MU RECORDS OI THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM EDITED BY THE CURATOR X 3 £ :d uj •ji Vol. III. PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES. IR,. ETTTEEUITDC3-E, J'uisrR , Curator. SYDNEY, 1897-1900. CONTENTS. No. 1. Published 7th January, 1897. Page On Circular and Spiral Incised Ornament on Australian Aboriginal Implements and Weapons. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... 1 A Spear with Incised Ornament from Angeldool, New South Wales. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator d An Actinoceras from North-West Australia. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 7 The Discovery of Bones at Cunningham Creek, near Harden, New South Wales. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator Additional Localities for Peripatus leuchartii — Siing. By the late Frederick A. A. Sk use, Entomologist Description of a New Papuan Land Shell. By C. Hedley, Conckologist On a New Sub-Species of Psoplwdes crepitans. By Alfred J. North, Ornithologist ... ... ... ... Ornithological Notes. By Alfred J . North, Ornithologist — I. On the Extension of the Rauge of Oalamanthus fuliginosus , and Emblema picta to New South Wales ... II. On a Curious Nesting-site of Anthus australis III. On the Nidification of Megaloprepia magnified , the Magnificent Fruit Pigeon ... 9 10 11 13 14 15 10 No. 2. Published 5th August, 1897. An Australian Sauropterygian (Qimoliosnrus ) converted into Precious Opal. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... ... ... ... 19 On the Occurrence of the Genus Columnaria in the Upper Silurian Rocks of New South Wales. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator .. 30 Description of Two New Australian Phasmas, together with a Synopsis of the Phas raids in Australia. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist 34 Catalogue of the Described Phasmidse of A astralia. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 37 Description of New Land Shells. By C. Hedley, Conchologist ... 44- Description of a New Species of Colly riocincla from Queensland. By Alfred J. North, Ornithologist ... ... ... 49 On Stichopus mollis, Hutton. By Thomas Whitolegge, Zoologist ... 50 No. 3. Published 17th November, 1897. The Nocoleche Meteorite, with Catalogue and Bibliography of Aus- tralian Meteorites. By T. Cooksey, Mineralogist ... ... 51 Ankerite from Sandhurst, Victoria. By T. Cooksey, Mineralogist... G3 On a Precaudal Vertebra of Ichthyosaurus australis, McCoy. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... ... ... ... ... ... 66 A New Blind Snake from the Duke of York Island. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ... . ... ... ... ... ... 69 IV. RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. No. 4. Published 13th June, 1898. New or Little-known Lower Palaeozoic Gasteropoda in the Collection of the Australian Museum. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... 71 Halysites in New South Wales. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... 78 Description of the Larva of Pseudoterpna percomptaria , Gn. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist ... ... ... ... ... ... 81 Description of a New Araneiad. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist 82 Description of a New Bivalve, Lima alata , from Santa Cruz. By C. Hedlcy, Conchologist ... 84 Ornithological Notes. By A. J. North, Ornithologist— IV. On a Species of Pigeon frequenting the Atolls of the Ellice Group 85 V. On the Occurrence of Butastur teesa in Australia ... ... 87 VI. On a Living Example of Psephotus chrysopterygius 87 VII. On the Extension of the Range of Phmton candidus to New South Wales and Lord Howe Island ... ... 89 Addenda to Catalogue of Australian Meteorites. By T. Cooksey, Mineralogist ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 90 No. 5. Published 17th April, 1899. Description of a Ring-tailed Opossum, regarded as a variety of Pseudochirus herbertensis, Collett. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist 91 The Nestor Drey of the Ring-tailed Opossum ( Pseudochirus peregrinus, Bodd). By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ... ... ... .. 93 Observations on Testudo nigrita, Dura, & Bibr. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist 95 Notes on Snakes. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ... ... ... 104 Ornithological Notes. By Alfred J. North, Ornithologist — VIIL Description of a New Species of Honey-Eater from North Queensland 106 IX. Description of the Nest and Eggsof Micrceca pallida , De Vis 107 Contribution to a Knowledge of Papuan Arachnida. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist ... ... ... ... ... ... 108 A Review of the Systematic Position of Z emir a, Adams. By Charles Hedley, Conchologist ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 118 On Two Additional Perforating Bodies, believed to be Thallophytic Cryptogams, from the Lower Palaeozoic Rocks of N. S. Wales. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... ... ... ... ... 121 On the Occurrence of a Starfish in the Upper Silurian Series of Bowning, N. S. Wales. By R Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... 128 Additions to Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Meteorites. By T. Cooksey, Mineralogist 130 The Queensland Cattle Tick. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist ... 131 Occasional Notes : — I. II. btegostoma tigrinum , Gmel. An Addition to the New South Wales. By Edgar R. Waite... A Shipworm new to Australia. By C. Hedley Fauna of 133 134 CONTENTS. Y. No. 6. Published 11th December, 1899. Page On a Fern (Blechnoxylon talbragarense) with secondary wood, forming a New Genus, from the Coal Measures of the Talbragar District, New South Wales. Ky R, Etheridge, Junr., Curator 135 Descriptions of two Beetles from Mount Kosciusko. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist 147 Larva and Pupa of Batocera wallacei , Thoms. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 150 Descriptions of two new Land Shells, with Notes on known Species. By Charles Hedley, Conchologist M . ... ... ... ... 151 Note on Scyllarus sculptus , Latreille. By Thomas Whitelegge, Zoologist... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 155 Regalecus glesne , Ascanius : An Addition to the Fauna of New South Wales. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist 163 Occasional Notes — III. Palceopedewhiteleggei, Eth. fil. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator 166 TY. Lampris luna, Gmelin, its recurrence in New Zealand Waters. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ... ... ... ... 166 No. 7. Published 15th June, 1900. Two New Thomisids. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist ... ... 169 Spears with Incised Ornament. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... 176 Little-known and Undescribed Permo-Carboniferous Pelecypoda in the Australian Museum. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator ... 178 Recurrence of Megaderma gigas, Dobson. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ,.. -.. 188 An extended description of Mus fuscipes, Waterhouse. By Edgar R. Waite. Zoologist ... ... 190 Additions to the Fish-Fauna of Lord Howe Island. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ... ... ... ... ... 193 Notes on Fishes from Western Australia, and Description of a New Species, By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist ... 210 The Card-Catalogue System adapted to Museum requirements. By Edgar R. Waite, Zoologist 217 Occasional Notes — V. Turricula scdlariformis Ten. -Woods: Its occurrence in New South Wales. By Charles Hedley, Conchologist 219 VI. Scala revoluta , Hedley : Its occurrence in Fiji. By Charles Hedley, Conchologist 219 VII. Phyllotheca and Cingularia. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator 219 VIII. Lygosoma fragile, Gunther. By Edgar R. Waite ... ... 220 Part 8. Published 1st December, 1900. Title Page, Contents, and Index. YI . RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. LIST OF THE CONTRIBUTORS. With References to the Articles contributed by each. Cooksey, Thomas— Page The Nocoleche Meteorite, with Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Meteorites ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 51 Ankerite from Sandhurst, Victoria ... ... ... ... ••• 63 Addenda to Catalogue of Australian Meteorites 90 Additions to Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Meteorites 130 Etheridge, Robert, Junr.— On Circular and Spiral Incised Ornament on Australian Aboriginal Implements and Weapons A Spear with Incised Ornament from Angeldool, New South Wales .. * An Actinoceras from North-West Australia .. The Discovery of Bones at Cunningham Creek, near Harden, New South Wales ... An Australian Sauropterygiau (Cimoliosaurus) , converted into Precious Opal On the Occurrence of the Genus Columnaria in the Upper Silurian Bocks of New South Wales ... On a Precaudal Vertebra of Ichthyosaurus australis, McCoy New or Little-known Lower Palaeozoic Gasteropoda in the Collec- tion of the Australian Museum .. Haly sites in New South Wales On Two Additional Perforating Bodies, believed to be Thallo- phytic Cryptogams from the Lower Palaeozoic Bocks of New South Wales ... ... On the Occurrence of a Starfish in the Upper Silurian Series of Bowning, New South Wales ... - On a Fern ( Blechnoxylon talbragarense) with secondary wood, form- ing a New Genus, from the Coal Measures of the Talbragar District, New South Wales ... Spears with Incised Ornament Little-known and Undescribed Permo-Carboniferous Pelecypoda in the Australian Museum Occasional Notes — III. Palceopede whiteleggei, Eth. fil. VII. Phyllotheca and Cingularia ... 19 30 66 71 78 121 128 135 176 178 166 219 LIST OF THE CONTRIBUTORS. VII. Hedley, Charles— Page Description of a New Papuan Land Shell ... 11 Description of New Land Shells ... ... ... ... ... 44 Description of a New Bivalve, Lima a lata, from Santa Cruz ... 84 A Review of the Systematic Position of Zemira , Adams ... ... 118 Descriptions of two New Land Shells, with Notes on known Species ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 151 Occasional Notes — IT. A Shipworm New to Australia ... ... ... ... 134 V. Turricula scalar if or mis, Ten -Woods : Its occurrence in New South Wales ... ... ... ... ... 210 VI. Scala revoluta, Hedley : Its occurrence in Fiji ... ... 219 North, Alfred J. On a New Sub-Species of Psophodes crepitans ... ... ... 13 Description of a New Species of Colly riocinola from Queensland 49 Ornithological Notes — I. On the Extension of the Range of Calamanthusfuliginosus and Emblema picta to New South Wales ... ... 14 II. On a Curious Nesting-site of Anth/i&s australis ... ... 15 III. On the Nidificatiou of Megaloprepia magnifica , the Magni- ficent Fruit Pigeon ... ... ... ... ... 16 IV. On a Species of Pigeon frequenting the Atolls of the Ellice Group ... ... ... ... 85 V. On the Occurrence of Butastur teesa in Australia ... 87 VI. On a Living Example of Psephotns chrysopterygius ... 87 VII. On the Extension of the Range of Plioeton Candidas to New South Wales and Lord Howe Island ... ... 89 VIII. Description of a New Species of Honey-Eater from North Queensland ... ... ... ... ... 106 IX. Description of the Nest and Eggs of Micrceca pallida , De Vis 107 Rainbow, W. J. — Description of Two New Australian Phasmas, together with a Synopsis of the Phasmida; in Australia ... ... ... 34 Catalogue of the Described Phasmidae of Australia ... ... 37 Description of the Larva of Psendoterpna per compt aria, Gn. ... 81 Description of a New Araneiad ♦.. ... ... ... ... 82 Contribution to a Knowledge of Papuan Arachnida ... ... 108 The Queensland Cattle Tick ... 131 Descriptions of Two Beetles from Mount Kosciusko ... ... 147 Larva and Pupa of Batocera wallacei, Thoms. ... ... ... 150 Two New Thomsids 169 VIII. RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Skuse, Fred. A. A.— Page Additional Localities for Peripatus leuchartii, Sang ... ... 10 Waite, Edgar R.— A New Blind Snake from the Duke of York Island ... ... 69 Description of a Bing-tailed Opossum, regarded as a Variety of Pseudochirus herbertensis, Collett... ... ... ... ... 91 The Nest or Drey of the Ring-tailed Opossum (Pseudochirus pere- grinus, Bodd.) ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 03 Observations on Testudo nigrita, Dum. and Bibr. ... ... ... 95 Notes on Snakes 104 Regalecus glesne , Ascanius : An addition to the Fauna of New South Wales 163 Recurrence of Megaderma gigas , Dobson ... ... ... ... 188 An extended description of Mus fuscipes, Waterhouse ... ... 190 Additions to the Fish- Fauna of Lord Howe Island ... ... 193 Notes on Fishes from Western Australia, and Description of a New Species .... ... ... ... ... 210 The Card-Catalogue System adapted to Museum requirements... 217 Occasional Notes — I. Stegostoma Ugrinum, Gmel. An Addition to the Fauna of New South Wales ... ... ... ... ... 133 IV. Lampris luna, Gmelin. Its recurrence in New Zealand Waters 166 VIII. Note on Ly go soma fragile, Gunther ... 220 Whitelegge, Thomas- On Stichopus mollis, Hutton ... ... ... ... ... ... 50 Note on Scyllarus sculptus , Latreille... ... ... ... ... 155 LIST OF THE PLATES. IX. LIST OF THE PLATES. [Note. — F or the convenience of those who prefer to hind the Plates with the text, rather than at the end of the volume, the pages which they should face are indicated in margin.] Plate To face Page I. Stone Implements 2 II. Bull Roarers from Queensland 2 III. Actinocems hardmani, Eth., fil... 4 IV. Nest and Eggs of Anthus australis ... 1G v. Opalised Sauropterygian 24 VI. ,, Sf ... ... ... ... 26 VII. ,, , , ... ... ... ... 28 VIII. Columnaria pauciseptata, Eth. fil. 30 IX. Clemacantha regale, Riinb. 34 X. Tropidoderus decipiens, Rainb. ... 36 XI. New LanI Shells 46 XII. The Nocoleche Meteorite ... 52 XIII. „ ,, ... ... ... ... 54 XIV. ,, ,, ... ... ... ... 56 XV. Goniostropha pritchardi, Eth. fil. 72 Mourlonia duni, Eth. fil. 72 Helicotoma johnstoni, Eth. fil. ... 72 Trochoncma $ nodosa , E th. fil . . . 72 Holopea welling tonensis, Eth. fil. 72 XVI. Gyrodoma etheridgei , Cress well 74 Mourlonia duni, Eth. fil. 74 Helicotoma johnstoni, Eth. fil. ... 74 Trochoncma etheridgei, Johnston 74 llolopea welling tonensis, Eth. fil. 74 XVII. Haly sites australis , Eth. fil. ... ... 76 XVIII. Larva of Pseudoterpna percomptana, Gn. 82 Polly s multitubercnlata. Rainbow 82 XIX. Drey of Ring-tailed Opossum fPseudochirus pere- grinus , Bodd.) 94 XX. Gigantic Tortoise ( Tesludo nigrita, Dutn. & Bibr.)... 96 XXL n » j» jj a ••• 98 XXII. >> » t> a » ••• 100 X. RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. xx rx. XXX. XXXI XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. LIST OF THE PLATES — Continued. Palceopede whiteleggei, Eth. fil... Palcechlya torquis, Eth. fil. Blechnoxylon talbragarense, Eth. fil. ... }> >j ...... a a a » ••• ... New Laud Shells Scyllarus sculptus, Lafcr ,* Misumeiw iristania, 9 • Rainbow Saccodomusformivorus, Rainbow... Stutchburia costcila, Morris, sp. Stutchburia compressa. Morris, sp. Stutchburia obUqua, Eth. fil. ... Limoptera ? permo-carbomfera, Eth. fil. Stutchburia farleyensis,, Eth. fil. Stutchburia compressa , Eth. fil. Plmrophoms gregarius , Eth. fil. My tilops ? ravemjieldensis, Eth. fil. Amplnprion latezonatus, Waite Holacanlhus conspicillatus, Waite Holacanthus semicinctus, Waite Hoplegtiathus woodwardi , Waite To face Page .. 122 .. 122 .. 136 .. 138 .. 140 .. 142 .. 152 156 .. 172 .. 172 . 180 .. 180 ,. 180 .. 182 .. 182 .. 186 .. 186 .. 186 .. 202 .. 204 206 .. 210 001UIE0TI0NS. XI. CORRECTIONS Page 16, line 3 —for " Columbia ” read “ Columba ,, 28, line 26 — for “ leuQScopelus” read *' leucoscopelus,” „ 21), lino 6 — for w louoscopelus ” road “ laucoscopclus.” ,, 29, lino 16 for 11 leuoscopalus ” read “ leucoacopelus.” „ 67, Hue 34 — for “ raoridianal ” read “ meridional.*' ,, 188 — Mcgaderma gig as has also boon recorded from Central Australia. ,, 195 — Delete " Epinephelus lauvina , Forskal.” „ 210, lino 6 — for “ B. B. Woodward” road “ B, II. Woodward.” Plate viii., Explanation —for “ Columnopora ” road “ Columnaria ERRATA. Page 28, line 25, for “ leuoncopelus” read “ leucoscopelus” „ 29, line 5, for „ read „ ,, 29, line 1G, for ,, read „ Plate XT., Explanation, line 2, for “sublimate” read “ sublimis” V On CIRCULAR and SPIRAL INCISED ORNAMENT on AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENTS and WEAPONS. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. (Plates i., ii.) The more or less rare occurrence of this form of sculpture on the implements and weapons of our Aborigines will probably render a notice of several instances interesting. The late Mr. R. Brough Smyth remarked* many years ago tli at — c< Curved lines are rarely seen. Any attempt to represent a curve in all the specimens I have examined has been a failure.’ Mr. Andrew Lang even made a more sweeping statement f when he wrote that the patterns used by the Australian Aborigines are such as can be produced without the aid of “ spirals or curves or circles.” Of the incorrectness of this statement, no better example can be adduced than the circular incised figures seen on the “ Bull roarers ” figured | by the late Mr. Edward Hardman, from the Kimberley District, N.W. Australia. A very beautiful instance is represented in PI. i., Fig. I and 2, all the more interesting because it is a stone implement, and the only one of its kind that has ever come under my notice. It consists of a flat pebble (in all probability) of indurated shale, long-oval in shape, and incised on both faces; five and six-eights inches long, and three and three-sixteenths wide, but is fractured at the lower end. On one aspect (PI. i., Fig. 1) is a nearly central figure consisting of incised circles arranged spirally within one another. The figure is generally very slightly longer than wide, the greatest or longitudinal diameter being two and fifteen- sixteenths inches. On the right hand side there are thirteen incised grooves, and on the left twelve, the grooves becoming slightly wider towards the circumferential one. Immediately above, on the same face of the pebble, are two smaller figures, the incised grooves, three in number in each case, being however simply concentric within one another, and not spiral. That on the right is half an-inch in diameter, and that on the loft five-eighths. * Smyth ; Aborigines of Victoria, i., 1878, p. 283. fLangj Customs and Myth, p. 279. JProc. R. Irish Acad., i., 1888 (2), No. 1, t. 2, f. 4, t. 3. ▲ 2 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Both above these circles, and below the large spiral, is a series of horizontal grooves, starting from the edge of the implement inwards, and not meeting in the middle line, but leaving a clear median space, that below the spiral being wider than the upper one. The upper incisions are seven on the right, and eight on the left, the lower six on either side. The reverse of this implement (PI. i., Fig. 2) is differently incised. In the place of the large almost central spiral is a rather roughly executed series of circles concentric within one another * the longest diameter is two and two-eighths inches. Surmounting this figure is a three-quarters circular representation in which the grooves are very much finer, fainter, and closer together, leaving a large unincised space, the free end almost touching the circum- ference of the central group of circles. If completed, the figure would also be circular in form. There are, I think, ten grooves. The surface of the implement below the central circles is trans- versely grooved in a manner precisely similar to that of the front face, the grooves on the left hand numbering thirteen, but those on the right are too indistinct for enumeration. This peculiar implement has been profusely ruddled, so much so as to almost fill up some of the grooves. Furthermore, the broken base shows traces of adherent gum cement, which extends on the fractured end. I infer from this either that it lias formed a portion of a mounted implement, or when in the posses- sion of its sable owner was fractured and possibly repaired. The colour is fast, and does not soil the hand. This interesting implement was presented some years ago by a Mr. Dunlop, and is said to come from North Queensland, but the precise locality is unknown. As having a possible bearing on the use of this instrument, it is necessary to refer to two others presented by the same donor, and at the same time. In both cases, however, there is no incised sculpture. One is a linear-oval flat, pebble, four inches long and two wide, shaped generally like a “ Bull-roarer.” It is similarly ruddled, and the smaller end is covered with gum cement on both sides. The second specimen is a Hat shale pebble, broad-oval in shape, eight and a- quarter inches long, by four and a-half wide, unincised, but profusely ruddled on both aspects, although the ruddle is lighter in colour than in the incised implement (PI. i., Figs. 1 and 2. The surfaces are speckled over with magenta coloured dots or spots. With regard to the use of these implements I can do no more than offer a surmise. — The care bestowed on the spiral and circular figures on the one hand, and the thick coating of colour on the other, at once place on one side the supposition that they might have been used for grinding stones, for which purpose the shape ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENTS AND WEAPONS — ETHERIDGE. 3 and size of at least two, would admirably adapt them. Again, the entire absence of scratches favours this view. The general likeness to a “ Bull-roarer ” of the smallest and longest of the three pebbles, and the similarity of the sculpture of the incised implement to the circular ornament seen on some of these objects of Aboriginal veneration leads me to infer that these stones were employed in some of the Black’s secret rites, but the precise use must still remain unknown.* One of the most beautiful examples of circular concentric sculpture with which I am acquainted is represented in PI. i., Figs. 3 and 4, a “Bull-roarer” from the Urania Tribe, Linda Creek, \V. Queensland. There are five circular figures on each aspect of the implement, merely differing in size and the number of contained circles, and similar to those seen on the stone imple- ment already described ; they occupy more or less the entire surface of this implement. The central and largest disk (PI. i., Fig. 4), in which there are sixteen circles, is separated from the others by a crossbar above and below it, each of four incised lines ; these do not occur on the other or slightly convex face of the “Bull-roarer.” The uppermost and smallest disc on this aspect (PI. i., Fig. 3) differs from the others in that the concentric circles are fewer in number, leaving a plain and unincised intermediate area between the outer circles and a central nucleus of three. Between this disc and the second, and below the fifth, are two incised arcs of four and three lines respectively, and similar to that already described on the stone implement (PI. i., Fig. 2). This “Bull-roarer” is sixteen inches long by two and a quarter wide, and is more acutely pointed at one end than the other. It is attached to a long cord composed of human hair and fine emu down, and is covered with ruddle and grease. The second and third “ Bull roarers ” are equally well incised with circular and other figures. They are said to be from South Australia, but are, I think, more likely to come from Central Australia. Taking the larger one first, measuring fourteen inches by two inches, we see on the more convex of the two faces (PI- Fig. 5), a central figure answering to the uppermost in PI. ii., Fig. 3, a nucleus of circles within a circumferential set, five in both cases. Above and below this is an arc or semicircle # Since the above was written I have read the following passage in th e “ Horn Scientific Expedition Report” (Vol. i. f Narrative, &c., 1896, p. 35), by Prof. Baldwin Spencer. Speaking of the Churina or “ Bull-roarers,’’ met with in Central Australia, he says — “Stone ones aro still more valuable and sacred than wooden ones, which are usually spoken of as “ Trula,” the patterns on which are copied from the older stones, the history and origin of which are lost in the dim past.” This rather tends to confirm the view I have taken of this incised stone implement. 4 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. similar to those already described in the first “ Bull-roarer,” and the stone implement. On the flat side of this implement (PI. ii., Fig. 6), the carving is very remarkable, consisting of indiscriminately scattered small circles, and arcs or semicircles in various degrees of completeness and position. Here and there are transverse short incised lines proceeding from the margins inwards, precisely as the larger incisions drawn in PI. i., Figs. 1 and 2. These crossbars or trans- verse incisions are also seen in one of Hardman’s figures* of the Kimberley implements. On the convex face of the smallest “ Bull-roarer ” (PL ii., Fig. 8) are four discs, each one surrounded by two semicircles of concentric incisions, whilst the third from the top is separated off by crossbars. On the reverse of this implement (PI. ii., Fig. 7) the ornamentation is again different, consisting of a central longitudinal serpentine figure looped on itself at the upper end, margined by bow-shaped figures of three or more incisions, and the re-entering angles between the latter occupied by short transverse bars. The execution of the incised sculpture on this beautiful little implement is of a much more finished nature than that on the. preceding u Bull-roarer ” (PI. ii., Figs. 5 and 6), and more akin to that of the first described (PI. i., Figs. 3 and 4). It is ten inches long by one and a quarter inches wide. The question of this circular ornamentation or pictography seems to have engaged the attention of writers on the Australian Aborigines but little. It has been suggested by Mr. D. Brown, who obtained examples from Stuart’s Creek, Central Australia, that these concentric rings indicate the practice of sun worship on the part of those who carved them.f On the other hand, Prof. R. Tate rejects the view that they are symbols at all, and believes the execution of them to be merely a matter of sport.^ He further very much doubted if they could be regarded as the production of the untutored Aboriginal. It is, however, a curious . coincidence that one of the principal localities for these circular inscised “ Bull-roarers ” is Kimberley, where at the time of Mr. Hardman’s explorations the Blacks had come in contact with the White-man possibly as little as anywhere. Without entering into the question of sun worship, although some of our Aboriginal tribes seem to have possessed customs and practices suspiciously like this form of adoration, even if they were unacquainted with, or had lost their esoteric meaning — it may be pointed out that the only published objects bearing this circular ornamentation are “ Bull roarers,” and as everyone knows these are the most * Proc. R. Irish Acad. (2), i., 1888, No. 1, t. 3, f. 2. f Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A., iii., 1880, p. xxiii. I Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A., iii., 1880, p. xxiv. ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENTS AND WEAPONS — ETHERIDGE. 5 precious and sacred of the Black’s possessions, and only used in the mysteries of the Bora. I think, therefore, that unless Prof. Tate’s view can be supported by stronger evidence than mere opinion, it must be dismissed, whatever the real significance of this circular incised ornament may be. Mr. W. W. Proggatt, when in Kimberley some years ago, paid considerable attention to the practices of the Aboriginal inhabi- tants. lie observes* that during init iation “ men are stationed round whirling flat-oval sticks, on which are carved curious symbols .” The italics are mine. We know that amongst some ancient peoples, and even amongst the remnant of some existing, the circle or disc was symbolic of the sun. Our acquaintance, however, with the beliefs and esoteric mysteries of the. Aborigines is too limited to hazard a suggestion that the figures on the “ Bull-roarers ” and stone implements bear a similar reference — but it is possible. One of Mr. Hardman’s “ Bull roarers ” bears live sets of concentric circles, separated by groups of vertical incisions, and horizontal marginal ones, as in our PI. i i . , Pigs, 6 and 7. A second implement hears irregular concentric semicircles at the apices, one on each side, and four sets of quadrangular figures concentric within one another. Two of tin' implements now figured are said to be from South Australia, but the correspondence in every way with Hardman’s Kimberley figures! causes me. to suspect that they must in reality come from the same district, or at any rate high up in Central Australia. A few other cases of circular ornament in Australia may be mentioned, such as the circles, and ovals as well, carved on the trees surrounding the larger circle of a Bora ground near Gloucester, N.S. Wales, J and the numerous figures found by Mr. Richard Helms, during the prepress of tin* Elder Exploring Expedition from South to West Australia. On a cave-shelter pictograph at Areoeillinna Wells, H.A. § are several of these concentric circles in red. Mr. Helms says these “are of very frequent occurrence, and have undoubtedly a symbolic meaning.” Others were met with at Wa Wee Rock Holes in another Cave- shelter, and at Mount lllibillie on white pigment. || The most complete ones, however, were found in a similar situation near “Camp 6,” Evorard Ranges, Here is a circle in red of seven rings, a black nucleus, and radial bars passing from the. centre # Proc, Linn. Soc. N.S.W., (2), iii., 1888, PI. 2, p, 052. + Pruo. R. Irish Maid. (2), i., 1888, No. 1, t. 2, f. 1-5a, & t. 3. t Fraser ; Aborigines of N.S. Wales, 1892, pi. opp. p. 11. § Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A., xvi., 1890, Pt. 3, t. 9. || Loc. cit., t. 10 a & 11. 6 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. to the circumference.* The circular incised sculpture is very common on many petroglyphs, particularly in America, such as Bald Friar Bock, in Maryland ; Girao, in Brazil; Cipreses, in Chili, and on the Colorado River, Utah,! and it is certainly curious to find this form of ornamentation whether on implements, as pictographs on the walls of Cave-shelters, or as petroglyphs, so widely distributed. It is curious and even startling to find the close general resemblance there is between this circular and spiral incised ornament on our Black’s weapons, and in their Cave-shelters, and those curious petroglyphs found in odd quarters of the globe, and known as “cup-sculptures,” both with and without a radial groove. Many of these were described by the late Mr. George Tate, occurring on Northumbrian (England) rocks, both circles and ovals, mostly with a radial groove.} Mr. Tate regarded them as the work of a Celtic race, and “symbolical most probably of a religious nature.” Dr, B. Seemann has figured precisely similar closed concentric circles from the rock surfaces in Yeraguas, New Granada, and believes them to have been produced by a very ancient people of that country, and to be “symbols full of meaning” to those who executed them. I have lately seen a number of single circles on the petroglyphs of the Hawkesbury country around Narabine Lagoon, between Manly and Pittwater, both separately incised and forming portions of compound figures. A SPEAR with INCISED ORNAMENT from ANGELDOOL, NEW SOUTH WALES. By R. Etheridge, June., Curator. A remarkably ornamented spear has been received from Angeldool, on the Narran River, by Dr. James C. Cox, who has been kind enough to present it to the collection. It is made from a sapling of light coloured hardwood, eleven feet nine inches long and two and a-half inches in its greatest circumference, tapering at both ends to a point. Unlike a very large number * Loc. cit ., t. 13. f Mallary ; 10th Hep., Bureau Ethnol., U.S., 1893, pp. 86, 120, 153, 160. X Tate j Anthrop. Review, iii., p. 293. AN ACTINOCERAS FROM N.W. AUSTRALIA — ETHERIDGE. 7 of Aboriginal spears, it is in one piece, and not with the head separately formed, and lashed or cemented on. 1 take it to be a hand-thrown weapon, and not propelled with the assistance of a womerah. The head of the spear, for eight and a-lialf inches from the apex, is blackened, then live alternating white and black bands follow occupying in the aggregate one foot, three of the bands white and two black, From this point downwards, to within nine inches of the proximal end, are six serpentine, but not encircling, continuous grooves, each bearing a series of close, back- wardly directed, incised barbs, or teeth, and rendered prominent by having been coloured black. Spears similarly handed at the apex have been figured before, but neither Angas, Eyre, AV ood, Smyth, or Knight, in their respective works, have given an illustration of one similarly ornamented with incised sculpture or decoration. With the exception of this feature, it is one of the type of such simple spears as the Uwinda , of the Murray River,* * * § or the Koy-yun . f Mr. E. M, Curr, however, states J that the Blacks of Hinchinbrook Island, and the adjacent mainland used carved spears, but ho does not give particulars. Smyth figures a simple spear with tho distal end, or apex, segmented by white and black bauds from West Australia, § but otherwise it completely differs from the present weapon. An ACTINOCERAS from NORTH-WEST AUSTRALIA. By R. Etheridge, Junk., Curator. (Plate iii.) I am not aware that this interesting genus has so far been recorded from tho Carboniferous rocks of West Australia. A rather lino example exists in our collection from the Lennard * Angas; S. Australia Illustrated, 1846, t. 51, f. 34. f Smyth; Aborigines of Victoria, i., 1878, p. 307, f. 83. % Australian Race, ii., 1886, p. 418. § Smyth; loc. cit p. 337, f. 143. 8 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. River, less the oldest and youngest chambers of the shell, and unfortunately it has been crushed, more particularly in the upper portion of the specimen. The length is six inches, and there are within this space nineteen or twenty chambers, the upper with a breadth of one-quarter of an inch, and the lower a trifle less. At both ends the large beaded siphuncle is visible, above in the round, below in partial cross-section. The siphuncle is nearly marginal in position, or in a perfect specimen would probably be sub-marginal. At the younger end it stands out from the crushed and partially denuded shell exhibiting portions of three of the “beads,” or segments, so characteristic of the genus. The diameter in its present condition is nine-sixteenths of an inch, but at the older or lower end of the shell it is only three-sixteenths. The siphuncular segments to the naked eye are grooved and ridged, and where not abraided, the ridges are very slightly convex. An examination of the partially and naturally sectioned siphuncle at the older end of the shell, as well as in a cut section, reveals the fact that these grooves are the infolding of the siphomil membrane, as described by Mr. A. H. Foord* who says: “The calcified lining membrane of the siphuncle is thrown into a series of folds, which impart to it a puckered appearance, which is very characteristic.” The same Author also observes that the shelly covering of the siphuncular segments, or “beads” composed of several layers, is very rarely preserved, but at the oldest end of the present specimen it is distinctly visible. Some good figures of the infolding of the membrane are extant, and foremost amongst these may be men- tioned Actinoceras Bigsbyi , Stokes, as represented by Barrande.f In some of the in foldings, the membrane seems to expand into vertical sac-like cavities protruding inwards. When subjected to microscopic examination, in a thin section, the inflected portions of the si phonal membrane arc seen to be comparatively thick, each one increasing slightly in width as it proceeds inwards, becoming somewhat truncheon-shaped, leaving in the centre a narrow free space tilled with impalpable matrix. They are variable in length, some long, some short, but never approach- ing the centre of the siphuncle. At the point through which the section is taken there are seventeen of these inward pro- longations, but they do not appear to be developed with equal regularity as to distance apart around the rather oval siphuncle. Furthermore, these prolongations appear to be open to variation in shape, for along one side are two assuming a decidely pyriform outline, and a third that seems to show signs of bifurcation at its inward end, although too much stress must not be laid on this point. There is no trace of the endosiphon, * Cat. Foss. Ceph. Brit. Mus„ 1888, Pt. i.., p. 166. f Syst. Sil. Boheme, ii., t. 231. DISCOVERY OF BONES AT CUNNINGHAM CREEIC — ETHERIDGE. 9 nor remains of its tubuli. The chambers are narrow, about four-eighths of an inch in the upper portion and three-eighths of an inch in the lower portion of the shell. There are four and six septa to the inch respectively in the parts referred to, increasing very slowly in their distance apart, and with plain edges. The siphuncle is a good deal inflated between the septa, wider than long. The external shelly-layer is not preserved, and in conse- quence the sculpture is not known. I propose to call this species Actinoceras Hardman i, in honour of the late Mr. E. T. Hardman, who acted as Geologist to Forrest’s Kimberley (N.W. Australia) Exploring Expedition in the years 1883-84, but who was perhaps better known through his connection with the Geological Survey of Ireland. The DISCOVERY of BONES at CUNNINGHAM CREEK, near HARDEN, N. S. WALES. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. The Cunningham Creek Gold-field is situated about fourteen o miles south-east of Murrumburrah and Harden. The “diggings” lies along both sides of the creek, above and below the Jugiong Road — crossing to Cunningham Plains, reaching almost down to its junction with the more important Jugiong Creek. The whole of this district is composed of grey granite cropping out here and there in bosses and tors, otherwise a thick granitic detritus hides the bedrock completely, and in consequence a subsequent denu- dation has given rise to gently rolling downs and hills. It is in this detritus that the bones of extinct Marsupials have been found for some time past, generally lying immediately above the auriferous wash-dirt of the old subsidary branches of Cunningham Creek. The claim of Messrs. J. F. Wilson and Party, who first reported the discovery, is situated on the north bank of the creek, the shaft mouth being about seventy feet above the creek bed, and on the Cunningham Creek Common, barely a mile south west of Cahill’s Hotel. The shaft is down sixty feet in fine granitic detritus, interspersed with large boulders of granite. The bones are usually met with at fifty-eight feet from the surface, and, as before stated, immediately above the wash-dirt, but from the wet 10 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. natare of the ground, they are all very rotten, and difficult of extraction and preservation. The wash-dirt appears to be of poor quality, although containing a few gem-stones, running in narrow gutters between hard granite liars. The bones procured were chiefly those of Diprotodon. Through the courtesy of Mr. W. T. Ditchworth, the Manager of the Crown Point Gold Mining Co., Ltd., I was able to inspect the workings of the Marshall-McMahon Reef, where a quartz lode carrying free gold, and another with very refractory ore, are worked. I was fortunate enough to obtain good specimens for our collection. ADDITIONAL LOCALITIES for PERIPATUS LEU CHART I I — Sang. By the late Frederick A. A. Skuse, Entomologist. The writings resulting from the researches of Dendy, Spencer, Fletcher and others, have for some time past aroused considerable interest in Peripatus in Australia; so that every scrap of addi- tional information respecting these remarkable creatures may be considered of some value, and the evident interests attached to a new discovery affecting our knowledge of Peripatus lends no mean impetus to its investigation and the seeking out of its distribution. During a recent visit (Oct. 22nd, 1895) to Colo Vale, near Mitta- gong, N.S.W., Mr. Edgar R. Waite* chanced upon a specimen of P. leuchartii f whilst searching beneath fallen timber for reptiles and insects. Colo V ale lies on the Great Southern Railway line, seventy-two miles from Sydney, and the specimen of Peripatus was obtained at an altitude of 2,000 feet. Other examples have just been presented to the Museum by Mr. C. J. McMasters, who obtained them at Moree, New South Wales, and plentifully by the Curator in November, 1895, in and under rotten logs in the vicinity of the Jenolan Caves, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, at an altitude of 4,000 feet. * Waite j Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. (2), x., 1895, p. 549. t Fletcher ; Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. (2), x., 1895, p. 183, considers “all the known Australian specimens of Peripatus as referable to one compre- hensive species, i.e., P. leuchartii ., Sang. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW PAPUAN LAND SHELL — HEDLEY. 1 1 It might here be mentioned that in 1887 Prof. Jeffrey Bell contri- buted a note* on the “Habitat of Peripatus leuchartii ,” wherein he mentions that previously the place of origin of this species was vaguely stated as “New Holland” and on the receipt of two specimens from Dr. E. P. Ramsay, of Sydney, gave the Queens- land scrubs, near Wide Bay, as the more precise locality. The error is perpetuated by Sedgwick, f who incidentally remarks, “ the finder’s name has not been communicated to me.” I would point out that the specimens referred to as coming from Wide Bay were collected by myself on April 3rd, 1887, when I obtained several examples under stones close to the Hospital and Acclimatisation Society’s Grounds, in Brisbane. These were handed to Dr. Ramsay, who sent two specimens of them to Prof. Bell for study. They were ultimately forwarded to Prof. Sedgwick for inclusion in his Monograph. Mr. Henry Tryon previously recorded J the finding of other examples from the same locality in conjunction with myself, but their identity with those mentioned by Sedgwick has not to my knowledge previously been made known. Mr. Chas. Hedley tells me that he found Peripatus under a log by the road-side at the altitude of 2,000 feet in 1889 at Cunningham’s Gap, South Queensland, and that this specimen was pronounced by Mr. Tryon, then of the Queensland Museum, to be P. leuchartii , which determination was no doubt correct. DESCRIPTION of a NEW PAPUAN LAND SHELL. By C. Hedley, Conchologist, Thersites septentrionalis, n. sp. Shell turbinate conic, narrowly perforate, large, solid, brownish- yellow with deep chocolate bands. A third of the base is occupied by a broad chocolate band whose outer margin reaches the insertion of the lip, a yellow peripheral zone of less width follows, a chocolate band as wide as the last and which becomes supersutural in the upper whorls, a narrow yellow, a wider chocolate, a narrow yellow, and a narrow subsutural chocolate # Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xx., 1887, p. 252. fQt. Journ. Micro. Sci., xxviii., 1888, p. 431. I Proc. Roy. Soc. Qd., iv., 1887, p. 78. 12 RECORDS OE THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. band then successively occur. The sculpture consists of fine raised growth lines which slightly pucker the suture ; the reticu- lations characteristic of many Queensland species were not visible in the specimens under examination, from which they might, how- ever, have been worn. Suture impressed. Whorls five, convex, descending rather suddenly at the aperture for the breadth of the yellow peripheral zone. Aperture oblique, squarish, light within and showing the chocolate bands. The lip is blackish, very glossy, thickened, and widely reflected throughout, the columellar expansion almost covering the deep narrow umbilicus. A thin transparent callus extends from insertion to insertion of the lip. Length 52 mm. Breadth 38 mm. Collected on the Musa River, on the North East Coast of British New Guinea, by Iiis Honour Sir W. MacGregor, K.C.M.G. The original of this description and life size figure is registered in the collection of the Australian Museum as C. 2890. This species, and T. broadbenti , Brazier, I now consider to be the only representatives of Thermites yet discovered in New Guinea. Much interest therefore attaches to so handsome and characteristic a species as the novelty occuring in a locality so remote from the principal seat of the genus. Though differing in size and colour, an unfigured Queensland species T. etlieridgei , Brazier, closely approaches in contour and perforation, and may be held as nearest in systematic order. Specimens were received, perforated, and strung together in bunches for native ornaments. One tassle contained this species and Chloritis rehsei tied together. The animal has not yet been seen. ON A NEW SUB-SPECIES OF PSOPIIODES — NORTH- 13 On a NEW SUB-SPECIES of PSOPIIODES CREPITANS. By Alfred J. North, C.M.Z.S., Ornithologist. For many years past I have known that the specimens of Psophodes collected by Messrs. Cairn tfc Grant in 1887 and 1889 at Boar Pocket, North-eastern Queensland, were different in several respects from the P. crepitans , inhabiting New Soutli Wales and Victoria. While lately examining the Reference Collection 1 found another skin from the same locality, which was obtained by Mr. W. S. Day on the 4th of May, 1891. As all the specimens collected at Boar Pocket at wide intervals are alike, I take the present opportunity of pointing out the distinctive characters of this northern race of Psophodes crepitans. Psophodes crepitans lateralis, subsp. nov. Adult . — Like P. crepitans , Gould, but differs in having the lateral feathers of the tail, which is shorter, tipped with pale- brown instead of white. Moreover, the sides of the lower Hanks are olive-green, whilst in P. crepitans they are ashy-brown. Total length 9‘8 inch; wing -T9, tail 5'4, bill 0 9, tarsus 1'3. Ilab . — Boar Pocket, N.E. Queensland. Type . — In the Australian Museum, Reg. No. 04645. Remarks . — I have selected the largest and finest specimen as the type. The tail measurements of two more adult males from the same locality are respectively 5*2 and 5 inches. Specimens of P. crepitans , obtained in t ho Ulawarra District of New South Wales vary in the total length from 10-5 to 11 inch, and in the length of the tail from 5*75 to 6*1 inch. Boar Pocket is situated on the table-lands of the Upper Barron River, about thirty-two miles from Cairns. 14 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MU3EUM. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. By Alfred J. North, C.M.Z.S., Ornithologist. •*- I. — On the EXTENSION of the RANGE of CALAMANTHUS FULIGINOSUS , and EMBLEMA PICT A to NEW SOUTH WALES. During the months of August and September, 1896, the Ornithological Collection of the Australian Museum has become enriched by the receipt of specimens in the flesh of Calamanthus fuliyinosus , and Emblema picta. The former species was obtained on Boloco Station, near Buckley’s Crossing Place, New South Wales, on the 1 9th August by Mr. E. Payten, who killed it with a stone. It was then taken to Mr. Reuben Rose, the owner of the station, and was by that gentleman presented to the Trustees of the Museum. Buckley’s Crossing Place, situated on the Snowy River, is about 296 miles south of Sydney and 34 miles as the crow flies to the nearest point of the imaginary line between Cape Howe and Forest Hill, which separates the south-eastern corner of New South Wales from Eastern Victoria. The natural or artificial boundaries of the Continent of course do not form any barriers to birds, but hitherto G. fuliginosus has been recorded only from the southern parts of Victoria and South Australia ; Tasmania being the stronghold of the species. From typical examples of C. fuliginosus , the bird procured in New South Wales differs in the following respects : the bill is shorter, the throat is buff instead of white, although similarly streaked with black, and the outer webs of the primaries are externally edged with ashy-white. These slight differences may be due to immaturity, or climatic variation, the locality in which it was obtaineci being over 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. On the 23rd of September, Mr. A. M. N. Rose presented to the Trustees three adult male specimens of Emblema picta in splendid plumage. These birds were shot the previous day by his nephew, Mr. Arthur Payten, at Campbelltown, an agricultural and dairy farming district, 34 miles south-west of Sydney. Mr. Payten saw altogether five specimens, which kept together in a small flock while searching for grass-seeds on a hill devoid of any cover. Previously this rare bird has been recorded only from North-west Australia where the type was procured; from Derby and Cambridge Gulf by Mr. E. J. Cairn and the late T. H. Boyer-Bower, and from several localities in Central Australia, CURIOUS NESTING-SITE OF ANT1TUR AUSTRALIS — NORTH. 1 5 where it was obtained by the members of “The Horn Scientific Expedition.” Why this small flock should have wandered so far south-east instead of pursuing the usual course of migration to the north-west it is difficult to conjecture, unless the birds followed in the track of an abundant rainfall so common to Central Australia, with its rapidly accompanying growth and profusion of rich grasses, thereby causing a plentiful food supply. There is no doubt whatever that reaching the western border of New South Wales the excessively dry season now being experienced there has driven this small nomadic lloclc from the withering and burnt-up grass lands to the cooler districts near t he coast. This is only a repetit ion of the effects of last year’s drought when many birds whoso habitat is the dry inland districts of the Colony, wero obtained near Sydney, among which may be mentioned Falco hi/polr.ucos , a typical Central Australian species. Roughly estimated, the nearest recorded locality in Central Australia in which Emblema picta has been obtained, is 1,1300 miles in a direct lino from Campbell town, in New South Wales, where the present specimens were procured, II.— On a CURIOUS NESTING-SITE op ANT HUS A USTRA LIS. (Plato iv.) The Trustees of the Australian Museum are indebted to Mr. A. M. N. Rose, for a nest of the Australian Pipit or common “Ground Earle,” Anthus aualralin , placed in a very curious position. It is built inside an old rusty preserve tin, measuring four inches and a, half in length by three inches and a half in diameter, The entrance to the nest is narrowed to two inches, by a small platform of dried grasses which protrudes out of the mout h of the tin. This nest was found on the 24th of November, 1896, by Mr. A. Payten at Campbelltown in the same paddock as he shot the specimens of Emblema picta, and contained two slightly incubated eggs. The tin, which has the lid still attached, but bent at a right angle, was lying exposed on the ground, without shelter or concealment of any kind, beyond a few short blades of dried grass. The eggs are of the usual type, a greyish- white ground colour thickly freckled all over with pale brown markings; length (A) 0*8 x 0T»7 inch ; (13) 0-84 x 0*07 inch. As will be seen on reference to the accompanying plate, it is a curious site for a bird to select which builds an open cup-shaped nest concealed only by an overhanging tuft of grass, or the surrounding herbage. 16 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, III. — On the NIDIFICATION of MEGALOPREPIA MAGNIFICA , the MAGNIFICENT FRUIT PIGEON. Columbia magnified, Temm., Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 125(1821). Carpophaga magnified , Gould, Bds. Austr. v. pi. 58 (1848). Megaloprepia magnified , Salvad., Cat. Bds. Brit-. Mus. xxi. p. 1G7 (1893). The Magnificent Fruit Pigeon is freely dispersed throughout the rich coastal brushes of Eastern Australia, from the neighbour- hood of Cairns in North-eastern Queensland to Berry in New South Wales. In the latter colony it is far more frequently met with in that rich belt of luxurious vegetation lying between the Tweed and Bellinger Rivers, than it is in the humid valleys and mountain ranges of the south coastal district. At Cairns it over- laps the closely allied, but decidedly smaller species M . assimilis , which ranges northward from that locality to Cape York. Although M \ magnified is plentifully distributed throughout these brushes nothing has hitherto been recorded of its nidification. For an opportunity of examining a nest and egg of this species I am indebted to Mr. George Savidge, a most enthusiastic oologist, who has lately found this line Pigeon breeding on the Upper Clarence. Mr. Savidge has also forwarded me a skin of the female shot at the nest, together with the following notes relative to procuring the nest and egg : — “ Having been told by some timber-drawers that they had discovered three nests of Megaloprepia magnified at Pine Scrub, Oaky Creek, Upper Clarence, each with a single egg, and upon which the birds were sitting, I determined to pay a visit to these scrubs to search for the nests. Accompanied by a friend, Mr. Thos. Woods, and an aboriginal called Freddy, we started at daylight on the morning of November 8th, 1896, and arrived at our destination, twenty-five miles distant a little after ten. Several nests were seen but they contained neither eggs or young, and after a long search we decided upon going further into the scrub. The peculiar call of M. magnified could be heard on all sides, and at last after searching for several hours we saw one lly from a tree about twenty-five yards in advance. Upon nearing the tree we dis- covered the nest, and the egg could be plainly seen in it. Wishing to obtain the bird we sat down for some time, but eventually decided to move lower down the creek into closer concealment, as I thought the bird might be watching us and would not return. After waiting a quarter of an hour we observed the Pigeon fly NIDIFICATION OF MEGALOPREPIA MAGNIFICA — NORTH. 17 back and settle on a thick branch. I did not fire as it was a bit too far, and its body protected by the limb it was sitting upon. After having a good look round it flew into a thick patch of scrub a few yards away and was lost to view, however, it soon came back and settled about two feet from the nest, and facing us. I was afraid the spread of shot might shatter the nest, but as it was getting late I fired and the bird fell into a small pool of water beneath. The egg was secured after some trouble as the nest was built on the end of a thin outspreading branch of a 'Scrub Elm,’ about twenty feet from the ground. The scoop had to be used, and the nest was so small I was afraid the egg would roll over, and it took the black some time before he got it safely into the net. The limb was then chopped off and the nest secured. Upon dissection of the bird, which proved to be the female, no other egg was found in it approaching maturity, the largest being the size of a pea.” The nest of M. magnified, is an exceedingly small and perfectly flat structure, and with the exception of a few long straggling sticks lying almost parallel to the branch on which it is placed, barely averages five inches in diameter. It is built at the junction of a forked horizontal branch of an Aphananthe phillipinensis , which is partially covered with a growth of moss. The nest is composed of thin sticks and twigs intermingled with the wiry spiral tendrils of a vine ; the latter material wholly form- ing the centre of the structure for the reception of the egg. When sitting the Magnificent Fruit Pigeon would almost conceal the nest for very little of it is visible below the branch. The green leafy twigs which sprout out in close proximity to the nest, also harmonises well with the colour of the back, wings, and fail of the sitting bird, and renders it less liable to detection. The egg is pure white, elongate oval in form, and there is very little difference in the shape of the two ends, the texture of the shell being very fine and the surface lustreless. It measures 1-57 inch in length by 1*2 inch in breadth. Specimens of Megaloprepia magnified and M. assimilis from different localities measure as follows : — M. magnified. Sex. Length. Wing. Tail. Bill. Tarsus. Locality. $ ad. 17 ‘25 in. 9*1 7-6 0*83 IT Clarence River, N.S.W. c? ad. 17*5 9-1 7-75 0-85 IT Maryborough, Wide Bay, Queensland. If. assimilis . cf ad. 13*5 7-6 6- 75 0-78 1*05 Cairns, N.E. Queensland ? ad. 13 7*1 6-3 0-62 1 in. Cape York, N. Australia. 7th January, 1897. An AUSTRALIAN SAU ROPTERYGIAN ( CIMOLIO - SAURUS), CONVERTED INTO PRECIOUS OPAL. By R. Etheridge, Junk., Curator. (Plates v., vi., vii.) I was recently favoured by Messrs. Tvveedie and Wollaston, Merchants, of Adelaide, through the good offices of Mr. 11. Y. L. Brown, Government Geologist for South Australia, with a large quantity of opalised material from White Cl ills, representing the broken-up skeleton of a Plesiosaur, but unfortunately wanting the skull. There are numerous vertebrae in various states of completeness, innumerable portions of ribs, a few teeth, phalanges, and other bones that will be subsequently referred to. These have now become the property of the Trustees of the Australian Museum. L — Precious Opal as an Agent of Replacement. The replacement of the calcareous matter in fossils by Precious Opal appears to be a fact but little commented on by Authors. The search for opal in the Upper Cretaceous at the White Cl ill’s Opal-field on Momba Holding, about sixty -live miles north- north- west of Wiluannia, in Co. Yungnulgra, has been signalised by the discovery of many beautiful examples of the entire con- version of the shelly envelopes of Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda, the internal shells of Beleinnites, and Reptilian remains, into Precious Opal by a process of replacement. Many of these are in the Collection of the Geological Survey of N.S. Wales, others have been lent to the same, and through the courtesy of Jjtr. E, F. Pittman, Government Geologist, I have been permitted to examine them. The process of “silicification,” as it is called, or the replacement of matter in fossil organic remains, by silica, in one or other of its varieties, is too well-known to require more than the briefest notice. Silicification is said to be primary when organisms have under- gone a slow process of alteration in water holding silica in solution, each particle of tissue, as it decayed, being replaced by the mineral in question, the minute structure of the body thus acted on being so preserved. “By far the commonest mode of re- placement is that whereby au originally calcareous skeleton is replaced by silica. This process of ‘silicification ’ — of the replace- ment of lime by silica — is not only an extremely common one, A 20 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. but it is also a readily intelligible one ; since carbonate of lime is an easily, and flint a hardly soluble substance. It is thus easy to understand that originally calcareous fossils, such as the shells of Mollusca, or the skeletons of Corals, should have in many cases suffered this change, long after their burial in the rock, their carbonate of lime being dissolved away, particle by particle, and replaced by precipitated silica, as they were subjected to percola- tion by heated or alkaline waters holding silica in solution. 7 ’* On the other hand, if the minute structure of the fossils has been injuriously affected during this process, or destroyed, notwith- standing the preservation of the outward form, the silicification is said to be secondary , having taken place at a period long posterior to the entombment of the organic remains. “ In the first stage of the process,” adds Prof. Ii. A. Nicholson, from whom I am quoting, “ the outer layer of the fossil very commonly becomes converted into, or covered by, small circular deposits of silica, having the form of a central boss surrounded by one or more concentric rings (‘orbicular silica/ or ‘ Beekite markings 7 ). If the process goes on the whole of the fossil may ultimately become converted into flint. 7 ’ A third form of silicification may, I believe, exist — the con- version of the original calcareous matter into the form of chalce- dony, so excellently seen in the shells ( Physa , etc.) of the Lower Intertrapean chert beds of the Deccan Tertiary Trap Scries at Nagpur, in India, or the chalcedonic Permo-Carboniferous Brachiopoda of Point Puer, Port Arthur, Tasmania, The mode of occurrence of the Opal at White Cliffs has already been so fully described by Mr. W. Anderson and Mr. J. B. Jaquet that it need only be briefly referred to. It is met with in beds of kaolin and conglomerate forming a portion of the Desert Sandstone, but the former author also says in the “vitreous- looking” Desert Sandstone itself. Four separate conditions of occurrence are detailed f by Mr. Jaquet, viz. : — 1. In thin horizontal veins, between the bedding planes of the kaolin. 2. As irregular nodules scattered through the kaolin. 3. As Wood Opal. 4. As opaline shells, etc. We are at present concerned only with the two last. The Wood Opal is usually of an opaque milk-white or horn-yellow colour, and is simply hydrous silica, although the woody structure is still visible and in some instances well preserved, but in other * Nicholson, Man. Palaeontology, 3rd edition, i., 1889, p. 7. t Ann. Rep. Dept. Mines and Argic. N.S.W., 1892 [1893], p. 141. AN AUSTRALIAN SAUllOPTERYQIAN — ETHERIDQE. 21 specimens hardly any structure at all is to be observed, beyond the outward form of stem or branch, as the case may be. Not infrequently radial cracks are filled with Precious Opal, when the play of colour is very line. The Animal Remains occur under the following conditions : — 1. As external or internal casts in kaolin, without opalization of any kind. 2. Entirely converted into hydrous silica or Common Opal, white and opaque, but occasionally with traces of the coloured variety scattered through. 3. Wholly or partially converted into translucent-glassy to vitreous semi-opaque Precious Opal, displaying a line range of colour. The colours visible by reflected light are principally blue, red, green, and yellow, with their various shades and combinations, hot the least pleasing being an ever-varying degree of red and blue-tinted purple. When the fossils are in the form of kaolin casts, specific identification, with a very few exceptions, is almost unattainable. Those in which opalisation, however, has taken place, are always determinable, more or less, and the substitution of the original carbonate of lime has been very thoroughly carried out. Frag- ments of these opalised remains, chiefly shells, are freely scattered throughout some hand-specimens til* the opaline kaolinised con- glomerate, from the bed 11 of Mr, Jaquet’s section.