THK RROCKE DINGS LiNNEAN Society NEW SOUTH WALES. VOL. IX FOR THE YEAR 1894. PRINTED AND PUBLI>SHKD FOK THE SOCIETY BY F. CUNNINGHAME & CO., 140 PITT STREET, SYDNEY : F. CUNMNOHAME AND CO., PITT STREET. CONTENTS OF VOL. IX. (SECOnsriD SERIES.) PART I. (Issued September Wi, IS'Jh.) PAGE. Notes on Australian Typhlopida'. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist, Australian Museum. (Plate i. ) 9 On the Fertilisation of Ckrodemlrontomentosuin, R.Br., and CaudoUea (Siylid/umjserriilata,hahill. By Alex. G. Hamilton. (Platen.) 15 Note on Bungwall ( Bhchnum ae.rrulatum, Rich.), an Aboriginal Food. By Thos. L. Bancroft, M.B., Edin. 25 On the Nests and Habits of Australian Vexpidie and Larridce. By Walter W. Froggatt 27 Description of Galliostoma purpureoci actum, a new Marine Australian Shell. By C. Hedley, F.L.S 3.3 Note on the Habitat of th«; Naked-eyed Cockatoo ( CacMua rjymnopin, Sclater). By Alfred J. North-, F.L.S., Assistant in Ornithology, Australian Museum. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 37 Oological Notes. By Alfred J. North, F.L.S., Assistant in Ornithology, Ansti-alian Museum ... 3^> Preliminary Note on the Anatomy of the " Dumb-bell-shaped " Bone in Ornifhorhynrhvi, with a new View of its Homology. By J. T. WiLSOX, M.B., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Sydney. 44 A Contribution to a further Knowledge of the Cystic Cestodes. By J A.S. P. Hill, F. L. S. , Demonstrator of Biology, Sydney University. (Plates III. -V.) 49 Notes on Australian Coleoptera, with Descriptions of new Species. Part XV. By the Rev. T. BLACKBURN, B.A., Corr. Mem. ... 85 On an Aboriginal Implement, believed to be undescribed, and supposed to be a Hoe. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Palaeontologist to the Australian Museum, and Geological Surv^ey of New South Wales. (Plate VI.) 109 IV. CONTENTS. PART I. (rontiuuedj. PAGE On the Life- Histories of Australian Coleoptera. Part ii. By Walter W. Froggatt 113 On some Naked Australian Marine MoUasca. Part i. By C. Hedley, F.L.S. (Plate VII.) 12(i Observations upon the Anatomy and Relations of the "Dumb-bell- shaped" Bone in Ornifhorhynchun, with a new Theory of its Homology; and upon a hitherto undescribed Character of the Nasal Septum in the genera Ornithorhyii.ch'U>: and Echidna. By J. T. Wilson, M.B., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Sydney. (Plates vin. -ix. ) 1-29 Description of a new Isopofjou of New South Wales. By Baron Ferd. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., M. & Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S. ... 151 Descriptions of some uew Araneidta oi New South Wales. No. 4. By W. J. Rainbow. (Plate x.) 15.3 Plants of New South W^ales Hlustrated. No. vii. — (lenus Notothixos. By R. T. Baker, Assistant Curator, Technological Museum, Sydney. (Plate xi.) 158 Description of a new Croton, from New South Wales. By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S. (Plate xn.) 160 Description of an appai-ently new Araria from New South Wales. By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R.T. Baker, F.L.S. (Plate xin.)... 1(3.S List of MoUusca found at Green Point, Watson's Bay, Sydney. By Arnold U. Henn, F.E.S., F.L.S. With, a few Remarks upon some of the most interesting Species, and Descriptions of the new Species. By John Brazier, F.L.S., CM. Z.S. (Plate xiv.) ... 165 On a Patdla said to have been foand on the Kermadec Islands. By JohnBrazier, F.LS., C.M.Z.S 183 Note on the Destruction of young Oysters at Vaucluse by the operations of a boring mollusc f-B^V/r^y^l'(X manjiiialra, Blainv. ). By C. Hedley, F.L.S. 185 Note on the discovery of a destructive Floridan Coccid (Irerya rosa-, Riley and Howard), near Sydney. By Walter W. Froggatt... 186 Note on the Breeding Seasons of Meliornis novni-lioUandice. By A. -J. North, F.L.S 186 Elections and Announcements ... ... ... ... ... ••• -16 Donations .. ... 1, 46 Notes and Exhibits 43,185 ■y PART TI. (lamed Deceinhff lOtli, IS'.i!,.) 1'.\(;e On three liiglily ornate Boomerangs from the Bulloo lliver, N.S.W. By R. Ether[dgk, Junr. (Paheoutologist to the Australian Museum, and Geological Survey of N. S. Wales). [Plate xv.] ... 193 Notes on tlie Methods of Fertilisation of the Goodeiuacea' Part J. By Alkx. (I. Hamilton. (Plate xvi.) ... -JOl Note on the Tertiary Fossils from Hall Sound, New Guinea. By Profe.ssor Ralph Tate 213 New or rare Fishes from Maroubra, N.S.W. By Eduar K. Waite, F.L.S , Zoologist, Australian Museum, Sydney. (Plate xvii.) .. 215 On the mode of Atbaohment of the Leaves or Fronsopt>-ris, with Remarks on the Relation of the Genus to its Allies. By R. Etheridge, .Junr. (Palteontologist to the Aus- tralian Museum, and Palaeontologist and Librarian to the Depart- ment of Mmes, Sydney). [Plates XVIII. -XIX.] 22S With a Note on its Stratigraphioal Distribution in Australasia. By T. W. E. David, B. A., &c. (Professor of (xeulogy, &c., in the University of Sydney) 249 Description of a new Mite belonging to the Genus f/ittro/in.s, found in Wasps' Nests. By Walter W. Froggatt 2.59 Description of a new Australian Snake. By J. DoutiLA.s Ogilby ... 261 The Morphology of the Muscles of the Shoulder-Girdle in Monotr-niits. By W. J Stewart McKay, M.B., Ch. M., B. Sc. (Plates xx.- xxiii.) 263 Descriptions of Jive new Fishes from the Australasian Region. By J. DouGLA.s Ogilby 367 Wood Moths : with some account of their Lite- histories, chiefly com- piled from the Notes of Mr. R. Thornton, of Wallsend, N.S.W. By W. W. Froggatt 375 The Land Mollusean Fauna of British New (Guinea. Second Supple- ment, continued from Vol. vi., p. 695. By C. Hedley, F.L.S. (Plates XXTV. -XXVI.) 384 Elections and Announcements 189,364 Donations 189,364 Notes and Exhibits 361 VI. CONTENTS. PART III. (Issued Match 26th, 1S05.) PAGE Studies in Australian Entomology. No. vii. New Genera and Species of Garabidce (including some Notes on previously described Species, and Synoptic Lists of Genera and Species). By Thomas G. Sloane 39a Botanical Notes from the Technological Museum, Syt, and its Secretion; together with an Experimental Enquiry concerning its supposed Toxic Action. By C. J. Martix, M.B., B.Sc. (Lond.), and Frank Tidswell, M.B., Ch.M. (Sydney). [Plates xxviii.-xxxi.) 471 Notes on Australian Shipworms. By C. Hedley, F.L.S. (Plate xxxii.) ... 501 On Five interesting Shields from Northern Queensland, v\ith an Enumeration of the Figured Types of Australian Shields. By R. Ethkridge, Jun'r., Acting Curator and Palisoatologist, Australian Museum; and Palseontoloi^ist and Librarian, (ieologi- cal Survey of N. S. Wales. (Plates xxxiii.-xxxvm. ) 506 Additional Notes on the Palaeontology of Queensland. Part i. — Palseozoic. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Palaeontologist to the Australian Museum, and Geological Survey of N. S. ^Vales. (Plates xxxix.-XLi.) 518 The Kuditcha Shoes of Ceatral Australia. By Pv. Ethekidue, Junk., Acting Curator, Australian Museum, &c. ... ... .. ... 544 On the Formation of a Mackerel Sky. By A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc 551 A List of Exotic Trees and Shrubs affected by Australian Loranths and Viscums. By Fred. Turner, F.L.S., &c 557 On the Correct Habitat of Patella Icermadecenfiin, Pilsbry. By John Brazier, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S 566 CONTENTS. Vll PART III. (continued). PAGE Ou Trochns Adamd from Port Jackson; and new Varieties of Btdimus miUocheilas, Reeve, from the Solomon Islands. By John Bkazikr, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S oiil Observations ou Dendrolagux hen natti amis, De Vis. By Edoar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist, Australian Museum. (Plates xlii.- XLIII.) 571 Note on Pittospornm inidnlafum, Andr. By Alex. G. Hamilton ... 583 Note on the Occurrence of the Conmion Shoveller and the Long-tailed Cuckoo in the Gilbert Group. By A. J. North, F.L.S 584 Elections and Announcements ... ... ... ... .. 468, 541, 563 Donations 468, 541, 563 Notes and E.\-hil)its 464, ,540, 561, 583 PART IV. (Issued March 2Sth, IS'.io.) PACiE Descriptions of new Species of Australian Coleoptera. By Arthur M. Lea .-)89 A Preliminary Communication upon the Cerebral Commissures of the aMammalia, with Special Reference to the Monotremata and Marsu- pialia. By G. Elliot Smith, M.B. et Ch.M. (Syd.), Demonstratnr of Anatomy, University of Sydney. (Plate XLiv.) ... ... 6-S5 Description of a new iHopoijoti from New South Wales. By R. T. Baker. (Plate xlv.) (i58 Furtlier Ohseivations upon the Anatomy of the Integumentary Structures in the Muzzle of (JndtJiorhynrhu.s. By J. T. Wilson, MB., Professor of Anatomy, and C. J. M.\rtin, M.B., B.Sc, Demonstrator of Physiology, in the University of Sydney. (Plates XLVi.-XLViii.) .. 060 Description (with figures) of a Young Specimen of Ornithorhynchus anafinii>i from tlie Collection of the Austi-alian Museum, Sydney. By J. T. Wil.«on, M.B., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Sydney. (Plate xlix.) 682 On some Australian and Tasmanian MoUusca, with their Synonyms. By John BriAZiKR, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S. 691 Till. CONTENTS. PART IV. (continued). P.AGE Notes of a Visit to the Island of Erromanga, New Hebrides, in May, 1894. By Sutherland Sinclair, Secretary of the Australiaa Museum 701 List of Port Jackson Chitons, with Remarks. By J. C. Cox, M.D., F.L.S 709 Redesoription of Af^pidiff.^ ram^tayi, Macleay. By Edgar R. ^Vaite, F-L.*^., Zoologist, Australian Museum, Sydney. (Plate l.) ... 715 On a new Typhlops previously confounded with Typhlops uiiijuiroH- (•n.s, Peters. By G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S. 718 Description of a new Australian Eel. By J. Dougla.s 0(;ilbv ... 720 Botanical Notes from the Technological Museum. No. iii. By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S 72^ A British Bivalve Mollusc (Cryptodon flexvomx, Mont.), found in Australia and Tasmania, with its Distribution. By John Brazier, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S 725 Bossiteria, a new Sub-genus of the Family Trochidm. By John Brazier, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S 728 Notes on some Land Planarians collected by Thos. Steel, Esq., F.L.S., in the Blue Mountains, N.S.W. By Arthur Dendy, D.Sc, F.L.S., Professor of Biology in the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand ... ... ... ... ... .. 729 A Review of the Fossil Jaws of the Macropodidce. in the Queensland Museum. By C. W. De Vis, M.A, (Abstract) 735 On a new Species of Enter opneusta from the Coast of New South Wales. By James P. Hill, Demonstrator of Biology, Sydney University. (Abstract) , 736 Oil a Platypus Embryo from the Intra-uterine Egg. By J. P. Hill, Demonstrator of Biology, and C. J. Martin, M.B., B.Sc. (Lond.), Demonstrator of Physiology in the University of Sydney. (Abstract) 73S Elections and Announcements .. ... ... ... ... 5S6, 711 Donations 586, 711 N.tes and Exhibits 708,740 LIST OF 1?I. A.TES. VOL. TX. (second SEIilEs). Plate I. — Australian Typhlop'ubv. Plate II. — Fertilisation of CkroiUndron and Oaadollea (Stylidium). Plates iii.-v. — Australian Cystic Cestodes. Plate VI — Aboriginal Implement, supposed to be a Hoe. Plate VII. — OscaniuH Hilli, Hedley. Plates VIII. -i.K. — Dumb-bell shaped boae in Ornithorhynchus and the Nasal Septum of Ornithorhynchux and Echidna. Plate X. — Australian Spiders ( Drassun perelegans, Gyrtarachiie cali(juiosa). Plate XI.— Forms of Genus Notothixos, Oliver. Plate XII. — Groton affiim. Maiden et Baker. Plate XIII. — Acacia negkctu, Maiden et Baker. Plate XIV. — Port Jackson Mollusca. Plate XV. — Ornate Boomerangs from tlie BuUoo Ris'er. Plate XVI. — Fertilisation of the Goodeniacea'. Plate XVII. — Fishes from Maroubra, N.S.W. Plates XVIII. -XIX. — Caudex and Fronds of Glos.so2)teris. Plates xx-xxiii. — Muscles of the Shoulder-Girdle in Monotremes. Plates xxiv. -XXVI.- -British New Guinea Land Mollusca. Plate XXVII. — Hermaphrodite flowers of Ptimantia Guniiini/hamii, Miers. Plates XXVIII. -XXXI. — Femoral Gland of Ornilhorhynchus. Plate XXXII. — Australian Shipworms. Plates XXXIII. -xxxvui. — ^Aboriginal Shields from Northern Queensland. Plates xxxix.-XLi. — Queensland Fossils. Plates XLii.-XLiii. — Skull of Dendrolagux Benueftiauus, De Vis. Plate XLiv. — Cerebral Commissures of the Mammalia. Plate XLV.—Isojwf/on Dawsoni, Baker. Plates XLVi.-XLViii. — Anatomy of the Muzzle of Ornithorhynchus. Plate XLix. — Young Specimen of Ornithorhynchus anatinus. Plate L. — Aspidites ranisayi, Macl., and A. niehinocephnliix, Kreflt. CORRIGENDA. Page 13, line 2 — for Tpjjfdops affinU read Typhlops affiius. Page 18, line IS — for C. (S.) graminifolium read S. (jramiiiifolmm. Page 30, line 20 — for Busaria spinosa read Bursaria spinosa. Page 100, line 22 — for C. ausfralasice read G. anntralada'. Page 103, line 13— /o?- Nyctozoilus, Si-OANei read Nyctozoilus Sloanki. Page 173, line 28— /or PI. xiv. fig. 12 read PI. xiv. lig. 11. Page 174, line 26— /or PI. xiv. fig. 11 read PI. xiv. fig. 12. Page 220, line 18— /or PI. xvii. figs. 2-11 read PI. xvii. figs. 2 9. Page 298, line 17 — for Uromastrix read Uromaslix. Page 338, line 26 — for P. nigraiis read T. nujrans. Page 392, line 29— for B. macleayi read P. machayl. Page 414, line 3 — for //. cyanea read H. cyaiieum. Page 460, line 11— for Byronia read Bryonia. Page 640, lines 20-22— for Didtlphis read Diddphy^. :e:ROCEEIDi:N"GI-S LINNEAN SOCIETY l^^-^T^ SOTTTH -\77-^f^XjES. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28th, 1894. The President, Professor David, B.A., F.G.S., in the Chair. DONATIONS. (Received since the Meeting in November, 1893.) "Department of Mines and Geological Survey of N.S.W. — Records." Yol. iii. Part 4 (1893). From the Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agriculture. 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" Essex Institute — Bulletin." Vol. xxiii. (Nos. 1-12), Vol. xxiv. (Nos. 1-12), Vol. XXV. Nos. 1-3 (1891-93) : "Henry Wheatland, M.D, — a Memoir." From the Institute. " K. K. Zoologisch-botanische Gesellschaft in Wien — 'Verhand- lungen." Jahrg. 1893, 1 u. 2 Quartal. From the Society. " Naturforschende Verein in Briinn — Verhandlungeia." xxx. Bd, (1891) : " Meteorologischen Commission — Bericht x." (1892). From the Socieiy. " Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica — Acta." Vol. v. Pars la-2 (1892) : " Meddelanden." xvii. Haft. (1890-92). From the Society. " Museo di Zoologia ed Anatomia comparata della R. Universita di Torino— Bollettino." Vol. viii. Nos. 151-165 (1893). From the University. e DONATIONS. " Geological Survey of India — Records." Vol. xxvi. Part 4 (1893). From the Director. " Socidte Entomologique a Stockholm — Journal." Arg. xiv. (1893) [Haft. 1-4]. From the Society. "Societe des Sciences de Finlande — Bidrag till Kannedom." Haft. li. (1892): " Oefversigt." xxiv. (1891-92). From the Society. PAPERS READ. NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN TYPHLOPIDM. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist, Australian Museum. (PiMished by j)e7-mission of the Trustees.) (Plate I.) *4. TypHLOPS BATiLLUs, sp.nov. (PL I. figs. 1-3.) Habit slender and of moderately even thickness. Snout promi- nent, much depressed and shovel-shaped. Head shields granulated above and below. Rostral half the width of the head, extending almost to the level of the eyes, widest in front, the portion visible from beneath as broad as long ; nasal completely divided, the fissure much curved and extending from the second labial ; nos- trils lateral, close to the rostral ; preocular smaller than the ocular, in contact with the second and third labials. Eye very distinct. Internasal, supraoculars, and parietals larger than the scales on the body. Four upper labials. Diameter of the middle of the body fifty-three times in the total length. Tail longer than broad, terminating in a blunt spine. Twenty-four scales round the body. Colours. — In spirits, tawny above, the edges of the scales forming noticeable longitudinal lines, lighter beneath. Dimetzsions. Total length 320 mm. Length of head 5 mm. Width of head 5 mm. Width of body 6 mm. Length of tail 7 mm. Width of tail 5 mm. Hab. — Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. One example. * Articles 1-3 were published in the Records of the Australian Museum, ii. pp. 57-62. 10 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN TYPHLOPIDiE, Tyj}e. — In the Macleay Museum, Sydney. No. 3. Note. — Connecting the parietal with the fourth upper labial is a broadened scale ; this is shown in figs. 1 and 3, but I have not included it in the general description, as the fusion of two or more scales is a common occurrence in the Ophidia, and is very probably in this instance an individual peculiarity. I mention it here, however, as the scales on both sides of the head are precisely alike. The completely divided nasal is a character not shared by any Australian form hitherto described, and at once serves to dis- tinguish this species. I am indebted to the Trustees of the Macleay Museum for having kindly granted me permission to describe this, the only new species in the series. 5. Typhlops diversus, sp.nov. (PI. I. figs. 4-6.) Habit slender, slightly thickened posteriorly. Snout rounded. Rostral nearly half the width of the head, extending almost to the level of the eyes, slightly narrowed in front, the portion visible from below about as long as broad ; nasal incompletely divided, the fissure extending from the anterior edge of the preocular to slightly beyond the nostril ; nostrils lateral ; preocular narrower than the ocular, in contact with the second and third labials. Eye distinct. Internasal, supraoculars, and parietals larger than the body scales. Four upper labials. Diameter of the middle of the body about sixty -seven times in the total length. Tail a third longer than broad, terminating in a very minute spine which scarcely projects beyond the scales. Twenty scales round the body. Colours. — In spirits, light horn-colour throughout, slightly darker on the dorsal surface. Dimensions. Total length 212 mm. Length of head 3 mm. Width of head 3 mm. Width of body 3-2 mm. Length of tail 4 mm. Width of tail 3 mm. BY EDGAR R. WAITE. 11 Hah. — Mowen, Central Railway, Queensland. One example. Tyjye. — In the Queensland Museum. No. D 4432. The peculiarity of the nasal fissure not touching the labials distinguishes T. diversus from all other Australian forms, and the only described species with which it might be confounded is T. braminus, Daud.* It differs from this species in having the nasal incompletely divided, the head more depressed, the rostral of greater width and of different shape, and the body of more slender form. I am enabled to describe and figure this interesting species owing to the kindness of Mr. C. W. De Vis, who has placed in my hands the whole of the Australian TyiMopidce in the Queens- land Museum. 6. Typhlops unguirostris, Peters, and T. appinis, Boulenger. As previously mentioned, I have received a valuable collection of Australian Typhlopidce for study and determination from the Queensland Museum, kindly sent to me by the Curator, Mr. C. W. De Vis. An examination of this collection placed me in a position to understand the discrepancies which, since the publica- tion of the British Museum Catalogue,! I saw existed in either the descriptions or the figures of the species above-named. In the collection are two examples which I identify as T. ungui- rostris.\ In both these specimens the nasal fissure is in contact with the first labial, and although Peters does not mention this, his figure shows very clearly that such is the case in the type specimen. In the British Museum Catalogue, Boulenger remarks of this species that the nasal cleft proceeds from the second labial. This, * T. accendens, Jan, has similar characters, but differs in having twenty- two rows of scales round the body. + Boulenger, Cat. of Snakes in B.M. Vol. i. p. 49. + Peters, Monatsb. d. K. Akad d. W. Berlin, 1S67, p. 708, f. 3. 12 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN TYPHLOPID^E, in view of the evidence above given, I should regard as a mere oversight, did it not cause some difficulty with regard to another species, T. affinis. When describing T. unguirostris, Peters stated that in an old example the body scales are in twenty-four rows, while in a young one there are eighteen rows only. In 1889 Boulenger* very pro- perly elevated this small form to specific rank under the name T. affinis, remarking that it agrees with T. unguirostris in every respect except in having eighteen scales round the body (instead of twenty-two or twenty-four) and a somewhat longer tail. From observations on the material at my disposal, I would suggest that Boulenger is in error in stating that the nasal cleft of T. unguirostris proceeds from the second labial, and if so his description of T. affinis (being comparative) is also incorrect, for he figures this speciesf as having the cleft connected with the second labial. This figure I am able to verify, for the Queensland collection contains a small specimen which, at the first glance, I took to be a third T. unguirostris. I found that it differed from my other examples and from Peters' figure in having the nasal cleft in contact with the second labial. It perfectly agrees with the figure of T. affinis, and if my conclusions are correct, this species is much better marked than even Boulenger suspected. As the two examples of T. unguirostris have in addition to the character mentioned twenty-four rows of scales and a short tail, and as my single example of T. affinis has eighteen rows of scales, and the tail longer than broad, I am able to agree with and verify the other points of Boulenger's descriptions and now characterise the species as follows : — TyiMops unguirostris, Peters. — Nasal cleft proceeding from the first labial, twenty-four (or according to Boulenger, twenty-two or twenty-four) scales round the body, tail nearly as long as broad. * Boulenger, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) iv. 1889, p. 363. t Boulenger, Cat. of Snakes in B.M. i. pi. iii. f. 3. BY EDGAR R. WAITE. 13 Tp2)hlo2}s affinis, Buulenger. — Nasal cleft proceeding from the second labial. Eighteen scales round the body. Tail longer than broad. 7. Typhlops wiedii, Peters. (PI. I. Hgs. 7-9.) This is the only Australian species of which no figure has hitherto been published. In order to complete the series, I therefore show three aspects of the head. Out of very many examples which I have examined, the total length of the largest does not exceed 295 mm. 8. Typhlops polygrammicus, Schlegel. Until recently, the largest specimen I have seen is the one mentioned in a former article* under the name T. nigrescens, Gray, as being 570 mm. in length. This must be regarded as exceptional, however, for out of at least 200 examples which I have seen very few exceed the figure given in the British Museum Catalogue, namely, 435 mm. Lately I have had the opportunity of measuring a specimen which has attained dimensions eclipsed only by the African species T. /mmbo, Bocage, which reaches 775 mm. The Australian gigantic specimen was obtained at Kempsey on the Macleay River, New South Wales, and sent to me for determination by Mr. A. P. Kemp, to whom it has been returned. As comparative measurements are so easy to make on such a large specimen I give its principal dimensions as follows : — Dimensions. Total length 717 mm. Length of head 9-5 mm. Width of head 10-5 mm. Width of body 14-5 mm. Length of tail 15-0 mm. Width of tail 14-0 mm. * Records of the Australian Museum, ii. p. 59. 14 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN TYPHLOPID^E. In a future paper I hope to deal with the distribution of the Australian TypJiloindce, and shall be very grateful for the loan of specimens, or for any information with which I may be favoured. EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. Figs. 1-3. — Head of Typhlops haiillus, Waite. Figs. 4-6. — Head of Typhlops diversus, Waite. Figs. 7-9. — Head of Typhlops iviedii, Peters. 15 ON THE FERTILISATION OF CLERODENDRON TOMENTOSUM, R.BR., AND CANDOLLEA (STYLIDIU2I) SERRTJLATA, LABILL. By Alex. G. Hamilton. (Plate n.) ClERODENDRON TOMENTOSUM, R.Br. (PI. 11. figs. 1-2.) My attention was first drawn to the method of fertilisation of this plant by the fact that a cluster of flowers on my table, though always deliciously scented, gave ofi" a much stronger odour in the evening. This led me to think that it was probably fertilised by some night-flying moth. I therefore studied the developmetit and structure of the flowers with a view to discovering if my theory was correct, and with the following results : — The flower, as seen in fig. 1, is tubular, the tube about an inch long. The five petals are only slightly irregular, the lower one being sometimes a little larger than the upper. But this is not a constant character. The colour is creamy-white — a common feature of flowers which depend on night-flying insects for fertili- jsation. The stamens are four in number, and much exserted — one inch or more beyond the tube, and the pistil projects to about the same distance. In the bud, stamens and pistil are compactly coiled up, and fill the interior completely. When the flower opens, the stamens gradually uncoil and straighten, and the pistil bends so as to be below them (fig. 1). The anthers do not burst till the pistil has bent, and the latter is still immature, as is shown by the bitid stigma remaining unopened. The flowers are, therefore, 16 FERTILISATION OF CLERODENDRON AND CANDOLLEA, proterandrous. The anthers in some flowers do not all mature at once, sometimes bursting singly and sometimes in pairs, but the usual course is for all to mature and burst simultaneously. The tube produces nectar freely, but it can only be procured by an insect with a very long proboscis, and it seemed most likely to me that the sphinx or hawk moths were usually concerned in the fertilisation. After the anthers have all shed their pollen, they twist downwards, while the pistil straightens and thus brings the stigma, now open and fit to receive pollen, into the position which the stamens formerly had (fig. 2). Now this is exactly in front of the neck of the tube, so that a moth feeding on the nectar is certain, as it poises in front, to be smeared with pollen on the lower surface of the thorax and abdomen, and this pollen is transferred to the stigma when a bloom is visited which has its pistil straight and the stigma mature. Inspection of the immature stigmas when in the lower position showed them to be perfectly free from pollen. But the mature stigmas in the upper position were thickly coated with pollen, and in most cases had scales and long hairs of a moth adhering to them. My conclusion, therefore, was that the sphinx moths in extracting the nectar from blossoms in which the stamens stood out in front of the flower, became coated with the very sticky pollen ; then proceeding to flowers in which the pistil was in position they deposited the pollen on the stigma as they hovered over the flower, and so cross-fertilisation, or to use Kerner's term, allogamy, ensued. That insects are not likely to alight on the flower and so fertilise it, is evident from the fact that the plane of the petals is perpendicular to the axis of the tube, and that they curl round (fig. 2) towards the tube as the flower matures, so that there is no platform for insects to alight upon. The flowers grow in clusters, and in each cluster may be found numbers in all states of maturity. The calyx, tube and backs of the petals, stem and leaves are all covered with hairs, both pointed and glandular, and of a soft texture. This prevents ants and other crawling insects from having access to the flowers, such insects only rifling the tube of its nectar without fertilising the flower. BY ALEX. G. HAMILTON. 17 Having completed my theory, I took the first opportunity of putting it to the test by visiting a flowering plant in the dusk, and I then found that tlie method was exactly as above set forth. Numbers of hawk moths of the species Deilephila celerio were very busy extracting tlie nectar, and as they balanced on the wing above the flowers, invariably touched the anthers of those in the first stage ; or the stigma in those which had reached the second, both with their legs and their bodies. As might be expected the plant fruits freely but not invariably. I have little doubt but that the flowers may also be visited and fertilised by the little Cobbler's Awl, Acanthorhynchua tenuirostris-, which is very fond of visiting tubular flowers, but so far I have not observed them at it. Crowds of small moths were fluttering about the flowers, probably attracted by the sweet scent, but thev did not alight : perhaps the d^^pth of the tube and the want of a platform for resting on deterred them. After writing the preceding, I came across the following, which has a good deal of interest as bearing on fertilisation in this manner. "Natural Science" (Vol. iii. p. 415) notices a paper by Di-. Max Schnltz in Cohn's Beitiage zur Biologie der Pflanzen (Vol. vi. p. 305) " On the movements of the stalk and flower, of Cobcea scandens." The flowers are proterandrous and the two upper stamens shed pollen first, the anthers standing up before the entrance to the flower, and then bend downwards out of the way. Then the three lower anthers take up the same position and open, afterwards bending downwards, while the style takes the position formerly held by the anthers, and the stigmas unfold. After reading this, I v/atched a plant of Cobcea in flower, and was struck with the similarity of the process to that in Cleroden- dron. Although Dr. Schultz (as quoted) says that two anthers open first and then the other three, I noted that in ray plant the anthers frequently opened singly, or irregularly as in Clerodendron, or all at once. The notice concludes with the following words : — "These move- ments of the flower and its stalk are, perhaps, a device for ensuring 2 18 FERTILISATION OF CLERODENDRON AND CANDOLLEA, self-fertilisation where cross-fertilisation by insects has failed. They occur in any case, whether pollination has taken place or not." With my experience of Clerodendron, I should say that they imdoubtedly point to cross-fertilisation by a flying insect ; but I am bound to admit that I have for some two months past watched Cobcea for hawk moths every evening, and have never seen one approach it, although they were busy on some Lonicera twenty feet away. The flowers were, however, much frequented by bees in search of pollen, and often bear fertile seed, but they often fail. The scent in the flowers at the first stage (at which time the blossom is greenish) is said to be pungent and disagreeable, and in those in the second stage strong and sweet. But, so far as I have observed, the scent is strong and disagreeable at all stages. These differences, however, may be due to the plant growing in a difierent soil and climate. Candollea (Stylidium) serrulata, Labill. [C. (S.) graminifolium, Swartz.] (PI. II. figs. 3-9.) The plants of this genus are well known for their irritable column, which springs across the flower on the slightest touch. The purpose of this movement has long been supposed to be connected with the fertilisation of the flower, but I have been unable to find any record of the method by which it secures that end. I therefore hope that the results of my study and observa- tions of the species named may be of interest. The flowers are strongly proterandrous. The filaments of the stamens and the pistil are connate, forming the sensitive column. In the bud and the earlier stages of the flower, the anthers lap over and conceal the stigma, which is then small, green, and immature (fig. 3). They gradually open, and the pollen lies loose in them and is shed. When they are quite empty they wither rapidly, and the stigma begins to grow out. It soon becomes mature and fit for the reception of the pollen, and is then oval, By ALEX. G. HAMILTON. 19 cushion-shaped, and covered closely all over with fine short hairs (figs. 5 and 6), so that it is not unlike a hair-brush with a curved surface. The corolla consists of five petals uniting in a tube. Four of these have their free extremities extended in a plane at right angles to the tube, and at the mouth of the tube each has a variable number of appendages (fig. 9) forming a corona, and so arranged as to leave an opening at what I may call the front of the flower (fig. 4). The fifth petal (labellum) bends down along the tube, and has a projection at each upper angle, evidently the same as those on the upper petals. At first this is glandular, shining, and soft, but on the flower opening the glands disappear or coalesce so as to make the surface level and smooth, and the texture becomes hard and leathery. The column grows out of the tube and then bends over the neck and downwards between two of the upper petals, lying between the appendages of the labellum, and along the surface of it (fig. 3). It then bends upwards and outwards with a slight twist. The first bend over the tube is the hinge on which the column bends when moving, and is thicker and wider than the parts above and below. It also has transverse ridges at this point, which are coloured pink or crimson, while the other parts of the column ai'e greenish or brownish-green. The whole of the flower-stem, the calyx, and, to a slight extent, the backs of the upper petals ai-e covered with sticky crimson-headed glandular hairs or trichomes (fig. 8), the object of which is evidently to prevent small crawling insects gaining access to the flower and robbing the tube of its nectar, without any advantage to the plant. The trichomes wither on the older flowers and capsules when the necessity for them has passed away. The flower is fertilised by insects, and it is not self-fertile, as may be seen from capsules withering from want of fertilisation, while in a spike of flowers one or two may sometimes be fertilised between flowers above and below which are not. The method of fertilisation is as follows : — Any insect such as a bee, visiting the flower, selects the side where is the widest opening between the petaline appendages; this is exactly opposite the hinge or first bend of the column (a, figs. 4 &, 5), and this 20 FERTILISATION OP CLERODENDRON AND CANDOLLEA, bend is the point of greatest irritability. As the insect passes its proboscis down the tube, it inevitably touches the sensitive spot, and the column immediately flies over, the gynsecium striking the bee (if of the ordinary size) on the thorax. If the column be at the first or or pollen-bearing stage, the pollen is deposited on the bee's thorax, where it clogs the hairs. When the insect has completed its work at the flower it moves ofi", and to do this, it has to come out sideways on account of the way it is clasped by the column ; in this movement the pollen is further brushed out of the anther cells by the hairs on the bee's back. If the insect then visits a flower in which the pollen is all shed and the stigma mature, the same action of the column occurs, but in this case the sticky hairs of the stigma act as a brush to remove the pollen from the bee as it moves off sideways. Consideration of the structure and action of the flowers leading me to form the above theoi-y of its mode of fertilisation, I experimented with flies, but they were either too small or would not go into the flower properly. I therefore went to a spot where the plants were fully in blossom, and soon observed a small native bee working at the blossoms. But on account of its small size it was not efiectual — the column striking beyond the insect. I noticed, however, in this instance and with other insects, that the sudden blow from the column did not startle them at all, so that they are evidently accustomed to it. My friend, Mr. J. D. Cox, who assisted me in the field observations, called my attention to a hybrid Italian bee flying about the blossom spikes, and we soon had the pleasure of seeing the bee going to the open side of the flowers. On its inserting its proboscis into the tube, the column at once flew over, and where the anthers were not empty, a little cloud of pollen was seen to fly from the force of the blow. Where the stigma was mature, an examination of it afterwards showed pollen on the surface. We watched the insect visit a large number of flowers, always acting as described. It invariably visited the lower flowers in a spike first, and as these are always more advanced than the upper, and have the stigmas mature, there was little probability of any blossom being fertilised with pollen from BY ALEX. G. HAMILTON, 21 the same jjlaut. I then captured the insect, and found it covered with pollen of CandoUea, and I could not afterwards detect that of any other plant under the \ inch power of the microscope. I might remark that, as Sir John Lubbock states, bees almost always keep to one species during a trip, but I am able to say that this is not invariable. I have several times seen a bee visit a number of different species of plants, and belonging to totally different natural orders, one after another. In many flowers, the column had been sprung previous to the bee's visit, and in getting into position to search the tube the insect always rubbed its back against the gynsecium. If in any of these the stigma was mature, it would result in fertilisation just as certainly as if the column had struck the bee. Some columns with the stigma mature I noted standing for a long time without returning, and if an insect seeking nectar brushed against them, fertilisation would ensue if there was pollen on its bank. I should not be surprised to learn that an unfertilised column at last lost its sensibility and stood in the sprung position to give the flower a last chance of receiving pollen. But I was not able to make any certain observation of the fact. It seems important that the insect should be of such a size that the gynsecium should strike the upper surface of the abdomen or the thorax, and this requirement is fulfilled by many native bees and pollen-feeding flies. Observations and experiments revealed the following facts : — The action is most vigorous on a warm diy day. On a cold day many columns will not respond to a stimulus, and others do so very slowly. Dr. Woolls remarks : — " This [the action of the column] does not take place in moist weather."* I found, how- ever, that most columns would respond to a stimulus on a warm moist day, but on a cold day whether wet or dry, they remained inactive. The column below the hinge, the anthers and the stigma are not sensitive or do not transmit a stimulus, if gentle. * Lectures on the Vegetable Kingdom, p. 100. 22 FERTILISATION OF CLERODENDRON AND CANDOLLEA, But a rough touch causes action immediately. This is probably- due to the roughness moving the sensitive spot. But if touched ever so gently at this point, the column acts, if it be not in a sluggish condition from the effects of weather or previous action. When an active plant is sprung, the column remains reflexed for a period varying from 2 minutes to 1 hour. The more usual time is from 10 to 20 minutes. The column then begins to return to its normal position, at first by a series of short jerks, till it is perpendicular to the plane of the petals, and then by a slow gliding movement, which is very plainly perceptible in a vigorous flower, till it has reached its normal position. After recovery, it will not respond to a stimulus for a variable length of time, the shortest observed being 20 minutes, and the longest 4 hours. It is as sensitive at night (up till midnight at least) under ordinary circumstances as in the daylight. When the flowers have been fertilised, they retain their sensi- tiveness for a period varying from 4 to 24 hours. Sometimes a fertilised flower, if touched, acts vigorously and then moves back till the column is perpendicular, and then remains in that position finally. Soon after the loss of irritability, the petals wither. A smart current of air driven on the flower by the lips causes the column to act, and doubtless the wind has the same efiect. This probably arises from the wind moving the irritable point. But this would not matter, for a sprung flower, as already pointed out, would reach the back of a suitable insect visiting the flower while the column was reflexed, and would perform its proper function of depositing or receiving pollen. The flowers vary as to the number of appendages on each petal — one, two, or three ; and number of petals — sometimes six. But in all cases the front of the flower is the side most easy of access to insects. There are two points in the structure of the flowers of which I could not make out the utility. The first is the object of the beaded hairs on the gynsecium (fig. 3) ; these appear to be appendages BY ALEX. G. HAMILTON. 23 of the anthers, and wither as the anthers do. The other is the rudimentary petal or labellum folded down the sides of the tube. The two horns on this are manifestly homologues of the coronal projections on the ordinary petals. As the column in its ordinary position lies between these horns, they may be guides to lead it into its proper place as it returns after action. But on several occa.sions I saw the style get outside the horns. I was not able to try the effect of chloroform vapour on the plants ; tobacco smoke did not affect the column in the slightest either way. Dai-win's experiments on Orchids seem to show that the vapour of chloroform is inert as regards sensitive organs of plants. The plants are gregarious, which must be a decided advantage to them as insect-fertilised. I collected some specimens remark- able for size and number of flowers. Three were specially fine. No. 1 was 3 feet 5 inches high and had 70 flowers, 36 fertilised and capsules swelled, two with withered and empty capsules, 13 open flowers and 19 buds. No. 2 : 2 feet 9 inches high, with 52 flowers, 10 fertilised, 23 open flowers and 19 buds. No. 3: 2 feet 6 inches high, 50 flowers, 16 fertilised, 20 open flowers and 14 buds. In conclusion I would draw the attention of members who have facilities for laboratory work, to the interest which would attach to a series of sections, transverse and longitudinal, of the column, especially of the hinged part, which is the seat of irritability, and which shows, outwardly at least, a differentiation of structure in the presence of strongly coloured ridges across the column. REFERENCE kS TO PLATE II. Clerodendron t07nentosum, R.Br. Fig. 1. — Flower in first or male stage ; a, anthers, s, stigma unopened ( x 2). Fig. 2. — Flower in second or female stage ; a, anthers curled out of way, ■s, stigma in position and open ( x 2). 24 FERTILISATION OF CLERODENDRON AND CANDOLLEA. Gandolha (Slylidium) serrulata, Labill. Fig. 3.— Flower from behind ( x 2). Fig. 4. — Flower from front, showing opening for insect ; a, sensitive hinge of column ( x 2). Fig. 5. — Anthers concealing stigma ( x 5). Fig. 6. — Stigma from above, anthers withered ( x 5). Fig. 7. — Side view of stigma ( x 5). Fig. 8. — Trichomes on stem and calyx ( x 20). Fig. 9.— Appendage of the petals ( x 5). 25 NOTE ON BUNG WALL (BLECHNUM SERRULATUM, RICH.), AN ABORIGINAL FOOD. By Thos. L. Bancroft, M.B., Edin. (Communicated hy J. H. Maiden^ F.L.S., (tc.) Occasionally I have heard the aborigines speak of " Bungwall," a plant which in former times, and to within thirty years ago, served them as food ; indeed, it and the nuts of the Bunya Bunya (Araucaria Bidwilli, Hook.) were the most important of their vegetable foods in Southern Queensland. On Bribie Island in Moreton Bay it grew plentifully and to a large size. The chance of finding some of the stones used in the preparation of it induced me to take a couple of blacks and go there to investigate the subject. No account is given of Blechnum serrulatum having been used as a food by the blacks in the writings of A. Thozet,* Edward Palmer,! F. M. Bailey, J. H. Maiden or R. Brough Smyth. Mr. Bailey, however, knew that this fern served as food for the blacks, but had not mentioned the fact in his works on the Flora of the Colony. Blechnum serrulatum is a freshwater swamp fern growing to the height of six feet ; it has a wide distribution, not alone in Queensland but throughout the world. The whole root or rhizome is the part eaten ; it is first dug out with a sharpened stick, dried in the sun for a short time, roasted and afterwards bruised, when it is ready to be eaten in conjunction with fish, crabs, and oysters. The Bungwall stone in not unlike a stone tomahawk, the sharp edge being used to bruise the rhizome against a slab of bloodwood * Pamphlet printed at the Bulletin ofiSce, Rockhampton, 1866 : "Notes on the Vegetable Foods of the Aboriginals of Northern Queensland." t On Plants used by the Natives of North Queensland, Flinders and Mitchell Rivers, for Food, Medicine, &c., Royal Soc. N.S.W. Aug. 1888. 