THE
PROCKEDINQS
'V ^
LiNNEAN Society
OF
NEW SOUTH WALES.
VOL. X.
FOR THE YEA.R 1895.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED FOR THE SOCIETY
BY
F. CUNNINGHAME & CO., 146 PITT STREET,
AND
SOLD BY THE SOCIETY.
1896.
SYDNEY :
F. CUNNINGHAME AND CO., PKINTERS,
PITT STREET.
' 'Tl^
CONTENTS OF VOL. X.
(SECOITID SEI^IESJ
PART I.
(Issued September 9th, 1895.)
PAGE
On a new Species of Enteropnensta ( Ptychodera australiensis) from
the Coast of New South Wales. By Jas. P. Hill, Demonstrator
of Biology, University of Sydney. (Plates i.-viii.) 1
On a Platypus Einbrya from the Intra-uterine Egg. By Jas. P. Hill,
Demonstrator of Biology, and C. J. Martin, M.B., B.Sc. (Lond.),
Demonstrator of Physiology, in the University of Sydney.
(Plates IX. -xm.) 43
A Review of the Fossil Jaws of the Macropodidce in the Queensland
Museum. By C. W. De Vis, M.A., Corresponding Member.
(Plates XIV. -xviil) 75
Presidential Address. By Professor T. W. E. David, B.A., F.G.S. 134
Description of a Flycatcher, presumably new. By C. W. De Vis,
M.A., Corresponding Member 171
On the Specific Identity of the Australian Peripatus, usually supposed
to be P. leuckarti, Sanger. By J. J. Fletcher ... . . ... 172
Description of Peripatus oviparus. By Arthur Dendy, D.Sc, Pro-
fessor of Biology in the Canterbury College, University of New
Zealand 195
Notes on the Sub- Family Brachyscdiuce, with Descriptions of New
Species. Part iv. By Walter W. Froggatt. (Plate xix.) ... 201
On a Fiddler (Trygonorhina fasciata), with abnormal Pectoral Fins.
By Jas. P. Hill, Demonstrator of "Biology, in the University of
Sydney. (Plate xx.) 206
Office-bearers and Council for 1895 161
Donations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 163
Notes and Exhibits 209
27778
IV. CONTENTS.
PART II.
(Isstied November 18th, 1895.)
PAGE
Oological Notes. By Alfred J. Noeth, F.L.S., Australian Museum,
Sydney 215
Note on the Correct Habitat of Patella (Scutellastra) hermadecensis,
Pilsbry. By T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., Curator of the Auckland
Museum. (Communicated by the Secretary) .. ... ... 221
Descriptions of New Species of Australian Coleoptera, Part ii. By
Arthur M. Lea ... 224
On two new Genera and Species of Fishes from Australia. By J.
Douglas Ogilby. {Communicated by the Secretary) ... ... 320
Life-Histories of Australian Coleoptera. Part iii. By Walter W.
Froggatt 325
A Giant Acacia from the Brunswick River. By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S.
(Plate XXL) 337
Descriptions of some new Araneidce of New South Wales. No. 5.
By W. J. Rainbow. (Plates xxii.-xxiii.) 347
Notes on the Methods of Fertilisation of the Goodeniacece. Part ii.
By Alex. G. Hamilton. (Plate xxiv.) 361
On a new fossil Mammal allied to Hypsiprymnus, but resembling in
some points the Plagiaulacidce. By Robert Broom, M.B.,
C.M.,B.Sc. [Title.] 373
On some new or hitherto little known Land Shells from New Guinea
or adjacent Islands. By C. F. Ancey, Administrateur- Adjoint,
Dra-el-Mizan, Algeria. (Plate xxvi.) (Communicated by C.
Hedley) 374
Plants of New South Wales Illustrated. No. viii. Acacia lanigera,
A. Cunn. By R. T. Baker, F.L.S. Assistant Curator, Techno-
logical Museum, Sydney. (Plate xxvii.) .382
Description of a new Species of Acacia from New South Wales. By
J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S. (Plate xxvm.) 385
Elections and Announcements ,. ... 211,343
Donations 211, 343
Notes and Exhibits 341
CONTENTS. • V.
PART III.
(Isstied January 3Ut, 1806.)
PAGE
Anthropological Notes. By Richd. Helms. (Communkated hy the
Secretary). (Plates xxix.-xxx.) 387
kvLstrAmn Termitid(B. Parti. By Walter W. Frogoatt 415
Meliola amphitricha, Fries. By D. McAlpixe. (Communicated hy
J. H. Maiden). (Plate xxxi. Figs. 1-5) 439
Notes on Uromyces amygdali, Cooke: A Synonym of Puccinia pruni,
Pers., (Prune Rust). By D. McAlpine. (Communicated hy J.
H. Maiden). (Plates xxxi. [lower division], xxxii.. xxxiii.) ... 440
Puccinia on Groundsel, with Trimorphic Teleutospores. By D.
McAlpine. (Communicated hy J. H. Maiden). (Plates xxxiv.-
xxxvi.) 461
On a New Species of Ekeocarpus from Northern New South Wales.
By J. H. MaidExX, F.L.S., and R. T. Barker, F.L.S. (Plate
XXXVII.) 469
New Species of Cone from the Solomon Islands. By J. Brazier,
F.L.S., C.M.Z.S 471
On the Homology of the Palatine Process of the Mammalian Premax-
illary. By R. Broom, M.B., CM., B.Sc 477
The Silurian Trilobites of New South Wales, with References to
those of other Parts of Australia. By R. Etheridge, Junr.,
Curator of the Australian Museum — and John Mitchell, Public
School, Narellan. Part iii. The Phacopidce. (Plates xxxviii.-
XL.) 486
Botanical Notes from the Technological Museum. By J. H. Maiden,
F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S. No. iv. (Plates xli.-xlii.) ... 512
Catalogue of the Described Coleoptera of Australia. Supplement,
Part I. Cicindelidce and Carahidce. By George Masters.*
Elections and Announcements ... ... ... ... ... 411, 474
Donations 411, 474
Notes and Exhibits 409,472
PART lY.
(Issued April 29th, 1896 )
PAGE
Notes on C2ca(:/a.s. By Walter W. Froggatt 526
On the Dates of Publication of the Early Volumes of the Society's
Proceedings. By J. J. Fletcher 533
* Issued separately as a Supplement to the Part (the pagination of the Catalogue being
continued).
VI. CONTENTS.
PART. IV. (continued).
PAGE
Description of a Tree Creeper, presumably new. By C. W. De Vis,
M.A., Corr. Member. [Title] 536
The Grey Gum of the North Coast Districts (Eucalyptus p7-opinqua,
sp.nov.) By Henry Deane, M.A , F.L.S., and J. H. Maiden,
F.L.S. (Plate XLiii.) 541
Jottings from the Biological Laboratory of Sydney University. By
Professor William A. Haswell, M.A., D.Sc. No. 18. — Note
on Certain Points in the Arrangement and Structure of the
Ter\ta,cnlUerous hohes in Nautilus pompilius (Plate xlviii.) ... 544
On the Occurrence of Diatomaceous Earth at the Warrumbungle
Mountains, N.S.W. By Professor T. W. Edgewokth David,
B.A., F.G.S. [Title] 548
On some Developments of the Mammalian Prenasal Cartilage. By R.
Broom, M.D., B.Sc. (Plate xliv.) 555
On a small Fossil Marsupial with large Grooved Premolars. By R.
Broom, M.D,, B.Sc. (Plates xxv. and xlv. ) 563
On a small Fossil Marsupial allied to Petaurus. By R. Broom,
M.D.,B.Sc. (Plate XLVi.) 568
On the Organ of Jacobson in an Australian Bat (Miniopteims). By
R. Broom, M.D., B.Sc. (Plate xlvii.) 571
Note on the Period of Gestation in Echidna. By R. Broom, M.D.,
B.Sc 576
Preliminary Note on the Occurrence of a Placental Connection in
Perameles ohesula, and on the Foetal Membranes of certain
Macropods. By Jas. P. Hill, Demonstrator of Biology in the
University of Sydney. (Plate xlix.) .. 578
Descriptions of some New Species of Plants from New South Wales.
By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S. (Plates
L.-Liii.) 582
Observations on the Eucalypts of New South Wales. Part i.— By
Henry Deane, M.A., F.L.S., and J. H. Maiden, F.L.S.
(Plates Liv.-LVii.) 596
Stray Notes on Papuan Ethnology. By C. Hedley, F.L.S.
(Plate Lvm.) 613
Presidential Address. By Henry Deane, M. A., F.L.S 619
Office-bearers and Council for 1896 668
Elections and Announcements and Donations 522, 538, 551
Notes and Exhibits 519,537,549,618
CORRIGENDA.
Page 78, ia the last two lines — read 0. frenata and P. peniciUata.
Page 84, line 27 — insert m. i between nip. ^ and m. 2
Page 85, line 15 — add ; of the entire series of cheek teeth 98*5 (1).
Page 87, line 26— /or premolars read the left premolar.
Page 88, line 4 — for A second example, hinder portion, &c., read A second
example — Hinder portion, &c.
Page 89, line 15 — for orcas read oreas.
Page 93, line 4 — after young add Cast of portion of a right maxilla with
m.a m.i (10223); adult.
Page 94, line 5 — The word but at the end of the line should have been
omitted.
Page 99, lines 17, 29 and 31 — for P. 4= read in each case P.*
Page 100, line 2— for PA read PT
Page 107, line 35— for lightly read slightly.
Page 467, line 18 — for Puccini pruni read Puccinia pi-imi.
LIST OF FLA.TES.
VOL. X.
(second series).
Plates I. -\iu.—^Ptychodera australiensis, Hill.
Plates IX. -XIII. — Platypus Embryo from the Intra-uterine Egg.
Plates XIV. -XVIII. — Fossil Jaws of the Macropodidce.
Plate XIX.— Brachyscelid Galls.
Plate XX. — Trygonorhina fanciata with abnormal Pectoral Fins.
Plate XXI. — Acacia, Baheri, Maiden.
Plates XXII. -XXIII. — Australian Spiders ( Nephihi Fletcher i, N. Edwardsi,
and N. ventricosa).
Plate XXIV. — Fertilisation of the Goodeniaceoe.
Plates XXV. and XLV. — A Fossil Marsupial ( Burr amy s parvus, Broom).
Plate XXVI. — New Land Shells from New Guinea.
Plate XXVII. — Acacia lanigera, A. Cunn.
Plate XXVIII.— ^cacici piimila. Maiden et Baker.
Plate XXIX. — Aboriginal Stone Implements.
Plate XXX. — Aboriginal Grave.
Plate XXXI. (upper division)— J/e/?'o^a amphitricha, Fries.
Plate XXXI. (lower division)-xxxiii. — Prune Unst ( Pucci7iia pruni, Pers.)
Plates xxxiv.-xxxvi. — Puccinia on Groundsel.
Plate xxxvii. — Ekmcarpus Baeuerleni, Maiden et Baker.
Plates xxxviii. -XL.— Silurian Trilobites of New South Wales.
Plates XLi.-XLii.—A'?3^ocaZ2/a; Moorei, Oliv., and Cryptocarya niicroneura,
Meissn.
Plate XLiii. — Eucalyptus propinqua, Deane et Maiden.
Plate XLiv. — The Prenasal Cartilage of certain Mammals.
Plates XLV. and xxv. — A Fossil Marsupial (Burraniys parvus, Broom).
Plate XLVI. — Palceopetaurus elegans. Brown.
Plate XLVii.— The Organ of Jacobson in Miniopterus.
Plate XLViii. — Tentaculiferous Lobes of Nautilus pompilius.
Plate XLix. — Foetal Bandicoot (Perameles ohesida) showing a Placental
Connection.
Plate L.-Liii. — New Species of Plants from New South Wales.
Plates Liv.-LVii. — Eucalypts of New South Wales.
Plate LViii. — Papuan Carving and Basket.
:E>EOCEEIDIlsrG-S
LINNEAN SOCIETY
3STE-\;^r SOTTTH â– ^T^.-a^XjES.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28th, 1894, Continued.
ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA ( PTYC NO-
DE R A AUSTRALIEFSIS) FROM THE COAST
OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
By Jas. p. Hill, Demonstrator of Biology, University of
Sydney.
(Plates I. -VIII.)
In a preliminary note communicated to this Society in Septem-
ber of last year I recorded the discovery of a species of Enteroj^-
neust at two widel}' sejDarated localities on the coast of New South
Wales, viz., at the ocean beach nearly opposite that part of
Broken Bay known as Creel Ba}', and also at Jervis Bay. Since
the publication of the preliminary note I have found the same
species on the beach nearly opposite Newport, N.S.W., and it may
thus be looked for along the whole coast line of New South
Wales. An examination of the form has shown that it is a new
species belonging to the genus Ptychodera, and since it is the first
A ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
recorded from Australia, I jiropose for it the specific name
anstraliensis.
The pubKcation of Spengel's beautiful Monograph on the
Enteropneusta"^ has rendered it unnecessary for me to enter into
details of histology and the like, and also I do not propose, in
this paper, to enter into the much discussed question of the
affinities of the group. In the description, then, only points of
specific difference are insisted on. I have adopted, generally, the
terms proposed by Spengel, and my indebtedness to his mono-
graph will be readily apparent from the sequel.
The species occurs in considerable abundance in a rocky corner
of the ocean beach nearly opposite Creel Bay and a little to the
south of the well known Hole in the Wall. Since the discovery
of the species there in August of last year I have made two
subsequent expeditions to the locality for further supplies of
material, once in January and again in May of this year, and
only on my last visit did I succeed in finding sexualty mature
individuals, so that the breeding season may, approximately, be
given as the end of autumn.
During my visit to the locality I was very kindly accommodated
by Mr. Chas. Hastie, of Creel Bay, and I must here take the
opportunity of expressing my thanks to him for this kindness,
and also to his family for much help in collecting specimens.
Further, I must again acknowledge my indebtedness to Herr W.
Musmann for much assistance with the literature.
Mode op Occurrence and External Characters.
Like the other species of the genus Ptychodera, Pt. australiensis
is littoral and confined to very shallow water. It is found, at low
water, most abundantly in the loose gravelly sand at the bottom
of the shallow pools, and especially in such sheltered situations as
the gravelly sand under and around the large stones occup3dng
the area included between high tide and half tide marks, very
few specimens (if any) being found close to the low water mark.
* Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel. xvii. Monographic : Enterop-
neusten, von Dr. J. W. Spengel.
BY JAS. P. HILL. 6
The largest specimen found during my last collecting trip in
May was a sexuall}'' mature male, measuring, in the living condi-
tion and when only very moderately extended, about 12 cm. in
length with a breadth in the tail region of 7 '25 mm. In August
of last year, I found another large specimen which measured in
the contracted condition about 18 cm. In the fully extended
condition, this specimen, now in the teaching collection of the
Biological Department of 83Tlney University, reached a length of
over 25 cm. The majority of the animals were, however, very
much shorter and thinner. They are capaljle of very considerable
extension; for examj^le, one specimen w^hose tail region had a
transverse breadth of only 1*75 mm. reached in the fully extended
condition a length of 11*7 cm.
Proboscis : The proboscis is relatively short like that of Ft.
iiiiniUa and Ft. sarniensis. It varies in shape and length during
life; when the animal is progressing it is more or less elongated,
and when at rest generally somewhat egg-shaped, the latter being
the shape it almost invariably takes when the animals are
preserved in chrom-osmic acid. The proboscis of the first large
specimen referred to above had a length of about 1 mm. in the
living condition.
Collar: In the living animals the surface of the collar is smooth
and in them, as well as in preserved specimens, it can readily be
divided into the five characteristic regions (fig. 1). The first region
includes slightly more than the anterior half of the collar, and is
formed by the anterior free part of the latter. It spreads out
anteriorly, investing the neck and base of the proboscis like a
frill with margins crinkled as well during life as in preserved
specimens. Behind the frill-like anterior region the collar is
strongly contracted to form a well marked circular groove — the
second region [figs. 1 and 15 (2)] — the anterior margin of which
lies immediately above the mouth aperture. This groove is
slightly more marked on the ventral side than on the dorsal.
The groove is followed by a prominent circular cushion of a
lighter colour forming the third region [figs. 1 and 15 (3)]. Behind
4 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
this is found the t3^j)ical ring furrow forming the fourth region
[figs. 1 and 15 (4)], and this is separated from the trunk by a
narrow projecting circular rim— the fifth region — which forms the
posterior boundary of the collar, and is somew^hat wider than the
succeeding trunk section. The collar may reach a length of
9 mm. with a transverse breadth in the third region of 9 mm.
also, so that in the living animal the collar may l)e said to be
aliout as broad as long, but in preserved specimens the transverse
breadth, owing to the strong contraction of the longitudinal collar
musculature, considerably exceeds the length, and also the ventral
length slightly exceeds the dorsal.
Trunk.
( 1 ) Branchio genital Region; This region may reach a length
of from 36 to 40 mm. and a breadth of 7 mm. PL australiensis
is especially characterised by the great development of the genital
wings — the duplications of the dorso-lateral regions of the body in
which the gonads are situated — and in this respect the species is
to be associated with Pt. aperta, clavigera, gigas, and aurantiaca,
in Spengel's provisional genus Tauroglossus. The anterior ends
of the wings are continuous with the posterior rim of the collar,
and immediately behind the latter their free edges may either
slightly overlap each other or they may be infolded, and the wings
then are in contact in the median line by their outer surfaces.
The wings continue posteriorly in this condition and reach their
maximum size somewhat posterior to the gill region. This con-
dition is retained, in a slightly varying degree in different
individuals, to within a short distance of the most anterior
liver sacs, which are more or less completely hidden from view by
the wings. Beyond this point the wings decrease raj^idly in size
and form two ridges lying at first laterally to the liver sacs but
which are finally covered by the outer overhanging ends of the
laro-er liver sacs (fig. 24, gw.), and which disappear altogether in
the posterior part of the hepatic region.
When the wings have the position just described no part of
the gill area is visible externally, and the most anterior small liver
BY J AS. P. HILL.
sacs are also concealed from view. The gonads in sexually
mature animals are found in the wings almost immediately behind
the posterior rim of the collar, and they extend in the ridges far
into the hepatic region. In sexually mature individuals the gonads
may distend the genital wings to such a degree that they stand
out almost horizontally to the body (fig. 23, giv.) and leave the
gill area exposed, but the usual condition is the one first descril)ed
where the gill area is completely concealed.
The gill area may reach a length of 15 mm., and is thus
relatively very short. It is broadest just behind the collar, and
narrows slightly posteriorly; laterally it is bounded by two longi-
tudinal grooves which become gradually shallower posteriorly and
terminate at the end of the gill area. Into these the gill pores
open.
(2) Hepatic Region: varies in length according to the
size and age of the animal. In one of my largest preserved
specimens it measured over 20 mm. in length with about 50 liver
sacs on each side. The number of sacs averages between 40 and
50 on each side, but there ma}^ be as many as 60. In fully
extended animals the liver sacs present a distinctly paired
arrangement in two longitudinal rows. They begin as small
elevations in contact with each other, and covered by the genital
wings; posteriorly they gradually' increase in size, and attain
their maximum development just beyond the point where the
genital wings are reduced to ridges. Behind this the sacs
gradually decrease in size to the posterior end of the region,
finally l^eing represented by two rows of small tubercles which
become gradually reduced until they disappear altogether. Each
«ac arises by a narrow^ base which widens out into an antero-
posteriorly compressed end, which in the region of the larger sacs
overhangs the reduced genital wings. The form of the sac in this
region is shown in fig. 24, hep.
Variation in Hepatic Region. The sacs are
usually in close contact with each other by their anterior and
posterior faces, but occasionally some of the c?eca present the
6 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
appearance as if they were pressed out of position and overhang-
the sides of the body more than the others, giving the rows
a sHghtly irregular appearance. I have also met with two
specimens in which as a further result of displacement two
rows of alternating sacs were formed on each side in the middle
part of the hepatic region. Both these specimens had lust
the whole of the body anterior to the liver sacs, and a new
proboscis was in course of formation at the anterior end of the
hepatic region. In a third specimen the sacs were normal in
arrangement up to the larger sacs, but the succeeding sacs
presented a very irregular appearance, forming two lateral masses,
composed of irregularly arranged sacs, on either side of the dorsal
median line, and not showing the alternation of the sacs seen in
the other two specimens. It might be that this irregularity in
the result of regeneration of the posterior part of the l^ody.
(3) Tail Region: varies greatly in length in different
individuals, but is usually about three times as long as the hepatic
region. Its outline varies according as it is empty or full of
sand; in the former case it is flattened, and in the latter more or
less tulailar.
The median dorsal line in preserved specimens is occupied by a
dark ridge extending to the posterior end of the body, and
marking the position of the dorsal nerve stem; on the ventral side
the ventral nerve stem occupies the bottom of a shallow longitu-
dinal groove. The tail region in this species is especially
characterised by the presence of two dorsally situated longitudinal
epidermal stripes (fig. 2) running parallel with the dorsal nerve
stem and at a short distance from it. Appearing in the hepatic
region just external to the posterior small liver sacs they extend
over about the anterior two-thirds of the tail region, and are
situated immediately above the ciliated grooves of the intestine.
The epidermal stripes can be distinctly seen not only in preserved
specimens but also in the living animal. Indeed, I observed and
fif^ured them in the latter before I knew of the existence of the
two ciliated grooves in the intestine. The two epidermal stripes
appear as two longitudinal interruptions of the island-like groups
BY JAS. P. HILL. 7
of epidermal gland cells. The groups occupying the dorsal surface
of the body extend between the upper margin of the epidermal
stripe and the dorsal median line, while those occupying the
^â– entro-lateral regions of the body terminate on its lower margin.
According to Spengel, a similar epidermal stripe exists in Pt.
minuta, but in correspondence with the single ciliated groove on
the left side, only on that side, so that the presence of two
epidermal stripes in PL australieiisis may be taken as a character
of specific value.
Behind the termination of the epidermal stripes the tail region
l)ecomes gradually somewhat narrower to its posterior end, in
which is situated the terminal anus of varying outline.
Colouration: The sexually mature males and females can
very easily be distinguished from each other by their different
colouration. In both sexes the proboscis is of a light yellow
colour, while the collar is of a slightly deeper yellow. In the
males the testes are of a very deep yellow colour, or less frequently
in some individuals of a deep orange. In the females the ovaries
are of a very light yellow or almost whitish colour. The females
are on the whole of a lighter colour than the males.
The most anterior liver sacs are of a brownish colour which
passes posteriori}' into slaty green, and this again into a deep
lirown in the region of the larger cteca, this brown colour being-
retained more or less completely in preserved specimens, while the
other sacs lose their colour entirely. Posteriorly the sacs again
assume a slaty green tinge. The tail region is whitish in colour
and its walls transparent, readily allowing the sand particles in
the intestine to show through.
This species is destitute of any odour. Incidentally it ma}'- be
here mentioned that a large proportion of the individuals of this
species are infested by a parasitic C^opepod belonging to the genus
Ives of Mayer, "^ but whether it is identical with the single
member of the genus hitherto described, Ives balanoglossi, I am
* Ein neuer parasitischer Copepode. Mitth. Zool. Stn. Neap. Bd. i. p.
515.
b ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
as yet in doubt. The large female with its attendant small males
is usually found in a very prominent tubular enlargment of a part
of the free edge of one of the genital wings.
Anatomy.
Proboscis : The epidermis of the proboscis (fig. 5, e^;.) is some-
w^iat thicker than in the case of Pt. minuta measuring '11 mm.
It is separated from the underlying musculature by the limiting
membrane, composed of two layers, the outer attached to the
nerve fibre layer of the epidermis, the inner to the circular
muscular layer. Between these two layers run the capillaries of
the vascular net of the proboscis (fig. 5, cup.). Below the limiting-
membrane is the thin layer of circulai- muscle fibres, also some-
what thicker than in the case of Pt. minuta, ^'iz., •023 mm. The
circular muscular layer gradually l)ecomes thinner towards the
neck of the proboscis, and finally thins out altogether. The
delicate membrane limiting the circular muscular layer internally
can readily be recognised especially in horizontal sections. On
the inner side of the membrane, and at a little distance from it,
there is an irregular cell layer, the nuclei of which are very
distinct in h^ematoxylin preparations.
From the outer side of this limiting membrane there pass
through the circular muscular la3^er numerous fine fibres to the
inner layer of the limiting membrane of the proboscis, while on
its inner side the fibres of the longitudinal musculature are
inserted.
Tlie fibres of the longitudinal musculature are related in their
mode of origin from the prol^oscis base and in their course from
there exactly as in Pt. minuta, and they show^ the same separation
in preserved specimens into radial masses (fig. 5, Im.). The
muscle fibres are embedded in a very fine connective tissue which
anterior to the j^roboscis organs occupies the central region of the
proboscis, muscle fibres being there absent. The connective tissue
here presents a spongy appearance with a few very small nuclei
.situated in the course of the connecting strands or in the angles
between the meshes. The splanchnic epithelium of the proboscis
BY JAS. P. HILL. y
CMvlom (figs -i, 6, 7, 8, sp.) is related exactly as in the desciibed
species. It appears, in my prepai-ations, when it comes to lie
directly on the sides of the proboscis gut as a deeply staining
layer with dark staining nuclei in its middle region (fig. 7, sp.),
the cell l^odies of which are not recognisable. On the surface of
the glomerulus it presents essentially the same appearance of a
deeply staining granular layer with numerous dark staining nuclei
on its inner face (fig. 6, sp.).
On the outer side of the splanchnic epithelium there is a layer
of tissue of a spongy appearance (figs. 6 and 7, ct.) which is
directly continuous both above and below with the fine connective
tissue of the proboscis coelom (fig. 4, ct.). This layer corresponds
to the characteristic layer described by Spengel-'' on the surface
of the glomerulus in Ft. sarniensis, and which he considers as
the inner limiting layer of the connective tissue of the proboscis.
Round the central proboscis organs there is always in sections, as
in the described species, a space free from connective tissue and
representing the proboscis cc^lom (figs. 5 and 8, phc). Posteriorly
towards the proboscis neck the proboscis coelom is divided, as in
the other species, on the dorsal side through the heart bladder
into two dorsal proboscis pockets (fig. 9, c/p.), and on the ventral
side through the ventral septum into two smaller ventral pro-
boscis pockets (fig. 9, vp.). The ventral septum (figs. 3-5, 8, vp)s.)
has in this species anterior and posterior free edges which run
obliquely backwards, w^hile its dorsal and ventral edges are
attached to the proboscis gut and the outer wall of the proboscis
respectively so that the septum is here four-sided and not
triangular as in Ft. ininuta. In its structure it is essentially
similar to that of Ft. minuta. It consists of a central membrane
carrying blood vessels, on either side" of which there is a laj^er of
muscle fibres — the ventral portion of the fibres of the dorso- ventral
muscle plate; on the dorsal side, the fibres of the same plate caii
be distinctly recognised on the lateral walls of the heart bladder,
below the splanchnic epithelium (figs. 3 and 5, else).
" Loc. dt. p. 101.
>.
& » 1-:
10
ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
The splanchnic epithelium continues on the surface of the
ventral septum which, as Spengel has shown, represents a median
fold of the ventral proboscis wall, and is connected at intervals
with the limiting membrane of the epidermis. The two ventral
l^roboscis pockets separated from each other by the ventral septum
are usually filled by a loose connective tissue; however, in some
cases, a distinct space bounded by this tissue may appear (fig. 12,
vp.) Behind the posterior free edge of the septum the ventral
pockets unite to form the ventral unpaired portion of the proboscis
ccelom.
Exceptionally two folds may arise from the limiting membrane
of the epidermis to form the proboscis septum; the two folds
enclosing a median pocket between them unite with each other
along the mid-ventral line of the proboscis gut. Further pos-
teriorly the point of union of the two folds gradually passes
ventrally until the median pocket is obliterated, and the septum
assumes the normal condition. On the dorsal side the two
proboscis pockets separated by the heart bladder are in different
individuals of this species very varied in their relations. The
proboscis pore may be single or double, and occupy a median
position or it may be single and situated on the right side of the
median line.
(a) In the majority of individuals the proboscis pore occupies a
median position (fig. 12, p.) and it may then be formed in three
ways — , 1 ) The two dorsal proboscis pockets may unite with each
other behind the heart bladder to form a single median proboscis
canal which opens by the median proboscis pore; (2) the left
pocket alone may form a proboscis canal, the right ending blindly;
(3) the right pocket may form the canal, the left ending blindly.
{h) There may be two proboscis pores, the two dorsal pockets
giving rise to two proboscis canals (fig. 10, pc.) which both open
to the exterior (fig. 11, p.).
(c) The proboscis pore may be single and open on the right
side; in this case the left pocket ends blindly while the right
continues posteriorly, taking an almost median position above the
BY .TAS. P. HILL. 11
heart bladder to form the proljoscis canal which opens on the
right side.
With regard to the ])ehaviour of the dorsal proboscis pockets,
Pt. australiensis appears to Vje the most variable of all the
Enteropneusts hitherto descril^ed.
N to chord (Eichel-darm of Spengel) : In shape the notochord
of this species essentially resembles that of Pt. minuta. Imme-
diately anterior to the point of opening of the lumen of the
notochord into the mouth or throat cavity, its narrow neck portion
is dorso-ventrally compressed, wdth a convex dorsal wall and a
concave thin ^^entral wall composed of a single layer of low
columnar cells resting on the proboscis skeleton (fig. 16, div.).
Anteriorly in the region of the proboscis neck the neck portion of
the notochord is not so much dorso-ventrally compressed, but
somewhat higher and with a more or less triangular lumen. The
dorsal wall of the neck portion of the notochord is very much
thicker than the ventral and is composed of long narrow epithelial
cells which radiate outwards from the lumen and have central
generally narrow rod-like nuclei. Between these elongated cells
there occur numerous clear oval bladders which Spengel well
regards as the secretory holders of gland cells. Some appear quite
empty, others again show a network in their interior similar to
that in the epidermal mucous glands and which stains in the same
diffuse manner. They thus conform, as Spengel has shown, to the
structure of the "goblet cells;" on the ventral side where the wall
is composed of a single layer of columnar cells, these gland cells
are entirely absent. The neck portion of the notochord is thus
distinctly epithelial in character.
Anteriorly the dorsal wall increases considerably in thickness,
while the cells of the ventral wall lose their distinctly columnar
quality. They become longer and narrower, gland cells appear
between them, and they finally pass over into the chorda-like
tissue forming the wall of the ventral l:)lind sac of the notochord.
The lumen of the notochord extends obliquely downwards into
the venti-al blind sac (fig. 14), then in this the lumen extends
\^ LIBRARY
12 ox A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPXEUSTA,
transversely outwards, reaucing the lateral walls of the blind sac
to a thin layer, m hile the hind and middle portions of the wall
are somewhat thicker, as in Ft. minuta. From the transverse
lumen of the blind sac there passes forwards laterally a short horn
on each side (fig. 9, lh.)\ a section passing through the proboscis
neck just anterior to the passing down of the ventral blind sac
lumen thus shows three cavities in the notochord (fig. 9), two ventro-
lateral belonging to the horns of the ventral blind sac lumen and
a median situated near to the dorsal side of the notochord, the
main notochordal lumen now considerably reduced in size and with
numerous gland cells opening into it. Anteriorly the lumen
comes to occupy a more nearly central position (fig. S, div.)\ it
finally becomes reduced to a narrow slit (fig. 4, div.), which can
be traced to a slightly varying distance from the apex of the
notochord (fig. 14, div.). The lumen varies somewhat in position
and shape in different individuals, being in some situated nearer
the dorsal side, in others nearer the ventral side of the notochord;
its outline also varies — it may l)e circular or form a narrow
vertical or horizontal cleft. The lumen in this species has on the
whole a more median position than in Ft. minuta , and con-
sequently the dorsal and ventral walls are more nearly equal in
thickness. In fig. 14 the lumen of the notochord is represented
somewdiat diagrammatically as a continuous wide canal, but as in
Ft, minuta it is interrupted by occasional bridges of tissue, and
also as in that species the dorsal wall of the lumen is smooth,
Avhile into the ventral there project short processes of the lumen
(fig. 14, div.). AVith the exception of the anterior part of the
lumen numerous gland cells open into it, testifying to the epithe-
lial nature of the whole structure. Numerous gland cells exist in
the dorsal wall of the neck portion of the notochord and they
extend for a considerable distance into the head region, l^eing
specially abundant round the part of the lumen situated just
anterior to the point of origin of the ventral ])lind sac lumen.
The lumen is, in some jDreparations, almost filled up by a diffusely
staining network, apparently derived from the secretion of the
gland cells opening into it. Numerous elongated cells, between
BY .IAS. P. HILL. 13
which the gland cells are situated, radiate outwards from the
lumen. They have elongated, rod-like nuclei situated at about
their middle region, and on the dorsal side their outer ends come
into connection with processes from an irregular layer with
rounded nuclei situated immediately below the limiting membrane
of the notochord. On the ventral side the passing over of these
distinct epithelial cells into the chorda-like tissue can be distinctly
recognised (figs. 9 and 12, dv.).
In correspondence with the widely diverging legs of the proboscis
skeleton the opening of the j^roboscis gut lumen into the mouth
cavity, at first narrow, ])ecomes eventually a very wide transverse
opening, in the anterior part of the mouth cavity. I have also
encountered in the proboscis gut the yellow granules which
Spengel regards as excretions.
Proboscis Skeleton: it consists, as in the described
species, of a main body, a keel-like ventral portion, and two
posterior diverging legs (fig. 1-3). The anterior portion of the
body is formed by the funnel-like " end plate " which invests the
ventro-lateral regions of the ventral blind sac of the notochord.
The lateral edges of this plate extend somewhat in front of the
ventral, so that they appear first in sections as two thin plates
investing the lateral faces of the blind sac (fig. 9, eps.). The
anterior " end plate " gradually narrows posteriorly, its dorsal
edges unite with each other in the median line, and it jDasses into
the body proper. By the union of the dorsal edges of the " end
plate " there is sometimes formed a blind canal continuing foi- a
short distance into the bod}^ proper, and occupied by a prolonga-
tion of the " chorda-like tissue " of the hind wall of the ventral
blind sac. The " keel " first appears at a short distance behind
the anterior edge of the " end plate " in the form of a small
V-shaped structure with widely divaricated legs. It is separated
from the end plate by a thin Imnd of " chondroid tissue." Then
gradually the ventral apex of the keel thickens and gives rise to
a distinct ventrally projecting tooth-like portion, the keel now
having in section the form of a Y (fig. 10, kps.). The " body "
has at first a semilunar outline, with the flat side immediately
14 ox A NEW SPECIES OF EXTEROPNEUSTA,
{tdjoining the ventral wall of the neck of the notochord and the
curved side above the divaricated legs of the Y-shaped " keel."
At this point there passes in the " chondroid tissue " between the
" body " and "keel" a vessel connecting the two efferent proboscis
vessels (fig. 10, cv.) Immediately behind this vessel the " body "
becomes triangular in outline and its apex gradually approaches
and finally fuses with the median portion of the "• keel " betw^een
its divaricated legs which now give rise to two lateral " wings."
Anterior to and at the point of fusion the body is much stouter
than the keel, the " wings " of the latter only projecting a very
little beyond the lateral surfaces of the body, but posterior to this
the body gradually decreases in breadth and also in height, while
the keel thickens greatly, forming in transverse sections much the
Inofger half of the whole structure. The "wings" of the "keel "
at the same time reach a greater lateral extension and form two
distinct lateral projections below the middle region of the body
when the entire skeleton is viewed from above (fig. 13). Poste-
riorly the wings become gradually smaller and finally disappear,
while the body becomes reduced to a narrow somewhat convex
plate separated from the keel by two small vertical half moon-
shaped masses with their convex faces touching each other.
These are the first indications of the two " legs," and for them
Spengel adopts Bateson's term " nuclei." After the first appear-
ance of the " nuclei " the keel gradually becomes reduced in size,
the "nuclei" at the same time becoming larger and more distinct.
The place where the "nuclei" first touch in the middle line corre-
sponds, as Spengel has shown, to the most anterior point the
opening of the notochordal lumen into the mouth cavity has
occupied. In transverse section the proboscis skeleton has, just
after the proboscis neck has fused with tlie collar, a triangular
shape, but gradually as the "keel" is reduced in size and the
" nuclei " ))ecome larger and more distinct, the shape becomes
quadrangular and the skeleton then consists of a dorsal plate,
representing a continuation of the " body " and derived from the
notochord, a middle portion formed ]:)y the two semilunar
"nuclei" derived from the throat epithelium, and a ventral plate
BY J AS. P. HILL. 15
thicker in the middle — the continuation of the " keel " — derived
also from the throat epithelium as the opening of the notochordal
lumen gradually moved posteriorly (fig. 16, Ips'.). Towards the
posterior end of the skeleton the "keel" disappears entirely, tlie
two " nuclei " separate from each other ventrally, and the
epithelium of the throat extends up into the cleft between them.
The continuation of tlie body lying above the nuclei then thins
out, and the "nuclei" separate completely from each other, giving
rise to the " legs " proper which lie under a fold of the throat
epithelium. The "legs" may pass out at once almost transversely,
or they ma}- diverge more gradually in different individuals.
They terminate considerably in front of the middle region of the
collar.
The proboscis skeleton is composed of a cuticular substance
which shows in this species a very distinct stratification, indicat-
ing the mode of origin of the mass by the deposition of successive
la3'ers, and the direction of these layers indicates very clearly
from what source they are derived. As Spengel has shown, the
"end plate" is derived from the ventral blind sac of the notochord,
while the " body" is derived from the neck of the same. The
" keel " on the other hand is formed from the epidermis of the
proboscis neck, and its posterior continuation from the epithelium
of the throat.
In this species the " end plate " and the anterior portion of the
" body " are separated from the keel by chondroid tissue, and the
direction of the lines of stratification in these parts indicates
clearly enough their distinct origin. The relations of the skeleton
to the limiting membranes are essentially those of the described
species. The l^ody passes over at its edges into the limiting
membrane of the notochord, while the wings of the keel pass
over into that of the epidermis.
In the proboscis skeleton of this si3ecies there occur a few
small oval cells with non-staining cell bodies and deeply staining
small nuclei. They are situated between the layers of stratifica-
tion. Such cells occur in the proboscis skeleton of Pt. clavigera,
yiyas and aurantiaca, and with Spengel I believe they are cells
16 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
which have become enclosed during the formation of the skeleton,
and not cells which have immigrated later.
" Chondroid tissue^'': As in the genus Ptychodera generally the
" chondroid tissue " of the proboscis neck is not greatly developed,
and the cell strands appearing generally in transverse sections as
small isolated masses are derived as Spengel has shown mainly
from the epithelium of the proboscis pockets. As in Pt. clavigera
a band of " chondroid tissue " continuous with the lateral tissue
is present between the "end plate" and "keel" of the proboscis
skeleton. The cell strands of this ventral portion are very richly
developed, and are derived from the epithelial cells lining the ventral
proboscis pockets and behind the posterior edge of the proboscis
septum from the continuation of the same epithelial cells lining
the ventral unpaired portion of the proboscis coelom.
Heart-bladder : The heart-bladder is esentially similar in its
general relations to that of Pt. minitta. It is a completely closed
sac, having no connection either with the vascular system or with
the proboscis coelom. On its lateral walls the muscle fibres
belonging to the dorso-ventral muscle plate are very well marked
(fig. 5, dsc), but as in the other species of the genus they do not
possess a musculature of their own. On the ventral wall there is
present as in the described species a very distinct single layer of
transverse muscle fibres which, so far as I have observed, are
entirely confined to this wall. In this species the ventral wall of
the heart-bladder is infolded into the cavity of the bladder in a
very characteristic manner. In its posterior part the central
blood space of the proboscis is a transverse cleft between the
ventral wall of the heart-bladder and the proboscis gut just as in
the species previously described, and varies in size according as it
is filled with blood or empty. In its anterior region, however,
the ventral wall of the heart-bladder is infolded into the cavity
of the bladder along the median line so as to give rise to a tubular
cavity which communicates with the central blood space by a
narrow longitudinal slit (fig. 4, ivic). Then posteriorly to the
infolding by the gradual receding of the two edges of the slit, the
BY JAS. P. HILL. 17
tubular cavit}'^ merges gradually into that of the central blood
space. Anteriorl}^, however, the anterior end of the tubular
infolding projects towards the end of the heart-bladder as a short
free blind sac Avhicli extends into the cavity of the heart-bladder
beyond the anterior end of the longitudinal slit placing the
tubular cavity in communication with the proper cavity of the
central blood space. Consequently in a series of transverse
section this free end first appears as an apparently isolated cavity
with muscular walls lying in the cavity of the heart-bladder and
quite independent of its ventral wall (fig. 3, ivio.).
The onl}^ parallel for this condition in other Enteropneusts
appears to exist in Balanof/Jossus canadensis, which, according to
Spengel, possesses a similar infolding of the heart-bladder wall,
although it is still more complicated in other respects.
According to Spengel the ventral wall of the heart-bladder
serves to furnish the central blood space with the musculature by
whose contraction the blood is forced out of the central blood
space into the sinuses of the glomerulus, and thence into the
efferent proboscis vessels. We have therefore to regard this
infolding of the ventral heart-bladder wall into a tube free
anteriorly, inasmuch as it increases the power of that wall, as a
special modification to ensure the better performance of its pro-
pelling function. I have found this condition' so frequently in
this species that it may be taken as a character of specific value.
In the interior of the heart-bladder a space exists in its greater
extent (figs. 3, 4, 5 and 14, h), but at its anterior and posterior
ends the cavity is obliterated by a cellular tissue. Anteriorly
this tissue has the appearance of a spongy connective tissue with
numerous nuclei in its connecting strands, and I have not been
able to observe in this any distinction into two portions, one
derived from the dorsal, the other from the ventral wall, such as
Spengel describes for Pt. iiiinuta. An irregular cavity appears
in the dorsal part of this mass, a short distance l)ehind the anterior
end of the heart-bladder, and the loose tissue l^elow it gradually
becomes reduced in size passing into an irregular layer of
endothelial cells on the ventral wall of the heart-ljladder. These
B
18 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
cells do not form in this species, so far as I have observed, a
definite layer, but are irregularly disposed (figs. 4 and 5), and
very frequently some of them are of an elongated form with one
end attached to the heart-bladder wall. The portion of the
anterior cell mass above the cavity continues as a narrow strand
occupying the apex of the cavity of the heart-bladder, and limited
from it by a very tender meml^rane (fig. 5). This dorsal strand
of tissue passes on either side into the flattened endothelium
which lines the lateral walls of the heart-bladder. The rounded
nuclei of this endothelium can he readily recognised, placed at
fairly regular intervals from each other, but the cell bodies are
not distinct in my prejDarations. As the heart-bladder decreases
in size posteriorly the cells of the dorsal strand unite wdth
processes from the irregular endothelial cells of the ventral wall,
and eventually the posterior part of the cavity is filled up as in Pt.
minuta by a mass of tissue denser than that of the anterior end
(fig. 9, A.), and through which there pass between the lateral
walls of the heart-bladder fine transverse fibres which Spengel
regards as muscular.
Yellow granules may sometimes be observed in the cellular
tissue in the heart-bladder.
Glomerulus : The glomerulus will be dealt with in connection
with the vascular system, and I need only mention here one point
in connection with it. Lying on the splanchnic epithelium and
internal to it between the glomerulus vessels I have observed, in
some individuals of this species though not in all the series I
have examined, some bundles of parallel muscular fibres (fig. 6,
((hn.). They very often have the appearance of being inserted
into the tender membrane forming the walls of the vessels of the
net at the periphery of the glomerulus. The fibres also frequently
project beyond the outer surface of the splanchnic ei3ithelium,
and readily give one the impression that they were during life
continuous with similar bundles which lie at the inner edges of
the radial masses bounding the space surrounding the proboscis
organs, and from which they are separated only by a A'ery narr<)\\-
interval. These muscular fibres in the glomerulus of this species
BY JAS. P. HILL. 19
appear to correspond to the fibres Spengel has observed in
Balanoqlossus canadensis and B. kupfferi, and which he regards
as having been carried in, by the infolding of the splanchnic
epithehum.
Collar : Tlie epidermis of the collar can, like that of the other
species of Pti/chodera, he divided into five zones (fig. 15 [1-5]).
Of these the first formed l)y the anterior free rim of the collar is
the largest; the second occupies the region of the circular groove;
the third, that of the circular projecting cushion; the fourth, the
Ijottom of the typical ring furrow; while the fifth is formed by
tlie narrow projecting rim forming the posterior boundary of the
collar. The second and fourth zones are similarl}^ constituted;
they stain darkly with ha^matoxylin, and as in Ft. ininnta the}'
contain in their whole depth numerous gland cells; the remaining
zones contain gland cells only in their outer regions, and stain of
a lighter colour.
Collar 7nusciLlature : It is in this species in its general relations
essentially similar to that of Pt. nunida.
In the outer wall of the anterior part of the collar there is the
usual external layer of longitudinal muscle fibres (figs. 14, 16, Ifw.)
which spring in the posterior part of the collar between the
lonofitudinal muscle bundles of the inner wall. Internal to these
there is the layer of circular fibres which terminate at the
beginning of the second epidermal zone (figs. 14, 16, c/k'.). The
longitudinal muscles of the inner wall of the collar springing from
the region of the collar trunk-septum are, as in Pt. minitta,
separated in the posterior part of the collar into distinct bundles
by radial fibres passing between the outer and inner walls of the
collar. The ventro-lateral bundles terminate behind the circular
vessel fold of the collar, while those- more dorsally situated pass
towards the neck of the proboscis, and are inserted, as in Pt.
libinuta, mainly into the boundary membrane of the notochord
(fig. 16, il/n.; fig. 11, ccp.). The dorsal portion of the longitudinal
musculature extends, in the posterior region of the collar, round the
lateral surfaces of the perihi^mal spaces, and partly_on to the dorsal
20 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
surface of the collar cord. Anterior to the circular vessel fold
there occurs a fairly thick band of muscle fibres which arise from
the sides of the proboscis skeleton, and surround the mouth
aperture circularl}^, and from this layer there pass up the longi-
tudinal fibres of the fore wall of the collar (fig. 14, ifiv.). The
radial fibres passing between the fore and outer walls of the
anterior margin of the collar have the usual intercrossing arrange-
ment (fig. 14, rf.).
The extensions of the trunk ca?lom into the collar — the peri-
lipemal and peripharyngeal spaces — are related essentially as in
the known species of Ptychodera. As in Pt. sarniensis and aperta,
the perihfemal spaces, with the exception of their anterior portions
which are situated entirely below the collar cord (fig. 16, pits.),
enclose between them a groove in which the ventral two-thirds of
the collar cord is situated (figs. 17 and 18, phs.). The greater
portion of their cavities is occupied by the longitudinal muscu-
lature of the dorsal wall, w^iich is inserted anteriorly in greater
part into the boundary membrane of the epidermis behind the
proboscis canal. On the ventral wall of each space there is a
single layer of longitudinal fibres, while between dorsal and
ventral walls there pass radial filjres. The peripharyngeal space
(figs. 17, 18, pps.) is related exactly as in Pt. minuta. As in that
species, there pass across the circular fibres which it contains
numerous connecting strands between its inner and outer limiting
membranes. Anteriorly it terminates on the dorsal side about on
a level with the opening of the notochordal lumen into the throat
(fig. 14, p2^s.), while ventro-laterally it terminates along the point
of origin of the circular vessel fold,
CoUa7' Cmlom : In the anterior part of the collar the spongy
connective tissue containing radial muscle fibres fills up the coelom
almost completely, but posteriorly where the fibres are arranged
in the form of radial strands there remain between adjacent
strands spaces free from connective tissue just as in Pt. minuta
(fig. 18, eve). Ventrally a longitudinal space exists, into which
the ventral vessel fold projects, and on the dorsal side, just
BY .IAS. P. IIILL. 21
anterior to the internal openings of the collar canals, two distinct
spaces exist.
With regard to the division of the collar coelom into two halves,
considerable variation exists in this species. Dorsal and ventral
septa may be entirely absent, the two side halves of the ccelom
then standing, as in Balanoglossus kiijjfferi according to Spengel,
in open communication.
The dorsal septum when present differs from the normal
condition in Ft. minuta\\'\th regard to its relation to the "roots."
In that species, according to Spengel, the dorsal septum only exists
in the posterior part of the collar; two "roots" are situated
anterior to it, and its anterior free edge always appears to corre-
spond to one of the "roots." In this species the septum ma}^ arise
in the anterior region of the collar and in front of the most
anterior root as a fold projecting from the dorsal surface of the
collar cord and with a free anterior edge, and which reaches the
outer wall where the first "root" fuses with the collar epidermis.
The septum then passes between the remaining "roots" to the
posterior end of the collar. Over part of its course it may be
interrupted: the ventral connection with the dorsal surface of the
cord is lost, the septum at the point of interruption appearing as
a free fold projecting from the inner surface of the outer collar
wall. Further, in other individuals the front edge of the septum
may coincide with either the first or the second "root."
As to the ventral septum (fig. 19, vcs.) when present, it exists
only in the most posterior part of the collar and there only for a
very short distance. It may be present when the dorsal is absent.
In fig. 18 a section passing just anterior to the ventral septum is
represented. The vessel fold {sh.) arising from the subeiDidermic
collar capillaries exists only for a short distance in the posterior
region of the collar, and is not always so distinct as in the series
from which this section is taken: posteriorly it unites with one of
the longitudinal vessel folds to give rise to the ventral septum
(fig. 19, vcs.). The collar canals and the collar-trunk septum are
related in this species exactly as in Pt. minuta.
22 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
Nerve Cord of Collar : The collar nerve cord (figs. 16, 17, 18,
C7ZC.) varies in shape in transverse sections in different individuals
and in different parts of the same individual, from band -shaped to
almost circular. In its general features the cord of this species
agrees with that of Ft. minuta as described by Spengel. An
axial canal is not present in the cellular part -of the cord, and
the "cord hollows" are not so numerous as in that species. Two
lateral longitudinal rows of "cord hollows" exist, while smaller,
less regularly arranged hollows may be present in the central
region. The entire number of hollows appearing in one section
is seldom greater than four. These "cord hollows" are related to
each other exactly as in Pt. minvta.
I have never observed an anterior insinking of the epidermis
into the cellular part of the cord to form an anterior epidermal
pocket, but a very short and narrow epidermal pocket may exist
at the posterior end of the cord.
As in all other known species of the genus, the fibrous laj^er of
the cord completely surrounds the cellular portion.
With regard to the histology of the cellular part of the cord, I
have never been able to observe in any of my preparations the
giant ganglion cells described and figured by Spengel. I can
clearly distinguish, however, large granular nuclei, rounded or
oval in form, and with distinct nucleoli, which belong probably tc^
what Spengel regards as the proper nerve cells. They occur
especially above the ventral portion of the nerve fil)re layer and
also in the middle region of the cord and below the thin dorsal
portion of the fibre layer. Round these nuclei there may some-
times be seen an ill-defined little staining cell body, apparently
branching.
The "stalked cells," with their elongated, deeply staining,
narrow nuclei can also be readily distinguished. They radiate
outwards from the thin cuticular lining of the "cord hollows,"
and their fibre-like ends penetrate the nerve fibre layer. Also
there occur throughout the cellular part of the cord, but especially
above the ventral portion of the nerve fibre layer, numerous
deeply staining rounded nuclei, with ill-defined cell l^odies.
BY JAS. P. HILL. 23
111 the iier^e fibre layer, lielow the cellular part of the cord,
nuclei are found, with small oval non-staining cell bodies which
are produced at either end into fibre-like processes. Clear oval
spaces also occur in the fibrous layer, but I have not been able to
convince myself that these form continuous tubes, and they never
possess any j)rotoplasmic remains in their interior such as Spengel
describes for the processes passing into the fibrous layer from the
giant ganglion cells. These spaces appear to be simply lacunae
between the ramifying fibres composing the fibrous la3''er.
Roots : In this sjoecies the most anterior " root " may arise from
the anterior region, i.e., in front of the middle point of the collar
cord, contrary to Spengel's statement that the roots always spring
from its middle or posterior end. Generally, however, the first
root is situated about the middle region of the cord. The roots
vary in number from one to foui-, the latter number being the
usual one. In one series five roots arose from the collar cord, but
I was unal:»le to find the dorsal point of union of the fifth with
the epidermis. As in the described species, the roots vary greatly
in direction; sometimes they pass straight between the collar cord
and the epidermis, but generally they take an oblique course,
forwards or backwards, to their point of union with the epidermis.
In one series the first two roots fused with each other midway
between the collar cord and epidermis, while in another series
two of the roots arose from the collar cord by a short common
stem. Each root consists as in the described species of an outer
limiting membrane carrying l)lood vessels, and continuous at the
one end with the limiting membrane of the dorsal cord, at the
t)ther with the limiting meml^rane of the epidermis.' Internal to
this is a thin fil^re layer continuous ventrally with the nerve fibre
layer of the collar cord. The interior of the root presents a
varying appearance at different parts; in some sections, and
especially in those of the first root, a distinct central cavity may
exist limited by a delicate membrane from which processes radiate
outwards. These processes apparently belong to cells, the nuclei
of which are situated just internal to the fibrous layer, the whole
structure recalling the appearance of the stalked cells radiating
24 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
from the " cord hollows." I have never been al)le to trace these
hollows in the roots as continuous canals throughout the whole
length of even the first "root," and am convinced that in none of
the " roots " of this species does a continuous canal exist such as
Spengel describes for the first "roots" in Pt. niiiiuta, clavig'^ra,
aperta, and bahamensis. Similar though smaller hollows may
exist in the " roots " succeeding the first, but just as in the first
" root " the hollows do not stand in continuous connection, but
are interrupted by anastomosing strands or in some cases by
branching ceils with large nuclei. I have likewise never observed
the " collar hollows " to pass into the roots.
The roots end dorsally just as SjDengel describes (fig. 16, rt.).
The outer limiting membrane and the fibrous layer of the root
unite with the similar layers of the epidermis; while the cellular
tissue of the root projects in a cone-like mass between the epidermal
cells, the apex of the cone reaching to within a short distance from
the outer surface. The apex of this cone-like mass of tissue is
composed of a network of fine strands enclosing clear spaces, and
with a few very small nuclei in the angles where the strands meet.
Below this clear tissue and continuous with it, there occur more
deeply staining branched cells which are directly continuous with
the central tissue of the "roots."
Nerve Stems of Trtink : These are related exactly as in the
described species, and the circular commissure placing the fibrous
layer of the collar cord in connection with that of the ventral stem
can be readily seen in horizontal sections occupying the deep
groove between collar and trunk. The cells covering the circular
fibre ring are entirely destitute of gland cells, and consequently
are sharply marked off from the adjacent epidermal cells.
The dorsal stem in the branchial region is situated somewhat
below the level of the adjacent epidermis (fig. 20, dnv.), but
posterior to this region it forms a distinct ridge. The ventral
stem, on the other hand, occupies over its whole extent the bottom
of a shallow longitudinal groove (figs. 20, 24, vn.). The fibrous
layer of the dorsal stem is, as in Pt. minuta, somewhat triangular
in transverse section; it is thickest in the middle, and laterally
BY JAS. P. HILL. 25
tapers off gradually into the fibrous la3''er of the epidermis. That
of the ventral stem is more band-like in form, and laterally passes
over suddenly into the epidermic fibrous layer. In the cellular
portion of the dorsal stem gland cells are comparatively few in
number, while they are altogether wanting in the ventral. Of
the two stems the ventral is the more strongly developed, and
towards the posterior end of the body it remains more distinct
than the dorsal.
In my preparations, and especially in the ventral cord, the
" stalked cells " of Spengel can readil}^ be distinguished. They
are elongated fibre-like cells with generally long deeply staining
nuclei. These cells are specially developed at the lateral margins
of the ventral stem. Their fibre-like basal processes traverse the
fibrous layer, while their outer ends converge towards the middle
line of the stem, thus enclosing a central space largely occupied by
the nerve cells. The nuclei of these latter are easily distinguish-
able by their large size and rounded appearance; they do not stain
very deeply, possess distinct nucleoli, and exactly resemble
the nuclei of the nerve cells in the collar cord. The nerve cells
lie immediately adjacent to the fibrous layer, and this fibrous
la3''er as well of the collar cord as of the trunk nerve stems is to
be regarded, according to Spengel, as made up of the ramified and
interlaced processes of these nerve cells. Here, as in the collar
cord, I have never succeeded in observing the giant ganglion cells.
Trunk.
( 1 ) Branchial r e g io n : As in all known species of
FtycJiodera. there is below the epidermis a delicate la3^er of
circular muscle fibres, in this species onl}^ a single fibre in thick-
ness. The longitudinal musculature internal to this is strongly
developed and as in the described species is interrupted dorsally
and ventrally by the vessel stems. The longitudinal musculature
of the outer wall of the genital wings is considerably stronger
than that of the inner wall. The latter is interrupted in the
region of the sub-median lines in whose course the openings of
the ducts of the gonads are situated. Numerous radial fibres
26 ox A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPXEUSTA,
pass from the limiting meml^rane of the epidermis through the
muscular layers to be inserted into the ventro-lateral portions of
the walls of the oesophagus and into the lateral regions of the gill
pockets. Laterad of the oesophagus a free space is left as in the
described species, and this contains in sections a coagulated fluid
in which cells are embedded. The two halves of the trunk coelom
are completely separated from each other ventrally by the ventral
vessel which extends between the limiting membrane of the
epidermis and that of the gut. On the dorsal side the dorsal
vessel may occupy the whole height of the mesentery or only its
dorsal half.
Gut Canal of Branchial region: As in all the known species of
the genus Ptychodera the gut canal in this region is separated
into two passages — a dorsal or branchial canal (fig. 20, gg.) and a
ventral or oesophagus (fig. 20, ce.). The}' communicate with each
other by a narrower or wider cleft according as the two limiting-
cushions (fig. 20, Ic.) are approximated to or remote from each
other. Except for the much greater development of the genital
wings in this species, a transverse section through its branchial
region (fig. 20) agrees almost exactly with a similar section of
Ft. minuta. The gill skeleton is composed of three-pronged forks
which are related just as in Pt. minnta; the number of " Synap-
tikels " (fig. 20, an.) varies from seven to ten.
The epibranchial stripe forming the median dorsal boundary of
the branchial canal is composed of numerous relatively very long
and narrow cells ; and its middle region does not stain so deeply
as the lateral regions in which gland cells are situated. The
lateral regions pass over opposite the "gill tongues" into the high
epithelium (fig. 21, gth.) of the "tongue back" (the inner wall of
the tongue next the gut canal). The gland cells are specially
abundant in the middle region of the epithelium of the "tongue
back," and not placed nearer its front face as in Pt. minuta. This
epithelium passes over into the narrow strand of "intermediate
epithelium" (fig. 21, ies.) composed of small non-ciliated cells
which furnishes the low epithelial covering of the "S3^naptikels."
The lateral walls of the tongue and of the gill pocket are lined
BY JAS. P. HILL. 27
)>y a layer of columnar cells with long cilia just as in the described
species, and the "tongue floor" composed of cells poor in proto-
plasm is also, as in them, infolded into the cavit3^of the "tongue."
This cavit)^ (fig. 21, ytc.) just as in Pt. minuta is lined by an
irregular peritoneal layer, and also contains fibres which stretch
across between its opposite walls at a short distance below the
"tongue back."
The gill jDores (fig. 20, gj).) are narrow slits slightly obliquel}'^
placed, which open into the longitudinal grooves bounding the
"gill area" laterally, and as in the described species the longi-
tudinal muscles lying laterally to the pores give off fine bundles
which pass lietween adjacent pores to join the longitudinal
muscles on the inner side of the gill pores.
The aijterior ends of the gill rows project for some distance
into the posterior region of the throat (fig. 18, ay.), but owing to
the ol^lique direction of the most anterior gills the posterior rim
of the collar forming the so-called "operculum" of Bateson covers
at most only the first gill pore. The conditions are essentially
the same as in ]H. clarigera since the genital wings do not possess
free anterior edges, Ijut are united with the hind edges of the
collar, thus enclosing between them and the "gill area" the space
for which Spengel adopts the term "atrium." It is into the
narrow anterior projection of this space below the posterior edge
of the collar that the first gill pore opens.
The number of gills varies according to the age of the animal,
since new ones are being continually formed during life at the
hind end of the gill region. As in Pt. minuta the number of
gills never appears to exceed 40 pairs, but in the majority of
individuals the number is ^'erv much less than this. The sill out
is not closed blindly behind as in Pt. minuta, but passes directly
over into the gut of the succeeding genital region.
(2) P OS t-b r anchial r eg io n. — Genital 'region : The mus-
culature and the dorsal and ventral vessel stems are essentially
related as in the branchial region. The wall of the gut (fig. 23, /.)
in this region is usually folded, and lies at a varying distance,
usually small, from the longitudinal musculature, and there pass
28 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
from its ventro-lateral region to the limiting membrane of the
epidermis numerous radial fibres. The trunk coelom represented
in the branchial region by the spaces situated laterally to the
oesophagus is here considerably reduced and represented by
irregular spaces.
The lateral septa (figs. 22, 23, Is.) are related essentially as in
the described Ptychodera species. In the middle of the genital
region the septa are of considerable breadth, and pass between
the dorsal corner of the gut and the submedian line, which is
here situated at about the middle of the internal face of each of
the genital wings (fig. 23, Ls.). Anteriorly the point of attach-
ment of the septum to the gut gradually passes medianly (fig. 22,
As.) until at the level of the last developing gill jDocket it passes
over to the skin, to which it is then attached at both ends. In
the branchial region the ventral point of attachment of the
septum gradually approaches the lateral, which always remains at
the submedian line until the two unite. Posteriorly to the
middle of the genital region the submedian line gradually passes
down from the mid-region of the inner face of the genital wing,
and takes a position close to its base, and at the same time the
septa are reduced gradually in l^readth and finally end with a free
edge in the anterior portion of the hepatic region. The lateral
se]3ta thus separate off from the main trunk c(elom two dorsal
chambers which anteriorly end blindly in the posterior part of the
branchial region, while ^posteriorly they communicate with the
main trunk ctelom by their narrow openings. These dorsal
chambers Spengel regards as blind-sac-like outgrowths of the
trunk ccelom arising in the anterior part of the hepatic region.
Gonads: The gonads begin in the "genital wings" immediatel}^
l)ehind the posterior rim of the collar and continue for a con-
siderable distance into the hepatic region. As distinguished from
Pt. miuKta, in which the gonads are simple unbranched sacs, they
are in this species, in correspondence with the greatly developed
"genital wings," much ])ranched, and are here more complexly
branched than is usually the case in /H. clavigera. As in these
species, only primary gonads and primary genital pores exist. In
BY JAS. P. HILL. 29
the branchial region, as is characteristic of the genus Plychodera,
the gonads only exist laterally to the gill pores, and consist of
dorsal and ventral gonad branches which are each again sub-
divided into lesser lobes : the dorsal usually into two long lobes
which occupy the uppermost portion of the cavity of the genital
wings, the ventral into a number (3-4) of shorter and smaller
lobes.
In the genital region proper, as in Pt. ckivigera, each gonad
consists of three main branches: (1) a dorsal (figs. 22, 23, cbjb.)
occupying, as in the branchial region, the dorsal part of the cavity
of the "genital wings," and divided into two long lobes or in some
cases into two long lobes and one short one; (2) a ventro-lateral
Ijranch situated on the outer side of the lateral septum, between
it and the outer body wall, and also subdivided into two lesser
lobes (figs. 22, 23, vgh.)', (3) a median lateral branch occupying
the cavity of the dorsal chamber of the trunk coelom, enclosed by
the lateral septum and extending in it alcove the gut towards the
median dorsal line (figs. 22, 23, mg.). This median ventral
branch is also subdivided into two. In this species, then, there
are in connection with each genital pore at least six lesser
branches. In fig. 23, a section from about the middle of the
genital region is represented which has passed through one of the
genital pores {gap.) filled up by a mass of spei-matozoa. The
specimen from a series of which this section is taken was preserved
while in the act of extruding the ripe spermatozoa in the form of
whitish filmy masses.
Structure of Gonads : According to 8pengel the wall of the
gonads consists of three layers — an outer peritoneal layer, a middle
limiting membrane and an inner germ layer. The outer peritoneal
la3^er is in my preparations very indistinct, and represented by
some small flattened nucleated cells"' more or less remote from
each other and closely applied to the middle limiting membrane.
In the latter there is situated a well marked blood sinus. I have
never been able to observe a layer of longitudinal muscles in the
wall of the gonads in this species. Also, I have not been able to
distinguish the germ layer as a distinct layer, but certain small
30 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
rounded cells lying in-egiilarly internal to the limiting meml)rane
in young gonads doubtless belong to it. In the young gonads
there is present a distinct central cavity filled up in some cases by
a deeply staining homogeneous substance. As in the other species
of Ptychodera, the gonads contain large nunil)ers of rounded or
cubical masses of a peculiar substance which in the sexually
immature animals fills up the gonads almost completely. It is
found in the young gonads, both male and female, but it persists
for a much longer time in the case of the ovaries than in the
testes. Even in the mature ovaries traces of it remain, while in
the mature testes no trace of it is left. Spengel regards this
substance as nutritive in function, and the presence of tlie
abundant deutoplasm in the ova readily accounts for its greater
})ersistence in the ovaries.
The ova of this species are essentially similar to those oi Ft.
oninuta. They average about -^ nun. in diameter, and
possess very abundant granular deutoplasm. The gei-minal
vesicle is very large, and contains a spongy nucleoplasm in which
there is situated one large nucleolus and several smaller masses.
The ripe ovum is invested in a thick egg membrane attached to
which there may be a few very small flattened nuclei apparently
representing the follicular layer. The heads of the ripe sperma-
tozoa are somew^hat ovoid or rounded in form, and the flagellum
is ver}'' long and slender (fig. 26).
H&patic region : With the exception of the presence of two
ciliated bands in the gut, Spengel's description of this region in
I't. minuta applies generally to that of this species. The li\er
sacs (fig. 2-4, /<'?w.) communicate with the gut by narrow transverse
clefts bounded by anterior and posterior lips. The wall of the
gut is thrown into obli((uely transverse folds which are interrupted
on the dorsal side by the two longitudinal grooves, while a well
marked furrow^ occupies the median dorsal region of the gut.
The liver sacs are lined by a layer of close-set long narrow cells
with long nuclei in a row near their base (fig. 24, ehep.). The
cells contain numerous yellowdsh-brow^n granules, which also occur
less abundantly in the somewhat shorter but otherwise similar
BY J AS. P. HILL. 31
cells lining the gut. The cells of the liver gut possess distinct
cilia, and in accurate sections through its lining epithelium which
are met but seldom, the outer surfaces of the cells form a sinuous
line, and no vacuoles are visible in them, so that, as vSpengel
remarks, the vesicles he has observed in them are probably the
result of the action of reagents. On the outer side of the epithe-
lium of the liver sacs and the gut wall there is a rich system of
capillary vessels. As in other species of Ptychodfira, except Pt.
minuta and sarnlensiH, two ciliated grooves are present in this
species, and they show the usual structure. Each consists of a
special ciliated band of long columnar cells sunk below the level
of the gut epithelium and l)ounded on its dorsal or median side
by a projecting conical mass composed of elongated cells, the
''covering pad."
The ciliated grooves extend for a considerable distance into the
genital region proper, and they are there situated somewhat below
the jDoints of attachment of the lateral septa to the gut wall, and
are separated from the epidermis by the thick layer of longitudinal
musculature. Posteriorly, about the middle of the hepatic region
where the liver sacs are largest, the genital wings are reduced to
mere ridges, overhung by the outwardly extended ends of the liver
sacs. In fig. 24, the left half of a section about the middle of the
hepatic region is represented, and the ciliated groove (cgr.) is seen
to lie just below the outer wall of the reduced genital wing {gvy.)
and now quite close to the epidermis, being separated from it only
by a thin layer of the longitudinal musculature which becomes
thinner just at this point. The genital wings can be traced as
mere elevations of the epidermis below which the ciliated grooves
are situated to near the posterior end of the hepatic region.
Hind Bodij : The course of the "ciliated grooves behind the
hepatic region is marked externally by two longitudinal epidermal
stripes which, commencing laterally to the posterior small liver
sacs, extend over the anterior two-thirds of the hind-body region.
The hind body can thus be divided into an anterior al^dominal
region characterised by the j)resence of the two epidermal stripes
32 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
and the underlying ciliated grooves, and into a posterior caudal
region.
In the abdominal region the ciliated grooves may be situated
directly under the epidermal stripes or may be remote from it by
a short distance, but always the portion of the longitudinal
musculature between them is somewhat thinner than elsewhere.
The cells of the epidermal stripes usually stain darker, and are
somewhat lower than the adjacent cells, and in one case where the
grooA'e was situated immediately under the epidermal stripe there
existed what appeared to be a special differentiation of the cells
of the latter in the form of a small mass of cells with rounded
nuclei and distinct nucleoli. In other respects the abdominal
region of this species closely agrees with that of Pt. minuta. The
wall of the gut in this region (fig. 25, i.) is thrown into numerous
somewhat irregular transverse folds, and it becomes further removed
from the longitudinal musculature so that the coelom is very much
more distinct than in the liver region and, as there, divided into
two distinct halves only, however, in the anterior part of the
region. The band-like cellular mass which 8pengel has found in
Pt. minuta and sarniensis in connection with the dorsal vessel and
lying along the dorsal median line of the gut also exists in this
species. It has here the form of a low band of cells of varying
height lying as in the described species between the two lamellae
of the boundary membrane of the gut and not limited laterally.
Between the dorsal vessel and the cellular mass there passes a
short mesentery, and by the separation of this into two lamella?
the cavity of the dorsal vessel comes into direct connection with
the cellular mass. At these points the cells of the mass are not
closely packed, and have a branching character exactly like the
endothelial cells of the dorsal vessel with which they seem to be
continuous.
The caudal region of the hind body is essentially similar to that
(jf Pt. minuta. As in the posterior part of the abdominal region,
the two halves of the coelom here stand in connection below the
dorsal vessel. On the ventral side the ventral vessel disappears
as a distinct structure at the beginning of this region, while the
BY JAS. P. HILL. 33
dorsal vessel i-etains its lumen to near the posterior end of the
body.
As Spengel has found in Pi. minuta, the place of the ventral
vessel is taken by the keel-shaped process of the gut epithelium.
As in Pt. ndnutd, a very delicate musculature is found on the gut
in this region, and as in that species a distinct sphincter derived
from the circular musculature exists round the anus.
Vascular Sy ste m. — Dorsal vessel : In the post-branchial
region the dorsal vessel is related essentially as in Pt. minuta.
It can be traced as a vessel with a distinct lumen to near the
posterior end of the hodj; it appears, however, to end as a solid
structure at its extreme posterior end just as in Pt. minuta. In
the branchial region the dorsal vessel may occupy the whole of
the mesentery or only its dorsal portion. Between the perihsemal
spaces the dorsal vessel usually occupies the whole extent of the
partition wall, but just as in Pt. minuta it may only occupy the
dorsal half of it, and the ventral part of the wall may then either
persist as a low wall of partition below the vessel, or it may
disappear entirely and place the two perihsemal spaces in com-
munication.
At the anterior end of the perihaemal spaces, the dorsal vessel
opens, as in the described species, into a lacuna (figs. 11, 12, 14,
cl.) betvreen the organs in the proboscis neck and which stands in
connection with the central blood space of the proboscis by a
narrow cleft. From the lacuna there passes away dorsally a vessel
(fig. 10, oav.), the afferent skin vessel, which Spengel regards as
carrying blood to the capillary net of the proboscis. Where two
proboscis canals are present it passes between them (fig. 10);
where there is only one canal, along one side of that. It then
passes into the limiting membrane and runs in that anteriorly for
a short distance, finally dividing as in the described species into
two branches which divide up again to form the capillary net of
the proboscis.
Proboscis glomerulus : The glomerulus of this species essentially
resembles that of Pt. minuta. It covers the anterior ends of the
c
34 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
heart bladder and the proboscis gut, but just behind the anterior
ends of these it becomes limited to two lateral masses l3^ing on the
heart bladder and the notochord, and to a small median portion
on the dorsal side of the heart bladder. This median portion
which stands in connection with the lateral portions by vessels on
the walls of the heart bladder posteriorly gives rise to two or
three large longitudinal vessels which finally unite to form one
main vessel (fig. 3, mgl.) which passes obliquely backwards and
upwards along the dorsal edge of the heart bladder (fig. 5, esv.),
and comes into connection with the capillary net of the proboscis.
Yentrally, also, the lateral masses stand in connection with the
capillary net by a network of vessels in the ventral septum of the
proboscis. According to Spengel, these vessels, dorsal and ventral,
probably act as the efferent skin vessels, i.e., they probabl}^ convey
the blood from the capillary net of the proboscis to the glomerulus.
The glomerulus vessels themselves are similar in their relations to
those of Pt. minuta. As Spengel has shown, these vessels
represent a honeycomb-like system. As in that species corre-
sponding to the floor of the honeycomb there is a sinus on the
lateral walls of the heart bladder which communicates with the
central blood space by narrow clefts. From the sinus there
radiate outwards vessels which, in longitudinal vertical sections,
are readily seen to be connected in a net-like manner, and at the
periphery of the glomerulus they give rise to a network of mucli
larger vessels (figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, gl.). The latter opens into a
longitudinal vessel occupying the ventral corner of each half of
the glomerulus, and which in this species can be traced to near
the anterior end of each half of the glomerulus (figs. 3, 4, 5, epv.).
These vessels Spengel terms the efferent proboscis vessels, and
according to him they arise at the posterior end of the glomerulus.
In this species they certainly become distinct at the posterior end
of the glomerulus (fig. 8, epv.), but they can be followed up from
here as distinct vessels lying in the ventral corner of each half
of the glomerulus to near its anterior end.
From a comparative study of the glomerulus, and from its
histology, Spengel is led to regard the glomerulus as a system of
BY JAS. P. HILL. 35
infolclings of the splanchnic epithelium, the spaces between these
infoldings being filled with blood and representing the glomerulus
vessels. For this view speaks the arrangement of the nuclei
which occur more or less regularly along the course of the vessels.
Round the nuclei an oval non-staining cell body can frequently
be recognised, and they can in some j^laces, as Spengel has
observed, pass directly over into the splanchnic epithelium.
Efferent Proboscis Vessels : The efferent proboscis vessels after
they leave the glomerulus are essentially similar in their course
and disposition to those of Pt. minnta. However, as Koehler* has
found in Pt. sarniensis, the two efferent proboscis vessels are
connected with each other in the proboscis neck by a well-marked
vessel (figs. 10, 14, cv.) which passes, in the "chondroid tissue"
occupying the space between the anterior portion of the "keel" of
the proboscis skeleton and the posterior portion of the "end plate."
I have met this connecting vessel not only in transverse series,
l^ut also in both vertical and horizontal longitudinal series, and
there can, in my opinion, be no doubt as to its existence in this
species. Spengel, however, asserts that the efferent proboscis
vessels "never stand in connection with each other," and believes
"Koehler has been apparently deceived through the intense
colouration Avith carmine of certain parts of the skeleton which
thereby become very similar to the blood fluid."! A series of
transverse sections through an individual of the species under
consideration, whose vessels were richly filled with coagulated
blood, leaves me in no doubt on the matter, and the appearance
presented by the vessel as seen in tw^o adjacent sections is
represented in fig. 10 {cv.). The specimen was stained Avitli
cochineal in 70 % alcohol with the result that the coagulated Ijlood
stained a much deeper tint than the proboscis skeleton, allowing
the two to he very easily distinguished, and moreover the
coagulated blood in the connecting vessel could be distinctly seen
to pass over at both ends into that in the efferent proboscis
* Contribution a 1' etude des Ent^ropneustes Internat. Monatsschrift
f. Anat. u. Histologie, Bd, iii. 1886, p. 174
t hoc, cit, p. 633.
36 ON A XEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
vessels. Further, the "keel" and "body" of the proboscis skeleton
are at this point quite distinct from each other and separated by
the narrow ventral band of "chondroid tissue," and there is
certainly no median prolongation anteriorly from the point of
fusion of the "body" and "keel" of the proboscis skeleton which
takes place just behind the connecting vessel, and which could be
mistaken for the vessel in question.
We may then take it as characteristic of Pt. australiensis, at
least, that the efferent proboscis vessels are united by a connect-
ing vessel passing in the "chondroid tissue" between the "body"
and "keel" of the prol^oscis skeleton.
Further, in this species the capillary net of the proboscis comes
directl}' into connection with the efferent prol)Oscis vessels in
the proboscis neck, and indeed anteriorly to the connecting vessel.
In sections through the proboscis neck, in the region of the
ventral blind sac, vessels are found in the here commencing
"chondroid tissue" which, as Spengel has shown, is simply the
thickened limiting membrane of this region into which cellular
strands derived mainly from the proboscis pockets have penetrated.
Some of these vessels enter the efferent proboscis vessels (fig. 9\
and they thus serve to place the capillary net of the proboscis
directly in connection with the efferent proboscis vessels, while
the dorsal and ventral efferent skin vessels, since they return the
blood first to the glomerulus, do so indirectly.
Vessels of Collar : The efferent proboscis vessels are continued
into the collar, and are related there essentially as in the
described species of Ptyclwdera. They appear on their entrance
into the collar as clefts in the limiting membrane on either side
of the proboscis skeleton, and have at first a longitudinal direc-
tion. Very soon they diverge outwards in a fold of the limiting
membrane and finally pass downwards round the mouth cavity in
a fold of the limiting membrane of the inner wall of the collar —
the circular vessel fold. Their dorsal portions are formed of
single vessels (fig. 16, cvc.) which ventro-laterally give rise to two
capillary nets (fig. 17, cvc'.') which unite in the mid- ventral line of
the anterior part of the collar to form the longitudinal ventral
BY JAS. P. HILL. 37
vessels of the collar, formed by folds of the outer limiting mem-
brane of the peripharyngeal space.
The circular vessels stand in direct connection as in the
described species with the capillary net in the outer limiting
membrane of the peripharyngeal space, and also anterior to the
line of termination of the latter with the capillary vessels below
the epithelium immediately surrounding the mouth aperture.
The ventral longitudinal vessels generally consist in this species
of two distinct folds which may be secondarily branched (fig. 18,
Ivc. ). The longitudinal \essels may, hoAvever, be represented by
a single simple or much branched fold, or of three or four distinct
folds.
As in the described species the ventral longitudinal vessel folds
open at their posterior ends into a lacuna in the collar-trunk
septum, into which the circular vessel passing in the septum
immediately below the circular nerve ring opens laterally, and
from which the ventral longitudinal vessel of the trunk takes its
origin.
Capillary System of CoUar is related essentially as in the
described species. On the dorsal side, the vessels in the limiting-
membranes of the "roots" placing the outer and inner capillary
nets in connection are strongly developed (fig. 15). Yentrally, in
the hind half of the collar l)y the formation of a longitudinal fold
of the limiting membrane of the epidermis, a median longitudinal
subepidermic vessel (fig. 18, dv.) may in some cases be formed
(jpposite the ventral longitudinal plexus. Posteriorly, the former
fuses with one of the folds of the latter, and the capillary net of
the inner collar wall is thus brought on the ventral side into
direct connection with that of the outer. In some individuals,
however, the ventral mesentery may be entirely absent, and no
such connection established.
The capillary net surrounding the dorsal cord is in this species
strongly developed, and especially on its dorsal side (figs. 15 and
17) well-marked vessels (fig. 17) pass off, from the dorsal side of
the dorsal vessel, in the limiting membrane between the periha?mal
spaces and the collar cord. These laterally pass upwards in the
38 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
limiting membrane of the collar cord to form the capillary net on
on its dorsal surface, and branches also pass downwards in the
boundary membrane laterally to the perihaemal spaces and come
into direct connection with the capillary net of the inner wall of
the collar. Very few vessels leave the ventral side of the dorsal
vessel in this species, and the capillary net of the inner wall of
the collar thus appears to stand mainly in connection with vessels
derived from the dorsal side of the dorsal vessel, in common with
the capillary net of the collar cord.
Ventral Vess'l of Trunk : The ventral vessel is related exactly
as in Pt. minnta. It does not extend so far posteriorly as the
dorsal, but disappears at the point of origin of the keel-shaped
process of the gut.
Lateral Vessels : The lateral vessels are essentially similar to
those of the described species. In the branchial region they
occupy the usual position just below the submedian lines (fig. 20,
llv.). Then when the lateral septa appear, they run in these (fig.
22, llv.). Towards the ends of the septa the vessels gradually
pass downwards towards the point of attachment of the septa to
the -gut, and then behind the termination of the septa they con-
tinue as free vessels lying in the interior of the now greatly
reduced genital wings (fig. 24, llv.) and which finally about the
middle of the hepatic region pass over into the gut capillaries.
In this part of their course the vessels possess, as in the other
species, circular muscle fibres in their walls, and also from the
latter there radiate outwards fine fibres (fig. 24, llv.), prolja])ly
functioning as expansors.
Gill Vessels : My observations on this very complicated set of
vessels confirm, so far as they go, those of Spengel. The afferent
gill vessels arising from the dorsal vessel vary according as the
dorsal vessel occupies the whole of the mesentery or only its
dorsal half. In the former case the afferent vessels pass off*
directly from the ventral side of the dorsal vessel; in the latter
they diverge outwards and downwards from its ventral side, the
mesentery being apparently absent at this point. The afferent
BY JAS. P. HILL. 39
vessels arise from the dorsal vessel opposite the gill tongues. Each,
according to Spengel, divides soon after its origin into two vessels
— one of which passes into the tongue and divides again to form
the two vessels running along the tongue prongs, the other passes
to the gill septum in front of the tongue which received the first
A'essel, and probal^l}^ becomes continuous with the septal vessel. I
have not been able to make out from my preparations the above
described connections to my complete satisfaction. Each of the
afferent vessels seems to stand in connection with a vessel lying-
just above the line of attachment of the gill tongue, and this
vessel extends on to the dorsal edge of the succeeding septum, and
is situated just above the dorsal end of the gill skeleton. Through
this vessel there is doubtless established the connection between
the blood flowing in the gill tongues and that in the septa.
The vessels in the tongue are exactly as described by Spengel.
In transverse sections through the branchial region the capillary
net in the tongue situated immediately below the peritoneal
covering of the tongue cavit}" (fig. 20, C7it.) can be distinctly seen,
and especially in horizontal sections the larger vessels of the net,
viz., the large vessel situated immediately under the epithelium of
the "tongue back" and the two smaller vessels along the inner
side of each tongue prong (fig. 21, tp.) can be distinctly recognised
(fig. 21). In each of the gill septa the septal vessels (figs. 20, 21,
tigs.) can readily be made out running just external to the septal
prong (spr.). At their ventral ends the septal vessels stand in
connection with the "limiting vessel" below the boundary cushion
between the branchial canal and the oesophagus, and this "limit-
ing vessel" stands in the usual connection with the capillary net
on the wall of the oesophagus.
Though none of m}'- preparations show a distinct capillar}'- net
in the gill septa, in some I have observed small branches jDassing
from the septal vessel, and these probal^ly represent part of the
capillary net Spengel has found so richly developed in the gill
septa of Pt. saymiensis.
40 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA,
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Reference Letters.
ag. Projections of the anterior ends of the gill rows into the throat.
av. Afferent skin vessels of proboscis, hps. Body of proboscis skeleton.
hv. Limiting vessel of branchial region, chs. Central blood space of pro-
boscis, ccp. Prolongations of collar coelom into the proboscis neck. cfv\
Circular musculature of outer wall of anterior rim of collar, cyr. Ciliated
groove, ch. " Chondroid tissue." cz'^r. Capillary net of inner wall of collar.
d. Cleft into which dorsal vessel opens, cm. Circular musculature of pro-
boscis, cnc. Collar cord. cnp. Capillary net of proboscis, cut. Capillary
net of gill tongue. av. Collar ca?lom. cn^'. Parts of collar coelom into
•which collar pores open. cp. Covering pad. ct. Inner layer of connective
tissue of proboscis on the splanchnic epithelium, cr. Vessel connecting the
two efferent proboscis vessels in the proboscis neck. crc. Dorsal
portion of circular vessel fold of collar, cvc'. Ventral plexus of circular
vessel fold of collar. dgh. Dorsal gonad branches, div. Notochord.
dn. Dorsal nerve stem of trunk, dp. Dorsal proboscis pockets, dsc.
Fibres of dorso-ventral muscle plate, dv. Dorsal vessel of trunk, ehep.
Epithelium of liver sac. ej^. Epidermis, epb. Epibranchial strand, eps.
*' End plate " of proboscis skeleton, ejith. Epithelium of throat, epv.
Efferent proboscis vessels, esr. Efferent proboscis skin vessels on front
edge of heart bladder, g. Gonads, gap. Genital aperture, gc. Gill cleft.
gg. Branchial canal, gl. Glomerulus, glm. Muscle fibres of glomerulus.
gp. Gill pore. gs. Gill septum, gt. Gill tongue, gth. Epithelium of gill
tongue back. (/ic. Gill tongue cavity, gr?^. Genital wings. A. Heart bladder.
hep Cavity of liver sac. i. Intestine, ies. Intermediate epithelial stripe
of gill tongue. ifw. Musculature of fore wall of anterior rim of collar.
Urn. Inner longitudinal musculature of collar, ilm '. Portion of same passing
to the proboscis base. hm\ Infolding of ventral wall of heart bladder.
ivw'. Anterior projection of the same into the cavity of heart bladder.
hps. " Keel " of proboscis skeleton. Ih. Anterior horn of blind sac lumen.
lbs. Ventral blind sac of notochord. h\ Limiting cushions between
branchial canal and oesophagus. Ifw. Longitudinal musculature of outer
wall of anterior rim of collar, llv. Lateral longitudinal vessel. Im. Longi-
tudinal musculature of proboscis. Imt. Longitudinal musculature of trunk.
Imv. Longitudinal musculature of ventral wall of perihsemal spaces. Ips,
"Legs" of proboscis skeleton. Ips'. "Nuclei" of proboscis skeleton.
Is. Lateral septa of trunk. Ivc. Longitudinal ventral vessel folds of inner
wall of collar, mg. Median gonad branches, mgl Vessel passing from the
median dorsal portion of the glomerulus. nf. Nerve fibre layer, ni-g.
Nerve fibre ring of proboscis neck. oav. Dorsal prolongation of the blood
cleft in proboscis neck to form the afferent skin vessels, a. CEsophagus.
BV .IAS. P. HILL. 41
ol. Opening of lumen of notochord into the throat, p. Proboscis pore.
phc. Proboscis cavity, pc. Proboscis canal. ph>^. Periha^mal spaces, pps.
Peripharyngeal space. rf. Radial fibres passing between the outer and
fore walls of anterior rim of collar. r(. "Roots." sen. Subepidermic
capillary net of collar, slv. Median longitudinal vessel of the subepidermic
capillary net in the posterior ventral part of the collar, sn. " Synaptikel."
sp. Splanchnic epithelium of proboscis calom. sp7\ Septal prong of gill
skeleton, thh. Throat or mouth cavity, tpr. Tongue prongs of gill skeleton.
trc. Trunk coelom. vc-'i. Ventral collar septum. vgh. Ventral gonad
branches. v(js. Septal vessel, vn. Ventral nerve stem. ip. Ventral pro-
boscis pockets, vps. Ventral septum of proboscis. vv. Ventral vessel of
trunk, vir. Ventral wall of heart bladder.
Ptychodera australiensis.
Plate I.
Fig. 1. — Enlarged dorsal view of a small preserved specimen.
Fig. 2. — Dorsal view of a portion of the abdominal region showing the two
epidermal stripes. ( x 3. )
Fig. 3. — Central part of a transverse section of the proboscis passing
through the anterior free projection of the infolded ventral
wall of the heart bladder. Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 4. — Transverse section slightly posterior to fig. 3, but from another
series especially showing the infolding of the ventral heart
bladder wall. Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Plate II.
Fig. 5. — Transverse section passing through about the middle region of
the proboscis organs. Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 6. — Portion of glomerulus in transverse section. Zeiss D., oc. 1.,
cam. luc.
Fig. 7. — Transverse section of the splanchnic epithelium on the notochord.
Zeiss D., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Plate III.
Fig. 8. — Transverse section through the beginning of the proboscis neck.
Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 9. — Transverse section of proboscis neck posterior to fig. 8 and pass-
ing through the ventral blind sac of the notochord. Zeiss A.,
oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 10. — Transverse section of proboscis neck passing through the pro-
boscis canals and the connecting vessel between the efferent
proboscis vessels. Zeiss A., oc. 2., cam. luc.
42 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ENTEROPNEUSTA.
Plate IV.
Fig. 11. — Transverse section of proboscis neck of an individual with two
proboscis pores. Zeiss A., oc. 2., cam. luc.
Fig. 12. — Similar section of an individual with a single median proboscis
pore. Zeiss A., oc. 2,, cam. luc.
Fig. 13. — Dorsal view of proboscis skeleton, (x about 30).
Fig. 14. — Vertical longitudinal section (nearly median) through the point
of union of the proboscis neck with the collar. Zeiss A
(without lowest lens), oc. L, cam. luc.
Plate v.
Fig. 15. — Vertical longitudinal section through the dorsal region of collar
Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 16. — Dorsal median portion of a transverse section through the anterior
region of collar. Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Plate VI.
Fig, 17, — Transverse section through the collar passing through the opening
of the notochord into the throat and through the circular
vessel fold. Zeiss A (without lowest lens), oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 18. — Transverse section through the posterior region of collar. Zeiss
A (without lowest lens), oc. 1., cam. luc.
Plate VII.
-Transverse section of ventral part of collar slightly posterior to
fig. 18, showing the ventral septum. Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
-Transverse section (slightly oblique) through the branchial region
of a sexually immature individual. Zeiss A (without lowest
lens), oc. 1., cam. luc.
-Section of a single gill from a vertical longitudinal series. Zeiss
C, oc. 1., cam. luc,
-Transverse section of a sexually immature individual, just behind
the branchial region. Zeiss A (without lowest lens), oc. 1.,
cam. luc.
Plate VIII.
Fig. 23. —Transverse section through the genital region of a sexually matui'e
male, passing through a genital pore. Zeiss A (without
lowest lens), oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 24. — Transverse section through the hepatic region. Zeiss A., oc. L,
cam. luc.
Fig. 25. — Transverse section through the abdominal region showing the two
ciliated bands. Zeiss A., oc. 1., cam. luc.
Fig. 26. — Ripe spermatozoa. Zeiss D., oc. 4., cam. luc.
Fig.
19.
Fig.
20.
Fig.
21.
Fig.
22.
43
ON A PLATYPUS EMBHYO FROM THE INTRA-
UTERINE EGG.
By Jas. p. Hill, Demonstrator of Biology, and C. J. Martin,
M.B., B.Sc. (LoND.), Demonstrator of Physiology-, in
THE University of Sydney.
(Plates ix.-xiii.)
Introduction.
The following paper is based on the examination of two embryos
taken from the intra-uterine eggs of a Platypus. Beyond the facts
that Monotremes are oviparous and the ovum is meroblastic the
material collected by Caldwell in 1884 has afforded us very little
information, and we have thought that a description of a
Platypus embryo of this stage ma}'- not be unwelcome to
zoologists. In this paper we necessarily confine ourselves to a
description of the structure of the embryo lying before us. Next
year, now that we know the exact breeding season of Platypus
in certain convenient localities in New South. Wales, we shall
endeavour to obtain the stages intermediate between the earliest
we now possess and the embryo described in this paper.
The female from the left uterus of which the two eggs were
taken was shot on 1st October of this year. The general external
characters of the e^g have already been sufficiently accurately
described."^ The eggs were both exactly of the same size and
spheroidal in shape. The egg shell is, as Caldwell described, of
an opaque white colour and quite soft, presenting a general
resemblance to the shell of a lizard's ege'.
The eggs measured 18 mm. in their long and 13-5 mm. in their
short diameter. They are thus somewhat larger than the eggs
secured by Caldwell, who gives the measurements of the egg when
* Caldwelb Phil. Trans. 1887, p. 473.
44 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
laid as 1 5 mm. by 1 2 mm. Three other females were shot on the
same date, and these had obviously just laid their eggs, as
evidenced l^y the emptiness and large size of the left uterus and
hj the jDresence and condition of corpora lutea in the ovary.
Moreover, the mammary glands in all four females were of
approximately the same size. The tubules were arranged in a
fan-like fashion, radiating outwards from the, at this stage, very
small bare area of the ventral abdominal wall, and measured 5 cm.
in length.
From the size of these eggs as compared with Caldwell's, and
from the condition of the other three females shot on the same
date, we may reasonably conclude that they were just ready to be
laid.
The only other recorded measurements besides Caldwell's of the
size of the Platypus eggs when laid are contained in a paper by
Geoffroy KSt. Hilaire published in 1829.^' The eggs, nine in
number, were found lying on a rough nest in a small burrow on
the banks of the River Hawkesbury, N.S.W., and measured
1| inches (34 mm.) long by f of an inch (19 mm.) broad. The
eggs here described were probably not those of Platypus at all :
as St. Hilaire himself afterwards pointed out, they could not on
account of their size pass through the pelvis, and he then came to
the conclusion that in Platypus the eggs must be hatched inside !
The eggs were opened immediately after the animal was shot
and their contents joreserved in picro-sulphuric acid. The embryos
were stained with borax-carmine, imbedded in paraffin and cut
into serial sections with the Cambridge microtome.
To our friend. Prof. J. T. Wilson, we are indebted not only for
many valuable suggestions but for much kindly criticism during
the course of our work, and we desire here to tender him our
sincere thanks. We have also to thank Messrs. Shewen and
Grant, assistants in the Physiological Laboratory, for much assist-
ance in the preparation of the photo-micrograph accompanying
this paper.
* Ann. (les 8c. Nat. T. xviii. p. 162.
BY JAS. P. HILL AXD C. J. MARTIN. 45
General I)€SC7'iption of the Embryo as seen in Surface Vieio.
On opening the egg, the embryo was found lying on the surface
of a thin-walled vesicle, with its long axis corresponding to the
long diameter of the egg. It extended over the surface of the
vesicle almost from pole to pole. The vesicle completely filled
the interior of the shell. It contained a thin whitish transparent
fluid of an albuminous nature which was precipitated in picro-
sulphuric acid. Immediately below the wall of the vesicle there
appeared a thin layer of yolk granules which was somewhat
increased over a small area at the ant-embryonic pole. The
embryo measured 1 9 mm. from the anterior end of the medullar}'-
plate to the extreme posterior end of the primitive streak. This
hinder point of measurement is 1 -5 mm. behind the blastopore.
A photo-micrograph of the embr3'o from the dorsal side magnified
54 diameters is shown in PL ix. Outside the elongated and
somewhat fiddle-shaped contour of the embryo is seen a lighter
more transparent zone (PL ix. am. a.) corresponding to the amniotic
area of other mammals. In the fresh condition no trace of a
vascular area was visible, though in the hardened blastoderm
developing vessels were indicated by a mottling l^oth in and
around the amniotic area. Immediately in front of the anterior
end of the embryo there was to be seen a lighter area — the
proamnion — (PL ix., jyra.) into which the mesoderm had not j^et
extended. The antero-lateral portions of the embryo were almost
entirely occupied by two sharply limited patches situated one on
either side of the anterior region of the medullary plate, opposite
the position of the future first and second cerel)ral vesicles. The
outer contours of these head plates are jDosteriorly in line with
the forward continuations of the outer borders of the proto-
vertebral zones of mesoderm. The outer margins of these head
plates mark the lateral limits of a very considerable mesodermal
thickening in this region, and we may for convenience of descrip-
tion term them the head plates of mesoderm. Their relations to
the general mesoderm will be described later.
The commencing separation of the embryo from the vesicle is
indicated b}^ the presence of a sulcus, the so-called head-fold, which
46 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
passes back for a distance of approximately -17 mm. below the
anterior end of the medullary plate and thus separates the latter
from the underlying proamnion. This sulcus we must suppose
has arisen as in other forms by the forward growth of the anterior
end of the medullary plate over this bilaminar portion of the
blastoderm.
Lateral and tail folds are not yet developed.
The medullary plate is still flat with the exception that along
its mesial line a definite groove (the "Riickenfurche") is developed.
Medullary folds are absent throughout except in the region of the
future fore-brain.
In the head region the three future cerebral vesicles are
indicated by widenings of the medullary plate. The first is
separated from the second by a well marked constriction, while a
less marked constriction situated somewhat anterior to the
posterior margins of the mesodermal head plates separates the
second from the third.
The upgrowths of the medullary folds in the lateral regions of
the fore-brain are very apparent in the photo-micrograph as two
dark lines (PL ix., md.f.). The continuation of these lines across
the front of the medullary plate is produced by the thickening and
duplication of the medullary plate at the head fold (PL xi.,
figs. 15 and 16 cp.).
The medullary plate in the region of the hind-brain is especialty
characterised by the presence on each side of four oblong meta-
merically arranged opaque masses extending from the outer edges
of the medullary plate to within a short distance of the mesial
line. These, as will be shown later, are local thickenings of the
medullary plate, and are therefore true neuromeres. The neuro-
meres are arranged in bilaterally symmetrical pairs, and adjacent
ones are separated from each other by well marked transverse
constrictions. The first pair (PL ix., ?/.'.) are situated entirely in
front of the auditory plates. They are narrow and transversely
elongated. The second pair are not so distinct, and do not extend
quite so far mesially as the first. The third pair are very distinct
and somewhat broader than the first. They are directed slightly
BY JAvS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 47
backwards. The fourth pair are much less distinct than the
others, and in surface view are not so sharply limited from the
medullary plate.
In the anterior region of the mid-])rain, a pair of neuromeres
(PL IX., N.) occur, ])ut they are much less distinct than those of the
hind-brain, appearing merely as local thickenings of the medullary
plate in that region, without any accompanying constrictions.
Opposite the second and third neuromeres of the hind-brain
there is on each side a somewhat triangular thickened patch of
ectoderm — the auditory plate (PI. ix., aud.). The mesoderm in
the region of the auditory plates is very thin, hence they stand
out very distinctly. The anterior margin of each plate is on a
level with the front edge of the second neuromere; indeed the
greater portion of the plate is situated opposite this neuromere.
Each plate is roughly triangular in shape, with the base of the
triangle adjoining the medullary plate, and with a deep bay in
the middle of its posterior margin.
The hind-brain region narrows gradually posteriorly and passes
into the medullary plate of the future spinal cord. The medullar}^
plate widens out towards the posterior end of the embryo into a
well marked sinus rhomboidalis which completely surrounds the
primitive streak. The primitive streak is just visible in the photo-
micrograph (PL IX., pr. s.) as a faint linear thickening enclosing
a whitish axial line — the primitive groove — at the posterior
end of the embryo. The anterior end of the primitive streak
exhibits a distinct thickening, to one side of which the blastopore
(PL IX., hi.) is situated. This thickening is continued forwards
as the head process of the mesoderm which passes into the hinder
end of the notochord. The notochord is very distinct in the
photo-micrograph as the longitudinal line running along the
middle of the medullary plate. At its anterior end it broadens
out, and terminates about the middle of the future fore-brain.
The bilateral Anlagen of the heart are very noticeable in surface
view (PL IX., /t.a.) as two tubular-looking structures lying external
to the auditory plates, and extending backwards from them along
the outer edges of the forward extensions of the lateral zones of
48 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
mesoderm, nearly up to the first somite. They are thus situated
in greater part opposite the hind-brain region.
In the trunk region, on either side of and extending below the
medullary plate there are seventeen pairs of somites : the first pair
situated relatively far back with regard to the auditory plates,
and separated by a considerable space from the last neuromere.
The anterior somites are square in shape with their borders at
right angles to the axial line. They become successively broader
and shorter towards the posterior end of the embryo, where they
are placed obliquely to its long axis.
On each side just external to the outer edges of the somites
(with the exception of the first three) and between them and the
lateral zone of mesoderm there occurs a narrow intermediate
zone containing the Anlage of the Wolffian body (PI. ix., tv.b.).
Beginning as a faint line opposite the fourth somite, it becomes
more distinct opposite the seventh, and from thence backwards as
far as the fifteenth somite it exhibits an irregular linear thicken-
ing. Over this posterior part of its course the Wolffian duct
occurs as a distinct structure. Behind the fifteenth somite the
intermediate cell mass extends backwards as a narrow strip some-
what beyond the last somite.
Caldwell"^ compared the Platj^pus embryo from an egg just laid
to a chick of about 36 hrs., but beyond the number of somites
being about the same in both, there is hardly any other point of
comparison. In a chick of this age the medullary groove is
closed right down to the sinus rhomboidalis, the head is covered
by the amnion, the three cerebral vesicles and the optic vesicles
are well developed, the heart is formed and already bent, the
vascular area differentiated and the blood circulating; whereas in
the Platypus embryo at about the time of laying, the medullary
plate is practically flat, vascular area and amnion are non-existent,
while the heart is represented by two lateral Anlagen at the
periphery of the anterior extensions of the lateral plates of
mesoderm.
* Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W. Vol. xviii. 1884, p. 120.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIX. 49
In fact we are not acquainted with any embryo which reaches
the dimensions mentioned above and is possessed of such a number
(17 pairs) of somites and which yet remains, with the exception
of a sHght head fold, absolutely flat.
Selenka's"^ figure (fig. 1 Taf. xxi.) of a three days' Didelphys
embryo does however present considerable points of resemblance to
the Platypus embryo under consideration, though it is very much
smaller (4'5 mm.) and possesses only fourteen somites.
In both embryos the medullary plates are practically flat,
double heart Anlagen are present, and head fold formed. The
appearance of the anterior end of the medullary plate of the three
days' Opossum closely resembles that of the Platypus embryo; and
further, in the region of the future mid-brain the same lateral
mesodermal thickenings occur [vide Selenka's fig. 4, Taf. xx. y.) as
we have described above, though in the Opossum they are not so
marked as in our embr3^o. According to Selenka these mesoder-
mal thickenings "gehoren offenbar zur Urwirbelplatte des Kopfes."
In the Opossum embryo neither the Wolflian body nor the
auditory plates are indicated, nor are there any neuromeres
described. It however seems highly probable to us that the
structures situated in the region of the hind-brain which Selenka
regards as the anterior five somites are in reality not somites at
all but true neuromeres. A comparison of his fig. 4, Taf. xx.,
which represents a slightly younger embryo, with the above-
mentioned figure renders this view still more likely. In his
figures the structures regarded as the anterior five somites extend
inwards from the edges of the medullary plate to within a short
distance of the mesial line, and in surface ^iew appear related
essentially as are the neuromeres in our embryo; while the
remaining somites of the trunk, instead of ending on a level with
the edges of the medullary plate, extend out beyond them.
Further, his transverse section (fig. 3, Taf. xxi.) through the
region of the hind-brain and passing through one of these
supposed somites shows no mesodermal differentiation which could
^â– " Studieii iiber Entwick. der Thier. iv. Lief, i Abt.
D
50 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
give rise to the appearance seen in surface view. The mesoderm
extends out as a continuous plate of uniform thickness beyond the
edge of the medullary plate, whereas the medullary plate itself
shows a very noticeable thickening as compared with that of the
other sections figured.
The marked retardation in the formation of the medullary folds
and in the folding off of the embryo is one of the most character-
istic features of the embryo at this stage. This may be due, as
suggested by our friend Prof. J. T. Wilson, to the mechanical
effect of the rapid imbibition by the ovum of nutritive fluid
secreted by the uterine glands.
The mature ovarian ovum, according to Caldwell,"^ measures
only 2*5 to 3 mm. in diameter. After the entrance of the ovum
into the Fallopian tube the shell membrane and proalbumen are
added externally to the vitelline membrane, and at the same time
the ovum is increasing in size by the absorption of fluid. The
youngest stages in our possession are eggs in which segmentation
has advanced to some extent ; they measure 5 mm. in diameter,
and possess a distinct and resistent shell membrane separated
from the vitelline membrane by a thin layer of proalbumen. As
development proceeds this layer of proalbumen is soon wholly
absorbed, and in the eggs under consideration the blastodermic
vesicle tightly distended with fluid fitted closely around the inner
surface of the fully formed shell, the vitelline membrane being no
longer recognisable. During the rapid imbibition of fluid by the
blastodermic vesicle, and the consequent increase in size of the
whole ovum, the wall of the vesicle including the embryonal area
is closely pressed against the surrounding vitelline and shell
membranes. It therefore seems reasonable to suppose that under
such conditions, only those structural features of the embryo are
produced which do not involve any upgrowths of the wall of the
vesicle. Once the definite shell is fully formed around the egg
and no possibility exists of its obtaining a further supply of
maternal nutritive material, the normal development of bodily
* Phil. Trans. 1887.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 51
form by folding of the l^lastoderm is enabled to occur l^y the
embryo making room for itself, so to speak, by the using up of
the fluid contents of the vesicle.
Against the view here put forward, it may be urged that in
certain other forms there is a similar rapid increase in size of the
I )lastodermic vesicle by the absorjation of fluid, and yet there is
no retardation in development. In Didelphys, for example, the
1 )histodermic vesicle, according to Selenka, increases in one day
from a diameter of 6 mm. to one of 15 mm., and at the end of this
time the embryo is folded oflf, the medullary groove is closed and
the amniotic folds developed. All these processes can, how^ever,
easily occur on an expanding blastodermic vesicle lying naked in
the cavity of the uterus and devoid of any such mechanical
obstacle as would be presented by the presence of a resistent shell
membrane.
Ectoderm.
The ectoderm forms a continuous covering for the whole of the
l)lastodermic vesicle. It consists, except in the regions to be
subsequently mentioned, of a single layer of polygonal cells. Over
the greater portion of the embryonic area the cells are much
flattened, while in the head region of the embryo and in the
extra-embryonic region of the wall of the vesicle they appear
cubical in section.
Medullary plate. — The medullary plate is, as already
mentioned, still practically flat. Medullary folds are only present
in the anterior region of the future fore-brain ; their appearance
in this region is probably to be associated with the very early
appearance of the optic grooves. The plate consists of elongated
cells, the nuclei of which are situated at different levels simulating
the appearance of several layers of cells. The lateral portions of
the plate are thickest, and are connected by a median much
thinner portion which sends down a keel-shaped process in
some parts to meet the notochord. Along the median portion of
the plate there runs a distinct groove — the " Riickenfurche."
Beiiinninf; as a shallow t^roove slightlv behind the anterior end of
52 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
the medullary plate, it gradually becomes deeper posteriorly^
attaining its maximum depth just anterior to the 1st pair of
somites, where it is distinctly Y-shaped (fig. 7,d.fr.). Behind
this point it gradually becomes shallower again until in the region
of the 8th somite the medullary plate is almost flat, and much
thinner than anteriorly (figs. 9 and 10, md. p,). Posterior to the
somites the plate gradually increases in breadth to form the sinus
rhomboidalis which invests the i3rimitive streak. The extreme
anterior end of the medullary plate is quite flat, destitute of a
median groove, and separated from the underlying proamnion by
the head fold. It therefore consists of two layers, a thicker
upper and a thinner lower layer, separated from each other by a
narrow space (figs. 1, 15 and 16).
Immediately behind the anterior end of the medullary plate its
margins become upturned to form the medullary folds which are
conspicuous in the photo-micrograph as the two dark lines on
either side of the future fore-brain. A transverse section through
the middle region of the fore-brain is shown in fig. 2. In the
middle of the section is a well-marked groove {d. fr.) separated by
elevations of the medullary plate from two lateral grooves (op. gr.)
bounded externally by the medullary folds which curve slightly
inwards above the grooves. The median groove will form the
future first cerebral vesicle, while the lateral grooves sve regard as
the Anlagen of the future optic vesicles. Heape"^ figures a section
very similar to our fig. 2 through the optic grooves of the Mole
(Stage F.), and comments on their very early aj^pearance, while
the medullary groove is still widety open. Posteriorly each optic
groove deepens, becomes somewhat Y-shaped in section, and at
the same time its floor thickens, eventually forming a hollow out-
growth which arises from the bottom of the groove and proceeds
outwards and downwards (fig. 3). An appearance similar to this
has not been described, so far as we are aware, for an}^ other
embryo, and from the evidence at our disposal it would be rash
to speculate too far as to its jjrobable significance. The whole
* Quart. Jour. Micros. Science, Vol. xxvii. 1887, fig. 16, Pi. xi.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 53
appearance somewhat suggests a precocious formation of the
secondary optic cup, but whether this is so or not can only be
settled b}^ the examination of older stages. We are convinced,
however, from the examination of serial transverse sections
through the region in question, that the appearance is not caused
by any artificial folding. Longitudinal sections of our second
embryo also exhibit a series of appearances contradicting such an
interpretation.
N eur m ere s. — As already mentioned four distinct pairs of
neuromeres are present in the hind-brain and a less marked paii-
in the anterior region of the mid-brain. The mid-brain neuro-
meres are not so distinctly marked off from the medullary plate
as those of the hind-brain. It is, hov/ever, obvious in longitudinal
section as a distinct local thickening of the medullary plate (fig.
16, N.) corresponding to the region marked N in the photo-micro-
graph.
In longitudinal section the neuromeres exhibit the character-
istic arc-shaped form originally described by Orr* in the Lizard
( Anolis), and afterwards by McCluref in the Chick, in Ambiystoma
and Anolis, and by Watersf in the Cod.
The neuromeres in the hind-brain of Platypus exhibit very
closely the characters described by Orr for those of the hind-brain
of the Lizard. It must, however, l^e remembered that in the
embryo Lizard, to which Orr's description applies, the medullary
€anal is closed, while in the Platypus embryo the medullary plate
is still flat, so that the outer surface of the medullary canal of the
Lizard corresponds to the undersurface of the medullary plate in
our emVnyo, and his inner surface to our upper surface.
Each neuromere as seen in longitudinal section (fig. 16, N.) is
formed by an arc-shaped bulging on the under side of the
medullary plate. Adjacent neuromeres are separated from each
other by w^ell-marked constrictions on the under side of the
* Orr, Journ. Morphology, Vol. i, 1887, PI. xii. fi^. 5.
t McClure, Journ. Morphology, Vol iv. p. 35-56.
X Waters. Quart. Journ. Micros. Science, Vol. xxxiii. p. 4S1AT2,.
54 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
medullary plate, while on the u^Dper side, opposite the constric-
tions, there are slight transverse ridges.
The elongated cells of which each neuromere is composed are
distinct from those of its neighbours. The cells are arranged
radially from the upper surface of the neuromere, and their nuclei
are slightly more numerous just below that surface (fig. 18). In
the hind-brain of the lizard, on the other hand, according to Orr,
the nuclei are more numerous towards the outer surface of the
neuromere, i.e., towards the undersurface in the medullary plate
stage.
In transverse sections the first neuromere of the hind-brain
appears as a thickening of the medullary plate with two bulgings
on its ventral side — a smaller one situated near the middle of each
half of the medullary plate, and a larger one at the outer edge of
the plate [fig. 19 (2)]. The outer bulging projects considerably
Ijeyond the lateral margins of the medullary plate in the inter-
neuromeric region.
The second neuromere [fig. 19 (4)] is less marked than the first^
but also possesses mesial and lateral bulgings. The third
neuromere [fig. 19 (6)] is on surface view the most distinct of the
four. It possesses a single large 1)ulging at its outer edge. The
fourth neuromere [fig. 19 (8)] is the least distinct; it possesses,
like the first and second, two enlargements of which the lateral
one is the larger (fig. 17). Immediately behind the fourth pair of
neuromeres of the hind-brain the medullary plate is thickened, l)ut
the thickenings are not limited behind by constrictions, and for
the present we leave it an open question whether these are to be
regarded as a fifth pair of neuromeres or not.
Neuromeres in the fore-brain were not observed. All that we
can definitely say at present, then, is that in the head region of
the Platypus embryo of this stage a single pair of neuromeres exist
in the mid-brain and four distinct pairs in the hind-brain. As
Locy* has observed in Squalus acanthias, and Ambiy stoma, so in
Platypus the neuromeric segmentation appears very early, indeed
* Anat. Anz. ix. Bd. p. 393-415.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 55
before the formation of the medullary folds. The same observer
has also insisted on the fact that the neuromeric segmentation is
primitively ectodermic and entirely independent of any meso-
dermic segmentation — ^a view with which the conditions in
Platypus are in complete agreement.
Auditory plates : The auditor}^ plates are situated laterally to
the neuromeric region of the hind-brain, their anterior edges being
on a level with those of the second pair of neuromeres. Each
consists of a thickening of the ectoderm which is distinctly
grooved longitudinally (fig. 6, aud.). The appearance of the
auditory plates in Platypus while the medullary plate is still flat
is noteworthy.
Cranial ganglia are not yet developed. However, in the
interval between the third and fourth pairs of neuromeres and
opposite the posterior portions of the auditory plates there occurs
on each side a distinct downgrowth of the ectoderm just external
to the outer edge of the medullary plate. This downgrowth is
similar to the "Zwischenrinne" described by His"^ in 1879. Beard, f
Rabl,:|: Chiurugi,^^ and others have observed a similar structure,
but do not regard it as concerned with the development of the
cranial ganglia, Goronowitsch,|| indeed, being of the opinion that
it is an artificial production of the paraffin bath. .
There remains to be noticed a longitudinal strand of cells on
each side lying close beneath the ectoderm just external to the
edge of the medullary plate and passing slightly inwards below
its outer margin (figs. 8 and 9, le.). The strands are found in the
trunk region of the embryo extending from the first pair of somites
anteriorly to about the fourteenth pair posteriorly. They are
much larger and more distinct anteriorly. Whether these strands
are ectodermal in their origin and ganglionic in their significance
* His, Untersuchungen iiber die erste Anlage des Wirbelthierleibes —
Leipzig.
i Beard, Quart. Journ. Micros. Sc. Vol. xxix.
:|: Rabl, Morphol. Jahrb. Bd. xv.
