CONTENTS OF VOL. XII.

NUMBER LXXIV.

I. Notice of the Life and Labours of DeCanpoLie: @xtracted [and

translated] from the Address delivered before the Royal Botanical So.

ciety of Ratisbon, by the President Prof. von MARTIUS «..eseceereaeeeees i

II. Observations on some Points in the Anatomy and Physiology of

the Freshwater Alge. «By Artuur Hitt Hassarz, Esq. (With a

Page

Plate.) cccssseccsssceeccrsesscenansceresecesessseesensccosesceenassesasenees Saacicases 20

III. The Birds of Ireland. By Wm. Tuomrson, Esq., Pres. Nat.

Hist. Society, Belfast. (Continwed.) ...sscesesssessersoescsceeseenecseees e331

IV. On the existence of Siliceous? Spicule in the exterior rays of

Actinia. By G. W. Batuey, Prof. Chem. Min. and Geol. U. S. Mili- _

tary Academy ..........0sscc0e eVancenesae sa co Hina te Vixdus ntl shgsaa serene dseedhens 38

V. Retrospective Comments. By Prof. Epwarp Forses, V.P.W.S.,

F.L.S., FBS. &e. 0.000085 eaeoa van gab dbaeeay o« Vbiiee sina npdien ke nay Levene naan 40

VI. Characters of several new Species of Brazilian Mammalia. By

DD, A, Wai OF Mail 06) ccbessdsccssktenteesssonncgscktstecesvonss seeees 42

VII. Descriptions of Chalcidites discovered by C. Darwin, at By

ERANCIE AOR, eds PL Biissciedenesosésenusepasestwnsac Watch seaegnnd 45

VIII. Descriptions of Chalcidites discovered in St. Vincent’s Tsle "Y

the Rev. Lansdown Guilding. By Francis Waker, Esq., F.L.S.... 46

New Books :—Manual of British Botany, containing the Flowering

Plants and Ferns, arranged according to the Natural Orders, by

Chas. C. Babington, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S. &c.—The Geographical

Distribution of British Plants, by H. C. Watson.—A History of

British Forest Trees indigenous and introduced, by P. J. Selby,

F.L.S. &c.—Travels in New Zealand, by E. Dieffenbach, M.D.—

Repertorium Botanices Systematice, auctore G. G. Walpers... 49—52

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Botanical Society of London;

Geological Society ..ivisspevsstphpes ce seecnxenssccccscsscvsceceveccteens 52—73

Alchemilla fissa, A. conjuncta, and A. argentea; On the Aflinities of

Glareola torquata, by E. Blyth, Curator to the Museum of the

Asiatic Society ; Lines addressed to the Rev. W. Kirby, M.A.,

F.R.S. & F.L.S. &c.; Letters from Ray to Sir Hans Sloane; Me-

teorological Observations and Table .........cceseeeceeseneeees wee 74—80

iv CONTENTS.

Page

NUMBER LXXV.

IX. Observations on the Habits of a large species of Galeodes. By

Captain THOMAS HUTTON ........cecceseeceees SHUGCAEEEACHLdebetsvocsncccsveens 81

X. Observations on a Disease, the production of a Fungus, occurring

in the Lettuce and other Vegetables. By Artuur Hixt Hassatr, Esq. 86

XI. On two new species of British Jungermannie. By Tuomas

Taxtor, Esq., M.D., Dunkerron, Kenmare...........cccceseccsceecssess soe | 88

XII. List of Birds obtained in the vicinity of Celoutta; from Sep-

tember 1841 to March 1843 inclusive. By Epwarp Brytu, Curator to

the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal .........sssesscceeceeeeees ove 90

XIII, On the Sacculi of the Polygastrica. By Wm. Appison, Esq. 101

XIV. Descriptions of some new species of Chalcidites. By Francis

Warren, Eagq.g BLS Scat Sess ict oacsccssvnvtewevben bio isebiiniscce’ 103

XV. On the Diatomacee. By Joun Ratrs, Ba ., M.R.C.S., Pen-

zance. (With Plates.) (Continued.) ...... Sadticvecccaaveteccwvdebevetes 104

XVI. Considerations. on the tribe of the Podaxinee, and description

of the new genus Gyrophragmium. By M. MontaGnn ......ccecsseeeees 111

XVII. On the different modes of preserving Microscopic Objects.

By Joun Wm. Grirritn, M.D., F.L.S. 8&6. ......ccccccecscseccscscces ena 113

XVIII. Observations on Two of Professor Edward Forbes’s “ Re-

trospective Comments.” By Arruur Hitt Hassaxz, Esq. .........000 117

New Books :—An Inaugural Lecture on Botany, by Edward Forbes,

F.L.S., F.B.S.—Recherches sur l’organisation, la fructification et

la classification de plusieurs genres d’Algues, avec la déscription

de quelques espéces inédites cu peu connues.—Essai d’une répar-

tition des Polypiers calciféres de Lamouroux dans la classe des

Algues, par J. F. Chauvin ............ t opebentonesks ees seoeseeee L2O—125

Proceedings of the Geological Society; Botanical Society of London ;

Botanical Society of Edinburgh ; Zoological Society...,..... 125—147

On Substances inclosed in Agate, by A. Southby ; On the Development

of the Cray-Fish, by M. Joly ; Salix cuspidata; Occurrence of the

Great Spotted Cuckoo; Letters from Ray to Sir Hans Sloane;

- Meteorological Observations and Table ............cceeereee wee 148-—152

NUMBER LXXVI.

XIX. Upon the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio (Latr.). By Atrrep

Turx, M.R.C.S., M.E.S. (With three Plates.)

XX. List of Birds obtained in the vicinity of Calcutta, from Sep-

tember 1841 to March 1843 inclusive. By Epwarp Biytn, Curator to

the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. (Concluded.) ........+0+ 165

XXI. Descriptions of two species of British Jungermannie. By

Tuomas Taytor, M.D., Dunkerron, Kenmare

XXII. On the Anatomy of the Pearly Nautilus. Communicated by

W. Vrouik, Professor of Anatomy in Amsterdam

CONTENTS. Vv

Page

XXIII. Description of the Lurking Machete (Macherium subducens)

from the northern coast of New Holland. By Joun Ricnarpson, M.D.,

F.R.S. &c., Inspector of Naval Hospitals. (With a Plate.) .........00 175

XXIV. Additional Observations on the Polygastric Sacculi. By

Joun Wm. Grirrits, M.D., F.L.S. &. ccccccececessesees Vritalcec tives. 178

XXV. Observations on the genus Mougeotia, on two new genera of

Freshwater Algex, and on Tyndaridea, with descriptions of species. By

ArtHur Hitt Hassauz, Esq. (With a Plate.) ...ccccccccsssecrcsececcees 180

XXVI. Note in reply to Mr. Hassall. By Prof. Eowarp Forsss,

VP WSs dig Be Se Rea ante ite Wipada sis enonvans ooansvcqepotecapy 188

XXVII. Information respecting Scientific Travellers...... ewe rede sass 190

New Books :—-Die Pflanze im Momente der Thierwerdung, beobachtet

von Dr, F. Unger.—Recherches sur la Rubéfaction des Eaux et

leur Oxygenation par les Animalcules et les Algues, par MM. Aug.

OG CRs DRORNWE Vi anda k taess ch sks keecocnss spphsstn ed asebecheodaas wo. 202—207

Proceedings of the Linnzan Society; Botanical Society of London;

Zoological Society; Royal Society ............sscoscsecesesecers 207—229

_ Addenda and Emendations to Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

in the vicinity of Calcutta; Meteorological Observations and

POW iccdciacccdscca iets cedeandepgavecedsadsd dasdieasscsescedsecdesvis 229—232

NUMBER LXXVII.

XXVIII. Notice of a British species of Calliopea, D’Orbigny, and

of Four new species of Eolis, with observations on the Development

and Structure of the Nudibranchiate Mollusca. By Josuua ALDER and

ALBANY PE ENCOOK, | ORGPA Vi ony iagh tidak eberind yoedddod ashes soub¥> vvbebiveveebe one 233

XXIX. On the Structure and Affinities of Upupa, Lin., and Jrrisor,

Sreesons <7 GR isis SURICREAND, Ds A scr auene esas ates puacsetssonseiessea ced 238

XXX. Upon the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio(Latr.). By Sues

Tuxx, M.R.C.S., M.E.S. (With three Plates.) (Continued.) .......+. 243

XXXI. The Birds of Ireland. By Wu. Tuompson, Esq., Pres, Nat.

Hist. Society, Belfast... (Continued.)...c.covarsisicsnssevecceinecccsscececsens 254

XXXII. Descriptions of three new species of the Coleopterous genus

' Gyriosomus, collected in Chile by T. Bridges, Esq. By G. R. Warrr-

House, Esq., Assistant Secretary and Curator to the Zoological Society 258

XXXII. Description of anew Fossil Cirripede from the Upper Chalk

near Rochester. By Mr. G. B. Sowersy, Jun. ........csesecsscsosceeeees 260

XXXIV. Description of some apparently new Insects from the

Congo, sent to England by Mr. Curror, Surgeon R.N., and the late

Mr. John Cranch. By Mr. Apam Wurre, M.E.SS. Lond. and Paris,

Assistant Zool. Dep. British Museum ...............004 poo asgecsescsernvence 262

XXXV. Note on a Paper in ‘ Annals and Mag. of Nat. History,’

vol. vii. p. 315. By Mr. Avam Wuire, M.E.SS. Lond. and Paris, As-

sistant Zool. Dep. British Museum ..... os baees Sandee dainsivve gene dasedeneae 268

vi CONTENTS,

Page

XXXVI. On the British Diatomacee. By Joun Raurs, Esgq.,

M.R.C.S., Penzance. (Continued.) (With a Plate.) .....csccceseeeeee 270

Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Geological Society ; Botanical

Society of London. .....isceasancdrsiieadamabbea lsiaaeaaness coe see 276—296

Griffithsia simplicifilum, Agardh ; Italian Fire-fly in Norfolk ; Occur-

rence of rare British Birds ; Capture of a Wolf-fish ; Description of

a “ Blind Fish” from a Cave in Kentucky, by Jeffries Wyman,

M.D.; On Fermentation, by Prof. E. Mitscherlich ; Letters from

Ray to Sir Hans Sloane; Meteorological Observations and

Table ....ankisgeucviilvniinceeedenlssteadaek Ge CRUE AKAs anes s 296—304

NUMBER LXXVIII.

—# XXXVII. On the Structure and Homology of the Cephalic Ten-

tacles in the Pearly Nautilus. By Prof. Owen, F.R.S. .....ccccceceseeee 305.

_XXXVIII. Description of Six supposed new species of Parasites.

By Henry Denny, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Natural

Sciences of Philadelphia, &c. (With a Plate.) .......ssesseesesceeeeees - 312

XXXIX. On the Inflorescence of Fedia olitoria, and its order of

expansion. By G. Dicxre, M.D., Lecturer on Botany in the Univer-

sity and King’s College of Aberdeen..........cscscccecssccescsccctcecesevsees 317

XL. Upon the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio (Latr.). By Aurrep

Toxx, M.R.C.S., M.E.S. (With three Plates.) (Concluded.) ......... 318

XLI. Notice of a new species of Seal (Stenorhynchus serridens). By

Prof. Owen} BBB, falas oii dithedloeetap a aeby ates bhipiee Oa

” XLII. On the Species of the Genus Limaz occurring in Ireland.

By the Rev. B. J. CLarxe, Mem. of the Dub: Nat. Hist. Soc. (With

three, Plates.) \i5.i606 0.02600 seas pidacevvsbuetsunsesee om ped ieaV iin chwceVetvecstaues 332

XLIII. Descriptions of apparently new species and varieties of In-

sects and other Annulosa, principally from the collection in the British

Museum. By Avam Wuirs, M.E.SS. Lond. and Paris, Assistant Zoo-

logical Department, British Museum........secccceeeeees ced viewee's Sdasovedeers: OLE

XLIV. On the British Diatomacee. By Joun Ratrs, Esq.,

M.R.C.S., Penzance. (Continued.) (With a Plate.) .........ccceecees 346

XLV. Information respecting Scientific Travellers ............04 veesee OO

New Books :—A Catalogue of British Fossils ; comprising all the genera

and species hitherto described, with references to their Geological

Distribution and to the Localities in which they have been found,

by John Morris; FIGS. osiicesn0ass<ssdns cevnubeenappagwuns vulpeeioriaas 353

Proceedings of the Entomological Society ; Zoological Society... 356—373

On the Phosphorescence of the Lampyris Italica; Observations on .

Dr. Martin Barry’s Memoir on Fibre, by Prof. Moh]; Meteorolo-

‘gical Observations and Table .......ssceseesecscecaneeens eee ge 373—376.

CONTENTS. vil

Page

NUMBER LXXIX.

XLVI. General results of Microscopic Inquiries into the Minute

Structure of the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata.

By Wiuiiam B. Carrenter, M.D. (With two Plates.)....... jiadhunds sé 377

XLVII. Description of some New Species of the Genus Pachyodon.

By Capt. THomas Brown, M.W.S., M.R.P.S., Curator of the Man-

chester Natural History Society’s Museum, &c. (With three Plates.) 390

XLVIII. A Century of new Genera and Species of Orchidaceous

Plants. Characterized by Professor LinpLey ............ didvseakasadoodss 396

XLIX. On a new species of Marmozette in the British Museum Col-

lection. By Joun Epwarp Gray, Esq., F.R.S. ......0.scecscecevoascevece 398

L. Observations on the Classification of the Mammalia. By Groxer

R. Wareruouss, Esq., Assistant pu and Curator to the Zoo-

logical Society, &c. ....0...s008 diseinaia) «kBiks 5 edad Vb io some Ke'kese gidekadsssvabs 399

LI. Catalogue of the Birds found in Corf and the other Ionian

Islands, also on the coast of Albania; from Notes made during a sojourn

of four years. By H. M. Drummonp, 42nd R.H. With Notes by

H. E. STRICKLAND, DAA bs in a beRawds Goec deeded cdodes wddbecake Sebébedes 412

LII. List of the Birds of the Island of Crete, from observations made

during a stay of nearly two months, from 27th April to 18th June, 1843.

By H. M. Drummonp, 42nd R.H. With Notes by H. E. Srrickianp,

EAs sieesiensangucaies Kad dus nePOCDAeeeaaheasksnannhbs¥iddnWbadeudanonen eseseve's xe 423

LIII. Excerpta Zoologica, or abridged extracts from Foreign

Journals. By Dr. Fe~ix von BERENSPRUNG ...ccceecccssscecesscescereces 427

New Books :—Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Feb. to Aug. 1843... 433

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Botanical Society of London ;

Botanical Society of Edinburgh ...........sececcseeceeees veavess 436—450

Discovery of Clathrus cancellatus in Britain; Lithic Acid in Lucanus

Cervus ; Alchemilla conjuncta and A. fissa; Assumption of the

male plumage by a female Partridge ; Spiders discharged from the

Eye; Meteorological Observations and Table ............... 451—456

NUMBER LXXX. SUPPLEMENT.

LIV. On the British species of Meridion and Gomphonema. By

Joun Ratrs, Esq., M.R.C.S., Penzance. (With a Plate.)

Proceedings of the Geological Society; Zoological Society ...... 467—481

On the Microscope. Means of remedying the Defect of artificial Light.

By J. W. Griffith, M.D., F.L.S. ......... Rysich inv ewensee sovececevecerss 401

PRON asec niges Manic a wibe ds vs 20, VaRR RIES T es Oe eON OE akc eh ease Bes unen' oo. 483

PLATES IN VOL. XII.

Piate I. Structure of Freshwater Alge.

II. British Diatomacee—Tessella, Tetracyclus and Fragilaria.

ITI.

IV. } Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

VI. Macherium subducens.

VII. Freshwater Alge.

VIII. | British Diatomaceee—Isthmia, Biddulphia, tahiscetes and

IX. Meloseira.

XI. } Irish Slugs.

XII. .

ee } Structure of Shells.

XV. '

XVI. | spose of Pachyodon.

XVI.*

XVII. New species of Parasites.

XVIII. British Diatomacee—Meridion and Gomphonema.

ERRATUM.

The three concluding paragraphs appended to the notice of M. Chauvin’s two memoirs, p. 124,

should have been annexed to the notice of M. Montagne’s paper on the Podavinee, and inserted

in page 113.

THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

66 cesseneneoresene per litora spargite muscum,

Naiades, et circtm vitreos considite fontes :

Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores :

Floribus et pictum, dive, replete canistrum.

At vos, o Nymph Craterides, ite sub undas ;

Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco

Vellite muscosis e rupibus, et mihi conchas

Ferte, Dez pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo.”

Parthenii Ecl. 1.

No. 74. JULY 1843.

ai a

I.—Notice of the Life and Labours of DeCanpouE: extracted

[and translated| from the Address delivered before the Royal

Botanical Society of Ratisbon, at its meeting on the 28th of

November 1841, by the President Prof. von Marrtius*.

AUGUSTIN Pyramus DeCanpoxxs, Professor of Botany at

Geneva, died on the 9th of September 1841. DeCandolle exerted

such an extensive and powerful influence upon the progress of

botany, that he is identified with the history of the science in the

present century.

The man who impressed the seal of his genius on the natural

history, and especially on the botany of the last century, Linneeus,

died at Upsal on the 10th of January 1778. On the 4th of Fe-

bruary of that same year, twenty-five days after the departure of

Linnzeus, and on the same day upon which the death of Conrad

Celtis occurred, Aug. Pyramus DeCandolle saw the light of day

at Geneva. ‘Thus did the spirit of the times, which guides the

wisdom of man, transfer the ré/e of the systematical classifier of

plants from Sweden to the verdant shores of the Leman, and place

it in the cradle of him, upon whose wn we now suspend the

flower-garland of grateful reverence.

* Scilicet a tumulis, et qui periere propinquis,

Protinus ad vivos ora referre juvat.”

Ovid, Fast. II,

* We give this memoir as it has appeared in Silliman’s Journal for last

April, not doubting that it will greatly interest our readers. The initials

affixed we conclude to be those of Dr. Asa Gray.—Ep. dnn. Nat. Hist.

Amn. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol, xii.

2 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

DeCandolle was without doubt the Linnzus of our age. In

the right understanding of what he has accomplished, lies the true

measure both of his own greatness and of the work done by his

predecessor,—lies the sum of the progress which botany has made

since the departure of Linnzeus from the scene of his activity.

The importance of systematic arrangement and classification was

the leading idea in both their minds ; and consequently both have

been especially useful as registrators of the vegetable kingdom.

Both, however, were influenced and guided by the ideas of vege-

table physiology and morphology which each had formed. The

systematic works of both, therefore, went hand in hand with their

general views, received from them their impulse and signification,

and reflected back the spirit which distinguishes their different

epochs. They are accordingly as different m their manner of

comprehending and of carrying out their ideas, as were the fun-

damental principles respecting the nature of plants which pre-

vailed in the time of each. There is, however, this essential dif-

ference between them. The thoughts which Linnzus embodied

in his system were his own creation. DeCandolle, on the other

hand, adopted the ideas of the French school, founded on the

natural method of A. L. de Jussieu, with the view to their full

development in an universal descriptive system of the vegetable

kingdom. We do not at present propose fully to trace the parallel

between Linneeus and DeCandolle, although some of its elements

will be indicated in the brief sketch of the life and labours of our

much-lamented friend: but it remains for the historian of botany

to exhibit in detail the relations which these two men sustained

to each other, and to the epochs in the progress of the science

distinguished by their names.

Aug. Pyr. DeCandolle sprung from a noble family of Provence,

which, from religious considerations, removed to Geneva in the

year 1558. The younger Catholic branch of the family, still ex-

isting in Provence, is now represented by the Marquis DeCan-

dolle, with whom the Genevan botanist always maintamed the

friendly relations of kindred. Augustin DeCandolle, the father

of our departed friend, was one of the first magistrates (premier

syndic) of the republic of Geneva. In the early years of his life,

the feeble health of the child gave much anxiety to his parents.

In his seventh year he suffered from an attack of acute hydroce-

phalus ; but fortunately conquered a disease so often fatal to child-

hood, or which in other cases so frequently leaves behind a fee-

bleness of the mental powers. But the youth and man, with his

well-organized head, fitted for the most difficult processes of

thought, experienced no further ill effects from this distressing

malady.

In the gymnasium (collége) he was not distinguished, except

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 3

for his proficiency in Latin and French versification. By the time

he reached the first class, in the year 1791, he had gained many

prizes by his great facility in versification and his uncommonly

retentive memory. At this period, when his body and mind were

proportionally and very rapidly developed, he entered into the

* belles-lettres class,” a division which answers to the German

lycealeursus, or highest department of the gymnasium. The Re-

volution about this time (1792) overflowing the limits of France,

extended itself into Switzerland; the government of the canton

of Geneva was overthrown ; and the father of our DeCandolle re-

tired to an estate which he possessed in Champagne, a village near

Grandson, between Yverdun and Neuchatel. The young man had

until now devoted himself almost exclusively to classical studies.

He had read the great Latin and Greek authors diligently, and

with good effect on the development of his judgement; he had

written. many essays in French and Latin verse, and knew by

heart a great number of classical passages from the literature of

these languages. Even at the time of his leaving college, his me-

mory retained so perfectly the first six books of the Aineid, that

he could go on with the recitation of any portion of them taken

at random without hesitation. The study of history was pecu-

harly attractive to him, and for a long time he regarded himself

as destined to the profession of an historian.

Somewhat later he attended to the lectures of Pierre Prevost

on philosophy. Logic from the lips of this celebrated natural

philosopher, the author of the valuable treatise on the equilibrium

of caloric, had a powerful influence on his excitable mind. It

gave him the habit of acute and clear thinking, and was an ex-

cellent introduction to the different exact sciences, with the study

of which he was employed in the years 1794 and 1795. Physics,

the department of Mare. Aug. Pictet, had more attraction for him

than mathematics.

Meanwhile his residence in the country, where he was accus-

tomed to pass his vacations, had brought him nearer to nature.

Without any book on botany, following the guidance simply of

the objects themselves, he accustomed himself to the art of ob-

servation. At first this occupation had only the character of a

pastime or recreation. What afterwards suddenly induced him to

devote himself wholly to the “amabilis scientia,” was the excite-

ment which he experienced in 1796 in the lecture-room of the

excellent Vaucher*,

The number of teachers at the Academy of Geneva was at that

_ * [The teacher survived for about a year his more celebrated pupil An

interesting biographical notice of M. Vaucher, from the pen of Alphonse

DeCandolle, has recently been published in the ‘ Bibliothéque Universelle’

at Geneva, an English translation of which appeared in the ‘ Annals and

Magazine of Natural History’ for November and December last.—A. G.]

4 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

time very small. M. P. Vaucher, professor of theology, who soon

after proved himself an accurate observer by his account of the

Confervee of fresh water, was giving in that year a free course on

botany. DeCandolle had only heard the first half of the course,

when he returned to his parents at Champagne, determined to

devote himself exclusively to this science. The attractive deserip-

tions of Vaucher had revealed to him his own genius; and he

chose at the age of eighteen the vocation to which he remained

faithful during his whole life, with an enthusiasm which did. not

desert the man of sixty-three even on his death-bed. In these

lectures he had become acquainted with the organs of plants.

Returning to the country, he began at once to describe the plants

which he found, indicating them by their common, not their

scientific names, of which he was at that time ignorant. He

considered himself fortunate a few months afterwards, when he

received the first edition of Lamarck’s ‘ Flore Frangaise’ and a

few other botanical books, whose true value he immediately un-

derstood.

It was the custom at that time, in his native city, for the sons

of rich parents to study law. DeCandolle consequently began this

study in the year 1796, but with the fixed intention of not allow-

ing it to affect his future destination. One of his friends, who

was closely connected with Dolomieu, induced him to pass the

winters of 1796 and 1797 in Paris, under the eye of that cele-

brated observer of nature. He received his father’s permission

for this and lived in the house of Dolomieu, by whom he was

treated with paternal tenderness. He now attended the lectures

of Vauquelin, Fourcroy, Charles, Portal and Cuvier. In the

- Jardin des Plantes he had made the acquaintance of Lamarck,-’

Deleuze and Desfontaines. To the latter his heart was peculiarly

drawn. The gentle repose of this learned and amiable man en-

chained him as to a second father*, and he preserved to his latest

breath the most tender and grateful affection as well for him as

for Vaucher. These winter sessions had opened to him a view

into the depth and extent of natural science. He perceived the

importance of the relations between physics, chemistry and bo-

tany ; he perceived that the latter science had reached a station

where she required especially for her completion the aid of the

others. He determined to labour in this field, and to help to bring

botany out of her isolated position. This was besides the peculiar

task of the period. The labours of our great M. von Humboldt,

of Priestley, of Ingenhauss, &c. had extended the domain of bo-

tany in a similar direction. Accordingly he came out first with

* DeCandolle honoured the memory of his friend, who died on the 16th

of November 1833, by a “ Notice Historique sur la Vie et les Travaux de

M. Desfontaines,” in the * Bibliothéque Univers.’ Feb, 1834,

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 5

his treatise upon the nourishment of Lichens, which, in the sum-

mer of 1797, was laid before the Société de Physique et d’ Histoire

Naturelle, then recently established by Saussure at Geneva. His

intercourse with Senebier and Vaucher confirmed him in this di-

rection of his faculties. It is easy to perceive, that, in the whole

course of his literary labours, he sought to make the doctrines of

physies and of chemistry available in their application to botany.

We find the same spirit in his excellent treatise ‘ Sur les Propriétés

Médicales des Plantes’ (Paris, 1804, 4to), of which Perleb has

given a German version (1810) enriched with many valuable ad-

ditions. He attempted in this work to represent more fully than

had been before done, the parallel suggested by Linnzus, but op-

posed by other writers, between the outward forms of plants and

their chemical constitution and adaptation to pharmacy ; a labour

in which he manifested a happy talent for tracing back various

phzenomena to their origin in general principles.

In the year 1798 Geneva was incorporated into the French re-

public. DeCandolle, finding his future prospects much affected.

by this event, the property of his parents having been materially

diminished by the catastrophes of the Revolution, determined. to

adopt the medical profession, and easily obtained the consent of

his father, who hoped that he would be thus established in: a lu-

crative mode of life. The son, meanwhile, whose enthusiasm for

botany had increased from year to year, thought principally of

the greater facilities he should thus enjoy for the pursuit of his

favourite science. During this year he went the second time to

Paris ; and taking up his abode in the neighbourhood of the Jardin

des Plantes, he gave himself up with zeal to the study of its ac-

cumulated treasures. Lamarck encouraged him to labour with him

in the botanical portion of the ‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique,’ in

which he wrote the articles Parthenium and Lepidium. He also

assisted Lamarck in the preparation of the article on Panicum,

Poiret in that on Paspalum, described the species of Senebiera, and

published his treatise on Lichens. At the request of Desfontaines

he undertook the preparation of the text for the ‘ Plantes Grasses,’

which Redouté had begun to represent in a splendid iconogra-

phical work. He received on this occasion the most friendly as-

sistance from Desfontaines and L’ Héritier, who gave him the free

use of their rich collections and invaluable books. If neither this

work, nor that on the Liliacee, which Redouté published some-

what later (also with the assistance of DeCandolle), nor the As-

tragalogia published in 1802, merit the praise of exact analytical

descriptions of individuals, such as science now demands of mo-

nography, yet they already foreshow the facility and acuteness of

systematic comprehension which so fully characterize DeCan-

dolle’s later efforts.

6 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

At this period he contracted a close friendship with the noble-

minded Benjamin De Lessert, a man always open to everything

great and useful. The two friends glowed with the purest en-

thusiasm for the benefit of their fellow-men. They founded the

Société Philanthropique, whose first operation, during a time of

public necessity, was the distribution in Paris of the Rumford

soup. DeCandolle was during ten years the secretary and an ac-

tive member of that benevolent society. At this time he brought

to maturity another institution of a similar tendency, which is

still flourishing, viz. the Société d’Encouragement pour I’ Indus-

trie Nationale ; he drew up the statutes for this society, and as-

sisted until the year 1807 in preparing the bulletins issued by it.

His activity in this field of philanthropy was maintained and en-

larged by his intercourse with many distinguished men of similar

views, such as the geometrician Lacroix, Biot, Cuvier and the

elder Brongniart. About this time he received the visit of two of

the most distinguished citizens of the department of the Leman,

who requested him to join them, in order to represent the inter-

ests of the department in a union of his Notab/es, which the First

Consul had summoned. He accompanied them to the Tuilleries.

Bonaparte inquired for the representative from Geneva, and turn-

ing to DeCandolle endeavoured to obtain from him the declaration

that Geneva found herself happy in her union with the French

republic. But courtesy could not bring the son of the Genevan

magistrate, an upright friend to his country, to make an obse-

quious reply.

In the year 1802 DeCandolle married Mademoiselle Torras,

the daughter of a Genevan then resident in Paris. This marriage,

founded on mutual affection, and made happy by love and har-

mony, gave him three children ; of whom only one son survived

the father. In the same year he was called to be professor hono-

rarius in the Academy at Geneva, but did not yet engage in its

duties. He remained in Paris instead, and gave at the Collége

de France, in Cuvier’s place, his first course on botany.

Benjamin De Lessert had purchased, in the year 1801, the rich

and very interesting herbarium of the Burmann family. The du-

plicates he presented to his friend DeCandolle; and the latter

afterwards acquired the equally rich collection of plants made by

L’Héritier, who had fallen a victim to assassination. These were

the foundation of the immense herbarium which DeCandolle in-

creased, during his active life, to the number of from seventy to

eighty thousand kinds, and which may be 0 Pa not less for

its copiousness than on account of its exemplary order, and the

rich variety of original specimens communicated by all the di-

stinguished botanists of our times, as one of the greatest treasures

in natural science of all Europe.

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 7

At the same time DeCandolle began the preparation of his

‘ Flore Frangaise’ ; which, although announced as a second edition

of the work by Lamarck under the same title, should be regarded

as exclusively the production of DeCandolle, since Lamarck gave

to it only his name and the use of his collections. Many years

were employed in the collection of materials for this work in all

the provinces of France. The author had opened a correspond-

ence with all the botanists of the country, especially with Nestler,

Broussonet and Balbis, as well as with many foreign students of

nature,—with Vahl, Pallas, Willdenow, Jacquin, the younger

Hedwig and others, and made repeated journeys throughout

France. This work, a truly great one, embracing a region rich

in plants, was the first flora arranged according to the principles

of the ‘ Méthode Naturelle.’ The introduction to it, which exhibits

a clear and orderly conception of nature, was DeCandolle’s first

attempt to give a scientific representation of this theory. It met,

as well as the annexed ‘ Clavis Analytica,’ with the greatest ap-

probation. The work, the sale of which in the year 1804 had

already reached to four thousand copies, is now quite out of print.

It is the first book which has appeared in France in which we

Germans find a satisfactory account of Cryptogamous plants rest-

ing on actual personal examination, a class of plants which had

been before much neglected in France. The masterly manner in

which an immense mass of materials has been treated,—the ex-

actness with which the descriptions are given in a luminously

technical style, whilst at the same time more is said of the geo-

graphical situations of plants than has been usually the case,—

stamp this ‘ Flore Francaise’ as a work of great merit. With this

alone would DeCandolle have fulfilled his obligations to the pub-

lic, had he written absolutely nothing else. So thorough a pro-

duction could not but meet with acknowledgement by the French

government. Such men as Chaptal and Lacepéde knew how great

an influence on the national welfare a thorough knowledge of the

vegetation of the country would exert. He received accordingly

a commission in 1806 to travel through France and the kingdom

of Italy, and to study these countries in a botanical and agrono-

mical point of view. For six years he made a journey each sum-

mer, and gave an account of his observations to the Minister of

the Interior. In these official reports he described the peculiarities

of the district of country, noted the modes of culture in use, and

presented plans for their improvement.. He neglected no occa-

sion to bring forward unobserved truths. His noble independ-

ence of character often led him to protest against faults in govern-

ment, on which occasions he did not limit himself to his imme-

diate commission. Some of these official reports have appeared

8 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

from the press. He had at the same time formed a plan of pre-

paring an extensive statistical work upon the condition of farming

and of everything connected with it, which he would probably

have completed, accustomed as he was to give to his plans the

fullest development, if the political catastrophe of 1814 had not

directed his activity into new channels. Only a few portions of

that work were completed by him. One result of these journeys

was the very valuable supplement, in a botanical point of view, to

his ‘ Flore Frangaise.’. Meanwhile he had been called, in the year

1807, to the professorship of the medical faculty at Montpelier.

He repaired thither a few years later (1810) to take possession

of the professorship of botany in the philosophical faculty (faculté

des sciences) which was then created. He received the direction

of the botanical garden, the collections of which he soon doubled.

His active spirit animated the scholars, who flocked thither in

great numbers. Since Magnol, the chair of botany at Montpelier

had never exercised so favourable an influence on the academic

youth. The clearness, fullness and elegance of his style, the

practical bearing which he gave to his teachings, with the genial

serenity and freshness of his character, which united the glow of

the Provengals with the serious diligence of the Swiss,—who

could withstand such qualities? His ready talent for extempo- |

raneous discourse, and the spirit and grace which he threw into

his lectures, made his science charming even to women. Liven if

what passes by the name of botany among the fair sex in France

and Switzerland be not precisely his science, yet it may be deemed

a proof of his influence, that in those countries a knowledge of

plants is regarded as almost as essential an element in the edu-

cation of women as that of music with us sound-loving Germans.

One result of his academical labours at Montpelier, of great in-

terest for the scientific public, was the publication of his ‘ Théorie

Elémentaire de Botanique’; the first edition of which appeared in

1813, the second in 1816. This book put into circulation a host

of new and sound ideas in vegetable morphology and physiology.

His talent for generalization is manifest throughout this work,

often leading him, indeed, into by-ways, which however, like

every excursion of the true inquirer, tend to bring him ultimately

to a higher point of view. Two doctrines, here for the first time

propounded in a scientific connexion, that of the confluence or

union of organs (soudures), and that of their unequal development

or suppression (avortemens), have become, under certain points of

view, canons in observation. It may be said in general of the

theoretical views of DeCandolle, that they differ in many respects

from those of Linnzeus, and often justly supersede them, because

they are founded on broader and more physiological premises. I

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 9

do not stop to point out these differences. It would be necessary

to enter deeply into their respective modes of thinking, to do jus-

tice to either of these eminent inquirers into nature.

DeCandolle’s views approach more nearly, on the whole, to

those of Goethe ; but it is not to be thence inferred that he was

essentially aided by our great poet in the development of his

ideas. Even in Germany, it was long before we understood

Goethe’s object in his doctrine of metamorphosis. But when De-

Candolle was informed of the powerful impression which these

views had made on our minds in Germany, he caused Geethe’s

book to be translated and studied it diligently. In his later and

larger work (‘ Organographie Végétale,’ 1832, translated into Ger-

man and enriched with valuable notes by Meisner and Reeper,)

may be found echos of Goethe’s theory, and evidences of a further

progress in that direction. It is not possible, however, definitely

to assign to each individual his own property in truths which

spread with rapidity and force among thinking men. They do

not originate from one head, they belong to the time, which ex-

cites them in many minds and enunciates them in various forms.

In this view, nothing seems in more wretched taste than conten-

tion about the priority of a theoretical idea. The students of na-

ture freely acknowledge that they derive their ideas from the ob-

jects of their examination, not from themselves; they announce

them with so much the more confidence in proportion as they

recognise in them only the words of nature, which they have be-

come worthy to hear.

The fall of Napoleon restored. to our friend his political inde-

pendence. He had returned to Geneva in the year 1814, to visit

his friends. The contemplation of the prosperity which the re-

public enjoyed on its separation from France, the associations of

childhood, the patriotic pulsations of his heart, all drew him back

again to his home. The political commotions in the southof France,

at that period, were not adapted to render his residence there

agreeable. Called during the Hundred days to be Rector of the

University of Montpelier, he had to struggle with a host of dif-

ficulties, especially as the return of the Bourbons produced a

dangerous reaction against those who had served under the Em-

peror, and especially against Protestant families. Although no

partisan, yet DeCandolle was obnoxious in both points of view.

His own country presented (under less brilliant auspices to be

sure than in Montpelier) the attractions of the father-land, the

satisfaction of labouring for his countrymen, repose from political

convulsions, and with all these sources of enjoyment, a society

such as Geneva alone, situated as it is on the highway of the

world, can collect together.

The State Council of Geneva created for him a professorship of

10 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

natural history, and he returned, on the 8th of November 1816,

into the service of his native country. The French government

did not part with him willingly ; his scholars at Montpelier made

every possible effort to retain their beloved teacher, but in vain.

In Geneva he had lectures to deliver in zoology as well as botany.

In this field likewise he manifested his happy talent for imstruc-

tion, and all his lectures were enthusiastically received by a crowd

of hearers. Ye

At the instigation of DeCandolle a botanical garden was insti-

tuted, of which he was the curator until his death. More than

500 subscribers formed by degrees a fund of 89,000 franes, ap-

propriated to the support of this garden. This is not the only

testimony of the sympathy of his fellow-citizens in what DeCan-

dolle recommended as for the interest of science and of the town.

There was accidentally entrusted to him for a short time a large

and valuable collection of drawings of Mexican plants, made by _

the Spanish botanists Leon Mocino and Cervantes, in Mexico.

These being unexpectedly called for, all the artists and amateurs

of the city assembled at his request, and in eight days’ active

labour made a complete copy of all these drawings. DeCandolle

told me with glistening eyes, that this proof of the regard and

affection of his fellow-citizens was one of the most delightful expe-

riences of his life. But who among his associates would not gladly

have assisted in scientific efforts a man who was distinguished by

so much gracefulness, by such transparent frankness, united with

such fine tact in social intercourse? He was a keen observer, an

accurate judge of the human heart. It was therefore easy for him

to associate with all classes in society, and to influence all for the

good of the commonwealth. This is manifest by his being chosen

in the year 1816 into the Council of the representatives of the

canton, and being twice unanimously re-elected after the first time

of service, in the years 1829 and 1889, by the voice of the peo-

ple. As long as he lived in his paternal city, he was called by the

confidence of his fellow-citizens to situations of public responsi-

bility. He examined with a penetrating glance the condition of

municipal affairs at that time ; a friend of order and of a peaceful

progress, he set on foot many useful institutions, and applied him-

self to the carrying out of others which were projected by con-

genial patriots. He took an active part in the formation and en-

riching of the museum of the Academy ; I have already mentioned

that the botanical garden was created by him. As president of

the Society of Arts, he animated every movement of his fellow-

citizens in the field of arts and manufactures. He considered at-

tention to agriculture of peculiar importance in a small republic

which depends upon its neighbourhood for the necessaries of life.

On this account he founded in that society a peculiar class for

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 1]

agriculture, whose labours he promoted with the most lively in-

terest. To impress the agriculturist with the importance of his

calling, to awaken in him the spirit of emulation, of observation

of nature and of careful reflection, he regarded as one of his most

pleasing duties, both as a citizen and as a man of learning.

His imagination was lively and excitable, if not creative; his

feeling for beauty was pure and unprejudiced: he could not there-

fore be other than a warm friend of the fine arts, and he accom-

plished for their support im his canton whatever lay in his power.

Yet he did not carry his love for the fine arts to excess, but always

regarded them merely as means for the embellishment of life :

not so the attainment of objects of real utility; these lay nearer

to his practical understanding, to his spirit of republican citizen-

ship. On this account the Class of Industry in the Société des

Arts had reason to rejoice in his peculiar co-operation. The re-

port of 200 pages which DeCandolle prepared in the year 1828,

for the Industrial Association of Geneva, is a valuable testimony

to his varied knowledge, and his devotion to the manufacturing

interests of his country.

The institution of the council of the museum, the improvement

of the schools through the extension of special instruction, the

enlargement of the public library, the direction of schools for the

people, the definitive organization of an institution for the deaf

and dumb, his contributions for the erection of a small post for

the use of the rural communities, and also for the founding of a

better system for the instruction and examination of medical and

surgical students—all these actions of an elevated patriotism

either originated with him, or received his earnest and effectual

support. It must be particularly mentioned in this place, that he

exercised the most beneficial influence on all the departments of

public instruction by his counsel, by his powerful aid, and by the

_ authority of his name.

It was his constant effort to increase the desire for knowledge,

—to extend the circle of science. He was inspired by that genuine

aristocracy, which we find also in a Cuvier, a Fourcroy and a La-

place ; he wished to raise science to the rank of a princess, that she

might make herself the servant of mankind. In this sense also

he was a great friend to publicity ; he helped to introduce it into

his country ; he caused it to be prized at a period when it had not

yet been regarded with favour, and in which it not seldom called

forth suspicion and alarm.

In his place as member of the representative council, subjects

of great political importance were often referred to him. He dis-

charged all such commissions with as much skill as independent

disinterestedness. More than thirty commissions of this kind were

executed by him with as much assiduity as if they concerned ob-

12 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

jects of his own favourite science. His friend, the first Syndicus,

Rigaud, who honoured his memory bya discourse on occasion of

the induction of the lately elected deputies, mentioned two such

labours; one relating to a project for a committee for procuring

provisions for the city (comité des subsistances) of the year 1820,

and another two years later, on the project for reprisals against

France in relation to their exports and imports, which had for

its object the rejection of the project. Mr. Rigaud remarks on

this subject, “The first report was an excellent work, which

touched on the most important questions of national ceconomy.

It introduced also just ideas on the question of provision for the

people by other means than by the government, at a period when

the remembrance of a recent time of scarcity had fixed many pre-

judices even in the minds of enlightened men. DeCandolle ex-

erted himself to present the doctrines of political ceconomy in an

intelligible manner, just as he tried to clothe every other species

of knowledge in a popular dress. As early as the year 1817 he

had published a treatise for the instruction of the public, on oc-

casion of a disturbance among the people arising from the dear-

ness of potatoes. In his report upon the project of imtroducing

restrictions on the trade with France by way of retaliation, he de-

veloped the principles of true freedom of trade m his peculiarly

lucid manner. His influence in the representative council was

great. It was grounded on a high opinion of his character, as

well as of his extraordinary talents, and on an eloquence which

expressed his inward convictions with the fire of sudden inspira-

tion. As a citizen and member of the council, DeCandolle pur-

sued steadily but one object ; that of bringing opinions into har-

mony,—of always drawing more closely the bonds of unity among

the citizens of Geneva. He exerted himself to convince his nu-

merous friends, often of different political parties, that extreme

opinions could not find room in a small republic, and that

reciprocal sacrifices were often required for the good of the

country.”

It may perhaps, gentlemen, appear at first sight irrelevant to

the present occasion, to enter so much into detail respecting De-

Candolle’s influence as a citizen and magistrate ; yet I find my-

self called upon to do so on many accounts. In the first place,

we thus learn to appreciate the whole power of a mind, which

could combine with an almost inconceivable productiveness in its

own science so great a power for quite different affairs. We may

also obtain additional points of comparison, which may place both

aspects of DeCandolle’s character in a peculiar light. This warm

devotion to his republican country, this self-sacrificing attachment

to its interests, is a trait in which he resembles the sages and phi-

losophers of classic antiquity. As Aristotle found time, in the

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 13

midst of his numerous works on physics, natural history and

philosophy, to write others on politics; as nearly all the Grecian

philosophers, in addition to their widely different pursuits, were

also practical or theoretical statesmen, so we find the citizen of the

small Swiss canton penetrated with ideas and feelings which be-

long to him only as a citizen of this inconsiderable spot of earth ;

he, the same man whose writings, composed in either the Latin

or French language, are read from the Ganges to the Mississippi.

We cannot escape the thought, that so active a devotion to the

interests of the community could only exist in the mind of a

learned man in whom the ancient associations of republicanism

have not given place to the modern spirit,—the spirit of monar-

chical centralization. This old classical mode of thinking showed

itself in many other great Swiss scholars, in Conrad Gessner, Alb.

von Haller, Saussure, &c., as well as in DeCandolle, though not

in an equal degree ; for however attached from inward convic-’

tion to the form of government of their country, not one of them

had so earnest a desire to take an active part in the internal affairs

of the republic. They were all rather theoretical students ; while

in DeCandolle was reflected the spirit of our age, which passes

onward from theory, from pure science, into realization in the

form of useful ideas. The thought of the dignity and perfecti-

bility of man, which the French Revolution had so often in its

mouth, only to degrade, shone out in the noble-minded, ardent

citizen of Geneva,—a son of the Revolution in the highest sense

of the word.

A comparison of Linnzeus with DeCandolle in this point of

view, will result greatly in favour of the latter. We see Linnzeus

in Upsal, a remote and inconsiderable university-town of the

North, active in the professor’s chair, where he is surrounded by

a crowd of young men eager for knowledge from almost every

part of the earth ; or we see him at the writing-table of a small

room, from which the dictator of natural history sends through-

out the world his works, written in that terse, genial Latin in

which his whole self is mirrored. There only lives Linnzus ; or

in aula academica, presiding over the discussions of his scholars ;

or in the small primitive botanical garden, where the registrator

of the vegetable kingdom walks between formal rows of box and

regular flower-beds in silent meditation. The northern natural

historian withdrew himself from the world ; he did not even deign

to take part in the administration of the academic senate, which

he regarded only as a burden. Restricting his society to a few

friends, and to the unfrequent visitors from other countries, Lin-

neeus looked not upon the bustle of the world, except sometimes

to deprecate it ; only in the concrete study of nature does he find

himself at ease. He is no cosmopolite, except that he studies na-

14 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

ture in every zone; he recommends Swedish medicinal and eseu-

lent plants instead of those which distant countries might offer,

His mind becomes a denizen of every corner of the earth, but he

belongs personally to Sweden alone, He allowed all political com-

motions to pass by him unheeded while absorbed in the contem-

plation of nature; chained to his little inkstand, from which he

scattered through the world, with luminous, aphoristie geniality,

his thoughts, his anticipations of higher wisdom,—almost always

expressed in the language of Scripture, and with an emphatic

unction.

How entirely different was DeCandolle! He is the man of the

council, the man of the people. His power was felt as well in the

Genevan republic as in the republic of letters. No movement in

the political world is to him a matter of indifference. He notices

every change, and marks its relations to the progress of science.

If he open his lecture-room, it is not merely active young men

who sit attentive at his feet: the élite of the fashionable world

and of the higher walks are among his auditors ; men and women

of his own city, and numerous travellers from distant lands, who,

between Paris and Rome, crowd the highway of European travel,

passing through Geneva, all felicitate themselves upon having

listened to his eloquent discourses, Whilst the northern student

of nature meditates in solitude by the light of his study-lamp, the

pride of the learned world of Geneva, in his saloon, surrounded by

the comforts of a half-English, half-French establishment, re-

ceives the visits of rich or celebrated friends and of his fellow-

citizens, who talk of the movements of the political world, consult

with him on the interests of their country, or listen to the voice

of some enlightened citizen of the world, with lively interest in

his far-reaching plans.

Thus are portrayed, in the persons of Linneeus and of DeCan-

dolle, not merely the state of the natural sciences, but also the

more universal features of the spinit of their respective eras, as

exhibited in the school and in life, |

But in order to complete the portrait of our departed friend, I

must now give a more particular account of those literary works

which he commenced soon after his return to Geneva, when his

mind had attained its full maturity ; those works which especially

authorize us to term him the Linneus of our time; I mean his

universal system of plants (an undertaking which was the result

of the observations of many years of repeated visits to the great

collections of plants in Paris and London*, and of a diligent cor-

respondence with all the considerable botanists of the world), which

he began to publish in the year 1818, and continued to labour

* In 1816 M. DeCandolle visited Sir J. E. Smith at Norwich, where the

Linnean Collection then was.—Ep,

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 15

upon with unexampled diligence until the end of his days, Since

the death of Willdenow (in the year 1810) and the publication of the

‘Enchiridion Botanicon’ of Persoon in 1809, botanical literature

comprised no work which presented a universal view of all known

plants according to their genera and species, ‘The new edition

of the ‘Systema Vegetabilium’ of Rémer and Schultes made but

little progress after the death of the former. The systematic

knowledge of plants remained in a fluctuating state, Whilst nu-

merous monographs appeared, and the materials were multiplied

by discoveries in all the countries of the earth, there was no clue

to guide in the labyrinth of countless forms. At the same time,

the necessity was constantly more and more felt of arranging

plants, not in the dead framework of the Linnean sexual system,

but according to the so-called natural families in a comprehensive

scientific whole. If we are not even yet able to conceive of these

original types, as so many foci of the moving and forming spirit

. pervading the vegetable world, expressed in each individual case

by more or less striking external characters ; if we are obliged in

the first instance to adhere to collective characters, that is, to the

admission of a certain sum of distinctive marks ; if it must further

be acknowledged, that although we can perceive the principal cha-

racteristics, as they exhibit themselves in a few families, yet that

we lose them entirely in their organic, that is, in their universal

connexion—in their evolution, as it were, out of each other; if

especially we cannot deny that the natural method does not yet

bring with it any philosophic satisfaction ; that above all, the in«

ward truth does not harmonize perfectly with any system,—it

must however be acknowledged, that we can in no other way

attain to an understanding of the kingdom of plants as a great

whole, than by the path of a thoroughly concrete examination, led

by the hand of analogy and induction. The German students

of nature acknowledge that such an understanding cannot be ob-

tained by speculation, nor by any constructive method ; and they

can only promise themselves favourable results by pursuing the

path opened by Jussieu’s ‘Méthode Naturelle,’ In other coun-

tries also—for example, in France and England, more recently in

Italy likewise—Jussieu’s doctrines had already struck powerful

roots ; and thus was the age expecting and prepared for a work

which should extend the applications of the “natural system,”

carrying it on from the genera in which its founder had repre-

sented it, to the species, and giving by means of it a full and sa-

tisfactory description of the latter.

In order to have a due conception of the vastness of this un-

dertaking and its enormous difficulties, it is necessary that we

should glance at the progress of descriptive botany. This part of

the science, which so many regard as a lifeless register, others as

16 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

the whole sum of botanical knowledge, dates no further back, in

a systematic form, than the sixteenth century. In 1584 Conrad

Gessner published the first methodized work upon the vegetable

kingdom. In 1623 Caspar Bauhin produced the first systematic

were indicated by names and some description, but without cha-

racteristics. Tournefort published the first work which can be

properly called a systematic arrangément, in the years 1694 and

1700. Huis work contains 9516 articles, or about 8000 species

of plants ; and this number was not materially increased in the

next succeeding general work, the ‘ Historia Plantarum’ of Ray,

in the years 1693 to 1704. In 1737 Linneeus gave his first sy-

stematic description of known plants. As Tournefort had intro-

duced the conception of genera into science, that of species was

now established, along with a method of description based on a

well-founded and enlarged terminology. But Linnzeus, in throw-

ing overboard a vast number of old and unintelligible accounts of

plants as useless ballast, at once reduced the list of species to about

7000, a number which in the later editions of his ‘ Systema’ may

have been increased to about 12,000. Since that time the increase

of acknowledged species has been truly prodigious. In the last

of the works of Linnzus, in the year 1760, we find in the first five

classes of his sexual system 1835 species of plants ; Vitman in

1790 has 3491 ; Willdenow in 1797, 4831; Persoon in 1806,

6121; Romer and Schultes from 1817 to 1823, 18,519 species.

In the first edition of Steudel’s ‘ Nomenclator Botanicus,’ the first

complete ‘Pinax’ since Bauhin, the number of genera of Phzenoga-

mous plants, or of the first twenty-three classes of the Linnean

system, amounts to 3376, and that of species to 39,684: the se-

cond edition of this celebrated work, on the other hand, which

was finished in the current year 1841, reckons of Phznogamous

plants, 6722 genera and 78,005 species.

DeCandolle’s task was therefore six times greater than that of

Linneus, if we only take simple numbers into consideration. But

to this must be added the numerous difficulties which arise from

the dispersion of materials throughout a literature in which the

botanists of all civilized countries take part. Besides, in the time

of Linnzeus, science had much fewer foci than at present. Learned

societies have now been formed in North and South America, in

India and Java, for the promotion of the natural sciences, and

separate portions of systematic botany are treated in periodical

publications, monographies, and greater or smaller works, written,

not in Latin exclusively, as was formerly the case, but often in

the language of the country. Hence the acquisition of the requi-

site literary apparatus merely is now withm the reach of only

very considerable pecuniary means. DeCandolle, with the most

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 17

noble disinterestedness, sacrificed in this cause a great portion of

his estate.

Equally formidable are the internal obstacles attendant upon

the examination of vast collections of plants. The characteristics

of the genera according to the natural method are made to rest

upon organic peculiarities, which scarcely required a notice in the

Linnean system ; such for example as the internal structure of

the ovary, the ovule, and the seeds. - The use of the microscope,

neglected by Linnzeus, is now become quite indispensable. The

distinguishing marks of species are founded on numerous and

often very minute differences, which require a close examination

of all the parts. To make out a diagnosis, the description must

now be more circumstantial than formerly, when a few words were

sufficient to discriminate between related species. Linnzus’s

‘Systema Plantarum,’ in the Reichardt edition of 1779, describes

seven species of the genus Kugenia, and only thirteen of Myrtus.

DeCandolle, in the year 1828, has 194 of the former genus and

145 of the latter, of which he forms two divisions. It is obvious

to every one that this immense increase of the labour of the sy-

stematic describer must weigh heavily upon each separate species.

To this must be added, finally, the necessity of regarding each

plant no longer merely as a prepared, or, as it were, crystallized

production of nature, as was done by Linnzeus, but as a living and

acting self-developing being; a view which has been elicited by

the doctrines of morphology, and which cannot now be wholly

excluded from merely descriptive treatises.

DeCandolle began his great work in the year 1818, in an ex-

tended form, under the title of ‘Regni Vegetabilis Systema Natu-

rale.’ Two volumes had already appeared, when he perceived that

so immense a field laughed to scorn the limits of human life; he

therefore adopted a condensed form, and published seven volumes

between the years 1824 and 1838. With an enthusiasm which

has perhaps never inspired any other botanist, he devoted the

greater part of the day to this gigantic task. Still he was not able

to go through the whole extent of the vegetable kingdom in this

manner. ‘The work was interrupted by his death in the middle

of the eighth volume ; and a great portion of the so-called Mono-

petalous plants, as well as the classes of Monocotyledones and Aco-

tyledones, are yet untouched.

DeCandolle appears peculiarly great in the accurate compre-

hension of the characters both of genera and species. In the de-

scription of distinctive marks, he not unfrequently departs from

the terminology of the Linnean school. Whilst he at times de-

scribes a given object with admirable art, conveying the most

lively image to the mind, his expressions occasionally fail of this

distinctness. No one who can realize the greatness of the task

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Vol. xii, C

18 Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle.

will be surprised, that amidst such an overwhelming mass of ma-

terials, some objects should be described after a less thorough ex-

amination and scrutiny. But we never fail to recognise the intel-

ligent, penetrating systematizer, furnished with the happiest talent

for combination, even when not altogether fortunate or thorough

in his observation of the particular subject. ‘Well has the great-

est English botanist said of him—Ais head is still better than his

é.

DeCandolle has given a fuller development of his morphological

and systematic views respecting particular families of plants and

genera, in a series of treatises which have been regarded as models

of monographical labour by all systematic botanists*. It should

be particularly mentioned here, that he enriched the geography of

plants, elevated by Alex. von Humboldt to the dignity of a pecu-

liar science, with many important facts, and exhibited also the

practical aspect of this study. His general views on this subject

are laid down in a valuable “Essai Elémentaire de Géographie

Botanique,” published in the 18th part of the ‘ Dictionnaire des

Sciences Naturelles.’ .

I pass over many of the minor scientific labours of this unwea-

riedly active man, such as his systematic account of the species

of Cabbage, his description of remarkable plants of the Genevan

botanical garden, and numerous contributions to the memoirs of

various scientific associations, who vied with each other in thus

appropriating the activity of this admirable man. More than a

hundred diplomas from learned societies in every part of the civi-

lized world testify his scientific eminence and the extension of

_ his literary relations. Since 1808 he has belonged to the Royal

Bavarian Academy of Sciences; since 1822 to the Royal Society

of London. In the year 1826 he was chosen one of the eight as-

sociés étrangers of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris ; and

King Louis Philippe has testified his respect for the learned Ge-

nevan by bestowing upon him the cross of the Legion of Honour.

These various marks of respect could not dazzle a man, who, in

the most animated intercourse with science and with mankind,

perceived the endlessness of the subjects of inquiry, and who ex-

aggerated neither the measure of his own limited powers nor the

amount of his influence. Like all truly great men, DeCandolle

was modest ; and the consciousness of his own worth is shown

only in the lenity with which he judged others, and in the hearti-

ness with which he applauded their services. His twofold enthu-

siasm to increase the knowledge and advance the welfare of the

human race, reposed on a gentle but uncompromising character.

* Mémoires sut la famille des Legumineuses, Pat. 1825, 4to. Collection

de Mémoires pour servir @ l’Histoire du Régne Végétal. Par. 1828—1838,

(10 Mein.) ;

Martius on the Life and Labours of DeCandolle. 19

From temperament he was impetuous, rapid in determination,

firm and unfaltering in execution ; he had the practical skill to

carry his plans into effect in every variety of occupation. A prac-

tised physiognomist would detect these characteristics at a glance.

DeCandolle was of a sanguine temperament, of middle stature,

firm, broad-chested, with proportionably long and muscular arms,

quick and elastic in his walk, light and brisk in all his movements.

His oval face, shaded by thick black hair, and by its somewhat

dark complexion reminding one of his Provencal origin, was not

so much distinguished by the expression of a well-marked and

prominent profile, as by the high and finely arched brow, the mo-

bility of the features, the fire of his brown, proportionably small

eyes, which shone even through spectacles, and by the charm of

his mouth. In speaking, the whole intellectual expression of the

man was suddenly elevated. His ideas. unfolded themselves easily

and without effort in discourse, which, like his writings, inclined

rather to rhetorical breadth than to exact conciseness.

The poetical element of his mind, which he manifested while

yet a scholar in the college, remained active in him in later years.

fis fancy, both strong and rich, variously coloured, blooming, and

rapid in its movements, clothed his quick-rising conceptions in a

hight and graceful dress. He has left behind a great number of

poems of a lyrical character, in which he represents the universal

feelings of nature, or unfolds with grace and delicacy the emo-

tions of the human heart. "What we have seen of these reminds

us of Lafontaine, Delille, and of our own Pfeffel. From 1821 to

his death, he continued his autobiography with great particularity,

in which are contained valuable materials for moral and literar

history, often under the form of explanatory notes. His son will

publish, with such omissions as circumstances require, this me-

morial of the untiring activity of this excellent man.

But while such variously directed labour found in itself the best

intellectual reward, DeCandolle was by degrees obliged to acknow-

ledge the insufficiency of his physical powers for the task he had

himself allotted to them. In the year 1825 he had the misfortune

to lose his youngest son, a promising boy of thirteen years old.

The philosopher sought to soften the sorrows of his heart by in-

creased activity, and redoubled his zeal for the completion of his

work ; but from that time his health began to fail. He often suf-

fered from attacks of gout, and from obstinate catarrhal affections,

and was obliged on that account to relinquish his professorship

in 1834, which was transferred by the Senate to his son Alphonse.

In the year 1835 he suffered from a severe illness. He was af-

flicted with an asthma and a disease of the throat [bronchocele?],

for which excessive doses of iodine were prescribed. In conse-

quence of this he suffered from edema pedum and from nervous

20 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the Anatomy and Physiology

attacks, which increased until his death. He was never perfectly

well after 1835, and his strength was so much exhausted that the

progress of the dropsy, which from the month of June rapidly in-

creased, could no longer be opposed with effect. He died at six

o’clock in the evening of the 9th of September [1841], having lost

his consciousness several hours earlier.

By his will of the 20th of February of the present year [1841]

he left his library and his collection of plants to his son, with the

condition that they should be open, as before, to the inspection of

botanists, as if in a public establishment, and that students should

have the use of them until the end of their term of study. The

filial devotion of the son has made the fulfilment of these condi-

tions a sacred duty. Many distinguished botanists have promised

their aid for the completion of a work which transcends the pow-

ers of any individual. DeCandolle bequeathed to the Society of

Natural History of Geneva the sum of 2400 francs, the interest

of which is to be distributed in prizes for botanical monographs.

The right of publishing new editions of his ‘ Théorie Elémentaire’

and of his ‘ Organographie,’ he left to his friend and scholar

Guillemin* in Paris; the same right with regard to the ‘ Flore

Frangaise’ and the ‘ Essai sur les Propriétés Médicales des

Plantes,’ he bequeathed to Prof. Dunal in Montpelier.

This is the image, in its essential features, of one of the most

excellent men which the century has presented to receive the ho-

nours of science. In botany, that CanpoiiE4,the Australian shrub

to which Labillardiére has affixed his name, is not required to

keep him fresh in the memory of his botanical associates : he has

imscribed his own name on every page of the system of plants.

_ Neither does posterity require the monument which his native

city proposes to erect to his memory, nor the new “ Rue DeCan-

dolle”’ next to the botanical garden in Rochelle, in order to say

how great has been the influence of DeCandolle in our time.

Exegit monumentum ere perennius.

I1.— Observations on some Points in the Anatomy and Physiology

of the Freshwater Alye. By Anruur Hiii Hassart, Esq.

[With a Plate.j

On Cytoblasts in the Alge.—F¥rom the high development of the

cells of many Algze, both marine and freshwater, as well as from

their extreme transparency in many species, it might have been

supposed that the first discovery of those curious organs termed

* (This favourite pupil did not live even to commence the undertaking

thus committed to his charge : he died early in the spring of 1842,—A. G. }

Meg Wat Hist Nols2 PV.

IDC Sowerby fiulp.

of the Freshwater Alga. 21

cytoblasts, which exercise an influence so mysterious on the de-

velopment of cells, and whose presence in cellular structure is so

constant as to lead to the suspicion that the association of the

two organisms is universal, would have been made in this exten-

sive tribe of Nature’s exhaustless works ; so far however from this

being the case, they have not as yet, from what I can learn, been

noticed in any species of Alga; a description of them therefore, as

they occur in two genera of freshwater Conferve, Zygnema and

Vesiculifera, cannot fail to be of interest.

In the first of these genera, Zygnema, their structure is exceed-

ingly complicated. Hach cytoblast is solitary, and usually occu-

pies a central situation in each cell of a Zygnema. It consists

generally of two membranes, but sometimes there are three ; the

innermost of these being either circular or elliptical (the form

varying with the species itself as well as its condition) and pre-

senting a nucleated appearance, and all are separated from each

other by distinct intervals which are filled with fluid. The sur-

face of the inclosed membrane or membranes is smooth, while

that of the external is rendered irregular by the giving off of nu-

merous tubular prolongations or radii which terminate in the

spiral threads formed by mucous endochrome and large bright

granules, which I regard as the unfertilized zoospores (PI. I.

fig. 1).

Wishing to have a corroboration of my views respecting the

structure of the cytoblastic organ described above, and also to

learn as much respecting its anatomy as possible, I forwarded a

specimen of Zygnema nitidum to that able and most obliging ob-

server J. S. Bowerbank, Esq., whose opinion of its structure ex-

actly coincides with my own, that gentleman having in particular

satisfied himself of the tubular nature of the prolongations sent

off by the external membrane, and of their termination in the

spiral threads.

The structure of this curious organ explains with apparent sa-

tisfaction one of the offices which it is destined to discharge, viz.

that of a laboratory or stomach, in which the materials necessary

for the growth and vitality of the cell and its contents are received

and digested, and from which they are conveyed by means of the

tubular radii to those organs by which the materials are to be as-

similated.

The cytoblast, therefore, is at first fixed in the centre of the cell

by the prolongations which proceed from it ; but it happens, that

at a certain epoch these radii disappear, and then the cytoblast

floats freely within the cavity of the cell; the disappearance of the

rays, the cessation of the growth of the cells, and the assumption

of the characters of reproduction being almost contemporaneous,

or, at any rate, events immediately consecutive on each other, and

22 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the Anatomy and Physiology

the two latter being readily accounted for by the disappearance

of the radii (PI. I. fig. 2 and 3).

The circumstance of the increased development of the eyto-

blastic body, subsequent to the removal of the radii, gives weight

to the opinion that this organ has yet another office to perform

in addition to that of presiding over the growth of the cells; for

were it not so, it might be expected that on the disappearance

of the rays it would shrivel up and at length become absorbed,

as is the case with other organs, their allotted duties having been

performed ; and the office which I would attribute to it is one

even of more importance than that previously remarked upon, it

being no other than the fertilization of the brilliant granules en-

tering into the formation of the spiral threads, and which I regard,

as before noticed, as the unfertilized zoospores.

But it may be asked, if this be so, what is the purpose of the

union of the filaments of the Conjugate and intermingling of the

contents of two cells, phenomena which present themselves so

frequently amongst the Conferve? This question is not un-

answerable; but whether the answer now to be given shall be

deemed satisfactory, must depend upon future observation.

It may be that the combination of the material of two cells is

necessary in the cases where true spores are to be found, although

it would appear that no such combination is requisite in those

Confervee whose sole mode of reproduction, as in the greater pro-

portion of the branched species, is by means of zoospores, fertili-

zation in these being effected by means of the organ described in

this paper. |

But I must confess, that from cireumstances which have re-

cently come to my knowledge, and which I hope to be enabled

to make the subject of a detached communication ere long, my

faith in the existence of a double mode of reproduction, viz. by

true spores and by zoospores in some Conferve, has been consi-

derably shaken, and my present belief is, that the only method

which exists is that by zoospores ; in which case the commingling

of the contents of two cells, and the formation of large spherical

or elliptical bodies furnished with membranes by such commingling

and union, might be thus explamed. The combination might be

regarded merely in the light of an act of ceconomy on the part of

nature, whereby a saving of organization is effected, and the bodies

themselves as so many sporangia filled with zoospores.

The adoption of the view which supposes the fertilization of the

reproductive bodies by means of the organ whose complicated

anatomy has been dwelt upon, would have the effect of removing

some grand difficulties in the way of the complete understanding

of these most interesting productions, Thus, first, by furnishing

a definite organ whereby fertilization is occasioned, it removes

of the Freshwater Algae. 23

the inability which has hitherto been felt to explain in what way the

intermingling of bodies in all respects so similar in organization

and appearance as the bright granules of the Confervee seem

to be, can be regarded as giving origin to fertility; secondly, it does

away withthe anomaly, which has always appeared to me so strange,

that a combination of the matter of two cells should invariably

take place in certain divisions of the Confervoid tribe of produc-

tions, while in other divisions of the same tribe, which could not

be supposed to differ fundamentally from the former, no such phee-

nomenon has hitherto been recognised, by showing that this com-

bination is not an essential to the perpetuation of the species ;

and thirdly, it explains the permanence of species which have

perished before union of the endochrome and. formation of spores

have taken place.

I do not wish to assert that the above opinions rest in their

entirety upon conclusive facts, but would merely remark that they

are opposed to no known established fact in the history of the

Confervee, and that instead of adding to the difficulties which en-

velope some points in the physiology of these productions, they

have the advantage of removing several obscurities. Their true

value must however be developed by extended observation*,

I have detected cytoblasts in numerous Zygnemata, but the best

species in which to examine them are the larger kinds, such as

Zygnema maximum, Z. nitidum and Z. belle. Of the genus Vesi-

culifera I have also found it in several species ; they cannot always

be seen in these, owing to the cells not being transparent ; I doubt

not however but that they are general in it as well as in other

genera of Algze, whether marine or freshwater, For its appear-

ance in this genus, see Pl. I. fig. 6,

In conclusion it may not be out of place here to observe, that

Mr. Bowerbank was enabled to detect in the Zygnema which L

transmitted to him, Z. nitidum, two other minute organs, both

of which I have since myself more than once observed ; the one .

* Since the above passage was written I have several times encountered a

Zygnema, in which all the spores are formed without either union of the fila-

ments or commingling of the contents of two cells ; that is, they are formed

separately in each cell. This observation, the accuracy of which does not

admit of the slightest doubt, is therefore, in a high degree, corroborative of

the opinion that the central organ in each cell of Zygnema and other Con-

fervee is that by which fertilization of the zoospores is effected. To this

species I have given the name of Z, mirabilis. In a species of the genus

Mougeotia, M. notabilis, spores are also formed in each cell. Another fact

may be here alluded to, which confirms in a manner no less strong this opi-

nion, which is, that although the filaments of Mougeotia genuflexa, M. com-

pressa and their allies conjugate even without the intervention of transverse

tubes, yet no transference of” endochrome ever tukes place and no formation

of sporangia occurs. ‘This curious particular is the result of continued ob-

servation for two successive yeats.

24 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the Anatomy and Physiology

is cruciform and adherent to the interior wall of the cell. It,

Mr. Bowerbank remarks, is probably the vegetable structure

which secretes the raphides. The other body is small, elongated,

somewhat curved, and attached to or lying upon the plant. This,

Mr. Bowerbank observes, is certainly a “ string of minute cyto-

blasts ; and similar bodies, but more curved, are observed in the

soft parts of the young lips of shells, both land and freshwater.”

More than one of each of these organs may be found in each cell.

For representions of these see fig. 1.

The Rev. M. J. Berkeley has kindly favoured me with an abs-

tract of a paper by Hugo Mohl on the genus Anthoceros, pub-

lished in 1839 and inserted in ‘ Linnea,’ vol. xiii. p, 273, in the

cells of which an organ occurs bearing a considerable external

resemblance to the radiated structure met with in the cells of

Zygnema. |

The following is a brief outline of the mode of formation of

this structure in the genus Anthoceros. When an immature cell

of one of the species of this genus is examined, a portion of its

interior is seen to be occupied by a layer of green granules,

through which may be seen a cytoblast, the other portion of the

cell being colourless. Treated with iodine, the layer formed by

green granules, as also the colourless part of the cell, becomes yel-

low, showing that the whole is really lined with a sort of quasi

membrane. Gradually the’ green layer becomes concentrated

into two masses, which commence to advance more and more

towards the middle of the cells, and the edges of these masses

spreading in various degrees over the inner wall of the cell, leave

intervals of various sizes, which give to them a cellular appear-

ance. “The nucleus or cytoblast,” Mohl observes, “ has no part

in this formation. Frequently it is so concealed beneath the green

granular mass that it cannot be seen without some trouble ; some-

times it lies near to or between both divisions of the green mass

and then more easily comes into sight, but at the same time it is

observable that it remains unaltered and is foreign to the whole

of the slimy structure described above. The latter seems only so

far to have a relation to it, that its point of concentration is always

at the place where the nucleus lies, and indeed between it and the

walls of the mother cell.”

Subsequently, the two masses become divided into four, and the

reticulated appearance produced by the spreading of the masses

subsides into radii, which are similar in aspect to those emana-

. ting from the cytoblast in the Zygnemata, each arising separately

from the masses and terminating on the inner surface of the cell.

Finally, each radiated mass becomes a perfect spore or cell, sepa-

rated from each other by distinct cellular walls, in which changes

similar to those just described take place for the production of

of the Freshwater Alge. , 25

other spores. The great similarity m the structure of the inci-

pient spores in the genus Anthoceros with that of the radiated

organs in Zygnema, would lead to the supposition that they were

identical in their nature ; so far however from this being the case,

I consider that all analogy between them terminates with the out-

ward resemblance. The difficulties in the way of regarding the

structure in Zygnema as an incipient germ or spore appear to me

to be insuperable; for the question would immediately arise, where-

fore is it, that since the contents of ¢wo cells generally go to form a

single spore in the genus Zygnema, and since this radiated organ

is present in every cell, that the one is suppressed, while the other

is destined to give birth to the future Zygnema? Supposing how-

ever a satisfactory solution of this difficulty to have been made,

still another arises. It is far from being an incontrovertibly esta-

blished fact, that the elliptical body formed in Zygnema by the

concentration of the matter of two cells, and usually denominated

a spore, does really contain but a single germ. It is far more

consistent with known facts to suppose that they are sporangia

filled with fertilized sporules ; for this is certain, that numerous

zoospores are formed within each cell, and which may even be

seen through the membrane of the sporangia themselves by the aid

of a good glass, these zoospores being also identical with the bril-

liant granules of the Alge.

The highly interesting observations of Mohl on the genus dn-

thoceros, the accuracy of which is in no respect questioned by me,

do not therefore occasion any modification of the views expressed

of the functions of the radiated organ in Zygnema.

On Tubular or Vascular Structure in the Freshwater Alge.—

In the genera Vesiculifera, Zygnema, Microspora, and doubtless

in many other Algee, the zoospores up to a certain period of the

development are connected with each other, and probably with

the central cytoblast, by means of a tubular or vascular network,

in the angles formed by which the zoospores are situated. This

structure is most manifest in Conferva crispata and its allies (see

fig. 8), and requires, in order that it may be clearly seen, that the

development of the species should be considerably advanced and

the zoospores somewhat scattered. It may, generally, howeyer be

easily detected in the genera Vesiculifera and Zygnema: in the

latter the tubular formation is not arranged in a reticulated man-

ner, but occupies the centre of each spiral thread (PI. I. fig. 1, 2,3).

It is by the mosculation of the tubular radu given off by the cen-

tral cytoblast with this vascular structure that a direct. commu-

nication is established between that organ and the zoospores : now

presuming that the cytoblast in the other Algze in which it occurs

presents at some period of its existence a similar formation to

that which it exhibits in the genus Zygnema, and adopting the

26 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the Anatomy and Physiology

view before expressed of its office in presiding over the develop-

ment of the cells, it is clear that this tubular apparatus is de-

signed to facilitate the transmission from zoospore to zoospore of

_ the elaborated nutriment transmitted by the cytoblast. The or-

ganic mucus and endochrome, from their appearance and limita-

tion in the genus Zygnema, may be supposed to have passed by

exudation from the interior of the tubes to their surfaces, See

fig. 1, 2. 3.

On the Formation of Spores (Sporangia?) and their investing

Membranes.—The following would appear to be some of the steps

in the formation of spores. The material, whether consisting of

the contents of one or two cells, out of which each spore is to be

formed, first consolidates itself in the centre of those cells in which

it is to be elaborated ; the zoospores, which continue to increase

in size, retire from the surface of the mass so as to leave only or-

ganic mucus surrounding them; this then assumes the form of

spore peculiar to the species, its surface, lastly, becoming hard-

ened into a compact membrane or membranes.

Observations on the genus Zygnema,

The species of the genus Zygnema readily resolve themselves

into two divisions or subgenera, which are to be distinguished

from each other by the conformation of the cells.

In the first of these subdivisions, which for the most part in-

cludes the long-celled species of the genus, such as Zygnema elon-

gatum and Z. quadratum, &c., the opposed extremities of all those

cells which have attained maturity are considerably inverted, and

which inversion may be compared to that of the finger of a glove

(Pl. I. fig. 4) ; while in the second, which embraces the short-celled

examples, as Zygnema maximum, Z. nitidum and very many others,

the cells are not inverted, but touch each other by thew plane

surfaces,

The form of this inversion is, in all the species in which it oceurs,

identical and extremely regular, its cireumference being circular

and its base somewhat flat ; no membrane intervenes between the

spores formed by this indoubling in contiguous cells, which spaces

therefore communicate directly with each other,

At the period of reproduction, and at no other, one of the two

indented and opposed extremities of certain cells becomes everted

and protruded into the cavity of the other (Pl. I. fig. 5).

The cause of this protrusion, and the reason why it only ocewrs

at, the precise period of the reproduction of the cells, are easily

accounted for, and both arise from unequal internal pressure of

the contiguous cells on each other, which inequality of pressure

is produced by the emission of the endochrome of one cell into a

neighbouring cell either in the same or different filaments ; thus,

of the Freshwater Alge. 27

when a cell has discharged its contents its cavity is empty, and

no resistance can be offered by it to the protrusion of the inverted

portion of the adjacent cell or cells, replete as it or they are with

fluid and endochrome. ‘This explanation applies likewise to the

fact, that when a number of cells haye either emptied themselves

of their contents or have been the recipients of those of other

cells at the same time no eyersion takes place, for in this case

there is no imequality of internal pressure. |

But while a correct exposition may be given of the cause of this

protrusion and intromission, it is not so easy to offer a satisfactory

explanation of the purpose to be attained. The eversion doubt-

less assists in effecting the dislocation of the cells, and thus, repro-

duction being perfected, hastening the destruction and dispersion

of the species ; processes, which, from the greater length of the

cells and consequent continuity of the enveloping sheath, would

possibly occupy, were it not for some special provision of the na-

ture indicated, a much longer time than in the short-celled spe-

cies. A subordinate and not unimportant use of this provision

is, the assistance which it affords in the determination of allied

species.

It is remarkable that no similar conformation presents itself to

our notice in the genera Tyndaridea and Mougeotia, so closely

allied to Zygnema, for in these the cells terminate by plane sur-

faces, which however may be either everted or inverted to a slight

extent.

This peculiar formation of the cells of some Zygnemata was first

noticed by me in the spring of 1842, but its true nature only

became apparent to me in the early portion of the present year.

When viewed through a low power of the microscope, and in a

Zygnema whose filaments are as yet separate, it exhibits the ap-

pearance of two curved knife-blades slightly approximating to

each other at their apices, near to which usually lies the divided

spiral thread, and strongly impressing the superficial observer,

from the position and aspect of these blades, with the idea that

they are the instruments which effect its separation, and remind-

ing him of the beautiful provision whereby the section of pollen

granules is brought about.

On transmitting a short time since a specimen of the Zygnema

now figured (guadratum), in a state of reproduction, to the Rey. M.

J. Berkeley and Mr, Ralfs, but unaccompanied by any remarks in

reference to the structure of the cells, both these gentlemen no-

ticed their peculiar conformation, and from the former I received

correct sketches of their appearances.

The structure of the jomts in Zygnema was long since noticed

in one species of the genus by Mohl, who thus describes it in his

paper upon the multiplication of cells by division inserted in the

28 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the Anatomy and Physiology

‘ Flora’ :—* In Z. elongatum, Ag., the dissepiments have a very

peculiar structure, which I have found in no other species.. The

terminal surface of each cell is not even, but elongated into a blunt

conical process. This process can only be observed in its true

state when two joints are separated one from the other ; when, on

the contrary, the threads are unbroken the process is generally

introverted like the finger of a glove, and exhibits the form repre-

sented at Pl. I. fig. 8. a,6,¢. This is the common condition, and

in most threads no joint is found otherwise constructed. But I

have now met with a single thread in which a part of the articu-

lations have the ordinary length, while another part. has joints

only half as long. In these shorter articulations it was normal

that only the alternate dissepiments had the structure peculiar

to this species (so that by these dissepiments the thread was

divided into articulations of the ordinary length), while, on the

contrary, the intermediate dissepiments exhibited the form usual

in Confervee*.” 3

The observation, that “this process can only be observed in its

true state (that is, everted) when two joints are separated the one

from the other,” is accurate, for the cells may be separated and

yet the processes inverted, the eversion of them having nothing

whatever to do with the separation of the cells, and never being

in any case the result of it, but depending, as explained already,

upon unequal internal pressure, and occurring chiefly at the pe-

riod of reproduction. The effect of the eversion is, as already

observed, to occasion the dislocation of the cells.

Again, in every filament of those Zygnemata which exhibit the in-

verted structure, cells may be observed terminating in the ordinary

manner of Confervee, viz. by plane surfaces, the presence or absence

of the inversion depending upon the period of the formation of

the dissepiments ; the older ones, or, as observed in the beginning

of this notice, the more mature ones only presenting it.. Thus it

follows that the opposed extremities of cells always exhibit the same

structure, and that this alternation in form supplies evidence the

most conclusive of the multiplication of cells throughout the en-

tire filament of a Conferva by division.

Observations on the genus Vesiculifera.

The genus of freshwater Confervee which I have denominated

in a previous article Vesiculifera, in addition to the characters

indicated in the definition of it given therein, such as the attach-

ment, attenuation and slight mucosity of the filaments of the spe-

cies composing it, as well as the formation of true spores by the

intermingling and union of the contents of two cells in the same

* Flora, 1837, vol. i. p,.29.

of the Freshwater Alge. 29

filament, is particularly distinguished by the presence of a pecu-

liar and regular annulation of the enveloping membrane of the

cells, which would appear at a certain epoch to be intimately ad-

herent to the tissue of the cells themselves (Pl. I. fig. 6).

This annular disposition of the sheath of the cells does not

occupy its whole extent, but corresponds only to certain cells and

determinate portions of those cells; the cells around which it is

disposed being those in which the spores are destined to be formed,

and the portion of these which it invests being the extremities

through which no endochrome passes from the contiguous cells

for the formation of the true spores, or rather perhaps sporangia.

The number of annuli which correspond to each fructiferous

cell varies considerably according to the species, and is more con-

siderable in the long-celled species ; 1t would appear however to

be never less than two, or more than eight or ten.

The use of this interesting structure is much more apparent

than that of the provision already noticed as belonging to one

section of the genus Zygnema, and admits of a most satisfactory

explanation, it bemg manifestly designed to afford an outlet to

the imprisoned spores, which it may be supposed to do in the

following way. As soon as the species has reached its maturity

and the spores have become perfected, the annuli, which are inti-

mately united to the cells, contract, most probably from the arrest

of growth and diminution of vitality of the plant which occur to-

wards the completion of the process of reproduction, drawing

along with them, and thus rupturing, the slightly elastic mem-

brane of the cells (Pl. I. fig. 7).

Without some such beautiful and effectual provision, it will be

evident, on reflection, that the spores would have to remain im-

mured within their narrow cells for an indefinite length of time,

even until, perhaps, their vitality had ceased and the cells had

become their coffins; for occupying, as the spores do, but a portion

of the space of the cells, and enveloped as they are in mem-

branes, they can themselves, of course, exert no influence in pro-

ducing the rupture of the walls of those cells.

In all the Confervee with which I am acquainted, some special

means are provided for the escape of the spores or zoospores, their

hberation never being left to the sole agency of decomposition of

the tissue of these plants ; thus, in the majority of the branched

Conferve, and in the species of the genus Spheroplea as well as

in many other Confervee, their liberation is effected by the rup-

ture of the cells in which they are contained, which rupture is

occasioned by the development of the zoospores while still inclosed

within the cells; in Conferva (Microspora) glomerata a special

aperture exists for the escape of the zoospores at the period of re-

30 Mr. A. Hassall on the Freshwater Algae. —

production, situated at one side of the distal extremity of each cell ;

in the Conjugating tribe the zoospores pass out through the open-

ings of the connecting tubes of the cells, which, when reproduction

has been completed, separate from each other; and lastly, in the

Vesiculifere, as has been shown, a more complicated provision ex-

ists for the egress of the spores and zoospores.

. Of all characters whereby the Vesiculifere may be distinguished

from other Confervee, that derived from the conjugation of the in-

vesting sheath is perhaps the most valuable, from the circumstance

not merely of its being confined to the species of that genus, but

from its constant presence in all stages of their development ;

and not only is it interesting as being indicative of a Vesiculifera,

but also as pointing out those cells, even in the young and but

little developed Vesiculifera, which are destined to carry the true

spores when the species shall have arrived at the perfection of its

life. .

Meyen, by whom this interesting structure seems first to have

been noticed, gives the following account of its characters in a

species which he calls Conferva rivularis :—

“The annular structure appears worthy of notice, which the

upper end of many of the joints of the Conferva represented ex-

hibits. This appearance is altogether analogous to the annular

structure observed in the horny coat of the Campanularie. In

those polypi also this structure appears first at an advanced period

of growth, as is the case with the Conferva, and indeed in very

different species of articulated plants of this family. The forma-

tion commences with a thickening of the membrane; the con-

strictions then appear, which are not spiral, but run in horizontal

rings one above the other. Sometimes it seems as if this ringed

substance were afi entirely new formation.”—Meyen, ‘ Pflanzen-

i sg sh vol. ii. p. 451. :

e above is the entire of Meyen’s account of this corrugated

formation, which does not in all respects accord with my own ob-

servations. The structure is, amongst freshwater Alge, confined

to the species of the genus Vesiculifera.

The purpose to which the annular disposition of the horny coat,

of not merely the Campanularia but of most hydroid Zoophytes,

is subservient, is probably that of rendering their polypidoms

more flexible, and consequently less liable to injury from the

agitation of the restless element in which they dwell.

I have, in conclusion, to record my thanks to the Rev. M. J.

Berkeley for the friendly interest which that gentleman has taken

in the above observations, as well as for the valuable references

and extracts from the ‘ Flora,’ &e. incorporated with these remarks,

_ Cheshunt, May 14, 18438,

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 31

EXPLANATION OF PLATE IL.

Fig. 1. A magnified cell of Zygnema nitidum; exhibiting the structure of

the central cytoblast prior to the cessation of the growth of the

species, the tubular connexion between the zoospores, and other

points in the anatoiny of the Zygnemata.

Fig. 2 & 8. give the appearances of the cytoblast subsequent to that epoch,

and to the removal of the radii. icsinas

Fig. 4 & 5. show the structure of the joints in Zygnema quadratum ; a

similar formation existing in a considerable number of Zygnemata.

Fig. 6. represents a filament of Vesiculifera capillaris prior to the assump-

tion of the chatacters of reproduction.

Fig. 7. The species in its perfect condition.

Fig. 8. The vasculat connexion between the zoospores taken from Confi

erispatas

II1.—The Birds of Ireland. By Wma. Tuompson, Hsq,,

if Pres. Nat. Hist. Society, Belfast.

[Continued from vol. xi. p. 290.]

Tue Revd Grovsn—Tetrao Scoticus, Lath—is common to

heathy tracts of every altitude, from the low bog, which is

barely elevated above the sea, to the summits of the moun-

tains throughout Ireland, and the adjacent islets. In the

most favoured localities the species is as plentiful as in the

Highlands of Scotland ; but our moors, instead of being let as

in that country to the highest bidder, are, with rare exceptions,

reserved by the proprietors for their own, or their friends’

shooting*. | |

On the range of the Belfast mountains, rising to nearly 1600 feet

in altitude, the grouse still maintains its ground, and in the even-

ings of summer and autumn, when taking a favourite walk to the

mountain-ridge to behold the grand and varied prospect on every

side, and above all, to watch the down-going of the sun behind the

distant mountains on the farther side of Lough Neagh, and see

the vast expanse of waters steeped in the most lovely hues, the

crowing of the grouse has almost invariably enlivened my walk

home. To my ear the call is delightful, from its association with

the wildness of nature. When undisturbed at such times, the

alarm note well known to sportsmen as a repetition of ‘ the syllable

kok” was rarely heard, but the crowing—which is admirably re-

presented by the words ‘ go, go, go, go, go-back, go-backt”—is

* It has been remarked to me that the grouse of Ireland and Scotland

differ in size and colour; but this, though apparently correct when birds of

a certain district are compared with those of another, I consider to be a

partial view, for in different localities throughout either Scotland or Ireland

birds will be found equally to vary in these respects.

+ Macgillivray’s ‘ Brit. Birds,’ vol. i. p. 181, where it is added that ‘ the

Celts naturally imagining the moor-cock to speak Gaelic, interpret it as

signifying co, co, co, co, mo-chlaidh, mo-chlaidh—that is, who, who (goes

there?) my sword, my sword !”

32 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

continued for a long time, commencing in the month of September

about half an hour after sunset. From about the same spot I have

heard this call on many evenings, thus indicating the partiality of

these birds to a favourite roosting-place. During one of these walks

in the month of June, a pointer-dog was inconsiderately allowed to

follow me, and by his trespassing on the breeding haunts of the

grouse, lapwing, and snipe, caused a continued uproar from the

three species, akin to that produced by birds on the sea-shore.

The grouse breeds very early. On the 17th of March a sporting

friend once found a nest on the Belfast mountains, containing eleven

eggs. When hare-hunting here so late as the middle of April, I

have more than once, to my great regret, seen the pack of hounds

come upon the nest, and set to work so quickly, that every egg was

devoured before they could possibly be whipped off. Fortunately,

- this bird breeds a second time, if the first nest be destroyed.

For the fact that grouse is a good bird for the table, we have no

less an authority than that of the illustrious John Locke! In the

life of this philosopher by his descendant, Lord King, are directions,

&c. from Locke, apparently addressed to some foreigner about to

visit England, one sentence of which is—‘ Railes and heath-polts,

ruffs and reeves, are excellent meat wherever they can be met with.”

—Page 134.

The grouse is occasionally subject to variety in colour. One shot

in November 1826 by the Rey. Lord Edward Chichester, near Doagh,

in the county of Antrim, was pure white, with the exception of the

two outer primaries, and an equal number of the feathers of the greater

wing-coverts, which remained unchanged. It was a large and healthy-

looking bird.

My friend John Sinclaire, Esq. of Belfast, who has been a regular

grouse-shooter for upwards of sixty years, states that about Ballan-

trae, in Ayrshire, he has found grouse in stubble and in grass fields

a mile distant from the mountain heath, and has sprung them from

the heath in plantations of young trees about fifteen feet in height.

He considers that the scarcity of grouse in many places is owing to

the increase of sheep pasturing. ‘The nests of this bird are trodden

on by the sheep, and the burning of the heath on their account,

even if practised at a proper season, deprives the grouse of shelter

for some years, and not very unfrequently, by being carried into

execution in the early spring, destroys their eggs. Where horned

cattle are pastured, he considers grouse to be as numerous as ever.

The black grouse, by nestling in “marshy places, is not subjected to

the casualties just noticed, and hence one reason of the decrease of

the former, and increase of the latter, in some districts. :

On looking to the food contained in grouse when their favourite

berries were not to be had, I have found it to be chiefly the tops of

heath, with occasionally the stem of the bilberry (Vaccinium Myr-

tillus). On opening the intestines of a diseased grouse, shot on the

14th of August at Ballantrae, (but which had been wounded per-

haps three weeks before,) I found them nearly full of tape-worms

(Tenia). Its gizzard was entirely filled with the fruit of the Hmpe-

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 33

trum nigrum, there called heather-berry. My friend just alluded to

has frequently found oats in the crops of grouse killed in the last-

named locality.

Tue Caprercariziz or Woop Grouse—Tetrao Urogallus, Linn.—

has unfortunately long been extinct in this country. Giraldus, in

his ‘ Topographia Hibernica,’ states, that this species (called by him

Pavo sylvestris) was more common in Ireland than the red grouse,

about the twelfth century. When the island was covered with na-

tive woods one can imagine that it may have been so, but even if

less abundant, the nature of its haunts might cause it to be more

frequently met with than the red grouse, and consequently its be-

ing considered more common. The Irish statutes 11 Anne, ch. 7,

recite, ‘‘ that the species of cocks of the wood* (a fowl peculiar to

this kingdom) is in danger of being lost,” and prohibits the shooting

of them ‘for seven years.” Smith, in his ‘ History of Cork’ (1749)

observes, that “it is now found rarely in Ireland, since our woods

have been destroyed.” Rutty, in his ‘ Natural History of Dublin’

(1772), mentions that ‘‘ one was seen in the county of Leitrim about

the year 1710, but they have entirely disappeared of late, by reason

of the destruction of our woods.”—Vol.i. p. 302. Pennant, in his

‘ British Zoology’ (1776), states that “about the year 1760 a few

were to be found about Thomastown, county of Tipperary.” The

27th Geo. III. ‘ prohibits killing moor game, heath game, grouse,

pheasant, partridge, quail, land rail, and wild turkey, hetween the

10th of January and Ist of Septembert+.” Whether by wild turkey

the wood grouse is meant, may perhaps be considered uncertain.

There is no uncertainty, however, in the following instance. From

the Rev. Mr. Dubourdien’s ‘ Survey of the County of Antrim,’ pub-

lished in 1812, we learn that ‘‘ wild turkeys are now nearly extinct,

though once in such numbers at the former place [Portmore] ; the

breed, the true copper colour, with red legs’”’ !

Buack Grovsz, Tetrao Tetrix, Linn.—For a long period this fine

bird has certainly not been a native of Ireland; and that it ever

was so is at least doubtful. Ihave not met with any satisfactory

evidence of its being indigenous. Smith, in his ‘ History of Water-

ford’ (1745), remarks—“ It is uncertain if we have not the Urogallus

minor, Raii, viz. the heath-cock or grouse of Willoughby, which I

take to be the black game of England, and is also an inhabitant of

the mountains.”—Page 336. The same author in his ‘ History of.

Cork’ says of ‘‘ The black grouse (Tetrao seu Urogallus minor) :—

This species is frequent, and needs no particular description. It

* Willoughby (1678) observes, ‘ This bird is found on high mountains

beyond seas, and as we are told in Ireland (where they call it Cock of the

Wood), but nowhere in England.”

He concludes his description thus : * The flesh of this bird is of a delicate

taste and wholesom nourishment, so that being so stately a bird, and withal

so rare, it seems to be born only for princes and great mens tables,” !

+ For these extracts from the Irish Statutes I am indebted to Francis

Whitla, Esq.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. D

34 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

inhabits mountains, and is rarely seen in lower heath grounds. The

cock is almost black, but the female is coloured like a woodcock or

partridge.” Were this description taken from native birds it would

be decisive as to the species, but it may quite as probably have been

copied from some descriptive work*. Mr. Templeton states, that

he had heard from excellent authority, that ‘‘ black game is men-

tioned in some of the old leases of the county of Down,” but proof

that the Tetrao Tetrix was the bird so alluded to, and did exist there,

js still wanting. Pennant, in his ‘ British Zoology’ (1776), re-

marks, that. ‘‘ some have been shot in Ireland, in the county of |

Sligo, where the breed was formerly introduced out of Scotland,

but I believe that at present the species is extirpated.”

That when Ireland abounded in natural wood, many portions of

the island may have been well-suited to the abode of the black

grouse, does not I conceive admit of any doubt; but, again, we know

not whether Great Britain may not geographically have been, within

its latitude, the extreme western range of the species. I have not

seen any record of its being met with west of Great Britain,

in any latitude+. Since the period mentioned by Pennant, this

species has been introduced into different parts of Ireland, and

being turned out, lived occasionally for some years, but I am not

aware of its having bred in any instance. There are in the county

of Antrim, just opposite to the favoured haunts of this bird in

Scotland, localities which seem in every natural feature well-suited

to the black grouse. To two of these places, ‘‘Claggan,” the

property of Viscount O’Neil; and Glenarm deer-park, belonging to

Edmund M‘Donnell, Esq., this bird has been introduced with the

following success. I leave the respective game-keepers, both very

intelligent men, and the best “ authorities” on the subject, to speak

for themselves. C. Redmond, gamekeeper at Claggan, informed me

_ by letter dated January 1, 1841, as follows :—

“ Twelve years ago (two years previous to my coming here)

there were four brace of black game turned out, a cock and hen of

which I frequently met with outside the plantations in the heath,

my pointer dogs setting them like grouse. They were never to be

seen together, but kept a mile separate, and each of them always

about the same place: the hen I found dead three years ago, and

supposed her to have been shot at by a party which Lord O'Neil

had here at that time. The cock has left us or been killed also. I

saw a cock that was shot last year at Glenariff near Cushendall,

[some miles distant] which may have been the same. I was at the

letting out of nine black game in 1832 in this place, and a single

* Since this was written, I have had the opportunity of consulting Wil-

loughby’s ‘ Ornithology,’ and find that Smith borrows his description of the

birds and their haunts from that work.

+ The proximity of Ireland to Great Britain may be considered an ob-

jection to this view by those who have not looked to the distribution of the

Vertebrata of the two islands. In the introduction to the Report on the

Fauna of Ireland, (published in the ‘ Reports of the British Association for the

Advancement of Science’ for 1840,) remarks upon this subject will be found.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 35

bird of them I never saw afterwards; the reason I cannot assign, it

might be that they were hurt in coming from Scotland and died,

or wandered away, which I believe they are prone to do.”

John Inglis, gamekeeper at Glenarm Park, replied to some queries

on this subject in the following words in January 1841.

«In reply to your note regarding black game, I am sorry I can-

not give you a very flattering account of them. There has been one

black cock here about four years. I have not seen him for the last

four or five weeks, but I suppose him to be still alive. I think it is

likely he came from Claggan, as I believe Lord O’Neil turned out

some there shortly before the bird was seen here. [The places are

about fifteen miles apart.] At the begimning of August 1839,

I went to Scotland and got nine young birds at Douglas Castle;

two of them died on the passage; I turned out the seven on the

hill near the place where the old cock used to haunt, but none of

them were ever seen afterwards that I know of. The reason I assign

for their not succeeding at this time is, that I think they were too

young, and not fit to manage for themselves without the help of the

old bird. In November 1839, I again went to Douglas Castle, got

six brace of full-grown birds, viz. seven hens and five cocks; I got

them all safe over to Glenarm, where I kept them for two days,

feeding them on corn till they recovered from the effects of the

passage. I then turned them out in the park quite strong and

healthy to all appearance. Some time after one of the cocks was

found dead in the park ; he was quite light and thin of flesh. One of

the cocks was shot about the same time in Glenariff, about eight

miles from Glenarm. A few of them kept about the park all winter.

Sometimes one would be seen, sometimes two, and in the month of

March there were three hens and one cock seen together, but about

the beginning of May all the hens disappeared, and none of them

have been seen since. One cock kept the park all summer, and was

seen lately, which is all that I know of here, out of the twelve

brought over. One cock was shot about two months ago by a gen-

tleman near Ballycastle, [about twenty miles distant,] which is

likely to be another of them. Where all the hens have gone to I

cannot say. I am still in hopes that some of them may be alive yet,

as they are so much like grouse that people who are not acquainted

with them would take no notice of them.

‘** I now come to your last query, which is, If they ever bred?

and if they did not succeed, the reasons assigned for their not doing so?

Now I really confess I cannot assign any satisfactory reason what-

ever, as I have no doubt that full-grown birds would live as well in

Ireland as they do in Scotland, if they were only let alone. What

I am most doubtful about is, whether they will breed as well; and

the reason I am doubtful about this is, that when I was in Scotland,

keeper with Lord Douglas, at Douglas Castle, where black game

are very plentiful, in hunting the dogs over the ground I used to find

all the young broods of black game, not among heath or moss ground

where young grouse generally are, but on white or green ground, where

sprat and rushes are plenty, and where you will seldom find young

36 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

grouse. But when they get strong and able to do for themselves

they get into packs, often to the number of forty or fifty, and fly

over the whole country and take both to the woods and corn-fields

—when at Douglas last I was talking to Lord Douglas’s keeper

about what he thought the young birds fed on. He said that early

in the season he had caught some young birds, intending to tame

them and learn them to feed, so that I might be better able to get

them safe over, but they all died ina day or two. He cut open

some of their crops to see what they fed on, and could observe

nothing but the seed of the sprat or rush. Now, from the number

of black cattle that are kept on the mountains in the north of Ire-

land, there is scarcely any sprat or rushes allowed to grow that

would be of any use either for cover or food. I have seldom seen

them sit when cattle go near them, and a crow flying over will make

a score of them rise and fly away in the latter end of the season,

when they are strong on the wing. With respect to the haunts and

breeding-ground of young black game, I speak only from my own

observations. I am not aware that they haunt the same kind of

ground in other parts of the country, I merely wish to direct

your attention to it. I know they are plenty in the island of Arran,

but do not know what sort of ground they frequent there. As I

mentioned before, none of the hens have been seen since the begin-

ning of the breeding time: whether they began to hatch and were

killed by some vermin, or wandered away in search of a more suit-

able place for their purpose, is a question I cannot answer. Lord

Courtown’s keeper was at Douglas Castle shortly after I was, in

November 1839, and got away six brace to his lordship’s estates

somewhere south of Dublin, but I have not heard how they suc-

ceeded.”

How different from this is the case at Ballantrae in Ayrshire, just

opposite to Glenarm! When sporting there in 1839, I made the

following note on the 20th of August, after returning from the first

day’s black game shooting.

** Within twenty years a black grouse was an extraordinary sight

in the neighbourhood of Ballantrae in Ayrshire, and still later, not

more than one or two individuals would be met with during a sea-

son’s shooting. When first there, in the autumn of 1828, I saw

numbers of these birds, chiefly about the corn-fields adjacent to the

mountains, since which time they have been gradually increasing,

and of late years have become abundant. This is doubtless attri-

butable to the great increase of cultivation, or the growth of corn in

the vicinity of the moors, for with its augmentation that of the black

game has proportionally kept pace—within the period alluded to

a vast quantity of mountain-land has been brought under cultivation

in this district.

“In grouse ground we met with two or three small packs of black

game today, but one pack was quite below the moor, and on look-

ing to the crop of a young cock killed there, I found it filled with

the flowers of all the plants which grew around—amongst them

were those of Huphrasia, Ranunculi, Cerastia, Carices, but in quan-

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 37

tity much exceeding the others were those of the autumnal hawk-bit,

Apargia autumnalis—to my veteran companion, who has shot here

successively for about twenty seasons, this plant has long been

known as a favourite food of the young black game—in addition to

the flowers, were many leaves of a small willow, every one of which

taken from the bird was infested with an insect nidus. It is in the

evening chiefly that the black grouse resorts to the corn-fields, and

this it does when the grain is green, as well as when ripe. Both

black and red grouse killed late in the autumn, and in the course of

the day, are not unfrequently found, when opened, to contain oats

exclusively, which in such cases have been purloined in the early

morning*. The farmers in this part of Ayrshire often complain

of the damage done to their crops by these birds, especially by the

black grouse. In reference to the common error that this bird in-

creases at the expense of the red game, it may be stated that in this

country the numbers of the latter have in consequence suffered no

diminution.” In the autumn of 1837 my friend first saw the hens

of the black game packed, when fourteen and fifteen appeared to-~

gether. He has seen as many as seventy black cocks in company.

The following instance of the carriage of the eggs of the black

grouse to a considerable distance with perfect safety after their

having been partly incubated, seems to me very interesting. In

June 1833, Mr. Arbuthnot Emerson of Belfast had brought to him

from Stranraer nine eggs taken from the nest of a black grouse.

These eggs were placed under a bantam hen, and in one week, seven

young birds made their appearance. ‘Two of them soon died, but

the remaining five lived for about a month, or until cold and wet

weather set in, when they all died. The eggs were packed in fea-

thers, and brought by the mail-coach from Stranraer to Portpatrick,

where they were shipped on board the steam-packet, put into the

mail again at Donaghadee, and in about twelve hours after being

taken from the nest were placed under the bantam hen. On the

same subject I have learned from Wm. Sinclaire, Esq., respecting a

nest of partridge’s eggs once brought to him from a distance of eight

miles, that they were quite cold when received, but being placed

under a common hen, the young birds came out in half the usual

time, thus showing, that eggs when half incubated can be carried to

a distance without their vitality being impaired. The same gentle-

* Mr. Colquhoun, in his work entitled ‘The Moor and the Loch,’ states,

from the circumstance of heather never having been found in any black

grouse opened by him, that the species never eats it; but this will not apply

generally, as proved in the case of birds examined by myself. Examples

shot in Scotland, and set up by bird-preservers in Belfast are alluded to, as

the contents of their gizzards only have I noted down. ‘They were five in

number, and killed in the months of October, November, and January.

The first contained oats and the tops of heath, which had given a pink tinge

to the grain; the second, the twigs of heath and other plants; the third, a

quantity of oats; the fourth, portions of a woody plant, perhaps heath; the

fifth was, excepting many pebbles, entirely filled with yellowish green woody

matter, consisting in part, if not altogether, of the bilberry plant (Vaccinium

Myrtillus),—they all contained many pebbles.

388 Mr.G.W. Bailey on Siliceous Spicule in Actinie.

man informs me, that having once “ set’’ nine eggs of the domestic

hen, he by mistake, at the expiration of two, instead of three weeks,

went to examine them, and lifting each egg shook it violently, to

ascertain if it were addled. He concluded that all were in this state,

and thought no more of the matter until a week afterwards, (the

twenty-one days having expired,) when the hen appeared strutting

about with seven or eight chickens ; the violent shaking in this in-

stance of eggs two-thirds incubated did not injure the contained

chick. Mr. Sinclaire has known his tame pigeons remain off the

nest all night when their eggs were half incubated, and though, as

in the case of those of the partridge, they felt quite cold, no injury

arose from this circumstance.

Prarmican, Tetrao Lagopus, Sabine.—As remarked by me else-

where, “‘ the 7. Lagopus is not now, nor do I conceive ever was, in-

digenous to this island. There seems not to be in any part of Ire-

land a continuity of mountains of sufficient altitude to be suited to

the ptarmigan’s abode.” ‘This species is known to so few persons,

that the following note may perhaps be worth insertion.

** Dec. 1835.—My relative Robert Langtry, Esq. (of Fortwilliam,

Belfast,) informs me that when at shooting quarters last autumn in

Ross-shire—on the banks of the Beulay, and close to Loch Monar—

he on several days shot four or five brace of ptarmigan. When his

dogs pointed and the birds were but a few yards distant, so great

was their assimilation in colour to the surrounding rocks, that he

could not distinguish them so long as they remained motionless.

They soon, however, stretched their necks and walked off before the

dogs, and on being further disturbed took wing, but only to alight

like a flock of pigeons on the tops of the adjacent stones. My

friend verifies the accounts of their being easy of access, but states

that, like other game, they are wild when the ground is wet.”

[To be continued. |

IV.—On the existence of Siliceous? Spicule in the exterior rays

of Actinia. By G. W. Battey, Prof. Chem. Min. and Geol.

U.S, Military Academy *.

Dvunrine a recent visit to Boston m April, I sate embraced the

long-wished-for opportunity to examine the marine siliceous in-

fusoria of our coast; for I hoped to be able to detect, in a living

state, some of those elegant forms which occur so abundantly in

the fossil infusorial strata of the marine tertiary of Virginia. I

was aware that Ehrenberg had detected many of these forms in a

living state in the sea at Cuxhaven and elsewhere, and I felt con-

fident that our shores must abound in similar forms. In com-

pany with Dr. Gould, I visited the docks near the Chelsea ferry,

and collected from the immersed logs, &c. a quantity of filamen-

tous algee, among which I knew that many of the cee of my

* From the Boston Journal of Natural History, vol. iv. No. 2.

Mr. G. W. Bailey on Siliceous Spicule in Actinie. 39

search were likely to be entangled. On subjecting them to a mi-

croscopic observation I detected a number of very interesting and.

beautiful forms, although the season was not the most favourable.

The first objects that attracted my attention were great numbers

of siliceous spicule, precisely similar to those found fossil in the

infusorial strata above referred to ; these I found among the algz,

and also more abundantly in the mud of the docks. These spi-

culee resemble those found in some species of Spongia and Tethya,

and I believe that Ehrenberg refers the fossil ones to these genera ;

but an observation which I made leads me to suspect that some

of them, at least, are derived from the exterior rays of Actinia.

On examining with a high magnifying power the rays of a large

species of Actinia which had an orange-coloured base and olive

rays (A. marginata, Lesueur ?), I found that the white rays which

form the exterior circle appeared to differ from all others, bemg

filled with spicule arranged with great regularity and im count-

less numbers, radiating from the axis of each arm (see fig. 1, d and

c). Each of the spiculze was perforated with a longitudinal cavity,

from which was protruded a very long and delicate fibre (see fig.

1, a). These spicule resembled so much in their form, perfora-

tion, and general appearance, some of the fossil siliceous spicule

above referred to, that, like the fossil ones, they must be siliceous.

This question I had not the means of deciding, but I hope it will be

settled by some of the Boston naturalists.

It is only necessary to burn one of the rays

and examine the ashes; the siliceous spi-

culz will of course retain their form after

ignition. It would be an interesting fact,

if, by means of these spicule, we could

obtain evidence of the existence of species

of Actinia during the epoch of Hocene ter-

tiary ; for who would expect that such soft

and perishable creatures could leave, for

such a length of time, any trace of their

existence ?

The annexed sketches were made merely

as memoranda, as I hoped to have further

opportunities for observation. They will

serve to indicate the form and position of

the spiculz, although they have no pretensions to accuracy.

EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.

a One of the spicule from a white external ray of Actinia marginata?

showing its longitudinal perforation and the long projecting filament, much

magnified.

b Ideal longitudinal section of a ray to show the manner in which the

spiculee are arranged ; at d are seen the vibrillae, and at ¢ the long filaments.

ec Ideal cross section of the ray.

40 Prof. Forbes’s Retrospective Comments.

V.—Retrospective Comments. By Prof. Epwarp Forszs,

V.P.W.S., F.L.S., F.B.S. &e.

An absence of eighteen months in countries where natural-history

periodicals have not yet ventured to circulate, and where, while

a glimmering notion of the progress continually going on in sci-

ence might be gathered from an occasional letter, the published

details of what was doing could not be obtained, obliges a natu-

ralist to make himself acquainted with a long arrear of accumu-

lated matter which it is his duty to learn ere he starts anew. The

occupation is however anything but irksome, and those whom in-

clination or professional pursuits keep at home can scarcely con-

ceive the pleasure of sitting down to turn over the pages of three

volumes of unperused ‘ Annals.’ Under such circumstances too do

we see the progress of things. When in the midst of the scientific

world, gathering its news day by day, and reading its chronicles

month after month, we are apt to fancy that little is domg and

that there is a stagnation of research ; but when the doors of the

workshop have been closed against us for some time, the work

which has been made strikes us far more on our return than if

we had watched its progress step by step. Such was my feeling

this winter on receiving the numbers of the ‘ Annals’ which had

been published during my absence abroad. Among their contents

are many papers and notices, on the subjects of which light may

be thrown by stray observations from the note-book or by short

comments. As they are not a few, I prefer gathering them together

in an article to printing them as disjomted remarks, presenting

them in chronological order.

I. In the 45th Number of the ‘ Annals’ (July 1841) Mr. Has-

sall has constituted a genus, Echinocorium, for the reception of

Alcyonidium echinatum and what he supposes to be its polype,

but which is only a species of Coryne attached to the Aleyonidium.

Having frequently taken both the zoophytes in question when

dredging in the Irish sea, and having carefully examined and

drawn them when alive, I can say this without a doubt. The

Coryne is a common deep-sea form of that genus, usually of a pale

or white colour, and having much shorter tentacula than the Coryne

sguamata. It is by no means constantly associated with the A/-

cyonidium, though, from the excellent holding afforded by the

latter, it perhaps prefers such a residence, but is also found on

the bare surfaces of old shells. The polype of the Aleyonidium

echinatum 1 have never seen, but believe, from analogy, to be as-

cidioid. Had Mr. Hassall looked a little closer to his specimens,

he would have found that there is no organic connexion between

the parasite and its base, and that each Coryne is an independent

animal, capable of detachment without injury. Dr. Johnston,

Prof. Forbes’s Retrospective Comments. 4)

whose opinion on these matters is of much more consequence

than mine, takes a similar view of the too hastily constituted ge-

nus Echinocorium with that which I have here advanced.

II. In the 51st Number (Dec. 1841) there is a short paper

sent by me from Paros, contaiming an account of two remarkable

Marine Invertebrata inhabiting the Algean. To these animals I

then abstained from giving names, fearful of carelessly multiplying

synonyms in the absence of the works necessary for consultation.

To one of them, the zoophyte of the family Actiniade, 1 have

now given a distinctive appellation.

M. de Quatrefages, one of the few zoologists of France who

make the natural history of their country a favourite study, tread-

ing in the honourable path of Milne Edwards, has lately published

- many admirable memoirs on the marine animals of the Channel

in the ‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles.”. In the number for

August 1842, he has described and figured three new polypes

allied to Actinia from the sea near Granville, and has constituted

a genus for their reception. To this well-founded and carefully

studied genus does my curious tube-making polype from the

Aigean belong. I rather rejoice that I did not bestow a generic

name on the creature when I wrote the paper above referred to,

inasmuch as it must now rank as a species of Hdwardsia, M. Qua-

trefages having given that worthy name to his genus. As the

animals he describes may probably be found on our own shores,

I transcribe their diagnoses, as well as his generic character, for

the use of British observers.

Corpus liberum, vermiforme ; pars media plus minusve epidermate

opaco incrassata; pars anterior pellucida, tentaculis ornata; poste-

rior autem vitrea, rotundata, basi vix instructa ; utraque exsertilis et

retractilis.

Intestinum rectum, mesenterio interrupto suspensum, posterius

large apertum, duabus partibus compositum ; sinus octo posteriori

intus eminentes quibus pendent totidem ovarid, usque ad extremum

abdomen producti.

1. EH. Beautempsii. Ore terminali in extremitate papillee subconice,

circum basim tentaculate; tentaculis 14—16 uniseriatis parte

media subpolygonali ; epidermate crassa, opacissima, fulva ru-

bente. Long. 6—7 cent.

2. HE. timida. Apice plano, tentaculis 20—24 uniseriatis circum-

dato; parte media vix subpolygonali; epidermate tenui paululum

translucida, fulva. Long. 6—7 cent.

3. E. Harassi. Papilla tefminali rotundata, tentaculis 24 biseriatis

ad basim circumdata ; parte media cylindrica ; epidermate crassa,

opacissima, obscure falva: Long. 53 cent.

The Paros species adds a fourth to the genus. I propose for

42 Dr. A. Wagner on some new Brazilian Mammalia.

it the name of Hdwardsia vestita, with the following diagnosis,

referring for a full description to my former account of it.

4. Edwardsia vestita. Apice plano, tentaculis biseriatis, exterioribus

32 longioribus ; parte media cylindrica 5 epidermide crassa, trans-

lucida. Long. 3—4 unc.

III. In the 8th volume of the ‘ Annals’ are some interesting

papers by the Rev. D. Landsborough and Mr. Hassall on the

Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. Before however we can assert the

general phosphorescence of that class of animals, we must have

many more observations than can be furnished by an examination

of British species only. The general fact has long been known

to British naturalists, though but little has been written about it,

more precise observations than we have yet on record being re-

quired. These we must still attend. In the Meduse and Tu-

nicata the light appears to be derived from special organs (see

Wagner’s observations on this subject), and in polypes will pro-

bably be found to proceed from similar points. ,

[To be continued. }

Vi,—Characters of several new Species of Brazilian Mammalia.

By Dr. A. Waener of Munich*,

Most of the animals of which the following are the diagnoses

are contained in the collection at Vienna ; those from Munich have

Mus. Monac. affixed to them, and there is one new species for the

use of which I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Ruppell. With

respect to the names of the species, I have adhered to the rule laid

down in Schreber’s work, to leave unaltered the names of species

as given in the collections if found by me to be new, and even

when I have arranged the species under a different genus.

Callithrix brunnea, Natt. C. saturate fusca, tenia frontali lata mani-

busque nigris ; vellere breviori, adpresso, stricto.—Altitudo a ver-

tice ad anum 123”, cauda 172”.

Callithriz caligata, Natt. C. dilute fuscescens, pilis dorsi nigro flavo-

que annulatis, gastrao genisque cupreo-rufis, manibus sincipiteque

nigris.—Altitudo 124”, cauda 143”.

Borba et Rio Solimoéns.

Chrysothrix entomophaga, D’Orb.+ C. serina, supra nigro-mixta, ca-

pite supra aterrimo, antibrachiis manibusque splendide aureo-fulvis.

—Altitudo 11”, cauda 143”.

Rio Mamoré.

Hapale chrysoleucos, Natt. H. albida, manibus caudaque splendide

_ rutilo-fulvis, auriculis albo-penicillatis.—Altitudo 9”, cauda 122”,

Borba.

* From Wiegmann’s “ Archiv,” vol. viii. Part 6.

¢ Although this species has been figured by D’Orbigny under the name

of Callithrix entomophaga, it has not yet been described.

Dr. A. Wagner on some new Brazilian Mammalia. 48

Phyllostoma eacisum, Wagn. FP. ferrugineo-brunneum, subtus bru-

nescens, prosthemate lanceolato, auriculis elongatis, emarginatis ;

cauda patagioque anali nullis.—Altitudo a vertice ad anum 2”,

antibrachium 1” 6'".

Ypanema. Mus. Monac.

Lutra solitaria, Natt. L. supra castaneo-fusca, subtus sordide albida,

rhinario nudo ; cauda conica sensim attenuata, utringue paululum

fimbriata ; vellere laxo.—Corpus 2’ 5”, cauda 1’ 3”.

Ypanema.

Didelphys pecilotus, Natt. D. pilis laneis albidis, sericeis partim

basi albis, apice nigris, partim [at rarissime] totis albis, capite albo

anguste tristriato, auriculis albido-carneis, nigro-maculatis.—Mag-

nitudo fere D. cancrivore.

Angaba.

Didelphys dichura, Natt.* D. cano-rufescens, subtus albido-lutescens ;

cauda longitudine corporis, albido-carnea, supra fusco-maculata,

subtus apiceque immaculata.—Corpus 83”, cauda 9”.

Ypanema.

Didelphys affinis, Natt. D. supra rufescens, subtus albido-lutescens ;

cauda corpore paulum longiore, supra subtusque usque ad finem

albido-maculata ; mastotheca nulla.—Corpus 9”, cauda 10”,

Matto grosso.

Didelphys ochropus, Natt. D. lanigere similis, at minor, magis ru-

fescens, capitis, colli truncique lateribus canescentibus ; cauda fere

dimidia nuda. |

Barra. i

Didelphys macrotarsus, Natt. .D. murine similis; auriculis multo

majoribus ; cauda tota nuda, saturate rubello-cinerea ; pedibus pos-

terioribus elongatis robustis.

Didelphys microtarsus,, Natt. D. murine similis; auriculis multo

longioribus ; cauda saturate rubello-cinerea, subtus tenuissime

pilosa ; pedibus posterioribus abbreviatis gracilibus,

Didelphys domestica, Natt.. D. luteo-grisea, subtus pallide lutescens,

auriculis majusculis, capite haud striato; cauda abbreviata, cras-

siuscula, pilis albis. brevissimis paucissimis vestita ; mastotheca

nulla.—Corpus 7”, cauda 2" 4!”,

Cuyaba. ‘

Didelphys glirina, Natt. D. cinerascens, subtus pallide cano-lutes-

* Both D. dichura and D. affinis are liable to be confounded with D. Phi-

lander. The diagnosis for D. Philander might be as follows: Didelphys

supra rufescens aut canescens, subtus albido-lutescens ; cauda corpore mul- —

tum longiore, parte nuda fusca, dein alba, supra subtusque fusco-maculata,

apice longo immaculata albido-carnea; mastotheca yentrali.—Corpus 11" 2",

cauda 15”, pars pilosa 2! 9!"

+ Didelphys macrotarsus and microtarsus may have been confounded

with D. murima, Neuw., which may be avoided by adopting the following

diagnosis for D. murina: D. auriculis minoribus, pedibus posterioribus gra-

cilibus, cauda nuda clare rubello-albida.

44 Dr. A. Wagner on some new Brazilian Mammalia.

cens, lateribus ochraceis, capite abbreviato, auriculis mediocribus ;

cauda dimidio corpore paululum breviore, basi pilosa, dein nudius-

cula.—Corpus 62”, cauda 2” 7".

Mamoré.

Didelphys velutina, Natt. D. murino-fusca, subtus abrupte albida ;

cauda tota [basi excepta] pilis brevissimis adpressis glabris fuscis

vestita.—Corpus 33”, cauda 23”.

Ypanema.

Didelphys unistriata, Natt. D. supra-ferruginea, cano-mixta, subtus

rufescens, stria dorsali obscuriori, cauda abbreviata pilosiuscula.—

Corpus 54”, cauda 23”.

Ytarare.

Sciurus igniventris, Natt. S. suprae nigro flavoque mixtus, subtus

pedibusque saturate ferrugineo-rufis, interdum corpore toto nigro ;

cauda basi nigra, dein maximam partem ferruginea.—Corpus 112”,

cauda 13”.

Rio Negro. ,

Sciurus pyrrhonotus, Natt. S. supra pedibusque extus saturate fer-

rugineo-rufus, subtus abrupte flavido-albescens ; cauda ferruginea,

basi macula magna nigra notata.—Major quam Sciurus Langs-

dor ffit.

Borba. |

Cercolabes melanurus, Natt. C. pilosissimus, pilis nigris serinisque

coloratis, aculeis intermixtis ; cauda longissima, aterrima, basi sola

supra excepta; pedibus nigris.—Corpus 153”, cauda 17" 5!”

Rio Negro [Barra].

Loncheres macrura, Natt. L. supra fulvescens, lateribus pallidior,

subtus e cano lutescens ; cauda fere corporis longitudine, nudius-

cula, pilis nonnullis brevissimis albidis vestita.—Corpus 1032”,

cauda 10”.

Borba.

Loncheres nigrispina, Natt. LL. supra nitide brunneo-fulvida, nigro-

irrorata, subtus pedibusque albido lutescens, rostri lateribus cano-

lutescentibus ; cauda [basi crassa excepta] dense et zequaliter fusco-

pilosa, apice haud penicillata.—Corpus 94”, cauda 6”.

Ypanema.

Loncheres unicolor, Riipp.* L. unicolor et dilute ferrugineo-brunnea,

subtus pedibusque pallidior, cauda longius pilosa; vellere rigido

sicco, pilis nonnullis planis, canaliculatis, angustis dorsalibus in-

termixtis.—Corpus 10” 9'", cauda 7” 9",

Brasilia.

Hesperomys [Oxymycterus] rostellatus, Wagn. H. supra ex flavo ni-

groque variegatus, subtus ochraceus ; cauda corpore multum bre-

viore, unicolore, nigra.—Corpus 6” 3'", cauda 3” 10!",

Brasilia. Mus. Monac.

* Catalogue of the Collections in the Museum of the Senckenberg Natural

History Society. I am not acquainted with the nature of the molar teeth.

Mr. Walker’s Descriptions of Chalcidites. 45

Hesperomys arviculoides, Pict.* H. olivaceo-brunneus, nigro-adsper-

sus, subtus pedibusque canus, cauda dimidii corporis longitudine,

dense pilosa; vellere nitido molli.—Corpus 5” 5'”, cauda 2” 8”.

Brasilia. Mus. Monac.

Hesperomys orobinus, Wagn. H. supra brunneo-flavus, subtilissime

nigro-adspersus, subtus flavido-albescens, auriculis postice nudis,

pedibus fuscis ; cauda corpore multum breviore, squamata, nigri-

cante.—Corpus 5”, cauda 3” 5!".

Brasilia. Mus. Monac.

Hesperomys subflavus, Wagn. H. supra brunneo-flavidus, subtus al-

bidus, pedibus sordide albidis ; cauda longitudine corporis, squa-

mata, raripilosa.—Corpus 6”, cauda 6”.

Brasilia. Mus. Monac.

Dasyprocta nigricans, Natt. D.tota e nigro alboque variegata, tergo

concolore.—Corpus 22”.

From Borba on the Madairo, and from Rio Negro above Cocuy.

VII.—Descriptions of Chalcidites discovered by C. Darwin, Esq.

By Francis Waker, Esq., F.L.S.

Thoracantha Latreillii, Fem. Nigro-cyanea, antenne picee, pedes fulvi,

femora fusca, ale limpide.

Thoracantha Latreillii, Guérin, Icon. Régne Anim., Insectes, pl. 67.

Corpus gibbum, altum, compressum, incurvum, convexum, nigro-cya-

neum, nitens, glabrum: caput parvum, transversum, declive, subtilissime

striatum; vertex sat latus; frons impressa, ad os angustior: oculi rufi, me-

diocres, non extantes: ocelli 3, remoti, rufi, triangulum fingentes; medius

perparum antepositus: antennz pices, parve, graciles, extrorsum cras-

siores, apice fulvze, capite vix longiores; articulus 1"* longus, sublinearis ;

2"5 cyathiformis ; 3"° et 4"° minimi; 5" et sequentes breves, approximati ;

clava conica, articulo 10° duplo longior: thorax maximus: prothorax bre-

vissimus; sternum parvum; dorsum minimum, supra non conspicuum :

mesothoracis scutum transverse striatum, longitudine latius, per medium ob-

solete sulcatum; parapsidum suture bene determinate, postice approximate ;

scutellum transversum, breve, subtilissime rugulosum, per medium obsolete

suleatum : metathoracis dorsum maximum, subtilissime rugulosum, quasi

bipartitum ; pars antica longitudine vix latior, per medium obsolete sulcata ;

pars postica longior, fissa; fissura postice dehiscens, similitudine Melvidis

elytrorum, abdominis apicem attingens : petiolus vix conspicuus: abdomen

compressum, apice subtilissime rugulosum, basi lzve, thorace paullo brevius

et angustius; segmentum 1"™ dorsum et sternum omnino obtegens: pedes

fulvi, graciles, simplices, subequales; cox nigro-cyanezx; trochanteres

picei; femora fusca; tarsis articuli 1° ad 4"™ curtantes, 5" 4° paullo lon-

gior; ungues et pulvilli minuti: ale limpide, parvee; squamule fulve ;

nervi albidi, vix conspicui, basi fulvi; nervus humeralis ulnari multo lon-

gior, radialis vix ullus, cubitalis brevissimus; stigma minimum. (Corp,

long. lin, 2; alar. lin. 3.)

Brazil.

* T have retained the name of Aus. arviculoides, Pictet, which was written

on the label of the specimen when purchased.

46 Mr. Walker’s Descriptions of Chalcidites.

Micromelus Silanus, Fem. £neo-niger, cyaneo-varius, antenne fulve,

pedes fulvi, ale fusce.

Corpus zneo-nigrum, subtus cyaneo-nigrum, breve, latum, convexum,

parum nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum: caput transversum, breve,

thorace latius; vertex latus; frons impressa, abrupte declivis : oculi picei,

mediocres, non extantes: ocelli vertice triangulum fingentes; medius per-

parum antepositus: antenne fulvee, ad os inserte, basi graciles lineares :

os piceum : thorax ovatus: prothorax brevissimus: mesothoracis scutum

longitudine latius; parapsides scuto fere in unum confuse ; paraptera et epi-

mera magna; scutellum subrhombiforme, postice latius: metathorax brevis,

declivis, postice angustus: petiolus brevissimus: abdomen subrotundum,

zneum, nitens, leve, supra planum, subtus carinatum, thorace paullo latius

et multo brevius: pedes fulvi, simplices, subeequales: alze fuscee, mediocres;

squamulee picez ; nervi fusci; nervus humeralis ulnari duplo longior, ra-

dialis ulnari brevior cubitali vix longior, cubitalis sat. longus; stigma me-

diocre. (Corrs long. lin. 3; alar. lin, 14.)

Mount Wellington.

VIII.—Deseriptions of Chalcidites discovered in St. Vincent’s Isle

by the Rev. Lansdown Guilding. By Francis Watxzr, Esq.,

_ BLS.

Decatoma Oretilia, Mas et Fem. Fulvo-flava ferrugineo-varia, antenne

Sulve, pedes fiavi, ale limpide.

Corpus convexum, sublineare, fulvo-flavum, nitens, subtilissime punctatum,

parce hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thorace paullo latius; vertex latus;

frons impressa, abrupte declivis: oculi rufi, mediocres, non extantes: an-

tennz fulvze, clavate, thorace non longiores; articulus 1"* longus, gracilis ;

2"8 eyathiformis ; 3S et 4"5 minimi; 5"et sequentes breves, usque ad 9"™

latescentes ; clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 9° multo latior et plus

duplo longior: thorax ovatus: prothorax maximus, transversus, subquadratus,

postice ferrugineo-maculatus : mesothoracis scutum brevissimum ; parapsi-

dum suture vix conspicuze ; scutellum subrotundum ; discus ferrugineus :

metathorax transversus, brevis: petiolus brevis: abdomen ovatum, leve,

mari thoracis longitudine, fem. thorace paullo longius subtus carinatum apice

acuminatum fuscum ; vitta per dorsum interrupta fusca : pedes pallide flavi,

simplices, subzequales: alee limpidee; squamulz fulve; nervifulvi; nervus

humeralis ulnari fere duplo longior, radialis ulnari non brevior cubitali plus

duplo longior ; stigma minutum. (Corp. long. lin. 1; alar. lin. 13.)

Pteromalus Helice, Fem. 4 neo-viridis, antenne fulve, pedes flavi, ale

limpide. ‘

Corpus convexum, zeneo-viride, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum:

caput transversum, breve, thorace latius; vertex latus; frons impressa,

abrupte declivis : oculi rufi, mediocres, non extantes : antennz fulve, extror-

sum crassiores, thorace vix longiores; articulus 1" longus, gracilis; 2°° cya-

thiformis ; 3° et 4"* minimi; 5" et sequentes breves, usque ad 10"™ lates-

centes; clava longiconica, acuminata, articulo 10° duplo longior: thorax

ovatus: prothorax transversus, brevissimus: mesothoracis scutum longitu-

dine latius; parapsidum suture: vix conspicue ; scutellum subconicum, an-

tice truncatum: metathorax obconicus, mediocris, declivis : petiolus brevis-

simus : abdomen fusiforme, lve, supra depressum, subtus carinatum, apice

acuminatum, thorace longius et angustius: pedes leete flavi, simplices, sub-

eequales: alee limpidee; squamule fulve ; nervi flavi; nervus humeralis.

Mr. Walker’s Descriptions of Chalcidites. 47

ulnari multo longior, radialis ulnari vix brevior, cubitalis sat longus ; stigma

minutum. (Corp. long. lin. l—14; alar. lin. 13—2.)

Var. @. Thorax eneus.

Genus Lezars, Haliday MSS.

Fem. Corpus angustum, sublineare, convexum, nitens, scitissime squa-

meum, subtus leve, parce hirtum ; caput transversum, breve, thoracis latitu-

dine ; vertex angustus ; frons impressa, abrupte declivis: oculi magni, non

extantes: ocellivertice triangulum fingentes: antenne gracillime, extrorsum

crassiores, pubescentes, corpore paullo breviores ; articulus 1" longus, gra-

cilis ; 2°° longicyathiformis ; 3"° et 4"* minimi ; 5" et sequentes longi, usque

ad 10" curtantes et latescentes; clava linearis, apice obtusa, articulo 10°

longior: thorax longiovatus : prothorax brevis, antice angustus: mesothoracis

scutum Jongitudine latius; parapsidum suture bene determinate, postice

approximatee ; scutellum obconicum ? : metathorax mediocris, 6bconicus, de-

clivis: petiolus brevissimus: abdomen longiovatum, breve, subtus profunde

carinatum, thorace longius ; segmentum 1%" maximum: oviductus exsertus ;

vaginee abdomine paullo breviores: pedes longi, graciles, simplices, sub-

cequales ; tarsorum articuli 1° ad 4"™ curtantes, 5"° 4° paullo longior; ungues

et pulvilli minuti: ale mediocres; nervus humeralis ulnari non longior,

radialis ulnari brevior ale apicem fere attingens, cubitalis sat longus;

stigma minimum. :

Lelaps pulchricornis (Haliday MSS.), Fem. Cuprea, antenne fusce flavo-

cincte, pedes flavi, proale fusco-nebulose.

Corpus cupreum, viridi-varium : oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne fusce, flavo-

cinctze, apice flavee; articulus 1" flavus: oviductus vagine fulvze, apice

fuscee: pedes flavi; ungues et pulvilli fusci: ale limpide; proalz fusco-

nebulosz ; squamule fulve; nervifulvi. (Corp. long. lin, 1}; alar. lin. 23.)

Genus [parnegs.

Corpus sublineare, depressum, leve, nitens, parce hirtum: caput trans-

versum, breve, thoracis latitudine; vertex sat latus: palpi biarticulati: oculi

mediocres, non extantes: antennee breves, clavate; articulus 1“* longus,

validus; 2"* eyathiformis; 3" et sequentes brevissimi: thorax ovatus:

prothorax magnus, transversus: mesothoracis scutum impressum, longi-

tudine latius; parapsidum suture remotze, bene determinate, postice approx-

imate; scutellum magnum, transversum, bisulcatum : metathorax magnus,

subquadratus: petiolus vix ullus: abdomen longi-ovatum, thorace paullo

longius non latius; segmentum 1"" magnum, 2" et sequentia brevia:

oviductus longissimus; vaginee corpore triplo longiores: propedum coxz

magnee; femora crassa; tibiz latee: mesopedes graciles; cox parve:

metapedum cox sat magne; femora crassa; tibize subarcuate: tarsorum

articuli 1° ad 4"™ curtantes, 5"8 4° paullo longior; ungues et pulvilli minuti:

alee mediocres; nervus humeralis longus, ulnaris brevissimus, radialis longus

ulnari vix brevior, cubitalis longissimus, arcuatus, ulnari longior; stigma

minimum.

Idarnes Carme, Fem. Viridi-eneus, abdomen cupreum, antenne nigre,

pedes fulvi, ale limpide.

Corpus viridi-zeneum : oculi et ocelli rufi: antennz nigre: abdomen cu-

preum: oviductus fulvus; vagine nigre: pedes fulvi; ungues et pulvilli

my <a limpide; squamulz fulve; nervi flavi. (Corp. long. lin. 1; alar.

in. 13.

Encyrtus Gargaris, Mas. Viridis, abdomen cupreum, antenne ful

nedes faldh, ale albo-limpidee. oe fulve,

Corpus breve, convexum, viride, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce

48 Mr. Walker’s Descriptions of Chalcidites.

hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thoracis latitudine; vertex latus; frons

impressa, abrupte declivis: oculi picei, mediocres, non extantes: antennee

fulvze, submoniliformes, extrorsum crassiores, thorace non longiores ; arti-

culns 1"° longus, gracilis; 2"* cyathiformis; 3"* et sequentes transversi ;

clava conica: thorax ovatus: prothorax minimus, supra non conspicuus:

mesothoracis scutum magnum, planum, longitudine non latius; parapsidum

suturee non conspicuz; scutellum obconicum: metathorax transversus, .

brevissimus: petiolus vix ullus: abdomen depressum, obconicum, cupreum,

leeve, thorace multo brevius: pedes fulvi; mesotarsi et metatarsi pallidiores,

apice fusci: ale albo-limpide ; squamule picez ; nervi fulvi; nervus hu-

meralis nullus, ulnaris costz dimidii longitudine, radialis brevissimus, cubi-

talis sat longus; stigma minutum. (Corp. long. lin. 4; alar. lin. 3.)

Reared from a larva.

Euplectrus Furnius (bicolor?), Mas. ter, abdominis discus fulvus, an-

tenne fusce, pedes fulvi, ale limpide.

L. bicolori simillimus. Corpus convexum, atrum, nitens, lve, pilis albis

parce hirtum: caput transversum, brevissimum, impressum, vix thoracis

latitudine; vertex latus ; frons abrupte declivis: oculi rufi, mediocres, vix

extantes : antennze fusce, filiformes; thorace longiores; articulus 1"* longus,

gracilis, flavus, apice fuscus; 2"* cyathiformis; 3"% et sequentes ad 6°” me-

diocres, subzequales; clava ovata, articulo 6° longior: thorax ovatus: pro-

thorax angustus, mediocris, conicus: mesothoracis scutum longitudine

latius; parapsidum suture non bene determinate; scutellum subovatum :

metathorax obconicus, sat magnus, declivis: petiolus gracilis, sat longus:

abdomen subconicum, depressum, thorace multo brevius; segmentum ]¥™

magnum, 2"™ et sequentia brevia; discus fulvus: pedes fulvi, simplices,

subzequales; ungues et pulvilli fusci; mesotibize apice spina sat longa ar-

mate : ale limpide ; squamule fulve; nervi flavi; nervus humeralis ulnari

multo longior, radialis ulnari multo brevior cubitali paullo longior; stigma

minutum. (Corp. long. lin. 1; alar. lin. 14.)

PapuHaGus, Nn. g.

Fem. Corpus sublineare, depressum, nitens, leve, parce hirtum: caput

transversum, breve, thoracis latitudine; vertex latus ; frons impressa : oculi

mediocres, non extantes: antenne clavate, pubescentes, prope os inserte,

thorace non longiores; articulus 1" validus, sublinearis; 2"° longicyathi-

formis ; 3" et sequentes usque ad 6" latescentes; clava ovata, acuminata,

articulo 6° longior et latior: thorax ovatus: prothorax transversus, brevis :

mesothoracis scutum longitudine latius; parapsidum suture non bene de-

terminate ; scutellum transversum, latum: metathorax mediocris, trans-

versus, postice angustus: petiolus brevis: abdomen ovatum, supra depressum,

subtus carinatum, apice acuminatum, thorace non longius: pedes simplices,

graciles, subzequales; tarsorum articuli 1° ad 4"™ curtantes; ungues. et

pulvilli minuti: alee mediocres; nervus ulnaris humerali paullo longior,

radialis nullus, cubitalis brevis; stigma minutum.

Paphagus Sidero, Fem. Cupreus, abdomen basi cyaneum, antenne fusce,

pedes flavi, ale limpide.

Cupreus: oculi picei: antennz fusc ; articulus‘1™ flavus: mesothoracis

scutum viridi-varium; scutellum purpureo-varium: metathorax viridi-cya-

neus: petiolus fulvus: abdomen basi cyaneum: pedes flavi; ungues et

pulvilli fusci: ale limpide ; squamule fulve; nervi flavi. (Corp. long.

lin. 1; alar. lin. 12.) .

Telenomus Apitius, Fem. ter, antenne nigre, pedes picei, tarsi fulvi,

ale albo-limpide.

Corpus breve, latum, crassum, conyexum, atrum, rude rugulosum, parum

Bibliographical Notices. 49

nitens, parce hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thoracis latitudine; vertex

latus; frons convexa, abrupte declivis: oculi picei, mediocres, non extantes:

antennee clavate, nigra, corpore breviores; articulus 1"° sublinearis, validus;

2"s longicyathiformis ; 3" et 4"° angusti; 5"* et sequentes latiores, clavam

fingentes longam fusiformem : thorax ovatus: prothorax brevissimus, supra

non conspicuus: mesothoracis scutam magnum, longitudine latius; parap-

sidum suture non conspicue ; scutellum mediocre, brevi obconicum: meta-

‘thorax transversus, brevissimus: petiolus vix ullus: abdomen subovatum,

scite rugulosum, thorace non longius; segmenta basi sulcata, 1" magnum,

2"™ et sequentia brevia: pedes picei, simplices, subzequales ; trochanteres

fulvi; genua fulva; tibize basi fulvze; tarsi fulvi, apice fusci: ale albo-

limpidz ; squamule fusce ; nervi fulvi; nervus humeralis nullus, ulnaris

costz dimidio brevior, cubitalis longus radiali paullo brevior ; stigma mini-

mum. (Corp. long. lin. 2; alar. lin. 1.)

Reared from the eggs of an insect.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Manual of British Botany, containing the Flowering Plants and Ferns,

arranged according to the Natural Orders. By Chas. C. Babington,

M.A., F.L.S., F.G.8., &c. &c. London: J. Van Voorst, 1843.

Tue present work is modelled after the well-known ‘ Synopsis

Flore Germanice’ of the learned Koch, and is the result of a critical —

examination of our native plants, by a careful comparison of indige-

nous specimens with the works of eminent continental authors and

with plants obtained from other parts of Europe, whereby: a deside-

ratum long wanted has been attained, viz. the assimilation of the

nomenclature of British and continental writers. ‘To effect this, our

flora has undergone a general and scrutinizing revision, so as to de-

termine what plants are really deserving of the rank of distinct spe-

cies, and what must be regarded only as varieties; and those names

have been adopted which possess the claims of priority by a careful

examination of all the best European floras, comparing our plants

with the descriptions contained in them, and in very many cases

with foreign specimens of undoubted authenticity. In the adoption

of genera and species an endeavour has been made, by the examina-

tion of the plants themselves, to determine which are truly distinct,

thus taking nature as a guide, and not depending upon the authority

of any name, however distinguished. As the volume is intended as

a field-book, or travelling companion for botanists, the characters

have been admirably and ably contrasted, and condensed as much as

possible consistent with their accurate discrimination. Synonyms have

been wholly omitted, except quotations of one British and one Ger-

man figure to each plant. Localities are only given for new or pe-

culiarly rare plants, though the general distribution through the

British Isles, or in the several main portions thereof, and their cha-

racter in that distribution, have been noted. ‘The arrangement is

that of the Natural System, but to render it generally available, a

succinct synopsis of the Linnzan genera is added. ‘To detail its

many excellences would exceed our due limits, for fully to appreciate

the scientific and critical accuracy and discrimination with which the

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. av)

50 Bibliographical Notices.

work has been elaborated, it must be carefully and constantly studied.

We doubt not but that it will very speedily find its way (as it richly

merits) into the hands of all true lovers of botany, and by them will

assuredly be hailed as a successful attempt to display and enumerate

the present state of our flora, and to establish it, for the first time, on

a scientific equality with the advanced state of continental botany.

The Geographical Distribution of British Plants. By H. C. Watson,

Part I. London, 1843. 8vo. Printed for the Author.

We feel much sorrow in having to inform our readers that this

valuable work is not published, and must express our surprise at the

reason ; viz. the size to which it is expected to extend and the un-

certainty of completion, since each portion is perfect in itself; and

also our admiration of the author’s great liberality in adopting so

disinterested a plan. It is however to be hoped that he may be in-

duced to alter his views and allow of its sale, since there must be

many persons, to whom it cannot otherwise be attainable, who would

highly appreciate its value. The part now before us contains the

Orders Ranunculacee, Nympheacee and Papaveracee. A general ac-

count of the distribution of each order throughout the world is first

given, illustrated by very full comparative numerical tables: each

species is then taken separately ; its presence in one or more of the

' eighteen districts into which the author has divided Great Britain

(for Ireland is excluded from want of data) is stated ; a list of the local

floras and catalogues in which it is included and of the places from

which Mr. Watson has seen specimens follows, which is succeeded by

a detailed account of its distribution in this country and other parts

of the world; and the account of the species is concluded by a full

list of the localities in which, on trustworthy authority, it is known

‘to have been found. At the head of the account of each species two

woodcuts are introduced, one of them being a small representation of

the map of Great Britain divided into the author’s eighteen districts,

the other a diagram representing the relative heights to which the

most elevated parts of each district attain. In both of these cuts its

number is introduced into each of those districts in which the plant

has been found, but is omitted in the others.

We have carefully examined many parts of the volume, and are

much pleased to add our testimony to the great accuracy which is

apparent in it, and consider it as a highly valuable contribution to

British botany.

A History of British Forest Trees indigenous and introduced.

By P. J. Selby, F.L.S. &c. lL vol. 8vo. London, 1842.

We wish to call the attention of our readers to the above work. In

it will be found very full accounts of all the trees which are usually

planted for profit, and many which belong more peculiarly to the

ornamental class. Each tree is illustrated by a beautiful woodcut

of a full-grown specimen, and several others to exhibit the mode of

branching, the leaves, or the botanical characters. The author’s well-

Bibliographical Notices. 51

known experience in planting and the great success which has at-

tended his plans are so well known, that we need scarcely say that

great attention has been paid to that portion of this work. On the

whole, we consider the present volume as well deserving of its place

in the well-known series of works on British Natural History, of

which Mr. Van Voorst has procured the publication, but cannot

conclude without expressing a hope that a little more attention will

be paid to the botanical part in the preparation of a second edition.

Travels in New Zealand. By E. Dieffenbach, M.D., late Naturalist

to the New Zealand Company. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1843.

We consider this work as the most valuable addition that has been

made of late to our knowledge of this highly interesting country. In

connexion with a very full account of the topography of the north-

ern island, of which the author traversed nearly all parts, it con-

tains very full and interesting notices of its botany, zoology, and

geological character. But what appears to us to be by far the most

valuable portion of the book, is the insight which is derived from

it into the manners, customs, state and prospects of the Aborigines.

The high opinion that we had previously formed of these people is

fully confirmed by the observations of Dr. Dieffenbach, than whom

no person has had better opportunities of coming to a just conclusion

on the subject. From his remarks, there can be no doubt that by -

judicious treatment they may soon become a highly civilized people

and a most valuable body of British subjects, and that ultimately an

admixture of their race with that of the English colonists will be an

advantageous occurrence. We have not space for further remarks,

but strongly recommend the book to our readers. Mr. J. E. Gray

has furnished the author with a full list of the mammalia, reptiles,

amphibia and mollusca; Mr. G. R. Gray of the birds; Dr. Richard-

son of the fishes; and Messrs. A. White and E. Doubleday of the

annulose animals, which have been hitherto recorded as found in

New Zealand, including many new species.

Repertorium Botanices Systematice. Auctore G. G. Walpers.

Vol. i, and vol. ii. Part. I. 8vo. Leipsic, 1842-43.

This is a work which is quite essential to all botanists, and we can

recommend it to them in the strongest terms. It is intended to form

a Supplement to the invaluable ‘ Prodromus’ of DeCandolle, and con-

tains the characters of nearly all the new species that have been pub-

lished since the appearance of the several volumes of that work.

PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.

The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. By John James Au-

dubon, F.R.S. &c., and the Rev. John Bachman, D.D. &c.

The plan adopted by the authors, for the publication of this work,

in a great degree corresponds with that pursued by Mr. Audubon in

his large work on the ‘ Birds of America.’ Many of the species are

given of their natural size, and in most cases, several figures, with

52 3 Zoological Society.

trees, plants, and occasionally views drawn from nature, appear on

each plate.

The work contains figures and descriptions of all the viviparous

quadrupeds found in the United States, and from Texas, California,

and the North-west Coast, to the British possessions and arctic re-

gions of North America.

The work will be delivered to subscribers in numbers of five plates

each, at intervals of two months from the publication of each num-

ber, making six numbers annually, and the whole work will be com-

pleted in about thirty numbers.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Sept. 27, 1842.— William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Mr. Fraser, the naturalist to the Niger expedition, exhibited seve-

ral new species of Quadrupeds, constituting part of his collection

formed at Fernando Po; and Mr. Waterhouse, at the request of the

Chairman, read his description of the new species, these having been

placed in his hands for examination by Mr. Fraser.

Mr. Waterhouse first drew attention to a very interesting new

genus of Rodents, which he characterized under the name

ANOMALURUS*.

4—4 . e e ° . .

Molares ——;, radicati. Cranium sine processu post-orbitali ossis

temporalis, sed foramine antorbitali magno, partem musculi masse-

teris transmittente. Palatum anticé coarctatum, posticé emargina-

tum in forma triangulari. Cauda modice elongata et subfloccosa,

parte basali triente subtiis scutis magnis in serie duplici longitudina-

litér dispositis (singulis angulo prominente) obtecta. dures magne,

subnude. Patagium inter artus extensum. Rhinarium nudum. Pedes

subtis nudi; unguibus falcularibus, valde compressis ; pedes antici

4-dactyli, digitis subeequalibus ; postici 5-dactyli, digitis subzequali-

bus, interno excepto, hoc breviore.

Anomaturus Fraseri. An. vellere longo, permolli ; corpore super

nigro; dorso flavescenti-fusco lavato ; fronte incanescente ; corpore

infrd, albo, vel albido ; artubus intus, patagio ad marginem et gut-

dure fuliginoso tinctis.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin.... 14 0

COME SUS ee ele Cha ae iG: 3

GIP OES RTE NEA Piney Hie 1 3

tarsi digitorumque.......... ee A BiG

Hab. Fernando Po.

Upon a cursory inspection this animal would be regarded as a

* From dvouos, out of law, and oved, a tail... Should this have been pre-

viously used in a generic sense in Natural History, the name Arozthrus

(from éeéa, to plough, and aidea, air) may be substituted.