* The kaolin casts are either white or tinged with iron oxide, arising from the highly ferruginous clays that Mr. Jaquetsays the kaolin passes into. The opalised fossils comprise Crinoid remains, the shells of Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda, portions of Heleranite guards, and Sauropterygian hones. The preservation of some of these fossils is excellent, although all are not alike in this respect, and the extent to which the opalisation has at times been carried is remarkable. In some Pelecypoda, the external growth laminin, and inter- mediate sculpturo stria* are fully preserved, whilst the shell substance is completely changed, and by transmitted light the valves of many are almost transparent. On the fractured edges of one of these bivalves the glassy opal is quite translucent by reflected light. When such valves are met with in apposition, the interiors are often found to be filled with soft kaolin, and no better examples of the complete change that lias taken place can be examined. The replacement of the fibrous calcite of the Belemnite guard, when viewed in cross-section, presents a far less translucent, and *Ann. Rep. Dept. Mines and Agrie. 1892 [1893], p. 141. 22 RECORDS OF TITE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. much more opaque and vitreous-looking appearance than that seen in the other Mollusca, In one small guard in particular, now before me, remains of the radiating fibres and concentric layers of calcite are visible round the periphery, gradually fading off into a dark blue and purple vitreous-looking opal. Pre-eminent for its beauty is a bivalve, obligingly lent to the Geological Survey of N. S. Wales for examination by Mr. H. Newman, jeweller, of Melbourne. This is without exception one of the most beautiful conditions of fossilisation I ever beheld — perfectly clear of the matrix, with the valves in apposition, and save for a slight crushing about the centre of one of them, quite perfect, wholly converted into Precious Opal, and with a play of colour quite equal to the fragments in quartzite shortly to be referred to. The shell substance is almost glassy transparent. It is probably identical with the shell already referred to, with the translucent fractured edges, from the collection of Mr. G. de V. Gipps, also lent to the Geological Survey. Mr. J. E. Carne informs me that the Survey Collection con- tained, previous to the Garden Palace tire, an Ammonite, wholly converted into Precious Opal, six inches in diameter ! This came from White Cliffs, and was probably one of the first fossils ever obtained there. By no means the least interesting specimen found in this field, previous to Messrs. Tweedie and Wollaston’s reptile, is the half, split longitudinally, of a Sauropterygian vertebra, with the osseous matter converted in the first instance into the common white and opaque opal, and the canals and lacunse remaining open and filled with a little ferruginous powder. The roughened edges of the fractured surfaces are then tipped, and the cavities to some extent lined with Precious Opal. This is also from the cabinet of Mr. J. de V. Gipps. Some polished hand specimens of a highly fossiliferous chocolate- brown quartzite were presented by an unknown donor to the Geological Survey Collection, the whole of the organic remains being converted into Precious Opal, and the interstices between the component constituents of the rock likewise similarly filled as a secondary infiltration, probably replacing the calcite particles of the deposit. Beyond the fact that these specimens come from White Cliffs, I am not in possession of information as to the stratigraphical position of this quartzite, but possibly it may be derived from the water- worn vitreous boulders mentioned by Mr. Jaquet as occurring in the clay and conglomerate beds. The organic remains are those of Mollusca, with traces of Corals and stem-joints of Crinoids, showing such a marvellous kaleidoscopic play of colours that words are quite lacking to render the general appearance of the specimens appreciable. AN AUSTRALIAN SAUROPTERYGIAN — ETHERIDGE. 23 There is a univalve in these hand specimens after the Euompha- loid type, and in consequence of the direction in which the latter have been cut, the sections are almost invariably across the whorls. It is a small shell, the largest not measuring more than three-eighths of an inch in diameter, biconcave, and the inner whorls barely distinguishable. From the difference in outline exhibited by the cross-section and the body whorls, I should say two, if not three species are present. The next commonest section is probably that of a Brachiopod, very geniculate in outline, the sections passing from the umbo to the front margin of either valve. One section in particular catches the eye from the comparatively large process, projecting from underneath the incurved umbo. This may be either a fulcrum supporting some of the internal shelly plates of a Brachiopod, or a spoon-shaped cartilage process of a Pelecypod, but I am inclined to the first opinion. Several small circular bodies, hollow in the centre, about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and with median central vacuities, are scattered at random through the rock. There is no definite structure observable in these, but the size and general appearance closely resemble that of the stem joints of many Crinoids. I am strongly of opinion that these highly opalised chocolate- coloured quartzites are of Devonian age, being portions of travelled blocks, in all probability coming from Mr. Jaquet’s bed C. The whole of the specimens now under discussion, were submitted to a careful examination by Dr. Thomas Cooksey, Mineralogist to the Australian Museum, and myself. Dr. Cooksey is of opinion* that in the chocolate quartzite the carbonate of lime of the fossils has been in the first instance converted into crystalline calcite, and the latter then replaced by secondary silieification in the form of Precious Opal. The traces of the cleavage planes and twinning of the calcite crystals are still preserved in the opal, the former in a great measure serving to produce that play of colour which gives to the opal its beauty and value. A few instances of a similar process are certainly visible in the opalised shells from the kaolin deposit, but in the majority of these there appears to have been simply a secondary replacement by hydrous silica of the ordinary carbonate of lime of the Molluscan and other tests. There is no trace amongst these fossils of the Beekite stage of silieification. The occurence of this mineral in connection with “Fossil Organic Remains” in N.S. Wales is by no means an uncommon one, and has already been noted by the Writer, f Such occurrences, however, are confined to some of our Silurian and Permo-Carboniferous fossils. * Rec. Aust. Mus., ii., 7, 1896, p. 111. f Ibid , ii., 5, 1893, p. 74. 24 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. II. — The Reptile Remains. To return to Messrs. Tweedie and Wollaston’s reptile, Cimolio- saurus Uucoscopelus , the remains that can be satisfactorily deter- mined from the mass of opalised material are as follows : — 17 Cervical vertebrae, usually fragmentary. 2 Humeri. 4 Teeth. Rib fragments (numerous). Phalanges (numerous). The absence of the skull practically bases systematic determina- tion on the vertebrae and teeth, hence the following facts in the first place lead to the conclusion that it is a Sauropterygian : — (1) the vertebrae are amphicoelus; (2) the single costal facets of the cervical vertebrae are entirely on the centra ; (3) each rib articulates to a single vertebra ; (4) the epiphyses of the humeri are enlarged ; (5) the teeth have more or less curved and sharp crowns with fluted enamel. In the second place the form of the cervical vertebrae, and the absence of a foramen in the humeri indicate the Plesiosauridae as the family to which these remains should be referred ; whilst within this family the complete anchylosis of the neural arches and cervical ribs to the centra, single coital facets on the cervical vertebrae, and the slender and n on-car inated teeth point out Cimoliosaurus, Leidy, as the natural resting place of this reptile from White Cliffs Opal-field. The cervical vertebrae are much elongated between their dorsal and ventral extremities. They vary in size, as usual, according to their position in the whole series, but the measurements of three of the more perfect and typical are as follows : — 1. 2. 3. Length of centrum body 1 in. i* 1 in. Height „ „ n lllf Lrg- Breadth „ ,, n m Height, including neural spine H . . . Breadth of cup Fore and aft extent of neural spine at 7 8 l'rV 1 lV about the middle A 8 ... ... Fore and aft extent of the neural arch below the zygopophyses tt A3 16 lo 1 6 Fore and aft extent of costal surface ... A 8 A 8 5 8 Height of neural canal 7 re iV A 2 Breadth ,, ,, 7 1 ® 16 5 8 The measurements are in inches and parts of inches. AN AUSTRALIAN SAUROPTERYOIAN — ETHERIDGE. 25 The centra in these vertebra? are decidedly short, more propor- tionately so than in Cimoliosaurus can tabridgiensis, Lydk.,* * * § and in this respect approach nearer to those of C. valdensis, Lydk.,f and C. cnrymerus , Phill. J 'There is not- the slightest* appearance of any rugosity round the edges of the terminal faces of the centra as in Plesiosaurus rugasas , Owen,§ from the Lias, but they are prominent and outwardly bevelled as in C. cautabridyiensis \ nor is there any sinuous profile with overhang of the upper border, and prominence of the lower border of the centra as in the genus Polyptychodon . The sides of the centra can hardly be described as concave, although the ventral surfaces are fairly soon either side the haemal carina. 'The anterior and posterior articular surfaces vary in contour from circular to subquadrafce, the transverse dia- meter being always the greater, with a well marked although not thick border, surrounding a wide and fairly deep concavity or cup. There are no mammilla), or any trace of a pit in the vertebra? examined. The venous or lnemal foramina are situated in definite depressions, well marked and deep, and in the best preserved vertebra No. 1, (PI. v., Fig. 4) three-sixteenths of an inch apart, this being the transverse measurement of the haemal carina. The latter expands fore and aft in buttress formation into the anterior and posterior peripheries of the terminal faces, producing on the whole an hour-glass shaped figure, as in C. nmstriclus, Owen. The single costal facets are rarely seen in consequence of the thorough union that lias taken place between the head of the ribs and the costal surface itself. In one, however (No. 2), where the head of the rib appears to have broken out, the pit or scar seems to ho circular. The fore and aft borders of the neurapophyses are vertically concave, the fore much more so than the hind, and transversely are more angular than convex, particularly posteriorly. The neuro-central suture is almost totally obliterated. Xygopo- physial ridges, the prominent lateral oblique ridges extending from the pre-zygopophyses to the posterior borders of the pedicle, can hardly bo said to exist. The pre-zygopophyses are rather high, and in the only vertebra in which they are sufficiently preserved No. 1, (PI. v., Fig. 5), do not project forward beyond the vertical line of the terminal face of the centrum, not even as much as in G. wldemis, Lydk., and G. limnophilus, Kokon.|| The zygopo- physial articular surfaces approach the oval in form, and are very obliquely inclined, much more so than in either the last-named species, C. cantabridgiensis , or G. eurymerus. The post-zygo- pophyses are not preserved in the most perfect vertebra of the * Oat. Foss. Reptilia and Amphibia Brit. Mus., pt. ii., 1889, p. 183, f. 60. f [bid, p. 188, f. 61. t Lydekker, ibid, p. 206, f. 67. § Mon. Foss. Reptilia Liassie Formations, pt. i., 1865, p. 35. |1 Leydkker, loc. cit., p. 225, f. 69. 26 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. collection, but broken off short at the point of their enlargement from the neural spine. The latter extends one and three-quarters of an inch from the roof of the neural canal upwards, and is five- eights of an inch in fore and aft measurement immediately above the zygopophyses, linear oval in section, and very sharp along the anterior and posterior edges ; anteriorly this sharp edge is continued downwards over the neurapophysial surface as a similar ridge to between the prezygopophyses, and is but shallowly exca- vated, much less than in C. cantabridgiensis , nor anything as much inclined as in G . valdensis , or the extreme condition of the spine in G. eurymarus^ but seems to approach nearest to that of G . limnophilus. The neural canal is large and subquadrate, pro- portionately larger in fact than appears to be general in this genus, even more so than in C. Umnophilus. The ribs are so reduced by fracture that it is almost impossible to afford precise details about them, but the majority appear to have been irregularly oval in cross-section, flattened on the sides. The costal articulations on the centra are invariably single. A small portion of bone is figured (PI. vii., Fig. 2) under the belief that it may be the expanded distal end of a short or cervical rib, forming one of the “ hatchet bones.” Notwithstanding its incompleteness, I believe this to be the nature of the specimen. The body is angular on the inner or haemal surface, and flattened on the outer ; the anterior extension is shorter than the posterior, itself abbreviated and thick. In PI. vii., Fig. 4, is probably re- presented the distal end of one of the trunk ribs, broken at the apex. Several interesting fragments are present, similar to PL vi., Fig. 5. T labour under the impression that these may be the expanded distal ends of the diapophyses of the dorsal vertebrae. They possess a distinct oblique convex articular facet, bounded by a slightly elevated ridge. Such portions of the shafts as remain are compressed between dorsal and ventral, and are angular trans- versely, i.e ., fore and aft. PI. vii., Fig. 3, is another diapophysis, possibly one of the anterior with a portion of the sides of the neural arch remaining attached. It will be seen that the articular surface is much longer and more oblique in the former specimen. These diapophyses seem to have some points in common with those of Mauisanrus ltaaslii , Hector,* although much shorter, still this may be only the result of position in the series. At the same time it is strange that not a distinguishable fragment of a dorsal vertebra, other than these processes, has occurred with the remains of this interesting reptile. * Trans. N. Zealand Inst, vi., 1874, p. 347. AN AUSTRALIAN SAUROPTERYGIAN — ETHERIDGE. 27 Amongst the numerous fragments of ribs are several that seem to be the proximal ends of trunk ribs (PI. vii., Figs. 5 and 6), but if so the terminal faces are cupped for the reception of the convex heads of the diapophyses already described. None are absolutely perfect, but the figures given will explain their appearance and characters almost better than words. However, the head of the rib is in each case expanded and terminally hollowed into an oval rather deep depression or cup of variable size. This appears to be similar to the structure described by Hector in Lieodon haumuriensis .* The proximal ends of both humeri (PI. vii., Fig. 1) are present in the collection, and very remarkable bones they are, allied in many respects to those of Mauisaurus haastii , Hector. f One is three inches long, the other three and a quarter inches approximately. They are heavy and much thickened bones, the proximal articular surface hemispheric, with a sharp angular periphery and a dia- meter of about one and three-quarter inches. The trochanterian process is much thickened, and protuberant, and separated from the articular surface by a well marked although incomplete bici- pital groove, overhung by sharp margins. The transverse diameter of the humeri is one and a half inches. The distal sloping surfaces of the bones are much roughened and pitted for muscular attach- ment. To one side of the trochanterian process in each is what Dr. Hector calls in Mauisaurus a bold rugose tuberosity “to receive the attachment of the bicipital tendon.”}; The plantar surfaces would appear to be somewhat concave. These humeri seem to possess some important points of depar- ture from the ordinary Plesiosaurian humerus, but are closely allied in form and character to those of Mauisaurus , at the same time showing sufficient differences of a distinguishing nature. For instance we see the very marked trochanterian process well separated from the articular surface, or head of the bone, by the bicipital groove, although not circumscribed by it, as such appears to be the case in M. hastii. We further see an equally large, although less hemispheric articular surface, and an equally strong if not stronger protuberance for the bicipital tendon, whilst the latter is somewhat differently placed to what it is in the New Zealand reptile. Two short, transversely elongated bones are distinguishable that may be one or other of the paddle-bones, possibly the “ inter- medium.” (PI. vi., Fig. 6). The terminal faces are roughly facetted. * Trans. N.Z. Inst., vi., 1874, p. 352. f Ibid , p. 347. J Loc. tit., p. 348. 28 RECORDS OE THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Phalanges are numerous throughout these remains, but I am not in a position to differentiate between them. (PL v., Figs. 6 and 7 ; PI. vii., Figs. 7 - 9). The shape of all, however, is particularly “ hour-glass ” like, more so than in the majority of Plesiosaurian paddles, and most of them are short, stout, and strong, with well marked articular surfaces. As the smallest seen are much constricted, longer, and have articular surfaces, the digits, like those in Mauisaurus , “must have been enormously prolonged to produce such attenua- tion.”* The only evidence of a skull consists of four teeth (PL vii., Figs. 10 and 11). They are small, slender, acutely conical, and curved, nearly circular in section from midw^ay upwards, but possessing a rather more oval section below. The enamel is delicately fluted, but the teeth are not in the slightest degree carinate, as in Pliosaurus and Thaumatosaurus . None are quite perfect, but the most so, although not the largest, measures thirteen-sixteenths of an inch long by three-sixteenths in diameter at about the centre. The largest fragment, on the other hand, has a diameter of two-eighths of an inch. The genus Cimoliosaurus is divided by Lydekker into two sections, the Coelospondyline and Typical Groups. In the former the centra are excavated fore and aft, regularly amphiccelus in fact, but in the latter they are nearly flat. It follows from this that C. leuoscopelus belongs to the Coelospondyli. Mauisaurus , Hector, with which the White Cliffs reptile agrees in more than one point, belongs to the Coelospondyli, and had it not been so, as well as the marked difference in the vertebras, I should have been much inclined to consider C. leucoscopelus as closely allied to Hector’s fossil. An epitome of our scanty knowledge of the Australian Sauro- pterygii will be found in the “ Geology and Palaeontology of Queensland.”! Two species at least, perhaps three, are believed to exist, and possibly both the former are referable to Cimolio- saurus. They are Plesiosaurus macrospondylus , McCoy, and P. Sutherland i f McCoy. It is to be regretted that my friend, Mr. R. Lydekker, in the British Museum “ Catalogue of Fossil Rep- tilia and Amphibia,”! relied on a second-hand reference to these forms, for although they have never been adequately described, still, I think they deserve a better fate than mere relegation to the limbo of MS. names. * Loc. cit., p. 349. f Jack and Etheridge, Junr., 1890, pp. 508-9. t Pt. 2, 1889, p. 247. AN A LIST HA LJ AN 8 A U HO L’T Ell Y (11 A N — KT 1 1 Kill l >UK . 20 As regards /\ snthsrlandi } 1 havo endeavoured to supply further details than those given hy Sir V. MeOoy from an examinat ion of the typo spool" mens, kindly placed at my disposal hy him, supplemented hy additional material from Queensland.* * * § I believe C. frnosro pdas to be distinct from both these forms. The flattened articular portions of the contra in /\ mtherlandi , and the u more flattened than concave ” centres of the cervical vertebra appear to separate this species. In /’. inacrQapondylus the edges of the articular surfaces of the centra are rugose, and thereby wholly differ from those of our form. Of the New Zealand species, G. australis , Owen ( -f l\ crassi- costatusy Owen), | possesses cervical vertebrae with flattened centra terminations, a distinct median pit in each, four Invmal foramina, and the neural arches and rilm persistently independent of the centra. The difference between this and the corresponding struc- ture in (7. Itmoscopdus is manifest. In C. hoodii, Owon,J the haemal surface of ( ho cervicals is broad and flat, and there is no special transverse oblong depressions in the middle of the articular surfaces of the centra. The cervical vertebra of P, holmssi, Ilootor,§ have flat terminal faces, and a humerus referred to this species, has the articular head divided hy a bicipital notch, not a groove as in the present case. P. traverai , llootor,|| and /*. maekayi. Hector,** are less known forms ; the first is said to possess quadrate vertebral centra. Lastly, the absence of cervical vertebra) in the type specimens of C.caudalisy Hutton, fi renders a comparison difficult. * Etheridge, Juur., Ann. Hep. I.)opt. Minos N.S.W., 1887 | p, 107, t. 1, f. 1-4. f Geol. Mag., vii., 1870, p. 61, t. 3, f. 4-5. J lbid. t f. 1-3 | Hector, Trans. N. Zealand Inst., vi., 1874, p. 343. § Hector, loc. cit., p. 844. || Ibid p. 844. ** Ibid., p. 346. ft Ibid., xxvi., 1804, p. 354. 30 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. On the OCCURRENCE of the GENUS COLUMN ARIA in the UPPER SILURIAN ROCKS of NEW SOUTH WALES. By R. Etheridge, June., Curator. (Plate viii.) I believe I am correct in stating that Columnaria has not so far been recognised as an Australian genus of Paleozoic Corals. When 1 had the pleasure of examining the Museum at St. Stanislaus College, Bathurst, a few months ago, under the guidance of the Rev. Father Dowling, I observed a coral from Molong, that I took to be Columnaria from macroscopic characters only, sub- sequently confirmed, however, by microscopic. At any rate if the coral in question be not a species of this remarkable genus, then the candid confession of my ignorance as to its systematic position must be made. Father Dowling courteously allowed me to divide the specimen, a portion of which is now in the Australian Museum. The composite corallum (PI. viii., Fig. 1) is small, hemispherical, but whether flat, rounded, or subpedunculate at the base, I am unable to say. The colony only measures about two inches square, and is thus even less than in C. calicina, Nich. The surface is covered with shallow polygonal calices that are circumscribed by prominent margins, crenulated by the strongly marked septa very distinctly visible in a weathered specimen. The eorallites are closely compacted, contiguous, and completely united by their walls. Tetragonal, quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, or even irregular eorallites were observed, in contact throughout their entire course, without any partial separation, even near the mouths as in C. calicina , Nich,, or some conditions of C. alveolata , Goldf. In thin sections prepared for the microscope, the walls are found to be composed of uniform grey sclerenchyma (stereoplasma), with only here and there any trace of a primordial wall separating them as a thin brown line ; the amalgamation is therefore so per- fect that nearly all trace of primordial demarcation is practically lost. Thus, in one instance, there is to be noted a decided depar- ture from the microscopic structure of Columnaria described by Nicholson.* The eorallites have a very constant diameter of one millimetre. In longitudinal sections (PL viii. , Fig. 7 ) the same appear- ances are visible, the eorallites also presenting the narrow tube-like structure of the Favositida?, but without the mural pores of the latter. There are only sixteen septa, equally divided into primary and secondary, the former extending across the visceral chambers * Tabulate Corals Pal. Period, 1879, p. 192. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE GENUS COLUMN ARIA — ETHERIDGE. 3 1 for about one-third of their diameter, or perhaps a little more, whilst the latter are mere marginal crenulations. These primary septa are tapering and spike-like in cross-section, although at the same time true lamellse, extending from top to bottom of the corallites. There is not the faintest trace of any meeting of the septa in the cal ice centres to form a spurious columella as described in C. rigida , Billings.* At first sight the corallites appear to be provided with very few septa in consequence of the small size of the secondary, and even these are set far apart. Furthermore, the septa do not spring sharply from the corallite walls, but in consequence of the inner edges of the latter being concave between them, a more or less festoon-like appearance is given to the cross-section of each corallite, somewhat as one sees in the genus Heliolites . These appearances at first caused doubt to arise in my mind as to the propriety of referring this coral to Golumnaria , but on referring to Prof. Alleyne Nicholson’s excellent figures,! I found that in both C. alveolata and C. calicina very much the same features existed. The stereoplasm ic thickening of the septa is unequal, some being thin and spike-like ; others, from a greater preponderance of this deposit, becoming club-shaped (PI. viii., Fig. 6). Tn some corallites the secondary septa become scarcely, if at all developed, in others they assume the character previously described. In no instance have 1 noticed an undue predominance in length of one or more septa, a point in which C. pauciseptata differs from C . calicina at least, but there is certainly no regular development of four septa as in Stauria , nor the slightest trace of a division into cycles. Many of the corallites are partially infilled with a dendritic growth of iron oxide fringing the septa. On longitudinal weathered surfaces, the primary septa appear as strong continuous lamella), their paucity and larger comparative size rendering them conspicuous objects. The tabula) (PI. viii., Fig. 7) are particularly well developed, simple, complete, mostly horizontal, very seldom thickened, opposite in contiguous tubes, or very slightly alternating, in other words sub-opposite. They vary from three-quarters to one millimetre apart, and in a few rare instances are somewhat more distant from one another. The non-horizontal are simply bent or curved in some portion of their course, never vesicular or incomplete. The diaphragm forming the floor of the calice is striated by the septa passing on to it. 1 he intertabularor old visceral chambers are nearly square, from the fact of the transverse measurements of the tubes and the distance apart of the tabula) being so nearly coincident. There is not the slightest trace of the existence of the mural pores, or intramural canals, so characteristic of the Favositida). * Teste Nicholson, loc. cit., p. 196. f Loc. cit., t. 10, f. 1 and 2. 32 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. If this fossil be not a Columnaria, but a Favosite, then only one of two explanations is possible. Either the mural pores are confined to the angles of the prismatic tubes, or they are effaced by 44 com- plete recrystallisation or replacement . ” The former state could hardly exist without some trace of them being visible in one or another of the tube vertical sections, whilst the coral has not undergone sufficient alteration for the pores to be wholly effaced by the latter process. Had there been the slightest trace of these structures, I should have regarded this coral simply as an aberant form of that large and important family. Increase took place by intra-mural gemmation, the interpolation of new tubes produced from the lip of the calicine wall of a pre- existing corallite, of which there are several instances in the longitudinal sections before me. In transverse sections these young tubes are triangular or quadrangular in outline, and situated in the angles between the older. The method of in- crease therefore accords with that of C. alveolata, Goldf., and differs from that of C. calicina , Nich. The main points relied on for the identification of this coral as a Columnaria are (1) the absence of mural pores combined with the general Favositiform structure of the corallites, both points strongly insisted on by those who have written on this group ; (2) the great regularity of the tubes and tabulse, producing at once an entirety that is difficult to put into words, but apparent to any one who has examined authenticated examples of Columnaria , or as it was at one time better known, Favistella ; (3) the absence of distinctive features of any other genus at all resembling it on a cursory examination. Under these circumstances I beg to pro- pose for it the name of Columnaria pauciseptata , in allusion to the limited number of septa present, a point that will now be briefly touched on again. Although numerous new species have, more or less perfectly, been described, indeed the late Prof. Ferdinand Roemer* recorded no less than eleven, only about three seem to be at all well known, and these chiefly through the labours of my old friend Prof. Alleyne Nicholson. f They are C. alveolata , Goldf uss (ram Hall, nec Billings, Rominger, &c.), C. calicina, Nich., and C. ? halli , Nich. ( = C. alveo- lata , Hall, Billings, Rominger, &c., non Goldf uss.) In C. alveolata there are in all 24-30 septa, although Rominger j says 20-30, the primaries sometimes extending to the centre of the calices ; in O. calicina 28 ; in C. ? halli 20-40, and all quite # Lethaea palseozoica, 1883, Lief. 2, p. 464. f Loc . cit .. pp. 191-202. J Report Geol. Survey Michigan, Lower Peninsula, iii., 1876, Pt. 2, p. 91 (as C. stellata). ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE GENUS C OLUMNARI A — ETHERIDGE. 33 marginal ; in G. reticulata, Salter,* 36, the primaries extending half-way to the centre of the visceral chambers ; in G. franklini, Salter,f although the number is not stated, they are very numerous and evidently quite marginal, like those of O. calicina ; and in 0. gotlandica, Ed. & H.,J 36-44. The literature of those forms described by Billings is not accessible to me, and I am thus unable to enter into any comparison between his species and C. pauci- septata. The great dissimilarity existing between the last-named and those I have just quoted will at once be apparent, for in no instance have I observed more than sixteen septa, a disparity that can have no other than a specific significance. As compared with the tabulae of other species, those of G. pauci- septata may be said to be distant from one another. In G. alveolata there are three in one line, horizontal or slightly flexuous according to Nicholson, whilst Romenger says flat only; in G. calicina the same; in G.? halli the tabulae appear to approach nearer to those of our species in distance from one another, and are horizontal and strong ; in G. reticulata the tabulae are “ very close, four or five in the space of a line ” ; in G. franklini they are very closely packed, about four in the space of a line.” Both these Arctic species, from the absence of mural pores, must be regarded as Columnar ice, although they have much the appearance of massive Favosites of the F. gothlandica group, in which the walls have undergone so much secondary alteration that the pores are not visible, a fact well known to many microactinologists. Salter’s opinion, is borne out by the absence of any reference in Mr, Etheridge’s description § of mural pores in the same corals, collected by the Nares Arctic Expedition. In G . gothlandica the tabulae are said to be from one and a-half to two millimetres apart, even more distant than in G . pauciseptata . The species of Golumnaria are Silurian in their stratigraphical distribution, both Lower and Upper, with the exception of a doubtful Devonian form described by Schliiter.|| The study of this coral leads me to support Prof. Alleyne Nicholson’s view that Golumnaria cannot be placed near the Favositidas, but as suggested by Prof. Verrill, and afterwards adopted by the former, is much more nearly allied to the Astrseidse, although I have not observed in G. pauciseptata any trace of endothecal structures except tabulae. Type. In St. Stanislaus’ College Museum, Bathurst. * Sutherland's Journ. Voy. Baffin's Bay, &c., ii., 1852, p. ccxxix., t. 6, f. 2, 2a. f Ibid., p. ccxxix., t. 6, f. 3, 3a. I Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat., v. 1851, p. 309. § Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., xxxiv., 1878, p. 586. || Abhandl. Geol. Specialkarte Preuss.-Thur. Staaten, viii., 1889, Heft 4, p. 14, 34 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW AUSTRALIAN PHASMAS, TOGETHER WITH A SYNOPSIS OF THE PHASMIDiE IN AUSTRALIA. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist. (Plates ix., x.) The first of the two Phasmas described below is of more than ordinary interest, not only on account of its size and beauty, but also from the fact that although very close to the genus Acrophylla, Gray, it differs from that by the great length of its ovipositor. In Acro- phylla the ovipositor is boat-shaped, keeled below, and does not exceed the end of the abdomen. Kirby, in a paper “On the Phas- midfe of Madagascar,”* enumerates a small collection of four previously known species, and describes a fifth, for which he founds a new genus, Enetia , the characters of which are : — “ Female . — Allied to Acropliylla , but witli the head and pro-notum spined above; wings not longer than broad; ovipositor boat-shaped, keeled below, extending considerably beyond the abdomen.” In the species described below, the head and pro-notum are devoid of spines, and the wings are somewhat longer than broad, consequently it will have to come in between Acropliylla , Gray, and Enetia , W. F. Kirby. Order ORTHOPTERA. Family Phasmid.®. Sub-Family Pterophasmina. Genus Clemacantha, gen. nov. Characters of Genus. — allied to Acrophylla ; wings longer than broad ; ovipositor boat-shaped, keeled below, extending con- siderably beyond the abdomen. Clemacantha regale, sp. nov. (PL ix., Figs. 1, 2, and 3.) ? . Measurements (in millimeters) : Length from base of antennae to tip of abdomen, excluding ovipositor and anal styles, 177 ; ex- panse of wings, 190 ; length of head, 9 ; antennae, 20 ; pro- notum, 8-9; meso-notum, 26*8; meta-notum, 14*1; abdomen, 111; * Ann. and Mag. Nat, Hist., Yol. viii., 6th Series, 1891, pp. 150-151. DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW AUSTRALIAN PHASMAS— RAINBOW. 35 anal styles, 12*5 ; ovipositor, 42; anterior femora, 3 6'5; hind femora, 40; tegmina, 40; greatest width of abdomen, 12*5; tegmina, 14 ; wing, 56. Head pale yellow above, with broad median longitudinal bar of bright blue, sides blue above, pea-green below; face green ; eyes black on narrow whitish wings ; occili bright, glassy, with a reddish-brown tint ; antennae 2 5 -join ted, slightly pubescent. Pro-notum green above, yellowish in the median line, white laterally, yellow below with green margins; meso-notum yellow with broad median bar of bright blue, sides pea-green in front, darker behind, yellow below ; the upper surface, sides, and under surface furnished with spines varying in size, those above and below are blue, and those at the sides green ; the spines on the ventral surface are uniform in size, ten in number, arranged obliquely and in pairs, and surrounded with patches of blue ; met a- no turn yellowish in front, green behind, with a median longi- tudinal line of blue, sides yellow in front, green behind, the lower margins are also green, and furnished with a row of small green spines; ventral surface yellow, ornamented with four transverse bars of blue, and armed with eight spines; of these the anterior bar is the shortest and narrowest, the third and fourth is the longest and broadest ; with the exception of the anterior bar. which is horizontal, all are slightly curved in a forward direction, and each bar is armed with a spine near its lateral extremity. Abdomen long, broadest at the middle, tapering, bright green above with narrow median line of blue, under-surface pea-green ; anal styles long, green ; ovipositor projecting considerably beyond the abdomen, green, boat-shaped, keeled below. Tegmina, elongate, ovate, green above, with white longitudinal bars and patches, the bars suffused with purple ; underneath the anterior margin is bright red, and edged with green. Wings : above, the costal area is bright green with white longi- tudinal bars suffused with purple, and the base bright red; underneath, the entire surface is bright red also ; membranous portion pea-green. Legs long, slender, with denticulated ridges, mottled with green and yellow ; tibii of hind pair strongly spined on the inner side ; first joint of tarsi longest, and the fifth longer than the fourth ; claws long and strong. Bah . Narrabri. Three specimens similar to the one described, but with the meso-notum less strongly spined, are in the collection of the Aus- tralian Museum, and were taken at Wide Bay, Queensland. The specimen from which the description is written was captured by Mrs. Langhorne, Oreel Station, Narrabri. The Australian ver- nacular name for these insects is “ Native Ladies.” B 36 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Genus Tropidoderus, G. Gray. Tropidoderus decipiens, sp. nov . (Plate x., Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.) $ Measurements (in millimeters) : Length from base of an- tennae to tip of abdomen, excluding ovipositor and anal styles, 130*5; expanse of wings, 172; length of head, 7*6; antennae, 24*4 ; pro-notum, 6*7 ; meso-notum, 14*3 ; meta-notum, 9*2 ; abdomen, 90*6 ; anal styles, 6*5 ; ovipositor, 27*4 ; anterior femora, 32*5; median femora, 23*8 ; hind femora, 28*5 ; tegmina, 43*6 ; greatest width of abdomen, 13*5 ; anterior femora, 3*2 ; median femora, 6*8 ; anterior femora, 8*2 ; tegmina, 18*3 ; wing, 63*1. Head, antennae, legs, ovipositor and anal styles, green. Pro-notum arched, moderately granulated above and below ; meso- and meta-notum keeled in the median line and laterally ; the median keel of the former only finely serrated, but the lateral keels of both more strongly so ; these two latter are also more profusely granulated on superior and inferior surfaces than the pro-notum ; meta-notum purple laterally ; at the base of the latter there is also a median patch suffused with the same colour. Abdomen keeled above and laterally; superior surface and sides of a pinkish colour with the exception of the lateral keels, which are green ; inferior surface green, profusely granulated. Ovipositor boat-shaped, bright green, extending slightly beyond tip of abdomen, strongly but finely granulated, keeled below. Tegmina elongate, ovate, keeled ; the one on the right bright green above and below, that on the left bright green on the outer half of the superior surface, including the base and tip of the inner portion, the remainder creamy white. Wings. — Costal area of each wing purple at the base, from thence to about one-third the length, there is a pale green patch sharply rounded off at its ultimate extremity ; the remainder of the costal area above and below, bright green ; the hyaline membrane nearly colourless, or with a slight greenish hue ; veins palish pea-green. Legs simple ; median pair hollowed out at base to receive the head ; the femora of median and hind pairs flattened out to re- semble foliage, their edges strongly serrated ; meta-tarsi and tarsi brownish. Hah. Gordon. This beautiful insect, which so strongly similates the foliage of plants, is a typical example of Australian Phasmidse. It will be noticed in reading the above detailed description that there is a striking difference in the colouration of the tegmina, the one on DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW AUSTRALIAN PHASMAS — RAINBOW. 37 the right being entirely bright green, while that on the left has a large creamy- whitish patch. In connection with this it must be explained that when at rest the latter is always folded uppermost, and is therefore exceedingly beneficia 1 to the insect, assisting it to elude detection by predatory foes, the whitish patch in con- trast with the bright green portion having the appearance of a green leaf lighted by the sun’s rays filtering through the foliage. The specimen from which the above description was written, and which therefore forms the type of the species, was presented to the Museum by Miss Ansell, of Paddington ; in addition to this, we have in our cabinet collection a specimen taken by Mr. A. J. North, of the Australian Museum, at Ashfield, in 1895. CATALOGUE of the DESCRIBED PHASMIDJE of AUSTRALIA. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist. Family Piiasmid^e. Genus Bacillus, Latr. B. brunneus , G. R. Gray, Ent. Aust., pi. vii., fig. 3 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 21. Burm., Handb. d. Ent. ii., 2, p. 562. Westwood, Cat. of Orthop. Insects of the British Museum, Pt. 1, Phasmidje, p. 12. London, 1859. Hab. Perth, W. Australia. B. australis , Charpentier, Orth. Descr. £ et ? ., pi. lvii. Westwood, loc. cit. , pp. 12 and 179. Hab . Australia. B. dolomedes , Westwood, loc. cit ., p. 13, pi. v., fig. 4. Hab. Australia. B. peristhenes, Westwood, loc. cit., p. 13, pi. vii., figs, 1, la., pi. viii., figs. 2, 2a., $ . Ilab. Australia. B . peridromes , Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 13-14, pi. viii., figs. 2b., 2c, Hab. Australia. Genus Pachymorpha, Gray. P. squalida , $ var., loc. cit., p. 15, pi. xxii., figs. 4, 4a., 4b. Bacillus squalidus, Hope MS. G. R. Gray, Ent. Aust., p. 3, fig. 2 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 21 ( Pachymorpha squalida ). Seville, H. n. Orth., p. 260. Burm., Handb. d. Ent., ii., 2, p. 562. Hab. Australia. 38 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. P. (?) simplicipes , Serville, H. n. Orth., p. 259. Westwood, loc. cit ., p. 15. Hab. Australia. Genus Bacteria, Latr. B. eutraclielia, ‘Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 32-33, pi. xxiv., figs. 11, 11a. Hab. Perth, W. Australia. B. ccenosa , $ , Hope MSS. G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., pi. ii., fig. 2; Syn. Phasm., p. 18. B. tenuis , <$ , Hope MSS. Larva juvenis, B. fragilis , Hope MSS. G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., pi. vii., fig. 1 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 18. Hab. Australia. B. frenchi, Wood-Mason, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) xx., p. 74. Hab. Australia. Genus Lonchodes, G. R. Gray. L. nigropunctatus , Kirby, Trans. Lin. Soc. Lond., (2) vi., 6, pp. 453-454. Hah.* Lizard Island, Queensland. Genus Bactridium, Saussure. B. couloniamum , Saussure, Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1868, p. 66. Hab. Australia (Chili 1 ?) o Genus Hyrtacus, Stal. o H. tuber culatus, Stal, Recensio Orthopterorum, p. 67. Hab . Australia. Genus Acanthoderus, G. R. Gray. A. spinosus , G. R. Gray. Westwood, loc . cit., p. 48. A. spinosus , G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm., p. 14. Phasma ( Bacteria) spinosum , G. R. Gray, in Trans. Ent. Soc., i., 1836, p. 46 (nec. Bacteria spinosa, G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm., p. 43.) Hab. Perth, W. Australia. Genus Eurycantha, Boisd. E. australis, Montrouzier. Westwood, loc. cit., p. 65, pi. i., figs. 1, 1 a, 1 b. $ , figs. 2, 2 a. $> Karabidion austr ale, Mont., Ann. Sci. de Lyon, (2) vii., 1, p. 86. Hab. Lord Howe Island, CATALOGUE OF AUSTRALIAN PHASMIDJE— EAINBOW. 39 Genus Anophelepis, Westw. A . telesphorus , Gray. Westwood, loc. cit ., pp. 69-70, p]. viii., fig. 3 $ , figs. 7, 7a. $ Uab. Perth, W. Australia. A. periphanes, Westwood, loc. cit., p. 70, pi. viii., figs. 2, 2 a. Ilab. Australia. A. rhipheus, Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 70-71, pi. viii., figs. 10, 10a., 106. Uab. Perth, W. Australia. Genus Phibalosoma, G. R. Gray. P. caprella, Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 76-77, pi. xxi., figs. 3, 3 a. Hah. Australia % Genus Lopaphus, Westw. L. gorgus, Westwood, loc. cit., p. 102, pi. xi., figs. 4, 4 a. Uab. Richmond River, N.S.W. Genus Xeroderus, G. R. Gray. X. kirbii, G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm., p. 32. Burm., Handb. d. Ent., ii., 2, p. 582. Westwood, loc, cit., pp. 102-103, pi. xxxi., figs. 6, 6a. <$ , figs. 7, la. ? . Uab. Australia. Genus Cyphocrania, Serville. C. goliath, G. R. Gray. Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 107-108. Diura goliath, G. R. Gray, Trans. Ent. Soc., i., 1836, p. 45; Syn. Phasm., p. 39 (Acropliylla G.) Phasma (Cyphocrania) Goliath, Audouin et Brulle, Hist. Nat. Ins,, ix., p. 105, pi. vii. De Haan, Orth. Orient,, p. 128. Uab. Java, Timor, New Guinea, Moreton Bay, and Northern parts of Australia. Var. fcem, major , Cyphocrania versiruba, Serville, Orth., p. 235. C. herculeana , Charpentier, Orth. Descr., pi. i. Westwood, loc. cit., p. 107. Hab. Australia. Var. fcem minor, Cyphocrania versifasciata, Serville, H. N. Orth., p. 235. Westwood, loc . cit., pp. 107-108. Uab. % 40 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. G. enceladus, G. R. Gray. Westwood, loc. cit ., p. 108. Acrophylla enceladus , G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm., p. 39. Hab. Australia. G. pasimachus , Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 109-110, pi. ix., figs. 5, 5a., 5 b. Ilab. Australia. Genus Lopaphus, Westwood. L. macrotegmus , Topper, Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., vol, ix., p. 112, pi. vi. Ilab. Mount Lofty Ranges, S. Australia. Genus Ophicrania, Kaup. 0 . striaticollis, Kaup, B.E.Z., p. 38. Ilab. Australia. Genus Acrophylla, G. R. Gray. A. titan, Macleay. Westwood, loc. cit., p. 114. Phasma titan, Macleay, in King’s Survey of Australia, ii., p. 454. G. R. Gray, Ent. Aust., i., pi. 4 $ (Diura titan) ; ejusd. Syn. Phasm. p. 39 (Acrophylla titan). Servielle, H. N. Orth., p. 231. Burm., Handb. d. Ent., ii., 2, 579 ( Gy phocrania titan). Laporte, H. N. Inst., v., pi. iv., £ . Phasma ( Gyphocrania) titan, De Haan, Orth. Orient., p. 129. Ilab. Australia. A. briar eus, G. R. Gray. Westwood, loc. cit., p. 114. Diura briareus , G. R. Gray, Trans. Ent. Soc., vol. i., 1836, p. 45 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 40. Hab. Australia. A. chronns, G. R. Gray. Westwood, loc. cit., p. 114. Gtenomorpha marginipennis , $ , G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., i., pi. i., fig. 2 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 41. Phasma (Gyphocrania) marginipennis, De Haan, Orthop. Orient., p. 131. Diura chronus, ? , G. R. Gray, Ent. of Austr., i., pi. v., fig. 2 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 39 (Acrophylla c.) Servielle, H. N. Orth., p. 232. Burm., Handb. d. Ent., ii., 2, p. 580 ( Gyphocrania c.) Hab. Australia, CATALOGUE OF AUSTRALIAN rHASMIDTE — RAINBOW. 41 A. japetus, G. R. Gray. Westwood, loc. cit ., pp. 114-115. Otenomorpha spinicollis, <$ , G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., i., pi. i., fig. 1 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 41. Phasrna (Cyphocrania) spinicollis , Do Haan, Orth. Orient,, p. 131. Dairus japetus, Leach, Zool. Misc., i., pi. ix. G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., pi. vi., iig. 1 (Diura v.) ; Syn. Phasm., p. 40 ( Acrophylla v.) Burm., Handb. d. Ent., ii., 2, 580 (Cyphocrania v.) Diura roseipennis, ? , G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., i., pi. vii., fig. 1 ; Syn. Phasm., p. 41 (Acrophylla v.) Burm., loc. cit. (Cyphocrania v., % ) Phasrna ( Cyphocrania c.) roseipennis, De liaan, Orth. Orient., p. 130. 42 RECORDS OF TI1E AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. A. ( Diura) virginea , Stal, Recensio Orthopterorum, Stockholm, 1875, p. 84. Hob. Cape York, Queensland. Genus Clemacantha, Rainbow . C. regale , Rainbow, ante , pp. 34-35, pi. ix., figs. 1, 2, 3. II ab. N. S. Wales and Queensland. Germs Vasil issa, Kirby. V. wal/ceri, Kirby, Trans. Lin. Soc. Loud., (2) vi., 6, pp. 468-469. Ilab. Queen's Islet, N.W. Australia. Genus Podacanthus, G. R . Gray. P. typhon , G. R. Gray, Ent. Austr., i., pi. ii., fig. 1 • Syn. Phasm., p. 32. Servielle, H. N. Orth., p. 230. Brum., Handb. d. Ent., ii., 2, p. 581. Westwood, Joe. cit ., p. 117. MacCoy, Prodr. Z. Viet., dec. viii., Insects, pp. 35-36, pi. lxxx , figs. 1, la., 16., lc. Var. rnaris , P. nnicolor (totus viridis) Charpentier, Ortliop. Descr., pfi. lvi. Ilab. Sydney and Victoria. P. viridi-roseus , Curtis, MS. G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm., p. 43 ( Podacanthus v.) Westwood, loc. cit ., p 117. Hob. In Australia, Moreton Bay. P. Wilkinsoni , Macleay, Proc. Lin. Soc., N.S.W., vi., p. 538. Ilab. Westmoreland, N.S.W. Genus Necroscia, Servielle. N. carterus , Westwood, loc. cit., p. 138, pi. xv., figs. 5, 5a., 5b. Hob. Australia. N. sarpedon , Westwood, loc. cit., pp. 139-140, pi. xvi., figs. 1, 1#. ? 3 pi- xxxii., fig. 5. Ilab. North Australia. K. annulipes, Curtis, MS. G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm., p. 37 ( Platycrana arm.) Westwood, Joe. cit., p. 150. Phasma ( Necroscia) annulipes , De Haan, Orth. Orient., pp. 118-121. Hob. East Indies ; Malacca ; Australia. CATALOGUE OE AUSTRALIAN TH A SMIDJE— RAINBOW. 43 Genus Tropicloderus, G. R. Gray. T. childrenii , G. R. Gray. Diura typhceus , s. 14ozs. CATALOGUE OF AUSTRALIAN METEORITES — COOKSEY. Loc. — Narraburra Creek,* twelve miles E. of Temora, N.S. Wales, Lat. 34° 10' S., Long. 147° 43' E. Finder and Date. — Mr. O’Brien, 1854. Coll. — H. C. Russell, F.R.S., Govt. Astronomer, Sydney. Nocoleche. — T. Cooksey, Rec. Austr. Mus., iii., 3, 1897, p. 51. Type . — Siderite, belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight. — 44*18tbs. (20,040 grams.) Loc . — Five miles S. W. of Nocoleche Station, near Wanaaring, N.S. Wales. Finder and Date . — Existence known in 1895. Coll. — Australian Museum, Sydney ; H. A. Ward, Rochester, U.S.A. Roebourne. — Type . — Siderite. Weight . — 1 9 1 Jibs. Loc. — Two hundred miles S.E. of Roebourne, N.W. West Australia. Finder and Date. — H. Reginald Hester, in 1892. Coll. — Perth Museum, Perth, West Australia ; H. A. Ward, Rochester, U.S.A Temora. — G. W. Card, Rec. Geol. Surv. N. S. Wales, v., 2, 1897, p. 52 ; A. Brezina, Ann. K.K. Naturhist. Hof mus. Wien., x., 3-4, 1895, p. 288. Type. — Siderite, belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight . — Loc . — Between Cootamundra and Temora, N. S. Wales. Finder and Date . — Found by some miners about the year 1890. Coll. — Fragments : — Mining and Geological Museum, Sydney; Hof museum, Vienna ; H. A. Ward, Rochester, U.S.A. Thunda. — A. Liversidge, Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales, xx., 1886, p. 73 ; ibid., xxii., 1888, p. 341 ; A. Liversidge, Proc. Austr. Assoc. Adv. Sci., ii., for 1890 (1891), p. 387 ; A. Brezina, Ann. K.K. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien., x., 3-4, 1895, pp. 272, 283. Type. — Siderite. belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight. — 1 371bs. Loc. — Thunda, Windorah, Diamantina District, Queensland- Coll. — A. Liversidge, F.R.S., University, Sydney (main mass). * Mr. Russell tells me personally that Yeo Yeo Creek is its proper locality. 60 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Youndegin, No. 1. — L. Fletcher, Min. Mag., vii., 34, 1887, p. 121 ; A. Brezina, Ann. K.K. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien., x., 3-4, 1895, p. 286. Type . — Siderite, belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight . — Four fragments weighing 25-Jlbs., 241bs., 17|ibs., and 611)8., and broken pieces 17Jbs. Loc. — Three-quarters of a mile N.W. from Penkarring Rock, about seventy miles E. of York, West Australia, Lat. 31° 30' S., Long. 117° 30' E. Finder and Dale . — Alfred Eaton, Jan. 5th, 1884.* Coll. — Two fragments in British Museum (Nat. Hist.). Youndegin, No. 2.— J. R. Gregory, Nature , 1892, xlvii., 1204, p. 90; A. Brezina, Ann. K.K. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien., x., 3-4, 1895, p. 286. Type . — Siderite, belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight. — 382 \ lbs. Loc . — Youndegin, West Australia. Finder and Date . — Louis Knoop, in 1891. Coll. — J. R. Gregory, London. Youndegin, No. 3 .—Nature, 1893, xlvii., 1220, p. 469 ; A. Brezina, Ann. K.K. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien., x., 3 4, 1895, p. 286. Type . — Siderite, belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight . — 20441bs. Loc. — Youndegin, West Australia. Finder and Date. — Louis Knoop, in 1892. Coll. — J. R. Gregory, London. A CONTRIRUTION TO A BlIiLlOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIAN METEORITES. Anonymous. -The Meteor of the 1 4th April [Haddon Meteorite]. — The Illustrated Australian News , 17th May, 1875, pp. 68 and 74. ,, [Youndegin Meteorite, No. 3]. — Nature, 1893, xlvii., 1220, p. 469. Bertiielot (M.) — Nouvelles contributions a Phistoire des Car- bones, du Graphite et des Meteorites. — Ann . Chimie , 1873, xxx., p. 424. ,, NouvellesContributions a Phistoire du Carbone. — Compt. Rend., 1871, lxxiii., p. 494. * Catalogue of Exhibits in the Western Australian Court of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886, gives 1883 as the date of discovery. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIAN METEORITES— COOKSEY. 61 Brezina (A.) — Die Meteoritensammlung des K. K. naturhistoris- chen Hofmuseums am 1 Mai, 1895. — Ann. K. K. Nalur- hist. Hofmus. Wien, 1895, x., 3 — 4, pp. 235, 252, 267, 268, 272, 273, 285, 294, 301, 305, 306, 307, 340, 341, 344, 355. Buchner (O.)— Die Meteoriten, etc., pp. 202 (8vo. Leipsig, 1863). [Cranbourne Meteorite, p, 198]. Card (G. W.) — On the Occurrence and Classification of some New South Wales Meteorites. — Rec . Geol. Surv. N.S. Wales , 1897, v., 2, p. 49. „ Mineralogical and Petrological Notes, No. 6. — Rec. Geol. Surv. N.S . Wales, 1897, v., 2, p. 121. Cooksey (T.) — The Nocoleche Meteorite, with Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Meteorites. — Rec. Austr. Mus., 1897, iii., 3, p. 51, Fletcher (L.) — On a Specimen of Meteoric Iron found at Youn- degin, West Australia, in 1884. — Min. Mag., 1887, vii., No 34, p. 121. „ An Introduction to the Study of Meteorites. — Brit. Mus. (Nat, Hist.) Guides, 1886, pp. 45, 67. Flight (W.) — A Chapter in the History of Meteorites. — Geol. Mag., 1875, (2), ii., pp. 264, 552. Supplement to a Chapter in the History of Meteorites. — Geol. Mag., 1882, (2), ix., pp. 107, 448; Ibid., 1883, (2), x., p. 59. Report of the Examination of the Meteorites of Cran- bourne in Australia, of Rowton in Shropshire, and of Middlesborough in Yorkshire. — Phil. Trans, for 1882 (1883), clxxiii., p. 885. Foord (G.)— Nickeliferous and Meteoric Iron. .—Brough Smyth's Gold Fields and Mineral Districts of Victoria , 1869, p. 424. Gibbons (S.) — Note on the Cranbourne Meteorite. — Trans. Roy. Soc. Viet., 1874, x., p. 130. Gregory (J. R.) — A Large Meteorite from West Australia. — Nature, 1892, xlvii., 1204, p. 90. Haidinger (W. von) — Die Dandenong Meteoreisenmasse in Mel- bourne.-^ -Sitz. K. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1861, xliv., pp. 3/8, 465; Ibid., 1862, xlv., p. 63. Hauskofer (K.) — Meteorit von Cranbourne, Australien.— Journ. Prakt. Chem., 1869, evii., p. 330. ,, Meteorite found near Cranbourne, Melbourne, Australia. — Chem. News, 1870, xxi., p. 12. Le Gould (L.) — Discovery of an Aerolite, and Visit to a Petrified Forest in Northern Queensland. — Geol. Mag., 1864, i., p. 142. 62 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Liversidge (A.) — The Deniliquin or Baratta Meteorite. — Trans. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1872 (1873), p. 97 ; Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1882, xvi., p. 31. ,, On the Bingara Meteorite. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1882, xvi., p. 35. ,, Metallic Meteorite, Queensland. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1886 (1887), xx., p. 73. ,, [The Thunda Meteorite]. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1888 (1889), xxii., 2, p. 341. ,, Australian Meteorites. — Proc. Austr. Assoc. Adv. Sci. for 1890 (1891), ii., p. 387. ,, The Minerals of New South Wales, etc. — (8vo. London, 1888), pp. 207, 218, 221. Mingaye (J. C. H.) — Notes and Analyses of a Metallic Meteorite from Moonbi, near Tamworth, N.S. Wales. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N. S. Wales for 1893, xxvii., p. 82. Russell (H. C.) — [Meteorite near Hay (Eli Elwah Meteorite)]. — Journ , Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1888 (1889), xxii., 2, p. 341. ,, [The Baratta and Gilgoin Meteorites]. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1889, xxiii., 1, p. 46. ,, [The Narraburra Meteor]. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1890, xxiv., p. 81. ,, On Meteorite No. 2, from Gilgoin Station. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1893, xxvii., p. 361. 4 , On a Meteorite from Gilgoin Station. — Nature , 1894, xlix., 1266, p. 325. Selwyn (A. R. C.) and Ulrich (G. H. F.) — Notes on the Physical Geography, Geology, and Mineralogy of Victoria. — (8vo. Melbourne, 1866). [Cranbourne Meteorite, p. 517]. Smith (J. Lawrence). — O n the Composition of the new Meteoric Mineral Daubreelite, and its frequent, if not universal occurrence in Meteoric Iron. — Silliman’s Airier. Journ. Sci., 1878, (3) xvi., p. 270 ; Min. May., 1879, ii., 9, p. 152 Ulrich (G. H. F ,)_ Vide Selwyn (A. R. C.) and Ulrich (G. H. F.) Ward (H. A.) — Supplementary Catalogue of Meteorites for Sale, April 1, 1897. Wilkinson (C. S.) — [The Cowra Meteorite]. — Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales for 1888 (1889), xxii., 2, p. 341. I am indebted to Prof. A. Liversidge, F.R.S., Messrs. H. C. Russell, F.R.S., R. T. Baker, G. M. Card, B. H. Woodward, and the Curator of this Museum, for assistance in compiling this Catalogue and Bibliography. ANKERITE FROM SANDHURST, VICTORIA — COOKSEY. 63 ANKERITE from SANDHURST, VICTORIA. By T. Cooksey, Ph.D., B.Sc., Mineralogist. Among the specimens of minerals in the Museum Collection are two, which were obtained from the New Chum line of reef, Sand- hurst, Victoria, and which had been placed among those of the Calcite group. That these were correctly named seemed doubtful, as the powdered mineral effervesced very feebly with dilute hydro- chloric acid in the cold. A qualitative test showed that both iron and magnesia were present in considerable quantity and a complete analysis furnished the following results: — CaCO, ... 48*95 FeCO, ... 23-12 MgC0 3 ... 25 01 Insoluble residue 3-54 100-62 *3016 gram of material was taken for analysis, which on treat- ing with hydrochloric acid, left *0107 gram of insoluble matter consisting mainly of albite. By subtracting this insoluble portion from the total quantity taken, namely ’3016 gram, and calculating the results on the amount dissolved, that is *2909 gram, the per- centage composition of the three carbonates is found to be : — CaCO 3 50-76 FeC0 3 ... 23-97 MgCO s 25-93 Manganese was not present, neither the borax bead test nor the fusion with nitre and caustic potash giving the manganese reaction. The specific gravity of the mineral is 2-994 (uncorr.) and its hardness about 3-5. The crystals consist of very fiat rhombohedrons with slightly curved faces occasionally striated, and form the lenticular crystals with sharp edges frequently seen in calcite and more especially in siderite. They are, however, externally slightly altered and the 64 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. surfaces have a dull yellowish tinge deepening occasionally towards the edges. Internally they are colourless and translucent and shew the rhomboidal cleavage perfectly. In the one specimen the crystals of ankerite are associated with large and well formed crystals of quartz, some of which are left- handed, having both the rhombo- and trapezohedral surfaces. A few saddle-shaped crystals of siderite are deposited here and there on both minerals.* The other specimen contains no siderite, the associated minerals being quartz crystals, and a few large and numerous small crystals of albite. Normal ankerite has the formula 2 CaC0 3 . FeC0 3 .MgC0 3 assigned to it and requires 2 CaCO 3 ... 50-0 FeCO 3 ... 29-0 MgC0 3 ... 21-0 100-0 The analysis of the above mineral is seen to differ from this in the relative proportions of the carbonates of iron and magnesia. Calculated however for the formula 5 CaCO s .2 FeCO 3 . 3 MgCO s the percentages found agree exceedingly well with the theoretical Cal cu 1 ated . Found . 5 CaCO, 50-81 50*76 2 FeCO s 23-57 23-97 3 JVIgCOg 25-61 25-93 Borickyf writes the formula for ankerite and similar minerals thus : — (CaFeC g 0 6 ) + n (CaM gC , O 6 ), and states that n may vary from J to 10. When n is 1 the formula represents normal ankerite, but he assumes that those minerals in which n is 2 or less may be classed as ankerites, while he names those in which n is greater than 2 parankerites. The formula 5 CaCO 3 . 2 FeCO 3 . 3 MgC0 3 calculated for the present mineral may be written : — 2 (CaFeC 3 0 6 ) -f 3 (OaMgC.O.) # These crystals of siderite have already been figured and described by the late Mr. F. Ratte in “ Notes from the Australian Museum,” Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, x., 4, 1885, p. 759. f Boricky — Min. Mitth., xlvii., 1876. ANKK1UT® I*’ ROM SANDHURST, VICTORIA 00OKHMY. (If) and this again : (CalVtiOflOtj) H- f (OaMgCyOtt) in which it in seen Mint n in e<|ual to jj. This mineral therefore, according to Boriclcy’s nomenclature, must lo placed with (he an ke rites, hut di tiers from (ho normal however in that n is Jj in stead of I . In Australia generally this mineral has hum rarely observed. In New South Wales, (.juoeiiMlaiid, and Tasmania it has not been recorded. In Victoria, A It. (X Holwyn and < 1. 1 1 b\ (Jlrieh* state that a mineral similar in eompoHition Wftw met with in veins and patches in deuotu posed hasa 1 1 at. I > hil ip I sland ; and in Month A ustral in it has boon found at ( Jill's llliill, near Lyndhurst,aml at theWalleroo Mine. 1 1 row n spar and forrooaloite have been observed in several places, but they very very considerably in composition from anker ite itself. * A. k (/. Selwyrj and (1, II. F. Ulrieh I'hyw. (ieogr., 0#ol and Min. Viet., 1800, p. 75. 