings are smoky hyaline, the stigma and nervures dusky ferruginous. Halictus seminitens Cockerell. Wyalcatchem, W.A. (Nicholson). Type in Australian Museum. Female about 7.3 mm. long; fairly robust, black, including mandibles, antennae and legs; face very broad. Very like H. orbatus Sm., H. instabilis Ckll., and H. imitans Ckll., but easily known by the contrasting polished and dull areas on mesothorax, and the dark tegulae. Halictus semipolitus Cockerell. Bribie I., Q. (Hacker). Also Brisbane and Tambourine Mtn. Female about 5.5 mm. long, black; tegulae dark reddish; wings strongly smoky, stigma dark brown. Close to H. blackburni Ckll., but mesothorax shining, especially posteriorly, the scattered punctures extremely minute and hardly visible; area of metathorax dull, covered with fine wrinkles. Halictus semipolitus expulsus Cockerell. Georgetown, Tasmania (Littler). Female with flagellum black (red at end in typical H. semipolitus) ; tegulae piceous or more or less reddish. COCKERELL. 321 Halictus speculellus Cockerell. Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Female about 5 mm. long; black, with labrum and mandibles (except base) dull red; flagellum ferruginous beneath; tegulae clear rufo-testaceous. Very like H. repertulus Ckll. (male), but not its female, as repertulus has a distinctly punctured mesothorax. Also al- lied to H. sturti Ckll., but smaller, with more dusky wings, and different metathorax. Halictus spenceri Cockerell. Yallingup, W.A. (R. E. Turner). Type in British Museum. Male about 7 to a little over 8 mm. long; a large species of the group of H. cambagei, the apex of abdomen with a large, broad, rounded, bright ferruginous plate. The clypeus has a triangular creamy-white patch; antennae long, black. Halictus sphecodoides Smith (M.). Female with mesothorax duller than in H. vitripennis Sm.; abdomen with the apical part dark; stigma fuscous. Halictus sphecodopsis Cockerell (M.). Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Male scarcely 4 mm. long; head and thorax yellowish green, the metathorax a bluer green; face broad, covered with yellowish hair; broad anterior margin of clypeus, labrum and mandibles (except ferruginous tips) cream-colour; antennae long, ferruginous, flagellum dusky above; legs clear orange-ferruginous; abdomen bright ferruginous, the apical third dusky. Halictus stirlingi Cockerell. Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 6.5 mm. long; very robust; abdomen with bands of dense fulvous tomentum at bases of second and third tergites. Related to the H. bicingulatus group, but known by the small size, dark legs, and peculiar sculpture of meta- thorax. Halictus sturti Cockerell. Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. H. globularis Friese is asynonym. Female a little over 6 mm. long; black, broad and robust, with scanty white hair; mesothorax shining, overlapping prothorax in front; hind spur of hind tibia with three little sharp teeth close together about the middle, but otherwise simple. Halictus subcarus Cockerell (M.). Halifax, Q. (Williams). Type in Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard. Mesothorax and scutellum bright prussian green, the former dull, the latter more shining, but not polished; tegulae clear fulvous; abdomen olive green. Length about 5 mm. Known from dH. pavonellus Ckll. by the larger head, with more produced clypeus, green mesothorax and clear red hind tibiae. Halictus subinclinans Cockerell (M.). Launceston, Tasmania (Littler). Also Sandringham, V. Female 6.25 mm. long; mesothorax dark green, dullish; abdomen shining - brownish black. Differs from H. inclinans by the greater size, darker tegulae and dark legs. The hind spur of hind tibia has a single large broadly rounded (subtruncate) tooth, and a low broad (wave-like) one beyond. Halictus subplebeius Cockerell. National Park, Q. (Hacker). Type in Queensland Museum. Male about 6.8 mm. long; black, rather robust, the abdomen broad for a male; 322 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. clypeus with a broad creamy white band. Resembles H. plebeius Ckll., but much larger, with dark tegulae and different metathorax. Halictus suburbanus Cockerell (M.). National Park, Q. (Hacker). Type in Queensland Museum. Female hardly 5 mm. long; mesothorax and scutellum dull emerald green; abdomen shining black. Near to H. urbanus Sm., but the mesothorax is larger and duller. Also near H. williamsi Ckll., but mesothorax more shining, and bluer green, and scutellum shining. Halictus suwpralucens Cockerell. Kaiamunda, W.A. (R. E. Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 6.5 mm. long; near H. mediopolitus, but sculpture of mesothorax entirely different (shining, with irregular large and small punctures) ; known from H. orbatus by the polished scutellum. Halictus tarltoni Cockerell (M.). Brighton, V. (Rayment). Female about 5.5 mm. long; black, with blue-green mesothorax and red abdomen; stigma clear but dull red; abdomen with a ventral scopa. Very close to H. raymenti, but anterior tibiae clear red in front, and abdomen with no basal dark patch. The dull clypeus separates it from H. erythrurus. Halictus tasmaniae (Cockerell). Hobart and St. Helens, Tasmania. Type in British Museum. Male about 5.5 mm. long; head and thorax black; legs bright ferruginous, marked with black; abdomen black basally and apically, with apical margin of first tergite, second except a median stain, and greater part of third chestnut red. Apical plate red, broadly truncate. Erroneously described under Sphecodes (1905), but transferred to Halictus in 1910. Halictus tatei Cockerell (M.). Mackay, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Female about 5 mm. long; ;thorax black; with the mesothorax green and the tubercles fer- ruginous. Near to H. sphecodoides, but middle tibiae red, and abdomen not black at base, though there is a black spot on each side. Halictus tertius Dalla Torre. Melbourne, V. Also Lake Hattah. This is H. rufipes Smith, pre- occupied. I formerly thought this a synonym of H. bicingulatus, but it has all the femora rufous; pubescence at base of second and third tergites fulvous. See also characters given in the key. Halictus urbanus Smith (M.). Widely distributed, from Champion Bay, W.A., to Port Darwin, N.T., and Sydney to Brisbane. Female with mesothorax peacock-green; abdomen shining; hind spur of hind tibia with three spines. Halictus urbanus baudinensis Cockerell (M.) Baudin I., N.W. (Australia (J. J. Walker). Type in British Museum. Taken on The “Penguin” Expedition. Female about 5 mm. long; tibiae and tarsi, and apical third or fourth of femora, all bright ferruginous; stigma very dark reddish brown. The hind spur has two long spines. Halictus urbanus lomatiae Cockerell (M.). Brisbane, Q. (Hacker). Female with mesothorax peacock-green; scutellum bright blue, highly polished; legs rufotestaceous; flagellum bright ferruginous beneath. Visits Lomatia. COCKERELL. 323 Halictus urbanus stradbrokensis Cockerell (M.). Stradbroke and Bribie Islands, Q@. Larger (female slightly over 6 mm. long), with black legs. Halictus veronicae Cockerell (M.). Sandringham, V. (Rayment). Female about 5.5 mm. long; shining olive-green; male with middle of mandibles, labrum and lower end of clypeus light yellow. The male suggests H. purnongensis, but the head is small, and abdomen green, light red at apex. Halictus victoriae Cockerell (M.). Sandringham, V. (Rayment). Female about 5.5 mm. long; head, thorax and abdomen bluish green, the metathorax almost black, the very short clypeus dark purplish; mesothorax polished, brilliant green, the anterior middle almost steel blue. Halictus victoriellus Cockerell (M.). Sandringham, V. Female a little over 6 mm. long; like H. imitans, but smaller and less robust, with flagellum dull red beneath, mesothorax more shining and finely punctured, stigma testaceous, hind margins of tergites suffused with reddish. The hair of venter is short and not abun- dant (it is abundant in H. imitans). Halictus viridarii Cockerell. National Park, Q. (Hacker). Type in Queensland Museum. Male about 7 mm. long, black, rather stout, with a broad transverse pale yellow band on clypeus; legs black. Resembles H. excusus Ckll., but area of meta- thorax (large, shining apically, covered with fine plicae) and abdomen quite different. The abdomen has patches of greyish hair at lateral bases of second and third tergites; in H. excusus it is without hair-bands or spots. Halictus viridinitens Friese (M.). Sydney, N.S.W. Female 7 to 8 mm. long, shining blue-green. Legs and antennae brown, the flagellum red beneath. Abdomen bluer than thorax. Wings clear. Halictus vitripennis Smith (M.). Champion Bay, W.A., but H. sphecodoides var. mackayensis Friese, from Mackay, Q., is the same. Female with mesothorax very shiny; abdomen red, with only first tergite darkened. The male is described by Rayment in Jn. Roy. Soc. W. Australia, xvii., p. 170. Length about 4.7 mm., face en- tirely covered with cream-coloured appressed small scale-like hairs; clypeus clear fulvous. The female var. a. has the first tergite red, with a trans- verse dark mark. Halictus vividus Smith (M.). Swan