Zoological Society. 53

species of Pteromys, having most of the general external characters

of the members of that group ; there are, however, some points of di-

stinction between the present animal and the large Flying Squirrels,

which are important; of these the most conspicuous are the extra-

ordinary scales which cover the under side of the basal third of the

tail : these scales are of a pale horn-colour, sixteen in number in one

of two specimens before me, and fifteen in the other, and arranged

in two longitudinal series : each scale is narrow at the base and broad

at the opposite extremity, and in fact nearly of a triangular form ;

but as the scales on one side alternate with those of the other, no

interstices are left; they not only cover the under surface of the tail,

but overlap the sides; in this overlapping of the scale a ridge is

formed, the extremity of which is produced into an angle; the

point of the angle is directed backwards. The portion of the tail

which is thus protected beneath is well clothed with fur above, but

the hairs are not long, and the apical portion (which is cylindri-

cal) is much less bushy than in the large Flying Squirrels consti-

tuting the genus Pteromys. ‘The hinder feet have the heel clothed

with fur, but the outer margin beneath is naked, and not densely

clothed, as in Pteromys. The lateral flying membrane extends from

the wrist to the ankle, and is supported moreover by a long cartilage

in front, as in Pteromys; but this cartilage has its origin at the

elbow-joint, and not at the wrist, as in the genus just mentioned.

The interfemoral membrane extends to the heel, and is moreover at-

tached to the sides of the tail, and when expanded forms almost a

straight line.

The ears are large, much longer than broad, and naked, excepting

at the base on the outer side, where they are covered with long fur,

like that on the body; the naked portion has a slight flesh-like tint,

but is nearly white, as are also (Mr. Fraser’s notes state) the naked

portions of the feet and the tip of the muzzle. The hairs of the

moustaches are very numerous, and although not very thick, are

unusually long. ‘The fur is long and remarkably soft, and the hairs

of which it is composed are all of one kind; that is, there. are no

longer interspersed stronger hairs, such as we usually find in the

fur of the Rodents; the fur on the upper parts is sooty black, but, ©

excepting on the membranes, most of the hairs are rather broadly

tipped with yellowish rust-colour: on the upper surface of the head

the colour is replaced by grey; on the under parts of the body the

fur is dirty white; the throat is blackish, and the under side of the

throat is tinted with sooty grey. The under side of the membranes

is sparingly clothed with hairs; towards the margin the hairs are

more numerous, and of a blackish tint. |

In the structure of the skull Anomalurus differs considerably from

the known species of Sciuride. All the species of the family, the

skulls of which I have had an opportunity of examining (and they

are numerous, embracing all the known genera and subgenera), are

distinguishable by the possession of a distinct post-orbital process

to the cranium; they have the palate broad, and terminating in a

line with the posterior molars, or behind that line; the molars of

54 Zoological Society.

opposite sides of the jaw are parallel, and the ant-orbital opening is

small, in the form of a tube, and serves only for the transmission of

the infra-orbital nerve. ‘These characters are not found in Anoma-

lurus : the post-orbital process is here reduced to a mere rudiment,

being represented by an indistinct projection forming an obtuse

angle: the ant-orbital opening is large, and evidently affords a pas-

sage for a portion of the masseter muscle as well as the nerve; it

moreover opens directly in the bony plate which constitutes the an-

terior root of the zygomatic arch, and is not produced as it were into

a tube, as in the typical Squirrels. The palate is narrow, and has a

deep triangular emargination behind, the apex of the triangle being

on a line with the hinder margin of the penultimate molar. The

molar teeth converge in front, so that the space between the two

foremost is scarcely equal in width to one of these teeth ; the crowns

of the molars of opposite sides of the upper jaw, instead of being on

the same plane, or very nearly so, are directed obliquely outwards ;

and the masticating surface of those of the lower jaw, to meet them,

incline in an opposite direction, The incisive foramina are longer

than is usual in the Sciuride, and encroach in a slight degree upon

the maxillary bones. The nasal portion of the skull is narrower, and

the nasal bones are remarkable for a deep emargination in front.

I have been led to institute a comparison between the present

animal and the species of the Sciuride, on account of certain points

of resemblance which there exist between it and the Flying Squir-

rels (Pteromys), especially in the possession of the expanded flank

and interfemoral membranes. In the almost total absence of post-

orbital process, however, and in the comparatively large size of the

ant-orbital opening, the Anomalurus evinces an approach to the

Myoxide; the approximation is moreover observable in the narrow-

ness of the nasal bones and the slenderness of the zygomatic arch,

these parts being compared with those corresponding in the squirrel

skull.

The lower jaw is formed like that of the Squirrels, and does not

present certain peculiarities observable in the Myowus, viz. that of

having the descending ramus perforated, its posterior angle acute,

and the upper posterior angle produced.

The incisor teeth are deeper than broad, and wove flat in front.

The molars are permanently, it would appear, = for in a skull of

a young animal in which but three molars on either side of the jaw

are protruded, there is no trace of the small anterior molar so com-

monly found in the Squirrels. They are very nearly equal in size,

and of a quadrate form; the crown of each molar of the upper jaw

is slightly indented, both on the outer and inner side, and the poste-

rior inner angle is somewhat produced; in the young animal it is

more distinctly produced and is acute, and the outer and inner in-

dentations are scarcely traceable. The molars of the lower jaw have

each a strong indentation on the outer side. ‘The folds of enamel

cross the crowns of the molars in the transverse direction, and the

spaces between the folds (four or three in number) are about equal

Zoological Society. 55

in width to these folds. The masticating surfaces of these teeth are

worn flat by usage, even in the comparatively young animal, as in

other Rodents which have a large ant-orbital opening, and have not

the tubercular surface such as we find in the molars of the typical

Squirrels. ‘These last-mentioned animals, it would appear, have a

rotatory motion of the lower jaw, whilst the Anomaluri have a lon-

gitudinal, no doubt combined with the rotatory motion; and this

difference is perhaps due to the action of that portion of the masse-

ter muscle which passes through the ant-orbital opening.

The apparatus of scales, Mr. Fraser remarked, was used by the

animal to support itself when resting on the trees, which it ascends

with great agility. He had observed this animal dart from the

top of a lofty tree to another at a considerable distance. Descend-

ing at an angle, it aimed with great nicety at the trunk of the tree

on which it intended to alight, and, settling near the base, it would

again ascend to travel to a third tree in the same manner ; occasion-

ally, when high up on the trunk, it would rest itself, making use of

the singular apparatus of scales on the under side of the tail. The

unarmed portion of the tail was then turned backwards and upwards.

Mr. Waterhouse then proceeded to characterize three new species

of Squirrels from Mr. Fraser’s collection, as follows :—

Scrurus’Staneert. Se. pilis longis et rigidis, nigro et flavescenti-

penicillatis ; genis, guld, corporeque subtus pilis sparse obtectis, his

plerumque pallidis ; caudd magnd, nigro alboque annulatd ; auribus

parvulis ; foramine infra-orbitali haud in canali educto.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin.... 12 0

CHUAE oo s.0s bik Oh 9.8 sR Biase RE 15 0

tarsi digitorumque........ whites 2 84

AR i ak iw gig area 4 ia ts 00) 2 0 5

Hab. in Insula Fernando Po.

The most striking external characters of this species consist in its

large tail, which is ringed with black and white; the crispness of

the fur and the seminaked condition of the under parts of the body,

the sides of the face, muzzle, throat, and the inner side of the limbs:

—all these parts are so sparingly clothed with hairs that the skin is

visible. On the upper parts of the body there is scarcely any trace

of the finer under-fur, nearly all the hairs being of the same harsh

character; they are black, broadly annulated with yellowish white

or rusty yellow; on the fore parts of the body the former tint pre-

vails, but the hinder parts may be described as black, freely pencilled

with bright rusty yellow; on the hind limbs this last-mentioned

colour prevails, as well as on the upper side of the tarsus. The small

adpressed hairs on the sides of the face are partly black and partly

yellowish white ; on the chest the hairs are for the most part whitish,

and on the inner side of the limbs rusty yellow; on the belly the

hairs are most of them yellowish white, annulated with black. The

tail is very long and bushy: measuring to the end of the hair, it

exceeds the head and body in length; excepting quite at the base,

56 Zoological Society.

where the tail is coloured like the body, all the hairs are black,

broadly annulated with white, and the white on the upper surface

forms bars or rings; these however become indistinct towards the

apex. ‘The ears are of moderate size and rounded. The heel is

rather sparingly clothed with hair.

The skull of this animal is remarkable for its oblong-ovate form,

and for having the ant-orbital foramen further back than usual; it

opens indeed directly into the anterior root of the zygomatic arch,

and is not in the form of a longish canal, such as we observe in other

Squirrels. ‘The nasal portion of the skull is short and broad, and the

nasal bones correspond; the elongated form of the cranium is due

to the greatly produced hinder portion: the antero-posterior extent

of the extremely oblique bony plate forming the anterior root of the

zygomatic arch is great: the post-orbital process is well-developed :

the palate terminates very nearly in a line with the hinder part of

the posterior molars. The incisive foramina are moderate. The au-

ditory bull are rather small. The incisors are strong and very deep

from front to back. ._The molars are small in proportion to the skull.

The dimensions of the skull are,

Total length: siics¥ baths OS tame a ee esha eie'wb wie 2 10 «-

Greatest WIGGIi6 5.6L sha aiee Va k haOe Sink nek a e'b yA, ape: Cage:

Width: between Orpits oo. bos pees s ee os RSC BOL oe 0 105 |

Length from post-orbital process to occiput........ Sites Me

OF DRO os cia a eye gsm gb rtd, dG aie CARI eats» A Sa

from front of the incisors to the first molar.... 0O 11

Longitudinal extent of the four molars,........... Sigh ae

Length of nasal bones. sain ppsiee snk ain * Sas 0 83

Scrurus RUFO-BRACHIATUS. Sc. pilis mediocritér longis, subrigidis,

nigro et flavescenti-penicillatis ; corpore subtis sordidé flavo vel

rufescenti-flavo ; artubus infra rufis ; caudd longa, non valde floc-

cosd, annulis nigris et albis, vel flavescenti-albis, ornatd, ad basin

plerumque rufescente ; auribus parvulis ; dentibus incisoribus lon-

gitudinaliter subsulcatis.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin.... 8 6

COMES ELE TOCA 10 6

_— tarsi digitorumque ...... ++... wa’ OY ie

sn TR eG ae, Pera wie Les 0 44

Hab. in Insula Fernando Po.

This species approaches very nearly to the Sciurus annulatus of

authors, but is distinguishable by its richer colouring. The general

tint of S. annulatus might be described as yellowish grey, whilst that

of the present animal is rusty grey; and especially by the bright

rust-like tint of the under side of the limbs, and the pale rust or

rusty white colour of the belly. The heel is clothed with hair.

The dimensions above given being from a skin, can only be re-

garded as an approximation; judging from the skull, the present

species must be much larger than the Sc. annulatus. Its form is

nearly the same, but the nasal portion is narrower and more elon-

Zoological Society. 57

gated, and the post-orbital processes are considerably larger in pro-

portion. ‘The dimensions of the skull are as follows :-—

Total length. + inisiaeis docs Bahasa ode Mee sien ee Se Ree o

Grobtest WirGUng, ¢.i3 aia) 6:0! six Se cmwhiedeg OE vere g ae 1 24

Width betweesk-orbitsts) iis ni: 660 06s 66 BREN CII wee O 8%

Length from the front of the incisors to the first molar 0 74

Leng Ob plats .i6:0s (ae sin nO 2 ROR 0 104

Longitudinal extent of the four molars ...,........ 0 5

Length: of nasal Danes 4.566406 s eee ¥ wipe eles 0 84

ScluRUS ERYTHROGENYS. Sc. supra rufescenti-fuscus, pilis nigro

et rufescenti-penicillatis ; genis rufis; guld, corpore subtis, et

artubus interne albis ; cauda quam corpus breviore, nigrd, albo-

penicillatd, pilis ad basin rufescentibus ; auribus parvulis.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin.... 8 6

ON CET hee des ch hk ky os FPR hie.

— tarsi digitorumque ...+.6. Waeene? & SOR

— Yh EINE eet eon ys Sphere Ore

Hab. in Insula Fernando Po.

The bright rust-coloured cheeks, combined with the pure white

colour of the under parts of the body and inner side of the limbs,

will serve to distinguish this species. ‘The fur is rather short and

moderately soft, and on the upper parts of the body the hairs are

black (inclining to greyish at the base) and broadly annulated with

rich rusty yellow at or near the point. A shortish longitudinal pale

mark is observable on each side of the body near the shoulders.

The feet are finely pencilled with black and yellowish white. The

tail is rather short and not very bushy, above black and rather spa-

ringly pencilled with white; upon separating the hairs, however,

they are found to be of a pale rust-colour near the base, and along

the mesial portion of the under side the tail is of a bright rusty red

colour. The tarsus is naked nearly to the heel, but on the heel are

a few hairs.

Mr. Fraser’s collection also contained a perfect skin of the Anti-

lope Ogilbii, an animal originally described from an imperfect speci-

men by Mr. Waterhouse in the Society’s Proceedings for May 1838,

p. 60.

This animal belongs to the same division as the 4. sylvicultrix of

authors, and is apparently equal to that animal in size. As in the

species just mentioned, the muzzle is naked, and the horns are placed

far behind the eye; they are short, straight (or nearly so) and pointed.

Mr. Fraser’s notes state that the animal is provided with a gland

between the hoofs, and that the female has four teats.

The fur is short, glossy and adpressed, and of a bright rusty red

colour, darkish on the back, and paler on the under parts of the

body ; a black mark runs along the back very nearly to the tail; this

mark is broadest towards the shoulders, where its width is about an

inch or rather less ; over the shoulders it becomes obliterated, blend-

ing gradually into the brownish hue which covers those parts and

58 Zoological Society.

the neck. ‘The upper surface of the head is of a deep rusty red

colour, shading into black at the tip of the muzzle; the sides of the

face are yellowish fawn-colour, and the throat is whitish. The ears

are of moderate size, broad and somewhat pointed ; externally they

are clothed with closely adpressed small hairs, which are for the

most part of a black colour, but in front at the base they assume a

bright rust tint ; this is also the colour of the fringe of longish hairs

on the anterior margin. About half-way down the fore leg and on

the anterior surface some black hairs are observable, intermixed with

those of the ordinary colour; these become more numerous lower

down and form a mark which becomes gradually broader, and from

the front to the hoof it encircles the foot; numerous white hairs are

intermixed on this part, and they form a white ring next to the hoof.

The hind feet are coloured in the same way.

Mr. Waterhouse then read his description of a species of Cat pro-

cured at Sierra Leone.

Feuis rutiLus. J. pilis brevibus adpressis ; corpore supra ferrugi-

neo, ad latera indistincté maculato, maculis parvulis, subtis albido

maculis rufo-nigricantibus ornato ; caudd brevi, immaculatd, supra

obscure rufd, subtis pallidiore.

unc. lin

Longitudo corporis circiter ............ .. 36 O

COMES Fes as eee ea a ewes 10 O

The skin which furnishes the above characters was procured by

Mr. Fraser when at Sierra Leone, and was said to be from the Man-

dingo country. Unfortunately, like all other skins brought from the

interior for sale or barter, it is imperfect, wanting the head and lower

part of the limbs, In the shortness of its tail and in its nearly uni-

form colouring, it approaches the Lynxes. It probably inhabits the

mountains.

Imperfect skins of the Cercopithecus Campbelli were also procured

by Mr. Fraser at the same time; they were likewise said to be from

the Mandingo country.

October 11.—R. H. Solly, Esq., in the Chair.

Mr. Gould exhibited and characterized the following thirty new

species of Australian Birds :-—

Hrraunpo nEoxenas. Hir. fronte, mento, guld, et pectore ferrugineo-

rubris ; rectricum caude (rectricibus duabus intermediis exceptis),

pogonio interno oblique albo notato ; corpore supra metallice ceru-

leo, subtis pallide fuscescente. ;

Forehead, chin, throat and chest rust-red; head, back of the neck,

back, scapularies, wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts deep

steel-blue ; wings and tail blackish brown; all but the two centre

feathers of the latter with an oblique mark of white on the inner

web ; under surface very pale brown; under tail-coverts pale brown,

passing into an irregular crescent-shaped mark near the extremity,

and tipped with white ; irides dark brown; bill and legs black.

Total length, 6 inches; bill, $; wing, 48; tail, 3; tarsi, 4.

Zoological Society. 59

Hab. The whole of the southern coast of Australia and Van Die-

men’s Land.

Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield considered this species to be iden-

tical with the bird figured by Sparmann in the ‘ Museum Carlsonia-

num’ under the name of Hirundo Javanica, which is there represented

with a square tail, and which, if drawn correctly, is not only specifi-

cally but generically distinct. ‘Those gentlemen likewise considered

it to be identical with the Hirondelle Orientale of M. Temminck’s

‘ Planches Coloriées,’ but from which also I conceive it to be distinct.

On the contrary, the swallow figured in Griffith’s edition of Cuvier’s

‘ Animal Kingdom’ is certainly the Australian bird; but as the spe-

cific term there given had been previously employed by Sparmann,

as mentioned above, the necessity of a new name for the present

bird has been forced upon me; and that of neorena has suggested

itself as appropriate, from the circumstance of its appearance through-

out the whole of the southern portions of Australia being hailed as a

welcome indication of the approach of spring, and its arrival there

associated with precisely the same ideas as those popularly enter-

tained respecting our own pretty swallow in Europe. The two

species are in fact beautiful representatives of each other, and assi-

milate not only in their migratory movements, but also most closely

in their whole habits, actions and economy.

CoxtuocaLiA ARIEL. Coll. vertice ferrugineo-rubro, dorso, plumis

scapularibus, et alarum tectricibus saturate metallico-ceruleis,

uropygio fulvescenti-albo, tectricibus caude fuscis; corpore subtis

albo, ferrugineo tincto.

Crown of the head rust-red; back, scapularies and wing-coverts

deep steel-blue ; wings and tail dark brown; rump buffy white ; up-

per tail-coverts brown; under surface white, tinged with rust-red,

particularly on the sides of the neck and flanks; the feathers of the

throat with a fine line of dark brown down the centre; irides black-

ish brown; bill blackish grey ; legs and feet olive-grey.

Total length, 4 inches ; bill, 3; wing, 32; tail, 12; tarsi, 2.

Hab. 'The southern portions of Australia.

Dicrurvs BRACTEATUS. Dic. corpore supra et infra saturate nigro ;

plumis capitis lunuld metallico-viridi, illis corporis presertim pec-

toris guttd ejusdem splendoris, ad apicem bracteatis.

Head, body above and below deep black ; the feathers of the head

with a crescent, and the feathers of the body, particularly of the

breast, with a spot of deep metallic green at the tip; wings and tail

deep glossy green; under wing-coverts black, tipped with white;

irides brownish red; bill and feet blackish brown.

Total length, 104 inches ; bill, 13; wing, 6; tail, 53; tarsi, Z.

Hab. 'The eastern and northern coasts of Australia.

Syn. Dicrurus balicassius, Vig. § Horsf., but not of Lath.

RuipipurA Dryas, Gould. Rhipi. fronte, dorso inferiore, tectrici-

busque caude ferrugineis ; caudd fuscescenti-cinered, rectricibus

duabus intermediis ad apicem obscure albo notatis, reliquis per

partem apicalem tertiam albis.

60 Zoological Society.

Forehead rust-red; crown of the head, back of the neck, upper

part of the back and the wings olive-brown; lower part of the back

and upper tail-coverts rust-red ; tail brownish grey, the two centre

feathers obscurely tipped with white, and the remainder white for

one-third of their length from the tip; throat white; ear-coverts

dark brown; chest black, the feathers being edged with white as

they pass on to the abdomen, which is wholly white ; flanks and un-

der tail-coverts very faintly tinged with buff; irides blackish brown ;

bill black ; feet dark brown.

Total length, 5% inches ; bill, 3; wing, 23 ; tail, 3%; tarsi, 7.

This species is nearly allied to Rhipidura rufifrons, but differs in

being much smaller, in the red not extending on to the plumes and

shafts of the tail-feathers, and in there being more white on their

extremities.

Hab. Port Essington, north coast of Australia.

Micra#ca FLAVIGASTER. Mic. corpore superiore fuscescenti-

olivaceo ; alis cauddque fuscis, colore pallidiore plumis marginatis ;

guld albd, corpore inferiore flavo.

All the upper surface brownish olive; wings and tail brown, mar-

gined with paler brown ; throat white ; all the under surface yellow ;

irides dark brown; bill blackish brown ; feet blackish grey.

Total length, 33 inches; bill, 3; wing, 23; tail, 24; tarsi, 3.

Hab. Port Essington.

GERYGONE* MAGNIROSTRIS. Ger. corpore supra fusco, infra albo ;

primariis levitér olivaceo-marginatis ; caudd prope apicem indi-

stincté fuscescenti-nigro vittatda.

All the upper surface brown; margins of the primaries slightly

tinged with olive ; tail-feathers crossed near the extremity by an in-

distinct broad band of brownish black; all the under surface white,

tinged with brownish buff; irides light brown; bill olive-brown; the

base of the lower mandible pearl-white ; feet greenish grey.

Total length, 32 inches ; bill, ;%; wing, 24; tail, 12; tarsi, 2.

Hab. Port Essington.

GERYGONE CHLORONOTUS. Ger. capite et nuchd fuscescenti-cinereis ;

dorso, alarum tectricibus, uropygio, tectricibus caude, remigum

primorum marginibus, et per partem dimidiam basalem marginibus

caude rectricum nitide olivaceo-viridibus ; corpore subtis, lateribus,

crissoque olivaceo-flavis.

Head and back of the neck brownish grey; back, wing-coverts,

rump, upper tail-coverts, margins of the primaries, and the margins

of the basal half of the tail-feathers, bright olive-green ; primaries

and tail-feathers brown, the latter becoming much darker towards

the extremity ; under surface white; sides and vent olive-yellow;

irides wood-brown ; upper mandible greenish grey; lower mandible

white ; feet blackish grey.

* Psilopus of the former parts of these ‘ Proceedings,’ and for which the

term Gerygone is now substituted, the former term having been previously

employed.

Zoological Society. 61

Total length, 34 inches; bill, =; wing, 23; tail, 13; tarsi, 3.

Hab, Port Essington.

GrRyGoNE LuvicasTER. Ger. corpore superiore ferrugineo-fusco ;

inferiore albo, levitér flavido tincto.

A narrow obscure line, commencing at the nostrils and passing

over the eye, yellowish white; all the upper surface rusty brown;

primaries brown, margined with lighter brown ; tail whitish at the

base, gradually deepening into nearly black, the lateral feather

largely, and the remainder, except the two middle ones, slightly

tipped with white ; all the under surface white, slightly washed with

yellow; irides light reddish brown; bill olive-brown; base of lower

mandible light ash-grey ; feet dark greenish grey.

Total length, 33 inches; bill, 4; wing, 2; tail, 13; tarsi, $

Hab. Port Essington.

For a new form, nearly allied to Gerygone, Mr. Gould proposed

the generic name of Smicrornis, with the following characters :—

Gen. Char.—Rostrum parvulum, et instar grani tritici; feré cylin-

draceum;a basi incurvatum. Nares basales oblong, et oper-

culo obtecte ; ad basin rostri, pili tenuissimi admodum pauci.

Ale modicé longze, alula brevissima, primariz tertia, quarta, et

quinta longissime, et inter se feré equales. Cauda brevis, et

quadrata. Tarst modici; digiti perbreves; digitus posticus cum

intermedio feré cozqualis. Ungues admodum adunci, et ad he-

rendum aptati.

SMICRORNIS FLAVESCENS. Smic. corpore superiore nitidé flaves-

centi-olivaceo, plumis capitis strigd fuscd fere obsoletd longitudi-

naliter notatis, corpore inferiore nitide flavo.

All the upper surface bright yellowish olive; the feathers of the

head with an indistinct line of brown down the centre ; wings brown ;

tail brown, deepening into black near the extremity, and with a large

oval spot of white on the inner web, near the tip of all but the two

central feathers ; all the under surface bright yellow.

Total length, 2% inches ; bill, ;4; wing, 14; tail, 14; tarsi, fr.

Hab. Port Essington.

Pacuycreruata FALCATA, Gould. Pach, vertice, loris, plumis au-

ricularibus, dorso, caudeque tectricibus cinereis ; guld albd, lunuld

nigrd infra circumdatd.

Adult male-—Crown of the head, lores, ear-coverts, back and

upper tail-coverts grey; wings dark brown, all the feathers mar-

gined with grey; throat white, bounded below by a distinct crescent

of black; abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts orange-brown ;

tail dark brown; the basal portion of the webs edged with grey;

irides reddish brown; bill black ; feet blackish brown.

Total length, 53 jiches' bill, 2. ; wing, 34; tail, 27; tarsi, 5 3,

Adult female.—Crown of the head and all’ the upper surface grey ;

ear-coverts brownish grey ; throat buffy white, passing into light buff

or fawn-colour on the chest, flanks, abdomen, and under tail-coverts ;

the feathers of the throat and chest with a narrow dark line down

the centre; wings and tail as in the male.

62 Zoological Society.

Total length, 55 inches ; bill, £; wing, 34; tail, 23; tarsi, 7

Young male.—Similar in colour to the female, but with the throat

whiter and the markings on the chest much more distinct, and ex-

tending over the abdomen also.

Nearly allied to Pachycephala pectoralis, but differs in being rather

smaller, and in having no black round the eyes or on the ear-coverts.

Hab. Port Essington.

PACHYCEPHALA MELANURA. Pach. capite, lunuld pone oculos, per

latera colli ductd et pectus transeunte, cauddque nigris ; guld albd,

torque nuchali, corporeque subtis, saturate flavis.

Head, crescent commencing behind the eye and crossing the chest,

and the tail black; throat pure white; collar round the back and

sides of the neck, and all the under surface very rich gamboge-yellow ;

upper surface rich yellowish olive; wings black; the coverts mar-

gined with yellowish olive; the primaries narrowly and the secon-

daries broadly margined with yellowish grey; bill and feet black ;

irides brown.

Total length, 6 inches; bill, 7; wing, 31; tail, 24; tarsi, 3.

Hab. North coast of Australia.

PACHYCEPHALA SIMPLEX. Pach. corpore superiore fusco, inferiore

Suscescenti-albo, singulis plumis strigd fuscd fere obsoletd longi-

tudinaliter notatis.

All the upper surface brown; all the under surface brownish

white, with a very faint stripe of brown down the centre of each

feather ; irides light brown ; bill and feet black.

Total length, 5 inches; bill, $; wing, 24; tail, 22; tarsi, 2.

Hab. Port Essington.

Mr. Gould then mentioned, that having obtained another species

of the same form as the Acanthiza pyrrhopygia of Messrs. Vigors and

_Horsfield, which latter differs considerably from the other members

of that group, he proposed to form the two birds into a new genus,

under the name of Hylacola, with the following characters :—

Genus Hyzacota.

Gen. Char.—Rostrum capite brevius, compressum, ad basin eequé

altum atque latum; culmen gradatim ad apicem mandibule supe-

rioris declive; apex levitér emarginatus ; rictus vibrissis raris in-

structus. Nares basales, oblong, magis grandes, et operculo

tecte. Ale breves, admodim rotundate concave ; primariz prima,

secunda et tertia, longitudine dissimili, quarta, quinta, et sexta

corequales, et longissime. Cauda magis elongata, et rotundata.

Tarst mediocres. Digiti magis elongati; externi cozquales.

Typus, Acanthiza pyrrhopygia, Vig. and Horsf.

Hyxzacona cauta. Hyl. lined albd per faciem super oculos ductd

vertice, corporeque superiore fuscis ; caude tectricibus crissoque

pallide castaneis ; alarum tectricibus fuscis, fuscescenti-albo mar-

ginatis, primariis fuscis, pogoniis externis ad basin conspicue

albis.

At the base of the upper mandible a line of white, which con-

Zoological Society. 63

tinues along the side of the face and over the eye; above this a nar-

row line of black ; crown of the head and all the upper surface brown ;

upper and under tail-coverts bright chestnut ; wing-coverts brown,

edged with brownish white ; primaries brown, with the outer web at

the base white, forming a conspicuous spot in the centre of the wing ;

tail blackish brown, tipped with white; throat striated with black

and white, produced by each feather being fringed with white, and

having a strong stripe of black down the centre; flanks mottled

brown and white; abdomen white; bill dark brown; irides buff-

white; feet flesh-brown. | .

Total length, 5% inches; bill, =9,; wing, 23; tail, 2}; tarsi, 3.

Hab. Western Belts of the Murray in South Australia.

_CINCLORAMPHUS CANTATORIS. Cine. corpore superiore arenaceo-

Fusco, colore plumarum centrali saturatiore, notd ante oculos tri-

angulari fuscescenti-nigrd ; guld et pectore sordidé albis, hujus

plumis strigé fuscd longitudinaliter notatis, corpore inferiore pal-

lide fusco, abdomine medio saturate fusco.

All the upper surface sandy brown, the centres of the feathers

darker; primaries and tail greyish brown, slightly margined with

reddish brown; immediately before the eye a triangular spot of

brownish black ; throat and chest dull white, the latter with a stripe

of brown down each feather ; under surface light brown; in the cen-

tre of the abdomen a patch of dark brown, each feather margined

with pale brown; bill and feet fleshy brown. ©

Total length, 8 inches ; bill, 13 ; wing, 43; tail, 4) ; tarsi, 14.

Hab. South Australia.

Prinotis FLAVA. til. corpore superiore, alis, cauddque olivaceo-

flavis ; corpore inferiore lucidé ejusdem coloris.

All the upper surface, wings and tail olive-yellow ; inner webs of

the primaries brown; all the under surface bright olive-yellow ; bill

blackish brown ; feet reddish flesh-brown.

Total length, 64 inches; bill, 4; wing, 34; tail, 3}; tarsi, 3.

Hab. North coast of Australia.

Pritotis versicotor. Ptil. corpore superiore fuscescenti-olivaceo,

plumis flavescenti-olivaceo marginatis, alis cauddque subtis luteolis ;

strigd superoculari nigrd ; plumis auricularibus saturate cinereis ;

strigd infra-auriculari nitide flavd, guld et corpore subtis flavis,

singulis plumis strigd fuscd longitudinaliter notatis ; crisso palli-

diore.

All the upper surface brownish olive, tinged with yellowish olive

on the margins of the feathers ; outer webs of the primaries and tail

wax-yellow ; inner webs brown; under surface of the wing and tail

yellowish buff; stripe over the eye to the back of the neck black ;

ear-coverts dark grey ; below the ear-coverts a stripe of bright yellow ;

throat and under surface yellow, becoming paler as it approaches the

vent, each feather with a stripe of brown down the centre.

Total length, 8 inches; bill, 1; wing, 4; tail, 33; tarsi, 1.

Hab. North coast of Australia.

Pritotis uniconor. Ptil, loris. et orbitis saturate fuscis; colore

64 — Loological Society.

corporis fuscescenti-olivaceo, apud partes inferiores pallidiore ;

primaris clariore marginatis ; humeris internis luteolis.

Lores and orbits deep brown ; all the plumage brownish olive; the

under surface paler than the upper ; primaries margined with brighter

olive than the other parts of the body ; under surface of the shoulder

pale buff; irides obscure red; bill dark olive-brown; naked gape

fleshy white, passing into yellow at the corner of the mouth; legs

and feet light ash-grey.

Male.—Total length, 7 inches; bill, 1 ; wing, 3%; tail, 34; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Port Essington.

The sexes are alike in colour, but the female is considerably

smaller in size.

Myzometa opscura. Myz. colore corporis sordide fusco, apud

partes inferiores pallidiore, et ad caput tincturd vinaced.

The whole of the plumage dull brown, with a vinous tinge on the

head ; paler on the under surface ; irides bright red; bill dark green-

ish black ; feet dark bluish grey ; tarsi tinged with yellow.

Male.—Total length, 5 inches ; bill, 2; wing, 23; tail, 21; tarsi, §.

Hab. Port Essington.

The sexes differ only in the female being much smaller in size.

GuycipHILA FAsciATA. Glyc. vertice fuscescenti-nigro, plumis ad

apicem lunuld parvuld albd ornatis ; uropygio rufo tincto, faciet

lateribus, guld et corpore subtis albis, ab angulis oris strigé an-

gusta fuscescenti-nigrd per latera colli ductd ; pectore lineis semi-

circularibus fuscescenti-nigris transversim fasciato-lateribus et

crisso luteolis, laterum plumis strigd centrali fuscescenti-nigra

longitudinaliter notatis.

Crown of the head brownish black, with a small crescent of white

at the extremity of each feather; feathers of the back very dark

brown, margined with buffy brown ; rump tinged with rufous; wings

and tail dark brown, fringed with light brown; sides of the face,

throat,and under surface white ; from the angle of the mouth down the

side of the neck a narrow stripe of brownish black; chest crossed by

a number of semicircular brownish black fasciz; flanks and under

tail-coverts buff, the former with a stripe of brownish black down

the centre ; irides reddish brown ; bill greenish grey ; feet aurora-red.

Total length, 4% inches ; bill, 3; wing, 27; tail, 21; tarsi, $.

Hab. Port Essington.

ENTOMOPHILA? RuFOGULARIS. nt. capite et corpore superiore

fuscis ; primariis et caude rectricibus, externé colore cerino mar-

ginatis, guld ferrugined.

Head and all the upper surface brown; wings and tail darker

brown; primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers margined externally

with wax-yellow ; throat rust-red ; sides of the head and all the un-

der surface very pale brown; bill and feet dark purplish brown.

Total length, 43 inches; bill, $; wing, 2%; tail, 23; tarsi, 3.

Hab. North coast of Australia.

EnTOMOPHILA? ALBOGULARIS. nt. capite saturate cinereo, cor-

pore superiore fusco; alis cauddque saturatioribus ; primariis,

Zoological Society. 65

secundariis, rectricibusque caude per partem basalem dimidiam

cerino marginatis ; guld albd, pectore et lateribus e rubro-luteolis ;

abdomine medio, et crisso albis.

Head dark grey ; all the upper surface brown ; wings and tail darker

brown ; primaries, secondaries, and basal half of the tail-feathers mar-

gined with wax-yellow ; throat pure white ; chest and flanks reddish

buff; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; irides

bright reddish brown; bill blackish grey ; feet bluish grey.

Total length, 44 inches; bill, 8; wing, 28 ; tail, 2 ; tarsi, $.

The female is similar, but much less brilliant in colour than her

mate.

Hab. Port Essington.

CALYPTORHYNCHUS MaACRORHYNCHUS. Cal. mas fulgidé e ce-

ruleo-niger, rectricibus caude tribus externis (externe pogonio

externo excepto) fere apud medium vittd latd pulchre coccined fas-

ciatis.

Fem. a mari differt plumis criste, laterum capitis, tectricumque

alarum flavido-guttatis, singulis plumis corporis inferioris, et pre-

sertim pectoris fasciis nonnullis luteolis ornatis ; rectricibus caude

tribus externis subtis, crebré et irregulariter flavido-fasciatis ; su-

pra ad basin fasciis nitidé flavis ad basin, exinde ad apicem pal-

lide coccineis notatis.

Male.—The whole of the plumage glossy bluish black; lateral

tail-feathers, except the external web of the outer one, crossed by a

broad band of fine scarlet; bill horn-colour; irides blackish brown ;

feet mealy blackish brown.

_Female.—General plumage as in the male, but with the crest-

feathers, those on the sides of the face and neck, and the wing-

coverts, spotted with light yellow ; each feather of the under surface,

but particularly the chest, crossed by several semicircular fascize of

yellowish buff ; lateral tail-feathers crossed on the under surface by

numerous irregular bands of dull yellow, which are broad and freckled

with black at the base of the tail, and become narrower and more

irregular as they approach the tip; on the upper surface of the tail

these bands are bright yellow at the base of the feathers, and gra-

dually change into pale scarlet as they approach the tip; irides

blackish brown.

Total length, 2 inches ; bill, 14 in length and 3 in depth ; wing, 16;

tail, 12; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Port Essington.

CacaTUA SANGUINEA. Cac. corpore albo, plumis faciei, ad basin

sanguineo-tinctis ; primaritis, secundariis et rectricibus caude, cum

pogoniis internis ad basin sulphureis.

All the plumage white ; base of the feathers of the lores and sides

of the face stained with patches of blood-red ; base of the inner webs

of the primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers fine sulphur-yellow ;

bill yellowish white ; feet mealy brown.

Total length, 15 inches; bill, 14; wing, 108; tail, 6; tarsi, 7.

Hab. North coast of Australia.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol, xii. F

66 Zoological Society.

CLIMACTERIS MELANURA, Gould. Clim. fronte, corpore superiore,

rectricibusque caude ex holoserico fuscescenti-nigris ; occipite et

nuché ferrugineo-tinctis ; primariis et secundariis ad apicem et

basin saturate fuscis ; plumis gularibus albis nigro-marginatis ;

abdomine et lateribus ferrugineis ; crisso nigro.

Forehead, all the upper surface and tail-feathers velvety brownish

black; the occiput and back of the neck stained with ferruginous

brown ; primaries and secondaries dark brown at the base and at the

tip; the intermediate space buff, forming a conspicuous band across

the wing when expanded; feathers of the throat white, edged all

round with black, giving the throat a striated appearance ; abdomen

and flanks ferruginous brown; under tail-coyerts black, irregularly

crossed with bars of buff; bill and feet blackish brown.

Total length, 6? inches ; bill, £; wing, 4; tail, 3 ; tarsi, 1.

In size this species rather exceeds the Climacteris scandens.

Hab. The north-west coast of Australia.

From the collection of Mr. Bynoe.

PorzANA FLUMINEA. Porz. corpore superiore olivaceo; singulis

plumis strigd centrali nigrescente, et ad marginem guttis duabus

albis anticé et posticé nigro-cinctis, ornatis; facie, guld, pectore

et abdomine superiore plumbeo-cinereis, abdomine imo, et lateribus

cinerescenti-nigris, lineis albis angustis irregulariter fasciatis.

All the upper surface olive, with a broad stripe of blackish brown

down the centre and two oval spots of white, bounded above and

below with black on the margin of each web of every feather ; pri-

maries and secondaries brown ; tail dark brown, margined with lighter

brown and with an indication of white spots on the extreme edge ;

face, throat, chest, and upper part of the abdomen dark slate-grey ;

lower part of the abdomen and flanks greyish black, crossed by nar-

‘row irregular bars of white; under tail-coverts white; bill orange-

red at the base, and dark olive-green for the remainder of its length ;

feet dark olive-green.

Total length, 7 inches; bill, 4; wing, 34; tail, 14; tarsi, 1.

Hab. New South Wales. ©

Porzana PaLustTRis. Porz. capite et nuchd ferrugineo-fuscis, sin-

gulis plumis longitudinalitér strigd centrali nigrescenti-ornatis ;

plumis dorsalibus scapularibus, et secundariis fuscescenti-nigris,

rufescente marginatis, et strigd oblongd albd nigro interruptd or-

natis ; guld, pectore, et abdomine superiore cinereis ; abdomine imo

et lateribus nigrescentibus lineis latis irregularibus cinereis fas-

ciatis.

Head and back of the neck rusty brown, with a stripe of blackish

brown down the centre of each feather ; feathers of the back, scapu-

laries and secondaries brownish black margined with rusty brown,

and with an oblong stripe or mark of white, interrupted in the mid-

dle with black ; wing-coverts rusty brown, a few of them marked on

their inner webs like the scapularies; primaries brown, two or three

of the innermost with a mark or marks of white at the tip ; tail dark

brown, fringed with rusty brown ; face, throat, chest and upper part

Zoological Society. 67

of the abdomen grey; lower part of the abdomen and flanks black-

ish grey, crossed by broad irregular bands of grey; bill and feet

olive- brown.

Total length, 6 inches ; bill, 3; wing, 3; tail, 13; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Van Diemen’s Land.

Srerna veLox. Stern. fronte, loris, colli lateribus, et corpore in-~

feriore albis ; spatio circumoculari, occipite et nuchd nigris ; cor-

pore superiore, alis, cauddque belle cinereis.

Forehead, lores, sides of the neck, and all the under surface white ;

space surrounding the eye, occiput, and back of the neck black ; all

the upper surface, wings and tail delicate grey; outer web of the

external quill greyish black ; shafts of all the primaries white ; irides

blackish brown ; bill black.

Total length, 13 inches; bill, 24; wing, 93; tail, 61; tarsi, 4.

Hab. Bass’s Straits.

Hyprocuetipon FuuviaTinis. Hyd. fronte, vertice, et nuchd

nigris ; corpore superiore, alis cauddque pallide cinereis ; facie

et guld albis, héc colore gradattm ad pectus cinerescente, et hdc

ad abdomen necnon ad latera nigrescente.

Forehead, crown and nape deep black; all the upper surface,

wings and tail light grey; sides of the face and the throat white,

gradually deepening into grey on the chest, and the grey into black

on the abdomen and flanks ; under surface of the shoulder and under

tail-coverts white ; irides black ; bill blood-red ; feet light blood-red.

Total length, 93 inches; bill, 13 ; wing, 87; tail, 33; tarsi, 2.

Hab. Rivers and lakes of the interior of New South Wales.

Tuatasseus Torres. Thal. fronte, facie, et collo dorso su-

periore, partibusque inferioribus lucide albis; plumis verticis et

illis oculos circumdantibus albis, guttd parvuld central nigra no-

tatis ; occipite et nuchd nigerrimis ; dorso alisque saturate cinereis,

caudd pallidé cinerea.

Forehead, sides of the face and neck, upper part of the back and

all the under surface silky white; feathers of the crown and sur-

rounding the eye white, with a minute spot of black in the centre .

of each; occiput and back of the neck black; back and wings deep

grey ; tail grey ; primaries greyish black, broadly margined on their

inner web with white ; the shafts white ; irides dark brown ; bill ochre-

yellow ; feet blackish grey.

Total length, 134 inches; bill, 2; wing, 114; tail, 42; tarsi, 1,

Hab, Port Essington.

Nearly allied to S. poliocerca, but much smaller in size.

STERNULA NEREIS. Siern, vertice et nuchd nigris, héc colore ocu-

los cingente maculamque anteriorem efficiente, ut non in frontem

ducto ; fronte albo ; dorso alisque bellé ex argenteo-cinereis ; cor-

pore inferiore, uropygio et caudd albis.

Crown of the head and back of the neck black, which colour ex-

tends round the eye, and is continued in the form of a spot before

that organ ; but this colour does not extend on to the forehead, which

is white; back and wings delicate silvery grey ; the outer web of the

68 Botanical Society of London.

external primary dark grey at the base, gradually passing into grey

towards the tip; all the under surface, rump and tail pure white ;

irides black ; bill, tongue and feet rich orange-yellow.

Total length, 104 inches ; bill, 1£; wing, 74; tail, 4} ; tarsi, ;%.

Hab. Bass’s Straits.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

May 19, 1843.—J.E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. &c., President, in the Chair.

Mr. A. Henfrey, A.L.S., exhibited specimens of Leucojum estivum,

collected in Greenwich Marshes. He also presented specimens of

Dentaria bulbifera, collected at Harefield, Middlesex.

Mr. W. Andrews presented specimens of varieties of Savxifraga

Geum, in one of which the nectaries thickly surrounded the ovary.

The specimens were collected at the Great Blasquest Island, coast

of Kerry, Ireland.

Read, ‘‘ Notice of the discovery of two species of Fungi new to

the British Flora,” by Dr. Philip, Buenos Ayres: Peziza corticalis,

found on woodbine between Stokenchurch, Oxfordshire, and Cadmore

End; Hystericum rubrum, found on bean-stalks at Aston Rowant

and Tetsworth, Oxfordshire.

Read also the commencement of a paper by Mr. Edwin Lees,

F.L.S., ‘‘On the Groups into which the British Fruticose Rubi are

divisible.” The paper was accompanied by drawings and specimens.

June 2.—John Reynolds, Esq., Treasurer, in the Chair.

Mrs. M. Stovin presented specimens of Anemone ranunculoides,

found wild in a wood near Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

Mr. F. Bainbridge presented a specimen of Lecidea Wahlenbergii

- (Acharius), a lichen new to the British flora, discovered by him on

Ben Nevis, Inverness-shire, in July last.

The continuation of the paper (commenced at the last Meeting),

‘«* On the Groups into which the British Fruticose Rudi are divisible,”

by Mr. Edwin Lees, F.L.S., was read.

The only European forms of the common fruticose brambles noticed —

by Linnzeus were R. cesius and R. fruticosus, supposed to include

the rest. SirJ. E. Smith, in the ‘ English Botany,’ distinguished R.

corylifolius as worthy of enumeration, and Anderson, in the Trans-

actions of the Linnzan Society, vol. xi., described the still more

obvious R. suberectus. Meantime Weihe and Nees von Esenbeck

commenced the publication of an elaborate monograph of the genus,

under the title of ‘ Rubi Germanici.’ In Smith’s ‘ English Flora’ the

number of species of British Rudi is advanced to eleven, though two

of these appear to have been misunderstood, and therefore the real

number was only nine.

Before the Rubi can be adequately comprehended, so as to reduce

them into groups, their mode of growth must be fully understood,

and it will perhaps become evident what points, from their greater

permanency, are to be relied upon for general as well as specific

characters. ‘The general idea of the biennial continuance of the

Botanical Society of London. 69

Rubi is incorrect ; all are triennial by the renewed growth of smaller

flowering branches from the barren stems or the bases of the withered

panicles of the second year, or by the barren stems shooting forth a

second crop of barren stems, which flower the third year; and often

the existence of an individual bramble, independent of fresh shoots

from the root, is protracted to the fourth or fifth year.

The consequence of this is, that no specific distinction whatever

can be drawn from the inflorescence, which may be long the second

year and is much shorter the third; while it often happens, that

when a barren stem becomes prostrate, the panicles of flowers rising

from the extreme end are twice or thrice as long as those nearest to

the main shrub. ‘This fact of the extended growth of the Rudi has

been lost sight of, and hence puzzling productions have been con-

sidered as new species, just as R. fastigiatus of Weihe and Nees is

but a form of R. plicatus, as now admitted by Esenbeck himself,

from its exhibiting a smaller growth of third year’s flowers.

Undoubtedly the barren stem offers the best, if not the only plan

of discrimination in subdividing the Rubi into groups, especially if

we take into consideration, in combination with it, the erect or arched

mode of growth and continuance of vitality. The leaves are so ex-

ceedingly variable in shape, size, and hoariness, as to be almost use-

less in this respect. From the table accompanying the paper was

seen what the differences really were by which groups can be defined,

and it will appear in fact that this resolves itself almost entirely into

the perfect smoothness, glaucosity, or more or less hairiness and glan-

dulosity of the barren stems.

Commencing then with R. cesius and ending with R. ideus, it

will appear that seven groups are easily separable from each other,

and passing from one into the other in a very natural manner. These,

at all events, may be considered the smallest number of species into

which our Rubi can be classed, without confounding really different

things ; while if we proceed further into minuter distinctions, these

typical forms will become groups, under which the various varieties,

species, or subspecies, of each will be referable.

1. Cesii. Having the barren stem round, bloomy, covered with un-

equal prickles, trailing, rooting. R.cesius and its various deriva-

tives.

2. Glandulose. Barren stem angular, hairy and prickly, setose, very

glandular, arched or trailing, rooting. This group will include

R. radula of Weihe and Nees, R. Kehleri, fusco-ater, &c.

3. Villicaule. Barren stem angular, very hairy, but without glands,

prickly, arched or decumbent, rooting. Including R. villicaulis,

Weihe and Nees; R. leucostachys, Smith, &c.

4. Fruticosi. Barren stem angular, glaucous, prickly, arching, root-

ing. Including R. fruticosus and discolor.

5. Nitidi. Barren stem angular, almost smooth, with few prickles,

rooting rarely. AR. affinis, nitidus, rhamnifolius, &c.

6. Suberecti. Barren stem angular, very smooth, nearly erect, not

rooting. Including R. suberectus, Anderson and Smith; RK. pli-

catus, Weihe and Nees; and R. fissus, Lindley.

70 Geological Society.

7. Idi. Barren stem round, downy, covered with innumerable small

dilated prickles, erect. RR. ideus and varieties.

There is, however, it must be admitted, an anomaly in the first

group, which can only be got over by subdividing it into two (as in

the tabular view), for the excessively glandulose assurgent stem of

R. dumetorum has a very different aspect from the prostrate bloomy

one of R. cesius, and yet it is demonstrable that the former is really

derivable from the latter; so that although the blue berries of the

dewberry would at first sight appear so discriminative, varieties arise

with fruit altogether of a different aspect. It must be borne in

mind, however, that this is in a great degree in accordance with the

well-known laws of cultivation. R. dumetorum is cesius excessively

developed in leaves and flowers, but the fruit is mostly abortive or

imperfect; while R. cesius, in its normal prostrate form, with thin

foliage and small flowers, produces on the humid ground the finest

and most palatable fruit of any of the fruticose brambles.

The first group of Cesii must therefore necessarily be divided into

two, but the other groups will be found to maintain the characters

assigned them pretty correctly, and may therefore be depended on.

It is true that occasionally some of the Villicaule will exhibit a few

glands on their stems or panicles under circumstances of great luxu-

riance of growth or exposure, but nothing to compare with the ex-

cessive glandulosity of the Glandulose. Then it is true that the

barren stem of the second group of Cesii is nearly as glandular as the

Glandulose, but the former will show their affinity with cesius by

the calyx being involute on the fruit, not reflex, as in the latter.

The Fruticosi always preserve an independent marked character ;

and the Nitidi, if in one of their forms, R. afinis, coming near to the

Suberecti, may yet be always well distinguished by the arching bar-

ren stem, which, where exposed, is very stiff and rigid in the latter,

almost as much so as in R. ideus. This is well observable in the

barren moors of North Wales. The paper was accompanied by

drawings and specimens.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

February 1, 1843.—Letter from J. Hamilton Cooper, Esq., to

Charles Lyell, Esq., V.P.G.S., ‘‘ On Fossil bones found in digging

the New Brunswick Canal in Georgia.”

Mr. Cooper prefaces his communication by a description of the

country surrounding the locality in which the bones were found.

The portion described is that part of the sea-coast of Georgia which

lies between the Alatamaha and Turtle rivers in one direction, and

the Atlantic Ocean and the head of tide water on the other. For

twenty miles inland the land is low, averaging a height of from ten

to twenty feet, and reaching, in some instances, forty feet, and con-

sisting of swamps, salt-marshes, sandy land, and clay loam. It then

suddenly rises to the height of seventy feet, and runs back west at

this elevation about twenty miles, at which point there is a similar

elevation of between sixty and seventy feet.. The whole of this

district is a post-tertiary formation, and is composed of recent allu-

Geological Society. 71

vium, and a well-characterized marine post-pliocene deposit. The

recent alluvium is divided into inland-swamp, tide-swamp, and salt- —

marsh. The two last occupy a shallow basin having a depth of about

twelve feet, the bottom and sides of which are the post-pliocene for-

mation. This the author divides into three groups, in the last of

which, constituting the elevated sand hills, no organic remains have

been found; in the two former marine shells of existing species occur,

The fossil bones of the land mammalia discovered by Mr. Cooper,

were found resting on the yellow sand and enveloped in the recent

clay alluvium. Their unworn state and the grouping together of

many bones of the same skeleton, render it highly probable that the

carcasses of the animals falling or floating into a former lake or

stream, sank to the sandy bottom, and were gradually covered to

their present depth by the sedimentary deposits from the water,

Among them were remains of the megatherium, Mastodon giganteum,

mammoth, hippopotamus and horse. The fossil shells found in the

post-pliocene, were species at present existing on the neighbouring

shores.

The facts narrated by Mr. Cooper lead to the following conclu-

sions :—Ilst. That the post-pliocene formation extends further south

than Maryland, to which it has hitherto been limited. 2nd. The co-

existence of the megatherium with the mammoth, mastodon, horse,

bison, and hippopotamus. 3rd, That the surface of the country has

undergone no sudden or violent change since those animals inhabited

it, which is proved by the absence of all traces of diluvial action in

the enveloping alluvium or surrounding country. 4th. That what-

ever changes of temperature may have taken place since that time,

fatal to the existence of those mammalia, the identity of the fossil

with the existing species of the marine shells of the coast shows that

the temperature of the ocean.at a period prior to the existence of

the megatherium, the mastodon, and the hippopotamus was such as

is congenial to the present marine testacea of Georgia.

“* Description of some Fossil Fruits from the Chalk-formation of

the South-east of England.” By Gideon Algernon Mantell, LL.D.,

F.R.S., &c.

The fruits described are three in number, viz.—

1. Zamia Sussexiensis, Mantell—From the greensand. A cone

allied to the Zamia macrocephala, a greensand fossil from Kent,

figured in Lindley and Hutton’s ‘ Fossil Flora,’ pl. 125, from which

it differs in form and in the number, size, and shape of its scales,

which are more numerous, smaller and more oblong than in the

Kentish species. It is five inches long, and at the greatest circum-

ference measures six inches. It was found about two years ago in

an accumulation of fossil coniferous wood in a sand-bank at Selmes-

ton, Sussex, at the junction of the Shanklin sand with the gault.

Dr. Mantell having sent a cast of the only specimen found to M.

Adolphe Brongniart, that distinguished botanist suggested that it

might be either the stem of a young cycadaceous plant or the fruit

of a Zamia, but the situation and small size of the stalk at the base

and the appearance of the scales, induce Dr. Mantell to refer it to

the latter.

72 Geological Society.

2. Abies Benstedi, Mantell.— From the greensand near Maidstone,

Kent. A beautiful cone found by Mr. W. H. Bensted in the quarry

in which the remains of the Iguanodon were discovered in 1834,

where it was associated with Fucus Targionii, and some indetermi-

nate species of the same genus; stems and apparently traces of the

foliage of endogenous trees allied to the Dracena (Sternbergia), and

of trunks and branches of Conifere. The wood occurs both in a

calcareous and siliceous state. The cone found is in every respect

such a fruit as the trees to which the wood belonged might have

borne. It bears a close resemblance to a fossil from the greensand

of Dorsetshire, discovered by Dr. Buckland, and figured in the ‘ Fos-

sil Flora’ of Great Britain under the name of Abies oblonga (Fos. FI.

pl. 1.). Unfortunately the outer surface is so much worn that the

external figure of the scales cannot be accurately defined; but the

sections show their proportionate thickness. ‘There is an opening

at the base of the cone occasioned by the removal of the stalk, and

an accidental oblique fracture exhibits the internal structure. In the

longitudinal section thus exposed the scales are seen to be rounded

and broad at their base and to rise gradually, and become thin at

their outer terminations. The seeds are oblong, and one seed is

seen imbedded within the base of each scale. Mr. Morris considers

it to have a great affinity to Abies oblonga of Lindley and Hutton,

but it is more spherical, and the scales are smaller, more regular

and numerous.

3. Carpolithes Smithie, Mantell.—From the white chalk of Kent.

An account of an imperfect specimen of this fruit was formerly given

by Dr. Mantell in his ‘ Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex.’ He

lately detected a second and more perfect example in the choice col-

lection of Mrs. Smith of Tunbridge Wells, in honour of whom he

has named it. Dr. Mantell remarks, that a slight imspection was

sufficient to determine its vegetable origin, for several seeds were

imbedded in its substance, and others had been detached in clearing

it from the chalk. Dr. Robert Brown suggested that the original

was probably a succulent compound berry, the seeds appearing to

have been imbedded in a pulpy substance like the fruit of the mul-

berry, which is a spurious compound berry, formed by a partial

union of the enlarged and fleshy calices, each inclosing a dry mem-

branous pericarp.

From the occurrence of the cones above described with the drifted

remains of land and freshwater reptiles peculiar to the Wealden,

Dr. Mantell infers that these fruits belong to the flora of the coun-

try of the [guanodon.

‘«* Notice on the fossilized remains of the soft parts of Mollusca.”’

By Gideon Algernon Mantell, LL.D., F.R.S., &c.

Substances presenting the same general appearance and composi-

tion with coprolites, but destitute of the spiral structure, are thickly

interspersed among the shells which abound in the rocks of firestone

or upper greensand at Southborne in Sussex, sometimes occurring

in the state of casts of shells of the genera Cucullea, Venus, Trochus,

Rostellaria, &c., from the soft bodies of which testacea Dr. Mantell

considers them to have originated. ‘They abound also in the layers

Geological Society. "3

of firestone which form the line of junction with the gault, and are

not uncommon in the gault itself in several localities in Surrey and

Kent.

Dr. Fitton, in his memoir ‘On the Strata below the Chalk’

(Geol. Trans. vol. iv. part 2. p. 11), has given an account of similar

concretions from Folkstone, where he observed them in some cases

surrounding or incorporated with fossil remains, and filling the in-

terior of Ammonites. Dr. Mantell has observed them also in the

Shanklin sand in Western Sussex, in Surrey, near Ventnor in the

Isle of Wight, and in Kent, and they especially abound in the Igua-

nodon quarry of Kentish rag near Maidstone, belonging to Mr. W.

H. Bensted.

Mr. Bensted having long paid attention to this subject, more

than two years ago submitted to Dr. Mantell specimens of fossil

shells, the cavities of which were filled with a dark brown substance

in every respect identical with the nodular and irregular concretions

of coprolitic matter which abound in the surrounding sandstone.

Mr. Bensted expressed his belief that the carbonaceous substance

was derived from the soft bodies of the Mollusca, and that the con-

cretionary and amorphous portions of the same matter dispersed

throughout the sandstone of this bed, were masses of the fossilized

bodies of the animals which had become disengaged from their shells,

and had floated in the sea till enveloped in the sand and mud, which

is now concreted to the coarse sandstone called Kentish Rag. In

proof of this opinion reference is made to an account published in

the ‘ American Journal of Science’ for 1837, of the effects of an epi-

demic among the shell-fish of the Ohio, which, killing the animals,

their decomposed bodies rose to the surface of the water, leaving the

shells in the bed of the stream, and floating away covered the banks

of the river. Mr. Bensted points out that nearly the whole of the

shells in the Kentish rag of his quarry appear to have been dead

shells, and infers that their death might have been owing to a similar

cause with that which destroyed the Uniones in America; while their

bodies intermingling with the drift wood on a sand-bank furnished

the concretions described in this communication.

The Rev. J. B. Reade submitted some of the substance of these

bodies to an analysis by Mr. Rigg, who confirmed Dr. Mantell’s

suspicion of the presence of animal carbon in it, and states that the

darker portion of the substance contains about 35 per cent. of its

weight of carbon in an organized state.

Dr. Mantell adds, that a microscopical examination with a low

power detects innumerable portions of the periosteum and nacreous

laminze of the shells of extreme thinness intermingled with the car-

bonaceous matter, together with numerous siliceous spicule of

sponges, very minute spines of Hchinodermata, and fragments of

Polyparia, and remarks that these extraneous bodies probably became

intermingled among the soft animal mass before the latter had un-

dergone decomposition. He proposes to term the substance Mol-

luskite, and states that it constitutes the dark spots and markings in

the Sussex and Purbeck marbles.

74: Miscellaneous.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ALCHEMILLA FISSA, A. CONJUNCTA, AND A. ARGENTEA.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GenTLEmEN,—I observe in the ‘ Flora Danica,’ pl. 2101, published

in 1834, a good representation of Alchemilla fissa, the same plant

which was published last year by Mr. Babington in vol. x. of the

‘Annals of Natural History’ under the name of A. conjuncta, and

which I gathered in the Faroe Islands in 1821, and printed in my list

of the plants of those islands in 1835 under Don’s name, A. argentea.

The specimen figured in ‘ Fl. Dan.’ is stated to have been gathered

in the Faroe Islands by Dr. Forchammer, whom I accompanied in a

tour of those islands in 1821, on my return from which by Copen-

hagen in the same year, I submitted the herbarium which I had col-

lected to Professor Horneman (editor of ‘ Flora Danica’), and gave

him various specimens, amongst others some of this plant, which he

at that time, I believe, considered only a variety of A. alpina.

The description given in the ‘ Flora’ is—‘‘ Alchemiila fissa (Schum-

mel) fol. reniform. 7—9-lobis, lob. profundis, obovatis, inciso-serratis,

basi integerrimis, corymbis terminalibus. Mertens et Koch, Flor.

Germ. i. p. 830 ; Schummel in Centur. Silesiac. 9. n. 2; Sturm, FI.

Germ. fase. 56; Horneman, Fl. Giconom. ed. 3. p. 802 et Suppl.”

It appears therefore, that if Don’s specific name A. argentea is not

to be retained, Schummel’s A. fissa has the claim of priority.

I remain, Gentlemen, yours faithfully,

Oxford, June 8, 1843. W. C. Trevevyan.

On the Affinities of Glareola torquata. By E. Blyth, Curator to the

Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Havine had the good fortune to procure alive a specimen of this

bird, I was able at a glance to perceive its true affinities, which here-

tofore had constantly puzzled me, in common, I believe, with every

student of zoology who has bestowed attention on the classification

of birds. Linnzus arranged this bird as Hirundo pratincola; and

Baron Cuvier included its genus among his Hchassiers, or Stilt-birds,

viz. the Grallatores, or ‘‘ Waders”’ of modern English systematists ;

remarking—‘‘ Nous terminerons ce tableau des échassiers par trois

genres qu'il est difficile d’associer 4 d’autres, et que l’on peut con-

sidérer comme formant séparément de petites familles.” The three

genera adverted to are, Chionis, Glareola, and Phwnicopterus ; which

are associated also by M. Temminck in his heterogeneous assem-

blage of odds and ends, styled by him Alectorides. Now, of these

three genera, the first, or that of the Sheathbill (Chionis), has been

satisfactorily referred by M. de Blainville, on anatomical data, to the

immediate proximity of Hematopus, an association of which the pro-

priety is readily seen when once suggested*; and on similar data I

* Allied to Chionis are the remarkable genera Attagis, d’Orbigny, and

Tinochorus, Vieillot, from the South American Cordilleras, and the anatomy

of these equally refers them to the same systematic station. Vide ‘Zoology

of the Voyage of the Beagle’ under Captain Fitzroy.

Miscellaneous. 75

have long been satisfied that the Flamingoes (Phenicopterus) should

be ranged among the Lamellirostres or Anatide, a position which has

also been assigned to them by Mr. Swainson: this latter author, in

common with most of the recent British writers on ornithology, has

referred the Pratincoles to the Charadriade or Plover family, asso- .

ciating them more immediately with Cursorius; but Mr. Jenyns (in

his ‘ British Vertebrata’), really as if selecting the most outré posi-

tion he could find, has included this genus in his Rallide*! There,

too, Mr. Yarrell (in his ‘ British Birds’) has followed him in group-

ing it; but this naturalist was so fortunate as to obtain an egg of

our present species, which he has figured, and remarks, that ‘‘ the

Pratincole has been arranged by some authors with the Swallows,

by others near the Rails; but I believe, with Mr. Selby, that it ought

to be included in the family of the Plovers; and had I known its

plover-like habits and eggs sooner, I should have arranged it between

Cursorius and Charadrius.” ‘The figure of the egg which he has

given, however, appears to me to accord still better with my view of

the affinities of this genus. Several years ago, Mr. Gould called my

attention to the fact that the Collared Pratincole had a slightly-pec-

tinated middle claw, and suggested to me whether, after all, the

great Swedish naturalist was not right, at least in bringing this bird

among the Insessores Fissirostres of Vigors; but at that time I in-

clined to hold a different opinion, and so far as the structure in

question is concerned, that alone could scarcely influence the syste-

matic position of the genus, as it occurs in widely separated fami-

liest; and as I have further always held the opinion that the Pressi-

rostres and Longirostres of Cuvier (corresponding to the Charadriade

and Scolopacide of modern English systematists) composed but a

single great series, essentially distinct from the Cultrirostres, Cuv.

(vel Gruide et Ardeade) which the illustrious French zoologist in-

terposed between the former, an analogous conformation was not

wanting in that series, as instanced by the Black-tailed Godwit (Li-

mosa melanura), while no trace of it occurs in the Bar-tailed Godwit

(L. fedoa). Examining, however, the entire foot of a recent Pratin-

cole, it will be seen that the resemblance it bears to that of Capri-

mulgus extends to the peculiar scutation, to the general form of the

toes, and especially to the circumstance of the back-toe being di-

rected inward; and whoever has witnessed the creeping gait of a

British Moth-hunter (Caprimulgus) on the ground, will not fail to

recognise in that of the Pratincole an exact similarity: moreover,

many species of Caprimulgus have the tarse as much elongated as in

Glareola, and I have been informed that certain of these assemble

numerously on the mud-flats near the shores of some of the West

India islands, where their habits would appear to resemble those

stated of the Pratincoles. The mode of flight, too, of the latter is

* I need not ask what character it has in common with the Rails, but

rather what it has not in direct and obvious opposition to them?

+ £.g., in many Caprimulgida, Ardeade, and Pelicanide; its intent

being apparently to cleanse the rictus from such fish-scales, &c. as may ad-

here thereto, or, in the instance of the Caprimulgide, to detach the legs of

beetles which may ditch, and thus impede the bird’s swallowing them.

"6 Miscellaneous.

absolutely that of the Moth-hunters, and not by continuous flap-

pings, as in all the Charadriade. But what first led me to perceive

the affinity which this genus bears to Caprimulgus, was the expres-

sion of the physiognomy of the living bird, as I held it in my hand,

and, to descend to particulars, the semi-tubulate form of its nares,

and downward curvature of the short bill seen alike in both, though

the latter is so much larger and stouter in Glareola; then, looking

to the feet, the similitude was at least equally striking, while the

form of the wings and tail, and mode of flight, were such as might

be expected to occur in a diurnal modification of the family Capri-

mulgide, and together with the wide gape helped to remove this

genus from the grallatorial order altogether. Even the egg, as

figured by Mr. Yarrell, has not the pointed form at one end, charac-~

teristic of those of the Snipe and Plover series; but would appear

to resemble nearly that of a Caprimulgus, in shape as well as in mark- -

ings. On the other hand, the discrepancies of Glareola with any of

the varied forms of noctural Caprimulgide * are sufficiently obvious

externally, while internally there are some very strongly marked

differences ; such as the configuration of the sternum, which is doubly

emarginated posteriorly, and otherwise more approximates to the form

of this important portion of the skeleton of the Charadriade, while

the tongue also is broad and flat, with a thin serrated tip, and the

muscular coat of the stomach is considerably developed,—particulars

at variance with the type of Caprimulgide, but which I only now

briefly advert to, since I have not lately procured an example of the

latter family with which to institute an anatomical comparison. Upon

the whole, I have arrived at the opinion that the Pratincoles are more

nearly related by affinity to Caprimulgide than to any other family

in the class, but I hesitate as to whether they should be actually in-

cluded therein, though, if so, I think that they should be regarded

as at least constituting a very distinct subfamily, apart from the noc-

turnal genera, and thus I incline provisionally to arrange them.—

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. 41. p. 467.

LINES ADDRESSED TO THE REV. W. KIRBY, M.A.

The following verses, communicated by our valued correspondent,

Henry Denny, Iisq., are so beautiful, and so well adapted for the re-

commendation of our pursuits, that we make no apology in present-

ing them to our readers.

To the Rev. William Kirby, M.A., F.R.& LS. &e. &e.

I know not which to envy most,

Thy knowledge of the Insect host,

Tenants of earth or air;

Or thy acquaintance with each scene

Of barren heath, or meadow green,

To which their tribes repair.

The first has cast around thy name

A purer and a happier fame

* Caprimulgus, Zigotheles, Podargus, Steatornis, Nyctibius.

Miscellaneous. wy

Than e’er was won by arms ;

The second must have taught thy heart

Somewhat of wisdom’s better part,

Through nature’s hidden charms.

For well I ween a heart like thine

Contemplating the hand divine

Thy favourite science shows,

Taught by each proof of power and love,

To Him who dwells and reigns above

With grateful feeling glows.

And such a feeling to extend,

To show how skill and goodness blend

Throughout Creation’s plan,

Must rank amongst those wise pursuits

Whose genuine and whose grateful fruits

Are bless’d of God and man.

Yes, every science, love, or art

Which tends to foster in the heart

Knowledge of nature’s laws,

Must, sanctified by grace divine,

*« Precept on precept, line on line,”

Exalt their First Great Cause !

Pursue, then, my ingenious friend,

Thy search ; and mayst thou in the end

Partake a prouder change

Than e’er thy insect tribes can know,

Whate’er of beauty these may show

In transformations strange !

For these, though plumed with splendid wings,

Are still but fair and fragile things,

Which seem but born to die;

Whilst thou, thy web of knowledge spun,

Shalt soar above yon glorious sun

To immortality!

Woodbridge, July 1829. BERNARD Barron,

LETTERS FROM RAY TO SIR HANS SLOANE.

On the appropriation of certain Birds to their proper Classes in

Ornithology.

[MS. Sloan. Brit. Mus. 4056. fol. 148. Orig.]

Sir,—I received yours of the 17th and am very glad that the Box

with the Papers is come safe to your hands, though I did not much

fear the losse of it. You need not be solicitous about the charge,

for there was nothing extraordinary, and yet if there had, I ought in

all reason to have born it.

Two things there are I cannot yet fully agree with you in.

1. The referring of the Old-men, or Rain-fowls, to the Cuckow.

For the Cuckow is so strange, anomalous, and singular a Bird, and

78 Miscellaneous.

so remarkable, and taken notice of even by the vulgar, for his voice,

manner of breeding, and absconding all winter, that I think no Bird

that agreeth not with him in these particulars ought to be joyned

with him. Neither is the length of the tail a sufficient argument ;

for the Yunx, a genuine Woodpecker, hath a tail as long in propor-

tion to his body, and marked with crosse-bars too.

2. In referring the Savanna-bird to the Lark-kind. For that di-

stinction of Small Birds into slender and_thick-bill’d, or as our Fowl-

ers phrase it, into soft and hard-beak’t, dividing the numerous ge-

nera of them almost equally, is of such eminent use for the clear un-

derstanding and ranking of them, that I think it ought by no means

to be rejected, or the Birds of those kinds confounded, though the

places they frequent and their shape and manner of living may agree ;

and that characteristick note of the Lark-kind may be common to

some of them, I mean having a very long back-claw or spurre. I

have taken notice of some that agree with Larks in these particulars,

as the Bunting and a sort of Mountain Finch. Yet I believe that

there is a difference in thediet of those Birds. For the slender-bill’d,

though they feed upon the pulp and grains of fruits, yet they seldome

meddle with dry seeds unlesse driven by hunger. But the hard-bill’d

touch not pulpy fruits, but feed upon dry seeds, as all sorts of grain

and thistles, &c. To feed upon Insects is common to them both.

Your opinion or conjecture upon the Rabihorcado’s being a kind

of fork-tail’d Larus or Sea-swallow, I very much approve, and agree

with you in. I fancied that they were no palmiped Bird, because

those that write of them wonder that they should be found so far

out at Sea. Which is no wonder in a Larus.

My Wife salutes you with the tender of her very humble service.

The ulcers upon my leg, which I thought had been perfectly healed

and dried up, continuing well all Winter, are this Spring broken out

again and become very troublesome and painfull. They puzzle my

Philosophy, and I am at some losse how to order them.

I am, Sir, your very affectionate friend and humble servant,

B. N. April 23, —94. Joun Ray.

The difficulty which a Botanist has to encounter who has not seen the

Plants he has to describe, growing in their natural places.

[Ibid. fol. 155. Orig.]

Sir,—I received your very kind letter of June 6*, and long after

the acceptable present of your Book: for which I return you many

thanks. I cannot but admire your industry and patience in reading

and comparing such a multitude of Relations and Accounts of Voy-

ages, and referring to its proper place what you found therein re-

lating to your subject, and that with so much circumspection and

judgement. You have done Botanists great service in distributing

and reducing the confused heap of names, and contracting the num-

ber of Species. But who is able to doo the like? No man but who

is alike qualified, and hath seen the things growing in their natural

places. For my own part I doe freely acknowledge myself altogether

insufficient for such a task, having not seen the plants themselves,

Meteorological Observations. 79

nor of many of them so much as dried Specimens, and of the rest

having had but a transient view. I shall therefore put down what I

find in late writeres, viz. Plukenet’s Phytography ; the remaining six

volumes of Hortus Malabaricus ; Father Plumier ; Schola Botanica;

Paradisi Batavi prodrom. ; Flore Batavee Flores ; 'Tournefort’s Elem.

Botan. ; Breynius his two Prodromi; and, above all, your Catalogue

and History of the Plants of Jamaica and the neighbour Islands,

which you are pleased so frankly to offer me the use of, without in-

terposing my own judgement. Did I live about London, and had I

opportunity frequently to visit the Physick Gardens thereabouts, and

to observe and describe the new species, I might make a better Sup-

plement to my History than now I shall doe, my circumstances not

admitting so long an absence from this place. I have been lately very

ill and indisposed with a hoarsenesse and violent cough, attended

with a feverish heat, of which I am not yet fully recovered. I hope

you are well, and pray for your health. My wife sends her very

humble service. I must owne myself to be much obliged to you,

and am, Sir,

Your very affectionate friend and humble servant,

Black Notley, June 23, —96. Joun Ray.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR MAY 1843.

Chiswick.—May 1. Cloudless: cold anddry, 2 Fine. 3%. Very fine. 4.

Cloudy and fine: rain, 5. Rain: cloudy: constant and very heavy rain at night.

6. Heavy rain; clear and cold at night. 7. Clear and fine: showery: frosty at

night. 8. Hazy: heavy rain. 9, Drizzly: cloudy. 10, Slight haze: clear and

cold at night. 11, Light haze: clear, 12, 13. Very fine. 14. Cloudy and fine;

heavy rain at night, 15, 16. Rain. 17. Heavy showers. 18. Densely overcast:

cold rain. 19. Rain: cloudy. 20, Cloudy: showery: heavy rain at night.

21. Fine : heavy rain: clear and cold at night, 22. Heavy showers. 23. Cloudy:

lightning with rain at night. 24, Heavy rain: clear, 25. Cloudy and fine.

26. Rain. 27, 28. Showery. 29. Hazy. 30, Light haze: very fine: showery.

31. Cloudy and mild.— Mean temperature of the month 3° below the average.

The quantity of rain was greater than that which has fallen in any month within

at least the last seventeen years.

Boston.— May 1, 2. Fine. 3, Cloudy, 4, Fine, 5, Cloudy: rain early a.m.

6. Rain: rain a.m. and pm. 7. Cloudy. 8, Cloudy: rain p.m. 9—11. Cloudy.

12. Fine. 13. Cloudy: raine.m. 14, Fine. 15, Rain: rain p.m, 16. Cloudy :

rain early Am, 17, Cloudy. 18, 19. Cloudy: rain early a.m, 20. Cloudy.

21. Cloudy: rain early a.m.: rain p.m. 22. Fine. 923. Cloudy: rain a.m.

24, Windy: raina.m. 25, Fine: raina.m. 26, Fine. 27. Fine: rain, with

thunder and lightning p.m, 28,29. Fine, 30, Fine: haloround the sun 11 a.m.

31, Cloudy: rain early a.m, This has been the wettest May we haye had since

1830,

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—May 1. Fine: fog. 2 Cloudy: fog. 3. Clear:

cloudy. 4. Rain: cloudy. 5, Cloudy: clear, 6. Clear: cloudy. 7. Rain:

cloudy. 8. Clear. 9. Clear: cloudy. 10,11. Clear: fine. 12—14, Cloudy.

15—17. Clear, 18, Cloudy: fine. 19, Cloudy: showers. 20. Bright: clear,

21. Bright: cloudy. 22-24, Bright: clear, 25. Rain. 26. Cloudy, 27.

Damp. 28. Cloudy: sleet-showers, 29. Snow-showers: sleet-showers. 30,

Bright: fine. $1. Clear: fine,

Applegarth Manse, Dum/fries-shire—May 1—3, Fair and fine. 4. Fair till p.m. :

rain. 5. Heavyshowers. 6. Fair and fine. 7. A shower. 8, 9, Fair. 10,

11, Fair: hoar-frost, 12, Fine: raine,m. 13. Fine and mild, 14, Fine, but

cloudy, 15, Showers. 16, Cloudy and cold, 17. Cool: cloudy. 18, A

shower, 19. Cold, 20. Cold: fair. 21. Cold: wet. 22. Milder, but showery,

28. Mild: cloudy. 24, Cold and rainy. 25. Softrain, 26. Mild: showers,

27. Mild: showery. 28. Cold and rainy. 29. Clear: heavy rain, 30, Soft;

growing: thunder. 31, Wet all day.

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THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No. 75. AUGUST 1843.

—

IX.— Observations on the Habits of a large species of Galeodes.

By Captain Tuomas Hurron *.

In the 52nd and 53rd Numbers of the ‘ Annals and Magazine of

Natural History’ are two letters from Messrs. W. 8. MacLeay and

W. E. Shuckard, relating to the occasional capture of small birds

by certain species of Arachnide ; and as the subject is one of some

interest, I take the liberty of presenting you with a note long

since made by me, on the habits of a large species of Galeodes

common to some parts of India, and for which, if undescribed, I

would propose the name of “ Galeodes vorax.”

My first observations on this species were made in 1832 at

Mirzapore, where it is very abundant and of large size. During

the rainy season it was my constant habit, on a fine evening, to

spread a sheet upon the ground near my house, upon which was

placed a small lantern to attract insects.

In a very short time, two or three of these ravenous spiders

would make their appearance at the edge of the sheet, but at a

respectful distance from each other, and no sooner did a moth, or

a beetle, or a cricket alight upon it, than it was snapped up and

devoured before I could lay hold of it. There seemed indeed to

be no end to the appetite of these creatures, for they continued to

seize and devour everything indiscriminately that came within

their reach, even to large and hard-winged beetles, cutting them

to pieces with their powerful jaws with the greatest ease. Many

were the deadly fights I witnessed among these marauders as

they trespassed upon each other’s beats to get possession of some

newly alighted prey, and often was I obliged to kill them in order

that I too might in turn obtain some share of the booty. This

species is, strictly speaking, nocturnal, though I have sometimes

seen them active in the daytime; they live beneath stones and

in holes in the ground, and never construct a net or other trap for

their prey, seizing everything by main force as they roam about

in search of food.

Again I fell in with this species abundantly at Neemuch, where

* From the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. 45.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. G

82 Captain T. Hutton’s observations on Galeodes vorax.

they were also sometimes of large size. One of these I kept for

some time in a vessel, the bottom of which was well supplied with

earth, which had been purposely hardened by pouring water on

it and then allowing it to dry. ©

The Galeodes soon began to dig a hole, and in a very short

time succeeded in making itself a subterranean retreat, in which

it usually resided, seldom coming forth beyond the mouth of its

den. It proceeded to dig out the earth at first with its strong

jaws, cutting it away im a circle, and having thus loosened the

soil, it gathered it together into a heap with its anterior palpi and

threw it out behind, as a dog does in scratching a hole. When

it had by this means succeeded in excavating a hole sufficiently

large for it to enter, instead of throwing out the loose earth as at

first, it gathered a quantity together, and surrounding or em-

bracing it with the anterior palpi, shoved the load by main force

before it up the mouth of the cave, and then returned for more.

Having completed its task, it remained for a few days stationary

and refused to feed, although previously it would devour several

insects at a meal, and even small house lizards. I now perceived

that it was a female, the ova being distinctly visible through the

skin of the abdomen, which was much distended.

The ova were deposited in the cave, to the number of more thar

fifty, the parent remaining motionless amidst them. In the

course of a fortnight, these, which were of the size of a largish

mustard-seed, and of whitish hue, were all hatched.

The young are at first motionless, and appear devoid of ani-

mation until the period of three weeks has elapsed, at which time

they cast the first skin. Their colour, which up to this time was

pure milky white, now gave place to a faint tinge of pale brown,

and the jaws and palpi became deep brown.

The young ones now threw off their lethargy and began to move

about, and occasionally sallied forth from the den, but instantly

retreated on the slightest appearance of danger. All this time,

however, they took, apparently, no food whatever, and yet they

continued to grow both in size and activity.

It was indeed very interesting to watch the motions of the pa-

rent at this season. From the general bad and ferocious character

which the spider tribe bears, I fully expected to see the parent,

at the first craving of appetite, commence an attack upon her own

family and devour them ; but the all-wise Creator has endowed

even this ferocious spider with that most powerful feeling—ma-

ternal love; and thus is the Galeodes, the very tiger of the sect

world, subdued at this period into the anxious and tender mother.

Placing herself in front of the aperture of the cave, she seized and

examined between her anterior palpi everything that entered. I

tried repeatedly to arouse her anger by thrusting in straws,

Captain T. Hutton’s observations on Galeodes vorax. 83

hoping to make her forget her good behaviour, but all in vain ;

for though she bit and pulled at the straws in evident anger, not

once did she turn upon her offspring, although crowding round

and crawling over her very body. I then threw in some beetles

and flies, upon which she vented her fury by speedily devouring

them, and I thought by this means to play ie a trick. Accord-

ingly I withdrew two or three of the young ones from the cave,

and threw in alternately a beetle and a young Galeodes, thinking

to deceive the parent, and make her, in the blindness of her fury,

commit infanticide. But nature was not to be thus deceived : the

unfortunate beetles were instantly seized and devoured, but the

mother knew her offspring, and drew them into the den without

the slightest injury; the beetles were gathered into her jaws,

but her own offspring were merely seized between the anterior

palpi, and allowed to pass unhurt.

This whole family, much to my regret, effected their escape

from the vessel in which I kept them, which, being of glass and

deep-sided, I thought sufficiently secure, and therefore left un-

covered.

The Galeodes, however, being furnished with a retractile sucker

at the ends of the anterior palpi, had contrived to crawl up the

side of the glass and make their escape. I succeeded more than

a month afterwards in recapturing the old one in the same room,

but her offspring I never again saw.

This species is extremely voracious, feeding at night upon

beetles, flies, and even large lizards, and sometimes gorging itself

to such a degree as to render it almost unable to move.

A. lizard three inches long, exclusive of tail, was entirely de-

voured ; the spider sprung at it, and made a seizure immediately

behind the shoulder, never quitting its hold until the whole was

consumed. The poor lizard struggled violently at first, rollmg

over and over in its agony, but the spider kept firm hold, and

gradually sawed away with its double jaws into the very entrails

of its victim. The only parts uneaten were the jaws and part of

the skin, although the lizard was at least five inches long from

nose to extremity of tail. After this meal the spider remained

gorged and motionless for about a fortnight, being much swollen

and distended.

A young sparrow, about half-grown, was placed under a bell-

glass with a Galeodes; the moment the luckless bird moved the

spider seized him by the thigh, which he speedily sawed off, in

spite of the sparrow’s fluttering, and then, as the poor bird con-

tinued to‘struggle in pain, the savage seized him by the throat

and soon put an end to his sufferings by cutting off the head.

It did not, however, devour the bird nor any part of it, but seemed

satisfied with having killed it,

84 Captain T. Hutton’s observations on Galeodes vorax.

On another occasion I gave it a large garden lizard, which was

instantly seized by the middle of the body ; the lizard, finding that

it could not shake off its adversary, turned its head and bit the

Galeodes on one leg, which obliged it immediately to quit its hold

and retreat: this was owing to the seizure having been made too

low down on the body, for in general the Galeodes seizes as close

behind the shoulder as can be, in order to put it out of the vic-

tim’s power to turn and bite; the lizard was allowed to escape

with only a severe wound in the side, but as it lived for some days.

before I allowed it to run off, the bite of the Galeodes would not

appear to be poisonous.

On another occasion, my friend Dr. Baddeley confined one of

these spiders in a wall-shade with two young musk rats (Sorex

Indicus), both of which were killed by it.

When two of these spiders are confined in a vessel together,

both endeavour to make their escape, as if conscious of their mu-

tual danger. If, in their efforts to get away, they are brought into

contact, the one instantly seizes the other and devours him, the

victim making no struggles whatever ; but if they meet face to

face, both enter into a wrestling-match for life or death.

They plant their true feet firmly on the ground, the body at the

same time being elevated, and the two pairs of palpi held out in

front to ward off the attack. In this attitude they advance and.

retire, according as either gains a slight advantage, endeavouring

to throw each other to one side, so as to expose some vulnerable

part, or form an opening for attack ; and when this is once effected,

the fortunate wrestler instantly takes advantage of it, and rushing

in seizes his adversary behind the thorax, and the combat is ended ;

the vanquished victim yielding himself without further struggle

to his inevitable fate.

The same species occurs in the Bhawulpore country, from

whence I obtained it when constructing the road for the advance

of the army of the Indus in 1838. It is also abundant in Af-

ghanistan, where in all probability it is the species mistaken by

Elphinstone for the Tarantula, which he describes as common in

that country, but which I neither saw nor heard of.

The usual size of an adult specimen of “ Galeodes (vorax),”

mihi, is about 24 to 23 inches long, and the body or abdomen

equal to a thrush’s egg. When in motion the body is elevated

off the ground, and the two pairs of palpi or feelers are stretched

out ready to make a seizure: it progresses therefore solely upon

the true legs, which spring from the thorax, and are six m num-

ber. The head is armed with two strong and formidable chele,

or double jaws, answering to the long cheliform fore-arms of the

scorpion ; these jaws are denticulate, and the ends are curved,

sharp-pointed, and extremely hard and horny, of a dark brown

Captain T. Hutton’s observations on Galeodes vorax. 85

colour. Eyes two, and placed on the top of the head between the

base of the jaws; the colour generally is sandy brown, and the

body soft and clothed with short mouse-coloured hairs ; the limbs,

and especially the palpi, are furnished with long coarse hairs ; be-

neath these are ten obtriangular plates springmg from the under

side of the thigh or coxee of the posterior legs, five on each, the

inner one being smallest, the outer one largest; these are of

an obtriangular form, and their use appears to be still unknown.

[ never saw them used to assist progression in any way.

The true legs are furnished at the end with strong hooks or

claws, but the two pairs of pedi-palpi are destitute of them, the

anterior pair being the largest and strongest, and furnished at the

end with a white retractile sucker ; this, in a state of rest, is with-

drawn into the last joint of the palpi, and it appears to be used

to assist in climbing up surfaces, or in hanging against gravity,

in the same way that flies and lizards use their feet, by the exclu-

sion of air. In seizing its prey, one pair of jaws keeps hold, while

the other is advanced to cut, and they thus alternately advance

and hold till the victim is sawed in two: the only sound they

emit is a hissing or rustling, caused by the-friction of the two

pairs of chelz as they are advanced and withdrawn ; this is only

heard when the spider is suddenly disturbed or irritated.

From the tenor of Mr. W. 8. MacLeay’s remarks upon Mygale

and the large species of Epeira which he has discovered in the vici-

nity of Sydney, it would appear, that although these spiders may

occasionally feed upon the juices of warm-blooded animals, which

accident may throw in their way, yet that their natural food con-

sists of insects, and the fact of their killing birds at all must be

regarded as a very rare exception to the general rule of their ha-

bits ; and from the above remarks on Galeodes it will be seen that

the habits of this spider in some measure corroborate Mr. Mac-

Leay’s opinion ; for although, strictly speaking, the proper food of

Galeodes consists of insects, yet, when accident throws a lizard in

its way, it will not fail to seize and devour it. With regard: how-

ever to its preying at all upon warm-blooded animals, we have as

yet no testimony whatever, for in the experiments above cited it

will be observed, that although the sparrow and musk rats were

easily killed by the spider, yet that it fed upon neither of them*.

* Should this paper meet the eye of Mr. MacLeay, I may add, that I shall

be happy to do my best in determining the habits and ceconomy of any spe-

cies found in my neighbourhood, if he will kindly point out his wants and

wishes, and I shall likewise be happy to assist him with duplicates from my

own collection.

Mussoorree, June 21st, 1842.

86 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the Production of Diseases

X.—Observations on a Disease, the production of a Fungus, oc-

curring in the Lettuce and other Vegetables. By AnvHuR Hii

Hassauu, Esq.

Tue production of diseases through the agency of Fungi, whether

in the animal or vegetable fabric, has not hitherto received that

degree of consideration to which the frequency of thei occur-

rence and the importance of the subject so eminently entitle them.

While walking in the garden this evening, I was particularly

struck with the appearance of some of the lettuces contained in

a fine bed of that vegetable, several of them having become

wrinkled and discoloured, although a few days previously I had

especially remarked their healthy and vigorous growth.

On examining several of the affected plants I found a consi-

derable softening of the stem near the ground, and which, my

mind having been previously prepared for such a phzenomenon

by my investigations respecting the decay of fruit, I did not he-

sitate at once to attribute to the action of a fungus,—a conclusion

which was confirmed by a microscopic examination of the stem,

by which the thalli or root-hke filaments of the fungus were de-

tected without difficulty.

In one of my papers on the Decay of Fruit, read before the

Microscopical Society of London, I stated that if apples were in-

oculated with the thallus or sporules of fungi while still maintain-

ing a firm connexion with the parent tree, nevertheless that they

became affected with decay ; and from the result of this experi-

ment I concluded that the development of the fungi was the

cause and not the effect of the decomposition, a fact which I con-

ceive to be incontrovertibly established ; and in confirmation of

which, if any further evidence were needed, the present example

of the independent operation of fungi would afford that additional

evidence ; for of the healthy condition of the lettuces prior to the

attack of the fungi no doubt could be entertained, this being

abundantly testified by the appearance of the unaffected plants.

That this disease is communicable by moculation in the same

way as the similar affection occurrmg im fruit I cannot doubt; I

will however make the trial and communicate the result in a note

to this paper.

Were the example which I have now recorded of disease in ve-

getables, the product of the operation of fungi, an isolated one, it

would still be possessed. of considerable interest ; but so far from

this being the case, I have not the least hesitation in asserting,

that the majority, if not the entire, of culinary as well as orna-

mental plants are subject to a similar fatal disorder. Amongst

the former class I would particularly mention the following, in

all of which I have noticed the peculiar softening observed in the

stem of the lettuce :—endive, celery, potatoe, cabbage, pea, bean,

in Vegetables by Fungi. 87

turnep, radish, parsnep, carrot, cucumber, and other cucurbita-

ceous plants.

The productions most liable to this fungoid disease would

appear to be the more succulent kinds, and this fact accounts for

the greater frequency of the disease in damp seasons.

Cheshunt, June 9th, 1843.

Note, July 17th—The same evening on which [ noticed the

disease in the lettuce, I introduced the filaments of the fungi into

numerous unaffected lettuces in different stages of growth and

widely separated from each other, and in a few days I had the

satisfaction, which I anticipated, of beholding the complete and

perfect success of the experiment, and finally, the destruction of

all the plants inoculated.

Encouraged by the marked success which attended the inocu-

lation of the lettuces, I determined to treat in a similar manner

vegetables of different kinds, feeling however considerable doubt

as to the issue of this new experiment. I therefore inoculated

the stems and seed-vessels of beans and peas, the stem and tuber

of the potatoe, the top root of the turnep, leaves of rhubarb, and

stem and leaves of the cabbage. At the same time I inoculated

also the but little developed fruit of the apple, peach and goose-

berry. Nowa result no less satisfactory than in the previous

case followed the inoculation of the productions above enume-

rated, differmg from each other too as many of these do so widely

in texture and affinities, the progress of the ravages of the fungi

being however greatly modified by the condition as to density of

the vegetable, or portion of the vegetable operated upon. Thus,

their devastating progress in the tuber of the potatoe, in the top

root of the turnep, and in the seed-vessel of the bean was very

rapid, as might have been expected, since these consist almost

entirely of loose cellular tissue and fluid which could offer but little

resistance to the extension of the fungi; while in the stems of the

potatoe, bean and pea, the progress was much slower, owing solely

to the greater density of the parts.

The singular fact of the rapid development of fungi when in-

troduced into the living vegetable ceconomy, materially affects the

views generally entertained as to the office and power of fungi in

creation.

One of the greatest peculiarities of the fungi consists in the

preference which they manifest for organic matter in a concen-

trated form. But it has hitherto been supposed that their pow-

ers were confined to dead organic matter* which they speedily de-

* This statement is by no means correct; the researches of Ehrenberg,

Meyen, and many other physiologists have long since proved the falsity of

this now antiquated notion. ‘The inoculation of sound fruit with fungi was

made so far back as 1819 by Prof. Ehrenberg. See his memoir ‘De My-

cetogenesi epistola,’ Nova Act. Nat. Cur. vol, x,.—Eb.

88 Dr. Taylor on two new species of British Jungermannie.

compose, assimilate and remove from the fair face of Nature, and

hence they have earned the not inappropriate, though inelegant,

appellation of “ Nature’s scavengers.” This however is taking

but a very limited view of the powers and operation of fungi, since

the present inquiry proves that they have the ability to mvade

and destroy the living vegetable fabric, and perhaps animal too ;

and this not merely while the vegetable is in a living state, but

while the functions of its life are in full and healthy operation.

Thus, in the operation of the fungi, as in most things, there is, as

regards man’s welfare, a mixture of good and evil, of benefit and

disservice ; the good result accruing to man, however, far out-

balancing the evil.

Inquiries such as the present are peculiarly interesting, not

merely from their value in a scientific pomt of view, but from

the hope which they carry with them, amounting in this case

almost to a conviction, that ultimately they will be attended with

practical results. I hope that at no distant day a remedy will be

found for some of the evils occasionally resulting to the vegetable

world through the instrumentality of fungi.

XI.—On two new species of British Jungermannix. By Tuomas

Taytor, M.D., Dunkerron, Kenmare *.

JUNGERMANNIA RIPARIA, MSS. T.T. Caule procumbente, subra-

moso ; foliis subapproximatis, amplexicaulibus, oblongo-orbicu-

latis, concavis, integerrimis : fructu terminali ; calycibus obovatis,

apice plicatis.

Jung. pumila, Lind. Syn. Hep. p. 69. t. 2. (nec Witheringii).

Ad rivulorum umbrosorum ripas saxosas Hiberniz, Britannie atque

Germaniz.

Caules procumbentes ramosi, subimplexi atque subcespitosi, 1—2

unciales, luride virides. Folia subimbricata, basi amplexicaulia, con-

cava subrotunda aut parum elongata, patula, integerrima, cellulis ma-

joribus. Perichetialia majora, calycis dimidium inferius tegentia.

Calyces obovati seu oblongi, juniores etiam obtusi, apice plicati,

plicis seepius octo. Pedicellus semiuncialis. Capsula oblonga, qua-

drivalvis. Perigonia in rami medio sita vidi, ex foliis paucis, adpressis,

basi ventricosis, antheram solitariam tenentibus conflata.

It is probable that the present species is extremely common,

and that it has long been confounded by others, as well as cer-

tainly by myself, with Jung. pumila, With. The specimen col-

lected by me in the river Dayle in 1818, and quoted under J. pu-

mila in ‘The British Jungermanniz,’ belongs to the present. It

has been gathered long ago and carefully laid aside for further

examination by Dr. Greville : his specimens are from Breadalbane.

Again, Mr. William Wilson found the plant near Bangor Ferry in

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

Dr. Taylor on two new species of British Jungermannie. 89

Wales, Mr. G. J. Lyon at Campsie, and Mr. Spruce at Eskdale ;

lately I have seen it at Blackwater Bridge and at Turk Waterfall,

both in the county of Kerry. Lindenberg too seems to have re-

ferred the present to Jung. pumila, With., from which the fol-

lowing marks will sufficiently distinguish it: 1. the paler colour ;

2. the larger size; 3. the leaves more distant, amplexicaul, more

concave, broader and rounder ; 4. their cells much larger ; 5. the

calyx less exserted out of the perichetium ; 6. the calyx never acu-

minated, asis constant and characteristic in Jung. pumila, With. ;

7. the calyx distinctly plicate above. From Jung. spherocarpa,

Hook., the present differs,—1. by the larger and more procumbent

stems; 2. the calyx plicate above, longer and less wide; 3. the

leaves not exactly orbicular, but rather terminating in the figure

of a parabola. ‘The present species approaches to Jung. autum-

nalis, DeCandolle, which has been found not only on the conti-

nent of Europe but likewise in North America, and which may

be confidently looked for m the British Isles, where, however, it

has hitherto been unnoticed. In Jung. autumnalis, DeCand.,

1. stipules are present, especially about the terminations of the

young branches ; 2. the leaves have a more vertical position, and

are more adpressed to the stem ; 3. their colour is rufescent, and

4. they are distinctly marginated.

JUNGERMANNIA RECLUSA, MSS. T.T. Caule repente, implexo, sub-

pinnato ; foliis approximatis, semiverticalibus, rotundato-quadratis,

bifidis, pericheetialibus majoribus erectis; fructu ramulo proprio

insidente ; calyce cylindraceo-ovato, apice acuminato subtrigono,

ore denticulato ; capsula ovata.

In cryptis ericetorum Boream spectantibus, humidis, sepius occurrit

prope Dunkerron, Hibernize.

Cespites lati, tenues seu superficiales, fuscescentes, ex quibus caly-

cum apices plurimi, albidi, sparsim surgunt. Caules filiformes, sub-

flexuosi, subpinnati. Folia heteromalla, minutissima, magnitudine

folia Jung. byssacee Roth. vix excedentia, latissima, ovata, bifida, seu

potius alte emarginata, laciniis conniventibus, cellulis discretis, mi-

noribus. Stipule nulle. Calyces ore albidi, subtrigoni, eminentes,

acutiusculi, dentati.

It is very possible that Lindenberg’s var. b. of Jung. bicuspi-

data, L., is the same as our plant, if we may judge from the scanty

description, but the species differ by numerous minute yet con-

stant marks. Jung. reclusais, 1. of much smaller size, approaching

in this respect to Jung. byssacea, Roth. ; 2. the leaves are shorter

than in J. bicuspidata, L. ; 3. they are more opake ; 4. more con-

cave; 5. their shallower emargination is more rounded; 6. they

are more crowded; 7. they poimt to one side, viz. upwards; 8.

they are rotundato-ovate ; 9. their cells are more minute, and yet

separated from each other by larger vessels ; 10. the perichetium

is shorter, and its leaves less acuminated ; 11. the stems are wider

90 Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

in proportion to the leaves; 12. the colour of the plant is darker,

and when fresh of an olive-green ; 18. the growth is more tufted ;

14. the calyx, though absolutely less than in Jung. bicuspidata, L.,

yet, relatively to the size of its own leaves and stems, is greater

and more elongated ; 15. the calyx is narrower above; 16. the

capsule is far shorter in figure and quite characteristic; 17. the

gemme are smooth, never angular, and situated on clusters of

leaves and not on a naked capitulus. It only remains to add, that

our plant differs from Jung. connivens, Dicks., by smaller size,

much minuter reticulation, by the leaves not being decurrent, by

its subpinnate habit, to say nothing of the less tumid and more

acuminated calyx.

April 18, 18438.

XII.—List of Birds obtained in the vicinity of Calcutta, from Sep-

tember 1841 to March 1848 inclusive. By Enwarp Buytu,

Curator to the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

1. Palgornis Alexandrinus; P. Nipalensis, Hodgson, ‘As. Res.’ xix. .

177. A hill species, not usually met with in the low country, but

has occasionally been observed in the Calcutta Botanic Garden.

2. P. torquatus. Very abundant, in flocks of from two or three to

twenty. T have seen a pair alight and walk about on the parapet of a

house. Flight rapid, and their screaming cry is frequently emitted

on the wing, announcing their approach.

3. P. Bengalensis. This beautiful species is much less common

than the last, though still not rare. It is also less noisy, and I have

always observed it in small flocks.

4. P. Pondicerianus. 'This fourth Bengalese species is almost ex-

clusively confined to the hills, but is brought in tolerable abundance

to the Calcutta shops. It has not been observed by Mr. Jerdon in

the peninsula of India, though named Pondicerianus ; but it is plen-

tiful on the opposite coast of the Bay of Bengal, and as I saw nume-

rous parrots of this genus flying across the bay, when making for

Madras, it might be inferred that the same species inhabit both

coasts; though perhaps this may apply only to P. torquatus and P.

Bengalensis, which are frequent in the plain country*.

* The only additional species of this genus known to me, except the Au-

stralian (so-called) P. Barrahandi, are, in India, P. schisticeps, Hodgson,

‘ As. Res.’ xix. 178, peculiar to the Himalaya, and P. columboides, Vigors,

on the Neilghierries: the Malay countries proguce P. Malaccensis; and I

have just received a female specimen from the Mauritius, which is probably

referable to Ps. bitorquatus, Kuhl: P. xanthosomus, Bechstein, said to in-

habit Ternate, rests on the authority of a description by Levaillant, who saw

a living specimen. The remaining described species in Mr. Vigors’s Mono-

graph of this genus (Zool. Journ, ti. 49 eé seg.) are merely nominal. Closely

allied to Paleornis is my genus Psittinus (Journ. As, Soc. Beng. xi. 789),

founded on the Psittacus Malaccensis, Latham, not of Gmelin, and appa-

rently comprising the remarkable Ps. setarius of Temminck.—E. B.

in the vicinity of Caleutta. 91

N.B. Iam uncertain whether to include the little Psittaculus ver-

nalis, Sw., which is brought in great numbers to the shops of the

Calcutta dealers, most probably from the hilly parts of Bengal. It

abounds in many districts of the South of India, and in the Tenas-

serim provinces.

5. Falco chicquera. Not unfrequent. A particularly handsome

species as seen alive. The name Shikra is bestowed by the Benga-

lees generally on any small hawk or falcon, though more especially

on the female Astur Dussumieri.

6. F. subbuteo. Visits the neighbourhood of Calcutta during the

hyemal months.

7. F. tinnunculus. Common.

8. F. tinnunculoides. Somewhat rare.

9. Astur Dussumieri ; Accipiter Dukhunensis, Sykes, and A. scu-

tarius, Hodgson—the young. Very common. I arrange this bird

in Astur, as Mr. Gould has arranged the allied Australian species—

A. approximans and A. cruentus.

10. Accipiter nisosimilis, Tickell (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. ii. 571) ;

A. nisus v. fringillarius of Jerdon and others, but distinguished from

the European A. nisus by its greater size, white superciliary lines,

&c. Not common near Calcutta, but very frequent in India gene-

rally, j

11. ‘Circus melanoleucos. Common. Both sexes alike.

12. C. Swainsonii, A. Smith; C. pallidus, Sykes. Common.

13. C. Montagui. Less common than the two preceding species.

14. C. rufus. Common.

15. Circattus undulatus ; Hematornis undulatus, Vigors and Gould.

Not common within a few miles of Calcutta, but becomes so at that

distance. One or two pairs may frequently be seen hovering over

Barrackpore Park.

16. Spizaétus niveus; Falco niveus, Tem.; Nisaétus Nipalensis,

Hodgson (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. v. 229): not the doubtfully cited

N. niveus, Jerdon, which is N. grandis, Hodgson (ibid.) : probably F.

caligatus, Raffles (Lin. Trans. xiii. 278). Common about high jungle,

and much resembling Buteo vulgaris in its habits. ‘The young have

the pure white under parts spotless or nearly so, a dark central streak

on each feather increasing at each moult; and I have shot one fe-

male (which was paired with a mate of the ordinary colour) that was

wholly dusky-black, with an ashy tinge on the back, the irides, as

usual, brilliant yellow, and contrasting finely with the blackish plu-

mage.

17. Haliaétus Macei; H. albipes, Hodgson, and the young—H, uni-

color, Hardwicke and Gray. Not uncommon along the river, and

descends (as I am informed) occasionally on carrion.

18. H. Pondicerianus. A very common and conspicuous species,

abundant along the river, and generally observed near water; has a

peculiar strange bleating cry. It is amusing to remark the differ-

ences of opinion expressed by different observers concerning its sy-

stematic station. Thus, Dr.W. Jameson writes—‘‘ No person who has

ever studied this bird in its native haunts on the Hooghly or the

a? Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

Ganges, where it occurs in vast numbers, in company with other

Haliaéti, would for a moment doubt where its proper position ought

to be in the ornithological system*:”’ whilst Mr. Hodgson maintains

that—‘‘ Those who have classed the Brahmant Cheel of India with

the fishing eagles, may be safely said to know as little of the struc-

ture as of the habits of that paltry Milvine bird ; or else of the group

with which they have associated itt.” For my part, I much prefer

to retain it as an aberrant Haliaétus, the principal difference rela-

ting to the comparative size of the feet; and I refer to Mr. Jerdon’s

excellent description of the habits of this bird {, conforming entirely

with my observation of it, in corroboration of this view of its affini-

ties, though Mr. Jerdon rather inclines to Mr. Hodgson’s opinion on

the subject, and even ranks it as an aberrant species of Milvus.

19. Ichthyiaétus cultrungius, nobis (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xi. 110).

This bird was described, but not named, by Latham, whose work I

have not now to refer to. Itis beautifully figured among the drawings

of the late Dr. Buchanan Hamilton. The species is not uncommon

in the Soonderbuns, but I have obtained only one individual in the

vicinity of Calcutta.

20. Pandion haliaétus. 'The osprey is more or less common in

suitable districts throughout India, and is now and then seen near

Calcutta. I have obtained one recent sfecimen.

21. Milvus Cheele; M. govinda, Sykes. Excessively numerous

about human abodes, but rarely, if ever, seen at a distance from

them. It is not unusual to see a hundred or more circling in the air

together, especially towards the evening, all collected about one spot,

though there may be no refuse to entice them thither; or if some

garbage be thrown out, their dexterity at clutching whatever they

can seize, without alighting, a number of them rapidly following each

other and descending thus in the most crowded streets, affords a

curious spectacle ; a few will generally alight and mingle among

their fellow-scavengers the crows, while a crowd of others are cir-

cling and dashing over them, and stooping as they sweep by. In

illustration of their boldness, I may mention that I once received a

smart knock from the wing of one of these birds in a crowded bazar,

as he passed close to my shoulder from behind§. The direct flight

of this kite, when not sailing, is heavy and laboured, being relieved

at intervals by gliding with motionless wings: numbers may com-

monly be seen overhead buoyantly floating and gliding in easy curves,

yet keeping much together, whether sailing high or low; and their

descent upon any garbage is very rapid, and often spiral. They are

decidedly social, and many may daily be seen together sitting on a

dead tree, or the parapet of a house, preening or sunning themselves,

while others are sailing about above them. Their often-repeated cry

* Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist. i. 318. + Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vi. 368.

+ Madras Journal of Literature and Science, No. xxiv. 72.

§ With the British kite, ¢empora mutantur, Pennant has shown that these

formerly (in Henry the Eighth’s time) abounded in the streets of London,

and would pick up food from amidst a crowd of people, being protected by

law in their useful capacity of scavengers,

in the vicinity of Calcutta. 93.

is a tremulous shrill squeal (whence the native appellation Cheele)

resembling that of the British kite. They subsist mainly on filth and

refuse, but will readily pick up a chick or wounded bird, and I once

knew one to kill a full-grown hen: this, however, was considered

rather an anomalous occurrence, and they seem to be generally on

excelient terms with the crows; though I have been told, and on

good authority, that a kite will sometimes seize a crow, probably

when pressed by hunger, albeit the uproarious clamour of all the

crows in the neighbourhood, sure to collect on such an occasion,

might suffice to deter him from doing so a second time. During the

rainy season the kites totally leave Calcutta for three or four months,

not, however, for breeding, for the young have then all flown ; and

the Brahminee Cheels (Hal. Pondicerianus) in like manner disappear

from the river.

22. Klanus melanopterus. Not uncommon.

23. Hyptiopus (Hodgson, olim Baza, H.) lophotes ; Falco lophotes,

Tem. ; Baza syama, Hodgson. Rare.

24. Vultur Pondicerianus. By nomeans common. Like its near

ally, the South African V. auricularis*, with which it forms a parti-

cular minor group, this species is only seen singly or in pairs—never

in flocks. Upon one descending on a carcass, whereon a crowd of

the next species are gorging, these all make way for it and keep aloof

till it is gone (so, at least, 1 have repeatedly been informed), whence

it currently bears the name of King Vulture amongst our countrymen.

25. V. leuconotus. ‘The common vulture of India generally, very

numerous in the Gangetic Delta.

26. Neophron percnopterus. The Rachamah, so very abundant in

Southern India, is here of rare occurrence. The Society’s Museum

contains a specimen shot in the neighbourhood; and I was told that

several appeared about the Botanic Garden after the hurricane of the

Ist of June last.

27. Strix flammea ; Str. Javanica of Mr. Jerdon’s catalogue. As

numerous about Calcutta as in England, and presenting no difference

whatever from the British bird.

28. Ninox lugubris ; Strix lugubris, Tickell (Journ. As. Soc. Beng.

ii. 578); Ninow Nipalensis, Hodgson (Madr. Journ. No. xiv. 23).

Tolerably common.

29. Athene brama; Strix brama, Temminck ; Noctua Indica, Frank-

lin. Common.

30. Otus brachyotus. Common during the cool season.

31. Buceros Malabaricus. Inhabits the Soonderbuns, and may not

unfrequently be purchased alive of the Calcutta dealers.

32. Upupa epops. Common in the winter months. In Southern

India it is replaced by the smaller and more rufous species—U. minor ;

but Mr. Jerdon has sent me a specimen from the Neilghierries.

33. Merops Indicus. Extremely common, but disappears in the

rainy season. It breeds in the neighbourhood, as I have had speci-

mens brought me with eggs ready to lay in the month of March.

* Proc. Zool. Soc. 1833, p, 45.

94, Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

The general habits of this pretty little green bee-eater are those of

a flycatcher, but it frequently hawks for insects on the wing, many

together, like swallows.

I have been informed that M. Phillippinus may occasionally be shot

in the vicinity of Calcutta, but is rare.

34. Coracias Indica. Common, but for the most part disappearing

at the time of the rains. This roller sits very upright on its perch,

with the body-feathers appressed, and those of the head and neck

puffy. Its flight is buoyant, but sustained by constant flapping; and

I have now and then seen one, or a pair, when seeming about to

alight on a tree, make a rapid dive downward to near the ground,

then reascend, and perform this manceuvre several times successively

as if in play. Its usual note is harsh, but in spring the male utters

a very pleasing dissyllabic cry, repeated at intervals.

35. Eurystomus orientalis. I have seen a living specimen in the

possession of a dealer.

36. Halcyon Capensis. Common at all seasons.

37. H. amauropterus, Pearson (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. x. 635).

Not rare during the cool season, and perhaps also at other times. Isa

noisy species, with a much harsher and more grating cry than the last.

38. H. Smyrnensis. Common. These three species feed ‘partly

on fish and sometimes frogs, but more on crustaceans.

In the Asiatic Society’s museum is a specimen closely allied to

H. Smyrnensis, having the white on the under parts confined to the

throat, and the black wing-spot much enlarged, spreading over the

shoulder of the wing, which in the typical Smyrnensis is rufous-bay.

Its native locality is unknown.

39. Ceryle rudis ; Rapid bitorquata, Swainson—the male. Com-

mon.

40. Alcedo Bengalensis. This closely allied diminutive of the Bri-

tish kingfisher is very abundant.

41. Bucco cyanops. Abundant.

42. B. Phillipensis. Still more numerous than the preceding spe-

cies. B. viridis (vel caniceps) does not appear to inhabit this neigh-

bourhood.

43. Picus strictus, Horsfield ; P. sultaneus, Hodgson; P. strenuus?

Gould. Rare.

44, P. Bengalensis. Extremely common.

45. P. Nipalensis; doubtfully cited P. mentalis of Mr. Jerdon’s

catalogue. Rare.

46. P. badius, Raftles ; P. rufus, Hardwicke and Gray. Not com-

mon.

. 47, P. Macei. Common. |

48. Yunez torquilla. The museum contains a specimen that was

captured alive in Calcutta.

49. Cuculus fugax. Abundant.

50. C. canorus. Rare.

51. C. micropterus. Rare.

52. C, (subgenus Gymnopus, nobis) niger, Latham. Not uncom-

mon,

in the vicinity of Calcutta. 95

53, Otylophus edolius. Not rare.

54. O. Coromandus. Rare.

55, Centropus Phillipensis. Common.

N.B. For notices of the preceding and other oriental Cuculide,

vide my monograph of the group, published in the Bengal Asiatic

Society’s Journal, N.S., Nos. 46 and 47.

56. Caprimulgus Gangeticus, nobis. Rather common.

57. C. monticolus, Franklin. Rare.

58. C. Asiaticus. Very common ; but all three species found only

in the winter months. The females of C. Asiaticus have the white

spots on the wings and tail as in the other sex.

59. Cypselus affinis. Very common, but confined to urban districts,

roosting and breeding under the roofs of houses, oftentimes at no

great distance from the ground in crowded thoroughfares.

60. C. palmarum. A rural species, also very common, and roost-

ing and breeding in the fronds of the fan-leaved palms. Both these

swifts are permanently resident throughout the year.

61. Corvus macrorhynchus, Wagler ; C. culminatus, Sykes ; C. co-

rone, var. Franklin. Chiefly found along the river bank, preying on

carrion, This bird is styled Raven by Europeans, which has given

rise to the current notion that the C. corar inhabits the plains of

India, which it does not, except partially in the immediate vicinity of

the Himalaya,

62. C. splendens, Vieillot. ‘The common crow of India. A most

abundant, very noisy, familiar, and impudent species, frequenting the

vicinity of human abodes, alike in the villages and in the crowded

streets of large towns. About the latter they walk and hop like do-

mestic birds, wherever food is to be picked up, just stepping aside

out of the way of the passers-by, and regardless of the ordinary throng:

but they still retain all the craft and wariness of their tribe, and are

ever vigilant, making off on the least suspicious movement, or even

on the fixed glance of a stranger: they require but small encourage-

ment, however, to be most troublesomely bold, and do not always

wait for such encouragement, peeping into dwelling-rooms, cawing

loudly the while, passing through them by different windows, and if

opportunity offers, making free with anything that attracts them by

the way. Though highly social, this crow is not properly gregarious,

like the rook and jackdaw of England; and does not build in society,

resembling the C. corone in this respect, though, from its common-

ness, two or three pairs may sometimes resort to the same large tree,

Their noise, from the multitude of them, is incessant; and if any-

thing (as the sight of a dead crow) excite them, is most uproarious

and annoying. ‘They are about, too, from the earliest dawn till late

in the evening, and are far from being quiet on moonlight nights.

Eager, busy, and bustling, their flight is always singularly hurried,

as if time were a matter of some consequence to them ; and, in short,

every trait of the crow tribe is prominently developed in this species,

The report of a gun excites a grand commotion among the com-

munity of crows; they circle and cross rapidly to and fro overhead,

for the most part out of range, cawing lustily, and dodging when the

96 Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

tube is pointed at them, while others sit observantly on the neigh-

bouring house-tops, &c., all launching on the wing on the next dis-

charge with clamorous outcry, and then, by degrees, returning to

their place of observation. ‘Thus, too, they persecute the gunner

when in quest of other birds, spreading the alarm in all directions :

and I remember, once, when loading beside a large tank, a pair of

the fine Caspian tern came and dashed by two or three times within

range, but just as I was ready for them a wild crow made his appear-

ance and attacked one of them, being soon joined by others of his

fraternity, who speedily drove away the pair of terns without afford-

ing me the wished-for chance of a shot. Again, I have seen acrow of

this species pounce on a pied harrier (Circus melanoleucos) which was

standing quietly on the bank of a rivulet, and continue to attack

and follow it till both were out of sight. On one occasion I re-

marked a number of crows and mynabs collected around some horse-

droppings on a road, when one of the crows pertinaciously prevented

a particular individual mynab from partaking with the rest of the

party ; again and again did the poor mynab make the attempt, step-

ping round and approaching from different directions, but all to no

purpose, the crow meanwhile paying no attention to the other

mynabs of the same species (Pastor tristis) which were engaged in

picking out the grains. But the most remarkable fact I have ob-

served of this crow was during my short sojourn at Madras, where a

party of about twenty were in the daily habit of attending the break-

fast of the friend at whose house I was staying, without, however,

being allowed to enter the room: among these were two blind, or

rather purblind, crows, which could just see their way about, without

apparently being able to pick up small articles of food, and these were

regularly fed by the rest, first one and then another of which they

followed with imploring demeanour and quivering wings, like a nest-

ling, and received the morsels with the same gobbling note of gra-

tulation. ‘They were evidently old birds, and perhaps aged ; and it

recalled to mind an anecdote related by Levaillant of two barbets

(Bucco) which that observer found in a compartment of one of the

great compound nests of a species of weaver-bird, and which from

their helpless state, but good condition, must evidently have been

fed by others for some time.

63. Crypsirina vagabunda ; genus Dendrocitta, Gould, Phrenothria,

Horsfield. Very common, and the -only species of its group found

in this neighbourhood. I have never seen it alight on the ground.

64. Gracula religiosa ; Eulabes Javanus (?), Cuvier. The common

hill mynab of the shops, but brought from some distance. It does

not appear to inhabit the low country.

65. G. Indicus (?) ; Eulabes Indicus (?), Cuvier. Smaller than the

preceding species, with the bill considerably more slender, the velvety

space on the sinciput much reduced in size, and bounded above as

well as below by the naked skin. I have obtained a cage-specimen,

and seen no other example.

66. Pastor tristis. An abundant and very familiar species, being

another of the street-birds of Calcutta, though keeping chiefly to

in the vicinity of Calcutta. 97

the more open situations: it mingles freely with the crows; and a

pair not unfrequently enter my sitting-room, the male treating me

with his loud screeching song therein : they breed in nooks of houses,

and very commonly in vessels hung out for that purpose by the

natives.

67. Pastor Gingianus (Bank Mynab). Brought plentifully to the

shops from some distance, and breeds in holes in the banks of rivers.

68. P. cristatellus. Common, and scarcely less familiar than P.

tristis, but is never seen in the streets. In Southern India this spe-

poe is replaced by the nearly allied P. fuscus, vel Mahratiensis of

ykes.

69. P. pagodarum (Brahminee Mynab). Flocks of this species

are not unfrequently met with on the arboreal-cotton trees, when in

blossom in February ; but the shops are not supplied from this neigh-

bourhood.

70. P, caniceps, Hodgson. ThisI take to be the true Turdus Mala-

baricus of Gmelin, which Mr. Jerdon has assigned to a nearly allied

species which seems to be confined to the Malabar range and its vi-

cinity, while the present species is generally rare in the Indian penin-

sula, but abounds in Bengal, Assam and Nepal. It has a gray head

and neck, and rufous breast and belly ; while the other has the head,

neck and breast silky-white, with also a longer tail. Very common.

71. P. roseus. Visits the arboreal-cotton trees in February, like

P. pagodarum; but the shops are supplied from elsewhere, and this

species is not often to be procured in them.

72. Sturnopastor (Hodgson) contra. A very abundant species, and

scarcely less familiar in its habits than Pastor tristis, but does not

venture into the streets.

73. Sturnus Indicus, Hodgson. Differs from St. vulgaris in its

longer bill, which never becomes yellow at any age. Now and then

brought to the shops in considerable numbers, but is not met with

in this neighbourhood.

74. Malacocercus terricolor, Hodgson.. The Chatorrhea of Bengal,

not of Southern India. A most abundant and conspicuous species

in Bengal and Nepal, which appears only now to have received a

name. It seems also to be the only species found in this part of the

country, and is nearly allied to M. Somervillei, but Mr. Jerdon con-

siders it as distinct, and I should like to see more specimens of the

latter before pronouncing an opinion. See Journ. As. Soc. Beng. x.

650, for a notice of its habits, under its most frequent appellation of

Saat Bhye.

75. Timalia (?) hypoleuca, Franklin; T. Horsfieldi, Jardine and

Selby. I have only procured this species in the shops, where one or

two may now and then be met with, which I understand are taken

in the neighbourhood. It is certainly a very aberrant Timalia, and

its form and actions remind one strongly of Calamophilus biarmicus,

which is so abundantly brought alive to the London markets from

Holland.

76. Orthotomus Bennettii. The common tailor-bird of India. Ex-

tremely common.

Ann. & Mag. N, Hist. Vol. xii. H

98 Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

77. Lira typhia; I. scapularis, Horsfield. A very plentiful species,

resident at all seasons.

78. Turdus (Oreocincla, Gould) Whitei. I obtained three speci-

mens in the course of the last cold season.

79. Geocichla rubecula. Common in the winter months, and re-

placed in Southern India by G. cyanotis, Jardine and Selby.

80. Calliope Lathami. Not rare during the cool season. Is closely

allied to Turdus.

81. Copsychus saularis, Wagler. The Doyal. This handsome bird

and pleasing songster is tolerably abundant.

82. C. macrourus ; Kittacincla macroura, Gould. The Shahmour.

Reputed, and probably with truth, to be the finest of oriental songsters.

Its notes more resemble those of the blackcap (Curruca atricapilla)

than any other British bird, but far exceed them in variety and pro-

longation ; besides which the shahmour has a considerable propen-

sity to imitation, and one in my possession has recently learned to

give the crow of a cock to perfection, also the notes of the Coél and

Cuculus fugaz, the chatter of a troop of Saat Bhyes (no. 74), &c.

Many thousands of these elegant birds are kept in cages in Calcutta,

and the universal absurd practice is to darken their cages by wrapping

them with several folds of cloth, enough to stifle the luckless cap-

tives in this climate, though it must be confessed they sing most vi-

gorously while thus circumstanced, but certainly not more so than

mine which are exposed to the light and air. It is a practice of the

rich natives to employ servants to carry about their shahmours and

other birds, and the number of shahmours which are thus borne about

the streets of Calcutta is astonishing ; the poor birds are shut out

from all light and air, like Mahommedan ladies enjoying (!) their

evening drive, but they nevertheless (i. e. the birds) sing forth most

lustily and melodiously, so sweetly as often to arrest the attention of

the passer-by. The shahmour is brought from the hilly parts of the

country, being never met with in the alluvial tract of Lower Bengal.

83. Phenicura atrata, Jardine and Selby. Not uncommon. This

appears to be the only species of Indian true redstart found away

from the Himalaya.

84. Phyllopneuste reguloides, nobis. Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xi.

191, and since further described by me. Not uncommon in the cool

season, and I have obtained one late in March.

85. Ph. modesta; Regulus modestus, Gould; R. inornatus, nobis,

Journ, As. Soc. Beng. xi. 191. Tolerably common, and breeds in

the vicinity of Calcutta in March, as elsewhere described by me. At

this time their plumage is ordinarily much worn, and the mesial pale

streak on the crown is in general more or less obliterated. ‘The

song-note of this species is somewhat like that of Ph. sibilatrix, but

much weaker.

86. Ph. fuscata, nobis, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xi. 113. Ihave not

yet obtained a second individual of this well-marked species, which

is at once distinguished by its large size and prevalent brown colour,

87. Ph. affinis, nobis.

88. Phyllopneuste lugubris, nobis. Two nearly allied species, and

in the vicinity of Calcutta, 99

the former especially bears a close affinity to the European Ph. rufa,

but has a different note, and is certainly distinct from it. The other

is much darker in colour, particularly on the head, and has an ashy

breast*. Both are common.

89. Acrocephalus turdoides ; Turdus arundinaceus, Gmelin; Sylvia

turdoides, Temm.; Agrobates brunnescens, Jerdon. Not uncommon

during the cold season.

90. A. montana; Sylvia montana, Horsfield, apud Jerdon. Tole-

rably common.

v 91. Megalurus toklao; Turdus toklao, Buchanan Hamilton, MS.

92. Dasyornis striatus; Megalurus striatus, Jerdon; D. locustel-

loides, nobis.

93. D. colluriceps, nobis. For notices of these three species, of

each of which I have obtained a single live specimen (more or less

mutilated) from the bazar shikarees, see Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xi.

602-3.

94. Curruca hortensis. I both heard the song and had repeatedly

a distinct view of a bird of this species when watching for nobler

game with both barrels loaded with heavy shot, so that I did not se-

cure the specimen.

95. Chaitairis (Hodgson, olim Niltava, H.) rubeculoides ; Pheni-

cura rubeculoides, Vigors and Gould. Of this I have obtained a single

specimen late in March. It is an aberrant member of Mr. Hodgson’s

very natural genus, and closely allied to Muscicapa banyumas, Hors-

field (also an Indian bird inhabiting the peninsula), which must there-

fore be ranged with it.

96. Dimorpha (Hodgson, olim Siphia, H.) leucura; Muscicapa leu-

cura, Latham ; Sazicola rubeculoides, Sykes—the old male, Common

in the cool season, and met with at least so late as April. Still it is

difficult to procure specimens in fully mature plumage. One only

I have obtained with the gular marking on the throat and fore-neck

of a deep ferruginous, like the breast of an English robin ; another

had the same mark paler and less clearly defined ; many have a slight

tinge of rufous about the chin, but the great majority have no ap-

pearance of it.

97. Culicipeta Burkii, nobis; Sylvia Burkii, Burton, Proc. Zool.

Soc. 1835, p. 153. Not uncommon. I should have placed this form

next to Phyllopneuste, but have not been paying much attention to

arrangement in the present catalogue. It is, in fact, a Phyllopneuste

with a narrow flycatcher’s bill, and the usual rictorial vibrisse.

98. Sazxicola rubicola (?). The plumage of the females renders it

doubtful whether this be quite identical with the species of Europe,

and Mr. Hodgson I find entertains the same opinion. It is not un-

common in the winter months.

99. S. caprata. Occasionally to be met with in the shops of the

dealers, but, I believe, not taken in the neighbourhood, It is a plea-

sing songster.

* From a subsequent letter from Mr. Blyth, we learn that he has since

received Phyllopneuste rufa, with Ph. trochilus and other species from Nepal,

and that the Calcutta Ph. affinis is distinct from the former.—Ep.

100 List of Birds obtained near Calcutta.

100. Cyanecula Suecica. 1 have obtained numerous specimens of

this bird during the last cold season, but not any in the preceding

one. All have the central mark of the breast rufous, and not white.

101. Muscipeta paradisea; M. Indica, vel castanea, Auct., is the

once-moulted bird. By no means rare.

102. Muscicapa melanops. Not uncommon during the cool season.

103. M. cerulea, Vieillot ; M. occipitalis, Vigors; and the female

—M. ceruleocephala, Sykes, but not of other authors. Excessively

common in the winter months.

104. Cryptolopha poiocephala. Of this I have obtained but one

specimen during the last cool season.

105. Rhipidura fuscoventris. Common at all seasons, wield conspi-

cuous both for its activity and the pleasing song-notes of the male.

106. Pericrocotus princeps ; genus Phenicornis, Swainson. I ob-

tained a female (one of a pair) during last January.

107. P. roseus ; Muscicapa rosea, Vieillot. Tolerably common du-

ring the cool season.

108. P. peregrinus. Common at all seasons.

109. Graucalus Papuensis ; Gr. Nipalensis, Hodgson. Not rare.

110. Ceblepyris melaschistos ; Volvocivora melaschistos, Hodgson ;

Graucalus maculosus, M‘Clelland and Horsfield. Moderately common.

111. C. fimbriatus, Jerdon, who expresses a suspicion that C. canus

of Sykes is merely the male. Not rare.

112. Lanius ? A species very like the young of L. collurio,

and which does not appear to advance beyond the state of plumage

characteristic of the young of its congeners generally, is very com-

mon in the cool season.

113. Tephrodornis superciliaris, Sw. ; Lanius Keroula, Hardwicke

and Gray. Common.

114. T. concolor, nobis. I obtained a single specimen of a female,

noticed as perhaps a variety of the preceding species in Journ. As.

Soc. Beng. xi. 799.

115. Artamus rufiventer. Common.

116. Cometes Krishna; Edolius Krishna, Gould. Tolerably com-

mon.

117. Edolius grandis, Gould ; Cometes Malabaroides, Hodgson.

118. E. retifer, Temminck; EH. Malabaricus, Gould. Both of

these are occasionally to be met with in the shops, the former being

a fine songster.

119. Dicrurus Fingah; erroneously ascribed to balicassius by

authors generally; D. albirictus, Hodgson. A very common and

most conspicuous species.

120. D. macrocercus ; D. annectens, Hodgson. Far from rare.

121. Melisseus eneus ; M. muscipetoides, Hodgson. Common.

N.B. For a monograph of the Asiatic Drongas, vide J. A. S. B.

xi. 799 et seg. and note to p. 882.

122. Ixos Cafer. Very abundant, and replaced in Southern India

by a nearly allied species—J. pseudocafer, nobis.

123. I. jocosus. Common, but considerably less so than the pre-

ceding species.

Mr.W. Addison on the Sacculi of the Polygastrica. 101

124. Pitta brachyura. I purchased a living specimen of a dealer,

which was probably procured at no great distance.

125. Oriolus Hodsonii (Hodgsonii ?), Swainson ; O. melanocephalus

of India, as distinguished from that of Africa, auctorum. Very com-

mon throughout the year.

126. O. galbula. I obtained a living specimen of this European

species, which I kept for several months in confinement. Its ordi-

nary Indian representative, O. aureus (common in the peninsula), I

have not yet seen from this part.

[To be continued. ]

XIII.—On the Sacculi of the Polygastrica. By W. Avpison, Esq.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

As Dr. Griffith, in his paper “On the Sacculi of the Polygastrica*,”

has coupled my name with a very inaccurate interpretation of the

effect of the liquor potasse on the Paramecium, allow me to abs-

tract from my ‘Experimental Researches’ all that I have pub-

lished on the subject.

“T had often remarked the very great similitude of size and

appearance between several of the smaller forms of the Poly-

gastric animalcules and some of the varieties of pus-corpuscles ;

so great is this similarity, that in many instances it would have

been difficult to distinguish the one from the other, had it not

been for the voluntary and very active movement of the animal-

cules. Now liquor potasse produces upon these animalcules the

same effect as it does on the colourless blood- and pus-corpuscles ;

it penetrates the transparent integument of the animalcule by

imbibition, and causes it to burst open and discharge its con-

tents, which have the same appearance as the molecules and gra-

nules from the colourless blood- and pus-corpuscles.

“In the larger forms of the polygastric animalcules there are

a great number of large vesicles or cells (which have been called

stomachs) very visible in their interior ; and these are all dis-

charged from the bodies of the creatures in the same way, when

they are submitted to the action of liquor potasse. These so-called

stomachs may be seen enlarging in the interior of the animalcule

prior to the rupture of the external integument ; and when they

are discharged from the body of the animalcule, numerous mi-

nute molecules may be seen within themt.” In the former of these

paragraphs it is evident that I am speaking of animalcules ten or

twenty times less than the Paramecium ; and in the latter, when

* In the June Number, p. 438.

+ Experimental Researches on Inflammation, and on the origin and na-

ture of Tubercles of the Lungs. Churchill, 1843,

102 Mr. W. Addison on the Sacculi of the Polygastrica.

I speak of the vesicles or cells being discharged “in the same

way,” it is evident that I refer to the bursting, and not to imbi-

bition.

Now with regard to ‘imbibition, no physical reasoning about the

density of fluids can have any weight in determining what living

structures can or cannot do; or if it had, it would be, I presume,

equally cogent as regards the colourless blood-corpuscles, or the

pollen grain, both of which swell and burst when submitted to

the action of liquor potasse. If the Paramecium aurelia be sub-

jected to the action of a dilute solution of the alkali, in the pro-

portion of half a drachm (Brandish’s alkali) to an ounce and a half

or two ounces of water, it immediately Fig. 1.

commences a laboured, rotatory, wrig-

gling motion through the liquid, and

in many of the individuals two remark-

able vesicles will be seen tensely dis-

tended in the interior of the animalcule,

very frequently accompanied with three,

four or five perfectly transparent large

circular globules, projecting from the

body of the creature (Fig. 1.). After a

short period the contents of the body

may be seen discharging themselves into

one or more of these transparent projec-

tions, while the body itself, or rather the

integument of the body, may be seen to

shrivel up, the motionless cilia fringing

its circumference remaining very visible

(Fig. 2.).

Now the appearance of these transpa-

rent globular projections, which can be

formed in no other way than by the se-

paration and distension of the thin and

outermost portion of the integument (the

cuticle as it were), and the persistence of _ : |

the delicate cilia when immersed in the alkaline liquid, are surely

quite incompatible with the idea of a solution of the integument :

this must be an ‘ inaccurate interpretation’ of the appearances,

the whole of which are indeed well worthy the observation of

those who attend to the animalcules.

1 remain, Gentlemen, your obedient servant,

Wiiiiam Appison.

Great Malvern, July 16th, 1843.

Mr. Walker’s Descriptions of Chaleidites. 103

XIV.—Descriptions of some new species of Chalcidites. By

Francis WatkeErR, Hsq., F.L.S.

Isosoma Hordei (Harris MSS.), Mas, Atrum, antenne nigra, pedes fulvi,

femora piceo-vittata, tarsi flavi, ale limpide,

Corpus atrum, convexum, angustum, sublineare, parum nitens, scite

punctatum, parce hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thorace vix latius;

vertex latus; frons impressa, abrupte declivis: oculi picei, mediocres, non

extantes: antenne nigrz, pubescentes, filiformes, graciles, corpore breviores :

thorax fusiformis: prothorax magnus, transversus: mesothoracis seutum

longitudine latius; parapsidum suture bene determinate, postice approxi-

mate; scutellum subconicum: metathorax sat magnus, declivis, obconicus :

petiolus sat longus: abdomen sublineare, nitens, leeve, thorace brevius ; seg~

menta 1" et 2°" magna: pedes fulvi, simplices, subeequales; coxee nigree;

femora piceo-vittata ; tarsi flavi, apice fusci : alee limpide ; squamule pices ;

nervi fulvi; nervus humeralis ulnari duplo longior, radialis ulnari multo bre-

vior cubitali vix longior, cubitalis sat longus; stigma minutum. (Corp.

long. lin. 14; alar. lin. 2.)

Parasitic on a species of Cecidomyia. Presented to me by Dr. Harris of

Philadelphia.

Isosoma Laothoe, Fem. frum, prothoraci maculis genubusque flavis,

tarsis piceis, alis limpidis, nervis fulvis.

Atrum, convexum, punctatum, parce pubescens, parum nitens: caput

thorace vix latius: oculi et ocelli picei: antenne graciles, extrorsum eras-

siores, thorace paullo breviores: prothorax mesothorace angustior utrinque

flavo-maculatus : mesothoracis parapsides extantes, suture optime determi-

nate ; scutellum parvum ; metathorax declivis, convexus, carinatus : petio-

lus brevis: abdomen fusiforme, nitens, leve, glabrum, apice acuminatum,

thorace vix longius; segmenta 1% et 2" parva; 3" et 4° longiora; 5¥™

et 64™ breviora : pedes nigri; genua flava; tarsi picei: ale limpide; squae

mule picez ; nervi fulvi. (Corp. long. lin. 1; alar. lin. 14.)

Taken by Dr. Greville at Juniper Green near Edinburgh.

Perilampus Entellus, Mas. Viridis, antenne picee, pedes virides fulvo-

cineti, tarsi fulvi, ale limpide. Fem. Cyaneus, antenne nigre.

Mas. Corpus breve, crassum, convexum, viride, nitens, rude punctatum,

parce hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thoracis latitudine ; vertex latus,

zeneo-varius ; frons cyanea, impressa, fere levis, abrupte declivis: oculi rufi,

mediocres, non extantes: antenne picee, longifusiformes, thorace paullo

breviores ; articuli valde approximati; 1"° longus, gracilis, cyaneus: thorax

ovatus: prothorax transversus, brevis: mesothoracis scutum longitudine

latius ; parapsidum sutures non bene determinate, postice approximatee;

scutellum magnum, obconicum, apice elevatum, metathoracem fere obtegens:

metathorax transversus, abrupte declivis, postice angustus : petiolus brevis-

simus : abdomen lave, contractum, latitudine vix longius ; segmenta 1" et

24™ maxima ; pedes virides, pubescentes, simplices, subeequales; trochanteres

fulvi; genua fulva; tibie apice fulvze ; tarsi fulvi, apice fusci: ale limpide ;

squamule picez ; nervi fusci; nervus humeralis ulnari plus duplo longior,

radialis ulnari paullo brevior cubitali multo longior, cubitalis brevis; stigma

minutum.

Fem, Corpus cyaneum : antennee nigra: pedes cyaneo-yarii, (Corp. long.

lin, 1—2; alar. lin, 3—31.)

Var. @. Mas, Tarsi flavi, apice fusci.

Var. y. Fem. Corpus purpureo-varium.

Found by R. Forster, Esq. in Ohio.

104: Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacex.

Callimome Aia, Fem. Cyaneus, antenne nigre, pedes cyanei fulvo-cincti,

tarsi flavi, ale limpide.

Corpus sublineare, convexum, cyaneum, nitens, scitissime squameum,

arce hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thoracis latitudine ; vertex sat

aig frons impressa, abrupte declivis : oculi rufi, mediocres, non extantes :

antenne nigree, extrorsum crassiores, media fronte inserte, thorace paullo

breviores ; articulus 1" longus, gracilis, fulvus ; 2°* cyathiformis ; 3" et 4"°

minimi; 5" et sequentes breves, approximati; clava conica, articulo 10°

Jongior : thorax longiovatus: prothorax conicus, mediocris: mesothoracis

scutum longitudine non latius; parapsidum suture bene determinate, pos-

tice approximate ; scutellum subconicum : metathorax mediocris, declivis,

obconicus: petiolus brevis: abdomen longiovatum, leave, compressum, pro-

funde carinatum, thorace non longius; segmentum 1" magnum: oviductus

exsertus ; vaginee nigra, abdomine longiores: pedes cyanel, simplices, sub-

zequales ; trochanteres picei; genuafulva ; tibice apice fulve ; tarsi flavi, apice

fusci ; protibiee fulvee: alee limpide; squamulz picee ; nervi picei; nervus

humeralis ulnari multo longior, radialis ulnari brevior, cubitalis brevissimus ;

stigma minutum. (Corp. long. lin. 2; alar. lin. 2.)

Taken by E. Doubleday, Esq. near New York.

Trichogramma Carina. Niger, antenne fusce, pedes picei, ale limpide.

Corpus nigrum, breve, depressum, nitens, leve, parce hirtum: caput

transversum, brevissimum, impressum, thoracis latitudine ; vertex sat latus ;

frons abrupte declivis : oculi picei, mediocres, non extantes: antennz fusce,

hirte, fusiformes, thorace longiores ; articulus 1" longus, gracilis, fusiformis;

2"° cyathiformis ; 3° et sequentes ad 7% clavam fingentes fusiformem : tho-

rax ovatus: prothorax transversus, supra non conspicuus : mesothoracis scu-

tum longitudine latius; parapsidum suture non bene determinate ; scutellum

parvum: metathorax brevissimus: petiolus nullus: abdomen sublineare,

thorace paullo longius vix angustius: pedes picei, simplices, subeequales :

alee limpidee ; proalz latissime; squamule picee ; nervi fusci, coste dimidii

vix longitudine. (Corp. long. lin. 4; alar. lin. 4.)

July: Forest of Fontainbleau.

XV.—On the Diatomacee. By Joun Ratrs, Esq., M.R.C.S.,

Penzance*.

[With Plates. ]

[Continued from vol. xi. p. 457. }

TEssELLA, Hh,

Fitaments free; frustules irregularly separating and adhering

by the angles, striated.

Striatella, Tabellaria, Tetracyclus and this genus form a di-

stinct group of the Cymbellee, distinguished from the other ge-

nera by having striz on the central portion of the frustule. Tes-

sella differs from Striatella, as its filaments are not attached +; from

Tetracyclus, as its frustules here and there cohere at their angles ;

and from Tabellaria, as its striz are not interrupted in the centre.

1. 7. catena, Eh. Frustules with several longitudinal series of short

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

+ “ Sepe implexum nec affixum.’”’—Ehrenberg, Die Inf. p. 201.

Annd Mag. Nat. Hest Nol42 Pi

(UYU HRY TEE

TAME te pak “net

; Telsella.

ili Mi

peer it at ~ Tetracyclus

j af ATS

CeCe

; aan

: Tov

} 7

Pe halts det. fLragtlarta, + IDC Sowerby fewlp.

* ‘ : a

re +

5%. . =

¥ .

< 2 .

a a |

1 Es .

Kg .

. Ay A

‘

: 5

Fs *

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomaceee. 105

transverse strie; lateral surfaces striated, contracted near the

ends. Ehrenberg, Die Infus. p. 202. t. 20. f. 7; Pritch. Infus.

p. 219. f. 180—182. Fragilaria striatula, Ag. Syst. p. 7; Kutz.

in Linnea 1833, p. 73; Grev. in Br. Fl. vol. ii. p. 403! F. Car-

michaeliit, Hary. Br. Alg. p. 198. Grammonema striatula, Ag.

Consp. Diatom. p. 63.

Appin, Capt. Carmichael ;” Southampton, Miss Hill; co. Antrim,

Ireland, Mr. W. Thompson.

I have drawn up my description of this plant from one of Capt.

Carmichael’s specimens given me by Mr. Harvey.

At first sight this plant bears so great a resemblance to Stria-

tella arcuata as to appear merely a variety of it; and without

taking into consideration the lateral form, it would be difficult to

find a good distinguishing character.

From my specimens I was unable to ascertain whether the fila-

ments were attached or not; they are fragile, and here and there

cohere at their angles in the same manner as Sériatella arcuata.

The frustules are generally not so broad in proportion to their

length as those of Striatella arcuata, but, like them, have nume-

rous series of transverse strize, which however in this plant are

not so strongly marked, and under a low power especially are less

evident than the marginal striz.

_ The lateral surfaces are swollen in the centre and constricted

near the ends, with numerous transverse striz along their whole

length.

P.S. Since the above description was written, I have gathered

this plant on the muddy sides of rocks in Swansea Bay.

The filaments are more slender than in the Appin specimen,

of a dirty-brown colour, much curled and entangled, and but

slightly fragile.

In drying it adheres much more firmly to paper than does the

Striatella arcuata, is less fragile, does not turn green in drying,

and has no gloss.

Prats II. fig. 1. a, Tessella catena; b, lateral view; c, lateral view with

the septa removed.

TETRACYCLUS, n. g.

Filaments free, fragile, four-sided, each side rounded and form-

ing the segment of a distinct circle; frustules longitudinally

striated.

1. T. lacustris. Frustules about twice as broad as long ; lateral sur-

faces with from seven to nine distinct transverse striz.

Llyn Prefeddyr near Barmouth, the Rev. T. Salwey; pool near

Dolgelley*.

In August last this plant was sent to me by Mr. Salwey, who

found it sparingly among Fragilaria hyemalis in the above lake.

* I have this year met with it in two or three pools near Dolgelley.—J. R.

106 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez.

I afterwards gathered a specimen of the same FPragilaria near

Dolgelley, with which a few of the frustules were intermixed.

I was at first inclined to refer this plant to Ehrenberg’s genus

Tessella, but more minute examination convinced me that it could

not be placed there. The frustules are striated as in Striatella

and Tessella, but it differs from the former genus in not being

attached, and from both, as the frustules do not cohere at the

angles forming a chain. In the curious form of the filament it

differs equally from these genera and all the other Diatomacea,

except perhaps Tabellaria, in which the inflated canal produces a

distant resemblance.

Filaments attenuated, four-sided ; the sides are all rounded:

hence, when either of the sides is examined by the microscope,

portions of two others are also seen like a border, and the outlines

of that under examination appear like two lines running down the

filament. But the opposite sides only are alike. Two of them

are in fact the margins of the filament, and may be distinguished

from the other two by a slight contraction of the filament at the

junction of the frustules on the front and back, by the absence of

puncta at that part, and by their striz being more distinct. When

the front and back are viewed under the microscope, there is no

contraction of the filament at the junction of the frustules, and

the ends of the lateral strize exhibit puncta along the margin.

In this view larger portions of the older surfaces are seen, and

hence the filament appears to have a broader border, in which the

strie are more distinct than in the centre.

The endochrome is of a dark green colour, and is often col-

lected into an irregular spot.

The lateral surfaces resemble in outline the flower of a Veronica,

or the guatrefoil of a gothic window ; their length and breadth in

the smaller frustules are nearly equal, but in the larger ones they

are 11 as long as broad. They have about seven rather distant,

well-marked transverse strie.

Pratt II. fig. 2. a, Tetracyclus lacustris; b, marginal view; ¢, lateral

views; d, lateral views, showing its interna] plates.

Fraciiaria, Lyngb. (Eh.)

Filaments free, fragile ; frustules rectangular, without striz on the

central portion. ,

This genus is nearly allied to Diatoma; the chief distinction

between them is, that in Diatoma the frustules cohere at the angles,

and in Fragilaria do not. Even this distinction is not always

present in one species of Fragilaria, which seems therefore inter-

mediate.

The filaments are free, generally attenuated and fragile ; the

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez. 107

frustules are mostly longer than broad, with two puncta at each

end, and without strize on the central portion.

The young frustules are often nearly equal in length and

breadth, but as they afterwards increase in length a good specific

distinction cannot be founded on these characters, especially as

the filaments are attenuated.

I have frequently examined the puncta so generally present at

the ends of the frustules in this and other genera of the Cym-

bellea, but I have never found any reason to believe that they are

openings, as many naturalists have supposed. Mr. Borrer in-

forms me that in Fragilaria pectinalis they are the terminations

of slight grooves.

At present I shall describe only the freshwater species, and

defer the consideration of the marine species, diatomoides and

aurea, until I have more fully examined them.

1. F. pectinalis, Lyngb. Frustules broad, with two evident puncta

at each end; lateral surfaces striated, curved, constricted on one

side near the end. Ag. Syst. p.7; Consp. Diat. p. 62; Grev. in

Br. Fi. vol. ii. p. 403; Harv. Br. Alg. p.197. Conferva pectinalis,

Dill. t. 24; E. Bot. t. 1611!; Jurg. Dec. 18. no. 12!. Frag.

grandis, Eh. Die Infus. p. 203. t. 15. fig. 11; Pritch. Infus. p.220.

B. undulata, fig. 171.

In freshwater pools and ditches ; often abundant. Hurst, Sussex,

Mr. Borrer; Lewes and Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Jenner; Cheshunt,

Herts, Mr. Hassall; Barmouth, N. Wales, the Rev. T. Salwey ; Aber-

deen, Dr. Dickie; Ballantrae, Ayrshire, Mr. Thompson ; Stevenston,

Rev. D. Landsborough ; Ireland, Mr. D. Moore. Dolgelley, Penzance,

Ilfracombe, &c.

8. Drws Ardudwy near Barmouth, the Rev. T, Salwey.

This plant is brown when recent, but when dried becomes of

a pale grayish green colour with a glass-like lustre.

The frustules are larger in this than in any of the following

species. They are broad but vary in length, being from three to

five times longer than broad, and generally have the striz clearly

visible at their junction. The endochrome is commonly contracted

into two irregular lines, which are not unfrequently united in the

centre ; but often it is in four patches, apparently from the divi-

sion of these lines. The frustules sometimes have a central pel-

lucid spot, which does not appear to be connected with the endo-

chrome. ;

[have several times met with a remarkable state of this species,

and have also received it from Mr. Jenner. Within the frustule

there is apparently another siliceous frustule, the lateral margins

of which are rounded, having strize like the outer frustule. In the

longer frustules it is nearly elliptic, but in the shorter ones ap-

pears asif truncated at the ends, and in both it occupies the ick

108 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacece.

interior of the frustule except the corners, where the puncta at

the ends are situated ; it is filled with a yellowish granular mass,

mixed with numerous colourless vesicles (Pl. II. fig. 3. 5).

The lateral surfaces are very characteristic, and will distinguish

this from all the following species. One margin is flat, or slightly

concave ; the other is convex, and slopes off rather abruptly near

the ends, where also it is slightly constricted. Besides these

constrictions, indications of two others may often be observed on

the convex margin; but in a specimen sent me by Mr. Salwey

these are so strongly marked, that if I had not seen intermediate

forms, I should have supposed it to belong to a distinct species.

I have made it var. 8. undulata, which perfectly agrees with the

usual state of the species, except in the lateral view, the convex

margin of which has two indentations, giving it an undulated

appearance; the other margin is flat, with a projection in the

centre. In both forms the lateral surfaces are marked with close

transverse striz.