§ Chiurugi, Arch. Ital. de Biologie, Bd. xv.
II Goronowitsch, Morph. Jahrb. Bd. xx. Heft 2, p. 201.
56 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
could not with certainty be determined at this stage. They
exhibit no cellular connection with their surroundings and may
possibly represent the detached neural crest ("Zwischenstrang") of
which no other representative is present.
Entoderm.
The entoderm of the embryonic area presents no very special
features. It is a single layer of flattened cells, the nuclei of which
are fairly close. Laterally the cells become more elongated and
the nuclei consequently are further apart. Here and there in the
embryonic area these flattened entodermal cells are interspersed
with large cells distended by the presence in their interior of
several yolk spheres (c/. fig. 22, vit. e.7it.). Further out these yolk-
containing cells l:)ecome more numerous and eventually form the
entire inner lining of the blastodermic vesicle. Their structure is
described later in cc^niection with that of the vesicle. The only
differentiation of the embryonic entoderm is found in the region
of the future pharynx. The cells lying just internal to the amnio-
cardial vesicles have assumed a cubical shape, and form a narrow
thickened band on each side extending back to the region of the
heart Anlagen (tig. 5, pmI. ph.). These two bands represent the
pharyngeal entoderm of this region.
N oto chord : The notochord in surface view is seen to
terminate about the middle of the future fore-brain, and sections
through this region show that the notochord is here represented
by a thickening of the entoderm forming a median band with
which the mesoderm is continuous laterally. Many of the cells
in this anterior region of the notochord exhibit mitotic division
(fig. 14, nch.). This median thickening as traced back becomes
more marked and more sharply limited laterally though it is not
yet distinct from the entoderm. It is in contact above and for
some distance behind this point with the keel-shaped process of
the medullary plate. Then just posterior to this the notochord
becomes distinct as a small rounded mass closely connected with
the entoderm below and in contact with the keel-shaped process
of the medullary plate above (fig. 4). Then, from about the
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 57
middle region of the mid-brain up to a short distance in front of
the tirst somite, the notochord lies below the keel of the medullary
plate and is connected with the entoderm by a thin cellular
filament (fig. 5). Somewhat anterior to the first somite the
notochord l^ecomes entirely free from the entoderm, and continues
in this condition to its posterior end where it passes into the head
process of the primitive streak. The notochord increases in size
somewhat after Ijecoming entirely free from the entoderm. It is
then distinctly rod-shaped, while anteriorly it is somewhat oval in
section.
The notochord is relatively of very small size in Platypus.
Heape* has also noticed a similar condition in the Mole, and he
regards it as due to the very early appearance of the nervous
system.
Mesoderm.
The mesoderm is at this stage established as two lateral wings
distinct from the ectoderm and entoderm except at certain regions
in the axial line, viz. :— -At the anterior flattened-out end of the
notochord, in front of the blastopore in the region of the head
process, and behind the blastopore in the region of the primitive
streak. As already mentioned in the description of the surface
view of the embryo, the mesoderm lying on either side of the
anterior end of the embryo forms two sharply limited plates to
which we have given the name of mesodermal head plates as dis-
tinguished from the mesoderm of the rest of the body.
The head plates of mesoderm (PI. ix., h.p. mes.) are lateral
thickenings on either side of the future fore- and mid-brains, and
show no signs of segmentation. Their outer contours are directly
continuous with the forward continuation of the outer boundaries
of the proto vertebral zones of mesoderm. Their very distinct
posterior boundary is not due to the entire disa.ppearance of
mesoderm at this point, l^ut to a very marked thinning of the
Quart. Journ, Micros. Science, Vol. xxvii. 1887, p. 139.
58 ox A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
A transverse section through the middle region of the head
plate is shown in fig. 4. Here, below the medullary plate, the
mesoderm exists in the form of scattered stellate cells, while
laterally to the outer edges of the medullar}^ plate the cells are
more numerous and more closely packed, especially immediately
below the ectoderm and at the outer rim of the head plate. This
thickened rim marks the outer contour of each plate as seen in
surface view. Beyond this rim the mesoderm is divided by the
development of a ccelom into two layers, an upper thin layer of
flattened somatic mesoderm cells and a lower thicker layer of some-
what cubical splanchnic mesoderm cells. The narrow ccelomic
spaces thus enclosed when traced posteriorly are found to be the
most anterior parts of the body cavity, and for them we adopt
Minot's* term amnio-cardial vesicles.
The amnio-cardial vesicles extend forwards as two horns beyond
the anterior end of the embryo. The}" converge towards the
median line without, however, uniting, and practically limit a
small area (the proamnion) in which mesoderm is absent. The
proamnion is of very small extent and lies immediately in front
of and below the anterior end of the medullar}^ plate (figs. 1 and
15, 2jra.). Behind the posterior limits of the head plates the
mesoderm becomes reduced to a very thin layer, and is absent
altogether over a limited area just anterior to the outermost
portion of each auditory plate (fig. 5), and here ectoderm and
entoderm come into contact as in the proamnial region. The thin
areas of mesoderm behind the head plates are very obvious in the
photo-micrograph as the lighter areas in the middle of which the
auditory plates are situated. These thin areas are wholly confined
to the forward continuations of the protovertebral zones of meso-
derm. Externally to the thin areas are the forward extensions
of the lateral trunk zones of mesoderm, along the outer edges of
which are situated the symmetrical heart Anlagen.
The mesoderm in the hind-brain region is entirely destitute of
segmentation. It consists, below the medullar}^ j^^^^^j of scattered
* Human Embyology, 1S92, p. 198.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIX. 59
stellate cells which become somewhat more compact below the
ectoderm and nnmediately external to the edges of the medullary
plate. The outer margin of this more compact portion of the
mesoderm corresponds to the outer limit of the forward prolonga-
tion of the protovertebral zone of mesoderm, and is visible in
the photo-micrograph as the dark contour bounding this area.
Be^'-ond this line the mesoderm is split into the somatic and
splanchnic layers. The somatic layer is composed of a single
layer of cells and is closely applied below the ectoderm; the
splanchnic layer is thicker, especially where it is inbulged over
the heart endothelium (figs. 5 and 6, spL). The two layers unite
again into a single layer a little way external to the lateral heart
Anlage. The lateral extension of the unsplit mesoderm beyond
the heart Anlage is, however, very small, so that the lateral
extent of the ctelom practically corresponds in this region with
the lateral extent of the mesoderm. From this point backwards
the mesoderm gradually extends more and more outwards until it
reaches its maximum extension opposite the posterior end of the
embryo.
Behind the heart Anlagen proper the somatic layer of mesoderm
becomes very much thicker than the splanchnic (figs. 7, 8, 10 and
12), and it continues in this condition to the posterior end of the
embryo. At the same time the two layers become more closely
applied to each other and the ctelom is reduced to a narrow cleft.
Just over the venous trunks leading to the heart Anlagen tlie
two layers are unsplit, thus dividing the coelom into a more mesial
and a more lateral portion.
The splitting of the more mesially situated part of the lateral
mesoderm becomes more indistinct posteriorly, so that opposite
the anterior somites the mesial part of the ventral coelom is largely
obliterated and there exists external to the somites a mass of
unsplit mesoderm (fig. 8).
The par-axial mesoderm immediately in front of the first pair
of somites, though not transversely limited in front as a distinct
segment, has essentially the same appearance in section as that of
the first somite. It forms on each side a distinct and compact
60 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
plate lying close below the ectoderm immediately external to the
edge of the medullary plate. Beneath it there exist looser stellate
cells which are continuous with it at both ends (fig. 7, mes. ax.).
Mesodermic somites: The appearance of the seventeen pairs of
somites as seen in surface view has alread}^ been described. With
the exception of the first three and the last three the somites are
practically identical. In transverse sections (figs. 8 and 9, Tti.s.)
they present an oblong form compressed dorso-ventrally and
extend some distance beneath the medullary plate. They possess
in their whole breadth very distinct myotomic cavities bounded
by dorsal and ventral walls composed of somewhat stellate cells.
The cavity is sometimes interrupted by strands of cells passing
between the two walls.
The ventral walls of the first three pairs of somites have
l)ecome converted into stellate mesenchyme cells, and in the first
at least the myotomic cavity is no longer distinguishable (fig. 7).
Their dorsal walls form a somewhat arched plate of closely
compacted cells.
The last three pairs of somites do not possess well marked
cavities. They consist of al^out two layers of cells connected by
cellular bridges (fig. 10, m.s.).
Lateral trunk mesoderm and central cwlom : The lateral meso-
derm appears directly continuous with the first three somites,
without any intermediate cell mass, while from the 4th onwards
a distinct intermediate cell mass is present l^etween the two (figs.
8 and 9).
Except op]30site the posterior somites the cleavage of the lateral
mesoderm does not extend right w^ to the somites, the ccelom
only appearing some distance out. The splanchnic layer is only
one cell thick, while the main portion of the mesoderm continues
out as a thick somatic layer. This gradually thins as it passes
out, becomes reduced to a single layer of cells, and ultimately
fuses with the splanchnic layer to constitute a single mesodermal
layer marginally.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 61
The dark area in the photo-micrograph just external to the
somites is the optical expression of this thick somatic layer of
mesoderm. The outer limit of the dark area marks the place
where the latter becomes reduced to a single layer.
The ventral ccelom is, in the region of the 1st somite and just
anterior to it, coextensive with the thickened portion of the
somatic mesoderm seen in surface view, while posteriorly it
extends out beyond the j^oint where the latter becomes thin.
Further back still the ccelom gradually becomes reduced in extent
until in the region of the 9th to the 13th somites the mesoderm
is no longer split (fig. 9, mes.).
Opposite the 14th or 15th somites the mesoderm again becomes
split, the ccelom extending close up to the intermediate cell mass
(fig. 10).
Behind the somites the protovertebral zones of mesoderm are
directly continuous with the lateral plates, while the splitting of
the mesoderm does not occur until some distance out (fig. 12).
The mesoderm continues some distance beyond the hinder end
of the primitive streak, and here the ccelom ic cavities gradually
extend inwards towards the mesial line and fuse with each other,
so that the ccelom forms a continuous space. In this region the
tail fold of the amnion will probably be develo^^ed.
Primitive streak : In surface view the notochord is seen to
become gradually thicker at its posterior end and to terminate
finally in a distinct longitudinal thickening situated about the
middle of the sinus rhomboidalis. The continuation forwards of
this enlargement to join the notochord is the head process of the
primitive streak, while behind it is the primitive streak itself,
just visible in the photo-micrograph as a whitish line.
Sections through the primitive streak show that mesodermal
cells are being rapidly proliferated off from the ectoderm forming
the floor of the primitive groove along its whole extent, and that
the lateral wings of mesoderm are directly continuous with this
axial streak of cells (figs.. 12, 13, and 24). At the anterior end
of the primitive groove ectoderm, mesoderm and entoderm are
fused together in the axial line (tigs. 23 and 24) and form the
62 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
enlargement already referred to which projects as an elongated
eminence composed of rounded cells at the anterior end of the
primitive groove (figs. 11 and 23). In the hollow at one side of
this eminence the l^lastopore (bl.) is situated. The blastopore
leads into the blastoporic canal which runs forwards in the head
process for a distance of 16 mm., and opens l^y a lateral
opening into the cavity of the blastodermic vesicle (fig. 21,
bl. op.). The inner opening of the blastoporic canal appears
as a break in the entoderm. The walls of the canal are
wholly composed of mesoderm. The lumen of the blastoporic
canal is not a single one, but is divided up by bridges of
cells into two or three smaller canals (fig. 22, bl. c). A similar
duplication of the canal has Ijeen observed by Kolliker* in
the rabbit, by Bonnetf in the sheep, by Zumstein:|: in the chick,
and by Spee§ in the guinea-pig; hence the latter observer regards
it as probably of general occurrence in the formation of the
chorda in mammals.
The head process runs forwards from the front end of the
primitive streak, distinct from the ectoderm though closely applied
below it. Laterally it is continuous at intervals witli the meso-
derm, while below it exhibits traces of cellular connection with
the entoderm. This connection with the entoderm is interesting
in view of the observations of Carius|| that the head process is
free at first and only subsequently unites with the entoderm.
Just anteriorly to the inner opening of the blastoporic canal tlie
head process is connected with the ectoderm by a narrow median
strand exhibiting a similar appearance to that shown by Graf
Speell for the guinea-pig. Two small lumina at this stage not
continuous with the blastoporic canal occur in the head process
just anterior to the inner opening of the canal (fig. 20, nch. c),
* Sitzuiigsber. Phys-med. Gesellscliaft in Wiirzburg. 1883.
+ His's Archiv. 1884.
t Mesoderm. 8vo, Bern, 1887.
§ Anat. Anz. iii. Jalirg. 1888.
II Svo. Marburg, 1888.
1i Anat. Anz. 1888, p. 319 (et fig. 2).
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 63
while a short distance further forward a single distinct lumen
occurs, but it is confined to one section. Apparently we have
here to do with the last traces of the notochordal canal.
The head process diminishes in thickness anteriorly and finally
passes into the posterior end of the notochord.
WoIffia7i duct and body : The appearance of the Anlagen of the
Wolffian duct and body has already been described in surface
view\ In sections of its anterior region from the 4th to the 7th
somites the united Anlagen of the Wolffian duct and body appear
as a solid cord of cells projecting from the intermediate cell mass.
The greater part of the cord lies free betw^een the outer edges of
the somites and the lateral mesoderm, while its dorsal surface
approaches within a short distance of the ectoderm (fig. 8, w. h.).
As the cord is traced backwards it is found to become gradually
constricted in its middle region, while its dorsal portion broadens
out, until it becomes somewhat dumb-bell-shaped in form. Its
basal portion is now very distinctly connected with the lateral
mesoderm on its outer side. On its inner side, how^ever, the
connection with the somites is not now so well marked, and in
places this connection is completely lost. At about the level of
the 6th somite the constriction of the middle region of the cord
is much more marked, and it here consists of a ventral larger
rounded mass connected by a narrow isthmus with a dorsal much
thinner flattened band. The upper portion is the Anlage of the
Wolffian duct, while the lower is the Anlage of the Wolffian
tubules. Then, by the gradual disappearance of the connecting-
isthmus the mass comes to consist of a dorsal band-like Wolffian
duct Anlage (tig. 25, to.a.)^ united at its mid-region to the under-
lying Anlage of the tubules [tv.t.). Finally, opposite the 7th
somite the narrow connection betweeii the duct Anlage and the
Anlage of the tubules is lost altogether, and the two become
separate (fig. 26).
The outer edges of the duct Anlage lie close l)elow the ectoderm
which, just over the duct, is very thin and delicate, and with very
few nuclei as compared with the rest of the ectoderm. Very
64 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO, \
often it is broken in the process of section cutting — a feature
Martin* has also met with in the case of the rabbit (c/. his fig. 7
A-D. Taf. vii. in this respect with our figs. 25 and 26).
The Wolffian duct Anlage is now distinct not only from the
somites and lateral mesoderm, but also from the Anlage of the
tubules. However, it does again become connected with the
tubule Anlage, and also with the lateral mesoderm at its outer
edge, over a very short distance. The Anlage of the tubules
consists of a somewhat rounded mass in transverse section, with
its cells arranged in a radial manner round its somewhat clearer
centre. In this in some sections a distinct lumen occurs (fig. 26,
10. t.) The tubule Anlage is now only distinctly connected with the
lateral mesoderm, the connection with the somites being lost more
or less completely. Some sections indeed (fig. 26) show the
tubule Anlage as an isolated rounded mass, below which passes
a thin layer of loose cells of the intermediate cell mass.
The duct varies somewhat in width in different sections, and
this gives rise to the irregular linear thickening previously
mentioned as seen in surface view. As it is traced to its distal
end the duct is found to be become gradually reduced to a thin
flat plate somewhat thicker in the middle and thinning off
laterally, and separated by a very small interval from the over-
lying thin area of the ectoderm. At the same time the Anlage of
the tubule becomes reduced in size and its differentiation from the
rest of the intermediate cell mass largely disappears, though it is
still distinguishable as a compact mass of rounded cells forming a
projection from the loose cells of the mass.
In its posterior region the outer edges of the now very thin
Wolffian duct curve slightly upwards towards the ectoderm, and
thus the entire Anlage has here a somewhat arc-shaped appearance.
The duct is here of considerable width, though not more than two
cells in thickness in its middle region. Finally, with the upturned
edges of the Anlage, the ectoderm becomes continuous by means
of fine but very distinct strands (fig. 27, w.d.), and there is thus
* Archiv f. Anat. 1888.
BY JAS. P. UILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 65
enclosed between the two a small space. Behind tlie point Avhere
the connection of the edges of the Wolthan duct with the
ectoderm is first seen, the duct rapidly becomes reduced in size
and approaches closer to the ectoderm (fig. 2S, 7v.a).
Finally it is reduced to a single cell, which passes directly over
into the ectoderm (Mg. 29, u-.d.).
From these observed facts we are inclined to believe that the
Wolffian duct in Platypus has an ectodermal origin. We cannot
assert this dogmatically from the examination of one stage; yet
the balance of e^ idence is in favour of this view, and indeed from
the facts at our disposal it is the only view we can put forward.
The duct certainly does not grow backwards by jDroliferation
from its posterior end as Martin states to ])e the case in the
rabbit, for as opposed to the condition in that animal, where
according to Martin the Wolffian duct at its extreme posterior
end is thicker than just anterior to that point, in Platypus the duct
gradually becomes thinner posteriori}^, and as we have described,
passes directh^ over into the ectoderm. Nor can the duct grow
backwards Iw the addition of cells from the mesoderm, for as w^e
have shown the Wolffian duct is quite distinct posteriorly from the
Anlage of the tul3ules and from the adjacent mesoderm. We are
therefore inclined to believe that the Wolffian duct in Platypus
grows backwards by separation or delamination of cells from the
ectoderm.
Just as the difierentiation of the Anlage of the Wolffian duct
from the ectoderm is lost as it is traced posteriorly, so the
differentiation of the Anlage of the tubules from the intermediate
cell mass is also lost. The Anlage of the tubules can, however,
be traced behind the termination of the" Wolffian duct as a narrow
strand of rounded cells readily distinguishable from the looser
branching cells of the rest of the intermediate cell mass. The
relations of the Anlage of the tul^ules to the intermediate cell
mass in Platypus is thus essentially the same as Martin has
described for the rabljit.
ijj LIBRARY ^\
66 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
In its topographical relations the Wolffian duct in Platypus
agrees with the conditions described by Meyer"^ in man, where
according to him the proximal part of the duct leads back from
the mesoderm while its distal portion is connected with the
ectoderm. Both Meyer and Martin agree in describing the
proximal part of the duct as mesodermal in origin, but as to this
we are not in a j)Osition to speak with certainty. However, in
Platypus the proximal part of the united Anlagen of the Wolffian
duct and tubules is related essentially as Martin describes for the
corresponding portion in the rabbit, and it might well be that as
in that animal the proximal portion of the Wolffian duct Anlage
arises from the intermediate cell mass in common with the
Anlagen of the Wolffian tubules.
Vascu/ar System.
Heart Anlagen: The symmetrically placed heart Anlagen have
already been descril)ed in surface view as situated in greater part
opposite the hind-brain region. Sections, however, show that
their anterior ends extend somewhat beyond the posterior limits
of the head plates of mesoblast, and we may therefore look upon
these head plates as the regions in which the future aortic arches
will be developed.
The heart Anlagen at this stage in Platypus are essentially
similar to those of a rabbit of about nine days.
As the amnio-cardial vesicles are traced from their anterior
ends backwards, they gradually increase in lateral extent, and at
the same time towards the posterior limits of the head plates the
thick splanchnic layer of mesoderm separates from the entoderm.
In the space thus formed on each side, rounded vasifactive cells
appear. Posteriorly these vasifactive cells have formed the
vascular endothelium of the anterior cardiac region, and this lies
in the gutter-like groove— open towards the entoderm — formed
by the inbulging of the thick splanchnic mesoderm into the amnio-
cardial ctelom. Each heart Anlage consists anteriorly of several
* Arch. f. Mikr. Anat. Bd. 36, 1890.
BY .JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 67
(2-3) endothelial tubes (fig. 5, lit. and ) which about the middle
region of the Anlage unite into a single tube (fig. 6, ht. end.).
Traces of a septum are, however, still present in the single tube,
sliowing that it has arisen, as Rabl* has observed, by the fusion
of at least two smaller ones. On the ventral wall of the single
endothelial tube there is a distinct cell mass projecting into the
cavity of tlie same (fig. 6) : it apparently represents the ventral
part of the septum above mentioned. The endothelial wall is
separated by a considerable space from the (splanchnic) meso-
dermal wall of the heart Anlage. In the middle region of the
Anlage the latter exists in the shape of a semi- tubular canal open
ventrally (fig. 6, spl. ), while both in front and behind the groove
becomes shallower and more closely applied to the somatic
mesoderm.
Posteriorly, at the same time the endothelial tube is reduced in
size and is continued backwards as the Anlage of the sinus
venosus and omphalo-meseraic vein, and with this other endothelial
tubes unite. Near its posterior end each venous Anlage consists
of one or two small vessels which disappear finally just anterior
to the first somite.
Endothelial vessels have already begun to appear in other parts
of the embryonic region, e.g., in the mesodermal head plate and
especially where that underlies the medullary plate (figs. 3, 4, 5
and 6). These are not yet connected with the anterior prolonga-
tions of the heart Anlage, nor do they appear to contain blood
corpuscles. It is worthy of note that the endothelial vessels may
also occur in the somatic mesoderm, between it and the ectoderm.
Bonnetf has also observed vessels in the somatic mesoderm in the
sheep, but according to him they soon disappear. As already
mentioned, a vascular area was not visible in the fresh condition,
l)ut sections reveal the presence of vasifactive cells and actual
vessels in the extra-embiyonic region (figs. 10, 12, 30, vas. c, b.v.).
Both the vessels and the vasifactive cells become more numerous
opposite the posterior end of the embryo. The vessels exist in
* Morph. .lahrb. Bd. xv. p. 226.
t His's Archiv. 1889, p. 56.
68 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
the form of endothelial tubes which may enclose a number of
vasifactive cells.
The vasifactive cells constituting blood islands occur in great
numbers opposite the posterior region of the embryo between the
more compact superficial layer of mesoderm and the entoderm
(figs. 12, 30, vas. c). In the mesial portion of this region the
vasifactive cells appear to be differentiating to form vessels,
while further out they occur in larger or smaller undifferentiated
blood islands. The vasifactive cells possess each a large rounded
nucleus with a very thin surrounding laj^er of protoplasm (fig. 30,
vas. c).
Structure of Blastodermic Vesicle.
The oval vesicle on which the embryo lies is comparable at this
stage to a typical mammalian blastodermic vesicle, and forms in
some respects a striking connecting link between the conditions
oljtaining in the Sauropsida and in the Placental Mammals.
The for the most part flattened ectoderm cells of the embryonic
area pass into the more cubical cells forming the outer layer of
the wall of the vesicle. Both ectoderm and entoderm form
perfectl}^ continuous layers all round the vesicle (fig. 32).
The vesicle, as already described, contained a thin albuminous
fluid, while below its thin wall there existed a layer of yolk
spheres. Sections and preparations of the wall of the vesicle
mounted whole show that these yolk spheres are all intracellular.
They are contained in large cells — vitelline entoderm cells — which,
as has been already stated, are sparsel}'' present among the
flattened entoderm cells of the embryonic area, and immediately
outside this are more abundant; while throughout the rest of the
non-embryonic portion of the vesicle they constitute the entire
inner entodermic lining of the latter.
The vitelline entoderm cells are of great size and are almost
entirely occupied by large yolk spheres (figs. 30-33, vit. ent.).
Each cell contains a large nucleus rendered somewhat irregular
by internal compression by the yolk spheres. The nucleus is
generally situated on the side of the cell next the ectoderm (fig.
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 69
33). The greater part of the chromatin of tlie nucleus is con-
tracted into a star-shaped mass in the centre, while smaller
pai'ticles of chromatin occui- sparsely around this.
The mesoderm extends round from a quarter to a half of the
circumference of the vesicle in the posterior region of the embr3'o.
The lateral extension of the mesoderm diminishes gradually as
one proceeds forwards, so that in the region of the heart Anlagen
it extends onl}^ a short distance laterally to them, while in the
region of the head plates of mesoderm the amnio-cardial vesicles
form its outermost limit. In front of the embryo Ijeyond the
point where the amnio-cardial vesicles converge to limit the pro-
amnion, mesoderm is entirely absent.
Beyond the coelom there extends out a layer of flattened meso-
dermal cells ])etween which and the vitelline entoderm is a layer
of numerous rounded vasifactive cells (fig. 30, cas. c). Further
out these two mesodermal layers are continued into a layer of some-
what spindle-shaped cells with large rounded nuclei which forms
the outermost portion of the extra-embryonic mesoderm (fig. 31,
mfi,-<.). It is from the relatively very early great lateral extension
of the mesoderm and from the presence of a very distinct yolk-
containing entoderm that we regard the vesicle of the Platypus
embryo of this stage as transitional between the yolk sac of
8auropsida and the typical mammalian blastodermic vesicle.
In the Sauropsida it is only after most of the yolk has Ijeen
absorbed that the yolk sac is completely lined by discrete ento-
dermal cells; in the higher mammalia, on the other hand, in the
absence of yolk, the entoderm — the homologue of the yolk mass
of Sauropsida — is very early able to completely enclose the cavity
of the l)lastodermic vesicle — the homologue of the yolk sac cavity
of Sauropsida. The ovarian ovum of the Platypus is as is well
known a typical yolk-laden egg, yet at this stage the embrj^o,
instead of overlying a mass of unsegmented 3'^olk, lies on the
surface of a two-layered vesicle containing fluid, which is only
distinguishable from a typical mammalian Ijlastodermic vesicle
through the fact that instead of having a \^olk-free entoderm, it
possesses an entoderm composed of large yolk-containing cells.
ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO,
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Beference LMtr><.
am. a. Amniotic area. amc. r. Amuio-cardial vesicle, and. Auditoiy
plate, hi. Blastopore, hi. c. Blastoporic canal. hi. op. Internal opening
of blastoporic canal. h.r. Blood vessels ca^. Coelom. d. Jr. Median
sulcus of medullary plate ('" Riickenfurclie "). ect. Ectoderm, etit. Ento-
derm, eat ph. Pharyngeal entoderm. ?i.a. Heart Anlage. h. j^r. Head
process of primitive streak, hp. ones. Head plate of mesoblast. ht f:nd.
Heart endothelium, le. Longitudinal strand of cells lying just external to
the edges of medullary plate. m.s. Somite. m.s.c. Cavity of somite.
nid. f. Medullary fold, md, p. Medullary plate. me,H. Mesoderm. â– m<'>'.
ax. Paraxial mesoderm in front of Jst somite, mes. I. Lateral mesoderm.
N. Neuromere of mid-brain, n'-n.^'^ Neuromeres of hind-brain. nek.
Notochord. nch.c. Remains of notochordal canal, ojk gr. Optic groove.
pra. Proamnion. p7'. g. Primitive groove, /n: s. Primitive streak, so???.
Somatic mesoderm, sjil. Splanchnic mesoderm. I'as. r. Vasifactive cells.
vit. enf. Vitelline entoderm, w. h. Anlage of Wolffian body. m. d. Anlage
of Wolffian duct, i'k t. Anlage of Wolffian tubules.
Plate IX.
Photomicrograph of Platypus embryo from the egg just ready to be laid.
From the dorsal surface, (x St )
Plates x.-xiii.
The positions of the sections from which figs. 1-13 are drawn are indicated
in the photo-micrograph by corresponding numbers.
All the drawings were made with a Zeiss' camera lucida.
Plate X.
Fig. 1. — Transverse section through the anterior end of the medullary plate,
showing its separation from the vesicle, the proamnion {pra.)
underlying it and the amnio-cardial vesicles {amc. v. ) laterally,
(x 70.)
Fig. 2. — Transverse section of the middle region of the future fore-brain
passing through the commencement of the optic groove [op. gr.).
The median sulcus {d.fr.) will form the future medullary groove
proper. ( x 70.)
Fig. .3. — Transverse section slightly posterior to fig. 2 showing the hollow
outgrowth from the floor of the optic groove. { x 70.)
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 71
Fig. 4, — Transverse section passing through about the middle region of the
head plate of mesoderm {hp. mes.j. The amnio-cardial vesicles
[amc. c. V.) form its outer limit. ( x 70.)
Fig. 5. — Transverse section between the posterior limit of the head plate of
mesoderm and the auditory plate. The section passes through
the anterior end of the lateral heart Anlage — the endothelium
[ht. end.) of which here consists of two tubes. Mesially to the
hear-t Anlage the pharyngeal entoderm [ent. ph.) is visible.
Mesially to the latter the mesoderm is interrupted over a small
area, (x 70.)
Fig. 6. — Transverse section through the middle of the lateral heart Anlage.
The endothelium here forms a single tube, though traces of a
septum are still visible in it. The (splanchnic) mesodermal wall
{spl.) of the heart has here a semitubular shape. The section
also passes through the 3rd neuromere of the hind-brain {n'".)
apparent as a thickening of the medullary plate and through the
grooveil auditory plate [and.). ( x 70.)
Fig. 7.— Transverse section through the region immediately in front of the
1st somite. The paraxial mesoderm {mes. ax.) here exists in the
torm of an arched plate, below which are numerous stellate cells.
The lateral mesoderm is not completely split, the coelom being
represented by several interrupted spaces. The median sulcus
(Riickenfurche) [d. fr.) of the medullary plate is here very
marked and the notochord is now quite free from the entoderm.
(X 70.)
Plate XI.
Fig. 8. — Transverse section through the 6th somite. The somite somewhat
oblong in section, is seen to extend mesially below the medullary
plate and to possess a very distinct cavity [m. s. c). The somite
is separated from the lateral mesoderm by the Anlage of the
Wolffian body {w. h. ) Ventrally the latter is distinctly connected
with the lateral mesodenn, while the connection with the somite
is not so distinct. The lateral mesoderm splits sonie distance out
into a thick somatic layer {-^om:) and a thin splanchnic layer
(•s;;^.). The longitudinal strand of cells [le.) immediately
external to the edge of the medullary plate and passing inwards
below it is also visible. ( x 70.)
Fig. 9. — Transverse section through the 7th somite. In this section the
Anlage of the Wolffian duct (w;. d.) is seen to be distinct from
the Anlage of the tubule [iv. t.) underlying it. The latter is
72 ON A PLATYPUS EMBKYO,
more ov less distinct both from the somite and the lateral meso-
derm. The lateral mesoderm is not split, the ventral ecelom
being absent in this region. The other relations are the same as
in fig. 8. (X 70.)
Fig. 10. — Transverse section passing through both the 16fch and 17th
somites owing to their oblique direction. The somites in this
region no longer po'-scss distinct cavities — they consist of an
upper and lower layer connected with each other by processes of
the cells. Between the somites and the lateral mesoderm there
is present the Anlagen of the Wolffian tubules in tlie form of a
strand of cells {w. /.) slightly pi ojecting from the intermediate
cell mass. The eoalom (ftf.) is of great lateral extent, and
numerous endothelial vessels {h. r.) are visible in the outer part
of the section. ( x 70.)
Fig. 11. — Transverse section through the blastopore [hi.) which is situated
to one side of a longitudinal eminence at the anterior end of the
primitive gi-oove {rf. also fig. 23). The mesoderm is unsplit for
a consideral)]e distance out. ( x 70 }
Fig. 12. — Transverse section through the primitive groove {pr. g.) slightly
behind fig. 11. (x 70.)
Fig. 13. — Transverse section through the hinder region of the primitive
streak [pr. s. ). ( x 70. )
Fig. 14. — Median portion of fig. 2 more liighly magnified. The section
passes through the anterior end of the notochord where it
spreads out and is represented by an axial thickening of the
entoderm. With this thickening the mesoblast is continuous
laterally, (x 280.)
Fig. 15. — Longitudinal section of anterior end of embryo passing through
the optic groove (op. gr.) and the head fold. ( x 180.)
Fig. 16. — Longitudinal section of anterior region of the embryo, passing to
one side of the median line, especially to show the mid- brain
neuromere (xV.) and the four hind-brain neuromeres (7i'-?/,^'^).
(x 70.)
Plate XII.
Fig, 17, — Transverse section through the anterior portion of the 4th
neuromere showing the mesial and lateral bulgings on its under
side— the lateral one much the larger of the two and projecting
outwards, (x 180.)
Fig. 18. — Longitudinal section through the 3rd and parts of the 2nd and 4th
neuromeres especially to show their arc shaped form. ( x 280.)
BY JAS. P. HILL AND C. J. MARTIN. 73
Fig. 19 (1-9). — Series of transverse sections through the ueuromeric region
of the hind-brain. Sections 2, 4, 6 and 8 pass through the
neuromeres {n'-n'''^-), while 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 show the normal
thickness of the medullaiy plate in front of and between the
neuromeres. ( x 70. )
Fig. 20. — Transverse section through the anterior portion of the head
process of the primitive streak. Three sections in front of the
internal opening of the blastoporic canal. The lumina inch, c.)
in the head process represent the last traces of the chorda-cauai.
(X 340. j
Fig. 21.--Tiansverse section through the internal opening of the blastoporic
canal [bl, op ) into the cavity of the vesicle. ( x 340.)
Fig. 22. — Transverse section through the head process of the primitive
streak {h. pr.) - 9 sections behind fig. 21. The blastoporic canal
is represented by three lumina (6^. c). The head process [h.pr)
is distinct from the ectoderm, but shows traces of cellular con-
nection with the entoderm. It is more or less continuous with
the mesoderm laterally. ( x 340.)
Fig. 23. — Tninsverse section through the blastopore (W. ). It opens to one
side of a longitudinal projection at the front end of the primitive
groove Ectoderm, mesoderm and entoderm are fused with each
other in the axial line. ( x 340.)
Plate XIII.
Fig. 24. — Transverse section through the anterior end of the primitive
groove [pr. g.) immediately behind fig. 24. As in that fig. the
three germinal layers are continuous with each other axially.
(x 340.)
Fig. 25. — Transverse section through the united Anlagen of the Wolffian
duct and tubule in the region of the 7th somite. The Wolffian
duct Anlage (vr. d.) is semilunar in form and is connected at the
middle of its ventral side with the tubule Anlage {w. t.). The
latter possesses a small lumen and is distinct from the somite
(m. s.), but connected with th^ lateral mesoderm (mes. /. ).
(x 340.)
Fig. 26. — Transverse section through the Anlagen of the Wolffian duct and
tubule some distance behind fig. 25. The Wolffian duct Anlage
(w. d.) now exists as a flattened band overlying and distinct from
the rounded tubule Anlage. Its outer edges are closely
approximated to the ectoderm which immediately over t
74 ON A PLATYPUS EMBRYO.
Anlage of the duct is very delicate, and, as in the preceding
figure, has been broken in the process of section cutting. The
tubule Anlage is rounded in shape, and consists of radiating cells
surrounding a small lumen. It is now free from both the somite
and the lateral mesoderm. ( x 340.)
Figs. 27, 28 and 29 represent three successive sections through the posteiior
end of the Anlage of the Wolffian duct. As compared with fig.
26, the Wolffian duct Anlage in fig. 27 is now considerably
smaliei' and thinner, and is connected at its outer edges with the
ectoderm. In fig. 28 the Anlage is still more reduced in size,
consisting of a single layer of cells, while in fig. 29 it is reduced
to a single cell, connected at both ends with the ectoderm.
Behind the section from which fig. 29 is drawn there is no longer
any trace of the Wolffian duct Anlage. The Anlage of the
tubule in fig. 27 appears as a rounded projection of the inter-
mediate cell mass, with radially arranged cells, but in figs. 28
and 29 this radial arrangement is lost, and the Anlage appears
as a slight elevation of the mass. ( x 340. )
Fig. 30. — Transverse section through the wall of the blastodermic vesicle
some distance beyond the amniotic area, showing the ectoderm
(ecL), vitelline entoderm {vit. ent.) and mesoderm. The latter
consists of a layer of cells below which occur numerous
vasifactive cells {vas. c.) ( x 320.)
Fig. 31. — Transverse section of the wall of blastodermic vesicle some
distance further out than fig. ,30. The mesoderm here consists
of a single layer of spindle-shaped cells, while vasifactive cells
have almost entirely disappeared, ( x 320.)
Fig. 32. — Transverse section of wall of blastodermic vesicle at the ant-
embryonic pole. Ectoderm and vitelline entoderm are alone
present. ( x 200.)
Fig. 33. — Vitelline entoderm cells of blastodermic vesicle drawn as seen
through the ectoderm. They are filled up almost entirely by
3'olk spheres ; their large and somewhat irregular nuclei are
generally situated on the outer sides of the cells next the
ectoderm. ( x 200. )
75
A REVIEW OF THE F08SIL JAWS OF THE ]l AC RO-
FODID.E IX THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM.
By C. W. De Vis, M.A., Correspoxdixc; Member.
(Plates xiv.-xviii.)
The motive to the present inquiry was a desire to ascertain
whether additional light might not be thrown on an interesting
portion of the Nototherian fauna by the large number of Macro-
podine jaws, rescued from time to time from the drifts of the
Darling Downs, which have been reduced to specitic order. It
was a task attempted some years ago, and promptly laid aside :
partly on account of the uncertainty attaching to the identifica-
tion of specimens with the types described and figured by Owen :
partly in view of the existence of species unknown to that
author and the necessit}^ of giving them maturer consideration :
partly in the desire to gather a larger body of illustrative
material : partly in the hope that when the Volume of the British
]\Iuseum Catalogue of Fossil Marsupials should be published the
labour of determination would be greatly eased. As that hope
has been in a measure realised, and as once fertile sources of
accumulation have temporarily ceased to be productive, the local
investigator, though still compelled to trust very much to his own
material and his own judgment, ventures upon the work.
Preparatory to tlie examination of so consideral:)le a number
(over eleven hundred) of dissociated jaws and portions of jaws,
wherein specitic differences are obscured by that general resem-
Ijlance in molar form which pervades their several groups, it
seemed judicious to ascertain, as far as possible, the nature and
range of the variations, individual and specific, in living Macropods
which are exemplified by the fossil jaws notwithstanding their
imperfections. Provision has therefore been made of skulls of
several kinds of Kaniraroos and Wallabies in number suflicient to
76 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACJiOl'ODID.f:,
yield reliable estimates of dimensional extremes and averages
within the species, and accurate views of the extent of likeness
and difference in form and size maintained among themselves In^
the species. Information of this kind has Ijeen obtained from
479 skulls, namely, of Macropus (jigaideas 80, M. rufns 9, M.
robnstus 39, Halinaturus parryi 55, //. agilis 29, IJ. dorsalis ^^,
H. rvficollls 50, H. coxeni 9, H. thetidis 19, H. icilcoxi 2, B.
stiyiiiaticus 3, //. uaiahatus 8, //. hroivni 1, Onychoyale frenata 4
l^t^troyale penicillata 70, Dendrolayus lumholtzi 3. Furnished
with this instruction and with a resolution to be chary of assuming
anything of a fossil which may not l^e predicated of a similar
living species, it may be possible to thread the maze ])efore us
with more confidence in the progress made than would l)e per-
missible were the clues less frequent.
.Since the mutilations to which the fossil remains ha^e been
subjected diminish in number the available points of comparison
})etween them and recent jaws, those data only have been asked
from the latter which are given with more or less constahc}^ by
the former.
As to measurements, the following are those which have ])een
found the most useful in practice. The length of the full series
of cheek-teeth and its width as represented 1)}^ that of ni'^, the
niolar most frequently preserved in the fossil state : the length of
the premolars, permanent and deciduous: the external length of
the mandible from the edge of the masseteric fossa to that of
incisive outlet: its internal length from the edge of the iiitermas-
seteric foramen to the symphysis: its vertical height, anteriorly
at the fore end of the tootli m^, and posteriorly immediateh^
behind ni"^ : and the thickness of the ])one below m'^. Of less
frequent service are the length from the hinder end of the sym-
physis to the incisive outlet, the length of the diastema, that of
the basiocranial axis, the breadth of the palate, and the height of
the ah'eolar process behind the orl)it.
The following tables, which may be of some use to others
enu'aa'ed in similar work, are summaries of the measurements
taken under the headings which seemed most important. An
BY C. W. DE VIS.
77
intention to throw the sexes into separate tables was abandoned
when it was found that although the mean size is less in the
female than in the male, individual exceptions are so frequent
and pronounced that such separation would afford no guidance in
an attempt to discriminate between the sexes of the fossils.
All measurements are in millimetres.
LENGTH OF CHEEK TEETH.
ADULT MANDIBLE.
ADULT
MAXILLA
Least.
Great-
est.
Number
Mea-
sured.
Mean.
Least.
Great-
est.
Number
Mea-
sured.
Mean.
M
giganfeus
.. 1 ..
. 48-5
48-1
.. 50-7
.. 3 .
. 49-2
rohustus
rvfns
...
.. 1 ..
.47 -4 1
39-7
.. 53-3
.. 4 ..
. 47-0
H.
parryi
".". 30-5 .
â– .'. 37-5
â– â– 16 '.".
". 35-9
37-8
.'." 41-5
''. 16 ''
'. 39-0
agilis
. 36-0 .
.. 43-5
.. 13 ..
. 39-9
40-4
.47-2
.. 13 ..
. 43-7
ualabatus
.. 34-5 .
.. 40-0
.. 2 ..
. 37-2
37-0
.. 420
.. 3 ..
. 38-8
dor.<<a!is
., 29 .
.. 35-3
.. 20 ..
.32-0
33-0
.. 377
.. 17 ..
. 35-2
rufjcoUis
.. 25-5 .
.. 37-5
.. 13 ..
34-8
36-0
.. 40-7
.. 14 ..
. 38-7
wilcoxi
.. 30 .
. 31-0
2
30-5
31-3
..31-4
.. 2 ..
. 31-35
stigmaticus
'.'. 1 '.'.
29-5
1 ..
. 31-6
coxeni
.'. 29-2 ."
.'. 32
.. 6 ..
30-4
29-2
'.'. 32-6
.. 5 ..
. 31-8
fhetidis
.. 29-0 .
.. 30-5
.. 4 ..
30-2 1
29-0
.. 31
.. 4 .
30-2
6.
frenata
.. 18 .
. 23 .
.. 3 ..
20-8 1
25-7
.. 34-5
.. 2 ..
. 30-1
P.
penicillata
.. 28-5 .
..31-7
.. 17 ..
30-0 !
27-5
.. 34-5
.. 17 ..
. 32-6
WIDTH OF FORE LOBE OF M.3
M.
H.
giganteus
rohustus
rufus
parryi
,, agilis
,, ualahatus
,, dorsalis
,, thetidis
,, coxeni
,, ruficollis
,, irilcoxi
,, stigmaticus
O. frenata
P. iJf.nicillata
6-9 ..
7-0 ..
8-0 .
5-4 ..
5-7 ..
60 .
4-9 ..
4-4 ..
4-5 ..
57 ..
4-6 ..
47 ..
4-1 ..
4-5 ..
8-9 ...
8-0 ..,
8-5 ..
6-9 ..
7-2...
71 ...
60 ...
5-4 ...
50 ...
7-2...
4-6 ...
4-9 ...
4-3 ...
5-5 ...
44
9
4
38
19
5
41
13
7
31
2
2
2
44
UPPER
77 .
. 10-2 ...
41 .
.. 87
7-0..
. 90...
17 .
.. 8-0
9-9..
. 10-5 ...
5 .
.. 10-1
6-1 ..
. 7-6 ...
36 .
. 70
7-1 ..
. 8-6...
19 .
. 7-8
7-1 ..
. 9-2 ..
5 .
. 7-8
6 ..
. 7-3 ...
39 .
. 67
5 6 ..
. 6-5 ...
10 .
. 5-9
5-5 ..
. 6-5 ...
7 .
. 6-3
6-5 ..
. 8-9...
34 .
. 7*5
5-5 ..
. 6-2 ...
2 .
. 5-9
5-9 ..
. 61 ...
2
. 6-0
5-5 ..
6-3 ...
2
. 5-9
5-6 ..
. 6-8...
41 .
. 6-5
78
FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID^,
LENGTH OF P.^
LOWER.
UPPER.
M. giganteus
,, robustus
,.
6-3 .'
.'! 87!!
8 .
. 77
,, rufus
1 ..
. 6-8
H. parryi
'.'." 4-0 .
.. 5-9 .
.. 31
..' 5-0
5-1 '.
!! 6-8 !!
16 .
. 57
„ agilis
.. 67 .
.. 8-1 .
.. 19
.. 7-6
87 .
.. 10-2 ..
13 ..
. 9-2
, , ualahatus
.. 61 .
.. 8-4.
.. 4
.. 7.1
6-8.
.. 9-9..
4 ..
. 8-2
,, dorsalis
.. 5-0 .
.. 6-5.
.. 37
.. 5-5
57.
.. 7-3..
39 ..
. 6-5
,, thetidis
.. 4-2 .
.. 6-0.
.. 9
. 5-3
5-5 .
.. 6-1 ..
8 ..
. 60
,, coxeni
.. 6-1 .
.. 6-8 .
.. 7 .
.. 6-5
7-0.
.. 8-0 ..
5 ..
. 7-4
„ ruficollis
... 4-0.
.. 50 .
.. 24
.. 4-5
5-8 .
.. 7-6..
26 ..
. 6-6
,, ivilcoxi
.. 6-6.
.. 7*5 .
.. 2
.. 7-0
6-6 .
. 7-5 ...
2
. 7-0
,, stigtnaticus
1 .
.. 6-0
1 !!
. 6-0
0. frenata
'.'.' 2-3 .
.'.' 2-6 ".
.. 2 .
.. 2-4
2-3 '.
! 2-6 !!!
2 ..
. 2-45
P. iMniciUata
.. 5-1 .
.. 6-7 .
. 44 .
.. 5*7
5-8 .
. 80...
42 ..
. 71
ANTERIOR DEPTH.
POSTERIOR
DEPTH
M. giganteus .
.. 20-2 .
. 260 ..
. 33 .
. 23-6
20-2 .
. 28-5 ...
41 ..
. 24-6
,, rohy.s(u,x
.. 20-0 .
. 25-5 .
. 11 .
.. 23-1
18-0 .
. 25-1 ...
11 ..
20-8
,, rufus
.. 200 .
. 26-6 .
5 .
. 23-0
17-6.
. 23-0 ...
4 ..
19-9
H. parryi
.. 16-7 .
. 20-0 .
31 .
.. 18-3
15-0 .
. 20-0 ...
51 ..
170
„ agilis
.. 16-5 .
. 21-1 .
. 19 .
. 187
157 .
. 21-1 ...
13 ..
18-5
,, nalahafus
.. 14-3 .
. 17-6 .
. 5 .
.. 15-7
137 .
. 15-8 ...
4 ..
14-9
,, dorsalis
.. 12-0 .
. 17-0 .
. 40 .
.. 14-6
11-5 .
. 17-5...
.37 ..
13-8
,, tliefidis
.. 100 .
. 13-5 .
. 20 .
.11-8
10-4 ..
. 13-5 ...
9 ..
11-9
,, coxeni
.. 11-4 .
. 13-4 ,
. 9 .
. 12 2
101 ..
. 11-5 ...
/
10-5
„ ruficollis
.. 14-9 .
. 19-4 .
. 32 .
. 16-2
14-1 ..
. 200 ..
26 ..
16-2
, , irilcoxl
.. 11-4 .
. 12-5 .
2
. 11-9 i
11-0 ..
. 12-5 ...
2 ..
117
,, stigmaticus .
. 10-5 ..
. 12-8 ..
.' 3 .'
. 11-6
10-5 ..
. 12-4 ...
2 ..
11-4
,, hrowni
. 1 .
. 10-5
0. frenata
". 11-2'.'.
'. 11-9 ."
. 3 .
. 1 1 -5
9-0 ..
! 11-0 !!!
3 !!.
9-8
P. 2^enirillata .
. 12-0 ..
. 16-0 .
. 44 .
. 14-0 1
8-1 ..
. 13-9 ...
42 ..
12-6
THICKNESS.
M. giganteus
. 11-7 ..
. 16-8 ..
. 45 .
. 14-4
..
,, o'obustus
. 11-0 ..
. 14-1 ..
. 19 .
. 12-5
.
,, rufus
. 13-0 ..
. 13-7 ..
. 4 ..
. 13-2
...
H. parryi
. 10-1 ..
. 12-0 ..
. 36 ..
. Ill
.
..
,, agilis
. 10-1 ..
. 14-2 ..
. 18 ..
. 12-5
,_
,, ualahatus .
. 9-5 ..
. 12-1 ..
5 ..
. 10-4
.
...
,, dorsalis
. 90 ..
. 11-0..
37 ..
. 10-0
,, thetidis
. 7-3 ..
9-0 ..
9 ..
. 8-0
...
,, coxeni
. 71 ..
8-0 ..
7 ..
7o
•
,, ruficollis
. 9-5 ..
12-0 ..
32 ..
. 10-9
,, vnlcoxi
. 7-5 ..
8-4 ..
2 ..
. 8-0
,, stigmaiicus ..
. 7-3 ..
8-0 ..
3 ..
. 7-6
,, hrowni
1 ..
. 7-6
...
,, frenata
.' 5-3 .'.".
6-6 '.'
3 ..
. 5-9
...
,, penicillata ..
. 7-5 ..
100 ..
44 ..
. 8-6
...
in-
c. w.
DE VIS.
7^
EXTERNAL LENGTH.
INTERNAL
LENGTH
Least.
Great-
est.
Numbei
exam-
ined.
Mean.
Least.
Great-
est.
Number
e.xam-
ined
Mean.
M. qirjantevs
... 8fi-0 .
.104-7.
.. 27 ..
.97-66
62 3 .
. 76-1
.. 27 ..
. 66-5
,, robust lis
... 75-5 .
. 89-0
.. 4 .
.83 55
57-3 .
.. 71-6
.. 4 .
. 67-5
,, rufus
... 8.-7 .
.. 97-0
2 .
. 91-3
68-5 .
. 72-7
. 2 ..
70-6
H. pari-yi
... 61-1
.. 73-1
'.". 16 '.
.. 66-2
49-4 .
. 56-6
.. 16 ..
. 53-6
,, aijiHs
... 68-2 .
.. 78-0
.. 13 .
. 69-7
38 .
. 46-4
.. 13 ..
. 420
,, ualabafus
... 55 .
.. 63-7
.. 3 .
. 59-1
46-3 .
. 54-8 .
.. 3 ..
49-7
,, dormlU
... 50-4 .
.700
.. 20 .
. 58-7
42-5 .
. 51-8
.. 20 ..
. 46-0
,, thetidis
... 42 5 .
.. 490
.. 4 .
. 45-7
34-6 .
. 41-0
.. 4 ..
37-1
,, r-oxeni
... 4-2-2 .
.. 48-2
.. 6 .
. 44-5
34-5 .
.. 38-8
.. 6 ..
. 36-5
,, rvfcoltiH
... 00-0 .
.. 70 8
.. 14 .
.. 65-1
45-6 .
. 56-7
.. 14 ..
51-2
,, u-ilroxi
... 44-5 .
.. 480
2
. 46-2
j 39 3 .
. 41-0
.. 2 ..
. 40-2
,, sti(/matui(s
'.'. 1 ".
..44-6
!
1
. 35-0
0. frenata
..'. 41-1 .
''. 43-5
.. 3 .
..419
1 28-5 ".
'. 36-2
.. 3 ..
. 32-4
P. pewrillata
.. 42-2 .
.. 52-4
18 .
. 47-7
35-5 .
. 45-8
.. 17 ..
. 3S-8
With respect to form and structure, attention has necessarily
been paid to the shape and sculpture of the several premolars and
to their periods of rise and fall in terms of the posterior molars :
to the shape, properties and accessory furniture of the true molars:
and to the form of the lower contour line of the mandible.
Occasionally it has been found useful to notice the shape and
direction of the lower incisor, the condition of the symphysis, the
level of the inlet of the dental canal, the position of the internal
orifice of the lachrymal canal, and status of the anteorbital
foramen.
A jaw is accounted adolescent in which appears the first trace
of wear on the hind lobe of the penultimate molar; it is supposed
to be adnit when the same state of wear obtains in the last molar.
When the posterior surface of an upper molar is excavated
vertically and the inner lip of the semifuniculate gorge resulting
is raised, this lip in the antecedent teeth appears as an adpressed
fold.
The term link is retained for the "longitudinal ridge linking
together the several lobes, or the front lobes and their respective
talons; valley is a term convenient in use to indicate the hollows
which are constant between the lobes and frequent on the talons.
The (][ualification elongate applied to molars implies that those
of the lower jaw are on the average one half longer than broad,
or thereabouts.
80 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.K,
With one exception the whole of the fossils haAe Ijeen collected
at various points on the Darling Downs.
On the ground that "the characters 1)}' which Kangaroos and
Wallabies are separated from each other are neither sufficient!}^
constant nor important to found generic distinction upon," we are
invited by Mr. Thomas to forego the admitted Ijenefit of keeping
them apart. The ease and certainty with which the unlearned
l)ushman distinguishes betw^een Wallabies and Kangaroos by their
build, gait, and hal)its, are derived from a kind of evidence to
which we are not accustomed to pay much heed, ))ut — that apart
— it appears to the writer that in the Vjehaviour of the premolar
we have a distinguishing character of sufficient constancy and
importance for our purpose. It is rare to meet wdth an aged
wallaby's jaw with fewer than the whole five cheek teeth in place
at once. It is equally rare to find even a recently adult kangaroo
jaw with all the cheek teeth together in place. In the one a
strong progressive movement of the su])stance of tlie jaw carries
forward all the teeth, and, unhindered by any fixed impediment
on the brink of the diastemal declivity, hurries them over it: in
the other the hinder teeth, propelled wdth far less force against
the immo\able barrier set up by the premolar, are kept on duty
throughout life, or, if an anterior molar ever be lost, it is so by
lateral out-thrust or deca}' in .situ. The comparative unimportance
of the premolar function in Jfacropus, expi-essed in the feeloleness
and short duration of these teeth, especially of the so-called per-
manent tooth, and its high functional value in Ilalmaturits, in
which the latter is better developed than the deciduous tooth and
is to old age one of the best preserved of the grinders, point to
physiological differences l^etween the two groups important
enough to render the constant transiency or permanency of the
premolars a good diagnostic character.
Allowing then the practical convenience of recognising the
genus Halmaturus to outweigh a theoretical reason which seems to
him to lack foundation, the writer proposes to retain that genus
for the present.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 81
Palorchestes, Owen.
Palorchestes, Owen, I."^ 1874, p. 797.
Molars with talons anteriorly and posteriorly; the anterior of
the ujDper and the posterior of the lower the longer; mid valleys
of the up23er closed on the inner, or on both sides, by a raised
basal rim. Lower molars elongate; their links continuous with
the outer angles of the lobes. Anterior upper molars with vertical
ridges and folds. Upper premolar triangular, nearly equilateral,
transversely bicuspid, with a talon fore and aft; lower oblong,
unicuspid, with a long posterior talon which is strongly linked to
the lobe. Vascular foramen present in the mandible. Lower
incisors procumbent, spatulate. Middle pair of upper incisiors
smallest.
Key to the sj^ecies.
Size larger; cheek-teeth over llO'O in length,
anterior talon of p^ short; lobe of p* indented
intero-posteriorly azael
Size smaller, cheek-teeth below 100*0 in lenjrth,
anterior talon of p"* produced; lobe of p*^ exca-
vated intero-posteriorly • parvus
Palorchestes azael, Owen.
P. azael, Owen, I. 1874, p. 798; Lydekker, IV. p. 237;
Etheridge, V. p. 186.
P. crassus, Owen, VIII. Vol. xi. p. 7, 1880.
Anterior talon of upper premolar in the half w^orn state indis-
tinct. The lobe of the lower premolar indented on the posterior
surface near the inner side of the link; its area of abrasion sul)-
quadrate, extended longitudinalh\ Size large.
* Niunbers hke this after authors' names refer to the bibliographical hst
at the end of the paper.
F
82 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.i-:,
Dimensions.
Manclihtdar. — The length of the first three cheek-teeth is 66-1,
of the premolar 17'0, of m."^ 29*5, of p.'% mp/, m.^, m.'-^ 60-0.
The width of m.^ is 19-0. The anterior depth of the mandible is
61 '5; the thickness 33 '5.
Maxillary. — From figure and cast. The entire length of the
cheek-teeth is from 11 7 '5 to 122*5, the premolar diameters 18-0
X 18-0, m.i m.2 are 55-5, m.-^ 31-8. The width of m.^ is from
20-5 to 23-1. The breadth of the palate is from 100-0 to 103-2.
The lower molars are j)roportionately narrow, but not more so
than in the existing Macropods, M. (/igantens, II. agilis, and II.
riificollis.
Form of teeth.
Maxillary. — The premolar p.* (PL xiv. fig. 5) is an almost
regular equilateral triangle with convex sides and angles. From
a narrow basal rim or talon, which however seems to be restricted
to the inner side, the fore end of the crown slopes gently ujDwards
to the horizontally abraded surface of the two cusps. Of these
the smaller is placed over the intero-posterior angle, the larger
over the middle of the outer side of the base. The cusps are
defined by a deep indent between their posterior surfaces, anteri-
orly by a depression in the inclined plane in front. The posterior
basal talon runs from the outer angle to the middle of the hinder
surface of the inner cusp. Opposite the posterior indent the
talon is long, but behind the outer cusp where it is feebly linked
to the middle of the base of that cusp, short.
Afolars. — In these as they appear in the cast the anterior basal
talons and their linking ridges are distinct, but in the anterior
teeth appear chiefly on the inner side, the posterior talons appear-
ing only on the outer; but on the free surface of m.^ (PI. xiv. fig.
6) the hinder talon is seen to extend round to the inner end of
the base and to send upwards a strong linking ridge towards the
inner end of the crest of the lol^e before it. The mesial linlcs run
from centre to centre of the lobes which cross the line of the
teeth at an oblique angle. The indications afforded by the cast
BY C. W. DE VIS. 83
are confirmed and additional information aftbrded by the anterior
molars of a young individual (PL xiv. fig. 3) in the comparatively
unworn state which preceded the eruption of p.'*. The anterior
talon of m. ^ is long and broad and its outer valley is subdivided
])y a second fore link. The mesial Nalle}^ is closed on the inner
side ]jy a raised basal rim and sul)divided by a low^ linking ridge.
A broad tapering fold rises upon the face of the fore lobe flanking
the outer valley and a feebler one on the opposed face of the hind
lol^e. The posterior talon is very short, but, like the anterior,
continuous from side to side; from its inner third a broad tapering-
fold or link rises obliquely upwards on the lol)e to the inner end
of its crest. M. ^ lias no secondary fore link and no folds rising
from the outer mid valley, but in other respects repeats th(3
characters of m. ^. In both teeth the inner side of the front
talon is broader and deeper than the outer, hence its more per-
sistent appearance in old age.
Mandibular.— F.^ (PI. xiv. fig. 4). The fore end of the lobe
has on its inner side a shallow indent terminating below in a
small ledge w^hich represents an anterior basal talon. The hori-
zontal surface of al:)rasion is almost wholly on the inner side of
the central line. The link connecting the lobe with the basal
talon is wide and elevated. There is a feeble impression behind
the middle of the outer surface of the crown.
P.-^ (PI. XIV. fig. 1) is oblong with a large basal talon simu-
lating a posterior lobe; this is linked to the lobe proper, but the
link is on the outer side ill-defined. Fore end of lobe so impressed
on each side as to give it the appearance of possessing a basal
talon with a high linking ridge. Crown suddenl}^ dilated over the
intero-posterior angle, where a trans^e^'se field of dentine shows
the part of the tooth in earliest use.
Molars. — (PI. xiv. fig. 2). With strongly linked Vjasal talons
fore and aft, the mesial and anterior links descending forwards
from the outer angles of the lobe yield surfaces of abrasion peculiar
in pattern.
84 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID^f:,
Succession of teeth.
The two anterior true molars are still l^ut little affected by
wear when p> has reached a forward stage of incubation, and in
the lower jaw p.'^ is still in position and little worn when the
hind lobe of m. "-^ is well advanced and its fore lol^e nearly in use.
The upper premolar and last molar are half worn down simultane-
ously, m.^ being at the same time reduced almost to a shell.
From these data it would seem that the anterior true molars
rapidly develop in the young jaw; that the upper premolar
probably rises simultaneously with m.^, and that it persists to an
advanced period of life.
The immediate affinities of Palorchestes are with Halumturus
rather than with Macropirs.
Examqyles — ? tine.
Maxillary.— K cast of the palato-maxillary region of the skull
with all the cheek-teeth; original in the Australian Museum. Like
the cast, which has the same history and is numbered M. 2573 in
the British Museum Catalogue, it is inscribed " Macropus^^'' and
is without an}^ doubt from the same mould — Portion of a right
maxilla of a young example with m. ^, m.'- and the crypt of p.*
— An isolated m.*, an isolated m.'"', and an isolated m.".
Mandibular. — Portion of a left ramus, with p.*, m, ^, m. ^,
aged, vascular foramen distinct — A left ramus with m.^ perfect
and remains of m.- and m.^, adult, vascular foramen distinct —
Part of an isolated m.* — Associated rami of a young mandible
wdth i.^, p. '^5 mp.*, m.-, from the Peak Downs.
Palorchestes parvus, n.s.
Constantly smaller than F. azael, the cheek teeth measuring-
less than 100-0. Upper fourth premolar with a distinct anterior
talon, lobe of the lower fourth premolar deejDly emarginated on
the posterior surface of the inner side, its area of abrasion narrow,
angular, and extended transversely.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 85
Dimensions.
Mandibular. — The length of the entire series of cheek-teeth is
94-7 (1); of the series of true molars 80-0 (1); of the last three
molars 58-3 (1); of the last two 39-4 and 41-6 (2); of the last
22-0 and 22-1 (2); of m.-, m/^ 37-0 (1); of m.-^ 22-1 (1); of m.^
20-2 (1); of the premolar 15-0 (1); of mp.-^ 18-5 (1). The width
of m.^ is from 12-3 to 14-2 (7). The anterior depth is 40*6 and
48-3 (2); the posterior from 35*4 to 49-0 (10); the thickness from
21-8 to 29-9 (10).
Maxillary. — The length of the first four cheek-teeth is 55-9 (1);
of the first two molars 37-6 (2); of the last two 37 9 (1); of m.^
21-2 and 21-5 (2); of m.^ 19-7 (1); of m.- 20-5 and 2M (2).
The width of m."^ is from 15-8 to 16-6 (3). The length of the
premolar is lo'O (1).
The mean widths of m.'^, upper and lower, are to each other as
13. 16-2, agreeing very nearly with those in H. agilis, H. ulahatus,
H. stigmaticus, and 0. frenata.
No gradations in size connect this species, which is rather
numerously represented, with P. azael, to which it stands in much
the same relation as does S. otuel to S. yoliah; its inferiority in
this respect is therefore characteristic. Not only so, but the
differences between two of its dimensions and the corresponding
dimensions in P. azael transcend the range of individual variation
in size which on the testimony of living Macropods can be allowed
within a species. The mean widths of m."' in the two are 13 and
18, or an excess in the latter approaching one-half of the former.
The greatest living difference is found in P. penicillata, where it
amounts to a third only; in H. dorsalis and H. loilcoxi it is still
less. Again, the mean anterior depth of the mandible in P.
IKtrvus 44*4 is in P. azael increased by more than one-half, and
this far exceeds the nearest living approach to it which occurs in
H. dorsalis where it is considerably less than one-half. Finally,
the premolars (^f P. parvus are relatively much larger than those
of P. azael.
FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDjE
Form.
Maxillary. — Premolar (PI. xiv. fig. 8). The anterior talon is
well developed. Commencing about the middle of the inner side
and passing round the fore end, where it gives off a short but
distinct linking ridge, it extends on the outer side, but is there
interrupted by a fracture of that side of the crown. The inner
cusp is defined by a sharp impression on the sloping anterior
surface, and posteriorly by a slight vertical indent between it and
the outer cusp. The hinder surface of both cusps descends
vertically to the low and narrow posterior talon.
Molars. — In a slightly worn tooth exemplified b}" m. ^ (PL xiv.
fig. 7) the anterior talon is on the inner side of the fore link
subdivided by a lofty but narrow vertical ridge; corresponding to
this an oblique fold on the hinder surface of the fore lobe descends
to the mid valley, making a sharp angle at its junction with the
mid link; this again is opposed by a faint ridge on the anterior
face of the hinder lobe, and is repeated in a similar oblique fold
on the hinder face of the hind lobe. On the outer side of the
latter is a very strong ridge or fold rising from the outer third of
the basal talon to the outer end of the crest of the lobe. The
mid valleys are closed at each end by a raised basal rim. In
worn teeth the more or less abraded remains of the stronger of
the several vertical folds are pretty constantly recognisable. The
well developed talons fore and aft and the lateral basal rims give
a quadrate, self-contained apjDearance to the teeth, which is
i-etained to the last.
Mandihulary. — -Premolar (PL xiv. fig. 9). The inner side of the
fore end of the crown presents a broad groove, ending below in a
tumid rim, simulating or representing a basal talon; the posterior
surface of the lobe internal to the link is excavated, and the sur-
face of wear encroached upon fore and aft is rendered narrow
and angular, while it slopes obliquely inwards and rearwards.
The hinder talon is long and concave on the inner side, but on
the outer half it is nearly filled by the broad linking ridge, which
rising upon it ascends with an inward curve upon the extero-
posterior surface of the lobe.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 87
Molars. — The anterior talons are very short, the posterior
moderately long and connected with their lobes by strong linking
ridges. The fore and mid links run from the outer end of the
crest of the lobes to the middle of the fore lobe and anterior
talon respectively. The lobes are set obliquely to the line of the
teeth, and this oblic(uity combined with the continuity of the end
of one lobe with the middle of the next confers upon the series a
facies peculiar to the genus.
Upper incixors. — (PI. xiv, fig. 10.) The arch formed by the series
is broad and flat; the teeth increase in breadth from the central
pair outwards, but in the figure the relative width of the outer
pair has not been duly represented by the artist.
Succession of teeth.
Of this nothing is known, except that the premolar is retained
to old age.
Examples — twenty-six.
Maxillary. — A left maxilla with the first four cheek-teeth
somewhat mutilated: aged; traces of the vertical ridges remaining
— Part of a left maxilla with m,^, m.-; adult; vertical ridge
distinct — A right maxilla showing the palate lobe entire; teeth
m.^ m.-^; aged; teeth worn to the base — Part of a right maxilla
with m.^, m. -; aged; teeth worn to the base— Fragment of a right
maxilla with m.^, adult — Fragment of a right maxilla with m.^
— An isolated m.^, young — Part of an isolated m.". — Greater
part of the base of a skull with all the teeth but the premolars
well preserved.
Mandibulary. — A left ramus with all the cheek-teeth; adult;
vascular foramen large — A left ramus with all the molars, adult
— Hinder half of a left ramus with m. ", m.'^, m."*^ — Hinder half
of a right ramus with m."^, m. \; aged; vascular foramen — Hinder
half of a right ramus with m.*^, m.*; aged; vascular foramen-
Part of a left ramus with m.*^; aging; vascular foramen — Part of
a left ramus with m.-, m.'^; adult — -Hinder half of a right ramus
with m.'^, m.^ imperfect -Fragment of a left ramus with part of
88 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDj:,
m.^ — A right ramus, teeth destroyed; vascular foramen — Part of
a left ramus, teeth destroyed —Isolated tooth, mp.* — Isolated
tooth, m." — Isolated tooth, m.* — A second example, hinder
portion of a left ramus, with m.'^, m,^; aged.
Sthenurus, Owen.
Sthenurus, Owen, I. 1874, p. 264; Lydekker, IV. p. 231.
Protemnodon, Owen, partim — Owen, I. 1874, p. 274.
Procoptodon, Owen, — Owen, I. 1874, p. 788; Lydekker, IV. p.
233.
An amalgamation of Procoptodon with Sthenurus is demanded
by their verisimilitude of tooth sculpture, and by the occurrence
of forms of transition between the two. Owen's reference of the
maxilla of Protemnodon anak to S. atlas has been accounted for
by Mr. Lydekker (/.c. p. 231),
Lower permanent premolar with an obliquely disrupted lobe
forming the posterior moiety of the outer side, the cleft occupied
by sinuous and papillary folds. Upper permanent premolar with
a broad ledge on the inner side, its cavity traversed by erect
folds. Molars short, with ascending tapering, spreading folds
incumbent on their surfaces; posterior basal margins tumid but
rarely forming distinct talons, mandibular symphj^sis generally
anchylosed; lower incisors generally small, laterally compressed
and much less incumbent than in other Macropods. A vascular
foramen on the outer side of the mandible beneath one of the
posterior molars. Posterior orifice of dental canal generally alcove
the level of the teeth. Palate with large vacuities.
The vascular orifice is in S. goliah frequently minute, penetrating
the bone at the end of a delicate superficial groove; occasionally
in this species it appears to be obsolete. Outside the genera
Palorchestes and Sthenurics it has been observed in but two
instances, in one Macropus and in one Halmaturus.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 89
Key to the species.
Longitudinal links of molars elevated, with lateral
processes.
Cheek-teeth from 82-5 upwards; hinder surface of
molars with few but strong vertical folds goliah
Cheek-teeth from 76-0 downwards; hinder surface
of molars with numerous fine vertical ridges .... otuel
Longitudinal links of molars nearly or quite obsolete.
Length of first three cheek-teeth 55*0; links rudi-
mentary; incumbent folds strong and numerous pales
Length of first three cheek-teeth from 42*0 down-
wards; links feeble; incumbent folds feeble.
Incisor elevated, compressed; symphysis anchy-
losed; mandible thick orcos
Incisior procumbent, spatulate; symphysis
lax; mandible slender atlas
Sthenurus goliah, Owen.
Procoptodon goliah, Ow.; Owen, XXIII. p. 59; Lydekker, IV.
p. 2.34.
P. rapha, Ow.; Owen, I. 1874, p. 788; Lydekker, IV. p. 234;
Etheridge, V. p. 190.
P. pusio, Ow., partini; Owen, I. 1874, p. 788; Etheridge, V. p.
190.
P. (joliaf.h, Etheridge, V. p. 190.
Macropus yoliah, Owen, XXIII. p. 259.
M. rapha, Flower, IX. part ii. p. 721.
Molars with thick lobes, rounded angles, subrectilinear crests
and (except as to the upper talons) elevated links. Inner aspect
of links and lobes with strong folds, the largest and most constant
90 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDJ^:,
of them being the outer one on the intero-anterior face of the hind
lob? in the lower and intero-posterior face of the fore lobe of the
upper teeth. Hinder surface of molars with strong ascending-
folds, one or two on the lower, two or three on the upper (PI. XV.
figs. 8-9). Upper premolar short with a broad ledge, not extend-
ing beyond the posterior three-fifths of its inner side; its cavity-
traversed by a longitudinal sinuous ridge. Lower premolar sub-
triangular with a group of sinuous folds within the posterior cleft.
Dimensions.
Mandible. — The entire series of cheek-teeth varies from 82-5 to
93-7 (6); p.*, m.\ m.^, m.^ measure 68-0 (1); m.^, m.^, m.'^ 53-0
(2); m.i, m.2 34-2 (1); m.^, m.^, m.^ from 58-1 to 65-5 (2); m.* 22-2
(1); mp.* 13-4 (1). The premolar is from 12-5 to 14-5 (5). The
width of m.^ ranges from 15-0 to 19-8 (10); its length being from
18-4 to 21-5 (10). The anterior depth of the mandible is from
50-0 to 60-0 (7); the posterior depth from 37*0 to 52-5 (6); the
thickness from 34*7 to 42*5 (7). The entire length fore and aft
is 147-5 (1).
Maxilla. — The molars m. -, m. *^,m.'^ measure together 51 -5 (1);
m.-^ m.3 from 38-5 to 42-1 (2); p.^ mp.*, m^, m.^ 46-6 (1). , An
immature premolar has diameters 12-0 x 9-4; the milk premolar
is 9-2 in length.
With one exception all these dimensions come well within the
allowable limits of range in a species. The width of the teeth
differs to an extent which is nearly a third of its minimum; this
is sensibly greater than in the three living species which show the
greatest latitude in this respect — M. gig aniens, H. agilis, and H.
ruficollis — but the difference is too small to stand as a lone
objection to the fusion of S. rapha with S. goliah.
Form of teeth.
Mandibular. — P.* (PI. xv. fig. 7.) Generally triangular, with
rounded sides and angles, rarely an irregular suboval. Outer
surface of crown impressed at its anterior two-fifths or thereabouts,
BV C. W. DE VIS. 91
the hinder with a narrow groove near the inner angle. In the
3'oung tooth the impression and groove are the terminal limits of
an oblique superficial cleft separating the extero-posterior angle
from the rest of the tooth, which cleft is traversed and beset by
enamel folds and processes; in teeth reduced to a horizontal
surface these processes appear in section as a group of sinuous
folds occupying most of the centre of the hinder portion of the
tooth, and surrounded on the outer side by a long crescentic band
of dentine. Diameters 12-7 x 11.1.
Molars. — (PI. XV. fig. 9). The edge of the anterior talon is on
the inner side double. From the inner side of both links low
vertical folds descend to the valleys. Two or three strong vertical
folds project from each face of the inner half of the fore lobe, a
single fold from the anterior face of the hind lobe; a strong
tapering fold rises upon the centre of the posterior surface of that
lobe. The links are loft}^ and sharp.
Maxillary. — P.^ (PI. xv. fig. 6). Extracted from its crypt in
a forward stage of growth is irregular oblong, with convex angles,
diameters 11-9 x 9-0. Outer side nearly straight, inner with a
deep impression at its anterior two-fifths. Fore end sloping, with
ol)lique folds. Intero-posterior region of crown much dilated, its
surface depressed, concave; its edges at each end rising upon the
side of the main lobe, and its posterior surface separated from
that of the lobe by a wide cleft which does not descend to the
base. The concavity of the ledge is traversed longitudinally b}''
a single sinuous ridge-like fold. On the hinder half of the outer
side of the crown tapering ridges ascend to the crest.
P.^ (PI. XV. fig. 5) much mutilated and worn down , to a field of
dentine surrounding a patch of enamel, on the surface of which
sinuous enamel folds still appear in -section. The inner side of
the crown is impressed at its anterior fourth. Diameters 8*5 x
8-5.
Rise and fall of teeth.
On this point the limited number of specimens afford sparse
information. In the upper jaw the penultimate molar appears to
92 FOSSIL JAWS OF M ACROPODID.1^:,
assume its full functions with the change of the premolars. In
the lower the permanent premolar wears down rapidly during the
earlier part of its career; all its asperities have disappeared
before the hind lobe of m. ^ is affected by use. Masticatory w^ork
is afterwards done principally by the posterior grinders, as the
premolar is l)ut little more reducerl in height, though the last molar
is that of an aged individual.
Examples — twenty-two.
Mandibular. — The associated rami of a mandible with all the
cheek-teeth perfect, the incisiors and left ascending process
wanting; adult — An adult left ramus with all the cheek-teeth
perfect, vascular orifice minute — Alveolar region of a left ramus
witli all the cheek-teeth, several of them imperfect; aged — Two
right rami with all the cheek-teeth perfect; foramen small;
adolescent - -Cast of a right ramus with all the cheek-teeth but
p.*, some imperfect; vascular orifice moderate; adult — A left
ramus with all the molars and the fangs of the premolar; foramen
small; adult — A left ramus with the first three molars well
preserved; foramen small; adult — A right ramus with part of the
ascending process and the last tln^ee molars; foramen large; aged
—Cast of a portion of a left ramus with m. •', m^ well preserved;
the originals of this and 10223 being in the Australian Museum —
Alveolar portion of a right ramus with the first three molars and
fangs of the premolar; foramen small; adult — Fragment of a right
ramus with the last two molars and the premolar well preserved;
adult — Fragment of a left ramus with part of m."*; adult — Frag-
ment of a right ramus with m.* (105 IS); adult — An isolated tooth
m.- (11118); adult — Outer wall of hinder half of a left ramus (A.
9454).
Maxillary. — A left maxilla with the jugal process and the teeth
m."', m.-, m. ^ (part) and fangs of p. ^; no trace of palatal process
(10224); adult — ^A left maxilla with jugal process and the teeth
m.-, m."^; no palatal process (10529); adult — Part of a right
maxilla with the last three molars; no palatal process (10595);
BY C. W. DE VIS. 93
adult — A right maxilla with jugal process and teeth p.-^, mp."^,
m. ^, m.'-; p.^ (extracted): palatal vacuity commencing at mp.*
(11120); young.
Sthexurus otuel, Owen.
rrocoptodon otueJ, Owen, I. 1874, p. 784; Lydekker, IV. p. 236.
Procoptodon pusio, Owen, partim; Owen, II. p. 455.
Pachysiagon otuel, Owen, I. 1874, ^. 784.
Lower molars with numerous attenuated ridges on the posterior
surface; otherwise not diflfering from those of .S". yoiiah in structure,
l)ut inferior in size. Lower premolar elongate-ovate with one or
two oblique folds within the cleft.
DimPMsiouii.
Mayidihdar. — The length of the full series of cheek-teeth varies
from 65-5 to 76*0 (5); m.-, m.'% m.^ measure 51*0 (bis); m.^, m.-
34-2; mp.^ 13-4. The premolar is from 9-3 to 9-9 (2). The
width of m.-' ranges from 12'0to 14-4. The anterior depth of the
mandible is from 38-5 to 41-5 (2); its thickness from 28-6 to 32-5
(5). The diastema is 36-6 (1), the symplwsis 65*6 (1).
The differences between the mean dimensions in this species
and S. yoiiah afford in themselves no good reason for keeping
them apart; they are all easily paralleled in modern species; but
the difference between the greatest width of the teeth in S. goliah
and the least in S. otuel is much greater than in any recent
Macropod, and on this dimensional ground the present species
would safely rest were the structural modifications exhibited bv
it less weighty than they are.
Form.
Mandibular. — In the molars the longitudinal links and vertical
processes subsidiary to them do not specifically differ in number
or disposition from those of S. goliah; the slender ridges wrinkling
the hinder surfaces sometimes tend to fuse towards the middle of
the base into a short rib.
94 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.E,
The lower premolar (PL xvi. fig, 1) before eruption simulates
remarkably well the ledged upper tooth in several Macropods.
The intero-posterior ledge-like cusp occup3dng half of the outer
side is separated from the lobe posteriorly by a wide cleft, but
within which a larger and a smaller oblique fold ascend on the
inner side of the cusp; anteriorly the cusp joins the lobe by the
incurving of its sharp edge, and anterior to this transverse sepi-
ment are two cavities separated by a deep rib which ascending to
the crest meets a corresponding one on the inner side of the
crown, and with it forms a pronounced denticle on the crest. In
the worn tooth (PI. xvi. fig. 4) the structure is still recognisable.
Examples — eleven t.
Mandibular. — An adolescent right ramus with all the cheek-
teeth and with the incisor nearly entire (11126); accessory pro-
cesses well marked — A right ramus with all the cheek-teeth but
p.^ perfect (11119); remains of the accessory processes distinct;
aged — The associated rami of an aging mandible (8876), with the
greater jDart of the ascending limljs; accessory processes as before
— Portion of a right ramus with the last three molars (8873),
adolescent — Alveolar portion of a right ramus with all the teeth
mutilated but m. ^, m. - (10409); processes nearly obsolete from
wear; aged — Portion of a right ramus with the last three molars
(10597); processes very distinct; adult — An adolescent right
ramus with incisor and all the cheek-teeth but m.^, which has
been broken off (11132); processes as before — A right ramus from
a suckler with mp.* and m." in its crypt; the exposed socket
of the incisor showing that it was procumbent (10226); the
processes on mp.* well marked — Fragment of a left ramus with
m.^j m.^, and part of m."^ (10596); processes as before; young —
Both rami of an aged example all the teeth al^sent but the last
three molars of the left side (11306).
Sthenurus pales, n.s.
Longitudinal links reduced to a tumescence on the floor of the
mid valley and adjacent base of the fore lobe. Posterior basal
BY C. W. 1>E VIS. 95
rim forming a rather distinct talon with a rudimentary Hnk rising
upon the lobe. Incumbent folds on the face of the lobes well
marked. Ledge of upper premolar distinct and continuous fore
and aft, a subsidiar}^ cusp on the hinder end of the outer side of
the crowm. Size large, a])out equal to that of S. goliah.
Dimensions.
Mandibular. — The first three true molars are together 56*0 in
length; the premolar 18-0. The width of m.-"^ is 18-0. The
thickness of the mandible is not less than 27 '5.
Maxillary. — The premolar is 21'0 x 14*1 in one example; 19 '6
X 15-0 in other.
Form of teeth.
Mandibular. — P.* (PL xv. fig. 3). Elongate-ovate, diameters
18-0 X 8 '2, structurally similar to that of >S'. goliah, but differing
from it in form and size, and in the latter character agreeing with
the upper premolar (10214 the type of the species). On the
inner surface of the crown of this tooth are six distinct ribs, five
of which form denticulations on the crest; these are not present
in S. goliah.
Molars. — (PL XV. fig. 1). The lobes of the molars are remark-
ably thin and flat or even a little concave on the posterior surface
their crests perfectly straight and^ their angles sharp. The
incumbent folds are much the more numerous on the anterior
lobes, the outermost of them being the largest and forming by its
repetition a regular series in the line of the teeth. The hinder
surfaces of the lobes are faintly sculptured into numerous obscure
folds. In size the molars agree with those of S. goliah.
Maxillary. — P* (PL xv. fig. 2). Elongate-ovate with the angles
rounded and tumid; diameters 22-0 x 15*0. Crest central;
mesial region of outer side of crown with a few vertical ribs.
Inner side of crown a rectangular ledge from end to end connected
with the lobe by numerous transverse ribs. To the end of the
outer side of the crown is attached, as in the deciduous tooth of
96 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDjE,
M. giganteus, a distinct cusp separated from the lobe before and
behind by clefts, but connected with it by an apical link.
Examples — -four.
Mandibular. — The alveolar longitudinal moiety of a right ramus
with the first three molars, of which each is somewhat imperfect,
and the core of the premolar (8868); the vascular foramen is
well marked; the portion of the socket of the incisor preserved is
directed upwards at an angle of about 45° — A left premolar
(10216); unworn.
Maxillary. — A left premolar (10214), unworn — A second
example (10215); shorter and subtriangular rather than ovate, a
little worn but well characterised.
Sthenurus oreas, n.s.
Longitudinal links of lower molars low but distinct, continuous
wdth the outermost of the incumbent folds which are fewer than,
but as broad as, in ^V. pales; posterior basal rim bulging but not
forming a talon. MaiicUhle thick, symphysis anchylosed, incisor
highly inclined, posterior dental oritice level with the teeth.
Upper 7nolars with rudimentary mid links continuous with the
innermost and largest of the incumbent folds w^hich resemble
those of the lower teeth but are on each face of the lobes; outer
mid valley closed by a marginal fold proceeding from the outer
end of each lobe (PL xvi. fig. 8). Upper premolar very like that
of S. pales, but wants the subsidiary cusp.
Dimensions.
Mandibular. — The full series of cheek-teeth is 62-2 in length
(1); the entire molar series 58*0 (1); the first three molars 41*5
(1); m.3 14-6 (1); the premolar 11-9 (2). The width of m.-' is
from 12-1 to 13 -2 (4). The anterior depth of the mandible is
34-2, the posterior 35-5, the thickness from 22-5 to 25-8 (2).
Maxillary. — The first three cheek-teeth measure 42-0; the first
three true molars 40-2 in length; m.-, m." from 27*2 to 27'6;
BY C. W. DE VIS. 97
m"^, m.* 30'G: ;ui(l in.'"' l')-;!. Tlip width of m.'" is from 12-3 to
13-9 (5).
In dimensions of length this si:)ecies does not much exceed S.
atlas, but the thickness of the mandible due to its external con-
vexity, which commences at tho incisive outlet, combines with its
symphysial anchylosis and the erection of its incisor to connect
it with the larger species.
In dental sculpture it is also scarcely to be distinguished from
S. atlas; yet here again affinity with S. yoliah and otuel is shown
by the incumbent fold which represents the anterior link sending
a lateral process outwards and downwards.
Examples — nine.
Mandibular. — Associated rami of an adult mandible with all
the cheek-teeth (11204); vascular foramen large; t3'-pe — A left
ramus with all the molars, tooth-sculpture not so well marked as
in the preceding (8841); adult — Portion of a left ramus with the
teeth m. ^, m.-, m."'; adult; tooth-sculpture much abraded;
vascular foramen large (8830) — Portion of a right ramus with
m.'^ and part of m. -; adolescent (8842); tooth-sculpture very
distinct; vascular foramen large.
Maxill'iry. — Portion of a right maxilla with the first three
molars; tooth-sculpture well marked (10262) — Portion of a left
maxilla with m.'% m.^ (8055); adult; sculpture abraded — Portion
of a right maxilla with m. -, m.' (8046); sculpture almost
obliterated — Fragment of a right maxilla with m.-^ (8069); adult;
sculpture distinct — Portion of a left maxilla with the premolar
and m.^, m.- all in fine condition, and exactly fitting the mandible
11204.
Sthenurus atlas, Owen; Owen, XXII. ii. p. 359.
Macrojnis atlas, Owen (I.e.).
Protcmnodon anak, Owen, parfi/n: Owen, I. 1874, p. 275.
Dental sculpture nearly as in the preceding species, but the
linking fold less distinct in the mid valley. Mandible thin, flat
G
98 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.H,
exteriorly, increasing in depth posteriorly. Lower contour line
straight or arched upwards. Incisor proclivous, spatulate.
Symphysis lax.
Dimensions.
Mandibular. — The full series of cheek-teeth is from 55*8 to
58-6 in length (2); the first three molars 30-1 to 31-6 (2); the
premolar 12-1 x 6-8 to 12-8 x 7(2). The Mddth of m."^ is from
8-9 to 10-5. The anterior depth is from 26-1 to 28-5 (4); the
posterior from 29*0 to 32-7 (4); the thickness from 14-8 to 15-6
Fo7'm..
Man(lihulai\ — P.-^ (PI. xvi. fig, 9). This tooth as exemplified
by the anterior two-thirds of its crown in a mandiliular fragment
is structurally similar to its successor p.^, but the extero-posterior
complicated region of the crown is not evidently marked off by an
oblique cleft. On the outer surface of this region there is a
distinct trace of an outstanding cusp corresponding to that in p. ^
of S. jmles.
Molars. — Mr. Lydekker's statement that in Sthetuirus there are
no " vertical folds " must be understood to refer only to the lateral
processes of the longitudinal links, as the latter exist in S. gollnh
and S. otuel. Of the presence in the type of the genus of tapering
folds lying upon the anterior surface of the lobes as we have seen
them in all the species now referred to it there is no doubt; there
is indeed evidence of the fact in the figure of m.-^ in II. PL 82, fig.
9, though no mention of it is made by Owen. In the mutilated
tooth now figured (PL xvi. fig. 11) from a mandil)le having the
characteristic premolar rising into place the incumbent folds are
well marked fully in the hind lobe and by their bases in the
broken fore lobe."^
* Complication of structure is more frequently found in the anterior
molars than in the posterior; nay, even the fore lobe of the last molar
rather than in tlie hind. It is therefore unsafe to pronounce teeth free
from folds unless the young jaw is found without them, or to neglect the
slightest trace of such folds which may remain in worn teeth.
RY C. W. DE VIS. 99
ExampJes — -Jive.
Mandibular. — A left ramus with all the cheek-teeth in place;
incimibent folds on m.'* distinct, on the other teeth almost
obliterated by old age (10607); vascular foramen large — A left
ramus with all the cheek-teeth (10726); distinct relics of the folds
on the posterior molars; vascular orifice large; aging — A right
ramus with the first three molars, sockets of p.* and m."^; folds
distinct on all the teeth (8831); vascular orifice large; adolescent
— A left ramus vvith all the cheek-teeth but the last; the rising
premolar exposed (10233); vascular orifice moderate; young — A
fragment of a left ramus with the anterior portion of the milk
premolar.
Key to fossil Halmaturi.
AVidth of m."' 7 '6 and upwards.
P."*^ with a large intero-posterior dilatation; lobes
with folds vincPAis
P. ^ with no large intero-posterior dilatation
Crown of p.* with an anterior lobe partially
divided off thor
Crown of p. ^ without anterior lobe partially
divided off
Size larger; length of m.^, m.-, m.'^ 32*0 or up-
wards aiiak
Size smaller; length of m. ^, m. ^, m.^ 23 '5
Intero-anterior surfaces of lobes smooth dnjas
Intero-anterior surfaces of lobes with ac-
cessory processes odia
Width of m."^ 6*5 or less.
P. ^ with a large intero-posterior cusp; crests of
molars straight indra
V.^ with a smaller intero-posterior cusp; fore
valley of anterior molars with an accessory
link siva
100 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDJ:,
P.^ with no large intero-posterior cusp.
Molar crests rectilinear, wdth sharp angles and
feeble links vishnu
Molar crests curvilinear, with rounded angles
and strong links cooperi
]^.B. — As the lower jaw of H. minor, Ow., is unknown, its
place in the above scheme remains to be ascertained.
Halmaturus vinceus, n.s.
Upper molars with a group of tapering folds in relief on the
extero posterior face of each lobe, with the fore link nearly or
quite obsolete and the mid link feeble. Lower molars with a
vertical plate and folds in relief on the intero-anterior face of the
lobes and with a posterior basal protuberance which is sometimes
a distinct talon. Upper premolar broadly ledged posteriorly,
narroMdy in front. Lower premolar cuneiform in front much
dilated intero-posteriorly, J -shaped.
Dimensions.
Alandihdar. — In adults the entire series of cheek-teeth ranges
in length from 58 to 64-1 (5); the first four 45-3 (1); the first
three from 29-5 to 31-8; the first two 20-6 (1). The premolar
from 11-0 to 15-6 (8); the last four molars from 48-5 to 49'4 (3);
the last three from 34-0 to 38-0 (3); the last two from 25-5 to
29-8 (3); m.* from 13-1 to l4-5 (2); m.^, m.^, m.^ from 26-2 to
34-0 (3); m.i, m.- 23-2 (1); m.^ from 10-7 to 11-2 (2); m.^ from
12-4 to 13-1 (3); m.^, m.^ from 23-7 to 25-6. The width of m.^
is from 9-8 to 13-0 (31).
In young, p."^ m.^, m.-, m.-^ measure from 38-0 to 42 '0: mp.*,
m.i, m.2 from 32-5 to 33-0; m." from 13-0 to 15-5 (5).
The anterior depth of the mandible varies from 22*5 to 32-6 (13);
the jDosterior from 21 -0 to 32*4 (17); the thickness from 15-1 to
25-0 (23).
Maxillary. — The length of the full series of cheek-teeth is from
60-0 to 64-2 (3); of the first three 37*5 (1); of the true molars
47-5 (1); of the last three molars from 31-9 to 37-0.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 101
Though the lower teeth are in proportion to the upper unusually
brojxd, being scarcely a tenth narrower, the presence of similar
accessory processes on corresponding parts of the masticatory
surfaces assures us that in this instance molars of the upper and
lower jaws are correctly referred one to the other.
Foimi.
Maxillary. — P.* in the maiden state unknown. The worn
tooth (PI. XVI. fig. 12) is irregularl}^ subtriangular, attenuated at
the fore end, its ledge much dilated posteriorly, but narrow at its
anterior junction with the lobe, and without traces of transverse
ridges. Crest subcentral in front, over exterior fourth behind.
Mesial three-fifths of outei* surface impressed, deeply at its posterior
end : impressed surface with about four low vertical ribs; inner
surface with traces of numerous narrow vertical ribs. On the
intero-posterior angle remains of a cusp. Diameters 14*7 : 7 6;
13--1- : 7*6. The tooth is equal in length to m.^.
P.^ unknown.
Molars.— (V\. xvi. fig. 14). With one or more short broad
flame-like folds on the posterior face of each lobe within the
hollow triangle contained by the descending edges of the lobe;
not infrequently the folds become plates which- running together
enclose the lower part of the inner half of the triangular space.
The hind lobe of m.^ has no distinct processes. Traces of the
folds are persistent in well worn teeth with varying distinctness.
Mandibulary. — P.'*= (PI. xvi. fig. 13) elongate, narrow anteriorly,
suddenly widening posteriorly; mesial diameters 11-5 x 4-3; 110
X 4-0; 11-1 X 5.4. Crest central, posteriorly curving down-
wards to the intero-posterior angle. Outer side of crown straight
or slightly convex, with a more or le^ss distinct mesial impression
bearing about three vertical ribs; inner side conchoidal posteriorly
with three strong ribs; anterior cusp more or less expanded and
well defined.
P."^ is irregular, subelongate, tapering slowly to a pointed
fore end. Crest on the inner side anteriorly, on the outer
102 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDAi,
posteriorly, where it makes an open curve to the apex of a large
intero-posterior cusp; outer surface of crown with a short im-
pression faintly marking the limit of an anterior cusp; inner
surface concave longitudinally, with two or three moderately
strong ribs; in one example a deep depression between the
extero-posterior angle of the lobe and its crest demarcating a sort
of basal talon. Diameters 8-4 : 4-0.
Molars. — (PI. xvi. fig. 15). At the point in which each obliquely
descending revolute edge of a lobe becomes a longitudinal link
there are one or two more or less compressed processes rising
wdthin the inner side of the link; these either ascend upon the
face of the lobe or stand out from it, and sometimes by confluence
and extension upward and inward simulate on that side the
oblique edge of the other side. These or traces of them are
constant whenever the tooth is not too far gone in wear. The
posterior talonal protuberance is also constant and occasionally
rises obliquely on to the base of the inner side of the tooth.
Rise and fall of teetJi.
No precise information as to the relative periods of change of
teeth can be gathered from the examples at present available for
study.
Examj) les — sevei i. ty-six.
Mandibular. — Of adults: Five rami with the full series of
cheek-teeth — ^Thirty-five rami or portions thereof with teeth in
greater or less number. Of young : Four rami with p. '' and three
following teeth — Eight without the deciduous premolar.
Maxillary. — Three maxillae with all the cheek-teeth — One with
all the true molars — Five with sundry teeth and a young maxilla
with mp."^, m.i, m.-. Of fourteen supplementary — all are clearly
identifiable by the characters peculiar to the species.
Halmaturus thor, n.s.
Molars with crests subrectilinear, lobes moderately thick,
angles rather rounded and links feeble.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 103
Lower premolar elongate, bicuspidate, without intero-posterior
cusp. Molars smooth or with accessory plates, without posterior
groove or basal talon. Lower contour line of mandible a gentle
curve throughout.
Dimensions.
Maiidibular. — The full series of true molars is 39-0 in length
when aged \\); the tirst four cheek-teeth measure 38*0 (1); the
first three 28*6 (1); the last three 30*5 (1); the last two 22-5 and
23-5 (2). The premolar 7-5 and S'O (2). The width of m.^ is
from 7'7 to 8-4 (6). The anterior depth is from 20-2 to 23-5 (4);
the posterior from 18-4 to 22*0 (5); the thickness from 10-1 (aged)
to 14-1 (5). The external length is 92-0; the internal 72'0.
Thoucjh the thickness of the mandible has the same ran^e as in
H. agiJis, which of modern wallabies has the stoutest underjaw,
its length and depth are comparable with those of the kangaroos
only. This is also the case with the length of the cheek-teeth,
which may be estimated at 50 '0 in young adults, and with the
width of the molars, but from the kangaroos it is at once
distinguished by the structure both of premolar and molars.
Mandibular.— V.^ (PL xvii. fig. 1) elongate, narrow, diameters
8*0 X 3 4, bicuspid; crest a little to the inner side, deeply notched
at its anterior two-fifths. Anterior cusp a well defined strongly
compressed cone separated from the longer posterior part of the
lobe by a deep gooove descending upon each side of the crown
nearly to the base and by the notch in the crest; a slight incras-
sation of the crown over the intero-posterior angle does not affect
the general parallelism of the sides. Equal in length to m.^.
Molars. — (PL xvii. fig. 2). These show a tendency to develop a
single erect compressed process at the bottom of the inner mid
valley— I.e., a rudiment of an accessory link similar to that in the
upper teeth of Palorchestes and M. pan (infra.). This process
occurs in two examples.
104 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.E,
Rise and fall oj teeth.
The permanent premolar has risen to the crowns of its prede-
cessors as the fore lobe of m. * has j)ierced the gum, the hind lobe
of m.-"^, having then its edge bevelled off l^y wear; but it may be
also fully in place and distinctly worn at an earlier period, in
which the hind lobe of m."^ is almost untouched by wear. It
remains in function at least till the last molar is well worn down.
Examples — nine.
Mandibular. — An adolescent right ramus with the first four
cheek-teeth — An aged left ramus with base of incisor and the
posterior true molars — An adult right ramus with all the true
molars, m.^ worn to the base — An adult right ramus with the
last three molars in fine preservation — ^An adolescent right ramus
with the last two molars well preserved — A right adolescent
ramus with the first three true molars and p. * exposed from above
in its crypt, and fragments of a right adolescent ramus with the
first three cheek-teeth.
The species is well characterised by the form of its premolar in
conjunction with a size superior to that of modern wallabies.
Halmaturus anak, Owen, VI. Vol. xv. p. 185, 1859
Protenuwdon anak, Owen, partim, I, 187-1, p. 275.
F. og, Owen, I. 1874, p. 377.
P. roichus, Owen, I 1874, p. 281.
P. mimas, Owen, I. 1874, p. 278.
P. anta^vs, Owen, I. II. p. 448.
Sthenuriis atlas, Owen, pxiirtim, \. 1874, p. 265.
8. hrehus, Owen, I. 1874, p. 272.
Macro^ms minias, Flower, IX. pt. 2, p. 720.
M. brehus, Lydekker, IV. p. 207.
M. roichus, Owen, I. 1874, p. 281; Lydekker, IV- p. 212.
M. anak, Lydekker, IV 214.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 105
Molars smooth, with rectiUnear crests, feeble links and sharp
angles; upper molars without distinct anterior links, lower
seldom without posterior talons. Premolars about as long as the
lower last molar. Upper j^remolar with a long transversely
ribbed ledge; lower without intero-posterior cusp.
Dimensions.
Mandibular. — In adults : The length of the full series of cheek-
teeth ranges from 60-2 to 82-3 (34); of the first four from 48*2 to
60-0 (16); of the first three from 32-1 to 41-2 (10); of the first
tw^o from 22-2 to 27'4 (7); of the premolar from 14-0 to 18-2 (74);
of the last four molars from 48*2 to 56-0 (11); of the last three
from 40-3 to 53-0 (16); of the last two from 26-5 to 33-7 (19); of
m.* from 14-5 to 19-0 (9); of m.^, m.", m.*^ from 37-0 to 45-6 (7);
of m.i, m.- from 21-5 to 28-6 (16); of m.-. m.^ from 25-4 to 31-0
(14); of m.i from 9-2 to 13-3 (9); of m.- from 12-5 to 18-3 (11);
of m.-5 from 12'2 to 15-0 (5).
In young : The length of p.-^, mp.*, m.^, m.^, m.'^ is from 54 1
to 62-2 (3); of p.^ mp.S m.^, m.^ from 42-0 to 51-0 (7); of p."',
mp.S m.i from 284 to 32-8 (5); of p.^, mp.* from 18-0 to 20-9
(7); of p.« from 8-5 to 11-2 (23); of mp.S m.^, m.-, m."^ 57-8 (1);
of mp.*, m.^, m.- from 33*6 to 35-2 (4); of mp.^, m.^ from 200
to 23-5 (10); of mp.^ 10-2 (1).
The width of m.^ in adults is from 10-0 to 13-6 (118). The
anterior depth of the mandible is from 22*0 to 45-0 (82); of the
posterior from 18-0 to 40-4 (72); the thickness from 13-6 to 23*5
(89); the external length is from 100*0 to 155 0(13); the internal
from 67-5 to 113-5 (11); the symphysis from 32-5 to 57*0 (15);
the diastema from 31 1 to 57*0 (15).
Maxillary. — In adults: The length--of the entire series of cheek-
teeth is from 65-1 to 85-5 (17); of the first four 66-5 (1); of the
first three from 38-5 to 45-5; of the first two from 24-6 to 27-1 (3);
of the premolar from 14-4 to 20-4 (33); of the last four molars
from 50-5 to 67*5 (8); of the last three from 40-0 to 51-5 (12): of
the last two from 30-1 to 37 '0 (9); of the first three true molars
106 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID^],
from 33-1 to 39-9 (5); of the first two from 21-5 to 27-4 (7); of
m.-^ m.3 from 28-0 to 34-1 (11); of m.^ 17 (1); of m.^ from 17-0
to 18-4 (6); and of m.* 16-6 (1). The breadth of the palate is
from 66-0 to 68-5 (2).
In young: p.'^, nip.'^, m. ^ range from 28-6 to 37*0 (3); mp.^,
m.\ m.2 41-7 to 44-4.
The proportionate mean widths of m.'^ above and below are
11-8 and 13-6.
The degree of variation in the lenoth of the cheek-teeth found
in this species is less than that shown by H. ruficoUis; and the
premolar has a more restricted range of length than in most of
the larger existing wallabies. On the other hand, the width of
the teeth and the depth of the mandible have a somewhat greater
range of measurement than in living species, and in thickness the
ramus is decidedly more variable. But as in all the dimensions,
the extremes are reached by insensible gradations, excess even in
the width of the teeth must be considered a peculiarity of the
sjDecies and one probably related to its inordinate vigour as shewn
in its fecundity. It is quite the most abundant Macropod of its
period.
As no one of the several species added by Owen to the type of
his genus Pr<jteuinoihn has a destinctive character other than a
supposed differentiation in size, Lydekker has taken a step in the
right direction in reducing their number to three — bi^ehus; rcechus
and aiiak. With a fuller supply of material he would no doubt
have felt perfectly safe in referring all the fossils of the Protem-
nodont series to the single species anah. The essential unity of
the species is shown not merely by graduation of difference affect-
ing each part of each of three hundred and thirty individuals
alike, but by that disproportionate difference between the parts
which renders it impossible to lay down interspecific lines of
demarcation anywhere. Detailed measurements of thirty-four
entire mandibles of brehus, rcechus and anak, and a careful com-
parison of their differences with those observed in the measurement
of recent species fail to show that there is any sufficient reason
for regarding them as distinct species. Constant differences of
form there are none.
BY C. \V. 1)E VIS. 107
Form.
}faiidlhidar. — P.^ (PI. xvii. fig. (}) as it appears in a worn con-
dition is elongate with mesial diameters 178: 56, oblong tectiform,
ol)tusely pointed in front and not dilated posteriorly. Crest
central, nearl}^ level, obtusely serrated. The mesial two-thirds of
the crown compressed, l)ut more deepl}^ on the outer side, the
surface of which has corrugations with much fainter ribs in the
intervals; the inner surface similarly corrugated. Anterior cusp
distinctly defined by the mesial compression, its point low and
obtuse. Over the intero-posterior angle the crown is more tumid
than over the outer angle.
The tooth varies much in proportions and other respects. The
diameters may V)ecome 161: 72 and the intero-posterior part of the
crown so tumid as to cause the inner surface of the crown to be
concave longitudinally, the tooth being then distinctly broader at
its hinder end. The number, strength and disposition of the
corrugations are all subject to varia.tion, and frequently under
stress of wear disappear altogether.
P.'^ (PL XVII. tig. 5) in its maiden state is irregularly oblong,
with mesial diameters 103 : 51; its basal contour is arched on the
outer side, nearly straight on the inner, its fore end obtusely
pointed. Crest with tive low obtuse cusps, subcentral, curving on
to the intero-posterior angle, which is sufficiently tumid to render
the crown vertically concave on that side. Crown compressed,
with three ribs on the outer and two on tbe inner side, the outer
ribs graduated in length posteriorly. Anterior cusp moderately
distinct.
This tooth also \'aries in shape, jDroportions and corrugation.
The intero-posterior angle may dilate sufficiently to render the
general form subtriangular, the mesial diameters may vary to 106 :
66, 89 : 86, the ribs maybe fewer in number or become indetinite.
Under wear the ribs quickly vanish.
Molars.— {V\. xvii. tig. 9). The longitudinal linking ridges are
weak, the lobes but lightly convex posteriorly. Posterior
basal talons are generally present as erect plates, raised rims or a
108 FOSSIL JAWS OF M ACllOPODID.K,
mere, but decided, bulging of the base. The hind lobe of m* is
in the mean of ten examples narrower than the fore lobe in the
ratio 11: 12.
The contour of the mandil)le forward of the hinder molars is
nearly straight. The upward curve beneath the anterior molars,
always faint, is occasionally reversed and a continuous curve
produced f'^om the inflected angle to the symphysis.
Maxillary. — P.^ (PL xvii. fig. 8). In a tooth recently come into
position the general form is an isosceles triangle with the inner
side irregular and the angles rounded. Diameters 191 : 100.
crest subcentral, parallel with the outer side of the base. Mesial
two-fifths of the outer side of tlie crown deeply impressed, w^ith
three strong vertical folds rising to the crest. Ledge occupying
mesial two- thirds of the inner side of the crown, with a raised
basal rim commencing at the hinder end of the anterior cusp;
within the rim the ledge is deeply concave and is traversed by
four ribs ascending on the lobe to the crest. Intero-posterior cusp
wide, joined to the side of the lobe; behind it to the outer side a
deep transversely elongate pit, which is enclosed behind by the
posterior surface of the lobe.
By contraction of the intero-posterior cusp the form ma}^ become
regularly oblong, the tooth being then scarcely broader behind
and its diameter 178:75, or the like form may result from a
dilatation of the fore end of the basal rim to an equality with the
extent of the intero-posterior angle; the tooth in this case may
present a gibbosity near the fore end of the inner side. The ribs
of the outer side of the crow^n may be reduced to two in number.
The basal rim of the inner side is generally Ijroken up into from
two to five tubercles, usually one at the base of each vertical rib.
P."^ (PL XVII. fig. 7) in a fresh condition is irregularly sub-
triangular, with the fore end rounded. Mesial diameter 133 : 77.
Crest well to the outer side of the central line, parallel with the
outer side of the base. Mesial half of the outer side of the crown
impressed, with two strong vertical folds. Ledge as in p.* but
gradually dilating as it nears the intero-posterior cusp, Avhich is
BY C. W. DE VIS. 109
wide, joined by a rib to the lobe and separated from it posteriorly
by a deep excavation. In a much worn tooth the basal rim may
be almost entire and the diameters 125 : 76.
Molars. — (PL xvii. fig. 10). Fore link obsolete or nearly so, and
mid link weak: lobes l)ut slightly convex anteriorly. The base of
the posterior concavity of m. * is enclosed by the descending inner
edge; an adpressed fold is therefore seen on the hinder surface of
the anterior molars. The difference between the widths of the
lobes of m.^ is greater than in the lower tooth; their ratio is 13*5
to 12-5.
Ex(i7nples — three hundred and twenty-nine.
Mawiibidar. — Of adults : Thirty-four rami with all the cheek-
teeth, most of them with the incisor in place — One hundred and
fifty-three rami or parts thereof with fewer than all the cheek-
teeth.
Of young : Twenty-four rami with p. '•' and some of the follow-
ing teeth — Sixteen rami without p."'.
Maxillary. — Of adults : Seventeen maxillae with all the cheek-
teeth, five of them being each a part of a cranium more or less
entire — Seventy-six maxillje or parts thereof with teeth in greater
or less number.
Of young : Nine maxilla? with various teeth.
Halmaturus dryas, n.s.
Molars with the upper fore link well developed. Upper ^yq-
molar with a narrow ledge tubercular, but not transversely ribbed.
Lower premolars, both permanent and deciduous, like those of
//. anal'. Size inferior.
Dimensions.
Type maxillary.
Maxillary. — In adults : The length of the entire series of cheek-
teeth is 04 -9 (1); of the first four 46*2 (1); of the true molar
series 47 '5 (1); of the first three 29-6 (1); of the premolar from
11-.5 to 15-0 (3). The width of m.^^ is from 9-9 to 10-3 (5).
Mandibular. — In adults : The full series of cheek-teeth ranges
from 52-7 to 58*5 (3); the first four are 35-5 (1); the first three
110 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.E,
vary from 28-3 to 29'1 (3); the first two are 19-5 (1); the pre-
molar measures from lO'O to 13*0 (8). The true molar series
ranges from 40-0 to 48-1 (8); the last three from 34-3 to 41 -1 (9);
the last two from 23-8 to 28-6 (12); the first three from 29-4 to
38-1 (5); the first two from 20-5 to 22-6 (4); m.-, m/^ are 27*1
(1); m.3 13-0 (1); m.-* is from 13-2 to 14-4(7). The width of
m.'^ is from 8*0 to 10-5 (37). The anterior depth of the mandible
varies from 22-0 to 30'0 (20); the posterior from 19-4 to 29-9 (21);
the thickness from 12-7 to 18-8 (31).
It will be apparent from these measurements that though tlieir
maxima overlap in some cases the minima of H. anak the
differences between their minima and the maxima of the other
are far too great to be ascribed to the elasticity of a single species
even were all the teeth indistinguishable. The existence of a
dwarfed variety of H. anak conterminous and contemporaneous
with it is too unlikely U) h<d worth considering.
The probability that upjier and lower jaws are in this case
rightly associated rests on the grounds of corresponding size and
premolar structure.
Form.
Mandibular.- — The premolar p.^ (PI. xvii. fig. 12) as extracted
from its chamber in an advanced stage of growth is an elongate-
ovate symmetrical tooth with a cuneiform crown and diameters
10-7 : 4-4. The crown is compressed as to its mesial two-thirds,
more deeply on the inner side. Three mesial ribs on each side
form serrations on - the crest which is central. There is no
dilatation or tumidity of the intero-posterior angle, but the end of
the crest inclines slightly inwards. In the w^orn state these teeth
can be distinguished from old teeth of //. anak only by their size.
The deciduous j^remolar p. "^ (PL xvii. fig. 11) is very similar to
that of //. anak, convex on the outer, nearly straight on the inner
side, with a slightly developed intero-posterior cus23 which renders
the inner side somewhat concave posteriorly. Diameters 7*0 x
3-9.
Maxilhry.- — The premolar p."* (PI. xvii. fig. 13) is elongate-
triangular, with diameters 13 x 7*8 (basal). Crest central
BY C. W. DE VIS. Ill
anteriorly, parallel with outer side and not incurved posteriorly.
A largely dilated intero-posterior cusp linked to the lobe apically,
separated from it by a wide cleft posteriori}^ Ledge very narrow
within a broadly tubercular basal rim which extends to the
anterior fifth. Mesial two-thirds of the outer side impressed,
with three strong short ribs, decreasing in length rearwards.
Mnlars. — (PI. XVII. figs. 14-15). Mandibulary, with a narrow
basal ridge posteriorly; hind lobe of m. ^ distinctly the narrower.
Examples— seventy -three.
MaxiUary. — Four adults.
Mandibular. — Fifty-six adults, thirteen young.
Halmaturus odix, n.s.
Lower premolar unilobate, mesially corrugated, expanded but
not developing a cusp on intero-posterior angle. Molars with an
accessory process in relief on intero-anterior surface of lobes and
with basal talons. Lower contour line undulated.
Dimensio7is.
Mavdihular. — The full series of cheek-teeth measures 46*7 in
length (1); the first four 37*0 (1); the first two true molars 18-6
(1); the last molar 12-4 (1); the premolar from 8-0 to 8-7 (3);
m.- 10-8 (1). The width of m.^ 7-6 and 8-1 (2). The anterior
depth is from 192 to 24-1 (3); the posterior from 16'1 to 23*8
(3); the thickness from 11 to 12-5 (3).
Form.
Mandibidar. — P.* (PL xvii. fig. 16) elongate; diameters 8-0 x
4-0, gradually widening from the pointed fore end. Crest central;
anterior and posterior cusps defined by a mesial compression of
the crown, which has on each side three distinct and tv»-o obscure
short ribs. Crest curving on to a small but distinct dilatation of
the crown over the intero-posterior angle. Profile of fore end of
crown gibbous.
112 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDJ-:,
Molars. — (PL xvii. fig. 17). From the intero-anterior angle of
each lobe a low fold descends obliquely to or towards the middle
of the anterior base of the lobe, and on the triangular face of the
lobe lies a small ascending fold similar to those in ^iheniorics.
Previous knowledge of these folds is required for the recognition
of traces of them left in the aging mandible. The basal talon is
a distinct ledge-like protuberance.
Exa7nples — six or aight.
An adolescent right ramus with the first four cheek-teeth, the
type — A right aging ramus with all the cheek-teeth — P.^ in a
fragment of a right adolescent ramus — M. * in a portion of an aged
left ramus— Part of an adult left ramus with m.^, m.- — And a
portion of a young left ramus with m. -. To these may be added
two maxillary fossils which perchance belong to the species.
Halmaturus indra, n.s.
Molars with crests moderately curved, angles subrotund, and
links feeble. The lower permanent premolar sul)triangular, with
a large intero-posterior cusp; the deciduous short, broad, convex
exteriorly. Molars smooth, without posterior groove or distinct
talon.
Dimensio7is.
Mandibular. — Young: P."', mp.^ m. ^ measure 23'1; p. "^ 6'4;
p. ^ immature 7*7.
The long dimension of the teeth is the same as in //. cooperi.
Form.
Mandibular. — P.^ (extracted) (PL xvii. fig. 19), subtriangular,
with a large intero-posterior cusp, separated from the posterior
surface of the lobe by a broad vertical groove. Outer surface of
crown impressed and bearing a low broad mesial rilj; anterior end
of crown with a horizontal groove between base and lobe. Crest
central, not curving inwards posteriorly.