66 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. On a PRECAUDAL VERTEBRA of ICHTHYOSAURUS AUSTRALIS , McCOY. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. The subject of this paper is the imperfect vertebra of a large Ichthyopterigian, referable, I believe, to Ichthyosaurus australis , McCoy.* The original was brought under my notice by the Rev. M. Kirkpatrick, of Bega, N. S. Wales, who obtained it from Marathon, Central Queensland. With his permission a cast was taken for the Australian Museum Collection, As Sir F. McCoy’s description was very brief, an extended notice of one of the middle trunk, or anterior pre-caudal vertebrae, may be acceptable to Aus- tralian investigators. The specimen is the centrum of a large vertebra measuring five inches in its vertical and transverse diameters, and rivals in size those of the gigantic I. campylodon , Carter, from the European Chalk, the vertebra figuredf by the late Sir Richard Owen measur- ing only four inches high. Our example is devoid of the neural spine, neurapophyses, and pleurapophyses, but having the articular surfaces of the first and last well displayed. The positions of the diapophysial and pleurapophysial articular surfaces leads to the belief that the vertebra is one of the middle trunk series. It is subcircular in outline, slightly narrowed and contracted neurally. Measured across the articular surfaces from the neural to the haemal margins the diameter is exactly five inches, and in a trans- verse direction, from diapophysis to diapophysis it is an eighth of an inch short of a similar measurement. Longitudinally measured between the dia- and pleuraphysial tubercles the centrum is exactly two inches, but on the hsemal surface it is a quarter of an inch more. The concave terminal articular surface visible is deep, terminat- ing in a central fossa, the extent of the concavity being well exemplified by the matrix cast of the anterior cavity of the succeeding vertebra? at the posterior end of this specimen. This mass of matrix represents the “ elastic capsule ” that intervened between the vertebra?, and retains on its surface portions of the osseous tissue of the succeeding centrum. The periphery or im- mediate articular rim at each end is narrow, the surface thence sloping rapidly inwards, but the edges of the rims project slightly * Trans. Roy. Soc. Viet., viii., 1868, p. 41. f Owen — Mon. Foss. Reptilia Cret. Formation, p. 79, pi. xxii. PRECAUD A L VERTEBRA OF ICHTHYOSAURUS AUSTRALIS — ETHERIDGE. 67 outwards, thus rendering the longitudinal or lateral surfaces of the centrum somewhat concave. The depth of the concavities is an inch, or perhaps a little more, and a longitudinal section of the centrum would be, in consequence, of a strongly hour-glass shaped outline. The floor of the myelonal canal is three-quarters of an inch wide, the joint faces of the neurapophysial surfaces rather triangular on very strongly raised fore and aft synchondrosial articular elevations, the space between these and the diapophysial tubercles is roughly three inches, the latter having descended in close contiguity to the parapophysial tubercles. It is clear, there- fore, that this vertebra from the wide disassociation of the neura- and diapophyses occupied a position in the column certainly more than one-third of the trunk from the head, and, according to Owen’s measurements, was near about the forty to forty-fifth vertebra, for in this region in Ichthyosaurus, the dia- and para- pophyses form a pair of separate tubercles on each side near the anterior end of the centrum. The diapophyses are set further in from the anterior articular edge than the parapophyses ; these are close to the latter, but are not connected with it by a “neck.” Both are represented by large and strong rounded tubercles, separated from one another by an interval of two-eighths of an inch, this interstitial surface being deep and groove- like. The hremal surface is quite plain. The posterior concave articular surface is infilled with matrix, affording a complete cast of the next succeeding anterior cup, and even retaining a portion of the osseous tissue of the latter adhering to it. This tissue throughout the centrum is well preserved and dense. The specimen is certainly of the Campylodont group of Ichthyo- sauri, and occupies an intermediate position in outline between an “early posterior dorsal” and a “late posterior dorsal” vertebra of I . triyonus, Owen.* The largest Ichthyosauri attained a length of from thirty to forty feet, and the present meridianal species was in no way inferior to its gigantic fellows of the European Secondary seas. If we apply a similar method of arriving at the comparative size of an Ichthyosaurus as that adopted by Prof. Owen, that the jaw was “ thirteen times the length of the vertical diameter of an abdominal or anterior caudal centrum,” we see in the present fossil the representative of an animal possessing a jaw a little over five feet in length — thus 13 x 5" = 65" = 5' 5" long. Prof. McCoy computedf the remains of his type specimen to represent * Lydekker — Brit. Mus. Cat. Foss. Reptilia and Amphibia, 1889, pt. 2, p. 26, figs. 13 and 14. f Trans. Roy, Soc, Viet , ix., 2, 1869, p. 77. 68 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. an animal twenty-five feet long. Similar vertebrae to that now described he states possessed a diameter of four inches, and else- where he remarks* * * § that the longitudinal measurement reached one and a half inches. The elastic capsule was also preserved in some of his specimens. Mr. R. Lydekker, in the previously mentioned “ Catalogue,” gives a list of species that “ cannot be classified.”! Amongst these are 1. australis , McCoy, and /. marathonensis , mihi. I am afraid he has overlooked Sir Frederick’s principal paper on his /. australis , wherein, although the description is meagre, the latter specially compares the teeth of his fossil to those of I. campy lodon, and says they “ have a rough bony square base like those of I. carnpylodon (Carter) ” As regards /. marathonensis , mihi, less can perhaps be definitely said, but the whole of its structure, so far as we know it, is also after the type of T. carnpylodon. In my paper on this fossil, I called attention to the necessity of affording another name to I. australis , Hector, a New Zealand species distinct from McCoy’s. This has now been done by Mr. Lydekker terming it 1 . hector J but unfortunately the species is of no value, from the absence of either description or figure, all that Sir James Hector says about it being “ this genus is only represented in the collection by a single vertebral centrum.” Ichthyosaurus indicus , Lydk.,j$ seems to be an allied species to I. australis , and also vied with 1. carnpylodon in size. It is from the Ootatoor Group, the homotaxial equivalent of the Chalk Marl and Upper Greensand of England. McCoy’s original specimens were from Walker’s Table Mountain on the Flinders River. The present vertebra is, as before said, from Marathon on the same stream. Both are localities in the Rolling Downs Formation, or Lower Cretaceous. * Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (3), xix., 1867, p. 355. f Loc. cit ., p. 113. J Loc. cit., p. 113. § Pal. Indica (4), i., 3, 1879, p. 27. A NEW BLIND SNAKE FROM THE DUKE OF YORK ISLAND — WAITE. 69 A NEW BLIND SNAKE from the DUKE of YORK ISLAND. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist, Australian Museum. The species herein described, is represented by two specimens, collected, together with other material, in the Duke of York Island, by the Rev. George Brown, D.D., and forwarded to the Museum many years ago. For this snake I propose the name of — Typhlops subocularis, sp. nov. Habit stout, of even thickness. Head flat, much depressed. Snout prominent, with a rather acute, but not sharp, edge. Rostral above, very narrow, about one-sixth the width of the head, reaching but little more than half-way to the level of the eyes ; the portion visible from beneath somewhat longer than broad ; nasal incompletely divided, the fissure extending from the anterior portion of the second labial. Nostrils inferior, preocular, but little narrower than the ocular, separated from the labials by one scale, ocular separated by two scales. Four upper labials, the anterior three very narrow. The mandible is /^-shaped, the symphysis very acute, and the scales adjoining the labials oblique. Diameter of the middle of the body thirty times in the total length. Tail longer than broad, terminating in a large thorn- like spine. Thirty-six (specimen A.) or thirty-four (specimen B.) scales round the middle of body. Colours . — In spirits, dark brown above, yellow beneath, the two areas strongly marked, line of union interrupted. Dimensions . A. (Type). B. Total length ... 3600 mm. 280-0 Length of head 7-5 „ 6-0 Width of head 9-0 „ 7*5 Width of body 121 „ 9-2 Length of tail 17-3 „ 7-8 Width of tail H-5 „ 6-5 Habitat . — Duke of York Island. Two specimens. Type . — In the Australian Museum, Sydney. 70 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. This species will come into Division III. of Boulenger’s synopsis,* * * § “a prseocular and one or two suboculars,” but will fit into neither of the subordinate groups, the character of the snout not being sufficiently marked. Taking the number of scales round the body, namely, thirty- four to thirty-six, the only described species with which it thus agrees is T. acutus , f at once distinguishable (apart from its distribution) by the peculiar snout and the remark- able size of the rostral. A species, T. depressus,\ has previously been made known from the Duke of York Island ; in this the prieocular is in contact with the labials, and a comparison of Peters' figures (a reference to which Mr. Boulenger has, in his Catalogue, § omitted) with those below given, shows how widely the two species differ. 3 . In profile. Head of Typhlops subocularis (enlarged). * Boulenger— Brit. Mus. Cat. Snakes, i., 1893, p. 14. f Dum. et Bibr., Erpet. gen., vi., 1844, p. 333. I Peters— Monatsb. K. Preus. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1880, p. 220, fig. 3 (p. 309). § Boulenger— loc. cit. f p. 33. NEW or LITTLE-KNOWN LOWER PALAEOZOIC GASTEROPODA in the COLLECTION of the AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. (Plates xv., and xvi.) The following Lower Palaeozoic fossils are either new to Australian Palaeontology, or have been imperfectly described. Genus Goniostropha, t Wilert , 1888. (Bull. Soc. Etudes Sci. Angers for 1887 (1888).) Goniostropha pritciiardi, sp. nov. Pl. xv., Figs. 1-4. Sp. char . — Shell small, elongately spiral, of seven or eight slowly increasing angular whorls, each bearing two sharp median keels, enclosing between them a smooth, slightly concave band, and the remaining surface of each whorl occupied by a series of fine spiral lyrre that arc sometimes finer above than below the band ; sutures deep ; mouth with the outer lip apparently rounded, and the inner lip reflected. Length (of largest specimen) one and a quarter inches. Obs . — None of the mouths in the specimens before me are perfect, but the outer lip seems to have been rounded in outline, and the inner lip is certainly reflected. The whorls are only rendered angular by the projecting principal keels, enclosing between them the band, and they become less median in position as the apex is approached. This form belongs to a group of rather common Murchisoma - like shells for which Dr. Daniel (Ehlert has proposed the name Goniostropha , distinguished by more or less angular whorls, the band occupying the angle or greatest periphery of each whorl, accompanied by supplementary finer revolving lyrie. In this respect it differs from an allied genus, 1J 1 y per yonia, Donald.* As this is an undescribed species from the Lilydale Limestone of Victoria, I have much pleasure in associating with it the name * Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.* 1889, xlv., p. 623. A 72 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. of Mr. G. B. Pritchard, who has done much to advance our know- ledge of Victorian Palaeontology. Loc. and Horizon.— Cave Hill Quarries, Lilydale, Upper Yarra District, Victoria. Lilydale Limestone, Upper Silurian ; pre- sented by Messrs. J. Hinder and E. Smith. Genus Gyrodoma, gen. nov .* Gyrodoma etheridgei, C reswell , sp . PI. xvi., Fig. 1. Eunema etheridgei , Creswell, Proc. R. Soc. Viet., 1893, v. (n.s,), p. 42, t. 8, f. 2, (2 figs.). Ohs. — Mr. Ores well's figure represents an imperfect shell, and those now before me are also in the same condition, but sufficient characters are deductible to show that it is not referable to Eunema , which is an imperforate genus, with angular whorls. In G, etheridgei , on the other hand the whorls are boldly rounded, certainly seven in number and possibly more ; in PL xvi., Fig. 1 seven are visible, whilst Creswell assumed five to be the number. In the latter's left hand figure, as above quoted, there seems to me to be an umbilicus, although no mention is made of this in the description. In PI. xvi., Fig. 1, a distinct and rather fiat or depressed band is visible, bounded by two lyrse that are certainly more prominent than the remainder encircling the whorls. Mr. C reswell's figures both distinctly portray two bands side by side, but the example now figured lias but one. If a double band does exist on some specimens, it indicates a departure towards the Cretaceous genus Disopeta , Gardner. The whorls decrease in size rapidly, the inner lip is almost straight, and with the anterior termination of the outer lip describes nearly a right angle. The presence of the regular spiral lyra* distinguishes the proposed new genus from the allied Goniostropha , CEhlert, Cvelocaulus , (Ehlert, flormotoma. , Salter, Caliendrum, , Brown, Gerithioid.es , (Laughton, Stegoccelia, Donald, Hypergonia , Donald, and Glyjjho- deta , Donald, aided in some instances by the rounded whorls of Gyrodoma , and the position of the band. The nonderolement of the whorls distinguishes the latter from Loxoplocus , Fischer, and the absence of all tuberculation from Murchisonia , the genus proper in its restricted sense. If an umbilicus exists it cannot be a Pithodea ) De Kon. I therefore conclude it is a new section of Murchisonia and call it Gyrodoma. Loc. and Horizon.. — Cave Hill Quarries, Lilydale, Upper Yarra District, Victoria. Lilydale Limestone, Upper Silurian ; pre- sented by Mr. J. Hinder. * Gyro , to turn round, and domus, a house. LOWER PALAEOZOIC GASTEROPODA — ETHERIDGE. 73 Genus Mourlonia, De Koninck , 1883. (Faune Calc. Carb. Belgique, 1880, pt. 4, p. 75.) Mourlonia duni, sp. nov. PI. xv., Fig. 5 ; PI. xvi., Fig. 2. Sp. char. — Shell conical, or somewhat trochiform, the sides of the cone fairly continuous; spire rather depressed, but acute at the apex ; whorls six, gently rounded ; base convex. Body whorl large, more than twice the height of the penultimate whorl, obtusely angular at the centre ; sutures faintly impressed ; band sutural on all but the body whorl, bounded above by a faint keel, on the body whorl occupying the obtuse median angle, the bound- ing keels very sharp and distinct, with a faintly impressed groove below the lower, and apparently without special sculpture ; sinus unknown ; umbilicus open, although not widely so ; mouth oval, with the inner lip reflected somewhat over the umbilicus, but without concealing it. Obs. — The late Mr. Felix Ratte figured* three univalves from our Lower Palaeozoic rocks without assigning specific names to them, nor even generic in the case of two. Whether or no the present shell be one of these I am in doubt, but in some points his fig. 6 is like it, and again in other respects widely divergent ; for instance in the figure quoted there is too great a convexity of the whorls, too elevated a spire, and too prominent a band. At the same time there is the possibility that the two may be identical, allowing for defective drawing. Mourlonia duni is an exceedingly characteristic species of the Wellington Caves Limestone, and is at present unknown to me from any other horizon. It is named in honour of my former Assistant, Mr. W. S. Dun, to whom I am indebted for much cordial help. Loc and Horizon — Wellington Caves, 1ST. S. Wales. Siluro- Devonian. Genus Helicotoma, Salter , 1859. (Canadian Organic Remains, 1859, Dec. I., p. 10.) Helicotoma joiinstoni, sp. nov. PI. xv., Figs. 6 — 8 ; PI. xvi., Figs. 3 and 4. Straparollus ( Maclurea) tasmanicus , Johnston, Geol. Tas., 1888, t. 5, f. 7 (excl. f. 1 and la). Sp. char. — Shell discoid, of about four whorls, each nearly twice the breadth of the preceding ; spire short, wholly depressed * Proc. Linn. Soc. 1ST. S. Wales, x., 1, 1885, t. 9. f. G. 74 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. below the level of the body whorl, which is traversed on its outer angle by a keel, without nodes, crenulations or echinations, but variable in its degree of prominence and acuteness, on the inner side of the keel the surface of the whorl slopes rapidly away to the suture, with immediately above it a second feeble obtuse keel; on the under side the surface of the body whorl is either gently rounded or flattened, but the inner whorls rounded only ; umbilicus telescopic, but most of the whorls visible ; back in no way concave beneath the keel of the body whorl, but rounded and broadening towards the mouth, the surface loosing much of its convexity. Mouth generally rounded, but slightly insinuated at the keel, and more so along the sutural margin, the upper margin, in other words, retreating towards the shallow 7 notch or insinuation referred to, and the lower edge advancing and insinuated. Sculpture of the upper surface consists of fine obliquely retreating lyrulafc on the inner half of each whorl, and similar advancing lyrulse on the outer half, giving a faintly V-shaped figure, but on the wide back these lyrulse become more directly transverse ; on the under surface the lyrulse describe a sigmoidal curve, becoming much coarser and sub-larninar towards the mouth, the sharpest portion of the curve being immediately above the suture at the obtuse feeble keel. Obs. — Under the name of Straparollus tasmanicus , I feel con- vinced Mr. R. M. Johnston lias included two perfectly distinct shells. His figs. 1 and la. represent a Raphistoma that may be known as Raphistoma tasmanicum , Johnston, sp., whilst fig. 7, the subject of the present remarks, appears to me to be a Helico- toma , and I therefore propose for it the name of H. johnstoni. The specimen now figured was received in a collection of fossils forwarded from the Tasmanian Museum. PI. xv., Fig. 6, repre- sents the upper side, corresponding to Johnston’s fig. 7, whilst our PI. xv., Fig. 7, is that of the under or umbilical side of the same specimen. I am puzzled how to distinguish this from another shell that Mr. Johnston has figured as Lituites , sp. indet.,* except that in the latter the transverse laminae are too coarse for the lines occurring on the under surface of II elicotoma johnstoni. In the faintly V-shaped outline of the sculpture on the upper side, the apex of the V is at the keel of the body whorl, producing a slight notch on the outer lip, after the manner of Helicotoma , without in anyway simulating a true sinus. This reflection of the sculpture lines and the presence of the notch distinguish this shell at once from Polytropis , He Koninck. Log . and Horizon. — Gordon River, West Tasmania. Gordon River Limestone, Lower Silurian. * Johnston — Geol. Tas., 1888, t. 5, f. 8 and 10. LOWER PALAEOZOIC GASTEROPODA — ETHERIDGE. 75 Genus Trochonema, Salter , 1859. (Canadian Organic Remains, 1859, Dec. 1, p. 24). Trochonema etiieridgei, Johnston . PI. xvi., Figs. 5 and G. Trochonema etheridgei , Johnston, Geol. Tas., 1888, t. 5, 1'. 13 and 14. Sp. char . — Shell turbinate, of five or six acutely keeled and angular whorls, the principal keel occupying the periphery of each whorl ; on the anti-penultimate whorl there are three keels, the first small and thread-like bordering the upper suture, the surface thence to the second keel being tabulate or fiat, from the latter to the principal keel slightly oblique and concave, and thence to the lower suture the surface is straight- walled ; the pen- ultimate whorl possesses four keels besides the peripheral, the three upper arranged as in the anti-penultimate, whilst between the third and fourth the surface is again straight- walled ; the body whorl (somewhat hidden in matrix) probably possessed four also, the peripheral keel being strong and prominent. Sutures excavated. Mouth almost rhomboidal ; outer lip strongly angled at the peripheral keel, rounded below ; inner lip possibly straight. Umbilicus distinct. Sculpture consisting of oblique sub-imbricat- ing growth lamella.!, faintly varicose along the peripheral keel, and becoming much stronger and rugose towards the mouth on the body whorl. Obs . — This well marked shell was figured but not described by Mr. Johnston. In his plate explanation the author remarks that T. etheridgei is allied to T. tricarinata , Meek,* of the Oorniferous Group of North America. T. tricarinata , Meek, should be known as Ty meekianum , Miller. f The present shell is readily dis- tinguished from T. montgomerii , mihi, by its much more turbinate form, and different arrangement of the spiral keels and sculpture. Loc. and Horizon . — Gordon River, West Tasmania. Gordon River Limestone, Lower Silurian. Trochonema montgomerii, Eth^ fd. Eunema montgomerii , Eth., fil., Ann. Rep. Secy, for Mines Tas. for 1895-6 (1896), p. xlvii., pi. f. 21 and 22. Obs . — Since the publication of this species, further examples have been received from the Tasmanian Museum, one with an umbilicus exposed. This will necessitate its removal from Eunema to Trochonema. The following additional features may be noted : * Ohio Geol. Report, Pal. I., 1873, p. 218, t. 19, f. 5 a and b. f N. American Geol. and Pal., 1889, p. 428. 76 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Each thread-like lyrula of the sculpture is separated from its neighbour by several times its own thickness, the obliquity of the lyrulse on the upper part of each whorl being changed on the straight- walled portion to a perfectly vertical direction. The upper part of the inner lip, although not forming a callosity, is revolute, slightly projecting over the umbilicus. The aperture was long oval, angled on the outer lip by the principal keel of the body whorl. Loc. and Horizon . — Gordon River, West Tasmania. Gordon River Limestone, Lower Silurian. TROCHONEMA? NODOSA, Sp. 710V. PI. xv., Figs. 9, 10. Worthenia , sp. nov., Ratte, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, x., 1885, pt. 1, p. 80, t. 9, f. 1 and 2. Sp. char. — Shell turbinate, but not depressed ; whorls more than four (four in part only preserved), the body whorl apparently not free, each whorl horizontal or nearly so on its upper portion around the suture, vertical or straight- walled in the lower ; all, except the body whorl, bear two keels, the latter three, the upper- most keel in each case demarcating the two portions of the whorls, and carring a number of blunt nodes, or tubercles, which on the body whorl become of a variciform nature, and more pronounced with the growth of the whorl ; the second keel is midway between that just mentioned and the suture, and with the third on the body whorl is nodose also. Mouth generally oval, vertically elon- gated ; outer lip quadrangular ; inner lip and minute sculpture not preserved ; umbilicus deep and apparently open. Obs. —Had not Mr. Ratte figured this shell, and referred it to Worthenia (with which it has no connection), without a specific name, I should not have noticed it in consequence of its poor state of preservation. I am even doubtful of its proper generic resting- place from the same cause, but Trochonema , so far as L can judge, seems to be the most appropriate genus. At the same time it departs from the majority of species referred to the latter by the nodose nature of the encircling keels. There is one species of this genus, however, similarly ornamented — T . yandella7ia> Hall & Whitfield,* from the North American Corniferous Limestone, but otherwise distinct from T. ? nodosa. It may even be related to our old friend Bucciiiwn breve, Sby., of the British Devonian rocks, and which W hid borne has of late refer red f to the recent genus Liotia , Gray, without, however, in my opinion, sufficient reason. * 24th Ann. Rep. N. York State Cab., 1872, p. 194; 27th ibid., 1875, t. 13, f. 3; Nettelroth, Kentucky Fossil Shells, 1889, t. 20, f. 3. f Mon. Dev. Fauna S. England, 1892, pt. 4, p. 271. LOWER PALAEOZOIC GATTEROPODA — ETHERIDGE. 77 Log. and Horizon.— Cave Flat, Murrumbidgee River, N. S. Wales. Cave Flat Limestone, Siluro- Devonian. Genus Holopea, 1 1 all, 1847. (Pal. N. York, 1847, i., p. 169). Holopea wellingtonensis, sp. nov. PI. xv., Fig. 11 ; PI. xvi., Fig. 7 -9. (Unnamed shell), Ratte, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, x., 1885, pt. 1, t. 9, f. 3 - 5. Sp. char. — Shell ventricose, of six whorls rapidly decreasing in size above the last or body whorl ; apex acute J whorls rounded, uniformly ventricose, or almost inflated, very much wider than high, slightly horizontally flattened around the suture ; body whorl very much expanded in proportion to the others. Mouth round ; outer lip sharp and fine ; inner lip straight and slightly thickened. Umbilicus open and deep. Sculpture consisting of a large number of regular, fine, equidistant, sharp revolving threads crossed by others exceedingly fine and oblique, giving rise to a beautiful and minute cancellation ; towards the outer lip are a few coarse sub-laminar ridges. Obs. — This species was figured, although neither named nor described, by the late Mr. Ratte, but his figure shows a revoluted inner lip that is not present in any of our specimens. A similar flattening of the whorls around the suture is seen in Holopea obesa , Winchell.* 11. welling tonensis is not unlike some forms of Callonema , Hall, but possess spiral and growth threads, instead of the latter only, and also lacks the obtuse angularity on the anterior part of the body whorl that is almost always seen in species of Hall’s genus. Both Holopea and Callonema are umbilicated. Log. and Horizon. — Wellington Caves, N.S. Wales. Siluro- Devonian. * Geol. Wisconsin, 1873 - 70, iv., 1882, p. 348, t. 27, f. 4. 78 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. HALYSITES IN NEW SOUTH WALES. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. (Plate xvii.) The history of this genus, not only in N. S. Wales, but in Australia generally, is a very brief one. Halysites was first recorded by the late Prof. L. G. de Koninck,* who recognised H . escharoides , Lamk., in the collection of N. S. Wales fossils sent him by the late Rev. W. B. Clarke for determination. In the description given, however, there are no characters that would readily differentiate between this species, and the typical H. catenulatus , Linn. De Koninck gives Wellington as the locality, but I have never seen a Halysites from the limestone of that district. Although the presence of this old Palaeontological landmark lias been in a generic sense, recorded as occurring in N. S. Wales, the microscopic structure has not been investigated, so far as I know. The largest fasciculo-reticulate corallum that has come under my notice is a specimen measuring six and a half inches by four and a half, forming, in every case, a lax and spreading mass rather than a high erect growth. The intersecting reticulations, or “ fenestrules/ 7 are very variable in size and shape, but always polygonal, the smaller having an average size of three by three mm., the largest observed fifteen by five mm., fourteen by twelve, and so on, with intermediate gradations, the angles of junction of the vertical lamina? or plates being equally variable. The reticu- lations are usually longer in one direction than another, but not by any means invariably so. The walls are strong, but in conse- quence of the alteration that has taken place, the epitheca on the free sides of the laminae is rarely discernible, but when so, is well developed. The number of corallites on any one side of a reticu- lation varies from two to twelve, but the average number is from four to six. Examination in thin sections renders the great amount of alter- ation the corallum has undergone apparent, an unfortunate cir- cumstance common to a large number of our Lower Palaeozoic * Foss. Pal. Nouv.-Galles du Sud, pt. 1, 1876, p. 16 j Clarke, Sed. Form- ations N. S. Wales, 4th Edit., 1878, p. 129. HALYSITES IN NEW SOUTH WALES — ETHERIDGE. 79 corals, still sufficient details can be made out to elucidate the finer characters of our Haly sites. The mineral condition is very remarkable. The corals are preserved in a dark blue limestone, the tissues where unaltered being composed of the usual dark grey or brown sclerenchyma, the general infilling of all the intertabular spaces or old visceral chambers, being crystalline or granular calcite, the former in places with cleavage. Every here and there, however, the walls of the corallites are converted into a radiating siliceous mineral, or blebs of the same look as if forced into the walls ; there is every reason to believe that the latter is chalcedony, in the form of Beekite rosettes, a by no means uncommon mineral in our Lower Pakeozoic Invertebrata. In some cases these blebs occupy spaces within the corallites, breaking up the uniformity of the tabulate structure in a very marked manner. Notwithstanding this excessive alteration the external walls are quite discernible, and here and there the continuous epitheca on both the free sides of the laminae is visible also. As described* by Nicholson, the epitheca does not take any part in the “ form- ation of the partition which actually divides any tube from its neighbour on either side/' but the partitions are formed solely by the coalescent walls of the two contiguous corallites.” Further- more, the corallites are of two orders, as in the well known Haly sites catenulatus , Linn., thus at once distinguishing it from H. escharoides , Lamk. The larger, or normal corallites are oval, from three-quarters to one mm. in longest diameter, and the latter in the direction of the chain. In a macroscopic examination these may be at once distinguished by an outward bulging of the epithecated walls. The smaller corallites, or those of the second order, are ranged alternately with the larger, and are either round or quadrate, and each is enclosed by a thick wall of its own, distinct from the common or enclosing wall of the laminae. The position of these “interstitial tubes,” as they are termed by Nicholson, is equally discernible externally by a biconcavity of the wall opposite to each secondary corallite. The angles of junction of any two laminin that assist in forming a reticulation, or fenestrule, are always occupied by an interstitial corallite, which, in well weathered specimens, is visible with an ordinary pocket lens. Septa are absolutely wanting. The two sets of corallites become even more apparent in a vertical section. The normal tubes are closely tabulate, the tabula; horizontal, very regular, and equidistant, five in the space of one mm., enclosing between them more or less transversely elongated or quadrangular intertabular spaces. The interstitial tubes, on the other hand, are very narrow and pipe-like, sparsely * Nicholson — Tab. Corals Pal. Period, 1879. p. 227. 80 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. tabulate, the tabulae far apart (they are nearly half a mm. apart), although complete, the intertabular spaces vertically elongate, and both the walls and tabulae greatly thickened, (PI. xvii., fig. 7) as compared with the similar parts of the normal corallites. There is not the slightest trace whatever of the small projections in the interstitial tubes, £t apparently of a septal nature,” dis- covered and described by Nicholson.* The presence of the interstitial corallites, and the absence of septa clearly places the present coral within the group of 11. catenulatus , the “ Chain-coral” of the Wenlock, but as compared with the latter there is this remarkable difference. In H. catenu- latus the tabula? of the normal corallites are “ comparatively remotely disposed,” whilst in the interstitial tubes they are “much more numerous and more closely set.”f In our coral, which I propose to call Halysites australis , the exact opposite is the case. It is customary with Monographists to include in II. catenulatus a large number of other forms, in former days regarded as separate species, purely from external characters, but 1 think before this indiscriminate lumping is done, the whole of such forms should be submitted to microscopic examination, when possibly differences of an equally important nature to that shown above, may be found to exist. Halysites australis differs from //. ayglomerata , Hall,J by the same characters that it does from 11. catenulatus , Linn. In the form of the reticulations and mode of growth it is more akin to H. labyrinihica , Goldf.,§ and H. catenulatus , var Harti , Eth.,|| but in both cases the fenestrules are larger than in our species. The specimens were collected by the Kev. J. Milne Curran, at Molong, N. S. Wales, and by him presented to the Trustees. # Loc. cit., p. 229, t. 11, f. 1. f Ibid., p. 228. t Hall— Pal. N. York, ii., 1852, t. 35 bis. § Petrefacta Germanise, t. 25, f. 5a. || Quart. Journ. Geol. Soo., xxxiv., 1878, p. 583, t. 28, f. 2. LARVA OF PSEUDOTERPNA PERCOMPTARIA RAINBOW. 81 DESCRIPTION of the LARVA of PSEUDOTERPA A PERCOMPTARIA , On. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist. (Plate xviii.) Family G EOM ETRID^fl. Sub-Family Bo arm i i n /e . Germs Pseudoterpna, Meyr . PSEUDOTERPNA PERCOMPTARIA, On. (PI. xviii., Figs. 1, i a, lb, 1 c, Id.) Dorsal surface sage green with small black spots ; sides con- colorous, with narrow longitudinal median stripes of pale yellow, the latter bordered with green ; lateral surfaces sparingly dotted with minute black spots- in addition to these, the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth segments have each a small red spot, seated just below the spiracular oriface j spiracles white, oval, ringed with black; ventral surface concolorous, with median stripe of pale yellow. The head consists of an elongated, hard, ehitiuous process, wedge-shaped, deeply grooved down the centre both above and underneath ; back of head sage-green at base, apex suffused with pink and tipped with black, the surface finely granulated, and sparingly dotted with black ; sides granulated, sage-green, with a median longitudinal line of dark brown commencing at apex, and terminating rather lower down than half-way ; in front sage-green at base, suffused with pink, and thickly furnished with minute brown granules ; mouth parts of a dingy pinkish colour. Legs short, closely grouped together, pale yellowish ; pro-legs small, grouped together, and attached to the two final segments. Anal segment terminating with an elongated, ehitiuous, bifur- cated wedge-shaped process, the surface of which is granulated ; sage-green at base, black at tips. The specimen described was obtained by Mr. Sydney L. Evans, at Guyra, near Inveroll, and was forwarded by him to the Aus- tralian Museum, where it was received on the 12th of April, 1807. Two days afterwards it entered the pupal stage. In the interval, however, that elapsed between the date it was received and the time of its pupating, the notes and sketches necessary for a description of the creature were made. The pupa was attached to a stick by its tail, and had a silken girdle across the middle, 82 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. in which respect it might easily have been mistaken for a Papilio. This feature, it is well known, is not uncommon among the moths of the family Geometridse. In answer to a query as to its food-plant, Mr. Evans writes us as follows : — “ I am sorry to say that I am unable to tell you what the food plant of the caterpillar is. I found it holding on to a blade of grass near the Guyra Lagoon, and at first sight took it for a folded leaf, but on closer inspection found it was alive, but could not decide ‘which end was which,’ as there was apparently no difference.” Mr. G Lyell, Junr., informs me that- he has observed the larva feeding on the Peppermint Gum ( Eucalyptus piper ita, Sm.) The moth bred out on 3rd January, 1898. DESCRIPTION of a NEW ARANEIAD. By W. J. Rainbow, Entomologist. (Plate xviii.) Family ARGiOPiDiE. Genus Poltys, C. Kocli. POLTYS MULTITUBERCULATUS, Sp. 710V. (PI. xviii., Figs. 2, 2a, 2b.) $ Cephalothorax 6*2 mm. long, 4*8 mm, broad; abdomen, 11*6 mm. long, 8 8 mm. broad. Cephalothorax longer than broad, arched, dark brown, almost black, glossy. Caput arched, terminating in front with a tuber- cular ocular eminence, the latter 0*5 mm. high, and clothed in front with long grey hairs ; commencing at base of ocular eminence and extending thence to the junction of the cephalic and thoracic segments there is, in the median line, a very conspicuous scopula, the hairs of which are long and grey. Clypeus broad, strongly arched, dark brown, almost black, glossy, median depression deep, radial grooves indistinct. Marginal band broad, and of a pale fleshy tint. Eyes black ; of these six are seated on the tubercular ocular eminence, and arranged in two rows, the lower consisting of four eyes, and these are in a curved line directed downwards and for- wards ; of this series the median pair are sensibly the largest of the group ; each eye of the anterior row is separated from each other by a space equal to fully twice their individual diameter ; DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ARANEIAD RAINBOW. 83 the two comprising the second row are separated from their anterior neighbours by a space equal to rather less than twice their diameter, and from each other by about three diameters ; the remaining two lateral eyes are located in the angles of the cephalic segment at a distance from the tubercular eminence of about 0*5 mm. Legs long, robust, armed with strong spines, yellow-brown with dark annulations, clothed on the outer margins with hoary grey hairs, on the inner margins with ferruginous grey ; coxae densely clothed underneath with grey hairs. Relative lengths 1 = 2, 4, 3. Palpi long, similar in colour, armature, and clothing to legs. Falces long, robust, arched, glossy, sparingly clothed with black hairs, apices divergent, yellow at base to about one-third their length, where it terminates suddenly, and is thence dark brown to tips ; the upper margin of the furrow of each falx is armed with a row of four teeth, of which the two nearest the base are the longest and strongest ; the lower margin is armed with two. Maxilla: broad, arched, moderately long, divergent ; laterally they are yellowish -brown, and clothed with rather long, hoary greyish hairs ; inner surfaces glossy, pale llesh-coloured and naked, but the edges are furnished with dense hoary scopuke. Labium broader than long, arched, obtuse at apex, yellow-brown from base to about one-half its length, thence pale llesh-coloured. Sternum shield-shaped, moderately arched, densely clothed with short greyish hairs. Abdomen large, ovate, boldly projecting over base of cephalo- thorax, grey, with dark brown markings, and a large brown patch at the centre; sides grey ; at the highest point of the anterior extremity there is a recurved row of nine tubercles, the central one of which is by far the largest and most prominent ; besides these there are on each side of the superior surface of the abdomen twelve tubercles, the first nine of which are distributed over three slightly procurved rows of three each; the fourth row on each side consists of two each, and the twelvth tubercle is solitary; the total number of tubercles is 33 ; the median portion of the superior surface is, with the exception of two rather deep circular depres- sions, smooth; inferior surface yellow-brown with dark markings and moderately clothed with hoary hairs laterally, and yellowish pubescence in the median line. Epigyne , a small tri-lobed tubercular eminence, arched in front, hollow within. Hah. Cook town. The specimen herein described was collected by Mr. E. A. C. Olive, of Cooktown, and presented to the Trustees of the Australian Museum by Mr. P. de la Garde, R.N., Paymaster of H.M.S, “ Water witch.” 84 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. DESCRIPTION of a NEW BIVALWE, LIMA ALATA , from SANTA CRUZ. By C. Hedley, Conchologist. Shell large, thick and strong, colour uncertain, in outline but slightly oblique, subelliptical, sharply truncate above and roundly produced below, in transverse sec- tion moderately rounded, in breadth two-thirds the length. Hinge line long, a third of the length of the valve, nearly straight, set at about an angle of thirty - five degrees to the median line of the valve. The narrow and shallow liga- mental area is overhung by the small, sharp, pro- duced umbo. The anterior auricle is enormously de- veloped, thickened, reflec- ted, and sharply and strongly recurved; the posterior is straight and moderately developed. The exterior is everywhere regularly f u r rowed by numerous small grooves equal to their interstices. These are about a hundred in number, are deepest and broadest on the auricles and above, finest on the centre of the valve. They diverge at a small angle on each side of a median line ; trans- versely concentric growth lines indent and distort them. Length, 70 mm.; breadth 50 mm. Locality . — Santa Cruz, S. Pacific. Type . — Australian Museum. The material for the preceding description is a single, rather worn and discolored right valve, collected by Mr. J. Jennings on DESCRIPTION OF A NEW BIVALVE — HEDLEY. 85 the beach of Santa Cruz Island in 1897, and presented by him to the Trustees. So unlike any other described species does it appear that 1 have considered that even such imperfect material should be utilised. The brothers Adams, in grouping the recent species of Lima , set apart under the subgenus Ctenoides of Klein, L. scabra , Born, and L. tenera , Chemnitz, distinguished, among other features, by a sculpture of “ ribs divaricate, meeting in jthe centre.” Our novelty appears to find its nearest relations with these. More recently described species embraced by this character are -Z. cdbicoma , Dali., L. concentrica , Sowerby, and L . nmrrayi, Smith. L. alata appears to be longer than any of its immediate kin, with which I am not au topically acquainted, and to differ liom any recent Lima in the development and sinuation of the anterior auricle. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. By Alfred J. North, C.M.Z.S., Ornithologist. ♦ IY. — On a SPECIES of PIGEON frequenting the ATOLLS OF THE ELLICE GROUP. For nearly a quarter of a century various observers and writers have made reference to a species of Pigeon frequenting the Ellice Group. As I pointed out in my brief notes on the birds brought back from Funafuti by Mr. Hedley,* I could find no record of adult specimens having been obtained, but there was little doubt that the birds seen by Mr. Jansen on Funafuti in 1876, and by Mr. C. R. Swayne on Niu in 1895, were correctly identified by them as Globicera pacifica. Prior to the departure of the Coral-Boring Expedition for Funafuti last year, I urged the desirability of procuring one or * Austr. Mus. Mem. hi.— Atoll of Funafuti, pt. 1, Aves, 1896, p. 86. 86 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. more of these Pigeons if possible, and subsequently Mr. W. G. Woolnough, B.Sc., succeeded in shooting the specimen herein referred to, on the islet of Fualifeke, Funafuti Atoll, on 9th August, 1897. The Pigeon was presented to the Trustees of the Australian Museum. It proved to be a female Globicera pacifica, slightly smaller, but precisely similar in plumage to an example obtained about the same time from the Rev. IT. A. Robertson of Erromanga, New Hebrides. There is, however, scarcely any indication of the knob at the base of the bill and it is probably similar to the specimen on which Bonaparte bestowed the name of Globicera microcera , a synonym of this species. This may be due to immaturity, for the feathers surrounding the bill and on the chin, are not quite so white as in examples obtained in other islands of the Pacific, and in which the knob on the bill is more developed. In the Ornithology of the u United States Exploring Expedition,”* Cassin, writes as follows of this species: “The knob at the base of the bill in this bird is not so greatly developed as in some other species, at least this is the case in the specimens now before us, from the collection of the Expedition. This appendage occurs in several species of the group of fruit- eating Pigeons, and is we suspect, not only peculiar to, or largest in the male bird, but also most observable at the commencement of the season of incubation, like the appendages on the head and neck, or wattles, of the turkey.” The specimen of G. pacifica from Funafuti, measures: — total length 12 f 5 inches, wing 8-8, tail 5-2, bill 0*95, tarsus, 0 95. A female from Erromanga measures total length 14*5, wing 9*2, tail, 5*6, bill imperf., tarsus 1. Since the receipt of the above specimen, Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, B.A , of Caius College, Cambridge, has kindly sent me a reprint from The Ibis for January 1898, containing an account by Dr. Hans Gadow, of the birds collected by Mr. Gardiner on Funafuti, and later on at Rotumah. Nine species were obtained on the former atoll, of which A r umenius iahitensis^ Charadrius fulvns , Strepsilas inter pres , and Gy pis Candida , are additions to its avi-fauna. Dr. Gadow also remarks “ The following species was observed but not obtained : — Garpophaga pistrinaria .” Evidently this is the Pigeon Mr. Gardiner informed me, on his return to Sydney, that he had seen on Funafuti, but was unable to identify in the Museum. Hitherto, this species, of which we have a fine series in the collection, has only been recorded from the Solomon Islands, about a thousand miles from Funafuti. It is a larger and much lighter coloured bird, and if well seen could hardly be mistaken for Globicera pacifica. If Mr. Gardiner is correct in his determination, there are two species of Pigeons frequenting the Ellice Group. # Cassin — U. S. Expl. Exped. Orn. p. 265 (1858). ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES — NORTH. 87 The following is a list of the birds recorded up to date, that frequent these atolls, brought so much into prominence by the recent coral-boring expeditions Some time ago Mr. Richard Grant of Lithgow, presented a skin of Butastur teesa to the Trustees, accompanied by the following note : “ With regard to this Hawk, I shot it in a ring-barked tree, near the Bowenfels road, Lithgow. I do not know the exact date, but as near as I can remember it was in November 1889. I skinned it, also some Brown Hawks, that I shot the same day, and partly filled the skins out and put them away. I took no further notice of them until my brother returned home and drew my attention to this bird’s plumage.” Lithgow is situated in a valley of the Blue Mountains, 3007 feet above the level of the sea, and 96 miles west of Sydney. Butastur teem, the White-eyed Buzzard Eagle is very abundant in some parts of India, which is the habitat of this species, but I can find no record of its having been obtained on any of the islands lying between India and Australia. B. livenler , which occurs in Java and Timor, or B. indicus , inhabiting Borneo, Sumatra, and the Phillipines, I should not have been so much surprised at obtaining on the Australian continent. The specimen of B. teesa procured at Lithgow, is similar to others in the collection from India, except in showing very little trace of the white mott lings on the wing- coverts. It is not in full adult plumage, for the sides of the throat and the spots on the breast are white instead of yellowish- white, otherwise it agrees with the description of the adult female given by Dr. Sharpef in the “ Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum.” VI.— On a LIVING EXAMPLE op PSEP1IOTUS CIIRY- Regarding this species, Gould, who described it, writes in his Handbook to the Birds of Australia,! as follows: — “One of the * On the authority of Mr. Gardiner, f Sharpe — Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., i., p. 295, (1874). I Gould, Handbk. Bds. Aust., ii., p. 65 (1865). U rodynamis taitensis Fregata aquila Demieyretta sacra Globicera pacifica * Carpophaga pistrinaria Charadrius fulvus Totanus incanus Numenins tahitensis S\ trepsi las it iter pres Lirnosa novcB-zealandice A nous stolidus Micranou s l e ucocap i llus Procelsterna ccerulea IS ter 7 ta ammtheta Sterna melanauchen Gygis Candida V. — On the OCCURRENCE op BUTASTUR TEESA jn AUSTRALIA. 88 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. greatest pleasures enjoyed by the late celebrated botanist Robert Brown, during the last thirty years of his life, was now and then to show me a drawing of a Parrakeet made by one of the brothers Bauer, from a specimen procured somewhere on the north coast of Australia, but of which no specimen was preserved at the time, and none had been sent to England, until several were brought home by Mr. Elsey, a year or two prior to Mr. Brown’s death. On comparing these with the drawing made a least forty years before, no doubt remained on my mind as to its having been made from an example of this species. This, then, is one of the novelties for which we are indebted to the explorations of A. C. Gregory Esq. and I trust it may not be the last I shall have to characterize through the researches of this intrepid traveller. Mr. Elsey, who, as is well known, accompanied the expedition to the Victoria River, obtained three examples- a male, a female, and a young bird — all of which are now in our national collection. In the notes accom- panying the specimens, Mr. Elsey states that they were procured on the 14th of September 1856, in Lat. 18° S. and Long. 141° 33' E., and that their crops contained some monocotyledonous seeds.” Since the above passage was written by Gould, so far as I am aware, no additional information has been recorded of Psephotus chrysopterygius , the rarest of all our Australian Parrakeets, and the three specimens in the British Museum obtained by Mr. Elsey in 1856 were the only ones known. It was therefore with extreme pleasure that when passing one of the bird dealer’s shops near Circular Quay, in November 1897, my attention was arrested by a living specimen of the Golden-shouldered Parrakeet, the first I had seen, and previously known to me only by Gould’s description and figure. On making inquiries I found that it had been caught by a bird-catcher in his nets about three months before in the neighbourhood of Port Darwin, in the Northern Territory, and was the only specimen that he had ever seen. Subsequently it was acquired by the Trustees, and has since enlivened my room with its cheerful notes. It bears confinement well and is exceed- ingly tame, except to strangers, feeding entirely on millet seed and leaving untouched the canary seed with which it is mixed. Like other members of this genus — which I have seen wade into water to quench their thirst — it partakes freely of water. One note of this species repeated several times at intervals of a second apart is exceedingly sharp and shrill, and resembles the metallic sound produced by quickly turning an unoiled key in a new and close fitting lock. The remainder of its notes which are continued for some time, is like the warbling of the Grass Parrakeet, Melopsiitacus undulatus, only much louder. This specimen measures ten inches, and from the brilliancy of its plumage is evidently an adult male. Gould’s central figure of the male of this species in his “ Supplement to the Birds of Australia,”* is too * Gould — Suppl. Bds. Austr., pi. 64 (1869). ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES — NORTH. 89 large and robust ; a better idea of its size is conveyed by the upper figure of the supposed female. The figure of the male is fairly accurate in colour, except in the bill, cere and feet, which at all times it is a difficult matter to faithfully depict from dried skins. In the living example now before me a narrow line of turquoise blue separates the pale-yellow feathers of the forehead from the crown of the head, and the black feathers of the latter extend in a central stripe on to the nape ; the bill is horn- white, faintly shaded with bluish-grey at the base, and the cere, legs, feet and claws are of a pale cinnabar-fiesh colour. It is worthy of remark, that forty years elapsed between Bauer making a drawing of this bird, and Elsey obtaining the first specimens, and that nearly a half century has since passed away before the discovery of another specimen. Only four examples and a drawing of this bird during a period of eighty-two years, fully entitle it to the distinction of being the rarest of all our Australian Parrakeets. Addendum . — Since the above was in type I have received Part iv. of the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, for 1898, and find in the list of additions to the Gardens, that a pair of these birds was purchased by the Society on the 10th of March, 1897. VII. — On the EXTENSION of the RANGE of PHjETON CANDIDUS to NEW SOUTH WALES and LORD HOWE ISLAND. Climatic influences are among the most important factors in the distribution of species, and the recent heavy easterly gales of February 10th, 11th, 12th of the present year, which caused so much disaster to the shipping on the coast of New South Wales, have been the means of increasing the number of birds included in its avifauna. On the 15th of February an immature specimen of Phatton candidus , in the flesh, was presented to the Trustees by Mr. Henry Burns, who had picked it up in a dying condition, the previous day, on the shores of Botany Bay. This species was not met with by Gould, neither is it mentioned in any of his works on Australian birds. Dr. E. P. Ramsay has, however, in his “Tabular List of Australian Birds” included Gape York and Wide Bay, among the numerous localities over which it enjoys a range. Previously it was not represented in the Museum by an Australian specimen, but there is portion of a skin in a slightly advanced stage of immaturity from Lord Howe Island, obtained there by Mr. D. Love in May 1890 ; another new locality for this species. This wanderer over the intertropical zone of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, has been recorded, among other localities, by Count Salvadori in his “ Ornitologia della Papausia e delle Molucche” from Florida, Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica, the Bermudas, 90 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Madagascar, Mauritius, Bourbon, Rodriguez, the Seychelles, India, Ceylon, Andaman Islands, Solomon and Friendly Islands, New Caledonia, the Marquesas, Gilberts, Marshall, and Pelew Islands. The immature specimen of P. candidu s y obtained at Botany is silky-white with the upper parts beautifully marked with black crescentic and arrow-headed cross-bars similar to immature examples of P. rubricauda. Total length in the flesh exclusive of the two central tail-feathers which are imperfect, 14*5 inches, wing 10T, tail-feathers next the central pair 4*4, bill 1*8, tarsus 0*7; bill and legs ashy -flesh colour, feet black. An adult mounted specimen received from America is silky- white, with a crescent in front and a line behind the eye, a stripe along the wing-coverts terminating on the innermost secondaries and scapulars, and a band on the first four primaries and some of the elongated flank-feathers, black ; shafts of the wing and tail- feathers, except at the tips, black. Total length 22 inches, wing 10*5, central tail-feathers 11, bill 1*8, tarsus 0*72; bill and legs pale yellow, feet black. Dr. J. C. Cox informs me that immediately after the same storm in February 1898, in company with Major Ferguson, he observed a specimen of Pelagodromci marina between Cockatoo Island and Iron Cove, skipping over the surface of the water and following in the wake of their boat. Living examples of this species are extremely rare in New South Wales waters, and are only seen after unusually severe easterly or southerly gales. ADDENDA to CATALOGUE of AUSTRALIAN METEORITES* By T. Cooksey, Ph.D., B.Sc., Mineralogist. Bingara. — Prof. Liversidge wishes it to be stated that he is not in possession of any portion of the Bingara Meteorite. Yardea — The following additional information has been received from Dr. E. C. Stirling : — Type. — Siderite, Weight. — 7 lbs. 3|ozs. Locality. — Four miles S. of Yardea Station, Gawler Ranges, South Australia. Finder and Date. — Found in 1875. Coll. — The Museum, Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of S.A., Adelaide. * Rec. Aust. Mus. hi., 3, p. 55 - 60. DESCRIPTION of a RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, REGARDED AS A VARIETY OF PSEUDOCIIIRUS HERDER TENS IS, COLLETT. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. Having recently had occasion to overhaul our duplicate collection of Marsupials, my attention was arrested by a number of specimens labelled Pseudochirus herbertensis . Out of twenty-two examples, seventeen were undoubtedly of this species, but the remainder presented some differences, I therefore consulted Mr. Robert Grant, by whom the Herbert River animals were procured. Unhesitatingly picking out the five forms I had marked, he told me that he was convinced that they were quite distinct from the “Outas” (P. herbertensis ), and had so reported when unpacking the collection in 1889. The following notes are supplied to mo by Mr. Grant; — Although found in the same district as P. herbertensis and P . lemuroides ) the smaller and much rarer animal was obtained within a comparatively limited area, the exact locality being known as the Boar Pocket, on the Tinaroo track, near Cairns, Queensland (or, in the language of the blacks, “ Warnarama Riga- rami”). This spot lies low, and is swampy. P . herbertensis , although obtained on the outskirts of the swamp, is an inhabitant of the higher land and ascends to the tops of tallest trees, while the swamp animal is not a high climber, and several of them were found in the Davidsonia plum tree ( D . pruriens , F. v. M.) Another interesting fact is that this animal builds a nest or drey not unlike that of the common Ring-tailed Opossum (P.peregrinus), but more ball-like in shape. In passing it may be mentioned that this latter species generally builds its nest near to creeks or in moist gullies. P. herbertensis never builds a nest, so the natives say. Tke blacks instantly recognised the animal as distinct and called it “Moki poki.” Mr. Grant would throw upon the ground a few examples of P. herbertensis , which the blacks would at once name “ Outa.” One of the swamp forms would next be cast down, when they would laugh and remark, “No more 4 Outa/ — 4 Moki poki.’ ” Although smaller than the “Outa,” the animals obtained were fully adult, as our collector took young ones from the pouches of the females. A 92 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. For reasons hereafter given, I do not feel justified in regarding this animal as a distinct species, although in view of its peculiarities of fur, tail, and habit, it may ultimately be deemed worthy of specific rank. At present I prefer to regard it as a well-marked variety of P. herbertensis , and deserving of at least a varietal name. I have, therefore, much pleasure in associating with it the name of Dr. Robert Collett, of Christiania, whose researches into the fauna of Australia, and of the genus Pseudochirus in particular, are well known. This form will therefore be known as : — Pseudochirus herbertensis, var. colletti. Animal smaller. Fur markedly longer, less wavy, much finer and softer to the touch than in the typical form. Much greyer and darker in colour, the hairs behind the shoulders being usually tipped with white or pale yellow ; the rump and coloured portion of the tail black. The ears are rich rufous without and the chin is grey. The naked portion beneath the tail is smooth, not sharply defined from the hairy part and of less extent than in the typical race. The dimensions of five animals are as follows : — A. B. C. D. E. Head and body .. 320 320 300 290 260 mm. Tail... .. 310 310 290 280 245 mm. Skull . — Excepting for its relatively smaller size, the skull scarcely differs from typical examples, and mainly for this reason I hesitate to accord the form more than varietal rank. It may be noticed, however, that the facial index is higher than that of P. herbertensis , as determined by Thomas.* The principal skull dimensions are as follows : — mm. Basal length 62-4 Greatest breadth ... 35-6 Nasals, length 23’8 ,, greatest breadth ... 8-5 „ least breadth 3-7 Constriction, breadth 7-4 Palate, length 37-9 ,, breadth outside M 2 18-2 „ „ inside M 2 12-1 Palatal foram en 5-4 Basi-cranial axis ... 21*2 Basi-facial axis 410 Facial index 193 * Thomas — Brit. Mus. Cat. Marsup., 1888, p. 185. DESCRIPTION OF A RING-TAILED OPOSSUM — WAITE. 93 Teeth, horizontal length of l 2 „ height of Canine ... ,, length of -P 4 ,, length of .M -1 ' 3 „ diastema of 1 :i and C. C. and P 1 „ „ P l andP s „ length of lower 1 1 ... 1*5 2*3 32 11-4 3*7 2-8 1*0 98 It is interesting to notice that the structure of the tail corres- ponds with the habits of the animals ; thus, in P. herbertensis , which ascends the highest trees, the lower surface is naked for a greater portion of its length and is roughened so as to afford a secure grip of the topmost wind-swayed branches. In its more lowly habit, P. colletti avoids such positions, and has therefore less need of special adaptation. It may be mentioned that P. mongon , Dc Vis,* of which we hold co-types from the describes exhibits none of the characters here sought to be emphasised, and except in the markings does not dilfer from typical examples of P. herbertensis , as previously determined. The NEST or DREY of the RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, (PSEUDOCIIIRUS PEREGRINUS , BODDJ. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. (Plate xix.) One of the most peculiar and interesting habits of the Ring-tailed Opossum ( Pseudockirus peregrinus , Bodd), is that of making a nest or drey. Although well-known, but little appears to have been written on the subject beyond the notice that it is not unlike that of the European Squirrel. I as often found the drey of this latter animal in a hole in a tree as among the branches, a situation never utilised by the Opossum. The nest of the Marsupial may be constructed either in a fork or upon a platform of interlaced twigs. A thick bush is more favoured than a tree, but almost any growth, if sufficiently dense, may be made use of : the Lilly Pilly ( Eugenia), offers a congenial retreat, as does also the Tea Tree ( Melaleuca ), its long strips of loose bark being frequently woven into the nest. The native “Oaks” (Casuarina), and the Wattles (Acacia), are further favourites. Preference is shown for the neighbourhood of water. * De Vis— Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales (2) i., 1887, p. 1130. 