Mr. Dalrymple, whose experience and knowledge of these tribes

gives great weight to his opinion, informs me that this species is

unquestionably the Fragil. grandis of Ehrenberg. It agrees very

well in most respects with Ehrenberg’s description and figures |

except as to the lateral surfaces, which he has described and

figured as lanceolate with obtuse ends, a form differing widely

from our plant. Mr. Dalrymple, however, observes, that Ehren-

berg has one figure striated and another not so, although equally

large, and hence he supposes that the junction surfaces may have

been figured from a different species, which is represented in the

non-striated figure. But whether this plant be Ehrenberg’s

Fragilaria grandis or not, I have no doubt that he is in error

regarding the species which he has named Fragilaria pectinalis.

His mistake was pointed out to me by Mr. Borrer, who at the

same time sent me a specimen of the Conferva pectinalis of ‘ En-

glish Botany,’ which is the present plant. I am also enabled,

through the kindness of Mr. Berkeley, to refer Jurgens’s plant

also to this species.

Prats II, fig. 3. a, various states of F. pectinalis; b, frustules deprived

of their colouring matter; c, lateral view; d, lateral view of variety .

2. F. rhabdosoma, Eh. Frustules narrow; puncta wanting or indi-

stinct ; lateral surfaces narrow-lanceolate, without strie. Eh. Die

Infus. p. 204. t. 15. f. 12; Pritch. Infus. p. 221. f. 173. Frag.

pectinalis, Kutz. in Linnea 1833, p.73? Frag. tenuis, Ag. Consp.

Diatom. p. 63?

In freshwater pools, &c. ; common, but generally in small quanti-

ties, and mixed with other Diatomacee. Sussex, Mr. Borrer ; Tun-

bridge Wells, Mr. Jenner ; Cheshunt, Mr. Hassall; Barmouth, Rev.

T. Salwey; Portmore Lough, Ireland, Mr. D. Moore; Stevenston,

Ayrshire, Rev. D. Landsborough. Dolgelley, Ilfracombe, Penzance.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez. 109

Plant pale brown when recent; in drying becomes grayish,

often with a silvery lustre.

Filaments attenuated ; endochrome consisting of rather large

granules arranged in a central line running down the filament ;

frustules very narrow, many times longer than broad; puncta

indistinct or wanting.

Ehrenberg describes the lateral surfaces as acicular with the

ends acute: they are so narrow that I have not succeeded in ob-

taining a satisfactory view of them ; but they appear to be narrow-

lanceolate, without striz, constricted near the ends, which are

somewhat obtuse.

This species is probably often passed over as a state of F. pec-

tinalis; but the narrow frustules, the absence of strie, and the

form of the lateral surfaces sufficiently distinguish it. Mr. D.

Moore, who obligingly favoured me with drawings and remarks

on many of the minute Irish Algz, has figured and described

this species as distinct from F. pectinalis; he also observed that

it is less fragile than that plant.

I have placed the reference to Kutzing under this species

rather than under F. pectinalis, because he says, “ siccitate argen-

tescente,” a character far more applicable to this plant.

Prare II. fig. 4. a, F. rhabdosoma; 6, frustule, deprived of its endo-

chrome; ¢, frustule, lateral view.

3. F. hyemalis, Lyngb. Frustules broad; puncta at the ends very

minute ; lateral surfaces elliptic-lanceolate, with well-marked striz,

which terminate in distinct puncta along the margins. Lyngb. t.

63; Ag. Syst. p. 7; Consp. Diatom. p. 63; Kutz. in Linnea 18338,

p. 72. F. confervoides, Grev. in Br. Fl. vol. ii. p. 403!; Harv. Br.

Alg. p. 197.

In freshwater pools and rivulets. Sussex, Mr. Borrer; Llyn Pre-

feddyr near Barmouth, Rev. T. Salwey; Aberdeen, Dr. Dickie;

Stevenston, Rev. D. Landsborough; Ballantrae, Ayrshire, Mr. W.

Thompson; Carnlough co. Antrim, and bog-holes co. Wicklow, Mr.

D. Moore. Dolgelley ; Tavistock and Trentishoe, Devonshire ; Pen-

zance.

Brownish when recent, whitish brown when dry.

Filaments elongated, attenuated, very fragile, separating into

single frustules almost immediately after being gathered. At

first the frustules are as broad as long, but when mature they are

generally two or three (occasionally five or six) times longer than

broad ; the puncta at the ends are more minute than in F. pecti-

nalis and F. confervoides, and along the lateral margins are di-

stinct rather distant puncta, which are the terminations of the

lateral strie. The lateral surfaces are broad, with well-marked

transverse strie. In the smaller frustules there are only two or

three strie situated near the middle; they afterwards become

110 | Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacex.

more numerous, and are then generally from six to nine in num-

ber, but they are never present towards the ends. This may

always be easily distinguished from the other species by the di-

stinct strie, and by their terminations forming puncta along the

margins. 7

When young the frustules are filled with a minutely granular

fluid, but this is soon condensed into a few large granules, and

the rest of the frustule becomes nearly hyaline.

There are generally about eight or ten granules which are large,

and sometimes collected mto a central mass, but more usually

arranged in one or two rows.

When the filaments of Diatoma vulgare are broken up into

single frustules, they greatly resemble those of F. hyemalis, but

in the latter the puncta at the ends of the frustules are more mi-

nute ; the striz of the lateral surfaces do not appear to encroach

upon the front surface, and the puncta along the lateral margins

are more distant, fewer, and more distinctly marked. Diatoma

vulgare also turns green in drying, whilst this plant remains of a

brownish colour.

Puarte II, fig. 5. a, states of I. hyemalis; 6, single frustule; c, frustule

deprived of its endochrome ; d, views of the lateral surfaces. wri:

4. F. virescens. Frustules broad, with two evident puncta at each

end; lateral surfaces turgid-lanceolate, constricted near the ends ;

strie none, or indistinct. Frag. pectinalis, Ehrenb. Die Infus.

p. 206. t. 16. fig. 1; Pritch. Infus. p. 222. fig. 176.

In freshwater pools. Cold Bath, Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Jenner.

Madron and Chyanhal Moor near Penzance.

Plant green, not much altered im drying: when verging to

decay it is occasionally found of a brown colour.

Filaments elongated, attenuated, less fragile than the preceding

species. The frustules frequently separate and cohere by the

angles in a zigzag chain, from which circumstance it is doubtful

whether the plant is rightly placed in this genus. They are

often nearly square, but more frequently they are three or four,

and sometimes five or six times longer than broad. The endo-

chrome is greenish, and consists of numerous small granules,

either scattered or collected together in the centre of the frustule.

The lateral surfaces are rather broad, somewhat lanceolate, but

constricted near the ends, which are obtuse.

When the frustules adhere by their angles, this plant bears a

considerable resemblance to young specimens of Diatoma vulgare,

from which however it may be distinguished by its green colour

when recent, by the form of the lateral surfaces, and by the ap-

parent absence of strize under a moderate power of the microscope.

In one or other of these respects it differs from any of the pre-

ceding species.

M. Montagne on the Podaxines. All

As this is the only species with which I am acquainted of a

green colour in its growing state, I was at first inclined to con-

sider it the Fragilaria confervoides of Greville; but I have lately

received from Mr. Harvey an authentic specimen of that plant,

which I have ascertained to be Fragilaria hyemalis, Lyngb.

Ehrenberg describes his Frag. pectinalis as striated. I have

never succeeded in detecting the slightest appearance of striz on

the lateral surfaces, although I have repeatedly and carefully ex-

amined them; nor did Mr. Berkeley, to whom I sent specimens,

perceive them. On the other hand, Mr. Dalrymple observes,

that the striee, though difficult to see, are nevertheless present.

Mr. Jenner, who is a very accurate observer, thinks that there

are very faint, almost obsolete strize, which can be only seen when

the endochrome is removed: in another letter, however, he enu-

merates the absence of strize among the characters of the species.

Thus it will be seen, that even if striz are present in this plant,

they cannot be adopted as one of its characters without the risk

of misleading the observer.

Piate II. fig. 6. a, states of F. virescens; b, frustules, deprived of their

endochrome; c, lateral view.

Analysis.

The margins of the lateral surfaces flat or concave on

one side, and on the other CONVEX .....seessesesseseees pectinalis,

‘| The margins of the lateral surfaces convex and similar

Ue DOU CIAO acc si cinansssantipprnsnsearbehiacns darthein skh 2

9 Lateral margins with distinct evident puncta .........++. hyemalis.

"| Lateral margins without puncta ......secsccscseeseeeees sn 8

Frustules very narrow, the puncta at their ends indi-

SABES OF WORE Gris boss 5s aneas sos ch Hrediesaedisssbh eke rhabdosoma.

‘| Frustules rather broad, with two evident puncta at each

EEG Fics dace vnansssapgce ine seer snnvuhbieennes hetkabeneoaceéh virescens.

[To be continued. ]

XV1I.— Considerations on the tribe of the Podaxinee, and descrip-

tion of the new genus Gyrophragmium. By M. Montaenr*.

Amonest the Trichogastrous Fungi there is a small tribe which

has recently been raised to the rank of a family by M. Corda, and

which is remarkable among other characters by the presence of a

columella traversing the axis of the peridium: it is the Podazinee.

This tribe, which was formerly composed of the three genera Cy-

cloderma, Klotzsch, Cauloglossum, Greville, and Podazon, Desvaux,

became all at once doubled by the addition of three others, the

Secotium, Kunze, the Polyplocium, Berkeley, and the Gyrophrag-

mium, nob., which forms the principal object of this notice,

* From an extract by the Author in the ‘ Comptes Rendus,’ No. 16, 1843,

112 M. Montagne on the Podaxinez.

Gyrophragmium results from the dismembering of the genus .

Montagnea, founded by Fries, ‘Genera Hymenomycetum,’ p. 7,

on two fungi which grow on the shores of Maguelone, in the en-

virons of Montpelier, one of which had received the name of

Agaricus arenarius from M. DeCandolle, the other that of Agaricus

ocreatus from M. Delile. The continued study which I have made

of the second of these species, subsequently found near Bona and

brought in all stages of evolution by Captain Durieu, Member of

the African Commission, has proved to me that these two fungi,

although similar and apparently related, do not belong to the

same family. A very young individual of Gyrophragmium Du-

nalit showed indeed in the clearest manner, that what had been

taken for the pileus of an Agaric was the superior half of a pe-

ridium, the inferior half of which is represented by an ample

volva surrounding the stem, and that the supposed leaflets or

lamelle were only processes, or rather partitions emanating from

all the points of the pileiform portion of the peridium. The fol-

lowing are the characters upon which this curious genus is esta-

blished :—

Receptaculum stipatum. Peridium primo turbinatum, dein medio

orbiculatim ruptum superne pileiforme cum stipite centrali ad apicem

usque producto, volva ampla (que nihil aliud nisi pars peridii infe-

rior) instructo continuum. Capillitium in dissepimenta contextum

lamelliformia subparallela e peridii toto hemisphzerio descendentia, a

stipite distantia, in plano ramosa, non autem anastomosantia, sinuosa,

plicato-crispata adeoque densata ut sibi coherere videantur, primo

lenta olivacea, tandem exarescentia fragilissima, nigra, subtus libera,

labyrinthiformia. Flocci liberi nulli. Spor globose, pedicellate,

dissepimentis affixe. Contextus peridii stipitisque fibrosus in disse-

pimenta continuatus. Fungi arescentes, persistentes, habitu Agarico

vel Boleto similes, specie volvati aut annulati, stipitati, im arenosis

maritimis Africe borealis et Gallie australis hucusque obvii.

The genus Gyrophragmium differs from Polyplocium, Berk., on

the one hand by the form and the rigidity of its partitions, and on

the other by the absence of free filaments intermixed with the

sporules, filaments which are found in the latter genus. Just as

in Secotium its sporules are fixed by a short pedicel to the walls of

the compartments, but these compartments, which are free in Gy-

rophragmium, form a spongy tissue in the other genus by their

frequent anastomoses.

Considered according to the degree of their structure, the ge-

nera of the tribe Podaxinee may be arranged as follows : Caulo-

glossum, Cycloderma, Podaxon, Secotium, Polyplocium and Gyro-

phragmium. As Secotium is the form of transition from Po-

daxon to Polyplocium, so the latter evidently constitutes a passage

between the first of these genera and Gyrophragmium. I have

Dr. Griffith on preserving Microscopic Objects. 113

every reason to suppose that one day, when we are better ac-

quainted with the history of its development, of which we are

entirely ignorant at present, the genus* Montagnea itself will have

to be placed at the head of this tribe, from which Batarrea is pro-

bably not so far removed as is supposed.

XVII.—On the different modes of preserving Microscopie Objects.

By Joun Wo. Grirritu, M.D., F.L.S. &c.

During the progress of microscopic experiments and examinations,

we are continually meeting with parts in which some peculiar struc-

ture is particularly well illustrated, which we are anxious to preserve ;

sometimes, for the purpose of reference and comparison, we are

obliged to keep specimens of different structures by us. It is my

intention here to say a few words on the best methods of so doing.

The description of these is no slight task, for it is by no means

easy to render a clear account of the manipulations required, so as

to make them applicable by others ; moreover, one in the habit of con-

tinually putting up specimens is apt to overlook mentioning certain

minutie, which, from use, he is hardly aware of performing, but

which are essential to the perfection of the work. The main point

is to protect the object from injury by surrounding influences, such

as violence, the action of the preservative liquids, evaporation, &c.

This in a few cases is impossible, but in the majority any alterations

produced in those specimens which are properly put up are so

slight as not to destroy their value. There are two modes of view-

ing microscopic objects ; one when illuminated by reflected, the other

by transmitted light. I shall first notice the former.

OpakeE opsxEcts are of two kinds; those preserved in the dry,

and those in the moist state. o. The dry ones are usually fastened

upon circular discs, or columns of cork, by a little gum, or solution of

gum mixed with isinglass; they are then transfixed with fine pins,

so as to be stuck into cork, which forms the bottom of the drawer

in which they are arranged. Sometimes the circular flat discs of

cork are fastened upon glass slips, and arranged in cabinets in

the same manner as transparent objects. ‘The cork must always be

blackened, so as to prevent the reflection of any luminous rays which

might interfere with the distinct vision of the object. This is ef-

fected in cork either by scorching or painting it over with an inti-

mate mixture of finely powdered lamp-black and gum-water. But

almost any black surfaces may be used for this purpose—black

velvet, silk, paper, or blackened metal. When the opake object is

* M. Montagne has very lately received valuable information on this

genus from M. Dunal, which he will no doubt shortly publish. From the

observations of Dunal, it appears that all the specimens hitherto collected

have been imperfect. We are happy to hear that M. Dunal, whose letter

and sketches we have had the advantage of inspecting, is using every exer-

tion to procure this most curious and interesting production in every stage

of growth.—Ep.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. I

114 Dr. Griffith on preserving Microscopic Objects.

illuminated (and which is the best way) by the condensation of light

by a plano-convex or other lens, the size of the cork or other sup-

port for the object is of no consequence. But when the light is first

reflected by the mirror and subsequently condensed by a second

concave metallic mirror or cup, of course the smaller the object- holder

is, the better, because it allows a larger number of rays to be con-

densed and to illuminate the object more perfectly.

f. Those which, although viewed as opake objects, are yet pre-

served liquid, are kept in cells, which will be presently described ;

many animal preparations, injections, &c. are best preserved in this

manner.

TRANSPARENT oBsECTSs.—Different methods from those usually

adopted were formerly made use of to prepare these. They were

laid upon slides of various kinds, ivory, wood, or glass. ‘The ivory

ones (which are scarcely ever now used), of various sizes, had cir-

cular apertures turned in them at regular distances; in these holes

small discs of talc were laid; they were prevented from falling through

these holes by an elevated rim left at one end, so that the aperture

was larger at one end than at the other; on the other side they were

prevented from escaping by the pressure of a small brass ring (cut

from off a spiral coil). These, as I have said, are now rarely used,

on account of the expense of the turned ivory, the difficulty in ar-

ranging the objects nicely, as well as the obvious objections to the

talc. ‘The wooden ones are abandoned for nearly the same reasons.

They are now generally made of glass..A number of oblong glass

slips of the same size * are usually kept already cut, and washed clean

with soap and water to free them from grease, &c. Many vegetable

preparations can be beautifully preserved by placing them between

two of these glass slips, next tying the latter together towards each

end by a turn or two of cotton or fire string, then keeping them im-

mersed in a wide-mouthed stoppered bottle containing spirits of wine

and water. ‘Those only are well kept thus which are used with low

powers of the microscope. When required to be examined they are

taken out, drained and wiped ; enough spirit usually remains between

the glasses by capillarity to insure their transparency.

To preserve transparent objects dry, if low powers only be used,

they may be laid between two of the above-mentioned slips, allowed

perfectly to dry (if previously moist), and the whole slide covered

with a doubled piece of pasted coloured paper, excepting two circular

or other shaped apertures corresponding to the site of the objects.

In some cases where the objects are not quite so transparent as we

should wish—in, I may say, all cases of the preservation of crystalline

bodies, particularly when for examination by polarized light—they

may be immersed in Canada balsam. For low powers take two

glass slips, having heated one gently over the spirit-lamp (at a great

distance however); place upon it a small quantity of Canada bal-

sam from the end of a piece of stick. Let this perfectly, but slowly,

* This varies according to the whim of different observers, but the thick-

ness is best about that of ordinary window glass.

Dr. Griffith on preserving Microscopic Objects. 115

melt and diffuse itself over the glass ; now lay in its centre the ob-

ject ; if necessary, drop a small quantity more of the balsam upon it,

and then lay the other previously warmed glass slide upon the first ;

gently press them together: should any balsam exude at the edges

of the glass plates, remove this by a slip of card; allow the balsam to

solidify ; the whole is then completed. Should any of the balsam

have escaped upon or smeared the surfaces of the glass so as to de-

stroy the transparency of the object, a little oil well rubbed in will

remove it; alcohol will produce the same effect, but it is apt to act

upon the balsam between the glasses and injure the specimen, which

oil does not. I may remark here, that the longer the balsam is

heated over the lamp or candle, the sooner it solidifies after removal

from it. I generally therefore continue to heat the balsam, so that

there is no fear of the glass slips moving upon one another so as to

injure the object. But it requires great care to avoid the extrication

of air-bubbles. In many cases it is convenient to fasten the two ends

of the glass slips together whilst the balsam is solidifying, so as to

insure the avoidance of displacement: this can be done by a little

sealing-wax, or what is better, ‘‘ marine glue*.”” Venetian turpentine

may be used instead of Canada balsam, and it solidifies much more

rapidly, but it is neither so transparent nor so readily managed.

A large number of the most beautiful and delicate objects cannot

be preserved in the dry way, the shrivelling and contraction which

ensue totally destroying the natural appearance. ‘These are best

kept in a small cell containing a liquid, which must be prevented

from evaporating. The liquids mostly used are, syrup mixed with

gum, dilute spirit, water saturated with creasote, or the fluid in-

vented by Mr. Goadby, and which is the best. It is thus made :—

take 4 oz. of bay salt, 2 oz. of alum, 4 grs. of corrosive sublimate, and

2 qts. of boiling water; these must be well stirred together, and fil-

tered through fine filtering paper. This is an excellent composition

for preserving animal and vegetable substances, and has less action

upon them than any of the other fluids. The spirit or water and

creasote corrugate the preparations so as in many cases entirely to de-

stroy their characteristic appearances, and the syrup has a powerful

exosmotic action, which collapses all vesicular preparations. ‘There

are two methods of forming the cells here: in the first a varnish is

used to inclose the liquid ; in the second a wall is formed to the cell,

of glass, &c. :

A quantity of very thin glass (from the ;j5th to the zi 5th of an

inch) must be procuredf, and cut into square or oblong pieces of

various sizes, according to that of the thick glass support, which, for

the sake of avoiding repetition, I shall call the base of the specimen.

The thin glass should not be longer than is absolutely necessary, so

* It is thus made :—dissolve 1 lb. of caoutchouc in 4 gallons of coal naphtha

by maceration for several days, and with 1 pint of this solution, 2 lbs. of shell-

lac are to be mixed by heat; and when the fusion is completed, the material

is to be poured out on a cold slab and moulded into convenient forms, and

used as sealing-wax.

+ This can be obtained at any optician’s.

12.

116 Dr. Griffith on preserving Microscopie Objects.

as to avoid the risk of its being broken. The base is now wiped per-

fectly dry and clean, the object laid on its centre; a small quantity

of the preservative liquid is next dropped on it; upon this is laid the

thin glass square, wiped perfectly clean: should the quantity of li-

quid added be not sufficient to fill the whole space between the two

glasses, a little more must be added* until such is the case; if too

much has been added, it may be readily removed by a fine pipette,

camel-hair pencil, or moistened piece of blotting paper. When the

surfaces of both glasses, not in apposition, are quite free from moist-

ure, some gold size thickened by intimate mixture with lamp-black

must be laid all round the edges of the thin glass, partly also upon

the contiguous portions of the lower, so as to hermetically inclose

the liquid and the object. The mixture of the finely-powdered lamp-

black and the gold size (the latter of which ought to be old) should

be about the consistency of treacle, or rather less. If made too thin,

it is apt to run in under the upper glass and destroy the specimen.

When the objects are large, the following modeis generally adopted.

A circular depression is excavated in the substance of the basic slip,

which is double or treble the ordinary thickness, and in this the object

and the liquid are placed ; these are then covered with thin glass, and

the gold size and lamp-black applied as above around the edges of

the latter. Ora square piece of thick crown glass, less in size than

the breadth of the basic.slip, has either a circular or square hole

drilled through it; this is next fastened to the base either by Canada

balsam or varnish; a cell is thus made in which the object and

liquid are placed ; the thin glass slip is next applied upon the upper

surface of the excavated piece; it is then covered at the edge, and

rendered adherent to it by the gold size and lamp-black.

Another method is this. Take a basic slip of glass, and spread a

little white lead ground up with oil (or painter’s white paint) on its

upper surface, leaving an aperture in the middle to receive the object.

This requires to be painted over and over until it has become of the

thickness of the specimen to be preserved ; the blank space or cell is

next filled with one of the preservative liquids, and the object then

immersed in it; a slip of thin glass is now laid upon the surface of

the white lead and rubbed close on to the paint, beginning at one

end and passing across the slide to the other, so as to force out any

air-bubbles. When dry the specimen is permanent. ‘These will, I

think, be found sufficient for the preservation of almost any objects ;

there are, however, a few which it is very difficult to retain perfect.

Many I have preserved simply by leaving them to dry between two

slips of glass, without any preservative fluid or balsam. Blood-discs,

&c. have kept remarkably well in this manner ; but we can place no

dependence on so doing, for one which is good perhaps there are

twenty spoiled. Talc was formerly used instead of thin glass to cover

objects, but it is very objectionable on account of its being so readily

scratched, the difficulty of procuring it free from flaws, and its pe-

* On the end of a camel-hair pencil or pen; it will run n by capillary

attraction,

Mr. A. H. Hassall on the genus Echinocorium. 117

culiar effect in polarizing light. There is only one circumstance

more worthy of mention, and which is very common but very inju-

rious : it is the placing too much of an object on a slide at once ; this

often renders a beautiful object of little value. I need hardly say

that it is better, if possible, to preserve most specimens under thin

glass, so that at any future time they can be examined by the high

powers of the microscope, if necessary,

9 St. John’s Square, July 21, 1843.

XVIII.— Observations on Two of Professor Edward Forbes’s

“ Retrospective Comments.” By Artuur Hitt Hassarz, Esq.

Proressor Epwarp Forsss, in a paper entitled “ Retrospective

Comments,” a portion of which is inserted in the ‘ Annals’ for

July 1843, makes some remarks on the genus Echinocorium, and

on the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes, on both of which I wish to

offer a few observations. Mr. Forbes appears to reject my genus

Echinocorium on the twofold ground, that the zoophyte which I

regard as its animal is sometimes met with unconnected with the

polypidom, and that in those cases in which the two are asso-

ciated, no organic bond of union exists between them. With

regard to the first point, the result of my experience is, that the

polype is never met with but in connexion with the polypidom,

and that its distribution is always limited to that portion of the

shell covered by it ; and I may remark, that I have very frequently

obtained the living zoophyte. With reference to the absence of

structural connexion, Mr. Forbes observes, “ Had Mr. Hassall

looked a little closer to his specimens, he would have found that

there is no organic connexion between the parasite and its base,

. and that each Coryne is an independent animal, capable of de-

tachment without injury.” I beg to assure Mr. Forbes that I

did look very closely to my specimens, and that the issue of my

examination of them was a conviction of the reality of a bond of

union,—a conviction arrived at by the observation of the following

particulars, viz. that marked depressions existed in the polypidom

for the reception of the bases of the polypi; that the whole

structure of the polypidom itself was porous and incorporated

with gelatinous material; and lastly, that it was also encrusted

by a membrane derived from the polypi themselves, and which

likewise covered the muricated processes. These facts, if not con-

clusive, are yet I hope sufficient to exonerate me from the charge

of having “ too hastily constituted the genus Echinocorium,” and

show that I did exercise a common degree of caution. Besides,

supposing Mr. Forbes to be correct as to the independence of the

polype regarded by me as the true zoophyte of Alcyonidium echi-

natum, which I am far from being satisfied that he is, still this

118 Mr. A. H. Hassall on the genus Echinocorium

does not render the rejection either of the genus, right or neces-

sary, or of the appellation which I have bestowed upon it, for

abundant grounds may be derived from an examination of the

remarkable polypidom itself to justify and demand its separation

from the genus Alcyonidium.

By Mr. Forbes’s remark, that “ each Coryne is an independent

animal, capable of detachment without injury,” I understand that

it will live when thus separated. This fact is by no means con-

clusive of the point at issue, for the Hydra will bear any degree

of mutilation and injury without destruction of its vital powers.

Mr. Forbes not only rejects the idea of any organic union be-

tween the polype and polypidom, but hardly seems to allow that

the former shows any preference for the latter, observing, that

“from the excellent holding afforded by the polypidom, it per-

haps prefers such a residence.” The doubt implied by the word

perhaps is certamly unnecessary, for whatever difference of opi-

nion there may be relative to structural connexion between the

two, there can be none whatever but that the polype exhibits a

remarkable preference for the polypidom of the Hchinocorium.

The zoophyte which I regard as the animal of the Echinocorium,

Mr. Forbes considers to be a Coryne, and says that it is “a com-

mon deep-sea form of that genus.” Common as the species is

stated to be, it had neither been described nor figured by British

actinologists up to the period of the publication of a paper by me

on Zoophytes in the ‘Annals’ for July 1841. One other point

still remains to be noticed in connexion with the Echinocorium.

I cannot of course doubt but that Mr. Forbes has met with a

Coryne distinct from any perfectly formed polypidom. This Co-

ryne might, however, either have Bi of a different species from

the animal of E. clavigerum, or, if identical with it, it is possible

that the polype might in some cases exist either in the entire

absence of the polypidom, or that this might have been in some

degree formed, although it had escaped the notice of Mr. Forbes,

who, while he disallows my view of Echinocorium, does not offer

any exposition of its real nature; that is, he leaves it wrapt up in

the obscurity in which it has been so long involved, and from

which I have endeavoured to rescue it.

In referring to my papers on the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes,

and to that by the Rev. D. Landsborough, Mr. Forbes observes,

“the general fact” of the phosphorescence of zoophytes “ has

long been known to British naturalists.” This statement is re-

markable. If so, how comes it that no general reference is made

to a fact so generally known according to Mr. Forbes, and one,

moreover, of the highest interest, in Dr. Johnston’s excellent

‘ History of the British Zoophytes ??, And then adds Mr. Forbes,

in continuation of the same paragraph, “ although but little had

and on the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. 119

been written about it, more precise observations than we have

yet on record being required.” Mr. Forbes does not mention

what this little is. I will endeavour to supply the deficiency.

The only references with which I am acquamted, as emanating

from British naturalists, to the fact of the emission of phospho-

ric light by zoophytes, relates to two species, Sertularia pumila

and Pennatula phosphorea. In Dr. Johnston’s description of the

former, the following quotation from Stewart occurs :— This

species, and probably many others, in some particular states of

the atmosphere, gives out a phosphoric light in the dark. Ifa

leaf of the above Fucus (serratus) with the Sertularia upon it re-

ceive a smart stroke with a stick in the dark, the whole coralline

= most beautifully illuminated, every denticle seeming to be on

€. |

This quotation is succeeded by some beautiful lines, the ap-

propriateness of which may excuse a repetition of them here.

** While thus with pleasing wonder you inspect

Treasures the vulgar in their scorn reject,

See as they float along the entangled weeds

Slowly approach, upborne on bladdery heads ;

Wait till they land, and you shall then behold

What fiery sparks these tangled fronds infold,—

Myriads of living points; the unaided eye

Can but the fire, and not the form descry.”’-—Crabbe.

With regard to the second species, Pennatula phosphorea, the

knowledge of the existence of the phenomenon of phospho-

rescence in it is sufficiently attested by the specific name, so that

it is unnecessary to adduce the testimony of those who make

mention of it. Such, it seems to me, was the extent of the know-

ledge of British naturalists, so far as this can be ascertained by

reference to their writings (the only admissible evidence), of the

beautiful phenomenon of the phosphorescence of zoophytes, up

to the time of the publication of my essay on Zoophytes in the

‘Annals’ for June, 1841, in which it was distinctly stated, that

all the transparent species, while in a living state, possessed phos-

phoric properties; and I leave it to the reader to judge whether

this was sufficient to justify the assertion, that “ the general fact”

of their phosphorescence had “ long been known to British na-

turalists*” prior to that time. Mr. Forbes also seems to imply

that the general fact stands in need of. more precise observations

than we have yet on record for it.

I cannot but think that the papers alluded to in the beginning

* The general fact of the phosphorescence of zoophytes may have been

known to continental naturalists prior to the publication of my essay. I am

not, however, sufficiently acquainted with their writings to assert positively

whether it was or was not to any or all of them.

120 Bibliographical Notices.

of these few remarks are sufficient to establish the general fact,

while they certainly do not preclude the necessity of further and

closer investigation. I am at a loss to conceive what Mr. Forbes’s

object has been in penning his remarks; their tendency is cer-

tainly to depreciate the knowledge which has been already ac-

quired of one of the most striking and beautiful of the many

facts of interest connected with the history of zoophytes.

Cheshunt, July 15, 1843.

vole

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

An Inaugural Lecture on Botany. By Edward Forbes, F.L.S., F.B.S.

&c. Van Voorst, London. 8vo. pp. 23.

Tue author of this inaugural address is probably better known to

our readers as a zoologist and the historian of the British Starfishes

than as a botanist. But amongst those who best know his enthu-

siastic devotion to the whole range of natural-history science, he has

always been distinguished for the extent and accuracy of his know-

ledge of botany, and we congratulate the Institution with which he

is now connected on having obtained the services of so valuable a

teacher. It may be important, in the selection of lecturers in our

public schools, that men should be sought for who possess a pro-

found and intimate acquaintance with the subjects they are about to

teach, but at the same time it should not be forgotten that our

branches of science are mere artificial divisions—parts of one great

whole, and that to teach one properly, its relations to others should

be understood. This is of especial importance in a course of medical

education comprising many sciences, where the object is rather the

pointing out to the student the relation which each particular sci-

ence bears to the profession on which he has entered, than making

him profoundly acquainted with any particular department. There

has been no more prevalent error amongst the great body of medical

men, than supposing that the study of disease was their only busi-

ness, and that the study of the natural-history sciences was a mere

impertinence, or at most to be regarded as an ornament; and this

error we suspect will always be most prevalent where the chairs of

chemistry, botany, &c. in our medical schools are filled by those who

are unacquainted with the relations which these subjects bear to the

study of medicine. We are glad therefore to see a gentleman edu-

cated for the medical profession, a zoologist and geologist, in the

chair of botany at King’s College.

At the present day there is perhaps too great a tendency to re-

gard education as the mere cramming of so many facts into the

heads of the taught, and in no profession is this carried to a more

vicious extent than in the medical. It seems to be forgotten that the

most effective education is to fit a person, not by the amount of facts

that he knows, but by rendering him capable of using the facts that

are presented to him, for the skilful exercise of the profession he

Bibliographical Notices. 121

has undertaken. It is on this ground that Professor Forbes recom-

mends the study of natural science to the medical student.

“ That the medical student acquires but little by his attendance at bota-

nical lectures, is not an uncommon fancy among the senior members of the

profession. Some eminent men have gone so far as to denounce it as lost

time. The utmost the student is supposed to carry away is a knowledge of

the names, classes and orders of such plants as furnish products used in me-

dicine. It seems to me that the true object of the connexion of natural-

history studies with more professional pursuits is, as in this case, too gene-

rally lost sight of, and I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to urge their

claims on your attention, and to plead for them on grounds which have not

been put forward sufficiently prominently hitherto, though by no means novel,

seeing that the positions I am about to maintain are avowedly acknowledged

in private by most scientific teachers, though rarely advanced in the class-

room. ‘The plea which I wish to advance is, that the main use of the na-

tural-history sciences to the student is not merely the teaching him a certain

number of facts, the recollection of which may be serviceable to him in after

life, but the training his mind, by means of the peculiar forms of research

which characterise those sciences, to that tone and vigour which must be of

the utmost consequence in giving him power for future professional avoca-

tions of a different nature, especially such as are to form the after-occupa-

tions of the student of medicine.

*‘ Not that for a moment I would have you suppose that I am depreciating

the value of a knowledge of the facts of natural history,—far from it: I have

myself derived too much pleasure, too much benefit from an early study of

that delightful science not to appreciate its full value, and not to be desirous

of seeing all men acquainted with it; but that, viewing it as a branch of

education, [ am anxious to point out in what its true educational value lies,

and not to evade the question by enumerating how many animals, plants

and minerals a student may be able to recognise if he diligently pursue

zoology, botany, or mineralogy. A student of any science, well-trained in the

modes of investigation which that science teaches, is a much more valuable

member of society than a youthful encyclopedia or a living book of facts.”

We believe that this ground on which Professor Forbes would

have medical students cultivate botany is the one on which natural

science should form a part of the education of the divine, the advo-

cate and the statesman. It may not be of much consequence, that

aman should know the Latin name of chickweed, the number of

stamens in a butter-cup, or the shape of the blood-globules of a frog,

but it is of importance that he should understand the laws of organic

matter, and be acquainted with the nature of its investigations. It

is in these investigations that the simplest principles of analysis and

synthesis may be exemplified, and in which they will bear their most

profound application. We know that the advocate of a classical and

mathematical education will say that language and numbers afford

sufficient material for the application of these principles, but we

maintain that there is as much difference between the investigation

of words as the expression of facts or phenomena, and the investi-

gation of facts themselves, as there is between words and numbers

themselves, and upon this ground we would require of every one

seeking distinction as an educated man, a knowledge of the natural

sciences.

But to return to Mr. Forbes. After adverting to the importance

122 Bibliographical Notices.

of the study of botany as a training science, he proceeds to point out

the value of its facts to various classes. ‘To the medical man and the

agriculturist they are essential. We recommend the following to

our readers :—

“The utility of a study of botany to the zoologist and geologist cannot be

too highly estimated. The perfection to which the labours of Linnzus, De-

Jussieu, DeCandolle and their numerous co-labourers and pupils have

brought systematic botany, furnishes the zoologist with a sound model on

which to mould the descriptive part of his science, but one with which he is

usually I fear too slightly acquainted to make guod use of. Zoology has

yet to attain the precision to which botany so rapidly advanced through the

logical acuteness of the great minds who embraced the study,—a precision

greatly forwarded by the general knowledge of their subject which they con-

sidered it their duty to acquire before they engaged in original special re-

search. The perfection to which botanical diagnosis has attained is truly

astonishing. More than 50,000 species of known plants are distinguished

from each other by short summaries of their essential characters, sometimes

occupying but a few words, and at most but a few lines. Yet there is no

confusion. The printed diagnosis is sufficiently precise to enable the stu-

dent to ascertain the name and affinities of any plant he may gather even

‘without the help of figures or other artificial aid. That zoological science may

attain an equal degree of precision, no thinking naturalist can for a moment

doubt; but until more zoologists than now do, study the principles by which

such precision has been attained, their science must rest in the unsatisfactory

state which deforms great portions of it at present.

‘The importance of a knowledge of botanical science to the geologist

rests on different grounds. Perhaps to him its greatest value may lie in

conferring that training which I have advocated in commenting on the bo-

tanical studies of the physician. But it is also of the greatest use in enabling

him to understand the nature and relations of the numerous fossil remains

of vegetables imbedded in the earth’s strata, and the examination of which

affords such important data for determining the relative ages of formations,

and the conditions under which they were formed. When we recollect that

the great beds of coal, which furnish such a valuable item in the list of our

economical comforts, have been derived from the destruction of ancient

herbs and trees, we must view with astonishment the important part played

by the vegetable kingdom in contributing to the substance of the earth’s

crust.”

At a time when our manuals, local floras, and guide-books have

rejected the Linnzan system, many of our older friends who have

had no other guide to the mysteries of classification, and have been

surprised to see it so suddenly and generally supplanted, will read

with interest the following testimony in its favour :—

*‘ Those who slightingly think of the Linnzean system, as it is termed, forget

in the present to look back fully and fairly on the past. They should re-

mind themselves of the state in which botany was when Linnzeus undertook

to make its treasures consultable. The understanding of things depends

greatly on the perception of their order and relations. When that order and

those relations require deep study ere we can comprehend them clearly, the

man who gives us a clue, however insignificant it may be in its own nature,

is not only conferring on us an invaluable benefit, but endowing the despised

instrument with golden value. Such a clue did Linneus give when he put

forth the sexual system. The scientific systematist, surrounded by the stores

of his herbarium, should not forget that those treasures were often amassed

Bibliographical Notices. ~ 128

in the first instance by adventurous and earnest men, rendering good ser-

vice by their hands and energy, as good in its humble way as that which he

gives by his head and philosophy. It was not to be expected of such men

that in the field they should occupy themselves with thoughts of arrange-

ment or affinity ; their part was to observe and select, and the guide to their.

observation and selection was in most cases no other than the Linnzan sy-

stem. In the scientific hive as in the apiary there must be working-bees and

neuters as well as queens and drones : it is necessary for the economy of the

commonwealth. An easy means of acquiring and arranging information is

a great help to the workmen of science, and no department has gained more

thereby than botany, which, through the facilities afforded by the artificial

method devised by Linnzeus, has had its facts amassed in enormous quan-

tity for the use of its more philosophic votaries, and owes its present ad-

vanced state in a great measure to such humble means.

** The clue to the labyrinth, then, having served such noble purpose be-

comes a consecrated object, and should rather be hung up in the temple than

thrown aside with ignominy. The traveller returning from his adventurous

and perilous journey of discovery, hangs up his knapsack with affection on the

wall of his study. But travellers must return to the fields, if more is to be

done ; and so must botanists, and each must have recourse again and again

to those helps which aided them so well in their earliest journeys.”

We are quite willing to hang this system up in the temple any-

where as long as it does not interfere with plants, and we think, as

far as our own island is concerned, especially since the publication of

Lindley’s ‘ Synopsis,’ the last edition of Hooker’s ‘ Flora’ and Ba-

bington’s ‘ Manual,’ that we should never wish again to disturb its

dignity by carrying it into the fields. In conclusion, we recommend

Professor Forbes’s lecture as well worth the attentive perusal, not

only of the student and teacher of medical. science, but of all who

take an interest in the advancement of sound education. )

Recherches sur Vorganisation, la fructification et la classification de

plusieurs genres d’Algues, avec la déscription de quelques especes

inédites ou peu connues.

Essai @une répartition des Polypiers calciferes de Lamouroue dans la

classe des Algues. Par J. F. Chauvin: Caen, 1842.

These memoirs, which were prepared as academical theses, are of

considerable interest to the algologist, both physiologically and sy-

stematically. Several points regarding obscure or little-known spe-

cies are illustrated, and the different questions which have lately in-

terested algologists are discussed with little of that controversial

tone which has, we know not how, insinuated itself into several re-

cent memoirs on the subject. The notions of Decaisne on the double

fructification of Alge are ably treated, and are, at least, shown to be

premature. ‘The opinion of algologists, both theoretical and prac-

tical, is opposed to them; and Mr. Griffiths especially, who has de-

voted years to the study of the marine Algze, is satisfied that they

are incorrect. We cannot, however, at.present consider the subject

as at all settled, especially supported as it is by what is known of

the germination of Algze.

It appears that there are very many modes of reproduction amongst

124 Bibliographical Notices.

Alge. Dulz, in his third memoir, mentions four modes of reproduc-

tion which he has observed in the Ceramia. Messrs. Crouan have

traced the vegetation of the sphzerospores before their separation into

four distinct bodies, while Agardh has observed the germination of

the spores of which the spherospore are composed, and also that of

the spores contained in the capsules. And in the zoospermic Alge,

both the zoosperms and spores produce perfect plants. The proba-

bility is that all are in the main correct, and that their views are not

irreconcilable, however different they may appear at first; and truth

will appear at length, not by the questioning of the observations of

others, but by the patient and unprejudiced comparison of all.

Much remains to be done as regards the arrangement of Alge, and

it is very much to be desired that Dr. Montagne, who has perhaps

in his hands the largest mass of original matter of any algologist, and

that in great measure ready for publication, would devote his atten-

tion to the subject generally, to which he would, we doubt not, do as

much justice as he has done in his notices of individual genera or

tribes. The ample materials he possesses, his admirable tact in mi-

croscopic researches, his accurate pencil, his intimate acquaintance

with all that has been published in various languages, and above all

his unwearied diligence, his accurate judgement and his very lumi-

nous style of writing, are all guarantees of his especial fitness to

undertake a complete revision of the subject, which could not fail to

promote exceedingly this branch of botany.

It is now proved incontestably that the calciferous Polypiers of La-

mouroux belong to the order of Algz. The memoirs of Kutzing and

Decaisne are decisive on the subject, and the observations made by

Chauvin, which are very judicious and interesting, would tend to

confirm their views, if they needed confirmation. We recommend the

work of the learned Professor, who has been long known to science

by his labours in this beautiful tribe of plants, as one which cannot

fail both to instruct and interest.

As regards the analogies of Podaxinee, M. Montagne remarks, that

Spumaria reminds us of Gyrophragmium ; that Aithalium is of a cel-

luloso-spongy substance, as Secotium; and finally, that there is a colu-

mella in Stemonitis and many other genera.

The memoir closes with the following considerations :—From the

researches of Mr. Berkeley it appears that a multitude of subter-

raneous fungi.(Fungi hypogai), which, after a deceptive analogy, had

been improperly referred to Tuberacee, belong beyond all doubt to

Lycoperdacee, and that these, at least as regards their mode of fruc-

tification, are much nearer to the Hymenomycetes ; while the Tuberacee,

regarded from the same point of view, bear more resemblance to the

Discomycetes of Fries, or to the Hymenotheciea of Persoon, since the

reproductive bodies being contained in asci are real sporidia. The

recent labours of Tulasne and Vittadini have confirmed these obser-

vations, which may now be regarded as established in science.

If now we would follow in thought the succession of different

forms by which, in their ascending series, the fungi of the two fa-

milies to which the names of Hymenomycetes and Gasteromycetes

Geological Society. 125

have been given, it cannot escape our notice, notwithstanding their

apparent difference, that the same plan has presided at their forma-

tion, or in other words, that they possess a unity of structure. We

observe, however, this remarkable circumstance in their mode as in

their degree of evolution, that the one always seek the light, under

the influence of which the principal phenomena of their fructification

take place, while the others pass through the first, or all the phases

of their life, free from the influence of this modifying power ; that is

to say, that they ripen their spores in a closed receptacle, and that

in general this opens only when they are ready for dispersion. The

evolution of the second is, as we may say, of a lower grade than that

of the first. But in comparing Gyrophragmium especially with an

Agaric, it is easy nevertheless to perceive the perfect analogy which

exists between the two series, examined towards their culminating

point. The resemblance would be still more striking and almost

complete, at least as regards external form, if it be proved some day

that Montagnites belongs also to the Gasteromycetes, as we are per-

mitted to suspect from its affinity with Gyrophragmium. It is then

that the simplicity and independence of the partitions,—carried to the

highest degree, since they are fixed to the top of the stem bya single

point, frequently by a short thread, and radiate horizontally like the

gills of an Agaric,—it is then, I say, that this independence and sim-

plicity would raise the Gasteromycetes almost to the same grade as

the Hymenomycetes, always however considered abstractedly of their

morphosis, which is essentially different*.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

February 1, 1843.—‘‘ On the Geological position of the Mastodon

giganteum and associated fossil remains at Bigbone Lick, Kentucky,

and other localities in the United States and Canada.” By Charles

Lyell, Esq., V.P.G.S.

- With a view to ascertain the relations of the soil in which the

bones of the Mastodon are found, to the drift or boulder formation,

whether any important geographical or geological changes had

taken place since they were imbedded, and what species of shells are

associated with them, Mr. Lyell visited a number of places where

they had been obtained. In this paper he gives the result of his

researches.

The most celebrated locality visited was Bigbone Lick, in the

northern part of Kentucky, distant about 25 miles to the S.W. of

Cincinnati, situated on a small tributary of the river Ohio called

Bigbone Creek, which winds for about 7 miles below the Lick before

joining the Ohio. A “Lick” is a place where saline springs break

* The latter part of this article is translated from ‘ L’Institut,’ May 4,

1843,

126 Geological Society.

out, generally among marshes and bogs, to which deer, buffaloes, and

other wild animals resort to drink the brackish water and lick the salt

in summer. ‘The country around Bigbone Lick, and for a consider-

able distance on both banks of the Ohio, above and _ below it, is

composed of blue argillaceous limestone and marl, constituting one of

the oldest members of the transition or Silurian system. The strata

are nearly horizontal and form flat table-lands intersected by nume-

rous valleys in which alluvial gravel and silt occur; but there is no

covering of drift in this region. The drift is abundant in the north-

ern parts of Ohio and Indiana, but disappears almost entirely before

we reach the Ohio.

Until lately herds of buffaloes were in the habit of frequenting

the springs, and the paths made by them are still to be seen. Num-

bers of these animals have been mired in the bogs, and horses and

cows have perished in like manner. Along with their remains are

found innumerable bones of Mastodon, Elephant, and other extinct

quadrupeds, which must have visited these springs when the valley

was in its present geographical condition in almost every particular,

and which must have been mired in them as existing quadrupeds are

at present. The mastodon remains are most numerous and belong

to individuals of all ages. ‘The mud is very deep, black, and soft.

In places it is seen to rest upon the limestone, and at some points

it swells up to the height of several feet above the general level

of the plain and of the river. It is occasionally covered by a

deposit of yellow clay or loam, resembling the silt of the Ohio,

which is from 10 to 20 feet thick, rising to that height above the

creek and often terminating abruptly at its edges. ‘This loam has

all the appearance of having been deposited tranquilly on the sur-

face of the morass and of having afterwards suffered denudation.

The Mastodon and other quadrupeds have been mired before the de-

position of the incumbent silt, for a considerable number of fossil

bones have been found by digging through it. Accompanying the

bones are freshwater and land shells, most of which have been

identified by Mr. Anthony with species now existing in the same

region.

Mr. Lyell observes that the surface of the bog is extremely uneven,

and accounts for it partly by the unequal distribution of the incum-

bent alluvium which presses with a heavy weight on certain parts of

the morass, from which other portions of the surface are entirely free.

He also attributes it in part to the swelling of the bog where it is

fuily saturated with water near the springs.

The author is of opinion that the fossil remains of Bigbone Lick

are much more modern than the deposition of the drift, which

is not present in this district. But although the date of the im-

bedding of these mammalian fossil remains is so extremely mo-

dern, considered geologically, it is impossible to say how many

thousand years may not have elapsed since the Mastodon and other

lost species became extinct. ‘They have been found at the depth of

several feet from the surface, but we have no data for estimating the

Geological Society. 127

rate at which the boggy ground has increased in height, nor do we

know how often during floods its upper portion has been swept

away. |

Ohio.—The Ohio river immediately above and below Cincinnati.

is bounded on its right bank by two terraces consisting of sand, gra-

vel and loam, the lower terrace consisting of beds supposed to be

much newer than those of the upper. In the gravelly beds of the

higher terrace teeth both of the Mastodon and elephant have been

met with. Mr. Lyell was assured that a boulder of gneiss, 12 feet in

diameter, was found resting on the upper terrace, about 4 miles north

of Cincinnati, and that some fragments of granite had been found in

a similar situation at Cincinnati itself. ‘These facts show that some

large erratics have taken up their present position since the older al-

luvium of the Ohio valley was deposited. In travelling northwards

from Cincinnati towards Cleveland, Mr. Lyell found the northern

drift commence in partial patches 25 miles from the former city and

about 5 miles N.E. of Lebanon, after which it continually increased

in thickness as he proceeded towards Lake Erie.

New York—wNiagara Falls.—In a former paper Mr. Lyell alluded

to the position of the remains of Mastodon, 12 feet deep, in a fresh-

water formation on the right bank of the river Niagara at the Falls.

He remarks that if we had not been able to prove that the cataract

had receded nearly four miles since the origin of the fluviatile strata

in question, we should have been unable to assign any considerable

duration of time as having intervened between the inhumation of the

Mastodon in mar! full of existing shells and the present period. The

general covering of drift between Lakes Erie and Ontario is consi-

dered to be of much higher antiquity than the gravel containing the

bones of the Mastodon at the Falls.

Rochester.—In the suburbs of this city remains of the Mastodon

giganteum were found associated with existing species of Mollusca

in gravel and marl below peat.

Genesee.—Here remains of the Mastodon giganteum were found

with existing shells in a small swamp in a cavity of the boulder for-

mation, so that the animal must have sunk after the period of the

drift when a shallow pond fed by springs was inhabited by the same

species of freshwater mollusca as now live on the spot.

Albany and Greene Counties.—Mr. Lyell examined, in company with

Mr. Hall, two swamps west of the Hudson River, where the remains

of Mastodon occurred in both places at a depth of four or five feet,

precisely in such situations as would yield shell marl, and peat,

with remains of existing animals in Scotland. Cattle have recently

been mired in these swamps. 7

According to Mr. Hall the greatest elevation at which Mastodon

bones have been found in the United States is at the town of Hins-

dale, situated on a tributary of the river Allegany in Cattaraugus

county in the State of New York, where they occur at an elevation

of 1500 feet above the level of the sea.

Maryland.—In the museum at Baltimore, Mr. Lyell was shown

the grinder of a Mastodon, distinct from M. giganteum, and which

128 Geological Society.

had been recognised and labelled by Mr. Charlesworth as M. lon-

girostris, Kaup. It was found at the depth of 15 feet from the sur-

face in a bed of marl near Greensburgh, in Carolina County, Mary-

land, and is considered by Mr. Lyell as a miocene fossil.

Atlantic border.—Between the Appalachian mountains and the

Atlantic there is a wide extent of nearly horizontal tertiary strata,

which at the base of the mountains are 500 feet and upwards in

height, but decline in level nearer the ocean and at length give place to

sandy plains and low islands skirting the coast, in which strata con-

taining marine shells of recent species are met with, slightly eleva-

ted above the sea. Occasionally deposits formed in freshwater

swamps occur, below the mean level of the Atlantic or over-

flowed at high tide. In this district Mr. Nuttall discovered, on the

Neuse 15 miles below Newburn, in South Carolina, a large assemblage

of mammalian bones, including those of the Mastodon giganteum, rest-

ing on a deposit containing marine shells of recent species. Mr.

Conrad presented Mr. Lyell with the tooth of a horse covered with

barnacles, from this locality. Professor Owen has examined it and

could find'no corresponding tooth of a recent species, but considers

it as agreeing with the horse-tooth brought by Mr. Darwin from the

north side of the Plata in Entre Rios in South America.

“South Carolina.—Remains of the Mastodon were found in dig-

ging the Santee Canal, in a spot where large quadrupeds might now

sink into the soft boggy ground.

Georgia.—Bones of the Mastodon and Megatherium occur in

this district in swamps formed upon a marine sand containing shells

of species now inhabiting the neighbouring sea.

_ Mr. Lyell in conclusion offers the following observations :—

1. That the extinct animals of Bigbone Lick and those of the At-

lantic border in the Carolinas and in Georgia belong to the same

group, the identical species of Mastodon and elephant being in both

cases associated with the horse, and while we have the Mylodon and

Megatherium in Georgia, the Megalonyx is stated by several authors

to have been found at Bigbone Lick.

2. On both sides of the Appalachian chain, the fossil shells,

whether land or freshwater, accompanying the bones of Mastodons,

agree with species of Mollusca now inhabiting the same regions.

3. Under similar circumstances Mr. Darwin found the Mastodon

and horse in Entre Rios, near the Plata, and the Megatherium, Me-

galonyx and Mylodon, together with the horse, in Bahia Blanca in

Patagonia; these South American remains being shown by their

geological position to be of later date than certain marine Newer

Pliocene, and Post-pliocene strata. Mr. Darwin also ascertained

that some extinct animals of the same group are more modern in

Patagonia than the drift with erratics.

4, The extinct quadrupeds before alluded to in the United States

lived after the deposition of the northern drift, and consequently the

coldness of climate which probably coincided in date with the trans-

portation of the drift, was not as some pretend the cause of their

extinction.

Botanical Society of London. 129

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

July 7th.—J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. &c., President, in the Chair:

Read ‘‘ Observations on Dicranum Dillenii (MSS. T.T.),” by Dr.

Thomas Taylor.

As Dillenius is the first author who has directed the attention of

botanists, seventy-five years ago, by aseparate paper, to the present

moss, his name has been ascribed to it, and yet it is plain that he,

as well as all subsequent muscologists, have confounded it with

Dicranum Scoparium (Linn.). Nor is this without excuse, when we

consider the strong resemblance of the habit of both, their nearly

equal size, their very general occurrence in Europe as well as in the

northern parts of America, and particularly their frequently growing

together in the same woods, or on the same banks, in more open

and mountainous situations. Besides, the present plant varies very

considerably in appearance, so that the one state well figured in

‘English Botany,’ t. 354, as Dicranum Scoparium, would scarcely be

supposed to belong to the same species as another state equally well

represented by Schweegrichen in his ‘ Supplement,’ t. 42, under the

same name. It is the wide limits within which its aspect changes

that probably weighed with the editors of the ‘ Muscologia Britan-

nica’ to give both species, well represented, as varieties only of Di-

cranum Scoparium. Submitted, however, to a rigid scrutiny, Dr. Tay-

lor apprehended that the following distinctive marks would be found

to be constant; and if so, they would appear to be both sufficiently

numerous and sufficiently grave to establish the present species.

1. Dicranum Dillenii, though frequently differing in size, is usually

the smaller moss. 2. Its leaves are not constantly and but slightly

turned to one side, while in Dicranum Scoparium they are more

loosely set and uniformly falcato-secund. 3. In the present the pe-

dicels are solitary, in the other aggregated within the same periche-

tium. 4. In the former the pedicels are opake, even immediately

below the capsule at the period of full maturity ; they are reddish

below and brownish-yellow above; while in the latter, even when

full-grown, they are somewhat pellucid and of a pale straw-colour.

5. In the former the capsule is erect below and slightly curved

above, is nearly equal, has no projecting struma yet, with an apophy-

sis pale brown when ripe; in the latter the capsule is curved even

long before the fall of the calyptra, is very unequal, has a projecting

struma, and is green when just ripe. 6. In the former the opercu-

lum is gradually acuminated and falls after the calyptra; while in

the latter the operculum, with a broad base, is suddenly acuminated,

and usually falls on and with the calyptra. 7. In Dicranum Dillenii

the teeth of the peristome are narrower and more opake. 8. The

stem is often interruptedly leafy. 9. ‘The leaves are shorter, and have

their points less curved. 10. The parts of fructification are greater

in proportion to the size of the plant.

In the museum of the Society occurs a Dicranum from Newfound-

land, from the late Mr. Lambert’s herbarium, which being barren,

and so not admitting of a comparison of the parts of fructification,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Vol. xii.

130 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

Dr. Taylor would not venture to separate from Dicranum Dillenii, and

yet its densely aggregated and shorter stems, its shining lustre and

its less patent leaves, would demand the greatest attention, and

would indicate it as at least a very remarkable variety; but when

we consider its leaves shorter, wider in the lower. half, and their

points more canaliculate, with their nerve serrated at the back, it

must be confessed its claims to be separated are very strong.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.

This Society held its last meeting for the season on Thursday,

July 1843. President, Dr. Neill, in the Chair.

ae following papers were then read :—

1. “On the genera Gomphonema and Meridion,” by Mr. John

— Penzance*.

2. ‘*On four new species of British Fengepniiaia *,” by Thomas

Taylor, M.D., Dunkerron. 3

3. ‘Ona species of Fungus found imbedded in Peat, near Stir-

ling.” Communicated by Mr. Peter Mackenzie, West Plean.

The attention of botanists has recently been directed to the im-

portance of studying the vegetable remains imbedded in peat-mosses,

as calculated to throw light on the early vegetation of the country,

and the successive changes it has undergone. For this object, com-

munications like that from Mr. Mackenzie are much to be desired.

A letter was also read from Dr. Joseph Dickson, St. Helier’s, Jer-

sey, mentioning some interesting additions to the flora of that island

which he had lately discovered, and remarking, that he felt con-

vinced it contains many other species still unknown to botanists.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

October 11, 1842.—R. H. Solly, Esq., in the Chair.

A paper, ‘On the Blood-corpuscles of some of the Struthionide,’

by George Gulliver, Esq., was read.

I had lately an opportunity of examining the blood of a young

Ostrich, killed by accident in the Society’s menagerie. The follow-

ing measurements of the corpuscles are expressed in vulgar fractions

of an English inch :—The average length of the discs = 1-1649 inch,

average breadth of the discs = 1-3000 inch, thickness of the discs

= 1-9166 inch: dimensions of the nuclei, exposed by dilute acetic

acid—length = 1-3200 inch, breadth = 1-9166 inch, diameter of

the pale globules of the blood = 1-3329 inch.

I have given several measurements of the blood-dises of the Emu

and of the Rhea in the ‘ Appendix to Gerber’s Anatomy,’ p. 77, from’

which the following averages are taken :-—

Emu (Dromaius Nove-Hollandie, Vieill.).

Length. Breadth.

1-1690 1-3031

* These papers will be subsequently given at full length in this Journal.

wan IUD,

Zoological Society. 181

American Ostrich (Rhea Americana, Briss.).

Length. Breadth.

1-1898 | ; 1-3273

A comparison of these measurements will show that the. blood-

dises of the common Ostrich are slightly larger than. those of the

Emu and of the Rhea. :

Mr. Fraser laid before the Meeting some new species of Birds;

constituting part of his collection formed at Fernando Po, and cha-

racterized them as follows :— ,

PLATYSTEIRA CASTANEA. Platys. vertice genisque cinereis, mento

albo ; dorso, alis superné, guld et pectore castaneis ; abdomine albo,

Long. tot. 3,5, unc. ; rostri, 555; ale, 2.2; caude, 58; ; tarsi, =.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po. | '

Found among the branches of the naked trees in June, sometimes

in pairs; they are short and thick in form, the feathering being of

downy nature. Its note is short.

This bird differs from Jardine and Selby’s Platyrhynchus Desma-

restii, I. Orn., vol. i. pl. 9. fig. 2, in having the chestnut back and

wings and the short black tail.

PLATYSTEIRA LEUCOPYGIALIS. Platys. (mas) capite, genis, collo,

dorso, alis, caudd et vittd laté pectorali, sic et femoribus e ceruleo

nigris, uropygio, guld et abdomine albis.

Long. tot. 4 unc. ; rostri, 55; ; alee, 2,2; caude, {9 ; tarsi, 75.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

Found in the same situations as P. castaned. -

Fleshy appendages around the eye, red; irides, red hazel; bill,

black ; legs, purplish : the gizzard contained insects. )

This bird differs from Jardine and Selby’s Platyrhynchus collaris,

Ill, Orn., vol. i. pl. 9. fig. 1, in having a white rump, the wings en-

tirely black, the band across the chest much broader, and the fleshy

appendage around the eye red.

PLocevs cotzaris. Ploc. vertice, capitis lateribus, ét mento, nigris,

torque collari lato, castaneo ; rostro nigro, tarsis fuscescentibus,

reliquis purtibus aurantiaco, olivaceo et fuscescente variegatis,

fere ut in Ploceo textore (vide Plocéus Textor, Swains.).

Long. tot. 73%; unc. ; rostri, 15%, ; ale, 4; caude, 34; tarsi, Id. |

Hab: apud Insulam St. Thomas, Afric. occid. |

This bird differs from P. tevtor in being of a greater size, in having

the chestnut collar encircling the neck, and the general colouring of

the body being less vivid.

Evpiectes rurovetatus. Euplec. (mas) vertice et nuchd, nitide

rubris, colore rubro in latera colli ducto; corpore in toto nigro,

iridibus e corylo rubris, tarsis et rostro nigris.

Long. tot. 7 unc.; rostri, 1; ale, 4; caudee, 2,5, ; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

182 Zoological Society.

A very good songster. These birds, although in deep moult (in

June), appeared to be pairing. One specimen was shot from the top

of a very lofty tree, the others much nearer the ground. In an ap-

parently young male the black extends across the forehead.

October 25.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Prof. Owen exhibited a specimen of the Pearly Nautilus (Nautilus

Pompilius), animal and shell, obtained by Capt. E. Belcher, R.N., at

Amboina. Prof. Owen alluded to the fact of the specimen described

by him in 1832 having been detached from the shell, which was de-

stroyed in its capture, and to the analogies which had guided_him in

determining the position in which he had restored the soft parts to

the shell, and figured them, im situ, in his memoir. Objections had

been made to this restoration by Mr. Gray* and by Dr. Grant} and

De Blainvillet, who were led by other analogies to believe that the

upper or outer lip of the shell must have crossed the back of the head,

instead_of crossing the opposite side or funnel, as represented by

Mr. Owen. M. Valenciennes, who had subsequently received the soft

parts of a Nautilus, had adopted the position assigned to them in the

shell by Mr. Owen.

The present example, in which the animal had been restored by

Capt. Belcher to its shell in precisely the same position in which it

was received by him, when recent, closely agreed with the descrip-

tion and figure in Prof. Owen’s work§. The inyoluted spire of the

shell is covered by the dorsal fold of the mantle, and is lodged in

the concavity at the back of the muscular plate above the head. The

funnel rests upon the outer wall of the large chamber containing the

animal.

A paper by G. B. Sowerby, Esq., Jun., containing descriptions of

two new species of shells belonging to the genus Strombus, was then

read. ‘The specimens were collected by the Society’s Corresponding

Member, H. Cuming, Esq., in the Philippine Islands, and exhibited

by that gentleman to the Meeting.

SrromsBus crispatus, Sow. Jun., Thes. Conch. parti. pl. 8. f. 62,

63. Str. testd turritd, fusiformi, concentricé plicatd, spiraliter

striatd ; aperturd ovali, posticé in canalem brevem crispatam desi-

nente ; anticé canali brevi rostratd; labio externo crasso, crenu-

lato ; labio interno crasso ; operculo lateraliter serrato.

Long, 1°5; lat. 0°40 poll.

Hab. Ins. Luzon, Panay, et; Bureas, Philippinarum. H. Cuming

egit.

A finely sculptured species resembling the well-known Sir. jfissu-

rella, but rather more ventricose, with the edges of the posterior

canal free, rather short, and coiled at the extremity. The colour is

pale straw, with three brown bands across the body whorl.

* Phil. Trans. 1833, p. 774. + Lancet, Dec. 28, 1833, pp. 506, 509,

t Nouvelles Animales du Muséum, tom. iii. p. 7.

§ Memoir on the Nautilus Pompilius, 4to, 1832; published by the Royal

College of Surgeons,

Zoological Society. 133

Srromsus puLBuLvs, Sow. Jun., Thes. Conch. parti. pl. 9. f. 81,

82, 83. Str. testd ovali oblongd, levi, spird brevi ; anfractu ul-

timo antic? oblique truncato ; aperturd interne usque ad marginem

striaté; labio externo vir expanso, paululim incrassato ; sinu

antico invalido ; labio interno valido.

Long. 1°45; lat. 0°60 poll.

Hab. Ins. Philippine. H. Cuming legit.

This species differs from S. Terebellatus in being more ventricose,

in having the striee in the aperture extended to the outer margin, and

in having the inner lip more distinct.

Mr. Fraser communicated to the Meeting the following descrip-

tions of new species of Birds, constituting part of the collection he

had formed in the Niger expedition :-—

Pelecanus rufescens, Gmel., vol. i. part 2. p.571. sp. 13; Lath.

Gen. Hist., vol. x. p. 404. sp. 8; Riipp. Atlas, vol. ii. taf. 21.

This specimen was killed at gga, in which place it was seen in

large flocks in the month of October. This was the highest point to

which the Niger expedition ascended. ‘The specimen in question

was killed by the late W. C. Willie, Esq., mate of H.M.S.V. Albert,

and presented to Mr. Fraser by Lieut. J. W. Fairholme, R.N., of

the same expedition.

Syzvia BapicePs. Sylv. (mas) vertice cinnamomino, plumis au-

ricularibus et corpore superiore cinereis ; alis cauddque e cinereo

Suscis ; genis guld, tectricibusque alarum inferioribus albis ; fascid

pectorali nigrd ; corpore inferiore cinereo, apud medium pallidiore.

Iridibus e corylo-fuscis tarsis flavis.

Long. tot. 3}9 unc ; rostri, 65% ; ale, 2-%; caude, 1,5, ; tarsi, =8.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

A small beetle was found in the stomach.

CoccoruraustTEs oLIvAcgeus. Coccoth. capite, collo, pectore, dorso,

alarum tectricibus, corporisque lateribus saturate olivaceo-viridi-

bus ; héc colore ad uropygium, femora et caudam, tectricibus ala-

rum inferioribus, secundariis, rectricumque caude apicibus flavis ;

primariis nigris, ad apicem flavescenti-albis ; secundariis in medida

parte nigris, ad marginem internum albis, ad apicem flavescentibus ;

rostro tarsisque flavis.

Long. tot. 74 unc. ; rostri, 1; ale, 2; caude, 2; tarsi, 3%.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

Nierira Fusconotus. Nigr. capite, collo, tectricibus caude, sic

et rectricibus nitide nigris ; dorso, et plumis scapularibus cinereo-

Suscis ; alis nigrescentibus ; corpore inferiore sordide albo, rostro

tarsisque nigris, iridibus e corylo-fuscis.

Long. tot. 4} unc. ; rostri, $; ale, 21; caudex, 2; tarsi, 3.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

Mr. Fraser stated it as his opinion that the bird above described

belonged to the Fringillide. It certainly appertains to the genus

characterized by Mr. Strickland in the ‘ Proceedings’ for April 1841,

p. 30, under the title Hithiops. This genus was founded upon a bird

134 Zoological Society.

(Aithiops ecanicapillus) also from Fernando Po, specimens of which

Mr. Fraser had obtained and exhibited to the Meeting. Finding the

generic name 4ithiops had been previously used for a genus of

Monkeys, Mr. Fraser had been requested by Mr. Strickland to sub-

stitute for it the new generic title Nigrita, The species described

by the gentleman last mentioned will therefore stand as Nigrita ca-

nicapillus, Strickl.

Amapina Pornsts. Amad. nitide nigra, primariis guttatis, secun-

dariis uropygio, plumisque lateribus albo-fasciatis ; abdomine, tec-

tricibus alarum inferioribus, crissoque albis ; iridibus e corylo-

Suscis ; rostro ceruleo ; tarsis nigris,

Long. tot. 4 unc. ; rostri, s alee, 2; caude, 14; tarsi, 5.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po. |

Very common about Clarence, in flocks of about fifty ; their note

is ‘ tweet-tweet.” The young have a brownish cast; they feed en-

tirely upon seeds of the three-forked grass. The sexes do not differ.

AMADINA BICOLOR. Amad. (mas) corpore superiore, pectore, et

lateribus nigris ; abdomine, tectricibus alarum inferioribus, cris-

soque albis ; rostro ceruleo ; tarsis nigris.

Fem, vel Jun,: colore fusco, fronte genis, guldque nigrescentibus ;

lateribus et uropygio indistincté albo-fasciatis.

Long. tot. 4 unc. ; rostri, 3; ale, 2; caudz, 14; tarsi, 3.

Hab. apud promontorium Cape Palmas dictum.

A third specimen, which is smaller, is entirely brown, without

any indication of the white marks. .

Common in the roofs of the huts belonging to the fish-men of Cape

Palmas, in which situation they breed and commit much mischief,

like our domestic sparrow (Pyrgita domestica, Cuy.). 'The native

name is Saybue.

_ This differs from Amadina Poensis in the absence, in the adult, of

the white markings on the wings, rump, and sides.

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited and described two new species of Mouse,

one collected in the Philippine Islands by H, Cuming, Esq., and the

other forming part of Mr. Gould’s Australian collection,

Mus castaneus. Mus intense castaneus, corpore subtis pallidiore ;

caudd corpore eum capite longiore ; auribus mediocribus.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin,... 2 7

ad basin auris .... 0 8

—— tarsi digitorumque.... cesecccsee 0 73

perererreee UPS as ok ce diele eie'axs 8 pees mens ° 8) 45

CONES 65. FOUTS KL EXTRS . ae teats eae |

rich chestnut-brown colour, at least such is the tint it presents in

spirits; the under parts of the body are rather paler than the upper ;

the feet and tail are uniform in hue with the body. Compared with

the common mouse (M. musculus), it differs in being smaller, in

having the rostrum more slender, and the tail proportionately longer,

Zoological Society. 135

Mus Nova-Houtanpia. Mus supra canus flavescente-lavatus ;

corpore subtis pedibusque albis ; auribus mediocribus ; caudd quoad

longitudinem corpus feré equante.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin,... 3 0

caude, circiter ........ dvtmiambord 1 Q

~ tarsi digitorumgue....sececs-see QO OF

_ Hab, New South Wales.

This mouse was found, together with two young specimens, under

a large slab of bark at Yarrundi, Upper Hunter, New South Wales.

In size and colouring it approaches most nearly to the Mus sylvaticus,

but its tail is considerably shorter than in that animal. In the form

of the skull the present species also approaches the M. sylvaticus,

but the nasal portion of the cranium is shorter; the molar teeth are

of the same structure, but apparently rather larger in proportion.

The fur is rather long and very soft; on the upper parts the hairs

are of a deep grey colour, tipped with brownish yellow; on the belly

the hairs are of a less deep grey colour next the skin, and white ex-

ternally. The tarsi are rather long and slender. The tail is white

beneath and dusky above.

November 8.—R. C. Griffith, Esq., in the Chair.

An extract of a letter from the Society’s President, the Earl of

Derby, was read. His Lordship observes, with reference to some

young Rheas hatched in the menagerie, that the eggs were laid in

one of his Lordship’s paddocks, and were collected into a nest by the

male bird, who sat upon them very perseveringly until the keeper,

thinking the spot selected was too exposed, removed the eggs and

placed them under some Turkeys. ‘They were ultimately, however,

placed in Mr. Appleyard’s hatching apparatus, and in about a week

or ten days were hatched. ‘The letter moreover announces the safe

arrival of three Elands (Antilope Oreas, Pall.) in his Lordship’s me-

nagerie.

A memoir on the anatomy of a species of Calypirea with a ven-

tral shelly valve (Lithedaphus longirostris, Ow.), by Prof. Owen, was

then read. The normal valve secreted by the Lithedaphus resembles

a Calyptrea, and indeed is possibly a variety of the Calyptrea

equestris of authors; but the animal is inclosed, like the Acepha-

lous Mollusks, in a bivalve shell. The additional plate, in the

present instance, Professor Owen shows to be connected with a mo-

dification in the organization of the animal which establishes its

claim to a subgeneric distinction among the Calyptreide. The

specimens dissected were collected by H. Cuming, .Esq. in the Phi-

lippine Islands, and the circumstances connected with this discovery

are recorded by that gentleman in the ‘ Conchologia Systematica’ of

Mr. L. Reeve (vol. ii. p. 31).

« Lithedaphus differs from all previously described Calyptreide in

some well-marked external characters of its soft parts. The head,

instead of being short, broad and flat, is long and subcylindrical ;

136. Zoological Society.

the part anterior to the tentacles being produced in the form of a

proboscis, equalling in length the whole body behind it, and termi-

nated by a clavate extremity. ‘The tentacles or antenne are of pro-

portional length, reaching, in some specimens, to the beginning of

the terminal expansion of the proboscis. ‘The second external cha-

racter is a moderately long subcompressed process, projecting for-

wards between the head and the anterior margin of the foot, like a

second head, but consisting only of a soft duplicature of the mantle,

with muscular fibres for protraction and retraction. In some speci-

mens the apex of this process was expanded and a little produced on

each side. \

“The foot, in the specimens examined, was much smaller in pro-

portion than in Calyptrea or Calypeopsis; it presents a subcircular

form, as in Cal. Sinensis, but only equals half the diameter of the

entire body* ; its whole margin is free, not produced anteriorly into

lobes, as in Calypeopsis. 'The dorsal surface of the mantle is im-

pressed with a deep horse-shoe fissure, receiving the internal plate

of the upper shell. The aperture of the branchial chamber extends

transversely across the back of the head, but conducts to a cavity of

unusually small extent. The contained breathing organs differ not

merely in relative size, but likewise very remarkably in structure,

from the previously dissected Calyptreide. In these the branchiz

consist of a single series of simple, elongated, close-set and very

numerous filaments, extending along the left side of the body in

Calyptrea Sinensis, and making the tour of the mantle in the Caly-

peopsis. In Lithedaphus the branchiz consist of two short parallel

rows of conical, subcompressed, plicated vascular processes, twelve

to fourteen in each row, and limited, like the branchial cavity, to the

anterior part of the dorsal aspect of the body. The heart, lodged in

a wide pericardium, and consisting of a large auricle with thin, sub-

transparent walls, and a small, opake, conical ventricle, is situated

at the left extremity of the branchial chamber, receiving the branchial

veins, and sending its largest artery to the ovarium, which, in the

specimen dissected, formed the left portion of the visceral mass.

The oviduct, at first slender and convoluted, expands on the right

side, where it is disposed in three long folds, which were laden with

unusually large elliptical ova. At its termination, close to the ’

branchial orifice, there is an oval mucous gland, and a short conical

filament projects from the inner surface of the mantle. The proboscis

is surrounded by a thick muscular tunic, inclosing a long, rasp-

* It is here described as contracted in specimens preserved in spirit, the

specimens of Calyptrea and Calypeopsis compared with it being in the

same state. Itis, doubtless, expanded in the living animal, as a thin, mus-

cular and secreting disk over the basal plate. Much sharp criticism has

been expended on the genus Gastroplax, De Blainville. It was founded

in error, no doubt; but future conchologists, who may be tempted to cast a

reflection on its author, should remember that he has rendered services to

Conchology such as few can hope to rival, and will do well to bear in mind,

that the secretion of a shelly valve by the foot of a gastropod is not only a

possibility, but is a reality in nature.

Zoological Society. 187

like, horny tongue, and at its base are two simple salivary follicles.

‘The cesophagus expands into a small stomach, imbedded in a follicu-

lar liver. ‘The intestinal canal is more complicated than in Calyptrea

or Calypeopsis ; it bends towards the left side, and there forms a

small mass of double spiral coils, five or six in number, from which

the rectum is continued along the floor of the branchial chamber, in

the interspace of the gills, to the outlet of that chamber on the right

vse of the neck.

“The nervous system is chiefly distinguished from that of the Ca-

lepiseoeai by the larger relative size and closer approximation of the

supra-cesophageal ganglions, which here equal the inferior masses.

Besides the chords connecting the upper with the lower ganglions,

the upper ganglions give off each three nerves: the largest runs

forward in a zigzag course to the clavate mouth ; the second supplies

the substance of the tentacle ; the third, a slender nerve, goes to the

minute eye-speck on the outer side of the base of the tentacle. The

wavy disposition of these nerves, especially of the rostral pair, clearly

indicates a provision for considerable elongation of the parts which

they supply.

“-¢ Thus the genus Lithedaphus differs from the other known forms

of the Calyptreide in the smaller development of its locomotive and

respiratory organs, and in the greater development of the organs for

the prehension and assimilation of food.

«Probably no oyster, cemented to its native rock, is more fettéred

in its movements than this highly developed gastropod, to which,

however, a voluntary detachment of the foot from the gastric plate

may be possible. M. Dufo however testifies that the only move-

ment he was able to recognise in his Calyptrea Roissit was an ele-

vation of the anterior part of the shell, and a corresponding separa-

tion of it from the supporting plate beneath.

‘The circumstances under which Mr. Cuming discovered his spe-

éimens would hardly be consistent with a greater extent of motion.

The foot, therefore, whose normal functions as an instrument for

traversing space must be restricted to the early age of the Litheda-

phus, may well offer diminished proportions when the animal has

chosen a site for the deposition of its ventral plate and has taken up

a fixed abode. Muscular action being thenceforward much restricted,

the necessity for extensive respiration is in the same degree abolished.

‘The compensation for this abrogation of the power of moving about

in quest of foodgis obviously the great development of the proboscidi-

form head, wate, when outstretched in the living mollusk, must

appear like Some worm moving to and fro from between the valves

of the shell. The tactile organs of sense are co-extended with the

prehensile organ; but the eyes, so useful to the young wandering

mollusk, have much shrunk in the sedentary aged ; and the complete

elaboration of whatever nutriment may be introduced into the system

has been provided for by the long and convoluted alimentary canal.

“These facts in the anatomy of the Lithedaphus, and their harmo-

nious adjustment to its peculiar condition as a sessile gastropod in-

closed in a bivalve shell, leave scarcely any doubt as to this state,

138 Zoological Society.

strange and anomalous though it may seem, being essential to its

nature and of original design.

*« For assuming that the secretion of a ventral plate may be ex-

cited by some accidental position of an individual of a species not

commonly possessing such plate, it would be an extreme hypothesis

to attribute to the consequent abrogation of the locomotive power a

‘“gradual and progressive elongation of the head, during successive

endeavours on the part of the imprisoned mollusk to attain whatever

food might come within its reach.

** And admitting that, the supplies of food being casual and scanty,

the nutriment would require to be longer retained and more com-

pletely assimilated, to conclude that the alimentary canal thereupon

acquired additional convolutions, would be still more hazardous.

But when we find that, the demands upon the respiratory actions

being much diminished after the loss of locomotion, the branchial

apparatus does not merely present .an atrophied state of its usual

structure in the free Calyptreide, but a different condition of that

structure,—two very short gills replacing one very extensive one,

and the form of the branchial filaments being quite different,—the

conclusion seems unavoidable, that the Litheduphus is a good and

constant genus, created with reference to that peculiar mode of life

to which its bivalve shell and other generic characters as a Calyp-

treidan are correlated.”

The next paper read was also from Prof. Owen, and contains an

account of the anatomy of the Pholadomya candida. .'The genus

Pholadomya was founded by G. B. Sowerby, upon certain peculiarities

observable in the structure of a shell which in some of its characters

approaches the genera Solen, Pholas, and Mya, The animal exhibits

the ordinary characters of the Acephala inclusa of Cuvier, being

everywhere shut up in a mantle which gives issue only to the siphonic

tube and the foot; it presents, however, in addition to the pedal and

the two siphonic apertures, a fourth orifice, at the-under part of the

siphon, which is of small size and circular form. This orifice alone,

observes Prof. Owen, is sufficient to distinguish the present mollusk

from any known genus of the Jnelusa. It would seem to be an inlet

for respiratory currents, supplementary to the ordinary ventral siphon.

The animal, compared with that of the Panopea australis, the cha-

racters of which are detailed by M. Valenciennes, is distinguishable

not only by an accessory bifurcate foot and valvular aperture, but

by its undivided branchiz and some other less marked characters;

nevertheless the affinity to Panopea, as indicated by the hinge of the

shell, is illustrated by a closer general resemblance of its soft parts

to that genus than to Mya, Solen, or Pholas. These two papers,

from the pen of Prof. Owen, and of which the above is a brief abs-

tract, are illustrated with beautifully executed drawings.

Dr. Pfeiffer’s descriptions of new species of Shells collected by

H, Cuming, Esq. in the Philippine Islands, were then read,

-Hexrx cromyopes. Hel. testd imperforatd, depresso-globosd,

Zoological Society. 189

tenuissimda, pellucidd, olivaceo-fulvd, apice violaced; anfractibus

4 planiusculis, ultimo magno, medio fascid latd albd cingulato et

epidermide tenuissimd cinerascente fasciatim ornato ; columelld

perobliqua, latd, albé ; aperturd lunato-ovali; peristomate sim-

plici, exwpanso, margine rufo-violascente.

Diam. 14 poll.; altit. 103 lin.

Hab. Cagayan, province Misamis of the island Mindanao, Found

on leaves of trees. :

Hetrx taneuipa. Hel. testd imperforatd, globosd, tenuiusculd,

regulariter et confertim oblique striatd, apice obtuso lutescente, an-

fractu ultimo rufo, epidermide hydrophand cinerascente induta

albo-lineolatd, basi nudo, nitido ; suturd lined fuscd nitidd, notatd ;

anfractibus 44 convexiusculis ; columella verticali, albo-callosd ;

aperturd subovali ; peristomate .... ?

Diam. et altit. 15 lin.

Two specimens only were found, not yet perfect, on leaves of

palms in the island of Siquijor. ‘These resemble some of the varieties

of Bulimus meteformis, but are more globular.

* Hexix Burra, Pf. an Nanina? fel. testd subperforatd, globoso-

depressd, tenuissimd, pellucida, striis confertis spiralibus et obli-

quis minutissime decussatd, subcarinatd, pallide fulvd, ad carinam

rufo-cingulatd; suturd vie impressd ; spird pariim exsertd ; an-

Fractibus 4 planiusculis ; aperturd lunato-rotundatd, intis marga-

ritaced, unifasciatd ; peristomate simplici, margine supero intror-

sim flexo, columellari vir expanso.

Diam. 1°60; altit. 0°90 poll.

Hab. Provincia Albay insule Lugon.

In form it resembles Nanina bistrialis, Beck.

Hewix potoiopes. fel, testdé imperforatd, depressd, solidd, sub

epidermide corticind (strigis saturatioribus variegatd), nitide nigri-

canti-rufd ; spird subplanulatd ; suturd profundd ; anfractibus 44

convexis ; columella subrectd, perobliqud, subexcavata ; apertura

late lunari, intis lividd ; peristomate incrassato, reflexo, fusco,

Diam. 144; altit. 9 lin.

Hab, Argao (island of Zebu) : on leaves of trees.

Heuix TepHropes. Hel. testd imperforatd, subglobosd, solidd,

ponderosd, superne rufd, strigis latis epidermidis cineree hydro-

phane fere obducta, basi stramined, rufo-fasciatd ; anfractibus 44

convexis, supremis depressis, denudatis, rufescentibus ; columellé

latd, albd, suburcuatd ; aperturd lunato-orbiculari, intis albé ;

peristomate simplici, reflexo.

Diam. 19 ; altit. 154 lin.

Hab, Sual (province of Pangasinan, Lugon) : on leaves of bushes.

Hexrx unica. Hel. testd imperforatd, globosd, solidiusculd, oblique

striatuld, albidd ; suturd profundd ; anfractibus 5% inflatis, supre-

mis planiusculis ; columella profunde intrante, arcuatd, subcana-

liculatd ; aperturd perobliqud, suborbiculari, intis albd; peristo-

140 Zoological Society.

mate late expanso, basi incrassato, intds fulvido, marginibus ap-

proximatis.

Diam. 19; altit. 144 lin.

Hab. Samboanga, of the island of Mindanao.

This species, of which no more than one specimen was found, is

very similar to Hel. mammilla, figured by Férussac and by Quoy and

Gaimard, but the shell is almost smooth and quite imperforated.

Buximus cocuuiopes. Bul. testé imperforatd, turritd, solidd, ob-

liqué trregulariter striata, apice obtusiusculd, albidé ; suturd im-

pressa ; anfractibus 9 planiusculis ; ultimo 4 longitudinis equante ;

columellé subincrassatd ; aperturd oblongo-ovali ; peristomate sim-

plicit, recto.

Long. 2 poll. ; diam. 6 lin.

One specimen was found at the island of Cuyo.

Buuimus Cuyornsis. _ Bul. testd subperforatd, ovato-pyramidatd,

glabriusculd, nitiduld, cinnamomeo-fulvidd, strigis flexuosis palli-

dioribus et fascia unica rufescente ornatd ; suturd levi ; anfractibus

54 planiusculis, ultimo 1 longitudinis vie superante ; columella

brevi, incrassatd, late reflead ; apertura ovali ; peristomate tenui,

parim expanso.

Long. 15; diam. 74 lin.

Hab. Island of Cuyo. One specimen was found, on leaves of trees.

Buuimus Errusus. Bul. testd imperforatd, ovatd, solidiusculd, ob-

lique minutissimé striatd, nitidd, albd ; anfractibus 5 convexrius-

culis, uliimo spiram vie equante; columelld obliqud, dilatatd ;

aperturd perobliqud, lunato-ovali ; peristomate simplict, valde ex-

panso.

Long. 194; diam. 14 lin.

Hab. Island of Tablas.

B. Anfractu ultimo subtis fascid 1 fulvd ornato.

This species resembles somewhat the Bul. Cumingi, but it differs

in having the shell more solid, the aperture more oblique, the colu-

mella oblique and simple, and the last whorl shorter.

Buiimus macrostoma. Jul. testd imperforatd, ovatd, solidius-

culd, rufo-nigricante, apice pallidiore, epidermide hydrophand fuscd

indutd, lineis nigris circumdatd ; anfractibus 6 convexiusculis, ul-

timo spiram subequante ; columelld verticali, dilatatd, medio sub-

incrassatd ; aperturd latd, lunato-ovali, intis albd ; peristomate

expanso, subincrassato, intis saturate fusco, margine dextro valdé

arcuato.

Long. 304; diam. 194 lin.

Hab. Dolores, province of Pampanga, in the island of Lugon:

found on trunks of trees.

{. Anfractu ultimo medio bifasciato, fascid superiore angustd, ni-

grd, alterd adnatd latiore, albidd,

Long. 34; diam. 224 lin.

From Sual (island of Lucon) : on leaves of trees.

Buitimus Romstonensis. Bul, testd imperforatd, ovato-pyramidatd,

Zoological Society. 141

tenui, striis obliquis et transversis confertis obsolete decussatd,

albidd, rufo-trifasciatd, epidermide hydrophand decidud, liberd,

praesertim in fasciis, maculatd ; anfractibus 64 planiusculis, ultimo

4 longitudinis vix superante ; columelld subrectd, angustd, planatd ;

aperturd ovali ; peristomate simplici, subexpanso.

Long. 2 poll. ; diam. 11} lin,

Hab. The island of Romblon, on leaves of trees. It is perhaps an

Achatina.

Butimvus soxipus. Bul. testd imperforatd, ovato-oblongd, solidd,

oblique striatd, saturate rufa, epidermide Susco-albd irregulariter

strigatd ; spird conicd, sursim pallescente ; anfractibus 7 vir con-

vexiusculis, ultimo spird pauld breviore ; columelld rectd, basi sub-

intortd ; aperturd auriformi, lateraliter subeffusd, intis albidd ;

peristomate subreflexo, intis rufo-nigricante, marginibus callo lato

tenut junctis.

Long. 41; diam. 214 lin. |

Hab. S. Juan, province of Cagayan (island of Lucon).

Var. testd magis inflatd, anfractu ultimo medio albido-fasciato.

Long. 39; diam. 224 lin.

Hab. Sual, province of Pangasinan (island of Lu¢on).

Burimus suscarinatus. Bul, testd imperforatd, pyramidatd, tenut,

striis obliquis et spiralibus confertissimis minuté decussatd, albidd,

diaphand, epidermide fuscescente, hydrophand irregulariter stri-

gatd, ad suturam fascid pallide fulvescente ornatd ; anfractibus 63

planiusculis, ultimo 2 longitudinis subequante, obsolete carinato ;

columella rectd, pland, angustd ; aperturd oblongo-subtetragond,

intis albd ; peristomate simplici, parim expanso.

Long. 224; diam. 124 lin.

Hab. The island of Romblon, on leaves of trees.

Buxtimus user. Bul. testd imperforatd, ovatd, apice obtusd, tenui,

subdiaphand, lutescenti-albidd, oblique regulariter et confertim

striatd ; spird semiglobosd ; suturd impressd, albo-marginatd ; an-

fractibus 4 inflatis, ultimo spiram superante ; columella subrectd,

prope basin subincrassatd ; aperturd ovali; peristomate simplici,

_ late expanso.

Long. 244; diam. 16 lin.

Hab. The island of Guimaras, on leaves of trees.

Butimvus virens. Bul. testd imperforatd, ovato-pyramidatd, tenui,

leviusculd, nitidd, albd, anfractu ultimo pallid viridi ; anfractibus

7 planiusculis, ultimo 4 longitudinis vix superante, obsolet? angu-

lato ; columelld subrectd, prope basin subincrassatd, albd ; aperturd

obliqud, lunato-ovali ; peristomate recto, vix incrassato.

Long. 27; diam. 144 lin.

Hab. Island of Burias: on leaves of trees. In form it resembles

Bul. carinatus, Lea.

November 22.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following paper, by M. C. A. Récluz, entitled ‘“ Descriptions

of yarious species of Navicella, collected by Mr. Cuming in the Phi-

142 Zoological Society.

lippine Islands,” was communicated by H. Cuming, Esq., Correspond-

ing Member, who exhibited specimens to the Meeting in illustration

of the descriptions. BX a

The longitudinal diameter of the Navicelle described in this cata-

logue has been taken from the anterior to the posterior side, and the

transverse diameter from the summit to the base of the external

opening; in its broadest part.

- 1, NaviceLua JANELLI, Récluz, Revue Cuviérienne, 1841. p. 376.

Vo. 9.

Var. a. Testd ellipticd, converd, crassiusculd, vie cancellatd, lineis

nigris reticulatd, interstitiis lutescentibus.

Var. 2. T. lineis nigris supern? reticulatis, antice remotiusculis, sub-

aquidistantibus ; aperturd margine cinereo-nigrescente, in fundo

aurantid, interdum nigro-maculatd.

Var. y. T. dorso nigro late pictd et maculis concoloribus variegatd,

antic? lineis nigris radiatd, postice dense lineolatd ; labio lateraliter

emarginato, medio subproducto ac rectiusculo.

Var. 0. T. lutescente, dorso transversim late et remote nigro undatd ;

zonis interdum antice conico-angulatis. .

Var. e. T. orbiculari, dorso nigerrimd, maculis lutescentibus sparsis

notatd, margine breve lineatd, postice lateraliter, interdum luteo-

viridescente ; aperturd margine cinereo-nigrescente.

Dimensions.—Var. a, 1°80 poll. longa; 1°28 ad 1°40 lata; 0°76

ad 0°80 convexa. Var. e, long. 1°20 ad 1°40; lat. 0°96 ad 1:08;

conv. 0°48 ad 0°52 poll. 3

Hab. ad Insulas Philippinas. Var. a and y from Agoo, province of

Pangasinan, island of Lugon: on stones in a rapid river. ‘The var.

B, 6, and e, from Iba, province of Sambales, island of Lucon: on

stones in a deep river.

The only difference I find between the varieties brought from the

Philippine Islands and those from Guam (of which I have only been

able to examine a single specimen) is, that the former are rather more

solid and more convex. As to form and colour, they are too variable

to dwell upon.

The operculum of this Navicella has particular characters, which

it is important should be known, as confirming the specific value of

this shell. f

Operculum almost square, rather longer than broad, subconvex

above, of a light bluish black mingled with flesh-colour, striated upon

the surface and upon the anterior side, divided by a broad and. shal-

low canal, ending in a deep and wide anterior notch, which is cut

square at the base. The canal and notch are bounded on the right

by a smooth, linear, flesh-coloured rib, which is a little prolonged

and truncated at the end witha furrow throughout its length... The

left side of its inferior surface is striated above, sinuous at.the margm

and finely denticulated at its base, which is of a rosy red.

9. Navicurna vanrabrtis, N. testd ellipticd, striis viz sub lente can-

cellatd, lineolis transversis undulatis obsoletisque sepiis confliien-

tibus olivaceis et maculis lutescentibus nigrescente antice obumbratis

Zoological Society. 143

variegatd ; apice marginali eroso, retusissimo ; labio albo, postice

aurantio, margine subrecto; aperturd albido-cerulescente.

Long. 1°16 ad 1°28; lat. 0°80 ad 0°84; conv. 0°46 ad 0:54 poll.

Var. 3. T. ovatd, postice subtruncatd, tenuiusculd ; upice ante mar-

ginem inserto, deroso.

Long. 1°24 ad 1°28; lat. 1:10 ad 1°14; conv. 0°52 ad 0°56 poll.

Hab. Cagayan, province of Misamis, island of Mindanao: found

on stones in a large river.

Although these two varieties appear to differ from each other in

the position of the summit, I do not think they can be separated.

Nevertheless the operculum varies perceptibly, and if their respéctive

characters proved constant, which it would be necessary to verify by

examining a certain number of specimens, then alone could one be

distinguished from the other. The stirface of this Navicella shows

upon the anterior side longitudinal striz, as deeply impressed as the

transverse ones. a

The operculum of the type is blackish throughout, except at the

base, which is of an orange-red. The anterior side is notched. The

dental apophysis is linear, smooth, a little raised, faintly striated both

longitudinally and transversely. ‘The external margin of this tooth

projects but little, and its inferior part shows the commencement of

a crest, but without teeth.

The operculum of the variety is of a rosy colour, with the inferior

margin of an orange-red; the anterior side is more slightly notched

in the middle, its dental apophysis projects rather more, and is linear,

smooth, and divided by a longitudinal groove. The external margin

of this tooth is narrow, without any trace of a denticulated crest at

its base. ;

3. NAvICELLA suBORBICULARIS. Sowerby, Cat.Tank. App. p. 10.

No. 1092; Récluz in Guérin, Rev. Cuv. 1841. p. 377. No. 10.

Var, 8. Récluz, l.c.; Rumph. Mus, Amb. p. 40. f. 0. Optime.

Var. y. Minori, tenuiori.

Hab. ad Insulas Philippinas. From the island of Camiguing : found.

on stones in mountain-streams. Var. 3, from Cagayan, province of

Misamis, island of Mindanao: on stones in a large river. Var. y,

from. Banguey, province of North Ylocos, island of Lucon : found on

stones in a small stream.

I see neither in the general form nor in the operculum of these

varieties any character sufficient to distinguish them from the type:

the colour alone is variable. .

The operculum is of a pale flesh-colour, flattened with an arched

notch at the anterior side. ‘The apophysis projecting, smooth, a

little more arcuated than that of the operculum of Nav. Janelli; its

external margin is narrower, almost straight, finely crenulated in its

lower half. ‘The posterior border is very thin and of a dirty red.

4, Naviceiia Luzonica, Souleyet. NN. testd ellipticd, rufo-fuscd

seu olivaced unicolori seu nigro obsolete reticulatd aut punctatd,

lateribus compressiusculd, dorso valde convexd, solidd ; apice ad

marginem posteriorem incurvo, subintegro ac eroso; labio semi-

144. Zoological Society.

lunari aurantio, antice rectiusculo ; aperturd albido-cerulescente,

margine posteriore laterali nigrescente.

Nav. Luzonica, Souleyet, Rev. Cuv. 1841. p. 375. No. 6. Junior.

Var. 8. T. olivaceo-fuscescente, maculis minimis lutescentibus vix

nigrescente marginatis irroratd.

Var. y. T. rufo-fuscd immaculatd ; apice deroso, convexo.

Var. 0. T. rufo-fuscd, postice tenuissime nigro et lutescenti longi-

tudinaliter lineolatd,maculisque minimis lutescentibus conicis nigro-

marginatis, obsoletisque (sub lente) pictd.

Var. e. T. rufo-fused, inter oculum et laminam maculis minimis sub-

nigrescentibus adspersd.

Var. £. T. minori, tenuiori, olivaced, postic? lineolatd, supra nigro

tenuissime reticulatd, antice maculis squamiformibus pictd, labio

stramineo, nigrescente circumvallato.

Long. 1:28 ad 1°60; lat. 0°84 ad 1:12°; conv. 0:52 ad 0°76 poll.

Hab. From Dingle, province of Ylo Ylo, island of Panay: found

in a placid river on stones. The var. y and 0, from Cagayan, pro-

vince of Misamis, island of Mindanao: on stones in a large river.

Var. e, from the mountains of the island of Negros: found on the

rocky bed of a small stream.

The individual which served as type to M. Souleyet was young,

and had been brought home in spirits of wine, which hindered him

from seeing the black lines which adorn the external surface of this

Navicella. There is then no difference between his specimen and

these of Mr. Cuming.

The operculum of this Navicella is rose-coloured, clouded with

white and blue, but the rose-colour predominates. The notch of its

anterior portion is somewhat rounded; its subarcuated apophysis

bears a longitudinal groove more or less impressed; ‘the external

margin of this apophysis is tolerably large, and rather concave below

the middle, at the usual origin of the crest, which is wanting in this

species. The inferior or internal surface is of a pale flesh-colour,

with a blackish tint on its left margin. The muscular impression

is rose-colour, very shining, almost square, truncated anteriorly and

upon the left side, somewhat rounded at its base, straight and oblique

on the right side, with an acute angle at its base.

This operculum varies in form and colour; its notch in one indi-

vidual had the form of a A, or profoundly acute; in others it was

very open: some are altogether rose-coloured, others rosy on one

side, yellow on the other, and blackish in the middle; others again

almost entirely of a bluish tint, and mingled with these various co-

lours.

The summit, sometimes almost entire or decorticated only, is at

other times entirely eroded at its inferior surface; it is prolonged

upon the posterior margin of the opening, though not beyond, and

there it is worn away, as if it had been rubbed upon a grindstone.

5, Navicetua Cuminerana. N. testd orbiculari seu ovatd, converd,

solidd, via striaté luteo-fuscescente, lineis concentricis nigris un-

dulatis arcuatisve interdum reticulatis cinctd; apice marginali

Zoological Society. 145

eroso, retuso; labio plano, albo, antice in medio producto ; aperturd

albd, cordiformi.

Var. 3. T. nigro-reticulatd, lutescente maculatd et subfasciatd.

Var. y. T. ovato-ellipticd, dilute olivaced, postice lineolis nigris

transversis, interdum majoribus et remotis notatd.

Hab. Var. a et ¢ from a mountain-stream in the island of Cama-

guing. Var. 6 from Cagayan, island of Mindanao.

Long. 1:00 ad 1°20; lat. 0°84 ad 0°92; conv. 0°40 ad 0°56 poll.

The columella is 0°24 to 0°28 poll. in diameter. 7

Operculum irregularly oval, of an uniform white or rayed with

rose-colour above, profoundly notched anteriorly ; the notch rounded

at its base. The apophysary rib is only apparent at the anterior

summit of the operculum ; it projects but little, and is nearly acute.

Its external margin is oblong, very thin and very smooth ; the left or

opposite margin is striated, somewhat imbricated above, and crenu-

lated throughout its extent. The inferior surface is of a pale uniform

flesh-colour. The subrotund or oboval muscular impression is of a

rose-red anteriorly, and of a dark red at the base. Upon the oper-

culum of the var. y the left margin is completely wanting, which

gives an oblong and a subtriangular form to the muscular i impres-

sion. ‘These characters are only accidental.

I have dedicated this interesting species to Mr. Cuming, whose

numerous discoveries in natural history have enriched science with

a crowd of new facts, as a testimony of my esteem.

6. Navicetta Ciyprotum. N. testd ovato-oblongd, antice et postice

rotundatd, tenue et concentrice striatd, lineolis nigro-violaceis seu

purpurascentibus, interdum confluentibus et maculis albido-lutescen-

tibus oblongis elongatisve nigro-marginatis sub-serialibus et passim

radiis pallidis binis pictd ; apice brevi ad dextram viz obliquante,

ante marginem posito ; labio semilunari, convexiusculo, fuscescente ;

aperturd patuld.

Var. 2. T. olivaceo-nigricante, maculis obsoletis ; apice eroso ; labio

latiore, carneo, in medio subproducto, recto.

Var. y. T. olivaced, lutescente maculatd, in medio ventre obsolete

_ biradiatd ; apice purpurascente, labio fuscescente.

Var. 6. T. atratd, immaculaté ; apice eroso ; labio et margine aper-

ture carneo-fuscescentibus.

Var. e. T. nigrescente lineolatd pallide virescente radiatd et macu-

latd, apice submarginali roseo, integerrimo.

Var. Z. T. fuscescente maculis linearibus albidis nigro acut® margi-

natis obsoletis sparsis variegatd ; apice purpurascente ; labio et

margine aperture dilute fuscis.

Long. 0°80 ad 1°32; lat. 0°76 ad 0°92; conv. 0°24 ad 0°48 poll.

Hab. Var. 3 and y from Cagayan. Var. a and e from Banguey,

province of North Ylocos, island of Lucon: found on ‘stones in a

mountain stream. Var. y, island of Guimaras, on the rocky bed of

a small stream. Var. 0, rocky bed of a stream in the mountains of

the isle of Negros. The type itself is found at Pasuguing, province

of North Ylocos, island of Lucon.

Operculum almost square, thin, of a rose-colour, cut squarely an-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xu.

146 Zoological Society.

teriorly, with a projecting, obtuse, linear tooth, which is divided by

a slightly impressed longitudinal groove ; the right margin very nar-

row, very thin, and without crest.

It is possible that this species may prove only a stronger, more

robust state of the Nav. tessellata ; nevertheless it differs in its gene-

ral form, and its operculum also shows some differential characters.

7. NAVICELLA TESSELLATA, Lamarck.

Var. a. T. lateribus angustatd, subrectis ; sub epidermide lutescente

lineolis violaceis seu purpureis creberrimis, et maculis conicis con-

centrice seridtis picta ; vertice recto, luteo ; labio triangulari, antice

subarcuato, lateribus prolongato.

Var. B. T. ut in var. a, sed postice subemarginatd; griseo-fuscd,

maculis minoribus luteo-fuscescentibus conicis crebré pictd; apice

dilute purpurascente, recto ; labio subtriangulari, angusto, roseo,

antice arcuato.

Var. y.? T. oblongo-ellipticd, anticé et postice rotundatd, crassiore

sive oblongo-acuta, lateribus angustatd, nigerrimd, apice eroso ;

labio semilunari, interdum triangulari, latiore, subrecto, lateribus

non prolongatis.

An Nav. Clypeolum, var.? credo, sed difficile est probandi sine

operculo. :

Long. 0°80 ad 0°92; lat. 0°76 ad 0°92; cony. 0°24 ad 0°48 poll.

Hab. Var. a, Cagayan: found in a large river on stones. Var. /3,

from Baccara, province of North Ylocos, island of Lucon : found on

stones ina placid river. Var. y.?, from Abulug, province of Cagayan,

island of Lucon: found on stones in a large river.

Operculum square, a little elongated, narrow, and cut almost

square anteriorly, with a slight notch towards the apophysis, which

is slightly curved inwards (instead of being straight or turned back-

wards, as in that of Nav. clypeolum). 'The inclined angle of the

middle of the left side is deeper, and in this species shows a depres-

sion or broad canal, in form of a A, the whole length of the apophy-

sis ; this canal is limited to the left by two slightly raised ribs.

These characters of the operculum, if they be constant, should

suffice to avoid all confusion of this species and the one which pre-

cedes,

_ 8. NaviceLua tingata, Lamarck.

Var. a. T. oblongd, postice acutd, luteo-aured, superné lineis spa-

diceis radiantibus ex lineolis transversis obumbratis, antice et late-

raliter maculis oblongo-conicis subserialibus pictd ; apice lateraliter

compresso, supra fornicato, roseo-purpurascente recto, marginali ;

labio angusto-triangulari, medio concavo-emarginato, lateribus an-

tice prolongatis.

Var. 6. T. ellipticd, postice angustatd, luted medio dorsi lineis ni-

gris angustis et latiusculis, et lineolis obliquis creberrimis radiis

latioribus lateraliter efformantibus interdum confluentibus pictd,

labio triangulari anticé arcuato.

Var. y. T. oblongd, postice angustd, subacutd, luted radiis angustis

nigris medio dorsi notata, antice et lateraliter crebré nigrescente

Zowlogical Society. 147

lineolatd, et maculis linearibus luteis subseriatis pictd ; apice sub-

violascente ; labio triangulari, antic? arcuatim excavato.

Var. 6. T. elongatd, lateribus compressd, dorso convexo-fornicatd,

antice subacuto, interdum truncato ; luteo -fuscescente, maculis ob-

longis aatice nigris acutis lateraliter lineolis tenuissimis obsoletis-

que obumbratis pictd; apice interdum nigrescente, labio triangu-.

lari, luteo-fuscescente.

Var. e. T. oblongo-ellipticd, lateribus compressa, lineolis pallide

Suscis aut purpurascentibus, et maculis oblongo-conicis luteis picta ;

radiis binis, pallide luteis in medio dorsi notaid ; labio triangulari,

antice arcuato.

Var. a: long. 0°88 ad 1°08; lat. 0°44 ad 0°56 ; conv. 0°24 ad 0°48

poll. Var. 8 and y: long. 0° 96 ad 1°04; Jat. 0:60 ad 0°64; conv.

0°32 ad 0°36. Var. 6: long. 0°52 ad 0: 64; lat. 0°32; conv. 0°28

ad 0°32.

Hab. Var. a, from Banguey, province of North Ylocos: on stones

in a mountain-stream. Var. 6, from Cagayan: on stones in a ph

river. Var. 0, from Baccara: on stones in a rapid river. Var. e.

cum precedenti.

All these varieties are very remarkable, and, with the exception

of var. e, whose operculum I have not seen, all certainly belong to .

the same species. The operculum of Nav. lineata is oblong, very

thin, pale yellow, a little inclined to pale green, rounded behind,

notched before, notch in an oblique line at the base. The left side.

of this operculum is slightly arcuated in the centre; the right side

almost rectilinear and limited by an apophysary tooth, very narrow

and a little prolonged anteriorly. Muscular impression triangular,

elongated, inclined obliquely to the left.

9. NavicELLA ENTRECASTAUXI, Récluz. Rey. Cuvier. p. 380,

No. 14.

Var. 2. T. obovatd, nigro-purpurascente, concentrice et crebre lineo-

latd, maculis luteis conicis aut subquadratis pictd ; apice purpura-

scente marginali, non exserto ; aperturd albido-cerulescente.

Long. 0°80 ad 0°90; lat. 0°56 ad 0°60; cony. 0°20 ad 0°28 poll.

Hab. ad insulas Philippinas.

Operculum almost square, of the form and sculpture of that of

Nav. tessellata, offering however some characters which the state

of that which was submitted to me does not allow me to judge of

with certainty. Its colour is of a rosy white, and yellow in the cen-

tre. It is possible that the N. Entrecastauzi may prove only an

oboval variety, with a marginal summit of N. tessellata. When I

shall have seen a greater number of specimens with their opercula

I may be enabled. to pronounce with more certainty.

It results from this examination of the Navicelle collected by Mr.

Cuming, together with those I have had an opportunity of studying

up to the present time—lst, that the number of known species of

this genus amounts at present to eighteen; 2ndly, that the Asiatic

Islands is that part of the world which contains the greater number

of species; and 38rdly, that Polynesia is afterwards the most rich

locality in species of this genus.

148° . Miscellaneous.

' MISCELLANEOUS.

ON SUBSTANCES INCLOSED IN AGATE.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.

Bulford, June 6, 1843.

- Srr,—I send you a sketch of some bodies contained in a brownish

agate which I have, so nearly resembling those represented in the

plate illustrating the paper by Karl Mueller, M.D., translated and

communicated by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley *, that I cannot resist

troubling you with my ideas on the nature of those bodies repre-

sented in figure 10 of your plate. Many of those in my agate are

precisely of similar forms, but I have only figured those which illus-

trate my idea of their nature.

I believe them to be imperfectly formed crystals, probably of red

oxide of iron, as their colour is so precisely similar to that substance.

No. 1. is, I think, evidently an imperfectly formed octohedron

with rounded edges, or rather several imperfect crystals of that form

superimposed on each other, as represented at figure 6 and 6 a.

‘The other figures more nearly resemble the figures in your plate.

No. 4. shows an imperfect facet, but the lines bounding the angles

of the crystal in all the other figures are curvilinear, and give them

a rounded appearance.

The general description of the bodies seen by M. K. Mueller so

nearly tallies with those in my agate, that I can scarcely doubt of

their identity. Your obedient servant, —

A. Sourusy.

DESCRIPTION OF WOODCUTS.

Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Various bodies contained in the agate 7 at B.

Fig. 7, A. A band in the agate composed of red matter, evidently of the same

substance of which 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are formed.

Figs. 6 and 6 a. represent a crystal which shows some general resemblance

to the bodies figured above.

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRAY-FISH. BY M. JOLY.

Encouraged by the Academy of Sciences to continue my re-

searches on the freshwater Crustaceans, I first devoted my attention

to the embrycgeny of the cray-fish, Astacus fluviatilis, Gesner, on

* See Annals, vol. xi. p.415, Plate X.—Eb.

Miscellaneous. 149

which subject Dr. Rathke and Mr. J. V. Thompson have pronounced

such decided, but altogether contradictory, opinions. Thanks to the

kindness of some friends of science, I have been able to obtain a

considerable number of females, and tu follow, day by day, the de-

velopment of the embryo in the egg. I hasten to announce that my

observations agree entirely with those of the learned naturalist of

Dantzig, which have moreover already been confirmed by the testi-

mony of M. Duvernoy.

However contrary this fact may be to the views which I sought

to establish in my memoir on Caridina Desmarestii, I lose no time in

publishing it.

The remarkable exception which the absence of metamorphosis in

the Astacus fluviatilis presents, may, in my opinion, obtain an expla-

nation, which I submit to the judgement of the Academy. | Accord-

ing to the observation of M. Duvernoy, the eggs of the cray-fish are

in small number, but of very large size compared to that of the ani-

mal. Those of the lobster (Cancer Homardus), of the spiny lobster

(Cancer gammarus), and of the greater part of the other Decapods,

are, on the contrary, small and very numerous. The former, conse-

quently, would contain a quantity of vitellus sufficient to enable the

complete development of the embryo to take place in their interior :

the latter, being placed under totally different circumstances, would

only admit of an imperfect development of the animal, which would

break its envelope prematurely in order to complete its embryonal

life amidst the waters*.—Comptes Rendus for July 3, 1843.

SALIX CUSPIDATA.

The Rey. W. A. Leighton found this tree some years since near

Shrewsbury, but was unable to meet with it again. A few days since

Mr. Leighton and I had the pleasure of again finding two trees of it

(probably the same seen before) at about 53 miles from Shrewsbury,

by the side of the road to Pontesford. We had not time.to go nearer

to the hills in search of it, but I think it highly probable that a

careful search will prove its existence in that district. This is the

tree that is called S. Meyeriana in Leighton’s ‘ Flora of Shropshire,’

but referred with apparent reason to S. cuspidata by Koch in the

‘ Syn. Fl. Germ.’—C, C. B.

OCCURRENCE OF THE GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GrentLemen,—The Cuculus Glandarius, or Great Spotted Cuckoo,

was taken near Clifden in the county of Galway last spring. I have

seen the specimen, which is the property of Mr. Creighton of Clifden.

As it is the first noticed occurrence of this bird in the British Islands,

you will oblige me by making it known through the medium of the

‘ Annals of Natural History.’ Very truly yours,

Granby Row, Dublin, July 19, 1843. R. Batu.

* Dr. Rathke’s recent observations on the development of the Decapod

Crustacea, with which the author does not seem to be acquainted, will be

found at p. 263 of the sixth volume of this Journal.—Ep.

150 Miscellaneous.

LETTERS FROM RAY TO SIR HANS SLOANE.

On drawing toward the completion of his Supplement to the ‘ Historia

Plantarum. His remarks on Plukenet's ‘ Almagestum Botanicum.’

[MS. Sloan. Brit. Mus. 4056. fol. 157. Orig.)

Black Notley, July 17, —96.

Sr1r,—Since my last to you, considering my infirmities, and crazi-

nesse admonishing me of the near approach of Death, I think it best

to speed the finishing and fitting my Supplement for the Presse, and

to deliver it up into the Bookseller’s hand who put me upon it, to be

published or suppressed, as he shall find it most for his own interest.

Iam sensible that it must needs be a very weak and imperfect thing,

I wanting those helps which those that have travell’d into the Indies

and live about London have. But yet none so fit to make a Supple-

ment to my own History as my self; and there be many faults I am

advised of, which I would willingly correct. But I would fain dis-

patch it and rid my hands of it, that so it may be no disturbance to

my thoughts. Your History, were it reasonable for me to beg the

defloration of it, would afford the greatest ornaments to it. But I

am almost come to a resolution not to desire any such thing of you,

but content my self with the names I find in your Catalogue of such

as are non-descripts ; and with your Synonyma for the reducing of

such as are repeated.

I have gotten a sight of Dr. Plukenet’s Almagestum Bot. though

as yet he hath not presented me with a copy of it. I find in it many

mistakes in the language, and in the composition of Greek names ;

and I doubt not but there are many in the matter. It is impossible

but that a man who relies wholly upon dried specimens of Plants (be

he never so cunning) should often mistake and multiply. He hath

abundance of Jamaica plants, which if in your Catalogue it is very

difficult to reduce them, especially his Felices. As far as 1 am able

to judge, he is often out in his conjectural Synonymes : in one or two

he is reprehended by Mons. Tournefort ; and is of himself apt enough

to multiply species. But no more of him.

I am not yet quite rid of my distemper: I hope it will off by de-

grees: heer hath been a very unseasonable Summer, for the most

part very cold and wet ; and I live in a sharp Air, my house standing

on a hill exposed to the North and North-East winds, which is in-

convenient for one who is subject to colds, and whose lungs are apt

to be affected. Excuse this periautology, and take me to be, as

really I am, Sir,

Your much obliged friend and humble servant,

Joun Ray.

I must not forget my Wives service, who is very much yours.

For Dr. Hans Sloane, at his House at the corner of Southampton Street,

next Bloomsbury Square, London.

On the rudeness of Tournefort toward him in his ‘ Elémens de Botanique.’

[Ibid. fol. 219. Orig. ]

Si1r,—I have been so interrupted and disturbed lately that I have

not been able to finish the two ‘Tribes you last sent me. I presume

Mons’. Gundelcschmir since his return to London hath acquainted

Meteorological Observations. 151

you that he hath been with me. He endeavoured to excuse Mons".

Tournefort, and to vindicate him from the imputation of rudenesse

and incivility in his treating of me in his Elem. Botaniq. wherewith

he hath been charged. I can easily passe it by, because he hath

treated me no worse than I deserve. But truly his Method, consi-

dering it with all the indifference I can, seems to me faulty and

liable to many exceptions, and as for what he hath written against

my Dissertation it admits in most particulars of an easy answer, as I

may afterward shew. I own him to be a skilfull Herbarist, and had

he let me alone, I should not have opposed his method, but permit-

ted every one his freedome to embrace and follow what seemed best

to him: only I might have corrected the errours of mine own, as

many as I know of, and set it in as good a light as I could. I hope

you will, I doe not say take the liberty, but doe me the favour to

correct whatever you find amisse in my Supplement, and to adde,

cut off, and alter whatever you observe to be deficient, redundant,

and incongruous or erroneous. I remember I was in some places

doubtful about your meaning, and therefore probably might mis-

take it.

My Wife presents her humble service to you, and we both many

thanks for your intended Present of Sugar, which we can hardly

without violation of modesty receive at your hands. You doe bene-

ficia benefictis cumulare, and even load us with your kindnesse. I

cease to give you further trouble, and rest, Sir,

Your very affectionate friend and humble servant,

Black Notley, April 27, —98. Joun Ray.

For his honoured friend Dr. Hans Sloane, at his House at the corner

of Southampton Street, towards Bloomsbury Square, London.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JUNE 1843.

Chiswick.—June 1, Cloudy and fine. 2. Rain: dense clouds: boisterous, with

rain at night. 3. Cloudyand fine: clear, 4. Very fine. 5, Fine: heavy show-

ers: clear. 6. Showery. 7. Fine: rain. 8. Cloudy: showery : boisterous, with

heavy rain at night. 9. Cloudy and windy : boisterous, with showers and bright

sunshine at intervals. 10. Fine: rain. 11. Cloudyand fine. 12. Hazy clouds:

rain. 13, Heavy rain. 14, Foggy: cloudy: foggy at night. 15. Hazy: fine.

16—18. Very fine. 19, Overcast. 20. Cloudy. 21,22. Very fine. 23. Cloud-

less, with bright sun. 24. Slight haze: fine. 25. Densely overcast. 26. Very

fine. 27. Sultry, with hot dry air. 28, Cloudy and fine. 29, 30. Overcast and

fine.—Mean temperature of the month about 4° below the average.

Boston.—June 1, Cloudy: rain early a.m. 2,3. Cloudy: rain y.m.. 4. Fine :

raine.M, 5,6. Fine. 7. Cloudy. 8, 9. Windy: rain early a.m. 10. Windy.

11. Cloudy: raine.m. 12. Windy. 13. Windy: rain pw. 14,15. Fine.

16. Fine: curious halo round the sun2to4pr.m. 17, 18. Cloudy. 19, 20.

Windy. 21—23. Fine, 24—28. Cloudy. 29, Windy. 30. Cloudy.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—June 1. Bright: damp. 2. Cloudy: drizzle. 3.

Rain: showers. 4. Cloudy. 5. Bright: clear. 6. Bright: cloudy. 7. Cloudy :

clear. 8, Rain: clear, 9, Damp: drizzle. 10, Showers. 11. Showers: dainp.

12. Bright: cloudy. 13. Cloudy: fine. 14. Fine. 15—17. Fine: warm,

18-20, Cloudy. 21. Showers: cloudy. 22. Clear: cloudy. 23. Cloudy :

drizzle, 24. Bright: fine. 25, Bright: clear, 26, Bright: cloudy. 27, 28.

Cloudy. 29. Drops: showers. $0. Cloudy : damp.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire.—June 1. Wet all day. 2. Slight showers :

warm. 3, Wet nearly all day. 4, Fair and cold. 5. Rain all day. 6. Fair,

but cloudy. 7, Rain: thunder. 8, Rain. 9, Showers. 10. Dry and windy.

11—23, Fair and clear, 24. Fair and clear: thunder. 25—28. Fair and clear.

29, 20. Fair and clear ; cloudy.

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Ann:Nat:Hist: Vol X01. PLIIL.

Li ens Aldous, Zinc. Lay ¢.Haghe;Lith "0 the Viet.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No.76. SEPTEMBER 1843.

-—-

XIX.—Upon the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio (Latr.).

By Aurrep Turk, Esq., M.R.C.S., M.E.S.

(With a Plate.]

Wiru the exception of the treatise by Treviranus upon the ana-

tomyof Phalangium, Die Afterspinne,in his ‘V ermischteSchriften,’

I am not aware that any author has since given a detailed ac-

count of the structural peculiarities of this very singular family

of Arachnidans. The observations of Latreille*, Ramdohr+, Her-

mannt, Marcel de Serres§, Herbst|| and others, are limited to

particular organs, most of which are described and figured in too

superficial a manner ; while those made by Treviranus, though ex-

cellent as a whole, are yet wanting in sufficient minuteness, and

several interesting parts have been either entirely overlooked, or

but cursorily alluded to. I have endeavoured, therefore, in the

present paper to supply, as far as the delicacy of the objects dis-

sected would permit, the above deficiencies, and, in communica-

ting the results of investigations commenced during the summer

of 1842, to enter into a more full and accurate description of the

anatomy of the Harvest Spider than has hitherto appeared. The

species which I have selected for this purpose is Phalangium

Opilio, as it is the most abundant about London, and has been

regarded also as typical of the genus to which it belongs.

Exrernat Anatomy.—The dermo-skeleton of Phalangium is

constituted, as in the other Arachnida, by the external integu-

ment, which is continuous over the whole body, but variously

disposed and inflected, to form prolongations for the lodgement

of the different viscera and attachment of muscles. Its texture is

tough and coriaceous, as in the true spiders, and of a firmer con-

sistence at the anterior than the posterior extremity of the ani-

mal, namely, upon the upper and under surface of the cephalo-

* Hist. Nat. des Fourmis: Paris, 1802.

+ Ueber die Verdauungswerkzeuge der Insekten, 1811.

{ Mém. Apterologique, 1804. § Mém. du Mus.

|| Natur. System der Ungefliigelten Insekten: Berlin, 1797,

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. M

154 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

thorax, upon the sternal plate, and the first dorsal and ventral

segments of the abdomen. -

It consists of three layers, which, being but loosely adherent,

may be readily separated from each other. The outer, or epidermis,

is colourless and transparent, and made up of numerous minute,

irregularly conical and projecting cells, closely set upon a subja-

cent connecting membrane, but not in contact with each other.

Besides these, there are other larger, more opake and prominent

cells, scattered less freely over the rest of the integument, and

prolonged here and there to form short spines. Lastly, a set of

large, more or less obtusely conical, flattened or papilliform emi-

nences are distributed, few in number, and with regularity wher-

ever they occur, and are remarkable for having a single bristle,

springing from a tubercle, seated upon one side of their base. They

are arranged in a single row upon the middle of each dorsal

segment, around the corneze of the middle pair of eyes, and on

the sides and anterior margin of the cephalo-thorax, presenting

the most acuminated form however in the first of these situations.

Upon the internal surface of the integument several rounded de-

pressions are seen to lead into the interior of these large tuber-

cles, showing that they are formed by simple eversions of the

epidermis, which has become hard and horny in such situations.

The smallest sized cells are continued for a short extent into these

cavities, which contain, generally, a blackish nodule of colouring

matter. The points of attachment of the muscular fasciculi are

apparent as numerous rounded or oval patches of a pale brown

colour, and of different sizes, placed upon slight internal eleva-

tions, which correspond with certain dark impressed puncta upon

the outer surface, and of a fibrous texture, resulting from the

still adherent but divided ends of the fasciculi. Internal to the

above layer is the second or pigmentary. It consists of a white,

delicate and homogeneous membrane which supports a granular

matter, disposed in patches between it and the epidermis, and

which corresponds in position with the dark spots and markings

seen upon the exterior of the animal, and is prolonged also mto

the interior of the hollow tubercles. Beneath the above is a struc-

‘ture which may be regarded as analogous to the corium of in-

‘sects, yet which differs from it in not being composed of nume-

rous fibres interlacing with each other, but forming a single,

regularly disposed stratum or layer, similar to that found in the

Pulmonary Arachnida. It consists of several fasciculi, of large

size, and separated from each other by a considerable interval,

which are arranged longitudinally upon the under surface of the

animal, where they are also most numerous, but take a more or

less oblique direction upon the sides. They are composed of six

or more elongated and flattened fibres, lying close and parallel

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio, 155

with each other, so as to constitute a band which passes (at least

upon the inferior surface of the abdomen,) from the inflected

margin of one segment to the distal border of the next, each fibre

having a distinct and separate attachment by its two extremities

to the elevations, above noticed, upon the internal surface of the

epidermis, while the intermediate portion lies free over the space

of two segments, and may be readily raised therefrom upon the

pomt of a fine needle. Examined with a power of 200 hnear,

each of these fasciculi is seen to be made up of an aggregation of

smaller fibrillee, which are apparent from the ends of the former

when detached, giving to them a tufted or brush-shaped figure.

There are no traces of transverse strize upon these fibres, and they

do not dissolve or lose their form by maceration, like ordinary

muscular tissue. In certain situations, as upon the sides of the

abdomen and thorax, the form of their bands is triangular, the

apices being directed upwards, and I have observed them to pre- |

sent there a very glistening nacreous lustre.

A comparison of the above structure of the integument in Pha-

langium with that of a large species of Epeira (£. maculata, Fab.)

presents many obvious points of resemblance ; the chief difference

being, that in the latter the fibres of the corium are more closely

arranged, are smaller in proportion to the size of the animal, and

all take a transverse direction within the abdomen, and are more-

over enveloped both above and below by a considerable layer of

fat, which, with the exception of a few scattered adipose granules

in the same situation, can be scarcely said to exist in the harvest

spider. Notwithstanding the entire absence of transverse striz,

I am disposed to regard the fibres of the corium as constituting

a thin muscular expansion, which in the Arachnida generally may

take the place, and supply the function of, the regular longi-

tudinal muscles of the thorax and abdomen in insects, which

would otherwise be wanting in the family and class under cousi-

deration.

The body of Phalangium (P1. III. fig. 1.) appears at first to be

composed. only of a single piece, so intimately are the cephalo- .

thorax and abdomen blended together ; but when examined

more closely, a distinction into these two principal divisions is

readily observed, though they are not so clearly mdicated as in

some of the Tracheary Arachnida, such as Galeodes, where an in-

tervening constriction denotes their respective limits. I shall

consider, therefore, each of these portions of the dermo-skeleton

separately, commencing with the cephalo-thorax and the structures

appended thereto.

The cephalo-thoraz in P. Opilio (Pl. III. fig. 1. et) oceupies

about one-fifth of the entire length of the body. The upper plate

or buckler, darker in colour than the rest, is, as regards its con-

M 2

156 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

tour, elliptical, more or less convex upon its upper surface, ha-

ving the lateral margins sinuated and prolonged backwards, the

anterior deeply excavated by a crescentic notch, which is inter-

rupted in the middle by a slight rounded projection, while be-

hind, a transverse curved and elevated ridge (7) supporting a single

row of spines marks out its limits from the abdomen. Situated

nearly in the centre of the thoracic shield is a large and promi-

nent tubercle (¢), somewhat quadrilateral in form, with the angles

rounded off, its transverse diameter being greater than its longi-

tudinal, and encroached upon on either side, in an oblique di-

rection upwards and inwards, by the round and glistening cornez

of the middle pair of eyes. Along the superior and posterior

margins of these cornez, but ata little distance from the latter, is

a row of obtuse tubercular eminences, and between these a slight

groove, dividing the upper surface of the binocular support along

the median line. Upon either side, and in front of the latter, the

thoracic plate presents a wedge-shaped elevation (e) which extends

from the posterior ridge, narrowing towards the anterior margin

of the thorax, beyond which it projects. Its anterior angles are

furnished with a cluster of tubercles, and towards the plane of

position of the ocular support it inclines downwards, so as to leave

a slight circumjacent groove. Upon either side of the thorax, at

a point opposite to the imterval betwixt the coxe of the two

anterior pairs of legs, is an oblong, laterally compressed ridge,

bounded internally by an impressed and wavy line, externally by

one of the sinuosities of the lateral margins, and which supports

a single ovoid cornea (c), having one or more tubercles near to

either extremity. From the centre of the anterior margin of the

thoracic plate there is prolonged, in a vertical direction down-

wards, a horny partition (Pl. III. fig. 3. s), which separates the

cavities for the insertion of the chelicerze upon either side, and

which is attached below to what appears, when viewed in situ, as

a cordate horizontal body (ez) supporting in front a lanceolate

deflexed structure, both of which assist in closing the cavity of

the mouth anteriorly, and will be considered, therefore, more in

detail in speaking of the manducatory organs.

The first articulated pieces, commencing from before backwards,

which will require our attention, are the two chelicere or antennal

claws (Pl. III. fig. 3. ch). These organs consist each of two coria-

ceous joints. The basal, shorter than the one succeeding and late-

rally compressed, has its upper surface convex anteriorly, the lower

concave, and prolonged further backwards to form with the pos-

terior margin an acute angle, and is received into the cavity, si-

tuated with its fellow, upon either side of the vertical septum,

above mentioned. These cavities lie immediately beneath the

anterior border of the thoracic plate, by inflections of which they

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 157

are formed, and by which they are bounded from above, laterally,

by two pieces which support the maxillary palpi, and below, by

the appendages to their internal septum. There are a few scattered

spines and bristles upon the upper surface of this joint. Its move-

ments are limited to simple ginglymus in a vertical direction, or

upwards and downwards, and when at rest, the basal joints lie

perfectly parallel with each other, and upon a plane nearly level

with the dorsal surface of the cephalo-thoracic shield. The se-

cond or terminal joint of the chelicera is articulated to the above

at an acute angle. It is broadest behind, where it presents a

slight conical projection, and gradually tapers toward its termi-

nation, becoming flattened from before backwards, and is there

prolonged internally to form a curved horny pincer, dentated and

immoveable, and which is opposed to another (d) similarly con-

structed but longer, having a single triangular tooth larger than

the rest on the middle of its inner edge, and which moves freely

in a horizontal direction against the first. Along the upper sur-

face of this jomt and upon the sides, especially the inner, are rows

of short black bristles. When at rest, these joints are bent at a

right angle with the basal, and parallel with each other, are sup-

ported by the first pair of maxille. These organs, which, unlike

their analogues in the true spiders, are unprovided with any

poison-sac, serve merely for grasping the food, and retaining it in

contact with the organs of manducation placed upon the under

surface of the thorax. Before proceeding, however, to the exami-

nation of these latter, it will be best to explain the construction

of certain parts, to which allusion has been already made.

The anterior margin of the cephalo-thorax (Pl. III. fig. 3. m)

is deflected obliquely downwards for its entire extent, to form a

thinner piece, paler in colour than the rest, and grooved along

the median line, its free border being crescentic, but prolonged

in the middle to form the triangular origin of the vertical sep-

tum (s). This septum is laterally compressed, cartilaginous, and

membranous to a slight extent upon the margins (PI. ITI. fig. 4. s),

but it is not prolonged backwards into the thoracic cavity, so that

the muscles, tracheal trunks, &c. passing from the latter into the

chelicerze, are in contact with each other internally. The cavities

for the reception of the latter organs are incomplete also exter-

nally, their outer wall being constituted simply by the basal

portion of the maxillary palpus (bp). The horizontal piece, with

the posterior margin of which the septum is confluent in a bifur-

cated manner below, is of a somewhat elongate and quadrate

form. Its upper surface is elevated obliquely forwards from the

posterior margin, to form a convex, smooth, transversely oval and

regular projection (PI. III. fig. 4. a), slightly overlapping the base

of the labrum (/).

158 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium. Opilio.

The posterior and inferior margins of this, the epipharynz (so

called, as will be seen hereafter, in treating of the digestive or-

gans, from its lying upon the pharynx, or rather imclosing that

portion of the alimentary canal), are prolonged backwards, to

form two elongated projections (f) directed slightly outwards,

_ nearly of equal width throughout, having the superior margin

concave, the inferior somewhat convex, and terminating by an

abrupt truncated extremity. Below, the epipharynx is hollowed

out (Pl. IIT. fig. 5. w) by being bent laterally upon itself, in the

direction downwards, the margins of the inflections being pro-

‘longed inwards in an angular form, and serving to define or se-

parate the borders of the cavity into two distinct portions; an

anterior, obovate, with the large end directed forwards, and the

plane of the opening being obliquely upwards, while the poste-

rior, expanded behind and narrower in front, is circumscribed

by the divergent angles above mentioned (f). At the point of

attachment of the septum the upper surface is depressed, and

occasionally furnished with a cluster of small spimes (*), and

upon either side it is bounded from the lateral prolongations by

a transverse, thick and cartilaginous ridge (g), continuous with

their superior and inferior margins. Situated upon the upper

surface, on either side of the base of the posterior angles, are two

short, conical and cartilaginous projections (4), directed obliquely

outwards upon the sides of the basal joint of the chelicere.

The labrum or epistome (/), which overlies the oral aperture,

is a cartilagious, papilliform and hollow structure, prolonged

by its base from the anterior extremity of the epipharynx. It

has a few bristles upon its upper convex surface, and the inferior

surface is concave.

The internal surface of the cephalo-thorax presents several

grooves or ridges corresponding with the external elevations or

depressions. A transverse posterior groove, defining its limits

from the abdominal cavity ; a middle triangular fossa, having in

its centre a nearly circular opening, leading into the deep cavity

of the ocular tubercle; on either side, anteriorly, the elliptical

opening of the lateral eyes; and internal to these, two wide and

oblique grooves, bounded externally by a narrow ridge.

Upon either side of the basal joints of the chelicerz, externally,

two cartilaginous pieces (Pl. III. figs. 3 and 5. bp) descend ver-

tically from the antero-lateral angles of the thoracic shield. They

are of an elongated and irregularly triangular shape, their bases

being directed downwards, and presenting upon their anterior

surface an elevated articular cavity (Pl. III. fig. 5, h) for the re-

ception of the first free jomt of the palpus (2), whilst, beyond

this point, an expanded prolongation passing inwards towards

the median line constitutes the first pair of jaws (2). This cavity

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 159

(Pl. III. fig. 9. y) is formed by a division of the jomt into two

portions: the internal (PI. III. fig. 9. v), more or less convex, has

its margins raised in front into ridges, which circumscribe a

quadrilateral surface, and abuts against the anterior part of the

epipharynx, and terminates by bending upon itself in an outward

direction, to form, behind the second joint of the palpus, a trans-

verse oval projection of a white colour, and beset with bristles

(Pl. ILI. figs. 9 and 10. ¢¢) ; while the external is continued as an

elongate and flattened piece (Pl. III. fig. 10. 0), concave within,

and with thickened edges, to be connected with a corneous arci-

form fold of the maxille (n), presently to be described. That:

the above pieces are in reality but a pair of coxal joints, modified

like those of the foot-jaws of the Crustaceans, or their corre-

sponding parts in the other Arachnida, to subserve a double

function, is evident both from their position and general form ;

and in species where the palpi are largely developed, as P. Cor-

nutum, this analogy becomes still more striking. I shall there-

fore consider these as the true basal joints of the palpi, each of

which will thus consist of siz principal divisions, comparable to

those of the legs, instead of five, as described by authors. The

second joint of the palpus (Pl. III. fig. 3. 2), representing then

the exinguinal or trochanteric of the extremities, shorter than the

one succeeding, is articulated in a ginglymoid manner to the

basal. It is broadest superiorly, its upper surface slightly con-

cave, its lower convex, and it is dotted over with short stiff bris-

tles. The third, fourth and fifth joints (8, 4, 5) are constructed

upon the same plan with the second, the third nearly equalling

in length the two others, and curved slightly upwards, with the

surface spined and bristly. The fourth and fifth, analogous to

the divided tibia, as the former was to the femoral, are more

curved than the rest, and dilated anteriorly. The sixth (6), ter-

minal or tarsal joint, is the longest and narrowest of all, cylin-

drical, and widening gradually towards the apex, where it termi-

nates:in an obtuse, rounded extremity, supporting a single small

hook or unguis, its whole surface being plentifully furnished, like

that of the two preceding, with bristles of unequal length. When

the palpi are at rest, they are bent upwards at an acute angle

with the basal joint, and downwards again, at the junction of the

third and fourth articulations, the first of which rests against the

outer side of the chelicera, projecting above the anterior margin

of the thoracic shield.

Hahn (in his ‘ Die Arachniden’) has figured the sexual differ-

ences in the palpi of a male and female P. Opilio. The fourth

joint of the male is represented as having a hairy prolongation

springing from it, nearly equalling in size the joint itself, while

that of the female is destitute of any such appendage, and the

160 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

jomts are more slender and uniform throughout. I have exa-

mined with care the palpi of several male and female Phalangia,

and can discern no such structure as that indicated by Hahn in

the male. The only apparent differences in these organs are, a

greater thickness of the jomts in the male (Pl. III. fig. 6. ¢)

than in the female (Pl. III. fig. 7.2), with the bristles upon

them stronger and better defined, and the anterior dilatation

of the terminal joint more abrupt and rounded in the former

than the latter. With regard to the chelicere, the joints are also

larger and more robust, and the posterior angle of the second

one is more prominent in the male than in the female (Pl. III.

figs. 6, 7.).

Posteriorly, and internal to the second joint of the palpi, are

situated the first pair of mawille, a continuation, as has been seen

above, of their basal articulation (Pl. LI. fig. 3. A). When

viewed tn situ from the under surface of the body (Pl. ITI. fig. 8.

A), they have the appearance of two membranous, dilated and

cordiform bodies, lying in contact with each other along the me-

dian line, their broad ends placed beneath the extremity of the

labrum (2), while their apices, directed towards the interval be-

tween the second pair of jaws, are marked by several curved and

longitudinal folds. The turgid condition of these organs, and of

the succeeding pair, alluded to by Latreille* as occurring in them

when employed, seems in the present case to be caused by the

spirit, in which the specimens have been kept, penetrating and

distending their interior; and this will be readily understood,

when it is premised that their essential construction is that of a

coriaceous membrane, plicated and folded upon itself from below

upwards to form a hollow pouch. The form of these maxillee is

oblong, terminating in an irregular, slightly expanded, or clavate

extremity. They present for examination three distinct surfaces :

a superior, lying nearly upon a level with the upper part of the

epipharynx and labrum; an inferior, directed obliquely upwards

and backwards; and an internal, approximated with its fellow

along the median line. Upon the first of these, posteriorly, and

to its outer side, is a conical curved projection (PI. III. fig. 9. 4)

with an acute and membranous point ; and leading inwards from

the base of this, towards the apex of the labrum, with the sides

of which the jaws are united, is a thickened ridge (/). Beyond

the latter is the turgid dilatation of the maxilla, of a dark colour

towards the tip, from its becoming there densely clothed with

hair, and transversely plicated (m). Turning next to the inferior

surface (PI. III. fig. 8. A), the shape of which, as resulting from

its beg partly concealed by the second pair of jaws, has been

already described, by drawing it slightly forwards, a dark, horny

* Op. cit.

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 161

and semicylindrical bow (Pl. III. fig. 10. m) is perceived. It

commences by a pointed extremity, which is continued from one

of the external folds, and runs almost parallel with the anterior —

margin of the second pair of jaws, bending as it approaches the

median line, and passmg upwards towards the under surface of

the epipharynx, this vertical part of its course being about twice

the length of the preceding, or transverse. When at some depth

above the under surface of the body, this bow bends again sud-

denly upon itself in the direction upwards, the convexity formed

by the loop beg placed most external, and narrowing and be-

coming flattened as it proceeds obliquely upwards and inwards,

terminates by blending with the free border of the folded mem-

brane of the jaws. Within the concavity formed by this bow

may be seen the rounded extremity of the elongate piece (PI. ITI.

figs. 9 and 10. 0) mentioned in speaking of the maxillary palpi, and

with which the bow is connected by a thin membrane externally,

while on the opposite side it is continuous with that of the jaws.

After it has reached, however, the lower border of this piece, it

curves round it, and is then simply supported by the free and

delicate margin of the maxillee (Pl. ITI. fig. 9. p). This latter,

thickened and cartilaginous for about half its extent, forms an

angle superiorly (g) with that portion of the maxilla which is

continuous with the margins of the labrum, and projecting in

the middle triangularly, becomes very thi and membranous, and

where the terminal part of the bow rests upon it, is prolonged

upwards in an obtusely angular manner. The bow itself is formed

by a simple eflection of the maxillary membrane, and its cylinder

is incomplete inferiorly, where the margins coalesce with the

latter. The dark colour of the anterior plicated portion of the

maxillee is due to the presence of numerous brown, closely ap-

pressed hairs, which are longest upon the middle of the folds,

and have an oblique direction upwards. They are seated upon

short and parallel ridges, and give a peculiarly soft and velvety

appearance to the jaws.

As the first pair of jaws were found to be formed by internal

prolongations of the basal joints of the palpi, which were in

themselves, essentially, modified organs of locomotion, so the

second, or succeeding pair of maxille, placed immediately behind

them (PI. III. figs.3 and 8. B), occupy a similar position in relation

to the first pair of coxee (1, 1), and, though simpler in construc-

tion, yet consist, like the preceding, of two membrano-coriaceous

pouches, which, when distended by fluid, present a very regular

and oval form. Attached to the anterior side of the mner ex-

tremity of the coxee of the first pair of legs is a short and longi-

tudinal ridge of integument (PIII. fig. 12. a) with a few bristles

upon it, terminating im front by a free, slightly curved and ob-

162 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

tusely triangular point. Internal to this piece is a second (4),

hollowed out within, and of a prominent and nearly hemispheri-

eal form, upon the surface of which are scattered tuberculated

bristles, directed for the most part outwards. To the inner

edge of the above, which is oblique and somewhat sinuated, the

membranous fold of the second pair of maxille (c) is connected.

It is densely clothed with hair, excepting towards its free margin,

which is curved upon itself as it approaches the median line, and

becomes continuous with the inflected borders of the labium

(PL. III. fig. 11. d). Externally it is strengthened and supported

by an elongated cartilaginous piece (e), formed by a deflection of

the first-named ridge. The margins of the jaws are also con-

nected to each other, so that all horizontal action between them

is thereby prevented.

Situated behind the above organs, and occupying in length

the space intervening between the coxee of the two middle pairs

of legs, is a broad and nearly quadrate /abiwm (PI. III. figs. 8, 11,

and 13.C). Its anterior halfis thin and membranous, and presents

a bilobed deflexed margin, while its posterior moiety is opake and

coriaceous, and is attached to a narrow transverse piece (PI. ITT.

fig. 18. a), united laterally with the apices of the third pair of

coxal joints. This last is broad at either end and constricted in

the middle, and is inflected twice, to form corresponding ridges

within. The margin by which it articulates with the labium is

crescentic. |

There now only remain to be noticed, as completing the instru-

menta cibaria, two elongate, obtuse and conical pieces (PI. III.

fig. 14. a), which are prolonged forwards and inwards from the

coxee of the second pair of legs. Their base presents a free out-

line, separated by a slight constriction from the surface of the

latter joints, and their margins are membranous. They are beset

with long black bristles placed upon tubercles. By either side of

their base these pieces are in contact with the first and third

coxee, their posterior margin lies in front of the sternal lip, and

their apices rest against and upon the sides of the labium (PI. IIT.

fig. 8. D).

The abdomen of Phalangium (PI. ILL. figs. 1 and 2.) is ovoid

in form, convex both above and below, but more so upon the

upper aspect, and narrowed slightly towards its posterior extre-

mity. It presents faint markings of segments, which, though

less distinct in the present species than in some others, as P. Cor-

nutum and P. quadridentatum, are sufficiently indicated upon the

dorsal surface, where they are least apparent, by transverse rows

of dark tuberculated bristles and slightly impressed lines, the first

of these corresponding with the middle, the latter with the in-

flected margins of the arcs. The first and second of the dorsal

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. “163

segments (ds), ten in all, are much better defined than the rest,

which increase in width towards the middle of the abdomen and.

diminish again towards its anal end, where they curve down-

wards, following the convex form of the body; so that the last of

the dorsal arcs (Pl. III. fig. 2. 0) presents itself as a very small

oval plate, wedged in betwixt the one which precedes it (ds) and

the last of the ventral segments, upon a level nearly with the

surface of which it lies. The transverse depressions which sepa-

rate the ventral segments from each other are deeper than those

upon the upper surface of the abdomen, and are rendered still

more distinct by the presence of rows of dark elongated puncta

(pa). The limit of the sternal portion of the thorax (PI. IIT.

fig. 2. st), which appears merely as a prolongation of the anterior

ares, is effected by the first of the above transverse grooves (p),

terminated at either end by a large and impressed punctum.

Behind this the ventral ares, five (5) in number, decrease in size

from before backwards, and may be very clearly demonstrated

by allowing the body of a harvest spider to dry, when the integu-

ment contracts into corresponding folds. Internally there are

slight ridges. The sternum (st), obtusely triangular in form,

extends as far forwards as the coxee of the third pair of legs, where

it forms a thickened, emarginate lip, which covers the aperture

leading to the sexual organs. Upon either side, and at a little

distance from the base of the sternal plate, is a deep groove (*),

situated between the posterior coxze and the under surface of the

abdomen, within which are the respiratory openings, and which

is bounded internally by a longitudinal ridge.

The organs of locomotion, eight in number, constitute, from

their extreme length, one of the most striking and characteristic

features in the outward form of the Phalangia. They radiate

from the under surface of the thorax, as in the Scorpionide and

other Arachnida, and are there attached by short, conical and

obtuse coxal joints (Pl. ITI. fig. 2. c), the apices of which converge

inwards towards each other, while their opposite ends, truncated,

form an articular cavity, and project upwards, upon either side of

the cephalo-thoracic plate. These jomts are formed by simple

eflections of the integument, and are attached throughout nearly

their entire length to the thorax, so as to be immoveable, and thus

afford a fixed point of attachment for the muscles. Upon the in-

ternal side of the under surface of the thorax four projecting

septa are perceived, formed, with the exception of the most ante-

rior and posterior, by the contiguous sides of a pair of coxal joints,

the margms of which are connected together by a thinner and

more membranous portion of integument, which is readily thrown

into folds and again extended. ‘The posterior septum is incom-

plete, being only formed internally by the side of the sternum,

and the inner extremity of the last coxal jomt. The concavities

164 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

of the joints are thus distinctly circumscribed, with the exception

of the last. The apices of the two posterior pairs of coxe abut

against the sides of the sternum ; the third, shorter than the rest,

has the elongated appendage already described in front, and the

most anterior pair support the second pair of jaws. The articular

cavity presents, inferiorly, an oblique crescentic margin, to which

the higament attaching the second joint is fixed. The upper half

of the margin is straight, and has in the centre an acute spine

directed outwards. The second joint or trochanter, which arti-

culates with the preceding by ginglymus, is of small size and

somewhat quadrate in form. It is more convex below than above,

and shorter in the reverse direction, owing to the oblique position

of the articular openings. The sides of the distal extremity are

prolonged into a short spine, and the margin of the proximal

cavity presents in the centre, inferiorly, a blunt, flattened and

conical projection. A dark impressed line extends from the distal

end of the joint to nearly half the length of the upper surface.

The third joint or femur, long and slender, has rows of spines,

with short bristles intervening between them, disposed longitudi-

nally over it; its inner extremity is slightly dilated, and pro-

longed obliquely into a conical shape. The external has an ob-

lique articular cavity, for the reception of the fourth joint, or first

portion of the divided tibia, which, with the second, is constructed.

upon the same general plan with the femur, only it is much

shorter. To the above joints succeeds a long, filiform and multi-

articulate tarsus. The first joint is the longest, and from this

they gradually diminish in length towards the extremity of the

tarsus, where they become nearly globular. They are fringed

upon either side with close-set hairs, directed obliquely down-

wards, and their anterior angles are furnished with a strong

spine. The last jot is oblong in form, and supports a single

curved and moveable hook. The following is the number of

joints, commencing with those of the anterior tarsi:—Ist, 37

joints ; 2nd, 76 jomts; 3rd, 35 jomts; 4th, 38 jomts. Total for

all the tarsi, 372 joints.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE III.

Fig. 1, The body of a Phalangium Opilio, as seen from its upper surface.

Eight only of the dorsal segments are visible.

Fig. 2. The same, from below. In both views the legs have been removed

at their articulations with the coxee, leaving only the latter attached

to the cephalo-thorax.

Fig. 3. An antero-inferior view of the cephalo-thorax, exhibiting the cheli-

cere drawn apart to show their vertical septum, the epipharynx

and labrum, /; the first and second pair of maxille, with the palpi

and first pair of coxal joints. 1.

Fig. 4. A side view of the septum, epipharynx and Jabrum, detached.

Fig. 5. External view of the right chelicera, to show the basal joint of the

maxillary palpus, prolonged inwards at 7, to form the first pair of

jaws.

List of Birds obtained near Calcutta. 165

Fig. 6. Male chelicera and palpus. Jig. 7. Female ditto.

Fig. 8. Inferior view of the maxillary organs, as they appear when distended

with spirit; 1, 2, 3, the three anterior coxe.

Fig. 9. Internal view of left maxilla of the first pair; z is the part by which

it is attached to the side of the epistome.

Fig. 10. External and superior surface of ditto.

Fig. 11. Internal view of the second pair of maxilla, to illustrate their con-

nection with the labium.

Fig. 12. External view of left maxilla of second pair.

Fig. 13. The labium detached, and viewed from the external surface.