P.'^ (PL XVII. fig. 18) short, broad, basal outline biconvex,
diameters 6-4 x 4-5. Crest towards the inner and flatter side.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 113
Crown mesially compressed, with a distinct mesial rib on each
side. Basal rim on each side tumid, subnodular, especially on
outer side, obscurely continuous round fore end.
Molars. — (PL xvii. fig. 20). Links high but narrow; on the outer
side of the posterior base of m. ^ a rudimentary ledge-like talon.
Sufficiently distinguished by the premolars from all other species
recent and extinct.
Halmaturus SIVA, n.s.
Molars with curved crests, rounded angles and strong links.
Lower premolar unilobate, narrow; intero- posterior dilatation
moderate, consisting apparently of two flat folds tapering off
above into vertical ribs; anterior cusp small and ill-defined.
Molars smooth, with long anterior talons, and without posterior
groove or basal talon. The inner valley of the anterior talon
subdivided by an accessory link in the two anterior molars.
Dimetisions.
Mandibular. ~T\\Q full set of adult cheek-teeth is 40'6 in
length; the first three molars 24-4 and 24*9; the last three 28*8;
the first two 17*2; the premolar 7*1. The width of m.'^ is from
6*2 to 6 -4 (4). The anterior depth of the mandible is from 18-0
to 23-0 (4); the posterior from 12-9 to 18-1 (4); the thickness
from 11-3 to 12-0 (3).
In general size it agrees with the larger wallabies of the
present day.
Form.
P.* (PL XVII. fig. 21) diameters 7*1 x 2-7; crest over inner edge
anteriorl}'', nearly level, curving inwards posteriorly; anterior
cusp scarcely differentiated from the^ rest of the crown ])y a slight
mesial impression on the inner side; posterior to this the inner
side is rendered more concave by two successive folds ending
above in sharp plaits.
Molars. — -(PL xvii. figs. 22-23). The anterior talons are in
length nearly a third that of the entire tooth.
114 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDM,
Examples — eleven.
A right adult ramus (11181) with all the cheek-teeth but m.^ —
A second with all the cheek-teeth older, and a third with all the
true molars aged — A left adult ramus with the last three
molars— Two rami with the anterior three true molars — A
fragment of a ramus with m.^, m. -. — A young ramus with the
last three molars, and a second with the last two — A maxilla
wdth the last three molars is also referable to this species.
The tyj)e, 11181, could in the absence of the premolar be
mistaken without any difficulty for a mandible of H. agilis; but
in addition to the dental differences apparent on comparing it
critically with mandibles of //. agilis of the same age, we may
add that the diastema is much longer, and the anterior dental
foramen further forward than in any example of the recent
wallaby.
HaLMATURUS VISHNU, n.s.
Molars with rectilinear crests, sharp angles and feeble links.
Lower premolar unilobate, cuneiform, coarsely ribbed. Molars
smooth. Anterior portion of lower mandibular contour straight.
Dimensions.
Mandihnlar. — The length of the full series of cheek-teeth is
443; the true molars are from 33-4 to 35-6 in length (3); the last
three 280; the last two 18-6 and 21-9 (2); the first three 23-5;
the first two from 15*1 to 17-4 (4); m." 9'0; mp.-^, m.^, m.^ 17-4
and 23-4 (2); the premolar p.'^ 9-2 and 9-6 (2). The width of
m.'^ is from 6*5 to 7*6 (8). The anterior depth is from 180 to
20-0 (4); the posterior from 15*4 to 16-5 (4); its thickness from
10-1 to 12-2 (7); its internal length 58-0.
The length of the dental series is surpassed by that of the
kangaroos only, and is approached most nearly by that of II.
agilis among the wallabies. In this latter species we find a
maximum length of 43-5 with a mean of scarcely 40-0. But from
//. agilis the extinct species is better distinguished by the length
of the premolar, 9*2 minimum against a maximum of 8-1 in the
BY C. W. DE VIS. 115
living species; by the greater width of the molars, that of m. â– '
averaging 7 1 against 6 --I in //. agilis; by its much feebler inter-
lobular links; and by the straightness of the lower edge of the
mandible. The same characters serve to separate it from //.
ualabatii)<, which approaches it somewhat more nearly in the
length of the premolar, but recedes further from it in the total
length of the cheek-teeth. With no other recent species is it
comparable as to the dimensions of teeth, though in the depth
and thickness of the mandible it is occasionally exceeded by all
the larger-sized modern wallabies.
Forin.
Mandibufar. — P. ^ (PL xvii. fig. 3) subelongate, oblong, cuneiform,
diameters 96 x 4'4, sides parallel, fore end obtusely pointed.
Crest a little to the inner side, with obtuse denticulations corres-
ponding to coarse but indistinct corrugations on either side of the
mesially compressed crown. A faintly marked nodular basal rim
on either side is continuous round the fore end. In a second
example with diameters 9*2 x 4 6 the mesial compression of the
crown is stronger, and the crest curves slightly over to the intero-
posterior angle, rendering the inner side of that end of the crown
subconchoidal. Length equal to or rather less than that of m>.
Mandible elongate, shallow, nearly straight from the posterior
molar forward.
Molars (PI. xvii. fig. 4) without accessory folds; with or without
a rudimentary talon; links narrow and low.
Persistence of teeth.
The permanent premolar though much worn is still in the
horizontal line of the molars, and shows no sign of ejection when
the last molar has been some time in use; in another instance the
roots of the broken tooth are in place, though m. ^ is much worn.
Examples — sixteen.
These consist of two adult mandibular rami with all the cheek-
teeth, the premolar of one of them being imperfect; of three with
116 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID^F.,
all the true molars; nine with sundry molars, and two young
rami with mp.^, m. ^, m.-.
Halmaturus cooperi, Ow.
Molars with curved crests, rounded angles and strong links.
Lower jDremolars elongate, narrow, tumid on intero-posterior
angle, but developing there no cusp; crest tridentate. Molars
smooth without groove or basal talon posteriorly. Upper pre-
molar ledged, with an intero-posterior cusp; molars smooth with
adpressed folds posteriorly. Lower mandibular contour undula-
tory. Palate entire.
Dimensions,
Mandibular. — The full series of cheek-teeth measures in adults
from 38-6 to 42-5 (3); in adolescents from 44-4 to 507 (3). The
true molars vary from 34*0 to 39*5 (5); m. ^, m."^, m.'^ from 28-5
to 336 (9), but in an adolescent tooth reach 35*7; m. ^, m.* are
from 20-5 to 25 (T); m ^ from 11-8 to 12 8 (4). The tlrst four
cheek-teeth range [from 29-3 to 37*0 (15); the first three from
29-3 to 38-4 (4). The premolar varies from 7-0 to 9-6 (6). The
width of m.'^ ranges from 6*5 to 8 5, doubtfully to 9-6 (54). The
anterior dej^th in adults is from 17-5 to 27*3 (17); in adolescents
17 6 to 23-5 (17); the posterior in adults from 17*4 to 266 (18);
in adolescents from 15-0 to 21-5 (6). The external length is from
65-7 to 78-0 in adults (3). The internal from 532 to 66-7 (6);
the thickness from 11*4 to 16 "2 (23). In the young the first
three cheek-teeth are 23-1 and 24-0 (2); mp.^, m.^ 16-0; m.^ 9-9;
m.i,m.Sm.» 26-6 and 295; m.\m.2 from 17-0 to 21-6 (4); m.-,
m.3 from 20-0 to 22-8 (5); m.^ from lO'l to 12-5 (4); p.^ 6-8 and
7-7 (2).
Maxillary. — The entire set of cheek-teeth is 50-2; m.^, m -
23-0; m.", m.^ 23-3; and p.* 10-5. Width of m.'' 9-5.
Form.
Mandibular. — P.* (PL xvii. fig. 25) irregularly ovate, diameters
8-5 X 3-1; crest subcentral, tridentate. Crown mesially com-
pressed; the compression defining an anterior cusp. Mesial cusp
BY C. W. DE VIS. 117
small, formed by the coincidence of a rib in the middle of the
compression on either side. Sides nearly parallel; fore end
acuminate; intero-posterior angle a little expanded, but not l^earing
a distinct cusp. About as long as m. ^ .
P.-^ (PI. XVII. fig. 24) diameters 7'4 x 3 7, otherwise differing
little from p. ^ .
Molars. — (PL xvii, fig. 26). Subelongate, diameters of m.-"^ 112
X 8-0.
Maxillary. — P.^ (PI. xvii. fig. 28) elongate, pointed anteriorly,
diameters 10*5 x 5"0. Ledge very narrow, continued to the fore
end of the crown; an intero-posterior cusp connected with the lobe
apically and separated from it posteriorly by a deep vertical
gorge, crest tridentate; outer surface of crown mesially impressed,
the impression strongly defining an anterior cusp. Median cusp
connected with basal rim of ledge by a vertical rib.
Molars. — (PL xvii. fig. 27). Subquadrate; diameters of m.^ 11*5
X 9*5; the posterior hollow of m.'*= nearly closed in at the base
by an elevated lip which on anterior teeth forms the adpressed
fold.
Rise and fall of teeth.
Mandibular. — The permanent premolar is ejecting its predeces-
sor just before the hind lobe of m."^ comes into use; it is retained
at least till the hind lobe of m."*^ is half worn down, and its per-
sistence causes m. ^ to be thrust out of the line of the teeth or
reduced to a mere shell. As Owen observes, this retention of the
anterior cheek-teeth is inconsistent with the dental flux of a true
Macropus .
Examjjles — seventy-three.
Mandibular. — Adults thirty-one; adolescents nineteen; young-
twenty.
Maxi la.ry, — One adult cranium with all the cheek-teeth; two
portions of young maxillae.
This, the most abundant of the species with teeth similar in
size and form to those of the type of Owen's H. cooperi, is the
118 • FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.H,
most likely to have yielded that fossil, and is identified with it on
that account alone; if in error, the fault must lie with the
describer of an object not susceptible of sufficient description.
Halmaturus minor, Ow,
Silieniirus minor, Owen, VIL 1877, p. 353.
Macropus minor, Lydekker, IV. p. 218.
But seven examples of this species have been found; one is a
maxilla in the same stage of growth as the t3^pe showing p.'*^,
mp.'*^, m.^, m. -, and p.'^ exposed in its crypt. The premolars are
similar to those figured by Owen. The other examples are an
isolated p.*; a young maxilla with m. ^ m.- m"^ and the premolar
ready to emerge; two adult rami with all the true molars and
one young ramus with all the cheek-teeth, but with these unfit
for description. (PI. xviii. figs. 1-2).
Halmaturus sp.
Molars with rectilinear crests, sharp angles and feeble links.
Lower premolar elongate, apparently with an intero-posterior
cusp. Molars without posterior grooves or distinct talon.
Dirneniiions.
Mandibular. — The length of the full series of true molars is
28 '7; the premolar between 8-5 and 9-0 (estimated). The width
of m.'^ is 5-8. The anterior depth of the mandible is 17*0; the
posterior the same; the thickness 11*6.
The length of the molar series being greater than the extreme
length in //. dorsalis and all wallabies inferior to it in size, while
its width is much less than the least in H. agilis and ualabatits,
and the length of the premolar greatly exceeding that in H.
ruficollis and M. parryi, and even those of H. agilis and ualahatus,
it is clear that this mandible is not referable to any known
species.
In the only example extant the premolar is imperfect in length,
and both it and the molars have been so long in wear as to
BY C. W. DE VIS. 119
<lestroy any diagnostic features which may have existed in earher
life. It is worse than idle to confer on such a fossil names which
cannot with certainty be extended to others.
Halmaturus sp.
A portion of a right mandibular ramus of an aged individual
with the last three and major part of the first true molars. The
estimated length of the molar series is 34-5; the last three teeth
measure 27'1. The width of the series at m.-^ is 7-1. The mid
depth of the mandible is 18-5; its thickness 10-9.
The width of the teeth falls within the range of that in H .
aiiilis, ualabafnii and rujicollis. The depth of the mandible would
allow it to be referred either to agilis or rujicollis; its thickness
to either of the large wallabies or to M. parry i. But the species
is readily distinguished from H. ualabatus, to which, among
modern kinds, it has the greatest resemblance by the greater
length and width of the anterior talon, which forms a much
larger portion of the whole than in the recent tooth. In conse-
(juence of this amplification of the talon the tooth is elongated;
selecting a mandible of H. ualabatus of the same age as the fossil,
and with teeth of the same width, we find that the length of the
series of true molars in the fossil is a tenth greater than in the
living species, the talons being on the average a millimetre longer.
Until the premolar is known the species may be left unnamed.
Halmaturus sp.
Molars with rather straight crests, subrotund angles, and
moderately strong links; without posterior groove or talon;
smooth.
Dimensions.
Ma'iidibular. — The last three clieek-teeth measure 25-1 in
length. The width of m."^ is 5-9. Posterior depth 14*8; thick-
ness ll'O.
So far as it goes the fossil corresponds in size with H. dorsalis,
and it is without any distinct marks of difierentiation from that
species; but as it is equally without characters, apart from
120 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID^E,
dimensions, which demand its identification with H. dorsalis, and
as dimensions alone are a good servant but a bad master it would
be a very rash step to announce on the evidence of this imperfect
mandible the geological antiquity of the common scrub wallaby.
Halmaturus sp.
Molars with curved crests, rounded angles and strong links;
smooth. Lower molars with an incipient posterior groove, but
no talon.
Dimensions.
Alandihular. — The last two molars are 16-0 in length. The
width of m.-^ 5*4. Thickness 8-7.
These dimensions have no counterpart among known species.
Examples.
A portion of an adult left ramus with m.^, m.* — A portion of
a young right maxilla with mp."^ (part), m.^, m." may be pro-
visionally referred to the same sj^ecies.
Halmaturus sp.
The anterior portion of a young ramus with m.^ and relics of
m. ^, the molars with rectilinear crests, angular lobes and feeble
links, and the length of m. " barely 6'0 is insufficient for determi-
nation.
Macropus magister, n.s.
M. titan, Owen, partim — Owen, XXII. Vol. ii. p. 360; II. PL 82,
figs. 17-18; Lydekker, IV. p. 225; Etheridge, V. 183.
The validity of a new name for the paramount species among
the kangaroos of the Nototherian Period depends on the proof to
be adduced that the fossils referred by Ov/en to his species, M.
titan, are by no means identical with it. The name M. titan was
given by its author to a species represented by a portion of a
young mandible with a single perfect tooth, m.^ (m.^ of II. PI.
82, figs. 17, 18). With such straitened means of recognising the
species in other examples it might have been supposed necessary
BY C. W. DE VIS. 121
for safe determination that these or some one of them should have
the corresponding tooth at least in fair accordance with that of
the type tooth as to shape and proportions. According to the
"improved figure" of the t3^pe tooth (I.e.) its diameters are 14-5
and 11; in adult life its length would be still less in proportion
to its breadth. But in the adult mandibles identified with it by
their describer the diameters of this tooth are respectively 14 and
9-5, 15 and 9, 15-7 and 10, yielding as a mean ratio 14*9 and
9-5; whereas, to maintain the typical proportions of even the
3^oung tooth, the respective widths should be 10-6, 11-4 and 12-6,
or in the mean 11.5. This difference in proportions is quite
obvious to the eye, and so far exceeds the latitude in this respect
taken by modern kangaroos as to be entirel}- prohibitory of the
accepted identification. In no one of scores of specimens whose
specific co-identity has been ascertained by tracing them through
every phase of dentition, and whose identity with the supposed
co-types of M. titan is beyond question, does the tooth show any
tendency to exchange its normal elongate form for the compara-
tively square shape notable in M. titan. The mean ratio of
length to breadth deduced from ten adult examples taken at
random is 14-5 : 9, and if we take mandibles equal in age with
the M. titan type the difference is of course still more evident; in
the young m.- the diameters are 14*8 and 8-8. A further proof
of non-identity is the absence of a vertical groove from the hinder
surface of the tooth in 31. titan. This groove is present in the
mandibles considered co-specific by Owen, and is invariably so in
locally preserved examples.
Finall}^, the form and extent of the anterior talon of J/.
titan are ver}'^ different from those of M. 7iiagister at the same
ase ; that of M. titan is a semioval with a short minor
diameter; that of M. magister is much longer, has straight con-
verging sides and a short straight anterior edge. On these
grounds Owen's identification of his Queensland examj^les of M.
titan with his Wellington Valley type must be disallowed. It
was a judgment, be it observed, delivered ex cathedra without
reason assigned. y^'
:a^^'-<X
122 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID.E,
Molars smooth, elongate, with curvihnear crests, thick lobes,
rounded angles and strong, directly longitudinal links. Base of
re volute inner edge of hinder surface of upper molars elevated,
forming an adpressed fold on the corresponding part of the
anterior teeth; a vertical groove on the hinder surface of the
lower molars. Upper premolar l^ilobate, with a small intero-
posterior cusp; lower premolar bilobate, with a large intero-
posterior cusp nearly confluent with the hinder lobe.
Dimensions.
Manflihular. — Adults : The entire series of cheek-teeth is 56 '6
and 60-8 in length (2); the premolar from 6-4 to 7-6 (3). The
series of true molars from 51*8 to 59 '3 (8); the last three from
40-0 to 50-5 (33); the last two from 28-1 to 36-5 (39); m.^ from
16-2 to 20-0 (26); the first three 357 and 38-5 (2); m.-,m.3 from
26-1 to 28-5 (3); m.- from 13-7 to 16-7 (5); m.-'^ from 16-1 to
17-6 (8); m.i 15-4 (1). The width of m.'^^ is from 9-0 to 11-6 (91).
The anterior depth of the mandible is from 29*6 to 44*0 (60); the
posterior from 26-6 to 41 (75); the thickness from 15*6 to 24-0
(76). The external length varies from 127-0 to 142-0 (6); the
internal from 80-0 to 98-0 (20); the diastema from 61-0 to 70-0
(5); the symphysis from 56-0 to 69-0 (5).
Adolescents : The first four cheek-teeth are 53-0 (1); the series
of true molars 60*0 (1); the first three molars from 40*2 to 48*4
(7); the first two 27-3 (1); m.- is 15-6 (1); m.^ 16-2 and 19-0 (2);
m.-, m.-5 from 27-5 to 34-0 (11); m.'^ from 16-0 to 17-4 (8); m.^,
m.^ from 29-0 to 35-0 (5); the premolar from 7-2 to &'6 (3). The
width of m.-"^ is from 9-1 to 11-3 (33).
Young: P.'% mp.^, m. ^ measure from 29-9 to 32-5 (7); mp.*,
m.^ m.^ from 35-2 to 43-5 (7); mp.*, m.^, m.", m.'^ from 45-0 to
50-0 (4); mp.'^,m.i from 22-1 to 29-1 (15); m.-,m.-" from 28-0 to
31-5 (4); p.^ mp.^ from 18-9 to 19-6 (6); mp.^ from 10-5 to 11-0
(3); m.i from 10-5 to 13-2 (8); m.- from 13-6 to 14-4 (3); m.-"
from 15-5 to 16-0 (3); the premolar p.-^ from 7-1 to 9-0 (16).
Maxillary. — Adults : The full extent of the cheek-teeth is from
62-5 to 65.7 (4); of the true molars from 54-0 to 60-6 (12); of the
BY C. W. DE VIS. 123
last three molars from 41-5 to 45*0 (3); of the last two from 31-2
to 34-1 (7); m.^ is 15-5 and 16-9 (2); the premolar from 9*0 to
10-5 (5); the first four cheek-teeth from 43*7 to 46*7 (2); the first
three molars from 40-0 to 45.0 (3); m-, m."^ from 30-1 to 32-0 (6);
m.-5 from 15-6 to 17-6 (6); m.- 12-6 (bis.).
Young: P.'^, mp.*, m.^, m.-, m.^ are 56*7 and 63-5 (2); p.^,
mp.*, m.i, m - 45-2 and 45-4 (2); p. 3, mp.'^, m.^ are 35-5 (1);
p.^ mp.-^ 20-4 (1); p.-^ from 9-0 to lO'O (6); mp.^ m.^, m.^ from
35-4 to 38-7 (3); mp.\ m.^ 26-5 (1); m.i, m.- 25-8 and 27-7 (2);
m.3 from 14-2 to 16-4 (3).
The widths of the lower and uj)per teeth are as 13 to 14; in
M. yiganteus the ratio is 7:8; in M. robustus 19:20; in most
other recent species the difference is much greater than in M.
giya^iteus.
Tn mandibular dimensions M. inayister has no special relation
to either of the recent kangaroos. Though the length of its
cheek-teeth is but little more than a fourth greater, the mean
width of the series at m. ^ is more than twice as great, while the
thickness of the mandible and its depth are only about one-half
greater than in M. giganteus, rohustus and rujus. In range of
depth it somewhat exceeds the greatest attained by a recent
species, H. dorsalis, to wit.
Form.
Mandibular. — P.* (PL xviii. fig. 12) is short, with mesial diame-
ters 7-0 : 3-5. Anterior lobe the shorter, longitudinall}^ com-
pressed, lancet-shaped; the posterior single, or with its anterior
two-fifths forming a subdivision obscurely defined by a vertical
groove on the outer side, and a notch in the crest. Crest curving
without interruption on to the intero-posterior cusp, which is only
separated from the lobe by a shallow vertical groove on the upper
mesial part of the posterior surface, and forms with it anteriorly
a concave intero-posterior face.
P. 3 (PI. XVIII. fig. 11) is short, with mesial diameters 8*9 : 4-5,
similar to p.* in structure, but larger in size. The anterior lobe
is relatively larger; the intero-posterior cusp is higher than the
124 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODID^E,
hinder lobe, compressed, acuminate and separated from the lobe
by a deep notch both superiorly and posteriorly.
The vertical groove on the hinder surface of the molars is
sometimes double; frequently its base is enclosed by an elevated
rim which may bulge outward and convert the groove into a deep
pocket.
Maxillary. — P.^ (PL xviii. fig. 14) has a general resemblance to
the lower premolar, but the anterior lobe is much shorter and lower
than the posterior, the long compressed blade of which bears low
down on its intero-posterior surface a small trihedral pointed cusp.
On the intero-anterior base of the fore lobe is a tumid margin rt,
representing perhaps the last trace of an inner ledge. Mesial
diameters 10-5 x 4 -7.
P. 3 (PI. XVIII. fig. 13) is almost equally bilobed; the maiden state
of its surface is not exemplified, but from vestiges left in the worn
tooth it may be safely said to have had a ledge running the whole
length of its inner side and terminating in an intero-posterior
cusp; the hinder lobe is furnished with a well developed extero-
posterior cusp (a, PL xviii. fig. 15), a feature which occurs in the
recent M. giganteus, but in one other instance only among
extinct Macropods in Sthenuriis.
Examples — two hiutdred and eighty-thrre.
The collection embraces 134 adults, 40 adolescents, and 47
young mandibles — 47 adult and 15 young maxilLe, besides
isolated teeth in large number. The identity of young specimens
has in the great majority of instances been established by extrac-
tion of the permanent premolars from their crypts.
It may be observed that Owen's JJ. tiiaii, from the Wellington
Caves, has not been recognised among the fossils of the Darling-
Downs.
Macropus pan, n.s.
Molars elongate with curved crests, rounded angles and strong
links. Anterior upper molars with the outer midvalley divided
by a vertical plate; all wath an adpressed fold posteriorly. Lower
BY C. W. DE VIS. 125
molars with a vertical groove posteriorly. Upper premolars
unilobate with an internal ledge and intero-posterior cusp.
Lower premolar unilobate, with an intero-posterior cusp. Size
somewhat larger than M. magister.
The types of the species are the maxillaries alone; there is at
present no direct evidence showing that the mandibles are rightly
associated with them.
Dimeitsiojis.
Maxillary. — Adult and adolescent : The first four cheek-teeth
are in length 55-0 and 55-5 (2). The true molar series is 53 -(3
and 61-5 (2); the last three molars 44*5 to 55*0 (4); the last two
36-0 (1); the last 19-2 (1); the first three 41-3 (1); m.2, m.'^ from
30-1 to 37-1 (5); p.^ is from 11-0 to 12-3 (3j. The width of m."^
is from 11-7 to 13-6 (14).
Young: The series mp.^, m.""^, m.^ is 40*0 (1).
Ma.ndihular. — Adult and adolescent : The cheek series varies
in length from 61-0 to 70-0 (2); the last three from 42-7 to 54-0
(4). The first four cheek-teeth are 52*2 in length, the first
two true molars from 26-8 to 29-6 (3); the last two from
35-5 to 39-5; the first three are 45-6 (1); m.- m.^ are 35-2 (1);
m.i 12-0 and 12-5 (2); m.^ from 16-9 to 17-4 (3); m.^ from 17-5
to 20-0 (8); m.^ from 18-7 to 20*5; p.'^ from 8-ato 10-0 (4). The
width of m.'*^ is from 8*9 to 12*6 (24). The anterior depth of the
mandible varies from 24-6 to 46-2 (13); the posterior from 23*5 to
36-6; its thickness from 15-8 to 25-1 (27). The latter measure-
ments much exceed the greatest amount of difierence in living
species, and clearly indicate a confusion of two distinct species,
but the means of distinguishing these otherwise than by size are
as yet wanting.
Form. „
Maxillary. — P. ^ (PI. xviii. fig. 8). Obovate with diameters 11-0
and Q-^. Crest oblique, parallel with the outer side, notched at
anterior third. An intero-posterior cusp a, separated from the
lobe apical ly by a notch, posteriorly by a broad groove descending
half way to the base, is connected with the fore end of the crown
126 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODIDJ^^,
by a raised tubercular basal riin enclosing a concave ledge. Outer
surface of crown impressed at anterior third, the impression
defining the outer edge of an anterior cusp 6; on the posterior
half of the impression are two very distinct vertical ribs. In a
maxilla which seems to belong to this species the premolar (PL
XVIII. fig, 8) is elongate obovate, with diameters 12-3 and 5*7 and
a little contracted at the anterior third. The intero-posterior
tubercle is more entirely separated from the lobe; and the whole
tooth has a facies different from that of the preceding tooth, which
may be taken as the type of the species. Yet as m. ^ in this
maxilla has relics of the sepiment in its outer midvalley, and as
the variation in the premolar may be paralleled among recent
species, there is not at present sufficient ground for referring it to
a separate species.
Molars (PL xviii. fig. 10). — The posterior molars differ in no
respect from those of M. iniayister save in somewhat superior size;
m.- most frequently shows a vertical fold descending from the
middle of the hinder surface of the fore lobe external to the mid-
link, and meeting its fellow of the opposite side at the bottom of
the valley h\ or as in the type specimen forming there an erect
plate. In m. ^ this fold forms a more complete sepiment a from
lobe to lobe; it is constant in occurrence, and traces of it are
visible as long as the lobes persist. It is not a little remarkal:)le
that this one of the structural characters of Palorchestes should
reappear in a species of Macropus.
Mandihular. — P.* (PL xviii. fig. 7) ovate, with the sides mesially
contracted, and with diameters S'O and 4-0. Crest mesial; a very
small intero-posterior cusp separated from the lobe apically and
posteriorly; inner side of crown somewhat concave in front of the
cusp, outer rather concave with one or two obscure ribs about the
middle. The cusp disappears under wear. A series of four young
teeth extracted from their crypts at an early stage of growth or
exposed from above show^s that the tooth in its growth undergoes
considerable change of form. At the earliest phase observed it
resembles in shape the end of a cold chisel with a dent on each
BY C. W. DE VIS. 127
side of the middle of its edge, the mid-point being the termination
of a rib on the outer side; the intero-posterior cusp is as yet
obscurel}^ defined; in a somewhat older example the crown is
thickened and rounded at each end, two ribs appear on the outer
side, and the intero-posterior cusp is more distinct; when near
emergence the tooth gains greater robustness, and the cusp
becomes exserted from the lobe.
Molars (PI. xviii. fig. 9) undistinguishable from those of M.
magister.
The undulation of the lower contour line of the mandible is
well marked.
Rise and fall of teeth.
Of this little is known; p.* is newly arisen, and p."^ is not
entirely up when the hind lobe of m. ^ is coming into use; by the
time that the hind lobe of m."* gets into w^ear, p."*^ is moderately
worn and procumbent, whence we may infer that it is thrust out
soon afterwards while still serviceable.
Exa. inp les — -fifty -fovr.
These include besides the young maxilla forming the type —
Four adult maxillae; two with premolars, and all with m. ^ among
the teeth preserved; twelve others in which m. ^ shows its cha-
racteristic more or less perfectly : one with m.^, m.*;one with m.'^;
and one with m.* referred to the species merely on account of
similarity of size.
In four adolescent mandibles the well-preserved premolars
alone effectually prevent the molars behind them being ascribed
to M. magister, as they might otherwise have been on seemingly
sufficient grounds, and well illustrate the folly of positively
identifying kangaroo mandibles by molars only. Twenty-seven
others are provisionally determined by the dimensions of the
teeth.
Macropus faunus, n.s.
Molars wdth curved crests, rounded angles and strong links.
Upper premolar tricuspid, without ledge on the inner side, but
with an intero-posterior member simulating the corresponding
128 FOSSIL JAAVS OF MACROPODIDA^.,
portion of the true molars. Molars smooth. Lower premolar
tricuspid. Palate entire. Size large.
/Ji')]iensio7is.
Maxillary. — Length of the cheek-teeth 70-5 (estimated), of the
first four 55-5 (1); of p.^ 11-0 (1). Width of m.^ 12-5 and 12-8
(2).
Mandibular. — Length of the cheek-teeth 57 '0 to 62*6 (2); of
p.-^ 7-0, 7-2 and 8-0 (3); of p.^ m^ 18-0 (1). Width of m.-^ 9-5
to 10-1 (2); anterior depth 25-8 and 29*0 (3); posterior 28-0 and
29-0 (2). Thickness 19-7 and 21-0 (2). Liternal length 82-0.
Form.
Maxillary. — P.* (PL xviii. fig. 4) irregularly elongate-ovate,
tricuspid; the mesial cusp the shortest, cuneiform; the anterior
a compressed cone. The large inner portion of the posterior cusp
is fused with the outer; its posterior base folds l^ackwards and
outwards behind the base of the outer portion so that the posterior
surface of the tooth has a remarkable resemblance to that of the
molars of the kangaroos. The inner ledge is represented by a
low basal tubercle opposite the interval between, the anterior and
mesial cusp. Diameters ll'O and 4-6.
Molars (PL XVIII. fig. 5) not distinguishable in form from those
of M. magister and pan.
Mandibular.— V"" (PL xviii. tig. 3). Diameters 8-0 and 3-4.
Tricuspid, elongate-ovate. Crest parallel with outer side, curving
inv/ards posteriorly; mesial cusp the shortest, cuneiform. Crown
tumid on intero-posterior angle but not developing a distinct cusp.
Molar^i (PL xviii. fig. 6) as in M. magister and 2^an-
Lower contour line of mandible undulatory.
Jxise and fall of teeth.
The mandibular premolar is procumbent on the verge of the
diastema when the hind lobe of m.* is just showing effects (^f
BY C. W. DE VIS. 129
Examj^Jes — six.
The type maxilla with p."*, m. ^, m. -, m. -^ — -A portion of a left
maxilla with m. ■^, m.^ (provisional) — A mandible with all the
cheek-teeth and a portion of a second with p.*, m. ^ — A pair of
mandibles, one with all the cheek-teeth, the other lacking only
the premolar.
The close similarity in form between the upper and lower
premolars strongly suggests their co-specific origin. The molars
accompanying them could not without them l^e dissociated from
those of the other great kangaroos.
Synaptodox, de Yis.
Si/xajjtodon, de Vis, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland, Yol. v., p. 159.
Molars distant at base, in contact by faceted projections
(talons) fore and aft.
Synaptodon .evorum, de Yis {I.e.).
Dimensions of a molar 9-0 x 5-0; space between the teeth
nearly equal to the length of the fore lobe.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
I. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
II. Owen, Pv., Researches on the Fossil Remains of the Extinct
Mammals of Australia, 1877.
Ill, Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Fossil
Organic Remains of Mammalia and Aves contained in the
Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 1845.
IV. Lydekker, R., Catalogue of ihe Fossil Mammalia in the British
Museum, Part 5, 1887.
V. Etheridge, R. , Junr. , Catalogue of Australian Fossils, 1878.
VI. Proceedings of the Geological Society of London.
VII. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
I
130 FOSSIL JAWS OF MACROPODlDuE,
VIII. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London.
IX. Flower, W. H., Cat. Vert. Anim. in the Museum of the Royal
College of Surgeons of London.
X. Gray, J. R., List Spec. Mam. British Museum.
XT. SHA\y, G., Naturalist's Miscellany.
XII. General Zoology.
XIII. Desmarest, a. G., Mammalogie.
XIV. Illtger, C, Prodromus.
XV. ScHREBER, K., Saugethiere,
XVI. Zimmerman, E. A., Spec. Zool. Geol.
XVII. Lesson et Garnot, Voyage de la Coquille,
XVIII. Griffith, E., Auimal Kingdom.
XIX. Grey, Sir G., Australia.
XX. Gould, J., Monograph of the Macropodidae.
XXI. Chaklesworth, E., Magazine of Natural History.
XXII. Mitchell, Sir T., Three Expeditions into Australia, 2nd ed., 1838.
XXIII. Waterhouse, G. R., Mammalia.
XXIV. Proceedings of Linn fan Society of New South Wales.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Plate XIV.
Palorchestes azael, Ow.
Fig. 1 — Lower deciduous premolar.
Fig. 2 — First lower true molar — young.
Fig. 3 — Anterior upper molars — young.
Fig. 4 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 5 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 6— Last upper molar.
Palorchestes parvus.
Fig. 7 — First upper molar — young.
Fig. 8 — Upper molar series.
Fig. 9 — Lower molar series.
Fig. 10— Upper incisors.
BY C. W. DE VIS. 131
Plate XV.
Sthenurus pales.
Fig. 1 — First three lower molars.
Fig. 2 — -Upper premolar.
Fig. 3 — Lower premolar.
Fig. 4 — Hinder surface of third lower molar.
Sthenurus goliah, Ow.
Fig. 5 — Upper deciduous premolar — imperfect.
Fig. 6 — Upper permanent premolar in crypt.
Fig. 7 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 8— Hinder surface of first upper molar.
Fig. 9 — Hinder surface of last upper molar.
Plate XVI.
Sthenurus otuel, Ow.
Fig. 1 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 2 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 3 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 4 — Upper third molar.
Sthenurus oreas.
Fig. 5 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 6 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 7 — Upper permaneut premolar.
Fig. 8 — Upper third molar.
Sthenurus atlas.
Fig. 9 — Lower deciduous premolar— imperfect.
Fig. 10 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 11 — Last lower molar— imperfect.
Habnaturus vinceus.
Fig. 12 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 13 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 14 — Upper third molar.
Fig. 15 — Lower third molar.
Plate XVII.
Habnaturus thor.
Fig. 1 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 2 — Lower third molar.
132
FOSSIL JAWS OF MACBOPODID.E
Hahnahirus visJniu.
Fig. 3 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 4 — Lower third molar.
Halmaturus anak, Ow.
Fig. 5 — Lower deciduous premolar.
Fig. 6 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 7 — Upper deciduous premolar.
Fig. 8 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 9 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 10 — Upper third molar.
HalmatnriiH dry an.
Fig. 11 — Lower deciduous premolar.
Fig. 12 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 13 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 14 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 15 — Upper third molar.
Halmatwus odin.
Fig. 16 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 17 — Lower third molar.
Habnntnriis indra.
Fig. 18 — Lower deciduous premolar.
Fig. 19 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 20— Lower first molar.
Halmatiirus siva.
Fig. 21 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig, 22 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 23— Upper third molar.
Halmaturus cooperi, Ow.
Fig. 24 — Lower deciduous premolar.
Fig. 25 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 26 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 27 — Upper third molar.
Fig. 28 — Upper permanent premolar.
BY C. W. DB VIS. 133
Plate XVIII.
Halmaturus minor, Ow.
Fig. I — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 2 — Lower third molar.
Macropns /minus.
Fig, 3 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 4 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 5 — Upper third molar.
Fig. 6— Lower third molar,
Macropus pan.
Fig. 7 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 8 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 9 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 10 — Upper third molar.
Macropus magister.
Fig. 11 — Lower deciduous premolar.
Fig. 12 — Lower permanent premolar.
Fig. 13 — Upper deciduous premolar.
Fig. 14 — Upper permanent premolar.
Fig. 15 — Lower third molar.
Fig. 16 — Upper third molar.
CORRIGENDA.
Page 78, in the last two lines — read 0. frenata and P. penicillata.
Page 84, line 27 — insert m.^ between mp.* and m.^
Page 85, line 1£ — add ; of the entire series of cheek teeth 98 "5 (1).
Page 87, line 2Q—for premolars read the left premolar.
Page 88, line 4 -/or A second example, hinder portion, &c,, read A second
example — Hinder portion, &c.
Page 89, line 15 — for orcas read oreas.
Page 93, line 4 — after young add Cast of portion of a right maxilla with
m.3 m.4 (10223) ; adult.
Page 94, line 5 — the word but at the end of the line should have been
omitted.
Page 99, lines 17, 29 and 31— /or P.^ read in each case PT*
Page 100, line 2— for P.* reat/ P7
Page 107, line .35— /or lightly read slightly.
134
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27x11, 1895.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
The twenty-first Annual General Meeting of the Society was
held in the Linnean Hall, Ithaca Road, Elizabeth Bay, on Wed-
nesday evening, March 27th, 1895.
The President, Professor David, B.A., F.G.S., in the Chair.
Miss Anderson, Mr. J. G. Anderson, M.A., and Mr. R. L. Jack,
E.G.S., of Queensland, were present as visitors.
The Minutes of the last Annual Meeting were read and
confirmed.
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS.
The twentieth year of the Society's history, notwithstanding
the still prevalent depression and continued " hard times," was
one of almost unwonted activity. Sixty papers requiring a more
liberal allowance of illustrations than usual were contributed at
the nine Monthly Meetings of the Session. Five Parts of the
Proceedings, including a legacy of arrears of three Parts from the
previous year, were issued, while Parts 3 and 4 of the Vol. for
1894 have been issued since the commencement of 1895. These
complete a Volume of average size, with more than the average
number of plates; but they do not include three lengthy and
important papers requiring illustrations, read at the November
Meeting. To prevent delay and to distribute expenditure, these
have accordingly been held over, and will without avoidable loss
of time be issued as Part 1 of the Proceedings for 1895. Ever
since the Macleay Memorial Volume was put in hand, four years
ago, the Society has been uninterruptedly in the printer's hands,
president's address. 135
a state of things which — with the matter held over from 1894
still for some time Hkely to occupy attention — even under favour-
a])Ie circumstances must continue for another year before we can
hope to become quite free from the toils of arrears. The issue of
five Parts instead of the usual four per annum means of course
extra payments, and introduces a disturbing element into both the
publishing arrangements and the finances for the year. Under
these circumstances, therefore, it has become highly desirable that
by the beginning of next year existing arrears should be cleared
off in order that the Society may again revert to its normal
condition; even though if necessary this should involve an unusual
discrimination in accepting matter for publication during the
coming Session.
By the operation of Rule ix. the Members' Roll has been
depleted to the extent of forty-five names of Members whose
annual subscriptions have continued in arrears. Some at least of
these, it may be hoped, will take advantage of the last clause of
Rule ix., and by the discharge of arrears again qualify themselves
for Membership.
During the year five new Members were elected, two forwarded
their resignations, and we have to lament the death of one — Dr.
Craig Dixson — who was a prominent member of the Medical
Profession in Sydney, and like his brother Dr. Thomas Dixson, to
whose services on our Council we are all much indebted, was
always a consistent supporter of our Society. For the reasons
given above, and more particularly through the continued wide-
spread commercial depression — ^though for this the Council is
desirous of making all possible allowance — the number of effective
Members on the Roll is at present smaller than it has been for
some years — a fact which I commend to the consideration of the
Members generally, in the hope that^ such a state of affairs may be
only of a temporaiy character.
In the hope of encouraging a larger attendance of Members at
the Monthly Meetings the Council early in the year decided as an
experiment to hold the Meetings from June to Noveml^er in town,
at the University Chambers, kindly placed at our disposal by
136 president's address.
Professor Pitt-Cobbett. The results either in the way of increased
attendance or accessions to Membership were not of a striking-
character; and as an accompaniment of music practice in a
contiguous building, and the absence of our books of reference
were not found to enhance the interest of the Meetings, the
Council has decided to return to our home at Elizabeth Bay.
The inauguration of a new line of 'buses from the Railway
Station to the top of William-street, via Oxford-street, providing
for the convenience of residents in the western suburbs, and of
the cable-tram to Ocean-street will be found to offer new and
hitherto unattainable facilities of access to the Society's Hall.
Three vacancies on the Council occurred during the year through
the successive retirement, on account of pressure of official duties,
of Dr. Cobb, Mr. E. G. W. Palmer, and Mr. R. Etheridge, junr.
In accordance with the provisions of the Act of Incorporation,
the Council filled two of these vacancies for the unexpired portions
for the then current 3^ear by electing Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A.,
B.Sc, and Dr. Fick— who was, however, on the eve of leaving
for Europe, and therefore unable to act — and whose place was
thereupon filled by the appointment of Dr. C. J. Martin : the
third ^-acancy occurring later in the year was left unfilled until
the Annual Meeting. Mr. Henn, one of the Auditors, being-
absent on a visit to India, Mr. E. G. W. Palmer has been elected
in his place.
As there arise from time to time questions of priority in the
matter of species described in the first seven Volumes of our
Proceedings which were issued undated, it is desirable that the
effort should be made to ascertain the exact dates with a view to
their publication in the Proceedings. Unfortunately the Society's
official records for the period covered by Yols. i.-vi., and Parts }
and 2 of Vol. vii., were entirely destroyed in the Garden Palace
Fire. The Secretary, however, hopes by the co-operation of the
Librarians of the various Sydney Libraries to be able to ascertain
at least the dates on which the publications were received at
those Institutions — which would be approximately those of publi-
cation. Old Members who are in a position to afford information
are also cordially invited to do so.
president's address. 137
With regard to the bequest of the late kSir WiUiam Maclea}^ of
£12,000 for the founding of a Chair or Lectureship in Bacteriology
at the University of Sydney, or (failing the acceptance of the
bequest b}-- the University) for providing the salary of a bacterio-
logist to the Linnean Society of New South Wales and equipping
a laboratory, the Senate accepted the bequest upon the terms and
conditions mentioned in the will and memorandum. The Senate,
however, of the University considering the fourth clause of the
will rather stringent approached the Council of the Linnean
Society with a view to obtaining a c.y pres modification of this
fourth clause. The fourth section of the memorandum provided
that — " It shall be necessary for ever}'- student before being
admitted to a Science or Medical degree at the University to
attend a six months' course of bacteriology." The reply of the
Council of the Linnean Society to the letter of the Senate was to
the general effect that it declined to be a party to an}'- scheme for
modifying the late Sir William Macleay's will. The Senate then
carried the matter into the Court of Equity, making the Linnean
Society defendants.
As only a resume has appeared in the newspapers, and the
matter is one in which the Society is interested, I think it right
that the full text of the decision of Mr. Justice Owen, Chief
Judge in Equity, should be placed on record in the Society's
Proceedings. It is as follows : —
Judgment of His Honour the Chief Judge in Equity.
In The Supreme Court of New South Wales.
IN equity.
Between The Universit}^ of Sydne}^,
Plaintiff^ and Her Majesty's
Attorney General for New South
Wales and the Linnean Society of
New South Wales, Defendants.
" This is a suit to obtain the declaration of the Court as to the
construction of the will of the late Sir William Macleay.
138 pkesidext's address.
The testator bequeathed a sum of £12,000 to the vSenate of the
University of Sydney in these terms :— " To be held upon trust
for the foundation of a chair or lectureship of bacteriology subject
to the conditions set out in a memorandum on the subject
wliich I intend to leave with my will to be read as part thereof,
but if the said Senate shall not, within one month after being
notified by my executors of this legac}^, accept the conditions set
forth in such memorandum, then the said legacy shall )3e void,
and I give the said sum of £12,000 to the Linnean Society of
New South Wales."
The memorandum referred to in the will is in these words : —
" To my Executors,
" This is the memorandum as to the legacy of twelve thousand
pounds for a chair or lectureship of bacteriology referred to in my
will of even date — I desire that the following conditions be
strictly insisted on before handing over to the University the
sum of twelve thousand pounds bequeathed in my will for the
endowment of a chair of bacteriology :
" First the Senate must agree to accept the said sum for the
purpose of providing from the interest of the same a salary for a
lecturer or professor of bacteriology and whose duty shall be to
give instructions practical and theoretical in the morphology and
physiology of the Schizomycetes and Saccharomycetes :
" Secondly the bequest if accepted by the Senate shall be used
for the abovementioned j)urpose and no other and the lecturer
shall not have additional duties imposed upon him :
" Third the appointment of a professor or lecturer of bacteriology
shall be made by the Senate and not delegated to people in
England or elsewhere who know little of the country and care
less.
" Fourth it shall be necessary for every student before being-
admitted to a science or medical degree at the University to
attend a six months' course of bacteriology.
" My reasons for insisting upon these conditions being observed
are that I am very deeply convinced of the extreme importance
president's address. 139
of the study of these minute vegetable organisms 'ootli to the
biologist and the physician ])ut I am by no means sure that the
importance is as yet sufficiently recognised by scientific men and
I am unwilling to trust the fate of my bequest to the very
uncertain views of the Senate on the sul^ject. I therefore wish
my executors to procure very distinct pledges from the Senate
upon all the points above mentioned. Should the Senate decline
all or any of these conditions I empower my executors to hand
over the aforesaid sum of twelve thousand pounds to the Linnean
Society to provide a sufficient salary by the year to a competent
bacteriologist who shall be called the bacteriologist to the
Linnean Society and whose duties shall be to conduct original
research in the laboratory of the Society and to give instruction
to one or two people at the discretion and under the orders and
control of the Council of the Society any surplus to be applied to
laboratory requirements."
The plaintiff prays for a declaration —
1st. Whether or not the words " science degree'' in the fourth
condition mean a degree in science generally or in biological
science or other sciences analogous thereto; and
2ndly. Whether or not the w^ords "a six months' course of
bacteriology" in the fourth condition mean any and if so what
definite amount of lectures or teaching or whether the words
mean such amount of lectures or teaching as shall from time to
time be prescribed by the Senate.
The will and memorandum bear date the 23rd December, 1890.
In the argument before me it was admitted that the "science
degree" must be limited to a degree in biological science or other
sciences analogous thereto, as the study of bacteriology would
have no place in the curriculum for other science degrees, such as
engineering, &c., and as the testator In the memorandum refers to
the importance of such study to the biologist and the physician, I
have therefore no difficulty in declaring that the "science degree"
must be construed with such limitation.
The question as to the meaning of the words "a six months'
course of bacteriology" presents greater difficulties. If those
140
PRESIDENTS ADDRESS.
words are to be construed according to their ordinary or
grammatical meaning, they mean only that the studies are to
extend over a period of six months and two academical ferms, but
it is contended that they have a technical meaning and imply a
course of 100 lectures.
If that construction is to be put on the words, the Senate
points out that such a course of lectures would in the present state
of the science of bacteriology be only a waste of time to students
both in medicine and science, and that the lectures for the most
part would be mere repetitions of the few topics with which such
lectures could deal.
The question, therefore, whether the Senate could properl}^
comply with the condition or ought to reject the legac}^ depends
on the construction of these words.
From the year 1875 up to the time of his death Sir William
Macleay was a member of the Senate, and doubtless acquainted
with its by-laws. Between the years 1875 and 1882 (before the
School of Medicine in this University was fully organised), the
by-laws in connection with the Faculty of Medicine required the
candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine to furnish
evidence (amongst other things) that he had attended certain
specified classes, "each for a course of six months." Between the
years 1882 and 1884 the by-laws provided that the undergraduates
in medicine should attend a six months' course of dissections, but
I cannot find that the amount of instruction in such six months'
course is anywhere laid down or defined. So far as I can
ascertain, the expression "six months' course" nowhere else occurs
in the by-laws of the University and is never used in connection
with one course of study in science. From the year 1884, the
expression appears to have dropped out of the by-laws, and from
that year to the present the fourth Ijy-law relating to the Faculty
of Medicine provides for a "long course" and a "short course," to
denote respectively a course of 100 hours' instruction extending
throughout two terms; and of 50 hours' extending throughout
one term.
president's address. 141
I cannot see, therefore, from the by-laws that any such
technical meaning as is contended for has been affixed to the
expression "a six months' course," so that I must construe the
words of the testator in that meaning. Indeed, if I am to suppose
that the testator had in his mind the provisions of these by-laws
when he drew wp this memorandum, and intended students to
attend a course of 100 lectures, I would have expected him to use
the words "long course,'' which alone are defined as meaning a
course of 100 hours' instruction extending throughout two terms.
Then it is said that at Edinburgh the expression "six months'
course" is used to denote a course of instruction in medicine
similar to the "long course" of the by-laws of the Sydney
University; and that as the testator had in his j^outh been a
student of medicine in that University, he used those words in
the remembered sense of his early days. But I think I am right
in stating that Sir William Macleay never took his degree in
medicine, and that from early youth till his death at a very
advanced age he resided in this colony, where he was for the last
15 years of his life an active member of the Senate of the Sydnej^^
Universitj^".
It appears to me, therefore, that a circumstance so far distant
from the time when this will was executed ought not to compel
the Court to hold that the testator used these words in the sense
they bore in the University of Edinburgh.
Again, the evidence before me does, in my opinion, bear out
the contention of the Senate, that in the present state of the
science of bacteriology a course of 100 lectures on that subject
could not benefit students, but would be a mere waste of time
which could otherwise be more profitably employed — but as that
science advances, a more extended course could from time to time
be prescribed. If that is so, it must have been well known to
the testator, and it is most improbable that he would have tried
to force the Senate to give at the present time and under all
circumstances such an extended course of lectures as would be
useless to the students.
142 president's address.
It is contended that the memorandum shows that the testator
attached much greater importance to the study of bacteriology
than the Senate did, and that that consideration shows that he
must have intended to secure a maximum number of lectures on
that subject,
I do not think that necessarily follows. The passage in the
memorandum refers to all the conditions which certainly bind the
Senate to give great prominence to the study of bacteriology in
the degrees of medicine and science, but it does not at all follow
that the testator meant himself to prescribe for all time the actual
number of lectures to be delivered on the subject, especially when
the evidence before us shows that so great a number of lectures
as is contended for would at present be useless.
I gather from the by-laws that the Senate, on a report from
the different faculties, determines from time to time the number
of lectures to be delivered on each subject during the terms. And
from the evidence of Professor Liversidge the number of lectures
varies considerably. That course of procedure I must presume
the testator, as a member of the Senate, was aware of.
It appears to me that in prescribing a six months' course of
bacteriology, the testator did not mean to take from the Senate
the power from time to time to prescribe the number of lectures
to be given on the subject, but only to provide that each student
for the degree of medicine or science should devote two terms to
that particular study under a competent professor or lecturer.
I therefore declare that the words "a six months' course of
bacteriology" mean such an amount of lectures or teaching
throughout two terms as shall from time to time be prescribed by
the Senate, having regard to the great importance which the
testator attached to that study.
I think those last words ought to be added to the declaration
of the Court, not through any fear that the Senate would in any
way seek to evade the conditions, but as more fully expressing the
intention of the testator.
The costs of all parties will be paid out of the legacy as between
solicitor and client."
143
The Council of the Linnean Society decided, after due con-
sideration, not to appeal against this decision. ]Mr. H. M.
Makinson and Mr. J. J. Fletcher, as executors of Sir William
Macleay, subsequently stated in a letter to the Daily Telegraph,
of November l-tth, 1894, that had they been parties to the suit
they would certainly have appealed. In arriving at the decision
not to appeal, the Linnean Council were actuated, partly by the
desire for peace and quietness, but chiefly b}^ the consciousness of
lack of funds to enable them to carry on a protracted legal
contest, which might in the end have involved the Society in
heavy expenditure.
Subsequent to this decision by the Court of Equity, the Senate
appointed a committee consisting of the Chancellor, the Vice-
Chancellor, Dr. MacLaurin, Sir Arthur Renwick, Dr. Sj^dney
Jones, Professor Liversidge, Mr. H. C. Russell, and Professor T.
P. Anderson Stuart to advise them further on the subject. As
recommended by this committee, the Senate sent circular letters
to the principal European and American Universities, asking for
as full information as possible on the subject of the teaching of
Bacteriology. Replies to these circular letters are now being
received. It is hoped that it will be possible to have an appoint-
ment made to the Chair of Bacteriology by the beginning of the
Academic year in 1896.
Australian Museum.
Dr. E. P. Ramsay, owing to continued ill health, was forced
last year to resign his position as Curator, after over 20 years'
service. Mr. R. Etheridge, junr., who had for a considerable
time previous been discharging the duties of acting Curator, has
been appointed his successor.
The lack of funds during 1894 very much retarded the general
work of the Museum, the efforts of the staff being chiefly confined
to the preservation, and in some cases the rearrangement, of the
existing collections, with the view of making room for future
additions in the already overcrowded cases. The Mammalia have
been enriched by the addition of examples of the second Australian
144 â– president's address.
species of Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagas benettianus, De Yis).
jSTumerous nest-groups showing birds, nests, and eggs, and often
the young, with natural surroundings, have been added to the
Bird collection. The Reptilia and Batrachia were to a great
extent withdrawn from exhibition, consequent on substitution of
specimens and rearrangement in more appropriate cases. In con-
nection with the lizards, this work had to a considerable extent
progressed. A series of coloured casts of snakes have also been
introduced. The general collections of Insects, Mollusca, and
other Invertebrates were entirely transferred from their former
resting places to the uj)per gallery of the new hall, and are at
present undergoing a complete revision. Tl^e two latter are now
practically completed. A ^'ery valuable addition to the Ethno-
logical Collection was made by the presentation by the N.S.
Wales Commission World's Columbian Exposition of a fine set
of weapons and implements of the Alligator River Tribes, Port
Darwin, and numerous urns and vases from the burial mounds of
Arkansas, U.S.A.
The addition of the year, however, was the presentation by the
Government of the "Cook Relics." These relics of the great
circumnavigator, Capt. James Cook, R.jST., F.R.S., were chiefly
purchased, on a statutory declaration, from the surviving relatives
of Mrs. Elizabeth Cook, relict of Caj^t. Cook. The declared value
of these specimens is .£1100. The entire general collection of
Minerals and Rocks has been transferred to the lower gallery of
the new hall, rearranged and re-labelled, to the number of about
5000 specimens. From causes it is unnecessary to mention, little
palpeontological work has been accomplished. The sttiff remains
on its retrenched basis.
Geological Museum, Department of Mines and Agriculture.
Mr. G. W. Card has been working hard at the displaying and
arranging of the mineral and palaeontological collections. Im-
portant additions, chiefly of silver ores and opals, have been made
to the collection during the past year. The pah^ontological collec-
tions have lieen classified by Mr. R. Etheridge, junr., and Mr. W.
S. Dun.
presidents address. 145
University.
At the Biological Laboratory of the University, Mr. J. P. Hill
is working at the development of the teeth of the bandicoot. At
the laboratories of the Medical School Professor Wilson is
studying the same subject in collaboration with Mr. Hill, and
also the development of the teeth of the platypus. Dr. C. J.
Martin is still continuing his investigations on the subject of snake
poison, and is working out the general development *of the
platypus. At the Macleay Museum Mr. George Masters is still
employed at his task of classifying the collections of foreign
Orthoptera and Coleoptera, and has mounted on ground glass all
the collections of Australian and foreign birds' eggs and a large
number of marine and land mollusca.
Scientific Papers, kc.
It would, of course, be quite beyond the scope of this address
to review the principal papers of scientific interest which were
published by Australian Societies last year. A few publications,
however, relating to my own subject will be referred to. The
very important paper by ]Mr. R. L. Jack, at the Brisl^ane meeting
of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,
showed that his geological surve}^ of the intake beds of the
cretaceous formation proved that the supply of rain water
draining into the beds was fully forty times as much as had been
previously estimated. On the assumption, therefore, that a total
of about one hundved million gallons flow now daily from the
Queensland artesian bores, it should be possible to draw at least
forty times as much as the above amount of water out of the beds
without encroaching on the supply. The geological explorations
by Mr. E. F. Pittman, the Government Geologist, during the past
year, on the cretaceous rocks of the Upper Darling and in the
Parish of Bidura, Balranald district, have shown that it is very
probable that the artesian basin may extend far to the south-west
of Wilcannia, possibly underneath the overlying Tertiary deposits
of West Victoria and South-East South Australia to the coast.
K
146 president's address.
During 1894 the Department of Mines and Agriculture have
published Parts I. and II. of Vol. TV. of the Records of the
Geological Survey of New South Wales and Part III. No. 8 of
the Palaeontology Series of the Memoirs. The last-mentioned is
entitled " Contributions to a Catalogue of Works, Reports, and
Papers on the Anthropology, Ethnology, and Geological History
of the Australian and Tasmanian Aborigines," and should prove
of great service to workers in that branch of science. A very
interesting memoir by Mr. A. S. Woodward, of the British
Museum, on the subject of the beautifully preserved fossil fish,
discovered at the Talbragar River, has just been received by the
Government Geologist, and will shortly be published. The repu-
tation of the Survey is well sustained in these publications.
Mr. R. Etheridge, junr., and Mr. W. S. Dun, assistant palaeon-
tologist and librarian, contribute (op. cit. Part II. pp. 68-99)
"The Australian Geological Record for the Year 1893, with
Addenda for 1891 and 1892." This is an invaluable work, and
no geological library in Australasia should be without it.
Mr. W. S. Dun, who has been assisting Mr. R. Etheridge in
his palaeontological work for several years, was this year
appointed definitely to the position of assistant palaeontologist to
the Geological Survey.
Mining Notes.
I am informed that the " Sydney Harl^our Collieries Company"
has been successfully floated in London, and that arrangements
are being made to purchase Kurraba (Karubah) Point, between
Neutral Bay and Shell Cove, and also for the sinking at this spot
of a pair of shafts, which should reach the Bulli Coal Seam at
approximately the same depth below sea level as that at which
the seam was struck in the No. 2 bore at Cremorne, namely, 2774
feet, or probably a trifle deeper. The sinking of these shafts will
afford good opportunities for obtaining a series of observations on
underground temperature.
The output of gold for 1894 was 324,787 ozs., valued at
iBl,156,717, as I am informed by the Honourable the Minister for
president's address. 147
Mines and Agriculture. This is nearly doul)le the quantity
raised in 1893, the amount for that year being 179,288 ozs.,
valued at £651,28."),
Of the amount of gold raised last year the new goldfield of
Wyalong contriliuted 9649 ozs., valued at £35,946, and Garan-
gula 1205 ozs.
As representing the subject of geography as well as geology at
the University of Sydney, I trust I may be allowed to say a little
about recent research in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The
latter region in particular touches very nearly the work of our
Society, and the pro])lem of the possible biological relations of the
Australian fauna to that of the old fauna of the Antarctic
continent of New Zealand and South America has already
engaged the attention of one of our most active members, Mr.
Hedley.
Arctic Exploration.
At least three expeditions last year were malting for the North
Pole. Nansen, the hero of the " First Crossing of Greenland,"
strong in will and liml), was, and we hope still is, drifting with
his thirteen men in his wooden ship the Fram in the ice pack,
from N.E. Siberia towards the strong ocean stream flowing south
between Spitzbergen and Greenland, to which he trusts for
carrying his ship over the North Pole. Nansen, v/hen he bade
good-bye to Dr. John Murray, who had expressed some doubt as
to whether he should ever see again Nansen's ship, the Fram,
said, " I think you are wrong. I believe you will welcome me on
this very deck, and after my return from the Arctic, I will go to
the South Pole, and then my life's work will be finished."
The American naval engineer. Lieutenant Peary, with a party
of fourteen, including Mrs. Peary and her maid, started in July,
1893, for Whale Sound, on the west coast of Greenland. The
chief object of the expedition was to complete the map of Green-
land, but he also intended to reach the highest northern latitude
available. He landed at Bowdoin Bay on March 6, 1894, and
started overland with dogs and sledges for Independence Bay.
148 president's address.
After pushing north for over 200 miles very severe weather
compelled him to return. The temperature at times was 40° to 60°
below zero. The sledges had to be abandoned, and only twenty-
six dogs out of the ninety taken with him returned alive.
Professor Chamberlin accompanied the expedition, and the
publication of his observations on Greenland glaciers is being
eagerly awaited by geologists in all parts of the world.
Mr. Walter Wellman, a journalist of Washington, attempted
last year to attain a high northern latitude, north of Spitzbergen.
He took with him aluminium boats, made at Baltimore, weighing
about 450 lbs. each, 18 ft. long, 6 ft. wide and 2 ft. deep, capable
of carrying nineteen men. The aluminium plates were riveted
together Clinker fashion, being onl}^ one-tenth of an inch thick.
Ash runners were fitted on to the l)ottom of the boat, so that it
could be used as a sledge. Well man's expedition failed in its
attempt, so far as the attaining of a high northern latitude was
concerned. Four days after he had left his ship (the Ragnvald
Jarl) on his journe^^ across the snow, she was crushed by ice, and
only some of the stores were saved. Wellman and his party, after
making some interesting geographical explorations, returned to
Tromsoe on August 15th, 1894.
An English expedition, known as the Jackson-Harmsworth
expedition, was fitted out last year at the private expense of Mr.
A. C. Harmsworth, for Arctic exploration. Mr. T. G. Jackfeon
sailed from the Thames on July 11th, 1894, in the Windivard, a
wooden steamship of 321 tons. She is barque-rigged, and
strongly fortified for ice-work. He has taken a whaling boat,
a copper boat with collapsible canvas gunwales altogether
weighing less than 200 lbs., a light boat of Norwegian pine and
an aluminium boat built in three sections, with a duplicate of the
middle section, and a birch bark canoe, together with sledges and
twenty-four pairs of ski in lieu of snow-shoes. He takes a
number of scientific instruments, travelling tents, sledges, four
ponies and thirty dogs. It is hoped that scurvy, the bane of
Arctic explorers, will ])e avoided by the frequent use of fresh
meat, of which large supplies have been taken. A series of
president's address. 149
depdts are to be established from Franz-Josef Land towards the
North Pole, which should constitute well- stocked larders for the
travellers as they return. Seven men, each of special skill or
scientific attainments, accompany Mr. Jackson on this well found
expedition.
The latest news of it which has reached me is to the
effect that, towards the end of August, the Windward was
seen by the captain of the walrus-sloop Betsy in latitude 75° 45'
N., and longitude 44° E., "steaming in the direction of Franz-
Josef Land without let or hindrance, the ice being in this locality
brashy and rotten, the Windward actually steaming up a lead of
which no termination northward was visible.""^
A somewhat no v^el proposal, which is likely to lead to the actual
fitting out of an expedition to carry it into execution, comes from
the famous Arctic explorer Julius V. Payer. He proposes to send
an artistic expedition to paint the North Pole.f
The expression to " paint the town red " is a familiar one, but
Payer does not propose to do anything so frivolous. No attempt
has ever yet been made to do justice to the beauties of Arctic
scenery, of which he gives a glowing account in the article just
referred to. He proposes to take, on a 400 ton ship, two land-
scape painters, an animal painter, and a photographer. Movable
glass studios lighted Ijy electricity supplied by benzine or petroleum
motors are to be provided, and oils which remain liquid at very
low temperatures may be used instead of water colours. Cape
Franklin, at the entrance of the little-explored Kaiser-Franz-Josef
Fiord in East Greenland may be selected as the first camping
ground. It is proposed that the expedition should start in June,
1896.
Antarctic Exploration.
Just now Dr. John Murray, of Challenger renown, has strongly
stirred the hearts of the English people to fit out an expedition
to the South Pole on somewhat similar lines to the great exploring
* The Geogr.. Journ. Feb. 1895, Vol. v. No. 2, p. 173.
t The Geogr. Journ. Feb. 1895, Vol. v. No. 2, pp. 106-112.
150
expedition under Sir James Ross and Captain Crozier in the
Erehus and Terror in 1839-1843.
Dr. Murray remarked in his address to the Royal Geographical
Society last year that it was now nearly two thousand five hundred
years since the Phcenicians sent out the expedition under the
command of Necho into the Southern Hemisphere. They arrived
at the Cape of Good Hope, about 600 B.C., and reported that
when rounding the Cape, heading westwards, they had the sun
on their right hand, a statement of which Herodotus says, " This
for my part I do not believe; but others may." Since the time
of this voyage of the Phcenician sailors in their frail craft, Ave
have no reason to be proud of the rapidity of geographical
exploration in the Southern Hemisphere.
Until the beginning of this year only three exploring parties
had passed beyond the limit of 70" S. lat., Cook in 1773, Weddell
in 1823, and Ross in 1841 and 1842. This year, however, the
whaler Antarctic, which has just returned to Melbourne, has had
the honour of being the first ship for the last 52 years to penetrate
beyond the 70th parallel, reaching lat. 74° S., in long. 171° E.
As a result of his explorations, Cook, as quoted by Murray,
was convinced that "the greater part of this Southern Continent
must lie within the Polar circle, where the sea is so pestered with
ice that the land is thereby inaccessible. The risque one runs in
exploring a coast in these unknown and icy seas is so very great
that I can be bold enough to say that no man will ever venture
further south than I have done." To prophecy thus is also risky,
as both Weddell and Ross did su])sequently venture much further
south, as already stated.
The explorations of Ross, the discoverer of the North Magnetic
Pole, stand pre-eminent in the record of Antarctic work. In his
case the path of duty was the way to glory. His orders were to
try and discover the Magnetic Pole, and accordingly he steered as
straight as he could towards where j^revious observations showed
that the Magnetic Pole probably lay, and this proved to be also
the best direction for successful geographical exploration. Sir
Joseph Hooker, one of the only two members now surviving of
president's address. 151
Ross' expedition, thus describes Ross' forcing a passage through
the ice"^ —
" He steered for the position of the Magnetic Pole, and, after
passing through much loose ice, met the main pack, al)out lat. 67°
S. and long. 174|° E. It was a formidable pack. Neither he
nor any of the Arctic officers or men, of whom there were not a few
in the ships, had ever seen anything like it in the north. Never-
theless, Ross determined to try it, and in doing so the boldest
held his breath for a space. In four or five days he pushed
through it and entered comparatively open water." This proved
to be a huge ocean pool 600 miles across, with a magnificent chain
of extinct volcanoes, and one active volcano, bounding it on the
east, the highest peak. Mount Melbourne, being estimated to be
15,000 feet high. The sun often shone brilliantly on those
stupendous snow-clad peaks as Ross and his men fought their way
gallantly southwards until they reached the great ice barrier
rising in a sheer cliff 150 feet to 200 feet above the sea, and
barring further progress to the South. On the East the ice pack,
composed partly of floe ice (frozen sea water), partly of fragments
of icebergs, hemmed them in, and they were compelled to return
by the way they came. Speaking of the hardships endured by
Ross and his men, during the third year of his commission. Hooker
says (op. cit. p. 28), " It was the worst season of the three, one of
constant gales, fogs and snowstorms. Officers and men slept with
their ears open, listening for the look-out man's cr}^ of ' Berg-
ahead !' followed by 'All hands on deck!' The officers of the
Terror told me that their commander (Crozier) never slept a night
in his cot throughout that season in the ice, and that he j^assed it
either on deck or in a chair in his cabin. They were nights of
grog and hot coffee, for the orders to splice the main l)race were
many and imperative, if the crew ^^ere to be kept up to the strain
on their nerves and muscles."
Ross' dredging showed that animal life was abundant right up
to the edge of the great ice barrier; and the observations made
during the Challenger Expedition quite confirmed this conclusion,
* The Geogr. Jouru. Vol. iii. No. 1, January, 1894, p. 27.
152 president's address.
for it was found that tetrasporce were so abundant over wide
areas as to give the sea a peculiar green colour, and "diatoms
were frequently in such enormous abundance that the tow nets
were filled to the brim with a yellow-brown slimy mass, with a
distressing odour, through which various crustaceans, annelids and
other animals wriggled."
One of the most recent Antarctic explorations was made in the
Jason in 1893-1894. During the voyage of the Jasori (Captain
C. A. Larsen) to the Antarctic lands the discovery was made of a
new active volcano, named by Captain Larsen Christensen
Volcano, lat. 65° 5' S., long. 58° 40' W.^
" The volcano had the shape of a sugarloaf and was of con-
siderable height. The ice was melted for a considerable distance
around it. It presented a remarkable aspect, as round the top
and on the slopes there were funnel-like holes, from which a ver}^
black and thick smoke issued from time to time, covering the top
itself."
It is also stated (op. cit. p. 342) that to W. by IST. from
Christensen Volcano there are five islands, one of which is very
high, and all probably volcanic, as their tops were free from snow,
whereas those of the mountains on the mainland are snow-clad.
On the sketch chart accompanying this paper the active volcano
of, Sarsee is shown in the same neighbourhood, and also Linden-
berg Volcano [extinct (?)].
The Jason also visited Paulet Island, once an active volcano
(op. cit. p. 344). It was quite clear of snow, its steep red cliffs
thrown into relief by the grey background of the interior of the
island, giving it a striking appearance. The most important
discovery of the Jason, from a scientific point of view, was that
of Lower Tertiary fossils iyi situ, at Cape Seymour. These were
Cucullma, Natica, Cytherea and pieces of petrified wood, all of
course indicating a former climate much warmer than that which
now prevails.
As regards climate, and distribution of animal and plant life,
the Antarctic regions are in strong contrast with the Arctic.
* The Geogr. Journ. Vol. iv. No. 4, Oct. 1894, pp. 340-341.
president's address. 153
In the Address to the Royal Geographical Society in July, 1894,
))y Clements R. Markham, C.B., F.R.S., it was stated (p. 9) that
"from Payer's furthest point in 82° 5' K, a water sky made its
appearance in the north, the temperature rose, and the rocks
were covered with thousands of auks and guillemots. From a
height Payer looked down on a dark sheet of open water dotted
with icebergs." On April 12 the thermometer was at 54° Fahr.
In the discussion following the reading of Dr. Murray's address,
Mr. W. S. Bruce, of the Jason, said (op. cit. p. 36) that as far
north as man has penetrated in Arctic regions "he has found
reindeer, flowers and bees, brilliant sunshine, and the country
green; but in midsummer in the Antarctic no plant grows — the
summer sun is not sufficient to melt the snow. The temperature
observations on our voyage show that in the height of summer
the average range of the thermometer is below 32°, and that in
the latitude corresponding to the Shetland and Faroe Islands in
the north. "^
Dr. Murra}?- also states that " No land animal, and no trace of
vegetation — not even a lichen or a piece of seaweed — has been
found on land within the Antarctic circle."!
Briefly summarised, what is known at present about the
Antarctic Continent is this: — A. Its outline is probably something
like that shown on the map exhibited, enlarged from Dr. Murray's
map. That there really is a continent there and not merel}' a
group of islands is proved by the following facts :—
(1) The great ice barrier is a vast land glacier which must
have a gathering ground of continental proportions,
estimated b}^ Dr. Murray as being slightly larger,
perhaps, than that of Australia, namely, about 4,000,000
square miles.
* These observations, however, do not agree with those recently made by
Mr. C. E. Borchgrevink of the whaler Antarctic. See Note 1, at end of
this address.
+ See Note 2, at end of this address.
154 president's address.
(2) Granite and various ancient crystalline rocks have been
proved to occur in sit a at the South Slietlands and
Trinity Land, and granite and gneiss occur in situ,
forming nine small islands off Terre Adelie, as observed
by the French corvettes Z' Astrolabe and La Zehe/^
Drift fragments of granite, dioritic rocks, quartzites,
clay shales, itc, were dredged by the Challenger not
far from the supposed Termination Land of Wilkes.
Ross dredged a large piece of coarse granite off Victoria
Land, and Dr. McCormick, the surgeon of the Erehus,
frequently found fragments of granite in the crops of the
penguins. His researches constantly proved that the
penguins were invaluable as collectors of geological
specimens. Granite is almost always characteristic of
continents or of islands bordering continents, but is
usually absent from oceanic islands.
(3) Glauconite in the blue muds near the Antarctic barrier
is probably indicative of the proximity of a continent.
(4) Commenting on the fact that the observations during the
Challenger expedition showed that 162 new species out
of 398 identified are peculiar to Antarctic regions. Dr.
Murray states (oj?. cit. p. 22), "It is most probal^le, indeed
almost certain, that the floor of the ocean, as well as all
pelagic waters, have been peopled from the shallow waters
surrounding continental land, and here in the deep
waters of the Antarctic we appear to have very clear
indications of the existence of the descendants of animals
that once inhabited the shallow water along the shores
of Antarctica, while in the other regions of the ocean
the descendants of the shallow water organisms of the
northern continents prevail."
* Voyage au Pole Sad et dans 1' Oceanie. Sur les Corvettes L' Astrolabe
et La Z6l^e, ex6cut^ pendant les Annies 18.37-40. Geologic, Min^ralogie,
et Geographie physique du Voyage, Vols, xxii.-xxiii. Paris, 1848.
president's address. 155
There are numerous volcanoes in the Antarctic Regions.
Altogether there are about five active and seventeen dormant
or extinct volcanoes, as far as I can learn from the somewhat
imperfect information at my disposal. The volcanoes of
Victoria Land show a tendency to linear arrangement. From
Mount Sabine, 9,500 feet high, to Mt. Melbourne, 15,000 feet,
the trend is sou-sou-westerly. Mount Erebus, 12,367, an active
volcano, and Mount Terror, 10,884 feet, extinct, lie almost
due South of Mount Sabine. Further north from Mount
Sabine the great earth-fold, on the septum of which this chain
of volcanoes is situated, probably bends a little westwards, as
shown partly by the soundings, partly by the position of
Balleny's Isle, an active or dormant volcano, estimated V)y
Balleny to be about 12,000 feet high.* North-west of Balleny's
Island the great fold trends perhaps to the knotting point between
the Tasmanian axis of folding, described in my address last year,
and that of New Zealand, the former perhaps running through
Royal Company Island, and the latter through or near Auckland
Island and Macquarie Island. The knotting point would pro-
bably be somewhere (approximately) near the intersection of the
60th parallel of south latitude with the 150th meridian of longitude
east from Greenwich. It would thus join the line of extinct
volcanoes along East Australia on the west,- and perhaps the
active volcanic zone of the North Island of New Zealand, or at
all events the fold which bounds that continent, on the east.
Traced in the opposite direction, the volcanic zone probably
runs through Seal Islands, the active volcanoes of Christensen
and Sarsee, and through Mount Haddington, an extinct volcano
in Trinity Land, to Paulet and Bridgman Islands, active volcanoes.
*Mr. C. E. Borchgrevink of the Avhaler Antarctic informs me that when
he was in the vicinity of this island in 1895 he saw no trace of the volcano
being in eruption. Sir James Ross, however, states (Voyage to the Southern
Seas, Vol. i. p. 272), quoting from the log of the Eliza Scott, " as we stood
in for it [Balleny's Isle, T.W.E.D.] we plainly perceived smoke arising
from the mountain tops. It is evidently volcanic, as specimens of stone, or
rather cinders, will prove."
156 president's address.
The volcanic zone bends easterly from here on account of the
easterly trend in the fold, which appears to make a loop towards
South Georgia before it swings back towards Cape Horn. That
there is a real easterly trend in the earth-fold at Trinity Land
and the South Shetlands is proved by the observations made by
the Astrolabe and Zelee expedition, which record a strike in a
N.N.E. and S.S.W. direction for the greyish-white limestones and
phyllite-schists at the South Orkneys."^ Towards Cape Horn from
near South Georgia the fold probably trends west-nor-westerly,
then follows an approximately meridional direction parallel with
the chain of the Andes. It may be noted, however, that whereas
the Erehus chain of Victoria Land is on the east side of the fold,
the Christen sen-Bridgman groujD are apparently on the opposite
side. This may be due to the fact that at the latter locality the
eastern slope of the fold is steeper than the western, as seems
i:)robable from the presence of the deep ocean abyss east of
Graham's Land, as shown on Dr. Murray's map. The volcanoes
of the Antarctic are thus situated on the same great earth-fold
which has determined the position of the Cordillera and coast
line of South America, and form part of that great " girdle of
fire " which runs round about the earth, from the Andes along
the west coast of North America and the Dominion of Canada
through the Aleutian and Kurile Islands towards Japan, thence
through various volcanic islands of the Pacific, including
Krakatoa, towards the north-east extremity of New Guinea, to
the Tonga Islands, and thence back to the White Island of New
Zealand. It is probable, therefore, that the volcanic chain of
Victoria Land will continue towards the South Pole, probably
bending somewhat to the eastward, and will thence change its
position to the fold on the other side of the Antarctic continent,
so as to run through the Christensen-Bridgman line of volcanoes.
In any case it is almost certain that high land, covered of course
more or less by snow and glaciers, will be found at the South Pole.
It may be mentioned here that the gneissic rocks in the small
islands off Terre Adelie strike in an east and west direction.
Loc. cit. p. 32.
president's address. 157
This seems to prove the presence of a subsidiary fold trending
easterly along the coast of Antarctica till it joins what may be
termed the federated folds of New Zealand and Australia, near
their knotting point. It will be important for future exploring
expeditions to trace by a systematic series of soundings the
position of these folds on the ocean floor, southerly from Tasmania
and south by west from New Zealand.
That one, perhaps two,t well organised expeditions may shortly
be expected in Antarctic regions is extremely probable, as may
be judged from the following facts :— The Royal Geographical
Society, after Dr. Murray's address in 1894, appointed an
Antarctic committee. This committee moved the Council of the
Royal Society to advocate strongly the need for further Antarctic
exploration, and last December the Council of the British Associa-
tion passed a resolution strongly in favour of the work being-
undertaken, and various scientiiic bodies, as well as the Agents-
General of the Australasian colonies, have been approached op. the
subject. It is proposed to send a Belgian expedition into the
Antarctic next September, the expedition to extend over eighteen
or twenty months. It would be fully equipped for scientific
observation, and the route suggested is one to the east of
Graham's Land, in the direction of the recent discoveries of the
Jason.
With reference to the lines on which Dr. Murray would suggest
that an expedition to Antarctica should be conducted, he states
(o/?. cit. p. 25) : — "A dash at the South Pole is not, however, what
I now advocate, nor do I believe that is what British science, at
the present time, desires. It demands, rather, a steady, con-
tinuous, laborious and systematic exploration of the whole
southern region with all the appliances of the modern investigator.
This exploration should be undertaken by the Royal Navy. Two
ships not exceeding one thousand tons should, it seems to me, be
fitted out for a whole commission, so as to extend over three
summers and two winters. Early in the first season a wintering
+ Reference to a third proposed expedition is given in note 3, at the end
of this paper.
158 president's address.
party of about ten men should be landed somewhere to the South
of Cape Horn, probably about Bismarck Strait at Graham's Land.
The expedition should then proceed to Victoria Land, where a
second similar party should winter, probably in Macmurdo Bay,
near Mount Erebus. The ships should not become frozen in, nor
attempt to winter in the far south, but should return towards the
north, conducting observations of various kinds along the outer
margins of the ice. After the needful rest and outfit at the
Falk lands or Australia, the position of the ice and the temperature
of the ocean should be observed in the early spring, and later the
wintering parties should be communicated with, and, if necessary,
reinforced with men and supplies for another winter. During the
second winter the deep-sea observations should be continued
northwards, and in the third season the wintering parties should
be picked up and the expedition return to England. The winter-
ing parties might largely be composed of civilians, and one or two
civilians might be attached to each ship ; this plan worked
admirably during the Challeriger exjDedition."
" What, it may be asked, would be the advantages to trade and
commerce of such an expedition '? It must be confessed that no
definite or very encouraging answer can be given. We know of
no extensive fisheries in these regions. For a long time seal and
sea-elephant fisheries have been carried on about the islands of
the Southern Ocean, l)ut we have no indication of large herds or
rookeries within the Antarctic Circle. A whale fishery was at one
time carried on in the neighbourhood of Kerguelen, but this
right whale, if distinct from or identical with Balcena aicstralis,
appears to have become nearly, if not quite, extinct. Some
expressions of Ross would lead one to suppose that a whale cor-
responding to the Greenland right whale inhabits the seas within
the Antarctic ice, but we have no definite knowledge of the exis-
tence of such a species. Although "sulphur-bottoms" (Balcf^-
'noptera musculus), " finbacks" {Bahenoptera Sihhaldn), and
" humpbacks" (Megaptera boops) are undoubtedly abundant, they
do not repay capture. Ross and McCormick report the sperm
whale within the Antarctic ice, but there is still some douljt on
president's address. 159
this point. Though penguins exist in countless numbers they are
at present of no commercial value. Deposits of guano are not
likely to be of great extent. But it is impossible to speak with
confidence on the commercial aspects of such an expedition — the
unexpected may quite well happen in the way of discovery."
With regard to the whales seen by Ross in the Antarctic ocean,
Sir William H. Flower said {(>p. cit. p. 34) : " The only right
whale which has hitherto been found in the south is the l)lack
whale, which, if it exists in sufficient numbers, is profitable, and
has yielded a great deal in former times, and was dififused pretty
nearly all around the Southern Hemisphere, l^eing once abundant
off the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, and ISTew Zealand, and I
have no doubt is the species seen in Sir James Ross' expedition
further south."
Dr. Murray thus sums up the work of a modern Antarctic
expedition : "To determine the nature and extent of the
Antarctic continent, to penetrate into the interior, to ascertain the
depth and nature of the ice-cap, to observe the character of the
underlying rocks and their fossils, to take magnetic and meteoro-
logical observations both at sea and on land, to observe the tem-
perature of the ocean at all depths and seasons of the j^ear, to
take pendulum observations on land, to bore through the deposits
on the floor of the ocean at certain points to ascertain the condi-
tion of the deeper layers, and to sound, trawl, dredge, and study
the character of marine organisms."
Professor Neumayer says : " It is certain that without an
examination and a survey of the magnetic properties of the
Antarctic regions, it is utterly hopeless to strive, with prospects of
success, at the advancement of the theory of the earth's
magnetism." It is certain also that without a knowledge of the
geograph}^ and meteorology of the Antarctic regions no weather
predictions for any part of the globe, much less for the Southern
Hemisphere, can be considered absolutely reliable, however
wisely they may have been forecasted.
All these expressions of opinion on the part of leaders of
modern scientific thought as to the desirability of an expedition
160 president's address.
being sent to the Antarctic regions to learn more about its
meteorology, more about its biology, more about its physics,
geography, and geology, the Linnean Society of New South
Wales will, I feel confident, most heartily endorse. That the last
great work of geographical, biological, and geological exploration
in the world should be undertaken by the people of the British
Empire is a consummation devoutly to V)e wished for ; and it
would be a very worthy end of the grand work begun and con-
tinued by the great Challenger expedition.
There is more than mere political glory and problematical guano
to be gained l^y such an expedition as that which is now con-
templated to Antarctica. There is the good of humanity and the
cause of truth. Scientific Societies have been appealed to to help
on this enterprise, and we all can help, if not with our money at
all events with our minds. If the Linnean Society of New South
Wales cannot contribute men or money, I hope most sincerely
that it will at least contribute a very hearty sympathy.
Notes.
1. Mr. C. E. Borchgrevink, who accompanied the whaler
Antarctic on its voyage to Balleny's Island and Victoria Land,
stated in his lecture delivered in Sydney on April 24:th that
the shade temperature was by day as high as 46° Eahr., and the
mean temperature for January, 1895, was 32.5° Fahr.
2. Mr. C. E. Borchgrevink obtained land plants (which Mr. J.
H. Maiden, F.L.S., F.C.S., informs me are probably lichens) from
Possession Island, and from Cape Adair, on the mainland of
Victoria Land.
3. While the proofs of the above Address were being revised
the following announcement in the Scientific Amei'ican, March
30th, 1895, p. 202, has been brought under my notice by Mr. H.
C. Russell, the Government Astronomer : — " Dr. Frederick A.
Cook, the well-known explorer, has recently declared his intention
of leading a small but well-equipped bod}'- of scientific men on an
exploring expedition to the Antarctic regions. The time for
leaving New York has been fixed for September 1st, 1895, and it
president's address. 161
is expected that the voyage will last for probably three years.
The party intend to sail in two small sailing vessels, each of about
100 feet in length and of from 100 to 200 tons burden. Each
vessel will be of the type known as ' Sealers,' and will be manned
by five men. ... A fine pack of Esquimaux sledge dogs will
also be provided. The scientific corps will consist of five men,
who will carry with them such equipments as will assist them in
carrying out their various lines of investigation. It is expected
that it will take about three months to reach the Gulf of Erebus
and Terror, where the expedition will probably disembark. A
substantial wooden house will then be erected to be used as the
headquarters. Later on, sledging parties will be sent out from
this point to penetrate as far south as possible."
On the motion of the Rev. J. Milne Curran, seconded by Mr.
T. Steel, a very heart}^ vote of thanks was accorded to the Presi-
dent for his ver}^ interesting Address.
The Hon. Treasurer being detained by Parliamentary business,
Mr. P. N. Tvebeck presented and read on his behalf a satisfactory
financial statement, and also the Auditors' report.
On the motion of Mr. Trebeck, seconded by Mr. R. Etheridge,*
junr., the statement and report were adopted.
The following gentlemen were elected
OFFICE-BEARERS AND COUNCIL FOR 1895.
President :
Henry Deane, M.A., M.I.C.E.
Yice-Presidents :
James C. Cox, M.D., F.L.S.
Professor W. A. Haswell, M.A., D.Sc.
Professor T. W. E. David, B.A., F.G.S.
Honorary Treasurer :'
The Hon. James Norton, LL.D., M.L.C.
162 president's address
Council :
John Brazier, RL.S. J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., F.C.S.
Cecil W. Darley, C.E. C. J. Martin, M.B., B.Sc.
Thomas Dixson, M.B., Ch.M. Perceval R. Pedley.
J. R. Garland, M.A. P. N. Trebeck, J.P.
Arnold U. Henn, RE.S. Thomas Whitelegge, P.R.M.S.
A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc. Professor J. T. Wilson, M.B.,
Ch.M.
Auditors :
Hugh Dixson, J.P. E. G. W. Palmer.
Mr. Henry Deane having taken the Chair, returned thanks for
his election. He announced that Part 4 of the Proceedings for
1894 would be issued on the following day; also that the Council
had decided to hold over to form Part 1 of the Proceedings for
1895 three lengthy papers requiring illustrations, read at the
Meeting in November ; and as these were sufficient to keep both
printer and lithographer occupied for the next two months at
'least, the Monthly Meeting had been given up on this occasion.
The Meeting then closed.
163
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24ih, 1895.
The President, Mr. Henry Deane, M. A., M.I.C.E., in the Chair,
DONATIONS.
(Received since the Meeting in November, 1^9 J/..)
Pharmaceutical Journal of Australasia. Vol. vii. (1894), Nos.
11-12; Vol. viii. (1895), iSTos. 1-3. From the Editor.
Perak Government Gazette. Vol. vii. (1894), Nos. 25-31 and
Index; Vol. viii. (1895), Nos. 1-6. From the Government Secre-
tary.
Zoologischer Anzeiger. xvii. Jahrg. (1894), Nos. 459-464 and
Index; xviii. Jahrg. (1895), Nos. 465-470. From the Editor.
Royal Microscopical Society — Journal, 1894, Parts 5-6; 1895,
Part 1. From the Society.
Madras Government Museum^ — Bulletin, No. 2 — "Notes on
Tours along the Malabar Coast (1894)." From the Sujjerintendent.
Societe d' Horticulture du Doubs, Besancon — Bulletin. n.s.
Nos. 46-50 (Oct., 1894-Feb., 1895). From the Society.
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom —
Journal. New Series. Vol. iii. Nos. 3-4 (1894). From the
Association.
Smithsonian Institution — Proceedings of the U.S. National
Museum. Vol. xvi. (1893). From the Museum.
164 DONATIONS.
Smithsonian Institution — Annual Report of the Board of
Regents for the year ending June 30th, 1892. Froin the
Institution.
American Naturalist. Yol. xxviii. (1894), Nos. 335-336; Vol.
xxix. (1895), Nos. 337-339. From the Editors.
American Geographical Society — Bulletin. - Vol. xxvi, No. 3;
No. 4, Part 1 (1894). From the Society.
American Museum of Natural History — Bulletin. Vol. vi.
(1894), Sheets 18-24 (pp. 273-368), and Index; Vol. vii. (1895\
Sheets 1-2 (pp. 1-32). From the Museum.
Hamilton Association — Journal and Proceedings for Session
1893-94. No. x. From the Association.
iD'-
Natural Science Association of Staten Island — Proceedings.
Vol. iv. Nos. 8, 10, 12-14 and Special No. 19 ^1894-95). From
the Association.
Victorian Naturalist. Vol. xi. Nos. 8-12 (Nov., 1894-Marcli,
1895). From the Field Naturalists^ Club of Victoria.
Indian Museum — Indian Museum Notes. Vol. ii, Nos. 5-7;
Vol. iii. Nos. 1-3 (1891-94): Monograph of the Asiatic Chiroptera.
By G. E. Dobson (1876): Hand List of the Mollusca in the
Indian Museum. By G. Nevill. Parts i.-ii. and Index (1878-
1884) : Monograph of Oriental Cicadidoi. By W. L. Distant.
Nos. v.-vii. (1892) : Catalogue of Mollusca in the Indian Museum,
By G. Nevill. Fasc. E. (1877) : Catalogue and Handbook of the
Archaeological Collections in the Indian Museum. By J. Ander-
son. Parts i.-ii. (1883) : Natural History Notes. Series ii.
Nos. 2-9, 11-12 and 17 (1892-94) : Illustrations of the Zoology of
the "Investigator." 4to. Crustacea. Part ii.; Echinoderma.
Part i.; Fishes. Part ii. (1894). F'roin the Swperintendtnt.
Societe Royale Linneenne de Bruxelles — Bulletin. xx"'^
Annee, Nos. 1-3 (Nov., 1894-Jan., 1895). From the Society.
DONATIONS. 165
Geological Society of London —Quarterly Journal. Vol. 1.
Part 4. No. 200 (1894); Vol. li. Part 1, No. 201 (1895) : List of
Fellows, &c., Nov. 1st, 1894. From the Society.
Imperial University, Japan — Calendar for 1893-94. From the
Fresident.
College of Science, Imperial University, Japan— Journal.
Vol. vii. Parts 2-3 (1894); Vol. \dii. Part 1 (1894). From the
Director.
Department of Agriculture, Victoria— Proceedings of Confer-
ence of Horticultural Societies and Fruit Growers' Associa-
tions. March, 1894 : Proceedings of Conference of Vine Growers'
Associations. May, 1894 : Guides to Growers. Nos. 8-17 :
Poultry Breeding and Management for the English Markets :
^Monthly Lectures delivered at School of Horticulture during
1892-93 : Fibres from Plants. By W. R. Guilfoyle, F.L.S. (1894):
lleport by Messrs. S. H. Rowe and J. Kelly on the Prospects of
Trade with India, China, Japan, tfcc. From the Secretary Jor
Agriculture.
Zoological Society of London — Abstracts, 6th and 20th Novem-
ber, 4th December, 1894; 15th January, 5th and 19th February,
1895. From the Society.
Kongl. Universitets-Biblioteket i Upsal — Nine Dissertations
(8vo. and 4to.): Botaniska Sektionen af Naturvetenskapliga
Studentsallskapet — Sitzungsberichte. i.-v. Jahrg. (1886-90'.
Fro7)i the Rector.
Sciencias Naturaes e Sociaes — Revista. Vol. iii. Nos. 11-12
(1894). From the Society.
Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W- Vol. v. (1894), Parts 11-12;
Vol. vi. (1895), Parts 1-2. From the Hon. the Minister for Mines
and Agriculture.
Australasian Journal of Pharmacy. Vol. ix. No. 108 (Decem-
ber, 1894); Vol. X. Nos. 109-111 (January-March, 1895). From
the Editor,
166 DONATIONS.
Hooker's Icones Plantarum. Vol. iv. (Fourth Series), Part ii.
(1894). From the Bentham Trustees.
Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou — Bulletin.
Annee 1894, Nos. 2-3. From the Society.
Pamphlet entitled " In Memoriam. George Bennett, M.D.,
F.R.C.a, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c." From Mrs. Bennett.
Societe Royale de Geographie d' Anvers — Bulletin. T. xix.
2me et 3me p^g^^ (1894-95). From the Society.
Field Columbian Museum, Chicago — Guide (1894): Publication
i. Yol. i. No. 1 (1894). From the Director.
Canadian Record of Science. Vol. v. No. 8 (1893). From the
Montreal Society of Natural History.
Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College — Bulletin,
Vol. XXV. Nos. 9-11 : Annual Report for 1893-94. From the
Director.
The Microscope, n.s. Vol. i. No. 12 (December, 1893). From
the Editor.
Societe Scientifique du Chili— Actes. T. ii. (1892), 4°^« Liv.;
T. iii. (1893), 4^^ et S'"^ Livs.; T. iv. (1894), 2°>'^-3'"« Livs. From
the Society.
Johns Hopkins University Circulars. Vol. xiii. No. 114 (Nov.
1894); Vol. xiv. No. 116 (January, 1895). Fro)n the University.
Royal Society of London — Proceedings. Vol. Iv. No, 335;
Vol. Ivi. Nos. 336-339; Vol. Ivii. Nos. 340-341. From the Society.
University of Melbourne — Examination Papers : Matriculation.
November, 1894: Annual. October-December, 1894. From the
University.
Cambridge Philosophical Society — Proceedings. Vol. viii. Part
3 (1894). From the Society.
DONATIONS, 167
Royal Irish Academy — Transactions. Vol. xxx. Parts 13-14
(1894): Proceedings. Third Series. Yol. iii. No. 3 (1894).
From the Academy.
L'Academie des Sciences et des Lettres de Danemark, Copen-
hague— Bulletin, Annee 1894. No. 2. From the Academy.
Geological Surve}^ of India — Records. Yol. xxvii. (1894),
Part 4. Fronn the Director.
Natur wissenschaf tlicher Yerein fiir Steiermark — Mittheilungen.
Jahrgang 1892. From the Society.
Societe Hollandaise des Sciences a Harlem — Archives Neer-
landaises. T. xxviii. 3™® et 4""® Livs. From the Society.
Nederlandsche Dierkundige Yereeniging — Tijdschrift. 2^^^
Serie. Dl. iv. Afl. 4 (1894). From the Society.
Entomological Society of London — Transactions, 1894. Parts
4-5. From the Society.
Department of Agriculture, Brisbane — Bulletin. No. 4.
Second Series. From the Secretary for Agriculture.
Societe Entomologique de Belgique — Annales. T. xxvii. (1893) :
Memoires. ii. (1894). From the Society.
Societe Beige de Microscopic — Annales. T. xviii. P*" Fasc.
(1894): Bulletin. T. xxi. No. 1 (1894-1895). From the Society.
Societe Royale de Botanique de Belgique — Bulletin. T. xxx.-
xxxi. (1891-92). From the Society.
Catalogue of Books in the Library of the University of Sydney.
(1892). From Dr. C. J. Martin, B.Sc.
Academic Imperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg — Bulletin,
v^ Serie. T. i. Nos. 1-4 (1894). From the Academy.
Comite Geologique, St. Petersbourg — Memoires. Yol. viii.
Nos. 2 (Zweite Lief.) et 3 (1894); Yol. ix. No. 3 (1894): Bulletin.
Yol. xii. Nos. 8-9 (1893); Yol. xiii. Nos. 1-3. From the Com-
mittee.
168 DONATIONS.
Societas Entomologica Rossica — Horse. T. xxviii. (1893-94).
From the Society.
Entomologiska Foreningen i Stockholm — Entomologisk Tids-
krift. Arg. xv. (1894). Haft 1-4. From the Society.
Bombay Natural History Society — Journal. Vol. ix. No. 2
(1894). From the Society.
Scottish Microscopical Society — Proceedings, Session 1893-94.
From the Society.
Royal Society of Victoria — Proceedings. Vol. vii. New Series.
(1895). From the Society.
Natural History Society of Queensland — Transactions. Vol. i.
(1892-94). From the Society.
Verein fiir Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterhaltung zu Hamburg
— Verhandlungen, 1891-93. viii. Band. From the Society.
Societe des Sciences, des Arts, etc. du Hainaut — Memoires et
Publications, v® Serie. T. vii. (1894). From the Society.
Results of Rain, River, and Evaporation Observations made in
New South Wales during 1893. From H. C. Eussell, B.A.,
C.M.G., F.R.S., Government Astronomer.
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland —
Journal. Vol. xxiii. No. 4 (1894). From C. Hedley, Esq., F.L.S.
Asiatic Society of Bengal — Journal. Vol. Ixiii. Part i.. No. 3;
Part ii., No. 3 (1894): Proceedings, 1894. No. ix. From the
Society.
U.S. Geological Survey— Bulletin. Nos. 97-117 (1893-94)
Mineral Resources of the United States for 1892 and 1893
Twelfth (1890-.91) and Thirteenth (1891-92) Annual Reports
Monographs. Vols, xix., xxi., xxii. From the Director.
Australasian Bibliography : Catalogue of Books in the Free
Public Library, Sydney, relating to, or published in, Australasia-
(1869-1888). From the Trustees.
DONATIONS. 169
Academie Ptoyale cles Sciences a Stockholm — Bihang. Bd. xa^.
All. 1-2; Bd. xvii. Ail. 1-2; Bd. xviii. Afl. 1-2; Bd. xix. Afl. 1-4 :
Accessions-Katalog. 1-8 (1886-93) : Oefversigt. Arg. 47-50
(1890-93): Haiidlingar. Bd. xxiii. Haft 1-2; Bd. xxiv. Haft
1-2; Bd. XXV. Haft 1-2 (1888-92): Lefnadsteckningar. Bd. iii.
Haft 2 (1894). From the Academy.
Pamphlet entitled " Sur les Premieres Campagnes Scientifiques
de la 'Princesse Alice.'" By S. A. S. le Prince Albert 1' '" de
Monaco. Froin the Author.
Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney — Memoirs of
the Geological Survey of N.S.W. — Palaeontology. No. 8, Part 3
(1895). From the Minister for Alines and Agriculture.
K.K. Zoologisch-botanische Gesellschaft in Wien — Yerhand-
lungen. xlv. Bd. i. Heft (1895). From the Society.
Museo di Zoologia ed Anatomia comparata della R. Universita
di Torino - Bollettino. Vol. ix. (1894), Nos. 179-192, and Index.
From the University.
Auckland Institute and Museum — Annual Report for 1894-95.
From the Institute.
Natural History Society of New Brunswick — Bulletin. No 12
(1894). From the Society.
(jreological Survey of Queensland — Bulletin. No. 1 (1895):
Pamphlet entitled " The Higher Utilitarianism." By R. L. Jack,
F.G.S. From tJie Gomrnm,ent Geologist.
Societe Zoologique de France — Memoires. Tome vii. (1894):
Bulletin. Tome xix. (1894). From the Society.
Flowering Plants and Ferns oi N.S.W. By J. H. Maiden,
F.L.S., assisted by W. S. Campbell, F.L.S. Part 1 (1895). From
the Government Printer,
Medicinisch-naturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft zu Jena —
Jenaische Zeitschrift. Bd. xv.-xxix. Heft 1-2. From the Society.
170 DONATIONS.
Linnean Society of London —Journal: Zoology. Vol. xxv.
Nos. 158-160: Botany. Vol. xxx. Nos. 209-210 (1894). From
the Society.
British Museum (Nat. Hist.) — Catalogue of Snakes. Vol. ii.
By G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S. (1894) : Monograph of the Mycetozoa.
By Arthur Lister, F.L.S. (1894). From the Trustees.
Journal of Conchology. Vol. vii. (1894), No. 12. From the
C onchological Society of Great Britaiii and Ireland.
Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein in Hamburg — Abhandlungen.
xiii. Bd. (1895): Verhandlungen, 1894. Dritte Folge ii. From
the Society.
171
DESCRIPTION OF A FLYCATCHER, PRESUMABLY
NEW.
By C. W. De Yis, M.A., Corresponding Member.
Arses lorealis.
Arses sp., with the lower surface entirely white in the male,
ochreous in a band on the lower throat in the female, and with
white lores in both sexes.
Adult male. — Head, face and ear-coverts glossy black; lore
white, with the bases of its feathers black; mantle, wings and
rump dusky brown; feathers of the rump tipped with white; tail
brownish-black; lesser wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts black;
all beneath, cheeks and under wing-coverts, nuchal collar, feathers
of lower mantle and scapulars white; thighs dusky-grey; bill
black; tarsus and foot dusky horn-brown; orbital wattle blue.
Length 147 mm., wing 79, tail 83, culmen 10-5, tarsus 20.
Female. — Head, face, ear-coverts and lores as in the male, but
with the black less glossy; mantle, upper wing-coverts and rump
brown, the mantle darkened here and there b}^ the dusky centres
of the feathers; nuchal collar white, its feathers barred or spotted
with black near the tips, scapulars on both webs and the
secondaries on the outer web edged with rufous; tail brownish
black; beneath, cheeks and under wing-coverts white; feathers of
of a l)and across the lower throat broadly tipped with pale buff.
Bill paler than in the male. Leng;th 140 mm., Aving 77, tail 80,
culmen 8 5, tarsus 19-5.
Hab. — Cape York; coll. K. Broadbent, March; habits and
haunts similar to those of A. kaiqyi, Gld.
172
ON THE SPECIFIC IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN
PERIPATUS USUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE P.
L BUCK ART I, SAENGER.
By J. J. Fletcher.
In his well known Monograph (p. 153) Mr. Sedgwick remarks
that Peripatus "was reported from Australia in 1869 by Saenger."
It is generall}^ supposed also that this was the first intimation of
an Australian Peripatus. As a matter of fact there is an earlier
notice which has been lost sight of, Professor Leuckai't having
reported it in 1862.
The second species of tlie genus to be made known was P.
brevis with 14 pairs of claw-bearing legs. One specimen was
obtained on Table Mountain in 1829, from w^hich De Blainville
described the species in 1837. During the stay of the "Novara"
at the Cape, Frauenfeld discovered a second South African species
of which he subsequently gave a short account in a paper entitled
" Aufenthalt am Cap d. g. Hoffnung wiihrend der AVeltfahrt der
k. k. osterreichischen Fregatte Novara.""^ This paper also has
been overlooked, nor is it mentioned in the bibliographical lists of
either Sclater {P.Z.S., 1887, ^. 133) or Sedgwick (Monograph, p.
209). It was to his record of this paper that Prof. Leuckart
appended his introductory notice of the Australian Peripatus.
Frauenfeld says : " Der interessanteste Fund warein Peripatus
unter Steinen . . . Wenn nicht in der neuesten Zeit irgendwo
beschrieben, ist derselbe jedenfalls neu, da er in der Fusszahl, 17
Paare, mit keiner der wenigen alterbekannten Arten iiberein-
stimmt." Leuckart's short abstract runs as follows: " Frauenfeld
beobachtete am Cap der guten Hoffnung eine neue Art des sonder-
baren Gen. Peripatus mit 17 Paar Beinen. A. a. O. S. 88. (Ref.
*Verh. der k.k. zoolog.-botan. Gesellsch. in Wien, Jahrg. 1S60, pp. 77-92.
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 173
kann den bis jetzt bekannten Arten dieses Geschlechts gieichfalls
eine neue Form aus Australien mit 16 Beinpaaren hinzufiigen).*
It is to be noted that in mentioning the Cape species as " mit
17 Paar Beinen,"t Leuckart was simply quoting Frauenfekl, who
had seen the animal alive, had witnessed the copious discharge of
tenacious slime, " aus dem abgestutzten Ende der beiden kurzen
unten den Stirnfiihlern liegenden Mundfiihlern," and who, there-
fore, excluded the oral papillae — as Moseley afterwards called them
— when counting the legs. But in regard to the Australian
Peripatus, it seems evident that Prof. Leuckart intentionally
included the oral papillae among the 16 pairs, but without indi-
cating the fact. For, some years later in noticing Button's paper
he remarks of P. novce-zealandice that like P. leuckarti, Sang., it
possesses "15 Beinpaare." Now Hutton had expressly said
" fifteen pairs of ambulatory legs, and a pair of oral papillae."
Allowing for this, however, there would still seem to have been
some misapprehension on Prof. Leuckart 's part as to the exact
number of claw-bearing legs possessed by his specimen — as the
sequel will show.
Subsequently Prof. Leuckart entrusted his specimen of the
Australian Peripatus to H. Sanger, who embodied a description
of it in a paper dealing in some detail with the anatomy of P.
capensiii, contributed to the " Moskauer Naturforscherversamm-
lung " in 1869. Unfortunately Sanger chose the Russian language
as his medium of publication, and in consequence his paper for
some twenty-five years has been practically buried. Indeed
but for two brief references to it l^y Prof. Leuckart in the Archiv
f. Naturgeschi elite, its existence even, as well as its contents,
might very well have remained unknown to this day. The bulky
*Ai-chiv f. Naturgescb. Jahrg. xxvii., 1862, ii Bd., p. 235.
tFrauenfeld's specimens were afterwards dealt with by Grube, who
described them as P. capeiiftis (" Reise der Novara"). He says there were
three specimens, two with 17 pairs of claw-bearing legs, the third with IS
pairs. He did not attach specific importance to the difference in the num-
ber of legs, whence the " pedes uncinigeri utrinque 17 vel 18 verrucosi " of
his description.
174 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
quarto volume containing the paper bears the date 1870 on the
title page, but 1871 on the paper cover. Leuckart's first mention
of it was founded on a preliminary notice or abstract in the
"ProtocoUen der Mosk. Naturforscherversamml." He says:
"Verf. untersuchte zwei Arten, den P. capensis, Gr., und eine
neue schon vor mehreren Jahren vom Ref. in diesen Berichten
erwahnte neuhollandische Art, die A^om Yerf. als P. Leuckarti
bezeichnet wird."* Acting on the hint given in this passage I
looked through the earlier volumes of the Archiv seriatim until I
found the introductory notice, to which reference has been made.
On the publication of the ]3aper itself Leuckart added his oft-
quoted second notice,! giving the brief resume of the characters
of the species which has hitherto had to serve as the only avail-
able guide to the contents thereof. Leuckart says : " Die neue
Art, die aus Neu-Holland stammt, wird folgendermaassen
beschrieben : Fiinfzehn Paar Fussstumel, von denen das letzte
Paar die Geschlechtsoffnung zwischen sich nimmt. Auf der
iTnterseite der Piisse drei Erhebungen, von denen die eine lang
und bogenformig ist, wahrend die zwei andern kurz und gerade
sind. Lange 21 mm., grosste Breite 3*05 mm."
This, it will be seen presently, is substantially a translation of
the short summary which Sanger added at the end of his des-
cription, and from the description itself it is evident that the 15
pairs were intended to include the oral papillae, though beyond
the exceptional use of the suggestive term " Fussstumel " instead
of Leuckart's more usual expressions " Beinpaaren " or " Paar
Beinen," no intimation of this is given in the summary or the
translation. When the context is not left out of account the
summary is quite satisfactory; wholly detached there from it is
not free from ambiguity. When Peripatus was rediscovered in
Australia, and all the specimens forthcoming for some time were
found to possess 15 pairs of walking legs, a wrong interpretation
was put on the expression "15 Paar Fussstumel" of Leuckart's
*Aich. f. N. XXXV. Jahrg. ii. Bd. 1869, p. 277.
tic. xxxvii., ii. Bd., 1871, p. 407.
•.[?' <. A
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 1 75
abstract. Forthwith naturalists took Sanger's name, unwittingly
but unwarrantably^ fitted it out with new characters, and all the
time thought they were strictly following the leader, or only legiti-
mately supplementing his work. Fortunately nothing very much
worse has resulted than some considerable confusion of nomen-
clature, which has not however passed beyond the bounds of
rectification,
Sanger's paper has seemed in danger of permanent consignment
to oblivion; all the more so, perhaps, under the delusion that of
late years observers had supplemented what little was known of
it with all that was necessary for the exact identification of the
species. It happily occurred to Prof. Spencer when on a visit to
England recently, that the satisfaction of knowing exactly what
Sanger had said on the subject might possibly prove to be
sufiicient compensation for the expenditure of the trouble necessary
to get at it. He therefore took the matter earnestly in hand, and
with the co-operation of Prof. Howes, Mr. H. M. Bernard, and a
friend of the latter's, he at length became possessed of a trans-
lation of that part of Sanger's paper descriptive of the Australian
Peripatus. I have to thank Prof. Spencer not only for a copy of
the translation, but also for his permission to make use of it.
Before considering the translation, one or two other matters may
be noticed.
Some years before the re-discovery of Peripatus in Australia,
the New Zealand species came to light. During the stay of
H.M.S. ''Challenger" at Wellington in July, 1874, Mr. Travers
brought specimens to Mr. Moseley, who says that he was unable to
refer to special publications at the time, and he thought that it
was- " already certainly named;" afterwards on his return to
England press of work prevented his giving further attention to
the matter. Very shortly after it came under Grube's notice,
who refers to it in a paper read in 1875. I am unable to consult
this paper * which is thus noticed by Leuckart : " Grube
* Ber. der schles, Gesellsch. f. Cultur u.s.w. aus dem Jahre 1875.
Naturwiss. Ber. S. 52.
luJ LIBRARY
'4v J-
176 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
lierichtet iiber zwei Peripatusarten, von denen die eine, aus Neu.
Seeland, mit P. Leuckarti, Sang., stimmt, die andere aber unter
der Bezeichnung P. peruanus neu beschrieben wird."* Captain
Hutton says that he sent specimens to Dubhn, without any result.
Finally in 1876, Hutton himself described the species as P. iiovct-
zealandice. Now at this time Hutton evidently was unaware of
any record of an Australian Peripatus; nor, under the circum-
stances, is that at all surprising, seeing that he was at least as badly
off for literature as Moseley during the " Challenger's " visit to
Wellington. Of Hutton's paper Leuckart remarks : — " Hutton's
Abhandlung ' On Peripatus novoi-zealandcB^ (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.
(4) xviii., Nov., 1876, pp. 361-369, PI. xvii.) macht uns mit einer
Form bekannt, die 15 Beinpaare besitzt, wie der von Sanger
(J.-B. 1870, S. 410) beshriebene P. Leuckarti., der unserm Yerf.
freilich unbekannt geblieben ist, obwohl seine neue Art vielleicht
damit zusammenfallt. Jedenfalls ist nicht der P. novce-zealandio' ,
sondern der P. Leuckarti die erste Art des Gen. Peripati(.s, die aus
Australien kommt."t
When it is borne in mind that at this time only a single speci-
men of the Australian Peripatus was known, and that a female t
whose jaw blades were not examined, Sanger not being at libert}^
to dissect the unique example at his disposal; also that, even in
the light of up-to-date knowledge the most striking differences
between the allied Australian and New Zealand species — /'.
insignis, Dendy, being left out of consideration for the present —
are furnished by the outer jaw blades, and the secondar}^ sexual
characters of the males, it would be interesting to know more
definitely what it was that suggested the agreement between or
possible identity of the two species. Perhaps Grube's paper would
settle this point. Was it that too little was known for accurate
* Arch. f. Naturgesch. Jahrg. xliii., 1887, ii. Bd. p. 510.
iL.c. p. 509.
* The sex of the type specimen is not mentioned in the description;
but in JSanger's fig. 81 the genital aperture is lettered vL, just as in his fig.
of an undoubted female of P. rapennis.
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 177
compariso]i; or was it that the authors mentioned thought that in
each case the number of claw-bearing legs was the same; or that
they knew that the numbers were not identical but regarded the
difference as not of specific importance 1 Moseley's remark penned
in 1879, "In the Australian and New Zealand species the number
(jf feet seems fixed " — would, under the circumstances mentioned,
seem without force if the last condition held.
On the re-discovery of the Australian Peripatus, first in
Queensland (in 1886)- not improbably first in Tasmania, though
no record of it was made at the time — then in Victoria (in 1888),
and in the same year in New South AVales, and all the specimens
met w^ith for several years were found to have 15 pairs of walking
legs, it was imagined that these were correctly identified as P.
leuckarti in supposed agreement with the " funfzehn Paar Fuss-
stumel " of Leuckart's abstract of Sanger's paper. In 1890 Dr.
Dendy met with a Victorian Peripatus, with 14 pairs of walking
legs, and without an accessory tooth at the base of the fang of
the outer jaw Ijlades; and this he quite justifiably considered to
be sufficienth' distinct to be regarded as a second Australian
species, which he accordingly described as I\ insigrds. In 189:^
Prof. Spencer obtained similar examples in Tasmania.
We may now turn to
^'"Sanger's original Diagnosis of Peripatus Leuckartii.^''
" Found in New Holland, north-west from Sydney. Fifteen
pairs of legs, one pair without claws, fourteen with. This
character also found in P. brevis, described by Blanehard. 21 mm.
long. Sexual opening between the last pair of appendages, herein
flitfering from P. Edivardsii and P. capeiisis. Colour very nearly
black dorsally, greyish ventrally. Papilhe distributed dorsally
and ventrally : those on the ventral surface, however, are longer
and stand outwards laterally. Between each pair of appendages is a
light oval spot without papillae; this spot corresponds with the
dark pits in P. capensis, under which occur the glands already
described. The papilla?, as in F. caj^ensis, are either small and
black or large and red, but there are more black than red. Along
M
178 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
the back runs a longitudinal median line, which consists only of
black j^apilla^ but this line is comparatively faint. The papillae
along the back are arranged in fairly accurate trans^-erse rows,
and each row is separated from the next by a furrow. The skin
between the papillae is dark grey. The papillae on the legs are
fairly wide apart. The legs have "soles," which, as in F*. Cfipensisy
consist of three segments, but the shape of these segments is
very different from those of P. capensis. The first proximally is
black and strongly curved and considerably narrower than the
following. The second and third segments are reddish yellow and
much shorter but broader than the first. The claw-bearing joint
which follows these segments, is distinguished by its four-cornered
appearance, due to a pair of papillae at its outer corners, one on
each side {P. caj)ensis has three papillae). The claws are smaller
than those of P. capensis. The structure of the mouth is the same
as that in other genera [? species] only the soft parts surrounding
the mouth and sexual organs are white and not yellowish, but
this may be due to the action of alcohol. In addition to this des-
cription of the outer appearance of the animal, I give the more
important dimensions of the described specimen. Body length
21 mm.; greatest breadth 3*03 mm.; length of antennae from 1-6
to 1 -73; width of antennae at base 0-389; in the middle of antennae
0-26; length of the oral aperture, including the soft parts
surrounding it, 0*952; length of the legs from the top 2-16; width
at base 0-86, but this varies; length of claw-bearing joint 0*26;
diameter of sexual opening with soft parts surrounding it 0.65;
diameter of eye 0-11; diameter of papillo3 from 0-04 to 08;
length of claw 0-15; width of same at base 0-105."