River, W.A. I cannot distinguish this from H. floralis Smith. Rayment (Jn. Roy. Soc. W. Australia, xvii., p. 167) treats it as a valid species, and says it is very close to H. victoriae Ckll., but area of meta- thorax is covered with fine striae, without the wide smooth shining rim of H. victoriae. Halictus warburtoni Cockerell. Hobart, Tasmania (J. J. Walker). Type in British Museum. Male about 10 mm. long; black, the pubescence dull white, with some black or dark fuscous on vertex and dorsum of abdomen; clypeus with rather more than anterior half light lemon-yellow. Compared with H. lanarius Sm., 324 THE BEES OF AUSTRALIA. the pubescence is much less abundant; the head, seen from in front, is broader and more triangular; the stigma is much larger; and the area of metathorax is quite different. Halictus waterhousei Cockerell. Woodford, N.S.W. (G. A. Waterhouse). Type in British Museum. Female 10 mm. long; male the same, but more slender, the very long flagellum entirely black. Allied to H. musicus, but with rufo-testaceous tegulae, and the arrangement of hair on thorax, and sculpture of meso- thorax and abdomen different. The anterior wings are suffusedly black- ened at apex. Halictus williamsi Cockerell (M.). Halifax and Babinda, Q. (Williams). Type in Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard. Mesothorax and scutellum dull, yellowish green; meta- thorax dark green, the basal area coarsely plicate, with heavy obtuse margin; femora black, knees, tibiae and tarsi bright ferruginous; abdomen shining black, hind margins of tergites coppery reddish. Length about 5.5 mm. (female). Male hardly 3.5 mm. long, more slender, antennae black, flagellum not very long; no light mark on clypeus. Known from dH. mundulus Ckll. by the dark stigma. Male known from H. hackeriellus Ckll. by the red tibiae, and dull dark front of head. Halictus willsi Cockerell. “New Holland.” Type in British Museum, which received it in 1844. Female about 6 mm. long; black, with dull white pubescence; tegulae shin- ing dark rufous; stigma and nervures rufous; area of metathorax very finely striate; hind spur of hind tibia with a broad, strongly divergent blunt tooth about the end of its first third, and beyond that only a single broad low rounded lamella. For microscopic characters, see Entomologist, 1906, p. 56. Halictus woodsi Cockerell (M.). Cooktown, Q. (Turner). Type in British Museum. Also Port Darwin, N.T. Female about.6.5 mm. long, the head narrower than in H. flindersi. The male (with red tibiae) differs from H. dampieri by the shorter flagellum and bluish abdomen. 325 REVISIONAL NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN THEREVIDAE. By Joun S. MANN. Research Entomologist, Commonwealth Prickly-Pear Board. Part 3. Introduction. Since the publication of the first two parts * of these notes much additional material has been located, but insufficient is available to allow of a complete revision of the family for the present. Of the genera Psilocephala and Belonalys of Group 1 not dealt with previously, the former is considered in the ensuing pages, but the latter has to be left in abeyance pending the recognition of the species; however, it is probably a synonym of Psilocephala. Pseudoloxocera, Oldenbergia and Parapsilocephala of Group 2 were not reviewed formerly. In this part, Oldenbergia is placed as a synonym of the latter, which is fully described. The former genus has not been recognised, but is probably a synonym of Psilocephala. The genus Spatulipalpa, which may belong to either Group has not been recognised, and its affinities cannot be judged from the des- eription given by Krober; therefore it will still have to be left in abeyance. In this, the concluding part of the series, nine species are described as new, five old descriptions are revised and references and notes are given for ten species unknown to the writer. Keys are given for the determination of species of Ectinorrhynchus, Psilocephala and Parapsilocephala. Genus PSILOCEPHALA. Psilocephala Zetterstedt, Ins. Lappon. Dipt., 525, 1838. JId., Dipt. Scand. 