Fig. 14. One of the appendages to the cox of the second pair of legs (left

side).

The above are all magnified figures of the objects, as seen under simple

lenses, ranging from 14, 4, to 4 inch, focal length.

[To be continued. ]

XX.—List of Birds obtained in the vicinity of Calcutta, from Sep-

tember 1841 to March 1848 inclusive. By Knwarp Bryn,

Curator to the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

[Continued from p. 101.]

127. Hirundo rustica. I have never seen a living swallow since

my arrival ; but the museum contains an example of this species pro-

cured in the neighbourhood.

128. Motacilla leucopsis, Gould; M. alboides, Hodgson; figured

by Sonnerat. Very common during the cool season. This species

is even intermediate to the nearly allied M. alba and M. Yarrellii of

Europe : like the latter, it has a black back in summer, and is di-

stinguished from both by the quantity of white on its wings.

129. M. boarula. Common in the winter months.

130. M. variegata, Vieillot, not of Latham. A remarkable spe-

cies, of which might be made a separate subdivision. It is nearly re-

lated to Budytes, but the hind-claw is not lengthened. I procured a

single mutilated live specimen from a bazar shikaree, and am told

that it may now and then be met with in the mango orchards.

131. Anthus arboreus (?). Common in the cool season. Though

most closely allied, I am not altogether satisfied of its identity with

the species of Europe.

182. A. Richardi. Common about rice-fields. This bird is cap-

tured in great numbers for the table, and sold with others under the

general name of ‘ Ortolan.” They are brought alive to the bazar,

having the feathers of one wing torn out, and very often those of the

tail, from the careless manner in which this is done. Hence the

mutilated condition of the specimens of Nos. 91, 92, 93 and 1380,

which I have alone hitherto obtained.

138, A. agilis. Common in dry situations during the cool season,

much rarer at other times.

134. Alauda Gangetica, nobis; A. gulgula, Franklin, apud nos,

Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xi. 201. Common, and frequently sold for

the table: breeds in the neighbourhood.

166 Mr. E, Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

135. A. gracilis, nobis, J. A. §. B. id. In compliment to those

who differ from me in opinion respecting this bird, I shall not here.

enumerate it as a distinct species, and I much wish to establish its

distinctness on the authority of other specimens.

136. Corypha (? G. R. Gray) baghaira; Emberiza baghaira, Frank-

lin ; Alauda Dukhunensis, Sykes. Brought in immense numbers for

the table during March; being the ‘ Ortolan,’ more especially so

styled, of Anglo-Indian epicures.

137. Mirafra Assamensis, M‘Clelland and Horsfield. Often brought

to the bazar among the so-called ‘ Ortolans.’ Breeds in the neigh-

bourhood.

138. M.(?) cantans, Jerdon. The true Aggan of India generally.

I have obtained one wild-shot specimen, and seen others in cages,

they being very highly esteemed for their song.

139. Pyrrhulauda crucigera. Common at all seasons, in the loca-

lities they frequent.

140. Euplectes Phillipensis. Common.

141. Hu. Bengalensis. Occasionally procurable in considerable

numbers in the shops, being taken in the neighbourhood.

142. Eu. striatus, nobis, J. A. S. B. xi. 873. The same remark

applies to this species, and I am told that it breeds abundantly in

some high reeds a few miles from Calcutta.

143. Amadina punctata; Fringilla punicea, Horsfield. The im-

mense numbers of amaduvats brought to the shops are, I believe,

obtained from some distance.~

144. Spermestes nisorea; Munia acuticauda, Hodgson. ‘Tolerably

common.

145. Sp. melanocephala ; Munia rubroniger, Hodgson. 'Tolerably

common.

The Java sparrows (Sp. oryzivora) sold in the Calcutta shops are

all imported.

- 146. Passer domesticus. As common as in England. I have also

specimens from Southern and from Western India, but not any

agreeing with the P. Indicus, Jardine and Selby. JI think, however,

that they differ from the British sparrow in having much whiter

under-parts.

147. Emberiza fucata(?); E. cia, apud Jerdon : vide J. A. S. B.

xi. 601.

148. Erythrospiza (?) rosea; Fringilla rosea, Vieillot : vide J. A.

S. B. xi. 461. Often sold in the shops, and occasionally (as I am

informed) shot in the neighbourhood.

149. Chloropsis aurifrons ; erroneously figured as Chl. Malabaricus

by Messrs. Jardine and Selby*. Now and then brought in some plenty

to the shops, but I have not ascertained it to inhabit this neighbour-

hood. It is a pleasing songster.

150. Cinnyris solat. Very common.

151. C. Mahrattensis. Not rare during the cool season.

* Corrected in description of Pl. C.—Ep.

+ C. sola, Jerdon, and nost. of the Cat. of Indian Birds, is C. Zeylonica,

Linn,

in the vicinity of Calcutta. 167

152. Diceum erythronotum. Rare. rate’

153. D. Tickellie, nobis ; Nectarinia minima, » Tickell Very com-

mon.

154. Vinago militaris. Common.

155. V. bicincta, Jerdon. Not rare.

156. Columba tigrina. Extremely common,

157. C. visoria (?). ‘Tolerably common.

158. C. meena, Sykes.

159. C. humilis. These two species may often be purchased it in

the shops, but do not appear to be common in this vicinity.

160. C, Javanica. Tolerably common.

161. C. livia (?), var.? C. enas, Sykes and Jerdon. A wild pigeon,

which seems to haye originated most of the dove-cot pigeons of this

part. In the London markets vast numbers of a wild pigeon (all

shot birds, and not differing in form or plumage,) may be observed,

which essentially resemble C. livia (vera), except that the wings are

not barred, but spotted as in C. enas; the Indian bird, on the con-

trary, has the barred wing, but no white on the rump: among the

domestic varieties, however, of the latter may be seen many with

spotted wings. It is probable that all three are esculent species,

aboriginally distinct, but which readily merge together when domes-

ticated,

162, Francolinus vulgaris.

163. Fr. gularis.

164, Fr. Pondicerianus. These three species are occasionally

brought by the bazar shikarees, the second very rarely, and the third

most commonly. It is indeed doubtful whether fr. gularis is found

in this vicinity, though numerous two or three hundred miles up the

river.

165. Coturnia: dactylosans, 'The most plentiful species of quail in

this part.

166. C. tewtilis. Rare.

167. C. Phillipensis, Rare.

168. C. flavipes, nobis, J. A, S. B. xi. 808. Ihave obtained a pair

only of this diminutive species, separately, as mentioned in the ori-

ginal description cited.

169. Turnizx taigoor. Apparently not rare.

170. T. Dussumieri. Apparently not rare,

171. Pavo cristatus. Wild specimens are occasionally offered for

sale alive, but are brought from some distance. They precisely accord

with the ordinary (not the japanned) variety of the domestic peafowl

in plumage.

172. Grus cinerea. Occasionally snared by the shikarees,

173. Ardea cinerea. Common.

174, A. purpurea, Common.

175. A. flavirosiris, Not rare. The young bird has a black bill,

in which state it is enumerated by Col. Sykes as A. egretta.

176. A. putea, Named in MS. by Buchanan Hamilton. A middle-

sized crestless white egret, with yellow bill and black legs ; the former

also yellow in the young. Not rare,

168 Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

177. Ardea garzetta. Common.

178. A. caboga, v. russata. Common. This species rarely fishes,

but feeds principally on grasshoppers, habitually following cattle for

those they cause to rise, as long ago noticed by Sonnini. Hence it

is styled Ghai-bogla (Cow Heron) by the Bengalees, which Pennant

has corrupted into caboga.

179. A. Javanica. Common. Generally met with singly, in re-

tired tanks surrounded by jungle. I have just received a specimen

from the Mauritius.

180. A. nigra, Vieillot. I have reason to believe this beautiful

species also occurs here, though I have not yet met with it.

181. A. Malaccensis. The ordinary Paddy bird, though the white

species are often likewise styled so. Remarkable for the diversity

of its summer and winter plumage. Extremely common, and very

familiar.

182. Botaurus stellaris. I have obtained one recent specimen.

183. B. cinnamomeus. Not uncommon.

184. Nycticorax Gardent. Not uncommon.

185. Ciconia alba. Occasionally met with.

186. C. leucocephala; C. umbellata, Wagler. Not rare.

187. Argala migratoria, Hodgson; Ciconia argala, Auct. The

gigantic adjutant, or Hurgalah of the natives. ‘This immense spe-

cies visits Calcutta in great numbers during the rainy season, and

leaves chiefly in November ; a few stragglers only remaining through-

out the year. I need hardly remark that it walks tamely about the

streets, picking up garbage, surrounded by the kites and crows, and

also dogs, which all may be seen together about a heap of rubbish,

—three or four of these adjutants, with perhaps one or more of the

next species to complete the group : or they rest, statue-like, on the

house-tops, one often at each corner of a square building, like so

many artificial ornaments. Their various attitudes are highly pictu-

resque, and it is a truly droll sight to observe two of these great

gawky birds pulling away at each end of a bit of gut or whatever it

may be, with wings expanded, when perchance another gobbles

away the prize on a-sudden from them both. They vary considerably

in shade of colour, the oldest apparently becoming of a lighter gray.

188. A. capillata (?) ; Ciconia capillata (?), 'Tem.; C. Javanica (?),

Horsfield ; C. nudifrons, M‘Clelland, not of Jerdon; C. immigratoria,

Hodgson; C. calva, Jerdon. I strongly incline to the opinion that

all these refer to the same species, though the two first (long since

identified).are described to have a reddish-brown spot on each feather

of the last range of their middle wing-coverts, which I have found

no trace of in the two or three Indian specimens (and one from

Maulmain ) which I have as yet minutely examined*. The absence

of this character induced Dr. M‘Clelland to describe his Assamese

bird as distinct, and this is decidedly identical with the Nipalese,

Bengalese, Southern Indian and Tenasserim species. Though scarcely

observed by anybody, this species is common in the vicinity of Cal-

* Possibly the young are so marked, which I must try to ascertain.

in the vicinity of Calcutta. ~ 169

cutta throughout the year, but comes less within the town than the

preceding one, albeit it is there far from rare; but about a large

abattoir on the outskirts of the town it is most numerous. There

are two other Indian species of this group, viz. Ciconia nudifrons,

Jerdon, an inhabitant of the peninsula, and C. cristata, M‘Clelland,

of Assam.

183. Mycteria australis. Not rare within a short distance.

190. Anastomus typhus. Not rare within a short distance.

191. Platalea leucorodia. Not common, but more so in the Soon-

derbuns. ‘This and the two preceding species are closely allied by

affinity to the next or Ibis group.

192. Tantalus leucocephalus. I have hitherto obtained but one spe-

cimen of this fine species.

193. [bis Macet. Not uncommon.

194. I. falcinellus. Not uncommon. The ferruginous colour cha-

racterizes the summer plumage only of adults of this species.

195. Esacus recurvirostris ; Pseudops (olim Carvanaca) grisea, Hodg-

son. I believe that this species occurs, but not commonly, within a

moderate distance up the river.

196. Cidicnemus crepitans. I obtained one specimen last cold

season in the bazar. |

197. Pluvianus cinereus, nobis, J. A. 8S. B. xi. 587. Rather rare.

198. Pl. Goensis. Common.

199. Pl. (Lobivanellus) bilobus. Rare.

200. Charadrius Virginianus, apud Jardine and Selby, being the

Indian representative of Ch. pluvialis. Very common.

201. Ch. rufinus, nobis. Somewhat rare.

202. Ch. rufinellus, nobis. Very common.

203. Ch. minor; Ch. Phillipensis, Jerdon. Common.

204. Ch. Cantianus. I obtained a fine pair, separately, during last

March.

205. Squatarola cinerea. Not common.

206. Himantopus melanopierus. Common.

207. Recurvirostra avocetta. Far from rare.

208. Totanus glottoides. Very common.

209. T. Horsfieldi ; Limosa Horsfieldi, Sykes. 'This delicate little

greenshank is abundant.

210. T. fuscus. 'Tolerably common.

211. 7. calidris. Very common.

212. T. glareola. Excessively common. Several dozens may be

procured almost daily at the bazar for four or five months succes-

sively.

213. T. ochropus. Somewhat rare.

214. T. hypoleucos. Less rare than the last, but still far from

common.

215. Limosa melanura. 'Tolerably common.

216. Terekia Javanica. Rare. I have obtained three specimens

in the course of two cold seasons.

217. Tringa subarquata. ‘Tolerably common.

218. Tr. platyrhyncha. During the first cold season I obtained

Amn. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. N

170° Mr. E. Blyth’s List of Birds obtained

but one specimen of this species, but in the second a considerable

number have been brought to the bazar ; two or three specimens, and

sometimes more, being commonly met with of a morning.

219. Tringa minuta. Extremely common.

220. Tr. Temminckii. During the first cold season I obtained but

three or four specimens of this species, but in the second they have

been tolerably common.

N.B. I have recently received from Mr. Jerdon a specimen of

Tr. canutus from the vicinity of Madras.

221. Machates pugnax; Tringa Hardwickii, Harwicke and Gray,

the male, or ruff,—and Tr. Indica, ibid., the female, or reeve. 'To-

lerably common, but never met with in breeding plumage.

222. Numenius arquata. Common.

223. Scolopar Gallinago. Very common.

224. Sc. heterura, Hodgson. Common, especially about the com-

mencement and close of the cool season.

225. Segallinula. Not rare.

226. Glareola torquata. Now and then met with.

227. Gil. orientalis. Two or three great heaps of this species were

brought to the bazar during last February.

228. Parra Sinensis. ‘Tolerably common. I have only seen what

is currently regarded as the adult plumage during the hot and rainy

seasons, the considerable number brought during the cold season

being all in what is considered the immature plumage ; but I cannot

yet assert that they moult back from the former into the latter.

229. P. Indica. Less numerous than the last, but still tolerably

common. The adult garb of this species I have obtained at all sea-

sons, the young having been described as a distinct species—P. arata,

Tickell.

230. Fulica atra. Common.

231. Porphyrio smaragnotus. Common.

232. Gallinula chloropus (?). Common. ‘The size appears to be

constantly inferior to that of the European birds.

233. G. Javanica. Common.

234. G. lugubris, Horsfield. Not rare, as I have been informed,

inhabiting the rice-fields ; but I have hitherto obtained but one spe-

cimen in the neighbourhood.

235. Porzana rufescens ; Rallus rufescens, Jerdon. I have obtained

one specimen.

236. P. maruetta. Common.

237. P. rubiginosa. Not rare.

238. P. Baillonii. Common.

239. Rallus aquaticus. Apparently not common. _

240. R. gularis. I have obtained one beautiful pair.

241. Phenicopterus ruber. I have obtained several specimens in

the bazar.

242. Anser Indicus. Common.

243. A. cinereus. Less so, but not rare.

244. Dendrocygna major, Jerdon. Somewhat rare.

245. D. arcuata; Mareca awsuree, Sykes. Very common, asso-

ciating in large flocks.

in the vicinity of Calcutta. 171

246. Nettapus Coromandelicus ; Anas girra, Hardwicke and Gray.

Very common. It is remarkable that this bird seems totally inca-

pable of standing or walking upon the ground. I have had dozens

of them together, unwounded, together with other-species, but the

girras invariably fluttered along the ground in a strange scuffling

manner, like a wounded bird, though I am told they perch with fa-

cility on trees. They always descend into the water, never alighting

on the ground of their own accord. The N. affinis, Elliot, is merely

the winter plumage of this species, wherein the collar is absent.

247. Casarca rutila. Common.

248. Tadorna Bellonii. Somewhat rare, five or six specimens only

appearing in the bazar in the course of a season.

249. Plectropterus melanotos. Rare.

- 250. Anas caryophyllacea. Rare.

251. A. pecilorhyncha. Not common.

252. A. stepera. 'Tolerably common.

253. A. acuta, Rather more so.

254. A. querquedula. Very common.

255. A. crecca. Not rare.

256. A. penelope. Rather uncommon.

257. A. clypeata. Not uncommon.

258. Fuligula rufina. Not uncommon.

259. F. ferina. Not common.

260. F. nyroca. Immense numbers of this species were brought

to the bazar during the first cool season, but comparatively very few

in the second.

261. F. cristata. Rather uncommon.

262. Podiceps minor. Abundant.

263. Plotus Vaillantii, Not rare. I have kept a living specimen

for several months, which is still doing well.

264. Phalacrocorax Javanicus. Common.

Ph. carbo is, I believe, to be met with; and I have described a

species as Ph. leucotis, which there is reason to infer is found in this

- neighbourhood.

265. Pelecanus onocrotalus. 'The museum contains a fine specimen

purchased in the bazar. |

266. P. rufescens. Not uncommon.

267. Sterna melanogaster ; St. Javanica, Horsfield. Occasionally

met with on the river. :

268. St. seena, Sykes. Now and then obtainable.

269. St. Caspia. I have seen this noble species on the wing, as

before mentioned. eis

270. Sterna anglica. I have obtained one pair.

271. Viralva Indica, Stephens. 'Tolerably common.

272. Larus ichthyiaétus; L. Kroikocephalus, W. Jameson. The

museum contains specimens procured in the neighbourhood.

273. L. brunnicephalus, apud Jerdon. ‘'Tolerably common.

274. L. ridibundus. I have procured one example.

This list of birds would doubtless have been considerably aug-

mented, had I devoted my time more exclusively to ornithology, or

172 ~~ Dr. Taylor on two species of British Jungermanniz.

if I had personally hunted for them oftener, to judge from the suc-

cess which has attended my few attempts in this way; but I have

the whole vast range of zoology to engage my attention, to the ex-

tent of my abilities, and to that of my physical capabilities in this

climate, which does not permit of such exertions as, in Europe,

would be easily practicable. Indeed, I have had experience of the

penalties which too much enthusiasm, under a burning sun, is apt

to entail. Several species have been here indicated by name, which

have long been described by me, but are not yet published, though

they probably will be before this article is printed; and to the

‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal’ I therefore refer the

reader for the descriptions adverted to. The present list has also

been hastily drawn up, under pressure of other occupation; but I

know full well how little chance I have of a season of coming leisure,

and have therefore obeyed at once the impulse to prepare such a

catalogue as I have now the pleasure of submitting to the notice of

the readers of the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History.’

Calcutta, April 13, 1843.

XXI.—Descriptions of two species of British Jungermannie.

By Tuomas Taytor, M.D., Dunkerron, Kenmare*.

JUNGERMANNIA FRAGILIFOLIA, MSS. T. T. Caule procumbente, sub-

pinnato; ramis complanatis, alternis, remotiusculis, subcurvis:

foliis patentibus, subimbricatis, adscendentibus, ex angustiori basi

_ oblongo-rotundatis, recurvatis, integerrimis; auriculis oblongo-

galeiformibus; stipulis obovato-rotundatis, apice bifidis, integer-.

rimis : foliis perichetialibus obtuse pauci-dentatis ; calyce obovato-

cordato, tubifero ; perigonio subrotundo.

On mural rocks, accompanied by Jung. dilatata and Jung. Tama-

risci, near Dunkerron, county of Kerry, 1829.

This species scarcely exceeds half an inch in length, is of a

dusky reddish-brown colour, and collected into thin patches firmly

attached to the rock’s surface, or more rarely to the barks of trees.

The branches are scarcely disposed in a pinnate manner, they are

sometimes fastigiate on one side. When wet the leaves ascend so

as not to touch one another, hence any pressure on their surface

is felt on the points of their connexion with the stem ; such con-

nexion is so frail that the top of the finger pressed against the

surface of the wet plant removes a multitude of leaves adhering,

so that, however paradoxical it may appear, a blind man may re-

cognise this species. The cells of the leaves are large in propor-

tion to the size of the plant ; and a few of the cells, sometimes

disposed in lines as in Jung. Tamarisci, at other times irregularly

dispersed, are larger, more opake, and more intensely coloured

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

M. Vrolik on the Anatomy of the Pearly Nautilus. 173

than the rest. The perigonia are reniform or nearly round, and

fixed to the side of the stem by a very short peduncle. The pe-

richetial leaves have but few large and obtuse teeth. The calyx

rises from a narrow base into an obcordate’form. The calyptra

is colourless except at the summit, about the base of the style,

where it has the reddish-brown hue of the leaves. The capsule is

globose, 4-valved, and in all respects like that of Jung. Tamarisct.

From this last, Jung. fragilifolia may be readily distinguished,

—1. by the wider cellulation of the leaves; 2. want of lustre ;

3. fragility of the wet leaves ; 4. larger auricles in proportion to

the leaves ; 5. the plane margins of the stipules; 6. the greater

relative size of the perigonia to the plant ; 7. the large and obtuse

teeth of the perichetial leaves; and 8. by the abnormal cellules

being much larger.

JUNGERMANNIA GERMANA, MSS. T.T. Caule procumbente, bipin-

natim ramoso ; ramis complanatis, brevibus, patentibus : foliis im-

bricatis, ovato-rotundatis, integerrimis; auriculis oblongo-ovatis,

ventricosis ; stipulis obovatis margine recurvis, apice bifidis ; foliis

perichetialibus integerrimis ; calyce oblongo-ovato, tubifero ; pe-

rigonio lineari-ovato.

On rocks and on trees; very common near Dunkerron, county of

Kerry, 1832.

The plant is three inches and sometimes more in length, and

matted ito patches sometimes a foot in breadth. It is never so

black or so shining as Jung. Tamarisci. The fertile stems are

longer, more branched and more fastigiate ; whilst those bearing

perigonia are far narrower and with shorter branches. The leaves

are thin, and do not present the linear mark of enlarged opake

cells as in Jung. Tamarisci. The stipules are wider than the

stems, and the recurvation of their margin chiefly observable to-

wards the summit. The margins of all the pericheetial leaves are

quite entire. The perigonium is a linear spike as in Jung. dila-

tata, Hook.

A very common species, hitherto confounded with Jung. Ta-

marisci, but readily distinguished when attention is paid to the

‘ntire perichetial leaves, to the linear perigonium, as well as to

the lighter colour and want of lustre ofthe leaves.

XXII.—On the Anatomy of the Pearly Nautilus. Communicated

by W. Vroxix, Professor of Anatomy in Amsterdam.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN, Dublin, July 27; 1843.

I presume that it will be agreeable to you to receive some de-

tails on the anatomy of the Pearly Nautilus (Nautilus Pompilius),

174 MM. Vrolik on the Anatomy of the Pearly Nautilus.

which I have had the opportunity of dissecting some time ago

at Harlem, with my colleagues Van Breda and Reinwardt. Al-

though the dissection is not completely finished, and I reserve’

_ for a more extended memoir the filling up of the hiatuses which

I am now obliged to leave, I have thought it convenient to give a

brief resumé of the principal facts which we have observed, as it

may tend to determine the differences of opinion which seem to

exist on the subject ; and I take advantage of my visit to England

to communicate to you the extract of our observations, which

M. Van Breda has been so good as to send me for that purpose

from Harlem on the 24th of July.

~I must first inform you that the Academy of Sciences at Har-

lem has received two complete specimens of the Pearly Nautilus ;

the Society owes one to the kindness of M. Serriére, Governor

of the Mollucca Islands, who, learning from the Annual Report

of the Harlem Society their desire to possess a complete example

of that imteresting animal, generously transmitted one that had

been caught by a hook in the bay of Amboyna. It has been de-

posited in the museum of the Society.

The second specimen was bought by Colonel Boelen of a fisher-

man, who had also taken it at a depth of many fathoms in the

same bay. This Nautilus lived two days on board the Boreas,

of which M. Boelen is the commander. It was preserved with

great care in spirits of wine, and after having been drawn by

~M. Verhuell it was submitted to my scalpel. The principal re-

sults of its dissection are,—

1. That the chambers of the shell contain only gas. We

opened several under water; the gas which we collected con-

tained a greater proportion of ‘azote than the atmospheric air

does. M. Van Breda, who analysed it, did not detect the slight-—

est trace of carbonic acid.

2. That the animal is attached to the shell only by the siphon.

The two muscles, by which it should adhere to the shell, accord-

ing to the opinion of many naturalists, are applied only to the

horny membrane or girdle, which Owen has so well described in

his remarkable work*. This membrane does not itself adhere to

the shell, so that there is no difficulty in detaching the horny

membrane in question without the slightest laceration, both from

the surface of the muscles and from that of the shell between

which it is situated.

3. That the structure and position of the internal organs are,

in general, such as Owen has described in his admirable memoir.

4. That the two mandibles are horny, but covered by a bluish.

calcareous matter, which had evidently’ been lost in the speci-

* Memoir on the Pearly Nautilus, 4to, 1832, p. 9.

nenag ,¢ ueonpy, bury g

be dun wuny yy “pad r “Yn 9 qep ‘kgsamoe

yoy ‘Ssueonpqns wMLeeYpeyy

‘QTd UA Yr Coy y up

Dr. Richardson on the Lurking Machete of New Holland. 175

men described by Valenciennes*, but which Owen has also ob-

served}.

5. That the number of the apertures of the pouches adjacent

to the pericardium is such as Valenciennes} has stated, so that

Owen § seems to have been mistaken with respect to their num-

ber. It has also seemed to us that the pouches do not commu-

nicate with the pericardium, but that they are blind sacs, with-

out any other apertures than those which communicate with the

branchial sac ; facts also observed by Valenciennes.

6. That the anus is by no means situated as Valenciennes has

figured it||, viz. at the bottom of the fissure formed by the two

muscles ; but that it is, on the contrary, placed at a great distance

from that part, close to the lamellated organ, which Owen states

to be in relation with the oviduct and in the semilunar fissure

formed by that organ. .

7. That there is a distinct foramen in the pericardium, pre-

cisely similar to that which Owen has described and figured,

and which Valenciennes, consequently, erroneously denies. How-

ever, I am not certain that it communicates with the siphon; and

I regret that the animal, being detached from the siphon, it was

not possible for us to determme whether the hypothesis which

Buckland** has proposed, in accordance with a drawing by Owen,

is quite accurate. It is a point which deserves to be studied

afresh. With respect to the foramen itself of the pericardium, it

cannot be doubted that it exists, and that it gives passage to an

artery. Requesting, Gentlemen, that you will insert this letter

in your estimable Journal,

I have the honour to be, your obedient servant,

W. VRouik.

XXIII.—Deseription of the Lurking Machete (Macherium sub-

ducens) from. the northern coast of New Holland. By Joun

Ricnarpson, M.D., F.R.S. &c., Inspector of Naval Hospitals.

[With a Plate. |

Tue fish which forms the subject of this notice inhabits, in small

numbers, the various bays of Port Essington, where it lurks under

the mud in shallow waters. The aborigines name it “ Ambeet-

unbeet.” Mr. Gilbert, assistant to Mr. Gould, brought home a

single specimen of the dried skin of one side, which was presented

* Nouvelles Recherches sur le Nautile flambé, 4to, 1839; Archives du

Muséum, tom. ii. p. 279.

t loc. cit. p. 20. t loc. cit. p. 285.

§ loc, cit. p. 27. || Zoe. cit. pl. 10. fig. 1. w.

{J loc. cit. p. 27. pl. 5. 0. ** Bridgewater Treatise, pl. 34.

176 Dr. Richardson’s Description of the Lurking Machete

by Mr. Gould to the British Museum. It is from this example

alone that the following description of the species was taken. The

want of anatomical details prevents me from poimting out the

systematic position of the fish with any confidence ; but im a short

paper which was read at the Manchester Meeting of the British

Association in June 1842*, I stated, on the strength of external

characters only, that it most probably belongs to a generic or sub-

generic group of the Ophidia, and that it bears a strong general

resemblance to the Eehiodon drummondi of Thompson, though

its dentition is dissimilar. The genus Ophidium, which is ranged

by Cuvier with the Anguilliformes, ought perhaps, with the ad-

dition of the Machetes, Echiodons, Fierasfers, and some other fish,

to form a proper family near the Gadide, and likewise to the

Blennies, which should also be removed to that part of the system,

as I have hinted in the paper quoted above. The more remark-

able characters of Macherium may be summed up as follows :—

Piscis malacopterygius, apodus, ensiformis, squamosus. Apertura

branchialis satis magna sub gula extensa. Radii membranz branchio-

stegee sex. Opercula conspicua. Os modice extensivum. Dentes

parvi, uniseriales in ossibus intermaxillaribus et in maxilla inferiore,

que rictum efficiunt, ordinati. Genz et regiones suprascapulares

squamose. Pinneze verticales coalite, radiis spinosis nullis. Pinna

dorsi per totum fere dorsum regnans. Linea lateralis brevis super

anum desinens.

Macu#rium suspucens (Rich.), Lurking Machete. Plate VI.

Rep. Brit. Assoc. for 1842, p. 69.

Form elongated and compressed like a Gunnellus or Ophidium,

and similar to a straight sword or bitcher’s knife, whence its ge-

neric appellation +. The profile of its body is semilanceolate,

and its greatest height, which is to be found a short way before

the vent, is comprised 93 times im the total length of the fish.

The tail, though regularly lanceolate, is not acute. The exact de-

gree of compression of the body cannot be determined from our

solitary specimen, owing to the manner in which it has been pre-

ared.

: The head, blunt and somewhat less high than the body, is evi-

dently considerably compressed. Its anterior extremity is formed

by the tips of the jaws, the lower jaw being rather the longest ; its

upper profile descends from the line of the back by a low convex

curve ; its under profile is flattish. The rictus of the closed jaws

runs backwards and slightly downwards to beneath the centre of

the eye. It is formed above by the strong intermaxillaries, whose

stout tapering pedicles equal the dental portion in length, and

* Vide Report of the Twelfth roe Transactions of Sections, p. 69.

+ Th. waxeson gladius,

from the northern coast of New Holland. 177

work backwards over the orbits. The maxillary lies entirely be-

hind the intermaxillary, is less strong and is nearly of equal width

throughout, except that a shoulder projects anteriorly from its

upper third. A knob close to its articular condyle projects into

the roof of the mouth. The under jaw is still stronger than the

upper one, and runs far back, behind the eye, a small heel project-

ing beyond its articular cavity and forming a point on the side of

the gill-membrane. About five pores exist on its flat under-sur-

face. The lips, covermg both jaws, are tolerably thick, and of a

clear greenish colour even in the dried specimen. The under one

folds back on the sides of the jaw, but the fold does not extend

round the symphysis. The round eye, having a diameter equal

to one-sixth of the length of the head, is placed two diameters

behind the tip of the upper jaw, near the profile, but not inter-

fering with it, and three diameters before the gill-openmg. Sub-

orbital chain narrow, smooth, subtubular, but not distinctly po-

rous. The preorbital embraces a quadrant of the orbit, and is

wider than the rest of the chain ; its width is increased at its pos-

terior end, under the centre of the eye, by a descending corner.

Top of the head smooth and rounded off laterally, particularly

behind the eye. Cheek large, scaly, quinquelateral. It is bounded

above by a line running horizontally between the upper third

of the orbit and the upper end of the preoperculum ; posteriorly

by the nearly upright, slightly curved, narrow disc of this bone ;

inferiorly by nearly one-third of the length of the lower jaw, and

anteriorly by the lower half of the maxillary below and the orbit

above. Its scales are similar in size and tiling to those of the

body. The space bounded hy the upper edge of the operculum

and the scapular and suprascapular bones is also similarly scaly.

The gill-covers and the rest. of the head are clothed with smooth

skin. A curve in the upper third of the preoperculum gives its

lower part a slight inclination forwards. The interoperculum is

parallel to the lower half of the preoperculum and swells into a

rounded ridge, whose end appears to form a fulcrum or joint on

which the projecting heel of the lower jaw moves. The suboper-

culum has a curved exterior edge, a subquadrate disc, and the pro-

cess which rises before the operculum swelling into a rounded

ridge. The operculum is triangular, with two smooth rounded

ridges diverging from its articular angle, one bounding the bone

anteriorly, the other running near its upper edge, and ending in

a flat, obtuse, slightly projecting tip. The posterior edge of the

bone, beneath this tip, has a slight sigmoid flexure. There are

no spinous points on any of the bones of the head. The gill-flap

is bordered by membrane, which at its upper part unites with

the branchiostegous membrane and the integuments of the hu-

meral chain, closing the gill-opening down to the bend of the co-

178 Dr. Griffith on the Sacculi of the Polygastrica.

racoid bone or upper axilla of the pectoral fin. The lower edges

of the suboperculum and interoperculum are free and overlap

the conspicuous gill-rays, which are six in number, strong, round

and curved. ‘The gill-opening, though low, is moderately large,

and extends forwards to beneath the joint of the lower jaw. The

humeral chain consists of suprascapular, scapular and coracoid.

The scales are cycloid, tiled, exposing a longitudinally elliptical

surface and firmly imbedded in the skin. There are about thirty

in a vertical row. The lateral line is composed of fifty small emi-

nences, and terminates opposite to the tenth dorsal ray.

Rays :—Br. 6; D.70; A.59; C.9; P.10; V.0.

All the rays of all the fins are jomted: the first rays of the dor-

sal and anal are simple ; the other rays of these fins are divided at

their tips into about four branches which do not spread, and the

rays are slender and stand well apart in the strong membrane.

The dorsal rays increase gradually in length from the first to

near the middle of the fin, after which they continue equal to the

end of the fin. The anal is more nearly equal throughout. Both

fins are pointed at the end, but the points are not conspicuous,

the space between them being filled by the caudal fin, whose rays

are much finer, more crowded and somewhat shorter. The pec-

toral is small and rounded, its rays slender, crowded and branched.

The interspinous bones of the back correspond in number with

the dorsal rays.

DIMENSIONS. inches.

Length from intermaxillary symphysis to end of caudal fin... 13°80

base of ditto ...... 13°38

beginning of anal. 4:50

centre of anus...... 4°25

beginning of dorsal 2°35

gill-opening ...... 1°65

centre of eye ...... 0°65

Length of rictus of mouth .....c.cseeceseeoeees dadakecssebpedtiodicrs 0°60

LOWEY JAW scscccsccerecsceocercccccceeenecsonseseoes sovoee 1°15

Diameter of Cye seccessesececceescees caneveniabpnasiinnsas eee teeceeees 0°22

Height of head ....ccscseeseveres BVor esd pbecven tevaseevsupesteveewes 0:95

body about .siccsevceccccavevsreccccsscccesecvesceeccececs 1-30

dorsal fin posteriorly ......sssececeseseesscsoese sereesoes 0°60

—— all fi cerccascrecececscensrscnecseseasoncoesvenees severe 0°35

Length of pectoral fin cseccscsorscccesesccesesvseseeteensccenseanes 0:45

- XXIV.— Additional Observations on the Polygastrice Sacculi.

By Joun Wo. Grirritu, M.D., F.L.S. &c.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

A PAPER having been inserted in the last number of your Journal

(p. 104) by Mr. Addison, tending to the conclusion that the inaccu-

Dr. Griffith on the Sacculi of the Polygastrica. 179

rate interpretation I attributed to him was rather my own, I crave

the favour of a few lines to reply. In the first place be it noticed,

that the quoted remarks relating to this part of the subject in my

paper were extracted (as distinctly stated) from the ‘ Prov. Med.

Journal’ for 1842, as read before the British Association ; there-

fore observations since made in any ‘ Experimental Researches’

published in the following year, clearly can have nothing to do

with the matter. It must also be observed, that my observations

were on the Polygastrica, not on Paramecium, although what ap-

plies to one will, I believe, apply to the whole.

My object in adducing “physical reasoning” was not to at-

tempt to show what any living structure could or could not do, -

because I appealed to experiment and observation first, and sub-

sequently applied reasoning to explain what I saw; the explana-

tion of the causes of which appearances must be sought in reason-

ing alone. ;

As regards the bursting of pollen grains when acted on by

solution of potassa, this is again a decided misinterpretation, and.

the cause of this appearance is only to be found in repeated ex-

periment and careful reasoning. When water, solution of potash,

or acid are added to pollen grains, imbibition and swelling take

place ; when water, acid, or weak potash water are used, the pollen

tubes are generally thrust out at the same time, and the fovillary

matter can be seen within ; but when a stronger solution of pot-

ash is added immediately as the pollen tube begins to be emitted,

it is deprived of its covering of intine by the solvent action of the

reagent, and the fovillary particles are emitted, thus giving the

appearance, which, hastily interpreted, is called bursting. The

physical reasoning is therefore equally cogent as regards the

pollen and the animalcules. The “ vesicular” appearance seen in

the animalcules after the addition of potash can also be seen in

the case of the pollen, and when the solution is not sufficiently

strong to dissolve the intine covering of the pollen tube, the whole

grain shrinks or becomes contracted. When we neutralize the

liq. potassee exactly with nitric acid previously to adding it to

the Polygastrica (whereby the solvent action of the liquid is de-

stroyed, but its density not materially interfered with), we have

exosmosis produced, 7. e. instead of swelling they become con-

tracted and shrivelled. This is a very interesting fact, and clearly

shows that the density of the liquid cannot be concerned in the

production of the “imbibition,” but that it must be attributed

solely to the chemical action of the potash. I may here recall

to the reader’s mind, in conclusion, the object I had in making

any observations relative to the “imbibition” which was stated.

to take place in the polygastric sacculi,—it was to disprove the

conclusion arrived at by Mr. Addison, viz. that these “ stomachs”

180 Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Alge.

perform their function by imbibition, which, I believe, in my

former paper I showed to be thoroughly unfounded.

Your obedient servant,

J. W. Grirriru.

XX V.— Observations on the genus Mougeotia, on two new Genera

of Freshwater Alga, and on Tyndaridea, with descriptions of spe-

cles. By Arntuur Hiri Hassarz, Esq. |

: [ With a Plate. ]

Genus Movucerortta.

Tue real nature of the genus Mougeotia does not hitherto appear

to have been at all understood, and consequently the definitions

given of it up to the present time are either erroneous or incom-

lete.

Vaucher thus defines the genus -Mougeotia :—“ Conjuguées

a tube intérieur”’ And Agardh as follows :—“ Fila articulata re-

ticulata conjuncta, granulis absque ordine dispositis, fructibus in

angulis reticult collocatis.” |

The first of these definitions is imperfect, and the second inac-

curate, masmuch as it contains a reference to perfect fructification

distinct from the granules or zoospores.

The true and original species of the genus Mougeotia are all

characterized by the singular fact, that sporangia, which Agardh

calls the fruit, are never found in them as they are in all other

species of the conjugating tribe of Conferve. The filaments do

indeed unite, but no transference of the contents of one cell into

the interior of the other, and consequently no formation of spo-

rangia, ever take place.

This remarkable circumstance in the history of the genus

Mougeotia, resting as it does on long-continued and careful ob-

servation of the species composing it, does not admit of the small-

est doubt, and although not absolutely stated as a fact, is yet

strongly implied by Vaucher in his description of Mougeotia ge-

nuflexa, in which the following observations occur :—

“This Conjugata has not presented to me the round globules

of the other species of the same family; on the contrary, the green

matter which it closes hath appeared to me to present nearly

the same form, so that I know not how the grain is formed, nor

in what way the development in this species is brought about ;

only I have remarked distinctly three or four bright grains im-

mersed in this green matter, and I have seen in the month of

April the cells separate from each other and sink in the water,

but I traced them no further. Nevertheless, I have difficulty in

believing that the brilliant grains are not the germs.

“ Since writing this description I have seen the germination of

Ann. d Mag. Nat. Hist.Vol.42.P1.V1.

+ 7 a

AH Hufiall delin. TD.C.Sowerby feutp

Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Alga. 181

this Conjugata elsewhere im a manner very different from all the

others: the matter does not pass from one tube to another neigh-

bouring tube, but each cell itself furnishes a single young plant,

the interior tube which it was found to enclose becoming a young

Conjugata which was entirely contained in the old tube, as it itself

contains the plants which are afterwards to become developed ; it

issues by the extremity when it occupies the last cell, and by the

sides when it is found in one of the central cells.” :

With respect to the observations of Vaucher in reference to

the germination of the young Conferva while still within the pa-

rent cell, I would observe that I have never witnessed this sin-

gular development, and can confidently assert that this is not the

legitimate or normal mode of development of the species of the

genus Mougeotia, which is by zoospores, developed external to the

cells, as in other Confervee.

The above-detailed facts connected with the genus Mougeotia,

when viewed in connexion with other singular circumstances ex-

hibited by other abnormal forms of Confervee, are in the highest

degree important, from the light which they throw upon the

hitherto obscure physiology of this wide-spread class of Nature’s

productions—proving as they clearly do the interesting fact, that

each cell of EVERY Conferva contains all the requisites for the per-

petuation of the species. Thus the occurrence of certain non-

conjugating species in the genus Zygnema proves that union of

the filaments is not essentially concerned in the continuation of

the species of that genus ; while the single example met with in

the same genus of a species in which sporangia are formed without

either union of the filaments or commingling of the contents of

two cells—that is, are formed separately in each cell—clearly

testifies that this concentration of the endochrome of two cells is

likewise unessential to the continuance of the species of the ge-

nus Zygnema. Still further light is shed upon the reproduction

of the Confervee by Mougeotia ericetorum, the filaments of which

do not generally conjoin, but in which sometimes a union of the

matter of two cells in the same filament does take place, without

however any subsequent formation of sporangia; the absence of

sporangia in this, as well as in the other species of the genus

Mougeotia, which differ however from M. ericetorum in that union

of the filaments does invariably occur, but unaccompanied by

transference of the endochrome, affording a proof conclusive of

the fact that the formation of sporangia is not indispensable to

the reproduction of the conjugating tribe of Confervee any more

than such sporangia are to that of the branched kinds, in which

there is no union of filaments, no transference of endochrome,

and no formation of sporangia. In the branched species, there-

182 Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Algae.

— the reproduction of the Conferve is reduced to its simplest

orm. iF

The only purpose which can be recognised as being fulfilled by

the union of the filaments in M. genuflexa, &c. is, that thereby an

opening is effected in the cells through which the zoospores can

escape on their separation from those cells.

I now propose, therefore, that in the genus Mougeotia should

be placed only such species of conjugating Confervee as are cha-

racterized by the interesting fact of the non-formation of spo-

rangia. ‘These species include the. original and typical species of

the genus, M/. genufleza, M. compressa, as well as M. brevior,

M. dubia, M. flava described in a previous paper, and M. erice-

torum, of which a detailed description will here be given.

The genus Mougeotia may be thus defined :—

Gen. Movucrorttia.

Gen. char.—Filaments of equal diameter, rarely branched ; cells

usually conjugating; transference of endochrome rare; spo-

rangia none ; endochrome at first filling the cavity of the cell,

but subsequently contracting into an irregularly spiral thread ;

zoospores scattered without order throughthe colourmg matter.

M. ericetorum. Filaments not unfrequently branched ; cells usually

about twice as long as broad, rarely uniting, but frequently

emitting elongated and irregular processes, which are usually

to be regarded as rudimentary ramuli; endochrome frequently

becoming effused, generally from one cell ito an adjoining one

in the same filament, but sometimes that from both cells passes

into a space formed between the two. utricles.

It has elsewhere been stated that I had ‘been induced, from the

detection of ramulion some of the filaments, to consider Conferva

ericetorum as referable to the branched Conferve. It would

appear, however, on closer examination, that while it certainly, by

the not unfrequent occurrence of ramuli, exhibits a degree of re-

lation to those species, that yet its affinities with the conjugating

tribe are sufficiently strong to make. it apparent that its proper

station is with these, and not with the branched species.

When a communication is about to be set up between two cells

in the same filament, the opposed extremities of those cells are

first seen to become slightly mflated, to point somewhat and then

burst, effusing their contents sometimes into a space which is

gradually between the two cells, but at others the endochrome

of one cell passes directly into the cavity of the other.

All the cells in a filament do not usually communicate with

each other at the same time, but at distant intervals ; and around

those cells between which a communication is about to become

Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Alga. 1838

established, the investing membrane is observed to be thickened

considerably, pointing out to the observer those cells which either

have, or are about to take on, the characters of reproduction. .

At one time I thought that the branches which [ have so often

met with were spurious, and might have been formed in the same

manner as they sometimes are in M. genuflexa, &c., viz. by the

union of the extremities of certain filaments at right angles with

the cells of other filaments; but this idea was dispelled by ob-

serving, that in the specimens in which the branches occurred

most abundantly, no union of cells in the regular way was to be

met with.

The colour no less than the condition of the endochrome varies

considerably in this species. In some specimens the filaments are

of a bright green, in which case they have always been found im-

mersed in water; while in others, and more frequently, they are

purple ; which they invariably are when found spreading over

swampy heaths. Specimens of a beautiful green colour were re-

cently sent me by Mr. Jenner and Mr. Ralfs, and these for some

time puzzled me exceedingly.

Notwithstanding that I have thought it right to place C. eri-

cetorum in the genus Mougeotia, it yet must be acknowledged

that it differs in several respects from the other species of the ge-

nus : thus it differs in its habit and in its persistent vitality, which

enables it to live under circumstances which would be fatal to the

vast majority of Confervee, such as exposure to drought and heat ;

it differs also in the occasional presence of ramuli on the filaments

and in the transference of the endochrome; but all these differ-

ences are, I think, only of specific value, and are more than out-

weighed by the correspondence in the important fact of the non-

formation of sporangia,

I have no hesitation in referring to this species the C. purpu-

rascens of Carmichael, which is but an aquatic condition of the

‘plant, and strongly suspect that Conf. tortuosa, Dillw. (the Zyg-

nema littoreum, Lyngb., and C. perreptans, Carm.) might be re-

ferred to it likewise.

Nov. gen, StavRocaRPus.

Gen. char.—Sporangium either square or cruciform, and lodged

in the transverse tubes.

Certain square or cruciform species of conjugating Conferve

were doubtfully associated by Agardh with the genus Mougeotia ;

these species I learned long since had been separated from it b

Mr, Shuttleworth under the appropriate generic appellation of

Staurocarpus. Mr. Shuttleworth however did not, so far as I can

learn, publish his opinion of the propriety of establishing for these

184 Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Alge.

curiously formed species a distinct genus, contenting himself with

communicating his views to some of his correspondents, of whom

I may name the following as being conversant with those views:

Mr. Borrer, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. Ralfs. Within these

few days I have been informed by Mr. Berkeley that Kutzing has

proposed this genus under the term of Staurospermum in a sketch

of a work on the Algz, inserted in the first number of the new

series of ‘Linnea.’ No account of the genus is given by Kutzing,

but merely the name and an enumeration of species belonging to it.

Mr. Shuttleworth’s appellation I conceive to be much more appro-

priate and accurate than that of Kutzing, and have therefore ven- |

tured to retain it ; for the word Staurocarpus applies to the fruc-

tification generally, which is either square or cruciform, while

Staurospermum appears to me to specify the reproductive granules

or zoospores themselves with which each sporangium is filled, and.

which are more or less of a circular form.

That Agardh entertained a very strong suspicion that the

square-fruited species ought to be separated from the genus Mou-

geotia, will be apparent from the following observations :—

“Ceterze species quoad fructum non satis cognite, et postea

forsan separandee, huc tantum ob habitum retentz.’’

The genus Staurocarpus differs from Mougeotia in the facts of

the transference of endochrome and formation of sporangia, while

from the genus Spherocarpus, hereafter to be described, it is se-

parated by the form of the sporangium.

But one species of this genus is described by British ititers,

Ina recent number of the ‘ Annals’ I added two others, and I

have now the pleasure, assisted by my valued colleagues Mr. Ralfs

and Mr. Jenner, of describing three other species of the genus.

St. glutinosus. Synonym, Mougeotia glutinosus. For descrip-

tion see ‘ Annals and ee of Natural History, vol. x.; and

for figure, Plate VII. fig. 1

St. capucinus. Filaments of less diameter than those of St. glu-

tinosus ; cells usually eight or ten times as long as broad; en-

dochrome generally of a purple hue ; sporangia cruciform, large,

and filled with zoospores of a greenish colour. See Pl. VII.

fig. 2.

Hab. Henfield, Mr. Borrer ; Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Jenner ;

Penzance, Mr. Ralfs ; ; High Beech, Essex.

This is a very distinct species, and appears first to have been

described by Agardh under the name here adopted. A synonym

of this species is undoubtedly the Conferva cerulescens of ‘ English

Botany.’ The colour of the filaments in this as in other Confervee

would appear to be subject to considerable variety, but is usually

Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Alga. 185

a deep purple. It is distinguished from St. glutinosus by the form

of the sporangium, size and colour of the filaments *.

St. virescens. For description see ‘Annals and cree of

Natural History,’ vol. xi.; and for figure, Pl. VII. and fig. 3

Synonym, Mougeotia quadrangulata, ‘Annals and Magazine of

Natural History,’ vol. xi.

This is readily distinguished from the two preceding species by

its much smaller size.

St. Filaments usually of a green colour and smaller

diameter than those of St. affnis; cells before conjugation

about eight or ten times as long as broad, but after that period

becoming much longer ; sporangium cruciform. Pi. VII. fig. 4.

Hab. Pond near Roydon, Essex.

This species comes very near to St. virescens, from which it is

distinguished by its somewhat finer filaments and cruciform spo-

rangium, the sporangium in Sf. virescens being square.

St. gracilis. Filaments of finer diameter than those of St. affinis,

and usually of a green colour; cells many times longer than

broad ; sporangia cruciform. See fig. 5.

Hab. Penzance, Mr. Ralfs; Rackham Bogs, Broadwater Forest,

Fishers Castle, Parham Park, Mr. Jenner; High Beech, Hertford

Heath, Wormly West End, and Wanstead Flats, Essex.

This is an abundant species, and very distinct from any of the

others. It was found by Mr. Ralfs, Mr. Jenner and myself, within

a few days of each other.

St. gracillimus. Filaments more slender than those of St. gracilis,

and usually of a green colour ; cells very many times as long

as broad; sporangia cruciform, and about one-half the size of

St. gracilis. See fig. 6.

Hab. Hertford Heath and High Beech, A. H.; 3 Rackham Bogs

and Parham Park, Mr. Jenner.

This species I have myself met with several times, but did not

at first recognise its distinctness, of which however I now enter-

tain no doubt ; and it was only on the receipt of a beautiful sketch

from Mr. Jenner, accompanied by remarks, that I examined

thoroughly into the matter and satisfied myself of its entire di-

stinctness.

Novy. gen. SPHHZROCARPUS.

Cells filled at first with endochrome, which subsequently contracts

and assumes an irregularly spiral form ; sporangia circular,

lodged in the transverse tubes.

* I have since ascertained that this species was first described in the

‘English Botany.’ I have, however, retained Agardh’s name for it, the

term c@rulescens being rarely, if ever, applicable to it, and therefore likely

to mislead.

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. | O

’

186 Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Alga.

The species of this genus, while they agree with Stawrocarpus

in the arrangement of the endochrome, yet differ very considerably

from it in the form of the sporangium, and it is on this difference

that I have ventured to found a new genus. From those species

of Tyndaridea whose sporangia are likewise formed in the connect-

ing tubes, the genus Spherocarpus is distinguished by the dissi-

milar disposition of the endochrome.

Sph. scalaris. For description see ‘Annals and Magazine of

Nat. Hist.’ vol. x. ; and for figure, Pl. VII. fig. 7.

Hab. Vicinity of Cheshunt and various other places, A. H. ;

near the Blackboys Turnpike-gate, Mr. Jenner.

I have recently received from Mr. Jenner what I regard as a

variety of Sph. scalaris. The filaments are of the same diameter,

but the sporangia instead of being oval are spherical. This may

be distinct. See fig. 8.

Hab. Croboro’ Warren, Mr. Jenner.

Sph. intricatus. Filaments of less size than those of Sph. scalaris ;

cells five or six times as long as broad; sporangia oval, rather

larger than those of Sph. scalaris, their long diameters being

placed in the direction of the width of the cells. Fig. 9.

Hab. Broadwater Forest, Mr. Jenner.

The only differences to be detected between this Spherocarpus

and Sph. scalaris are the smaller diameter of the filaments and

larger size of the sporangia, but these are I think of a sufficiently

well-marked character to justify its bemg ranked as a distinct

species. This species has only as yet been found by that indefa-

tigable observer Mr. Jenner.

Sph. recurvus. Filaments of smaller size than those of Sph. in-

tricatus ; cells six or seven times as long as broad; sporangia

circular. Fig. 10.

Hab. Penzance, Mr. Ralfs ; Rackham Common, Mr. Jenner.

This species I first received from Mr. Ralfs, and some two or

three weeks afterwards it was sent me by Mr. Jenner. I regard

it however as the species figured by Dillwyn (Supplement, pl. C.)

as M. genuflexa in a state of reproduction.

Sph. depressus. Filaments rather larger than those of Sph. re-

curvus ; cells six or seven times as long as broad ; sporangia oval,

small, their long diameter being placed in the direction of the

length of the cells. See fig. 11.

Hab. Rackham Bogs, Mr. Jenner; Penzance, Mr. Ralfs.

There can be no doubt of the distinctness of this species, which

was procured by Mr. Jenner some weeks before it was found and

transmitted to me by Mr. Ralfs. )

Sph. nummuloides. Filaments of rather larger size than those of

_ Mr. Hassall’s Notices of British Freshwater Algae. 187

Sph. recurvus ; cells about six times as long as broad, not usually

recurved ; sporangia circular and smaller than those of Sph. re-

curvus. Fig. 12.

Hab. Hertford Heath.

Sph. parvulus. For description see ‘ Annals and Magazine of

Nat. Hist.’ vol. xi.; and for figure, Pl. VII. fig. 18 and 14,

Sph. ovalis. Filaments about equal in size to those of Sph. par-

vulus; cells ten or twelve times as long as broad; sporangia

slightly elliptical, their long diameter being placed in the di-

rection of the length of the cells. See fig. 15.

Hab, Wimbledon Common.

The sporangia, although elliptical, are not near so much so as

are those of Sph. depressus, and the filaments are not one-half so

large.

Sph. angustus. Filaments much more slender than those of Sph.

parvulus ; cells very many times longer than broad; sporangia

circular, very large in comparison with the size of the filaments.

Fig. 16.

Hab. Penzance, Mr. Ralfs.

This is a very distinct species, and for its discovery we are in-

debted to Mr. Ralfs.

Genus TYNDARIDEA.

The species of the genus Tyndaridea may with great propriety

be placed under two heads. Under the one should be arranged

all those species in which the sporangia are formed within the

cells, while under the second head those species should be placed

in which the sporangia are lodged in the transverse tubes.

Vaucher, in his description of Tyndaridea pectinata, thus inge-

niously, though I fear not satisfactorily, endeavours to account

for the formation of sporangia in the transverse tubes :—“ Les

grains sont entiérement sphériques et un peu hérissées, ce qui sans

doute est la cause pour laquelle elles sont retennues dans le canal

de communication qui est entre les deux tubes,” — Vaucher, p. 78,

I have now to describe four fine species belonging to this second

division of the genus Tyndaridea,

* Sporangia lodged in the transverse tubes,

Tyndaridea conspicua. . Filaments of considerable diameter ; cells

about one and a half or twice as long as broad ; endochrome di-

stinctly stellate ; sporangia large, circular, and partly immersed

in the cells. See fig. 17.

Hab, Wimbledon Common. :

This species bears considerable resemblance to Vaucher’s figure

of T. pectinata ; however, I do not think that it is that species, for

I presume that Vaucher employed the same magnifying power to

188 Prof, Forbes’s Note in reply to Mr. Hassall.

all his figures, in which case the filaments of 7. pectinata would

be almost equal in diameter to those of 7. porticalis, and conse-

quently nearly as large again as those of the present species.

Tyndaridea immersa. Filaments rather smaller than those of the

preceding species; cells usually twice or twice and a half as

long as broad ; sporangia usually spherical, but sometimes oval

and entirely confined to the transverse tubes. Fig. 18.

Hab. Wimbledon Common.

Tyndaridea decussata. Filaments of less diameter than those of

the preceding species ; cells usually two and a half times as long

as broad; sporangia circular, and a portion of them immersed

either in one or other or both cells. See fig. 19.

Hab. Wimbledon Common.

This species may possibly be the 7. decussata of Vaucher, in

which however the cells are said to be four times as long as broad.

Tyndaridea Ralfsii. Filaments of less size than those of 7. im-

mersa ; cells usually four times as long as broad ; sporangia el-

liptical, their long diameter corresponding with the length of

the cell. Fig. 20.

_ Hab. Penzance, Mr. Ralfs ; near Cross-in-Hand and Chilting-

ton Common, Mr. Jenner.

There is not a more elegant or beautiful species than this in

the genus, and I have much satisfaction in dedicating it to Mr.

Ralfs, its first founder, and a gentleman by whom our knowledge

of the Algze has been so considerably augmented.

XXVI.—WNote in reply to Mr. Hassall.

By Prof. Eowarp Forszs, V.P.W.S., F.L.S., F.B.S. &e.

I recret that Mr. Hassall has taken in such apparent ill-hu-

mour my comments on two of his supposed discoveries. His

observations, however, more and more convince me that he is

mistaken in regard to the Echinocorium, and had not made him-

self acquainted with previous observations when he claimed the

priority of discovery about the phosphorescence of zoophytes.

A word or two regarding each: I have met with the Coryne

on shells not incrusted by Alcyonidium echinatum as well as those

so invested: Mr. Hassall has not hitherto. This is just the state

of the case about the association of Adamsia maculata with the

Pagurus, and of the Adamsia with the remains of Echinocorium,

but one negative observation (I have made many) upsets all his

positions.

Mr. Hassall says, that he has convinced himself of the union

between the Alcyonidium and Coryne; first, because marked de-

pressions exist on the polypidom for the reception of the bases of

Prof. Forbes’s Note in Reply to Mr. Hassall. 189

the polypes; 2nd, because the whole structure of the polypidom

itself was porous and incrusted with a gelatinous material; and

lastly, because it was invested by a membrane derived from the

polypes themselves, and which likewise covered the muricated

processes. If these were the grounds of his conviction he must

be very easily convinced, since, admitting the correctness of the

observations (which I am by no means inclined to do), they are

all so many arguments against the genus Echinocorium, since

they are quite contrary to the type of structure in the Zoophyta

Hydroida, to which order the animal of his genus undoubtedly

belongs. His logic too is singularly bad, for by his first argu-

ment he might prove the oyster-shell to be the polypidom of

Cliona; and by the second, that a fucus had the same relation

with a Botryllus. When I said that the Coryne could be sepa-

rated from the Alcyonidium without injury, of course I meant

without organic lesion ; no other meanimg would have been sci-

entific. As to the separation of the Alcyonidium echinatum as a

genus (it is a somewhat unphilosophic consolation, that though

we are not right one way, we may be in another), I agree with

Mr. Hassall that it probably should be, but we want more data

ere we can constitute it satisfactorily. As to the Coryne being

distinct, I also think it is, and three years ago showed a draw-

ing of it to Dr. Johnston under that conviction. He was fami-

har with the form, but regarded it as a variety of C. squamosa. In

order that there be no mistake in future about it, the best way is

to constitute it a species at once, and name it after the indus-

trious naturalist who has brought it so prominently forward.

Coryne Hassalli, nov. sp. C.corpore elongato, capite clavato, ten-

taculis brevibus albidis, L. 1—2 lin,

In mare Britannico profundiore.

Obs. Secundum Hassall, animal Echinocorii, genus Zoophytarum

improbabile.

Now, as to the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes, I again repeat,

that the general fact has long been known. It has been taught

for years in the class-room of every natural-history and physiolo-

gical professor at home and abroad. I taught it myself in my

lectures in Edinburgh in 1888 as a familiar fact, not as a novelty,

The masters under whom I had studied had taught me, and I had

confirmed their observations on the sea-shore. Dr. Johnston’s

insertion of Stewart’s paragraph is a sufficient indication of his

recognition of the fact. Dr. Grant notices it in his published lec-

tures. What can be more to the purpose than Dr. Carpenter’s

summary—Sponges, Sertularia, Pennatula, and other Polypifera,

exhibit some degree of luminosity” (Principles of Gen. Physio-.

logy, 1839)? If Mr. Hassall be, as he says himself, “ not suffi-

190 § Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

ciently acquainted with foreign authors,” he ought at least to be

so with British ones, ere he sets up a claim for such familiar dis-

coveries as the phosphorescence of zoophytes. The ‘ Dictionnaire

des Sciences Naturelles’ refers to British authors, and rather old

ones too (as Shaw), on the very subject in dispute.

But I have another “ Retrospective Comment” for Mr. Hassall,

on a passage in his paper on Diseases produced by Fungi, in the

last Number of the ‘ Annals.” He there writes—‘“ The produc-

tion of diseases through the agency of Fungi, whether in the ani-

mal or vegetable fabric, has not hitherto received that degree of

consideration to which the frequency of their occurrence and the

importance of the subject so eminently entitle them ;” and again,

“it has hitherto been supposed that their powers were confined

to dead organic matter.” Who would suppose from this, that

only a year ago an elaborate memoir “ On the Parasitic Vegetable

Structures found growing in Living Animals” had been published

in the Transactions of one of the Royal Societies of Great Britain

(see Edin. Royal Soc. Transact., vol. xv. part 2. for a paper

eighteen pages long, with two plates, by my friend Dr. J. H. Ben-

nett)? Yet such was the case, and nearly fifty authors on the sub-

ject in question are referred to in that paper.

August 1848.

XXVII.—Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

[A newty published Part of the ‘ Journal of the Royal Geographical

Society’ contains two narratives of an expedition to the Barima and

Guiania Rivers, communicated by our esteemed correspondent the

Chevalier Schomburgk* to the Colonial Office, from which we shall

give some extracts relating to natural history.—Ep.]

, River Manari (a tributary of the Barima),

June 22, 1841.

The expedition under my direction left Georgetown on the after-

noon of the 19th of April, in the schooner Home, which had been

chartered for the purpose of conveying us to the Waini, or Guiania.

On the 28th of April we received the visit of a Warran chieftain

from the Canyaballi, a tributary of the Waini, and about two days’

journey from its mouth, who, having heard of our arrival, came with

part of his men to visit us. The captain is known among the colo-

nists of this part under the name of Sam Peter, and appeared a very

intelligent old man. During the time occupied by the survey the

weather had changed, and it now became apparent that the short

rainy season had set in. We ascended the Waini to the remarkable

passage which connects that river with the Barima; and which,

although not navigable for sailing vessels, affords a ready communi-

cation, in boats and canoes, between the two rivers. This natural

* See also the notice in vol. x. p, 348.

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 191

channel may be compared, in some respects, to the Cassiquiare, which

connects the Upper Orinoco with the Rio Negro, and it is known in

the colony under the name of the Mora Creek. The Warran Indians,

who inhabit these rivers, call it Morawan.

The Barima presented, where we entered it from the Mora, the

appearance of a much larger river than I had expected. I estimated

its breadth at 700 feet. Its water, still subject to the influence of

the tides, was of a dark colour, and its depth from eighteen to twenty-

four feet. About five miles from the junction of the Mora, the river

Aruka flows into the Barima on its left bank. The two rivers, before

they unite, are nearly of equal breadth—about 400 feet each. The

Aruka has yellowish muddy water. A few houses, inhabited by

Warran Indians, are within a short distance of the confluence of the

Aruka with the Barima. They, with others who inhabit the Lower

Aruka, acknowledge a Warran by the name of William as their chief-

tain, who resides at the small brook Atopani.

We followed Mr. King to the Warran settlement Cumaka, which

is within a short distance of Atopani, and landed there in the evening.

We found a large assemblage of Warrans, with their chieftain Wil-

liam. The Indians were suffering, to an extent painful to behold,

from ophthalmia. My previous excursions have made me acquainted

with various tribes who inhabit British Guiana or the adjacent ter-

ritories ; but though that disease is by no means unusual among them,

I nowhere saw it so frightfully exhibited as here, where at least 50 per

cent. of the inhabitants are labouring under it, or have had their eye-

sight impaired by it. I ascribe it to their inhabiting the low marshy

grounds, where it appears they are more subject to colds than in the

open savannahs or on the high mountains, and to carelessness.

Cumaka is situated on-rising ground, These hillocks, which are

the first high ground from the sea inland, form a small chain that

_ extends in a western direction : they are composed of indurated clay,

highly ochreous ; and, to judge from their vegetation, and the pro-

vision-grounds of the Indians on their declivities, the soil is fertile.

It is only here that the vegetation of the banks on the river begins to

change. Hitherto it consisted of curida and mangrove trees, and

numerous manicole palms; but when we had reached the rising

ground, we observed noble forest-trees—as, for example, the crab-

nut tree, useful for building material; locust, curaliara, siruaballia,

soriari, and others. From the curaliara the Warrans prepare canoes

and corials; and from the size of these I judge of the height of the

trees from which they are made.

I resolved, as soon as the general health of my crew was restored,

to proceed to the mouth of the Barima for the purpose of examining

that part of the river. I engaged six Warran Indians, under the

command of the chieftain’s son, to accompany us, and we set out on

our journey on the 10th of May; and having paddled through the

greater part of the night, we landed the following day at the mouth

of the Barima, where we encamped not far from Point Barima, on

the right bank of the river.

The survey of the Barima was finished by the 19th of May. Its

192 Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

banks are marshy to its junction with the Aruka; and so much

subjected to the tide, that we could not find any spot fit for our

night-quarters. It would cost the same labour and expense to bring

the lower tracts into cultivation that were required to render the

coast land of Demerara arable and productive. Of the upper regions,

which I have not yet visited, I can say nothing.

The fish known under the name of querrunai in the colony abounds

in these estuaries, and its value is acknowledged, as one in its dry

state brings in the market of Georgetown from five to six bits (1s. 9d.

to 2s. 3d.). Of equal, if not greater value, is the morocotto, which

frequents the rivers that fall into the Orinoco, and weighs when taken

from 10to12lbs. I consider it of importance to point out every re-

source that the country possesses. These fisheries, if followed up in

a proper manner, would no doubt become a useful branch of internal

commerce.

We left the mouth of the river Barima on the 20th of May, and

arrived at Cumaka, which we had selected as our depdt, on the fol-

lowing day.

Thirteen miles from Cumaka, in a southern direction, the Aruka

is joined by the Aruau, by means of which the portage is reached

which forms the communication between the rivers Aruka and Ama-

cura. I resolved, however, to follow the Aruka some distance beyond

the junction, in order to visit a Warran settlement, and to become

acquainted with the character of the upper course of that river. It

decreases materially in size, being scarcely more than thirty yards

across ; its banks, still swampy, are studded with manicole and truti

palms, along the stems of which we saw the aromatic vanilla trailing

in large quantities, forming natural festoons, and its numerous white

flowers diffusing a delicious perfume. The water of the river was of

a jet-black, and so clear, that it was difficult to detect where the re-

flected image, which the trees and shrubs bordering its banks cast

into the river, separated from the real object.

We returned next morning to the junction of the Aruau with the

Aruka, and, following the former river upwards, reached in the even-

ing the portage, whence we had to transport the corial to one of

the rivulets which flow into the Amacura.

The soil consisted of rich loam ; and I observed several trees use-

ful for naval and civil architecture, as the crab-wood, siruadallia, so-

riari, mora, and many others. One of the mora-trees astonished me

by its gigantic size.

The botanist would have been here much delighted by a diversified

and interesting flora. Orchideous plants, the Peristeria (or flower

of the Holy Spirit); several Hpidendra, with scarlet blossoms ; and

many others of equal interest, adorned the trees. A Crucian with

white flowers and a delicious perfume bordered the banks; Bigno-

niacee trailed along the trees; and the Brownea racemosa, which has

been compared to our rose, added to the variety by its bright scarlet

colour, especially when contrasted with the green of the surrounding

shrubs and trees.

We ascended it, in order to pay a visit to Assecura, a settlement

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 193

of Arawaaks and Warrans, under the Arawaak chieftain Jan. We

were received in a very friendly manner ; and found in him an intel-

ligent man, who spoke the Creol-Dutch perfectly. The settlement

consisted mostly of Arawaaks, and only a few Warrans. The greater

cleanliness in person of the former, compared with the latter, was

striking. We did not observe among any of the Arawaaks (whether

children or adults) those tumours which are caused by an accumu-

lation of chigoes, and which, being neglected to be extracted in time,

render many of the Warran children lame; indeed, as the chigoes

penetrate other parts as well as the feet, these poor children not only

suffer the greatest pain by the neglect of their parents, but are ren-

dered in their appearance positively offensive. This was not the case

with the Arawaaks, among whom the filthy state of the Warrans is

proverbial; nor did they suffer from those ophthalmic complaints,

which I have mentioned as being so common to the Warrans of these

rivers, and of which the extent has been under-rated in the state-

ments that even fifty per cent. of them suffer under it.

With Captain Jan of Assecura as a guide, and our crew increased

by several of his followers, we left the settlement on the 2nd of

June, and now ascended the Amacura.

The next day (June 8rd) proved so rainy that we were obliged to

remain stationary. We started, however, on the 4th of June, to con-

tinue the survey of the Amacura to its falls or rapids, which are

caused by a ledge of granitic rocks that cross the river and impede

its farther navigation.

As we advanced I found its banks increase in height, and become

studded with noble forest-trees. The gorgeous flowers of the Brownea

racemosa and Gustavia angustifolia were so abundant that they added

considerably to the beauty of the sylvan scenery.

We left on the 7th of June, on our farther descent to the mouth

of Amacura. The Arawaak, Captain Jan, who went with us to the

Upper Amacura, and who proved himself very useful and intelligent,

accompanied us farther, as his knowledge of the localities, and the

names of.streams which fall into the Amacura, rendered his ser-

vices valuable. 'The streams which join the river from its eastern or

right bank are very numerous ; and it increases materially in breadth ;

I state its average depth at its lower course as eighteen feet, though

there are places which much exceed that depth. A peculiar feature

in this river are large patches, consisting of matted grass, the splendid

blue water-lily (Ponthederia azurea), and several other water-plants,

which, torn off by the increased stream during the rainy season, come

floating down with the current, and reaching that part of the river

where it is subjected to the tides, are carried to and fro, as the tide

may be flowing or falling. We might have numbered thousands

of these little floating islands. We reached, in the afternoon at three

o’clock, the Coyuni, which, like the Mora from the Waini to the

Barima, and vice versd, offers an uninterrupted passage in canoes

from the Amacura to the Araturi. ‘The Coyuni connects the Ama-

cura with the Waicaicaru or Bassama, which falls into the Araturi.

194: Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

This river flows, opposite the island Smataca, into the Orinoco, and

is another instance of a remarkable connexion between the tidal

rivers of this coast.

There is no doubt that the Amacura is navigable for smaller ves-

sels and steamers to the Yarikita; the bar at its mouth, and the in-

considerable breadth, which seldom amounts to more than 300 yards,

render it unfit for larger vessels. It abounds in that delicious fish

morocotto.

It was late in the evening before we reached the mouth of the

Amacura. We arrived on the 10th of June at Cumaka, where, to my

great satisfaction, I found the invalids mostly restored, and Mr. Su-

perintendent King rejoicing in his recovered eyesight.

Although the rainy season has for some time past set in, and al-

though our stores are materially reduced, and we have been deprived

of many comforts, I yet deem it my duty to persevere, and continue

the survey to the Cuyuni.

Demerara, August 1841,

The party under my command left Cumaka, where we had so-

journed for some time, on the 15th of June, and having arrived at the

junction of the Aruka with the Barima, we continued the ascent of

the latter river in an east-south-eastern direction : we reached, next

day, its junction with the Kaituma, which falls in on the left bank

from the S., and is at its mouth about 200 feet wide. The Kaituma

is inhabited by Warran and Waika Indians, and is connected with

the Upper Barima by several intermediate brooks.

Numerous rivulets join the Barima on both its banks; some of

them inhabited by Warrans, It has still, however, the appearance

of a tidal river, being margined by mangrove and curida bushes, over

which manicole and truli palms raise their heads. Its banks form

continued swamps, which only can be made arable through the in-

dustry of man.

I always considered it my duty, wherever an opportunity offered,

to observe how far the geological structure of the country might be

favourable to cultivation ; it being undeniable that the quality of the

soil depends generally upon the rocks which form the strata below

the arable land. The superstrata at the hills of Warina consist of

ochreous clay, intermixed with mould, pebbles, and that due propor-

tion of sand which would particularly qualify it for the cultivation of

coffee. The large blocks of ferruginous clay which lie dispersed on

the surface ensure the necessary moisture for the cultivation of that

plant ; for it is well known to the agriculturists how beneficially such

blocks operate on the soil on which they lie, contributing not only

to the retention of moisture, which would otherwise evaporate, but

to the precipitation of atmospheric vapours.

Since we had left Warina, our course up the Barima lay more to

the S.W.: the banks of the rivers became higher; while the palms

and mangrove bushes, which till now had been so numerous, became

less frequent, and were replaced by a more varied vegetation. Our

Indian guides informed us that, by ascending the rivulet Yarumuku

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 195

half a day, we should reach high hills and savannahs. We continued,

however, the ascent of the Barima, and passed the rivulets Aruta and

Pegua; the latter inhabited by Warrans.

In lieu of palms, the most stately mora-trees overshadowed the

river. In all my former travels in Guiana I have nowhere seen trees

of this description so gigantic as on the land adjoining the Barima

at its upper course. Indeed, frequently, when our boat rounded some

point which the river made in its course, and a long reach was be-

fore us, these majestic trees appeared in the background as hillocks

clothed with vegetation, until a nearer approach showed our mistake ;

and we found that what we considered to have been a hillock was a

single tree, rising to the enormous height of 180 to 150 feet; form-

ing by itself, as it were, a forest of vegetation. The importance of

the mora in naval architecture is now fully recognised in Great Bri-

tain, and a new export trade has been opened to the colony. On the

Upper Barima this tree is so abundant, and grows to such a size, that

the whole British navy might be reconstructed merely from the trees

which line its banks ; a circumstance well worth consideration, for

the river being navigable to vessels of twelve feet draught, the craft

intended for the transport of the timber might load at the very spot

where the trees are cut down. It is only lately that the timber of

Guiana has come into notice in England ; but so superior is the mora

and the green-heart for objects of naval architecture, that a higher

price is given for them in seaport towns than for any other wood

imported into England.

I was anxious to examine the Barima beyond its falls. I started

accordingly, on the 24th of June, in a small canoe, accompanied by

Mr. Glascott, the assistant-surveyor, and Mr. Echlin, the artist of

the expedition. Descending the Manari for a short distance, we

reached the Barima by two of those natural canals (the Gaima and

Ataima) which so frequently connect rivers having a parallel course

in these swampy regions. The almost continual torrents of rain

had caused the Barima to overflow its banks, and we found the cur-

rent running at the rate of from four to four and a half miles an

hour. Our progress was consequently slow. A short distance above

the off-flow which connects the Barima and Manari, we visited a

Warran settlement called Emu, where we admired a gigantic bam-

boo, several hundred yards in circumference.

We found two of the Indians finishing a native canoe, which they

had cut out of cedar (Icica altissima), a species of wood uncommonly

well qualified for that purpose, and resembling, in its durability,

odour, and reddish colour, the famed Bermuda cedar, although a

genus quite distinct from the icica. As the cedar-tree of Guiana is

by no means scarce, it deserves more attention.

We were accompanied by a number of Indians from Simuita and

the neighbouring settlements, who intended to ascend the river to

the falls, to shoot the delicious fish called maracotto, or ossibu,

which, at the time these waters are full, migrate beyond the falls for

the purpose of depositing their spawn. We formed a flotilla of boats,

our canoe being the leading frigate. Several fish were procured on

196 Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

the first day. In order to attract them to the shore, a number of

the seeds of the carapa, or crab-nut, are pounded, and having been

inclosed in a netting of withes, they are put in the water, and soon

attract the greedy maracotto. An Indian stands ready with a light

spear, which he lances into them, one after another, with unerring

aim. ‘The maracotto frequently attains a length of thirty inches,

and is twenty-six inches in girth. Its flavour is delicious.

I now found it advisable to discontinue the ascent in corials, for

numerous trees which had fallen across the Barima obstructed the

boats. Leaving Mr. Glascott in charge of the camp formed at the

junction of the two rivers, and having armed the most effective of

the crew with cutlasses and axes, we cut our way through entangled

bushes and swamps, following the left bank of the Barima. With

the exception of two rivulets, we found the tributaries which the

river received of inconsiderable size. Its bed is frequently traversed

by granitic dikes, over which the water precipitated itself impetu-

ously ; and its current was so rapid that it would have been diffi-

cult to make any way in ascending, even in a small corial.

I admired the number of noble forest-trees, among which I ob-

served the bullet-tree, the locust-tree, the crab-wood, curahara,

itapu, cuyama, yarura, and its allied species, parnacussana; the

suari or impa, and makaratalli. But the most remarkable appeared

to me the tunkara, which measured in circumference from twenty-

eight to thirty feet. Its trunk rose free from branches, smooth and

round, to about seventy or eighty feet; and I was told by some of

my Indian guides that the Warrans used the tree for making canoes,

It is soft and white, and the colonists prepare staves from it. ‘The

Warrans make their bark or shell canoes of the bark of the bullet-

tree and makaratalli.

We were joined by a number of Warrans and several Waikas

from Manari, whose services we had engaged to assist in carrying

our luggage from Manari to the Barama, which flows into the Waini.

We were told that we should have to ascend the Barama in boats

for four days before we could reach the path that leads to the

Cuyuni.

An Indian carries scarcely more than 24 lbs. weight on journeys

overland. While the negro carries invariably his burthen on his

head, experience has taught the Indian that by doing so he would

not be able to make much progress through the thick woods, and

his load is therefore slung on his back; for that purpose they have

baskets which are made of the stems of a calathia, or of some spe-

cies of palm.

Our preparations had been completed, the loads distributed ac-

cording to the appearance of strength possessed by our carriers ; and

after Mr. Glascott had left with his party, in a boat which was

hired for the purpose, we commenced our march overland on the

8th of July. The forest through which we now proceeded appeared

to have less underwood; and I observed numerous specimens of

that valuable tree the siruaballia, which affords one of the best tim-

bers for the planking of vessels and the construction of gigs, boats,

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 197

&c. I saw trees of this description, of which the trunks might have

measured seventy feet before they branched off.

The cedar and other forest trees, many of them of the most gi-

gantic dimensions, were seen in great numbers during the course of

this day’s journey, besides numerous hya-hya trees. The hya-hya

is the remarkable tree which yields by incision a milky fluid that

forms a good substitute for cow’s milk. The Indian, to whom it is

inexplicable how man can make use of milk after having been weaned

from the maternal breast, does not attach any value to this fluid as

an article of food, but the younger community prepare from it balls

of caoutchouc.

Our path led over hillocks from fifty to sixty feet high, extending

in longitudinal ridges: their intermediate valleys generally formed

swamps, on crossing which we frequently sunk to our girths in mud

and water. After four hours’ march we crossed the Caruawa, here

a mere rivulet ; and arrived in the afternoon at a small settlement

consisting of two houses inhabited by Waikas.

The neatness and order of the provision-fields around these set-

tlements showed that the Indian who presided over them was distin-

guished from the generality of his brethren. Paths led through the

fields ; the yams were trailed against poles ; lime and orange trees,

so seldom to be met with amongst the Indians, increased the favour-

able idea I had of the inhabitants. We found only one Indian and

some females at home; the rest, with their chieftain, were gone to

work for a time at a wood-cutting establishment on the river Po-

meroon with a view to earn money to procure those articles which

have become almost necessaries of life with them, namely, wearing

apparel, implements for cultivating their fields, guns, powder and

shot.

Leaving Paripu we continued our march; and in the afternoon of

the same day arrived at another large settlement, judging at least

from the number of the huts. . Here also the male inhabitants were

absent, having gone to work at the Pomeroon.

We departed from Cariacu on the 11th of July. The Barama re-

sembles much the Upper Barima; its banks are clothed with a simi-

lar vegetation, and it is equally serpentine in its course. I noticed

a good deal of potter’s clay, used by the Caribisi for the manufacture

of pottery, which for its durability is highly esteemed by the colo-

nists. This clay has a grayish colour, and is mixed with the loose

materials of decomposing granite.

The rivulet Nakuwai was the largest tributary which we passed

in the course of our first day’s ascent ; it joins the Barama on its left

bank. We noticed the first rocks lying in the river’s bed above the

rivulet Abocotté. About a mile and a half above this, the Erawanta

and Mazuwini join the Barama close to each other. During the

rainy season, when the bed of the river is full, it forms numerous off-

flows, which adopt a more direct course than the river itself, and join

it again at some distance. ‘The Indians who are acquainted with

these branches navigate them, and thus shorten the ascent mate-

rially.

198 Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

‘We passed, on the afternoon of the 13th of July, some hillocks,

and, soon after, the first rapid, formed by dikes of granite; and

reached a settlement of Waikas, called Cadui, which we were told

was the last inhabited place below the great fall. We were here

struck with an air of plenty: the cassava grounds were extensive ;

yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, and bananas were abundant; also

the paripi palm, and papayas, of which the fruit resembled a large

melon, some of them measuring twenty-eight inches in circumfe-

rence, Sugar-cane, cashew, and cotton-trees grew around the huts,

A number of wild fowls was observed; moridies, powies, parrots of

all plumage; several sun-birds, all tame, and associating amicably

with one another. .

I succeeded in procuring a set of circum-meridian altitudes, ac-

cording to which the settlement was in 7° 19’ N. latitude. We

heard quite distinctly during night the roaring of the great fall

Dowocaima, which is about two miles distant, and bears §, 58° W.

Having engaged three more Indians to accompany us from Cadui

to the Cuyuni, we started next morning at an early hour; and after

passing some rapids, approached the great fall. We had to unload

near the island Wayaruima, and carry the canoes and luggage two

miles overland.

These cataracts surpass in grandeur the great falls of the river

Demerara, to which in their structure they bear some resemblance.

The whole fall on the Barama amounts to about 120 feet in a di-

stance of two miles; but, from the sinuosities of the channel, there

ig no one point which affords a coup-d’ «il.

The grandest scene is offered by the three upper falls, where the

river, narrowing into about eighty feet, rushes turbulently down the

precipice in three jets, and forms, in the distance of about 100 yards,

a fall of thirty-five to forty feet perpendicular. ‘This part is called

Dowocaima, and as we saw it at the height of the rainy season,

when the river is full to overflowing, the scene is sublime indeed.

The banks were bordered by a primitive forest, and foliage of every

hue, among which the bright red of the young mora-leaves formed

a striking object. Lianes, reaching from boughs sixty feet high

down to the water’s edge; a:‘thousand creepers, so closely envelop-

ing whole rows of trees as to give them a fanciful resemblance to old

massy columns crowned with ivy; white festoons and clusters of

purple and yellow salver-shaped flowers trailing from tree to tree ;

all combined to form a vivid picture of tropical vegetation. The up-

roar of the masses of water which rush over the ledges of rock, and

envelope in foam the surrounding scenery, added to the characteristic

features of the landscape. 4 |

The ledges of rock are composed of gneiss, their stratification

being S. 33° W.; they form an impediment to all further naviga-

tion, and are such as, if a denser population should render the step

necessary, could only be overcome by canals or railroads. In the

absence of these, our Indians took their light bark canoes on their

heads, and carried them to that part of the river where there were

no serious obstacles to its further navigation,

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 199

We passed next day the rapid Massiwinidui, and several others

of less consequence, and encamped in the evening at the foot of the

fall Aunama, from whence the path leads to the Cuyuni. The river

Aunama joins the Barama just below the fall.

Our course on the 17th of July continued W.S.W. We crossed,

at ten o’olock in the morning, the Aunama for the last time ; and

having passed a ridge of small hills which stretched 8. by W., we

stood soon after on the western branch of the rivulet Acarabisi. We

had now reached the most elevated spot between the Cuyuni and

Barama, and entered another system of rivers, the waters of which,

instead of flowing northwards to the Waini and Barama, run to the

S.; and, uniting with the Cuyuni, are conveyed to the Atlantic by

the Essequibo.

From this ridge of hills the ground slopes southward to the banks

of the Cuyuni; and I estimated the highest ridge which separates

the two systems at 520 feet above the level of the sea. Heights

which really deserve the name of mountains commence twenty miles

further westward. The Aunama and Acarabisi are only divided

from each other by hillocks which rise not more than from sixty to

100 feet above their level. Both rivers, if properly cleared of trees

which have fallen across, would be navigable for canoes and punts ;

and as the portage is not more than two miles, these rivers present

the means of connecting the Pomeroon and Morocco coast with the

Upper Cuyuni, where the channel of that river is comparatively un-

obstructed.

We followed the valley of the Acarabisi, by no means a comfort-

able path, as at this season of the year it formed an almost conti-

nued swamp, and we fell sometimes to our girths in the mud. A

rich retentive soil renders these regions peculiarly fit for the culti-

vation of rice. It rained almost incessantly, and we were truly re-

joiced when, on the morning of the 19th of July, we arrived at the

Caribisi settlement Haiowa, about two miles distant from the left

bank of the Cuyuni. The country between the Barama and the

-Cuyuni is a series of narrow valleys, situated between hillocks of no

great height. The principal valleys are those which are drained by

the rivers Aunama and Acarabisi. The general direction of the others

is at an oblique angle to these, and they vary considerably in extent.

Sometimes they are merely defiles, and the greater number of

them do not expand more than about a quarter of a mile. I am

fully persuaded that there can be no soil better qualified for the cul-

tivation of coffee than what is found here. The zones of granite,

sometimes in spherical blocks, and the vitrified and ferruginous

masses of clay which I frequently observed traversing the moun-

tains, are favourable to the cultivation of that plant.

The productiveness of the soil nearer to the banks of the Cuyuni

is evident from the specimens of sugar-cane, cotton, and plantains

which were brought to me while at Haiowa. I saw a cane mea-

suring 15 feet long, and 74 inches in circumference. The cotton,

too, was of excellent quality and staple; and the few tobacco-plants

200 Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

which the Indians raised for their own use were remarkable for their

large leaves, and, as I was assured, for their fine flavour.

We expected to meet here a party which was to have been sent

with a supply of provisions up the Cuyuni, for our stores had long

since been given out, and we were reduced to cassava bread and

what game chance brought to our hands. We were, however, dis-

appointed in our expectations; and, in the absence of any craft, I

had to send my coxswain a journey of two days higher up the Cuyuni,

where I was told there was a corial large enough for our use. He

arrived, and having bargained for the corial, returned, with some

additional guides, on the morning of the 22nd of July. We em-

barked our baggage, and a few hours later began the descent of the

Cuyuni. |

The Cuyuni presented, where we embarked, a magnificent sheet

of water. I estimated its width at from 400 to 500 yards. Its cur-

rent was rapid, perhaps 34 miles in an hour, and its bed full to

overflowing. A small chain of hills, called Macapa, bore nearly W.

They are distant about a mile.

Our progress was rapid, and in the afternoon we had safely passed

the dangerous fall of Kanaima, and rested at an abandoned settle-

ment on the river’s right bank. There were some other settlements

in the neighbourhood, the inhabitants of which came to visit us. We

did not observe any mora-trees along the banks ; they were replaced

by another equally majestic tree which the Indians called Ta-au.

The islands with which the river was studded were almost covered

with bushes of the Quassia amara or bitter-ash. The stream itself

continued as if cut up by a multitude of large channels, which are

not seen from each other, thickly-wooded islands intervening ; and

no accurate idea can be formed of their total breadth : sometimes a

little range of densely- wooded hillocks approached the water’s edge.

We passed the Otomong hills, and avoided by narrow passages

between islands numerous large cataracts, which in our small canoes

- it would have been dangerous to attempt to descend. At the cata-

ract of Poinka-marka, or Womuipong of the Caribisi, we had to un-

load and draw the canoes over a portage of about 300 yards’ extent.

The perpendicular fall of this cataract is not less than thirty feet,

and it is generally called the Canoe-Wrecker, in consequence of many

fatal accidents which have occurred here. —

The rapids and falls now became less frequent, and still-water

commenced. The tract of granite and gneiss which causes these

impediments extends therefore from the Arakuna hills, uninter-

rupted, to the small range of hillocks called Macapa. It is about

pry’ to sixty miles in length, and constitutes the second large series

of falls.

We had anxiously looked forward to meet the party which we

expected with supplies of provisions. We heard of them today at

a settlement opposite the Toro hills, but only to have the disappoint

ment of learning, that on ascending the previous day the dangerous

fall Wakupang, they had lost everything, and saved only their lives

and the corial. Among the luggage lost was one of the instruments,

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 201

Massey’s log, and a new tarpauling. Thus disappointed in our

hopes of meeting comfort, we had to put up for some days longer

with our scanty fare. We paid off our guides who had accompanied

us from Haiowa, as, with the men who had come up from the Esse-

quibo, our crew was sufficiently strong to reach that river.

The dangerous fall Wakupang, where our stores were lost on the

preceding day, was passed without accident. This is the commence-

ment of the second series of rapids or falls. The river is studded

with islands; green-heart and purple-heart, both most valuable trees,

become abundant along its banks; but the impediments which the

numerous rapids throw in the way will for some time render these

treasures unavailable.

We passed in the afternoon the Cutuau hills, along which a river

of the same name has its course. The Cutuau offers a communica-

tion with the river Waini, and is much frequented by the Indians of

both rivers; eight miles further eastward is the rivulet Wayarimpo,

whence another path leads to the Paruni.

We reached on that evening Ematuba, generally called “ the

Great Fall,” where we had to unload and haul our corials over land,

and encamped at the foot of the small island whither the corials had

been drawn. Continued rains precluded the possibility of any ob-

servations, and we started on the morning of July 27th, under the

same unfavourable weather. An hour and a half after, we were at

the foot of the last fall, called Akayu, and saw before us the junc-

tion of the three rivers, Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni.

Our party left Bartika Grove on the 28th of July in two corials,

and we arrived safely in George-town on the second day ensuing,

after an absence of three months and a half, during which period

we had travelled upwards of 700 miles; and although that period

presented but a continuation of the most unfavourable weather, we

nevertheless determined twenty-one points astronomically, and ac-

quired a correct knowledge of the course of the rivers Waini, Ba-

rima, Amacura, Barama, and Cuyuni, all of which had never been

visited before by any person competent to delineate them in a map;

no wonder therefore that their actual course should be almost oppo-

site to what it is represented in extant maps.

The fertility of the tract we have explored has been pointed out

in various places in this as well as my former account. The lands

adjacent to the rivers Amacura, Barima, and Barama, and beyond

the reach of the tides, are superior in quality to those of any other

district hitherto visited; and this refers equally to the Cuyuni,

where I met sugar-canes of the finest description, and native cottons

of superior staple and quality. But the impediments to the naviga-

tion of the Cuyuni will, I fear, prove a great obstacle in the way of

rendering the fertility of its banks available. The Amacura, Barima,

and Waini are for a great distance free from such impediments, and

a denser population only is wanted to render this part of Guiana

one of the most productive throughout its whole extent; and to this

end the numerous natural canals and connexions between its chief

rivers would materially contribute.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol, xii. P

202 | Bibliographical Notices.

These tracts are at present inhabited by the following tribes :—

1. Warrans, along the coast, from Pomeroon to the Amacura; 2.

Arawaaks, intermixed with the former, chiefly at the rivers Waini,

Barima, and Amacura; 8. Waikas and Chaymas, sister tribes of the

Wacawais, at the upper course of these rivers, and the regions be-

tween the Barama and Cuyuni. I estimate the whole number of

these nations at 2500. Many of them assist in felling timber or in

working on the estates; and if the system which only of late years

has been followed, namely, that of treating the Indian as a rational

being, in giving him a fair remuneration for his work, shall be ge-

nerally adopted, the aborigines; there is no doubt, will prove most

useful labourers to the colony. It is my full persuasion, that if the

attention and paternal provisions which the aborigines of Guiana

have of late years enjoyed at the hands of Her Majesty’s Government

be continued, and means adopted to afford them religious instruction,

a relic of the once numerous Indian population may yet be rescued.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Die Pflanze im Momente der Thierwerdung. Beobachtet von Dr. F.

Unger. Wien, 1843, pp. 100, with a large quarto plate.

Tue observations which Dr. Unger made many years since on the

peculiar motion of the spores of Vaucheria clavata, though questioned

by many, have for the most part been received as correct and well-

founded. Indeed they have been confirmed more or less by Trevi-

ranus, Meyen, Trentepohl, Valentin and others, and the fact is un-

doubtedly one of the most curious amongst those which have been

recorded of apparently spontaneous motion amongst the reproductive

organs of Alge. No one seems hitherto to have ascertained how

this motion is produced, with the exception of Dr. Unger, who in

the treatise before us has fully described the structure of the cuticle

of the spores, which it appears is clothed with short vibratory pro-

cesses, exactly asin many of the inferior animals, or particular organs

or membranes of those of a higher grade. The fact of the existence of

such processes in vegetables is not, however, perhaps altogether new

to science. Pouchet has described something of the kind in the larger

circulating globules in Zannichellia, though so imperfectly that the

real nature of the processes is not very evident.

We now proceed to give the results of Unger’s observations as de-

tailed by himself at the end of his treatise, which we think cannot

fail to interest our readers.

1, Vaucheria clavata, Ag. (Ectosperma clavata, Vauch.) is, consi-

dered respectively of all its peculiarities, a plant, which by the union

of numerous individuals forms small tufts on the surface of stones

in running streams, in the middle of Europe. It consists, when fully

developed, of a branched inarticulate tube, 0037th of a Vienna inch

in diameter, which continues to grow above, while the lower portions

are dead or decomposed, and in this state lives from the end of winter

Bibliographical Notices. 208

through spring, summer, autumn and winter till the approach of the

new spring.

2. The tube consists of a tender vegetable membrane, whose inner

surface is clothed, more or less thickly, with round or elongated par-

ticles of hardened jelly involved in chlorophyll, whence the whole

plant derives its lively green colour. The rest of the tube is filled

with a fluid, somewhat granular, slimy substance, in which, as also in

the globules of the chlorophyll, there is no observable motion.

3. Under the due influence of light and temperature a peculiar

alteration takes place at the top of the tube and of its branches,

which has the closest agreement with the formation of spores in sim-

ply constructed plants. There originates—namely, below the tips of

the shoots—a transverse dissepiment in the tube, which was at first

perfectly continuous. This is very thin, and separates the upper por-

tion of the contents of the tips of the threads from that portion which

is below. In this upper part only a new tube is formed out of a

colourless, slimy, granular substance within the mother-tube, which

is closely pressed to it.

4. The development of this inclosed tube resembles that of other

spores in their mother-cells, but it at length attains a higher order of

_ organization*, inasmuch as, instead of being formed of a simple ve~

getable membrane, it is, in fact, an epithelium with vibrating ciliary

processes. At present, however, there is scarcely a trace of organi-

zation in the tube itself or its contents.

5. By means of the swelling of the ripe spore simultaneously with

the attenuation of the mother-tube, the tube bursts and the spore

pushes spontaneously through the narrow aperture, exhibiting at last

a revolving motion. This process, which lasts some minutes, may

in a certain degree be compared with that of delivery in the animal

kingdom. |

6. After the separation of the spores the dissepiment expands, and

forms a sac within the vacant tube, or a branch is given off imme-

diately below the dissepiment. In either case we have a mere pro-

longation of the original tube. .

7. The same process of formation takes place in the new portion

of the original tube, and it is repeated a third time; but as the tube

M3 continually decreasing in diameter, the new spore is proportionally

essf. ,

8. The spore is an oval or elliptic body, which, when liberated

from the mother-tube, moves freely in water in every direction and.

swims about like an animal. An epithelium uniformly clothed with

vibrating cilia incloses a slimy substance, which in part assumes

the form of vesicular cavities ; the epithelium is clothed within with

numerous globules which are invested with chlorophyll. At the

_* We follow the language of Unger, without however adopting his views

altogether as to the sa a a of the spores. See however on this head

‘ Berk. Gleanings of Brit. Algee,’ under the article Vaucheria clavata.—Ep.

+ This is perhaps one of the most interesting facts contained in the trea-

tise, and altogether analogous with what Corda describes in the formation

of the spores of certain Fungi.—Eb. P

204 Bibliographical Notices.

_ lighter anterior portion these green globules are much less frequent

than in the posterior portion; so, on the contrary, the vesicular ca-

vities are more numerous in the anterior portion than behind, where

they are replaced by globules of chlorophyll. There is no trace of

a cytoblast. .

9. The motions of the spores are rotatory round their axis major

from left to right, and sometimes straightforward; in either case

produced by the vibrating cilia. Moments of rest alternate at plea-

sure with motion, which on the whole continues for about two

hours.

10. With the cessation of motion the ellipsoid assumes a globular

form; the colour becomes uniform, and the crystalline transparent

epithelium changes into a tender, homogeneous, vegetable membrane.

In less than twelve hours the bladder elongates at one or two points,

which is the indication of germination.

11. The development of the tube proceeds rapidly. On one side

a root is formed, by which the plant is fastened, while on the other

side the spore elongates, becomes branched, and within fourteen days

produces new spores.

12. I do not find any substance which tends to prolong the ani-

mal life of these germs. Experiments show that it is very easily de-

~ stroyed by the weakest dynamic and chemical external influences,

and that even the vegetable life is destroyed by them. A tempera-

ture from 0° R. to 15° R. is proper to it. A higher temperature is

destructive.

Light has no influence in prolonging or shortening the animal life.

On the contrary, absolute darkness retards the process of germina-

tion, while green light promotes it. Acids, alkalies, salts in the

smallest proportions, are destructive ; narcotics destroy both the power

of motion and germination. A weak electrical stream deranges the

motion, a strong one is altogether fatal.

13. The spontaneous motion of the germs of Vaucheria is not an

isolated fact. A whole series of Algze (Zoospermea), as well articu-

late as inarticulate, have this peculiarity, and it appears from the

present observations that the same organization is the cause of the

phenomena. Comparative inquiries show that these moveable germs

are Be be regarded as embryos, which resemble the tetraspores of

Algz

4. ae germs, regarded on one side only, are not to be ex-

cluded from the animal kingdom to which they belong, as indicated

by the structure of the skin, the voluntary motion, and their sensi-

bility to outward influence.

15. Neither the absence of mouth or reproductive organs, nor the

presence of gum (schleim) and chlorophyll, are contradictory as to.

their animal nature, since there are animals which do not possess the

first, and possessed of parts which otherwise belong to vegetables.

Among animal forms the embryos of the lower classes of invertebrate

® The word in the original is Fucoideen ; but this is evidently a slip of the

pen. It should be Florideen.—Ep.

Bibliographical Notices. 205

animals resemble them most, and indeed, at present, are not distin-

guishable by any acute characters.

16. We conclude also that the germs of Vaucheria and the allied

Algze are animal embryos which cannot raise themselves above this

embryonic condition, and after a short existence resume the vege-

table nature to which they owed théir origin.

Note.—In the number of ‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles’ for May 1843,

M. Thuret has published an interesting memoir on the movement of the

spores of Algze, and has gone over the same ground with Unger, arriving

at similar results, He is convinced that a great number of reputed species

of Vaucheria are mere varieties. There is, however, a portion of his memoir,

on a point simply indicated by Unger, which demands the greatest attention,

viz. that relative to the motion and structure of the granules contained in the

articulations of Conferve, Chetophora, &c. In Conferva and Chetophora he

finds the granules furnished at the narrower end with two, or at most three,

flagelliform, extremely slender appendages, on which their motion appears to

depend, while in Prolifera (= Vesiculifera, Hassall) there is a circle of ap-

pendages. The granules of Conferva differ therefore very little from the

granules of the red snow, which, if M. Thuret’s observations be confirmed,

may after all be a vegetable. At least, if it be not so considered, it will be

very difficult to deny the animality of the spores of Conferva.

Recherches sur la Rubéfaction des Eaux et leur Oxygenation par les

Animalcules et les Algues. Par Aug. et Ch. Morren: Bruxelles,

4to, pp. 130. pl. 7.

This work, which has been kindly communicated by the authors,

consists of a series of memoirs, of which the first relates to the oxy-

genation of water by means of Algze and Infusoria, and the remainder

to its rubefaction and the description of various species by which the

change in colour is effected. It is the result of observations made

by two relations, Augustus and Charles Morren, of whom the former

is Proviseur of the Royal College of Angers and a celebrated che-

mist, the latter Professor of Botany in the University of Liége and

an accomplished zoologist.

There is a singular difference in the quantity of air which exists

at different times in running and stagnant water, as also in the quan-

tity of oxygen comprised in this air at different hours of the day. The

proportion of oxygen varies from 25 to 48 or 61 per cent. from sun-

rise to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The subject is obviously of great

importance as regards health and in many other points of view,

and it is to the consideration of it that the authors have applied

themselves in the first memoir. The cause of these differences is

found in the influence of light on the respiration of the Infusoria and

Algze which are contained in the water.

The influence of oxygen is very great on the salutary quality of

this universal beverage; on the degree of its action on the nutrition

of vegetables, and consequently when used for irrigation ; nor is it

less active as regards the art of bleaching and dyeing. It is easy,

from what has been said, to perceive the great importance of the

subject, and it is difficult to imagine to what results it may finally

lead. In a philosophical point of view we may remark, that it ex-

206 Bibliographical Notices.

plains why the Creator has multiplied in such a marvellous degree

the animalcules and microscopic plants with which water abounds.

Though regarded frequently as objects of disgust and forerunners of

disease, they are, in fact, necessary to the general harmony of nature.

It is to them we are indebted for the salubrity of waters which would

otherwise be injurious*,

We proceed to state the circumstances which led to these inves-

tigations, as our readers will easily understand from them the nature

of the observations. M. Augustus Morren had analysed the water

of a great number of wells and fountains at Angers, and examined

the gases which it is capable of containing. He then experimented

on that of some neighbouring ponds, and he found that, habitually

impregnated with a large quantity of vegetable and animal sub-

stances, it held in dissolution, notwithstanding the contact of a per-

petually-renewed atmosphere, a gas frequently less rich in oxygen

than the water of the two rivers, Maine and Loire, which run near

Angers, and even than the water of the wells and fountains of the

country.

After the admirable work of Humboldt and Guy-Lussac on Eudio-

metry, we know that in its normal state the running water of rivers,

or distilled water, well aérated, holds in dissolution about a 25th

part of its volume of oxygen and azote, in the proportion of 32 of

oxygen to 68 of azote. He was then greatly surprised, when, on a

fine day in the month of July, having analysed the air extracted by

ebullition from the water of a fish-pond, he found that it contained

56 to 58 per cent. of oxygen. This water had a green tint. He re-

peated the experiment, filtering it carefully to get it free from the

colouring matter, but the analysis gave him the same result. The

next day he analysed again the air derived from the water of the

same pond, taken at different times of the day. In the morning it

contained only 25 per cent. of oxygen, towards midday 48 per cent.,

and at 5 in the afternoon 61 per cent., which was the greatest pro-

portion he ever met with. The volume of air contained was variable,

and increased perceptibly with the quantity of oxygen. ‘The quan-

tity of azote remained constant, but the carbonic acid contained in

the water varied.

These experiments convinced him that the solar light has an im-

portant part in these phenomena, but that it is not the only cause

of them. Cold rainy weather succeeded, and the proportion of oxy-

gen was frequently less than 28 per cent. With the return of fine

weather the proportion did not exceed 34; but he found that the

green colour of the water had disappeared. In the middle of Au-

gust the water again became green and strongly oxygenated, though

in proportion to the light and heat of the sun. The green bodies

proved to be Chlomidomonas pulvisculus, Ehrenberg.

The oxygenation of water is of course most important for those

* The authors remark, that these relative effects were not even suspected

before. This however is scarcely correct. See the remarks of Sir J. E.

Smith under Conf. a Eng. Bot. tab, 1554.—Ep.

Linnean Society. 207

animals which depend upon the proportion contained in it for the

purposes of breathing. On three occasions the authors have observed

important consequences arise from the extraordinary diminution of

the proportion of oxygen, owing to accidental circumstances. At

times they have fotind the proportion so low as 18, 19 or 20 per cent.,

and the consequence has been the destruction of the greater part of

the fish by asphyxia. On the 18th of June 1835, the greater part

of the fish in the Maine perished from this cause ; and the same cir-

cumstance was observed twice in the pond which first directed their

attention to the subject of the memoir*.

Their researches into these phenomena led the authors to inves-

tigate also the cause of the rubefaction of water, a circumstance

which in all ages has excited the attention of the curious, and which

has been often regarded as miraculous or ominous, In all cases they

have found that it depends on the presence of Infusoria or microsco-

pic Algee. These researches have given occasion to much interesting

discussion regarding the real nature of certain productions which

have been referred by authors, according to their peculiar views, to

the animal and vegetable kingdom.

Amongst these, the nature of the red snow of the Arctic regions

is investigated, and it is satisfactorily proved to be composed of mi-

nute animals, The green snow has already been shown by Messrs.

Martius and Bravais to be the same thing in a different state. Ac-

cording to them, the granules are red when young, green when old.

When seen in perfection the production is evidently animal, and

is identical with Trachelomonas volvocina, Ehrenberg. It is furnished

with a single oral appendage. When dead it endures for a long time

without much sensible alteration or decay, and is then exactly like

a true Hematococcus. ;

_ It is impossible for us to give an analysis of every chapter, which

would extend to a considerable length. We must content ourselves

with thus indicating the nature of the work, and recommending it

to the notice both of botanists and zoologists, as affording ample

matter for reflection.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LINNAAN SOCIETY.

April 18, 1843.—The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.

Read the conclusion of Mr, Griffith's memoir ‘‘ On the Ovulum of

Santalum, Loranthus, Viscum,” &c.

In this paper, dated “‘ Malacca, March 28th, 1842,” Mr. Griffith

proposes to supply many of the deficiencies in his two memoirs on

the ovula of Santalum, Loranthus and Viscum, published in the 18th

vol, of the Society’s “‘ Transactions,” to correct some important mis-

takes, and to extend his inquiries to another genus of the natural

family of Santalacee, viz. Osyris. With this view he gives a detailed

* Perhaps the periodical or occasional mortality of the fish in the Mere

at Diss in Norfolk, when the Mere is said to be sick, may be ascribed to the

same cause.—Eb.

208 Linnean Society.

description of the progress of the development of the embryo, so far

as he has been enabled to observe it, in Santalum album, Osyris Ne-

palensis, Loranthus bicolor, Loranthus globosus and two species of

Viscum ; each of which subjects is illustrated by an extensive series

of microscopical drawings. In connection with these details he pro-

ceeds to remark at some length on the four following points :—1. the

solidity of the ovarium and the appearance of the ovulum after fecun-

dation, or rather after the action of the pollen’on the stigmatic sur-

faces; 2. the reduction of an ovulum to the nucleus or to the

embryonary sac; 3. the embryonary sac; and 4, the origin of the

embryo. The following is the summary given by him of his ideas

of the structure of Santalum, Osyris, Loranthus and Viscum :—

“In Santalum the ovulum consists of a nucleus and an embryonary

sac, prolonged beyond both the apex and base of the nucleus: the

albumen and embryo are developed in the parts above the septum

[in the exserted portion of the sac], the parts below and the nucleus

remaining unchanged. ‘The embryo is developed from the pollinic

vesicle. The seed has no actual proper covering, and no other theo-

retical covering than the incorporated upper separable parts of the

embryo-sac.

‘*In Osyris the ovulum is reduced to a nucleus and an embryonary

sac, which is prolonged in the same directions as in Santalum, but not

to such a degree beyond the apex of the nucleus. The seed is formed

outside the embryo-sac, and is absolutely without proper tegument,

or whatever covering it may have did not enter into the composition

of the ovulum. ‘The embryo appears to be developed at some di-

stance from the anterior end of the pollen tube.

“In Viscum the modifications appear to me to be two: in the one

an evident cavity exists in the ovarium, and the ovulum appears to be

reduced to an embryonary sac hanging from one side of the base/of

a nipple-shaped or conical placenta. In the other the ovulum is

reduced to an embryonary sac, but this is erect, and has no such ob-

viously distinct point of origin as in the first. In both the albumen

has no other proper covering than the incorporated embryonary sac ;

and, at least in the last, the embryo appears to be a direct transfor-

mation of the pollinic vesicle.

“In Loranthus each ovulum appears to be reduced to an embryonary

sac, the albumen is developed either partly within the sac, or entirely,

or almost entirely, without it. ‘The embryo is a growth from the

ends of the continuations of the pollen tubes outside the anterior

ends of the embryo-sacs, and is, in one modification, exemplified by

L. globosus, up to a certain period exterior even to the albumen. In

L. bicolor the albumen has no proper tegument; in L. globosus it

may be supposed to have a partial one in the incorporated albumi-

nous part of the embryo-sac.

«« The gradation of structure appears to me to be tolerably complete.

One modification of Viscum, in my opinion, tends to show that in San-

talum the first steps towards the disappearance of the usual nucleus

take place. Osyris seems to me to indicate that a similar tendency

may affect the embryonary sac; and Santalum appears to me to

allude to a reduction in the embryo-sac to the form of that of Osyris.

Linnean Society. 209

Nor is this all, Osyris has its albumen and embryo developed outside

that end of the sac to which the pollen tubes are applied : Loranthus

bicolor has the same developed outside the opposite end of the sac.

And the partial development of the albumen in the embryo-sac of

Loranthus globosus may perhaps be a passage to its development out-

side that sac in L. bicolor.

‘The novel points of structure and development pointed out in

this paper are, so far as I know, the possibility of the separation of

a continuous membranous embryo-sac into two distinct parts, of

which the lower remains unchanged, though it would almost appear

from Osyris to be the most permanent ; the presence of the embryo-

sac not being necessarily connected with its forming one of the con-

stituent parts of the young or of the mature seed; the longitudinal

percursion of the embryo-sac by the pollen tubes; the formation of

the albumen either only partially within the embryo-sac, or almost

entirely, if not quite so, without it; the confluence of the albumina

of several sacs into one albumen; the growth of the embryonic tis-

sues from the continuations of the pollen tubes outside the embryo-

sac; the possibility of one embryo resulting from a combination of

several pollen tubes, and of its becoming interior to the albumen,

although it may have been for some time entirely exterior to it.

“I make no mention of the posterior prolongations of the sacs, in

doubt of the true nature or origin of the so-called chalazal apparatus

of Thesium ; or of the growth of the embryonic tissues from the ends

of the pollen tubes, in doubt of my having misunderstood the obser-

vations of M. Schleiden, and in ignorance of those of M. Wydler.”

In a subsequent note Mr. Grittith notices certain peculiarities in

the development of the embryo in Avicennia, and in a genus which,

notwithstanding its very curious anomalies, he considers referrible

to Santalales, and to which he gives the following characters :—

Mopsccoprsis,

Calyx superus; limbo minutissimo, 5-dentato. Petala 5, disco epigyno

inserta, basi utrinque uni-glandulosa. Stamina 5, petalis opposita,

Ovarium omnino inferum, 1-loculare. Ovula 3, ex apice loculi! pen-

dula, anatropa! Stylus brevis. Stigmata 3, subcapitata. Fructus

subdrupaceus, monospermus, calyce demim soluto quasi 5-valvis!!

Semen unicum, pendulum; endocarpio osseo inclusum. Albumen co-

piosum. Jtadicule locus superus.

Frutex scandens, cirrhifer, cirrhis axillaribus. Folia alterna, exstipulata,

oblongo-ovata, basi subcordata et quinque-venia. Flores minuti, incon-

spicut. Glandule apice pilifere! Fructus abortu solitarius, cum pe-

dicello clavato-pyriformis ; valve ints rubre.

Habitus Modecce ; Rhamneis mediante Gouanid analoga? Santalaceis

potiis affinis.

Hab, in Assamia Superiore, Oris Tenasserim, Mergui Provincid, Ma-

lacca.

Anniversary Meeting.

May 24.—The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.

The President opened the business of the Meeting, and having

stated the number of Members whom the Society had lost during

210 Linnean Society.

the past year, the Secretary read the following notices of some of

them :—

The Rev. James Dalton was educated at Clare Hall, in the Uni-

versity of Cambridge, where he took his Bachelor’s degree in 1787,

and that of Master of Arts in 1790. He was much attached to bo-

tanical pursuits, and well acquainted with our native plants, and

especially with the Carices and Mosses. Among the latter he was

the first discoverer of several new species, and his name’has been

commemorated by Sir W. J. Hooker in a well-known genus. Many

of his observations are recorded by Sir James E. Smith in his ‘ En-

glish Botany’ and ‘ English Flora.’ He became a Fellow of this

Society in 1803; and in 1805 he was presented by the King to the -

living of Croft in Yorkshire, where he continued to reside until his

decease, on the 2nd of January in the present year, at the age of 78.

John Latham, M.D., formerly a physician of considerable emi-

nence and extensive practice, was born at Gawsworth in the county

of Chester, Dec. 29, 1761, and educated at Brasen-nose College,

Oxford, where he took his Doctor’s degree in 1788. In the same

year he established himself in London, and became successively

physician to the Middlesex, the Magdalen, and St. Bartholomew’s

Hospitals, and Fellow and President of the Royal College of Physi-

cians. He was elected a Fellow of this Society on the 16th of March

1790, and was consequently its senior member. He died on the

20th of April in the present year at Bradwall Hall, Cheshire, to

which place he had retired from the fatigues of practice in 1829.

His published works are wholly medical.

John Gage Rokewode, Esq., for many years Director of the Society

of Antiquaries, was the fourth and youngest son of Sir 'Thomas Gage

of Hengrave Hall in the county of Suffolk, the sixth baronet of that

family, and brother of the late Sir Thomas Gage, also a Fellow of

our Society and a botanist of considerable attainments, especially in

his knowledge of the family of Lichens. On the death of his second

brother, he assumed the name of Rokewode and entered into posses-

sion of Coldham Hall and the property belonging to it, in pursuance

of a settlement executed in 1728 by one of his ancestors. Mr. Gage

Rokewode was devoted from an early period of his life to the study

of the antiquities of his native country, to the illustration of which

his numerous publications in the ‘ Archzologia,’ in the ‘ Vetusta

Monumenta,’ and in various separate works, have greatly contri-

buted.

The Society has also to regret the loss of two of its Associates.

Mr. Daniel Cooper, whose sudden and melancholy death was no-

ticed in the ‘ Annals’ for January last ; and

Mr. Alexander Matthews, an active and intelligent botanical col-

lector, who died at Chachapoyas on the Andes of Peru, on the 24th of

November 1841. He had been engaged for many years in forming

and transmitting to Europe collections of Peruvian and Chilian plants ;

and was the first discoverer of many species of great interest and

beauty, which have been described, from the specimens gathered by

him, chiefly in Sir W. J. Hooker’s various publications, in which also

Linnean Society. 211

occasional letters from him on the subject of his botanical pursuits

will be found. :

At the election which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop of

Norwich was re-elected President ; Edward Forster, Esq., Treasurer ;

John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary; and Richard Taylor, Esq.,

Under-Secretary. . The following five Fellows were elected into the

Council in the room of others going out: viz. Arthur Aikin, Esq. ;

Rev. Frederic William Hope; William Horton Lloyd, Esq.; Richard

Owen, Esq., and William Yarrell, Esq.

June 6,—Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.

Read the conclusion of Professor Forbes’s memoir ‘‘ On the Ophiu-

ride of the Augean Sea.” .

The author commences this portion of his paper by a revised cha~

racter of the genus Ophioderma of Milier and 'Troschel, as follows :—

OpHIopERMA.

Corpus orbiculare, squamosum, granulosum, ad peripheriam radiatum ;

radiis simplicibus squamosis; disco in radiorum origines prolongato,

infra poris genitalibus viginti; squamis radiorum lateralibus adpressis,

in marginibus superioribus spiniferis, spinis simplicibus; ossiculis ova-

rialibus parvis, oralibus pectinatis.

The species on which this genus is founded, Ophiura lacertosa,

Lam., is stated to be rare in the Augean Sea, and is thus character-

ized :—

Oph. lacertosa.

O. radiis convexiusculis; squamis superioribus transversé oblongis: late-

ralibus 8-spiniferis ; inferioribus quadratis,

Of the genus Ophiomyra of the same authors, Professor Forbes

also gives the following revised character :—

OrHiomyxa.

Corpus pentagonale, coriaceum, leve, ad peripheriam radiatum; radiis

simplicibus, interrupté squamosis; disco in radiorum origines prolon-

gato; squamis radiorum lateralibus spiniferis, spinis serrulatis ; ossi-

culis ovarialibus binis parvis, oralibus spinis serrulatis armatis.

The Aigean species, O. lubrica, Forbes, was found in between ten

and twenty fathoms water in the sea of the Cyclades.

For a new species not uncommon in the seas of the Archipelago,

the author establishes the genus—

OpruiopsiLa, Forbes.

Corpus orbiculare, coriaceum, leve, ad peripheriam radiatum ; radiis sim-

nliciter squamosis, infra discum insertis; squamis lateralibus subcari-

natis spiniferis, spinis simplicibus ; ossiculis ovarialibus parvis, oralibus

ad latera nudis.

Orn. Aranea, Forbes.

Another new genus is constituted for the reception of the long-

rayed, scaly and smooth-bodied Ophiuride, with simple tentacula and

smooth spines, and is characterized as follows :-—

Ampuiura, Forbes.

Corpus orbiculare, squamosum, lzve, ad peripheriam radiatum ; radiis

simplitibus squamosis, infra discum insertis ; squamis lateralibus sub-

212 Botanical Society of London.

carinatis spiniferis, spinis simplicibus ; ossiculis ovarialibus parvis, ora-

libus ad latera nudis ; cirrhis simplicibus.

Three species inhabit the A°gean Sea, of which one is undescribed.

Their characters are thus given :—

A. FLoriFeRA, forbes.

A. disco squamis centralibus maximis rosulatis, scutellis ovatis disjunctis,

squamis radiorum superioribus quadratis: inferioribus trilobatis: late-

ralibus 3-spiniferis ; spinis brevissimis linearibus simplicibus.

A. neglecta, Forbes.

A. disco squamis centralibus parvis rosulatis, scutellis oblongis conjunctis,

squamis radiorum superioribus quadratis : inferioribus oblongis : late-

ralibus 4—5-spiniferis ; spinis brevibus simplicibus.

Ophiura neglecta, Johnston.

A. Chiajii, Forbes.

A, disco squamis minutis rosulatis, scutellis cuneatis divergentibus apici-

bus approximatis, squamis radiorum superioribus lenticularibus: infe-

rioribus quadratis sulcatis: lateralibus 4-spiniferis ; spinis longis sim-

plicibus.

Ophiura filiformis, Chiaje (nec Miiller).

Lastly, the author adopts the genus Ophiothriz of Miiller and

Troschel, with the following revised character :—

OruioTuRrix,

Corpus orbiculare, spinosum, ad peripheriam radiatum ; radiis simplicibus,

squamosis, squamis superioribus imbricatis, lateralibus carinatis spi-

niferis; spinis serrulatis ; ossiculis ovarialibus parvis, oralibus ad latera

nudis; cirrhis pinnatis.

Ophiothrix Rosula is common in the Aigean Sea.

Figures are given of all the new genera and species, with nume-

rous magnified details.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Aug. 4, 1843.—J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. &c., President, in the Chair.

Read ‘Notes on a variety of Rosa sarmentacea (Woods) (found

near Bridgewater by Mr. Clarke), by Mr. Edwin Lees, F.L.S. &c.

Mr. Lees had known this variety for some years ; and though there

was considerable difference in the more or less deeply cut serratures

of the foliage, he always found the calyx to be fringed with stalked

glands as well as the flower-stalks ; the tube is generally but spa-

ringly so, or even naked. It is abundantly covered with glands in

this specimen, which is, therefore, a more than usually glandulose

variety of R. sarmentacea. In some MS. observations on this species

made in 1836, Mr. Lees observed :— :

‘“‘ Calyx pinnate, rather densely covered with glandular bristles,

which, united to a purplish bloom on their segments as well as on

the tube, gives this rose a peculiar and very elegant appearance.”

The petioles are always more or less glandular, without prickles,

differing in this respect materially from RX. canina, as well as in the

particulars mentioned above.

Mr. Lees had often observed, that the young foliage of this species

Botanical Society of London. 213

has a faint but very perceptible cowslip-like scent, by which he could

always tell it when not in flower, but had never observed this in the

leaves of R. canina.

Mr. Lees contended for R. scabriuscula being a good species,

though it must be observed, that the calyx-tube varies in being more

or less covered with stalked glands, and therefore Smith is wrong in

the ‘ English Flora’ in saying with regard to it, ‘‘ quite smooth and

naked.”’

The character of the plant as differing from R. cunina is in the glan-

dulosity of the pinnate calyx and peduncle, and in the petioles being

slightly glandular, without prickles, or with very weak ones.

This variety was not, as far as Mr. Lees’s observations had gone,

abundantly distributed, being somewhat local and plentiful only in

particular places.

Read also ‘‘ Notice of the Mosses found in the neighbourhood of

Bristol,” by Mr. G. H. K. Thwaites.

The author enumerated 133 species as indigenous to that locality,

several of which appear to be new to the British Flora. Amongst

those most interesting to the British muscologist may be noticed the

following :—

Gymnostomum viridissimum, Sm.. __ Leucodon sciuroides, Schweg.

fasciculare, Hedw. Bartramia pomiformis, Hedw.

Didymodon Bruntoni, 4rn. Hypnum riparium, Z.

—— rigidulus, Hedw. murale, Hedw.

crispulus : —— piliferum, Schreb.

oe brachydontius, } Wilson MSS, salebrosum, Hoffm.

-—— flexicaule, crassinervum, Wilson.

Bryum albicans, Wahl. —— strigosum ?

—— atropurpureum, W. et M. circinnatum, Brid.

— cernuum. ceespitosum, Sw.

rostratum, Schrad. Tetraphis pellucida, Hedw.

Barbula rigida, Hedw. Eucalypta streptocarpa, Hedw.

convoluta, Hedw. Weissia Starkeana, Hedw.

leevipila. Trichostomum fasciculare, Schrad.

—— cylindrica, Wilson MSS. polyphyllum, Schw.

latifolia, Br. et Sch. Grimmia orbicularis, Br. et Sch.

Orthotrichum Rogeri, Brid. Funaria Muhlenbergii, 8. patula.

Hookeria lucens, Sm.

The President drew the attention of the Society to an abnormal

form of Ophrys apifera which had been sent to him by a lady from

Dorking. The two lower flowers of the spike had two distinct united

columns, the upper normal one being rather the larger and overlap-

ping the other; the upper flowers -had three columns united into a

singular triangular mass; the upper petals of each of the flowers were

rather reduced. The lip of the two lower flowers was small, and

retained in part the usual character of the flower, but the lip of the

top flower was lilac, and exactly resembled the sepals in form and

colour. The three sepals of the middle flower were united together

nearly to the lip, as was the case with two of the sepals of the ter-

minal flowers. The ovaries of all the flowers were of the normal

structure, The President stated that the Rev. Gerard E. Smith had

214 Zoological Society.

figured an Ophrys with a similar triple column, but his specimen was

quite destitute of any lip.

The President observed, it might be worth while to examine if

this excess of development of the column was always coexistent with

the reduced development of the lip.

The President stated that this structure was quite distinct from

the monstrosity of this plant described by Mr. Hincks, where each

of the three petals was transformed into polleniferous columns.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Noy. 22, 1842.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

A communication by Mr. Lovell Reeve, ‘‘On the genus Phorus,

a group of agglutinating Mollusks of the family Turbinacea,” was

read.

“It is remarkable that a group of mollusks of such decided import-

ance as those which I have selected for consideration should have so

long escaped the especial notice of conchologists. The genus Phorus

was introduced many years since by De Montford ; but as it was not

recognised by Lamarck, few authors thought it worthy of adoption.

Little enough is known of the nature or anatomy of the Phori, but the

remarkable character which their shells exhibit may be sufficiently

estimated to rest their claim upon that alone to the rank of a genus.

** The character here alluded to is a property which these mollusks

possess of agglutinating to the outer surface of their shells any frag.,

ments of stones, shells, corals, or other marine debris that they may

chance to be in contact with, and which become so firmly attached

that they cannot be dislodged without violence. The well-known

Carrier Trochus (Trochus agglutinans, Lamarck; Phorus onustus,

mihi) was for a long time the only species of Phorus known; when

others even were discovered they were only regarded as varieties of

that species, and the agglutinating property which they showed their

animal occupants to possess, was not considered to be of any generic

importance. The distinction however which De Montford assigned

to these animals has become of infinite value, for we now possess

several species of them, and the agglutinating power operates in dif-

ferent ways in each; some shells, for example, are found with only

a few small pebbles agglutinated to the earlier whorls, whilst others

are characterized by their having only such fragments of shells or

stones as are flat or tile-shaped collected round the edge or peri-

phery of the whorls ; and these several methods of agglutinating are

each confined to particular species. Other modifications of this pro-

perty may yet be discovered, and I trust, as the Phori are not un-

common in the West Indies, that they will ere long be made the

subject of anatomical examination.

“I see no reason at present for altering the situation which is com-

monly assigned to these mollusks in the general system; the struc-

ture and formation of the shell, as well as the presence of an oper-

culum, seem sufficiently to indicate that they are allied to the Trochi,

and not to the Calyptree, as supposed by Mr. Gray.

Zoological Society. 215

“I now proceed to lay seven species of this interesting genus

before the Society, four of which are entirely new to me.”

Genus Puorus.

Testa orbicularis, subconica, spird obtusa, anfractibus regularibus,

peripheria tubulis cavis interdum ornaté, conchyliorum lapidumque

frustis irregulariter agglutinatis; facie infernd concaviuscula,

granosé aut lamellosi; umbilico amplo, profundo, sepé etate

occultato; aperturé depressa, marginibus disjunctis, labro sim-

plici, acuto. Operculum corneum tenue, ovale.

‘«¢ Such are the characters which appear to me to apply generically

to this group. The specific differences consist, not in the nature of

the materials which are agglutinated, as supposed by Born and others,

who had their 7vochi lithophorus and conchyliophorus, for stones,

shells and corals may often be found collected on the same individual ;

but in the perpetuated variations of the living shell, and the manner

in which the surrounding debris become attached to it.”

Puorus sotaris. Phor. testd orbiculari, subconicd, paucis caleulis

versus apicem agglutinatis ; apice acuto; superficie siriis obliquis

et undulatis inscriptd; anfractibus tubuloso-radiatis, tubulis tenui-

bus cavis, apertis ; infernd facie plano-concavd, undulatm striatd ;

aperturd semicordata ; umbilico angusto.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 214. f. 1 and 2; Conch. Icon,

Phorus, pl. 2. f. 5 a and 6.

Trochus solaris, Linnzeus, Lamarck, &c. : '

Hab. Malacca. (Found in coarse sand at the depth of seven fa-

thoms.) Cuming.

«« This very beautiful shell, in which the periphery of the whorls

is extended throughout into hollow spouted spines, has never more

than a few pebbles agglutinated to the first one or two whorls.

The finest specimen I know of is in the collection of the Rev. Mr.

Stainforth, and has furnished me with the drawing above referred to.”

Puorus onustus. Phor. testd orbiculari, conicd, brunnescente-albd ;

anfractibus subangulatis, rudibus, vel conchyliis vel lapidibus agglu-

tinatis ; infernd facie subconcavd, rufd ; umbilico etate occultato.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 214. f. 3, and 215. f. 8; Conch.

Icon. Phorus, pl. 1. f. 3a and 8.

Trochus agglutinans, Lamarck.

Trochus conchyliophorus, in

Trochus lithophorus, \ ai aa

Hab. West Indies.

This is the original and best known species of the group; it is by

far the most profusely covered, and is generally heavily laden with

shells, stones, or corals.

Puorvus Inpicus. Phor. testd orbiculari, convexo-conicd, ad api-

cem acutd, tenuissimd, subtilissime striatd, albd, superne rosed ;

anfractuum peripherida dilatatd, acutissimd ; infernd facie profunde

umbilicatd, fusco-fasciatd, lamelld laterali cavitatem formante,

216 Zoological Society.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 215. f. 6; Conch. Icon. Phorus,

Bi i Ze?

: Trochus Indicus, Gmelin, Lamarck.

Wiigner, Supp. to Chemnitz, p. 129. pl. 229. f. 4062 a, 6.

Hab. Cochin-China.

‘I never remember having seen this shell with any shells or peb-

bles attached to it, but the first two or three whorls sufficiently indi-

‘eate that some have been agglutinated to it at one time or another

by the numerous indentations which they exhibit. The under sur-

face of the shell is generally marked with a circular brown band, the

centre being widely umbilicated.”’

Puorvus exutus. Phor. testé orbiculari, depresso-conicd, ad apicem

acutd, rosaceo-fulvd, tenuissimd, volutdm peripherid inconcinniter

undulata, dilatatd, superficie diagonaliter striata et sulcatd ; infernd

facie pallidd, nitente, striatd, versus marginem granosd, lamelld

cavitatem formante.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 215. f. 9 and 10; Conch. Icon.

Phorus, pl. 2. f. 7 a and 8.

Hab. ?

‘“This shell exhibits very slight evidence of ever having had any

matter agglutinated to it. It somewhat resembles the preceding

species, but may be readily distinguished by the elaborate manner in

which the whorls are diagonally carved with grooves and striz. ‘The

periphery of each whorl is most unusually dilated beyond their

laminal bases; it is exceedingly thin and fragile, and very unevenly

undulated.”

PuHorvs CALCULIFERUS. Phor. testd orbiculari, convexo-conicd, tenut,

subtilissimé granosd et striata, volutis calculis et conchyliorum

Srustis superne symmetricé ornatis ; facie infernd profuse granosd

et striata.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 215. f. 7;, Conch. Icon. Phorus,

pl.1.f.1,

Hab. ?

“I have seen several specimens of this very pretty species; the

shell is of a bright subrosaceous fawn-colour, and entirely covered

with fine diagonal strie and cross grains. The agglutinating property

seems confined to the upper portion of the whorls, so that there is

always a band of fine pebbles or shells around the sutures, and they

exhibit a regular increase in their selection as the agglutinating

surface increases with the growth of the shell.”

Puorvus paLiiputus. Phor. testd solidd, albd, acutissime pyramidali,

volutis angulatis conchyliorum frustis sparsis agglutinatis ; in-

Fernd facie leviter concavd, palliduld, subtilissimé striatd.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 214. f.4; Conch, Icon. Phorus,

pl. 1. f. 4.

Hab. Coast of Japan : Siebald.

This shell is most nearly allied to the Phorus onustus; it is very

solid, sharply pyramidal, and of a singular live pallid appearance.

There are two or three specimens of it in the collection of H. Cuming,

Zoological Society. 217

Esq. ; and the fragments of shells which are agglutinated indiscrimi-

nately to the area of the whorls are very much broken in all, though

the shells to which they are agglutinated are in every respect live

and perfect.

Puorvus corrueatus. Phor. testd orbiculari, obeso-conicd, albd,

diagonaliter corrugatd, volutarum peripherid conchyliorum lapi-

dumque frustis planis ornatd ; facie infernd pallidd, leviter granosd

et striatd.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 214. f.5; Conch, Icon. Phorus,

pl. 2. f. 6. |

Hab. ?

The method or disposition of the agglutinated fragments in this

species is very peculiar and distinct from that in any other. The

generic property is here confined to the base of the whorls, and the

fragments which become attached are all inserted edgewise, ranging

with great regularity side by side. The specimen above described

is in the collection of the Rev. Mr. Stainforth.

Mr. Cuming exhibited to the Meeting the various species of Pho-

rus referred to in the above communication, and also a series of spe-

cimens of the genus Pecten, descriptions of which, by G. B. Sow-

erby, Jun., were read. The species described are figured in Sow-

erby’s ‘ Thesaurus Conchyliorum.’

Prcren pictus, Thes. Conch. pl. 20. f. 233. Pect. T. oblique

ovatd, compressd; auriculis subequalibus, radiatim sulcatis, ad

basim emarginatis, ad margines undulatis ; lateribus striatis ; costis

13, triangulatis, elevatis, levibus ; interstitiis angustis, bisulcatis,

erenatis ; colore pallide fulvo, fasciis et punctis et lineis rubris

variegato ; intis albo. Long. 0°80; lat. 0°25 poll.

Hab. Ins. Baiz, Ins. Negros, Philippinarum. H. Cuming legit.

Found in coarse sand at a depth of seven fathoms.

Kquivalve, nearly equilateral, flat, with thirteen nearly triangular

ribs, slightly flattened at the upper angle ; the ears nearly equal, and

the general characters of the species indicating some degree of affinity

with the group containing P. Radula.

Prcren surersBus, Thes. Conch. pl. 12. f.11. Pect. T. subovali,

obliqud, postice expansd, compressd, crassd ; auriculis parvis, ob-

tusis ; costis 23, crassis, rotundatis, levibus, interstitiis angustis ;

colore prope umbones roseo, prope margines pallide luteo, fasciis

rubris, preruptis, angulatis variegato. Long. 2°40; lat. 0°65;

alt. 2°60 poll.

Hab. ? Mus. H. Cuming.

Flat, solid, obliquely oval, with the auricles small, obtuse ; twenty-

three rounded, smooth, thick ribs; the general colour pale straw,

pink at the umbones, variegated with interrupted angular bands of

brightish red.

Proren veturinus, Thes. Conch. pl. 13. f.31. Pect. T. subovali,

subcompressd, equilaterali, radiatim leviter striatd, ad marginem

subinflatd ; auriculis subequalibus, striatis, margine oblique pli-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol, xii.

218 Zoological Society.

cato; costis 5, crassis, rotundatis, gradatim declinantibus ; colore

Sulvo-rufescente, fasciis albis, angulatis, subtis fusco-marginatis

variegato ; intts albo. Long. 1°15; lat. 0°37; alt. 1°25 poll.

Hab. Macassar. Hinds legit. |

Nearly oval, rather flat, equilateral, with fine radiating strie ; auri-

cles nearly equal, striated; hinge obliquely plicated; ribs five,

rounded, not very deep; colour dull fawn, variegated with angular

bands of white edged with brown lines. The whole surface of the

shell has a somewhat velvety appearance.

PrectEN sERRATUS, Thes. Conch. pl. 13. f. 56. Pect. T. oblique

ovali, irregulari, postice subproductd, subcompressd ; auriculis in-

equalibus, posticis minoribus, costis numerosis, minutissime squa-

miferis ; colore sulphureo, maculis magnis fuscis variegato, intis

ad marginem purpureo. Long. 1°20; lat. 0°50; alt. 1°40 poll.

Hab. ad Insulas Philippinas. H. Cuming legit. Found under

stones at low water on the island of Zebu. |

Resembling P. sguamosus, but more oblique and more ventricose,

with the scales more minute.

PEcTEN ALBOLINEATUS, Thes. Conch. pl. 14. f. 69. Pect. T. ovali

subtrigond, compressd, equivalvi ; auriculis inequalibus, posticis

minimis, anticis magnis, acutis, sulcatis ; costis numerosis, equa-

libus, subquadratis ; interstitiis griseo-maculatis, valve sinistre

costis griseis, lineis albis interruptis, costarum tribus albis. Long.

0°93; lat. 0°25 ; alt. 1°19 poll.

Hab. Ins. Guimaras, Philippinarum. Found under stones at low

water. 7

Resembling P. ornatus, Lam., but with the ribs more numerous,

equal and regular.

PrcTEen stncaporinus, Thes. Conch. pl. 13. f. 151, et pl. 18. f. 71.

Pect. T. rotundatd, subtrigond, subcompressd, equivalvi, subequi-

laterali, subtenut ; auriculis inequalibus ; anticis magnis ; costis 24

elevatis, subquadratis, levibus ; colore albo, pallidé roseo tincto,

radiis quatuor latis, fusco-maculatis ; prope umbones griseo macu-

lato. Long. 1°30; lat. 0°40; alt. 1°30 poll.

Hab. Singapore. Found in coarse sand at the depth of six fathoms.

More depressed spreading and circular than P. Tranquebaricus. -

Pscren crassicostatus, Thes. Conch. pl. 15. f. 111. pl. 17. f. 152.

Pect. T. subtriangulari, crassd, subequilaterali, sublevi ; auriculis

inequalibus, costas squamiferas ferentibus ; costis 24, crassis,

elevatis, subquadratis, annulatis ; lateralibus squamiferts ; inter-

stitiis fere levibus, colore pallide purpureo, vel aurantiaco. Long.

4-50; lat. 1°50; alt. 4°30 poll.

Hab. Japan. Mus. H. Cuming.

A much larger and more solid shell than P. senatorius, with the

ribs much more elevated and more square.

PgcTreN spLENDIDULUS, Thes. Conch. pl. 20. f. 246. Pect. T. ovali,

subtrigond, tenui, compressd, ad latera angulatd ; auriculis valde

inequalibus, squamoso-sulcatis, complanatis ; anticis latis, elonga-

— Zoological Society. 219

‘

tis; sinu magno; costis 25, concinnis, subdistantibus, rotundato

subquadratis, squamas acutas erectas, distantes ferentibus ; colore

rubro, maculis albis elongatis, ad auricula lateraque fasciatim

variegato. Long. 1°20; lat. 0°35; alt. 1°35 poll.

Hab. Singapore. Mus. H. Cuming. Found at a depth of six

fathoms in coarse sand.

A much more compressed and regularly- formed shell than P. varius.

Pectren Psgeupouima, Thes. Conch. pl. 20. f. 235. Pect. T. ro-

tundato-ovali, subobliqud, subequivalvi, ventricosd ; auriculis in-

equalibus, squamoso-sulcatis ; anticis elongatis, acutis, valve dex-

tre ad marginem spinosis ; posticis parvis obtusis ; costis 27, cras-

siusculis, bisulcatis, subrotundatis, squamarum acutarum series tres

ferentibus ; interstitiis angustis planis; colore aurantiaco, albo

(precipue ad umbones) variegato.

Hab. Jacna, ad Ins. Bohol, Philippinarum. H. Cuming legit.

The ribs are beautifully ornamented by three rows of close, sharp,

erect, slightly curved scales.

Mr. Sowerby also characterized a new species of Rostellaria.

RosteLuaria curta, Thesaurus Conchyliorum, part i. pl. 5. f. 7.

Rost. testd crassd, levi, fusiformi ; apice leviter plicatd ; anfrac-

tibus numerosis planis; canali postico super anfractds penultime

partem decumbenti ; canali antico brevi, recto ; labio interno crasso ;

labio externo subexpanso, dentibus sex irregularibus ; colore fulvo,

Sascid lata castaned partem posticam anfractuum decurrente.

Hab. ? Mus. Cuming.

The whorls of this species are flatter than in Rostellaria curviros-

trum ; the last whorl is much shorter and the anterior canal is straight.

The outer lip being irregular, led me at first to suppose that the spe-

cimen from which the description is taken might be one of the com-

mon species in which the completed aperture had been prematurely

formed, it being well known that R. curvirostrum, in a young state,

has the beak straight. But a slight difference in the shape of the

whorls, the broad chestnut bands on the upper part of them, and the

fact of several other specimens precisely similar having been seen by

Mr. Cuming at Berlin, have determined me to describe this as a new

species, which I now do with little hesitation.

Mr. Gould exhibited a new species of Parrot belonging to the

genus Coryphilus, whch he characterized as follows :—

Corypuitus Dryas. Cor. vitid frontali metallice viridi, cerule-

scente verticem versus ; hujus plumis elongatis et saturate ceruleis ;

dorso et alis obscure viridibus, uropygio, caude tectricibus, et crisso

pallide viridibus, caude rectricibus albis, marginibus pallide vire-

scenti-ceruleo tinctis ; loris albis, pectore vittd saturate caruled

ornato ; abdomine albo, femoribus saturate ceruleis.

A band of verditer-green crosses the forehead, changing into blue

towards the crown, the feathers of which are fasothauen and of a

deep blue, with a narrow line of shining paler blue down the centre

of each ; back and wings dull verditer-green ; rump, upper and under

220 Zoological Society.

tail-coverts light verditer-green ; primaries black, margined on the

outer webs with deep greenish blue; tail-feathers white, gradually

passing into pale greenish blue on their margins, and the shafts

brown; lores white; throat and front of the neck deep blue, each

feather with a spot of white at the tip; breast crossed by a band of

deep blue ; abdomen deep blue, each feather largely tipped with white;

thighs deep blue; bill dark horn-colour ; feet yellowish white.

Total length, 74 inches; bill, ;4; wing, 4}; tail, 34; tarsi, 4.

Hab. The Marquesas Islands.

From the indistinct character of the markings of the throat and

abdomen, the bird from which the above description was taken would

appear to be somewhat immature.

Mr. H. E. Strickland then communicated to the Meeting a list of

the Birds in the Chinese collection now exhibiting at Hyde Park

Corner :— |

‘In the present very imperfect state of our knowledge of Chinese

zoology, any contribution, however small, becomes valuable, and I

have therefore thought it worth while to draw up as accurate a list

as I can of the species of birds contained in the very interesting col-

lection of Chinese productions now exposed to public view. Most

of the species enumerated exist also in the British Museum, where

the kindness of Mr. G. R. Gray has aided me in identifying them.”

N.B. The Nos. refer to the printed catalogue and to the speci-

mens.

Case 19, No. 374. Euplocamus nycthemerus, (Linn.)*

375 & 376. Polyplectron Hardwickei, Gray.

377 & 878. Thaumalea picta, (Linn.)

379. Paradisea sanguinea, Shaw.

380 & 382. Paradisea apoda, Linn.

381. Cicinnurus regius, (Linn.) /

383. Cygnopsis cygnoides, (Linn.)

Case 21, Nos. 385 & 386. Phasianus torquatus, Gm. This is the

true wild Ring-necked Pheasant indigenous to China. The Ring-

necked Pheasants sometimes shot in this country are supposed to be a

mixed breed between this species and P. colchicus.

387. Aix galericulata, (Linn.)

388. Oriolus chinensis, Linn.

389. Arborophila sphenura, (Gray.)

390. Acridotheres cristatellus, (Gm.)

391. Lanius erythronotus, Gould.

392. Centropus. Several of the Asiatic species of this genus are

as yet so imperfectly determined that I do not venture to affix a spe-

cific name to this bird.

393. Ceryle varia, Strickl. This, which is the Eastern represen-

tative of the C. rudis of Europe and Africa, is distinguished by the

round black spots on the throat and the greater amount of white on

the upper parts.

5 The brackets ( ) imply that the authority refers to the specific names

only.

Zoological Society. 221

394. Gallinula gularis, Horsf.

395. Coturnix communis, Bonn.

396. Fuligula cristata, Steph.

Case 22, Nos. 398 & 399. Rollulus cristatus, (Gm.)

400 & 401. Gallus bankiva, 'Temm.

402. Turnix pugnaz, (Temm.)

403. Acridotheres ialla, (Horsf.)

404. Paleornis bengalensis, (Gm.)

405. Acridotheres sericeus, (Gm.) ‘This species is quite distinct

from A. dauricus, Pall., with which it is united by Wagler.

406. Hematornis jocosus, (Linn.)

407. Merops philippinus, Linn.

408. Paleornis torquatus, Vig.

409. Amadina punctularia, (Linn.)

410 & 411. Amadina oryzivora, (Linn.)

412. Pyrrhulauda gingica, (Gm.) (Fringilla cruciger, 'Temm.)

413. Merops viridis, Linn.

414. Acridotheres malabaricus, (Gm.)

415. Paleornis torquatus, Vig. Female.

416. Amadina malacca, (Linn.)

417. Hydrophasianus sinensis, (Gm.)

418. Psittacus sinensis, Gm.

419. Anser albifrons, (Gm.)

420. Phalacrocorar. An immature specimen, apparently identical

with P. carbo, (Linn.) of Europe.

423. Xema, apparently referable to X. ridibundum, (Linn.)

424. Rhynchaspis clypeata, (Linn.)

There are also in Case 22, but without numbers, the two follow-

ing: Porzana rubiginosa, (Temm.), and Rallus gularis, Horsf.

Case 51, Nos. 862 and 863. Francolinus perlatus, (Gm.)

864. Querquedula falcaria, (Pall.)

866. Coturnix chinensis, (Linn.)

867. Lanius lucionensis, (Linn.)

868. Lanthocincla canora, (Linn.)

869 & 875. Coccothraustes melanurus, (Gm.)

870 & 871. Pyrgita rutilans, (Temm.)

872 & 873. Psittacula galgula, (Linn.)

874. Apparently the young of Melophus Lathami, Gray.

876. Turdus, apparently referable to T. merula, Linn., fem.

877. Gallinula chloropus, (Linn.)

878. Gallinula phenicura, (Gm.)

879. Dafila acuta, (Linn.)

880. Calenas cruenta, (Gm.)

Case 52, No. 884. Querquedula formosa, (Georgi.)

885. Coturnix communis, Bonn.

886. Anthus. This genus is at present imperfectly worked out,

and it is therefore difficult to attach a specific name accurately to the

above specimen.

887. Herodias garzetta, (Linn.)

888. Oriolus chinensis, Linn.

222 | Royal Society.

889. Asio brachyotus, (Linn.)

890. Halcyon atricapilla, (Gm.)

891. Copsychus longirostris, (Swains.)

892. Carduelis sinica, (Linn.) (Fringilla kawariba, Temm.)

893. Melophus Lathami, Gray.

894. Gallinula phenicura, (Gm.)

895. Liothrix sinensis, (Gm.)

896. Yunzx torquilla, Linn.

897. Mareca penelope, (Linn.)

898. Querquedula crecca, (Linn.)

Case 54, Nos. 917 and 921. Argus giganteus, Temm.

918 & 920. Turtur suratensis, (Gm.)

919. Acridotheres tristis, (Linn.)

922. Paleornis malaccensis, (Gm.)

“The birds above enumerated were obtained by Mr. Dunn during

his residence at Canton. Some of them appear to have been im-

ported thither from Malacca, and the remainder form but a small

sample of the zoological treasures that might be obtained were the

Chinese Empire opened to naturalists. It seems strange that so

little has yet been done to obtain specimens of Chinese zoology

through the medium of the natives. Thousands of bird-skins are

annually sent to Europe by the natives of Brazil, Senegal and Ma-

lacca, and there can be no reason why a similar trade should not be

established with China. All that the Chinese want is a little instruc-

tion in the art of preserving specimens, which might be easily com-

municated if some of the merchants connected with the tea-trade

would take an interest in the subject.” H. E. 8.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

March 30, 1843.—“ Researches into the Structure and Develope-

ment of a newly discovered parasitic Animalcule of the Human

Skin, the Entozoon folliculorum.” By Erasmus Wilson, Esq., Lec-

turer on Anatomy and Physiology at the Middlesex Hospital.

While engaged in researches on the minute anatomy of the skin

and its subsidiary organs, and particularly on the microscopical com-

position of the sebaceous substance, the author learned that Dr.

Gustow Simon* of Berlin had discovered an animalcule which inha-

bits the hair follicles of the human integument, and of which a de-

scription was published in a memoir contained in the first Number

of Miiller’s Archiv for 1842. Of this memoir the author gives a _

translation at full length. He then states that, after careful search,

he at length succeeded in finding the parasitic animals in question,

and proceeded to investigate more fully and minutely than Dr. Simon

had done the details of their structure, and the circumstances of their

origin and developement. They exist in the sebaceous follicles of

almost every individual, but are found more especially in those per-

sons who possess a torpid skin; they increase in number during

sickness, so as in general to be met with in great abundance after

* See a notice of Dr. Simon’s paper in this Journal, vol, x. p, 49.

Royal Society. 223

death. In living and healthy persons, from one to three or four of

these entozoa are contained in each follicle. They are more nume-

rous in the follicles situated in the depression by the side of the

nose; but they are also found in those of the breast and abdomen,

and on the back and loins. Their form changes in the progress of

their growth. The perfect animal presents an elongated body, di-

visible into a head, thorax, and abdomen. From the front of the head

proceed two moveable arms, apparently formed for prehension: and

to the under side of the thorax are attached four pairs of legs, termi-

nated by claws. The author distinguishes two principal varieties of

the adult animal; the one remarkable for the great length of the

abdomen and roundness of the caudal extremity ; whilst the other is

characterized by greater compactness of form, a shorter abdomen,

and more pointed tail. The first variety was found to measure, in

length, from the one-100th to the 45th, and the second, from the

one-160th to the 109th part of an inch.

