eee ae 23 ne Paral elan doi ig as ee - paeaty {$e THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, INCLUDING \ ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, ann GEOLOGY. (BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE ‘ MAGAZINE OF BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY,’ AND OF LOUDON AND CHARLESWORTH'S ‘MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.) CONDUCTED BY Sir W. JARDINE, Barr., F.L.S.—P. J. SELBY, Ese., F.L.S., | GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D., CHARLES C. BABINGTON, Ese., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., J. H. BALFOUR, M.D., Prof. Bot. Edinburgh, AND RICHARD TAYLOR, F.I.S., F.G.S. rs VOL. Il.—SECOND SERIES. LONDON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY R. AND J. E. TAYLOR. SOLD BY S. HIGHLEY; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; SHERWOOD AND CO.; W. WOOD, TAVISTOCK STREET ; BAILLIERE, REGENT STREET, AND PARIS: LIZARS, AND MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH: CURRY, DUBLIN: AND ASHER, BERLIN. 1848. ‘‘Omnes res create sunt divine sapientia et potentiz testes, divitie felicitatis humane :—ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini; ex ceconomia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet. Earum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper estimata; a veré eruditis et sapientibus semper exculta; malé doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit.”— LINNZEUS. 400i La ee ees Dee Oe oe By Wee powers Obey our summons ; from their deepest dells The Dryads come, and throw their garlands wild And odorous branches at our feet ; the Nymphs That press with nimble step the mountain thyme And purple heath-flower come not empty-handed, But scatter round ten thousand forms minute Of velvet moss or lichen, torn from rock Or rifted oak or cavern deep: the Naiads too Quit their loved native stream, from whose smooth face They crop the lily, and each sedge and rush . That drinks the rippling tide: the frozen poles, Where peril waits the bold adventurer’s tread, The burning sands of Borneo and Cayenne, All, all to us unlock their secret stores And pay their cheerful tribute, J. TAyLor, Norwich, 1818. FLAMMAM, CONTENTS OF VOL. II. a [SECOND SERIES.] NUMBER VII. i Page . I. On some new Fossil Fish of the Carboniferous Period. By Fre- _ perick M‘Coy, M.G.S. & N.H.S.D. &e. ............05 Sata! Ph oy kee 1 II. Notice of a new species of Antrophyum. By R. K. Grevitue, ~LL.D. &c. (With a Plate.) ...., sain oath Rabe tiEl sciitn eed soi calelek dps vemiiines 10 III. A Description of some new Species of Fishes from the Sea sur- rounding the Island of Barbados. By Sir Roserr H. Scuomsurex, Ph.D., Member of the Imperial Academy Nat. Curios. &c. ...... maken ae IV. Letters from J. MacGrurivray, Esq., Naturalist to H.M. Sur- veying Ship Rattlesnake, Capt. Stanley, R.N. (Communicated by Professor Epwarp Forses.) ...... havens ene is dgkaktin nee aah dinGhah > vndenso 21 V. A Supplement to “A Synopsis of the British Rubi.” No. II. By Cuartes C. Basrncton, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S. &c. ....... oes tadhice » 32 _ _VI. Description of 4phides. By Francis Warxer, F.L.S. ......... 43 VII. Observations on Dr. Manretu’s “ Rerty” to Mr. Toutmin Smitn’s Account of the Ventriculid@ .....cesececees Pete eet 9ka se oa eee 48 Proceedings of the Royal Society ; Zoological Society ; Botanical So- MM MEIOE SI occ P cis aves cntdhconciaessennpebnrsvssascena 51—68 _ Origin of the name Vanessa; Lucernaria fascicularis, Fleming; On the Organization and Development of Linguatula (Pentastoma, Rudd.), accompanied with the description of a new species from the Abdominal Cavity of the Mandril, by P. J. Van Beneden; On certain Principles bearing upon the Natural Classification of Ani- mals, and more particularly on the Methodical Distribution of the Mammifera, by M. Milne-Edwards; Notes on Diptera, Chalci- dites, and other Insects, by Francis Walker, F.L.S.; On the Mode of Propagation of various Entozoa, by M. Emile Blanchard ; Me- teorological Observations and Table ......c.c.cceseceeeeeecesceres 68—80 1V CONTENTS. Page * NUMBER VIII. VIII. An Account of the Germination of Jsoétes lacustris. By aig Kant Metter. (With two Plates?) < ioc.) sccccencvsdueshseseeeuen spsiseee” 08 IX. Notice of a deposit of Fossil Diatomacee in Aberdeenshire. By Grorce Dicxtr, M.D., Lecturer on Botany, King’s College, Aber- GEN. . a sibetn Vi 50. cdTTIWIW TSE Hh tis its) die. Ja Ave bee ibvest- OB X. Descriptions of Aphides. By Francis Watxen, F.L.S. ...... ore DO XI. On the Insects of Jamaica. By Puirie Henry Gosse ......... 109 XII. On some new Fossil Fish of the Carboniferous Period. By Freverrcx M‘Coy, M.G:S. & N.A.S-D. RC.” oo. ccecsovsesessnaveurianvae 115 X4II. Dr. Mantett on Mr, Tovunmin Smitu’s “ Observations” in Annals of Nat. Hist. for July 1848 ...... gettceiarereacteceas tae ae 7 sue 133 , Cd New Books :—The British Desmidiez, by John Ralfs, M.R.C.S.— Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bootan, Affganistan, and the neighbouring countries, by the late William Griffith, F.L.S.— Notulz ad Plantas Asiaticas. Part 1. Development of Organs in Phanerogamous Plants, by the same.—Icones Plantarum Asiati- carum. Part I., by the same.—The Marine Botanist: an Intro- duction to the study of Algology, containing Descriptions of the commonest British Sea-Weeds, with Figures of the most remark- able Species, by Isabella Gifford ............. seedsevcsesedeves eos 1385—143 — Proceedings of the Linnzean Society; Botanical Society of Edin- burgh eee etorenssseeseeesesens CORTE OOREE HOHE HEED SEH E ETE EEHH ESE serEREEs® 143—148 Apera interrupia, Beauv., by Ch. C. Babington, M.A.; Orobanche Picridis, ¥. W. Schultz, by Ch. C. Babington, M.A.; Descriptions of a Fossil Fish from Australia, and a Belemnite from Tierra del Fuego, by James D. Dana; Notes on some Australian Fossils, by J..D. Dana; A new Organ of Sound in Lepidoptera, by S. 8. Hal- deman; Meteorological Observations and Table ........ weve L49—152 NUMBER IX. XIV. Some Account of a dicecious Rotifer allied to the genus No- tommata of Ehrenberg. By Tuomas Bricutwet, F.L.S. (Witha Plate. )-ssodexssnxeveselanse pitas beds ee seeds TUedee dle dgedébcavedd ve dbeeus winehint: 153 XV. Characters of seven new species of Helix, with amended de- scriptions of some species previously described, and Notes on others requiring remark. By W. H. Benson, Esq., late Bengal Civil Service 158 XVI. On the form of the Capsule and Seeds as affording a specific character in Primula vulgaris (Huds.), P. veris (Linn.), and P. elatior (Jacq.). By the Rev. W. A. Leicuron, B.A., F.B.S. E. & L....... woa2 164 XVII. Notes, &c. on the genera of Insects Erirhinus, Notaris, and Procas; with descriptions of two new species. By Joun Watton, F.L.S, CONTENTS. ¥ Page XVIII. On the Structure of the Shell of the Egg in Birds, and the nature and seat of the Colour. By G. Dicxiz, M.D., Lecturer on Botany in the University and King’s College of Aberdeen. (With a TONED dabivicccgasabadssnsnse- sich innnhdhanda tees Chins NE OA ate pace Shae 8 Kas ragens is 169 XIX. On the Insects of Jamaica. By Puitie Henry Gosse ...... 176 XX. An Account of the Germination of Jsoétes lacustris. By Karu Mixrer. (With two Plates.) .......cdecsovossees Senhans bie eesmedemeanesdd 181 -XXI. Observations on Mr. M‘Coy’s Paper on some Fossil Fish of the Carboniferous Period. By Sir Puinie pe Mapas Grey Ecerton, Bart. Ser eeseeesesessseeceaesetesevesesesease SOS eee se eeaeSSHeee ete steaeesseeteeeetanae 189 XXII. Beeestpdong of Aphides. By Francis Watxer, F.L.S. .. 190 XXIII. Algz Orientales :—Descriptions of new species belonging to the genus Sargassum. By R. K. Grevitie, LL.D. &c. (With a 58 Re eae eee 7 are Siecids i audinde s apUlon ceveSbEERNANL. 0AM Ede oBdh devon doncsin 203 XXIV. Remarks on the Identity of the Epoch of the Coal-beds and Palzozoic Rocks of New South Wales. By the Rev. W. B. Crarkg, Mi As, FG Sy:We.:: sicvvesy. bei eon gh iis dy 0 0 ok RE ALO AE, 206 Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Botanical Society of Edin- burgh Seteesesseeereerese @eeestesesecee Seer SOS ees esol tsceesestesestees 210-217 Kellia rubra,.by J. Alder, Esq.; Notice of a fractured and repaired Argonauta argo, by C. B. Adams; Notes on Chalcidites and other Insects, by Francis Walker, F.L.S.; On the Habits of the Tawny Owl, Strix stridula, by Ralph Carr, Esq. ; Description of a species of Haliolis, supposed to be new, by C. B. Adams ; Cremastochilus in Ant Nests, by S. S. Haideman; Myochama Anomioides, by F. Strange; On the Eyes of the Balanus, by Dr. Leidy; Meteorolo- Gient WOeeTVALIONS ANT Tale ooo. seo .c cc ccccescsscacensscsces 217—224 NUMBER X. XXYV. On the Boring of the Mollusca into Rocks, &c.; and on the removal of portions of their Shells. By Arnany Hancock, Esq. (With BOE ven yonyes es is pas demic bbs cderd gabe weakavehw ep iia sas dhs four and a half inches.” : This species has been named in honour of Mr. Bishop. The Sprats are much esteemed m the West India islands. A species called the Yellow-tailed Sprat proves unfortunately poisonous at certain periods of the year in some of the islands, chiefly among the Leeward and Virgin islands. V. PLECTOGNATHI, Cww. : Fam. BAListIni. Monacanthus tomentosus, Bloch, var. a, Systema, ed. Schneider, p- 467. Cuckold or Horned Coney Fish, Hughes. D. 1435: A. 30: P. 138: C. 12. “This fish, which has been considered a variety, is without doubt a different species.” It is much used as food, and when well-stuffed and baked considered a delicacy. It resembles the followimg im its general appearance. A To this section belongs likewise a remarkable fish, which ap- pears to be identical with, or a closely allied species of Triodon bur- sarius, Reinv. It possesses a dew-lap nearly as long as the body, which it is able to inflate. Ireceived a specimen from Barbados, which is at the British Museum. Fam. GyMNODONTES. Tetrodon (Cheilichthys) pachygaster, Mull. et Tr. nov. spec. Jug Pish. 2) 30-4. 9: P35 00 o. “This new species of Tetrodon is smooth all over, of a light brown colour, with darker spots on the back. The space between the eyes is equal to two diameters of the eye, and the space to the top of the snout is of a similar extent. The nostrils are nearer to the eye than to the snout, and they are papillary with two apertures. The dorsal fin stands before the anal; the caudal is truncated, but the upper and lower points are somewhat elongated. Length fourteen inches.” It is very scarce around Barbados. VI. PLAGIOSTOMI, Cue. Fam. SquaLipz. Carcharias (Prienodon) obscurus, Mill. et Henle, Plagiostomen, p- 46. Puppy Shark. “ The denticulation of the upper jaw is a little more robust on the base than on the top in the Barbados species.” Letters from J. MacGillivray, Esq. 21 1V.—Letters from J. MacGinuivray, Esq., Naturalist to H.M. Surveying Ship Rattlesnake, Capt. Stanley, R.N. (Commu- unicated by Professor Epwarp Forbes.) II.M.S,. Rattlesnake, at sea, May 3, 1847. My pear Sir, As we expect to reach the Isle of France tomorrow, and as I have a case of specimens ready to go by the first ship, I now proceed to write an accompanying letter giving a brief account of our voyage up to the present time. We sailed from Plymouth on December 11th, 1846, and after a quick passage of seven days reached Madeira, not sorry to have _ escaped from the sharp commencement of an English winter. Knowing that unless by dredging I need expect nothing new during a visit to a place carefully searched by resident zoological collectors, 1 was annoyed to find that the depth of water and the nature of the bottom required for the working of the dredge a more powerful boat than I could procure. During various ex- cursions on shore I attended chiefly to the land shells, and ob- tained twenty-three species* (exclusive of an Ancylus and a Lym- nea) at various elevations up to the Pass of the Corral, 2700 feet above the sea, where single species of Achatina, Clausilia and Pupa were found under stones along with coleoptera of the genera Scarites and Pimelia. The ferns (Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, Da- vallia canariensis, &c.) about the dripping rocks would, to a bo- tanist, have made ample amends for the small number of plants in flower; yet many butterflies (Colias Edusa, Cynthia Cardut, and a Vanessa like V. Atalanta) were flitting about; but the lizards, which in the month of April I had seen basking in great numbers upon every wall; had not yet awoke from their winter’s sleep. five Madeira we sighted Palma, and passed between St. Jago and Mayo, so close to the latter that various insects (espe- cially an Acrydium and a fine blue 4ishna) paid us a visit and were detained. We crossed the line on January 13th with the usual ceremonies attending the mtroduction of upwards of a hundred novitiates at Neptune’s levee. In lat. 2° N. soundings were tried for with 2600 fathoms (or very nearly three statute miles) of line without success. In this neighbourhood also I procured specimens of a British storm petrel (Thalassidroma Bullockii), the occurrence of which in such low latitudes would have surprised me had I not known (from Mr. Gould) that Th. Wilsont was common to both * Among them were Bulimus decollatus, Clausilia deltostoma, Bulimus dubricus, Pupa anconostoma, Helix maderensis, H. undata, H. cellarius, H., nitidiuscula, H. polymorpha and H. pulchella. 22 Letters from J. MacGillivray, Esq. hemispheres. The former was rather abundant in the region of calms and variables extending across the equator between the limits of the trade-winds. While within the tropics we had the usual accompaniments of dolphins, flying-fish, physalize, velelle, &c., but the towing-net produced very little. Daybreak on January 23rd found us off Cape Frio, and in the afternoon we anchored in the noble harbour of Rio de Janeiro. I shall not trespass upon your patience by giving my first im- pressions of the New World, or dilating upon the magnificence of the scenery. Landing upon the shores of the American conti- nent, I was not so much struck with the richness of the vegeta- tion as with the exuberance of animal life. | Many of the walks about St. Salvador are doubly interesting ‘to the naturalist from the great beauty of the scenery and the variety of animal productions. My favourite one led me along the aqueduct supplying the city from the Corcovado mountain, a distance of a league. Here the number of species of Lepidoptera and the frequency of gorgeous colouring and great size are among the first. things to attract one’s attention. Of these the Heliconit, Hesperia and Erycine are the most numerous, some of the first gaudily painted with red, yellow and black. One of the com- monest butterflies, Peridromia Amphinome, possesses the sin- gular habit of frequenting the trunks and limbs of trees, where it is difficult of detection while resting with expanded wings, the variegated upper surface of which often resembles the lichen- — covered bark. The air was usually filled with the harsh grating eries of large black Cicade, here nearly as noisy, though not so numerous, as in New South Wales. “ Et cantu querule rumpent arbusta Cicade.”’ Birds were scarce, indeed I saw only one humming-bird ; nor was I so fortunate among the land shells as I had anticipated. The pretty Bulimus Gravesii, King (see App. to Voy. of Adyen- ture and Beagle), and another [R. 80] * of larger size, are usually found creeping up the trunks and lower branches of trees, and I found a colony of King’s Helix translucens upon a wall concealed | _ by rank vegetation. Helicina sordida, King, occurred once upon a low Mimosa bush, and with this I may conclude ; for, even with the kind assistance of Mr. King, I could muster only fourteen species of land and three of freshwater shells. I anticipated some good results from dredging and was not disappointed. Being unable to procure a boat from the ship, I _ was obliged to content myself with one from the shore manned by four negro slaves, who, after all, could scarcely keep the __* The numbers refer to specimens. With the aid of Mr. Hanley I have identified some of the mollusea mentioned.—E. F. to Prof. E. Forbes. , 26 dredge moving. No sieves had been furnished by the dock-yard, nor, although I ransacked the Rua d’ Ouvidor from one end to the other, could I obtain the requisite materials for making one, In this dilemma I procured a wire-gauze dish-cover and a ma- chine for washing rice in, both of which Huxley and myself found to answer capitally. We dredgedin Three Fathom and Botafogo bays in from three to five fathoms, sand. Among the results are a fine Scutel/a with notched and perforated margins [R. 155 to 159], a boring Modiola [R. 102] *, three species of Dentalium [| R. 76] +, and others of the genera Nucula, Oliva, Ancillaria, Su- bula, Fusus, &c., in all about forty-five species of molluscat. But the most interesting acquisition was a fish of that most anomalous genus Amphioxus. ~It appears to differ from the European spe- cies in the relative position of the anus, the only distinction I ean observe, judging from brief descriptions. Besides the’ spe- cimens in my general collection, I inclose some in a small bottle which I beg you will transmit to our friend Prof. Goodsir, who has so admirably described the structure of this singular fish. Huxley, with his usual industry and success, has been working away at it, and pointed out to me distinct hepatic and generative systems, neither of which Goodsir mentions. The spermatozoa were quite distinct. We found the Amphioxus in from five to two fathoms in sand of various degrees of coarseness; it has ex- actly the habits of the Ammocetes in Britain, burying itself in the sand and moving through it with extraordinary rapidity. _ A visit to the market at Rio will repay the collector. He -ought to go early in the forenoon when the fishing-boats come im and are drawn up on the muddy shore. ‘These are long canoes hollowed out of the trunk of a tree managed by one or two men. The variety of fish is considerable and constantly varies. The most plentiful kinds were a small Clupea [S. 15], and an En- graulis [S. 18] with a broad lateral silvery band. Here and there are large baskets filled with loathsome land-crabs covered with black slimy mud, along with others containing large and hand- some Lupee [C. 50 and 51], and a fine Palemon [S. ]. Among the articles exposed for sale I was surprised to see small sharks of eg kinds, and cuttle-fish (Octopus) [S. 36], and Loligo [S. 2]. In St. Salvador, the capital of an extensive empire, a city con- taining 250,000 inhabitants, there is little for a stranger from Europe to admire. On landing he is apt to turn up his nose at the stench and filth which he encounters under a tropical sun, * M., cubitus, Say. + One of these is the tube of an Annelid.—E. F. t Among the mollusca were Oliva micans, Solen Sloanei, a new Luci- sopsis, anda new Nucula and some other new shells. = 24 Letters from J. MacGillivray, Esq. _and seeks in vain for grandeur or architectural beauty m the palace, the churches, and the other public buildings. He may _ occasionally smile at such oddities as an omnibus drawn by six mules, and be amused by observing the motley hue of the pas- sengers in the crowded streets; but he turns away in disgust when he sees gangs of negro slaves performing the work of beasts of burthen, and that they are treated worse than such is shown by the frequency of iron masks and collars. When one finds that the Brazilians have degenerated from the parent stock— ‘“‘ Lusian slave, the lowest of the low,”— he cannot place them very high in the list of nations. For the state of morals among the “ Bravo gente Braziliero,” one fact ~ speaks volumes. When a bill for the legitimation of all natural ~ children throughout the empire was introduced, it was opposed on the ground that, if carried, it would completely break up many of the principal families by giving publicity to the great frequency of incestuous intercourse among them. The force of the objection being admitted the bill was at once withdrawn. We left Rio on February 2nd, and while hove to outside the entrance I got a haul with the dredge in thirteen fathoms, which produced a small Terebratula [R. 103] *, and a minute univalye [R. 105], the genus of which I could not determine. During our passage to the Cape of Good Hope, which, from unfavourable winds, occupied a period of seven weeks, I was surprised at the entire absence of Daption capensis and Diomedea melanophrys, two of the commonest oceanic birds which I had on former oc- . easions met with abundantly in the South Atlantic. Of the three albatroses which occurred, D. exulans was seldom “absent, but D. fuliginosa and D. chlororhyncha (both on one or two occasions very numerous) left us in the meridian of Greenwich. One young bird of the first-named species followed the ship for twenty-four days, during which time we had gone over a distance of 2700 miles. Procellaria conspicillata was met with two days atter leaving the coast of Brazil, and continued with us until within a day’s sail of the Cape, when it was replaced by its analogue P. equi- noctialis, which even enters False Bay and attends upon the fishing-boats. P. Atlantica and P. mollis occurred throughout, and were occasionally seen in great numbers ; P. leucocephala paid - us an occasional visit ; and Prions were sometimes seen at a di- stance, but I could not identify the species. Of the storm petrels, Th. leucogaster occurred nearly every day, sometimes in consi- derable numbers, and solitary individuals of 7h. Wilsoni were * Terebratula rosea; the first time its true locality has been noticed. The univalve seems new. rs ' , ; iid ae te. ee ee i to Prof. E. Forbes. 25 observed in our wake on several occasions. o o4 : : - 2 é : ne Pie] TR LB Te) PPR] apis | come [BE | omnis | aS [ongreguna| FF | ymin | ee t es “ORY “pul *19,9ULOUIIAY J, “19, 9NLOIV = S “XANWUC) ‘asunpy younpuny 3 ‘uoysnojQ "A "Ady 947 fq pup {aulus-saraanag ‘ssunpy yzundagddy yo ‘requng * A, *Ady 947 49 fNoLsOg #0 “\189.A “AIA 29 Suopuory cvau ‘xoIMSIHD 70 Ajar009 jounynaysopy ay, fo uapang ayy qo uosdwmoyy, “Ay, 49 apum suoynasasga yoorsojosoajapy ‘aint : voy a ee THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. [SECOND SERIES. | No. 8. AUGUST 1848. VIII.—An Account of the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. By Karu Miuier*. [ With two Plates. ] l. Introduction. _M. A. Rarrenav Dette has already contributed an essay on _ this subject. He observed the germination of this very interest- ing genus in Isvétes setacea. His observations were published in the ‘ Mémoires du Muséum d’Histoire Nat. de Paris,’ tom. xiv. p- 100 e¢ seg., accompanied by two plates. However the whole of his investigations throw but little light upon the matter if we look especially—and with reason—for an account of the deve- lopment of the embryo. M. Delile has given scarcely more than what may be observed with the naked eye in every germi- nating Isoétes: the germ breaking through the ovule and deve- loping independently. Tt therefore was exceedingly agreeable to me, when my friend Dr. Karl Jessen of Kiel, through the kindness of Prof. Kunze of Leipsic, sent me for minute examination a quantity of Jsoétes lacustris with beautifully developed reproductive bodies. I was the more desirous of obtaining these from having recently studied the germination of the Selaginellz, and had reason to expect that the two genera would exhibit as much agreement-in this point ‘as they do in their other allied conditions, depending on the structure of the two kinds of reproductive organs. How far this has turned out to be true will be seen in the course of these in- vestigations. In any case it was of great scientific interest to _ make out the relation of two plants—as to the natural affinity of which opinion varies so much—in their earliest development, so * Translated by Arthur Henfrey, F.L.S., from the Botanische Zeitung, April 14 and 21, 1848. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. ii. 6 82 M. Miiller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. that some conclusion might be drawn as to the degree of their relationship. The second reason which especially attracted me to the inves-_ tigation of this subject was the peculiarity of the root-stock, first observed and described by H. v. Mohl, on which the youngest roots, contrary to the custom im all other vascular plants, deve- lope out of the centre of the stem im a deep furrow, while the — rootlets occurring on the outer periphery of the root-stock are the very oldest. It might be expected that the history of the development would give some information as to this cireum- stance; indeed it must be admitted that without a thorough know- ledge of it, no safe opinion can be formed of the nature of the matter. Whether the following complete account of the deve- lopment up to a tolerably perfect condition of the germ is suffi- cient for the above purpose, will subsequently be seen. There was yet a third reason which rendered the whole mves- tigation highly desirable to me; namely the wish to examine how the earliest formation of the embryo took place in an asexual plant, how it was brought about. It will be readily con- ceded here also, that this parallel is extremely well fitted to throw light upon the formation of the embryo im both classes of plants. Whether and how far the following history of deve- lopment will allow of the parallel bemg perfectly drawn, will hereafter be evident in the course of the exposition. I think that at this moment we are in the utmost need of an investigation which shall show the—I might call it wferal—formation of the embryo in an asexual plant, where consequently there is no question about pollen-tubes. I think so the more that it will not be long before two parties stand opposed to each other, one ranged under the banner of Schleiden, the other of Amici. Sela- ginella, and still better Jsoétes, on account of the readier germi- nation, perfectly admit of such an investigation, and the poor botanist who has looked around him so much for analogies, has really much reason to be ‘earnestly thankful for the creation of the Lycopodiacez, for I know of no other ‘Tonilya in which this again occurs. These three reasons determined me to an ‘hivestiguthos of a com- plete course of development of Isoétes lacustris. I ‘would willingly —as indeed I much wished—have given a further account of the whole course of development of this plant, but the air of the chamber affected all my hundreds of germinating plants, which’ I the more regret since my time is now too much taken up with other botanical matters to allow of my calculating on returning very soon to this subject. It was also part of my plan to add the earliest stages of the development of the Se/aginelle—which in my earlier researches I neglected, or rather did not discover. I mes — M. Miiller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. 83 lament that from the same causes I am unable to do so here, and therefore I beg the indulgent reader at least to follow with me the germinating Isoétes lacustris. 2. The Ovule. No explanation is necessary when I name the spore propaga- ting the species an ovule. I have already used this expression in % the same sense in my essay on the development of the Lycopo- - diacee*, for the germinating spore, and consequently also with _ Spring called the sporangium of Selaginella which incloses the spore of this kind, the oophoridium. The reasons why I then thought that I ought so to do were morphological and physio- logical, since the course of development of the oophoridium proved a distinct axial nature, and the plant, unlike the other vascular and cellular asexual vegetables, developed, not extra but intra uterum. ‘This last reason is decidedly the more important here, and is fully applicable to Jsoétes. But whether the first ground is tenable in this genus may perhaps be doubted by many per- sons, who, with H. v. Mohl, would regard the germinating spore asa leaf-product. I regret especially in regard to this point that my history of the development does not extend up to this stage, for I do not for a moment doubt that the oophoridium of Isoétes is equally an axial structure, and does not belong to the leaves as Mohl thinks. It is not of much importance that it is inclosed as in a sheath by the base of the leaf in Jsoétes. The leaves are so smooth all round that one may thence conclude that their bases are not applied to the formation of the oophoridia. The simpliest view of the matter is to assume that a mother-cell of the root-stock itself grows up into the excavated base of the leaf exactly as the mother-cell of the oophoridium does in Selaginellat. In bringing forward—and certainly with good reason—the con- dition of this latter plant as an analogical proof here, I think that I fully make good my view. It is evident then that the sporangia also of the spores which do not germinate are of an axial nature, as is the case in Selaginella.. To complete the comparison be- tween the ovule of the sexual plants and that of the Lycopo- diaceze, a third reason, an anatomical one, presents itself in Jso- étes, for the ovule of the Isoétes, exactly like that of sexual plants, consists of three coats, to which may in a similar manner be ap- _ plied the simple names primine, secundine and nucleus, without regarding the special anatomical distinctions. 1. The Primine.—This coat is not composed of cellular tissue. * Ann. of Nat. Hist. Ser. 1. vol. xix. Tt Ann. of Nat. Hist. Ser. 1. vol. xix. Pl. IY. fig. 7 ¢ & fig. 9 a. Ane . 6* 84 M. Miller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. It is a dense envelope consisting of brown cellulose, which is covered on both surfaces, inside and out, with reticulated, rami- fying ridges which give it the appearance of being composed of cellular tissue in which the cells only, but in their entire diameter, are homogeneously thickened (PI. II. fig. 1). These ridges—by no means rare phenomena in the ovules of Lycopodiacez generally —have their analogues, like the whole primine, in the outer coat of the pollen-grains of many sexual plants. They usually project so much from the surface of the primine that they give the ovule a very wrinkled appearance. Indeed the conditions of their ra- mifications and elevations are so constant in the species of Isoées, that, recently, some new—and as Prof. Kunze thinks good—spe- cies have been discriminated by this character. On the surface of the primine here also, as in Selaginella, run the furrows of the tetrahedral union, appearing with more or less distinctness, in consequence of which the ovule itself exhibits a more or less per- fect tetrahedral shape. At these furrows the primine subse- quently splits in the germination (fig. 1). 2. The Secundine.—This has a wholly similar structure to the preceding, to the inner surface of which it is pretty firmly ap- plied ; but in germination it may very easily be isolated. Like the primine it is a thick brown coat produced by the deposition of cellulose, but it is quite homogeneous, and only exhibits here and there on the outer surface, impressions of those ridges which beset the primine. How these two membranes, each indepen- dently—as it appears—can be formed by the deposition of cellu- lose, will certainly remain a problem until the course of develop- ment of the oophoridia is known. 3. The Nucleus.—This forms a special, thick envelope, which is the more extraordinary that it is composed of a layer of broad, colourless, loosely united delicate cells, only here and there filled with uncoloured globules. When this layer of cells is examined on the outer surface, the form of the cells appears to be some- what cubical with truncated angles (fig. 2). Almost all over the coat occur also other cells, essentially distinct from the delicate kind. These lie grouped round a centre. This consists of a very large cell which soon becomes divided into four by two septa crossing one another (figs. 2, 3). This large cell in many cases _ bears considerable resemblance to a stomate, but must not be imagined to be one. Yet it shares with many stomates the pecu- larity, that it projects as a papilla from the surface. It is poly- hedral, usually oval (fig. 3), but very often constricted in four places at the sides, so that the papillary projection appears to be composed of four spherical cells (fig. 2). All the walls of these large cells are excessively thickened on both sides, evidently by the deposition of cellulose. The thickening itself is emarginate on M. Miller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. 85 both sides. Frequently also it passes over, the point running out, into the walls of the contiguous cells. All the cells of these re- ‘markable groups are of a brown colour, which is deepest in the large cell, the colouring gradually fading outwards till it reaches the extremely delicate cellular tissue bounding the group; this tissue contrasting the more with the group that its walls are composed of much firmer and more distinctly defined membranes. Moreover the cells lying immediately round the large cell are distinguished by the irregularity of their form from those situated beyond them. Many such groups occur upon the coat of the nucleus. Frequently they are far apart, often near together, or again arranged in groups, so that we find no special regularity in the whole. But at one point the condition is more constant, for they especially occur upon that part of the surface of the coat where the primine and secundine subsequently open (fig. 1 a). _ At the point of the orifice usually appears one large cell (fig. 1 a) with its accessory cells, and it appears to me that it is exactly this place which subsequently gives way in the breaking through of the germ. It is conceivable that the coat is most brittle here, and therefore gives way so much the more readily when it is pushed up in a cone by the rising embryo. The presence of all these groups at the point of the ovule may be just.as easily ex- plained. I imagine that the thickening of this surface is merely to afford an additional defence to the contents of the nucleus and to the embryo against external, hurtful influences. For the bursting of the primine, which is always followed by that_of the secundine, appears to depend upon various circumstances. Now if this dehiscence happened at an epoch when the contents of the nucleus had not yet attained to substantial independence sufficient to enable it to defend itself from the surrounding water, and the coat of the nucleus was yet so delicate that it would be powerless against the intrusion of any moisture, the conclusion is not very distant; certainly it would not be exactly beneficial to the contents of the nucleus. This seems to me to be the sim- plest, because the most natural explanation. The peculiar de- hiscence of the primine and secundine also speak in favour of it. _ These two membranes only retract gradually during the process of germination, and remain attached to the nucleus until the embryo is very substantially developed, and all and every of the contents of the nucleus, which we shall presently become ac- quainted with, have disappeared. Where the root subsequently breaks through, those groups of cells do not make their appear- ance. By the time however that the breaking-through ensues, the young plant is already supplied with nutriment in a different way, as we shall discover in the course of this description ; it is 86 M. Miller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. sufficiently independent to be able to defend itself against the water. * With regard to the coat of the nucleus, this appears to be called the spore-cell by some authors, for instance by Mettenius*. In the passage referred to, he describes the ovule of Isoétes la- custris as follows :—“ In Isoétes lacustris the flattened surface of the large spore, which has the three ridges, is separated from the remainder of the periphery of the spore by an annular border, as has already been observed by Bischoff (Kryptog. Heft iii. p. 81), and the stratified composition of the outer coat, is still more evi- dent than in Lycopodium (Selaginella). The spore-cell i is imme~ diately surrounded. by a thin layer of membrane, then follows one tough and darker ; both are of a granular structure ; as the third and outermost layer succeeds one consisting of distinct pieces, readily separable, somewhat more transparent, and possessing papillose elevations on its surface.” In numerous investigations I have found but the three coats which I have described above. The description of Mettenius is therefore obscure to me. Since he also describes three coats, I may guess that by the spore-cell he means my third coat, the nucleus. But then the characters do not agree, for my coat of the nucleus is not a cell, if by a cell is meant a simple vesicle not (disregarding the contents) again — composed of a reticulated tissue. And yet the spore-cell of this observer must be my nucleus, since in this it is that the embryo finally makes its appearance, for he probably will not have meant the first cell of the embryo by this expression. Perhaps he has only examined dried ovules of [soétes, and the coat of the nucleus may have had a different shape in these. I have examined them only m the living condition, and in these the innermost coat was never a granulated simple cell. In a note on the same page Mettenius reproaches me with having, in Selaginella, confounded the spore-cell with the inner- most layer of the innermost coat of the spore, and at page 270 he says further, that he saw the spore in germination become gradually transformed into a sac composed of a single cell. From these words, my coat of the nucleus must be his spore-cell, and this becomes perfected into an independent sae (coat of the nu- cleus) only at a later stage, perhaps in germination. In Selagi- nella, 1 cannot now recollect, except in Selaginella gracillima, to have found such ; in Lsoétes lacustris 1 have constantly met with it in the germinating spore. In any case it would be very inter- esting to have an accurate demonstration of the development of this cellular coat. : To avoid misconception, I observe, that by the nucleus I mean * Linnea, 1847, p. 269, M. Miller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. 87 the third, innermost coat with all its contents, but that I distin- guish the coat itself as the coat of the nucleus. Regarding the contents, they are the same as those possessed by the ovules of Selaginella. They consist of a quantity of deli- cate, compact, transparent, at least colourless granules, which swim about in a fluid and give this a milky appearance. They are coloured brown by iodine, exactly as occurs in the Selaginella. Originally these cell-contents are but sparing in quantity ; toward the beginning of the germination however they become so much increased that the whole of the cavity of the ovule is filled up (fig. 4). 3. The Process of Germination. The part which the granular cell-contents play in the following process of formation of the embryo is of extraordinary import- ance, at the same time a very simple one. I showed formerly in my ‘ Essay on the Development of the Lycopodiaceze*,’ how this granular mass is constantly accompanied by a fluid which presents itself to the observer in the form of globules of oil. I pointed out moreover that these seeming globules of oil consist of a mu- cilaginous substance which furnishes the material for the subse- quent formation of cells, and that these globules, coagulating in iodine and mineral acids, and above all being insoluble in ether, itmust not by any means be regarded as drops of oil, as has only too frequently happened ; finally that they are the protoplasm of Hi. vy. Mohl. All this holds good-also of the contents of the ovule of Isoétes lacustris. In the essay referred to I said further, that, mingled with this granular mass and the protoplasm, we always find some free cells which are coloured blue by iodine, which therefore are amylum-cells. All this is equally applicable to Isoétes. But when I wrote that essay I was still ignorant of the connexion between the granular cell- contents, the amylum- cells and the protoplasm. This has only become clear to me, in the following manner, through the investigation of [soétes. The granular matter is the element of the amylum-cell and the protoplasm. As I have mentioned above, every one of these granules is originally a perfectly compact globule. Such a glo- bule, extremely small in its first stage, gradually increases in diameter, till, arrived at a certain limit, it presents a distinct cellular appearance. A cell of this kind then has the exact aspect of an amylum-cell, to which we readily see, beneath the microscope, that it very closely approaches in weight, since it always sinks to the bottom, and in texture, as it is lamellated, and looks almost as if perforated with a number of holes. In . Ann, of Nat. Hist. Ser. I. vol, xix. er 88. M. Miiller on the Germination of \soétes lacustris. fact, when it is acted on by iodine it also becomes coloured blue, and the result is that the said compact granule is transformed. into an amylum-cell. This transition of the granule is actually very easy to trace when once we are aware of the connexion of the facts. All the intermediate stages between the original com- pact granule and the amylum-cell may readily be discriminated by the application of iodme. Moreover the granules become converted into starch at an extremely early epoch, before we can yet regard them as amylum-cells. In my ‘ History of the Development of the Lycopodiaceze? 1 mentioned a remarkable peculiarity of these amylum-cells, viz. that the blue colour produced by iodine very readily disappears again in certain amylum-cells, and that it may be restored just as readily by touching the cells, or often merely by rolling them backwards and forwards in the water ; indeed, that one may often continue this alternation at one’s pleasure for a long time. This peculiarity is equally characteristic of the amylum-cells of the ovule of Isoétes. The phenomenon appears however only in the larger cells, such as may be recognised as amylum-cells even without the use of iodine. But neither here any more than in Selaginella have I succeeded in discovermg the reason of this strange property. ‘| With regard to the structure of the amylum-cell itself—this consists of more or less distinctly concentric layers deposited round a central nucleus which becomes coloured intensely blue by iodine (fig. 5). Several such dark groups often occur mm one cell, the central nucleus bemg constantly present. In larger cells we may distinctly make out that these larger amylum-cells are distinct discoid bodies, convex on both faces (fig. 5 a). They frequently exhibit minute furrows, as is so often the case with starch-granules. As soon as the granules are transformed into ain sleds they are in a condition to enter into new combinations with the elements of water. They swell up by the absorption of water, and, then become decomposed into that fluid matter so often mentioned, which presents itself to the investigator in-drops like oil. I have already stated in my ‘ History of the Development of Chara*, that I have directly observed this change, and I have there reported on it at length. As m that case, where the process may be traced more readily from the mere fact that the starch-cells are larger, they become softened in water, retaining their shape, until the whole of the contents comes into.a fluid condition. Then they burst and the contents are scattered, always in the form of drops. 1 must therefore repeat here that ‘the outermost layer of the * Ann. of Nat. Hist. Ser. J. vol. xvii. p. 258. + é o ° ee bl a M. Miiller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. 89 starch is always a denser membrane which may inclose the con- tents for a long time, and that therefore the process of solution “ proceeds from within outward. LExceedingly delicate granules & are always found here, also, intermingled with the oil-like fluid x (fig. 6). It is in like manner coloured brown by iodine. In proportion as it was easy to observe this transformation of be the starch-cells in the Chara, since in them the whole contents of the nucleus consisted of starch, it was difficult to see the con- nexion between it and the primary granular mass of the ovule of the Selaginelle. Therefore in the facts which I have published in my ‘ History of the Development of the Lycopodiacez ’ it must be equally understood, that the protoplasm is a product of the amylum-cells, and these latter of the granular mass. _ By the time a considerable portion of the granular mass has become converted into protoplasm, the mass itself has so accu- mulated in the ovule that the latter is very much distended by it, and the mass has become so finely aggregated, that when iso- lated out of the ovule by careful preparation, it retains the shape : of the ovule for some time as it lies in water beneath the micro- _ . seope (fig. 4) ; and then the first cell is formed, in the interior of ‘ the mass, not very far from the apex of the ovule where it subse- quently bursts, hanging immoveable but quite isolated in the mass. In order that it may constantly retain this position, it is : extremely viscid and tenacious, so that it is usually uncommonly 5 _ difficult to extract it in a perfect condition. It always presents _--—-—s ann. appearance as if it were fastened to the mass surrounding it by filaments. It would be altogether useless to express any opinion as to the origin of this first cell. From my numerous investigations I do not believe in the possibility of discovering it in the first stage, simply for this reason: if it were before our eyes it could not be distinguished from the mucilaginous investing mass, since it must have the most deceptive resemblance to it. This reason there- fore leads me to consider the discovery of the first perfect cell as a piece of good fortune, and this has only happened to me twice. Nevertheless this much is certain ; the first cell is formed imme- diately out of the protoplasm. 1 beg my indulgent reader to form his own opinion as to the mode of origin of the cell as he may best conceive it. val _ EE oe eT eC eS NRE oe 4 Formation of the Germ-plant up to the first rupture of the vule. : When we have accomplished the always difficult operation of preparing the germ-cell free from its investing coats, we find it m the first instance perfectly round (fig. 7). I have neglected to measure it ; but the relative size may readily be perceived from 90 M. Miiller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. the figures by comparing the germ-cell, fig. 7 a, magnified fifty times with the ovule fig. 1, or fig. 14 also enlarged fifty dia- meters. Under a power of 250 diameters it is distinctly seen that we have no longer to do with a simple cell, but with a mother-cell ; in the fluid within it float some other cells in which the process of development has begun. Magnified 400 times the secondary (daughter)-cells are seen to consist of extremely delicate mem- branes, some of them also containing cytoblasts (Pl. II. fig. 7 5). The second germ-cell which I met with gives us some results with regard to the import of cytoblasts ; the secondary cells are formed from them (fig. 8). Therefore in the first instance the mother-cell must contain merely a chaotic mass of cytoblastema, since fig. 8 speaks in favour of this, where most of the cell-con- tents consist of inorganized material for cells. Then free cyto- blasts are produced out of this (fig. 8 c), and from these finally are developed the new cell-membrane, as is usual in the forma- tion of the cell from cytoblasts, and the cytoblast remains lying on the wall (fig. 8 d). When the whole of the cytoblastema of the mother-cell has been converted into secondary cells it forms a compact globular body (fig. 9 a), the cellular tissue of which is composed of many- sided cells compressed closely together, each containing its cyto- blast (fig. 9 6). The mother-cell now acquires an oval shape. If acted on with iodine, it is rendered evident that the membrane of the mother-cell still incloses the whole tissue, for the latter contracts somewhat on account of the iodine, and the wall of the mother-cell thus becomes very distinctly visible as a colourless membrane enveloping the deep brown tissue (fig. 9 ce). However, the presence of the mother-cell membrane is not a matter of long duration ; apparently it lasts only up to this stage. Then it dis- appears, but whether by absorption or mechanical agency I have not observed. It may therefore be truly said that the germ is inclosed as in a sac by the mother-cell membrane up to a certain time, As it has often been asserted that this sac-like envelope of the original mother-membrane remains permanently inclosing the entire plant, I was unwilling to leave the above facts unmen- tioned, bearing as they do upon this opinion which has been so violently assailed by Schleiden. Tracing the further course of the formation of the delicate germ, we next find the previously oval embryo extended more into a cylinder slightly curved on one side (fig. 10 a). Here, as in the immediately following stages, the cytoblast is still di- stinctly visible on the wall of every cell (fig. 10 4), till in the more independent germ it is gradually decomposed into chloro- phylle. ae eee ee, = 9 25 lla nso ea ope ee iF ee AA; ee . ’ or {= ee oo Malt Cee! QP he ge SC ey ee en _ " pg ae ee = iyi aM he a a aay: eo a ine = a Si Moe rie ed as a Tem sae Z ' ane = he ae “ : : el Hale ha hel Bee Ay cc . M. Miiller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. 