1, 19, 1838 (Psilocephala, lapsus); Brunetti, Fauna Brit. India, Vol. 1, 302, 303; Krober, Ent. Mitt. 1., 247, 1912; White, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1915; Mann, Aust. Zool., v., pt. ii., 1928. Small or medium sized stout species with the head subhemispherical or somewhat pyriform, slightly broader than long and slightly broader than the thorax; occiput deeply concave with a median indentation and fur- nished with black bristles and hairs; eyes bare and in the males large and descending well down on to the cheeks, closely approximated below the ocellar tubercle and in the females much smaller in comparison and widely separated; front sometimes with a buibous protuberance above the antennae and mostly with frontal spots, small and triangular in the males and broad in the females; ocellar tubercle more or less triangular, raised and bearing tufts of hair; ocelli three in number and fairly widely separated; antennal tubercle sometimes fairly prominent; antennae shorter than the head and in relation to the anterior margins of the eyes they are inserted at about two-thirds their depth, they project forward and are composed of three primary segments with a two-segmented style (doubtful in P. nitens White) which bears an apical arista; segment 1 is more or less cylindrical; 2 more or less globular and 3, when viewed in profile, broadly conical; face and cheeks small; proboscis and two-segmented palpi small and mostly well re- tracted into the buccal cavity. Thorax slightly longer but deeper than broad, twice as long as the head, more or less convex above, spotted, mottled or striped and bearing a few bristles and hairs; scutellum semicircular and furnished with at least * Part 1, this journal, vol. v., pp. 151-194, Part 2, vol. vi., pp. 17-49. 326 REVISIONAL NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN THEREVIDAE. 2 marginal bristles; postscutellum convex and well hidden beneath the scutellum. Abdomen more or less conical, flattened dorsally and ventrally and silvery pollinose in the males and very much shorter than in the females; genitalia of males large and conspicuous. The legs are of normal length, the tibiae and tarsi being furnished with numerous bristles, but the femora in all species before me are devoid of such. Wings hyaline, tinged or spotted and possibly banded in P. venusta; M3 may be closed near to, at, or well before the border; Cul coalesces with 1A well before the wing margin; R4 joins the border well above the wing tip and this vein is usually curved. M3 may, or may not be complete and reach the wing margin; M1 and M2 may arise together from the medium cell and remain joined for a short distance before branching away. Genotype: Bibio imberis Fln. (Sweden) by Coquillett’s designation, 1910. Brunetti notes that “it would have been better to have selected the well known European ardea F., as genotype.” Range: Europe, Asia, North, Central and South America, North and South Africa, Madagascar, Sokotra and Australasia. Distribution of the Australian species: Of the 12 species described from Australia, six are confined to Tasmania, one to Victoria and three to New South Wales, one species extends from New South Wales into Queensland and one species is uncertain, the locality being given by Krober as Aus- tralia. The wing venation of this genus, unlike that of other genera of the family in Australia, seems to be inconsistent, for species which are other- wise congeneric exhibit a remarkable divergence. In this genus the main character for grouping the genera, as outlined in the first paper of this series,* has broken down and species of Psilocephala could be referred to either group. However, as far as these studies have progressed, this is the only genus where there is any departure from this general principle. The species are apt to become greasy in collections, so that determina- tions can be made on fresh material only. It is important to notice that the variation of the wing venation of tristriata sp. nov. further suggests that Pseudolorocera Krober will even- tually have to be regarded as a synonym of this genus. It is also con- sidered that Belonalys Krober will be placed here when the species are re- cognised and regarding this genus White notes (Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1915) that “the venation of Krober’s genus Belonalys is very similar to that of P. lutea and P. occulta and the genus may belong here.” Key to the species of Psilocephala Zetterstedt. Lees 2) 0) (ime et airs. bh eos 35. 'c 2: Males: 3c. ers 10. 2. Species with large shining black protuberance ‘above the antennae .. ys neetere: tepowecaiest item . aggera sp. nov. Species without such . 3. 3. Large species (more than 6 mm. ‘in 1 length) peer rig. oe 4. Small species .. .. 8. 4. Antennae, front and thorax wholly black, abdomen dark brown, wings mottled black .. .. sh.fis won; tet, Oh, hel ste od ee OCCILILG aWitkte™ Antennae not wholly black . rhs Meret ooo Terieatec oy Ot cake ea aeons 5: * Aust. Zool., v., 1928, 151, MANN. 327 Do VeS turrawed transversely o< Gc euce