The author gives a minute description of the ova of these entozoa,

which he follows in the successive stages of their developement.

The paper is accompanied by numerous drawings of the objects de-

scribed.

April 6.—* On the Structure and Developement of the Nervous

and Circulatory Systems, and on the existence of a complete Circu-

lation of the Blood in Vessels in the Myriapoda and the Macrourous

Arachnida.” By George Newport, Esq.

This paper is the first of a series which the author proposes to

submit to the Royal Society on the comparative anatomy and the

developement of the nervous and circulatory systems in articulated

animals. Its purpose is, in the first place, to investigate the minute

anatomy of the nervous system in the Myriapoda and the Macrou-

rous Arachnida, and more especially with reference to the structure

of the neryous cord and its ganglia; and thence to deduce certain

conclusions with respect to the physiology of that system and the

reflex movements in vertebrated animals; secondly, to demonstrate

the existence of a complete system of circulatory vessels in the

Myriapoda and Arachnida; and thirdly, to point out the identity of

the laws which regulate the developement of the nervous and circu-

latory systems throughout the whole of the Articulata, and the de-

pendence of these systems on the changes which take place in the

muscular and tegumentary structures of the body, as, in a former

paper, he showed was the case with regard to the changes occurring

in the nervous system of true insects.

The first part of the paper relates to the nervous system. A de-

scription is given of this system in the Chilognatha, which the au-

thor was led, by his former investigations, to regard as the lowest

order of the Myriapoda, and approximating most nearly to the

Annelida. He traces the different forms exhibited by the nervous

system in the principal genera of that order, the most perfect of

which are connected on the one hand with the Crustacea, and on

the other with true insects. Passing from these to the Geophili, the

lowest family of the Chilopoda, which still present the vermiform

224 Royal Society.

type, the nervous system is traced to the tailed Arachnida, the

Scorpions, through Scolopendra, Lithobius and Scutigera; the last

of which tribes connects the Myriapoda on the one hand with the

true insects, and on the other with the Arachnida. The brain and

the visceral nerves, the coverings and structure of the cord and

ganglia, and the distribution of the systemic nerves are examined in

each genus, but more particularly in the Scorpion, in which the

nerves of the limbs are traced to the last joints of the tarsi, and

those of the tail to the extremity of the sting. Especial attention is

bestowed on the structure of the cord and its ganglia, and their de-

velopement during the growth of the animal. In the lowest forms

of the Iulide, in which the ganglia are very close together, and

hardly distinguishable from the non-ganglionic portions of the cord,

the author has satisfactorily traced four series of fibres, a superior,

and an inferior one, and also a transverse and a lateral series. ‘The

superior series, which he formerly described in insects as the motor

tract, he has assured himself is distinct from the inferior, which he

regarded as the sensitive tract ; this evidently appears on examining

the upper and under sides of a ganglionic enlargement of the cord.

On the upper surface the direction of the fibres is perfectly longitu-

dinal; while the fibres on the under surface are enlarged, and cur-

vilinear in their direction. But he remarks that it is almost impos-

sible to determine by experiment whether these structures are sepa-

rately motor and sensitive, as formerly supposed, or whether they

both administer to these functions by an interchange of fibres. These

two series appear also to be separated in each ganglionic enlargement

of the cord by the third series, constituting the transverse or com-

missural fibres, which pass transversely through the ganglia, and of

which the existence was first indicated by the author in his paper on

the Sphinx ligustri, published in the Philosophical Transactions for

1834. The author states that, in addition to these, there is in each

half of the cord another and more important series of fibres, which

constitute a large portion of the cord, but of which the existence has

hitherto entirely escaped observation. This series forms the lateral

portion of each half of the cord, and differs-from the superior and

inferior series in the circumstance, that while those latter series are

traceable along the whole length of the cord to the subcesophageal and

cerebral ganglia, the former series extends only from the posterior

margin of one ganglion to the anterior margin of the first or second

beyond it; thus bounding the posterior side of one nerve and the an-

terior of another, and forming part of the cord only in the interval be-

tween the two nerves. From this circumstance, the author designates

the fibres of this series, fibres of reinforcement of the cord. Every nerve

proceeding from a ganglionic enlargement is composed of these four

sets of fibres, namely, an upper and an under one, communicating

with the cephalic ganglia; a transverse or commissural, which com-

municates only with corresponding nerves on the opposite side of the

body ; and a lateral set, which communicates only with nerves from

another ganglionic enlargement on the same side of the body, and

which forms part of the cord in the interspace between the gan-

Royal Society. 225

glia. The author had long suspected that this latter set of fibres

existed ; but he had never, until lately, ascertained their presence by

actual observation. Their action seems fully to account for the re-

flected movements of parts both anterior and posterior to an irritated

limb; as that of the commissural set does the movements of parts

situated on the opposite side of the body to that which is irritated.

In the ganglia of the cord in Iulus and Polydesmus, the fibres of the

inferior longitudinal series are enlarged and softened on entering the

ganglion, but are again reduced to their original size on leaving it ;

thus appearing:to illustrate the structure of ganglia in general. In

the developement of the ganglia and nerves in these genera, and

also in Geophilus, the same changes take place as those which were

formerly described by the author as occurring in insects; namely,

an aggregation of ganglia in certain portions of the cord, and shift-

ing of the position of certain nerves, which at first exist at ganglionic

portions of the cord, but afterwards become removed to a non-

ganglionic portion. The nervous cord is elongated, in order that it

may keep pace with the growth of the body, which is periodically

acquiring additional segments: that this elongation takes place in

the ganglia is proved by these changes of position in the nerves lying

transversely across the ganglia. The author infers from these facts,

that the ganglia are centres of growth and nourishment, as well as

of reflex movements, and that they are analogous to the enlarge-

ments of the cord in the vertebrata.

A series of experiments on the Iulus and Lithobius are next re-

lated; the result of which shows that the two supra-cesophageal gan-

glia are exclusively the centres of volition, and may therefore strictly

be regarded as performing the functions of a brain: so that when

these ganglia are injured or removed, all the movements of the ani-

mal are of a reflex character. When, on the other hand, these gan-

glia are uninjured, the animal mévements are voluntary, and there

exists sensibility to pain: there is, however, no positive evidence that

the power of sensation does not also reside in the other ganglia.

The second part of the paper relates to the organs of circulation.

In all the Myriapoda and Arachnida the dorsal vessel or heart is di-

vided, as in insects, into several compartments, in number corre-

sponding to the abdominal segments. Its anterior portion is divided,

immediately behind the basilar segment of the head, into three di-

stinct trunks. The middle portion, which is the continuation of the

vessel itself, passes forwards along the cesophagus, and is distributed

to the head itself; while the two others, passing laterally outwards

and downwards in an arched direction, form a vascular collar round

the cesophagus, beneath which they unite in a single vessel, as was

first noticed by Mr. Lord in the Scolopendra. This single median

vessel lies above the abdominal nervous cord, and is extended back-

wards throughout the whole length of the body as far as the termi-

nal ganglia of the cord, under which it is subdivided into separate

branches accompanying the terminal nerves to their final distribu-

tion. Immediately anterior to each ganglion of the cord, this vessel

gives off a pair of vascular trunks ; and each of these trunks is di-

226 Royal Society.

vided into four arterial vessels, one of which is given to each of the

principal nerves proceeding from the ganglion, and may be traced

along with it to a considerable distance, Of these, the vessel situated

most posteriorly is again connected with the great median trunk by

means of a minute branch, so that the four vessels on each side

form, with their trunks, a complete vascular circle above each gan-

glionic enlargement of the cord, Besides these, which may be re-

garded as the great arterial trunk and vessels conveying the blood

directly from the anterior distribution of the heart to the limbs and

inferior surface of the body, the author has also discovered a pair of

large arterial vessels in each segment, originating directly from the .

posterior and inferior surface of each chamber of the heart. These |

vessels he has named the systemic arteries; and in the Scolopendra

he has traced them from the great chamber of the heart, which is

situated in the penultimate segment of the body, to their ultimate

distribution and ramification in the coats of the great hepatic vessels

of the alimentary canal.

After the blood has passed from the arteries, it is returned again

to the heart in each segment of the body by means of exceedingly

delicate transparent vessels, which pass around the sides of the seg-

ments and communicate with the valvular openings of each cham-

ber of the heart at its upper surface, where the valvular openings —

are situated, not only in all the Myriapoda, but also in the Scorpio-

nide. In Scorpions, the circulatory system is more complete and

important than even in the Myriapoda. ‘The heart, divided as in

Myriapods into separate chambers, is lengthened out at its posterior

extremity into a long caudal artery, and gives off a pair of systemic

arteries from each chamber, precisely as in the Myriapoda. These

arteries not only distribute their blood to the viscera, but send their

principal divisions to the muscular structures of the inferior and

lateral parts of the body, as well‘as to the pulmonary sacs. At the

anterior part of the abdomen, the heart becomes aortic, descends

suddenly into the thorax, and immediately behind the brain spreads

out into several pairs of large trunks, which are given to the head,

and to the organs of locomotion. The posterior of these trunks form

a vascular collar around the cesophagus, beneath which they unite,

anteriorly, to a strong bony arch in the middle of the thorax, to form

the great arterial trunk, or supra-spinal vessel, which conveys the

blood to the posterior part of the body, as in the Myriapoda. This

vessel passes beneath the transverse bony arch of the thorax, and is

slightly attached to it by fibrous tissue, which circumstance pro-

bably induced Professor Miller, who observed this structure in 1828,

to regard it as a ligament. In its course backwards, along the ner-

vous cord, this vessel is gradually lessened in size, until it arrives at

the terminal ganglion of the cord in the tail, where it is divided into

two branches, which take the course of the terminal nerves, and

these are again subdivided before they arrive at their ultimate distri-

bution. In addition to these parts, the author found a hollow fibrous

structure, which closely surrounds the cord and nerves immediately

after they have passed beneath the arch of the thorax. From the

Royal Society. 227

sides of this structure there pass off backwards two pairs of vessels,

that get beneath the peritoneal lining of the abdominal cavity and

are distributed on the first pair of branchiz. A small vessel also

passes backwards beneath the cava, and, being joined by anasto-

moses from the spinal artery, form the commencement of a vessel

which the author formerly described in the ‘ Medical Gazette’ as the

subspinal vessel. This vessel, extending along the under surface of

the nervous cord, communicates directly, by short vessels, with the

supra-spinal artery, and gives off, at certain distances from its under

surface, several large vessels, which unite with others that convey

the blood which has circulated through the abdominal segments, di-

rectly to the branchie, whence it is returned to the heart by many

minute vessels that originate from the posterior internal part of each

branchia, and, united into single trunks, pass around the sides of the

segments to the valvular openings on the dorsal surface of the heart.

In the tail of the Scorpion there is a direct vascular communication

between the caudal artery and the subspinal vein, which, from the

direction of the vessels, induces a belief that there is some peculi-

arity in the circulation of the blood in this part of the body. Be-

sides these vessels, the author found an arterial trunk that originates

from the commencement of the aorta as it descends into the thorax.

This vessel passes backwards along the alimentary canal, to which

it is distributed, and gives off branches to the liver.

This paper is accompanied by five drawings, illustrating the ana-

tomical facts which are described in it.

May 11.—“ Note regarding the Observations of T. Wharton Jones,

Esq., F.R.S., ‘On the Blood Corpuseles.’” By Martin Barry, M.D.,

F.R.S. L. & E.* -

The author observes, that the structure of the blood-corpuscles

can be accurately learned only by a careful investigation of their

mode of origin, and by following them through all their changes in

the capillary vessels, and especially in the capillary plexuses and di-

latations, where all their stages of transition from the colourless to

the red corpuscles may be seen. The filament which forms here

and there in the corpuscles of coagulating blood he has shown to

‘other persons, with Microscopes made by Ross and Powell. Dr.

Barry denies that he meant certain general remarks in his paper, re-

ferring to more than twenty delineations of corpuscles from various

animals, to apply exclusively to those of man.

May 25.—“ On the Respiration of the Leaves of Plants.” By

William Haseldine Pepys, Esq., F.R.S.

The author gives an account of a series of experiments on the

products of the respiration of plants, and more particularly of the

- leaves; selecting, with this view, specimens of plants which had

been previously habituated to respire constantly under an inclosure

of glass; and employing, for that purpose, the apparatus which he

had formerly used in experimenting on the combustion of the dia-

mond, and consisting of two mercurial gasometers, with the addi-

* A notice of Mr. Wharton Jones’s communication appeared in the Num-

ber for May last.

228 Royal Society.

tion of two hemispheres of glass closely joined together at their

bases, so as to form an air-tight globular receptacle for the plant

subjected to experiment.

The general conclusions he deduces from his numerous experi-

ments conducted during several years, are, first, that in leaves which

are in a state of vigorous health, vegetation is always operating to

restore the surrounding atmospheric air to its natural condition, by

the absorption of carbonic acid and the disengagement of oxygenous

gas: that this action is promoted by the influence of light, but that

it continues to be exerted, although more slowly, even in the dark.

Secondly, that carbonic acid is never disengaged during the healthy

condition of the leaf. Thirdly, that the fluid so abundantly exhaled

by plants in their vegetation is pure water, and contains no trace of

carbonic acid. Fourthly, that the first portions of carbonic acid

gas contained in an artificial atmosphere, are taken up with more

avidity by plants than the remaining portions; as if their appetite

for that pabulum had diminished by satiety.

“On the minute structure of the Skeletons, or hard parts of Inver-

tebrata.” By W. B. Carpenter, M.D. Part II. “On the structure of

the Shell in the several families and genera of Mollusca.”

The author here gives in detail the results of his inquiries into

the combinations of the component elements of shell as they are

met with in the several families and genera of the Mollusca; and

considers all these results as tending to establish the general propo-

sition, that where a recognizable diversity presents itself in the ele-

mentary structure of the shell, in different groups, that diversity af-

fords characters which indicate the natural affinities of the several

genera included in those groups, and which may therefore be em-

ployed with advantage in classification, and in the recognition and

determination of fossils.

June 15.—“ On the supposed developement of the Animal Tissues

from Cells.” By James Stark, M.D., I’.R.S.E.

The author controverts the prevailing theory of the developement

of animal tissues from cells, and denies the accuracy of the micro-

scopical observations on which that theory is founded, as regards the

anatomy of the adult as well as of the foetal tissues. He asserts that

at no period of foetal life can rows of cells be discovered in the act

of transformation into muscular fibres: and he denies that these

fibres increase either in length or in thickness by the deposition of

new cells. He contends that the ultimate filaments of muscles, as

well as all the other tissues of the body, are formed from the fibri-

nous portion of the blood, which is itself composed of globules that

are disposed to cohere together, either in a linear series, so as to

form a net-work of fine filaments, or in aggregated masses of a form

more or less globular, composing what have been termed fibrinous

corpuscles. These corpuscles have been considered to be the nuclei

of cells; but the author regards them as being merely accidental

fragments of broken down tissues, adhering to the filaments, and

noways concerned in their developement. The more regularly dis-

posed granules, which are observed to occupy the spaces intervening

Miscellaneous. 229

between the filaments composing the ordinary cellular tissue, he

considers as being fatty matter deposited within these spaces. He,

in like manner, regards the observations tending to show the cellular

origin of the fibrous, cartilaginous, and osseous tissues, as altogether

fallacious; and maintains that the cells, which these animal textures

exhibit when viewed under the microscope, are simply spaces occur-

ring in the more solid substance of these structures, like the cavities

which exist in bread. These views are pursued by the author in

discussing the formation of the skin, the blood-vessels, and the

nerves, and in controverting the theory of secretion, founded on the

action of the interior surfaces of the membranes constituting cells.

“On the Organ of Hearing in Crustacea.” By Arthur Farre,

M.D., F.R.S.

The author finds that in the Lobster (Astacus marinus), the organ

of hearing consists of a transparent and delicate vestibular sac, which

is contained in the base, or first joint of the small antenne ; its situa-

tion being indicated externally by a slight dilatation of the joint at this

part, and also by the presence of a membrane covering an oval aper-

ture, which is the fenestra ovalis. The inner surface of the sac gives

origin to a number of hollow processes, which are covered with

minute hairs and filled with granular matter, apparently nervous.

A delicate plexus of nerves, formed by the acoustic nerve, which is

a separate branch supplied from the supra-cesophageal ganglion, is

distributed over the base of these processes and around the sac.

Within the sac there are always found a number of particles of sili-

ceous sand, which are admitted, together with a portion of the sur-

rounding water, through a valvular orifice at the mouth of the sac,

being there placed apparently for the express purpose of regulating

the size of the grains. The author considers these siliceous parti-

cles as performing the office of otolites, in the same way as the

stones taken into the stomachs of granivorous birds supply the office

of gastric teeth. Several modifications of this structure exhibited

in the organs of hearing of the Astacus fluviatilis, Pagurus streb-

lonyx, and Palinurus quadricornis are next described, and an ex-

planation attempted of the uses of the several parts and their sub-

serviency to the purposes of that sense.

The author concludes by a description of another organ situated

at the base of the large antennee, which it appears has been con-

founded with the former by some anatomists, but which the author

conjectures may possibly constitute an organ of smell. The paper

is accompanied by illustrative drawings.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ADDENDA AND EMENDATIONS TO MR. E. BLYTH’S LIST OF BIRDS OR-

TAINED IN THE VICINITY OF CALCUTTA,

To Richard Taylor, Esq.

Calcutta, May 12, 1843.

My prar Srr,—The last month has been a very productive one

to me, in yarious classes of animals, and among the rest in that of

230 Miscellaneous.

birds ; hence I am enabled to rectify one or two matters of nomen-

clature in the paper which I sent you. by last month’s mail, and to

add some more species to the catalogue.

First, for Ichthyiaétus cultrungius you must substitute Haliattus

blagrus, of which the former is merely the young, and place this

species next to Haliaéius Macei. Put it thus—

. (H. blagrus. The young of this species I described as new by the

appellation Ichthyiaétus cultrungius (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xi. 110).

It is not uncommon along the river.] And add—

_ (Ichthyiaétus Horsfieldi ; Falco ichthyiaétus, Horsfield ; Haliaétus

plumbeus, Hodgson. Not rare upon the river. The mottled first

plumage of the young much resembles the corresponding garb of

Milvus cheele.]

Add, as a note, to Gallinula chloropus >—

[Since writing the above I have been favoured with a loan of the

true G. chloropus, which I recognised as such at a glance, from the

Mauritius; and the Indian species is certainly distinct, being cha-

racterized, in addition to its inferior size, by having the frontal shield

much less developed, at all ages. It may be termed, therefore, G.

parvifrons.—E. B.] Add also,—

[Phyllopneuste trochilus? This would seem to be distinguished

from the British species by the darker colour of the head, and ashy

tinge of the lower parts; also, I think, by the colour of the legs and

size and form of the bill ; moreover the shikaree who shot it informed

me that it sung prettily, and on my imitating the well-remembered

note of Ph. trochilus, he assured me that the song of this bird was

quite different. I shall describe it together with about a dozen other

species of this well-defined group. ]

[Sterna (Anoiis) tenuirostris, nobis. Distinguished from St. stolida

by its considerably inferior size, much more slender bill, and deeper

and consequently more vividly contrasted colours of its plumage. A

single specimen was brought fresh to Dr. M‘Clelland, shot in the

neighbourhood, which that naturalist has kindly presented to the

Society. |

[Gallus Bankivus. I have received a specimen of this bird shot at

about forty miles from Calcutta. ]

[ Malaconotus ? Distinct from all those noticed in Mr. Jer-

don’s catalogue under the generic head Timalia, and also from a new

species from Western India (M. Burvedii, nobis), but which I think

is figured in one of Buchanan Hamilton’s drawings, though I have

been unable to spare time to visit the Botanic Garden to consult

them. Shot near Calcutta. ]

The following synonyms may be attached to certain other spe-

cies :-—

To Rhipidura fuscoventris,—Muscicapa (Muscylva) albogularis,

Lesson.

To Tephrodornis superciliosus,—Lanius sordidus, Lesson.

To Cuculus niger, add—Distinct from the Malayan C. flavus? and

the Australian C. cinerea. According to Lesson, C. flavus extends

both to India and Australia. I remain, yours very truly,

EK. Buytu,

Meteorological Observations. 231

. $ Calcutta, June 7, 1843.

My pear S1x,—The inclosed was to have been sent by last

month’s express, but owing to the weight (of letters) being made up

about three hours before the usual time, it and numerous other let-

ters were returned. It will now arrive, I fear, too late to be of ser-

vice, but I will nevertheless send the following addenda and emenda-

tions, at aventure. Ninox lugubris is the Strix scutulata, Raflles, or

Str. hirsuta, Temminck.—To Athene brama add Noctua Tarayensis,

Hodgson, as a synonym.—Aftet Acrocephalus montanus put No. 90 a.,

a-species nearly allied to the last, but smaller and more rufous, and

which has recently been also obtained by Mr. Jerdon at Nellore,

about 100 miles to the northward of Madras (Nellore, not Vellore).

Charadrius rufinus is, I am now tolerably sure, the Ch. Geoffroyi,

Lesson; and I have much reason to suspect that Ch. rujinellus is the

Ch. Leschenaultit of the French.—I am happy to say I continue in

good health, and overwhelmingly busy ; and with kind remembrances,

believe me to remain, my dear Sir, yours most truly, _

: K. Biyts.

[As these letters reached us too late for the addenda to be inserted

along with the paper, we have preferred printing them without al-

teration from the author’s MSS. letters.—Ep.]

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JULY 1843.

Chiswick.—July 1. Overcast: clears 2. Overcast throughout. 3, Fine. 4,

Uniform haze: very fine. 5. Sultry: very hot. 6, 7. Cloudy and fine. 8. Cloudy:

rain: clear, 9. Foggy: very fine, 10. Cloudy and fine, 11, Thickly over-

cast. 12. Very fine. 13, Light haze: rain. 14. Densely overcast: very fine.

15—17. Very fine; 18, Very fine: constant heavy rain after 3 p.m. 19. Cloud-

less in the morning: cloudy at noon: clear, 20. Very fine: slight rain: over-

cast : rain at night. 21. Cloudy and fine. 22, Rain. 23. Cloudy and squally:

cold rain: 24. Clear: cloudy and fine: clear. 25. Overcast and fine: clear.

26. Overcast: slight rain. 27. Showery. 28. Cloudy and fine: rain. 29. Very

fine. 30, Cloudy and fine: clear. $1. Hazy: cloudy and fine: clear.—Mean

temperature of the month 1°3 below the average.

Boston.—July 1. Fine. 2 Fine: rain early a.m. 93. Windy. 4. Fine.

5. Cloudy: heat 81°°5 4 o’clock p.m. 6. Windy: rain early a.m. 7. Fine:

thunder-storm 5 p.M.: rainbow 6r.m. 8. Rain: rain early a.m.: rain p.m.

9. Fine. 10. Cloudy. 11. Cloudy: rainrp.m. 12. Fine: rainr.m. 13, 14,

Cloudy: rain early a.m. 15,16, Fine. 17. Cloudy. 18. Windy: rain p.m.

19. Fine, 20. Fine: rainrp.m. 21. Fine. 22. Cloudy: rainr.m. 23. Windy:

rainrp.M. 24,25. Fine. 26. Cloudy. 27. Windy: rain early a.m. 28. Cloudy.

29. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 30. Cloudy: rain p.m. 31. Fine: rain, with

thunder and lightning p.m.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—July 1. Bright: rain, 2. Drizzle. 3. Bright:

cloudy. 4. Bright: shower. 5. Bright: damp. 6. Thunder: fog : cloudy.

7. Bright: cloudy. 8—10, Bright: clear. 11. Clear, 12. Cloudy: damp.

13. Damp: cloudy. 14. Cloudy. 15,16. Shower: cloudy. 17. Bright:

cloudy. 18,19. Showery. 20. Rain: cloudy. 21. Bright: clear. 22. Bright:

cloudy. 23. Cloudy. 24. Bright: clear. 25. Bright: cloudy. 26. Cloudy:

showers. 27. Showers: cloudy. 28, Bright: cloudy. 29, Cloudy: rain,

30, 31. Damp: drizzle,

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THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No. 77. OCTOBER 1843.

ttt.

XXVIII.—Notice of a British species of Calliopwa, D’ Orbigny,

and of Four new species of Holis, with observations on the De-

velopment and Structure of the Nudibranchiate Mollusca. By

JosHua AtperR and Atpany Hancock, Esqrs.*

Tue genus Calliopea was established by D’Orbigny for a small |

mollusk found near Brest, and published in Guerin’s ‘ Magasin ~

de Zoologie.” It is distinguished from Holis by having only two

tentacula, and also (according to D’Orbigny) by the longitudinal

arrangement of the dorsal papille. The latter distinction, how-

ever, does not hold good, and a better may be had in the arrange-

ment of the vessels of the gastro-vascular system, described by

Milne Edwards in a second species found on the shores of the

Mediterranean. We have now the pleasure of announcing a

third species from the Devonshire coast, being the first that has

occurred in Great Britain.

This beautiful species, which we have named Calliopea dendri-

tica, is about a quarter of an inch long, with seven or eight

rows of large, elliptical, dark green papille on each side of the

back, three in each row. The general colour of the body is a

pale pellucid grass-green: two dark green lines run down the

sides of the back, sending off branches of the same colour, which

ramify in all directions, and give the little animal a peculiarly

elegant appearance. These dendritical markings are caused by

the vessels of the gastro-vascular system of Milne Edwards, of

which we shall have occasion to speak afterwards. It was found

on sea-weeds at low-water mark in Torbay, and appears to be

gregarious. Nearly one hundred specimens were sent us from

thence by Mrs. Wyatt.

Folis stipata——This species is also from Torbay, where we

obtained it from the produce of a day’s dredging in September

last. It is about a quarter of an inch long, rather broad and de-

pressed, and of a bright yellowish green on the body with short

tentacula, and about nine rows of bluish-green papille covering

the whole of the back. This species belongs to the section con-

* Read before the Natural History Section at the Cork Meeting of the

British Association, and communicated by the Authors,

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist, Vol. xii.

—

234 Messrs. Alder and Hancock on a new British species

stituting Fleming’s genus Montagua. It differs entirely from

Montagua viridis of Forbes in the form and proportion of the

different parts.

“ Kolis pellucida.—A. very slender and graceful Bperiot about

three-quarters of an inch in length, with long. slender tentacula,

and the angles of the foot much produced. The body is pellucid

white: the branchial papille: long and slightly conical, of a bright

rose-vermilion with white tips, set in about five clusters down the

sides. This is a critical species, differing from EH. gracilis, no-

ticed. last year, in the form and colour of the papille, and from

Ei. rufibranchialis in the more lengthened tentacula and lateral

portions of the foot. :

Found on a coralline from deep water at Cullercoats, North-

umberland.

Eolis curtaa—The body of this is short in proportion to the

' other parts. It is about half an inch long, pellucid; the head

and tentacula pale rose-coloured. The branchial papille are very

long, of a brownish orange with white tips and a streak of the

same in front. They are set in clusters down the sides; the first

large, and three or four smaller ones behind nearly coalescing.

Dorsal tentacula annulated, sides of the foot much produced and

recurved.

Found under a large stone among the rocks at Whitley,

Northumberland. j

Eolis concinna—A very distinct and well-marked species ;

about half an inch long, with nine or ten distant transverse rows

of purplish-brown papille, tipped with white, on the sides of the

back, five in each row : the external surface of these is tinged with

pale blue, giving them a metallic lustre. Tentacula linear and

smooth, the dorsal longest and inclined forwards. Sides of the

foot very little produced. Four individuals were found together

under a large stone between tide-marks at Whitley.

We have, during this shimmer, had an opportunity of studying

the development of the ova in two or three genera of the Nudi-

branchia, the phenomena attending which we find to be very

similar in all, The fact of their undergoing a complete meta-

morphosis, and during théfr larva state being provided with a

nautiloid shell, is a striking peculiarity distinguishing these from

the other families of gasteropodous Mollusca.

We learn incidentally, in a note to an article on the develop-

ment of Aplysia by Dr. Vanbeneden in the ‘ Annales des Sciences

Naturelles,’ that M. Sars has already published an account of the

development of some of the Nudibranchia; but the work contain-

ing it not being accessible to us, we are at a loss to know how far

our observations agree with his, and shall therefore give a short

description of the embryo as observed by us.

of Calliopsea and on four new species of Eolis. 235

The spawn of Doris tuberculata is a broad gelatinous riband,

attached by one of its edges to the underside of stones, in a cir-

cular éoil of about three volutions, the whole forming a beautiful

cup- or flower-like expansion, The number of ova imbedded in

it, on a moderate computation, cannot be less than 50,000. Hach

ege contains a single yolk, but frequently there are two, and

sometimes even three yolks in the same egg. The period neces-

sary for their attaining the larva state appears to be about a fort-

night; after that time the mass presents a very animated appear-

ance. When observed with a common magnifier, in some the

full-formed larva will be seen whirling itself round with gieat

velocity in the transparent egg; others, having broken the shell,

will be found performing more extended gyrations in the general

envelope, while others again are swimming hither and thither in

search of an aperture to escape into the open water. The larva

forms a beautiful object for the microscope. Its body is inclosed

in a very transparent calcareous nautiloid shell; furnished with

an equally transparent operculum. The whole surface of the

animal is covered with minute vibratory cilia; as are also the in-

ternal walls of the alimentary canal, which is visible through the

transparent shell. Two large wing-like lobes form the principal

part of the animal visible outside the shell; these are fringed

with long cilia; by the motion of which it swims freely through

the water ; they are capable of being withdrawn into the shell

and. the operculum closed upon them. The mouth is situated

between these lobes. It will readily be seen that these little crea-

tures do not bear even the most remote resemblance to the future

Doris. How long they remain in this state before their final

transformation, or how that takes place, we have not yet been able

to ascertain. The motion of these animals through the water by

means of ciliated expansions recalls to mind some of the forms of

the Rotifera, though sufficiently distinct from any of them. Com-

paring our drawings with those of Aplysia by Vanbeneden, we’

observe a very striking resemblance between the two animals:

each has a similarly formed shell ; though that of Aplysia is stated

to be corneous, while ours readily dissolves in weak acids, from

which we infer its calcareous nature. We do not see in M. Van-

beneden’s figures the expanded lobes so peculiar in these, nor, on

the other hand, can we trace in any of the parts of our animals

the least resemblance to a rudimentary head or foot. In addition

to that of Doris, we have succeeded in bringing out the latvee of -

Eolis, Melibea and Tritonia; they all bear a very great resem-

blance to each other.

The system of vessels pointed out by M. Milne E

Calliopea, connected with the alimentary canal, and

through the whole body, which he calls the gastro-vaSg

286 Messrs. Alder and Hancock on a new British species

stem, has been observed also by us in Kolis, with this difference,

that while in Calliopea there are two longitudinal vessels running

the whole length of the body, in Hols there is only one of these

vessels, sending off branches to the papille. The passage of

particles of matter from these vessels into the papille and back

again in an irregular manner may occasionally be observed.

These particles are of various sizes and forms, and have a

crude undigested appearance. They are occasionally mingled

with regular blood-like globules. Their motion is produced by

the contraction of the walls of the vessel and of the stomach,

which is every now and then perfectly collapsed. There is no

decided onward current produced by this action, which takes

place quite irregularly in different parts of the gastro-vascular

system, but a mere oscillatory motion in the immediate vicinity

of the action. We have observed another curious circumstance

apparently connected with this system, which appears to have

escaped the observation of M. Milne Edwards, and for which we

can in no wise account. The end of each of the papillee has in-

ternally a small ovate vesicle, which is connected by a transpa-

rent vessel with its central tube. By the contraction of this ve-

sicle very minute bodies are occasionally sent out by a small aper-

ture terminating the papilla. These bodies are of an elliptical

form, with a long hair-like tail, and bear considerable resem- —

blance to the Spermatozoa, but have no motion, nor is the organ

from which they issue at all connected with the generative func-

tions. We would therefore call the attention of comparative ana-

tomists to this fact.

The functions of the gastro-vascular system as well as of the

papille, which have generally been considered to perform the

office of branchize, require further investigation. M. Quatrefages

appears to think that the central coloured portion of the papille ~

performs the functions of the liver; an opinion which is perhaps

correct, but requires further investigation. iy ie

The fact, which we do not recollect to have seen stated, that

the whole surface of the body in Holis, as well as the papilla, is

covered with vibratory cilia, might lead us to infer that the or-

gans of respiration are not specialized in this genus, but that the

animal breathes over the whole body. The appendages in Holts as

well as in Melibea are very deciduous, which is not usually the case

with an important vital organ, and the animals are known to live

for some time when deprived of them. But even though the

papille should be considered the chief seat of the respiratory

function, it is evident that they have at least some other office to

perform, the nature of which is not well understood.

Dr. Siebold has announced the discovery of the organs of hear-

ing in many of the pulmoniferous Gasteropodes as well as in se-

of Calliopza and on four new species of Kolis. 237

veral species of Conchifera*. We have lately had the pleasure of

recognising the same organs in the Nudibranchia; they consist

of two transparent vesicles connected with the two superior lobes

of the brain by short nerves. These vesicles are filled with small

concrete bodies or otolites, varying in number according to the

species, and vibrating, when in a living state, with a continuous

oscillatory motion.

In Eolis papillosa the otolites exceed eighty ; they are elliptical

and very minute; while in Z. olivacea and E. pallida there is only

one large globular otolite in each capsule. We have observed

these organs in species of the genera Holis, Tritonia, Melibea,

Polycera and Doris ; in all of which we find them similarly situ-

ated and undergoing only very slight modifications.

The eyes are placed immediately before the auditory capsules,

and the nerve that supplies the former arises from the same por-

tion of the large ganglion above the oesophagus to which the lat-

ter is affixed. The eye is much more completely organized than

has been supposed; it is formed of a well-defined cup of black

pigment, through which in all probability the retina is dispersed.

Before this cup is placed a large spherical crystalline lens, having

a well-arched cornea in front. The whole is enveloped in a thin

transparent vesicle attached to the ganglion by a pedicle, through |

which the optic nerve passes into the base of the cup.

The organs of smelling remain yet to be ascertained. De Blain-

ville has suggested that this function may be performed by the

dorsal tentacula, and a careful examimation of the structure of

these compared with that of the olfactory organs in other animals

has led us to adopt the same opinion. The simplest form in

which the organs of smelling are known to, exist, is in fishes and

in some of the Crustacea. If we examine\this organ in a fish,

the common herring for instance, we shall find it to consist of a

delicately lamellated expansion contained within a cavity, open

externally, but closed on its internal surface, and communicating

with the bram by a nerve having a small ganglion at its base.

Now if this lamellated portion were bent into a cylindrical form

and raised upon a pedicel capable of being protruded from the

cavity, we should have a structure exactly similar to \the dorsal

tentacula in Doris. It is easy to tract the modifications of this

form through the other genera of the order, in most of which

the plicated structure is more or less visible, the organ being in

some carefully protected by a sheath. In all, the tentacula are

furnished with a nerve which generally has a small ganglion at

its base, as in the olfactory nerve in fishes. On examining the

tentacula under a microscope, the whole surface is found to be

very strongly ciliated ; more strongly even than in the branchial

* See this Journal, vol. ix. p.501.—Ep.

288 Mr, H, B, Strickland on the Structure and Affinities

processes, and with this remarkable difference ; that while in the

latter the cilia propel the water outwards, sending off a current

at their apices ; in the tentacula, on the contrary, the cilia are di-

rected downwards, drawing in and sending a current of water

down their whole surface. This is exactly what we might be led

to expect in the olfactory organs, and forms a beautiful compen-

sation for the power of drawing a current of air through the

nostrils in the higher animals. Upon the whole, therefore, we

think that little doubt ean remain of the real function of these

organs,

P.S. Since writing the above, we have seen M, Quatrefages’

elaborate paper on his Holidina paradoxum in the ‘ Annales des

Sciences Naturelles, and are happy to find that many of his ob-

servations agree with our own, His Holidina we consider to be

undoubtedly an Holis very nearly allied to our EL. angulata, MS.,

communicated to the last meeting of the Association,

In the position which he assigns to the anus at the posterior

end of the large central vessel of the gastro-yascular system, we

conceive him to be under a mistake, deceived probably by the ap-

parently abrupt termination of that vessel. The real anus, we

haye no doubt, will be found at the side, as in other species of this

. and the allied genera,

He appears also to have misunderstood the organs of vision,

which, it can scarcely be doubted, are as complete as in other

species of Holis, as well as in Polycera, Goniodoris and Melibea,

in all of which a lens is distinctly visible; he however figures

and describes the eye in his Kolidina as merely a broad convex

expansion of the retina and pigmentum nigrum. It would ap-

pear from his drawing that he has mistaken the auditory capsule

for the optic ganglion or a swelling of the optic nerve, otherwise

he has entirely overlooked the organ of hearing, His deserip-

tion of the generative organs is quite at variance with the well-

known peculiarities of this order,

M. Quatrefages’ remarks on zoological affinities are ingenious :

on this interesting portion of the subject however we cannot at

present enter, but hope to do so on a future occasion, when a

further investigation of the subject shall have enabled us to speak

with more certainty than we can possibly do at present.

XXIX.—On the Structure and Affinities of Upupa, Lin., and

Irrisor, Lesson. By H, E. Srricxianp, M.A.*

Tux African continent presents us with several species of birds

constituting a well-marked genus, to which Lesson in 1831 ap-

* Read to the Zoological Section of the British Association at Cork, Au-

gust 19, 1843 ; and communicated by the Author,

of Upupa and Irrisor. Ho Be

plied the name Jrrisor, being a translation of Levaillant’s name

“ Moqueur.’ This group of birds was included by Latham in

the genus Upupa, by Shaw in Promerops, by Vieillot in Falci-

nellus, by Cuvier in Merops, and by Temminck and Wagler in

Epimachus ; but as they differ essentially from the types of: all

these genera, it is necessary to give them a distinct appellation.

Mr. Swainson, Mr. Vigors, the Baron de la Fresnaye, and Mr.

G. R. Gray restrict to this group the name Promerops of Brisson ;

but Brisson was wholly unacquainted with the group before us,

and the true type of his genus Promerops is a totally different

bird, called by Vieillot Falcinellus, and by Swainson Ptiloturus.

It is plain then that the right course is to supplant Fulcinellus

and Ptiloturus in favour of the old generic name Promerops, and,

to adopt for the present group the name Jrrisor as proposed by

M, Lesson. | !

Having now settled the nomenclature of this group, I will pro-

ceed to speak of its affinities, and to show first its relation to the

genus Upupa; and secondly, its position in the general system

of Nature.

It should be premised that the genera Upupa and Irrisor agree

in the form of the beak, but differ in many other particulars. In

Upupa the plumage is ferruginous, varied with white and black ;.

the head is crested; the tail moderate and even, composed of ten

rectrices; the feet adapted for walking; the lateral toes being

nearly, equal, the exterior ones divided nearly to their base; the

anterior claws short and blunt, and the hinder claw lengthened

and approaching to straightness. In Jrrisor, on the contrary, the

plumage is black with rich metallic tints, varied only with a few

white spots on the wings and tail; the head is not crested; the

tail is long and much graduated, composed of twelve rectrices,

and the feet are essentially arboreal, the outer toe being much

longer than the inner, and united to the middle one for the whole

length of the basal joint ; the hind toe is very long, and all the

claws are compressed, sharp, and much curyed, It is evident,

therefore, that these birds must differ greatly in their habits ; and

accordingly we find that the hoopoe lives chiefly on the ground,

while the Jrrisor is described by Levaillant as exclusively inha-

biting trees, The question then arises, whether the agreement in

the form of their beaks is to preponderate over the disagreements

of their other organs ; in other words, whether this resemblance in

the beaks is to be considered as indicating an affinity or only an

analogy,

The majority of authors have classed the Irrisors either amongst

or very near the Hoopoes, But the Baron de la Fresnaye, in the

‘ Proe, of the Zool. Soc,’ for 1840*, p. 124, contends that the ge-

* See Ann. Nat, Hist., vol. vii. p.551.—Ep,

240 Mr. H.E. Strickland on the Structure and Affinities

nera Upupa and Jrrisor (or as he terms it, Promerops,) have in

reality no near affinity to each other. He argues that birds have

in many cases been arranged artificially in consequence of authors

being guided solely by the form of the beak without attending to

the structure of the other organs. After pointing out the marked

differences between the feet of Upupa and those of Irrisor, he

concludes that Upupa has evident affinities with the larks (Alau-

dine), but that its true position is im @ special family of the Te-

nutrostres, in conjunction with Upucerthia and some other allied

S. American genera. The genus [rrisor, on the contrary, he con-

siders to belong to the Cinnyride, or as they are more correctly

called, Nectariniide, to which they have much resemblance in their

glossy plumage.

Now it is undoubtedly true that the most unnatural classifi-

cations of birds have in many cases resulted from the beak being

taken as the sole ground of arrangement, to the exclusion of the

other organs. I do not however think that the juxtaposition of

Upupa and Irrisor is really an instance of such a vicious arrange-

ment, and I hope to show, that notwithstanding the disagreements

in their feet, tail and plumage, these two genera are in reality

very closely allied. |

It will generally be found that when several genera of remote

affinity have been brought together in consequence of a resem-

blance in the form of their beaks, that resemblance is more ap-

parent than real, consisting in a general and superficial agree-

ment in the form and outline, while the minor details of structure

present differences which at once indicate the true affinities of

the respective groups. Thus the genus Scythropswas till very lately

classed by all authors among the toucans, on account of the ge-

neral resemblance of the beak, while if the slightest attention had

been paid to the position of the nostrils, it would have been seen

at once that its true place is among the cuckoos. A similar su-

perficial resemblance in the beak has caused Tichodroma to be

classed with Certhia stead of with Sitta, Spermophila with Pyr-

rhula instead of with Guiraca, Oreoica and Falcunculus among the

Lanne stead of the Paring, and numerous other cases which

might be quoted.

On comparing Upupa with Irrisor, however, we find a coinci-

dence of structure not only in the general forms, but in the mi-

nutest details of the structure of their beaks ; and what is of still

greater importance, the beaks of these two birds present certain

characters which are found in no other group of birds with which

I am acquainted.

Upupa and Irrisor both present to us the remarkable combi-

nation of a very long beak with a very short tongue. The two

mandibles are for three-quarters of their length perfectly solid,

the surfaces of contact being smooth and flat ; while in all other

of Upupa and Irrisor. 241

long-billed birds the interior of both mandibles is provided with

a hollow space for the reception and action of a lengthened

tongue, or for the temporary retention of their food. This very

remarkable and peculiar structure has been noticed by no author

(as far I am aware) except Wagler, who in his definitions of

Upupa and Epimachus, in which last genus he includes Jrrisor,

notices this character, but without making any comment on its

singularity. It is sufficiently evident from this structure that

both Upupa and Irrisor have very little affinity to the Tenuiros-

tres, in which the tongue is remarkably lengthened and adapted

to the purposes of suction, and Jrrisor cannot therefore be referred

to the Nectariniide, as supposed by the Baron de la Fresnaye.

The fact is, that the beaks of these birds are not constructed for

suction but for probing, i.e. for reaching into deep holes and cre-

vices in quest of the larvee of insects. We know that the hoopoe

obtains its food by inserting its beak into the holes made in the

ground by coprophagous insects, and it is probable that the Jrri-

sor feeds in a similar manner upon the larve which perforate

decayed trees.

The beaks of these two genera of birds present another cha-

racter unnoticed by all previous authors, and, like the former one,

believed to be peculiar to these two genera alone. The basal and

medial portion of the ridge of both mandibles is obtusely and

roundedly carinate, but in proceeding towards the apex, the ridge

first becomes flattened, then hollowed, and at last deeply grooved.

In the Jrrisor this flattened portion commences in both mandi-

bles about the middle of the beak, and soon changes into a flat-

bottomed groove, which towards the apex is divided into two by

a fine intermediate ridge. In Upupa the flat space commences

about two-thirds of the total length from the base, and wants the

intermediate ridge. With these slight differences the beaks of

the two birds may be considered as quite identical in structure,

Basal portion. Apical portion.

AG op O8 oF Salient fap. Semtrrennt se)

IRRISOR- ~~~ = (\ nee eee ee hosed

Siena

while they differ as before remarked from those of all other known

birds. These characters are shown in the above figures, which

represent magnified transverse sections of the mandibles.

242 Mr. H.E, Strickland on Upupa and Irrisor.

This peculiar coincidence of structure must, I submit, be consi-

dered to indicate something more than mere analogy, and rather

to show that Upupa and Irrisor form two subdivisions of the same

superior group ; or in other words, that they have more affinity to

each other than either of them has to any other group which it

may resemble.

Nor are the points of mutual agreement in these two genera

wholly confined to the structure of the beak, Considerable as their

differences undoubtedly are, yet they are not overpoweringly so.

They both nidificate in hollowtrees, Thewings in both are similarly

formed, the quills being much graduated, and the fourth and fifth

longest. The differences in the style of colouring are not greater

than we often meet with in genera of the same subfamily, while

the large patches of white on the remiges and rectrices of Upupa

have their counterparts on the same feathers of Irrisor, The dif-

ferences in the form of their tails is a character admitted to be

only of generic, and in some genera only of specific importance.

The most weighty distinction is undoubtedly to be found in the

structure of their feet, but this is not greater than will be found

in the feet of many terrestrial genera when compared with the

arboreal forms of the same families, If we look at the feet of

ground-cuckoos, ground-woodpeckers, ground-parrots, or ground-

pigeons, we shall find that in every case these members are spe-

cially modified to suit the habits of the bird, yet this modification

of the feet does not blind us to the true affinities of the species

which exhibit it. .

It may be said, that in the present ease the evidence of the feet,

neutralizes that of the beak, and renders it indifferent which way

we decide the question. But this is not a correct view of the case,

because neither the feet of Upupa nor of Irrisor present any pe-

culiar and unique structure, such as we see in the beaks of both ;

they only exhibit a slight modification of the. same organs adapted

for special modes of life, and such as are to be met with in many

other instances of genera belonging to one and the same sub-

family.

I conclude, therefore, that the true and natural series of affi-

nities will be most correctly exhibited by preserving Upupa and

Irrisor in juxtaposition, and by including them both in the family

Upupide, which may be divided into two subfamilies, Upupine

and Irrisorine.

We now come to a more difficult question, viz. what is the po-

sition of the Upupide with respect to the other families of birds ?

They certainly are a very insulated group, forming what in geo-

logy would be termed a remote outlier, and it is not easy to say

to which of the more continental masses they most nearly approx-

imate. Guided by the elongation of the beak, the majority of

authors have placed them unhesitatingly among the Tenwirosires

DEE

Daye

Sejci=panoaiaa

Ann.& Mag. Nat HistNos2. PL.

A Tulh delin.

Mr, A, Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio, 248

or suctorial birds; but the latter are distinguished by the length

of the tongue no less than by that of the beak, and this arrange-

ment cannot therefore be called a natural one. Baron de la Fres-

naye, while retaining both Irrisor and Upupa among the Tenui-

rostres, connects the latter with Upucerthia and its allied genera

(Cinclodes, Geositta, Limnornis and Furnarius). But these last

are merely a subfamily of the great 8, American family Certhide,

modified in accordance with their terrestrial habits, and the re-

semblance which they bear to Upupa is very remote, and seems

to be one of analogy only,

Where then are the Upupideto be placed ? This question can-

not I think be answered satisfactorily till more facts are collected

respecting the food, habits and anatomy of this group and of

others with which it may be compared, It may however be con-

jectured that they are allied in one direction by means of Epimas

chus or Astrapia to the Paradiseide, and in another by Merops to

the Aleedinidea, as shown in ‘ Ann, Nat, Hist.,’ vol. vi. plate 8,

- and as originally suggested by Mr, Vigors in ‘ Linn. Trans.,’

yol. xiy, p, 466, In a third direction they are perhaps connected

through Lamprotornis with the Corvide.

XXX.~-Upon the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio (Zair.).

By Aurrep Tux, M.R.C,S., M.E.S.

[Continued from p. 165.]

[ With a Plate. j

InteRNAL AnatomMy,—Muscular System.—As might be antici-

pated from the disproportionate length and slenderness of the

extremities, as contrasted with the body in Phalangium, and that

the latter is elevated and balanced between them during rapid

flight, when the creature has often to make its way over an irre-

gular surface of stones and herbage, the muscles required for

such exertions are of large size, and constitute by. far the most

important portion of the class of organs to which they belong.

They consist of numerous strong fasciculi, which arise from the

interior of the coxal joints, and pass forwards, filling up the latter

cavities almost completely, and are inserted into the trochanter.

The transverse strie upon them are remarkably distinct and well-

defined, and the ultimate fibrils of considerable size, as both the

one and the other may be seen under a magnifying power of be-

tween thirty and forty lear, The sarcolemma investing them

may be also perceived, either raised oecasionally from their sur-

face, or connecting their extremities when torn across, The suc-

ceeding joints of the legs are too small to admit of the precise

distribution of the flexors and extensors being traced, but by sepa-

244 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

rating them carefully at their articulations, the muscular fibre is

observed to be continued from one to the other, as far as the

distal end of the second portion of the tibia, where two long and

delicate tendons are given off, which traverse the entire series of

tarsal joints, running along their under surface. The chief

muscles of the chelicerz and palpi consist of an elevator and de-

pressor for each of these organs, the latter beg somewhat the

larger of the two. The remaining fasciculi, connected with the

other organs of manducation, are too minute to admit of any

satisfactory demonstration. PI. III. fig. 12. * *, however, repre-

sents a pair of these, attached to the margins of the second pair

of jaws. The other muscles of Phalangium, as connected with

the performance of some special functions, will be considered in

speaking of those structures of which they form a part. I have

already alluded to the probable use of the longitudinal and oblique

fibres of the corium, that they may serve, in other words, to di-

minish the bulk of the animal’s body, more especially that of the

abdominal cavity, which must be necessary to aid in the expul-

sion of the feces, the extrusion of the ova, or of the external ge-

nerative apparatus in both sexes.

Organs of Nutrition.—Like the alimentary canal of the true

Spiders and of the Scorpionide, that of the Phalangia consists of

a straight intestine passing from one extremity of the body to the

other, but which, instead of being more or less narrow, as in

them, throughout its entire course, dilates within the abdominal

cavity, to form a wide and capacious sac, occupying nearly its

whole breadth. It commences im front by a membrano-coriaceous

pharynx (Pl. IV. fig. 15. ph), which opens externally, between

the first and second pair of maxille, and is lodged within the con-

cave structure, described above as the epipharynx (ex). Its upper

surface is curved, to adapt itself to the interior of the latter, and

presents in the middle an elongated horny plate (*), the anterior

half of which (Pl. IV. fig. 16. dp) is narrow, deflexed, and con-

stricted in front, towards the apex, where it terminates by form-

ing a corneous lip (7), which is opposed to two others (/'7'), placed

laterally and beneath it, the three nearly meeting, so as to leave

a narrow and somewhat triradiate opening into the pharynx su-

periorly, while below them the latter expands into a wide trans-

verse aperture (a). It was probably an imperfect view of the

above lips, which appear but as dark spots when seen under a

low power, that led Savignyt to admit the existence of two, and

subsequently three pharyngeal orifices in the Phalangia. The

posterior moiety of this plate is emarginate behind and nearly

three times the width of the preceding one, and deeply grooved

+ Mém. sur les Anim, sans vertébres: Paris, 1816.

Mr. A. Tulk on ihe Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 245

along its under surface, the sides of this groove projecting into

the cavity of the pharynx, as two sharp incurved ridges. The an-

terior half of the plate appears also to be provided with a minute

channel continuous with the above. Upon either side, and supe-

riorly to this plate, the pharynx is raised into two longitudinal

and linear ridges, which are continued, almost parallel with each

other, as far as the commencement of the cesophagus, and are fur-

nished externally with elongated conical projections, which give

attachment to the tendons of numerous transversely striated mus-

cular fasciculi, some of which pass upwards, others obliquely down-

wards upon the side of the pharynx. Upon each side of the pha-

rynx is a pair of short horny teeth (PI. LV. fig. 15. 2) lying close

to each other, and which project inwards and slightly upwards

towards the posterior half of the dorsal plate. Upon their outer

sides are similar ridges for the insertion of a horizontal set of mus-

cular fibres (m); besides which, other muscles extend transversely

(m') over the pharynx, as far as its posterior termination. The

pharynx is broadest in the middle, and narrows again towards the

commencement of the membranous cesophagus (@), which, after

bending downwards from the above, passes over the thoracic

ganglion and forms a slight dilatation (d), previous to expanding

again into the large gastric sac (Pl. IV. fig. 18. G).

Connected with the above conditions of the pharyngeal tube in

Phalangium, it is interesting to find corresponding modifications

in the process by which these creatures derive their aliment. The

Araneida, from the extreme minuteness of that structure and of the

cesophageal canal, are enabled to live only by sucking the juices

of the different insects upon which they prey. The harvest-spiders,

carnivorous also in their habits, combine, however, the power of

mastication with that of suction,—a double operation, which would

appear to be performed in the following manner. It will have

been seen, in treating of the maxillary organs, that owing to the

continuity of the first pair of jaws with the margins of the epi-

stome, and of the second pair with those of the labium, the hori-

zontal action of these parts against each other, as in insects, must

be, to a certain extent, prevented, and they work accordingly in

the reverse or vertical direction, the anterior, the most moveable,

playing to and fro in the concavity formed by the second pair

with the lower lip, and thus crushing the food “ by friction,” as

was observed by Treviranus. In addition to these peculiarities,

the horny bow of the first maxillz is united to the anterior part

of the pharynx upon either side, so that when the muscles of the

latter act they may probably stretch upon it, and thereby render

tense the hollow pouches upon which it rests. By these, as by a

couple of pads, the body of the captured insect may then be com-

pressed and crushed, so as to cause the fluids, aided by the capil-

246 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

lary action of the soft hairs upon the surface of the maxillee, to

flow through the trilabiate opening into the channel of the dorsal

plate of the pharynx; while the hard and solid parts, already much

softened, will be received by the larger aperture into the general

cavity of the latter, and undergo further trituration between its

lateral pairs of teeth previous to entering the cesophagus. I state

these opinions relative to their usés, a8 they have appeared to be

deducible from the arrangement of the parts in question, it being

scarcely possible, from theit minuteness, to test this subject by

actual observation, The reader is referred to the very interest-

ing paper by Captain T. Hutton* upon the habits of a large spe-

cies of Galeodes, as affording evidence that other genera of Tra-

cheary Arachnida also devour their food whole. The harvest-

spiders, at least the present species, are nocturnal in their habits,

and capture their prey, consisting of flies, musquitoes, and small

lepidoptera, by stealing cautiously towards it, and making a gli-

ding spring upon the victim when within reach. Herbst has well

described their predatory actions, when he says, “Sie springen

und stiirzen auf die Beute, wie die Katze auf die Maus, und halten

sie mit den Palpen wie mit Handen selbst.” I have repeatedly

seen individuals of P. cornuitwm, when in confinement, pursue

each other with the utmost pertinacity, the larger generally

pouncing upon the smaller, and having brought them within

reach of the cheliceres and palpi by grappling them with their

long legs, proceed to devour the body, leaving the extremities

untouched. They use one of their lees occasionally; to sup-

port the food to their mouth. It may be also, that the ap-

pendages to the second pair of Goxal joints serve some sitnilar

purpose.

_I proceed now to consider the remainder of the digestive ap-

paratus, so remarkable from the numerous cecal pouches which

are given off from it, and which completely concéal the continu-

ation of its canal upon the upper surface. These ceca may be

conveniently divided, as regards their position, into those situated

upon the dorsal surface of the canal, those wpon the ventral, and

others upon the sides, and, as to size, into large and small ceca.

Beginning with the superior group, the first are a pair of large

oblong sacs (Pl. [V. fig. 17. A A), situated one upon either side

of the median line, and extending the entire length of the abdo-

men. They are somewhat broadest posteriorly, and oceupy each

about a fourth of the width of the abdominal cavity. They are

attached, as are two other pairs of long ceca, to the intestine

throughout their entire length, being formed, as it were, by di-

verticula of the coats of the latter, the edges of which, adherent,

_ * Annals of Nat. Hist., August 1843, + Op. eit.

Mr, A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio, 247

merely leave an opening of communication at the anterior extre-

mity of the sacs,, Between these two ceca is a groove or depres-

sion, which expands in front, and lodges the posterior division of

the trilocular heart, upon either side of which, resting partly upon

these czeca, is the upper pair of biliary vessels. Directly in front

of these large ceca are four rows of small ones, reaching as far

forwards as the anterior part of the thoracic cavity. The two an-

terior (a'a', b/b'), which lie against the sides of the middle optic

nerve, consist each of a pair of globular pouches; the third row,

appearing to be formed of two upon either side (c'c’), has, in

reality, only one like the preceding, but divided by a deep con-

striction. The fourth and last row (d'd') seems also to be made

up of the same number, but the double character is here due to

the projection upwards of the rounded extremity of a pair of

ceca (ee), which open into the anterior end of two long inferior

sacs (PI. IV. fig. 18. ee) presently to be described. Between the

four posterior pouches lies the middle chamber of the heart

(Pl. LV. fig. 17. H), and upon them the loop of the upper biliary

tubes. The anterior division of the heart rests between the two

succeeding pairs. Inferiorly, but upon the sides of the alimentary

canal, is the pair of long ceeca (Pl. IV. fig. 18. C C) alluded to

above. They are longer and narrower, less flattened than the su-

perior pair, and widen out behind, upon either side of the rectum

(r). Between them the gastric sac (G) forms a considerable dila-

tation downwards. Upon either side of the intestine is a row of

four small flask-shaped sacs (PL. IV. fig.17. a, b, ¢, d), bent down-

wards, when “in situ,” against the sides of the abdominal cavity,

and which, commencing opposite to the anterior end of the large

superior ceeca, diminish in size from before backwards, and reach

to their opposite extremity. Trevirarnus has described them as

opening into the two long inferior ceca, which is certainly incor-

rect. They lie in the interval between them and the superior

pair, but are attached to another pair of elongated lateral eflec-

tions (Bb B) of the intestine, perfectly distinct from either of the

former, though partly concealed by them, and which have been

figured by Ramdohr+ under the title of the “grosse gefranzte

Seitenzotten,” in allusion to their series of appended sacs. B

making a transverse section through the middle of the abdo-

minal viscera, as has been done at fig. 19, the relative posi-

tion of these (BB), and of the two other pairs of large ceca

(A A, C C), to the stomach is very well seen, as also the extent to

which they surround the cavity of the latter. It may be observed

likewise, that, owing to the pressure of these ceca, the upper two-

thirds of the gastric sac (8) presents an irregularly pentagonal

form, while below (**) its surface is convex, Upon the outer side

+ Op. cit.

248 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

of the three anterior pairs of small ceca are three other dilata-

tions: the two anterior (Pl. IV. fig. 17. Ag), one of which is

slightly longer than the other, appear to unite and open by a

common neck into the intestine ; the posterior, nearly twice their

length (ff), curves backwards, and terminates distinct from the

other two. There are thus thirty czeca to the alimentary canal of

P. Opilio ; not thirty-one, as stated by Ramdohr, who represents

an azygos pouch as arising between the two most anterior cxca,

but which, with Treviranus, I have been unable to detect. Poste-

riorly, the alimentary canal terminates by a short and wide rec-

tum (7), which opens externally between the last of the dorsal

and ventral segments of the abdomen, the anus being situated

upon a level with the latter.

With regard to the probable function which the above nume-

rous cecal appendages may perform in the process of digestion,

it is difficult to offer any very satisfactory conjecture. Charac-

teristic as they appear to be in general of the alimentary canal in

those creatures which live exclusively upon the fluids of others,

such as the Planaria, the leech, the Aphrodite, the Nicothée, and

in the Arachnida, the spiders and scorpions, with the Acaridean

genera Ixodes and Gamasus, one would have expected to have

found these organs less developed in the present group, from the

very circumstance, already stated, of their mouth being adapted

also to the purposes of mastication; and yet, strangely enough,

their number and size is greater even than what is met with in

the purely blood-sucking Araneidans. By some writers the parts

in question have been regarded as so many reservoirs, in which

the nutriment may be stored up, so as to serve the animal for

some length of time, but this is an opinion which seems scarcely

applicable to Phalangium, from the following facts. The dilated

stomach usually contains a smooth, black and oval mass of excre-

mentitious matter (Pl. IV. fig. 20. f, nat. size), and what is sin-

gular, this (e, magnified) is inclosed in a distinct membranous

covering (m) which surrounds it continuously, and is thrown

into slight transverse folds. The mass still adheres together

. after the latter has been removed, and, upon being broken up,

is found to consist of the debris, or undigested hard parts of va-

rious insects, such as the eyes, legs, wings, antenne, &c., imbedded

in a granular substance. If, on the other hand, the contents of

the ceca be examined, it will be seen to be a granular substance

also, exhibiting under the microscope a similar appearance to the

above, with this difference, however, that along with it no traces

of organic remains can be detected. May it not be inferred from

this, that one office at least of the ceeca is to secrete this matter,

which, discharged into the stomach, agglutinates the particles of

food together? The investing membrane of the feces may serve

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 249

to protect the delicate coats of the intestine from laceration, by

the sharp and often spiny nature of their contents.

Of the two pairs of vessels described by Treviranus and men-

tioned above as biliary tubes (Gallgefisse), the superior (PI. IV.

fig. 17. sv, sv), after forming a loop upon the posterior rows of

small ceeca, winds round the intestine from the dorsal to its ven-

tral aspect, where it crosses part of the ovarium in the female, and

is in relation with the origins of the tracheal trunks, and returns

into itself to form a single tube, which passes directly forwards,

and is lost among the muscles of the manducatory apparatus.

The second pair (Pl. IV. fig. 18. sv’ sv’) are situated more to the

sides of the alimentary canal, but I have been unable to trace

their course. Treviranus states that it is shorter than the pre-

ceding one, and ends between the ceecal pouches. It is, however,

probably also continued onwards to the cibarial organs, and the

two pairs together may, perhaps, exercise some salivary function

in relation to those complex parts. ,

The structure designated by Treviranus as the fatty mass (f)

consists of a series of longitudinal and parallel intestiniform bodies,

formed by membranous tubes, contaming granular matter in

their interior, and which lie upon the under surface of the sto-

mach. They may fulfil the function of a liver.

Organs of Circulation.—These in Phalangium are as simple as

the other structures are complicated. They consist of a heart

divided into three chambers, lying in a groove upon the upper

surface of the alimentary canal. ‘The posterior division (Pl. IV.

fig. 17. p) is situated, pyriform in shape, between the anterior ex-

tremities of the two large superior ceca, its broad end forwards,

being received into a corresponding expanded portion of the

groove. The middle chamber (H), about the same size as the

two terminal, is contracted in the middle like an hour-glass, and

placed between the two posterior rows of small ceca, being in

relation, upon either side, with the longitudinal ‘portion of the

loop of upper salivary vessels. The anterior division (a"), of the

same shape as the posterior, lies in a depression between the two

anterior rows of ceca, and is prolonged downwards obliquely as

a minute vessel, which, curving again upon itself, runs horizon-

tally forwards. The structure of the heart is composed of a se-

ries of transverse, curved and muscular bands, leaving between

them light and membranous intervals. It is plentifully supplied

with nerves, which take a longitudinal course over it.

Generative Organs.—Were the anatomist familiar only with

the anomalous conditions of the generative system in the Pulmo-

nary Arachnida, with the singulartransference of the means of

fecundation to the extremities of the palpi in the male spider, and

the termination of the internal organs, in both sexes, by a simple

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. S

250 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

transverse outlet upon the under surface of the abdomen, he would

hardly be prepared to find, in dissecting one of the present group

of animals for the first time, not only well-developed internal

organs, but an external male and female apparatus for repro-

duction, comparable even, from its size and complexity, to that

met with in insects. To such a degree may important differences

in the structure of internal parts be masked by analogies of out-

ward form.

The organs of generation in the male of Phalangium Opilio

consist of a penis inclosed within a sheath, a vas deferens, and

certain excretory glands, the analogues of the testes. All these

parts are situated within the cavity of the abdomen towards its

anterior extremity, lying along its under surface, immediately be-

neath the integument.

The ¢estes are formed by a cluster of elongated, narrow and

slightly tortuous cecal tubes (Pl. IV. fig. 21. st), situated above

the sheath of the penis when the latter is “ in situ,” and which,

converging towards a central point, combine to form a single sper-

matic duct (r), which is continued onwards to the extremity of

the male organ. The above cluster of seminal tubes is in relation

above with the medio-abdominal nerve, which crosses over it, and

the under surface of the gastric sac; on either side of it are seen

the long inferior ceca of the latter, and emerging from among

the lateral tubes, the nervous ganglia (ng') which supply these

organs.

The duct or. vas papas (v), given off as already stated, passes

ina tortuous direction above the testes, which it resembles. in tex-

ture very much in the posterior half of its course, and extends to

about twice their length within the abdominal cavity. Its ante-

rior half is tough and horny (v"), and surrounded, nearly as far

as its entrance into the penis, by an oblong ovoid body of consi-

derable density and thickness (v).

The penis (Pl. IV. fig. 22. p), though simple in its structure,

is remarkable from its length, nearly equalling the half of that

of the abdomen. It is composed of two distinct portions, a body

(p) and glans (g), both of a very firm coriaceous. texture.

The body, which constitutes by far the largest portion of the

organ, is slightly curved throughout its entire length, the conca-

vity beimg directed upwards, and broad behind at its commence-

ment, gradually narrows towards its anterior extremity. It is

compressed from above downwards and grooved upon the upper

surface. At its base it presents superiorly a large crescentic

opening (0) for the passage of the continuation of the spermatic

duct, or the ductus ejaculatorius,.which traverses it throughout

as a rigid horny tube (¢), and opens into the base of the glans.

The termination of the body of the penis in front is somewhat

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 251

dilated, and exhibits two small, oval and concave plates (ps),

situated upon its upper surface, and diverging obliquely from the

dorsal groove upon either side. They are darker in colour than

the rest of the body, and separated internally from each other by

a narrow space. Their outer margin, dark brown, is prolonged

in the middle in a triangular shape, and curved towards the me-

dian line. The second piece of the male organ or glans (9) is

articulated to the former in a ginglymoid manner, and rests ob-

liquely downwards upon the two above-mentioned plates. It is

widest behind where it projects in a rounded base, which has two

slender elevator muscles attached to it, 1s concave upon its upper

and lower surface, and furnished at the apex with a small, acute,

slightly bent and moveable hook, at the base of which, inferiorly,

is a minute triangular aperture for the exit of the seminal secre-

tion. :

The whole of this penis is contained in a sheath (Pl. LV. fig. 23.

sh) of similar contexture, which is situated partly in the hollow

of the sternum (s), and partly against the ventral parietes, being

about twice the length of the former. It 1s broader than the or-

gan it incloses, and being more or less transparent, admits of the

outline of the penis (p) being very distinctly seen through its

parietes. Though described by Treviranus as a simple sheath,

this organ consists of two elongated pieces with well-defined

margins, connected to each other by a membrane, which is very

easily torn through in dissection if care be not used, and gives

the idea at first, of the structure in question being formed by a

couple of separate valves. The lower of these pieces is carinate

in form, to adapt itself to the corresponding surface of the penis

against which it rests, and is continuous behind with the inferior

part of the margin of the opening in the base of that organ ; its

lateral borders become thicker towards their anterior extremity,

and terminate by curving outwards as two horny projections or

hooks (), which are connected upon either side to the edges of

the sternal plate, with an inflection of which the inferior part of

the sheath is confluent anteriorly (a). The second portion of the

sheath, attached to the remaining edge of the urethral opening,

extends almost flat over the upper grooved surface of the penis,

and ends in front by a rounded free border (*). From the open-

ing between the two conjoined pieces the glans of the male or-

gan protrudes.

The relative position of the above parts “in situ” is precisely

as follows :—Inferiorly, lying within its sheath in the concavity

of the sternum, is the intromittent organ. Above, covering the

anterior half of the sheath, the divergent angles of the latter, and

the glans penis being partially visible, is the cluster of seminal

vessels. Immediately behind the latter is the horny portion of

S 2

252 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

the vas deferens in its surrounding body, lying lengthways upon

the upper surface of the posterior half of the sheath, but not ex-

tending quite to its base, so as to leave the opening into the penis

perfectly visible. The two structures called by Treviranus the

ligaments of the sheath, are, without doubt, a pair of retractor

muscles (Pl. IV. fig. 21. rm). They arise, broadest, upon either

side of the opening in the base of the penis, and passing back-

wards along the under surface of the abdomen, where they come

into relation with the two branches and their ganglia of the medio-

abdominal nerve (ng), diverge to be inserted into the lateral an-

gles of the penultimate dorsal arc. Part of the fibres of these

muscles are continued onwards from their origin to form a mus-

cular sheath, apparently composed of large and detached ultimate

fibrils arranged side by side in a single layer, over the sheath of

the penis, the vas deferens and seminal tubes.

Behind the testes, extending across the under surface of the

stomach, is a broad intestiniform tube (*), curved in the shape of

a Z, and constricted in five or more distinct places, which is sup-

posed by. Treviranus to belong to the generative system of the

male, as it is met with only in that sex, and to perform some

function connected with the elaboration (Absonderung) of semen.

It is membranous, and contains a granular-looking substance, and

terminates by its extremities in two long filiform tubes, which are

said also by Treviranus to lose themselves among the blind ap-

pendages of the alimentary canal. I have examined the direction

of these minute ducts with great care, and find that they pass

forwards and curve round the tracheal trunks near to their origin

from above downwards, and are lost at the inner extremity of the

spiracular groove, where they may probably open externally. The

function assigned to this part is thus rendered extremely proble-

matical.

It is doubtless preparatory to the itercourse of the sexes, that,

during the autumn, many male specimens of Phalangium may be

taken, having the penis and its sheath completely extruded from

the cavity in which they before lay concealed (Pl. IV. fig. 25.).

In this operation the sheath is turned inside out, and the curved

and flexible hooks upon either anterior angle turn also over, from

above, downwards and backwards, towards. the latter end of the

process. But not only do the external organs of generation thus

undergo a remarkable change of position, but the internal are, to

a certain extent, displaced. The horny portion of the vas defe-

rens and its surrounding body, appended close to the root of the

penis (Pl. IV. fig. 23. v/v), and the muscles upon either side of the

latter, are thrust out of the abdomen along with that organ, and.

as it quits its,investing sheath enter the latter, but are in contact

then with its external surface, changed by eversion, to within. The

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 2538

first of these orgaris (Pl. IV. fig. 24. 7”) may be readily seen

through the extruded sheath, where its presence is indicated by

a dark line, shadowed externally, and may be even drawn into it,

when the parts are all in their natural position, by laying hold of

the extremity of the penis with a fine pair of forceps. The extru-

sion is, I believe, effected by the contraction of the fibres of the

corium, which, by diminishing the abdominal cavity, press upon

the generative organs from behind and cause them to spring out,

while the retraction of the penis, and with it, of course, the sheath,

is performed by the two special muscles above described. I may

observe, that, owing to the protrusion of the anterior part of the

vas deferens, the whole of it is placed in a more direct position

in relation to the seminal ceca, and the passage into it, of the

secretion from the latter, thus greatly facilitated.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV.

Fig. 15, Inferior view of the epipharynx, to show the pharynx lodged in its

interior, and the commencement of the cesophagus; A A are the

first pair of maxillz with their horny bows; 2 2, second joints of

the palpi; s, the vertical septum.

Fig. 16. Anterior opening into the pharynx; dp is the deflexed termination

of the dorsal plate of the latter, forming at its apex a corneous lip ;

m m are muscular fasciculi.

Fig. 17. The alimentary apparatus, seen from its upper surface, the pharynx

and cesophagus having been removed.

Fig. 18, The same, from below. The corresponding ceca are lettered the

same in both these figures.

Fig. 19. An oblique transverse section of the abdominal viscera through their

middle in a female Phalangium Opilio. The epidermis has been re-

moved, leaving only the membranous layer m'm! beneath it, with

the fibres of the corium, m m, resting thereupon ; the relations of

the ovarium, O, and ovipositor, or, are also seen. _

Fig. 20. Oval mass of feces, inclosed in its membranous* capsule.

Fig. 21. The male generative organs dissected out, and seen from their

under surface ; ¢ ¢ are the pair of latero-inferior long czeca ; a, the

anus.

Fig. 22. The penis, the sheath having been removed, viewed from above.

Fig, 23. The same, lying within its sheath, sh, in the concavity of the ster-

num, s.

Fig. 24. The sheath and penis extruded from the sexual opening, seen from

their inferior surface; 1, 2, 3, 4, coxz of legs; B is the second

pair of jaws ; D, appendages to second coxal joints.

Fig. 25. A male P, Opilio, viewed from the side, with the sexual organs ex-

truded. The legs have been cut off, through the extremities of

the third joints.

The preceding figures are magnified as in Plate III.

- [To be continued. ]

* IT have been unable to discover with the microscope any traces of a

distinct structure in the membrane forming this sac, the texture of which is

smooth, homogeneous, and so thin as to be transparent. Its.existence has

been _ constant in the many specimens of Phalangium which I have ex-

amined.

254 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

XXXI.—The Birds of Ireland. By Wm. Tuomeson, Ksq.,

Pres. Nat. Hist. Society, Belfast.

[Continued from p. 38.]

Tue Partrince—Perdix cinerea, Briss.—is common in

suitable localities throughout Ireland*, but may be set down

in general terms as less plentiful than in England, and the

more southern portion of Scotland. This, however, is not

owing to any natural causes, but to the superior cultivation

of the land, and greater care bestowed upon the preservation |

of the species in Great Britain.

Where partridges are rigidly protected in Ireland, as on the estate

of the late Earl O’Neil, I have on two or three occasions, when

riding in the autumnal evenings after sunset between Randalstown

and ‘Toome, in the county of Antrim, heard their shrill, but most

pleasing calls constantly uttered, and have seen a covey in almost

every little field. On looking to the food contained in a few par-

tridges, shot in different localities in the early spring, it was found

to be chiefly grass, and occasionally other green vegetable matter ;

in one instance the tender leaves of a thistle, and a few seeds. A

sportsman informs me that he has often found ‘“ clocks” (coleopte-

rous insects) in those killed in the mountains :—the partridge not

uncommonly frequents mountain-heaths contiguous to cultivated

ground. _ |

There is a singular difference in habit between the partridge of

the north of Ireland and that of the opposite portion of Scotland,

as is well known to sportsmen who have shot in the different

countries, and which I have myself remarked with some interest.

An Irish covey generally springs without uttering a call, but the

Scotch covey shrieks with all its might when sprung. The Scotch

birds too, even where very little molested, more knowingly take care

of themselves than the Irish: their watchfulness is extraordinary.

Their sense of hearing, as well as of sight, must be remarkably

acute. I recollect that on one day in the month of October, an ex-

perienced sportsman and myself sprung either twenty-four or twenty-

six covies (nearly all double, or containing about two dozen of birds,)

in the neighbourhood of Ballantrae, when they one and all not only

forbade a near approach, but, though we advanced as silently as pos-

sible, never let us into the same field with them.

Tue Quait—Perdix Coturnixz, Lath.—is a common spe-

cies in summer throughout the cultivated districts; and great

numbers winter in the island. Montagu, writing in 1802,

* Lieut. Reynolds, R.N., of the Coast Guard Service, an ardent sports-

man, who was stationed at Achil in 1834, when Mr. R. Ball and I visited

the island, stated that neither partridges nor quails were at that time found

there. As the island is chiefly covered with heath, grouse might be sup-

posed to be common; but they were said to be scarce, on account of the

number both of “ four-footed and winged vermin.”

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 255

says, with respect to England, and probably alluding chiefly

to the south, where he resided, that these birds are “ in much

less quantity than formerly.” Mr. Selby in 1825 remarks,

that “they now visit us in much fewer numbers than they

formerly did, and their appearance in the midland and nerth-

ern counties of England has of late years been a rare occur-

rence.” In 1837, Mr. Macgillivray observes—“it is seldom

that they are now met with in Scotland.” It may appear

singular, yet true it is, that all this while they have been in-

creasing throughout Ireland*; and that of late years there

has been a decided augmentation in the quantity remaining

during winter.

In the wheat districts around Belfast, quails were always com-

mon, but in a locality well known to me, stretching towards the

mountain base, where oats were always grown in quantity, they did

not appear until the introduction of wheat; but, though this grain

has almost ceased to be cultivated there, the birds continue in the

district. J. V. Stewart, Esq., in a letter dated Rockhill, Letterkenny,

Feb. 3, 1837, remarks, that “ quails are only found in the most

improved lowland parts of the county of Donegal ; and where some

years since they were very rare, are now becoming annually much

more common. This is to be accounted for by the increased growth

of wheat.” In the year 1837, I learned from the late T. F. Neligan,

lisq. of Tralee, that “‘ within the preceding eight or ten years the

quail had become much more common in the county of Kerry,

within which period cultivation had much extended.”

Thus, in keeping pace with the cultivation of grain in the north-

west and south-west extremities of this island, it may appear extra-

ordinary that the numbers of these birds visiting Great Britain

should have so diminished in the present century, when cultivation

has been so vastly improved. But the higher state of cultivation is

one thing, and the introduction of grain-crops into districts in which

they were before unknown is another; and though it may appear

strange, yet I am disposed to believe that the slovenly system of

farming in Ireland, unfortunately too general, is one source of the

quails’ attraction to the country, as, at all seasons, the weeds among

the stubble supply these birds with abundance of food.

With respect to the quails’ continuance during winter in numbers

throughout Ireland, to the extreme north, I gave some details in

the 4th volume of the ‘Annals’ (p. 284), the purport of which

was, that for many years past they have been daily, during winter,

* The following extract from ‘A Brife Description of Ireland made in

this yeere 1589, by Robert Payne,’ shows that quails were common at that

period. ‘There be great store of wild swannes, cranes, phesantes, par-

triges, heathcocks, plouers, greene and gray, curlewes, woodcockes, rayles,

quailes, and all other fowles much more plentifull than in England. You

may buy a dosen of quailes for iii.d., a dosen of woodcockes for iiii.d., and

all other fowles ratablie.”"—Reprinted in Tracts relating to Ireland, printed

for the Irish Archeological Society: Dublin, 1841.

256 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

exposed for sale in the shops*, and, that in various parts of the

counties of Down and Antrim, a friend when snipe-shooting at that

season always meets with them in patches of cultivated ground lying

between one bog and another. In some winters he has remarked

quails to be as common as they are in autumn, at the commence-

ment of the partridge-shooting season. So many as ten brace were

shot by a young sportsman during a forenoon in the winter of 1837—

38, in stubble-fields adjacent to Belfast bay +. More have wintered

here in the comparatively mild seasons of the last dozen years than

formerly. But that quails have for a long time past remained per-

manently in some quantity in the counties last named, I have the

testimony of a veteran sportsman, who, from meeting with them

every winter for the last sixty-five years, had always looked upon

them as indigenous, and not as migratory birds. In the letter from

Mr. J. V. Stewart before referred to, that gentleman mentions his

having met with the quail at the end of January about Letterkenny ;

and Mr. George Bowen, of Burt, in the north of the same county

(Donegal), informs me that five or six brace can easily be obtained

there in the course of a day’s shooting about Christmas tf.

Over the continent of Europe, including the most southern por-

tions, the quail is looked upon only as a summer visitant, excepting

in Portugal, where it is found throughout the year, and ‘‘ more nu-

merously in winter than in summer§.” This is a highly interesting

fact, considered in connection with the wintering of the species in

Ireland. Thus, from its remaining permanently in the most western

part of the southern portion of Continental Europe, and the most

western island in a considerably higher latitude, it would seem that

the influence of the Atlantic Ocean is the predisposing cause, by coun-

teracting the severity of winter in a twofold manner, both as to the

feeling of cold and the facility of procuring food. Colonel Sykes,

in a most valuable memoir on the Quails and Hemipodii of India\j,

in which an ample acquaintance with these birds is manifested, co-

incides with Temminck in the opinion, that ‘“‘ quails emigrate for

food, rather than to enjoy an equable climate ;” in proof of which it

is mentioned, that ‘‘ the great changes of temperature in India do

not influence the movements of this species, food being abundant at

all seasons:’’—the common quail of Europe is resident there. There

* Feb. 1, 1842. The chief dealer in quails in Belfast assured me that

the number of these birds purchased by him in the last three months, or

throughout the winter, would average about three dozen a week; on one

day five dozen were brought to him. Being fat and in high condition, they

were readily sold at from 8d. to 1s. a brace.

+ Some details of numbers killed will be found in the communication

last alluded to. ;

t Montagu states that—‘‘ In October they leave us, and return south,

leaving some few (probably of a later brood) behind to brave the severity of

our winter.” To this Mr. Selby is disposed to assent. In Ireland a fair

proportion of adult birds of both sexes is shot throughout the winter.

§ Selby, vol. i. p. 438.

|| Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. ii.; and largely

quoted in Yarrell’s ‘ Brit. Birds.’

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 257

is so little frost in Ireland that food is generally to be procured with

ease, and is so far corroborative of the view just mentioned. But I

have had evidence of the evil influence of cold upon the quail, by

finding it among rushes close to the sea-side (Belfast bay) in severe

frost, when our indigenous birds were likewise suffering from the

weather, and have known one on such an occasion to be shot on the

oozy banks of the bay at low-water, a furlong from the shore*.

The call of the quail, here interpreted wet-my-foott, is frequently

uttered from ‘‘ earliest dawn to latest eve” in spring and the more

genial periods of the year{, and during winter also may occasionally

be heard in the north of Ireland. Mr. R. Davis, jun. of Clonmel,

remarks, that there is ‘‘ great variety in the colour of quails’ eggs; I

have some nearly covered with dark spots, and others almost plain,”

So late as the 24th of September 1834, a friend sprung one of these

birds from its nest, and on the 9th or 10th of October in the same

year, he met with two broods of young birds, some of which could

not fly. Although fields of grain are the quail’s chief resort, I have

known clover-fields in grain districts to be its favourite haunt in

spring and summer; and in these seasons it occasionally frequents

meadows. Among turnips it is not unfrequently met with in winter.

Of eighteen quails shot at various times and places during winter and

early spring, the greater number, on being opened, were found to

contain only very small seeds of various kinds ; among others, those

of the noxious weed, the dock (Rumez); a few, the seeds of different

species of vetches; still fewer, green vegetable matter, or grains of

wheat; and one, large peas :—they all exhibited sand, or fragments

of stone.

In the month of August 1826, I met with quails in Italy. At

Malta, on the 19th of April 1841, I saw at table some which had

been brought from Naples, whence, likewise, a quantity hawked

about the streets was procured. It is said that a few of these birds

remain permanently in the island of Malta. On the passage of

H.M.S. Beacon thence to the Morea, occupying from the 21st to

the 27th of April, a quail alighted on the vessel; it was the only

* Pennant states his having been assured “ that these birds migrate out

of the neighbouring inland counties, into the hundreds of Essex, in October,

and continue there all the winter: if frost or snow drive them out of the

stubble fields and marshes, they retreat to the sea-side, shelter themselves

among the weeds, and live upon what they can pick up from the algae, &c.

between high- and low-water mark. Our friend remarks, that the time of

their appearance in Essex coincides with that of their leaving the inland

counties; the same observation has been made in Hampshire.”—British

Zoology. Ihave not met with any allusion to this in subsequent works on.

British Ornithology. It would be desirable to know if such be the case at

the present time.

+ In some of the continental countries, and particularly in Holland, I

have been surprised to see poor quails imprisoned in miserably small

cages, and hung outside the windows like singing birds, apparently for their

music, which consists but of the above three notes.

} I have notes of hearing the call in September, half an hour after sun-

set; indeed, of their calling and answering each other until-dusk.

258 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on some New species

one seen. The great body of them had previously crossed the Me-

diterranean. On the 29th of that month I sprung a brace near

Navarino. Mr. Wilkinson, jun. of Syra, son of the well-known

and highly esteemed British consul in that island, informed me that

quails are not seen on their autumnal migration at Syra when the

wind is southerly, but when it is north-east they alight in great num-

bers from the 10th to the 30th of September. ‘Their coming is al-

ways announced by the call of the heron, which accompanies them

throughout the period of their migration. ‘This is described to be

“reddish-brown on the back and cream-coloured elsewhere,” and

is probably the Ardea comata, or Squacco heron. They néver re-

main longer than one day. Mr. Wilkinson has been told by friends

resident at Alexandria, that the earliest arrival.of the quail there is

about the 20th of September.

* LirrLe Bustrarp, Otis Téhhax, Linn.—In the ‘ op ar

ings of the Zoological Society of London for 1835? (p. 79), I

noticed, on the authority of Mr. W.S. Wall, an intelligent

bird-preserver, and well acquainted with Bewick’s faithful

portraits of British birds, that a little bustard, sent to him by

Mr. Reside to be stuffed, had been shot by that gentleman in

the county of Wicklow on the 23rd of August 1833, and that

another was seen at the same time. I subsequently learned

from Mr. Haffield of Dublin, who was present on the occa-

sion, that they were seen, associated with golden plover, in

the bog of Killough, adjoining Powerscourt demesne, and

about five miles from the sea. They proved to be less wary

than the plover. The survivor remained for some time about

the locality after its companion was killed. The singularity

of its cry was particularly noticed by my informant*.

XXXII.—Descriptions of three new species of the Coleopterous

genus Gyriosomus, collected in Chile by T. Bridges, Esq. By

_ G. R. Warernouss, Esq., Assistant Secretary and Curator to

the Zoological Society, &e.

Section HETEROMERA.

Family Nycrerips.

Genus Gyriosomus, Guerin.

Gyriosomus Bridgesii. Gyr. ater ; elytris sutura elevata, supra lineis

irregularibus (plerumque longitudinalibus), anticeque maculis par-

vulis, albis, ornatis. Long. 8}—10 lin. ; lat. 5—64 lin.

Corpus ovatum, convexum.

Found in the vicinity of the city of Coquimbo, Chile.

This species greatly resembles the Gyriosomus Hopei, but is

smaller, the thorax is shorter and broader, and the legs are more

* Tue Great Bustarp, Otis Tarda, Linn., was enumerated by Smith

(1749) as one of the birds of the county Cork. It is long since extinet.

of the Coleopterous Genus Gyriosomus. 259

slender ; it differs moreover, constantly, in having the suture of

the elytra raised into a keel. The white markings on the elytra

resemble those of G. Hopei, and are slightly impressed in the

same way. |

Gyriosomus marmoratus. Gyr. ovatus, nitidus ; elytris maculis valde

irregularibus albis impressis. Long. 94—10 lin. ; lat. 5553 lin.

Found on the mountains near Villa Vicuna, province of Coquimbo.

This species is intermediate in form (and im its characters ge-

nerally) to the Gyriosomus Hopei and the G. levigatus. The body

is convex, ovate, and very glossy. The head has a few distinct

scattered punctures in front, and a transverse depression in a line

with the points of insertion of the antennz. The thorax is trans-

verse, very convex, broader behind than in front, and. has the sides

slightly rounded. The elytra are smooth and glossy, but with

irregular depressions in parts; and these depressions are filled

with scales or powder-like substance producing most irregular

markings and varying much in individuals ; there are generally,

however, three or four largeish irregular white patches towards the

sides (or rather the lateral keel) of the elytra; a few small spots

on the disc : sometimes there are a series of small spots arranged

in a hne near the suture, and often the lateral larger patches have

a tendency to run into each other by throwing out an oblong

mark near to and parallel with the lateral keel ; this is prominent

and distinct, and almost reaches the apex of the elytra; it is rough,

and divided by a longitudinal groove.

Gyriosomus elongatus. Gyr. elongatus, subovatus (lateribus corporis

in maribus fere parallelibus), ater, squamulis piliformibus fusco-

albis plerumque vestitus. Capite indistincte punctulato; thorace

transverso, lateribus ante medium dilatato, disco convexo, rugoso ;

elytris squamulis albo-fuscescentibus dense tectis, at lineis pluri-

bus subelevatis, obliquis, vel longitudinalibus, denudatis notatis.

Long. 11 lin.

This species is found in the plains between Huasco and Coquimbo.

The legs and antenne in this species are rather longer and

stouter than usual in the genus; these are for the most part co-

vered, as well as the body, with very minute, adpressed, brownish-

white hairs. The imsect appears, in fact, as if it had been pow-

dered with dust, but on the elytra the powder-like substance is

much more dense than in other parts ; it is however broken up by

denuded portions which are slightly raised and form lines which

vary in individuals, but the common type of the black markings

is as follows: on the basal third of each elytron is a central lon-

gitudinal broadish black mark, throwing out in an oblique direc-

tion one or two narrower lines; on the remaining two-thirds of

260 Mr. G.B. Sowerby, Jun., on a new Fossil Cirripede.

the elytra are three black lines, which are about half the width of

the whitish interspaces ; one of these lines is parallel with and at

a short distance from the suture ; the other two are directed ob-

liquely outwards, being furthest from the suture at the apical end

of the elytron. The thorax in the male is as broad as the elytra

(the sides of which are parallel in this sex, but slightly dilated in

the female), and it is broadest rather in front of the middle.

XXXIII.—Description of a new Fossil Cirripede from the Upper

Chalk near Rochester. By Mr. G. B. Sowzrsy, Jun.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

I HAVE much pleasure in presenting the accompanying letter

and drawings for publication in your valuable periodical. As the

fossil, independent of its great beauty, appears to be quite new

to science, I am desirous of its being published as soon as pos-

sible. I remain, Gentlemen, very truly yours,

N. T. WerHere.t, F.G.S., M.R.C.S. &c.

Highgate, Sept. 12, 1843.

Dear Sir,

Having carefully examined the beautiful fossil which you sent

me from the Upper Chalk near Rochester, I conclude it to be a

Cirripede of the Pedunculated kind, but so different from every-

thing with which we are yet acquainted as to form the type of a

new genus. The description however must be imperfect, only one

side of the shell beimg visible,

and some important parts bemg Fig. 1. Fig. 2.

possibly wanting.

I send two drawings, fig. 1.

showing the fossil as it is seen

imbedded in the chalk, outside

the cast of a large Ammonite;

and fig. 2, which is partly con-

jectural, a front view, showing

where the cilia (a) might pro-

trude, and the probable form, if

any, of the basal attachment (6).

I propose to describe the shell as follows :—

Class CIRRIPEDES.

Fam. PEDUNCULATA.

LoRIcCULA PULCHELLA.

L. testa oblique ovali, ventricosa, lateraliter subcompressa; apice

conica, valvis (utrinque ?) tribus, triangularibus, levibus, antica

SSS

Mr. G. B. Sowerby, Jun., on a new Fossil Cirripede. 261

majori, margine antico subrotundato, subarcuato ; parte principali

(pedunculo ?) ad basin gradatim attenuata, squamarum seriebus

(utrinque?) quatuor; squamis transversis, marginibus arcuatis,

terminalibus acutis alternatim interpositis (sicut piscium squamis) ;

serie antica, squamis brevibus, ad marginem externum rectis, se-

riebus medianis duabus squamis elongatis, utrinque acuminatis,

serie postica squamis brevioribus ad marginem externum rectis.

You will perceive that in the above no more is described than

is visible; but by the hypothetical imtroduction of the word

“ utrinque,” my belief is expressed that each row of scales and

each apicial valve is repeated on the opposite side, so that the

apex would consist of three pairs of valves, and the body or

peduncle of eight series of scales. These scales increase in width

towards the centre and thence gradually.diminish, until at the

base they are so narrow as to leave a doubt whether there be any

tendinous process of attachment, as in other pedunculated Cirri-

pedes ; or whether the animal may have lived, like Acasta, unat-

tached, although confined in the hollow of some of the numerous

sponges found in the same formation.

The two central rows of scales on the side under observation

are united with each other and with the other two by the alter-

nate intersertion of the pomted ends, while the external edges of

the other two rows are straight, so that the shell might be split

into two halves without cutting through a single scale.

With regard to these series of large scales, it is difficult to de-

termine whether they be analogous to the minute scales covering

the peduncle of the Pollicipes, or to the small lower valves imme-

diately surrounding the upper ones. I am rather inclined how-

ever to the former supposition, in which case our shell would form

a connecting link between the two classes of Cirripedes.

In the Pedunculated family the upper valves correspond with

the operculum of the Sessiles ; the smaller ones which immediately

surround them may be compared to the parietal portion, and the

peduncle agrees with the base. But in Loricula, these rows of

valves or scales, forming so large a portion of the whole body,

render them much more comparable with the parietal parts, and

therefore bring the shell much nearer to the Sessile family.

Hoping the publication of these imperfect details may elicit

further inquiry,

I am, dear Sir, yours truly,

G. B. Sowrrsy, Jun.

N. T. Wetherell, Esq. :

262 Mr.A.White on some New Insects from the Congo.

XXXIV.—Description of some apparently new Insects from the

Congo, sent to England by Mr. Curror, Surgeon R.N., and the

late Mr. John Cranch. By Mr. AvAM Wurtz, M.E.SS. Lond.

and Paris, Assistant Zool. Dep. British Museum.

J INTEND giving here a list of such insects as I have seen on the

banks of the Congo lately collected by Mr. Curror, surgeon of the

“Water Witch,” and among these,added to the specimens collected

in Tuckey’s expedition, now in the British Museum, I trust that

a sufficient number of forms will be found to make the list inter-

esting to the student of the geographical distribution of insects.

The unfortunate termination of the expedition to explore “the

river Zaire, usually called the Congo,” in 1816, under the direc-

tion of Capt. Tuckey, is well known ; in the list of supernumerary

passengers, exclusive of the crew of forty-nine, who went out,

occur as the first names those of ‘‘ Mr. Professor Smith, botanist,

and Mr. Cranch, collector of objects of natural history.” To the

zoologist the name of the latter is a well-known sound; Montagu

and Leach have published the results of some of the labours of

the Devonshire naturalist. To some of the marine productions

of our southern shore, first discovered by him, his name has been

applied ; in the preface to a paper on Annulosa, I need only men-

tion the two Crustacea, Ebalia Cranchit and the rare Acheus

Cranchi, taken by him in Falmouth bay. Should his eulogy

be wanted, consult the works of Leach and Col. Montagu.

Mr. Cranch died in his 31st year, a victim to the climate of un-

healthy W. Africa: he was buried at Embomma along with Mr.

Tudor, his comrade. A friend thus writes of him (Introd. to

Tuckey’s Narrative): “ If I may judge from external appearances,

he was an affectionate husband and father, a sincere friend, a

pious, honest and good man.”

His collections are in the British Museum. Thirty-six only

of his insects, according to Dr. Leach, “reached England in a

tolerable state, the rest were entirely destroyed by insects and

damp.” Five or six of these were regarded by Leach as species

new to entomologists ; two have been described: one, the Platy-

genia Zairica, by Macleay ; another by Serville from Dejean’s

collection, the locality of which was unknown ; it is the beautiful

longicorn beetle, Huporus strangulatus. ,

Papilio Ridleyanus, n. sp. Pap. ecaudatus fuscus, alis anticis sub-

elongatis, supra maculis 5 flavo-miniaceis, posticis supra miniaceis,

fusco marginatis nigroque maculatis, posticis subtus caryophyllaceo

flavoque tinctis. Exp. al. f unc. 3 fere, 2 unc. 33.

Hab. ad oras fluminis Zaire. Dom. Currorlexit. Brit. Mus.

Wings above of a brownish black with red spots and marks, the

upper wings here and there semitransparent.

Mr. A. White on some New Insects from the Congo. 263

The first pair have two bands of a darker brown in the discoidal

cell; in one specimen, a female, these bands are margined with pale

ochrey ; there are five red irregular spots between the discoidal cell

and the posterior margin, the one nearest the tip smallest ; in one

specimen, a male, almost obsolete ; in the female this terminal spot

is larger : the last of the spots linear and close to the posterior mar-

gin; the penultimate notched towards the discoidal cell, and abruptly

‘straight behind ; in the female the margins of these spots are yel-

lowish.

The second pair of wings have their general upper surface red ;

black at the base, emitting lines along the nervures, with two or three

irregular black spots in the middle and along the hinder margin of

the red; the posterior margin is brownish black, narrowest inside,

with two or three red spots and indications of red streaks. In two

specimens, one of them a female, some of these cells are yellowish ;

in one male they are only margined with yellowish.

The under side of the first pair of wings resembles in colour the

upper side, but is paler; the under side of the second pair is mixed

with red, greenish and pinkish tints, varying according to the position

they are examined in—the last-mentioned colour prevails ; on the

surface there are at least twelve deep black spots of different sizes ;

the posterior margin is of a faint brown with six or seven pale, trans-

versely elongated spots on its edge, and some indistinct red spots

before them. ‘The head is black, spotted with white above; cheeks

and face yellowish with a black line down the middle: the thorax

is brownish black spotted with whitish, especially on the sides be-

neath the wings: abdomen brown, sides spotted with yellowish, be-

neath yellowish barred with brown, the bars in the middle of the belly

dilated into spots; femora dark ; tibize and tarsi palish. Extent of

wings of the smallest male specimen (which is more elongated and has

the first pair of wings slightly sinuated behind) nearly three inches ;

of the largest, a female, rather more than three inches and a half.

This very distinct species of African butterfly is of the same

form as the Papilones Latretllianus, Tyndereus and Leonidas,

three well-known W. African insects in Boisduval’s 15th group

(Lep. 1. p. 239). To the scarce Papilio Antimachus figured by

Drury, it has, at first sight, a curious relationship, as was pointed

out to me by Mr. E. Doubleday. To him I am indebted for the

opportunity of paying a debt I have long owed* to the memory

of Mr. Ridley, a gentleman in the W. African Coast Service,

whose love for our favourite science was displayed by a collec-

tion he made near the fort of Accra and sent to this country.

He gave great promise of excelling in entomology, and fell a

victim to the climate of W. Africa. In a small collection shown

me by his friend Mr. Humphreys, I had assigned his name to a

black and white Papilio since described by Mr. Westwood. .-I

hope that as this species does not occur, as far'as I am ‘aware; in

* See Entomologist for July 1841, p. 136.

264 Mr. A.White on some New Insects from the Congo.

any book I have consulted, the compliment may prove a perma-

nent one. ‘The striking resemblance in colour and form to some

species of the Acrea genus, such as Zethea, must be evident to

every lepidopterist.

I may add, that the accompanying figure of the male was most

kindly drawn for me by Mr. Humphreys.

One of the few insects saved from Tuckey’s expedition is a large

species of Bombyz : it is fulvous yellow, sprinkled over with minute

brownish spots ; the wings are very hairy, and have a few waved

transverse streaks of a brownish colour on the upper side ; the

lower wings have, at the base above, a dark brown patch of fur-

like hairs ; its antenne somewhat resemble in form those of the

female of Chelepteryx Collesi of G. R.Gray (the Saturnia Laplacei,

Feisthamel, ‘Voy. Favorite’), and I have little doubt it is a female ;

with our present information on the subject of exotic genera of

moths, I dare not venture to suggest a new generic name for this

insect, especially as there is but a single specimen in the Museum,

and therefore refer it to the magazine genus Bombyz, with the

following specific character :— :

Bombyx Mariana. B. villosa fulva, fuscis pilis stictica, alis anticis

supra strigis transversis 3—4 fuscis obscuris, posticis supra basi

villosissimis, macula magna rufescenti fusca, strigisque 3 trans-

versis distinctis, 2 posterioribus (post mediam ale partem ) approxi-

matis; corpore subaurantiaco, alis infra pallidioribus fascia tenui

communi transversa fusca. Exp. al. unc. 53 fere.

Hab. ad oras fluminis Zaire. Legit Dom. Cranch. Brit. Mus.

Cicindela neglecta, Dej., Spec. gen. des Col. i. p. 114. no. 96.

One specimen of a slight variety of this Senegal species was

brought from the banks of the Congo by Mr. Curror, Surgeon R.N.

raphipterus cicindeloides, Dej., Spec. gen. des Col. v. p. 458. sp. 7.

' ‘©Carabus cicindeloides, Oliv.”’ 19 3908

One specimen of a variety from the banks of the Congo.

Mr. A. White on some New Insects from the Congo. 265

Anthia gracilis, Dej., Spec. gen. des Col. v. 468. 17; Dupont in

Guerin’s Mag. de Zool. 1832.

Two specimens of a local variety of this occur, from the banks

of the Congo.

Eunectes griseus, Aubé, Spec. gen. des Col. vi. p. 124.

Dytiscus griseus, Fabr. var.

Dytiscus sticticus, Fabr.

A specimen of this cosmopolite species was brought from the

banks of the Congo by Mr. Curror.

Amongst the Lamellicorn beetles Mr. Curror has sent speci-

mens of

Eudicella Grallii (Buquet), White, Mag. Nat. Hist. iii. p. 28, 1839.

Goliathus Grallii, Oe: Annales de la Soc. Ent. de France, v.

p. 201.

Dicranorrhina Grallit Burm., Handb. iii. p. 191, pl. 5. f. 3:

Hab. ad oras fluminis Zaire vulgo Congo dicti. Dom. Curror

lexit. Brit. Mus.

Both males and females of this species occur, varying in the

colouring of the elytra and in the size of the fork in the male.

As the female resembles the male excepting in the head and the

structure of the legs (especially the fore ones), &c., as in other

species of the genus, I need hardly describe it ; but as it is yet un-

figured, I will take care that a figure of the female and of’ a very

handsome male be published in some entomological periodical.

M. Lucien Buquet in 1835 was uncertain of the precise locality

of this very handsome insect : his figure of the male represents it

by far too slender. Mr. Charles Curtis’s figure in the ‘ Mag. of

Nat. History,’ representing a species of this genus, is more cha-

racteristic, as are Mr. Westwood’s figures of the Goliath beetles of

this subgenus i in the ‘ Arcana Entomologica.’

Celorrhina guttata, Burm., Handb. iii. p. 208.

Cetonia guttata, Oliv., Ins. i. p. 15. no. 10. pl.2. f.7 4.9.

Gnathocera guttata, Gory et Perch., Mon. des Cet. p. 144. pl. 22.

f.692; Buquet, 1. c. p. 205. pl.5. f.6 2.

Mr. Curror has brought both sexes of this from the Congo. We

are indebted to the Rev. D. F. Morgan for specimens from Sierra

Leone, which, with his entire collection of insects, he most liberally

presented to the national collection.

Plesiorrhina cincta, Burm., Handb. iii, p. 213.

Scarabeeus cinctutus, Voet., Col. i. p. 11. t.2. £.9.

Cetonia tznia, Pal. de Beauv., Ins. Rec. p. 28. pl. 5. f. 3.

Gnathocera tenia, Gory et Perch., Cet. p. 138. pl. 21. f. 4.

One specimen, brought by Mr. Curror from the banks of the Congo.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. T

266 Mr. A.White on some New Insects from the Congo.

Coryphocera Africana, Burm., Handb, iii. p. 230.

Scarabeeus Africanus, Drury, Ins. ii. p. 54. pl. 30. f. 4.

Gnathocera Africana, Gory et Perch., Cet. p. 132. pl. 19. f. 6.

A very abundant species on the banks of the Congo.

Coryphocera monoceros, Burm., Handb. iii. p. 232.

Gnathocera monoceros, Latr., Gory et Perch., Cet. pl. 21. f. 3.

p.137.

One specimen from the banks of the Congo, brought by Mr. Curror.

Gnathocera trivittata, Burm., Handb. iii. p. 546.

Scarabeeus (Cetonia) trivittatus, Swed., Acta Holm. 1787, p. 190.

sp.7.

Amphistoros trivittata, Gory et Perch., Cet. p. 145. pl. 23. f.1.

Not uncommon on the banks of the Congo.

Platygenia Zairica, MacLeay, Hor. Ent. pt. 1. p.151.

Platygenia barbata, Burm., Handb. ui. p.730.

Trichius barbatus, Afzelius, in Schénh. Syn. Ins. i. 3rd pt. p. 38.

Not uncommon on the banks of the Zaire.

This may be the Zrichius barbatus of Afzelius. As the speci-

mens agree closely with the male collected by Mr. Cranch and

described by MacLeay from the example in the British Museum,

I give his name: this is the insect alluded to by Dr. Leach in the

Appendix to Tuckey’s Narrative (p. 418) as “a new genus of the

family Scarabeidea.” I am inclined to think there may be three

species of Platygenia. Si

Amongst the Buprestide occur two apparently undescribed spe-

cies of the genus Sternocera, Eschscholtz. Of a species nearly

allied to one of these, two specimens already exist in our collec-

tion, brought by Dr. Burchell from 8. Africa, to which the MS,

name of Buprestis liturata has been applied by that enterprising

and learned traveller. The following specific character may di-

stinguish it from the Sternocera interrupta ; it is, like all its con-

geners, variable in size; the least specimen is 1 inch 53 lines, the

largest 1 inch 7 lines.

The thorax is more coarsely punctured than in S. interrupta,

and not so much so as in S. castanea ; the abdomen beneath has also

only a few slight hairs on its general surface, and the four last

segments have on each side, between the side and middle, a patch of

close-set hairs ; that on the anal segment elongated. In Dr. Bur-

chell’s S. liturata the elytra are differently sculptured, showing

symptoms of ridges; the spots are smaller, especially the hind

ones. My species may turn out a local variety of this ; meanwhile

I describe it as ;

Sternocera liturata (var. Currori). St. senescenti-nigra, thoracis la-

- teribus singulis plaga magna depressa tomentosa (sub pilis super-

Mr. A. White on some New Insects from the Congo. 267

ficies eeneo-viridis est), antice recta, postice rotundata, marginem

posticam non attingente lateribus parallelis ; elytris singulis plagis

5, depressis pilis adpressis flavescenti-cinereis indutis ; 3 parvis ba-

salibus, una elongata laterali, pilis longioribus duabus subovalibus

juxta suturam, una submediana ad latus alteraque maxima, pos-

tice attenuata.

Hab, ad ripas fluminis Zaire. Dom. Curror collegit. Long. unc.1.

lin, 7. |

By Laporte and Gory this would be regarded as a distinct spe-

cies, although eventually I believe it will be found to be a local

variety of Sternocera liturata. I have much pleasure in dedicating

this handsome Buprestis to Mr. Curror, Surgeon of the Royal

Navy, while to Mr. Burchell’s I have assigned the name of Ster-

nocera liturata (var. Burchellit). |

Another Sternocera, of a bright purplish opalescent colour, and

nearly allied to S. castanea, may be characterized as follows :—

Sternocera feldspathica. St. castanea, purpureo et viridi resplendens,

thorace lateribus plaga antica subtriangulari, dorso rude punctato,

elytris haud plagiatis lineatis, basi subareolatis, corpore subtus

purpureo-nigro, subpiloso, segmentis 3 posticis lateribus, plaga

pilorum.

Hab. ad oras Zaire vulgo Congo. Dom. Curror lexit. Long. unc, 1.

lin. 7. sf

Mr. Curror has also brought from the Congo a specimen of

Chrysochroa lepida, Lap. et Gory, Hist. Nat. et Iconogr. des Ins..

_ Coleopt. pl. 3. f. 9. :

Buprestis lepida, Gory, Ann. Soc. Ent. de France, i, p. 383. pl, 12.

Buprestis dives, Dej., Cat. p. 85 (ed. 1837).

And of the

Buprestis viridi-azurea. B. eneo-rufescenti-viridis, lateribus ely-

trorum sulculo depresso, thorace eeneo, plagis variis subelevatis

viridibus, corpore subtus eneo. Long, lin. 11.

I know not who applied the MS. name to this; it is closely allied

to Buprestis limbalis, Mliger. Lap. et Gory, op. cit. p. 78. pl. 20.

fig. 104. Owr specimen came from Mr. Children’s collection: the

label is in Bilberg’s handwriting.

Mr. Curror has brought amongst the Heteromera a specimen

of what I consider to be a local variety of the

Epiphysa flavicollis, Dej., Cat. p. 197 (Leachii olim) ; Solier, Ann,

Soc. Ent. de France. |

Pimelia flavicollis, Fabr., Ent. Syst. ; Syst. Eleuth. i. 128.

Pimelia inflata, Oliv.

Hab. ad oras fluminis Zaire.

An Adesmia with verrucose elytra, in form somewhat resembling

Pimelia cothurnata of Klug (Ehrenberg’s Symbole Phys.) is in Mr,

268 Mr. A. White on a S. American Wasp which collects Honey.

Curror’s collection, but not having the volume of the French Ent.

Soc. Annals which contains Solier’s descriptions, by me, I fear to

describe this and another Pimelia from the Congo, also seemingly

new. I may here mention, as it is not altogether out of place,

that the Moluris Pierreti of Serville, described by M. Amyot in

Guerin’s ‘ Magazin de Zoologie,’ 1835, pl. 129, seems to me syn-

onymous with the Moluris vialis of Burchell, two specimens of

which, presented by Dr. Burchell, are in the collection of the

British Museum. I subjoin Burchell’s description and note, as

the ‘ Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa’ are not suffi-

ciently known to entomologists. The synonym is imserted on

my authority.

Sept. 12, 1811. Note-—*“ A black beetle was very often met

with in our road, and seemed fond of crawling along the ground

which had been made smooth by the wheels ; for which reason,

and its proving to be an undescribed species, I have called it

Moluris vialis, Burchell, Travels in the Int. of S. Africa, i. p. 305.

Moluris Pierreti, Serville, Amyot in Guerin’s Mag. de Zoologie,

1835, pl. 129.

‘Nigra. Elytra postice, et ad latera, tuberculata, apicibus productis

glabris. Macula abdominalis velutina rufa. ‘Thorax levis.

‘“TIn its season it is a very common insect (about lat. 30° 20' 47"),

and, in a geographical view, one of a very wide range, but I believe

quite extra-colonial*.” |

XXXV.—WNote ona Paper in ‘ Annals and Mag. of Nat. History,’

vol. vi. p. 315. By Mr. Apam Wuirtr, M.E.SS. Lond. and

Paris, Assistant Zool. Dep. British Museum.

Ar p. 317 of my memoir on the nest of a South American wasp,

I have said that it was found on “ the banks of the Rio Yancay

(Uruguay ?).” Walter Hawkins, Esq., of Fowkes Buildings, Lon-

* There are but few insects described in the notes to Burchell’s Travels ;

one however I may mention, as it is alluded to as follows, and the passage

contains a note on its habits: ‘‘ Of insects I found two new species of An-

thia, to one of which I gave the name of effugiens, on account of its very

fast running, and of the great difficulty in catching it. This property is

common, but in a degree something less, to all the species of this genus

which I saw. This one is a transgariepine insect.’’—Burchell, op. cit. i.

417.

F The entomologist knows this insect as the Anthia homoplata, described

and figured by Dupont in his monograph of the genus in Guerin’s ‘ Magazin

de Zoologie,’ 1832, pl. 39.

Mr. Burchell well merits the compliment of having an Anthia named after -

him, as has been done by the Rev. F’. W. Hope in Griff. ‘ Anim. Kingdom,’

Insects, i. p. 270. pl. 13. £1. (Anthia Burchellii) : it is the Anthia excecans

of Burchell’s MS.

Mr. A. White on a S. American Wasp which collects Honey. 269

don, who presented this nest to the national collection, hay written

to me that it was on the banks of the “‘ Nancay, a tributary stream

of the Uruguay,” that the nest was found. He has sent me the

accompanying note, which, as it contains some matter that may

prove interesting to the curious, I here insert, only premising

that I informed Mr. Hawkins that it was a wasp and not a bee

that constructed it, as he originally suspected. It was the opi-

nion of the late Professor Audouin, that the Myrapetra scutellaris

(Ann. and Mag. /. c.) was, like Nomada, Psithyrus, &c. among the

bees, a parasite, and that the wasp constructing it was as yet un-

known. As far as I can at present see, I know not the grounds

for this opinion of the learned and amiable French naturalist.

“¢ A wasp’s nest with a portion of wild honey in it was discovered

in J une 1837 in the woods situated along the banks of the ‘ Nan-

cay,’ a tributary stream of the ‘Uruguay,’ whichtakes its rise in the

province of ‘ Entre-rios.’? The ‘Uruguay’ joins the ‘ Parana’ a few

miles above Buenos Ayres, and forms the ‘ Rio de la Plata.’ This

nest was cut off from the living branch of a tree, wherefrom it

hung suspended at the height of about seven feet from the ground,

by John Whitaker, plumber and steam-apparatus-maker, and

Matthew Lawrance, his foreman. The apertures for ingress and

egress have been constructed with admirable ingenuity in order

to prevent the entrance of rain, which is carried off by a pent-

like projection near the avenues to the cellular cavities.

“The principal materials whereof this nest is constructed, are

the excrement of the Carpincho and dried rushes and underwood.

The Carpincho is a species of Tapir or Water Hog, and is am-

phibious ; they are very numerous on the banks of the Uruguay,

and are preyed on by the tigers” [jaguars ? Felis onca.]

“The tiger is the most powerful enemy the wasps have to deal

with, for he springs upon the well-stored nest, and notwith-

standing its height, very frequently succeeds in dashing it to the

ground ; he then shields himself in the thick foliage of the under-

wood from the stings of the enraged wasps, who usually migrate

elsewhere in quest of another home. The tiger then, unmolested,

returns to the fallen and deserted nest and devours the honey-

combs: the scattered fragments of wasps’ nests, thus destroyed by

the feline and ferocious mhabitants of the forest, are frequently

met with.

“Extreme length, including the twig on which the nest is sus-

pended, 21 inches. The length of the nest is 17 inches, and its

depth 11.”

270 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacece.

XXXVI.—On the British Diatomacee. By Joun Ratrs, Esq.,

M.R.C.S., Penzance*.

[Continued from p. 111.]

[With a Plate. ]

Tur frustule in most of the Cymbellee consists of three portions.

The central one is continuous and surrounds the internal colour-

ing matter, and is generally compressed so as to have two sur-

faces and two ends. The lateral portions are most frequently

nearly flat, corresponding to the septa between the joints of the

Confervee ; but sometimes they are convex, and then appear on a

front view as in Achnanthes. In Isthmia they are still more de-

veloped, and being compressed, look as if they belonged to the

front of the frustule.

Strize which may be present on either the central or lateral

parts commonly terminate in puncta or dots. On the central por-

tion they are longitudinal and continued round the ends, are in

general strongly marked, and often assist in distinguishing the

genera. Qn the lateral surfaces the striz are always transverse,

less distinct, and frequently numerous and crowded. Sometimes

they are very faintly marked, but the more powerful the micro-

scope used in the examination, the greater will be the number of

species found to possess them. On this account it is extremely

difficult to pronounce whether a species has them or not; and

therefore, although they may sometimes assist in the discrimina-

tion of species, their absence or presence will not sufficiently

distinguish genera.

Istumia, Ag. (Eh.)

Filaments attached; frustules oblique, trapezoid, cellulose, co-

hering at the angles by small processes.

This genus is easily distinguished by its cellulose structure

from all the neighbouring genera, except Biddulphia and Amphi-

tetras, which agree with it in haying the frustules reticulated ;

but differ inasmuch as their frustules are not oblique, and all the

angles are elongatedt.

The frustules vary in form, but are always more or less oblique ;

there is a process at one of the lower angles of each by which it

coheres to the next, and in the basal frustule this process forms

the stipes by which the plant is attached to other Alge. The

frustules are turgid, and the reticulations of the central portion

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

+ To the distinguished botanist M. Montagne, I am indebted for a few

frustules of an Isthmia from Cayenne (Isthmia polymorpha, Mont.), which

in some degree connects this genus with Biddulphia. It is very minute;

the reticulations are obscure, and the frustules are sometimes slightly pro-

duced at each of the four angles,

Ann & Mag Nat Hist Nol.12.P\VUt.

o000008

sioogeO

eooos

06%

Po ono

Amph itetras.

ST Ralts, del. ST D.C Sowerby, le.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacer. 271

are smaller than those of the sides. On each side of this central

portion are seen the lateral surfaces, with their reticulations and

strie arranged transversely. As these lateral surfaces are turgid

and compressed, they appear at first sight to form part of the

front of the frustule. This may be observed in some slight degree

in Diatoma vulgare, but not to the same extent as in this genus.

That it is in fact a portion of each lateral surface which is thus

seen in front will be found on a careful examination of the exterior ;

but it is still more evident on a view of the interior of a fractured

frustule, when the junctions of the sides with the central portion,

marked externally by mere lines of separation, form internally

projecting plates or rims.

The mode of growth in this genus is very curious. In Diatoma,

as well as in most of the Diatomacea, the plant increases by a

division of the frustules ; but in this genus, and also in Biddulphia

and Amphitetras, two new frustules are formed within the old

one, and, as they enlarge, rupture it, when it falls off. In these

the front portion is at first very narrow and merely a broad line,

but it increases greatly in breadth until the new frustules are

fully formed.

1, I, enervis, Eh. Frustules generally much brcader than long, the

sides with large reticulations, not striated, or else with the striae

between each row of cells. [sthmia enervis, Eh. Die Infus. p. 209.

t. 16. f. 6; Pritch. Infus. p. 223. f.183. Isthmia obliquata, Hook.

Br. Fl, p, 405; Harv, Br. Alg. p. 201. Isthmia obliquata, B te-

nuior, Ag. Consp. Diatom, p. 55. Biddulphia obliquata, Gray, Arr.

p, 294. Conf, obliquata, E. Bot. t. 1869. |

f. subcylindrica.

Ballywater, co. Down, Ireland, Mr. Thompson; Torquay and Ilfra-

combe, Devonshire ; Bracelet Bay near Swansea.

B. Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths.

Ehrenberg considers the ‘Eng. Bot.’ figure to belong to the

next species, but I have no doubt that it is intended for this

plant, of which it is a very good representation. The highly mag-

nified figures in ‘ Eng. Bot.’ undoubtedly represent it ; those that

are less magnified are too. broad for the frustules of his J, obli-

quata, whilst under a low power this species appears striated like

them.

The trivial name obliquata, which was originally applied to this -

species, should I think have been retained ; but, on account of the

celebrity of Ehrenberg’s work, I have not thought it expedient to

change his name,

Under this species, as I am informed by Mr. Dalrymple,

Ehrenberg gives no synonyms and only one habitat,—Gothen-

272 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacece.

berg. I believe, however, that most of the habitats assigned by

him to J. obliquata will prove to belong to this species.

The frustules are generally from two to three times broader

than long, but sometimes they are nearly equal in length and

breadth. This is more particularly the case in the newly-formed

frustules. The front or “ broad transverse band” of British works

generally occupies from one-quarter to one-third of the frustule,

and its reticulations are roundish and very much smaller than

those of the sides. This portion is separated from each lateral

portion by a rather broad line formed by the junction and inflec-

tion of the two portions. ‘The cells bordering on this line are

not remarkably larger than the other cells in this band.

The cells in the lateral surfaces are of a square form and are

arranged in regular transverse lines separated from each other by

pellucid lines, which viewed from within form ridges and are as

truly striz as those in the next species, and under a low power

the frustule appears with numerous close striz as seen in the

figure in ‘ Eng. Bot.,’ which I have already referred to this species.

_ Mrs. Griffiths has sent me two forms from Torquay ; one like

that described above, the other with frustules much smaller and

broader, and so turgid as to be nearly cylindrical. Of this latter

I have seen but a very small portion, and am uncertain whether

it is a young state of this species or wholly distinct.

Puate VIII. fig. 1. a, Isthmia enervis; b, variety 6.

2. I. obliquata, Ag. (Eh.) Frustules rather broader than long, the

‘front with a series of large cells along each separating line, the

sides with but few and rather distant strie. Jsthmia obliquata,

Eh. Die Infus. p. 209. t. 16. fig. 5; Pritch. Infus. p. 223; Ag.

Consp. Diatom. p. 55?; Kutz. Synop. Diatom. in Linnea 1833,

p. 579. t. 16. fig. 69?

Carnlough Bay, co. Antrim, Mr. Moore, Dr. Drummond, and Mr.

Thompson. Mr. Moore has also gathered it in the co. of Wicklow.

This and the preceding species have been so confused, that I

quote the above synonyms with some doubt. Ehrenberg consi-

ders Kutzing’s figure to belong to this species ; and as it exhibits

series of larger cells bordering the separating lies, I have quoted

it under this plant, but I am by no means certain whether it is

intended for it.

On examining recent plants of Isthmia gathered at Ilfracombe

in October last, it appeared to me that all my specimens be-

longed to J. enervis of Ehrenberg and not to his J. obliquata, and

Mr. Dalrymple having compared one of them with Ehrenberg’s

figure, ascertained that my supposition was correct. About the

same time a very valuable packet of Irish Diatomacee was sent to

me by Mr. Moore, amongst which I was much pleased to find

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacece. 273

the real J. obliquata of Ehrenberg. I afterwards received from

Mr. Thompson the same plant gathered at the same habitat.

The same confusion of the two species seems to prevail abroad,

as a specimen sent me by Mrs. Griffiths, gathered in Sweden by

Dr. J. E. Aveschoug, who calls it I. obliquata, is undoubtedly the

I. enervis. As the two species when compared are very distinct,

their confusion may perhaps be in great measure owing to the

mistake of Ehrenberg in referring the figure in ‘ Eng. Bot.,’ and

also all the habitats recorded before the publication of his work,

to his own I. obliquata. | :

The frustules are usually not so wide in proportion to their

length as in J. enervis; they are generally a little broader than

long, often about equal, and I have sometimes observed them

even rather longer than broad: in other respects their shape re-

sembles the preceding species.

In the central portion, close to the lines which separate it from

the lateral portions, is a single series of large reticulations, in

shape somewhat triangular and having their base next to the

lines: in this way a beautiful beaded appearance is produced.

The sides have the reticulations much smaller than in J. enervis,

less square, and not arranged so regularly in lines. They have

also a few rather distant but conspicuous transverse striz ; not,

as in J. enervis, alternate with the reticulations, but containing

from two to four irregular series of reticulations between them :

this latter circumstance, combined with the more minute reticu-

lations and broader lines, gives this species so much more de-

cidedly the appearance of being striated. The striz frequently

anastomose.

Puate VIII. fig. 2. Jsthmia obliquata.

Bippuiputia, Gray.

Filaments attached ; frustules siliceous, quadrilateral, minutely

reticulated, cohering by their alternate angles, and thus form-

ing a zigzag chain; the angles are equal and elongated into

tooth-like projections.

Agardh founded his genus Odontella upon Diatoma auritum ;

in that plant however I am unable to find any character by which

it may be distinguished as a genus from Brddulphia. It is for-

tunate that the latter name has a prior claim, as it will prevent

the confusion which might otherwise arise, as Ehrenberg and

Meyen have applied Agardh’s name Odontella to a genus belong-

ing to the Desmidiee.

I have already observed under Jsthmia that its structure is si-

milar to that of the present genus. Biddulphia, like that genus,

has reticulated turgid frustules, which cohere by the elongated

angles. | Biddulphia has also the lateral portions so inflated that

274, Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacer,

they seem a part of the front of the frustule, the central portion

appearing like a band between them. The mode of growth in

this genus is also similar, but it differs in having all the angles

elongated and equal.

The filaments are attached by one of the angles of the basal

frustule. At first the frustules are connected with each other at

both the adjoining angles, and as these angles are elongated, a

small vacant space is inclosed between the connecting processes

of the frustules. Ultimately, and after a partial separation has

taken place, they cohere only by the alternate angles and form a

zigzag chain,

1. B. pulchella, Gray. Frustules distinctly reticulated ; lateral sur-

faces with one or three rounded projections between the angles,

and marked with a few distant strie, which appear to arise from

the depressions between the projections. Gray, Nat. Arr, of Br,

Plants, vol. i. p. 294: Kutz. Syn. Diatom. p.610. Diatoma Bid-

dulphianum, Ag. Consp, Diatom. p, 54; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 201.

Conferva Biddulphiana, Eng. Bot. t.1762! (upper figures) *.

Southampton, Miss Hill; Ufracombe.

It is brownish when recent and becomes paler in drying.

Filaments elongated, attached ; frustules generally broader than

long, but varying much in figure as the central portion, which is

at first very narrow, gradually increases in size until it becomes

broader than long. The lateral portions have at least one, and

sometimes in the larger specimens three rounded projections, be-

tween the angles. None of these project so much as the angles,

and the central one is larger than the others, which are often

nearly flat. From the intervals between the projections, striz

proceed to the line which separates the central portion from the

lateral one; generally these striz are single, but sometimes two

proceed from the same point and diverge from each other as they

approach the central portion. ‘The strize are often united by ir-

regular anastomosing lines; there is frequently also a line sur-

rounding the base of the projecting angles. Between the stric

the lateral portions are cellulose, exactly like the central.

This cellulose structure is easily observed under a moderate

power of the microscope. The angles are rounded, and occasion-

ally constricted at their base, but more frequently not so. There

is no constriction at the junction of the lateral portions with the

central one.

This species is a most beautiful microscopic object.

Puate VIII. fig. 3. Biddulphia pulchella.

2. B.aurita. Frustules very minute; cellulose structure indistinct ;

lateral portions without striz. Diatoma auritum, Lyngb.; Ag. Syst.

* The lower figures seem to have been drawn from Diatoma tenieforme,

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez. 275

p. 6; Grey, in Hook. Br. Fl. p. 404; Kutz. Syn. Diatom. p. 585,

Odontella aurita, Ag. Consp. Diatom, p. 56; Harv. Br. Alg, p. 201;

Berk, in Eng. Bot. t. 2842. fig. 2. (excellent).

On marine alge. East-Bourne, Sussex, Mr. Jenner,

Frustules very minute, quadrilateral, varying from nearly

square to twice as long as broad. This difference depends upon

the breadth of the central portion or band, which is narrowest in

the newly-formed frustule, and broadest at the time two new frus-

tules are formed, whilst the lateral portions remain nearly of the

same size in all the stages of growth.

The reticulations of the frustules are so very minute, that they

can only be perceived by employing the highest power of the mi-

croscope after the colouring matter is removed*,

The lateral portions are constricted at their junction with the

central one, and are destitute of strie ; I have never seen more

than one convex projection between the angles, which are also

more elongated and less rounded at the point than those of the

preceding species.

It will be observed that this species differs from pulchella in

the same manner as Isthmia enervis does from I, obliquata, namely

in the absence of strie. But Biddulphia aurita also differs from

B. pulchella in its smaller size, in the obscure reticulations of the

frustule, and by the constriction at the junction of the lateral

portions with the central one.

A specimen of this species from the Cape of Good Hope, given

me by Mr. Harvey, has the cellulose structure rather more evi-

dent than the Sussex specimens.

Prats VIII, fig.4. Biddulphia aurita.

AMPHITETRAS, Eh.

Filaments 4-sided ; frustules reticulated, cubiform, cohering by

one of the angles and forming a zigzag chain.

Filaments attached by one of the angles of the basal frustule ;

frustules cubiform, rectangular, or more frequently with all the

angles slightly produced, reticulated, cohering irregularly by one

of their angles so as to form a zigzag chain.

This genus agrees with Isthmia and Biddulphia mm the reticu-

lated structure of the frustules; in the great size of the lateral

surfaces, between which the central portion appears like a band ;

in the produced angles, which are situated entirely in the lateral

portions ; and in cohering at the angles and thus forming a zig-

zag chain. It also agrees with these genera in their peculiar

* Mrs, Griffiths employs nitric acid for the purpose of removing the co-

louring matter. This method is on some accounts preferable to that of burn-

ing, especially as it is less liable to injure the frustules ; it takes however.more

time, whilst the other requires only a few minutes.

276 Zoological Society.

mode of growth already described, two new frustules being gra-

dually formed within the old one; but it differs from Jsthmia in

having all its angles equal, and from both in having a four-sided

and not a compressed figure.

1. A. antediluviana, Eh. Frustules nearly square, lateral surfaces with

the cells arranged in a radiate form. Pritch. Infus. p. 442.

Parasitic on the smaller marine alge. Ilfracombe, Devonshire ;

and by the Mumbles Light-house near Swansea.

It is of a dirty-brown colour when recent and becomes paler

in drying. .

Filaments elongated, frequently containing thirty frustules in

a chain ; frustules minute, nearly equal in length and breadth ;

each lateral portion has four slightly produced angles and no in-

termediate projections, and its cells are rather large and some-

what radiate.

On a lateral view the figure is quadrangular with concave sides,

and at each angle there is either a round opening, or a large and

more strongly marked cell which presents the appearance of one.

The central portion is four-sided, and its reticulations, which

are smaller, are frequently arranged in lines.

Mrs. Griffiths aptly compares the figures of the separated frus-

tules to bales of cloth made up with bands for exportation.

Prate VIII. fig. 5. a, Amphitetras antediluviana; b, frustules deprived

of their colouring matter; c, lateral view.

[To be continued. ]

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 22, 1842.—Wm. Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following descriptions of new species of Nerites, collected by

Mr. Cuming in the Philippine Islands, by M. C. A. Récluz, were read.

Observation.— By length is meant the distance from the summit

of the spire to the external base of the columella; by breadth, the

diameter formed by the extremities of a line which should pass from

the anterior to the posterior side ; and by convexity or thickness, the

distance comprised between the most convex parts of the columella

and of the last whorl.

Second Section of the Genus.—Shells smooth, or striated length-

wise; outer lip without teeth and without furrows internally ; colu-

mella not notched at the summit; columellar lip sharp, or crenulated .

at the margin. Neritina, Lamarck.

* Orbiculate seu subhemispheerice.

1. Nerita LaBrosa (Sowerby). N. testd orbiculari, postice angus-

tatd, fornicatd, crassd, maxima, striatd, fusco-viridescente, nigro.

et rufo obsolete variegaté ; anfractibus duobus ad suturam com-

Zoological Society. 277

pressis ; apice compresso-concavo ; aperiurd orbiculari, subcontinud,

intis albidd ; labio latissimo, depresso-plano, fusco-aurantio, mar-

gine subarcuato, edentulo; labio rotundato, superne et inferne

dilatato.

Var. 6. Testd nigrescente, immaculatd.

Long. 1°52; lat. 1°84; cony. 1°04 poll. Aperture altitudo 1°52;

lat. 1°60 poll.

Hab. Ad Insulas Philippinas; Tanhay, isle of Negros: in a small

river. Var. 8, Agoo, province of Pangasinan, isle of Lucgon: on

stones in a rapid river.

Two pyriform muscular i impressions, and more forward than in any

other species, are visible at the internal base of the columella, which

has no trace of callosity.

The upper tooth of the operculum is oblique, lamellated, with a

strongly-cut crest, a character which is unique in the genus Nerita.

2. Nerira squamazprcta. WN. tesid ovato-subhemisphericd, supra

medium vix depressd, striis longitudinalibus remotis superné et an-

tice subarcuatis impressd, sub epidermide olivaceo maculis squami-

Sormibus antice nigro-marginatis undique pictd ; apice rotundato-

obtuso ; aperturd extis ovatd, intis albido-cerulescente ; labio

plano, lutescente, medio albo, anticé tenue arcuatim denticulato.

Long. 1°16; lat. 1°44; conv. 0°88 poll.

Hab. Agoo, province of Pangasinan, isle of Lucon: in a rapid

river.

Operculum similar to the Nerites, allied to N. pulligera; subcon-

vex above, finely striated lengthwise, of a whitish fawn-colour pos-

teriorly ; rosy anteriorly, streaked with circular bands of a blackish

blue ; subconcave below, of a dirty green, spotted with rosy white

at the anterior side. ‘Two teeth: the upper one ovate, acute at the

summit, reddish; the lower one circular, canaliculated lengthwise,

feebly striated transversely, yellowish.

3. Nerira Perrr1, Récluz, Rev. Cuv. 1841. p. 274. No. 24.

Var. B. T. majori, fusco-castaned ; infime et superné ad suturam com-

pressd et subcanaliculatd ; spird retusd.

Var. y. T. minori, fusco-nigrescente, sub oculo et lumine maculis

nigris diversiformibus notatd ; aperturd subrotundd, supern? et in-

Ferne dilatatd, intts aurantid.

Long. 1°40; lat. 1:96; conv. 1°16 poll.

Hab. Cagayan, province of Misamis, island of Mindanao: on

stones. Var. y, Agoo: in a mountain-stream.

The operculum of this species differs from that of N. pulligera

only in its paler colour.

4, Nerira asperutata. N. testd ovato-ellipticd, strits intertextis

granulosis asperulatd, fusco-nigrd, sub oculo et lumine, lineis ni-

gris ramosis transversis intricatis notatd ; anfractibus 1i, superne

depressis ; apice prominulo, obtuso ; apertura rotundatd, superne

et inferne dilatatd, luteo _fuscescente ; labio plano-compresso, mar-

gine vie arcuato et tenue ruguloso.

Long. 0°56 ; lat. 0°76 ad 0°84; cony. 0°40 ad 0°44 poll.

278 Zoological Society.

Hab. Pasaguing, province of North Ylocos, island of Lugon: on

stones in a small river.

The operculum of this species does not differ from that of N. pul-

ligera, except in its colour, which is of a brownish black, faintly and

indistinctly striated with fawn-colour from the summit to the anterior

margin; the strise often scarcely apparent.

5. Nerira Panayana. N. testd parvd, ovato-hemisphericd, ven-

tricosd, postic? angustatd, tenui ; luteo-viridescente, lineolis nigres-

centibus angulato-flexuosis creberrimis pictd ; anfractibus 14 su-

premo eroso-retuso ; aperturd extis orbiculari, intis dilatatd,

albido-cerulescente ; columelld semi-lunari pland, albd, anticé rec-

tiusculd.

Long. 0°28; lat. 0°40; conv. 0°20 poll. Apertura altit. et diam.

0°28 poll.

Hab. River Dingle, province of Ylo-Ylo, island of Panay: on

small stones.

Operculum unknown. This species resembles some varieties of

Ner. dubia, but differs from them by its form and by its spire; also

in the absence of any depression at the inferior margin of the colu-

mella,

6. Nerira crePrpuLariaA (Lamarck), ;

Var. major. T’. hemisphericd, crassiusculd, dorso fornicatd, pur-

pureo-nigrescente maculis quadratis luteis tessellatd, aperturd ex-

tas continud pallide cinnamomed ; labio subplano, in medio longitu-

dinaliter arcuatimque sulco notato, antic? arcuatim crenulato,.

Long. 0°80; lat. 1°04; cony. 0°60 poll.

Hab. Jimmaymilan, isle of Negros: found on the trunks of the

Nepa Palm, in brackish water.

I do not see in the characters of this Nerite anything to cause its

separation from the Neritina crepidularia, Lam. ; N. mitrula, Menke,

‘Synopsis,’ p. 48; nor from the N. violacea, Gmelin, if it is not its

larger proportions. I presume that the Patella neritoidea, Linn.,

Mus. Lud. Ulr., p. 688. No. 409, is the same shell, worn and occu-

pied by a Pagurus.

7. Nerira Ranerana, Récluz in Guérin, Rev. Cuv. 1841. p. 339.

No. 46.

Var. minor. T. pulchre viridi, punctulis albis, antic? nigro margi-

natis, transversim 2—4 seriatis, ad suturam maculis albis subarcu-

atis a ornatd, An Ner. viridis, Sowerby, Conch. Ilustr.,

f. 24 .

Long. 0°23; lat. 0°24 poll.

Hab. Dumaguété, island of Negros: found in a small stream.

Operculum green, slightly concave above, finely striated length-

wise, with two other circular strie from the summit to the posterior

margin; very convex underneath, hollowed at the posterior side for

the insertion of the muscle, and provided with two teeth at the top;

the upper one very short, lamellated, and truncated at the summit;

the second circular, equally short, dilated into a sort of plate on the

Zoological Society. 279

side of the summit of the operculum, which gives to this tooth a

lanceolate form.

The figure published by Mr. Sowerby under the name of Neritina

viridis, Linn., and which this author says inhabits Antigua, appears

to me to be the same as Ner. Rangiana, var. minor ; but as I have only

his figure to guide me, I cannot state it as a fact.

8. Nerita putticerA, Linn., Lamarck (non Lesson, Voy. Coq.).

Var. 6. T. labio posticé aucto.

Hab. Cagayan, island of Mindanao: on stones in a deep river.

This prolongation of the posterior border of the columella renders

this variety remarkable. ‘This Nerite may possibly be found here-

after biauriculated.

** Auriculate.

9. Nerita supauricunaTa. N, testd ovato-hemisphericd, converd,

fusco-violascente, punctis albido-lutescentibus dense aspersd ; apice

brevissimo ; aperturd extits ovatd, postice truncatd, continud,

plumbeo-nigrescente, dilatatd ; columelld convexo-depressd, sulco

obsoleto circumcinctd, antice vir arcuatd, denticulatd ; labro su-

perne in auriculd brevissimd prolongato. |

Long. 0°52 ad 0°56; lat. 0°68 ad 0°72; conv. 0°32 ad 0°40 poll.

Hab. Jimamailan, isle of Negros : on the Nepa Palm trunks in

brackish water. ;

This Neritina is very nearly allied to Ner. violacea, Gmel., but is

smaller, less convex, with the summit more inclined towards the

margin; the opening truncated posteriorly, dilated at the summit

and at the base, and auriculated on the superior side. The opercu-

lum does not differ materially ; it is a little darker above, with a flesh-

coloured zone on the middle, visible only at its base.

10. Nerira Broanaticunata. WN. testd ovatd, postice truncatd,

dorso convexd, tenui, pellucidd, fuscescente, lineis violaceo-nigris,

crebre et eleganter reticulatd ; apice brevissimo, dorso interdum

compresso plano; labio lato, subconvero, margine arcuatim tenue

denticulato ; labro posticé biauriculato ; auriculis angustis, subtis

canaliculatis.

Var. 6. T. fuscescente, lincolis obsoletis, interstitiis interdum conico-

angustis ; spird integerrimd, punctiformi ; auriculis concaviusculis,

aperturd pallide fused.

Var. y. T. pallidiore, via reticulatd.

Hab. Island of Camiguing: found in a small pond. Var. 6, Pas-

siguing, province of North Ylocos: on stones in a rapid river. Var. y,

Abulug, province of Cagayan: on stones in a large river,

A fine Neritina, very distinct from all the auriculated species

hitherto known. Its auricles are narrow, convex above, and hollow

beneath, or in form of a short canal.

_ Operculum oval, flat above, flesh-coloured, and radiated from the

summit to the anterior side with five to seven blackish lines; the

anterior side bordered with a blood-coloured zone, enclosed by an-

other pellucid zone; very fine striz spring from the summit, and

radiate to the anterior side in an opposite direction to the bands.

280 Lovlogical Society.

Inferior surface less flat, pale rosy brown or reddish brown, as well

as the teeth, which offer nothing particular, and which resemble

those of the opercula of Ner. pulligera and other allied species. ‘The

operculum of var. 6 is of an uniform colour above, on account of

its zones being confluent. That of var. y is of a very pale green,

with a circular stria, which divides its external surface in two parts

almost longitudinally. ‘This character is also observable upon the

operculum of var. (3, but very faintly. There is no trace of it upon

the type.

*** Spinosee, interdum muticz (Clithon, Montfort).

11. Nerrra ottvacea. WN. testd ovato-globosd, ventricosd, crassd,

griseo-olivaced, anfractibus 24, supern2 depressiusculis ; apice sub-

convexo, obtuso, laterali, in medio deroso ; aperturd extis subqua-

dratd, intis exalbidd, labio postice rufescente, plano, margine

crenato, et in medio vix arcuato.

Long. 1°12; lat. 1°36; cony. 0°76 poll.

Hab. Agoo, province of Pangasinan, island of Lucon: on stones

in a rapid river. '

This Clithon has sometimes a brownish zone posteriorly, with some

faint reddish spots. 'The summit of the shell is corroded and exca-

vated. Operculum of a Clithon, rosy white, spotted with red at the

summit, and faintly marked with a circular streak in the centre of

its external surface. The interior surface is reddish, convex, and

flattened at the base; two teeth at the top, the upper one lamellated,

elevated into an obtuse point; the second or inferior one circular

and striated. Underneath this tooth there is a great depression.

12. Nerira srcotor. N. testd ventricoso-ovaid, crassiusculd, sub

suturd depressiusculd, strigis nigris et olivaceis longitudinalibus

dense pictd; apice eroso; aperturd extis subquadratd exalbidd; labio

plano, superné calloso basi canaliculato, margine in medio arcuato,

et obsolet? dentato ; dente cardinali majori. 7

Long. 1°04; lat. 1°20; conv. 0°76 poll.

Hab. Agoo: in a mountain-stream.

Operculum of a Clithon, oval, solid, whitish, striated lengthwise

in an oblique direction, and marked with a circular furrow from the

summit to the posterior margin, ending in a slight notch; inferior

surface furnished with a large, circular, slightly raised rib, prolonged

in an obtuse angle at the posterior margin. ‘Two teeth at the top:

the upper one an oblique rosy plate terminated at the summit; the

lower one circular, delicate yellow, enlarged at the summit, and

striated lengthwise and across.

13. Nerira 1nrerrupta. WN. testd ovato-semiglobosd, apice valde

corrosd et truncatd, olivaced, lineolis luteis interdum interruptis

creberrimis et fasciis latiusculis luteis transversis pictd ; aperturd

extiis semi-ovali, intis luted ; labio subsemilunari, plano-concavo,

margine in medio arcuato, acuto, dente cardinali exserio.

Lat. 0°96 ; conv. 0°64 poll.

Hab. Yba, province of Zambales, isle of Lugon: on stones in a

rapid river.

Zoological Society. : 281

The flat and greatly eroded summit does not allow the form and

length of the shell to be ascertained with exactitude. It appears to

me to have at most a whorl and a half faintly depressed below the

suture.

Operculum very like that of N. bicolor, but of a yellowish white

colour externally. On the inferior surface I observe that the upper

tooth is stronger; the lower one annulated transversely, in a more

distinct manner. The intermediary plate is more compressed and

less sinuous at the margin, and the notch at the posterior part ap-

pears to me to be deeper.

14. Nerrra ancutosa. WN. testd ventricoso-globosd, superné de-

presso-pland, subtis angulosd, olivaced, maculis luteis parvulis ob-

soletis notatd; anfractibus duobus inequaliter rugatis ; supremo

deroso-concavo, aperturd subrotundatd, anticé et postice angustatd,

superneé et inferne dilatatd ; columelld angustd, medio concavd, su-

perne callosd, antice tenue denticulatd, medio emarginatd.

Long. 0°72; lat. 0°92 ; conv. 0°60 poll.

Hab. Casan, province of Misamis, island of Mindanao: on stones

in a small stream.

Operculum oval, waved with grey on the anterior side, with a

narrow circular furrow ending in a strong posterior notch: this fur-

row bounds a superior, obtuse and circular angle. The summit of

an orange colour; internal surface bearing a curved rib in the centre,

of greater or less width. Superior tooth yellowish and obtuse; the

inferior yellowish white and substriated lengthwise ; the intermediary

plate between the two teeth of a citron colour, cut obliquely at the

margin. The depression existing at the base of the lower tooth is

of a flesh-colour approaching to cinnamon.

15. Nerira crrcumvotuta. N. testd globoso-subovatd, dilut? fulvd

in roseo vertente, punctis luteolis antice lineis nigris marginatis

marmoratd, zonis nigris remotis circumeinctd ; anfractibus duobus

nigro-marginatis ; supremo obtuso, decorticato ; aperturd albidd ;

labio plano, superne calloso, anticé ruguloso, et in medio arcuatim

emarginato. ee

Long. 0°72; lat. 0°84; conv. 0°68 poll.

Hab. ad Insulas Philippinas. —

Operculum of a Clithon, oval, of a rosy white, with a broad, rather

concave and central furrow; on the interior face of a pale yellowish

colour, shaded with rose. One lamellated and pointed tooth near

the summit, and an inferior one, which is circular, subcanaliculated

in the centre, and striated transversely.

16. Nerira squarrosa. WN, testd ventricoso-globosd, interdum

subovatd, superne depressd et subangulatd, epidermide squarrosd,

maculis rufescentibus angulatis confertis nigro seu olivaceo mar-

ginatis pictd, apice rotundatd, aperturd extis subquadratd, intis

albido-cerulescente ; labio supra lutescente, plano, antice ruguloso,

medio arcuato.

Var. 3. T. subrubicundd, nigro-fasciatd,

Var. y. T. roseo-purpurascente, albo-maculatd, labio margine detrito.

Ann, & Mag. N, Hist. Vol. xii.

282 | Zoological Society.

Var. 6. T. roseo-purpurascente, albo-maculatd, nigrescente fasciatd ;

labio detrito.

Long. 0°80 ad 0°84; lat. 1:04 ad 1:08; conv. 0°68 ad 0°76 poll.

Hab. Jimamailan, isle of Negros: on stones in a mountain-

stream. Var. 6, Ginijeran, isle of Negros: on stones in a sluggish

river. Var. y and 6, island of Burias.

Operculum of a Clithon, whitish or rather rosy externally, with

one or two circular strie in the centre; of a livid rose-colour, spotted

with yellow on the interior. Two teeth: the first lamellated, pointed

at the summit; the lower one circular, narrow, striated lengthwise

and across, but faintly. Subapophysary canal spotted with livid

rose, showing below two remote angles, but slightly raised.

17. Nerita Sowprpiana. N. testd subglobosd, tenue striatd nigro

et albido alternatim fasciatd ; fasciis nigris albo-articulatis, albidis

muculis nigro-marginatis antice sagittatis ornatd ; anfractibus tri-

bus, convexis; spird vix prominuld, rotundatd; aperturd obliqud

cinerascente ; labio subconvexo, lutescente, antice denticulato ar-

cuatoque.

Var. B. T. cinereo-lutescente, maculis sagittatis ut supra subzonatd ;

ad suturam maculis arcuatis nigris ornatd.

Var. y. T. nigerrimd, maculis triangularibus albidis adspersd, ad

suturam interdum subspinosd.

Var. 0. T. nigerrimd, maculis raris subpunctatd, zonis duabus lutes«

centibus cinctd, ad suturam subspinosd.

Long. 0°56 ad 0°60; lat. 0°64 ad 0°72; conv. 0°48 poll.

Hab. Sinait, province of North Ylocos, island of Lugon: on the

stony bed of a smallriver. Var. 3, y and 6, island of Guimaras : found

in a small stream on rocks. :

Operculum of a Clithon, deeply hollowed with a circular stria in

the centre, zoned transversely with bluish in the anterior portion of

its external surface ; the interior of a yellowish or livid rose-colour :

upper tooth citron, short, obtuse, united to the lower one, which is

smooth, circular, striated lengthwise and across by a short plate,

which is subsinuous anteriorly.

I see no difference among all the varieties which I unite to this

Nerite, except those of colour. The characters of the operculum

are the same.

I have very great satisfaction in dedicating this species to that

scientific conchologist, Mr. G. B. Sowerby.

18. Nerira Montacuti. WN. testd ventricoso-globosd, supra me-

dium spinis brevibus coronatd, oblique striatd, luiescente, superné

et infra medium zonis nigris lutescente maculatis pictd ; supremd

latiore ; anfractibus tribus superné depresso-planis ; spird depresso-

convexd ; aperturd dilatatd, rotundatd, albido-lutescente ; labio an-

gusto, medio concavo, margine denticulato, in centro arcuato.

Var. 3. T. olivaced, maculis lutescentibus adspersd, ultimo anfractu

supern® convexiusculo, labio denticulato.

Var. y. T. dilut? olivaced, maculis pallidioribus nigro anticé sagit-

tatis marginatisque; ultimo anfrat superne subconvexo, labio

edentulo, integerrimo,

Zoological Society. 283

Var. 6. 7. nigerrimd, punctis albis sparsis notatd ; labio denticulato.