91 The slight bend becomes continually more evident. A growth toward different sides visibly commences, showing itself in the altered form of the embryo; this is now elongated distinctly ‘upward and downward (fig. 11). On the former prolongation nothing more is seen, except that the upper part of the embryo, i.e. that which subsequently breaks through the ovule, becomés attenuated. The alteration which occurs in the lower portion _ is more important. A growth toward two different sides mani- fests itself in very delicate outlines. On the one side (fig. 11 a) ‘the embryo bulges out, on the other (d) it is attenuated, and the most external of the cells project spherically beyond the surface. _ Meanwhile a solitary cell in the concavity of the embryo has be- come so much enlarged that it protrudes like a globule beyond all the rest (fig. llc). This is the first cell of the future so-called scale. This exhibits over again all the phenomena presented by the mother-cell of the entire embryo. It contains like the latter an almost transparent, extremely fine granular cytoblastema, and is itself of an extraordinarily delicate structure. It is, moreover, situated in a fold, which is more clearly seen in the figures 12 and 13. This fold is the future furrow or channel of the leaf. When the observer succeeds in getting a view of this fold on the direct face, it is distinctly seen that the mother-cell of the scale stands’ upon another cell which serves for its foundation, and projects in like manner beyond the other cells forming the sur- face. I now leave the cell of the-scale, that I may hereafter ex- amine it more minutely in its relations as an independent organ,— the Scale. While the cell of the scale up to the stage im fig. 13 has in- ereased in size only and shown no apparent alteration in its in- terior, the double growth of the lower portion of the embryo has manifested itself in a more distinct manner; the projecting por- tion has become more evident, and the terminal cells forming spherical projections from the surface of the opposite side now have a horizontal direction. This soon alters. The projecting portion which before only bellied out now becomes conical (fig. 12a). Meanwhile it may be perceived that the lower surface of the embryo is becoming curved, at first slightly, afterwards in a very marked degree. “Then that portion of the embryo on which the spherical, pro- jecting cells occur turns upwards, out of its horizontal position and thus acquires one more vertical. By this means the sphe- rical cells come to be placed on the upper surface (Pl. LI. fig. 12d). Here they come into immediate contact with the fold (fig. 13 c), the furrow of the future leaf, surround the mother- cell of the scale like a semicircular wall, and form thus the foun- dation of the future leaf-sheath of the second leaf. 92 M. Miiller on the Germination of Isoétes lacustris. This latter also has now commenced its course of development. It is the cell ¢ in fig. 12, the cell 4 in fig. 18. It possesses the same characteristics, as mother-cell of the second leaf, as do the mother-cell of the whole embryo and that of the scale. It is a cell with extremely transparent contents and of most delicate con- sistence. The whole future germ-plant is now formed in the embryo. | 1. The first leaf (fig. 12 e) ; 2. The second leaf (fig. 12f) ; 3. The scale of the first leaf (fig. 12 c) ; 4. The future root (fig. 12 d) ; 5. A reservoir, in which lies stored up the nutriment necessary to the embryo until it becomes capable of supporting itself inde- pendently (fig. 12a). . I will treat each of these organs separately in the following paragraphs, in order that I may be able to give a more summary account of them. It is very convenient also to break off here, since we have now arrived at the stage at which the embryo breaks through from the ovule. There are a few words to be added respecting this act. The breaking through never happens all at once, but takes place gradually. First the primine bursts (fig. 14:a) ; this is soon followed by the opening of the secundine (fig. 146) ; the coat of the nucleus protrudes from. these two as a conical process (fig. 14c). The whole of the upper part of the ovule thus acquires a conical form. The primine and secundine persist now in an unaltered condi- tion, till at length, decaying, they fall away, bit by bit, from the coat of the nucleus, which itself in time meets with a similar fate. This now begins to expand considerably. This is caused solely by the expansion, not the multiplication, of its cells. The cellular tissue of the coat of the nucleus thus becomes quite loose in its texture. The papillary cells become less and less conspi- ~ cuous ; all the cells are transparent (fig. 15). The result of this is, that as the light penetrates through the expanding coat of the nucleus we see the first leaf, the tissue of which has by this time become green, showing as a little green cone through the upper transparent part of the coat of the nucleus. : If the entire germ is now extracted from the ovule, it is found exactly of such size that it reaches from the very top of the ovule to the bottom (fig. 15 4). This seems indeed a necessary con- dition, since in order to break through the ovule some pressure must be exerted upon the coat of the nucleus. This pressure can only be effected by the continual growth of the germ in the longitudinal direction, thus becoming longer than the coat of the ee ee oe ee St ee oP yn ? ‘ e On a deposit of Fossil Diatomaceze in Aberdeenshire. 938 nucleus, stretching it and finally breaking through it (fig. 15 a). Thave found this condition regularly in all the ovules I have ex- amined. ‘The various organs only sketched out im slight out- lines in figs. 12 and 18, are mach more distinctly seen in such a germ at this stage. We may here distinguish clearly two strongly marked divisions, viz. 1, the germinal body ; 2, the first leaf. _ T have already used the term germinal body (Keimk6rper) for the part morphologically corresponding in the germinating Sela- ginelle, fur that, namely, out of which developes the terminal bud of the stem and the root, which phenomena I shall discuss in the following section, since the immediately succeeding stages of the embryo, while breaking through, do not essentially differ from this in form. [To be continued. ] 1X.—Notice of a deposit of Fossil Diatomacez in Aberdeenshire. By Gzoree Dicxiz, M.D., Lecturer on Botany, King’s Col- — lege, Aberdeen*. Ir is unnecessary to insist here upon the very general occurrence of silex in fresh and salt water, or the means by which it is dis- solved and retained in solution ; the very general distribution of Diatomaceous plants is a sufficient proof, if any such need be brought forward. -It may be, that by some process like that called electrotype, the organisms in question are enabled to perpetuate _their own beautiful forms, the impressions being taken in the purest transparent silex. The rapidity with which they are mul- tiplied will account for the large deposits of fossil earth found in different parts of the world, and the indestructible nature of the mineral which they have the power of depositing in or upon their tissue enables us to recognize them long subsequently to the time when their vitality ceased. In the month of March last, two different substances were sent to me for examination ; they were described as having been found under a bed of clay at Premnay in the interior of Aberdeenshire. One of them consisted of small solid fragments of a dull white, the other had the form of a fine powder of a pure white. On ex- amination it was found that the former consisted of decomposed felspar forming a kind of porcelain earth, the other had no small resemblance to some fossil earths with whose physical characters I was not unacquainted ; accordingly, on submitting it to exami- nation under the microscope, I found it to be entirely composed * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh 8th June, 1848, 94 On a deposit of Fossil Diatomacez in Aberdeenshire. of Diatomacee. Being desirous of procuring additional infor- mation respecting the probable circumstances under which such a deposit might have taken place, I requested some particulars respecting it; my disappointment was considerable when informed - that the decomposed felspar alone had .been found under a bed of clay, but that the white powder was in reality the residue left after the use of peat as fuel, a quantity of which had been pre- served, its peculiar appearance having attracted notice. The fact, however, is not less interesting when viewed in connection with a true fossil earth to be presently described, which was found by Mr. Murray, at Blackhouse near Peterhead, under a bed of peat, for specimens of which I am indebted to my friend Professor MacGillivray. The residue of the Premnay peat was found to consist of the following Diatomacee :— Eunotiee *. Cocconema lanceolatum. Eunotia ocellata. Gomphonema lanceolatum ? E. tetraodon. Naviculee. E. turgida. ; : Himantidium Arcus. tNavicula acrospheeria. ou. N. binodis. RR Meridiee. N. dicephala. Meridion circulare. +N. major. N. nodosa 8. striata. TN. viridis. Stauroneis lanceolata. Fragilariee. Fragilaria rhabdosoma. Meloseiree. S. linearis. +Meloseira Italica. S. Microstauron. j +S. Phoenicenteron. Surirellee. : : +Surirella bifrons. Labellariee. Synedra Ulna. Tabellaria ventricosa. Cymbellee. Coseinodiscee. Cymbella Ehrenbergii. Coscinodiscus minor. This last was detected by Mr. Thwaites, to whose assistance I am indebted in naming the species. Those marked + were in greatest quantity, and the Meloseira Italica was more abundant than the others ; this species had not, so far as | am aware, been hitherto included in the list of British species, and I have found it in a living state very abundantly in several localities near Aber- deen ; it generally occurs at the sources of cold springs. The residue so rich in Diatomacee, remaining after burning peat from the Premnay bogs, renders it exceedingly probable that separate deposits of fossil Diatomacee may yet be detected there. | The specimen from Peterhead, in possession of Dr. MacGil- livray, is a mass of small specific gravity having a laminated * The names are adopted from Kiitzing’s work on the Diatomacee, “ a * ne Te PE ns Tee Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 95 Eunotiee. - Epithemia alpestris. +E. gibba. E. ocellata. . E. proboscidea. E. turgida. E. Zebra. +Eunotia Monodon. Himantidium Arcus. Fragilariee. Fragilaria rhabdosoma. Meloseiree. . Meloseira Italica. M. subflexilis ? Surirellee. Campylediscus Clypeus. Surirella elliptica. S. Solea. Synedra capitata. Cocconeidee. Cocconeis Pediculus. structure with remains of vegetable fibre interspersed through it. It was found to contain nearly forty species of Diatomacee, viz.— . Cymbellea, +Cymbella Ehrenbergii. C. cuspidata. 4C. helvetica. +#C. maculata. +Cocconema cymbiforme. -Gomphonema minutum. G. pohlizeforme. Naviculee. Navicula attenuata. +N. binodis. N. dicephala. +N. inflata. N. major. TN. oblonga. N, radiosa. N. rhomboides. N. viridis.’ Stauroneis lanceolata. Amphora ovalis. A. elliptica. Tabellariee. Tabellaria fenestrata. Those marked + were most abundant. eS? i ai ag Ra i! FI at nay y X.—Descriptions of Aphides. By Francts Watxnr, F.L.S, {Continued from p. 48.] EIGHTEENTH GROUP. This group may require subdivision, but it does not contain many species. 33. Aphis Picee. Aphis Picea, Panz. Faun. Germ. 78. f. 22; Fabr. Rhyn. 302. 56; Zett. Faun. Lapp. i. 557. 1; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 141. 111. Lachnus grossus, Kalt. Ent. Zeitung, 1846, 175. The viviparous winged female. This is black, smooth, and shi- ning: the front of the head is slightly convex: there are two im- pressions on the crown : the feelers are red, filiform, and hardly half the length of the body ; their tips are black ; the fourth joint is rather more than one-third of the length of the third, which is erenulated beneath; the fifth joint is a little longer than the fourth ; the sixth is not half the length of the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short: the eyes are black and prominent : the mouth 96 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. is black, and nearly as long as the body: the lobes of the chest are strongly marked : the nectaries hardly rise above the surface of the abdomen: the legs are black and not hairy ; they are very long, especially the hind-legs ; the thighs except their tips, the fore-shanks and the middle-shanks from the base to the middle, and the hind-shanks at the base, are red; the shanks are very slightly curved: the wings are very much longer than the body, and tinged with brown, but they are colourless towards the base ; the wing-ribs and the wing-brands are black ; the veins are paler ; the base of the fore-border of the wing is convex ; the brand is — linear and very long, and occupies rather less than half the length of the wing ; it terminates abruptly, forming nearly a right angle from whence springs the fourth vein which is long and straight ; the third vein is obsolete near its source ; it is forked before one-third and forked again after two-thirds of its length ; the angles formed by these forks are very acute ; the tip of the upper branch of the second fork is very near the tip of the fourth — vein ; the first and the second veins are almost straight ; they are near each other at the base, but very far apart at the tips. Length of the body 23 lines ; of the wings 7 lines. This species feeds on Abies Picea, the silver fir, and on A. ex- celsa, the spruce fir ; it occurs near London in the middle of June, and I have found it in abundance on the Alps of Switzerland. 54. Aphis Pini, Linn. Aphis Pini, Linn. Syst. Nat. ii. 796. 21; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2207 ; Faun. Suec. 994; Fabr. Mant. Ins. 11.317.44; Sp. Ins. ii. 389. 39; Ent. Syst. iv. 219. 44; Syst. Rhyn. 300. 44; Rossi, Faun. Etrusc. 264. 1396. A. nuda Pini, Deg. Ins. ui. 18. 1. t. 6. f. 1-14. Lachnus Pini, Kalt. Mon. Pfian. i. 155. 8. Pityaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2™¢ série, v. 482. The viviparous wingless female. It is stout and active, and runs fast: the body is flat, subquadrate, hairy, smooth and shining, and thickly covered with very small black dots: the head is pale red: the chest is yellow: the abdomen is green: the front of the head is convex: the feelers are yellow, hairy, and less than half the length of the body ; their tips are black ; the fourth joint is more than half the length of the third; the fifth is longer than the fourth; the sixth is about half the length of the fifth; the seventh is extremely short: the eyes are black and prominent: the mouth is tawny, and reaches beyond the hind-hips ; its tip is brown ; the first joint is linear; the second, third and fourth joints are formed lke a spindle which is shorter than the first joint : the nectaries are dull red, and like tubercles on the surface of the abdomen: the legs are tawny, hairy, long, and stout ; the the ce ae a Pe ee + abet ors eT og lo Pe a a ; aE eT ae ne Ne Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 97 feet and the tips of the shanks are brown; the hips are large ; the feet are rather long; the second joint and the shanks are slightly curved. _ Ast variety. The abdomen is yellow. 2nd variety. The abdomen is very pale buff, with three green stripes along its back. 8rd variety. The head and the fore-chest are red, and the rest of the body is white with two green stripes along the back : there _ 1s also a tawny space round the base of each nectary. 4th variety. The body is red, and mottled with white powder, and that chiefly on each side of the fore-part of the body which is pale red beneath. © _ 5th variety. The disc of the abdomen is slightly metallic. 6th variety. The nectaries are black. 7th variety. The shanks are pale yellow towards the base ; their tips and the feet are black. 8th variety. The legs are yellow ; the feet, the tips of the thighs, the base and tips of the shanks, and the whole of the fore-shanks are black, The viviparous winged female. While a pupa the body and the limbs are hairy : the body is bright red: the limbs are yellow ; the tips of the feelers, the eyes, the tip of the mouth, the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks are black : the feelers are hardly half the length of the body. It acquires wings in the middle of June, and is then red: the dise of the chest is dark gray : the ab- domen is yellow, elliptical, shining, broader than the chest, covered with little black dots, and having a whitish line bordered with darker colour along its back ; it is paler beneath : the feelers are yellow, and hardly half the length of the body; their tips are brown : the mouth is yellow with a black tip: the nectaries are black, and each of them is surrounded by a red circle: the legs are yellow ; the knees and the tips of the thighs are dull red ; the feet and the tips of the shanks are black : the wings are colourless and longer than the body; the wing-ribs are yellow ; the brands and the veins are dull red; the rib-veins begin to widen into the brands at about half the length of the wing; the brand is long _and linear ; the angle near its tip is less obtuse than that of A. Abietis, but more obtuse than that of A. Picee ; the fourth vein is nearly straight ; the third vein is obsolete near its source ; it is forked before one-third and forked again after two-thirds of its length ; the angles formed by these forks are very acute ; the tip of the upper branch of the second fork is very near the tip of the fourth vein ; the first and the second veins are almost straight ; they are near each other at the base, but very far apart at the tips. Length of the body 2 lines; of the wings 5 lines. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. ii. 7 9% Mr. F, Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. Ist var. The back of the pupa is thickly covered with black dots : the head and the fore-chest are bright red ; the rest of the chest is pale red: the abdomen is green, paler beneath. | 2nd var. The body is brown and covered with white powder : the dise of the head and that of the chest are black : the feelers are as long as one-fifth of the body: the mouth is pale brown with a black tip: the legs are black; the base of the thighs is yellow ; the shanks also are yellow near their base which is black; the wing-ribs and the veins are brown ; the wing-brands are dark brown. On Pinus sylvestris, the Sootch pine, aie: the greater part of the year. 35. Aphis Pidicoilt Lachnus Pinicola, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 154. 7. Aphis Piniphila, Ratz. Forst. Ins. in, 219. 26, t. 11. f. 5. The viviparous wingless female. The body is of a chocolate colour, with four rows of hoary spots; the underside is tawny and covered with a white bloom: the feelers are yellow with black tips, filiform, slender, slightly hairy, and less than half the length of the body ; the fourth joint is much less than half the length of the third ; the fifth is much longer than the fourth ; the sixth is more than half the length of the fifth; the seventh is ex- tremely short : the mouth is black, yellow at the base, and reaches far beyond the hind-hips ; it increases slightly in breadth towards the tip : the eyes are black : the front is convex : the sides of the fore-chest are slightly notched : the nectaries are black, and hardly rise above the surface of the abdomen : the legs are yellow, long, slender, and slightly hairy ; the shanks and the second joints of the feet are slightly curved ; the hips, the thighs, the feet, and the shanks from the middle to the tips are black. The viviparous winged female. This much resembles the wing- less female, allowing for the usual difference between these two forms : the wings are colourless, and longer than the body ; the brands and the veins are brown; the rib-vein widens into the brand, which is long and linear ; the angle near its tip resembles that of A. Picee, and is much more obtuse than that of A. Pini; the fourth vein springs from this angle and is nearly straight ; the third vein is obsolete near its source ; it is forked before one- third and again after two-thirds of its length ; the angles formed by these forks are very acute ; the tip of the upper branch of the second fork is very near the tip of the fourth vein ; the first and the second veins are almost straight ; they are near "each other at the base, but very far apart at the tips. Length of the body 13-14 line; of the wings 31—4 lines. On Pinus sylvestris, the Scotch pine: very abundant in the autumn. + AS ree ame Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 99 36. Aphis Pinett. Aphis Pineti, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 219. 45 ; Syst. Rhyn. 309. 45 ; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat.1. 2207. A. tomentosa Pini, Deg. Ins. ui. 26. 2. t. 6. f. 19. 25 ; Zett. Ins. Lapp. i. 558. 2. Lachnus Pineti, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 162. 12. Pinetifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2™° série, v. 482. The viviparous wingless female. The body is oval, convex, dull green, shining, but thickly covered with white cottony matter ; the segments are of nearly equal size: the front is slightly con- vex, and beset with hairs : the mouth reaches the hind-hips ; its tip and the eyes are black: the feelers are filiform, slender, and less than half the length of the body ; their tips are black ; the fourth joint is more than half the length of the third ; the fifth is shorter than the fourth, and the sixth than the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short : the nectaries are like tubercles on the surface of the abdomen: the legs are stout, hairy, and pale green with a bluish tinge, and of moderate length ; the feet and the tips of * the shanks are brown ; the shanks and the second jomts of the feet are slightly curved. Ist variety. ‘The body is dull red. : _2nd variety. The body is dull reddish brown. 3rd variety. The body is dull dark red : the nectaries are black : the limbs are pale green. The viviparous winged female. The body is grayish black : the limbs are black : the shanks are green with black tips : the wings are colourless, and very much longer than the body; the wing- ribs and the wing-brands are dark brown ; the veins are paler ; the brand is long and linear; the angle which it forms near its tip is less obtuse than that of 4. Pini; the fourth vein which springs from it is long and straight ; the third vein is obsolete near its source; it is forked before one-third and forked again before two-thirds of its length; the angles formed by these forks are very acute ; the tip of the upper branch of the second fork is very near the tip of the fourth vein; the first and the second veins are almost straight; they are near each other at the base, but very far apart at the tips. | Length of the body 14 line; of the wings 3 lines. 1st variety. The body is black: the abdomen is dark green beneath : the feelers are green, brown at the base: the mouth is dark green: the legs are green: the wing-ribs are pale red. The pupa has an elliptical dull brown body ; its rudimentary wings are black. On Pinus sylvestris, the Scotch pine, in the autumn. 