26 NOTE ON BUNGWALL, AN ABORIGINAL FOOD. (Eucalyptus corymhosa, Sm.) ; wood being used in preference to stone to avoid grit, and likewise a stone in preference to a metal instrument to avoid chips. There is no hard stone on Bribie, so the stones are imported there from the mainland. These are fragments of water-worn pieces of basalt, split by fire into the desired shape. We were fortunate in finding several Bungwall stones and also a Bunya Bunya stone ; they were hidden at the butts of large Cypress Pines (CalUtris columellaris, F.v.M.) ; in all probability their owners have long been dead. Almost every native tribe has a distinct name for this plant ; the majority of the blacks now in Brisbane call it "Tong-wun"; the word Bungwall is regarded by them as the white man's name, in the same way as are Boomerang for Barran, Kangaroo for Murree, &c. The blacks are credited with having formerly made use of the roots of Pteris aquilina, Linn., for food, but those I have interro- gated declare that their ancestors never ate it nor the root of any other fern but the Bungwall. In a work by James Backhouse, published in 1843, entitled " A Narrative of a visit to the Australian Colonies/' there is mention of the roots of Lygodium microphyllum ( = scandens), Pteris esculenta ( = aquilina, var. esculentaj, and Blechvum carti- lagineum having served the blacks as food. Brisbane, February, 1894- 27 ON THE NESTS AND HABITS OF AUSTRALIAN VESPID^ AND LARRIDjE. By Walter W. Froggatt. The following notes are the records of personal observations extending over a number of years. These wasps are probably best known to most people on account of their fearless disposition and their sociable habits, for they not only build under the eaves and verandahs of houses, but even come inside to construct their nests. The Vespidce comprise a number of social wasps which form large papery nests, the work of the original builders being supple- mented by that of the young wasps as they hatch out, so that an old nest sometimes attains considerable dimensions. Others are solitary ; a single pair build the nest, which is composed of clay, and after it is completed, each cell is filled with provisions and the ends sealed up, the larvte being left to look after them- selves. The two species of Pison also build clay nests exclusively, and these are provisioned with spiders, which they capture iipon the grass and low bushes. The value of these insects from an economic point of view is doubtful, for while those that destroy caterpillars are worthy of protection as the gardener's friend, those that prey upon spiders rather counter-balance their usefulness in killing the allies of the horticulturist. Alastor eriurgus, Saussure, Mon. Guepes Solitaires, Vol. i. p. 251. A very common " mason wasp" in the neighbourhood of Sydney ; very plentiful in February and March. Velvety black, about 8 lines in length, covered with scattered ferruginous hairs thickest on the head and frontal portion of Jo NESTS AND HABITS OF AUSTRALIAN VESPID^ AND LARRID^, thorax ; head and thorax closely and coarsely punctured, the segments of the abdomen covered with much finer punctures partly hidden by the fine pubescence clothing the dorsal surface ; the face, the inner margin of scape, and a slender v-shaped patch between them, the tibiae, tarsi, the prothorax, a circular spot on the side, the scutellum, post-scutellum, and a patch on either side of apex of the metathoi-ax deep orange-yellow. The first segment of abdomen orange-yellow with a blackish blotch at the base, second segment very broad and prominent, velvety black, with the apical edge orange-yellow ; the three following segments dull orange-yellow, with a narrow line of black at base, and tip dull orange-yellow ; the wings large, fuscous, with the nervures black. The nests are formed on the underside of the overhanging branches of trees, a hollow or depression in the bark being generally chosen for the site. They are invariably composed of bright yellow clay (which makes them very conspicuous), forming several coarsely granulated tubular masses, six lines in diameter, and from two and a half to three inches in length, each containing six or seven cylindrical chambers rounded at the extremities, and separated from each other by a thin clay partition. Each nest consists of from two to five of these tubular cell- masses, sometimes lying beside each other, but generally when there are more than two or three, the last ones are built along the top of the basal rows; each cell is provisioned with from 18 to 20 small lepidopterous caterpillars, which are eaten as required by the wasp larvae; the latter when they have emptied their larder do not spin a cocoon to pupate in, but the walls of the chamber are covered with a thin membranous skin fitting closely to the clay. They are subject to the attacks of cuckoo wasps and other parasitic hymenoptera ; in one nest I found a small Bracon larva beside the young Alastor, which it soon devoured, and then spun an elongate white silken cocoon, out of which it emerged ten days after ; 2| lines in length, black, with reddish legs, the hind thighs very much thickened ; a beautiful sabre-shaped exserted ovipositor as long as the whole abdomen. The cuckoo wasps [Chrysis sp.) are very common in this nest; they eat up BY W. W. FROGGATT. 29 the provisions stored for the, young wasp, and perhaps also the young wasp, forming a stout brown silken cocoon in which to pupate ; I have bred out several specimens. These inquiliues are placed in the Alastor nest while the builders are out hunting for caterpillars, tlieir active mothers being on the watch to crawl in and deposit the eggs in the owner's absence. Abispa splkndida, Guerin, Voyage de la Coquille, 1830, Insecta, p. 265. Among our "mason or mud wasps" this takes the palm for being one of the largest and handsomest, only equalled by the closely allied but very distinct species A. ephipphim. It is 1^^ inches in length, very broad and robust, with semi-opaque reddish- orange wings slightly clouded with fuscous at the tips ; the wasp is rich velvety black, with the antenna?, face, an elongate mark behind the eyes, the prothoracic collar, and the sides of the meta- thorax bright orange-yellow ; a narrow band of the same colour along the apical edge of the first and second segments of the abdomen, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rich orange-yellow, only showing a marginal black band at base, while the anal segment and the underside of the four apical ones are orange- yellow. The male and female are generally found together when the site of the nest is chosen, though whether the male assists in its construction I am not certain, but I believe he does- The nest is very compact and solid, attached to the bark of an overhanging tree, roof of an outhouse, or some sheltered position ; it is bh inches long, 2^ inches wide, and 1| inches thick, rough on the outer surface, showing where each ball of clay has been attached, rounded at each extremity; along the centre opening out towards the side is a row of six tubular cells, 1^ inches deep and 4 lines in diameter. The nesb when finished is provisioned with small lepiclopterous caterpillars, which are captured on the grass, and after being stung are jammed into the cell till it is quite full, the aperture being closed with a thin sheet of clay. The larva, after finishing its food supply, does not spin any cocoon, but undergoes its metamorphosis naked. 30 NESTS AND HABITS OF AUSTRALIAN VESPID^ AND LARRID.E, This wasp is recorded from Tasmania and Australia ; I have specimens from the neighbourhood of Sydney, and Wellington, N.S.W. The nest from which my specimens were bred was given to me by Mr. Thos. Whitelegge of the Australian Museum. IcARiA GREGARiA, Saussure, Ent. Zeit. Stettin, xxiii. p. 137 (1862), This wasp is much smaller than those of the genus Polistes, and is easily distinguished from them by having the apical segments of the abdomen telescopic and retracted into each other, while the former have smooth cylindrical sharply pointed abdomens. This species is five lines in length ; ferruginous with touches of reddish-yellow on the sides of the thorax, the first joint of the abdomen very slender, the remaining segments chocolate-brown with a beautiful opaline sheen ; the wings large, semi-opaque, with reddish nervures. The nests are formed of a stouter and stiffer substance than those of Polistes, and are always much longer than broad and irregular in form. About Sydney I have always found them built among the prickly twigs of Busaria spinosa, with the excep- tion of one found under a cliff attached to the rock. An average well-shaped nest is about 4 inches in length by 1^ inches wide, and contains about 300 hexagonal cells, 5 lines in depth by 1| lines in diameter. Though these nests are often so elongated, they are usually only attached to the twigs by one pedicle. The eggs and larvse are attended to in the same manner as those of Polistes. This species is rather common about Sydney and out in the •western country ; I have also received specimens of it from the Eev. T. Blackburn of Adelaide, taken by him on the Australian Alps (Victoria) at an altitude of 3000 feet. Polistes tasmaniensis, Sauss., Mon. Guepes Sociales, p. 66, 23, t. 6, f. 5. This wasp is 6^ lines in length, generally of a uniform rusty reddish colour, with the antennae, legs, and sides of prothorax dull BY AV. W. FROGGATT. 31 yellow, but the coloration is very variable, often shading into bright yellow or brown ; the wings are small, orange-red, and opaque. The nest is formed of a brown papery substance like that produced by all of these " paper-nest wasps " from some wooden surface exposed to the weather. I have often watched them on a shingle roof obtaining a plentiful supply, which, mixed with their saliva and dessicated, is formed into a fine waterproof brown paper. The nest is commenced by a stalk or pedicle about a third of an inch in length, at the apex of which is formed the first cell ; two wasps generally commence the structure, and attach the first eggs to the top of the cells as soon as they have three or four completed. The larvse soon hatch out and hang head downwards, being fed by their attendant nurses with spiders that they have first masticated and reduced to a pulp. When full-grown the young larvae si)in a silken cap over the aperture, and within a very short time appear as full-grown wasps, and at once commence to work at the nest, so that the colony increases rapidly when once they begin to hatch out. The nests are always circular and often attain the size of an ordinary saucer ; the cells are peaked at the top, but hexagonal at the apex, about 10 lines deep and 3 lines in diameter; an ordinary-sized nest three inches in diameter contains about 250 cells. This wasp is of a very domesticated disposition, being very fond of building its nest under verandahs and the eaves of houses ; but as they are very aggressive when disturbed they are not always welcome additions to the household. It has a wide range over Australia, and is very common in S. Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales. PoLiSTES FACiLis, Sauss., Mon. Guepes Sociales, p. 539. This wasp seems to take the place of the smaller species in the south-western parts of New South Wales. I have found it very common in the Yass district. Length 10 lines. Colour dull orange-yellow, with the vertex, coxse, basal portion of the fore legs, and all the underside of head 32 NESTS AND HABITS OF AUSTRALIAN VESPID^ AND LARRID^E, and thorax black ; in the middle and hind legs the black extends almost, but not quite up to the tibise ; the upper surface of the thorax black, except the prothorax and scutellum ; the first segment of the abdomen black, narrowly margined with yellow at the apex ; the second yellow, banded with black at the base; the third only very slightly marked with black at the base ; on the ventral side of the base of abdomen and an oval patch extending into the third segment black. Wings pale horn-yellow with deep orange-yellow nervures, slightly clouded along the hind margins Avith fuscous. P. facilis is one of the largest and most savage members of this genus that I know. It forms a brown papery nest of a slightly irregular circular form, attached by a stout pedicle, as in P. tasmaniensis, whose nest it closely resembles, except in the size of the cells, which are somewhat bigger, though I have never seen a very large nest formed by this species. They inflict a very severe sting, and attack one the moment they are disturbed, and as they generally construct their nests in hollow or burnt logs on the ground, the collector while turning these over for ground insects is often startled by their angry hum. PoLiSTES TEPIDUS, Fabr., Syst. Ent. p. 366, 17. The only specimens of this fine wasp that I have seen were presented to me by Mr. W. S. Dun, of the Geological Department, who informed me that they were taken with the nest on the Kogarah side of Botany Bay. Length 10 lines. Colour black ; the antennse, the face, jaws, a transverse narrow mark above the insertion of the antennee, the apex of the femora, the tibiae and tarsi of the fore and middle legs, a slight patch at the junction of femora, and the tarsi of hind legs bright orange-yellow ; the prothoracic girdle and wings reddish-yellow, slightly clouded with fuscous at hind margins ; apical portion of second abdominal segment and the whole of tlie following ones dull orange-yellow. The nest is formed with a stout i)edicle in the same manner as that of P. tasmaniensis, but the cells are very much larger. BY W. W. FROGGATT. 33 PisoN DECIPIENS, Smith, Trans. Eat. Soc. London, 1869, p. 294. This little wasp was described from Champion Bay, W.A;, but is also very plentiful in most parts of N. S. Wales. Length 3 lines; broad black head and thorax, with the antennae and legs dull yellow ; abdomen small, much constricted at the segmental divisions, base of the first segment, a narrow line at base of second, about two-thirds of the basal portion of third, and faint markings on the anal ones black, the rest of abdomen horn-yellow. The nest consists of four or five rounded, elongate, irregularly formed, clay cells, 4-6 lines in length, and 3-4 lines in diameter, with a smooth finely granulated surface, very thin and delicate ; they are provisioned with small spiders, and the larvae before pupating spin a stout dark brown silken cocoon. They are not particular where they build, sometimes coming into the house and attaching the nests to clothes hanging up in a room or upon a wall in a most haphazard manner ; in the bush they are sometimes attached to blades of grass or leaves. Each cell is formed separately, but they are usually attached to each other, and sometimes look like three or four little eggs made of clay. The larvae are much infested by one of the cuckoo or ruby-tailed flies (Chrysis transversus, Sm.). This is a very small species, 2| lines in length, somewhat smaller than its host. Head, thorax, and abdomen closely and deeply punctured, of a brilliant metallic blue colour with green tints upon the sides. The nests from which I bred these specimens were sent to me by Miss King of Horaebush. PiSGN SPINOL^E, Shuck., Trans. Ent. Soc. ii. p. 79, 1837. This is a short, stout, black wasp, six lines in length, with the face and thorax covered with fine short hairs, the abdomen oval, with the divisions of the segments marked with a silvery pubes- cence forming a distinct band ; the wings are large, transparent, slightly clouded with brown, darkest at tips. 3 34 NESTS AND HABITS OF AUSTRALIAN VESPID^ AND LAREIDiE. The nest is a neat but somewhat fragile structure, consisting of about six chambers, 4 lines in width and 5 in length, separated from each other by a thin partition ; the nest is elongate, con- taining only one row of cells, the outer surface very much granulated from the balls of mud not being smoothed down as each is added to the structure ; the walls are so very thin that it is almost impossible to remove the nest without its crumbling to pieces. Each cell, after the egg is deposited, is stored with small spiders, and when the larva has finished up the supply it spins a stout silken cocoon. This wasp is remarkable for its reckless habit of making its nest in any hole or cranny it comes across, frequently coming into houses and making its cells in a keyhole, empty rung hole in a chair, or any other aperture that takes its fancy, which slipshod choice of a home often causes the untimely destruction of its establishment. About two months ago, while waiting for a train at the Oatley platform, I saw the stationmaster pull down a notice board, at the back of which there was a grooved hollow, which had been recently adapted by a Pison to form its nest ; it consisted of six cells, from which I took forty torpid spiders. This species is found in Tasmania, Victoria, S. Australia, and most parts of New South Wales. I am indebted to Miss King of Homebush for several nests, from which I have bred specimens. 35 DESCRIPTION OF CALLWSTOMA FURPUREOCINCTUM, A NEW MARINE AUSTRALIAN SHELL. By C. Hedley, F.L.S. (Communicated by perinission of the Trustees of the AustroUan Museum.) Calliostoma purpureocinctum, n.sp. Shell small, turreted, solid, thick. Colour orange-yellow, with a pale lilac band ascending the spire on the peripheral bead-row ; some specimens show on the periphery brown flames succeeded by lighter dashes, both vanishing at the centre of the whorl. Surface glossy. Whorls eight. First whorl and a half smooth, on the next whorl a peripheral and two minor bead-rows may be discerned. Throughout the spire the peripheral bead-row is distinguished l)y its lilac colour and by its larger grains, of which the last whorl bears about 40 ^ beneath this row and margining the suture of the following whorl there runs a simple unbeaded thread. On the fourth whorl a third minor bead-row appears. By the sauie {)rocess of growth as the latter arose, a thread, intercalated between the bead-rows of the antepenultimate whorl, enlarges, produces small, then larger, beads, and finally equals, on the last whorl, the original series. Behind the aperture these minor bead-rows amount to six. Within the row these beads are separated by the space of their diameters, and are " strung " on a fine thread ; the interval between each row is finely obliquely striated. The base is encircled by a dozen spiral threads of 36 DESCRIPTION OF CALLIOSTOMA PURPUREOCINCTUM. unequal size, whicli show an inclination latterly to produce beads ; they are separated by interstices equivalent to each preceding thread. Aperture oblique, rhomboida), peristome simple; colu- mella continuing in the direction of the shell's axis, slightly broadening anteriorly ; within nacre white, lustreless (in the beach-worn examples before me), a callous deposit within the insertion of the outer lip does not extend across tlie roof of the aperture to the insertion of the pillar. Alt. 13, diam. 8 mm. Hah.— 'Port Stephens, N.S.W. (Cox), and Botany Heads, N.S.W. (Hargraves). Type in the Australian Museum. This pretty little shell is described at the wish of, and from examples furnished by, Dr. J. C. Cox, who regarded it as new, an opinion shared by Mr. Brazier and myself. It may be suitably intercalated among the species arranged in Pilsbry's Monograph of the genus next to C. jjoupineli, Montrouzier [Man. Conch. (I.), xi. p. 350]. Dr. Cox has on several occasions received dead but well preserved specimens of this species from his collectors at Port Stephens. Some faded and broken shells in the Hargraves Collection, labelled " Botany Heads," appear to me to represent the same species. The accompanying figure was drawn by the writer from the specimen described, with the aid of an Abbe camera lucida. 37 NOTE ON THE HABITAT OF THE NAKED-EYED COCKATOO, CACATITA GYMFOPIS, SOLATER. By Alfred J. North, F.L.S., Assistant in Ornithology, Australian Museum. This bird was described by Dr. Sclater (P.Z.S. 1871, p. 43) from a single living example at that time in the Gardens of the Zoological Society. As an uncertainty exists about the true habitat of this species, I embraced the opportunity of obtaining all information about two living specimens, the first I have seen, that are at present in one of the bird dealers' shops in the old George Street Markets. I there met the owner, M. Eugene Etable, a well-known collector of Australian birds, who informed me that he had taken one of them from a nesting-place in the hollow branch of a tree, and had captured the other when just able to flutter along the ground, at a place about six miles south of Burketown, in Northern Queensland. Burketown is situated 17° 47' S. lat. and 139° 34' E. long., on the left bank of the Albert River, about 21 miles in a direct line from the Gulf of Carpentaria; there this species is very common, and may frequently be seen flying over the town. For the purposes of breeding it resorts to the hollow limbs or trunks of trees, and deposits two pure white eggs on the decaying wood or dust which these cavities contain ; usually they are low down and within six feet of the ground. M. Etable informs me it breeds only during the wet season, and is influenced by its being early or late, the normal breeding time commencing in February and continuing till the beginning of May. During the dry season they assemble in large flocks and remain in the neighbourhood of tanks and waterholes. M. Etable hns observed these birds, but not in such great numbers, as far east and south in the intervening country over which he has travelled between Croydon, Hughenden and Barcaldine. 38 NOTE ON THE HABITAT OF THE NAKED-EYED COCKATOO. One of the specimens referred to is twelve months old, the other ten ; both are hardy and live well in confinement, their owner having taken them from Burketown to Antwerp and back before bringing them to Sydney. They are very tame and like to be caressed, climbing on one's finger and gently nibbling it, and already give promise of being good talkers, their enunciation of the words " Halloo ! " " Pretty Boy ! " &c,, fragments of the common acquired stock vocabulary of the family Cacatuidce, being very clear and good, resembling that of Licmetis nasica. These birds have the irides very dark brown ; bare space around and below the eye leaden-blue ; bill whitish tinged with blue ; legs and feet mealy-grey, and the younger one has only the lores stained with red, and with no rosy bases to the feathers of the crest, head, hind neck and upper portion of the breast; the naked space too around the eye is more circular in form, agreeing with the original description and figure of G. sanguinea, except in the colour of the bare space around the eye, which is leaden-blue instead of white, as figured by Gould in C. sanguinea, but to which no reference is made in the description. Dr. Sclater, how- ever, had a living specimen in the Zoological Gardens that had been in confinement several years, and which he identified as G. sanguinea, at the time he described G. gymnopis, but the exact locality whence it came is not known. In the British Museum Catalogue of Psitlaci, Count Salvadori gives the habitat of C. gymnopis, as " South Australia (also Northern and North- Western Australia ?)." Now the range of this species is known, the note of interrogation may be removed from the latter localities, for in addition to the living examples referred to from Northern Queensland there are four specimens in the Macleayan Museum at the University ; two of them from the Gulf of Carpentaria and two obtained by Spalding at Port Darwin ; there is also a specimen in the Australian Museum Collection, procured by E. J. Cairn, at Cambridge Gulf, N.W. Australia, in 1886. 39 OOLOGICAL NOTES. By Alfred J. North, F.L.S,, Assistant in Ornithology, Australian Museum. In a collection of nests and eggs made last season by our fellow-membei" Mr. J. A. Boyd, of the Herbert River, North- eastern Queensland, are the nests and eggs of a species of Honey- eater and the eggs of a Cuckoo, a description of which may be of interest to members of this Society. That a portion of the avifauna of the rich coastal brushes of tropical North-eastern Queensland is derived from the adjoining Papuan fauna on one hanl, and that of the Indo-Malayan fauna on the other, is well exemplified by the two species that are exhibited here this evening ; Ptilotis analoga representing the Papuan, and Lamprococcyx malayanus that of the Indo-Malayan areas. Ptilotis analoga. This Honey-eater's being subject to local variation, more especially in size and the length of the bill, will account for the different names under which each phase has been described. It was first figured by MM. Hombron et Jacquinot in the "Voyage au Pole Sud," as Ptilotis analogue, and was described subsequently in the text of the same work by MM. Jacquinot et Pucheran as Ptilotis similis, from specimens obtained on the western coast of New Guinea. Before the text of the " Voy. au Pole Sud " was printed, however, Reichenbach, whose name obtains as the authority for this species, had described and figured it in his Handbook of Meropince under the name of P. analoga, originally bestowed on it by Hombron and Jacquinot. Since then varying phases of this species have been characterised from different parts of the same island under the names of Ptilotis auriculata and 40 OOLOGICAL NOTES, Ptilotis Jlaviriclus. From a single specimen obtained at Cape York, Gould described a decidedly smaller race with an unusually long bill as P. gracilis, of which there are similar specimens in the Macleayan Museum, obtained at Cardwell ; and later on charac- terised another specimen received from Cape York, that had the undersurface of the body slightly streaked, and the ear patch well defined, as P. notata. It is worthy of note, however, that specimens collected by members of the Chevert Expedition at Cape York and the islands of Torres Straits, where Mr. Masters states it is common, as well as others obtained from Hall Sound and Katau in New Guinea, and by Goldie at Pott Moresby, are precisely similar in colour, size, length of bill and extent of ear patch as the specimen procured on the Herbert River, its farthest southern limit yet recorded, and all of which agree with the original figure and description of P. analoga. Nests of this species taken by Mr. Boyd were suspended by the rim and built in Mango trees at an height of five or six feet from the ground; they are cup-shaped structures, outwardly composed of the hair-like fibre of the Cocoanut Palm, dried skeletons of leaves, and pieces of the paper-like bark of the Melaleuca, the interior being beautifully lined with the downy glistening white seeds of the "Cotton Plant"; they measure exteriorly three inches and a half in diameter by two inches and a half in depth ; in- ternally, two inches and a half in diameter by two inches in depth. Eggs usually two in number for a sitting; they are ovoid in form, pure white, with small blotches, rounded spots and dots on the thicker end, varying in size, also in shade from a rich redilish-black to a purplish-brown, closely resembling small eggs of Ptilotis lewinii. A set taken on the 11th of September, 1893, measure (A) 0-92 x 0-67 inch ; (B) 0-93 x 0-67 inch ; another set taken the 30th of the following month measure (A) 092 x 0'66 inch ; (B) 0-9 x 0*65 inch. Mr. Boyd has also from time to time supplied me with the following information respecting a nest ot this species he had under close observation from the time it was started until the young ones left the nest. It was a most curious position selected, the nest being built upon the frond of a fern. BY ALFRED J. NORTH. 41 eighteen inches from the ground, growing in a fernery attached to Mr. Boyd's house, and opposite his office to which people were constantly coming through the day ; a piano also, that was in frequent use by the children, being within fifteen feet of the nest. During the period of incubation the female sat steadily, and did not attempt to fly when looked at by one only three feet away, the nest being so deep that the whole of the bird's body was invisible except the bill. This bird was quite tame and used to fly back- wards and forwards through the dining-room where a number of persons were seated at dinner. The nest was commenced on the 7th of December, and contained three eggs on the 15th inst.; two youug ones were hatched on the 28th inst., and a third next day ; the period of incubation being fourteen days. The young birds left the nest on the 12th of January. Lamprococcyx malayanus (Little Bronze Cuckoo). The habitat of this species is the Malayan Peninsula, extending through the islands of the Indo-Malayan Archipelago to New Guinea, and ranging as far South as Cambridge Gulf on the North- western portion of the Australian Continent, and to the neighbour- hood of Port Denison on the North-eastern coast. Gould's figure oi Chrysococcyx minutillus, in his Supplement to the folio edition of the Birds of Australia, is a faithful represen- tation of this bird, but being copied from a dried skin lacks the bright vermilion orbital ring which is so marked a characteristic in this species. Captain G. E. Shelley, however, who has recently prepared the Cuculidce for Vol. xix. of the British Museum Catalogue of Birds, pronounces Gould's type specimen of C. minutillus, under which name this Cuckoo is more familiarly known in Australia, to be identical with C. malayanus of Raflles. For some years past Mr. Boyd has found a dark bronze-coloured egg of a Cuckoo in the nests of Gerygone magnirostris, varying considerably from the well-known egg of L. plagosiis, and which I referred to when describing the nest and eggs of G. magnirostris in "The Ibis" last year. Recently Mr. Boyd has forwarded two spirit specimens of the Cuckoos frequenting the vicinity of where these 42 OOLOGICAL NOTES. bronze-coloured eggs were deposited. One is an adult male, Lara- prococcyx malayanus ; the other a young male, Cacomantis casta- neiventris. Now, judging from analogy, one would reasonably ex|iect to find the egg of the latter species of the same type as those of Cacomantis Jlahelliforinis and C. insperatus, and I have little hesitation in provisionally referring the Cuckoo's eggs found in the nests of Gerygone raagnirostris as belonging to Lampro- coccyx malayamis, until Mr. Boyd has an opportunity of watching one of these Cuckoo's eggs hatched by the foster parent, and con- clusively determining to which species the young bird belongs. The Cuckoo's eggs taken from the nests of Gerygone magnirostris are elongate ovals in form and equal in size at each end, of a rich deep olivaceous bronze, some specimens having minute black dots on the larger end, and the surface of the shell smooth and glossy. Specimens taken during 1893 measure as follows: — (A) 078 x 0-53 inch ; (B) 0-8 x 0-53 inch ; (C) 083 x 0 55 inch ; (D) 078 x 53 inch ; (E) 0-82 x 0-54 inch. In conclusion, I may here point out that eggs of a Cuckoo taken near Sydney from nests of Rhipidura albiscapa, Malurus cyaneus and Ptilotis chrysops, and described at different meetings of this Society by Dr. George Hurst and myself, when we both referred to them as belonging to Cacomantis insperatus, as it was the only other species of Cuckoo found near Sydney whose egg we were until then acquainted with, have been verified last season by finding similar eggs in the nests of R. albiscapa, as well as seeing in the same locality specimens of Cacomantis insperatus, and by obtaining a young Square-tailed Cuckoo that was being fed by the foster parents, E. albiscapa. That C. insperatus evinces a decided preference for depositing its eggs in the nests of Rhipidura albiscapa, is signalised by the fact that all the eggs I know of belonging to this Cuckoo that were taken last season, both near Sydney and two hundred miles inland, were found in the nests of the White shafted Fantail. 43 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. Mr. Hedley exhibited specimens of the land shell Flammulina rosacea, Petterd ( = \Helix tamare.nsis, Petterd), found for the first time in N.S.W. by Mr. Cyril Quaife, who procured several living specimens in the coal mine valley, Blackheath. At this point, its northern known limit, Mr. Quaife found it associated with Cystopelta petterdi, Tate, and a mollusc doubtfully identified as Eelicarion verreauxi, Pfeifter. These southern forms here assume a subalpine position. Mr. North exhibited specimens of Ptilotis analoga, with nest and eggs, and Lamprococcyx malayanus and eggs referred to in his paper. Also clutches of the following eggs taken near Sydney last season, each set containing in addition the egg of a difi"erent species of Cuckoo, viz., Ptilotis auricomis, with the egg of Gacomantis pallida ; Acanthiza pusilla with egg of Cacomantis Jlabelliformis ; Rhipidura albiscajja with egg of Gacomantis insperatus ; Malurus cyaneus, with egg of Lamprococcyx basalis, and Geohasileus chrysorrhc&a with egg of Lamprococcyx jdagosus. Mr. North also drew attention to several species of rare birds at pi-esent in the George-street Markets, among which may be pointed out Poephila leucoiis, Donaoicola /^eciorafe, and LophojyJiaps plumifera, all captured in the neighbourhood of Croydon and Hughenden, Northern Queensland. Mr. Maiden showed, on behalf of Dr. Bancroft, the following, in illustration of his paper, viz.: Plant of Blechnum serrulatum, rhizomes of the same, and the stones used for pounding them ; also photographs showing (a) an aborigine preparing the fern- root, (b) one of the fern swamps, and (c) the mode of collection of the fern. Also stones used l)y the aborigines for pounding Bunya Bunya nuts for food. Mr. Hamilton showed specimens of rare or local butterflies (Casyapa beata, Hew., ^J, and Heteronympha mirifica, Butl.) 44 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. from Illawarra. C. heata is apt to escape notice, being crepuscular in its habits. H. mirifica was seen in numbers wherever the brush vegetation occurs, but usually flying too high for capture. He also showed examples of the bees concerned in the fertilisa- tion of Candollea, and drawings illustrative of his paper. Mr. Fred. Turner exhibited (1) a flowering specimen of the Californian Poppy {Romneya coulteri), grown near Goulburn by Mr. Gibson — supposed to be the first time this plant has flowered in New South Wales ; (2) a flowering specimen of the typical form of the N. American " Stag's-horn Sumach " or " Vinegar Tree " (Rhus typhina) grown at Wagga — also supposed to be the first instance in which the plant has been known to flower in this Colony ; and (3) a fruiting branch of Ailanthus glandulosa from the County of Cumberland. Mr. Waite exhibited specimens of the various species of Typhlops referred to in his paper. Mr. Froggatt showed a number of wasps with their nests in illustration of his paper. Professor Wilson read the following Note entitled " Obser- vations upon the Anatomy of tlie * dumb-bell-shaped Bone' in Ornithorhynchus, with a new view of its Homology " : — "The 'dumb-bell-shaped bone' is not confined to the palatine region, but both dorsally and posteriorly it is in intimate relation to the nasal septum. From the dorsal part of its hinder extremity it sends backwards a distinct vomerine spur, about 3 mm. in length, which is bifurcated posteriorly and grooved along its dorsal border, forming a splint for the ventral edge of the cartilaginous nasal septum. The tips of this bifid spur are connected with those of the anteriorly bifid end of the true vomer by means of a strong ' vomerine ligament,' varying in length from about 2 mm. down- wards. In coronal sections this ligament is seen to possess the same sectional shape as the vomerine spurs, and to be structurally and morphologically continuous with the bone at either end. The vomerine spur lies quite dorsal to the palatine plate formed NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 45 by the maxillse, and it extends backwards to a plane from 2-3 mm. behind the tip of the anterior median process of the latter, from which it is separated by an interval. This interval forms a wide passage of communication (1 mm. vertically), below the nasal septum, between the nasal cavities of opposite sides, and it is lined by columnar epithelium like the neighbouring parts of these cavities. The 'dumb-bell-shaped bone' is a true ' anterior vomer ' formed by the fusion of bilaterally symmetrical halves ; and both in its nasal and in its palatine relations it resembles the palatine lobe of the vomer in Caiman niger." 46 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25th, 1894. ADJOURNED ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. The President, Professor David, B.A., F.G.S., in the Chair. The Secretary read the report of the Auditors, who, after an examination of the books, vouchers, and securities, certified the accounts for 1893 to be correct. MONTHLY MEETING. The President, Professor David, B.A., F.G.S., in the Chair, Mr. J. H. Gatliff, of Melbourne, was introduced as a visitor. DONATIONS. "Comite Geologique, St. Petersbourg — Bulletin." T. vi. (1887), Nos. 2-3; T. xii. (1893), Nos. 3-7, et Supplement. From the Committee. "Perak Government Gazette." Vol. vii. (1894), Nos. 5-6. From the Government Secretary. " Zoologischer Anzeiger." xvii. Jahrg. Nos. 440-441. From the Editor. DONATIONS. 47 " Pharmaceutical Journal of Australasia." Vol. vii. (1894), Nos. 2-3. From the Editor. "American Naturalist." Vol. xxviii. Nos. 326-327 (Feb.-Mar., 1894). From the Editors. "Revista de Sciencias Naturaes e Sociaes." Vol. iii. No. 9 (1894). From the Society. "Hand-List of the Aquatic Mollusca inhabiting South Aus- tralia." By D. J. Adcock (1893). From 0. B. Lower, Esq. "Societe Beige de Microscopie— Bulletin." T. xx. (1893-94), No. 4. From the Society. " Johns Hopkins University Circulars." Vol. xiii. No. 109. From the University. "American Museum of Natural History — Bulletin." Vol. vi. (1894) Sheets 2-5, pp. 17-80. From the Museum. "Societe Zoologique de France— Bulletin." T. xviii. (1893): "Memoires." T. vi. (1893). From the Society. " Royal Microscopical Society — Journal, 1894." Parti. From the Society. " Zoological Society of London — Abstracts," 20th Feb. and 6th March, 1894, From the Society. " Scottish Microscopical Society — Proceedings." Sessions 1889- 90, 1891-92, 1892-93. From the Society. " Victorian Naturalist." Vol. x. No. 12 (March, 1894). From the Field Naturalists' Gluh of Victoria. " Unitei-l States National Museum — Proceedings." Vol. xv. (1892) : "Bulletin," Nos. 44-46 (1893). From the Museum. " United States Department of Agriculture — Division of Ento- mology— Insect Life." Vol. vi. No. 3 (1894). From the Secre- tary of Agriculture. " Californian Academy of Sciences — Memoirs." Vol. ii. No. 3 (1894). From the Academy. 48 DONATIONS. " Natural History Society of New Brunswick — BuUetia." No. xi. (1893). From the Society. " Geselischaf t fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin — Verhandlungen." Bd. xxi. (1894), No. 1. From the Society. " Russisch-Kaiserliche Mineral ogische Gesellschaft zu St. Peters- bourg — Verhandlungen." Zweite Serie. xxx. Bd. (1893). From the Society. " University of Melbourne — Examination Papers — Final Honour, Degrees, &c." Feb., 1894. Fo-om the Utiiversity. " Geological Survey of India — A Manual of the Geology of India" (2nd edition) [1893] : "Memoirs — Palseontologia Indica." Series ix. Vol. ii. Part 1 (1893). From the Director. " Australasian Journal of Pharmacy." Vol. ix. No. 100 (April, 1894). From the Editor. " Sciencias Naturaes — Annaes." Primeiro Anno. No. 1 (Jan., 1894). From the Editor. " Department of Agriculture, Victoria — Course of Lectures delivered by Officers of the Department during 1891 ": "Illustrated Description of Thistles " : " Report on Rust in Wheat Experi- ments " : " Revised List of Fruit Trees, &c." : " Report by Mr. D. Wilson, Dairy Expert, of Visit to Europe." From the Secre- tary of Agricidture. " Free Public Libraiy, Sydney — Annual Report of Trustees for 1893. From the Trustees." " Radcliffe Library, Oxford University Museum — Catalogue of Books added during 1893." From the Trustees. 49 PAPERS READ. A CONTRIBUTIOISr TO A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES. By Jas. p. Hill, F.L.S., Demonstrator of Biology, Sydney University. (^Plates iii.-v.) The following paper may for convenience be divided into three l)arts. Part i. includes the descriptions of two new species of the genus Piestocystis, Diesing, — the first from the copper-head snake, Uoplocejjhalus supej'bus ; the second, a somewhat remarkable proliferating form from the lizard Lialis — and the general consi- derations following therefrom. Part ii. is a description of a new species of Monocercus from the earthworm Didymogaster sylvatica, Fl. Part iii. contains an account of the development of the scolex of Synbothrium, a genus of Teirarhynchidce. I must here express my great indebtedness to Prof. Haswell for his ever ready advice, and for much valuable assistance during the course of my work ; and also my best thanks are due to Mr. Masters, Curator of the Macleay Museum, and to Mr. H. Throsby for the material in which the cysts described in Part i. were found; also I have to thank Herr W. Musmann for much assistance with the literature. PART I. 1. On A NEW Species op Piestocystis from Hoplocephalus SUP Eft BUS. The cysts on which the following account is based were found imbedded in the peritoneum surrounding the intestine of a single specimen of the "copper-head" snake, Hojolocephalus superbus, 50 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, coramon in certain parts of New South Wales. The cysts when fresh appeared as opaque oval bodies, the largest of which niea- sui'ed 5 mm. in length and 4 mm. in breadth. Each cyst encloses a single Cysticercus, which tills up almost completely the cavity of the cyst, in this respect contrasting strongly with the Lialis cyst, in which, as will be seen in the following, the cyst cavity is very large and the one or more Cysticerci lie perfectly free within it. Structure of the cyst wall. — In section (Fig. 1) the cyst wall is found to be of considerable thickness and to differ in stiiic- ture in its inner and outer regions. The inner part, which immediately encloses the Cysticercus, is composed of a homo- geneous layer (Fig. 1, h. I.) very similar in appearance and mode of staining to the cuticle of the Cysticercus. External to this homogeneous layer and occupying the central part of the cyst wall is a region (I. l.) having an irregularly laminated appearance and containing large spaces, probably lymph spaces. External to this and forming the outer layer of the wall is a feebly staining region of a fibrous nature (/. I.) and with iiumerous spaces. In the fresh cyst the outermost layers of the wall can be easily removed with needles, leaving the inner layer as a clear mem- brane closely surrounding the Cysticercus. Seeing that the cyst wall is marked out by its optical characters and its histological structure into these two regions, I am inclined to attribute to each a distinct origin. The outer region, consisting of the laminated zone and the fibrous zone, is, I believe, derived from the peritoneum of the host by pathological change, while the inner homogeneous layer probably represents a diiect derivative of the six-hooked embryo, and corresponds to the lining of the cyst in Lialis, to the so-called cyst of Monocerci — in a word, to what Villot* terms the blastogen or blastogenic vesicle. Structure of the Cysticercus. — When the Cysticerci are liberated from the cyst, they are found to be somewhat pear-shaped bodies * "Menioire sur les cystiques des T^nias." Ann. des Sci. Nat. Zool. 6nie s6rie, Tome xv. (1883). BY J. P. HILL. 51 broader at the anterior end, in which the head lies inverted, and tapering to a blunt rounded posterior end. They varied somewhat in size, the largest measuring 3 mm. in length and 2 ram. in thick- ness at the broader anterior end, while the smallest were l'5mm. in length and 1 mm. in thickness, exactly half the size of the largest. When examined under compression the Cysticercus is seen to possess numerous close-set calcareous corpuscles, uniformly distributed over the bo:ly. They are mostly in the form of short rods with rounded ends, measuring in greatest length -04 mm. ; others have a more oval or rounded outline. At the broad end tl)e head lies invaginated. It is pro%'ided with four large suckers whose cavities communicate with the cavity of invagination of the head. Hooks are altogether absent, but at the bottom of the invagination cavity of the head, situated centrally in what will in the everted condition form the apex of the head, is a small rounded body, representing a rudimentary frontal sucker (Fig. 2, /. s.). As the head was not readily everted in water, I have not been able to examine a completely everted Cysticercus. This is the more to be regretted, for in the everted condition the relations of the frontal sucker could have been more easily made out. It appears from the examination of preserved specimens that the suckers can be protruded separately. Fig. 2 represents a nearly median longitudinal section through such a Cysticercus with partially evaginated head, the knob-like mass projecting at the anterior end being one of the protruded suckers in section. In this section the invagination cavity appears as a wide opening, but transver.se sections of a Cysticercus with the head fully inverted show that it is comparatively narrow and lined by cuticle continuous with the external cuticle of the body. It is filled up with a granular deeply staining material which is apparently derived from the coagulated fluid which surrounds the Cysti- cercus. Fig. 3 represents a section through the inverted head of a Cysticercus at the level of the suckers. Their walls are composed of numerous small radially elongated cells and their cavities open into the invagination cavity. The ground tissue immediately surrounding the suckers is seen to be disposed in a 52 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, circular manner, giving rise to a definite sheath (Fig. 3, r. c.) which surrounds the inverted head. This sheath represents the " receptaculum capitis " of Leuckart, concerning which he says,* "The receptacle has least independence in the bladder worms with parenchymatous bodies such as we have seen in Cysticercus (Piestocystis) variabilis and its allies, for there it is not only connected with the mass of the head, but, like the ordinary body muscles, bound up with the tissue of the bladder." Along with the receptacle, mention must be made of the numerous muscular or elastic fibres which run through the body tissue. They are composed of a homogeneous substance which stains uniformly and shows no trace of cellular structure. In Fig. 3 in the receptacle they are seen to be more or less radially arranged, while in Fig. 2 some of the fibres are seen to take a longitudinal course, passing forwards like the similar fibres in the Lialis Cysticercus, to be inserted into the head. The bladder cavity in this form is represented by an irregular cavity occupying the centre of what represents the caudal bladder of ordinary Cysticerci, and not distinctly marked off from the surrounding ground tissue. The cavity is filled by a granular material consisting of a homogeneous matrix with granules which stain deeply with cochineal, and which represent the products of degeneration of the original central tissue, which in the Cysti- cercus from Lialis {seq.) persists unaltered. Frontal sucker. — The frontal sucker is situated mediaiily in the inner part of the invaginated head, in what will in the evaginated condition be its apex. In sections (Figs. 2 and 4), both by its structure and staining properties, it can readily be distinguished from the surrounding tissue. At its narrower anterior end is a slit-like aperture whicli places the cavity of the sucker in commu- nication with the cavity of invagination of the head. The sucker cavity (Fig. 4, s. c.) is much wider than its opening, but is very shallow, so shallow, indeed, that the aperture and the cavity only * " Parasites of Man," English Edition, p. 347. BY J. P. HILL. 53 extend through three thin sections, of which the middle one is represented in Fig. 4. The cavity is lined by a d-^licate layer of cuticle just as Mouticelli describes* for the terminal sucker of Scolex polymorphus. The wall of the sucker he describes as consisting of radial fibres similar to those of the suckers of Tre- matodes. In the form under consideration, nuclei are readily visible in the wall, but the cell boundaries could not be made out, nor were the radial fibres distinguishable. In the tissue surrounding the sucker are numerous radially and circularly running fibres. The radial fibres correspond to what Monticelli callsf the retractor& of the terminal sucker. Like the latter the radial fibres pass out from the central sucker and some of them can be traced to the inner sides of the lateral suckers. According to Monticelli, the retractors of the terminal sucker in Scolex polymorphus are inserted into the dorsal side of the four suckers. That the structure here termed the frontal sucker represents the similarly named structure in Scolex polymorphus, though in a somewhat reduced condition, is evident from the foregoing. The morphological value of the frontal sucker of Scolex 2^oly- morphus is considered at some length by Monticelli in the paper already referred to.