Var. e«.? T. fulvd, nigrescente tinctd, sub oculo et lumine punctu-

lis pellucidis obsitd; spinis extrorsum curvatis ; ultimo anfractu

basis costuld notato ; spird vir prominuld.

Long. 0°76; lat. 0° 80 ad 0: 88; cony. 0°60 ad 0°64 poll.

Hab. Island of Burias : on stones in a rivulet.

I consider it my duty to dedicate this Nerite to the learned con-

chologist Montagu, as a homage due fo his talents.

19. Nerira Donovant. N. testd semiglobosd, tenue et dense striatd,

viridescente, lineis obliquis purpureo- -nigrescentibus, equidistantibus

undatis ornatd ; anfractibus tribus convexis, supra medium spinis

incurvis armatis ; apice deroso ; aperturd cerulescente, basi effusd,

angulosd; labio angusto, superné calloso, basi concavo, margine

subrecto denticulato ; dente cardinuli majori.

Var. B. T. ovatd, nitidd, maculis viridibus et purpurascentibus dense

tessellatd ; spinosd, ultimo anfractu superne ascendente, basi costuld

transversd notato ; spird prominuld.

Long. 0°50; lat. 0: 60; conv. 0°40 poll. Var. 6, long. 0°56; lat.

0°60 ; conv. 0° 44 poll.

Hab. Island of Guimaras : on stones in a small stream.

Whatever the difference of form and colour, it does not appear to

me possible to distinguish these two shells otherwise than as vari-

eties of the same type. Their operculum is unknown to me.

20. Nerira Micuaupt, Récluz in Rev. Cuv. 1841. p. 315. No. 38;

Var. (3. T. tenui, lineolis nigris longitudinalibus rectis creberrimis, et

maculis luteis lined nigrd anticé cinctis concatenatis triserialibusque

pietd.

Var. y: T. anfractibus supra medium spinis brevibus angustisque ar-

matis.

Hab. Bauang, province of Pangasinan, isle of Lucon: on small

stones on the bank of a river.

21. Nerira putcneLya. N. testd subglobosd, nitidd, vir striatd,

luteo-viridescente, maculis nigris sagittatis et zonis equalibus re-

motis nigris lutescente articulatis ornatd ; spird nulld ; apice con-

vexo } aperturd semi-rotundd, veeruléavente j labio angusto, subcon-

vewo, superne calloso, antice subrecto, denticulato } dente cardinalt

muajori.

Var. 8. Testd sordid? purpurascenté, albo punctatd et zonis ceruleo-

viridescentibus albo-maculatis cinctd,

Var. y. Testd purpurascente, maculis albis nigro sagittatis et zonis

nigris albo-articulatis ornatd.

Var. 0. Testd rubicundd, punctulis albis, antice obsolete purpureo-

nigrescentibus, antice marginatis marmoratd ; labro crassiore.

Long. 0:36 ad 0°40; lat. 0°44 ad 0°48; conv. 0°32 poll.

Hab, Sual, province of Pangasinan, isle of Lucgon: in a small

stream.

Operculum of a Clithon, yellowish white, marked with a fine ¢ir-

cular streak in the centre: two teeth at the summit of the interior

face ; the upper one short, yellow; the lower one circular, yellow,

284 Zoological Society.

striated lengthwise and across, sometimes dilated at the summit ;

the intermediary plate between the two teeth of a whitish colour.

December 13.—Prof. Rymer Jones in the Chair.

Mr. Gould, at the request of the Chairman, exhibited some new

species of the genus Ortyz, which he thus characterizes :—

Ortyx NIGROGULARIS. Ort. vertice et corpore superiore splendide

Juscis ; strigd nigrd superciliari, a rostro usque ad occiput; et

super hanc strigd albd; sub oculos lined albd a rostro ad plumas

auriculares, et per latera colli excurrente, gulamque nigram circum-

dante plumis pectoris et abdominis albis nigro marginatis anguste

apud pectus, late et distincte apud abdomen, et sese squamatim

ostendentibus ; femoribus crissoque arenaceo-castaneis ; plumis la-

teralibus in medio albis.

Crown and all the upper surface rich brown; margins of the

tertiaries and wing-coverts fawn-colour; these feathers are also

crossed with indistinct zigzag lines, freckles, and blotches of black

and blackish brown; primaries greyish brown; tail deep bluish grey,

the centre feathers and the external margins of the remainder freckled

with reddish brown and buff; a black stripe, commencing at the base

of the bill, passes over the eye to the occiput; above this a stripe of

white; below the eye a white line from the base of the bill to the

ear-coverts, down the sides of the neck, and encircling the throat,

which is jet black; feathers of the chest and abdomen white, mar-

gined with a zone of black; narrow on the chest, broad and distinct

on the abdomen ; giving the under surface a scaly appearance ; flanks,

thighs and under tail-coverts sandy chestnut, the centre of each of

the flank-feathers white ; bill black; feet flesh-white. __

Total length, 8 inches; bill, %; wing, 44; tail, 21; tarsi, 14.

Hab. Mexico; locality unknown. In the collection of the Earl of

Derby.

Remark.—This species is of the same form and nearly of the same

size as O. Virginiana.

Ortyx PEcTorAuis. Ort. vertice et nuchd nigrescenti-fuscis ; lined

angustd albd frontali super oculos et per nucham ductd ; plumis

auricularibus, colli lateribus, et pectore nigris; guld albd; abdo-

mine, lateribus et crisso, cervinis ; plumis lateralibus inferioribus,

ad apices nigro alboque gutiatis dorso superiore, humeris scapulis-

que castaneis, tectricibus alarum, et caude, tertiartis, et dorso imo,

cinereo-fuscis ; plumis omnibus corporis superioris cervino pallide

marginatis, et punctatis.

Crown of the head and back of the neck blackish brown; a narrow

stripe of white crosses the forehead, passes over the eye, and extends

down the back of the neck below the occiput; ear-coverts, sides of

the neck and chest, black ; throat white ; abdomen, flanks and under

tail-coverts fawn-colour; the tips of the feathers on the lower part

of the flanks spotted with black and white; the upper part of the

back, scapularies and shoulders, chestnut brown; wing-coverts, ter-

tiaries, back and upper tail-coverts greyish-brown; all the feathers

of the upper surface margined and speckled with very light fawn-

Zoological Society. 285

colour, which on the secondaries assumes the form of distinct bars ; in

addition to these marks the scapularies, secondaries, back and rump,

are minutely freckled with brown ; the strongly contrasted markings

giving all the upper surface a bespangled appearance; primaries

brownish-grey ; tail-feathers bluish-grey; some of them freckled on

the margin with buff ; bill black ; feet flesh-white.

Total length, 7 inches; bill, $; wing, 4; tail, 22; tarsi, 12.

Hab. Mexico; locality unknown. In the collection of the Earl of

Derby.

Remark.—Of the same form, but smaller in size than O. Virginiana.

Orryx castanra. Ort, fronte guldque nigris ; lined superciliart

albd obsoletd usque ad occiput, et super hanc lined nigrd vertice,

nuchd, dorso superiore, humeris, pectore, et lateribus saturate cas-

taneis ; uropygio, tectricibusque caude castaneis nigro irroratis,

fasciatis, et punctatis ; plumis abdominalibus albis, nigro undatim

fasciatis lateralibus, guttis albis supra nigro cinctis, ornatis ; his

notis omnibus lucidis.

Forehead and throat black; an indistinct line of white runs

over the eye to the occiput, above this another indistinct line of

black ; crown of the head, back of the neck, upper part of the back,

shoulders, chest and flanks, deep rich chestnut; the feathers on the

sides of the neck with a black stripe down the centre and an oblong

patch of white down the outer web; the tertiaries and some of the

scapularies margined with deep fawn-colour, bounded within by an

indistinct line of black; these feathers are also crossed with indistinct

bars and freckles of black ; rump and upper tail-coverts rich chestnut,

minutely freckled, barred and dotted with black; feathers on the

centre of the abdomen white, marked with strong zigzag bars of

black, changing into spots of white, bounded above by black on the

flanks, all these marks being very brilliant ; eyelash dark olive ; irides

dark reddish hazel ; bill black ; legs yellowish white.

Total length, 84 inches ; bill, 53 wing, 44; tail, 22; tarsi, 14.

Weight 54 ounces and 20 grains avoirdupois.

Hab. South America; locality unknown. In my own collection.

Remark.—Rather larger i in all its measurements than O. Virgint-

ana. From the general appearance of this bird, Mr. Gould is led to

believe that it may hereafter prove to be a variety of some other

species, probably of O. Virginiana; at the same time its markings are

so different and so decided in character that he has deemed it best

to describe it provisionally, under a distinct appellation.

Ortyx (OponTorHorvs) sTELLATA. Ort. mas. guld et collo cine-

reis, plumis rufo marginatis alis, plumisque scapularibus castaneo,

cervino, et nigro pulchre pictis ; caude tectricibus, rectricibusque

lineis undulatis alternatim rufo-fuscis et nigris, ornatis, punctis,

et guttis parvulis interspersis ; pectore, abdomine, et crisso splen-

dide rufo-castaneis plumis pectoris guitd parvuld centrali albd an-

guste nigro fere cinctd, perpulchre pictis.

Fem. staturd minore, et notis albis pectoralibus magis productis, et

minis conspicuis distinguendd.

286 Zoological Society.

Male,—Naked skin before and behind the eye. yellowish ;- bill

black; crest rather lengthened and full; forehead and ear-coverts

clouded chestnut, the former passing into reddish chestnut on the

crown, and gradually brightening towards the occiput; throat and

neck both before and behind grey, all the feathers margined with

rufous; scapularies and wings (except the primaries) beautifully

marked with rich chestnut, buff and black, the black predominating

on the scapularies, which feathers are rendered very conspicuous by

having a whitish buff line down the centre; the tertiaries also are

marked with a bold edging of rich buff, bounded on the inner side

by a well-defined band of black, which surrounds the feather, while

the buff occupies the upper edge only; at the tip of all the wing-

coverts is a triangular spot of buffy white; primaries blackish brown,

marked on their outer edge with indistinct but regular bars of red-

dish brown; back and rump dull greyish buff, each feather minutely

dotted and freckled with brown and black; tail-coverts and tail ru-

fous brown and black, the markings and colour so disposed that

neither predominate, being dispersed over each feather in alternate

narrow zigzag lines, interspersed with minute dots and freckles ;

ehest, abdomen and under tail-coverts rich rufous chestnut; the

feathers of the chest with a small white mark in the centre, very

nearly surrounded by a narrow irregular line of black, giving it a

very sparkling appearance ; feet and legs in the dried specimen horn-

eolour.

Female.—Differs in being smaller in size and in having the small

white markings of the chest, being more lengthened in form and less

conspicuous than in the male; in all respects the colouring of the

two sexes is generally similar.

Male. Female.

Total length .................. 103 inches. 94 inches.

Bik! yO es CE ree 03 — 03 —

Wang) 5. BES VP aa + eet 53 — 5i . —

te meas SS Sua Peg oy aR es arf si — 2 —

Tarsl . 0 Se OO eae: 2 — 1? —

This species is about the size of the Common Partridge. The

* specimens from which the above descriptions were taken are in the

British Museum, to which they were presented by Lord Stewart ;

they are said to be from Brazil.

Specimens of new species of the genera Trochus and Turbo were

also exhibited, and were accompanied by the following descriptions

by Lovell Reeve, Esq.

Genus Trocuus.

Trocuus asteriscus. Troch. testd obeso-conicd, viridescente, an-

fractuum margine squamoso-stellatd, squamis, grandibus cavis, in-

. fimd facie eximie serratd, serris linearibus, parallelis, circulatim

dispositis ; umbilico tecto, basi roseo-tinctd,

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol, ii. pl, 217, f. 3.

Alt. 14; diam, 13 poll.

Hab. ——?

Zoological Society. 287

This shell has the base of the columella stained with rose-colour,

like the Trochus rhodostoma, Lamarck ; there is no danger, however,

of confounding it with that species; the under surface of the Trochus

asteriscus is most elegantly serrated, the serre ranging round with

peculiar regularity ; and the periphery of each whorl extends into

large hollow spouted scales. The shell figured in ‘ Conch. Syst.,’ at

fig. 5 of the same plate, under the name of Trochus pileolum, appears,

by a figure subsequently published in Delessert’s ‘ Recueil de Co-

quilles,” to be the Trochus fimbriatus of Lamarck,

Trocuus cemmMosvus. Troch. testd parvd, conoided, luteo et violaceo

vivide variegatd ; anfractibus leviter convezis, superficie ubigue

granulatd, granulis obtusis, quasi gemmosis ; infimd facie similiter

ornatd. et

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 218. f. 9.

Alt, 3; diam, 4 poll

Hab. ? us. Stainforth.

This is a most lovely shell to look upon; it is richly variegated

with violet and yellow, and the surface being obtusely granulated,

gives it the appearance of being studded with gems.

Trocnuus Hanueyanus. Troch. testd acut? conicd, viridi, levis-

simé nodulosd ; anfractibus planiusculis, peripherid ultimi acutd ;

infimd facie roseo-tinctd, minutissime serratd, serris regularibus,

seriatim dispositis, umbilico parvo.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 218. f. 11.

Alt. 14; diam. 14 poll.

Hab. .? Mus. Cuming,

By the above title I wish to keep in remembrance the name of my

industrious friend Sylvanus Hanley, Esq.

Trocuus mopestus. Troch. testd conoided, roseo-aurantid, tuber-

culiferd, subsquamosd ; anfractibus convexis, tuberculis squame-

Sormibus, irregularibus, in medio biseriatim cinetis ; umbilico teeto ;

basi aurantid.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 218. f. 14.

Alt. 13; diam. 13 poll.

Hab, ——? Mus. Cuming,

This shell, which is of a peculiar rose-tinted orange-colour, has

each whorl encircled with a double row of irregular scale-like tuber-

cles.

Trocuus eximivus. Troch. testd conico-pyramidali, pallide carneold,

lineis transversis interruptis sparsim ornatd ; anfractibus supern?

concavis, in medio depresso-planis, bifuniculatis, funiculis albo-

nigroque tessellatis ; umbilico tecto.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii, pl. 218. f. 12.

Alt. £; diam. # poll.

Hab. ad Payanam. Mus. Cuming.

Dredged from sandy mud at the depth of ten fathoms,

Trocuus meLAanostoma. Tvroch. testd depresso-conicd, cinereo-

violaced, fauce nigerrimd, anfractibus concaviusculis, marginibus

aoutis, infimd facie circulariter teniatd ; umbilico tecto.

288 Zoological Society.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 218. f. 16.

Alt. 3; diam. 2 poll.

Hab. ad oras Nove Hollandie.

The mouth of this shell is lined with a peculiarly black shining

enamel,

Genus Turso.

Turso putcuer. Turb. testd ovatd, ventricosd, multicostatd, luteo-

viridescente costis lineolis nigricantibus hic et ubique pictd ; an-

fractibus tumidis, ultimo valde maximd, costis interstitiisque pro-

fuse et tenuissime serratis.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 219. f. 3.

Alt. 24; diam. 14 poll.

Hab. ? Mus. Cuming.

The leading feature of this beautiful shell is, that the entire sur-

face, both ribs and interstices, are very thickly and finely serrated.

Turso Ticaonicus. Turb. testd ovato-turbinatd, multicostatd,

luteo-viridescente, strigis nigerrimis transversim ornatd ; anfracti-

bus rotundatis, ultimo sublaxius voluto ; costis irregularibus, latis

et angustis, interstitiis tenuissime serratis ; umbilico parvo.

Reeve, Conch, Syst., vol. ii. pl. 219. f. 6.

Alt. 23 ; diam. 2 poll.

Hab. ad insulam Ticao, Philippinarum. Mus. Cuming.

This shell was found by Mr. Cuming at the above locality in mud,

at the depth of ten fathoms.

Turso squamiceR. Turb. testd ovato-turbinatd, mullisquamosd,

luteo et viridi variegatd, anfractibus subtumidis squamis grandibus,

_ cavis, seriatim dispositis, ubique cinctis.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 220. f. 7.

Alt. 13; diam. 17 poll.

_ Hab. ? Mus. Cuming.

The Turbo squamiger may be immediately recognised, as being

entirely covered with large vaulted scales, arranged in regular parallel

transverse rows.

Turso vARIABILIS. Turb. testd ovatd, levi, luteo- aut rubido-brun-

nescente variabilé variegatd ; umbilico tecto.

Var.a. Testd luteo-rubelld, fusco alboque varie nebulosd et teniatd.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 219. f. 2.

Alt. 2; diam. 23 poll.

Hab. ad insulam Capul, Philippinarum.

Var. 3. Testd rosaceo-rubrd, lineis tenuibus flexuosis albis, diagona-

liter pictd.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 219. f. 1.

Alt. 14; diam. 1% poll. .

Hab. ad insulam Capul, Philippinarum. .

The general painting of these shells, which were found by Mr.

Cuming at the above locality in deep water, varies considerably,

some being richly clouded with brown and a warm yellow, whilst

others are crossed with a number of fine white diagonal lines upon a

Zoological Society. 289,

deep crimson ground. They approach nearest to the Turbo pethola-

tus, differing, however, in a very remarkable degree in the charac-

ter of the painting above noted. The riband-like bands, which form

a never-failing peculiarity in that species, are wanting, and so also

is the green or yellow tinge of colour which runs round the colu-

mellar side of the mouth.

Descriptions, by Dr. L. Pfeiffer, of some new species of Helicide,

collected by Mr. Bridges in the northern parts of Chile, were then

read :—

Buuimus Bripeesi. Bul. T. subperforatd, oblongo-ovatd, apice

obtusd, tenui, pallide luteo-fulvescente, confertissime et leviter de-

cussatd ; suturd mediocri, marginatd ; anfractibus 4 convexiusculis,

ultimo spiram superante ; aperturd ovali, intis nitide fulvidd ; peri-

stomate simplice, late reflexo, intis albo, marginibus callo junctis,

columellari perforationem fere occultante.

Long. 114; diam. 54 lin.

From the town of Frierina (Huasco, Chile). Found under stones.

Buuimus pacuycuitus. Bul. T. subperforatd, ovatd, apice obtusa,

crassd, albd, longitudinaliter striatd, lineis confertissimis trans-

versis sub lente decussatd ; anfractibus 45 convewxiusculis, ultimo %

longitudinis subequante ; aperturd integrd, ovali, intis albd ; peri-

stomate late incrassato, pallide fulvescente, nitido, marginibus calla

crasso junctis. :

Long. 194; diam. 11 lin.

From La Questa de Arenas (Huasco, Chile). Found buried in sand.

Buuimus nuopacme. Bul. T. perforata, ovato-oblongd, longitudina-

liter striatd, striis transversis obsoletis minutissime decussato-

subgranulatd, albd maculis et flammis pellucidis rubellis ornatd,

apice obtuso roseo; anfractibus 6 convexis, ultimo 4 longitudinis

subequante ; aperturd oblongo-ovali ; peristomate simplice, recto

margine columellari reflexo.

Long. 74; diam. 23 lin. -

From the town of Frierina (Huasco, Chile). Found under small

Cacti.

BuLimus TEREBRALIS. Bul. T. rimato-subperforatd, subulatd, lon-

gitudinaliter rugulosd, albidd, superné fusco-cerulescente ; anfrac-

tibus 104 planis, ultimo } longitudinis vie superante, basi subcari-

nato ; columelld obsolete plicatd ; aperturd ovali intis albd ; peri-

stomate simplice, margine dextro dilatato, columellari reflexiusculo,

superne carine affixo.

Long. 104; diam. 2+ lin.

From Coquimbo (Chile). Found on rocks and plants near the sea.

Succrnea ELEGANS. Suc. T. ovato-oblongd, tenui pellucidd, levius-

culd, rubello-corned, strigis longitudinalibus, opacis, albis, rufo-

marginatis ornatd; anfractibus 54 planiusculis, ultimo spiram

acutam vix superante ; aperturd ovali-oblongd, intis nitidd, conco-

lore ; peristomate simplice, margine columellari vix calloso.

Long. 18; diam. 84 lin.

290 Geological Society.

From the Questa de Arenas (Huasco, Chile). Found on a species

of Juncus.

Succinza RnEFLExa. Sue. T. ovato-oblongd, tenui pellucidd, ni-

tidd, minutissim? granulosd, corneo-sulphured, strigis irregularibus

interdum ramosis, rufis ornatd ; anfractibus 5 planiusculis, ultimo

spiram vix superante ; aperturd ovali-oblongd, intis albidd, obso-

let2 strigatd; peristomate simplice, acuto, margine columellari

tenuissimo, albo reflexo.

Long. 194; diam. 84 lin.

From Pichidanque, near Coquimbo. Found on the leaves of Pour-

retia coarctata.

SuccINEA VARIEGATA. Suc, 7’. ovato-acutd, solidiusculd, longitudi-

naliter rugosd, regulariter granulatd, luted, maculis longitudinali-

bus et punctis nigricanti-rufis seriatim pictd ; apice acuto ; anfrac-

tibus 54 planiusculis, ultimo + longitudinis subequante ; aperturd

oblongo-ovali, intus nitide albd, strigis pellucentibus ; peristomate

simplice, acuto, margine columellari subcalloso.

Long. 24; diam. 114 lin. )

Valleys in the north of Coquimbo. Found in crevices of rocks.

‘ These three species, described under the name of Suecinee, belong

to that group of Helicee of which the well-known Hel. gallinasultana,

Chemn., is the type. The shell having no columella is perfectly

analogous to that of the genuine Swecinee, and we are informed by

Mr. D’Orbigny’s observations, that the animal of H. gallinasultana is

also very similar to Succinea in its form and habits. Accordingly

this species must be related to Succinea, and I believe that the spe-

cies above deseribed should not be separated from it, although we

do possess but imperfect notions of their habits. Of one species it

is noticed that it was found on a species of Juncus, probably in the

vicinity of water.

‘* By the same reason (the analogy of shells) I have enumerated

the Bulimus Broderipii and Coquimbensis among the Succinee (in my

‘Symbole ad Historiam Heliceorum’).”

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

[The following interesting extracts are taken from the Anniver-

sary Address delivered by the President, R, I. Murchison, Esq., on

the 17th of February 1843.—Ep, ]

PALEONTOLOGY,

Ichthyology.— Geologists who have commenced their career since

the glacial theory has been in vogue and haye read the numerous

memoirs and heard the exciting discussions to which it has given

rise, are chiefly acquainted with Professor Agassiz as one of its

most ingenious expounders. I have now the pleasure to acquaint

you that M. Agassiz is once more completely absorbed in his great

work on fossil fishes—that work which you so justly honoured, in

the year 1835 to 1836, with your Wollaston Donation and Medal.

Of his progress in this arduous undertaking, he has recently given

Geological Society. 291

substantial proofs, in the description of many ichthyolites of the Old

Red Sandstone of Seotland ; and, in addition to this, he will shortly

publish a series of fossil fishes, exclusively illustrative of the tertiary

basins of London and Paris, from which an enormous number of

species has been collected.

In reference to the geological researches of my friends and myself

’ in Russia, I must here state, that as it is our one great object to

place in correct parallel the Paleozoic types of Russia with those of

the other parts of Europe, we could not hesitate in referring all

our Russian ichthyolites to Professor Agassiz; for whilst it must

be acknowledged that Russia contains naturalists of great merit,

and that among them M. Pander and Professor Asmus had com-

meneed inquiries into the nature of these fossils, it was obvious that,

skilful as they undoubtedly are, they could not, for want of eompar

risons, afford us the knowledge of which we stood in need, Pro-

fessor Agassiz, who has at his disposal fossil fishes from all those

parts of Europe, the geological structure of which has been well

explained, was alone capable of answering the following query ;

To what extent do the ichthyolites of Russia, which lie in beds

superior to the Silurian rocks, and which are surmounted by the

Carboniferous limestone, resemble those with which we are so well

acquainted in Scotland and England? His reply has indeed been

most satisfactory.

So complete, says he, is the identity of about ten species of the

Scottish and Russian strata, that the specimens from the two coun-

tries may be confounded, Among them the Holoptychius nobilis-

simus, three species of the Dendrodus (Owen), Diplopterus macroce-

phalus, are forms which might'strike any good observer, as they have

been previously published by M. Agassiz ; but from the more perfect

specimens of other species which we brought from Russia, he has

been enabled to recognize the presence in Scotland of the species

of a common Russian genus, the Glyptosteus, and also of that gi-

gantie genus the Chelonichthys, to whose remains I have before

directed your attention as having been recognized to be of ichthyic

character by Professor Asmus. To this enormous fossil fish,

some of whose thoracic bones are as large as the breast-plate of a

well-grown warrior, and a single bone of which measured nearly

three feet in length, Professor Agassiz has given the name of Che-

lonichthys Asmusii; and he now informs me that he possesses frag-

ments of the same creature from the north of Scotland, The know-

ledge of this fact will doubtless lead to redoubled activity on the

part of Mr. Hugh Miller and those Scottish naturalists who inhabit

the shores of the Cromarty and Murray friths, to produce a rival of

the Russian giant; a hope which I cannot express without deeply

lamenting the death of a most successful explorer of these remains,

whose loss geologists have to deplore, in common with every one

who could appreciate her range of thought, her accomplishments,

and her goodness*,

The results, however, of the examination of the Russian ichthy-

* Lady Gordon Cumming.

202 Geological Society.

olites go still further; for, on submitting to the microscope of

Professor Owen some teeth similar in outline to those of his genus

Dendrodus, he discovered in them precisely the same dendridic

disposition of the vascular canals as that which led him to establish

the genus from Scottish fossils. Nor does the value of this appli-

cation of the microscope stop here, for Professor Agassiz has in-

formed me, that availing himself of the weapons which Professor

Owen had so skilfully wielded, he has commenced a series of re-

searches, not only into the teeth but also into the structure of all

the hard enamelled bones of the Russian fossil fishes, by which he

will be able to show the same distinction in the other bones of the

‘genera of this class, which Professor Owen has successfully esta~

blished in relation to the hard parts of the higher order of animals.

In such hands, therefore, the microscope has become an instrument

of great utility in identifying fragments apparently obscure ; and, as

it has been applied to the shells of Mollusca, and even to the lowest

links in animal life, as well as to fossil plants, the geologist has thus ac-

quired a new and powerful auxiliary. I am here, however, treading

on ground now fortunately occupied by the Microscopical Society,

the active promoters of which are well entitled to our gratitude.

Mylodon.—One of the most brilliant, and, I venture to say, not

the least durable of the researches in paleontology, remains to be

mentioned in the description of the Mylodon robustus, a new species

of gigantic edentate animal, accompanied by observations on the

affinities and habits of all Megatherioid animals. After a sketch

of the labours of Cuvier, who first described the huge Megatherium

and pointed out its analogy to the family of Sloths and Armadillos,

of the succeeding writings of Jefferson and Harlan upon the genus

Megalonyx, of Dr. Lund on the Ceelodon and Sphenodon of Brazil,

and of his own researches which established the Mylodon and Sce-

lidotherium, Professor Owen proceeds to describe the megatherioid

animal which he has named Mylodon robustus. ;

Of the purely anatomical descriptions, it is not my province to

speak, and referring you to the work in which, through the en-

lightened munificence of the College of Surgeons, all the necessary

illustrations have appeared, I pass to the generalizations, and learn

that the Mylodon, in common with the Megatherium and Megalo-

nyx, are genera of the family of Gravigrada, as distinguished from

the Tardigrada in the order Bruta.

Professor Owen then proceeds to a comparison of the anatomy of

the Mylodon with that of all analogous creatures, and after an able

analysis, he satisfies himself, and also, I am persuaded, every one

who has followed his close reasoning, that he has at length ascer-

tained the true habits and food of this family of mammifers. From

their dentition, it is inferred that the Megatherium and Mylodon must

have been phyllophagous, or leaf-eating animals; whilst, from

their short necks, the very opposite extreme to the camelopard,

they never could have reached the tops of even the lowest trees.

Cuvier, on the contrary, suggested that they were fossorial, or dig-

Geological Society. 298

ging animals; and we all recollect the animated manner in which

Dr. Buckland attracted us, whilst he described the Megatherium asa

huge beast, which, resting upon three legs, employed one of its long

fore-hands in grubbing up whole fields of esculent roots; a habit

which procured for it the significant popular name of “ Old Scratch.”

Dr. Lund, a Danish naturalist, had considered the Megatherium

to be a scansorial or climbing animal; in short, a giyantic Sloth.

After a multitude of comparisons, Professor Owen rejects the

explanation of all his predecessors. He shows that the mon-

strous dimensions of the pelvis and sacrum, and the colossal

and heavy hinder legs, could never have been designed, either

to support an animal which simply scratched the earth for food,

or one which fed by climbing into lofty trees, like the diminutive

Sloth ; and he further cites the structure of every analogous creature,

either of burrowing or climbing habits, to prove, that in all such the

hinder legs are comparatively light. What then was the method by

which these extraordinary monsters obtained their great supplies of

food? The osteology of the fore-arm has, it appears, afforded

answers which are valuable, chiefly for their negation of erroneous

conjectures, such as that the animal was an ant-eater, rather than for

the habits which it directly elicits. It is, therefore, to the organi-

zation of the hinder limbs that Professor Owen mainly appeals to

ascertain the functions of the fore-feet and the general habits of the

Mylodon. .

Arguing that the enormous pelvis must have been the centre

whence muscular masses of unwonted force diverged to act

upon the trunk, tail and hind-legs, the latter, it is supposed, formed

with the tail a tripod on which the animal sat. Professor Owen

supposes that the animal first cleared away the earth from the roots

with its digging instruments, and that then seated on its hinder

extremities, which with the tail are conjectured to have formed a

tripod, and aided by the extraordinary long heel as with a lever, it

grasped the trunk of the tree with its fore-legs. Heaving to and

fro the stateliest trees of primeval forests, and wrenching them

from their hold, he at length prostrated them by his side, and

then regaled himself for several days on their choicest leaves and

branches, which till then had been far beyond reach. After show-

ing that from the natural inversion of the hind-feet the Mylodon ap-

proached to the scansorial animals, and thence inferring that it might

have had climbing powers necessarily much limited by the other

parts of its frame, Professor Owen states, that the inversion of the

soles of the feet is least conspicuous in the Megatherium, whose

bulk and strength would be adequate to the prostration of trees too

large for the efforts of the Mylodon, Megalonyx and Scelidotherium.

The Megatherium, in short, was the mighty tree-drawer, and had

therefore no need of the adventitious aid of any climbing appa-

ratus. Allow me to add, that, amongst other reasonings, those

which lead to conclusions that one class of megatherioid animals

was furnished with a hairy coating (like the Mylodon), whilst

another, like the great Megatherium, was devoid of it, as evi-

294: Botanical Society of London.

denced by slight modifications of the bony structure of the hind-

feet, appear to me to be not the least original and interesting.

Wholly incapable, as I am, to do justice to this masterly inquiry

by the necessarily brief allusion which is imposed upon me by the

nature of this discourse, I shall best execute my task in quoting

the words with which Professor Owen sums up his reasoning.

“ On the Newtonian rule, therefore, this theory has the best claim

to acceptance ; it is, moreover, strictly in accordance with, as it has

been suggested by, the ascertained anatomy of the very remarkable

extinct animals, whose business in a former world it professes to

explain. And the results of the foregoing examination, comparisons

and reasonings on the fossils proposed to be described, may be

summed up as follows. All the characteristics which exist in the

skeleton of the Mylodon and Megatherium, conduce and concur to

the production of the forces requisite for uprooting and prostrating

trees; of which characteristics, if any one were wanting, the effect

could not be produced: this, therefore, and no other mode of

obtaining food, is the condition of the sum of such characters

istics, and of the concourse of so gréat forces in one and the same

animal.”

This, Gentlemen, is the true Cuvierian style, in which, as in num-

berless parts of his works, Professor Owen has continued to breathe

out the very spirit of the founder of paleontological science.

It is by such labours that geology is steadily gaining a higher

plave among the sciences. Comparative anatomy has truly been

our steadiest auxiliary, and well may we do honour to those

who impart to us such truthful records; for, whilst the histories of

the earlier beings of our own race are shrouded in obscurity, whilst

the first chronicles of ancient Rome and Greece are now admitted

to be exaggerated, and often even fabulous, we turn back the leaves

of far more antique lore; and, not trusting to perishing inscriptions, .

mutilated by successive conquerors, and assuming a hundred meanings

under the eyes of doubting antiquaries, we appeal only to the proofs

in nature’s book, and find that their reading is pregnant with evidences

which must be true, because they are founded on unerring general laws.

In coneluding this Address, I can assure you, Gentlemen, that,

although not prepared without some labour, its composition has af-

forded me both gratification and instruction. Had I not felt a

strong obligation to fulfil my duty, I should necessarily have been

absorbed in the preparation of the work upon Russia to which I

have alluded, and could not therefore have been imbued with an

adequate sense of the vast progress which our science has recently

made in all quarters of the globe. :

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Sept. 1, 1843 J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. &e., President, in the Chair.

_ Dr. Wood of Cork presented a specimen of Neottia gemmipara,

found in Ireland. _ ; |

Dr. Thomas Taylor presented the following species of Junger-

Botanical Society of London. . 295

mannie new to the British Flora: Jungermannia reclusa (MSS. Tay+

lor), J. fragilifolia (MSS. Taylor), J. germana (MSS. Taylor), and

J. riparia (MSS. Taylor).

Read “‘ Observations on some varieties of Hypna and on a new

species of Lichen,” by Dr. Thomas Taylor.

Local collections of Cryptogamic plants are instructive in two

ways; by contributing to our knowledge of the geographical distri-

bution of the species, and by pointing out the directions which the

characters of the varieties take when acted on by diversity of cir-

cumstances of external agencies. The Cryptogamic collection of

Dr. G. Watson from the vicinity of Philadelphia, presented to the

Botanical Society of London, elucidates in some particulars the fore-

going remark ; not however to a great extent, as the collector seems

to have satisfied himself with gathering the largest and most promi-

nent species, and to have omitted or overlooked the minuter and

more inconspicuous kinds; yet what has been collected is far from

being destitute of interest and value.

Thus he has remitted to London a great profusion of Neckera cla-

dorrhizans (Hedw.). Now this moss was first described from Swiss

specimens by Hedwig; it was afterwards sent to this country from

Nepal by Dr. Wallich, and from New York by Dr. Torrey ; finally

we have it in the present collection from Philadelphia.

In Great Britain and Ireland, so fertile in mosses, it is totally un

known. We may therefore conclude that this species is altogether

continental, although for the present we are unacquainted with those

laws that deny to it an insular locality.

We have Hypnum salebrosum (Hoffm.), by its smaller size, imposing

upon us the form of a new species; but although the branches are

more compressed and shorter, the leaves somewhat narrower, the

pedicels more slender, and the capsules soon turning black, yet in

all essential characters it entirely agrees with our British species.

Hypnum plumosum (L.) with us assumes diversified forms, among

which a remarkable one, collected by the late Miss Hutchins at Glen-

geriff, has all the leaves decidedly secund.

The variety gathered by Dr. Watson has the upper leaves alone

heteromallous ; but then its more erect and longer capsules, and the

less concave but substriated leaves, claim the adjustment of the ba-

lance between species and variety by a practised hand.

Dr. Taylor considered it less hazardous for the present to leave it

in the rank of the latter. But the impatient may say, when then are

we to expect the means of exactly deciding ? The answer is, perhaps,

not until some muscologist enjoys the privilege of seeing both grow-

ing in their native localities; for there is much value in the cha-

racter taken from the habit of a plant. Many modern elevations of

varieties to the rank of species have been first suggested by the

silent appeal of the look of the growing individuals.

In Dr. Watson’s state of Hypnum rutabulum (1), a mark hitherto

considered essential to the species seems to be vanishing. The

pedicels exhibit scarcely any appearance of roughness immediately

below the capsules; in all other particulars the Philadelphian and

296 Miscellaneous.

European mosses coincide. But Mr. Wilson, whose observations on

this tribe are always as original as acute, has long since taught Dr.

Taylor that the scabrous state of the pedicel in this species is liable

to great variation; insomuch that he seems disposed to doubt if

Hypnum vagans of Hooker in Drummond’s ‘ Musci Americani,’ sepa-

rated principally on account of the smoothness of its fruit-stalks, be

really distinct from Hypnum rutabulum (L.).

Among the very few lichens sent by Dr. Watson is a species of

Cenomyce which may be considered new, and called Cenomyce foliacea.

Its specific character may be thus given :—

« Podetia two inches high, loosely czespitose, dichotomously branched,

the ultimate branches subulate and tipped with brown; the buds

in flattened, granular, pale green elevations of the cuticle, soon ex-

panding into flat lobes which are subpinnately branched and cre-

nate, pale glaucous above, snow-white beneath, unaltered by moist-

ure. There were no apothecia present.”

The generic name is that of Acharius, which perhaps should not

be abandoned but upon the clearest necessity. The modern subdi-

vision of this genus into Cladonia and Scyphophorus appears attended

with no advantage, while the species of these two tribes are, by the

confession of the adopters themselves, joined by links that appear in-

separable from either set. Indeed on this question the present plant

is quite in point, having all the habit of Cenomyce sparassa (Ach.),

(Scyphophorus of Fée and of DeCandolle), with the attenuated and

subulate branches of Cladonia (of the same authors).

The buds of lichens have not received the consideration from bo-

tanists which their importance merits.

Hitherto the characters have been drawn from the thallus or from

the apothecia alone ; but the buds by which, for the most part, these

plants are multiplied, and which, if watched during development, pre-

sent most remarkable features, should be hailed as a new and wel- -

come element for specific distinctions.

In Cenomyce sparassa (Ach.) the buds originate in coarse white

granules, thickly set and rising at once above the surface of the po-

detia ; in our plant they are flat, scarcely eminent above the cuticle

of the podetia, pale glaucous green from the beginning, and not so

densely crowded, nor do they expand into lobes so linear. Another

character may be taken from the branches of the podetia, which in the

former are nearly parallel and of equal thickness except at the very

summit, while in Cenomyce foliacea they are more gradually acumi-

nated and divaricated above.

MISCELLANEOUS.

GRIFFITHSIA SIMPLICIFILUM, AGARDH.

Tus species of Alga, which has not been noticed as occurring on

any part of the coast of Great Britain, was found plentifully by Mr.

R. Ball and myself at Freshwater bay, in the Isle of Wight, on the

7th of August 1841. The species has a place in the British cata-

Miscellaneous. 297

logue from specimens obtained by Mr. Harvey in the county of Wick-

low, in Ireland, and there only. It is a native of the coast of France.

—Wwm. Txuompson (Belfast).

ITALIAN FIRE-FLY IN NORFOLK,

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

Swaffham, Norfolk, Sept. 7, 1843.

GerntTLEMEN,—I wish, through the medium of your valuable pub-

lication, to make known a circumstance which, as far as I can learn,

has been hitherto unnoticed in England. On going into my green-

house between seven and eight o’clock in the evening of the 22nd of

August, I was surprised at perceiving a glimmering light amongst

the vines, which, on further observation, I discovered to proceed from

a “‘lucciola,” or Italian Fire-fly, with whose habits and appearance

a long residence in Italy has rendered me familiar. Although the win-

dows of the green-house were always open till within an hour of

sunset, so that every facility was offered for its escape, the little

stranger regularly became visible after dark for ten or twelve even-

ings in succession, and was seen by many of the inhabitants of Swaff-

ham, whose curiosity attracted them to the spot. I can only account

for this circumstance by having lately received from Italy five or six

orange-trees, the roots of which, being encased in balls of mould,

might have afforded a shelter to the insect in its chrysalis state, sub-

sequently developed into active existence by the heat of the green-

house. May I beg to be informed through the pages of the ‘ An-

nals,’ if the appearance of this insect in England be hitherto unre-

corded? and any light which can be thrown on the subject will

greatly oblige, Gentlemen, your obedient servant,

Joun Duemorg, Jun.

OCCURRENCE OF RARE BRITISH BIRDS.

Phil. Hall, Leeds, Sept. 13, 1843.

The last week in July a specimen of the Sterna anglica (Gull-

billed Tern) was brought alive to me which had been shot on the

reservoir of a mill on the York Road, Leeds, a mature bird.

In May last a fine male Roller flew on board the Hamburgh steamer

when about forty miles beyond Flamboro’ Head, and was shot and

brought to Leeds by my friend Mr. Thomas Stansfeld of this town.

—Henry Denny. ;

CAPTURE OF A WOLF-FISH.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

Rooms of the Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society,

Plymouth, August 10, 1843.

GrnTLEMEN,—I beg to inform you that a specimen of the Wolf-

fish (Anarrhicas lupus) was captured off this port a few days since,

and forwarded to me for presentation to this Society. The speci-

men in question is about three feet long ; the stripes represented in

*‘ Yarrell ” not very conspicuous, and the mark on the head less so;

the teeth very large; the flesh very similar in appearance to veal,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii.

298 - Miscellaneous.

the skin very tough; no ova or milt discoverable ; the stomach con-

tained small crabs, Pecten opercularis, Fusus corneus, &c., all frac-

tured by the conical and flat sets of teeth prior to being swallowed ;

the containing viscus itself large and membranous; the intestines

short, but of large calibre. ‘The fishermen who took it called it a

‘‘ Cat-fish,”’ evidently showing a previous acquaintance with it. This

is however the first record of its capture on this coast, and Mr.

Couch does not enumerate it as a Cornish species.

Can one of your correspondents tell me whether the male of

Lamna Cornubica has a large stiff spine in the ventral fins, thereby

distinguishing it from the other sex?

I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant,

J.C. Betuamy, Curator.

Description of a “ Blind Fish” from a Cave in Kentucky. By Jeffries

Wyman, M.D.

The specimen from which the following description is drawn was

presented to the Boston Society of Natural History by J. G. Anthony,

Esq. of Cincinnati. It corresponds for the most part with the de-

scription of the Amblyopsis speleus, described by Dr. Dekay in the

‘Fauna of New York,’ but in some parhioulars it differs.

The specimen here described was 4), inches long, and character-

ized by a broad vertically compressed ‘head, covered with a whitish

integument entirely destitute of scales; but on it are seen numerous

elevations or ridges, most abundant on the lateral portions, some of

them intersecting each other at right angles. The lower jaw is more

prominent than the upper; no appearance of eyes; nostrils double,

the anterior ones tubular, the posterior nearly circular, about ;/,th of

an inch behind the preceding. Both jaws are provided with folds of

skin or lips ; intermaxillaries and lower jaw armed with minute slender

and slightly recurved teeth, most abundant at a short distance from

the median line—a group of teeth on palatines on each side; also

two groups in pharynx above and four below. Upper maxillaries

concealed by integuments and destitute of teeth. Intermaxillaries

form the borders of mouth above, and extend nearly to its angles.

Branchial aperture large, branchiostegous rays six on each side.

Body covered with circular scales which terminate abruptly at the

posterior limit of the head; the scales are smaller on back than on

the sides, and are so enveloped in the cuticle as not to present free

edges. Lateral line occupies the middle of the lateral region ; com-

mencing under the anterior extremity of the dorsal fin, passes di-

rectly backwards. First ray of dorsal a little posterior to the mid-

dle of body ; anal commences a little behind the dorsal ; abdominals

very small.

Fin rays :—Pectoral, 10; dorsal, 10, first very minute ; caudal, 17

or 18; anal, 9; abdominal, 4.

Anus very far forwards, about ;%;ths of an inch behind the angle

formed by the union of branchial membranes.

Alimentary canal; entire length less than that of the body. Céso-

phagus very short ; stomach cylindrical, terminating posteriorly ina

Miscellaneous. 299

short triangular cul-de-sac, the point of which reaches the posterior

limit of the cavity of the abdomen. Stomach contracted, and mu-

cous membrane thrown into longitudinal folds. Pylorus situated

near posterior extremity of stomach ; has a distinct valve which pro-

jects into cavity of duodenum ; two short pyriform cecal appendages

open by distinct orifices on opposite sides of intestine. Mucous mem-

brane of small intestine arranged in reticulated cells, which become

less distinct towartls termination. Length of small intestine 14 inch;

of large intestine $ inch; the two separated by a distinct, valve,

Liver consists of two lobes ; left extending nearly whole length of

abdominal cavity, right very short. Gall-bladder distinct.

Air-bladder cordiform, deeply cleft anteriorly.

Brain; from anterior extremity of olfactory lobes to posterior por-

tion of cerebellum, 0°21 inch. Olfactory lobes in contact with and

just in front of cerebral hemisphere, of slightly pyriform shape, and

giving off large olfactory nerves. Cerebral lobes nearly spherical,

slightly compressed on median line, where the left and right unite.

Optic lobes much smaller than preceding, and partly concealed by

the cerebellum. Cerebellum nearly spherical, slightly divided on me-

dian line, giving it a somewhat cordiform appearance. Fourth ven-

tricle completely exposed and widely open. Posterior pyramidal

‘bodies distinct, projecting over the cavity of the ventricle near its

middle. External to these last arise the branchio-gastric nerves.

Auditory sacs large ; ampulle of semicircular canals containing oto-

lites, one of which is of a trapezoidal shape, and nearly equalling in

size one of the cerebral hemispheres. The inferior optic lobes, “ lobi

inferiores,” very small, not larger than a pin’s head ; in front of them

rests the pituitary body. No optic nerve was found. Branchio-

gastric and fifth pairs of nerves of the usual size.

Internally the nostrils consist of an ovoidal cavity ;5th of an inch

in longest diameter; olfactory membrane arranged in seven folds or

digitations of unequal length, and radiating from a point in the ante-

rior portion of the cavity. At the anterior extremity of this cavity

is a small orifice opening into a blind sac or canal, which passes at

first directly backwards and then ascends upon the upper surface of the

cranium. On the most careful dissection no traces of eyes werefound.

From the above description it appears that this fish, inhabiting a

dark cavern, is reduced, as regards its organs of vision, to a much

more imperfect condition than the Proteus anguinus, inhabiting the

subterranean caverns of Illyria, or the common mole, in both of which

eyes exist, although of a microscopic size. Dr. Dekay has’ placed

this fish among the Siluride ; though, as he distinctly states, only

provisionally. The presence of scales and cecal appendages to the

pylorus, as well as the absence of cirrhi about the mouth, would seem

to indicate feeble affinities with the Siluride. The parts entering

into the composition of the brain, when compared with those of the

Pimelodus, present many differences in the size and proportions. Its

true affinities cannot be well determined until an opportunity shall be

afforded by future dissections for the examination of its osteology.—

From Silliman’s American Journal, July 1843.

‘ X2

300 Miscellaneous.

On Fermentation. By Prof. E. Mirscneruicn.

Fermentation is effected by a vegetable, putrefaction by an animal

production. In the course of the two last winters the author ob-

served in a large number of putrefying substances only one species

of Infusorium to be developed, which consisted of one or of several

globules, in the latter case arranged in series; the diameter of such

globules was about 0°001™™, the motion vibratory. According to

his observations it would seem probable that the other animalcules,

which are observed in putrefying substances, have been conveyed

into them by means of the atmosphere, insects, or some other means.

A certain quantity of oxygen is requisite for the development and

existence of these Vibriones, and the putrefactive process is depend-

ent, according to the author, on the free access of a certain amount

of atmosphere to the decaying substances. The maceration of

vegetable substances in water, even when the temperature in the

rooms is kept at a summer heat, appears to depend solely on these

Vibriones, when the substances are employed in a clean state. Du-

ring this process nitrogen is disengaged. These Vibriones are widely

diffused in the intestinal canal throughout its entire course, in the

cavity of the mouth, and in the stomach, of which it is very easy to

be convinced by examining under the microscope the matter which

collects or remains on the teeth; sometimes they are even found on

the skin, but the author has hitherto not succeeded in detecting

them in the blood, in the milk, in urine, in the gall, or in other

fluids of this kind.

When a little sugar is added to the liquid in which these animals are

formed, their number augments considerably, and at the same time a

vegetable production is generated, viz. ferment. If a larger amount

of sugar be added, the production of these animals is suspended or

ceases entirely, and a greater quantity of ferment is formed. The

author has never observed ferment to be formed in a liquid which

contained no sugar. Whether a fungus be the fermentative fungus

or another species, may be determined with certainty under the

wicroscope; but also very easily by adding some of it to a solution

of sugar, and observing whether any fermentation ensues. In a clear

liquid, in which it is possible for ferment to be produced, a turbid-

ness is first perceived, and under the microscope globules of various

sizes, from the smallest dimensions hitherto observed up to a diameter

of 0°01™". From day to day the small globules increase in size,

and many new ones become apparent. In some liquids, as for

instance in the juice of the grape, only a few individual globules are

observed, which are generally of an oval form; and sometimes, but

rarely, a second is developed at one of the extremities, but this

never attains to the size of the primitive globule. Ferment which

has been produced for some time by means of other ferment is

otherwise circumstanced; from having been multiplied through a

series of years it has acquired a constant character. In the breweries

two kinds of ferment may be distinguished with certainty, the bottom

ferment and the top ferment. The former multiplies at a tempera-

Miscellaneous. 301

ture which must not exceed 48°, nor go below 32° Fahr.; this

is the ferment in Bavarian beer. The most beautifully developed

top ferment is that of Berlin white beer, which multiplies at a tem-

perature of about 77°. Bottom ferment consists of single globules

of various sizes. The author never observed a small globule to be

formed on any part of a large one; the smaller globules are always

diffused throughout the liquid. In top ferment scarcely ever could

any single small globules be detected, but only large ones, at the

extremities of which the smaller globules were developed, thus

forming ramifications. These increase therefore by the production

of gems; the bottom ferment, on the contrary, by small globules

growing isolated in the liquid. The author exhibited drawings of

the two species of ferment in the various periods of their develop-

ment. In the older ferment an envelope and granular contents

may be readily distinguished, which becomes however more evident

on the addition of a drop of aqueous solution of iodine. By means

of a compressorium invented by the author, the granular contents

may be easily pressed out under the microscope. The author con-

siders it probable that in the bottom ferment the globules burst and

disburthen themselves of their contents, from each granule of which

a new globule is developed, so that the bottom ferment would be

multiplied by sporules.

Substances which act as poisons on fungi destroy the action of

ferment, for instance corrosive sublimate, and other substances of

similar nature ; but liquids which act most violently on the animal

frame, such as tartar-emetic, in solutions of which fungi very readily

develop, do not disturb the process of fermentation.

Several fungi which are known as vegetable diseases are similarly

circumstanced, as for instance dry rot to woody fibre; and with

these facts a new field is evidently opened, explanatory of the

decompositions which the roots of plants are capable of effecting in

the soil; and it may be expected that we shall be able to demon-

strate by experiment, what general experience has shown, that the

roots of plants, when unable to obtain from the atmosphere the sub-

stances requisite for their development, take them from the soil; and

it is not improbable that the roots themselves effect the necessary

decomposition of the substances contained in the soil, just as the

greater portion of vegetables obtain the requisite substances for their

first development from the seed itself. Although this is difficult to

prove in the higher order of plants, it may be proved more defi-

nitely in the lower tribes, especially in the fungi, as for instance in

the champignon. ‘The process of fermentation is therefore of con-

siderable interest. One of the most important chemical combina-

tions is decomposed by a contact-substance, which contact-substance

is an organized being belonging to the most simple forms, the deve-

lopment of which may be traced in the most easy and certain

manner; but its first origin is moreover of great interest, for it is

formed in a liquid in which it appears as numerous points so small

as to escape observation.—Poggendorft’s Annalen, No. 5 for 1843.

302 Miscellaneous.

LETTERS FROM RAY TO SIR HANS SLOANE.

[MS. Sloan. Brit. Mus. 4056. fol. 225. Orig. ]

Black Notley, April 13, 1700.

S1r,—Upon Reading your Letter of the 6th instant I could not but

be moved with indignation against those vile Rogues who, when they

failed in their attempt of breaking open your House, were so mali-

cious as to set it on fire. I congratulate with you your deliverance

from so great a danger, and humbly thank God on your behalf.

The scurrilous Pamphlet entitled the Transactioneer* I did always

believe to be no better than you represent it.

And for Dr. Plukenet, I look upon him as an ill-natured man, and

liable to mistakes, how ever confidant and self-conceited he may be,

that I say nothing of his unskilfulnesse and want of exactnesse in

the Latine and Greek tongues. His arrogance and overweening opi-

nion of himself and his performances appears by that hemistichium

prefixt to his Phytography, Nil nisi premia desunt. I doe not urge the

sending me your Magellane-straits Plants. Iam in no hast for them,

but can well wait your leisure.

I did not expect so great and rich an addition to my Supplement

of History as you tell me Dr. Sherard intends generously to contri-

bute : in which respect it is well my Undertakers were so dilatory in

beginning upon it. It will be greatly for the advantage of the Work

if ever it comes to be published}. I should be very glad to see Dr.

Sherard, and to have some conference with him, though loath I am

he should put himself to the trouble and expense of such a journey for

my ‘au Please to give my service to him, and tell him so much.

% % * aa *

Dr. Tournefort’ s Institutions may be of use to me as to the Me-

thodus Plantarum emendata, which I have ready for the Presse, both

for the correcting of some mistakes which possibly I may have com-

mitted, and the enlarging of it by new Observations.

I have done when I have told you that I am,

Sir, your very much obliged friend and humble servant,

Joun Ray.

To his honoured friend Dr. Hans Sloane, &c.

His farewell before his death.

[Ibid. fol. 284. Orig. ] |

Deak S1z,—The best of friends, these are to take a final leave of

you as to this world. I look upon myself as a dying man. God re-

quite your kindnesse expressed any ways towards me an hundred

fold, blesse you with a confluence of all good things in this world,

and eternall life and hapinesse here after. Grant us an happy meet-

ing in heaven. Sir, eternally yours,

B. Not. Jan. 7, 1704. Joun Ray.

When you happen to write to my singular ffrend Dr. Hotton, I

* ‘The Transactioneer, with some of his Philosophical Fancies; in two

Dialogues.’ 8vo, Lond. 1700.

+ The third volume, or ‘Supplement of the Historia Plantarum,’ was

' published shortly before Ray’s death. Fol. Lond. 1704.

Meteorological Observations. 303

pray tell him I receivd his most obliging and affectionate Letter, for

which I retourn thanks, and acquaint that I was not able to answer

it. 4a

For Dr. Hans Sloane, at his house in Southampton Square, London.

Almost ready for Publication.

Crustacealogical Researches, Part I. By Harry D. 8. Goodsir,

Conservator of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in

Edinburgh.

This is the commencement of a series of memoirs for the illustra-

tion of the Comparative Anatomy and Natural History of the Crus-

tacea.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR AUGUST 1843.

Chiswick.—August 1. Very fine. 2. Cloudy and fine. 3. Cloudy: thunder-

storm, with very heavy rain, the latter continuing throughout the night. 4. Rain:

showery: clear. 5—8. Very fine. 9, Sultry: lightning at night. 10. Hazy:

clear and fine. 11—14. Exceedingly fine. 15. Sultry: thunder-storm at night.

16. Thunder, lightning and heavy rain: clear and fine at night. 17. Foggy:

sultry. 18. Foggy: hotand sultry: clear and fine. 19. Cloudless and very fine.

20. Overcast and fine. 21. Clear: cloudy and fine: clear, 22. Overcast: rain.

29. Fine: overcast: heavy rain at night. 24. Cloudy: clear and fine. 25. Very

fine: cloudy: lightning. 26,27. Very fine. 28. Rain: overcast and windy.

29. Cloudy. 30. Light haze and fine. 31. Hazy: very fine: clear.—Mean

temperature of the month 1°*1 above the average.

Boston.— Aug. 1. Cloudy. 2. Fine. 3. Fine: raina.m.andr.m. 4, Cloudy:

rain A.M.andr.m. 5. Fine. 6. Fine: rainearly a.m. 7. Cloudy. 8. Fine:

thermometer 77° 2 o’clock p.m. 9, Cloudy: rain, thunder and lightning from

11 a.M.toll p.m. 10. Cloudy. 11—13. Fine. 14. Fine: rain, thunder and

lightning at night. 15, Rain: heavy thunder-storm a.m. 16. Cloudy: heavy

rainer.M. 17. Cloudy. 18. Foggy. 19. Fine. 20. Cloudy: rain p.m. with

thunder and lightning. 21. Fine. 22. Cloudy: rainr.m. 23. Fine. 24. Rain:

rain early a.m. 25—-28. Fine. 29. Cloudy: rain early a.mM.: rain a.m, 30, 31.

Cloudy.—N.B. This month shows the largest fall of rain in one month since

July 1839.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.— Aug. 1. Cloudy: rain, 2. Cloudy: drops. 3. Fog:

cloudy. 4. Cloudy. 5. Bright: rain. 6. Bright: cluudy. 7. Cloudy: show-

ers, 8,9. Bright: clear. 10. Clear. 11,12. Cloudy: clear. 13. Clear:

cloudy. 14. Bright: cloudy. 15, Clear. 16. Clear: fog. 17. Cloudy: show-

ers. 18. Damp: fog. 19. Bright: thunder, 20. Bright: cloudy. 21. Bright:

drops. 22. Cloudy: clear. 23, 24. Clear. 25. Bright: showers. 26. Clear:

thunder. 27. Thunder. 28. Showers: rain. 29. Showers: cloudy. 30. Drops:

cloudy. 31. Cloudy.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire— Aug. 1. Wet all day. 2. Very wet. 3.

Fair and fine. 4. Fine: one shower. 5. Fine. 6. Showers and sunshine.

7. Wet allday. 8. Wet. 9. Very clear and fine. 10. Very fine: one shower.

11. Very fine, but fair. 12,13. Very fine. 14. Fine, but heavy rain p.m.

15. Fine, but fair. 16. Fine: fair: thunder p.m. 17,18. Fine. 19. Fine:

thunder. 20. Heavy showers a.m. 21. Fair a.m.: rain p.m. 22. Heavy rain.

23. Rain: clearedr.m. 24. Very fine. 25, 26. Rain. 27. Shower. 28. Heavy

showers. 29—31. Fair and fine.

Temperature (mean) of spring-water ..

eeeeeeeeeeees 53°°5

Ditto August 1842 .,.......

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THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No. 78. NOVEMBER 1843.

-—

XXX VII.—On the Structure and Homology of the Cephalic Ten-

tacles in the Pearly Nautilus. By Prof. Owen, F.R.S.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

I nave been favoured with a letter from Prof. Vrolik, in which

he writes: “ We found the situation of the soft parts of the Pearly

Nautilus in the shell, quite as you supposed and exposed in your

first plate. It is, indeed, as if that plate was made from our ori-

ginal. The relative position of the different parts is consequently

the same as you fancied that it ought to be, and I am, indeed,

happy that I have the opportunity of giving such a confirmatory

statement. The only difference should be, that what you call the

‘dorsal fold’ applied to the involute convexity of the shell has

not exactly the form and the position you ascribed to it. Ac-

cording to our observations, the mantle forms, at the basis of

what you said to be the hood or ligamentous disc (n, plate 1.), a

double fold, of which the superior part is thin and loose, the in-

ferior firm and connected with the mantle. This part forms a

sort of lip, and the whole fold is applied to the involute convexity

of the shell. I am afraid that this will not be completely clear,

but I hope that by our future plates our meaning shall be better

explained. For the moment this must be sufficient. It shall

prove to you that the difference between what you said and what

we saw is very small. Perhaps a short indication will be quite

enough for the Journal.”

I am glad to be able to refer my friend to page 12 and plate 3.

fig. 1. 7 of my memoir on the Pearly Nautilus, in which the part

of the double fold which he mentions as forming ‘a sort of lip,’

is described and figured as the ‘semilunar ridge from which

the mantle is continued to form the concave fold.’ Thus the

supposed difference disappears.

There is one important point in the anatomy of the Pearly

Nautilus to which the learned anatomists and naturalists of Hol-

land, in their notice of the specimen dissected by them, have not

Amn. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii.

306 Prof. Owen on the Structure of the Pearly Nautilus.

referred, viz. the structure and signification of the sheathed ce-

phalic tentacula.

M. Valenciennes *, confirming without further detail my de-

scription of these organs, proposes a different explanation of their

analogies: he compares the sheath of the tentacle to the aceta-

bulum or sucker on the arms of the Dibranchiate Cephalopods,

and the tentacle itself to the caruncle of the sucker, and he di-

vides these supposed modified and gigantic acetabula into eight

groups, corresponding with the eight arms of the Octopus. I have,

in reference to this ingenious view, re-examined more minutely

the intimate structure of the tentacula of the Nautilus, and com-

pared it with that of the arms of the higher Cephalopods, and.

the following account, from the Hunterian Lectures for 1843, of

the structure and homology of the tentacula of the Pearly Nau-

tilus may be acceptable to your readers whose attention has been

recently called to the anatomy of that rare and interesting mol-

lusk by the letter of Prof. Vrolik.

“The anterior or muscular division of the Nautilus, which may

be termed the head, forms a strong and wide sheath, containmg

the mouth and its more immediate appendages ; its inner surface

is for the most part smooth, the outer one divided and extended

into many parts or processes. The chief of these forms a broad

triangular muscular plate or hood covering the upper part of the

head, and presenting a middle and two lateral superficies; the

former being traversed by a median longitudinal furrow, indica-

ting the place of confluence of the two large hollow tentaculiferous

processes of which it is composed. Lach side of the head sup-

ports a group of perforated processes or digitations, the largest

of which is next the hood, and the rest decrease in size as they

descend in position. Exclusive of the short, subocular, perforated

process}, the digitations are eighteen in number on each side,

disposed irregularly, but all directed forwards, some not reaching

as far as the anterior margin of the head, others projecting a few

lines beyond it. They are of a conical, subtrihedral form, and are

hollow ; the large one next the confluent pair which forms the hood

has, like that part, a papillose outer surface. Each process con-

tains a long and finely annulated tentacle of a subtrihedral form,

with the inner surface incised, as it were, by deeper and fewer cuts

(fig. 1. ¢), so as to present the appearance of a number of close-

set transverse plates, slightly indented by a median longitudinal

impression (fig. 2. f). This modification must increase the pre-

hensile and sentient properties of the inner surface of the tentacle,

* Nouvelles Recherches sur le Nautile Flambé, Archives du Muséum,

4to. 1839.

+ Particularly described and shown not to be tentaculiferous by M. Va-

Jenciennes. ;

Prof. Owen on the Structure of the Pearly Nautilus. 307

and it is on the corresponding part of the larger and fewer ten-

tacles of the Dibranchiate Cephalopods that the acetabula are

developed. The angle between the two outer finely annulated

surfaces (g) subsides near the end of the tentacle, which thus be-

comes flattened.

“To the nineteen tentacula which are supported by the con-

fluent and free digitations on each side of the head, two others

must be added which project from very short sheaths, one before,

the other behind, the eye; the lateral transverse incisions are

deeper in these than in the digital tentacles.

“ Both mandibles are horny, with their tips encased by dense

calcareous matter and their base implanted in the thick muscular

parietes of the mouth. They are immediately surrounded by a

circular fleshy lip with a plicated anterior border, external to which

there are four broad flattened processes continued forwards from

the inner surface of the oral sheath, two of which are superior,

posterior and external, the other two are inferior, anterior, and

more immediately embracing the mouth : the latter are connected

together along their inferior margins by a middle lobe, the inner

surface of which supports a series of longitudinal lamelle. On

the inner surface of the oral sheath beneath these processes there

are two clusters of soft conical papille, and on each side of these

a group of lamelle. . Hach of the four processes, which I have

called ‘labial,’ is pierced by twelve canals, the orifices of which

project in the form of short tubular processes from the anterior

margin, and each canal contains a tentacle similar to, but some-

what smaller than, those of the digitations. Thus the number of

tentacula with which the Pearly Nautilus is provided amounts to

not less than ninety, of which thirty-eight are termed digital,

four ophthalmic, and forty-eight labial. In the second specimen

of this rare molluscous animal, presented to the College of Sur-

geons by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, R.N., there was a slight

difference in number in the digital tentacula of the two sides,

nineteen being on the right, and seventeen on the left side. The

labial processes in the specimen of Nautilus deseribed by M. Va-

lenciennes contained thirteen tentacles instead of twelve; and

some slight variation is not surprising in the number of pre-

hensile organs developed in such unwonted profusion in the

Nantilus,

“The retraction of the tentacula is effected by longitudinal

muscular fibres, their elongation by transverse fibres. These are

not, however, disposed in circular or spiral series, so as to atte-

nuate and lengthen the tentacle by a general compression, but

present a more complex and beautiful disposition, by which they

diminish the transverse diameter without compressing the central

nerve, The transverse fibres (fig. 2. a) arise in numerous and

308 Prof. Owen on the Structure of the Pearly Nautilus.

distinct fasciculi from the dense cellular tissue (fig. 2. b), sur-

rounding the nerve in the centre of the tentacle (fig. 2. d), and

radiate at equal distances to the circumference; they divide and

subdivide as they diverge, and also send off lateral fibres, which

form a delicate network in the interspaces of the rays, especially

at the angles: the meshes include the longitudinal fasciculi, the

eut ends of which are shown at ¢, fig. 2.

“The mechanical arrangement of the contractile fibres is very

similar to that of the complex muscles described by Cuvier in the

proboscis of the elephant. The attenuation and elongation of

this brobdignagian tentacle must be effected without compress-

ing the central breathing-tubes, and the transverse fibres accord-

ingly radiate from the dense ligamentous tissue which surrounds

the tubes: the same prospective contrivance is manifested to pre-

vent the compression of the nerves Fig. 1.

and vessels in the muscular system ZE

of the ninety proboscides of the Nau-

tilus.

“The papille upon the exterior

surface of the two large confluent di-

gital processes forming the hood,and

of the two hollow digitations next in

size immediately beneath them, form

a remarkable character in the Nau-

tilus, on account of their obvious

sunilarity to tactile papille ; but the

sense of touch must be specially ex-

ercised by the numerous cephalic

Fig. 2.

Inner surface of a tentacle of

Nautilus pompilius, magnified.

tentacles, which, from their softness of texture, and especially

their laminated inner surface (fig. 2. e,f), are to be regarded as

organs of exploration not less than as instruments of prehension.

“T shall now submit my grounds for believing that the corre-

sponding organs in the Dibranchiate Cephalopods are the appen-

dages developed from the head, termed ‘ arms,’ ‘ feet,’ ‘ tentacles,’

Prof. Owen on the Structure of the Pearly Nautilus. 309

and ‘proboscides.’ They have no true homology with the loco-

motive members of the Vertebrata, but are analogous to them,

inasmuch as they relate to the locomotive and prehensile faculties

of the animal.

“The eight arms of the Octopus commence by a hollow cone of

muscular fibres, attached by a truncated apex to the anterior part

of the cephalic cartilage. The fibres are for the most part oblique,

and interlace with one another in a close and compact manner

as the cone advances and expands to form the cavity containing

the mandibulate mouth, at the anterior extremity of which they

are continued forward, and separate into eight distinct portions

which form the arms. The development of the eight external arms

bears an inverse proportion to that of the body: they are longest

in the short round-bodied Octopi, and shortest in the lengthened

Calamaries and Cuttle-fishes, in which the two elongated retrac-

tile tentacles are superadded by way of compensation. These

latter organs are not continued from the muscular cone, which

corresponds with the great cephalic sheath supporting the exte-

rior tentacula in the Nautilus, but arise, like the internal labial

processes in that Cephalopod, close together from the cephalic

cartilage, internal to the origins of the ventral pair of arms. They

proceed at first outwards to a large membranous cavity situated

anterior to the eyes, and emerge between the third and fourth

arms on either side.

“The internal surface of the arms is that which is specially

modified in the Dibranchiate Cephalopods, as in the Nautilus, for

the prehensile and tactile faculties; but the structure is much

more complicated in the higher order, or Dibranchiata. On this

surface each arm supports a single or double series or more nu-

merous rows of acetabula or circular sucking-cups: in the elon-

gated pair of superadded tentacles of the Decapods, the suckers

are limited to the expanded extremities, where they are generally

aggregated in more numerous and irregular rows. These ten- ©

tacles serve to seize a prey which may be beyond the reach of the

ordinary arms, and also act as anchors to moor the Cephalopod

in some safe harbour during the agitations of a stormy sea.

“ach muscular arm is perforated near the centre of its axis

for the lodgement of its nerve and artery, which are surrounded

by a layer of cellular tissue ; from the dense outer sheath of this

cellular canal the transverse fibres of the arm radiate to the peri-

phery, intercepting spaces containing the longitudinal fibres of the

arm, the whole being surrounded by two thin and distinct strata

of fibres, of which the external is longitudinal, and the internal

transverse.

“The mechanical structure of the acetabulum may be favour-

ably studied in the Octopus, in which those organs are of large size

310 Prof. Owen on the Structure of the Pearly Nautilus.

and sessile. The circumference of the disc of the sucker is raised

by a tumid margin ; a series of slender folds of membrane, cover-

mg corresponding fasciculi of muscular fibres, converge from the

circumference towards the centre of the sucker, where a circular

aperture leads to a cavity which widens as it descends, and con-

tains a soft caruncle, rising from the bottom of the cavity like

the piston of a syringe. When the sucker is applied to any sur-

face for the purpose of adhesion, the piston, which previously

filled the cavity, is retracted and a vacuum produced.

“In the Onychoteuthis the caruncle supports a long, curved,

sharp-pointed claw. These formidable weapons are sometimes

clustered at the expanded terminations of the tentacles, and in a

few species are arranged in a double alternate series along the

whole internal surface of the eight ordinary arms, as they were in

the extinct Belemnite.

“In the diminished number, increased size and progressive

complication of the cephalic muscular appendages, and in their

final modification, m the two long superadded tentacula of the

Onychoteuthis, for combining with one another to produce a de-

terminate action, we trace the common order which regulates

~ the development of other parts of the animal organization. In

our past review of the Invertebrata, we have witnessed this law

in the appearance of the more essential organs, as the stomach,

the heart, the gills, the generative organs; we find it equally re-

gulating the development of the peculiar prehensile instruments

of the Cephalopodic class.

“ At first very numerous, comparatively small and feeble, es-

sentially alike, the cephalic tentacles of the Nautilus strikingly

illustrate the principle of vegetative or irrelative repetition. Their

primary import is however plamly indicated by the direct deriva-

tion of their*central nerve from the cephalic ganglion ; and they

present the same complex plan of arrangement of their muscular

fibres which characterizes the arms and tentacles of the Dibran-

chiate Cephalopods. The prehensile surface of the tentacula of

the Nautilus is made adhesive after the type of the simple lami-

nated sucker of the Remora ; the median longitudinal impression

which partially divides the lamella may represent the complete

interspace which separates into two series, in the arms of most of

the Dibranchiates, the more complex suctorial appendages which

are developed on their internal surface : but at all events, the re-

duction of these arms in number, their augmentation im size, and

perfection as prehensile instruments by the superadded compli-

cations, are phenomena which ordmarily attend the march of de-

velopment. The order of this progress would be anomalously

reversed if the tentacles of the Nautilus represented, as M. Valen-

ciennes supposes, the caruncles of the acetabula, and the hollow

Prof. Owen on the Structure of the Pearly Nautilus. 311

processes of the oral sheath the cavities of those appendages of

the arms of the Dibranchiata. According to the French mala-

cologist, the anterior circumference of the head or oral sheath in

the Nautilus represents four of the eight arms developed there-

from in the Dibranchiata ; and the two dorsal arms consist each of

two enormous acetabula, whose cavities are deepened into tubes,

and whose caruncles are produced into tentacula as highly orga-

nized in regard to their nerves and muscles, as are the acetabu-

liferous arms themselves in the higher order of Cephalopods. The

four other arms of the Octopus are represented, according to M. Va-

lenciennes, by the four groups of tentacula which are included

within the oral sheath in the Nautilus. Such is not, however, the

place of origin of any of the eight arms in the Dibranchiata ; nor

is it conformable with the general law of development, that a pre-

hensile organ, consisting of two large and highly complicated

acetabula in a low organized Cephalopod, should support two

hundred smaller and more simple suckers in the higher organized

species.”

Such are the additional facts and arguments which lead me to

reject the new views propounded by M. Valenciennes respecting

the sheathed tentacula of the Nautilus, and to uphold the inter-

pretation which I originally gave of their essential nature and

analogies. In dissenting from my esteemed friend, I must ac-

knowledge that his peculiar views chiefly stimulated me to that

closer investigation of the structure of the tentacula which has

led to my observation of the special modification of their internal

surface and of the arrangement of their muscular structure,which

had been overlooked both by myself in the first description of the

Nautilus, and by M. Valenciennes. I shall, in the second edition

of my memoir on its organization, add some other particulars of

the minute anatomy of the Nautilus, and meanwhile look forward

with great interest to the extended memoir of Professors Vrolik

and Van Breda, especially in reference to the homologies of the

sheathed tentacula. I should wish, in conclusion, to call their

attention to the ‘elongated pyriform sac’ described by me at

p- 35. pl. 5. fig. 18. connected with the ventricle, and which does

not appear to have attracted the attention of M. Valenciennes.

I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,

Your very obedient servant,

RicHarp Owen.

London, Sept. 13, 1843.

312 Mr. H. Denny on Sia new species of Parasites.

XXX VIII.— Description of Six supposed new species of Parasites.

By Henry Denny, Corresponding Member of the Academy

of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, &c.

Amoncst the Parasites collected by myself, or forwarded by sci-

entific friends to assist in my investigation of the Anoplura, seve-

ral specimens occurred which did not belong to the above class,

and therefore did not immediately claim my attention. Upon

examining these however subsequently, and suspecting that some

were undescribed and probably new to science, I felt that a short

notice of them was required at my hands. I therefore transmit

a brief description, with figures of siz species, &c. for publication

in the ‘ Annals of Natural History,’ under a conviction that should

any of them eventually prove recognized species, recent figures of

the same may not be wholly useless. These consist of four species

of Trachean Arachnida, one of the family Hippoboscide, and one

of the order Aphaniptera, which may be characterized thus :—

Class ARACHNIDA.

Order TRACHEARIA.

Tribe ACARIDES.

Genus IxopEs.

1. Ixodes bimaculatus (Denny). Subovatus, depressus; capite, thorace,

pedibusque pallide stramineis ; abdomine coccineo, ruguso, punc-

tato, cum maculis duabus magnis, suborbicularibus, aurantiacis,

eminentibus ; pedibus interne hepaticis.—Long.4lin. Pl. XVII.

fig. 1.

Hab. Hippopotamus amphibius, Southern Africa.

Subovate and depressed. Thorax and legs pale straw-colour

above, slightly pubescent with a few scattered black punctures.

Apex and lateral margin of the palpi dull crimson. Head with |

two black subtriangular spots in the centre. Thorax very distinct, —

subcordate, with two black, somewhat undulated, impressed longi-

tudinal lines from the anterior margin to the base, and an irre-

gular diagonal spot from the humeral portion of the lateral mar-

gin on each side. Abdomen dull crimson, rugose, punctured,

with seven obscurely defined longitudinal furrows, and two large,

nearly circular, slightly elevated orange-coloured spots, sinuated

on the inner margin. Legs thick and strong, the last joint and the

under surface of the remainder clouded with deep liver-colour.

Communicated by A. Melly, Esq., of Liverpool.

DeGeer figures and describes a species of Ixodes (Acarus syl-

vaticus) obtamed at the Cape of Good Hope by Sparrman from a

land tortoise, which agrees with this in many respects as to co-

lour ; but from his silence as regards the very characteristic orange

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Mr. H. Denny on Sia new species of Parasites. 313

spots on the abdomen, together with the legs of his species being

a dull brown, while those of the above differ so materially on this

point, I consider myself justified m characterizing it as a new

species.

2. Ixodes Hippopotamensis (Denny). Subovatus, subconvexus, pal-

lide stramineus, levis, cum lineis nigris, submarmoratis seu re-

ticulatis ; pedibus flavo-albis, interne hepaticis.—Long. 3 lin.

Pl. XVII. fig. 2.

Hab. Hippopotamus amphibius, South Africa.

Subovate and rather convex, pale straw-yellow, smooth, with a

few scattered impressed punctures. Thorax mdistinctly defined,

with a bifurcated black line on each side, extending from the in-

sertion of the occiput to the posterior margin, where they become

nearly united. Abdomen reticulated by a number of black mark-

ings, which form a series of irregular blotches round the lateral

margin, and one large patch in the centre. Legs paler than the

body, thick, strong and hairy; the inferior margin obscurely

toothed ; under surface deep liver-red.

Communicated by A. Melly, Esq.

3. Ixodes Rhinocerinus (Denny). Ovatus, subconvexus, cum punc-

turis aliquot magnis ; nigris, levibus, et maculis multis, magnis,

aurantiacis ; pedibus aurantiacis, cum annulis obscure rufis, super-

ficie interna irregulariter dentata.—Long. 34 lin. Pl. XVII. fig. 3.

Hab. Rhinoceros bicornis, South Africa.

Ovate, somewhat convex, black and smooth, with a few large

punctures scattered over the surface. Head and palpi orange-yel-

low, the former darker at the occiput. Thorax obscurely defined,

subcordate, with a broad interrupted orange margm. Abdomen

with sia large irregular orange blotches in the centre, and a series

of smaller ones round the lateral margin, divided by eleven im-

pressed lines posteriorly, and united by a semicircular transverse

one. Legs orange-yellow, thick and strong, the last jomt and the

basal portion of the remainder with a deep red annulus; the in-

vaste margin acutely but irregularly toothed and armed with stiff

airs.

Communicated by A. Melly, Esq.

DeGeer describes and figures an Izodes from the Rhinoceros

(Acarus Rhinocerotis), which in certain points resembles the above

so nearly, that I felt some doubts as to whether they might not be

the same species at different ages, or extreme varieties. But he

says, “ Subrotundus, planus, fuscus, maculis testaceis fusco-punc-

tatis.’ Again, “ Les hut pattes sont du méme brun obscure que

le corps.” Now in the first place our insect is not fuscous, but

black ; and secondly, the feet are not of the same colour as the

314 Mr. H. Denny on Six new species of Parasites.

body ; and lastly, the very prominent character of the strongly

dentate inferior margin of the legs is not alluded to, which there-

fore appears to favour my supposition that the present species is

not the Rhinocerotis found by Sparrman at the Cape, but a distinct

and undescribed Ixodes also infesting the Rhinoceros bicornis. It

is however by no means improbable that the Rhinocerotis was ob-

tained from a different species of Rhinoceros, as at the period when

Sparrman visited Africa, and long afterwards, all the individuals

which might have been seen were confounded under the appel-

lation of Rhinoceros Africanus; since which, owing to the disco-

veries of Burchell and Smith, two other well-marked species have

been found inhabiting the same continent, either of which might

have occurred to the Doctor while exploring the interior, and

supplied the specimen described by DeGeer.

This and the two preceding species formed part of the collec-

tion obtained in South Africa for the Earl of Derby by Mr. Burke,

and which his lordship was kind enough to apprise me of under

an impression they were belonging to the peculiar family of

Parasites I am at present investigating.

4. Ixodes Hydrosauri (Denny). Orbicularis, planus, subpubescens,

fuscus, thorace piceo; pedibus hepaticis, cum albis annulis.—

Long. 3 lin. Pl. XVII. fig. 4.

Hab. Hydrosaurus Gouldii ? Van Diemen’s Land.

Orbicular and depressed, obscure, finely punctured and pubes-

cent. Head and palpi dull red. Haustellum ochraceous. Thorax

distinct, subtriangular, pitchy; the anterior margin pale red.

Abdomen flat, dull brown, with three or four dark, shghtly sunk

blotches on each side; posterior margin somewhat crenate, with

a series of darker spots alternating with impressed lines. Legs

thick, liver-coloured, each joint, the last excepted, terminated by

a white band.

Communicated by Mr. Gould.

This species was obtained from one of the large lizards of Van

Diemen’s Land, known to the colonists by the general name of

Guana (most probably the Hydrosaurus Gouldi of Mr. Gray), by

the above talented and zealous zoologist, and given to me on his

return from investigating the ornithology of Australia.

Class INSECTA.

Order OMALOPTERA.

Family Hrepoposcip2.

Genus LiropTena.

5. Lipoptena Pteropi (Denny). Ochraceus, nitidus, pubescens ;

oculis maximis, cinereo-cesus ; thorace cum angulis lateralibus

Mr. H. Denny on Six new species of Parasites. 315

posterioribus et linea centrali castaneis ; pedibus longis, crassis ;

unguibus nigris.—Long. 1 lin. Pl. XVII. fig 5.

Hab. Pieropus edulis, East Indies.

Dull ochraceous, shining and pubescent. Head flat, transverse,

as wide as the thorax. Eyes very large, ash-gray. Thorax trans-

verse, with a line in the centre, and the posterior portion chest-

nut ; the base with four large punctures and a series of bristles.

Scutellum prominent and semicircular. Wings very small, ru-

dimentary, apparently with only three simple coste? Abdomen

subovate, somewhat pedunculate, flat and coriaceous, with faint

indications of five segments? Legs long, thick, pale ochraceous ;

the apex of the femora with a fuscous spot ; posterior pair slightly

notched near the extremity. Claws divaricate, black, finely ser-

rated beneath. Pulvilli membranous, ciliated, with a feathered

bristle beneath.

I much regret not being able to give more details in illustra-

tion of the anatomy of this eurious Parasite, which I have been

precluded from domg, not only from the small size and mutilated

state of the specimen, but from its bemg the only one in my pos.

session: of the structure of its antenne and halteres I know

nothing, these organs having been destroyed ? and from the very

rudimentary and obscure nature of the wings, I cannot be positive

that my figure is correct. 1 obtained my example from beneath

the wing of Pteropus edulis (Black Roussette), commonly called,

though inaccurately, the Vampire.

Order APHANIPTERA.

Family Puxrcipz.

Genus Purex.

6. Puler Echidne (Lewis). Castaneus, splendens; margine singu-

lorum segmentorum totius corporis superiori cum setis nigris pec-

tinato; pedibus crassis, aureo-flavis, interne castaneis, cum tarsis

castaneis.—Long. 2lin. Pl. XVII. fig. 6.

Hab. Echidna Hystriz, Van Diemen’s Land.

Bright chestnut, shining and shagreened. Head nutant. Eyes

prominent, silvery white. Antenne distinct ; capitate, consisting

of four joints; the first somewhat cup-shaped, produced on one

side; secondvery small, subglobular; third short, subconical; fourth

very large, oval, pale yellow, marked with transverse striz ; situated

in the temporal sinus. Thorax long, conical, apparently ? consist-

ing of five segments*. The first three, composing the prothorax,

* I have used this expression in consequence of authors differing as te

the number of segments in the thorax of Pulex. Mr. Curtis says, under the

genus Ceratophyllus, ‘Thorax composed of several segments ;”” Mr. West-

wood, “ Thorax composed of three short segments,” vol. ii. p. 491.

316 Mr. H. Denny on Six new species of Parasites.

narrow and unequal ; the fourth and fifth, forming the mesothorax

and metathorax, considerably enlarged, the lower portion of each

prolonged backwards into a tongue-like process and thickly punc-

tured. Alary plates moderate ; sutural margins of the thorax and

abdomen ciliated above and below with large black bristles. Ab-

domen somewhat truncate posteriorly. Legs thick, orange-yel-

low; under surface of the femora, apex of the tibie and tarsi

deep chestnut, densely armed with pitchy spines. Trochanters

very large, flat and securiform; anterior femora somewhat sig-

moid.

The specimen of this Pulea in my possession was given to me

by Mr. Gould, who found it on the Echidna Hystriz (Australian

Porcupine) in Van Diemen’s Land. Presuming it to be an un-

described species, I proposed for it the specific name of Kehidne.

Several months subsequently however I found, on reference to

Mr. Westwood’s invaluable storehouse of entomology (the ‘Modern

Classification of Insects’), that he had also a specimen of Pulex

from the same quadruped, sent to him from the same locality by

Mr. R. H. Lewis, with the MS. name of Pulex Echidne. As

there is every probability that the two insects are of the same spe-

cies, I make no hesitation in quoting Mr. Lewis as the original

identifier, his specimen having doubtless been examined and

named before mine. This species resembles in some points the

Pulex Gigas of Kirby (Faun. Bor. Amer. p.318. pl. 7. fig. 9.), and

is of nearly the same magnitude ; and although it is unknown from

what animal Dr. Richardson obtained it, yet, as the localities of

the two are so wide asunder and the zoology of the countries so

different, I feel justified in considering them specifically distinct.

The specific character of Gigas is as follows :—“ Ovatus, luteo-

testaceus, nigro-setosus ; thoracis segmento primo apice setis pecti-

nato ; secundi basi nigra ; antennis brevissimis, conicis ; femoribus

compressis, subovatis latissimis.”

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVII.

Fig. 1. Ixodes bimaculatus.

Fig. 2. — Hippopotamensis.

Fig. 3. Rhinocerinus ; 3 a, under view of the palpi and haustellum ;

3 b, posterior leg of ditto.

Fig. 4. — Hydrosauri: 4 a, upper view of the palpi, &c. ; 4 6, posterior

leg of ditto.

Fig. 5. Lipoptena Pteropi: 5 a, anterior leg; 5 b, upper view of the tarsus ;

5c, penultimate joint of tarsus, showing the ungues, pulvillus and

setze; 5 d, single unguis much enlarged, showing the serrated under-

side; 5 e, wing; 5 f, one of the eyes; 5 g, the pulvillus and sete

removed.

Fig. 6. Pulex Echidne : 6 a, magnified view of the head with the antennz

in situ; 6 b, antenne; 6 ¢, posterior leg; 6 d, anterior leg.

Dr. Dickie on the Inflorescence of Fedia olitoria. 317

XXXIX.—On the Inflorescence of Fedia olitoria, and its order of

expansion. By G. Dicxin, M.D., Lecturer on Botany in the

University and King’s College of Aberdeen.

In the latest works on British plants, Sir W. J. Hooker’s and

Mr. Babington’s, the inflorescence of the different species of

Fedia is described as follows :—

Fedia olitoria. Flowers capitate (Hooker) ; flowers in compact ter-

minal heads, involucrated with oblong linear bracteas (Babington).

F’. carinata. Flowers capitate (Babington).

F’. auricula. Flowers corymbose, a sessile flower in the forks (Hooker) ;

flowers distant, in the forks of a repeatedly dichotomous panicle

(Babington).

F. dentata. Flowers corymbose, a sessile flower in the forks (Hooker) ;

flowers corymbose (Babington).

F. eriocarpa. Corymb condensed (Babington).

From which it would appear as if there were in the British

species of this genus, examples of three different kinds of inflo-

rescence, viz. the capitulum in F. olitoria and F. carinata, the

panicle in F. auricula, and the corymb in F. dentata and F. erio-

carpa.

In the only species which has come under my observation in

the fresh state, viz. F. olitoria, the general order of expansion is

certainly not that which characterizes the simple capitulum ; I was

hence induced to examine more particularly the nature of its in-

florescence. After careful inspection of numerous specimens, the

cause of the apparent anomaly became very evident. The stems

are invariably forked, the dichotomy being repeated four times ; a

single flower in the axil of each fork, the lowest flower expanding

first, and so on in succession upwards. Hach subdivision stands

at right angles to the preceding and is subtended by two leaflets,

which only differ from those on the lower part of the stem in

being smaller and narrower ; they cannot however be considered

bracteas as usually described, since their relation to the flower is

different from that occupied by a bractea as generally understood.

On examining dried specimens of some of the other species, I was

induced to believe that the same general arrangement exists also

in them; so that Mr. Babington’s description of F. auricula is

also applicable to the others, omitting, however, the expression

distant, for in some of the others the inflorescence is more con-

densed, owing to the shortening of the stems.

It may hence be inferred, that the nature of the inflorescence

cannot be employed as a means of distinguishing the British spe-

cies of Fedia, it being the same in all, only in some being lax and

in others more dense. It has been already stated that the dicho-

318 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

tomy of the inflorescence in F. olttoria is usually (imvariably ?)

repeated four times ; it would be desirable therefore to ascertain

if there be any regularity in the number of divisions in the in-

florescence of the other species.

In connexion with this subject, I cannot omit stating my be-

lief, that British botanists have paid too little attention to the

order of expansion of the flowers of our native plants.

The important inferences which may be deduced from obser-

vations on this subject were long ago pointed out by Mr. Brown,

in a paper in the twelfth volume of the ‘ Transactions of the Lin-

nzean Society.’

XL.—-Upon the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio (Latr.).

By Aurrep Turk, M.R.C.S., M.E.S.

[Concluded from p. 253.]

[ With a Plate.j

Tue female organs of generation occupy a similar position within

the abdomen to those of the male, and are composed of the fol-

lowing parts, viz. an ovipositor contained like the penis within a

sheath, and an ovisac and ovarium.

The ovarium (Pl. V. fig. 26. O) is a white, delicate and trans-

parent membranous tube traversing the whole circumference of

the ventral aspect of the abdomen, and returning into itself an-

teriorly at a point (O°) where it opens into the ovisac. It is in

relation above, with the under surface of the digestive sac and fatty

mass ; beneath, with the terminal portions of the ovipositor, the

oviduct and abdominal nervous ganglia ; while upon either side

it dips deeply down under the coxz of the posterior pair of legs,

where the two tracheal trunks pass over it near to their origin.

The anterior half of this tube (O#) is narrow, and it widens out

gradually behind for the remainder of its extent, to contain a

great number of ova in different stages of their development, from

the size of a small pin’s head to those which are scarcely visible

to the naked eye. I have constantly observed that the largest or

most advanced ova were situated in that part of the ovarium near-

est to the ovisac, or most internally (Pl. V. fig. 27.). Each ovum

is retained in a separate cecal pouch of the ovarium, which sur-

rounds it closely, and can be seen only upon rupturing it and

allowing the ovum to escape. I have never met with ova in the

anterior part of the ovarium, which contained instead irregular

patches of an opake granular matter.

The next organ, the ovisac (Pl. V. figs. 26 and 27. U), occu-

pies the space included within the inner circumference of the

ovary, being in contact superiorly with the fatty mass, and crossed

Ann.& Mag Nat Hist Nol.s2.PLV.

oe .

A.Tuth detin. ‘ FID. CSowerby fe.

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 319

above by the medio- and lateral abdominal nerves. It consists of

two chambers of considerable size and conical in form, with their

apices directed forwards, which communicate by a constricted por-

tion (*) with each other, this last being, in the natural relation of

parts, covered from below by the sheath of the ovipositor as it hes

along the median line. The right chamber, somewhat the largest,

opens by its small extremity into the ovarium, marking where

that organ returns into itself, while the left gives origin to the

oviduct. In an undistended state they occupy but a comparatively

small space in the abdominal cavity, but when filled with ova

(Pl. V. fig. 27.) their size is so much increased, as, along with the

ovipositor and its retractor muscles, to be almost the only parts

seen upon removing the ventral integument. It is m these cham-

bers that the ova in all probability acquire their final coverings

and development previous to being laid.

The oviduct (Pl. V. fig. 26. ov), broad at its commencement,

appears like a continuation of the left chamber, from which it

curves backwards, and makes several folds as a long narrow tube

lying beneath the ovisac. Its direction is then forwards, to enter

the base of the ovipositor, and it crosses in one part of its course

the left retractor muscle of that organ. Its length is about twice

that of the ovipositor, and its texture, as well as that of the an-

terior part of the ovarium, must be very extensible, to admit of

the passage of ova through such narrow and seemingly dispro-

portionate canals.

The ovipositor is an elongated, flattened and carinate organ

(Pl. V. fig. 28.), grooved upon its upper aspect, which lies, in-

cluded within its sheath, along the median surface of the abdomen

immediately beneath the integument, through which it is visible

externally as a dark line ; a character by which, independently of

the greater size and convexity of the abdomen, the female may be

at once readily distinguished from the male of P. Opilio. It is

lodged partly within the concavity of the sternal plate, near to the

free border of which it terminates, and its length is about half or

two-thirds that of the abdomen. Above, it is in relation with the

anterior part of the ovarium, the constricted portion of the ovisac,

and. the oviduct, and on the sides with the branches of the medio-

abdominal nerve and the lateral margins of the sternal plate. It is

composed of a series of horny rings (PI. V. fig. 28. a), thirty-three

in number, which increase in transverse width from the posterior

extremity to about the middle of the organ, whence they diminish

again towards its apex. They are furnished each with a single row

_ of bristles having elevated bases, and two of which project hori-

zontally outwards from the seven or eight anterior annuli beyond

either side of the ovipositor, diminishing however in length and

number behind these segments. The first and one or two last

320 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

annuli are paler in colour than the rest, and nearly obsolete.

Anteriorly the ovipositor terminates by two organs of peculiar

construction. These consist of a pair of short, obtuse and some-

what conical appendages, freely articulated to the last ring, and

opposed to each other so as to constitute a kind of forceps, which

must serve admirably for laying hold of the eggs as they issue

from the ovipositor, and depositing them in their appropriate nidus.

They are composed each of two joints : the basal (Pl. V. fig. 29. d),

somewhat quadrate in form, has its outer border elliptical and

provided with two or three bristles, equalling it in width and

standing out at right angles from the side of the jomt. Its outer

side is dark, and of a horny texture like the annuli. The second

or terminal joint (c) is longer and narrower than the preceding

one, the internal margin straight and membranous, being pro-

longed forwards into a blunt conical point. Upon the outer side

of this joint, near to its apex, is a slight depression, which lodges

a small brush (d) composed of several short obtuse spines, im-

planted upon a rounded elevation within it. What the use

of these singular appendages may be, it would be interesting to

ascertain. Long bristles, seated upon tubercles, extend outwards

from the above joint and are shortest upon its apex. The annuli

of the ovipositor are connected together by a tough intervening

membrane, perfectly distinct from that which lines the entire

organ (Pl. V. fig. 28. m’), a continuation of the oviduct, and upon

which impressions of the rings may be often seen to be faintly

traced. Behind, where the annuli cease, the membrane connecting

them is reflected outwards and upwards, and it is an extension of

this fold over the entire ovipositor which constitutes its next por-

tion, or

The sheath, one indeed of the most remarkable structures that

has been as yet met with in Phalangium. It consists of a thin

membrane, thrown into transverse folds, and covered over densely

throughout nearly its entire extent with short, obtuse and conical

spines. Upon viewing it under a low power, this membrane ap-

pears as if crossed by numerous lines, and that, at the points

where the latter intersect each other, small stars or trident-shaped

spines were placed. This, which forms a very beautiful object

under the microscope, seems to be, in part, produced by the di-

vergent shadows from the really simple conical spines cast upon

the membrane beneath, and partly by a curious puckering of the

latter around the base of each spine. But that this appearance,

whatever be its real production, is false, may be determined by

submitting a portion of the sheath to a power of 570 or even 1020

linear, when the structure of the spines may be satisfactorily de-

monstrated to be such as was just stated; more especially if, as

sometimes happens, in placing it between two slips of glass for

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 321

examination, a few of them have become detached from the surface

of the membrane. Another peculiarity of this sheath is its very

high degree of elasticity, as it may be stretched to three times its

natural length without rupture, resuming with a spring its former

position and extent when the tension is removed. When within

the abdomen, the sheath of the ovipositor is seen to be of a black-

ish colour, but this is due to its numerous transverse folds and

the spines upon its surface, since the more it is drawn out the

lighter it becomes, until the true white colour of both membrane

and spines is rendered visible. In the unextruded condition of

the ovipositor the spines are situated. upon the internal surface of

the sheath, lying closely appressed thereon, with their points di-

rected forwards ; but when these parts have been everted, which

is effected in a similar manner to those of the male, they stand

out externally, giving to the outline of the sheath an irregular

surface, very different from that which it had within the abdo-

minal cavity. The spines cease at a little distance from the ter-

mination of the sheath anteriorly, by a somewhat abrupt trans-

verse line, and are continued outwards into two curved and stiff

folds of the membrane upon either side, analogous to the hooks

in the sheath of the penis, their use in both sexes being appa-.

rently to keep the orifice of the sheath open, so as to offer no ob-

struction to the egress of its contained organ. The naked mem-

brane of the antero-inferior part of the sheath is continuous with

an inflection of the sternal lip.

Besides the sheath already described, there is yet another. of a

white colour (Pl. V. fig. 26. ms) which invests it more loosely,

and which is formed by a single layer of ultimate fibrils of large

size, arranged in a parallel and longitudinal manner side by side,

and united so as to constitute a thin muscular tube over the re-

flected portion or true sheath of the ovipositor. Near to the an-

terior termination of the latter organ these fibrils diverge from

their straight course upon either side, and are aggregated to-

gether to form a pair of muscles directed obliquely backwards.

The most posterior, the broader and shorter of the two, is of a

flattened and triangular shape, and attached by its apex to the

sides of the base of the sternal plate; the anterior is long and

narrow, its fibres divergent internally and continuous like those

of the preceding with the sheath, its external extremity being

blended with that of the posterior muscle and attached along with

it. This muscular sheath does not terminate at the posterior end

of the ovipositor by a free margin, but is reflected inwards upon

itself, part of its fibres being obviously continuous with those of

the retractor muscles, while some are probably prolonged onwards

over the oviduct to constitute an external contractile coat. After

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. Z

322 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

repeated examinations of the structure of the above sheath* under

the microscope, and that also already alluded to as investing a

corresponding part of the male organs, I feel convinced of its

muscular texture from having observed that: these longitudinal

fibrils, which are continuous from one end of it to the other, are

composed each of a single row of disc-shaped particles inclosed

within a distinct sheath. Some of these may be seen separated

like beads from each other, but still connected by their sarcolemma;

others lying obliquely upon each other like pieces of money, and

when seen directly from thew edge in apposition, they give rise

to the appearance of the transverse striz.

The retractor muscles of the ovipositor (Pl. V. fig. 26..rm) di-

verge slightly from the base of that organ, to which they are at-

tached, to be inserted into the penultimate dorsal arc, as in the

male.

In addition to the above organs are two long slender cecal

tubes, which lie along the under surface of the muscular sheath

of the ovipositor, and contain im their interior a granular sub-

stance.. They are accompanied each by a delicate tracheal vessel,

which winds spirally round and ramifies upon them, and they

appear to open into the oviduct upon either side where it is en-

tering the ovipositor. From their form and position, these ‘tubes

may perhaps be regarded as analogous to the gluten-secretors of

insects.

A considerable degree of interest is attached to the generative

organs of P. Opilio in both sexes, from its having been first stated

by Geoffroy+, and afterwards by Latreille im his ‘ Hist. Nat. des

Fourm.,’ that this species was merely the female of P. cornutum:

In a memoir contained in that work (sur la génération des Fau-

* Subsequently to receiving the proof sheets of this portion of my paper,

I found that I was in error with regard to one point in the structure of the

muscular sheath of the penis and ovipositor of Phalangium. What I have there

described as ultimate fibrils are narrow and elongated fasciculi, which, by

the pressure to which they have been submitted in placing them between two

slips of glass for examination, have become separated by transverse cleavage

into the disc-shaped bodies alluded to. If however the surface of these be

carefully examined, it is seen to be minutely granular, an appearance pro-

duced by the numerous fibrils they contain, each of which is made up by rows

of primitive particles or sarcous elements of Bowman, splitting in the direc-

tion of the transverse striz. It was owing to my having overlooked this

teria structure of the discs, the 34-inch power of my microscope being

ardly sufficient to define it clearly, that the mistake has arisen, ‘The sar-

colemma invests as a delicate membrane these fasciculi, which in this sheath

of Phalangium, instead of being aggregated together in bundles to form a

solid muscle, as in the legs and bther parts, remain distinct from and in

parallel apposition with each other, so as to form a hollow tube.

t Hist. Abrégée des Insectes, 1762.

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 323

cheurs), the latter author has described at length and in very gra-

phic language the preliminary contests among the males and sub-

sequent copulation between several individuals of P. cornutum and

Opilio. His concluding words are, “ D’autres individus célébrent

aussi lewrs noces en ma présence, et le fait que j’ai avancée ne

sdurait étre contestée.” Treviranus explains these conclusions

of Latreille, to which he was led, in the first place, by having

met, in dissection, with male organs only in P. cornutum. and

female in P. Opilio, by observing that the separate occurrence of

the sexes at certain periods is not uncommon among apterous

insects, and further, that a hybrid union might have been taking

place among the specimens witnessed by that observer. If in-

deed this conjecture be correct, it is not surprising that the ano-

malous fact of several individuals of opposite species, though very

different in outward form, congregated for the purpose of copu-

lation with each other, should have deceived even so accurate

an observer as Latreille. From what little I have observed myself

of these two species, I believe they are essentially distinct from

each other. I have already poimted out the slight modifications

of external form which characterize the sexes of P. Opilio, and.

among the numerous specimens of the latter which I have dis-

sected, have met with a very fair proportion of males to females.

With regard to P. cornutum, which is abundant in pastures and

on the: chalk hills under stones about Dover, I seldom met with

P. Opilio associated with it, this species affecting rather the

whitened walls of outhouses than the open country. Hermann,

Herbst and Hahn, all moreover describe these species as distinct ;

the latter indeed has given drawings of the male and female of

P. cornutum, observing of them, “ beide Geschlechter traf Ich oft

in: Begattung an ;” and of P. Opilio, “Nach Latreille soll diese

_ Art das Weibchen von P. cornutum seyn, allein Ich traf solches

noch niemals mit Jenem in Begattung, wohl aber sehr oft die

beiden'Geschlechter dieser Art mit Brust an Brust gedriickt, und

mit den Fihlftissen sich umklammernd im Begattung an.”

In his description of the position of the bodies of the male and

female during coition, Hahn in the passage just quoted has con-

firmed. the observations made upon this point by Latreille, who

furnishes, however, in addition the following remarkable though

rather indistinct. statement :—“ L’accouplement a lieu et dure

trois & quatre secondes. I] n’en résulte aucune adhésion comme

dans un grand nombre ‘d’insectes. La réunion vient de s’opérer,

et le male ne laisse apercevoir aucune marque caractéristique de

son sexe.””? The inference from this is, that no actual introduec-

tion'of the male organ into the vaginal orifice of the female is

effected ; and certainly, when the position of their bodies is taken

into account, and that the glans of the male, with the opening for

324 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

the exit of the seminal secretion, is turned from instead of towards

the female, and from its mode of articulation with the body of

the penis, cannot be bent in the opposite direction, a mechanical

difficulty is suggested which serves to support the account given

by Latreille. More detailed and careful observations are much

needed upon this subject, as should the generative function be

performed in the manner described above, without true intromis-

sion, what then can be the use of the well-developed condition of

the male organ ?

Nervous System.—In the conditions of their nervous system

the Phalangia conform very closely to the type of structure exhi-

bited by the Anourous Arachnida. Owing to the relative posi-

tion of their oral organs, which, from the absence of a distinct

head, are removed inferiorly upon a level with the cox of the

legs, of which indeed they are but modifications, the anterior or

cephalic (P1.V. fig. 31. cg) mass is placed in front instead of above

the cesophagus, the latter bending obliquely downwards, after

crossing the thoracic ganglion, to reach the above structures. It

consists of two oblong and obtusely conical ganglia of a grayish

white colour, the apices of which are directed forwards, their bases

prolonged into two short crura which connect them to the sides

of the anterior margin of the thoracic ganglion, and leave an el-

liptical opening (*) through which the cesophagus passes. They

are invested together by a loose neurilemma, and give off at least

three distinct nerves. The middle one, of large size, arises by a

common origin, somewhat dilated, and divides about its middle

into two trunks (on), which pass upwards between the anterior

ezeca of the alimentary canal, the muscles of the cheliceree and

maxillary palpi, to expand upon the inferior surface of the central

conjoined pair of eyes. The two others (/o) are much smaller, and

are directed outwards to the lateral eyes.

Conditionated by the amount: of nervous energy required for

setting in motion the long and filiform extremities and sustaining

upon them the weight of the body, the thoracic ganglion (tg) 1s

of great extent, occupying nearly the whole lower surface of the

cephalo-thoracic cavity. It is of a paler colour and firmer tex-

ture than the cephalic, apparently made up by the union of two

or more ganglia, and consists of a transverse portion lying behind

the cesophagus, the anterior and posterior margins of which are

elliptical and well-defined, and of two lateral prolongations ex-

tending forwards and backwards upon either side of the above.

Anteriorly these reach as far as the extremities of the cephalic

ganglia, curve slightly downwards, and give off a nerve from their

apex and one also from their internal margin, while behind they

are very short and obtuse, and furnish each a large trunk to the

posterior pair of legs, three others (cn) being distributed from

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 325

their external border to the remaining extremities. Three branches

arise from the posterior margin of the transverse portion, to sup-

ply the contents of the abdomen. A medio-abdominal nerve (m),

which passes beneath the transverse tracheal vessel, and above the

ovarium and ovisac in the female and seminal vessels in the male,

and divides into two branches (ag’), furnished with pyriform

ganglia of considerable size. Beyond these ganglia the branches

are continued for a short distance, when they unite by a transverse

filament (* *) and subdivide into delicate nervous threads, few in

number, which again communicating, form an open net-work of

nervous fibre, distributed to the ovarium, oviduct and tissue of the

corium. The two external or latero-abdominal nerves divide each

near to their origin into two others, the outermost of which (gq),

very short, presents occasionally two gangliform swellings upon

its course, and gives branches to the generative organs near to

their external opening. The inner pair (ag) pass backwards almost

parallel with the central cord, and provided also with ganglia di-

vide, according to Treviranus, into three filaments which spread

out upon the under surface of the alimentary canal and adjacent

viscera. The thoracic ganglion isin relation in the middle, above

and posteriorly, with the transverse tracheal vessel, laterally with

the main tracheal trunks, and beneath with the termination of the

ovipositor (Pl. V. fig. 33. Z).

It was important to ascertain if, in the structure of the. gan-

glionic centres of the nervous system in Phalangium, there was

any indication of a separation into two distinct tracts, such as have

been described in insects as representing the motor and sensitive

columns from which the spinal nerves arise in the Vertebrata.

- With this view I have examined under the microscope the tho-

racic as well as the abdominal ganglia, and find that in both they

are composed of an aggregation of globules, very distinct in the

first, where they resemble somewhat vesicles of fat, which have

coalesced together so as to form an irregular kind of net-work.

The nervous fibres which pass either to or from these ganglionic

enlargements appear to cease abruptly when they arrive at the

latter, and become, as it were, amalgamated with their structure.

I mention briefly these facts here because they offer additional

evidence, to that which has already been so admirably adduced by

Prof, Owen in his Lectures upon the Crustaceat during the pre-

sent year, of the falsity, or, at least, non-universality, of the above

analogy, as applied to the Articulated animals. The most striking

peculiarity connected with the nervous system of the Phalangia,

is the presence of several large transversely striated muscular

+ Lectures on the Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Inverte-

brate Animals, 1842.

$26 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

fasciculi which radiate from the sides of the thoracic ganglion,

where they are attached by short tendons. Their arrangement is

such, that, according as either one or the other set of fibres act,

they will draw the nervous mass either forwards or backwards,

horizontally, or im the vertical direction. I am not aware that

this voluntary power of moving the nervous centres exists in any

of the other Articulata.

Organs of Sense—With the exception of that of vision, the

precise location of the other organs of sense in Phalangium rests,

for the most part, as in insects, upon conjecture. A very delicate

touch no doubt resides in the extremities of the palpi, and the

slender terminations of the anterior and two hindermost pairs of

legs, while the second pair, longer than the rest, and which the

harvest-spider keeps raised, chiefly in resting, from the surface,

may serve to convey the vibratory impulses of the atmosphere,

and thus apprise it of any coming danger. The form of the che-

liceree, the usually regarded analogues of the antenne, would

seem to ill adapt them for the auditory function. The eyes are

four in number, as stated in the commencement of this paper,

two being situated in the centre of the cephalo-thoracic shield,

and the other pair near to its anterior angles. In the first of

these, the large size, prominence, and elevated position of which,

appear to supply their deficiency in. number as contrasted with

the median ocelli of the Araneida, I have succeeded in tracing

out similar structures to those described by Miller and others as

composing the eye of the scorpion; namely, first of all a layer of

black pigment, retained doubtless in place by a choroid coat, which

is thicker laterally than above and below, and which must sup-

port upon its inner surface the nervous expansion of the retina; .

secondly, a vitreous humour, seen as a convex transparent spot

imbedded in the centre of the pigmentary layer ; and lastly, a mi-

nute, round and compressed crystalline lens formed of concentric

lamine, and apparent in the living animal through the cornea,

which is simply a smooth transparent portion of the general in-

tegument of the body. At fig. 32. om are represented. a pair of

muscles, passing upon each side beneath the middle pair of eyes,

which are united laterally to each other. Their use must surely

be to effect some change of position in the internal humours of.

the eye beneath their immoyeable cornea, and so accommodate

them to the movements of the thoracic ganglion, and through it

the cephalic and optic. nerves, when acted upon by its. powerful

muscles. One fact is deserving of notice, as tending to throw

some light upon this opinion,—that in every specimen of P. Opilio

from which I have removed the cephalo-thoracic plate, the layer

of pigment with the vitreous humour has invariably remained at-

tached to the extremity of the optic nerve, leaving the crystalline

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 327

lens behind the cornea, and thus indicating their great freedom of

connexion, if indeed any exist. The lateral pair of eyes are not

nearly so distinct and prominent as the above, and would appear

to be wanting altogether in certain species, as in a specimen of

P. quadridentatum, I have been unable to perceive the slightest

traces of their existence.

Respiratory System.—The respiratory organs of the Phalangia

consist of two large tracheal trunks (Pl. V. fig. 33.), situated upon

either side of the cephalo-thoracic cavity. They commence from

two stigmata, which open externally between the posterior cox

and under surface of the abdomen, and from thence they pass

‘inwards, forwards and. slightly upwards, converging towards each

other at their anterior termination. In their course are several

slight dilatations, where large branches are given off. From the

oblique position of the posterior coxe, these trunks have to

curve somewhat abruptly round their convexity, and owing to

the narrow space in which the spiracle lies, are compressed and.

‘smaller in calibre at that particular point. Their different rela-

tions from behind forwards are as follows :—As they emerge from

beneath the posterior coxe they pass over a part of the ovarium,

which has been said on a former occasion to dip deeply down

there upon either side, and are then situated for the remainder of

their course upon the inner extremities of the coxal joints resting

partly upon the muscles passing into these open cavities, while near

to their anterior extremities, they overlie the sides and crural

branches of the thoracic ganglion. ‘These trunks are somewhat

remarkable for their large size and short course, and are readily

distinguished from other organs in dissection by their additional

pearly lustre. The best mode of displaying them is to commence

from the dorsal surface of the animal by removing the heart and

all the digestive ‘viscera, and in the female the ovarium and

ovisac.

Further than their principal trunks, Straus-Durckheim*, in

his recent able work, states, “Je n’ai jamais pu m/’assurer de la

forme et de la disposition des trachées dans les Holétres.” Tre-

viranus, however, long since described and figured the respiratory

tubes and their branches, but as this excellent observer has done

so in a very general manner; it enables me, after much patient

re-investigation, to enter into more minute details. The primary

branches, also of considerable size, which proceed from each of

the main trunks, are about fourteen in number, the majority of

which ramify among the viscera of the thorax, while three only

upon either side are distributed to the abdomen. The first of

these abdominal air-tubes (a#) is given off from the internal side

* Traité d’Anat. Comp., Paris 1842.

328 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

of the trunk, just before it opens externally in the stigma, and

passes directly backwards for some distance undivided, and then

ramifies into several branches. The two next branches arise quite

close to each other at a short interval from the former. The most

external runs also backwards for some extent as a single tube and

then bifurcates, each branch resolving itself again into twos and

threes, so as to form a leash of long trachez, nearly of equal size

and parallel to each other. The internal branch divides, not so

far as the others from its point of origin, into smaller tubes, and,

directed more towards the median line, supplies, with them, the

abdominal viscera and generative organs.

The fourth branch (f), issuing from the main trunk at an acute

angle, is remarkable for its size, which is nearly half the width of

that of the latter, and its course, like it, is forwards and in-

wards, but converging more towards its fellow of the opposite

side. After quitting the main trunk it gets beneath its level, and

runs to the posterior margin of the thoracic ganglion, beneath

which it passes, and thére terminates abruptly by a rounded cla-

vate extremity, from which arise three branches. The most pos-

terior of these takes a peculiar direction; it passes transversely

inwards, crossing the medio-abdominal nerve and anterior part

of the sheath of the ovipositor in the female as at fig. 33, and

anastomosing with a similar tube from the opposite side, forms a

very delicate arch just behind the thoracic ganglion. From the

anterior side of this arch (which has been spoken of above as the

transverse tracheal vessel) two long curving and slender tubes

proceed forwards, and are probably continued into the maxillary

palpi. ‘Treviranus has figured and described an azygos tube as

arising between these two and passing forwards, while another

given off opposite takes a backward course. I have been unable

to detect either of these branches, but have met in some specimens

of P. Opilio with two trachez arising, nearly opposite to the an-

terior pair, from the arch and entering the abdominal cavity. The

two other branches given off from this large trunk run beneath

the thoracic ganglion, their terminal ramifications emerging upon

either side the optic, and supplying adjacent organs. The main

trunk of the tracheal system furnishes but one other branch from

its inner aspect which ramifies near to the optic ganglion, and

then gradually diminishes in size to form a terminal tube (¢c),

which is intended to convey air into the interior of the chelicere,

and from the outer side of which several smaller, more or less

parallel. vessels arise. The branches from the outer side of

the main trunk arise in pairs, of which there are four (ct), one

of each passing along the upper surface of muscles in the coxal

joints to supply the legs, while the other goes to the parietes and

viscera of the cephalo-thorax. From the divergent position of the

Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio. 329

two anterior pairs of legs from the two posterior, there is an in-

terval between the two middle pairs of tubes, greater than be-

tween the first and second, or third and fourth pairs. Besides the

tracheal vessels above enumerated, their minute subdivisions are

distributed most extensively throughout the body, some passing

within the body of the penis into the ovipositor, upon either side

of the pharynx between its muscles, around the circumference of

the ovary, and among the seminal ceca, &c.

As regards the structure of the tracheze in Phalangium, I have

been unable to detect the existence of a serous or mucous coat

distinct from their spiral fibre, but as the coils of this must have

some means of connexion, the mucous coat may possibly serve that

purpose, in place of being a simple liming membrane to the tube.

There is an appearance in these vessels similar to what is met

with in the vesicles of insects, and which is due to the presence

of an immense number of round spots, which look at first like

small openings, and are scattered most abundantly, without any

arrangement, over the main trunks, but more sparingly upon the

branches, decreasing as they further subdivide. Examimed under

a power of 500 linear, they are found to consist of two kinds : the

larger have a well-defined margin, are least connected to the spi-

ral fibre, projecting in many instances from its surface, and con-

tain in their interior nuclei, which present a slight hyaline tint.

At the points where they occur the spiral fibre is uninterrupted.

The smaller spots are very minute and dark, and placed between

the coils of fibre, appear like simple nuclei, around which a cell

had not yet been developed. ‘This structure, upon the real na-

ture and use of which it is very difficult to decide, proves, at all

events, that these spots are not partial dilatations of the air-tube,

as has been believed by some writers.

The spiracles are narrow elongated slits, dividing the bottom of

the tegumentary fold between the posterior pair of coxe and the

abdomen. Their posterior margin is inverted to form a triangular,

obtuse, deflexed and horny plate (p), projecting into the abdo-

minal cavity at a pomt corresponding with the origin of the se-

cond and third abdominal trachez. It is unprovided with muscles,

but is freely moveable to and fro upon the thinner integument

that supports it, so that it may be regarded as a kind of passive

valve, serving upon the one hand to strengthen the weakest side

of the spiracular orifice ; on the other, to yield downwards, so as

to admit of the full dilation of the trachea, and again return when

the quantity of air admitted into the latter is diminished. It

may also serve to prevent compression of the air-tube during the

movements of the posterior coxe, and when the body is greatly

distended with ovain the female. The outer margin of this plate

330 Mr. A. Tulk on the Anatomy of Phalangium Opilio.

is the longest, and the ends of the slit prolonged into slight

grooves. :

That direct relation which exists between the development of

the respiratory functions and the activity of an animal may be

well illustrated in the case of the harvest-spider now before us.

“These long leavers,” observes one of our old philosophers*, “as

I may so call them, of the legs, having not the advantage of a

long end on the other side of the hypomochiion or centers on which

the parts of the leggs move, must necessarily require a vast strength

to move them, and keep the body ballane’d and suspended, in so

much, that if we should suppose a man’s body suspended by such

a contrivance, an hundred and fifty times the strength of a man

would not keep the body from fallmg on the breast.” Hence is

understood the reason for the large size and dilated character of

the tracheal vessels, their principal distribution within the cephalo-

thorax, whereunto the locomotive organs and their powerful mus-

cles are attached, while two or three tubes alone supply with air

the abdomen, in the imperfectly constructed segments of which,

little, if any, mobility can exist. In this latter respect insects

offer indeed a striking contrast to the Phalangia.

In concluding these details relative to the anatomy of the Pha-

langia, it might be expected that I should offer some remarks

upon the rank and position which they hold among other groups

of the Arachnida; but to do so would, I conceive, be to venture

upon deductions, to which in the present imperfect state of our

knowledge upon the structure of these animals in general, and

more especially of the Trachearia, the naturalist is scarcely ca-

pable of arriving. For what, it may be asked, is as yet known,

or at least, definitively, of the conditions of the internal organs in

Galeodes, Chelifer, Pycnogonum,.and the numerous tribe of Acari ?

Such considerations, while they suggest to others very interesting

points of inquiry, will obviously constram me for the present to

the enunciation of facts alone.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE V.

Fig. 26. Female generative organs seen from below, the natural relation of

the parts having been slightly disturbed; or, the extremity of the

ovipositor projecting from its true sheath of a black colour, and

which is surrounded by the muscular sheath ms; ng, ng, abdo-

minal nervous ganglia; f, fatty mass or liver; 3, 4, coxze of pos-

terior pairs of legs; D, appendages to second coxal joints.

Fig. 27. The ovarium and ovisac from above, the latter greatly distended

with ova; ov, the oviduct; o', detached ova surrounded by their

vitelline capsules. ;

Fig. 28. The ovipositor detached from its sheath ; twenty only of the annuli

* Hooke’s Micrographia, 1665, obs. 47, of the Shepherd-Spider.

Prof. Owen on a new species of Seal. 331

are represented ; m!, lining membrane bearing impressions of the

rings.

Fig. 29. A more highly magnified view of the extremity of the ovipositor ;

- @, the rings.

Fig. 30. A female P. Opilio, with the ovipositor and its sheath extruded

from the abdominal cavity.

Fig. 31. The nervous system dissected out and detached from the body. At

the point where the branches from the abdominal ganglia commu-

nicate, the nervous fibre is observed to be thickened.

Fig. 82. Muscles of the middle conjoined pair of eyes.

fig. 33., Respiratory system—the integument has been removed from the

dorsal aspect to expose the trachez ; ms, muscular sheath of ovi-

positor, part of which is torn away to expose the true sheath be-

neath it ; ag, ag’, nervous ganglia; rm, retractor muscles ; 0 2, ovi-

duct; ch, basal joints of chelicere ; mp, maxillary palpi; 1, 2, 3,

4, coxal joints. The transverse part (¢) of the thoracic ganglion

and the cephalic, giving off the optic nerve, 0, are also seen in

their relations to the tracheal trunks on the left side of the figure ;

the second and third abdominal tracheze have been broken off,

leaving openings in the main tubes corresponding with their points

of origin. :

XLI.—WNotice of a new species of Seal (Stenorhynchus serridens).

By Prof. Owrn, F.R.S.

In the small and very peculiar group of Seals characterized by

the subcompressed and deep-cleft crowns of the molar teeth and

by the diminutive claws, two species only have been recorded.

The one (Phoca leptonyx, Blainville) is the type of the genus

Stenorhynchus, ¥.Cuv.; the other, the sea-leopard of Weddell (Ste-

norhynchus Weddellii, Lesson, ‘Manuel de Mammalogie,’ 12mo,

1827, p.200), has been described by Drs. Jamieson and Hamilton

(Naturalist’s Library, ‘ Marine Amphibia’), and distinguished

from the Stenorhynchus leptonyx, F. Cuv., by the more obtuse

tricuspid molars and the absence (?) of claws on the hind-fins, as

well as by the spotted hide. | vy

The skeleton of a seal “from a high latitude in the Australian

seas,” transmitted to the Collegeof Surgeons by Dr. M‘Cormick,

surgeon to H.M.S. Terror, shows a modification of the molar

teeth, which would give it a, better claim to. subgeneric distinc-

tion than the Sten. Weddellit has been supposed to possess*.. The

three anterior molars on each side of both jaws are four-lobed,

two smaller lobes being situated behind the principal lobe, and

one in front of it; the remainmg molars—two on each side of

both jaws—are five-lobed, the principal lobe having one smaller

lobe in front and three behind it. The lobes are separated by

nearly as deep notches as in the Stenorhynchus leptonyx, but their

summits are obtuse.

* The Sten, Weddellii is the type of the subgenus Leptonyx of My. Gray.

332 Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax.

The skin having been left upon the toes of the hind-fins,

showed the presence of a very small claw on each of the five

digits.

I do not consider the modifications of the compressed and

deep-cleft molars of sufficient importance to justify the introduc-

tion of a new generic name into the group of amphibious or pin-

nigrade Carnivora, which has already been overburthened. The

new species of Stenorhynchus, combining a small head and mode-

rately elongated muzzle, with the peculiarly diminutive claws of

the genus, renders requisite, however, a slight modification of the

generic character.

Genus STENORHYNCHUS.

Dental formula :—inc. 2—?; lan. ‘=; mol. 2° = 32.

2—2 1—1 5—5

Molars subcompressed, deeply notched into three or more lobes ; an-

terior molars with one root, the rest with two roots*.

Head small; muzzle more or less elongated.

Claws diminutive.

Sp. 1. Stenorhynchus leptonyxr, F. Cuv. Molars trilobate, lobes

acute ; muzzle slender and elongated.

Sp. 2. Stenorhynchus Weddellii, Lesson. Molars trilobate, lobes ob-

tuse ; muzzle broad and less elongated.

Sp. 3. Stenorhynchus serridens, mihi. Molars, three anterior ones

4-lobate, two posterior ones 5-lobate in both jaws, lobes obtuse ;

muzzle moderately long and slender.

All the species are limited to the Southern Ocean.

XLII.—On the Species of the Genus Limax occurring in Ireland.

By the Rev. B. J. CLarxn, Mem. of the Dub. Nat. Hist. Soe.

[ With three Plates. |

Dvurine the summer of the year 1840 I supplied Wm. Thompson,

Esq., of Belfast, with a list of the species of Limazx which occurred

to me in the Queen’s county, for the purpose of introducing them

into his ‘ Catalogue of Irish Land and Freshwater Mollusca,’ pub-

lished in the thirty-sixth Number of the ‘ Annals and Magazine

of Natural History,’ and where it appeared as an appendix to his

paper. From the limited time allowed me previous to the pub-

lication, I had not an opportunity of satisfying myself as to the

identity of two species there introduced in a doubtful manner,

and which I believed differed materially from any species hitherto

described as British. :

* The translator of Cuvier’s ‘ Régne Animal,’ Orr’s ed. 1 vol. 8vo, 1840, |

adds, erroneously, to the generic character of Stenorhynchus in the text of

the author, “ (but with single roots),” p. 98.

Ann. & Mag, Mel Hist. VAM PLX

Drawn by the Rev® BT Viarke LPnugraved. by AL Aikina7e.

Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax. 333

Having since that period had abundant opportunities of veri-

fying my former observations, and being fortified by the opinion

of naturalists who are more experienced in detecting specific di-

stinctions, I venture now with every confidence to bring them

forward as new to the British catalogue. My object in once again

noticing the other British species, already known and described,

is in order to introduce the new additions in their proper places,

and thus afford a greater facility for determining the value of

their specific distinctions by comparison.

It is not my intention to include the genus Arion in the pre-

sent communication, as I feel that there are many points, con-

nected with the two species* already described as British, which

would require much more attention than I have as yet been en-

abled to bestow upon them.

In the following catalogue I have adopted the divisional or

sectional arrangement made use of by Mr. Gray in his edition of

‘Turton’s Manual,’ but with considerable modifications, rendered

necessary in order to include the two new Irish species.

Order PREUMONOBRANCHIATA.

Fam. Heticipa.

- Genus Limax.

End of tail tapering and destitute of any gland; the pulmo-

nary cavity in front of the body, respiratory hole toward the

hinder part of its edge or behind the middle ; mantle shield-like,

entirely inclosing the shell, which is flat, oval or oblong, without

any visible spire. Infra-cesophageal ganglion having two fissures

on the under side, presenting on each side of the medial line three

gangliform eminences.

* Mantle produced behind, marked with concentric strie ; tail partially

keeled ; shell flat.

1. Limaz maximus, Linn. (Pl. X. fig. 1, 2.)

L. maculatus, Leach.

L. cinereus, Miiller.

L. antiquorum, Férussac.

«‘ L. Cinereus, maculatus et immaculatus, clypeo brevi, corpore stri-

ato aut rugoso, apertura laterali subpostica.”— Draparnaud.

This well-known species appears to be universally distributed

over Ireland. The varieties as they occur in Ireland are as fol-

lows :—

Var. a. Drap.

Var. 3. Férus. “ Cinereus immaculatus.” Co. Galway, B. J.C.

* Arion hortensis and A. ater.

334 Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax.

Var. 6. Drap. | ‘‘ Cinereus, clypeo dorsoq. maculis nigris.” Co.

Var. Z. Férus. Cork, R. Ball, Esq.

Var. y. Drap. | ‘‘ Clypeo maculis, dorso fasciis nigris.” Queen’s

Var. v. Férus. co. and co. Galway, &c., B. J.C. Pl. X. fig. 1.

Var. Nilsson’s ? | “‘ Niger, albam carinam.” Co. Cork, R. Ball, Esq.;

Cinereo-niger. Queen’s co., B. J.C. Pl. X. fig. 2.

This latter variety, of which I have given a figure (PI. X. fig.2.),

is very remarkable. The middle band of the foot and the dorsal

keel are white, the rest of the animal shining black, with a few

occasional lighter blotches.

The variety which is of most usual occurrence in Ireland is

that of var. v, Férussac. (Pl. X. fig. 1.)

The internal shell (Pl. X. fig. a.) is well described by Dr.

_ Turton.

2. Limaz arboreus ? M. Bouchard Chantreux, Cat. des Moll. terres. et

fluv. du Pas de Calais.

L. glaucus, mihi. (Pl. XI. figs. 4 to 10.)

ZL. Albus flavescens, glauco variegatus, clypeo dorsoque duabus

fasciis nigricantibus, tentaculis obscuris.—Clarke.

Hab. On trees which are covered with moss, particularly ash and

beech.

This species I at first dubiously referred to the Limax flavescens

of Férussac in my former communication to Mr. Thompson (see

‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.’ vol. vi. p. 204), previous to my

seeing M. Bouchard’s memoir. I there remarked that this Limaz,

of whose identity I was then doubtful, “ might perhaps be referred

to L. arboreus, on account of its possessmg certain characters

and habits, differmg from what is contained in any description of

L. variegatus or its varieties; I consequently compared my spe-

cimens carefully with M. Bouchard’s memoir—an opportunity of

doing which was afforded me through the kindness of Messrs.

Gray and Thompson—and I was much gratified to find a perfect

agreement in the specific characters as well as in the peculiar

habits of the animal.” Subsequent observation has not altered.

my opinion as to its identity with this species, but not having

seen either a drawing or specimen, I am still under the necessity

of referring it to Limaz arboreus with a mark of doubt attached.

Should the species be found eventually to be distinct from L. ar-

boreus of Bouchard, I have suggested the name of Limax glau-

cus as descriptive of its very peculiar hue.

I shall now give a more detailed description of the species.

Animal of a gelatinous translucency; colour smooth, bluish

gray (“ bleu glauque’’) or neutral tint colour. Back marked with

a whitish band, which commences immediately behind the shield,

where it is broadest, and gradually diminishes in width until it

Ann. & Mag Nii Host. Vol.M.P1XI.

Engraved by AT Atkmarv

Drawn by the Rev® BJ. Clarke.

Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax. 335

meets in a point at the extremity of the tail, which is sensibly

keeled. This light dorsal band is bounded on either side by a

dark gray coloured fascia, often irregular and interrupted, be-

neath which the sides are variously mottled or marbled with dark

gray, marked more or less with little pale oval spots, which some-

times separate off another but very irregular fascia. This latter

character is not however often apparent. The lower part of the

sides pale whitish or yellowish.

The mantle is rounded anteriorly, and tapers off to a blunt

point posteriorly; it is finely and concentrically striated, and

marked on either side with a narrow dark-coloured fascia, which

is broadest, and usually darkest, immediately over the pulmonary

orifice, and narrows off towards the head; each fascia is again

narrowly margined with pale yellowish:or whitish, the intervening

spaces on the back and sides irregularly mottled and marbled

with the same dark colour as the fasciex. The pulmonary orifice

is situated toward the hinder extremity of the mantle, small,

round, and arched over by the dark lateral fascia, which passes in

a circular form above it.

The head and tentacles are grayish with a slight vinous tinge ;

on each side of the former the blue retractile nerve is seen through

the translucent medium of the neck. The upper tentacles are long

in proportion to the lower ones. The sole of the foot is whitish,

the central band somewhat narrower than the side ones, and re-

markably translucent.

The internal shell (P\. X. fig..b.) is of an. oval form, thin and

slightly concave, marked with circular lines as in Limacella parma.

When just removed from the animal they are translucent, of a

membranaceous consistency, but on exposure to the air begome of

a more opake white with a silvery lustre above. The marginal

membrane is well-defined, and being broadest towards the 4nterior

portion, gives to that part of the shell an appearance of greater

width, and is narrowed off towards the apophysis of adhesion.

The young (Pl. XI. figs. 9, 10.) are vinous-coloured; the

fascize in general are more decidedly marked and better defined

than in the adults.

This Limaz is subject to much variety in the markings, both

as to quantity and intensity, but scarcely ever varies in colour ;

sometimes the light dorsal band is obliterated and the body is of

a uniform blue-gray colour, sparingly and. irregularly marked

with streaks of a darker gray. Not unfrequently the animal is of

a uniform glaucous colour without any markings, the situation of

the light dorsal band being marked out by a few scattered, oval,

whitish spots. :

I shall now point out a few of the diagnostic characters by

which it is distinguishable from all other British species of Li-

336 Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax.

max. It agrees with Limazx cinereus in having the hinder ex-

tremity of the mantle produced, but in almost every other respect

it will be found to differ materially. First, it is much smaller

in size, never attaining that of full-grown specimens of L. maz-

imus. Secondly, in colour it likewise differs, possessing the pecu-

liar smooth blue glaucous colour and gelatine translucency which.

in all its stages and varieties serve to pomt it out. By the

markings on the mantle it is also easily distinguishable from L.

maximus, as the two fascize are almost always more or less appa-

rent, and which I have never seen in any of the varieties of L.

maximus. Thirdly, the keel is much shorter, and does not exhibit

that crenated edge which is so conspicuous in L. maximus.

To Limax flavus it more nearly approaches in size and general

contour, but is somewhat smaller and of a more slender form ; it

may be however at once distinguished by the form of the termi-

nation of the mantle, which, instead of bemg rounded, as in L.

flavus, is produced and tapers off to a blunt point : this feature

is more apparent when the animal crawls than when it is at rest.

In colour and markings it is so widely distinct that I need hardly

notice them ; the presence of fasciz and its own peculiar glaucous

tint will generally serve to distinguish it ; and however nearly it

may approach to any of the varieties of Limax maximus or L. fla-

vus in the markings of the body, there will always remain, even in

the palest specimens, sufficient traces of the fascize on the mantle

to mark the species. |

The mucus of L. arboreus is colourless, whereas that of L. fla-

vus is yellow when thrown into hot water.

M. Bouchard’s description of the habits of this Limax—should

it prove to be identical with his—agrees in a great measure with

my own observations. He observes :—“ They live on trees, but

prefer those which are old, covered with moss, and of which part

of the wood is rotten; when the weather is cloudy or rainy, they

are seen crawling upon the trunks or branches.” When seen in

this position against the light, they present a very interesting and

curious appearance on account of their great translucency, which

permits their internal organization to be indistinctly traced.

“ The mucus of this slug is colourless and very abundant ; the

animal possesses the remarkable property of emitting a clear cold

liquid like the purest water when touched.” I find this is only

to be observed when the animal is first taken in the hand from

off the tree, and loses the power of repeating it when kept in con-

finement. I have attentively watched this phenomenon, and

have observed that the liquid is given off from the hinder part

of the shield. ‘“ They feed themselves with the detritus of the

decayed wood and do not touch the leaves, at least of those trees

which I have carefully examined, and never found a leaf either

. ‘ xs ae 8 . : " ; A we

sa : 5 er ots * od

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Aan. & Mag, Viet Zest Vol. PIX.

Drawn

by the Revé PB. J. darke.

Eugraved by AL Athair

Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax. 337

cut or eaten, and on which trees they were very common.” My

own observations would lead me to dissent from the conclusion

here come to by M. Bouchard, as I have frequently observed

them on young and healthy beech trees which did not exhibit the

least appearance of decay, and where they concealed themselves

during the daytime in those natural crevices peculiar to the bark

of the beech. I have observed them also in moist weather as-

cending to, or descending from the top branches, to which the

foliage was confined. Though found under the moss on the

trunks of trees, their being there is only, as I conceive, for the

purpose of concealment, not for that of procuring food.

“ This slug,” continues M. Bouchard, “ multiplies very slowly ;

it lays twenty or thirty eggs under the bark, or in the holes of

old trees, between the months of September and December; their

eggs are isolated, oval, rounded at the extremity, and hatched to-

ward the twenty-fifth day from their being laid. The young are

full-grown toward the end of the first year; they are then from

9 to 10 centimetres* in length, 10 millimetres} in height, 8 to

10 millimetres in breadth, and their foot from 5 to 6 millimetres

in width.”

I have seldom found this slug elsewhere than on trees, or

where there was no moss on the stems, under stones lying near

the roots; a singular exception to this, their general habit, oc-

curred to me during the present summer in Connemara, where,

in an old ruinous chapel near Renvyle, far apart from any tree,

I found this slug crawling about among the tombstones within

the walls in considerable numbers.

This species is by no means uncommon in Ireland, and appears

to be, as far as my observations extend, widely distributed over

the island. 1 feel confident that when the attention of natural-

ists is once drawn to the species, it will be found generally

throughout the wooded parts of Great Britain and Ireland.

Mr. Thompson of Belfast informs me, on sending him living

specimens, that it has occurred to him in the north of Ireland,

and he has seen it in numbers on the stems of trees after rain,

but has hitherto looked upon it as a variety of L. flavus.

Mr. Alder of Newcastle, to whom I sent a drawing of the ani-

mal, observes in reply, that “he thinks he has observed a slug

very like it in some parts of the country, and which he took for

a variety of L. cinereus.” :

The localities in which I have met with it are as follows :—

Queen’s county, Spire Hill Wood and Emo Park :—Co. Galway,

Monivea Wood, woods near Dunmore, Tuam Palace demesne,

at Renvyle in the ruins of a chapel. The Dunmore specimens

* = 0:393 inch. + = 0°039 inch.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. 2A

338 Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax.

were subject to more variety in their markimgs than I have else-

where seen them.

** Mantle rounded behind, marked with concentric strie ; end of tail

keeled ; shell flat.

be Limax flavus, Draparnaud. (Pl. XI. figs. 11, 12.)

L. variegatus, Férussac.

L. ‘‘ Lutescens, fusco maculatus, tentaculis ceruleis.”—Drap.

Hab. Cellars and damp ground-floors ; sometimes, but rarely, on

trees.

This species may be easily distinguished by its azure-blue ten-

tacles, the mantle being always mottled with yellow, the body

more or less covered with little oval yellowish spots, and the sides

pale yellowish. The yellow spots vary considerably in different

individuals, but the figures which I have given represent the

usual forms which have occurred to me in Ireland. I have oeca-

sionally observed this slug in the hollows of old trees, upon the

leaves of which it feeds. This species is not uncommon in Ire-

_land, although nowhere plentiful. It is no doubt the slug which

Miss Ball alludes to as finding its way into pantries and eating

“holes in bread. I have supplied them with bread when kept in

_ confinement, and they eat it voraciously.

** * Mantle truncated behind, marked with concentric strie ; end of

tail keeled ; shell flat.

1. Limaz agrestis, Linn. (Pl. XII. f. 13.)

L. filans (young), Hoy.

Limacellus obliquus (shell), Turton. (Pl. X. fig. d.)

EL. ‘ Albidus maculatus et immaculatus, corpore subrugoso, aper-

tura laterali postica.”—Drap.

Var. a. ‘‘ Albidus, immaculatus.”—Drap.

Var. 3. ‘ Albidus, atomis nigris sparsis.”—Drap.

Var. y. ‘‘ Albidus, clypeo flavescenti.”—Drap.

Hab. Fields and gardens : common.

Of this abundant little species I have noticed all the varieties

described by Draparnaud. There is a curious dik variety which

has occurred to me not unfrequently ; it is of a uniform dark pur;

plish or slate colour, usually found in company with the ot

varieties. J

* * * * Mantle truncated behind, granulated or shagreened ; entir

length of back keeled from the shield or mantle ; shell convea.

1. Limax Sowerbii (Pl. XII. figs. 14, 15.), Férus. Hist. Moll. t. 8 D.

f.7; Alder, Mag. Zool. and Bot. ii. 105.

Lime: carinatus, Alder, Mag. Zool. and Bot. ii. 105 ; Leach, Moll.

73. t. 8. f.1; Gray, Turt. Man. ed. p. 116.

Rev. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax. 339

ZL. ‘‘ Lutescens fusco-tesseratus, capite granuloso, sulco marginali,

carina dorsali succinea, valde notata lateribus pallidis.”—Férussac.

Hab. Circular Road near Phoenix Park, co. Dublin, R. Ball, Esq.

Specimens of this Limaz have been obligingly forwarded to me

by Mr. Ball of Dublin, as taken by him on the Circular Road in

ditches. They agree well with Férussac’s description and figures,

and also with the diagnostic characters as given by Mr. Gray in

his edition of Turton’s ‘Manual’ “ Keeled slug, yellowish tes-

sellated with brown ; head and tentacles black ; mantle granulous

and with a furrow near its margin, the ridge or keel of the back

very obvious and of an amber colour ; the sides pale ; shell (Pl. X.

fig. e.) oval, often thickened, and very convex beneath.” +

This species is doubtless the L: carinatus of Leach. Mr. Alder

has separated it from the L. Sowerbii of Férussac in his catalogue,

but he informs me he did so “ merely because they were already

recorded species which he had not an opportunity of investiga-

ting.” Mr. Alder has kindly favoured me with the examination

of a shell of the only keeled slug which has occurred to him as

found near Bristol, and which I consider to have belonged to a.

young individual of L. Sowerbii. oo

2. Limax Gagates, Drap. t.9. figs. 1, 2. |

Limax Gagates, Férus. Hist. Moll. pp. 75 & 76. t. 6. figs. 1, 2.

Limaz. ‘‘ Niger nitidus, corpore striato subrugoso, dorso carinato.”

—Drap.

Var. 3. Férussac. ‘‘ Plumbeus vel griseo-niger.’’—Pl. XII. figs. 16,

17 Sh.

Var. y. Clarke. Fuscus, lateribus pallidis.—Pl. XII. set 18,19, 20.

Hab. Fields, gardens and meadows, Ireland.

I feel great pleasure m being able to record the occurrence in

Ireland of this interesting mollusk, which has hitherto been un-

known as a Griti

The Irish/specimens are mostly referable to var. 8. Férussac.

Animal of ¢ fine deep blue-black or lead colour; sides pale gray-

ish ; tentacles dark gray ; sole of the foot whitish.

The va ety y. is not unfrequently found with the above ; they

are yellowish brown clouded with gray, the keel often narrowly

margined with yellow, and the sides of the mantle yellowish.

Within the present month (September) I have taken specimens

at Tourmakady Lodge, on the borders of Lough Mask, which

approach closer to Draparnaud’s description than any I have

hitherto observed ; they were of a deep black colour, the sides

paler, and exhibiting that _ eon tinge of which the latter au-

thor makes mention.

The mantle of this species is truncated behind, granulated or

2A2.

340 Rey. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax.

shagreened, marked with an elevated ridge which circumscribes

it and meets in a point over the pulmonary orifice, causing the

upper part of the mantle to appear more prominent than the

sides. ;

The back is sharply keeled in its entire length from the mantle,

the keel projecting above the mantle when the animal is at rest

and forming a crenated ridge. The longitudinal sulci or mark-

ings of the skin well-defined and divergent toward the tail; the

transverse sulci inconspicuous: the intervening spaces, being finely

granulated and not very apparent to the naked eye, give to the

animal that smooth, shining appearance, which, coupled with its

deep colour, has suggested the name of “ Jayet.’” A double

marginal furrow runs round the edge of the foot, which is very

conspicuous when in a state of contraction. The central band of

the foot is broader than the side ones. |

The internal shell (Pl. X. fig. f.) is small, of an elongated form,

oval, thick, and irregularly convex beneath, with a crystalline ap-

pearance. In some of the varieties the shell is often flat beneath

and on the top presents a double appearance, or as if a smaller-

sized shell were placed on the top and centre of a larger, leaving

a broad marginal zone, which is often rufous coloured toward the

apex (Pl. X. fig. g.). In some specimens the crystalline struc-

ture of the convex side assumes the appearance of the facets of

erystals. |

In the Queen’s county, where I first observed this species, var.

y. is of by far the most common occurrence, which led me at first

to believe them not to be identical with L. Gagates of Drapar-

naud, and consequently when I first noticed it under the name

of “ L. carinatus’ (Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist. No. 36. p. 205)»

I was unable to speak with any degree of confidence as to the spe-

cies. However, I have since obtained, abundantly, in the neigh-

bourhood of Tuam and also near Lough Mask, the specimens

from which the present description and some of the figures

(figs. 16 and 17.) are taken, which so well agree with Drapar-

naud’s and Férussac’s diagnostic characters. And I have the

further satisfaction of being fortified in my opinion by that of

Mr. Thompson, to whom I sent specimens for examination, who,

with his usual discrimination and caution, has pronounced them

to be identical with L. Gagates of Draparnaud. Férussac, in de~

scribing his var. 8, “Plumbeus vel griseo-niger,” remarks : “Nous

avons observé que la variété qui nous a été envoyée le 24 Avril

de la Rochelle par M. D’Orbigny, et qui a la couleur prés nous

a offert tous les caractéres du L. Gagates de Draparnaud, ce qui

nous porte & la considérer comme une simple variété de cette

espéce.”

This Limaz is found rather abundantly in gardens around

Rey. B. J. Clarke on Irish species of the genus Limax. 341

Tuam, where it frequents the thickest herbage and tufted plants.

It proved very destructive this year, along with L. agrestis and

Arion hortensis, to crops of young garden plants, especially

onions, but it is by no means so plentiful a species as the two

last named.

In conclusion I shall point out a few of the more striking pe-

culiarities by which it may be distinguished from Limaaz Sowerbit,

the only British species which will bear comparison with it. In

the shape of the shield and in the contmuous dorsal ridge it is

very similar ; the latter however is much sharper in L. Gagates,

and forms a much more prominent keel when the animal is at

rest. The tissue of the skin, instead of presenting the tessellated

and rugose appearance of L. Sowerbit, is disposed in longitudinal

furrows branching off into veins, not unlike the nervures of a leaf.

The tentacles are gray instead of black as in L. Sowerbii, and the

entire animal is of a more uniform colour.

Mr. Alder of Newcastle informs me that the internal shell, of

which I sent him specimens, differs from any he had before.

The localities in which I have taken it are as follows :—

La Bergerie, Queen’s co. ; Tuam Palace Gardens, co. Galway ;

Tourmakady Lodge, near Ballinrobe, co. Mayo : in this last-men-

tioned locality they were very characteristic specimens and parti-

cularly abundant. “a

Norse.—Limaz brunneus, Drap. ~

This species has not as yet occurred to me in Ireland, nor am

I at present aware of its being noticed by others in this country.

M. Bouchard Chantreux thinks that the young of Limaz ar-

boreus is “what Hoy, Shaw and Latham have named ‘ Limax

filans, as he has seen them descending from branch to branch

by means of a mucous thread which they spin.”

This conclusion is evidently come to on the supposition that

the property of so spinning is confined to one specres ; whereas

it may be seen from my observations on this point, ‘Ann. and

Mag. of Nat. Hist.’ Vol. vi. p. 206, that many other species are

capable of doing so; in fact, the young of all our British species

have the power of making use of this mode of progression until

they attain to that size when the weight of their bodies becomes

too great for such a fragile thread. I have frequently seen some

of the larger species make the attempt when compelled to do so,

but invariably fall helplessly to the ground the moment the tail

approached near the edge of the leaf or branch from which they

had allowed themselves to slide.

I have succeeded in making the following species spin a thread

of slime :—

Limazx arboreus, young only ; L. Sowerbii, young ; L. agrestis,

34:2 Mr. A. White’s Descriptions of new species

both young and adults ; Arion hortensis, young and adults ; Arion

, ater, young only. From this it may be seen that the genus Arion

_ as well as Limaz possesses the property.—B. J. C.

*~~ Tuam, Sept. 30, 1843.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

Puate X.

. Limax maximus, var. y. Drap.

Do. do. Nilsson’s “ Cinereo-niger.”

Tooth or cutting plate of Z. maximus, magnified and nat. size,

. Internal shell of L. maximus.

Do. do. JL. arboreus.

Do. do. LL. flavus.

; do. JL. agrestis.

Do. do. L. Sowerbii.

Do. do. JL. Gagates.

Do. do. variety L. Gagates.

Ma Lhd de

SRS NS SS ONS

eo)

9,10. L. arboreus, young.

hk: flavus.

12. Do. do. back view.

Puate XII.

“ Piate XI.

Fig. 4. Limax arboreus.

— 5. Do. do. resting position.

— 6. L, arboreus, variety.

— 7. Do. do. _ resting position.

— 8. L. arboreus, variety.

13. Limax agrestis.

. L. Sowerbii.

15. Do. do. resting position.

16. L. Gagates.

17. Do. do.

18. Do. do. variety.

19, 20. Do. do. resting.

21. Do. do. var. 6. Férussac.

22. L. Gagates, young.

Sees e oa.

—

XLIII.—Deseriptions of apparently new species and varieties of

Insects and other Annulosa, principally from the collection in the

British Museum. By Apam Wuits, M.E.SS. Lond. and Paris,

Assistant Zoological Department, British Museum.

INSECTA.

CoLEOPTERA.

BuPpRESTIDA.

1. Chrysochroa (Catoxantha, Dej.) opulenta var. purpurea, White. C.

purpurea, elytris post mediam flava fascia transversa, meso- et

meta-thoracibus subtus purpureo et viridi micantibus. Long.

unc. 1#—2.

Hab. Philippine Islands (Cuming) : Brit. Mus.

This differs from the Chrysochroa opulenta, Gory, in the meso-

of Insects and other Annulosa. 343

and meta-thoraces beneath being of a metallic purple like the

under-side of the prothorax, and in the segments of the abdomen

having a black mark on each side at the base; the upper surface —

is purple instead of green; it may however eventually be found...

to be merely a local variety of the opulenta. I have only seen two —

specimens.

2. Chrysochroa prelonga, White. C. cerulescenti-viridis, elongata,

elytris subsulcatis, apice rude serratis, thorace sulco mediano cex-

ruleo, Long. unc. I, lin. 1O—11.

Hab. Philippine Islands (Cuming) : Brit. Mus.