94 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. The animal is usually a lowly builder, especially if a thick bush be selected, the nest may then be within seven or eight feet of the ground. In more open foliage it may be raised twenty or even thirty feet : in such cases a more careful attempt is made to conceal the structure, hanging bark, drooping moss, or a mass of foliage being pressed into service. The nest is carefully and neatly made. It has for foundation small sticks from which finer twigs are carried upwards and brought together in the form of an elongated dome. An aperture is provided at one end through which the } animal gains access ; thus giving a bottle-like appearance to the fabrication. Leaves, grasses, and mosses are skilfully woven into the structure, the mouth excepted ; this is narrowed and projects somewhat, and is usually composed of naked twigs alone. The interior is smoothly lined with fine grasses, and the whole forms a compact and fairly firm structure. We have recently received from Mr. J. M. Cantle a drey of this Opossum, wherein the usual type has been considerably de- parted from. Grasses and mosses have been entirely discarded, and their place supplied by the fronds of ferns. Ferns only are to be seen within, but I am inclined to think that the drey was not quite completed and that a smoother lining would have been provided. Mr. Thomas Whitelegge has identified the fronds as wholly of Pteris esculenta , Forst. This example measures : — Length, 14 inches ; breadth, 11 inches ; greatest circumference, 36 inches. The drey is occupied only by the female ; but whether the male also takes part in its construction, I have been unable to learn. If any of my readers have made observations on this or any other matter connected with the animal, I shall be pleased to hear from them. Although one usually associates the drey as a habitation of the female while carrying young in her pouch, it would appear, as I learn from one or two sources, that the young are occasionally left in the drey during the absence of the mother, and Mr. R. Grant tells me that he once kept alive, two young Opossums which he obtained under such circumstances. If disturbed in her retreat, the mother may become very savage. On one occasion Mr. J. A. Thorpe having too incautiously sought to investigate the nest, received very severe wounds — the animal making its teeth meet in the fleshy part of the hand. This nest was placed in a small Eucalypt, and was reached from the ground by bending down the branches. It remains to be mentioned that the Ring-tailed Opossum does not enjoy a monopoly in nest making among members of the genus PseudoGhirus. As described elsewhere in this publication (p. 91), such a habit is practised by P. herbertensis , var. colletti , the nest differing only, as far as we know, in being more ball-like in shape. OBSERVATIONS ON TESTUDO NIGRITA — WAITE. 95 OBSERVATIONS on TESTUDO NIGRITA, DUM. & BIBR. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. (Plates xx., xxi., and xxii.) Until recently, living in the grounds of the Hospital at Glades- ville, near Sydney, were two Gigantic Land Tortoises. In April, 1896, I availed myself of a long-standing invitation from Dr. Eric Sinclair to inspect these tortoises with a view of determining the species and to verify, if possible, the common belief that the larger of the two originally came from the Galapagos Islands, the home of one of the three races of gigantic land tortoises. I then understood that little or nothing was known of the history of these huge Chelonians ; it was therefore, in the first place, necessary to determine the species. An examination showed that although the two individuals differed slightly, attributable to their being of opposite sex, they were of the same species. The absence of a nuchal plate, together with a divided gular, and the presence of an enlarged scute on the inner side of the fore-limb, at once indicated that they were from the Galapagos Islands. Of the six species inhabiting the group, three only have the shields of the carapace concentrically striated, as exhibited by our specimens. The anterior declivity of the carapace, taken in con- junction with the feature of the plastron, namely, being deeply notched behind, at once enables us to determine the species as : — Testudo nigrita, Dun i. & Bib * I had hoped to fully describe the species, and so close a gap in our knowledge of the several forms ; pressure of work has hitherto prevented my doing so, and, notwithstanding the facilities we possess in the way of material, I cannot look forward to sufficient leisure at any near date. The male is now in London, but is still, I believe, alive, so that its osteological characters are not ascertainable. The female died in August, 1896, and then passed into the possession of the Museum. Being desirous of preserving it in a life-like condition, and at the same time not wishing to sacrifice such a valuable skeleton, a novel experiment was tried and proved to be most successful. Casts were taken of the carapace, plastron, and head ; the skin was next carefully removed, and so worked up in conjunction with the casts that no one could now detect the deception, and the production occupies a * Dumeril et Bibron — Erpet. Grener., ii., 1835, p. 80. 96 RECORDS OE THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. prominent position in the Reptile Gallery. The entire skeleton was thus preserved, and being carefully articulated, is exhibited in the Osteological Gallery. It is, therefore, still available for study should opportunity occur. (See Plate xxii.) Failing the work I had proposed, it appears to be advisable to publish such information as I have been able to glean relative to the history of the specimens. In this connection I have to thank Dr. Sinclair, who has spared no pains, and who has himself made some of the observations below recorded. In the Hospital grounds these reptiles had almost unlimited freedom, and their feed of herbage was largely supplemented by vegetables — lettuces being much appreciated; an entire plant was taken from the hand, and after two or three movements of the jaws was swallowed. Eating seemed to be a constant occupation. For my benefit the tortoises were prodded about the grounds ; they were very disinclined to move and only did so in response to repeated persuasions from a stick directed at the hind limbs. I was much interested to notice that when touched in this way the tortoise would suddenly drop its shell over the leg prodded, and so endeavour to protect itself, and at the same time cripple the offender. One of the men engaged in trundling the reptile used his foot for the purpose, but this was considered an unwise proceeding, for on one occasion, 1 was told, when kicking the leg of the reptile an attendant had his foot badly crushed. When turning the smaller reptile (the female) about, two or three men proved to be sufficient. When the male was under consideration, Dr. Sinclair told off five men, and in consequence of the enormous weight and the struggles of the huge creature, they were scarcely able to turn it over. More help was required when it had to be placed on the weighing machine, and even when once there it managed, by hitching its claws into the standards, to force itself off’, despite all efforts to prevent it. Finally, the correct weight was obtained, and when the reptile was permitted to regain its legs I noticed that blood was issuing from between the shields of the carapace. The tortoises were propped up so as to show their under-surfaces. The photographs I then took are reproduced on Plate xxi., and exhibit several points of interest, not otherwise observable. That of the female (Fig. 2), propped against the Hospital wall, shows the enlarged scute on the fore-leg very clearly, also the depression in the plastron, the divided gular and the notch between the xiphiplastra with the angles rounded ; the short tail is also well illustrated, as are also the sutures of the plastron and the characteristically wrinkled skin. Owing to its weight and bulk, the male could not be retained vertically against the wall, and as it absolutely refused to be OBSERVATIONS ON TESTUDO NIGRITA — WAITE. 97 further handled, we had to make the best of things. Although not so good, the photograph (Plate xxi., Fig. 1) shows sufficiently the principal secondary sexual characters ; these are : — the great concavity of the plastron, the angular aspect of the xiphiplastral plates, and the comparatively long tail. At the time of my visit, the upper posterior portion of the carapace of the female was much abraided, owing to the efforts of the male, who had been paying her considerable attention. As each tortoise has its individual history, the two may now be treated separately. The Male Tortoise. The male was commonly called “ Rotumah ” in the gardens and is, I find, directly traceable to the Galapagos Group, but from which island it was obtained is not known. This is to be regretted, as it is the only species whose definite habitat has not been ascertained. For particulars of the early history of this tortoise I am indebted to Miss Annie C. E. MacDonald. About the year 1866 it was given to her father, the late Alexander MacDonald, by King George of Tonga, and was what was called a “ chief’s gift,” that is, a gift supposed to pass between two great chiefs of equal standing. When taken to Tonga from Rotumah, the reptile caused a great sensation among the natives, and was presented to Mr. MacDonald in recognition of his kindness to the King’s son when in Sydney, both father and son having taken a violent fancy to the well-known trader. The tortoise was brought to Sydney in the schooner “ Ida,” one of MacDonald and Smith’s whalers. Captain Howard, who was in command of the vessel, had known the tortoise for fifty years previously on the island of Rotumah, it having been landed there from the Galapagos Islands by an American whaler many years before. It was within the memory of the inhabitants, always of the same size. From 1866 to the end of 1896 the tortoise lived in Sydney, and at the later date was removed to England, having been purchased, I understand, by the Hon. Walter Rothschild for his menagerie at Tring. When the tortoise passed into the possession of Mr. MacDonald he had it photographed, and the accompanying illus- tration (Plate xx.) is reproduced from a copy kindly lent by Miss MacDonald. On the margin of this copy are a number of measure- ments made by the owner at the time. These 1 reproduce (in lit.) below : — Ft. in. Length, nose to tail ... ... ... 6 2 ,, shell ... ... ... ... 4 7^ ,, across shell ... ... ... 5 10J „ under shell ... ... ... 3 0 Girth ... ... ... ... ... 8 3 98 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Ft. in. Height, lying down 2 H „ standing up 3 l Front leg, under knee ... 1 n ,, round elbow 2 ij „ round foot ... 1 ii Hind leg, instep 1 H Head, round head 1 7 Weight — 5 cwt. 2 qrs. 26 lbs. = 642 lbs. These figures were, I find, published in 1884 by Dr. J. C. who, while stating that the reptile came from Rotumah, was unaware of its having been at Tonga prior to passing into the possession of Mr. MacDonald. From this account it appears that the Gala- pagos Group was then thought to be the original habitat of both the tortoises, for Dr. Cox writes : — “ I am not at all sure as to what species these two Tortoises belong, but they are supposed to come from Galapagos Archipelago.” The next measurements available, are a few made by Dr. Sinclair, in 1893, for comparison with the gigantic tortoise living at Port Louis, in Mauritius, of which an account appeared in the Illustrated London News : Port Louis. “ Rotumah. Ft. in. Ft. in. Foreleg... 1 7f ... 1 9 Hind leg 1 0 1 5 Circumference (girth) ... 7 0 8 4 ,, round shell at base — 11 6 Neck and head... 1 3i ^ 1 5 Head 0 7 0 7 On 23rd April, 1896, I examined the tortoise, and took th following dimensions, which, for comparison with the foregoing, are reduced to English scale : — Carapace. mm. Ft. in. Length over curve . ... ... 1420 = 4 8 ,, in straight line ... ... 1284 = 4 H Width over curve . ... . . 1680 = 5 6 ,, in straight line Plastron. 890 = 2 11 Length ... . ... ... 980 = 3 2£ Width . ... ... 915 = 3 0 Depth of concavity Caudal plate. 130 = 0 H Length ... . ... ... 133 = 0 Width Weight, 575 fts. 250 = 0 9f * Cox — Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, viii , 1884, p. 531. f Illust. Lond. News , 3rd Dec., 1892, p. 715. OBSERVATIONS ON TESTUDO NIORITA — WAITE. 90 The Female Tortoise. As I learn from Dr. Sinclair, the female was brought to Sydney in 1853 by the American Whaler “ Winslow .' ” It was then but a baby and weighed 56 lbs.* No further observations appear to have been made until 1884, when the following figures were published by Dr. Oox {loo. cit.) : — Ft. in. Length, nose to tail (“no tail”)? ... ... 5 10£ „ shell ... ... ... ... ... 4 0 „ across shell ... .. ... ... 5 0 „ under shell ... ... ... ... 2 44, Girth 6 71- Front leg, round elbow ... ... ... ... 1 5 Head, round ... ... ... ... ... 1 3 In 1893 its weight was ascertained to be 368 lbs. About this date it was placed in a paddock with the male, and in September, 1895, it was found to have deposited six eggs in a rubbish heap. These eggs wero at once forwarded to the Museum, when 1 took the dimensions below recorded. The following measurements of the female wero made by me in April, 1896. In August of the same year this tortoise died, and as already stated, was forwarded to the Museum. The ovaries were in an enlarged condition, and it seems probable that had she lived, the tortoise would have again produced eggs. Carapace, mm. Ft. in. Length over curve . ... ... 1195 = 3 11 „ in straight line ... ... 915 = 3 0 Width over curve . ... ... 1295 = 4 3 „ in straight line Plastron. 740 == 2 5 Length ... • • • • • , • 775 = 2 Width • , • • • • • 740 = 2 5 Depth of concavity Caudal plate. 43 0 If Length ... . ... ... 115 = 0 Width Weight, 320§ lbs. 185 0 n The depression in the plastron, although much less than in the male, is yet very noticeable ; a feature scarcely realised by Dr. Gunther when writing his Monograph,! for lie regarded the type * See also — The Curator's Annual Report for 1897 : Report of the Trustees for 1897, p. 6. f Gunther — Gigantic Land Tortoises in the British Museum, 1877, p. 71. 100 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MTJSETJM. of the species as a young male “ inasmuch as the sternum shows a slight concavity/ 7 It will be noticed that between 1893 and 1896, the female had lost weight to the extent of about 47 lbs., and that in thirty years the male had lost 67 lbs. It is to be regretted that such little data is available from which to draw deductions. There is no doubt, however, that under Mr. Rothschild’s care, future developments of the male will be carefully recorded. Eggs. Porter* (fide Giinther ) writing on the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands, remarks : — “ The eggs are perfectly round, white, and of 2J inches diameter. 77 A glance at the following table shows that the eggs of T. nigrita are not far removed from the spherical, the accompanying cut representing the shape of the egg marked F. Reduced to inches, the longest diameter of the largest example is barely 2|. Darwinf measured an egg having a circumference of 7§ inches. Specimen 0 measures 7J inches in circumference. The egg marked F is the largest, but its weight was dispropor- tionate and actually less than the others. On emptying this egg, the contents were found to be abnormal. It has a very rough surface ; all the others are tolerably smooth. Specimens B and E were returned to Dr. Sinclair ; the others are in the Museum collection. # Porter — Journal of a Cruise made to the Pacific Ocean, New York, 1822, pp. 215, 216. f Darwin — Voyage of the “ Beagle/ 7 iii., 1839, p. 464. OBSERVATIONS ON TESTUDO NIGRITA — WAITE. 101 EGG. WEIGHT IN GRAMMES. DIMENSIONS IN MILLIMETRES. GREATEST CIRCUMFERENCE. A. 99-2 569 X 53-4 175-2 B. 106-7 56-8 X 55-5 C, 109-8 57-8 X 55-5 1810 D. 1059 58-2 X 55-2 181-8 E. 106-4 58-9 X 550 F. 85-8 598 X 54-8 180-4 Other Tortoises. In the Museum collection are four examples of Testudo nigrita . These may be tabulated as follows : — A. The female (and skeleton) already dealt with. B. A smaller female, mounted in the Museum. C. Carapace and plastron of another example, possibly a male. D. Skeleton of a much larger specimen, also believed to be a male. The last named is the only other one of which I can gather any information. It was brought to Sydney in a schooner about the year 1860, and from that time to the date of its death it was an inhabitant of the Museum grounds. It not infrequently wandered into the street, arid on one such occasion a cart collided with it and broke in part of the carapace, the injury being now very apparent. The specimen has not been well cared for in the past, and the mandible and portion of the tail bones have been lost. This collection of four is an interesting one, and shows well to what extent the shape and structure of the shell alters with age. In the younger examples the concentric stride of the shields are extremely well marked (almost absolute in the adult), the free edges of the carapace are much more deflected, especially on the posterior border, while the costal sutures are more deeply cleft. Another feature exhibited by the immature form is the greater prominence of the knobby protuberances of the carapace. The dimensions of the three smaller examples have been ascer- tained, as below : — Carapace. Length over curve ... „ in straight line Width over curve ... ,, in straight line Plastron. Length Width B? Cc? mm. mm. mm. 905 840 930 710 715 755 950 920 960 540 515 550 590 580 640 590 510 540 102 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Length Width B? Cc? Caudal plate. mm. mm. mm. 75 75 85 160 150 155 The Skeleton. Although I have not now the opportunity of carefully describing and figuring the bones, some measurements have been attempted. Such features have been selected as would be comparable with those of other species of gigantic tortoises rendered by Gunther. As already intimated, two specimens are available, namely a larger female (A) and a smaller male (D). It is necessary to mention that, as both the skeletons are articulated, some of the measure- ments are approximate only : — Pectoral arch . — Scapula, length ,, least circumference Glenoid cavity, greatest diameter... Coracoid, length ,, greatest width ... Precoracoid, length... Fore limb . — Humerus, length ,, least circumference ,, head, longest diameter... ,, „ shortest diameter „ condyles, breadth Ulna, least width ... Radius, length ,, least circumference Pelvic arch . — Pelvis, ilium to symphysis (vertical) ,, longitudinal diameter ... *153 ,, distance between ilio-pubic pro- minences ... ,, foramen obturatorium „ symphysial bridge, width ... „ „ „ depth ... „ ischium, least breadth of posterior part ,, ilium, length ,, „ least breadth... A? mm. mm. 220 165 92 74 55 48 120 86 94 70 90 68 208 200 110 96 45 • • • 42 ... 90 73 31*5 22 127 • • • 64 48 148 125 -178 125 107 80 50 32 30 31 28 20 69 63 158 110 35 27 * See observation and figure on p. 103. OBSERVATIONS ON TESTUDO NIGRITA — WAITE. 103 Hind limb . — A? DJ Femur, length ... 182 150 „ least circumference 99 70 „ head, longest diameter 59 40 ,, condyles, breadth ... 81-5 00 Tibia, length ... 140 no „ least circumference ... ... 99 70 Fibula, length ... 134 109 ,, least circumference ... 48 39 In references to the pelvis, T fail to find mention of the opipubic cartilage becoming ossified. Such is distinctly the condition in the skeleton of the female, and the following sketch shows its form and relative position. This bone is not ankylosed with the pubic, and may therefore be easily lost during the process of maceration. The additional figure in the foregoing table of measurements, is inclusive of this epipubic bone. The apex of the entoplastral spine reaches a point situated 220 mm. behind the edge of the gular prominence, it has a width of 12 mm., and is quite free from the plastron for 45 mm. at its distal extremity. The accompanying Plate (xxii.) is reproduced from a photograph of the skeleton of the female, from which one side has been re- moved to show the internal structure. I t will be seen that the horny sheaths covering the jaw have been retained and that the hyoids are suspended in their natural position. The extent and attachment of the epibubic bone, above referred to, may also be traced. 104 RECOUPS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. NOTES ON SNAKES. By Edgar R. Waite, E.L.S., Zoologist. The first two snakes below mentioned were included in a small collection made by the Rev. W. G. Ivens in the Solomon Islands. As both differ somewhat from the descriptions of the respective species, opportunity is taken to point out their individual peculiarities. The third note deals with an Australian species whose habitat has been the subject of some uncertainty. I. — Denisonia melanura, Boul. Hoplocephalus melanurus , Proc. Zool. 1888, p. 88, and 1890, p. 30, pi. ii., fig. 1. Denisonia melanura, Brit. Mus. Cat. Snakes (2nd ed.) iii., 1896, p. 345. V 1 ’ * The most noticeable difference between our specimen of Deni' sonia melanura and those previously described, is to be found in the circumstance that it possesses six upper labials instead of seven. The lost plate occurs between the fifth and the ultimate labials, but fails to reach the mouth, as shown in the accompanying figure. This is perhaps an individual peculiarity and worthy of notice only as such. The frontal, however, is considerably longer than in the British Museum specimens, being as long as the prefrontals and internasals combined, and two-thirds the length of the parietals. I he tail is not black as described, but similar in color to the body, likewise crossed by dark bands. Having but a single example, I hesitate to create anew species. Pending further material, it may for the present be known as : — Denisonia melanura , var. boulengeri. The scale formula is as follows: Scales in 15 rows, ventrals 170 ; anal divided ; sub-caudals 43. Total length 850 mm.; tail 125 mm. NOTES ON SNAKES — WAITE. 105 II. — Micropechis elapoides, Boul. Hoplocephalus elapoides , Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 30, pi. ii., fig. 3. Micropechis elapoides , Brit. Mus. Cat. Snakes, (2nd ed.)iii., 1896, p. 347. The only particular in which this specimen differs from the type is in the extent of its markings. Instead of the black bands being less than twice the width of the interspaces they are five or six times as wide. In Boulenger’s figure the black bands are shown as wide at the sides as on the vertebral line. In our example they are so disposed that the cream ground colour appears as a series of inverted Vs when viewed laterally. The condition may be illustrated by supposing a number of flexible pennies were laid upon the back within an eighth of an inch of each other and then folded down the sides. The bands encircle the tail and the ventral scales are generally edged and clouded with black. The first black band commences close behind the parietals, which, together with the snout and ocular region are also black. III. — Purina calonota, Bum . <£ Bihr. Furina calonotos, Erpefc. Gener., 1854, vii., p. 1241, pi. Ixxv. h. The habitat of this species having always been in question, and even yet doubtful, it is witli satisfaction that I am able to remove the uncertainty. The authors state that Verreaux sent two examples from Tasmania in 1844. After a quarter of a century a specimen was obtained by the British Museum, the locality being given as Baranquilla at the mouth of the River Magdalena in Columbia. Doubts were cast on this when Brachyurophis (Rhynchelaps) purchased as from the same locality, was discovered to be an Australian genus. According to the British Museum Catalogue, the locality is doubtfully West Australia, as explained by the footnote* : — “ The specimen was purchased as from Baranquilla, Columbia, together with a specimen of the W. Australian Rhynchelaps semifasciatus .” Quite recently we received, by presentation from Mr. Ilenry Richards, an interesting scries of Reptiles from West Australia, including a small example of Furina calonota , the locality being rendered as Claremont, five miles from Perth. * Brit. Mus. Cat. Snakes, (2nd ed.) iii., 1896, p. 407- 106 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. By Alfred J. North, C.M.Z.S., Ornithologist. VIII.— DESCRIPTION of a NEW SPECIES of HONEY- EATER from NORTH QUEENSLAND. Ptilotis leilavalensis, sp. nov. Adult . — General colour above pale ashy-brown tinged with yellow, the upper tail-coverts more distinctly shaded with yellow; scapulars and upper wing-coverts like the back ; quills brown, strongly washed with bright olive yellow, the apical portion of the outer webs of the primaries and the tips of the secondaries having whitish edges ; tail-feathers brown with whitish tips, the two central feathers, and outer webs of the remainder washed with bright olive yellow; lores, forehead, sides of the head, cheeks and ear-coverts bright olive yellow ; behind the ear-coverts a patch of silky-white feathers; chin, throat, and fore neck pale olive-yellow passing into fawn-white, tinged with yellow on the breast and abdomen, lower portion of the abdomen and the under tail-coverts pale yellow ; bill black ; legs and feet fleshy-brown. Total length of skin 6 inches, wing 2 8, tail 2*7, bill 0‘42, tarsus 0‘75. Habitat. Fullerton River, Burke District, North Queens- land. Type. In the Australian Museum, Sydney. Observations. This species, which will be vernacularly known as the Lesser White-plumed Honeyeater, is allied to P. penicillata and P. flavescens. From the former it may be distinguished principally by its smaller size, more brightly coloured head, and otherwise generally paler plumage, also by the absence of the blackish line which separates the silky-white patch of feathers from the ear- coverts. In size, and general colour of plumage, except the ear- coverts, it closely approaches P. flavescens. The specimen from which the above description is taken was presented to the Trustees by Dr. W. Macgillivray of Hamilton, Victoria. It was obtained by his brother, Mr. A. S. Macgillivray, of Leilavale Station, Fullerton River, thirty miles east of Cloncurry Township, North Queensland, who states that these birds are fairly common in the Tea-trees along the river. The nest and eggs were secured at the same time, but the latter were unfortunately broken. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES — NORTH. 107 For tlio sake of comparison the following measurements are given Total long tli of skill. Wing. Tail. Hill. Tarsus. Localities. P. leilavalensis , ad. sk 6 inches 2*8 2*7 0*42 0*75 Fullerton River, N . Queensland. P. penicillata $ ad. sk. 67 „ 3 45 3 3 0*5 0*82 Near Adelaide, S. Australia. it d'ad. sk. 6*6 ,, 3*3 3*2 0*47 0*8 lumrke, Western N. 8. Wales. a £ ad. sk. 65 ,, 8*8 31 0-47 0*8 Dawson River, Queensland. P. fla vescens, c?ad. sk. 5*7 „ 2 95 2*7 0*5 0*7 Georgetown, Gulf District. 9 ad. sk. 5*4 „ 2*92 2*7 0*48 0*7 Derby, N. West Australia. IX.— DESCRIPTION of the NEST and EGGS of MICRsECA PALLIDA , De VIS. • Dr.W. M acgillivray has kindly forwarded the following description of the nest of this species, together with the eggs and skin of the bird for identification. “Two nests of this species of Micraica were taken by my brother Mr. A. S. Macgillivray on Leila vale Station, Fullerton River, North Queensland, between the 20th and 25th December, 1897. 'They were built rather low down on horizontal branches in a patch of Giddea scrub and each contained a pair of eggs. A nest my brother sent was slightly smaller but more substantially built than that of M. faacinans , and of much the same material, the outside being ornamented with bits of bark and lichen attached by means of cobweb. ” The eggs are oval in form, one specimen having a pale bluish- grey ground colour, which is freckled and spotted with faint purple and purplish brown, predominating and becoming darker as usual on the thicker end of the shell ; the other is of a warm stone white ground colour, and in many places the markings which are of a light reddish-purple are confluent and intermingled with faint underlying spots of pale greyish lilac. Longth (A) 0*69 x 0*55 inch ; (B) 0*67 x 056 inch. The range of this species probably extends right across the northern portion of the Australian Continent, for there are specimens in the Museum, obtained by Mr. E. J. Cairn at Derby, North-west Australia in 1886. 13 108 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. CONTRIBUTION to a KNOWLEDGE of PAPUAN ARACHNIDA. By W. J. Rainbow, F.L.S., Entomologist. The present paper comprises a list of the species of Papuan Arachnida, in the possession of the Trustees. The collection, although numerous in point of specimens, can scarcely be considered representative as far as species are concerned. For the most part, the specimens enumerated hereunder have been collected from time to time by Missionaries, few of whom possess that special knowledge so necessary to a successful collector. Some of the specimens recorded below were collected under the auspices of His Excellency Sir Wm. McGregor, M.D., K.C.M.G., at the St. Joseph’s River ; and some were collected by Mr. W. W. Froggatt, at the Fly River, in his capacity as Naturalist to the Geographical Society of Australasia’s Expedition in 1885.* The species most common in all collections from New Guinea are those whose arboreal habits or size render them conspicuous, such as Argyroepeira grata , Guerin, A. celebesiana , Walck., and the huge Nephila maculata , Fab. It is to be regretted that a field so full of interest from a zoo- logical point of view, should be left almost entirely to the enterprise of foreign collectors, and this notwithstanding the fact that it is so close to our doors. Although numerous collectors have at times visited New Guinea, the two principal expeditions from Sydney have been the “Chevert” Expedition in 1875, and the Geographical Society’s Expedition, referred to above. The Araneidse collected by the former were recorded by Mr* H. H. B. Bradley. f The reader is also referred to a previous paper by me, entitled “Contributions to a Knowledge of the Arachnidan Fauna of British New Guinea.”! Some of the specimens are vaguely labelled “ British New Guinea,” whilst others are distinctly located ; thus in the localities recorded below as “British New Guinea, St. Joseph’s River,” the information intended to be conveyed is — that some specimens are known from the latter locality specifically, and others from British New Guinea generally ; and where the words “ British New Guinea ” appear between parenthesis, the object is to localise the preceding name. * See Proc. Geogr. Soc. Austr., special vol., 1885. f Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, i., 1876, pt. 2, pp. 137 - 150; pt. 3, pp. 220 - 224, and plates. J Ibid., xxiii., 1898, pt. 3, pp. 328-356, pi. vii. CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE OF PAPUAN ARACHNID A RAINBOW. 109 Order ARACHNID A. Suborder ARANEiE THERAPHOSJE. Family Aviculariid;e. Subfamily AvicuLARiiNiE. Genus Phlogius, E. Simon. Phlogius crassipes , L. Koch. Log. Fly River (British New Guinea). Phlogius strenuus , Thorell. Hab. British New Guinea. Suborder ARANE.E VERH3. First section ARANEiE VERiE CRIBELL ATJE. Family ULOBORiDiE. Subfamily Dinopin^e. Genus Menneus, E. Simon. Menneus reticulatus , sp. nov. Menneus reticulatus. 110 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. ?. Cephalothorax, 5*9 mm. long, 4*6 mm. broad; abdomen, 12 mm. long, 6 '8 mm. broad. Cephalothorax longer than broad, flat, dull yellowish-brown ; sparingly clothed with short yellowish pubescence. Caput flat, and level with thoracic segment. Clypeus sparingly clothed with yellowish pubescence ; broadest in front, retreating gradually to posterior extremity, surface uneven ; the median depression is a very short, straight, shallow groove ; radial grooves indistinct. Eyes distributed over three transverse rows of 4, 2, 2 ; of these the first row is strongly procurved ; the lateral eyes of this row are minute, and are seated at the extremity of cylindrical tubercles, springing from the corners of the clypeus ; the median eyes are also minute, and are placed closely together, immediately below the two large eyes constituting the second row ; those of the third or posterior row are seated well back, and are widely re- moved from each other. Legs long, slender, brown, clothed with hoary pubescence, and armed with a few short spines. Relative lengths 1 = 2, 4, 3. Palpi short, similar in colour and armature to legs. Falces long, strong, perpendicular, divergent, dark brown, the inner margins fringed with long, yellowish hairs, the outer surface sparingly clothed with greyish pubescence. Maxillce dark brown, long, strong, constricted towards the insertion of the palpi, thence greatly divergent, and rounded oif at the extremities. Labium concolorous, rather broader at the base than the apex, which is truncated. Sternum subtriangular, dark brown laterally, otherwise pale yellowish ; the surface pubescent. Abdomen moderately arched, much longer than broad, angular, narrow in front, but gradually broadening out towards its middle, where it is widest, and thence sharply tapering off to its ultimate extremity ; the superior surface and sides are yellow-brown, and reticulated ; commencing at its anterior extremity there is a dark brown, rather deep longitudinal median groove of varying width, the margins of which are rough and irregular; the groove terminates at a point a little below the centre ; at a distance of rather more than one-third the length of this groove, there are two small, bark brown spots, seated on either side, but quite close to the outer margins; at the widest part of the abdomen there are two lateral obtuse tubercular projections, and these are moderately high; the inferior surface is also yellowish-brown, and reticulated. Epigyne a simple, dark brown tubercular eminence, the overhang- ing lip of which curves slightly upwards towards the centre. Cribellum transverse, undivided. Spinnerets long and cylindrical. CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE OF PArUAN ARACHNIDA — RAINBOW. 1 1 1 Obs. An exceedingly interesting species, and the only one obtained by Mr. Froggatt, when out with the Geographical Society's Expedition to New Guinea in 1885. Previously only six species were known, and of these, four were from Australia, one from New Caledonia, and one from Western Tropical Africa. The Australian species are : — Menneus despiciens , Camb., M. uni/asciata , L. Koch, M . angulata , and M. superciliosa , Thorell, and of these only one, M. uni/asciata has been found so far south as Sydney. All the Australian species have been described under the generic name of Avella (Cambr.). Log . Fly River (British New Guinea). Family Ps ecu ridas. Genus Psechrus, Thorell, Psechrus argentatus , Dolesch. Log, Fly River (British New Guinea). Second section ARANEJE VERiE ECRIBELLATiE. Family Theridiid^e. Genus Latrodectus, Walck. Latrodectus scelio , Thorell., var. indica , E. Simon. Loc. Fly River and St. Joseph’s River (British New Guinea). Family ArgiopiDjE. Subfamily T et r a gnath i NiE. Genus Tetragnatha, Latr. Tetragnatha rubriventris , Dolesch. Loc. St. Joseph’s River ( British New Guinea). Tetragnatha mandibulata , Walck. Loc. Kiriwina Island (Trobriand), and Louisiade Archipelago. Genus Argyroepeira, Emer. Argyroepeira celebesiana , Walck. llab. British New Guinea, St. Joseph’s River. Argyroepeira grata , Guer. Ilab. British New Guinea, St. Joseph’s River. Subfamily N epiiilin^e. Genus Nephila, Leach . Nephila maculata , Fab. Loc. St. Joseph’s River, Kiriwina Island (Trobriand), En- gineers’ Group (N.E. Coast), and Samarai (Dinner Island), British New Guinea. Nephila maculata , Fab., var. pencillum , Dolesch. Loc . St. Joseph’s River and Fly River (British New Guinea). 112 RECORDS OE THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Subfamily Argiopin. 7 , a chain or fetter. 128 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. On the OCCURRENCE of a STARFISH in the UPPER SILURIAN SERIES of BOWNING, N. S. WALES. By R. Etheridge, Junr , Curator. Starfish have not so far been recorded from the rich fossiliferous deposits of Bowning, nor was I cognisant of their presence in those rocks until Mr. John Mitchell presented a specimen to the National Collection. The rarity of this form of life in the Bowning rocks must plead my excuse for describing so fragmentary an example as that now referred to. The specimen is interesting, not only on this account, but also from the fact that it may possibly belong to one of two by no means common genera of Upper Silurian age — Palceocoma , Salter {non, D’Orb), or Palasterina , McCoy. As now preserved, the Starfish consists of portions of three rays and traces of the interbrachial disk, with the actinia] surface ex- posed. The ambulacra are deep proximally, but become faint distally. The ambulacral plates are not clearly distinguishable, but the margins of the valleys are bordered by a row of adambu- lacral plates, quadrangular and distinct, although the presence of an outer row is questionable. Combs of rigid spines are attached to the arm edges, of whatever construction they may be. The mouth is very large, strongly pentagonal ; the oral plates large, triangular, and apparently of one piece each, instead of two, as should be the case in a true Paler, ocoma. The arms are united by a disk broken up by a series of anastomosing lines, giving rise to the appearance of a polygon al-plated integument when pressed together, but in a normal condition squamose, as seen through the oral cavity. From the margin of the disk stream fine long spines that in all probability covered the whole of the dorsal surface. It must be at once admitted that, without a more definite knowledge of the ambulacral plates, and in the face of single in- stead of double oral plates, the reference of this form to Palceocoma f Salter, is open to doubt ; but the presence of the disk with its squamose plates, laden with spines, seems to place our fossil nearer to that genus than to any other. The only other genera known to me that it appears to approach are Edrioaster , Billings ; Schen- aster , M. & W. ; and Palasterina , McCoy. As regards the first- named,* the form of the arms, and nature of the disk, are characters sufficient for separation ; whilst the form of the adambulacral plates in the secondf genus are likewise distinct. * Canadian Or g. Remains, Dec. iii., 1858, p. 82. f Illinois Geol. Survey Report, ii., 1866, p. 277. OCCURRENCE OF STARFISH IN UPPER SILURIAN SERISS — ETHERIDGE. 129 With Palasterina * * there is a resemblance in the quadrangular adambulacral ossicles bordering the ambulacra, but the difficulty is increased by the absence of certainty as to the presence or not of a second row of plates, Plasterina having but one row, whilst Palceocoma possesses two. At the same time there are unquestion- ably combs of spines along the edges of the ambulacra, which would favour the presence of a second row of plates as in the latter genus. Furthermore, the appearance of the disk is much more akin to that of Palceocoma than Palasterina , and on the whole it appears to me preferable to refer the Downing fossil to the former genus rather than to the latter. A difficulty now presents itself with regard to the name Palceo- coma. Salter proposed it in 1 857, f although D’Orbigny had previously suggested it| for the Lias Ophiura millleri , Phillips ; but, according to Zittel,§ even D’Orbigny’s name is in part a synonym of Ophioderma , M. & T. No other reference to this double use of Palceocoma , except that of the late Dr. Thomas Wright, || has come under my notice, not even in Dr. B. Stiirtz’s excellent review of “ Fossil and Living Starfish. ”1T Under these circumstances, and with the object of avoiding this confusion, I propose to substitute the name Sturtzaster for that of Palceocoma , Salter, in honour of Dr. B. Sturtz, of Berlin. To the present fossil I propose applying the specific name of mitchelli , and if therefore it be correctly referred to Palceocoma in the first instance, in the future it must be known as Sturtzaster mitchelli . The specimen is from the Upper Trilobite bed of the Wenlock Series at Bowning, N.S. Wales. In 1880, the late Prof. Alleyne Nicholson and the Writer pro- posed** the genus Tetraster to take the place of Palceaster , Salter (non. Hall), Salter’s conception of this genus being antagonistic to Hall’s later definition. ff More recently Dr. Sturtz has proposed,;}; J apparently for a similar reason, the name Salteraster in the same sense, and to which the date 1886 is attached; it is clear that our name has precedence. * Brit. Pal. Foss., Fas. i., 1851, p. 59; Salter — Ann Mag. Nat. Hist., (2), xx., 1857, p. 327. f Salter— Brit. Assoc. Beport 1856 (1857), pt. 2, p. 77; Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (2), xx., 1857, p. 327. J HOrbigny — Prodrome, 1850, i., p. 240. § Zittel— Handb. Pal. i., Abth. 1, p. 445. || Wright — Mon. Brit. Foss. Echinod. Oolitic Form., ii., 1, 1863, p. 29 ; Ibid., ii., 2, 1866, p. 143. *1T Sturtz — Verhandl. Nat. Yereins Bheinlande, L., 1893, p. 1. * Mon. Sil. Foss. Girvan in Ayreshire, 1880, pt. 3, p. 324. f Hall — 20th Ann. Beport N. York State Cabinet Nat. Hist., 1867, p. 282. X Sturtz — Verhandl. Nat. Yereins Bheinlande, L., 1893, p. 42. 130 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. ADDITIONS to the CATALOGUE and BIBLIOGRAPHY of AUSTRALIAN METEORITES. By T. Cooksey, Ph D., B.Sc., Mineralogist. Additional information in regard to the Catalogue and Biblio- graphy of Australian Meteorites, which has came to my knowledge since the publication of the first lists* : — Meteorites. Ballinoo. — E. Cohen, Sitz. K. Preus. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1898, p. 19. Beaconspield. — E. Cohen, Sitz. K. Preus. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1897, p, 103,5, and 1898, p. 306. Type. — Siderite, belonging to the Octahedrite Group. Weight. — 75 kg. Log. — Three kilometres east of Beaconsfield Station, in the Parish of Berwick, County Mornington, Victoria. Finder and Date. — Mr. Feltus. Coll. — Dr. Krantz. Cranbournk, No. 2. — Coll. — “ National ” should be written for “Technological ” in original list. Hay.— Type. — Siderolite. Weight.— 9* Tbs. Loc. — Pevensey Station, Old Man Plain, ten miles below Hay, iu a paddock fifteen miles south of the Murrurn- bidgee River, N.S. Wales. Finder and Date. — 1868 - 1870. Coll. — In the possession of Mr. Godfrey, of Melbourne. This Meteorite and that from Eli Elwahf formed, very probably part of the same original mass. Langwarrin. — ‘Type. — Siderite. Weight . — 17^ cwt. Log . — Langwarrin, Victoria. Finder and Date. — Mr. K. W. Padley, in 1886. Coll. — Technological Museum, Melbourne. * Lee. Aus. Mus., iii., 3, 1897, p. 55, and iii., 4, 1898, p. 90. f See Oat. Australian Meteorites, Bee. Austr. Mus., iii., 3, 1897, p. 57. CATALOGUE OF AUSTRALIAN METEORITES— COOKSEY. 131 Mount Stirling. — A small piece, weighing 14£ ozs., was found at the same locality and is now in the collection of the Australian Museum, Sydney. It is most probably a portion of the larger mass. Youndegin, No. 1, — Coll. — One piece weighing 22 lbs. is in the Technological Museum, Melbourne, Victoria. Bibliography. Cohen (E.) — Ein neues Meteoreisen von Beaconsfield, Colonie Victoria, Australien. — Sitz. K. Preus. Akad. Wiss. Berlin , 1897, p. 1035. ,, Nachtrag zur Beschreibung des Meteoreisens von Beacons- field. — Sitz . K. Preus. Akad. JFiss. Berlin , 1898, p. 306. ,, Ein neues von Meteoreisen Ballinoo am Murchisonfluss, Australien. — Sitz. K. Preus. Akad. Wiss, Berlin , 1898, p. 19. Cooksey (T.) — The Nocoleche Meteorite, with Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Meteorites. — Rec. Austr. Mus iii., 3, 1897, p. 55. ,, Addenda to Catalogue of Australian Meteorites. — Rec. Austr. Mus ., iii., 4, 1898, p. 90. ,, Additions to the Catalogue and Bibliography of Aus- tralian Meteorites. — Rec. Austr. Mus ., iii., 5, 1899, p. 130. The QUEENSLAND CATTLE TICK. By W. J. Rainbow, F.L.S., Entomologist. In the Memoirs de la Societe Zoologique de France, Tome x., 1897, just to hand, Professor G. Neumann publishes a valuable and lengthy paper under the title of “ Revision de la Famille des Ixodides.” Amongst the species dealt with there is, of course, that interesting but much dreaded beast, the Queensland Cattle Tick. According to Neumann, this species is Rhipicephalus annulatus , Say, and the synonymy as follows* : — Ixodes annulatus . Say ; llcemaphysalis rosea , Koch ; Ixodes bovis , Riley ; I. dugesii, Megnin ; Hcemaphysalis micropla , Canestrini ; Bobphilus bovis , Curtis ; and Rhipicephalus calcaratus , Birula. Referring to Say’s original description! and the above synonymy, the reviser * Mem. de la Soc. Zool. de France, x., 1897, p. 625 . f Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., ii., 1821, p. 75. 132 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. appends a foot-note,* of which the following is a free translation : Say’s description is too incomplete to enable one to affirm, with absolute certainty, that the following forms are synonymous ; nevertheless it is highly probable that they are. This is invariably the case with all the old descriptions of Ixodides. Say concluded his description with the following remark : — Found in consider- able numbers on a Cervus virginianus , in East Florida.” It is interesting to note that Ehipicephalus annulatus , which is responsible for the transmission of what is known in the United States as “Texas Fever,” is found in Texas, Maryland, Washing- ton, Chicago, Baltimore, Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Honduras, on cattle ; Cuba, cattle and dogs ; Jamaica, cattle; Florida, on deer (Cariacus virginianus , Bodd.) ; Guada- loupe, on cattle (where it is known as the “ Creole Tick,” in opposition to the Hyalomma cegyptium , or “Senegalese Tick”) ; it is also found in Guatemala, Mexico, and Monte Video ; it occurs in Paraguay, where it has been found ensconced under bark of trees, and it has been taken in Timor on the “Sambar” deer ( Rusa equinus , Cuvier) ; the cattle of the Caucasus and Tran scaucasus, of Asia, and of Singapore, are also affected by it ; the pest is also known in North and South Africa ; in Algiers and at Morocco, on African cattle, Barbary and Touarick sheep ; again, it occurs in Egypt, Madagascar, at Cape Lopez, Gaboon, and Port Elizabeth (South Africa). It may, therefore be considered, as Neumann observes, cosmopolitan. The reviser also described a variety from the typical form, under the name of Ehipicephalus annulatus caudatus ; but I would advise those interested in the study of these creatures, to peruse Professor Neumann’s work, from which the notes necessary for this brief contribution were made.f It is evident, from the foregoing, that the danger of the pest spreading is even greater than some of our Australian authorities and experts may have imagined. It is only fair, however, to state that Mr. C. J. Pound, Bacterioligist to the Queensland Government, has, in a recent paper, drawn attention to the means by which Cattle Ticks may be spread. He says | : — “ Careful and close observations have shown that although the bovine is the only perfect natural host of the Cattle Tick, it is only one of the many agencies for its dis- tribution. It has been proved that the tick will mature, under favourable conditions, upon the horse and the sheep, and that the eggs from such ticks are fertile. I have also found them in various stages of development attached to goats, kangaroos, wallabies, and various kinds of birds, as the ibis, crane, peewit, * Loc. cit.y p. 407. f Loc. cit., pp. 324-422. X Proc. Roy. Soc. Queens., xiv.. 1899, p. 31. THE QUEENSLAND CATTLE TICK — KAINBOW. 133 wild duck, and even on the little shepherd’s companion (wagtail).” In addition to these hosts, Mr. Pound points out that “In studying the habits of various species of ticks living apart from their host under natural conditions on some of the northern rivers of this Colony [Queensland], I have noticed that in the larval stage there was a natural inclination or instinct to attach themselves to any moving object, no matter whether animate or inanimate.” The Governments of New South Wales and Queensland have, in their wisdom, deliminated a boundary beyond which cattle from affected areas must not pass without inspection and treatment, and this, so far as it goes, is very right and proper. Tt has been urged that the cattle tick cannot thrive on hosts other than bovines; but even supposing so, the fact that living examples have, in different parts of the world, been found upon deer, sheep, dogs, and even under bark, is in itself sufficiently conclusive evidence as to a means by which “Texas Fever” may be conveyed, and that, in order tobe logical and thorough, the quarantine regulations should be extended to all animals travelling from the affected districts. It is a recognised fact that the disease is slowly but surely spreading south — hence the necessity of extending the proscribed area ; and it is only a question of time, therefore, when it will have invaded New South Wales, and who can tell where or when its devastating march will stop ? Stock owners of New South Wales and Victoria would do well, therefore, to note the facts recorded by Professor Neumann. OCCASIONAL NOTES. I. - -.S' TEG OS TO M A TIGRINUM, GMEL. An ADDITION to the FAUNA of NEW 80UTH WALES. On March 14th of the current year, we received from Mr W. Hibbs an example of the shark Stegostoma tigrinum , Gmel.,* caught in the River Hawkesbury, New South Wales. It is a female, measures four feet in length, and in colour nearly agrees with var. 3 of Muller and Henle.f The observations were made while the shark was still alive, it having been received by us in that condition. The ground is creamy, with a greenish hue about the head and dorsal region ; the markings are black spots, smaller and regularly arranged on the head, much larger and more widely spaced on the body and fins. * Gmel. — Linn., p. 1493. f Muller und Henle — Plagiostomen, p. 24. 134 RECORDS OP THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. The tuberculous ridges are extremely well-marked and are dis- posed as follows : — The median dorsal ridge commences between the eyes and extends along the edge of the first dorsal fin, thence recommences and similarly passes along the second dorsal ; it once more re-appears and forms the keel of the tail. On each side of this median ridge and about an inch and a half below it, runs a second ridge which loses itself behind the second dorsal fin, but faintly re-appears on the tail. Another ridge arises above the pectoral, passes along the middle line of the side, and is also traceable along the tail. A fourth ridge commences at the side of the vent and is lost beyond the anal fin. On the median ventral line immediately behind the vent, is another ridge which passes up the edge of the anal fin ; lastly, a ridge leads up to each ventral. The spots on the tail form regular longitudinal series, one row between each ridge. The stomach was crowded with a Mollusc, which Mr. C. Hedley recognises as a Natica. No trace of the shell was to be seen, but in every case the operculum was present. An examination of the contents of the intestines showed that the operculum is dissolved in its passage, and not ejected from the mouth. The Natica is found on muddy and sandy fiats, and the shark passing over such banks must pick up the mollusc by thousands. It evidently crushes the shell, sucks out the animal, and swallows it with the operculum attached. Neither the stomach nor intestines contained any food whatever beyond this particular Gasteropod. Day remarks* : — “ The favourite food of this fish is Molluscs and Crustacea*” Although not previously recorded from the Colony, this is the second example known to have been obtained here. On February 14th, 1896, we purchased from a fisherman a specimen caught off Port Jackson. Hitherto the genus was known in Australian waters only from an example obtained by Mr. Alex. Morton, at Cape York, Queens- land. This specimen is also in the Museum collection. EDGAR R. WAITE. II.— A SHIPWORM, NEW to AUSTRALIA. Some specimens of “Cobra,” received from Captain Almond, Port- master, Brisbane, prove to be the Kuphus mannii , Wright. This species seems not to have been noticed since 1866, when it was described from Singapore, In the same parcel of specimens, which were procured at Cooktown, were included instances of G alobates thoracitcs , Gould. q HEDLEY * Day — Fishes of India, p. 725. A FERN FORMING A NEW GENUS — ETHERIDGE. 135 On a FERN (BLECHNOXYLON TALBRAGARENSE ), with SECONDARY WOOD, forming a NEW GENUS, from the COAL MEASURES of the TALBRAGAR DISTRICT, NEW SOUTH WALES. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. (Plates xxiv. - xxvii.) The very remarkable and interesting plant remains about to be described were entrusted to me by Mr. J. Clunies Ross, B.Sc. (Lond.), of the Technical College, Bathurst, who received them from Mr. W. Pascoe, the Technological Museum Attendant at Bathurst. The specimens were obtained from the Coal Measure strata in the neighbourhood of the Talbragar River, somewhere between Gulgong and Cockabutta* Hill in the County of Bligh. The Talbragar or Erskine River rises in the Liverpool Range, and flowing in a general south-west direction, joins the Macquarie River a little to the north of Dubbo. Beds of Permo-Carboniferous age, containing Vertebraria , and probably belonging to the Upper or Newcastle Coal Measures, have been casually referred to by Messrs. David and Pittman, f and it is from some portion of these that the fossils about to be described possibly came. There are ten specimens, six showing cross or transverse sections of the stem, with leaves attached, and four in profile, similarly more or less provided, to say nothing of sundry detached leaves, in a greater or less state of preservation. I believe these frag- mentary remains to be those of a Fern, and shall in consequence make use of terminology of this section of the Cryptogamia. In the first specimen the caudex (' ] or rhizome) is seen in cross section surrounded by seven radiating fronds, or portions thereof. (PI. xxiv. fig. 1.) The second is a similar fossil, but with eight radiating fronds, one protruding from below a layer of matrix at a lower level. The section of the caudex is rather less apparent than in the first example. * ? CJockaburra, i.e. f the “ Laughing Jackass/’ t Mem. Geol. Surv. N.S.W., Pal. Series, No. 9, 1895, p. ix. a 136 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. In the third specimen there are certainly eight fronds visible, and possibly portion of a ninth, but this example is otherwise particularly valuable for it shows evidence of the minute struc- ture of the caudex ; the venation is also remarkably well preserved. (PL xxiv., fig. 2.) The fourth individual is a similar specimen to fig. 2, in that there are the remains of caudex structure, with five or perhaps six radiating fronds, being, in the present instance, impressions of the upper surface (PL xxiv., fig. 4). Attention is specially directed to the frond on the upper left hand protruding from below the two fronds immediately above it, and the two on the right hand projecting from a still lower level. The fifth specimen displays a small caudex surrounded by seven fronds, one of them a young frond, and all again impressions of the upper surface. The sixth example consists of two small individuals contiguous to one another on the same piece of matrix, one of which is shown in PL xxiv., fig. 3. Each possesses three fronds, or portions of three, much shorter and wider than in any of the preceding specimens, and to all intents and purposes pyriform in outline. The remaining specimens are preserved in profile. The first (PL xxv., fig. 5) is a portion of a caudex, with at one end a set of attached fronds, four or perhaps five, forming a kind of corona; and a second series, six or seven in all, at the opposite end, detached and bent backwards out of position, but guided by the evidence of other specimens, there is reason to believe that, although detached, they are practically in situ . Immediately above the latter, on one side of the caudex, is a round depression, and half way up it on the other is a small protuberance. Amongst the fronds at the end first described is a small somewhat pyriform scale-like body. The second specimen seen in profile (PL xxvi., fig. 6) is a highly important one, in fact one of the most important of the series, consisting of a short portion of caudex, surmounted by a crown comprising six or seven fronds, and a couple of the scale-like bodies, already noticed in connection with PL xxiv., fig. 5. On the face of the crown are what I take to be leaf-scars. On the left of the figure one of the frond petioles is definitely attached to this scar- bearing face, and on the right is a petiole disappearing beneath the matrix, and reappearing beyond in frond form. The third fossil (PL xxiv., fig. 7) is part of a caudex seen partly in a transverse view and partly in profile, in the former case dis- playing portions of three fronds, radiating therefrom. On the right hand side of the caudex is one of the wart-like protuber- ances described in Pl. xxv., fig. 5. A FERN FORMING A NEW GENUS — ETHERIDGE. 137 The fourth example (PI. xxvi., fig. 8) is supplementary in some points to PI. xxv., fig. 5, and is the longest portion of caudex in the collection, but much decorticated. At one end are portions of two fronds extended in opposite directions, and somewhat more than halfway down are traces of two others, one attached, the other protruding through the matrix, and although riot attached, as in the first instance, so clearly answering in position to the corres- ponding frond above, on the right hand side, as to leave little doubt that it also is in situ. Finally PI. xxiv., fig. 9, is the enlarged caudex of PI. xxiv., fig. 2, and displays the broken edges of the different zones of the stem which will be explained later on. The structure of the foregoing specimens may be summarised as follows : — The Caudex . — The caudex is round, varying from one to three millimetres in diameter, and in length from ten to forty-three millimetres, so far as preserved, sometimes in the round, at other times only as impressions, or both conditions may occur on the same example. When in the former state there is clear evidence of a peeling-ofi‘ of layers, thus reducing the general bulk of the caudex from what it must have really been in nature. At varied and inequidistant points may be seen the minute thorn-like pro- jections, when a caudex is seen in the round, or, in the case of an impression, as small depressions. T am unable to offer any definite explanation of these, but similar projections have been figured by Mr. R. Kidston on problematical stems from the Lanarkshire Goal-field, called Psilotites unilateral^* but as the name implies they are on one side only, nor do I, by calling attention to the resemblance mean to suggest any relation between the two plants. Mr. A. C. Seward has suggested that these may mark the positions of roots given off from a creeping rhizome. The inode of distribution of the fronds on the caudex is peculiar, and, so far as the specimens permit me to judge, constant. At intervals occur clusters or tufts of fronds, the intervening caudex surface being destitute of leaf clothing. A caudex is therefore divided into nodes and internodes (PI. xxv., fig. 5 ; PI. xxvi., fig. 8). In PI. xxv., fig. 5, we observe a cluster proceeding from an enlargement or corona, and at the other end a displaced cluster that has been accidentally pressed backwards. In PI. xxvi., fig. 8, traces of two of these nodes are visible, one a little below the middle of the caudex, the second at the upper end. The enlargement caused by the attachment of the frond bases has almost weathered away, but to the right and left of each the edge of a frond is traceable, particularly on the right of the lower tuft, where it is distinguishable by its re volute margin, and traces of # Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., xvii. (5), 1886, p. 495. 138 RECORDS OF TIIE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. venation. There is a distance of twenty millimetres between the nodes. PI. xxiv., fig. 7, is on the opposide of the same piece of matrix to that on which PI. xxvi., tig. 6, is preserved, and the stem of the one is continuous through the shale, and joins that of the other, thereby confirming — first, that the two sets of fronds in PL xxv., fig. 5, belong to one and the same caudex, and are looking in opposite directions by accidental displacement; second, that the clusters of fronds, occur at intervals along the caudexes, dividing the latter into nodes and internodes with great regularity. All the caudexes with fronds attached, as well as sundry small fragments scattered over the matrix of the various specimens, exhibit the remains of internal structure, but in varied degrees of distinctness. From two of the best fragments sections were pre- pared by Mr. Charles Merton, Section Cutter to the Geological Survey of New South Wales. A general view of one of these, enlarged, is shown in PL xxvi., fig. 10, and an enlargement of a portion of the latter in fig. 11 of the same plate. A longi- tudinal section from another fragment is seen in PL xxviL, tig. 12. There is not the slightest shade of a doubt that the portions from which these sections are taken are those of caudexes of the same plant to which the fronds are attached, and not that of any fortuitous intruder. It will be observed that in PL xxvi., fig. 10, the centre is occupied by an amorphous mass of opaque material surrounded bv a zone of cellular tissue, and two other discontinuous zones. The enlarged illustration indicates that this tissue con- sisted of radial rows or lines of cells roughly arranged in bundles. Further remarks on these sections will be made later on. Frond Scars . — The corona, or enlargement, terminating the short caudex impression in PL xxvi., fig. 6, bears numerous fronds in various states of preservation. On that portion left bare by the falling oft* of the latter, are visible triangular frond scars in oblique lines indicating a spiral arrangement of the fronds, precisely as on the caudex of a living Tree-fern. Each of these scars bears a more or less central single pit, indicating the former presence of a vascular opening. On the right-hand side of the figure are broken stipe bases, with portion of a frond protruding through the matrix beyond, whilst on the left-hand are three fronds in a revolute condition, the stipes of two being actually attached to the frond scars. I do not think a more complete demonstration of the relation of these parts, one to the other, could be made. Fronds . — The fronds are linear-lanceolate, narrow, entire, de- creasing very gradually in size towards their apices, which are obtusely pointed. In the young frond (PL xxiv., fig. 3) the linear-lanceolate outline gives place to a shorter, broader, and sub-pyriform shape. The fronds appear to have been thick and fleshy ; the longest observed measured twelve millimetres. The proximal end of each is in the form of a broad stipe, articulating A FERN FORMING A NEW GENUS — ETHERIDGE. 