7% 100 Mr. F, Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 37. Aphis Abietis, n.s. The viviparous wingless female. The body is oval, pale red and hairy : the feelers are pale brown, filiform, and nearly as long as one-fourth of the body; the fourth joint is less than half the length of the third; the fifth is much longer than the fourth ; the sixth is as long as the fourth ; the seventh is extremely short : : the eyes are dark brown: the mouth is reddish brown, at least two-thirds of the length of the body, and reaches far beyond the hind-hips: the nectaries are dark, and like tubercles : the legs are dull reddish brown, hairy, and moderately long ; the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown ; the feet and the shanks are slightly curved, and the latter are very hairy. The viviparous winged female. It resembles the preceding form in colour and shape, but the head and the disc of the chest are brown : the feelers are less than half the length of the body: the wings are colourless and moderately long; the veins and the brands are brown; the rib-vein begins to widen into the brand before half the length of the wing; the brand is long and nar- row, and the angle which it forms at its tip is very obtuse ; the first, the second and the fourth veins are nearly straight, and the two former are near each other at the base, but far apart at their tips ; the third vein is indistinct and extremely slender, and obsolete at its source. While a:pupa it is pale whitish red : the head is dark red: the limbs are very pale red : the feelers and the mouth have brown tips, and the former are hardly one-third of the length of the body : the eyes are black : the nectaries are dark red: the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown. lst var. The body is tawny and covered with white powder : the disc of the head and that of the chest are dark brown : the limbs are tawny : the feelers are as long as one-third of the body : the eyes are black and prominent : the abdomen is paler beneath : the nectaries are brown : the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown : the wing-ribs, the brands and the veins are tawny. The winged male. The body is dark brown: the feelers are brown, yellow at the base, and more than half the length of the body : the eyes are black : the mouth is yellow with a brown tip and nearly as long as the body: the legs are yellow and stout ; the knees, the feet and the tips of the shanks are black : the wings are very much longer than the body. Length of the body 13-2 lines ; of the wings 2-32 lines. Found on Abies caeelea: the spruce fir, with the female in the summer and autumn. 38. Aphis costata, Zetterstedt. Aphis costata, Zett. Faun. Lapp. i. 559. 3; Ins, Lapp. fase. ii. 311. 4. ac Ess ee Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 101 ‘Lachnus fasciatus, Burm. Handb. der Ent. 1. 93. 4; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 160. 9. Cinara Symphiti, Curtis, Brit. Ent. 577. Teniolachnus, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2™° série, v. 481. The viviparous wingless female. The body is black, oval, hairy, velvet-like, and prettily mottled with white: the abdomen beneath is almost white : the feelers are filiform, black, hairy, pale yellow towards the base, and nearly half the length of the body; the fourth joint is much less than half the length of the third; the fifth is much longer than the fourth ; the sixth is longer than the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short: the front is convex: the mouth is black, yellow towards the base, and reaches beyond the hind-hips : the legs are black, stout, and hairy ; the base of the thighs and the shanks except their tips are yellow; the shanks and the second joints of the feet are slightly curved. When young it is grayish black and linear: the mouth projects some way beyond the tip of the abdomen : the feelers and the legs are white ; the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks and of the feelers are black. Ist var. The body is brown, shining, and mottled with gray and black down: the feelers are nearly white; their tips are brown : the nectaries are black : the legs are pale yellow ; the feet, the tips of the thighs and of the shanks and the base also of the latter are black. The viviparous winged female. It acquires wings in the begin- ning of June, and is then dark brown and covered with white powder : the feelers are tawny, and rather less than two-thirds of the length of the body ; the tips of the joints are brown: the eyes are dark red and prominent: the mouth is tawny with a brown tip and reaches the hind-hips: the legs are tawny ; the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown; the thighs also are adorned with brown spots and rings: the wings are colourless, clouded with brown, and longer than the body ; the wing-ribs, the wing- brands and the veins are dark brown ; the rib-vein begins to widen into the brand a little after half the length of the wing ; the brand is rather long, and almost spindle-shaped ; the angle near the tip of its hind-border is very obtuse, the part thence to the tip is slightly curved, and not near so long as that of A. viminalis, but much resembles the termination of the brand in Aphis submacula ; the fourth vein is slightly curved and rather long ; the third vein is obsolete near its source; it is forked before one-third and forked again after two-thirds of its length ; the angles formed by these forks are very acute; the tip of the upper branch of the second fork is very near the tip of the fourth vein ; the first and the second veins are almost straight; they are near each other at the base, but very far apart at the tips. 102 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. Length of the body 12-2 lines; of the wings 4% lines. The oviparous wingless Semale. The body is bronze-colour with a yellowish border: the limbs are yellow: the feelers are about half the length of the body ; the tips of the joints are black : the nectaries are also black : the knees are brown; the feet and the tips of the shanks are black. The end of October is its season for laying eggs ; they are placed in a series along a leaf, and ad- here together by their tips ; their colour at first is yellow, and of a deeper tint at one end than at the other. 39. Aphis Laricis, n.s. The viviparous wingless female. The body is oval, convex, baie velvet-like, very narrow towards the head, of a chocolate colour, and thickly covered with white spots of various sizes ; the under- side is of a rust-colour, and thickly covered with white powder : the feelers are yellow, slender, filiform, black towards the tips, and hardly more than one-third of the length of the body; the fourth jomt is less than half the length of the third ; the fifth is a little longer than the fourth ; the sixth is about half the length of the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short: the eyes are black and rather prominent: the mouth is black and reaches a little beyond the hind-hips ; it is dirty white and half transparent to- wards the base : the nectaries are black : the front is convex: the sides of the fore-chest are slightly notched : the legs are yellow, long, stout, and hairy; the hips, the knees, the feet, the tips of . the shanks, and the hind-thighs from the middle to the tips are black ; the shanks and the second joints of the feet are slightly curved. lst var. The body is broader and of a greenish brown colour: the head is reddish. - 2nd var. The body is brown: the head is red: the tips only of the hind-thighs are black ; the hind-shanks are black from their middle to their tips. When very young the body is pale brown, and the mouth projects beyond the abdomen like a tail. 3rd var. The body is brown, mottled with black and white. The viviparous winged female. While a pupa it much resembles the wingless female in colour, being dark brown with a pale yel- lowish stripe. along the middle of the abdomen ; when the wings are unfolded it is dark brown, slightly powdered with white : the feelers are black, and rather less or rather more than half the length of the body ; the base of the third joint is yellow; the fifth joint is as long as the fourth ; the sixth is much more than half the length of the fifth : the mouth is yellow with a black tip:: the base of the thighs, and the shanks except their tips are yel- low ; the shanks are especially hairy: the wings are colourless, and very much longer than the body ; the wing-ribs are dull yel- Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 103 low ; the wing-brands and the veins are brown; the rib-vein begins to widen into the brand at about half the ‘length of the wing ; the brand is rather long, the angle which it forms near its tip is very obtuse, and it thence slopes gradually away ; the fourth vein is straight; the third vein is sometimes very indistinct or almost obsolete along its whole length ; the second vein is slightly eurved ; the first is straight, and is near to the second at the base, but remote at the tip. The oviparous wingless female. This appears towards the end of the autumn, and is larger than the viviparous female : the ab- domen is at least thrice the breadth of the head or of the fore- chest: the body is light brown and has a very slight metallic tinge: the head and the fore-chest are somewhat darker than the rest of the body : there are three lines of black dots and two large transverse black velvet-like spots on each side of the abdomen: the feelers are yellow, black towards their tips, and less than one- third of the length of the body ; 3 the fifth joint is much longer than the fourth joint ; the sixth is much less than half the length of the fifth: the mouth is black, dull yellow towards the base, and reaches the hind-hips, and is much less than half the length of the body: the legs are yellow ; the thighs are darker towards their tips; the hips, the knees, and the tips of the shanks are black. The eggs as usual are large, and thickly enveloped in a glutinous matter ; they are laid in November. lst var. The body i is dark brown : the tips of the joints of the feelers are black ; the legs are darker and much longer than those of the viviparous female ; the base only of the shanks is yellow. Length of the body 11-3 lines ; of the wings 24 lines. 40. Aphis Junipert, Fabr. Aplus Juniperi, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 218.40; Syst. Rhyn. 300. 40; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2205 ; Deg. Ins. iii. 56. 7. t. 4. f. 7- 9; ‘Schrank, Faun. Boie. ii. 1. 119. ‘Lacknus Juniperi, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. 1. 153- 6. Juniperifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2¢ série, v. 481. The viviparous wingless female. When young it is dull red, nearly linear, rather flat, and is covered with thick hairs : the head is broad: the eyes are dark brown: the limbs are dirty white : the feelers are hairy, slightly setaceous, shorter than the body ; their tips are brown : the mouth has also a brown tip and is nearly as long as the body: the nectaries are hardly visible : the legs are hairy, long and stout. When full-grown it is pale red, oval, convex, plump, hairy, and thickly covered with white powder : ‘the segments are all distinct, and of nearly equal length : there is a row of black velvet-like spots along each side of the back ; they become fainter as they retreat from the head, and dis- 104 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. appear before the middle of the body: the front is convex: the feelers are black, hairy, filiform, tawny at the base, and hardly more than one-fourth of the length of thebody ; the fourth joint is rather more than half the length of the third ; the fifth is much longer than the fourth ; the sixth is shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is very short: the mouth is black, tawny at the base, and reaches nearly to the hind-hips: the front is convex: the nec- taries are black, and rise very little above the surface of the abdo- men: the legs are black, hairy, stout, and moderately long ; the shanks and the second joints of the feet are very slightly curved, 1st var. When young it is dull green; the feelers are tawny with brown tips : when full-grown it is dark green with a brassy tinge. 2nd var. The body is of a pale flesh-red colour, thickly covered with white powder: the limbs are white, with the exception of the base of the feelers and of the thighs which are yellow. The viviparous winged female. This form acquires wings soon after the middle of May: it is then black and hairy: the fore- border and the hind-border of the fore-chest and the abdomen are dull red: the feelers are dull brown, hairy, filiform, and less than half the length of the body: the mouth is pale red with a black - tip, and reaches the hind-hips: the neetaries are black, and about one-twentieth of the length of the body; the base of each is encircled with a large black spot: the legs are blaek ; the base of the thighs is dull yellow: the wings are colourless, and longer than the body ; the wing-ribs are yellowish brown ; the rib-veins and the brands are dark brown; the other veins are pale yellow; the rib-vein widens into the brand before half the length of the wing ; the brand is long and linear, its tip is very obtuse, and the hind-border there forms almost a right angle ; the fourth vein is long and straight; the third vein is very slender ; it is forked a little before one-third and again before two-thirds of its length ; the angles formed by these forks are very acute; the tip of the upper branch of the second fork is very near the tip of the fourth vein ; the first and the second vems are almost straight ; they are near each other at the base, but very far apart at the tips. Length of the body 13 line ; of the wings 4 lines. 41. Aphis submacula, n. s. The viviparous winged female. The body and the limbs are blaek and hairy: the feelers are filiform, and rather more than half the length of the body; the fourth joint is much less than half the length of the third ; the fifth is much longer than the fourth ; the sixth is a little shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short; the front is convex: the nectaries hardly rise above the Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 105 surface of the abdomen : the legs are long and stout ; the base of the fore-thighs is brown ; the shanks and the first joimts of the feelers are very slightly curved : the wings are brown, and of mo- derate size; the rib-vein is black, and gradually widens into the brand which is long and nearly spindle-shaped, but rather broader at its tip than where it begins; the hind-border near the tip is eurved, and does not form an angle ; the branch-veins are tawny ; the fourth vein is curved and clouded at its base but afterwards straight; the third is obsolete at its source, and forked just be- fore one-third and again a little after two-thirds of its length ; the forks are more diverging from each other than in most species of this group ; the first and the second veins are nearly straight, and approach each other at their origin, but are far apart at their tips ; in each upper wing there is a large brown spot proceeding from the beginning of the brand into the disc of the wing, and ending at the first fork of the third vein. . Length of the body 14 line; of the wings 4 lines. Found in the Isle of Portland by Mr. Dale. 42, Aphis saligna. Aphis saligna, Sulzer, Ins. t. 11. f. 6; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2209. Aphis salicina ?, Zett. Ins. Lapp. i. 311. 6. Aphis viminalis, Fonscol. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. x. 184. 27. The viviparous wingless female. The body is large, oval, convex, and of a velvet-like bronze-brown colour : the head and the chest are shaded with black: the head is of moderate size: the abdo- men above has two rows of black velvet-like spots on each side, and between them there are two rows of smaller black spots along the back ; these last rows are confluent on the segments towards the chest, and form a continuous transverse band: the body be- neath 1s dull pale brown with a row of black dots on the sides of the abdominal segments: the feelers are black, filiform, hairy, yellow towards the base, and less than half the length of the body ; the fourth joint is much less than half the length of the third; the fifth is a little longer than the fourth; the sixth is a little shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short: the front is convex : the eyes are black and not prominent : the front is convex: the mouth is black, pale dull green towards the base, and it reaches the hind-hips: the nectaries are large, prominent, and velvet-black ; between them and a little in advance there is a large spot of the same size and colour: the legs are black, long, stout and lrairy ; the thighs except the tips and the shanks to- wards the base are bright reddish yellow ; the shanks are straight ; the second joints of the feet are slightly curved. When very young it 1s lmear, dull brown, and rather flat : the feelers are dull 106 © Mr. I’. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. brown, yellowish white towards the base: the mouth is pale yel- low with a black tip, and full as long as the body : the nectaries are black, the thighs, except the tips, and the shanks near the base, are pale yellow: sometimes the legs are yellow with the ex- ception of the knees and of the feet. | The viviparous winged female. In colour it resembles the wing- less insect, but the feelers are quite black : the wings are colour- less and very long, their length much exceeding that of the body ; the wing-ribs are dark red; the veins and the wing-brands are dark brown; the wing-vein begins to widen into the brand at about half the length of the wing ; the brand is long and linear, the angle at its tip is very obtuse, and its termination is much more gradual than that of most other species of this group ; the fourth vein is very slightly curved ; the third vein is almost ob- solete at its source, and is forked a little after one-third and again a little before two-thirds of its length, so that the two forks are near together; the first and the second veins are nearly straight, and, as is usual in this group, they are much nearer each other at the base than at the tips. Length of the body 23-38 lines; of the wings 7 lines. _ This species frequents willow-trees in the autumn. Mr. Wing observed it in great abundance on the shoots from the middle of September to the end of October in 1846 ; and he remarked that its honey-dew is very attractive to moths, among which Nonagria crassicornis, which very seldom touches sugar, was plentiful. This fact has also been remarked in France, and is mentioned in the ‘ Annales de la Société Entomologique,’ vol. vi. 43. Aphis Roboris, Linn. Aphis Roboris, Linn. Syst. Nat. u. 735.22 ; Faun. Suec. 993 ; Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 218. 42; Syst. Rhyn. 300. 42; Schrank, Faun. Boic. u. 1. 113. 1209; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. 1. 2207; Fonscol. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. x. 183. 26. Aphis longipes, Leon Dufour, Rech. sur les Hemipt., Mém. de VInst. iv. 2438. t. 9. f. 116, 117. Cinara Roboris, Curtis, Brit. Ent. xu. 576. Lachnus Roboris, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 148. 2. Dryaphis, Avyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2™¢ série, v. 481. The viviparous wingless female. This appears on the twigs and young branches of the oak in the beginning of July. When very young it is dull green or pale red, lmear, narrow, and shining: the feelers are much less than half the length of the body ; their tips are darker: the mouth is a little longer than tlre body ; its tip and the eyes are black: the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks are also black. When half-grown the body is dark brown, flat, and rather narrow, and has a broad red band across Lee Pe en ee ee ie Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 107 it: the feelers are dull yellow, filiform, and about half the length of the body: the eyes are rather prominent: the mouth is pale “one with a black tip and as long as the body: the legs are lack ; the thighs and the shanks are yellow towards the base. When full-grown it is oval, smooth, hairy, very glossy, and of a dark brown or metallic purple tint: the head is dark red, and has two impressions between the eyes: the feelers are black, hairy, yellow towards the base, and also at the base of each joint; the fourth joint is less than half the length of the third ; the fifth is alittle shorter than the fourth ; the sixth is hardly half the length of the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short : the front is convex : the sides of the fore-chest are slightly undulated: there is a rim round the under side of the abdomen: the mouth reaches the hind-hips : the nectaries are like tubercles, and hardly rise above the surface of the abdomen : the legs are long, slender, black, and hairy ; the base of the thighs is yellow, and there is a broad yel- low band around each shank ; the pale colour as usual prevails most in the fore-legs and least in the hind-legs, which are very long, and their shanks are much curved. The viviparous winged female. This differs as usual in struc- ture from the wingless insect, but much resembles it in shape and colour: the fifth joint of the feelers is as long as the fourth: the wings are rather short and narrow, and of a dark brown colour with three colourless bands; the second band descends from the rib- vein to the hind-border of the wing ; the third winds round the tip of the brand ; the wing-rib is broad, and at half the length of the wing it dilates into a wide brand which is nearly linear, and is rounded away at the tip, not forming an angle ; the fourth vein is rather long, and is much curved at its base which springs from the rib-vein just before the curve of the latter begins; it is clouded on each side of the base, and there divides the colourless band on the wing; the third vein is obsolete at its base ; it is forked a little before one-third, and forked again a little before two-thirds of its length ; the second vein is slightly curved ; the first is un- dulated and strongly marked ; these two veins are near each other where they leave the rib-vein, but far apart at their tips. The oviparous wingless female. This is larger than the vivipa- - rous female, and the fifth joint of the feelers is longer than the fourth. Length of the body 2—22 lines ; of the wings 5 lines. This species is the prey of a parasitic Hymenopterous insect ; it is most: abundant in the autumn, and feeds then in large clus- ters on the shoots of the oak; it seems to prefer the branches that grow from the old stumps of that tree, and is attended by Formica fuliginosa and by F. rufa, especially by the latter species. The wings when just unfolded are of a milk-white colour, and 108 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. rather opake: the young ones are sometimes near thirty innum- ber, and like the mother Aphis are covered with a glutinous mat- ter, which by the application of Canada balsam assumes a fine rich red hue: the insects infested by parasitic grubs do not so much abound with this coloured matter, but contain a white fluid, which ~ also occurs, but in a smaller quantity, in those that are free from the internal devourers : these grubs are 1 line or more in length, white, slightly curved, and bemg inclosed in Canada balsam and thereby rendered transparent, they appear to be filled with the brown oak sap received through the medium of their prey. — 44, Aphis agilis. Lachnus agilis, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 161. 11. The viviparous wingless female. The body is spindle-shaped, grass-green, long and narrow, with three rows of black spots along the back: the front, the feelers, and the shanks are bristly : the front of the head is slightly notched : the feelers are filiform, pale green with brown tips, and much less than half the length of the body; the fourth joint is rather more than half the length of the third; the fifth is as long as the fourth ; the sixth is very much shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is extremely short, and almost obsolete: the eyes are dark brown: the mouth is pale green with a brown tip, and reaches to the hind-hips: the sides of the fore-chest are straight : the nectaries do not rise above the surface of the body: the legs are dull green, stout, long and bristly ; the hind-legs are very much longer than the fore-legs ; the knees and the feet are brown; the joints of the feet are unusually long, and the second joint is curved ; the hind-shanks are very bristly. It runs very fast. lst variety. The body linear. 