A species near C. ignita and fulminans ; it is of a bright me-

tallic green, changing to blue in some lights, especially on the

margins of the elytra. Thorax grooved down the middle, the

grooved furrow and (concealed) scutellum of a fine deep blue.

Elytra much elongated, strongly serrated at the apex and cop-

pery. Abdomen beneath coppery, the last two segments more

intensely so.

3. Chrysochroa sublineata, White. C. viridis, subdepressa, elytris

margine laterali cupreo, basi levibus ante mediam, lineis tribus

subelevatis longitudinalibus, basi obsoletis. Long. unc. 1, lin. 5.

Hab. N. Bengal. Brit. Mus.

This may prove a variety of C. unidentata. Hach of the elytra

has a short spine at the end, and three longitudinal raised lines

not reaching the margin and obsolete towards the base, which is

very smooth ; the elytra are minutely punctured ; the lateral mar-

gins are of a bright coppery hue; the thorax is roughly and ~

coarsely punctured, and has a longitudinal, smooth, reddish dorsal

line not reaching the posterior margin.

4. Chrysochroa ocellata (var. ephippigera), White. Long. unc. 1,

lin. 6.

In the British Museum there is a much-injured specimen of

this variety, which might probably be regarded as a species by

Messrs. Laporte and Gory. It is not far removed from the C.

- Edvardsii, Hope, ‘ Linn. Trans.’ vol. xix. The under-side is far

more coppery than im two specimens of oce//ata in the Museum

collection, the deep purplish-blue line down the middle of the

thorax is wider, and the margins are of a very deep coppery red,

which colour occupies all the rest of the prothoracic back, except-

ing a narrow line of green which separates the blue from the cop-

pery, and a narrow margin of green in front; the coppery red

patches at the base and apex of each elytron are larger also and

. nore intense; the yellow patch runs right across both elytra, and

is pointed behind, very obtusely angled in front, the edge of the

yellow being separated from the lateral margin by a narrow

344, Mr. A. White’s Descriptions of new species

bluish-black line ; this yellow “saddle” is margined with black,

especially in front and behind ; the tibiz are greenish.

' 5. Stigmodera funerea, White. S. subcupraceo- -nigra, elytris fasciis

4, ochraceo-flavis, lateribus flavo connexo jugatis. Long. unc. 1,

lin. 3.

Hab. Australia, King Geo. Sound (Capt. Geo. Grey). Brit. Mus.

This species comes close to S. variabilis and Kingii: it has

striated deep black elytra, with four transverse ochrey yellow

bands connected in pairs at the sides. The thorax, legs, and

under parts are of a uniform deep shining black ; the thorax be-

low is covered with cinereous hairs.

6. Stigmodera conspicillata, White. S. testacea fasciis viridibus,

thorace convexo, antice angustato viridi macula laterali flaves-

cente. Long. lin. 11—15.

Hab. Australia (Swan River). Brit. Mus.: Dr. Richardson, F.R.S.

Elytra striated, of a testaceous yellow colour, with two violet-

green transverse bands, the anterior not reaching the outer mar-

gin, second reaching the outer margin, and connected by a nar-

row line of the same colour with a large violet-green spot on the

apex ; the base is narrowly margined with green. Thorax very

convex and small, narrowed in front, above green, with a yellow-

ish spot on each side ; sides beneath yellow, the yellow reaching

the margin above in front and connected behind with the yellow

spot. Body beneath yellow. Head, scutellum, legs, segments of

abdomen behind and at the base edged with green, which is

macular on the sides.

In one specimen (a smaller variety) the elytra are yellow, and

have only the narrow green margin at the base and the large

violet-blue spot on the apex.

LEPIDOPTERA.

BomBycipa.

7. Saturnia Helena, White, n. sp. S. ochraceo-fulva ; alis superis

apice subrosaceis, macula nigra postica, alis ambobus linea trans-

versa (post mediam currente) triseriatim colorata, ocello paululum

fenestrato ochraceo-rufo, lunula subczerulea nigroque annulato ;

corpore subtus, capite, antennis pedibusque subaurantiacis, tarsis

nigro-annulatis. Exp. alar. 2 unc. 6—64; ¢ 5}.

Hab. Australia. Brit. Mus. Hardw. Bequest and J. Hunter, Esq.

In shape and general appearance not far removed from the

Saturnia Paphia (L.), Mylitta (Drury), the well-known Tusseh

silk-moth, whose history is given by Dr. Roxburgh in the ‘ Lin-

nan Transactions.’

8. Saturnia Janetta, White, n. sp. S. ochraceo-brunnea ; alis superis

linea subbasali W notata; macula parva fenestrata brunneo cir-

of Insects and other Annulosa. 345

cumdata prope mediam, linea transversa brunnescenti-undulata

fasciaque maculari indistincta, maculis subcinereis postice obscu-

rioribus, alis inferis lineis 2 transversis undulatis brunnescentibus,

fasciaque maculari subcinerea ; corpore ochraceo-aurantiaco. Exp.

alar. unc. 45 ( 3).

Hab. Australia? Brit. Mus.

The two species of moths, described above, are alluded to in a

paper laid before the Entomological Society of London, Oct. 6

1843, containing remarks on the fenestration in the wings of Sa-

turnia, prefatory to a notice of the remarkably grooved and tense

undulating-surfaced tympanum on the upper wing of the genus

Hecatesia. In the Saturnia division of Bombycide, these fenestre,

when they occur, seem to be common to both sexes, and appear

to be merely ornamental ; they are sometimes quite obsolete ; in

Hecatesia they are limited, I believe, to one sex, and, as was re-

marked in the appendix to Capt. Grey’s ‘ Travels,’ the individuals

possessing them make a remarkable noise, as was told me by that

excellent observer Capt. George Grey, now in S. Australia. I

wish that some competent physiologist would thoroughly examine

this beautiful tympanoid membrane, and explain how the noise

could be produced by the insect, and whether or not the fenestra

has any connexion with the noise.

CRUSTACEA.

DeEcapopDa.

9. Atelecyclus spinosulus, White. Carapace as long as broad, with

the surface granulated and rather uneven. In front, between the

orbits, the carapace projects, but not so far as the end of the eye ;

the projecting part ends in a strong tooth; the sides of the cara-

pace are spinulose and have five indistinct teeth. The hands are

externally rough with spines, and have on the upper edge a series

of larger teeth and a row of longish hairs. Colour above red

spotted with white, beneath entirely white.

Hab. Falkland Islands (W. E. Wright, Esq.). Brit. Mus.

This species comes near the Atelecyclus Chilensis of Edwards in

marks and general appearance, but in the form of the carapace

resembles A. heterodon of Leach.

IsopopDa.

10. Spheroma gigas (var. lanceolata), White. Body smooth, last joint

of the abdomen considerably arched above, and having near the base

a slight elevation grooved in the middle; the last joint is also in

most of the specimens considerably pointed, and extends very

slightly beyond the extremity of the inner plate of the last false

legs ; the outer plate of these appendices is narrow and lanceolate ;

both of the plates are minutely punctured with black.

Hab. Falkland Islands (W. E. Wright, Esq.); Salvador Bay, under

stones, very common. Brit. Mus.

346 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomaceze.

There are specimens in the British Museum collection varying

from three-quarters of an inch to a whole inch in length. This

species or variety comes very near the S. gigas, Leach, ‘ Edw.

Crust.’ 11. p. 205, from which it principally differs in the more

elongated and narrower outer plate, and in the grooved elevation

at the base of the more arched last joint of the abdomen.

11. Serolis paradoxa (Fabr. spec.), Leach.

Mr. Wright informed me, on his return from the Falkland

Islands, that this singular flat crustaceous animal is very com-

mon in the Carnash, Berkley Sound, Falkland Islands; it is

found in shallow places with a bottom of light sand and mud,

among which it burrows, and in which, when disturbed, it hunes

itself very rapidly. He assured me he had seen specimens at least

six inches long. This species was first found by Sir Joseph Banks

on one of Cook’s voyages, off the coast of Tierra del Fuego. We

have one specimen in the Museum /abelled as coming from Se-

negal, the others were given by Mr. Wright from the locality

above mentioned.

XLIV.—On the British Diatomacee. By Joun Ratrs, Esq.,

M.R.C.S., Penzance*.

[Continued from p. 276.]

[With a Plate. ]

Meosrira, Ag. (GALLIONELLA, Eh.)

Filaments cylindrical, siliceous, jointed, fragile ; one or two lines

passing round each frustule near its centre.

This genus in its cylindrical filaments differs from the other

Cymbellea, and thus connects them with the Confervee; but it

agrees with them in being generally of a brown or yellowish co-

lour when recent, and especially in its siliceous filaments and in

the presence of striz ; characters which sufficiently point out the

propriety of its present situation amongst the Diatomacee.

The filaments have no proper margins marked by distinct cha-

racters as in the other genera of the Cymbellee ; and the striz

when present on’ the PEC ay -surfaces are not transverse but

radiated.

The cylindrical form of the filaments, and also the other differ-

ences just mentioned, compel me, in describing this genus, to use

the terms length and breadth in the sense in which they are ap-

plied to a Conferva, and consequently in one the reverse of that

which they have in respect of the other genera of this family.

This genus may be divided into two sections, which differ in

several respects.

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

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Meloseira.

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Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomaceze. 347

In the first section, the species belonging to which are gene-

rally marine, the ends of the frustules are convex, and as there

are no distinct junction-surfaces, a moniliform appearance is pro-

duced. The central line is more strongly marked in this than in

the other section, and seems to divide the frustule into two equal

portions. It becomes broader and then double, and at length an

- Intermediate growth separates the two halves of the frustule, which

during this process do not increase in size ; but when the interme-

diate space is equal to the diameter of the original frustule, two

new frustules are formed by the addition of two hemispheres on

the inner sides of the separated portions. The outer siliceous

covering still remaining, the frustules are connected in pairs, and

appear like two globules within a joint, as they are characterized

by Harvey in M.nummuloides, and by Carmichael in MW. globifera.

The above description belongs more particularly to M. nummu-

loides, but the process in the other species in the first section is the

same. Mr. Dalrymple first called my attention to this smgular

mode of growth. Ina letter he remarks on M. nummuloides, that

“the joints of the Meloseira are not only united end-to end, but

sometimes two corpuscles are included within the same boundary-

line, while others are disjointed as it were and merely united end

to end. This I believe arises from the mode of reproduction, and

that each corpuscle is capable of dividing into two bodies within

its original siliceous shell.” A series of changes nearly similar

in Isthmia has been already described*.

All the species in the other section are found in fresh water.

The frustules are not united in pairs, their junction-surfaces are

distinct and nearly flat, and their central lines are probably fur-

rows ; hence whatever parts of these lines occupy the margin of

the field of view, as the filaments are turned round, they all ap-

pear like puncta.

M. lentigera, Harv., evidently belongs to the first section, but

I have seen no specimen, and cannot refer it to any species with

which I am acquainted.

Through the kindness of Mr. W. Thompson I have been en-

abled to examine a specimen of “ Meloseira Thompsoni” marked

by Mr. Harvey himself. This beautiful and interesting plant ap-

pears to me to be a species of Spheroplea; at any rate it should

be removed from Meloseira, since the filaments are not siliceous.

Mr. Hassall has favoured me with the following observations

on this plant :—“T can scarcely believe that Melosetra Thompsoni

is really a Meloseira, for it does not appear to exhibit even one

of the characters of that genus. The filaments in M. Thompsoni

are equal, while in the species with which I am acquainted of true

* This similarity has also been observed by Mr. Berkeley.

348 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez.

Meloseire they are attenuated ; the cells too are not divided as

in Meloseira by lines, either single or double.

“The above I think are some of the principal differences be-

tween the Conferva which has received Mr. Thompson’s name

and the Meloseire, and these are in my opinion too considerable

to admit of its holding a place with these. Would it not be more

correct to place it with the species of the genus Lyngbya ?”

* Filaments moniliform ; frustules united in pairs.

1. M.nummuloides, Ag. Frustules spherical, having a line near each

end, but less strongly marked than the central one. Ag. Syst.

p- 8; Consp. Diatom. p. 65; Kutz. in Linnea 18338, p. 70. fig. 72;

Grev. in Hook. Br. Fl. vol. ii. p. 401; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 195.

M. discigera, Ag. Syst. p. 8; Berk. Br. Alg. p. 31. t. 11. fig. 2!

M. Borreri, Wyatt, Alg. Damn. no. 232! Conf. nummuloides,

Dill. p. 45. t.B. Conf. moniliformis, Jurg. Dec. 1. no. 7! Gal-

lionella nummuloides, Eh. Die Infus. p. 167. t. 21. fig. 1; Pritch.

Infus. p.199. G. moniliformis, Bailey, American Bacil. part 2.

p.4. pl. 11. fig. 3.

In the sea or in brackish water. Margate, Rev. M. J. Berkeley;

river Dart, Mrs. Wyatt; salt marshes near Larne, co. Antrim, and

near Dublin, Mr. D. Moore. Penzance; Bangor, N. Wales.

It is brown when recent and becomes green in drying. Fila-

ments free, slender, moniliform, constricted between each pair of

the frustules. Frustules globular, united in pairs, and each di-

vided into hemispheres by a central line, and crossed by a fainter

line at each end.

Prate IX. fig. 1. Meloseira nummuloides; a, frustules deprived of colour-

ing matter; ), different stages, showing the mode of growth ; ¢, dotted lines,

marking new hemispheres; d, new hemispheres just formed.

2. M. Borreri, Grev. Frustules rather longer than broad, cylindrical,

rounded at the ends, with a central, strongly marked line. Grev.

in Hook. Br. FI. vol. 11. p. 401; Harv. Br. Alg.p.196. Conf. num-

muloides, Eng. Bot. t. 2287! (bad).

On marine alge. Shoreham Harbour, Mr. Borrer; Chichester

Creek, Mr. Jenner. Penmaen Pool near Dolgelley.

This species much resembles the preceding, but is I believe

distinct. The filaments are stouter ; the frustules rather longer

than broad, cylindrical, with their ends less convex, and marked

only with a central line. Sometimes the ends at their junction

are compressed, and then the frustules appear angular. In this

character it seems to approach the M. moniliformis; the ends

however of the frustules in that species are figured by Ehrenberg

as truncated cones—more convex therefore than those of MZ. num-

muloides, and consequently still more so than those of this plant.

Puate IX. fig. 2. Meloseira Borreri.

3. M. globifera, Harv. Frustules nearly globular, with numerous

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacere. 349

strie, which are most evident on the siliceous covering. Harv. Br.

Alg. p. 196. Rosaria globifera, Carm. in Hook. Br. FI. vol. ii.

p. 372.

On marine alge. Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths; Hastings, Mr. Jen-

ner; Ardmore, Miss Ball (according to a specimen from Mr. W.

Thompson), Ilfracombe.

Filaments affixed by a short stipes ; frustules nearly globular,

united in pairs, each with a strongly marked central line. Nu-

merous close striz pass round the filaments, and are most con-

spicuous on the siliceous remains of the old frustule, by which

the new ones are connected in pairs.

The specimens which I have seen are apparently defective, as

in all only one pair of frustules is attached to the stipes.

Ehrenberg represents the frustules of his Gallionella lineata as

longer than broad, cylindrical, with a quadrangular appearance,

whereas in this species they are nearly globular; otherwise I

might have supposed he intended to describe this species.

Some specimens I have received from Mr. Jenner have their

frustules generally longer than broad, but in other respects agree

with the above description.

I have received from M. Montagne a Meloseira (M. hormoidea,

Montag.) gathered in Cayenne, which appears to me to be iden-

tical with this species, and Mr. Berkeley is of the same opinion.

As however the filaments are composed of several frustules, it is

in a more perfect state than any British specimen which I have

examined.

Puate IX. fig. 3. Meloseira globifera,

** Filaments not moniliform ; frustules cylindrical.

4. M.arenaria, Moore MS. Filaments stout ; frustules broader than

long, with a single central line ; junction-surfaces closely united,

striated. Gallionella varians, Eh. Die Infus. p. 167. (in part) t. 21.

fig. 2; Pritch. Infus. p.199. fig. 131° (junction-surface).

In fresh water. Ona wet bank near Larne, co. Antrim, Mr. D.

Moore; inner extremity of the Giant’s Causeway, Mr. W. Thomp-

son; very sparingly in a freshwater stream near Shoreham, Kent,

Mr. Jenner.

Brownish when recent, pale green when dried.

Filaments much stouter than any other species in this genus,

distinct to the naked eye, when rubbed between the fingers feel-

ing rough like grains of sand, whence its specific name.

Frustules closely united, broader than long, discoid, appearing

slightly granulated with a broadish smooth central line ; their

junction appears like a dentated suture ; the junction-surfaces are

striated in a radiating manner ; the strize are most evident at the

margin, and sometimes very faintly marked in the centre.

350 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez.

In drawing up the above description I have availed myself of

Mr. Moore’s notes.

Ehrenberg appears to have confounded this very beautiful and

distinct species with Meloseira varians, which I am the more sur-

prised at, because he has given very good figures of both plants.

The characters by which this species is distinguished from

Meloseira varians have been so clearly pointed out by Mr. Dal-

rymple, that I shall use an extract from his letter instead of

making any observations of my own.

“ Meloseira varians, Ag., is as clearly Gallionella varians of Eh-

renberg, t. 10. fig. 4, as Melosetra arenaria, Moore, is Gall. varians

of t. 21. fig. 2. Still no tyro in natural history could presume

that the two were the same species. The characteristic difference

exists in the well-marked feature of the strize at the junction-lines

of the corpuscles, and which, combined with their discoid form,

bears a strong resemblance to the milled heads of many of the ad-

justing screws of our microscope. Added to this is the appear-

ance of radiating lines seen when the flat surface of the disc is

viewed.” :

Prats IX. fig. 4. Meloseira arenaria,

5. M. varians, Ag. Frustules once and a half to twice as long

as broad, with a single central line, the ends slightly rounded ;

junction-surfaces without strie. Ag. Consp. Diatom. p. 64!;

Kutz. in Linnea 1833, p. 71. fig. 69; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 195!

M. lineata, Ag. Syst. p. 8; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 195! Gallionella

_ varians, Eh. Die Infus. t. 10. fig. 4. G. aurichalcea, Bailey, Amer.

Bacil. part 2. pl. 2. fig.4.c. Conf. lineata, Dill. p. 44. t. B ; Jurg.

Dec. 5. no.10! Conf. hyemalis, Jurg. Dec. 17.no.6! Vesiculifera

composita, Hassall in Annals of Nat. Hist. vol. x. p. 394 !

In freshwater rivulets and ditches. King’s Cliff, Northampton-

shire, Rev. M. J. Berkeley ; frequent in Sussex, Mr. Borrer ; Lewes,

Mr. Jenner; Cheshunt, Mr. Hassall; Shrewsbury, Mr. Leighton ;

Oswestry, Rev. T. Salwey.—Aberdeen, Dr. Dickie ; Stevenston, Ayr-

shire, Rev. D. Landsborough.—Antrim and Limerick, Mr. W. H. Har-

vey ; Ballycastle and near Belfast, Mr. D. Moore. Tavistock, Ilfra-

combe, Penzance, Dolgelley, Caernarvon.

It is brownish when recent and becomes green in drying *.

Filaments very slender, but varying much in thickness, fragile ;

joints from once and a half to twice as long as broad, with a single

central stria, the ends rounded so that the joints are not so

closely united as in M. arenaria and M. orichalcea.

* Ina stream below Penmaen Pool near Dolgelley, and within the influ-

ence of the tides, I have gathered a tufted state of this species of a bluish

colour, not unlike the iridescent tints of Cystoseira ericoides. It was grow-

ing with Ectocarpus litioralis. I have also for several years observed it in

the same state in a cave by the sea-side at Penzance: in both instances it

afterwards became brownish and finally green. |

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Diatomacez. 351

Not unfrequently this species has the joints here and there di-

lated into a globular form as described by Kutzing ; in this state

it much resembles a species of Vesiculifera, Hassall ; and indeed

. Mr. Hassall, whose researches have so much extended our know-

ledge of the freshwater Algze, was induced by this resemblance

to refer it to a subdivision of that genus, in one of his valuable

and interesting papers on the British freshwater Confervee ; but

since his paper was published he has agreed with me in opinion

that his V. composita is undoubtedly the Meloseira varians of

Agardh, and not a species of Vesiculifera. When the joints are

thus dilated, the central furrow gives the appearance of two

joints combining in the formation of the inflated cells.

Prare IX. fig. 5. Meloseira varians.

6. M. orichalcea, Kutz. Filaments slender; frustules two to three

times longer than broad, marked with two central lines ; junction-

surfaces striated, closely united. Kutz. in Linnea 1833, p. 71.

fig. 68. _Gallionella aurichalcea, Eh. Die Infus. p. 168. t. 10. fig. 6;

Pritch. Infus. p. 200; Bailey, Amer. Bacil. part 2. p. 5. pl. 2.

fig. 4 0.

In freshwater ditches and slow streams. Cheshunt, Mr. Hassall;.

Stevenston, Ayrshire, Rev. D. Landsborough ; Dolgelley..

Brownish when recent ; it becomes paler in drying.

The filaments are finer than in M. varians ; joints two to three

times longer than broad, with two lines near the centre; ends

tated appearance of the ends of the striz is less evident; junc-

tion-surfaces flat with radiated striz, which are often very obscure

in the centre, but generally plainly developed round the margin.

This species is likely to be mistaken for VM. varians ; but its

filaments are more slender and more uniform in size, the joints

are longer, more closely united, and especially it differs in having

two central lines and striated junction-surfaces, and in not turn-

ing green in drying.

Kutzing figures this species with joints occasionally enlarged

in the same manner as in M. varians.

Mr. Hassall first detected it in this country.

Puate IX. fig. 6. Meloseira orichalcea.

*** Filaments very slender ; joints obscure.

7. M. ochracea. Frustules very slender, convex at each end, ovate,

not striated, ferruginous ; filaments often connected together in a

subramose manner, Gallionella ferruginea, Eh. Die Infus. p. 169.

t. 10. fig. 8. and t. 21. fig. 3; Pritch. Infus. p. 200. figs. 129, 130.

Conferva ochracea, Dill. t. 62! Oscillatoria ochracea, Grev. FI.

Edin. p. 304; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 167.

Pools and slow running streams, especially in boggy soils.

352 Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

_ This plant occurs in delicate ochraceous or ferruginous masses,

falling into powder on the slightest touch. The filaments are so

slender, and the joints so obscure, that I have been unable to de-

termine the form of the frustules, and have therefore taken the .

specific character from Ehrenberg; I am also unable to ascertain

whether the joints are marked by any central line. Having

received from Mr. Dillwyn a specimen of his Conferva ochracea,

which I am able confidently to refer to this species, I have re-

stored the original specific name. Ehrenberg is no doubt correct

in placing the plant in this genus, as the filaments are siliceous

and cylindrical.

When submitted to a red heat it acquires a reddish tinge,

which circumstance, together with the colour and slender fila-

ments, will easily distinguish it from all the other species.

Analysis.

Joints very obscure, the central line apparently wanting, ochracea.

Joints and central line distinct ..........ssccecsscecssceseces 2

Filaments moniliform ; frustules connected in pairs...... 3

Filaments not moniliform; frustules not connected in

PAINS ..ccccescsccscccscccescccscsscsossesoscconsccesessesceesss 5

Frustules and connecting portion closely striated ......... globifera.

Frustules with one to three lines, not striated ............ 4

{ Frustules globular .........csesesscensecscscseccsevevcncsveenes nummuloides.

¥.

4.4 Frustules longer than broad, cylindrical, with the ends

SOUR on dcS cin wis ohh cduuae ics hand cannes token denen Borreri.

Junction-surfaces not striated cscccccccceccenceccescece eeeee Varians.

Junction-surfaces striated ....cccccecccscceees kvebanules NSF 6

Frustules broader than long .....0....sccecsesessscecseeevens arenaria.

6.) Frustules two or three times longer than broad ......... orichalcea.

XLV.—Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

We take much pleasure in announcing that three enterprising bo-

tanists are now engaged in exploring the most interesting portions

of the far West, and that their collections of dried plants will be

offered to subscribers, in sets, as they come to hand. Two of these

collectors, Mr. Charles A. Geyer (well known as the botanist of Mr.

Nicollet’s official north-western expedition), and Mr. Liiders, who are

for the present.attached to Sir Wm. Stewart’s party, have by this time

reached the Rocky Mountains. The particular field of Mr. Geyer’s

operations, and the extent of his journey, were undecided at the

time of his departure from St. Louis. Mr. Liiders expects to spend

the next winter, and perhaps the ensuing summer, at a station of

some Roman Catholic missionaries on the upper waters of Lewis and

Clarke’s or Great Snake River. These botanists being well ac-

quainted with the vegetation of the general Valley of the Mississippi

and of the lower Missouri, will doubtless. avoid the common and

better known plants of this region; and thus their collections may

be expected to prove unusually choice and valuable.

Bibliographical Notices. 353

The third collector, Dr. Lindheimer, a very assiduous botanist,

intends to devote a few years to the exploration of Texas; and he

pledges himself to exclude from his sets all the common plants of

the south-western United States.

These several collections will be assorted and distributed, and for

the most part ticketed, by Dr. Engelmann of St. Louis ; assisted, as

far as need be, by the authors of the ‘ Flora of North America,’ who

promise to determine the plants, so far at least as they belong to fa-

milies published in that work ; and for the information of subscribers,

particular notices of the centuria offered for sale will probably ap-

pear in this Journal* as they come to hand. The number of sets being

limited, earlier subscribers will receive a preference. The three ex-

plorers are entirely independent of each other, and their collections

are to be separately subscribed for.

The price of the Rocky Mountain collections of Geyer or of Lii-

ders is fixed at ten dollars (or two guineas) per hundred; that of Dr.

Lindheimer’s Texan collections at eight dollars (or 1/. 13s. 6d. ster-

ling) per hundred—payable on delivery of the sets at St. Louis, Mis-

souri, by Dr. George Engelmann ; at New York by Wiley and Put-

nam, 161 Broadway, and Stationers’ Hall Court, London ; and Prof.

A. Gray of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to either

of whom subscribers may address themselves (post paid) by mail.

The additional expense of transportation, doubtless trifling in amount,

will be charged upon the sets deliverable in London.

The writer of this notice cheerfully states that the dried speci-

mens made by these botanists which have fallen under his observa-

tion are well selected, very complete, and finely prepared; and he

cordially joins Dr. Engelmann in recommending the enterprise to the

patronage of botanists.

For the purpose of obtaining some immediate pecuniary aid in the

prosecution of his present arduous undertaking, Mr. Geyer also offers

for sale (through the parties above mentioned) a selection from his

collections of the last year in Illinois and Missouri, consisting of

twenty sets of one hundred and fifty species of plants, which are

offered at six dollars per set.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

A Catalogue of British Fossils ; comprising all the genera and species

hitherto described, with references to their Geological Distribution and

to the Localities in which they have been found. By John Morris.

London, Van Voorst, 1848.

Naturauists of all classes will thank Mr. Morris for this most va-

luable volume, which, apparently a list of names, is in reality a sum-

ming-up of the state of our knowledge of British organic remains at

the present time, and being such, becomes the starting-point of future

research. It is no mere compilation, but the result of a critical ex-

amination of the characters, synonyms, descriptions, and published re-

presentations of all the species of animals and plants hitherto recorded

* Silliman’s American Journal, from which this notice has been taken.

—Ep. Ann. Nat. Hist.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. 2B

354: Bibliographical Notices.

as found fossil in the strata of Great Britain, with the addition of

many, which though described in continental works, have hitherto

been unnoticed at home. The generic relations of fossils have evi-

dently been more carefully inquired into in the construction of this

catalogue than is usual in geological writings, and the author has

brought a knowledge of living beings to bear on his fossil lore, with-

out which the latter would be, as it in many cases 38, comparatively

useless.

The volume commences with a catalogue of plants. “Those who

are familiar with Mr. Morris’s former writings on fossil vegetables

will place implicit confidence in this chapter, and will see by the

numerous references to continental authors how very carefully it has

been worked out. The Infusoria follow, of which twenty-one species

are recorded ; doubtless many more will be presently added by our

microscopists to our fossil fauna. Next is a list of Amorphozoa ar-

ranged under eighteen genera. Of Zoophyta there is a very exten-

sive list and many additions from foreign sources. The names of

many new species from the Crag are here given, descriptions of which

we hope Mr. Searles Wood, who has done so much to elucidate that

most interesting deposit, will speedily publish. A long list of Echi-

nodermata follows, to which by and by many more will be added, at

present lying undescribed in private and public cabinets. Then come

seven genera and ten species of anomalous organic remains which

Mr. Morris assembles under the head of ‘ Incerte sedis.” ‘The list

of Foraminifera well shows the original character of the work, seeing

that whilst the total number of previously recorded British fossils of

this interesting tribe was only twelve, the number here enumerated

is no less than eighty-two! Of Annelides, Crustacea, Mollusca and

Vertebrata the catalogues are most extensive, and the amount of new

and valuable matter added too great to give any account of here.

The Geological Society has twice awarded the Wollaston Fund to

aid Mr. Morris in preparing this catalogue, and has thereby stamped

a public sanction on it. A more useful undertaking it could not

have patronized, and the result is a volume quite indispensable to

zoologist, botanist and geologist.

PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.

The fourth Fascicults of Mr. Berkeley’s Fungi will appear in De-

cember. The species included in it are as follows :—

Thelephora caryophyllea, P. ‘Spheeria pulicaris, Fr.

———— laciniata, P. Mitrula cucullata, Fr.

— cristata, Fr. Leotia lubrica, P.

— anthocephala, Fr. Geoglossum difforme, Fr.

mollissima, P. Mitrula spathulata, Fr.

levis, P. Nidularia. campanulata, Sibth.

rubiginosa, Schrad, ——— striata, Bull.

tabacina, Fr. Peziza anomala, A

corrugata, Fr. var. calycina, Schum.

— lactea, Fr. Fusarium lateritium, Nees.

miniata, Berk. Dothidea colliculosa, Berk.

Spheeria rubella, P. (Aicidii cancellati, stat. imp.)

Bibliographical Notices. 355

Helvella crispa, Fr.

lacunosa, 4fz.

elastica, Bull.

Spheria herbarum, P?. minor.

Bombarda, Batsch,

Erysiphe communis, Schlecht.

m. Carduacearum.

Acrospermum compressum, 7'ode.

Peziza rhabarbarina, Berk.

Aspergillus aurantiacus, Berk.

Bulgaria sarcoides, Fr.

Peziza versiformis, P.

Geaster rufescens, P. minor.

Sclerotium Cepze, Lib.

Spheria corniformis, fr.

Mitrula paludosa, /’r.

Elaphomyces granulatus, /’r.

Cantharellus sinuosus, J’. 0.

Peziza eruginosa, Fr.

Dothidea pyrenophora, Fr.

Spheria Racodium, P.

Hymenogaster citrinus, Vitt.

Melanogaster Broomeianus, Berk.

Peziza fusca, fr.

Perisporium princeps, Berk.

Spheria complanata, Zode, minor.

(non diversa a num. 267.)

Phacidium Patella, Fr.

Spheeria Doliolum, P.

Neematelia encephala, Fr.

Perichena strobilina, Fr.

Illosporium carneum, Fr.

Polyporus undatus, P.

Oidium fulvum, ZA.

Spheria xanthostroma, Mont.

Clavaria uncialis, Grev.

Thelephora corrugata, Fr.

Grandinia granulosa, fr.

Spheeria quaternata, P.

——— canescens, P. .

Hydnobolites. Tulasnei, Berk.

Tuber nitidum, Vité. .

Hymenogaster populetorum, Jud.

re lilacinus, Zw.

Elaphomyces muricatus, Fr. °

Cryptosporium Caricis, Corda.

Stictis hysterioides, Desm.

Uredo Colchici, Lib.

sub Sporisorio.

Camptoum curvatum, Lk.

Arthrinium puccinioides, Kze.

Coryneum Kunzei, Cord.

Erysiphe communis, Schlecht.

Potentillarum.

Asteroma Rose, Lib.

Puccinia Sanicule, Grev.

Depazea Ribicola, Fr.

Aicidium Epilobii, Dee.

Thesii, Desv.

Puccinia Circeeee, P.

Uredo Symphyti, Dec,

Fusisporium album, Desm.

Aicidium compositarum, Mart.

Tussilaginis.

Septoria Leguminum, Desm.

6. Pisorum.

Spheria Khytismoides, Bab.

Melanospora cirrhata, Berk.

Excipula graminum, Corda.

Bactridium flavum, Aze.

Xenodochus paradoxus, Schlecht.

Puccinia Umbilici, Guép,

Spheria Ostruthii, Fr.

Botrytis parasitica, P.

Lactucee.

Asteroma malorum. Berk.

Botrytis crustosa, fr.

Septoria Anemones, Desm.

Botrytis farinosa, Fr.

Uredo Campanule, P.

cylindrica, Strauss.

Spheria maculeformis, P.

Uredo Filicum, Desm.

AXcidium Behenis, Dec.

— Primule, Dec.

Uredo Circerze, 4. &S.

Puccinia Ulmarie, Dec.

Agaricus stipitarius, Fr.

Botrytis destructor, Berk.

Asteroma labes, Berk.

Phacidium Ranunculi, Lib.

Puccinia Epilobii, Dec.

Uredo Valerianz, Dudy.

Puccinia Primule, Grey.

Anatomical Manipulation. By. Alfred. Talk and Arthur Henfrey.

The object of this work is to furnish the student with a guide to

pursuing practical investigations in Comparative Anatomy and Phy-

siology:

struments, Injections, &c.

Part 1. treats of Mechanical-Arrangements, Dissecting In-

Part 2. the Microscope, and the method

of using it ; and Part 3. Directions for Dissecting and Preserving the

different systems of Organs throughout the Animal Kingdom. With

an Appendix.

2B2

356 Entomological Society.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

September 5th, 1842.—W. W. Saunders, Esq., F.L.S., President, in

the Chair.

Mr. Ingall exhibited a monstrous specimen of Bombyx castrensis,

one side of which was male and the other side female, the division

being visible throughout the whole extent of the body.

Mr. Douglas exhibited a specimen of Notodonta Tritophus, a

moth new to Britain, which he had reared from a larva found near

Colchester in July last.

Numerous specimens of Colias Hyale were exhibited by Messrs.

Evans and Stevens, captured in Kent, Middlesex and Sussex; and

many other captures of the same species in various localities were

also mentioned by different members present, Mr. Marshall stating

that it was the opinion of Mr. Hoyer, that the great number which

had been observed was owing to the default of the crops of clover

last year, when a large supply of seed was obliged to be obtained

from Trieste, with which it was supposed that the eggs had been

imported. Other members, however, considered that this species

was periodical in its appearance, and that the present season was

one of the periods of its apparition.

Mr. S. Stevens also exhibited a fine specimen of Catocala Frax-

ini, captured a few evenings previous to the Meeting in his garden

at Hammersmith, having been attracted by sugar daubed upon the

trunk of a fruit-tree.

The following memoirs were read :-—

* Note on a species of Acarideous insect which deposits its eggs in

great numbers upon stones on commons.” By W. W. Saunders, Esq.

“ Notes on the habits of Megachile Willughbiella? and Megachile

centuncularis.” By George Newport, Esq., V.P.E.S. |

The first portion of this paper contained an account of the for-

mation of the nests of the former of these species of bees in the

swing-pole or lever of one of the gates of the locks at Gloucester,

communicated by Mr. Clegram; the situation selected by the bees

being evidently very favourable to them, as in a space of fifteen

inches long by five inches square, as many as 300 cocoons were

found ; the operations of the bees were also shortly described (long

previously and more completely detailed by Reaumur and others).

The second part of the paper comprised a series of minute observa-

tions by the author relative to a variation observed in the economy

of the latter species, a female of which had been observed to em-

ploy not only rose leaves, but particles of cotton cloth very finely

carded or picked to pieces, in the construction of its nest, and

which Mr. Newport afterwards discovered was adopted with the

view of filling up cavities in the base of the hole in which it had

made its nest.

Notice by Mr. A. White of a monstrous specimen of Prionus

{ Macrotoma) Senegalensis, in which both antenne are furcate from

Entomological Society. 357

the third joint; and of a Cimicideous insect from Sierra Leone

(Probenops dromedarius, Wh.), presented to the British Museum

by the Rev. D. F. Morgan, and subsequently described in the ‘ Zoo-

logist.’

Extract of a letter from Captain Boys to the Rev. F. W. Hope,

dated Almorah, April 27, 1842, containing notices of the habits of

various species of Indian insects.

At Mhow (Malwa) he never collected Oryctes but in the de-

caying trunks of the wild date-tree (Phenix farinifera, Roxb.),

and constantly near its root. At Almorah, however, he found some

larvee, which he considered to be those of that genus, amongst the

oak bark used by the natives for tanning. The want of proper food

and moisture he considers to be the cause of the diminutive size of

many specimens. In the trunks of the date-trees he also found the

larvee of a large species of Calandra. In the high districts of

Mhow he found Colliuris and Casnonia in profusion: the latter

also was found “ common enough down below,” but not the former.

He found carrion insects comparatively few: many species of Hister,

and as far as his own experience of the plains went, one species of

Silpha, one of Oiceoptoma (neither very numerous), and Necrobia

and Clerus in abundance, were nearly the sum total.

He also describes a species of the Heteromerous genus Platynotus,

which in its habits is a “true burying beetle,” and a few of which

will sink a crow in the course of a few hours; it simulates death

immediately it is touched, contracting its legs close to its abdomen.

Many beetles considered purely coprophagous feed upon dead ani-

mals, and one of these he noticed to be very select in its choice,

namely Onthophagus igneus, which he had never been able to take

except from the dead bodies of serpents. The only insects he had

observed in the nests of the white ants are Hegeter, Scarites, Sia-

gona, and some species of spiders.

Paussus he never found there, but he has no doubt that it is the

case, as he is inclined to think that it ought to be placed either with

or near the Carabide, principally because he had observed that se-

veral species possess the power of crepitating and discharging a va-

pour which has the same smell and properties as that discharged by

the Brachini, and that the joints of the tarsi, when the fresh insect

is examined, prove to be five in each leg, and though the first is very

minute, yet it is well defined. He had taken Paussus by sweeping

among high herbage, but most frequently by spreading out a sheet

with a lighted candle in the centre on a dark night.

Continuation of a memoir containing descriptions of new species

of Coleoptera from Port Essington, in New Holland, By the Rev.

F. W. Hope.

HETEROMERA.

TRIGONOTARSUS *, Hope, nov. gen.

Forma feré orbicularis. Ceelo affinis Eschscholtzii. Antenne 11-

articulate, extrorsim magnitudine increscentes, ternis ultimis

* remyaves, triangulus, et rapods, tarsus.

358 Entomological Society.

mayjoribus. Caput elypeo integro, ultimo articulo palporum cylin-

drico, apice acuto, precedenti majori.. Thorax anticé emargina-

tus, scutellum nullum. Elytra posticé acuminata. Tibi an-

tice trigone externéque dentate, relique simplices.

Sp. 1. Trigonotarsus Australis, Hope. Fuscus; antennis apice

piceis; thorace piloso, elytrisque coneoloribus ; corpus infra

sqgualidum et tomentosum ; tibiis anticis rubris, antrorsum tri-

gonis externé dentatis, dente majori in medio posito. Long.

lin. 25, lat. lin. 14.

I have thought proper to make the above insect the type of a new

genus; it approaches nearly to Celus of Eschscholtz: as it is my

intention to figure it shortly, I pass on to other Heteromera of New

Holland.

Sp. 2. Tagenia funerosa, Hope. Nigra, antennis pilosis ; ecapite

anticé depresso ; thorace parum convexo; elytris striato-punctatis

et hirsutis, pedibusque nigris. Long. lin. 2, lat. lin. 3.

This insect inhabits Van Diemen’s Land.

Sp. 3. Tagenia leucospila, Hope. Nigra, antennis inerassatis et

pilosis, capite punetato albisque capillis asperso ; thorax trans-

verse impressus et punctulatus ; elytra fortiter punctata, punctis

duplici serie signatis lineisque aliquot elevatis pilosis, variis-

gue maculis albis pilosis per discum aspersis pedibusque nigris.

Long. lin. 2, lat. lin. 3.

This species occurs at Port Essington and at Swan River, and I

believe also at Van Diemen’s Land.

Sp. 4. Platynotus insularis, Hope. Niger, capite feré quadrato ;

thorace glabrato, posticé angulato, marginibus elevatis ; elytra

excavato-punctata, apicibus subacutiusculis ; corpusinfra nigrum,

tarsis piceis. Long. lin. 7, lat. lin. 3.

I have received this insect from Melville Island; a very minute

specimen has reached me also from Port Essington.

Sp. 5. Opatrum spheroides, Hope. Migrum, elypeo emarginato,

antennis ultimis articulis inerescentibus et piceis ; thorax punc-

tulatus ; elytra rugosa, subtuberculata, pilosa ; corpus infra ni-

grum, pedibus concoloribus, tarsis exceptis piceis. Long. lin. 24,

lat. lin. 13.

Sp. 6. Opatrum piceitarsis, Hope. Fuscum, eapite anticé im-

presso, antennis piceis ; thorax feré quadratus, angulis anticis

parum productis et acutis, posticis vix rectis ; elytra striato-

punctata ; thorace triple longiora ; corpus infra fusco-griseum,

femoribus tibiis concoloribus tarsisque piceis. Long. lin, 33, lat.

lin. 1. He 3

Sp. 7. Isopteron Opatroides, Hope. F’useum, antennis rubro-picets ;

thorace angulis anticis subacutis, posticis feré rectis ; elytra stri-

ato-punctata ; corpus infra atrum punctatum, femoribus tibiis

coneoloribus tarsisque pieeis. Long. lin. 4, lat. lin, 14.—Hab.

Western Australias ° —: EOD

Sp. 8. Asida serricollis, Hope. Nigra, antennis tarsisque piceis ;

thorace valdé emarginato lateribusque externé serratis ; elytra

aliquot lineis minutis punetisque elevatis per totum discum

Entomological Society. 859

aspersis ; corpus infra. concolor, .tarsis exceptis piceis. Long.

lin, 4, lat. lin. 2.

Sp. 9. Endophlzus Australis, Hope. _lavo-brunneus, antennis

nigricantibus pilosis ; thorax angulis anticis parum productis,

posticis recté acutis, disco lined longitudinal: macula. utrinque

nigricanti insignito ; elytra flava brunneoque colore variegata ;

corpus infra concolor, tarsis infra flavo-comaiis. Long. lin. 32,

lat. lin. 13.

Sp. 10. Endophleus variicornis, Hope. Niger, antennis atris ar-

ticulis quibusdam flavis et pilosis ; capite atro nitido ; thorax

excavatus, anticé niger, posticé flavus, maculis duabus atro-pilosis

ante scutellum positis ; scutellum flavum ; elytra sulcata, lineato-

punctata, flavo brunneoque colore variegata ; corpus infra griseo-

flavum. Long. lin. 23, lat. lin. 1.

I received the above from the vicinity of Adelaide.

Sp, 11. Neomida tetraspilota, Hope. , Atra, capite anticé rubro ;

thorace nigro et nitido ; elytra concoloria, quatuor maculis rubris

insignita, bine ad humeros bineque alie ad apicem posite ;

corpus infra nigrum, pectore utringue rufescenti, pedibusque

rubris. Long, lin, 13, lat. lin, 3.

Sp. 12. Tetraphyllus sumptuosus, Hope. Violacea, antennis con-

coloribus ; thorace anticé posticéque cyaneo, lateribus auratis ;

elytra striato-punctata, binis fasciis auratis insignita apicibusque

concoloribus, medio disci leté violaceo maculisque duabus.cyaneis

ante apicem positis ; corpus infra abdomine violaceo, pectore

JSemoribus auratis, tibtisque cyaneis. Long. lin. 23, lat. lin. 1}.

Sp. 13. Cnodulon longipennis, Hope. Affine Cn. cupreo, Fab. Ob-

longum, thorace atro; elytris viridi-purpurascentibus striato-

punctatis, punctis minutis ; corpore infra atro et nitido, Long.

lin. 7, lat. lin. 33.

Sp. 14. Cnodulon cupripennis, Hope. Oblongum, thorace atro-

eneo, subtilissimée punctulato, antennis nigris ; elytra cupreo-

@nea, vie sub lente striato-punctata, punctis sparsim aspersis ;

corpus infra nigrum. Long. lin. 63, lat. lin. 33.

Sp. 15. Cnodulon cupricolle, Hope. Oblongum, thorace rosi-cu-

preo glabro, antennis atris ; elytra olivaceo-viridia, lineato-punce-

ms punetis minutis ; corpus infra nigrum. Long. lin. 54, lat.

In. 25

The above insect inhabits Melville Island.

Sp. 16. Cnodulon puncticolle. .Oblongum, thorace atro, punctu-

lato ; elytris cupreo-eneis sulcato-punctatis, sulcis fortiter punc-

tatis, punctis inter strias minutis ; corpus infra nigrum et niti-

dum. Long. lin, 6, lat. lin. 3.

Sp. 17. Cnodulon sulcipennis, Hope... Oblongum, thorace atro

glabro elytrisque eupreo-eneis sulcato-punctatis, sulcis fortiter

impressis, interstitiis striarum levibus ; corpore infra nigro et

nitido, Long. lin. 45, lat. lin. 2.

Sp. 18. Cnodulon picicorne. Oblongum, thorace atro antennisque

piceis; elytra cupreo-enea purpurascentia, striato-punctata ;

corpus infra nigrum, femoribus concoloribus, tibiis tarsisque

brunneo-piceis. Long. lin. 4, lat. lin. 14.

360 Entomological Society.

Sp. 19. Cnodulon cyanipennis, Hope. Oblongum, thorace trape-

zoidali nigro, anticé contracto, posticé dilatato ; elytra leté cya-

nea, striato-punctata ; corpus infra nigrum, pedibus antennisque

concoloribus, antennis quatuor ultimis articulis magnitudine in-

erescentibus ; tarsis infra flavo-comatis. Long. lin. 6, lat. lin. 2.

This insect, from the shape of the thorax, ought to be separated

from Cnodulon. ;

Sp. 20. Cnodulon anthracinum, Hope. Atrum, precedenti affine ;

caput feré quadratum, antennis palpisque piceis ; thorax glaber,

elytris striato-punctatis ; corpore infra concolori et nitido. Long.

lin. 4, lat. lin. 13.

I possess about ten other species of Cnodulon which are unde-

scribed. It appears that there are two, if not three, subgenera in-

cluded at present amongst the New Holland insects ranked as Cno-

dulon. |

Sp. 21. Tenebrio longipennis. Niger, thorace feré quadrato, an-

gulis anticis rotundatis, posticis acutis et denticulatis ; elytris

striato-punctatis nitidis atris ; corpore infra pedibusque concolo-

ribus. Long. lin. 8, lat. lin. 2.

Sp. 22. Tenebrio convexiusculus, Hope. Viger, precedenti affinis

at minor ; thorace convexiori ; elytris fortissimé punctatis, punc-

tisque majoribus valdé impressis. Long. lin. 6, lat. lin. 14.

Sp. 23. Tenebrio cyanipennis, Hope. Alter, antennis brunneo-

preeis ; thorace nigro-violaceo, feré glabro ; elytris striato-punc-

tatis et cyaneis; corpus infra nigrum, femoribus tibiis piceis,

tarsisque infra flavo-comatis. Long. lin. 52, lat. lin. 1}.

Sp. 24. Helops latipennis, Hope. Nigro-chalybeus, thorace feré

quadrato depresso et punctato ; antennis atris, quatuor ultimis

articulis piceis ; elytra thorace latiora, posticé parim dilatata,

subtilissimée punctata et viridi-chaiybea ; corpus infra nigrum

nitidum, femoribus tibiis palpisque piceis, tarsisque infra flavo-

comatis. Long. lin. 10, lat. lin. 4.

Sp. 25. Allecula Pimeloides, Hope. Nigra, antennis piceo-tomen-

tosis ; thorace convexo, angulis antieis rotundatis ; elytra thorace

triplo longiora,subacuminata, striato-punctata, striis haud fortiter

impressis ; corpus infra nigrum, ultimo segmento abdominis in

medio flavo-maculato. Long. lin. 8, lat. lin. 25.

Sp. 26. Allecula Omophiloides, Hope. Mgra, thorace depresso

convexo, angulis posticis subacutis, lateribus medio dilatatis ;

elytra striato-punctata, posticé valdé dilatata ; corpus infra ni-

grum punctatum tarsisque infra flavo-comatis. Long. lin. 6,

lat. lin. 2.

Sp. 27. Allecula melancholica, Hope. Nigra, thorace feré rotun-

dato, punctulato, elytrisque striato-punctatis, posticé gradatim

dilatatis, corpus infra nigrum. Long. lin. 53, lat. lin. 14.

Sp. 28. Allecula canescens, Hope. Fusco-grisea, thorace albido-

tomentoso; elytris striato-punctatis, fusco-cinerascentibus seu al-

bidis capillis obsitis ; corpus infra concolor. Long. lin. 6, lat.

lin. 2.

Sp. 29. Allecula foveicollis, Hope. Picea, thorace glabro, foved

impressa rotundatd utrinque notato; elytra striato-punctata,

Entomological Society. 361

picea, punctis fortiter insculptis ; corpus infra concolor, pedibus

pallidioribus. Long. lin. 5, lat. lin. 14.

Sp. 30. Allecula Gouldii. Affinis precedenti at minor ; picea, tho-

race glabro convexo ; elytris parum pallidioribus striato-punc-

tatis, punctis leviter impressis ; corpus infra rubro-piceum.

Named in honour of Mr. Gould, the ornithologist.

Sp. 31. Allecula nigricans, Hope. Atro-picea, thorace punctu-

lato ; elytris striato-punctatis, interstitiis striarum sparsim punc-

tatis ; corpus infra piceum, pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 44.

This species was also. sent to me by Mr. Gould from Port Essington.

“Notice of a case of Myasis,” by Dr. Henry Johnson (commu-

nicated by the Rev. F. W. Hope), in which specimens of the larvee

of Anthomyia canicularis had been discharged, in June 1842, by the

aid of moderately active aperients, from the stomach of Elizabeth

Ball, aged 35, the wife a hawker (and who had for six months pre-

viously been ill) at Shrewsbury, specimens of which had been for-

warded to Mr. Hope, together with a highly magnified figure of the

insect, drawn by W. A. Leighton, Esq., agreeing with that figured in

the Transactions of the Entomological Society. Dr. Johnson more-

over suggested the inquiry, whether the larve produce the disorder

of the stomach, or are they secondary consequences of unhealthy

digestion? the latter opinion gaining ground at the present time

among medical men.

The Rev. F. W. Hope also communicated an extract of a notice by

Dr. Davis of Presteign, from the Proceedings of the Exeter Meeting

of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, containing a

notice of a case in which a number of Millepedes, or wood-lice as

they were termed (but which proved upon examination to be a spe-

cies of Oniscus), had been discharged from the stomach of a boy

fifteen years old, who for some months had complained of pain in

his stomach which did not yield to common remedies, until he was

relieved by a strong emetic which caused him to vomit a consider-

able number of these insects, mostly alive and full-grown, but want-

ing the brown colour of those found in natural situations, being

chiefly white. There were sufficient to have filled a common-sized

teacup. Dr. Davis considered that the ova had been swallowed by

the boy with his food, especially as he has frequently observed the

insects buried in bacon, which is sometimes eaten raw by children.

The Rev. F. W. Hope also stated that he had lately seen at Tun-

bridge Wells the larva of a Coleopterous insect which had caused

severe illness in a female until it was removed by violent medicine.

October 3.—W. W. Saunders, Esq., President, in the Chair.

The President exhibited some singular exotic Hymenopterous

insects belonging to the genera Nomia and Eucharis.

Mr. Thurston Thompson exhibited a specimen of the small com-

mon edible crab (Carcinus menas), on the back of which a madre-

pore had grown several times larger than the crab.

The Secretary read some extracts from a letter addressed to him-

self by Robert Templeton, Esq., R.A., at present at Colombo in

862 Entomological Society.

Ceylon, containing minutely, detailed descriptions of several species

of the genera Cermatia and: Lepisma, accompanied by drawings.

“ Description of'a new genus of Lucanide from New Zealand.”

By Captain F. Parry, F.L,S.

Mriropuyiius, Parry. Forma Platyceri Caraboides at magis

cylindricus, apice elytrorum rotundato ; antenne 10-articulate,

articulis 3bus ultimis 8 intus ramum valde elongatum pilosum

singulatim emittentibus ; mandibule 8 crasse porrecte, capitis

longitudine, apice curvate et in dentem erectum supra producte ;

maxille parve, lobo externo laciniiformi ; mentum magnitudine

mediocri lateribus rotundatis. ,

Mitophyllus irroratus, Parry. Atubro-piceus, maculis obscuris atris,

per totum corpus aspersis ; mandibulis porrectis recurvis, anticé

acutis posticéeque denticulatis ; tibiis 4 anticis in medio extiis uni-

dentatis. Long. corp. lin. 45.—Habitat in Nova Zelandid apud

portum Nicholsoni. :

The commencement of a memoir on various genera belonging to

the families Geotrupide and Trogide. By J. O. Westwood, Esq.

November 7.—W. W. Saunders, Esq., President, in the Chair.

The Rev. F. W. Hope exhibited various new and beautiful insects

from the Kasya Hills near Sylhet.

Mr. W. W. Saunders exhibited a box of Hymenoptera and Diptera

from Albania, collected by S. S. Saunders, Esq., British Consul

there, and comprising several of considerable interest: also some of

the nests of Mygale Lonica.

Mr. F.. Bond exhibited and subsequently presented to the Society

a specimen of Locusta Christi, taken at Childs-hill near Hampstead

in August last... He had kept it alive more than a month, feeding

it on grass, which it devoured with great voracity. He also exhibited

a drawing of a monstrosity occurring in one of the claws of the com-

mon crab, which was doubled.

Mr. Lovel exhibited specimens of a small species of Apate, which

had proved extremely injurious to walnut-tree gun-stocks imported

from Dauphiny, the insects burrowing into the heart of the wood

whilst in a green state. Many former cargoes had been received

without any such injury, and it was desirable to learn under what

circumstances this injury might be prevented, or at what period of

the. year it would be most serviceable to cut down the stocks so as

to prevent the damage.

Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a long series of British Noctue belong-

ing to the genus Nonagria, clearly proving that WV. lutosa, pilicornis

and erassicornis are but varieties of one species.

Mr. Westwood exhibited specimens of a Noctuideous larva, ap-

parently of the genus Agrotis, forwarded to him by Dr. Johnston

of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which had proved extremely injurious to

the potatoe crops in that neighbourhood.

The following memoirs were read :—

A detailed account of the case of Myasis noticed at the last Meet-

Entomological Society. 363

ing of the Society by Dr. H.. Johnson, with references to .an analo-

gous case reported-in the: Medical Transactions (vol. isp. 53), and

to Dr. A. Farre’s: paper on the anatomy of the larva of Anthomyia

canicularis, published in the Transactions of: the Microscopical So-

ciety, vol. i. pt. 1. p. 51.

“‘ Notices of Entomological captures at Stockton-upon-Tees.” By

John Hogg, Esq., F.L.S.,, &c.; namely, two specimens of Vanessa

Antiopa; one seen.on August 7, 1831, and the other taken on Sep-

tember 2,: 1842; at Norton House; the residence of the writer. Also a

specimen of Vanessa Cardui in 1842, not seen since 1826 and 1834.

Argynnis Paphia, captured August 28,1828, and again in September

1842 on flowers ; thus being later in the time of their appearance

than in the south of England. :The-caterpillars of Sphina Atropos

were abundant in potatoe-fields in October 1837, and again in 1842 ;

but the only moth of that species was caught there about thirty-two

years since. ~ Bows Teese

Vespa Britannica, Leach, had been not uncommon, its nest not

being larger than an orange, and of a very beautiful and delicate

workmanship... One of the specimens taken out of one of these nests

is so much larger in its size, that Mr. Hogg considers it to be the

queen-wasp, or mother of the nest, as she was the only one of the

colony which would not leave the nest, which was taken on the 30th

of July; the wasps which escaped therefrom, six or eight in number,

immediately beginning to build another near the same spot, and

suspending it to the dry stalk of the garden pea, working at it most

diligently for four days, when they forsook it, owing either to the

queen-wasp being taken or to the rain and decay of the pea-stalk.

The fine paper-like substance of which the nest was composed was

formed by the wasps chewing pieces of the dry old pea leaves, as he

had observed.

Another species (which, from constructing a much larger nest

under the branch of a bush, he considered to be Vespa Holsatica ?),

whilst building the nest, busily ate or gnawed the membrane or por-

tion of the green leaves of a purple gage-plum tree which was close

to their nest,:and to and from which they quickly flew-and returned.

Vespa vulgaris elaborates a coarser and stronger substance for

the manufacture of its: nest,-and which is chiefly.composed: of de-

cayed wood ; as Mr. Hogg had:often seen these wasps busily gnaw-

ing the decayed part of a gate-post, &c., and .then fly off to their

nest : in fact he adds, that “one of the easiest modes of discovering

their nests is to followthem when they are so engaged.”

Continuation of a memoir on the Geotrupide and Trogide, By

J. O. Westwood, F.L.8..« — :

“ Descriptions of some new Coleopterous insects from’ the Kasya

Hills, near the boundary of Assam.” By the Rev. F. W. Hope.

Lucanus Cantori. Piceo-brunneus aurataque pubescentia tectus ;

mandibulis exsertis in medio dente majori armatis apicibus sub-

Jurcatis ; clypeo deflexo trigono, thorace fere ut in L. bilunifero,

Jfemoribus rubro-corallinis. Long. corp. o lin. 31, 918. Affinis

L, villoso, Hope.

364 Entomological Society.

Lucanus Mearesii. Niger, mandibulis exsertis in medio uniden-

tatis, apicibus laté furcatis, dente parvo feré ad basin posito ;

elytris nigro-eneis nitidis et subtilissimé punctulatis capillisque

flavis aspersis, tibiis rubro-piceis. Long. (mand. inclus.) lin. 28.

From Sylhet. <Affinis precedenti.

Lucanus platycephalus. Niger, mandibulis thorace parim longi-

oribus, apicibus furcato-dentatis ; caput anticé latum, ultra ocu-

los porrectum ; thorax transverso-quadratus, utrinque posticé

Jossulatus ; elytra feré glabra, corpus infra concolor. Long.

lin. 10.

Lucanus Maclellandi. Rubro-piceus, mandibulis capite thoraceque

minoribus interné multidentatis, apicibus acutis ; capite anticé

JSossula supra oculos impresso sparsimque subvarioloso ; thorace

angulis posticis obliquis ; tibiis anticis externé subdenticulatis,

posticis 4 inermibus. Long. lin. 8.

Dorcus Anteus. Niger, nitidus et glabratus, sub lente tenuissimé

granulatus, latissimus valdé depressus ; elytris levibus, clypeo

lato; mandibulis deplanatis, intus dente forti armatis, apicibus

acutis ; tibiis anticis denticulatis, posticis 4 unidentatis. Long.

lin. 31.

Received from Dr. Cantor, and allied to Lucanus Titan, Bav.,

L. bilunatus, DeH., and L. bucephalus, Westw.

Dorcus Tityus. Niger, mandibulis capite thoraceque equalibus,

interné denticulatis, dente forti feré ad basin posito, apicibus sub-

furcatis ; caput thorace latius, elypeo subbifido ; thorax semilu-

naris, lateribus in medio dilatatis ; elytra gradatim attenuata ;

tibie antice multidentate. Long. lin. 294. From Sylhet.

Unique in Captain Parry’s collection.

Dorcus Reichei. Niger, capite thoraceque equalibus, mandibulis

ad basin inermibus, ante apicem dente forti subbifido armatis,

apicibus subfurcatis ; elytra thorace parim minora atro-casta-

nea; corpus infra nigrum. Long. lin. 24. From the Kasya

hills and also from Sylhet.

Dorcus puuctilabris. Niger, mandibulis exsertis ; capite thorace-

que minoribus, interné bidentatis, dentibus minutis apicibusque

acutis ; elytra lineato-punctata, punctis aspersis ; tibiis anticis

multidentatis, 4 posticis unidentatis. Long. lin. 174.

Dorcus Blanchardi. Affinis precedenti, niger ; mandibulis exsertis,

capite thoraceque minoribus subvarioloso-punctatis, dente robusto

ad medium posito, secundo minuto, apicibusque acutis ; elytra

crebrissimé punctulata ; pedes sicutin specie precedente. Long.

lin. 16.

Dorcus cognatus. Affinis precedenti, niger ; mandibulis impunc-

tatis, dente forti feré in medio posito, 2ndo valdé minuto ; elytra

glabra nitida, lateribus lineato-punctatis ; pedes ut in D. Blan-

chardi. Long. lin. 17.

From the Himalayas. In Captain Parry’s collection.

Dorcus Chevrolatii. Affinis D. Saige, Fabr. Niger, mandibulis

exsertis arcuatis ; capite longioribus in medio, intus lato dente ar~

matis, apicibus subfurcatis ; elytra piceo-castanea, feré glabra

Zoological Society. 365

ad apicem gradatim decrescentia ; corpus infra nigro-piceum.

Long. lin. 26.

Dynastes Cantori. Atro-piceus, cornu capitis recurvo robusto ;

thorace anticé bicornuto ; elytris obscuré piceis, marginibus ex-

terné pallideé castaneis ; corpus infra rubro-piceum ; tibiis tar-

sisque nigricantibus. Long. ¢ lin. 26, ? lin. 24.

Lamia Downesii. Affinis L. Roylii, Hope, atminor. Nigra, an-

tennis corpore longiorihus ; elytris apicibus interné et externé

mucronatis, ad basin scabris maculis decem flavis notatis ; cor-

pus infra fusco-nigrum. Long. lin. 27.

Lamia Parryi. Griseo-nigra, antennis corpore longioribus ar-

ticulis scabris, elytris ad basin mammillato-scabris maculis albis

8 notatis; corpus infra fusco-griseum, lateribus albo-vittatis.

Long. lin. 174.

From Sylhet.

_Mr. Edward Doubleday mentioned that he had observed a speci-

men of the female of the singular Lepidopterous genus E/picopeia,

Westw., in a collection of Indian insects recently arrived in England,

and in which the antenne are perfectly simple.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

December 13, 1842 (continued).—Prof. Rymer Jones in the Chair.

The exhibition was resumed of hitherto undescribed shells con-

tained in the collection formed by Mr. Cuming in the Philippine

Islands, and the following descriptions of them, by Dr. J. H. Jonas,

were communicated to the Meeting.

Hevix Zeus. Hel. testd perforatd, orbiculatd, subdepresso-convexrd,

rugis obliquis striisque spiralibus elevatis sculptd ; anfractibus 44

convexis ; ultimo medio angulato, supra carinam depresso, infrdque

inflato ; colore brunneo, lineis flavis ziczacformibus obliquis superneé

pictd, inferne rubra, fascid latd fuscd infra carinam ornatd ; aper-

turd subtrapeziformi, fauce albd, peritremate acuto, recto, supra

umbilicum reflexo.

Hab. ad insulam Mindoro, Philippinarum

Altitudo, 14 poll; latit. 23 poll. :

This species bears a great resemblance to Hel. Otahaitana. The

rugulosities on the upper part are more elevated, as on the under

side, where the regular concentric lines are more distinctly visible.

Buuimus catosarptus. Bul. testd umbilicatd, ovato-pyramidali,

tenui, subdiaphand, nitidd, rubrd vel pallidd, fasciis flavis undu-

losis longitudinaliter pictd, striis incrementi subtilissimis spirali-

busque oculo nudo vix conspicuis decussatd ; anfractibus 54 convezis,

suturis appressis, ultimo dimidiam teste partem fere equante ;

aperturd ovali, intis albd, marginibus reflexis, albis, sinistro umbi-

licum partim occultante. |

Longit. 14 poll. ; latitudo, 2 poll.

Hab. ad insulam Mindoro, Philippinarum.

In form this beautiful shell resembles Bul. Myersii, Miiller.

Var. a. Ground-colour brownish red and shining ; the longitudinal

366 Zoological Society.

zigzagged stripes are of a golden yellow colour, and on the las. vo-

lution they are interrupted by a brown transverse line.

Var. 6. Ground-colour pale»yellow; the longitudinal stripes as in

Var. a. No transverse line on the last volution.

Burimus BALANOIDES. ‘Bul. testd imperforatd, ovatd, albd, epider-

mide flavd, vittis spadiceo- rufis cinctd ; anfractibus senis convexius-

culis, ultimo ceteros vix equante, basi viridi ; aperturd ovatd, intis

albd, peritremate incrassato, reflexo, albo, fusco-marginato ; colu-

melld rectd.

Longit. 14 poll. ; latit. ‘poll. |

Hab. ad insulam Mindoro; ‘Philippinarum.

This shell bears great resemblance to the Bul. ovatus. The body-

whorl has three brownish bands, and the others have two, one in the

middle and the second on the suture; this last band is interrupted

by the epidermis, so that it seems as if this band was sprinkled with

red and yellow spots. The base of the last whorl is of a green colour

where the columella is reflected.

Butimus apLomorpuus. Bul. testd imperforatd, ovato-conoided,

tenuissime striatd, nitidd albd, epidermide luted ; anfractibus senis

convexis, ultimo spird paululim breviore, fasciis tribus rufo-fuscis

circumdato ; und angustd ad suturam, alterd latiore in medio, tertid

circa columellam ; aperturd ovatd, albd, péeritremate reflero albo,

columella recitd.

Longit. 14 poll.; latit.. 4 poll.

Hab. ad insulam, Mindoro, Philippinarum,

This shell is like Bul. guimaracensis, but more slender, and the

proportions of the volutions differ.

Buiimus stmMpLEx. Bul. testd imperforatd, ovato-conoided, tenui,

diaphand, candidd, epidermide tenuissimd, viridi, superné evane-

scente; anfractibus quinis convexis, subtiliter striatis, lineisque

spiralibus oculo armato solummodd conspicuis circumdatis, suturis

haud marginatis; ultimo anfractu dimidiam: teste partem fere

equante, obtuse angulato ; aperturd ovatd, peritremate acuto, sub-

reflexo, intis limbato; columella filiformi rectd.

Longit. 1 poll. ; latit. 3 poll. |

Hab. ad insulam Mindoro, Philippinarum.

Though this Bulimus on the first = bears great resemblance to

the Bul: bullula, it is still very distinct.

Mr. Fraser then characterized two new species ‘of Birds from West-

ern Africa. :—

Srrix Pornsis.* Strix rostro cerulescenti-corneo ; facie albd, disco

plumarum confertissimarum, texturd holosericd, circumdatd, —illis

antic? positis albis, posticis flavis, ad basim: pallentibus, —illis au-

tem genarum apicibus nigris ; corpore.superne, e cervino flavo, albo

et purpureo crebré adsperso, plumarum omnium scapis bis terve

albo guttatis cum spatio nigro inter singulas guttas ; colli lateribus

flavis, et, ut apud dorsum, guttatis ; primariis et secondariis fere

obsolete Saccsataa et sordide purpureo.alboque, sparse guttatis ;

Zoological Society. 367

caudd vir furcatd, rubescenti-flavd, fusco-fasciatd, et sparse albo

guttatd ; corpore subtis femoribusque flavescenti-albis guttis trian-

gularibus nigrescentibus, sparse notatis tarsis lanugine brevi, albd,

fere ad digitos sparse tectis,—his nigris, pilis albis obsitis.

Hab. Fernando Po.

The specimen from which the above description was taken was

procured at Clarence, Fernando Po, and was the only one that had

been seen by the oldest colonist at that place.

Pirta Putin. Pitta notd nigrd a mandibule superioris basi, super

verticem usque ad collum eductd, et utrinque notd latd cervind

marginatd ; plumis auricularibus: et colli lateribus nigris ; dorso,

tectricibusque alarum majoribus . metallice viridibus ; tectricibus

alarum minoribus, tectricibusque caude singulis, ad apices pallide

ceruleis, instar cyani ; primariis, secondariis, rectricibusque caude

nigris ; primariis tertid, quartd, quintd et sextd per medium albo

fasciatis ; guld fere albd corpore subtis fuscescente-aurantiaco,

rubido apud abdomen imum leviter tincto; rostro, tarsis, digitis,

unguibusque apparenter rubris.

Hab. apud pagum, Port Lokkoh dictum, Sierra Leone.

Mr. Fraser observed that considerable interest was attached to this

bird, for which he was indebted to Robert Clarke, Esq., Senior As-

sistant Coloniai Surgeon’at Sierra Leone—not only on account of its

being a new species of a somewhat restricted group, but on account

of its habitat, all the hitherto recorded species of Pitta being from

continental India, the Indian islands, and Australia.

Mr. Thomson, who originally procured the bird, observes in a note,

that the Pulih, or Mocking Bird, is only found in the Timneh country ;

that its note is exceedingly sweet, and when a Timneh would pay an

aaa or poet the greatest compliment, they say, ‘‘ He is a perfect

ulih.”’

It is most closely allied to Pitta brachyura, Auct.; but differs from

that bird in having the bill and feet red, a band over the eye, which

is tawny, instead of olive brown; in the uniform colouring of the

primaries, secondaries and tail feathers, the two former not being

tipped with white, nor the latter with green; and finally, in the ab-

sence of the red vent.

The following ‘ Additional Measurements of the Blood-Corpuscles

or Red Particles of Mammalia and Birds,” by George Gulliver, Esq.,

F.R.S., were read :—

Many observations are yet required to complete our howled ge

of the comparative anatomy of the blood-corpuscles, The present

contribution contains an account of some observations which I have

made since the publication, in the English version of Gerber’s Ana-

tomy, of my Tables of Measurements of the Blood-corpuscles. of

Mammalia and Birds.

‘In the present, as in the former. tables, the measurements are all

expressed in vulgar fractions of an English inch, and as the nume-

rator is invariably 1, it is omitted throughout, the denominators only

being printed. In each instance the measurements.of the common-

868 Zoological Society.

sized discs are first set down; a space is then left; the small and

large-sized discs are next noted; and lastly the average, deduced from

the preceding numbers, is placed beneath the line. The long dia-

meter of the oval blood-discs is denoted by L.D. and the short

diameter by S.D. Except when noted to the contrary, the blood

was obtained from living and adult animals. The measurements of

the nuclei were taken after their exposure, by the aid of dilute acetic

acid on the corpuscles, which it is necessary to state, since I have

elsewhere* shown that the form and dimensions of the nucleus are

materially affected by different treatment.

MAMMALIA.

Frer2z.

Indian Badger (Arctonyz collaris, F. Cuv.) = 3609 ; blood from

the vena cava after death. Malay Sun Bear (Helarctos Malayanus,

Horsf.) = 3562; blood from a prick of the lip. Red Puma (Felis

unicolor? 'Traill) = 4481 ; blood from a prick of the skin of the arm.

Foetal Kitten, half an inch long (Felis domestica, Briss.) = 2233 ;

blood from the heart and from the navel-string immediately after

death. The average size of the corpuscles is about twice that of

the corpuscles of the mother. The corpuscles of the foetus contained

distinct nuclei, much resembling lymph globules. The size only of

the nucleated corpuscles is above given; there were several much

smaller which presented no nuclei. Stoat (Mustela Erminea, Linn.)

= 4155.; blood from the heart soon after death.

RuMINANTIA.

Camel (Camelus Bactrianus) : L.D, = 3123; S.D. = 5876; thick-

ness of the discs = 15210; pale globules = 3348: blood from a prick

of the upperlip. Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus, Linn.) = 4324. Foetus

of Fallow Deer (Cervus Dama, Linn.) = 3478; blood from the heart,

Jan. 2, 1842, a few hours after death. The foetus measured 43 inches

from the forehead to the buttocks. The corpuscles exhibited no di-

stinct nuclei when treated with water or vegetable acids, ‘The average

size of the corpuscles from the uterine veins of the mother was zz4;zth

of an inch. In another foetus examined Jan. 12, and measuring six

inches, the corpuscles did not differ appreciably from those of the first

foetus. Ibex (Capra Caucasica) ; corpuscles slightly smaller than

those of the Goat. The measurements are given in this Journal, vol. xi.

p-524. Indian Buffalo(Bos frontalis, Lambert) = 4299 ; blood from

a vein of the ear.

RopeEnTIA.

Jerboa (Dipus Avgyptius, Hemp. and Ehren.) = 4172 ; blood from

a vein of the ear. Common Porcupine (Hystriv cristata, Linn.) =

3369; blood from a prick of the skin of the nose. Common Hare

(Lepus timidus, Linn.) = 3560; blood from the heart two hours after

death.

* See Contributions to Minute Anatomy, Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag.

for August 1842; and Remarks on the Shape of the Blood-Corpuscles of

Oviparous Vertebrata, Annals of Nat. Hist., vol. xi. p. 525.

Zoological Society, 369

MARSUPIATA.

Mauge’s Dasyure (Dasyurus Maugei, Geoff.) = 4034; blood from

a vein of the ear. The corpuscles scarcely differ in size from those

of the Viverrine Dasyure, and agree in form with the corpuscles of

the other marsupial animals, originally described by me in the ‘ An-

nals of Natural History,’ Dec. 1, 1840.

AVES.

Rapaces.

Angola Vulture (Vultur Angolensis, Lath.): L.D. = 1684; S.D.

= 3166.

OMNIVORES.

Common Jay (Garrulus glandarius, Flem.): L.D. = 2064; S.D.

= 3878; nuclei 4000 to 10666: blood from the heart quickly after

death. Rook (Corvus frugilegus, Linn.): L.D. = 1894; 8.D.= 3196;

nuclei 4572 to 9140: blood from the heart a few hours after death.

Magpie (Corvus Pica, Linn.) : L.D. = 1953; 8.D. = 3365; thick-

ness of the discs = 11600; nuclei 4245 to 11138: blood from the

heart an hour after death. Red-winged Starling (Sturnus preda-

torius, Wilson): L.D. = 2133; S.D. = 4175: blood from the heart

seven hours after death.

INSECTIVORE. )

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba, Linn.) : L.D.= 2182; $.D. =3600;

nuclei 4000 to 10666 : blood from the heart soon after death. Sedge

Warbler (Sylvia Phragmites, Bechs.): L.D. = 2003 ; S.D. = 3550:

blood from the heart nine hours after death. ‘The corpuscles are

notably larger than those of most of its congeners.

GRANIVORA.

Indigo Bird (Fringilla cyanea, Wilson): L.D. = 2144; S.D,=

3741 : blood from a vein of the pinion. Greenfinch (Fringilla Chloris,

Temm.): L.D. = 2232; S.D. = 3600; nuclei 4000 to 10666 : blood

from the heart a few minutes after death. Blue Titmouse (Parus

ceruleus, Linn.): L.D. = 2313; S.D.=4128; nuclei4571 to 10666:

blood from the heart quickly after death. Longtailed Titmouse (Pa-

rus caudatus, Linn.) : L.D.= 2136; S.D. = 4570; nuclei 4800 to

16666: blood from the heart twenty-one hours after death. There

were several circular discs, about z5455th of an inch in’ diameter.

Many of these had an oval nucleus, and the circular shape of the

discs was perhaps a post-mortem change. Skylark (Alauda arvensis,

Linn.) : L.D. = 2125 ; §.D. = 4128; nuclei 4000 to 12000: blood

from the heart twelve hours after death. Pine Grosbeak (Lozia enu-

cleator, Linn.): L.D. = 2247; §.D, = 4083: blood from a vein of

the pinion. Hawfinch (Lozia coccothraustes,'Temm.): L.D. = 2042;

S.D. = 3790; thickness of the discs = 9141 ; nuclei 4570 to 10666 :

blood from a vein of the pinion.

ZYGODACTYLI.

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus, Linn.): L.D. = 2028; S.D. = 3600:

blood from the heart twenty-six hours after death. There were many

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. 2C

370 Zoological Society.

circular discs, perhaps from the blood being rather stale. These were

about goypth of an inch in diameter.

CHELIDONES.

Common Swift (Cypselus Apus, Flem.): L.D. = 1982; $.D. =

3550; nuclei 4000 to 10666: blood from the heart a few minutes

after death.

CoLuMBz.

Partridge Pigeon (Columba montana, Lath.) : L.D. = 2239 ; S.D.

= 3692; nuclei 5333 to 12000; pale globules = 3200: blood from

a vein of the pinion. )

GALLINZ.

Lineated_Pheasant (Phasianus lineatus, Jard.) : L.D. = 1855 ; S.D.

= 3348; nuclei 4570 to 9166: blood from a vein of the pinion.

Mountain Partridge (Tetrao Caucasica, Pall.): L.D. = 1923; §.D.

= 3456 ; nuclei 4570 to 9166: blood from a vein of the pinion.

CursorEs.

Ostrich (Struthio Camelus, Linn.) ; corpuscles slightly larger than

those of the Rhea. The measurements are detailed at page 130 of the

present volume of this Journal.

GRALLATORES.

Common Snipe (Scolopax Gallinago, Linn.) : L.D. = 2170; S.D.

= 3622: blood from the heart twenty-four hours after death.

PALMIPEDES.

Mandarin Duck (Anas galericulata, Gmel.): L.D. = 1937; §8.D.

= 3424: blood from the jugular vein about ten hours after death.

Common Gull (Larus canus, Linn.): L.D. = 1973; S.D. = 3839;

nuclei 3555 to 10666: blood from a vein of the pinion.

Dec. 27.—Richard Owen, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Descriptions by Mr. Lovell Reeve of new species of shells figured

in the ‘ Conchologia Systematica,’ were read.

DenTALIUM LonGiITRORSUM. Dent. testd carneold, tenui, glaberrimd,

subpellucidd, longissimd, arcuatd, margine acuto.

Reeve, Conch. Syst: vol. ii. pl. 130. f. 6.

Long. 43; diam. 5%; poll.

Hab. ? Mus. Cuming.

This beautiful pink horny-looking shell far exceeds any hitherto

described species in length.

VERMETUS EBURNEUS. Verm. testd eburned, subobesd, lax2 volutd,

longitudinaliter costatd, costis distantibus, subobsoletis.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 152. f. 2.

Long. 3,);; diam. 5% poll.

Hab. Mus. Cuming.

ParTULA INFLATA. Part. testd obeso-conicd, transversim tenuissime

striatd, albidd, epidermide luteo-fused indutd ; anfractu ultimo an-

gulato-inflato, umbilicato ; aperturd subquadratd, labro planissime

expanso,

Zoological Society. 371

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 175. f. 11 & 12.

Long. §; diam. # poll.

Hab. f

Remarkable on account of the ventricose inflation of the last whorl.

TRUNCATELLA SCALARIFORMIS. Trunc. testd elongato-cylindraced,

luteold, anfractibus rotundatis, costellis minutis ubique cingulatis ;

aperturd rotundd, labro simplici, acuto.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 182. f. 6.

Long. +; diam. +); poll.

Hab. ad insulam Annaa, in Oceano Pacifico.

A number of these little shells were found by Mr. Cuming at the

roots of palms on the sea-shore.

PyRAMIDELLA cincTA. Pyram. testd conico-acuminatd, albd, an-

Sractibus levibus, zond olivaceo-fuscd, conspicud, in medio cinctis ;

aperturd oblongo-ovatd, labro simplici, acuto.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 207. f. 2 & 4.

Long. 2; diam. ;%, poll.

Hab. Mus. Cuming.

A white, sharply acuminated shell, surrounded with a single, clear,

broad, olive-brown belt.

PyraMIDELLA Guans. Pyram. testd cylindraceo-conicd, bicoloratd ;

anfractibus longitudinaliter striatis, inferne albis, superneé olivaceo-

viridibus ; aperturd rotundato-ovalt.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 207. f. 1.

Long. 5% ; diam. + poll.

Hab. ?

This is a small dumpy-looking shell, of which the whorls are just

one half white and the other half dark olive-green.

TuURBINELLUS IMPERIALIS. Turd. testd ovato-turbinatd, subtrigond,

epidermide crassd, fibrosd, indutd; transversim liratd, liris angustis,

subdistantibus, lira minutd interveniente ; anfractibus superne an-

gulatis, tuberculis fleruosis squameformibus coronatis ; anfractu ul-

timo prope basin aliis subsimplicioribus cingulato ; columella rubido-

Suscd, politd, irregulariter plicatd ; labro undulato, leviter expanso.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 229. f. 4.

Long. 33; diam. 24 poll.

Hab. ? Mus. Cuming.

The noble diadem of flexuous scale-like tubercles with which this

shell is crowned, renders it eminently distinct from its congener

the T. cornigerus, in which they are of a solid stunted growth. The

enamelling of the columella is also remarkable, being always of a

very peculiar chocolate-brown colour.

TuRBINELLUS VEXILLULUM. Turb. testd trigono-turbinatd, albd,

lineis ceruleis, et interdum roseis, vivide cingulatd,* anfractibus

subtrigonis, in medio valde tuberculatis ; columella triplicatd, pli-

cis parvis , canali brevissimo nigerrimo-tincto.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 229. f. 1.

Long. 12; diam. 1 poll.

FAQ0. ee. P

This beautiful shell, which approximates to the 7. aplustre, is

202

372 Loological Society.

vividly lined across with very deep blue, and between every two blue

lines is a pink one, presenting an almost artificial contrast of colour.

PiEvuRoToma speciosa. leur. testd acute turritd, transversim

subtilissime funiculatd ; ceruleo-albd, funiculis pallide ochraceis ;

anfractibus in medio eximié gemmatis, inferne convexis, superne

leviter concavis ; canali gracili, vie elongato.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 233. f.5; Conch. Icon. Pleuroto-

ma, pl. 2. f. 9.

Long. 24 po.

Hab.

This very fa shell approaches somewhat in form to the Pleu-

rotoma carinata, Gray, Griff. Cuv. An. King. (PJ. Kieneri, Doumet) ;

it is of a pale bluish ground, delicately corded and beaded with

bright ochraceous yellow. I only know of two specimens, one in

the collection of the Rev. Mr. Stainforth, the other in that of the

British Museum, purchased at the recent sale of Mr. Inwood’s shells.

Prevrotoma Becki. Pleur. testd oblongd, cylindraceo-attenuatd,

apice acuto ; sexangulatd, anfractibus ad angulos longitudinaliter

tuberculatis ; olivaceo-fuscd, tuberculis tantum albis ; columella et

aperture fauce fused ; canali brevissimo.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 234. f. 11; Conch. Icon. Pleuro-

toma, pl. 2. f. 10.

Long. ¢ poll.

Hab. ad insulam Lucon, Philippinarum.

I dedicate this shell with much pleasure to my friend Dr. Beck, cu-

rator of that noble patron of conchological science, the King of Den-

mark. It was found by Mr. Cuming in the locality above cited

under stones at low water. The snowy-white tubercles which orna-

ment this brown six-angled shell at the several angles are very cha-

racteristic.

CoLuMBELLA PuitippinaruM. Col. testd conico-turbinatd, acumi-

natd, albd, fusco profuse et minutissimé undulatd ; anfractibus su-

perne subangulatis, ultimo basin versus striato, striis profundis ;

aperturd oblongd, angustd ; labro subincrassato, fauce striatd.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 257. f. 9.

Long. +3; diam. ;% poll.

Hab. ?

Mr. Cuming has selected two varieties of this shell, but they are

not of sufficient importance to require especial notice.

Buccinum evecans. Bucc. testd ovato-conicd, acuminatd, ubique

subtilissim? nodulosd et liratd, interdum longitudinaliter leviter

costatd ; luteo-albd, columelld, labro, et canali vivide aurantiis ;

aperturd subquadrato-ovali, fauce valde striatd ; columelld paulu-

lim excavatd, labro serrato.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 268. f. 3.

Long. 14; diam. 2 poll.

Hab. California.

This very beautiful and distinct species may be easily recognised

by its bright orange mouth. The entire surface of the shell is very

finely nodulated.

Miscellaneous. 373

Buccrnum pyrostoma. Bucc. testd ovato-conicd, lacted, ubique can-

cellatd, anfractibus convexis, ultimo paululdm umbilicato ; aperturd

ovatd, fauce striatd, vivide rubrd.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. it. pl. 268. f. 1.

Long. 2; diam. 3 poll.

Hab. ?

A small species belonging to the genus Phos of De Montford, re-

markable from having a deep cornelian red mouth, whilst every other

part of the shell is milk-white.

Exsurna Japonica. EHburn. testd ovato-conicd, apice vix acuto, levi ;

anfractibus convexis, maculis fulvis, grandibus, regularibus, bise-

riatim cinctis, interstitiis maculis parvis regularibus, diagonaliter

dispositis, ornatis ; umbilico parvo, profundo. |

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 271. f. 1.

Long. 21; diam. 13 poll.

Hab. ad oras Japoniz ; Siebold.

This shell is distinguished by the great regularity of the spots;

the upper and middle portions of the whorls are encircled with a

band of large rhomboidal spots, whilst the spaces below and between

them are filled with small triangular-like spots, arranged across in

regular diagonal rows.

Trrepra pretiosa. Ter. testd longissimo-subulatd, luteold, fusco

partim tessellatd ; anfractibus tricenis, superneé levibus, uniseriatim

serratis, infra arcuato-striatis, striis numerosis, profundis ; canali

subflexuoso.

Reeve, Conch. Syst., vol. ii. pl. 274. f. 2.

Long. 55% ; diam. § poll.

Hab. ?

This extraordinary shell, consisting of thirty whorls, exceeds five

inches and a half in length, whilst it barely exceeds half an inch

in breadth at the broadest part. It is I believe unique, in the col-

lection of the Rev. Mr. Stainforth.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On the Phosphorescence of the Lampyris Italica.—(Hzxtract from a

letter of M. Matteucci to M. Dumas.)

Baths of Lucca, Aug. 1, 1843.

1. The phosphorescence of a glow-worm may cease before the

death of the insect.

2. In the glow-worm there is a substance, which, without any sen-

sible heat, diffuses a light that does not require the integrity of the

animal and of its living state, in order to manifest itself with its pe-

culiar properties.

3. Carbonic acid and hydrogen are media in which the phospho-

rescent matter of the glow-worm leaves off shining after thirty or

forty minutes, if the gases are pure.

4. In oxygen the light of the phosphorescent matter is decidedly

more vivid than in atmospheric air, and it remains bright nearly

374 Miscellaneous.

three times as long: this is as much the case with regard to the

separate luminous segments as for the entire worm.

5. When this phosphorescent matter shines in oxygen or in the

air it consumes a portion of oxygen, the place of which is supplied

by the corresponding volume of carbonic acid.

6. This same substance, in contact with oxygen, but having lost

the power of diffusing light, does not sensibly absorb oxygen, and

does not develope carbonic acid.

7. Oxygen, mixed with hydrogen or with carbonic acid in the

proportion of 1 to 9, forms a medium in which the phosphorescence

continues for several hours; we may then conclude that it is by the

alteration which has taken place in the phosphorescent substance

that this leaves off shining after several days, having at first been put

into pure oxygen, the place of a portion of which was afterwards

supplied by carbonic acid. I analysed the hydrogen in which I had

kept several glow-worms for four-and-twenty hours ; the insects had

shone but a few minutes: this is the case if the gas is pure, if we

operate over mercury, and if care be taken in filling the bell-glass to

turn it over two or three times in order to remove the air which adheres

to the glow-worms. In this hydrogen gas I found that the volume

had increased by a small quantity, and in treating with potash I

ascertained that this excess was owing to carbonic acid furnished by

the glow-worms ; and this took place either because there was a re-

sidue of oxygen in their trachea which had combined with the carbon

and changed into carbonic acid, or because the insects contained this

acid already formed ; when only the luminous segments are put into

hydrogen, with precaution, they continue to shine but for a few

seconds, and the gas undergoes no change.

_ 8. Heat, up to certain degrees, increases the light of the phospho-

rescent matter ; the contrary takes place from cold.

9. When the heat is too great the phosphorescent substance is

altered, and the same takes place with this substance when exposed

to the air or to some gases for a certain time; it is necessary, how-

ever, that it should be separate from the animal.

10. This phosphorescent matter thus altered is no longer capable

of giving light or of becoming luminous. These conclusions evidently

establish the nature of the phenomenon ; the production of the light

in this insect is altogether dependent on the combination of the

oxygen with the carbon, which is one of the elements of the phos-

phorescent matter. Now it is important to inquire how the phospho-

rescence takes place in the living animal; what circumstances cause

it to vary ; and what is the structure of the phosphorescent substance

and of the parts which surround it.—Comptes Rendus, Aug. 14.

OBSERVATIONS ON DR. MARTIN BARRY’S MEMOIR ON FIBRE.

BY PROF. MOHL. .

It has already happened to several microscopic observers, that they

have fancied they saw in their investigations the most minute parts

of organized bodies, and have imagined that they had detected pri-

mitive formations in the form of fibres, globules, &c., and then

wherever they looked they again found them, and consequently gave.

Meteorological Observations. 375

drawings of things which exist only in their phantasy. These per-

sons are evidently in a situation similar to that of an acquaintance of

mine, director of some iron-works, who had once occupied himself a

long while in making damask steel, and during this time wherever

he looked he fancied he could perceive curved lines similar to those

which occur on that steel. But certainly no one has ever yet been

so dreamy as the author of the memoir bearing the above title, which

relates it is true to animal fibre, but also enters into the structure of

plants ; for in all organic substances he saw nothing but fibres, which

sometimes had a spiral, sometimes a circular, sometimes a longitudinal

position ; but he moreover observed in these fibres a very complicated

structure, viz. their being composed of adjacent spiral fibres with an

opposite direction of the spiral, and with the convolutions fitting into

each other, so that the figures which the author has given of these

fibres are no bad representations of the knot of plaited hair on a

woman’s head. As the committee who decide upon the admission of

the memoirs into the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’ have to attend

not only to the importance but also to the “‘ singularity of the sub-

jects,” the publication of the memoir in question will appear perfectly

justified.— Botanische Zeitung.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR SEPT. 1843.

Chiswick.—Sept. 1. Foggy: sultry. 2, 3. Slight haze: sultry. 4. Clear and

fine. 5. Heavy dew: clear. 6. Cloudless. 7. Slight haze: cloudless and hot.

8, 9. Very fine. 10. Foggy : heavy thunder-showers. 11. Very fine. 12. Over-

cast. 15. Clearand fine. 14, Overcast. 15—20. Exceedingly fine. 21. Foggy:

very fine. 22,23. Clear and fine. 24, 25. Overcast. 26. Fine: clear and cool.

27. Cloudy and cool: clear, with slight frost at night. 28. Very clear: over-

cast. 29. Cold and dry: overcast. 30, Rain.—Mean temperature of the month

3°81 above the average.

Boston.—Sept. 1—6. Fine. 7. Fine: quarter-past 2 p.m. heat 77°, 8. Foggy.

9. Cloudy. 10, Fine: raine.m. 11,12. Cloudy. 13—15. Fine. 16. Cloudy.

17—19. Fine. 20. Cloudy: rainearlya.m. 21,22. Fine. 23, 24. Foggy.

25. Cloudy: rain a.m. 26. Windy. 27. Cloudy. 28. Windy. 29, Cloudy.

30. Cloudy: rain early a.m.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—Sept. 1. Clear. 2. Cloudy: showers. 3. Showers.

4. Showers: cloudy. 5. Damp: drizzle. 6. Damp: fine. 7—9. Clear: hot:

fine. 10. Damp. 11. Haze: fog. 12. Fine. 13. Haze: clear. 14. Clear.

15. Clear: cloudy. 16. Clear, 17. Cloudy: fine: damp. 18. Showers, 19,

Clear: aurora, 20. Rain. 21. Showers: cloudy. 22. Cloudy. 23. Damp:

drizzle, 24, Drizzle. 25. Showers: drizzle. 26. Bright: cloudy: aurora,

27. Showers. 28. Showers: cloudy. 29. Rain. 30, Cloudy: rain.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire.—Sept. 1. Fair and fine: one slight shower.

2. Fair and fine. 3. Showery, 4, 5. Fine harvest-day. 6. Fine harvest-day:

one slight shower, 7. Fine harvest-day: fair. 8, 9. Fine harvest-days. 10,

Fine harvest-day, but cloudy. 11. Fine: showerearly a.m. 12, 13. Fine har-

vest-days. 14, Fine harvest-day: thunder, 15, Fine harvest-day. 16. Fine

harvest-day : sheet lightning. 17. Showery. 18. Fair and fine: thunder. 19,

Fair and fine. 20—24, Fine harvest-day. 25. Fine harvest-days: hoar-frost.

26. Fine harvest-day: no frost. 27. Fine harvest-day : hoar-frost. 28. Dull:

wet evening. 29. Cloudy: rain. 30. Cloudy.

: Sun shone out 28 days. Rain fell ’7 days. Thunder 2 days. Hoar-frost 2

ays.

Calm 14 days. Moderate 9 days. Brisk 4 days. Strong breeze 3 days.

Mean temperature of the month ........ Sanbades enc theunp at 56°3

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‘asunyy yzuvSaddy yo ‘wequng “AA ‘Ady 277 49 SNoLsog yw ‘I]vo A “AI 49 fuopuo'T «nau ‘MOIMSIHY) 70 Aja190¢ joungnaysozyT ayy fo Uaplvy) ay} 4D

uosdwmoy yp ‘ayy 49 | uoJaqoy “AI ‘Auvjasvag quvjsisspy ay2 hg ‘NOGNOT ‘hja100g pohogy ay] fo suauzivdp ay2 yo apous suornasasgO JoNToj0L0a/9 py

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Ann & Mag. Nat.Hist Vol 12. PL XML

STRUCTURE ofr SHELLS.

Spe M ;

RAG

whe Sst

Fag

Section of Nacre.

Section of Avicula(?) longicostata. Section of lima rudis.

Sowerby. del a lith. pred. lath Linn. timp.

8, King Wiliam 3? dsérand

Anné Mag. Nat Hest Vo\.\?. PLXIY.

STRUCTURE oF SHELLS.

Section of Terebratula (recent.

‘

LES: NURIO RUE in

eee oy

yy: tr

LU. ra

Shred of Terebratula(?),/0ssv.

Scatvon, of Looth of Nya, arenarias.

¥ . Cd ; 7, . =

Seer, del et lith, pr he

Peer ey

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

No. 79. DECEMBER 1843.

— ~ TA

—

XLVI.—General results of Microscopie Inquiries into the Minute

Structure of the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echino-

dermata. By Wiiu1aM B. Carpenter, M.D.*

[ With two Plates. ]

Havine been engaged, during the last eighteen months, in mi-

croscopic researches into the skeletons or hard parts of animals,

and having had my attention particularly directed towards the

shells of Mollusca and Crustacea, and to the shells, spmes, stems,

&c. of the Echinodermata, I have been led to believe that a short

résumé of the results at which I have arrived, would be interest-

ing to the members of the Geological Section of the British As-

sociation, and might prove of importance in giving a stimulus to

further inquiry. Were it not, indeed, in the hope that the ad-

vance of science might be promoted by my bringing forward these

results in their present form, I should have hesitated in doing

so, until they had attained more completeness. I shall com-

mence with the Mollusca, as presenting the greatest number of

points of interest.

Mollusca. :

The first point on which I desire to lay stress, is the complete

distinctness of the organic basis of the shells of Mollusca from

the calcareous portion. The two are not uniformly diffused

through the shell, as some have supposed, but are separate ele-

ments, each having its own place. The organic or animal basis

presents very definite characters, by which its nature may be de-

termined, when the calcareous portion has been removed by the

action of an acid.

I also think it desirable to state, in limine, that the structure

of all shells appears to me to be equally crystalline ; the carbonate

of lime uniformly presenting a crystalline arrangement, if not a

regular form. I cannot admit, therefore, the distinction between

the crystalline and concretionary shells which Mr. Gray has at-

tempted to establish ; nor can I recognise the two forms of cry-

* Read to the Geological Section of the British Association, August 1843;

and communicated by the Author.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. 2D

378 Dr. W.B. Carpenter on the Minute Structure of

stallization, the rhomboidal and prismatic, as characterizing dif-

ferent groups, for reasons which will appear in the course of this

paper. The crystalline aggregation of the particles of calcareous

matter in shell appears to me to be proved by the transparency

of thin sections (except where patches of uncrystallized or chalky

matter sometimes present themselves), and by their effects upon

polarized light. -It is very evident in some few instances, in which

a distinct crystalline form is presented. One of the most remark-

able of these is the tooth of Mya arenaria, a section of which pre-

sents the remarkable appearance shown in fig. 8 (Plate XIV.),

bearing a strong resemblance to that of Wavellite or radiating

Arragonite. I have found distinct rhomboidal erystals in certain

imperfectly calcified layers, which occasionally present themselves

in Ostrea edulis; and similar crystalline deposits have been

described as existing in the dense integument of some Ascidians.

The first distinction established by the microscope, between the

different forms of shell-structure, has reference to the nature of

their organic basis. This, in most shells, consists but of a sim-

ple membrane, of extreme tenuity, and not presenting the slightest

trace of structure, even when examined under the highest mag-

nifying powers. This membrane is obviously analogous to the

basement membrane lately described by Mr. Bowman (‘ Cyclope-

dia of Anatomy and Physiology,’ art. Mucous Membrane) as ex-

isting between what is commonly termed the true skin and the

overlying epidermis, and also between the ordinary mucous mem-

brane and its epithelium; and I am inclined to believe that it

originally holds the same position on the mantle of the mollusk,

and that it is cast off with each new layer of shell. We shall pre-

sently have to notice the remarkable variations, in the microscopic

appearance of sections of shell, which are produced by the dif-

ferences in the manner in which this membrane is arranged. It

may be easily obtained by submitting the internal layer of any

shell (whether nacreous or not) to the action of dilute muriatic

acid, until all the calcareous matter has been removed. In the

porcellanous shells it is so extremely delicate, that, when thus se-

parated, it is liable to be overlooked ; and it seems to be dissolved

by the acid, if left in it for too long a time, or if the acid be too

_ strong.

In certain bivalve shells, however, an entirely different kind of

membranous basis remains behind, after the caleareous matter has

been removed by acid. This consists ofa stratum of prismatic cells,

adherent together at their sides, and forming by their extremi-

ties the two surfaces of the membrane, which thus presents the

appearance of a honey-comb. This is most characteristically

seen in Pinna; nearly the whole of which shell is formed of this

prismatic cellular substance, as may be easily shown by examining

the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata. 379

the thin laminze into which it. separates, without any preparation,

by the aid of even an ordinary microscope. These cells are

usually hexagonal in form, but are not very regularly so. Their

size varies considerably, both as to diameter and length, even in

the same shell. When very long, the layer which they form

will possess considerable thickness ; when they are very short, it

will be delicately thin. The cells are usually the longest in the

outer layers. I have seen a recent Pinna in which one of these

was nearly 2th of an inch in thickness; and I have seen this far

surpassed in fossil shells allied to this genus, as Inoceramus, Pa-

chymya, &c.; yet in the very same shells, the inner layers were

thinner than a sheet of writing-paper. Although there are con-

siderable variations in the diameter of the cells, in different parts

of the same individual, and still more in different species of the

same genus, yet there appear to be certain limits; so that some

shells may be characterized by the coarseness of their prismatic

structure, and others by its fineness. The coarsest I have yet met

with is in Inoceramus, the finest in. Pandora; and the difference

is so great, that at least 250 cells of the latter would be covered

by one cell of the former (Plate XIII. figs. 1 and 2).

The resemblance, m their structure and position, between the

prismatic cellular substance of shells, and the prismatic epithelium

covering the mucous membranes of higher animals, leaves no room

for doubt of their analogy ; and we may consider this form of shell-

structure in the light of a calcified epithelium, the carbonate of

lime being deposited in the cavities of the cells, and in general

completely filimg them. In most sections of Pinna a greater or

less number of dark cells may be seen, which are usually disposed

with some degree of regularity. These I have reason to believe

to be cells incompletely filled with carbonate of lime; the spaces

remaining in which, being occupied by air only, present a dark

appearance under the microscope, according to the general prin-

ciple well known to observers.

I think it- cannot admit of a doubt, that the prismatic arrange-

ment of the carbonate of lime im these shells is due to the nature

of the organic basis in which it is deposited, and not to anything

peculiar in its mode of crystallization. An interesting specimen

of Pinna has lately been brought under my notice by Mr. S.

Stutchbury, in which the thick outer layer had become disinte-

grated, during the life of the animal, by the decay of its organic

structure ; and the prisms of carbonate of lime were left in situ,

but not in any way held together, so that they could be separated

by a touch. On treating these prisms with dilute acid, I find

them encircled by an extremely delicate membranous film; the

remainder of the cells, im which they were originally formed,

having been removed by decay.

2D2

380 Dr. W. B. Carpenter on the Minute Structure of

It is not difficult for a person who has once become familiar with

the appearance of this structure, to recognise it by the naked eye,

when it presents itself in any considerable amount. It is known

by its brownish-yellow colour, its elasticity (which is greater, and

its brittleness less, than that of other kinds of shell-structure), and

its prismatic or fibrous fracture. I have determined its existence,

by thin sections examined with the microscope, in the following

recent genera: Pinna, Avicula (Meleagrina), Perna, Malleus and

Crenatula, belonging to the family Margaritacee; Ostrea and

Etheria, which seem to be nearly related, if not to be included in

the same family Ostracee; Unio and Anodon, belonging to the

Nayadee ; and Pandora. This last genus is the only exception

I have met with to the general rule,—that the prismatic cellular

structure is restricted to the group, of which the Margaritacee

may be taken as the type or centre, the lobes of the mantle

being almost or completely open and the foot small; and Pan-

dora is altogether so anomalous a genus, that the systematist is

greatly perplexed by it on other grounds than this.

The position of Pinna among the Margaritacee (of which it

may be considered an aberrant form leading to the Mytilacee),

the alliance of Etheria to this group rather than to the Cha-

macee, and the separation of the true Ostracee from the Pecti-

nide on the one hand and from the Placunide on the other, which

had been proposed by systematists on the ground of general cha-

racters, appear to me fully borne out, and indeed absolutely re-

quired, by the characters afforded by the structure of the shell.

~ [ have examined several fossil shells which exhibit similar cha-

racters ; such as fossil Pinne, Inoceramus, Pachymya and. Ger-

villia, belonging to the Margaritacee ; Gryphea to the Ostracee ;

as well as Unios, &c. The prismatic cellular structure is extremely

well preserved in nearly all fossil shells ; and is very easily recog-

nised, either by fracturing the shell or by making a thin section

of it. The latter is necessary where it forms but a thin layer, as

in Gryphea, Unio, &c.; the former is sufficient where the layer

is thick enough to give the fibrous aspect on fracture.

The determination which the use of the microscope thus enables

us to make, of the family to which shells must be referred whose

position would be otherwise doubtful, must be, I imagine, of very

great use to the geologist, even were that use limited to the few

families I have yet named, which is by no means the case. The

following will serve as a good example. A certain shell from the

lias has been described and figured by Prof. Phillips under the

name of Avicula cygnipes ; and the same or a closely allied spe-

cies by Mr. S. Stutchbury, under the name of Avicula longicos-

tata. These gentlemen were not unaware of its affinity to the

Pectinide, but thought that the characters of Avicula predomi-

the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata. 381

nated. On examining a portion of it, however, which Mr.

Stutchbury submitted to me, I was able most decidedly to as-

sert, that it possessed the intimate structure of the shell of the

Pectinide, whilst the prismatic cellular structure and nacreous

lining of Avicula were altogether wanting.

The prismatic cellular structure always occupies the exterior of

the shells in which it occurs ; and their inner surface, as well as

the whole thickness of a large number of shells, is formed of

membranous shell-structure, by which I designate that structure

which seems to consist of alternating layers of carbonate of lime

and of the very delicate membrane already described. This mem-

brane is seldom or never flat, however, but is folded into plications.

hke those of a frill, or corrugated into wrinkles like those on

morocco leather, or arranged in other ways which cannot at pre-

sent be fully described, but which are characteristic of particular

families. ‘These modes of arrangement determine the mode in

which the carbonate of lime is deposited, so that they become

perfectly evident when a thin section of a membranous shell is

examined with a microscope ; and they also determine the appear-

ance produced on fracture. Thus Mr. Gray has pointed out the

alternating directions of the rhomboidal crystals seen on frac-

turing a porcellanous shell, such as Conus or Cyprea ; and these

I believe to be entirely due to the alternating directions of the

membranous corrugations, which are shown by a section. In like

manner, the prismatic fibrous appearance, which is presented by

Mytilus, and by Septaria (Teredo) gigantea, on fracture, is due to

the peculiarity in the form and direction of the plications of the

membranous basis ; and the microscopic appearance of the latter

corresponds so precisely with that, which is to be seen in well-

preserved specimens of the fibro-calcareous sheath of the Belem-

nite, that I cannot but regard the structure of this interesting

fossil as completely analogous to that presented by the thick tube

of the recent Septaria.

There are two varieties of the membranous shell-structure,

which are produced by marked peculiarities in the arrangement

of its organic base ; and which are so easily recognised by the mi-

croscope, as to become of great use in determining the characters

of fossil shells. The first of these exists in nacre. That the na-

creous lustre is due to lines or striz, occurring within certain di-

stances from each other, was long ago shown by Sir D. Brewster ;

but my inquiries into the constitution of nacre have led me to a

view of their cause somewhat different from his. Instead of re-

garding them as produced by the alternation of numerous layers

of membrane and calcareous matter, I have ascertained that they

are due to the plication or folding of a single layer, in such a

mode that the folds shall lie over one another in an imbricated

382 Dr. W.B. Carpenter on the Minute Structure of

manner (fig.3). The edge of each fold therefore marks a line ; and

the distance of the lines from each other will greatly depend upon

whether the cutting-plane coincides with the plane of the folds,

or is more or less inclined to them. As the curvature of the layers

of shell causes the cutting-plane to traverse them differently m

different parts, a single slice of nacre will often show great va-

rieties in the disposition of the lines ; just as the same deal board

shows the woody layers very differently divided im its different

portions.

The view I have given of the structure of nacre is fully proved,

I conceive, by the following fact. It is occasionally possible to

obtain a single layer of nacre, the membrane of which, after the

complete removal of the calcareous matter by acid, exhibits the

true nacreous lustre, so long as the arrangement of its folds re-

mains undisturbed ; but as soon as the membrane is extended,

so as to obliterate the folds, the nacreous lustre departs.

I have found approaches to the nacreous structure in many

shells, in which the folds are not sufficiently regular for the cha-

racteristic lustre to be exhibited. It is easy to understand, there-

fore, why there should be a variation in this respect, within the

limits of a single genus. Thus in Ostrea there is usually no per-

fect nacre, yet there are species which are truly nacreous. On

the other hand, in Mytz/us there is usually a truly nacreous in-

terior, yet there are species in which this is wanting. When so

very slight a difference in the arrangement of the folds wall pro-

duce this variation, it is not surprising that it should occur among

the species of the same genus.

The nacreous and even the subnacreous structure may be easily

recognised by the microscope, wherever they occur, both in the

recent and fossil state. It sometimes requires a microscope of

very good defining power, however, to separaté the lines. As it

frequently happens that a nacreous structure is thus shown to

exist in fossil shells, where, from some peculiarity in the fossiliza-

tion, the characteristic dustre does not present itself, I should ima-

gine that this microscopic character must frequently be of great

importance to the geologist. ‘The absence of any vestige of it

was one of the grounds on which I felt justified in determining

that the so-called Avicula, just now mentioned, could not belong

to that genus. . 3

The other peculiar form of plicated membranous structure is

that which presents itself in Terebratula and other allied genera

of the group of Brachiopoda. It is difficult to give, in words, a

description of this peculiarity, but it will be at once understood

by reference to figs. 6 and 7, Plate XIV.; and, when once seen,

is always recognisable with facility. The best mode of showmg

this peculiar structure I have found to be, the detaching very thin

the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata. 383

shreds with the point of a pen-knife ; this is very easily accom-

plished in many fossil species, especially those deeply plicated

ones which are usually ranked among the Terebratula, and best,

among recent species, in the Terebratula psittacea. It is by the

appearances exhibited by these natural lamine (fig. 7), that those

presented by artificial sections (fig. 6) must be interpreted. This

kind of structure is to be seen in Terebratula, Spirifer and Pen-

tamerus. In Producta there is a difference in the mode of plication,

which takes on the nacreous character; and it is interesting to

remark, that whilst, in the structure of this shell, there is an

approach towards the Lamellibranchiata, there is, among the

Placunide (which probably, of all Lamellibranchiata, approach

nearest to the Brachiopods), a manifest tendency, in the peculiar

lamination of the shell and in the arrangement of the nacreous

plications, to the characteristic structure of Terebratula, &c.

One of the most interesting poimts in the structure of Tere-

bratula, or, at least, in certain species of it, is the existence of a

large number of tubular perforations, passing directly from one

surface of the shell to the other, and terminating by an orifice at

each (fig. 6). The size of these perforations is sufficiently great to

enable them to be detected with a hand magnifier, as minute punc-

tations on the surface; and in this manner I have observed them

in all the recent species of Terebratula (about fourteen) which have

come under my notice, except in the Ter. psittacea, which departs

so widely from the general type, in the incompleteness of the

passage for the ligament, that (as Mr. S. Stutchbury has sug-

gested to me) it is probably to be considered as the recent type

of Spirifer*. Of the very numerous fossil species of Terebratula,

I have yet examined but a small proportion: yet the curious

result has uniformly presented itself, that the perforations

have invariably been found in the non-plicated or moderately

plicated species ; whilst they have been absent in those which differ

from the recent species, in being much more deeply plicated.

Now the structure of the shell in the genus Spirifer agrees with

that of Terebratula in every respect, save the absence of these per-

forationst ; I should therefore be inclined, from this character

alone, to place Ter. psittacea in the genus Spirifer, and to refer

to the same group those deeply-plicated species, which are usually

ranked with Terebratula. Whether this be thought a correct

* T have since learned that this species has been separated, and made the

type of a new genus, Airypa.

+ This statement applies only to the Spirifers of the carboniferous lime-

stone; for in the Spirifer Walcotii of the lias, which I have recently ex-

amined, the perforations are present, as in the true Zerebratula. The whole

subject will require very careful investigation before any legitimate conclu-

sions can be drawn from this kind of examination, in a greup of the value

of whose several characters we at present know so little.

384 Dr. W. B. Carpenter on the Minute Structure of

determination or not, I think no doubt can be entertained, that

the presence or absence of these perforations affords a most im-

portant character, by which the genus Terebratula may be divided.

I should mention, that the determination of this character cannot

_ be certainly effected, in fossil species, without making a section

of the shell; since the perforations are often filled up with stony

matter, in such a way as to obliterate the punctations on the

surface. ,

The diameter of these perforations im Terebratula is usually

about 0006 or ‘0008 ofan inch. In Producta they are larger, being

about 0010 or :0012 of an inch; and they are readily discernible

with the naked eye in thin sections or in fractured. pieces of the

latter. They are readily distinguishable in the decalcified mem-

branous basis of the recent species, and are obviously lined by

distinct membranous tubes. I am much inclined to believe that

these tubes are prolongations of the mantle, which Mr. Owen has

observed to possess an unusual adhesion to the shell.

I cannot but think that the value of the microscope, as an in-

strument of geological research, must be at once evident from

these statements. The genera Terebratula, Spirifer and Producta*

may be at once distinguished from each other, and from all other

shells, by the characters supplied by a fragment of shell, which a

pin’s head would cover.

Whilst upon the structure of the Brachiopoda, I may mention

(though rather anticipating my next head), that the genera Lin-

gula and Discina (Orbicula) agree with each other, and differ en-

tirely from the rest, in a very peculiar set of characters :—their

shells possess extremely little caleareous matter, being made up

of thin horny plates adherent to each other ; every one of these

horny plates, however, is traversed by a set of very minute tubuli

running aslant through it, and very closely resembling, both in

size and arrangement, the tubuli of dentine, and those which I

have observed in the shell of Crustacea. I have nowhere else

discovered, among Mollusca, a structure which could be mistaken

for this. Consequently these two genera are at once separated,

by microscopic examination, from all others.

The tubular variety of membranous shell-structure, as it exists

in the shells of certain Lamellibranchiata and Gasteropoda, is the

last form which I have at present to describe. The size of these

tubuli varies from about 1-20,000th to 1-3500th of an inch ; but

their general diameter, in the shells in which they most abound,

is about 1-6000th of an inch. The direction and distribution of

these tubes are extremely various in different shells. In general

they form a network which spreads itself out in each layer, nearly

* If I am correct in the characters I have assigned to them.

the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata. 385

parallel to its surface ; from this network branches seem to pass

both upwards and downwards, as if to communicate with corre-

sponding reticulations in other layers. The most characteristic

example of this kind which I have met with, is in the genus

Lima, of which the whole shell is minutely traversed by these re-

ticulated tubes (fig. 5). In most families whose shells are entirely

membranous (that is, destitute of the prismatic cellular structure), I

find the tubular structure present in some genera and absent in

others; so that I am inclined to think that it may serve as an

important aid, in separating genera which are otherwise closely

allied.

The tubular structure is often well preserved in fossil shells,

and is distinctly seen in the Avicula longicostata already referred

to. As this example is one of peculiar interest, in regard to the

value of the microscope in determining the nature of fossil shells,

I subjoin a summary of the characters by which I judge it to be

not an Avicula, but nearly allied to Lima or Plagiostoma.

Avicula, andother Lima, Plagiostoma,

Margaritacee. Avicula (2) longicostata. and allied Pectinide.

External layer. External layer. External layer. External layer.

Prismatic cellular No cellular struc- Coarselyplicated Coarsely plicated

structure. ture. membranous membranous

structure. structure.

Internal layer. Internal layer. Internal layer. Internal layer. .

Nacreous. Not nacreous, Tubularstruc- Tubular structure.

ture.

It is worth notice, that in the genus Pecten there is not the

slightest trace of the tubular structure, whilst the shell of Lima

is more completely tubular than any I have examined. Hence

we might consider the difference between them to be more than

generic; a conclusion which harmonizes exactly with that of M.

Deshayes, founded upon the structure and habits of the animals

by which these shells are respectively formed.

The foregomg may be regarded as specimens of the important

results which I think may be anticipated, from the application

of the microscope to the structure of shells. When once marked

differences in the arrangement of the organic elements of shell

are shown to exist, the question naturally arises, how far these

may be adopted as characters in classification ; and I think it will

be evident, from the facts I have stated, that this may be done

to a very considerable extent. There are several families among

which I have not yet discovered well-marked points of difference,

especially in Univalve shells, and in Lamellibranchiata with the

lobes of the mantle united; but I have little doubt that such

characters may be ascertained, by a more extended inquiry than

I have yet had the opportunity of making. Except in the case

386 Dr. W.B. Carpenter on the Minute Structure of

of Pandora, to which I have already adverted, I have not met with

a single exception to the rule,—that marked differences in the

structure of shell go along with marked differences in general

eharacters, and that a close correspondence in the structure of

the shell may be held to indicate a tolerably close natural affinity.

Many circumstances which at first appeared to me exceptional,

were explained im the course of my investigations, by my finding

(chiefly from the notes of M. Deshayes to the new edition of

Lamarck) that the views of systematists had recently undergone

modification, on several points, from imcreased knowledge of the

structure of the animals, so as, in fact, to become precisely accor-

dant with the inferences which I should have been disposed to draw

from the structure of the shell alone.

In concluding this part of my subject, it may be interesting to

my geological auditors, if I say something in regard to the effects

of fosstlization under different circumstances, on the structure of

shell. The fossil shells I have examined have been chiefly from

the carboniferous or mountain-limestone, lias, and oolite. Those

from the carboniferous limestone are frequently changed by a

process of crystallization, to such a degree that no organic struc-

ture is discernible in them; but the characteristic structure of

the Brachiopoda is usually well preserved. The membranous

shells of the as are usually well adapted for microscopic in-

quiry; but they split with unusual facility mto layers, as if they

had undergone very prolonged maceration. The cellular shells,

from the same cause, are disposed to disintegrate ito their com-

‘ponent prisms, so that it is difficult to prepare them for the mi-

croscope. On the other hand, the membranous shells of the

oolite are apt to be entirely changed by crystallization, so that

not a trace of the organic structure is preserved; whilst the

structure of the cellular shells is remarkably perfect, and even

the membrane which separates the prisms is in some instances

preserved. I have not found shells from the chalk good subjects

for microscopic examination: their texture seems to be per-

meated by chalky particles, which give it a peculiar opacity, re-

sembling that which is seen, from the same cause (occurring in

the natural formation of the shell), in Ostrea, Fusus despectus,

and other shells distinguished by their opake-white aspect.

Crustacea.

In regard to the microscopic structure of the hard envelopes

of Crustacea, I can as yet only speak from examination of the

common Crab and Lobster; but the facts which this exammation

has disclosed are so curious, as to render it desirable to state

them in this communication.

The envelope of the crab and lobster consists of threé layers :

the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata. 887

internally a thick calcareous layer, the surface of which is

raised up in little papillary elevations; upon this les a layer of

pigment-cells, to which the colour is due; and externally is a

structureless horny epidermis. The pigment-cells fill up the

valleys or intervals between the papillary elevations of the calca-

reous layer, but do not cover the latter; the epidermis, which is

quite smooth, lies flat upon the whole, adhering to the tops of

the papille ; so that, when the shell is closely examined from the

outside, it is seen to have a minutely-speckled appearance, the

red ground given by the pigment-cells bemg studded with the

white tops of the papillz which rise up through it.

The calcareous layer is composed of a substance exactly ana-

logous to ivory, bemg very transparent and apparently homo-

geneous, when cut into very thin slices, and being perforated by

an immense number of minute sinuous tubuli, which run nearly

parallel to one another from one surface of the shell to the

other. This arrangement may be seen by making a thin section

of any part of the shell; but it may be shown particularly well

in the end of the claw, which is thicker and of denser texture

than the rest. A transverse section of this shows the tubes ra-

diating from the central cavity towards the external surface, and

would, I feel assured, be regarded by the most experienced ob-

server as the section of a tooth, if he were not informed of its

real nature.

Echinodermata.

The microscopic structure of the shell of Hehinus has been

very completely analysed by Valentin, in his monograph of the

anatomy of that genus, published last year in the beautiful

work of M. Agassiz on this group. Before becoming acquainted

with his researches, I had arrived at conclusions exactly identi-

cal, and had extended my inquiries to all the other most import-

ant genera of the Echinida, Stellerida and Crinoidea. The-result

has been extremely interesting. Every part of the skeleton in

these groups is made up of a structure so uniform, and at the

same time so unlike everything else, as to be most characteristie

of the group; so that there could be no hesitation, wherever’ the

merest fragment of this structure might be distinguishable, in

pronouncing it to have belonged to an Echinoderm. I have

reason to believe that minute calcareous plates, having an iden-

tical structure, occur beneath the integument of some Holothu-

ride ; if this be the case (which, for want of a specimen, I have

not yet had the opportunity of ascertaining), the universality of

the character, as distinguishing the whole group of Echinoder-

mata, will be completely established.

The structure to which I allude consists of a series of very

thin plates, each perforated by a number of round apertures,

388 Dr. W. B. Carpenter on the Minute Structure of

disposed with tolerable regularity, so as to give it the appearance

of a cullender. These plates are connected with each other by

little vertical pillars, which pass from surface to surface in vast

numbers: hence, when a section is made perpendicularly to the

surface of the plates, a kind of network is seen, formed by the

cut edges of the plates and by the pillars. In the shells of Echi-

nus, Cidaris, Spatangus, &c. these plates run nearly parallel to

the surface, and are of course nearly plane ; whilst the pillars are

perpendicular to these, so that the interstices of the network are

nearly square: but in the spines of Cidaris, Echinus, &c. the

plates are disposed in a cylindrical manner round the central

axis, and the network which is displayed by a transverse section .

is arranged in concentric rings. ‘The pattern of this network in

many spines is of the most wonderful beauty and elaborateness ;

and, as far as I have yet examined, it is so regular in the same

species and so different in others, that I am inclined to believe

that it will become most valuable in the distinction of species.

A similar cylindrical arrangement, producing the same effect,

is seen in the stem and arms of the recent Pentacrinus, thin sec-

tions of which are extremely beautiful objects for the microscope.

Contrary to the expectation of some of my mineralogical

friends, I have been able to discover the same structure in fossil

specimens, in which the crystallization was so complete, that

they could not be cut without great “difficulty, on account

of their tendency to cleavage. This has been the case with the

Crinoidea in general; a definite structure being presented by

nearly all the specimens that I have yet examined, though it has

been more evident in some than in others. The structure of the

round-stemmed species is usually very simple; a transverse sec-

tion exhibiting several concentric rings or layers, like those of

exogenous wood, with no variety in the pattern of the reticu-

lation. But in the Pentacrinites Briareus the structure is ex-

tremely complex. From the centre there proceed five medullary

rays (if so they might be designated), from the edges of each of

which are given off numerous side-branches; and the reticula-

tions of the central portion and its prolongations are very distinct

from those of the periphery. Now im the recent Pentacrinus Caput

Meduse the pattern is simpler; for though the medullary rays

exist, they do not send out lateral branches, and their structure

is not so different from that of the portion that surrounds them.

In a fossil species, supposed by Mr. Miller to be identical with

the recent one, I have found the structure of the stem to be in-

termediate between that of the Pent. Briareus and that of the

Pent. Caput Medusa; the medullary rays sending out short prolon-

gations, which soon lose themselves in the surrounding structure.

I cannot but suppose, therefore, that analogous differences might

the Skeletons of Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata, 389

be found among other species of Pentacrinus, and that indubi-

table specific characters (which are much wanted in this genus)

might be established upon these. !

In conclusion, I desire to make it known, among those who

may feel an interest in this inquiry and who may perceive its

importance, that I shall feel particularly obliged by being sup-

plied with specimens for examination; that by extending the

basis of my inquiries, my general conclusions may acquire a va-

lue and stability, which I am conscious that they do not at pre-

sent possess. Single or imperfect valves of any of the rarer re-

cent genera, and fragments of almost any fossils in which the

shelly structure is well preserved, will be gratefully received by

me; and I shall do my best to make them available for the pur-

poses of science.

ADDENDUM.

Having been encouraged by the British Association to carry

out these investigations, and having been requested to furnish a

detailed Report on the Microscopic Structure of Shells, &c. for

its next meeting, I am particularly anxious to lose no time in ex-

amining as large a number of species, both recent and fossil, as I

may be enabled to do, by the kind assistance of those who may

be disposed to promote my object. Any contributions of the

kind specified above may be forwarded to me direct through the

post-office if not too bulky ; and Mr. Lovell Reeve, King William

Street, Strand, and Mr. Woodward, Geological Society, have kindly

undertaken to assist me, by receiving and forwarding to me any

specimens that may be transmitted to them.

I may subjoi, as interesting results of observations made

since the meeting of the Association, the identification of the re-

markable structure of Pleurorhynchus Hibernicus (Cardium Hiber-

micum) with that of Hippurites and other Rudistes; leaving no

doubt in my own mind of their close affinity, this structure being,

so far as I know at present, peculiar to the last-named group.

It has given me great pleasure to learn, that several intelligent

conchologists had formed the same opmion on independent

grounds ; though, so far as I am aware, it has never been put

forward in print, and I was entirely ignorant of it at the time

my own observations were made. The structure in question is

of a cancellated nature, fillimg up the space between the internal

and external layers of shell, in the same manner as the diploe

fills up the space between the two tables of the skull. The can-

celli are very regular in form and arrangement; and though

they are now filled with carbonate of lime, | think its appearance

indicates that it is the result of fossilization. I am not acquainted

with cancellated structure exactly resembling this in any recent

shell; the nearest approach to it is presented by Balanus, Coro-

390 Capt. T. Brown on some new species of the genus Pachyodon.

nula, and other sessile Cirrhipods; and I am much inclined to

believe that the real place of this perplexing group will prove to

be intermediate between the Conchifera and the Cirrhipoda—an

idea which has derived confirmation from the examination of

the very beautiful series of specimens in the collection of

S. P. Pratt, Esq., which it is to be hoped that he will take an

opportunity ere long of communicating to the public.

I may state that the specimens most acceptable to me at pre-

sent are those of the various genera of Brachiopoda; as I am very

desirous of fully investigating this group before making my first

Report. But I shall be very glad to receive any others, provided

that the name of the shell is specified, when a fragment only is

sent ; and the bed from which it is obtained, if it be a fossil.

W. B.C.

Bristol, Nov. 16, 1843.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES XIII. XIV.

#ig. 1. Appearance of the membrane of a thin layer of the outer part of the

shell of Pinna, taken parallel to the surface, after removal of the

calcareous matter by acid.

Fig. 2. Thin section of the outer part of the shell of Pinna, not acted on by

acid; two small black cells are seen, in which the calcareous matter

is deficient.

Fig. 3. Section of Nacre, showing the wavy, but usually parallel lines, pro- .

duced by the plaiting of the basement membrane.

Fig. 4. Section of Avicula (?) longicostata, showing its coarsely corrugated

structure penetrated by tubes.

Fig. 5. Section of the inner part of the shell of Lima rudis, showing a finely

corrugated structure abundantly traversed by tubes.

Fig. 6. Section of Terebratula (recent), showing its peculiar structure, and

the large perforations by which the shell is traversed at right angles

to the surface.

Fig. 7. Shred of Terebratula (fossil) detached by the point of a knife, from

a deeply-plicated specimen ; the difference of aspect between this

specimen and the last is entirely due (except in regard to the per-

forations) to the mode in which the section is made; a natural

lamina being obtained in the one case, whilst in the other the plane

of section traverses the natural laminz obliquely.

Fig. 8. Section of the tooth of Mya arenaria, showing a remarkable crystal-

line arrangement.

XLVII.— Description of some New Species of the Genus Pachy-

odon. By Capt. Toomas Brown, M.W.S., M.R.P.S., Curator

of the Manchester Natural History Society’s Museum, &c.

{ With three Plates. ]

1. Pachyodon Gerardi. PI. XV. figs. 1, 2.

TRANSVERSELY ovate, inflated, thickness equal to half its breadth ;

umbones produced, rounded, and contiguous; posterior side

short and obliquely truncated ; anterior side long and subtrun-

Ann. ke Miyy Nid. Hist VTL PLN.

y mired Bs WA Lien

Drawn by Capt” Brown. ingraved by WALizars.

Capt.T. Brown on some new species of the genus Pachyodon. 391

cated; hinge line almost parallel; external surface with a few

remote concentric wrinkles or lines of growth.

I found this species in the coal shale at Dalkeith, Mid Lothian.

2. Pachyodon lateralis. Pl. XV. fig. 3.

Transversely elongated, subquadrate cuneiform ; sides very

unequal, the anterior one very long, gradually sloping from the

ambones and terminating in an obliquely truncate point; pos-

terior one very short ; umbones produced, with acute but not in-

flected beaks. Length somewhat more than half an inch ; breadth

nearly an inch and a half.

Coal shale, Whitehaven.

3. Pachyodon sulcatus. Pl. XV. figs. 4, 5.

Subtriangular, rather compressed; umbones prominent, very

close, slightly reflected, subacute, and placed considerably to one

side; general surface smooth, with inequidistant concentric fur-

rows; posterior side arcuated, with a rounded point situate low ;

anterior side gently rounded ; basal line nearly parallel. Length

13 inch; thickness } inch.

Coal shale near Whitehaven.

This species is liable to some variety in external contour.

4 Pachyodon rugosus. Pl. XV. figs. 6, 7.

Subtriangular, greatly ventricose in proportion to its size, its

depth being equal to five-sixths of its whole length; umbones

very prominent, situate considerably to one side, pointing poste-

riorly and remote from each other; anterior side abruptly de-

scending and rounded ; posterior side gradually sloping and con-

siderably more acute than the other; ligament produced ; exter-

nal surface with unequal, rugose, concentric wrinkles. Length

2% inches; breadth 33 inches ; thickness 2+ inches.

The young shells are much more rugosely wrinkled than the

adult.

Found in the ironstone shale at Sheden by Mr. S. Gibson of

Hebden Bridge, and in his cabinet.

5. Pachyodon subrotundus. Pl. XV. fig. 8.

Subrotund; umbones subcentral, produced, blunt, and some-

what remote from each other ; hinge line considerably arcuated ;

surface with irregular, acute, concentric wrinkles; thickness

about equal to half its length.

Coal shale, Oldham.

6. Pachyodon bipennis. Pl. XV. fig. 9.

Transversely elongated, somewhat hatchet-shaped; sides un-

equal; umbones produced and remote; hinge and basal lines

392 Capt. T. Brown on some new species of the genus Pachyodon.

nearly parallel; anterior side short and rounded; posterior side

elongate, and obliquely subtruncate from the hinge line, termi-

nating below in a short, slightly acuminated curve; surface

rather smooth, with a few, distant, transverse, shallow grooves.

Ironstone shale at Low Moore, Yorkshire.

7. Pachyodon Dawson. Pl. XV. fig. 10.

Orbicular ; umbones central, large, produced and remote ; sur-

face nearly smooth, with only a few nearly obsolete concentric

wrinkles; thickness equal to more than half its diameter.

Found in the ironstone shale at Low Moore near Bradford,

and is in the cabinet of Mr. 8. Gibson.

8. Pachyodon nanus. Pl. XVI. fig. 1.

Smooth, posterior side elongated and obliquely subtruncate

above, subacute below, anterior side rounded; umbones pro-

duced and rounded; hinge line arcuated.

Coal shale at Middleton, near Leeds.

9. Pachyodon Rhindii. P\. XVI. fig. 2.

Subacute at both extremities ; basal line considerably arcuated,

rather produced opposite the umbones; posterior side turned

slightly upwards; umbones subcentral, prominent, and very

close; hinge line curved; surface with transverse, shallow, irre-

cular wrinkles. Length equal to two-thirds of its breadth.

Coal shale, Polmont, Stirlingshire.

10. Pachyodon Amygdala. Pl. XVI. fig. 3.

Inflated, anterior side rounded; posterior side acuminated,

with an acute beak-like termination ; umbones rather obtuse and

remote; basal line considerably arcuated; surface with many

irregular acute wrinkles.

Ironstone shale, Low Moore, Yorkshire.

11. Pachyodon exoletus. Pl. XVI. fig. 4.

Shell transversely elongate, its breadth about double its length ;

surface quite smooth ; umbones blunt, placed near to the anterior

side, which is round; posterior side acuminated and subacute ;

hinge line slightly arcuated, basal line nearly parallel; thickness

somewhat more than half its length.

Ironstone shale, Low Moore, near Bradford.

12. Pachyodon dubius. Pl. XVI. fig. 5.

Subovate, both sides rounded; umbones slightly produced

and rounded ; hinge and basal lines arcuated ; surface with nearly

obsolete, irregular, concentric wrinkles.

Coal shale near Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Ann. be Mag Nid. Hist VAWPXM.

Drawn by Capke™ Brow =

vr by Capt” Brown Engraved iy WHLizare.

Capt. T. Brown on some new species of the genus Pachyodon. 393

13. Pachyodon subtriangularis. Pl. XVI. fig. 6.

Subtriangular, rather inflated ; umbones very prominent, re-

mote, being nearly a quarter of an inch apart; hinge line almost

parallel; basal line with an undulation; both sides rather

abruptly sloping ; surface smooth, with a slight elevation towards

the umbones.

Ironstone shale at Coalbrook Dale.

14. Pachyodon Smithi. Pl. XVI. figs. 7, 8.

Subtriangular, rather inflated ; umbones subcentral, prominent

and rounded, inflected and quite close; anterior side rounded,

posterior side subacute ; surface with transverse, rather deep irre-

gular wrinkles ; breadth about a third more than its length.

Ironstone shale at Sheden.

15. Pachyodon Embletom. Pl. XVI. fig. 9.

Subtriangular, anterior side short and rounded; umbones

placed much to one side, obtuse above, beaks inflected and sharp-

pointed; hinge line considerably arcuated; posterior side gra-

dually slopimg, and terminating in a narrow, subtruncated, rather

short beak; surface with transverse irregular wrinkles.

Coal shale at Middleton, near Leeds.

16. Pachyodon Hey. Pl. XVI. fig. 10.

Subtriangular, inflated ; anterior side abruptly sloping ; poste-

rior side gradually descending, terminating im an oblique sub-

truncation and slightly beaked; hinge line arcuated, basal line

very slightly curved ; umbones prominent, but obtuse and quite

close at the beaks; surface with many concentric wrinkles; a

longitudinal, gradually widening, shallow groove emanates from

the umbones and terminates on the basal margin.

Ironstone shale at Sheden.

17. Pachyodon agrestis. Pl. XVI. fig. 11.

Subcompressed, transversely elongated ; anterior side much

rounded, posterior side lengthened and subacute, descending in a

nearly parallel line from the umbones, which are very obtuse and

remote ; on the posterior side a longitudinal, wide, oblique, shal-

low groove takes its rise on the disc and terminates on the basal

margin, below which there is a flexure on the edge ; whole surface

covered with very coarse transverse wrinkles ; thickness $ths of an

meh.

Ironstone shale near Sheden.

18. Pachyodon similis. Pl. XVI. fig. 12.

Compressed ; anterior side rounded from the umbones, which

are hardly produced but very contiguous; posterior side nearly

<lnn. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii.

394 Capt. T. Brown on some new species of the genus Pachyodon.

parallel, obliquely truncate, with a slightly turned-up beak below ;

hinge line nearly straight, basal lime somewhat arcuated; surface

irregularly wrinkled transversely.

Coal shale at Middleton, near Leeds.

19. Pachyodon turgidus. Pl. XVI. figs. 13, 14.

Inflated; thickness nearly seven-eighths of an inch; breadth

an inch and three-eighths ; umbones prominent, set a little apart ;

anterior side short, slightly subtruncate ; posterior side nearly

parallel above, with a truncated termination; hinge line almost

parallel, basal line with a slight flexure; surface with pretty

strong irregular wrinkles.

Coal shale at Wakefield.

20. Pachyodon nucleus. Pl. XVI* fig. 1.

Inflated, transversely ovate; umbones subacute and remote ;

hinge line nearly straight ; anterior side a little acute, posterior

side elongated and acuminate; basal line subarcuated ; ; surface

with shallow transverse wrinkles.

Coal shale at Woodhall, on the north side of the Pentland Hills,

near Edinburgh.

21. Pachyodon Blaydsii. PI). XVI fig. 2.

Obliquely subtriangular, inflated; umbones prominent and

remote ; hinge line nearly straight; anterior side parallel above

its termination, suddenly rounded; posterior side acuminated,

straight above, with an obliquely truncated termination, sharply

beaked below; basal line astending from the point opposite the

umbones. Length 3ths of an inch; breadth Zths; thickness

nearly half an inch.

Coal shale at Middleton, near Tyeeila

22. Pachyodon Aldamu. Pl. XVI.* fig. 3.

Subcompressed, flexuose and subtriangular; umbones sub-

central, very obtuse, set 3th of an inch apart; hinge line slightly

arcuated ; anterior side abruptly descending from the umbones,

beneath which it is slightly rounded with a flexure below, some-

what produced on the margin immediately under the umbones ;

posterior side gently sloping and rounded, with a shallow furrow

emanating from below the umbones, and rapidly widening, termi-

nates on the base ; basal line flexuose. Length 14 inch; breadth

24 inches ; thickness 1 inch.

The greatest thickness of the shell is at the middle of the discs,

from whence it rapidly becomes thin towards the margins.

Coal shale at Whitehaven.

23. Pachyodon antiquus. Pl. XVI.* fig. 4.

Transversely elongated, subcompressed ; umbones very obtuse

Air. ke Mg Neb Het ANP.

Drawn by Capt” Brown Enoreved bu WHizars

Capt. T. Brown on some new species of the genus Pachyodon. 395

and remote; anterior side short, nearly straight above, with a

cleft termination; posterior side long, with an obliquely sub-

truncate termination, point below a little rounded; hinge line

very slightly arcuated ; a pretty deep transverse furrow runs close

to and nearly parallel with the superior margin on the posterior

side; basal margin with a slight hollow posteriorly ; surface with

strong transverse wrinkles, and a few irregular, nearly obsolete,

longitudinal furrows, producing an antiquated appearance ;

thickness Zths of an inch.

Ironstone shale, Low Moore, near Bradford.

24. Pachyodon transversus. Pl. XVI.* fig. 5.

Transversely elongated ; umbones blunt and obliquely rounded;

anterior side short, rounded and slightly produced at the extre-

mity ; posterior side long, gradually declining from the umbones,

ending in an obliquely truncate termination, rather acutely beaked

below ; hinge line nearly straight, basal line with a slight flexure

posteriorly; surface rather smooth.

Coal shale at Middleton, near Leeds.

25. Pachyodon hamatus. Pl. XVI.* fig. 6.

Oblong-ovate, considerably inflated ; umbones large, produced

and slightly inflected; anterior side rounded, posterior side sub-

acute ; hinge line nearly parallel; basal margin a little arcuated ;

surface with strong concentric wrinkles.

Found by Dr. Fleming in the Oxford clay at Gristhorpe Bay.

26. Pachyodon vetustus. Pl. XVI.* fig. 7.

Transversely elongated, compressed; umbones very obtuse

and depressed; anterior side short and subacute; posterior side

long, broad, and rounded at the extremity ; hinge and basal lines

very slightly arcuated ; external surface with pretty broad, shal-

low, concentric wrinkles.

Found by Dr. Fleming in the carbonaceous shale at Gristhorpe.

Iam strongly inclined to consider this species as belonging to

the genus Alasmodon, with which it agrees in all its external

characters.

27. Pachyodon levedensis. Pl. XVI.* fig. 8.

Subtriangular wedge-shaped ; umbones rounded, situate con-

siderably to one side; anterior side very short and abruptly de-

scending ; posterior side long, acuminated, its superior margin

gradually inclining to a truncated termination ; basal margin

nearly straight ; surface with transverse antiquated wrinkles.

Coal shale at Middleton, near Leeds.

396 Prof. Lindley on new Orchidaceous Plants.

28. Pachyodon pyramidatus. Pl. XVI-* fig. 9.

Subtriangular cuneiform, somewhat pyramidal ; umbones

large, contiguous, extremely obtuse; anterior side very short,

abruptly descending and rounded below; posterior side elon-

gated, its superior line gradually descending to a blunt acumi-

nated termination, thick on the anterior side, and becoming

rapidly compressed posteriorly ; base acute, slightly flexuose and

thin at the edge ; surface with shallow irregular wrinkles ; thick-

ness equal to two-thirds its length.

Ironstone shale at Low Moore; also in shale at Woodhall,

near Edinburgh.

I am indebted to the following friends for the use of the above

specimens :—to Dr. Fleming, Broughton View, Pendleton, Man-

chester, for Nos. 24 and 25; Thomas Wm. Embleton, Esq., Mid-

dleton Hall, near Leeds, for 8, 14, 17, 20, 23 and 26, kindly

presented to me; Mr. Samuel Gibson, Hebden Bridge, for 8,

14, 17, 20, 23 and 26; Wilham Rhind, Esq., Surgeon, Edin-

burgh, for 9 and 19; W. C. Williamson, Esq., Surgeon, Man-

chester, for 18; and Mr. Robertson, Newcastle-on-Tyne, for

No. 12.

XLVIII.—A Century of new Genera and Species of Orchidaceous

Plants. Characterized by Professor Linpiey.

[Continued from vol. x. p. 186.]

Decade 2.

11. Maspgvauy1a minuta; folio lineari-lanceolato carnoso acuto

scapo unifloro duplo breviore, floribus cylindraceis hine gibbosis,

sepalis linearibus acuminatis equalibus.

Surinam (Hostmann, no. 151).

The whole plant only two inches high, flowers included. Flowers

apparently dull orange. Petals bidentate. Lip linear, very slightly

unidentate on each side.

12. Sreuts pauciflora; folio obovato-lanceolato obtuso tridentato in

petiolum angustato, spica solitaria nutante folio subzquali, floribus

distantibus, bracteis acuminatis, sepalis subrotundis subqualibus

ciliatis intus pilosis, petalis ciliatis labelloque carnosis.

Brazil (Miers).

Leaf about 2} inches long. Flowers four or five on a raceme, about

half an inch apart.

18. Srexis Miersii ; folio lineari spathulato obtuso plano-convexo

emarginato, spicis subsolitariis folio subequalibus secundis, brac-

teis ovatis apiculatis, sepalis ovatis supremo minore lateralibus

Prof. Lindley on new Orchidaceous Plants. 397

extus trinerviis, petalis membranaceis subtruncatis, labello ovato

acuto.

Brazil (Miers).

Flowers very small, pale straw-colour. Leaves about two inches

long. Near S. spathulata.

14, Srexis Serra; folio oblongo marginato apiculato basi angustato,

spicis subgeminis erectis strictis duplo longioribus, bracteis disti-

chis ovatis acutis internodiis longioribus, sepalis rotundatis, petalis

retusis membranaceis, labello membranaceo trilobo.

Peru, in prov. Chachapoyas (Mathews).

Whole plant about three inches high. Flowers a little longer than

the bracts, very small.

15. Sreuis flexuosa ; folio oblongo acute tridentato marginato in pe-

tiolum angustato, racemis subgeminis filiformibus flexuosis multi-

floris 2—3plo longioribus, bracteis minimis ovatis acutis pedicellis

brevioribus.

Peru (Mathews, no. 1910).

Leaves about three-quarters of an inch long. Racemes drooping,

zigzag ; bracts very minute at the angles of the axis.

16. PuEvROTHALLIs aurea ; folio sessili oblongo horizontali obtusis-

simo, racemo stricto solitario 4plo longiore, sepalis lineari-lanceo-

latis acuminatis intus glanduloso-scabris lateralibus basi tantum

connatis, petalis oblongis obtusis carinatis triplo brevioribus, labello

obovato apice rotundato lineis duabus flexuosis elevatis, clinandrio

lacero.

Caraccas (Linden, no. 634).

The flowers are bright yellow, probably with a little purple streak-

ing. The raceme is nine inches long. The sepals are seven lines long.

The habit is that of P. racemiflora, to which and P. pulchella it is

nearly related.

17. Prevrotuaruis Lindenii; caule nudo folio oblongo-lanceolato

acuminato sessili duplo longiore, racemo filiformi solitario pendulo

folio breviore, sepalis subdiaphanis acuminatis glabris lateralibus

in cochlear connatis, petalis equilongis acuminatis coriaceis, labello

nano cordato acuto.

Caraccas (Linden, no. 630).

Flowers large, apparently violet, about four on the lax solitary

raceme. Perhaps this with P. Mathewsii and some other long-

petaled species may form a good section in this difficult genus.

18. Eripenprum (Encyclium) Lindenii ; foliis binis oblongis obtusis

racemi pedunculo zqualibus, racemo laxo, floribus carnosis, sepalis

lanceolatis obtusiusculis, petalis basi angustatis, labelli subrotundi

3-lobi laciniis lateralibus rotundatis, intermedia subcuneata, callo

disci tomentoso, clinandrio obtuse 3-dentato, cardinis appendice

bidentata.

Caraccas (Linden, no. 624).

Very near Hpidendrum pterocarpum, but the flowers are larger, and.

apparently deep rose-colour.

398 Mr. J. KE. Gray on a new species of Marmozette.

19. Eprrpenprum (Spathium) refractum ; folio carnoso ovato-oblongo

coriaceo obtuso, pedunculo elongato spathis plurimis falcatis ob-

tusis distinctis vaginato, racemo brevi 4—5-floro cernuo, floribus

carnosis, sepalis oblongis acutis dorsali refracto, petalis ovalibus

subconformibus, labello subrotundo cordato trilobo basi biverrucoso

per medium calloso, lacinia intermedia abbreviata truncata.

Caraccas (Linden, no. 618).

A very singular plant, with six or seven herbaceous, equitant, di-

stinct falcate spathes on a peduncle about nine inches long. ‘The

sepals are about three-quarters of an inch long.

20. Errpenprum (Huepidendrum) aquaticum ; caule ancipiti ramoso,

foliis lineari-oblongis acutis panicula simplici pauciflora (aut ra-

cemo) paulo brevioribus, sepalis oblongis petalisque linearibus ob-

tusis, labello carnoso alte cordato cucullato basi ecalloso, clinandrio

utrinque bidentato.

Brazil (Gardner, no. 4344) ; an aquatic.

The branches of this are four or five inches long, the leaves from

half an inch to two inches. The flowers small and green.

XLIX.—On a new species of Marmozette in the British Museum

Collection. By Joun Epwarp Gray, Esq., F.R.S.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.

My prEar Sir,

Amone the new Mammalia recently received by the British

Museum is a species of Marmozette, which is very interesting

as coming from Mexico, all the species hitherto described having

been found in the Brazils. I have named it, from the peeuliar

colouring of its under side, the Red-bellied Marmozette.

Jacchus rufiventer.

Black, grisled by the white tips of the hair, which are more abun-

dant on the loms and thighs; chest, mner side of the legs,

under side of body and spot on the middle of the crown of the

head chestnut-brown ; tail elongated, black; ears large, not

penciled.

Inhab. Mexico.

This species is very distinct in its coloration from any other

of the described species. I was at first inclined to regard it as

a variety of Jacchus melanurus, but that species is described as

brown and fulvous beneath, and on comparing the longer de-

scription of the species given in Kuhl with our animal, it is evi-

dently distinct.

Yours truly,

Joun Epwarp Gray.

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia. 399

L.—Observations on the Classification of the Mammalia. By

Grorce R. Waternouss, Esq., Assistant Secretary and Cu-

rator to the Zoological Society, &c.

Tue following observations are chiefly explanatory of the accom-

panying tabular arrangement, in which I have attempted to group

the various orders of the class Mammalia so as to display their

mutual relations :

QUADRUMANA.

]

Galeopithecus.

Pteropus. Cercoleptes.

CARNIVORA,

CHEIROPTERA.

Tupaia,

Gymnura, \Mydaus. Phoea.

Vespertilio. // Sorex.

INSECTIVORA.

Centetes. Manatus.

PACHYDERMATA,

Equus.

Elephas. Camelus.

RUMINANTIA.

RODENTIA.

Megatherium,

Lepus. Bradypus.

Lagostomus,

EDENTATA.

Phascolomys.

MARSUPIATA.

Monotremata.

In this table the orders are represented by circles: the numbers

in the circles indicate the order of succession in which it appears

to me the great groups should follow each other when it is ne-

cessary to treat of them as though they formed a linear series* :

* The extensive collection of Mammalia belonging to the Zoological

Society was arranged by myself, towards the end of the year 1836, in the

400 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia.

those numbered 1 to 9 inclusive comprise the nine orders of

Placental Mammalia; and the lowest circle, 10, represents the

Implacental Mammals, which in the structure of their brain, and

in their generative and vascular systems, exhibit the lowest grade

of organization observable in the class; that is, the most remote

from man, and the most approximate to the oviparous classes.

The Placental series appears to divide itself into two great

masses or sections, the first or highest of which includes the

circles 1 to 4, and the second is represented by the four lower

circles, 6 to 9 inclusive. The higher section embraces those

species which possess in a well-developed condition the four kinds

of teeth, viz. imcisors, canines, false molars, and true molars.