" This specimen is in the possession of Professor Leuckart after
whom I have named it by permission. A short diagnosis may be
given as follows : fifteen pairs of legs; sexual organs between last
pair; the " sole " consists of three segments, one long and curved,
and two short and straight. New Holland, Australia."
By way of comment on the above it may be remarked : —
(1) Though neither the exact habitat, nor the name of the
collector has yet transpired, " North-west from Sydney " is some-
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 179
what less unsatisfactory than New Holland. I should take it to
mean that the type specimen was found within the limits of New
South Wales, somewhere between Sj^dney and Cassilis — at which
place Mr. Olliff obtained the otherwise first recorded specimen
from this colony — or thereabouts, but not much further to the
west or north-west of the latter. It is hardly probable that over
thirty j^ears ago Peripatus was found in the then newly separated
colony of Queensland at any spot in a direction N.W. from
Sydney, say to the north of Bourke. Not only would such a
locality then have been ver}^ much less easy of access to a
zoological collector than it is now; but it would, I should think,
be one with a climate altogether too dry for Peripatus. This
being so, it is a curious fact — not however without a parallel, —
that so long ago somebody should have casualty found somewhere
in this colony a single specimen of Peripatus with 14 pairs of
walking legs, but that similar specimens, whether from New South
Wales or Queensland, notwithstanding much collecting, should
still be desiderata. Sedgwick has probably had to do with more
individual specimens of Peripatus than all other naturalists
put together ; and yet among the specimens — " more than a
thousand from the Cape Peninsula" — which came under his
notice, F. brevw, de Blainv., was conspicuously absent, and in the
flesh was unknown to him at the time the Monograph was written.
In the Macleay Museum is a specimen of a Peripatus with 15
pairs of walking legs, labelled Tasmania, to which Mr. Masters
directed my attention in 1890 (P.L.S. N.S.W., 2nd Ser., Vol. v.,
p. 469). At that time Mr. Masters considered that it had been
at least ten years in the collection, and he still thinks that the
correctness of the reputed locality is not open to question. The
label is in his own writing, but he is unable to recall the exact
circumstances under which the specimen came to hand. Recentlv
Prof. Baldwin Spencer was successful in finding Peripatus in
Tasmania, but some fifteen specimens ol)tained had 14 pairs of
claw-bearing legs apiece.
(2) It was not Prof. Leuckart's intention to furnish a technical
description of his specimen. On the other hand Sanger's descrijD-
tion was about as full as it could be expected to be under the
180 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
circumstances; the situation of the genital aperture, the number
of the spinous pads (soles), and the arrangement of the
primary papilla" on the claw-bearing joints of the legs, all being
duly noted. Moreover, he gives six figures of various parts of the
specimen. His examination of it was therefore of a more or less
minute character, and it is hardly possible that he should have
incorrectly counted the number of the walking legs.
(3) The only reference to the description of P, brevis, de Blainville,
[not Blanchard] given by Sclater and Sedgwick — besides de
Blainville, " Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles," Supplement,
T. i., p. 237, Paris, 1840, which I am unable to consult — is the
footnote to Gervais' paper " Etudes pour servir a I'histoire
naturelle des Myriapodes " in the Ann. Sc. Nat. (2), vii., p. 38,
1837. This, however, is but the abbreviated description, quoted
by Sedgwick (Monograph, p. 168), which mentions " pourvu de
quatorze j^aires de pattes," but does not disclose what view de
Blainville took of the oral papilla-, nor exactl}^ what the fourteen
pairs were to be understood as comprehending. In Gervais' paper
" Sur le Genre Perij)ate"'^ is incorporated a detailed description
* Ann. Francaises et Etrangeres d' Anat. et de Physiol. T. ii, p. 309,
1838. Abstract in Revue Zoologique, par la Soc. Cuvierienne, Ann(^e,
1838, pp. 264-265.
In the same paper (pp. 314 and 310) Gervais says " celui qu' a vu M.
Macleay strait de Cuba," having previously stated " et M. Macleay, qui en
parle d' une maniere transitoire dans un note publie depuis plusieurs ann^es,
dit aussi qu' ils ont des rapports avec les vers et en nieme temps avec les
Myriapodes (Zoological Journal)." Sedgwick {I.e. p. 197) remarks, "Blan-
chard refers to a Peripatus found in Cuba by Mr. Macleay. He regards
it as belonging to the species juliformU. I have been unable to find any
account of this Cuban species."
The only reference to Peripatus by W. S. Macleay I can find in the
Zoological Journal is contained in a postscript to a letter written from
Havanna to Mr. Vigors (Vol. iv. p. 278). It takes exception to Guikling's
view of Peripatus as a mollusc, suggests other affinities, and adds "There is
a specimen in my father's collection " [at that time in Australia]. But it
seems to me to offer no ground for associating the record of a Cuban species
with W. S. Macleay's name.
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 181
jf P. hrevis communicated by de Blainville, and given in his own
words. From this it appears that the " quatorze paires de pattes"
has reference only to claw-bearing legs. The oral pajDillte he thus
describes — " Quant aux appendices : la tete est pourvue d'une
paire de tentacules simples. . . . On remarque a la partie externe
de leur base, et par consequent de chaque cote, un stemmate ou un
jDoint pseudo-oculaire forme par un petit disque corde, un peu
convexeet simple." Upon this Gervais remarks: "M. Wiegmann
considere comme des pattes atrophiees les deux organes que MM.
Guilding, de Blainville, Audouin et Edwards signalent comme
des yeux."
(4) There is nothing remarkable about the colour of the sjDeci-
men. I have seen specimens (with 15 pairs of legs), from Queens-
land and New South Wales, which might be descril^ed in very
similar or identical terms.
(5) I do not understand the statement that " the claw-bearing
joint which follows these Segments [spinous pads], is distinguished
by its 4-cornered appearance due to a pair of papillce at its outer
corners, one on each side (P. capensis has three)." The statement
as to P. capensis is borne out by Sanger's figures; and both are in
harmony with the quite independent observations and figures of
Sedgwick, who says that there are two primary papillae on the
front or anterior side of the distal end of the foot, close to the
socket in which the claws are placed, and one on the posterior
side. In the Australian and New Zealand species the distal end
of the foot also has three primary papillae, but they are differently
arranged, one being anterior, one posterior, and one median and
dorsal. At least two of his figures (figs. 32, 33 and perhaps 34)
show that Sanger correctly recognised this character in the Aus-
tralian Peripatus. His fig. 35 is certainly very satisfactorily
4-cornered, three of the corners being furnished by the three
papillse in question, while the fourth is apjDarently an equally
conspicuous similar primary papilla which is median and ventral;
but with which the Australian Peripatus has not been credited
by any other observer. Even so, the statement " a pair of papillae
at its outer corners, one on each side," hardly seems to express
182 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
this arrangement very intelligibly. What I find is a pair of
elevations at the distal end of the ventral aspect, one on each
side of the median line, and each of them without about two
spines; they are comparable with the similarly situated but more
extensive groups of "inconspicuous pale elevations, bearing
spines" in P. capensis referred to Ijy Sedgwick {I. c. p. 163).
Sanger, too, noticed them in that species, but in his fig. 5 they are
represented like a jDair of primary papilljs, each bearing one spine.
Since then the type of P. leuckarti, Sang., has 14 jDairs of
walking legs, a question which naturally offers itself for considera-
tion is— hov/ ought the common, more widely distributed Austra-
lian Peripatus with 1 5 pairs of walking legs to be designated ?
Some months ago I had the opportunity of discussing the question
with Dr. Dendy in the light of Prof. Spencer's translation. As
the variation in the number of claw-bearing legs, as far as was
then known, appeared to be correlated with a variation in the
character of the outer jaw blades it seemed not unreasonable to
regard the Peripatus with 15 pairs of walking legs as distinct
from P. leuckarti, Sang., and entitled to a new name; Dr. Dendy
even considering himself justified in regarding the larger Victorian
Peripatus as sufficiently distinct from that of New South Wales
to merit independent specific rank. And we intended to act
accordingly.
Quite unexpectedly, only last week, I received from Mr. A. M.
Lea, of West Australia, a small consignment of specimens from
that colony, the examination of which, as it seems to me, throws
important light on the question propounded above, and has com-
pelled me to modify my views. Each of five specimens has 15
pairs of walking legs, and the jaw-blades removed from one of
them are without an accessory tooth at the base of the fang of
the outer blade. Under the old regime it would have seemed to
be a moot point whether they should be called P. insignis, Dendy,
var. with 15 pairs of legs, or P. leuckarti, Sanger, var. with-
out an accessory tooth; indeed in the absence of males they might
almost have been referred to P. novce-zealmidice, Hutton. If the
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 183
eastern form is to be regarded as a species distinct from what we
must now consider to be P. huckarti, Sang., then the western form
also, as it seems to me, ought to be so regarded. I would prefer
to consider the latter an intermediate form, as at present Austra-
lia would, I think, be over-supplied with- as many as four species.
Seeing that many more specimens have had their legs counted,
than have had the jaw blades examined, and that in two examples
from New South Wales, in one or both outer blades there is more
than one accessory tooth, — in one case three on the jaw blade
of one side; in another the accessory tooth, longer and blunter
than usual, is followed b}^ several serrations; in both examples
the peculiarities are reproduced in the reserve teeth — it seems
probable that unlooked for variation, may be found. Further,
Dr. Dendy has recently recognised as a var. of P. noiice-zealandiw
a New Zealand Peripatus with 16 pairs of walking legs"^; so that
the idea that in this species the number of feet is " fixed," must
noAv be given up. Therefore the most satisfactory arrangement,
in ni}^ opinion, w^ould be to consider all the known Australian
specimens of Peripatus as referable to one comprehensive species
with four varieties as follows : —
Peripatus leuckarti, Sang.
With 14 or with 15 pairs of claw-bearing ambulatory legs.
Outer jaw-blades without or with an accessory tooth, occasionally
more, at the base of the main tooth. Males smaller than the
females; with a pair of (accessory gland) pores close together,
situated between the genital papilla and the anus; with a white
or sometimes bluish tubercle — on which opens the crural gland—
on each leg of the first pair only, or of the last pair only, or of all
or only some of the pairs with the exception of the first, or of the
first five.
Colour varying from dark blue or almost so, so dark sometimes
as to appear blackish, with a still darker median dorsal line in
the centre of which lies a fine unpigmented groove; to alternate
* Ann. Mag. N. H. (6) Vol. xiv., Dee. 189i, p. 401.
184 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
longitudinal stripes of blue and orange or their equivalents — three
of the former and four of the latter; or red with two of the dark
stripes represented only by blackish blotches and discontinuous
irregular patches. With an interesting series of more or less
gradational colour-varieties arising from some modification of the
following pattern : the dorsal surface is a mosaic of three longi-
tudinal series of roughly hexagonal or lozenge-shaped areas
outlined in dark upon a lighter background, bordered on each side
b}'- a light longitudinal stripe immediately above the insertion of
the legs; the lozenges of the median series are confluent, the
boundaries between them having disappeared, they correspond
with the legs, and down the middle of the series dividing it
symmetrically is a dark — blue, black, or rarely red — line often
presenting as it were a knot-like enlargement in the middle of
each lozenge, the dark line having down the centre of it a fine
unpigmented sometimes interrupted groove. From the relative
proportions of l^lue and orange or their equivalents present, from
the partial or more or less complete disappearance of the dark
reticulate pattern, or from the subdivision of the median series of
lozenges into two sets of four-sided or diamond-shaped areas result
some very interesting and, without a series for examination, some-
times very puzzling combinations. The legs sometimes aj^pear as
if inserted on a dark longitudinal stripe. The colour of the
ventral surface is paler, but not less varied than that of the dorsal
surface; generally speaking, it presents shades of the predominant
tints of the dorsal surface. A discontinuous median series of
small pale areas devoid of papillae down the middle of it (ventral
organs), one or sometimes two to each pair of legs.
As in P. novoi-zealayidice, the generative opening is between
the legs of the last pair; the claw-bearing legs have three spinous
pads; and a primary papilla projects from the median dorsal
portion of the foot.
Hah. — In suitable situations in the table-land and coastal
regions of Queensland and New South Wales, widely distributed
but not abundant; Victoria; Tasmania; and West Australia.
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 185
1. P. LEUCKARTI, Siing,, var. typiea
P. leuckarti, .Sang., non auct.: P. in^ir/nis, Dendy, Vict. Kat.
Vol. vi. No. 12, April, 1890, p. 173; Spencer, Proc. Roy. Soc.
Vict. 1894, p. 31.
With 14 pairs of claw-bearing legs; outer jaw blades without
an accessory tooth.
Hab. — New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania.
The re-discovery of this variety in New South Wales is a matter
to be desired, as the jaw characters of the tj^pe are unknown. I
have seen only Tasmanian specimens — six (three of each sex)
kindly lent me by Prof. Spencer. Two of them are dark without
any definite pattern; the others have more orange red and show a
dark median line with nodosities, not always opposite the legs, and
a pattern of secondary diamonds, much like some N.S.W. speci-
mens of var. orieiitaJis. The males are remarkable b}^ the absence
of white tubercles from the legs of the first five pairs; they are
present on all or nearly all the others.
2. P. LEUCKARTI, Siing., var. occidentalis, var. nov.
With 15 pairs of walking legs; outer jaw-blades without an
accessory tooth.
Hah. — Bridgetown, inland from Perth, W.A; (Mr. A. M. Lea).
The specimens, which were put straight into spirit, are small
(the largest but slightly exceeding 15 mm.) even allowing for the
contraction due to the method of preservation. There is nothing
specially remarkable about the coloration, which is mainly blue
with a smaller amount of orange. The}^ would pass muster in
this respect very well among a collection of similarly preserved
eastern specimens.
The males have white papillae on-most of the legs, but not on
those of the first pair. One of the females obtained and jDreserved
on March 30th last contained about ten advanced embryos varying
slightly in age, of which the proximal one has the body more
pigmented than is usually the case with the newl}' born young of
the eastern form. As in the latter, the embryos are contained
186 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
within a thin hyaline membranous shell. The breeding season, at
any rate as to its termination, would seem to be in agreement in
the two cases.
Several living example* forwarded at the same time, unfortu-
nately in the same enclosure as the spirit specimens, miserably
perished on the journe}^
3. P. LEUCKARTI, Siing., var. orientalis.
F. leuckarti, Sang., of authors, but not of Sanger; nor the
larger Victorian Peripatus of Dendy.
With 15 pairs of walking legs; outer jaw-blades with one
accessory tooth or with several. Length of largest specimens
extended after drowning — 9. 50 mm.; ^. 29 mm. (the antennae
being excluded).
J I ah. — [Queensland*]; New South Wales (not yet found west
of the Dividing Range).
I now possess a fine series of specimens from this Colony, but it
does not include a single specimen normally with 1 4 pairs of claw-
bearing legs. Of one specimen the legs of the fourteenth pair are
without claws, while the fifteenth jmir is represented by a pair of
small white symmetrical stumps, between which, however, the
generative aperture is placed : I should suppose that this specimen
was recovering from some injury to the hinder end of the body.
I have several times seen a specimen with one leg on one side
missing.
My series presents a very remarkable variety of colour and
pattern. The specimens might very well be sorted out into
something like ten distinguishable, but more or less gradational,
lots. If the whole of the median series — with the exception, of
course, of the very dark median line — be filled in with red, the
mosaic of lozenges then becomes very distinct, as in that case the
* My remarks must be understood as applying more particularly to the
Peripatus of New South Wales, as I have had the opportunity of examining
only a few Queensland specimens ( S 's), and no observations on the breeding
habits of the Queensland Peripatus are known to me.
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 187
stripes above the legs will be almost entirely red, contrasting well
with the intervening series. Interesting variations of this pattern
arise by the partial filling in of the lozenges of the median series;
the red ma}'- be aggregated in a little patch on each side of the
nodose enlargement on the median dark line, or it may just fill
in the lateral apices of each lozenge. The most complicated pattern
arising from a secondary arrangement of (four-sided) diamonds
may be described as follows : Two lines intersecting in each
nodose enlargement of the median dark line cut off from a lozenge
a pair of small diamonds, one on each side of the median line
corresponding with the legs; and an anterior and posterior portion
which, with the posterior portion of the lozenge preceding, and
the anterior of the succeeding one, make up two of a single
median interrupted series of larger diamonds, each of which
corresponds with the interval between the legs^ : the former are
sometimes filled in with red; the latter jDartially. Sometimes
the dark boundaries disappear, leaving only the patches of red.
The light longitudinal stripe above the insertion of the legs is
usually very distinct, but sometimes there are only indications of
it, or it is a discontinuous series of orange or red patches above
the intervals between the successive legs of each side. Its light
tint may be due to the presence of light blue both in the ground
colour, and on the primary papillae with the exception of their
summits.
I have seen onl}^ a very small series of the larger Victorian
Peripatus, but as far as it goes the following slight differences
attract my notice. The median dark longitudinal line is either
wanting or is not so marked a feature as in our variety; and the
unpigmented median groove is rather more conspicuous. The
line of demarcation between the median and each lateral series of
the mosaic is better defined; that between the lateral series and
the longitudinal stripe is not, I think, quite so definite. The
longitudinal stripe above the legs, except in specimens with a
very large amount of red, is not so clearly indicated as is usually
* That is, the interval between two consecutive legs of the same side.
188 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
the case in ours. These differences, however, are not more
striking than those which may be presented by a nmnber of
individual specimens from New South Wales found in the same
log.
Such slight local variations, as well as in the secondary sexual
characters of the males, are not uncommon. I have had a good
deal of experience now with the Peripatus of New Soutli Wales,
but I never yet met with longitudinally striped examples such as
Mr. Helms got at Mt. Kosciusco, and Mr. Lea on the northern
Tableland. On the other hand, some of my own examples are
unlike any I have seen among those collected by others in
localities which I have not myself visited. From one district my
specimens are characterised by a red tail. Illawarra specimens
commonly have a well-marked nodose median dark line, each
nodosity standing in a rather triangular patch .of red, but with
little or no indication of a lozenge pattern; and in these specimens
the median ventral series of white patches (ventral organs) are
very inconspicuous indeed. It was such specimens as these that
iirst came under my notice; and the relation of their colour-
pattern to the diamond pattern of the Victorian Peripatus
described by Dr. Dendy failed to suggest itself. I have now
examples from other localities in New South Wales which show
the chequer pattern as characteristically as Victorian examjDles.
The males usually have papilhe on all or most of the legs after
the first pair, but among specimens from one district I find males
with papillae on the legs of the first pair only to predominate,
though in two other examples there is also an additional papilla
on one leg of the second pair. In the first case crural glands
appear to be absent from the legs of the first pair; and
of the remainder when papilhie are wanting on some of the
legs crural pores may still be recognisable. In the second
case crural glands seem to be present only in the legs of
the first pair — rarely an additional one in one leg of the
second pair. I have seen at least thirty males with papillae
on the legs of the first pair only. Two of these Mr. J. P. Hill,
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 189
Demonstrator of Biology, Sydney University, ver}^ kindly section-
ised for me. Tlie legs did not all cut in an equally satisfactory
manner; but allowing for this, beyond a large pair of crural
glands in the two papilla-bearing legs, I can see no indication of
their presence in the others. I have not seen any specimen with
papillcie on the legs of the last pair only. When papillae are
present on the legs of the last pair they are situated nearer the
base of the leg than in the case of the others. This, however, is
because the legs of the fifteenth pair are shorter, and consequently
have fewer transverse papilla-bearing ridges. The papillae still
occupy the normal portion — namely, on about the fifth papilla-
bearing ridge above the innermost spinous pad.
In a previous paper (P.L.S.N.S.W. 2nd Ser. v. p. 484) I referred
to the presence in some females of longitudinal slit-like depressions
or pores situated a little below the nephridiopores, and suggestive
of rudiments or relics of crural glands. They are not, however,
the representatives of the crural glands of the males, for I now
have specimens of the latter, both with numerous crural papilliTe and
with only one pair which show the same character. In the males
they are situated between the nephridiopore and the papilla when
present, or the position it would occupy if present. Occasionally,
even in the females, a little white coagulated secretion is left in
the aperture. Unless these represent a second series of crural
glands which were possessed by both sexes, but are now becoming
more or less aborted, I do not at present know what they can be.
The ova are large, and have a considerable amount of yolk.
As in P. capensis, the egg-shell is a thin transparent membrane;
not a thick chitinous covering as in P. novcE-zealandicE, and in the
larger Victorian Peripatus.
There is some difference in detail in respect of the breeding
habits of the New Zealand Peripatus and that of New South
Wales as known to me; and in neither case is it so easy, as in
that of P. capensis, to fix definitely the length of the period of
gestation, or the exact limits of the breeding season; and, I should
imagine, for a similar reason.
190 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
Of P. capensis, Sedgwick says : " The period of gestation is
thirteen months; that is to say, the ova pass into the oviducts
about one month before the young of the preceding year are
born The young are born in April and May "
(Monograph, p. 165).
Of F. 7iovce-zeala7idice, Captain Hutton says that it appears to
breed all the year round; and that he found the uterus crowded
with embryos in September and November. The views of Mr.
Sedgwick and Miss Sheldon are summed up by the latter as
follows : — " Probably the ova pass from the ovary into the uterus
in December, and the young are born in July, the development
thus occupying a period of about eight months. This, though
apparently usually the case, cannot be universal, since in each lot
there were one or two females which contained embryos ready for
birth, and also the embryos in one female vary somewhat in age."
Sclater, therefore, hardly satisfactorily states the case when he
says of both the South African and the New Zealand Peripatus
that " the development of the embryos, though going on all the
year round, commences at one particular season, so that all the
embryos found in the uterus of the female are approximately of
one age." (Studies from the Morph. Lab. Cambridge, Vol. iv. p.
215, 1889.)
Of the Neotropical species, Sedgwick remarks : — " Embryos
of very different ages in same uterus, and births probably taking
place all the year round"; and of P. Edwardsii — "The uterus
contains embryos in all stages of development, and the young,
which are fully developed at birth, are presumably born at
different times of the year." (Monograph, pp. 184 and 190.)
The Australian Peripatus with which I am familiar seems in
these matters to occupy an intermediate position between P.
capensis and the Neotropical species. If one cannot say of it
that it breeds all the year round, or that the uterus contains
embryos in all stages of development, still less can one definitely
particularise any single month as par excellence the breeding
season; or assert that embryos of approximately one age only are
to be found in pregnant specimens. And, so far as I can judge,
BY J. J. FLETCHER. 191
I should think the New Zealand Peripatus is not widely different
in this respect from ours.
I have examined females of the common Peripatus of New
Wales at intervals during the greater part of the year. There
are still a few^ important blanks in my series when certain details
are wanted, which I hope soon to be able to fill. I shall, there-
fore, postpone a full consideration. But I have seen enough to
show the general trend of matters.
Of the first lot of specimens I ever had, one specimen was kept
from June 16th to the last week in October : a few days before
her death she produced four young ones. In July an embryo
which had about half completed its development was removed
from another female of the same batch, and preserved by
Professor Haswell. I still have this specimen.
In 1892 I had specimens under observation from April until
the following March; the first 3^oung one was noted on November
11th.
In 1893 I got a fine series in the last week of July. A single
unusually early young one was noticed on August 15th. A few
others were noticed on September 22nd. By November the
females were breeding freely, sixty young ones being noted on
November 22nd. From 15th-18th of August seventeen females
of this batch in process of being drowned extruded 83 young
embryos (from 1-14 each) : these vary slightly in age, and com-
prise specimens at about the same stage, and also at a little more
advanced stage, than the New Zealand embryo figured by Miss
Sheldon (Studies, Yol. iv. PL xxvi. figs. 25-26) ; that is to say,
the longitudinal ridge along each side of the body from which the
appendages take their origin, shows rudiments of from about half
a dozen pairs to nearly the full number. During the following
week three females were opened; they contained 23, 30 and 37
very similar stages, together with j^ounger ones and a few ova.
In the first week in October five females of the same lot when
being drowned extruded eight embryos; these are much more
advanced than those extruded six weeks earlier, the full number
of claw-l)earing legs being present. The following week two
192 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS,
females were opened; each of these contained about 39 very similar
old embryos, a few of the proximal ones having the tentacles
noticeably pigmented.
Two lots obtained early in January at the same locality in
different years began to produce young towards the end of the
month, young being especially numerous during FelDruary.
On April 2nd, 1893, I obtained a small batch of specimens;
within the next fortnight six young ones were observed.
I have seen newly-born young in every month from August
(only one sj^ecimen) to the early part of May. I have never seen
them during the latter part of May, or in June and July, and in
August only one surprisingly early specimen; and I should be
surprised to find our Peripatus breeding during the winter
months. Thus, while it will be seen that according to my experi-
ence, one cannot say of our common New South Wales that it
breeds all the year round, yet it certainly does during the greater
part — about three-fourths — of the year. The majority of the
young I should say were born during a period of six months —
say from October to March; but the progeny of a few early
breeders and a few late breeders add another three months. But
if it cannot be said to breed quite all the year round, still less can
any particular month by itself be selected as the breeding season.
And as to the contents of the uterus, I do not find in the same
female embryos in all stages of development, nor yet embryos
which are all of the same age.
The earliest date at which I have happened to examine females
containing ova which had recently passed into the uterus
is about the middle of April; the latest about the middle of
October. In both cases, as well as in a female opened in the first
week in August, there were also enlarging ovarian ova in various
stages. Further observations will, I have no doubt, slightly
extend this period during which at intervals ova mature and pass
into the oviducts. From about the middle of March, or in
exceptionally early cases towards the end of February or
beginning of March, to about the middle of November or
BY J. J. FLETCHEK. 193
exceptionally a little later, will very probaV)ly prove to be not very
wide of the mark.
If the unusually ear]}' August young one referred to above was
developed from an ovum which passed into the oviduct about
the middle of Februar}- ; the October young from April ova ;
and the young born towards the end of April or early in May
from ova which left the ovaries in October or ISTovember preceding
— as may very well have been the case^then the period of
gestation is about six months; not less, probably a little more;
l)ut from 6-7 months will, I believe, prove to be a ver}^ close
approximation to the truth.
The largest number of New Zealand Peripatus embryos met
with by Captain Hutton was 26 (18 + 8); by Mr. Sedgwick or
Miss Sheldon 18 (12 + 6). The largest number I have found in
our Peripatus is 53, in a female opened on November 21st. They
form a lineh^ gradational series of old embryos — the youngest
with claw-bearing legs, the proximal half dozen or so with pio--
mented tentacles. Females with from 30-40 embryos or ova are
not uncommon in certain months.* Whether the contents of the
uteri show any ver}^ marked differences in the stages of de^ elop-
ment reached depends a good deal on circumstances. About the
time when the breeding season usually ends one may find females
containing a few old embryos not differing very noticeably, or
nothing, or a few old embryos together with a few ova which have
recently passed into the uteri, or only some of the latter. Still
later in the season one may find an increased number of young
embryos together with fresh ova. But my experience is that if
the contained series is a large one, as a rule it presents no very
abrupt ])reaks, but one gets a finely graduated series of old or of
* On the other hand, when the supply of material has been short, and
small and therefore young specimens — possibly even commencing to breed
for the first time— have had to be utilised, the numbers have been very
small compared with what might be expected to occur in large examples
opened at the same time of year. In two such cases the numbers were only
two and one respectively.
N
194 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS.
young stages varying slightly in age. Also that in differenc
females one may find at different times of the year separated by
an interval of as much as six months embryos at the same stage
of development.
On several occasions I have found a few embryos which had
been prematurely extruded by females living in captivity.
[4. The Victorian Peripatus to be dealt with by
Dr. Dendy.
Hah. — Victoria and Tasmania (probably — for a specimen in the
Macleay Museum)].
195
DESCRIPTION OF PERI PAT US OVIPARUS.
By Arthur Dendy, D.Sc, Professor of Biology in the
Canterbury College, University of New Zealand.
In my presidential address to the Biological Section of the
Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, at the
meeting recently held in Brisbane, I pointed out certain facts
which had lately come to light with regard to the literature of
the Australian species of Peripatvs, and which might render
necessary certain alterations in the nomenclature. At the same
time I still refrained from attaching a specific name to the
oviparous Victorian species, pending further evidence. After my
address was w^ritten I had the opportunity of talking over the
matter with Mr. J. J. Fletcher in Sydney, and found that he had
independently arrived at conclusions very similar to those con-
tained in my manuscript. Mr. Fletcher suggested that we should
each contribute a paper on the subject to the next meeting of
this Society, and that in my contribution I should confine myself
to the egg-laying Victorian species, which we agreed should now
receive a name. In accordance with this suggestion I now submit
a description of the species in question, for which I propose the
name Peripatus oviparus.
Very fortunatel}^ while I was in New South Wales, my friend
Mr. Thos. Steel, F.C.S., was successful in finding a large number
of the viviparous species with fifteen pairs of claw-bearing legs.
These I was able to examine both alive and by means of dissec-
tion, and I have thus satisfied myself that the oviparous Victorian
form is certainly worthy of a distinctive name.
196 DESCRIPTION OF PERIPATUS OVIPARUS,
Peripatus OVIPARUS, n.sp.
Peripatus huckartii (probably in all cases where this name has
hitherto been applied to specimens from Victoria with fifteen
pairs of claw-bearing legs, especially in earlier papers of the
present writer, but not where the name has been applied to
specimens from New South Wales).
A good-sized female specimen, when crawling, measured 39 mm.
in length, exclusive of the antennae. Full-grown females preserved
in spirit and contracted in the usual manner (not extended l^y
drowning) measure about 20 mm. in length (exclusive of the
antennae) by 4*5 mm. in greatest breadth (exclusive of the legs).
The males seem to ])e commonly somewhat smaller than the adult
females, but the evidence at present forthcoming is not sufficient
to justify a generalization on this point.
There are fifteen pairs of claw-bearing legs. Each leg has three
pale-coloured spinous pads on its ventral surface. On the fourth
and fifth legs the proximal and largest pad is divided transversely
into three parts, the median part being much the smallest and
bearing a white papilla. Each foot bears three large primary
papillse, one anterior, one posterior, and one dorsal, overhanging
the pair of claws.
The jaws consist as usual each of two blades, the inner blade
has about vseven teeth and the outer one consists of a single well-
developed tooth with a very small accessory tooth at its base.
The integument is as usual transversely furrowed, with rows of
papillae of varying size on the intervening ridges. Along the
mid-dorsal line there is a deep narrow groove; the integument
lining the floor of this groove is devoid of pigment and thus gives
rise to a very narrow median white line, which may be hidden by
contraction.
The predominant colours of the skin are red and indigo blue,
the former passing into yellow and the latter into black in some
specimens. The characteristic pattern of the dorsal surface
consists chiefly in a series of segmentally arranged, diamond-
shaped patches in which the red colour is predominant. Each
BY ARTHUR DENDY. 197
patch is made up of two triangular halves whose bases face one
another on each side of the mid-dorsal line, while their apices lie
over the legs and at about one-third of the distance from the mid-
dorsal line to the insertion of the legs. The separation of the
diamonds from one another is by no means complete, so that there
are two continuous bands of red, one on each side of the mid-
dorsal line, the outer margins of which bands are deeply indented.
The edges of the mid-dorsal groove are commonly darkly pigmented,
and may give rise to an apparently single median dark line when
the lips of the groove are closed together. There is commonh'-
also a dark edging to the red diamonds, forming a zig-zag longi-
tudinal stripe. This typical pattern may be almost if not quite
obliterated by the replacement of the red pigment by the dark
indigo blue; but even in very dark specimens it may still be
represented by a row of small, pale yellow or red spots, each
occupying the position of the apex of one of the red triangles in
typical specimens. The ventral surface is paler than the dorsal,
and there is in the middle line a row of still paler areas placed one
between the legs of each pair but the last. Patches of dark
indigo blue are usually present on the under surfaces of the legs
near to their bases.
In the adult female, in place of the usual genital papilla, there
is a veiy conspicuous organ which may be called an ovipositor.
This, when contracted, is an ovoid bod}^ of a pale yellow or orange
colour, projecting backwards from between the legs of the last
(loth) pair. In adult specimens ordinarily contracted in spirit
the ovipositor is as large or larger than the legs between which it
lies. It is, however, capable of great extension. Its surface is
uniformly ornamented with minute, spine-bearing papilla?, and at
its apex it bears a large slit placed parallel to the long axis of the
body of the animal.
The internal reproductive organs of the female are arranged as
follows : — The ovary consists of right and left halves united in
front and behind and attached by a mesentery to the pericardial
septum in the mid-dorsal line. The oviducts are long and con-
voluted; they have a common origin from the posterior end of the
198 DESCRIPTION OF PERIPATUS OVIPARUS,
ovar}^, to which they are attached. Near to its point of oriojin each
bears an oval receptaculum seminis with two ducts. It is very
important to observe that each oviduct is divided into three parts.
All three parts are narrow except where swollen by the contained
eggs. The first is very short and extends from the point of
attachment to the ovary to about the level of the receptaculum;
its wall its greatly folded and provided with little excrescences on
the side opposite to the receptaculum. The middle and last
portions of the oviduct are of about equal length. The middle
portion is very thick-walled and apparently glandular. The last
portion has very thin, transparent, membranous walls. At their
hinder ends the oviducts unite in a thick-walled triangular sac,
whose posterior angle is continued into the ovipositor.
I have found eggs in both the middle and last portions of the
oviduct, but much more abundantly in the last. Their number
varies greatly. In one specimen, for example, there were three
eggs in each oviduct; in a second there were seven in one and six
in the other; in a third there were eight in one and nine in the
other.
The eggs at the time of laying show no appearance of eml^ryos
within them, but each consists of a quantity of milky fluid, con-
taining numerous yolk granules, enclosed in a very thick, tough,
but rather soft envelope of a pale yellow colour and beautifully
sculptured on the outside. The sculpturing consists of little
crumpled papillae, somewhat resembling worm-casts, arranged at
fairly regular intervals over the surface, and with much finer
meandering ridges occupying the spaces between them. The eggs
are oval in shape and measure about 1*9 by 1 '5 mm.
A careful re-investigation of my material has led me to tlie
following conclusions with regard to the egg-envelope. The
envelope really consists of three membranes. (1) A very thin
transparent membrane immediately surrounding the yolk and
prolmbly to be regarded as a vitelline membrane. (2) A very
thick membrane which is apparently formed as a secretion in the
thick-walled part of the oviduct. In sections of a female contain-
ing eggs in the oviduct this membrane is very clearly shown, and
BY ARTHUR DENDY. 199
is seen to have a thickness of about 0-036 mm. It is of a pale
yellow colour when fresh, and has a very finel}^ granular appear-
ance. In a former paper I erroneously stated that this membrane
or shell is smooth, or nearly so, Avhile still m utero. It is true
that the complete sculpture is not formed till the time of laying,
but my recent observations have shown conclusively that the
foundations of that sculpture are already present when the eggs
are lying in the thin- walled part of the oviduct. These foundations
consist of a number of little rounded protuberances regularly
distributed over the surface of the thick membrane. They are
not very obvious in fresh specimens and require careful looking
for, but in specimens which have lain for a long time in alcohol
previous to dissection the thick egg-membrane assumes a rather
dark brown colour, and the protuberances may become conspicuous
in surface view as much darker, well-defined circular areas about
0"04mm. in diameter. In addition to these protuberances the
thick membrane frequently, perhaps always, exhibits longitudinal
striations of an ill-defined character. (3) The fortunate discovery
of an <dgg partially extruded from the greatly distended ovipositor
in a specimen preserved in alcohol indicates the formation of a
thin, transparent membrane outside the thick one just described.
This membrane appears to be formed as a secretion, probably by
the walls of the triangular sac at the base of th-e ovipositor. The
abnormal conditions in the case under notice have prevented its
even deposition, and the amber-coloured, chitinous (?) material is
mostly collected in a large plug attached to what was the inner
end of the ^gg. I have little doubt that the wrinkling of this
chitinous (?) membrane as it dries upon the already embossed
under-lying membrane gives rise to the complete sculpture of the
perfect egg-shell, for the smooth papillae of the thick middle
membrane exactly correspond in arrangement with the crumpled
papillse of the perfect shell. ,
The development of the embryo within the egg-shell appears to
be a very lengthy business, for, as I have stated in a previous
paper, one of the eggs laid in ra}'- vivarium in Melbourne hatched
out after an interval of a year and five months from the time of
lrtYi»\ii\ Tho liu\o vxt lioxoU^^niiowi twaw lunvovor. Imvo Uvn pi\v
Kxn^ijtHl Uy tiu^ oxjH^uiv to tuiitioirtl <\MulitiiM\.>v Pho Oi^ii^i won^
In tho uuvU^ !ht> >*tMut«vl jv»[>iUrt is j^itxi^l^ni in the siunv> iw^uuni
a* it\ tht^ t\nn{vU\ Uut is «\uoh Uvss ^uxMuinont. Oii oithor sidt^ of
it^ iw tht^ «u\^W Wt\\>>t^ix the lej* aiui UhUn is h whito ^v^xiUa K\mi\ii
th<^ rt^wtxuv vxlf v^ix «t\^\<sixrY glrtinls IVhiuii it iwui just in fix^Jit
of tho junis aiv a ^viir vMf ;4|Hn*t\u\\s lH^loi\iiit\iir to otht^r avxtv^si^^'v
iiUndss l>«\^ iiltuuls iKVttr iu all th<> U\iss t\\\»u tht> st\\\iul to
tht^ tlxivttvnth. juui ^h^s^xWy als^^ in du* lfK>urttvnth. Tlu> ajxniinv
^^* tht> orwiul ^laxui is sitWsH<\i vm the unvitnvsurJfavv ixf tho lo^»
juui tht^ nt^jUwivlial aj>tH*tttiv Ut\s insiiie it^exivpt in tht^ Iknirth juui
tifth W^^ Tlu^ whit*^ Iv^jxiUa which \>^\^i"s tht» a^vrtuiv v\£ tho
orum) ^k^ui nxav W oitht^r ^xi\xminwxt or sunk in a de^xi\\^iixn»
av\\n\U<\ij to tht> statt^ ol' v\MXtmotii>Ji» tuui ht^nw tho numK^r irf
tht^st^ whito j^jxilW ixn tht> undtn^^uvtav>>64 <\f iho U>^ inav apj>t\xr
to varv in iiitK>ry^i4t s^^vimo^xs. I hav<;> l>«?tm unalxle to find any
ox^ux'a.l iiliuuis in tht^ ftnn«tlt\
I havt^ a numl*t>r vxf n\alt\i in nxy jxv*:s^\*:sivm» ami I a^ume that
thtA' Whv»x^^ to tht* saiut^ sjHvitvji Kvaus*» th«*Y w<?ro lk>uiHi iu th*»
$a)no KKvxlititNs «xs the ov ijv^r\H\s itxnniih>s» while no vivi^virvHis ftnvialt^
with tlfttvn trail's vMt le^ have wt Uvn fv^umi in Viotoria. The
uxalt^s exhiWt the same lun^ in patt«*m aiul wloumtion as tin^
If^HwaltNs.
It is unni\"t>ssa»*Y in this jikja^v to litNsvriW tli*^* §sene«J iuten\al
anat\>iny i4^ /Vr4/t««#M«' i»r«/>«tr««;ji,^ su^w it t^> say that il e1i>t\l^>nns
eU^^Y to the usual ev^ition as iit>s\^nK\l in other speeiesv
201
NOTES ON THESUR-FAMTLY liliAC IJYSC ELINyE WITH
l)ES(^IMI>'ri()NS OF NKW SPTXM FS. — Fakt TV.
r>v Wai/pku \V. I<'iu)<i(;A'i"r.
(Plato XIX.)
In't'oi-c (It'sci-il)iiii;- several new siKH'ics obtained (liii-iiit;- last year,
T propose to rectify some ei'roi's in my previous papei-s on tiui
i^all-makini:; eoi'cids with regard to tiieir classilication.
In liis last eonti-il)ution to the study of the family Cocclda'*
Mr. Maskell, when dealing with the nomenelatun^ of the sul)-
families, formed tlio sub family IdlococcitHV for th(^ n^'option of
his j^-enera. Sp/nrrococctis, Ci/fiiidrocorcus, and Frrtirhii(. Many
memluM's of tlic above "^onera form ri'^ular j^alls, but others only
waxy tests, while none of their <!;alls are of the Holid woody con-
sistency of those of the I hachyscelid coccids; and the female
coccids themsehes (hirer stiaicturally from the femah^s of the latter.
The Fucaly[)tus-<,Mll coccids consisting of Schrader's three genera
Brachyscelis, Opislhoscelis, and Asceiis coming into the sub-family
BrachynceHna: form another very natural group of tlu^ family
Cocci da'.
When re-describing Opisthoscelis suhrofurida, Sell., in my earlier
paper t, 1 stated that the larva had tarsi terminating in two
claws, which, as Mr. Maskell has pointed out, would remove them
from the Coccifce into the fainih' Psi/llldcv; what T mistook for
the second claw, J find upon more careful examination to be the
lower digitule, appendages like tine spines springing from the
extremity of the tarsi.
* Maskell, Trans. N.Z. Inst. Vol. xxv. p. 2.S6, 1892.
t NotcB on tho Family Brachyscelidte, P.L.S. N.S.W. (2 8er ) Vol. viii.,
p. 209, 1893),
202 ON THE SUB-FAMILY BRACHTSCELIN .f:,
Brachyscblis dipsaciformis n.sp.
. (Plate XIX., fig. 1.)
9. Gall 6 lines high, 4| in diameter, generally oval but
sometimes rounded at base, black to dark reddish brown in colour;
produced upon the twigs of a slender-leaved eucalypt, sometimes
solitary but chiefly in jDunches of two or three; they grow out at
the base like a small button, with the spines forming an erect mass
on the upper surface, but as the gall matures it gradually forms a
round solid centre with these spines turning downwards into a
regular prickly covering, which reminds one of a small teasle.
The walls of the galls are thin and solid; the chamber oval; the
apical orifice small and circular, with the spines surrounding it
often broken away or aborted into little woody bracts.
9. Coccid dull yellow, short and stout, very hairy; the legs
short with very small tarsal claws; dorsal side, the abdominal
segments each bearing a row of very long slender spines, and
thickly fringed with long hairs, increasing in density towards the
tip where they form a regular brush; the anal appendages black,
short, stout, and cylindrical, with a distinct median division and V-
shaped cleft at the tips, which are slightly pointed. Upon the
ventral side the hairs are of a pale golden yellow and much longer
than the anal appendages. The coccid here described was dead
and partially dried up when taken out of the gall.
^. Gall and coccid unknown.
Hab. - North Queensland (Mr. F. M. Bailey).
I am indebted to my friend Mr. J. G. O. Tepper, of the Adelaide
Museum, for the opportunity of describing this curious little gall,
which he informs me was forwarded to him from Brisbane by the
Government Botanist (Mr. F. M. Bailey), with the information
that it came from North Queensland.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 203
Brachyscelis sessilis n.sp.
(Plate XIX., fig. 2.)
^. Gall forming a rounded or oblong swelling on the branch, out
of the centre of which springs up a tubular gall from 2 to 4 lines
in height above the excrescence on the branchy 4 lines in diameter
and perfectly flat on the truncated apex, with the exception of tlie
small cone-shaped projection in the centre, encircling the minute
apical orifice. The walls of the galls are stout and solid, containing
a chamber rounded at the base and pointed towards the apex;
each of these galls is distinct from the large swelling upon the
branch from which they project, and can be detached without
breaking.
5. Coccid dull 3"ellow, 4 lines in length, broad and round at
apex, central lobe with two ver}^ small antennae and short fore-
legs, the second pair rather large, with the hind pair largest, the
first joint swollen and almost globular; the last thoracic segment
broad, the first four abdominal ones regular, and tapering sharply
to the tip, the anal segment, bearing the anal appendages, rounded.
Dorsal view, head, and thoracic segments covered with very fine
scattered tubercles, but bearing no regular spines; first abdominal
segment with short irregular black spines along the apical margin,
on the second segment increasing in numbers and regularity until
on the last two forming a close regular ridge of stout black spines;
anal appendages black, very short, broad at the base, conical and
almost in contact at the base until near the apex, opening into a
V-shaped angle; the whole coccid lightly covered with hairs,
thickest towards the extremity of the abdomen.
^. Gall and coccid unknown.
Hab. — Wallsend, near Newcastle. On a small rough-barked
Eucalyptus sp.
204 ON THE SUB-FAMILY BRACHYSCELIN^^,
Brachyscelis Thokntoxi, Froefft.
In my description of this species in a previous paper"*^ I have
confounded two very distinct species, a collection of fresh material
which I collected last 3^ear at Wallsend having convinced
me of my mistake. The former description will stand for the
female gall in an immature state (also figured in the plate), but
that of the male gall mass as there described must be withdrawn.
The male gall mass of this species is very variable in shape and
size, often much curved and distorted, covered with warty
excrescences and the edges broken and irregular, but the coccid
tubes always coalesce and are not sejoarated or distinct by them-
selves.
It is one of the most prolific species; I have seen some trees
about Wallsend which are simply one mass of these galls; the
more mature galls become more oval and lose the very pronounced
ribs so conspicuous in the very young ones.
Brachyscelis ros.eformis, n.sp.
(Plate XIX., fig. 3.)
9. Gall 9 lines in length, not more than 1| lines in diameter at
the base, gradually swelling out to three lines at the apex; brown
to pale red; rather wrinkled on the surface; walls of the cham-
ber thin, the chamber tubular, extending from the base to the
tip; apical orifice small, circular, apex of gall truncate; sometimes
the gall stands straight out from the leaf, but more frequently
hangs downward along it.
(J. Gall forming a wrinkled irregular mass, growing from the
side of the female gall close to the tip, swelling out into a rugose
reddish brown mass, with the upper surface slightly concave,
IJ inches across at the widest diameter and about a quarter
* P.L.S. N.S. W. (2 Ser.) Vol. vii., p. 371-72, 1892.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 205
of an inch in thickness, containing over 1000 pale pink larval
tubes, each of which is a distinct individual tube separated from
any other at the tip.
^a6.^Wingham, Manning River (Mr. William Allan).
The specimen from which this is described was received with
the note that it was not uncommon in that district. It consisted
of single large Eucalyptus leaf carrying five female galls, sur-
mounted with gall masses nearly as large as the one descril^ed,
with several smaller ones, all of which sprang from the edge of
the midrib of the leaf.
I have another variety of this gall obtained l^y the Rev. T. W.
Alkin near Campbelltown, which is much more uniform in shape
than the former; in this specimen there are six bright pink coloured
galls springing from either side of the midrib of a very slender
Eucalyptus leaf; the female gall is not more than half the length,
the male gall mass much more funnel-shaped, containing on an
average about 100 male tubes in each mass.
The gall described as the male of B. Thorntoni is another
variety close to the Campbelltown one, of which I have had four
specimens from around Wallsend.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE.
Brachyxcelis dipsadform is.
Fig. 1. — Female galls upon twig.
B. sessilis.
Fig. 2. — Female galls growing out of a branch.
B. rosa'formis.
Fig. 3. — Female galls, each with its attq-ched mass of male galls; towards
the tip of the leaf are other immature galls.
206
ON A FIDDLER (TRYGONORHINA FASCIATA), WITH
ABNORMAL PECTORAL FINS.
By Jas. p. Hill, Demonstrator of Biology, in the
University of Sydney.
(Plate XX.)
Some little time ago there came into my possession through the
kindness of Mr. J. Has tie, Broken Bay, N.S.W., a specimen of
the Fiddler-ray {Trygonorhinafasciata), with markedly abnormal
pectoral fins. The specimen presented so peculiar and striking
an appearance that it was picked out by the fishermen when
looking over the contents of their net after a haul and kept as a
curiosity. On describing the specimen to my friend. Prof. G. B.
Howes, he referred me to a note"^ by Dr. Traquair on an abnormal
Thornback {Raia clavata). Dr. Traquair very kindly furnished
me with a copy of his note, and I am now enabled to give a
description of this specimen.
The Fiddler in question is a young male, measuring 2 6 '9 cm. in
length, and 11-2 cm. across the broadest part of the pectoral fins.
From the illustration accompanying this note it will be seen
that the pectoral fins are markedly abnormal, and give the fish a
very striking appearance. On each side the anterior portion of
each pectoral fin is separated by a wide and deep notch from the
head. The notch on the left side is, as in Dr. Traquair's Thorn-
back, deeper than that on the right, causing the animal to have a
very asymmetrical appearance. On the right side the notch
extends backwards from the anterior end of the pectoral fin for a
distance of 3 cm., and terminates almost on a level with the
posterior border of the spiracular cleft. On the left side, however,
the notch extends back for a distance of 4*5 cm., terminating at
* Note on an abnormally developed Thornback {Raia clavata), Ann. of
Scottish Nat. Hist. Jan., 1892.
BY JAS. P. HILL. 207
the point of articulation of the propterygium with the shoulder
girdle. The entire anterior portion of the left fin, supported by
the propterygium and its rays, is thus entirely free from the body.
On both sides, and especially on the left, the propter3^gia are
directed markedly outwards.
The only parallel for this condition among living Elasmo-
branchs appears to be found in the Angel-fish {Rhina squatina).
In that form, as is well known, the anterior ends of the expanded
pectoral fins extend forward as two short horns supported by the
propterygia, and entirely free from the body wall. On the left
side of our specimen, except for the greater forward extension of
the fin, the condition in Bhina is essentially realised.
In the abnormal Thornback described by Dr. Traquair the
anterior extremities of the pectoral tins projected as two short
processes, one on either side of the snout. I have found a similar
condition in one of a series of twelve young taken from a single
female Hypnos suhnigrum. In this specimen, w^hich measured
6*1 cm. in length, the anterior ends of the pectoral fins projected
as tw^o blunt horns, one on the outer side of the anterior portion
of each electric organ.
Similar cases of the non-adherence of the anterior extremities
of the pectoral fins to the head have been recorded by Yarrell"*^ for
Raia clavata, by Dayl: for R. clavata and R. hatis, and by
Bureau; for R. asterias. All these cases are of the same nature,
and of all recorded instances of this abnormality that of the
Trygomwhina herein described is perhaps the most marked. The
meaning of this variation, to which some slight importance may
be attached from its occurrence in three distinct Batoid genera,
is not far to seek. Prof. Howes, in his paper§ on the fin-skeleton
* Yarrell. British Fishes, ed. by Richardson, 1859, Vol. ii. p. 585 and
p. 384.
t Day. British Fishes, Vol. ii. p. 345, PI. clxxi. fig. 2, and p. 337.
X Bureau. Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1889, xiv. p. 313, and fig. (References
from Bateson. Materials for the Study of Variation, p. 540.)
§ Observations on the Pectoral Fin-skeleton of Batoid Fishes. P.Z.S.
1890, p. 680.
208 ON A FIDDLER.
of Batoids, says " that the Batoid type of fin has been derived
from a shorter Selachoid one by forward rotation and general
enlargement is sufficiently clear from known facts of development.'^
It is in these facts, viz., that the pectoral fin of Batoids undergoes
a forward growth in the embryo and only secondarily fuses with
the cephalic integument, that these cases of non-adherence in the
young or adult find their explanation. This is fully borne out by
the examination of a uterine embryo of Urolojjhus testaceus, 3 cm. in
length, in the teaching collection of the Biological Department of
this University. In this embryo in which distinct external gills
are present and the cranial flexure is well marked, the broadly
expanded pectoral fins extend forward beyond the mouth as two
blunt processes separated by a cleft from the head, and are at
this stage comparable with the adult condition of the pectoral
fins in Rhina.
From these facts of development we are led to regard the non-
adherence of the anterior portions of the pectoral fins in Trygono-
rhina and the incomplete adherence of the anterior ends of the
fins in the other recorded cases as retentions more or less complete
of an embryonic or ancestral condition — as reversions in fact, for
if there is any truth at all in the law of recapitulation there can be
little doubt but that the free condition of the anterior portion of
the pectoral fin of Batoids was the primitive one. It is interesting
in view of this to find this feature of non-adherence most marked
in the Rhinobatid genus Trygonorhina, the Rhinobatids being
in many points transitional between the Batoidei and Selachoidei.
In conclusion I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. Robert
Grant for the photograph from which the accompanying drawing
was made.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE.
Dorsal aspect of an abnormal specimen of Trygonor-hina fasciata —
reduced about 2j times.
209
NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
-Mr. Froggiitt exhibited specimens of the galls mentioned in his
paper, together with drawings of the same. Also two hazel hoops
taken from powder kegs on board one of the powder hulks in
Sydney attacked by the larva? of Gracilia j^ygmcea, Fal)r., a
small European longicorn beetle, specimens of which were
shown, and which had been evidently introduced in the wood.
The larvie burrow under the Imrk of the hoops. As many as over
40 specimens were bred from two hoops. Also the remains of a
lar\a of the Australian silk worm moth (Anthercea eucalypti)
destroyed by parasitic hymenoptera (Fam. Braconidoa) which had
produced a remarkable mass of white cotton-like substance 2^
inches long and \\ inch in width, enveloping a double row of
cocoons.
Mr. jSIaiden sent for exhibition some specimens of fire-sticks
used by the natives on the ranges behind Cardwell, N. Queens-
land. They are tied up in bundles with a board on which the
sticks are rubbed, painted and carved to represent some animal.
Also some pearl-shell fishhooks cut into slender curved points,
with modernised editions made from iron nails picked up on the
sea shore in which the old form is repi;oduced, used by the natives
of Hinchinl)rook Island. Also a shell forehead ornament from
the same place.
Mr. Garland slujwed a miscellane(jus gathering of fragmenta
from an aboriginal kitchen midden iu a cave shelter at Pittwater,
comprising spines of various fishes, Ijones of mai-supials, itc,
together with a pointed bone, probaljly in use as a piercer in
sewing skins.
Mr. Brazier exhibited a varied collection of zoological and
botanical specimens found by F. C. Brazier at Nelson Bay Beach
(Bronte), Waverley, during the southerly gales of April 11-1 3t]i
last, comprising Sejna apama, Gray, common; ^. elomjata. Orb.,
rare, one imperfect specimen; S. capensis, Orb., thirty specimens;
S. australis, Orb., eight specimens in very fair condition; laidhina
210 NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
caerulata, Reeve, two hundred living specimens; /. fragilis, Lam.,
eight living specimens; Spirula Peroni, Lam., five imperfect
specimens, with portion of the animal attached to the shells;
Lepas HUH, Leach, on ^iejna apa-nia, Gray, on slag from furnace
fires, and a large nut from Pacific Islands; L. pectinata, Spengler,
on Sjnrula Per^oni, Sepia capensis, laidhina caerulata, on corks,
pieces of packing cases, and slag from furnace fires; three species
of fishes; two species of crabs; numerous specimens of candle nuts
Aleurites trilohata; and the fruit probably of Borriyiytonia
speciosa.
PL.S.NS.W (2"_d Sen) VOL X.
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^ P Mill. del.
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211 r
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29th, 1895.
The Ordiiicary Monthly Meeting of the Society was held in the
Linnean Hall, Ithaca Road, Elizabeth Ba}^, on Wednesda}^ even-
ing, August 28th, 1895.
Mr. P. N. Trebeck, J. P., in the Chair,
Mr. John MacPherson, M.A., Sydney Universit}'-, and Dr. R.
Broom, B.Sc, Taralga, N.S.W., were elected Members of the
Society.
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212 DONATIONS.
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Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney — Records of
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delelser for Aaret 1894. From the Society.
215
OOLOGICAL NOTES.
By Alfred J. North, F.L.S., Australian Museum, Sydney.
With the exception of an immature egg of Eudynaniis cyano-
cephala previously described by me,"^ the eggs of the following
species are now, so far as I am aware, described for the first time.
EuDYNAMis CYANOCEPHALA, Latham.
Elinder's Cuckoo is freely distributed during the spring and
summer months throughout the coastal scrubs of Eastern Aus-
tralia, its range also extending around the northern and extreme
north-western portions of the continent and to New Guinea and
Timor. In New South Wales it generally arrives during the
latter part of September, and is more frequently met with in the
tropical and luxuriant brushes of the northern coastal rivers;
localities where the wild fig, native cherry and numerous other
fruit and berry-bearing trees and shrubs abound, and which
afford this species an abundant supply of food. It does not
confine its diet entirely to wild fruits and berries, for in the high
table-lands of the New England District it freely enters gardens
and orchards in search of food, committing great depredations
among cultivated fruits, especially plums and cherries. About
the end of February it retires northwards again. Hitherto the
only egg of this parasitic Cuckoo I had ever seen was an imma-
ture one obtained by Mr. George Masters at Gayndah, Queensland,
on the 25th of November, 1870. Having shot at a female and
broken her wing, while pursuing her on the ground the egg was
dropped. For an opportunity of examining a normal e>gg of this
Cuckoo I am indebted to Mr. S. W. Jackson, who recently watched
and waited while one of these parasites deposited her egg in the
* Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. VV. Vol. ii. 2nd Series, p. 544 (1887).
216 OOLOGICAL NOTES,
deep cup-shaped nest of the Green-backed Oriole ( Mimeta viridis),
one of the most notorious orchard marauders in New South Wales,
From Mr. Jackson's letter accompanying this egg, I have extracted
the following information : —
"While collecting on the 31st of October, 1894, in a scrub
near South Grafton I heard the loud and peculiar " coo-ee " of
Flinder's Cuckoo, and upon approaching a large "Box-tree"
(Eucalyiotus robusta), I observed in it a pair of Eudynamis
cyanocejiliala, the female being perclied close to a nest of Mimtta
viridis. Thinking perhaps that the Cuckoo had laid in it, I
climbed the tree, and found that the nest contained three fresh
eggs of the Oriole; these I left and descended to the ground. The
female Cuckoo, which I had frightened away when starting to
climb the tree, now returned, and calling to her mate both sat
near the nest. After watching them for a few minutes the male
flew away, and to my joy the female took possession of the
Oriole's nest. I did not leave the spot, but sat down in the shade
of the Eucalyptus, and after waiting about half-an-hour got up
and suddenly clapped my hands, but she would not leave the
nest. I started again to climb the tree, when off she flew and
never returned. Upon reaching the nest, and making a further
examination of its contents, I was greatly delighted to find that
in addition to the three eggs of the Oriole it now contained the
previously unknown egg of Flinder's Cuckoo. During the time
the Cuckoo had possession of the Oriole's nest both the male and
the female of the latter sat in the tree, but did not interfere with
the occupant of the nest."
The egg of Fudywcmis cyanocephala is oval in form and of a
pale reddish-salmon ground colour, minutely dotted and spotted
with different shades of reddish and purplish-brown, the latter
colour predominating and appearing as if beneath the surface of
the shell; the smaller end of the egg is more sparingly marked,
but towards its thicker axis are a few small blotches of umber
brown. There are many indistinct underlying blotches and
smears of dull purplish- brown, of which the largest is a longitu-
dinal marking measuring I'l inch in length by 0-4 inch in
BY ALFRED J. NORTH. 217
breadth. The egg measures 1-36 inch in length by 1-02 inch in
breadth, and without its underlying blotches and smears some-
what resembles those of the Friar Bird ( Tropidorhynchus corni-
culatus).
The Oriole's eggs from the above nest are of the usual variety
found, being of a creamy-brown ground colour, minutely dotted
and boldly blotched all over with different shades of umber-brown,
intermingled with underlying markings of deep bluish-grey.
Length, (A) 1-35 x 0-98 inch; (B) 1-4 x 1-03 inch; (C) 1-43 x
1-01 inch.
It will be observed that the Qgg of Flinder's Cuckoo is the same
size as those of Mimeta viridis, although as a rule the eggs of
Australian Cuckoos are larger than those of the birds in w^hose
nests they are deposited. In the choice of a foster-parent for its
young Kudynantis cyauocephala has, however, exercised great
discrimination in selecting a species that, like itself, depends
entirely on fruits and berries for its subsistence during the spring
and summer months.
Megalurus galactotes, Temminck.
Although the range of the Tawny Grass-bird extends over the
greater portion of Northern and Eastern Queensland, and Northern
New South Wales, it is of so shy and retiring disposition that it
is a species seldom met with, and only on one occasion have I
heard of its nest and eggs being found. The late Mr. George
Barnard, of Coomooboolaroo, Queensland, shortly before his
decease informed me that v/hile collecting specimens of Micro-
lepidoptera on his station on the 26th of October, 1893, he flushed
one of these birds from the rush-bordered bank of a dry creek,
and, after a diligent search, succeeded in finding its nest at the
bottom of a tuft of long rushes. The nest was a deep cup-shaped
structure, slightly domed or narrowed at the top, and was out-
wardly composed of dried swamp grasses, lined inside with
feathers, and contained three fresh eggs, tvv^o of which he unfortu-
nately broke. The remaining egg has recently been forwarded
to me for examination by Mr. Charles Barnard. It is precisely
218 OOLOGICAL NOTES,
similar in colour and markings to those of its southern congener
M, gramineus, but is slightly larger, being of a reddish-white
ground colour, freckled all over with purplish-red markings, which
predominate as usual on the thicker end of the egg. Length,
0-8 X 0-58 inch.
Platalba melanorhyncha, Reichenbach.
The Black-faced Spoonbill is generally distributed in favourable
situations over the north-eastern and northern portions of the
Australian Continent, its range extending also to the Aru Islands,
w^here several examples were procured by the late Mr. S. White,
and which are now contained in the Reference Collection of the
Australian Museum. In New South Wales it is a comparatively
rare species, and is seldom met with except on the mangrove flats
and swamps adjacent to the northern coastal rivers, but recently
it has been found breeding on an inland swamp near the extreme
southern boundary of the colony. For an opportunity of examin-
ing and describing the eggs of this species I am indebted to Mr.
James Kershaw, of the National Museum, Melbourne, who has
kindly forwarded me a set, together with the following note : —
" The eggs of Plaialea melanorhyncha I sent you last week were
obtained by Mr. H. G. Evered, who has supplied me with the
following information relative to the taking of them : — ' W^hile
duck shooting on Christmas Day, 1893, on one of the swamps
along the banks of the Murray River, about sixty miles above
Echuca, and when nearing an Ibis rookery, the man who was
poling the boat drew my attention to a bird flying with the White
Ibis ( Threskiornis strictipenttis) which we had disturbed; at the
same time informing me that the bird was almost a stranger in
those parts, and that he had not seen a specimen for the previous
four or five years. As it would not leave the spot, but continued
flying in a circle, we thought there might possibly be a nest near
at hand, so we concealed our boat in a bed of reeds and watched.
After a little while all the Ibis, and lastly the bird which I now
recognised to be a Spoonbill, settled in an adjacent bed of reeds.
We now approached as noiselessly as possible, and when within
BY ALFRED J. NORTH. 219
about forty yards it again rose with the Ibis, and I was successful
in shooting it. Upon examining the place, we found the nest of
the S^DOonbill built amongst those of the White Ibis; it was an
open flat structure, composed of broken down reeds and twigs,
measuring two feet across, and was placed al30ut three feet above
the water. The eggs, three in number, were in an advanced state
of incubation. All the nests of the White Ibis contained young
birds from one to two weeks old."
The eggs of Plaf.alea melanorkyncha are similar to those of its
near ally P. leitcorodia, of Europe and Southern Asia; they are
elongate-oval in form, slightly pointed at the smaller end, and of
a dull chalky-white ground colour, with ill-defined blotches and
smears of yellow- and pale reddish-brown almost uniformly distri-
buted over the surface of the shell; one specimen (C) is more
sparingly but distinctly marked, and has a few bold darker
blotches on the large end. Length, (A) 2-73 x 1-73 inch; (B)
2-65 X 1-68 inch; (C) 2-6 x 1-7 inch.
It is remarkable the partiality Spoonbills have for breeding in
company with Ibises. Mr. Hume in his "Nests and Eggs of
Indian Birds" records Platalea leucorodia breeding on trees in
company with the Pelican-Ibis (Tantalus leucocephalusj, also near
colonies of the Shell-Ibis (Anastomus oscitans).
Ardetta pusilla, Yieillot.
Though a comparatively rare species the Minute Bittern is
widely distributed in suitable localities over most parts of Eastern
Australia. In New South Wales it still frequents the neighbour-
hood of Sydney, specimens having been recently presented to the
Trustees of the^ Australian Museum that were procured on the
marshy grounds at the mouth of Cook's River during January,
1895. A freshly shot specimen was also received in the same
month from a correspondent at Narromine, a pastoral and agri-
cultural district, situated on the banks of the Macquarie River,
and about 300 miles west of Sydney. It appears, however, to be
more freely distributed on the swamps in the vicinity of the
Murray River, for on several occasions Mr. Evered has been
^X
220 OOLOGICAL NOTES.
successful in finding its nests and eggs near Mathoura. Mr.
Kershaw, to whom I am also indebted for the loan of the eggs of
this species for description, has kindly sent the following note
relative to the taking of them: — "Mr. H. G. Evered found the
nest of the Minute Bittern, containing four fresh eggs, in a swamp
near Mathoura, New South Wales, during November, 1893. It
was an open nest, composed of dead leaves of aquatic plants, and
grasses and herbage growing about the swamp, and was fastened
to several reeds just above the surface of the water. The bird
was seen on the nest, and one was captured alive."
The eggs of the Minute Bittern are oval in form and pure
white, the texture of the shell being very fine and the surface
dull and lustreless. Length, (A) M3 x 0-98 inch; (B) 1-26 x
1 inch. Like the eggs of all birds laid in similar situations, they
soon become dirty and nest-stained.
221
NOTE ON THE CORRECT HABITAT OF PATELLA
(SCUTELLASTRA) KERMADECEN.^IS, PILSBRY.
By T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S , Curator of the Auckland Museum.
(Communicated by the yecretary.)
Some months ago, Prof. F. W. Hutton drew my attention to a
communication from Mr. Brazier printed in the Proceedings of the
Linnean Society of New South Wales (Vol. ix., 2nd Ser., p. 183)
in which it is stated that South Africa is the true habitat of
Paleli'i hermadecensis, and that Mr. Pilsbry was mistaken in
supposing that his specimens came from the Kermadec Islands.
Apparently, Mr. Brazier arrives at this conclusion from the fact
that a specimen in his possession, originally obtained from a New
Zealand dealer notoriously inaccurate in the localities assigned to
his specimens, has adhering to it two individuals of Patella
G'ichlear, Born , a species known to inhabit the Cape of Good
Hope. He also considers it extremely improbable that such a
large and conspicuous species as that described by Mr. Pilsbry
should have been overlooked by the late Mr, John MacGillivray,
the naturalist attached to H.M.S. " Herald," which ship, under
the command of Capt. Denham, in the year 1851:, made a stay of
nearly four weeks at Sunday Island, the largest of the Kermadec
Group.
As Mr. Pilsbry 's t}T)es were collected by myself at Sunday
Island, I wrote a few lines with the intention of forwarding them
to the Society. Just at that time, however, I received the
following part of the " Proceedings," in which I noticed that Mr.
Hedley had, on the strength of information furnished by my
friend Mr C Spencer, again asserted the claims of the Kermadec
Islands (see Yol. ix., 2nd Ser., p. 465). Thinking that this was
222 HABITAT OF PATELLA EERMADECEN SIS, PILSBRY,
sufficient to set the matter at rest, I threw aside what I had
written. Unfortunately I did not then notice a subsequent
communication from Mr. Brazier printed in the same number
(p. 566), in which, while granting that Patella kermadecensis
might have been collected at Macaula}^ Island, one of the smaller
islands of the group, he still declined to admit its nativity in
Sunday Island. Perhaps I may now be allowed to mention what
must be regarded as conclusive evidence on the point.
In July, 1887, the New Zealand Government despatched the
steamer " Stella " to the Kermadec Islands for the purpose of
annexing them to the colony, and I was kindly granted permis-
sion to accompany the expedition. My time was mostly given to
an examination of the botany of the group; but while engaged in
this work I was able to pay some attention to the fauna. We
first landed on Sunday Island on the north side, and I then
noticed (as in fact all the members of our party did) that the
rocks in the vicinity of the landing place were covered with large
limpets, four or five inches in diameter. Attempts were made to
collect some of them, but they could not be reached from the
boat, and the violent surf breaking on the rocks made it impos-
sible to get at them from the shore. Two days later, we landed
at Boat Cove, on the eastern shore of the island. In this locality
the limpets were even still more plentiful, and as it was low water at
the time I was able to knock several off the rocks with a spade.
While I was on shore botanising our boatmen collected quite a
large number, most of which were given to me. The next day
they were seen in profusion on Meyer Island, an outlying rock
on the north side of Sunday Island. In short, we noticed them
on every part of the coast that was at all suitable; and I have no
hesitation in saying that in calm weather it would be quite pos-
sible to load a small vessel with them, so numerous are they.
Afterwards, we found that they were equally plentiful on the shore
of Macaulay Island and the other small islands of the group.
Soon after my return to Auckland, I forwarded specimens to
several of the New Zealand Museums, and to private collectors,
both in New Zealand and abroad. Among others, several
BY T. F. CHEESEMAN. 223
specimens were sent to Mr. E. W. Roper, of Revere, Massa
chusetts, and two of these were given by him to Mr. Pilsbry.
Upon these the original description printed in the "Nautilus" is
founded.
Since my visit, great numbers of the Patella have been brought
to New Zealand by the officers and crew of the " Hinemoa,"
which vessel now regularly visits the group once a year. On one
occasion a sackful was brought to me at the Museum, and olBfered
for a few shillings. Having a stock sufficient for my requirements,
I did not purchase, and the sack Avas eventuall}^ sold to the dealer
alluded to by Mr. Brazier. Doubtless the shell has passed into
the hands of many collectors from this source.
As Mr. Brazier remarks, it is somewhat curious that such a
conspicuous species was not noticed by Mr. MacGrillivray. But I
believe that the landing place principally used during the visit of
the " Herald " was Denham Bay, on the west side of the island.
This is sandy, and of course anyone landing there would fail to
see the Patella. The "Herald," too, had remarkably rough
weather during almost the whole of her stay, and that would
effectually prevent the rocky beaches from being searched, as our
own experience with the "Stella" amply proved.
I may conclude by saying that the presence of a large Patella
in the Kermadec Group was alluded to in my account of the botany
of the Group (Trans. N.Z. Institute, Yol xx., p. 165) and in Mr.
Percy Smith's official report to the New Zealand Government
("The Kermadec Islands, their capal^ilities and extent," p. 27).
224
DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN
COLEOPTERA.
By Arthur M. Lea.
Part II.
D Y T I S C I D ^.
LaNCESTES ocularis, 11. sp.
Subconvex, highly polished. Piceous-black; head with a testa-
ceous blotch in its middle; anterior half of prothorax testaceous,
except behind the emargination and a narrow indistinct stroke at
the middle; each elytron with eight narrow longitudinal stripes —
1st and 2nd joined and barbed at apex, open behind, 3rd and 4th
joined at base and apex, 5th l)ifurcate at its base, joined to the
6 th at about a third from the apex, between the 5th stripe and
the base is an irregular circle with an extension behind, 7 th and
8th soldered at the shoulders — near apex connected with 4th;
legs, antennas and palpi reddish, the posterior legs tinged with
piceous. Above very densely and extremely minutely punctate ;
head with two transverse punctures on each side; prothorax with
a row of feeble closely connected punctures near apex, with some
almost obsolete on each side near base; elytra with two very
feeble rows ; sterna indistinctly wrinkled ; intermediate femora
with a row of feeble punctures.
Head very smooth ; without impressions at sides of eyes ;
antennae thin, passing intermediate coxte. Prothorax widely
transverse, narrower in front than behind ; widely emarginate at
apex, base feebly bisinuate ; angles acute, the posterior but little
produced; prosternal keel narrow, lanceolate, basal half margined,
received into a narrow mesosternal excavation. Elytra wider
than prothorax, widest about the middle; not quite covering
abdomen. Tibias with seta? and spurs at their apices, spurs to
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 225
posterior long and thin — the longest three-quarters the length of
the first tarsal joint. Length 8|, width 4 J mm.
Ilab. — Donnybrook, West Australia.
I have two specimens — both females — which agree in all
particulars. Besides the markings, the present species differs
from L. lanceolatiM in being shorter and broader, the sterna more
feebly wrinkled, and prosternal keel broader at base, mesosternal
excavation less sharp.
M Y C E T P H A G I D yE.
Triphyllus multiguttatus, n.sp.
Suboval, slightly convex, above feebly, undersurface moderately
shining. Above dark brown; head in front obscure red, eyes
black; prothorax with the margins, and an irregular spot on each
side of the base, elytra with the margins and numerous spots,
testaceous; these spots are elongate, somewhat irregular in
number (from eleven to fourteen on each elytron), an oblique one
on each side of the scutellum, behind it with its apex at the
middle is an irregular spot, sometimes II- but oftenest T-shaped,
the spots behind the middle sometimes uniting to form a very
irregular transverse fascia, a large round spot near the apex
(sometimes united with it); undersurface ferruginous-red, legs
paler. Tibiae tipped on the outer apex with short black setae, the
inner with a narrow spur. Above densely and obsoletely, under-
surface very minutely punctate; elytra very feebly striate.
Head triangular; eyes large, coarsely faceted; antennae inserted
immediately in front of the eyes, not reaching base of prothorax.
Prothorax broadly transverse; apex widely and shallowly emar-
ginate, base feebly bisinuate; posterior angles acute. Scutellum
small, widely transverse, semicircular. Elytra about twice as
long as head and prothorax combined, at their widest near the
base, where they are slightly wider than prothorax; base truncate,
shoulders feebly rounded. Femora and tibiie flattened. Length
2f2|, width 11-11 mm.
''/ya^.—Richmond River, N.S.W.
226 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
Differs from 2\ intricatus by its darker colour, different pattern,
smaller size, less distinct puncturation, more prominent eyes,
longer antennae, and broader femora.
Triphyllus minor, n.sp.
Suboval, slightly conxex, shining. Above and the legs reddish-
testaceous, undersurface darker; head piceous-brown (in some
specimens paler at apex); prothorax testaceous-red (occasionally
brown) : elytra with three irregular brown fasciae, the two posterior
sometimes connected along the suture and lateral margin, the
basal oftenest represented by a large spot on each side of the
scutellum, and a smaller spot on the shoulder; median fascia
largest near the sides, sometimes obliquely connected with the
basal; apical sometimes appearing as two spots and sometimes
occupying almost the entire apex: palpi and antennse testaceous,
the latter darkest at apex. Clothed all over — sparsest on proster-
num — with short, yellowish pubescence; tibiae with a number of
spurs at their apices, some of them appearing to be obtusely
serrate. Above densely covered with small, deep punctures;
elytra feebly punctate-striate ; undersurface irregularly trans-
versely strigose, and obsoletely punctate.
Head transverse, apex rounded; eyes rather small and promi-
nent; antenna inserted a little distance in front of the eyes,
reaching anterior coxae. Prothorax broadly transverse; apex
almost truncate, base truncate; posterior angles acute. Scutellum
small, widely transverse, apex almost truncate. Elytra scarcely
twice as long as head and prothorax combined, widest at the base;
base truncate, shoulders very feebly rounded. Femora and tibise
flattened. Length 2, width 4 mm.
Hah. — Sydney, Pitt Town, Inverell, Forest Reefs, Tweed,
Richmond, Clarence, and Hawkesbury Rivers, N.S.W. (Lea).
Brisbane, Queensland (Mr. A. J. Coates).
This species in general appearance and pattern closely resembles
T. intricatus, from which species it may be distinguished by its
much smaller size (subject to but trifling variation), apex of
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 227
pro thorax wider and less deeply emarginate, head darker, tibite
differently spurred, somewhat feebler puncturation, and its more
sober colour. My Pitt Town specimens (three) were taken from
the nest of a Diamond Sparrow, and some of the Sydney ones
from the nests of a Processionary Moth.
DiPLOCCELUS PUNCTATUS, n.sp.
Subparallel, subdepressed, shining. Dark brownish-red, elytra
dark red, legs bright red. Above with long yellowish pubescence,
longest at the sides, much shorter and sparser on the undersurface;
tibiae with short spurs and set?e at their apices. Head densely
and strongly, prothorax as strongly but not so densely punctate,
with several rows of quadrate punctures at the sides; elytra
striate - punctate, the punctures large, quadrate, interstices
minutely punctate; sterna with large shallow punctures; abdo-
minal segments minutely punctate.
Head transverse (when at rest); eyes moderately prominent;
antennae widely separated, scarcely reaching base of prothorax,
two basal joints rather large, middle joint of club widely trans-
verse, much wider than basal, apical subcircular. Prothorax
transversely oblong; apex widely and feebly emarginate, base very
feebly — if at all— bisinuate; posterior angles almost rectangular;
sides narrowly margined and narrowly bicostate'; base feebly im-
pressed in the middle. Scutellum very narrowly transverse.
Elytra about one and a half times as long as head and prothorax
combined, base truncate, shoulders rounded, scarcely wider than
prothorax. Basal segment of abdomen with two oblique lines on
each side. Legs short, tibiae straight and widening to apex.
Length 2 J, width 1 (vix) mm.
//a5.— Richmond River, N.S.W.
From D. fasciatus, the present species may be distinguished by
its narrower, more parallel outline, absence of elytral fascia
(though in that species it is sometimes almost obsolete), less convex
form, shorter antennae, with short«»^ '^lub, more sober colour, and
somewhat feebler puncturatio'^
p
228 NEW SPECIES OP AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
DiPLOCCELUS LATUS, n.sp.
Short, thick, subdepressed, shining. Chocolate-brown; lower
surface, legs, and antennte paler. Clothed all over with moderately
long pubescence, longest and blackest above, shortest and yellowish
beneath. Very minutely punctate all over; the head with dense
and rather small punctures, larger and sparser on prothorax;
elytra seriate-punctate, the punctures moderately large and sub-
quadrate at base, feebler towards apex; sterna distinctly and not
very densely punctate.
Head transverse; eyes prominent; antenna? widely separated,
not passing anterior cox?e, two basal joints of club transverse —
the middle wider than basal, apical joint circular. Prothorax
broadly transverse, very little wider behind than in front; sides
slightly rounded, apex feebly and widely emarginate, sides
narrowly margined and with traces of costpe. Scutellum very
small, widely transverse. Elytra about twice as long as head and
prothorax combined, not twice as long as wide; base truncate,
shoulders scarcely rounded, sides sul^parallel to near the apex.
Basal segment of abdomen with two oblique lines on each side,
both commencing at the middle of the base, the first straight and
terminating at the apex; the second curvilinear, terminating before
the apex. Legs rather short and flat; tibite dilating towards
apex; claw joint of posterior tarsi as long as the others combined.
Length 2|, width IJmm.
Uab. — Donnybrook, W.A.
Proportionately broader than any species known to me.
D E R ]M E S T I D .E.
Antheenus socius, n.sp.
Subparallel, subdepressed, shining. • Black; undersurface
piceous-black, margined v/itli dull red at the base and sides of the
prothorax, and at the apex of the abdominal segments (except
the apical), legs also dull red; club of antennae and palpi ferru-
ginous. Above covered with short blackish hair, very short on
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 229
the head, sparse on the prothorax (each hair rising from a
puncture), and rather dense and longest on elytra, on which also
there are a few very indistinct grey hairs on the basal two-thirds;
on the undersurface the pubescence is very short and greyish-
black. Above densely and not very minutely punctate, the
punctures strongest on elytra, sparsest on prothorax, and densest
on head; the whole surface covered with microscopic punctures,
m3st visible on scutellum; undersurface and femora densely and
shallowly punctate, punctures densest on prosternum.
Head rather dull, transverse, feebly transversely impressed
between the eyes and antennse, and with a very indistinct median
line; antennse short, immersed in prothorax to about the middle
of its sides, 1st and 2nd joints somewhat large, between the 2nd
and club the joints are very short and transverse; club slightly
longer than the rest of antennse, composed of three joints, of
which the 2nd is strongly transverse, it is about half the length of
the 3rd (which is scarcely transverse), the 1st is transverse.
Prothorax polished, strongly transverse, the sides narrowly
margined, feebly depressed along the base; anterior angles slightly
prominent, giving the apex a feebly emarginate appearance, which
otherwise would be truncate; base shallowly bisinuate. Scutellum
small, transverse, curvilinearly triangular. Elytra parallel-sided
to near the apex, about one and a half times as long as wide,
shoulders rounded, base feebly depressed on each side, suture
feebly depressed at apex. Prosternum with antennal grooves
broad, feebly strigose (to the naked eye appearing highly polished);
keel narrow, feebly carinate. Metasternum with a feeble impres.-
sion down its middle. Legs — especially the tarsi — slender-
Length 2i, width 1} (vix) mm.
II a b . — Syd ney .
I obtained my unique specimen under a stone in the nest of a
small black ant; there were numerous larvse and a few pupfB,
most of which I left, hoping to procure some additional imagines on
a future occasion.
230 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
EUCNEMID^.
Lycaon Mastersi, Macl. {Hemiopsida, MacL), Mast. Cat. Sp. No.
3308.
This species was described by Sir William Macleay as belong-
ing to the Elatbrid^. It certainly belongs to the genus Lycaon,
and is, I think, the species described by Bonvouloir as L. novus.
D A S C I L L I D ^.
Helodes scalaris, n.sp.
Subdepressed, shining. Above piceous-black, undersurface
piceous-red. Above densely clothed with short ashen pubescence,
densest on the head; on the undersurface .the pubescence is very
short. Densely and minutely punctate all over.
Head broad, flat, several shallow irregular impressions in the
middle; eyes large, prominent, finely faceted; antennae flattened,
reaching posterior coxae, 1st joint large, thick, 2nd very small, 3rd
longest of all, 4th-10th gradually decreasing in length, 11th
slightly longer than 10th. Prothorax about three times as broad
as long, narrowly margined all round, widely emarginate in front,
the middle scarcely lobed; base feebly bisinuate; anterior angles
scarcely reaching the middle of the e3^es. Scutellum triangular,
flat, its sides straight. Elytra at base slightly broader than
prothorax, scarcely widening to middle, and then as gradually
decreasing to near apex, narrowly margined; four cost?e on each
elytron— running from near base to near ajDex, the lateral one
shortest and least distinct. Abdominal segments (except apical)
with a shallow fovea on each side. Tibiae grooved outwardly, the
sides minutely serrate. Length 11, width 7 mm.
//a6._Galston, KS.W. (Mr. D. Dumbrell).
The above is the description of my largest specimen; I have
two others which are much smaller, the smallest measuring 7 x
4 mm. ; it differs also in being more shining, paler beneath; in the
antennae which are much longer (reaching apex of abdomen), and
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 231
having the apical joint fully as long if not longer than the third,
the head and abdominal segments without impressions. Mr.
Dumbrell informs me that he captured the three specimens
whilst crawling out of the same burning log.
Malacodermid^.
Selenurus granulatus, n.sp.
^. Elongate, shining, depressed. Testaceous-red; head with a
small oblique brown marking close to eyes, palpi black, basal
joints of antennas more or less diluted with red, the rest black;
prothorax with the apical third black — except on a slight inter-
ruption in the middle; elytra coppery green; tip of femora, apical
half of tibia; and the tarsi black; abdomen with the segments
having on the undersurface black markings at the sides, the
apical only entirely black, on the upper surface there is in addition
a black macula in the middle of each ; eyes dark brown. Covered
all over — densest on elytra — with short white pubescence; the
upper surface in addition with short black setiform hairs — most
noticeable on prothorax. Minutely punctate all over.
Head feebly transverse; eyes moderate, not very prominent ;
antennas slender, reaching or slightly passing posterior coxae. Pro-
thorax feebly transverse; wider than head, not much wider at
apex than at base; irregularly and shallowly depressed ; base
margined, sides feebly reflexed. Elytra not twice as long as head
and prothorax combined, each somewhat wedge-shaped; the whole
surface densely covered with small, shining, rounded elevations,
giving it an embossed appearance. Legs moderately long, femora
thickened, posterior tibiaa bent. Length to apex of elytra 5 J, of
abdomen 6 J; width limm.
^. Differs in being larger, broaden, head narrower, with shorter
antennae; the black of prothorax appearing as lateral maculae; the
disk smoother, &c. Length to apex of elytra 6, of abdomen 7f ;
width 1^ mm.
Hab. — Bunbury, West Australia.
232 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
I have beaten numerous specimens into the umbrella from
several dwarf Kncalypts growing almost on the sea-l^each; for a
long time, even on hot days, they feign death, rolling up the
abdomen, tucking in the antennae, and then lying on their sides.
Selbnurus tricolor, n.sp.
,;3 . Elongate, feebly shining, depressed. Head black, sides im-
mediately in front of the eyes testaceous; prothorax testaceous, a
large black blotch — occupying most of the upper surface — irregu-
larly W-shaped ; scutellum black ; elytra dark bluish-green ;
abdomen testaceous, the lower surface having the 1st segment
immaculate, 2nd with a small spot on each side, 3rd with the
middle of base, 4th with entire base, the 5th (except apex) and
the entire 6th and 7th black, the markings on the upper surface
are somewhat different, there being more black towards the sides;
meso-, and metasternum, except sides, legs and antennae black; base
of coxpe testaceous. Clothed all over — sparsest in the middle of
meso- and metasternum — with short pale pubescence. Very
minutely punctate all over, except on the elytra where they are
dense, rugose, and shallow, but obliterated at apex.
Head not much longer than wide; eyes rather large and promi-
nent; antennae slender, reaching posterior coxa3; 1st joint as long
as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd very short, 4th as long as 1st, 4th-llth
equal or very slightly diminishing to apex. Prothorax the width of
head ; irregularly depressed ; strongly rounded in front, sides
constricted near base, base feebly sinuate. Scutellum small,
truncate, a shallow depression in its middle. Elytra not one and
a half times the width of prothorax ac base, and about one and a
half times the length of head and prothorax combined; each
wedge-shaped ; margins and suture thickened — especially towards
apex; with traces of costie (visible to the naked eye, but much
confused with a Coddington lens). Penultimate segment of
abdomen widely emarginate. Legs long and thin. Length to
apex of elytra 6, of abdomen 8|; width If mm.
ZTa^.— Blackheath, N.S.W. (Mr. G. Masters).
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 233
One specimen has much less black about the abdomen and
sterna, and there is a small testaceous macula situated near the
apex of, and common to both elytra. The species comes closest
to *S'. variegatus, which Mr. Masters also captured in considerable
able numbers.
Heteromastix bicolor, Bohem.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3389.
Of this species onl}^ the male has been described. I have several
pairs obtained in copula. The female differs in having the antenna?
less thick, the tenth joint similar in shape to the ninth, and in the
apical joints being piceous, only the first three or four joints being
reddish-testaceous.
Heteromastix gagaticeps, n.sp.
$. Oblong, shining, subdepressed. Black; pro thorax, mandi-
bles, ti]3 of femora, basal fourth of posterior, basal two-fifths of
intermediate, and almost the entire anterior tibi£e testaceous;
antennae with the three basal joints — and the fourth beneath —
testaceous, the others black; palpi and tarsi piceous; claws
reddish; eyes blackish-brown. Head and prothorax sparsely
clothed with short yellowish pubescence, that on the head very
short; elytra more densely clothed with short sub-erect pubes-
cence; on the undersurface it is yellowish-grey and rather dense
(sparsest on abdominal segments). Head and prothorax minutely,
elytra densely, shallowly, and somewhat rugosely punctate, punc-
tures almost obliterated at base; undersurface and legs densely
and minutely punctate.
Head transverse, a shallow transverse impression on each side
between the eyes; eyes large, prominent; antennae inserted equi-
distant from each other and from the middle of the eyes, reaching
posterior coxae, joints rather thick, 1st as long as 3rd-4th com-
bined, 2nd about half as long as 3rd, 3rd-9th obconic, subequal or
very gradually diminishing, 10 th stouter, its apex obliquely
truncate, 11th as long as 9th-10th combined, somewhat dumb-
bell shaped, apex pointed. Prothorax broadly transverse, slightly
widest near the apex; apex truncate, base somewhat rounded; all
234 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
the angles rounded; margins narrowly reflexed. Scutellum small,
curvilinear ly triangular. Elytra parallel-sided almost to extreme
apex, shoulders feebly rounded; more than twice as long as head
and prothorax combined; in certain lights with feeble traces of
costse. Penultimate segment of abdomen deeply and narrowly
excised. Legs compressed, moderately long, anterior tibiae some-
what bent, penultimate joint of tarsi deeply cleft, in the anterior
the lobes widely diverging. Length 5 J, width IJmm.
9. Differs in being slightly broader, in having shorter and
simple antennae, lobes to penultimate joint of anterior tarsi not
widely divergent; the colour is the same, except the amount of
paleness of the four posterior tibiae.
^^5._Syclney, Galston, Clifton, N.S.W.
From the description of H. dilaticollis, the present species
appears to differ in the colour of the legs, and in the dilatation of
the prothorax.
Heteromastix McDonaldi, n.sp.
^. Oblong, shining, subdepressed. Black; prothorax clear
testaceous, first two joints of antennae testaceous beneath, piceous
above; mandibles dull red; palpi testaceous, apical joint piceous;
anterior legs with the apex of femora and the base of tibiae
obscure red. Head almost glabrous; prothorax sjDaringly pubes-
cent; elytra moderately densely clothed with short semi-upright
ashen pubescence; on the undersurface the pubescence is darker
than on the elytra and very short, except at apex of abdomen.
Head strongly punctate, the punctures as deep but not quite as
wide at the base as in the middle, almost obliterated at apex;
undersurface and legs densely and minutely punctate.
Head transverse, an irregular impression and a feeble carina
between the eyes; eyes rather small, prominent; antennae inserted
equidistant from each other and from the middle of the eyes,
reaching the middle of elytra, 1st joint not as long as 2nd-3rd
combined, 2nd more than half the length of 3rd, 3rd-8th obconic,
subequal, 9th suboval, broader and nearly as long as 7th-8th
combined, emarginate at its outward apex, 10th slightly longer
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 235
and narrower than 8th, 11th elongate-ovate, about one and a half
times as long as 10th, Prothorax transverse; apex truncate, base
rounded; anterior angles scarcely, posterior moderately strongly
rounded; sides sul^parallel; margins narrowly reflexed; median line
feebl}^ traceal)le. Scutellum small, depressed in the middle,
truncate at apex. Elytra about two and a half times as long as
head and prothorax combined; parallel-sided almost to extreme
apex, shoulders feebly rounded; without traces of cost?e. Penul-
tima,te segment of abdomen semicircularly excised. Legs slender,
tibise straight, penultimate joint of tarsi deeply cleft, in the
anterior the lobes widel}- diverging. Length 4|^, width IJmm.
^a6.— Armidale, N.S.W. (Mr. D. McDonald).
Heteromastix mirabilis, n.sp.
J". Oblong, shining, subdepressed. Black; head, prothorax and
scutellum clear testaceous, antennae with the entire basal and the
second joint beneath testaceous, palpi piceous; anterior legs
testaceous, apex of tibiae infuscate, tarsi piceous; four posterior
legs piceous, their cox^e and trochantins obscure testaceous. Head
glabrous, prothorax almost so; elytra moderately densely clothed
with ashen suberect pubescence; undersurface and legs with
shorter, denser and paler pubescence than on elytra. Head and
prothorax highly polished and microscopically punctate; elytra
very shallowly and obsoletely punctate, especially at base and
apex; undersurface and the legs densely and minutely punctate.
Head almost as long as the width across eyes, shallowlj^ im-
pressed between them; eyes rather small, prominent, and quite
round; antenna? short, thick, reaching intermediate coxae; the
distance between them greater than that between them and the
middle of the eyes, 1st joint as long or slightly longer than 2nd
3rd combined, 2nd about two-thirds the length of 3rd, 3rd one
and a half times longer than 4th, 4th-6th subequal, 6th slightly
transverse, 7th-10th obliquely transverse, all of them different in
shape, 10th large, rounded on its outer and hollowed on its inner
apex, 11th large, flattened, base oblique, its outer edge rounded,
and about half as long as the inner (which is constricted in the
236
NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA.
middle), hollowed internally, its extreme length equal to that of
the three preceding joints. Prothorax broadly transverse, about
as long as the head; apex truncate, base rounded; angles obliquely
rounded; widest and somewhat angularly produced near the apex;
lateral margins rather broadly reflexed, the others narrowly;
median line feebly traceable at base. Scutellum triangular,
almost concealed by the overlapping prothorax. Elytra parallel-
sided almost to extreme apex, not two and a half times as long
as head and prothorax combined; shoulders feebly rounded, each
with, traces of about three costaj. Penultimate segment of abdo-
men deeply and semicircular 1}^ excised. Legs slender, anterior
tibiae very feebly bent, lobes of penultimate joint of anterior tarsi
widely diverging. Length 4 J, width IJmm.
Hab. — Barron Falls, North Queensland (Mr. Albert Koebele).
The extraordinary antennae of this species will at once dis-
tinguish it from any of its congeners.
Heteromastix crassicornis, n.sp.
^. Black; prothorax, muzzle and undersurface of head, under-
surface of basal two- thirds of antenna?, and the entire basal joint,
anterior legs, except tarsi, intermediate trochantins, apical half
of femora, basal half of tibite, and posterior knees, testaceous;
rest of the legs piceous-black or brown; eyes dark brown. Elj'-tra,
sterna, and abdomen moderately densely clothed with short
greyish pubescence. Elytra densely, minutely, and obsoletely
punctate, meso- and metasternum minutely but visibly punctate.
Head — excluding mandibles — widely transverse, eyes rather
large and prominent; antennae thick, increasing to apex, reaching
posterior coxn?, Lst joint slightly longer than 2nd-3rd combined,
2nd about half the length of 3rd, 3rd slightly longer than 4th,
4th-9th subequal, lOth-llth very large and thick, their combined
length equal to 4th-9th combined, closely joined, 10th excavated
beneath for the reception of the base of the 11th, 11th with
depressions at its base above and on the sides, its upper edge as
long as 10th, its lower twice as long. Prothorax about twice as
wide as long, sides and Imse narrowly reflexed, sides feebly pro-
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 237
ducecl near the middle. Elytra parallel-sided or very slightly
increasing almost to apex, about twice as long as head and
prothorax combined, in some lights with very feeble traces of
costse. Apex of penultimate segment triangularl}- excised. Tibije
straight. Length 4 J, width IJmm.
9. Differs in being less robust, v/ith shorter, thinner and simple
antennae, and in being dingier in appearance.
Hah. — Cairns, N. Queensland (Macleay Museum).
Helcogastbr foveiceps, n.sp.
^. Depressed, suboblong, shining. Black; head (except sides
behind the eyes, extreme base, and the middle of the base beneath),
antennae (except joints 4th-7th), prothorax, apical third of four
anterior and tip of posterior tibia?, reddish-testaceous; four
posterior tibiae and tarsi piceous, anterior somewhat paler; eyes
dark brown. Head moderately densely and shallowly punctate,
prothorax more feebly; elytra, abdomen, and undersurface obso-
letely punctate. Above with sparse greyish hairs, a few at the
base of the head, short on prothorax, longest on elytra and sides
of abdomen; undersurface with moderately long straggling hairs,
densest on abdominal segments; tibiae moderately densely clothed
with whitish pubescence.
Head transversely suboblong; two wide impressions occupying
most of upper surface, separated in front by an irregular elevation
(which Yy-hen looked at from behind appears three-pointed), a fovea
on each side behind it; eyes moderate, lateral, scarcely prominent;
antenna? scarcely reaching posteriar coxae, inserted almost at apex,
equidistant at their bases with the middle of the eyes, 1st joint
scarcely as long as 2nd-3rd combined; 2nd scarcely shorter than
3rd, 3rd-10th subequal, 11th not as long as 9th-10th combined.
Prothorax transverse, scarcely as wide as head; apex truncate,
base rounded, sides widest in front; anterior angles scarcely,
posterior moderately rounded; median line feebly traceable, a
transverse impression at base. Scutellum almost concealed by
prothorax. Elytra about one and a quarter times as long as head
238 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
and prothorax combined, slightly wider than head and consider-
ably wider than prothorax at base; shoulders feebly rounded, sides
gradually widening to near the apex, ajDex almost truncate. Legs
slender, tibia? straight, first joint of anterior tarsi large, and con-
cealing the second. Length to apex of elytra 1 J, of abdomen 2|;
width I mm.
9. Differs in having only the muzzle, four basal joints of
antennae and the knees reddish-testaceous, anterior tibi?e piceous-
red. Head scarcely transverse, densely and strongly punctate,
with a number of shallow impressions; antennae shorter, prothorax
less transverse, basal impressions very shallow, median line
invisible, simple tarsi, &g.
Hah.— Sydney.
From the description of H. impressifrons (of which the male
only is described) the male of the present species differs in the
colour of the palpi, in having more joints of the antennae reddish,
in the colour of the elytra, and in several structural details. I
have a specimen in which the elytra have an indistinct greenish
tinge. I have a pair obtained in cojnda, so can be certain
of the sexes; there are several species in which both male and
female strongly resemble the female of the above.
Helcogastbr gagatinus, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, flat, shining. Black; basal third of antennae and
anterior legs obscure testaceous. Above with sparse and rather
long black hairs. Almost impunctate.
Head about as Ions: as wide; two longitudinal foveae commenc-
ing on a level with the middle of the eyes, approximating and
becoming shallower in front; foveae of undersurface moderatel}''
large, almost united ; antennae rather thin, scarcely reaching inter-
mediate femora. Prothorax about as long as wide, narrower than
head; almost without impressions at base; base narrowly margined.
Elytra longer than head and prothorax combined, slightly wider
than head, sides subparallel, apex conjointly feebly rounded.
Basal joint of anterior tarsi large, a curved comb on its inner
edge. Length to apex of elytra 1|, of abdomen 2 J; width i mm.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 239
9. Differs in being broader (especially the abdomen), with only
the base of the antennae testaceous, the head with several very
shallow indistinct impressions in front. Length to apex of elytra
li, of abdomen 3|; width J mm.
Hah. — Galston, S3^dney, Forest Reefs.
I can be certain of the sexes of this species, having three pairs
beaten from the same bush at Galston.
HelcocxASTer ruficornis, n.sp.
J. Elongate, flat, shining. Black; elytra piceous black; head,
except basal half of upper surface, antenna?, apex of prothorax, and
knees, obscure reddish-testaceous. Elytra sjDarsel}^ pubescent, rest
of the surface almost glabrous. Almost impunctate.
Head strongly rounded, transverse; depressed in front; an
excavation between the eyes, triangularly ojDen behind almost to
base; seen from in front with four very feeble tubercles; fovese of
undersurface moderately large; antennie scarcely reaching inter-
mediate cox*, equal in thickness throughout. Prothorax decidedly
transverse, as wide as head, apex truncate; a feeble impression at
base; middle of apex slightly raised. Elytra not much longer
than head and prothorax combined, at base wider than head,
gradually increasing to apex; each feebly separately rounded.
Basal joint of anterior tarsi moderately large, a curved comb on
its inner edge. Length to apex of elytra If, of abdomen 2|;
width I mm.
Hah. — Sydney.
I undoubtedl}^ possess females of both this and the following
species, ])ut cannot satisfy myself as to their identity, as they are
equally common. The present species differs from the preceding
in being less parallel, in its differently coloured head and antennse;
and also b}^ the impressions of the head; from the following it
differs in the colour of the prothorax, and in its more rounded
head, with somewhat different impressions.
Helcogaster canaliculatus, n.sp.
^. Elongate, flat, shining. Black, muzzle testaceous; knees
obscurely brownish-testaceous; antennie obscure testaceous-brown.
240 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
the basal and apical joints lighter; eyes dark brown. Elytra
sparsely pubescent, rest of the body almost glabrous. Almost
impunctate.
Head decidedly transverse, depressed in front; a canal extending
almost from base to apex, its sides in the middle marked by a small
tubercle; seen from in front with four feeble tubercles; fovea? of
undersurface small, and rather widely separated; antennse passing
intermediate cox?e, equal in thickness throughout. Pro thorax
decidedly transverse, scarcely the width of head, apex truncate;
a feeble impression at base; middle of apex slightly raised. Elytra
not much longer than head and pro thorax combined, at base
slightly wider than head, gradually increasing to apex; each feebly
separately rounded. Basal joint of anterior tarsi not very large.
Length to apex of elytra IJ, of abdomen 2h; width 1 mm.
ffab.—l^ew South Wales.
Helcogaster marginicollis, n.sp.
(J. Depressed, suboblong, shining. Plead black, all around the
centre obscure red; undersurface and palpi testaceous, mouth parts
black; antennae black, four basal joints testaceous; prothorax
reddish-testaceous, the sides in the middle piceous; elytra piceous,
an oblique pale stripe extending from the shoulders to the suture
at less than half its length; abdomen black; four posterior legs
piceous, their femora diluted with testaceous, anterior tibiae and
apex of femora testaceous. Head with short sparse greyish
pubescence, and with a few straggling hairs; prothorax on the
disk with a few short pale hairs, the sides and front with long
straggling blackish hairs; elytra with sparse moderatel}^ long hairs,
a few long ones at the sides in front; abdomen more densely
clothed with blackish hairs, longest at the sides and apex; meso-
and metasternum with sparse greyish hairs; tibia? densely pubes-
cent. Head densely and minutely, rest of the body obsoletely
punctate.
Head subquadrate; a deep circular impression in its middle,
which is interrupted in front by a two-horned elevation (the horns
short, posterior longer); eyes small, scarcely prominent, in the
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 241
exact middle of the sides; antennae inserted close to apex, equi-
distant at their bases with the front of the eyes, 1st joint slightly
longer than 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd a trifle longer than 3rd, 3rd-
10th subequal, 11th not quite as long as 9th-10th combined. Pro-
thorax sliglitly longer and narrower than head, subquadrate, base
and apex feebly rounded, angles scarcely rounded, sides parallel;
base narrowly margined. Scutellum small, broad. Elytra at base
slightly wider than head, not once and a quarter as long as
head and prothorax combined; shoulders rounded, sides gradually
widening and narrowly margined from about the basal fourth,
each separately rounded. Legs slender, posterior tibiti? feebly
bent, two short thin spurs at their apices, the other til^ias with
very short spurs. Length to apex of elytra H, of abdomen 2^;
width I mm.
9. Differs in having the head almost concolorous, with two
shallow impressions in front — a feeble carina separating them, —
and by having shorter antenna?.
Hah. — Galston (Dumbrell and Lea).
Helgogaster parallelus, n.sp.
9. Very elongate, subparallel, flat, shining. Black; base of
antennae and knees feel^ly diluted with red. Above and sides of
alxlomen with sparse and rather long black hairs. Almost im-
punctate.
Head longer than wide, feeljly depressed in the middle, a feeble
elevation on each side in front, feebly corrugated at base, sides
and undersurface ; fove?e of undersurface deep, longitudinal,
narrowest and approximating in front: antennae slender, reaching
posterior coxse. Prothorax distinctly longer than wide, scarcely
the width of head across eyes, feebly constricted towards base; a
broad and rather sudden impression near base. Elytra ver}^ little
longer than head and prothorax coml^ined, but distinctl}^ wider;
sides gradually increasing to apex, each feebly separately rounded.
Length to apex of elytra 2, of abdomen 3|; width 4 mm.
Hah. — King George's Sound, AV.A. (Mr. G. Masters).
242 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
I have but a single specimen which, though a female, I have
described, as its large size — in comparison with those species
possessing a black prothorax — should render it distinct.
Helcogaster concaviceps, n.sp.
^. Depressed, shining. Black; head (except at base), pro-
thorax, femora (except apex of posterior), and two basal joints of
antennae, red; elytra dark steel-blue (almost black); nine apical
joints of antennae, four posterior tibiae, all the tarsi, and the palpi,
piceous-black; trochantins rejidish-brown, their bases lighter,
posterior femora tipped with piceous, anterior tibiae reddish, their
bases darker; eyes dark brown. Head, prothorax, and elytra
with long blackish hairs at the sides, the latter with a few on the
disk, the last two with a few small hairs; abdomen with a few
longish hairs at the apex; above with sparse minute pubescence,
undersurface more sparsely still; meso- and metasternum with a
few short hairs, tibiae with minute whitish pubescence, and a few
straggling hairs. Head rather densely and minutely punctate;
prothorax minutely punctate, most noticeable at apex; elytra
irregularly, abdomen above minutely, undersurface more sparingly
punctate; meso-, metasternum and legs minutely but distinctly
punctate.
Head transverse; two wide and deep excavations between the
eyes, an indistinct carina separating them; eyes small, moderately
prominent; antennae slender, not reaching base of elytra, equi-
distant at their bases with the front of the eyes, 1st joint almost
as long as 2nd-4th combined, 11th one and a half times as long
as 10th. Prothorax longer than wide, apex slightly rounded,
base truncate, angles equally rounded, sides and base "^'ery
narrowly margined, sides subparallel; an indistinct longitudinal
impression on each side in front, and a broad transverse one at
the base. Scutellum almost concealed by the prothorax, the part
which is visible widely transverse. Elytra about as long as
head and prothorax combined, much wider than prothorax, and
wider than head across eyes, base truncate, shoulders square, the
sides dilating to about the basal fifth, each separately rounded.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 243
Basal segments of abdomen broad. Legs slender, tibia3 straight,
first tarsal joint large (externally minutely serrate), concealing
the second joint. Length to apex of elytra 2, of abdomen 3^;
width 4 mm.
^. Differs in being broader, prothorax transverse, the head
with less red, and less rugosely sculptured, posterior femora
piceous, intermediate reddish on apical half only, anterior tibia^
reddish-brown and with simple tarsi.
Hah.— Galston.
Helcogaster major, n.sp.
^^. Rather robust, shining, slightly convex, parallel-sided.
Reddish-testaceous, apical joints of antenna slightly infuscate;
four posterior coxa3 and base of posterior femora infuscate; meso-,
metasternum and abdomen black; elytra black, with a faint
coppery-blue tinge. Above with sparse and rather long black
hairs, undersurface with short sparse pubescence. Elytra densely,
minutely, and very shallowly punctate.
Head — excluding mandibles — transverse; anterior half deeply
excavated, the sides of the excavation near the eyes marked by a
raised tubercle, and in front and close to the antennae very s^lightly
raised, the head when viewed from behind appearing to possess
four short horns; feebly corrugated at base, sides and under-
surface; fovese of undersurface approximate, rather large, open
behind; antennae almost reaching apex of elj^tra, 2nd joint slightly
longer than 3rd, 5th-9th strongly serrate internally. Prothorax
strongly rounded, transverse, about the width of head, a feeble
depression at base and a still feebler interrupted one at apex.
Elytra not much longer than head and prothorax combined, at
base scarcely wider than head, very feebly increasing to apex,
each separately rounded. Basal joint of anterior tarsi large, a
black curved comb inwardly, a few sliort black set?e to posterior
tibiae. Length to apex of elytra 3 J, of abdomen b\; width Hmm.
9. Differs in being less robust, with simple antennae, and tarsi
more obscurely coloured; the head longer, much more shallowly
depressed, with two shallow fovea?, and without elevations.
Hah. — North West Australia (Macleay Museum).
Q
N..«»
244 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
There is in the Macleay Museum a male — also from the North-
West — which differs from the above (of which I have three males
under examination agreeing in all particulars) in having the
antennae, except base, the femora, except apex, and all the tarsi
brown; the antennae appear to be shorter, and the head less deeply
sculptured; possibly it is a distinct species, but at present I can
only regard it as a variety.
Helcogaster fuscitarsis, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, shining, depressed. Black; head, except base,
four basal joints of antennae and undersurface of 5th, apical half
of anterior and two-thirds of four posterior femora, tibiae, and
base of tarsi, testaceous; shoulders very feebly diluted with
testaceous. Above with sparse and moderately long blackish
hairs, elytra and abdomen with sparse short and obscure greyish
pubescence. Head and elytra densely, very minutely and obso-
letely punctate.
Head longer than wide; eyes moderately large; a deep and
somewhat circular excavation in front, commencing a little behind
the eyes, its sides from in front of the eyes marked by a slight
carina, which between the antennae is directed backward and
terminates in a feeble tubercle in the middle; base, sides and
undersurface feebty corrugated; foveae rather large, round, rough-
walled, approximate; antenme almost reaching posterior coxae,
feebly thickest in the middle, the two apical joints equal in
length. Prothorax a little longer than wide, not the width of
head; a broad shallow impression at base; base narrow^ mar-
gined. Elytra about one and a quarter times as long as head and
prothorax combined, at base decidedly wider than head, increasing
to apex, each separately rounded internally, and obliquely truncate
externally. Basal joint of anterior tarsi not very large. Length
to apex of elytra 21-. of abdomen 4; width 1 J mm.
Hah. — Sydney.
Helcogaster brachypterus, Bohem.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3441.
Only the male of this species has been described; the female
differs in having the head narrower and entirely black, the pro-
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 245
thorax smaller and less brightly coloured, knees more obscurely
coloured, antennae shorter and thinner; and the whole insect is
slenderer,
HeLCOG ASTER VARIUS, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, depressed, shining. Black; head, except at base
and a median line beneath, prothorax, the entire anterior, base of
four posterior tibiae, and tips of femora, reddish- testaceous; elytra
with the shoulders testaceous, the marking continued on the sides •
antennae piceous-black, four basal joints testaceous-red, the two
following not as dark as those following them; palpi and tips of
mandibles piceous, eyes dark brown. Head with short, rather
dense, blackish hairs, longest over excavations; prothorax and
el3^tra with a few long hairs, abdomen with sparse hairs, rather
long at sides and apex, meso- and metasternum with sparse short
hairs, tibiae rather densely pubescent. Head densely and shallowly
punctate, base feebly transversely strigose, jDrothorax and elytra
obsoletely punctate; scutellum minutely and distinctly punctate;
abdomen with sparse, moderately strong punctures; legs densely
and minutely punctate.
Head obliquely quadrate, with six excavations — three occupying
the space between the eyes, of which the central one is smallest,
the two outer being rounded, a large one in front, the sides of
which are sharply margined, a very small one on each side at its
base; eyes moderately large and prominent; antenna scarcely
reaching apex of elytra, equidistant at their bases with the apices
of mandibles and middle of eyes, 1st joint as long as 2nd-3rd
combined, 2nd-10th subequal, 11th about once and a half as
long as 10th. Prothorax longer than wide, and narrower than
head, apex truncate, base feebly rounded, angles almost equally
rounded, sides subparallel; a broad transverse impression at the
base, base narrowly margined. Scutellum small, broadly trans-
verse, apex truncate. Elytra about one and a quarter times as
long as head and prothorax combined, wider than head, shoulders
feebly rounded, sides gradually widening, and narrowly margined
from near the base, apex conjointly rounded, almost truncate
Legs moderate, posterior tibia? feebly bent, with two thin spurs at
246 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
their apices. Length to apex of elytra 2^, of abdomen 4 J; width
l|^mm.
9. Differs in having the head narrower and almost entirely-
black, a feeble carina separating two shallow impressions in front,
a shallow transversely carinate fovea behind it, antennae thinner,
legs with less red.
ffab. — Queanbeyan, Sydney, Clifton, Tamworth, Forest Eeefs,
N.S.W.
I have a male (from Sydney) which has the antennae piceous,
and with the five basal joints reddish; a female almost without
impressions on the head; another specimen (from Clifton) has the
elytra entirely black, the middle discal impression on the head
very feeble, and the two lateral ones larger than in the type, the
whole insect smaller in size (2 mm. to apex of elytra).
Var. PALLIDIPENNIS.
I have from Tamworth a number of specimens which agree
with the type except in having the elytra entirely testaceous, the
female with the posterior fovese scarcely traceal^le, and the male
with the excaA^ations slightly different. As, however, T have a
number of close intermediate forms I have thought it advisable
not to 2:ive them more than a varietal name.
Helcogaster tuberculatus, n.sp.
(^. Elongate, shining, depressed. Head reddish-testaceous,
apical two-thirds of antennae infuscate, prothorax reddish-
testaceous, the anterior half — except near the sides — black; elytra
black with — in some lights— a faint purplish reflection; abdomen
black; legs brownish-black, trochantins and base of femora more
or less reddish-testaceous; eyes dark green. A very few longish
hairs at the sides of prothorax and abdomen. Almost impunctate,
the elytra very obsoletely.
Head transA^erse; largely, deeply and transversely excavated,
with four distinct sinuosities; in front with a distinctly raised
tubercle, flat on its anterior, feebly divided on its posterior edge,
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 247
a small tubercle in the exact centre of the head; foYe?e of under-
surface moderately large, appro xmiate, rough-walled; antenna3
slender, reaching intermediate coxae. Prothorax slightly longer
than wide, not the width of head across eyes; somewhat mortar-
shaped; convex in front; a broad and rather deep impression at
base. Elytra no longer than head and prothorax combined, sides
parallel, base and apex parallel. Basal joint of anterior tarsi not
very large. Length to apex of elytra 21, of abdomen 4; width
4 mm.
o
Hah. — Sydney.