2nd variety. The feelers only one-third of the length of the body. Srd variety. The fore-part of the body is tinged with yellow, and there are four rows of black dots along the abdomen: the feelers are about half the length of the body. ~ The viviparous winged female. 'This insect acquires wings in the beginning of June: it is green, slightly covered with white powder, and in shape resembles the wingless female: the dise of the chest and that of the breast are pale reddish brown: the feelers are brown, pale yellow at the base, and a little more or less than half the length of the body: the eyes are dark brown: the mouth is pale yellow ; its tip 1s brown: the legs are long and pale yellow; the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks are brown: the wings are transparent, narrow, and a lit- tle longer than the body ; the wing-ribs are pale green ; the wing- brands and the veins are pale brown ; the rib-vyein widens into Pe ae eee eee Ce 7 oe sil Ss ph a as 4 ead a bale a ies ah eS. ot -_ Mr. P. H. Gosse on the Insects of Jamaica. 109 the brand just after the middle of the fore-border of the wing ; this brand is long and linear, thinned away at either end, termi- nating rather abruptly at the tip, and forming a very obtuse an- gle on the hind-border whence springs the fourth vein ; the first and second branch-veins are indistinct and near together at the base, but widely apart at their tips; the latter is slightly waved ; the third is obsolete till its fork which it sends forth at one-third of its length, and it has no second fork ; the fourth vein is nearly straight. . Length of the body 1-12 line; of the wings 3 lines. Ist var. The feelers are dull green; the tips of the joints are brown : the eyes are black : the mouth is pale green with a brown tip: the legs are pale green with dark brown tips: the wing- brands are pale green. While the pupa is young, its colour is yellowish green with a green abdomen ; when it grows older it has four rows of black spots along the abdomen, and its rudi- mentary wings are pale yellow. This species feeds on Pinus sylvestris, the Scotch pine, from the spring to the autumn. The species of this group differ much from each other in shape, and as I have not yet noticed all the forms in which they appear, I shall probably mention them again in a future part of these descriptions. Some of the species are solitary, others herd to- gether ; Aphis saligna, Pinicola, Laricis, and Roboris, occur in thick clusters during the autumn, and the three last species are then attended by large swarms of Scatopse picea, among which S. flavicollis is sometimes,found : these flies feed on the honey- dew, an appropriate occasion for their pairimg which accordingly occurs at this time of the year. [To be continued. ] X1I.—On the Insects of Jamaica. By Putrtie Henry Gosse. [Continued from vol. i. p. 352.] 106. Clytus angulatus. Taken at Savanna le mer, early in June. - 107. Eriphus terminalis. Common on the Hampstead Road in June. < 108. Eriphus (?) humeralis. Very numerous in the same loca- _ lity and season as the preceding. 109. Ptychodes trilineatus. Some half-dozen specimens of this handsome beetle were procured on the Hampstead Road and in the Cotta Wood at Content during the last week in June. 110 Mr. P. H. Gosse on the Insects of Jamaiea. 110. Tetraopes (sp. nov.). Not uncommon on bushes beside the Hampstead Road in May and June. 111, 112. Tetraopes. Two other species. 113. Odontata (sp. near bicolor). 114. Anoplitis sanguinicollis ? Two specimens taken on Blue- fields Mountain in March. I met with it also near Alligator Pond in December. i 115. Jmatidium (sp. nov.). This little Cassida, exquisitely beautiful when alive, from the peculiar softness and richness of its purple hue, was rather numerous in the Cotta Wood, and the lower part of the Hampstead Road, near Content, in June. It occurred on the leaves of small trees, a little within the woods rather than at their edges, usually about eight or ten feet from the ground. I think we took one or two individuals also on . Bluefields Mountain. 116. Coptocycla guttata? 117. Coptocycla (sp. near gemmea). Both of these small spe- cies were sufficiently common on the Hampstead Road and in the Cotta Wood in June. The brilliant iridescent hues that play over the glassy surfaces of these beetles during life vanish after death ; but I have been told-(though I have not been able to realize this by experiment) that these fleeting colours may be temporarily restored by plunging the dried specimens into hot water. : 118. Gidionychis equinoctialis? Taken at Bluefields about the end of December. 119. Cerotoma (sp. nov.). 120. Galeruca Domingensis. This little blue beetle occurred almost exclusively at the spot where the road called the Short Cut crosses the Paradise river, between Bluefields and Savanna le mar. Here however in March and April it was very numerous, hundreds thronging the air in flight a few yards above the earth, on the western bank, which is covered with a soft thymy herbage. The pretty little Melitea, which Mr. Doubleday has named M. Proclea, was also very abundant in the same very limited spot at the same season. 121, 122. Galeruca. Two other species. 123. Orchestris (sp. nov.). 124. Colaspis (sp. near viridipennis). This pretty little beetle was very abundant upon the Hampstead Road in June. It principally occurred on the broad spinous leaves of a large her- baceous species of Solanum, common in spots which had been once reclaimed from the forest, but had been allowed to run to waste. Scores of these little green insects were seen on these plants, many of them in copula. When alarmed, they are apt to draw in their feet and drop to the ground. | Mr. P. H. Gosse on the Insects of Jamaica. 11] - 125,126. Colaspis.. Two other species, both from the Hamp- stead Road. 127 to 137. Cryptocephalus. Ten species. All from the last- named locality. 138 to 140. Coccinella. Three species, all small ; principally from Bluefields and the vicinity. 141. Brachiacantha (sp. nov. ?). 142. Ezoplectra (sp. nov.). Taken at Alligator Pond about the middle of December. Passing by, at least for the present, the other Orders, I pro- ceed to the Lepidoptera. LEPIDOPTERA. 1. Papilio Marceilinus (Doub.), P. Protesilaus (Drury). This butterfly occurred from the middle of April onward, through the summer. It was nowhere common, but Sabito Bottom was the chief locality where I observed it. Here we might sometimes see half-a-dozen in the course of a morning, unless the same indivi- dual would appear over again, flying rather low, with an irregular - dancing motion, along the shrubs and small trees at the edges of woods. It is sufficiently rapid to be caught with difficulty, particularly when alarmed, and hence pursuit is rarely successful. I once caught a dragonfly (Libellula) with one of these butterflies in its mouth, which it had just captured ; and both specimens are in my possession, _ 2. Papilio Thersites. This was always a rare insect. Now and then I caught a momentary glance of its broad yellow- disked wings, as it dashed along over the tops of the trees, par- ticularly at Sabito; but I never captured it myself. In June several specimens were taken for me at Content. They flew high, about the summits of some trees by the road-side, in company with P. Cresphontes, so as to induce the suspicion in my friend that these were the sexes of one species. 3. Papilio Cresphontes.. At all seasons this butterfly occurs in the lowlands, but sparingly. In the months of May and June it is somewhat less scarce than at other times. It is a lofty and a rapid flier, sailing along with little fanning motion of its wings, yet with much power and fleetness. It does not course along the edges of woods and road-sides, but now and then darts suddenly out of the forest or densely-wooded morass, and, appearing but a moment, dashes again among the trees, or soars away above their summits. In June, several at a time were frequently to be seen __ playing about the trees just above Content, often coming down to suck with quivering wings at the yellow blossoms of a patch 112 Mr. P. H. Gosse on the Insecis of Jamaica. of Cassia that occupies a corner of the road. Here they were — easily caught. | 4, Papilio Acamas. On three occasions only did a specimen of this fine insect come into my hands, one of which was much weather-beaten ; the others were in good condition. All were taken at Sabito. It flies high, alighting occasionally on pro- jecting twigs, twenty or thirty feet above the ground. 5. Papilio Pelaus. This species is not uncommon, from April to September, and is widely spread, being found in most loca- lities that I have examined, except the wooded summit of Blue- fields Peak. Its ordinary flight is low, irregular, and not very rapid ; it dances along from bush to bush, and from flower to flower, rifling them as it goes ; but, if pursued, its power of wing is sufficient to carry it quickly out of reach. Yet, from its low haunt and its fondness for flowers, it is not a difficult butterfly to capture with the net. Pelaus, when sucking a flower, resting on a leaf, vibrates strongly its half-erected wings in a peculiar way, so as to be recognised almost as far as it can be seen. 6. Papilio Polydamas. Rather common at certain times and places. In May, on the road cut through the tall forest, between Shrewsbury and Content, I observed it somewhat numerous, flitting slowly over the low herbage, frequently alighting and allowing itself to be approached, so as even to be captured with the fingers. About the middle of June it was no less numerous at Belmont, manifesting the same predilection for the rank herb- age of the road-sides. The species occurred .not unfrequently also at Sabito, and along the road leading to Savanna le mer, and. was confined to no particular season. 7. Pieris Monuste. Common in most situations, especially during the earlier months of the year. : ; 8. Pieris, sp. nov. near Josephina (no. 114 of Doub. and Hewits. Diurn. Lep.). This rather large species was sufficiently common in the lowlands during the winter and spring. I met with it on the heavy sand of Alligator Pond in December, and afterwards somewhat numerously at Sabito and at the Hampstead Road. 9. Pieris Margarita. I did not meet with this till the latter art of March, when we obtained several specimens from Blue- fields Mountain. It also occurred at Sabito and other lowland localities. Sabito in March and April, and the Hampstead Road in June are the great resorts of the Pieride: they commonly fly low, coursing along the bushes and herbage by the sides of roads, but frequently mount to the summits of the lower trees, and play around them, when in profuse blossom, frequently alighting in considerable numbers to suck. I have observed this habit much more on the mountains than in the lowlands. Re eR me re Ce ere lined Mr. P. H. Gosse on the Insects of Jamaica. 113 10. Callidryas Eubule. Abundant at all times and in most situations, particularly in open pastures and ruinates. 11. Callidryas Neleis. This handsome species I did not meet with in 1845 till near the end of June, when it occurred on the Hampstead Road ; a few specimens I took-afterwards in the same locality, but it continued very scarce until the followmg April ; about the middle of which month it suddenly became very abun- dant between Sabito Bottom and Caye, being for some weeks the most common species of butterfly to be seen. Its habits are much the same as those of the larger Pieride generally ; flittmg along the low bushes that frmge the road-sides with an unsteady but somewhat rapid flight, frequently alighting on flowers, and now and then retracing its course. In June it was similarly abundant on the Hampstead Road and around Content ; and on my arrival at Kingston in July, on my way to England, this was found to ‘be the most numerous species in that locality. It would be in- teresting to know if these alternations of abundance and scarcity are periodical. ~ 12. Gonepteryx Lyside. Very rare: a single specimen or two occurred in December and January in the vicinity of Bluefields. 13. Terias Elathea. 14. Terias Euterpe. 15. Tertas Dina. 16. Terias Hyona. 17. Terias (sp. nov.). These five species of Terias are common at most periods of the year: in spring they accompany the Pie- rides and Callidryas Neleis in their dancing flight along the road- side bushes ; more particularly Dina and Hyona. I may remark of all these, as well as ofthe genera just named, that in a road they do not hover about or play backward and forward as some but- terflies do, but pursue the course of the road, one way or the other, and that, notwithstanding the occasional interruptions of alighting, with pretty constant regularity, mostly keeping to that side of the road on which each may happen to be. I think I have remarked that most go the same way, though without any association. Occasionally one may be observed to return upon its course ; but in such case it commonly pursues the new direc- tion with the same regularity until out of sight. “But the more proper and peculiar resorts of the Teriades are large open plains, old pastures and guinea-grass pieces, especially the former two, which are generally overrun with herbaceous weeds, as the Asclepiadee, various species of Cassia and Papilio- nace. ‘The smaller kinds in particular are very abundant in such situations, as Hlaihea and Euterpe, and the delicate little white one with narrowly black-edged wings, which appear’ unde-_ Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. ii. 114 - Mr. P. H. Gosse on the Insects of Jamaica. scribed. Here they flit to and fro without any regularity, a few inches above the ground or herbage, alighting every instant. The habit which the yellow Pieride have of resorting in num- bers to the margin of water is common to the Jamaican species as well as their fellows in other parts of the world. During the rainy season, when the afternoon showers fill the hollows of the highways with broad but shallow pools, which the intense morn- ing sun either wholly or in part dries up, one may see towards the middle of the day, each little patch of slushy mud surrounded by a yellow fringe, composed of a multitude, truly surprising, of these butterflies, large and small, chiefly Callidryas and Terias, which sit on the very edge of the water, side by side, their wings erect and closed, and their long suckers protruded and busily — extracting the moisture. For the most part a considerable num- ber on the wing are hovering about the spot, some alighting and some rising every moment. If compelled to take to flight, which they do very reluctantly, the multitude of yellow wings that in a moment throng the surrounding air is quite astonishing, and forms a very pleasing sight. 18. Danais Berenice var.? Very common in company with the Teriades just mentioned, over large open pastures, such as that of Robin’s River in particular ; where in the month of March great numbers may be seen either resting on the blossoms of the common Red-head (Asclepias curassavica) and other Asele- ptadee, or heavily flyimg to and fro in pairs, united in sexual copula. It has not the lofty and powerful flight of D. Archippus, but hovers over the low pasture-herbage, with so little power of wing, that it is caught without the shghtest trouble, and may be very readily taken with the fingers. 19. Danais Cleothera. This handsomely-marked species oc- eurred at intervals throughout the year, but cannot be considered other than rare. It affects road-sides and openings in the woods rather than pastures, and mountain-sides of moderate elevation rather than the lowlands; in both of which particulars it differs from D. Berenice. : 20. Danais Archippus. This I found still more rare than the preceding ; a very few specimens only were seen by me, and those, though at widely separated intervals of time, only Gf I remember rightly) in one locality ; that part of the road to Savanna le mer which runs through Paradise morass, very near the dwelling- house of the estate. It flew low, about the logwood hedges ; but there are no trees near, or it would probably have towered above them. | . [To be continued. ] rg Be be Ne q A i be ite 2 if } Be A * Se, a a" Am On some new Fossil Fish of the Carboniferous Period. 115 ~ XIT.—On some new Fossil Fish of the Carboniferous Period. By Freprricx M‘Coy, M.G.S. & N.H.S.D. &c. {Continued from p. 10.] -PxiacorpeEs. (Ichthyodorulites.) Homacanthus macrodus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Spine about 8 lines long and 2 lines wide at base, slightly arched and tapering to a point ; section compressed, trigonal ; anterior face formed by a narrow rounded keel, pos- terior concave face bounded on each side by a larger rounded ridge, between which and the anterior keel there is on each side a still smaller rounded longitudinal ridge, the two posterior ridges on each side dichotomise near their base; of the two ‘intervening spaces the anterior is rather wider and the poste- rior rather narrower than the ridges which they separate, they are concave and very slightly striated longitudinally ; posterior face with twelve or fourteen very large, compressed, falcate teeth, alternating in two rows, the alternating bases touching, keeled on their convex edge, their length nearly equalling the e width of the side of the ray at their base. The small size, few ridges and great posterior teeth easily di- stinguish this from other rays of the carboniferous period, while the two latter characters equally distinguish it from the H. ar- cuatus (Ag.) of the old red sandstone. This genus has not been noted before in the carboniferous series. Rare in the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. - (Col. University of Cambridge.) _ Homacanthus microdus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Spine about 1} inch long and 2 lines wide at base > very slightly arched, graduslly tapering ; section ovate ; ante- rior face formed of a narrow rounded keel, each side with two slightly flattened nearly equal keels, the posterior one dicho- tomous at its base; they are their own width apart, the inter- vening spaces being flat and marked with about three longi- tudinal strice ; posterior face with two rows of numerous, co- _ nical hooked teeth, their length scarcely one-fifth the width of the ray at their base. The more slender form, flattened ribs and interspaces, and numerous small conical teeth distinguish this from the last, with which alone it is likely to be confounded. From the same locality and in the same collection as the last. Bx 116 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish Ctenacanthus denticulatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Spine nearly straight, slightly curved towards the apex ; length of naked portion 53 inches, length of the rapidly tapering base 2 inches, width near base 9 lines ; section trun- cato-elliptical, sides slightly convex, front narrow, rounded ; posterior face wide, depressed, concave at both sides, with an obtuse ridge in the middle, the lateral angles closely set with a. row of numerous small, conical, downward-curved teeth on each, their own length apart ; longitudinal ridges rounded, less than their own diameter apart (about four in two lines in the mid- dle of the ray), they are a little wider at base than towards the apex, increasing in number downwards by dichotomy; the sides of each ridge are denticulated with sharp, recurved teeth extending halfway across the intervening spaces, the denticle of one side connected with its fellow on the other by a slightly oblique fold across the ridge, each pair bemg separated from that above and below by about the thickness of the ridge ; near the posterior margin on each side are four or five ridges much smaller than the rest, crossed by oblique blunt tubercles. This species slightly resembles the C. crenatus (Ag.) in its ornament, but instead of the short, close notches in the sides of | the ridges of that species, this is distinguished by the more di- stant, tooth-like denticulation and narrow transverse plice. Not uncommon in the dark shale (of the age of the yellow sandstone) of Monaduff, Drumlish, in the N. of Ireland. (Col. University of Cambridge and Mr.-Griffith.) Ctenacanthus distans (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Spine compressed, gently arched, very long, slender, tapering at the rate of only 3 lines in 5 inches; posterior face with two rows of numerous small, short, conical compressed — teeth, slightly bent downwards, rather more than the width of their base apart ; sides flattened with about ten or twelve close. flattened longitudinal ridges of irregular width, the broadest occasionally subdividing as they approach the base, all the ridges crenulated by small tubercles, about double the thickness of the ridge from each other; those on the anterior ridges are transverse and slightly oblique, while those nearer the concave margin are smaller, and assume the appearance of lengthened, nodular swellings, as in Physonemus. : This is a remarkably long and slender ray; one specimen in the University collection at Cambridge, of which a considerable portion of the apex must be lost, measures six inches in length — and only six lines in width at the broadest part near the base, of the Carboniferous Period. 117 the broken distal extremity being three lines wide, which would probably indicate a further inch and half of length. The portion of the base inserted in the flesh is small and gradually tapering. { am not certain of the exact form of the section. Not uncommon in the red limestone of Armagh. (Col. University of Cambridge and Capt. Jones, &c.) Gyracanthus obliquus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Dorsal ray nearly straight, about one foot long and one and a quarter inch wide at base; section heart-shaped, width two-thirds of the antero-posterior diameter ; anterior face narrow, rounded; posterior face broad, concave, having near the apex a row of small hooked teeth on each side; sides slightly convex, marked with numerous very oblique crenu- lated ridges or rows of tubercles, which meet the anterior face at an angle of about 35° (those of opposite sides meeting at an angle of 70°); the ridges become gradually more oblique, smooth, and entire near the apex, they are about half a line in width, and slightly more than their own diameter apart. The line of separation between the ridged external surface and the finely striated part which enters the flesh is very oblique and with a slight sigmoidal curve. This large ray is most allied to the G. tuberculatus (Ag.), from _ which it is distinguished by the much greater obliquity of the sculptured ridges, and the more compressed form of the section ; the G. Alnvicensis (Ag.) has ridges nearly as oblique as the pre- sent species, but they are smooth and entire instead of being strongly crenato-tuberculate. | Very common in the dark shale (at the base of the carbo- niferous system), supposed to be of the age of the yellow sand- stone, in the valley of the Moyola, at Moyheeland, Draperstown, in the N. of Ireland. ; (Col. Cambridge University and Mr. Griffith at Dublin.) Physonemus arcuatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Ray wide, much curved; longitudinal rounded ridges very numerous, about fifteen in the space of half an inch, less than their own diameter apart, dilated into rounded, smooth, bubble-like tubercles, which are nearly twice their diameter apart ; the narrow sulci between the ridges have two or three obscure longitudinal striz. __ Distinguished from the Physonemus subteres (Ag.) by its much greater size, more numerous ridges and wide arcuate form. Very rare : from the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Cambridge University.) : 118 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish Asteroptychius semiornatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Ray slightly arched, about 3 hnes wide, and tapering at the rate of about 1 line in 1 inch; section much compressed, the sides being flattened, and the thickness about one-third the width ; about eight narrow, longitudinal smooth ridges on each side, separated by flat spaces nearly twice the width of the ridges ; all the spaces are marked with two or three obso- lete longitudinal striz, but only the anterior one on each side contains a row of irregularly placed tubercles. This is more compressed and arched than the A. ornatus (Ag.), and differs besides in having but one row of tubercles on each side, while that species has a row in nearly every space. Not uncommon in the Armagh limestone. (Col. Cambridge University, &c.) Erismacanthus (M‘Coy), n. g. (Etym. épevopa, a prop or stay, and dxav@a, a spine.) Gen. Char. Spine of three divaricating portions,—lIst, a large, compressed, finely striated base which entered the flesh ; 2nd, a short, strongly compressed, rapidly tapermg spine curved directly backwards, the sides marked with strong, smooth, longitudinal ridges, and having two rows of short downward-curved teeth on the posterior concave margin ; 3rd, a peculiar prop-like portion extending directly forwards nearly at right angles with the base, gently arched downwards, compressed at the basal half, depressed at the distal half, closely covered with blunt, smooth, oval tubercles, and with some large, irregular spines on the under side; the portion of the base above the flesh and from which those two portions branch, is irregularly tuberculated. ; The long anterior prop or stay-like branch renders this ich- thyodorulite so unlike any described form, that I should have hesitated to describe it, but for the number of examples which I have recently examined. Something slightly analogous I observe in the articulation of the spines of the recent fish allied to Syno- dontus,in which a shorter but similarly curved and directed prop- like process may be observed, but which is concealed beneath the soft parts and not external as in the fossil. I know but one species of the genus, which I have great pleasure in dedicating to Capt. Jones; R.N., M.P. &c., who is in possession of more extensive and exact knowledge of the fossil fishes of the moun- tain limestone than I believe any other observer. It is to his acumen in recognising the true characteis of the species, zeal in collecting, and liberality with which both his cabinet and imfor- EN ex i 5 of the Carboniferous Period. 