| He regards the frontal sucker and its retractors as homologous with the frontal sucker and its muscula- ture in Amphilina, and as homologous with the buccal sucker of Treraatodes, as representing in fact the lost digestive tract of Cestodes. 1 quote his conclusions in full : — "In breve, saremno per tutti i fatti esposti indotti ad ammettere una forma ancestrale primitiva trematodiforme di Cestode fornita di bocca ed intestino, il quale, e a poco a poco scomparso per effetto del parassitismo. E ad attestare * "Coutribuzioni alio studio della fauna elmintologica del Golfo di Napoli.' Mitt. Zool. Stat. Neap. B. viii. 1888, p. 114. t Loc. cit. p. 118. + Loc. cit. pp. lis and 121. 54 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, la presenza di questo intestine scoraparso, vi b in alcuni Cestodi adulti, molto semplici, una ventosa boccale con le sue glandole salivari e la sua muscolatura, come condizione permanente (Am- philina) ed in altri Cestodi : (1) alio stato larvale, in Cestodi meno differenziati, evvi una ventosa anteriore per struttura e funzione paragonabile alia ventosa dei Trematodi, con una musco- latura propria (scolici di Tetrabothridse : Call., Tetrab., Phyll.) ed in quelli piu differenziati (Tetrarhynchidse) un rudimento di ventosa sotto forma di fossetta ( Anthocephalus elongatus) nel quale sboccano le glandole salivari, e rudimeoti muscolari alia estremita dello scolice (Anth. elongatus et Ant. reptans) ; (2) alio stato adulto poi vi sono ora dei rudimenti di ventosa ante- riore (C. corollatum, C. filicoUe, Rhynchob. coroUatum), ora delle glandole salivari ( Tetrahothrium longicoUe), Zschokke, ora dei rudimenti muscolari ( Calliohothrhim e Tenie)."* In view of these observations of Monticelli, it is interesting to find Grassi and Rovelli,t from a totally difi'erent standpoint, viz., that of the development of the Cysticercus of Tcenia elliptica, instituting a comparison between the rostellum of certain Cestodes and the pharynx of Trematodes. That the rostellum and frontal sucker are homologous structures is strikingly borne out by Leuckart's description^ of the riidimen- tai y rostellum of Tcenia saginata. He says : — " So far then the rostellum of Tcenia saginata, in spite of its comparatively weak development, possesses essentially the structure seen in the hook- bearing cystic tapeworms. But, while in the latter the rostellum is covered by a prominent layer of parenchyma in which the anterior processes of the hooks are embedded, this coating is represented in T'. saginata only by an annular diaphragm, which lies as a lip on the outer wall of the above-mentioned lenticular mass. This is more or less markedly arched according to the curvature of the * Loc. cit. pp. 122-123. t Embryologische Forschungen an Cestoden, Centralb. f. Bact. u. Parasit. B V. 1889, p. 376. X Loc. cit. p. 434. BY J. P. HILL. 55 latter, and has in its centre an opening which is expanded below and appears sometimes rather deep, since the lenticular body has not unfrequently a depression in its anterior surface. This is the opening long since observed by Bremser and occasionally by other observers, and the appearance of which has given rise to the formerly prevalent idea that the tapeworms possessed a mouth opening between the suckers," and further he regards " this pore (frontal sucker), along with the muscular apparatus lying below it (the rostellura or bulbus), as the morphological equivalent of that sucker which is found between the lateral suckers, not only in Riidol phi's Scolex and the associated Phyllobothria, but also in some Tseniadje." Admitting then that the structure under consideration in T. sag'inata is the homologue of the frontal sucker, found in a more highly developed condition in other forms, and accepting Leuckart's further observation, viz., that the rostellum in the hook-beariug cystic worms passes through a developmental stage similar to that which is retained as the permanent condition in Tcenia sayinata, we have clear proof of the homology of the two structures. The disappearance of the hook-fundaments which surround the pore of the sucker in T. saginata is certainly due to degeneration, but in the sucker itself we have clearly the persis- tence in the adult of a developmental stage, early lost in the other hook-bearing Tseniadse. These facts tend clearly to show that phylogenetically the frontal sucker is the older of the two struc- tures, and that as specialisation has proceeded it has been replaced by the rostellum. If this be so, then we must regard the condition in Polycercus Didymogastris, where, as we have shown,* the head, with the rostellum, arises in the centre of a cellular mass, as an example of the most highly specialised condition in the series. Excretory System.. — In the living Cysticercus examined under compression, the longitudinal trunks of the excretory system were * "Oa Polycercus," P.L.S.N.S.W. (2), Vol. viii. p. 373. 56 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OP THE CYSTIC CESTODES, readily visible. Two large vessels are present on either sioe and extend throughout the whole length of the body. Numerous smaller canals were also visible, which seemed to communicate with one of the main trunks on either side. The canals contained a liquid in which were suspended bright refractive granules, rounded or oval in form, in rapid circulation. The direction of ■ the currents in the compressed Cysticercus was of an inconstant character ; at one moment the liquid with the granules might be seen flowing towards the head, then the direction of the current would be reversed and the granules flow towards the posterior end. These observations, taken from my rough notes made at the time of examination, do not agree with Monticelli's account* in Scolex polymorphus. Whether this reversal of the direction of the current is a normal feature in our Cysticercus or abnormal and due to the great compression to which it must be subjected before any of the internal details can be made out, I am unable to say. But Monticelli's observation that by an uudulatory move- ment of the walls of the descending trunks the contained liquid transports the calcareous corpuscles to the head, inclines me to the latter belief. The refractive granules, referred to above, represent calcai-eous corpuscles similar to those Monticelli has described as existing in the descending trunks of Scolex polymorphus, and which he regards as similar to those described by Fraipont in the accessory branches of the great trunks of the excretory system of Diplostomum. Fraipontf in Scolex trygonis pastinacce describes two longitu- dinal vessels on either side, of which one is smaller than its neighbour. The two larger vessels open posteriorly into the pulsatile vesicle, while anteriorly they curve back to form the smaller vessels which at the posterior end resolve themselves into * Loc. cit. p. 126. + " Recherches sur 1' appareil excr^teur des Tr^matodes et des Cestodes," Archives de Biologic, T. ii. 1881, p. 5. BY J. P. HILL. 57 a network around tlie pulsatile vesicle. The larger vessels he terms the descending trunks, and the smaller the ascending, Monticelli confirms* Fraipont's description as to the difference in size of the vessels and also as to the mode of termination of the vessels.! Pintner,;}: on the other hand, maintains that all the four canals in the young forms terminate in the contractile caudal vesicle, and such is the condition in the Cysticercus under consi- deration. In sections, the larger descending (Fig. 3, d. v.) and the smaller ascending canals (a.v.) can be readily distinguished, two on each side. They differ not only in size but in the thickness of their walls. Both are lined by a cuticular membrane, which, however, is thicker and much more distinct in the case of the smaller ascending canal. Posteriorly the two vessels on each side unite with each other, then pass inwards and backwards to open into a short terminal canal which communicates with the exterior. The terminal canal is lined by a very definite cuticle, which when traced back is found to grow thicker and to become continuous with the external cuticle of the Cysticercus. Structure of tJie cuticle and the subcuticular layer. — The cuticle (Figs. 5 and 6) consists of a thick layer of uniform depth, which with cochineal shows a differentiation into an outer thicker layer and an inner thinner more deeply staining layer. The external surface is smooth, no hair-like appendages being present, as Monticelli§ describes for Scolex polymorphus. As Leuckart describes || for Cestodes generally, there is, imme- diately below the cuticle and in close contact with it, a thin layer of circularly disposed elastic fibres (Figs. 5 and 6, c. /) ; internal to this circular layer is, in transverse sections, a layer of bright refractive bodies (Fig, 5, I. f.), separated from each other by inter- spaces. They represent the transverse sections of a layer of * Loc. cit. p. 124. t Zoc. cit. p. 127. X As quoted by Monticelli. § Loc. cit. p. 133. "Parasites of Man," p. 290. 58 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, longitudinally running elastic fibres. The outer circular layer and the inner longitudinal together constitute the " musculo- dernial " layer of Leuckart, but which is perhaps here better termed a " dermo-elastic layei\" Griesbach describes* in Soleno- phorus megalocephalus, below the cuticle, a similar layer of circular elastic fibres, while the longitudinal fibres correspond to his sub- cuticular *' Langsmuskeln." Internal to the "dermo-elastic" layer is the layer termed by various authors subcuticula, subcuticular or hypoderm layer, or the layer of matrix cells. The subcuticula of the Hoplocephalus Cysticercus is composed of a layer of radially elongated cells, which appear somewhat triangular in transverse section (Fig. 5, s. c), with their broad ends directed outwards and their narrow ends inwards ; in longi- tudinal section (Fig. 6, s. c.) they appear more spindle-shaped and their narrow ends are prolonged for some distance into the body tissue. They possess deeply staining nuclei, which, as Steudener has noted generally for Cestodes, may be situated in any part of the cell, sometimes near the middle, at other times nearer the base or apex, " so that they appear not in a line but alternating in a somewhat broad zone."t As RobozJ finds in Solenophorus megalocephalus, the cells com- posing the subcuticula do not abut directly on one another or on the "dermo-elastic" layer, but are separated from each other and from the dermo-elastic layer by a finely granular matrix (Fig. 5, m,). Monticelli,§ apparently not recognising the existence of this intercellular matrix, inclines to the belief that the spaces between tne cells ai'e due to the efiect of the reagents used, and very pro- bably also, as Pintner says, to the state of contraction or extension * " Beitrage sur Kenntniss der Anatomie der Cestoden," Archiv f. Mik. Anat., Band xxii. 1883, p. 571. t Leuckart, " Parasites of Man," p. 288. X Zeit. f. wiss. Zool. xxxvii. ; Abstract Journ. Roy. Micr. Soc. Vol. ii. Ser. 2nd, 1882, p. 785. § Loe. cit. p. 136. BY J. P. HILL. 59 of tlie body. No doubt the latter factor does, to some extent, influence tlie closeness or remoteness of the subcuticular cells, but that it does so in only a very slight degree is shown by the fact that in invaginated Cysticerci (i.e., in the most contracted condi- dion) these spaces are always recognisable between the cells. Ground tissup. — The ground tissue (the ground parenchyma, ground substance, body jjarenchyma, of various authors) consists, as (jriesbach describes* for Solenophorus and Hamannf for Tcenia lineata, of a granular matrix, in the outermost part of which the subcuticular cells lie embedded. It contains, internal to the subcuticula, numerous rounded, fusiform or stellate cells, the nuclei and cell bodies of which are clearly distinguishable. Certain of these cells lying nearer the subcuticula have an oval nucleated cell body, which is produced on opposite sides into two narrow processes, the outer of which can be traced into the space between two adjacent subcuticular cells and is probably inserted into the " dermo-elastic " layer ; the inner process passes for some distance into the ground tissue. These cells probably function as muscular cells. Zograf, | in Solenophorus megacej)halus and Tricenophorus nodnlosus, describes and figures cells " de forme etoilee, avec leurs longues excroissances en forme de rayons qui, d'un cote, s'elevent entre les cellules de la matrice juvsqu' a la cuticle, et, de I'autre, s'enfoncent dans le parenchyme du ver et s'y rattachent aux cellules semblables du tissu conjonctif du parenchyme." These star-shaped cells closely agree in their relationships with the cells described above. With the exception of the elastic fibres already described as occurring in the ground tissue, no distinct bundles of longitudinal muscle fibres were recognisable. * Loc. cit. p. 527. t Zeit. f. wiss. Zool. xlii. 1885; vide RoUeston's "Forms of Animal Life," 2nd ed. p. 226. f" Les Cestodes, offrent-ils des Tissus ectodermiques ? " Archives Zool. Exp. et Gen. 2nd Ser. T. x. 1892, No. 3, p. 339. 60 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, The inner region of the matrix contains scattered nuclei, the cell bodies of which were not distinct. Ill-defined spaces occur here and there in the matrix, but the definite lacuuse figured by Griesbach* for Solenophorus do not exist in this form. Calcareous corpuscles occur throughout the whole thickness of the body tissue, but are specially aggregated in a zone situated some distance below the subcuticula. In Cysticerci which have been stained by an acid fluid, such as Ehrlich's acid haematoxylin, and afterwards treated with acid alcohol, these bodies are dissolved and for the most {)art disappear. Their position is, however, indicated by circular spaces (Fig. 5, r. c. c.) surrounded by a wall and clearly marked oflf from the surrounding matrix. Prof. Haswell,t in reference to the calcareous corpuscles in the parasitic flat-w^orm from the frog, says : — "From their appearance when acted on by dilute acid, it would appear that the two parts of the corpuscle are of diflferent composition, the inner part becoming, before it is entirely dissolved, converted into a cluster of granules, while the outer part never becomes granular, but only gradually becomes less and less distinct till a fine outline alone remains." In sections treated with acid i-eagents, the cluster of granules representing the inner part of the corpuscle can in many cases be distinguished lying in a cavity which is bounded by a wall representing the wall of the cell in which the corpuscle is formed. At one point on the wall the original cell nucleus can be i-ecognised. Immediately external to the zone containing the calcareous corpuscles, in sections from Cysticerci which have been stained with a neutral fluid such as cochineal, numerous round spaces can be seen, containing a number of rounded or oval granules (Fig. 6, c. n. c), similar in optical characters and staining properties to * Loc. cit. Taf. xxi. figs. 1 and 2, + P.L.S.N.S.W. Vol. V. (2), p. 664. BY J. P. HILL. 61 the ordinaiy calcareous corpuscles. In some cases the spaces contaiu one or more large granules with a number of small ones, in others the small granules are alone present. Their very- definite form goes against the belief that they are due to the action of the fixing fluid (corrosive sublimate) or the staining fluid (cochineal). It may be that they represent cells which produce instead of one large corpuscle, a number which lie free in their cavities. 2. On a proliferating Species op Piestocystis from Li a lis. A living specimen of the' widely distributed but somewhat i-are lizard Lialis Burtonii, Gray, for which I am indebted to Mr. Masters of the Macleay Museum, was found on dissection to be infected with cysts of a somewhat remarkable character. Each cyst contained from one to three Cysticerci, which lay quite free in the cavity of the cyst. In the fresh condition the cysts appeared as vesicular elevations of the wall of the small intestine, along the whole length of which they were found, usually placed singly, but in some cases two occurred in close apposition, with a common wall between them. The lai'gest cyst observed measured 1-75 mm. in diameter. Through the kindness of Mr. E. Etheridge, Junr., Acting Curator of the Australian Museum, and of Mr. Masters, I had the opportunity of examining six spirit specimens of Lialis, and in two of these the cysts were again encountered, (iccupying the same position as described for the living form. When the living cysts are removed from the wall of the intestine and the cyst wall ruptured with needles, the cyst collapses owing to the escape of the Cysticerci and the fluid which surrounds tliem. In the fresh specimen examined, two Cysticercoids were found in the greater number of the cysts, one usually lai'ger than the other ; in a few one Cysticercus only was found, but seeing that in cysts containing two Cysticerci one was larger than the other, and also judging from certain appearances seen in entire cysts mounted in glycerine and in a series of sections, I am inclined to believe that the cysts with only one Cysticercus had 62 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, not advanced so far in development as the cysts containing two. In one of the spirit specimens examined, a cyst was found con- taining three equally and fully developed Cysticerci (Fig. 7). Structure of the cyst wall. — The outer wall of the cyst is com- posed of a fibrous layer (Fig. 8, /. I.) continuous with the muscular layer of the wall of the intestine and doubtless formed from it l>y the replacement of its muscular elements by fibrous tissue. It contains scattered cells, blood vessels, and lymph spaces and is covered externally by peritoneum. Internal to this fibrous outer wall and lining the cavity of the cyst is a thin layer of slightly staining homogeneous substance, with flattened nuclei on its inner face (A. I.). As in the case of the cyst wall of the Cysticercus from Hoplocephalus, I attribute to these two well-defined parts of the wall a distinct origin. The outer wall is a product of the tissues of the host, while the thin inner lining of the cyst cavity, together with the cellular network in its interior {seq.), are the direct derivatives of the six-hooked embryo, representing the proscolex or blastogen of Villot. The cavity of the cyst is occupied by a branching network of cells, the nucleated cells from which the anastomosing processes arise being situated irregularly in the angles between the meshes. Round the periphery of the cavity of the cyst the processes of these branching cells become continuous with the inner lining of the cyst wall, a fact which supports the view expressed above, that the inner lining of the cyst is an integral part of the parasite and not derived from the host. Structure of the Cysticerci — The Cysticerci lie embedded in this network, and, as they occur naturally in the cyst, are small rounded or oval bodies, about -75 mm. in diameter, and with the head invaginated at the broader anterior end (Fig. 9). When the cyst wall is ruptured and the Cysticerci allowed to escape in a drop of water, the head is immediately evaginated and they begin to creep about actively; the change of shape is so remarkable that ihe movement might almost be described as amoeboid. BY J. P. HILL. 63 The evaginate Cysticerci (Fig. 10) measure from 1"25 to 2 mm. in length. In each can be distinguished an anterior or head end, conical in form and provided with four large well-marked pro- trusible suckers, which passes gradually, by way of a narrow neck region, into the posterior much wider and longer region, which Leuckart considers as the homologue of the caudal bladder of the ordinary bladder worms. The whole body is invested in a layer of cuticle which in the head region is covered by numerous very minute backwardly directed spinules -002 mm. in length. Hooks are altogether absent. Numerous minute black points are visible all over the cuticle. These may be the external openings of pore canals, but sections did not reveal their existence in the cuticle. The pos- terior part of the Cysticercoid contains very numerous uniformly distril)Uted calcareous corpuscles, which are most abundant in the superticial layers of the body tissue, but occur in the more centra tissue as well. They vary in shape from round to angular and are almost entirely confined to the posterior region, only a few being found between the suckers of the head. The excretory system opens at the posterior end of the Cysti- cercus by a short tube, which in the living form is seen to be pulsatile. It is lined by a continuation of the outer cuticle and in sections is visible as a minute tube with a cuticular wall passing forwards for a short distance. In the inverted Cysticercus the head lies inverted in the central tihsue of the body, and, as in the typical bladder worm, the cavity of invagination is in free communication with the exterior, and into it the cavities of the four suckers open. Fig. 11 represents a transverse section at the level of the suckers. Just as in the case of the Hoplocephalus Cysticercus, the invaginated head is surrounded by a thick envelope of circularly arranged tissue representing the receptacle of the head. In the superficial region of the body tissue in the posterior part of the Cysticercus, and especially clear in Cysticerci preserved in Flemming's Fluid, are bundles of elastic fibres which run towards the head, and as they 64 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, do SO widen out to become inserted into it. They, like the similar longitudinal fibres in the Cysticercus from Hoplocephalus, probably have to do with the invagination of the head. In histological structure the Cysticercus under consideration agrees closely with the Cysticercus from Hoplocephalus, in which 1 have gone into detail more fully. Below the cuticle the outer circular and inner longitudinal layers of elastic fibres can be recognised, and internal to these the subcuticula, consisting of a richly nucleated layer of radially elongated cells, whose outlines, however, owing to the small size of the Cysticercus, are difficult to make out. The ground tissue is composed of a matrix with scattered nuclei, but here, as distinguished from the Hoplocephalus Cysticercus, the posterior part is solid, there being no indication of a central cavity. In this respect it agrees with two forms mentioned by Leuckarb,* "one from the sub-epidermal tissue of the nightingale and another from the body cavity of Lacerta vivipara ( Piestocystis Dithyridium, Diesing)," in which no bladder cavity is present. As to the development of the Cysticerci, the material at my disposal did not offer any certain developmental stages, but it seems probable that the Cysticerci arise by a process of prolifera- tion from the thin inner lining of the cyst cavity, which, together with the cellular network in the interior of the cyst, I interpret as the direct derivative of the six-hooked embryo, representing the blastogen of Villot. The small mass of cells attached to the lining of the cyst in Fig. 8 probably represents the first stage in development of one of the Cysticerci, This bud probably increases in size, becomes separated from the wall, and conies to lie free in the cavity of the cyst, forming a mass of cells such as are seen in the right hand corner of the cyst cavity in Fig. 8. Later, round this mass the cuticle is differentiated, and finally by an invagina- tion at one end the head is developed, the suckers developing on the interior of the invagination cavity, * " Parasites of Man," p. 343. by j. p. hill. ,65 General Considerations. Diesing* divides tlie cystic forms into four genera : — (I) Echi- nococcKS, (2) Ccenurus, (3) Cynticercus, (4) Piestocystis. With the two latter we are for the present alone concerned. According to Diesing the presence or absence of hooks serves to distinguish the genus Cysticercus from the genus Piestocystis ; the Cysticerci are armed forms, the Piestocystes unarmed, and it is clearly among the unarmed Piestocystes that we must look for the relationships of the two forms described in the foregoing ; they are both the cystic forms of bookless Tsenise. Villot,t basing his classification on the mode of formation of the caudal bladder, has divided the cystic forms into two groups. His first group includes cystic forms whose caudal vesicle arises from the proscolex by simple growth and modification of structure, without, strictly speaking, the production of any new part. His second group includes cystic forms in which the caudal vesicle arises from the proscolex by a process of budding, i.e., by the addition of a new part. In the first group he includes tlie three genera, Cysticercus, Echinococcus, and Ccenurus, and it is with the first of these genera, with the Cysticerci properly so-called, that he classes the forms included in Diesing's genus Piestocystis. He says| : — " L'etat inerme, pas plus que I'etat arme, ne peut carac- teriser une coupe generique parmi les Cystiques ; et il est bien evident que le groupe des Piestocystis doit di.sparaitre de la nomenclature." In support of this view he instances the case of Tcenia saginata, a form which in the adult has no hooks and only a rudimentary (persistently embryonic) rostellum, but whose affinities structurally are with the armed Tsenite. Leuckart,§ however, has shown that the Cysticerci of this tbrm, '* although the descendants and young forms of a bookless tape- * Systema Helminth um, Vol. i. p. 478. + Loc. cit. " Cystiques des Tt^nias." X Loc. cit. p. 5. § Loc. cit. p. 463. .-a K 66 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OP THE CYSTIC CESTODES, worm, are furnished with a distinct though small rostellum and with the rudiments of hooks" ; and further Nitsche, according to Leuckart,* has occasionally observed, in the adult form, these rudimentary hooks. In view of these facts, Villot's opinion, in so far as it rests on the case of T. sagiriala, loses its value. It may now be well to institute some comparison between the Cysticerci properly so-called and the two forms described in the foregoing as re|)resenting the genus Piestocystis. The unarmed Piestocystes are not only sharply marked off from the Cysticerci properly so-called by the absence of hooks, but also by their general structure. The retractile more or less conical head, destitute of hooks and provided with four large and well- marked suckers, is characteristic, as also is the elongated posterior portion usually interpreted as representing the caudal vesicle. According to Villot, four parts can be distinguished in an ordinary Cysticercus : (1) the cyst, ("2) the head, (3) the body, (4) the caudal vesicle. The cyst is in the Cysticerci pro[)erIy so-called an adventitious structure derived from the host, and having no genetic connection with the enclosed Cysticercus, and so may be left out of consideration in the present connection. The Cy.sti- cercus itself consists of the three parts — head, body, and caudal vesicle. If we, with Leuckart and other observers, consider the posterior part, in which the head is invaginated, in these unarmed forms, as representing the caudal vesicle, what corresponds to the body of the ordinary Cysticercus % It seems to be represented by the muscular sheath which immediately surrounds the invaginated head and which has in the foregoing been regarded as comparable to the " receptaculum capitis " of Leuckart. The " receptaculum capitis" of Leuckart is, as Villot has shown,! formed by tlie internal of the two layers into which the somato-cephalic bud of the developing Cysticercus separates. From the internal layer (the receptaculum capitis) the inner wall of the body is derived, while from the external are derived the outer wall of the body * Loc. cit. p. 435. t Loc. cit. p. 14. BY J, P, HILL. 67 and the head of the Cysticercus. In the forms under considera- tion, these two layers enclosing an interparietal cavity do not appear to be represented, and further, as Leuckart states,* the sheath or so-called receptacle is in these forms "not only connected with the mass of the head, but, like the ordinary body muscles, bound up with the tissue of the bladder." Hence, if this sheath be taken as representing the body of the Cysticerci properly so called, we may take it as characteristic of the genus Piestocystis that the body, unlike that of the Cysticerci properly so-called, is not represented by a part distinct from the caudal vesicle. The absence of a well-marked bladder cavity containing fluid is also a noteworthy feature and one which has given rise to the name j)arenchymatous bladder worms for these forms. The cavity may be entirely absent or it may be represented by an irregular sjjace bounded by thick walls. With reference to this feature Leuckart say sf :—" With the loss of the bladder cavity most of the characteristic peculiarities of the bladder worms have been also lost, so that it is hardly possible to distinguish these forms from developed bladder worms with evaginated heads. In fact, even in spite of the attached caudal bladder, such a form as that represented on Fig. 185c looks exactly like a young still unsegmented tapeworm." The Cysticercus which most closely approaches the.se parenchy- matous forms in the absence of a distinct bladder cavity is that of Tcenia elliptica (cucwnerina), but it is at once distinguished from them by the possession of hooks, and further, as Grassi and Rovelli have shown, I the fully formed Cysticercus represents only the anterior part of the six-hooked embryo, the posterior part which forms the tail being lost on the Cysticercus reaching maturity. As one of -the characters of the genus Piestocystis, Diesing gives the absence of a rostellum, but its homologue, the frontal * Loc. cit. p. 347. t Loc. cit. p. 343. J " Embryologische Forschungen an Cestoden," Centralb. f. Bakt. u. Parasit., Band v. 1889. bo A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, sucker, is found in the form from Hoplocephalus, and Van Beneden"**" in a form, Milina grisea, from the intestine of Vesper- tilio murinus and serotinus, and which evidently belongs to the genus Piestocystis, describes an unarmed bulb as existing between the four suckers, and also Bellingham,! in a Cysticercus from Cobitis harhatula, has observed a similar unarmed pi-oboscis, so that this character of Diesing no longer holds. The presence of a posterior pulsatile excretory tube and of numerous calcareous corpuscles in the caudal vesicle are features of lesser importance. Thus, in the absence of hooks, of a distinctly differentiated body, and of a proper bladder cavity, these forms are sharjily marked off from the Cysticerci properly so-called. Returning now to the consideration of the cyst, in Cysticerci properly so-called it is, as already remarked, a wholly adventitious structure, being derived from the tissues of the host and having no genetic connection with the enclosed Cysticercus. In the unarmed forms considered in the preceding, the inner lining of the cyst in that from Hoplocephalus and the inner lining of the cyst, together with the cellular network in the interior of the cyst from Lialis, are, in our opinion, the direct derivatives of the six-hooked embryo, and correspond to the so-called cyst of Mono- cercus arionis and of M. glomeridis, and to the cellular cyst of Monocercus Didymogastris (of. Part ii.), representing in fact the proscolex or " blastogen " of Villot. This consideration, viz., that, in the unarmed forms under consideration, we have, surrounding the Cysticerci and forming part of the cyst wall, a part which is the direct derivative of the six-hooked embryo, and which is not found in any Cysticercus properly so-called, is alone sufficient justification for removing them from Villot's genus Cysticercus, and they certainly have no genetic connection either with Echinococcus or Ccermrus. * "Les Parasites des Chauves-souris de Belgique," Mdm. de 1' Acad. Roy. de Belgique, T. xl. 1873, as quoted by Moniez, " Essai Monographique sur les Cystiques," p. 144. t " On Irish Entozoa," Ann. Mag. N.H. Vol. xiv. p. 398. BY J. P. HILL. 69 Superficially there is a slight similarity between an isolated Echi- nococcus head and, say, the Cysticercus from Liali=!, but detailed comparison shows they have little in common. Leuckart,* after referring to the similarity in disposition between the enclosing portion of the Echinococcus-heAcX and the caudal bladder of a Cysticercus, says: — "Nevertheless it is impossible to regard the capsular envelope of the retracted Echinococcus-he-dd as a caudal bladder, and that not only because it forms an integral part of the head, and is included in the body of the future tapeworm, but more especially because of its entirely different origin." In the foregoing we have considered the part in which the head is invaginated in these forms as representing the caudal vesicle and body, and that it does not become part of the future tapeworm, Von Linstow'sf observation of the commencement of segmentation in the part immediately succeeding the head in Cysticercus (Pies- tocystis) Dlthyridium strikingly bears out. Multiplication in the genus Piestocystis takes place, according to Diesing, by a process of external proliferation from the caudal vesicle. This method of multiplication certainly does not hold good for the forms under consideration, and Villot;}: agrees with Leuckart § in believing that the so-called buds are malformations due to purely mechanical causes ; still it is possible that certain species do multiply by external proliferation. In the two forms under consideration internal proliferation undoubtedly takes place, in the first one Cysticercus only is formed, in the second three may be thus formed. Here the caudal vesicle does not proceed from the proscolex by simple growth and modification of structure as in Villot's genus Cysticercus, but it represents a secondarily formed structure derived by internal proliferation from the pro- scolex, which remains persistent in the form fjora Hoplocephalus as the inner lining of the cyst cavity, and in the form from Lialis * Loc. cit. p. 604. t " Neue Beobachtungen au Helminthen," Archiv f. Naturgesch. , B. i. 1878, p. 222. X Loc. cit. p. 22. § Loc. cit. p. 356. 70 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, as the inner lining of the cyst cavity together with the cellular network in the interior of the cyst. The two forms under consideration are thus brought into close relationship with certain forms included in Villot's second group, but they agree so closely with one another and differ so widely in other respects from the Cysticercoids that it seems advisable to associate them together in Diesing's old genus Piestocystis. Leuckart* regards these parenchymatous forms as in many ways connecting the Cysticercoids with the ordinary bladder worms, and this is the view we here adopt. In their general structure they are certainly more nearly related to the Cysticerci properly so-called than to the Cysticercoids, while at the same time the presence of the surrounding blastogen is a character they share in common with certain of the latter. Finally, then, we hold the genus Piestocystis to include unarmed forms, intermediate between the Cysticerci properly so-called and the Cysticercoids; and \vhich are produced, one or more in number, by proliferation of the blastogen (proscolex). The Lialis Cysticercus may be termed Piestocystis Lialis, and the Hoplocephalus Cysticercus Piestocystis Hoplocephali. PART II. On a Monocercus from Didymogaster. While examining specimens of the earthworm Didymogaster sylvatica, Fl., for the Polycercus described by Prof. Haswell and myself in a previous part of these Proceedings,! one individual was found to be infected by a Cysticercoid belonging to the allied genus Monocercus, for which I propose the name of Monocercus Didymogastris. The generic name Monocercus was proposed by Villot:}: for cystic forms of the type of Cysticercus arionis, in * Loc. cit. p. 655. t P.L.S.N.S.W. Vol. viii. p. 365. t " M^tnoire sur les Cystiques des T^nias," Ann. des Sci. Nat. (6), T. xv. 1883, p. 35. BY J. P. HILL. 71 which the blastogen (proscolex) gives rise by endogenous budding to a single caudal Ijladder, as distinguished from the genus Poly- cercus, in which, according to Villot, a number of caudal bladders are similarly produced. Structure of Monocercus Didymogastris. — The Monocerci lie embedded in the wall of the intestine, generally in the superficial layers. They appear to the naked eye as small rounded elevations of a whitish colour, which vary considerably in size, the largest observed measuring -5 mm. in diameter and the smallest '18 mm. Each (Fig. 12) consists of two very distinct parts: (1) An outer clear cellidar portion which we may provisionally term the cyst, and which surrounds (2) a central more opaque portion, the Cysticercoid proper. Considering these two parts separately, and first as to the outer portion. In section it is found externally to consist of a homogeneous membrane apparently of a cuticular nature and which stains more deeply than the cuticle of the Cysticercoid. Internal to this cuticular membrane is a single layer of large cells, each containing protoplasm with refractive granules and a nucleus ; their walls are continuous with the outer membrane and stain similarly to it. In the possession of this well-defined surrounding layer of cells, in the fully developed Cysticercoid, Monocercus Didymogastris appears to differ from all previously described forms belonging to this type. In Cysticercus arionis, Ijeuckart* describes the Cysticercoid as surrounded by a true connective tissue cyst derived from the host. But Moniezf says : — " Le kyste dans lequel est enferme le Cysticerque de VArion est pour nous, un produit du parasite lui-meme et non une secretion de I'hote." He, however, describes the cyst as consisting of concentric layers, an observation which Villot shows, J from the study of G. arionis and G. glomeridis, to be incorrect. According to him — "Le soi-disant kyste des Monocerques est, en realitie, une * "The Parasites of Man," English Edition, p. 361. t " Essai Monographique sur les Cysticerques, " Travaux de I'lnstitut Zoologique de Lille, T. iii. fasc. 1, p. 74. J Loc. cit. p. 38. 72. A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF IKK CYSTIC CESTODES, enveloppe tres fragile, composee d'une vnince cuticule et d'une couche sous-jacente de nature cellulaiie." This subcuticular layer he describes as consisting of small groups of fine granules, separated from each other by a hyaline border and evidently representing a layer of cells in process of degeneration. Villot's observations receive ample confirmation from the form under consideration. There is here, just as in C. arionis, a layer of cuticle externally, and an underlying cellular layei-, which, how- ever, in the case of our Alonocercus, shows no signs of degeneration. Accepting Moniez's view that the cyst belongs to the Cysticercoid itself, what does it represent 1 With Villot I agree in regarding it as the blastogen or blastogenic vesicle (proscolex), which by internal differentiation, either by budding or some ])rocess of separation, gives rise to the Cysticercoid proper. The Cysti- cercoid, then, together with the outer cellular layer, the blastogen, represent the entire product of the six-hooked embryo. We pass now to the consideration of the second part of our Monocercus, the Cysticercoid proper. Each is an ovoid body measuring from 'IS-'Smm. in diameter. It lies perfectly free in the centre of the surrounding layer of cells. There is no connection nor any sign of connection between the outer wall and the Cysticercoid. Villot* believes that in Cysti- cercus arionis he has seen, at the posterior part of the caudal vesicle of the Cysticercoid and the cyst, traces of an original connection in the form of " une sorte d'ombilic ou de depression infundibuliforme." No such indication of an original connection is to be seen in the case of Monocercus Didymogastris ; if it ever existed no trace of it remains in the fully-formed Cysticercoid. This fact suggests that the Cysticercoid, instead of arising from the proscolex by a process of budding, arises by the separation of the more central cells from a peripheral layer. The latter forms the outer layer of cells, while the central mass gives rise to the Cysticercoid by difierentiation, probably in a manner similar to * Loc. cit. p. 38. BY J. P. HILL. 73 what we have described* in the development of an individual Cysti- cercoid in Pohjcercus. And I may here add that our observations on the development of the Cysticercoid in Folycercus Didtjmo- yasti'is strikingly confirm Villot's view that the position of the head in Cysticercoids of the type of Cysticercus arionis is the primitive one and not secondary as Leuckartf believes. When the Cysticercoid is examined in the fresh condition, it is seen to possess numerous uniformly diffused calcareous corpuscles •Ol-*012mm. in diameter. At one end, the anterior, is a slight depression indicating the aperture of evagination of the head. In sections the three parts found in all Cysticercoids of this type can be readily distinguished.! These parts are: (1) the head, (2) the body, (3) the caudal vesicle. The head forms a somewhat conical mass lying invaginated in the body, and with the blunt apex of the cone pointing to the aperture of evagination of the head. It bears on its sides four large and well-marked suckers, and in its centre lies the retracted rostellum, the anterior end of the latter forming the l)lunt apex of the head. The head is covered by a definite cuticle and is composed of a dense mass of small-celled tissue. The suckers are composed of rounded cells, radial and circular fibres not being recognisable. The rostellum is stout, thickest in its middle region, and with blunt anterior and posterior ends. It extends to near the pos- terior end of the head, terminating on a level with the posterior border of the suckers. It is composed of rounded cells larger and clearer than those of the rest of the head. Surrounding it is a thin sheath of a cellular nature, apparently corresponding to the muscular receptacle of other forms (cf. Polycercus Didymogastris)^ but distinct muscular fibres were not recognisable in it. At the anterior end of the rostellum are -the small hooks, sixteen to * P.L.S.N.S.W. 2nd Series, Vol. viii. p. 365. t Loc. cit. p. 362. t Villot, " Metamorphoses des Tenias des Musaraignes," Ann. des Sci. Nat. (6), T. viii. 1878, p. 5. 