A very peculiar species, abundantly distinct from any here
described. I have another species somewhat resembling it but much
narrower, and having eyes which, when wet, are of a most
brilliant emerald green ; unfortunately it has lost its elytra, so I
refrain from describing it.
Carphurus CRIST atifroxs, Fairm., Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3421.
Onl}'^ the male of this species has been described; the female
differs in being broader, without elytral armature, the head much
smoother and with slenderer antenme.
I have specimens from Galston.
Carphurus Blackburni, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, shining, depressed. Black; elytra with an obscure
purplish reflection; muzzle, two basal joints of antennae, prothorax,
apex of elytra, apex of penultimate abdominal segment, anterior
tibiae, the four posterior more obscure, reddish-testaceous.
Clothed all over — densest on abdomen, sparsest on sterna — with
long blackish hairs. Head near the eyes rather strongly punctate;
prothorax sparsely and minutely, elytra densely, not very minutely
and obsoletely punctate; undersurface indistinctly punctate.
Head much longer than wide ; eyes small, prominent, the sides
rapidly decreasing in width behind them; a small fovea on each
side in front; a short ridge behind them, obliquely behind them is
a shallow depression, a very narrow impression between the eyes
terminating at the ridge; antennae reaching posterior coxae, 1st
248 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
joint longer than 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd not much shorter than
3rd, 3rd-10th subequal, serrate internally, 11th scarcely once and
a half as long as 10th; base and sides finely corrugated; fovete
of undersurface moderate in size, almost connected, walls feebly
wrinkled. Prothorax oblong, as wide as head (excluding eyes),
angles slightly rounded ; a broad shallow impression at base, and
a shallower interrupted one at apex. Sides of elytra emarginate
at a third from the apex, at the posterior end of this emargination
a short stalk — carrying a small globule — projects outwards and a
little forwards; this globule is somewhat different in colour to the
apex; each separately rounded. Anterior tarsi with basal joint
small, not much longer than second. Length to apex of elytra 3,
of abdomen 4 J; width l^-mm.
9. Differs in having the elytra simple, shorter and thinner
antennae, and smaller head.
Hah. — Adelaide (Messrs. Blackburn and Masters); Mt. Lofty,
S.A. (Lea).
The colour of this species is very distinct from either of its
armed congeners.
Carphurus carinaticeps, n.sp.
^. Elongate, shining, depressed. Black; prothorax with a
faint purplish reflection and indistinctly diluted with brown; basal
third of antennae and prothorax dull red; undersurface of head,
knees, and apices of coxae obscure red. Above with a few long
blackish hairs, undersurface almost glabrous. Head densely,
minutely but distinctly punctate; the prothorax and el3^tra sparsely
and obsoletely, flanks of meso- and metasternum minutely,
abdomen indistinctly punctate.
Head strongly transverse, with three distinct longitudinal
carinse — one on each side directly behind antennae and close to the
eyes, the third in the middle — commencing at the clypeus and
terminating slightly before the others, from some directions all of
them appear to be double; antennae short, reaching posterior coxae,
1st joint as long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd-10th subequal, 2nd sub-
cylindric, 3rd-10th broadly obconic, 11th acuminate, as long as
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 249
9th- 10th combined; corrugate at the sides; fovea3 of undersurface
almost connected. Prothorax decidedly longer than wide, at its
widest the width of the head (excluding eyes); angles rounded, a
distinct and rather wide transverse impression at base, none at apex;
base narrowly margined. Elytra strongly dilating towards apex,
where the width is not much less than their length, each almost
obliquely truncate. Length to apex of elytra 2, of abdomen 3;
width 1^ mm.
Hab. — Sydney.
A small species, which should be easily recognised by the
carinate head.
Carphurus impunctatus, n.sp.
9. Elongate, subparallel, shining, strongly depressed. Head
and prothorax reddish, with obscure brownish blotches — -in the
former towards the sides, in the latter on apical half; antennae
reddish, apical third infuscate; elytra black, the basal fourth
testaceous, the two colours distinctly separated; abdomen black,
base and margins of the second segments reddish; legs brownish-
black, tarsi testaceous; undersurface of coxa?, of anterior portion
of intermediate, and base of posterior femora, diluted with testa-
ceous. Sparsely clothed with not very long blackish hair, under-
surface almost glabrous. Head with a few small punctures, none
visible elsewhere.
Head slightly convex, rounded, very slightly longer than wide;
an impression commencing almost at base, continuous almost to
middle, and then becoming circular, the circle enclosing a low
elevation (invisible from some, and appearing tuberculate from
other directions) ; antennae slender, subcylindrical, almost reaching
apex of el3^tra, 1st joint slightly longer than 2nd-3rd combined,
2nd not much shorter than 3rd, 3rd-5th gradually, 6th-10th per-
ceptibly increasing in length, 11th once and a half as long as
10th; fovese of undersurface deep, smooth- walled, almost connected.
Prothorax mortar-shaped, much longer than wide, wider than head,
truncate at base and apex; anterior two-thirds strongly convex;
base with a deep and wide impression, no trace of one at apex.
250 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
Elytra about as long as head and prothorax combined, about one
and a half times as long as the width at base, each feebly
separately rounded (almost truncate), shoulders very feebly
rounded. Length to apex of elytra 2^, of abdomen 5^; width
1 mm.
Bab.— Forest Reefs, N.S.W.
A very distinct species, unlike any other known to me; it
should perhaps constitute the type of a new genus.
Carphurus fasciipennis, Fairm., Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3426.
This is a somewhat common species in Northern Queensland.
The elytral fascia is subject to considerable variation; some speci-
mens have it occupying almost the entire surface, in others it is
small, appearing as a dark sutural macula, and in others again it
is entirely obsolete. Some specimens are twice as large as others.
Carphurus angustatus, n.sp.
9. Very narrow, parallel-sided, depressed, feebly shining.
Black; first three antennal joints beneath, palpi (excej)t apical
joint), a semicircle at base of undersurface of head, and pro-
thorax, red; elytra dark green (in some lights with an obscure
purplish reflection); base of cox?e diluted with red. Covered all
over with long blackish hair, and — except on prothorax — with short
pale pubescence. Head densely — especially at sides — and minutely
punctate; prothorax sparsely and obsoletely, the elytra densely,
not ver}^ strongly, and somewhat rugosely punctate; sides of meso-
and metasternum distinctly but minutely, the abdomen very
minutely punctate.
Head longer than wide; eyes small, moderately prominent; a
depression on each side forming an oblique ridge behind the base
of the antenna?, a very shallow impression on the disk (from
behind appearing as a small fovea); antennae slender, almost
reaching apex of elytra, joints cylindrical, 1st fully as long as 2nd-
3rd combined, 2nd distinctly shorter than 3rd, 3rd-10th gradually
increasing in length, 11th acuminate, scarcely one and a half
times as long as 10th; base and sides feebly corrugated; fovea? of
BY ARTHUR M. LEA.
251
undersurface deep, their sides slightly wrinkled. Pro thorax
strongly rounded, decidedly longer than wide, wider than head; a
feeble impression at base, and a still feebler interrupted one at
apex ; base narrowly margined and feel^ly sinuate. Elytra
gradually dilating towards apex, each feebly separately rounded.
Length to apex of elytra 3 J, of abdomen 6f; width l^mm.
Hah. — Tam worth.
A very narrow species, in colour strongly resembling C. cyanop-
terus, but the width of that species at once separates them.
Carphurus alterniventris, Fairm., Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3412.
I have a pair (obtained in copula) of this species from the
Tweed River. The male has the elytra conoolorous, whilst in
the female they are diluted with red along the base and basal
margin; the head in the latter is without markings, while in the
former there is a distinct black blotch connecting the eyes.
Carphurus basiventris, n.sp.
9. Elongate, shining, depressed. Head, basal joint of antennae
and undersurface of two following, prothorax, extreme tip of
femora, tibia?, and basal joint of tarsi, reddish-testaceous ; elytra
very dark purple; abdomen with the basal segment, apex of second,
apical, and base of penultimate, diluted with. red. Above and
the legs covered with long black hair, densest and shortest on
elytra; sterna with very indistinct pubescence. Head rather
densely, irregularly and minutely, prothorax sparseh' and minutely
punctate; elytra densely and strongly punctate, at the base less
strongly than elsewhere; undersurface very indistinctly punctate.
Head much longer than wide; eyes small, prominent; a broad
and very shallow depression on each side between eyes; mandibles
prominent; antennae scarcely passing base of prothorax, the joints
flat, 1st slightly longer than 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd scarcely the
length of 3rd, 3rd-10th subequal, 4th-10th serrate inwardly, 11th
not one and a half times as long as 10th; corrugated at base,
sides and undersurface; fovese small, open behind, the space behind
them distinctly corrugated. Prothorax a trifle longer than wide,
252 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
scarcely if at all wider than head, apex strongl}^ rounded, base
truncate and narrowly margined its entire length; a broad shallow
impression at base and traces of another at apex. Elytra almost
parallel-sided, each feebly separately rounded. Length to apex of
el3'i:ra 4 J, of abdomen 7; width IJ nim.
Hah. — ^Como, near Sydney.
Very similar in shape to C. alterniventris and, except for the
ventral segments, similar in colour; there are several other feeble
distinctions.
Carphurus longicollis, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, shining, depressed. Black; prothorax with a faint
purplish reflection, head (except eyes, apex and cutting edges of
mandibles, and a brownish blotch on the undersurface), three first
joints of antennae, prothorax, and two apical segments of abdomen,
red. Covered all over — sparsest on head, densest towards apex of
abdomen — with long blackish hairs; elytra and sterna at the
sides with obscure, sparse, pale and rather short pubescence.
Head and prothorax with sparse minute punctures; elytra densely,
minutely and obsoletely punctate ; undersurface indistinctly
punctate.
Head much longer than wide; eyes small, prominent; the width
across them much greater than at base; a shallow depression on
each side behind the antennae; mandibles rather prominent;
antennae rather flat, passing intermediate coxae; 1st joint slender,
arcuate, a trifle longer than 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd subglobular,
not quite the length of 3rd, 3rd-10th broad, subequal, 11th very
little longer than and not quite the length of 10th; feebly corru-
gated at base, sides and undersurface; foveae rather small and
rough-walled. Prothorax much longer than wide, as long as head,
and at its widest slightly more than head across eyes, widest near
apex, angles rounded; a distinct and rather deep impression at
base, and a shallower interrupted one at apex; base narrowly
margined. Elytra rather strongly dilating towards apex, not
more than one and a quarter times as long as the width at apex,
each obliquely truncate. Anterior tarsi with basal joint narrow,
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 253
as long as three following combined. Length to ajDex of elytra
3Jj of abdomen 5|; width l|^mm.
9. Differs in being somewhat dingier, with slenderer antennu3
and narrower elytra.
Hah. — Gosford, Sydney, Galston.
Yery similar in colour to the preceding, differing in having
narrower ventral segments, and in the colour of the two apical
ones; it is besides much smaller in size.
Carphurus latipennis, n.sp.
(J. Rather broad, slightly convex, shining. Head black; muzzle
testaceous, antennae black, four basal joints and undersurface of
fifth testaceous; prothorax reddish-testaceous; scutellum black;
elytra dark coppery green; abdominal segments black, narrowly
margined — except apical — with testaceous; legs testaceous, four
posterior cox^e and trochantins blackish, femora with more or less
black, the intermediate almost encircled near apex. Covered all
over — densest on abdomen — with long blackish hair, elytra and
sterna in addition with rather short whitish pubescence. Head,
prothorax and scutellum sparsely and minutely, elytra densely,
equally and rugosely punctate; flanks of meso- and metasternum
distinctly but minutely, abdomen very minutely punctate.
Head large, strongly transverse (excluding the mandibles);
eyes large, not at all prominent, the sides behind them almost
parallel; a semicircular impression between the eyes, the horns of
which terminate close to the clypeus and bases of antennse; near
the base a very shallow impression (invisible from some direc-
tions); antenna3 slender, reaching intermediate cox?e, joints sub-
cylindric, gradually narrowing, 1st as long as 2nd-3rd combined,
2nd not as long as 3rd, 3rd-7th subequal, 8th-llth perceptibly
increasing in length; undersurface of head faintly corrugated; two
small elongate fove^e in the middle, the space between them dis-
tinctly corrugated. Prothorax slightly longer than wide, sub-
quadrate, angles feebly rounded, wider than head across eyes;
a shallow irregular impression at base, traces of another at apex;
apex distinctly emarginate, base feebly margined and very feebly
254 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
sinuate. Elytra subparallel for a third of their length, then
dilating towards apex, each feebly rounded towards suture —
stronger outwardly. Tibiae with blackish setae at their apices;
anterior tarsi w^ith basal joint as long as three following combined,
and with a black comb inwardly. Length to apex of elytra 6, of
abdomen 9|; width 2| mm.
Hah.— Forest Reefs.
I have another specimen — also a male — which has the anterior
edge of prothorax entire, but I can find no other difference.
Carphurus testaceipes, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, shining, depressed. Head, prothorax and legs
clear testaceous; part of the 1st joint of anterior tarsi and posterior
trochantins blackish; elytra blackish, with a coppery-green
reflection; scutellum, meso- and metasternum black; abdomen
black, the basal segments margined; apical half of the antepen-
ultimate, and the two apical, red. Covered all over —sparsest on
head and sterna — with long blackish hair, a few long hairs at
base of 1st antennal joint; elytra with rather dense whitish
pubescence, very sparse on meso- and metasternum. Head and
prothorax with sparse minute punctures; on the elytra they are
stronger, denser and somewhat rugose; flanks of meso- and
metasternum minutely, the abdominal segments very minutely
punctate.
Head with feeble corrugations at base and sides, longer than
wdde; eyes small, not very prominent; antenna3 rather thick,
passing intermediate coxae, 1st joint large, thick, feebly emargi-
nate on its upper and slightly inflated on its lower edge, as long as
2nd-4th combined, 2nd equal in length to 4th, and slightly longer
than 3rd, 6th-llth perceptibly increasing in length, 6th-8th
rather broad, 9th-llth almost cylindric; a depression on each side
behind antennae, feebly connected posteriorly, a low broad ridge
—behind which is a small fovea — separating them; undersurface
with two shallow transverse impressions, the longest extending
between eyes, the other a short distance behind it. Prothorax
strongly rounded, about as long as wide, as wide as head; a broad
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 255
shallow impression at base, and a shallow interrupted one at apex;
base narrowly margined. Elytra almost parallel-sided, each
separately rounded. Anterior tarsi with basal joint as long as
the three following combined, and having a black comb inwardly.
Length to apex of elytra 4, of abdomen 6^; width 14 mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs.
Possibly the male of C. cyciJiipennis, of which I have seen but
females (five specimens). The antenna entirely testaceous, and the
very large and abnormally shaped basal joint render this species
peculiarly distinct.
Carphurus lepidus, n.sp.
^. Elongate, shining, depressed. Head, two basal joints of
antennae, prothorax, base of elytra, anterior legs (apex of tibiae
and tarsi infuscate), and intermediate coxae, testaceous; apical
three-fifths of elytra purplish-black, the basal portion a little
paler than prothorax; meso- and metasternum black; abdomen
testaceous, the two apical segments black; intermediate trochan-
tins and knees, posterior trochantins and basal half of tibiae,
diluted with testaceous. Covered all over with long thin blackish
hair (sparsest on head, prothorax and elytra); elytra and sides of
meso- and metasternum — to a less extent — with sparse, short, pale
pubescence. Head and prothorax sparsely and minutely punctate,
the elytra very densely and rather minutely; flanks of meso- and
metasternum with minute, the abdomen with very minute j^unc-
tures.
Head longer than wide; eyes moderately large, jDrominent,
between them very shallow irregular impressions (from in front
appearing to be separated by a trident-shaped elevation); antennae
scarcely reaching posterior coxae, 1st joint scarcely as long as 2nd-
3rd combined, 2nd shorter than 3rd, 3rd-5th triangular, to the
10th becoming subpectinate, 11th slightly longer than the inner
edge of 10th; sides ver}' feebly corrugated; foveae of undersurface
small, smooth, connected posteriorly. Prothorax rounded, much
longer than wide, the width of head (excluding e3''es); a very
shallow interrupted impression at both base and apex; base
narrowly margined. Elytra gradually widening to apex, each
256 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
separately rounded. Anterior tarsi with basal joint thick, longer
than three following combined, and having a black comb inwardly.
Length to apex of elytra 4, width 1^ mm.
Hah. — Galston.
Differs from C. scajyulatus in having the head concolorous,
the testaceous marking of the elytra much larger, and by its
differently coloured legs. My unique specimen has the abdomen
considerably shrunken.
Carphurus pictipbs, n.sp.
9. Elongate, shining, depressed. Black; muzzle, undersurface
of first three antennal joints, prothorax, anterior coxse, knees,
half of posterior tibise, and basal joint of tarsi, testaceous. Covered
all over — sparsest on middle of meso-, metasternum and head —
with short pale pubescence; above with blackish hair, sparsest on
prothorax, longest on abdomen. Head and prothorax sparsely
and minutely, elytra very densely, minutely and obsoletely punc-
tate; flanks of meso- and metasternum minutely, abdomen very
minutely punctate.
Head scarcely longer than wide; eyes rather large, not very
prominent, a foveate impression on each side between them (from
some directions appearing as two, in others as four longitudinal
fovea3); antennae reaching posterior coxa?, 1st joint scarcely as
long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd decidedly shorter than 3rd, 3rd-
10th subequal in length, 4th-5th triangular, 6th-10th subpecti-
nate, 11th elongate-ovate, as long as the inner edge of 10th; sides
and undersurface corrugated; fove?e rather large, round, rough-
walled, open behind. Prothorax strongly rounded, longer than
wide, not the width of head; an extrejnely shallow and very
indistinct impression at base, a stronger interrupted one at apex;
base very feebly margined, and feebly sinuate. Elytra one and a
half times as long as head and prothorax coml^ined, sides gradually
widening to apex, each feebly separately rounded. Length to
apex of elytra 4 J, of abdomen 6; width If mm.
Eab. — Como, near Sydney.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 257
Close to C. rhagonychimis, differing in the colour of its legs and
by having a broader head and prothorax,
Carphurus apiciventris, n.sp.
^. Black; elytra with an obscure purplish reflection; muzzle,
two basal joints of antennae and undersurface of third, prothorax,
3rd and 4th abdominal segments, anterior legs, and intermediate
cox£e, clear reddish-testaceous; scutellum dull red; basal half of
four posterior tibiae impure testaceous, apical half and tarsi piceous.
Sparsely clothed with longish brown hair — densest on abdomen
and elytra; flanks of meso- and metasternum with short, pale
pubescence. Head and prothorax sparsely and minutely, elytra
very densely and not very minutely punctate; sides of meso- and
metasternum with minute, abdomen with very minute punctures.
Head transverse; eyes large, prominent, between them very
shallow irregular impressions (from in front appearing to be
separated by a trident-shaped elevation); from in front there
appears to be a small transverse fovea between the eyes, near the
base a very shallow transverse impression; antennas scarcely
reaching posterior coxae, 1st joint scarcely as long as 2nd- 3rd
combined, 2nd subglobular, decidedly shorter than 3rd, 3rd-4th
triangular, 5th-10th subpectinate, 11th fully as long as the inner
edge of 10th; undersurface of head with a shallow transverse
impression. Prothorax decidedly longer than wide, as wide as
head at base of eyes, angles rounded; a feeble impression at base
and traces of a still feebler one at apex; base narrowly margined^
Elytra gradually widening to apex, each rather strongly rounded.
Anterior tarsi with basal joint thick, longer than the following
joints combined, and having a black comb inwardly. Length to
apex of elytra 4|, of abdomen 6|; width H mm.
Hah. — Galston.
Of the shape of C. rhagonychinHs and the preceding, JDut the
red ventral segments will at once distinguish it from either of
them.
var. DUBius.
Differs from the above in having the head almost concolorous,
having only a small trans\'erse spot extending from the eyes
258 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
and not reaching the middle, the two apical segments only of the
abdomen black, and all the legs testaceous, tarsi except basal
joints black.
As upon a careful comparison of my two specimens —both
males — I can find absolutely no difference in shape, I have con-
sidered it advisable to describe the most strongly marked specimen
as a species, ranking the other as a variety. I captured them at
the same time.
Carphurus bifoveatus, n.sp.
(J. Elongate, shining, depressed. Head black; undersurface of
basal joint of antennae and almost the entire second reddish; palpi
obscure red; prothorax red; elytra dark violet-blue, meso- and
metasternum black; abdominal segments black — the first almost
entirely, and the others except apical margined with red. Mode-
rately densely clothed all over with long blackish hairs. Head
and prothorax sparsely and minutely punctate, elytra with minute
and almost obliterated punctures, apex and sides of meso- and
sides of metasternum minutely but distinctly punctate, the abdo-
men very minutely.
Head about as long as wide; a longitudinal excavation on each
side near the eyes (from some directions appearing as foveas);
antennae short, scarcely passing intermediate coxae, 1st joint large,
as long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd short, globular, 3rd obconic, 4th-
10th subpectinate, 11th as long as the inner length of 10th;
feebly corrugated; foveas of undersurface large, rough-walled,
approximate. Prothorax strongly rounded, a little longer than
wide, the width of head across eyes; a shallow transverse impres-
sion at base, and a still shallower one at apex. Elytra feebly
dilating towards apex, each feebly separately rounded. Anterior
tarsi with basal joint rather wide, and fully as long as claw joint.
Length to apex of elytra 3, of abdomen 5|; width 1 mm.
TTab.—Gnliiton (Mr. D. Dumbrell).
A distinct and very pretty little species.
C. CYANiPENNis, Macl.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3422.
j/ah. — Tamworth, AVhitton (Lea). S. Australia (Macleay
Museum).
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 259
C. ELONCxATUs, MacL; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3424.
Hah. — Tweed River, Sydney, Forest Reefs, Whitton.
C. PALLiDiPENNis, MacL; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3430.
Hah. — Rockhampton (Macleay Museum).
C. APicALis, MacL; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3413.
Hah. — Richmond River.
C. SCAPULATUS, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp No. 3433.
Hah. — Galston (Dumbrell).
C. MARGiNiVENTRis, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp No. 3428.
Hah. — Gosf ord.
C. RHAGONYCHiNUS, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3432.
Hah. — Sydney, Galston.
C. FACIALIS, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3425
Hah. — Sydney.
C. ARMiPENNis, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3414.
Hah. — N. Queensland (Macleay Museum).
C. EASiPENNis, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3417.
Hah. — S. Australia (Macleay Museum).
C. CYANOPTERUS, Bohem.; Mast. Cat. Sjd. No. 3442.
Hah. — Blackheath (Masters).
I append a tabulation of all the species known to me, which,
though artificial, and largely dependent on colour, may prove to
be useful : —
Elytra armed in the male.
Armature near base directed backwards ay^mipennis, Fairm.
Armature near apex directed forwards.
Sharp-pointed cristatifrons, Fairm.
Globular Blackburni, n. sp.
R
260 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
Elytra unarmed in the male.
Antennae simple or at the most slightly serrate
internally.
Head carinate carinaticeps, n. sp.
Head with a small tubercle in the middle... impunctatus, n.sp.
Head with various impressions in front.
Scutellum testaceous or reddish.
Two intermediate segments of abdomen
black alternivPMtris, Fairm.
Apical segments only black apicalis, Macl.
All the segments clouded with black
at their bases fasciipennis, Fairm.
Scutellum black.
Prothorax with blackish markings at
the sides.
Posterior tibiae black marginiventris, Fairm.
All the tibiae testaceous.
Elytra immaculate pallidipennis, Mad.
Apical half (or third) of elytra
black elom/atvs. Macl,
Prothorax immaculate.
Legs black.
Abdomen black.
Large and moderately robust.... cyanopterus, Bohem
Narrow and elongate anrjmtatus, n.sp.
Apex of abdomen red lonf/icoUis, n.sp.
Legs variously coloured.
Head reddish hasiventris, n.sp.
Head black ha-npennis, Fairm.
Muzzle reddish.
Large, robust elytra greenish,
abdomen narrowly bordered... latipenni-H, n.s^.
Smaller, elytra greenish, abdo-
men broadly bordered cervicalis, Germ.
Smaller, elytra without a green-
ish tinge, abdomen unicolorous facialis, Fairm.
Legs testaceous.
Antennae thick, entirely testaceous testaceipes, n.sp.
Antenna3 rather slender, base only
testaceous cyanipeni^is M-dcl.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 261
Aiitemiffi subpectinate.
Abdomen testaceous, apical segments black.
Scutellum black ■•^cajyidatna, Fairm.
Sc'itellum testaceous or reddish.
Elytra with the base testaceous lepidiis, n. sp.
Elytra concolorous apiciventris, n. sp.
Abdomen black.
Legs testaceous rhagonychiniis, Fairm.
Legs black, with testaceous markings pictvpe>i, n.sp.
Abdomen black, basal segments with more
or less red hifoveatus, n.sp.
Balanophorus Mastersi, Macl.; Mast. Cat. Sp. N'o. 3440.
This species ranges down the entire east coast and for some
distance inland; specimens are in the Macleay Museum from Cape
York to Melbourne. The male possesses a most peculiar comb;
it is situated on the inner edge of the first joint of the anterior
tarsi, and consists of about sixty closely set elongate teeth; it
commences at the base and is continuous round the aj^ex almost
to the outer margin; under a Coddington lens it appears as a
black margin, but a moderately low power of the microscope
renders it visible. As will be noticed I have described a number
of species of Carphurus and Helcog aster as possessing combs; there
is a somewhat similar comb on the intermediate tibia3 of a species
of Staphylinidce in the Collection of the Rev. R. L. King (now in
the Sydney Museum).
Balanophorus Macleayi, n.sp.
^. Elongate, shining, subdepressed. Testaceous; apical two-
thirds of antennae, meso-, metasternum, two aj^ical segments of
abdomen, four posterior femora and apex of tibise black; apical
two-fifths of elytra dark purple. Head, prothorax, abdomen and
legs with sparse blackish hair; elytfa and sterna with sparse,
short, pale pubescence. Head and prothorax sparsely and min-
utely, elytra not very densely, minutely, and obsoletely punctate;
undersurface almost impunctate.
Head transverse; eyes very large and prominent, their com-
bined width being more than half the total width of head; a
262 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
feeble depression on each side — commencing near the middle of
the eyes, and terminating slightly in advance of base of antennae;
antennae passing posterior coxae, 1st joint as long as 2nd-3rd
combined, 2nd scarcely half the length of 3rd, 3rd-10th pectinate,
the tooth of 3rd short, about half the length of 4th, 5th-llth
very long, all of them with long curved blackish hair; foveae of
undersurface very small, situated in a shallow depression, the
space behind them finely but distinctly corrugated. Prothorax
much longer than wide, more than the width of head at base of
eyes, apex rounded, sides dilated near apex, constricted near base
— which is sinuate; a broad shallow impression at base. Scutellum
about twice as wide as long. Elytra parallel for a fourth their
length, then dilating to apex, each rounded from the suture, and
then obliquely truncate. Anterior tarsi with basal joint as long
as three following combined, and having a black comb inwardly.
Length to apex of elytra 5, of abdomen 7 J; width 2J mm.
Q. Differs in being larger, antennae subpectinate, head longer
than wide, eyes much smaller, less black on elytra, simple anterior
tarsi, &c.
J/ab. — North- West Australia (Macleay Museum).
A most beautiful species, somewhat resembling, but abundantly
distinct from, B. Mastersi; the large eyes of the male are a very
distinctive feature, whereas in the two sexes of Mastersi the}^ are
equal; there are besides numerous other differences in colour and
shape.
B. jANTHiNiPENNis, Fairm.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 3439.
11 ah. — Sydney.
P Y T H I D ^.
Trichosalpingus ornatus, n.sp.
Depressed, derm feebly shining. Testaceous, elytra, legs and
antennae paler than head and prothorax; prothorax with an
obscure brownish blotch at the sides; each elytron with an
ol^lique black stripe — gradually increasing in width — commencing
on the shoulder, and a little longer than prothorax, its outer apex
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 263
equidistant from side and suture; an obscure narrow fascia about
the middle, almost obsolete towards the sides, oblique towards the
suture; undersurface reddish-brown, with obscure piceous blotches.
Above densely clothed with rather long pubescence, a little paler
than the derm on which it rests, densest on elytra; sides of
sterna pubescent as prothorax; abdominal segments densely
clothed with moderately short pubescence. Above very densely
and minutely punctate; on prothorax the punctures almost con-
cealed by pubescence; sterna densely and minutel}^, the abdominal
segments very minutely punctate.
Head about as long as wide; eyes rather large, not very promin-
ent; antennae short, not reaching anterior coxse. Prothorax
very feebly transverse, a little the widest about its middle, where
it is fully as wide as head, truncate at base and apex; base feebly
margined, an oblique impression from each side of the base.
Elytra about two and a half times as long as head and prothorax
combined, at the base about once and a third the width of
base of prothorax, shoulders rounded, sides widening to beyond
the middle. Legs rather short, not very thick. Length 34,
width l^^mm.
Hah. — Gosford.
Trichosalpixgus pallipes, n.sp:
Depressed, derm shining. Testaceous, elytra not much paler
than head and prothorax, legs and antennae decidedly joaler than
elytra; prothorax with an obscure brownish blotch at the extreme
sides; elytra with a moderately large blotch about the middle,
moderately sharply defined at its anterior edge, much less so at
the posterior; undersurface a little darker than head, without
blotches. Above covered with very short pale pubescence,
moderately dense on elytra; undersurface extremely minutely
pubescent. Above very densely and minutely punctate, punctures
most noticeable at base of elytra, becoming feebler towards apex;
undersurface very minutely punctate, punctures most visible on
pro-, meso- and sides of metasternum.
264 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
Head about as long as wide; eyes not very large, prominent;
antenna? short, not reaching anterior cox£e. Prothorax quadrate,
very little wider in front than behind, not the width of head,
truncate at base and apex, base narrowly margined, an oblique
impression commencing at each side of the base — where it is
distinct — afterwards becoming shallower and obliterated. Elytra
about two and a quarter times as long as head and prothorax
combined, at the base about one and a half times the width of
prothorax at base, shoulders rounded, sides widening to beyond
the middle. Legs rather short, not very thick, tarsi slender.
Length 3, width 1^ mm.
Bab— Galston (Mr. D. Dumbrell).
Differs from the preceding in being smaller,. in having prominent
eyes, thinner antennae, narrower prothorax, with basal impressions
more distinct, sjDarser pubescence, different markings of elytra,
paler undersurface and legs, &c. I have but one specimen of
each.
Trichosalpingus lateralis, n.sp.
Depressed, shining. Testaceous-brown; elytra — except at sides
— a little paler than head and prothorax, undersurface darker
than above; sterna and femora stained with piceous. Above
clothed with very short pale pubescence; sides of sterna with
minute pubescence. Head and prothorax very densely and
minutely punctate, on the elytra at the base the punctures are
not as dense, but are larger, becoming smaller and obliterated
towards apex; undersurface minutely but distinctly punctate,
punctures largest on pro-, meso- and sides of metasternum.
Head transverse; eyes rather large, not very prominent;
antenna? short, reaching anterior coxce Prothorax transverse,
slightlv wider than head, a little wider in front than behind,
angles feebly rounded; base narrowly margined, an impression at
the base close to the sides. Elytra about two and a half times as
long as head and prothorax combined, at the base not much wider
than prothorax at apex, shoulders rounded, sides feebly widening
to beyond the middle; a very feeble depression about scutellum
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 265
and behind the base. Legs rather short and thick. Length 4|^,
width Ih mm.
Hab. — New South Wales (probably from about Sydney).
M E L A N D R Y I D ^.
Orchesia saltatoria, n.sp.
Short, robust, convex, shining. Dark castaneous, legs and
antennae slightly paler. Moderately densely clothed all over with
short brownish-yellow pubescence, shortest at apex of elytra,
longest on prothorax. Feebly transversely punctate-strigose all
over.
Head somewhat triangular in shaj)e; antennae thickening to
apex, passing intermediate coxae, 1st joint one and a half times as
long as 2nd, 2nd-3rd subequal, longer than those following, 4th-
6th short, subcylindrical, 7th-llth broader, flat, 11th about twice
as long as 10th. Prothorax much wider behind than in front;
broadly and feebly bisinuate, and with a shallow depression on
each side of the base; median line invisible. Scutellum small,
broadly transverse. Elytra about two and a half times as long-
as wide, a very feeble depression on each side of suture, most
visible towards apex. Posterior tibiae short, thick, their spurs
stout, almost equal, as long as themselves, and about three-
fourths the length of first tarsal joint; tarsi with the basal joint
distinctly longer than tibiae, or the three following joints com-
bined. Length 3|, width 1| mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs.
I have nine specimens under examination, in the size of which
there is but very little difference. I suppose I must have the
sexes, but I cannot distinguish them; the species comes closest to
0. Macleayi, but its much smaller size, broader form, &c., will
easily separate it from that species. All my specimens were taken
on tops of posts at dusk; they hopjDed immediately the hand was
brought near them, and in this way I lost many others.
266 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
DiRCCEA 4-MACULATA, n.Sp.
Elongate, convex, shining. Dark piceous-brown, muzzle, apex
of prothorax, apex of elytra, and spurs indistinctly paler; each
elytron with two small macul?e — the first and largest situated
about a fourth from the base, and midway between side and
suture, elliptic or ovate in shape, and very slightl}^ oblique; the
second situated about a third from the apex, a little closer to
suture than to side, and transversely rounded. Moderately
clothed with very short greyish pubescence, a little more densely
on abdominal segments than above. Head, prothorax and sterna
densely and minutely punctate; elytra at base feebly transversely
punctate-strigose; rest of elytra and abdominal segments very
minutely punctate.
Head round; antennte somewhat flattened, reaching to midway
between intermediate and posterior coxc\^, 1st joint not as long as
2nd-3rd combined, 2nd more than half the length of 3rd, 3rd-10th
subequal, 11th not once and a half as long as 10th, 9th-llth
slightly concave inwardly. Prothorax subquadrate, base narrowly
margined and almost truncate; median line very feebly traceable,
a distinct but rather small fovea marking its base. Elytra about
four times as long as wide, shoulders rounded, sides parallel to
about a third from the apex, traces of a number of costte on basal
half, entirely obsolete on apical. Posterior tibiae feebly depressed,
serrate on their outer edge; spurs very short, not quite equal;
basal joint of tarsi twice the length of the following, the two
combined as long as tibiae. Length 4^, width 1 mm.
Eab.— Glen Innes, N.S.W.
I think my specimen is a male, as I have seen others which
were considerably larger and broader.
DiRCCEA LIGNIVORA, n.Sp.
Q. Elongate, convex, subcylindrical, subopaque. Dark piceous-
brown, prothorax with the margins very little paler; elytra with
base, margins and suture obscure ferruginous, each with two pale
testaceous markings — the first, and smallest, irregularly ovate.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 267
situate at about a third from the base, and midway between side
and suture; the second lunulate, situate at about a fourth from
apex, not quite touching side or suture; abdominal segments in
some Hghts appearing wholly ferruginous, in others only their
apices, basal joints of antenn^ie, palpi and legs brownish- testaceous.
Head, prothorax, basal half of elytra and sterna densely, minutely
and transversely punctate-strigose, the shoulders most distinctly;
apex of elytra and the abdominal segments minutely punctate.
Moderately densely clothed all over with short greyish pubescence,
somewhat sericeous on prothorax, scutellum and lower surface.
Head rounded; antennae slender, cylindrical, reaching about
half way between intermediate and posterior coxie, 1st joint
almost as long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd not much shorter than
3rd, 3rd-10th very gradually decreasing, lOth-llth equal. Pro-
thorax subquadrate, with the base — except for the slightly
produced angles — truncate, base with a very feeble depression,
and narrowly margined; median line distinct at base, feebly
traceable towards apex. Scutellum transverse, feebly emarginate
at apex. Elytra more than three times as long as wide, shoulders
feebly rounded, sides very gradually narrowing to near the apex,
a narrow depression on each side of the suture, a very feeble
depression near shoulders, with feeble traces of stria?. Legs
slender, four posterior tibi?e depressed-serrate- externally, spurs
to the posterior unequal, the longest a little more than one-third,
the length of the first tarsal joint, the shortest a1)out a fourth;
intermediate and anterior spurs very short; posterior tarsi with
the basal joint almost as long as the following combined, the two
basal as long as tibiae. Length 10 J, width 2 J mm.
^. Differs in being smaller and narrower. Length 3, width
4 mm.
Hab. — Donnybrook, W.A.
Several trees were riddled by this species, of which I could
have taken hundreds; the markings are constant, but the size is
extremely variable (I have given the extremes); the larvae are
largely destroyed by two species of Hymenopterous parasites.
268 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
P E D I L I D yE.
Macratria intermedia, n.sp.
(J. Narrow, subparallel, subdepressed, shining. Head, pro-
thorax and undersurface dark, or brownish-red; elytra dark red,
becoming piceous at apex; legs and antennae testaceous, apical
joint of antennae darker; abdominal segments paler than sterna.
Above densely clothed with silky yellowish pubescence, longest
on elytra (when seen from behind apparently in lines); on the
undersurface the pubescence is much shorter and denser; the legs
are somewhat densely pubescent. Head minutely punctate, pro-
thorax more densely and strongly; elytra seriate-punctate, the
punctures shallow, interstices minutely punctate; undersurface —
except the flanks of the mesosternum which are distinctly —
minutely punctate.
Head longer than wide, almost truncate at base; eyes large;
antenna? slender, reaching intermediate coxse, 1st joint about as
long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd as long as and thicker than 3rd,
3rd slightly longer than 4th, 4th-8th subequal, 9th- 10th slightly
longer, 11th as long as 7th-10th combined. Prothorax much
longer than wide, and wider than the head, widest near the apex;
apex rounded, base margined and truncate. Elytra very gradually
narrowing to near the apex, shoulders moderately rounded, each
elytron separately rounded at apex; suture slightly raised except
at base, where it is feebly depressed. Metasternum deeply sulcate,
apical segment of abdomen shallowly emarginate at apex. Legs
long; femora thickened, the anterior their entire length, inter-
mediate for the apical two-thirds, posterior for the apical
half; tibiae straight, longer than tarsi, minutely spurred at apices,
posterior spurs the longest; basal joint of posterior tarsi nearly
twice as long as the following combined, the four anterior little
more than half as long. Length 3h, width | mm.
5. Differs in being somewhat larger (3|mm.) and darker, in
having the piceous colour more advanced on the elj^tra (leaving
only the base dark red), apical joint of antennae only as long as
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 269
the two preceding combined, apical segment of abdomen entire,
and the spurs to posterior tibit\3 shorter.
Hah. — ^Cairns (Macleay Museum).
Differs from J/, aherrans, in being narrower, and without trace
of median hne; in size it is intermediate between that species and
J/, cmstralis.
Macratria axalis, n.sp.
$. Narrow, subparallel, subdepressed, shining. Reddish-brown;
head Hghter in colour than prothorax or elytra, the latter with a
piceous tinge about scutellum and suture; antenna? testaceous,
apex slightly infuscate; sterna a little darker than prothorax:
coxye coloured as prosternum, legs testaceous-red, four anterior
femora and apical segment of abdomen pale testaceous. Above
clothed with yellowish silky pubescence, shorter and paler beneath.
Head minutely, prothorax densely and a little more strongly
punctate; elytra punctate-striate, the punctures irregular tow^ards
suture, more distinct towards sides, and obsolete on apical third;
sterna minutely, abdominal segments very minutely punctate.
Head not much longer than wide, base feebly rounded; eyes
large, not prominent; antenme slender, inserted close to eyes,
reaching intermediate coxse, slightly thickening towards apex,
11th joint a little longer than 9th-10th combined and feebly
constricted in the middle. Prothorax longer than wide, near apex
wider than head, at base wider than head at base of eyes; apex
strongly rounded; sides constricted near base, base truncate and
narrowly margined; median line traceable on basal two- thirds-
Scutellum transverse, truncate at apex. Elytra wider than pro-
thorax, feebl}^ diminishing towards apex, shoulders rounded, suture
feebly depressed near base, and feebly elevated near ajDex. Meta-
sternum sulcate on apical two-thirds, deeply on apical third.
Apical segment of abdomen feebly depressed in the middle, its
sides at the apex feebly emarginate — allowing the tips of two
small discs to appear. Legs long and rather thick; femora thick,
the four posterior only on their apical half; tibia? straight,
minutely spurred at apex; basal joint of posterior tarsi much
270 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
longer than those following combined. Length 3|, width i mm.
II ah. — Tamworth.
This species comes closest to the preceding, from which it may-
be distinguished by its larger size, broader prothorax— with more
deeply constricted base — thicker antennae, shorter and paler pubes-
cence, feebler elytral jDunctuation, and more distinct scutellum.
A N T H I C I D ^.
FORMICOMUS ELEGANS, n.Sp.
Narrow, elongate, dej^ressed, subopaque above, shining on
undersurface. Brow^n; undersurface, coxae, base of femora, four
anterior tibite and tarsi, and antennte pale; elj^tra with two
transverse white fasciae — -the first near the base and parallel,
except for a triangular encroachment at the suture behind, the
posterior close to apex, straight in front, narrowing to suture from
behind. Covered all over with very short, rather pale pubescence,
with a few short erect hairs on elytra. Covered all over with
extremely minute punctures, densest on head.
Head longer than wide, scarcely obovate; eyes small, prominent,
placed slightly before the exact middle; antennae slender, reaching
anterior fascia, inserted considerably in front of eyes, 1st joint
not as long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd not much shorter than 3rd,
4th-10th slightly decreasing in length and as gradually thickening,
11th not one and a half times as long as 10th. Prothorax not
twice as long and scarcely as deep as wide; strongly rounded in
front, constricted near the base, base narrowly margined: an
almost obliterated tubercle on each side. Elytra scarcely longer
than head and prothorax combined, slightly widest at the middle,
base rounded as apex; without impressions. Legs — especially
the posterior — -very long and thin, femora scarcely thickened,
tibiae straight, longer than tarsi; 1st joint of posterior tarsi
scarcely as long as the following combined, 2nd as long as 4th
(including claws), 1st joint of intermediate as long as 2nd-3rd
combined, of the anterior shorter. Length 3, width | mm.
Hab. — North- West Australia (Macleay Museum).
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. • 271
The feature of this species is its very long posterior legs, which
are longer than the entire body. From F. australis, which it
somewhat resembles, it differs in being longer, slenderer, lighter
in colour and more opaque, differently shaped prothorax, longer
legs, and in numerous other particulars.
Anthicus rectifasciatus^ n.sp.
Depressed, shining. Head, prothorax and undersurface red,
elytra testaceous, base somewhat darker, a broad median band —
very feebly connected with apex along sides and suture — black;
legs, palpi and antennae testaceous, the latter becoming darker
towards apex; abdominal segments clouded with piceous at the
sides. Above not very densely clothed with yellowish suberect
pubescence, on the undersurface the pubescence is shorter and
denser. Head densely punctate, prothorax more densely and
minutety, elytra strongly punctate at the base, the punctures
becoming feebler towards apex; undersurface minutety punctate.
Head transverse, base truncate; eyes large, coarsely faceted;
antennse slender, reaching median fascia, 1st joint slightly longer
than 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd short, 3rd longer, 4th-10tli gradually
decreasing in length, 11th longer than 10th and as long as 8th.
Prothorax slightly longer, and at its widest not quite as wide as
the base of head, subcordate, longer than wide, rounded in front,
truncate and margined behind. Elytra nearh^ twice as long as
head and prothorax combined, much wider than prothorax at
base, and wider than head across eyes; shoulders slightly rounded,
sides subparallel to near the apex; suture feebl}^ depressed at base.
Legs slender, femora slightly thickened, tibiie straight, longer
than tarsi, minutely spurred at their apices. Length 3|^, width
1^ mm.
Hah. — Fitzroy Island, Queensland (Macleay Museum).
Anthicus scutellatus, n.sp.
Of the form of A. brevicoUis; subdepressed, shining — especially
the head and undersurface. Reddish -testaceous, elytra paler than
prothorax, which is paler than head; sides of abdominal segments
272 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
obscure: eyes black; tip of mandibles piceous. Above not very
densely clothed with yellowish decumbent pubescence, with a few
erect short hairs— a few of which project laterally on prothorax
— densest on prothorax, sparsest on head; on the undersurface
the pubescence is sparser, and — except on abdominal segments —
longer than above. Head distinctly but not very densely punc-
tate; prothorax densely, elytra shallowly and not very densely
punctate; sterna scarcely distinctly, the abdominal segments very
feebly punctate.
Head sliort, transverse, base feebly emarginate; eyes large,
occupying more than half the side of head between antennse and
base; mandibles prominent; antennae short, scarcely reaching base
of prothorax, 1st joint as long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd short,
3rd-4th narrowest, 4th-10th gradually decreasing in length, 11th
about once and a quarter as long as 10th, acuminate at apex,
2nd and 6th-10th globular. Prothorax subcordate, transverse,
broader and longer than head, sides rounded; base constricted
and narrowly margined, middle of the apex narrowly produced
and margined. Scutellum small, triangular, distinct. El3^tra
almost twice as long as head and prothorax combined, and about
twice as long as the width at base, shoulders feebly rounded, the
base near them very feebly impressed. Legs short; femora
thickened; tibice straight, a minute spur at their apices. Length
3 J, width 1 J mm.
Ilab. — North-west Australia (Macleay Museum).
My specimen is damaged, all the tarsi with the exception of
one of the anterior and an antenna being missing. It may be
distinguished from A. luridus by its longer pubescence, kc.
Anthicus inglorius, n.sp.
(J. Shaped somewhat as A. hrevicollis; subdepressed, shining.
Prothorax reddish-testaceous, head darker, elytra paler; under-
surface brownish-testaceous, antennse, palpi, anterior legs, four
posterior tibi?e and tarsi, and base of femora paler; eyes black;
tip of mandibles piceous. Above sparsely clothed with short
pale pubescence, with rather long hairs projecting laterall}^ from
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 273
prothorax and elytra; head almost glabrous; undersurface with
sparse straggling pubescence. Above sparsely and minutely
punctate, punctures sparsest and rather strong on head; not much
feebler at apex than at base of elytra; undersurface almost
impunctate.
Head scarcely transverse, base feebly emarginate; eyes large,
occup3'ing about half the side of head between antennae and base;
antennae short, reaching base of prothorax, the joints as in A.
scutellatus, a shallow depression on each side in front. Prothorax
transverse, very slightly broader and longer than head, broadest
near apex, narrowing — but not suddenly — to base; base margined,
middle of apex feebly produced and margined. Scutellum small,
transverse, apex rounded. Elytra not twice as long as head and
prothorax combined (2J-lJmm.), about twice as long as wide,
shoulders feebly rounded, the base near them feebly impressed.
Legs rather short, femora feebly thickened, tibiae straight, the
anterior slightly curved at apex, posterior spurred at apex.
Length 4, width 1 J mm.
9. Differs in being paler beneath, and by having concolorous
legs.
Hah. — Darling River (Macleay Museum).
May be distinguished from A. scutellattts by its more elongate
form, somewhat differently shaped prothorax, long legs, shinier
derm, sparser pubescence, ifec.
Anthicus triangularis, n.sp.
Of the form of A. hrevicollis; depressed, shining. Head, pro-
thorax and undersurface red; elytra testaceous, a large subtrian-
gular macula — which is somewhat variable in size — on each side
at the middle, and the apex piceous-brown, an obscure red triangle
about the scutellum; abdominal segments stained with brown;
legs and antennae testaceous, the latter becoming brown towards
apex. Head and prothorax almost glabrous, elytra sjDarsely
pubescent, undersurface with shorter and denser pubescence.
Above not strongly punctured, the punctures sparsest and
broadest on head, denser and not much feebler on prothorax,
274 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
denser at base and shallowest at apex of elytra; undersurface
minutely punctate.
Head longer than the width at base, and — excluding the eyes
— triangular in shape; eyes large, prominent, coarsely faceted,
placed midway between antennae and base; antennte reaching
beyond base of elytra, 1st joint slightly longer than 2nd-3rd com-
bined, 2nd-10th equal in thickness, 2nd not much shorter than
3rd, 4th-10th gradually decreasing, 11th slightly narrower than
10th, and nearly as long as 9th-10th combined. Prothorax sub-
cordate, feebly transverse, as broad as, and slightly longer than
head, widest in front, constricted behind, base margined. Scutel-
lum triangular, distinct. Elytra about one and a half times as
long as head and prothorax combined, shoulders feebly rounded,
the base near them feebly impressed, sides feebly widening to
about the middle, apex broadly rounded. Legs rather short;
femora moderately thickened; posterior tibiae feebly bent, spurred
at apex; tarsi shorter than tibiae. Length 21, width f mm.
Hah North- West Australia (Macleay Museum).
May be distinguished from A. brevicoUis by its flatter form,
laro-er head, sparser pubescence, &c.; A. Wollastoni is a species
with somewhat similarly marked elytra, but otherwise very
different. I have recently taken two specimens at Perth which
differ from the types in being darker, in having a complete median
fascia, the dark marking at apex of elytra larger, the scutellar
marking darker and continued on to shoulders; the pubescence
also is denser; as, however, they belong to a group the members
of which are very variable I have not thought it advisable to
describe them as distinct.
Anthicus lemodioides, n.sp.
.Elongate, subdepressed, shining. Head and prothorax chocolate-
brown; elytra reddish-testaceous, a moderately broad piceous fascia,
interrupted at suture, across the middle; lower surface paler
than prothorax; legs paler than elytra. Above not densely
clothed with short pubescence, with longer hairs at the sides;
undersurface with minute pubescence. Head and prothorax
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 275
rather shallowly punctate; the elytra densely, strongly and seri-
ately punctate; sterna densely and strongly, abdominal segments
not very mmutely punctate.
Head rather small, transverse; eyes moderately large, placed
behind the middle; antennae not very slender, subequal in width,
reaching apex of intermediate coxae, 1st joint nearly as long as
2nd-3rd combined, 2nd-3rd equal, 11th not as long as 9 th- 10th
combined. Prothorax longer than wide, wider than head, trans-
versely globose in front, deeply constricted near base, base
truncate; a tubercle on each side at base; median line distinct.
l)ecoming feeble near apex, and ha\ ing a small fovea near tubercles.
Scutellum extremely small. Elytra not one and a half times as
long as head and prothorax combined, not much wider than
anterior portion of the latter, shoulders feebly rounded, sides
parallel to near apex; a feeble impression on each side between
suture and shoulders; suture very feebly raised near aj^ex. Legs
rather short and thick; four posterior femora arcuate; til^iai rather
short, posterior feebly bent. Length 24, width 1 mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs; crawling over fences at night time.
Anthicus cancellatus, n.sp.
Elongate, subdepressed, shining. Reddish-testaceous; head
and prothorax darker than elytra, the latter with a small obscure
piceous blotch about the middle; lower surface a little paler than
elytra; legs and palpi pale testaceous. Above — except head —
densely clothed with rather long pubescence, longest on elytra: on
the undersurface the pubescence is short. Head and prothorax
densely and obsoletely, elytra densely and strongly, gullet coarsely,
sterna and abdominal segments not very strongly punctate.
Head rather small, transverse; eyes moderately large, placed
behind the middle; antennae rather slender, passing intermediate
coxae, 1st joint nearly as long -^as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd
decidedly shorter than- 3rd, 11th a little longer than 9th-10th
combined. ProthoraK not much longer than wide, wider than
head, transversely globose in front, deeply constricted near base,
base truncate; traces of a tubercle on each side at base; median
276 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
line very shallow and indistinct, obsolete towards apex. Scutellum
small, transverse, moderately distinct. Elytra about once and a
third as long as head and prothorax combined, not much
wider than anterior portion of latter, sides almost parallel, apex
almost truncate, a feeble dej^ression on each side of suture towards
apex. Femora thick, tibiae straight. Length 2|, width 1 mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs; on fences at dusk.
The above somewhat resembles the preceding and the following-
species; from the former it may be distinguished by its colour
and puncturation being a little different, by its thinner legs and
less plainly marked median line; from the latter by being a little
more elongate, a little less convex, median line distinct, thicker
legs, etc.
Anthicus pignerator, n.sp.
Not very elongate, slightly convex, shining. Obscure reddish-
testaceous, elytra very little paler than head and prothorax;
lower surface concolorous with elytra, and darker than legs.
Pubescence as in the preceding. Head shallowly, prothorax very
densely and shallowly, elytra densely and strongly, sterna densely,
abdominal segments minutely, punctate.
Head rather small, transverse; eyes moderately large, placed
close to base; antenna^ moderately slender, passing intermediate
cox?e, the width separating them equal to the distance to base of
eyes, 1st joint about once and a half longer than 2nd, 2nd a
little shorter and thicker than 3rd, 11th about as long as 9th-10th
combined. Prothorax not much longer than wide, wider than
head, transversely globose in front, constricted near base, base
truncate; a transverse impression at base and a shallow circular
one on each side of the middle; no median line. Scutellum indis-
tinct. Elytra about once and a third as long as head and pro-
thorax combined, not much wider than anterior portion of latter,
shoulders feebly rounded, sides subparallel to near apex, a feeble
depression on each side of suture about middle. Legs rather
slender; femora not very thick; posterior tibi?e ^er}^ feebly bent
inwardly. Length 21, width 4 mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs; on a fence at dusk.
1]Y ARTHUK M. LEA. 277
AXTIIICUS IXOIJXATUS, ll.sp.
Elongate, narrow, feebl}^ shining. Head dark reddish-bro^\ n,
prothorax and elytra dark browni.sh-red, undersurface somewhat
paler, legs and antennte testaceous-red. Elytra and abdomen not
very densely covered with short pale pubescence; rest of bod}^
very sparsely clothed. Head extremely densely and somewhat
rugosely punctate; prothorax, sterna and basal segment of abdo-
men very densely and not minutely punctate; elytra densely
punctate, punctures becoming feebler towards apex, abdominal
segments — except basal — minutely, femora shallo\yly punctate.
Head longer than wide, base rounded; eyes small, prominent,
coarsely faceted, placed in front of the middle; antennae inserted
close to the eyes. Prothorax longer than wide, longer and about
the width of the head, subcordate, apex slightly rounded, liase
constricted and truncate; an indistinct tubercle on each side at
the base; median line feebly traceable at base and apex. Elj^tra
not once and a quarter as long as head and prothorax com-
bined, shoulders rounded, parallel-sided to near apex, or very
feebly widening to about the middle, without depression. Legs
slender; femora scarcely thickened; tibiji; straight, minutely
spurred at their apices; four anterior longer, the posterior as long
as tarsi, basal joint of posterior tarsi as long as the others com-
bined, intermediate as long as 2nd-3rd, anterior short. Length
2-L, width ^ mm.
Hah. — ^ISTorth-West Australia (Maclea}' Museum).
I do not know any species with which this very distinct one
can be satisfactorily compared.
Antiiicus simulator, n.sp.
Elongate, subdepressed, highly polished. Black; base of pro-
thorax obscure piceous, each elytron with two small testaceous
macuhie, one near the shoulder transversely triangular, the other
about a third from the apex, parallel-sided, directed a little
oljliquely towards and truncate near suture; these macuhe are
sometimes indistinct (especially the po-;terior); lower surface of
278 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
head and prosternum dull red; cox£e, base of femora — the posterior
infuscate towards apex — and tarsi obscure testaceous; antenna?
piceous. Elytra very sparsely pubescent, rest of the body almost
glabrous. Above minutely, beneath indistinctly punctate.
Head a little longer than wide, rounded; eyes, small, prominent;
antennae slender, inserted midway between eyes and apex of
mandibles, reaching intermediate coxse, 1st joint about once and
a half longer than 2nd, 2nd a little longer than 3rd, 11th
about the length of 9th-10th combined. Prothorax scarcely the
width of head, longer than wide, transversely globose in front,
strongly constricted near base; a small tu])ercle on each side at
base. Elytra about as long as head and prothorax combined,
about two and a half times as long as wide, base truncate,
shoulders feebly rounded, sides feebly widening to beyond middle;
a very feeble impression behind the base (only visible when
viewed sideways). Legs slender; femora thickening towards apex,
tibise straight. Length 1^, width |-mm.
riab. — Bridge Town, W.A. Between the leaves of cabbages.
I have a specimen from Donnybrook in which the whole of the
prothorax is dull red. The species closely resembles A. strictus
and A. hemhidioides; from the former it differs in being narrow^er,
with thicker antennae, and by its more parallel elytra; from the
latter by its differently shaped prothorax, w4th more prominent
tubercles, and by its head being a little smaller.
Anthicus geminatus, n.sp.
Narrow, elongate, subdepressed, shining. Testaceous, prothorax
darker than elytra; head and apical half of el3'tra — except along
suture — tinged with piceous, lower surface coloured as prothorax,
legs i^aler, abdominal segments — except basal — piceous. Elytra
moderately, head and prothorax very sparsel}^ clothed with short
pale pubescence, lower surface almost glabrous. Above densely
and not very minutely punctate, each puncture carrying a small
hair; sterna indistinctly punctate.
Head rounded, a little longer than wide; e3"es small, prominent,
in exact middle of sides; antennae slender, slightly thickening
BY ARTHUR M. LEA.
279
towards apex, reaching intermediate coxa?, 1st joint about once
and a half as long as 2nd, 2nd-3rd equal. Prothorax fully
as wide as head, longer than wide, rounded in front, constricted
towards base; base smooth. Elytra about once and a quarter
as long as head and prothorax combined, more than twice
as long as wide, base truncate, shoulders feebly rounded, sides
gradually widening to beyond the middle; feebly depressed on
each side of suture towards apex. Legs not very long; femora
thickened, posterior arcuate; tibiae straight. Length 24, width
mm.
Hah. — Bridge Town, W.A.
A second specimen from Bridge Town is a little smaller and
paler, and has the elytral marking confined to an indistinct
fasciate blotch across the middle. The species is similar in shape
and colour to A. exiguus, differing in being larger, more feebly
punctured, prothorax a little different, kc. Both my specimens
were taken (in company wdth many other small beetles) under a
stone, where they had retreated for protection against a fire.
Anthicus ovipennis, n.sp.
Slightly convex, shining. Testaceous-red; elytra testaceous,
and with a thin obscure piceous fascia across the middle, the apex
faintly tinged with piceous; legs and abdomen pale testaceous,
Ijasal segment of the latter tinged with joiceous. Elytra moder-
ately clothed with short pale pubescence, denser and shorter on
head and prothorax, rest of l^ody almost glabrous. Head and
prothorax shallowl}^ punctate; the elytra densely and rather
strongly, sides and sutures of sterna and basal abdominal segment
minutely but (under microscope) distinctly punctate.
Head moderately large, subquadrate, eyes very small and
prominent, placed a little in front of the middle; antennae thin,
ver}'" slightly thickening to apex, "scarcely reaching intermediate
coxa?, 1st joint thick, not much longer than 2nd, 2nd a little
longer than 3rd, 11th almost as long as 9th-10th combined.
Prothorax fully as wide as head, longer than wide, rounded in
front, constricted towards base; base with traces of tubercles.
280 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
Scutellum very small, semicircularly triangular. Elytra no longer
than head and prothorax combined, ovate, the shoulders strongly
rounded, without impression. Femora thick, tibiae straight.
Length 2, width | mm.
Ilab.—Bmihurj, W.A.
The short ovate elytra of this species should render it distinct;
in colour it somewhat resembles the preceding.
Anthicus delicatulus, n.sp.
Elongate, depressed, shining. Head testaceous-brown, pro-
thorax pale reddish-testaceous; elytra pale testaceous, a darker
marking about scutellum and apex, each with a triangular macula,
the apices of which meet at suture; sterna coloured as prothorax,
legs paler, abdomen — basal segment excepted — stained with
piceous. Clothed all over, sparsest on head, with very short pale
pubescence. Head, prothorax and sterna sparsely and very
minutely, elytra minutely punctate.
Head not very large, strongly rounded, a little longer than
wide; eyes rather small and prominent, placed in the exact middle
of sides; antennae slender, feebly thickening to apex, inserted
midway between eyes and apex of mandibles, reaching inter-
mediate coxae, 1st joint not as long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd a
little thicker and shorter than 3rd, 11th not as long as 9th-10th
combined, its apex rounded. Prothorax longer than wide, no
wider than head across eyes, apex rounded, sides narrowing to
beyond middle, and then feebly increasing to base; feeble traces
of tubercles at base. Elytra not much longer than head and
prothorax combined, wider than head, base truncate, shoulders
feebly rounded, sides gradually widening to beyond the middle;
suture depressed at base, a very feeble depression near shoulders.
Femora thick, tibite straight. Length 24, width 4 mm.
Hab. — North- West Australia (Macleay Museum).
A narrow pale species, not very close to any known to me.
Another specimen is smaller, paler, and with the elytral markings
very obscure.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 281
Syzetoxinus parallelus, n.sp.
(J. Elongate-ovate, subdepressed, shining. Black; elytra and
lower surface ver}^ slightly paler than prothorax; legs and antennae
obscure testaceous, the latter infuscate towards apex. Sparsely
clothed with short obscure pubescence. Above very densely and
strongly punctate, feeblest on head, strongest at base of elytra;
sterna moderately densely and strong!}'-, abdominal segments
minutely punctate.
Head small, closely joined to prothorax, strongly transverse;
eyes moderate!}^ large, not very prominent, placed close to base;
antennpe reaching intermediate cox?e, 1st and 2nd joints large,
thick, the 2nd equal to the swollen portion of 1st, 3rcl equal in
length to 2nd, but narrower, 3rd-10th gradually decreasing in
length, 3rd-6th decreasing in width, 7th-llth thickening, 9th
subquadrate, 10th transverse, 11th not as long as 9th-10th com-
bined. Prothorax feebly transverse, as wide as head at base,
truncate at base Pcnd apex, sides slightly rounded; a broad semi-
circular interrupted impression extending almost across base, and
a shallow impression across middle, the centre of which is plainly
marked. Scutellum very small, narrowing towards and truncate
at apex. Elytra more than twice as long as head and jDrothorax
combined, base truncate, shoulders scarcely rounded, sides
parallel to near apex; the base with a depression on each side
and at suture, behind it a very shallow depression. Legs rather
long and slender, posterior femora very slightly thickened, all the
tibiae straight. Length 1 J, width | mm.
Rab.— Bridge Town, W.A.
Differs from S. inconsjncutis Id}^ l^eing a little more parallel,
and in having darker elytra, a little feebler puncturation, some-
what different antennte, kc.
Syzetoxinus basicornis, n.sp.
fj. Oblong-oval, subdepressed, feebly shining. Head and pro-
thorax black, elytra piceous-brown, the apex obscurely paler, base
narrowly testaceous, lower surface piceous-brown, legs— especially
282 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
the anterior — and all the tarsi paler. Above sparsely clothed
with short pubescence, longest and most distinct on apical half
of elytra; lower surface with very minute pubescence. Head and
prothorax very densely and rather strongly punctate; elytra
coarsely and densely, sterna not very strongly, abdominal
segments minutely punctate.
Head rather small, closely joined to prothorax, strongly trans-
verse; eyes large, not prominent, placed close to base; antenna;
inserted close to apex, lst-5th joints cylindrical, 1st arcuate, as
long as 2nd-3rd combined, 2nd thick, transverse, not half the
length of 3rd, 3rd slightly bent, as long as 3rd-4th combined, 4th
narrowest of all, 4th-10th subequal in length and gradually
increasing in width, 9th-10th feebly transverse, 11th large, thick,
apex strongly rounded, about the length of 3rd. Prothorax
transverse, as wide as base of head, truncate at base and apex,
sides feebly rounded; an oblique elliptic impression on each side
at base. Elytra shaped as in the preceding. Legs long, posterior
femora slightly thickened, posterior tibiae ver}^ feebly bent
inwardly. Length 14, width 4 mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs. (On a fence at dusk.)
The shape of the basal joints of the antennae renders this species
exceedingly distinct.
P Y R O C H R I D ^.
Lemodes elongata, n.sp.
Elongate, parallel-sided, subdepressed, the derm shining. Red
(in some lights with a faint purplish gloss), undersurface — except
mesosternum which is darker — very slightl}^ paler than above;
scutellum and eyes black; antenn* black, two basal joints red,
third reddish-piceous, apical joint white. Above densely clothed
with moderately long pubescence, which is almost concolorous
with the derm; on the elytra it is placed in a wavy manner,
causing them to appear indistinctly patterned; the whole upper-
surface is rather sparsely clothed with long semiujDright hairs,
densest on elytra; undersurface, legs and antennae with rather
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 283
short pubescence, tibi;e with a few long hairs, antennse with
blackish seta^ and rather long outstanding hairs. Head and pro-
thorax with large shallow punctures, almost concealed l:)y
pubescence; elytra seriate-punctate (in about ten rows), the
punctures large and coarse at base, becoming obliterated towards
apex; mesosternum densely and strongly punctate; metasternum
and abdominal segments densely and minutely punctate, the
former with large scattered punctures; legs very densely and
minutely punctate.
Head truncate at base, about as long as the width across eyes;
eyes rather large, prominent and finely faceted; antenna? rather
stout, not quite reaching apex of metasternum, the distance
between their bases slightty less than between them and the apex
of mandibles, composed of tw-elve joints, 1st small, globular, dis-
tinctly separated from 2nd, 2nd larger, about the size of 7th, 3rd
narrowest, 3rd-llth subequal in length and increasing in width,
12th not quite as long as lOth-llth combined, its basal half about
the size and shape of 11th, decreasing then to apex. Prothorax
wider than, long, longer and slightly wider than head, strongly
constricted towards and truncate at base, apex transversely
globose; median canal distinct but shallow in the middle, obsolete
at base and apex. Scutellum triangular, considerably longer
than wide. Elytra parallel-sided to near apex, fully twice as long
as head and prothorax combined, about once and a half as
wide as the latter at base, base scarcely truncate, shoulders feebly
rounded; a feeble depression near the base (only visible when
viewed sideways). Margins of mesosternal keel finel}^ carinate.
Legs long, tibise almost straight. Length 51, width Ih mm.
Zra6.— Blackheath, N.S.W.
May be distinguished from either L. cocciiiea or L. 2 faster si by
its much more elongate form, less, angular prothorax, longer
scutellum, longer pubescence, distinctly twelve- jointed antennae,
(fee; in both of those species the scutellum is tranvserse, in
Mastersi rounded, and in coccinea truncate at apex. Members of
this genus are subject to considerable alteration of colour if
immersed for any time in spirits, the head and prothorax
284 NESV SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
frequently turning dark-brown, or almost black, the legs darker;
the white joints of the antennte in coccinea vary in number from
one to three. The type is in the possession of Mr. George
Masters, who has kindly given me another specimen, labelled
N.S.W.
Lemo^^es corticalis, n.sp.
Elongate, subparallel, slightly convex, the derm shining.
Ferruginous, elytra — except at base and suture— slightly darker
than prothorax; undersurface paler than above; legs and palpi
testaceous; antenna reddish-testaceous. Above covered with
short silky pubescence, densest on elytra, and with longer upright
hairs; undersurface, legs and antennc^ with very short and pale
pubescence, the latter with a few outstanding hairs. Anterior
half of head densely and not strongly punctate, base almost
impunctate; prothorax with strong, sparse, and with smaller and
more numerous punctures; elytra densely and strongly punctate,
the punctures strongest and arranged in rows at the base, becom-
ing feebler and irregular towards apex, the whole surface covered
with very minute punctures; undersurface of head polished; pro-
and mesosternum moderately strongly, metasternum and abdo-
minal segments minutely punctate.
Head with a distinct neck, triangular in shape (excluding neck),
wider than long; eyes large, prominent; antennae not very thick,
passing intermediate coxas, eleven- join ted, 1st large, as long as
2nd-3rd combined, and as long as 11th, 2nd-10th very slightly
increasing in length, 2nd-5th subcylindric, 6th-10th obconic, 11th
subcylindric, scarcely the length of 9th-10th combined. Prothorax
feebly, if at all, transverse, wider in front than behind, anterior
angles widely rounded, base truncate, sides deeply constricted
near the base; median canal distinct but shallow, obsolete at apex.
Scutellum ^'ery small and strongly transverse. Elytra not quite
covering pygidium, parallel-sided almost to apex, about twice as
long as head and prothorax combined, twice and a half as
long as wide; base truncate, shoulders feebly rounded; a feeble
depression midway between shoulders and suture. Legs long,
tibic\3 straight. Length 4J-5J, width 1-|-1 J mm.
Ilab. — Forest Reefs.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 2<S5
The colour of this species will at once distinguish it from any
of its described congeners; in shape it comes closest to the preced-
ing.
M O R D E L L I D .E.
Many of the species of this family are difficult to satisfactorily
describe, as almost the only characters that can be given are the
size, colour and pattern of the markings. So far as I have
noticed, the colour of the derm (with very few exceptions) a^Dpears
to be reliable; the legs (especiall}^ the four anterior) and the
antennaa are subject to sexual variation of colour; the pattern is
not always to be relied upon, especially in old or greasy specimens
(without reckoning abrasion); the colour of the pubescence is very
apt to be affected by age or immersion in spirits (especially the
white markings of the abdomen). I have fresh specimens of M.
multiguttata and J/, leucosticta, in which the maculae are decidedly
white, and older specimens in which they are as decidedly yellow;
and similarly with other species. Many species are sexually
constant as to size, but others are very variable. We have many
species that are almost entirely black; they are moderately easily
distinguished in the cabinet, but their specific distinctions are
very hard to point out; in consequence I have delayed describing
a number of uniques.
Many of my species were obtained from the. flowers of tall
Eucalypts, felled for the purpose of obtaining flowering, and after-
wards dead-leaf beetles; and I believe there are many more species
which can onl}^ be obtained in this manner; a few sj^ecimens were
taken at night-time while crawling over old logs and stumps.
Mr. Masters, on a recent trip to Blackheath, captured many
hundreds of specimens by beating bushes into a sheet before
sunrise; they were then very torpid, and were easily captured.
MORDELLA DUMBRELLI, n.sp.
$. Black; tarsi piceous-black, base of antennae, palpi and
posterior spurs piceous-red. Head with pubescence which in some
lights appears whitish, in others — especially at the base — having
a piceous look; from some directions apparently with a white
286 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
median line. Sides of prothorax very narrowl}^ edged with white;
apex a httle more broadly, from its middle a narrow stripe
extending a little more than a third from the apex, there is also
a small spot on each side; there are ten free or nearly free spots
— -four at the base, of which the two inner are the smallest; two
on each side of the narrow stripe in front, in a line with each
other, and one on each side of the middle behind it. Elytra not
bordered at the base, each with seven small spots — one close to
the scutellum, the smallest spot between it and the shoulder, two
in a line behind them, th-e inner one not close to the suture; the
outer close to the side (forming with a sjDot on the meso- and
another on the metasternum a small triangle), a round spot close
to the suture at about the exact middle, the largest spot in a
straight line behind about a fourth from the apex, the last is
close to and a little behind it at the side, the two forming an
nterrupted irregular oblique S. Each of the abdominal segments
with four white spots, the two inner of each of which are narrow, and
but little separated. Meso- and metasternum (excejDt at the sides)
pubescent as the head. A little white at the Imse of the aculeus.
Aculeus long, narrow; aj^ex ver}^ sharply pointed, margined
almost to the apex. Posterior spurs equal, about two-fifths of the
length of the first tarsal joint. Length 12, w^idth 3| mm.*
Hah. — Galston; on flowers of Bursaria spinosa (Dumbrell and
Lea).
From M. multiguttata the present species may be distinguished
by its broader form, more distinctly margined aculeus, more
elongate abdominal spots; by its smaller elytral spots, those near
the apex nearly separated or not at all joined together as in that
species; the small spot forming a triangle with the two behind the
basal ones is wanting in this species; the spots on the prothorax
also cover much less surface.
MORDELLA 1(S-MACULATA, n.sp.
Black, legs scarcely lighter in colour. Head with silvery-grey
pubescence which is parted in the middle. Prothorax with
* The lengths given are to the apex of aculeus.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 287
silvery pubescence, enclosing on the apical two-fifths four equal-
sized spots, extending in a narrow line from the middle of each
of the two central ones about half-way to the base, sides narrowly
margined, base narrowly margined and trisinuate, the middle sinus
equal in width to the two lateral combined. Each elytron with
numerous small silvery spots, two oblique ones at the base, one
along suture, another near the middle, at its base close to the
first but their apices v>ddely separated, a very indistinct spot on
shoulder, behind the middle spot and almost touching its apex
there is a round one, at a short distance behind this is an oblique
spot, outside this and slightly in advance of it and on the side is
a small spot, slighth^ before the middle and close to suture an
ovate spot, behind and midway between this sjjot and the apex is
an irregular spot, which, with another one close to it, form an
irregular interrupted ololique S. Undersurface with silvery-grey
pubescence, more silvery at the sides, and leaving on the sides of
the metasternum and abdominal segments small triangular patches.
Aculeus with silvery pubescence at its base.
Aculeus rather long, broad at the base, moderately sharplv
pointed, strongly lessened about the middle. Posterior spurs
unequal, the longest slightly curved, and fully half the length of
the first tarsal joint. Length 4|, width 11^ mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs.
A pretty, very distinct and rather robust little sjDecies, the
markings of which are more in character with those of the larger
species than among those of its own size. The markings of the
prothorax — if always visible (I have l)ut two sjDecimens to judge
from) — should render its identification easy.
MoRDELLA LATICEPS, n.sp.
Black; antenna? and anterior femora reddish-piceous. Head
with obscure griseous pubescence; prothorax at its apex and sides,
and the scutellum with dirty pale yellow pubescence. Elytra with
similarly coloured pubescence narrowly bordering the base, cover-
ing the shoulders from which a stripe (not, however, always
present) runs obliquely towards the suture, close to which it
288 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
terminates in a moderately large spot, at about a third from the
apex a moderately large irregular transverse spot. Meso-, sides
and middle of metasternum, and abdominal segments, and ba.se of
aculeus with griseous pubescence.
Scutellum with a shallow depression at its base. Aculeus
rather long, very broad at the base, suddenly triangularly lessened,
apical half almost parallel-sided, truncate at apex. Posterior
spurs unequal, the longest half as long as first tarsal joint, and
fully twice as long as its fellow. Length 4J-5, width 14.
Hah. — North West Australia (Macleay Museum).
A broad rol^ust species with a very broad head. I have
examined seven specimens, but they have all been very dirty;
the species is very distinct, and an examination of fresh specimens
would probably discover additional markings.
MoRDELLA AUSTRALis, Boisd. (?); Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4314.
Black; muzzle, base of antennae, anterior legs and intermediate
femora testaceous. Head with greyish pubescence at the base on
each side appearing almost bare. Prothorax with silvery pubes-
cence, with a median and two lateral vittse. Elytra at the base
with four stripes, one on each side of the suture projecting out-
wardl}", the others midway between suture and sides; a narrow
zigzag fascia at the middle composed of three Vs, the central one
somewhat irregular; near the apex a narrow fascia — not always
complete. Meso-, sides and apex of metasternum, sides and
middle of abdominal segments, and base of aculeus with greyish
pubescence.
Aculeus moderate, suddenly lessened at about its middle, apex
pointed. Posterior spurs unequal, the longest not quite half as
long as the first tarsal joint. Length 2|-3J, width 4-14 mm.
The above is the description of a widely distributed species
which I take to be M. australis; it is the species labelled by the
late Sir W. Macleay as such in his own museum (though not the
species he named as such from Gayndah). Boisduval's description
is very brief (12 words), certainl}^ insufficient for its positive
identification.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 289
MORDELLA FESTIVA, n.sp.
Black; palpi, base of antenna?, anterior legs and posterior spurs
obscure testaceous. Head with obscure pubescence which is
parted in the middle. Prothorax with dull silvery pubescence,
leaving an elongated vitta and two lateral sj^ots. Elj^tra with
pubescence as prothorax; it narrowly borders the base on each
side, emitting three stripes, the first about the middle, one at the
extreme side, and one between them; a zigzag fascia about the
middle — not quite reaching the sides — forming two irregular Ws;
a crescent-shaped spot on each side about a fourth from — and with
its con^^ex sides towards — the apex; the pubescence extends along
the suture from the scutellum to the fascia (one specimen has the
elytral pubescence extending from base to apical sjDots, these latter
conjoined and irregular in shape). Undersurface with silvery-
grey pubescence, leaving a spot on each side of the abdominal
segments, and the greater part of aculeus.
Aculeus short, broad; apex broad, truncate. Legs rather
slender; posterior spurs equal, and little more than a third the
length of the first tarsal joint. Length 3|, width 1 J mm.
Hab. — South Australia (Rev. T. Blackburn).
Resembles the species I suppose to l^e M. mist r alls: differs in
being larger, narrower, the markings l)roader and not so clearly
cut, without the divergent scutellar stripes, thinner femora, some-
what different aculeus, etc. IMr. Blackburn tells me that he thinks
this species an extreme variety of M. comiminis; with this opinion,
however, I cannot agree; none of my specimens of that species
approach it in pattern.
MoRDELLA BELLA, Waterh. ; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4315.
This is an extremely variable and widel}^ distributed species.
I have specimens from many parts of New South Wales, and
there are specimens in the Macleay Museum from Queensland
and South Australia. Mr. George Masters at Blackheath recently
obtained several hundreds of specimens, all of which, together
290 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
with my own specimens, I have carefully examined. The pro-
thoracic macula? are sometimes distinctly marked, often indistinct,
and frequently entirely absent; frequently the entire basal half of
the elytra is covered with golden, grey, or occasionally silvery
pubescence; where the basal half is not so covered there is often
to be seen an indistinct fascia similar to the middle one, occasion-
ally appearing as indistinct elongate spots; the middle fascia is
always of the shape described by Mr. Waterhouse, though varying
in thickness; the apical fascia varies in thickness, being often
straight, sometimes complete, often divided into transverse, and
occasionally into sublunulate spots; the size also is subject to
considerable variation.
MoRDELLA LiMBATA, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. 8p. No. 4325.
This is a somewhat variable species, many specimens having
the elongate black spot of each elytron almost obliterated; others
again have it touching the suture, the pubescence behind it being
lunulate in shape; the prothoracic maculae are often very indis-
tinct; the pubescence in man}^ is bright silvery; it is sometimes
very difficult to decide whether a specimen belongs to this species
or to M. bella.
llah. — Rope's Creek (Mr. G. Masters); Braidw^ood, Galston
(Lea).
MoRDELLA H-FASCIATA, n.S]D.
Black; muzzle (palpi in ^), base of antennae and spurs oljscure
testaceous. Head with obscure jDubescence, which is feebl}^ parted
in the middle. Prothorax with obscure yellowish pubescence
bordering the base, and forming some very ol^scure longitudinal
stripes (there are traces of three maculae in somie specimens).
Elytra with greyish-yellow pubescence, not bordering, but
extending in a short triangle from the middle of each side of the
base; extending close on each side of suture from the scutellum
to a little beyond the middle, at the base and apex of these almost
conjoined stripes there are two very short conjoined elongate
spots (sometimes free), which cause the whole to appear as an
H or a broad-footed T, almo:it touching each other on each sid )
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 291
of the suture near the apex is an elongate narrow stripe. Meso-,
middle and sides of metasternum and abdominal segments, and
base of aculeus with obscure pubescence.
Aculeus moderately long, broad at the base, strongly lessened
from there to beyond the middle, then narrow, apex pointed.
Posterior spurs unequal, longest about two-fifths the length of the
first tarsal joint. Length 3|-5, width lf-1 J mm.
Ilab. — Forest Reefs.
The markings of the elytra are suflicient to render this species
easy of identification; at first sight it resembles 21. limhata, than
which it is slightly broader.
MoRDELLA COMMUNIS, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4317.
From New South Wales I have numerous specimens which
agree in all particulars with the descriptions of this species; they
are all dingy, many of them having a greasy look, caused by a
sprinkling of gre3dsh pubescence; the elytral macule are often
obsolete, and they are never very clearly defined.
MoRDELLA FELIX, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4321.
I have this species from Blackheath (Masters), and Forest
Reefs (Lea). Mr. Waterhouse in describing ' it says: — "Head
with a distinct longitudinal hnpressed line";' this should
read " pubescence i^artecl in the middle," a character common to
most species; very few have an impressed line.
MoRDELLA TRiviALis, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4334.
I have two specimens — one from Galston and the other from
Newcastle — which agree ver}^ well with Mr. Waterhouse's des-
cription of this species; he omits to mention the colour of the
posterior spurs; in my specimens they are piceous-black; in the
Newcastle specimen the anterior femora are reddish-testaceous,
the intermediate somewhat darker; in the Galston sj^ecimen all
the le^'s are concolorous.
/
k^
292 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
MORDELLA FUGITIVA, n.sp.
Black; palpi and basal joints of antennae piceous-red. Head
with griseous pubescence, which is not parted in the middle.
Prothorax with base and apex extremel}^ narrowl}^ bordered with
greyish pubescence. Scutellum in some lights silvery, in others
black. Elytra with two narrow fasciae — which when looked at
from the apex are scarcely visible, from in front appearing bright
silvery — the first is almost in the exact centre, and is zigzag in
shape, appearing in front as two irregular Ws, at the back as
two perfect M's; the other fascia is about a fourth from the apex,
and is composed of two united spots, the apical edge straight,
concave internally. Sides of meso-, and metasternum, abdominal
segments and base of aculeus with pubescence as elytral fasciae,
anterior femora as head.
Posterior spurs unequal, longest about half the length of the
first tarsal joint. Length 7|, width 2| mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs.
MoRDELLA Raymondi, n.sp.
Entirely black. Head with griseous pubescence, which is
feebly parted in the middle. Silvery pubescence on upper surface
as follows : — narrowly edging prothorax, distinct at its l^ase,
obscure at apex and sides; scutellum covered or not; each elytron
with three extremely short obscure stripes (frequently absent), the
most distinct touching scutellum, one in the middle of the base,
the other on the shoulder, a small spot behind the base equidistant
from it, the side and suture, at the middle a V (the two when
looked at from the base forming a perfect W), near the apex and
close to the suture (sometimes touching it) an irregularly shaped
sjDot. All the margins of meso- and metasternum, sides of abdo-
minal segments and upper base of aculeus with silvery pubescence.
Posterior spurs unequal, longest about two-fifths the length of
the first tarsal joint. Length 5|, width IJmm.
Hah. — Mt. Kosciusko (Mr. W. Raymond).
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 293
The pubescence of the elytra and undersurface of this species is
similar in character to the preceding, but it is never so brilliantly
silvery.
MORDELLA ^MULA, n.sp.
Differs from J/, fugitiva in being smaller, narrower, the elytral
pubescence less strongly marked, two small spots near apex of
elytra, base of antennae obscurely piceous; posterior femora
piceous-black, but distinctly lighter in colour than al^domen; and
by the aculeus. Length 7, width 2 J mm.
Hab. — Mt. Kosciusko (Mr. W. Rajmiond).
As the four preceding species strongly resemble each other it
may be as well to point out their chief differential characters.
31. trivialis has the head and prothorax densely and equally
covered with griseous pubescence, the aculeus long, narrow and
nowhere suddenly lessened. The other three species have the
head only covered with griseous pubescence, and that not so
bright as in triviali<i. J/. Raymondi has the aculeus shorter than
in trivialis, strongly lessened about its middle, then very gradually
decreasing in width to apex, which is truncate. J/, fugitiva has
the aculeus short, suddenly lessened at about its middle, rather
broad and parallel-sided from there to apex, the apex truncate.
J/, aumda has the aculeus fully as long, but not so narrow as that
of trivialis, its sides very feebly diminishing iii width from base
to apex, apex sharply truncate.
MoRDELLA MaSTERSI, n.sp.
Black; posterior spurs testaceous. Covered all over with
greyish pubescence, paler and shorter on the undersurface; on the
elytra there are very indistinct traces of markings towards the
apex.
Aculeus long, from the base to about the middle decreasing in
width as the elytra, from the middle narrow, apex sharply pointed.
Posterior spurs subequal, about two-fifths the length of the first
tarsal joint. Length 3J-4;|, width 1-1 ;\ mm.
Hah. — Rope's Creek (Mr. G. Masters).
294 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
An elongate and rather pretty little species, having pubescence
somewhat similar in character to that of M. inusitata.
In dedicating this species to JNIr. George Masters, our veteran
entomologist, I would like to place on record my gratitude to him
for the very great kindness he has always shown me, in giving me
advice on collecting and preserving, in giving new and rare
species which I could never otherwise have obtained, in comparing
species with those in his own and the Macleay Museum Collections,
pointing out the variations of different species, and in many other
ways being of considerable service to me.
MORDELLA 6-LINEATA, n.sp.
Black; antennte testaceous at base, piceous-brown towards apex;
palpi testaceous, brown at apex; four anterior tibise and tarsi
piceous-black, posterior spurs testaceous. The pubescence is
purplish — on the elytra with a shifting, steel-blue gloss (most
noticeable when a light is thrown on the apex). White hairs;
sparse on the head; narrowly bordering the prothorax; sparse on
the shoulders; and forming three short, rather feeble, very narrow
lines down the middle of each elytron, the inside one of which is
feebly traceable on to the shoulders, the middle one the shortest;
a few white hairs also down the suture; undersurface as the head.
Aculeus short, wider than deep, apex truncate. Posterior
spurs unequal, the longest more than twice the length of its
fellow, and about three-quarters the length of the first tarsal
joint. Length 3^^, width 1| mm.
Hah. — Galston.
A short, robust species, wider than deep (1§ x 1^ mm), the
elytra not narrower at apex than at base. It is proportionately
broader than any species known to me.
MoRDELLA IGNOTA, n.Sp.
Black; antenna© and palpi testaceous, the former slightly darker
towards the apex; anterior legs testaceous, basal half of femora
and tarsi piceous; four posterior legs black; spurs to posterior
reddish. Above with silvery-grey pubescence, pure on the head,
BY A.RTHUR M. LEA. 295
mixed with soot}' on the disk of prothorax; elytra with more
sooty than grey hairs, tlie grey most numerous at the base,
becoming sparsely sprinkled and disappearing before the apex is
reached. Undersurface with silvery-grey pubescence with a
yellowish tinge, densest on the legs; abdominal segments — except
at their bases — with sooty pubescence.
Scutellum subquadrate, slighth^ depressed in the middle.
Aculeus narrowly margined, base rather broad, gradually decreas-
ing to the apex, which is truncate. Posterior spurs equal, about
two-fifths the length of the first tarsal joint. Length 6J, width
IJ mm
Hah. — Sydney.
Proportioned much the same or a little broader than 21. setipes,
and with a broader aculeus. I have a number of specimens
recently taken by Mr. Masters at Rope's Creek which agree in all
respects with the above description, except that the colour of the
base of the antenniie and anterior legs is very obscure.
MORDELLA ALBO-SCUTELLATA, n.sp.
Black; antennas piceous, basal joints piceous-red, mouth
ol^scurely red, anterior legs with femora and tibi?e piceous-red or
reddish-piceous, tarsi piceous, posterior spurs obscure red; head
(in some lights) with a steel-blue tinge. Head densely covered
with silvery-yellow pubescence (which when looked at from the
side appears to be parted in the middle, and one side darker than
the other), pubescence on prothorax somewhat darker (in some
specimens ver}^ obscure), at the base wath traces of three very
indistinct maculpe (these can sometimes be followed, when the
middle one appears almost parallel-sided, and continuous from
base to apex). Scutellum — and elytra narrowly at the base —
pubescent as the head, shoulders as the prothorax, the rest of the
elytra appearing sooty, but when a light is thrown on it somewhat
purplish. Undersurface pubescent as head; sides of metasternum,
aculeus and abdominal segments (including a small jDart of the
basal) with purplish pubescence, sides of the basal segment lighter
than in the middle.
296 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
Head with a very shallow depression in front. Aculeus short,
thick, wider than deep, truncate at apex. Posterior spurs equal,
not much more than a third the length of the first tarsal joint.
Length 5-6J, width 2-2J mm.
Hah. — Braidwood, on flowers of Bursaria spinosa; Forest Reefs-
A robust, dirty looking species (closely resembling the preced,
ing), more densely pubescent on the undersurface than above; the
scutellum when viewed from some directions appears almost
white.
MORDELLA INCONSPICUA, n.sp.
Black; base of antennae, femora, and base of four anterior tibia?
and posterior spurs, testaceous-red. Head and prothorax with
very obscure greyish pubescence, the latter with feeble traces of
maculae; scutellum in some lights appearing whitish; base,
shoulders, and the suture for a short distance, with obscure
pubescence: undersurface with dirty-grey pubescence, forming no
distinct markings.
Aculeus short, broad at base, nowhere suddenly lessened, apex
very narrow but truncate. Posterior spurs scarcely equal, longest
little more than half the length of the tirst tarsal joint. Length
3-31 width li mm.
Hah. — Inverell.
Differs from M. aterrima in being smaller, narrower, with a
narrower and somewhat differently shaped aculeus, and by its
impure pubescence. Living specimens of M. aterrima have very
pretty purplish and steel-blue reflections, which, to a great extent,
they lose shortly after death.
MORDELLA TRISTIS, n.Sp.
Black; anterior tarsi piceous-black; antennae piceous, basal
joints somewhat paler; posterior spurs obscure red. Above with
sooty-yellow pubescence, sparse and very minute on head, and
narrowly marking the suture, sooty on the rest of elytra; sterna
and legs pubescent as above; abdominal segments with soot}^
pubescence, the three basal with an obscure whitish sj)ot at the
sides.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 297
Scutellum very small. Aculeus rather long, l)asal two-fifths
narrowly margined, unmargined portion much narrower, apex
truncate. Posterior spurs unequal, the longest twice the length
of its fellow, and not half the length of the tirst tarsal joint.
Length 4 J, width 1| mm.
Ilab.—Mt. Kosciusko (Mr. W. Raymond).
The elytra have an indistinct steel-blue reflection when a light
is thrown on to them, the reflection on the head becoming greenish.
From M. alerrima it may be distinguished b}'- its more shining
derm and sparser pubescence, but in particular by its aculeus,
which is much narrower, especially at the apex.
MORDELLA UNIFORMIS, n.sp.
Black; posterior spurs testaceous {^ with anterior legs and base
of antennte obscurely reddish). Equally covered all over with
obscure greyish pubescence (sometimes with a yellowish tint).
8cutellum very small. Aculeus rather long and sharp pointed,
a))out as wide as deep, nowhere suddenly lessened. Posterior
spurs equal, a little more than half the length of the first tarsal
joint. Length If-^l, width |-| mm.
Ilab. — Galston, on flowers of freshly felled " White Gum,"
8ydney, Como, Forest Reefs.
T suspect this is the species spoken of by the Rev. T. Blackburn
as occurring in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, and as very
likely to be distinct from J/, haldiensis. At Galston I could
have taken thousands of specimens; the branches when beaten
into an umbrella appeared to rain them.
MoRDELLA RUFIPES, n.Sp.
This species would, I think, l)e^ best described by comparison
with the preceding species, which it strongly resembles. From it,
it differs in being somewhat Vjroader; aculeus much shorter; four
anterior legs testaceous, the femora stained with piceous; posterior
femora black, their apices, the tibite and tarsi testaceous-red,
tibise and tarsi tipped with ])lack; posterior spurs unequal in
298 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
length, longest slightly bent, about half the length of first tarsal
joint. Length lf-2|, width |nim.
Ilab. — Sydney.
In some lights there appears to be a dark stripe down the
suture. The colour of the posterior tarsi is the distinctive feature
of this species.
MORDELLA FUSCA, ll.sp.
Head, prothorax and undersurface piceous-l^lack; elytra,
antennae, legs (one specimen has the posterior femora black), the
apex of metasternum and abdominal segments piceous-brown;
sf)urs to posterior tibite testaceous. Rather sparsely covered all
over with yellowish-grey pubescence.
Aculeus moderately long, broad at the base, strongl}^ nairowed
about the basal third; apex sharply pointed. Posterior legs thick,
spurs equal and half the length of the first tarsal joint. Length
3, width I mm.
Hah. — Forest Reefs, Tamworth.
Somewhat resembling M. setipes in appearance, differing from
it in being more robust, smaller and somewhat differently coloured.
MORDELLA SETIPES, 11. Sp.
Castaneous, four anterior legs and antennae paler, abdominal
segments with their margins narrowly paler; four posterior til^iie
and posterior tarsi tipped with piceous; posterior tibire and tarsi
with stiff compressed piceous set;©. Covered all over with
yellowish pubescence, densest on elytra, longest on sides of meso-
and metasternum.
Aculeus rather long, broader than deep, l)asal half narrowly
margined. Longest spur of posterior tibiae about the length of
the first tarsal joint, shortest not a fourth. Length 4-5^, width
l(vix)-Hmm.
Hah. — Galston, Tamworth, Forest Reefs, Sydney; beaten from
drying leaves of Eucalypts not long felled.
An elongate, very shining species, varying slightly in colour.
I have several small specimens from S3^dney which I cannot
separate from this species.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 299
MoRDELLA HUMERALis, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4322.
This is another common and variable species. In many speci-
mens the 3^ellow elytral stripe does not turn up to join the suture;
sometimes the stripe is bare, sometimes covered with yellowish
pubescence, which occasionally extends right across; the two
connected stripes often appear as a cleanly cut W, more frequently
the outer edges are jagged or rounded; the spots near the apex
of each elytron are often joined, appearing as a narrow crescent,
which has its convex side towards the apex, sometimes as a single
moderatel}^ large spot, and — rather rarely — all are united to form
a transverse fascia; the yellowish pubescence frequently extends
along the suture from the base to in line with the apical spots.
The prothoracic macula? are often distinct, and equally as often
entirely obsolete. I have a specimen in which the elytral pubes-
cence ajDpears as four distinct maculae. The size is somewhat
^'ariable.
Ilah. — Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters); Tamworth, Forest Reefs,
Sydney (Lea).
MORDELLA PULCHRA, n.Sp.
Black; abdomen bright red, aculeus piceous-black at apex; four
anterior coxie, femora and the palpi brownish-testaceous, tibite
and tarsi darker; antennae reddish-piceous, at the ba.se testaceous;
spurs to posterior tibiae testaceous. Head and prothorax not
very densely clothed with somewhat silvery pubescence, on the
latter three indistinct black macula?, the largest extending from
near the base to near the apex, the lateral ones ol^lique, almost
touching the central. Elytra with silvery pubescence as follows :
between the suture and sides an elongate somewhat triangular
spot, narrowly joined to the suture at the base; on the shoulders
a rather indistinct spot, which ca^n hardly be separated from the
inner one; two transverse zigzag fasciae, one slightly before the
middle, the other before the apex, the one in the middle very
narrow at the sides, broadest at the suture, from the sides (on its
anterior edge) running obliquely backwards, then up, down, up,
and then semicircularly to the suture, its posterior edge triangular
300 XEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
at the suture; the hinder fascia straight at its posterior edge,
trisinuate in front; suture from the anterior, and margin from the
posterior fascia, with a few silvery hairs. Undersurface with
silvery pubescence, partly denuded on meso- and metasternum; the
abdominal segments when looked at from almost every direction
with the sides at the apex apj^arently semicircularly denuded.
Aculeus short, broad, basal two-thirds narrowly margined; apex
narrow, truncate. Posterior spurs unequal, the longest about
two-fifths the length of the first tarsal joint. Length 4|, width
li mm.
Hab. — Sydney.
This is a rare and very pretty species, easily distinguished by
its red abdomen in striking constrast to the general colour.
MORDELLA PALLIDA.
Pale testaceous, elytra slightly darker, their apices darker still;
abdominal segments jDiceous, their apices and sides and the aculeus
piceous-red; eyes black; antennee — except at base — slightly darker
than head; posterior tibiae and tarsi tij^ped with piceous, inter-
mediate to a less noticeable extent, anterior not at all. Covered
all over (but shortest and sjDarsest on meso- and metasternum)
with short, yellowish, silky pubescence. Meso- and metasternum
distinctly punctate.
Aculeus very short, rather flat, truncate at apex. Posterior
spurs unequal, longest nearly three-fourths the length of the first
tarsal joint. Length 2J, width J (vix) mm.
//ab. — Galston; on flowers of "White Gum."
A species easily recognisable by its pale colour, with dark
abdomen and the absence of maculie, and by the great length of
its posterior spurs.
MoRDELLA Waterhousei, n.sp.
Testaceous; elytra with a zigzag fascia slightly behind the
middle — forming three Y 's in front and four behind (one specimen
has it broader, more confused, and extending slightly in front of
the middle) — and the apical fourth piceous-brown; abdominal
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 301
segments and posterior tibise and tarsi tinged with brown; aculeus
piceous-brown. Covered all over (except on elytral markings)
Avith 3^ellowish silk}^ j^ubescence, which is longest above; posterior
tibise and tarsi edged with blackish sette. Prothorax with three
rather indistinct maculae, the median rather narrow and lanceolate
in shape, the outer ones small.
Aculeus rather short and broad, strongly lessened about the
middle: apex narrow, feebly rounded. Posterior spurs unequal
in length, the longest fully half the length of the first tarsal joint.
Length 2|, width 1 mm,
//a6.— Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters).
MORDELLA V-FASCIATA, n.sp.
Reddish-testaceous; prothorax with a faint piceous spot in the
middle; elytra black, the shoulders reddish-testaceous, an oblique
stripe extending from them to the suture at a little more than
half its length, becoming very indistinct as it approaches the
suture, the two forming an elongated Y. Metasternum stained
with piceous at the sides; abdominal segments black, narrowly
edged with obscure red; four posterior tibiae and tarsi tipped with
piceous; antennio piceous, the two basal joints testaceous.
Covered with greyish pubescence, silvery on elytral stripe and
basal segment of abdomen.
Aculeus long, narrow (but wider than deep), apex sharply
pointed. Posterior spurs unequal, the longest about half the
length of the first tarsal joint. Length 2^, width 4 mm.
Hab. — Galston (Lea); Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters).
I have two specimens which in all structural details agree
exactly with the types of the above species; the markings are
somewhat different, but an examination of a number of specimens
would probably discover intermediates. For the present I think
them deserving of varietal rank.
var. VEXUSTA.
Black; muzzle, prothorax, an oblique humeral stripe (Inroad at
the base, narrowing and almost touching suture at its middle),
302 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
four anterior legs and posterior femora testaceous-red; posterior
femora and abdominal segments dark piceous-brown; antennae
reddish, apical joints infuscate. Elytra with yellowish pubescence
along humeral stripe, and a rather large spot near apex of each
(apparently concealing an obscure reddish spot).
//rt6._Blackheath {Mr. G. Masters).
var. MODESTA.
Black; muzzle, prothorax (its middle infuscate), a squarish
patch on shoulders and four anterior legs testaceous-red; posterior
tibiae and tarsi obscure red; abdominal segments piceous-black;
antennae brown, basal joints paler. Elytra with yellowish
pubescence on humeral spots and along suture.
fJab. — Forest Reefs.
MORDELLA DISTINCTA, n.sp.
Black; a squarish patch on shoulders, four anterior legs and
posterior tarsi obscure testaceous-red; posterior femora and
abdominal segments dark piceous-brown; antennas testaceous-red
at base, darkening to brown at apex. Humeral maculte, under-
surface and legs with obscure greyish pubescence.
Aculeus moderately long, rather wide at base, and moderately
sharjDly pointed, strongly narrowed near the base. Posterior
spurs hardly equal, the longest not quite half the length of the
first tarsal joint. Length 2J, width 1 (vix) mm.
Hab. — Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters); Forest Reefs (Lea).
A species with a larger prothorax than is usual among its
congeners. The humeral spots should be a very distinctive
feature.
MORDELLA WlBURDI, n.Sp.
Black; elytra with a testaceous-red stripe extending from the
shoulders almost to the apex; four anterior legs testaceous,
posterior tibiae and tarsi somewhat darker, their apices piceous,
posterior femora black; antennae testaceous-red, apical joints
darker. Head and prothorax somewhat sparsely clothed with
silvery-yellow pubescence, elytra with golden — sometimes almost
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 303
connected --i^ubescence on the stripes; the pubescence on the
iindersurface is similar to that on the head and prothorax, on the
a])dominal segments (except the basal) and the aciileus it is sparse
and purplish.
Aculeus rather long, as wide as deep, margined on the basal
half. Posterior femora and tibiae rather short and thick, spurs
unequal, the longest not half the length of first tarsal joint.
Length If -3, width 4-4 mm.
//rt6.— Galston, on flowers of "White Gum,"' Como, Sydney
(Lea); Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters); Jenolan Caves (Mr. J. C.
AViburd).
A rather narrow species, which may be distinguished from M.
nigrmis by its much smaller size and by the colour of its legs,
that species having them entirely black.
MORDELLA LONGIPES, n.sp.
^. Reddish-testaceous; elytra with the suture narrowly black
its entire length, the sides from near the shoulders stained with
brown, which gradually encroaches upon, but never completely
darkens the surface near the suture (when looked at from a little
distance there appear to be two narrow rather dull testaceous
vittse extending the whole length of the elytra), abdominal seg-
ments and aculeus piceous-brown, their apices obscurely reddish;
antenme — except basal joints — brownish, posterior tibise and tarsi
red, their apices darker. Above with yellowish pubescence, on
the elytra only at base and on each side of but not on the suture,
the rest of its surface being covered with obscure purplish
pubescence; posterior tibite and tarsi edged with blackish seta^.
Prothorax with three macula?, the central one large and feebl}^
marked, the outer ones very indistinct.
Aculeus long, narrow and sharjD-pointed; posterior spurs unequal
in length, the longest more than half the length of the first tarsal
joint. Length 3-3|, width | (vix) mm
Hub. — Forest Reefs.
9. Differs in being very slightly broader, aculeus broader and
shorter and the abdominal segments scarcely stained.
304 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
An elongate species, having a more parallel outline than any
other species (except M. elo7igatula) known to me.
M. LEUCOSTiCTA, Germ.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4324.
Hah. — Tamworth, Queanbeyan, Forest Reefs, kc.
M. CUSPID ATA, Macl.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4318.
Hah. — Tarn worth.
M. ATERRiMA, Macl.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4313.
This species is widely distributed in New South Wales and
Queensland.
M. MULTiGUTTATA, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4237.
Hah. — Sydney, Forest Reefs (Lea), Jenolan Caves (Mr. J. C.
Wiburd).
M. RUFicoLLis, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4322.
Hah. — Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters), Mossman's Bay (Macleay
Museum).
M. OBLiQUA, Waterh.; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4328.
//f^6.— Rope's Creek (Mr. G. Masters).
M. iNUSiTATA, Blackb.; T.R.S.S.A. 1893, p. 136.
Hah. — Sydney, Galston.
M. CARA, Blackb.; T.R.S.S.A. 1893, p. 137.
Hah. — Sydney, Galston (Lea), Rope's Creek (Mr. G. Masters).
M. Sydneyana, Blackb.; T.R.S.S.A. 1893, p. 137.
Hah. — Queanbeyan, Tamworth, Forest Reefs, Galston.
M. Baldiensis, Blackb.; T.R.S.S.A. 1891, p. 341.
Hah. — Braidwood, Forest Reefs, Galston (Lea), Rope's Creek,
Blackheath (Mr. G. Masters).
BY ARTHUR M. LEA, 305
C U R C U L I N I D .5:.
SOSYTELUS RUGICOLLIS, 11. sp.
Short, thick, rough, opaque. Black; claws feebl}^ diluted with
red. Extremely minutely punctate all over. Base of head and
antenna? with small griseous scales, smaller, sparser and duller at
sides of jDrothorax, undersurface and legs.
Head short, thick; with short set*; a moderately large tubercle
close to the eyes; rostrum excavated, at its apex a triangular and
raised emargination. Disk of prothorax with three excavations,
the central one continuous from base to apex, and oj^en at both
ends, the lateral ones a little shorter, semicircular outwards,
closed at apex, irregularly and narrowly open behind; on the
summits of the excavations and the sides there are a number of
large, shallow setose punctures, some of them in the centre of a
feebly raised tubercle; sides angularly produced in the middle.
El3'tra not twice the length of head and prothorax combined; the
disk very feebly striate-punctate, each puncture carrying a small
seta, at the sides the striae are five in number and very feeble,
but the punctures are rather large and distinct; the 3rd and 6th
interstices strongly raised, costiform and setose, the 3rd slightly
produced at the base, interrupted towards and tuberculate at
apex; the 6th produced at the shoulders, extending for about a
fourth the length of prothorax, interrupted towards and tuber-
culate at apex; in consequence of the interruptions of these costce
there is a transverse row of four tubercles; these when looked at
from behind appear as short conical elevations, the two outer
more obtuse; apical third declivous, with rows of rather strong
punctures, the strongest close to suture. Sterna irregularly
punctate, apex of mesosternum with three transverse rows of
strong punctures. Abdominal segments obsoletely punctate. Legs
rather short, setose, the coxae irregularly punctate and densely
setose. Length 10|, width 4|^ mm.
Hab. — Queanbeyan, IS'.S.W.
306 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
I have a specimen from Cootamundra, which is a Kttle shorter
and narrower, and which has the elytra densely covered with
small, round, griseous-brown scales.
Glochinorrhinus evanidus, n.sp.
1^. Thick, oj)aque, rounded in front and behind. Black; pro-
thorax with a narrow margin anteriorl}'- and the antenniv, piceous-
red. Above covered with small ashen scales, densest and palest
on rostrum; on the sterna the scales are more distinct and paler,
they are densest and elongate behind the prosternal canal; on the
abdominal segments there are short, round and elongate, paler
scales, densest on the basal and apical, and forming three lines on
the intermediates; legs — especially tibige — densely scaly. Head
with short dark seta?, becoming setose hairs on rostrum; prothorax
setose, the setne short and dark on the disk, pale and elongate at
the sides; elytra sparsely setose. Densely and very minutely
punctate all over; apex of rostrum coarsely and densely punctate,
undersurface more sparingly and feebly; prothorax at sides with
rather large shallow punctures, elytra seriate-punctate, punctures
large and round, deepest at the sides.
Head with a shallow fovea between eyes; antenn e short, sub-
shining; rostrum subparallel, slightly widest at apex, minutely
granulate, obtusely carinate from the base to between bases of
antennje, the sides slightly in front of the middle with a strong
recurved spine, behind that a shorter curved spine, behind that
again there are a number of small tubercles, there is also a
tubercle in the middle immediately in front of eyes; undersurface
highly polished, obtusely carinate down the middle, impressed
towards the sides at base, a short tubercle behind the antennal
scrobes. Prothorax slightly longer than wide, and wider than
deep, base narrowly margined, the middle produced, the sides
behind the eyes broadly emarginate, much narrower in front than
the middle or behind; median line feebl}^ marked till near the ajDex,
where there is a short shining carina. Scutellum short, rounde'd,
transverse. Elytra at base scarcely as wide as prothorax at its
widest, and about once and a third as long; gradually
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 307
narrowing to near apex, at the base wider than deep, becoming
deeper than wide at posterior coxae; each elytron with a row of
about ten small shining tubercles close to suture, the second
interstice bearing the largest tubercle, irregularly shaped, close
to the base and equidistant from suture, behind it there are a
number of irregular, obsolete setose tubercles, forming a slightly
elevated costa which terminates at more than a third from the
apex. Legs long; tibice flattened and spurred at apex, a few setai
on the other side causing them to appear bispinose; Imsal joint of
tarsi elongate, grooved beneath. Length 11 (rostr. excl.), width
ih mm.
5. Differs in having the rostrum smooth, nar]'ow, without
scales or seta3, and almost impunctate, tibiae shorter, &c.
Hah. — North Queensland, Barron Falls (Mr. A. Koel^ele);
Cairns (Mr. W. W. Froggatt).
This species is much the form and size of G. Douhledayi, from
which it may be readily distinguished by its somewhat broader
form, nontubsrculate and feebl}^ carinated prothorax, the el^^tra
with almost obsolete tubercles, shorter legs, differently coloured
scales, etc. Both the gentlemen named obtained numerous
specimens.
Tychreus fasciculatus, n.sp.
Short, ovate, convex. Black; beneath piceous-black, claws
reddish. Above, and the legs, densely covered with ashen —
intermingled with brown— scales, which completely cover the
shining derm, except the basal half of the prothoracic median
line; on the undersurface the scales are sparse. Rostrum densely
covered with elongate punctures; elytra striate-punctate, the
punctures large but almost hidden; meso- and metasternum
caarsely and densely punctate at the sides, sparsely punctate in
the middle; abdominal segments with stroni*', elongate and rather
sparse punctures; legs densely and minutely — the coxse more
strongly — punctate.
Prothorax trisinuate; the scales at the side of the median Ijne
with a reddish tint, a pale, oblique, rather indistinct line.
308 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
on each side, then two oblique, small white spots; the sides
broadly marked with whitish scales, edged immediately beneath
with ochreous; three fascicles on each side of the median line, the
basal small and dark, intermediate reddish and with a few short
setae, apical composed of elongate set?e, which slightly project
over the head. Scutellum small, round. Elytra with a few
whitish scales towards the apex, each with a number — about ten
— of small irregularl}^ placed, sparsely setose tul^ercles, and a
large one about the middle — equidistant from each other and the
sides — covered with long setae, paler in the middle, darker and
shorter at apex. Legs with irregular rings of whitish scales, and
with whitish and brownish setae; femora thick, keeled beneath,
the keel terminating abruptly at a third from the apex; tibiae
flattened, arcuate (especially the intermediate), a short spur at
their apices. Length 5, width 2| mm.
Hah. — Sydney.
I have but one specimen, and do not care to scrape it too much,
where I have scraped off the scales on the elytra, the derm is seen
to be shining, and covered with very minute punctures; the
shining median line is very conspicuous.
C R Y L o P H I D ^.
This family appears to l)e numerousl}^ represented in Australia,
although but two species have been hitherto described. Most of
the following species were obtained during floods, others by
searching decaying vegetal^le matter, and a few b}^ beating drying
boughs of Eucalypts and other plants. All of them have the
prothorax strongly rounded in front and entirely covering the
head; with a few of the species I have not been able to examine
the head; in all that I have the eyes are coarsely faceted. They
are all shining and sliglitly convex, a few moderately convex; in
most of them the pubescence is of a yellowish colour, where it is
otherwise I have specified it. The lengths given are those from
apex of prothorax to apex of elytra; where I have had numerous
specimens I have taken an average-sized one.
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 309
Sericoderus mint'tus, n.sp.
Broad. Testaceous; protliorax more clear than elytra, and
with a piceoiis mark at its ai3ex; undersiirface somewhat darker
than above; legs, muzzle and base of antennte jDale testaceous,
rest of antennpe brown; abdominal segments slightly paler towards
apex. Elytra with moderately long pubescence, slightly sparser
on prothorax, undersurface densely clothed with rather short
pubescence. Prothorax microscopically, elj^tra densely and min-
utely, underneath visibly punctate.
Prothorax with the base widel}' rounded, angles largely pro-
duced, acute. Scutellum slightl}^ transverse, semicircularly
triangular. Elytra at the base almost as wide as long, apex
almost conjointly rounded. Femora somewhat thickened, distance
between posterior greater than their length. Length |, width
I" mm. (vix).
II ab. — Sj^dney, Galston, Forest Reefs, N.S.W.
Sericoderus comp actus, n.sp.
Very broad. Piceous, prothorax (except at apex, which is
dark dull red) indistinctly lighter than elytra; muzzle, legs and
antenme pale testaceous. Above equally • clothed with rather
short greyish pubescence, undersurface more sparsely. Above
with minute punctures, densest on elytra; metasternum minutely
punctate.
Prothorax feebly depressed at Ijase, bisinuate, angles largel}^
produced, acute. Scutellum small, Ijroadly transverse, semi-
circularly rounded. Elytra as wide as long, narrower than pro-
thorax, narrowing from base to almost extreme apex, each feebly
separately roun— Sydney.
Differs from the preceding in being broader and more convex,
in its different puncturation and pubescence, and its differently
shaped scutellum.
'Jlypeaster Olliffi, n.sp.
Moderately elongate. Piceous-brown; prothorax at the sides
in front narrowly pale testaceous, or obscurely semitransparent;
undersurface darker than above, legs and antennae testaceous, the
latter slightly infuscate towards apex. Above almost glabrous,
the pubescence being extremely short and sparse, undersurface
rather more densely but still sparsely clothed. Above very densely
and extremely minutely punctate, and with moderately dense
shallow punctures; metasternum indistinctly punctate.
Prothorax feebly depressed at base, very feebly if at all bisinu-
ate, angles not produced. Scutellum transverse, semicircularly
triangular. Elytra longer than wide, wider than prothorax,
widest at the middle, as wide near ape k as at base, each separately
rounded. Femora not very thick, distance between posterior
slightly greater than their length. Length |-, width h mm.
Hah. — -Windsor, Sydney, Tamworth.
The peculiar puncturation of this rather plentiful species renders
it very distinct.
Clypeaster squalida, n.sp.
Moderately elongate. Piceous-brown; elytra obscurely piceous
at apex and sides; a piceous mark at apex of prothorax, on each
side of which is a small semitransparent obscure testaceous mark;
legs, muzzle and antennae testaceous; antenn;e infuscate tow^ards
apex. Above equally clothed with rather short greyish pubes-
cence, the pubescence on the undersurface as dense but some-
what finer. Above minutely and not densely, metasternum
minutely punctate.
Prothorax very narrowly depressed at base, shallowly bisinuate,
angles slightly produced. Scutellum feebly transverse, semi-
circularly triangular. Elytra longer than wide, slightly wider
BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 319
than prothorax, widest near the middle, feebly separately rounded.
Femora moderate, the distance at their bases equal to or slightly
greater than their length. Length 1 (vix) width h mni.
Ilab. — Sydney.
Very similar in size, shape and colour to the preceding, but
differing in its puncturation, which closely resembles that of C.
Andersoiiij but is otherwise distinct.
ClYPE ASTER ELLIPTICA, n.sp.