119 mation are made available to those studying the subject, that we are mainly indebted for the extended lists which have been pub- lished of the Ichthyolites of this formation. Erismacanthus Jonesii (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Posterior spine little more than twice as long as wide slightly curved, compressed, sides flattened, with about eight or nine longitudinal ridges, which are smooth and less than their own diameter apart ; the intervening spaces finely striated longitudinally ; posterior concave face with two regular, close rows of small pointed teeth directed very obliquely downwards ; the surface towards. the base is marked with small, scattered, oval, smooth tubercles ; anterior branch three times as long, and about the same size at its origin as the posterior spine ; the part of the spine from which those two portions take their common origin is equal to the width of their united bases, and covered with scattered round tubercles; the height of the anterior branch is double its width at the basal half, but it becomes - depressed, so that its width is double the height in the section of the distal half; it is covered above and on the sides with close quincuncially arranged, smooth, oval tubercles ; the com- pressed, finely striated base which enters the flesh seems abruptly truncated below. Length of posterior spine 1 inch, width at base 6 lines ; length of anterior process (imperfect at extremity) 2 inches 9 lines, depth at base 4: lines, at tip 1 line ; width at base 2 lines, at tip 3 lines; length of the common - base 12 inch, width 9 lines. Not very uncommon in the carboniferous limestone of leila, _ (Col. University of Cambridge and Capt. Jones.) Cosmacanthus carbonarius (M‘Coy). A Char. Spine nearly straight, semicylindrical ; section semi- lunate ; sides and anterior face broadly rounded in one conti- nuous curve ; posterior sulcus very wide, rounded ; about eight longitudinal rows of small oval tubercles on. each side, the tubercles nearly touching in each row, and the rows less than their diameter apart ; no posterior teeth, the posterior sulcus being bounded by the last lateral row of tubercles on each side. A fragment 1 inch 8 lines long and 22 lines wide at the nar- row end, increases at the rate of neatly 2 lines in an inch. This differs from the Devonian C. Malcolmsoni (Ag.) in its ereater size and much more numerous rows of tubercles. Two imperfect specimens from the limestone of Armagh are in the collection of Capt. Jones at Dublin. 120 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish Platycanthus (M‘Coy), n. g. Gen. Char. Ray triangular, very wide, the length of the base _ nearly equalling the height of the spine, arched backwards, much compressed ; sides flat; anterior face flat, the thickest part of the ray; surface pustulated ; two rows of sharp conical teeth on the posterior face. : In their great compression and pustulated surface the rays of this genus resemble the Oracanths, but they differ from them by their small size, arched form, and distinct posterior rows of teeth, which latter character also distinguishes them from the Byssa- canths of the old red sandstone, as well as the absence of ridges on the surface. I only know the genus in the mountain lime- stone. Platycanthus isosceles (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Length of the base and height of the spine each about 1 inch ; anterior face 1 line wide in the middle and slightly - convex ; surface covered with numerous smooth, oval or rounded tubercles subquincuncially arranged, largest towards the an- - terior face, about twice their diameter apart ; intervening sur- face marked with minute, longitudinal rough sulci; posterior teeth conical, smooth at the apex, longitudinally plicated at the base. Rare in the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Capt. Jones, R.N., M.P.) Nemacanthus priscus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Ray much elongated, slightly arched, compressed to- wards the anterior face, which forms a prominent rounded ridge or keel ; sides with numerous unequal, irregularly placed, oval, blunt tubercles, between which the surface is marked with longitudinal rows of minute impressed puncta, and a few irregular impressed flexuous striz ; base attenuated and finely striated. : This spine agrees with the Triassic Nemacanths in haying the sides flattened and inclined towards the anterior face, on which is a central rounded ridge or keel. The only specimen I have seen is imperfect, measuring 3} inches in length; the broken distal extremity is 4 lines in antero-posterior diameter and 2 lines wide. | From the red limestone of Armagh. (Col. of Capt. Jones.) Dipriacanthus (M‘Coy) ,n. g. (Etym. dis, dis, Tplov, serra, and a&KavOa, aculeus.) Gen. Char. Spine small, arehed, tapering, much compressed, of the Carboniferous Period. 121 minutely and irregularly tuberculated ; two rows of small conical teeth on the posterior margin, and two rows of larger adpressed teeth on the anterior face directed upwards. The spines for which I propose this name are easily recognised by their small size, curved form, and having the anterior, as well as the posterior, margin armed with rows of teeth. These cha- racters, while they separate them widely from the other fossil spines, strongly recall to our mind the Pimelodes and Synodonts of the Nile ; in fact the Synodontus serratus described by Riippell* is a perfect prototype, in its spinous defences, of our Dipriacanthus falcatus, except that both the anterior and posterior rows of teeth © are single on the recent spines. In their compressed section and irregularly tuberculated -surface the Dipriacanths resemble the Oracanths, but are distinguished by their arched figure and rows of teeth. Dipriacanthus falcatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Spine slender, gradually tapering, much hooked, com- pressed, sides convex ; section oval, long diameter twice the length of the short diameter ; surface with very minute irre- gular, longitudinal striz, and few distant, irregularly scattered, small tubercles; teeth of the posterior margin short, conical, at right angles to the spe; teeth of the anterior margin, slender, pointed, adpressed close to the spines with their points upwards. Length of specimen imperfect, at base 1 inch 2 lines, greatest width 2 lines. ~The specimen described is from the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Capt. Jones, R.N.) Dipriacanthus Stokesii (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Slightly arched, much compressed , sides flat, anterior and posterior margins narrow, obtusely rounded ; section ob- long, the long diameter being from four to five times longer than the short ; teeth of the posterior margin slender, conical, projecting at right angles to the spine ; teeth of the anterior margin large, thick, smooth, the upper sharp edge widest, _ closely adpressed to the surface ; surface closely covered with small, irregular, smooth granules, which under a strong lens are found to be radiatingly striated at their base, and with the intervening narrow spaces very minutely granulated. When highly magnified the granulation of this spine resembles on a small scale the star-like style of ornament of the bony plates * Beschreibung und Abbildung mehrere neuer Fische, im Nil entdeckt, Frankfort a. M. 1829, pl. 2. fig. 1. 122 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish of Asterolepis (Kich.). The base is imperfect but apparently. ae: lated in a remarkable degree, and in its present state the lower portion seems bent at a considerable angle from the curve of the rest, of the spine. Collected from the carboniferous limestone of Armagh by the Rev. W. Stokes of Caius College, Cambridge, and by him pre- sented to the University collection. I have associated his name with this interesting form as a slight memorial of the zeal with which he has collected those remains, and the liberality with which he has made them available for public instruction. Leptacanthus junceus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Nearly straight, about 11 line wide; section satel liptical ; sides nearly convex, meeting in front to form a sharp anterior edge,and converging behind to a narrow posterior sulcus, bordered on each side by a row of strong, conical, downward-curved teeth, little longer than wide, and about the width of their base apart ; each side with about seven longi- tudinal, narrow, equal, thread-like ridges, twice their diameter apart, and having between each pair two or three obsolete . longitudinal striz. 7 Rare in the black beds at the the top of the carboniferous Lijestons of Derbyshire. (Col. University of Cambridge.) (Cestraciontes— Teeth.) Psammodus canaliculatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Tooth oblong, generally about twice as long as wide, the two long sides straight and parallel, one of the short sides - or ends very convex, the other equally concave (for articula- tion) ; the crown of the tooth concave along the middle, the two long margins being prominent and rounded ; there is ge- nerally a considerable “hump- like elevation near the convex end; surface roughly wrinkled transversely, the ends generally more or less rudely plicated longitudinally. This remarkable tooth is much allied to the P. rugosus (Ag.), but is strongly distinguished by its ends being formed for arti- culation, one convex and the other concave, instead of beimg straight as in that species ; also by the strong longitudinal plica- tion of the surface near the ends, and the peculiar, curved, swelling near the convex extremity. When the ends are wanting it is distinguished by its mesial concavity (the other being con- vex), and by the minute rugz of the surface running across instead of in the direction of the length. When much worn the . ws E> ge re ies it 3 op 3 oe ia a ia “a ‘4 i a F i, D i, § \ F a of the Carboniferous Period. 123 surface becomes polished and porous as in the P. porosus (Ag.), and as we constantly see on the prominent parts of the P. ru- gosus (Ag.). Length generally about 2 inches. Rare in the Armagh limestone. (Col. of the University of Cambridge and of Capt. Jones, M.P.) Helodus appendiculatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Transversely trigonal, compressed, width of the base rather more than twice the greatest height of the tooth ; crown divided into an obtusely trigonal, straight, central compressed cone, and one very small, accessory similarly-shaped one on each side, sharply defined by a distinct notch ; surface smooth, highly polished, porous at the apex and posterior side of the edge of the principal cone ; edge of the enamel-like surface at the base obtuse, forming a slightly arched line, concavity downwards : bony root large, simple, coarsely fibrous. Three teeth in situ, one behind the other, present the fol- lowing characters:—the anterior tooth is the smallest, most compressed, and perfectly erect; principal cone sharp, but its height scarcely exceeding one-third of its width; secondary cone ‘on each side very small, not as deeply separated from the middle as in the others; entire surface highly polished with the ex- ception of the apex, which is slightly punctured. The second tooth is the longest and thickest, slightly inclined backwards ; height of the principal cone about half its width ; apex obtuse, small accessory cone on each side, pomted and defined by a deep notch from the central one; anterior side flattened, smooth, polished ; posterior side tumid, coarsely punctured, the punctures extending over the apex. Third tooth entirely procumbent, the apex of the cone being marginal and in contact with the long, coarsely fibrous, osseous base, which latter is truncate below, is as wide as the tooth, and equals the principal cone in length : the proportions of this tooth are nearly those of the middle one, but having no posterior side ; anterior side smooth and polished, apex punctured. : Rare : from the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Capt. Jones, R.N.) Helodus rudis (M‘Coy). Sp. Char, Irregularly oblong, subquadrate ; sides steep, irregu- larly nodulose or undulato-plicate ; crown irregularly gibbons, the highest point a little nearer one end than the other; sur- face polished, coarsely punctured. Length 7 lines, width 44 Imes, height 22 lines, The curiously irregular lump-like figure and quadrate base of 124 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish this species distinguish it easily from its congeners; the steep, striated margin is also peculiar. The puncturing of the surface rather coarser than that of the H. turgidus (Ag.). I have seen several specimens from the Armagh limestone. | (Col. Cambridge University.) Chomatodus obliquus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Obliquely rhomboidal, transversely elongate; apex marginal, obtusely pointed; middle of the tooth obliquely tumid or convex; attenuated sides flattened or slightly con- cave ; ends obtusely pointed or rounded; surface highly po- lished and perfectly smooth except at the apex, which is coarsely punctured ; basal margin surrounded by a broad imbricating fold of ganoine*, increasing to three or four on the ends of some of the teeth. This species differs from the C. cinctus (Ag.) in its obliquely rhomboidal flattened form and marginal apex, as well as having but one fold of ganoine at the middle of the basal margm. In some examples the ends are equal and the width three times the length, in others the ends are unequal, and the length two-thirds of the width, but in all the apex is marginal and the general form obliquely rhomboidal, the basal margin having a down- ward curve nearly opposite the apical projection of the anterior margin, and between the two extends the oblique mesial con- vexity. Length averaging 4 lines. . Rare, in the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Cambridge University and Capt. Jones, R.N. &c.) Chomatodus denticulatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Transversely oval, base about three times wider than long; middle elevated into a compressed, obtusely pointed cone, about equal in height to the short diameter (length) of base, from which a sharp, much compressed mesial ridge ex- tends on each side to either end, its cutting edge being broken into numerous obtuse, compressed denticles decreasing in size towards the ends ; the notches which separate the little cones on the edge give rise to obtuse sulci, defining them a short way down the sides ; surface smooth ; base surrounded with three * | provisionally use this term (from ydvos, splendour) to designate that peculiar, dense, modification of dentine which forms the highly polished surface of most fish-teeth, and which is not unfrequently confounded with the true enamel of the teeth of the higher animals; the latter is however secreted by a distinct organ quite external to and independent of the den- tine, while the false enamel which I propose to call ganoine is merely pro- duced by the calcigerous tubes of the dentine becoming suddenly straighter, closer and more numerous as they approach the surface. of the Carboniferous Pertod. 125 or four imbricating folds of ganoine, irregularly jagged at _ their edges. This species is rather smaller, more elevated and more com- pressed than the C. cinctus (Ag.), from which it is further distin- guished by the number of minor cones set on the mesial ridge. Rare, in the red carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. University of Cambridge.) Petalodus rhombus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Crown sharp, compressed ; anterior face rather more than three times wider than high, regularly rhombic, the upper and lower margins almost symmetrical, the lateral portions of each being nearly straight or slightly concave, and meeting in the middle at an obtuse angle ; the angles of the upper and lower margins nearly equal, that of the basal margin pointing down, of the cutting edge up; the cutting edge is obscurely undulato-dentate by short obsolete vertical furrows, and mi- nutely crenulato-striated ; the lower margin is prominent and surrounded by five or six small imbrications of pseudo-enamel or ganoine, those descend lower (as usual) on the posterior face, where also the mesial angulation is less ; surface smooth with a few fine irregular longitudinal strie; root moderately large. Height of the middle of the crown ’6 lines, width about 1 inch 9 lines, depth of root about 7 lines. This can only be confounded with the P. acuminatus (Ag.), from which it is fully distinguished by the great proportional width of the crown and the rhomboidal form of the anterior face _produced by the similar shape of the superior and basal margins ; the latter being deeply angulated in the middle, resembling the cutting margin reversed in the present species, while the middle half is very obtusely rounded in the former, and then abruptly curved upwards and again downwards further towards the ends ; im that species also the cutting edge, although slightly waving, is destitute of the broad longitudinal plice of the present form. Rare, in the carboniferous limestone of Derbyshire. (Col. Cambridge University.) Polyrluzodus (M‘Coy), n. g. Gen. Char. Tooth thick, crown but slightly elevated, forming a transversely oval crushing surface, narrowing towards the ex- tremities ; anterior and posterior ridges separating the crown from the root, obtuse, without imbricating folds, the posterior ridge much lower than the anterior; root very large, deeply divided into several distinct, root-like lobes or fangs. This is perhaps the most remarkable genus of ichthyolites yet PNT Ee a ENO PN ee ES fe yO RY On Th a ea Oe aR oF het 2 es 126 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish made known, as it presents the only instance in the entire class of a fish-tooth divided into several distinct fangs—the imperfectly double, divaricating, base of certain sharks’ teeth, or the pro- longed external plice of certain sauroids (Holoptychius, Rhizodus, &c.) not deserving to be viewed in the light of really divided or fanged roots as in the mammals and the present genus of fish. The group is most allied to Petalodus (Owen), with which Agassiz seems to have unaccountably confounded one of the species ; but instead of the thin, scale-like or petal-like character of the Peta- lodi, with their highly elevated, compressed, sharp-edged crown, we have here a tooth of remarkably thick and clumsy form, with the crown but little raised and all the parts obtuse ; the crown in Petalodus is covered with a thick coat of smooth, highly polished enamel-like substance or ganoine, and separated on each side from the root by several imbricating folds, while the crown in the present genus is nearly as dull as the root, and in one species coarsely punctured as in Psammodus, and the characteristic basal imbrications are replaced by a simple, obtuse ridge; finaily, in Petalodus, the root forms a large, simple, compressed truncated base, while in Polyrhizodus it is divided into from five to eight fangs. f Polyrhizodus magnus (M‘Coy). Syn. Petalodus radicans (Ag. MSS. name in collections). Sp. Char. Tooth from one-half to two inches wide and about one inch in depth ; crown from three to four lines wide, nearly flat, inclined at an angle of about 70° from the slightly raised pos- terior edge, smooth, or with minute branching striz on the. upper edge ; anterior and upper margins nearly parallel for the middle half of the width, while they rapidly converge in the ~ two outer fourths, so that the extremities are narrowed to a point at each end and considerably bent downwards ;-root very thick and deeply divided into six or eight long, ovate fang- like lobes, roughened by the passage of the nutrient vessels ; inferior, posterior ridge is (like the anterior margin of the crown) simply rounded, without imbricating folds, and about one-third more than the width of the crown below the cutting edge. This fine species is not uncommon in the limestone of Armagh. (Col. Ming ney of Cambridge, Capt. Jones, Mr. Griffith, &c.) Polyrhizodus pusillus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Crown compressed, raised into a rounded obtuse lobe less than half the width of the base in height; base of the crown forming a very prominent obtusely rounded ridge ; root divided into about ten small rounded fangs; surface of the Bel kal Sig Lee MZ NNT EN aig nce er OOS Te ee Ne of the Carboniferous Period. 