74 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, twenty in number, and arranged in a single row. Each hook (Fig. 13) has a total length of 03 mm. and is i)rovided with an internal root ("dent," " Hypomochlion," or "talon") and an anterior root (Leuckart's "posterior process," Villot's "manche"). The anterior root, which is inserted into the tissue of the ros- tellum, runs forwards in a line with the free part of the hook (Villot's "lame"), while the internal root runs backwards almost parallel with the free part. The free part of the hook is '018 mm. long, the internal root -0125 mm., and the anterior root -012 mm. The great development of the internal roots of the hooks of Monocercus Didymogastris may be taken as their most striking characteristic, and that they differ most markedly in form from those of Monocercus arionis and M. gJomeridis a comparison of Fig. 13 with Villot's figures* will clearly show. The posterior part of the head, behind the posterior end of the rostellum and the suckers, may be taken to represent the neck. This neck region becomes continuous with a thin layer of deeply staining small-celled tissue, which passes forwards, completely enclosing the head. This represents the second part of the Cysti- cercoid — the body. Anteriorly it becomes continuous at the aperture of evagination with the outer wall of the Cysticercoid. The outer wall represents the third part of the Cysticercoid — the caudal bladder. In sections it is to be clearly distinguished from the layer forming the body. It is composed of a larger-celled tissue and does not stain so deeply with hsematoxylin, and to it the calcareous bodies, distributed throughout its thickness, are almost entirely confined. Externally it is covered by cuticle, which, at the aperture of evagination, turns in, becoming con- tinuous with what will, in the evaginated Cysticercoid, be the external cuticle of the body. Both in its histological structure and in its relations to the other parts of the Cysticercoid, this outer wall clearly corresponds to the caudal bladder of the ordi- nary Cysticerci. * Loc. cit. pi. XII. figs. 10 and 11. BY J. P. HILL. 75 Grassi and Rovelli'^ regard the outer wall as formed by the tail, the part on which in the Cysticercus of Tcenia elliptica they find the hooks of the embryo are borne. " In ihnen (C. arionis) ist die aussere Wand, unserer Meinung nach, vorzugsweise von dem Schwanze gebildet, da aich die Haken auf der ausseren Wand oder auch auf dem Grenzpunkte zwisohen der ausseren Wand und inneren Wand hefinden (Meissener, Leuckart, Moniez)." They base their belief on the observations of Meissener, Leuckart,! and Moniez, J who assert that they have seen the hooks of the embryo lying on the caudal vesicle or on the body. With reference to these statements, however, Villot remarks § : — " Nous sommes persuade qu' on a pris pour les crochets de I'hexacanthe quelqne portion des fibres elastiques, tx'es refringentes, que Ton observe sous la cuticle de la v^sicule caudale." If we regard the so-called cyst (blastogenic vesicle) as the direct derivative of the six-hooked embryo, then, as Villot further says,|| " Les veritables crochets du Proscolex doivent etre cherches sur le kyste." In view of these considerations, Grassi and Rovelli's interpretation falls to the ground. Finally, it may be added that the hosts of Cysticercoids of this type have now been found among the Mollusca, the Myriapoda, and the Chsetopoda. PART III. On the Development of a Tetrarhynch Scolex belonging TO the Genus Syxbothrium. The cysts on which the following account is based were taken from the peritoneum surrounding the intestine of the jew-fish, Scicena aquila. The form under consideration closely agrees with * " Embryologische Forschungen an Cestoden," Centralb. f. Bact. und Parasit., Band v. 1889, p. 404. t Loc. cit. p. 361. t Loc. cit. p. 74. § Loc. cit. p. 39. 76 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OP THE CYSTIC CESTODES, a cyst from the liver of Cyhium regale, described by Linton* under the name of an embryo Tetrarhynchobothriitm, and is probably identical with an immature Synhothrium from the spiral valve of Trygon centrura, which the same author describes! as a new species under the name of Syndesmohothrium filicolle. In view of Linton's descriptions and figures I have not thought it neces- sary to describe the structure of the fully-formed scolex, but proceed at once to the desciiption of the developmental stages I have been able to examine. Fig. 14 represents a median longitudinal section of the youngest blastocyst observed. It had an elongated form of uniform thick- ness, except for a slight constriction near its middle, and measured 7'5mm. in length by 1mm. in breadth. The blastocyst in its natural position is surrounded by an outer fibrous layer derived from the peritoneum, and representing the cyst of the Cysticerci properly so-called. The part enclosed by the cyst, and here, after Linton termed the blastocyst, really represents the caudal vesicle of these forms, and is, without doubt, the direct derivative of the embryo. The blastocyst is in the fresh condition of an opaque whitish colour and contains scattered calcareous corpuscles. The structure of the blastocyst is comparatively simple. It is invested by a thin layer of cuticle ; below this is a thin granular layer with scattered nuclei. Internal to this is a vacuolated ti.ssue, with here and there scattered nuclei, calcareous corpuscles, and a series of longitudinally running fibres, by means of which the contractile movements of the living blastocyst are probably performed. The central mid-portion of the blastocyst is occupied by a somewhat irregular cavity. Two well-marked excretory vessels with thin cuticular walls run along, one on either side of the blastocyst, to its posterior end, where they unite to open to the exterior by a short terminal canal. * " Notes on two Forms of Cestode Embryos," American Naturalist, 1887, p. 199. t "Notes on Entozoa of Marine Fishes," United States Commission of sh and Fisheries, 1891, p. 861, pi. xv. figs. 2-4. BY J. P. HILL. 77 The first stage in the development of the scolex is the appear- ance, at what will become the anterior end of the blastocyst, of a narrow involution. It is lined by a thin cuticle continuous with the outer cuticle, while the granular layer below it is likewise continuous with the similar layer below the external cuticle, only here it is somewhat thicker and contains a large number of small deeply staining nuclei. The first stage in the development of the Synhothrium scolex is thus identical with the corresponding stage in the development of the Cysticerci properly so-called. Fig. 15 shows a further stage in the development of the invo- lution. It is now considerably larger, and the granular layer surrounding it is thicker and contains far more numerous small nuclei. The internal tissue of the blastocyst now forms a more compact mass around the involution, while the central cells have for the most part disappeared. At the bottom of the involution cavity, which now communicates with the exterior by a narrow opening, is seen a small elevation, pi'obably the first indication of the scolex. Fig. 16 is a longitudinal section of an older cyst, about 5-5 mm. in length by 1 mm. in breadth at its anterior end. This anterior or scolex-containing end is broader than the posterior end of the blastocyst, and is now marked ofi" from it by a well-marked con- striction. The involution cavity is now very much larger than in the preceding stage and communicates with the exterior by a well-marked though narrow canal. The involution cavity is lined by a very thin cuticle, and ai'ising from its bottom is a knob- shaped mass, the rudiment of the scolex. That this knob-shaped mass gives rise to the whole of the scolex is evident when we compare the mode of attachment of the fully-formed scolex (Fig. 5) with that of the scolex bud. In both cases they are attached to the centre of a saucer-shaped area of tissue, which thins out at the edges and has the concavity directed towards the aperture of invagination. The Synhothrium scolex does not then arise directly from the invagination sac, but by the differentiation of a 78 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, bud which arises from its floor, thus confirming Hoek's* view that " Der Scolex ensteht dan bei Tetrarhynchus auf dem Boden dieser Einstiilpung aus knopfformiger Anlage," and also Wagener as quoted by Leuckartf — " If we imagine the thimble-like projection from the base of the sac broadened out above like a mushroom, we have the head of a Dibothrium, which might become a 'dibo- thrian ' Tetrarhynchus by the addition of proboscides." Leuckartjj on the other hand, considers "that it is the sac-like invagination of the bladder itself which produces the head. The elevation always appears only as a secondary structure of subordi- nate morphological importance, and is, moreover, by no means so widely distributed as the statements of some investigators would lead one to suppose." He bases this view on an examination of young Tetrarhynchus bladders from Lophius piscatorius, in which he finds, "that the elevation only takes place at a time when the suctorial cups and proboscides are already formed and when the head, with its different parts, is thus essentially mature." If this be so in the case he examined, then we must admit that in the Tetrarhynchidce, as among the Tceniadce, the head may arise in two distinct ways. It may arise directly from the invagination sac or it may arise as a bud from the bottom of the invagination sac. The occurrence of the latter of these two methods is denied by Leuckart, but Moniez,§ from the examination of Cysticercus pisi/ormis, is convinced "que la tete dii Cysticerque bourgeonne au fond de I'iuvagination comme I'avait indique Wagener," and Hamann|| has also described and figured (cf. especially his fig. 5, taf. I.), in the development of the Cysticercoid of Tcenia sinuosa from Gammarus pulex, a plug-shaped structure which arises by * " Ueber den encystirten Scolex von Tetrarhynchus," Niederlandisches Archiv fiir Zoologie, B. v. p. 3. t Loc. cit. p. 374. t Loc. cit. p. 375. § "Essai Monographique sur les Cysticerques," p. 36 II " In Gammarus pulex lebende Cysticerkoiden mit Schwanzanhangen," Jenaische Zeitschrift, Bd. xxiv. p. 2-3, taf. i. figs. 4-8. BY J. P. HILL. 79 the inturning of a cushion-like thickening of the bottom of the invagination sac into its interior. Concerning the further develop- ment of the plug he says : "An diesem Zapfen spielen sich die weitereu Veiiinderungen ab, an ihm bilden sich die Saugnapfe und der Hakenkranz." The matter is well summed up by Villot* : " La verity est que la tete des Cystiques peut se d^velopper de deux manieres bien differentes," and we can now extend Villot's view to the Tetra- rhynchidce. Returning now to the scolex-forming bud in Synhothrium, at the stage under consideration the bud is typically knob-shaped, being attached to the bottom of the involution sac by a narrow stalk, which widens out into an expanded and rounded head. It consists of a fairly compact mass of small rounded cells, such a tissue among the Cestodes having, according to Moniez,t all the characters of cells in process of reproduction. In the anterior broader portion of the bud there are large clear spaces, and the small cells are not so numerous ; in the stalk the tissue is of a denser character, the cells being more numerous and larger. In the anterior region are seen two denser areas radiating outwards. These are in all probability the fundaments of the proboscides. Below the cuticle of the blastocyst at this stage an external layer of circular fibres and an internal layer of longitudinal fibres can be recognised ; then internal to these is the granular layer con- taining nuclei lying at some distance from each other ; the cell boundaries are not distinct. Fig. 17 is a longitudinal section of the next stage I have been able to obtain. It is separated by a somewhat wide interval from the preceding stage, for the knob-shaped process has not only given rise by elongation to the external form of the adult scolex, but internal differentiation lias advanced to a considerable extent. The cyst, of which Fig. 17 is a longitudinal section, had a length of only 3-5 mm., so that the size of the cyst is evidently not * Cystiques des T^nias, p. 20. + Loc. cit. p. 37. 80 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES, indicative of the stage of development of the scolex. In this stage the three parts into which, after Lang,* the adult scolex can be divided can readily be distinguished. These parts are : (1) The anterior or head region, which carries the bothridia ; (2) The middle or neck region, through which run the proboscis sheaths ; (3) The posterior region, in which the proboscis bulbs are situated. The internal parts, however, are still in process of differentiation, and the cuticle investing the scolex is still a comparatively thin layer. In the posterior part of the scolex the proboscis bulbs are represented by non-staining tracts apparently of a fibrous nature and surrounded by deeply staining cells. Such cells occur along the whole course of the proboscides and sharply mark them oflT from the surrounding cells. In the middle region of the scolex occur longitudinally running cellular strands surrounded by deeply staining cells similar to those round the bulbs. These cellular strands jirobably give rise to the retractor muscles of the probos- cides, while the deeply staining cells form the sheaths of the proboscides. Anteriorly the proboscides themselves (Fig. 17, prb.) are seen to be hollow structures with well-defined cuticular walls and surrounded by deeply staining cells. On the interior of the hollow proboscis the hooks appear as small inwardly-pro- jecting conical processes of its cuticular wall. In sections of a cyst slightly older than the preceding, the proboscis bulbs are now found to possess very definite fibrous walls, enclosing a cellular strand, from which the retractor muscle will be developed. The wall of the bulb is very much thicker on its inner face than externally and closely surrounds the cellular strand, the large cavity found in the bulb of the fully-formed scolex being not yet formed. The proboscis, suirounded by a layer of dee|)ly staining rounded cells, is now found to lie in a definite cavity, the cuticular wall of which forms the proboscis sheath. Posteriorly the sheath becomes continuous with one of * MT. Zool. Stat. Neap. ii. 1881, pp. 372-400 ; see resume, Journal of the Royal Microscopical Soc. 2ud Ser. Vol. ii. part I, 1882, 51. BY J. P. HILL. 61 the bulbs, while anteriorly it opens to the exterior beside one of the bothridia. The hook fundaments have now become sejiarated off from the cuticular wall of the proboscis and appear as short inwardly-projecting processes with rounded ends. The.se by sub- sequent elongation give rise to the long and slender hooks of the adult scolex. The cellular strands in the bulbs are continuous Avith vsimilar strands which run through the hinder parts of the proboscis sheaths and become continuous with the proboscides themselves. As development advances, well-marked obliquely- crossing fibres are developed in the walls of the bulbs, which now enclose large cavities. From the cellular strand the retractor muscle is developed; anteriorly it is continuous with the proboscis, while i)osteriorly it passes back to become inserted into the pos- terior end of the cavity of the proboscis bulb. The blastocyst, when the scolex has reached the fully-formed state, has an elongated club-shaped form, the largest found mea- suring 14 mm. in length. The anterior club-shaped end contains the scolex, attached by its posterior end to the bottom of the invagination sac. Round its point of attachment a number of minute hair-like processes of the cuticle are developed. The .scolex is surrounded by a fluid containing granules and })robably nutritive in function. As the scolex lies naturally in the invagi- nation cavity, its parts liave the following disposition : the posterior part lies in a line with the long axis of the l)lastocy.st ; the neck curves round, forming a loop lying on the straight posterior portion, while the head lies on one side. I append some notes from Linton's* description of the scolex as explanatory of fig. 19, which is a drawing of the adult scolex freed by mechanical means from the blastocyst : — The head is tetra- gonal, transverse, cruciform. Bothria four, subcircular, convex, cup-shaped, each the termination of a short cylindrical pedicel. They are arranged in a cruciform manner, but also somewhat in pairs, and capable of being directed either forwards or backwards in pairs. Proboscides very long and slender, each one running • Loc. cit , " Notes on Eatozoa of Marine Fishes," p. 861. 82 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OP THE CYSTIC CESTODES, through a pedicel and emerging at the apex, apparently beside the bothrium proper; neck vei-y long and slender, cylindrical, enlarging slightly at the contractile bulbs and rounded at the base, tapering to a point where it is connected with the body (blastocyst) ; proboscis sheaths spiral, contractile bulbs linear, oblong : booklets long and slender, falcate. Size of scolex 4-60 mm. Hooks near the middle •06 mm. long. (1) The so-called blastocyst or endocyst is the serial homologue of the caudal vesicle of the Cysticerci. (2) The wall of the invagination sac represents the body of these forms. (3) The scolex, consisting of head and neck, arises from the bottom of the invagination sac as a knob-shaped process, which, by subsequent elongation and internal differentiation, gives rise to the fully-formed scolex. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Plate hi. Figs. 1-6. — Piestoeystis Hoplocephali. Fig. L — Transverse section of the wall of Hoplocephalus cyst. Zeiss. D., oc. 1, cam. luc. h. I., homogeneous inner layer of wall (" blas- togen ") ; I. I., middle laminated zone ; /. I., outer fibrous layer. Fig. 2. — Longitudinal section (nearly median) of Cysticercus from Hoplo- cephalus, with partially evaginated head. From a specimen preserved in eorr. subl. and stained with cochineal. Zeiss. A., oc. 1, cam. luc. /. .?., frontal sucker; h. c, bladder cavity ; l.f., longitudinal elastic fibres ; t. c, terminal canal of excretory system. Fig. 3. — Transverse section of a Cysticercus with invaginated head, at the level of the suckers. Corrosive sublimate and Ehrlich's Haema- tnxylin. Zeiss. A., oc. 1, cam. luc. ; details with Zeiss. D. c, cuticle; s. c, subcuticula ; r. c, " receptaculum capitis"; e. /., elastic fibres ; a. v., ascending vessel of excretory system ; d. v., descending vessel ; i. v., invagination cavity of head. BY J. P. HILL. 83 Fig. 4. — Portion of a transverse section (slightly oblique) of a Cysticercus with invaginated head, passing through frontal sucker. Chrom- osniic acid and Ehrlich's Hcematoxylin. Zeiss. C. and oc. 1, cam. luc. /. s., frontal sucker; c. s., cavity of sucker; c. /., circular fibres ; r./., radial fibres ; I. s., lateral sucker. Fig. 5.— Outer portion of a transverse section of a Cysticercus about its middle region. Corrosive sublimate and Ehrlich's Hsematoxylin, Zeiss. D., oc. 1, cam. luc. ; details with Zeiss. F. c, cuticle; c. /. and l.f., circular and longitudinal fibres of dermo-elastic layer; s. c, subcuticula ; r. c. c, cavity with remains of cal- careous corpuscle ; g. t. c. , cells of ground tissue ; m, matrix ; e./., elastic fibres. Fig. 6. — Outer portion of a longitudinal section. Corrosive sublimate and cochineal. Zeiss, F., oc. 1, cam. luc. c' c", outer and inner layers of cuticle ; c. n. c, cavities containing a number of small calcareous corpuscles. Plate iv. Figs. 7-11. — Pietitocystis Lialis. Fig. 7. — Cyst from Lialis containing three Cysticerci ( x 50). Fig. 8. — Longitudinal section of cyst ( x 100). /. I., fibrous outer layer of wall ; h. I., homogeneous inner wall ; c. n., connective tissue network ; ct., Cysticercus cut obliquely ; c. ct., cells attached to inner lining of cyst and probably representing the first stage in the development of a Cysticercus ; c. cp., columnar epithelium of intestine. Fig. 9. — Invaginate Cysticercus, from a specimen preserved in Flemming's Fluid ( X 80). Fig. 10. — Piestocystis Lialis with evaginated head; partly from living speci- men ( X 50). Fig. 11. — Transverse section of invaginate Cysticercus at level of suckers ( X 260). c, cuticle; s. c, subcuticula ; l.f. longitudinal fibres of dermo-elastic layer; g. t., ground tissue; i. v., invaginati(m cavity of head. Plate v. Figs. 12-1,3. — Monocercus Didymogafstris. Fig, 12. — Monocercus Didymogastris in optical longitudinal section ( x 250). hi., "blastogen"; c. v., caudal vesicle; b., body; r., rostellum ; s. r. , sheath of rostellum ; .<. , sucker. 84 A FURTHER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CYSTIC CESTODES. Fig. 13. — Isolated hook of M. Didymogastris Zeiss. F., oc. 3, cam. luc. (x 900). a. r., anterior root; i. r., internal root; /.p., free part of hook. Figs. 14-19. —Development of Scolex of Synhothrium. Figs. 14-18 are longitudinal sections of the anterior ends of blastocysts of different ages. Drawn with Zeiss. A., oc. 1, cam. luc. ; details with Zeiss. D., oc. 4. Fig. 14. — Longitudinal section of youngest blastocyst observed, with developing invagination cavity. Fig. 15. — Further stage in development of same. Fig. 16. — Longitudinal section of blastocyst, with the knob-shaped process arising from bottom of invagination cavity. Fig. 17. — Longitudinal section of blastocyst, with developing scolex. prh., proboscis with developing hooks. Fig. 18. — Longitudinal section of blastocyst, with fully -formed scolex in invagination cavity, hr., bothridium ; pr., proboscis lying in cavity of proboscis sheath ; jjr. b., proboscis bulb ; r. msc, retractor muscle ; i. v., invagination cavity ; iv. i. v. , wall of invagination cavity. Fig. 19. — Fully-formed scolex of Synhothrium, separated mechanically from the blastocyst ( x about 30). 85 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. By the Rev. T. Blackburn, B.A., Core. Mem. Part XV. CARABID^. Taromorpha (gen. no v. Lebiidarum). Corpus glabrum ; caput minus elongatum, orbitu post-oculari parvo, colic distincto ; palpi labiales subcylindrici acuminati ; mentum medium baud dentatum ; antennarum articulus 3"* glaber ; prothorax postice vix lobatus ; elytra elongata apice valde obtusa vix truncata, interstitiis sparsim punctulatis, tertio 3-punctato ; tarsi graciles, supra glabri, articulo 4° simplici, unguibus simplicibus. In general facies the species for which I propose this name is remarkably like Anomotarus olivaceus, Chaud., though its struc- tural characters are different in some important respects. Taromorpha alternata, sp.nov. Nitida ; piceo-nigra, subviride-micans, palpis antennis pedibus et corpore subtus ferrugineis ; capite fere Isevi ; prothorace leviter transverse, canaliculato, transversim rugato, basi quam margo anticus vix angustiori, lateribus antice modice rotun- datis postice sinuatis, angulis posticis vix acutis extrorsum vix prominentibus ; elytris striatis, interstitiis alternis magis angustis magis convexis. [Long. 3|, lat. ly^ lines. N. Queensland ; taken by Mr. Cowell near Cairns. SCOPODES RUGATUS, sp.nov. Aureo-seneus, certo adspectu plus minusve viridi- vel cupreo- tinctus ; capite prothoraceque confertim fortiter (quam iS'. 86 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, sigillati, Germ, multo magis grosse) rugatis ; hoc pone angulos posticos luinutos (quam S. sigillati multo minus productus) quam S. sigillati retrorsum magis fortiter lobato ; elytris fere ut S. sigillati sed minus distincte striatis interstitio 3° in- terrupte sat fortiter costato. [Long. 2, lat. ^ line. Very like S. sigillatus, Germ., but of a more coppery or golden tone of colour (this may be an unreliable character), with dark legs, the head and prothorax much more coarsely wrinkled, the prothorax more strongly produced hindwards behind the posterior angles, which are much less conspicuous, and the subsutural fovese of the elytra less marked and connected inter se by an interrupted costa, while the elytral striae (especially the external ones) are scarcely indicated. Oodnadatta ; Central Australia. SiLPHOMORPHA CORDIFER, sp.nOV. Nitida; atra, palpis anteunis femoribus et subtus corpore medio testaceo-brunneis, elytris macula communi cordiformi testacea ornatis, hac a parte paullo ante medium suturse fere ad apicem extensa ; corpore supra fere Isevi ; prothorace quam in medio longiori fere triplo latiori. [Long. 4, lat. 2 lines. This species is not unlike S. marginata, Cast., but besides con- siderable differences in markings and size, its prothorax is very much more strongly transverse. The common spot on the elytra has its point near the apex and is somewhat heart-shaped, or might be described as a triangle with its base (which crosses the suture a little in front of the middle) strongly concave. N. Queensland ; taken by Mr. Cowell near Cairns. Clivina oodnadatta, sp.nov. C. angustulce, Putz., affinis. Brunneo-testacea, capite prothorace et macula magna communi ovali in elytris posita infuscatis ; clypeo antice sat angusto leviter emarginato (angulis anticis acute rectis) ab alls distincto, his ut clypeus ipse vix tarn productis ; elevatione antica vix distincta ; vertice medio BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 87 sparsim sat fortiter piinctulato, et foveola impiesso ; pro- thorace quam longiori vix latiori, antrorsum leviter angustato, canaliculato, utrinque ante basin foveola elongata impresso ; el3-tris sat elongatis, putictulato-striatis, stria quarta antice extrorsum flexa, interstitiis (prsesertim basin versos) convexis; tibiis anticis extus supra digitationem terminalem tridentatis, dentibus 2 inferioribus validis ; prosterno ad latera trans- versim strigato. [Long. 3, lat. ^j^ line. It will be noticed that in the above diagnosis I have used the names (ala, digitatio, &c.) adopted by M. Putzeys for the several parts in which he considered the important characters in this genus to lie. This species belongs to M. Putzeys' 30th "groupe " of Clivina. Its colours and markings are almost identical with those of ^7. sellata, Putz., but the underside is of a testaceous red colour ; G. sellata, however, is a notably smaller insect and belongs to the 28th "groupe," which is distinguished from the 30th inter alia by the front margin of its clypeus forming a continuous curve, not interrupted by any distinction between the clypeus itself and its " alae." In C. sellata, moreover, the part of the head which M. Putzeys calls the elevatio antica is extremely well developed as a short curved carina, while in the present insect it is scarcely indicated at all. Prom the other described members of the 30th "groupe," the colours and markings of this species are diflferent enough to probably form a sufficient distinction. If it and C. heterogena, Putz., are both variable in markings, they may possibly approximate each other, but if so it may be noted that the latter is a smaller species with the "elevatio antica" of the head strongly developed, and the prothorax not narrower in front than behind, and with its surface " sprinkled with very distinct punctures " (in the present insect the prothoracic puncturation is as fine as in G. sellata). Oodnadatta ; Central Australia. Clivina eremicola, sp.nov. G. obliquatce, Putz., affinis. Tota ferruginea ; clypeo antice vix emarginato (angiilis anticis acutis prominentibus) ab alls 88 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, distincto, his quam clypei anguli minus productis ; elevatione antica ut carina fere recta sat distincta ; vertice medio sat fortiter sat crebre punctulato at foveola elongata impresso ; prothorace quam latiori sublongiori, antrorsum leviter angus- tato, canaliculate, utrinque ante basin foveola elongata leviter impresso ; elytris elongatis, punctulato-striatis, stria quinta antice extrorsum flexa, interstitiis antice leviter postice vix convexis ; tibiis anticis extus supra digitationem terminalem tridentatis, dentibus 2 inferioribus sat robustis ; piosterno ad latera transversim strigato. [Long. 3, lat. \ line. This species pertains to M. Putzeys' 29th "groupe" of Clivina, which is distinguished from the other "groupes" found in Aus- tralia by the 5th stria (not the 4th) of the elytra being connected on the base of the elytra with the 8th stria. Of this "groupe," the described species except melanopyga, Putz., and obliquata, Putz., are much smaller than the present one (and otherwise very different from it) ; melanopyga is differently coloured, has the strise of its elytra much more strongly punctured, &c. ; in obliquata (which I have not to my knowledge seen) inter alia the subbasal impres.sions of the prothorax are stated to be wanting. Oodnadatta ; Central Australia. MiRosARUS INSULARIP, Bates. Mr. Simson, the captor of the specimens on which Mr. Bates founded this name, has sent me two examples of the insect taken in Tasmania. I can find no character to distinguish it from the species that de Castelnau described under several names, — Har- palus Adelaides, H. marginicollis, &c.; Mr. Siinson tells me that M. Putzeys considered it identical with de Castelnau's insect. Trechus baldiensis, sp.nov. Sat elongatus; minus depressiis ; nitidus ; nigro-piceus, palpis pedibus antennarum basi et elytrorum apice rufescentibus ; prothorace sat foititer transverso, antice quam postice parum BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 89 angustiori, lateribus ante medium sat fortitex' rotundatis hinc ad basin leviter nee sinuatim convergentibus, angulis posticis vectis, foveis basalibus raagnis obliquis Isevibus ; elytiis ovalibus, leviter stria tis, striis valde perspicue punctulatis, 1" vix distincte recurva, interstitiis sat planis, 3° 3-foveolato. [Long. If, lat. 1^ line. Remarkable for there being no recurved stria well defined on its elytra ; nevertheless I see no reason to separate it from Trechus of which it has the facies, palpi, anterior male tarsi, &c. It is a smaller and narrower insect than T. diemenensis, Bates (of which I have an example from Mr. Simson, the original captor), with much more distinct punctures in the elytral stria?, the strise themselves being much feebler ; indeed the elytral striae are almost as feebly impressed and their punctures about as conspicuous as in some species of Cyclothorax {e.g., lophoides, Chaud.). Victoria ; near the summit of Mount Baldi. T. viCTORiiE, sp.nov. Minus elongatus ; minus depressus ; nitidus ; pallide brunneo- testaceus, antennis (basi excepta) capite postice prothorace medio elytrorum disco postice striisque tibiis et tarsis plus minusve infuscatis; prothorace fortiter transverse, antice qnam postice vix angustiori, lateribus antice sat fortiter rotundatis postice vix sinuatis, angulis posticis obtusis angulo summo minute subdentiformi, foveis basalibus magnis laevibus ; elytris obovatis, fortiter striatis, disco utrinque fortiter bifoveolato, interstitiis convexis, stria suturali sat manifeste recurva. [Long. 2|, lat. 1 line. An easily recognisable species owing to its peculiar colouration. It is of a pale brownish-yellow colour, with the hinder part of the head, the middle of the prothorax, the hinder part of the disc of the elytra and all the elytral strise very conspicuously infuscate (the elytra thus bear a number of fine blackish stripes). The antennae, tibiae, and tarsi are of a darker colour than the genei'al surface. The prothorax is very strongly transverse, and its hind 90 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, angles are peculiar, the side and base meeting in a slightly obtuse angle, the extreme point of which, however, is minutely but abruptly sharpened and turned outward. The anterior tarsi of the male (as usual in Trechus) have their basal two joints (only) dilated and spongiose beneath. The apex of the hind body is a little protruded beyond the elytra as in many other species of Trechus, especially in the females. The facies of this species is of Bemhidium rather than Trechus, but the structure of its palpi will of course at once distinguish it from Bemhidium. Victoria ; Sassafras Creek ; sent to me by Mr. French, of Melbourne. T. SiMSONi, sp.nov. Minus elongatus ; minus depressus ; nitidus ; luride brunneus, capite prothorace et pone medium elytris insequaliter sub- maculatim infuscatis, elytrorum striis nigricantibus, tibiarum parte inferior! et tarsis quam femora magis obscuris, antennis basi excepta brunneo-piceis ; prothorace vix transverso, postice fortiter angustato, lateribus antice sat fortiter rotundatis postice sinuatis, angulis posticis rectis, foveis basalibus elongatis Isevibus ; elytris breviter ovalibus, fortiter striatis, disco utrinque fortiter bifoveolato, interstitiis convexis, stria suturali sat manifesto recurva. [Long. 14, lat. y^^line (vix). In colour and markings very like T. Victorice (though the general colour being considerably darker the markings are much less conspicuous), but at once distinguishable from it by the much smaller size and very differently shaped prothorax, which is almost as long as wide and is much narrower across the base than across the front margin. Tasmania ; taken by Mr. A. Simson. Tachys Flindersi, Blackb. This species seems scarcely distinguishable from Tachys (Bem- hidium) rubicundus, Mack, which latter, however, is a nom. prcBocc, having been used by Chaudoir for an Asiatic sp. (1850). BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 91 HYDROPHILID.E. CVCLONOTUM ABDOMINALE, Fab. Mr. De Vis, of Brisbane, has recently sent me examples of this widely distributed species which were taken by Mr. Wild in rotten aloes at Brisbane. I believe the insect has not previously heen recorded as occurring in Australia. STAPHYLINID^. QUEDIUS DIEMENENSIS, Sp.nOV. Minus robustus ; sat nitidus ; niger, prothorace abdomineque piceo-rufescentibus, antennis (articulis basalibus 3 exceptis) tarsiscjue rufo-testaceis ; capite sat lato, punctura magna utrinque in oculi margine et 3 aliis postice triangulariter dispositis instructo ; oculis modicis ; prothorace leviter trans- verso, antice parum angustato, angulis posticis rotundatis ; elytris quam prothorax vix longioribus, sparsim fortius punc- tulatis ; abdomine fere ut elytra punctulato. [Long. 3J, lat. f line. The prothorax has the usual two discal punctures near the front and no others except a moderately numerous series running along the front and lateral margins. The antennae are moderately elongate, joint 1 the longest, 2 and 3 about equally long (longer than any of the following joints), the rest moniliform (6-10 gently transverse). The general form of this species together with the colour of its prothorax and hind-body give it a notable resemblance to the European Q. xanthopus, Er. ; but the elytra are much less closely punctulate than in that species. The reddish tone of colour is much less noticeable on the prothorax than on the hind- body. More or less resembles Q. rujicollis, Grav., and nigricollis, Fauv., but differs, inter alia, from the former by its very different colouration, from the latter by the dark basal joints of its antennae. The reddish colour of the hind-body is most conspicuous on the hinder part of each segment. Tasmania ; sent by A. Simson, Esq. 92 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, PiEDERUS SiMSONI, Sp.nov. Apterns ; subparallelus ; niger, prothorace vnfo, elytris cyaneis, antennarum articulis basalibus 3 subtus testaceis ; ociilis modicis ; prothorace angiiste elongato ; elytris basin versus angustatis quam prothorax subbrevioribus, sparsim punc- tulatis ; abdomine sparsim sat grosse punctulato. [Long. 3 lines. In general build resembles P. australis, Guer., but apterous and with much shorter elytra and the elytra (and still more the abdomen) more sparsely punctured. Coloured like a very dark example of P. critenticollis, Germ., but differing from that species as from australis in respect of its elytra and abdomen, and also in its much narrower prothorax less rounded laterally, its antennae much less dilated towards the apex, &c. From P. Meyricki, Blackb., the present in.sect differs by its smaller size and much more parallel and slender Vjuild, its much smaller and more sparsely punctured elytra, narrower prothorax, evidently larger eyes, &c. Tasmania; sent by A. Simson, E.sq. BYRRHID^ (?). ASPIDIPHORUS HUMERALIS, sp.nOV. A. orbiculato, Gyll., valde atfinis ; differt colore elytrorum sub- senescenti, humeris Isete pallide testaceis, his valde callosis, antennis pauUo magis elongatis, elytrorum striis magis fortiter impressis, harum interstitiis manifesto convexis. [Long. 1, lat. f line. The general colour is a shining pitchy, inclined towards reddish, more particularly on the elytra, which have a slightly metallic appearance. The humeral calli are extremely prominent and of a pale testaceous colour, the legs and antennae (except the club of the latter which is darker) reddish-testaceous. The antennae are of 10 joints, the basal large and pyriform, 2nd much smaller and .subglobulous, 3rd slender and as long as the 1st, 4th nearly half as long as 3rd, 5-7 very short, 8-10 forming an elongate club as long as 2-7. The elytra are rather strongly punctulate-striate BY TUE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 98 with evidently convex interstices. The upper surface is clothed with very short semi-erect pubescence. The position of this remarkable genus seems to be very doubt- ful. It has been referred to the Ptinidce, the Dermestidce and tlie Byrrhidce by various authors. To me it seems least out of place in the last-named family. Tasmania ; taken by A. Simson, Esq. DERMESTID^. Cryptorhopalum quornense, sp.nov. Ovale, pilis crebris (his in elytris nonnuUis nigris nonnullis albis fasciatim et plagiatim dispositis) vestitum ; nigrum, antennis flavo-testaceis ; sat crebre asperatim minus subtiliter punctu- latum ; antennarum clava valde compresso-dilatata, articulo apicali quam prsecedentia 2 conjuncta malto majori. [Long. 1, lat. f line. Entirely black except the antennae, but much clothed with long adpressed white hairs, with short black hairs so intermingled as to present the appearance of a whitish surface bearing a pattern of black markings. The head and prothorax are entirely but not very closely clothed with white hairs, while on the elytra the black hairs form the following markings : — A round spot on each elytron behind the base, another just before the apex, and a common moderately wide zig-zagged fascia just behind the middle. The black pubescence is short and not very noticeable, so that the portions of the elytra beaiing it appear to a casual glance to be denuded spaces. The entirely black derm distin- guishes this species from all its described Australian congeners except confertiim, Reitt. I am not sure that I know that insect, and therefore will distinguish it from the present one only by characters mentioned in Reitter's description ; in confertum the antennae and legs are said to be " obscurely ferruginous," and the elvtra to be " confertissime punctata," while in the present species the legs are black and the antennee bright yellowish, and the elytra (compared with those of others of the genus) not particularly 94 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTEEA, closely punctulate. Moreover, the pattern formed by the black and white hairs on the elytra as described are very different in con- fertum from that formed by them in the present insect. S. Australia ; on Eucalyptus blossom, near Quorn. PARNID^E. Elmis tasmanicus, sp.no v. Modice elongatns ; piceo-niger, antennis palpis tarsisque rufes- centibus, elytris ad basin et pone medium transversim rufo- maculatis ; prothorace insequali sed hand latera versus plicato, sat crebre sat fortiter punctulato ; elytris puncttilato- striatis, puncturis in striis antice magnis retrorsura minoribus, interstitiis sat planis coriaceis. [Long. 2\, lat, ^ line. Tasmania ; taken by Mr. Simson. PECTINICORNES. Ceratognathus Froggatti, sp.nov. (J. Oblongus ; convexus ; crebre rugulose punctulatus ; niger, squamis adpressis leete aurantiacis sparsim vestitus ; capita supra tuberculis 2 parvis instructo ; mandibulis quam caput longioribus, extus late fortiter auriculatis ; prothorace antice sat angustato. 5. Mandibulis quam caput brevioribus nee auriculatis. [Long, (mands. incl.) 5-5^, lat. 2i lines. In size, build and sculpture much like C. niger, Westw., but differing from that species by the ]jresence of thinly scattered blight orange scales, by the prothorax less transverse and quite strongly narrowed in front, by the median erect lateral process of the mandibles in the male being (not pointed and, at the apex, spine-like, but) a broad almost quadrate lamina, and by the decidedly greater convexity of the general form. The two well dt'dned tubercles on the head distinguish this species from all its other known congeners (they having a single, either conical or bifid, tubercle). The lateral erect process of the mandibles in the BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 95 male is scarcely less elevated than in C. niger, though it is of quite different shape. N. S. Wales ; bred by Mr. Froggatt from Eucalyptus robtcsla at Botany Bay. LAMELLICORNES. At^nius deserti, sp.nov. Sat angustus ; minus parallelus ; nitidus ; niger, clypei lateribus antennis pedibusque rufescentibus ; clypeo rotundato-emargi- nato ; capite longitudinaliter sat crebre strigato-punctulato ; prothorace sequali, dupliciter (subtiliter et subfortiter) nee rugulose punctulato, puncturis in disco minus crebre vix aequaliter (ad latera confertissime confluenter) dispositis ; elytris sulcatis, sulcis in f undo anguste subtiliter catenulatis, interstitiis modice convexis nee anguste carinatis, humeris dentatis. [Long. 1|-, lat. 4 line (vix). Differs from A. australls, Har., chiefly in the following respects : puncturation of the head finer and running much more evidently in strigye, prothorax without any trace of a median sulcus, elytral sulci traversed (not by rows of large punctures giving an uneven crenulated appearance to the interstices, but) by tine catenulated lines occupying the extreme bottom of the sulci and leaving the interstices free from any appearance of crenulation, elytral inter- stices (though decidedly and somewhat angularly convex) not nearly so narrowly or sharply carinate. Oodnadatta ; Central Australia. M^CHIDIUS CLYPEALIS, Sp.UOV. Minus elongatus ; supra sat opacus ; f usco-piceus ; capite antice leviter emarginato, lateribus sat fortiter sinuatis; prothorace fortiter transverso, antice minus angnstato, confertim rugulose nee grosse punctulato, lateribus crenulatis leviter sat sequaliter arcuatis, angulis anticis obtusis minus productis, posticis subacutis vix retrorsum directis, basi fortiter lobata sicut prothorax certo adspectu utiinque pone angulos posticos profunde excisus videtur; elytris striatis, interstitiis puncturis 96 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN OOLEOPTERA, seriebus biiiis impressis, puncturis singulis setas fiiscas singulas (his vix exsertis) ferentibus ; tibiis anticis extus dentibus 3 acutis sat sequalibus (inferioribus 2 approximatis, a 3° sat remotis) armatis ; tibiis posterioribus 4 extus crenu- latis, ad apicem sat leviter dilatatis ; unguiculis simplicibus. [Long. 3 J, lat. 1|^ Hues. This species may be at once distinguished from all its congeners known to me ( M. hopeanus, Westw., however, comes near it in this respect) by the peculiar form of the front of its clypeus which is only moderately emarginate (aud that almost vertically), so that when the head is looked at obliquely from behind, there is a point of view from which the front of the clypeus does not appear to be emaiginata at all, but to be formed by a horizontal trisinuate line. The form of the piothorax is as in M. excisus, Waterh., in respect of the emargination behind the hind-angles, these, how- evei', being less sharply defined than in that species and the emargination behind them less deeply excised. There are about twenty rows of punctures on each elytron (each puncture filled with a seta) and each pair of rows is divided from the next pair by a narrow smooth stria-like space. The present insect resembles M. hopeanus, Westw., in many respects, but may be at once distinguished from it by the front extremity of the basal emargination (on either side of the prothorax) being a well defined angle. Oodnadatta ; Central Australia. Heteronyx Cowelli, sp.nov. Modice elongatus; postice minus dilatatus ; minus nitidus ; testaceo-fuscus ; sat pubescens ; capite sat grosse, prothorace sat fortiter minus crebre, elytris fere ut prothorax, pygidio (hoc pilis erectis_ sparsim vestito) leviter sparsim nee sub- tiliter, punctulatis ; labro clypeum vix manifeste, sat late tiuperanti ; antennis 9-articulatis ; unguiculis bifidis ; coxis posticis quam metasternum parum brevioribus, quara segmen- tum ventrale secundum sat longioribus. [Long. 3, lat. If line. BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 97 The followiiifj characters in combiaation place this species in Section iii., Group vi. of the genus (tabulated P.L.S.N.S.W., 1889, pp. 426-8) : labrum overtopping the clypeus and causing its outline from a certain point of view to appear trilobed, antennae 9-jointed, claws furnished with a projection close to the apex, almost perpendicular to the line of the claw. In that group it is associated with II. borealis, Blackb., by the following characters in combination : external margin of hind coxae evidently shorter than the metasternum, antennae entirely of pallid colour ; middle lobe of " trilobed outline " of clypeus widely rounded and not much narrower than the lateral lobes, prothorax moderately closely punctulate (intervals between the punctures somewhere about -^ the length of the prothorax), joint 2 of hind tarsi evidently longer than joint 1. From H. borealis it differs inter alia by the pro- thorax being narrower in front, with more rounded hind angles, and by the middle lobe of the " ti'ilobed outline " of the clypeus being wider than in borealis and not more prominent than the lateral lobes. The sides of the prothorax are somewhat strongly rounded. N. Queensland ; taken near Cairns by Mr. Cowell. Heteronyx sequens, sp.nov. Modice elongatus ; postice minus dilatatus ; minus nitidua ; testaceo- vel brunneo-fuscus ; sat pubescens ; capite sat grosse, prothorace sat fortiter minus crebre, eiytris fere ut prothorax, pygidio (hoc pilis erectis sparsim vestito) obsolete, punctulatis ; labro clypeum sat fortiter sat anguste superanti ; antennis 9-articulatis ; unguiculis bifidis ; coxis posticis quam metasternum baud brevioribus, quam segmentum ventrale secundum multo longioribus. [Long. 3i-4, lat. 2-2| lines. This species falls in the same group as the preceding, which it reseojbles somewhat closely in respect of colour and puncturation, differing from it, however, widely in respect of some important structural characters. Its labrum is considerably narrower and more elevated, .so that the "trilobed outline" of the head has quite a dift'erent appearance, the middle lobe being less than half 7 /- 98 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, as wide as, and more prominent than, the lateral lobes ; its pro- thorax is of very dissimilar form, being only feebly rounded on the sides and having much better defined hind angles (especially when viewed from above) ; the hind coxse are considerably longer and have their external hind angles much more defined ; and the produced apex of the basal piece of the hiud claws is much larger, nearly equalling the apical piece in size. In the tabulation of this group (see preceding species) this species falls beside R. Darwini, Blackb., but diflPers from it inter alia by very much less coarse protlioracic puncturation. N. Queensland ; taken by Mr. Cowell near Cairns. BUPRESTIDyE. Chalcophora exilis, sp.nov. Obscure senea, hie illic viridi- vel cupreo-niicans ; capite sat fortiter )aca ; piceo-nigra, eljtris vittis 5 testaceis ornatis ; fere impunctulata, abdomine sub- tilissime punctulato et longitudinaliter strigato ; prothorace quam longiori quatuor partibus (postice quam antice fere dimidia parte) latiori, antice sat profunde arcuatim emar- ginato, latitudine majori paullo pone medium posita, lateribus sat arcuatis postice manifeste sinuatis, angulis omnibus •acutis; elytris quam prothorax fere 3^ parte latioribus, postice minus abrupte declivibus ; tibiis intus baud tomeutosis. [Long. 9|, lat. 5 lines. The whole upper surface of this species is absolutely devoid of sculpture except the row of punctures close to the margin of the elytra, and even that does not extend so far as the middle of their length. The 5 testaceous vittse on each elytron render the insect easy to recognise. Queensland ; presented to me by Mr. French. BY THR REV. T. BLACKBURN. 