Elongate, moderately convex. Prothorax red, a piceous mark
at apex; elytra piceous-black, with an indistinct dark red mark
at the apex, and very indistinct near the sides; undersurface
dark red, the metasternum piceous, legs and antennae — which are
concolorous — bright red, posterior femora somewhat darker.
Elytra clothed with rather long pubescence, as dense but somewhat
shorter on prothorax; the pubescence on the undersurface
sparser, finer and darker than above. Elytra densely and
extremely minutely punctate, and with small moderately dense
punctures (sparsest on prothorax), metasternum minutely punctate.
Prothorax feebly depressed in the middle of the base, shall owty
bisinuate, angles scarcely produced. Scutellum feebly transverse,
semicircularly triangular. Elytra much longer than wide, widest
-behind the base, where it is slightly wider than prothorax, not
much wider at base than near apex, each sejDarately rounded.
Femora moderate, distance between posterior about equal to their
length. Length 1§, width 1 mm.
//a 6.— Clarence and Richmond Rivers, N.S.W.
This is a very distinct and rather rare species, much larger
than any as yet recorded from Australia.
320
ON TWO NEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF FISHES
FROM AUSTRALIA.
By J. Douglas Ogilby.
( C ommunicatPAl by the Secretarij ).
Percophid^.
Centropercis, gen.nov.
Branchiostegals (f) five ; pseud obranchife present. Body elongate-
oblong, compressed; head conical; cleft of mouth wide and mode-
rately oblique; lower jaw the longer; eye lateral, partially directed
upwards; gill-openings wide; gill-rakers stout, of moderate length,
few in number; bones of head armed or radiate. Jaws, vomer
and hyoid bones with well-developed, fixed teeth; palatine and
pterygoid bones edentulous. Two dorsal fins, the first with six
spines; the second more developed, similar to the anal; no semi-
detached spines in front of the anal; ventrals thoracic; all the
pectoral rays branched. Scales small, poriferous, those of the
head cycloid, of the body ctenoid; body with regularly arranged
series of naked bands.
Centropercis nudivittis, sp.nov.
B. V. (?) D. 6 1/20. A. 1/17. V. 1/5. P. 13. C. 15.
Length of head four and one-third, height of body six and
one-fourth in the total length; Avidtli of head two-thirds of its
height and two-fifths of its length. Diameter of eye four and
two-fifths in the length of the head: premaxilla trilobate, snout
emarginate, in front; the latter a little longer than the diameter
of the eye; interorbital space grooved, three-fifths of the diameter
HY J. DOUfiLAS Of.ILBY. 321
of the eye. Nostrils simple, lateral, situated at the opposite ends
of a shallow fossa. Lower jaw the longer; cleft of mouth wide
and moderately oblique; the maxilla truncated and expanded
posteriori}'', extending backwards beyond the hinder margin of
the eye; upper profile of head flat. Preorbital armed with
three strong spines; preopercle finely denticulated on both limbs,
and with a strong, acute, elongate, curved spine at the angle;
three short stout spines on the subopercle; opercle and interopercle
with prominent ribs, each of which terminates in a free flexible
point; a spinose ridge runs from the front of the snout to the
postero-superior angle of the orbit, where it is subdivided, a short
branch passing downwards along the upper portion of the hinder
margin of the eye, Avhile the main l^rancli is continued along the
occiput; beneath the termination of the latter a similar ridge
commences, and traversing the temporal region ends in a pair of
strong post-temporal spines; a short sj^inose ridge on the occij^ut
below the middle of the occipital ridge: a short simple ridge j^asses
outwards from the centre of the posterior margin of the eye.
Jaws with a single series of slender cordiform teeth, those in
front being strongly hooked; two or three smaller teeth between
each pair of elongate ones; three strong and a few small teeth on
either side of the head of the vomer; two short parallel patches,
composed of three series each, of stout recurved teeth behind the
base of the tongue, the outer row the strongest; all the bones of
the hyoid arch dentiferous. Dorsal fins separated by a consider-
able interspace; the spines weak and flexible, the second the
highest, two-fifths of the length of the head, and two-thirds of the
anterior and highest rays: the anal commences beneath the third
dorsal ray, and is similar to but not so high as the soft dorsal
fin: ventral elongate and pointed, the fourth ray the longest,
reaching to the vent, its length three-fourths of that of the head :
pectoral small, about half the length of the ventral, its base
situated at a considerable distance behind that of the ventral:
caudal emarginate, small, its length six and a half in the total
length. Scales of the head simple, circular, non-imbricate, each
furnished with a central pore; head entirely scaly, with the excep-
322 TWO NEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF FISHES.
tion of the posterior third of the opercle and the greater part of
the subopercle, the scales on the latter being arranged in a
narrow basal band on its upper half, from the extremities of
which short, broad bands are produced backwards; below this
there is a free angular band; scales of body similar to those of
the head, but strongly ctenoid; eighteen enlarged tubular scales on
the lateral line, with from six to eight normal scales in the space
between each pair; between each tubular scale and the base of
the dorsal there is a naked band about two normal scales in width,
which is continued across the lateral line to the depth of two
scales; sides of abdomen and base of the anal fin with more or
less corresponding naked fasci*. Upper surface of head and body
olive-green, lower surface pale yellowish- white, the two colours
being abruptly divided; a series of seven olive-green spots along
the middle of the sides, the last encircling an enlarged tubular
scale at the base of the caudal; fins immaculate.
The unique specimen from which the above diagnosis has been
drawn up was washed ashore, in a perfect though dying condition,
at Maroul^ra Bay, near Sydney, and was shortly afterwards lent
to me by its discoverer, Mr. Thomas Whitelegge, for identification
and, if necessary, description. In length the type specimen
measures 78 millimetres, and it has since been added to the
collection of the Australian Museum, Sydney, its register number
being I. 3396.
A T H E R I N I D .E.
Tropidostethus, gen.nov.
Branchiostegals six; pseudobranchiai present. Body strongly
compressed, rhombo-fusiform, the tail attenuated; dorsal profile
straight, ventral convex and acute. Cleft of mouth oblique,
extending to beneath the front margin of the eyes; jaws not
protractile. A single series of teeth in the jaws and a short
curved row on the palatine bones; no vomerine or lingual teeth.
Spinous dorsal small; anal moderate; ventrals minute, situated
far behind the pectorals. Scales of moderate size, thin, cycloid,
deciduous.
BY J. DOUGLAS OCULBY. 323
Tropidostetiius rhothopiiilus, sp.nov.
B. vi. D. 4. 1/15. A. 1/23. Y. 1/5. P. 14. C. 17. Vert.
15/29.
Length of head five to five and a half, height of body five in
the total length. Eye situated near to the dorsal profile, its
diameter three to three and a half in the length of the head,
and four-fifths of the flattened interorbital space; snout obtuse
and convex, rather less than the diameter of the eye in length;
the upper jaw slightly projecting. Spinous dorsal situated above
the vent, and midway between the tip of the snout and the base
of the caudal fin; soft dorsal commencing above the anterior third
of the anal; caudal forked, its length six and three-fifths to six
and three-fourths in the total.
General colour gray (pale straw-yellow in spirits), so closely
dotted with minute brown specks as to give it a brownish appear-
ance when nevv^ly caught; a broad silvery lateral band, margined
above by an emerald streak; the ventral edge faintly tinged with
green. Occiput with a large cuneiform emerald spot, the acute
portion extending forwards between the eyes; a brown spot con-
tained within its anterior half; nostrils pierced in an emerald
spot; supraorbital region tinged with pale green.
These little Atherinids were first observed by Mr. Thomas
AÂ¥hitelegge at Maroubra Bay* during the month of March, 1893,
but the specimens Avhich he brought back to the Museum, being
considered immature, were not critically examined on that
occasion. Their reappearance, however, in large shoals along the
coast during March of the present year induced us to investigate
more closely their habits, mode of life, and such other points in
their economy as could be observed; this difficult task has been
al3ly carried out by Mr. Whitelegge, with the result that though
the shoals have been on the coast from March until the date of
writing — July 31st — there is no appreciable difference in size.
* Between Port Jackson and Botany Headj
v
324 TWO NEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF FISHES.
thus proving, what from a prior examination we had inferred,
that the fishes are adult; no signs of breeding have, however, as
yet been discovered.
They are essentially surf-fishes, coming in with the waves, and
being swept up into the gulches and pools on the reefs; they
never descend to the bottom, but swim here and there, keeping
but a few inches beneath the surface; the pectoral fins are always
kept fully expanded, at right angles to the body, and motionless,
being utilised in fact solely as balancing media; the caudal fin
and pedicle have a distinct downward curvature when the fish is
swimming.
325
LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA.
Part III.
By Walter W. Froggatt.
This paper contains my contribution to the study of the
habits of our Coleoptera for the season 1894-5, and is really a
continuation of previous notes on this subject; for the observa-
tions of one year run into the next, and some of the insects have
to be watched for over twelve months before the larva can be
correlated with the perfect insect.
As before, I am indebted to the Rev. Thos. Blackburn for the
determination of some of my beetles, and to Mr. R. T. Baker for
the verification of the botanical names of some of their food
plants.
Aphanasium australe, Boisd.
Larva short and stout, pale yellow, with well-defined abdominal
segments; jaws black, and truncated at the tips, mouth parts
raised upon a slightly lobed projection, the basal portion of the
head forming an encircling fold, slightly overhanging in front; on
the lower edge of the forehead are four irregular yellow patches;
thoracic segments narrow, legs small, short, ferruginous; on the
dorsal surface the first five segments flattened, of regular size,
produced into an elongate oval, slightly impressed in the centre,
with a patch of reddish-brown hairs on either side, 6th and 7th
rather larger and rounder, Sth small, 9th also short, terminating
in a short obtuse point; on the ^ventral side the segments are
comparatively flat.
The larvae feed upon the stems of Hakea acicularis, growing
in the neighbourhood of Sydney, a number always boring into the
shrub at one place, causing the branches to wither and snaj) off-
perhaps nearly a dozen grubs will feed in a single branch gnawing
326 LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
out parallel chambers, but never breaking into each other's mine.
The dying foliage is noticeable early in January, their attacks
causing the limb to become swollen and covered with exudations
of gum. The beetles come forth in the first week in November;
I have never taken the beetle at large, but it is evidently common
on this shrub at certain seasons of the year, though ver}^ effectually
concealed in the dense prickly foliage. The beetle is 10 lines to
an inch in length, with very large prominent eyes and long slender
antennae; thorax* finely rugose, produced into a stout blunt spine
on either side; elytra rounded at the shoulders, of a uniform width
to the tips, which are round, not quite covering the tip of the
abdomen; the whole insect is of a uniform chestnut-brown, the
central portion of the wing covers being much lighter than the
edges, and the whole of them covered with close, fine, fawn-
coloured down.
Hah. — The neighbourhood of Sydney.
Strongylurus thoracicus, Hope.
Larva dirty white, with rather large head, armed with stout
black jaws, broad at the tips; body short and corrugated. Dorsal
view: forehead large, flattened, projecting slightly in front,
creamy- white with a large blotch of bright yellow on either side,
covered with stout reddish hairs; thoracic segments narrower
than the head; first four abdominal segments bearing two corru-
gated lobes on the summit; the 5th, 6th and 7th with two rounded
tubercles divided in the centre; all the segments distinctly divided
from each other at the apical margins; the last two segments
rounded. Ventral view: thoracic segments much flattened, legs
very small, short and ferruginous, the margins of all the segments
fringed with fine hairs.
The larvae attack the stems of the common garden Pittosj)orums
(/*. revolutum and P. undulatum) growing in sul^urban gardens.
In the neighbourhood of Croydon, where most of my specimens
were ol^tained, they completely disfigured a large shrub of the
former species, large branches three and four inches in diameter
being cut off; over a dozen of the lower limbs fell during last
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 327
season, while little streams of dust could be seen falling from the
holes where they had gnawed through the bark; most of the
fallen branches are hollowed out before they l^reak off, but the
larva nearly always remains behind in the stump of the l)ranch
feeding into the green wood, which dies down below where it
pupates. They take some time to reach maturity, certainly not
before the second year, as . I have kept larvae over that time
without any sign of their pupating.
Mr. Geo. Masters tells me that at Elizabeth Bay, Syniphyletes
nigro-virens feeds upon the garden Pittosporums; while Strongy-
hiriis thoracicus confines its attacks to the white cedar (Jfelia
composita), cutting off the branches in exactly the same manner.
The beetle is 10 lines in length, with dark l^rown head clothed
with coarse brown hairs, an elongate spot of silvery white hairs
between the eyes; antennae toothed on the outer apical margin of
each joint; thorax dark reddish-brown, deeply and coarsely
punctured, with three large round patches of white hairs on
either side, with another smaller one in front of the scutellum;
elytra ferruginous on the shoulders, paler towards the tips, deeply
punctured for about two-thirds of their length, but almost smooth
towards the apex; a row of 4 small black spots across the
shoulders, with an irregular black horseshoe-like band on either
side; the tips of the wing covers and the apical margins black;
the whole of the upper surface clothed with scattered grey down;
underside clothed with greyish hairs, with a patch of white hairs
forming an oval mark on the side of each segment.
The larv?e were most active in the early summer months after
the new year, the beetles breeding out early in December.
Aterpus cultratus, Fabr.
Larva 5 lines in length, short, -and obese, lying with its back
arched and the tip of the abdomen curved towards the head; dull
white, with dark chocolate-l)rown head, truncate at the base,
mouth parts rather prominent, and with a median groove lightly
impressed down the centre of the head; a dark brown transverse
line in front of the first thoracic segment; on the dorsal surface
328 LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
the segments are of uniform size, each forming a double fold at
the apex, and divided into three distinct lumps or warts on either
side, the ventral surface flat, with a fringe of long reddish hairs
along the marginal folds of each segment.
The larvae feed upon the stem of Melaleuca stellatuTn, com-
mencing on the bark and then gnawing out an elongate oval
cavity in the side of the branch underneath the loose bark; in
this cavity they form a rough rounded cocoon of gnawed wood
early in July. The infested stems were cut off", and in captivity
the beetles bred out early in September. They were very plentiful
at Rose Bay (Sydney).
Two years ago I bred a single specimen taken at Manly, which
had formed a similar pupa case on the stem of Eiicalyptus
corymhosa. The beetle is generally found upom small gum trees,
and often comes to the stump of a freshly cut down tree, probably
for the exuded sap.
It is 5 lines in length; head, legs, and apical portion of el3'tron
hocolate-brown; thorax black, deeply and regularly punctured,
with a stiff brush of black down on either side towards the head;
the basal portion of the wing covers black, regularly and deeply
striated, with the punctures in regular rows; carrying a double
pair of tufts of black down on each shoulder, with a corresponding-
single one on either side towards the apex, where the elytron
slopes down with deep regular striations towards the tip, and is
ornamented with two much smaller black tufts.
This beetle has a wide range over Australia, and is a rather
common weevil about Sydne}^
EuRHYNCHUS L^viOR, Kirby.
Larva 10 lines in length, slender and of uniform length, rounded
on the dorsal surface; of a dull yellow colour; head almost
spherical, flattened in front, deep reddish-brown, slightly rugose,
fringed in front with a few scattered long hairs; jaws black,
truncate at the tips, palpi very short, and the labrum very small
and wedge-shaped; thorax with 1st segment ochreous-yellow,
smooth and shining, 2nd and 3rd pale yellow, covered on the
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 329
summit with a patch of very fine reddish spines; on the ventral
surface flattened and corrugated, each bearing a pair of very
short conical legs : abdominal segments slightly smaller than the
thorax, corrugated and clothed with similar line spines as the
thoracic segments.
The larvae feed upon the stems of Persoonia lanceolata; entering
through the bark a few inches above the surface of the ground,
they bore holes towards the centre of the trunk, then turning
upwards and hollowing out parallel chambers several inches long,
and pupating at the end of the last chamber. I found one nearly
perfect beetle, and several full-grown larva? early in July, at
Hornsby. The beetle is about 7 lines in length, of a general
slender and ver}" graceful form compared with most of the weevils;
black, but having a greyish tint from the fine clothing of grey
hairs covering both dorsal and ventral sides. The snout is long,
slender, and smooth, the thorax rugose, the elytra also rugose,
with close deeply punctured striae.
It is not a very common beetle, but is generally found in pairs,
about i*^ovember, clinging to the twigs of small bushes.
AxiDES DORSALis, Pascoe.
Larva pale yellow, about 3|^ lines in length when uncurled;
when met with is nearly always lying with its back arched and
the head nearly touching the tip of the abdomen; head oval,
ferruginous, with two pale ochreous lines in the centre giving it a
variegated appearance; jaws black, short, and angular; first
thoracic segment small, 2nd and 3rd with the first seven abdominal
segments of a uniform size; 8th and 9th forming a short broadly
rounded tip.
The larvae are very plentiful in^May and June in the stems of
Astrotricha Jioccosa; they bore from the surface into the soft
pithy centre, forming short cylindrical burrows, sometimes only
one or two being together, but oftener in little colonies of ten or
a dozen; their attacks cause the limb to swell and exude a lot of
sticky strongly smelling aromatic resin, which burns very readily;
330 LIFE-HISTOKIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
this, together with the castings, forming irregular excrescences
upon the branches.
The beetle is 2| lines in length, of a general creamy buff colour,
due to a dense growth of fine hairs' covering the dark chocolate
coloured elytra, the natural colour visible only on the snout;
the centre of the thorax and from the shoulders for about two-
thirds of the back pale reddish-brown, thickly interspersed with
fine black spines or bristles commencing on the thorax, and
increasing in number towards the middle of the elytra, where
they form a dark patch. The thorax is further ornamented with
two pairs of small downy plumes on the sides, and the elytra are
broadly impressed with coarsely punctured striae.
The beetle is found at large upon its food plant early in
November; most of my specimens were obtained on a large patch
of the bushes at the head of the Double Bay Valley.
DOTICUS PESTILENS, Ollill.
Larva 2 to 21- lines in length; pale yellow, with the apical
portion of the abdomen slightly ferruginous; head small and
orbicular, partly hidden by the thorax; jaws small, with the tips
divided into two pointed teeth, with a larger and more angular
one on the inner edge; segments rounded, the abdominal ones
forming a double fold along the sides, the under fold smallest, tip
of the abdomen curled inwards, and the whole larva clothed with
long hairs.
The larv?e feed in the interior of lumpy reddish-brown galls,
produced in the first instance, I think, by the attacks of lepidop-
terous larvae, upon the tips of the branchlets of Acacia decurrens;
the galls or rather after-growths upon the twigs become dead and
dry up in Februar}^; and at this season nearly every gall is
tenanted with a little grub, covered with woody dust.
The beetle, about 3 lines in length, dark brown in colour and
covered with greyish down, was found in the box containing the
galls about a week after they were collected. It has a peculiar
way of jumping w^hen touched.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 331
The life-history of this beetle is of importance, as the insect is
a well-known orchard pest. The species was described by Mr.
A. Sidney Olliff from specimens received from Mr. C. French;
they had attacked the apples near Melbourne, and by puncturing
them caused them to shrivel up before they were ripe.
Mr. French has given an account of this pest and its ravages,
with a plate containing figures of it in all stages, in his Hand-
book of the Destructive Insects of Victoria"^ under the name
of Doticus pestilens, the apple beetle.
Ha h . — ITeathcote.
M.ECHIDIUS RUGOSUS.
The description of the larva of the previous species will serve
also for this, except that it is slightly larger when full grown.
The larvae live in the thick bark of Eucalyptus rohusta, where they
pupate; the beetle comes out in September and October, and will
be found in crevices, or under loose bark on the trunks of the
trees.
This beetle is slightly larger than M. tibialis, having the same
uniform coloration; the flanges in front of the head more angular,
with the edges curved upward, and the back of the head and
thorax very finely and closely punctured, so that the outer edges
have a fine serrate appearance; the elytra covered with fine close
deeply punctured parallel striae; the whole of the dorsal surface
covered w^ith very minute scale-like hairs scattered over the head
and thorax; on the elytra forming regular lines along the ridges
of the parallel striae.
/y«6.— Botany, N.S.W.
M^CHiDius TIBIALIS, Blackbum.
Larva dirt}^ white, rather lo'ng " and slender, the head pale
yellow, with short ochreous-yellow labrum, and stout short jaws
of the same colour; thoracic segment more constricted than the
first abdominal segments; legs short, covered with short golden
* Part I. Chap. xiii. p. S3.
332 LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
yellow hairs, which are also sparsely scattered along the sides of
the body; tarsal claw black, small and sharply pointed; all the
segments along the dorsal surface except the last two covered
along the summit with short brownish spines.
The larvae, together with the perfect beetles, were found in the
nests of the large mound-building Termite; they were very
numerous in several nests opened, most of the larvse being in the
outer walls, but others were in the interior of the nest, while the
beetles were crawling about all parts of the termitarium, the
swarming hosts of white ants seeming to take no notice of them.
The beetle is 4|^ lines in length, dark brownish-black, with the
head produced into two shell-like flanges in front of the eyes;
thorax finely punctured; elytra traversed with deeply and closely
punctured parallel strife.
if«6.— Shoalhaven, N.S.W.
Melobasis iridescens, L. &â– G.
Larva white, slender and flattened on the underside; jaws small;
head globular, much broader than the thoracic segments ; pale
yellow, with two ferruginous lines crossing the head and coming
to a point at the forehead; first and second thoracic segments
rounded and narrow; third thoracic and the first six abdominal
segments rounded on the margins, but square at the apex, which
projects over the following segment on either side; seventh and
eighth much smaller, while the anal segment is produced in a
curious forked tail, divided into a rounded lobe at the base,
terminating in a slender tail on either side.
The larva feeding between the bark and sap wood forms a series
of parallel wavy tunnels in wood that is just beginning to wither;
when nearly full grown it bores in the sap wood to pupate.
The beetle is about 4 lines in length, of a bright metallic green
colour, with the head and thorax very finely punctured; elytra
irregularly striated, with the strife bearing punctures; with the
ridges between them also punctured; apical edges of the wing
covers very finely toothed. Bred from infested branches of Acacia
lo7igifolia obtained at Rose Bay.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 333
M. iridescPMs is given in Masters' Catalogue as a variety of M.
ciipriceps, but it is very distinct both in form and habits from the
beetles determined by Mr. Blackburn as the latter.
M. cupriceps is nearly a third longer, of a more delicate pale
green colour, with decided golden tints upon the shoulders, and it
is more boat-shaped upon the back, with the serrate edges of the
elytra very deep and slender. The abdominal strife are very fine
and regular, and sparingly punctured, while the spaces between
them are perfectly smooth.
This beetle is rather common about Sydney, feeding upon the
foliage of Viminaria denudata early in the year; but I have
never taken M. cupriceiys on an Acacia.
Melobasis splendida, Donov.
I have not been able to identify the larva of this beautiful
little Buprestid; but in chopping the dead stems of Acacia longi-
folia I have come upon several fully developed in an irregular
chamber at the end of a tunnel leading from under the bark into
the sapwood; and have bred as many more from infested wood
kept in boxes.
The beetle is 4 lines in length, bright metallic-green, with two
parallel bands of dark purple across the thorax; and a brilliant
fiery coppery-red pattern formed by two bands commencing behind
the thoracic bands, leaving a bright green patch round the
pronotum and joining just below, occupying all the centre of the
back, and after projecting out on either side into two sharp
angles, runs round the tip of the wing covers, and forms a narrow
stripe along the apical part of the margins not quite up to the
hind legs; all the underside is bright green.
//rt6.— Rose Bay, N.S.W.
CiSSEIS MACULATA, L. ct G.
A score of specimens of this beetle have been bred, in October,
from dead branches of Acacia lonyifolia collected at Rose Bay,
and kept in closed boxes; others were obtained in November and
December, feeding on the leaves of the same Acacia at Manly.
334 LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA,
The beetle is about 3 lines in length, the front of the head
bright green, the thorax and shoulders bright metallic-bronze, the
centre of the wing covers black with metallic reflections, and the
tips fiery red colour. Underside of thorax and legs green, with
the abdominal segments bronzy-red.
CiSSBIS SEMI-SCABROSA, L. ife G.
Larva very pale yellow, with small mouth parts and jaws;
head large and globular; 1st and 2nd thoracic segments small,
rounded on the edges; the 3rd thoracic and the first six abdominal
segments more or less rounded on their extremities, the last three
tapering to a small rounded tip.
It feeds in a very similar manner to that of Jlelobasis iindescens;
at first under the bark, but finally pupating in the sapwood
beneath.
The beetle is 4^ lines in length, the head and thorax bright
metallic-green; the elytra fiery coppery-red and finely granulated,
all the underside green.
This is not a common species; I have bred three individuals
from infested branches of Acacia lonyifolia obtained at Rose Bay.
Cadmus flavocinctus, Saund., Trans. Ent. Soc. 1846.
Larva 4 lines in length, pale yellow, with a cylindrical black
rugose head, truncate and perfectly flat in front, with short
3-jointed antennae projecting on either side and the jaws almost
hidden; 1st thoracic segment covered on the dorsal side with a
dark brown coriaceous plate slightly curved in front; legs very
long, slender, armed with a sharp tarsal claw; the rest of the
segments of uniform size, pale yellow, clothed on the sides with
long scattered hairs, thickest towards the tip of the abdomen, the
legs also covered with long hairs.
The larva constructs an elongate oval cocoon with a jug-like
neck, of a stout woody nature, smooth, hard, and dark brown; the
grub by protruding its head and fore legs can crawl about on the
ground, or among the loose bits of dead bark at the butts of the
gum trees in a similar manner to the case moths; but from the
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 335
remarkable resemblance of these cocoons, when in a qiiisscent
state, to the castings of some of the large wood-eating lamellicorn
beetles, they are ver}^ easily passed over.
When the larva is full grown it forms a concave lid over the
top of the opening, and remains on the ground generally under
logs or fallen timber until it is read}^ to emerge.
Like nearly all the members of this genus the beetles feed upon
the foliage of the young Eucalypts.
The beetle is about 4 lines in length, reddish chocolate-brown,
with irregular black blotches upon the thorax and upper half of
the elj^tra; thorax and wing cases very rugose, the former verv
finely punctured; the latter deeply ribbed with parallel stria?,
closely and finely punctured.
Hah. — Not common in the neighbourhood of Sydney, l3ut
plentiful in the Shoalhaven District.
Epilachxa 26-puxctata, Dejean.
Eggs pale yellow, placed in patches of thirt}- or forty upon the
underside of the leaves; elongated and pointed at the apex;
having a beautiful granulated appearance under the lens. The
larva on emergence and after each moult pale yellow.
Larva short and stout, 5 lines in length and 3 in breadth, pale
yellow. Dorsal view : head completely hidden by the folds of the
thorax; 1st thoracic segment covered with a blackish patch from
which spring up four black spines, each of them with several finer
radiating spines growing from their sides; white at the tij)s; 2nd
and third thoracic segments wdth a blackish patch on either side,
with two similar feathery spines springing out from them; with
another black patch on either side just above the legs out of
w^hich a single feathered spine grows; the following six abdominal
segments have a double feathered spijie in the patch on the centre
of the back, with two smaller blotches on either side, each
producing a spine, 7th abdominal segment bearing 4 sj^ines, the
8th and anal one two.
Yentral side : pale yellow; head small, l)lack and rounded
behind, elongated towards the jaws, wdiich are short and toothed;
336 LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA.
palpi long and drooping; legs stout, long and mottled with black;
the inner edge of the tarsi fringed with fine white hairs; tarsal
claws ferruginous, the central ridge of the abdominal segments
marked with a line of small blackish brown spots.
The larva attaches itself to the underside of the leaf, when the
larval skin splits and turns down over the pupa, remaining in
this position about ten days.
This is one of the commonest ladybirds about Sydney. Both
beetle and larva feed upon the leaves of Solanaceous plants,
gnawing the epidermis off in little wavy lines, causing dead
patches all over the leaves. They were also very plentiful upon
the leaves of Datura stramonium, on the seashore at Botan}^; a
number that I took home were let out of the box, and a few days
later they were busy at work eating the leaves of the tomato
plants.
It is a handsome little beetle of a deep yellow colour mottled
with irregular black spots; all the members of this genus, unlike
others of the family, are phytophagous.
In "Insect Life," 1891, Yol. iii. Ejnlachna corrupta is stated to
have destroyed fully half the bean crop of New Mexico.
An African species, E. hirta, is very destructive to potatoes
and tomatoes.
337
A GIANT ACACIA FROM THE BRUNSWICK RIVER.
By J. H. Maidex, F.L.S.
(Plate XXI.)
Acacia Bakeri, sp.nov.
Attains the dimensions of a large forest tree, measuring up to
160* feet in height, and from 2 to 4^ feet in diameter; stem some-
times buttressed. It is, as far as at present known, exclusively
confined to brushes, as distinct from open forest. Branchlets at
first terete but at length flattened, glabrous. Phyllodia sessile,
broadly lanceolate, narrowed at each end, obtuse, mostly 3 to 4
inches long and 1 inch broad, but occasionall}'- 6 inches long and
3 inches broad when they are acuminate and broad at the base;
3-nerved, with sometimes a short one terminating in a gland a
little removed from the base, penniveined between the nerves,
margins thickened and undulate, thinly coriaceous. Peduncles
slender, 6 lines long, mostly in clusters of 3 to 10, forming
numerous axillary racemes mostly exceeding the phyllodes, bearing
a small loose head of few, pale coloured flowers, rarely as many
as 20, mostly 4-merous. Calyx short, pubescent or softly villous,
eventually separating into spathulate lobes. Petals pubescent,
softly villous. Pod long, straight, flat, usually 8 inches long and
6 lines broad, thin, contracted somewhat between the seeds,
shining. Seeds flat, ovate, longitudinal; funicle short and fili-
form, neither folded nor enlarged.
* A road party recently cut down one of these trees on Mullumbimby
Creek, and it was found by measurement to be 140 feet high, and 3 feet
8 inches in diameter. The collector adds " On Tengoggin Mountain there
are qdenty of trees 20 or 30 feet higher."
338 GIANT ACACIA FROM THE BRUNSWICK RIVER,
Hah. — Tengoggin Mt. (1000 ft.), near Mullumbimby, Brunswick
River, N.S.W.; also Mullumbimby Creek, a tributary of the
Brunswick (W. Bauerlen).
According to Bentham's classification this Acacia belongs to the
series Phiritierves, sub-section Dimidiatce.
This is probably one of the largest of all the Acacias. It has
been found in the Mountains measuring over 160 feet, with a
trunk from 50-60 feet clear of limbs, and a diameter from 2 to 4
feet, and on the banks of creeks 140 feet high, and in some
instances " so high that the leaves could not be seen " (dis-
tinguished).
The flowers are small, in loose racemes with fairly long pe-
duncles. Branches pendulous. Phyllodes vertically flattened and
also twisted towards the base, thin, quite glabrous. The pods
are very difficult to procure owing to their ripening and falling in
what is usually the wettest part of the year. In many instances
pods were caught while falling from the trees when every seed
was found to have begun to germinate.
They are very variable both in length and breadth, some being
very broad and a little constricted between the seeds, w^iile others
from the same tree are very narrow and much constricted, the
valves are all very thin.
The bark is quite distinct from A. binervafa, its nearest ally.
It is inclined to be smooth and exudes very little gum, as far as
seen, and is reputed to be poor in tannin.
The timber is pale coloured right to the heart, as far as seen.
It will be described subsequently.
The flowers, bark, seeds and timber all emit an alliaceous odour
when fresh, reminding one of Dysoxylon rufum.
Its closest affinity is with A. binervata, which it resembles in
the penniveined reticulations of the phyllodes and in the flowering
racemes, but differs from it in individual flowers, pod and seed.
It ranks wdth A. excel sa in size and the shape of the seed and
aril, but diff'ers in the nervation of phyllodes, peduncles and
flowers.
BY J, H. MAIDEN. 339
Its botanical position is perhaps between A. hiuervata and A.
Jlavescenti, which latter it approaches in nervation of its ph341odes.
From the great size of this tree it was at first thought to be -4.
excelsa, but the nervation, size and shape of phyllodes as well as
the inflorescence and pods do not agree with that species.
Analysis Showing A(fi.nities to and Differences from Cognate
Species.
A. EXCELSA.
Size : A large forest tree. Branchlets terete, glabrous. Phyl-
lodes oblong, falcate, obtuse, inucronate, narrowed at the base, 2 to
3 inches long, J to | inch broad, thinly coriaceous, 5- to 7-nerved
or faintly veined between them. Inflorescence : Peduncles solitary
in pairs or clusters. Floivers 20 to 30, petals distinct, smooth;
sepals distinct; 5-merous. Pod 3 lines broad. Seed ovate, longi-
tudinal; funicle short and filiform, neither folded nor enlarged.
A. LAURIFOLIA, Willd.
Size : A tree. Brancldets scarcely angular. Phyllodes obliquely
ovate-oblong, 7-8 nerved, emarginate at the apex, and oblique at
the base. Inflorescence : Peduncles usually solitary. Pod falcate,
moniliform.
A. Bakeri.
Size : A large brush tree. Branchlets flattened, angular.
Phyllodes obtuse, broadly lanceolate, narrowed at both ends, 2 to
6 inches long, \ to 3 inches broad, thinly coriaceous, 2- or 3-nerved,
pinnately veined, margins thickened between the veins. Ivflor-
escence : Loose, elongated panicles or racemes, peduncles in clusterfi.
Flowers few, never more than 20, petals villous, sepals villous,
spathulate, 4:-merous. Pod nearly 6 lines liroad, thin, straight.
Seed ovate, longitudinal, funicle short and filiform, neither folded
nor enlarged.
A. binervata.
Size : A tree. Branchlets terete. Phyllodes as in A. Bakeri^
but 3 nerves predominate. Inflorescence : Axillary racemes.
340 GIANT ACACIA FROM THE BRUNSWICK RIVER.
Flowers about 20, petals smooth, sepals glabrous. Pod J inch
broad. Seed obovate, longitudinal, funicle folded and dilated
under seed.
A. OVARIA.
Size : A small tree. Branchlets angular. PhyUodes oblong,
falcate, 3-nerved, 2-3 inches long, J to 1 inch broad. Inflorescence :
Racemes short. Flowers 30, globose, petals smooth. Pod hard,
3 to"5jinches long, \-\ inch broad. Seed elongated, arillus almost
encircling the seed in a double fold.
expla:nation of plate.
Plate XXI.
Acacia Bakeri.
Fig. 1. — Flowering twig.
Y\g. 2. — The large form of phyllocle, common in this species.
Figs. 3 and 4.— Individual flowers in progressive stages.
Fig. 5.— Pistil.
Fig. 6.— Pod.
Fig. 7. — Seed in dtti.
Fig. 8. — Seed in longitudinal section.
(Figs. 3, 4 and 5 enlarged.)
'â– tr>
341
NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
Mr. Edgar R. Waite exhibited a number of living "Waltzing
Mice, quite recently received from Japan, where these curious
animals appear to have originated. They were first made known
in Europe b}^ M. C. Schlumberger, in 1893. Last year he pul)-
lislied a description with figures copied from Japanese ivory
carvings representing these mice (Mem. 8oc. Zool. de France, 189-I-,
p. 63). M. Schlumberger's mice and also Mr. Waite's are white
variegated with black; the exliibitor had bred some entirely
white but with discernible faint fawn marks indicating what
portions would normally be l^lack. These mice are constantly
rotating, and this trait constitutes the peculiarity which gives to
them their trivial name.
Mr. Maiden showed a series of botanical specimens in illustra-
tion of his paper.
Mr. Froggatt exhibited specimens of the beetles described in
his paper, and drawings of six of them in different stages of their
life-history. Also, some pine resin from the stems of FreneUa
rohu^ta, collected near Wagga, X.S.W., and sent to the Techno-
logical Museum, in which are enclosed and beautifully preserved
a, large number of insects, at least eight difi'erent species of
Fonnici'Jice, MiUilla sp., Chalcis sp., besides about twenty different
.species of Coleoptera.
Mr. Masters exhibited a very attractive collection of 420 species
of Coleoptera collected b}^ him during a stay of five days at Black-
heath, Blue Mts.
Mr. Fred. Turner sent for exhil^ition flowering and fruiting
specimens of a plant ( Adriana a&erifolia, Hook.) suspected of
poisoning cattle. He also communicated the particulars of two
cases in each of which the patient had been authoritatively pro-
nounced by two medical men to be suffering from hydatids, and
an operation recommended, but, it was asserted, relief had been
otherwise obtained from tlie use of a decoction prepared from
342 NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
tlie leaves and stems of Goodenia ovata, Sm., locally called
"Native Hops."
Mr. North sent for exhibition the eggs described in his paper.
Mr. Fletcher exhibited specimens of a Land Nemertine obtained
by Mr. R. Helms at Pretty Point, Mt. Kosciusko Plateau, pro-
bably Geonemerles aitstixtUensis, Dendy. Also specimens collected
by himself near Gosford, of a richer darker red than even the
reddest examples of Geoplana sanguinea, Moseley, for which when
quiescent the animal otherwise might on casual examination
fairly pass. The only other record for New South Wales, is of
a similar red specimen obtained by Mr. R. Helms in the Rich-
mond River District some years ago."^ Professor Spencer had
obtained some Tasmanian examples which were longitudinall}''
striped with red; but all the examples from New South Wales yet
seen, with the excejDtion of those from Mt. Kosciusko, are still
more pigmented.
P.L.S.N.S.W. 1891. Second Series. Vol. vi., p. 16^
343
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26th, 1895.
The Ordinary Monthly Meeting of the Society was held in the
Linnean Hall, Ithaca Road, Elizabeth Bay, on Wednesday even-
ing, June 26th, 1895.
Professor T. W. E. David, B.A., E.G.S., Vice-President in the
Chair.
Mr. J. Jennings and Mr. J. B. R. Garland were introduced as
visitors.
DONATIOXS.
Pharmaceutical Journal of Australasia. Vol. viii. (1895), No.
5. From the Editor.
University of Melbourne — Examination Papers : Final Honour,
Degrees, &c., February, 1895; Matriculation, May, 1895. From
the University.
Society Hollandaise des Sciences a Harlem — Archives Neerlan-
daises. T. xxix. V Liv. (1895). From the Society.
Societe Royale de Geographie d'Anvers — Bulletin. T. xix. 4"^®
Fasc. (1895). From the Society.
Societe d'Horticulture du Doubs, Besangon — Bulletin, n.s.
No. 52 (April, 1895). From the Society.
Department of Agriculture, Brisbane — Botany Bulletin. No.
X. (May, 1895); Bulletin. Second Series, No. 5 (April, 1895).
From the Secretary for Agriculture.
344 DONATIONS.
University of Sydney — Calendar for 1895. From the Uni-
versity.
College of Science, Imperial University, Japan — Journal. Yol.
vii. Part 4 (1895). From the Director.
Comite Geologique, St. Petersbourg — Ivlemoires. Tome xiv»
No. 1 (1895) : Bulletin. T. xiii. Nos. 4-7 et Supplement au T.
xiii. (1894). From the Committee.
Soci^te Beige de Microscopie — Bulletin. T. xxi. Nos. 4-6
(1894-95). From the Society.
Royal Microscopical Society— Journal, 1895. Part 2 (April).
From the Society.
Entomological Society of London — Transactions, 1895. Part
1. From the Society.
Journal of Conchology. Vol. viii. No. 1 (January, 1895).
From the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney — Annual Report
for 1894. From the Hon. the Minister for Mines ana Agriculture.
Victorian Naturalist. Yol. xii. No. 2 (May, 1895). From
the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria.
Royal Society of London — Proceedings. Yol. Ivii. Nos. 342-
344. From the Society.
Geological Society of London — Quarterly Journal. Yol. li.
Part 2, No, 202 : Geological Literature. June-December, 1894.
Fro7n the Society.
Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Frankfurt
a/ M. — Abhandlungen, xviii. Bd., iii. Heft (1894). From the
Society.
Naturhistorischer Yerein der Preussischen Rheinlande, West-
falens und des Reg. Bez., Osnabriick — Yerhandlungen. Jahrg.
li. Erstes Halfte. From the Society.
Archiv fur Naturgeschichte. 1891, ii. Bd., 3 Heft; 1894, i.
Bd. 3 Heft; ii. Bd. 2 Heft. From the Editor.
DONATIONS. 345
Perak Government Gazette. Vol. viii. (1895), Nos. 10-11.
From the Government Secretary.
Zoologischer Anzeiger. xviii, Jahrg. No. 474 (May, 1895).
From the Fditor.
Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College — Bulletin.
Vol. xvi. No. 15 (1895). Yol. xxv. No. 12 (1895) Vol. xxvi.
No. 2 (April, 1895). From the Curator.
Asiatic Society of Bengal — Journal. Vol. Ixi. Part i., Extra
No. (1892); Vol. Ixiii. Part i., No. 4; Part ii., No. 4 (1894): Pro-
ceedings, 1894. Part x. (Dec); 1895, Nos. i.-iii. (Jan.-Mar.)
From the Society.
Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Vol. vi. (1895), Part 5.
From the Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agricidture.
Royal Society of New South Wales — Journal and Proceedings.
Vol. xxviii. (1894). From the Society.
Australasian Journal of Pharmacy. Vol. x. No. 114 (June,
1895). From the Editor.
State Board of Fish Commissioners, Michigan — Eleventh
Biennial Report (1895). From the Commission.
Royal Society of Queensland — Proceedings.' Vol. xi. Part 1
(1895). From the Society.
Pamphlet entitled "Australian Hepialidie." By A. Sidney
OlHfF. From the Author.
Zoological Society of London — Abstract, 7th May, 1895. From,
the Society.
Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein zu Bremen — Abhandlungen.
xiii. Bd., 2 Heft (1895); xv. Bd., 1 Heft (1895). From the Society.
Societe Linneenne de Normandie — Bulletin. 4® Serie. Vol.
viii (1895). Froyn the Society.
American Naturalist. Vol. xxix. No. 341 (May, 1895). From
the Editors.
346 DONATIONS.
American Museum of Natural History — Bulletin. Vol. vii.
Sig. 5-9, pp. 65-144 (1895). From the Museum.
Societe Royale Linneenne de Bruxelles— Bulletin, xx"^® Annee,
No. 7 (May, 1895). Froia the Society.
Australian Museum — Report of Trustees for the year 1894.
From the Museum.
Pamphlet entitled " On the Significance of the Proliferated
Epithelium in the Foetal Mammalian Jaw." By R. Broom, M.B.,
B.Sc. From the Author.
347
DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW ARANEID^ OF NEW
SOUTH WALES. No. 5.
By W. J. Rainbow.
(Plates xxii.-xxiii.)
Family EPEIRIDvE.
Genus N e p h i l a, Leach.
Nephila Fletcheri, sp.nov.
(Plate XXII. figs. 1, la.)
9- Cephalothorax, 8 mm. long, 5 mm. broad; abdomen, 12 mm.
long, 6 mm. broad.
Cephalothorax dark mahogany-brown, thickly clothed with
hoary hairs; caput elevated, rounded on sides and upper part,
deeply compressed at junction of cephalic and thoracic segments,
forming deep, sublateral indentations; these latter only thinly
furnished with short, hoary hairs; at posterior extremity of
cephalic segment there are two coniform tubercles of dark
mahogany colour. CI y pens broad, moderately convex, clothed
w4th hoary pul^escence, indented laterally; a deep, broad, trans-
verse groove at centre; indentations and grooves sparingly pubes-
cent. Marginal, hand narrow, fringed with hoary hairs.
Eyes of an opaline tint, placed on dark rings; the four cential
eyes are seated on a moderately convex eminence, and form an
almost quadrangular tigure; of these- the front pair are somewhat
the smallest, and are separated from each other by about twice
their individual diameter; the posterior pair are also divided l)y
a distance equal to twice their individual diameter; the lateral
pairs are much the smallest, and are placed obliquely on small
tubercles, Vjut are not contiguous.
348 NEW ARANEID^ OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
Legs long, slender, yellow-brown; trochanters sparingly pubes-
cent, few short spines; femora thickly clothed with long yellow
hairs, and armed with rather short spines; tibial joints armed with
sliort spines and bristles; metatarsi and ta,rsi dark brown, thickly
clothed with short dark brown bristles; superior tarsal claws
moderately long, curved and pectinated; inferior cla^v sharply
curved. Relative lengths of legs 1, 2, 4, 3; of these the third pair
are much the shortest.
Falces dark brown, approaching bistre, somewhat conical, diver-
gent at apex; the margins of the furrows of each falx are armed
with a row of five teeth.
MaxiUce yellow-brown, outer margins bistre, rather longer than
broad, divergent; few coarse dark hairs.
Labium yellow-brown, longer than broad, about half the length
of maxillae; furnished with a few short dark hairs.
Sternum yellow-brown, shield-shaped, outline sinuous; surface
uneven, sparingly clothed with white pubescence.
Abdomen ovate, moderately convex, projecting over base of
cephalothorax; superior surface sparingly pubescent, yellow-brown,
somewhat darker towards posterior extremity; ornamented with
17 spots, and, from near centre to posterior extremity, five indis-
tinct parallel, though somewhat uneven, lines; of the former there
are six conspicuous spots and 1 \ minute ones; the larger ones are
distributed in three pairs, the first of which is seated well forward;
between the individuals comprising the first pair there is a minute
spot; below the first pair there are six minute spots, arranged in
two rows, the first of which contains four individuals, and is
slightly curved; the second pair are placed near the centre, and
each spot of the first and second pairs are relieved by an almost
circular yellow patch or disc, rather more than its own diameter;
the third pair are seated lower down, but are not nearly so dark
as those of the first and second pairs, nor are they relieved in like
manner; towards the posterior extremity there are two smaller
and less distinct pairs; the parallel lines or markings commence
at a point above second pair of spots, and run midway between
BY W. J. RAINBOW. 349
them; at their commencement the design represents a bifurcated
figure, the two outer lines forming a junction just between the
spots referred to, from whence they suddenly open out; the centre
line commences below^ junction of outer lines, and terminates at a
point rather lower down at posterior extremity than its neigh-
bours, the tw^o other lines start at a point about midway between
second and third pairs of spots, from whence they open out, and
intersect the outer and centre lines; in addition to the lines
described, there are also faint oblique and transverse uneven
markings both above and below^ third pair of distinct spots; sides
yellowish, mottled with brown, dark brown patches in places;
ventral surface dark brown, interspersed with yellow; a broad
transverse yellow band, uneven in outline, extends immediately
below branchial opercula, the band is curved posteriorly; above
the region of spinnerets there is a second, transverse, yellow band,
but this is much narrower and more even in outline than the
former; this band is much more curved than the former, the
curvature being directed forward; there are also two yellow
patches closely contiguous to base of spinners.
ffab.—^ew England District, N.S.W.
I have very much pleasure in associating this specimen with
the name of my esteemed contemporary, J. J. Fletcher, Esq.,
M.A., B.Sc, to whom I am indebted, not only for the one herein
described, but also for other interesting specimens, as well as
much valuable assistance in other directions.
Nephila Edwardsii, sp.nov.
(Plate XXII. figs. 2, 2a.)
9. Cephalothorax, 8 mm. long, 5 mm. broad; abdomen, 14 mm.
long, 7 mm. broad.
Cephalothorax and eyes similar to '^N. Fletcheri.
Legs long, slender, brown with yellow annulations at joints;
trochanters moderately hair}^ few short spines; femora thickly
clothed wnth rather long dark hairs and spines; tibial joints^
yellow annulations at commencement, below dark brown, approach-
ing sepia, thickly furnished with long dark hairs or bristles and
350 NEW ARANEIDiE OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
spines; tnetatarsi and tarsi dark brown approaching sepia, thickly
clothed with dark bristles; superior tarsal claws moderately long,
curved and pectinated; inferior claw sharply curved. Relative
lengths 1, 2, 4, 3; of these the first pair are the longest, the
second and fourth pairs coequal; third pair much the shortest.
Palpi moderately long, similar in colour and armature; terminal
claw slightly curved, and armed with four teeth near the base on
the underside.
Falces dark brown, vertical, somewhat conical, divergent at
apex; the margins of the furrows of each falx armed with a row
of five teeth.
MaxillcE dark brown, approaching bistre, rather longer than
broad, divergent, fringed with rather long black hairs.
Labium dark brown, longer than broad, about the length of
maxillae.
Sferfiuni shield-shaped, sparingly hairy, tubercular, yellow-
brown; dark brown patch at centre.
Ahdomen ovate; moderately convex, projecting over base of
cephalothorax; superior surface pubescent, light brown, orna-
mented by a large number of symmetrically disposed punctures,
six of the largest of which are situated tolerably well forward,
forming a somewhat triangular figure; immediately above these
there are 12 smaller punctures forming an arch, and immediately
underneath seven minute ones arranged in the following order : —
1, 2, 1, 2, 1; in addition to these there are 11 other punctures as
large as those comprising the triangular figure, disposed in three
rows, each slightly curved, the curvature being directed forward;
of these the first row, which is situated near the centre, contains
three, and the second and third four each; besides the punctures
herein described the posterior portion of the abdomen is further
ornamented by four tolerably distinct longitudinal parallel lines
or markings; each lateral line commences at the centre of the
lateral punctures of the first row of three, and running to the tip
of the abdomen intersects each lateral puncture of the second and
third rows; the inner lines commence as a single one at a point
BY \y. J. RAINBOW. 351
above the centre puncture of tlie first row, intersecting it, and
continue as such until near the two inner punctures of the second
row, where it opens out and forms two Unes; from thence they
proceed to the extremity of the abdomen, intersecting each punc-
ture; laterally the colour, towards the dorsal surface, is a shade
darker, but low^er down a rich nut-l)rown colour prevails; the sides
are ornamented with yellowish wavy markings; ventral surface
dark brow^n, with 3^ellowish lateral and transverse markings.
Epigyne a transverse, oval, dark brown eminence, concave within.
Hab. — Sydney.
The specimen described above was obtained by Dr. C. A.
Edwards, M.D., M.R.C.S., Edin., of Waverley, and it affords me
great pleasure in connecting his name with it. To the same
gentleman I am indebted for many other interesting specimens
and much valuable information as the result of personal and
independent observation.
Kephila ventricosa, (J. Pt 9., sp.nov.
(Plate XXIII. figs. 1, la, 2, '2a.)
(J. Cephalothorax, 2 mm. long, 1 -5 mm. broad; abdomen, 2 mm.
long, 1 -5 mm. broad.
Cephalothorax convex. Caput yellow, furnished with few short
yellowish hairs, normal grooves and indentations indistinct.
Clypeus dark brown.
Eyes prominent, glossy black, the four centrals form a somewhat
quadrangular figure; lateral pairs much the smallest, placed
obliquely on minute tubercles; not contiguous.
Legs long, slender, tapering to a point, yellowish, furnished
with rather long hairs and spines; superior tarsal clans long,
curved and pectinated; inferior clair sharply curved. Relative
lengths 1, 2, 4, 3; the second and fourth pairs are coequal, or
nearly so, while the third pair is by far the shortest.
Paljn: humeral joint slender, yellow, few black hairs and
slender bristles; nearly twice as long as cubital and radial joints
352 NEW ARANEIDiE OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
together; of these two latter, the radial is rather the longer, and
each is similar in colour to humeral joint; two large bristles
project from radial joint, the shorter directed outwards, and
curving slightly backward, the longer and stronger one curved
and directed forward; digital joint twice as long as the three
former, dark brown, hairy; palpal organs simple, bulb large, hairy
on upper-side, glossy underneath, terminated by a long tiagellum;
bulb hair}^, concave on inner side; curving over bulb from basal
end is a long, stout, dark process.
Falce^i yellowish, long, vertical, divergent at apex.
MaxiUce yellowish, outer margins dark, longer than broad,
divergent, few coarse dark hairs.
L'lhium yellow, longer than Ijroad, rather more than half the
length of maxillae.
Sterauni yellow, shield-shaped, furnished with few rather long
coarse hairs.
Abdomen ovate, moderately convex, hairy, projecting over base
of cephalothorax, dark ]:)rown, mottled with 3^ellow.
I/ab. — Sydney.
9. Cephalothorax, 9 mm. long, 7 mm. Inroad; abdomen, 22 mm.
long, 13 mm. broad.
Ci'pJtnlotliiyrax black, clothed with hoary hairs. Caput ele\'ated,
rounded on sides and upper part, truncated in front, "sides furnished
with hoary hairs, apex glossy Ijlack; at junction of cephalic and
thoracic segments there are two coniform tubercles. CI 11 feus
broad, moderately convex, thickly clothed with hoary hairs; there
are central and lateral depressions, the former sensibly the deepest;
depressions black and devoid of hairs. Marginal band rather
broad, clothed and fringed with hoary hairs.
Eyes with pearl-grey lustre; distril)uted as in ^V. Fletcher i and
N . Edvmrdsii.
Legs long, yellow, annulated with dark brow^n, furnished with
rather long hairs and short spines; the former are longest at the
sections where the annulations occur; the tibial joints, metatarsi.,
BY W. J. RAINBOW. 353
and tarsi dark brown, approaching sepia; tarsal claws as in N.
Fletcher I and N. Edwardsii. Relative lengths 1, 2, 4, 3.
Palpi moderately long; humeral and cubital joints yellowish,
the others dark brown, approaching sepia; similar in armature to
legs.
Falcc^ black, glossy, vertical, divergent at apex; armed with a
row of five teeth along each margin of the furrow of the falx
wherein the fang lies concealed when at rest.
Maxilk^ sepia, inner margins yellowish, longer than broad,
diA'ergent; a few coarse dark hairs on outer margins.
Labium dark, glossy, yellowish patch in centre, about half the
length of maxilla?; furnished with few rather long dark hairs.
Stamum orange-yellow, dark irregular transverse band at
middle, shield-shaped, tuberculate.
Abdomen ovate, exceedingly convex, projecting over base of
cephalothorax, pale yellow^, somewhat darker at jDosterior extremity,
clothed with minute hairs; dorsal surface ornamented with a
curved row of 10 minute dark spots towards anterior extremity;
seated lower down are two other dark spots, much larger than
those of the curved series, and each is relieved by a circular pale
3"ellow patch or disc at the upper margin, in a somewhat lateral
position; from the lower lateral margin of each spot there extends
in an outw^ard ol^lique direction a short slightly curved line,
terminating wdth a minute spot ; immediately between the
curved lines there is a short straight longitudinal line; at the
centre of dorsal surface there are other two dark spots, more
widely removed than former pair, and each is also relieved by a
circular pale yellow patch or disc; midway between these two
latter spots, and connecting them, is a series of longitudinal
parallel and curved markings, which proceed therefrom and termi-
nate at posterior extremity (vide fig. 2, PL xxiii.); near posterior
extremity, and inside lateral longitudinal lines, there are two
small yellow discs separated from each other by two parallel lines;
laterally the abdomen is much darker, and is ornamented witli
four broad white irregular bands; ventral surface dark brown.
354 NEW ARANEID^ OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
ornamented about midwa}^ between branchial opercula and
spinnerets with a yellowish transverse, slightly curved band, the
lateral extremities of which are somewhat abruptly directed
towards posterior extremity. Epigyne a dark brown, glossy,
transverse oval eminence, concave within.
Hab. — -Sydney.
The spiders of the genus Nephiia are undoubtedly one of the
most interesting groups of Australian orb-weavers, l^oth as regards
their size, beauty and webs. Representatives of the genus abound
in tropical and sub-tropical regions, often occurring in communi-
ties, and constructing their webs closely together, occasionally
within reach, but not infrequently from 10 to 20 feet from the
ground, and always in a position exposed to the rays of the sun.
The snares are bright yellow, and so remarkably viscid as to
follow the point of a needle; they vary in diameter from three
feet upwards, while the supporting lines or guys sometimes
measure from 10 to 12 feet."^
So strong are these snares that small birds are occasionally
entrapped by them. The writer on one occasion saw a young
bird that had been newly caught in the web of a Nepldla in the
vicinity of Sydney. It was in vain the unhappy bird struggled
to free itself from the toils; the more it fought, the more hopeless
became its position, while the damage inflicted upon the web was
considerable. And the spider itself was evidently afraid of the
victim. It had taken its position in the usual spot — the centre —
its huge legs spread out, covering a space of four or five inches.
Occasional!}^ it ran from the centre towards the struggling bird,
but speedily retraced its steps. All this time the spider was
throwing threads around the body of the victim, and rapidh'
enveloping its head and wings. As a result the struggles became
less desperate, until at length they ceased, death resulting ap-
parently from exhaustion. Bushmen have assured the writer
* According to Graffe, a large species of Epe'ira occurs in the Fiji
Islands, which constructs a strong web often 30 feet or more in diameter.
Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. in Wien, xvi. p. 500. [Doubtless one of the Nephila\
— W.J.R.]
BY W. J. RAIX130AV. 355
that, riding through the l)ush in the autumn, they have seen
skeletons of small birds hanging in the webs of " triantelopes," as
they are pleased to call them. Mr. J. A. Thorpe, of the Australian
Museum, Sydne}^, has informed the author that at Madden's, near
Belle Plains, he has met with specimens of the emu wren [Stipi-
tariis malachunis) entangled in the sticky meshes of the webs of
:spiders of the genus JVephila; also at Cape York, he had seen
.several of the blue-warblers, notably Malurus amabilis, Gould,
and J/. B7'oivn{i, Vig. et Horsfield, that had fallen victims in a like
manner. It must be noted, however, that it is only young birds
•or those of a weak wing-power that are so captured. An Indian
writer states that in many unfrequented dark nooks of the jungle
the traveller comes across most perfect skeletons of small birds
•caught in the powerful snares of the Neq^Jdke, the strong folds of
which prevent the delicate bones from falling to the ground after
the wind and weather, together with other agencies, have dispersed
the flesh and feathers. Further, a naturalist, writing under the
nom-de-pluiiie " H. A. H.,'' from Cashar, to the Asia7i, stated that
he had "received from a neighbouring planter an adult female
of the three-toed Kingfisher which was found entangled in a
spider's web. Although true Kingfishers, these lovely birds feed
largel}^ on insects. Curiously enough," continued the writer, "the
stomach of the last bird I preserved contained a large brown
spider. Doubtless the bird went either for the spider or some
insect caught in the web, and got entangled in the sticky
meshes."
Some writers on this subject have supposed, and even boldly
asserted, that birds so caught were devoured by the spiders in
whose webs they had become entrapped, but this conclusion is in
my opinion erroneous. In 1834 the late AV. S. Macleay, F.Z.8.,
in a paper* communicated to the Zoological Society, London,
wrote : — " Now, it is certainly possible that the net of Nephila
should, in accord with Labat's account, accidentall}^ arrest such
small birds as are several species of TrochUidce; but I do not^
* Trans. Zool. Soc. 1834, pp. 192-3.
K
356 NEW AEANEIDiF. OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
believe that a spider would touch them. My garden, I repeat, is
full of these NephilcE in autumn, and I tried to regale one of them
with a small species of Sphmrio dactijlus by putting it into
her net. The spider on feeling the threads vibrate with the
struggles of the lizard instantly approached and enveloped it in
her web. As soon, however, as it was thus disabled, my Nephila
seemed to become aware of her mistake, and losing no time in
cutting the lines, allowed her prisoner to fall to the ground."
This conclusion, however, Mr. Macleay felt called upon six years
later to withdraw, for in a letter to W. E. Shuckard, Esq.,"^ dated
Sydney, 7th April, 1840, he stated that: — "In the vicinity of
Sydney he had met with a true bird-catching spider, he having
himself found one of the Epeiridw actually devouring one of the
young of the Zosterops that had recently flown from the nest; and
which is not a solitary instance, as his father, A. Maclea}'-, Esq.,
had previously observed a similar fact."
It is abundantly clear from the foregoing that the snares of
certain spiders arrest the young of certain birds, as also those of
a weak wing-power, but the author is decidedly of opinion that
the spiders in question do not obtain or receive nourishment from
their ornithological victims. The webs are not set with the object
of catching an}^ such game. Each snare is placed in its position
by the unerring instinct of the sj)ider, simply because the situation
is such as will assure abundance of food in the shape of insects,
and it is merely an accident when a bird becomes ensnared in the
toils.
I do not deny that a Nephila has been observed with its fangs
plunged in the body of an ensnared bird, but that is not evidence
ipso facto that it was making a meal. It is more than likel}^,
indeed, that it attacks the bird, when it can safely do so, for the
purpose of injecting its poison, thus hastening death, and prevent-
ing the victim from too seriously injuring its web. Moreover, it
must be noted that when an}'- insect becomes entangled in the web
of a Nephila the spider rushes upon the intruder, and plunging
* Lardner's " Cabinet Cyclopsedia," p. 382.
BY W. J. RAINBOW. 357
her fangs therein, maintains her grasp until death ensues; there-
upon she envelopes the body in her thread and bears it to a quiet
spot, where she can devour in peace her spoil. This scene could
hardly be enacted by the largest Nejyhila on the smallest bird
known. Such, however, is my belief, and I feel certain that any
who will observe for themselves, and closely watch the subject,
will ultimately bear out my view of the case. It is, unhappily,
too often a fact that observers are in many instances prone to
hasty conclusions, and in recording these, render unsatisfactory,
or even useless, observations that might otherwise be of immense
value as data.
The webs of these spiders are composed of two kinds of silk;
one yellow, exceedingly viscid, and elastic; the other white, dry,
and somewhat brittle. The latter is used in the construction of
the framework, guys, and radii, and the former the concentric
rings or spirals. The spirals are exceedingly numerous, and as a
rule somewhat less than one-third of an inch distant from each
other. Between every eight or ten of these circles there is a
white thread, which, however, does not form a complete circle, but
is looped up and returned in an opposite direction to a corres-
ponding point on the other side of the web. These white lines
are put in before the yellow ones are constructed, and doubtless
serve to strengthen the huge mesh.
As the result of experiments with the American species,
Nephila pliimipes, Professor Wilder proved"^*" that these spiders
have the power of regulating the thickness of the thread voided,
and also that they can produce either yellow or white silk at will,
and he even succeeded in drawing off both by artificial means. The
Professor wound off silk from the species mentioned for an hour
and a quarter, at the rate of six feet per minute, making a total
of 450 feet, or 150 yards. This he afterwards removed from the
quill for the purpose of ascertaining^ its weight, and it was found
to be one-third of a grain. It was ascertained that it was impos-
sible to reel off more than 300 yards of silk from a spider at one
* Proc. Bost. Nat. Hist. Vol. x. p. 200.
358 NEW ARANEID^ OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
time; but this evidently did not exhaust the supply, for on opening
the abdomen the glands were found to be still partially filled.
Further experiments led this enthusiastic naturalist to believe
that N. plujnipes could be bred in large numbers and utilised for
its silk, and for this purpose he suggested that each spider be
kept by herself in a wire ring surrounded by water, fed with flies
bred for the purpose from old meat, and milked each day of her
silk. Every day or two each spider should be t?Jven down, put
into a pair of stocks, and milked of its thread until it no longer
yielded. By adopting this plan an ounce of silk might be obtained
from each spider during the summer. The silk thus reeled off is
much smoother and more brightly coloured, as well as finer
than that of the silkworm. Several threads would have to be
twisted together to obtain one of workable thickness. Although
the yellow silk when present in the web is so remarkably viscid
and flexible, the same material when drawn ofT artificially is quite
dry and far less elastic.
Now, while it is possible to breed spiders of this or any other
genus, and to obtain silk in the manner suggested, the difficulties
in the way are far too great for any serious effort in the direction
indicated by Wilder, as the space needed for keeping each spider
by herself, and the amount of labour necessary to provide them
with living food, and to draw off the silk, would render the
product too expensive for use.
Spiders of the genus Nephila, when in captivity, become quite
tame, and soon learn to distinguish their attendant. I have kept
numbers of them, and have noticed that, although at first very
shy, they quickly learned to take food from the hand, and also
water when offered to them on a small camel-hair brush. Exceed-
ingly voracious naturally, they can nevertheless exist for many
days without either food or water.
The males of this genus are veritable pigmies in comparison
with the females, though in proportion to their size, the legs of
the latter are considerably longer; the markings of the male, while
similar in many cases to that of the female, are not as distinct,
but run together and appear darker.
BY \S\ J. RAINBOW. 359
In autumn these spiders pair. The sexes usually inhabit the
same web for a considerable time, the female occupying her
customary position in the centre, and the male taking up quarters
on the upper edge of the web. Before running down to the
female he tries the tension of the web with his feet, after which
he proceeds nimbly and lightly, so as not to attract her attention
or disturb her in any way, climbs upon her back, and contents
himself for a while in moving about in a seemingly objectless
manner. During these proceedings she is not all resentful, but
apparently disdains all notice. Emboldened b}^ her apparent
indifference he endeavours to climb down to the underside of her
abdomen, whereupon she immediately shows fight. In an
encounter with an adversary of such prodigious proportions in
comparison with himself, it is obvious he would be no match; he
therefore scrambles oS as quickly as possible, and dropping out of
the web, remains suspended in the air, or resting upon an adjacent
leaf or branch for some time, after which he renews the attack.
It not infrequently happens that he has to repeat his efforts
several times, and from these he rarely retires scathless, often
losing two or three legs. Ultimately, however, he succeeds in
attaching himself in the requisite position, and performing the •
necessary act of fecundation.
Towards the end of April or the beginning of May, the
cocoons are constructed. In jYephila Edwai^dsii, the ovisac is
about y% in. in length, oval, bright golden yellow, and surrounded
by an immense quantity of loose silk of a like colour. The cocoons
contain from 500 to 1000 eggs. After hatching the spiderlings live
together for two or three weeks, spin a web in common, and eat
one another or any small insects that may come their way. After
this the survivors separate, and each constructs a web on her
own account.
The following is a list of the described Nephilce. of Australia
previous to the publication of the jjresent paper. Those species
marked with an asterisk have been described and figured by Koch
in Band I. of his admirable work, " Die Arachniden Australiens."
Localities outside Australia are in italics : —
360 NEW ARANEID.E OF NEAV SOUTH WALES.
N. vPAiosa,^ pp. 148-9, T. xii. figs. 1, la; Brisbane, Port Mackay,
and Oval cm.
JV. victor lalis* pp. 150-1, T. xii. figs. 3, 3a, oh\ Rockhampton.
N. nigritai'sis* pp. 152-3, T. xii. figs. 4, 4«, 46; Rockhampton
and Port Mackay.
N. Jiarjellaiis* pp. 153-6, T. xii. ^. figs. 5, 5rt, bb; 9. figs. 6, 6a;
Sydney.
JV. fuscipes,"^ pp. 156-7, T. xiii. figs. 1, la; Port Mackay, Rock-
hampton, Bowen, and Pelewinseln.
N. imperatrix* pp. 159-60, T. xii. 3, 3a, 36, 3c; Rockhampton.
N. aurosa* pp. 160-2, T. xiii. fig. 4; Port Mackay.
N . procera,'^ pp. 162-3, T. xiv. fig. 1; Port Mackay.
N. suJjthurosa^^ pp. 163-5, T. xiv. fig. 2; Port Mackay.
iV. tenuipes,'^ pp. 165-6, T. xiii. figs. 5, 5a; Port Mackay.
N. Cunninghamii (W. S. Macleay), King's "Survey of Australia,"
Vol. II. pp. 468-9. [Locality not given.]
Note.— In Yol. VIII. (Series 2nd), P.L.S.KS.W., pp. 292-3,
PI. X. figs. 4, 4a, 46, 4c, 4c?, 4c, 4/, under the title of " Descriptions
of Some New Araneidse of New South Wales (No. 3)," I described
and figured a new species of Stephanopis, for which I proposed
the name hirsuta. Since the publication of the paper referred to,
I find I have inadvertently used a preoccupied name. I now
propose that the species described shall l^e known as S. hispida.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Plate xxii.
Fig. 1. — Nephila Fletcheri.
Fig. la. — ,, ,, profile of abdomen.
Fig. 2. — ,, Edwarchii.
Fig. 2a. — ,, ,, profile of abdomen.
Plate xxiii.
Fig. 1. — Nephila ventricosa S-
Fig. la.— ,, ,, maxillary palpus ^,
Fig. 2. - „ „ ?.
Fig. 2a.— ,, ,, profile of abdomen.
361
XOTEsS ON THE METHODS OF FERTILISATION OF
THE GOODENIACE.E.
Part II.
By Alex. G. Hamilton.
(Plate XXIV.)
The interesting genus Dampiera is entirely Australian, an.l is
remark abl}^ distinct and easily determined.
The calyx-tube is adnate to the ovulary, which is in nearly
every case 1 -celled. The corolla- tube is deeply slit; the two upper
lobes stand well above tlie lower three, and are closely pressed
together, the posterior margins folding in between the lobes, and
forming a cavity or auricle which encloses the style and indusium,
and which is of various degrees of complexity in diiferent species.
The auricle may be taken as characteristic of the genus, for
although it is found in Goodenia, Velleya, and Anthotium, 3^et in
its highest development in those genera, it does not approach the
simplest form in Dampiera as regards completeness of structure.
The anterior margins of the upper lobe also fold under into the
tube of the corolla, projecting in such a manner as to cause the
auricles to separate w^ien an insect forces its way into the tube.
The three lower lobes are spreading and usually broadly winged;
at their base the wings are narrower and puckered up by the close
approach of the lobes, forming guiding lines to the nectar. The
throat is always glabrous and free from hairs. The anthers are
connate round the st3de, although in very young buds they are
sometimes free, but the growth of the anthers locks them together
later on. The style is always glabrous, and often deeply coloured;
the indusium is never hairy on the outside as in every other genus
except Brunonia (and even in this there are hairs in the early
362 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE.^,
stages, which are deciduous), and rarely ciliate on the lip. The
lip of the indusium is shallow, and usually divided into two, or
sometimes four, by notches. The indusium and stigma are in
most species of a very dark colour. The stigma rarely grows out
to project beyond the indusium lips, which is also the case in
other plants of the order. The j)lants, with the exception of D,
diversifolia, De Vr., are always clothed with silky, cottony, woolly,
stellate or branching hairs on the calyx, and the outside of the
corolla (excejDt the wings) and sometimes on the stems and leaves.
The flowers are almost always blue or purple. In the remarks on
the genus in Flora Australiensis [1] the colour is said to be blue,
purple, red, white, or rarely 3^ellow. This latter colour I have
not seen in any fresh specimens (except in the tube), and in dried
plants it is very difficult to make out the colour. But from an
analysis of the descriptions in Flora Australiensis, it appears that
of the 34 species described, 23 are blue or purple, 1 white, and 1
(D. rosmarinifolia, Schl.) is said to be white, blue or red; while 9
have no colour mentioned.
The characteristic features by which they may be recognised
are the solitary ovules, connate anthers, the auricles, and the
hairless style and indusium.
From their dense covering of hairs they have the aspect of
desert plants, and judging by the number of species collected by
the Elder Expedition, they are plentiful in the arid interior of
Australia as compared with other genera of the order. And
many of the species of other genera occurring there are alsa
tomentose. The Census of Australian Plants [2] gives in all 38
species of the genus, which are distributed as follows : — West
Australia has 29 species, 26 of Avhich are endemic; South Australia
5 species, none endemic (this number would probably be much
higher were the central parts of the colony collected over);
Victoria has 5 species, none endemic; Tasmania has 1 species
found elsewhere also; New South Wales has 7 species, 1 being
confined to the colon}^; Queensland has 6 species, 2 endemic;
and North Australia 1 species, o ?curring elsewhere also. From
this it will be seen that the head-quarters of the genus is in West
BY A. G. HAMILTOX. 363
Australia, and a close examination of all the species there would
doubtless reveal some interesting indications of the line of evolu-
tion. One or two such facts came under my notice in working-
out some species from that colony.
I have to thank ]Mr. C. Moore, F.L.S., Director of the Botanical
Gardens, and Mr. C. T. Musson, F.L.S., for specimens of several
New South Wales Dampieras and other Goodeniads, and through
the kindness of Mr. J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., Director of Technical
Education, and Mr. J. J. Fletcher, I have been enabled to
see and analyse the species of Dampiera collected by the
Elder Expedition, and presented to the herbaria of the Techno-
logical Museum and the Linnean Society. It is these and some
fresh New South Wales species that I propose to treat of in the
following notes.
1. Dampiera Brownii, F.v.M.
In the young buds the stigma is button-shaped, no indusium
being visible, but a slight fosse shows across the top (Fig. 1). In
the next stage the indusium shows as a thin wall of irregular
height all round, but with a notch at each end, and at right
angles to the line of the stigmatic groove. During these stages
the whole pistil is green. At the next stage the indusium is
grown up level all round (Fig. 2), except at the notches, and both
indusium and stigma are coloured deep purple, but the style
remains green; the purple colour appears first on the stigma, and
spreads afterwards to the indusium. The style still continues to
elongate and passes into the auricle, the top of the style bending
over so as to bring the opening over the junction of the two
auricles. During this period the indusium closes by the oj)posite
segments (divided by the notches) approaching, and at last there
is only a small circular opening. The indusium has been packed
with pollen by growing up through the anthers while the mouth
was wide open, and when the stigma begins its outgrowth at this
period it forces the pollen out in a small worm-like string, which
when exposed to the air falls in powder into the auricles, where it
lies. An insect forcing its way into the tube of the flower presses
364 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE.E,
against the fold of the anterior margin and so moves the auricles
apart, when the pollen falls in a small shower on its thorax and
head. All these contrivances point towards insect-fertilisation,
but to complete the process one would imagine that the stigma
should now grow beyond the lips of the indusium and project as
has been described in SccEvola and Selliera [5]. But in at least
ninety-five per cent, of the flowers the stigma does not project at
all beyond the mouth, and in many it does not grow up to the
level. Examination of large number's of flowers just withering
showed the outside of the indusium, the stigma, and between the
stigma and the inner side of the walls of the indusium coated
evenly with pollen all over, and this was apparently caused by the
close fit of the auricles round the style applying the pollen, and
not by insect agency at all. I can onl}'- conjecture that the plant
is ordinarily self-fertilised, although occasionally cross-fertilisation
may occur from insect visits when the stigma is outgrown or near
the mouth of the indusium. Erom the firmness of the hold whicli
the auricles have upon the style, any insect would, in forcing its
way in, press hard against the style and might thus deposit pollen
upon the stigma, even though it was only at the mouth of the
indusium, instead of projecting as in other genera. It is usual to
find the auricles full of pollen where the flower and even the
style is withered, so that insects do not commonly exhaust the
pollen. The flowers are very sweetly scented, and there is a
considerable amount of moisture at the base of the petals, in
which, however, I could not detect any sweetness. As already
pointed out, the membranous edges of the three lower petals are
closely pressed together in the tube, and pucker so as to form
guiding ridges (Fig. 3). The flowers are much frequented by
Thrips. The auricles in the early bud are green, without any
deep concavity, and with a pale red spot where the deepest colour
occurs in the mature flower; this is indicated by the dotted oval
in Fig. 4, which represents a young auricle. In this stage it
resembles tlie mature auricle in D. linearis (Fig. 12). It gradually
darkens till it is a fine purple-red with the central part a purple-
black of wonderful intensity. This bears out Dr. A. R. Wallace's
BY A. G. HAMILTON. 365
theory that the parts of an organism that have undergone tlie
most modification also show the greatest depth of colouring. The
flower-stalks and undersides of the leaves are densely covered
with stellate hairs; the upper-sides of the leaves are less thickly
covered, and the edges are armed with short thick conical hairs.
The calyx and lobes of corolla (but not the membranous wings)
are covered with dark olive-green branching hairs, resembling
those of D. luteiflora (Fig. 14).
Referring to this genus, Mr. Bentham says [3] : " In Dampiera
the summit of the style, when short in the buds, has the appear-
ance of an ordinary peltate stigma, except that it is not yet
papillose, flat and nearly circular, with the rudiment of the stigma
across the centre. It soon rises, the margins are raised into a
short almost two-lipped indusium; but I do not And that it carries
any pollen with it, and the stigma does not assume the perfect
appearance till the whole indusium and the stigma has ensconced
itself between the two upper petals, which closely embrace it by
means of two thickened concave appendages, requiring some
external agency to open them and give access to the pollen."
This is a perfectly accurate description of the mechanism of the
flower, except that the pollen is carried by the up-growing style.
Indeed, in reading the paper I was struck with the correctness of
the descriptions of the process in all the genera; and it is all the
more remarkable when it is remembered that the author had
only dried plants to deal with.
After finishing the above account of D. Broivyiii, I observed a
fact which I had previously missed, but which is of great import-
ance. A very large proportion of the flowers of this species are
resupinate, so that the auricles are on the lower side and the three
other petals on the upper side of the flower. When a flower is
in this position it is manifestly impossible for the pollen accumu-
lated in the auricles to drop out on the insect. But on the other
hand, an insect visiting such a flower would be smeared on the
underside by the projecting stream of pollen coming out of the
indusium, and in visiting another flower in which all the pollen
had been exuded the pollen from other flowers would be left on
366 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE^E ,
the indusium and would so have a chance of reaching the stigma,
even if that organ did not grow out. It is remarkable, however,
that in the same plant some flowers should be resupinate and
others in the ordinar}^ position. So far as I know of the other
genera only Leschenaultia has resupinate flowers.
2. Dampieea stricta, R.Br.
This species on the whole resembles D. Brownii in its mechanism,
but with some minor differences. It grows in patches in swamp}^
ground, and flowers very freely, so that the masses are ver}^
conspicuous. The colour is bright blue with a yellow eye. The
indusium has four notches (Fig. 6), and closes more completely
than in the last species (Fig. 7); the edges are not even, but
slightly ragged, and the shoulder of the indusium is papillose, as
shown in the figure. The auricles resemble those of D. Broiimii,
but have a fringe of sticky crimson hairs along the posterior
margin (Fig, 8) which are generally longer on the left-hand lobe
(looking from behind the flower). In this it resembles D. erio-
cephcda. Guiding ridges are present in the tube of the* corolla,
which is 3^ellowish. The stem, calyx and centre of the outside of
the corolla-lobes are hairy, the hairs being either stellate or
branching. In the latter case they are very curious in form (Fig.
9). I am at a loss to imagine what can be the function of the
trichomes on the edge of the margin, unless they are to exclude
small creeping insects, or to prevent moisture from gaining access
to the pollen, as mentioned later on. The}^ certainly do not keej^
Thrips out. The stigma rarely grows out level with the mouth
of the cup; the auricles are usually full of powdery pollen, and
the style and indusium evenly coated with it. The flowers spread
out in a horizontal plane. The process of fertilisation is as in
the last species so far as I can see — that is to sa}^, usually self-
fertilisation obtains.
3. Dampiera linearis, R.Br.
Of this species I have examined only dried specimens. The
calyx and corolla are covered with hairs resembling those of D.
BY A. a. HAMILTON. 367
hiteijlora. The inclusium is not two-lipped but continuous all
round, and shows an approach to ciliation (Fig. 11). The stigma,
in perfect flowers, is very near the mouth as shown in the figure.
As I had flowers only to examine, I do not know how it is placed in
the bud. The auricle (Fig. 1 2) shows little differentiation, the wing
which forms it being merely folded inwards, and slightly hollowed
for the reception of the indusium. It is not coloured. In the
imperfect ciliation, it forms a link between SccBvola and Goodenia
on the one hand, and the more complicated arrangements of the
typical Dampieras on the other. The margin indeed resembles
that of Sccevola ovalifolia in early bud, where the cilia at first
exist as a thhi membrane continuous all round the indusium,
which afterwards breaks up into separate cilia. The plant is
obviously well adapted for insect-fertilisation, as a pollen-coated
insect, pressing into the tube, could scarce^ fail to leave pollen on
the stigma.
4. Dampiera sjd *?
An unnamed species from Yeodamie, W.A., in the Techno-
logical Museum Herbarium, has the auricle more developed (Fig.
13) and coloured, but not deeply; the indusium also is pale in
tint, and, as in D. linearis, there is an approach to ciliation of
the margin of the indusium. This species is closely covered with
cottony hairs. Like the last, it is probably insect-fertilised.
5. Dampiera luteiflora, F.v.M.
I have seen only dried specimens. The calyx, corolla and
stems are thickly covered with yellow hairs, mostly branching
(Fig. 14). The indusium is very short and two-lipped (Fig. 16).
I did not see an outgrown stigma, or even one level with the
mouth, but the amount of material at my disposal was so small
that it cannot be said certainly that it does not do so. But from
the shallowness of the indusium, this would be a matter of less
importance, and would not, as in some other species, l^e any
impediment to the deposit of pollen on the stigma by insect
agency. The shoulder of the indusium is papillose as in D.
stricta. The auricle (Fig. 15) is rather simple. The indusium is
invariably full of pollen, and it is present also in the auricles.
368 fertilisation of the g00den1ace^Â¥.,
6. Dampiera Linschotenii, F.v.M.
Dried specimens only were examined. The plant is hairy on
the calyx and corolla, the hairs being branched. The indusium
is markedly two-lipped (Fig. 20), deep, and full of pollen.
The stigma in the one flower I had for examination was not
outgrown. The indusium is deeply coloured, and the colour runs
down the style a short distance. The auricles (Fig. 21) are
deeply coloured, and are considerably differentiated. This species,
therefore, falls in the group like D. Brownii, the members of
which are not perfectly adapted to insect visitors.
7. Dampiera eriocbphala, De Yr.
I have seen only dried specimens of this species. The plant is
remarkably hairy, being clothed, even on the leaves, with long
silky hairs, which are all simple, and usually pure white. The
tube of the corolla is bright yellow, and has guiding ridges. The
auricles are well developed (Fig. 19), and deep purple in colour.
They hp^ve trichomes (Fig. 18) on the posterior margin, as in D.
stricta. These are felted together at their bases, and there are
deep crimson, the free extremities being pink. Outside of these
the long silky hairs of the calyx are tangled together. The
indusium is dark coloured, but the style below is yellow. The
remarkable feature is that the indusium consists of very short
cilia, so that the stigma is exposed to the touch of any insect
forcing the auricles apart. From this circumstance it is very
well adapted for insect-fertilisation, resembling D. linearis and D.
luteiflora in this respect. I found all the stigmas I examined
coated with pollen, though none showed any outgrowth. But from
the small amount of material I had it would not be safe to infer
that it does not grow out.
8. Dampiera loranthifolia, F.v.M.
I have seen dried specimens only. The calyx and exterior of
the corolla are thickly coated with white hairs. The petals form
ridges in the tube. The auricles are very complex, and very rich
BY A. (i. HAMILTON. 369
crimson. The indusium is deep, two-lipped and dark red. The
stigma was not outgrown in any 'flowers I had, and pollen was
present in every instance.
9. Dampiera juncea, Benth.
I have seen only a dried specimen, which was hairy all over,
although in Flora Australiensis it is described as " glabrous
except the flowers or the young shoots, white tomentose." In
the one flower which I have had an opportunity of seeing the
corolla was missing, but it is described by Bentham as rather
large. The indusium was remarkable for its small size, being
little greater in diameter than the style; the stigma was outgrown
in a crescent. Neither indusium nor style was coloured. From
the outgrowth of the stigma, it is evidently adapted for fertilisa-
tion by insects. But it is scarcely safe to infer that the stigma
is always outgrown, as, in even D. Brotimii, it sometimes does so,
and in this instance it might be an exceptional case which
presented itself.
10. Dampiera adprbssa, A. Cunn.
Covered with long silvery hairs in all parts; these, however,
disappear from the leaves as they grow older. The auricles are
well developed. The indusium is deep, and two-lipped. The lips
flatten over the stigma when the cup is filled with pollen. Ko
outgrowth was seen in any flowers examined. This appears to
fall within the group in which self-fertilisation occurs mc^re
usually than cross-fertilisation.
11. Dampiera lan'ceolata, A. Cunn.
The plant is hairy, the hairs on the calyx and exterior of the
corolla being branched. The corolla is purple, the tube being
yellow, and this colour extends to the wider part of the petals so
that there is a very decided eye. The margins of the petals in
the tube are ridged to form guiding lines. The auricles are well
developed, resembling those of D. stricta, and, as in that species,
there are trichomes on the posterior margins, which are not,
370 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE.^:,
however, deeply coloured. The colour is very deep purple. The
indusium is two-lii3ped, and in mature flowers closes, except for a
small central opening. In all the older flowers I examined the
indusium was full of pollen, and the auricles lined with a sheet of
adhering grains. The indusium and stigma are purple, the style
below green. In no instance did I see the stigma outgrown,
or even so near the opening as to be capable of receiving pollen
from a visiting insect, so that this species also falls within the
group not fully adapted for insect-fertilisation; this is therefore
another species wuth arrangements for fertilisation complete
except at one point.
Summing up, it appears that in Dampiera there is a complex
mechanism directed towards the accomplishment of cross-fertilisa-
tion by insects, and yet most species examined stop short of
completeness, from the stigma's not growing out so as to be exposed
to the touch of pollen-laden visitors. Those examined may be
divided into two groups; those having either a shallow indusium
so that the stigma may be reached by insects; and those in which
the indusium is deep, and from the stigma's not growing out,
incapable of being insect-fertilised. In the first of these groups
are D. linearis, sp. (?), eriocephala and juncea; in the latter D.
Brnwnii, striata, luteijiora, Linschotenii, loranthifolia, lanceolata,
and adpressa.
The various species I have examined show a gradation in the
comj)leteness of adaptation of the various parts. Thus in the
auricles there is a progression from the simple fold with a slight
hollow in the centre {D. linearis) to the most complex arrange-
ment of folds, hairs and trichomes as in D. stricta and D. Brozvnii.
And in those species which show this gradual increase of adapta-
tion, there is also a regular augmentation of colour in the auricles,
from the simplest with a patch of faint colour in the centre, to
the deep purple spread all over the auricle in the most complex
forms. This is also the case in the style, which varies from green
to purple, and the indusium, from pale red to purple. The stigma
is always coloured, in which the genus cliifers from almost every
other member of the order. The indusium also varies from the
BY A. G. HAMILTON. 371
shallow and simple ring of cilia to the perfectly closed and pro-
tected cup in D. BroiJonii^ or D. stricta. This makes the fact that
the simplest and most open indusium (which may be looked upon
as the ancestral form of the genus or near it) is the more remark-
able, as it is best adapted for pollination by insects.
Grant Allen points out [4] that a high development of flower
usually goes with a reduction of the number of carpels or seeds,
because the plant is certain to be fertilised and so the seeds more
likely to arrive at maturity. This theory would appear to be
supported by D ampler a. The theory, strongly advocated by the
same author, that blue denotes the highest development in a
family, agrees well with the facts. Dainpiera is certainly one of
the highest developed, if not the very highest, of the order, and
as already pointed out blues and purples prevail in the genus.
The auricles, too, which are the nivost highly differentiated organs,
show the greatest dej^th of colour, and as this colour is hidden
from insects and cannot be intended as an attraction, I think it
may be fairly inferred that it is a concomitant of the high
develojDment. It is significant that the indusium, and the auricles,
when present, in other members of the order, often show deep
tints of brown, red, and purple.
The pollen of all the species examined was small, round, and
after exposure to the air, dusty, and so is well adapted for falling
from the auricles in a shower on a visitor.
The genus, I think, gives a clue to the purpose of the hairs on
the style, and the exterior of the indusium (not the cilia, which
have a well defined function as pointed out in a previous paper
[5]) in the plants of the Goodeniacete. They occur in Velleya,
Goodenm, Sccerola, SeMiera, Leschencmltia, and, slightly, in Bni-
nonia. Now in all these the st3de is wholl}^ (or in those species
with auricles, partly) exposed to the -air, rain and dew. But the
drops collecting in the flower are prevented by the hairs from
reaching the indusium and thus damaging the pollen, or clogging
it so that it could no longer fall freely. Even in those which
have auricles, rain falling on the style would run along to the
indusium but for the hairs. But in Dampiera only, the whole
372 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACEJi,
style and indusium is closely — very closely — boxed up between,
the auricles, and the line of junction covered by a closely pressed
clothing of hairs. It is possible that the trichomes on the
posterior margins of the auricles of D. stricta, D. eriocephala, and
D. lanceolata subserve the same purpose. At any rate, I think
that the hairy styles occurring in flowers which are open to rain,
etc., and the glabrous ones in those which are perfectly protected,
is somethino- more than a coincidence.
REFERENCES TO LITERATURE.
(1) Bentham and Mueller. Flora Australiensis, Vol. iv. p. 106.
(2) Mueller, F.v. Second Systematic Census of Australian
Plants, p. 146.
(3) Bextham, G. " Note on the Stigmatic Apparatus of Goode-
novicv,'' Journ. Linn. Soc. Botany, Yol. x. p. 205.
(4) Allen, Grant. " Colours of Flowers," Nature Series, 1882,
pp. 38 and 39.
(5) Hamilton, A. G. "Notes on Methods of Fertilisation of
Goodeniacea?;' Part L P.L.S.N.S.W. (2), Vol. ix. p. 201.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE.
Dawpiera Brownii, F.v.M.
Fig. 1. — Top of style in early bud; a, from above.
Fig. 2. — -Indiisium when fully developed.
Fig. 3. — Guiding ridges in corolla.
Fig. 4. — Young auricle.
Fig. 5. — Mature aiiricle.
Drmipiera ntricta, R.Br.
Fig. 6. — Indusiu)n open, from above.
Fig. 7. — Indusium closed, side view.
Fig. 8. — Trichomes on edge of auricles.
Fig. 9. — Calyx hairs.
Fig. 10. — Auricles, showing trichomes.
BY A. G. HAMILTON. 375
Dampiera linearis, R.Br.
Fig. 11. — Indusium showing stigma.
Fig. 12. — Auricle.
Dampiera sp. (?)
Fig. 13.— Auricle.
Dampiera luteijlora, F.v.M.
Fig. 14. — Hairs from calyx.
Fig. 15. — Auricle.
Fig. 16. — Indusium.
Dampiera eriocephala, De Vr.
Fig. 17. — Indusium.
Fig. 18. — Trichomes.
Fig. 19.— Auricle.
Dampiera Linschotenii, F.v.M.
Fig. 20.— Auricle.
Fig. 21. — Top of indusium.
ON A FOSSIL MAMMAL ALLIED TO HYPSIPEYMNUS,
BUT RESEMBLING IN SOME POINTS THE
PLAGIAULACID.E.
By Robert Broom, B.Sc, M.B., CM.*
(Plate XXV.)
* This paper, by permission of the Council, has been withdrawn, to allow
of the incorporation of observations on some important, and in some
respects more perfect, material discovered shortly after it was read. The
new paper will appear in a later Part of this Volume. Plate xxv. , in
illustration thereof, is held over for the present. — Ed.
374
OJSr SOME NEW OR HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN
LAND SHELLS FROM NEW GUINEA OR
ADJACENT ISLANDS.
By C. F. Ancey, Administrateur-adjoint, Dra-el-Mizan,
Algeria.
(Communicated by C. Hedley )
(Plate XXVI.)
Some time ago I received from a German dealer, under probably
unpublished names, the following land shells belonging to the
Papuan fauna. Although the exact localities of most of them
are unknown, they are, I think, from the German possessions of
New Guinea.
L Papuina Hedleyi, E. A. Smith.
(Fig. 1.)
Helix {Geotrochus) Hedleyi, Smith, Journ. of Conchology, Yol,
vii, 1892, p. 72, = Helix Cnnefriana, Dohrn, Cat. Staudinger
(unpublished). *
I take the opportunity of giving a figure of this little known
and very remarkable form from a specimen in my possession.
Smith's description applies perfectly well to it, and the dimensions
given are just the same. My unique specimen appears, however,
to be of a darker colour, and the aperture is dark within; the
tuberculous columella is stained with pale violet or white in this
example, and the infra-sutural line is conspicuous in the penulti-
mate whorl as well as on the last, but fades on the upper ones.
I failed to detect any spiral impressed lines on the surface of the
* This synonymy is supported by Sykes. Journal of Malacology IV.
p. 51 [c.H.]
BY C. F. AXCEY. 375
body whorl, which is, as Mr. Smith reiiicarks, an individual rather
than specific character.
Log. — (German'?) New Guinea, ^/^Ve 0. Staudinger.
Judging from its affinities, Mr. Smith declared it to come from
New Guinea; this statement is confirmed here.
2. Papuina Tuomensis, n.sp.
Helix Tuomensis, Bttg., Cat. Staudinger (unpublished?).
(Plate XXVI., Fig. 3.)
Testa imperforata, depresso-conica, subtrochiformis, sat tenuis,
nitida, superne tenuissime spiraliter striata, prope aperturam lineis
obsoletis et parum regularibus, antrorsum oblique descendentibus
exarata, suljtus lineis spiralibus undulatis exiliter rugosa. Spira
late conica, summo Inevi, obtuso, concolore. Anfractus 41, convexi,
sutura lineari, parum impressa; ultimus magnus, rotundatus, initio
vix subangulatus, infra convexus, antice breviter et subito deflexus.
Apertura obliqua, sinuata, diagonalis, nigrolimbata, margine
supero sinuato, turn extus impresso et interne late subtuberculato,
extero obtuse rostratim producto, columellari lato, appresso, oblique
in lineam rectam inflexo, ad linem obsolete tuberculifero. Peri-
stoma reflexum, nigrum (pariete aperturali albo). Supra griseo
albida, dehinc in penultimo anfractu alba, deinde flavida, circa
umbilici regionem albescens. Ultimus anfractus atro-castaneo
bizonatus in medio, zona supera in penultimo prolongata, prseteria
fascia exiliore suturali ejusdem coloris exornatus.
Diam. maj. 23 J, min. 18|^, alt. 15 mill.
Var. HETEROCHROA.
(Plate XXVI., Fig. 4.)
Paulo minor (diam. maj. 221, ^^Qin. 18|, alt. 15 J) et giobosior,
lineis tantum incrementi obliquis obsolete striatula, multo nitidior,
micans; superne pulchre roseo-purpurea; ultimus anfractus laste
flavidus medio basique albicans, praeter vestigium fasciae suturalis
et maculis duabus castaneis prope aperturam efasciata, his, sicut
376 LAND SHELLS FROM NEW GUINEA OR ADJACENT ISLANDS,
ac in typo, in apertura transmeantibus. Paries aperturalis pallide
roseus.
var. VIOLACEO-FLAVA.
Prfficedenti statura forma et absentia sculpturae similis, sed typo
fasciis vicina. Superne atro-violacea, dehinc pailidior, denique
late flava, fasciis 2 periphericis ornatae, supera latiore, siiturali
prope apertiiram tantum conspicua, mox evanescenti. Paries
aperturalis et pars ultimi infra purpureo tincta.
Log. — "Tuom," probably in German New Guinea, or Bismarck
Archipelago. From the same locality I received at the same
time Helicina suprafasciata, Sowerby.
Shell imperforate, trochiform, rather thin. Spire conic, obtuse.
Whorls less than 5, convex, regularly increasing, suture linear,
simple; the last one large, rounded at the periphery. Sculpture
faint, obsolete growth lines slightly decussated by fine crowded
lines, spirally impressed above and below (where they become
somewhat wavy and irregular), and obliquely running towards
the aperture on the upper part of the last whorl. Surface more
shining in the varieties, differing also from the type in being
entirely smooth or nearly so, the only sculpture consisting in
obsolete growth lines, and in colour. The whorls also appear to
be a trifle more convex. Colour (in the type) greyish above,
fading into milky white and finally into intense yelloAv on the last
whorl; the latter is, on its middle, ornamented with two broad
chestnut-black zones, the upper one extending on the penultimate
whorl; painted besides with a finer sutural band of the same hue,
also ascending on the penultimate. All these bands are con-
spicuous in the interior of aperture. The latter is diagonal,
shortly and abruptly deflected in front. Lip intense black,
reflected, roundly beaked at the peripher}^, flexuous above, then
dented without and somewhat tuberculate within. Columella
broad, adherent to the base, very slightly tuberculous at the end
on the inner edge.
This interesting novelty belongs, like the following species, to
the group of Papuiim Tayloriana, Ad. and Reeve, but is desti-
tute of any carina on the last whorl, and recalls to mind Papuina
BY C. F. ANCEY. 377
Millicentce, Cox, from the Louisiades, which has nearly the same
form, but not the same style of colouring.
3. Papuina Kubaryi, Mollendorff.
Helix Kubaryi, von Miill., Cat. Staudinger.
(Plate XXVI., Fig. 5.)
Testa imperforata, depresso-conica, subtrochiformi:^, modice
solida, subnitida, undique tenuissime rugulosa, rugulis, irregularibus,
infra dispositionem spiralem prasbentibus. Spira late conoidea,
summo minuto, obtuso, hevi. Anfractus 4J, convexi, sutura
lineari impressaque divisi, celeriter accrescentes, ultimus magnus,
rotundatus, initio obscure angulatus, infra convexus, antice baud
abrupte deflexus. Apertura obliqua, sinuata, extus rostrata
(rostro sat minuto, erecto obtuso), nigrolimbata, diagonalis, margine
supero leviter lateque sinuato, turn extus subimpresso, dehinc in
rostrum prolongato; columellaris appressus, mediocris, oblique in
lineam rectam declivis, baud tuberculatus, cum basali arcuato
absque angulo junctus. Peristoma supra anguste, basi magis
reflexum et expansum, atrum. Paries aperturalis violaceus.
Apex nigro-violaceus; anfractus supremi grisei, inferne (ad
suturam) late purpurei, penultimus pallide stramineus, punctis et
lineis griseo-pellucidis adspersus; ultimus prope aperturam pulchre
luteus, pone peristoma carneo-rubellus, seriebus 2 punctorum seu
macularum nigrorum in fascias dispositis et plus minusve in
penultimo e\'anescentibus egregie picta. Faux fuscula, fasciis
tran smeantibu s .
(a) Diam. maj. 25, min. 19, alt. 16 mill.
(h) Diam. maj. 23 J, min. 18, alt. 15 mill.
Var. ALBIDA.
Testa lactea, concolor, peristomate albo, griseo exiliter rare
passimque substrigata vel punctulata, casterum typo simillima.
Diam. maj. 25, min. 20, alt. 17 mill.
Loc. — (German T) New Guinea.
378 LAND SHELLS FROM NEW GUINEA OR ADJACENT ISLANDS,
This very pretty and interesting Papuina is evidently very
close to Mr. Brazier's Helix Gorenduenais (Proc. Linn. Soc. New
South Wales, 3rd April, 1886, p. 841), and I first thought they
might be identical. However, Papuiyta Kuharyi has not 5 whorls,
and, judging from Mr. Brazier's description, also differs in several
other particulars. No mention is made by the latter of the
disposition of the small spots, which, in Gorenduevsis, are
"pinkish," not grey nor blackish towards the aperture. Mr.
Brazier says hk shell is " flesh-tinted a cream colour," while
Kxfharyi is yellowish cream-colour, reddish-pink behind the
peristome. The aperture, in this, is intense black on the lip,
violet-purple on the parietal margin, and purple-brown within the
throat, while in Gorenduensis, "the interior is bright pink, the
peristome blackish-purple," and the " margins joined with a thin
pink callous entering spirally into the interior of the aperture."
I therefore suppose the two species are really different from each
other.
4. Hemiplecta granigera, n.sp.
Testa subsolida, depressa, orbiculata, aperte uml^ilicata, oblique
confertim striata et undique minute spiraliter granulata (granulis
in ultimo valid ioribus, circa umbilicum magis obsoletis), vix
nitida, sordide fusca, medio obtuse angulata, infra angulum zona
obscuriore per testam conspicua diffusaque cincta, subtus pallidior.
Spira depresso-conoidea, obtusa. Anfractus 6 subconvexi, sutura
parum profunda, simplici; ultimus haud descendens, superne et
pn«sertim infra angulum medianum obtusum pallidum convexus.
Apertura ampla, obliqua, lunata, transverse subovalis. Peristoma
simplex, acutum, rectum, marginibus remotis, callo tenui nitido
concolore junctis, margine columellari late arcuato, vix expansius-
culo, umbilicum (pro genere magnum, anfractus omnes ostenden-
tem) nullomodo obtegente.
Diam. maj. 43, min. 35, alt. 22 mill.
PjOC. — (German?) New Guinea.
This species should perhaps be referable to Rhysota, but is
more nearly related, from the general appearance of the shell, to
BY C. F. ANCEY. 379
such Heniiplecta as Blainvilleaaa, Hitmjyhreysiana and Fouilloyi.
I received it under the latter name, but it is certainly utterly
distinct. The Fouilloyi is a large and more globose shell, more
narrowly umbilicated. In this respect the present shell is more
like Rhysota Achilles, Braz., but is smaller, has a thin aperture
and more numerous volutions. The sculpture may be the same
in both species.
5. PupiNA Beddomei, n.sp.
Fujnna Beddomei, Bttg., Cat. Staudinger.
Testa ovata, tenuis, pellucida, hyalina, nitidissima, griseo-
albicans. Spira oblonga, obtusiuscula; anfractus 6 levissime
convexi, sutura callosa zona exili pellucida cincta divisi; ultimus
descendens, ad aperturam breviter ascendens, antice subdepressus.
Apertura basi antice provecta, rotundata, bicanaliculata, scilicet;
canali supero peristomate non extus exciso et lamina parietali
arcuata sat valida intrante constituto, et canali altero ad basin
columellfe excis?e, extus in foramen rotundatum terminato.
Peristoma intus incrassatum, leviter patulum.
Long. 7, diam. 3|-; long, apert. 2| mill.
Loc. — Bismarck (or New Britain) Archipelago.
This species is more slender than Pupina speciUiun, Tapparone-
Canefri (Fauna Malac. Delia Nuova Guinea, 1883, p. 270, PI. x.
figs. 14-15), and indeed more nearly related to Pupina difficilis,
Semper, of the Pelew Islands. From the last named species it
differs in being a trifle larger, light ash-coloured, and chiefly in
the characters of the aperture, which is vertical in difficilis, also
furnished with a more robust superior lamina and more excised
columellar margin in Pupi7ia Beddomei. The same characters,
although not ver}^ striking, will also without much difficulty
distinguish Pupina Beddomei from the complanata, Pease, which
occurs in the Kingsmill and Caroline groups. They are very
constant in the several specimens before me.
I am happy to give this species the name of my distinguished
correspondent Mr. C. F. Beddome.
380 LAND SHELLS FROM NEW GUINEA OR ADJACENT ISLANDS,
6. Cyclophorus Kubaryi, Mollendorff.
Cycl )pho7'us Kubaryi, v. Moll., Cat. Staudinger.
(Plate xxvL, Fig. 6.)
Testa solida, opaca, rugosa, parum nitens, turloinato-globosa,
profunde sed (pro genere) minute umbilicata, umbilicus ad
terminationem leviter excentricus, superne atro-fusca, in medio
ultimi anfractus luteo plus minusve distincte bifasciata, subtus
circa umbilicum flava vel jDallida. Spira conoidea, elevata, obtusa.
Anfractus 5^, convexi, sutura infra subirregulari discreti, baud
valde turgidi; ultimus relative (pro genere) parum amplus, rotun-
datus, altus, prope aperturam leviter subdeflexus. Apertura
subobliqua, fere circularis, ad insertionem subangulata, extus
leviter sinuata, sordide lutea. Peristoma acutum, baud expansum
nee reflexum, vix patulum, ad columellam paulo magis incrassatum
et expansiusculum, umbilicum baud tegens. Lineis incrementi
sub lente irregulariter exarata et rugis undulatis ad apicem
evanescentibus, basi tenuioribus peculiariter et eximie sculpturata,
quasi vermiculata. Operculum tenue, rubellum, multispiratum,
centro minute concavum.
Diam. maj. 28, min. 23, alt. 24, alt. apert. 14 mill.
Log. — (German?) New Guinea.
There is no form known to me that I might compare with this.
The operculum is red, thin and c3^clophoroid, while the shell
itself resembles in shape, as far as I can suppose from the figure
given by Mr. M. M, Schepman, Cyc^otus K'^oemhaeuAs, of the
Island of Soemba (Indian Archipelago). The description of the
latter applies nevertheless to a true Cyclotus of the section
I'seudocyclopJiorus, Martens. (See Notes from the Leyden Museum,
Vol. xiv. p. 158, PL 6, fig 3, 1892.) The remarkable sculpture
of Cyclophorus Kubaryi is quite peculiar for the genus as well as
the general " tout ensemble " of the shell, and the simple, not
reflected, lip. The former, obsolete beneath, is very much marked
above, and recalls that of Helix Qtioyi and maniilla, although it
may be termed as more vermiculous. The whorls are more tightly
BY C. F. AXCEY. 381
coiled and the apex more globular, less mamillar than in any
Cyclophorus I am acquainted with. No shell from New Guinea
is like this, and I feel confident altogether that when the animal
is known it may be considered the type of a new genus. Pro-
visionally, a sectional name may be given to it, and I should
propose for this object that of Fapuoct/chos, as the only species
known till now of this section belongs to the Papuan fauna. To
my knowledge the large typical Cyclophori are still unknown from
New Guinea or neighbouring isles. — Algeria, Feb. 1st, 1895.
EXPLANATION OP PLATE.
Fig. 1. — Hemiplecta granigera, Ancey.
Fig. 2.--Papiiina Hedleyi, Smith.
Fig. 3. — ,, fuomeiins, Ancey.
Fig. 4. — ., ,, var. heterochroa, Ancey.
Fig. 5. — ,, Kubaryi, Mollendorflf.
Fig. 6. — Gydoxihorus Kubaryi, MiJllendorff.
.Vote hy C. He
About the date on which I received the manuscript of the
above, there reached me an article by Dr. O. von Mollendorfi",
"On a Collection of Land Shells made by Mr. I. Kubary in
German New Guinea," Proc. Malac. Soc. Vol. I. Pt. Y. PL xv.
pp. 23J:-240. Dealing with similar material, Mr. Ancey's paper
has been partially anticipated by the j^rior descriptions of P. and
C. Kuharyi. Since, however, Mr. Ancey's independent obser^'a-
tions extend beyond those of his predecessor, and since the inter-
vention of time and space do not allovv me to refer the paper back
to the author, I have judged it best to offer it intact to the
Society.
382
PLANTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES ILLUSTRATED.
No. viii. — Acacia lanigera, A. Cimn.; B.Fl. ii. 324.
By R. T. Baker, F.L.S., Assistant Curator, Technological
Museum, Sydney.
(Plate xxvii.)
A rigid shrub of several feet, the branches terete, branchlets
often angled and mostly woolly.
Phyllodia lanceolate, falcate, rigid, thick, dark green, tapering
to a pungent point, li to rarely 21 inches long, mostly 2 to 3
lines rarely 4 lines broad, in some specimens woolly but in others
glabrous ; nerves very prominent, occasionally anastomosing,
marginal gland rarely found, except in southern specimens.
Stipules subulate, about IJ lines long, often persistent, woolly.
Peduncles axillary, short, weak, solitary, clustered, bearing a
globular or elongated head of about 25 flowers, mostly 5-merous.
Bracts at the base of the peduncles ovate, acuminate, ciliate,
woolly.
Calyx campanulate, with obtuse, thickened, ciliate lobes, not
half as long as the corolla.
Petals smooth, united to the middle.
Pod about 3 i7iches long, 3 ^o 4 lines broad, very woolly, much
twisted, margins not thickened, slightly contracted between the seeds.
Seeds longitudinal, oblong in the centre of the "pod, the funicle
short, with 3 folds, the last fold short, but not thickened under the
seed.
BY R. T. BAKER. 383
Hab. — Coonabarabran, (S. Lyndon), Muclgee and Rjdstone (R.
T. B.); Cobar (Rev. J. M. Curran); Blue Mountains, Lachlan
River and to Southward (A. Cunningham, Eraser, Huegel,
Mitchell and others, teste Bentham).
I feel privileged in being able to complete the description, and
to give a satisfactory figure of this s]3ecies, and I hope now that
these notes will remove any difficulties that may have existed in
connection Avith its determination.
I have not seen A. Cunningham's description in Field's Geo-
graphical Memoirs on New South Wales, but I take it that Don's
transcription of it is a correct one, judging from the numerous
specimens that have come under my observation, and the very
brief description of the pod is correct as far as it goes.
In the Bot. Mag. t. 2922, published in 1829, no pods are
figured or described; and the illustration itself is of very little
help in identifying the species.
Bentham's description of the pod in the Flora Australiensis
(Yol. ii. p. 325) is referred to by Baron von Mueller in Proc.
Linn. Soc, 2nd Series, Vol v. p. 19, in these words: — " .
Bentham placed the pods of Acacia Oswaldi with A. laniyera "
so that this error has perhaps been the cause of the recent
confusion surrounding this species, and a debt is due to Baron
von Mueller for so important a note.
But to me it appears that Bentham must have had some
pod other than A. Oswaldi before him, as the description under
A. laniyera. does not agree with the pod of A. Oswaldi in Baron
von Mueller's Iconography of Australian Acacias, 6th Decade,
and which figure agrees in every detail with all sj^ecimens of the
fruit of A. Oswahli that have come under my notice.
In Baron von Mueller's note above quoted he gives A. venulosa
and A. Whanii as synonyms of this species.
This latter species I have not seen, but from the imperfect
specimens of A. venulosa collected by me, I am inclined to think
that A. vemdosa of Bentham is a good species.
384 PLANTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES ILLUSTRATED.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE.
Plate xxviL
ACIACIA LANIGERA, A. Cunu.
Fig. 1. — Flowering twig.
Fig. 2. — Part of a branch enlarged, to sliow bracts and stipules at the base
of the peduncle.
Fig. 8.— Bud.
Fig. 4. — Expanded flower.
Fig. 5.— Pistil.
Fig. 6. — Cluster of pods.
Fig. 7. — Seed in situ.
Fig. 8. — Individual phyllode.
Fig. 9. — Portion of phyllode enlarged.
(Figs. 2, 8, 4, 5 and 9 enlarged.)
385
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF ACACIA
FROM NEW SOUTH WALES.
By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Bakeh, F.L.S.
Acacia pumila, sp.nov.
(Plate XXVIII.)
A diffuse, virgate, pubescent shrul) under afoot Iiioli as far as seen;
})ranches and l^ranchlets terete. Phyllodes narrow, falcate, taperin^'
into a recurved pungent point, narrowed at the base, trinerved, not
clecjirrent <is hi xi. trino.rvata ^ and less articulate, 6 lines long and
1 line l)road, with scattered glandular hairs on nerves and edges.
Stipules prominent, subulate, hairy, over 1 line long. Peduncles
silky-hairy, short, scarcely 2 lines long, recurved, solitary, l^earing
a small head of not more than i^-^y^o?6'e7'6' mostly 5-merous. Calyx
more than half as long as the corolla, vnth acnte almost subulate
lohes, prominently ribbed especially in the bud, ciliate. Petals
narrow, Jree, glabrous, very prominently ribbed, very marked in the
})ud. Pod 1 line broad, 12 lines long as far as seen, slightly
contracted between the seed, margins thickened. Seeds oblong,
longitudinal; funicle dilated from the base into a club-shaped aril
and consisting of about 4 ft)lds.
/fab. — Kenthurst (R. Helms).
Systematically this species approaches A. trinervata; but it is a
much smaller shrub, with a pubesc-nce on the branches and underside
of phyllodes; and the ph3dlodes are smaller, also falcate (not rigid)
with recurved points, and slightly pubescent; the peduncles are
also much shorter and weaker, and there are fewer flowers in the
heads. The characters of the cal3'^x and petals are entirely distinct
from th<)s(» of that species.
The oAary is also hairy, and the stipules which are minute in
A. trinervata are very distinct in this species. The phyllodes and
the shortness of the peduncles give it some affinity to A. lanigera.
It differs from both, however, in the size of the pod.
386 NEW SPECIES OF ACACIA FROM NEW SOUTH WALES.
It belongs to the Pungentes series of Bentham, and sub-series
Plurinerves, viz. : — Phyllodia 2- or more nerved, linear-lanceolate.
Peduncles short. Pod 4 to 5 lines broad... A. lanigera.
Peduncles mostly recurved, 1-2 lines long.
Pod 1 line broad A. pumila, n.sp.
Peduncles slender, ^ inch long. Pod 1 to 2
lines broad A. trinervata.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE.
Acacia 2)iimila.
Fig. I. — Flowering twig of plant.
Fig. 2. — Fruiting twig of plant.
Fig. 3.— Bud.
Fig. 4. — Individual flower.
Figs. 5 and 6. — Bracts.
Fig. 7.— Pistil.
Fig. 8. — Phyllode magnified.
Fig. 9.— Pod.
Fig. 10. — St-ed with arillus.
PLS N5.W(2"'^5er,3V0LX.
PL XXI,
K T bakendel
AGACIA BAKERI J. H Maiden.
PLS NSW (2"'^ SerjVOL X.
PL XXII
'^.J.Ksinhow, del
RLS.NS.W{2':'d SerlVOL-X
PL XXIII
WJRdinha^ del.
PLS N.S.W(2"'^SerjV0L X
PL XXIV
f\.(j.H del ad mt
20 "W^i. 21 -^
FERTILISATION OF DAMP! ERA, S^'p-
PLS NSW.(2"''5er)V0LX.
PL X/V
2 )' 13
^ X 13
R B. del ad net
^.fNS/^fZ'^Se^VGL/
PL /XVJ
If-t r-^f^y deJ
'-•<.&■/ a«y ac nar-
-APUAN LAND S-£^_5
PL S.N 5W(.2"'^SerJV0L X.
PL. XXVII
R.TSakerdel
.^CACIA LANI6EPA, A Cunn.
PLS,IV.5.W,(2"''Ser.)V0L X.
PL. XXVIII
^'
RT.BakerdeL
ACACIA PUMILA Maiden el- Baker
387
ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES.
Bv PviciiD. Helms.
(Commttnicdtpd hij the Secretary.)
(Plates xxix.-xxx.)
Introductory Remarks.
The following notes are to a great extent compiled from com-
munications I ha\ e from time to time received from old settlers
who in their early days frequently came in contact with the
Aborigines inhabiting the neighbourhood of their settlements, and
who remember the habits and customs of these extinct or
decaying tribes. Special thanks I owe to Mr. John Barry, Senr.,
who settled on the Mowamba Ri^er more than forty years ago,
aiid from whose store of vivid recollections I have drawn a great
many of the facts now set down.