127 crown coarsely punctured, a few of the punctures near the apex oa longitudinally confluent so as to give it a slightly padiinsted _ appearance; width of crown 23 lines. Easily distinguished by its anal size, coarsely punctured sur- face and the raised lohe of the margin of the crown. Rare, in the limestone of Armagh, from whence there is one example in the University collection at Cambridge, and another in that of Capt. Jones. Glossodus (M‘Coy), n. g. Gen. Char. Tooth tongue-shaped, oblong, quadrangular, much higher than wide; crown elevated, slightly recurved, nar- rowing from the base to a small, subtruncate apex ; surface porous, puncta generally seeming ‘confluent towards the apex ; punctured surface terminating below im a notch, or arched line, the convexity upwards ; root long, as wide as the crown, coarsely fibrous. The Glossodi are distinguished from the Helodi, with which Mone they have any affinity, by the quadrangular form of the horizontal section of the tooth, the sides being flattened as well as the anterior and posterior faces ; ; also by the great height of the crown in proportion to its width. The long root-like base of the tooth, which resembles that of some Petalodi (e. g. P. psit- tacinus, Ag. MSS.), rather than that of He/odus in form, is of an open lacunose structure, being permeated by very large flexuous medullary canals producing irregular openings on the surface. The ridge separating the punctured surface from the base forms a sinus directed upwards, which is the reverse of what we find in Petalodus, approaching the ordinary sharks, and also conforming to what we see in Helodus and Strophodus when the separating line in those genera is not straight. As in Petalodus, the basal margin of the surface is much nearer the apex on the convex an- terior side than on the concave posterior or internal face, the latter bemg generally about twice the length of the former. The characters above given as distinguishing those teeth from the Helodi also separate them from the genuine Petalodi of Owen, as also the want of the imbricating folds at the base. Glossodus lingua-bovis (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Height of the crown exceeding the width of the base, which is three times the width of the truncated apex ; greatest antero-posterior diameter half the width of the base ; surface dull, covered with coarse, wide, occasionally confluent puncta, the interstices crossed by minute, flexuous, oblique strize. This curious tooth resembles a neat’s tongue in miniature ; 128 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish the oblique striation crossing the ordinary punctuation of Psam- modontoid teeth is a character I have not seen in any other tooth. Height of crown 6 lines, width of base 5 lines, depth of root 4 lines. From the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Capt. Jones, R.N.) Glossodus marginatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Crown about. one-third higher than wide, having a slight antero-posterior sigmoidal curve ; thickness, from before backwards, little more than one-fourth of the width ; lateral margins subparallel, prominent on the posterior face, which is gently concave in the middle ; apex narrowed, rounded, curved backwards; surface glossy, finely punctured, marked towards the tip with minute anastomosing longitudinal wrinkles ; a few obtuse plicee. Length of crown 5 lines, width 3 lines. Easily distinguished from the G. marginatus by its more finely punctured, glossy surface, rounded tip and prominent lateral margins. One of the rarest fossils of the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. ; (Col. University of Cambridge ; I think T have seen another in that of Capt. Jones at Dublin.) Climazodus (M‘Coy), n. g. (Etym. crak, a flight of steps, and odovs, a tooth.) Gen. Char. Tooth longer than wide, gradually narrowing towards the front with nearly straight sides ; anterior part of the crown crossed by broad, imbricating, transverse ridges at mame angles to its length ; surface minuteiy punctured. The above generic name has reference to the remarkable step- like character of the ridges which cross the anterior part of the tooth at regular intervals. The broad posterior part of the tooth is without ridges and resembles a Psammodus. In the fact of being as it were small, ridged Psammodi, those teeth are allied to the genus Pacilodus, but all the true Pecilodi are inequilateral, mussel-shaped teeth, consequently placed in pairs in the mouth, and have the ridges oblique ; the Climaxodi, on the contrary, are equilateral, and were therefore most probably mesial in position, and the ridging i is transverse. I am aware of one species in the Armagh limestone and the followmg. I think it possible that the so-called Pecilodus parallelus (Ag.) may ultimately be re- ferred to this genus, as it differs from the true Pecilodi in some ~ at least of the above characters. | fit ia os staan of the Carboniferous Period. 129 - Climaxodus imbricatus (M‘Coy). The only specimen I have access to at present of this species is imperfect at each end, being 7 lines long, 53 limes wide at the broad end, and 3 lines wide at the narrow anterior end; the an- terior portion of the crown is crossed by 7 transverse “imbrica- ting ridges in a space of 4 lines, the posterior ones are three- fourths of a line apart, and have a double curvature arising from a- small backward wave in the middle, the anterior ones are closer’ and pass with a slight forward curve across the tooth; all the imbrications have a backward curve at their extremities, giving them the appearance of lapping round the crown, and all have their free edges directed backwards, so as to resemble a row of Petalodi or other shark’s teeth soldered together in the position they usually occupy, one behuid the other ; the posterior half is without ridges, the whole crown is slightly convex at the sides and concave in the middle; the surface is dull and seen by the lens to be finely punctured. Rare, in the dark impure limestone overlying the main carbo- niferous limestone of Derbyshire. (Col. University of Cambridge.) Pecilodus aliformis (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Wing-shaped or contorto-subtrigonal, narrow before, broad and subtruncate behind ; inner, straight margin thin, higher in the middle than at each end, the surface seeming concave from thence to the external oblique margin, which is abruptly deflected, much thickened, rounded, strongly arched downwards at each end, with a slight sigmoidal curve ; -this ridge is crossed by seven or eight large, obtusely rounded wrinkles, which become obsolete as they approach the thin inner margin; surface finely granuloso-punctate under the lens. This species most resembles some of the wing-shaped forms of the P. sublevis (Ag.), but the whole tooth is more strongly contorted sigmoidally; the external oblique margin is more thickened, ridge-like and deflected, and above all the great size of the transverse waves or wrinkles easily distinguishes it. The length of a perfect: specimen is 1 inch 3 lines, width of the broad posterior end 9 lines, depth of the middle of the external margin 4 lines, width of the transverse wrinkles rather more than 12 line. Rare, from the black upper limestone of Derbyshire. (Col. University of Cambridge.) Pecilodus foveolatus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Longitudinally clavate, depressed, nearly three times Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.2. Vol, i. 9 130 Mr. F. M‘Coy on some new Fossil Fish longer than wide ; anterior end narrow subtruncate ; surface obliquely crossed by nine or ten thick, flat, imbricating ridges, varying from one line to half a lme wide; they run nearly straight, but each has got an abrupt angular bend about the middle, which makes the posterior half of each edge seem about half a line further out than the anterior half; each imbrication has one, or rarely two rows of large equidistant puncta or small pits. This differs from the P. Jonesii (Ag.) in its very narrow elon- gate form, more numerous flat imbricating ridges, the row of notch-like curves one in the edge of each, and the regular rows of great puncta. The specimen described is imperfect, but seems to have been about 14 inch long and 4 lines wide. From the upper black beds of limestone in Derbyshire. (Col. University of Cambridge.) Chirodus (M‘Coy), n. g. (Etym. yelp, manus, and ddovs, dens.) Gen. Char. General form of Ceratodus, that is more or less fan- shaped, thick, flattened, with the anterior broad margin deeply divided into lobes ; but the inner, nearly straight margin has a small, recurved, thumb-like lobe projecting nearly at right angles from the middle of its length (preventing the mesial — junction of the tritors of each side of the jaw) ; the inner mar- ginal lobe is the longest ; surface minutely punctured. The only specimen which has occurred to me of this genus presents only two lobes in the anterior margin, but as the outer edge is imperfect there may have been another lobe, but I think not more. I should have referred the tooth to the Permian ge- nus Ceratodus, but that the inner margin (which in Ceratodus is - straight to fit the similar edge of the tooth on the other side of the jaw) has got a small lobe projecting horizontally inwards from its middle, which would prevent such a union ; or if it be viewed -as possibly the outer margin, we would have the equally singular characters not only of so great a disparity in size between two adjacent lobes, but the principal marginal lobes would increase in size from within outwards, which would be contrary to all ana- logy. Hence, independent of the geological importance of not extending unnecessarily the vertical range of a genus, we find it zoologically impossible to group together teeth so differently con- structed that they could not be similarly arranged in the mouth. I have named the genus from the general resemblance to a hand, or still more to the foot of a Chirotherium in miniature. of the Carboniferous Period. 131 Chirodus pes-rane (M‘Coy). _ Sp. Char. Length 8 lines, narrow; anterior lobes narrow, pro- minent, rounded, arched, separated by deep concave furrows ; the inner lobe about a line longer than the next outer one; at the base of the former, or about half the length of the whole tooth, there projects horizontally inwards from the inner mar- gin a short, wide, slightly recurved, flattened lobe, about 1 line long ; posterior part of the tooth flattened ; surface finely punc- tured under the lens. This little species is something the size and shape of the foot of our common frog, whence the specific name. Rare, in the black shaly beds of the carboniferous limestone of Derbyshire. (Col. University of Cambridge.) Orodus porosus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Subcylindrical, transverse diameter (or length of base) six or seven times greater than the antero-posterior ; anterior and posterior margins nearly parallel, the middle being scarcely wider than the ends, which are obtusely subtruncate ; sides _ slightly tumid, converging to a narrow mesial ridge ; one small obtuse mesial cone not exceeding the short diameter of the _ base in height, and forming an obtuse ridge to the base on _ each; on each side there are four or five smaller tubercles, the smallest towards the ends, only those nearest the centre send one or two small ridges down the anterior side, while the pos- terior is more regularly ridged; basal margin tuberculato- plicate ; surface coarsely punctured, except on the prominent worn points which are smooth ; transverse diameter usually about 9 lines, short diameter 13 line. In one example there are three eats equal and similar teeth _ close behind each other ; the mesial ridge is a little nearer the posterior than the anterior margin, and most so in the most an- terior teeth. From the carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. Capt. Jones, R.N., M.P.) Orodus compressus (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Much compressed, crown elevated into a thin edge of equal height throughout, surmounted by a fine ridge and fes- tooned by four or five sharp points on each side; the centre has a larger point, producing a globular swelling in the middle of each of the flattened sides, over which it sends a small flexu- ous ridge giving out short branches on each side, while the lateral points only send short simple ridges not half-way down Ox 132 On some new Fossil Fish of the Carboniferous Period. the sides; ends abruptly truncated; base surrounded by a sharply defined thickened border ; surface smooth, highly po- lished ; root nearly as deep as the crown is high, truncate be- low and at the ends; height of crown 1 line, width of base 33 lines. | This Orodus is extremely like a Ctenoptychius in general aspect, from the thin, compressed, rectilinear, nearly square form of crown and root, the prominent, defined ridge at the base of the former and its pectinated upper edge ; this edge however instead of being sharp is surmounted by a little ridge, from which the small lateral ridges are given off as above-mentioned—characters which do not exist in Ctenoptychius. Rare : from the same locality and in the same collection as the last. Petrodus (M‘Coy), n. g. Gen. Char. Teeth conical, supported on a nearly circular osseous base, concave beneath; crown with a dense compact surface, height not exceeding the width, deeply furrowed with rough radiating ridges. Microscopic structure : vertical and horizontal sections nearly similar, showing the centre to be composed of exceedingly coarse irregular medullary fissures, irregularly branching and anastomosing as they approach the periphery, and sending out at right angles minute, flexuous, calcigerous tubes into the large, irregular clear interspace ; the enamel-like surface forms a wide, dark-coloured band of fine, straight, pa- rallel calcigerous tubes at the circumference of the magnified section. The above generic name brings to mind not only the pecu- liarly rugged crag-like aspect of those teeth, but also thei re- lation to the genera Orodus and Acrodus (Ag.), from both of which they are distinguished by a simply conic form, the base being nearly circular and not greatly lengthened in one direction as in those genera, as well as the dense stony character of the ~ surface and great depth, coarseness and star-like disposition of the superficial vertical ridges. The base is slightly hol- lowed in the middle below, of a coarsely osseous texture, pene- trated with numerous small vascular canals. It is interesting to observe that of all the fossil teeth yet made known, the micro- scopic structure of the Petrodi approaches nearest to the internal characters of the recent Cestracion. Petrodus patelliformis (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Conical, height one-half to two-thirds the width of the base, which is round or rarely subtrigonal ; apex rudely pointed, becoming flat by wear; sides radiatingly ridged with about a, ; 4 ’ » ya eee ee, oe a 4 CN ee 4 Stes Naya ae so aay Pe I ER eae oT aay Se ieee ate aaa | eee = i os: mi eS? ig a mi J a4 > rt a * iN Or n- mer Bey: yt Md S| ane Bc J Rae ; a: 4 3 ig = ae Dr. Mantell on the Ventriculites. 133 thirteen or fourteen very strong, single or dichotomous ridges, the sides of which are usually cut by numerous deep oblique sulci ; the ridges are highest at the base, where they terminate abruptly ; osseous base a little wider than the crown. Diameter of base 3 to 4 lines. This tooth presents considerable variation in the proportion of height to width of the base, and also in the number and rela- tive thickness and complexity of the ridges; there is no variety however sufficiently striking to require particular notice or occa- sion any difficulty in the identification of the species. Tt seems abundant in some parts of the Derbyshire limestone. (Col. Cambridge University.) HyYBODONTES. Cladodus levis (M‘Coy). Sp. Char. Principal cone very thick, slightly oblique, its height equal to half the width of the root ; secondary cones two on each side, very strong, the outer largest and divaricating, nearly half the length of the principal cone ; all the cones ob- tusely rounded at the summit, very slightly tapering, and the height of each slightly exceeding the width of its own base ; base of the crown and osseous root concave ; surface of all the cones smooth, highly polished. Width of crown 9 lines, height of principal cone from the basal margin 5 lines. This closely resembles the C. marginatus (Ag.) in size and form, but the cones taper less and the species is fully distin- guished by its smooth surface, destitute of the coarse longitudinal plaits or striz of that or the allied species. Carboniferous limestone of Armagh. (Col. University of Cambridge.) XUI.—Dr. Mantet on Mr. Smitu’s “ Observations” in Annals of Nat. Hist. for July 1848. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, As I have neither leisure nor inclination to engage in contro- versy, I shall offer but one remark on the observations of Mr. Toulmin Smith. In the last Number of the ‘ Annals’ (p. 49) Mr. Smith has quoted certain passages from my ‘ Wonders of Geology’ (6th edit. ‘p. 638), which he is pleased to declare are at variance with opi- 134. Dr. Mantell on the Ventriculites. nions expressed in my former communication to you: I must therefore again intrude on your indulgence, and request the in- sertion of the entire paragraphs referred to :— «A very elegant and interesting family of zoophytes described by me in an early memoir (published in the ‘ Linnean Transactions,’ vol. xi.), and subsequently named Ventriculites, occurs in thesSus- sex and Wiltshire chalk, in such numbers, and under such dissi- milar forms as to require a passing notice in this place; especially as the subject has recently been investigated by a gentleman of distinguished ability*. After mature reflection and the re-examination of such specimens as are within my reach, I see no reason whatever to alter a single word in the following description taken from my late work (the Medals of Creation, p. 274) on Fossil Remains.” Then follows the description given in my former communica- tion in the ‘ Annals of Natural History’ for June, p. 435. *« I cannot admit the correctness of Mr. Toulmin Smith’s iaterpre- tation of the appearances described in the text; of the accuracy of his. beautiful microscopic examination of the intimate tissue of these zoophytes I have no doubt; and will only remark, that the octa- hedral form, represented as that assumed by the inosculating fibres of the membrane of the Ventriculide, is a very extraordinary anomaly in animal structures.” | From the passages printed in italics, and which are omitted in Mr. Smith’s quotations, your readers may now judge whether there is any discrepancy between the statement in the ‘Wonders of Geology,’ and that in my remarks published in the ‘ Annals of Nat. Hist.’ p. 435. In common fairness, not only the truth, but the whole truth should have been given by Mr. Smith, when accusing an author > of injustice and inconsistency. With the assurance that I shall not trespass again on your pages with any remarks on this subject, | I am, Gentlemen, your very obedient servant, GiIpEON ALGERNON MANTELL. 19 Chester Square, Pimlico, July 10, 1848. * On the Ventriculide of the Chalk, by J. Toulmin Smith, Esq., Annals of Nat. Hist. No. 131. AT Ae ny ean ed ae er aad Bree ne, Es a a G 4 es 7 7 4 7 in a q os . = Bibliographical Notices. " 195 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. The British Desmidiee. By Joun Ratrs, M.R.C.S. Pp. xxii. & 226. Tab. 35. 8vo. Reeve, Benham and Reeve, 1848. Tue foundation of this admirable work was laid in a series of papers read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh and published from time to time in this Journal. The figures and a great portion of the descriptive matter were most unfairly appropriated by the author of a treatise on the ‘ British Freshwater Alge,’ who seemed to think that as he was engaged on the subject, no one else had a right to inter- fere with it, and that every one in possession of information, the fruit of his own industry and observation, was obliged to forego the publication of such materials in a separate form and at once give up the possession of it to him. . The matter was treated by us at the time with far more lenity than it deserved, and the almost universal sense of the propriety of our criticism has fully justified the appro- bation with which those most competent to judge of the subject re- ceived our comments. We should indeed have grieved had the treat- ment which he met with discouraged Mr. Ralfs in his well-directed labour and prevented his undertaking the task which he has now brought, after almost infinite pains, and we fear with little remune- ration, to such a brilliant consummation. No country has contributed more perhaps to the knowledge of Alge than our own. Commencing with the magnificent works of ‘Turner and of Dillwyn, we have by the labours of Borrer, Hooker, Griffiths and other excellent observers recorded in English Botany, and in more recent times of Greville, Harvey, Berkeley, Hassall, Ralfs and Thwaites, a succession of observations illustrating in turn every group of this great and important natural order. Even before the improvement of our microscopes, which has thrown so much light on _ every branch of natural history, there were keen observers amongst us who anticipated some of the most curious modern discoveries. Captain Carmichael for instance at Appin, at a distance from all sources of information, without a single neighbour sympathizing in his pursuits, and with a microscope of very imperfect construction, ascertained the real structure of the fructification of Fuci as appears from the manuscript now before the writer of these remarks; but unfortunately the publication of this and others of his discoveries was prevented by the derangement to which the book trade was sub- ject a year or two before his death, which took place in 1827. _ During the early part of this period indeed it was principally facts and forms which were recorded, affording a storehouse for others out of which to generalize, and most unhappily for the progress of Algology those who used them did so either in ignorance or neglect of each other’s labours. Thus the elder Agardh’s system, which was for along time implicitly received, was formed without due reference to the numerous treatises of the French algologists. In later times indeed Greville acquired very correct general views of the affinities 186 Bibliographical Notices. of Algze, and defined many new genera, which have been for the most part adopted ; and had he carried on his botanical pursuits to a still more recent period, when the improvement of the microscope would have corrected many points in regard of minute structure which were scarcely before within the grasp of the observer, there can be no doubt that he would have ranked as one of the first algologists of the day. He commenced too a series of correct illustrations of Diatomacee, but his observations in this direction, though the most valuable which had then appeared, seem to have been checked by growing notions of the animal nature of the lower Alge. The neighbouring group of Desmidiee, though containing some of the most curious and beautiful forms in nature, had all along, with very few exceptions, been unaccountably passed by without examination. Turpin’s and Meyen’s observations were neglected or disbelieved, while Kutzing’s, Meneghini’s, and above all Brébisson’s treatises seem to have been almost unknown. The memoirs of the two former indeed were accessible enough, but the credit attached in this country to Ehrenberg’s notions as to the animal nature of these bodies seems very much to have turned aside the attention of botanists from them, while they were not adopted by the zoologists, but were left to be admired and then laid aside by the mere microscopist. Such very nearly was the state of the subject when the Diato- macee and Desmidiee were taken up by Mr. Ralfs, who was perhaps the first botanist in England who fully felt the necessity, not merely of ascertaining the general appearance of the threads or frustules as seen immediately under the microscope, but of understanding the form of their sections with a view to the complete development of their structure. This, with the older microscopes, was almost im- possible, as the utmost clearness and definition of outline is neces- sary for this point, and even with all modern helps and appliances the necessary manipulation is difficult enough. Mr. Ralfs however was no less gifted with tact than perseverance, and thus some of the most anomalous appearances were resolved into very simple pheeno- mena. In the course of his observations he found daily more and more reason to believe in the vegetable nature, more especially of the Desmidiee, a belief as regards the latter amounting at last to per- fect conviction from the discovery, peculiarly his own, except as re- garded the long anomalous Closteria, of a mode of propagation, ex- tending through the whole group, by means of the conjugation of distinct individuals after the manner of the Conjugate. Mr.'Thwaites, whose interesting discoveries have already been recorded in our Journal, has now extended this to Diatomacee, so that, together with the Corallines, there is at the present period no doubt, except as re- gards one or two Hematococci, of the vegetable nature of the whole order of Alge. But not only has this discovery thrown light upon the real affini- ties of these productions, but as regards generic and specific distine- tions it is of no less importance, for strongly as the mode of conju- gation resembles that of Zygnema and its allies, the mode of propa- gation and indeed the actual physical value of the bodies is not the —_ Nae a eee RK ee ® -- Bibliographical Notices. 