105 Platyphanes superbus, sp.nov. Latissime ovalis; nitidus; subtus niger; supra Isete seneo-viridis aureo-micans, capite caeruleo aureo-micanti, prothoracis elytioramque lateribus (et horuni epipleuris) scutelloque splendide cseruleis piirpureo-micantibus; capite crebre fortiter punctulato ; prothorace quam longiori duplo (postice quam antice fere duplo) latiori, subtiliter sparsius punctulato, a basi ad apicem (vix arcuatim) angustato, angulis omnibus subacutis ; elytris antice gibbosis (fere ut P. gibhosi, Westw.), striis punctulatis 14 instructis, interstitiis convexis, lateribiis pone humeros angulatis. [Long. 11|, lat. 1^ lines. This magnificent insect is allied to P. gibbosiis, Westw., from which it differs, inter alia, by its colouration and by the close and somewhat strong puncturation of its head. N. Queensland ; in the collection of C. French, Esq. Chariotheca Besti, sp.nov. Nitidissima ; capite versicolori (antice cyaneo, postice nigro aureo-micanti), prothorace Isete caeruleo, elytris igneo-cupreis, corpore subtus pedibusque versicoloribus (cyaneo violaceo et aureo micantibus), antennis tarsisque piceis ; clypeo subtilis- sime, capite postice crebre subfortiter, punctulatis ; pro- thorace (leviter transversim)quadrato,subtilissime punctulato, antice leviter angustato, angulis posticis acutis ; elytris leviter striatis, striis (vix crebre) punctulatis, interstitiis subtilissime punctulatis fere planis. [Long. 5, lat. 2|- lines. This brilliantly coloured little Helopid has been inspected by my friend Mr. G. C. Champion, of London (the well-known specialist in the Heteromera), who has obligingly reported to me that it is near Chariotheca umaroides, Pasc. Mr. Pascoe's species (besides being very differently coloured) differs from the present one inter alia by the sculpture of its head, which is said to have "a few coarse punctures between the eyes," whereas the head of C. Besti (except on the clypeus) is evenly, somewhat closely and not at all coarsely (scarcely even strongly) punctulate. Mr. Pascoe's brief description of C. amaroides implies moreover that the elytra 106 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, are not striate, but the elytra of the present species are very dis- tinctly (though not very strongly) striate. I have named it, at the suggestion of Mr. Freuch, after Mr. Best, of Melbourne, who is an energetic coleopterist. N. Queensland ; presented to me by Mr. French. LONGICORNES. Uracanthus Froggatti, sp.nov. Angustus, valde elongatus ; piceus, palpis pedibusque (prsesertim anticis) plus minusve rufescentibus ; pube grisea (nihilominus maculis denudatis confuse variegata) sat dense vestitus ; pro- thorace manifesto (praesertim pone medium) sat crasse trans- versim rugato ; elytris apice truncatis, supra vix costatis, leviter nee subtiliter nee erebre punctulatis. [Long. 8-9i lat. 1^ line. This species seems very distinct from all previously described on account of its being clothed with whitish-grey pilosity which is rather evenly distributed over the whole surface, except that on the upper surface there are a certain number of small denuded spots, and that in places on the under surface (especially on the prosternum and mesosternum) the pilosity is longer and denser than elsewhere. Comparing this insect with the familiar U. triangularis, I note the following differences : — size much smaller, colour and markings (such as they are) quite unlike, general facies much narrower and more slender, transverse wrinkling of pro- thorax obsolete in front half of that segment, apical margin of elytra truncate and devoid of spines. N. S. Wales ; bred by Mr. Froggatt from Lasiopetahun ferru- yineum. Rhytiphora fasciata, sp.nov. Picea, pube densa tecta (hac albido et fulvo variegata et nigro maculata, maculis nigris in parte mediana majoribus ita dispositis ut fasciam obscuram efficiunt) ; prothorace insequali et tuberculato et transversim plicato ; elytris in tertia parte BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 107 basali granulis sat magnis nigris nitidis oruatis, ad apicem sat fortiter emarginatis et biapiculatis. [Long. 13, lat. i^ lines. This species is near R. Argus, Paso. Compai-ed with that insect it is of somewhat broader and more robust build with the elytra quite strongly emarginate at the apex, the extremities of the emargination of each elytron distinctly pointed, — almost spiniform. The eyes are less approximate than in Argtis, and the pubescence of the upper surface is considerably different ; taking the whitish pubescence as the ground the fulvous pubescence is laid on in such fashion as to form a sharply defined pattern which on the elytra has a sinuous and mostly transverse linear arrangement ; while the black granulations and spots are much like those of Argus, except that the black patches are much larger about the middle part of the elytra than elsewhere, where some of them are transversely elongate, and they are so placed on a wide space extending across both elytra as to look like a conspicuous band of spots. The underside, legs, and antennae are much like those of R. Argus. The elytra present no indication whatever of costse. The shoulders are black as in Argus. N. Queensland ; presented to me by Mr. French. PHYTOPHAGA. NiSOTRA SUBMETALLICA, Sp.nOV. Ovata ; convexa ; nitida ; subtus (prosterno testaceo excepto) nigra ; supra testacea, elytris paliide viridi-micantibus, antenuis nigris (articulis basalibus 4 testaceis), pedibus testaceis (femoribus posticis antice nigricantibus) ; subtiliter (in elytris vix seriatim) punctulatis. [Long. 1|^, lat. 1 line. The prothorax is (by measurement) just twice as wide as long; its puncturation is very lightly impressed and by no means close ; its .sides are gently and somewhat sinuately arched, its front angles decidedly its hind angles scarcely directed outwards; its anterior discal furrows are elongate and extremely deep, and it has two basal foveae on either side, the outer ones much feebler 108 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, than the inner. The puncturation of the elytra is evidently stronger than of the prothorax, and is at its strongest in the front of the outer part of the disc ; it can scarcely be called distinctly seriate in any part except near the lateral margins where there are several abbreviated striae with ill-defined raised interstices. The black colour of the undersurface (except the undersurface of the prothorax) distinguishes this species from its previously described allies. An example taken in S. Australia is without metallic gloss on the elytra and has entirely testaceous legs, but does not seem to differ otherwise. I have seen numerous Victorian specimens, among which I find no variation. Victoria ; taken by Mr. French. MONOLEPTA ALPINA, Sp.nOV. Elongato-ovalis ; sat nitida; nigra, elytrorum dimidio basali (macula magna communi basali excepta) sanguineo, anten- narum basi tibiis tarsisque plus minusve ferrugineis ; anten- narum articulo basali quam 2"^ 3"^ que conjuncti (his inter se sat sequalibus) vix breviori, ceteris basali et inter se sat sequalibus; prothorace obsolete punctulato transversim leviter impresso ; elytris subfortiter minus crebre punctulatis. [Long. If, lat. I line. Variat prothorace femoribusque plus minusve rufescentibus. Regarding black as the ground colour of the elytra the red marking consists of a wide fascia, the hind margin of which crosses the middle of the elytra, and which runs forward along the lateral margin to the base on either side, leaving a large common black spot on and around the scutellum. Victoria ; Alpine district. 109 ON AN ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENT, BELIEVED TO BE UNDESCRIBED, AND SUPPOSED TO BE A HOE. By R. Etheridge, Junr., (Paleontologist to the Australian Museum, and Geological Survey of New South Wales). (Plate VI.) This remarkable object, that at first sight would be pronounced as coming from one or other of the Pacific Islands, rather than the Australian Continent, I am assured by Mr. Harry Stockdale, whose name I have had occasion to mention in former communi- cations to this Society, was obtained by Mr. Alexander Gilchrist, F.R.G.S., "on the head waters of the Endeavour River, Northern Queensland, about one hundred and fifty miles inland."* The Endeavour River is in Cape York Peninsula, about S. Lat. 15°, at Cooktown. Mr. Gilchrist continues — "The tribe was small in numbers, about seventy, but possessed a lot of weapons ; they were Myalls, f although friendly to me." But one use can be assigned to this implement, that of digging, and for the sake of brevity will be referred to hereafter as a "hoe." It consists of a stick with a diameter of three and a-half inches, that has been chopped off short above, and with an iron tool fashioned into a handle below, and the clean chops of the cuts show that the operator was no novice in the practice of the * In a letter to Mr. Stcekdale. t i.e., wild blacks. 110 ON AN ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENT, instrument used. At about the centre of the unexcised part, or head as it may be termed, a hole has been bored, one and a-half inches in diametei'. This head is six inches long, and the excised portion or handle about nine inches. Introduced into the hole, is the columellar portion of the body whorl of the large Melon shell, probably Melo diadema, Lamk., the outer edge of the frag- ment, or what would be the anterior end of the whorl, being ground to a cutting edge, by friction from the outside, producing a slight bevel. As the shell portion is too small for the hole, the former has been wedged in by four pieces of circular stick, soft wood, which project on the outside, and the shell blade is thus held in position. It is six inches in length. I can only imagine this to have been meant for a hoe, and, although of the roughest description, it was, no doubt, tolerably well adapted to the use for which it was meant, the roughest description of husbandry. It has been asserted on more than one occasion that the Aus- tralian Aborigines were collectively quite devoid of any knowledge of husbandry, even in its most elementary form. This generalisa- tion is, however, a mistake, similar to many other mistakes that have been made by writers with the view of bolstering up the old preconceived and erroneous idea that the Australian Aborigine represents one of the most, if not the most degraded variety of the human race. Sir Geoi'ge Grey has described* the method of yam digging employed by the natives generally with the yam-stick. The stick is driven firmly into the ground with the right hand and shaken, so as to loosen the earth, " which is scooped up and thrown out with the fingers of the left hand, and in this manner they dig with great rapidity." Sir Thomas Mitchell also, in his account of tropical Australia, describes "ground tilled by the natives." He states:! "We *N.-West and Western Australia, 1841, ii. p. 293. t Tropical Australia, 1848, p. 274. BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNE. Ill crossed some patches of dry swamp where the clods had been very extensively turned up by the natives. . . . The whole resembled ground broken up by the hoe." With regard to the West Australians, we are informed by Mr. A. C. Gregoi'y* that " the natives of the west coast of Australia are in the habit, amongst other things, of digging up yams as a j)ortion of their means of subsistence. ... In digging up these yams they invariably re-insert the head of the yams so as to be sure of a future crop, but beyond this they do absolutely nothing which may be regarded as a tentative in the direction of cultivating plants for their use." I am of opinion that this hoe is not of Australian Aboriginal manufacture, but simply an adoption by the tribe from whom it was obtained of an implement imported from one of the Torres Straits islands in the ordinary way of barter — a well-known practice held by the northern coastal tribes, in common, in fact, with those of the whole Continent. Mr. E. Beardmore speaks of a hoe, almost identical in construction to the present implement, from Mowat, Daudai, New Guinea. He saysf " It is made from a piece of melon shell (Cymbium) inserted into a hole in a rough wooden handle, the shell being wedged in by one or two pieces of wood. . . . This rude hoe is only used on soft ground." D'Albertis also figures! a very similar implement, as a " shell spade," from the interior of New Guinea, as then known, l)ut no definite locality is given. The blade is mounted in a pre- cisely similar manner to our example through a hole in the handle, D'Albertis also figures § two unmounted blades, also identical in character to the present implement, from Moatta, N. Guinea. That the present implement is not of Aboriginal manufacture, is, I think, conclusively proved by the drilling of the hole for the * Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gt. Brit, and Ireland, 1887, xvi. p. 131. + Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gt. Brit, and Ireland, 1890, xix. p. 468. t New Guinea, 1880, ii. pi. opp. p. .378, f. 11. § Loc. cit. i. pi. opp. p. 266, f. 12 and 13. 112 ON AN ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENT. reception of the blade. The Australian Blacks were quite unacquainted with the art of hafting by drilling, union between any two parts of their weapons or implements being always effected by grasping or tying and cementing. A very excellent illustration of this is on record. General Pitt-Rivers (Col. A. Lane-Fox) states* that at an old native camping place, a European axe-head was found, the hole of which the natives, unable to com- prehend its object, had carefully filled with their cementing medium, and hafted by means of a withy, bent round the outside of the axe-head, in accordance with their traditional custom. * Report Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. for 1872 [1873], p. 160. 113 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA. Part II. By Walter W. Froggatt. This paper contains my notes and observations on beetles bred out during the season 1892-93. Nearly ^■ll niy specimens, with the exception of a few obtained during a visit to Victoria, have been obtained from material collected in the neighbourhood of Sydney ; among those noted in my former paper I described Stigmodera rufijiennis, Kirby, bred from the twigs of Acacia jicniperina from Victoria ; this season I have bred a great number from the twigs of A. discolor in November and December from about Sydney. Among the more remarkable ones now described is another gall-producing Buprestid belonging to the genus Paracephala recently described by the Rev. Thos. Blackburn from specimens I sent to him. The life-history of several weevils belonging to the genus Oxyps is very remarkable. Their larvae might very easily be taken for those of lepidoptera. Another Cetonia has been added to our list ; while I have made a slight departure in this part in noting several small longicorns which I have bred from infested branches, but the larvae of which I have been unable to determine, as very frequently one twig will contain several larvae belonging to different species. As before, I am indebted to the Rev. Thos. Blackburn for determining a number of my insects, and to Mr. R. T. Baker for the identification of some of their food plants. ScoLECOBROTUS Westwoodi, Hope, Trans. Zool. Soc. i. 1835, p. 109, t. 15, f. 5. Larva pale yellow, cylindrical, with broad head, small conical legs, and a slight fringe of reddish hairs round the head and 114 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, margins of segments ; mouth parts and jaws black, head romuled in front, broad behind, base of forehead with a broad ferrui,nnous band extending backwards round the sides, a short furrow in centre, with a deeper fdrrow on either side, the summit broad, projecting, bluish-white, finely transversely striated ; thoracic segments wide but short, the last with warty markings on the upper sides, first six abdominal segments deeply and widely con- stricted, the summit with a depression in centre surmounted on either side with an oval warty excrescence ; 7th short, cylindrical, smooth; 8th twice as long as 7th; anal segment small, conical, depressed at the tip, with five short stout spines on the upper side forming a triangle pointing downwards ; corresponding warty patches on the underside of segments. The larva feeds upon the stems of Eucalyptus corymbosa, attacking them about a foot above the ground ; it bores upward, holluwing out the branches ; it then turns downward and gnaws I'ight round the top of the stem where it first entered, thus killing the branch. It is a common sight ou the sandhills in the neigh- bourhood of Botany, about August and September, to see a dead bush standing out in every patch of this Eucalypt, and which when pulled readily snaps off short at the gnawed ring. The larva feeds downwards towards the roots just before pupating, and will generally be found in the stem a few inches above the ground when in the pupal stage. The beetle is 16 lines in length, of a rich reddish-brown colour ; the head long and slender; thorax long, cylindrical, finely and deeply striated with transverse corrugations, but covered with fine pale buff hairs almost obscuring them ; the whole of the elytra, legs and under.side covered with a fine close pale buff pubescence, the fore part of elytra from the shoulders to the fore legs broad, deeply punctured with irregular coarse striae, the edges of which are fringed with a pale buff pubescence giving it a handsome wavy pattern; the rest of elytra densely covered with pubescence, and tapering towards the tip of the abdomen, the tips arcuate forming a double tooth on either side. It is a long slender beetle resembling Uracanthus triangularis in form and habits ; nor is it BY W. W. FROGGATT. 115 easy to find any difference between the larvre of these beetles, both having the same constricted segments, and spines on the anal segment. TIjis beetle is not common in the bush, and is generally found upon Leptosfermum, ra. November. Since breeding them from Botany, I have also bred them from some stems of the Whipstick-scrub gum (Eucalyptus gracilis), infested bi-anches of which I collected near Bendigo, Victoria, in August, and which I found to contain this beetle early in last March. Symphyletes solandri, Fab. Ent. Syst. Vol. i. p. 292. Larva legless, white, short and stout ; jaws black, thick, mouth parts deep reddish-brown, labrum pale yellow, thickly friuged with bright golden hairs ; forehead broad, slightly punctured in centre, ferruginous at base, lightly clothed with long golden hairs, with a few scattered along the sides of abdominal segments ; tlioracic and abdominal segments, with the exception of the last two, with an elongate warty patch occupying the central portion of each, both on the upper and under sides, a transverse line very slightly impressed passing from behind the head and dividing each segment in the centre ; anal segment smooth, shining, rounded at the tip, fringed with a few scattered hairs. This larva attacks the flower stalks of the grass trees (Xan- thorrhoert), feeding upon the dry woody pith, and forming straight irregular tunnels down the centre, and then gnawing round the stem close up to the outer bark about a foot above where the flower stalk springs from the stem. This causes the upper portion of the stalk to fall ofi", whereupon the larva, after plugging the hole, retreats downwards, forming a straight chamber down the remaining length of the stem, at the bottom of which it pupates. In the month of September, between Botany and La Perouse, I have seen the flower stalks of every grass tree on a hill side thus cut ofi", and found living pupje and larvae in most of them. The perfect beetle appears in the latter part of October, and can be found in a favourab e season feeding upon the bark of the 116 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, living flower stalks of the grass trees up to the end of December. On these they gnaw little patches, and deposit their eggs in the hole made for the next season's crop. The beetle is 11 lines to an inch in length, dark chocolate- brown ; antennae fringed on the inner margin with short black- hairs ; thorax very rugose, deeply punctured, and irregularly marbled with patches of buff hairs ; the femora and tibiae and the whole of the underside mottled with fine creamy hairs, a patch of bright golden hairs on the tibise just above the tarsi; elytra deeply and coarsely punctured, clothed with irregular patches of fine bufi" and creamy hairs giving it a marbled appearance, the outer edges of elytra fringed with creamy hairs, arcuate at the extreme tip of each elytron forming a double toothed tip. Common about Sydney in early summer. XJracanthus Froggatti, Blackburn, P.L.S.N.S.W. ix., (2), 1894, p. 106. Larva long, slender, reddish -yellow, with very short pointed legs, and a slight fringe of scattered hairs round the head and sides of segments ; mouth parts ferruginous ; jaws small, black ; head longer than broad, forehead excavated in centre, a slightly punctured projecting summit marked with fine parallel strise ; thoracic and first five abdominal segments deeply and broadly con- stricted, with a faint transverse furrow dividing each in the centre, on either side of which is an oval rugose patch ; 6th abdominal segment much longer than preceding ones ; 7th cylin- drical, telescopic towards the 8th, the latter longer than the anal segment, which is conical at the tip. The larva feeds upon the stems of Lasiopetalmn ferrugineum, a low shrub common about Sydney, completely hollowing them for a considerable length, and usually cutting the branch off before pupating, and forming a chamber at the end of its burrow. Larvse were obtained, well grown, in infested twigs, in August, at Rose Bay, and in the following April I found the beetles emerging ; previously I had never found this fine longicorn. BY W. W. FROGGATT. 117 The beetle is 9 lines in length, light brown, covered with grey- pubescence, with a long slender head and antennae ; thorax long, cylindrical, the anterior portion with irregular transverse corru- gations, the posterior portion smooth ; legs long, pubescent, thighs swollen ; elytra long, slender, very finely ribbed, truncate at tips, the pubescence at the extremity forming a white fringe, with a iine tooth on either side, the basal portion chocolate-brown, with a shining square patch below each shoulder, the rest of elytra lightly covered with grey pubescence, densest on the sides, with a row of irregular bare spots along the outer margins. I have never taken this beetle at large, but have bred a number of them ; they doubtless live on the twigs of the shrub in their perfect state. Bethelium signiferum, Newman, Entomologist, 1840, p. 10. Several specimens of this longicorn were bred from twigs taken from a dead tree of Acacia decurrens at Carlingford, all the branches of which were swarming with beetle lai-vge. The earliest to appear bred out towards the end of October, and the last in the middle of November. It is 3 lines long, reddish-brown in colour, eyes very prominent, head broad in front, the thorax rounded behind, the legs long, the apical portion of femoi'a swollen and thickened into an oval lump ; the elytra reddish-brown, mottled with dull yellow, giving it a zig-zag pattern, and covered with scattered yellow hairs. Neissa inconspicua, Pascoe, Journ. Linn. Soc. Vol. ix. 1866, p. 82, t. 3, f. 6. A number of specimens of this pretty little longicorn came out of twigs of Acacia longifolia, collected at Rose Bay ; the tirst was found in the breeding box on the 10th of July, but the bulk of them appeared towards the end of October and early in November. This is one of our smallest longicorns, being only 2 lines long, of a chocolate-brown colour, with the antennae stout and hairy, the base of each joint paler than the apex; a grey silvery line down 118 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OP AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTEEA, the centre of the thorax, and a broad shield-like patch of a similar colour from the shoulders down to the centre of the elytra, giving it a handsome marbled appearance. Lygesis mendica, Pascoe, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) 1875, Vol. xv. p. 62. A good number of .specimens of this longicorn were bred from infested twigs taken from a dead tree of Acacia decurrens at Carlingford ; the first appeared about the end of August, others following until the middle of November. The larva feeds upon the young branchlets. The beetle is 5^ lines long, of a uniform reddish-brown, jaws long and curved, head slender, thorax long and cylindrical, elytra shining, rounded at the tip, the whole insect covered with a coat of stout white hairs. Stephanops nasuta, Newman, Entomological Mag. Vol. v. p. 510. This is a very long slender longicorn, with the fore part of the head greatly produced, the eyes very prominent, aud tlie antennae light reddish-brown, long and slender. It is 7 lines in length, but not much more than a line across the widest part of the shoulders; head and thorax dark ferruginous-brown, the apex rounded and cylindrical ; legs reddish-brown, long and slender, the apical portion of the femora thickened; the elytra reddish-brown, covered with a fine grey pubescence, with the outer edges bare and shining, forming a narrow line round the margins. Two specimens were bred from stems of Acacia longifolia obtained at Rose Bay in the end of November. Pentacosmia scoparia, Newman, Entomologist, 1842, p. 361. The larva of this beetle, which feeds under the bark, is hardly noticeable in a large twig ; several came out in a show-case from mounted specimens of Acacia longifolia some months after they had been placed therein. The beetle is 3 lines in length, dark brown, clothed with greyish-buff pubescence; the head, thorax, elytra, and legs fringed BY W. W. FROGGATT. 119 with fine long hairs ; the antennae having the first joint very stout, all the joints fringed on both sides with long black hairs, the third joint being further ornamented at its apex with a little black ball composed of fine hairs. Bred out early in October from branches obtained at Rose Bay. Sybra acuta, Pascoe, Trans. Ent. Soc. (3), Vol. iii. p. 199. Two specimens of this beetle emerged in the middle of December from twigs of Acacia longifolia obtained at Rose Bay. Length 2 J lines, greyish-brown, antennse rather short and stout, head and thorax short ; elytra finely and closely punctured, pro- duced into a sharp arcuate tooth on either side. Syllitus grammicus, Newman, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1840, Vol. V. p. 21. The larva bores narrow irregular chambers along the centre of the smaller branches of the dead wood of Acacia decurrens. Two specimens bred out from infested twigs in the middle of December. The beetle is 4^ lines in length, very slender ; antennae, head, legs, and thorax ferruginous-brown ; the head long, eyes very prominent ; thorax cylindrical, rather narrow at base, swelling out and slightly ribbed above the apex, which is constricted at the junction with abdomen ; elytra long, slender, of a uniform thickness, rounded at the tip, pale ferruginous-brown, with six pale white parallel ribbed lines running from the shoulders to the tips of the wing covers. Skeltodes tetrops, Newman, Zool. App. 1850, p. 113. Though I have not yet been able to determine the larva of this handsome longicorn, such a number have bred out of a log in the Technological Museum, obtained by the collector (Mr. W. Baiierlen) in the Richmond River District, that a few notes may be of interest. For some weeks, during the months of July and August, I captured specimens nearly every morning on the roof of the timber court of the Museum. When at rest they spread their 120 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, long slender legs out, with the antennae pointing out straight in front, looking very like a large " daddy-long-legs " (Tipula). The beetle is 6 lines long, pale brown, slender, with the posterior portion of the tibiae black and swollen out into a club; the antennae long and slender, the first joint swollen, black in front, but brown behind, while the apical portion of all the following joints is black, becoming lighter towards the extremity, a very long truncate spine standing out from the apex of the 3rd joint ; the thorax marked with a double black line in the centre, with a similar line on either side, all coming into a transverse black band behind the head ; elytra deeply punctured, and marked on the sides and centre with wavy curved reddish-brown lines forming a distinct pattern. Mr. A. Lea, late of the Agricultural Depart- ment, informs me that he on one occasion found a large number of these beetles, which had evidently bred out from a single tree. Ceratognathus Froggatti, Blackburn, P.L.S.N.S.W. (2), Vol. ix. p. 94, 1894. Larva white, shining, semi-transparent ; abdomen more slender than the thorax ; head round, slightly elongate, pale brownish- yellow, eye spots black, mandibles stout, 3-toothed, black ; antennse four-jointed ; legs long, slender, closely covered with rather long ferruginous hairs, tarsal claws small and very pointed; dorsal side of both thoracic and abdominal segments rounded, covered with fine ferruginous spines, more plentiful on the thoracic segments, interspersed with fine hairs. The larva lives in the bark of Eucalyptus robusta, the trunk of which when the trees are large is covered with a thick felty fibrous outer bark, which shelters numbers of small insects and their larvae. It excavates oval chambers about half an inch below the outer surface, where it lies lightly curled round. At Botany I found the beetles and pupae in these cavities early in November. The beetle is 5 lines long, black, with the outer edges of the thorax ferruginous, the whole insect closely and finely punctured ; the dorsal side of head, thorax and elytra covered with scattered BY \V. VV FROGGATT. 121 retldish-yellow scales which form a slightly ocellated pattern u[)on the thorax, becoming more undefined on the elytra. In the male the jaws are large, curved inwards, broad, and toothed at the tip, with a square wing or flange on the outer side i n front of the eyes. Though this pretty little staghorn is plentiful in the bark of the Eucalypt I'eferred to, Mr. Blackburn says it is new ; I have never found it at Jaige. DiAPHONiA DORSALis, Don., Insects of New Holland, t. l. f. 1. Larva a large bluish-white grub about 19 lines in length and 6 lines in diameter, rounded on the dorsal side, with the marginal fold, and spiracles very jirominent ; jaws three-toothed, stout and black ; the antennje five-jointed, basal ones pale, apical ferruginous; the forehead rugose, bisected in centre forming a broad triangle towards the jaws, with an angular ferruginous patch on either side of the first thoracic segment ; legs long, covered with fine reddish hairs ; all the thoracic and abdominal segments trans- versely ridged with three deep furrows which all converge and merge into the centre of the marginal fold, anal segment obtusely rounded ; the whole insect covered with fine short reddish hairs, interspersed with a few longer ones on the sides of the head and thorax. The larvae were very plentiful towards the end of last March under large logs between Carlingford and Eastwood ; they are usually just covered with earth mould. I kept some thirty specimens in a large tin full of damp earth, and though several formed cocoons, with one exception they were all infested with dipterous larvae which after a time broke holes through the sides of the earthy cocoons and came out. On the 1st December I examined the remaining cocoons and found the only perfect one contained a dead but perfect beetle. The beetle is one of the largest Cetonias found near Sydney, and though not as common on the flowers of Angophora cordifolia as some of the other species, it is often found flying about in the street, or buzzing in at open windows during the summer months. 122 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, It measures 13 lines in length ; underside, legs, head, centime of thorax, a spot on either side above the eyes, the scutellum and the marginal division of the vping cases black, the rest of thorax and elytra ochreous-yellow. Paracephala cyaneipennis, Blackb., Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A. Vol. xvii. pt. 1, p. 130. Larva slender, cylindrical ; mouth-parts black, head small, thoracic segments broadest ; abdominal ones smooth, regularly rounded, tapering towards the anal segment which terminates in a small tubercle. In a short paper communicated to this Society in July, 1892, I described three species of the genus Ethon whose larvae form galls on native plants. The larva of this beetle belonging to an allied genus also has the same remarkable habit. In June of last year I found a large number of the low shrubby bushes of Casuarina distyla at the head of Rose Bay with the branches covered with rounded gall-like excrescences about 7 lines in diameter and 5 lines in height. On cutting some of them open 1 found the larvae placed at the base of the gall in a similar manner to those of Ethon afflne on Pultenoia stipulai'is previously described. The beetle is 4 lines in length ; head and thorax metallic dull bronze, the latter irregularly corrugated ; elytra deep metallic green, very finely and closely rugose ; legs and all the underside dull metallic copper colour. I have never taken this beetle at large, but have cut a great number out of mature galls, dozens of galls being sometimes found upon one bush. A pate collaris, Boh. Larva white, showing a red line on the dorsal side bisecting the lower abdominal segments ; broad and stout, with the apex of the abdomen rounded ; jaws black, rather broad at the base, palpi short, jointed, apical one large, oblong ; head small, thoracic segments broad, legs small with very slender tarsi, fringed with BY W. W. FROGGATT. 123 long reddish hairs ; abdominal segments slightly rounded on the sides, smaller and more rounded towards the apex. The larvte feed upon the dead wood of various species of Eucalypts, living chiefly oa the sapwood, which is completely- riddled with irregular parallel channels which often cross and run into each other, and are all filled in behind as the insect moves along. When full grown it pupates in a small oval chamber at the end of its bore. The beetles as soon as they emerge bore circular shafts straight through the bark into the sapwood, laying an egg at the bottom. The bark of a large dead Eucalypt (probably E, hoemastoma) was covered with these little pits, out of which streams of fine dust were falling; beneath was the sapwood containing larvae and pupse in all stages of development. The perfect beetle is 2| lines long ; head ferruginous, very rugose, slightly furrowed on the sides, jaws black ; thorax pale ochreous-yellow, projecting on either side of the head ; a small curved hook standing out in front above the forehead; the frontal portion of thorax covered with short warty black spines, the apical part finely punctured, shiuiiig ; legs ferruginous ; elytra black, slightly rugose, covered with small punctures, apex truncate, sloping down to the anal tip, the elytron produced into two short spines at the apex, the tips of which are split into two fine points. Hah. — Hornsby. In the log from which I obtained these beetles I found a number of long slender larvae which appeared to be parasitic upon the beetle larvae, but I was unable to breed them. OxYOPS CONCRETA, Pascoe, Journ. Linn. Soc. x. 1870, p. 479. Larva a short, stout, dull brownish-green grub, the mouth parts small, and hidden by the folds of the first thoracic segment, which is produced on the dorsal side into four stout tubercles ; the following nine segments, each forming a double fold, the first small, wedge-shaped, with a projecting point at either side, the second fold carrying a row of eight finger-like points, the four central ones longest, the last segment overlapping the anal tip ; legless, and smooth on the ventral surface. The larva exudes a slimy secretion, with which it is covered on the upper surface. 124 ON THE LIFE-HISTORIES OP AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, while its excreta ai'e drawn all over it by the aid of the slime, aud the contraction and expansion of its prickly back ; on the leaves it looks like a slimy slug covered with dirt. It feeds upon the leaves of Eucalyptus longifolia, only eating the outer surface, and often completely skeletonising each leaf ; it is plentiful about the neighbourhood of Flemington and Rook- wood, where in January it is common, and many trees may be noticed with a patch of leaves, white or mottled, that have been attacked by these grubs. When full grown it crawls down to the earth and buries itself some inches under the soil, where it remains from two and a half to three months before it emerges and re-ascends the tree, on the twigs of which it is to be found clinging later in the year. The beetle is 6 lines long and 3 lines 'in width across the shoulders ; black and shining, the thorax furcate, covered with fine white or brownish scales in the furrows ; legs covered with similar greyish scales, while the elytra which are also distinctly ribbed are granulated with scattered greyish scales which form a round grey patch on the apical portion of the elytra. OxYOPS HoPEi, Bohem., Schh. Gen. Cure. iii. p. 483. The larva of this species is similar in form and habits to that of 0. concreta previously described, but seems to gnaw the leaves in a more patchy manner. It is common in the neighbourhood of Bendigo, Victoria, feed- ing upon the leaves of the ironbark. Eucalyptus leucoxylon. I obtained a number of the larvae and several perfect beetles in the latter part of August. The beetle is about the same size as 0. concreta ; black and shining, the thorax much more rugose, with the elytra more closely ribbed ; a row of four rounded tubercles on the shoulder, and two pairs, one above the other towards the apex ; the extremity of the elytra at their junction produced into a conical point ; the whole of the insect granulate, with scattered reddish- brown scales, densest on the thorax and shoulders. BY W. W. FROGGATT. 125 Orthorrhinus Klugi, Bohem., Schb. Gen. Cure. iii. p. 246, Larva semitransparent, with a brownish tinge ; covered with a few scattered hairs on the dorsal side, and a close growth of much longer ones on the ventral side which is rather flat ; mouth parts ferruginous, jaws tipped with black, coming to a sharp point ; fore part of head smooth, shining and rounded in front ; the segment behind arched over the head, the rest of the thoracic and all the abdominal .segments rounded, smooth, shining, of a uniform size ; anal segment hairy and rather truncate ; larva nearly always curved round and broadest in the centre. The larva feeds upon the dead branches of Acacia decurrens, hollowing out the slender twigs, but filling up the irregular tunnels as it feeds along. I obtained a large number of infested twigs from a dead Acacia near Carlingford containing numbers of perfect insects, and larvae in all stages of development, in the middle of March. The pupa is of a pale brown colour with black eyes, a small protuberance on either side of the head, and a sharp spine on either side of the anal segment. The perfect beetle is 3-| lines long ; rich reddish-brown, covei-ed with very fine golden bronzy scales which show a faint metallic lustre ; two conical projections on the front of the thorax, and a double row of three more rounded protuberances down the elytra with two other pairs towards the apex, and a generally rugose pitted surface on the thorax and elytra, giving it a very warty appearance. 126 ON SOME NAKKD AUSTRALIAN MARINE MOLLUSCA, ON SOME NAKED AUSTRALIAN MARINE MOLLUSCA. Part I, (Plate VII.). By C. Hedley, F.L.S. (Communicated h»j permission of the Trustees of the Australian Museum). Partly because they offered no trophies to grace the collector's cabinet and partly because the literature treating of the subject is both meagre and difficult of access, the Australian naked mollusca have been little studied. A recent donation to the Museum by J. P. Hill, Esq., F.L.S., Demonstrator of Biology of the Sydney University, comprising several species of shell-less mollusca, and which in the course of official duties required determination, brought forcibly to my notice the poverty of published information regarding them. Commencing my inquiries with a huge Pleurohranchus (as understood by Fischer), I found that in Australia two species only are as yet recorded, P. punctatus* Q. and C, Voy. Astrolabe Zool. ii. p. 299, pi. xxii. ff. 15, 19, from Jervis Bay, N.S.W., and P. angasi, described and figured by E. A. Smith, "Report on the Zoological Collections made in the Indo- Pacific Ocean during the Voyage of the Alert, 1881-2," p. 88, pi. vi. ffi K, K'; and collected in Sydney Harbour by Dr. Coppinger. A Pleurobranchidium maculatum was collected, figured and described by Quoy and Gaimard in association with P. functatus. If we extend our survey to New Zealand we find another species P. ornatiis, Cheeseman (P.Z.S. 1878, p. 275, pi. xv. flf. 1, 2). * I am indebted to the kindness of Pi'of. Tate for a reference to this species. BY C. HEDLEY. 127 From Polynesia the researches of Garrett and Pease have brought to light P. grandis, ovalis, delicatulits and tessellatus, Pease (Am. Journ. Conch, iv. pp. 78-80, pis. ix. and x.). The species under consideration resembled none of these, but of all the figures and descri|)tious within my reach it most approximated to those of P. testudhiarius on p. 571 of Fischer's Manuel de Conchyliologie. Most opportunely, whilst still investigating the new species, I received from Prof. Yayssi^re of Marseilles, France, a welcome gift of a copy of his " Recherches Zoologiques et Anatomiques sur les Mollusques Opistobranches du Golfe de Marseille," " Pt. i. — Tectibranches," forming Tome ii. — Zooiogie — of the " Annales du Musee d'histoire naturelle de Marseille." The full account, the best hitherto given, herein contained, of the above mentioned mollusc, confiraied me in recognising in the Mediterranean animal the nearest known relative to our Sydney slug. For the French species, Prof. Vayssiere adopts the name of Oscanius tuberciUatus, Delle Chiaje ; embracing as synonyms Pleurohranchus forskahli, Delle Chiaje, P. mammillatus, Sclinltz, and P. testudinarius, Cantraine. My correspondent amends and expands the genus Oscanius of Leich on p. 121 of the above quoted woi'k. According full generic rank to this division, he unites with it as an absolute synonym, Gray's genus Susania (Guide to the Mollusca of the British Museum, 1857, p. 202). This is the interpretation of Oscanius here followed. Oscanius hilli, n.sp. Animal elliptical, thick, subglobose ; in life, as well as I can recollect, dark plum colour ; as contracted in alcohol measuring 140 mm. in length by 120 mm. in width and 50 in height; without a shell. Mantle very large, thick and muscular, overlapping the body so as almost to envelope it ; irregularly covered outside by numerous large, warty protuberances ; deeply, squarely notched in fro.it, entire throughout the rest of its circumference. Rhino- phores appressed to each other, externally split to the base, thick and subcylindrical. Eye not observed. Foot large, somewhat 128 ON SOME NAKED AUSTRALIAN MARINE MOLLUSCA. cordate in outline, bearing at the tail, on the sole and in the median line, a gland 30 mm. by 10 mm., distinguished from the rest of the sole by its thick transverse rugosities and black colour. Gill-plume tucked in between the mantle and the foot, a third as long as the animal, bipinnate, folded down the centre so as to expose one side only, the stalk without the pinnte within, attached to the body as far as the 16th filament; pinnse 24, rapidly increasing in length from the anterior to the 6th, thence gradually decreasing to the posterior end, each filament attached beneath for more than half its length ; midrib beaded at the junction of each plumelet. Anus just within the tip of the gill and behind the membrane upon which it is hung. External genitalia located immediately before the branchia, wrapped within two oblong flaps. The specimen above described was, with two others, dredged in 8 fathoms, about a mile south of the Sow and Pigs Reef, Port Jackson, by the Marine Excursion of 17/12/92 of the Field Naturalists' Society of N.S.W., and was presented to the Austra- lian Museum by the Society. Another specimen, dredged off Stokes' Point, in Broken Bay, N.S.W., has been presented by Mr, Hill. Mr. Brazier also informs me that specimens of this species from Port Stephens, N.S.W., have come under his notice. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Fig. 1. — Dorsal aspect of Ovcanius hilli, from spirit specimen. Fig. 2. — Ventral aspect of ditto, the free edge of the foot bent over to expose the anus, gill-plume and genitalia ; on the sole of the foot the tail gland is shown. Both drawings slightly reduced and photo-lithographed from the pen sketches of the writer. 