139 to the caudex, and is at once distinguishable from the frond proper by the absence of fascicles, and narrower proportions transversely. The largest number of fronds in any one whorl is twelve, ordinarily there are eight. The venation is very characteristic and stable throughout the whole of the specimens. A strong midrib, or costa, was present continuous to the apex, but perceptibly decreasing in thickness upwards. The fascicles are free and bilaterally symmetrical, the largest number observed on any one frond being twelve, but the usual number is eight. The veins are short, sub-internal, equal on each side, non-cos teeform, and rising at a very acute angle. The first bifurcation gives rise to two veinules, which are long and excurrent, following an upward and outward direction, the anterior always the longer of the two. The latter is almost invariably dicho- tomous, the posterior sometimes so, more often single, the resulting veinlets being short. There is, however, one very characteristic feature — the posterior veinule of the first fascicle on each side is always unbranched, and further, the veins of the first facicles are always the longest in each frond, springing from the costa well within the stripe, and remaining subparallel to the former. The margins of the fronds are at times re volute. Several microscopic sections of portions of fronds were made with more or less satisfactory results. In PI. xxvii., fig. 16, which is a section transverse to the line of growth, the general form of the frond is admirably shown, the revolute lateral margins, and the median longitudinal depression occupied by the mid-rib; none of the leaf tissues are preserved. The width of this frond is 145 mm., the thickness in the centre 0T7 mm., and the thickness of the ends, including the revolute portions, is 0 3 mm. PI. xxvii., fig. 15, is a longitudinal section of a frond, or one parallel to its line of growth, and of special interest from the fact that the cellular tissue of the epidermis is to some extent visible, and both the upper and lower surfaces are clothed with setiforrn hairs. I cannot distinguish either stomata or the parenchymatous meso- pliyll of the frond. There are certain peculiar and equidistant tissue-pillars, extending transversely for half-way between the upper and lower surfaces, which appear to be composed of much decayed tissue, and enclose clear vacuities that certainly possess determinate margins ; one at the end of the section is filled with amber-brown pulverulent matter. The space below these pillars, extending nearly the whole length of the frond, does not show any regular parenchyma, but has distributed throughout it a number of straight or curved filaments.* A second longitudinal section * These filaments are not unlike the fungal borings described by me under the names of Palceachlya tortuosa and P. lorquis (Rec. Austr. Mus., iii.. No. 5, 1899, pp. 121 and 126), but if of this nature, distinct from either of these forms. 140 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. (not figured) exhibits the tissue pillars extending completely across the frond from surface to surface, without the intervention of the space just referred to. There are no clear vacuities between the tissue-pillars, but their place is taken by patches of dark brown pulverulent material, as if filling up such hollows. In PL xxvii., fig. 14, we see a section taken horizontally through the leaf, im- mediately below the surface, exposing the mid rib, veins, and epidermal tissue between the latter, as well as very dark brown round patches between the veins, which occupy the same relative position as the dark spots in PL xxvii., fig. 15. There is evidence of fructification only in the microsections of the fronds, although when the undersides of the latter are visible, and disintegration has taken place, an appearance very similar to fructification presents itself, but that is all. This is due simply to the veinules passing over the revolute margins. In PL xxvii., fig. 16, however, are probably the remains of sori, consisting of a number of filaments clustered under the revolute margins, which remind one of pedicels for the support of sporangia, and attached to one of these on the right-hand side of the frond is a small ovate body that may be a sporangium (PL xxvi., fig. 7), very similar to the arrangement of the fructification in Pterin* There is no trace of an indusium. The length of the revolute portion of the frond is 03 mm., width of the receptacles contain- ing the pedicels OT mm., its depth 0 06 mm., and the length of the pedicle OT mm. When first this Fern came under my notice, I took the fronds to be attached in a verticillate manner. I now look upon them as forming small tufts arranged in ordinary close spirals. The structure shown in PL xxvi., fig, 6, showing that the fronds were not arranged in a verticil on the same plane, but in a spiral manner, is emphasised by the fact that in PL xxiv., figs. 2 and 4, and par- ticularly in the last, some of the fronds appear protruding from below the others. This is specially the case in PL xxiv., fig. 4, where the dark shade running across the matrix, indicates a piece removed, displaying a lower level than that to the left of the shading ; on the former are two fronds. The Scales . — More or less pyriform bodies are visible associated with the fronds in PL xxv., fig. 5, and PL xxvi., fig, 6 ; these I have tentatively termed “scales.” Mr. A. 0. Seward, to whom I submitted photographic copies of the present plates, has been good enough to suggest that these may be bulbil-like appendages, or scale-leaves. He remarks that bulbils occur in some recent ferns, such as Cystopteris bulbifera. A dimorphic condition of the fronds has been shown to exist in Glossopteris browniana , * See Hooker and Baker's Synop. Filicium., 1868, pi. iii., fig. 31. A FERN FORMING A NEW GENUS— ETHERIDGE. 141 both by Zeiller and Seward* * * § ; by the latter in examples from the Newcastle or Upper Coal Measures. These secondary fronds present a scale like appearance, with an upper convex surface, and slightly spreading and anastomosing veins, but no mid rib ; the first two characters accord well with the appearance of the “scales” in the present plant. Instances of other recent Ferns possessing two kinds of simple fronds are given by Mr. Seward, in the paper referred to below. No very satisfactory alliance amongst recent Ferns can be mentioned. All I can do is, as suggested by Mr. Thomas White- legge, to call attention to the shrub-like Oleandra neriiforviis , Oav., in which the fronds are simple-linear-lanceolate, as in our form, subverticillate, and the short stipes articulated with erect frutes- cent stems, f Except that the fronds here are spiral, and not verticillate at all, there is otherwise a general resemblance between the two. 0. neriiformis is said by the late Mr. John Smith, for- merly of Kew, to be the “only representative of a shrub among Ferns.”;j; I believe that some Botanists do not recognise Oleandra but merge it in Aspidinm ; I am, however, content to speak of the plant as referred to by Mr. Smith. I have been similarly unable to find any near relative of this extraordinary little plant amongst extinct species. The venation is to some extent Pecopteroid, as may be seen by a comparison with the many excellent figures of Pe cop ter is species given by Brongniart in his “Histoire,” particularly P. aquilina , P. nervosa , or P. cistii.§ There is a superficial resemblance in the form and venation of the fronds to those of Marzaria , Zigno|| ; but in the latter the frond is pinnate, and the pinnules are described as digito-radiatc. Indeed it is the linear-lanceolate form of the pinnules in Marzaria paro- liniana , and their often radiate arrangement, that first strikes the eye as resembling the fronds of the Australian fossil, especially when the former are pressed from above downwards, in a similar manner to some of those of the latter. The venation of the two forms is almost identical. Mr. Seward has called my attention to the figures of a Taxo- dinaceous Conifer, Cyclopitys nordenskioldi , Schml.,11 from the Russian Permian. In a letter recently received, Mr. Seward remarks : — “ In the Russian plant there are apparently no lateral * Quart. tTourn. Geol. Soc., liii., 1897, p. 218, pi. xxiii., fig. 1. f Lowe — Ferns : British and Exotic, 1808, p. 44, pi. xvi. ; Beddome — Ferns of Brit. India, ii., p. 264, pi. cclxiv. J Hiatoria Fiiieium, 1875, p. 81. § Hist. Veg. Foss., i., 1828, pis. xc., xciv., and cvi. || Flora Foss. Form. Oolithicoo, i., p. 108, pi. xix., figs. 3-17. IF Beitriige zur Jura-Flora Kusslands, 1879, pi. xiv., figs. 6-8. 142 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. veins in the leaves, although it is conceivable that the ‘cross- wrinklings ’ may be veins. I do not think that the two are identical, but the plant is worth referring to. Schmalhausen regards his plant as a Conifer comparable to Sciadopitys (‘ Um- brella Pine These are the only comparisons I am able to suggest. When first dealing with this fossil, I came to the conclusion that it was a Fern of anomalous structure, probably a new genus, but my difficulties were increased on the preparation of the micro-sections of the stem, for I at once saw that the struc- ture revealed was not that of an ordinary Fern. 1 accordingly forwarded notes and copies of the illustrations to Mr. Seward, who in an exceedingly kind manner has solved my doubts in the letter already referred to, as follows; — “The internal structure strikes me as particularly interesting; your figures 10 and 11 suggest a fairly broad zone of secondary wood — a form of structure practically unknown among recent Ferns, but slightly developed in some species of Botrychium, which have undoubted secondary thickening. From Permian and Coal Measure rocks we have, however, several genera of plants which possess characters now shared by Cycads and Ferns, e.g., Lyginodendron , Ifeterangium , Poroxylon , and others ; in the first two the leaves are of the type long known as Sphenopteris elegans and other forms, and the stems have a broad zone of secondary wood, with a structure like that of living Cycads. These intermediate types have recently been placed by Potonie in a special class, which he calls Oycadofilices ; the genera have been described by Williamson and Scott, Renault, and others. It would seem not improbable that your plant may belong to this class ; it certainly suggests a Fern with secondary wood. It would be very interesting to know more about the anatomy, whether the wood consists of radial rows and tracheids separated by broad bands of medullary ray tissue — as in Cycads, or, if it is of the more compact form, with narrower and less obvious rays, such as we have in Conifers; also what the tracheids look like in longitudinal section . 99 Mr. Seward’s remarks suggest comparison with Botrychium. The structure of the stem in this genus is thus described* by Dr. D. H. Campbell : — “ The vascular bundles of the stem are much more prominent than in Ophioglossum , and form a hollow cylinder with small gaps only corresponding to the leaves. This cylinder shows the tissues arranged in a manner that more nearly resembles the structure of the stem in Gymnospermes or normal Dicotyledons than anything else. Surrounding the central pith is a ring of woody tissue, with radiating medullary rays, and outside of this a ring of phloem, separated from the xylem by a zone of cambium, * Mosses and Ferns, 1895, p. 243. A FERN FORMING A NEW GENUS — ETHERIDGE. 143 so that here alone among Ferns the bundles are capable of second- ary thickening. The whole cylinder is enclosed by a bundle-sheath (endodermis) consisting of a single layer of cells. The cortical part of the stem is mainly composed of starch-bearing parenchyma, but the outermost layers show a formation of cork.” An excellent diagramatic sketch of the several parts accompanies these remarks. I believe PI. xxvi., tig. 10, to practically represent the greater portion, if not all, of the stem or caudex, viewed transversely. It will be noticed that the central portions retain a fairly continuous oval contour, but the outer portions, possibly from extraneous causes, have been crushed together, and the contour broken or distorted. The dark centre in our figure, and from which the whole structure in the specimen has been obliterated, represents without doubt the pith (there is no evidence of primary wood), whilst the zone surrounding this is the secondary wood or xylem. The tw r o outer rings in PL xxvi., fig. 10, judging by Dr. Campbell’s, may possibly represent — the inner one the endodermis, and the outer the cork formation of the parenchyma. These rings in the fossil are of a dark orange-brown colour. In the enlarged figure, (PI. xxvi., fig. 11) the dark radiating lines perhaps represent the medullary rays. The following measurements were kindly made by Mr. T. Whitelegee : — Longer diameter of caudex Shorter ,, ,, ... Diameter of pith Width of ring of secondary wood Space between exo- and endoderm Space between endoderm and secondary 18 mm. 1*2 „ 0-35 „ 0-25 „ 0T to 0 "2 mm. wood Width of exoderm ... Width of endoderm . . . 0 - 0 to 0T ,, 0 04 mm. 0-03 „ In a longitudinal section of the caudex (PL xxvii., fig. 12) the same number of zones can be distinguished as in a transverse section (PI. xxvi., fig. 10). Thus, the central cylinder, without structure, is followed by the zone of secondary wood, in which faint longitudinal parallel lines can be discerned, answering to the radial lines in Plate xxvi., figs. 10 and 11, but no minute details can be made out. The edge of the secondary wood is of the same deep amber-brown colour already referred to in other parts of the organism, and between this and the layer corresponding to the endoderm in Dr. CampbelLs diagram of the stem in Botrychium , is a further narrow structureless zone (the inner of the two in PL xxvi., fig. 10), that varies so much in radial diameter. The endoderm and the exoderm are again of a deep amber-brown tint, and form strongly marked features of the section, the intermediate 144 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. space between them being again structureless. This section, which was prepared from a stem fragment enveloped in matrix in the hope that it would display the longitudinal structure simply, has by accident revealed other unexpected details, in the form of three bract-like bodies on each side, opposite to one another, two and two, those on the right being better preserved than those on the left. As sectioned they form an extension of the parenchymatous zone, and are margined by a continuation of the amber-brown exodermic layer, which is cellular, the tissue having the appearance of the epidermal of the fronds. The two lowest bodies are the longest and best preserved. The only suggestion I can offer of this structure is that the section at this point traverses a node, and that we here see petioles of some of the fronds. In the same section, but detached from this caudex fragment, is what may well be termed a root and rootlets (PI. xxiv.. fig. 13). The former is straight, 2*7 mm. long, with a transverse measure- ment of 1*5 mm., and from it on each side are given off at right angles longer and shorter processes, varying in length from 0*15 to 03 mm. There is no structure preserved. Whether or no these are a root and rootlets of the plant under consideration, it is of course impossible to say. Could further points of structure be made out in this interesting fossil, a comparison might then be instituted with that of Lygino- dendron , Will., on the one hand, and that of j Heterangium^ Corda, on the other. On a superficial comparison with figures of both,* a general resemblance is noticable, particularly in the central cylinder, and the surrounding zone of secondary wood, but as we are unacquainted with the constitution of the central cylinder, whether of pith and primary wood, as in Lyginodendron , or primary wood alone, as in LLeterangium, f it is impossible to carry the comparison further. One very interesting point, however, remains to be referred to — the attachment of a fern foliage to stems with affinities of a higher order. The late Prof. W. C. Williamson suggested J that the rachises of certain ferns known as Rachiopteris aspera , from a similarity in some of their tissues to those of Lyginodendron , were the petioles of the leaves of that genus. He remarked — “ If we are correct in this supposition, we have now, for the first time, in Lyginodendron Oldhamium , a Fern of which the stem or rachis exhibits a highly developed form of exogenous growth. . . Some months ago Mr. Kidston sent me some stems which he believed * Williamson— Phil. Trans, for 1873, clxiii., pi. xxii., fig. 1 ; Williamson and Scott — Ibid. (B) for 1895, clxxxvi., pi. xviii., fig. 1; Seward — Ann. Bot., xi., pi. v., fig. l. f Williamson and Scott— Loc. cit. f clxxxvi., p. 745. I Phil. Trans. (B) for 1887, clxxviii., p. 298. A FERN FORMING A NEW GENUS — ETHERIDGE. 145 to belong to Sphenopteris elegans, the cortex of which displayed an exactly similar series of thickened horizontal parallel bands. Still more recently, he received from ray friend Professor Von Weiss, of Berlin, and forwarded to me, a beautiful specimen of an exactly identical stem, attached to which are the unquestionable pinnules of Sphenopteris elegans. As far as these internally structureless specimens affect the question, they suggest the possibility that both the species of Heterangiv/ni may also prove to be Ferns.” Again, speaking of the two genera already referred to, Prof. Williamson remarked* — “ One thing is certain, viz., that in their internal organisation they present combinations of tissues that find no representatives amongst living plants. Possibly they are the generalised ancestors of both Ferns and Cycads, which transmitted their external contours to the former, and their exogenous modes of growth to the latter types. In considering this possibility, we must not forget that in Strangeria we have a still living plant in which the stem of a Cycad bears fronds, the leaflets of which retain the dichotomous nervation of a true Fern. The Strangeria has retained, not only the primitive exogenous stem of some ancestral type, in common with its other Cycadean relatives, but also the peculiar Fern-like leaflets, which may also have come down to it from Palaeozoic times. Hence we have here a combination of Fern-like features and of an exogenous mode of growth. Such being the case, it need not startle us if we have to conclude that a similar cambination existed during the Carboniferous age.” On this subject Messrs. Williamson and Scott remark conjointly! — (or rather lion-specialised Fern-stock), which already show a marked diver- gence in the Cycadean direction,” and they think “ the existence of a fossil group on the borderland of Ferns and Cycadese is now well established.”^! For this intermediate group of plants Dr. H. Potonic has proposed ** the divisional name of Cycado-filices, a class not hitherto recognised, Mr. Seward remarks to me, in the Southern Hemisphere. I intended using the generic name of Pteroxylon for this plant, but Mr. J. H. Maiden, Director of the Botanical Gardens, Sydney, informs me that as Ptaeroxylon it was employed in 1835 for the “ Sneezewood” of South Africa. As, however, it is very desirable to retain in the name a connection between the presence of secondary wood and a Fern alliance I have adopted a suggestion made to me by Mr. Whitelegge, and term it Blechnoxylon. ft Now, although :f3X.rj)(i'ov, is literally a “kind of fern,” still, according to Loudon it is also “one of the Greek names of the fern,”JJ and may * Phil. Trans. (B) for 1895, clxxxvi., p. 754. f Ibid., pi. 26, fig. 22. J Ibid., p. 756. § Phil. Trans. (B) for 1895, clxxxvi., p. 766. || Ibid., p. 769. % Ibid., p. 770. ** Lehrbuch der Pflanzenpalaeontologie, Hief 2, 1897, p. 160. ft f3Xrj)(yov and £v\.ov. JJ Encyclopaedia of Plants, 1880, p. 881, Note 2183. BEETLES FROM MOUNT KOSCIUSKO— RAINBOW. 147 in consequence, I think, be justifiably used in the sense intended. The plant will therefore in future be known as Blechnoxylon talbragarense. The fossils are associated in the same deposit with leaves of Glossopteris, and stems of our characteristic Coal Measure Conifer, Brachyphyllum, Throughout this enquiry I have been very ably assisted by my Colleague, Mr. T. Whitelegge, and desire to take this opportunity of expressing my thanks not only to him, but also both to Mr. E. R. Waite, who has spared no pains to render the illustrations accurate and intelligible, and to Mr. J. P. Hill, B.Sc., of the Biological Laboratory, Sydney University, for the loan of micro- preparations of Blecknunt, Strang eria, and other plants. DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO BEETLES FROM MOUNT KOSCIUSKO. By W. J. Rainbow, F.L.S., Entomologist. In working over the collection of Australian Oarabidse contained in the cabinets of the Australian Museum, I came across two species apparently undetermined — one a Percosorna , and the other Notonomus , sp. These are, therefore, now described. Some time ago, Mr. T. G. Sloane described the Australian and Tasmanian forms of the genus Percosorna as known to him.* Of these P. montanum , Casteln., and P. concolor, Sloane, were recorded from Victoria ; the former from Yarragon, Gippsland (Sloane), Dandenong Ranges (French), and the latter from Marysville District (Track to Yarra Falls, Best). Two others, P . carenoides , White, and P. sulci penne , Bates, were from Tasmania. The four species here enumerated comprised all that was known of the Australian Percosorna up to the date of the publication of Mr. Sloane’s paper, and from then until now, no further additions to our knowledge of the native species of this genus have been made. In the working out of the species ( Percosorna) herein described, I have been courteously assisted by Mr. Geo. Masters, Curator of * Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., vii., 1892, pp. 60-62. 148 RECORDS OF TIIE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. the Macleay Museum, and I therefore have much pleasure in associating his name with it, specifically. Genus Percosoma, Schaum. Percosoma mastersi, sp. nov. (Fig- 1)- Measurements: — Head(to tips of mandibles) 5 mm. long, 35 mm. 6'9 mm. wide; elytra 11*7 mm. Black, shining, narrow, elong- ate. Head rather large, smooth ; transverse impression behind the eyes strongest laterally, faint behind vertex ; vertex rather flat, frontal impressions well defined, short, anterior angle with a row of six punctures ; jaws not long, hooked at apex ; eyes prominent, inclosed behind, projecting before post-ocular prominences — t h es e not strong. Antennce subfiliform, clothed with pale, yellowish bristles ; basal joint has a deep round puncture above. Pro- thorax slightly convex, cordate, truncate in front and behind, median line lightly marked ; sides slightly rounded on anterior half, gently narrowed but not sinuate towards base ; lateral border narrow, extending from anterior to posterior angles — the latter somewhat obtuse. Elytra convex, oval, narrow, striate (the stria? — seven upon each elytron — very distinct), intermediate spaces flat ; shoulders rounded ; base declivous to peduncle, apex broadly rounded ; lateral border narrow ; within the outer margin of each elytron, there is a row of small punctures, widely separated from each other individually; of these four are seated well forward, one at the centre, and the remainder (four) towards the apex, the last three rather closer together. Ventral surface lightly rugose laterally. Anterior legs — thighs canaliculate below, dilatate at middle ; outer angle of tibia finely serrated. Obs. — Judging from the fact that the anterior thighs are similar to those of the female of P. montana as described by Sloane;* the species diagnosed above is doubtless a female also. wide ; pro-thorax, 6 mm. long, long, 7*3 mm. wide. Fig. 1. * Loc . cit ., p.^GO. BEETLES FROM MOUNT KOSCIUSKO — RAINBOW. 149 Genus Notonomus, Chaud. Notonomus montanus, sp. nov. (Fig. 2). Measurements : — Head (to tips of mandibles) 5*5 mm. long, 4*2 mm. broad; pro-thorax 5*1 mm; long, 5*8 mm. broad; elytra 14 mm. long, 7 '5 mm. broad. Black, shining. Head smooth, broad, frontal im- pressions well marked, clypeal suture distinct, end- ing on each side in the fron- tal impression ; eyes some- what prominent, inclosed behind. Pro-thorax broader than long, grooved down the middle, slightly rounded on the sides, gently narrow- ing towards the base; pos- terior angles rounded off, lateral impressions short ; marginal border reflexed on the sides, reaching as far but not extending beyond the inner side of the lateral impressions on each side of the base ; posterior marginal Fig. 2. punctures in the lateral border at the basal angles. Elytra oval, not convex, a little narrower towards the base, rounded on the sides, broadest just beyond the middle, sinuate behind, dehiscent at apex, sides and apex declivous, striate ; interstices flat, the ninth marked through- out its course with umbilicate punctures, those towards the base and apex close, but not confluent; lateral margins wide, humeral angles not marked. Abdominal segments normal. Obs . — The third interstice of each elytron has a series of punc- tures, but as the number is not uniform, there being six on the right elytron and four on the left, these impressions can scarcely be accepted as specific characters. 150 RECORDS OP TIIE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. LARVA AND PUPA OF BATOCERA WALL AG El, THOMS. By W. J. Rainbow, F.L.S., Entomologist. A short time ago, the Trustees of the Australian Museum were presented with a small collection of Insects from Samarai, or Dinner Island, British New Guinea. These had been gathered from time to time by the donor, the Rev. C. W. Abel, in the field of his labours, and amongst them were included larval and pupal forms of that huge Longicorn, Batocera wallacei , Thoms. • In respect of the former, which is apparently nearly fully grown a brief description may be interesting. The animal is nearly four inches long, footless, gradually tapering posteriorly, as is most frequently the case with Longicorn larvae ; the head is short, broad, flat, corneous, punctate, black, and provided with short, strong, incurved mandibles ; the pro-thoracic segment is much larger than those succeeding, and of a glossy mahogany-brown hue, the anterior, posterior and lateral angles, both above and below, are dirty yellowish-brown, and rough ; the other segments are fleshy, yellowish, and all, with the exception of the two last, provided both above and below, with large, rough, transversely oval, granu- lated patches ; these are, of course, the organs of locomotion. The pupa is large, soft, and of a greenish hue, with yellowish dorsal and lateral patches ; in other respects it presents the usual appearance of Longieorns at this stage of their existence. The wings and legs are folded against the sides, and the feet doubled under; the enormous antennse are turned back against the sides of the body, the third and succeeding joints being coiled round and round, something like the mainspring of a watch. The .adult insect is so well known, that there is no need to to describe* it here. * See Arch. Ent., i., p. 447, pi. xviii., fig. 1. NEW LAND SHELLS — HEDLEY. 151 DESCRIPTIONS of NEW LAND SHELLS, with NOTES on KNOWN SPECIES. By Charles Hedley, Conchologist. (Plate xxviii.) Papuina mayana, sp . nov . (PI. xxviii., figs. 10, 11). Shell imperforate, ovately conical, periphery rounded, glossy. Colour — the base and a subsutural stripe in the lower three whorls are ochre-yellow, contrasting sharply with a broad dark chocolate band which intervenes, the upper whorls are slate. Whorls six, rounded, divided by an impressed suture. Sculpture oblique, regular, incremental lines are decussated by faint, spiral striations the latter only visible under the lens. Aperture very oblique, slightly descending, subrhombic ; lip a little reflected ; columella deeply entering, then straight, edged within, not truncate anteriorly but joining the basal lip at an angle ; a thin white callus spreads on the base. Major diameter 22, minor 19 mm.; height 25 mm.; another specimen, 18, 22, 23*5 mm. The species has a general superficial resemblance to P. meta from the Solomons. The Australian Papuina are confined to the Torresian Region, of which they are characteristic inhabitants. At present there are known, P. macgillivrayi y Forbes ; P. bidwilli , Pfeiffer; P. cerea, Hedley; P. poiretiana y Pfeiffer; P. fucata, Pfeiffer; P. conscendens , Cox; and P. folicola , Hedley, The novelty is a near ally of P. poiretiana , from which it differs by colour, greater breadth, and absence of perforation. Loc. — Collected by Miss E. Hatfield at Rossville, on the Upper Annam River, near Cooktown, Queensland. It is named in honour of Dr. T. H. May, of Bundaberg, at the desire of Mr. Arthur Dean who presented the type specimens to the Trustees. Endodonta aculeata, sp. 710V. (PI. xxviii., figs. 1, 2, 3). Shell thin, depressed, spire level, umbilicus a quarter of the shell’s diameter. Colour pale ochraceous. Whorls three and a half, rounded. Sculpture oblique, thin, recurved, epidermal lamellae, in number about thirty, cross the last whorl from the suture to the umbilicus. Each lamella is produced at intervals into long, slender points, so arranged as to fall into four equi- distant spiral lines, one being on the base, one at the periphery, B 152 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. and two above. On the inner whorls the lamellae grow less prominent and disappear. Between the lamellae the surface of the shell is microscopically spirally grooved. Aperture oblique, not descending, unfinished. A slight callus spreads in advance of the aperture on the previous whorl. Major diameter, 2*4, minor 2*2; height 1*2 mm. The curiously tagged lamellae sufficiently distinguish this species from all co-generic forms. In systematic order its place is next to E. paradoxa , Cox. Log. — Two specimens were collected at Wollongong, New South Wales, by Mr. A. E. Lower. That figured has been presented by Dr. J. C. Cox. Endodonta norfolkensis, sp. nov . (PI. xxviii., figs. 4, 5, (3). Shell minute, depressed globose, perforate. Colour uniform tawny-olive. Whorls five, gradually increasing, rounded, separated by a deep suture. Sculpture — fine close longitudinal riblets cross the whole breadth of each whorl. Aperture perpendicular, lunate, outer lip sharp. Armature — two lamellae on the parietal wall, one median, curling within and projecting beyond the aperture, the other straight, posterior and deeper seated ; on the outer wall two lamellae are so situated as to divide with the parietals the height of the aperture into fourths; on the inner side of the columella is a short curved ridge ; the armature does not extend back into the shell for more than half a whorl, its rear aspect is shown in the accompanying dissection (fig. 5). Base rounded, umbilicus about a fifth of the shell’s diameter, exposing the previous volutions. Major diameter 1'44, minor 1'28; height 1 mm. The mouth armature will readily distinguish this species, which belongs to the subgenus Thaumatodon y Pilsbry, and is one of many links between the faunas of Norfolk Island and New Zealand. Allusion was made to this species by Brazier in describ- ing E. dispar from Tasmania.* The land shells known from Norfolk Island have been described by authors as follows: — Helix phillipii, Gray; H. campbellii , Gray; II. insculpta , Pfeifler; II. jlosculus, Cox; II. quintalce , Cox; H. exayitans , Cox; Carocalla stoddartii , Gray; Omplialotropis cerea , Pfeiffer; 0. albocarinata , Mousson; Palaina coxi ) H. Adams; Helicina pictella^ Pfeiffer; H. norfolkensis , Pfeiffer. Brazier has also recorded the introduction of the European Vallonia pulchella. j Log. — Collected by J. Brazier in 1865 on Norfolk Island, South Pacific, in a guava forest on a hill side. * Brazier — Proc. Zool. Soc., 1870, p. 661. f Brazier — Journ. Concli., 1879, p. 281. NEW LAND SHELLS — HEDLEY. 153 Dendrotrochus mentum, sp. nov. (PI. xxviii., figs. 12, 13). By colour, texture and general shape this species might be taken for a diminutive form of the well known D. helicinoides , Hombron and Jacquinot, of the Solomon Islands. The chief distinction between the two, lies in a thickened, curved ridge, analogous to that of certain species of Papuina , situated behind the aperture of D . mentum. This ridge is a constant feature in a fair series before me, supported by the difference in size, D . mentum being three quarters of that of D . helicinoides , and the difference of locality, sufficiently isolates the novelty to require a name for it. Major diameter 12, minor 10; height 9 mm. D . pyxis , Hinds, from the adjoining island of New Ireland, also is contracted and then inflated behind the aperture, though not so sharply so as D. mentum . In the species now recorded, the genus has its most western outlier. It was demonstrated in a previous article in this serial,* * * § that Dendrotrochus was related not to Papuina but to Trochomorpha . The group seems worthy of generic recognition. Loc. — Ralum, New Britain ; presented by Madame E. E. Kolbe. ToRNATELLINA WAKEFIELDS, Cox . (PI. xxviii., fig. 14). Acliatinella wakefielda \ Cox, Mon. Australian Land Shells, 1868, p. 78. Specimens of this unfigured species having recently been received by the Trustees from Bryon Bay, New South Wales, the opportunity is taken to illustrate it. In reviewing the above quoted work, G. W. Tryon pointed out that the species could not be included in Achatinella .f Crosse followed by suggesting that it would be more appropriately placed in Tornatellina, J an opinion which was echoed by Brazier. § Petterd reported the species as occurring in rotten wood near Lismore and on the Clarence River, New South Wales. || H. Tryon found it on orange trees in the vicinity of Brisbane, Queensland. U * Hedley — Rec. Austr. Mus., ii., 1895, p. 90. f G. W. Tryon — Am. Journ. Conch., iv., 1868, p. 285. J Crosse— Journ. de Conch., xvii., 1869, p. 176. § Brazier — Proc. Zool. Soc., 1872, p. 807. || Petterd — Journ. de Conch., xxv., 1877, p. 361. IT H. Tryon — Report on Insect and Fungus Pests, No. 1, 1889, p. 148. 154 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MU8EUM. Papuina hindei, Cox. (PI. xxviii., figs. 7, 8, 9.) Cochlostyla Hindei , Cox, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S.W. (2), ii., 1888, p. 1063, pi. xxi., figs. 1, 2. Ilelicostyla hindei , Pilsbry, Man. Conch., ix., 1894, p. 229. The most eastern point to which on assured, that is anatomical, grounds, the tribe of Belogona has been traced, is Waighiou, Dutch New Guinea, in the form of Helicostyla con for mis, Ferussac. On other and doubtful grounds this tribe is assumed to occur as far east as the Solomon Islands, in Cryst alloy sis, Ancey. With a view to deciding on more exact limits, I wrote to Madame Kolbe, of Ralurn, New Britain, enclosing a coloured drawing of Cochlostyla hindei, and requested her to procure the animal for study. Madame Kolbe, always a generous friend to this Institution, kindly responded by forwarding some well preserved material. The result of an examination of this is as follows : — Jaw (fig. 7) thin, ends rounded, smooth, centre crossed by weak ribs. Badula (fig. 9) of the type which Pilsbry has described for P. vexillaris, with rows meeting in the centre at an acute angle, and with enlarged and broadened cusps. Genitalia (fig. 8) without accessory organs on vagina. Tentacle retracted between the branches. Penis-sac long, flattened, with- out internal papilla. Retractor muscle attached to floor of lung cavity. Epiphallus long, slender and twisted. Spermatophore on long slender duct. This dissection must certainly effect the transference of Coch- lostyla hindei, from Helicostyla to Papuina as those genera are arranged in Pilsbry’s classic “Guide to the Study of Helices.” On this point the absence of a dart sac is conclusive and is supported generally by the structure of the male organ and of the dentition. Credit must be given to Brancsik, who in describing H. heimburgi , synonymous as Pilsbry suggests with the species before us, correctly indicated its systematic position by referring it to Geotrochus. I regard P. hindei as related to P. xanthochila, Pfr. SCYLLARUS SCULPTUS, LATR. WHITELEGGE. 155 NOTE on SCYLLARUS SCULPTUS , LATREILLE. By Thomas Whitelegge, Zoologist. (Plate xxix.) The history of this beautiful, rare, and well-marked species of Scyllarus may be briefly given, as follows : — It was figured by Latreille* with a bare name, which occurs on page 5, in the explanation of the plate of the undermentioned work. At a later datef the species is again referred to, the reference consisting of a line or two, stating that the figure on P. cccxx., represents Scyllarus sculptus. The next notice, as far as I can ascertain, is by M. Milne Edwards, J who gives a short detailed description, the letters C.M., placed at the end, signifying that the specimen was in the Paris Museum, but without data. I have failed to find any later mention of this highly interesting form, and it seems probable that the type until recently was the only specimen known. In September, 1892, the writer and several other members of the Museum Staff* paid a visit to Port Stephens, and during the trip two examples were obtained from Mr. Jackson, one of the local residents. In October of the same year, the late Mr. T. Mulhall presented a specimen which was stated to have been obtained in Port Jackson. Since that date two other examples have been received, one from Port Jackson, and the other collected at Newcastle by Mr. J. Mitchell, who kindly presented it to the Trustees. The first specimens were readily identified by the figure, with which they agree in most of the important characters. There are only two points of difference. The teeth forming the crenulate margin of the fifth joint of the second antenna are smaller and more numerous than represented in the figure; and the alternating bands of darker and lighter colour, indicated on the legs, are much less distinct, or wanting, in our examples. Notwithstanding these differences, I think that our specimens are identical with the individual figured, which was probably collected at or near Port Jackson by some of the early voyagers. * Latreille — Encyclopedie Methodique (atlas), pt. 24, 1818, pi. cccxx., fig. 2. t Latreille — Encyclopedie Methodique (text), x., 1825, p. 416. X Milne Edwards — Hist. Nat. Crust., ii., 1837, p. 283. 156 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Gancelius typus , M. Edw., affords another instance of a similar kind. This species was described* without a definite habitat, but a few years ago it was found in South Australia, and shortly after- wards also in Port Jackson. + The habits and exact zone inhabited by this Scyllarus are unknown. It is, however, probable that it lives close in shore, at a considerable depth below the tide line, a region that has been little explored, having a distinct fauna which has yielded many new or rare forms, a few of which may be here noted : — Tropiclostethus rhothophiius , Ogilby, a small fish of the family Atherinida?., is common all the year round, and lives in the surf, being rarely seen except in the white foaming water. Notwith- standing its abundance, it remained unnoticed until found by the writer in 1893. Hemiscyllium rnodeslum, Gunther, commonly called the Blind Shark, inhabits the rocky recesses immediately below the tide line, and can only be obtained by fishing with a hook and line. A rare zoophyte, belonging to the genus Myriothela> and differing little from M, phrygia , Fabr., lives on seaweeds in the same zone, and until recently it had not been observed in Australian waters. The most remarkable example, however, is a small tubicolous Amphipod, which I refer without hesitation to the genus Siphonce- cetes. This genus, according to G. O. Sars, contains but three species — one arctic and two occurring on the coast of Norway. Early in the present year I found a number of examples of what I believe to be a fourth species, at Maroubra Bay, which had been washed up from a considerable depth during a heavy gale. The spot where the specimens were gathered has been my favourite collecting ground for many years, although I never met with the species before, and have since carefully searched the locality without avail. I am of opinion that this species lives in that intermediate zone which is out of reach from the shore at the lowest tides, and too rocky and inaccessible to the trawl or dredge. Occasionally at certain seasons, denizens of this region wander about the spring tide line, and may at such times be captured. As an instance, mention may be made of the rare and curious Isopod, Amphoroidea australiensis , Dana, a species of an olive-green colour like the plants upon which it feeds, and to which it clings so tenaciously that it can only be removed with difficulty. A single example was found on a loose piece of seaweed at Maroubra Bay in May, 1896. It was afterwards searched for in vain during my weekly visits, and was not met with again until December, 1898, when about fifty examples were obtained, and in J anuary of the present year * Milne-Edwards — Hist. Nat. Crust., ii., 1837, p. 243. f See List of Invertebrate Fauna — Proc. Roy. Soc. N. S. W., xxiii., 1889, p. 232. SCYLLARUS SCULPTUS, LATR. — WHITELEGGE. 157 many more were secured by wading and pulling up the seaweeds from deep holes. The plants were carried up above high water- mark, and left for an hour or so to dry. The drying has the effect of loosening the hold of the Isopods, and they may be readily detached by shaking the plants. The following is a complete description of S. sculptus : — Scyllarus SCULPTUS, Latreille. Scyllarus sculptus, Latr., Encyclopedic Methodique, pt. 21, 1818, pi. cccxx., fig. 2, and x., 1825, p. 416; Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., ii., 1837, p. 283. Adult male . — Carapace 90 mm. in length, the width of the front between the orbits 49 mm., that of the entire frontal margin (spines included) 81 mm., and that of the hinder margin 77 mm. ; the greatest width is in a transverse line with the posterior cardiac region. The rostriform process is slightly depressed, somewhat emarginate anteriorly, with obtuse lateral angles ; its length is about 5 mm., its breadth anteriorly 6*5 mm., and its narrowest part is just above the base and measures 4 mm. It is bounded externally on each side by a transversely elongate C-shaped depression, into which the somital lobes are dove-tailed and appear to be fused with the carapace. Each lobe has about eight or nine rounded tubercles on the posterior border, a pair on the anterior externally, and a prominent wide based denticle about the middle ; its sides slope away to the rostrum and to the external pair of tubercles. The length of the lobe is 5 mm., and its width 10 mm. Lateral frontal margins deflexed, slightly curved, the inner extremity ending in a low tooth, the base of which is situated under the external portion of the somital lobe ; the outer portion of the margin curves upwards and terminates at the rather pro- minent interno-orbital spine. The orbits are well defined ; the cavity beneath the cornea is margined with long hairs. . The inner portion of the superior border is elevated and bears three prominent spines and as many low tubercles ; centrally there is a pair of tubercles bounded on each side by a sinus, and the outer portion has a series of four tubercles and a spine at the angle. Anterior to the latter is a wide sinus, and a large spine-like process which arises from a point near the insertion of the second antenna and forms the outer boundary of a large anterior orbital fissure ; the inner side is limited by descending process of the front. The base of the fissure is occupied by a lobe a little higher than broad at the base, and uni- or bituberculate at the summit. The upper surface of the carapace bears a few more or less acute spines, and is closely covered with flattened scale-like tubercles ; each tubercle is fringed anteriorly with short stiff setae, 158 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. posteriorly the setae are few or wanting. The spines are disposed as follows: three equally spaced in a median line, the first situated at the base of the rostrum, the second and third on the gastric region. There is a spine immediately posterior to each orbit, and another on each side, situated at a short distance inwards behind the latter and in a line with it and the antero-lateral angle of the carapace. There are five or six submedian pairs ; the first are seated on the gastric region and are rather widely separated, the remaining pairs are arranged in the form of a narrow V on the cardiac area, with a single median spine at their base ; a few occur on the branchial region in a line with the inner orbital prominence, and about ten form a transverse series at a short distance from the hinder margin of the carapace. Lateral margins of the carapace armed with fourteen or fifteen more or less compressed spines ; of these, five are in advance of the cervical incision, the anterior one is large and prominent, the succeeding four gradually diminish in size as the well-marked cervical groove is approached, the latter is bounded posteriorly by a spine equal to or larger than that at the antero-lateral angle, the eight following are subequal in size and in distance apart, their outer borders are beset with tubercles. An irregular sub- marginal series of spiniform tubercles is situated on the posterior half of the carapace immediately above the lateral margin; these form one or two rows and are most pronounced posteriorly. A sharply defined, deep, smoothish, transverse groove extends from side to side across the hinder part of the carapace, at a distance of about 7 mm. from the ciliated posterior margin ; laterally the groove is nearly twice as wide as at the centre. Pleon strongly sculptured, clothed with setiferous tubercles. The first segment is evenly convex above and below, and exhibits superiorly a well-marked transverse groove, situated much nearer the posterior than the concealed anterior margin, and it descends on each side to the coxal plate ; the latter is small and bilobed. The anterior lobe is broad, rounded, and its margin is continued inwards to the end of the transverse groove ; the posterior lobe is triangulate and acute, its point is directed outwards and down- wards ; the posterior margin is slightly crenate and oblique. The second to sixth segments bear raised arborescent markings ; all, except the last named, have a median carina. Each segment is transversely grooved and somewhat depressed anteriorly ; the groove is bounded by a raised crenated line, which is just visible on the first three, but cannot be seen on those succeeding without bending the pleon downwards. The inner process of each coxal plate is limited by a well defined smooth groove, which extends from the anterior depression to the articular condyle. The inferior surface of the second segment is much less curved than the first ; the convexity diminishes to the fifth, which is SCYLLAEUS SCULPTUS, LATE. — WHITELEGGE. 159 almost straight; all except the sixth and seventh have a prominent transverse denticulated ridge, which is directed backwards ; it is centrally situated in the first and second. In the succeeding three the posterior margin to which the connecting membrane is attached is very short, and is overlapped by the denticulate ridge. In the female this ridge is present, but it is smooth and much less distinct in all except the first segment. The inferior surface of the sixth segment is flat, punctate, smooth, with a slight longitudinal median groove, it is imperfectly calcified, and scarcely higher than the bounding membrane. In length it exceeds the two preceding, and is equal to the third ; the latter is shorter than the second or first, which are twice as long as the fourth. Superiorly the segments, except the first and seventh, are sub- equal in length. Their width gradually diminishes; the first measures 54 mm. across between the joints, and the fifth 35 mm. The surface ornamentation consists of groups of arborescent patterns, and flat subimbricated scales ; the latter occur chiefly on the upper and on the lower posterior regions of the coxal plates. The former are present on the second to the fifth segments and disposed as follows : a narrow median group which forms the longitudinal keel ; on the second the keel commences about the middle and is continued to near the posterior margin, where it becomes transverse and extends nearly the whole width of the segment. There are two prominent groups, one on each side of the keel, but separated from it by a longitudinal row of two or more rounded tubercles. On the remaining somites the dendritic sculpture becomes a little less distinct, but the keel is longer, and on the fifth it equals the segment. The coxal plate of the second segment is very large and bilobed. It bears a Y-shaped impression on its surface, and from twelve to fourteen spines or tubercles along its margin. The front portion of the margin is transverse, the outer is obliquely directed back- wards and downwards, and terminates in a large triangular tooth. The margin of the posterior lobe has five rather large denticles, and is slightly curved forwards towards its extremity. The plates on the next four segments agree in having the anterior margin elongate, straight, almost smooth, and slightly crenate, and the posterior more or less curved and dentate like the second. The outer border, however, differs in each. In the third it is obliquely truncated and obscurely bi- or tridentate, the posterior denticle being rather large. The fourth is truncate and may be regarded as one broad lobe or tooth. The fifth and sixth are triangulate, the latter somewhat elongate 160 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. The sixth segment has superiorly a faint longitudinal mesial groove, and two pairs of submedian tubercles ; the anterior pair are separated by the groove, the posterior pair are much wider apart and nearer the hinder margin ; the latter bear about eight tubercles, four on each side of a short central ridge. The uropods and telson have the basal third calcified. The superior distal margin of the outer ramus has eight small denticles, and that of the inner ramus two or three situated on the outer fourth. The telson is marked by four smooth pit-like depressions, the anterior pair are wide apart and seated on the base, the posterior pair are large, submedian, and occupy the distal half of the calci- fied part. The membraneous laminae of the uropods and telson have numerous radiating ribs, which exhibit repeated dichotomous branching ; the ribs on both surfaces of the telson and on the outer halves of the rami are closely granulose. The pleopoda are biramous ; the first pair are wanting in both male and female. The second pair in the former are foliaceous and have the rami equal in length ; the outer one is broad at the base, and the inner one rather narrow. In the succeeding pairs the outer ramus is similar in shape to that of the second, but the rami decrease in size on each somite ; the inner ramus is represented by a short obtuse conical stump. It is interest- ing to note that the inner ramus of the fourth segment on the left side — in the male example under notice — is consider- ably developed, it is equal to the outer in length but is very narrow and styliform ; a small stylamblys occurs at its base. The second pair of pleopoda in the female are very large, and consist of foliaceus plates with strongly ciliated margins. The inner ramus is rather broader than the outer, and carries a single stylamblys tipped with long setae, to which the ova are attached. In the following pairs the lamina of the outer rami is much smaller than those of the second ; the inner ramus is narrow, elongate, and three-jointed ; a foliate plate arises from the outer base of the second joint. The margins of the joints and lamina are more or less fringed with long plumose hairs to which the bundles of ova are cemented. Basal joint of first antenna tuberculate, twice as long as broad, the inner distal angle terminating in a prominent denticle ; second joint stout, smooth, compressed, nearly twice as long as the first, and equal to the third ; fourth shorter than the latter, about twice as long as the outer flagellum. Outer antennas a little shorter than the inner. The basal joint is very large ; the inferior distal margin is denticulate, it carries NOTE ON SCYLLARTJS SCULPTUS, LATE,. — WHITELEGGE. 161 about eighteen denticles, including the larger ones situated at the inner and outer angles. Second joint twice as broad as long ; the superior distal margin bears five spines ; of these, two are situated on the outer fourth, one about the middle and two on a produced lobe, which projects in front of the basal joint of the first antennse and partly conceals the lower third of the second joint. Third joint greatly expanded, somewhat cordiform in outline; the outer margin is neatly curved, and bears six teeth, each of which is minutely denticulated* The distal margin is oblique, and has four or five large teeth ; the inner border is tridentate, the denticules occur on a projecting lobe similar to, but larger, than that on the inner angle of the preceding joint. Fourth joint as broad as long, the inner border with three spines and the distal margin with two or more ; the outer distal angle is produced on the lower surface, but not on the upper. Fifth joint nearly one-fourth broader than long ; its outline is semi-elliptical ; the margin is shortly ciliate, the inner third is acutely dentate, the rest crenate, the surfaces are minutely hairy punctate ; the upper surfaces of all the preceding joints are more or less scaly or tuberculate. First pair of legs stout ; the inferior surfaces of the first three joints are beset with elevated tubercles, with dark brown tips ; the merus is somewhat compressed, the inner surface is smooth and adapted to the carapace, the outer is slightly depressed longitudin- ally; near the upper border the latter is subcarinate, smooth, and shortly setose ; the inner lower border is similar to the upper, but is less elevated and only half its length ; the outer aspect of the lower border is marked by a series of ten subspiniform scales ; the distal margin has four or five obscure spines. Carpus half as long as the merus, with a strongly marked groove on the outer surface near the rounded upper border. Propodus tapering, its greatest depth equal to half the length, its diameter equalling the depth at the distal extremity, the upper and lower borders are rounded. Tarsus curved, as long as its supporting joint, upper surface somewhat flattened, internal aspect grooved, the lower with two tufts of setse near the base ; the distal half is horny, the Cornells and calcareous portions overlap at their junction, the latter at the sides and the former above and below. Second pair of legs the longest, their length without the tarsus equal to the first and also to the third ; fourth and fifth shorter, the latter nearly equal to the first without the tarsus. The merus joint of the second pair is one-fourth longer than that of the first and of the fourth, about one-eighth longer than the third, and nearly twice the length of that of the fifth ; it 162 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. exhibits — like the first and those succeeding — a shallow longi- tudinal depression near the upper border. The carpal joints are subequal, aud each has a well-marked longitudinal groove on the external surface. The propodal joints also exhibit a shallow groove externally, and a line of short setae indicating another less distinct groove on the inner surface. The length of the joint varies slightly ; the second measures 37 mm., the third and fourth 28 mm., and the fifth 32 mm. The tarsal joints of the last three pairs are shorter and more curved than the first or second. The basos of the fifth legs have the superior distal angles pro- duced, the anterior bears a triangular tooth, and the posterior a crest-like lobe directed outwards and tipped with from three to five denticles; the lobe measures 6*5 mm. in length, and 5 mm. in height. The ground colour is greyish-yellow, in parts almost obliterated by crimson tints; central area of fifth joints of the outer antennae and the margins of the third joints wholly of this tint ; the lateral borders and the posterior margins of the carapace, and pleon also, red. Meral joints of legs with a central transverse crimson band, extremities of legs purple or blue. Membrane of telson and uro- pods yellow, mottled with purple. Inferior surface of antennae yellow dotted with red. The legs red, dotted with yellow. Total length of body, 300 mm. REGALECUS GLESNE — WAITE. 163 REGALECUS GLESNE , ASOANIUS.— An ADDITION to the FAUNA of NEW SOUTH WALES. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. In his article — “On a species of Regalecus or Great Oar-fish, caught in Okain’s Bay,”* * * § H. O. Forbes mentions that the example there recorded is the tenth known from New Zealand waters, the records being as follows: — (1) Nelson, Oct. 1860; (2) Jackson’s Bay, 1874 ; (3) New Brighton, May 1876 ; (4) Little Waimangaroa Beach, 1877 ; (5) Cape Farewell, 1877 ; (6) Moeraki, 1881 ; (7) Moeraki, June 1883 ; (8) Otago, June 1887 ; (9) Nelson Harbour, September 1890; (10) Okain’s Bay, May 1891. Two examples have been recorded from Australian seas. McCoy f figures and describes under the name Regalecus banksi, Cuvier, a specimen taken in May 1878, between Victoria and Tasmania. The second occurrence was near the Tweed River, in Queensland waters, and C. W. De Vis publishes a description of the fish under the new name Regalecus master sii. j In his Catalogue§ Macleay includes Regalecus gladius , Cuv. & Val., with the remark, “ said to have been seen on the Tasmanian Coast. Johnston, possibly on this authority, places it in his list of Tasmanian species. || The example described by Ramsay as Regalecus jacksoniensis 11 is really a Trachypterus. I have now to record a third Australian example. On August 12th last, a very fine specimen was discovered by a fisherman cast up on Shark Beach, within Port Jackson. It was obtained by Mr. Fitzwilliam Wentworth, of Grey cliff, Vaucluse, who pre- sented it to the Trustees. Examples of the genus have never been obtained perfect, due to the extreme fragility of their members. The portions missing in our specimen were the lower parts of the head, including the branchiostegals, the cephalic and nuchal crests, one of the ventral filaments, and the end of the caudal. The body was cut almost in halves, by, it is presumed, a boat : otherwise it was in fair * Forbes — Trans. New Zeal. Inst., xxiv., 1891, p. 192. f McCoy — Prod. Zool. Viet., Dec. xv.> 1887, pi. 145. X De Vis — Proc. Roy. Soc. Qcl., viii., 1892, p. 109. § Macleay — Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., \i., 1882, p. 55. || Johnston — Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania, 1890, p. 34. V Ramsay — Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., v., 1881, p. G31, pi. xx. 164 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. condition and the appended notes were made while the taxidermists were engaged upon their work, no time having to be lost in its preparation. It proved to be a female, as with every other specimen of Regalecus sexually examined. Regalecus glesne, Ascanius. D. 340 + ? V. 1. P. 12. Height of body 15*46, length of head 20*1 in the total length- Eye 5 0 and maxilla 28*5 in the length of the head. Teeth absent- The head and body together are much shorter than the tail, being contained therein 3*5 times. The gill rakers of the first arch are very long, the longest measuring 28 mm.; they are slender and tapering and are furnished with short stiff hairs on their inner margins ; there are five rakers on the hinder and thirty-four on the lower limb — there is also a very small raker between each of the larger ones, it may easily be overlooked. A second set occurs on the inner side of the arch, these rakers are comparatively small and are arranged in three series, the largest not more than 6 mm. in length. The first series consists of a rather broad triangular plate, surmounted by a thickened head which bears a number of hairs. The second series is alternate with the first one, and the rakers are similar, but only half their size. The third series is formed of rakers less than half the size of those of the second series, they occur between each of the others and are there- fore twice as numerous, these are comparable with the small alternate rakers described on the outer set of the first arch. The rakers on the other arches (there are four and a half in all) are very small and are similar to the inner set of the first arch. The tail is possibly incomplete, but I do not think very much has been lost, the membrane extends to its tip. Of the cephalic rays the first is the only one now perfect, it is very stout basally but taper3 to a thread, it measures two and a quarter times the length of the head ; the four following are slender, close together but are broken off at about one-third the length of the first one, the others are broken short, all were connected by membrane. The dorsal fin is tolerably perfect but broken away at intervals, its height is one-half more than the diameter of the eye. The only pectoral fin remaining is broken, but it has not the vertical aspect ascribed to some forms, and exhibits the bases of twelve rays. One of the ventral filaments is complete and extends nearly to the vent, it terminates in a fleshy tag. The lateral line arises above the operculum, passes obliquely down- wards and runs along the lower half of the body at about one-fourth its height from the ventral surface. The skin is very thin and is marked by five longitudinal rows of tubercles, where these tubercles exist the skin is attached to REGALECTJS GLE8NE — WAITE. 