It is to be regretted that the narratives are but fragmentary
yet I consider them sufficiently interesting to be recorded, more
especially on account of the comparisons that may be drawn
between the manners described and those of other Australian
tribes.
I do not intend to dilate upon this subject, but merely wish
to remark that, viewing the manners and customs described from
a general aspect, it l^ecomes apparent that they are very similar,
and that they originated in common with those of the great bulk
of the other Australian aboriginal tribes. The tribes here spoken
of differed from most of their compatriots in the neglect of some
widespread customs rather than in the practice of peculiar rites. I
am alluding to the rites of circumcision and of the mika operation,
neither of which were practised by the tribes that lived in the
388
ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
south-western parts of New South Wales or the north-eastern of
Victoria.
The Omeo Blacks.
This tribe, once numbering upwards of 140 to 150 souls, is now
extinct. They can still be remembered by some of the old
settlers, who not much more than 30 years ago saw them a
vigorous tribe in its fullest expansion. It is a lamentable fact
that through contact with Europeans within the time of one
generation, whole tribes of considerable numbers have entirely
vanished. This does not only apply to the tribe in question,
but is equally applicable to their neighbours, whether friends or
foes. The Monaro tribe, for instance, is also nearly extinct, and
of their once numerous hordes only two or three half-civilised,
demoralised individuals remain. Between 30 and 40 years ago
some of the old settlers have seen on special occasions as many as
500 to 700 aborigines of all ages and sexes assembled together,
but their grandchildren will know the blacks only from hearsay
and by what remains of their less perishable implements of war,
i.e., a few stone hatchets that may occasionally be turned up
during ploughing, or otherwise discovered.
The Omeo Tribe occupied the north-western corner of Victoria,
and were friendly with the Buffalo Tribe (Ovens district) on their
side of the Murray, and on the other side of the river with the
Monaro and Queanbeyan Tribes. Probably the customs of these
four tribes were identical, because they lived in frequent inter-
course and combined against their common enemies. These
were the Braidwood, the Twofold Bay, the Gipj^sland Tribes, and
those living near the borders of the Murray from below Albury.
A nearly constant feud was waged between these tribes, and
bloody contests frequently occurred. The mode of attack as a
rule was as follows : — After watching the enemy during the day-
time, and spying out their camping place, a couple of warriors
would stealthily sneak round it at night to reconnoitre the position
and its surroundings. If not detected, a raid would be made
upon it at the dawn of day by the whole of the attacking party,
who generally yelled loudly and made a fearful noise when close
BY RICHD. HELMS. 38J>
to the camp. The surprise mostly caused a stampede amongst
the suddenly aroused sleepers, and those who did not escape by
immediate flight, whether young or old, would be speared or
knocked down with nulla nullas. After burning the spears and
other war implements that were left behind, the attacking party
returned as quickly as possible to their own district, probably to
meet with a similar fate at some future time when the enemy had
rallied and was reinforced.
The oldest man of the tribe was recognised as a kind of chief,
but whenever an attack on some enemy was planned, the ablest
warrior as a rule was chosen to lead, and his advice then received
the endorsement of the old men.
Personal disputes were also not infrequent, and were generally
settled by a fight, either with spears or cluljs. In each case the
shield served for warding off the spears or the blows of the nulla.
Fighting with stone tomahawks was not permitted in these duels,
and was suppressed if in the heat of the combat the assailants
should resort to these murderous weapons. In fact most of their
fights, if single combats, were regulated by the onlookers, who
frequently interfered when one of the parties was seen to get
weak and it was noticed that he was unable to ward off the blow^s
with the necessary dexterity. Some of their fights were regulated
so that the combatants alternately hit the "hielaman" held by the
opponents with the left hand above the head till the arm would
gradually get weak and sink so that the nulla would fall on the
head instead of the shield. The first hit on the head would end
the fight as a rule, and frequently — if, for instance, one of the
duellists was a much older man than the other— the fight might
probably be stopped just before the club fell upon the skull, and
the combat declared satisfactorily finished.
During the quarrel the opponents used to gather their beards in
the mouth, which, together with the grimaces they assumed, gave
them a ferocious expression.
They recognised the tribal rights to certain grounds, but the
boundaries were not always particularly respected, as it happened
frequently that they were overstepped during hunting excursions.
390 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
When about to convey important communications to another
tribe, such as to summon the warriors for a hostile invasion of the
territory of their common enemies, or for a friendly meeting
with the object of performing rites of a ceremonial nature, &c.,
two men were generally sent. Whilst the one slept the other
kept watch to avoid being surprised by enemies during the
journey, or being taken and slain as such whilst asleep by some
friendly natives in mistake.
When on the war-f)ath, as well as during the performance of
their rites of initiation and at their dances and corrobories, they
liked to appear ornamented, which they accomplished by painting
the fronts of their bodies. The colours used were white, red, and
black. For the first they used pipeclay, for the second raddle,
and for the black charred seedstalks of the grasstree. The
powdered charcoal they mixed with grease, forming a pigment
that would stick on for months.
They had two distinct ceremonies to raise the male members of
the tribe from childhood to manhood.
At about the age of from 14 to 16 years the young man was
made " Kurrunong," which was done by knocking out one of his
upper central incisors. This removed him from the care of his
mother and the influence of the women, and so to say raised him
from boyhood to the state of youth.
At the age of 18 or 20, that is when his beard had started to
develop properly, he was made "Wahu." To initiate him into
this state, the following ceremon}"- was performed by the men, the
women being excluded : — All the hair of the head was singed off
close to the skull by means of some burning fibrous bark. This
was a somewhat slow procedure, and had to l^e done ver}^
gradually, the hair being lit continually and blown out before it
flared up too much. Whilst the young man submitted to this in
silence, the onlookers and operators would carry on a lively con-
versation or some chanting. When all the hair had been removed
and the singing was over, three of the old men came running
towards the newly initiated witlf green boughs in their hands,
which tJiey waved in succession several times over his head.
BY RICHD. HELMS. 391
After this the men would run some distance awa}^ and returning
swing the boughs with a swishing sound in a certain direction,
mentioning at the same time the name of the district towards
which they were pointing. This was repeated three times for
each of the various directions they might point to. Each name
mentioned was preceded b}^ the emphasised exclamation of "Wau-
Wau !" For instance, " Wau-Wau ! Tumut ;" " Wau-AÂ¥au !
Queanbeyan," &c., &c., which was followed at times by an exhorta-
tion or malediction. This indicated that the Wahu may go to these
districts as a friend and may have luck, or on the other hand that
in some of these directions lived the tribes with whom he would
have to carry on the hereditary feuds, for from henceforth he
Avas to be considered as being raised to the position of a warrior
in his own tribe.
As soon as the initiation was completed, the women were again
admitted to the presence of the men, and dancing and corrobories
were held during the evening for the amusement of all, and more
particularly for the benefit of the visitors, of whom there were
generally a number present on these occasions.
Manhood having now been conferred upon the newly initiated,
the respect due to a man (which meant a warrior in case of need
and not a mere huntsman as hitherto) was shown him, and in
commemoration of the event a special privilege was accorded to
him. This consisted in the permission being given to the newly
made Wahu to choose any woman of the tribe he liked, his blood
relations excepted, and cohabit with her for the night. But such
a privilege was extended to him for that night only. At any
other time sexual intercourse was regarded as adultery or fornica-
tion, as the case might be, the punishment for which was a severe
beating with waddies, sometimes inflicted with sufficient severity
to cause death.
They had no special marriage ceremonies, but when a wc)man
w^as to be given to a man to cohabit with him for the first time, her
female relations and the other women of the tribe would build a
*' gunyah " of l^oughs, dense enough to prevent being overlooked,
392 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
and place the woman therein to wait the arrival of her affianced
man.
A girl was frequently betrothed to someone by the parents at
her birth, and was handed over to her affianced man when she
arrived at puberty.
Polygamy was customary and was not restricted ; the more
wives a man had, the richer he was considered.* As a rule the
women were a free gift, but at times a remuneration had to be
offered in the shape of weapons or other useful utensils. The man
who had a number of sisters whom he might promise, or over
whom he possessed some influence through his parents, stood the
best chance of having many wives.
It was not considered adulter}^ for a brother to have sexual
intercourse with the wife of a brother, and it would frequently
occur that one brother would lend a wife to another who had
none of his own. During the absence from the district (when, for
instance, on a visit to a friendly tribe) the wife or wives were left
in charge of a brother who assumed the part of husband for the
time being. If the absentee had no brother, this duty would fall
upon the nearest relative. The husbands of two sisters were
considered to be l)rothers.
Marriage between blood relations was strictly forbidden. They
firmly believed that if closely related people had carnal connection^
both offenders would be bitten by " jidjigongs " (snakes); this was
a constant dread to them, as it might not take place till after
many years.
The same punishment was also supposed to follow looking at or
speaking to mothers-in-law, which was forbidden before as well as
after marriage.
Young people were strictly forbidden to indulge in carnal
intercourse. If detected at such an offence, they would receive a
severe beating from the other members of the tribe. In case a
* My informant (Mr. Barry) told me that he had known some men to
have as many as five wives.
BY RICHD. HELMS. 393
woman of mature age should have clandestine connection with a
much younger man than herself, she was sometimes killed.
Whenever adultery was discovered, the punishment was in most
cases death. The woman's friends as a rule attacked the offending
man, and the man's friends killed the woman. Although this
was the generally adopted custom and law, it was often the cause
of a general intertribal fight and the origin of a prolonged family
feud.
A man who received a girl in promise endeavoured to obtain a
lock of her hair, which he would keep, and if she refused him
afterwards he would sometimes wrap an eagle-hawk's feather in
the hair and throw the tuft in some waterhole. As the hair
decomposed, the woman would sicken and ultimately die.
Up to about the fourth year a child got almost anything it
liked to eat, but at a later age it was forbidden certain things.
They were made to believe that if anyone ate of forbidden food
he or she would sooner or later be killed by lightning. This
superstition was so firmly ingrafted into them that some would
endure severe starvation rather than partake of forbidden
food. From some individuals the restriction of eating certain
animals was removed earlier than from others, but it seems that
the flesh of an emu was never allowed to be eaten till some time
after the arrival at the age of manhood. When this time had
arrived, the man who was for the first time to eat of this specially
reserved dish would sit down between two fires and have the emu
placed in front of him. He could then eat as much as he liked,
but was not allowed to go to sleep when he was satisfied, and was
forcibly kept awake the whole night whenever he became drowsy.
They cooked their food either on the fire, or when they had a
great deal of it and were not in a hurry, in a kind of oven in the
ground. For this purpose they dug "a suitable hole and filled the
bottom of it with stones over which a fire was lighted. As soon as
the stones had been well heated, the fire and ashes were removed
and the game was placed upon the stones. This was covered with
bark and green bushes over which the hot ashes were heaped, and
the whole left undisturbed till the meat was cooked.
394 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
The food supply was as a rule abundant in the district during
favourable seasons. It consisted of all kinds of game, birds and
birds' eggs, reptiles, fishes, and insects. Amongst the first
the opossum furnished probably the most frequent meal, because
it occurred very abundantly; and amongst the insects the
" Bugong "* supplied numbers of the natives with a fattening diet
for months. How this unique and remarkable food supply, found
always on the highest mountains, was procured deserves a detailed
description : — As early as October, as soon as the snow had
melted on the lower ranges, small parties of natives would start
during fine weather for some of the frost-riven rocks and procure
" Bugongs " for food. A great gathering usually took place
about Christmas on the highest ranges, when sometimes from 500
to 700 aborigines belonging to different friendly tribes would
assemble almost solely for the purpose of feasting upon roasted
moths. Sometimes these natives had to come great distances to
enjoy this food, which was not only much appreciated by them
but must have been very nutritious, because their condition
was generally improved by it, and when they returned from the
mountains their skins looked glossy and most of them were quite
fat. Their method of catching the insects was l^oth simple and
effective. With a burning or smouldering bush in the hand the
rents in the rocks were entered as far as possible, when the heat
and smoke would stifle the thickly congregated moths, that
occupied nearly every crack, and make them tumble to the bottom
of the cleft. Here an outstretched kangaroo skin or a fine net
made of kurrajong fibre would receive most of the stupefied and
half-sinsred insects, which were then roasted on hot ashes. This
process required some care and attention in order to prevent the
bodies of the moths getting scorched, and therefore the ashes
required to be not too hot and had to be free from large glowing
embers. The insects were thrown upon the ashes and well mixed
with them, and then the whole was stirred with sticks till the
wings and legs had broken away and the body was cooked, when
* See also the note at the end of the paper (p. 40G).
BY RICHD. HELMS. 395
it generally shrivelled to the size of a grain of wheat. The mass
was freed of the ashes by dropping it by degrees into some vessel
or on a skin and allowing the wind to sift it; the food was still
further cleansed from adhering particles of dust and other
unpalatable substances by gently rubbing it between the hands,
and rolling it backwards and forwards from one to the other
whilst blowing from the mouth. The taste of the roasted bodies
of the " Bugongs " is, according to some Europeans who tried
them, sweetish and nut-like and rather pleasant eating."^
This unique food supply is restricted to the highest mountains
of Australia, but here it can always be found in abundance during
the summer months. It is a marvel that the highest and stoniest
ridges, on which snow lies for fully five and sometimes six months
of the year, with a naturally scanty though rapidly growing
summer vegetation, should harbour such enormous numbers of an
insect (the caterpillar of which is known to be ver}^ voracious)
which was at one time the means of fattening a congregation of
over 500 aborigines every season.
* After the above was written, I met with Dr. George Bennett's
work, " Wanderings of a Naturalist in New South Wales, &c.," wherein
the earliest account of this food supply is given. Dr. Bennett set
out for "Gunundery" (the "Big Bugong " Mountain) from the Upper
Tumut, but he did not meet the blacks reported to camp there
"Bugonging." His report is consequently from hearsay, and not from
personal observation. After describing the cooking of the moths, vs^hich
corresponds with the method described by me, he continues: — "They
are then eaten, or placed in a wooden vessel called a Walbuu, or Culibun,
and pounded by a piece of wood into masses or cakes resembling lumps of
fat, and may be compared in colour and consistence to dough made from
smutty wheat mixed with fat. The bodies of the moths are large, and tilled
with a yellowish oil, resembling in taste a sweet nut. These masses (with
which the " Netbuls " or " Talabats " of the native tribes are loaded during
the season of feasting upon the "Bugong") will not keep above a week,
and seldom even for that time ; but by smoking they are able to preserve
them for a much longer period. The first time this diet is used by the
native tribes, violent vomiting and other debilitating effects are produced ;
but after a few days they become accustomed to its use, and then thrive
and fatten exceedingly upon it." (Vol. i. pp. 271-272.)
396 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
The crows fattened rapidly on the moths and were also highly
prized as food. They were consequently much pursued by the
nati% es during their bugonging pic-nics.
The fine nets made of kurrajong fil^re mentioned above seem
to have been especially designed for the purpose of collecting the
" Bugong." They had very fine meshes and were manufactured
with great care, and being attached to a couple of poles they
could be readily folded up when they had to be withdrawn from
the crevices. A shrub, ( Pimella sp.) growing abundantly in
places by the river sides to a height of three to four feet, furnished
the fibre. The bark of this bush was stripped and allowed to dry,
was then placed in water, and weighted down with some stones
for several days till the non-fibrous portions were partly rotted.
It was then taken out of the water and spread in the sun to
dry till it was quite crisp, after which the fibre was freed by
beating with sticks or flat stones. All this was the women's work,
and they managed to produce a tenacious material from it
that could be spun into the finest threads.*
They kindled fire by friction, and for this purpose procured two
pieces of the seed stalk of the grass tree ( Xanthorrlicea). One of
the pieces was flattened and laid on the ground, and the other,
pared to a point, was pressed against the flattened surface and
rapidly twirled between the flat hands. The friction soon
produced sufficient heat to cause some of the fine particles that
were loosened by the rotatory motion at the point of contact to
glow, which was, with the addition of some powdered charcoal
and dry pounded bark fibre, fanned into a flame.
* Among the white people of Australia the name kurrajong is applied to
a tree ( Br achy chiton), but the natives in most parts give it a diii'erent name
and say that kurrajong is white fellow name. It seems to me that the tree
obtained its name through a misunderstanding because it yields a fibre that
is frequently used by aborigines for making nets. This fibre is called
kurrajong by some natives, which seems to have led to the name being
applied to the tree. On the other hand, as the Omeo blacks called their
bush as well as the fibre kurrajong, such may possibly be the case with
the Brachychiton tree in some tribal dialects.
BY RICHD. HELMS. 397
To make a signal, a tire was lit by the side of a dry tree and
green bushes were heaped upon the flames when these had made
a good start. The smoke would then rise alongside of the tree as
if it were forced from a furnace."^
Their habitations were simply shelters made of a few sheets of
bark put against a pole on the windy side.
Their wearing apparel, for both sexes, consisted of two bundles
of narrow strips of skin suspended, one in front and the other
behind, from a belt round the waist. During wet and cold
weather, however, they wore an opossum cloak or a mat made of
kangaroo skins, which otherwise served for carrying the umigong,
nulla nulla, boomerangs and hielaman in, when folded.
The belt worn round the middle of the body consisted of a
number of closely laid coils of string, made of twisted opossum
fur, which was from 12 to 15 feet long. To put it on, they
fastened one end to a tree and holding the other end to their body
they turned round and round till it was completely wound.
Over the forehead, and very tightly fastened round the head, a
band about an inch to an inch and a half wide w^as generally
worn by most of them. This was neatly plaited with fine twists
made out of the bark of kurrajong, and esteemed as an adornment.
A woman having her menses would bind a string round both
arms, as a sign that she was to be avoided by the men. Should
she step across some stream of flowing water whilst in this state,
no one would drink below the place where she crossed it. She
*It is often asserted that the natives of Australia communicate by means
of smoke. By the manner in which the smoke is made to ascend and by
the volume as well as by the number of columns, Ac, &c. , they are
supposed to have formulated a generally understood system of telegraphy.
No doubt they are very expert in making smoke ascend, and carefully
consider the state of wind and weather, understanding how to choose the
proper material (green or dry) and how to take advantage of special local
features, and watch the proper time of day when the signals are likely to
attract attention. But everything is done in accordance with preconcerted
arrangements. No generally acknowledged code exists. In my opinion
too much has been made of the supposed elaboration of a telegraphic
system by means of smoke signals.
3&'8 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
had therefore to be cautious and avoid polluting any water when
travelling in company.
When about to give birth the women retired to a secluded
place and usuall}^ managed the confinement without assistance
from other females.
The children generally received a name after something remark-
able that happened at the time of their l^irth or after something
in connection with the locality of it.
As a rule the children were a good deal indulged and were
allowed to have things their own way, but were supposed to be
obedient to their parents. If they disobej^ed, they were taught
they would be punished during later years by getting bad rashes
and sores on their body and limbs, caused through the influence
of a fiendish spirit. A disease of this kind was often the cause of
death amongst them. It began with an itch like a scab that was
dry on the surface but festering below the skin, and at an
advanced stage smelled very offensively and sometimes caused the
flesh to rot away. Some who were only lightl}^ afflicted with it
would perhaps be cured, but when the disease became general and
severe it was mostly fatal. As a cure the natives ate a kind of
yam^ cooked in hot ashes or roasted on stones, as well as other
vegetable food and certain herbs.
Whenever a native became ill he imagined that "Jakkandibbi"
(the suj)j)osed evil spirit) had taken his " gurai " (kidney fat). It
was believed by them that they may recover from it, but if
Jakkandibbi was to take the gurai the third time it would be
followed by death. The blackfellow's belief was that he would
live for ever were it not for the evil one who robbed him of his
life; even if a spear were thrust through his heart, it would not
be the spear that killed him but it would be Jakkandibbi.
* From the desciiptioa received of the plant, I believe these to be the
tubers of a liliaceous plant. The disease, from the description and its cure,
seems to be scurvy of a severe natuie, or a similar atfiiction, caused no
doubt through unhealthy meat or want of a variety of food.
BY RICHD. HELMS. 39-9
The303elieved that an enemy could secretly throw a "gibba"
(stone) which would enter the body of the person it was to hurt
and cause pain in the place it had entered."^
If therefore anyone felt a pain in the l)ody or any of his limbs
the " Karaji " (doctor or wizard) of the tribe would bite or suck
the place and generally produce a stone after a few minutes
which he professed to have removed from the sore part. Some-
times they even managed to show blood on the stone. As a rule,
the jDatient would soon recover after this display of crafty fraud.
These " Karaji," besides possessing these curative powers, were
supposed to l^e able to work all sorts of miracles and charms, but
generally each of them was noted for some special power. Some,
for instance, were expert in making rain. For this purpose eagle-
hawk feathers were rubbed between the palms of the hands in
connection with various manoeuvres and gesticulations, invented
and differently performed by each individual conjurer. Every one
tried to inspire the onlookers with his special power and used his
own methods to deceive the credulous.
The dead were buried in different ways: either in a hollow tree,
if the corpse could be dropped down from the top, or in a sitting-
position in a hole dug in the ground, or a cavity was made at the
bottom of a deep hole where the corpse was pushed in and some
stone slabs placed against it before the hole was filled up. In
each case the body was tied up in some fibrous bark with the
knees drawn towards the abdomen and the limbs firmly lashed
together. Great wailing and lamenting preceded the burial for
several days; the relations, and more particularly the women,
chopped and gashed their heads with stone tomahawks till
blood flowed freely. AVhen the body was disposed of, they
smeared pipeclay over their heads and faces as a sign of mourning.
This outward sign of sorrow was retanied for some time, but as a
rule much longer by the women than by the men. But as soon
as the flesh of an enemy was eaten, even if this were on the day
* This superstition is evidently the same as 1 he "pointing of a bone,
believed iii by most of the Australian indigenes, in another form.
400 ANTHR0P0L0f4ICAL NOTES,
following the burial, all grief was banished and the mourning
signs were removed.
They firmly believed that the dead would not stay in the grave
but would come to life again in another form, which might take
the shape of a fish, bird or animal, or anything else; their ideas
were, however, not very clear on this subject. The}^ also Ijelieved
that the dead would leave the grave sometimes during the night
and go hunting. Owing to this belief, no doubt, all personal
property was buried with them, as well as other things they might
require. The name of the dead was never mentioned by them on
any account, and if anyone mentioned it inadvertently they
stopped their ears and asked not to be reminded of the dead. If
dogs had been owned by the deceased, these were sent to some
friendly tribe that their sight might not remind them of the
departed. They carefully avoided the graves.*
The Omeo Blacks (as well as the neiglibouring tribes) were
inveterate cannibals, and at every opportunity would eat the flesh
of their enemies, but especially their kidney fat. They would,
however, not eat a member of their own tribe.
Their weapons consisted of clubs (nulla nullas), boomerangs,
shields (hielaman), stone tomahawk (umigong), and three or four
kinds of spears, which were made of reeds, seedstalks of the grass-
tree, boxtree, or if procurable, ironbark. The reed and grasstree
spears were thrown with the wommera, but the heavier and larger
wooden spears were thrown with the hand after l^eing well
balanced by holding them near the middle. The boomerangs
were different also; the larger sort was used for fighting, and a
* Mr. Barry on one occasion noticed two bandicoots near a native grave and
told some blacks of it who were camping a short distance from the place.
Snow was lying on the ground at the time and the natives were hard
pressed for food, but they would not touch the "bandies" because they
believed them to be the dogs of the dead. When ]\lr. Barry shifted some
of the boughs that were lying over the grave, under which the animals hid
themselves, to convince the natives that they were bandicoots and not dogs,
they implored him to desist, adhering to it that the animals were "dog of
poor fellow."
BY RICHD. HELMS. 401
smaller sort, which was more curved than the other, they threw
at birds. This if thrown against the wind would return to the
thrower after making one or two circles in the air. The com-
monest implement was the 3"am stick, a plain stout cudgel about
four feet long, sharpened and hardened in the fire at one end.
It was used for dio'oinc: out roots and other food from the ground,
and in case of need served for defensive purposes.
For carrying water they made a vessel out of bark in the shape
of a small canoe. For this purpose they thinned a suitable piece
of bark at both ends and placed it in hot ashes to make it soft
and pliable, and whilst in this state the ends were folded and tied.
Their canoes were mostl}^ made of bark which was gathered in
folds at both ends, after these had been sweated in hot ashes, and
fastened together with withes and wooden pins. They chose a
convenient crooked tree and stripped the bark from the bent part
of it that "svas already naturally shaped like a canoe. To prevent
leaking, a good-sized lump of clay was pressed in at both ends,
and if through running on a snag or some other accident, leaks
occurred, these were as a rule also stopped with clay. Such canoes
did not usually last for a great length of time on account of their
fragile nature and the rather rapid decay of the material, but
they were more frequently used than those made of wood l^ecause
the}^ could easil}^ be replaced if destroyed by an enemy. The
wooden canoes were made out of a suitable log, and their manufac-
ture demanded a great deal of labour. The}^ had to be entirely
worked with stone implements, assisted b}" lighting a fire inside,
which when carefuU}^ managed would destroy the bulk of the
wood to be removed. Generally they adopted a partly hollow
tree for this purpose.
Besides the casual ornamentation of painting, they used to mark
their body with tattoo scars. These were produced b}^ means of
some sharp stones with which the flesh was incised. To stop the
blood and to form the scars they lay down on a heap of fine ashes.
Ashes w^ere also applied if at an}^ future time the bleeding should
start again. This was all that was used to raise the scars above
the surface of the skin. At the age of 17 to 20 years were made
402 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
these tattoo scars which were from an inch and a half to two inches
long as a rule. It took some time to make the whole series of
them, as they allowed those made first to heal before they started
others. In this way first the back and then the chest and arms
were operated upon in rotation. The women were also tattooed
on the chest and arms, but not to such an extent as the men.
The marks were supposed to indicate their family descent as well
as tribal connection.
Both the men and the women had the septum of the nose
pierced to carry a piece of polished kangaroo bone. A woman
considered herself looking her best when she had about six or
eight inches of bone pushed through her nose. The reason for
this habit was that, in addition to its being considered ornamental,
when they returned on earth again after death, either as a swan,
duck or fish, &c., they would then have a hole ready made for the
purpose of breathing.
A FEW Notes on the Monaro Tribe of AboricxInes, with a
Description of some of their Stone Implements.
The once numerous tribe inhabiting the Monaro District, com-
prising the south-western highlands and tablelands of New South
Wales, is nov/ almost extinct. The last typical specimen is
incarcerated in Goulburn gaol for killing his gin a little more than
two years ago, and besides him I believe only another fullblood
(young and civilised) native of the tribe exists, who is at present
living near Buckley's Crossing. The only one of them I ever saw
was " Bonny Jack," the " King " of Monaro, whom I met five
years ago. He was a short, rather broad shouldered man with an
open countenance and a merry disposition. At the time of our
meeting he had not long buried his gin, " Polly, ""^ and intended
to go across the border, if I remember right, with the intention of
* From a correspondent I hear that he " interred " her in a hollow tree
by the side of Spring Creek Lake, not far from Berridale. He derived some
consolation, or pretented to do so, from the belief that his Polly would
" jump up white lady by and by."
UY RICHD. HELMS. 403
trying to get another from a friend who had still two left. He
complained bitterly to me that " white fellow " destroyed all the
" possum," a gTievance, I was later informed, he was constantly
harbouring and generally ventilated to new acquaintances. He
died recently at Cooma, and with him it may be said the last
remnant of the real old stock of manl}^ savages belonging to this
tribe disappeared, reaching a good old age and weathering the
tempest of vice and demoralisation foisted U2:)on these unhappy
people b}^ civilised whites.
I have been told a few stories of individuals who have been
illtreated and even murdered by white blackguards, but these
isolated instances are nothing compared to what the rum bottle
and diseases have accomplislied towards wrecking these tribes.
Forty years ago they could muster several hundred individuals,
although from time immemorial they had been in constant and
bloody contentions wath most of their neighbours, and to-day,
after such a short span of time, owing simply to altered conditions,
they have all disappeared but two.
Not far below Jindabyne, where the valley of the Snowy River
somewhat narrows between rather rugged hills, used to be in
olden times a favourite camping place of the natives who assembled
here (even within the knowledge of some settlers) in considerable
numbers, mainly for the purpose of making stone implements. A
shingle bed near one of the bends in the river furnished excellent
and abundant material for tomahawks amongst the flattish and
more or less oval j^ebbles.
Many half finished tomahawks and pel^bles, the shaping of
which had just been commenced, have from time to time been,
picked up near this locality, and some may still be found there.
The blacks were not likely to encumber themselves with too much
weight, and therefore only the finished articles were carried away,
the unfinished being left behind to be taken in hand again on the
next return to the place.
Plate xxix. represents three such pieces of stone showing-
the commencement of the work, and one finished tomahawk. The
A A
404 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
first three were found by me at the place described, and the last
was discovered not far from it near the Crackenback River.
It seems that the first thing in shaping a tomahawk, after
selecting a suitable pebble, was simply to beat another stone
against it and chip the edges to a slanting face that would produce
a sharp angle with one of the planes of the stone. This is all
that has been done to the first three specimens represented, the
rock of which is a fine grained felspathic quartzite of dark grey
colour.
The finished implement is made of a similar material, but
somewhat lighter in colour. It is a well finished weapon
or tool with a sharp cutting edge and highly polished bevelled
sides. The other part of it is dressed smooth by being beaten
with another stone. By this method also the indented hollows
for fingerholds on the broadest surfaces of it are evidently pro-
duced. The implement seems to have been only intended
to be held with the hand when it Avas in use, and is in
reality an adze rather than a tomahawk. It weighs, twelve
ounces.
A Native Burial Place.
During my visit to the Monaro District in the early part of
1889, I opened a grave near Cobbin (situated between the Snowy
Kiver and its tributary the Mowamba River) that was pointed
out to me by Mr. Thompson, the owner of the run. To this
gentleman I owe the particulars I am about to communicate con-
cerning the individual whose remains I undertook to disturb.
It had been an old man who for several years prior to his death
was carried by the tribe from place to place when they shifted
their camp, because owing to some hip disease he was unable to
walk. The wailing and lamentations over his death lasted for
three nights and three days, and a great many natives assembled
to assist in the funeral ceremonies. A number of half deca3'ed
sticks still lying in a semicircle about twenty yards from the grave
marked the place where some brushwood had been heaped up to
form a shelter against the wind, and some charcoal indicated the
spots where the fires had been lighted during the nights.
BY RICHD. HELMS. 405
The grave was situated in an elevated position on a low rise
consisting of coarse gritty and clayey soil. The dry situation and
the natural compactness of the soil no doul^t greatly helped to
preserve the grave, which could be distinguished quite plainly
although it was over seventeen years since it had been formed. A
circular mound rose about two and a half feet from a base which
was upwards of five feet in diameter, irregularly flattened out at
the edges and strewn with sparsely imbedded rock fragments. In
the centre of the mound there were three posts.
In removing the soil and stones I found that the grave must
have been dug over six feet deep in the solid ground, and seemed
to have had an oblong shape of about four feet in length by two
and a half feet wide. At the bottom a dome-like excavation
about three feet long and nearly two feet high had been made in
one of the longest sides of the hole, into which the corpse had
been pushed. The opening had been covered by bark and grass,
against which flat stone slabs had been placed. The hole was
filled with granite slabs carefully laid down, with grass in the
interstices, for some distance, and over this with stones and earth.
At each end of the grave had been placed a strong sapling that
rose from the bottom by the side of the cavity in which the bod}'-
rested to about four feet above the surface of the ground, and
a third one was placed midwa}^ between them after a few feet
had been filled in. These were the posts that rose from the
mound, and which guided me to the cavity containing the corpse.
Although the death took place seventeen years before I opened
the grave, I found no difticulty in determining the method in
which the body had been prepared for interment. The knees had
been drawn up to the abdomen and lashed with bast, the elbows
had been laid close to the sides, and the hands were placed flat in
front of the face. Although nothing but the bones of the man
remained, their position left no doubt that the limbs were placed
as described. It was evident that the body had been lashed
together into the smallest possible compass by bast being coiled
round it in all directions. After being tied up it had then been
Avrapped in a blue blanket, perished fragments of which still
106 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES,
remained, and then in thick fibrous bark that was well lashed
round it.
The bones were still very solid, although discoloured. The
skull seemed to me of a much lower type than most skulls I have
seen, and by no means indicated intellectual power, which might
have been expected from the way the individual had been revered
by his tribe. The forehead receded very much and was strongly
developed over the orbits, and the jaws were extremely powerful,
forming a protruding chin that gave the whole face a receding
aspect.
Both hip bones were considerably swollen towards the upper
margin and showed a distinct honeycombed character which was
unmistakably the result of necrosis. From the appearance of
these bones it cannot be doubted that the man was unable to
walk during the advanced stage of the disease, and he must have
suffered a great deal of pain judging from their abnormal
condition.
Note.
Unless seen it is scarcely credible what an enormous number
of the Bugong moths inhabit the crevices and clefts of the rocks
on the highest ridges of the mountains. The crows have become
the principal exterminators since the blackfellow has disappeared,
and they do their work effectively by entering the narrowest
apertures. Thousand of crows may be seen swarming during the
whole of the summer about the rocks feeding upon nothing else
but the moths. The enormous number of these birds congre-
gated at the highest peaks can only be appreciated by
approaching them under cover, as I did in February, 1893, when
on a visit to the Australian Alps, and surprising them in their
secret pursuit on one of the rugged peaks. As soon as I was
observed by one of them, a caw of alarm was raised, which was
rapidly repeated \)j others, and from ever}^ crack and cranny
their black plumage burst forth. Soon thousands of crows rose
in the air almost like a cloud, making the environs resound again
BY HICHD. HELMS. 407
with their mingled caws of terror and surprise. On land I have
never seen such a number of birds rise together as I saw at Mt.
Tate; it could only be compared to the incalculable number of
seafowl that rise when they are disturl>ed at their lonely rock-isle
1)}' a sudden shot from a passing vessel.
It is almost impossible to form an estimate of the number of
the insects that are annuall}'^ devoured by the crows; just as
difficult as it is to form an idea of the masses formerly consumed
by the blacks. The figure in each case must, however, reach
high into the millions. Like the dusky coloured men, the
birds are fonder of this food than anything else, and will not
touch even dead or dying sheep, I am informed, whilst plenty of
*' Bugongs " are to be found. My own observations confirm this
statement.
The Dingo, as well as the Native Cat, it is stated, feed upon
the moths.
Dr. R. von Lendenfeld (Report on the Gold Fields of Victoria,
1886, p. 72), speaking of the Bogong Range, states : — *'The high
tablelands which constitute the nucleus of this range are inhabited
by a species of moth belonging to the Noctuina. The caterpillars
of it are exceedingly abundant, and formed, half-roasted, at certain
seasons, a favourite food of the Australian natives. The natives
call these caterpillars ' Bogong,' which name was afterwards
applied to the habitat of the Bogong," &c.
The statement as to the caterpillars having been eaten is
incorrect. The larvae of Agrotis spina, Gn., like the imago, are shy
of light. They are night feeders, and hide during the day, like
all other species of the genus, in the ground or at the base of
plants, and iDesides are protected by their colour. Their habits,
as well as their protective colour, prohiVjits a collection in numbers
sufficient to serve as food for whole tribes of natives.
The accompanying sketches I owe to the skill of my young
friend, Mr. Claude Fuller, whose valuable assistance was readily
given and is deserving of my warmest thanks.
408 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Plate xxix.
Figs. 1-3. — Flat stones chipped at the margins, showing the first prepara-
tion for the production of a sharp edge.
Fig. 4. — Finished tomahawk, or adze; the asterisks indicate the position
of the circular depressions or fingerholds (§ nat. size).
Plate xxx.
Grave of an Aboriginal ; with sections of the same, showing the body
as placed in the cavity, and the manner in which the hole was filled.
409
NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
The newspapers of 1st inst. reported that at Wilcannia nearly
an entire flock of sheep had been poisoned through eating raven-
ously of "grey bush," resulting in the deaths of 3700. Mr. Fred.
Turner exhibited a specimen of the plant implicated, which turns
out to be Kochia jyyTamidata, Benth. As this is not a poisonous
plant, the fatal results were more reasonably attributable to
mechanical irritation and inflammation arising from eating too
voraciously of the indigestible twiggy branches. A photograph
of the defunct sheep as they lay in camp was also shown,
and extracts were read from a letter from Mr. A. J. Esau, of the
"Western Grazier," which confirmed the diagnosis given above,
and added that the sheep were in xery low condition, almost at
starvation point, and that when the opj)ortunity came they simply
gorged themselves with "grey bush."
Mr. Maiden and Mr. Baker exhibited specimens to illustrate
their papers,
Mr. Maiden also exhil^ited specimens of a very young cocoanut
plant, showing the early growth of leaves and roots, from
Aneityum, New Hebrides. Also, from the same island, a native
drill consisting of small quartz crystals fastened to a round stick
about 2 ft. long. A piece of perforated rock and loose crystals
also accompanied the exhibit.
Mr. Hedley exhibited a valve of Cardiimi Jiavum, Linn., from
Port Jackson.
Mr. Masters exhibited a collection of 170 species of named
Coleoptera, lately received from Mr. Arthur M. Lea, of Western
Australia, containing types of all the species described by him in
his last paper. The following f^amilies were represented : — •
Malacoder^nidce 59 species, Pythidfe 3, Pedilidce 5, Fyrochroidm 2,
MycetophagidcH 4, Curcidionidce 3, Melandryidce 6, Mordellidce 47,
Anthicidce 15, Cm-ylophidce 20, and a few others.
Professor David exhibited (1) a number of transparent rock
sections, prepared by Mr. Brook, of Sydney University, of an
oolitic limestone from the Manning River, New South Wales.
410 NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
The limestone contains numerous foraminifera, and abundant
remains of small organisms, the precise nature of which has not
yet been determined. The specimen from which the sections
were cut was presented by Mr. C. W. Darley, M. Inst. C.E. The
rock is probably of Carboniferous age. (2) A specimen of fossil
algae C?), collected by Mr. C. Jenkins, from the Yass District, and
now in the Geological Collection at the University of Sydney.
Mr. Mitchell, Narellan, exhibited some fossils from the Wiana-
matta Series, in the neighbourhood of Narellan, consisting of
insect remains and impressions of a plant apparently belonging to
the Tceniopteridce. Mr. Froggatt, of the Technological Museum,
had determined the insect remains to be referable to the Families
Blattid(e and BupreMidcE. Of the former there were impressions
of fragments of wings, and of the latter of an elytron. Mr.
Etheridge, Curator of the Australian Museum, to whom the
specimens had been submitted, confirmed Mr. Froggatt's opinion.
The plants consisted of fragments of leaves showing rows of
papillae along each side, or in some cases along one side, of the
midrib on the basal portion, which may be sori. The fossil
Orthoptera are from a railway cutting on the Great Southern line
at Glenlee; the Buprestid and plants from the Great Road about
a mile N.E. of Narellan. Mr. Mitchell also exhibited some oolitic
limestone found in a sample of lime from Marulan.
411
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31st, 1891.
The Ordinary Monthly Meeting of the Society was held in the
Linnean Hall, Ithaca Road, Elizabeth Bay, on Wednesday even-
ing, July 31st, 1895.
The President, Mr. Henry Deane, M.A., M.I.C.E., in the
Chair.
Dr. James Froude Flashman, B.Sc, Hospital for the Insane,
Parramatta, was elected a Member of the Society.
The President said that he had to announce with regret the
death, on the 9th inst., of a member. Dr. P. H. MacGillivray, M. A.,
of Sandhurst, Victoria, well known for his important series of
contributions to a knowledge of Australian Polyzoa, covering a
period of more than thirty-five years.
DONATIONS.
Geological Survey of India — Records. Vol. xxviii. Part 2
(1895). From the Director.
Perak Government Gazette. Vol. viii. (1895), Nos. 12-17.
From the Government Secretary.
New Zealand Institute — -Transactions and Proceedings, 1894.
Vol. xxvii. From the Institute.
Pharmaceutical Journal of Australasia. Vol. viii. (1895), Nos.
6-7. From the Editor.
Zoologischer Anzeiger. xviii. Jahrg. Nos. 475-477 (May-June,
1895). From the Editor.
University of Melbourne — Calendars for the Years 1894 and
1895. From the University.
412 DONATIONS.
Boston Society of Natural History — Proceedings. Yol. xxvi.
Parts 2-3 (1893-94): Memoirs. Yol. iii. No. xiv. (1894). From
the Society.
New York Academy of Sciences — Transactions. Yol. xiii.
(1893-94). From the Academy.
California Academy of Sciences — Proceedings. 2nd Ser. Yol.
iv. Part 1 (1894). From the Academy.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences — Proceedings. Yol.
xxix. (1893-94). From the Academy.
Cincinnati Society of Natural History — Journal. Yol. xvii.
Nos. 2-3 (1894). From the Society.
American Philosophical Society — Proceedings. Yol. xxxiii.
No. 145 (1894). From the Society.
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia — Proceedings,
1894, Part ii. From, the Academy.
Nova Scotian Institute of Science — Proceedings and Transac-
tions. Second Series. Yol. i. Part 3 (1893). Fro^n the Institute.
Smithsonian Institution, Washington — Annual Reports of the
Board of Regents for the years ending July, 1892, and July, 1893.
From the Institution.
Bureau of American Ethnology — Tenth Annual Report,
1888-89: Bibliography of the Wakashan Languages. By J. C.
Pilling: The Maya Year. By C. Thomas: Pamunkey Indians of
Yirginia. By J. G. Pollard. From the Director.
U.S. Department of Agriculture — Report of the Secretary,
1893: Division of Entomology — Insect Life. Yol. vi. No. 5;
Yol. vii. Nos. 1-3 (1894): Bulletin. No. 32 (1894). From the
Secretary of Agriculture.
Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin — Yerhandlungen. Yol.
xxi. (1894), Nos. 7-9: Zeitschrift. Yol. xxix. (1894), Nos. 3-5.
From the Society.
Naturhistorisches Museum in Hamburg — Mitteilungen. xi.
Jahrg. (1893). Fro7n the Museum.
DONATIONS. 413
K.K. N'aturhistorisches Hof-Museum, in Wien — Annalen. Bd.
viii. ^^os. 1-2 (1891): Bd. ix. Nos. 1-2 (1894). From the
Museum.
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berichte, 1892-1893 : Jahresbericht fiir die Jahre 1892-93. From
the Society.
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lungen. xliv. Bd. 1-2 Quartal (1894): xlv. Bd. 4 Heft (1895).
From the Society.
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Bd. (1892) : xi. Bericht (1893). From the Society.
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xlii. Nos. 2 and 11 (1894). From the Academy
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the Field Naturalists^ Club of Victoria.
Medicinisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft zu Jena — â–
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Society.
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the Society.
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No. 53 (May, 1895). From the Society.
Zoological Society of London— ^Abstract, 21st May, 1895 :
Proceedings, 1895. Part 1. From the Society.
Entomological Society of London — Transactions, 1895. Part
ii. From the Society.
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From the Editors.
414 DONATIONS.
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Zoological Society of Philadelphia — Twenty-third Annual
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Conchological Socinty of Great Britain and Ireland.
Societe Royale de Geographie d' Anvers — Bulletin. T. xix^
5™« Fasc. (1894-95). From the Society.
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xxi. 3^ Liv.; T. xxii. V^ Liv. From the Society.
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(June). From the Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agriculture.
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From the Academy.
415
AUSTRALIAN TERMITID.E.
Part I.
By Walter W. Froggatt.
introduction.
These notes on white ants were first undertaken with the
intention of working out the economic aspect of their life-history,
more especially their partiality for certain timbers more than
others, and the best methods of exterminating them.
There is no family of insects in the warmer and tropical por-
tions of the earth's surface whose members wage such ceaseless
warfare against man's handiwork. From their countless numbers,
subterranean habits, and insidious manner of attack, none are
more difficult to cope with; for often it is not until the damage is
complete that their presence is even suspected. In Australia
alone thousands of pounds worth of property is annually destroyed
by these voracious pests. Having started on this subject, I found
both material and notes accumulate so rapidly that I determined
(without losing sight of the earlier phase of the question) to
expand my notes into a more pretentious work, namely, the study
of the habits and life-histories of all the Australian species
obtainable, recording my observations when possible from living
specimens.
With this end in view, I obtained the sanction of the Curator
of the Technological Museum (Mr. J. H. Maiden), who has also
greatly assisted me in many ways at" this work, to print and issue
a circular from the Museum, asking for specimens and giving
brief instructions to residents of termite-infested country how to
collect them.
It is from the generous way in which my valued correspondents,
many of them personally unknown to me (specimens and notes
416 AUSTRALIAN TERMJTID.i^:,
upon their habits having coine to me from all quarters), that I
am enabled to enlarge my observations and add much to our
general knowledge of their distribution and habits.
I have also had the advantage, in earlier years, of travelling
over a considerable portion of the interior of Australia, and after-
wards round the whole coast, and therefore start with a personal
knowledge of these pests in many phases of camp life, and a fair
idea of their distribution over this great island.
Part I. — Distribution.
In going into the literature on " white ants," I have consulted
a great number of works of voyages and travels, as well as the
scientific papers available; and during these investigations I have
been much struck with certain interesting facts relating to the
geographical distribution of termites. Therefore, before dealing
with the Australian species, I propose to glance at those from
other parts of the world.
In the fossil fauna of the Old World termites are very well
represented; evidently in bygone epochs, as now, at certain
seasons of the year the winged forms swarmed in myriads out of
the nests. Fluttering about in their generally aimless manner,
many of them alighted upon the soft resin coating the trunks of the
pine trees, and became entombed. It is a noticeable fact that
nearly all the fossil species have been described from winged
forms, no soldiers or workers of most of them being met with.
The resin changed to amber has retained the remnants of the
prehistoric insect world, and it is to its preservative powers that
we owe most of our knowledge of the fossil termites, though
others have been described from other formations both from
Europe and America.
In 1848 Professor Heer published his "Ueberfossile Ameisen"*
describing the fossil insects from the Tertiary beds of Oeningen
and Radoboj. This, the first systematical study of the fossil
* Afterwards translated and published in the Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.
London, vi. 1850.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 417
insect world, was followed in 1852 by Dr. Hagen's"^ work deal-
ing with the fossil termites of the same localit}^; after describing
the different species he states that the climate of Europe must
have been much warmer in the Tertiary age than at present to
have supported such an extensive insect world, and that out of
sixty known species of termites nearly a third of them were fossil.
During the years 1855-60 Dr. Hagenf brought out his Monograph,
in which he worked out all the then known species, both fossil and
recent, among others a fossil species (Termes grandcevus) from
England, the exact localit}^ not being given. This work still
retains its place as the text book on matters relating to the
classification of the Termitidce.
In 1861 three species were noticed by Hagen in some Sicilian
amber obtained by Hope for the Oxford Museum. |
In 1878 Sterzel described another for which he formed the new
genus Mixotermes, from the carboniferous of Lugau.§
In 1883 Scudderll published an account of his studies of the
fossil termites of the Florissant Tertiaries of Colorado; in this
interesting paper he gives a general account of all the fossil
termites known from other places, and describes six new species,
forming the genus Parotermes, to contain the first three, while of
the others one comes in the genus Hodotermes and two in
Euterines.
BrongniartH has made a magnificent addition to our knowledge
of fossil termites in his Monograph upon the study of fossil
insects, published last year.
* Ueber die Lebensweise der Termiten und ihre Verbreitung. Konigsb.
Naturwiss. Unterhalt., ii. 3, 53-75.
+ Monographie der Termiten. Linntea Entomol. x. (1855), pp. 1 and
270; xii. (1858), 1.; xiv. (1860), 73.
t Hagen, H.A. Eutom. Weekly Intel!. 10, 151, 168, London, 1861.
§ Sterzel, on Fossil Termites. Ber. Ges. Chemn. 1878-80.
Ii Sendder, S. H. The Fossil White Ants of Colorado. Proc. Amer.
Acad. Arts and Sciences, 1883, pp. 133-145.
H Brongniart, C. Recherche pour servir a 1' Histoire des Insectes Fossiles
des Temps Primaires, &c. Bull. Soc, dTndus.iMinerale. 1893, vii. (3),
p. 127.
418 AUSTRALIAN TERMITlD.f:,
At the present time three species of termites are found in
Europe, and though they are chiefly distributed along the coast
of the Mediterranean and the warmer portions of Southern
Europe, one species has been recorded from as far north as
Odessa, Russia, where it is said to have done a considerable
amount of damage. Of the three species now acclimatised in
Southern Europe, only one is said to be indigenous, Termes
lucifugus, which was known to exist in France at a very early
date, though it was not until 1853 that it was reported to have
committed any noticeable depredations."*^ Early in this year they
appeared everywhere as a regular plague in the city of Rochelle,
and not content with eating up the wood, found their way into
the city archives and destroyed many of the State documents.
This species now ranges over the whole of the southern pro-
vinces of France, through the Spanish Peninsula, Italy, Sicily,
Sardinia, the Morea, Turkey, Cypress, Egypt and Madeira.
A good deal has been written about this species, the latest
being Professor Grassi and Dr. Sandias' splendid Monograph on
the termites of Catania,! containing an exhaustive account of this
species.
The second species, T. flavicollis, Fab., was originally a North
African termite found at Barbary and Algiers, from whence it
has made its way along the European side of the Mediterranean,
being found in most of the localities infested by the previous
species.
The third, T. JIavipes, is the common North American species,
which has been introduced into Europe, probably in the first
instance with logs of timber, and has been discovered as far east
as the Bath House of Schoenbruin at Vienna.
Many instances have been recorded of small colonies of
termites having been introduced into botanical gardens and hot
* A. de Quatrefages. Notes on the Termites of Rochelle. Ann. Sci,
Nat. (8e s^r.) Zool. xx. 1853. pp. 16-21.
t Prof. B. Grassi and Dr. A. Sandias. Atti dell' Accademia Gioenia
di Sc. Nat. in Catania. Ser. 4, Vol. vi. 1894.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 419
houses in specimens of foreign timbers; in 1874 such a family was
<:lisco\ered in the pahii house at the Royal Gardens at Kew,
where they were isolated and kept under observation for some
time, specimens being exhibited by Mr. R. McLachlan^" at a
meeting of the Entomological Societ}'- of London in 1874.
Turning to Africa, we find that termites are very generally
distributed, about twenty species having been catalogued in
Hagen's list from this part of the world; of these two are peculiar
to the Isle of France, and one to Madeira; some species are very
local and confined to small areas, while others have a very wide
geographical distribution. The famous Temnes bellicosus, immor-
trviised by Smeathmanf in the earliest and most complete account
of mound-building termites, according to Hagen, ranges round
the whole coast line of Africa.
As might be expected, the nearer to the equator the more
plentiful the termites; and nearly all equatorial travellers have
something to say about these pests. Paul Du Chaillu| gives a
general account of several species on the west coast in his popular
works of tra^'el; Oates.§ notices those in Matabele Land, and
figures one of their larger nests; while Professor Drummond|| deals
extensively with those found in the Lake jS^yassa country.
Though termites are so plentiful on the main land, I can find no
species recorded from Jiadagascar.
The hold that the white ants have obtained on that rock-bound
island, St. Helena, is a remarkable instance of accidental coloniza-
tioji. It is stated on good authority that before the year 1840
white ants were unknown on this island; but at this date a
captured slaver was condemned and dismantled at Jamestown, in
* R. McLachlan. Proc. Ent. Soc. p. xiii. 1874.
t H. Smeathman. On the Termites of Africa and other hot climates.
Pliil. Trans. Koyal Soc. London (Abridged Edition), Vol. xv. p. 61, 1781.
t P. du Chaillu. Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa, p.
314, 1868; and My Apiugi Kingdom, pp 115-142, 1871.
§ Frank Gates. Matabele Land and the Victoria Falls. London, 1881,
p. 134.
;; H. Drummond. Tropical Africa, chap. vi. London, 1889.
B B
420 AUSTRALIAN TERMITID^E,
the timbers of which there was introduced a South American
species (Eutermes tenuis, Hagen) common in Brazil. So
destructive did they become that several Royal Commissions
were appointed to consider the best methods of dealing with them.
MeUiss^ states that they have destroyed over £60,000 worth of
property in this island.
Passing into Asia, none are recorded from the northern and
central countries. Crichtonf says that in some i^arts of Arabia
they are very destructive to young trees, which the Arabs pro-
tect by coating the trunks with sheep dung. Two species are
catalogued by Hagen from Schiraz, on the Persian Gulf, beyond
which until we reach India is a blank. In the latter country;
particularly in the southern provinces, white ants are numerous
and destructive, though there are apparently not a great number
of species among them. Termes tajwohmies, one of the commonest,
is very plentiful in Ceylon, also extending into Borneo, Sumatra
and Java, all of those islands having several other sjoecies recorded
from them.
In the PhilipjDine Islands they are well known. Seoanej gives
an interesting account of a Spanish man-of-war which was com-
pletely destroyed by Termes dives while lying in the Port of
Ferrol.
Doderlein§ has described a species from Japan. Mr. Knower,
of the Johns Hopkins University, U.S.A., a well-known worker
on the Termites, tells me that the common American species,
Termes flainpes, is recorded from Japan, but I presume it has been
introduced into the latter countr}^
Peel|| has given an account of those from Assam, and Romanis^
observed them and noted the ha])its of a species (probably Termes
'" Melliss, J. C. St. Helena, pp. 17M76, 1S75.
+ A. Crichton. History of Arabia, Ancient and Modern. Edinb., 1883,
p. 461.
% V. L. Seoane. C.E. Ent. Belg. xx. pp. xiv.-xv. 1879.
§ L. Duderlein. Mitth. Ges Ostasiens, iii. pp. 211-212, 1881.
II S. E. Peel. Nature, xxvi., p. 843, 1882.
IT R. Romanis. Entomologist, xvi. pp. 214-215.
BY WALTER \V. FROGGATT. 421
taprohanes) in Rangoon. In the Zoology of the No vara Expedi-
tion, Brauer has described two species from the ISTicobar Islands;
while Forbes* noticed them on the Cocos Keeling Islands, where
he says they were introduced some years before; this is the only
instance in which I have been al^le to find them recorded from a
coral island.
Extending down into the Australian region, there is no record
of any species from the mainland of New Guinea, though I have
made special enquiries. D'Albertisf mentions them twice on
Yule Island, no great distance from the mainland, and it is most
likely that the}' occur inland; for at the present time most of the
known portions of New Guinea are either river delta country or
mountain ranges, neither of which is suitable for their hp.bitations.
Three species are known from New Zealand, four from Tas-
mania, and six from Australia.
I have been unable to come across any reference to Termites
being found in any of the Pacific Islands, but within this last
month I have received some from the New Hebrides. They
belong to a ver}^ large species and were sent from Aneityum in a
bottle full of insects by the Rev. J. H. Lawrie to the Techno-
logical Museum. In the Hawaiian Islands Blackburn | found
two species very plentiful, both of which are American forms and
may possibly have been introduced.
The home of the white ant, however, appears to be South
America, and its headquarters Brazil; from which country alone
tw^enty-seven species are known. Many of these were collected
by Bates § on the Amazons, who recorded the habits of
several species; while Fritz Muller]| has contributed largely to our
* H. G. Forbes. A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago.
Lundon, 1885.
t D'Albertis. New Guinea, Vol. i. pp. 355-401. 1881.
% R. McLachlan. On the Termites collected by the Rev. Thos. Black-
burn. Ann. Nat. Hist. (5), xii. p. 221, 1883.
§ H. W. Bates. Naturalist on the River Amazon, Lond. 1863; and
Proc. Linn. Soc. Vol. ii. 1854.
II Fritz Miiller. Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Termiten. Jen. Z. Nat. vii.
pp. 337, 451, 1873; and I.e. 1875 avd 1887.
422 AUSTRALIAN TERMITIDjE,
knowledge of these insects in working out the life-histories of
those found in the vicinity of Santa Catherina. White ants have
been described from Banda Oriental and the Argentine Republic
on the east to Chili on the west.
All the West Indian Islands are more or less infested with
them. Cuba has several species. Hubbard"^ has described the
habits of those found in Jamaica, of which the tree nest building
Eutermes rip'pert/ii is the most plentiful; Maynardr has noted them
on the Bahamas, and Moseleyj on the Yirgin Islands, while
Hagen has catalogued them from St. Domingo and St. Thomas,
and Marshall§ has studied the habits of Eutertnes destructor in
Antigua.
Central America is very thickly infested with them, and during
the construction of the Panama railway line they did an immense
amount of damage to the rolling stock and wood work of the
houses. Two officers of the company, Messrs. Dudle}'- and Beau-
mont, |I kept a number in captivity and discovered some interest-
ing habits of the commonest species.
The common species in North America is Termes flavijyes,
which is distributed nearly all over the United States, with
several others more local in their habits. Scudderll has recounted
their ravages in Florida. Buckley*"^ has described two species from
* H. G. Hubbard. Notes on the Tree Nests of Termites in Jamaica.
Proc. Best. Sec. xix. pp. 267-275, 1878.
t Mavnard. Notes on the White Ants in the Bahamas. Psyche, v.
pp. 111-118, 1888.
X H. N. Moseley. Notes by a Naturalist on H.M.S. Challenger, p. 12,
New Edit. 18^4.
§ T. A. Marshall. On the Habits of some species of Termites in Antigua.
Proc. Ent. Soc. p. xxxiv. 1878.
II P. H. Dudley and J. Beaumont, ObservatioDS on the Termites or
White Ants of the Isthmus of Panama. Trans. New York Acad, of Science,
Vol. viii. 1889.
1[ S H. Scudder. Ravages of White Ants in Florida. Canadian Ento-
mologist, xix. p. 217, 1887.
** S. B. Buckley. Descriptions of two new species of Terniites from
Texas. Philad. Entom. Soc. Proc. 1861-63, pp. 212-215.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 423
Texas; they are known in Mexico; and Osten-Sacken"^ has studied
the habits of those in CaHfornia. In the Southern States along
the Mississippi they do a great deal of damage at times, while in
1879 Hagenf reported that they appeared in great numbers, at
Cambridge, Mass., but disappeared the following season. The
most northern limit of the white ant is Manitoba, whence one
species (Termopis occidentalis) has been recorded by Treherne. %
To give an accurate account of their geographical distribution
in Australia is no easy matter, as much of the country has been
very cursorily examined as regards its insect fauna; and few of
the naturalists on overland expeditions have collected white ants
unless they were very much in evidence. However, all along the
eastern coast line, which is mainly forest country, termites are
plentiful; in southern Gippsland they are a well-known pest, and
more northward in the Goulburn Valley (Victoria) we have
several accounts of their attacks upon vines and fruit trees. In
the northern parts of Victoria several species are found, but never
in great numbers, and seldom forming distinctive nests. Coming
into New South Wales, in the Shoalhaven district there are two
common species constructing nests, many of the larger nests being
from six to seven feet in height. These tall nests are dotted all
over the fiats, but are seldom met with on the higher hills; they
are formed by our common yellow-headed termite, which though
common in the neighbourhood of Sydne}^ does not make any kind
of nest, but lives under logs and stones or in old timber. North
of Sydney, towards Newcastle, white ants are common among the
dead timber, the arboreal Eutermes building their nests up the
trees being the prevailing species. A resident of Cape Hawke
informs me that they are \'ery bad in that neighbourhood. I have
several species from Uralla where there are plenty of the yellow -
* G. E. Osten-:?aoken. Observations on Termes found in California.
Proc. Boston, ."roc. xix. p. 72, 1877-
+ A. H. Hagen. Notes on a Great Cloud of Termites appearing in 1878*
Proc. Bost. 8oc. N. H. xx. p. 118, 1879.
i H. S. Treherne. Notes on species observed in Manitoba. Proc. Bost*
Soc. N. H. xix. p. 74, 1877-
424 AUSTRALIAN TEIUIITID^E,
headed termites' tall nests; they are generally scattered over the
northern districts of New South Wales and southern Queensland.
North of Rockhampton they begin to be noticeable as a pest,
though the large nests are not very common; from Mackay I
have at least five species; towards Townsville they increase in
numbers, and about Charters Towers and northward are a very
serious trouble. It is only here and there, however, that the
large mound nests appear; but the arboreal nesting Entermes,
though not always building on the trees, seem to be found all
over the country. From Cooktown and all over Cape York the
nests are large and numerous; the magnetic nest so well-known
in Port Darwin l)eing found on the Bloomfield River, north of
Cooktown."^
At Somerset (Cape York), there is one of the most remarkable
termite cities in the world; viewed from the sea, and looking up
beyond the old Government Residency, now occujDied by Mr.
Frank Jardine's homestead, it aj^pears as if the plain for a mile
or more in extent is covered with pointed pillars six or seven feet
in height, broad at the base and tapering to the summit, forming
regular symmetrical pyramids. They are thickly dotted over the
plain, often only a few yards apart; the effect is much heightened
if the grass has been freshly burnt off, as it had been the lirst
time I passed Somerset.
Several writers have noticed this city of the termites.
Moseleyt likens them to kiln chimneys; he says that it gives the
country the appearance of a pottery district in miniature, and
states that many of them are ten feet high. D'Albertis,! writing
of this place, says: — "Termite nests, both on the hills and plains,
measured often ten feet in height and thirteen feet in circum-
ference at the base"; he found upon opening them that many were
attacked and often almost exterminated by large black ants.
* D. Le Soeuf. A visit to the Bloomfield River. Victorian Naturalist,
Vol xxi. 1894, p. 25.
+ H. N. Moseley, 1. c. p. 302.
+ D'Albertis, I.e. p. 229, Vol. i.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 425
On Thursday Island and the many islands round Cape York,
the same form of nest is met with; turning down into the Gulf
country and to the watershed of the Flinders River and its
tributaries, we find one of the most termite-infested localities in the
world. Nothing is too hard or dry for them; stockyards, fences
and houses only last for a few years in spite of all precautions;
a branch is attacked as soon as it is dead, and in many places no
stumps or dry wood is left in the scrubby forests; everything is
swept up as it were by these underground gnomes, who as forest
scavengers do their duty tliorouglily. If one cuts some grass for
a bed and leaves it lying upon the ground for 2 J: hours, anywhere
on the lower Flinders, one will find it cut up into fine chaff" by the
termites which have come up from the earth beneath, and if one is
inexperienced enough to leave his blankets on the top of it, he
will find all the lower folds riddled with holes. Earth scoops and
carts that had been left in the paddocks for a while at Cambridge
Downs Station were brought in with the felloes of the wheels
(hard seasoned timber) gnawed to a shell, while things in the
store had to be constantly turned over, as they even carried their
clay up into the cases of soap, jams and meats, which not only
destroyed the boxes but caused holes to rust in the tins and spoil
their contents. At a hut on this station where I used to camp,
the sides were 'ouilt of upright saplings about six inches in
diameter; the termites had worked their way up these, reducing
each to a simple pipe of bark. In the silence of the night I have
often lain awake listening to the sound of the millions of tiny
jaws gnawing at these timbers, voices of the night as strange and
uncanny as one could well imagine.
Passing from Norman ton towards Port Darwin, we are still in
thickly infested country, and about ten miles out from Palnierston
are some of the tallest termite nests in the world. I am indebted
to Mr. N. Holze, the Curator of the Botanic Gardens there, for
photographs and specimens from these and the magnetic nests,
which will be dealt with in detail later on, together wdth the
species that form them.
In that portion of JSTorth-western Austi-alia stretching across
from Cambridge Gulf to Roel^uck Bay, known as the Kimberley
426 AUSTRALIAN TEUMITIDuE,
district (where I spent over twelve months), and probably as far
as the De Grey River, all through the oi:)en forest flats and along
the edge of the sandy "Pindan" country are found numbers of
large broad nests, from five to six feet in height, rather constricted
at the base, but swelling out on the sides in rounded masses,
where additions have been made, while the summit is broad and
rounded, giving them somewhat of a mushroom-like appearance.
As there are few or no trees over a belt of country to the
westward of the De Grey River for over three hundred miles, the
termites apparently disappear, nor can I find that they construct
nests or are at all noticeable in any other part of Western
Australia, but they have recently been reported as having
attacked the telegraph poles between York and Coolgardie. This
also applies to South Australia, though it must be remembered
that scattered bands of termites may l^e found in almost any part
of Australia which ma}^ attack an odd plank or tree, but they are
not in evidence as a serious pest.
In the vast tracts of dry and sparsely timbered country in
central Australia, termites are naturally scarce, and probably
wanting altogether in many parts of it. I never remember seeing
a mound nest west of the Darling or even in the northern districts
of Riverina, but with further observations from my many corres-
pondents, I hope to enlarge our knowledge of their distribution
and supplement this necessarily rough sketch.
Termitaria and their Structure.
Broadly sjDeaking, termites' nests may be separated into three
different typical forms, each of which undergoes several important
modifications in outward appearance, but always has the same
internal structure. The first may be called the turret or regular
mound nests, varying from eighteen feet in height to a little
pinnacle only a few inches above the surface, and sometimes
simply a bald patch upon the ground. In these abnormally high
ones the clay is generally carried up the face of a dead tree, which
is gradually sheathed with this coating, while the trunk l)eneath
is changed nto triturated wood which in time becomes converted
IJY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 427
into a hard papier-mache-like substance. The foundations of the
smaller mound nests are commenced at the base of a stump or
thrown up from under a fallen log. A correspondent in Ivim-
berley, W.A. (W. O. Manbridge), tells me that a species there
forms its nest over the spinifex bushes. I have examined a great
number, all of which give proof of this, and they can be found in
all stages of growth. Though later writers have doubted the fact,
Hooker* as early as 1855 wrote that the Indian species always
commenced their nests over decaying woody or vegetable matter.
That the different species have peculiar ways of their own when
forming their mounds must be allowed, but the internal archi-
tecture of all of them is based upon one uniform plan, and as
an illustration of this I will describe the commonest large earth
covered nest found in New South Wales.
During a visit to the Shoalhaven district towards the end of
last year I had ample opportunities of examining a number
of these large nests, which are scattered thickl}^ over all
the open forest countr}^ along the river, but are seldom
found towards the top of the ranges, the nests of the smaller
Eutermes taking their place. Roughly speaking, the average
is about one nest varying from three to seven feet in height
to every four â– acres. They vary a little in outward shape,
but a well-designed nest about six feet in diameter at the base
will run up nearly the same height, with a slight slope on the
sides to the apex, w^hich is dome-shaped, not more than three feet
in diameter. The enveloping walls consist of the surface soil only
(a pale yellow sandy-brown) very hard on the w^eatherworn
surface, but much softer when cut into. The basal portion of the
walls are very much thinner than the dome-shaped summit, the
lower portion of the wall often not being more than a foot in thick-
ness, while the summit has a two-foot wall over it. All this earth
is gathered from the surface by the termites and not mined from
below, as many popular writers have asserted. In this locality
this is plainly demonstrated, for three inches below the surface
* J. D. Hooker. Himalyan Journals, London, 1855, Vol. i. p. 18.
428 AUSTRALIAN TERMITID.E,
there is nothing but coarse gravel of which the large nests of the
common reddish-brown ant {Iridoyyiyrmex 'purpureus), also common
in this district, and which construct large underground chambers,
are wholly composed.
The foundation of the termite nest rests upon the suiface and
is complete in itself, and if you cut one round the base and then
insert a lever under the edge it is very easy to overturn the whole
nest; underneath the ground is smooth and hard with only a few
insignificant passages leading below.
Under normal conditions the enveloping earthy walls contain
very few insects, though there are always a few winding passages
running upwards and traversing them at irregular intervals; upon
the removal of this outer wall you expose a pyriform mass of
roughly granulated woody sulistance in contact with the covering
wall at the base, but gradually receding from it tow-ard the apex,
where a space of several inches divides them. The summit of the
mass on the outside can be easily l>roken off in lumps, but as you
cut into it it becomes harder and more solid; galleries run all
round these masses and form irregular mazes of roadways lower
down, giving the termites access to all parts of the structure.
This portion of the nest (all the inner portion enclosed in the
earthy dome) is organic and is chiefly composed of triturated wood
which has at one time l:)een gnawed up by the termites and then
evacuated by them; each of these granulated lumps shows a dis-
tinctly foliated structure as if it had been formed in thin coats;
no doubt when the fresh wood supplies are used up, this part of
the nest is again eaten.
Immediately in the centre of the nest, about six inches above
the base, is a rounded mass about as big as a man's head, formed
of very thin layers of woody matter like brown paper, full of fine
chambers and passages, the layers very close together and folding
round each other towards the centre. This is the "nursery" of the
termitarium, and generally contains thousands or rather millions
of delicate white larvte, many of them no larger than a pin's head.
I have never seen any signs of fungi growing in these nurseries as
mentioned by many writers, but the walls have a curious mottled
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT.
429
appearance and are full of very fine perforations; and the centre
of this structure, which is very brittle and crisp, has a distinctly
higher temperature than the outside.
On either side of this nursery where the ordinary galleries lead
out of the finer central cells, the eggs are found piled up in Uttle
heaps like little grains of sand, white and rather elongated;
perhaps as much as a big tablespoonful being found on one patch,
and there may be several heaps close together. The formation
now becomes slightly terraced just beyond the eggs still on a
level with the nursery, and after breaking through a number of
very stout terraced cham])ers we came upon that containing the
queen; the floor of the chamber is perfectly flat and smooth, with
the roof forming a low dome over her, about six inches in circum-
ference, not unlike the cavity under an inverted saucer or watch
glass. Though in many popular descriptions of termitaria it is
invariably stated that there is a male with the gravid queen, I
have never found one in a fully developed nest, though frequently
finding a pair under stones or logs where they are evidently just
commencing to found a community. Sometimes they were so
much alike that it would be impossible to say which was king or
queen, but in others found in similar situations the body of the
queen was beginning to show the enlargement of the pregnant or
gravid state and the difference of the sexes was discernible. As
Fritz Miiller"^ has shown, in the first stages of the winged adults
when the insects are leaving the nest the sexual organs of the
males and the ovaries of the females are very rudimentary, and it
is not until the act of copulation that they become perfected.
On the evening of the 5th of October, while opening out nests
on the Shoalhaven flats, I came upon a large nest scarred with
narrow cuts, which upon examination proved to be slit-like
openings about a line or more in height and an inch or less in
length. These were all over the outside of the termitarium, and
in each slit, with their heads level with the surface of the termi-
tarium, but not showing beyond, was a regular row of soldier
* Fritz Mitller. Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Termiten. Jen. Z. Nat.
vii. pp. 337-451, 1873.
430 AUSTRALIAN TERMITID.fl,
termites guarding the openings and not letting anything come out.
Upon cutting down the walls these openings were found to run
into low but broad roadways extending right through into the
heart of the nest thronged with winged termites waiting until
the withdrawal of the guards at the gateways. As soon as a
breach was made in the walls they commenced to swarm out from
all parts of the nest, and we were soon enveloped in a cloud of
black winged termites buzzing about and dropping all round,
causing quite a distinct noise, audible at a distance of several
feet, an immense number falling to the ground. These winged
specimens were found in chambers and passages all over the nest.
Previously in the vicinity of Sj^dney I had noticed larvfe with
rudimentary wings in the early part of the year, but in their
earlier stages the wings grow very slowly until after the winter
months are over. Termites were noticed flying about near Sydney
on the 2nd and 3rd of November in great numbers.
As to the age of these large termitaria, it could only be positively
ascertained by the extended observations of a resident in termite
infested country. But out of a great number I have opened out
I have only found one deserted, and it was only on cutting a
portion of it down that I discovered this fact, for to all outward
appearance it did not differ from the inhabited nests.
Smeathman and Savage, writing on the celebrated Terynes
hellicosus, state that the fullgrown queen lives for five years, the
former being responsible for the statement that she lays 60 eggs
a minute and never stoj)s (presumably during the five years).
Though he produces no evidence for this statement, it has been
copied into nearly all the popular works and text books on
entomology up to the present date, even appearing in Kirby's
Text Book, published in 1885. As the working community of
the termitarium have a fresh supply of females to come forth
every season, and also very often a number of supplementary
queens in the nest (I have obtained 10 specimens of these queens
from one nest, which are I believe perfectly distinct from the
ordinary winged queens, as they are not recruited from the winged
forms but produced directly from the egg); it is therefore pretty
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 431
evident that the fate of the community does not hang upon the
prolongation of the gi-avid queen, as it is not at all a difficult
matter to replace her with a young and vigorous successor when
necessary.
From my own observations I do not think that the queen of
any Australian species either laj^s eggs so rapidly or lives so long.
I have on several occasions unearthed a queen in a very sickly
looking condition, with her abdomen yellow and wrinkled, and
Avith her antennae and most of the tarsi broken oiF, though the
nest from wdiich she was taken was swarming wdth life and
apparently in the height of prosperity.
I should not be surprised to find that many of the larger mound
nests last for a great number of years, and that white ants may also
exist in their nests long after they have destroyed all the woody
matter they contain, for in the tropical parts of Australia before
the wet season sets in (about the middle of December) they stored
food supplies. When examining some of the large rounded
termite mounds near King's Sound (N.W. Australia) I found on
cutting into them that all the outer galleries w^ere full of bits of
grass cut up like fine chaff', wdiich ran out in little streams to the
ground as soon as the passages were opened.
Professor Drummond"^ in his account of African termites pre-
viously quoted, notices the immense amount of clay carried up the
trunks of trees by these insects, which, he suggests, w^hen it is
sw^ept down by the tropical rains and is scattered over the
surrounding land is a great agent towards fertilizing the soil, and
that termites probably take the place of the earthworms of more
temperate regions. This statement requires confirmation, for in
the first instance the soil used by the termites is gathered from
the surface of tlie ground, and whenever a large mound has been
destroyed in this country I have always noticed that nothing
grew upon or near it for a long time, Ijut it had a dry, barren
appearance as if the clay had been burnt.
" Drunimond. Tropical Africa, I.e.
432 AUSTRALIAN TERMlTID.f:,
The remarkable fineness of the earth collected by the termites
for their nests is put to a practical use by the natives of Ceylon,*
who use the clay to make moulds in which to cast the finer
specimens of silversmith's work; and it is also made into plastic
material for fashioning some of their earthenware gods, while in
India it is also used for polishing purposes.
In Australia the large mounds are often demolished for the
sake of the clay they contain; it is mixed up with water and made
into sun-dried bricks for building houses, while beaten up into
mortar it makes excellent floors; both here and in South Africa
the smaller ones are turned into baker's ovens after the interior
has been burnt out.
Another remarkable thing about the termites is that no matter
how dry the season, or parched up the country, if a nest is
broken no time elapses before it is mended with damp clay, while
the nest always contains a certain amount of moisture, without
which the termites could not exist. The question then arises, how
do they manage to retain this humidity in a rainless and dewless
country "? Dr. Livingstone! remarking on this in South Africa,
gayy; — "Can it be that they have the power of combining the
oxygen and h3^drogen of their vegetable food l^y vital force so as
to obtain water ?"
The internal structure of the "Magnetic Nests" of Port
Darwin, the large round topped ones of the North- West, and the
pyramidal shaped ones of Cape York, though differing very much
in their external architecture, all, with slight modifications, agree
with the Shoalhaven termitaria in their internal structure.
The next group of termite nests are formed by the members of
the genus Futer77ies, which form a very distinct group, in which
the soldiers, instead of having double scissor-like jaws, are pro-
vided with heads prolonged into pike-like foreheads which gives
them the name of "nasuti" soldiers. It was at one time a
* Sir J. Emerson Tennant. Sketches of the Nat. History of Ceylon,
chap. xi. 1861.
+ Dr. Livingstone. ^Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa,
London, 1857.
BY WALTER W. FROGCxATT. 4 33
common idea that some nests contained hoth pike-headed and
scissor-jawed soldiers, but it is now known that this is not the case,
the Eutermes communities being quite distinct from those with
double-jawed soldiers.
The Eutermes build two kinds of nests, or rather similar nests
in different situations, either terrestrial or arboreal. Those built
on the ground are most common about S3^dney, and are formed
over a small stump, ne%'er more than two to three feet and a half
in height, perfectly round at the base, with the summit rounded
and dome-shaped. They are generally dark brown or black, e^en
the outer surface being an admixture of earthy and woody matter,
and often ^vith hardly any earth in their composition. There are
no enveloping walls. The true nest starts from the surface, the
whole being full of cells and chambers, though they are fewer and
the nest much harder and tougher on the surface; working
towards the centre the soft papery structure (similar to that of
the large nests) is found — "the nursery." The queen and eggs are
not very far away from the nucleus, but the terraced portion is
not of the same regular formation as that of the large nests, and
there is virtually no distinct " royal chamber," but the queen is
found about the centre of the low, flat chambers. In one nest I
found three well-developed queens, all laying eggs, and w^ithin three
or four inches of each other l^ut separated by overlying terraces.
The bulk of all these nests is almost all woody matter which has
been passed through the bodies of the termites and been voided by
the workers; yet if a terrestrial nest be cut down on one side they
will rebuild it with grains of sand or earth cemented together with
excreta. Ridley,^" speaking of the Malay Peninsula, says that
the termites do not live in the sandy soil. This is not the case
in Australia, for I have found Eufprmes nests in almost pure sand
at Botany Bay, near Sydney, which though when first opened
were constructed of wood}^ matter, yet two months afterwards one
was re1:>uilt with sand cemented together into a solid mass.
* H. N. Ridley. The Flora of P:a.stern ISIalaya. Trans. Linn, Soc. Vol.
(2nd Ser.) ill. p. 270, 1893.
434 AUSTRALIAN TERMITID.E,
Another nest was found upon the summit of a rock at Manly,
near Sydney, apjDarently built over the stump of a small tree that
had been growing in a cleft of the rock. A number of covered
galleries led down over the face of the rock into the ground, and
in several places where they passed over a sharp angle the
cohered ways were transformed into tubular bridges from point to
point; these galleries averaged from ^ to a J of an inch in breadth
and were constructed entirely of vegetable matter. When one of
the galleries was broken the soldiers rushed out in a small body,
scattering on either side of the damaged roadway; after hunting
about on the surface of the rocks, the}' then retreated to the
breach, which they all entered and formed a rank along either
side, standing just far enough apart to touch the tips of each other's
antennpe. While they stood in this regular line with their heads
up and their antennng moving backwards and forwards, the
workers appeared, each carrying in its mouth a l^it of wood or
fragment from the wall, and, passing between the soldiers who
were standing guard, deposited its l)urden upon the edge of the wall
and turning round evacuated a small drop of dark brovrn liquid
from its anus upon the top of its brick- and then disappeared, the
next one taking his place and going through exactl}^ the same
joerformance, an endless gang of workers following each other and
rapidly reducing the size of the hole; a gap about an inch long
and half an inch deep was rebuilt in half an hour. Unlike
the two-jawed termites, which never rebuild their nests in the
daytime, the Eutermes do not seem to dislike the light, but will
expose themselves in the hottest sunlight when mending their
nests.
The nest upon the rock at Manly was partly demolished and a
small queen obtained from the centre in February, and about
three months afterwards was found rebuilt, the material being all
woody matter, crisp and thin, and cutting up like e.gg shell. I
have seen one of these nests built on the top of a gate post,
another upon the top of a pile in a bridge, the termites having
formed it under the iron cap in the cavity between it and the top
of the pile; it lifted off in a single mass like a small cheese.
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 435
Many of the Eutermes nests are built in trees, sometimes upon
a dead tree, the dead branch of a live one, the rough-barked
Eucaly23t being generally chosen, as the galleries coming up from
the ground are skilfully hidden in the inequalities of the bark,
though when they do come to a bare surface they go straight
ahead, forming a regular uniform cohered way. Not only is there
a constant stream of workers and soldiers passing up and down
the galleries, but the enormous amount of life one of these
arboreal nests contains is something astounding; there seem to
be more termites than nest material when they are first Ijroken
open.
The dark, almost black, colour of the nests makes them very
conspicuous objects on a bare leafless tree. Arboreal-nesting
species of this genus have been described from many parts of the
world; in Brazil the nests are known as " negro heads." Moseley*
gives a description of them at St. Thomas (Virgin Islands) and
states that they are often as big as a small hogshead. Hubbardf
has worked up the arljoreal species of Jamaica; and Miss Ormerodj
has noted from British Guinea large spherical nests encircling
the branches of trees.
In the third group of termites I include those that do not build
mound nests, but live in communities under logs, stones, and all
sorts of dead wood and timber. A number of our species
never appear to build any well-defined nest, but like wandering
gypsies, pitch their settlement in any suitable place, like the
common American species, Ternies Jiavipes, the real nest and
queen of which are yet unknown. While some of them form
regular little families distinct in themselves, others ai^e predatory
bands which find a suitable place to form an encampment and
devour everything they can find; tKe}^ are frequently connected
with a large nest at some distance, to which they all retreat when
disturbed.
* H. N. Moseley. Notes by a Naturalist on H.M.8. Challenger, p. 12,
n. ed. 1892.
t H. G. Subbard. Proc. Bost. Soc. xix. p. 267, 1878.
t Miss E. A. Ormerod. Proc. Ent. Soc. 1881.
c c
436 AUSTRALIAN TERMITIDuE,
However, different localities seem to give them different
habits, for the mound builder of the Shoalhaven district is the
same species as that which does most of the damage to the wood-
work of the houses about Sydney, yet I have never been able to
find a mound formed by them within thirty miles of Sydney^
though it is the commonest species of this neighbourhood, being-
found under stones, logs, bark, and in tree trunks.
About the middle of last year it was discovered that the white
ants were in the floor of the Record Room in the oflices of the
Dej^artment of Education in Bridge-street, where I had an oppor-
tunity of seeing the inethod of attack.
I found that the floor, which was old and attaclced with dry rot
in j)laces, had been riddled all along the hard gum (probably iron-
bark) joists for a distance of 15 to 20 feet all round what had evidently
been the centre of the nest, as a great mass of clay had l^een raised
up from the ground between two joists round which the timbers
were perfectly honeycombed. The nest and timbers round it were
full of soldiers, workers and young winged forms, but I saw no
sign of a queen, though as the floor had been uncovered the night
before this was hardly to be wondered at. This nest, I should
think, had been under the floor for some years; and it was only
from their beginning to eat through the hardwood flooring boards
tliat the termites were noticed.
On several other occasions I have obtained specimens taken out
of buildings, and it has always proved to be the same species.
Sometimes they attack only a single board or joist and then leave
the place, but at other times they eat on till disturbed. Mr.
Chisholm, of Torrens Creek, North Queensland, tells me that they
are easily frightened by thumping against the board or wall they
are destroying, and run back, huddling together like a flock of
frightened sheep. No timber is really termite-proof unless pro-
tected, for though they have a marked preference for some woods,
yet if they cannot get what they lik e they take the nearest; thus
in Norman ton Melaleuca is said to be ant-resisting, yet further
down the Flinders they show a marked preference for it. The
Jarrah (Eucalyptus maryinata) of Western Australia is another
BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 437
reputed termite-proof, but I hav^e a portion of a plank, received
from Mr. C. French, of Melbourne, which has been half consumed
by them. The Leichhardt tree of Queensland is also quoted,
but at Dalrymple, N.Q., I ha^'e seen large logs taken out of an
old house riddled with their holes. About Sydne}^ when attacking
houses they will seldom touch red wood if there is any clear pine.
I have seen a piece of red wood that was nailed to a clear pine
board, the latter being only a shell while the former was only
slightly grooved by them on the outer surface.
I have noticed that about the neighbourhood of Croydon
while nearly every old hardwood fence shows their ravages more
or less, they seldom seem to attack soft wood picket fences. But
the hardness of wood is no impediment to them. They show
a marked preference for the stumps and logs of dead Eucalypts over
those of wattle, Casuarina, and the smaller forest trees. Near
Hornsby I found them at work on the trunk of a large dead
white gum that was as hard and solid as bell metal; they had
come up from the ground beneath the roots and just below the
surface, boring straight into the w^ood and then turning upwards,
cutting a clean cylindrical tunnel a quarter of an inch in diameter.
It is therefore not surprising that the}'' sometimes gnaw holes in
sheet lead, which is much softer than many woods attacked by them.
White ants are in many instances introduced into buildings in
the city and suburbs by means of fire- wood; during this last
season I have exhumed three large family parties, containing
enough soldiers, workers and immature winged specimens to found
a very respectable colony; these insects would remain in the log
probably until the early jDart of the summer and then migrate to
more roomy quarters. They will live for several months in a
tightly closed up tin or tube without any further attention, and
though they cannot live more than two hours in sea water and a
little longer in fresh, yet in the heart of a dead log they might
float or drift a considerable distance without l^eing destroyed.
In conclusion, I must tender my thanks to the following cor-
respondents : — Messrs. G. McD. Adamson, of Uralla; Norman
Ethridge, Colo Yale; F. B. Miller, Moree; S. Russell, Bowral; H.
Eumsey, Barber's Creek; J. Mitchell, Narellan; and my father
438 AUSTRALIAN TERMITID.K.
(G. W. Froggatt), Shoalhaven, from all of whom I have received
notes and spechnens. From Victoria, Mr. G. S. Perrin (Conser-
vator of Forests); Mr. J. L. Billingshurst, Castlemaine, and the
Curator of the National Museum have assisted me. For Queens-
land species I am indebted to Mrs. Black, Lolworth Station; Mr.
J. R. Chisholm, Torrens Creek; H. E. S. Stokes, Norman ton; Mr.
Gilbert Turner, of Mackay; and Mr. De Vis, the Curator of the
Brisbane Museum.
From the Northern Territory I am in receipt of photographs of
the nests and the species forming them taken b}^ Mr. N. Holtze, the
Curator of the Botanical Gardens at Port Darwin; while Museum
S]3ecimens have been forwarded by Mr. J. G. 0. Tepper, of Adelaide.
I have had a great numl3er of promises of assistance from various
residents in Western Australia, but as yet have only received one
lot, but a very interesting collection; from Mr. W. O. Mansbridge,
the Warden at Hall's Creek, Kimberley, N.W. Australia.
Though two species are described from Tasmania, I have been
unable to enlist anybody to collect specimens.
From New Zealand I am indebted to Captain Hutton and Mr.
T. F. Cheeseman for placing me in communication with Captain
Broun (the Government Entomologist), who has sent me speci-
mens of two species described by Brauer.
From America I have been generously assisted with named
specimens from Mr. L. O. Howard (the State Entomologist) and
Mr, H. McE. Knower, of the Johns Hopkins University, while
Mr. S. S. Scudder, Dr. Packard and Mrs. Dudley have forwarded
me papers on these insects.
Mr. D. Alcock, of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, sent me
specimens of Terines taprohanes. The Director of the K. K.
Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum in Wien sent me co-types of F.
Brauer's named species from Australia, collected b}^ the Novara
Expedition in 1868.
I have Professor B, Grassi and Dr. A. Sandias' splendid
Monograph upon the Termites of Catania sent me by the authors,
while Mr. AV. F, Kirby, of the British Museum, has examined a
series of specimens sent to him, and promised me an}'- assistance
in workinsi' them out.
439
MELIOLA AMPHITRICHA, FRIES.
By D. Mc Alpine.
(Coinmunicaf.ed by J. H. Maiden.)
(Plate XXXI., figs. 1-5 of the upper division of the Plate.)
Spot-like, sooty patches on leaf-stalks, stalklets, and upper and
undersurface of leaflets, usually separate, occasionally run
together.
Mycelium chestnut-brown and hyphiTe thick-walled, septate,
branched, 7 /x broad, with short, stout, ultimate l^ranchlets.
Appendages dark chestnut, thick-walled, rigid, erect, bluntly
pointed and septate, the septa not always distinctly seen on
account of the thickness of the walls.
Perithecia black, globose, slightly warted, about 200 yi in dia.
Asci roughl}^ fig-shaped, two-spored, transparent.
Sporidia grub-like, usually 4-septate, constrictedj chestnut-brown,
37-45 X 14-17 /z.
On leaves of Dysoxylon ritjnm, Benth., from Richmond River,
New South Wales (Maiden).
The sporidia of this specimen are rather shorter and stouter
than the normal, but otherwise the characters agree with those
of the above species.
This species is new for New South Wales.
EXPLANATION OF FIGURP:S.
Fig. ]. — Lower surface of leaflet, showing spot-like mycelium (uat. sizj).
Fig. 2. — Peritheciuiu burst { x 115).
Fig. 3. — Appendage ( x 115).
Fig. 4. — Hyaline ascus with slit ( x 115).
Fig. 5.— Sporidia ( x 600).
4i0
NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALI, COOKE : A
SYNONYM OF FUCCINIA PRUNI, PERS.
(PRUNE RUST).
By D. McAlpine.
(Communicated hy J. 11. Maiden.)
(Plates XXXI., lower division, xxxii. and xxxiii.)
I have purposely placed the synonym first, because the fungus
which it represents is still considered by Dr. Cooke, one of the
authors of the name, a new one, and it will be part of the object
of this paper to show that the Australian species thus named in
Dr. Cooke's " Handbook " is really the same as that described by
Persoon in his "Synopsis Methodica Fungorum" towards the end
of last century.
This leaf-rust is of great economic importance, since it attacks
such valuable fruit trees as the peach and nectarine, plum and
apricot, cherry and almond, causing them prematurely to shed
their leaves, and, as a consequence, either to bear no fruit or only
small quantities of an inferior kind. As the peach-tree forms its
fruit on the previous season's wood, it is evident that the succeed-
ing crop will be affected as well, hence it is highly desirable to
know the true nature and the right affinities of this fungus,
thereby to be the better able to follow its life-history and to
prevent its further spread.
History of Name.
•
The Australian fungus to which Dr. Cooke assigned the name
of Uromyces amygdali was collected by H. Tryon, Government
Entomologist of Queensland, in February, 1886, on peach and
almond leaves, and forwarded almost immediately to Dr. Cooke
for identification. As indicated in his " Handbook of Australian
Fungi," this name had previously been used by him in Ravenel's
"Fungi Americani Exsiccati," issued between 1878 and 1882.
BY D. McALPINE. 441
The same name had also been used by Passerini in his " Erb.
Critt. Ital." issued in 1873, and Cooke regards this fungus as
identical with the one named by him. However, Passerini* sub-
sequently in 1887, on further consideration, pronounced this to
be the stilbospore condition of Fuccinia pruni, Pers. This name
of Uromyces amygdali is now being used in the different Colonies,
having such a high authority at the back of it, but as we shall
presently see, it is a misnomer, or rather a synonym of Fuccinia
pruni, Pers., as already decided by Passerini.
Fuccinia pruni-spinosce was tirst employed by Persoon in his
*' Synopsis Methodica Fungorum," published in 1797, the specific
name being derived from the host-plant, Frunus spinosa or black-
thorn, but as the fungus is now known to have different hosts
belonging to the genus Prunus, the spinoscn is dropped as a matter
of convenience.
Next, Link in his " Species Fungorum,'"' published in 1825,
named the same fungus Fuccinia primorum. Uromyces prunoriim,
Lk., var. amygdali, Yize, was applied by J. E. Yizet to a Calif or-
nian specimen on peach leaves in 1878, and the same name was
used by the Rev. C. Kalchbrenner; for a fungus on peach leaves
from Caffraria in 1882. Next, in 1883, Dr. Cooke§ recorded
Faccinia prunoram, Lk., for Victoria, then in 1886 Uromyces
amygdali, Cooke, for Queensland, and finally in his " Handljook
of Australian Fungi " for Queensland, Victoria and New South
Wales on peach and almond leaves in 1892. It was suggested
in Tryon's " Report on Insect and Fungus Pests "|| that this
fungus belonged to Fuccinia pruni, but Dr. Cooke repudiates the
suggestion in the " Handbook," and with dogged determination
sticks to his point in the following note : " We decline to accept
this as agreeing with any form oi'^Faccinia pruni with which it
is commonly associated."
* Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano. Vol. x. p. 255, 1887.
+ Grevillea, Vol. vii. p. 12, 1878.
: Ibid. Vol. xi. p. 19, 1882.
§ Ibid. Vol. xii. p. 97, 1883.
II p. 98, 1889.
442 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMVGDALI, COOKE,
In order to make sure that we were dealing with the same
fungus, I have examined peach leaves with the fungus named V)y
Cooke himself in the Herbarium of the Government Botanist,
and there is no doubt as to the identity of the specimens.
Further, JNIr. Trj^on has ver}^ courteously sent me specimens of
peach leaves similar to those formerly submitted to Dr. Cooke,
and on which the name was based, with this important difference,
however, that the original specimens were collected in February,
while these are dated June.
In addition to this, specimens on peach, plum, apricot and
almond leaves had been sent from South Australia to the United
States Division of Vegetable Pathology, and it was reported in
the Journal of Mycology for 1890 that these specimens agree in
every particular with those of Puccinia pinmi, Pers., on peach
and i^lum hosts in the United States, nevertheless his own name
was still retained by Dr. Cooke.
As the leaf-rust is unfortunatel}^ becoming, or rather has
become, very prevalent and a very serious pest to the fruit-
grower, it is at least advisable to agree upon some common name,
to have uniformity of nomenclature in the different Colonies, so
that when dealing with it therapeutically we may be agreed as to
the cause of the disease dealt with. And not only so, but the
name here has an important bearing when it enables us to
recognise the useful fact that the rust in our orchards and the
rust in our wheat-fields are but different species of the same
genus (Puccinia), and that whatever prevents the disease in the
one case is likely to be efficient in the other.
A further necessity exists for accurate scientific determination
of this fungus from the fact that it is very commonly called
" Peach Yellows " on account of the yellow blotches or freckles on
the upper surface of the leaf, but it has no connection with the
dreaded American disease so-called, which is believed to be, after
years of investigation, due to Bacteria.
In the plum the spots assume a much darker colour, and the
numerous pustules on the undersurface of the leaf sometimes
give it the appearance of being coated with brown mud.
BY D. McALPIXE. 443
First Appearance in the Colonies.
It is interesting niid useful to trace the first appearance of any
disease in our midst, to serve as a lesson for the future. Since
1891, when my first report was made upon it, this disease of the
peach and allied trees has been constantly under notice. In
certain fruit-growling districts it was only observed during season
1890-91 for the first time, but Mr. Neilson, of the Royal Horti-
cultural Gardens, Burnle}', informs me that the disease was
observed there al^out 1887, and he had heard of it in the Fern-
tree Gully district about 1885 or 1886. In the season of 1887-88
it was also rejDorted for New South Wales, and in season 1889-90
it affected a large numl)er of peach trees there, as stated in Dr.
Cobb's article upon it in Ag. Gaz. K.S.W. Vol. i. Pt. 1, 1890,
and the disease has been spreading ever since.
I am informed by Mr. Molineux, F.L.S., Secretary to the
Agricultural Bureau of South Australia, that the first public
reference to this disease was made by the late Frazer Crawford
during May, 1890, in the "Garden and Field," as having been
observed for the Jirst time on peach trees, and he had little doubt
that it occurred some time before, but on plum trees. The
reference in Garden and Field, Yol. xv. p. 134, 1890, is worthy
of quotation : — " This season for the first time I observed it (i.e.,
Puccinia prun.i) on a peach tree — or at least what I take to be
the same fungus. The lower two-thirds of a large Peach tree has
everj^ leaf spotted by it, and as they are very numerous and
bright yellow they give a variegated appearance to the foliage.
Strange to say, in a neighbour's garden, which has a
number of plum trees all more or less attacked, there are a couple
of peach trees untouched."
It is also present in Tasmania, although Mr. Thompson, the
Govt. Entomologist,'"" does not refer to its first appearance there,
and Mr. Tryon's discovery of it in Queensland in Feliruary, 1886,
is undoubtedly the first definite record of its appearance in the
Colonies.
* A Handbook to tlie Insect Pests of Farm and Orchard. Depart, of
Agriculture, Tasmania, Bull. i. p. 29, 1892.
444 NOTES ox UROMYCES AMYGDALl COOKE,
It is highly probable that the disease has been with us for
some time and gradually gaining ground before attracting atten-
tion to its cause, for I have even known its effects to be con-
founded with the tints of autumn, and this seemed all the more
plausible as it is usually associated with the shedding of the
leaves.
Time of Occurrence.
The time of appearance varies in different seasons, and the
later it is the less damage it does. It also varies in its virulence
according to the nature of the season. Thus in the Royal Horti-
cultural Gardens the attack was very mild in 1888-89, then very
bad in 1889-90, not very bad in 1890-91, and speaking for the
Colony generally the past season was favourable to its spread. A
grower in the Goulburn Valley writes: — "This season (1894-95)
owing no doubt to the continued rains of the spring and the very
heavy downpour in January, the attacks of this fungus have been
very serious, causing a very large proportion of the leaves of the
peaches to fall prematurely. Many acres of trees were thus laid
bare for about 18 inches from the crown, only the younger wood
surviving, and as a consequence nearly all the fruit for the coming
season must come from near the top. Plums and prunes suffered
severely, many trees being completely denuded of foliage by
March." Thus, the disease seems to be intermittent in its
character according to the prevailing weather. The following
table shows the rainfall for the critical months : —
Average for
1888. over
November 0-62 in.
•30 years.
2 -50 in.
1889.
4-27in.
Average.
2-48in.
1890.
4-88in.
Average.
, 2-54in.
December 2-72
2-35
1-52
2-50
1-40
2-47
1889.
1890.
1891.
January 4*22
1-79
1-37
1-86
1-21
1-85
7-56in.
6-64in.
7-16in.
6 -84 in.
7 -49 in.
. 6-86in.
Disease at )
Hort. I Mild.
Gardens... )
Bad.
Mild.
BY D. McALPINE. 445
The abo\e table shows that it is not a mere matter of moisture
which settles the greater or less prevalence of the disease, but
other conditions, such as accompanying heat or cold, will also
influence it.
Generally the spores are plentifully produced about the
beginning of the year, and the leases have usually all dropi)ed off
by April. It is very noticeable how the leaves fall away from
the lower ends of the branches, leaving only a small tuft of leaves
at the top, wdiich ma}^ be regarded as the expiring effort of nature
to renew the foliage of which the tree is prematurely deprived
Hosts and Parts Attacked.
I have found the fungus in Victoria on the leaves of the peach
and its smooth-skinned variety the nectarine, the j^lum, the
apricot and the almond. It is most prevalent on the plum and
peach and comparatively rare as yet on the apricot and almond.
In other parts of the world the disease is found on other species
of Prunus. In California it attacks the cherry in addition to the
above, and in the old world it is found on the sloe or blackthorn
( I'runus i<pinosa^ and other species. Although this fungus has
only been know^n elsewhere to attack the leaves, I had a specimen
sent from AVangaratta in which the fruit was ' affected. It was
ver}'- noticeable that only one side was attacked, and presented
the appearance of a number of pimples or blisters of a brownish
colour. The fungus was evidently not so far advanced as on the
leaves, so that the conspicuous rusty colour was not so apparent.
In South Australia the disease has been found on the peach,
plum, apricot and almond leaves, as well as on the fruit of the
apricot. The latter specimen was kindly sent to me by J. G. O.
Tepper, F.L.S., for determination, and he was naturally surprised
to find the leaf-rust become a fruit-rust. It is rather peculiar
that no previous record of such a comparatively common rust
should be known on fruit outside of the Australian colonies, but
it only shows what a glorious climate we have for luxuriant
growth, that of fungi included, and it points to the grave danger
of allowing fungus pests to run rampant, for they may attack
446 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALT, COOKE,
quite a variety of fruits here to which they were formerly
strangers.
As might be anticipated, this fungus has its pecuUarities of
attack. In my own garden, for instance, the peach and plum
trees were badly affected, while an apricot whose branches inter-
laced with an affected peach tree had not a speck upon it. In
the Royal Horticultural Gardens, Burnley, apricot and almond
trees are as yet unaffected, and in 1890-91 not even plums were
attacked, only peaches. J. G. O. Tepper, of Adelaide, informs
me that in his garden the apricots are very badly affected year
after year, peaches to a slightly less extent, and a plum tree with
the branches touching other diseased trees is wholly unaffected.
In contrast to this, there is the case already mentioned where the
peach trees were unaffected and the plum trees more or less
attacked. No doul^t the variety of the respective trees will have
an important influence on the immunity from or liability to
disease.
Varieties most Affected.
In the Ro}al Horticultural Gardens, Burnley, where so many
different varieties are grown, I was able, with the assistance of
Mr. Neilson, to select some of those most affected. Kerr's Slip-
stone, Royal George and Crimson George are very liable among
peaches, and Darwin and Dante among nectarines. Seedling
peaches are also badly attacked.
Plums such as Late Harvey and Imperial Ottoman were pretty
bad, and it was very noticeable that all those provided with
thorns, such as the French Cherry Plum, seemed to enjoy com-
parative immunity from the disease.
Distribution.
This disease has a very wide distribution, possibly co extensive
with the cultivation of the peach and allied fruits . It has actually
been found in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium,
Switzerland, North America, Canary Islands, India, Cape Colony
and Australia. As regards its local distribution in Victoria, it
extends from the Murray to the sea — from Rutherglen in the
north to Warrnambool in the south.
BY D. McALPINE. i47
Investigatioxs.
I have examined a large number of specimens this season from
different districts and have found the fungus, as ah^eady stated,
on peach, nectarine, plum, apricot and almond. I have also
specimens from the Herbarium of the United States Department
of Agriculture, through the courtesy of B. T. Galloway, Chief of
the Division of Vegetable Pathology, and these may be taken as
a starting point.
On the leaves of Prunu^ americana, the plum of North
America (3rd Oct., 1889), there is nothing to be found but two-
celled teleutospores, while on the leaves of another species of
Prunus (28th Sept., 1889) there are a few uredospores, but the
great majority are teleutospores. Fig. 1 shows (a) the uredospore
which is yellowish-brown in colour, (6) paraphysis which is of a
pale lemon-yellow colour, and (c) teleutospores which are of a
dark brown, the lower equallj^^ so with the upper, but in many
cases paler. There is no doubt but this fungus is Pnccinia prnni,
Pers. In the Victorian specimens the presence of two-celled
teleutospores will settle the point that the fungus is not a
Uromyces, and the teleutospores are common enough, so that it is
a Puccinia. But if the peach leaf is examined in the summer
season and even up to July in many cases, onl}^ one kind of spore
w^ill 'be found — the uredospore. And even on the plum leaf in
the month of March I was unable to find a single teleutospore.
On the peach leaves sent from Queensland by Mr. Tryon I
found both uredospores and teleutospores (figs. 2 and 3). The
uredospores were of the normal shape and varying in size from 28
to 31 /x long X 14 to 16jLi broad. The teleutospores were also
normal, varying from 25 to 34: /^ long x 17 to 20 /x broad, and the
pedicels were short and transparent. By gentle pressure the two
cells of the teleutospore can be readily separated, and in fact they
often fall asunder in the process of mounting. The upper cell
seems to be more brittle than the lower, as it is often l^roken up
under slight pressure, while the other usually remains intact. I
have drawn a lower cell (fig. 2c) separated by gentle pressure,
448 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALI, COOKE,
and it looks so rounded at the point of junction with tlie upper
cell that one might readily mistake it for an independent, uni-
cellular, stalked spore.
It would appear, however, that on the continent of Europe the
teleutospore form is the prevailing one, for De Bary'' speaks of
Puccinia pruui l^elonging to the Micropuccinia, as teleutospores
only are known.
No doul^t the absence of teleutospores helped to mislead Dr.
Cooke in his determination, and such a case emj^hasises the
necessity for continuous observation of many of these fungi on
the spot, in order to determine accurately their affinities, for at
certain seasons only the uredospores are present, as in this
instance, or it may be that the teleutospores only are present as
in the case of Puccinia burchardict determined by Dr. Saccardo
where I had to supplement the description with that of the
uredospores. f
A few brief notes may now be given on each of the Victorian
hosts mentioned, in order to show that it is the same fungus
disease which affects them all. Puccinia pruni, Pers., has to be
recorded as new to Victoria for the apricot.
Peach. — Leaf-rust on the peach has been very prevalent this
season, and yet the teleutospores are comparatively rare in the
specimens which I have examined even in the. month of July. A
number of leaves were examined from peach trees in my own
garden, but no teleutospores were found, only uredospores (fig. 6).
In one instance the uredospore had germinated on the leaf still
attached to the tree as shown in fig. 5. On some peach leaves
from the Royal Horticultural Gardens, teleutosj)ores were found,
but not in great quantity, along with uredospores. I have just
examined (July 3rd) some leaves from young trees of Bid well's
Late, Improved China Flat, Red Ceylon, <kc., and while there is
abundance of uredospores there are no teleutospores The pustules
containing teleutospores and uredospores mixed may be readily
* Comp. Morpb. and Biology of the Fungi, p. 285 (1887).
t Vict. Nat. X. 192 (1894).
BY D. Mc ALPINE. 449
recognised by the dark broAvn almost black appearance in contrast
to the rusty-l)rown pustules containing uredosj^ores alone.
Nectarine. — On the leaves of a nectarine (Dante) from the
Royal Horticultural Gardens teleutospores were found, agreeing
closely with those on peach (fig. 6) as well as on the variety called
Darwin.
Flam. — On plum leaves from the Gardens, only comparatively
few uredospores were found, while teleutospores were plentiful
(%-V).
A specimen of plum leaf with rust upon it, plucked on May
19th, was sent from Hobart by Mr. Rodway, and l^oth uredospores
and teleutospores were found upon it (fig. 8).
Apricot. — The rust on the apricot leaf is still comparatively
rare in Victoria. I am indebted for specimens to an indefatigable
worker, Mr. G. H. Robinson, of Ardmona, who sent them as far
back as June 23rd, 1(S9-1-. The teleutospores were not numerous
among the uredosjDores, and one is shown in tig. 9.
In Mr. Tepper's specimen on the fruit forwarded earh^ in
January, only uredospores were found ('fig. 10). The skin of the
apricot had small yellowish to brownish iDlotches over it, and the
uredospores are seen to be of the normal type, but sometimes
rather elongated, even attaining a length of 44 /i. On the other
ha,nd, the}^ are sometimes excessively shortened, and the extremes
of length, 26 to 44 /x, were met with in this one specimen. They
are, however, in relatively small quantit}^ and I am inclined to
think that the close-set, downy hairs interfered with their proper
development. When a microscopic section of the skin is made,
onh^ a few uredospores are seen with difficulty among the hairs,
attached to the matrix.
Almond. — As in the case of the apricot, the fungus is also very
scarce as yet on the almond in Victoria, On June 17th of last
year, Mr. Robinson found at Ardmona only a few leaves, and each
with one pustule containing uredosjDores which are shown in fig. 11.
I had also specimens from Xetherby in December, 1893, and
the undersurface of the leaves had quite a rusty appearance, owing
450 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALI, COOKE,
to the numerous pustules, which contained teleutospores as well
as uredospores (fig. 1:^). Curiously enough the almond leaves
sent in June from Ardmona in the Goulburn Valley contained
only uredospores and these sparingly, wdiile almond leaves from
Netherby in the extreme west of the Colony, but practically in
the same degree of latitude, contained both uredospores and
teleutospores in al^undance.
After diligent search in the Royal Horticultural Gardens,
Burnley, I cannot find any trace of the fungus on the almond
leaves there, and nine different varieties are grown.
From a comparison of the uredospores and teleutospores on the
above different species of Pru7ius, there can be no doubt of their
identity or of their being Fuccinia jjruni, Pers.
Further, the summer-spores (uredospores) are jDroduced in great
profusion, commencing as a rule in December and January,
succeeded by the winter-spores (teleutospores) in Ma}^ and June,
which represent with us the end of autumn and the beginning
of winter. In the uredospores the apex is not perforated by a
single germ-pore as in Uromyces, but there are at least two lateral
germ-pores. The teleutospores as noted in the British species
are apt to separate at the septum, so that numerous unicellular
spores are often to be seen, which might easily on a cursory
glance be mistaken for something else. Hitherto the teleutospores
are to be found most plentifully on plum leaves in Victoria, and
much more sparingly on the others.
Germination of Spores.
Both uredospores and teleutospores have been kept for some
time in a moist chamber and only uredospores have germinated.
This is in keeping w4th what we already know of this fungus,
that it belongs to the group Heitiipncchiia, having uredospores
and teleutospores, the latter only germinating after a period of
rest. No nutritive solution was used to stimulate germination,
only water (fig. 13).
There was an average temperature of from 10° to 12° C.
The fate of the teleutospores has not yet been traced. As show-
ing the practical importance of studying the life-history of these
BY D. McALPINE. 451
parasitic fungi and the utility of such knowledge to the grower,
I cannot do better than quote from a letter recently received from
Mr. George Quinn, Inspector under " The Vine, Fruit and
Vegetable Protection Act," South Australia. He writes (May
28th, 1895) : — " The disease {Pvccima pruni) has been very preva-
lent in our orchards in all parts of the Colony in the season just
closing, and I am somewhat in doubt as to how its spores exist
over the winter, for in orchards where the peach or plum trees
have been thoroughly sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture, with
excellent results, as far as the 'curl leaf is concerned on the
former, and I am perplexed as to where the S23ores find refuge
until the autumn when the pustules begin to show on the foliage
of the trees. Do you think it possible for the spores which have
fallen either before or with the diseased leaves to be ploughed
into the soil and then be turned up again with the summer
cultivator to rise with the dust among the foliage, and, the condi-
tions being suitable, germinate ? Do you think the spores of the
various parasitic fungi which injure our fruits would lose their
vitality completely if ploughed beneath the soil for a winter ?
Would they not keep, like the seeds of some more highly organized
vegetables, for a considerable time T
To answer the above question, I am testing during the forth-
coming season, 1st, if the uredospores retain their vitality and
germinating pov/er during the winter, both when lying on the
surface of the ground and when buried to a depth of four or five
inches; 2nd, at what time teleutospores are capable of germination
and how they are affected by being buried in the ground four or
five inches deep; and 3rd, if they can produce the disease in an
otherwise healthy tree. The answer to these questions will till
up gaps in our knowledge concerning the life-history of this
parasite and enable us the more effectually to cope with it.
That the peach leaf rust of Australia is not due to a Uromyces
should now be conclusively proved, because of the two-celled
teleutospores and the uredospores having a transverse band of
germ-pores instead of a single apical germ-pore.
D D
452 notes on uromyces amgydali, cooke,
Treatment.
The treatment must be preventive, and spraying with ammoniacal
solution of copper carbonate and modified eau celeste has been
found successful in the United States. The improved form of
Bordeaux Mixture, as given in Guides to Growers, No. 15 (see
Literature at end), has been found effectual with us, and since the
lower surface of the leaves is affected, the spraying should be
specially directed there.
There is another preventive measure which should never be
neglected, and that is the burning as far as possible of the
affected leaves in order to destroy the winter spores. So important
and so generally applicable is this advice, that the remarks of the
late Baron von Thuemen on this particular disease may be quoted
in full : — " The surest and most effectual means of combating this
rust, as well as other rust fungi, is to destroy the resting-spore
generation as far as possible. The purpose of the special spore
appearing in the autumn is to tide the species over the winter.
On the leaves lying on the ground, even if they are decayed and
decomposed, the spore-clusters remain for the most part com-
pletely safe. So when the trees put forth their young leaves next
year they are infected afresh from the soil, by means of the spores
present there in unlimited quantities, on little bits of the leaves
hardly recognisable. These spores, on account of their tenacity
of life, have received the name of 'resting-spores.' Hence the
imperative necessity for the fruit groM^er to destroy the leaves
covered with heaps of spores, in order to prevent fresh infection.
This is best done in the autumn when all the leaves have fallen
from the tree, and they may then be carefull}^ collected and
burnt. Or if this is impracticable, the land under the trees
should be deeply dug so that all affected leaves may be buried
deeply in the soil, where they can do no further mischief."
Since writing this paper I have seen the Report of Professor
Scribner^' for 1887 on "Leaf Rust of the Cherry, Peach, Plum,
* Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, U.S.A., for 1887, pp. ^)58
to 355.
BY D. McALPINE. 453
etc. — Puccinia pruni-spinoscE, Pers.," and have incorporated some
of his references in the literature of the sul)ject. There are
several points in it worthy of comment, as showing the different
behaviour of the same fungus under different conditions of
existence. After noting that the fungus has been described
under several different names, he remarks : — " Some confusion
has probably arisen from the fact that the uredo stage alone
occurs upon the peach and from the resemblance of the uredo-
spores to the teleutospores of Uromyces.^'' Both the uredo-stage
and teleuto-stage, as we have seen, occur upon the peach in
Australia, nevertheless the latter is comparativeh^ rare and has
undoubtedly led to misunderstanding of the true nature of the
fungus from the absence of two-celled teleutospores. The uredo-
spores are certainl}^ suggestive of Uromyces on a superficial view,
but their germination, not by a single apical pore, but by a l^and
behind the apex, excludes the idea.
Again he states : — " The uredospores may or may not be present
on the plum, but on the specimens examined a few have been
found in all cases mingled with the teleutospores." In specimens
of plum leaves described by me in Bulletin xiv. of the Victorian
Department of Agriculture in ]March, 1891, only uredospores were
present at that time, while on specimens examined by Professor
De Bary only teleutospores were present and no uredospores.
Again he remarks : — " Teleutospores have never yet been found
upon the peach, and it is probable that they do not occur upon it
at all, since specimens gathered in Texas as late as December 26th
failed to show any."
It is rather a strange and striking fact that teleutospores
which are commonly regarded as winter spores should occur upon
the peach in a climate such as ours und not in America.
To show the thorough agreement between American specimens
of Fnccini'i pruiii, Pers., and Australian so-called Uromyces
amygdali, Cooke, I have reproduced some of Professor Scribner's
drawings for comparison (fig. 14). They prove conclusively the
identity of the two forms and disprove, if such were needed, and
in spite of Dr. Cooke's pertinacity, the Uromyces-character of
454 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALI, COOKE,
the form under consideration. His Uromyces amygdali is simply
the uredo-stage of Puccinia p^'uni.
Description.
It only remains now to conclude with a description of the
fungus as found in Australia.