137 same. In Conjugate the spores germinate, and by the development of the first shoots produce a new individual, but in the Desmidiee (at least as indicated by Closterium*) and Diatomacee, the repro- ductive bodies, which in the former case often assume forms alto- gether at variance with those of the perfect plant, and in both are generally of a very different size, appear rather to be contracted fronds which, without any actual germination, by the mere produc- tion of articulations produce new individuals. And hence in specific discrimination it is absolutely necessary to know the whole of the phases through which a species passes, exhibiting great varieties of size and form, before it is possible to determine what are specific characters and what are not; and thus many a puzzling appearance, which was before quite inexplicable, becomes clear and instructive. Mr. Ralfs however holds, and we believe rightly, that the mode of production of the cells in some other tribes of Algze ultimately fol- lows the same type. _ In the Desmidiee,’’ he says, ‘‘ the multiplication of cells by re- peated transverse division is full of interest, both on account of the remarkable manner in which it takes place, and because it unfolds, as I believe, the nature of the process in other families, and furnishes a valuable addition to our knowledge of their structure and physio- logy. _ * The compressed and deeply constricted cells of Huastr.:n offer most favourable opportunities for ascertaining the manner of the di- vision ; for although the frond is really a single cell, yet this cell in all its stages appears like two, the segments being always distinct, even from the commencement. As the connecting portion is so small, and necessarily produces the new segments, which cannot arise from a broader base than its opening, these are at first very minute, though they rapidly increase in size. ‘The segments are separated by the elongation of the connecting tube, which is con- verted into two roundish hyaline lobules. ‘These lobules increase in size, acquire colour, and gradually put on the appearance of the old portions. Of course, as they increase the original segments are pushed farther asunder, and at length are disconnected, each taking with it a new segment to supply the place of that from which it has separated. ** It is curious to trace the progressive development of the new portions. At first they are devoid of colour, and have much the ap- pearance of condensed gelatine, but as they increase im size the in- ternal fluid acquires a green tint, which is at first very faint, but soon becomes darker; at length it assumes a granular state. At the same time the new segments increase in size and obtain their normal figure; the covering in some species shows the presence of puncta or granules; and lastly, in Xanthidium and Staurastrum the spines * See Morren’s memoir in the 5th volume of the Second Series of ‘ An- nales des Sciences Naturelles.’ A second mode of propagation appears to be indicated by Mr. Ralfs at tab. 27. In other Desmidiee the development of the spores has we believe not been yet ascertained, but from analogy we believe that it will prove similar to that of Diatomacee. 138 Bibliographical Notices. and processes make their appearance, beginning as mere tubercles, and then lengthening until they attain their perfect form and size ; but complete separation frequently occurs before the whole process is completed. ‘his singular process is repeated again and again, so that the older segments are united successively, as it were, with many generations. In Spherozosma the same changes take place, and are just as evident, but the cells continue linked together, and a filament is formed, which elongates more and more rapidly as the joints in- crease in number. This continued multiplication by division has its limits; the segments gradually enlarge whilst they divide, and at length the plant ceases to grow ; the division of the cells is no longer repeated; the internal matter changes its appearance, increases in density, and contains starch-granules which soon become numerous ; the reproductive granules are perfected, and the individual perishes. In a filament the two oldest segments are found at its opposite ex- tremities; for so long as the joints divide they are necessarily sepa- rated further and further from each other. Whilst this process is in progress the filament in Spherozosma consists of segments of all sizes; but after it has reached maturity there is little mequality be- tween them, except in some of the last-formed segments, which are permanently smaller. The case is the same with those genera in which the separation of the cells is complete. I admit that the di- vision of the cells just described apparently differs greatly from that in other simple Algx ; but I believe that the process in all is essen- tially the same, and that whatever differences exist are modifications ‘necessarily resulting from the different forms of the cells. In the examples already given the cell itself’ consists of two distinct por- tions, having a constriction between them ; hence each of the new- formed portions is similarly distinct from the older one which forms it and to which it is united. ‘In order fully to elucidate the subject, cells may be distributed into three principal kinds, distinguished by their form : “1st. Bipartite cells, already described, and more or less con- stricted at the middle ; «‘Ond. Cells globose or rounded. at the ends, or having the extre- mities attenuated ; « 3rd. Cylindrical cells. “‘ Bipartite cells belong only to the Desmidiee; cells globose or roundish at the ends are seen in the Nostocs and Palmellee; atte- nuated cells in the Desmidiee ; and cylindrical ones in the Conjugate, Tiresias, &c. ; «Tt is obvious that the new portions must arise from the whole of the junction margin of the original valves ; consequently when the junction occupies only a part of the breadth the new portion will be narrower than the old; but when the junction of the valves is as broad as the cell, the new portion will from.the beginning be of the same breadth. From this important fact, we may explain the differ- ent sorts of division. Since in the two latter kinds of cell the valves are united by their entire breadth, the new portions cannot be di- stinguished hy their size, we must therefore have recourse to other eee or ange Mee SN re ee ee ike ee Te ey Se [Mei Salles ¢ ~ oi — oe 6 * Bibliographical Notices. 139 aids to enable us to trace the changes and satisfy ourselves of their real identity with that already described ; and I hope to be able to ‘show that this identity does exist. “In Nostoc and Anabaina the cells are globular, and as there is no constriction we might remair ignorant of the real method of divi- sion; but, guided by the analogical process in the Desmidiee, 1 hope to make it sufficiently plain. ‘The hemispheres are thrust apart by the new formation ; but now it is the outer rounded margin that we look to for an explanation. If a globe be cut into two equal portions, each will represent half a circle. By comparison with the neigh- bouring cells, we find that these two half circles remain unaltered, and are merely separated from each other, for if again brought together they would reconstitute the former globe. ‘The new for- ‘mations however separate them further and further, until the inter- vening space equals that occupied by the original globe, and then we find two globes exactly like the primary one, the internal half of each being the newly-formed one. During this time the inner por- tions, as they extend, develope more and more of the circle, until each becomes, as I have stated, a perfect hemisphere. The whole process cannot, of course, be seen in the same cell; but in a dividing filament some joints may be observed in one stage and some in another, which renders the evidence complete. «When the cell is oblong, or only rounded at the extremities, the process, though similar, is less evident: the cell at first seems merely to elongate until it obtains nearly twice its original length, when the division commences and the rounding of the new ends becomes apparent. ‘The tapering cell presents but little difference, for the separation takes place before its extremities are fully deve- loped. Sometimes these cells separate obliquely, as in Spirotenia and Scenedesmus. “1 ought to state however that the opinions advocated above do not agree with those of M. De Brébisson, who has attained so high a reputation for his intimate acquaintance with the freshwater Alge, and to whose kindness I have been so often indebted during the progress of the present work. He considers that there is an essen- tial distinction in the mode of division between the Desmidiee and Nostochinee (including in the latter the Palmellee), and that from it indeed differential characters are obtained by which we can distin- guish these nearly-allied groups. He observes of Hormospora mu- tabilis, Bréb.*, ‘ Ils sont le plus souvent géminés, se multipliant par une division spontanée (déduplication) transversale, comme cela arrive dans quelques autres Pleurococcoidées. Une division ana- logue a lieu dans les Desmidiées, auxquelles on serait d’abord tenté de rapporter les Hormospora; mais les demi-corpuscules (hémiso- mates) des Desmidiées développent 4 leur point de séparation une nouvelle portion semblable a la premiére, tandis que, dans l’accrois- sement des Nostocinées, les corpuscules sont divisés en deux par un étranglement transversal, sans qu’il s’ensuive une reproduction sur * Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Jan. 1844. 140 Bibliographical Notices. chacun des points de rupture. TI] y a dans ce cas, comme je l’ai dit ailleurs, déduplication simple. Dans les Desmidiées, il y a déduplica- tion et réduplication.’ «It is with unfeigned diffidence that I venture to dissent from the opinion of one possessing so profound a knowledge of these tribes, and I do so only from conviction, the result of close and repeated investigations. «‘T have stated my belief that the same changes occur in both the Desmidiee and the Nostochinee. A cell in Micrasterias has two he- mispheres, just as a joint in Anabaina has ; in both these separate, and in both each hemisphere becomes again a perfect sphere ; and if in Micrasterias the two hemispheres were united by their whole bases, there would not remain even an apparent difference between them. : ««The form of the cylindrical cells no longer helps us in tracing the method of division. In Penium as in the Conjugate, they seem merely to elongate and then divide. As I formerly suggested, in a paper read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, I consider it extremely probable that in all the simple Algz the cell or joint con- sists of two valves, and that additions occur at their junction, the original parts remaining unaffected: but this it may never be pos- sible to demonstrate satisfactorily, unless a species of Conferva with a coloured integument should be detected, or some means can be devised for permanently colouring the filaments without impairing their growth. Then indeed the question might be determined; at present I can merely show the probability that the cell in cylindrical species of Desmidiee agrees with the joint in a Zygnema or Tynda- ridea; since whenever the covering is colourless and free from mark- ings not the slightest difference can be perceived. This is the case in a few species of Penium; and hence Penium Brebissonii is by some authors placed in the Palmellee. In Penium margaritaceum and Pe- nium Cylindrus the integument is coloured, and we are enabled, by means of the paler appearance of the newly-formed portions, to sa- tisfy ourselves that in these also each half of the original cell is ac- quiring during the division a new partner. In Didymoprium the same fact is rendered apparent, because the suture passes between minute teeth;these teeth recede from each other, and the new teeth which appear between them-show the place where the separation of the joint has occurred.” ) To these interesting observations it may be added that the order of development in Diatomacee, where the frustules adhere long enough together to show their progress, is precisely the same. In Isthmia, for instance, if the several segments of the thread be indi- cated by symbols expressing the order of their development, the same symbols would equally express the same phenomena in a thread of Spherozosma. Many other matters of interest are discussed in the Introduction, such as the claims of these bodies to be ranked amongst vegetables, the nature of the active molecules at the apex of the frustules of Clo- sterium, the swarming of the articulations of Scenedesmus, the mode Bibliographical Notices. 141 of preserving specimens for microscopical observation which has been so extensively and successfully carried out by Mr. Thwaites, &c., for information on which we must refer our readers to the work itself. The long extract we have given will sufficiently show the style and powers of reasoning of our author. The introduction was unfortunately written and printed before the descriptive - matter, which precluded the possibility of putting the last finishing touch, on the completion of the work, which is often of such immense value in giving the proper effect to the whole. It is impossible to read it without feeling this, especially as the brilliant discoveries of Mr. Thwaites on the conjugation of Diatomacee were made before the publication of the volume, and which would have given Mr. Ralfs new ground for thought and comparison, discoveries now ex- tended to the spores of Palmelle. Of the general execution of the work we cannot speak too highly : the descriptions are accurate and copious, the species well-defined, the synonyms carefully scrutinized, every available source of infor- mation ransacked, and the figures, for which it is principally in- debted to Mr. Jenner, beautiful and accurate. The whole tone of the book too is exactly that manly tone at once of modest candour and of self-respect, which shows the faithful and conscientious ob- server confident in his own carefulness and measure of ability, but ‘aware of the liability to error which is inseparable from man’s hature. It is a book not merely for the algologist but for the physiologist, and in the spores of these curious productions the geologist will re- cognise the bodies which are so prevalent in flints. Fossil fronds of Desmidiee have been found by Professor-Bailey, who detected various species of Closterium and Euastrum in calcareous marls collected in New Hampshire and New York by Professors Hubbard and Hall, and also in marl at Scotch Town, New York, by Mr. Connors. Professor Bailey informed Mr. Ralfs that the specimens from the last-named station were taken from below the bones of Mastodon gigunteus. As sporangia of the Desmidiee and other membranous bodies in a fossil state have lately been detected by Mr. Deane and Dr. G. Mantell in the gray chalk of Folkestone, it is probable that a careful search in that neighbourhood would also bring to light the fossil fronds of Desmidice. We are not aware that any Desmidiee have yet been found in amber. A list of Diatomacee contained in that curious substance was lately given in our Journal. These were communicated to Ehrenberg by Dr. Thomas of Berlin, and specimens containing the same species have been entrusted by Dr. Thomas to the writer of these remarks ; but in a very extensive list of specimens prepared by Dr. Thomas now in our hands, it does not appear that any Desmidiee have yet been detected, nor is there any indication of the kind in the work of Dr. Berendt. It remains only that we recommend most cordially the work o Mr. Ralfs to the attention of our readers, assuring them that they will not be disappointed in it; and to express our hope that it will shortly be followed by a similar volume on the Diatomacee. 142 Bibliographical Notices. Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bootan, Affganistan, and the ~ neighbouring countries. By the late WintL1am Grirritu, F.L.S., &c. &c. Arranged by J. MacCuexranp, F.L.S. Calcutta, 1847. Notule ad Plantas Asiaticas. Part I. Development of Organs in Pha- nerogamous Plants. By the same. Icones Plantarum Asiaticarum. PartI. By the same. These valuable works are a portion of the ‘‘ Posthumous Papers bequeathed to the Honourable the East India Company, and printed by order of the Government of Bengal,” of the late lamented W. Griffith. The Company has, with its accustomed liberality, printed them, and is now presenting copies of them to those persons and Societies to whom they may be useful. It does not appear that any copies are offered for sale. ' The work at the head of our list is an octavo volume of above 500 pages, full of remarks upon the little-known districts which he tra- versed and peculiarly rich in botanical information. It is also illus- trated by some capital sketches of scenery. The other two books constitute the descriptive text, and illustrative plates of what may be considered as one work. The quarto plates are sixty-two in num- ber, and are quite filled with magnified and elaborate dissections in illustration, chiefly of the development of the parts of the flower, in numerous genera and species. It is unnecessary to remark upon the value of these plates and their descriptions. Those who are ac- quainted with Mr. Griffith’s papers contained in the late volumes of the ‘ Linnzean Transactions, —and what botanist is not ?—will know what to expect and will not be disappointed. We presume from the Travels ending with the ‘end of vol. I.” and the other books being each denominated Part I., that it is the intention of the Honourable Company to publish further portions of the papers in its possession. We trust that it will prove so ; for the remarks of such an observer as the present author ought not to be lost. The Marine Botanist : an Introduction to, the study of Algology, con- taining Descriptions of the commonest British Sea-Weeds, with Figures of the most remarkable Species. By Isanetua Girrorp. London: Darton and Co. A nice little book upon the British Sea-weeds, which our sub- scribers may safely recommend to such of their friends as purpose visiting the coast. The work is professedly only a preparation for more perfect syste- matic books, the object of this being to give descriptions of our commonest marine Algze in as simple words as possible, and the ~ authoress has shown as much judgement in the important matter of terminology as in the general arrangement of the matter. An abso- lute avoidance of scientific terms must lead to obscurity in the pre- sent state of knowledge, and the only way to simplify the technical - terms is to make them more scientifically definite. ‘Those who ob- ject to the “‘ hard words,” as they are called, in works on Natural Linnean Soctety. 143 History, should recollect that the only road to literature lies through the dictionary, and that their objection is the same as that of the * child who dislikes the task of ‘‘ meaning spelling.” _ Very little trouble will be required to master the few terms in the Glossary of the present little book, where they are clearly explained. The work is very neatly got up, and is well adapted to attract new votaries to the study of our marine flora; for although it does not - convey much information beyond the names, these are precisely what all beginners are most interested in, and of course the name of an object must necessarily be known in order to the communication of observation of Structure or habit. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. a LINNZAN SOCIETY. March 21, 1848.—E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. Read a Memoir ‘‘ On the Australian species of the Coleopterous genus Bolboceras, Kirby.” By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &e. In this paper, which contains the characters and descriptions of five new species of Bolboceras from Australia, Mr. Westwood passes in review the various writers on the subject, and enters into some critical detail on the characters which they have assigned to the genus. The following are the characters of the new species pro- posed :— _— 1. B. (Everuasromus) Kiri; castaneo-fulvus, capitis cornu antico por- recto brevi truncato plano subtus in spinam bifidam haud producto, vertice carina brevi transversd, prothoracis lateribus valdé punctatis utrinque fossulatis; disco posticé canali abbreviato longitudinali in- structo.—Long. corp. lin. 9. B. (Elephastomus) Kirbii, Hope MSS. Hab. in Terré Van Diemen. In Mus. Hope. . This appears to be the insect given by Mr. MacLeay as the female of Hlephastomus proboscideus. It is however a male, and is given by Dr. Klug as a variety of the male of that species. The insect above described appears sufficiently distinct as a species from the former. 2. B. Reicui1; castaneus nitidus, capite cornu valdé elongato erecto, este anticé valdé deflexo et subconcavo cornubus duobus crassis . ongitudine capitis porrectis lateralibus armato: singulo versus basin i dente obtuso erecto instructo; prothoracis lateribus rudé punctatis ce spatioque triangulari impresso et punctato ante scutellum ; margine ¥ postico param elevato, elytris striis gracillimis punctatis, tibiis anticis extus 5-dentatis. g.—Long. corp. lin. 11; lat. prothoracis lin. 7. Hab. Port Essington. In Muss. Hope et Reich. $- Bolboceras Reichii, Guérin, Voyage de la Favorite, et Iconogr. du Régne An. Ins. p. 84. Bolboceras Kirbit 3, Hope in Proc. of Ent. Soc., Nov. 1841, p. 43. @ Bolboceras Kirbii, Bainbridge in Trans. Ent. Soc. Differt capite minori, vertice in tuberculum conicum apice bifidum elevato, clypeo et vertice carina tenui angulat& separatis, pronoto anticé spatio 144. Linnean Society. subhexagono plano polito, in puncta duo profunda anticé lateraliter desinente ; disco pone medium valdé punctato, versus marginem posti- cum elevato levi, spatio ovali mediano punctato et impresso religtocst Long. corp. lin. 11. Hab. ad Melville Island. Mus. Hope (etiam in Mus. Gory, nune Hope, cum nomine B. Reichii inscripto). Obs. The name given to the male of this species is here retained in preference to that of the female, in accordance with the usual custom in such cases. hee . B. Taurus; castaneus nitidus, capitis vertice utrinque laminis duabus yp faati on ts erectis instructo cornubusque duobus elongatis curvatis nigris ante oculos armato, pronoto in medio versus marginem anticum partim reflexo seu tubercilis duobus transversis subelevatis instructo ; Jateri- bus punctatis.—Long. corp. lin. 8. . Hab, ad Swan River. In Mus. Hope (olim Gory, sub nomine manu- scripto supra indicato; etiam in Mus. Saunders). 4. B. Capreouus; castaneus nitidus, capite posticé nigricante; vertices . cornu lato furcato 6-dentato erecto armato, pronoto anticé retuso glabro, dorso carina transversé pone medium instructo, mandibulis magnis extus denticulatis. ¢.—Long. corp. lin. 9. Hab. in Nova Hollandia, Swan River. In Mus. Hope (olim Mus. Gory, cum nomine supra inseripto designatum). 5. B. Barnsripei ; piceus, capitis clypeo anticé tridentato, dente inter- medio minori; vertice inermi, pronoto anticé valdé declivi dente erecto versus marginem anticum; parte declivi supra carina curvata mar- ginata.—Long. corp. lin. 7. Hab, in Nova Hollandia, Swan River. In Mus. D. Hope. Of these species, as well as of B.(Hlephastomus) Australasia, Kirby, B. serricollis, Bainbridge, B. hastifer, Bainb., B. 3-tuberculatus, Bainb., B. 7-tuberculatus, Bainb., B. coronatus, Klug, B. quadricornis, ’ Klug, 'B. neglectus, Hope, B. retuadates; Hope, and B. rubescens, Hope, Mr. Westwood adds figures, either of the whole insect or of the more distinctive parts. He also figures and describes a new sub- genus with the following characters :— Subgenus STenaspipius. Corpus magis elongatum quam in Bolboceratis veris; scutello elongato (nec triangulari) ; elytris striis 5 tantim inter humeros et suturam; mesosterno porrecto. Differt etiam colore antennarum. | Borzocearas (STENAsPIDIUS) NIGRICoRNIS; ovalis niger nitidus sparsim punctatus, capite tuberculo conico inter oculos, pronoto canali punctato medio aliisque duobus abbreviatis pone oculos, elytris striato-punctatis. —Long. corp. lin. 33. Hab. in Nova Hollandia. In Mus. D. Hope (olim Gory, cum nomine supra indicato inscripto). April 4.—E, Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. Read some ‘‘ Notes on the Vegetation of Scinde,” extracted frist a Letter addressed by John Ellerton Stocks, Esq., M.D., to J. F. Royle, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &e., dated Bombay, November 25, 1847. The extracts consisted, first, of a sketch of the physical. geogra- by! SS au ‘= oa 4 : a 2 “KANYUGC ‘asunyy yonpung yo ‘uoysnoyD *d ‘Ady 2y7 49 puy {aurns-saraawacy ‘asunpy ypuvsajddy yo ‘aequag * Ay *AeyY 247 49 SNoLSOg 40 ‘|\W9A “AN 49 Suopuo'y avau ‘MOLMSIHD Jo hyaro0g pounynoysoyy ay] fo uapenyy ay; yo uosdwoyy, “ay 49 apou suorwasasg”— jongojosoajayy | THE ANNALS “MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. [SECOND SERIES.] No. 9. SEPTEMBER 1848. _