165 the flesh beneath, but the spaces between are quite free and a pencil or penholder may be passed under the skin along the entire length of the body. Colour — The general colour is silvery-grey, the upper surface is quite silvery and the five tubercular rows are equally so. The body is marked with irregularly oval black spots, those in front being as large as half a crown, while those towards the end of the tail are much smaller — about the size of a shilling piece. On the lower surface the spots are more widely spaced, and narrow black vertical bars are placed at intervals and directed obliquely from before backwards. The fins including the ventral filaments, are flaming red ; the dorsal is variegated with a series of opal coloured spots, one to each ray, placed nearer the body than the edge of the fin; mouth within black. The vertebrae are 136 + ? in number. Dimensions . Total length ... ... 4020 mm Length of head 200 >> Height do. 190 >> Diameter of eye 40 Length of maxilla ... 70 Height of body ... 260 >» Head to vent ... 1150 n Length, cephalic filament ... ... 450 >> Ventral filament, including tag ... 280 ?> Ventral terminal tag 60 Height of dorsal fin 65 >> The general inclination is to now regard all the described examples as referable to one species, R. glesne , and although this name is adopted for our example, it is to be borne in mind that specimens exhibit very great diversity in proportionate height and length. It has, on the other hand, been pointed out that the proportions of head to body and the number of fin rays differ greatly at different ages. Parker* has drawn up a key to the species of Regalecus , from this our specimen appears to be referable either to R. banksii or R. grillii , having more than two hundred and fifty dorsal rays, no teeth, and no caudal fin. In the former species the height is one-thirteenth of the length and the dorsal rays two hundred and seventy-six to three hundred and five. In the latter the height is one-eighteenth of the length and the dorsal rays four hundred and six. In McCoy's example, named R . banksii y the height is one-twenty-third of the length and the dorsal rays four hundred and six. De Vis' species f R. mastersii) is the least elongate known, its height being but one-ninth of its length ; the number of dorsal rays is not given. * T. J. Parker — Trans. N. Zeal. Inst., xvi., 1883, p. 296. 166 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. OCCASIONAL NOTES. ♦ — — III . — PA LJSOPEDE WBITELEGGEl , ETH. Fil. In the last number of this publication* I described a supposed Endophytic Alga, under the above name, occurring in a Favosites from the Middle Devonian Limestone of Moore Creek, near Tamworth, in the north-eastern part of this Colony. Since then, on examining a composite coral (not yet described), from a limestone, possibly of much the same age, at Goodravale, on the Goodradigbee River, not far from the junction of the latter with the Murrumbidgee River, I again met with a similar organism. As in the former instance the coral tissues are traversed by the alga in various directions, and the characters of the intruder are practically the same as those of P. whiteleggei . In the present instance the heterocysts (?) vary in diameter from '01 to *015 mm.; the diameter of the filaments of cells from *006 to 008 mm.; the distance between the heterocysts (?) *07 mm.; and the total length of a filament generally about *2 mm. It is very interesting to meet with this Endophytic Alga and obtain confirmatory evidence of its existence in a perfectly distinct coral and at two places so widely separated, although near about the same geological horizon. R. ETHERIDGE, Junr. IV .— LAMPRIS LUNA , GMEL1N. Its Recurrence in Hew Zealand Waters. On the 25th instant (October), we received notice from the Fresh Food and Ice Co., of this city, that a rare fish would shortly arrive from New Zealand. With the Curator (Mr. R. Etheridge, Junr.) I visited the dep6t of the Company, and there saw a very fine example of the Opah, Lampris luna. We learned that it had been so identified in New Zealand, and the daily papers of 26th October, contained the announcement that the fish exhibited in the window of the Company “ was caught by some men employed on the rimaru Dredge, New Zealand, and after being exhibited in Timaru was forwarded to Dunedin. Professor Benham, of the Otago * Etheridge— Rec. Austr. Mus., iii., 5, 1899, p. 127. OCCASIONAL NOTES. 167 University, on seeing the fish, pronounced it to be Lampris luna , of which only one previous specimen is recorded as having been caught in New Zealand, namely on the coast of Wellington in 1883.” A short notice of this former occurrence was published by Hector,* who states that the superb fish was cast on the beach near the Manawatu River, in December 1882, and presented to the Wellington Museum. In 1895 a specimen was obtained in Tasmania This is recorded by Morton, f who writes : — “ This very interesting specimen, the first on record of having been captured in Australia, was forwarded to the Museum by Mr. Alfred Lovett, on December 18th, 1895. Mr. Lovett states that it was found washed up on the beach near Port Arthur, and weighed 130 lbs. Unfortunately the crows had picked and destroyed one side. * . . the branchiostegals were six in number, there was no sign of a seventh.” The specimen now in Sydney, has been exhibited for the past three weeks in the window of the Fresh Food and Ice Co., daily, and placed upon ice for preservation at night. Owing to the price at which the fish was valued by the Company, the Trustees of the Museum have not been able to secure it for the National Collection. The following dimensions have been kindly supplied by the Manager of the Company : — Length 3ft. bin., height 2ft. 4in., thickness 9in. EDGAR R. WAITE. * Hector — Trans. New Zeal. Inst., xvi., 1883, p. 322. f Morton— Proc. Eoy. Soc. Tasm., 1896 (1897) p. 99. TWO NEW THOMISIDS — RAINBOW. 169 TWO NEW THOMISIDS. By W. J. Rainbow, F.L.S., Entomologist. (Plate xxx.) The present paper contains descriptions of two new species of Thomisidse, exceedingly interesting forms. The first, for which I propose the name Misumena tristania , was collected by Mrs. C. T. Starkey, of Neutral Bay, Sydney, at Cobbity, and presented by her to the Trustees. The spider was found upon some flowers of Tristania laurina , R. Br. (N.O. Myrtacese) a tali shrub or small tree, which (according to Mr. J. H. Maiden, Director of the Botanical Gardens, Sydney, who kindly identified the flowers for me), is found near watercourses, and is not uncommon in mountain gullies. The flowers of this shrub are bright yellow, and the colour is closely simulated by the spider, so that, unless it happens to move, it is difficult to detect. And, to colour must be added the form of the animal itself, when studying it in connection with the question of mimicry, because, when at rest, the body is posed in such a manner as to add greatly to the effect. The mimetic resemblance, therefore, must be regarded as ‘protective and attractive : the former, because it would assist the Arachnid in evading insecti- vorous foes, and the latter, because it would be the means of attracting insects upon which it feeds. The second species, Saccodomus formivorus , is remarkable not alone on account of its form, but also for the reason that, contrary to all previously recorded facts based upon accurate observations of the habits of the Thomisidse, it constructs a bag- like nest. It is in consideration of this, that in founding the genus diagnosed below, I propose the generic term Saccodomus . It has long been regarded as an axiom that all those individuals and species embraced within the vast family Thomisidse, popularly known as “Crab” or “ Flower” Spiders, are essentially wanderers, constructing neither webs nor nests for the capture of prey, but- relying solely upon their activity, cunning, or mimetic resemblance to surrounding objects. Another interesting feature in connection with this species is its food. Both Mr. W. W. Froggatt and Mr. George Masters, in speaking to me upon the subject, said that so far as their A 170 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. observations went, these spiders lived entirely upon small ants — Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus , Fab. These insects were, Mr. Froggatt says, drawn into the nests by the spiders, where they sucked the vital juices from their bodies, and then threw them out. Mr. Masters, who collected some specimens and nests at Glen Oak, Williams River, informed me that the nests were covered with small ants, and that it was their great numbers on the trees that attracted his attention. Mr. D. A. Porter, of Tam worth, who has kindly donated both spiders and nests to the Trustees, wrote me as follows : — “ The trap is a ‘ bag,’ or cul-de-sac , with the opening upwards, and generally fixed between the small branches [in a fork]. The ants travel over and on it in going upwards , but often ‘ fall in,’ prob- ably when coming down.” Further, my correspondent says that he has observed the ants inside, travelling round and endeavouring to escape, but that he has never noticed one succeed, or try to climb out ; he has also seen fragments of dead ants in the traps. Mr. Porter is, without doubt, an admirable observer, and his remarks are therefore of value. In his letter he says, that although he had never noticed a spider in or upon one of these traps, he had always found them not far away, and as “ they were al ways of the same kind, concluded that they were the owners.” It is possible, however, that some of the spiders were not at home, when Mr. Porter examined the nests, or that they may have escaped his observation, because upon closely examining the group of nests presented, I found a living example hiding deep down in one of the bags. The colour of the animal’s abdomen, and the web of which the nests are made, are so much alike that detection is very difficult, and under some conditions impossible. Mr. Porter informs me that in the Tamworth District these nests or traps, so far as he can say, are only found upon one variety of bush, known to the aborigines as “ Dthluby.” I am again indebted to Mr. J. II. Maiden for his kindness in identifying this species. It is the common u Whitethorn,” Bursaria spinosa , Cav. (N.O. Pittosporae). From specimens I have handled, how- ever, it is evident that this spider constructs its nest in various trees or shrubs. The one obtained by Mr. Froggatt at Aelong was taken from one of the tea-trees ( Leptospermum sp.), and that by Mr. Masters from a Eucalypt. Mr. Porter says in concluding his note that the traps are generally situated at two to four feet from the ground.* * For description and figures of nests the reader is referred to a pre- vious paper by me in Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.W., xxii., 3, 1897, p. 549, pi. xviii., figs. 6 and 6a. TWO NEW THOMISIDS — RAINBOW. 171 Family ThomisiDjE. Sub-family MisumeniNjE. Genus Misumena, Latr Misumena tristania, sp. nov. (PI. xxx., Figs. 1, 1 a.) $ . Cephalothorax 2'8 mm. long, 3 mm. broad ; abdomen 5*5 mm. long, 5*8 mm. broad. Cephalothorax obovate, arched, broader than long, orange-brown relieved by chrome yellow and pitchy-black markings. Pars ceplialica arched, truncated in front, orange-brown, ornamented by a median line of chrome yellow and a few small concolorous spots; in addition to these there are also upon the upper surface two fine lateral chrome yellow lines : these commence well forward, curve gently first in an outward direction, and then more sharply in- wards, ultimately meeting at the base ; on the outer side of each of these lines, and commencing at a point immediately below, but in a line with the posterior lateral eyes, there is a broad, wavy, longitudinal pitchy-black line, which does not terminate until near the centre of the cephalic segment ; these lines are narrowest in front, become gradually wider, and terminate in an obtuse point ; immediately below the anterior row of eyes (the clypeus) there is a broad, strongly recurved bar of chrome yellow ; from below each lateral eye of the anterior row, there is directed backwards and outwards, a narrow, wavy, concolorous line, and immediately below the posterior median eyes, there is a rather sharp depression or pit which is broadest in front, and has its margins chrome yellow. Pars thoracica arched, broad, orange-brown with a large triangular patch of chrome yellow at junction of cephalic and thoracic segments, and enclosed between the pitchy-black lines referred to above. Marginal band chrome yellow, broad. Eyes small, black, normal. Legs orange-brown, extremities of tibiae of first and second pairs nearly encircled with a deep, black band ; extremities of each haunch, trochanter, femur, patella, and tibia encircled with a band of chrome yellow ; femurs, tibiae, and metatarsi clothed with fine adpressed hairs upon their upper surface, and armed with small lateral spines ; tarsi hairy ; tarsal claws black. Relative lengths 1, 2, 4, 3. Palpi short, strong, orange-brown, clothed with fine black hairs, and terminating with a small black spine. Falces strong, convex, orange-brown, sparingly hairy. Maxillce yellow, moderately long, convex, slightly constricted at their centre, sparingly pubescent, apices inclining inwards. Labium concolorous, rather longer than broad, truncated at tip. Sternum yellow, glossy, convex, shield-shaped, sparingly clothed with rather long, strong hairs. 172 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Abdomen broadly obovate, strongly arched, slightly projecting over base of cephalothorax, very finely pubescent, chrome yellow, relieved towards anterior extremity and sides with a series of black and dark brown markings, and irregularly shaped large and small concolorous spots ; in addition to these there is also present, and running down the centre, a delicate net-work of tracery, barely visible to the naked eye; the inferior surface is also finely pubes- cent, chrome yellow and ornamented down the centre with a series of twelve dark brown spots, arranged in pairs, rather widely apart, the posterior pair especially so. Epigyne as in figure. Hah. Cobbity, New South Wales. Genus Saccodomus,* gen. nov. The species for which a new genus is now proposed was first brought under my notice some years ago by Mr. W. W. Froggatt, who gave me both the specimen and its nest. These have since been added to the collection of the Australian Museum. When examining it at the time it appeared to me there could be little doubt as to the position it should occupy, namely, in the sub-family Misumeninse. But, whilst many features appeared to point to this sub-family as its correct place, there were nevertheless, some that were decidedly conflicting, and these suggested certain important analogies with the sub family Stephanopsina\ Indeed, the form was so novel, that 1 hesitated to describe it until I could obtain more specimens, and devote more time and labour to the elucida- tion of the problems presented. In my studies I was, happily, assisted by ray esteemed friend, Mr. H. R. Hogg, M.A., of Melbourne, who, writing to me upon the subject said : — “In this group [i e., Misumenem] it has the nearest affinity with the sub-group Diaeeae, and I place it as a new genus between Hericeus , E, Simon, and Dima, Thorell, the chief points keeping it out of either being : forehead sloping instead of vertical ; legs smooth instead of having certain bespinements ; rear row of eyes less recurved than front row.” During the interval that has elapsed since the above was written the subject has been further studied, with the result that both Mr. Hogg and myself still incline to the opinion that this species should form a new genus to be placed — provisionally — between Hericeus and Diem. Nevertheless there are yet, to my mind, some very debateable points to be removed before the subject can be satisfactorily settled, and it may even be necessary hereafter, either to amend one of the existing sub-families, or to found a new one for its Derivation : wd kko % a bag or purse ; 36pos a dwelling place. TWO NEW THOMISIDS — RAINBOW. 173 reception, and by way of illustration the following tables are submitted : — Points showing wherein the genus Saccodomus differs from genera included in the sub-families Stephanopsinse and Misumeninse : Sub-family Stephanopsinas. Genus Saccodomus. First pair of legs longer than second; Maxillce parallel ; Forehead vertical; Both rows of eyes equally recurved ; Teeth on lower margin of falx ; No row of hairs upon exterior mar- gin of falx. First and second pairs equal ; Maxilla; slightly inclined inwards; Forehead sloping ; Posterior row of eyes less recurved than anterior row ; Lower margin of falx smooth ; Hairs present upon exterior margin of falx. Sub-family MisumeninEe. Genus Saccodomus . Second pair of legs longest ; Forehead square, vertical ; Both rows of eyes equally recurved. First and second pairs equal ; Forehead square, sloping ; Posterior row of eyes less recurved than anterior row. Points in which the genus Saccodomus agree with — Sub-family Stephanopsinse. Sub-family Misumenina;. Labium (with some genera); Forehead not attenuated ; Front femur not bespined ; Anterior row of eyes not near together. Maxillae inclining inwards; Shape of labium ; Lower edge of falx smooth ; Tarsi without claw tufts ; Front row of eyes ; Hairs upon clypeus ; Skin bristly; Forehead square ; No spines on tarsi or metatarsi. It will be seen, from the above comparative tables, that the majority of points rests in favour of the sub-family Misurnenime, in which for the present it is placed ; and again, if the reader will refer to pi. xxx., figs. 2 and 26, he will note, so far as the abdomen is concerned, a striking resemblance in contour to those species forming the sub-family Stephanopsime. Until quite recently our collection contained only one specimen of this remarkable spider, and this fact made me dubious about describing it. Fortunately, however, an esteemed correspondent, Mr. D. A. Porter, of Tam worth, to whom reference has already been made, forwarded additional specimens to the Trustees, by the aid of which supplementary material, I feel I am now justified not only in describing the species, but also in founding a new genus for its reception. 174 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Characters of Genus. Cephalothorax longer than wide, high * sides and posterior angle sharply declivous. Pars cephalica sloping sharply forward, broad, square in front, and truncated. Clypeus hairy. Pars thoracica high, sides declivous, and deeply indented laterally. Eyes small ; posterior row less recurved than the anterior ; of the four comprising the anterior row, the median pair is smallest and much the closest together, whilst the series constituting the posterior row, are widely separated from each other, and equi- distant. Legs long, hairy. Relative lengths 1 = 2, 4, 3. Palpi short, hairy. Falces robust, hairy. Maxillce moderately long, outer angles constricted near their centre ; apices inclining inwards, obtuse, and not divergent. Labium coniform. Sternum oval, convex, truncated in front, obtuse behind. Abdomen oval. Saccodomus formivorus, sp. nov . (Plate xxx., figs. 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2c.) $ . Cephalothorax 2*7 mm. long, 2*2 mm. wide ; abdomen, 4 mm. long, 3*7 mm. wide. Cephalothorax longer than wide, high, sparingly clothed with fine, hoary pubescence, dark brown, encircled with exception of clypeus, by a deep cream-coloured band. Pars cephalica dark brown, sloping forward, truncated in front, sides declivous. Clypeus dark brown, hairy. Pars thoracica dark brown, high, sloping forward, sides and posterior angle sharply declivous; there is also on each side and near the junction of the cephalic and thoracic segments, a long, deep depression. Marginal band broad, cream-coloured. Eyes small, black, arranged in two recurved rows of four each ; second row less recurved than the anterior; of the four comprising the anterior series, the median pair is the smallest, much the closest together and separated from each other by a space equal to about four times their individual diameter, but each lateral eye is removed from its neighbour by many times its individual diameter; the posterior series are slightly larger than their anterior lateral neighbours, widely separated from each other, but equi- distant or nearly so. Legs robust, hairy; anterior pairs dark brown, joints annulated white, but, judging from the specimens before me, these limbs are TWO NEW THOMISIDS — RAINBOW. 175 subject to a slight variation in colour ; posterior pairs pale yellowish, with dark brown markings. Relative lengths 1 = 2, 4, 3. Palpi short, dark brown, hairy. Falces robust, concolorous, clothed with short stiff hairs. Maxillce dark brown above, outer angles yellowish, moderately long, arched, inclining inwards, apices obtuse, surface clothed with short, stiff hairs. Labium dark brown, coniform, convex, clothed with coarse greyish hairs. Sternum greyish, oval, moderately convex, truncated in front, obtuse behind, clothed with coarse greyish hairs. Abdomen oval, moderately arched, truncated in front, projecting over base of cephalothorax ; anterior, lateral, and posterior angles furrowed ; superior surface and sides sparingly clothed with short black hairs ; near the posterior angle, and in the median line, there is a rather deep puncture ; below this, and at about one- third the length of the abdomen, there is a row of two punctures, equally as deep and large as the one referred to above, but widely separated from each other; below these, and just beyond the centre, there is another row of two, but these are much larger than the preceding, and rather wider apart ; a little below the second pair there is a recurved row of punctures, the lateral individuals of which are smaller than those already described, whilst the intermediate series (six) is much smaller still ; below this again there is another recurved row of six small punctures ; each of the recurved rows here described are seated in two trans- verse furrows ; lateral angles furrowed longitudinally and finely punctured ; dorsal, ventral, and lateral surfaces dull yellowish. Epigyne as in figure. Obs. — In gravid specimens the abdomen assumes a somewhat spherical form, the furrows and small punctures are entirely absent, whilst the deep, dorsal punctures so prominent in normal examples, are only barely visible. Hab . Aelong (W. W. Froggatt); Williams River (G. Masters); Tamworth (D. A. Porter). 176 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. SPEARS WITH INCISED ORNAMENT. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. In 1897, I fully described* an Australian Spear with incised ornament, extending nearly the whole length of the weapon. I further commented on the rarity of this form of sculpture amongst Aboriginal spears, and the general absence of illustrations in works of reference. In working through the store collection of Ethnology, I met with four additional examples, so far similar, that nearly the entire surfaces are covered with ornamental incisions, but all differing in the motive, and three of them greatly so, from the spear referred to. The first is of the same length as the already described specimen, viz., eleven feet nine inches, but lacks the colour bands near the point or apex. The serpentine longitudinal grooves are five instead of six in number, and extend from within two feet three inches of the point, and nine inches of the butt. The grooves are toothed in a similar manner, but instead of the serrations looking backwards, i.g., towards the butt, they are presented forwards towards the point of the weapon ) furthermore, the interstices between the serpentine grooves are occupied by Y-shaped and bird’s feet (“ broad arrow ”) incisions, or simple oblique nicks, arranged with a certain degree of order, like with like. The ornament at the butt is finished off by four feather-like incised tags, consisting of a central groove margined by oblique nicks, reminding one of the feathered shaft of an arrow. This spear is said to have come from the Paroo River District, but from which side of the border I am unable to say. The three remaining spears are much shorter weapons, being each a trifle over seven feet in length. On the first the sculpture is spiral, consisting of two bands, extending from the butt to within two feet of the point. The bands are each defined by two grooves, the interspaces being cross incised, thus giving them greater prominence and effect, but the apical two feet is variously occupied. First, proceeding upwards from the termination of the spiral bands, a rude representation of the human form is seen, with one arm only, and above this an oval body, both infilled with cross incisions. These are succeeded by sundry serpentine and meandering bands similar to the spiral already described. The interspaces are occupied by Y-shaped incisions, oblique nicks, and what not. Rec. Aust. Hus., iii., 1, 1897, p. 6. SPEARS "WITH INCISED ORNAMENT — ETHERIDGE. 177 The second shorter spear is carved to a certain extent like the first. From the butt to within two feet seven inches of the point, two encircling or spiral bands traverse the surface exactly as in the first spear, but they are connected by two other bands run- ning somewhat obliquely to the weapon’s length, and at the same time are discontinuous, leaving free or unoccupied gaps. The result is that even these disconnected bands become in the long run elongately spiral in a contrary direction to the main bands, and, where present, divide the spear surface into long ovals. Some of the latter are occupied by zig-zag lines of nicks, either trans- verse to the length of the weapon, or oblique to it. The apical space of two feet seven inches contains an undoubted human figure, with both arms raised straight above the head, a boomer- ang-like object, and a third outline that may be intended to represent a fish ; the first and last figures are obliquely cross- incised. It is to be noted that the position of the arms in the human figure is one frequently seen in similar representations amongst the rock-carvings of the Sydney District, and on the dilly- baskets of North-Central Australia. Above the figures, and to the apex, the surface is occupied by a single broad spiral band cross-barred, the interstitial surfaces being ornamented in a similar manner to those of the lower portion of the weapon. The third spear presents a complex style of incised sculpture, extending from within eight inches of the base to four inches of the point. It consists of short spiral bands terminating simply; others meander and return on themselves, either at one or both ends; some again cross others forming oval loops by their inter- section, ultimately becoming so complex that it is difficult to follow the pattern. Near the centre of the spear, on two of the interspaces are two objects that may be intended for shields, whilst on a third is another that has some general resemblance to a conventionalised bird. The human form is absent. The carving on this weapon is much rougher, and less well executed than on the others, In all, the section is circular, the ends pointed, acutely at the apex, obtusely at the butt. I am unable to state, either the immediate locality of these spears, or the site of their manufacture. The first described by me was derived from Angledool, on the Narran River, close to the Queensland Border, in Central North New South Wales. The equally long weapon, now described, is believed to be from the Paroo River, rather more to the west, but from which side of the border is not known. It seems possible that whether manufactured or merely localised, this type of spear may be regarded as charac- teristic of the district in question. It is, however, very difficult and even hazardous, in the absence of definite information, added to the practice of barter, so common amongst the Australian Aborigines, to fix the locality of any weapon or implement. 178 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. LITTLE-KNOWN and UNDESCRIBED PERMO-CAR- BONIFEROUS PELECYPODA in the AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. (Plates xxxi. - xxxiii.) Genus Stutchburia,* gen. nov. In our Permo-Carboniferous formation are two bivalves that have been variously referred to Orthonota by Morris, Cardinia by Dana, and one of them to Pleurophorus by DeKoninck, the deter- mination of the last named author having been at various times accepted by myself and others ; possibly also one or more of the shells from the same series of rocks, termed Cypricardia by Dana, may be congeneric. I have, however, for some time past, from the edentulous nature of the shells in question, doubted the pro- priety of these references. The species are Orthonota ‘l costata , Morris ( = Pleurophorus morrisii , DeKon.), and 0 . 1 compressa , Morris, which may, or may not be only the internal cast of 0. costata. To these may perhaps be added Pleurophorus biplex , DeKon., and P. randsi , mihi. The internal structure of the two first, and particularly of 0. ^ costata is known to some extent, but that of the third very little, and of the fourth not all. It is by no means certain that P . biplex , and P. randsi are congeneric with 0? costata and 0 ? com- pressa , and in consequence are left for the present in Pleurophorus. At the same time there is still an undescribed form in our Marine Series, that appears to be generically identical with Pleurophorus: this will be described later. In form 0. ? costata and 0. 'I compressa are narrow, transversely elongate, and more or less compressed Molluscs, inequilateral in the extreme, with simple pallial lines, strongly marked muscular scars, particularly the anterior, which are complex, and, so far as I can ascertain, edentulous, at any rate the examination of a very large number of internal casts has failed to reveal the presence of hinge teeth. In the place of the latter the cardinal margins were very much thickened, particularly at the extremities, and in all probability this was accompanied by an internal ligament. In the face of these combined characters the reference of the species * Named in honour of Samuel Stutchbury, the first Government Geologist of New South Wales, as it then was. PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS PELECYPODA — ETHERIDGE . 179 in question to either Gardinia , Ortlionota , or Pleurophorus appears to be impossible. It is a remarkable fact that the authors who have dealt with these shells invariably describe the cardinal margins as linear, narrow and concave. Indeed the remarks of both Dana and Morris indicate their mental uncertainty as to what genus they should be referred to. I therefore propose, under the circumstances, the genus Stutch- buria for the reception of Ortlionota ? costata , Morris, and if differing from it 0 . ? compressa also, in honour of Samuel Stutch- bury, the pioneer Naturalist, and one of the two pioneer Geologists of Australia. The characters of the new genus will be as follows : — Shell transversely elongate, equivalve, very inequilateral, the posterior end the longer, more or less compressed, closed, test thin ; posterior slopes always rounded ; a mesial sulcus sometimes present in each valve ; edentulous ; ligament supported on the thickened hinge plates ; dorsal or cardinal margins erect and sharp ; um bones very anterior ; the anterior adductors large, with single smaller supplementary scars (l) between them and the umbones, in the cavity of which there are at times other scars ; posterior adductor scars large, but less defined ; pallial lines simple ; sculpture concentric and at times radiate. The form, edentulous nature of the thin shell, internal ligament, and often radiate sculpture indicate the Solemyidse as the family to which Stutchburia should be referred. The representatives of this family are Solemya , Janeia , and Clinopistha , to which Mr. W. H. Dali has suggested* the addition of Orthodesma and Whitevesia . Now, the proposed new genus, although resembling Solemya in its edentulous nature, and simple pallial line, differs entirely in having the ligament practically posterior, and no trace of the umbonal ligamental clefts. From Janeia it is easily distin- guished by the equality of its valves, and from Clinopistha by out- line, the presence of an internal ligament, and by the fact that the umbones are anterior and not posterior. The reference of Ortho- desma , as described by Hall and Whitfield, to the Solemyidse does not appear to be well established, but two of the species so described by Ulrich, from the Lower Silurian of Minnesota approach much nearer to Stutchburia , especially in their muscular scars. With regard to Whitevesia , the edentulous nature of the hinge, simple pallial line, and internal ligament, indicate a departure towards our shell, but the grooved hinge plate, and both external and internal ligament if present, but of which there seems to be some doubt, as well as the very much feebler muscular scars, * Dali — Trans. Wagner Free Inst., iii., 1895, p. 515. 180 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. should be sufficient to separate them. I have seen no trace of an external ligament in actual specimens of Stutchburia, but in one of Morris’ figures! of S. costata , as it must now be called, there is some shading above the hinge line that certainly does present the appearance of a cartilage, but T think it is misleading and not structural. Before proceeding with the specific descriptions, a few generic points may be dwelt on more in detail. The dorsal or cardinal margins, or hinge lines of the valves, are erect and unquestionably closed, but on their inner and lower sides form thickened obtusely rounded edges. These continue past thein conspicuous umbones, and in their substance immediately anterior to the latter, are excavated two depressions, one in each valve, which, in all prob- ability gave attachment to the ligament at this end of the shell. If not of this nature, the only other solution is that these depres- sions are muscular. In the cast these thickened internal margins are represented by wide, shallow, longitudinal concavities, whilst the depressions are indicated by two sharp projections about midway between the umbones and the anterior adductor scars. The latter are large and deep, in the type species at any rate, and must have received strong and well developed muscles. On their posterior sides the interiors of the valves were much thickened, and in con- sequence deep depressions are left on the surface of casts, circum- scribing the impressions of the muscles, which stand out boldly from the general surface, with an oblique inclination to the anterior The posterior adductor scars are situated high up on the flanks of the valves, immediately under the hinge lines, and although conspicuous, are less so than the anterior. They have an oblique inclination to the posterior, with the test correspondingly thickened on their anterior sides, but to a smaller extent than those of the other extremities of the shell, The simple pallial scars are well defined, continuous, and from their prominence in casts must have presented deep and sharp lines on the valve interiors. The following are the species known to me : Stutchburia costata, Morris , sp. (PL xxxi., fig. 1.) Orthonota ? costata, Morris, Strzelecki’s Phys. Descrip. N.S. Wales, &c., 1845, p. 273, pi. 11, f. 1 (l excl. f. 2). Cardinia ? costata , Dana, Wilkes’ II. S. Explor. Exped., x., 1849, p. 692 (? pi. 4, f. 8, Sa, 6, c.). Pleurophorus Morrisii, DeKoninck, Pal. Foss. Nouv.-Galles du Sud, 3, 1877, p. 143, pi. 20, f. 5. Pleurophorus Morrisii , Eth. fil., Cat. Austr. Foss., 1878, p. 77. f Strezelecki. — Phys. Descrip. N. S. Wales, &c., 1845, pi. 11, f. 1. PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS PELECYPODA — ETHERIDGE. 181 (Compare Cypricardia ( Avicula? ) veneris, Dana, loc. cit., pi. 9, f. 3, 3 a and b.) Sp. Char. — Shell more or less compressed pod- or filbert-shaped, very inequilateral ; dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel, the former straight, and the latter but little curved, with a slight inflection at about its anterior third ; no diagonal ridges, but the valves uniformly and very slightly convex throughout, except for shallow cinctures running obliquely from the umbones posteriorly to the ventral margins ; umbones inconspicuous, depressed. Anterior ends very small, slightly protruding, the margins rounded; posterior ends compressed, the margins obliquely rounded above and below. Ligamental fulcra large, leaving deep impressions in casts ; ligamental (?) pits transversely elongated, inclined to tri- angular, represented in casts by sharp crests. Anterior adductor impressions very large, rather deltoid, concentrically grooved, the thickened posterior edges leaving wide groove-like depressions in casts, which extend to immediately in front of the umbones. Six- teen to twenty radiating costre proceed from the umbones to the posterior margins commencing just behind the shallow oblique cinctures, with the whole surface crossed by close concentric fine lines, which imbricate the costte. Obs. — As this was the first species described by Morris, it must be regarded as the type. His fig. 1, of the reference quoted above, gives a faithful and accurate representation of the shell, and it will be observed that the radiating costse are there visible on the cast, the test having broken away along the hinge line in both valves. Fig. 2 is an equally good illustration, but on this, although again a cast, the coste are not visible at all. In DeKoninck’s figure of this species the umbones are too acute and projecting, as they do not in reality overhang the anterior ends. There appears to be every probability of Dana’s Cypricardia (Avicula ? ) veneris being nothing more than a small individual of this species. Loc. and Hor. — Jamberoo, Black Head, and Crooked River, near Gerringong, Illawarra District— Upper Marine Series. Stutciiburia compressa, Morris , sp. (PI. xxxi., fig. 2, and xxxiii., fig. 1.) Orthonota ( \ costata , Morris, loc. cit., pi. 11, fig. 2, (non f. 1) Orthonotah compressa, Morris, loc. cit., p. 274, pi. 13, f. 4. Orthonota compressa , Eth. fil., loc, cit., p. 74. Obs. — The specific value of this form mainly depends on the presumed absence of the posterior radiate sculpture, but as this is seen on one of Morris’ types of S. costata , and not on the other, it may be taken as a specific character. I have therefore included the figure without the posterior radii as a synonym of S. compressa , 182 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. and from the examination of several actual specimens, I believe the separation will hold good. It is also necessary to make the same remark on Dana’s figure] he certainly describes S. costata plainly enough, but his illustration represents the form or con- dition known as S. compressa without a doubt. The characters of S. compressa are practically those of S. costata , with the following exceptions : — The shell is rather more com- pressed, ligamentary pits of the hinge larger, anterior adductor scars subdivided by a groove, posterior adductor scars much transversely elongated, and an entire absence of the radiating posterior costae. The general characters are so much alike in the two, that 1 shall look forward with much curiosity to future descriptions of these shells. Loc. and Hor. — Jamberoo, and Black Head, Illawarra District — Upper Marine Series. Stutchburia simplex, Dana , sp. Modiolopsis simplex , Dana, Am. Journ. Sci., iv., 1847, p. 159. Cypricardia simplex , Dana, Wilkes’ U, S. Explor. Exped., x., 1849, p. 703, pi. 9, f. 2. Obs. — Four shells in our collection correspond in outline and size with the above species of Dana’s, but with the internal characters agreeing in every respect with those of Stutchburia , as for instance those of the hinge, adductor impressions, and palial lines. The only points of departure are the size, a more truly oblong shape, and the exterior simple, sub-plicate, and not at all radiate. In the absence of Dana’s type, it is, of course, impossible to speak with certainty, but I am strongly of opinion that his species appertains to the present genus. Loc. arid Hor. — Wollongong, Illawarra District; Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven District. — Upper Marine Series. Stutchburia farleyensis, sp. nov. (PI. xxxii., figs. 3 - 6.) Sp. Char. — Shell transversely elongated, oblong to almost quadrangular, moderately compressed, average length one and three quarter inches, breadth one inch ; dorsal and ventral margins sub-parallel, the former straight, and not quite as long as the vales, the latter slightly insinuated near the middle, and expanding posteriorly; anterior ends very small, margins slightly oblique from the umbones downwards, but in some examples almost straight walled ; posterior ends much compressed, margins well and gently rounded ; valves most convex about widway between the umbones and posterior termination of the hinge lines ; posterior ridges very obtuse, dying out on the compressed posterior ends, above and PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS PELEOYFODA — ETHERIDGE. 183 between them and the dorsal margins the surface of the valves is somewhat hollowed, and before them are shallow ill-defined cinc- tures dying off towards the insinuated points on the ventral margins ; umbones inconspicuous ; anterior adductor impress- ions triangular, of medium size but strongly marked, deep anteriorly and superiorly, with well marked bounding grooves on the posterior sides ; posterior adductor impressions inconspicuous, flattened, placed high up under the hinge lines, and immediately at the ends of the dorsal margins : indications of scars exist within the umbonal cavities. Ligamental fulcral impressions wide and shallow; ligamental pits transversely elongated, eacli giving off an oblique and posteriorly directed ridge, and forming the anterior boundaries of the shallow cinctures. Pallial scars well marked, continuous (ie., not broken up), the surfaces below rapidly thining away o the ventral margins. Obs, — All the specimens are in the form of internal casts, as an impure somewhat concretionary limonite, allowance must there- fore be made in applying the above description to future examples with the test preserved. What the nature of this envelope was we are ignorant, but on a few of the specimens there are apparently faint indications of posterior radiating costre. An example from the Upper Marine Series of Wollongong, possessing the outline and measurements of this species, and with the test preserved, exhibits a few radiating posterior costae and strong imbricating lamime of growth that may represent the more perfect condition of S. farleyensis , but it cannot be accepted as by any means certain. Dana described two shells as Cardinia ? recta and C.? cnneata* both from the lilawarra District differing greatly in outline from those forms 1 have made typical of the new name Stutchburia , but the internal features depicted in his figures are precisely similar to those of S. farleyensis. They seem to be edentulous, and the only point allying them witli Cardinia are the nasute posterior ends. It is possible, therefore, that the shells in question may be species of Stutchburia , in which case the generic characters of the latter, will of necessity require to be slightly modified. The internal casts of S. farleyensis occur in great numbers in the Lower Marine Series at Farley, near West Maitland, and it is essentially a Lower Marine species, but the Geological Survey Collection contains a shell from the Upper Marine Series of Richmond Yale, Parish of Stanford, County Northumberland, of somewhat larger dimensions than the measurements above given; otherwise it agrees in every detail with my description. This bears out the suggestion that the shell found at Wollongong, with the test preserved is also S. farleyensis . * Dana — Wilkes 5 U.S. Explor. Exped., x., 1849, ph 4, f . 5 ci, b , and f. 6a - e. 184 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Log. and Hor. — Railway Cutting at Farley, near West Maitland — Lower Marine Series; h Wollongong, Illawarra District, and ? Richmond Yale, as above — Upper Marine Series. Stutchburia obliqua, sp. nov . (PI. xxxi., fig. 3.) Sp. Char. — Shell transversely obliquely oblong, slightly modioli- form ; length two to two and a quarter inches, depth one and one- eighth to one and a quarter inches ; valves moderately convex, narrowing anteriorly, and expanding to some extent posteriorly; dorsal and ventral margins sub-parallel, the former straight, but not as long as the shell, the latter with slight inflections anterior to the greatest convexity of the valves ; anterior ends remarkably small, the margins obliquely rounded, posterior ends becoming flattened, the margins obliquely rounded above and below; greatest convexity anterior to the valve centres, with ill-defined cinctures from the umbones, which are almost terminal; ligamental fulcral grooves well marked ; anterior adductor scars small, somewhat triangular and immediately beneath the umbones, with slightly thickened posterior margins, posterior adductor scars inconspicuous; sculpture consisting of well marked close concentric laminse, arranged in broad growth zones, crossed by radiating costa? (six in one example, ten in another), all posterior to the shallow cinc- tures, and widening from one another on and above the diagonal ridges, with a generally roughened surface. Obs. — This species differs from all the foregoing forms in its obliquity, and somewhat modioliform outline. It resembles S. costata in the presence of the posterior radiating costie, but the two cannot otherwise be mistaken for one another. It is a com- paratively much broader species than either S. simplex or S. farleyensis. It is known to me both in the testiferous condition, and as an internal cast, the former being in the collection of the Geological Survey, the latter in our own. Log. and Hor. — Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven District (cast) — Upper Marine Series; Farley (testiferous) — Lower Marine Series. Genus Pleurophorus, King, 1844. (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (1), xiv,, 1844, p. 313,) Obs. — Notwithstanding the fact that the shells referred to this genus by De Koninek and myself do not fall within its limits, we still have, I believe, a true and undescribed Pleurophorns in our Permo-Carboniferous rocks. It occurs commonly at Farley with Stutchburia farleyensis , and is often mistaken for it, a little examination, however, will at once enable the difference between the two to be detected. PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS PELEOYPODA — ETHERIDGE. 185 In Plenrophorus , as describod by King, and redescribed by Waagen,* the equivalve closed shell possesses two cardinal inter- locking teeth in each valve, and a posterior lateral one, extending the entire length of the hinge ; there is a lunule and an escutcheon, entire pallial lines, and fairly well marked adductor impressions, the anteriors having before them strong shelly ridges. Waagen has pointed out that “ one of (lie two cardinal teeth is often very little developed,” and such is the case in most of our specimens, but in a cast in the Geological Survey Collection, the impressions of all four teeth are distinctly visible. Pleukophoeus gregarius, sp. nov . (PI. xxxiii., figs. 2 - 5.) tip. Char. — Shell transversely elongated, oblong, robust, praeti cally maintaining the same width throughout its whole length, the latter on an average one and three quarter inches, depth one inch: dorsal and ventral margins straight, parallel ; bodies of the valves convex, most so at about the middle, but ( lie Hanks rather flattened or straight walled: faint cinctures exist, cutting the ventral margins at about the centre ; anterior ends small, the margins convexly rounded ; posterior ends but slightly flattened, the margins rounded ; umbones conspicuous and incurved, a little flattened above; escutcheon long, widening posteriorly; lunule apparently cordiform, shallow ; posterior cardinal teeth below the umbones, the most anterior of the left valve often inconspicuous ; posterior lateral teeth leaving deep impressions in casts, the left often double; anterior adductor impressions deep, low in position, forming strong prominences in the cast, guarded by a posterior shelly ridge, which varies in intensity in individuals ; posterior adductor impressions faintly marked, continuous ; exterio-pallial margins flattened, leaving very conspicuous impressions in casts ; sculpture of concentric lamime, no radii. Obi s*. — With one exception this is only known to mo as casts, and in the adult state 1 find the measurements very constant. The exception referred to, otherwise possessing all the characters of the species, is two and three quarter inches long by one and a half deep. 1 have only seen one individual that may be P. yrayarius with the test preserved, but it is from a different horizon. The sculpture is concentric, with well marked lamime, but without any traces of radiating costae. P. greyarius belongs to the group Tmbricati in the classification of Waagen ;f and in outward form resembles to some extent all three species placed by him therein, but is a broader and moro robust form. *■ Waagen— Mem. Geol. Surv. India, Pal. Ind. (13), iii., 1881 (Salt Range Fossils, Pelechypoda) p. 214. f Waagen, loc. cit p. 210. 186 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Log. and Horizon. — Farley, near West Maitland — Lower Marine Series ; ? Wollongong, Illawarra District — Upper Marine Series. Genus Limoptera, J. Hall. (35th Ann. Report N.York State Mus. Nat. Hist., 1884, p. 406a.)* Limoptera h permocarbonifera, sp. nov . (PL xxxii., figs. 1 - 2). Sp. Char. — Shell obliquely subrhomboidal, length and width almost equal, but the latter somewhat the greater, produced postero-ventrally; valves very unequal, the left convex, the right more or less flattened, but the greatest convexity of the latter immediately below the umbone; hinge line straight, probably as wide as the shell ; ligamental area not well preserved, but appar- ently wide and deep beneath the umbones, and narrow posteriorly; anterior ends or auricles flattened in both valves, separated from the bodies of the valves by sharp declivities, the anterior margins below obliquely and sharply rounded; posterior ends or wings triangular, flattened, much larger in the left than the right valve, distinctly demarcated from the bodies of the valves, margins sharply emarginate, then swelling out to round the protuberant postero-ventral portions. Left umbo prominent, nearly central in position, the umbonal region abrupt on the anterior, but gently sloping on the posterior side to form a posterior slope ; umbonal cavity of the right valve containing a number of nodes (in the cast) indicating pits for muscular attachment ; adductor impressions and pallial scars not distinctly marked ; sculpture of the left valve consists of irregular concentric laminse and faint oblique radii, extending from the umbonal centre well on to the posterior end ; the surface of the right valve is transversely wrinkled on the cast. Obs. — The specimen is somewhat mutilated, but it presents most of the principal characters of the genus Limoptera , with the exception of the cardinal folds and the oblique posterior tooth. The former however may be hidden by the matrix infilling the deep ligamental recess beneath the umbones. The precise generic affinity of this shell, I am not at present prepared to give, but it accords better with Hall’s definition of Limoptera than with any other similar genus. It is more produced posteriorly than any of the shells figured by Hall under this name, and is also specifically distinct from any other yet described from New South Wales. The outward form only is that of some Glyptodesmce , or Pterinea as restricted, or even more so perhaps Leiopteria or Leptodesma , * It is impossible to unravel the mystery surrounding the first annunci- ation of many of the late Prof. James Hall’s genera. This reference is simply given as one to a description of the genus. PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS PELECYPODA — ETHERIDGE. 187 particularly in the case of the last with its deeply emarginate posterior wing. Log. and Horizon . — Mouth of Crooked River, near Gerringong, Illawarra District — Upper Marine Series. Genus Mytilops, J. Hall. (1st Report State Geol. N. York, 1884, p. 15.)* Mytilops ? ravensfieldensis, sp. nov. (PI. xxxiii., figs. 6 - 7). Sp.Char . — Shell (left valve) narrow, somewhat elliptical, oblique, generally mytiliform, gibbous and transversely arched posterior to the umbone ; hinge line faintly arched in the cast, but less than the length of the shell ; no ligamental furrows, but beneath the umbo is a single oblique cardinal fold, posterior teeth or folds none; ventral margin very obliquely inclined; umbone terminal, no anterior end ; posterior end, or general body of the shell convex immediately behind the umbone, gradually flattening towards the rounded posterior margin, where the valve is broad ; anterior muscular impression, invisible and the posterior very faint and high ; pallial impression well marked and continuous, the exterio- pallial margin wide; sculpture unknown, but probably concentric and non-radiate. Obs . — Allied either to Mytilops or Mytilarca . It possesses the outline of the latter genus, and approaches the former in its simpler hinge structure ; differs from Mytilarca in the absence of a ligamental area and posterior teeth, and from Mytilops in the presence of the cardinal fold. So far as our Permo-Carboni- ferous fauna is concerned this is again an undescribed form. Log. and Horizon. — Ravensfield Quarry, near Farley — Lower Marine Series. # See note to preceding page. 188 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. RECURRENCE of MEGADERMA GIGAS , DOBSON. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. Twenty years ago Dobson described Megaderma gigas , a new species of Bat from Australia,* since which time no further example has been made known. The type taken at Mount Margaret, Wilson’s River, Queensland, is a male and is in the Gottingen Museum, On the 9th February, the Trustees received from Mr. Fred. Hogan, by presentation, a specimen of the same species, taken in thePilbarra District, Northern West Australia. This is a female, and presents some few differences from the description of the male. The example was mounted before reaching us, so that in the following table of dimensions, the measurements of the length of the head and body are approximate only; the other dimensions are, however, absolute. Dobson’s measurements are recorded in inches and tenths — these I have reduced to millimetres for comparison with my own figures, so expressed. From these it will be seen that the female, which is adult, is generally smaller than the male, but the lengths of the tibia and the first phalanx of the fifth finger are actually greater; more striking, perhaps, is the relative difference in the phalanx of the second finger, but this supports and emphasises Dobson’s statement — “ While in M. spasma the extremity of the second finger does not extend as far as the middle of the first phalanx of the third finger, in this species [Jf. gigas ] as in M. fro?is i it extends beyond it.” Further evidence that the West Australian example is referable to M. gigas is supplied by the circumstance of the extremity of the carpus, the thumb, and the membrane between the thumb and the second finger being hairy, in which respect it differs from the other known species. The mammae are two in number ; they are situated one on each side of the upper abdominal region. The colour does not differ from Dobson’s desciption, but the pale grey of the upper surface shows brownish tints in certain lights ; there is now no indication of the deep blood-red colour at the anterior base of the ears, shown in Dobson’s figure and described as being present in the type when obtained, but which had apparently faded out before the author saw the specimen. * Dobson— Proc. Zool. Soc., 1880, p. 461, pi. xlvi. RECURRENCE OF MEGADERMA GIGAS, DOBSON. WAITE. IB The general colour of the specimen, were it not characteristic of the genus, would have suggested albinism. The effect of the beautiful whiteness of the fur of the head and whole under surface has been quite lost in the figure. Dimensions. S Type. ? Aust. Mus. Head and body ... 135-0 mm. 110-0 mm.* Length of head ... 48-5 3) 41'0(?)„ f Ear ... 56-0 J J 47-0 jj ,, tragus, anterior lobe ... 12-0 JJ 10-0 jj „ „ posterior lobe ... 25-5 JJ 22-0 jj Nose leaf ... 16-0 JJ 15-0 jj Forearm ... 117-0 JJ 103-5 jj Thumb, or first finger . . . ... 21-0 JJ 19-5 j j Second finger, metacarpal ... 84-5 JJ 80-5 jj ,, „ phalanx .. ... 16-0 J J 17 0 jj Third finger, metacarpal ... 69-0 JJ 68-0 jj ,, „ 1st phalanx ... 47-0 JJ 44-0 jj » ,, 2nd „ ... 92-0 JJ 80-0 jj Fourth finger, metacarpal ... 79-0 JJ 78-0 j j „ „ 1st phalanx ... 25-5 JJ 24-5 jj ,, jj 2nd ,, ... 38-5 JJ 33-0 jj Fifth finger, metacarpal ... 84-5 JJ 820 jj ,, „ 1st phalanx ... 320 JJ 33-0 jj » „ 2nd „ ... 28-5 JJ 23-5 jj Tibia ... 44-0 JJ 45 0 j j Calcaneum ... 28-5 JJ 28-0 jj Foot ... 28-5 JJ 23-5 .. t * From crown of head, f Occipital region of skull removed. $ Exclusive of claw. 190 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. An EXTENDED DESCRIPTION of MUS FUSGIPES , WATERHOUSE. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. (Eigs. 1-4). Few of our native rats have been described, other than from external characters, and such characters are in many cases of but secondary value. As a revision of the Australian Muridse is much needed, any effort towards the completion of specific descrip- tions will be welcomed by the Monographer. By the kindness of Mr. E. G-. W. Palmer, we are able to supply deficiencies in our knowledge of Mus fuscipes . The specimens described were taken at Lawson, on the Blue Mountains, and of them my correspondent writes : — “So far as my observations go, they are locally rare, but there is a small colony in my orchard, which I first observed about twelve years ago. Dogs and Dasyures have checked their rapid increase. A peaty ridge is their favorite burrowing place, and they burrow to a great depth. They make long well-cleared surface runs, so that their burrows are easily found. Water seems very necessary to them, and they swim freely. They feed on grasses and herbage, and consume or injure much fruit, climbing the trees for it or nibbling the windfalls, which they carry to the drains and watercourses. From dissections, I believe they seldom have more than two or three young at a time. Their teeth are very powerful, and they make good use of them when roots or dead timber obstruct their excavating. Just now (August 16th, 1899), they seem to be hibernating, as they rarely come out of their nests.” Subsequently Mr. Palmer told me that the rats had left their old haunts, or more probably had been cleared out by snakes, as a large Black Snake ( Pseudechis porphyriacus j had been frequently seen in the immediate neighbourhood. It had, so far, evaded capture. At a recent meeting of the Linnean Society of New South W ales, Mr. Palmer announced that he had been bitten by a Black Snake in his grounds at Lawson.* Description , — Fur long, very thick and soft to the touch. Colour rather variable, from yellowish-brown to blackish-brown. Basal por- tion of the fur deep grey, almost black, the tips yellow, sometimes * Abstract Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 28 Mar., 1900 AN EXTENDED DESCRIPTION OF MUS FUSOIPES — WAITE. 191 inclining to reddish, thickly interspersed vvitli long black hairs. Muzzle and face grey, whiskers dark brown or black. On the sides of the body the black hairs are less numerous and shorter, and the yellow colour lighter. On the lower surface the basal fur is grey, not so dark as on the back, and more broadly tipped with yellow, which however is very pale. Ears small, almost naked without, and sparingly clothed with short yellowish- brown hairs within ; laid forward, they fail to reach the eye by their own length. Limbs thickly clothed with greyish-brown hairs. Tail shorter than the head and body; the hairs are longer than two scales, but do not conceal them, they are not particularly stiff and are of black colour ; twelve scales to the centimetre. Mammae 2 + 3 = 10. Dimensions. A. B. ? Head and body 1730 mm. 176*0 m m. Tail 116*0 >> 1 19 0 55 Length of head 45*5 55 44*0 55 Muzzle to ear 36*6 >5 34*0 55 Ear ... 21*0 55 20 0 55 Forearm and hand 39*5 55 41*5 55 Hind foot 31*2 n 29*3 55 Heel to front of last foot pad 15*0 55 14*5 55 Last foot-pad 4*0 55 3 6 55 Skull . — Stout, compared with Mus decumanus, deeper and con- siderably more arched, the nasal region shorter and thicker ; the nasals do not project beyond the line of the premaxillary, they are wide in front but taper back- wards, so that the posterior is only one-third the width of the anterior portion. The narrowed part is sunk below the level of Fig. 1. the premaxillaries which form a ridge on each side. The supraorbital ridge is very marked, and forms a distinct beading, but loses that character on the temporal region. The interparietal is short, but of average width, its front margin forming a nearly straight suture with the parietals. The anterior palatina foramina are narrow and extend backwards to the anterior margin of the first molars. The anterior zygoma root has the angle rounded, the front edge is vertical and slightly con- cave ; the foramen magnum is wider than deep. The mandible is very powerful, with strong muscle ridges; in front of the anterior molar it is nearly vertical, and the incisor capsule is large and deflected outwards. 192 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Teeth. — The front edges of the upper incisors are of particularly deep orange colour, the lower ones are somewhat paler. The molars are relatively and actually larger than those of Mus decumanus , and are noticeably broader ; the upper series converge anteriorly, and are somewhat bowed outwards. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Dimensions of Skull. A. B. $ Greatest length 40*3 mm. 39*6 mm. Basal length 36-6 „ 36-2 9 9 Greatest breadth 21-9 „ 21-7 Nasals, length 150 „ 14-4 9 9 5 j ,, greatest breadth 4-6 „ 4 6 Interorbital breadth 53 „ 5‘6 • i Interparietal length 4*1 „ 4-6 j > 9 9 „ breadth 10-3 „ 106 Brain case, breadth 17-2 „ 17-3 3 J Anterior zygoma root 5 3 „ 5*5 ' s Diastema.,. 10-4 „ 10-7 / / 9 5 Palate, length 21-9 „ 21*7 9 9 Anterior palatina foramina . . . 