Uredosj>ores. — Sori hypophyllous, small, light brown to rusty
brown, roundish, scattered but grouped in patches, often con-
fluent, soon naked, pulverulent, seated on yellow^ spots corres-
ponding to those on upper surface.
Uredospores variable in form, from elongated-ovate to almond-
shaped, usually shortly stalked, but sometimes 22 ^ in length,
closely echinulate, yellowish, apex yellowish-brown, thickened,
with spines less prominent, bluntly conical or rounded, with at
least two opposite germ-pores situated just* behind thickened apex,
26-44 X 12-20 /i, intermixed with numerous capitate, jDale yellow,
long-stalked paraphyses, sometimes attaining a length of 60 /x.
Teltutoayores. — Sori scattered or confluent, isolated or in
groups, punctulate, puh^erulent, seal-brown, known from the other
by their da,rk almost black apjDearance.
Teleutospores composed of two spherical cells, apparently
flattened at their junction, lower usually smaller and paler than
upper, but sometimes similar in size and colour, sharjDly con-
stricted in the middle and cells readily separating. Epispore
uniformly thick, dark l)rown, thickly studded with short stout
â– spikes, 25-37 X 17-21 /x. Pedicels short, hyaline, deciduous or
persistent, from 4 to 8 ju long.
On leaves of j^each, nectarine, plum, apricot and almond, and
occasionally on fruits of peach and apricot : December to June.
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, 8. Australia and
Tasmania.
Synonyms.
Puccinia ]rni7ii-i<pinosf8, Pers. (1797).
Uredo pru7iastri, DC. (1805).
Puccinia prunor nil), Link (1825;.
BY D. McALPINE. 455
Uro7ni/ces pncnoriim, Fckl. (1869).
Uromyces aniygdali, Pass., (1873), and Cooke (1878-1882).
Uromi/ces 2?runoruni, var. amygdali, Vize (1878).
REFERENCES AND LITERATURE.
Cooke— Rust, Smut, Mildew and Mould. 1st Ed. p. 201, 1865.
Paccinia pr'iL7ioruni, Lk., or plum tree brand, described as
common in Britain on plum trees.
FucKEL — Symbolse Mycologica?, p. 50, 1869.
Peck ~ Twenty-fifth Report of the Regents of the University of
the State of New York, p. 116, 1873.
Leaves of wild cherry, Prutius serotina, Ehrh. This
species seems to be rare.
VizE — Californian Fungi. Grevillea, Vol. vii. p. 12, 1878.
Uromyces prunorLim, Lk., var. amygdali, on peach leaves.
Frank — Die Krankheiten der Pflanzen, p. 468, 1881.
Fuccinia prinioricm, Link, on leaves oi' Prunus persica, P.
domestica, P. insititia, P. artneniaca and P. amygdalus.
Kalchbrexner— Fungi Macowaniani. Grevillea, Vol. xi. p. 19,
1882.
Uromyces prunorum, v. amygdali on Prunus persica.
Cooke — Australian Fungi. Grevillea, Vol. xi., p. 97, 1883,
Paccinia prunorum, Link, Victoria.
Farlow — Notes on some species in -the 3rd and 11th centuries of
Ellis's North American Fungi. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts and
Sci. Boston, xviii. p. 82, 1883,
" As far as my experience goes, the uredospores of P.
primorum, Lk., are much less common near Cambridge than
the teleutospores, l)ut in the Southern States they are
common."
456 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMVGDALF, COOKE,
Winter— Die Pilze, Yol. i. p. 193, 1884.
Teleutospore of Puccinia pruui, figured after Corda at p. 13G.
BuRRiLL— Parasitic Fungi of Illinois. Part i. Uredineae in Bull.
Illinois State Laboratory, ii. p. 177, 1885.
SoRAUER — Handbuch der PHanzenkrankheiten, Vol. ii. p. 226, 1886.
Fuccinia 'pruni-spinosce, Pers., on Prunus persica, P.
artneniaca, P. spinoaa, P. insititia and P. doniestica.
Trelease— Preliminary list of the parasitic fungi of Wisconsin.
Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci. Arts. vi. p. 24, 1886.
Uredo- and teleutospores recorded on leaves of seedling
Pritnus ainericana, Marsh, as well as on older leaves of
same species and of P. viryiniana.
De Bary — Fungi, Mycetozoa and Bacteria, p. 285, 1887.
Pucciiiia p7mni given as belonging to Micropuccinia, in
which only teleutospores are known.
Arthur — Bulletin of Iowa Agricultural College, p. 159, 1887.
ScRiBNER — Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, U.S.A.,
for 1887 — ^Section of Vegetable Pathology, jDp. 353 to 355.
Description and drawings of Puccinia pruni-spinobce, Pers.
— Leaf-rust of the cherry, peach, plum, etc.
DiETEL— Verzeichnis samtlicher LTredineen nach Familien ihrer
Nahrpflanzen geordnet. Leipzig, p. 31, 1888.
Puccinia irruni-spinoscf,, Pers., on Primus persica, P.
spinoaa, P. armeuiaca, P. insititia, P. domestica, P. viryini-
ana, P. americana and P. serotina.
Saccardo — Sylloge Fungorum, Vol. vii. p. 648, 1888.
Puccinia praiii, Pers., described and Synonyms given as
Uroniyces arnyydali, Pass., in Erb. Critt. Ital., tfec. On
Prunus amyydalus, P. domestica, P. arine7iiaca and P. pe7'sica.
Von Thuemen — Die Pilze des Aprikosenbaumes (Armeuiaca
vulya-jis, Lam.) — Eine Monographie. Klosterneuberg, pp. 8
and 9, 1888.
BY D. McALPINE. 457
Puccinia prunoruin, Lk., on apricots and plums, the uredo-
or stylospore form occurring in the height of summer, and,
some time after, the teleutospores,
Bailey — Second Supplement to Synopsis of the Queensland Flora,
p. 126, 1888.
UromyC' s amy(j>hili, Cooke, on almond and peach leaves.
Halsted — Bulletin Iowa Agricultural College, 1888.
Farley and Seymour — A provisional Host-Index of the Fungi of
the United States. Vol. i. p. 32, etc., 1888, and Vol. iii.
p. 197, 1890.
Synonym}^ and Hosts of Puccinia 'prani given.
Plowright — British Uredine^ and Ustilaginete, p. 192, 1889.
Puccinia pruni, Pers., on Prunus spinosa, P. domestical
and Khamnus catliarticus,
Tryon Report on Insect and Fungus Pests, Brisbane, p. 97,
&c., 1889.
Uroniyces amygdali^ Cooke, a new fungus determined by
Dr. Cooke, on peach and almond leaves, Queensland.
Brunk— Bordeaux Mixture for the Plum Leaf-blight. Journal
of Mycology, p. 38, 1889.
Peach and plum trees affected with Puccinia pruni-spinosoi.
Annual Report — State Board of Horticulture of California for
1889.
Earle — Experiments with Fungicides for Plant Diseases. Bull.
ii. Veg. Path. Sec. U.S.A., p. 38, 1890.
Notices injury to peach and plum leaves from Bordeaux
Mixture applied for rust : Pucciitia j^rimi, Pers.
Anderson — Notes on certain Uredinese and Ustilaginese. Journal
of Mycology, p. 125, 1890.
Uroniyces aniygdali, Cooke, agrees in every particular with
Puccinia pruw^ Pers., on peach and plum hosts in the
United States.
458 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALI, COOKE,
Cobb — Peach-rust in Orchards. Ag. Gaz. N.8.W. Yol. i. Pt. 1,
p. 93, 1890.
Uroniyces amygdali, Cooke, identical with Paccinia 2)runi,
Pers.
Mc Alpine — Report on Peach and Plum-leaf Rust (Puccinia
pruni, Pers.). Bull. xiv. Dept. of Ag. Victoria, pp. 138-147,
2 Plates, 1891.
Nature of fungus and remedies given.
Cobb — Remedies for Peach-rust. Ag. Gaz. N.S.W. Vol ii. Pt. 3,
p. 157, 1891.
Burning leaves, spraying and apphcation of potash manures
recommended.
Cooke — Handbook of Australian Fungi, p. 331, 1892.
Uromyces amygdali, Cooke, in Rav. Fung. Amer.; Pass, in
Erb. Critt. Ital., on Peach and Almond leaves, Queensland,
Victoria, New South Wales.
Thompson — A Handbook to the Insect Pests of Farm and
Orchard. Depart, of Ag. Tasmania, Bull, i., pp. 29 and 30?
1892.
Description and treatment given of Puccinia i)ru7ii.
Galloway — Report of the Chief of the Division of Vegetable
Pathology for 1892 : U.S. Dept. of Ag. p. 232.
Puccinia pruni-spinosce on peach, nectarine, apricot, cherry,
almond and plum.
Smith — Field Notes, 1891, in Journal of Mycology, p. 92, 1892.
Uromyces 2jruni-spinosce, Pers., appears to prefer thickly
planted nursery stock.
Bailey — A review of the Fungus-blights which have been
observed to injure living vegetation in the Colony of Queens-
land. Report of Fourth Meeting of Aust. Assoc. Adv.
Science, p. 400, 1892.
BY D. McALPINE. 459
Uromyces amygdali, Cooke, very abundant of late years
on the foliage of the peach and allied trees in Southe^-n
Queensland.
Weed — Fungi and Fungicides. New York, p. 65, 1894.
Plum-leaf Rust — Paccinia pricni-spLnos(E. Only men-
tioned on plum leaves.
Pierce — Prune Rust : Journal of Mycology, vii., No. 4, p. 354,
1894. Affecting prune, plum, peach, nectarine, apricot,
cherr}^ and almond.
Ammoniacal copper carbonate effectual for treatment.
McAlpine — Spraying for Fungus Diseases. Guides to G-rowers,
No. 15. Dept. of Agriculture, Victoria, p. 8, 1894.
Improved form of Bordeaux Mixture a preventive for
this rust.
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.
(Magnified 600 dia. except fig. 14.)
Plate XXXI. (lower division of Plate).
Fig. 1. — Pitccinia pruni, Pers., from Prnnus sp. , United States.
a, uredospore yellowish-brown, closely echinulate; h, paraphysis, pale
lemon yellow and long-stalked: c, deep dark brown teleutospores
studded with short bluntish spines.
Fig. 2. — Uredospores and teleutospores on peach leaf from Queensland —
June,
a, uredospore, yellowish-brown, average twice as long as broad; h,
teleutospore, dark browa, but somewhat translucent; c, lower cell of
teleutospore detached, showing rounded top.
Fig. 3. — Uredospores and teleutospores of same, mounted dry.
a, group of uredospores, individuals" selected from diflferent parts
of field; 6, group of teleutospores found together.
Plate XXXII.
Fig. 4. — Uredospores (a) with persistent pedicels and paraphyses (&) from
peach leaf in own garden — June.
Fig. 5. — '.Termiii iting uredospore from peach leaf in own garden— June.
Thoe are two germ-tubes, but one is in abeyance.
Ayos ^ /
LU I L I B R A R Y
460 NOTES ON UROMYCES AMYGDALI, COOKE,
Fig. 6. — Teleutospore from nectarine — June.
Fig. 7. — Ureclospores (a) and teleutospores (6) from plum leaf — May.
Fig. 8. — Ureclospores (a) and teleutospores (b) from plum leaf, Tasmania
—May.
Fig. 9. — Teleutospore from apricot — June — showing top cell detached and
entire.
Plate XXXIII.
Fig. 10. — Group of uredospores from skin of apricot — showing the widest
extremes in length.
Fig. 11. — Uredospores from almond leaf — June.
Fig. 12. — Uredospores (a) and teleutospores [h) from almond leaf — Decem-
ber.
Fig. 13. — Germinating uredospores from plum leaf, Tasmania — plucked
May 19th.
a, after nearly 5 days (4 days 21 hours) in moist chamber; h, contents
of germ tube vacuolated, and contents of spore turbid; c, contents of
spore as usual, but contents of tube with minute particles aggregated
at intervals; d, germ-tube curving upon itself.
Fig. 14. — Uredospores from peach and plum, and teleutospores from plum
(after F. L. Scribner).
a, uredospores from peach, stalkless and echinulate; h, germiaiating
uredospore from plum, with germ-tube on one side; c, teleutospores
from plum in surface view showing markings; d, the same in optical
section.
461
FUCCINIA ON GROUNDSEL, WITH TRIMORPHIC
TELEUT08P0RES.
By D. McAlpixe.
(Communicated hij J. H. Maiden.)
(Plates xxxiv.-xxxvi.)
A specimen of Oroundsel Rust was sent to me by Mr. Rod way,
of Hobart, Tasmania, and found by him there on the 21st April
of the present year. The aecidial-stage of the Groundsel Rust is
common enough, at least with us at the Royal Horticultural
Gardens, Burnley, but as he informs me this is the first and only
instance in which he has found the black rust with teleutospores.
At present, and indeed throughout the year, there is plenty of
Groundsel with aecidia at the Royal Horticultural Gardens, but
I have hitherto failed to find any teleutospores, and they are
here recorded for the first time in Australia on Groundsel. But
last year* I described a Facciaia on Erechtiies, a. genus closely
allied to Senecio, received from Mr. Robinson, of Ardmona, and
on comparing the two forms I find that the Groundsel Rust is
very similar.
Description.
I. Aecidiospores. — Aecidia forming blister-like swellings on stem
and l^ranches, on upper and undersurfaces of leaves, on flower-
head stalks and involucre, causing discolouration and distortion
and usually surrounded by paler green tissue; the}^ are disposed
in clusters without any definite order.
Pseudoperidia round, sometimes oval, with white, scolloped
everted edges; before opening tubercular.
Aecidiospores spherical, oval or angular, orange-coloured,
smooth, average 14-16 /x in dia. or 14-17 x 12-16 fx. Very com-
mon all the year round, except during middle of summer.
* Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. Vol. vii. N.S. pp. 214-221 (1894).
462 PUCCINI A ON GROUNDSEL,
II. Uredospores — not known.
III. Teleutospores. — Sori for a long time covered by epidermis,
then bursting through and epidermis usually thrown off, or
remaining in shreds and patches, intermixed or running parallel
with aecidia, black, convex, often confluent in elongated lines,
causing swelling of stems, branches, leaves and flower-head stalks
and attacking flower-heads.
Teleutospores chestnut-brown, pedicellate, elongated, slightly
constricted at middle, variously shaped but usually elongated
clavate; upper cell deep chestnut-brown, rounded or somewhat
oval, scoop-shaped or truncated, and thickened at apex, 17-32 x
15-25 /x; lower cell usually paler in colour, rounded at base or
tapering, often elongated relatively to upper, 18-38 x 12-20^.
Size of teleutospore, 36-63 x 15-5-25 /x.
Unicellular and tricellular teleutospores occasionally found.
Unicellular — elongated oval or somewhat elliptical, apex
rounded or pointed and usually thickened, smootli, stalked,
varying in colour from pale yellow to golden yellow and chestnut-
brown, and sometimes colourless at apex. 29-44 x 13-17^.
Pedicel colourless, persistent and somewhat longer than spore.
Tricellular — elongated club-shape, and generall}^ resembling
ordinary teleutospores except in size. 48-73 x 22-25 //.
Pedicels decidedly persistent, pale yellow tint to transparent,
sometimes longer than spore, occasionally 63 p., usually stoutish,
5 to 9 /i broad.
Aecidiospores on stems and branches, extending from base of
stem to topmost flower-head, on upper and undersurface of leaves.
Teleutospores on stems, branches, leaf-stalks, leaves and flower-
heads.
On Senecio vnlyarls, L. Aecidiospores all the year round.
New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania. Teleutospores April,
Domain, Hobart, Tasmania (Rodway, 64). Aecidiospores almost
all the year round and teleutospores, April to July only in Vic-
toria.
I. The average size of the aecidiospores from Victorian speci-
mens of Groundsel is rather more than from Tasmanian specimens,
BY D. McALPINE. 463
which, howeA'er, are accompanied by teleutospores. It is not to
\)e inferred on that account that the production of teleutospores
intermixed has any influence upon the size of the spores, for I
find that the uredospores of Paccinia pruni, Pers., are just as
large on a leaf producing them alone as when intermixed with
teleutosjDores.
The late Dr. Ralph in a paper "On the Aecidium affecting the
Senecio vulgmn^, L., or Groundsel,"* stated that he was able to
trace by the use of strong carbolic acid the fine yellow sporular
matter into the covering of the seed, the seed itself and the hairs
of the pappus. It is interesting, as he points out, to find this in
the fruit and its appendages, since the hairy pappus surmounting
it would thus carry the fungus far and wide. I have found
yellow colouring matter in the hairs of the plant, but have been
unable to associate it with the fungus.
The suggestion in the same paper that the source of I'ust in
cereals may be found in the Groundsel, taking the place of the
Barberr}^ bush in other countries, is rendered highly improbable
from the fact, apart from other considerations, that the teleuto-
spores proper to itself ha^e now been found on tlie Groundsel,
along with the aecidiospores.
III. It has been shown by Dr. P. Dietelf in the case of an
allied fungus, Puccinia senecionis, Lib., that both kinds of spores
— aecidiospores and teleutospores — are produced from one and
the same mycelium, just as in Puccinia graminis, Pers., the
uredospores and teleutospores are similarh^ produced, so that
prol^abl}' here too aecidiospores and teleutospores have a common
origin.
Classificatiox.
This fungus belongs to the group Pucciniopsis, Schroet., having
aecidiospores and teleutospores on the same host-plant, and the
question naturally arises as to what species of Puccinia it belongs,
seeing that the Compositae have such a wide distribution,
* Vict. Nat. viii. Xo. 2, IS (1890^.
t Zeitsch. f. Pflanzk. Vol. iii. Pt. 5, 258 {\H)^).
464 PUCCINIA ON GROUNDSEL,
and the common Groundsel is likely to have some well-known
rust upon it. Groundsel is an imported weed, probably from
Britain, and j&t curiously enough the very common Groundsel
rust of the old countr}^ (Coleosporium senecionis, Fries) has not
yet been met with here.
In Plowright's " Monograph of the British Uredinese and
Ustilaginese " the following three Puccinias are given as occurring
on species of Senecio, but none of them on S. vulgaris —
P. qlomerata, Grev., (thought to be the typicalP. expansa, Link).
P. senecionis, Lib.
P. schoeleriana, Plow. &. Mag.
The two former belong to the Micropncciiria or those which
have teleutospores only, and the latter to the HpAero-p'iccinia, in
wdiich there are the three kinds of spores, the aecidiospores being
on one host-plant and the uredospores and teleutospores on a
different host-plant. Assuming that the complete life-histor}^ of
the above species is known, our fungus belongs to a different
group, but on the Continent of Europe P. senecionis is known to
produce aecidiospores as well,"^ and therefore it might l^e a similar
species to ours. But the sori are brown, not black, and that
excludes it, while on- P. g i orufivata the teleutosj^ores are too small
for the present species, and the colourless papilla surmounting the
upper cell is absent from ours. So that there appears to be no
corresponding fungus on British species of Senecio.
Turning now to Farlow and Seymour's " Host-Index of the
Fungi of the United States," the following are given on species of
Senecio there, and here again S. vulgaris has only the common
British rust already mentioned : —
Afcifiium compositai'um, Mart,
A. senecionis, Desm.
/'uccin.ia conglomerata, Schm. ct Kze.
The Puccinias (for there are several) of which A. compositarum
is regarded as a stage, belong for the most part to the Hefero-
* See Dietel ia Zeitsch. f. Pflanzenk. Vol. iii. Pt. 5, 259 (1893).
BY D. McALPINE. 465
pucciiiia, and may therefore be dismissed, so that P. conglomerata
has only to be considered; of which A. senecionis is the recognised
aecidial stage. This aecidium is given by Dr. Cooke in his
" Handbook of AustraHan Fungi (p. 342) for New South Wales
and Victoria " for Senecio, but no species is mentioned; still the
presumption is that we have here its Puccinia-stage and so
resemblances and differences will have to be carefully noted. The
principal points of difference in the aecidial stage are that the
aecidia of the Groundsel rust are on pale green spots, not on
brown, and are not margined with black, but otherwise there is
general agreement, except that their spores are rather smaller.
It is in the Puccinia-stage, however, that the differences are most
marked, and for convenience may be shown in tabular form : —
P. conglomerata. P. erechtitis.
Length of teleutospore 24-52 fi 36-63 /x.
Breadth „ 14-26 /x 15-25 /li. (agree).
( surmounted by j
Apex ,, < pale or colour- - none.
I less papilla I
T- 11! T 1 ( short or moder- f ,
Lengch of pedicel j .^^^j^ ,^^g -j long.
Persistence ,, very deciduous .. . decidedly persistent
Thickness ,, very slender moderately stout.
Colour „ hyaline often j^ellow tint.
While a solitary character, such as the relative length of the
stalk, or its persistence, would not justify specific rank, still the
aggregate of relatively fixed characters, such as the apical papilla,
the length and persistence of the stalk, form specific distinctions.
Finally, Dr. P. Dietel gives critical notes on all Puccinias
occurring on Senecio and allied Composite in his paper on
^^Puccinia conglomerata und die auf Senecio und einigen ver-
wandten Composites vorkommenden Puccinien."* He remarks
there that recent writers have placed many different species in P.
conglnmerata and considers that P. senecionis, Lib., and P. expansa,
'' Hedwigia. Bd. xxx. 291 (1891).
466 PUCCINI A ON GROUNDSEL,
Link, should be raised to specific rank. The Puccinias which he
enumerates as occurring on Senecio are : — P. conglomc.raia, P.
senecionis, P. expansa and /'. uralensi)*; P. tranzsr.hdU is also
given, but it is now regarded as a variety of P. cou'/lornerata. In
P. urahjisis'^ the sori are hypophyllous, the teleutospores are much
shorter (36-43 /x), and no aecidiospores are known, so that the
distinctness of this species is still maintained. When the proper
season comes round, infection experiments will ]^e carried out
mutually on Senecio vulgaris and Erechf.ites qva-Irvieutata.
Trimorphic Teleutospores,
There are three forms of teleutospores in this species, as
already stated — normal or uniseptate, aseptate and biseptate.
A similar case was recorded by W. B. Grovef in Pucciuia
betonicce, DC, belonging also to the Pucciidopsin, in which he
found one-celled, two-celled and three-celled teleutospores. Since
then several similar cases have been ]:)rouglit to light, and e^'en
four-celled spores have been observed in Fuccinia (jramiuin, Pers.
In Pucciuia saccardoij Ludw., an Australian species on Goodnuia
gp/niculata, Dr. Ludwigj records the occurrence, among the
normal teleutospores, of unicellular and tricellular spores, some-
times of enormous size, and occasionally singular horn-like
])ranching spores, resembling those of PJiva inddium ohtusiim.
The w^hole subject is very fully and sMy discussed by Dr. P.
Dietel in his paper on " Beitrage zur Morphologie und Biologie
des Uredineen."i^ The one-celled spores are commonly known as
mesospores, and various views are held as to their meaning.
Winter! I regards them simply as unicellular teleutospores and
Sorauerll considers them as transition forms between uredospores
* Zeitsch. f. Pflanzk. Vol. ii. Pt. 2, 104 (1892).
t Gardener's Chronicle, Vol. xxiv. p. 180 (1885).
+ Hedw. xxviii. pp. 362, 303 (1890).
§ Hot. Centralb. Vol. xxxii. (1887).
il Die Pilze, Vol. i. p. 133 (1884).
H Pflanzenkrk. Vol. ii. p. 213 (1880).
BY D. McALPINE. 467
and teleutospores, but on this view they ought to be more general
and not confined to individual species.
P. Magnus* considers, on the other hand, that the uredospores
have developed out of teleutospores on account of their better
adaptation for germination and dissemina.tion, and that those
species which have no uredospores never acquired the property of
forming them.
Dr. Plowrightf considers them as morphologically analogous to
the teleutospores of Uromyces, somewhat similar to the view of
Tulasne,! who regards them as reduced teleutospores, the reduc-
tion being brought about by the abortion of the lower cell and
thus the genus Uroniyces, characterised by such spores, is to be
considered a degraded form of Fuccinia. There are other con-
siderations, however, such as the nature of the host-plants, which
would seem to point to the Uromyces as being rudimentary and
not reduced forms of Puccinia.
In Puccini pruni, Pers., the two cells of the teleutospores
readily separate and the lower cell is often imperfectly developed,
so that the connection between Uromyces and Puccinia seems to
be shown here. In fact, it would appear that even the eminent
mycologist Dr. Cooke was misled by this resemblance when he
named this very species, sent from Australia on peach and
almond leaves, as Uromyces amygdali. And if this relationship
is accepted, then the term mesospore, as indicating a transition-
form between two other kinds of spore, is inappropriate, as it is
really between the two genera.
Just as the unicellular or Uromyces-\\\ie spore links the
Puccinia on to lower but not necessarily earlier forms, so the
multicellular spore foreshadows the more advanced forms of the
Uredines, such genera as Triphragmium in which the teleutospore
is normally three-celled, and Phragmidlum, in which it may
consist of from three to ten superimposed cells. And thus close
* Ker. Deutsch. Bot. (4esell. ix. (1891).
+ Brit. Ured. and Ustilag. p. 39 (1889).
: Ann. Sci. Nat. 4 Ser. Vol. ii. p. 145 (1851).
E E
468 PUCCINI A ON GROUNDSEL,
and constant observation of the exceptional forms of spores, just
as the methodical investigation of exceptional forms of plants
or animals may throw light upon the origin of certain phases of
life and show that what is abnormal and exceptional at one stage
and under certain surroundings, may become the normal under
different conditions of existence.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Puccinia on (Iroundsel.
(All figui'es except figs. 7 and 10 magnified 600 diameters.)
Plate xxxiv.
Fig. L — Various shapes and sizf^s of aecidiospore.
Fig. 2. — Various forms of teleutospore.
Fig. 3. — Group of teleutospores.
Plate XXXV.
Fig. 4. — Unicellular spores.
Fig. 5.— Three-celled teleutospore.
Fig. 6. — Aecidiospores.
Fig. 7. — Teleutospores ( x 115).
Plate XXXVI.
Fig. 8. — Teleutospores.
Fig. 9. — Group of teleutospores.
Fig. 10. — Unicellular spore : the same ( x 115).
Fig. 11. — Tricellular spores.
CATALOGUE OF THE DESCRIBED COLEOPTERA OF
AUSTRALIA. SUPPLEMENT, PART I. CICINDE-
LID^ AND CARABID^.
By George Masters.
Issued separately as a Supplement to the Part.
469
ON A NEW SPECIES OF EL^OCARPUS FROM
NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES.
By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S.
El.eocarpus baeuerlexi, sp.nov.
(Plate xxxvii.)
A large tree (height 80-100 feet, and a trunk diameter of 2-3
feet as seen), the branchlets silky hairy or hoary pubescent, the
young leaves very hairy.
Leaves or petioles usually 2-2 1 inches long, lanceolate to
elliptical-lanceolate, acuminate, rounded at the base, scarcely
shining above, up to 6 inches long, 1 inch broad, crenate, reticula-
tions distinct on both sides, but more marked on the underside,
slightly paler and glabrous underneath, but more or less silky
hairy above, the young foliage densely so, occasionally foveolate.
Petiole silky pubescent, channelled above, slightly thickened
at the two extremities.
Racemes terminal and over 5 inches long in specimens
examined, silky pubescent, many-flowered.
Bracts persistent, silky pubescent, spathe-like, 3 to 4 lines long.
Pedicels 4-5 lines long.
Sepals silky pubescent, subtriangular, 2 to 3 lines long, valvate,
with a prominent mid-rib on the inner surface.
Petals with a few scattered hairs or glabrous on the back, ciliate
and very silky hairy on the inside" especially towards the base
divided into 16-20 acute equal lobes, mostly united into fours.
Stamens numerous (30), silky pubescent within the glandular
disk.
Anthers linear, tipped with a sul)ulate appendage. Filaments
short.
Ovary glabrous, style sul3ulate, 2-celled, with 2 ovules in each
cell.
470 NEW SPECIES OF EL/EOCARPUS FROM NORTHERN N.S.W.
Drupe ovoid, 3 to 4 lines long, green, the putamen rugose.
Albumen not ruminate.
The affinities of this species apparently lie between E. serico-
petahis, F.Y.M., and E. immiiiatus, F.v.M. Briefly, its relative
position may be shown thus : —
E. sericojjetalus. — Leaves 2J to 3| inches long, glabrous, not
foveolate, slightly crenate. Stamens 40-50; silky petals minutel}^
denticulate.
E. Baeuerleni, sp.nov. — Leaves 3 to 5 inches long, 1 inch broad,
lanceolate, much reticalate, acuminate crenate, occasionally
foveolate. Stamens 30; petals lobed, bracts persistent. Fruit
o^'oid.
E. ritviinafuft.—-lje8ives 2 to 4 inches long, 1^ inch broad,
shining on both sides, petioles glabrous, shortly acuminate, penni-
veined. Stamens 20-25. Fruit globular.
Rah. — Tengoggin (Chincogan) Mountain, Mullumbimby, Bruns-
wick River, N.S.W.
This species is dedicated in honour of Mr. William Baeuerlen,
botanical collector to the Technological Museum, Sydney, who first
obtained it.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE.
Fig. L — Twig of plant showing foliage.
Fig. 2. — Flowering twig.
Fig. 3.— Bad.
Fig. 4.— Flower.
Fig. 5. — Section of flower.
Fig. 6.- -Sepal.
Fig. 7.-PetaL
Fig. 8.— Stamen.
Fig. 9. — Pistil and glandular ring.
Fig. 10.— Drupe.
Fig. 11. — Putamen.
471
NEW SPECIE8 OF CONE FROM THE SOLOMON
ISLANDS.
By J. Brazier, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S.
CoNUS Waterhouse.e, sp.nov.
Shell somewhat solid, oblong, coronated; spire slightly raised,
apex obtuse; whorls 8, having white nodes, the interspaces with
dark brown spots, spirall}'- sulcated with 6 rather narrow and deep
grooves, having 2 closer together near the base showing faint little
punctures like a thimble; colour yellowish-brown with whitish
longitudinal flexuous streaks or blotches; columellar base very
dark brown mingled with white; lip straight, whitish, interior of
the aperture dark violet.
Long. 30; diam. maj. 15; aperture, 25 mm.
Hah. — Solomon Islands (Mrs. G. J. Waterhouse).
This very prett}^ Cone came from the Solomon Islands, but the
exact island is not known. It has been in Mrs. Waterhouse's
collection for the last twelve months. The specimen is in a good
state of preservation; the spiral sulcations visible a little below
the crown are very fine, and those near the base are deeply
engraved, showing minute punctures or pits like those on a
thimble; the colour markings are also peculiar, being of a
yellowish-brown with whitish longitudinal flexuous streaks.
The only specimen I have at present seen has been lent me for
description by Mrs. G. J. Waterhouse, after whom I have the
pleasure of naming the species.
The type is now in the collection of Mrs. Agnes Kenyon, of
Richmond, Victoria.
472
NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
Mr. Brazier exhibited a fine specimen of the ringed snake
( VermiceUa annulata) found under a large stone at the foot of
the Waverley cemetery by Mr. Worth.
Mr. Brazier also exhibited a specimen of Cardium vertehratum,
Jonas, from Keppel Bay, N. Queensland, and he contributed a
Note on the geographical distribution of the species.
Mr. A. H. Lucas exhibited specimens of Honey Ants (Cam-
27onotus inflafus), and Lizards collected by Prof. Baldwin Spencer
in Central Australia, during the breeding season of 1895, com-
prising both sexes of Amjyhibolurus pictus, A. maculatus, and A.
reticulaUis, showing the sexual colouring; Moloch horridus (9).
Also specimens of Egernia stokesii and E. dejyressa, the latter from
Coolgardie.
Mr. Steel called attention to a recent interesting paper by Mr.
T. W. Hogg, on the immunity of some low forms of life from lead-
poisoning (Journ. Soc. Chem. Industry, 1895, p. 344). The
presence of 1 •5-2-5 per cent, of lead, calculated as PbO, in an
averao-e dried sample, was found not to militate against the
occupation of the waste bark heap of the Elswick Lead Works by
various organisms, including earthworms.
Mr. Froggatt showed, in illustration of his paper, spirit speci-
mens of a number of Termites, photograj^hs of remarkaV)le termi-
taria, portions of nests, and specimens of timbers variously
attacked.
Mr. Maiden exhibited specimens of the new Elceocajyus described
by Mr. Baker and himself.
Mr. Pedle}^ showed a highly ornamented hielaman or aboriginal
shield recently received from the Narran River, N.S.W.
Mr. North exhibited a series of specimens of Zosterops
cceruhscens, and pointed out the seasonal variations in the plumage
of this species. Z. cceridescens of Latham, (Z. dorsalis, Gould,
NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 473
Birds of Australia, Vol. iv. pi. 81), with the deep tawny-buff
flanks and the grey throat shows the autumn and winter attire, and
Z. (Dacnis) westernensis, Quoy and Gaimard (Voyage de FAstro-
labe, T. i. p. 216, and Atlas, plate 11, fig. 4) with the bright
olive-yellow throat and very pale tawny-brown flanks, the spring
and summer livery. Among the specimens exhibited by Mr.
North and bearing out his statements was one captured in his
garden at Ashfield on the 26th inst., which shows a transition
from the winter to the spring j)lumage, the grey throat being
faintly washed with olive-yellow, and the flanks nearly as pale as
specimens obtained in the summer. Z. wesfernensis, Quoy and
Gaim., and other writers must therefore become a synonym of the
older name Z. cwrulescens, of Latham.
474
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28th, 1895.
The Ordinary Monthly Meeting of the Society was held in the
Linnean Hall, Ithaca Road, Elizabeth Bay, on Wednesday even-
ing, August 28th, 1895.
Mr. Cecil W. Darley in the Chair.
DONATIONS.
Hooker's Icones Plantarum. Fourth Series. Vol. iv. Part 4
(June, 1895). From the BentJiam Trustees.
Royal Microscopical Society — Journal, 1895, Part 3 (June).
From the ^Society.
Societe d' Horticulture du Doubs, Besan^on — n.s. No. 54 (June,
1895). From the Society.
L'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg. v°
Serie. T. ii. Nos. 3-4 (March- April, 1895). From the Academy,
Zoological Society, London — Abstract, June 18th, 1895. From
the Society.
K.K. Zoologisch-botanische Gesellschaft in Wien — Verhand-
lungen. xlv. Bd. (1895), 5 Heft. From the Society.
Zoologischer Anzeiger. xviii. Jahrg. Nos. 478-479 (June-July,
1895). From the Editor.
College of Science, Imperial University, Japan — Journal. Vol.
vii. Part 5 (1895). From the Director.
DONATIONS. 475
Societe des Naturalistes de la ]S'ouvelle Russie — Memoires.
Tome xix. Parts 1-2 (1894-95). From the Society.
Agricultural Gazette of N.S. Wales. Vol. vi. (1895), Part 7
(July). From th'^- Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agriculture.
Perak Government Gazette. Vol. viii. (1895), Nos. 18-19.
From the Gocenunent Secretary.
Department of Mines, Victoria — Annual Report of the Secre-
tary for the year 1894. From the Department.
American Museum of Natural History — Bulletin. Vol. \-ii,
(1895), Sigs. 13-15 (pp. 193--i56). From the Museum.
Johns Hopkins University Circulars. Vol. xiv. ISTo. 120 (July,
1895). From the Utaversity.
Indian Museum, Calcutta — "Materials for a Carcinolosical
Fauna of India." No. 1 — The Brachyura Oxyrhyitcha. By A.
Alcock, M.B., C.M.Z.S. : Figures and Descriptions of Nine
Species of SquillvUe from the Collection in the Indian Museum.
By the late James Wood-Mason. 4to. (1895). From the
Museum.
Pamphlet entitled "Notes on the Hydatid .Disease in New
South Wales." By G. L. Mullins, M. A., M.D F'rom the Author.
Victorian Naturalist. Vol. xii. No. 4 (July, 1895). From
the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria.
Societe Royale des Sciences, Upsal — Nova Acta. Seriei iii.
Vol. XV. Fasc. 2 (1895). From the Society.
Zoologische Station zu Neapel — Mittheilungen. xii. Bd. 1
Heft (1895). From the Zoological Stcition.
American Naturalist. Vol. xxix. No. 343 (July, 1895). From
the Editors.
Geological Survey of Canada — Annual Report, 1892-93. New
Series. Vol. vi. From the Director.
Societe Hollandaise des Sciences a Harlem — Archives Neer-
landaises. T. xxix. 2â„¢^ Liv. (1895). From the Society.
476 DONATIONS.
Societe Royale Linneenne de Bruxelles — Bulletin, xx^"^ Annee
No. 8 (June- July, 1895). From the Society.
University of Melbourne — Calendar for 1896. From the
University.
Linnean Society of London — Proceedings. November, 1893-
June, 1894 : List of Fellows, &c., 1894-95. From the Society.
Societe Royale de Geographie d' Anvers — Bulletin. T. xx.
pi' Fasc. (1895). From the Society.
Eight Conchological Pamphlets. By Edgar A. Smith, F.Z.S.
From the Author.
Australasian Journal of Pharmacy. Yol. x. No. 116 (August,
1895). From the Editor.
Gordon College Museum, Geelong — The Wombat. Vol. i. No.
1 (Aug. 1895). From the Museum.
Pamphlet (from the Ibis, July, 1895). From the Author, A. J.
North, Esq., F.L.S.
47
ON THE HOMOLOGY OF THE PALATIXE PllOCESS
or THE MAMMALIAN PR EM AXILLARY.
By R. Broom, M.B., CM., B.Sc.
In typical mammals the premaxillaiy l^one may be divided into
two more or less well marked parts. There is the anterior and
outer part ]3earing the incisor teeth and forming the outer wall
and floor of the na,sal cavity at its anterior part, and there is
generally an elongated delicate process of bone passing backwards
into the palatine region — the palatine process of the premaxillary.
Throughout the Mammalia the tooth-bearing part of the pre-
maxillary varies comparatively little; but in the palatine process
even in closely allied forms we have the most striking variations.
Among Marsupials, for example, in the genus Trlcliosiorus the
palatine process is exceedingly long, while in the closely allied
Phascolarctus it is only slightly developed.
Opinion seems to be considerably divided as to whether the
premaxillary is a single structure, or whether it is in reality
composed of two distinct elements. Albrecht,* Suttonf, and
Parker I have shown that the palatine process may be distinct in
origin from the body of the premaxillary through becoming early
united with it, and Howes.^ states as the result of a special
* P. Albrecht, " Sar la Feute niaxiilaire double sousmuqueuse et les 4 os
intermaxillaires de r Ornithoihynque adulte normale." (Briixelles, 1883).
P. Albrecht, " Die morphol. Bedeutung4e»' seitlichen Kieferspalte, &c."
Zooi. Anzeiger, 1879.
t .1. B. Sutton, " Observations on the Parasphenoid, the Vomer and the
Palato-pterygoid Arcade." Proc. Zool. Soo. 1884, p. 566
t W. K. Parker. " On the Structure and Development of the Skull in
the Mammalia," Pt, ii. Edentata ; Pt. iii. Insectivora. Phil. Trans. Koy.
Sue. Lond. 1885.
§ G. B. Howes, " On the Probable Existence of a Jacobson's Organ among
the Crocodilja, &c." Proc. Zool. 8oc. 1891.
478 HOMOLOGY OF PALATINE PROCESS,
investigation by Mr, R. H. Burne that the palatine process is
distinct from the premaxillary in an embryo Rabbit as large as
8 cm. Furthermore, Albrecht and Sutton have both maintained
that the palatine process is a distinct element from the pre-
maxillar}'- proper, though owing to their evidence being largely
pathological their views have not been generally accepted. Sutton
holds that the palatine process is the homologue of the " vomer "
of the fcJuhf/opsida, and that the mammalian vomer is represented
by the parasphenoid in the lower forms. Whether he is correct
or not in his Ichthyopsidian homologies I am not in a position to
definitely determine; but I think there is very strong evidence in
favour of the homology of the mammalian palatine process of the
premaxillary with the so-called " vomer " of at least the lizard
and snake, and in the present paper I shall bring forward a few
facts from Comparative Anatomy and Embryology in favour of
such a view.
For some time I have been engaged in the study of the compara-
tive anatomy of Jacobson's Organ, and having studied the anterior
nasal region of a very large number of mammals and reptiles by
means of microscopic sections, I have come across a number of
interesting facts in connection with the ^^I'esent subject.
In mammals the organs of Jacobson, as is well known, are
supported by the " recurrent cartilages" — developments of the
trabecular cornua, and as the cartilages are almost invariably
developed to a similar degree to the organs, the close connection
between the two is manifest. Furthermore, the cartilaginous
f ramew^ork of each organ rests on a bony support curved to fit the
cartilage, and Avhich is almost invariably anchylosed to the pre-
maxillary forming its palatine process. When the organ of
Jacobson is well developed and much elongated, its bony support
is correspondingly long, while when the organ is rudimentary the
palatine process is short or absent. So that not only is there a
close connection existing between the organ and the cartilage, but
also an intimate association l^etween the cartilage and the
supporting bone.
BY R. BROOM. 479
An examination of the earh^ development of the parts shows
that this close connection is not accidental, but that the support-
ing bone is developed as a splint to the cartilage. If a mammary
fcetus of the common Phalanger {Tricliosnriis viilpecuJa) 18 mm. in
length be examined, it will be found that the body of the pre-
maxillary is already fairly well ossified. The recurrent cartilages
will be seen in section as two plates, slightly diverging below,
lying, on either side of the middle line below the base of the
cartilaginous nasal septum. About the middle of the inner side
of each recurrent cartilage and close to it is a tract of active
cells, in the centre of which is a ver}- delicate spicule of bone.
This spicule, it must be admitted, is directly connected with the
premaxillary, though as the tract of bone-jDroducing cells in con-
nection with the recurrent cartilage is practically similar to that
which a little posteriorly lies around the base of the septum nasi
and gives rise to the vomer, it is highh^ probable that there is a
distinct osteogenetic tract in connection with the recurrent
cartilage, and that owing to the early development of the pre-
maxillary it is prematurely ossified by invasion from that bone.
In P'-ranielf's and DriK,,iirus the recurrent cartilage tract is
similarly ossiKed by a bony process from the premaxillary. In
many of the higher mammals (^^.r/., Erinacenn, Tahtxia) it would
appear that the ossification in connection with the recurrent
cartilage maintains for some time its independent existence,
though uniting later with the premaxillary to form its palatine
process. In a few mammals ('?.'/., Ornit]ioi]iynchus and Miniop-
terus) the ossification remains as a distinct bone throughout life.
Prof. Kitchen Parker,"^ who has done more than anyone else
to elucidate the development of the skull, does not seem to have
arrived at any certain conclusions with regard to the nature of
the palatine process of the premaxillar}*. His researches show
that he discovered supporting the cartilages of Jacobson a distinct
bone which he called the "anterior paired vomer," but it is
probable that, as Howes has pointed out, in tr^dng to draw a
* Loc. cit.
480 HOMOLOGY OF PALATINE PROCESS,
distinction between this bone and the palatine process of the
premaxillary he has involved himself in contradiction. In his
beautiful sections of the head of the ftetal Tatusia he shows the
supporting bones of Jacobson's cartilages, and in his description
of section 7, says : — ^" The cartilages [protecting Jacobson's organs]
themselves have an osseous counterpart protecting them on the
inner side and having their shaj)e and direction; these are the
anterior paired vomers (v'), bones well known for their large
development in the Opliidia and Lacertilia " He further recog-
nises that these are not parts of the true vomer, and evidently
considers them as quite distinct from the premaxillary. In his
description of the head of the young Erinareus, he further refers
to the intimate association of the recurrent cartilages and their
supporting bones or anterior paired vomers. In referring to the
recurrent cartilages as seen in the dissected skull of the 3'oung
embryo, he says : — " Each leafy part is supported by a bone the
form of which it dominates, so that each tract is also hollow on
the face that looks towards the cur^'ed inner edge of the cartilage;
it lies on the inside, back to back to its fellow : these are the
front paired vomers, and answer to the paired ^^omers of the
Snake and Lizard among the Reptiles." These bones which he
calls " anterior paired vomers " are almost without doubt the parts
which, becoming anchylosed with the premaxillaries, form their
palatine processes. Parker, however, seems to consider that there
are palatine processes in addition to the anterior vomers, but
as the cartilages of Jacobson at their anterior part are in contact
with the body of the premaxillary there is reall}^ no space for a
palatine process distinct from the ossification in connection with
Jacobson's cartilage, and if in any form there appears to be a
palatine process in addition to an anterior vomer it is probably
due to the anterior portion of ossific tract of Jacobson's cartilage
becoming ossified by invasion from the premaxillary.
A study of the comparative anatomy of the prenasal region
gives very strong confirmatory evidence that the bone supporting
the cartilage of Jacobson is not morphologically a j^art of the
premaxillary, though generall}^ anchylosed with it.
BY R. BROOM. 481
There is one interesting group of mammals — the CJieiroptera —
in which the condition of parts has not, I think, been ver}^ care-
fully observed, and from which we find considerable assistance in
the solution of the present problem. In the insectivorous bat
common in this district (JliniojHerus Schreibersii, Natt.) the
organ of Jacobson is well developed, but is unlike that of the
typical mammal in being unusually short compared with its
breadth. The premaxill?e are moderately well developed, though
they do not quite meet in the middle line, but they do not
possess even a trace of palatine process. The cartilages of
Jacobson are supported on the inner side by a small median bone
which is quite unconnected with either the premaxillae in front
or the vomer behind. It is situated immediately in front of the
anterior end of the vomer and clearly belongs to the same class
of bones as the vomer proper, though instead of being closely
related to the septal cartilage, it supports the cartilages of Jacobson
throughout almost their whole length. In front where the
capsules are moderately close together, a transverse section
reveals two bon}^ plates supporting them anchylosed in their
lower halves. Posteriorly the capsules are considerably apart,
and the bone is here found as a flat plate stretching from the one
to the other.
In the common Australian flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephahis,
Tem.) the condition is very different, but peculiarly interesting.
The premaxilliTe are as well developed as in the Garnivora, though
they do not quite meet in the middle line. The organ of Jacob-
son as apparently in most insectivorous bats is here entirely
absent, though the recurrent cartilages are fairly well developed
as a pair of almost vertical plates. There is, however, no distinct
supporting bone as in Minioptf.riis, nor a trace of palatine processes
from the premaxillaries; but, on the other hand, the vomer is
well developed, and from it a process of bone passes forward into
the region corresponding to that occupied by the palatine process
in ordinary mammals, though, unlike the palatine process, it onlj^-
supports the posterior part of the cartilage. Whether in the
foetal condition this process is ever distinct, I have not had the
opportunity of ascertaining.
482 HOMOLOGY OF PALATINE PROCESS,
In man a somewhat similar condition exists, though he differs
from Pteropus in having a rudimentary organ of Jacobson. Here
there is no palatine process to the premaxillary, and the rudi-
mentary recurrent cartilage — ^the plough-share cartilage of Huscke
— is not supported by a distinct bone; but in a human foetus of
10 weeks I have found on the inner side a small tract of osteo-
genetic cells very similar in position to those in Trichos7j.ru s, but
here ossified by an invasion from the vomer.
In Ornithorhyvchus we find still further evidence of the
vomerine nature of the bony support of Jacobson's cartilage.
Here in the adult we find the capsule of Jacobson's organ
supported by the median " dumbbell -shaped bone " — a structure
which bears a very marked resemblance to the little median bone
lying between the organs in the ])at. Since its first discovery
this peculiar dumbbell-shaped bone has been the subject of very
considerable discussion as to its true nature. Three different
opinions have been expressed with regard to it, but as one of
them — that homologising it with the prenasal bone of the pig —
has been abandoned by its author, and is known to be founded
on a misconception, only the other two need be discussed. The
view which has received almost universal support — that of
Rudolphi, Meckel and Owen — is that it is the inner part of the
premaxillary and the homo/o;/ue of the palatine process of the
premaxillary in the higher mammals. In more recent times
Albrecht,* Turner,! Flower t and Symington^ have advocated the
same view, and have adduced arguments which practicall}^ amount
to conclusive proof of the correctness of their position. The other
view which has been expressed as to its nature is that recentlj^
* Loc. cit.
t \V. Turner, " The Dumbbell-sliaped Bone in tlie palate of the Ornitho-
rhynchus compared with the Prenasal Bone in the Pig." Journ. Anat. and
Phys. Vol. xix.
X W. H. Flower, " Osteology of the Mammalia." .Srd Ed. Lond. 1885.
§ J. Symington, "The Nose, the Orgun of Jacob.son, and the dumbbell-
shaped bone in Ornithorhynchus." Proc. Zool. Soc. 1891.
BY R BROOM. 483
advocated by Wilson."^ In his paper published by this Society
he gives a very accurate and minute description of the bone and
its relations, and gives reasons for considering the bone to be a
true vomerine element and no part of the premaxillary. His
main arguments may be briefly summarised as follows : — (1) That
as the posterior part of the palatine plate of the dumbbell bone
rests on the " cartilage of the nasal floor " it is on a higher plane
than the maxillary palate ; (2) that the vertical part is prolonged
l)ackwards for a considerable distance dorsad of the maxillary
l^la.ne, and " that a bone which is so prolonged backwards on a
higher plane than the maxillary palate cannot be regarded as
developed in the same morphological plane with it "; and (3) that
the posterior spur is separated from the maxillary palate by
a peculiar hiatus. These arguments afford practically con-
clusive proof that the dumbbell-shaped bone belongs to the
vomerine category and is no part of the premaxillary; and to
Wilson thus belongs the credit of having first clearly recognised
the vomerine nature of the bone. But on the other hand, while
the above arguments show that the bone is not part of the pre-
maxillary, they rather support than disprove its homology with
the element usually called "palatine process of the premaxillary,"
and Wilson himself recognises the weight of evidence in favour
of this homology; and when once it becomes recognised that the
palatine process of the premaxillary is itself a distinct vomerine
element anchylosed or formed in connection with the premaxillary
the difficulty of reconciling the two views at once disappears.
W. N. Parker,! in his recent paper on Echidna, gives a section
-of a young rnithorhynchus skull which shows the dumbbell-
shaped bone developing as bony splints to the cartilages of
Jacobson in exactly the same manner as Kitchen Parker has
• J. T. Wilson, " Observations upon the Anatomy and Relations of the
dumbbell-shaped bone in Ornilhorhi/nchvs, with a new theory of its
homology, &c." Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1894.
t W. N. Parker, "On some points in the Structure of the Young of
JEchidna aculeata." Proc. Zool. Soc. 1894.
F F
484 HOMOLOGY OF PALATINE PROCESS,
figured his anterior paired vomers developing in Erinaceus; and
the only difference in the mode of development of the palatine
process of the premaxillary in the yoimg marsupial is that in it
the bony splint of Jacobson's cartilage is while developing united
anteriorly to the premaxillary.
There is one other bone to which reference need be made in
this connection — the so-called " vomer " of the lizard. Most
anatomists have regarded this as the homologue of the mammalian
vomer. Kitchen Parker, however, though generally referring to
the large paired bones in the front of the palatal region in the
acertilian skull as "vomers," evidently later recognises their
homology with the anterior paired vomers in Erinaceus, and not
with the mammalian vomer proper, as will be seen from the
passage already quoted. With this homology I entirely agree.
It is universally admitted that the organ of Jacobson in the lizard
is the true homolgue of that in the mammal, and there can be as
little doubt but that the cartilaginous supports, both being
developments of the trabecular cornu, are also homologous, so
that the homology of the Ijones developed as splints on the median
sides of these cartilages in similar situations cannot well be denied.
In lizards, moreover, the premaxillary has no palatine process,
and the so-called vomer bears a similar relation to the pre-
maxillary as does the palatine process in the mammal. In the
snake this " vomer " passes up the septum nasi, and even slightly
overlaps the capsules of Jacobson; but this is exactly what occurs
in Ornithorhynchus, and to a less extent in some rodents.
It will thus be seen that there is a distinct osseous element
developed as a splint on the median side of the cartilage of
Jacobson, which in lizards and snakes like the organ of Jacobson
itself is well developed and distinct, but which in mammals,
probably owing to the great development of the premaxilla in
connection with the well formed incisor teeth, usually becomes
early anchylosed with that bone, and in many cases even develop-
ing in connection with it, forming its palatine process, only
remaining distinct in a few forms such as Ornithorhynchus and
Miniopteriis. For this ossification which in different forms has
BY R. BROOM. 485
gone under a variety of designations, I would propose the name
of Prevomer as more in harmony with the general terminology
than " Anterior Vomer," and also as Kitchen Parker evidently
regarded his " Anterior Paired Vomer " as an element quite
distinct from the palatine process of the premaxillary and only
exceptionally present in the mammalian skull.
The following table gives the chief synonyms and homologies
of the Prevomer :—
Prevomer (Broom) = Palatine process of premaxilla in mammalia generally,
rr Dumbbell-shaped bone, or Os paradoxum in Ornitho-
rhynchus.
= Anterior vomer, in Ornithorhynchus (Wilson).
= Anterior paired vomer, in foetal Insectivora, dbc.
(Parker)
= Prepalatine lobe of vomer, in Caiman (Howes)
= Vomer, in Lacertilia a,nd Ophidia {Owen, Parker, &c.)
Further research may extend the homology to the " vomer " in
Amphibia and fishes, but this I have not had an opportunity of
ascertaining.
In conclusion I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Prof.
Wilson for various kindnesses; to Messrs. Etheridge and Waite
of the Australian Museum for identifying for me the bat and
flying-fox examined; and to my father, Mr. John Broom, for
making abstracts of papers, not otherwise accessible to me.
486
THE SILURIAN TRILOBITES OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
WITH REFERENCES TO THOSE OF OTHER
PARTS OF AUSTRALIA.
By R. Etheridge, Junr. — Curator of the Australian Museum
— AND John Mitchell, Public School, Narellan.
Part III.
The PHACOPID.E.
(Plates XXXVIII. -XL.)
The family of the Phacopidae is one of the most important to
be met with in our Lower Palaeozoic rocks, both on account of
the wide distribution of its members geographically — being met
with in the Silurian rocks of both N.S. Wales, Victoria, and Tas-
mania — and their close connection with those of similar deposits
in the Old World.
The literature of the family is very limited, and is confined to
the description by Sir F. McCoy of species referred* by him to the
following : —
L Odontochile caudatns, Briin., sp.
2. Portlockia fecundus, Barr., sp.
and by Mr. A. F. Foerstef to —
3. Phacops serfritus, Foerste.
The horizons yielding these fossils are : —
a. Olive mudstones of Broadhurst's Creek, near Kilmore, Vic-
toria — No. 1.
b. Arenaceous beds of Yerring, Upper Yarra, Victoria — No. 2.
c. Olive-brown mudstones of the Bowning District, N.S.
Wales— No. 3.
* Prod, Pal. Vict. 1876, Dec. iii. pp. 13-16.
t Bull. Sci. Lab. Denison Univ. 1888, iii.
BY R. ETIIKRIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN iMITCHELL.
We do not notice incidental references to other localities, when
unaccompanied by descriptions, nor catalogue names in the same
category.
The Tasmanian forms are at present undescribed.
The Phacopidce is represented throughout Australian Silurian
rocks, so far as we can ascertain with certainty, by two genera
only — Phacops, Emmrich, and Hausmannia, Hall and Clarke.
During our researches we have not met with any Trilobites that
could be referred to either of the following : — Acaste, Goldfuss;
Chasmops, McCoy; Pterygomietopiis, Schmidt; TrimeroQephalus,
McCoy; Portlockia, McCoy; CryphcBiis, Green; Coronura, Hall
and Clarke; Odontocephalus, Hall and Clarke; or Cori/cephalus,
Hall and Clarke.
We imply a doubt because the subject of our PI. xxxix. tig. 12,
appears to foreshadow a third section or genus, but the material
is too scanty to enable us to pass a definite opinion.
Genus Phacops, Emmrich, 1839.
Phacops in its restricted sense, following the researches of
Salter^ and Schmidt,! and to some extent of Barrande| also, omit-
ting other minor characters, is distinguished from other members of
the Phacopidag chiefly by the presence of the two anterior pairs of
glabella furrows, generally linear in character, and of which the
first or anterior pair frequently consists of two branches. The
fore part of the glabella, formed by the frontal and lateral lobes,
is, as a whole, cut off from the neck segment by the intervention
of a supplementary ring, termed by Barrande the " intercalary
ring " (anneau intercalaire)§. Barrande used this feature as one
of the chief distinguishing points between the only two genera
recognised by him in the Bohemian Silurian rocks, Phacops and
Dahna7iia (vel Dalmanites). This eminent author considered
* Mon. Brit. Sil. Trilobites, Pt. 1, pp. 13 and 14.
t Mem. Soc. Imp. Sci. St. Petersb. 1881, xxx. (7), No. 1.
X Syst. Sil. Boheme, 1852, i. p. 498.
§ Loc. cit. p. 505.
488 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
that Phacops possessed the three ordinary pairs of glabella
furrows, whilst Salter viewed the first pair as consisting of two
parts, a feature in which Schmidt seems to agree with him, i.e.,
Salter's first pair is equal to Barrande's first and second. The
arguments for and against the respective views of these authors
are too long to be introduced here, but looking at the matter
dispassionately there appear to be good grounds for supporting
the opinions of Salter and Schmidt.
The presence of the intercalary ring we regard as of very
considerable importance in the limitation of Phacops proper. It
is the "linear lobe" of Salter,^ and the groove separating the
ring from the glabella proper is the " maxillary furrow " of
McCoy f. The intercalary ring is, in fact, formed by the con-
fluence of the third pair of glabella furrows, with small circum-
scribed lobes at the outer ends. It appears to mark off a series
of species, including Phacops latifrons, Bronn, the type of the
genus, P. cephalotes, Corda, P.fecaudiis, Barr., and some others,
from the remaining sections, sub-genera, or genera, whichever the
reader prefers to regard them, usually associated under the
broader name of Phacops of older writers. We therefore adopt
Phacops as limited and defined more especially by Salter, and
followed in many particulars by Schmidt. This restriction also
has the advantage of comprising within it Emmrich's type of his
genus, P. latifrons, Bronn.
As regards species, we have succeeded in establishing the
presence of three in the Silurian rocks of N.S. Wales, viz. : —
Phacops Crossltii, nobis.
,, Iatige7ialis, nobis.
,, serratus, Foerste.
And two in Victoria, viz. : —
Phacops Sweeti, nobis. Q P. focundus McCoy, 7ion^&Tr.)
„ mansfieldensis, nobis.
If, however, P. fecundus, McCoy, be distinct from our P.
Stveeti, then three forms are known from Victoria.
* Mon. Brit. Sil. Trilobites, Pt. 1, p. 21.
t Prod. Pal. Vict. 1876, Dec. iii. p. 15.
BV R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 489
Phacops Crossleii, sp.nov.
(PL XXXIX., figs. 9-11.)
Sp. Char. — Body — oblong-oval. Head-shield or cephalon — Semi-
circular, rather flattened above, sides abruptly depressed; glabella
large, subpentagonal, greatly contracted behind, highest between
the eyes, very slightly arched in front, overhanging the front
border, rounded so that taking for centre the middle point of the
confluent basal pair of glabella furrows, the curve forms the arc
of a circle with radius equal to the length between the point
mentioned and its front, tolerably inflated, sides straight, inclined
inwards at an angle of 60°, greatest width equal to length
including neck ring, coarsely granulate; intercalary furrows dis-
tinct, deep (in casts) at sides and close to the neck furrow, with
which they communicate, thus forming prominent ' basal lobes;
second pair linear, feeble and falcate, and seem, in some speci-
mens, to communicate with the basal pair, and with the axial
grooves; first or frontal pair linear, faint and feeble, arising from
the axial furrow at the front corners of the glabella, and
traversing it in a very widely Y-shaped manner, the inner portion
being shortest and slightly falcate; frontal lobes very large,
second pair cleaver-shaped, third pair suboblong, fourth pair
nodular; neck furrow very distinct, continued across the side
lobes with equal distinctness; and faintly along the inner edge of
the border of the free cheeks to the front of the axial groove;
neck ring robust, strongly arched, granulate, one large granule in
the middle line; axial grooves very distinct, deep and wide; fixed
cheeks small; genal lobes'*^ moderately arched, granulate and
separated from the palpebral lobes by distinct shallow furrows,
which pass posteriorly round and under the eyes, giving relief to
those organs. Ej^es large, equal in length to half of the longi-
tudinal length of the cheek, anteriorly scarcely reach the front
* That portion of the fixed cheek between the palpebral lobe and axial
furrow and bounded posteriorly by the lateral extension of the neck furrow.
490 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
angles of the glabella, posteriorly in a line with the basal glabella
furrows; curve of lentiferous face front to back semicordioid,
apically inclined inward at an angle of about 50'; lenses very
convex, the normal number of vertical rows is seventeen, with
five lenses in each, except the terminal rows at each end; the first
row in front has usually three, the next four, then follow twelve
rows of five lenses, their three posterior rows having four, three
and two respectively, making a total of seventy-six lenses for each
eye, which are separated by minute spaces, but no partitions are
visible.
Thorax — Square, sides almost perpendicular; axis distinct, sul>
semic3dindrical, about two-thirds as wide as the contour measure-
ment of the pleurie, ends of each segment nodular, posterior
segments distinctly arched forward ; pleura? between axial furrow
and fulcra horizontal, then intensely deflected, forming almost
perpendicular sides, extremities procurved and flattened; pleural
furrows distinct on horizontal portions, gradually diminishing on
the deflected parts and ceasing about midway between the fulcra
and extremities, making the front ridges distinctly triangular,
posterior ridges ver}^ robust and continuous, with diminishing
intensity to the rounded extremities, posterior edges of pleurse
traversed (in decorticated specimens) by a fine groove which shows
most distinctly on the deflected portions, evidently marking the
thickness of the test.
Pygidium. — Roughly semicircular, highly convex, anterior
margin nearly straight; axis very prominent, composed of eight
segments, the first and second segments very distinct, and strongly
arched forward; each succeeding segment diminishes in distinct-
ness so that the Ijlunt terminal piece is hardly separable from the
thickened border, and is half the width of the anterior portion;
axial furrows moderately distinct; lateral lobes very tumid, sharply
deflected, consisting of six or seven pleurae, furrows of first pair
like those of the thoracic pleurae, each succeeding pair becoming
fainter till the seventh is rarely discernible and do not reach
the edges; sutures distinct; in decorticated specimens a distinct
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUXR., AND JOHN xAHTCHKLL. 491
smooth border is exposed bounded on outer edge by a linear
furrow.
Obs. — This species in some respects resembles P. fecundus^
Barr., with which we were inclined on first inspection to consider
it to be identical. Closer examination, however, has revealed
sufficient differences between them to justify us in separating it
from that species.
In the first place, in our species the greatest length of the
glabella, including the neck ring, equals its greatest width. In
P.fecujidus the glabella furrows are distinct on immature indi-
viduals, but rarely so on mature ones, which is just the opposite
to the case in our species. Again, the eyes of the latter have, so
far as we have been able to observe in all our numerous speci-
mens, a constant number of seventeen vertical rows of lenses, and
never more than five lenses in a row, except in rare cases where
a rudimentary lens occurs at the top.
The lateral extension of the neck furrow around the edge of
the border of the side lobes is not nearly so distinct in our species
as in P. fecn7idus, Barr., and it ceases in front of the eye instead
of joining the furrow passing round the frontal base of the
glabella.
Between the thoraces of the two sjDecies there appears little
difference, except that the thoracic test of ours seems to have
been smoother, and the sides more perpendicular.
The pygidium of our species is more nearly semicircular, and
its axis is not sunk between the side lobes, with an almost
constant number of seven segments, and rarely if ever eight. The
side lobes are divided into six or, doubtfully, seven pleurae.
To sum up, our species is separated from P. fecundus by having
a much smaller eye, the features of Mdiich remain constant in all
mature individuals, a less distinct furrow separating the glabella
in front from the rudimentary limb, by a smaller number of
divisions in the axis and side lobes of the pygidium; and
apparently a much thinner test, which was less distinctly granu-
lated on the thorax and pygidium.
492 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
F. Crosshii agrees very closely with P. rana, Hall, from
which it differs in the number of lenses in, and position of the eye;
and the absence in the latter of lateral furrows on the glabella.
From our P. latigenalis it is separated by the greater propor-
tional length and height of the eyes, and by the constant linear
character of the glabella furrows, by the smaller space between
the bottom of the eye and the cheek border, the more upright
glabella cheeks, and wider axial furrows between the glabella and
fixed cheeks. The glabella is also less expanded in front trans-
versely. The pygidium has a more semicircular contour, and its
axis differs from P. latigenalis by contracting more gradually
from front to back, and in not being sunk between the side lobes.
The head shields of young specimens of the two species do not
show the differences in so marked a manner, nor are the thoraces
of the two separable from each other in a decorticated state; but
when the mature specimens of each species are compared the
differences noted above are evident.
Such a variation may be expected even were P. latigenalis the
progenitor of this species, for they are separated by 3000 ft. to
4000 ft. of strata, chiefly consisting of mudstone shales, which
must represent a long geological period.
From P. fecundus, McCoy, it is at once separated by the very
much smaller eye, greater posterior contraction of the glabella,
deeper and wider axial furrows of the cephalon, and by some
differences in the pygidium. P. Crossleii is a smaller species than
either of the others described in the present paper, or P. fecundus^
Barr., none of our specimens exceeding two inches in length.
It has been specifically named after Mr. R. Crossley, of White-
field, Bowning, in recognition of much valuable assistance
rendered by him to one of us in the collection of specimens.
Log. and IIorizo7i. — Bowning Village, Co. Harden. Upper
Trilobite Bed, Bowning Series ( = IIume Beds, Jenkins, and I'ass
Beds, David)— ^ Wenlock. Coll. Mitchell.
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHP:LL. 493
Phacops latigenalis, sp.nov.
(PI. xxxix., figs. 3-6; PI. xl., figs. 2-6 and 9.) •
Sp. Char. — Body. — Oblong ovate. Head-shield or cephalon. —
Subsemicircular, but a little wider than twice the length. Glabella,
including neck ring, wider than long, the proportion being about as
4-3, highly tumid in large specimens, expanded transversely,
slightly overhanging in front, and separated from the rudimentary
limb by a fairly distinct groove which communicates with the axial
furrows, strongly granulate, granules subconical, and nearly
uniform in size, sometimes coalescing and forming ridges or
wrinkles; glabella grooves very distinct, deep, and in large speci-
mens the first and second pair are overhung by frontal and second
lobes very decidedly, intercalary groove wide; second pair gently
curved or falcate, and in mature decorticated specimens seem to
communicate with the axial furrows; first pair widely Y-shaped,
the inner branch being subfalcate, passing into the axial furrows
at the front angles of the glabella; frontal lobes very large,
occupying more than two-thirds of the glabella; second i^air small,
subdeltiform; third pair small and suboblong; intercalary ring
nodular; axial grooves deep; neck furrow very deep and con-
tinuing with equal distinctness across the side lobes to the inner
edges of the borders of the free cheeks and thence faintly to the
front of the eye, where it is interrupted by the lobe on which the
eye rests; neck ring intensely arched, rather narrow, ends nodular;
fixed cheeks small; genal lobes deltiform, arched, granular;
palpebral lobes lunate, separated from genal lobes by shallow
but distinct furrows, which continue posteriorly round and under
the eyes, adding to the prominency of those organs; anteriorly they
pass into the axial grooves; free cheeks practically smooth,
coalesced, extended towards the genal angles, border wide, thick,
genal angles flattened, forming large triangular facets on which
the first pleur?e imbricate. Eyes half as long as greatest length of
cheeks, slightly overhanging, subsemicardioid or lunate; perpen-
dicular height small compared with that of most species of the
494- SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
genus; the>4iumber of vertical rows of lenses in each eye is
seventeen, and the greatest number of lenses in a row is
five^ and this number only in a few rows, the other rows having
four, three, and two; lenses prominent and not closely packed,
cups proportionately small, attachment processes visible, cornea
present as partitions between the oblique rows; as far as we
have been able to observe, the number of lenses in each eye is 73.
Thorax — Length about equal to width; axis very prominent and
semitubular, width throughout almost the same, and equal to that
of the side lobes: fore rings arched forward, outer ends strongly
nodular; lateral lobes horizontal between the axial grooves and
the fulcra; at fulcra deflected at an angle of GS^'-TO", width of
horizontal portion about two-thirds that of the deflected portion;
pleural furrows deep, vanishing about midway between fulcra ends
in decorticated specimens; pleurae recurved, facets large and
procurved, anterior ridges triangular, posterior ones robust and
merging into the facets.
Pygidium. — About twice as wide as long, subtriangular, with
a slight transverse central arch ; axis conspicuous, slightly
depressed between the side lobes, eight rings present; anterior
ones intensely arched with a forward inclination, posteriorly
diminishing in this respect until the terminal piece almost merges
into the border, posterior width a little less than half of the
anterior width; six to seven very distinct pleurse on each side,
very convex, steeply depressed at the sides; pleural furrows deep
and wide, terminating at the borders; interpleural sutures distinct;
axial furrows distinct; the whole surface of the decorticated
specimens shows indication of strong granulation.
Qhs. — Owing to the great tumidity and rugosity of the glabella,
the deep slit-like character of the glabella grooves (overhung in
the case of the first pair by the frontal lobes) in the large speci-
mens of this form, we were disposed to make a separate species
of this type; but after an inspection of a large number of speci-
mens we conclude that this greater tumidity, etc., results from age.
We have not seen a complete thorax nor the latter with a
pygidium attached.
BY R. KTHERIDGE, JUNE., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 495
The largest cephalon that has come under observation indicates a
length of three 9.nd a half to four inches for the whole body,
therefore rivalling in size any of the P. fecundus or P. latifrons
groups. From P. fecunduti, Barr., it is clearly separated by the
greater frontal expansion, and tumidity of the glabella, by the
very distinct and deep glabella grooves, and the much smaller
number of eyelets in the eyes. The presence of the glabella
furrows at once separates it from such species as P. latijrons and
P. 7'ana. The above characters also sejDarate it from our P.
Crossleii and P. Sweeti, except that the eyes of P. latigenalis and P.
Crossleii do not diifer very widely.
From P. fec'iLndus, McCoy, {71011 Barr.), it is also distinguishable
by the points above enumerated.
To sum up, the distinguishing features of this species are its
ver}^ tumid or inflated and rugose glabella, deep overhung glabella
furrows, small number of lenses in the vertical rows of the eyes,
which are supported on a distinct pedestal, and the wide cheeks.
Loc. and Horizon. — ^Bowning, and Limestone Creek, near
Bowning, Co. Harden. Middle Trilobite Bed, Bowning Series — *?
AVenlock. CoU. — Mitchell; and Geol. and Mining Mus., Dept. of
Mines, Sydney.
Phacops serratus, Foerste:
(PI. XXXIX., figs. 7 and 8; PI. xl., figs. 7 and 8 and 11.)
/'. serrntns, Foerste, Bull. Sci. Lab. Denison Univ. 1888. iii.
Sp. Char. — 5or/y — Oblong oval. Head-shield or cephalon. — Nearly
semicircular, a little wider than twice the length, highly tumid. Gla-
bella, including neck ring, as wide as long, overhanging and tumid
in front, very convex, surface highly granulate with fairly large
and uniform granules, separated from rudimentary limb in front
by a very faint groove; sides straight, converging at angle of 60°;
frontal furrows linear, widely Y-shaped, outer branches straight
and passing into the axial grooves at the frontal angles, inner
branches subfalcate, medial pair linear, subfalcate, and apparently
not joining the axial furrows; frontal lobe large and subpenta-
gonal, second lobes subtrapezoidal, small, third pair suboblong
496 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
and small; intercalary ring nodular; axial grooves deep and wide;
neck furrow distinct, and continued across the lateral lobes very
distinctly; neck ring robust and bearing centrally a spine of
varying size, corresponding with the thoracic axial spines, bases
nodular ; lateral lobes small, triangular, tumid, borders thickened,
their measurement from genal angles to the front of the axial
grooves equal to half the front width of the glabella; posterior
facets strongly ridged; palpebral lobes conspicuous, highly arched,
outwardly bounded by distinct narrow borders, granulate; palpe-
bral grooves very distinct, deep at front and back and thus
contracting the genal lobes, passing posteriorly round and under
the eyes into the lateral extensions of the neck furrow, adding
relief to that organ; genal lobes tumid and deltiform; genal angles
rounded and faceted; when the thickened borders fall out deep
grooves are left. Eyes equal to half the length of cheeks, seventeen
rows of lenses, the maximum number in a row being five; cornea
and walls of cups thick; lentiferous face, anterio-posteriorly, has a
semicardiod curve.
Thorax. — As wide as long, very gently contracting posteriorly,
sides almost perpendicular, smooth; axis sharply ridged, rings
nodular at bases and centrally bearing strong, short recurved
sjDines; when decorticated it is semicylindrical, as wide as
side lobes (not measuring the contour of lobes); axial furrows
moderately distinct; side lobes horizontal between axial grooves
and fulcra, pleuraB slightly recurved, ends rounded in at the
posterior angles; medial grooves distinct, reaching beyond the
middle of the deflected ends in decorticated specimens, and
triangular posterior ridges strong; little or no trace of granulation
on any portion of the thorax.
Pygidium. — About semicircular, highly inflated; axis very
prominent anteriorly, and terminating indistinctly at the inner
edge of the border at about half of its anterior width, slightly
depressed between the side lobes, shows eight rings and a
terminal piece; the first three rings bear nodules centrally corres-
ponding to the spines of the thoracic axis and are arched forward;
each succeeding one becomes less distinct until the last is very
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNE., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 497
faint; side lobes tumid, seven or eight pleurse on each; pleural
grooves very distinct anteriorly; sutures and axial grooves distinct.
Ohs. — This species was described by Foerste from a specimen
sent to him by one of us. That specimen was distorted so that
the true features of the head were indiscernible, particularly those
of the eyes. In fixing the maximum number of lenses in the
vertical rows at nine he is in error, for in a number of eyes
examined by us the lenses in a row do not exceed five. By fore
and aft compression it is not unusual to find an eye with two rows
brought into the same vertical line, and in this way appearing to
have nine or ten lenses in a vertical row. This is probably the
case with Foerste's t3'pe specimen.
We are inclined to agree with Foerste in ranking this as a species,
for certainly it is very clearly separated from P. fecundus, Barr.,
by the greater inflation of the front of the glabella, the much
smaller eye, the less distinct groove passing under the front of the
glabella, the absence of granulation on the thorax, thinner test,
straighter sides of glabella, greater perpendicularity of the sides
of the thorax, greater distinctness of the pleural grooves on the
pygidium, smaller size of the animal, and above all the presence
of the very conspicuous dorsal spines. This latter feature
separates it from all species of the genus knoAvn to us.
From P. Crossleii, nobis, it is not separable except by the dorsal
spines, and it may be that this feature is a sexual one, and the
two forms represent the male and female of the one species. In
a comparison of a number of heads of the two forms those of
P. serratus, Foerste, seem to be more tumid in front and to have
the glabella more sharply contracted behind by the intercalary
groove.
Log. and Horizon. — Near Railway Station, Bowning, N.S.W.
Upper Trilobite Bed, Bowning Series — ? Wenlock. Coll. —
Mitchell.
Phacops Sweeti, sp.nov.
(PI. XXXVIII., fig. 9; PI. XXXIX., figs. 1, 2; PI. xl., fig. 10.)
[Compare Phacops (Odontochile) fecundiis, McCoy {Vnon Barr.),
Prod. Pal. Yict. 1876, Dec. iii. p. 15, t. 22, f. 8-9, t. 23, f. 1-6.]
498 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
Sp. Char. — Body— Ohlon^ oval. Head-shield or cephalon. —
Subsemicircular, width rather greater than twice its length.
Glabella, including the neck ring, about five-sixths of the greatest
width, very slightly convex above, slightly subpentagonal, over-
hanging very little in front, sides straight and steep, limb very
rudimentary, and the furrow between it and the glabella faint ;
three pairs of lateral grooves present, frontal pair passing out
at the front angles and running obliquely across the glabella,
terminating subfalcately ; second pair opposite posterior horns
of eyes, both of these pairs are linear; intercalary groove
moderately distinct, wide and shallow ; intercalary ring with
well-marked nodules at each end; the whole glabella surface
ornamented with various-sized granules, and wrinkled in front
subvertically; neck furrow shallow, moderately distinct, and con-
tinued across and round the side lobes, becoming very shallow as
it reaches the borders, and continuing so in its frontal extension;
neck ring distinct, ends nodular; axial furrows distinct and
wide and genal lobes sloping rather steeply into them; lateral lobes
subtriangular (equilateral), borders thickened, ridges along posterior
faces between the axial furrows and fulcra robust; imbricating
facets large; genal lobes highly convex and granulated, separated
from the palpebral lobes by a faint furrow"^ which passes pos-
teriorly around and under the eye, giving relief to that organ,
and joining the lateral prolongation of the neck furrow and
enclosing between them a suboblong tumose area or extension of
the genal lobe. Eyes very large, half as long as posterio-anterior
length of head, anteriorly almost resting on the cheek borders, being
separated from them by the fainter lateral furrows only; normal
number of vertical rows of lenses twent3''-two, closely packed, toler-
ably convex, with twelve lenses in each of the central rows, the total
number of lenses in each eye being about 220; in the cups the
attachment processes visible under a lens; cornea seems to have
been thin; lentiferous face curved from front to l^ack lunately,
* This may be termed the palpebral furrow, and should perhaps be con-
sidered a generic character.
BY R. ETIIEHIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 499
and sloping upwardl^y at an angle of 60° to 70°; height of each eye
about two-thirds of its length, in front barel}'' reaching the front
angles of the glabella, posteriorly in a line with the central por-
tion of the intercalary furrow.
Thorax. — Of eleven segments, width seems a little greater
than length; axis j^rominent, contracts very gradually posteriorly
from the sixth segment, terminating with a width about
four-fifths of the anterior width; segments nodular at the
ends; lateral lobes very little wider than the axis, hori-
zontal between fulcra and axial furrows, deflected portion
steep, component pleurse imbricate and rounded at the ends;
pleural furrows distinct and wide, seeming to reach nearly to
the ends; anterior ridges of pleurpe triangular, posterior very
narrow; interpleural sutures and axial furrows distinct.
Pygidium. — Subsemicircular or subquadrilateral, width greater
than twice the length; axis tolerably prominent, seven seg-
ments visible, terminating bluntly with about half the anterior
width at the border, slightly sunk between the lateral lobes,
which are moderately inflated, horizontal between fulcra and
axial grooves, anteriorly deflected to corresjDond with pleurae of
thorax, but posteriorly becoming less steep; five to six pleurae
visible on each lobe, only the two anterior ones showing the pleural
furrows and sutures distinctly, the furrows reach the border,
anterior face straight, axial grooves moderately distinct. The
whole surface shows evidence of granulation.
Ohs. — This species approaches P.feciLndus, Barr., very closely,
but we consider there are suflicient differences between them to
justify us in giving specific rank to our form. Its most con-
spicuous feature is the great size of the e3'es, in which resi3ect it
surpasses P.fecundus, Barr., and many other species of the genus,
and as in all the mature specimens that have come under our
notice, twenty-two vertical rows of lenses containing twelve in
each row are constant features, while in P. /ecundns, Barr.,
nineteen vertical rows with nine lenses in a row^ are the normal
features, we consider this to be a sufficient difference for specific
G G
500 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
"separation. It differs from P. Crossleii by the much greater
length of its genal lobes, which are conspicuously large. With
our P. hdigenalis it agrees in having a great length of cheek
between the posterior angle of the eye and the genal angle.
The glabella of this species appears to have been granulated in
the manner common to the genus, but our specimens are all decorti-
cated, and the indications of granulation are observable on the
moulds only.
The neck ring of P. Sweeil is proportionately wider than either
of the N.S. Wales species, which would indicate a wider propor-
tionate axis. That it is quite distinct from P. Crossleii and P.
lafigenalis is very clear on (a) the greater number of eyelets on
each eye and the unvarying character of the eye; {h) the perpen-
dicular glabella sides; (c) distinctness of the lateral furrows of
the glabella on large specimens; and {d) the smallness of the
basal lol^es of the glabella.
We have received a ver}^ well-preserved head from Mr. G. Sweet
(PI. xxxix.,fig. 2),whichhe informs us is the usual form of P.fecundus,
McCoy [Vnon Barr.). We believe it to be identical with the species
al)ove described, but still think that it is distinct from P.fecun-
diis, Barr. By this specimen we observe that the glabella sides are
perpendicular, the nodules of the intercalar}'- ring lie right in the
path of the axial furrows, and that the lobes between the inter-
calary and basal glabella furrows are very small. All these
features separate it from the N.S. AVales forms, and the perpen-
dicularity of the sides of the glabella is a feature not possessed
]3y P. fecundus, Barr. The whole form of the glabella approaches
as near to the quadrate as the pentagonal form.
It is not for us to dogmatise on this point, nor to adversely
criticise the work of so accurate an observer as Sir F. McCoy.
The above is simj)ly our united opinions based on the material we
ha-\'e been able to accumulate.
IjOC. and Horizon. — Mansfield District, Victoria — % Upper Silu-
rian. Coll. — G. Sweet, Melbourne.
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNE., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 501
Phacops mansfieldensis, sjy.nov.
(PL XXXIX., fig. 12.)
Sp. char. — Head-shield or cephalon. — Twice as wide as long.
Glabella subpentagonal, rounded in front, very tumid, intensely con-
tracted behind by the intercalary furrow, sides straight and nearly
perpendicular; intercalary furrow distinct and terminating on each
side in remarkably deep punctures, intercalary ring prominent and
nodular at base; no lateral glabella furrows noticeable; neck furrow
distinct, and as it passes into the axial grooves forms very deep
punctures or pits, continuing across the lateral lobes with equal
distinctness; neck ring highly arched, curving back and nodular;
fixed cheeks small, genal lobe prominent, highly arched; palpebral
furrow distinct, passing posteriorly round and under the eye;
axial grooves wide and deep. Eyes prominent, large, rather
longer than half the length of the cheek, separated from the
thickened edges of the cheeks by wide or shallow furrows ; free
cheeks coalesced, margins thickened and straight in front of the
eye, giving to the cephalon a triangular character; genal angles
terminate in short spines.
Ohs. — We have only a decorticated cephalon of this sj^ecies,
which has unfortunately been somewhat contorted and is appa-
rently an immature individual; but the features present clearly
separate it from other known Australian forms. Foremost among
these features are the genal spines, the great contraction of the
glabella by the intercalary furrow, and the very deej? punctures
on each side of this furrow and of the neck furrow. The genal
spines separate it from all described Australian species of this
genus. It is further separated from our other Victorian species
l)y having the nodules of the intercalary ring behind the glabella
basal lobes instead of in the axial grooves. The great contraction
of the glabella by the intercalary arch gives to the tumid portion
of the glabella a subcircular contour. The greatest number of
eyelets in a vertical row aj^pears to be six.
502 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
The presence of the genal spines separates this species from
Phacops proper, but through the scantiness of our material we
are not prepared to enunciate a more definite opinion at present.
Log. and Horizon. — Mansfield District, Victoria — ? Upper Silu-
rian. Coll. — G. Sweet, Melbourne.
Genus Hausmannia, Hall and Clarke, 1888.
Dalitnania^ Emmrich {iion Desvoidey, 1830),"^ Jahrb. fiir Min.,
1845, p. 38.
Odontochile, Corda (nan Laporte, 1834),t Prod. Mon. Boh. Trilo-
biten, 1847, p. 92.
Phacops ( Dalmania ), Salter, Dec. Geol. Survey U.K., 1849, ii. p. 1.
Dalmania, Barrande, Syst. Sil. Boheme, 1852, I. p. 528.
Dalmanitesi, Barrande, Loc. cit., p. 918, and Expl. Plates, Atlas i.
Bahianiies, Barrande, Loc. cit., 1872, Suppl. Vol. i. p. 27.
Phacops (Odontochile), Salter, Mon. Brit. Trilobites, 1864, Pt. 1,
p. 15.
Dahnanites, Hall, 11th Ann. Rep. Geol. Survey Indiana, 1881,
p. 329.
Dahnanites (Hausmannia), Hall and Clarke, Pal. N. York, 1888,
vii. pp. xxix and xxxi.
Ohs. — In separating the old genus Phacops into convenient
sections for systematic description the late Mr. J. W. Salter
adopted the name Odontochile, Corda, for that grouj) typified by
Phacops caudatus, Emm., but for which the term Dalmania has
otherwise almost universally been used. The latter name, pro-
posed by Emmrich in 1845, had, however, been j^reviously used
by Robineau-Desvoidey for a genus of Diptera, and therefore became
invalidated as a generic name for Trilobites. Unfortunately also
Odontochile, proposed by Corda in 1847, was inapplicable from
the fact that it was made use of in 1834 by Laporte to represent
a genus of Coleoptera.
• Dalmania, Desvoidey, 1830, a genus of Diptera.
t Odontochile, Laporte, 1834, a genus of Coleoptera.
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 503
The previous use of Dalmania seems to have escaped the
notice of Barrande, for we find him using the name throughout
the first volume of his magnificent work on the Bohemian Silu-
rian System, until nearly the close of the volume, when for a
single species in the Addenda, the word Dabnanites is employed,
and continues throughout the atlas. It is therefore possible that
in the interval Barrande discovered the inutility of the name
Dalmania^ and by the use of the termination ites sought to dis-
criminate between Dalmania^ Emmrich, and Dalmanites, Barrande.
At the same time an objection has been raised by some authors
that even Dahnauites is not sufficiently distinctive.
Prof. James Hall, in one of his numerous critical contributions
to American Paljeontology, seems inclined to advocate the claims
of Odontocephalus, Conrad, 1840 (= CryphceuSj Green, 1837, non
Cryphcens, Klug, 1833, a genus of Coleoptera; and PUuracantlius^
M, Edw., 1840, non Pleur acanthus, Ag., 1837, an Ichthyodorulite).
If, however, Odontocephalus is restricted to forms resembling its
type species, Asaphus selenurus, Eaton (= Calyineneodontocejyhala,
Green), in which the anterior border of the cephalon is denticu-
lated or fimbriated, a good generic distinction, it cannot possibly
clash with Dalmanites. Indeed, we imagine this had already
struck Prof. Hall, for in the seventh Vol. of the Palaeontology of
New York, ])y himself and Mr. J. M. Clarke, we find both names
acknowledged much on the lines now explained. PleuracantJius
might have been adopted had not Agassiz in 1837 made use of
the term for an Ichthyodorulite.
Unless we have overlooked any step in the discrimination of
this generic type, and that is not impossible, there remain two
courses open to us — either to a.diO^t'^ Dalmanites, following Bar-
rande, or to propose a new genus. We are loth to adopt the
latter alternative, more especially as Hall and Clarke have pro-
posed as a subgenus under Dalmanites the name Hausmannia,
with practically the same characters as the genus proper. They
remark, "It is here proposed to group under the type Hausmannia
the typical and unvaried forms of Dalmanites, which follow t he
604
SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
type of D. caudatus (Briinnich) Emmrich, and D. I/ausmaniii,
Brongniart."
Under these circumstances, the adoption of Hausmannia in
place of Dalmanites will surmount all difficulties in connection
with the latter name. This suggestion is strengthened by the
fact that Barrande's Dalmanites, as pointed out by Schmidt,
included Trilobites not only of the type of Asaphus caudatus, but
also all other Phacopidse which did not agree with Fhacojjs as
restricted by him, and are comprised b}^ other writers in Acaste
and Chasmojys.
Hausmannia meridianus, sjy.nov.
(PL XXXVIII., figs. 1-8; PI. xl., fig. 1.)
Phacops ( Odontochile) caudatus, McCoy {non Briinnich), Prod.
Pal. Vict. Dec. iii. 1876, p. 13, t. 22, f. 1-7; t. 23, f. 7-10.
Sjy. Char. — Body. — Oblong ovoid. Head-shield or cephalon. —
Semicircular, finely granulated, moderately inflated, surrounded by
a thickened limb marked off from the cheeks and glabella by a
fairly conspicuous groove. Glabella large, subpyriform, with
straight and oblique sides, separated from the cheeks by deep and
wide axial furrows; frontal lobes very tumose, and together sub-
elliptical in shape, and in some specimens overhanging the
furrows very slightly; the remaining lobes are flat and small, second
pair subtriangular, third and jDosterior pair oblong; frontal
furrows wide, and moderately deep, joining the axial furrows
just in front of the eye, crossing the glabella very obliquely
and almost meeting, the basal and median pairs linear, deep,
and slit-like (in casts), and not reaching the axial furrows;
posterior corners of basal lobes sloping rapidly into the
axial furrows; fixed cheeks small, genal lobe* inflated, sloping
rapidly into the axial furrow, separated from the palpebral lobe
by a distinct groove, which anteriorly passes into the axial groove,
and posteriorly passes round and under the eye; free cheeks large,
* That portion of the fixed cheek between the palpebral lobe and t
axial furrow.
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 505
continuous, conspicuously deflected laterally; genal angles pro-
duced into strong spines reaching to the sixth segment of the
thorax; neck furrow distinct, particularly where it joins the axial
furrows, continuing across the lateral lobes subfalcately with
Increasing distinctness and width; facial sutures anteriorly rather
straight to the border, thence continuous, posterior portions from
the hinder ends of the eyes passing out laterally and falcately,
cutting the borders of the free cheeks in a line with the base of
the eye. Eyes large, each has 32 to 40 or even more vertical
rows of lenses with a normal number of eleven in each central
row, and in odd cases twelve to fourteen, giving an aggregate of
about 400 lenses in a single eye of some mature specimens; the
lentiferous face forms a subsemicardioid curve, alcove sloping back-
ward at an angle of about 40°, below bounded by a shallow groove,
height diminishing more gradually posteriorly than anteriorly;
lenses spherical, closely packed in the vertical rows, which are
separated by distinct spaces or partitions.
Thorax. — About equal in length to the combined width
of one pleural lobe, and the axis or about two-thirds of
its total width, and greater than that of either the head or tail,
suboblong or subfusiform; axis subfusiform, greatest width
at fourth or fifth segment, where it is slightly greater
than the width of the neck ring; arched most prominently
posteriorly, rather flat anteriorly; segments thickened at their
bases, moderately arched; some axes show faint trilobation
caused by feeble depressions traversing their length, these depres-
sions are accentuated by rows of tubercles, one on each side, about
midway between the central line and the axial groove; pleurae
one and one-third times as wide as the thorax, and between the
axial grooves and fulcra rather horizontal, outer ends moderately
deflected and recurved, the latter feature becoming more pro-
nounced posteriorly; pleural grooves wide and shallow, beginning
at the angles of junction with the axial grooves and passing out
posteriorly at the bases of the claw-like ends, thus traversing the
pleurte diagonally, anterior ridges much stronger than the pos-
terior, and passing across to the posterior edges at about midway
506 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
between the fulcra and outer ends, obliterating the pleural grooves
as above stated, outer ends flattened and claw-shaped, the latter
feature very distinct on the posterior pleurae; sutures very dis-
tinct; evidences of granulation very small; axial grooves mode-
rately distinct.
Fyyidium. — Distinctly triangular, proportion of width
to length (leaving out the terminal spine) is about as
three to two, moderately arched; axis ver}^ distinct, a few
of the anterior segments arched forward centrally, and in
decorticated sjDecimens the same segments are provided with sub-
triangular articular spaces; normal number of rings in fully
developed specimens is sixteen to eighteen, and even attaining
nineteen exclusive of the terminal appendage, no distinct traces
of tubercles observed, sides straight, tapering gradually and in
perfect specimens being inseparable from the produced spine,
which is of A^arying length in different individuals; outer ends of
the anterior segments bear large nodes bounded on their inner
sides b}^ slight depressions similar to those referred to on the
thoracic segments; in some cases posteriorly depressed between
the side lobes; axial grooves distinct, anchylosing margins of the
side lobes straight between the fulcra, ends sharply recurved; in
their inflation and deflection agree with the lobes of the thorax,
but in some cases the slope is gradual from the axial grooves;
eleven pleurse, each succeeding one having a greater backward
curve until the last is nearly parallel with the axis; pleural grooves
wide and shallow; anterior ridges very distinct, thickening at the
inner edge of the limb, and thence vanishing towards the outer
edge, and forming a tuberculous ridge along the inner edge of the
limb; sutures distinct; limb wide, its inner edge distinctly marked
by a suture; to this limb the tail spine is attached.
01 )s. — The rows containing the maximum number of lenses are
alternately one lens higher and lower top and bottom than the
preceding row, while the succeeding rows on each side are level
tojD and l^ottom, and in this manner each of these rows fore and
aft of the central portion loses a lens until the corner rows have
the minimum of two to three lenses. The maximum of eleven
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 507
lenses in a vertical row appears to be normal for the examples
from the Middle Trilobite Bed; but a specimen from the Upper
Trilobite Bed has thirteen to fourteen lenses in the central rows.
The tail spine is anchylosed to the border, and when the
border and spine are removed a short dagger-like extension of
the axis is exposed, such as is shown in most of the figures of the
European H. caudatus. It is in this condition that the tail of
our species bears a strong resemblance to H. caudatus; but what-
ever may be the case in the latter, it is, judging from the evidence
furnished by a large number of specimens, almost certain that, in
every instance where the tail of our species exhibits the short
deltoid form of spine, the true spine has suffered removal.
We believe the forms figured by McCoy from the Victorian
Upper Silurian as Phacops (Odontochile) caudatus to be the same
as our H. meridicmus. His figures show the much longer eye
and multisegmented pygidial axis: but McCoy's glabell?e are
granulate. H. meridianus, both as regards the N.S. Wales and
Victorian specimens is so finely granulate throughout as to be
practically smooth without a lens.
Touching the relation of our species to the typical European
//. caudatus, Briin., the eyes are proportionatel}^' further forward
in H. 7neridianus, the palpebral lobes and genal lobes wider trans-
versely, and there is no neck tubercle. The eyes are less lunate,
or arched in contour, and consequently longer fore and aft, and
the surface of the glabella non-tuberculate. The pygidia differ in
the excess of segments over those of ff. caudatus, possessing
seldom less than sixteen in the axis of the smaller pygidia, and
usually eighteen or nineteen exclusive of the terminal appendage.
Victorian and N.S. Wales specimens ^gree in this. Our form is
also long tail-spined when perfect, thus resembling /Y. longicau-
datus, but unlike the latter we have never seen an individual
bearing a frontal spine. As regards the form of the glabella, H.
meridianus seems to come nearer to H. longicaudatus. The genal
spines are the same length in both the European and Australian
forms. //. caudatus occasionally has a granulated pygidium axis,
508 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
but our species never has. Such granules are not to be
confounded with the tubercular nodes at the outer ends of the
segments.
H. meridiarius vies in size with the large H. Angeliiii, Barr.,
from Etage D. of the Bohemian classification, and //. rugosa,
Corda, but both of these are sub-mucronate in front, and possess
much longer genal spines, and other points of departure.
It unquestionably falls into Hall and Clarke's section IJaus-
mannia* suggested by these authors for the "typical and
unvaried forms of Dahnanites, which follow the type of D. caudatus
(Briinnich) Emmrich, and D. IIausmanni,Broj\g." As, however,
D. caudatus was selected by Barrande as the type of his genus
Dalmanites, it follows that Hall and Clarke's term must be
synonymous with the latter, a point that it is strange did not
strike these eminent writers. At the same time we have here a
solution of the generic difficulty, for if by common consent the
name Dalmanites is not to stand, that proposed by the American
Palaeontologists will take its place.
The large increase in the number of pygidium segments in the
Australian Trilobite is not peculiar to that species. H. auriculata^
Barr., has twenty-three axial rings, //. Hausmanni^ Brong.,t
possesses eighteen, and several American species are found to
have an increased number over that seen in the typical H.
caudatus.
Loc. and Ho7'izon. — Bowning, Co. Harden, Upper and Middle
Trilobite Beds; Hatton's Corner, near Yass; Limestone Creek,
near Bowning, Co. Harden — Bowning or Hume Series — 1 Wenlock.
Coll. — Mitchell; Mining and Geol. Museum, Dept. Mines,
Sydney ; Australian Museum, Sydney.
D. meridianus is another of the most persistent of our Upper
Silurian forms, being met with near the base, and also at the
close of the Bowning Series.
* Peal. N. York, 1888, vii. p. xxxi.
+ Burmeister, Organization of Trilobites (Ray Soc), 1846, t. 5, f. 10.
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUXR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 509
In Victoria it is found in the olive miiclstones of Broadhurst's
Creek, near Kilmore, and in the arenaceous beds of Yerring,
Upper Yarra.
In Tasmania the species occurs in the Despatch Limestone of
Zeehan and Heazlewood, N.W. Tasmania.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Plate XXXVIII.
Hausmannia meridianus, E. and M.
-An almoat entire specimen; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
-Pygidium showing the increased number of segments, absence of
test on the limb, and the acicular spine; Bowning. Coll. Mining
and Geol. Museum.
-Pygidium of a young individual with a well-developed acicular
spine; Bowning. Coll. Ibid.
-Glabella, portion of fixed cheeks, and one eye. Frontal lobe
elliptical and strong eye lobes; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell,
-Portion of cephalic shield showing the right facial suture and
form of the eye lobe ; BoAvning. Coll. Mitchell.
-An eye and palpebral lobe, x 3. Coll. Mitchell.
-Free cheek showing course of posterior portion of left facial
suture, and the genal spine; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 8. — Hypostome. Coll. Mitchell.
Phacops Sweeti, E. and M.
Fig. 9.— Partially rolled specimen, with thorax and pygidium; Mansfield
District, Vict. Coll. Sweet.
Plate XXXIX.
Phacops Sweeti, E. and M.
I'ig- 1- — Cephalic shield somewhat distorted by pressure, but with the left
eye intact; Mansfield District, Vict. Coll. Sweet.
Fig- 2. — Decorticated cephalic shield showing the quadrate contour of the
cephalic shield, small basal lobes, intercalary nodules, neck
ring, and eyes; Mansfield District, Vict. Coll. Siveet.
Fig.
1.
Fig.
2.
Fig.
3.
Fig.
4.
Fig.
5.
Fig.
6.
Fig.
7.
510 SILURIAN TRILOBITES,
Phacops latigenalis, E. and M.
Fig. 3. — Cephalic shield slightly distorted; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 4. — Portion of another cephalic shield slightly distorted, showing
glabella furrows and rounded genal angle; Bowning. Coll.
Mining and Geol. Museum.
Fig. 5. — Another cephalic shield, showing the deep glabella furrows and
axial grooves, tumid glabella, wide frontal lobe, and left inter-
calary nodule; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 6. — Front and under view of cephalon, showing (a) rudimentary
limb, (6) linear ridge and (c) roof of mouth ; Bowning. ColU
Mitchell.
Phacops serratus, Foerste.
Fig. 7. — Portion of the glabella and thorax; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 8. — Thorax, side view, showing the bluntly spined median line of the
segments; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Phacops Crossleii, E. and M.
Fig. 9. — Thorax and pygidium; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 10. — Cephalic shield, with the furrows, eyes, neck ring, intercalary
nodules, and rounded genal angles; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 11.— Cephalic shield and portion of thorax; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Phacops mansfieldensis, E. and M.
Fig. 12.— Portion of a cephalic shield showing a very tumid and subpen-
tagonal glabella, and a strong intercalary furrow, x 2; Mans-
field District, Vict. Coll. Sweet.
Plate XL.
Hausmannia meridianus, E and M.
Fig. 1.— Portion of head shield; Kilmore, Vict. Coll. Mining and Geol.
Museum.
Phacops latigenalis, E. and M.
Fig. 2. — Large cephalic shield distorted, showing the tumid glabella and
coarse granulation; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 3. — Portion of a pygidium; Bowning. Coll. Mining and Geol. 3Iuseum.
Fig. 4. — Another pygidium of large dimensions, believed to be that of this
species; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 5. — Portion of head and thorax; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR., AND JOHN MITCHELL. 511
Fig. 6. — Young specimen— portion of cephalic shield, with linear glabella
furrows; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Phacops serratus, Foerste.
Fig. 7.— Portion of cephalic shield; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Fig. 8. — Portion of another cephalic shield, tumid glabella, and neck
tubercle; Bowning. Coll. Mitchell.
Phacops latigenalis, E. and M.
Fig. 9. — Rostral shield with the hypostome m situ; Bowning. Coll.
Mitchell.
Phacops Sweeti, E. and M.
Fig. 10. — Central portion of an eye, x 2, Mansfield District, Vict. Coll.
Sweet.
Phacops serratus, Foerste.
Fig. 11. — Side view of the cephalic shield, with the neck spine prominently
shown.
All the figures, unless otherwise indicated, are of the natural size.
512
BOTANICAL NOTES FROM THE TECHNOLOGICAL
MUSEUM.
By J. H. Maiden, E.L.S., and B. T. Baker, F.L.S.
No. lY.
(Plates XLi.-XLii.)
PlTTOSPORE^.
Hymenosporum FLAVUM, F.V.M.
This species occurs in brush forests near Wyong, its previous
recorded southern limit being the Hunter River.
T I L I A c E ^.
El^ocarpus eumundi, Bail.
This species was first described by Mr. F. M. Bailey, who dis-
covered it in the Queensland locality from which it derives its
specific name. It has since been obtained in fruit at Mullum-
bimby, Brunswick River (W.B.).
It is therefore new for New South Wales.
Pv u T A c E ^.
Boronia mollis, A. Cunn.
This species was for a long time only known from the Nepean
and as far north as Port Macquarie. It has recently been
collected at Murruml)o, Goulburn River (R.T.B.), which for the
present is its most western locality.
S A P I N D A c E tE.
Ratonia anodonta, Benth.
Since recorded in our Bot. Notes No. III. as new for New
South Wales, it has been collected as far south as Burrell's Creek,
BY J. H. MAIDEN AND R. T. BAKER. 513
near Tinonee, by one of us, and in the county of Gloucester by
Mr. A. Rudder, of the Forest Department.
LeGU MINOS iE.
Rhynchosia Cunninghamii, Benth.
This species has been collected at Lismore (W.B.), and is there-
fore new for this colony.
L E G u M I N s ^.
Swainsona phacifolia, F.v.IM.
(Sjm. Swainsona stipidaris, F.v.M.)
This species has been collected as far east as Bathurst (W. J.
C. Ross, B.Sc).
Acacia aulacocarpa, A. Cunn.
A veiy plentiful species at Woodburn, on the Richmond River,
where some trees measure over 80 feet in height and 3 feet in
diameter. It has previously only been recorded from Queensland,
so is therefore new for Kew South Wales.
Acacia Jonesii, F.v.M. et J.H.M.
Abundant in a gully at Kenmore, near Goulburn (J.H.M.).
Saxifrage.^.
CeRATOPETALUM GU3IMIFERUM, Sm.
Has recently been found at Woodburn, Riclimond River
(W.B.), where it attains a height of over 50 feet and a diameter
of 16 inches.
Its range, as far as we at present know it, is right along the
coastal districts from the Moruya River to the Richmond River,
attaining tree size throughout perhaps the whole of its range.
514 BOTANICAL NOTES,
M Y R T A C E iE.
Eucalyptus trachyphloia, F.v.M.
This species has been collected at Cox's Gap, Murrumbo, Goul-
burn River (K.T.B.), and now is recorded for the firs^- time for
N.S.W. Its fruit and bark very much resemble some forms of
E. corymhosa, to which it is very closely related.
A P O C Y N E .E.
Chilocarpus australis, F.V.M.
In all the published descriptions of this species the flowers are
stated to be yellow. AVe have now to record a white flowering
form from Woodburn, Richmond River.
M N I M I A c E ^.
Piptocalyx Moorei, Oliv.
(Plate xll)
It is only within the last few months that the fruits of this
species have been brought to light. The plant has been known
for many years, but has recently come into prominence through
its bitter leaves, which have been introduced into Europe as a
substitute for hops (Agricultural Gazette of N.S. W. v. 545). It
has been recently figured, but without the fruits, in Hooker's
Icones Plantarum (Vol. iv. Part 3, PI. 2367). The plant figured
differs from our specimens in being glabrous, while all known to
us are rusty pubescent.
The fruiting perianth is oval in shape with a constricted base,
and measures scarcely 2 Knes in length and 1 hne in diameter;
colour purple when fully ripe, glabrous, fleshy with a hard
muricate endocarp.
Seed with a membranous testa, pendulous from the apex of the
cavity with a short hilum.
BY J. H. MAIDEN AND R. T. BAKEK. 515
Hah. — We heave received it from several localities, and its range
as far as at present known may be stated as mountain ranges
between the head waters of the Clarence and Macleay Rivers.
We have had the opportunity not only of examining these
fruits for the first time, but as our specimens were perfectly fresh
we are enabled to offer a complete and accurate plate of the
species.
L A U R I N E ^.
Bentham (B.Fl.v. 297) includes under Cryptocarya glaucescenx,
R.Br., one and perhaps more than one plant which examination
of additional material has shown us to be worthy of separate
specific rank. We propose to deal with one particular plant, and
will endeavour to show that C. glaucescens, R.Br., var. reticulata,
Meissn., is undoubtedly a good species, and that the name C.
tnicroiieura, Meissn., should be revived for it. We will now, with
the complete material and extended observations available to us,
describe the species.
Cryptocarya microneura, Meissn. in DC. Prod. xv. 27.
(Syn. C. glaucescens, R.Br., var. reticulata, Meissn., B.FL loc. cit.)
(Plate XLii.)
A tree over 60 feet high, glabrous except the inflorescence,
which is always hoary-pubescent. Leaves broadly lanceolate,
acuminate, obtuse, glabrous on both sides, a shade darker on the
upper side, primary veins and reticulations equally distinct on
both sides, reticulations fine but more distinct than in G. glau-
cescens, 6 inches long and 1 broad; petiole short, less than J in.
Flowers very numerous, mostly terminating in a large irregular
panicle, l^ut sometimes axillary. Perianth under 1 line, hoary
pubescent, the tube turbinate, about equal to the lobes. Glands
stipitate at the mouth of the tube. Staminodia scarcel}^ sessile
as in C. glaucescens and very much more acuminate. Fruiting
perianth ovoid-oblong, 6-8 lines long, dark, shining, faintly ribbed,
n H
516 BOTANICAL NOTES,
Brief analysis showing relations to cognate species.
Leaves thickly coriaceous, smooth, shining above, the primary
veins very prominent underneath, the reticulations inconspicuous.
Fruit glohdar. C. ohovata.
Leaves more or less coriaceous, the reticulations fine, con-
spicuous or obsolete on both sides.
Fruit globular. C. glaucescens.
Leaves thinly coriaceous, the reticulations fine on both sides.
Fruit ovoid-ellipfical. C. micronciLra.
C. glaucescens and 'C. microneura are found intermingled in the
brushes along the whole northern coast districts of this colony as
well as Illawarra, and their distinct character (without any
intermediate forms that we can trace), is maintained throughout.
This species differs from C glaucescens in colour, texture and
shape of its leaves, in its absence of glaucousness, and particularly
in the shape of its fruits. The reticulations are also more pro-
minent than in the former species, and the specific name is very
appropriate. The staminodia are also more acuminate. The
fruiting perianth is entirely distinct; in C. rjlaucescens it is
"depressed-globular," a shape uniformly maintained throughout
the whole range of the typical species, but in this species it is
ovoid-elliptical and consistently so. It measures about 6-8 lines
long and 3-4 broad, is black and shining and faintly ribbed.
The fruits of C microneura have not hitherto been described.
In fine, we have repeatedly examined the two species in the
brushes from Illawarra to Port Macquarie, and have requested
Mr. Baeuerlen, the botanical collector of the Museum, to make
similar olDservations on the Richmond River. Our observations
agree in that we are convinced that the trees are distinct.
Proteace^.
Petrophila pedunculata, R.Br.
This species has been collected at Bundanoon, near Moss Vale,
by Mr. A. J. Sach, of Goulburn, which is at present its most
southern recorded limit.
BY J. H. MAIDEN AND R. T. BAKER. 517
F I L I C E S.
POLYPODIUM ASPIDIOIDES, Bail.
This species is first recorded and described by F. M. Bailey in
the Synopsis of Queensland Flora, p. 714, where he speaks of it
as "a beautiful fern which has for a long time been confused with
Lastrea acuminata, T. Moore, the Aspidiinn aouminatiiin, Hort.
Ang., and from which it only differs in the entire absence of
indusium and in the longer and more aculeate marginal teeth."
We are led to confirm these observations to the extent of
stating that we have examined a very large number of fronds of
this interesting fern in all stages of growth, and have failed to
detect on them a trace of indusium. The sori are usually flesh-
coloured, or at least quite different in colour from those of
A.-ipidium acideatum, nor is it ever found proliferous like that
species. It has been found at Tintenbar (W.B.), near Ballina,
Richmond River, and so is an addition to the plants of this
colony.
Fungi.
CoPRiNUS COMATUS, Fries.
This well-known European edible fungus has been recently
found abundantly at Annandale, near Sydney. Cooke in his
"Australian Fungi" records it for Victoria only. It is a good
ketchup fungus.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Plate XLi.
Piptocalyx Moorm, Oliv.
Fig. L— Bud.
Fig. 2. — Expanded flower.
Fig. 3. — Part of raceme with early fruit.
Fig. 4. — Individual fruit.
Fig. 5. — Transverse and longitudinal sections of fruit.
Fig. 6.— Seed.
518 BOTANICAL NOTES.
Plate XLll.
Cryptocarya microneiira, Meissn.
Fig. 1. — Flowering twig.
Fig. 2.— Bud.
Fig. 3.— Perianth.
Fig. 3'.— Expanded flower.
Fig. 4. — Stamen.
Fig. 5. — Staminodia (different views).
Fig. 6.— Gland.
Fig. 7. — Fruiting perianth.
All enlarged to various extent.
PL5. N.S.W.(^"â– ^Ser}VOI,X
XXIX.
%-Na.S.e. '^«i /
C. Fuller, del
519
NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
Mr. North exhibited a set of four eggs of Tiirnix leucogastei\
recently described by him. The eggs were taken at Illamurta,
Central Australia, on the 18th of June, 1895 ; and are of a buffy^-
white ground-colour, minutely freckled and sparingly spotted with
diiFerent shades of chestnut-brown, purplish-brown, and violet-
grey; an average specimen measuring 0-9 x 0*73 inch.
Mr. Steel showed a very large specimen of a ship-worm ( Teredo)
from redgum (?) piles in the fresh water of the Rewa River, Fiji,
collected by Mr. T. Ferguson.
Mr. Froggatt showed .a representative collection of some eighty
named species of Australian Ants (^Formicidce). Also speci-
mens of a beetle {Arthropteriis hrevis, Westw.) belonging to the
family Paussidce, captured in the nests of a common Australian
Ant (Ecatomma metallicum). African species of this family
commonly occur in such situations, but the exhibitor was unaware
of any record of this habit in Australian species.
Messrs. Maiden and Baker exhibited a number of plants and
photos in illustration of their paper.
Messrs. Etheridge and Mitchell exhibited a number of Trilobites
in illustration of their paper.
Mr. Mitchell exhibited several specimens of GlossojHeris from
Croudace's Hill, near Lambton, Newcastle, showing very apparent
evidences of what is probably fructification similar to that of an
Asplenium. Some specimens of a like character were collected
by him from the cliffs on the Old Race Course Beach. Also a
specimen of what appears to be a Lycopodium, near L. ffuthieri,
Gopp., or L. macrophyllum, Gold., from the South Bulli Colliery.
This is the first record of a fossil Lycopod from the New South
Wales coal-bearing series.
I I
520 NOTES AND EXHIBITS.
Mr. Henn exhibited, on behalf of Mrs. G. J. Waterhouse, a
very fine collection of Cyjyrceidoi, found alive by herself and sons
in Port Jackson, between the months of May and August of this
year. The collection consisted of exactly 100 specimens belonging
to the seventeen following species : — Cyjorcea Jimbriata, Gmelin,
C. macula, A. Ad., C. felina, Gmelin, C. assellus, Linn., C.
tabescens, Solander, C. arabica, Linn., C. moneta, Linn., C.
annul us, Linn., C. cajyut-serpentis, Linn., C. helvola, Linn., C.
clandestina, Linn., C. flaveola, Linn., C. lutea, Gronovius, C.
comptoni, Gray, C. errosa, Linn., C. err ones, Linn., and C. inter-
punctata, Brazier, MS. The last, (of which two specimens were
found) difiers from C. macula, — which it otherwise much resembles
— in being more pyriform, and much more profusely and distinctly
marked with spots. It is considered by Mr. Brazier to be a dis-
tinct new species, but it would, perhaps, be more correctly described
as C. macula, A. Ad., var. interpunctata. Brazier.
Of the above, no less than nine species, viz : C. Jimbriata,
tabescens, arabica, moneta, helvola, flaveola, lutea, comjjtoni, and
interpunctata, have never been previously recorded from Port
Jackson. The Cyprceidce are amongst the rarest shells in the
harbour, and very few — even dead — specimens have come to light
for some years past. It is all the more remarkable therefore that
so large a number of species should suddenly be discovered. They
were found under stones rather below extreme low water mark
and, with two exceptions, all within a radius of one hundred
yards. In addition to the above, Mrs. Waterhouse also found
dead specimens of G. caput-anguis and C. hirundo in very good
condition, neither of which has been previously recorded from Port
Jackson.
Mr. Henn also exhibited three extremely fine specimens of C.
vitellus, Linn., and a specimen of Micromelo guamensis, Quoy et
Gaimard, all found alive at Botany Heads by Mr. Norman
Hansard in July. The latter very beautiful little shell has never
been recorded from Australia previously, but is a native of the
South Sea Islands.
PL.S.N.S.W. CSf^^Ser.) VolX.
Pl.XXA.
C. Fuller del.
Aboriginal Grave.
P.L.5 N,5W(2"''Ser)V0LX.
PL XXXI.
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