129 OBSERVATIONS UPON THE ANATOMY AND RELA- TIONS OF THE "DUiMB-BELL-SHAPED" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, WITH A NEW THEORY OF ITS HOMOLOGY; AND UPON A HITHERTO UNDESCRIBED CHARACTER OF THE NASAL SEPTUM IN THE GENERA ORNITHORHYNCHUS AND ECHIDNA. By J. T. Wilson, M.B., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Sydney. (Plates VIII. -IX.) (A preliminary note .summarising most of the conclusions arrived at in this paper was presented at the 'Meeting of the Society March 28th, 1894, and published in the Abstract of Proceedings of that date). The question of the morphological significance of the dumb- bell-shaped bone in Ornithorhynchtos first attracted the attention of the writer when investigating, with Dr. C. J. Martin, the anatomy of the muzzle of this animal. In the paper in the Macleay Memorial Volume (1) in which we recorded the results of our work, no new opinion upon the subject of the present paper was expressed, though even then our series of coronal sections had gone far to convince me that the usual premaxillary theory of the nature of the dumb-bell bone was an inadequate one. This latter view was that entertained by Rudolphi and Meckel (2, p. 20) and was adopted by Owen in his article on the Monotremes in Todd's Cyclopaedia (3). But in his later work upon the Anatomy of Vertebrates (4, p. 322) Owen apparently forsook this theory in favour of an 130 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, interpretation of the bone as a ' prenasal osvsicle.' This view was adopted by Flower in the earlier editions of the 'Osteology of the Mammalia' (5, p. 219), where the bone is referred to as placed in, or in front of, the anterior extremity of the mesethmoid cartilage, and apparently corresponding to the so-called ' pre- nasal ' of the pig. In 1883 Albrecht (7) again advocated the older (intermaxillary) view of the bone mainly upon reasons derived from a study of the normal and pathological development of the premaxilla in other mammals. The contentions of this author were in 1885 supported by Sir William Turner, who devoted a paper in the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology (8) to a critical examination of the prenasal and intermaxillary theories respectively. His reasons for adhering to the latter are in part founded on his own observations upon the region by means of special dissection. In the edition of the ' Osteology of the Mammalia' published during the same year, 1885, Professor Flower (with Dr. Gadow) explicitly gave up the prenasal theory in favour of the intermaxillary as advocated by Albrecht and Turner. But in the descriptive passage referring to it an extremely misleading description is given of the bone as "placed in front of the anterior extremity of the mesethmoid cartilage in the palatal aspect of the jaw." This statement is indeed quite inconsistent with one of Turner's points of contrast between the dumb-bell bone and a true prenasal, viz., that the latter is (and the former is not) " placed in front of the vomer and mesethmoid cartilage," And in point of fact the dumb-bell bone is entirely ventrad of the cartilaginous septum and far behind the preaxial end of the latter. The latest contribution to the literature of this subject that I am aware of (apart from the paper in the Macleay Memorial Volume above-mentioned, which only incidentally refers to it) is a paper by Prof. Symington, published in 1891 (9). This author also accepts the view which identifies the dumb-bell bone with an element of the mammalian premaxilla. Both Turner and Symington have recorded important details of the structure and relations of this very interesting ossicle, and the results of their BY J. T. WILSON. 131 observations we propose first of all briefly to review, as it is chiefly to these authors that we owe our knowledge of the detailed anatomy of the bone. Symington's chief results were obtained by the study of series of coronal sections. After referring to its shape, Turner (loc. cit.) states that the dumb-bell bone " consists of two symmetrical and lateral halves united mesially by a suture, the line of which may be seen on the palatal surface of the bone, though the two halves obviously become fused at a comparatively early period of life." He also states that it is situated "in the hinder part of a fibrous meni- bi-ane, which is attached behind to the anterior free border of the palate plate of each superior maxilla, on each side to the inner border of the intermaxilla, &c.," and that " the edge of the dumb- bell bone is surrounded by the membrane." He further states that "the upper surface of the dumb-bell bone lies immediately subjacent to the anterior somewhat expanded end of the vomer, which is fused with it along its mesial line." He then proceeds to refer to its relation to the uaso-palatine or incisive foramina, which open on each side of and close to the isthmus or intermediate portion of the dumb-bell bone as seen from the palate, and he concludes that in its relation to the incisive foramina, the dumb- bell bone corresponds with " that portion of the intermaxillary in other Mammalia which lies between the incisive foramen and the mesial palatal suture "; and that " the more anterior part of the roof of the mouth does not undergo an ossific change, but remains as fibrous membrane, except in the limited area where the dumb- bell-shaped bone is produced." He then goes on to examine the argument for the theory that the dumb-bell bone is the homologue of the prenasal bone of the pig, as this was expressed by Flower, following Owen's later view, and he sums up in favour of its correspondence to the mesial element of the premaxilla rather than to the prenasal, as follows : — The dumb-bell-shaped bone " is inferior to the vomer and fused with its inferior Vjorder ; it has no relation to the anterior nares ; it enters into the constitution of the hard palate, and it forms the inner boundary of the entrance into the naso-palatine canal. In its position and relations it 132 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, corresponds with that part of the intermaxilla which lies between the incisive canal and the mesial palatal suture." It would appear from the descriptions thus summarised that Sir Wm. Turner regards the dumb-bell bone as consisting merely of a pala- tine plate, since he considers it to be fused along its mesial line dorsally with the anterior end of the vomer. We shall see pre- sently that the mesial bone rising dorsally, vomer-like, from the palatine dumb-bell is an integral part of the bone itself, and is quite distinct from the true vomer, which ends quite posteriorly to this region. It may also be noted that what Turner has regarded as fibrous membrane filling up the extensive hiatus in the hard palate is in reality a thin sheet of hyaline cartilage forming the floor of the nose, as was shown by Dr. C. J. Martin and the writer in the paper already referred to (1). It is in this cartilaginous layer, and not in fibrous membrane, that the dumb- bell bone is imbedded. Owen and Meckel both refer to this car- tilage forming the floor of the nose, and Meckel (2, p. 40) gives its dimensions and attachments as seen from below. The additional observations of Professor Symington may now be reviewed. He notes the close relation of the upper surface of the anterior nodule of the dumb-bell " to the cartilages of the nose which contain Jacobson's organ," and he further mentions the fact, to which Martin and I have also drawn attention, that near the posterior extremity of the dumb-bell it is covered, as seen from below, by a thin layer of cartilage. As our figure shows, however (1, PL xxiil. fig. 17), this is due to the hinder end being more deeply embedded in the cartilaginous nasal floor and not merely grafted upon its under surface as appears, superficially, to be the case in front. From his study of coronal sections Syming- ton has recognised that the bone projecting from the mesial dorsal surface of the palatine dumb-bell is, as has been said above, an integral part of that bone, and his description and figure (9, PI. XLiil. 2) of a coronal section through the bone near the middle of the posterior nodule will sufiice to carry conviction upon this point. In such a section the bone appears *' as composed of two crescents with their convexities directed inwards, and the greater BY J. T. WILSON. 133 breadth of the bone [in the posterior segment] is due to the elongation of the horns of the crescents which reach about half- way round the organ of Jacobson and are in close contact with its cartilage." This author does not mention the vomer, but quite plainly he does not adopt the view that the vomer is fused with the dumb-bell dorsally. He concludes by stating that " the dumb-bell bone from its position in relation to the cartilages of the nose is evidently ossified in the membrane investing them," and that " the relation of the bone to the organ of Jacobson corresponds essentially to that of the palatine process of the premaxilla in various mammals " (p. 582). I may now proceed to state my own observations and conclusions respecting the anatomy of the dumb-bell bone and of the parts related to it. In studying series of coronal sections one cannot fail to be impressed with the intimate relations between the dumb-bell bone, on the one hand, and Jacobson's organ and the cartilaginous septum nasi, on the other. I have already referred to Symington's account of the relation to the organ of Jacobson, but he has passed over without special remark the relation of the dorsal moiety of the bone to the nasal septum, a relation so marked as to lead Sir Wm. Turner to take that dorsal portion of the bone as part of the vomer. It may, perhajjs, be better to give at once a complete account of the structure and relations of the bone as I have myself determined these both by fresh dissection and by the examination of frontal sections. In a specially large adult male Oniithorhynchus measuring over .50 cm. between the tips of the snout and tail, I find the palatine plate of the "dumb-bell " bone to measure 9-5 mm. in total length. This measurement includes about 2 mm. of the posterior extremity of that plate which is overlapped by the palatine cartilage of the nasal floor (see fig. 1, h and d) just in front of the anteriorly directed median process of the osseous maxillary palate. The 134 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, greater portion of the palatine plate of the dumb-bell lying anterior to this appears as if applied to the ventral surface of the cartilage of the nasal floor, and peripherally it is so applied (c/. figs, 1-3 for points referred to in this description). This palatine plate consists of an anterior (a) and a posterior (b) moiety united by a narrow isthmus (c). The isthmus is rather nearer to the anterior than to the posterior end of the plate. The naso-palatine foramen lies on each side opposite and close to the isthmus. The antero-posterior diameter of the anterior segment, measured to a point opposite the anterior margin of the naso-palatine foramen, is 35 mm. Its greatest breadth is 4 mm. The antero- posterior diameter of the posterior segment is 4*5 mm. and its greatest width is 7 mm. Its hinder border forms a nearly semi- circular line. The width of the isthmus is 1'5 mm. The palatine plate is comparatively thin, and t;he term " dumb-bell-shaped " is only applicable to the general contour of the periphery as seen from below, and indeed it only imperfectly describes that contour. On dissection to expose the dorsal aspect of the thin palatine plate of the bone, there is seen arising from its dorsal median line a vertical plate (/) which dorsally sends out diverging alar laminae (g) on either side. These form the dorsal horns of the "crescents" which Symington has described in transverse sections. The spread of the dorsal alar laminae at its maximum is 3 mm., and they do not form a horizontal plate, but from their upward divergence they form dorsally a deep median groove or gutter which receives the ventral edge of the cartilaginous nasal septum. The maximum height of this vertical portion of the bone is 2 mm., the maximum height of the bone as a whole being 3 mm. The vertical plate does not extend to the anterior extremity of the horizontal or palatine portion of the bone, but begins about 15 mm. behind the anterior end of the latter in a gradually ascending cre.st with an oblique margin. Just opposite the hinder end of the preaxial segment of the bone the height of the crest is about 1"5 mm. Here it rather suddenly develops its dorsal alar laminse, and from this point backwards it slightly increases in height, though on the whole its height is fairly uniform and not BY J. T. WILSON. 135 exceeding 2 ram. The height does not diminish until the hinder end of the ])alatine plate of the bone is reached. Here, however, the vertical portion of the hone is continued backwards dorsally for a considerable distance behind the plane of the posterior end of the horizontal palatine plate, in the form of a thick bony spur (e), still grooved dorsally for the septum, and gradually undergoing reduction in height at the expense of its ventral border, which becomes elevated more and more dorsally above the horizontal plane of the palate. This spur finally terminates in a jjosterior bifurcated extremity. The forks (morphologically con- tinuous with the dorsal alar laminse of the vertical portion of the bone in front) are in contact with the lips of the ventral border of the cartilaginous nasal septum, and they are in continuity posteriorly with the fibres of strong bilateral " vomerine " ligamentous bauds of similar sectional area to themselves which connect them with the corresponding forks of the bifid anterior extremity of the vomer. In the dissected specimen from which this description is chiefly taken, the distance between the extreme tips of the forks of the vomer and those of the spur of the dumb- V)ell boue is about 2 mm., and the latter projects backwards beyond the plane of the posterior extremity of the palatine plate of the dumb-bell for a distance of 4 mm. Now the posterior extremity of the latter bony plate is only about 0-5 mm. in front of the anterior end of the maxillary palate, to which it is usually regarded as articulated ; and accordingly the jiostaxially directed spur of the dumb-bell bone lies in a horizontal plane above (dorsad of) the maxillary palate, from which indeed it is separated near its hinder end by a vertical distance of about 1-5-2 mm., as is also the bitid anterior end of the vomer and the "vomerine ligament" aforesaid. This interval, spanned by the series of structures just mentioned, is not filled up by any septal structure whatever, but in the living or recent specimen forms a low antero-posteriorly elongated aperture of communication between the two nasal fossae which is lined by columnar epithelium similar to that lining the adjacent parts of the nasal fosses (c/. fig. 4 i). The maximum height of this internasal aperture is about 1 mm., while its length antero- 136 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, posteriorly is about 5-5 mm.* The plane of the anterior boundary of the internasal passage corresponds pretty accurately with the tip of the median anterior process of the maxillary palate whose upper surface, covered by the nasal mucous membrane, forms the lower boundary of the passage. "When the nasal septum is viewed from the side, the internasal aperture is seen to be overhung and almost concealed by the prominent shelf-like ridge running backwards upon the septum, and forming the posterior continuation of the prominence con- taining the organ of Jacobson (see figs 4 and 6-8 gl.). The roof of the internasal passage may be regarded as considerably widened by the projection of this shelving ridge on either side of the septum (fig. 7 gl.). From what has already been said of the structui'e of the dumb- bell-shaped bone, it will have become evident that that bone presents on each side a wide and antero-posteriorly elongated sulcus between the lateral portions of its palate plate on the one hand, and the vertical portion of the bone, with its dorsal alee, on the other (see fig. 3). In this sulcus is lodged the greater part of tiie organ of Jacobson, enclosed in its incomplete cartilaginous capsule, for which the bone forms a somewhat semi-tubular osseous investment, the tube being incomplete externally (cf. figs. 9-11). In transverse sections this gives rise to the appearance of the bone being " composed of two crescents with their convexities directed inwards" (Symington), The hollows of these crescents are, throughout their greater part but not entirely, lined by the investing cartilaginous capsules of the organs of Jacobson. The osseous sulcus on each side is of course deepest where both the width of the palatine plate and the spread of the dorsal alae are greatest, ^'.e., in the region of the posterior palatine segment of the bone. It shallows rapidly in front of the naso-palatine foramen through sudden reduction of the alse, and the more gradual reduc- tion of the vertical plate itself (fig. 12). Posteriorly it is continued * These measurements are given from the very large specimen chosen for description. In another specimen the length was only about 4 '5 mm. It will be understood that all the measurements given are proportionally large. BY J. T. WILSON. 137 backwards beyond the posterior segment of the palate plate of the bone as a groove upon the side of tlie posterior spur, where that lies in the roof of the internasal passage (figs. 7 and 8). As Symington has shown {loc. cit. cf. his pi. XLlli. fig. 1) the organ of Jacobson in Ornithorhynchus, with its cartilaginous capsule, is continued forwards for some little distance in front of the naso-palatine foramen into which its duct opens, and in fact it reaches to near the anterior end of the preaxial segment of the dumb-bell ending immediately in front of the anterior commence- ment of the vertical crest. Posteriorly the organ ends at the })lane of the anterior margin of the internasal aperture, i.e, that of the anterior limit of the maxillary palate, and only a very short distance behind the plane of the hinder end of the dumb-bell- shaped plate. The outer wall of its cartilaginous capsule, however, is continued a little further back, closing in externally the continuation, on the posterior spur, of the lateral groove of the bone, in which are lodged the great nerves and the vessels destined for Jacobson's organ. These are contained in the base of the shelving ridge referred to above, but the mai'ginal part of the shelf consists merely of mucous membrane, including an elongated mass of glandular tissue. In sections through the middle of the internasal aperture (tig. 7) the glandular tissue is responsible for about two-thirds of the entire width of the shelf, but at the anterior margin of the passage it forms only about a half of the total width. This definite glandular prominence lies outside the capsule of Jacobson's organ, and may be traced forwards as an extra-capsular prominence on its dorso-lateral wall almost to the anterior end of the organ. A small amount of glandular tissue is, however, to be found within the capsule of the organ. In the light of these observations I propose now to reconsider the grounds upon which the dumb-bell bone has been so confidently regarded as simply the inner or mesial palatine portion of the intermaxillaj. The criteria which, in Sir Wm. Turner's opinion, were sufficient to establish this judgment, have already been quoted, and we have seen that the first of these depends on an 138 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, erroneous view of the relation of the dumb-bell bone to the vomer. This is an extremely important point, and I am surprised that Prof. Symington does not explicitly recognise the mistake which his observations were quite sufficient to correct. It is very plain, both from Symington's observations and my own, that the dumb- bell-shaped bone is not inferior but anterior to the vomer, and that it is not " fused with the inferior border " of the latter. The criteria that remain, — viz,, that it " has no relation to the anterior nares," that " it enters into the constitution of the hard palate," and that " it forms the inner boundary of the entrance into the naso-palatine canal " — may be sufficient to disprove the homology to the prenasal bone of the pig. A powerful additional argument against the homology to the prenasal bone in the pig is derived from the observations of Dr. Martin and the writer upon the anterior extension of the cartilaginous septum in Ornitho- rhynchus in the form of a flattened 'prenasal plate' lying in front of the dumb-bell bone and continuous behind with the ventral extensions of the alinasal or aliseptal cartilages which form the cartilaginous nasal floor (1, pp. 185-8). But the reasons adduced do not appear to me sufficient to establish the intermaxillary natui-e of the dumb-bell bone against the contention that that bone is a true " anterior vomer " formed, of course, by the fusion of two bilaterally symmetrical halves, and this is the view which it is one of the objects of this paper to advocate. Whenever it is recognised that the vertical bony lamella dorsad of the palatine dumb-bell is not part of the vomer but an integral part of the so-called dumb-bell bone, certain of the relations and connections of that bone at once suggest difficulties in the way of its explanation as premaxillary. (1) Although the palatine plate of the dumb-bell bone appears at first sight as if it were situated in the same morphological plane with the maxillary palate behind it, this is not really the case, because the hinder end of the palatine dumb-bell is embedded in and covered ventrally by the cartilage of the nasal floor, in front of the maxillary palate. (See tigs. 1 & 9 ; and also Macleay Memorial Vol. [1], PL xxin. fig. 17.) BY J. T WILSON. 139 (2) That this peculiar relation of the postaxial end of the dumb-bell to the cartilage of the nasal floor is no trivial or insig- niticant fact, is confirmed by the prolongation backwards of the vertical part of the bone some considerable distance dorsad of the maxillary palate and in relation to the cartilaginous septum. It appears to me that a bone which is so prolonged backwards on a higher plane than the maxillary palate cannot be regarded as developed in the same morphological plane with it, even though anteriorly it has come down so as to occupy the same actual plane, (3) But further, we have seen not only that the dumb-bell bone is prolonged backwards in the form of a bifurcated (vomerine) splint in relation to the ventral edge of the cartilaginous septum nasi, altogether above the plane of the maxillary palate, but also that this vomerine spur is separated from the maxillary palate by a very peculiar hiatus. In what light are we to regard the inter- nasal passage above referred to ? A very little consideration will, I believe, suffice to render this somewhat extraordinary feature of an adult mammalian septum nasi quite intelligible. When the palatal plates of the embryonic maxillary processes coalesce to form the floor of the nasal cavity, they very soon unite with the ventral edge of the internasal septum. This coalescence generally proceeds backwards towards the posterior nares, and before the coalescence of the palate with the septum is complete posteriorly there is a single median choanal passage, i.e., the nasal cavities freely communicate. It is plain that here in Ornithorhynchus we have a condition of non-coalescence of the palate with a certain extent of the ventral border of the septum nasi.* But it is notable that this non-union does not occur towards the po.sterior * Attention may here be called to the instructive similarities in the general relations of parts between transverse sections through the nasal region of Platypus in the region of the internasal aperture, and similar sections through the nasal region of many embryo mammals passing through the embryonic choanal communication between the two cavities. Cf. in particular, figures in Parker's monographs on development of Mammalian skull, e.rj., Edentata and Insectivora, pi. iii. figs. 9 and 9a. Note especially the ventral relations of the cartilaginous septum to the vomer, &c. 140 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, nares, but in front of the vomer. The question arises, why should the failure to unite with the septum have taken place precisely in this region? This is an important question, and I think it may easily be answered if we recognise that the anterior end of the osseous maxillary palate indicates the anterior limit of fusion of the palatal plates of the secondary or permanent palate. In other words the secondary palate ceases somewhat abruptly with the anterior margin of the maxillaries, and in front of this the floor of the nasal cavities is constituted, not by a secondary palatal formacion at all, but simply by the ventral parts of the cartilagi- nous walls of the primary nasal capsules which are intimately bound up with the forward extension of the intertrabecular carti- lage forming the cartilaginous septum nasi. This, indeed, is demonstrably the case. The wide area between the diverging premaxillo-maxillary crura in the macerated skull is largely filled up in the recent state by a sheet of cartilage whose composition has been described and figured in the paper already referred to (1), and wiiich has nothing to do with the secondary palate. In ordinary adult mammals the area, which is homologous with this interval, is closed in below the nasal cavities by the premaxillaries, which send inwards and backwards palatine plates* which join the maxillary palate, completing the secondary palate in front. And according to the prevalent theory the dumb-bell bone in Ornithorhynchus represents these premaxillary palatine plates, at least in part. I am of opinion, however, that the facts I have adduced respecting the dorsal and posterior relations of the dumb- bell bone tend to negative the view that that bone is an ossifica- tion in the morphological plane of the secondary palate, and point distinctly to its homology to a bone of the vomerine series. To sum up this portion of the argument : I regard the secondary palate as ceasing altogether at the anterior margin of the osseous maxillary palatine plate. The failure to develop in front, on the part of the premaxillary moiety of the usual secondary palate, results in the exposure from below of the ventral walls of the cartilaginous nasal capsules, and of the intervening cartila- * See, however, discussion towards the end of this paper. BY J. T. WILSON. 141 ginous nasal septum. The latter, however, is clad for a certain distance forward on its ventral border by a bilaterally symmetrical anterior vomerine splint, distinct from, but in series with, the principal vomer ; while in front of this the ventral aspect of the septum is bare — covered only by the mucous mem- brane of the mouth — and here it descends, flattens dorso-ventrally, and spreads out into a " prenasal plate " of cartilage, which is continuous laterally and behind with the aliseptal cartilages, and in front with the marginal cartilage of the upper "lip." [See paper (1) and figures in Macleay Memorial Volume.] Further, with regard to the internasal aperture, I regard it as situated in a position quite definitely deterniined by the course of development, viz., above the extreme anterior end of the secondary palate. It seems less difficult to understand non-coalescence of the septum with the secondary palate either posteriorly or anteriorly than it would be to imagine an arbitrary interruption of the coalescence midway. Posteriorly a persistent median choanal passage would be the result of premature cessation of the process of coalescence, while non-union anteriorly such as we have in the case befoie us may possibly be explained by supposing that the porterior boundary of the internasal aperture really represents the original starting point of palatal coalescence, and that the extension of the secondary palate in front of that point, at a lower level than the septum, is the product of a later development. Of course the point can only be decided by actual embryological investigation, for which, unfortunately, the material has hitherto not been available. The anterior boundary of the fenestra is in my view due to a rapid ventral descent of the septum into the roof of the mouth in front of the anterior border of the permanent palate, and I conjecture that it is probably formed somewhat late in develop- ment, as the septum undergoes the great anterior elongation which it acquires in the snout of this long-nosed animal. It might detract from the value of the arguments based upon the posterior relations of the dumb-bell bone to the internasal aperture if it could be contended that the latter may be merely 142 ON THE " DUiMB-BELL-SHAPED " BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, an adaptive character in this peculiar animal, and one which may not bear all the significance which I attach to it. But this position can hardly be taken up when I am able to state that the feature appears to be a general character of the Monotremata since it is also present in the genus Echidna (see fig. 5). I have not yet had time fully to investigate the structural relations of the fenestia in the latter type, though the material is in process of preparation. I fully expect that a study of the same region in Echidna along parallel lines will throw a fuller light on the whole anatomy of the region, and will, perhaps, enable us to determine what in that animal is the structural homologue to the dumb-bell bone in Ornithorhynchus. After diligent search I have been unable anywhere to find a reference to this very obvious perforation of the wall between the nasal chambers in Ornithorhynchus and Echidna, or to the persistence of such an aperture in any other mammalian form. I do not think that its presence can ever have been recorded, else its significance would hardly have been overlooked by comparative anatomists. The aperture does, however, bear a most interesting resem- blance to that which in the duck and certain other water birds (15) perforates the septum opposite the external nostrils. This also is a low and anteriorly elongated aperture in the septum at the nasal floor, and the chief superficial difierence from the inter- nasal aperture in the Monotremes lies in the more anterior position of the aperture in the duck's nose. It may yet be contended that the considerations which I have hitherto brought forward are, after all, insufiicient to enable us finally to dispose of the argument in favour of the homology, — derived from a comparison between their relations to the organ of Jacobson and the naso-palatine foramen, — between the dumb- bell bone in Ornithoi'hyachus on the one hand, and the palatine plate of the ordinary mammalian premaxilla on the other, or rather that portion of the latter which, in the words of Sir "William Turner, " lies between the incisive foramen and the mesial palatal suture." BY J. T. WILSON. 143 T fully admit the force of such an objection and recognise that if the view advocated in this paper is to be regarded as valid and satisfactory it must be supported by an explanation of the common relationship just referred to and one in which the admitted facts of that relationship are not left out of account. In attempting to afford such an explanation, reference may in the (irst place be made to the condition which is common in reptilian forms. The late Prof. W. K. Parker has shown in his Monograph on the structure and development of the skull in Tro]ndonotus natrix (10) that the vomer occupies a position and relation alike to the cartilaginous nasal septum, to Jacobson's organ, and to the opening of the duct of the latter which corres- ponds to the site of the naso-palatine foramen, exactly similar to the position and relation which we find the dumb-bell bone to occupy in relation to these structures in Ornithorhynchus. And identical relations of the vomer may be recognised in others of those reptilian forms in which the organ of Jacobson reaches so high a degree of development. It is then the vomerine element and not the premaxilla which in lower vertebrates possesses those relations which among the majority of adult mammals seem to be possessed by an inner or mesial osseous element of the pre- maxilla. Professor Howes has drawn attention to the significance in Caiman niger of the very exceptional arrangement due to the inter- calation of the bullous anterior free extx'emities of the vomers in the premaxillo-maxillary region of the palate. He has shown reason for the belief that this bullous palatine lobe of the vomer is to be regarded as the representative of the osseous investment of Jacobson's organ generally present in other reptiles and in niauiraals. In other crocodilian forms, in which the palatine lobe of the vomer is absent, he found the anterior truncated extremity of the vomer buried in a powerful ' vomerine ' ligament which runs forward to the premaxillary region, where its fibres are attached to the periosteum of the premaxillary region and to the palatine process of the premaxilla when such is present. In a young Alligator mississippiensis he found the fibres of this liga- 144 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, ment partly in continuity with the walls of two fibro-cartilagiuous sacs lying within the embrace of the prepalatine foramina, and he considers it justifiable to assume that these sacs, together with the vomerine ligament, form the vestigial remains of the palatine lobes of the vomers in Caiman niger with their associated structures. I have referred to these observations in detail because the descent of the anterior lobes of the vomers into the prepalatine region in Caiman niger presents a very fair analogy to the descent of the dumb-bell ossification into the prepalatine region in Ornithorhyn- chus. In the latter case, however, the ' palatine lobe ' is not absolutely continuous with the main body of the vomer, the con- tinuity being interrupted by the intervention of the bilateral vomerine ligament which has been described above.* Turning next to the arrangements in the class Mammalia, we may enquire whether developmental conditions amongst other mammalian orders bear out the objection, founded upon the adult condition of the mammalian skull, to our considering the dumb-bell bone as vomerine rather than premaxillary. And this question may, I think, be answered in the negative. A study of Parker's elaborate monographs, especially those dealing with the development of the skull in Edentata and Insectivora (12), has tended strongly to confirm the idea I had previously formed of the vomerine nature of the bone in question. Attention may be specially directed to the following amongst Parker's figures — Tafusia hyhrida, PL ir. fig. 6 v.', along with the transverse sections in PI. iii. figs. 7 and 8 v'. A later stage of the same, showing the palatine anterior vomers, is figured on his PI. V. fig. 5 lettered, by mistake, o'. In the ripe embryonic condition represented on his PL vi., fig. 1 shows the palatine anterior vomers considerably restricted in extent and forming that part of the palate which intervenes between the naso-palatine foramen and the " mesial palatal suture." At this stage, however, they appear to be fused with the palatine plate of the premaxillse. * This bilateral vomerine ligament is actually figured by Meckel (2, PI. vii. fig. 11), though his description of the bone and its relations is meagre. BY J. T. WILSON. 145 Again, in Erinaceus europaeus, the anterior vomers are shown in ri. XIX. figs. 1, 3, 7 and 8 (v'.), where tlieir intimate relation to the " recurrent cartilages" or cartilaginous capsules of Jacobson's organs is most striking. Cf. also the transverse sections, figs. 4 and 5 of PL xviii. In reference to the anatomy of the region under notice inTatusia hybrida, Parker has made the following observation (loc. cit. p. 18): — "The cartilages protecting 'Jacobson's organs' are no longer tubular, but form half a tube, open externally, the organ lying in the outer hollow. But the cartilages themselves have an osseous countei'part protecting them on the inner side and having their shape and direction ; these are the ' antei'ior paired vomers,' bones well known for their large development in the Ophidia and Lacertilia ; they do not represent a divided ' vomer,' proper, which in nearly all Mammalia is well developed also." This description could almost stand for one of the actual conditions in the adult Ornithorhynchus, the paired "anterior vomers" being of course fused mesially. Thus, if Parker's splendid work could be taken as final, there could be little hesitation in identifying the dumb-bell bone as the horaologue of the "anterior vomers" described and figured by him ill so many edentate and insectivorous types of Mammalia, as well as in the Ophidia and Lacertilia. The figures illustrative of Herzfeld's paper on the organ of Jacobson (13) are also worthy of study in this relation, but in the text this author states that he has simply adopted from Balogh (14) the identification of the bone lying mesially to the incisive foramen as palatine process of premaxilla. Some of the figures, however, show a dorsal extension of this osseous region which is at least highly suggestive of a true vomerine character. Professor Howes, however, has stated (loc. cit.) the opinion that Parker's views respecting the various elements of the vomerine series in the Mammalia are not entirely devoid of uncertainty, and in particular he holds that Parker has " shown that he was unable to draw a sharp distinction between the palatine processes of the premaxillie and his anterior paired or lateral vomers." Never- 10 146 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS, theless, this inability can only be regarded as manifested in certain cases, and Howes himself accepts from Parker certain conclusions on this subject which he sums up as follows : — " (a) That we can no longer regard those structures ordinarily described among mammals as 'palatine' processes of the prercaxillse as throughout homologous ; and (6) that the latter are, in a number of cases, no parts of the premaxillse at all, but rather referable to the vomerine category ;" and he adds that " in his discovery of the complex nature of the (non-pathological) premaxilla of mammals Parker is at one with Albrecht, who has shown that there is reason for regarding the premaxillse of the adult Ornithorhynchus as a com- bination of distinct elements." The author then proceeds as follows : — " All those mammals for which Parker has recorded the presence of 'anterior paired vomers ' are long-nosed. Com- parison of the skulls of adults with those of the young as figured by him, will show that while the bones in question may in some cases pass over to the true vomers they more generally remain exclusively related to Jacobson's organ, which they ensheath in the form of the so-called premaxillary palatine processes, and their products of fusion and metamorphosis lie, for the most part, within the area of the latter as ordinarily described." I have quoted at this length from Professor Howes' valuable paper because it appears to me that the condition in OrnithorhyncJtus may be easily interpreted in the light of the last few sentences. Ornithorhynchus is a long-nosed mammal whose 'anterior vomers' have fused together in development without uniting with any other osseous element. Posteriorly they preserve an intimate relation to the ventral edge of the septum nasi, while anteriorly they constitute exclusively the osseous investment for the carti- laginous capsules of the organs of Jacobson. In view of Howes' statements above quoted, and of his further dictum that " the vomers and palatine processes of the premaxil- laries have been sufficiently shown to be serial elements of a common category," it is not strictly accurate to regard the vomerine view of the dumb-bell bone as really a novel one. But I am unaware that anyone has ever explicitly applied this inter- BY J. T. WILSON. 147 pretation to the " os paradoxum " in OrnithorhyncJms, and the definition of it as a true premaxillary element certainly holds the field. At the same time, when the significance of the statements of Parker and Howes for the interpretation of the premaxilla of other mammals is borne in mind, it may be necessary to admit that the distinction of the dumb-bell bone as vomerine rather than premaxillary is largely a nominal one. I submit, nevertheless, that this nominal distinction is an important one, and I am inclined to hold that a full recognition that here in Ornithorhynchus the bone lying between the incisive or naso-palatine foramen and the mesial palatal suture is ti-uly vomerine and has in its origin nothing to do with the body of the premaxilla, will help us to clearer views upon the constitution of the corresponding region in mammals generally. [See Appendix, p. 150.] REFERENCES TO LITERATURE. (1) Wilson and Martin. Macleay Memorial Volume (Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1893). (2) Meckel, J. F. " Ornithorhynchi paradoxi descriptio ana- tomica" (Lipsiae, 1826). (3) Owen, R. " Monotremata," Todd's Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology. (4) Owen, R. "Anatomy of Vertebrates," Vol. ii. (5) Flower, W. H. " Osteology of the Mammalia " (London, 1876). (6) Flower and Gadow. Id., 3rd edition (London, 1885). (7) Albrecht, p. " Sur la Fente maxillaire double sous- muqueuse et les 4 os intermaxillaires de I'Ornithorhynque adulte normale" (Bruxelles, 1883). (8) Turneu, W. "The dumb-bell shaped Bone in the Palate of Ornithorhynchus compared with the prenasal Bone of the Pig," Journal of Anat. and Physiol, xix. p. 214. 148 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN OKNITHORHYNCHUS, (9) Symington, J. " On the Nose, the Organ of Jacobson, and the dumb-bell-shaped Bone in the Ornitlhorhynchus," P.Z.S. 1891, p. 575. (10) Parker, W. K. " On the Structure and Development of the Skull in the Common Snake ( Tropidonotus natrix),^' Phih Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. 1878. (11) Howes, G. B. "On the probable Existence of a Jacobson's Organ among the Crocodilia ; with Observations upon the Skeleton of that Organ in the Mammalia, &c.," P.Z.S. 1891, p. 148. (12) Parker, W. K. "On the Structure and Development of the Skull in the Mammalia," Part ii., EdPMtata ; Part iii., Insectivora, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. 1885. (1.3) Herzfeld, p. " Ueber das Jacobson 'sche Organ des Mens- chen und der Saugetiere," Zoologische Jahrbiicher, Bd. iii. (Anat. u. Entwickelungsgesch.), p. 551 (1889). (14) Balogh, C. "Das Jacobson'sche Organ des Schafes," Sit- zungsber. K.K. Akad. Wien, 1862. (15) Parker, W. K. "The Morphology of the Duck and the Auk Tribes," 'Cunningham' Memoirs, No. vi. 1890. For a bibliography relating to Jacobson's organ and its rela- tions up to ^ 889, Beard's paper in Zoolog. Jahrbiicher, Bd. iii. p. 762, may be consulted. Additional papers are cited in Parker's memoir above quoted (12), p. 6. EXPLANATION OF FIGURES. Plate viii. Fig. 1. — View of dumb-bell-shaped bone of Ornithorhynchus from below, showing palatine plate and vomerine spur, enlarged four dia- meters. Fig. 2. — View of dumb-bell-shaped bone from the left side ( x 4). Fig. 3. — View of dumb-bell-shaped bone from the left and above ( x 4). Fig. 4. — Sagittal section of anterior part of snout of adult Ornithorhynchus, parallel with and to the right of the mesial plane. The section BY J. T. WILSON. 149 passes through the right nostril and exposes the right side of tlie septum nasi. The internasal aperture is seen below the level of the longitudinal ridge running backwards from Jaoobson's organ. The capsule of tlie latter has been shaved by the section at its most bulging part. The arrow points up towards the naso-pala- tine foramen. Fig. 5. — Sagittal section of snout of Echidna to left of mesial plane, passing through left nostril, showmg nasal septum with its longitudinal ridge and internasal aperture. References to Jigs, 1-5. a, anterior segment ; b, posterior ; c, isthmus ; d, line on posterior seg- ment indicating anterior limit of plate of cartilage which clothes the inferior .surface posteriorly ; e, bifurcated vomerine spur ; /, vertical part of bone ; {/, dorsal ala ; h, nostril ; ^, internasal aperture ; j, Jacobson's organ ; k, marginal cartilage of upper lip. Plate ix. Figs. 6-12. — Coronal sections through snout of Ornithorhynckm. These figures have been drawn on a reduced scale of one-half from photomicrographs having a magnification of eleven diameters. Fig. 6. — T.s. in plane of posterior boundary of internasal aperture. The bone clothing the cartilaginous septum ventrally is the vomer (main vomer), and it is seen just meeting the dorsal crest of the maxillary palate. Fig. 7. — T.s. through about the middle of the internasal aperture. Ventrad of the septum are the forks of the vomerine spur of the dumb- bell-shaped bone separated by a little fatty tissue. Fig. 8. — T.s. through plane of anterior boundary of internasal aperture. The vomerine spur of the dumb-bell is becoming more ventrally placed and is connected with the cartilage just in front of apex of the median process of the osseous maxillary palate by means of some fibrous tissue. The posterior extremity of Jacobson's organ is cut through on either side. Fig. 9. —T.s. in plane of hinder end of posterior segment where that is still covered below by the cartilaginous lamina of the nasal floor. Fig. 10. — T.s. through snout, cutting postaxial segment of dumb-bell-shaped bone in front of line d in fig. 1. Fig. 11. — T.s. through snout in plane of naso-palatine foramina and isthmus of dumb-bell bone. Fig. 12. — T.s. snout in plane passing through hinder portion of preaxial segment and commencement of vertical crest of bone. Here the organ of Jacobsqn is about its widest. 