7-2 „ 71 9 9 Dpper molars, length 8-1 „ 8-3 9J Low er „ 7-6 „ 8’0 99 Condyle to incisor tip 28-2 „ 28-2 99 Coronoid tip to angle 12-2 „ 11*4 *9 are (M. twenty-five in number ; rattus, fide Thomas), in the longer the vertebrae The caudal vertebrse tailed Mus arboricola number thirty -eight. Waterhouse described the colour of the lower incisors as black, evidently a peculiarity of the individual examined. Gray, writing on Mus lutreola remarks, “front teeth yellow”; while Gould says, “the incisor teeth are orange-coloured.” I do not remember having examined a rat’s skull in which the incisor teeth are so deeply tinted. The writers quoted describe the under parts of ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 1 93 the body as being greyish-white, or grey lead colour. In all the fresh examples I have seen, yellow enters noticeably into the colour of the ventral fur, and the almost blue colour of Water- house’s figure is certainly never seen in this species. The dark frontal streak of Gould’s drawing is intended to illustrate the convergence of the hairs to the centre of the head, but there is no colour band there as might be inferred. CORRECTION. Page 193. For Plates xxxv.— xxxvii. . Feacl Plates xxxiv.— xxxvi. T forms.” It was my intention to prepare a complete list of the known Fish-fauna of the island, but I notice that Mr. Ogilby, in 1898, also in the paper quoted, writes — “As it is, the list as it now stands needs careful revision, but I hope within the next few months to be in a position to lay before the Society a thoroughly revised and enlarged catalogue of the fish fauna of the island.” Under these circumstances I will leave the field open to Mr. Ogilby, and publish the following list of additions in order that his “revised and enlarged catalogue” may include the Museum records, not otherwise available to him. Washed by a warm southerly current, Lord Howe Island supports a much more tropical fauna than is met with in lower latitudes on the mainland. It lies in latitude S. 31° 33', and on the west side possesses an extensive coral reef. On the mainland no coral reef is found south of Strad broke Island in Queensland, # Ogilby — Aust. Mus. Mem., ii., 1889 , Fishes, pp. 52-74. f Ogilby — Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxiii., 1898, p. 7*31. 192 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Teeth . — The front edges of the upper incisors are of particularly deep orange colour, the lower ones are somewhat paler. The molars are relatively and actually larger than those of Mus decumanus , and are noticeably broader ; the upper series converge anteriorly, and are somewhat bowed outwards. „ breadth 10*3 10-6 Brain case, breadth 17-2 17*3 Anterior zygoma root 5 3 ?» 5*5 Diastema 10-4 ) ) 10-7 Palate, length 21-9 >> 21*7 Anterior palatina foramina . . . 7-2 71 Upper molars, length 8-1 8*3 Lower „ 7-6 >J 8*0 Condyle to incisor tip 28-2 5) 28-2 Coronoid tip to angle 12-2 JJ 11*4 are (M. twenty-five in number ; rattus , fide Thomas), in the longer the vertebras The caudal vertebrae tailed Mus arboricola number thirty-eight. Waterhouse described the colour of the lower incisors as black, evidently a peculiarity of the individual examined. Gray, writing on Mus lutreola remarks, “front teeth yellow”; while Gould says, “the incisor teeth are orange-coloured.” I do not remember having examined a rat’s skull in which the incisor teeth are so deeply tinted. The writers quoted describe the under parts of ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 1 93 the hody as being greyish-white, or grey lead colour. In all the fresh examples I have seen, yellow enters noticeably into the colour of the ventral fur, and the almost blue colour of Water- house’s figure is certainly never seen in this species. The dark frontal streak of Gould’s drawing is intended to illustrate the convergence of the hairs to the centre of the head, but there is no colour band there as might be inferred. ADDITIONS to the FISH-FAUNA of LORD HOWE ISLAND. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. (Plates xxxv. - xxxvii. ; and Figs. 1,2). Since 1889, when the Fish-fauna of Lord Howe Island was first published in collected form,* sundry additions have been recorded by Mr. J. D. Ogilby and myself. The former in his latest con- tribution writes f — “The present additions bring the number of species recorded as inhabiting or visiting the shores of the island up to one hundred and thirteen, with seven (or six) unidentified forms.” It was my intention to prepare a complete list of the known Fish-fauna of the island, but I notice that Mr. Ogilby, in 1898, also in the paper quoted, writes — “As it is, the list as it now stands needs careful revision, but I hope within the next few months to be in a position to lay before the Society a thoroughly revised and enlarged catalogue of the fish fauna of the island.” Under these circumstances I will leave the field open to Mr. Ogilby, and publish the following list of additions in order that his “revised and enlarged catalogue” may include the Museum records, not otherwise available to him. Washed by a warm southerly current, Lord Howe Island supports a much more tropical fauna than is met with in lower latitudes on the mainland. It lies in latitude S. 31° 33', and on the west side possesses an extensive coral reef. On the mainland no coral reef is found south of Stradbroke Island in Queensland, * Ogilby — Aust. Mus. Mem., ii., 1889, Fishes, pp. 52 - 74. f Ogilby — Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxiii., 1898, p. 731. 194 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. latitude S. 27° 25', but the fauna there is in no way comparable with that of Lord Howe Island, which is endowed with many purely tropical forms. The temperate fishes are, in the main, those found on the coast of New South Wales, while the tropical ones generally suggest a Melanesian rather than an Australian origin. Several bathy-pelagic fishes have already been recorded from the island ; we may mention Isistius , Brama , Gempylus , and Tetragonurus. Being dependent for novelties on residents or visitors to the island, who, though kind and well meaning, can never accomplish the results of .a trained collector, our work of building up a knowledge of the fauna is necessarily slow. If a small steamer, fitted up for dredging, could be chartered for a few weeks, we should, I am confident, be able to add many new and interesting forms both among fishes and invertebrates. The present contribution is based on material received at the Museum by the kind offices of Mrs. T. Nichols and her daughters, Mr.T. R. Icely, J.P., late Visiting Magistrate, Messrs. Wm. Nichols, and J. B. Waterhouse, residents on the island, and the late Mr. W. E. Langley. The paper deals only with unrecorded species, two excepted, namely: — Trachinotus russetti , Cuvier and V alenciennes, and Chiro- nemus marmoratus , Giinther, previously incidentically mentioned in a publication not generally distributed. Including an unnamed Atopichthys , thirty-two species are re- corded, of which four are described as new, namely : — Amphiprion latezonatus. H olacanthus conspicillatus. ,, semicinctus. Euchilomycterus quadradicatus. The last-named is regarded as the type of a new genus. A new generic name, Acanthocaulns , is also proposed to replace Prionurus , Lacepede, pre-occupied. Of the remainder, the following are new to the Australian fauna ; some have, however, been taken in Torres Straits: — Leptocephalus cinereus , Riippell. Aulostomas chinensis , Linnseus. Gempylus serpens , Cuvier and Valenciennes. Decapterus sanctce-helence , Cuvier and Valenciennes. Bpinephelus fascialus , Forskal. Thalassoma aneitense , Gunther. Platyglossus opercularis , Gunther. H olacanthus tibicen , Cuvier and Valenciennes. Naseus unicornis , Forskal. Alutera monoceros ) Osbeck. Oroides meleagris , Lacepkde. Parapercis cylindrical Bloch. ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 1 95 Those below-named, previously known from Australia, are new to the fauna of New South Wales, of which colony Lord Howe Island is a dependency: — Isistius brasiliensis , Quoy and Gaimard. Hippocampus hippocampus , Linnaeus. Epinephelus tauvina , Forskal. Tlierapon jarbua, Forskal. Ostracion cubicus , Linnaeus. Isistius brasiliensis, Quoy and Gaimard. (Figs. 1, 2). Under the name Leius ferox, Kner* well describedthis species from Australia, but without any more definite habitat. It has not been since recorded from our waters. The example now under notice was sent to the Trustees from Lord Howe Island by Mrs. T. Nicholls, and forms a most interesting addition to the fauna of the Island. In his Whaling Voyage, F. D. Bennettf described, as Squalus fulgens, two examples taken at different periods of the voyage by means of a tow net, proving the pelagic habit. The largest of these was an adult female, and measured eighteen inches in length. Ours is a male, and measures 390 mm. ( = 15J inches), it possesses the dark band across the chest, and the white edged fins of Scymnus torquatus , V alenciennes. The upper teeth are arranged in thirty-three rows, in a band of crescent shape, four or five deep mesially, and two or three later- ally; each tooth is strongly curved outwards and backwards, and the whole series is depressible. The palate is very hard and is evidently the counterpart of the tongue which is furnished with a similarly hard plate extending all along the front and lateral margins. * Such crushing surfaces would appear to be unnecessarily developed if used only for reducing the weak shells of Ianthina and Reclusia , or even the armament of Nautilograpsus. The lower teeth form a single functional fixed series arranged in rather more than a semicircle, with a diameter of 35*5 mm. in the specimen ex- amined. Each tooth consists of a thin erect plate with a triangular apex, the margins of which are smooth, the basal portion is faintly striated and has a central pit connected with the basal edge by a short channel ; the median tooth is wholly exposed and bi-symmetrical (fig. 1), the lateral teeth are im- bricate and their apices directed away from the symphysis, on approaching the angle of the mouth they become smaller. There are fifteen teeth on each side of the median one, making thirty-one in all. * Kner — Denks. Akad. Wiss. Wien, xxiv., 1865, p. 10, pi. iv., fig. 2. t Bennett — Whaling Voyage, n., 1840, p. 255. 196 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. On the inner side of the jaw there are three other rows of precisely similar teeth, apparently destined to successively replace those in use, but not functional until the existing row has been lost. When the second row of teeth has reached the summit of the alveolus, erection must be speedy, for the dentary is very thin, nowhere more than 2*5 mm. in thickness. The teeth in reserve have their apices pointing directly downwards, and the bases of the first reserve row are applied a little above the centre of the teeth of the functional row (fig. 2). As this paper was passing through the press the Trustees re- ceived the Report on the Deep Sea Fishes of the “ Albatross”; this splendid work contains a descriptive notice and figures of Isistius .* Garman there enumerates all the examples known, from which it would appear that ours ranks as the fourteenth. The “Albatross ” specimen was taken at Station 3413, where a depth of 1,360 fathoms was registered. Some idea is hov r ever expressed that the fish may have been netted during the ascent of the trawl, at a less depth. It is of interest to notice that Garman’s suggestion that the number of teeth may within certain limits increase with age, receives support from the characters of our specimen. Examples previously taken were found to have twenty-six or fewer teeth in the lower jaw, such were however, immature, being ten inches or less in length. In the individual taken by the “Albatross/ 7 which measures more than eighteen inches in length, there are thirty-one such teeth, precisely the number possessed by the Lord Howe Island specimen, as before stated. This, though not quite so large is possibly adult, as indicated by the nature of the sexual organs. The largest example recorded measures more than nineteen and a half inches in length, while Garman remarks — “ The species is mature at a length of eighteen inches. 77 CoNGERMURiENA HABENATA, Richardson. An example obtained by Mr. T. R. Icely quite agrees with speci- mens from the mainland, having the tail proportionately longer than in Richardson’s type from New Zealand. This difference has been expressed by Ramsay and Ogilby in the name C. longi- caudata. * Garman — Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., xxiv., 1899, p. 34, pis. i., ii., iii., lxix. ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 197 Leptocepiialus cinereus, Ruppell. Conger marginatus , Valenciennes. This species has been recorded from Torres Straits. The island example differs only from the descriptions in being of less uniform colouration ; the ground colour is grey, crossed by about fifteen irregular more or less complete bands of a darker tint. There is a jet black spot near the tip of the pectoral, on the inner side of which it becomes a much more extensive blotch. The specimen, preserved in formol, has the colours unusually well retained. Atopichthys, Carman. “ Heretofore certain pelagic, much compressed, band-like, translucent to transparent, larval fishes, have been placed in the genus Leptocephalus of Gronow, 1763. The type of the genus is Leptocephalus Morrisii, Penn., 1776, a larval form which has lately been traced to its adult in Mursena conger, Linn., 1758, which again was the typical species of Iiisso’s genus Conger, 1826. In consequence Leptocephalus has taken the place of Conger as the title of the genus, and many of the Leptocephalids which do not belong to that genus, and cannot yet be definitely located, are left unnamed. That there is a considerable number of these larval forms that cannot be placed in Leptocephalus, but that belong to various other genera not now determined with sufficient accuracy, is evident enough from the figures and descriptions given below. Rather than to assign them at random, it is here proposed to form a group for these and similar unplaced larvae, Atopichthys, in which they may remain until such time as by means of larger collections the adult forms and their respective generic affinities may be determined.”* As this is perhaps the first occasion on which the name Atop- ichthys has been used since characterised, I have reprinted Garman’s remarks in full. In January last the Trustees received from the island a very fine larva, collected by Miss Nicholls. I do not propose to name this form, and will merely indicate some of its leading features : — Body elongate, narrow and slender; greatest depth behind the middle, one-fifteenth of the entire length. Head more than twice as long as high, 13*3 in the total length. Snout pointed, nearly one-fourth of the head. Eyes lateral, 7*5 in the head, situated in its anterior half. Mouth large, reaching to below the middle of the eye. Upper jaw the longer. Teeth small, inclined back- wards. Gill-opening narrower than the eye, extending below the base of the pectoral. About one hundred and fifty muscle bands. * Garman — Loc. cit p. 325. 198 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Pectoral broad, longer than the eye : no filamentary caudal. Dorsal and anal fins indistinct, better defined posteriorly. Translucent; small black spots form a band on the nape and a similar one on the throat. Total length Height of body... Length of head... ,, snout 200 mm. 13 „ 15 „ 4 „ Aulostomus chinensis, Linnaeus . Mr. T. R. Icely obtained a nice example in December, 1892. It measures 560 mm. in length, and has the following characters : — D. xii. 25. A. 25. P.16. V. 6. C. 15 + 2. Length of head 3*2, height of body 11*0 in the total length, exclusive of caudal. Eye 3’0 in the postorbital part of the head. Lower jaw prominent, with the barbel one-half longer than the diameter of the eye. Premaxillary slender ; maxillary narrow anteriorly, greatly broadened behind, its posterior margin notched. Upper jaw edentulus ; lower jaw with a small patch of minute teeth in each ramus. Caudal pedicle equal in length to the dis- tance of the posterior margin of the opercle from the centre of the eye. Ventrals short, equal to the least depth of the snout; they extend to the vent, which is situated midway between the hinder edge of the opercle and the base of the caudal rays. When freshly obtained, the colour was pink and the fins yellow. The body is longitudinally streaked, the streaks disposed both above and below the lateral line ; there is a deep black bar across the centre of the maxillary, and a narrower one passing through the nostrils to the eye ; a black spot at the base of each ventral fin, and another on the upper caudal rays. The bases of the dorsal and anal fins are black, and this colour is continued up the front margin of the dorsal ; the portion of the body between these fins is very dark, relieved by two of the white body streaks in a line with the upper and lower margins of the caudal pedicel, each streak with two ganglion-like spots; two similar but fainter spots exist at the bases of the fins. There are also three pairs of spots on the pedicel, forming transverse bands. Drs. Jordan and Evermann, in describing the family Aulo- stomidse, write*: — “A single genus, with two species, found in tropical seas.” This should surely read “three species,” for they mention A. maculalus and A. cinereus , neither of which is synony- mous with A. chinensis , admitted as the type of the genus. * Jordan and Evermann— Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus.,47, 1896, p. 754. ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 199 Macrorhamphosus gracilis, Houttyn . The opinion expressed by me that this species may be of more pelagic habit than M. scolopax ,* receives some support from the fact that an example taken on the beach at Lord Howe Island by Mr. Wm. Nichols proves to be M. gracilis. Hippocampus hippocampus, Linnaeus. A specimen from the island, registered under the synonym II. antiquorum , Leach, cannot, so far as I can see, be distinquished from this European species. It has been recorded from Cape York. Gempylus serpens, Cuvier and Valenciennes. The example now recorded was obtained per Mr. Icely in May 1893, and measures 670 mm. in length. It differs in no way from specimens recorded from the Atlantic. Drs. Jordan and Evermannf describe the lateral line as being single, in our example it is cer- tainly double, the lower line is raised above the pectoral and otherwise runs straight along the body as described ; the upper one arises at the same point whence the lower one starts, namely just behind the first spine, and is continued along the dorsal profile close to the fin as far as its spinous termination. This condition was described by Cuvier and Valenciennes;!; in the following words — “ Sa ligne latdrale est droite, continue et sans inflexions ; i l y on a comme une seconde le long de la base de la premiere dorsale.” These authors also describe the palatines as being edentulous, and I fail to find the slightest trace of palatine teeth in our specimen; the American authors on the other hand write: — “palatines with a row of small teeth.” The Lord Howe Island specimen is more nearly allied to the type of G. serpens the Atlantic, than to G. coluber the Pacific form, a circumstance which favours the view that both are referable to the same species. Ft is to be inferred that the type of G. coluber has but one lateral line, a condition found in, presumably, Atlantic specimens by Jordan and Evermann. In the Pacific, Gempylus lias been found near the Society and Hawaiian Islands, its distribution is now therefore greatly extended westwards. “It is generally believed to be an inhabitant of great depths,” in this connection I am sorry not to be able to throw more light on the subject. The Lord Howe Island example was certainly not taken in deep water, but I am not aware whether it was caught on the line or thrown upon the beach. Of the wide * Waite — Aust Mus. Mein, iv., 1, 1899, p. 60. f Jordan and Evermann — Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 47, 1896, p. 884. X Cuvier and Valenciennes — Hist. Nat. Poiss., viii., 1831, p. 210. 200 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. distribution of the species there can be no doubt, and it is inter- esting to notice that the forms having the most extensive range are either bathybial or pelagic in habit. Decapterus SANCTffi-HELENiE, Cuvier and Valenciennes , To this species I refer a fine example obtained by Mrs. T. Nichols last year. It measures 310 mm. in length and though not in very good condition, exhibits all the features of the species with the exception of the character of the first dorsal spine, this is short, not half the length of the second and is correspondingly feeble. I have assumed that Steindachner is correct in regarding Caranx muroadsi , Temminck and Schlegel, as synonymous with D. sanctce- helence. Trachinotus russelli, Cuvier and Valenciennes. This species is incidentally mentioned by Ogilby* as occurring at Lord Howe Island, but as the reference might easily be over- looked, attention is here drawn to it. The specimens in the Museum were received from Mr. Icely. Brama raii, Bloch. Castlenau has recorded this species from Port Jackson, but doubt has since been thrown upon his identification. We have an example in the Museum, obtained from Lord Howe Island by Mr. Icely, so that Castlenau’s record w T as doubtless correct. It has the characteristically deeply forked caudal of the species, and the radial formula is D iii. 33 * A. ii. 28. Like Lampris luna (a notice of which recently appeared in this publication), Brama raii is a large pelagic fish, widely distributed and descending to con- siderable depths ; any new recorded habitat, though interesting, is therefore not surprising. Epinephelus fasciatus. Forskal. This species is represented from the island by a fine example, 300 mm. in length. Previously it was known from Darnley Island in Torres Straits, which gave it a place in the Australian fauna. We have other two specimens in the collection, one of which is from Port Moresby, British New Guinea, possibly an unrecorded habitat. Therapon jarbua, Forskal. This widely distributed species has been recorded from the north and north-east coast of the continent, and a single example obtained by Mr. Icely, enables me to add it to the fauna of Lord Howe Island. # Ogilby— Edible Fishes N.S.W., 1893, p. 90. ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 201 Chironemus marmoratus, Gunther. The Kelp-fish is common on the coast of New South Wales, and is, I learned from the Lord Howe Islanders, sometimes caught off the coral reefs. We have an example in the Museum, obtained by Mr. Icely, and this is recorded by Ogilby,* but for reasons applied to Trachinotus , is also noticed here. Amphiprion latezonatus, sp. nov. (Plate xxxiv.) D. xi. 15. A. ii. 13. V. i. 5. P. 17. 0. 15 + 2. L. lat. 38. L. tr. 6/18. Length of head, to which the caudal fin is equal, 3*6, height of body 2-0 in the length (caudal excluded). Diameter of eye 2*8, length of snout 3*5 in the length of the head. Interocular space very slightly convex, a little more than the diameter of the eye. Twelve gill rakers on the lower limb of the first arch, the centre ones narrow and rather long. Teeth conical in a single series in each jaw. Preopercle denticulated, its angle in advance of the centre of the eye. Opercle formed of two lobes strongly spinose. Dorsal fin without notch, its first spine placed above the margin of the opercle, its length less than the diameter of the eye, the eighth spine is the longest, and is one-tenth longer than the eye ; the central rays are the longest, twice the diameter of the eye. The anal spines are short but stout, and the longest rays are more posterior than the corresponding ones of the dorsal. The pectoral and ventral are long and equal, one-seventh longer than the head, the latter extending to the base of the second anal spine. The caudal is forked, the upper rays the longer, the length of the pedicel equals its height, which is one half the length of the head. Scales . — The scales are large, with entire margins, the lateral line, which terminates in advance of the dorsal rays is composed of thirty eight scales, this is also the number of the series between the opercle and the caudal. Colours . — General colour dark brown with three light cross bands, the first is as wide as the diameter of the eye, the posterior margin of which it embraces ; it passes from the occiput, in front of the dorsal spines downwards and forwards, and crosses the preopercle, opercle, and sub-opercle: its posterior margin is convex and on the dorsal profile this margin is deflected forwards. The second band arises in the space between the eighth spine and the second ray, its anterior edge takes a forward sweep gaining the ventral profile just behind the ventral fins, its hinder edge is * Ogilby — Edible Pishes N.S.W., 1893, p. 55. C 202 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. deflected backwards to near the termination of the anal fin along the base of which it passes to the first anal spine; this second band is thus much wider below than above, and at its widest part equals the distance of its anterior edge from the snout; it is not bent backwards along any part of the soft dorsal. The third band is across the caudal pedicel, it is wider than the first band and both edges are concave posteriorly. All the bands are separated from the ground colour by a narrow white line. The membranes of the spinous dorsal are coloured according to the tint of that part of the body whence they arise; the whole of the soft dorsal, with the exception of the base of the first two rays, is blackish-brown edged with yellow, the anal has no light margin ; the pectorals are coloured like the body bands, but their bases are dusky; the ventrals are wholly dark. The caudal rays are very deep brown, which colour extends along the upper and lower rays, leaving a broad lunate margin of yellow. Length of specimen 130 mm. Some of the species of Amphiprion have been shown to be very variable, it is therefore not easy to say what amount of variation must be allowed. The example now under notice, enters section h of Gunther’s synopsis* characterised by having “ Three white cross bands, the middle of which is not bent backwards above.” In colouration it differs from any previously described by having the middle band extremely wide, and much wider below than above, also by the margin of the brown colour of the caudal being posteriorly concave. Thalassoma aneitense, Gunther. Julis aneitensis, Gunther, Brit. Mus., Cat. Fish, iv., 1862, p. 183. Included in a small collection made by Mr. J. B. Waterhouse is a nice example of this species, measuring 260 mm. in length. Gunther has recorded it from Norfolk Island, and it has also been recognised from North-east Australia, so that its occurrence off* Lord Howe Island is in no way remarkable. Platyglossus opeecularis, Gunther. Of this species, which appears to be nearly allied to P. pcecilus , Rich., we have four examples obtained by Mrs. T. Nicholls in August last. There are also specimens in the Museum from the New Hebrides. Novaculichthys jacksoniensis, Ramsay. The single example obtained by Mr. Icely in January, 1895, is somewhat larger than that taken by the “Thetis” Expedition,! measuring 210 mm. in length. As in the type, the lower * Gunther — Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., iv., 1862, p. 3. t Waite— Aust. Mus., Mem., iv., "Thetis” Exp., 1, Fishes, 1899, p. 87, pi. xv. ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LOUD HOWE ISLAND WAITE. 203 canine teeth are developed equally with the upper ones ; both pairs are curved and divergent, the lower biting between the upper ones which are rather widely spaced. The second dorsal spine is united to the third, as shown in my figure. Ciielmo truncatus, Kner. A beach-dried example was obtained by Mrs. T. Nicholls, and forwarded to us in August last; and in the “old collection” there is a specimen in spirits, also from the island. Holacanthus tibicen, Cuvier and Valenciennes . All the specimens received from the island possess but three anal spines, as in normal examples, and have fourteen dorsal spines. This record is an addition to the Australian fauna, and we are indebted to Mr. Icely for the series obtained. Holacanthus conspicillatus, sp. nov. (Plate xxxv.) D. i. + xiii. 18. A. iii. 18. 7. 1*5. P. 17. C. 15 + 2. Length of head 4*4, of caudal fin 5*4, height of body 2*0, in the length (caudal excluded). Diameter of eye 3*7, length of snout 3*2, of the preopercular spine 2*0 in the length of the head. The interorbital space is convex, one-fourth more than the diameter of the eye. Thirteen gill-rakers on the lower limb of the first arch, all small, triangular in shape. The teeth are cardiform, and are arranged in a dense band across the front in each jaw. The individual tooth is brown, with a lighter apex, broader than the base ; it is tricuspid, the centre cusp long and acute, the lateral ones small and slightly deflected outwards. Body somewhat elon- gate, anterior profile slightly concave above the snout and in front of the orbits, snout protruding, protractile, the lower jaw much the longer ; maxilla nearly vertical, equal in length to the diameter of the eye; margin of preopercle inclined forwards, below feebly serrated ; spine gently curved, not channeled, reaching to beneath the bony margin of the opercle, a membrane closely invests its whole inner surface ; the spine is received into a shallow groove in front of the pectoral. The angle of the opercle is slightly pro- duced, but there is no spine. There is a short recumbent spine immediately in advance of the first erect dorsal spine which arises in advance of the vertical from the opercular border ; the eleventh spine is the longest 1*55 in the length of the head and is slightly shorter than the longest rays. The first anal spine arises beneath the eleventh dorsal, to which the third anal is equal, the soft dorsal and anal are not produced but are rounded posteriorly, both terminate in the same vertical line, but the anal rays extend somewhat further back, nearly to the base of the caudal. Pectoral longer than the ventral which latter is contained 204 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 1*3 times in the length of the head and the scarcely produced outer rays reach slightly beyond the vent. Caudal rounded, the upper lobe rather the longer, the least height of the pedicel half the length of the head. Scales. — Head, body and all the fins densely covered with scales, those of the body as seen on the fish are deep and short, strongly ctenoid; they are so small and irregular as to render counting not possible. When removed from the body a single scale is seen to be deep seated with a comb-like margin exhibiting about fourteen teeth ; in situ the scales are greatly imbricate, their pectinations alone exposed. The lateral line is to be very faintly traced, it follows the curvature of the back to between the termination of the dorsal and anal fins whence it proceeds along the middle of the caudal pedicel. Colours . — The head is dirty yellow, (brighter in the younger example) darker on the preopercle. On the occiput the colour gradually merges into that of the body, which together with the bases of the vertical fins and the caudal pedicle is a rich coffee- brown ; the exposed portions of the jaws, the chin and chest are a darker brown. The eye is encircled by a dark line, which in life may have shown traces of blue; above, behind and below the eye this line follows the curvature of the orbit, but anteriorly is pro- duced forwards, the upper part passing through the nostrils and finally joining the lower portion on the anterior edge of the pre- orbital. Another line marks the posterior edge of the preopercle, is deflected up the base of the spine and returns along its lower border to the point of origin ; the opercle is also margined by a dark line and the opercular membranes are black. Anteriorly a broad submarginal band of brown arises on the membrane of the dorsal spines and passes along the whole of the fin, becoming darker posteriorly; the margin of the membrane is yellow. The whole of the anal is very dark brown and is margined with greyish-blue. The pectorals are yellow basally, the posterior half black with a yellow margin ; the ventrals are without markings. The caudal is yellow, which colour is sharply separated from the brown of the pedicel, its upper and lower margins are narrowly edged with black, and its posterior third is also black, this colour being narrow on the lobes and broadening greatly towards the middle ; the rays are narrowly margined with yellow. Total length of two specimens 250 mm. and 170 mm. respectively. Hol acanthus semicinctus, sp. nov. (Plate xxxvi.) D. xv. 17. A. iii. 18. Y. i. 5. P. 17. 0. 17 + 4. L. lat. 46. L. tr. 7 + 22. Length of head 3'85, of caudal fin 4*53, height of body 2*1 in the length (caudal excluded). Diameter of eye 3-6, length of snout ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 205 3*1, of preopercular spine 2*0 in the length of the head \ the inter- orbital space is convex, one-fourth more than the diameter of the eye. Gill-rakers narrow, of moderate length, eleven on the lower limb of the first arch. The teeth are cardiform, arranged in a narrow band in each jaw, each with a tricuspid apex. The body is rather elongate, the anterior profile slightly rounded and tumid above the snout ; jaws equal, only slightly protractile, the maxilla is shorter than the diameter of the eye ; preorbital produced into a spine directed horizontally forwards and its lower angle into three smaller spines directed forwards and downwards, followed by four small points. Preopercle inclined forwards, its hinder limb strongly serrated, its lower with four strong denticles. The spine is gently curved and received into a shallow groove in front of the pectoral, its point reaches the vertical from the margin of the opercle, a membrane invests its inner surface. The opercle and subopercle finely denticulated the points rather distant. The first dorsal spine is situated above the opercular margin, and its length equals the diameter of the eye, the others gently increase in length to the fifteenth which is the longest, and last, exactly twice the length of the first, the central rays are produced but not filamen- tous, the tenth which is the longest, is three-fourths the length of the head. The first anal spine arises beneath the eleventh dorsal, the third is the longest, 1*6 in the length of the head ; all are stouter than the dorsals. The rays are similar in character and extent to those of the dorsal and it is also the tenth which forms the summit of the fin which terminates evenly with the dorsal. The pectoral is equal to the head in length, as is also the ventral but its first ray is produced, the filament reaching to the first anal spine. Caudal lunate its upper and lower rays produced into filaments, the height of the pedicel is half the length of the head. Scales .— The scales of the body are large, the exposed portions angular in shape, strongly ciliated ; removed from the body each scale is subcircular in outline a little higher than long* the scales on the fins are very small. The lateral line rises to below the fifth dorsal spine whence it follows the curvature of the back to near the termination of the rays, it then bends abruptly down- wards and runs horizontally along the caudal pedicel. Colours . — After long immersion in spirits the general colour is yellowish, tending to brownish on the head and dorsal surface, the fins are also yellowish and immaculate, with the exceptions below mentioned. The upper half of the body is crossed with eight or nine sub-vertical lines of dark brown, they have a slight posterior inclination and anteriorly do not cross the mid line of . the body, they descend lower behind but do not even there reach the ventral profile ; the first distinct line arises from the base of the third dorsal spine but there is a faint trace of one in 206 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. advance of it at the base of the first spine. On the throat is a series of large, pale brown blotches arranged alternately, the dorsal and anal fins are margined by an extremely narrow edge of dark brown and there are two small spots of this colour on the 14-15 dorsal rays, one near the base, the other nearer the margin. On the caudal pedicel the dark bands of the body are represented by spots and on the middle caudal rays are five series forming interrupted vertical bands. Total length of specimen 195 mm. The species to which our specimen is nearest allied is H . meicmospilus, Bleeker,* (from the sea of Amboyna) which indeed in many particulars it closely resembles. I have not access to the original description, and my conclusions are formed from Gunther's epitomised description,! and a comparison with Bleeker’s figure. | In II. melanospilus the body bands are very close together, eighteen or nineteen in number, and are continued to the ventral surface ; there is a large, round, black, white-edged spot on the thorax, and the vertical fins have small, white rings. In H. semicinctus the body bands are widely spaced, do not exceed nine in number, and are not continued below ; there is no prominent spot on the thorax, and the caudal is marked with dark blotches. The horizontal preorbital spine which forms a noticeable feature in our specimen is not so represented in Bleeker’s illustration. Acanttiocaulus, gen. nom. nov. This name is suggested to replace Prionurus , Lacep&de, 1830, preoccupied by Ehrenberg, in Arachnida, 1829. In 1898, Jordan and Evermann instituted a genus Xesu rus || to receive certain American species, some of which had been described under the name Prionurus; the authors write “ This genus is close to the East Indian genus Prionurus , Lacepede, differing chiefly in the character of the caudal armature, the plates in Prionurus being small, sharper, and in greater number.” Messrs. Gilbert and Starks also admit the validity of the genus by adopting it for their species Xesurus clarionis . I have therefore no choice, in pointing out that the term Prionurus is inadmissible in Ichthyology, but to propose a new name. Acantliocaulus will include P. microlepidotus , Lacepede, an Australian species, and P. scalprum , Langsdorf, from Japan, but P. maculatus , Ogilby, * Bleeker — Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., ii. Ainboina, p. 56 (fide Gunther), f Gunther — Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., ii., 1860, p. 48. X Bleeker — Atlas Ichth., ix. pi. ccclxviii. fig. 2. || Jordan and Evermann — Hep. U. S. Com. Fish and Fisheries, 1895, p. 421, (name only); and Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 47, 1898, p. 1694 (description). ADDITIONS TO TIIE FISH FAUNA OF LORD IIOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 207 from Port Jackson and Lord Howe Island will have to be referred to Xesurus. Xesuuus maculatus, Ogilby . Prionurus maculatus , Ogilby, Proc. Xool. Soc. 1887, p. 395. At separate times three examples of this species were received from the island ; they were included in gatherings by Messrs. Langley and Icely. Although the type was described from a specimen taken on the coast of New South Wales, it is more than probable that the species is commoner around the island than on the shores of the mainland. Naseus unicornis, Forskal. Two examples have been received, one in March, 1891, from Mr. Langley, and the other in August, 1899, from Mrs. T. Nicholls. Macleay has recorded the species from Torres Straits. Alutera monoceros, Osbeck . The known distribution of this species is now considerably extended, Mr. lccly having in 1894 obtained two examples from the Island. It had not been previously recognised from Australia. It has also beeu recently added to the known fauna of the United States by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, in reference to which Dr. D. S. Jordan publishes an interesting notice.* He therein expresses the opinion that the example represents a species distinct from A. monoceros . Ostracion cubicus, Linnceus. We have received, at various times, a number of specimens from the Island. Although not recorded from Eastern Australia, this species has been taken on its northern and southern coasts. Amblyriiyncuotus oblongus, j Bloch. The only adult example I have seen from the Island was brought by Mr. Icely in 1895, but there are two small examples of older date in the collection which are possibly also referable to A. oblongus. The species was not recorded from the east coast of the mainland until 1898, when it was obtained by the Thetis Expedition. Ovoides meleagris, Lacepede. Tetrodon meleagris , Lacepede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., 1798, i., p. 505. In January, 1895, Mr. Icely brought us a small “ Tetrodon,” which I have identified with this Polynesian species. * D.S. J. — American Naturalist, xxxiv., 1900, p. G9. 208 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Euchilomycterus, gen . nov. The single specimen, regarded as the type of a new genus, differs from the descriptions of all described species of Chilomycterus , by having the anterior dorsal and a temporal spine four-rooted. Owing to the indifferent condition of the specimen, the nature of the nasal tentacles (if present) cannot now be determined ; the presence of a spine in the middle of the forehead would indicate a nearer subgeneric affinity to Cyclichthys than to Chilomycterus. As far as ascertainable, therefore, the new genus may be charac- terised as follows : — Body broad, compressed?. Dermal spines very short, immovable, mostly with three roots, the anterior dorsal, and a temporal spine, with four roots ; all roots (excepting those of the temporal one) overlap, forming a coat of mail. Caudal practically without pedicel; fins small; jaws without median suture. Euchilomycterus quadradicatus, sp. nov. D. 12. A. 10. P. 17. C. 9. Length of head 2-8, of caudal fin 3*7 in the total length, interocular space flat and broad, the distance between the middle supraocular spines equal to the length of the head, eyes large, lateral, not quite so long as the snout. The dorsal spines are very low, little more than tubercles: eight or nine between the eye and the tail, those on the sides and belly are scarcely larger, excepting the posterior ones which do not however attain to 3 mm. in length ; the two lateral spines behind the dorsal fin throw their inner roots together on the median line, and behind them is a pair of roots bearing a minute median spine. With this exception, and those below noticed, all the spines are three rooted, the anterior root covering the lower lateral one of the spine in advance of it. All the roots form strong bu tresses against the spine. Three supraorbital spines, the anterior of which sends its inner root across the forehead, and projected between them is the anterior root of a minute median spine. From this point, back- wards, to between the gill openings, the spines have four roots arranged longitudinally and transversely. A four-rooted spine (the temporal) exists between the the third supraocular and the large three-rooted spine situated above the gill opening ; it is of regular shape, and its roots scarcely touch those of any other spine. The coloration cannot be given, as the specimen is dry and faded. Total length 180 mm. I have not figured this species because its most striking features have already been sufficiently expressed and the specimen is not in suitable condition for delineation. It was forwarded to us by Mrs. Nichols in January last. Apart from the peculiarities mentioned, it seems to have some resemblance to Chilomycterus tigrinus , Cuvier. ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LOUD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 209 Pterois zebra, Cuvier and Valenciennes . P. volitans proves to be quite common off the Island whence we have received many examples. The inclusion of P. zebra , on the other hand, rests on the evidence of a single specimen forwarded by Mr. lcely. Both species occur in Port Jackson, but, similarly, the former is much the commoner, or, as I should say, the less rare. Neither species has been recorded on the Australian Coast south of Port Jackson, Paraperois cylindrica, Bloch. Scicena cylindrical Bloch., Iclith., 1797, pi. 299, fig. 1. We possess two examples from the Island* one obtained by Mr. lcely in 1893, and the other by Mrs. Nioholls in January last. Gunther* mentions that a specimen from Aneiteum differs from others in the British Museum by having fifty-eight, instead of fifty transverse rows of scales, and by the ventral fin reaching only to the third, instead of the fifth anal ray. In both our specimens there are fifty-four scales in the lateral line; in one, the ventrals reach to the third anal ray, in the other, to the first only. In an example from the Admiralty Islands there are also fifty-four series of scales, while the ventrals reach to the fourth anal ray. Cri Stic EPS australis, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Of the two species originally recorded from the Island, namely, C. aurantiacns , Cast., and G. roseus , GiLnth, the latter enters Ogilby's genus, Petrdites . A specimen secured by Mr. lcely is to be identified with C. australis , Cuv. and Val. Port Jackson examples of which Oastelnau designated C. niacleayi. * Gunther — Brit. Mua. Oat. Fish, ii., 1800, pp. 239 and 525. 210 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. NOTES on FISHES from WESTERN AUSTRALIA, and DESCRIPTION of a NEW SPECIES. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. (Plate xxxvii.) By an arrangement with Mr. B. B. Woodward, Curator of the Perth Museum, we have received a small collection of fishes obtained, for the most part, in the Swan River, near Perth. No attempt has been made to catalogue the fishes of the western coast of Australia, and indeed, with the exception of isolated records, little has been done since the early voyagers collected there. We have Castelnau’s “ contribution,”* and the following species received by us are recorded by this writer from the neighbourhood of Freeman tie. Dorosoma erebi, Gunther . Hemiriiamphus imtermedius, Cantor. As H. melanochir , Cuvier and Valenciennes. Sphyr/ena NOViE-HOLLANDiiE, Gunther. In addition to this species and S. obtusata , it is possible that we may have a third species in New South Wales, for the description of S. novce-hollandia by Ogilby,t does not tally with that form. In typical examples the ventral is inserted wholly in advance of the first dorsal, while that writer describes the fin as being inserted beneath the anterior half of the first dorsal ; he, however, figures it (PI. xxx.) more in agreement with our examples. Therapon ellipticus, Richardson. Mr. Woodward informs us that the specimens forwarded were taken at Kimberley, in fresh water. Therapon caudavittatus, Richardson. Sparosomus auratus, Bloch and Schneider . Noticed by Castelnau under the synonym Pagrus unicolor . Platycephalus LiEViGATUS, Curvier and Valenciennes. In addition to the foregoing and the introduced : — Carassius auratus, Linnaeus , and Carassius carassius, Linnceus , * Castelnau — Proc. Zool. Soc. Viet., 1873, ii., pp. 123 - 149. f Ogilby — Edible Pishes N.S.W., 1893, p. 114. NOTES ON FISHES FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA — WAITE 211 we have received the following species : — Gonorhynchus greyi, Richardson. Tylosurus ferox, Gunther. I am not aware that this species has been previously recorded from West Australia. Castelnau has described a species under the name Belone gavialoides ,* * * § which, judging from the description, and taking into account the relative position of the fins, is distinct from T. ferox . Trachurus deolivis, Jenyns. Colpognatiius dentex, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Gunther’s type of C. richardsonii ,t regarded by Boulengerj as synonymous with C. dentex , was obtained at Freemantle, at the mouth of the Swan River, wherein Mr. Woodward’s specimens were taken. Our examples are without markings of any descrip- tion, and this fact, taken in conjunction with the widely different colouration or ornamentation of the figures of Quoyand Guimard, § Richardson, || and Gunther, U indicates that the species is subject to great variation in colour and pattern. Chrysopiirys datnia, Forsk . Although tnis species does not appear to have been previously noticed from Western Australia, it was naturally expected that, having such an extensive distribution, it would sooner or later be thence recorded. It may now be said to occur on the whole of the eastern, northern, and western seaboards, but being so much more numerous in the tropics, we are scarcely likely to find more than a straggler or so on our southern shores. Odax richardsonii, Gunther. Ihe specimens received do not differ from examples taken in Port Jackson ; the dark markings on the body are very pronounced, and in this the examples are not unlike 0 . semifasciatus , Guv. and Val., from which the species is distinguished by the serrated pre- operculum and by the smaller number of scales above the lateral ^ ne — seven in 0. richardsonii , fifteen in 0. semifasciatus. The serrations in some specimens are so slight as to be of doubtful specific value, yet Castelnau proposed for examples with serrated preoperculum, the generic name Neodax. * Castlonau— Proe. Zool. Sec. Viet., ii., 1878, p. 142. t Gunther — Proc. Zool. Soe., 1861, p. 391. X Boulenger — Brit. Mus. Oat. Fish, (2), i., p. 310. § Quoy and Gaimard — Yoy. “Astrolabe/ 5 Poiss., pi. iv., fig. 2. || Richardson— Zool. Ereb. and Terr., Ichth., pi. lvii., figs. 3-5. IT Gunther — Loc. cit., pi. xxxviii. 212 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Periopthalmus koelreuteri, Pallas. The occurrence of this species in such a comparatively high latitude as Perth, is another instance of the more tropical charac- ter of the west than the east coast of Australia. On the east, Castelnau records it* from the entrance of the Brisbane River, south of which it has not been observed. P. australis , Cast., is said to be found on the mud flats of the Richmond River, New South Wales. f Saville Kent, in his paper on the Marine Fauna of Houtman’s Abrolhos Islands, | shows how the Abrolhos support a wealth of tropical life, such as Holothurians and the more brilliantly coloured Labroids, familiar to him from Torres Straits and the more northern regions of the Great Barrier Reef. Houtman’s Abrolhos are of coral growth, a formation met with on the eastern mainland only in much lower latitudes, and in explanation Mr. Saville Kent writes: — “ The anomalous character of the marine fauna of Houtman’s Abrolhos, as herein defined, can only be accounted for by the assumption that an ocean current, setting in from the equatorial area of the Indian Ocean, penetrates as far south as this island group, and has borne with it the float- ing embryos of the Holothuridse and Cmlenterates, etc., that so characteristically distinguish it. A reference to the Admiralty charts, dealing with the ocean currents of this region, supports this interpretation to a considerable extent ; indicating as a matter of fact, a prevailing northerly set along the western coast of Australia, but at the same time a distinct southerly intrusion of the waters of the Indian Ocean at some distance off shore, down towards and closely approaching Houtman’s Abrolhos.” Hoplegnathus woodwardi, sp, nov. (Plate xxxvii.) B. v. D. xi. 11. A. iii. 2. V. i. 5 P 17. C. 17. L. 1. 62. L. tr. 25 - 60. Length of head 2*57, of caudal fin 5 '76, height of body 2*31, in the total length (caudal excluded). Eye very large, 3 '63 in the length of the head, T25 in the snout, and 1*13 in the interorbital space, which is slightly convex. Nostrils approximate, the anterior round, the posterior elongate, its own length in advance of the margin of the eye. The upper profile of the head with a pro- nounced swelling above the anterior nostril, and forming a sharp bony keel on the occiput. Dorsal and ventral profile a gentle curve. Upper jaw the longer. Cleft of mouth medium, almost horizontal, the maxilla extending to within the anterior margin * Castelnau — Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., ii., 1878, p. 2B1. + Ten.- Woods — Fish and Fisheries N.S.W., 1882, p. 27. J Saville Kent — Rep. Brit. Assoc., 1895, p. 732. NOTES ON FISHES FKOM WESTERN AUSTRALIA — WAITE. 213 of the orbit. Opercles entire, with one flat jagged spine. Post- temporal and clavicular plates very pronounced. Teeth . — These consist of a bony lamella in each jaw, with median division, as in Tetrodon; the lamella is translucent, and the sum- mit of each tooth can be traced in its substance, the whole forming a regular diagonal mosaic. As the teeth are successively pushed to the margin of the lamella, their crowns become free and they then form a sub- imbricate series, each crown being grey, tipped with black. These peculiarities are more noticeable in the lower than in the upper jaw. Behind the anterior series is a group of rounded teeth, white in colour; within the upper lateral series are a few isolated teeth, similar in colour and form to those in the lamella}. Dorsal spines very strong, compressed, increasing in height to the seventh, which is exactly half the length of the head, and higher than the rays ; the last spine nearly equals the fourth in length; the basal length of the spinous is nearly twice that of the soft portion. The anal spines are rather stronger than those of the dorsal, the third somewhat exceeds the second in length, and is 2 6 in the length of the head, and equals the fourth dorsal; the rays are similar to those of the rayed dorsal. The fourth upper ray of the pectoral is the longest, it is rather longer than the ventral, and is contained 1*7 times in the length of the head. The ventral spine is similar to the longest dorsal in character and extent, and the fin all but reaches the vent. The caudal is emarginate, the upper lobe slightly the longer ; the least height of the pedicle is one-third the length of the head. The spinous por- tions of the dorsal and anal fins are received into a deep groove, and the soft portions are scaly at the bases, as is also the caudal. Scales — small, finely ctenoid or ciliate, those on the opercules freer and of more angular contour than those of the body. Upper part of head, snout, maxilla, mandible, and two or three elongate areas above and behind the eye naked, otherwise scaly. Colours — Yellowish or brownish, which may in life have been pink. The fins are dusky and without markings, excepting the dorsal and anal, which are blotched, as below described. The markings on the body are five broad black vertical bars. The first passes from the top of the head, through the eye, and down the cheek. The second arises in »ad vance of the dorsal fin, involving the first two spines, thence across the base of the pectoral. The next bar passes from the 7-10 dorsal spines to the vent. The fourth connects the dorsal and anal rays, forming a black blotch on each fin, and continued backwards along the base of the anal rays ; while the fifth, which is narrower, passes across the base of the caudal pedicel. All the bars are inclined obliquely backwards and are narrower towards the ventral surface. 214 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. This species is perhaps the one doubtfully referred by Johnston* * * § to II. conwayi, Rich.f It is, however, quite distinct from that species, and differs in the following particulars : — The dorsal has a smaller number of spines, and is relatively very much higher, the spines also are longer than the rays ; whereas in II. conwayi the rays are twice as long as the spines — a character common also to the anal. H. fasciatus and II. punctatus £ have each twelve dorsal spines and sixteen rays, the body in these species is shorter and higher, the eye is smaller and the soft vertical fins much longer than in II. woodwardi. In common with other Australian workers, I have at times re- ferred to the difficulty experienced by zoological writers living at prohibitive distances from European literary centres, and the hopelessness, in many cases, of bringing an undertaking to a satisfactory conclusion. Such disabilities are caused by a lack of necessary literature, and many are the instances in which a train of research has to be abandoned owing to the impossibility of consulting some particular paper. Where a genus is weighted with a large number of species, the difficulty may be appreciated ; but when only a few are known, the task would seem to be a simple one; this may not, however, be so, and I may instance Hoplegnathus , the genus now under consideration. Richardson first described the genus in 1840, as a Scaroid, under the name Oplegnathus ,§ the species being 0. conwaii. The follow- ing year he altered the generic name to Hoplegnathus and the specific one to conwayi , when exhibiting drawings before the meeting of the British Association, || and in 1849 published a full description and figure.1I The specimen described was supposed to be from Australia. In the year 1844, Temminck and Schlegel described two fishes from Japan under the generic name Scarodon , namely, S. fasciatus and S. punctatus^ { and mention the earliest representation of a species in the Atlas of Krusenstern’s voyage, under the name “Poisson perroquet noir.”** Both these examples were from Japan. * Johnston — Proc. Roy. Soc. Tas., .1884, p. 194. t Richardson — Proc. Zool. Soc., 1840, p. 27; and Trans. Zool. Soc., 1849, iii., p. 144, pi. vii , fig. 1. X Temminck and Schlegel — Fauna Japon, Pisces, 1844, p. 89, pi. xlvi. and p. 91. § Richardson — Proc. Zool. Soc., 1840, p. 27. || Richardson — Rep. Brit. Assoc., 1841 (1842), pt. 2, p. 71. IF Richardson — Trans. Zool. Soc., iii., 1849, p. 144, pi. vii., fig. 1. ## Krusenstern — Atlas, pi. Iii., fig. 2. NOTES ON FISHES FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA — WAITE. 215 We next turn up Richardson’s paper on the Ichthyology of the seas of China and Japan,* * * § and find that he recognised the generic identity of Scarodon with his own Hoplegnathus , and under H. punctatus mentions having seen, very cursorily, in the Museum at Fort Pitt, a spotted Hoplegnathus from Norfolk Island. As the only island of that name, according to the atlas and the gazetteer, is the dependency of New South Wales, it would seem as though this species should be credited to our fauna, but Richardson describes its habitat merely as the seas of Japan and China. In the work quoted, he, with doubtful judgment, coins a third name — H. maculosus , his type being a drawing only, at the same time he doubts its specific distinction from H. punctatus . In 1854, Bleeker raised the genus to family rank under the name Hoplegnathoidei ,f but I have not access to his paper ) he again mentions it in his Archipelago Indico.J Two years later, Richardson, who had apparently not seen Bleeker’s work, placed his Hoplegnathus as a genus^ under Chcetodontidm.§ The three valid species mentioned, are recorded by Gunther || in 1861, but it becomes evident that one paper on the subject had at that time been overlooked, of which more later. On referring to the Zoological Record for 1865, we readlf: — “ Hoplognathus. M. Guichenot states that Ichthyorhamphus (Casteln.) from the Cape of Good Hope is identical with this genus. Mem. Soc, 8c. Nat. Cherbourg, xi., p. 5. The same author refers it to the Scaroid fishes ; but its pharangeal bones are entirely separate, rather feeble, and armed with villiform teeth.” The work in which Guichenot published the observation is not accessible to me, and I am unable to find where Castelnau’s genus was described. It is omitted from the “Nomenclator Zoologicus v of Scudder, and on searching the Royal Society’s Catalogue such references as I can consult do not contain notice of the genus Ichthyorhamphus , so that I am unable to learn even the specific name applied by Castelnau. The following reference is supplied by the Zoological Record for 1867 : — **“ Hoplognathus fasciatus (Kroy.) is described as Scaro- stoma insigne (g. et sp. n.) by Prof. Kner, Sitzgsber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1867, lvi., p. 715, fig. 3,” and the same subject is recorded in the Zoological Record for 1868, as follows! f: — “Prof. Kner also has recognised the identity of his Scarostoma with this genus (See * Richardson — Rep, Brit. Assoc., 1845, p. 247. f Bleeker — Yer. Akad. Wetensch. Amsterdam, i., 1854, Japan, p. 6. X Bleeker — Spec. Pise. Arch. Indico, 1859, p. 250. § Richardson — Enoyc. Brit. (Ed. ix.), Ichth. xii., p. 303. || Gunther — Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish.,iii., 1861, pp. 357-8. If Gunther — Zool. Record, 1865, Pisces, p. 184. ** Gunther — Zool. Record, 1867, Pisces, p. 161. ft Gunther— Zool. Record, 1868, Pisces, p. 146. 216 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Zool. Record, iv., p. 161); but he still thinks that the fish described by him is a new species (Wiegm. Arch. 1868 in Troschel’s Bericht). [It is Hoplognathus fasciatus of Kroyer, not of Schlegel ; the name of the Japanese species may be changed to Hoplognathus Jcrusensternii.Y We do not possess the Vienna publication, so that further research in this direction is impossible. There is no reference to where Kroyer’s paper was published, but such is ultimately traced by Carus and Engelmann’s Bibliotheca Zoologica (1861, p. 1028); the reference being: — “ Oplegnathus fasciatus. in: Kroyer, naturhist. Tidsskr. N. R. Bd. i., 1845, p. 213-223,” a work to which again T cannot refer. In passing it may be noted that the Bibliotheca does not record Castelnau’s Ichthyorhamphus. I have no direct evidence as to where Kroyer’s type was obtained, but Gunther writes of the family Hoplognathidce * * * § : — “One genus only is known, Hoplognathus ) with four species from Australian, Japanese, and Peruvian coasts”: as we know the species representing the two former habitats, I presume Kroyer’s example was from Peru, and it is possible that II. woodwardi is identical with II. fasciatus from Peru, many types being common to Australia and South America. It is to be noticed that the Cape of Good Hope, supposed to be represented by Ichthyorham- phus, is not included in the distribution of the family. Although the Fauna Japonica, Pisces, bears on the title page the date 1850, the work was issued in parts, commencing 1844, in which year the decade containing 11 oplegnathus appeared. It thus antedated Kroyer’s paper, published in 1845, which was however not recorded by Giinther in his Catalogue, and this con- stitutes the omission previously referred to. t The changing of the name of the Japanese species was therefore not justified, as acknowledged later by using 11. fasciatus, according to priority.! Steindachner has redescribed the species, but unfortunately I am unable to consult his paper.J In changing the spelling of Hoplognathus to Hoplognathus , Giinther had apparently assumed that the derivation of the prefix was o7tA,ov = arm A, whereas Richardson expressly states that his derivation was 07r\rj = UNGULA.§ Further, the name Hoplognathus is inadmissible for this genus, having been used in 1819 by MacLeay, and again by Chadoir in 1835, for different genera of Coleoptera. It was subsequently (1844) used by Burmeister, also in Coleoptera. * Gunther — Study of Fishes, 1880, p. 410. t Giinther — Challenger Beports, Zool., i.. Shore Fishes, 1880, p. 64. X Steindachner — Sitz. K, Akad. Wiss. Wien., cii., 1893, p. 222. § Bichardson — Trans. Zool. Soc., 1849, iii., p. 144. GAUD CATALOGUE SYSTEM. WAITE. 217 The CARD-CATALOGUE SYSTEM adapted to Museum Requirements. By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Zoologist. In a thoroughly up-to-date Museum there must always bo going on an active exchange of specimens with kindred institutions in other countries. To catalogue the collections in such an establish- ment may in itself be a matter of some difficulty. I f one is content merely to enter the names and particulars of current acquisitions in a book form register, and rule out, or otherwise mark, entries representing specimens sent away, nothing could be simpler. Such a register, however, cannot bo kept in systematic order : a great disadvantage when dealing with Natural History specimens, and hours may bo spent in tracking the source of any particular object. In dealing with the largo number of specimens under my care at the Museum, namely, Mammals, Reptiles, Fishes, and all Osteological preparations, I had the inadequacy of the usual form of register for ordinary working purposes, forcibly brought home to me; for my own convenience, therefore, I duplicated the record of current donations, etc., according to tho plan below referred to. Eighteen months ago the Curator instructed um to prepare a catalogue of the duplicate Mammals available for exchange, and for this purpose I was provided with an additional register. I then explained what system I had instituted, and the Curator heartily approving, permission was accorded me to officially adopt it in the Institution, as referred to in his Annual Report for 1808.* The Curator’s remarks were based on a six months’ trial, during which time a comparatively small catalogue only had been prepared. All the collections in tho various sections previously mentioned are being catalogued on this plan, and so far the work has occupied an assistant nearly the whole of the eighteen months indicated. Many important libraries are now catalogued by tho “card” system, and it is simply an adaptation of this to Museum require- ments that I desire to bring into notice. Once a book is placed in a library it usually remains there, and if worn out is merely replaced, the substituted book bearing the reference number of the discarded one; changes occur only by interpolating new volumes. With a museum collection the case is different, for, in addition to the new material, specimens are constantly being removed by exchange, and old examples can never he actually replaced, for unlike a book, each has an individuality of its own, depending on locality, age, sox, season, or other condition. * Aust. Mus. Ann. Report, 1898 (1899), p. 0, 218 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. A museum catalogue should be adapted to include the following : I. Exhibited Collection. a. Valuable specimens, or single representatives of a species, not necessarily in good condition. b. Permanent specimens which may reasonably be supposed to be the best procurable. c. Indifferent specimens retained only until better examples are procured. II. Duplicate Collection. d. Reserve — Specimens not at present required for exhibition, but too rare to be parted with. e. Store — Specimens available for exchange. III. Type Collection, if not exhibited. It is also necessary to indicate whether the specimens are mounted, in skins, or are preserved in fluid. As implied by the name, the system consists of indexing by means of loose cards instead of by the ordinary book method. A card is issued for every individual specimen, and upon it written the name of the object and all information concerning it ; it is in fact a copy of the collector’s ticket, together with the registration and other marks, as Gallery, Duplicate, Type. These cards stand on edge in drawers specially constructed to receive them, and may be arranged in any way desired : the height of the card is less than that of the drawer, so that a deeper series may be inserted, these latter, standing up above the others, are to receive the names of the Orders or Families, etc., and may be of distinctive colour. When properly placed, a card or series of cards may be inserted anywhere or a similar series withdrawn without disturbing the general arrangement. This system, as 1 have applied it, is not intended to take the place of the ordinary register, but rather to be a key to the collections : the register would record all specimens received in chronological order, but the changes made in the collections would be indicated by the card catalogue. I have here done no more than indicate the system, for the arrangement of a catalogue depends so much on the nature and number of the specimens dealt with, and the fancy of their custodian. Personally, I have adopted two cabinets for each section, one to contain the cards of the exhibited, and the other those of the duplicate collections. For full information as to the working of the card system as used for library purposes, the publications of the Boston Library Bureau (U.S. A.) and of the Manchester Museum may be consulted. OCCASIONAL NOTES. Y.—TURRICULA SCALARIFORMIS , TEN. -WOODS —ITS OCCURRENCE in NEW SOUTH WALES. On a recent visit to Gerringong, the Curator collected a number of small dead shells from between tide marks on a sandy beach. Among them I have detected a single, rather worn example of Turricula scalar i for mis, Ten. Woods,* * * § a species which has not been pre\iously recorded from this Colony, though observed in South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. The synonomy and bibliography of it has been recently reviewed by Messrs. Pritchard and Gatliff. f The more prominent ribbing and small size, 7 mm., incline the Gerringong specimen to the variety named Mitra legrandi by Ten. Woods. For the better recognition of this variety, I add an enlarged drawing of an authentic Tasmanian specimen kindly lent me by the Rev. H. D. Atkinson. CHARLES HEDLEY. VI.— SC ALA REVOLUTA , HEDLEY— ITS OCCURRENCE in FIJI. In discussing the fauna of Funafuti, I took occasion to point out that the high proportion (one-sixth) of novelties described should be regarded rather as an indication of how little is known of the Pacific fauna than of any native peculiarity. My antici- pation that all the minute shells described as new from Funafuti would ultimately be found in the western continental islands is receiving more full and prompt confirmation than I could have hoped for. G cecum vertebrale has recently been discovered at Ouvea, Loyalty Islands. J And I now have the pleasure of recording Scala revoluta from Fiji. A specimen of the latter has been received by the Trustees from Mr. Allan R. McCulloch, who recognised the species in a parcel of sand from Suva. CHARLES HEDLEY. VII. — PHYLLOTUEGA and CINGULARIA. In 1895, I described § a very peculiar plant from the Upper Coal-Measures at Newcastle, that appeared in some measure to unite the characters of the genera Pliyllotheca , Prong., and Cingu- laria, Weiss. The stems (or branches), stem-discs, leaves and leaf-sheaths, all presented the characteristic features of the former, * Ten.-Woods— Proc. Roy. Soo. Tas., 1875 (1S70), p. 140. f Pritchard and Gatliff— Proc. Roy. Soc. Vic., xi., 2, 1899, p. 189. I Journ. of Conch., ix , 1899, p. 219. § Rec. Geol. Survey N.S.W., iv., pt. 4, 1895, p. 148. 220 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. but were accompanied by peltate infundibuliform organs, similar to those of the latter. These spring from other sheaths on the stems or branches, like the leaves of an ordinary Phyllotheca. Mr. W. A. Cuneo, of Thirlmere, recently presented to the Trustees a slab of shale from the Upper Coal-Measures of Shea’s Creek, a branch of the Natti River, in Parish Killiwarra, Co. Camden, covered with Glossopteris leaves, remains of a Phyllo- theca, as we know it here, and the peltate organs of Cingularia, just as the original specimens were found at Shepherd’s Hill, Newcastle, by Mr. J. B. Henson. This may be considered a very interesting re-occurrence of a plant that we have yet to learn the entire structure and full significance of. The only point of difference that I can detect is a greater length of the tooth-like projections of the peripheries of the peltate organs in Mr. Cuneo’s specimen, and possibly a less subdivision of these same parts. If one of the conclusions I formerly arrived at — that “this plant seems to be closely allied, if not identical with Phyllotlieca hookeri , McCoy,” should ultimately prove to have any weight, then possibly the present examples afford evidence of another species of Phyllo- theca , possessing peltate infundibuliform organs. R. ETHERIDGE, Junr. VIII ,—LYGOSOMA FRAGILE , GUNTHER. The Trustees have recently received from Mr. Alfred Stanley Read two small Lizards, which I identify with Lygosoma(Rhodona) fragile , Giinther.* This species does not appear to have been recorded since first described from the Peak Downs (Clermont), Queensland. The new locality is Angledool, in the county of Narran, New South Wales, just outside the Queensland border, and four hundred and sixty miles almost due south of the Peak Downs. Mr. Read while remarking that the lizard is very rare in the district, makes some interesting observations on its habits ; he states that it is never seen on the surface, all found having been taken from six to nine inches under ground, always in sandy soil. They are generally turned up at the roots of small stumps, when they move just like a snake. The lizards were forwarded alive, we therefore had the oppor- tunity of verifying Mr. Read’s observations as to their movements, and found that when passing through the soil, an action per- formed with great celerity, the degenerate limbs are closely adpressed to the body and are not used in subterranean progression. EDGAR R. WAITE. * Gunther — Journ. Mus. Godeifroy, xii., 1876, p. 45. Boulenger— Brit. Mus. Cat., Lizards (2) iii., 1887, p. 334, pi. xxvii., fig. 2. EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. Fig. 1. Stone implement profusely ruddled, and with a large central incised spiral, above it two small discs of concentric circles, the whole enclosed above and below by transverse cross-bar incisions. „ 2. The opposite face of the same, with a submedian disc of con- centric circles surmounted by a three-quarter disc of concentric circles fainter than the former. Faint cross-bars are visible below the sub median disc. „ 3. “ Bull-roarer, Urania Tribe, Linda Creek, W. Queensland. — Five discs, the central ones separated from the others by a cross-bar above and below, „ 4. The opposite face of the same. There are no cross-bars here, but beneath the terminal discs are three-quarter circles facing towards one another. Plate I. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. * EXPLANATION OF PLATE II. Fig. 5. Bull- roarer,” said to be from S. Australia. A central figure consisting of circumferential circles, surrounding a nucleus of circles, and guarded above and below with the three-quarter circular figure as before. ,, G. Opposite face of the same, with indiscriminately scattered small circles and semi-circles in various degrees of completeness. ,, 7. Small “ Bull-roarer/’ also said to be from S. Australia, incised with circles and cross-bars, after the pattern of Fig. 3, except that the outer circles of incisions are incomplete, rendering them in fact semi-circles. „ 8. Opposite face of the same, with a serpentine figure looped on itself, margined by bow-shaped incisions, and the re-entering angles occupied by short transverse bars. REC. AUST. MUS. V OL. ITT. Plate TI. EXPLANATION OF PLATE III. Actinoceras hardmani, Eth. Fil. Fig. 1. Lateral view showing the septa, and beaded siphuncle at the distal or younger end. ,, 2. Beaded siphuncle — X 2. „ 3. Section of the siphuncle showing involutions of the membrane — X 3. „ 4. Pyriform involutions at the proximal or older end of the shell, seen in weathered section — X 5. 5. Involutions and intermediate ridges at the proximal or older end of the shell, seen in partially oblique weathered section — X 5. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. Plate III. EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV. Nest and eggs of Anihus australis, the Australian Pipit or Lark/’ “ Ground (The nest is constructed inside a rusty tin.) EXPLANATION OF PLATE V. Fig. 1. Cervical vertebra, anterior view. ,, 2. „ „ posterior „ 3. „ „ neural „ „ 4. ,, ,, haemal „ it 5. ,, ,, lateral ,, ,, 6. Phalange, side view. ,, 7. „ more elongated than Fig. 6, side view. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate'V. S/'Ank /?. / fie/. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VI. 1. Cervical vertebra, anterior view, with proximal ends of both ribs attached. 2. Two cervical vertebrse in apposition, seen from the right side ; the single fractured costal facet on the first is well displayed. 3. The same vertebrse from the left side. 4. Portion of a rib. 5. Distal end of a diapophysis of a dorsal vertebra ? 6. Paddle-bone, possibly the intermedium P side view. 7. The same, end view. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. Plate VI. f'/'ci.nk /? L eyy&fi DeJ. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII. Fig. 1. Humerus, proximal end. „ 2. Distal end of a cervical rib, or hatchet-bone 99 ? „ 3. Distal end of a diapophysis of a dorsal vertebra ? „ 4. Portion of the distal end of a trunk rib. „ 5. Proximal end of a trunk rib. „ 6. Cup-shaped end of Fig. 5. 8 . 1 Phalanges, side views. ^ Teeth. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. Plate VII. fra/iA /?. L eyya/t fle/. * EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIII. Columnopora pauciseptata, Eth. Fil. Fig. 1. The corallum seen from above. „ 2. The same, from one side, showing superimposed colonies. „ 3. Three calices exhibiting the septa. X 10. „ 4. A transverse section of several corallites, showing the thickened walls, primary and secondary septa, and absence of pores of communication. X 17. „ 5. A transverse section of a single corallite. X 30. ,, 6. A transverse section of another corallite with the walls still more thickened, and the septa club-shaped distally. X 30. ,, 7. A vertical section of several corallites, exhibiting old visceral chambers, thickened walls, and tabulae. X 10. REC.~AUST. MUS. VOL III Plate VIII 4 frcznA /?. Z £>py<2 /f £?e/. ‘f EXPLANATION OF PLATE IX. Fig. 1. Clemacantha regale, Rainb. „ 2. „ „ Underside of thorax, showing spines and scheme of colouration. „ 3. „ „ Ovipositor. REC. AUST. MUS. YOL. Ill, Plate IX 1 V W. J. RAINBOW, del, EXPLANATION OF PLATE X. Fig. 1. Tropidoderus decipiens, Rainb. )• »» a 2. >> „ left tegmina, showing scheme of colouration. 3. „ underside of thorax. 4. >> „ ovipositor. REO. AUST. MUS. YOL. Ill Plate X W. J. RAINBOW, del v: . • v > EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI. Figs. 1, 2, 3. Different aspects of Pupisoma circumlitum. 4, 5, 6. Different aspects of Sitala ? sublimais. „ 7, 8, 9, Different aspects of Endodonta waterhousice. „ 10, 11, 12. Different aspects of Flammulina abdita. „ 13, 14. Jaw and part of reproductive system of E. waterhousice. All much magnified, drawn from nature and to various scales by C. Hedley. REC. AUST. MUS, YOL. III. Plate XI. C. HEDLEY, del, /' ,, V- ' ' ► -4 ^ ' '• o EXPLANATION OF PLATE XII. Views of the Noeoleche Meteorite before cutting. Fig. 1. Side view. Fig. 2. Undersurface. Reproduced from photographs, about one-third natural size. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIII. Etched surface of the Nocoleche Meteorite, showing Widmanstatten figures. Reproduced from photograph, about two-thirds natural size. REG. AUST. MUS. VOL. HI Plate XIII EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIV. Same surface of the Nocoleche Meteorite as Plate XIII., but with different lighting. Reproduced from photograph, about two-thirds natural size. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. Plate XIV. /■>r - •• igt - • j^l I k -4 1 e c 3 i\ ®G° " : 1 . t 1 .', F” . ' •■ i \ V^/c ■ v r "* v EXPLANATION OF PLATE XV. Goniostropha pritchardi, Eth. fil. Fig. 1. Shell seen from the front, showing mouth. „ 2. A similar example to Fig. 1. „ 3. Shell seen from the back. „ 4. A whorl, showing the amount of angularity, and position and nature of the band, x 2. Mourlonia duni , Eth. fil. „ 5. Imperfect shell, seen from the back ; the sutural band is plainly distinguishable. Helicotoma johnstoni, Eth. fil. „ 6. Upper side, showing depressed spire. „ 7. Under side with umbilicus. „ 8. Back, exhibiting great width, perhaps somewhat assisted by dis- tortion. Trochonema ? nodosa , Eth. fil. „ 9. Imperfect shell, seen from the back. „ 10. The same, seen from the front. Holopea wellingtonensis , Eth. fil. „ 11. Natural section of the whorls, showing the form of the latter. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XV frjo# A\ Leqc/tiH Pel. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVI. Gyrodoma elheridgei , Ores well. Fig. 1. Imperfect specimen, showing a distinct and flattened band. Mourlonia duni , Eth. fil. „ 2. A small example with acute spire. Helicotoma johnstoni. Eth. fil. ,, 3. Another example viewed from the upper side, exhibiting the spire. ,, 4. The under or umbilical side of the same, showing asutral depres- sion and telescopic umbilicus. Trochonema etheridgei, Johnston. 5. Shell seen from the front, showing mouth and keels. „ 6. The same, seen from the back. Holopea welling tonen sis, Eth. fil. ,. 7. A full-grown example, seen from the front. ,, 8. The same, seen from the back. „ 9. A smaller specimen, seen from the back. All the specimens are in the Australian Museum, except PL xvi.. Fig. 2, which is from the Collection of the Geological Survey of N.S. Wales. IREC. AUST. MUS. YOL. TT1. Plate XVT. " ’ r '•v 'I ■ S Plate XX REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XX. Testudo nigrita, Dum. & Bibr. (Grigantic Tortoise). From a Photograph, lent by Miss Annie C. E. MacDonald. • ■ ‘ i REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XIX. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIX. Dtcy of Ring-tailed Opossum (Pseudochirus peregrinus, Bodd.^ [From a Photograph by II. Barnes, Junr., Australian Museum] Presented by Mr. J. M. Cautle. 4 ' ■v «■ ‘-5*., . \ / REG. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. Plate XVIII. W. J. E AIN BOW, del. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVIII. Fig. 1. Larva of Pseudoterpna percomptaria, Gn. ,, la. „ lb. » 1 c. ,, Id. > » > •> » i > » a Head, from underneath. Head in profile. Tail, from underneath. Pupa. „ 2. Poltys multitub erculat a, Rainbow. „ 2a. „ „ Cephalothorax, showing arrange- ment of eyes as viewed from the side. „ 26. „ „ Epigyne. / ■ ■ r : REC. AUST. MUS. YOL. III. Plate XVIT. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVII. Haly sites australis , Eth. fil. Fig. 1. Portion of a corallum, seen from above, showing the form of the reticulating laminae, and the normal corallites. 2. Small portion of the same with the normal corallites and the interstitial tubes. Enlarged. ,, 3. Portion of another corallum differing from that seen in fig. 1 only in the size of the reticulating laminae. ,, 4. The same. Enlarged. „ 5. Portion of another corallum seen obliquely from the side, showing the lateral faces of the laminae, and outline of the normal corallites. ,, 6. Horizontal section of part of a lamina, with two normal corallites and two interstitial tubes filled with crystalline calcite. Parts of the lamina w r alls are converted into chalcedony, particularly on the upper right hand ; two blebs are also visible on the opposite side. X 18 (about). „ 7 Vertical section showing two normal corallites with close hori- zontal tabulae, between them an interstitial tube with distant tabulae. The intertabular, or visceral cavities of the normal corallites are filled with crystalline calcite; the interstitial tube on the extreme right has been converted into a mass of chalcedony, the walls and tabulae of that in the centre are in the same condition, whilst scattered on the left hand are blebs of chalcedony. X 20 (about). ,, 8, Vertical section of a normal corallite, highly altered. The tabulae and portions of the walls remain as sclerenchyma, the other parts of the latter being converted into blebs of chalcedony. The intertabular, or visceral spaces, are filled with crystalline calcite. X 20 (about). \ r ' ‘ • r-;* V ■ r . , v - V ■•••' *■ ' -■ • ... «,. ■ ‘ 4 •' V /' EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXI. Testudo nigrita, Dum. & Bibr. (Gigantic Tortoise). Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female. rom Photographs taken by the Author]. EC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXI m f ' J -J >v--; ,• / •■ • I ■ -- * . * . M ■ * r .* , \ — 'O. ' - EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXII. Testudo nigrita, Dum. & Bibr. (Gigantic Tortoise). Skeleton of female in the Australian Museum. [From a Photograph by H. Barnes, Junr., Australian Museum]. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXII «• U ' *.i ! , \ V &*?• - '.•> / /" 1 EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXIII. Palceopede whiteleggei, Eth. fil. 1. Trichome (?) of moniliform cells, and heterocysts (?) 5 mm. long. 2. Four heterocysts (?) at the end of a non-segmented tube filled with similar black pulverulent matter to themselves. 1 mm. long, diameter '02. 3. Five moniliform cells and a heterocyst (?) terminating in a clear tube. - 07 mm. long. 4. Moniliform cells enclosed in a sheath or vagina. - 08 mm. long. Palceachlya torquis, Eth. fil. 5. Tubes filled with yellow granular matter. 01 mm. in diameter. [From drawings by Mr. Edgar R. Waite, Australian Museum]. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXTII. 5 . ‘7 v'f, ; .v- - EXPLANATION OF 'PLATE XXIV. Blechnoxylon talhragarense, Eth. fil. Fig. 1. A cluster of fronds radiating from the caudex, which is parti illy hollow through disintegration; seen from above ; x 2|. „ 2. A similar specimen, in which the caudex projects slightly above the level of the fronds; seen from above ; x 2. „ 3. The impressions of the upper surfaces of two more or less pyri- form fronds, and portion of a third ; the caudex is again partially hollowed by disintegration ; x 3. ,, 4. A series of frond impressions, radiating from a caudex at three successive levels, as displayed by the shading ; x 4. „ 7. Portion of an internode seen in profile, with portions of three fronds seen from above ; x 2. „ 9. The centre of Fig. 2, showing the crushed in zones comprising the stem ; a naturally weathered section ; x 9. REC. AUST. MUS. YOL. Ill Plate XXIV. E. E. WAITE, Del. Aust. Mus. NA'PGNAL M U $ E U M M fc LB C L & NE EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXV. Bleclmoxxjlon talbrcigarense, Eth. fil. Fig. 5. An internode, partly in the round and partly as an impression, and two nodes, the latter with fronds attached in a greater or less degree. In the centre of the internode is a small protuber- ance that may be the base of attachment of an adventitious root. The fronds on the right have been pressed back out of the normal position, and all have suffered from the disintegra- tion of their parts by weathering. One of those on the left has been so much decomposed that only the outline remains, with the revolute margin subdivided by the impressions of the veinules ,* * 3£. REC. AITST. MIIS. VOL. ITT. Plate XXV. E. K. WAITE, Del. Au«t. Mus, ^.T'CrjAl. MUSEUM ME BCUF EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXVI. Blechnoxylon talbragarense, Eth. fil. Fig. 6. The impression of part of an internode, with a node in the round, bearing a series of leaf-scars, spirally arranged, and each pierced by a single vascular opening ; to some of the scars are attached the frond petioles. Between the fronds above are two scales similar to that seen in Fig. 5 : * 4. „ 8. An internode and portions of two others, more or less decorticated ; two nodes are indicated by the remains of two fronds projecting from either side the stem ; * 2%. „ 10. Section of the stem prepared for the microscope. The black centre represents either the pith, or the pith and primary wood, whichever may have existed ; the second zone with radii is the secondary wood ; the third zone of varying thickness, caused probably by partial decomposition and extraneous pressure, occupies the position of the phloem in the stem of Botrychium ; whilst the fourth, or outer zone, represents the parenchyma of the latter. The endo- and exodermal layers are represented by the two outermost irregular rings; highly enlarged. ,, 11. A portion of the two innermost zones of Fig. 10, the dark centre being the pith, or pith and primary wood, as the case may be, and the outer radial cellular portion the secondary wood ; very highly enlarged. „ 17. The revolute end ot the right-hand side of Fig. 16 (PI. xxvii.) showing the supposed pedicels, one of them supporting a round body that may be a sporangium ; very highly enlarged. REC. AUST. MUS. YOL. III. Plate XXYI. ; '.A''' r :r,AL ivgsEUiv; Ml; LB pURHE EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXVII. Blechnoxylon talbragarense , Eth. fil. 12. Longitudinal section of portion of a caudex, prepared for the microscope. The centre lepresents either the pith, or the pith and primary wood, which ever may have existed ; the second zone with longitudinal lines is the secondary wood. At the sides are probably seen the bases of petioles; highly enlarged. 13. A root and rootlets, but whether or no of this organism it is impossible to say ; highly enlarged. 14. Horizontal section of a frond, prepared for the microscope, show- ing on the right-hand side epidermal tissue, and on the left dark brown patches between the veinules; highly enlarged. 15. Longitudinal section of a frond, prepared for the microscope, showing the upper and lower surfaces clothed with setiform hairs, internal “tissue pillars,” alternating with clear vacui- ties, etc. ; highly enlarged. 16. Cross section of a frond prepared for the microscope, showing the form of the frond, its revojute margins ; and on the right- hand side, filaments that may be pedicels for the support of sporangia ; highly enlarged. REC. AUST. MITS. VOL. III. Plate XXVII. r - ,?A :? * hi E. R. WAITE, Del, Aust. Mus, I - ■ s . " ■ - EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXVIII. Figs. 1, 2, 3. Various aspects of Endodonta aculcata, Hedley. ,, 4, 5, 6. Various aspects of Endodonta norfolkensis, Hedley. „ 7. Jaw of Papuina hindei , Cox. „ 8. Genitalia of the same. „ 9. Portion of radula of tlie same. ,, 10, 11. Two aspects of Papuina may ana, Hedley. „ 12, 13. Two aspects of Dendrotrochus mentum, Hedley. „ 14. Tornatellina Wakefields , Cox. Figs. 10 and 11, natural size ; the remainder enlarged to various scales. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXVIII O. MEDLEY, Del. Aust. Mus. MAI V L.i !»' . EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXIX. Scyllarus sculptus, Latr. Male, two-thirds the natural size, seen from the dorsal side. REC. AUST. MUS. YOL. ITT Plate XXIX H. BARNES, Junr., Photo. Aust. Mus, EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXX, Fig. 1. Misumena tristania , Rainbow. Fig. la. „ „ Epigyne. Fig. 2. Saccodomus formivorus, Rainbow. Fig. 2a. ,, Cephalothorax, profile. Fig. 26. „ „ Abdomen, profile, normal. Fig. 2c. „ „ Abdomen, profile, gravid. Fig. 2d. „ „ Epigyne. Fig. 2e. „ „ Eyes. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXX Aust. Mus EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXI. Stutchburia costata, Morris, sp. Fig. 1. Internal cast of a left valve. Stutchburia corner essa> Morris, sp. ,, 2. Internal cast of a left valve. A = crest representing the ligainental (?) pit in front of the umbo. Stutchburia obliqua , Eth. fil. ,, 3. Internal cast of a right valve. REC. ATJ ST. MTTS. VOL. III. Plate XXXI FBANK H. LEGGATT, Del. Aust. Mus. MATt-E-TlAL V. : J3.fc ii'* r ' EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXII. Limoptera ? permo-carbonifera , Eth. fil. Left valve with indistinct radii. Right valve with ligamental pit under the left umbo and nodes representing muscular pits in the umbonal cavity of the right valve. Stutchburia farleyensis, Eth. fil. Internal cast of a right valve. Hinge line of conjoined valves., internal cast. Internal cast of anterior end of conjoined valves. The same of another example. REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXXII FRANK R. LEGGATT, Del. Aust. Mus. ■ EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIII. Stutchburia compressa, Morris, sp. Fig. 1. Internal cast of conjoined valves showing the hinge line Pleurophorus gregarius , Eth. fil. ,, 2. Internal cast of a right valve. „ 3. Internal cast of the anterior end of the conjoined valves, showing the impressions of the cardinal teeth. „ 4. Internal cast of a left valve, with the impressions of the lateral teeth. „ 5. Similar to Fig. 3. Mytilops ? ravensfieldensis, Eth. fil. „ 6. Internal cast of a left valve. „ 7. Anterior end showing a cardinal fold, x 3. Plate XXXIII REC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. FBANK B. LEGGATT Dal. Aust. Mns. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIV. Amphiprion latezonatus, Waite. Natural size. [Reproduced from a drawing by the author.] AUST. MUS. VOL. Ill Plate XXXIV EDUAK K. WAITE, Del Aust. Mus. 4 /' ' ~ UAL M U 5 EUM M E LB C U R N E EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXV. Holacanthus conspicillatus, Waite. Three-fourths natural size. [Reproduced from a drawing by the author.] EEC. AUST. MUS. VOL. III. Plate XXXV EDGAR R. WAITE, Del. Aust. Mus. f I % •r ;,v vjse ; : ? • EXPLANATION OP PLATE XXXVI, Holacanthus semicinctus, Waite. Four-fifths natural size. [Reproduced from a drawing by the author.] Plate XXXVI EDGAR R. WAITE, Del. Aust. Mus, EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXVII. Uoplegnathus woodwardi, Waite. One-half natural size [Reproduced from a drawing by the author.] REC. AUST. MUS. Ill Plate XXXVII EDGAE E. WAITE, Del Aust. Mus. ■ 3 V V-j rp r- , ; i INDEX A. PAGE abdita , Flammulina ... 47 acanthinula , Endodonta... 47 Acanthocaulus ... 194, 206 Acanthoderus spinosus ... 38 Achatinella walcefieldce... 153 acheron, Acrophylla ... 41 acheron, Diura ... ... 41 Achlya penetrans ... 122, 126 Actinoceras 7 bigsbayi 8 hardmani ... ... 9 Acrophylla 34, 40 acheron ... ... 41 briar eus ... ... 40 chronus ... ... 40 enceladus ... ... 40 japetus .. ... ... 41 macleaii ... ... 41 osiris ... ... ... 41 salmacis ... ... 41 tessalata ... ... 41 ... ... 40 violescens ... ... 41 virginea ... ... 42 aculeata, Endodonta ... 151 acutus, Typhlops ... ... 70 cegyptium, Hyalomma ... 132 cericeps, Bavia ... ... 117 astherea , Argiopk ... ... 112 agglomerata, Halysites ... 80 alata, Lima... ... ... 84 albicoma, Lima ... ... 85 Albite 63, 64 albocarinata, Omphalotropis 152 albo-cincta, M^evia ... 117 albo-vittatus , Icius ... 117 Alutera monoceros 194, 207 a£ueoZa£a,CoLiTMNARjA 30,31,32, 33 Amblyrhynchotus oblongus 207 Amphiprion ... ... 202 latezonatus ... 194, 201 Amphoroidea australiensis 156 ancestheta. Sterna... ... 87 analis , Heterapoda ... 116 aneitense, Thalassoma 194, 202 aneitensis , Julis ... ... 202 angulata , Stkphanopsis ... 115 Ankerite ... ... ... 63 annulatus caudatus, Rhipi- cephalus ... ... 132 annulatus, Ixodes ... ... 131 annulatus, Rhipicephalus 131, 132 page annulipes, Necroscia ... 42 annulipes , Phasma... ... 42 annulipes , Platycrania ... 42 Anomia ... ... ... 125 epiphippium ... ... 125 ANorHELEPis perephanes ... 39 rhipheus ... ... 39 telesphorus ... ... 39 Anoteropsis papuana ... 116 Anous stolidus ... ... 87 Anthus australis 15 Ants 170 aquila, Freoata 87 aquilina, Pecopteris ... 141 Araclmida 108 Aranese theraphosse 109 verse 109 verse cribellatse ... 109 verse ecribellatee .. Ill Araneidse 108 Arankus trigonus 112 arboricola, Mus ... ... 192 Arca 125 argeniatus , Psechrus ... Ill Argiope aether ea ... ... 112 aether ea, var. annulipes 112 cetherea , var. deusta ... 112 picta ... ... ... 112 Argiopidse 82, 1 1 1 Argiopinse 112 Argyroepeira celebesiana 108, 111 grata . ... 108, 111 aspera, Rachiopteris 144, 145 Aspidium 141 assimilis, Megaloprepia ... 16 Atopichthys ... 194, 197 Atopos prismatica ... ... 48 Attidse 117 Aulostomus chinensis 194, 198 cinertus 198 maculatus ... ... 198 aurantiacus , Oristiceps ... 209 auralus, Carassius ... 210 auvatus, Sparosomus ... 210 australe, Karabideon ... 38 australiensis, Amphoroidea 156 Australian Pipit ... ... 15 australis, Anthus ... ... 15 australis, Bacillus ... 37 australis, Cimoliosaurus 29 australis, Cristicbps ... 209 australis, Eurycantha ... 38 222 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. australis, Halysites PAGE 80 australis, Ichthyosaurus 66 australis, Pepiopthalmus 212 australis, Pseudoliva 119 australis , Zemira ... 118 Aviculariidae ... 109 Aviciilariinse 109 Ayicula veneris ... 181 B. Bacillus australis 37 brunneus 37 dolomedes 37 peridromes 37 peristhenes 37 squalidus 37 Bacteria coenosa ... 38 eutraclielia 38 frenchi ... 38 frugalis 38 spinosa... 38 tenuis ... 38 Bactridium couloniamum 38 Balea perversa 44 Ballinoo Meteorite 55, 130 banksi, Regalecus 163 Baratta Meteorite 55, 62 Bathippus macrognathus 117 macroprotopus ... 117 Batocera wallacei .. 150 Bavia cericeps 117 Beaconsfield Meteorite ... 130 Belone gavialoides 211 bidwilli, Papuina . 151 bigsbayi, Actinoceras 8 Bingara Meteorite 50, 62, 90 biplex, Pleurophus 178 bivariocosus, Placostylus 46 Black Snake 190 Blechnoxylon 146 talbraqarense ... 135, 147 Blind Snake 69 Boanniinse 81 Bones, Fossil 9 Bones, Sauropterygian ... 19 Boophilus bovis ... 131 Bora ground 5 Botrychium ... 142, 143, 146 boulengeri , var. Denisonia 104 bovinus, Placostylus 46 bovis, Boophilus ... 131 bovis, Ixodes 131 Brachyphyllum 147 Brachyurophis 105 Brama 194 raii 200 brasiliensis, Isistius PAGE 195 breve, Buccinum ... 76 brevis, Oxyopes 117 briareus, Acrophylla 40 briareus, Diura 40 broadbenti, Thersites 12 broumiana, Glossopteris 140 Brown spar... 65 brunneus. Bacillus 37 Buccinum breve 76 bufonium, Extatosoma ... 43 bulbifera, Cystopteris 140 Bull-roarers ... 1, 2, 3, 4,5 Bursaria spinosa 170 Butastur indicus ... 87 liventer... 87 teesa 87 C. Cascum vertebrate .. 219 ccerulea , Procetsterna . . . 87 Calamanthus fuliginosus 14 calcaratus, Rhjpicephalus 131 calcar, Struthiolari a ... 120 Calceola sandalina 121 caledonicus, Placostylus 46 calicina. Columnar! a 30,31 ,32,33 Calibndrum 72 Callonema 77 Calobates thoracites 134 calonota, Ftjrina ... 105 calanotos, Furina ... 105 campbellii, Helix ... 152 campylodon , Ichthyosaurus 66, 68 Cancellaria spirata 118 Cancellus typus 156 Candida, Gyois 87 candidus, Phacton... 89 cariiabruZ^i^asis.CiMOLiosAU RUS caprella, Phibalosoma ... 25, 26 39 CarabidzE 147 Caranx muroadsi .. 200 Carassius auratus .. 210 carassius 210 Card-Catalogue System .. 217 Cardinia ... ... 178, 179 costata ... 180 cuneata 183 recta 183 carenoides, Percosoma 147 Cariacus virginianus 132 carneum, Nostoc ... 127 Carocalla stoddartii ‘ 152 Carpopii aga pistrinaria . . . 87 magnifica 16 INDEX. 223 PAGE carterus, Necrosoia ... 42 Catalogue -Card System ... 217 catenulaius , TIalysites 78, 79, 80 Cattle Tick 131 caudalis, Cimoliosaurus... 29 caudavittatus, Thera pon .. 210 caudicula, Hormukos ... 118 celebesiana, A rgyroepeira 108, 1 1 ) cerea, Omphalotropis ... 152 cerea, Papuina * 151 Cerithioides 72 cerviniventris, Collyriocincla 49 C e r v us virginianus ... 132 Chactodontidjc 215 Charadrius fulvus ... 87 Charopa textrix ... ... 46 Chelmo truncatus... ... 203 Chelonians ... ... 95 childrenii , Trigonous rus 43 childrenii, Tropidoderus 43 Chilomycterus ... 208 tigrinus ... ... 208 cliinensis, Aulostomus 194. 198 Chironemtjs marmoratus 194, 201 Chloritis rehsei ... ... 12 chronus, Acrophylla .. 40 chronus , Cypitocrania .. 40 chronus , Diura ... ... 40 Chrysophrys dotnia ... 211 chrysopterygius, Psephotus 87 Churina ... ... ... 3 Cimoliosaurus ... 19, 24, 28 australis ... ... 29 cantabridgiensis ... 25, 26 caudalis ... ... 29 constrictus ... ... 25 eurymerus ... ... 25, 26 hoodi ... ... ... 29 leucoscopelus ... ... 24, 28 limnophilus ... 25, 26 valdensis ... 25, 26 cinereus , Aulostomus ... 198 cinercus, Leptockphalus 194, 197 ClNGULARIA ... 219 Circular Ornament ... 1 circumlitum , Fupisoma ... 44 cistii, PeCOPTERXB ... 141 Cladoxerus insignis ... 43 clarionis , Xesurus ... 206 Clemacantha regale ...34,42 Clinopistha ... ... 179 Clubionidse 116 Cobra .. ... ... 134 Cochlostyla hindei ... 154 Ccelocaulus ... ... 72 ccenosa , Bacteria .. 38 colletti , var. Pseudochirus 92, 94 PAGE Collyriocincla cerviniventris 49 parvissima ... ... 50 rufigaster ... ... 49 Colpognathus dentex ... 211 richardsonii ... ... 211 coluber , Gempylus ... 199 Columba magnifica ... 16 Columnaria alveolata ... 30 calicina ... ... 30 franklini ... ... 33 gotlandica ... ... 33 halli ... ... ... 32 pauciseptata ... ... 31 reticulota ... ... 33 rigida ... ... ... 31 columnaris, Genitziella... 123 coma, Endodonta .. ... 46 commune, Nohtoc ... 127 corner ess a, Orth on Ota 178,179, 181 compressa, Stutchburia ... 181 concenirica, Lima ... ... 85 concolor , Percosoma ... 147 conformis, Helicostyla ... 154 Conger marginatus ... 197 Congerm TIRANA habenata 196 longicaudata ... ... 196 conscendens, Papuina 151 conspicilla t us, II o l AC A n t hus 194, 203 Con u lus paramaliensis ... 48 slarkei ... ... ... 48 conwaii, Oplegnathus ... 214 conway i, Hoplegnathus... 214 corona la, Tx lospira ... 120 costala, Cardinia ... ... 180 coslala, Orthonota 178, 1 79, 180, 181 costata, Stutchburia 180, 181, 182, 184 costulifera, Endodonta 46 couloniamum, Bactridium 38 Cowra Meteorite ... 54, 56, 62 coxi, Palaina 152 Crab Spiders 169 Cran bourne Meteorite 54, 56, 130 crassicostatus, Plesiosaurus 29 crassipes , Phlogius ... 109 Creole Tick 132 crepitans, Psophodes ... 13 crinita, Stenopora ... 12 L Cristiceps aurantiacus ... 209 amstralis ... ... 209 macleayi ... ... 209 roseus ... ... ... 209 crucigera, Gasteracantha 112 Cryptograms, Thallophytic 121 Crystallopsis 154 224 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. PAGE PAGE Ctenomorpha macleaii ... 41 Diura roseipennis ... 41 marginipennis ... 40 titan **, 40 nigro-varia 44 typhceus 43 spinicollis 41 dolomedes , Bacillus 37 tessalo.ta 41 dorey ana, Mjevt a ... 117 cubicus, Ostracion 195, 207 Dorosoma ercbi 210 Cup-sculptures 6 Dthluby 170 Cyclichthys 208 dugcsii, Ixodes • • • 131 Cyclopity s nordenskibldi . . 141 duni, Mourlonia ... 73 cylindrica, Parapercis 194, 209 durveilli, Ephippus 117 cylindrica , Sciacna 209 Cyphocrania chronus 40 enceladus 40 E. goliath... 39 Eburna australis ... 118 herculanea 39 Ectatosoma hopei... • • • 43 japetus 41 Uaratum 43 pasimaclius 40 Eduioaster 128 titan 40 elapoides , Hoplockphalus 105 versifasciata ... 39 elapoides, Micropechis 105 versiruba 39 elegans , Sphenopteris 142, 145 Cyfricardia simplex 182 Eli El wall Meteorite 57, 62, 130 veneris ... 181 ellipticus, Thera pon 210 Cyrotophora moluccensis 112 EMBLEMApida 14 simoni ... 112 enceladus, Acrophylla ... 40 viridipes 112 enceladus , Cyphocrania 40 Cystopteris bulbifera 140 Endodonta aculeata . . . 151 acanthinula ... 47 D. coma ... 46 D airus japetus 41 costulifera 46 datnia, Chrysophrys 21 L dispar ... 152 Davidsonia pruriens 91 norfolkensis 152 Decapterus sanctce-helence 194,200 paradoxa 152 decipiens, Tropidodkrus 36, 43 pinicola , . . ... 46 declivis, Trachurus 211 water housim ... 45 decumanus , Mus ... 191 endophytica, Palajoperone 121 Deer, Sambar 132 Enetia 34 Demiegretta sacra 87 Epeira . . • 212 Dendrotrochus helicinoides 153 ephippium , Anomia 125 mentum 153 Ephippus durveilli • • • 117 pyxis 153 Epinephelus fasciatus 194, 200 Denisonia melanura 104 eguinuSf Bus a 132 var. boidengeri 104 erebi, Dorosoma ... 210 dentex , Colpognathus ... 211 erythrocephalus, Leptomyrmex 170 depresses , T yph lops 70 escharoides, Halysites ... 78 79 Diaia 172 esculenta , Pteris ... 94 Diaseae 172 etheridgei , Eunkma ... 72 Dichotiirix 127 etlieridgei , Gyrodoma • •• 72 dilanians, Plexippus 117 etheridgei, Thersitrs ... 12 Dinopinae 109 etheridgei, Trochon ema 75 D i proto don 10 Eucalyptus piperita ... 82 Disopeta ... 72 Euchilomyctkrus 208 dispar, Endodonta 152 quadradicatus . . . 194, 208 Diura acheron 41 Eunkma etheridgei ... ... 72 briareus 40 montgomerii ... . .. 75 chronus... 40 Eurycantha australis • • . 38 goliath... 39 eurymedon , Vetilia ... 44 osiris ... 41 eurymerus, Cimoliosaurus 25 ,26 INDEX. 225 PAGE PAGE eutrachelia , Bacteria 38 gavialoides, Belone 211 exagitans, Helix ... 152 Geinitziella columnaris 123 Extatosoma bufonium 43 Gempylus ... ... 194, 199 hopei ... 43 coluber... 199 tiaratum 43 serpens... ... 194, 199 Geonietridse 81 Geotrochus 154 F. Gigantic Land Tortoise ... 95 Falco hypoleucos ... 15 gigas, Megaderma 188 farleyensis, Stutchburia 182, 184 Gilgoin Meteorite... 57 fasciatus, Epinephelus 194, 200 gladius, Begalecus 163 fasciatus, Hoplegnathus 214, 216 glesne, Begalecus .. 163 fasciatus, Hoplognathus 215, 216 Globicera microcera 86 fasciatus , Opleg natu u s . 216 pacifica ... 85 fasciatus, Scarodon 214 globosa, Bhytida 48 fascinans , MiCR^ECA 107 Glossopteris ... 147, 220 Favistella 32 broivniana 140 Favosite 32, 121, 122,123, 125, 166 Gl YPHODETA 72 Favositidae .. 30, 31 Glyptodesma 186 ferax , Saprolegnia 125 goliath , Cyphocramia 39 Fern .. 135 goliath , Diura 39 ferox, Lexus 195 goliath , Phasma ... 39 ferox, Tylosurus ... 211 Goniophyllum pyramidale 121 Ferrocalcite 65 GoNiosTROPHApri^c/iardi . 71 Filices , 145 Gonorhynchus greyi 211 Flammulina abdita 47 gorgus, Lopaphus 39 flavescens , Ptilotis 106 gotlandica , Columnaria ... 33 flosculus , Helix 152 gracilis , Macrorhamphosus 199 Flower Spiders 169 grata , Argyroepeira 108, 111 folicolu , Papuina ... 151 Great Oar-fish 163 formivorus, Saccodomus 169, 174 gregarius , Ple urq pitus 185 Fossil Bones 9 greyi , Gonob.hynchus 211 fragile , Lygosoma ... 220 grillii, Begalecus... 165 fragile , Bhodona ... 220 Ground Lark 15 franklini, Column aria . 33 Gygis Candida 87 Fregata aquila ... 87 Gyrodoma etheridgei 72 frenchi , Bacteria ... 38 frons, Megaderma 188 frugalis, Bacteria. . . 38 H. fucata , Papuina ... 151 haastii, Mauisaurus 26, 27 fulgens , Squalus ... 195 habenata, Oongermur^ena 196 fuliginosus, Calamanthus 14 Haddon Meteorite 57 , 60 fulvus , Charadrius 87 HiEMAPHYSALis micropla... 131 Furina calonota ... 105 rosea 131 calonotos 105 halli, Columnaria 32 , 33 fuscipes, Mus 190 Halysites 78 a gglomerata ... 80 australis 80 G. catenulatus ... 78, 79, 80 Gagrella hasselti... 118 var. harti .. 80 Gasteracantha crucigera 112 escharoides 78 , 79 hepatica 112 labyrinthica ... 80 mollusca 112 liardmani, Actinoceras ... 9 pentagona 112 harti , Halysites 80 tainiata... 112 hasselti , Gagrella 118 Gasteropoda, Lower haumuriensis , Li codon 27 Palaeozoic ... • • 71 Hay Meteorite 130 226 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. PAGE hectori, Ichthyosaurus ... 68 heimburgi, Helix ... ... 154 Helicina norfolkensis ... 152 pictella . ... 152 helicinoides, Dendrotrochus 153 Helicostyla conforms ... 154 hindei +** ... 154 IIelicotoma johnstoni ... 74 Helix campbellii ... 152 exagitans 152 flosculus ... ... 152 heimburgi ... ... 154 insculpta ... ... 152 paradoxa ... ... 47 phillipii ... ... 152 quintals ... ... 152 Helminthostachys ... 146 Hemirhamphus intermedins 210 melanochir ... ... 210 Hemiscyllium modestum 156 hepaiica, Gasteracantha 112 lierbertensis , Pseudochirus 91 herculanea, Cyphoocrania 39 herculea, Isopoda ... ... 116 HERliEUS ... ... ... 172 Heterangium 142, 144, 145, 146 IIeterapoda analis ... 116 salacia... ... ... 116 venatoria ... ... 116 venatoria, var. foveolata 116 hindei , Cochlostyla ... 154 hindei, Helicostyla ... 154 hindei, Papuina .. 154 Hippocampus hippocampus 1 95 . 199 hippolytus, Lysicles ... 43 Holacanthus conspicillatus 1 94, 203 melanospilus ... 206 semicintus ... 194, 204 tibicen ... 194, 203 holmesi, Plesiosaurus ... 29 Holopea 77 obesa ... ... 77 welling tonensis ... 77 Holothuria mollis ... 50 Honey Eater ... 106 hoodii, Cimoliosaurus ... 29 hoolceri, Phyllotheca ... 220 hopei, Ectatosoma ... 43 hopei, Extatosoma ... 43 Hoplegnathoidei ... 215 Hoplegnathus ... 214, 216 conway i ... ... 214 fasciatus ... 214, 216 maculosus ... ... 215 punctatus ... 214, 215 woodwardi ... 212,216 PAGE Hoplocephalus elapoides 105 melanurus 104 Hoplognathus 215, 216 fasciatus 215, 216 h'usenstemii ... ... 216 Hormoioma 72 Hormurus caudicula ... 118 karschii 118 Houtman’s Abrolhos 212 hyalinum , Nostoc ... 127 Hyalomma cegyptium 132 Hypergonia ... 71, 72 hypoleucos, Falco .. 15 Hyrtacus tuberculatus 38 I. Ianthina ... 195 Ichthyorhamfhus 215, 216 Ichthyosau rus 67 australis 66, 68 campylodon 66, 68 hectori 68 indicus... 68 marathonensis 68 trigonus 67 Icius albo-vittatus ... 117 Implement, Incited Stone incanus , Totanus ... 1 87 Incised Ornament 6, 176 Incised Stone Implement 1 indicus, Butastur .. 87 indicus t Ichthyosaurus ... 68 innonata, Misumena 113 insculpta. Helix ... 152 insigne , Scarostoma 215 insignis, Cladoxerus 43 insultans. Madvia ... 117 intermedins, Hemirhamphus 210 interpres, Strepsilas 87 iodomus, Tropidoderus ... 43 Irula 3 Isistius 194 brasiliensis 195 Isopoda herculea ... 116 Ixodes annulatus ... 131 bovis 131 dugesii ... 131 J. jacksoniensis,N ovaculichthys 202 jacksoniensis, Regalecus ... 163 Janeia ... 179 japetus, Acrophylla 41 japetus , Cyphocrania 41 INDEX. 227 PAGE PAGE japetus, Dairus 41 Lonchodes nigropunctatus 38 jarbua, Therapon ... 195, 200 longicaudata, Congermurjena 196 johnstoni, Helicotoma 73 Lopaphus gorgus ... 39 Julis aneitensis ... 202 macrotegmus 40 Lord Howe Island... 193 Lycosid.se 116 K. Lyginodendron 142, 144, 145, 146 Kamacite ... 52 oldhamium 144 Karabidion australe ... 38 Lygosoma fragile .. 220 karschii, Hormurus 118 Lysicles hip>polylus 43 Kelp-fish ... ... ... 201 kirbii, Xeroderus... ... 39 koelreuteri , Periopthalmus 212 Koy-yun ... ... ... 7 krusenstemii , Hoplognathus 216 Kuphus manii ... ... 134 L. Labroids ... ... ... 212 labyrintMca , Halysites ... 80 Icevigatus , Platycephalus 210 Lampris luna ... 166, 200 Langwarrin Meteorite ... 130 lateralis , Psophodes ... 13 latea matus , Amphiprion 194, 201 Latrodectus scel ' io t v ar. indica 111 laurina , Tristan i A ... 169 Le Gould Meteorite ... 57 legrandi , Mitra ... ... 219 leilavalensis , Ptitotis ... 106 Leiopteria ... ... 186 Leius ferox ... ... ... 195 lemur oides , Pseudochirus 91 Leptocephalus ... ... 197 cinereus ... 194, 197 Leptodesma ... ... 186 Lkptomyrmex erythrocephalus 170 Leptospermum sp... ... 170 Lesser White-plumed Honey- eater 106 leuchartii , Peripatus . 10, 11 leucocapillus, Micranous.. 87 leucoscopelus, Cimoliosaurus 24,28 Lieodon haumuriensis 27 Lima alata ... 84 albicoma 85 concentrica 85 murrayi 85 scabra ... 85 scabrosa . + , . 125 tenera ... 85 limnophilus , Cimoliosaurus 25, 26 Limoptera permocarbonifera 186 Limosa novce-zealandce Lituites liventer, Butastur 87 74 87 luna, Lampris lutreola, Mus 166, 200 192 M. macgillivrayi , Papuina ... 151 macilentus , Oxyopes ... 117 mackayi , Plesiosaurus ... 29 macleaii , Acrophylla ... 41 macleaii , Ctenomorpha ... 41 macleayi , Cristiceps ... 209 Maclurea tasmanicus ... 73 macrognathus , Bathippus 117 Macron ... 119 macroprotopus , Bathippus 117 Macrorhamprosus gracilis 199 scolopax ... ... 199 macrospiondylus , Plesiosaurus 28, 29 macrotegmus , Lopaphus ... 40 maculata , Nephila 108, 111 maculatus , Aulostomus ... 198 maculatus , Prionurus 206, 207 maculatus , Xesurus ... 207 maculosus , Hoplegnathus 215 Mjevia albo-cincta ... 117 dor ey ana ... ... 117 insultans ... ... 117 magnijica , Carpophaga ... 16 magnifica , Columba ... 16 magnijica , Megaloprepia 16 mandibulata , Tetragnatha 111 manii , Kuphus + .. 134 marathonensis , Ichthyosaurus 68 marginatus . Conger ... 197 marginipennis , Ctenomorpha 40 marina , Pelagodroma ... 90 marmoratus , Chironemus 194, 201 maslersi , Percosoma ... 148 mastersii , Regalecus ... 163 Mauisaurus 27, 28 haastii ... 26, 27 mayana , Papuina ... 151 me* ldanum , Trochonema ... 75 Megaderma/tors ... ... 188 gigas ... ... ... 188 spasma ,,. .,. 188 228 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. PAGE PAGE Megaloprepia assimilis ... 16 magnified ... ... 16 melananchen, Sterna ... 87 melanochir, Hemirhamphus 210 melanospilus , Ho l acanthus 206 melanura, Denisonia ... 104 melanurus, Hoplocephalus 104 meleagris, Ovoides 194, 207 meleagris, Tetrodon ... 207 Melopsittacus undulatus 88 Menembrus paykulli ... 117 Menneus reticulatus ... 109 mentum, Dendrotrochus 153 Meteorites... 51,55,90,130 MiCR^CA/ascmans ... 107 pallida... ... ... 107 Micranous leucocapillus ... 87 microcera , Globicera ... 86 Microcystis . . ... 48 microlepidotus , Prionurus 206 Micropechis elapoide s ... 105 micropla, H^maphysalts 131 Misumena innonata ... 113 pustulosa ... ... 113 tristania ... 169, 171 Misumenese 172 Misumeninse 113, 171, 172, 173 mitchelli , Sturtzaster ... 129 Mitra legrandi ... ... 219 modestum. Hemiscyllium 156 Modiolopsis simplex ... 182 Moki-poki ... .. ... 91 mollis, Stichopus ... ... 50 mollusca, Gasteracantha 112 moluccensis, Cyrtophora... 112 mongon , Pseudochirus ... 93 monoceros , Alutera 194, 207 montanum, Percosoma 147, 148 montanus, Notonomus ... 149 montgomerii, Eunema ... 75 montgomerii, Trochonema 75 Moonbi Meteorite ... 54, 58 Mooronoppin Meteorite ... 58 morrisii, Plettrophorus 178, 180 Mount Sterling Meteorite 58, 131 Mourlonia duni mtdleri, Ophiura ... multituberculatus, Poltys Mungindi Meteorite Murchisonia Muridse . . . muroadsi, Caranx murrayi, Lima Mus arboricola decumanus 73 73 129 82 58 72 190 200 85 192 191, 192 Mus fuscipes 190 lutreola 192 rattus ... 192 Myriothela phrygia 156 Mytilarca 187 Mytilops ... 187 ravensfieldensis 187 N. Narraburra Meteorite • • • 62 Naseus unicornis ... 194, 207 Natica 134 Native Ladies 35 Nautilograpsus ... 195 Necroscia annulipes 42 carterus 42 sarpedon 42 Neodax 211 Nephila maculata ... 108, 111 maculata, var. pencillum 111 NephiliiiEe ... 111 neruformis , Oleandra ... 141 nervosa , Percopteris ... 141 nigrita, Tebtudo ... ... 95 nigropunctatus, Lonchodes 38 niqro-varia , Ctenomorpha 44 Noeoleche Meteorite .. 51 , 59 nodosa, Trochonema 76 nordenskibldi , Cyclopitys 141 norfolkensis , Endodonta . . . 152 norfolkensis, Helicina 152 Nostoc 126, 127 carneum 127 commune 127 hyalinum • • . ]27 Notonomus t . • 147 montanus ,,, 149 novce-liollandice, Sphyr^na 210 Novaculichthys jacksowiensis 202 novce-zealandice, Limosa . • « 87 Numenius tahitensis ... 86, 87 O. obesa , Holopea 77 obliqua, Stutchburia 184 oblongus, Amblyrhynchotus 207 obtusata, Sphyr^ena 210 Odax richardsonii ... 211 semifasciatus ... 211 oldhamium , Lyginodendron 144 Oleandra neriiformis 141 Omphalotropis albocarinata 152 cerea 152 Opah .,. ... t .. 166 INDEX. 229 PAGE PAGE Opal... 19 Papuina may ana ... • • • 151 opercularis, Plat yglossus 194 ,202 poiretiana Ml 151 Ophicrania striaticollis ... 40 xanthoclieila ... • • • 154 Ophioderma 129 paradoxa , Endodonta 152 Ophioglossum 142 paradoxa , Helix ... • • • 47 Ophiura mulleri ... 129 paramattensis, Conulus . » 48 Opiliones plagiostethi 118 Parapercis cylindrical 194, 209 OpilionidsB 118 paroliniana, Marzaria ... 141 Opossum, King-tailed . 91 , 93 parvissima , Collvriocincla 50 Oplegnathtjs 214 pasimachus, Cyprocraznia 40 conwaii .. 214 pawasep£tt£a,CoLUMNARiA 31,32, 33 fasciatus 216 paykidli, Menemerus 117 Ornament, Circular 1 Peoopteris aquilina t • 141 Ornament, Incised ... 6, 176 cistvi ... .. 141 Ornament, Spiral Incised 1 nervosa ... # # 141 Orthodesma 179 Pelagodroma marina 90 Orthonota,.. ... 178, 179 penetrans , Achlya... 122 126 compressa ... 178, 179, 181 penicillata , Ptilotis . , 106 costata... 178, 179, 180, 181 pentagona , Gasteracantha 112 Ortlioptera 34 Percosoma carenoides 147 osirus, Acrophylla 41 concolor # , 147 osiris , Diura 41 mastersi , , 148 Ostracion cubicus... 195, 207 montanum 147 148 OSTREA 124 sulcipenne 147 Outa 91 pcrcomptaria , Pse cjdoterpna 81 Ovoides meleagris ... 194, 207 peregrinus , Pseudochirus 91, 93 Oxyopes brevis 117 perephanes, Anophele pis 39 macilentus 117 perforans , Palasac a lya 123, 126 Oxyopidse 117 peridromes , Bacillus , , 37 Periopthalmus australis 212 koelreuteri m , 212 P. permocarbonifera , Limopte ra 186 Pachymorpha simplicipes 38 Peripatus leuchartii .. 10, 11 squalida 37 peristhenes , Bacillus . . 37 pacifica, Globicera 85 perversa, Balea , . 44 Pag rub unicolor ... 210 Petraites . , 209 PALiE ACH Y LA 121 Phjeton candulus ... 89 perforans ... 123, 126 rubricauda 90 torquis ... ... 123, 12(5, 139 Phasma annulipes ... 42 tortuosa 121, 122,123, 126, 139 goliath... 39 Pal^ocoma 128, 129 roseipennis 41 Pal^eopede whiteleggei 127, 166 spinicollis . . 41 P A L iE OP E R ON E CH d Ophyticd 121 spinosum . . 38 Palaina coxi 152 tiaratum 43 Palasterina 128, 129 titan 40 Palystes pirmotherns 116 violescens 41 Pandinidse 118 Pliasmidse ... 34, 36, 37 Pandinini 118 Pribalosoma caprella 39 papuana, Anoteropsis 116 phillipii , Helix . 152 papuana , Succinea 48 Prlogius crassipes . 109 Papttina bidwilli ... 151 st renuns ... 109 cerea ... 151 phrygia, Myriothela # 156 conscendens 151 Phryna rack ne tuberculata 113 folicola ... 151 Phyllotheca , 219 fucata ... 151 hookeri... , 220 hindei ... 154 picta , Argiope . 112 macgillivrayi ... 151 picta , Emblem a ♦ 14 Index B 230 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. PAGE PAGE pictella , Helicina ... 152 Pseudoliva zebrina 120 Pinarolistes rufigaster . . . 50 Psilotites unilateralis ... 137 pinicola. Endodonta 46 Pseudoterpna percomptaria 81 2 rinnotherus, Palystes 116 Psophodes crepitans 13 piperita , Eucalyptus 82 lateralis ... 13 pistrinaria , Carpophaga .. 87 Pterinea .. 186 Fittosporee 170 Pteris esculenta ... 94 Placostylus bivaricosus ... 46 Pterois volitans ... 209 bovinus .. 46 zebra ; ... 209 caledonicus 46 Pterophasmina 34 Platycephalus Icevigatus 210 Ptitotis flavescens 106 Platycrania annulipes ... 42 leilavalensis 106 Platyglossus opercularis 194, 202 pencillata 106 poscilus.. 202 pulchellay Vallonia 152 Plesiosaurus crassicostatus 29 punctatus, Hoplegnathus 214 215 holmesi ... 29 punclalusy Scarodon 214 mackayi 29 Pupisoma circumlitum 44 macrospondylus 28, 29 pustulosa, Misumena 113 rugosus... 25 pyramidale , Goniophyllum 121 sutherlandi 28, 29 pyxis t Dendrotrochus ... 153 traversi... 29 Pleurophorus ... 178, 179, 184 Q quadradicatus, Euchilomy- cterus ] 94, biplex ... gregarius 178 185 208 morris n ... 17o, randsi ... ... ... 180 178 quintalce, Helix 152 Plexippus dilanians 117 PoDACANTBUS typllOU 42 R. typhon,v&r. maris 42 Rachiopteris aspersa 144, 145 unicolor ,,, 42 rail, Brama 200 viridi-roseus ... 42 randsi , Pleurophus .178 wilkinsoni ... 42 Raphistoma tasmanicum... 74 poidluSy Platyglossus ... 202 rattus, Mus... 192 poiretianay Papuina 151 ravensfieldensis, Mytilops 187 Poltys multituberculatus ... 82 Reclusia 195 Polyptychodon ... 25 recta, Cardinia 183 POLYTROPIS 74 regale, Clemacantha ... 34, 42 POROXYLON 142 Regalecus banlcsi 163 porphyriacus , Pseudechis 190 gladius... 163 pritchardi, Goniostropha 71 glesne ... ... 163 Prionurus ... ... 194, 206 grillii ... 165 maculatus ... 206, 207 jacksoniensis ... 163 microlepidotus ... 206 mastersii 163 scalprum 206 rehsei, Chloritis 12 prismatica , Atopos 48 reticulata , Columnaria ... 33 Procelsterna ccerulea ... 87 reticulatus, Menneus 109 pruriens, Davidsonia 91 revoluta , Scala 219 Fsecliridse 111 rhipheus, Anophelepis ... 39 Psecbrus argentatus 111 Rhipicephalus annulatus 131, 132 Psephotus chrysopterygius 87 annulatus caudatus ... 132 Pseudechis porphyriacus 190 calcaratus 131 Pseudochirus, var. colletti 92 , 94 rhodomus, Tropidoderus . . . 43 herbertensis 91 ,92 Rhodona fragile ... 220 lemur oides ... 91 rhothophilus, Tropidostethus 156 mongon 93 Rhynohelaps 105 peregrinus 91, 93 semifasciatus ... 105 Pseudoliva australis 119 Rhytida globosa 48 INDEX. 231 PAGE richardsonii , Colpognathus 211 richardsonii, Odax ... 211 rigida, Columnaria ... 31 Ring-tailed Opossum ... 91, 93 Roebourne Meteorite ... 59 rosea , Hasmaphysalis ... 131 roseipennis , Diitra... ... 41 roseipennis , Pfasma ... 41 roseus, Cristiceps ... 209 rubricanda , Phacton ... 90 rubriventrtSf Tetragnatha 111 rufigaster , Collyriooincla 49 rufig aster, Pinarolestes ... 50 rugosus , Plesiosaurus ... 25 Rusa equinus ... ... 132- russelli , Trachinqtus 194, 200 S. Saccodomus ... 169, 172, 173 formivorus >♦, 169, 174 sacra, D EMlEGRETnA ... 87 salacia, Heterapoda ... 116 salmacis, Acrophylla ... 41 Salteraster 129 Sanibar Doer ... ... 132 sanctie-helcnw, DecapterusI 94,200 sandalina, Calceola 121, 122 Saprolegnta ferax ... 125 sarpedon, Necroscia ... 42 scabra , Lima .. 85 scabrosa , Lima ... ... 125 Scala revoluta ... ... 219 scalarifnrmis, Turricula... 219 scalprum , Prionurus ... 206 Scarodon ... ... 214, 215 fasdatus ... ... 214 punctatus ... ... 214 ScAROSTOMA ... ... 215 insigne ... ... ... 215 scelio, Latrodectus ... Ill SCHEN ASTER .... ... 128 Schizopliycese 126 SCHIZOTHRTX ... ... 127 SCIADOPITYS 142 Scijena cylindrica ... ... 209 scolopax, Macro uhamphosus 199 Scorpionid.ee 118 sculptus , Scyllarus 155, 157 ScYLLAKUS $CUlptU8 155, 157 Scymnti 9 torquatus ... 195 Scytonemeas 127 semicincfa*s,HoLACANTHUsl94,201 semifasciatus, Odax ... 211 semifasciatus , Rhynchelaps 105 Senegalese Tick ... ... 132 PAGE septentrionalis , Thersites 11 serpens, Gempylus .. 194, 199 Shipworm ... ... ... 134 simoni, Cyrtophora ... 112 simplex, Oypricardia ... 182 simplex, Modiolopsis ... 182 simplex, Stutchburta 182, 184 simplex , Succinea ... ... 48 simplicipes , Pachymorpha 38 SlPHON CECETES ... ... 156 Sit ala sublimis M « 47 Snake, Black ... ... 110 Snake, Blind 69 SOLEMYA ... ... ... 179 sordidus , Stichopus ... 50 Sparassinse 116 Sparosomus auratus ... 210 spasma, Megaderma ... 188 Spears, Incised Ornament 6, 176 Sr hen opt kris elegans 142, 145 Spftyrtena novtv-hollandice 210 obtusata ... ... 210 Spiders, Crab ... ... 169 Spiders, Flower 169 spinicollis, Ctknomorptia 41 spinicollis, Phasma ... 41 spinosa, Bacteria... ... 38 sjnnosa, Burs aria... ... 170 spinosus, Ac anthode ru s 38 spinosum, Piiasma .. ... 38 Spiral Incised Ornament... 1 spirata, Cancell aria ... 118 squalida, Pachymorpha ... 37 squalulus. Bacillus ... 37 Squalus fulgens 195 Starfish, Silurian ... ... 128 starhii, Conulus 48 Stauria ... . .. ... 31 Stegoccelia 72 Stegostoma tigrinum ... 133 Stknopora crinita ... 121 Stephanopsinae 113, 172, 173 Stepiianopsis angulata ... 115 Sterna ancestheta ... ... 87 melanauchen ... ... 87 Stichopus mollis ... ... 50 sordidus ... ,.. 50 Stigonema.., .♦* ... 127 stoddartii, Carocalla ... 152 stolidus , Anous 87 Strangeria ... 145, 147 Straparollus tasmanicus 73, 74 slrenuus , Phlogius ... 109 Strepsilas interpres ... 87 striaticollis, Ofhicrania ... 40 strubelli, Succinea ... 48 Struthiolaria calcar ... 120 232 RECORDS OF TIIE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. Sturtzaster PAGE .. 129 mitchelli 129 Stutchburia ... 178, 179, 182 compressa .. 181 costata ... 180, 181, 182, 184 farleyensis 182, 184 obliqua... 184 simplex .. 182, 184 SubfulvuS, ZONITES... 48 sublimis, Sit ala ... 47 subocularis , Typhlops 69 Succinea papuana 48 simplex ... 48 strubelli 48 sulcipenne, Percosoma .. 147 Sun Worship 4 sutherlandi , Plesiosaurus 28, 29 T. tccniata , Gasteracantha 112 tahitensis, Numenius 87 taitensis , Urodynamis 87 talbragarense, Blechnoxylon 135 tasmanicum, Raphistoma 74 tasmanicus, Maclurea 73 tasmanicus, Straparollus 73, 74 tauvina, Epinepftehjs 195 teesa, Butastur ... • 4 87 telespho rus .Anophelepis M 39 Temora Meteorite... 59 tenera , Lima , , 85 tessalata, Acrophylla 41 lessalata, Ctenomorpha 41 Testudo nigrita ... 95 Tetragnathinse 111 Tetragnatha mandibulata 111 rubriventris 111 Tetragonurus 194 Tetr aster... 129 textrix, Charopa .. . # 46 Tetrodon ... 207, 213 meleagris 207 Texas Fever 132, 133 Tualassoma aneitense 194, 202 Thallophytic Cryptograms 121 1 IIAMNASTRAD A 7 t 122 Tiiaumatodon . r 152 Thaumatosaurus • f 28 Therapon caudavittatus , # 210 elliplicus 210 jarbua ... 195, 200 Theridiidae , , 111 Thersites broadbenti , 12 etheridgei .. 12 septentrionalis . . , .. 11 PAGE Thomsidae 113, 169, 171 thoracites, Calobates ... 134 Thun da Meteorite ... 59 tiaratum , Ectatosoma ... 43 tiaratum, Extatosoma ... 43 tiaratum, Phasma .. 43 tibicen, IIolacanthus 194, 203 tigrinum , Stegostoma ... 133 tignnus , Chilomycterus ... 208 titan, Acrophylla ... 40 titan, Diura ... ... 40 titan , Cyphocrania ... 40 titan, Phasma ... ... 40 Tick, Cattle 131 Tick, Creole 132 Tick, Senegalese 132 Tornatellina walcefieldcu 153 torquatns, Scymnus ... 195 torquis, Pal/EACHLYA 123, 126, 139 Tortoise, Gigantic Land . 95 tortuosa, Paljsachlya 121, 122, 123, 126, 139 Totanus incanus ... Trachinotus russelli . ... 194 Trachurus declivis Trachypterus trawrsi, Plesiosaurus ... tricarinala, Trochonema . . . Trigonoderus childrenii... trig onus, Araneus . . trigonus , Ichthyosaurus Trist ani a laurina ... tristania, Misumkna Trochonanina Trochonema eiheridgei meekianum montgomerii ... nodosa ... tricarinala yandellana Troilite Tropidoderus childrenii decipiens iodomus ... rhodomus 87 201 200 211 163 29 75 43 112 67 169 169, 171 48 75 75 75 75 76 75 76 51, 52, 53 43 36, 43 43 43 Tropidos tethus rhothiphilus 156 truncat us, Chelmo .. ... 203 tubendata, Phrynarachne 113 tuberculatus, Hyrtacus ... 38 T o r rtc u l A scalariformis ... 219 Tylospira coronata ... 120 Tylosurus ferox ... ... 211 typhoeus, Diura ... ... 43 Typhlops acutus ... ... 70 depressus ... ... 70 INDEX. 233 PAGE Typhlops subocularis ... 69 typhon, Podacanthus ... 42 typus, Cancellus .. ... 156 U. Uloboridse 109 Umbrella Pine ... ... 142 undulatus , Melopsittacus 87 unicolor , Pagrus 210 unicolor , Podacanthus ... 42 unicornis, Naseus ... 194, 207 unilateralism Psilotites ... 137 Urodynamis taitensis .. 87 Uwinda ... ... ... 7 V. valdensis , Cimoliosaurus 25, 26 Vallonia pulchella ... 152 Vasilissa ivallceri 42 venatoria , Heterapoda ... 116 veneris, Avicula ... ... 181 veneris, Cypricardia ... 181 versiruba , Cyphocrania ... 39 vertebrate, Cjecum ... ... 219 Vetilia eurymedon ... 44 virginea, Acrophylla ... 42 virg ini anus , Cervus ... 132 virginianus, CARIACUS ... 132 viridi-roseus, Podocanthus 42 violescens, Acrophylla ... 41 violescens, Phasma... ... 41 vclitans, Pterois ... ... 209 W. PAGE waJcefieldce, Achatinella 153 tvaJcefieldce, Tornatellina 153 walJceri , Vasilissa 42 wallacei , Patocera ... 150 water housice, Endodonta ... 45 wsllingtonensis, Holopea ... 77 ivhiteleggei, Pal^eopede 127, 166 Whitethorn 170 Whitevesia 179 ivilkhisoni, Podacanthus . . 42 woo^arrfi,HoPLEGNATHUs212,216 Worship, Sun 4 Worthenia 76 X. xanthocheila, Papuina 154 Xeroderus ... 39 Xesurus ... .. 206 clarionis .. 206 maculatus 207 Y. yandellana, Trochonema.. 76 Yardea Meteorite ... 90 Youndegin Meteorite ,.60, 131 z. zebra, Pterois 209 zebrina , Pseudoliva 120 Zemira australis ... . 118 Zonites subfulvus ... 48 r CTAGON BINDERY