150 ON THE "dumb-bell-shaped" BONE IN ORNITHORHYNCHUS. Lettering of Jigs. 6-12. mx., maxillary palate; m. mx., median anterior process of maxillary palate ; v. , vomer ; d. h. v. , vomerine spur of dumb-bell bone ; d. b. p. , posterior seginent of dumb-bell bone ; d. h. a., anterior segment of dumb- bell bone ; d. b. ^., isthmus of dumb-bell bone ; /. o., organ of Jacobson ; gl., glandular ridge; 7m., nerves; n.p.f., naso-palatine foramen; n.c, nasal cavity ; a. s., ali-septal cartilage ; «./., cartilage of nasal floor ; n.s., nasal septum ; i. a., internasal aperture. The figures were drawn by Mr. G. H. Barrow, those of the dumb-bell- shaped bone from nature, those of the coronal sections from photo-micro- graphs. Appendix (Jtdy 23rd, 1894-) ■' — J"st on the eve of the final revision of the proofs of the foregoing pages there came to hand by the English mail, P.Z.S. 1894, Part 1 (June 1st), containing Prof. W. Newton Parker's paper, " On some Points in the Struc- ture of the Young of Echidna acideata" to which the Editor has kindly called my attention. In this paper the author refers to the internasal aperture described above and states that "a com- munication between the two nasal cavities has been described by Home in Ornitho7'hynchus. Zuckerkandl was unable to observe this ; but I have satisfied myself that both Monotremes agree in this respect, and that the left and right nasal chambers com- municate by a slit-like passage beneath the septum just behind Jacobson's organ." In view of these observations I can only regret that it is impossible now to withdraw the words " hitherto undescribed" from the title of ray paper. It is curious that Home's observation should have been passed over in silence by well nigh every later writer on Ornithorhynchus. The present paper was communicated to the Linnean Society of N.S.W. at its meeting on 25th April, 1894, a preliminary note having been read at the previous meeting on 28th March. Pro- fessor Parker's paper, although published only on 1st June, 1894, was i-eceived by the Zoological Society of London on 7th Nov., 1893, and read at the Society's meeting on 16th Jan., 1894. 151 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ISOPOGON OF NEW SOUTH WALES. By Baron Feed, von Mueller, K.C.M.G., M. & Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S. ISOPOGON FlETCHERI. Branchlets robust, glabrous ; leaves narrow- or elongate- lanceolar, always entire, many times longer than broad, callously sphaceolar-apiculate, gradually narrowed into a hardly petiolar base, flat or at the margin slightly recurved, on both sides dull green, their main venules much longitudinal ; headlets of flowers terminal, solitary, sessile, almost concealed among leaves, at first somewhat turbinate, at last globular-ovate; outer bracts glabrous, the lowest sometimes broader than long, always apiculate, the exserted portion of the other bracts almost deltoid, short-acumi- nate ; floral bracts reaching beyond the others, nearly elliptic or obovate-cuneate, outside white-velutinous, but at and towards the summit glabrous ; rachis cylindrically lengthened ; flowers rather small, quite glabrous ; lobes of the corolla whitish, very narrow, bluntish, about twice as long as the tube ; stamens inserted near the base of the corolla-lobes ; anthers bright yellow, beyond the cells protracted into a narrow appendicle ; filaments flat, partly adnate, hardly shorter than the anthers; style gradually thickened upwards, the incrassated portion angular, truncate, subtle-papil- lulous, rather longer than the pyramidal-subulate stigmatic termi- nation ; ovulary penicillar-villosulous. Blackheath, Blue Mts., overlooking the Grose Valley ; very rare; J. J. Fletcher, Esq. Aspect that of the South-Western Australian /. longifolius, but affinity nearest to /. anemonifolius, which occasionally produces 152 DESCRIPTION OP A NEW ISOPOGON OF N.S.W. similar undivided leaves, as indicated already in the Fragm. Phytogr. Austral, vi. 238. The naturalist, to whom we owe the unexpected discovery of so conspicuous a plant in a region traversed by searchers of plants during the last eighty years, found only one solitary plant. But last year in a similar way Mr. J. B. Williamson came across a solitary individual of a new Grevillea, not closely allied to any recorded species, in the Victorian Grampians, nor was he as yet able through renewed searches to discover any more plants of it. 153 DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW ARANEID^ OF NEW SOUTH WALES. No. 4. By W. J. Rainbow. (Plate X.) Family DRASSID^. Genus Drassus, Walck. Drassus perelegans, sp.no v. (Plate X. figs. 1 and la.) 9. Cephalothorax 2 mm. long, 1-5 mm. broad; abdomen, 3 mm. long, 1*5 mm. broad. Cephalothorax yellow-brown, furnished with few short yellow hairs. Clypeus broad, moderately convex, yellowish-brown ; cephalic segment tinged with red at apex, and fringed with short yellowish hairs. Eyes seated on anterior part of cephalothorax, in two curved diverging rows, the posterior of which is the longer and more curved. Legs strong, moderately long, yellowish, furnished with rather long spines and hairs ; each tarsus terminating with two claws and scopula ; relative lengths 1, 2, 4, 3. Palpi rather short, similar in armature to legs. Falces yellowish, furnished with rather long coarse hairs or bristles ; they are powerful, conical, and articulated on an inclined plane. Maxillce concolorous, broad, convex, inclined inwards, furnished with a few short yellowish hairs. 154 DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW ARANEID^ OF N.S.W. Labium concolorous also, short, broad, and rounded off at extremity. Sternum cordate, sparingly furnished with short hairs ; similar in colour to foregoing parts. Abdomen oblong-ovate, moderately convex, slightly projecting over base of cephalothorax ; colour, pale yellow ; the superior surface is ornamented with two longitudinal bands of bright led^ commencing near centre, and terminating towards posterior extremity, where they nearly meet, their inner margins rough and irregular. Hah. — Sydney. The Drassidce construct silken cells which they fabricate among the branchlets and leaves of plants, in the crevices of rocks and walls, and under stones ; some species form a cell by bending over the leaves at the extremity of the branchlets and binding them in position with web, lining the interior with the same material. The latter is the form of dwelling constructed by Drassus perelegans. These spiders conceal themselves in their cells, quitting them only when in quest of prey, which they capture either by surprise or active pursuit. Family EPEIRID^. Sub-Family GASTERACANTHID^. Genus Cyrtarachne, Thor.- The singular spider herein described closely resembles Cyrtar- achne furcata, Camb.,* but differs from that not only in coloration and ornamentation, but also in the number and distribution of the tubercles upon the abdomen, as well as in the general contour of the latter. The Gasteracantliidce are remarkable for the hard, horny epidermis of the abdomen, but in the specimen at present under consideration the epidermis is soft and tumid. • P.Z.S., 1S77, pp. 560-2, Plate lvi., fig. 2. BY W. J. RAINBOW. 155 The chief centre of inteiest in this remarkable spider is its cephalothorax, represented by fig. 2, plate x., on which there are several horn-like protuberances or prongs (seven in all) ; the tubercular (central) ocular eminence is somewhat the largest and strongest, is directed slightly forward, whilst in G. furcata it is perpendicular ; in the specimen described in this paper, there are in conjunction with the central ocular eminence and proceeding from its base, two lateral "arms," distinctly, though in a much smaller degree, elevated above the surface of the cephalothorax, jutting out laterally, and directed slightly forward ; placed in front, but in a somewhat lateral position, and at the summit of the tubercular ocular eminence, are four eyes, arranged in two rows, and these are the largest of the eight ; at the extremity of each " arm " there are two minute eyes closely contiguous to each other. The horn-like protuberances arranged along the middle of the clypeus (with the exception of two) are exceedingly prominent, and in addition to these the cephalothorax is furnished with rather long coarse hairs. The abdomen of this spider gives the creature a most extra- ordinary hirsute appearance. It is thickly clothed with long hairs, and these are much longer and coarser than are those of the cephalothorax. The legs, too, are also thickly clothed with the same material, which project at right angles. The type specimen is in the collection of the Australian Museum, to the Trustees of which Institution I am indebted, not only for allowing me access to it, but also for their courtesy in granting me permission to describe this extraordinary spider, and enabling me to make those notes necessary for the production of this paper. Cyrtarachne caliginosa, sp.nov. (Plate X. figs. 2, 2a, 26.) 9. Cephalothorax 3 mm. long, \ mm. broad ; abdomen 6 mm. long, G mm. broad. 156 DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW ARANEID^ OF N.S.W. Cephalothorax tuberculate, deeply curved inwards in front, dark brown (approaching sepia), glossy, furnished with a few long coarse hairs or bristles ; caput elevated, terminating with a strong, pro- minent ocular eminence ; clypeus broad, convex, exceedingly rough, furnished with six horn-like tubercles of a yellow-brown colour ; the front lateral pair is much the smallest and widest apart, the second considerably larger and perpendicular, the third pair is the highest of the group, the tubercles placed one behind the other and united at their base, which is broad ; of these latter the front tubercle is directed forward, and the second backward. Eyes glossy black; the four intermediate eyes are the largest of the group, forming a square, and placed towards the summit of the tubercular ocular eminence, which is yellow-brown at its base and black at apex ; those of each lateral pair are exceedingly minute and contiguous, and are placed at the extremity of an "arm-like" protuberance extending from the base of the tubercular ocular eminence. Legs moderately long and strong, yellow-brown, furnished with long coarse hairs which stand out at right angles ; each tarsus terminates with four curved claws, the two superior ones of which are much the longer and stronger, and have a row of teeth near their base on the underside. Relative lengths 1, 2, 4, 3. Palpi moderately long, similar in colour and armature to the legs. Falces inclined inwards, long, strong, dark brown, clothed with coarse and bristly hairs. Maxillae dull yellowish-brown, long, strong, inclined inwards, broadest at apex. Labium concolorous, short, broad, rounded off at apex. Sternum concolorous, cordate, sparingly hairy. Abdomen broad-ovate, projecting over base of cephalothorax, convex; dull yellowish-brown, thickly clothed with exceedingly long yellowish coarse hairs ; there are six lateral tubercles, the first pair of which is seated well forwards, and are somewhat the largest, the second and third pairs placed towards the posterior BY \V. J. RAINBOW. 157 extremity, and situated rather low down ; inferior surface similar in colour to superior, clothed with long coarse hairs, but the latter are not so long as those of the upper side. Ilah. — Sydney. Type in the collection of the Australian Museum. EXPLANATION OF PLATE X. Fig. 1. — Drassus perelegans. Fig. la. — Brauchlet, showing leaves at the spur (a) bound together so as to form the nest. Fig. 2. — Cyrtarachne calujinosa, pi-ofile, legs truncated. Fig. 2a. — ,, ,, front view of cephalothorax, showing arrangement and position of eyes. Fig. 26. — Cyrtarachne caliginosa, right leg of first pair. 15,8 PLAKTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES ILLUSTRATED, PLANTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES ILLUSTRATED. By R. T. Baker, Assistant Curator, Technological Museum, Sydney. No. vii. Genus Notothixos. (Plate XI.) Genus Notothixos, Oliver, NO. Loranthacece ; B.Fl. iii. 397. This genus was established by Professor Oliver (Journ. Linn. Soc. vii.), who describes, as the result of his careful researches, three distinct species, which are united by Baron von Mueller under the name of N. incanus in his Fragmenta Phytographise (ii. 109, and iv. 178) and also in his Second Systematic Census of Australian Plants (1889), but which, however, are ui)held by Bentham in the Flora Australiensis, who says: — "It is possible that N. suhaureus may prove to be a remarkable vai^iety of iV. incanus which is only known from specimens with imperfectly- developed inflorescence, but as yet intermediate forms have not been observed, and N. cornifolius appears to me in all states to be quite distinct." Through the kindness of Mr. J. H. Maiden, who placed his herbarium at my disposal, and by my own collecting, I have been enabled to bring together material which has assisted me to amplify the descriptions given by the three previously mentioned botanists, and to supply what appear to me the intermediate forms referred to by Bentham. Whatever may be said of the claims of Forms i., ii., and iii. to rank as species, I think with Oliver and Bentham that Forms iv. and V. (collectively, A. cornifolius) should be regarded as having good claim or right to specific rank, as the difference between the BY R. T. BAKER. 159 inflorescence of iii. and iv. is too marked to be classed as varietal, and no one seems to have met with the intermediate forms. The structure of the flowers in all the forms is the same, but the female flowers are far more numerous than the males, which are diflicult to detect even in living specimens. The results of my investigation.s may perhaps be best shown in the following tabulation : — Form i. (fig. 1). — Drawn from material obtained at BalUna, Richmond River, N.S.W. ; it agrees with Oliver's species except in the number of flower-heads, which were found to be in threes in all specimens examined ; a very delicate shrub. N. incanus, Oliv., = N. incanns, F.v.M. Foi'm ii. (fig. 2). — Drawn from material obtained near Lismore and Is with- out doubt the N. suhaureus of Oliver. The common peduncle is very variable in length and the upper side of the leaf is distinctly 3-nerved ; Oliver's species name is very happily chosen. N. suhaureus, Oliv., = N incanus, F.v.M. Form iii, (fig. 3). — From the same locality as previous variety (ii. ), but has larger leaves than i. and ii., and there is a distinct departure from the golden tomentum to a silver sheen. It is also distinctly triplinerved, the transverse veins are distinctly prominent, and the leaf is also of a much thinner texture than forms i. and ii. Safiicient specimens have been examined to show that it is no sport. — Previoiisly unrecorded. Form iv. (fig. 4). — A robust shrub, leaves thick, almost fleshy, 3- to 5-nerved, glabrous. The flowers examined have generally been larger than those of Oliver's. Stipules much more pi'ominent than in three previous varieties. Collected in large quantities by me on the ranges south of the Goulburn River, and also at Rylstone. N. cornifolius, Oliv., = N. incamis, F.v.M. Form V. (fig. 5).— An extreme form with ovate-lanceolate obtuse leaves; thick in texture, 5-nerved, nearly 4 inches long and 2 inches wide, but in other respects agreeing with N. cornifolius ; stipules very prominent. Lismore, N.S.W. — Previously unrecorded. Other figures in plate : — a and h, two views of female flower (enlarged) ; c, male flower (enlarged) ; d, back and front view of anther detached (enlarged) ; e, seed (nat. size). 160 DESCRIPTIOK OF A NEW CROTON FROM N.S.W. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW CROTON, FROM NEW SOUTH WHALES. By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S. (Plate XII.) Croton affinis, sp.nov. A small tree, glabrous or with stellate scales on the new growth whether twigs or leaves as in C. acronychioides, sometimes slightly hispid or scurfy ; the stellate scales scattered on the young leaves but absent on the older ones. Leaves thin, with numerous transparent dots, broadly lanceo. late to elliptical or ovate, not obtuse ; distinctly but not deeply dentate, rarely entire ; usually about 3 inches long, but occurring up to over 6 inches long and 2 J broad, slightly paler on the under- side, penninerved, finely veined ; petiole channelled above, from ^ to 1^ inch long ; basal glands sessile. Racemes 1 to 2 inches long as far as seen, terminal, the basal cluster consisting mostly of females, the upper flowers being nearly all males ; pedicels varying in length from 2 to 4 lines ; bracts 1 to 2 lines long. Sepals of male flowers scarcely obtuse, imbricate in the bud, ciliate on the upper edges ; petals small, narrow, ciliate ; stamens 5 or 6, inflexed, filaments shorter than those of C. acronychioides, receptacle very hairy. Calyx of the female flowers persistent under the capsule ; segments hardly obtuse, broad. Ovary densely hairy. Styles divided to near the base into three branches, which are again divided and subdivided to an ajDparently variable extent. BY J. H. MAIDEN AND R. T. BAKER. 161 Capsule tridymous, furrowed, sprinkled with stellate scales ; about 3 lines long and 6 lines broad ; slightly depressed at the top. Hah. — Banks of a rocky creek, near Tintenbar, Richmond River, New South Wales ( W. Biiuerlen). This species is most closely related to two Queensland species, C. acronychioides and C. triacros, and is quite distinct from any New South Wales Groton. It differs from C. acronychioides and C. triacros in the texture of its leaves, which are thin ; the pedicels are also much longer. In regard to the number of stamens, it has usually 5, and appa- rently never more than 6, while G. acronychioides may have as many as 8, and C triacros as many as 10. The stamens of G. acronychioides are longer than those of our species. In the Flora Australiensis there is no reference to petals in either G. acronychioides or G. triacros, but in our species they are marked. The persistent calyx under the fruit is also to be noted, as among Australian Grotons it appears only to be present in G. opponens. The capsule of G. acronychioides is described as " longer than broad, scarcely furrowed." The dimensions given above for the capsule of our new species will show that such a description does not apply to its fruit. As a matter of fact, the fruit of our species is both furrowed and deeply lobed, in which respect it resembles that of G. triacros. ABBREVIATED ANALYSIS. C. acronychioides. — Leaves coriaceous. Stamens 5 to 8. Capsule longer than hroad, scarcely furrowed. G. n.sp. — Leaves thin. Stamens 5, rarely 6. Capsule broader than long, 3-lobed and furrowed. G. triacros. — Leaves coriaceous. Stamens about 10. Capsule deeply 3-lobed at the top and 3-furrowed. 11 162 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW CROTON FROM N.S.W EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Fig. I. — Unexpanded pedunculate male flower. Figs. 2 and 3. — Stamens^ back and front view. Fig. 4. — Expanded male flower. Fig. 5. — Female flower. Fig. 6.— Petal. Fig. 7. — Fruit capsule showing persistent calyx and stellate scales. Fig. 8. — Fruit viewed from underside. Figs. 9, 10 and 11.— Seed. All enlarged to various extent except fruit capsule. 163 \- - \ DESCRIPTION OF AN APPARENTLY NEW ACACIA FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. By J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., and R. T. Baker, F.L.S. (Plate XIII.) Acacia neglect a, n.sp. A variable shrub often flowering when only a few inches high, but attaining a height of 12 feet or more; glabrous in all its parts, rarely glaucous, the branchlets acutely angular at the extremities but soon terete. Phyllodia ovate, narrowed at each end, sometimes obliquely falcate, mucronate, the margins thickened, coriaceous, much thicker than in A. prominens, 1-nerved, obscurely veined, marginal gland on the upper margin a little removed from the base, often absent ; ;^ to 1-|- inches long, ^ to ^ inch broad. Racemes about twice the length of the phyllodes, with 3 to 15 globular heads of 6 to 10 flowers each, mostly 5-merous. Flowers larger than those of A. j^roininens and seemingly smaller than those of A. lunata, as defined in the Flora Australiensis. Calyx smooth, short, and broadly lobed. Petals smooth, thin, easily separating. Pod flat, slightly glaucous, straight or slightly curved, about 4 io 6 lines broad, usually about Z to ^ inches long, neither so short nor so broad as the pods of A. i^rominens. Seeds small, slightly oblique, in the centre of the pod, funiole thickened at the end near the seed into a club-shaped aril, and one small fold below it. Hob. — Bowenfels and Rylstone District, and other trans-Blue Mountain localities. This species is fairly common in the above localities ; its range cannot yet be fully defined. 164 DESCRIPTION OF AN APPARENTLY NEW ACACIA FROM N.S.W. When first obtained in flower this species was placed pro- visionally with A. lunata, but the pods had not then been received. When these were obtained it was at once evident that they were not the lunata pods described in the Flora Australiensis, as the seeds are not " close to the upper suture," which distinguishes it also from the immediate congeners of A. lunata, viz., A. decora and A. buxijolia. The position of the seeds in A. lunata as stated by Bentham is confirmed by Baron von Mueller (Key to the System of Victorian Plants), who, at page 191 of that work, states "seeds close along the anterior margins of the fruit." These two great authorities naturally give prominence to the position of the seed in defining A. lunata, and it is hardly probable that the pods were wrongly matched. There therefore seems no alternative but to give the Acacia (as defined by us) specific rank. We realise the responsibility of adding to the already long list of specific names of Acacias, but the position appears to be this: — 1. Is the Acacia lunata of Sieber correctly described in such an important matter as the pods and seeds? 2. If not, can the description be amended so as to allow our description to replace Sieber's for this species % 3. We think that, if the description be imperfect to the extent suggested, there is no alternative but to define our plant as a distinct species. For it we therefore propose the name Acacia neglecta. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Fig. \. — Expanded flower. Fig. 2.— Pistil. Fig. 3.— Fruit. Fig. 4. — Seed shown in situ. All enlarged excejDt the pod. 165 LIST OF MOLLUSCA FOUND AT GREEN POINT, WATSON'S BAY, SYDNEY. By Arnold U. Henn, F.E.S., F.L.S. With a few Remarks upon some of the most interesting? Species and Descriptions of the new Species, by John Brazier, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S. (Plate XIV.) While searching for shells at Watson's Bay, Sydney, at the lowest spring tide in October, 1893, I found in a deep rock pool at extreme low water an old bottle, which on examination proved to be quite full of small shingle and sand. I took it home and as on a cursory examination, while washing the contents, small shells seemed to be rather numerous, I determined to work them out very carefully as a matter of curiosity. The result was very astonishing, as I found no less than 155 species of molluscs, with a total of 1376 specimens, of which 121 si)ecies were Univalves, 32 species Bivalves, and one Brachiopod. Of these, fifteen species of Univalves appear to be undescribed or new to science, and one species (Turhonilla tasmanica) is, I believe, recorded from Port Jackson for the first time. At least two other species are very I'are. I feel that the result of my examination will be of sufiicient interest to conchologists to place it on record, and I hope it may be an indication to some of a rich source of supply of material. I have examined the contents of several bottles since, but none of them approached this one in richness of molluscan fauna ; and I can only conclude that it had lain undisturbed in the position 166 LIST OF MOLLUSC A COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSONS BAY, in which I found it for a long time, and that some unusual con- ditions had conduced to the richness and variety of its contents. What these were I have been unable to determine. The pool is only to be approached twice a year for a day or two at the lowest tides. Class GASTEROPODA. Order PECTINIBRANCHIATA. Family M u R i c i D ^. 1. MuREX AUSTRALis, Quoy et Gaimard ; M. palmifencs, Sowerby . One specimen (juv.). The history of this species is given in full by Mr. Brazier in his " Synonymy of, and Remark's on, Old-described Australian Mollusca, with Notes on their Distribution," P.L.S.N.S.W. (2), Vol. viii. pt. 1, p. 113 (1893). 2. Trophon sp. Two specimens ; rather broken and sea worn. 3. Purpura neglecta, Angas. Twelve specimens. 4. Purpura succincta, Martyn. One specimen (larval state). The larval state of this species has been described as belonging to the genus Sinusigera, d'Orb., = Cheletropis, Forbes. 5. Purpura sp. One specimen (larval state). 6. RiciNULA (Sistrum) chaidea, Duclos. One specimen. Common in Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and New Caledonia, but only recorded from Port Jackson once before (by Angas in 1867). Family T r i t o N i D .E. 7. Triton speciosa, Angas. Two young specimens. Family Fusion. 8. Peristernia Rudolphi, sp.nov., Brazier, (PI. xiv. fig. 1). Shell small, fusiform, turreted, yellowish-brown, dotted with dark reddish-brown spots, larger below the sutures ; apex smooth. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 167 mammillated ; whorls 6, slightly convex, longitudinally ribbed, crossed with spii-al lirse, very conspicuous on the edge of the ribs, finer between and at the sides ; aperture ovate, outer lip rather thick, slightly variced behind ; interior of aperture with three to four small nodules ; columella straight, canal short, curved. Long 6|, greatest breadth 4, least 3| mm. Five specimens, This pretty little shell may be known by the large dark reddish- brown spots below the suture, and nearly on the angle of the whorls. A number of specimens of this species were collected in 1866-67 at Green Point and sent to Mr. Angas with a number of the species that are now described in this paper (J. B.). Family B u c c I N I D iE. 9. Cantharus australis. Pease; C. assimilis, Angas, non Reeve. Twelve specimens ; all young. 10. Cantharus unicolor, Angas. One young specimen. 11. COMINELLA (Agnewia) tritoniformis, BlainviUe ; Adamsia typica, Dunker ; Urosalpinx tritoniformis, Tiyon. Twenty-three specimens, of which ten are young. The larval state of this species has been described as belonging to the genus Simisigera, d'Orh., = Cheletropis, Forbes. In fully adult specimens of C. tritoniformis, Blainv., the apical whorls show distinctly the claw or Sinusiyera character. Family N A s s i D ^e. 12. Nassa paupera, Gould. Six specimens, of which three are young. 13. Nassa sp. One specimen (juv.). Family M A r G i N E l L i D ^E. 14. Marginella Angasi, Braz. Nine specimens. 15. Marginella Metcalfei, Angas. One specimen. 168 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSON's BAY, 16. Marginella (Persicula) nympha, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 2). Shell shining, white, rather solid, having much the shape of M. ovulum, spire immersed ; columella with four plications, the two upper very fine, the others more conspicuous ; outer lip thickened, opaque, straight, minutely denticulated on the inner edge. Long If, broad 1 mm. Two specimen's. This minute species is allied to 31. Isseli, Nevill, from Suez (J. B.). Family O L i v i D iE. 17. Olivella nympha, Ad. and Ang. One specimen. Family Columbellid^. 18. Columbella Smithi, Angas. Thirty-two specimens. 19. Columbella lineolata. Pease ; G. dermestoides, Angas, non Kiener. Two specimens. 20. Columbella versicolor. Sow. ; C. bidentata, Menke. Seven specimens. 21. Columbella semiconvexa, Lamarck. Seven specimens, three being young. 22. Columbella Tayloriana, Reeve ; C. albomaculata, Angas. Two specimens. 23. Columbella Angasi, Brazier ; C. interrupta, Angas, non Gaskoin. One specimen (juv.). 24. Columbella speciosa, Angas. Three specimens. 25. Columbella Tenisoni, Tryon ; C. minuta, Tenison- Woods, non Gould. Eleven specimens. Family PLEUROTOMIDiE. 26. Pleurotoma (Clathurella) Edwini, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. % 3). Shell small, fusiformly turreted, solid, reddish-brown and white spotted • whorls 5, the apical one white, smooth and mammillated. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 169 the second finely punctated like a thimble, third and fourth spirally and sharply carinated with two keels, a much finer one below, last sharply keeled at the angle having eight spiral lines below, between the suture and the spiral keels very finely longitudinally striated ; aperture small, ovate, brownish within; columella whitish, nearly straight, outer lip finely denticulated at the edge, contracted below ; posterior sinus wide and deep. Long 4, greatest breadth 1;^, least 1 mm. One specimen. This species is in miniature very much like Drillia Laprestiana, Calcara, from the Mediterranean Sea (J. B.). 27. Drillia Beraudiana, Crosse. Two specimens. 28. Drillia Angasi, Crosse. One specimen (juv.). 29. Clathurella rufozonata, Angas, var. Four specimens. 30. Clathurella modesta, Angas. Two specimens. Family C o N l D .E. 31. CoNUS Smithi, Angas. Two very young specimens. Family N A T i c i d ^. 32. Vanikoro gracilis, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 4). Shell ovate, thin, whitish, whorls 5, the three apical quite smooth and glossy, the fourth large, last very large and inflated, minutely and finely spirally sculptured, marked with longitudinal growth-lines ; umbilicus small, narrow ; columella straight ; aper- tuie ovately elongate, outer lip thin. Long 2, broad 1 mm. One specimen. The specimen described is evidently young. I have seen much larger sea-worn specimens from shell sand. Middle Harbour (J. B.). 33. Vanikoro Gaimardi, A. Ad. One specimen. 34. Vanikoro granulosa, Recluz. One specimen. Family Calyptr^id^. 35. Crepidula immersa, Angas. One fine specimen alive on the exterior of the bottle. 170 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSON's BAY, 36. Crepidula aculeata, Gmelin. Fifty specimens, mostly young. 37. HiPPONYX ANTiQUATUS, Linn. Five young specimens. 38. HlPPONYX Danieli, Crosse. Two very young specimens. Family S c A l i D iE. 39. ScALA Jukesiana, Forbes. Two young specimens. Family Turritellid^. 40. Turritella (Torcula) parva, Angas. One specimen. Family VERMETiDiE. 41. SiLiQUARiA LACTEA, Lam. Twenty specimens. 42. Vermetus sp. Two sea-worn specimens. Family Turbonillid/e. 43. TuRBONiLLA SCALARINA, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. XIV. fig. 5). Shell rather long and turreted, somewhat solid, white, shining ; whorls 9 in the adult, 7 in the young, flattened, longitudinally prominently broadly ribbed, abruptly ceasing at the periphery ; interstices quite smooth ; sutures impressed ; aperture small, quadrate ; columella neai'ly straight, outer lip thin. Long 5, broad 1|- mm. in adult; long. 3|, broad 1 mm. in young. Two .specimens. This species is distinct, and differs from any of the other known Australian Turhonilloi ; it partakes more of the form of some species of Truncatella ; the younger shells are much thinner and transparent (J. B.). 44. TuRBONiLLA HoFMANi, Angas ; T. nitida, Angas, non A. Adams ; T. Angosi, Tenison- Woods. One specimen. 45. TuRBONiLLA TASMANICA, Ten.-Woods. One specimen. Recorded for the fii'st time from Port Jackson. 46. Eulimella pulchra, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 6). Shell thin, white, transparent, apex sinistral, whorls 6, strongly spirally two-keeled, keels flat, latticed between in the form of little BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 171 square pits; suture deep, with a spiral line, and very finely latticed, last whorl with three keels, and finely spirally striated below ; columella slightly curved ; aperture quadrately ovate ; outer lip simple (J. B.). Long 2, broad | mm. Two specimens. This species is very much like Eidimella cingulata, Issel, from the Red Sea (J. B.). 47. Odostomia LiEvrs, Angas. One specimen. 48. Odostomia Kreffti, Angas. Five specimens. 49. Odostomia sp. Three sea-worn and imperfect specimens. 50. Odostomia indistincta, sp.no v., Braz. (PL xiv. fig. 7). Shell ovately conical, whitish, smooth, shining ; whorls 5, slightly convex, last whorl ventricose, white below, sutures channelled ; aperture ovate ; columella fold small, situated some distance within the aperture ; outer lip rounded, simple. Long 2^, broad 1 mm. Ten specimens. This species has the fold on the columella so small that it can scarcely be seen with an ordinary lens when looking directly into the aperture. It can be plainly seen if the shell is placed at a slight angle when looking directly at the columella (J. B.). 51. Odostomia (Pyrgulina) Henni, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 8). Shell fusiformly turreted, solid, dull white ; whorls 6, apical one mammillated and smooth, strongly and closely longitudinally ribbed, interstices with minute transverse strife, ribs terminating at the periphery where there is one deep spiral groove, smooth below ; whorls somewhat tabled at the sutures ; aperture small, ovate ; columella-plait transverse, rather sharp and thickened below, outer lip thin. Long 4, 4|, broad 1-1-mm. Seven specimens. This species may very easily be recognised by its stout ribs, smooth base, and the deep spiral groove at the periphery, and its pagoda-like appearance at the sutures (J. B.). 172 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, AVATSON's BAY, Family P Y r a M i d e L L i d ^. 52. Obeliscus jucundus, Angas. One specimen. 53. OsciLLA LIGATA, Angas. Four specimens. Family LiTTORiNiDiE. 54. LiTTORiNA MAURiTiANA, Lam. ; L. Diemanensis, Qnoy. Twenty-three specimens, of which twelve are young. Family Fossarid^. 55. Fossarina Brazieri, Angas. Twenty-three specimens. Family Planaxid^. 56. Alaba lauta, A. Ad. One specimen. 57. Alaba sp. One specimen, broken in lip. Family CERiTHiOPSiDiE. 58. Cerithiopsis Angasi, Semper ; C. dathrata, Angas, non A. Adams. Three specimens. Family Cerithiace^e. 59. BiTTiUM GRANARIUM, Kiener. Thirty-two specimens, of which tweuty-five are young. 60. BiTTIUM VARIEGATUM, Sp.nOV., Braz. (PI. XIV, fig. 9). Shell elongately turreted, rather solid, white, reddish-brown or chocolate, variegated with blue, black, and brown ; whorls 9, having four spiral rows of numerous small beads or grains, smooth between ; base convex, spirally striate ; back of last whorl with a prominent white varice, some specimens showing it more to the right and left of the centre ; sutures somewhat deep, aperture roundly ovate, outer lip simple, arcuate ; columella slightly twisted towards the base, canal short. Long 5, 5 J, 6, broad If mm. One specimen. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 173 This is one of the most variable species that I know. Some specimens are all white ; others are white with a tinge of pink and with spiral brown lines at the base ; others are of a dark brown or reddish-brown and spotted with white on the grains ; others again are white with a blue-black band at the sutures and base. Mr. Henn and I found it rather numerous in shell sand from various parts of Middle Harbour, in good condition. It is one of the species overlooked by Mr. Angas (J. B.). 61. Triforis granulatus, Adams and Reeve. Six specimens. 62. Triforis maculosus, A. Ad. Thirteen specimens. 63. Triforis sp. Two specimens, broken in lip and worn. 64. Triforis sp. Three specimens, broken in lip. 65. Triforis graniferus, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 10). Shell narrowly elongate, light brown, stout; whorls 12, two apical smooth, next three very finely granulated, next two with three rows of beaded granules, the centre row being much finer, four lower with the granules larger, the upper and lower whitish, centre row bright brown, last whorl with four rows of granules ; base dark brown, with a spiral Hue; aperture subqnadrate; outer lip thin ; columella arcuate, canal very short. Long 4, broad 1 mm. Two specimens. This small species is very often found in dredgings off Green Point and in Middle Harbour (J. B.). Family E i s s o i D ^E. 66. RissoiA salebrosa, Frauenfeldt. Two specimens. 67. RissoiA (Apicularia)Novariensis, Frauenf. Five specimens. 68. RissoiA (Apicularia) Strangei, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 1 2). Shell minute, imperforate, turbinately conoid, rather solid, whitish^, faintly banded with light brown ; whorls 5|, apical whorls smooth, the others longitudinally strongly ribbed, ending at the periphery, interstices smooth, slightly noduled at the 174 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSON'S BAY, sutures, which are rather deep ; base convex, having three strong raised spiral lines ; aperture subcircular, outer lip rather thin J columella white, thickened. Long 2, broad 1 mm. Four specimens. This species might have been mistaken for a small specimen of Rissoia Lancice, Calcara, from the Mediterranean, with specimens of which I have compared it (J. B.). 69. Rissoia (Saban^ea) incidata, Frauenf. Twenty specimens. 70. Rissoia (Amphithalamus) scrobiculator, Watson. One sjjecimen. 71. Rissoia (Amphithalamus) olivacea, Frauenf. Twenty speci- mens. 72. Rissoia (Amphithalamus) Frauenpeldti, Schwartz. One specimen. 73. IJissoiA (Setia) atropurpurea, Dunker, var. Twelve speci- mens. 74. Rissoia (Setia) Sophia, Braz. Forty-three specimens. 75. Rissoia (Setia). sp. One sea- worn specimen. 76. Rissoia (Cingulina) sp. Two sea- worn specimens. 77. Rissoia (Alvania) elegans, Angas. One hundred and thirty- two specimens. 78. Rissoia (Alvania) gracilis, Angas. Four specimens. 79. Rissoia (Alvinia) cheilostoma, Ten.-Woods. Fifteen speci- mens. 80. Rissoia (Alvinia) ochroleuca, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 11). Shell minute, imperforate, turbinate, thin, brownish ; whorls 5^, convex, longitudinally ribbed as far as the periphery, much more conspicuous in the centre, crossed with spiral striae wide apart, sutures moderately deep and smooth, base strongly and spirally sculptured ; aperture subcircular, slightly produced on the body whorl, outer lip thickened. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 175 Long 2^, broad 1 mm. Five specimens. This species is not very common in dredgings off Green Point; rare under stones at low water at spring tides (J. B.). 81. EissoiNA FASCIATA, A. Ad. ; R. Smithi, Angas. One speci- men. 82. EissoiNA VARiEGATA, Angas. One specimen. 83. E.ISSOINA (Phosinella) flexuosa, Gould ; R. turriculata, Angas, non Pease ; E. Angasi, Pease. Two specimens. 84. RissoiNA (Phosinella) crassa, Angas. Two specimens. Family Homalogyrid^. 85. Homalogyra pulcherrima, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. fig. 13). Shell thin, shaped like a Planorbis, white ; whorls 3, the last rounded ; suture moderately deep, whole surface distinctly can- cellated, the spiral strise very minute and close together ; the longitudinals much thicker and wide apart ; umbilicus wide and deep ; aperture round, peristome thin, continuous. Diam. 1-|^, least 1, alt. f mm. One specimen. This very pretty species is the first record of the genus Homalo- gyra, Jeffreys, having been found in Australia. It is perfectly distinct from H. cancellata, Krauss, from South Africa. I have one or two other species, much smaller, from dredgings at Green Point, in eight fathoms, sandy mud (J. B.). Order SCUTIBRANCHIATA. Family L i o T i I D .E. 86. LiOTiA CLATHRATA, Recve. One specimen. Family Cyclostrematid^. 87. Teinostoma Brazieri, Angas; Mhalia Brazieri, Anga,s. One specimen. 88. Teinostoma (Cirsonella) australe, Angas. Twenty-one specimens. 176 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, AVATSON's BAY, Family T u R B i N i D ^. 89. Phasianella (Orthomesus) virgo, Angas. One hundred and twenty-five specimens. 90. Turbo straminea, Martyn. Three young specimens. 91. AusTRALiUM tentoriforme, Jonas. Four specimens, all young. 92. AusTRALiuM pimbriatum, Lam. Ten specimens, all young. Family T R o C H i D ^. 93. Trochus (Clanculus) omalomphalus, A. Ad. Seven speci- mens. 94. Trochus (Clanculus) floridus, Philippi ; T. gibbosus, A. Ad. One specimen. 95. Trochus (Clanculus) clangulus, Wood. Twenty speci- mens, all young. 96. Trochus (Cantharidus) badius. Wood. Four specimens. 97. Trochus (Gibbula) Strangei, A. Ad. Thirteen specimens. 98. Trochus (Calliostoma) Poupinelli, Montrouzier; T. com})- tus, A. Ad., non Philippi. Five specimens. 99. Trochus (Astele) scitula, A. Ad. Two specimens. 100. Trochus (Euchelus) baccatus, Menke. Fourteen speci- mens. 101. Trochus (Euchelus) scabriusculus, Ad. and Ang. Seven specimens. Family Pleurotomarid^e. 102. ScHiSMOPE CARINATA, Watson. Two Specimens. Fan:ily H al i otid^. 103. Haliotis n^vosa, Martyn. One young specimen. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 177 Family Fissurellid^. 104r. Glyphis lineata, Sow. ; G. incei, Reeve. One young speci- men. 105. Glyphis Watsoni, sp.nov., Biaz. (PI. xiv. fig. 15). Shell small, narrow, oblong, rlepressed, anterior slope a little more than half as long as the posterior slope ; sculptured with alternately larger and numerous radiating riblets, interruptedly rayed with light pink ; apex smooth, inclined forward, with a small groove in the centre ; fissure square behind and rounded below, giving it the appearance of a horseshoe ; interior with a septum square across, and the whole of the fissure thickened with white callus, with a deep pit at the fore part behind the septum ; margins of the shell minutely crenulated. Long 6, broad 3|, alt. If mm. Two specimens. This new species will have to be placed in a new genus, but for the present I have placed it in Glyphis. It comes much nearer to the genus Puncturella in having the apex inclined forward, the fissure horseshoe-shaped, and the interior with a thick septum. The sculpture allies it to Glyphis. Specimens have been dredged ofi" Green Point. I dredged a specimen on the 21st November, 1874, off Tacking Point, three miles south of Port Macquarie, in 12 fathoms, rocky bottom. Only about five specimens are known, all collected by Mr. Henn and myself (J. B.). 106. Megatebennus NiGRiTA, Sow.; i^mMreZ/am^fW^a, Sow. One specimen. 107. Puncturella Henniana, sp.nov., Braz. (PI. xiv. tig. 14). Shell small, white, obliquely conical, apex curved, smooth, surface ornamented with thirteen slender radiating ribs not so distinct towards the apex ; interstices smooth, finely striated under a higher power ; fissure elongately ovate, narrow, pointed behind ; septum triangular, slightly inclined forward under the fissure ; margins crenulated at the edge and showing inside the radiating ribs. 12 178 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSON'S BAY, Long 2J, broad if, alt. 1^ mm. Two specimens. This is the first record of the genus Puncturella from New South Wales, although numerous specimens were sent to Mr. Angas some years ago, obtained by me in dredging off Green Point (J. B.). 108. Emarginula dilecta, A. Ad. Two young specimens. 109. Emarginula concinna. A, Ad. One young .specimen. 110. Subemarginula rugosa. Quoy. One specimen. 111. Subemarginula rugosa, Quoy, var. Three specimens. Family Patellid^. 112. Helcionsiscus TRAMOSERiCA, Martyn. Four specimens. Family A c M ^ i d ^. 113. Acmea saccharina, Linn., var, stellaris, Quoy. Three specimens. 114. Acmea septiformis, Q. et G. Three specimens. 115. Acmea conoidea, Q. et G. Sixteen specimens, 116. Acmea costata, Sow. ; ^. a^^^cos^a^a, Angas. Twelve speci- mens. 117. Acmea marmorata, Ten.-Woods. Seventeen specimens. 118. Acmea mixta, Reeve. Four specimens. 119. Acmea sp. Ninety-two sea-worn and very young specimens. Order POLYPLACOPHORA. Family C H i t o N l D .E. 120. Cryptoplax striatus. Lam. One specimen, three valves. Family Siphonariid^. 121. SiPHONARiA denticulata, Q. et G. Eighteen specimens. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER. 179 122. SiPHONARiA FUNicuLATA, Reeve. One specimen. Seventy-seven sea-worn Gasteropods, principally Rissoia. Class PELECYPODA. Order SIPHONIDA. Family S a x i c A v i D ^. 123. Saxicava arctica, Linn. Thirty-three young specimens (sixty -six valves). 124. Saxicava arctica, Linn., var. australis, Lam. One com- plete specimen and one valve. This species is world-wide in its distribution. Lamarck named specimens obtained by Peron, the naturalist to Baudin's Expedi- tion, 1802-3, at Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Saxicava australis ; and large individuals attaining to 2^ inches long have been named Saxicava Angasi, A. Ad. Family A N a T i N i D .ffi. 125. Thracia sp. One valve, very young. Family V e N E R i D iE. 126. Venus (Chione) Chemnitzii, Hanley. One valve of young specimen. 127. Tapes fabagella, Deshayes. One valve of young specimen. Family L u c i n i d iE. 128. LuciNA QUADRATA, Angas. One valve of young specimen. Family IJNGULiNlDiE. 129. Mysia sp. One valve. Family E R Y c l N i D .e. 130. MONTACUTA variegata, Braz. Thirty -five valves. 180 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSON S BAY, 131. Lasea rubra, Montague. Forty-three valves. 132. Lasea rubra, Montague, var. scalaris, Philippi. Sixty valves. 133. Kellia rotunda, Deshayes. Three valves, one young. 134. Kellia solida, Angas. Two very small valves. 135. Kellia cycladiformis, Deshayes. Two valves. 136. Kellia Adamsi, Angas. One valve. 137. Kellia sp. One valve. 138. Mylitta tasmanica, Ten.- Woods; Pythina tasmanica^ Ten.- Woods. One valve. Suborbicular, divaricate ribs, latticed with concentric sulcations. Very rare. Specimens have been dredged between Balls' Head and Goat Island in 18 fathoms (Brazier). Also found in Tasmania by Rev. Tenison- Woods, and in South Australia by Professor Tate. 139. Mysella donaciformis, Angas. Three valves. 140. Scintilla sp. Three sea-worn valves. Family Astartid^e. 141. Mytilicardia excavata, Desh. Two very young valves. Order ASIPHONIDA. Family N u c u L i D ^. 142. NucuLA PUSiLLA, Angas. Two young valves. Family A R c i D ^. 143. Arca fasciata, Reeve. Two valves, one young. 144. Arca gubersaculum, Reeve. One valve. 145. Arca (Acar) plicata, Chem. ; A. domingensis, Lam.; A. squamosa, Lam. ; A. gradata, Brod. and Sowb. ; Byssoarca divaricata, Sowb. Arca pusilla, Sowb. BY A. U. HENN AND J. BRAZIER, 181 This species was also named A. pusilla by Angas in his List of Port Jackson Mollusca, 1867. Specimens sent to Mr. W. H. Pease in 1870 were returned named A. divaricata, Sowb., var. It is a very common species, being found in the West Indies, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Marshall and Gilbert Islands. It is also recorded from Port Jackson by Dr. W. Stimpsou from material obtained by the United States Exploring Expedition uader Capt. Wilkes (J. B.). Family M Y T i L i D .E. 1 46. Mytilus hirsutus, Lam, One young valve. 147. MoDiOLA australis, Gray. One valve. 148. MoDiOLARiA CuMiNGiANA, Dunker. Three valves. 1 49. MoDiOLARiA BARBATA, Reeve ; Lithodomus laniger, Dunker, MS. ; Reeve, Conch. Icon. pi. v. fig. 30 ; L. harbatus, Reeve, fig. 27 (Reeve's specific name takes priority over Dunker's) ; Modiolaria harhata, Angas. One hundred and fifty valves. 150. Margaritifera pimbriata, Reeve. Two valves. Family P e c t i n I D iE. 151. Pecten tegula, Wood. One young valve. 152. Pecten sp. One very young valve. 153. Lima multicostata, Sow. Three valves. Family O s T R e i D iE. 154. OsTREA CUCULLATA, Born, var. SUBTRIGONA, Sow. Three young valves. Class BRACHIOPODA. Family Terebratulin^e. Subfamily Kraussinin^. 155. Kraussina Lamarckiana, Davidson. Seven specimens. 182 LIST OF MOLLUSCA COLLECTED AT GREEN POINT, WATSON's BAY- EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIV. All figures magnified to various and independent scales, and photolitho- graphed from the pen drawings of Mr. C. Hedley, prepared by microscope with Abb^ camera lucida. Fig. I. — Peristernia Hudolphi. Fig. 2. — Marginella nympha. Fig. 3. — Pleurotoma (Clathurella) Edwini. Fig. 4. — Vanihoro gracilis. Fig. 5. — TurboniUa scalarina. Fig. 6. — Eidimella pidchra. Fig. 7. — Odostomia indistincta. Fig. 8. — Odostomia (Pyrgulina) Henni (lip broken). Fig. 9. — Bittium variegatum. Fig. 10. — T7-if oris gra7iif ems. Fig. 11. — Rissoia (Alvinia) ochroleuca. Fig. 12. — Rissoia ( Alvania ) Strangei. Figs. 13a, 13b. — Homalogyra pidcherrima (lip broken). Figs. 14a, 14b. — Puncturella Henniana. Fig. 15. — Glyphis Watsoni. 183 ON A PATELLA SAID TO HAVE BEEN FOUND ON THE KERMADEC ISLANDS. By John Brazier, F.L.S., C.M.Z.S. Patella (Scutellastra) Pilsbryi, Brazier. Patella Kermadecensis, Pilsbry, Nautilus, No. 10, Vol. vii. p. 109, Feb., 1894. Hah. — South Africa, not the Kermadec Islands. Mr. H. A. Pilsbry says the two specimens of this large species of the subgenus Scutellastra described by him were sent to him by Mr. E. W . Roper, of Revere, Massachusetts, U.S.A., " who obtained them from the original collector." The name of the collector, however, is not given. This fine large Patella first came under my notice three years ago, when a specimen much eroded on the back was offered to the Australian Museum by Mr. J. Dall of Collingwood, New Zealand, for a small sum. Since then specimens of the same species, under the name of Patella magellanica, Martyn, from the Kermadec Islands, have been offered by a New Zealand curio dealer to Sydney conchologists. A large specimen, 5x4 inches, received by me from my corres- pondent Mr. R. Murdoch of Wanganui, N.Z., who purchased it from a N. Zealand dealer under the name P. magellanica, Martyn, has adhering to it two specimens of P. cochlear, Born. Now this is a species known only from the Cape of Good Hope and the S. African coast in general. Mr. Pilsbry in his description says, "apparently strongly ribbed when perfect but the specimens described are everywhere deeply eroded." The shell when in good order is somewhat strongly ribbed, and between the primary ribs are much finer ones very close together, giving the shell the appearance of canvas. 154 ON A NEW PATELLA. If such a conspicuous species as this Patella exists on the Kermadec Islands, I cannot but think that it would have been found long since. The late John Macgillivray visited the Ker- madecs in H.M.S. "Herald" in 1854, and collected there for some weeks while Captain Denham and his officers were engaged in making surveys. The specimens so obtained were forwarded to the British Museum, but they did not include this Patella, or if they did it was never recorded. My father during his whaling cruises sixty years ago visited the islands, and collections of shells were made, but no examples of this Patella were ever so obtained. Moreover, to the half- starved white people who lived upon the islands for some years, such an addition to the larder as this Patella would have afforded would not have been by any means to be despised. In my opinion, therefore, Patella Kermadecensis, Pilsbry, is a misnomer, and the locality given for it, the Kermadec Islands, simply the invention of a New Zealand dealer, who to my know- ledge gives Pandora rostrata, Lam., a well-known shell found in European seas, as dredged off the Three Kings, North Cape of New Zealand. Instances are known to me, too, in which South Sea Island species, and even Australian species, have been palmed off as from New Zealand. It should also be borne in mind that large numbers of shells from the Cape of Good Hope are constantly being brought to Australia by the passengers and sailors of the large mail steamers. 185 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. Mr. Hedley showed samples of young oysters from Vaucluse Bay destroyed l)y the operations of a boring mollusc, Ricinula marginatra, Blainv., together with examples of the latter; and he communicated the following Note : — " Wherever oysters ai'e used, species of carnivorous gasteropods — whelks, whelk-tingles, or borers — have been seen to prey upon them. On the coasts of England and France an especial pest is Murex erinaceus, the target for whose piercing radula is the thinnest part of the half-grown shell. Fischer has described (Journ. de Conch, xiii. 1865, pp. 1-8) the havoc wrought by this species in the " pares " at Arcacahon. The experiments and observations of Lieut. Winslow, detailed in the Eeport of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1881, p. 70, prove the damage effected by Urosaljnnx cinereus, in Long Island Sound. Mr. Saville Kent describes and illustrates the harm done in More- ton Bay to young oyster brood by Urosalpinx paivce in his Report on the Oysters and Oyster Fisheries of Queensland, Brisbane, 1881, p. 10, pi. I. ff. 1, 10, 11. "A few days ago (22nd April, 1894) my attention was directed by J. Hill, Esq., to a mollusc not hitherto accused, at least in books, of evildoing. A heavy fall of spat had coated thickly with young oysters the rocks, between tide marks, in Vaucluse Bay. Most of these had already died and lost their upper valves. An examination showed Ricinula marginatra, Blainville, to exist in such abundance that from a square foot one of our party gathered a handful. Further search betrayed several specimens settled on doomed oysters, whose upper valves were firmly grasped by the aggressors' feet. On plucking off the Ricinula I repeatedly found a hole partly or completely drilled through the oyster shell. All the victims were young oysters the size of a penny. Specimens of destroyed and destroyer, seized in the act of boring, are now submitted for inspection." 13 186 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. Mr. Froggatt showed specimens of the beetles referred to in his paper, and of adult females of a destructive Floridan coccid, Icerya rosce, Riley and Howard, from the vicinity of Sydney, respecting which he communicated the following Note : — " Early last December, when collecting on the other side of Cook's River, opposite Canterbury, I found some Hakea acicularis, the branches of which were covered with a large oval dull reddish- brown scale, with its edges fringed with white waxy matter. A number of these specimens were forwarded to Mr. W. M. Maskell, of N. Zealand, who has identified them as Icerya rosce, described by Messrs. Riley and Howard in Insect Life, Vol. iii. p. 93, 1891, where the life history is illustrated with drawings of the female in all stages of development. It was received by them from Key West, Florida, U.S., where its attacks were very destructive to roses, causing the limbs to wither and the leaves to fall off. This is the first time, as far as I am aware, that this Icerya has been recorded from any locality except Florida, and its discovery here therefore is very interesting." Mr. North exhibited a set of three eggs of the New Holland Honey-eater, Meliornis novce-hollandioi, taken on the 21st inst. at Canterbury, and he pointed out that this species in the neigh- bourhood of Sydney and probably elsewhere has two distinct breeding seasons in the year. During the past week he had found at Canterbury and Botany seventeen new nests of this Honey-eater, eleven of them containing eggs or young ones a few days old, the remainder of the nests being in different stages of construction ; and in addition he saw fledgelings in the bush that had just left the nest. This was the fourth year in succession this species had been observed breeding in autumn during the bright warm days of April and early May. In the normal breeding season of birds in New South Wales, this species commences to breed at the beginning of July and continues as late as the end of December ; nests, however, are more frequently found during August, September, and October. There is a distinct break in the breeding seasons during the very hot weather between NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 187 mid-summer and the middle of March, but nests of this Honey- eater containing eggs are as plentiful again dui'ing April as they are in August. It is possible that the seasons may overlap with straggling late autumn breeders, but he had never found this species breeding during the month of June. Mr. E. R. Waite exhibited a very young example (80 mm. long) of Ilemisphaeriodon gerrardii, Clray, and he pointed out that at this early age the ground colour was a creamy-white, the entire under surface uniform black, and the transverse bands intense black. With age the ground colour darkens and the bands become brown and generally broken before reaching the ventral surface, which in the adult is yellowish mottled with brown. The specimen was obtained at Northfield, on the summit of the Kurrajong Hills, KS.W., in July last (1893). The locality mentioned is the most southern point at which this species has been obtained, it having been previously recorded in New South Wales only from the Clarence and Richmond Rivers. Mr. Brazier exhibited the large Patella mentioned in his paper, and pointed out that its habitat was not the Kermadec Islands but South Africa. Mr. H. A. Pilsbry's specific name Kerma- decensis being therefoi'e a misnomer, he proposed to rename the species P. Pilsbryi, Brazier. Also a magnificent new Cone, Conus p7dcherrimus, Brazier, 3^ inches long, acuminated at both ends, dotted and reticulated with white and light yellow, deeply and spirally sulcated at the base spire with 15 whorls, sulcated at the sutures and smooth below. From Tanna, New Hebrides, found on the beach with other mollusca, thrown up after a sub- marine volcanic eruption in 1878. Mr. Etheridge exhibited the remarkable implement referred to in his paper. Mr. Henn showed the collection of mollusca ti-eated of in the paper by Mr. Brazier and himself. 188 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. Messrs. Maiden and Baker exhibited the Croton and Acacia described in their paper. Mr. Fletcher exhibited specimens of the new Isopogon from the Blue Mts., described by Baron von Mueller. Also specimens of /. anemonifolms, with entire leaves, always, however, mixed with divided leaves of the ordinary character, likewise from the Blue Mts. P.LS.N.S.W.(2'?Ser)VoL IX. pir. EdtfarJi Waile del. AUSTRALIAN TYPHLOPID>t RLS.NS W. f2"''Ser) VOL. IX. .11 A C.H. del dd nst PL5.N5W.(2",^ 5cr) VOL :>■ JJ^^c^@ • '•.•^'*- 0)-> '*>{ -> ■ '■-rM r. ' f^ •'/^ I'l ^A^ ^ ^ /v'/ VP M^- % '^v.- :L-S.N.S.W {e':!'Str) VOL PL5 NSW. (£■;'' Ser) vol. IX. PL5.N.S W(2"^ Ser) Vol.IX. C.Hedley cfe/ 05CANIUS HILLI PLSN5W 2"''5er) VOL IX p. LSN.SW (?"-•• Sep) Vol. IX PI. X. J Rainbow del. P.LS N5W (2'"'StH)V0L IX Genus NOTOTHIXOS. ^ Showing all the recorJad forms) p. Ls.N.5w(e-' ser) vol flk V,,|. f\ '^^j'^%^ I Q C R OTO N A F F IN 1 5 . A/A/e^/v ..o BAxef^. PL5NS.W(2'?^Ser) vol, IX. R T. Baker deJ. ACACIA NECLECTA. /''fAWE,^ & 3^^^^. .N.SW. {2".' -f'.) V'J. iX CHed/ey Ce/ PORT JACKSON MOLLUSCA 189 WEDNESDAY, MAY 30th, 1894. The President, Professor David, B.A., F.G.S., in the Chair, Mr. Henry Selkirk was introduced as a visitor. ; Mr. W. S. Dun, Department of Mines, Sydney, was elected a Member of the Society. The President announced that, in the hope of arousing a wider interest in the Society's work, the Council had decided, as an experiment, to hold the Ordinary Monthly Meetings during the remainder of the current Session (June-November) in town (at the University Chambers, Phillip Street), commencing with next month's Meeting. Members were requested, therefore, to accept notification of the contemplated change. DOXATIONS. '* Zoologischer Anzeiger." xvi. Jahrg. (1893), Titel und Inhalt, sowie Litteratur, ii. Sem. Bogen 28-40 ; xvii. Jahrg. (1894), Nos. 442-444. From the Editor. "Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin — Zeitschrift." Bd. xxviii. (1893), No. 4 u. 6 : " Verhandlungen." Bd. xx. (1893), No. 8 u. 9 ; Bd. xxi. (1894), No. 2 u. 3. From the Society. •' Societe Geologique de Belgique — Annales." T. xxi. P® Liv. (1893-94). From the Society. 14 190 DONATIONS. " Societe Royale de Geographie d'Anvers — Bulletin." T. xviii. 2"^ et 3"^ Eases. From the Society. " Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College — Bulle- tin." Vol. XXV. Nos. 5-6. Fro'm the Curator. " Societe d'Horticulture du Doubs, Besan9on — Bulletin." Nou- velle Serie, No. 39. From the Society. " Cambridge Philosophical Society — Transactions." Vol. xv. Part 4 (1894). From the Society. "Zoological Society of London — Abstract," 20th March and 3rd April, 1894. From the Society. "Perak Government Gazette." Vol. vii. (1894), Nos. 7-8. From the Government Secretary. " Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein des Reg.-Bez., Frankfurt a/0. —Helios." xi. Jahrg. Nos. 10-12 (1894): "Societatum Littera;." viii. Jahrg. Nos. 1-3 (1894). From the Society. "Faculte des Sciences de Marseille — Annales." T. i. (Fascs. 1-2) ; T. ii. ; T. iii. (Fascs. 1-4) ; Suppl. au T. iii. From the Faculty. " Intercolonial Medical Congress of Australasia —Transactions of the Third Session" (Sydney, 1892). From Professor J. T. Wilson, 31. B. "Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W." Vol. v. (1894), Part 4. Fi'om the Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agriculture. " American Naturalist." A^ol. xxviii. No. 328. From the Editors. " Societe des Nafcuralistes de la Nouvelle-Russie — M^moires." T. xviii. Part 1 : "Memoires de la Section Mathe'matique." T, xv. From the Society. " Societe Royale Linneenne de Bruxelles — Bulletin." xix™® Annee, Nos. 5 et 6 (1894). From the Society. " Geological Survey of India — Records." Vol. xxvii. Part 1 (1894). From the Director. DONATIONS. 191 " Bouibay Natural Histoiy Society — Journal." Vol. viii. No. 3 ( 1 893). From the Society. " Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein zu Bremen — Abhandlungen." xiii. Bd. 1 Heft ; Extra-Beilage zum xiii. Bde. From the Society. "Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom — Journal." n.s. Vol. iii. No. 2 (1894). From the Association. " Journal of ConcLology." Vol. vii. Nos. 8-10 (1893-94). From the Conchological Society of Great Britain and. Ireland. " Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney — Annual Report, 1893." From the Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agri- culture. "Royal Society of Edinburgh — Proceedings." Vol. xix. (1891- 92) : "Transactions." Vol. xxvii. Parts 1-2 (1891-3). From the Society. Eight New Zealand publications entitled : — " Manual of the Indigenous Grasses of N.Z." By J. Buchanan, F.L.S. (1880): " Phormium tenax as a Fibrous Plant." 2nd ed. (1889) : "Reports on the Durability of New Zealand Timbers" (1875): "Indian and Colonial Exhibition, London, 1886, New Zealand Court": " Handbook of New Zealand." 3rd and 4th editions (1883-86) : " Studies in Biology for New Zealand Students." Nos. 3 and 4. From Cajnain F. W. Ilutton, F.R.S. Pamphlet entitled — " River Temperature. Part i. — Its Daily Changes and Method of Observation." By H. B. Guppy, M.B. From the Author. Pamphlet entitled — " Descriptions of the Eggs of three Species of South Australian Parrakeets." By A. J. North, F.L.S. From the Author. "Victorian Naturalist." Vol. xi. No. 1 (April, 1894). From the Field Naturalists^ Club of Victoria. Thirty-two publications — catalogues and pamphlets — published by authority of the N.S.W. Commissioners for the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. From the Commissioners. 192 DONATIONS. Two conchological pamphlets. By Edgar A. Smith. From the Author. "Hooker's Icones Plantarum." (Fourth Series) Vol. ii. Part 4 (1894). From the Bentham Trustees. "Australasian Journal of Pharmacy." Vol. ix. No. 101 (May, 1894). From the Editor. " Department of Mines, Victoria — Annual Report for the Year 1893." From the Secretary for Mines. "Konink. Natuurk. Vereeniging in Nederl. Indie — Natuur- kundig Tijdschrift." Dl. lii.-liii. From the Society.. " American Museum of Natural History — Bulletin." Vol. vi. Sheet 6, pp. 81-96. From the Mioseum. " Boyal Society of N. S. Wales — Journal and Proceedings." Vol. xxvii. (1893). From the Society. "Johns Hopkins University Circulars." Vol. xiii. No. 110 (March, 1894). From the University. 193 ON THREE HIGHLY ORNATE BOOMERANGS FROM THE BULLOO RIVER, By R. Etheridge, Junr. (Palaeontologist to the Australian Museum, and Geological Survey op N. S. Wales.) (Plate XV.) The much more highly ornate carving and colouring of the weapons and implements of the Australian Aborigines throughout Northern Austi'alia, as compared with those of the southern and western portions of the Continent, has no doubt struck all those who have made the Ethnology of these strange peoples their study. This fact has been ah-eady commented on by the late Mr, R. B. Smyth,* but with the knowledge we now possess his remarks are somewhat too casual. He observed that tjie boomerangs in use around Rockingham Bay, N.E. Queensland, and the districts adjacent thereto, were ornamented with incised lines, differing in this respect from those employed in the southern and western p^rts of Australia. Although, as may be inferred from my opening paragraph, this may be true in a general sense, yet the fact that Sir Thomas Mitchell,! the most celebrated of our Sur- veyors-General, and, at the same time, one of the most eminent of our Explorers, met with highly carved boomerangs, as early as 1836, in portions of the country much further to the south-east, to a great extent refutes Smyth's too sweeping generalisation. In no weapon perhaps, with the exception of the beautiful clubs and shields figured by Smyth J from various localities, is this incised ornamentation more marked, than in the patterns used to * Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. p. 329. t Two Expeds. Int. E. Australia, 1838, ii. p. 342. t Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. pp. 300 and 331. 194 HIGHLY ORNATE BOOMERANGS, enchase many of our Natives' boomerangs. As a general rule the surfaces of this interesting missile are plain, but in other cases a series of incised lines cover one at least of these aspects, arranged in a variety of devices, the figures being enclosed by right or undulating lines. Very few of these ornate weapons have been figured, and still less described, and perhaps, in consequence, a few notes on three very excellent examples may not be out of place. The boomerangs in question are from Norley on the Bulloo Rivei', about twenty miles from Thargomindah, in N.S. Wales, and I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. S, Chatfield, L.S., of Sydney, for an opportunity of figuring them. The weapons are neai'ly of a size, about two feet six inches long, whether measured from point to point, or along the curve, and from two, to two and a-half inches wide, practically flat on one face and plain, gently arched or convex on the other, that bearing the incised figures. Two of the weapons are gently and gracefully curved, the third is slightly elbowed or bent transversely in the middle line, and this is the most ornate, whilst all are emai-ginate at the apices, with a small central mucronate extension. In the first boomerang (PI. xv. fig. 1) the incised lines form four unequal disjointed serpentine figures, each consisting of four lines. They occupy three-fourths of the surface, the remaining portion being unornamented, possibly left so from want of time, or oppor- tunity for its completion, and even one figure is more incomplete than its fellows. Each is returned on itself twice. Four of the loops and one of the marginal spaces are carved, three of the former with broken zig-zag markings, whilst in the latter the lines are double. The remaining loop carries two V-shaped notches, part of a third, and seven longitudinal series of single and separate incisions, from three to six in a row. In three instances the free ends of the loops are ended short ofi" by transverse bars. The loops represent figures resembling a much drawn out letter S. The whole of the incised lines are well inscribed, the only trace of wavering appears to have been at the rounded ends or return of the loops. The second boomerang presents a much simpler pattern, con- sisting of intra-marginal waved or serpentine figures that do not BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNE. 195 joint at their ends, but remain free and extend the whole length of the weapon. The figures consist of three runs, each of two lines, or six in all. The crown or centre of the boomerang bears a single run of broken zig-zag notches extending its whole length (PI. XV. %. 2). The third boomerang (PI. xv. fig. 3}, that with the slight knee at the centre, presents the gi-eatest complexity of ornament, and is the most highly carved boomerang that has yet come under my notice. The two halves of the surface differ somewhat in pattern, but the chief elements are the following : — The crown presents an undu- lating serpentine figure of three double incised lines returned at each end on itself in the form of loops, but one, the larger, ending abruptly against its first part, whilst the smaller passes underneath its first part. Both ends of this figure stop consider- ably short of the boomerang apices, and are not even perfectly equilateral with regard to the central transverse line of the weapon. The intra-marginal areas are occupied by a series of successive half-ovals, also formed by three runs of two lines each. There are two pairs of these ovals at each end beyond the termi- nation of the central serpentine figure, but they are not equal in size, nor as to the space occupied by them. All other intervening spaces carry smaller ovals, and right or curved line incisions cut in different directions. The immediate apices of the boomerang are smooth, but at one end there is a space occupied by a broken zig-zag line of single notches. The weight of these boomerangs is nearly the same, twelve and fourteen ounces respectively. They are, I believe, made of Miall wood, and are fighting boomerangs, and are propelled by being thrown under the left or shield arm. It will be noticed that when these weapons are held in the hand with the incised or convex side uppermost, that two curve to the right, and the other, or that with the least sculpture, to the left. In other words, the surfaces have been reversed. With regard to carved boomerangs generally, I have failed to obtain any evidence as to the meaning of the devices — whether /?■• 196 HIGHLY ORNATE BOOMERANGS, tribal or individual, but Mr. E. Palmer* states that amongst the North Queensland Blacks, who use this weapon, incised undulating lines were used to denote ownership. Nor, so far as I am aware, is anything known of the area over which a boomerang with a given pattern ranges ; or again, are fighting or come-back boom- erangs differently carved. Many of our more experienced bushmen could doubtless answer these queries, and it would be very advan- tageous to possess the information in a published form. Mr. Palmer's statement is borne out by the much earlier expressed opinion of Collins, who says f that each tribe employed a par- ticular form of carving on their weapons to indicate the part of the countiy to which they belonged. I now purpose giving a few short notes on some of the various devices used in carved boomerangs, in each case citing the authority for the information. (a) Single line of rJiomhs. — This was one of the earliest patterns observed, for when giving a general description of the weapon. Sir T. L. Mitchell % figures an example in which the entire surface is so covered. The same pattern was in use about Port Macquarie, but the ends of this boomerang were incised Avith V-shaped markings, concave inwards. Breton figures § one of these, but the influence of the whites even at this early date (1833) was manifest, for the centre of the weapon bears the profile of a head, clearly intended, from the hat surmounting it, for that of a white man. Wood also, in his "Natural History of Man," depicts 1| one of the large " sword boomerangs " with a series of joined elongated rhombs in a single line. Again, a third example of this style of sculpture is represented 51 by Mr. G-. F. Angas in a short account of the Aborigines. It is said to be a recoiling boomerang, but no locality is mentioned. * Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gt. Brit, and Ireland, 1884, xiii. p. 288. t Ace. of the English Colony in N. S. Wales, 1804, p. 377. X Two Exped. Int. E. Australia, 1838, ii. p. 342. § Excursions in N. S. Wales, 1833, p. 255, pi. fig. 1-4. !l Vol. Australia, 1870, p. 50, f. 1 (lower series). H Waugh's Australian Almanac for 1858, p. 56, f. 10. BY R. ETUERIDGE, JUNR. 197 (b) Double line of rhombs. — Amongst his illustrations of native implement sculpture, Mr. R. B. Smyth figures a double line of rhombs,* but mentions no locality or district in which this pattern occurs. (c) Treble line of rhombs, with scalloped edges. — The same author also gives a representation! of this form, three lines of rhombs parallel to another, not extending quite to the apices, and with the edges scalloped by triangular or semi-rhombic festooning. (d) Single continuous zig zag pattern. — This is represented]: by Mr. Angas at each end of a fighting boomerang, but the centre of the illustration is left plain, whether intentionally so or not I cannot say. The figures are enclosed by single lines on each side. In this instance, also, the locality is wanting. (e) Double continuous zig-zag pattern. — Amongst Smyth's illustrations already referred to this form, occur§ two parallel fluctuating or zig-zag figures extending apparently the length of the boomerang, and re-uniting at the apices. Unfortunately this is not localised. This pattern is also given by Dr. George Bennett and the Rev. G. Wood. Dr. Bennett's illustration|] represents a "come-back," or recoiling boomerang, made of myrtle wood, but without locality. Wood's figureU is that of a large double curved weapon. Smyth states** that in the Mackay District waved lines are generally employed. How far north such boomerangs extend is not within my knowledge, for Dr. Creed saysff that the weapon is unknown at Cape York, a fact that is confirmed by my friend Mr. J. A. Thorpe, Taxidermist to the Australian Museum, who resided for many months in the old days amongst the northern Cape York tribes. MacGillivray even goes further and states * Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. p. 285, f. 37. t Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. p. 329. J Waugh's Australian Almanac for 1858, p. 56, f. 9. § Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. p. 285, f. 37. II Gatherings of a Naturalist, 1860, p. 291, f. 16. H Nat. Hist. Man. Vol. Australia, 1870, p. 50, f. 2 (lower series). ** Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. p. 329. tt Journ. Anthrop. Inst. (it. Brit, and Ireland, 1878, vii. p. 266. 198 HIGHLY ORNATE BOOMERANGS, that the boomerang is unknown from Cape York to Port Essing- ton, a distance covering about ten degrees of longitude. Spears and clubs only are met with at Cape York and Port Essington. This fact was also dwelt on by Mr, G. W. Earl,* and has been more recently referred to by myselff in connection with the Alligator River Tribes, Port Essington. (f) Single longitudinal line of ovals. — Dr. Bennett figured;}: a fighting boomerang, without locality, bearing a line of oval figures joined together. A somewhat similar form of ornament has also been illustrated by myselfj from the tableland country to the south of Port Essington, on a weapon collected by Mi\ H. Stockdale. (g) The same, with scalloped edge. — This type is also known from the Port Essington Tableland, and "consists of a median line of elongately-oval figures, interrupted at the centre of the weapon by a broad transverse bar, with a narrower bar at each end. The convex and concave edges bear a festoon [or scalloped] pattern, the festoons longitudinally grooved, and not necessarily facing one another on opposite sides [edges]. The synclines of the festoon outline are each distinguished by two transverse notches or nicks."|| (h) Double longitudinal line of ovals, edges with semi-rhombs. — The single line of oval figures, always elongate, is replaced by two series, and cut in half by a median transverse band. The margins bear an edging of continuous half-rhombs or diamond- shaped figures. In each re-entering angle between the half- rhombs there are two V-shaped marks or notches. Port Essington Tableland.il (i) The same, edges vnth semi-ovals and semi-circles. — The lateral zones in this case exhibit on the one irregular semi-ovals, and * Journ. R. Geogr. Soc, 1846, xvi. p. 247. tMacleay Mem. Vol. (Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales), 1893, p. 236, t. 32, f. 5. J Gatherings of a Naturalist, 1860, p. 291, f. 16. § Macleay Mem. Vol. [loc. cit. ), t. 32, f . 6. llMacleay Mem. Vol. (Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales), 1893, p. 2.37, t. 32, f. 1. ir Macleay Mem. Vol. (Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales), 1893, p. 237, t. 32, f. 3. BY R. ETHERIDGE, JUNR. 199 on the other semi-circles, all cross-hatched, and alternating in each series with V-shaped notches. There is no transverse central band in this case. Poi't Essington Tableland.* (k) Double and treble line of ovals, ivith scalloped edges. — A. highly and peculiarly ornate boomerang is figuredf by Lumholtz, from Coomooboolaroo, Central Queensland. The weapon is cen- trally divided by the usual transverse bar in the centre, and one at either end cutting off the apices, which are not mucronate. On the one half the surface are two lines of long ovals, and on the other three, the ornament is therefore not bilaterally symmetrical. It is a gently curved and non-returning weapon. (I) Single transverse chevron ornament. — A simple pattern of this nature is figured^ by the Rev. G. Wood, in his work already referred to. The single chevron, or V-shaped sculpture, is concave inwards from both ends of the boomerang. (m) Multi-transverse chevron ornament. — This description of ornamental carving, which, together with the herring-bone pattern, is one of the earliest styles of weapon and utensil sculpture in the world's history is figured§ by Dr. G. Bennett on a boomerang from Shoalhaven, N. S. Wales. The herring-bone and chevron pattern was the form of ornament that the old Celts decorated their clay pots with. II (n) Simple concentric ornament. — Concentric lines parallel to the outline of the boomerang are figuredll by Smyth. In this particular instance there are three incised grooves, one within the other, whilst the centre of the weapon is occupied by a longitu- dinal bar, also three lines. As in the case of so many of Smyth's figures, this is without a locality. * Macleay Mem. Vol. (Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales), 1893, p. 237, t. 32, f. 2. t Amongst Cannibals, 1890, p. 51, f. h. X Nat. Hist. Man. Vol. Australia, 1870, p. 50, f. 3 (lower series). § Gatherings of a Naturalist, 1860, p. 291, f. 16. II A. Lang, " Custom and Myth," p. 281. II Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, i. p. 285, f. 37. 200 HIGHLY ORNATE BOOMERANGS. fo) Natural objects. — These appear to be of rare occurrence. Eyre figured* an object on the boomerang teimed by him Wdngn or Wayigno, resembling a snake, and I have publishedf a second from the Port Essington Tableland. It is also possible that another figure I given in the " Macleay Memorial Volume" may represent a natural object ; the outline of the figure, so far as it goes, and its snout-like termination favour this view. The marginal fringe of transverse lines might almost lead us to imagine this to be a Millipede. This epitome of incised patterns is by no means intended as an exhaustive one ; it simply includes those that have come within the scope of my own reading. Doubtless many others are known to those having a more extended knowledge of the subject than I have. At the same time, the present notes may tend to call attention to the wide field there is for profitable investigation in this form of aboriginal weapon. I am indebted for the illustrations, as on former occasions, to Mr. Charles Hedley, F.L.S. DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XV. Fig. 1. — Boomerang carved over three-fourths of one surface, in the form of loops returned on themselves, and each representing a drawn out, and in three instances a reversed letter S. Fig. 2. — Boomerang carved over the whole of one surface in the form of two longitudinal fluctuating figures, with a central zig-zag line. Fig. 3. — Boomerang, highly ornate, with a central serpentine figure, marginal loops and other complex incisions. * Journ. Exped. Discov. Central Australia, 1845, ii. t. 3, f. 8. + Macleay Mem. Vol. (Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales), 1893, p. 238, t. 32, f. 6. XLoc. cit. t. 32, f. 5. 201 NOTES ON THE METHODS OF FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE.K Part T. By Alex. G. Hamiltox. (Plate XVI.) The remarkable nature of the organs of fertilisation in this order appears to have early attracted the attention of botanists, and there are many allusions to them in works on Australian botany. With one or two exceptions to be noted presently, the early observations appear to have been made on dried specimens, a fact to be deplored, although not to be wondered at when we remember that much of the systematic work was done by English botanists, and that those who actually collected plants in Australia in the early days had such a wealth of new material to work out that they would scarcely have time or inclination to make long continued and close observations. The earliest reference which I can find to the subject is by J, Sims in a description of Goodenia grandiflora (1), in which he gives an account of the process, evidently from observation of fresh specimens. This is in the main correct, but he makes the mistake of supposing that the pollen falls from the anthers into the cup instead of being packed, as described in a later paper by me (2). R. Brown has a reference to the subject in his "General Remarks on the Botany of Terra Australis" (3), pointing out that the flowers cannot be impregnated at the time of the bursting of the anthers, but that later on they may be, by the pollen of other flowers, or at a still later stage, by their own. It will be seen in the course of these notes that this is a correct conclusion. C. 202 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE^, Darwin, in a paper "On the Fertilisation of LeschenauUia" (4), gives a good account of the fertilisation of this genus from obser- vation of living specimens of several species. This was followed by a " Note on the Stigmatic Apparatus of Goodenovice " by G. Bentham (5), which is a wonderful account of the process, when it is taken into consideration that the observations were for the most part, if not entirely, made on dried specimens. I shall notice his conclusions as to the different genera as I reach them in the course of ray notes. H. Miiller also describes the process, and takes the view that the plants of the order ai'e solely cross- fertilised (6). In the Manual by R. Brown, Junr., there is an account of indusiate stigmas, in which is repeated the erroneous statement that the pollen falls into the cup and causes fertilisa- tion (7), Some of the authors mentioned call upon Australian observers to work the subject out from fresh plants. So far as I am aware, there have been only two who have attempted this — Mr. E. Haviland, whose papers (8 and 9) I shall refer to under the genus Goodenia, and myself, in a paper already mentioned. Other papers on the nature and origin of the indusium by R. Brown (10 and 11), Bentham (12), and Lindley (13 and 14) I shall also have occasion to refer to. In the present paper I propose to give the results of my obser- vations of those species of Sccevola, SelUera, and Brunonia which have come under my notice, and I shall continue in other instal- ments with other genera which I have had the opportunity of observing. I regret that I have bad no opportunity of seeing living specimens of West Australian species, and tropical Aus- tralian species generally. I should be very grateful to any members who could send me seeds of such plants, especially of the genera LeschenauUia, Diaspasis, Calogyne, and Antholium, for the purpose of cultivating them for observation, or failing seeds, dried flowering specimens. 1. SC^VOLA SUAVEOLENS, R.Br. In this species the five petals spread out like an open hand, the three centre petals lying quite flat, while the outer one on each BY ALEX. G. HAMILTON. 203 side slants upwards and outwards from the plane of the others, so as to form guiding walls to the throat of the flower. The petals are bright blue with a greenish-yellow band from the mid-length in the median line. This yellow part in the three centre petals is thickly studded with brush-tipped hairs standing perpendicularly (Fig. 1) ; they are sticky and well adapted to catch pollen. The lateral petals have very few of these hairs. The flower buds are at first closely pressed to the stem of the plant by the leaves, from the axils of which they spring ; but, as the flower progresses, each leaf bends downwards till at last it assumes a horizontal position, and in this movement it is followed by the flower, which is fully open when the horizontal position is reached. In the upper part of the plant, the flower develops before the leaf grows to any size, but even in this case the same movements are gone through, and the leaf, though perhaps smaller than the flower, still gives it support. The flower is proterandrous. In the early buds, the style and indusium stand slightly higher than the anthers (Fig. 2), but as the bud matures, the anthers grow rapidly till they overtop the cup (Fig. 3) which is edged with stiff" hairs. The .style then grows upward through the anthers (Fig. 4), and at the same time these dehisce introrsely, and the brush of hairs on the margin of the cup clears the pollen out of them completely, the pollen dropping into the indusium (Fig. 5). This alternation of periods of growth between the style and the anthers is a remarkable feature, and occurs in all the species of the order so far as I am aware, but it appears to have been missed by observers prior to my paper (2) already referred to. The upward growth being very rapid, and the filaments being so elastic as to keep the anthers closely pressed to the cup, the pollen is pretty firmly packed, in which the pressure of the bud on the anthers also assists. The stigma at this stage is immature, at the bottom of the indusium (Fig. 6) and hidden by the grains of pollen. The edges of the cup now approach each other by a flattening of the indusium (Fig. 7), till at last the opening is a narrow slit fringed with hairs (Fig. 8). Up till this time, the style has lain horizontally in the bud, but now it bends 204 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE^, upwards in the middle, and bursts the bud open on the upper side (Fig. 9), and at the same time the pollen begins to be forced through the slit at the mouth of the indusium by the growth of the stigma. I have noticed in some flowers that the mouth opens quickly and allows the pollen to drop out in a solid mass. Tlie petals now expand, and by a further bending of the style, the mouth of the cup rests upon and in contact with the brush-tipped hairs on the petals. During this period, the leaf from the axil of which the flower springs, reaches the horizontal position, and when the flower is fully open it is spread out on the leaf which forms a platform on which insects visiting the flower can alight. I have not observed this correlation of movements and growth between the leaf and flower in any other member of the oider. When the flower is fully open, the stigma continues to grow outward from the bottom of the indusium, and forces a constant shower of pollen between the hairs at the mouth, which falls on the brush-like hairs on the petals. Any insect visiting the flower is guided in the right direction by the lateral petals, the convergence of the central petals, and the guiding lines of colour ; to reach the throat of tlie flower it has to force itself under the pollen-shedding cup, and in doing this it is dusted with pollen on the dorsal surface by the cup, and on the ventral surface by the brushes on the petals. Before the stigma has grown so much as to project from the opening of the indusium, the flower withers, the lateral petals a considerable time before the central ones, and the supporting leaf, by a twisting of the leaf-stalk, moves round so as to be above the flower, and then turns on one side and conceals it. It is during this movement, and after it is complete, that the stigma first emerges from the indusium (Fig. 9). It is difiicult to give any reason for this concealment, as it is just at the stage when insects would begin to be useful to the plant by placing pollen from other flowers on the stigma, that concealment begins. The withering, too, seems to indicate that the plant no longer requires the aid of insects. But there is evidence that insects do visit these withered and concealed flowers, for if a series of stigmata from them be examined, most of them will be found to have moth scales adhering BY ALEX. G. HAMILTON. 205 to tlieni in addition to jiollen and fiai^ments of brush-like haiis. It would appear then that the visiting insects carry pollen from those flowers which are distributing it from the indusium, both on their upper and under surfaces, and in visiting other flowers, leave it either on the brush-tipped hairs whence it is tnken up by the mature stigma resting on these, or on the stigma itself from their backs, and in this way cross-fertilisation is ensured. But it is not necessary for ensuring cross-fertilisation, that the concealed flowers should be visited, if when in the pollen-distributing stage they have been freely visited. For each insect not only takes pollen from an open flower, but if it has visited another, it also leaves sorae on the brushes, and as the stigma when it emerges from the indusium rests on these, it would find there the pollen necessary for impregnation. If the flowers should not be at all visited, they are very likely to be self-fertilised by the pollen which dropped on the brushes. In fact, even if insect-visited it would seem as if they were certain to be partly self-fertilised unless what has been shown to be the case with other plants obtains here, viz., that the foreign pollen is prepotent. In G. Bentham's account of the stigmatic apparatus in this order (5), he says — " In Sccevola .... the stigma is small and more buried in it" [the indusium]. This I have not found to be the case. In fact, in the species I have examined, I have found the stigma to project very much — more so than in most other genera. By cutting away the indusium from the mature stigma, ])ol]en may be found inside the cup, being forced into the crevices behind the stigma by the packing proces*!. But it is not at all likely that the base of the stigma is functional and capable of being fertilised, and I have never observed pollen-tubes emitted by the pollen in this situation. The plant fruits very freely, and, as the specific name denotes, the flower is sweet-.scented. The leaves, stem and calyx are closely covered with stifl' hairs, lying close to the surface, which give the plant a harsh feel, and which may be for the pur- pose of keeping away creeping insects, but they appear to me to lie too flat to be of service in this way. 1.5 206 FERTILISATION OF THE GOODENIACE.E, 2. SCiEVOLA HISPIDA, Cav. The flower spreads out rather flatly, the lateral petals being twisted so as to form guides to the tube of the flower, and there are guiding lines of yellowish-green on the petals, which latter are bright purple. The centre petals vary as to smoothness, being sometimes glabrous, sometimes with lines of soft hairs, or again having raised thin jagged ridges, passing into forked hairs in the throat of the flower (Fig. 11). The indusium when young and open is 4-angled at the mouth (Fig. 12), and has the fringe of stifl" hairs which aid in brushing the pollen out of the dehiscing anthers. The method of packing the pollen into the indusium is as in the preceding species. The pollen is packed before the flower opens, and is driven out before the up-growing stigma. The style arches over so as to bring" the mouth of the cup down upon the centre petals (Fig. 13). Insects visiting the flower and inserting their probosces into the tube are therefore 'dusted with pollen. Con- trary to what occurs in