They are chiefly animals of prey, carnivorous or insectivorous, if

we except the highest circle, which contains those mammals which

approach in all their characters most nearly to man, and are

chiefly frugivorous: here the brain presents at first—that is, in

the highest Quadrumana—a structure very similar to that of man ;

but in the lowest Lemuride, which are always placed at the bottom

of the Quadrumanous series, we find the cerebrum comparatively

small, the anterior lobes in some*, but little developed and con-

tracted in front, instead of presenting the rounded and expanded

condition as inman: The convolutions of the hemispheres are but

few in number and very symmetrical. The cerebellum is in a great

measure exposed. In the lowest American Monkeys is a struc-

ture of brain which may be regarded as intermediate between

that observable in the Lemurs and that of the higher Quadru-

mana. Thus in the genus Midas the brain is almost destitute

of convolutions, but its superiority over that of the Lemurs is

evinced in the comparatively great development of the cerebrum,

following order: viz. 1. Quadrumana, 2. Cheiroptera, 3. Fer@, 4. Cetacea,

5. Pachydermata, 6. Ruminantia, 7. Rodentia, 8. Edentata, and 9. Marsu-

piata. The MS. catalogue of this collection being prepared early in 1837,

was ordered to be published and appeared in 1838. Since the publication of

that catalogue I have adopted M. de Blainville’s views respecting the Jn-

sectivora, that is, in regarding them as a separate order. In placing the

Marsupial animals at the end of the series I followed M. de Blainville and

Prof. Owen, and was especially induced to do so through the writings of the

latter author.

This classification, which has been adopted by Prof. Owen and Mr. Martin,

it will be seen, is essentially the same as the one here proposed, though, by

placing the orders as in the above table, many important facts may be ex-

pressed which could not be displayed by arranging them in a linear series.

I ought to observe, that in Prof. Owen’s linear disposition of the orders (see

the ‘ Cyclopzedia of Anat. and Phys.’ part 21), the Edentata precede the Ro-

dents, and are not, as in the Catalogue of the Zoological Society’s Collection,

placed after that group. This change I adopt, but with some hesitation.

* See Recherches d’Anatomie comparée sur le genre Stenops d’Llliger,

by Prof. Vrolik.

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia. 401

which is much less contracted in front, and is produced poste-

riorly so as almost totally to conceal the cerebellum*,

Taking the general form of the brain into consideration, the Pla-

cental Mammalia would appear divisible into two sections : first,

those in which the cerebrum is generally of a rounded form, obtuse

in front and provided with distinct convolutions ; and secondly,

those in which the cerebrum is destitute of convolutions, or

nearly so, and usuallycontracted in front. The first division would

contain the Quadrumana, Carnivora, Cetacea, Pachydermata and

Ruminantia, and the second would contain the Cheiroptera, Insec-

tivora, Edentata and Rodentia. Again, the succession of the

orders of the first division as they are placed above would, in a

general way, tolerably well express the grade of development in

the parts of the brain of each, the proportion of the cerebrum to

the cerebellum, and of these to the spinal chord and medulla

oblongata. The medullary substance of the cerebrum is at first

deep, and the capacity of the lateral ventricles is small; the

optic lobes and the olfactory tubercles are also small in propor-

tion to the brain, whilst the corpus striatum, optic thalami and

corpora striata are well developed. The cerebellum is concealed,

whilst in the last-mentioned of these orders (the Ruminantia) the

cerebellum is exposed ; the medulla oblongata and spinal chord -

are proportionately large, and so are the optic lobes, and the

olfactory tubercles still more so. The Carnivora form an inter-

mediate group in these characters.

I must notice however the remarkable exception which the

Seals and Cetacea form: they both have a highly organized

brain ; the Seals as compared with other Carnivora, and the Ceta-

ceans immensely so, as compared with the orders near which they

are placed. We should however perhaps take into consideration

that the brain has to be educated from without; and when we

perceive the imperfections in the educatory media—the senses—

in the Whales, where the organ of smell is either wanting or exists

only in a very imperfect condition, where the hands are trans-

formed into fins covered by a common integument, we can con-

ceive that the highly organized brain is given to the Whale to

compensate for these deficiencies, and that its intelligence is not

necessarily in degree equal to what might be inferred from the

consideration of the brain abstractedly. The same remarks will

apply to a certain extent to the Seals, and to some other mammals.

In the other classes I will not pretend to say that the order

of succession of the groups will display the modifications exhi-

biting a higher or lower grade of organization in the brain ; the

* The brain of Midas rufimanus is figured and described by Prof. Owen

in Part I. of the Philosophical Transactions for 1837.

402 Mr.G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia.

materials at my disposal for forming a just conclusion on this

point are most inadequate.

But are we in a condition to take fas basis of a classification

of the Mammalia, the structure of the brain ?—I think not:

though in the case of the Marsupialia it has afforded characters

serving to separate that from other sections, and to indicate its

proper position in the system, I am not prepared to follow those

naturalists who would, in our present state of information, take

this organ as one of primary importance in the distribution of

the orders of the Placental series of Mammals. I cannot adopt

the two great sections of this series as apparently indicated by

the smooth and anteriorly contracted cerebrum on the one hand,

and the convoluted cerebrum with its rounded anterior portion

on the other. Were I to do so, I should find it necessary to

remove some of the Lemurs from their group in the highest

order of the first section, and to place them in the second section.

As regards the Cetaceans, although the condition of the senses

may be taken into account in considering the brain with a view

to forming an estimation of their intelligence, so highly an or-

ganized brain as is possessed by that group, it appears to me,

forbids its being placed at the end of the class, as has been done.

The stomach is very complicated, being divided into four or more

compartments. The dentition is very abnormal ; the teeth how-

ever will, I strongly suspect, bear a closer comparison in their

structure with the simple teeth, sometimes observed in the first

great carnivorous section (as in some of the Seals) than with the

simple teeth of the Edentata. On the whole, the Cetacea are

perhaps most conveniently located between the great carnivorous

and the herbivorous sections ; and as in the table, they may be

connected with the Pachydermata through the Lamantin, &c.,

and with the Carnivora through the Seals. As regards the latter,

the relationship of the Cetacea to the Seals, this is certainly

somewhat remote, for the multilobulate kidneys, formed in both

groups, as well as those characters which are simply adaptive for

their aquatic habits, I cannot but regard as of little value as

indicative of affinity.

The Manatus, Dugong and Rytina have by Cuvier been

associated with the true Whales. From this view De Blainville,

Prof. Owen*, and some other zoologists and anatomists have

dissented. De Blainville places the animals in question with the

Pachydermata, and Prof. Owen strongly inclines to the same

opinion: “ We have seen (observes Prof. Owen) that the whole

of the internal structure in the herbivorous Cetacea (Dugong,

* See this author’s account of the anatomy of the Dugong in the Pro-

ceedings of the Zoological Society for March 1838; and Ann. Nat. Hist.

vol. ii. p. 300.

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia. 408

Manatus, &c.) differs as widely from that of the carnivorous

Cetacea as do their habits: that the amount of variation is as

great as well could be in animals of the same class, existing in

the same great deep. The junction of the Dugongs and Ma-

natees with the true Whales cannot therefore be admitted in a

distribution of animals according to the organization. With

much superficial resemblance, they have little real or organic

affinity to the Walrus, which exhibits an extreme modification of

the amphibious carnivorous type. I conclude, therefore, that the

Dugong and its congeners must either form a group apart, or be

joined, as in the classification of De Blainville, with the Pachy-

derms, with which the herbivorous Cetacea have the nearest

affinities, and to which they seem to have been more immediately

linked by the now lost Dinotherium.”

On the whole then it appears to me, that the researches of the

author just quoted, and of De Blainville, will bear out the as-

sumption, that the animals forming the family of herbivorous

Cetacea in the ‘ Régne Animal’ are in fact aquatic Pachydermata,

bearing the same relations to the ordinary Pachyderms as do

the Seals (of which group the Walrus forms part) to the Carni-

vora. ‘That there is a strong analogy between these animals and

the true Cetaceans cannot be denied, but that there is any direct

affinity I think is doubtful. : :

In the circles representing the different orders, 1 have intro-

duced those genera belonging to each which appear to approach

most nearly to other orders. Most of these approaches of genera

of one order to the general characters of other orders have been

before pointed out ; 1 cannot pass on, however, without making

some observations upon the nature of these approaches. Exam-

ples of this kind are numerous, and have given rise to a common

belief, that, as a general rule at least, the various sections of

animals, even those of the highest value, are gradually linked

together. It has been most frequently stated, that the groups,

large and small, of which the animal kingdom is composed,

blend imperceptibly into each other ; and supposing this view to

be correct, it follows that there are many species so well balanced

in their characters, that they cannot in a classification, without

doing violence to those characters, be placed in any particular

order; these links must be arranged between the orders, the

characters of which they combine. But in those groups to which

I have paid most attention, I will venture to assert, that species

which even appear to require to be so located, are far from being

numerous, and moreover, that in proportion as knowledge of the

groups and species increases, so does the number of supposed

links decrease ; that is to say, it becomes less and less doubtful

as to the group in which an animal should be placed. A short

404 Mr. G, R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia.

time back the section Marsupiata was regarded by many as an

unnatural assemblage of species which in reality belonged to

other orders or groups; and on this point Prof. Owen observes,

“Tt may be admitted, that at the period when the most judicious

and learned. naturalist, the then Vice-secretary of the Zoological

Society, published his reasons for rejecting the Marsupialia as a

distinct group in the ‘ Systema Mammalium,’ and for distributing

them among different placental orders, according to their sup-

posed closer affinities, the contrary views set forth by M. de

Blainville were defective in that kind of evidence which could

alone render them convincing. The organization of the Marsu-

pial animals was not at that time sufficiently elucidated to render

any opinion as to their natural affinities really valid. Subsequent

dissections have however shown, that the hypothesis which Cuvier

had sanctioned by his authority was correct. The Marsupial

animals have been proved to agree among themselves, and to

differ from the analogous placental species by several important

modifications not suspected when the Mammalia in the museum

of the Zoological Society were arranged according to the quinary

system *,”

Here we have a case, which, though it goes beyond my propo-

sition, will serve to illustrate the impression which | wish to con-

vey : various Marsupial animals, which are now all but universally

admitted to form a natural group, have been supposed (when

materials for forming a just conclusion were not at hand) to be ~

members of other great divisions of the Mammalia.

_ Mr. Bennett asks, “ What is there of importance in the struc-

ture of the Wombat, except this solitary character of the Marsu-

plum, to separate it from the Rodent order?” But further m-

formation of the Wombat is acquired ; it is found to possess some

other characters in common with the other Marsupiata. “Surely

the different groups of animals are imperceptibly linked together,”

might then have been the remark ; or, it might have been disco-

vered that other animals possessing the pouch approached very

nearly to this supposed Rodent on the one hand and to the car-

nivorous Marsupials on the other, and the same remark might

have been uttered. What said Cuvier in 1839 relating to this

same animal ?—“ That it is a true Rodent as regards its dentition

and intestines, its only relation to the Carnivora being evinced

in the articulating portion of the lower jaw; and in a rigorously

exact system it would be necessary to place it with the Rodentia;

we should, in fact, have there arranged it, if we had not been led

to the Wombat by a regular uninterrupted series from the Opos-

sums to the Phalangers, from them to the Kangaroos, and from

* Trans. Zool. Soe. vol. ii. part iv. p. 330.

Mr. G, R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia. 405

these last to the Wombat; and, finally, if it were not that the

organs of generation in that animal were perfectly similar to those

of all belonging to the family Marsupialia.” The Wombat then

is an animal which appeared to link two orders or large sections,

the Rodentia and the Marsupiata; but this case would have

been insufficient to support the belief that these two groups very

gradually blended into each other; for (admitting the Wombat

approached very near to the Rodents) it would have been further

necessary to point out the species of Rodents which linked the

order, of which they formed part, with the Wombat. Cuvier

observed that this animal was gradually linked with other Marsu-

piata (very dissimilar to the Rodents) by intermediate species,

and mentions that fact as one which induced him to place it in

the Marsupiate division, but he does not point out similar links

on the Rodent side. A thorough examination of the Wombat

and numerous other Marsupialia has now shown that these ani-

mals are much more closely connected than was supposed ; most

important peculiarities in these animals have been discovered,

and the degree of relationship which the animal under consider-

ation bears to the Rodents must in proportion be modified. On

the other hand, Prof. Owen, in his dissection of a certain Rodent

(the Biscacha*, Lagostomus trichodactylus), has discovered pecu-

harities in the female generative organs of that animal in which

it approaches nearer to the Marsupial type than has hitherto

been observed in any of the Placental series: this is evinced in

the presence of a longitudinal septum dividing the vagina into

two canals for upwards of an inch beyond the ora tince; “ru-

diments of a vaginal septum,” the Professor remarks, “ occur in

the young or virgin state of several genera; but it is only in the

Lagostomus that a continuation of the median separation of the

genital tubes has been contmued beyond the uterine portion

along so great an extent of the vagina and as a permanent struc-

ture.” Let it be added to this, that in the order Rodentia, ge-

nerally, other characters have been pointed out which indicate

that this group evinces the nearest approach to the Marsupiata,

yet as regards the two nearest species respectively of these neigh-

bouring groups I cannot perceive, on the one hand, any traces in

the Wombat of the peculiar characters which distinguish the

Lagostomus, or the little family to which it belongs, from other

Rodents, and vice versd. There is, in fact, a considerable hiatus

between the two groups. The Lagostomus is essentially a Rodent,

but being one of the members of an order which in the Placental

series is perhaps, on the whole, the furthest removed from the

head of that series, and also it being certainly one among the

* Proceedings of the Zoological Society for December 1839, p.177; Ann,

Nat. Hist. vol. vi. p. 68.

406 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia.

lowest species of that order, it begins to present that condition

of the generative organs which characterizes the last section of

Mammals (the Marsupiata), and which is there accompanied with

other characters approaching the oviparous types. These facts

and conclusions relating to the Biscacha induce me to place the

genus to which it belongs in that part of the circle representing

the Rodent order which is nearest to the circle of the Marsupiata.

But I cannot place the Wombat (Phascolomys) in the corre-

sponding part of the Marsupial circle without observing, that it

appears to me its relationship to the Rodent group is of a different

nature (or at least differs in degree) ; that it is only in what has

been aptly termed ‘adaptive characters’ that its approach is

evinced. These adaptive characters (which I conceive are by no

means necessarily connected with affinity) consist in a superficial

resemblance, owing to certain similar modifications of organs

connected with the habits of the species: thus the Flying Lemur

(Galeopithecus), Flymg Squirrel (Pteromys),and Flying Phalanger

(Petawrus) have a considerable resemblance to each other, arising

from each bemg adapted to a mode of life which is in some re-

spects the same in all, but the groups to which the three animals

belong are in important zoological characters essentially different;

yet it must be observed, that as the Rodents and Marsupiata are

more near to each other than either are to the Lemuridea, there

exists a difference of degree as regards the extent of the hiatus

which separates the three flying animals referred to: so it is I

believe with the Wombat; it resembles the Rodents in certain

adaptive characters, and the approach to the Rodents is only in

degree equal to the approach of the order Rodentia to the order

Marsupiata. The Lagostomus not only possesses characters which

link the Rodentia to the Marsupiata generally, but goes beyond

other species of its order in having a modification of its genera-

tive system which approaches it still more nearly to the last-men-

tioned group. The Wombat even in dentition agrees essentially

with the Marsupial type, and not, as was supposed, with the

Rodent.

It is m cases like one or the other of the two which I have

endeavoured to illustrate, that I believe the several genera intro-

duced in either of the circles of my table evince an approxima-

tion to other circles. I do not perceive that the orders imper-

ceptibly blend into each other, nor am I at all satisfied that even

in minor groups (such as families and genera) this perfect blend-

ing takes place.

The question which arises from such a position is, whether any

species 1s formed essentially on two types of the same rank ?

Kach animal is framed to perform certain functions, and is most

perfectly adapted to those functions ; but beyond this, is not each

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia. 407

species framed upon some general and particular model? Cer-

tainly it may be said with respect to the Water-rat (Arvicola am-

phibia), that it is framed on the Vertebrate model ; on the Mam-

malian type of that model; on the Rodent type of the Mam-

malia; and it is equally clear to my senses that it possesses the

same general structure of skull, combined with the anchylosed

fibula to the tibia, &c., which characterize the Murine family of

the Rodent order ; but, beyond this, it exhibits a modification in

the structure of the teeth in which it agrees with numerous other

species of the family mentioned, and which are classed under the

generic title Arvicola. So that in one sense the Water-rat may

be said to be essentially framed upon more than one model, but,

from the lowest to the highest of the divisions mentioned, each

model is a modification of the type of the division which pre-

cedes it ; and the case might be therefore symbolically represented

by concentric circles of different sizes, the largest of which would

typify the Vertebrata, and the smallest the genus Arvicola and so

on. It does not appear that the Water-rat is framed upon two

or more types of equal rank, and I strongly incline to the belief,

that what is true of one species, as regards the poimt under con-

sideration, is true of all.

There is one other point relating to the genera introduced in

the table to which I wish to call attention, viz. that it often hap-

pens that those species of one order which approach most nearly

to other adjoining orders, are not met, as it were, by a corre-

sponding approach in those adjoming orders. ach order may.

throw out rays (to speak figuratively) to other orders, but the

rays are seldom in the same direction. I have noticed one case

illustrative of this pomt, that of the Wombat and Lagostomus :

many might be adduced. Among the Carnivora, the genus My-

daus in general appearance and in its insectivorous diet resembles

the species of the order Insectivora; but it differs widely in its

dentition, having but one true molar to each side of each jaw, as

in others of the group to which it belongs. On the other side

we find a considerable approach evinced in the genus Gymnura

(one of the Insectivora) to the Carnivorous order*, displayed in

the general form of the skull, in the presence of six incisors (a

number unusual in the Jnsectivora), and well-developed canines.

Here I can only perceive an approach, on the one hand, of one of

the Insectivora to the order Carnivora, and on the other, one of

the Carnivora approximating to the Insectivora. But the two

animals mentioned do not approach towards each other in corre-

sponding modifications of structure, for the Gymnura would bear

a closer comparison with some of the small Urside, where the

* This animal in fact was originally described as a Viverra.

408 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia.

true molars are two in number, and sometimes not only assume

the quadrate form but the prickly crowns, and even the four

principal cusps as in Gymnura. In Mydaus (which is one of the

Mustelide*) the single true molar is of a very different general

form, though the tubercles on its surface are somewhat. acute:

neither of these cases, in my opinion, exhibits an approach of

direct affinity ; and that instance of a certain resemblance between

the Gymnura and the Ursida, just alluded to, it will be perceived,

affords another illustration of points discussed in this paper ; for

among the Urside, that species which in the structure of its molar

teeth approaches more nearly to the Insectivora, is one which in

other poits is most removed from that order,—I allude to the

Ailurus, which is remarkable in its group for the possession of re-

tractile claws. It might be asked, “ Does this latter animal then

evince any affinity with the Cats, which are pre-eminently distin-

guished for their retractile claws?” In no one other character can

I perceive the slightest approach; and yet many zoologists in-

sist much upon the modifications of the extremities as of primary

importance in classification. There are undoubtedly cases in

which such characters are of considerable value, but this is

when they are combined with others of acknowledged value, as

in the case of the hoofed foot of the Ruminants, which is com-

bined with the ruminant stomach and other peculiarities. I

wish not to be misunderstood: I would reject no character, but

I do not regard the same modification as always of the same va-

lue; that I should estimate by its constancy, combined with other

peculiarities.

In the circle Quadrumana, I have placed the Galeopithecus or

Flying Lemur near the Cheiropterous groupt; not only be-

* Mydaus, as well as Arctonyx and Ratelus, I do not hesitate to arrange

with the Badgers (Meles and Taxidea), which form, according to my views,

a little group of the Mustelide (and may be called Melina), and not of the

Ursid@, with which they are generally associated. They are clearly linked

with the typical Mustelide by means of the Skunks (Mephitis). From the

Urside, among other characters, they are readily distinguished by their pos-

sessing but one true molar on each side of each jaw—-the Bear tribe having

two. The Mustelide approach the Urside and the Jnsectivora in having no

cecum, and in the absence of any decided division between the large and

small intestines. j

+ The Galeopitheci are arranged by many mammalogists with the Cheiro-

ptera; I have always however regarded them (as well as the Aye-Aye) as con-

stituting an aberrant form of the Lemurida, and in addition to the points of

resemblance noticed in my paper on the group, published in the Zoological

Society’s Transactions, | may call attention to others existing in the intes-~

tinal canal, pointed out by Cuvier in his ‘ Lecons d’Anatomie Comparée :’

“ Les Galéopithéques se distinguent des autres Cheiroptéres, et se rappro-

chent des Lémuriens par la présence d’un trés grand caecum, et la division du

canal intestinal en gros et petit intestin.”—M. de Blainville, in his great work

on Osteology, now in course of publication, has placed the group in question

with the Lemurid@, and shown ample reasons for so doing.

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia. 409

cause it has the flank membranes extended from limb to limb,

which enable it to sustain itself to a certain extent in the air,

but because in its dentition, more especially in the structure of

the molar teeth, there is a great resemblance to the ordinary

Vespertilionide. The higher Quadrumana are remarkable among

Mammals for the possession of a perfect bony socket for the eye,

as in man; but as we descend in the Quadrumanous group the

socket becomes less perfect; the malar bone, which forms the outer

and part of the lower boundary of the orbit, is at first produced

backwards, and joins with the sphenoid, superior maxillary and

frontal bones to form a complete socket for the eye: this cha-

racter runs through the whole of the old and new world Monkeys

with slight modifications only, indicative of a receding from man.

In Tarsius spectrum* the socket is still comparatively perfect as

compared with other Lemuride, where the orbital process of the

frontal bone, jomed with the malar bone, merely forms a broadish

ring forming the outer boundary of the orbit. Lastly, in Galeo-

pithecus we find the orbital process of the malar and frontal

bones unconnected; there is indeed a considerable hiatus be-

tween the two processes. Here, again, we find an approach to

the. Bats: in these animals the orbital processes are generally

wanting, but in the Pteropi those of the frontal bones are much

produced; and so far, as well as in the general form of the skull, in

having more perfect hands than other Bats, and in their frugivo-

rous diet, they evince the nearest relationship observed in this

group to the Lemuride; but there is no gradual blending of the

two groups. The dentition of the Pteropi is most unlike that of

Galeopithecus : the resemblance existing between the molar teeth

of the latter animal and the Bats, before alluded to, holds good

with the Bats generally, with the exception of the Pteropi.

Among the Jnsectivora is a genus (Tupaia) which has a skull

and dentition remarkably approximate to that of the Lemurs. In

the Insectivora generally the zygomatic arch is but little de-

veloped or is incomplete, and there is no orbital process; but in

Tupaia the zygomatic arch is well developed, and the malar and

frontal bones join to form a complete though slender bony orbit :

the latter bone (the malar) is remarkable for being perforated, a

* In the Tarsius, an approach to that extraordinary animal the Aye-Aye

may be perceived in the superior development of the two foremost incisors

of the upper jaw. The canines are very small compared with the ordina

Lemuride; and it is in the loss of these teeth and the other incisors (which

are minute in Tursius), and some of the false molars, which produce in the

Aye-Ave so strong a resemblance (as regards the condition of the teeth) to

the Rodentia as to have induced Cuvier and others to place it in that order.

De Blainville has most ably combated this opinion and shown the true re-

lations of the animal in question, and has not omitted to notice this fact,

which had struck me, however, before I had seen his paper. :

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii.

410 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia.

character which I do not recollect to have met with, except in the

Lemuride ; here it is sometimes of moderate size, but generally

very small*. The resemblance in the dentition may be said to

extend to number and form, excepting that in Tupaia there is an

extra small false molar in the lower jaw: the lower incisors here

have moreover the same horizontal direction and the same little

keel along their upper surface as in the Lemurs.

I will here make one or two general remarks upon dentition. On

the structure I will not comment; but as regards the number of

certain teeth, some generalizations may be obtained which are im-

portant, and noneofwhich areviolated bythe arrangement adopted.

In the first place, in the Placental series there are never more than

six incisors in each jaw; this is what may be termed the normal

number in the Placentalia; an occasional absence of the full

number in some groups is unimportant, as nearly allied species

(in the Carnivora for instance) sometimes differ i the number

of the incisors, and even the same individual may, when young,

have the full number, but not when adult. There are cases,

however, in which there is a permanent reduction in the number

Bist 4 4

of incisors, as in the Quadrumana, which have normally 7. I

can only call to mind two exceptions even in which there are

less than this number, and they are in Tarsius spectrum, where

there are 5 , and the Aye-Aye, where there are =. The Cheiro-

ptera have never more than four incisors in the upper jaw, and

it 1s only in the lower divisions of the group that that number

is exceeded, there being =. In the Jnsectivora the incisors are

sometimes clearly = and sometimes less, but in the greater por-

tion of the species the intermaxillary suture is obliterated at so

early an age, that the precise number of incisors has never been

determined. The Marsupiata are remarkable either for having

the incisors exceeding the normal number, being sometimes as

10 a :

many as — or -, or for having but two incisors in the lower

jaw when there are less than eight above ; no Marsupial has in-

; 6

cisors ~~, and there is but one species (the Wombat) in which

the number in both jaws is the same. As regards true molars,

there is no case among the Placentalia clearly made out in which

—.. In the Marsupiata there are nor-

mally a. The Carnivora (with one exception only) never

there are more than

* Often there is more than one of these minute perforations in the malar

bone of the Lemurs.

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Classification of Mammalia, 411

2+ 9

have more than ;—, true molars, and the decrease from this

. 2-2 1—!1 Loven Bip!

number to ;—7, or ;——7; Or p= 18 important, inasmuch as,

with but one or two exceptions, it is combined with other cha-

racters indicative of the great divisions in that group.

The Pachydermata vary much in their dentition, in some there

being the four kinds of teeth well developed and greatly resem-

bling that condition which characterizes the first great carnivorous

and frugivorous section, as in the genus Sus, to which the little

insectivorous animals forming the genus Centetes bear consider-

able resemblance in the general structure of the skull and the

greatly developed canines, as well as in external characters.

Other Pachyderms again (as the Horses) approach the Ruminants

in a very marked degree ; and lastly the Elephants, though linked

with the ordinary Pachydermata through the extinct Mastodons,

&c., differ remarkably from the normal species im their dentition,

in which there is an approach to that of the Rodents; an ap-

proach is also perceptible in the sanguiferous system.

A relationship between the Sloths and the Ruminants is dis-

played in the structure of the stomach.

In all these instances of approach of species of one order to

other orders here noticed, there is not a single case which would

fairly bear out the notion: that these orders imperceptibly blend

into each other. There is always a tolerably well-marked line

between them (hence I have enclosed the orders in circles). The

aberrant species are readily traced back as it were into their own

groups, and when they evince an approach to other circles, it is

rather to the order than to any particular species of the order.

In conclusion, I would offer the following propositions and ob-

servations for consideration :— —

Species of animals belonging to the same genus have an affi-

nity to each other; genera of the same family have a mutual

affinity; relationship of affinity may likewise exist between fami-

lies of the same order and orders of the same class, but the de-

gree of affinity is different in the different cases ; it is more or less

remote. ‘Thus species of the same genus have an affinity of the

first or nearest degree ;

species of different genera of the second degree only ;

of different families of the third degree ;

— of different orders of the fourth degree ;

of different classes of the fifth degree.

A relationship may exist between species of different groups,

which differs from either of the cases just mentioned ; that which

is commonly termed by naturalists a relationship of analogy.

This again may vary in degree according to the affinities and

412 Mr.H.M. Drummond: Catalogue of Birds found

relative rank of the groups which present the cases of analogy.

The analogy may be more or less remote: thus the case of ana-

logy (so often quoted as such), as existing between the Goat-

sucker (Caprimulgus) and the Bat—members of different classes—

might be regarded as an instance of analogy, say of the fifth de-

gree; that of the Otters to the Beavers (animals of different

orders of the same class), an analogy of the fourth degree; and

that of the Beaver to the Coypu* (both Rodents), an analogy of

the third degree: again, the relationship existing between the

Whales and Fishes may be one of analogy of the fifth degree ; that

existing between the Dugong and the Porpoise may be one of

affinity or analogy ; but in either case is less remote than the re-

lationship of the Cetacea to the Fishes.

According to these propositions moreover, the relationship of

the Lagostomus to the Marsupiata might be one of affinity of the

fourth degree, whilst that of the Wombat to the Rodentia might

be one of analogy of the same degree: that of the Wombat to

the Phalangistide, an affinity of the third degree, and of the

Koala to Phalangista, an affinity of the second degree; and

lastly, that of Phalangista vulpina to Phalangista Cookit, of the

nearest or first degree. The affinity of the Monotremata to the

class Reptilia would be several degrees further removed than that

of the Echidna to the Ornithorhynchus.

LI.—Catalogue of the Birds found in Corfu and the other Ionian

Islands, also on the coast of Albania; from Notes made during

a sojourn of four years. By H. M. Drummonn, 42nd R.H.

With Notes by H. E. Srricxianp, M.A.

[Tuts valuable paper was read to the Zoological Section at Cork,

and being afterwards placed in my hands, I have ventured to ap-

pend a few notes before sending it to press. When I was at Corfu

in 1835 I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Captain

Drummond, at that time I believe the only ornithologist in the

Ionian Islands. He had even then formed a considerable col-

lection, and the following list will show the great extent of his

subsequent researches. The nomenclature is that of Temminck’s |

‘Manuel d’Ornithologie, and though the names have undergone

modifications from later ornithologists, yet there will be no diffi-

culty in recognising the species by means of them. I have an-

nexed the letter B. to those species which have also occurred in

Britain.—H. E. S.]

* These two animals are essentially modelled upon different types of the

Roden torder.

in Corfu, &c., with Notes by H. EB. Strickland. 413

Vultur cinereus. Very rare: three of these birds were shot at Cerigo

in 1842: has never been noticed in Corfu.

fulvus. Very numerous in Albania, and is occasionally seen in

Corfi throughout the year.

Cathartes percnopterus (B.). More frequently seen in Corfu than the

above, and breed there.

Gypaétus barbatus. An occasional visitant : common in Albania.

Falco peregrinus (B.). Found in the islet of Ovo near Cerigo ; also

the island of Fano in the north channel of Corfu, where they

breed in considerable numbers : has never been noticed in Corfu.

subbuteo (B.). Arrives at Corfu in flocks about the 1st of April;

does not remain, but returns on its way south in autumn.

tinnunculus (B.). Sedentary.

——- tinnunculoides. | 'These birds arrive in large flocks about the 20th

rufipes (B.). of April and remain till the middle of May;

they are generally seen in company, hovering over the marshes in

search of insects, which they seize and devour on the wing.

imperialis. Very rare: has been shot in Cerigo, never seen in

Corfu.

fulvus (B.). Very rare: occasionally seen on the Albanian

coast.

haliaétus (B.). Sedentary.

albicilla (B.). Very common on the Albanian coast, and oc-

casionally seen in Corfu throughout the year.

nisus (B.). Arrives in Corfu in September and remains all

winter.

—— milvus (B.). Very rarely seen in Corfu: very common in the

winter at Santa Maura.

ater. This very rare bird is an occasional visitant at Cerigo, but

has not been noticed in any of the other islands.

buteo (B.). Common: sedentary.

lagopus (B.). Very rare: has been shot in Cerigo, never seen

in Corfu.

apivorus (B.). Very rare: has been shot in Cerigo, never seen

in Corfu.

rufus (B.). Very numerous, especially in winter, frequenting

the marshes : feeds upon frogs and lizards.

cyaneus (B.). Very common : breeds on the main land, and is

found in the dusk of the evening in great numbers in the marshes,

where they roost.

Strix flammea (B.). Not very common: sedentary.

passerina (B.). Very common : sedentary *.

bubo (B.). Generally seen in winter: rare in Corfu: one was

shot in the island of Vido in April 1835, in making his escape out

of a hen-roost, and on examination his crop was found to contain,

instead of a chicken, a large rat which he had recently killed and

swallowed whole.

* This is not the Strix passerina of Linnzeus, and is now denominated

Strix (or Athene) noctua, Retz.—H. E.S.

414 Mr.H.M.Drummond: Catalogue of Birds found

Strix brachyotus (B.). Numerous during its passage north in April ;

does not remain.

scops (B.). Arrives about the 15th of April; some few remain

during the summer.

Corvus corax (B.). Very numerous and always seen in flocks, and

breed among the rocks of the citadel.

corniz (B.). Occasionally seen in Corfu: very common in Al-

bania, where they breed.

Frugilegus (B.). Arrives in October, and takes its departure for

the north in February.

monedula (B.). Sedentary.

Garrulus picus (B.). Numerous in Albania, where they breed: rare

in Corfu.

glandarius (B.). Very numerous: sedentary *.

Coracias garrula (B.). Arrives at Corfu about the 15th of April and

remains till the middle of May: not very common.

Oriolus galbula (B.). Very common: arrives 25th of April: a few

remain to breed.

Sturnus vulgaris (B.). Common during the winter months, never

seen in summer.

Pastor roseus (B.). An occasional visitant : rare.

Lanius meridionalis. Arrives 20th of April: very common : breeds.

minor. Arrives about the 25th of April: rare: does not re-

main f.

— rutilus (B.). Very numerous : arrives lst of April, remains

all summer. :

collurio (B.). Makes its appearance about the 15th of April:

rare: does not remain.

Muscicapa grisola (B.). Very common : arrives first week of April :

breeds. .

albicollis. \ se during its passage: arrives be-

inning of April, and is not seen after

luctuosa (B.). 28 , a: of a

Turdus musicus ae Common in winter, never seen in summer.

merula (B.). Common in winter: breeds on the mountains

on the main land. ;

saxatilis. Rare in Corfu: arrives 10th of April: breeds on

the mountains.

cyaneus. Common: remains all the year round.

Sylvia turdoides. Arrives in Corfu the first week of May : very nume-

rous in the marshes, where they squeak and screech all day long,

* The common jay of Syria, Asia Minor and Greece, is not the Garrulus

glandarius of Britain, but the nearly allied species with a black crown,

G. atricapillus, Geoff. (G. melanocephalus, Gené.), but Capt. Drummond

assures me that the jay of the lonian Islands is identical with that of

Britain.—H. E. S.

+ Lanius meridionalis is generally considered as very rare in the south of

Europe, and ZL. minor as very common. In the Ionian Islands, however,

unless there be some error of transcription or of identification, the reverse

would appear to be the case.—H. E.§,

in Corfu, &¢., with Notes by H. E. Strickland. 415

the cock bird clinging to the top of some high reed watching his

mate, who builds her nest suspended about a foot above the water,

attached to the stems of four reeds, and lays four or five eggs ;

they take their departure about the end of August.

Sylvia olivetorum (Strickland). This bird is very common in Corfu ;

it arrives about the 15th of May: they frequent the olive-groves ;

their song is very fine, and though not loud, has more music in it

than that of most birds ; it moves to the south in August*.

palustris. Arrives about the same time as the above, and from

the similarity of its song might be mistaken for it. I have how-

ever heard it imitate other birds with great effect: though I have

seen it along the banks of rivers and in the marshes, yet I have

more frequently found them in the olive-groves.

phragmitis (B.). Common: sedentary.

arundinacea (B.). Common: sedentary.

luscinia (B.). Arrives about the 10th of April, but does not

remain.

rubiginosa. Very common in Corfu; it arrives about the 10th

of May and remains throughout the summer. This bird is named

the rufous sedge warbler (Gould), a name in my estimation not. at

all appropriate, as it is never seen among sedges or in marshy places,

but frequents the vineyards and olive-groves, especially the former,

where the male may be constantly seen on a clod of earth or on

the stump of a vine, jerking his broad tail over his back and spread-

ing it out like a fan, at the same time uttering his monotonous

chant, which consists of four or five notes, commencing low and

ending high, and is repeated very quickly. I should rather call it

the fan-tailed warbler, as being a name more suited to its habits.

atricapilla (B.). Arrives about the 20th of March and is very

numerous during its passage, but does not remain. |

melanocephala. Very common: remains all the year round.

cinerea (B.). Arrives beginning of April : breeds.

rubecula (B.). Arrives about the 1st of October and takes its

departure the end of February ; on their arrival these birds may be

seen hung up in the market in bunches, and are sold as Becaficas.

tithys (B.). Arrives in the autumn and remains all winter.

—— phenicurus (B.). .Passes on its way north about the end of

March, but does not remain.

—— hippolais. Arrive in the spring: a few remain to breed,

trochilus (B.). but they are most numerous in September

and are then very fat, and are eagerly sought after by the Greek

sportsmen ; (these, as far as I can learn, are the true Beca-fica so

esteemed by epicures). Of S. trochilus a few remain during the

winter.

* This species, first described in Gould’s ‘ Birds of Europe’ from a spe-

cimen which I obtained in Zante in 1836, appears not to have been noticed

out of the Ionian Islands, though it migrates (doubtless to Africa) in winter.

Capt. Drummond’s observations on its habits precisely coincide with my

own. It is now placed in the genus Calumoherpe by the Prince of Canino.

—H.E.S.

416 Mr.H.M.Drummond: Catalogue of Birds found

Sylvia conspicillata. Very common : arrive 27th of March and remain

all summer.

Regulus ignicapillus (B.). Found during the winter in Corfu, and

frequent the olive-groves in considerable numbers: disappear in

spring.

Troglodytes vulgaris (B.). Not very common, but remains during the

ear.

Saxicola enanthe (B.). Common during the passage: arrives the

end of March.

aurita. Arrives in considerable numbers Ist of April: does

not remain.

stapazina. Arrives in considerable numbers Ist of April: a

few remain during the summer, and breed on the citadel rock at

Corfu*.

rubetra (B.). Rare: seen occasionally during the winter.

rubicola (B.). Very common : remains all the year round.

Motacilla alba. ‘This is the common pied wagtail of the continent,

and differs from the English one; is most numerous in winter,

when they may be seen in large flocks frequenting the marshes :

disappears in summer.

flava (B.?). This bird also differs from the common yel-

low wagtail of England in having the head in the breeding-sea-

son of a jet-black, at other times it is of a lead-colourt. These

birds appear in great numbers about the lst of April, but disap-

pear in winter ; in the spring they are caught in large numbers by

means of the clapnet, and are sold for a penny a-piece to the

Greeks, who generally cut their wings and turn them loose in

their houses for the purpose of destroying the flies, which they

soon learn to do, catching them in the most dextrous manner ;

consequently this and the foregoing species only are known by

the name of the flycatcher. The Muscicapa is never used for this

purpose.

* The general opinion among ornithologists now is, that Saxicola aurita

is only a different state of plumage of S. stapazina, though I believe their

identity is not yet actually demonstrated. On this point Capt. Drummond

writes to me, ‘‘ Saxicola stapazina and S. aurita I consider as decidedly

different birds. The aurita is far more numerous in Corfu during its passage

in the spring, but I have never seen it during the summer months; while,

on the other hand, the stapazina breeds there, and I have found their nests

on the citadel rocks.” These facts however are quite consistent with the

specific identity of the two birds, for if the so-called S. aurita be only the

winter plumage of stapazxina, its apparent disappearance in spring would

be owing, not to emigration, but to a change of costume.—H. E. S.

+ This is an important statement, as the black-headed wagtail is consi-

dered by the Italian naturalists to be a distinct species from the gray-headed

ones, which they further divide into two species, one with a white stripe over

the eye (M. flava of North Europe and accidentally of Britain), and the

other without. Do all these three kinds inhabit the Ionian Islands? and

do they all appear to pass into each other? It would be desirable to

ascertain whether these supposed changes of colour take place in the domes-

ticated individuals.\—H. E. 8,

in Corfu, &c., with Notes by H. E. Strickland. 417

Motacilla boarula (B.). Makes its appearance during the winter,

but is rare.

Anthus rufescens. \

Sedentary : very common during the winter,

but rarely seen in summer.

pratensis (B.).

— arboreus (B.).

Alauda arvensis (B.). Arrives in Corfu the latter part of September,

and takes its departure the following February.

arborea (B.). Arrives in Corfu the end of September in

small flocks and remains during the winter, retiring to the high

mountains of Albania in the spring.

cristata. Very numerous: remains all the year.

isabellina. Rare: arrives in the middle of April, does not

remain,

calandra. Never seen in Corfu, but has been shot in Zante,

where it is very rare. These birds were seen in great numbers at

Lutraki, near Corinth, in June 1842, but I have not observed it

in any other part of Greece.

Parus major (B.). Very common ;: sedentary.

ceruleus (B.). Very common : sedentary.

caudatus (B.). Occasionally seen in small flocks in winter.

Emberiza melanocephala. Arrives in great numbers about the be-

ginning of May and remains all the summer, generally frequenting

the vineyards, where it builds its nest in the stump of an old vine.

miliaria (B.). Very common : remains all the year.

schenicula (B.?). Seen in Corfu only during the winter*.

hortulana (B.). Arrives 10th of April; about the beginning

of May they retire to the mountains to breed.

cesia. Arrives in considerable numbers about 10th of April,

but is found only on the hills where it breeds.

cirlus (B.). Sedentary, though not very common.

Lozia curvirostra (B.). Very rare: of accidental passage, but has

been shot in Corfu, as I was informed through the kindness of

Mr. Alexander, collector of customs and superintendent of the

quarantine establishment at Cerigo, to whom I am indebted for

much information concerning the birds of Cerigo; he is a zealous

ornithologist, and has been recently joined by some of the En-

glish inhabitants in establishing a museum at Corfu, where he has

consigned his valuable collection of birds of the Ionian Islands.

Pyrrhula vulgaris (B.). Seen only in the winter: rare in Corfu.

Fringilla coccothraustes (B.). Seen only in winter: some seasons

very rare in Corfu, at others common: goes north beginning of

April.

chloris (B.). Very common: remains all the year round.

——— domestica (B.). Very common: remains all the year round.

celebs (B.). Arrives in Corfu about the lst of October :

common during the winter: disappears the end of February.

cannabina (B.). Sedentary.

* I would suggest a query, whether this may not be the nearly allied spe-

cies LE. pyrrhuloides, Pall. (Z£. palustris, Savi), which is abundant in the

South of Europe.—H. E. S.

418 Mr.H.M. Drummond: Catalogue of Birds found

Fringilla montium (B.). Sedentary.

carduelis (B.). gerne birds are seen in large flocks, and

— citrinella. generally in company during the winter,

arriving the latter part of September and disappearing by the first

week of April. A few of the former may sometimes be seen during

the summer, but rarely, the latter never.

spinus (B.). Only one instance of this bird hates been seen

in Corfu, and that I shot just outside the town ; it probably might

have made its escape from the cage. I have never heard of its

being seen in Albania or any of the islands previous to this in-

stance.

Cuculus canorus (B.). Very common during the passage: arrives

about the 10th of April, and have all passed by the beginning of

May. They are killed by the Greeks in great numbers and sold

as a delicacy.

Picus major (B.). | Are the only two of the family that are ever seen,

medius. and both these very rare even in Albania, and

only one instance occurs of the former having been shot in Corfu.

Yunz torquilla (B. ). Arrives the 20th of March: not very common :

does not remain. In Malta these birds are so numerous during

the passage that they are brought into market in basket-loads,

when they are immediately stripped of their feathers, trussed, and

the bill dextrously passed in under the wings ; in this state they

are sold in numbers to the uninitiated at a high price as fine fat

snipes.

Sitta syriaca. Not very common in the islands, but occasionally seen

among the rocks : they breed in Corfu and arrive there about the

end of March.

Certhia familiaris (B.). Common in the winter, making their ap-

pearance with the fire-crested wren.

Tichodroma phenicoptera. ‘These very rare birds I have never seen

in Corfu. Mr. Alexander informed me that they were found on

the rock of Ovo at Cerigo in the winter, being, as he supposes,

driven down from the mountains by the snow. It is also found in

the cliffs of the island of Fano, where they have at different times

been shot by Mr. J. Greenwood, son of the resident.

Upupa epops (B.). Very numerous during the passage : it makes its

appearance among the first, arriving about the 15th or 20th of

March : a few remain during the summer.

Merops apiaster (B.). Arrive about the 5th of April: some seasons

they come in great numbers, and may be heard high up in the air

and far out of sight, uttering their guttural cry, on their way to

the north. Sometimes they will come and alight on some solitary

tree in such numbers that I have known an instance of twenty-five

having been killed at one shot. These birds are generally the im-

mediate forerunner of the quail, from which they are generally

called the king-quail. The stomach of several of these birds which

moths of a large size: they do not remain.

Alcedo ispida (B.). Generally makes its appearance about the end

in Corfu, &c., with Notes by H.E. Strickland. 419

of August, and seen all the winter in great numbers frequenting

the sea-shore : never seen in summer, and disappears the beginning

of April.

Hirundo rustica (B.). The first of these birds arrive about the 15th

of March, and about the 25th they are very numerous, remaining

till next autumn.

rufula, ‘This very rare bird I first observed in considerable

numbers flying over a small marsh near Patras on the 17th of

April 1836 ; I was unable to obtain a specimen at the time, and

did not meet with them again till the 14th of April 1842, when I

saw two of these birds in the island of Fano, one of which I shot.

Its companion immediately disappeared, and though I was several

days on the island, I never saw another.

urbica (B.). | Arrive about the first week of April: a few

riparia (B.). only remain to breed.

rupestris. ‘These birds are never observed during the sum-

mer, as they probably either go north or take up their abede in

the lofty mountains of Albania; but as soon as the cold weather

sets in, they are seen skimming over the marshes in great numbers ;

a few stragglers may occasionally remain to breed; as I have seen

a pair as late as the 20th of May.

Cypselus alpinus (B.). Arrives about the 20th of April, some sea-

sons not till May: they remain till the autumn and breed on the

citadel rocks.

murarius (B.). Arrive about the same time as the above and

remain.

Caprimulgus europeus (3.). mixes about the 10th of April, but does ~

not remain.

Columba palumbus (B.). Occasionally seen in Corfu, and assembles

in large flocks in winter on the coast of Albania.

——— enas (B.). Occasionally seen, not very common.

livia (B.). Found in great numbers in the caves and rocks

of the sea-shore in the different islands.

turtur (B.). Arrive the 15th of April in great numbers: a

few remain to breed.

Perdiz saxatilis. Rare in Corfu, but very numerous in Santa Maura,

Ithaca, and some of the other islands.

coturniz (B.). The first of these birds sala their appearance

about the 27th of March; but the grand flight, which depends much

upon the wind (which requires to be from the southward), does not

arrive till the 10th or 15th of April, when they sometimes appear

in such numbers, especially in the island of Fano, that instances

have not been wanting of fifty or sixty couple being killed by a

single gun in two or three hours. Many of them are so tired, that

being unable to reach the land they fall into the sea and are in-

stantly devoured by the gulls, L. argentatus, and the ravens, which

hover about on these occasions in great numbers. They return

again about the 15th of August, but many remain to breed, and a

few even remain all the winter.

Glareola torquata (B.). Arrive in great numbers the 15th of April,

420 Mr.H.M.Drummond: Catalogue of Birds found

and are constantly seen skimming over the salt marshes in search

of insects ; by the first week of May they take their departure.

Otis tarda (B.). Very rare in the islands: a very fine male was shot

in Corfu in February 1842.

—~— tetrax (B.). Of regular passage in Santa Maura and Zante,

arriving in the beginning of April: does not remain: never seen

in Corfu.

CEdicnemus crepitans (B.). Common: breeds in some of the islands.

Himantopus melanopterus (B.). Occasionally seen during its passage

in April in considerable numbers in Corfu, but does not remain.

Hematopus ostralegus (B.). Not very common: arrives about the

20th of March, does not remain.

Charadrius pluvialis (B.). Small flocks are occasionally seen during

the winter months.

hiaticula (B.). | These birds arrive in great numbers the

minor (B.). beginning of October, especially the

C. minor, and remain till the end of May.

Vanellus melanogaster (B.). Seen occasionally in the months of

April and September.

cristatus (B.). Very common during the winter.

Strepsilas collaris (B.). Occasionally passes in April: rare.

Ciconia alba (B.). Arrives the Ist of April, remains till middle of

May.

Ardea cinerea (B.). Very rare in Corfu: occasionally seen in the

spring.

purpurea (B.). Very numerous : arrive the lst of April: breed.

egretta (B.). Never seen in Corfu, but common in Santa

Maura and the salt marshes on the Albanian coast opposite Corfu :

arrive in October and depart early in March.

garzetta (B.). Common in Corfu, and are found in Albania in

troops of from fifty to sixty; arrive in September and go north by

end of April.

stellaris (B.). Never seen in Corfu ; very common in Albania.

ralloides (B.). Very common during its passage: arrives the

first week of April, but does not remain longer than 15th of

May.

minuta (B.). Arrives in Corfu in great numbers about the lst

of May: a few remain to breed, and though the young may be

found in the autumn, I have never been able to discover the old

birds at that season, and therefore conclude that they must return

south at an earlier period.

Nycticorax ardeola (B.). Arrives the first week of April, does not

remain.

Recurvirostra avocetta (B.). Occasionally seen in Corfu beginning

of April: rare.

Ibis falcinellus (B.). More numerous. some seasons than others :

arrives the 10th of April, but disappears by the first week of

May.

Nuwesic arquatus (B.). Arrives the beginning of September in

great numbers.

in Corfu, &c., with Notes by H. E. Strickland. 421

Numenius pheopus (B.). Arrives the beginning of September in great

numbers: not so common as the above.

Tringa subarquata(B.). These birds are common, arriving in autumn

and mixing with the dunlins and other sandpipers during the

winter, from which they are not easily distinguished: it is then

the pigmy curlew of Bewick. In the month of May they assume

their full plumage, and take their departure in the beginning of

June.

variabilis (B.). | Very common during the winter: go north

minuta (BS, beginning of May.

Machetes pugnaz (B.). Arrives the 15th of March: though the female

is very common, the male is seldom seen*.

Totanus fuscus (B.). Very rare in Corfu.

calidris (B.). Very common during the winter.

ochropus (B.). Arrives the 15th of March: very common :

does not remain beYond the end of April.

— hypoleucos (B.). Common during the winter and spring.

lottis (B.). Common during the winter and spring.

Scolopax rusticola (B.). Arrives the first week of October: very nu-

merous in Albania: returns by the 27th of March.

major (B.). Arrives the lst of April: does not remain beyond

the end of the month.

gallinago (B.). A few appear about the 20th of August, and

by the 15th of November are seen in great numbers, particularly

on the salt marshes at Butrinto, opposite Corfu, where I have known

fifty couple to have been killed by one gun in a few hours. I have

occasionally seen them throughout the summer, so one may con-

clude that they breed there.

peregrina. ‘This bird is frequently found in Corfu, and may-

eventually prove only to be a variety of the gallinago ; the only dif-

ference being in its size, which is much less, and the tail-feathers

consisting of twelve instead of fourteen ; in other respects it is per-

fectly similar.

gallinula (B.). Arrives about the 1st of November, and on

its arrival is generally found in groups.

Rallus aquaticus (B.). Found in great numbers during all the winter

months.

Gallinula crex (B.). Very rare: occasionally appears in April.

— porzana (B.). Very common: sedentary : more abundant in

_ Spring.

pusilla (B.). Very rare in Corfu : arrives in April.

chloropus (B.). Very common : sedentary.

Fulica atra (B.). Sedentary: in winter they are seen in immense

numbers. )

Podiceps cristatus (B.). bk common in winter, arriving about the

auritus (B.). lst of November and remaining till the

minor (B.). beginning of April.

* It is possible that some of these supposed females may have been males

in winter plumage, as the latter do not acquire their nuptial dress till the

month of May.-—H. E. S.

4.22 Catalogue of Birds found in Corfu.

Sterna caspia (B.). Two of these birds were shot at Butrinto, oppo-

site Corfu, by Capt. Sandham, R.E., 5th of April 1835.

hirundo (B.).

nigra (B.). Common during the spring.

minuta (B.).

Larus argentatus (B.). Sedentary: very numerous. These birds are

the only ones of the family that are abundant during the summer

months.

canus (B.). Very common: does not breed.

melanocephalus. Very common in winter, when it may easily

be known from the L. ridibundus in being entirely white, and ha-

ving no black tips to the wings; about the lst of March the head

assumes a jet-black : disappear by the Ist of April.

Puffinus cinereus. Sedentary.

anglorum (B.). Sedentary.

Thalassidroma pelagica (B.?). Rarely seen in these seas *.

Anser ferus (B.). Very rare; only having seen three of these birds

in the winter of 1841-42.

Cygnus musicus (B.). Very rare: only one instance occurs of this

bird having been shot in Cephalonia.

Anas tadorna (B.). Very common.

boschas (B.). Very common: breeds at Butrinto.

strepera (B.). Rare.

acuta (B.). Sometimes very common.

penelope (B.). Extremely numerous.

—— querquedula (B.). Extremely numerous: breeds in Corfu.

—— crecca(B.). Not so numerous as the above.

—— clypeata (B.). Very common.

—— nyroca (B.). Very common.

Juligula (B.). Very common.

Mergus serrator (B.). Very numerous in Corfu : arrives in November.

albellus (B.). Rare: not seen in Corfu, found in Santa

Maura.

Pelecanus onocrotalus. Very numerous in Santa Maura and Butrinto,

opposite Corfu, where they may be seen in flocks from fifteen to

* In a recent letter to myself Capt. Drummond remarks, that when the

above list was drawn up “I had not seen the Thalassidroma meletensis dis-

covered by my friend Signor Schembri at Malta, who stated that the pelagica

is not known there, and that the meletensis breeds in great numbers on the

rock of Filfola at the south end of the island of Malta. When in the Ionian

Islands I was unfortunately unable to procure a specimen, but I have no

doubt that what I saw were the meletensis, and that it is peculiar to the

Mediterranean. On my passage home I saw plenty of the meletensis, but

after passing the Gut [of Gibraltar] the pelagica made its appearance, and

the meletensis was no longer seen. They are easily distinguished; the me-

letensis is, if anything, a Tittle smaller, and has the lower half of the tail-

feathers white as well.as the rump.” I have only to remark that this sup-

posed new species of Zhalassidroma (of which I can find no published

account) must be the 7’. pelagica of the Prince of Canino, who states it in

his ‘ Fauna Italica’ to breed on rocks near Malta.—H. E. S.

Mr. H. M. Drummond: List of Birds of the Island of Crete. 423

thirty, sitting on the banks of the salt marshes all day long, sun-

ning and preening themselves.

Carbo cormoranus (B.). Common : sedentary.

pygmeus. Found in Cephalonia, never in Corfu, but very nu-

merous at Butrinto during the winter.

Summary.

Species

Common to Ionian Islands and Britain... 157

Doubtful if same as British species ...... 3

European, but not British............ oe OF

Peculiar to Ionian Islands.............. 1

Total number of birds of Ionian Islands .. 200

It may appear remarkable that so large a proportion of these spe-

cies should inhabit such opposite extremities of Europe as Great

Britain and the Ionian Islands. The faune of these two regions are

however much more distinct than the above numbers would appear

to indicate, for many of the birds which abound in the Ionian Islands

are of very rare and accidental occurrence in Britain, such for in-

stance as Cathartes percnopterus, Falco rufipes, Coracias garrula, Orio-

lus galbula, Cypselus alpinus, Glareola torquata, Ardea purpurea, &c.

—-H.E.S.

LIl.—List of the Birds of the Island of Crete, from observations

made during a stay of nearly two months, from 27th April to

18th June, 1843. By H.M.Drummonp, 42nd R.H. With

Notes by H. E. Srrickianp, M.A.

[Tuts list, which was also read to the British Association at Cork,

is necessarily less complete than Capt. Drummond’s list of ‘the

birds of the Ionian Islands, yet it is a remarkable instance of how

much may be done in the short space of two months by an active

and observant naturalist. This is the first contribution which

has been made since the days of old Belon to the ornithology of

Crete*, an island which, being the most remote extremity of Eu-

rope towards the south-east, may be expected to possess a pecu-

harly interesting fauna.—H. E. S.]

Vultur fulus. Probably breed on theisland. 1. Very

numerous: 2. a few seen on the high-

Cathartes percnopterus (B.). .

. est mountains: 3.common on the tops

Gypaétus barbatus. :

of the mountains.

Falco subbuteo (B.).. Seen in flocks as late as 12th June, in chase

of a large species of beetle, which they dextrously seize with their

claws and devour on the wing: it probably breeds: only seen in

the dusk of the evening, when several were shot.

* This island, to which the Saracens first gave the name of Candia, has

been known to its inhabitants from the days of Minos to the present hour

by no other name than Crete, and I rejoice to see that this venerable appel-

lation is again coming into general use.—H. E. S.

424 Mr. H.M. Drummond: List of Birds of the Island of Crete, |

Falco tinnunculus (B.). Breeds on the island.

tinnunculoides. Breeds: numerous.

rufipes (B.). Seen in large flocks as late as 30th May: pro-

bably breeds. ;

haliaétus (B.). Only one individual seen, 29th April.

—— milvus (B.). A few seen on the Sfakian mountains.

buteo (B.). Breeds. ;

rufus (B.). Very common the end of April and beginning of

May in the marshes.

Strix passerina (B.). Very numerous: breeds.

Corvus corar (B.). Common: breeds.

— cornix (B.). Very numerous: breeds.

— monedula (B.). Common at the foots of the mountains,

where it breeds. :

Garrulus glandarius* (B.?). A few seen on the Sfakian mountains,

where they breed.

Pyrrhocorax graculus (B.). Very numerous on the tops of Mount

Ida: breed there.

Coracias garrula (B.). Only one seen, 15th May.

Oriolus galbula (B.). Only two seen, the spring passage being

nearly over.

Lanius rutilust (B.). Very common: breeds.

Muscicapa grisola (B.). Common: breeds.

albicollis. Only one seen, 28th April.

Turdus merula (B.). Very numerous, particularly on the mountains,

where it breeds.

cyaneus. Breeds on the mountains.

Sylvia turdoides. Only one seen, Ist May.

phragmitis (B.). Common: breeds.

palustris. Very numerous: breeds (found only in the olive-

groves).

luscinia (B.). Very common along the rivers: breeds.

melanocephala. Very numerous: breeds.

atricapilla (B.). A few seen 29th April: does not remain.

cinerea (B.). A few seen 29th April: does not remain,

trochilus (B.). A few seen 29th April: does not remain.

Troglodytes vulgaris (B.). Seen only on the mountains, where they

were pretty numerous: breed.

Saxicola enanthe (B.). Very common on the mountain tops, where

they breed.

aurita. Not quite so common as the above: found lower

down on the mountains, where they breed }.

* See the note, p. 414, supra. Crete being further eastward than the

Tonian Islands, it is probable that the jay of the former country is not the

Garrulus glandarius, but G. atricapillus—H. E.S.

+ L. rutilus is the only one of the tribe found on the island, and L. meri-

dionalis, though so common in Corfu and the other Greek islands where it

breeds, was nowhere to be seen.—H. M. D.

t If the S. aurita was actually proved to breed in Crete, it would certainly

indicate a specific distinction from S. stapazina. But see the note, p. 416,

supra.—H. E. 8.

with Notes by H. E. Strickland. 425

Sazicola stapazina. Rare: found and breed in the same places as

the S. aurita.

rubetra (B.). A few seen the latter part of April, after

which they disappear.

— rubicola (B.). Very numerous: breed on the low grounds.

Accentor alpinus (B.). Seen only amongst the snow on the Sfakian

range, where they breed.

Motacilla alba. One or two seen the end of April, after which they

disappeared.

———— flava (B.?). One or two seen the end of April: this bird

is the common wagtail of the Mediterranean, but differs from the

wagtail of England in haying a black head.

Anthus richardi* (B.). Found in dry rocky places, where it breeds.

— arboreus (B.). A few seen the latter part of April.

Alauda cristata. Very numerous in every part of the island : breeds.

— arborea (B.). Found in considerable number on the moun-

tains, where they breed; none were seen lower down.

Parus major (B.). Common: breeds.

ceruleus (B.). Breeds here, but not so numerous as the last.

Emberiza melanocephala. None seen before 22nd of May, and then

only a few; from observations since made, they seem to be con-

fined to certain districts where they breed.

miliaria (B.).. Very common: breeds.

hortulana (B.). Very common on the mountains, where

they breed.

———— cirlust (B.). Not very numerous: breeds.

Fringilla cisalpinat. Common: breeds.

— celebs§ (B.). Very numerous: breeds.

* This bird I have placed under the present denomination from its very

strong resemblance, though it does not quite answer to Temminck’s descrip-

tion of it, in having three streaks or bands of darkish olive taking their rise

from the corner of the bill, instead of two, the first running from the nostrils

through the eye above the auriculars, the second from the corner of the mouth

passing under the auriculars, the third from the edge of the lower mandible

parallel with the above; throat and breast yellowish ochre, darker on the lat-

ter, which is slightly sprinkled with a few light olive specks; sides, belly and

vent of a rich cream-colour ; upper parts olive tinged with rufous ash, darker

on the head and scapulars. Greater and lesser wing-covers olive-brown,

edged with light rufous. The tail consists of twelve feathers, and is blackish

brown, excepting the two centre ones, which are lighter and shorter than

the rest, edged with pale rufous, and the two side ones cream-colour on the

outer webs and part of the inner. The first of these has the shaft white,

the second black; the third feather from the outside is tipped with white ;

edge of bastard wing pure white; bill horn-colour, darker at the base ; legs

and feet pale brown ; eyes hazel; length six inches three-quarters, breadth

ten inches three-quarters. In the male and female, out of several speci-

mens examined, little or no difference was found.

+ Emberiza cesia, though exceedingly common and breeding in the other

islands, was not observed in Crete.

t Fringilla domestica is not found on the island, though it abounds in the

Tonian Islands, where the £. cisalpina does not appear.

§ It is curious that this bird, which is so common in Crete, breeding and

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii.

426 Mr. H. M. Drummond: List of Birds of the Island of Crete.

Fringilla chloris (B.).

cannabina (B.).

montium (B.).

~ carduelis (B.).

Upupa epops (B.). Two or three only seen, the end of April and be-

ginning of May.

Merops apiaster (B.). Very common: most likely breeds on the

island, as flocks were seen as late as 17th June.

Hirundo rustica (B.). Common: breeds.

urbica (B.). Not so numerous as the last: breeds on the

mountains.

riparia (B.). Common in the beginning of May, but none

seen latterly.

——-— rupestris. Seen only on the mountains, and probably does

not descend till winter, as it is very numerous at that time both

in Corfu and Cephalonia, where it may be seen skimming over the

marshes.

Cypselus alpinus (B.). Common: breeds.

———— murarius (B.). Very numerous: breeds.

Caprimulgus europaeus (B.). . A few only seen beginning of May.

Columba palumbus (B.). Breeds on Mount Ida, where they are

pretty numerous.

livia (B.). Very common: breeds both in caves on the sea-

shore as well as on the highest mountains, where they were found

in great numbers.

turtur (B.). Very numerous the end of April and beginning

of May during the passage, only a very few remaining to breed.

Perdiz saxatilis. Very numerous: a covey of young birds was found

as early as 29th May.

coturniz (B.). Not so numerous here as in some of the other

islands: a few remain to breed.

Glareola torquata (B.). Only two or three were seen, one as late as

12th June.

Cidicnemus crepitans (B.). Common: breeds.

Charadrius minor (B.). In great numbers in April; none seen after

15th May.

Ardea cinerea (B.). Common : breeds. ;

purpurea (B.). Very common in the spring ; none seen after

the middle of May.

garzetta (B.). Very common in the spring; one seen as late

as 10th June in company with a spoonbill.

ralloides(B.). Very common; none seen after the middle of May.

minuta (B.). Verycommon ; none seen after the middle of May.

Nycticorar ardeola (B.). ‘Two or three only, beginning of May.

Common: breed in the island.

probably remaining the whole of the year, is not found in Corfu during the

summer months; and as far as I can ascertain, in none of the Ionian Islands

during that season. It is there a bird of regular passage, arriving, along

with the robin red-breast, in considerable numbers about the first week of

October, and not taking its departure till the end of February or beginning

of March. .

Excerpta Zoologica :—Vegetation upon Living Animals. 427

Platalea leucorodia (B.). Only one seen, which was shot 10th June

a“ proved to be a female, so that they probably breed on the

island.

Ibis falcinellus (B.). ‘Two or three seen the latter part of April.

Numenius arquatus (B.). Two or three seen the latter part of April.

Tringa minuta (B.). Very common the latter part of April; none

seen after the 15th May.

Machetes pugnax (B.).

Totanus calidris (B.).

- ochropus (B.).

hypoleucos (B.). |

glottis (B.). J

Very common the latter part of April;

none seen after the 15th May. ,,

. A good number were seen the latter part

Scolopar nt (B a of April, when six couple were ahi am

gape (E>), day ; none seen afterwards.

Gallinula porzana (B.). Common: breeds.

pusilla (B.). Common end of April; none seen afterwards.

chloropus (B.). One or two only seen.

Sterna hirundo (B.). One only, 18th June.

nigra (B.). Common: breeds.

Larus argentatus (B.). Very common: breeds.

—— melanocephalus. One only, 28th April. :

Puffinus cinereus. A few seen on the coast, middle of June.

anglorum (B.). Common: breeds.

Thalassidroma pelagica (B.). Several were seen off the island on

19th June.

Anas querquedula (B.). A few seen in pairs as late as middle of June.

nyroca (B.). A few seen in pairs as late as middle of May.

Pelecanus onocrotalus. One seen beginning of May; probably com

mon in winter.

Carbo cormoranus (B.). Common: breeds.

Summary.

Species

Common to Crete and Britain.... 84

Doubtful if same as British species 2

European but not British........ 19

105

All the birds in this list have been noticed also in the Ionian

Islands, except the four following :—Accentor alpinus, Anthus ri-

chardi, Fringilla cisalpina, and Platalea leucorodia.—H. E. 8.

LITI.—Excerpta Zoologica, or abridged Extracts from Foreign

Journals. By Dr. Fuxix von Barensprune.

Vegetation upon Living Animals.

Wiruin the last few years several observations have been

made on certain of the lower classes of vegetable productions,

the parasitical occurrence of which on living animals gives

262

428 Excerpta Zoologica :—Vegetation upon Living Animals.

rise to various diseases. Among the most complete researches

on this subject are those of Bassi and Audouin on the Mus-

cadina, a contagious disease of the silkworm (Ann. des Sc.

Nat. 1837, 1838), and those of Schcenlein on the contagious

ringworm (Porrigo lupinosa) of man. From these inquiries

our views respecting miasma and contagion have obtained

considerable elucidation, as it was possible in those cases to

isolate the contagious matters and to determine their vegetable

nature. A third fact also of this class, viz. the occurrence of

parasitic fungoid formations in the lungs and in the air-cells

of birds, has been observed by Montagu and Owen (see |

‘ Annals,’ vol. ix. p. 131, and vol. viii. p. 230) and more re-

cently by Miiller and Retzius, as has already been communi-

eated in these ‘ Annals’ for 1842. Connected with these obser-

vations are the following, which have been more recently

published.

Dr. Hanover and M. Stilling have published several commu-

nications on contagious confervoid formations on frogs and

on the water salamander (Mull. Archiv, 1839, p. 338; 1841,

p- 279; and1842, p. 73). Dr. Hanover first observed a mucous

efflorescence form on Triton punctata which had been used

for dissection and had lain some time in water; on submitting

this efflorescence to microscopic examination, it proved to con-

sist of a very simple conferva. ‘The mass was formed of nu-

merous more or less ramified tubes of various diameter which

attained the length of an inch. The cavity in their interior

was in some continuous, in others distinctly divided into

chambers by means of cellular partitions; it was filled with

innumerable black corpuscles, which swam about in the inte-

rior in a very lively manner and with an appearance of volition.

The motions induced M. Stilling to ascribe an animal and not

a vegetable nature to the efflorescence. He considered the

black corpuscles to be the eggs of a species of hair-shaped

infusorium which became developed in great quantity during

putrefaction, and believed that these eggs were transported by

the circulation of the blood and were thus deposited at certain

places, where he then supposed the tubes to be formed by a

secretion of fibrine, and which were, so to speak, polypidoms

(Keimstécke) in which the eggs attained their development.

Dr. Hanover proved the incorrectness of this view in his

second paper on the subject, and placed beyond doubt the

vegetable nature of the efflorescence by the observation of its

development and the formation of sporules*.

* The free and apparently voluntary motion of the sporules of many

algee, fungi and lichens has already been observed so often, that it can no

longer be classed among the surprising phenomena. Very recently Prof.

Gceppert in Breslau has described it in Nemaspora incarnata, and has shown

Excerpta Zoologica :—Vegetation upon Living Animals. 429

What is most interesting in these efflorescences is, that they

not only grow on the bodies of dead animals, but may also be

transferred to those of living ones. If, for instance, a living

animal which was wounded in any part of its body happened

to be contiguous, it was also attacked by them, and the con-

ferva vegetated from the wound in luxuriance, deriving its

nourishment at the expense of the animal, which fell off per-

ceptibly in condition and sometimes died. Moreover, direct

attempts at inoculation proved successful; for a small quan-

tity of conferva conveyed into a cuticular wound vegetated

abundantly, and after some time fell off together with a por-

tion of the skin. .

These experiments were made by Dr. Hanover, and were

subsequently confirmed byM. Stilling. Theyshowthat we have

here to do with a true vegetable contagium, similar to that of

the Porrigo lupinosa and the Muscadina, but with this differ-

ence, that in the one case the air is the diffusing medium, while

in the other it is the water.

_ The conferva itself has been called Achlya prolifera.

Another contribution to the history of these parasitical ve-

getable formations was adduced by Dr. Hanover in Mill. Arch.

1842, p. 281, “‘ on Entophyta upon the mucous membranes of

the dead and living human body.”

The little plant here described-has the greatest similarity

to the mucedinous fungus of the Porrigo lupinosa, since it

consists of the same simple or ramified tubes; but it appears

only to increase by division; as sporules, such as they occur

in Porr. lupinosa, were never observed. This fungus differs

from most of the parasitical plants that have hitherto been ob-

served, from its not growing upon the surface but in the in-

terior of the body, viz. upon the mucous membrane of the cavity

of the mouth and alimentary canals of man. Among seventy

bodies which had died of the most varied. diseases it was found

in fourteen, most frequently after typhus abdominalis, where

Langenbeck had already observed something of a similar na-

ture. After the occurrence of this filamentoid fungus in the

dead body had been confirmed, it was likewise found in the

living ; it was met with in the various sedimentary deposits on

the tongue and lips in typhus*, in erysipelas,and in the stomach

that even specimens of this plant that had been collected twenty years ago

still exhibited the same motion of their sporules (Miill. Arch. 1842, p. 145).

The motion of the spermatozoa is in fact quite a similar phenomenon, and

the view that they are independent living animals can scarcely be main-

tained any longer since their origin from cells has been repeatedly proved,

especially by R. Wagner and by M. Kolliker.

* The tartar deposited in health about the teeth consists in great part of

a fine filamentous fungus, according to some authors ; but Prof. Mitscherlich

and M. Mandl, prove it to consist of an infusorium.—Ep.

430 Excerpta Zoologica :—Vegetation upon Living Animals.

both in new-born children and in adults. It has also been

once detected in the flocculent sediments of diabetic urine.

This filamentoid fungus is frequently accompanied by the

fermentative fungus of the yeast (Coniomyces cerevisie), and

also by the peculiar fermentative fungus of diabetic urine.

Both have also been observed in dead and living persons.

In diabetic urine which was undergoing fermentation, a

fermentative fungus was also developed, which however was

found to be specifically distinct from that of the yeast, the

individual cells being more elongate, and containing generally

from two to three nuclei. When yeast is added to fresh dia-

betic urine it likewise undergoes fermentation, but only the

fermentative fungus of the yeast is then evolved, not that of

the diabetes.

The great resemblance between the fermentative and some

forms of the filamentoid fungi, their contemporaneous appear-

ance, and especially their occurrence in the living body, point

to a remarkable analogy between the process of fermentation

and several forms of disease, especially those produced by

contagion,—an analogy which has already been established by

Liebig in a chemical point of view*.

Dr. Hanover has endeavoured to collect together the scat-

tered literature on the occurrence of parasitic plants upon

living animals}, whence it results that this phenomenon may

occur in all classes of animals. They have been observed,—

1. In Man.—The vegetable nature of the Porrigo lupinosa was first

shown by Scheenlein and was then confirmed by various persons ; thus

recently in Tinea favosa by Dr. Gruby, Mull. Arch. 1842. Hanover

observed the filamentoid fungus of the mucous membrane, and at the

same time Bennet (Trans. of the Roy. Soc. Edinb.) has detected a

filamentoid fungus in the sputa and lungs of a man. J. Goodsir has

described a vegetable (Sarcina) occurring in the stomach of persons

affected by water-brash. Mr. Busk has published some notes on the

same (Microscopic Journal).

2. In Mammalia.—Serrurier and Rousseau, I’Institut, 1841.

3. In Birds.—Fungoid formations in the lungs and air-cavities of

birds have been observed by Mr. Owen in Phenicopterus ruber, Phil.

* This view has received considerable confirmation from the recent ob-

servations of the celebrated chemist Prof. Mitscherlich, communicated at

p- 300 of this Journal ; and also by the curious observations of M. Blondlot,

published in the ‘Comptes Rendus’ for Sept. 11, 1843.—W. F.

+ This has been admirably done by Dr. J. H. Bennett in an elaborate

memoir published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,

vol. xv. part 2. The conclusions however drawn from the facts stated in the

present article relative to the important offices which these remarkable pro-

ductions are intended to fulfill in nature, will be found to be somewhat dif-

ferent, and well justify the publication of this paper, which was received

from our friend seven months ago.—W. F.

Excerpta Zoologica :—V egetation upon Living Animals. 431

Mag. 1833; Deslongchamps in Anas mollissima, Ann. des Sci. Nat.

1841 ; Serrurier and Rousseau in several other birds ; Johannes Miil-

ler and Retzius in Falco rufus and in Strix nyctea, 1842, Mill. Arch.

1842.

4. In Amphibia.—Serrurier and Rousseau in Testudo Indica; Ha-

nover and Stilling in salamanders and frogs.

5. In Fish.—Ehrenberg observed a conferva (Tremella meteorica)

as a disease upon Salmo eperlanus ; Bennet a conferva upon Cyprinus

auratus, Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. ix. p. 66.

6. In Insects:—Under this head come the observations of Bassi

and Audouin on the Muscadina of the silkworm.

Spheria sinensis grows upon a caterpillar in China, and is there

employed as a medicine : Westwood in Annals of Nat. Hist. 1841*.

Hygrochrosis intestinalis has been detected in the intestinal canal

of Blaita by Valentin (Repertorium, 1836).

The confervoid vegetation on flies has been frequently observed

and described in particular by Ledermiiller, Wrisberg, Spallanzani,

O. F. Miiller, Lyngbye, Gruithuissen, Carus, Goethe, Meyen, and

Nees von Esenbeck.

Achlya prolifera, of the water salamander, has also been found to

infest the bodies of dead flies.

7. In Mollusca.—Laurent (I’Institut, 1839) has observed a fungus

in the eggs of Limaz agrestis.

COLEOPTERA.

The genus Byrrhus has been monographed by Steffani

(Tentamen Monographie Byrrhorum, dissertatio inaug. Berol.

1842). The author describes thirty-five species, of which eight

are new, arranged in five genera, among which one is new.

With regard to the geographical distribution of these in-

sects, it is found that they all inhabit only the northern tem-

perate zone, in which they are distributed as follows :—

Number of species. | Europe. America. Asia.

BYytrauas: esas ere nae 23 5 2

Syncalypta........ 3 3 0 0

Podiloptorus ...... 1 1 » 0 0.

Simplocaria ...... 2 2 0 0

Amphicyrta ...... 2 0 2 0

Genera and species... 35 29 7 2

There are four species which belong exclusively to Europe,

five to North America, and one to Asia.

An accurate description of the larva of Byrrhus has recently

been given by Erichson in his ‘ Archiv,’ vol. 1. for 1842, p.104.

* See a paper in Hooker’s ‘ London Journal of Botany’ on the species of

Spheria which grow on larvze and pupz.—Ep.

432 Hzcerpta Zoologica :— Vegetation upon Living Animals.

CHAZTOPODES.

Several additions have been made to the history of the Che-

topodes, Burm. (Terricole, Cuv.). Henle described several

years ago a new genus allied to Lumbricus, to which he ap-

plied the name of Enchytracus ; it occurs near Berlin in moist

ground, and differs from Lumbricus by the white colour of the

skin, the pale colour of the blood, and by its much smaller size.

In atreatise lately published by Hoffmeister (De Vermibus

quibusdam ad genus Lumbricorum pertinentibus, diss. inaug.

cum tab. 2. Berol. 1842), we are made acquainted with another

new genus, Senuris: the animal lives at the bottom of small

ditches near Berlin, where it occurs buried in the mud with the

posterior extremity of the body, while the front portion pro-

jects freely and floats about in the water. From this aquatic

mode of life it approaches to the genus Tudifexr, Lam., from

which however it decidedly differs by its far greater size, four

series of fasciculi (Tubifex has only two), and by the absence

of the peculiarity of forming tubes in the mud. The following

are the generic characters :—

Senuris. Corpus teres, distincte annulatum annulis raris, quadrifa-

riam ternis ad senis pedicellis inequalibus aculeatum, numerus an-

nulorum 190—160. Diaphragmata arcta ; color sanguinis ruberri-

mus. Ventriculus musculosus nullus.

S. variegata. Labro superiore dilatato, antice acuminato. Long. 3”.

Lumbricus variegatus of O. Mueller is probably synonymous

with this species. A careful anatomical dissection indicated

essential differences from the allied genera.

In the same memoir we further find observations on the

genus Lumbricus itself: while all the older zoologists are only

acquainted with a single species, Lumbricus terrestris, Savigny

(Déscript. de P Egypte) has made twenty new species from that

one ; and Dugés has brought the number up to thirty-five.

Hoffmeister, who examined the earthworms of the neigh-

bourhood of Berlin, considers that he is able to distinguish

with certainty three species which are characterized by ex-

ternal characters, and also by their habit. One of these spe-

cles agrees with the L. anatomicus, Dug.; the other two are

new, L. agricola and L. olidus.

C. Vogt has recently described another new genus, which

is more allied to the Naiads (Miiller’s Archiv, 1841, p. 36),

under the name Matzia heterodactyla. The long body of the

animal is indistinctly divided into rings ; each of the rings has

on the ventral side two warts, each of which is furnished with

from two to ten bristles. The animal is, from its parasitic habit,

very remarkable, living as it does in the mantle-cavity of An-

cylus fluviatilis; the length of the animal amounts at the

Bibliographical Notices. 433

furthest to 12". Although Vogt describes this annelide as

new, it appears to be identical with Chetogaster, Von Baer

(Beitrage zur Kentniss der niederen Thiere, tab. 2.). Von

Baer also found his Chetogaster parasitic on freshwater mol-

lusca; not on Ancylus it is true, but on Limneus, Planorbis,

and Physa. In size, colour and form it agrees perfectly with the

Matzia, and from the description and figure there cannot be

the slightest doubt as to the identity of both animals. I have

also found in the neighbourhood of Berlin, in the mantle-

cavity of young specimens of Planorbis communis, an annelide

which agrees exactly with Vogt’s representation of the Matzia

heterodactyla. The latter name must be abandoned, and that

of Chetogaster, being the oldest, adopted.

With respect to the more accurate relations of affinity of

this genus, the spiny feet affixed to the flesh-hooks, and the

mode of propagation by means of gemmation and division,

connect it with the Naiades, from which however it differs in

the absence of eyes. It is most nearly allig¢d to Acleosoma and

Pristina, Ehrenb. (Symbol. Phys. Evert.).

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Annales des Sciences Naturelles.

Feb. 1843.—Zoology.—The remainder of M. Joly’s very valuable

paper on Caridina Desmarestii. Among the results of his research

are the following important conclusions: the Caridina quits the

egg under a different form from that which it presents when adult,

wanting many organs which afterwards are fully developed. The

changes which it undergoes are true metamorphoses, much more com-

piete metamorphoses than those presented by Orthopterous, Hemi-

pterous, and some Neuropterous insects. A comparison of M. Joly’s

observations with those of J. V. Thompson and Capt. Du Cane leads

him to conclude, that almost all, if not all, Decapodous Crustacea

exhibit similar transformations.—Dr. Martins on Arvicola nivalis, a

new species from the region of perpetual snow in the Swiss Alps.—

Andral and Gavarret on Respiration.—A translation of Mr. Bowman’s

admirable memoir on the structure and use of the Malpighian bodies

of the kidneys.

Botany.—Dr. Montagne’s descriptions of Exotic Cellulares, con-

tinued.—M. Nageli on Fungi living in the interior of vegetable

cells (from the ‘ Linnea’), with a good plate-—Professor Morren on

the movements and anatomy of the labellum of Megaclinium falcatum

(extracted from the 15th vol. of the new memoirs of the Brussels

Academy ).—Spach’s monograph of the genus Amygdalus. Out of

seventeen species thirteen are inhabitants of Asia only, one of Europe

only, one common to Europe and Asia, and two doubtful. Nine of

these are new. M. Spach also enumerates seven dubious species.

March.—Zoology.—M. Leon Dufour on the Liver of Insects.

A long and important paper with excellent plates.—M. Quatrefages

434 Bibliographical Notices.

on a new kind of Phosphorescence observed in certain Annelides and

Ophiure. The author shows that the light in these cases proceeded

from the muscular tissues of the animals.

Botany.—On the growth of Pinus sylvestris in the north of Europe,

by MM. Bravais and Ch. Martins.—Monograph of the genus Ebenus,

by Count Jaubert and Ed. Spach. Of the species described two are

European, seven Asiatic and one African. Seven out of the total ten

are new. ‘There is appended a description of a new genus, Héeni-

dium, intermediate between Hbenus and Anthyllis. Ebenidium lago-

pus, a plant from Southern Persia, is the only species. —Remarks on

the anatomical structure of Melocactus, by F. A. W. Miquel (trans-

lated from the ‘ Linnza’).—A revision of the species of Chamer-

rhodos, by Prof. Bunge.—On the genus Hypocheris, by E. Regel

(from the ‘ Linnza’).—A translation of M. Goeppart’s memoir on the

ligneous knots in Adbves pectinata.

April.—Zoology.—A translation of Siebold’s paper on the organ

of Hearing in the Mollusca.—M. d’Orbigny on the comparative

normal position of Bivalve Mollusca. The opinions expressed in this

paper are rather fanciful than important.—A translation of Prof.

Owen’s great memoir on the Mylodon.

Botany.—Note on Cambium, by MM. Mirbel and Payen.—M.

Mohl’s researches on the Cuticle of Plants (from the ‘ Linnza’).—

Dr. Léveillé on Fungi of the neighbourhood of Paris —Count Jau-

bert and M. Spach on the Oriental species of Leobordea.—Dr. Mon-

tagne’s Fourth Century of new Exotic Cellulares.

May.—Zoology.—General Considerations on the Paleontology of

South America, compared with European Paleontology, by M. Alcide

dOrbigny. A very interesting paper by a naturalist, whose works

promise to rescue the paleontology of the Invertebrata from the ob-

scurity which pervades it, in consequence of having remained so long

in the hands of persons whose knowledge was geological rather than

zoological. Among the conclusions drawn by M. d’Orbigny from

the facts on which this paper is founded, are the following: Ist, that

‘* beings, taken as a whole, have, following the chronological order of

faunee characteristic of formations, progressed in America as in Europe

from simple to complicated.” [This conclusion will hardly bear criti-

cism.] 2ndly,no transition being evident among specific forms, beings

appear to have succeeded each other on the surface of the earth, not

by passage, but by extinction of existing races and by the creation of

new species at each geological epoch: 38rdly, animals are divided into

zones according to geologicalepochs, eachof whichrepresentsa distinct

fauna having the same paleontological aspect and composed of the

same generic forms both in Europe and America, and also containing

certain species common to both: 4thly, M.d’Orbigny regards such a

state of things as indicating, among the older formations, a uniformity

of temperature and a general shallowness of the seas: 5thly, after the

cretaceous era the influence of climate commences, consequent on

the diminution of the internal heat of the globe; uniformity of distri-

bution disappears, and local faunze are multiplied.—Memoir on the

Eolidina paradoxum, Quat., by M. A. de Quatrefages (with a fine en-

Bibliographical Notices. 435

graving). The following is the character of the genus Kolidina:

“Four tentacula; eyes at the base of the posterior tentacula; bran-

chiz arranged symmetrically in transverse rows on each side of the

median line ; anus posterior, dorsal; genital orifice on the right side, a

little in advance of the posterior tentacula; foot large, enlarged in

front, extending beyond the body behind.” ‘Species, EL. paradoxum.

Superior legs slightly prominent; anus very small; genital orifice

not very evident; two reddish-brown eyes; anterior tentacula twice

as large as the posterior; colour variable (pale orange or gray).

Length ten to twelve millimetres. Inhabits coasts of Normandy

under stones at low-water.” The author describes its anatomy and

physiology at length, and concludes by a consideration of its zoolo-

gical relations. ‘This is a memoir of very great interest, and should

be carefully perused by every British malacologist.—An extract from

a work by M. Matteucci on animal electricity.

Botany.—M. Gustave Thuret on the locomotive organs of the

spores of Alge. By the employment of opium and iodine the au-

thor has been enabled to arrest and examine the ciliary organs which

cause the spores to move. Of these organs he distinguishes four

types. ‘The most simple is seen among the Confervze, in which the

extremity of the spore, unprovided with endochrome, forms a rostrum,

bearing two cilia or filiform tentacula, slightly exceeding it in length.

The motions of these spores recall those of the animalcule which

are found in the anthers of Chara. Light affects them. ‘There is a

. rose-coloured point near the rostrum like that seen in certain Infu-

soria. A second form of spore is seen in Chetophora elegans, the

spores of which are provided with four cilia. A third type is met

with among the Prolifere, in which the spores are oval, with a rounded

rostrum bearing a crown of filiform tentacula. A fourth is seen in

Vaucheria, in which the spore is an ovoid vesicle entirely clothed

with cilia. M.Thuret gives an interesting account of the germina-

tion of the spores, confirming the observations of Unger, and shows

that many species of Vaucheria are varieties of one form. Good

plates accompany this paper.—Monographia Lycoperdineorum, by

Dr. Vittadino (in the Turin ‘ Transactions’).—Monograph of the

genus Spartium, by M. Spach. Ten species are enumerated, of

which nine are African (mostly from the Canaries) and one common

to Africa and Asia.—Observationes in Acanthaceis Horti Vratisla-

viensis, by Nees ab Esenbeck (from the ‘ Linnza’).—Karelin and

Kirilow on new genera of Russian plants (from the ‘ Bulletin’ of the

Moscow Society).—Description of Zamia Loddigesii (Z. serrulata,

Catal. Loddig. n. 1841), by M. Miquel.—Baron Melicocq on the ve-

getation of the banks of the Meuse.—Review of M. Holandre’s ‘ Flora

of the Moselle.’

June.—Zoology.—M. Kolliker on the seminal fluid of Crustacea

and Cirrhipeda (translated from the author’s essay published in

German ).—Extract from the memoir by MM. Dumas, Boussingault

and Payen, on the Origin of Fat.—Huber’s paper on the larva of a

Lyda (see ‘Annals,’ May 1843).—M. Costa on the integuments of

Synapte.

436 Zoological Society.

Botany.—M. A. Steinheil (the late) on opposite leaves which

become alternate by union.—Arendt on the capillary action of hairs

(from the ‘ Flora’).—M. Desmazitres on Cryptogamia new to

France.—M. Tulasne on French Lycoperdacce.

July.—Zoology.—M. Serres on the human allantoid.—M. d’Or-

bigny on the Gasteropoda of the Cretaceous system. Of 325 spe-

cies found in the cretaceous strata of France, 250 are new. Out

of the total, 81 species belong to the Neocomian (the lowest portion

of the Lower Greensand) and 9 to the “ Aptien,” which two divi-

sions form together the ‘‘ Etage Néocomien”’ of D’Orbigny, a name

equivalent to the Lower Greensand of Dr. Fitton. To the “Albien,”

i. e. the Gault, belong 77 species; to the ‘‘'Turonien,” 7. e. Upper

Greensand, 134; and to the ‘‘ Senonien,” 7. e. white chalk, 24. Each

geological group is marked by an assemblage of peculiar species.

The new names given by M. d’Orbigny to the groups will appear to

most geologists useless and inconvenient : it is a relic of an old, but

very bad habit of French naturalists —Experimental researches on

Inanition, by Dr. Chossat.

Botany.—M. Mirbel on the anatomy of the Date-Palm.—M. Gau-

dichaud’s reply to M. Mirbel.—M. A. Meyer on the Daphnacee

(from the ‘ Bulletin’ of the Moscow Academy).—M. Bojer on new

plants from the South African Islands.—M. Schrenk on new Cheno-

podiacee and Statices (from the ‘ Bulletin’ of the Moscow Academy).

Aug.—Zoology.—M. Matteucci on muscular electricity, 2nd part.

—M. Bischoff on the detachment and fecundation of the human

egg and of the eggs of Mammalia.—Physiological studies on men-

struation, by M. Raciborsky.—M. Lereboullet on the Ligidium Per-

soonit of Brandt. With plates.

_ Botany.—Note on the distinctive characters which separate vege-

tables from animals, and on mineral secretions in plants, by M. Payen.

The author, by chemical analysis,comes to the sameconclusions which

M. Decaisne arrived at by organographical research, viz. that Coral-

lina officinalis, Halimeda, Opuntia and their allies are vegetables and

true Algze.—Dr. Montagne on the tribe of Podavrinee, and on Gyro-

phragmium, a new genus of that tribe.—Conspectus generis Gaillo-

nia, by Count Jaubert and M.E.Spach.—On some new plants of

Abyssinia, by M. Raffineau Delile.—M. Bojer’s descriptions of rare

plants from the islands of Southern Africa.—Prof. Bernhardi on the

metamorphosis of plants (from the ‘ Flora’ of 1843).

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Dec. 27, 1842 (continued).—Richard Owen, Esq., Vice-President,

in the Chair.

Mr. Fraser exhibited a specimen of the Galago Senegalensis, pro-

cured at Cape Coast, Western Africa, and a new species of Shrew

from Fernando Po, which he characterized as follows :—

Sorex (CrocrpurA) Pornsis. Sor. obscure fuscus, corpore subtis

Zoological Society. 437

cinereo, pedibus nigrescentibus ; auribus parvulis, distinctis ; caudd

corpore breviori pilis obscuris adpressis, et setis longioribus ad-

spersis.

unc. lin.

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin.... 3 3

rr pas a ig gen ae Cage a ier eigt ia FU

tarsi digitorumque........+... gr, DG

ab apice rostri ad basin auris ..-. 0 10

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

This species somewhat resembles the Sorev varius of Smuts, but

is of a deeper hue. The upper parts of the body are of a deep brown

colour, rather indistinctly variegated with greyish ; the body beneath

is grey, but slightly washed, as it were, with dirty yellow. The ears

are distinct, that is, not hidden by the fur, as in S. tetragonurus and

its allies, and the tail has long bristly hairs interspersed with the

short adpressed fur, as in the subgenus Crocidura, Wagler.

The specimen was taken in a trap baited with flesh, on the elevated

land of Point William.

Mr. Fraser observed that the specimen exhiinted of Galago Sene-

galensis was shot at Cape Coast, Western Africa, in a tamarind tree,

near the top of which he found its nest : this was composed of loose

leaves arranged in the fork of a branch. The eyes were large and

prominent, and the movements of the animal were slow, and conse-

quently very unlike the true Lemurs.

Specimens of the Galago Alleni and G'. Maholi were placed on the

table for comparison.

A paper was then read, from M. Petit de la Saussaye, containing

descriptions of new species of Shells, belonging to the genus Auri-

cula, collected by H. Cuming, Esq.

AURICULA TORNATELLIFORMIS. Aur. testé oblongo-acutd, sub epi-

dermide flavescente albidd, transversim tenuissimé striatd, et rugis

longitudinalibus levissimis obsolete granulosd ; spird conico-acutd,

lucidd ; anfractibus octonis subconvesis, ultimo magno supra me-

dium ventricoso ; columeild inferne biplicatd ; labro superné arcua-

tim emarginato.

Long. 24 millim.; larg. 105 millim.

Hab. Tanhay, isle of Negros, Philippines. Found at the roots of

mangrove-trees.

Avricuta Dotiotum. Aur. testd ovatd, transversim tenue et regu-

lariter sulcatd, striis longitudinalibus et irregularibus subpunctatd,

sordidé rufo-fuscd, ultimo anfractu pallidiore albido-cinerascente,

angusté plis minisve fasciatd ; anfractibus 6-7 ; aperturd ovatd

intis fusco-purpurascente ; columelld biplicatd, superné obsoletis-

sime dentatd ; umbilico rumali; labro albo, intis incrassato, tri-

dentato, dente mediano majori, inferiori obsoleto.

Long. 10 millim. ; larg. 54 millim.

Hab, Sinait, province of North Ilocos, island of Luzon. Found

on decayed wood, salt water.

Avricunta Rectusiana. Aur, testd ovato-oblongd, griseo virescente,

438 Zoological Society.

spird conicd, apice obtusd, erosd; anfractibus senis, planiusculis,

unoquoque in superiorem imbricante, sub suturd depressiusculo ;

umbilico nullo ; aperturd subovatd intis fusco-purpurascente ; colu-

melld triplicatd, plicd superiori, latiori, lamelliformi, media medi-

ocri, inferiori minori ; labro levigato, intis zond albd, subcalloso.

Long. 16 millim. ; larg. 8 millim. vix.

Hab. Island of Tumaco, West Colombia.

AURICULA PIRIFORMIS. Aur. testd subpiriformi, levigatd, fuscd,

sub epidermide viridi-cinerascente ; anfractibus 7-8 ; spird brevi-

conicd, rotundatd, apice acuto, nigro; aperturd oblongd, intis

Susco-violaceo ; columella 5-plicatd, plicis superioribus obsoletis,

mediand robustiori, lamelliformi, inferiort robustd, subascendente,

postice circulari ; labro acuto, pallide emarginato, intds 2-6 tenui-

ter striato.

Long. 20 millim. ; larg. 9 millim.

Hab. Tumaco island, West Colombia.

The number of strie or folds on this shell varies, but most fre-

quently there are five.

Avuricuta Creytonica. Aur. testd ovatd, superné obtusé angulatd,

glabra fusco-viridescente, fasciis albis vel cinereis angustis cinctd,

anfractibus 8-9, planulatis ; spird conico-depressiusculd, apice ni-

grescente ; columella triplicatd, plicd superiori albd, crassiusculd,

lamelliformi, subtis parvuld, inferiori circulari ; labro acuto, longeé

et profunde intis sulcato, ad marginem fusco, levi.

Long. 15 millim.; larg. 10 millim.

‘Mr. Cuming possesses specimens which are of large size.

Hab. Ceylon.

Very fine strize are sometimes perceptible upon half of the last

whorl of this shell ; the base of the columella is of a livid fawn-colour.

AURICULA PULCHELLA. Aur. testd parvuld, ovato-acutd, nitidd

pellucidd albicante, transversim fusco-zonatd, lineis longitudinali-

bus rectis seu undulatis, equidistantibus, zonas transversas secan-

tibus, eleganter pictd ; anfractibus 6-7 ; spird conico-acutd, fuscd,

apice mammillari ; columelld triplicatd, plicis superioribus parvulis,

approximatis, inferiori majori, subhorizontali ; labro acuto, intis

tenuiter striato. :

Long. 6 millim.; larg. 3 millim.

Hab. St. Nicolas, isle of Zebu (Philippines).

Jan. 10, 1843.—Richard Owen, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

A portion of a letter from the Rev. W. C. Cotton, addressed to

Professor Owen, was read. This letter is dated Waimate, near the

Bay of Islands, New Zealand, July 11, 1842, and the portion read

refers to the remains of a gigantic bird in New Zealand. The Rev.

Mr. Cotton observes, that upon meeting with the Rev. Mr. Wm.

Williams, whose missionary station is at the East Cape, Bay of

Islands, “I spoke to him about the gigantic New Zealand Bird,

of which you described a single bone. Oddly enough, he hada

basketful of the bones in the next room, which he immediately

Zoologreal Society. 439

showed to me. He has sent two cases of them to Dr. Buckland,

together with a long letter, fully detailing the circumstances under

which they were found. I have no doubt but that he will ere this

have communicated the letter to you, that is, should it have safely

arrived. The bones are very perfect, not at all fossilized ; and have

been buried in the mud of freshwater streams communicating with high

mountains. Mr. Williams had bones of thirty different birds brought

to him in a short time after he set the natives about searching for

them. One of the largest leg-bones, which measures two feet ten

inches, and which has been sent to Dr. Buckland, leads him to think

that the bird must have been sixteen feet high! A clergyman who

came out in the Tomatia with us is going to be located in the Wairoa,

a river about seventy miles south of Poverty Bay, a locality in which

these bones have been found in the greatest plenty, and I will com-

mission him to save for me all he can in case you should not have

any in the distribution which Dr. Buckland is authorized by Mr.

Williams to make. No bones of the wings have been found. The

natives have some odd traditions about it, which you will see in the

letter. Strangely enough, after Mr. Williams had obtained the

bones, he heard of the bird as having been seen by two Englishmen

in the Middle Island. They were taken out by a native at night to

watch for the bird, which he had described to them ; they saw it, but

were so frightened that they did not dare to shoot at it, though they

had gone out expressly to do so. After this I should not be sur-

prised if the Zoological Society were to send out an army to take

the monster alive, for alive he most certainly is in my opinion.”

A paper was then read from M. Petit de la Saussaye, in which the

author describes the following new species of Shells, placed in his

hands for that purpose by Hugh Cuming, Esq. Among these, M.

Petit observes, are several which in his opinion form a new little

group, possessing well-marked characters, and which might be re-

arded as a subgenus, for which he proposes the name Hlasmatina*.

These shells, which are all terrestrial, form a portion of the great

family Helicide, and appear to be confined to certain islands in the

Pacific Ocean. ‘They are of small size, transparent and fragile, and

their columella is always furnished at least with one tooth, and

sometimes with several teeth. The chief characters are thus ex-

pressed by the author :-—

ELASMATINA,

Testa ovata, seu turrita, fragilis, pellucida ; columella uni- vel pluri-

dentata, dentibus lamelliformibus ; labrum tenue, acutum.

ELASMATINA SUBULATA. lasm. testd conico-elongatd, cylindraced,

pellucidd, dilute corned; anfractibus decennis, convexis, suturd

lineari, impressd ; apice obtuso; aperturd oblique obovatd; colu-

melld dente lamelliformi intuisque decurrente instructd ; labro tenui,

acuto. Long. 6 mill.; larg. 2 mill.

Hab. Island of Opara, Society Islands.

Found by Mr. Cuming in decayed grass.

* From éaacux, lamella.

440 Zoological Society.

EvasMatina Cumine1ana. LElasm., testd ovato-conicd, pyramidatd,

pellucida, diluté corneo-fuscescente ; anfractibus 10-11, subplanu-

latis, ultimo subangulato; aperturd semilunari, angustatd ; colu-

melld biplicatd; plicd superiori obsolete lamelliformi ; inferiori

arcuatd, lamellosd ; labro tenui, acuto. Long. 6 mill.; larg. 34

mill.

Hab. Island of Juan Fernandez.

Found by Mr. Cuming on dried herbage.

Exasmatina Rectusiana. Slasm. testé oblongo-conicd, pellucida,

corneo-fuscescente ; anfractibus 9-10, planiusculis ; aperturd semi-

lunari ; columella basi contorto-plicatd, plicd lamellosd; labro

tenut, acuto. Long. 5 mill.; larg. 2 mill.

Hab. Island of Mas afuera, coast of Chili.

Found by Mr. Cuming under moss in damp situations.

ExasMATINA GLoBosa. lasm. testd ventricoso-conicd, pellucidd,

luteo-virescente ; anfractibus 6-7, planiusculis, ultimo maximo,

ventricoso, pallidiore ; spird conico-acutd ; aperturd semilunari,

ringente ; columelld supra medium dente lamelliformi instructd,

dente subtis marginato, interdum duplicato, ad basim plicato, plicd

antice emarginatd robusté bilobato, lobo superiori ascendente, infe-

riort subhorizontali ; labro acuto. Long. 4 mill.; larg. 3 mill.

Hab. Island of Opara. a

Found by Mr. Cuming under stones.

M. Petit also describes a new shell belonging to the genus Sca-

rabus :—

ScaraBus Cumineianus. Scar. testd ovato-acutd, utroque latere

compressiusculd, sordidé fuscescente, longitudinaliter rugoso-

striatd, umbilicatd ; anfractibus novenis, planis ; spird conicd, late-

raliter interdum castaneo-maculatd ; aperturd longitudinali, mar-

garitaced, nitente ; columelld tridentatd, dente superiori longitudi-

nali, antice truncato, dente mediano crasso, basi obsolete trilobato,

inferiori transverso, lamelliformi ; labro crasso, superné intis valde -

sinuato, quinis dentibus instructo ; umbilico intuis clauso. Long.

29 mill. ; larg. 20 mill.

Found by Mr. Cuming at Boljoon (island of Zebu), and at Tanhay,

island of Negros.

Mr. Fraser laid before the Meeting some new species of Birds

from Fernando Po, which he characterized as follows :—

SYLVvicoLa suPERCILIARIS. Sylv. ¢ corpore superiore, et lateribus

nitide olivaceis ; mento, guld, et abdomine medio sordide albis ; lined

a naribus super oculos, lined suboculari, plumis auricularibus,

humerorum margine, femoribus, crissoque splendide flavis ; spatio

inter oculos rictumque fusco ; rostro nigro, pedibus carneis.

Long. tot. 4 poll.; rostri, 4; ale, 2; caude, 14; tarsi, 2.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

The whole of the upper surface and sides of the body, in this bird,

are of a bright olive colour; the chin, throat and centre of abdomen

are dirty white ; a yellow line runs from the nostril over the eye, and

Zoological Society. 441

there is a mark under the eye of the same colour; the ears, edge of

shoulders, thighs and under tail-coverts are also bright yellow; the

space between the eye and the gape is brown; the bill is black and

the legs are flesh-colour.

Bucco sussutpuurrvs. Buc. & corpore superiore nigro, strigd

superciliari, necnon lined frontali sub oculos, et per genas tendente,

sulphureis ; spatio strigis incluso nigro; corpore inferiore, alarum

cauddque tectricibus, secundariis, sic et caudd flavo-marginatis ;

alarum tectricibus inferioribus flavido-albis ; iridibus corylaceis ;

rostro nigro, pedibus saturaté plumbeis.

Long. tot. 3% poll. ; rostri, %; ale, 2; caude, 14; tarsi, Z.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

The upper surface of the head and body is black; superciliary

stripe and one across the forehead, which passes under the eye and

along the cheek, and the whole of the under surface, sulphureous ;

space between the superciliary and cheek stripes black ; upper wing

and tail-coverts, secondaries and tail, margined with yellow; under

wing-coverts yellowish white; irides hazel; bill black; legs deep

lead-coiour.

This bird is like a Nuthatch in its habits, being capable,of not

only running up the trunk of a tree with great agility, but of de-

_scending also, head downwards, with equal or even more facility, an

act which the Woodpecker is, I believe, unable to perform. The tail

is short and very soft, and is not used in climbing. Like our Eu-

ropean Sitta, the downward position seems the most easy and natural.

Of the difference of sexes, if any, I am unable to speak, but I have

reason to believe the young of this genus differ considerably from

the adult*. The Buccos are stupid and inactive; I have shot three .

or four from the same tree, one after the other, without disturbing

the rest.

Muscrpera (Tcuitrea, Less.) trRicoLor. Musc. 2 cristd, et mento

nitide nigris; corpore superiore cinereo; inferiore rufo, rostre

pedibusque pallidé ceruleis ; caudd ?

Long. tot. —? poll.; rostri, 12; ale, 3}; caude, —? ; tarsi, Z.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po (June) ; in deep moult.

Hatcyon teucoeaster. Halc. 6 vertice nigro, et ceruleo alter-

naiim fasciato, notd grandi rufo ab utrdque nari oriente et mandi-

* I have in my collection young specimens of a species of Bucco, nearly

allied to the above, and in which the body is much spotted and barred, as

we so frequently find it in young birds, and wants the decided colouring

characteristic of the adults of the present genus. These young birds I feel

no doubt constitute a new species, but with such imperfect materials I do

not think it desirable to impose a name. The plumage is very soft and

loose; the upper parts of the body are of a blackish colour; the crown of

the head is adorned with numerous small yellow spots, and the feathers of

the back and rump are margined with yellow, giving a barred appearance

to these parts; the wing-coverts are narrowly edged with dirty yellow; the

under parts of the body are pale inclining to white, but as it were irregu-

larly washed with yellow; the beak is horn-coloured, and the feet are black.

These young birds were shot on naked isolated trees.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xii. 2H

4.4.2 : Zoological Society.

bule inferioris basim circumdante, necnon aures, et capitis latera,

exindé super oculos tendente, et per latera colli corporisque sic et

alarum tectrices ducté; dorso splendide ceruleo, quo colore tec-

trices alarum marginate, ale, caudaque lavate sunt, guld, pectore

et abdomine in medio albis ; rostra cM te rubris.

Long. tot. 54 poll. ; rostri, 13; ale, 21 ; caude, 11; tarsi

Hab. Clarence, Fernando hag

Crown of the head alternately banded with blue and black ; from

each nostril commences a large patch of rufous, which envelopes the

base of the lower mandible, ears, and sides of the head, forms a broad

stripe over the eye, and extends along the sides of the neck and body,

and also over the under wing-coverts ; the back is ultramarine blue ;

the upper wing-coverts are tipped, and the wings and tail glossed

with the same hue; the throat and the centre of the chest and abdo-

men are white ; bill and feet red.

This beautiful species is very closely allied to the Halcyon cyanotis,

Sw., but may at once be distinguished by the centre of the abdomen

being white, which circumstance suggested the name. It is a shy

bird.

Mr. Lovell Reeve then communicated a paper by Sylvanus Han-

ley, Esq., in which the author describes, subjoined, five new species

of shells belonging to the genus Donaz, a group of Acephalous Mol-

lusks.

Donax sEmMisuLcaTa. Don. testa abbreviato-cuneiformi, totd albido-

lutescente, nitidd, posticé attenuata, levigatd, margine dorsali valde

declivi ; anticé brevissimd, truncatd, transversim sulcatd et longi-

tudinaliter striatd ; margine anteriore subrecto ; vulvd decussatd,

lateribus subangulatd ; intis margine crenulato.

Long. ? poll: ; lat. $ poll.

Hab. ? Mus. Stainforth, Metcalfe, Hanley, &c.

A very distinctly characterized shell, which bears little resemblance

to any other species of this genus, with the exception of the strami-

nea of Schreetter. ‘That rare and almost forgotten shell differs from

ours in the following particulars. ‘The shape is altogether more

rounded, the ventral edge less arcuated, the edges of the anterior

slope rounded, and its transverse striz obsolete. Moreover the

posterior margin is entire.

Donax PuNcTATO-sTRIATA. Don. testd subtriangulari, valde con-

verd, pallide livido-fuscd, radiatim punctato-striatd, margine dor-

sali utringue valde declivi, ventrali medio arcuato ; vulvdé longitu-

dinaliter argute striatd, lateribus obtusis ; inttis purpured, margini-

bus dentatis ; dentibus lateralibus in utrdque valvuld duabus.

Long. # poll. ; lat. 14 poll.

Hab. > Mus. Stainiorth, Metcalfe, Hanley, &c.

Combining the outline of the striata of Linnzus (not Chemnitz)

with the dotted strize of denticulata, this shell may nevertheless be

easily distinguished from either by the obtuse edge of its anterior

slope. The inner margin is strongly dentated, excepting at the an-

terior slope, where it is finely crenulated. TI believe that it is found

» 12°

Zoological Society. 4.43

on the shores of China, but will not venture to assign it that or any

other locality.

Donax carinata. Don. testdé elongato-cuneiformi, antice acumi-

natd, convexd, purpureo-fuscd, striis longitudinalibus magis mi-

nusve distinctis ornatd (sepe politd, radiisque saturatioribus

obsolet? depictd) ; vulvd oblique truncatd, lateribus carinatd, fere

planulatd, striisque subgranulatis radiatd ; intis purpured, denti-

bus lateralibus in utrdque valvuld duobus, marginibus crenatis.

Long. # poll. ; lat. 12 poll.

Hab. ? Mus. Stainforth, Metcalfe.

A species peculiarly characterized by the very sharp and subros-

trated angle formed by the ventral edge with the nearly straight

edge of the depressed and sharply carinated anterior slope. In the

majority of specimens the strie have become obsolete and the shell

brilliantly polished. The general outline bears some little resem-

blance to that of the true ¢runculus of Linnzeus, a very different shell

from that erroneously but universally so designated by those who

have written on British conchology.

Donax DENTIFERA. Don. testd abbreviato-subtriangulari, postice

rotundatd, antice obtusd et tumidd, rugis tenuissimis strias longi-

tudinales anticé decussantibus ; vulvd subbiangulatd, striis tenuibus

subgranulatis radiatd, sulcoque dentifero notatd ; margine ventrali

viv arcuato ; dentibus cardinalibus et lateralibus in utrdque valvuld

duobus ; intts marginibus crenatis.

Long. 1} poll. ; lat. 12 poll.

ab. :

The abbreviated shape of this remarkable shell would alone sepa-

rate it from most of the Donaces possessing a crenulated margin.

The extraordinary tooth at the extremity of the radiating groove in

one valve, which fits into a corresponding notch at the extremity of

that of the other, is however its more prominent characteristic. A

few teeth show themselves likewise at the extremity of the longitu-

dinal elevated strie which margin the anterior slope.

The colouring is extremely variable, being uniform flesh-colour,

olive-yellow, with the umbones violet, or even white. The interior

rivals the exterior in the diversity of its tints.

Donax PUuLCHELLA. Don. testd transversim elongatd, convewd, pel-

lucidd, politd, postice attenuatd, productd, antic? brevi; obtusd,

margine ligamentali valde convexd ; albidd, striis longitudinalibus

obsoletis anticeque radiis purpureis angustis tribus ornatd; vulvd

lateribus rotundatd, striisque tenuibus radiatd ; margine ventrali

subrecid, intis crenulatd ; dentibus lateralibus valde approximatis.

Long. + poll.; lat. 4 poll.

Hab. West Indies.

An exceedingly common species from the West Indies, which,

from its apparent similarity with the scalpellum of Gray, has hitherto

remained uncharacterized. Its peculiarly transverse shape, its

breadth being considerably more than twice its length, sufficiently

distinguishes it from any of the named species of this genus, with the

2H2

444, Zoological Society.

exception of the Owenii and scalpellum, from which it is separated

by its greater convexity and its distinctive colouring.

Mr. Hanley also describes a new species of Mya of Linnezus and

Lamarck :—

Mya semistriaTa. Mya testd ovato-oblongd, subequilaterali, ventri-

cosd, postice rotundatd, antice subtruncatd et attenuatd, candidd,

tenut, pellucidd, longitudinaliter striatd ; striis tenuibus, confertis,

antice elevatis ; ared posticd striarum experte, transversim rugosd ;

dente cardinali obliquo.

Long. 2 poll. ; lat. 1 poll.

Hab. ? Mus. Metcalfe.

A single valve, in the cabinet of W. Metcalfe, Esq., is the sole

specimen of this elegant and distinct shell I have ever beheld, and

forms a welcome addition to a genus possessing so few species as

that of Mya. Its distinct radiating striz occupying all but the pos-

terior surface (which is roughened by concentric sublamellar wrin-

kles), prevent the possibility of its being confounded with any other

species, except the cancellata of Conrad. But the coarse transverse

wrinkles which cover the entire surface of that shell are totally

wanting in ours, whilst its radiating striz are few, indistinct, and by

no means its prominent characteristic.

The anterior attenuation is caused by the sloping upwards of the

ventral edge. The tooth closely resembles that of arenaria, but is

more oblique.

January 24.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Professor Owen exhibited various bones, being the remains of a

gigantic Struthious Bird (Dinornis Nove-Zealandie, Owen) which

has become extinct in the North Island of New Zealand, and pro-

ceeded to read his notes relating to them.

«Since the communication to the Zoological Society, Jan. 10th,

1843, of the letter of the Rev. Mr. Cotton, relative to the remains

of the gigantic bird of New Zealand which had been collected in

the North Island by the Rev. Wm. Williams, one of the boxes of

these remains, transmitted by that gentleman to Prof. Buckland, has

been received, and the specimens have been kindly placed in my

hands for description.

«An entire femur, somewhat larger than that of which the shaft

is described and figured in the Society’s Transactions, proves the

specific identity of the present remains with the fragment, upon which

I ventured to affirm, three years ago*, that a large Struthious Bird

‘of a heavier and more sluggish species than the Ostrich’ had re-

cently become extinct, if it were not still living, in New Zealand.

«The femur has very nearly the same proportions of thickness to

length as in the Ostrich, but the shaft is less compressed ; it conse-

quently differs from that of the Apteryx in being shorter in propor-

tion to its thickness ; but it resembles the femur of the Apteryx, and

* The memoir was communicated to the Zoological Society November

12th, 1839, vol. iii. p. 32. pl. 3.

Zoological Society. 445

differs trom that of the Ostrich and Emeu in the important character

of the absence of the air-hole at the back part of the neck, and the

consequent substitution of marrow for air in the interior of the bone.

It differs from the femur of the Ostrich, and agrees with that of the

Apteryx, in the greater width of the anterior interspace of the con-

dyles; but it differs from that of the Apteryx, not only in size and

general proportions, but also in the form of the distal extremity,

which has a deeper posterior intercondyloid depression, and a sharper

and more produced posterior part of the outer condyle.

«The length of the above femur of the great bird of New Zealand

is eleven inches; the circumference of the middle of the shaft five

and a half inches: but the present collection includes the shaft of a

femur of another individual, with a circumference of seven and a

half inches. 7

«The most perfect tibia in the present collection measures two feet

four and a half inches in length, and apparently corresponds in pro-

portion with the fragment of the larger femur. Now allowing that

femur fourteen inches of entire length, the tibia is then twice the

length of the femur, while in the Apteryx the tibia is only one-

third longer than the femur. The larger Struthionide, as the Os-

trich and Emeu, more nearly resemble the great New Zealand Bird

in the proportion of their tibia, but it is not quite twice the length

of the femur in those species. The tibia of the great New Zealand

Bird differs from that of the Apteryx and all the large Struthionide

in the complete osseous canal for the passage of an extensor tendon

in the anterior concavity above the distal condyles. This osseous

canal is commonly found in the tibia of the Gralle, Galline, Anseres,

and many smaller birds. The proportion of length to thickness of

the tibia is nearly the same in the Ostrich and the great New Zea-

land Bird ; the circumference of the tibia at its proximal end, in the

latter, is fifteen inches; at its middle, five inches.

‘The most instructive bone in the present collection is a tarso-

metatarsal bone, with the distal extremity entire, showing that the

gigantic bird was tridactyle, like the Emeu, Rhea, and Cassowary.

The remains of the proximal end of the bone prove it to have been

articulated with a tibia about an eighth part shorter than the one

above described, or to a tibia about two feet in length; the length of

the tarso-metatarsal bone is one foot, or half the length of the tibia,

which is exactly the proportion which the tarso-metatarsal bone of

the Apteryx bears to the tibia. In the Emeu the tarso-metatarsal

bone is as large as the tibia ; in the Ostrich it is a little shorter than

the tibia. The difference in the proportions of the tarso-metatarsal

bone of the gigantic bird of New Zealand and of the Emeu will be

obvious from the following dimensions :—

Dinornis. Dromaius.

Tarso-metatarsal bone. in. lin. in. lin.

Circumference of middle ...... 4 5 2 8

Breadth of distal end.......... 3 10 ° 2°61

«The comparative shortness and strength of the trifid metatarsal

446 Zoological Society.

of the gigantic New Zealand Bird form its most striking resemblance

to the Apteryx, to which it thus approximates more closely than to

any of the large existing Struthionide.

“« The proportions of the leg-bones, their denser texture, especially

that of the femur, which, as in the Apteryx, contains no air, suffi-

ciently indicate the generic distinction of the great New Zealand

Bird from the tridactyle Emeu, Rhea, or Cassowary. The questions

then arise,—is it likewise generically distinct from the Apteryz ? or is

it a gigantic species of that genus? These questions are determined

by the tarso-metatarzal bone. The Apteryx is distinguished from

the other Struthionide not more by its elongated bill than by the

presence of a fourth small toe on the inner and back part of the foot,

articulated toa slightly elevated rough surface of the tarso-metatarsal

about a fourth of the length of that bone from its trifid distal end.

There is no trace of this articular surface on the tarso-metatarsal of

the Gigantic Bird, which was consequently tridactyle, as in the Emeu,

Rhea, and Cassowary. The Dodo was tetradactyle, like the Apteryx ;

the shorter proportions of the legs of the Dodo also distinguish it

from the Gigantic Bird, whose career in the North Island of New Zea-

land was probably closed about the same period as that of the Dodo’s

existence in the Isle of Rodriguez.

‘The fragments of the pelvis prove this to have been relatively

broader, behind the acetabula, than in the Ostrich, Emeu, or Apte-

ryx, its proportions being more like those of the Bustard.

“The results of the foregoing comparisons justify the reference of

the Great Bird of New Zealand to a distinct genus in the Struthious

order, for which I propose the name Dinornis, with the specific ap-

pellation Nove Zealandie.

«The extraordinary size of the tibia above described—still more

that of the tibia said to measure two feet ten inches in length, ob-

tained by Mr. W. Williams, and mentioned in his letter to Dr. Buck-

land—prove the Dinornis of New Zealand to be the most gigantic

of known birds. There is little probability that it will ever be found,

whether living or extinct, in any other part of the world than the

islands of New Zealand, or parts adjacent. At all events, the Dinor-

nis Nove Zealandie will always remain one of the most extraordinary

of the zoological facts in the history of those islands ; and it may not

be saying too much to characterize it as one of the most remarkable

acquisitions to Zoology in general which the present century has pro-

duced.”

Mr. Ogilby then communicated his descriptions of two new spe-

cies of Baboon :—

«When at Frankfort in the year 1837 I saw in the museum of

that city two Baboons of the genus Cynocephalus, which my friend

Dr. Riippell had brought from Abyssinia. They were however con-

founded with the ‘ Babouin’ of the French authors (C. sphinx), under

which name they are noticed in the ‘ Neue Wirbelthiere’ ; and though

I was too well acquainted with that species, from having frequently

seen an individual then living in the Surrey Zoological Gardens, to

Zoological Society. 447

fall into the same error, I yet committed the similar mistake of con-

founding the Frankfort animals with C. anubis, of which there was

no specimen at hand to compare them with. Since that time I have

had frequent opportunities of observing the latter species, which is

an inhabitant of the coast of Guinea, and not uncommon in our mu-

seums and menageries; but it is only within the last few days that

the acquisition of a fine adult male specimen of Dr. Riippell’s animal

by the Zoological Society has enabled me to compare them together,

and to ascertain their specific distinction. Both species are now

living in the Society’s Gardens, and offer a rare and valuable oppor-

tunity for studying their characters.

“The Abyssinian species, which was reported to have been

brought from Bombay, but which had no doubt been carried thither

on board some vessel trading to the Red Sea, possesses a higher de-

gree of interest than attaches to any other Cynocephal. With the

exception of C. hamadryas, it is the only known species in that part

of Africa, and must consequently have been the animal which we find

so frequently figured among the hieroglyphics, and which was wor-

shiped by the Egyptians under the name of Thoth. I have shown

elsewhere (Nat. Hist. of Monkeys, &c., i. 431) that the Sacred

Baboon of the Egyptians was not the C. hamadryas, as supposed by

Ehrenberg; and though, from the mistake above alluded to, I was

at that time inclined to identify it with C. anubis, there can now be

no reasonable doubt that the animal which played so important a

part in the mythology of that remarkable people, and of whose wor-

ship the city of Hermopolis was the principal seat, must have been

the species at present under consideration. If this conjecture be

well-founded, it follows also that the names cynocephalus, sphinz, &c.,

so often employed by Greek and Roman writers, must have referred

to the same animal, at least originally ; but as modern zoologists have

applied all these names in a definite sense, I propose to distinguish

the new species by the equally appropriate designation which it bore

among the ancient Egyptians.

~ * Cynocephalus Thoth.—The individual from which this description

was taken is an old male of large size, and, like the rest of his con-

geners, of a morose intractable disposition. The face is broad and

of a dirty livid flesh-colour, lighter along the centre and ridge of the

nose, and somewhat browner on the cheeks and muzzle ; the cheek-

bones are protuberant, the rostrum truncated, and the extremity of

the nose reaching, but not surpassing, the plane of the upper lip and

teeth. The hair of the fore-quarters is longer and thicker than on

the rest of the body, though it does not form so dense or copious a

mane as in C. hamadryas.. The colour of the upper and outer parts

of the body may be described as dark olive-green, and that of the

lower and interior as light yellowish green; the breast, throat and

under part of the chin are silvery grey; the lower parts of the whis-

kers are of the same colour, but they acquire a yellowish green shade

as they approach and become intermixed with the hair of the head;

the ears and palms of the hands are naked, and of a dark brown

colour; the callosities very large and flesh-coloured, and the naked

448 Zoological Society.

parts of the hips on each side of the callosities of a deep purple or

violet-brown ; the scrotum is brown, and the sheath of the penis

flesh-coloured. The tail is of medium length, without a terminal

tuft, and carried in the arched manner common to the rest of the

genus. ‘The hind surfaces of the legs and thighs are furnished with

long hair of a yellowish brown shade; the hands are of the same

colour as the body, but the hind fingers are covered with longish

grey hairs, and this character, together with the dark purple colour

of the naked hips and brown scrotum, will always be sufficient to

distinguish the present species from C. anubis and C. sphinz, in both

of which the naked parts of the buttocks are of a brilliant,blood-red,

and the scrotum pale flesh-colour. In colour indeed C. Thoth ap-

proaches more nearly to C. sphine than to C. anubis; it has the same

light silvery grey colour on the whiskers and under part of the body,

but the upper colours are more obscure; the bright yellowish green

is replaced by sordid dunnish brown, and the proportions of the two

animals are entirely different, the long slender limbs and body of the

sphine contrasting strongly with the massive thick-set form of the

present species. |

«There is likewise in the Society’s Gardens a second undescribed

species of Cynocephal, of which I remember to have formerly seen a

specimen in Wombwell’s collection, but. unfortunately neglected to

take a note of it at the time. The individual which I am now about

to describe was brought from the Niger Expedition, and presented

to the Society by Lieutenant Webb, R.N. It is a semiadult male,

of medium size, covered on every part of the body, both above and

below, with long shaggy hair of a deep russet-brown colour, each

hair being annulated with rusty-brown and black rings; and I may

remark, that this and C. anubis are the only species in which I have

observed that the hair of the breast and belly are similarly annulated,

and almost as thickly furnished as that on the back and sides; the

whiskers are likewise bushy, of the same colour as the hair of the

back, and similarly annulated; but it should be observed, that from

the very dark shade of the colours the annuli are but little conspicu-

ous anywhere. ‘The face is more slender and tapering than in any

other male Cynocephal that I have ever seen; the cheek-bones are

but little prominent, but the nose sensibly surpasses the extremity

of the muzzle. The face and space surrounding the eyes are black

or dark brown, the upper eyelids alone flesh-coloured; the ears and

palms of the hands, as are likewise the upper sides of the fingers, the

scrotum, callosities, and naked parts of the buttocks, are of the same

colour. ‘The hair of the head, whiskers and fore-parts generally is

erect and bushy, and completely conceals the ears. This species is

allied to C. anubis, but differs from it in the colour of the hair, in the

absence of the light flesh-coloured circle about the eyes, and in the

dark brown instead of blood-red colour of the callosities and naked

parts of the buttocks. I propose to distinguish it by the name of C.

choras, a name which is applied to this or some other species of Ba-

boon on the west coast of Africa, and which has a sufficiently classical

form to escape the censure of barbarism, notwithstanding its origin.”

Botanical Society of London. 449

Descriptions of four new species of Conus, a genus of Pectinibran-

chiate Mollusks, by Mr. Lovell Reeve, were then read.

1. Conus Stainrortuil. Con. testd conico-turbinatd, leviter flexu-

osd, albidd, rubro purpureoque tinctd, ad basin rosaced ; granosd,

granis minutis, rubido carneove-albis, in seriebus equidistantibus

parallelis transversaliter dispositis ; spird mediocriter convexd, tu-

berculis aspersis regulariter coronatd ; apice mucronato, symmetrice

acuto ; aperturd subinflatd, labro solidiusculo, intis extisque albo.

Conch. Icon. pl. 1. f. 1.

The richly variegated purple painting of this new and very beau-

tiful shell (which I dedicate to its fortunate possessor), and the

rows of light small granular pimples standing out in relief, render

it eminently characteristic. There is another specimen in Mr. Cu-

ming’s collection.

Hab. Unknown.

2. Conus tienarius. Con. testd oblongo-turbinatd, luteo-fuscd,

fusco indistincté bifasciatd, longitudinaliter subtilissime striatd,

filis tenuissimis rubellis densissimeé cingulatd ; basi striatd ; spird

planiusculd, apice elato, acuto.

Conch. Icon. pl. 15.

This shell, which is of an uniform brown colour, profusely corded

and lined, both transversely and longitudinally, was found by Mr.

Cuming on mud-banks just below low-water mark at Port Sacloban,

Island of Leyte, Philippines.

3. Conus maeniricus. Con. testd cylindraceo-turbinatd, obesd,

anfractibus superne rotundatis, spird levi, subacuminatd, apice

valde obtuso ; rosaced, lineis ovato-trigonis, lacco aut purpureo-

rubris, usquequaque reticulatd, maculis perpaucis grandissimis. bi-

fasciatim cinctd.

Conch. Icon. pl. 6. f. 32. ie.

This beautiful shell, which always exhibits a warm rosaceous tint,

was collected by Mr. Cuming at Matnog, Island of Lucon, Philip-

pines.

4. Conus Neprunus. Con. testd elongato-conicd, spird acuminatd,

striatd, apice acuto; pallide carneold, lineis maculisque rubidis

ubique nebulosd et venosd ; versus basin leviter sulcatd, sulcis sub-

distantibus ; columella et aperture fauce subrosaced.

Conch. Icon. pl. 6. f. 30.

Hab. Jacna, Island of Bohol.

The delicate marking of this gem approaches so nearly to that of

the Conus gloria-maris, that we honour it with as noble a title.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Oct. 6, 1843.—John Reynolds, Esq., Treasurer, in the Chair.

Mr. Adam Gerard exhibited a collection of fruits and seeds from

Sierra Leone, containing specimens of the fruits of the Butter and

Tallow ‘Tree (Pentadesma butyracee).

Read ‘“ Notes of a Botanical Excursion to Tilgate Forest in Au-

gust last,” by the Chairman.

450 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

Nov. 3.—Hewett Cottrell Watson, Esq., V.P., F.L.S., in the Chair.

The following papers were read: ‘‘ On the Botany of Lichfield,”

by the Rev. Richard Garnett ; ‘* Notes on a species of Cuscuta found

at Duxford, Cambridgeshire,” by Mr. Frederick Bond.

The Chairman presented a series of specimens of the Common

Birch, in order to show that the forms described by different authors

under the names of Betula alba, pendula, glutinosa and pubescens are

only varieties of one single species, the original Betula alba of Lin-

neus. Mr. Watson stated that he had repeatedly found on different

branches of the same tree, the various forms of leaf and other cha-

racters which were given as the distinctions between these supposed

species ; and that the leaves of Betula glutinosa or pubescens were

produced usually (if not always) on the seedling plants of Betula alba

or pendula.

Mr. Edward Doubleday presented specimens of Primula elatior

from the Bardfield Station. These specimens were remarkable for

the wide variation in the relative length of the calyx and corolla, and

also in the form of the leaves, some specimens resembling the prim-

rose in their tapering leaves, while others had the abruptly contracted

leaves similar to those of the cowslip. It was announced that the

Herbarium of the Society might be inspected every Friday evening

from seven to ten.

Specimens of Barkhausia setosa, DeC., were exhibited, one of

which was presented by Mr. Cumming in 1841, collected by him at

Audley End, Essex. The other was presented by Mr. G. 8. Gibson,

and was collected by him in a field near Sampford, Essex, in 1843.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.

This Society held its first meeting for the season on Thursday,

November 9, Dr. Neill in the Chair.

Professor Graham read an account of a botanical excursion, un-

dertaken with some of his pupils in August last, to North Wales, the

principal feature of which was the extreme paucity of the Alpine

vegetation as compared with that on the Grampian ranges ; and the

great interest of the products in the Welsh valleys, when contrasted

with the vegetation of low levels among the Scottish mountains.

Dr. Graham also read a notice by Dr. Bell Salter, of some recent

additions to the flora of the Isle of Wight, and of the many species

or varieties of Rubi occurring in that island, one of which, considered

by Dr. Salter to be Rubus suberectus, was particularly interesting from

its size, almost reaching that of a small tree, and with leaves above

six inches in length.

Mr. Brand read a communication from Dr. W. H. Campbell re-

specting the Eta palm wood of British Guiana, which is of extreme

lightness, and is used in the colony, among other things, for sharp- -

ening razors, &c., probably owing to its containing much siler. Dr.

Campbell also mentioned several other kinds of wood equally remark-

able for their solidity and weight, for their great beauty, and for the

high prices they fetch in this country for veneering and other orna-

mental cabinet work.

Miscellaneous. 451

MISCELLANEOUS.

DISCOVERY OF CLATHRUS CANCELLATUS IN BRITAIN.

Sucu readers of the ‘ Annals’ as take an interest in cryptogamic

plants will doubtless be glad to learn that Clathrus cancellatus, a ge-

nus and species new amongst British Fungi, has been discovered this

autumn in the Isle of Wight, both by Mr. R. Kippist, Librarian to the

Linnean Society, and myself, quite independently of and unknown to

one another, and in very different localities ; Mr. Kippist having met

with it close to this town (Ryde), and my plant occurring at the back

of the island. I do not know the date of Mr. Kippist’s finding the

species here, but feel pretty certain it must have been anterior to my

meeting with it, which was about the beginning of October, in a

damp rocky and grassy hollow, just within and at the bottom of the

Pelham woods by St. Lawrence, where it grew in tolerable plenty

over an area of perhaps some seventy or eighty square yards or more

of sward. My attention was involuntarily drawn to it by the exces-

sively repulsive odour of carrion that pervaded the air around the

spot, and which induced me to look about for the Phallus impudicus,

a species well known to emit a scent so analogous to that of a dead

animal, as to attract and apparently deceive the flies, and induce

them to deposit their ova on the slimy pileus. The specimens of

Clathrus cancellatus I found were many of them as large as an ordi-

nary-sized orange, and presented the appearance of a very coarse or

open network, forming slightly collapsed hollow spheres of a bright

flesh-red precisely like raw meat, the vessels of which are still filled

with blood; the texture externally cellular and I think laminated,

emitting an odour which, unlike that of Phallus impudicus, was equally

offensive, whether near to or removed from the organ of smell. This

curious fungus was shown to me last year as something remarkable

by a gardener on the grounds of — Walkingshaw, Esq., at Old Park

near Niton, but in so decomposed a state as scarcely to exhibit its

characteristic form ; nor was I aware of the interesting addition made

by Mr. Kippist and myself to the cryptogamic flora of this country

till, being in London last week, and incidentally mentioning the cir-

cumstance of finding it to Mr. J. de C. Sowerby of the Botanic Gar-

den, Regent’s Park, I was made acquainted by that gentleman, and

afterwards by Sir Wm. Hooker, with the fact of Clathrus cancellatus

being unrecorded as a native of Britain, and indeed supposed exclu-

sively indigenous to the more southern parts of Europe. It is pro-

bably not uncommon, at least in this island, where, as we have just

seen, it occurs in three distinct localities, two of which are several

miles asunder.

Ryde, Nov. 11, 1843. Wm. Arnotp Bromrietp, M.D.

LITHIC ACID IN LUCANUS CERVUS.

While engaged, during the past summer, in dissecting a male

Lucanus Cervus, Ifound upon opening the intestine, that the cecum,

colon and rectum contained a dense greenish matter, of a soapy con-

sistence, covering their internal surface, and which escaped slowly

into the water, in which the specimen was immersed for examina-

tion, in the form of a thick cloud. Upon placing some of it under

452 Miscellaneous.

the microscope, it was seen to consist of a great number of flat dia-

mond-shaped crystals of different sizes, in the midst of which were

interspersed some very small amorphous granules, collected together

here and there in clusters, and exhibiting in many parts of the field

a distinct molecular movement. My friend Dr. J. W. Griffith, who

analysed this compound, assured me that its crystalline portion was

composed of lithic acid; the amorphous part he believed to be lithate

of ammonia, but its quantity was so small that he could not be po-

sitive—the former statement he is certain is correct. Bearing in

mind that this substance was found in a part of the alimentary canal

posterior to the insertion of the hepatic vessels, and that it is ex-

tremely improbable that it should have been secreted from the mu-

cous lining of the intestine itself, there can be little doubt that it

was discharged into the latter from the above tubes, and thus the

fact becomes one of interest from its throwing light upon the much-

disputed function of these organs. I regret at the time having

omitted to examine also the contents of the tubes, but I am con-

firmed in my present view of their uriniferous office by the observa-

tions of other naturalists, among whom V. Audouin, in the fifth vo-

lume of the ‘Ann. des Sciences Nat.,’ has described two calculi

as obstructing the biliary canals of a female ‘“ Cerf-volant,”’ and

which, being treated by the usual chemical methods, were proved to

be composed of uric acid. 'This writer does not, however, allude to the

presence of its characteristic crystals. I would here take the oppor-

tunity of observing, that the analysis of the different secretions

throughout the Articulated animals, and the Invertebrata generally,

offers a wide field of research to those engaged in the study of or-

ganic chemistry. 3

1 Arthur Street, Gray’s-Inn-road. ALFRED TULK.

ALCHEMILLA CONJUNCTA AND A. FISSA.

At page 74 of the present volume of these ‘ Annals,’ Mr. W. C.

Trevelyan refers the A. conjuncta (Bab.) to A. fissa (Schumm.) on

the authority of ‘ Fl. Danica,’ pl. 2101. That plate is far from good,

the silvery underside of the leaves being very imperfectly represented,

but still it seems to be intended to represent A. conjuncta. So far

so good. But if now we examine the synonyms quoted in ‘ Fl. Dan.’

we shall find that they belong to a very different plant, which is so

closely allied to A. vulgaris as to have been considered as a variety

of that species by many botanists. Wimmer and Grabowski (‘ Fl.

- Siles.’ i. 136) take particular care to distinguish it from A. vulgaris,

and describe the leaves as ‘‘ reniformia circumscriptione orbiculari

7—9-loba, fissura ad folium medium pertinente lobis in folio com-

planato se vix tegentibus basi integerrimis quum in A. vulgari lobi

ad basin usque serrati sint, inciso-dentatis. . .. totis glabris margine

tantum undique ciliatis.”’ This is the work usually quoted as the

authority for-this plant; its authors quote Mertens and Koch, but

not having that book at hand, I refer to Koch’s ‘ Synopsis’ (ed. 2.

p. 257), where the description belongs to the same plant and not to

A, conjuncta. Koch and the ‘Fl. Dan.’ refer to A. minor (Tausch),

published in his ‘ Plantz Selectz ;’ and the specimen contained in

Miscellaneous. 453

that collection, which is now before me, is so similar to A. vulgaris

(although I believe a distinct species), that most botanists would,

upon a cursory inspection, refer it to that plant. It has not the most

distant resemblance to A. conjuncta or A. alpina. The figure of A.

fissa in Sturm’s ‘ Deutsch. Fl.’ 56. 12. represents the plant of Tausch,

to which also correspond specimens named JA. fissa by Reichenbach

(‘ Fl. exsic.’ 876) and by Shuttleworth. It is perhaps unnecessary

to go further to convince my friend Mr. Trevelyan and the readers

of the ‘ Annals,’ that A. fissa (Schumm.) is not A. conjuncta (Bab.),

although plate 2101 of ‘ Fl. Dan.’ is probably intended to represent it.

Should however more proof be required, it can be at once produced.

I may take this opportunity of stating, that during the late sum-

mer I examined Gatesgarth Pass, Cumberland, for this plant with

great care, but totally without success.—Cuaruzs C. Basineton.

St. John’s College, Cambridge, Oct. 28, 1843.

ASSUMPTION OF THE MALE PLUMAGE BY A FEMALE PARTRIDGE.

Powerstock Vicarage, Bridport, Dorset, Oct. 30, 1843.

Mr.Yarrell in his ‘ History of British Birds’ mentions two instances

of thirty-one eggs having been found in a partridge’s nest, and ob-

serves, ‘‘ there is little doubt in these cases that more than one bird

had laid eggs in the same nest.” It may not perhaps be deemed un-

worthy of record that a partridge this year laid thirty-six eggs in my

aviary, out of which thirty young birds were hatched by two domes-

tic hens. As the history of my birds is rather curious, I will venture

to relate it.

Late in the autumn before last (1841) a young partridge, about

three weeks old, was caught by a boy and turned into my aviary, in

which I had then a young ring-dove that could not rise from the floor,

as the feathers of one of its wings had been clipped. The young

bird immediately sought the protection of the Cushat and nestled

under her wing.

After moulting our bird appeared in the distinctive plumage of

a male, with the rich chestnut-coloured horseshoe-shaped patch on

the breast. Early in the following spring we were much pleased by

hearing the call of our bird answered repeatedly from a field adjoin-

ing our garden. In ashort time we observed a wild bird to visit the

aviary every evening. We soon succeeded in capturing this stranger,

as we discovered that it generally roosted among the ivy with which

the building is partly covered. ‘To our surprise our prisoner proved

to be a male, and we were now at a loss to account for the perseve-

rance with which it sought the society of our bird.

In the following moulting season (the autumn of 1842) our tame

bird however lost its chestnut-coloured crescent and the triangular

patch of naked red skin above the ear-coverts, and assumed the plu-

mage of a female; the doubts which we now entertained as to the

sex of our favourite were cleared up early in the spring when she

began to scratch together materials for her rude nest, in which she

continued to lay an egg daily for more than five weeks. She how-

ever showed no disposition to sit.

It seems that the circumstance of this female bird having been

454: Miscellaneous.

for one season cut off from the society of the other sex was sufficient

to cause a temporary assumption of a plumage resembling that of a

male, and that as long as that disguise continued, although she was

no longer debarred from sexual intercourse, the natural result did not

follow at the first moult after the admission of the male. She ap-

pears in her proper colours and proves extraordinarily prolific, pro-

ducing double the ordinary complement of eggs.

I conclude from the above fact, that the assumption by female

birds of the plumage resembling that of the male does not (as is the

opinion of many physiologists) depend upon a derangement of the

generative organs. GrorcE Cookson.

SPIDERS DISCHARGED FROM THE EYE.

The ‘ American Journal of the Medical Sciences’ for July 1843,

p- 302, contains the following extraordinary relation, by A. Lopez,

M.D., Mobile, Ala.

I was réquested, Feb. 5, 1840, to visit a young lady, from whose

mother I received the following statement :—The patient had left the

city of Charleston to visit a friend in the country. On the night of

the 29th of January, while conversing in bed, she was sensible that

some object had fallen from the ceiling upon her cheek, just below

the inferior lid. In the course of the night she was awakened by a

feeling of intense pain in her left eye, which continued at intervals

until morning, when the eye was discovered to be inflamed. Ordi-

nary means were applied, and during the morning, feeling intense ir-

ritation, she rubbed the lids together upon the ball, and removed two

fragments, which were readily recognised as the parts of a spider.

Her alarm became very great, and was much heightened when the

- same thing was repeated in the afternoon. She returned to Charles-

ton on the 2nd of February. When I paid my first visit on the 5th,

the following was her condition: the right eye unaffected; the left

turgid, inflamed and weeping; and there had been removed from it

that morning a spider, imbedded in a mucous covering. It was en-

tire, with the exception of twolegs. The two preceding days before

I had seen her, three others had been removed, and were now exhi-

bited to me. I immediately submitted the eye to a close examina-

tion, without being enabled to discover the minutest portion of any

foreign substance. I visited her daily until the 19th, and at every

visit I removed either an entire or dismembered spider from the same

eye. Between the 5th and 19th I invited, to an examination of the

case, Professors Geddings and Dickson, and Doctors Bellinger and

Wurdeman. Dr. Dickson, on one or two occasions, also removed

these objects from the patient’s eye. I made, assisted by Professor

Geddings, the most minute scrutiny, with a view of discovering—

first, whether there could possibly exist a nidus within the orbit for

these animals; secondly, whether a sac containing their ova was

there concealed; and thirdly, if any communication between the eye

and the nose could account for their appearance. For these purposes

the superior and inferior palpebree were everted with great care,

traversed thoroughly with a blunt probe, and afterwards I threw in-

jections around the internal lining, but all to no avail. The anterior

Meteorological Observations. 455

and posterior nares were closely examined by strong light, both of

the sun and candle, yet we could not perceive the slightest trace of

any means by which either ova, insect or nidus could be retained.

The total number of spiders removed from the commencement

was between forty and fifty. They were subjected to close micro-

scopic examination by myself, assisted by several gentlemen accus-

tomed to scientific investigations, among whom was the Rev. Dr.

Bachman, whose reputation precludes all doubt, and we discovered

at least three different species, distinguished by the anatomical clas-

sification of Latreille and Walckenaer.

(The entire account is copied in the ‘Dublin Medical Journal,’

from which we have given the above extract. Dr. Lopez refers to

well-authenticated instances of pins and needles, worms and larve of

insects discharged from various parts of the body. He comes, how-

ever, to the conclusion that in the case in question the spiders and

fragments of spiders, were introduced from day to day by the patient

herself, irresistibly -impelled under the influence of a hallucination

produced by hysteric monomania. ]

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR OCTOBER 1843.

Chiswick.—October 1. Fine: clear: overcast. 2. Overcast: showery. 3, 4.

Cloudy and mild. 5. Very fine. 6. Densely clouded: rain. 7. Cloudy: rain.

8. Boisterous: overcast. 9. Rain. 10. Clear: overcast: rain. 11. Boisterous:

heavy rain. 12. Boisterous: rain. 13, 14. Clear: cloudy and fine. 15. Foggy:

cloudy : frosty and foggy. 16. Frosty: clear and cold: frosty. 17. Stormy,

with rain, 18, Cloudless: clear and frosty. 19. Frosty haze: clear: frosty.

20. Frosty haze : fine: cloudy. 21. Cloudy: showery: clear. 22. Cloudy and fine:

stormy atnight. 23. Clear: cloudy: clear. 24, Densely clouded. 25. Cloudy:

clear. 26. Frosty: very fine: clear. 27. Very fine: boisterous, with rain at

night. 28. Boisterous: clear and fine. 29. Hazy: clear: foggy. 30. Hazy:

rain. 31. Heavy rain.— Mean temperature of the month 24° below the average.

Boston.—Oct. 1, 2, Cloudy: rainearly a.m. 3, Fine. 4,5. Cloudy. 6.

Cloudy: rainr.m. 7. Fine. 8. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 9. Rain: rain early

A.M.: rain a.M. 10. Fine. 11. Rain. 12, Rain and stormy. 13. Fine. 14,

Windy: ice this morning. 15,16. Fine. 17. Cloudy: rain early a.m. : stormy

night, with rain. 18—20, Fine. 21. Cloudy: rainearly am. 22. Cloudy:

rain e.M. 23, Fine. 24. Fine: rainr.m, 25—27. Fine. 28. Stormy: rain

early am. 29. Fine. 30. Cloudy: rain early a.m.: rain p.m. 91. Cloudy.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—Oct. 1. Showers, 2. Showers: clear. 3. Showers:

large hail. 4. Rain. 5. Drizzle. 6. Rain: showers. 7. Bright: showers,

8, 9. Cloudy: clear. 10, Showers. 11. Frost: showers. 12. Showers: hail.

13. Large hail. 14. Bright: showers. 15, 16. Hail-showers. 17. Snow-showers

clear frost. 18. Clear frost: showers. 19—21. Showers. 22, Clear frost:

showers. 23. Showers. 24. Showers: sleet: showers. 25. Showers. 26.

Showers: aurora. 27. Cloudy: rain. 28. Drizzle. 29. Showers. 30. Showers:

fine. 31. Showers: fine: clear.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire—Oct. 1. Cloudy: rain p.m. 2. Fine. 3,

Dull, 4. Cold: dull. 5. Fine: mild. 6. Wet, but mild. 7. Rain. 8. Showers.

9. Clear: fair, 10. Dull: fair. 11. Wet. 12. Cold: snowon the hills. 19,

Cold : hail-shower. 14,15. Fine andclear. 16, Fine: dry. 17. Rain and

sleet. 18. Fine: frosty. 19. Clear: fair, 20. Dull: wet pm. 21. Clear and

sunny. 22. Very wet: cleared r.m. 23, Boisterous: showers. 24. Wet. 25,

26. Fine: frost a.m. 27. Fine. 28. Fair: chill. 29. Heavy rain. 30. Fair:

frost. 31. Wet: frost a.m.

Mean temperature of the month .........seeeeeeeeeee 43°83

Mean temperature of October 1842 ....sceeeseeees 44 °4

Mean temperature of spring-water ......ssssessssees 45 °5

Mean temperature of ditto Oct. 1842 ...... 49 ‘6

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THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

SUPPLEMENT TO VOL. XII. DECEMBER 1843.

LIV.—On the British species of Meridion and Gomphonema.

By Joun Ratrs, Esq., M.R.C.S., Penzance*.

{ With a Plate. ]

Meripion, dg. (Eh.)

Frustules cuneate, united so as to form segments of circles or

spirals.

This genus, together with Styllaria, Gomphonema and Licmo-

phora, form a group (the Styllariee of Agardh) distmguished. by

the triangular form of the frustules, which have their smaller

ends directed towards a common centre. The frustules in this

group have a central and. two lateral portions as in Diatoma and

Fragilaria, in which genera cuneate frustules are also occasionally

met with. Indeed Diatoma cuneatum, Eh., is said to have all its

frustules cuneate ; in this case, therefore, the resemblance between

solitary frustules will be considerable. But in Fragilaria or Dia-

toma, when two or more cuneate frustules are united, the alter-

nate frustules have their smaller ends in opposite directions, and

hence their filaments are lmear; whilst they are attached, if at

all, only by their basal frustule. In this group, on the contrary,

as the smaller ends are in the same direction they point to a

common centre, and when the plant is stipitate each frustule is

attached to the stipes.

The frustules have generally two puncta at the broader end,

and sometimes two others, but more obscure at the smaller end.

The lateral surfaces are attenuated at the base, which usually dif-

fers somewhat from the upper end; but in the group to which

Fragilaria belongs they are similar at both ends, even when the

frustules are cuneate.

In a young state species of Meridion resemble Styllaria, but

as the frustules increase in number and do not separate, they

form more or less complete segments of circles ; whilst in Stylla-

ria rarely more than two, and never more than three, frustules are

united together.

1. M. circulare, Ag. Frustules united into plane segments of circles ;

lateral surfaces clavate with distant, strongly marked striz, the

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol.xu. Suppl. 21

458 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Meridion.

ends of which appear as puncta along the margins of the front

view. Ag. Consp. Diatom. p. 40; Kutz. Synop. Diatom. in Lin-

nea 1833, p. 558. f. 37; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 205. Meridion vernale,

Eh. Die Infus. p. 207. t. 16. f.2; Pritch. Infus. p. 223. f. 177-

179; Bailey, Amer. Bacil. in Amer. Jour. Sci. Jan. 1842, pl. 2.

f.42. chinella circularis, Grev. Crypt. Fl. t. 35.

Limerick, Mr. Harvey. Aberdeen, Dr. Dickie ; Stevenston, Ae

shire, Rev. D. Landsborough. Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Borrer; Lewes,

Mr. Jenner; King’s Cliffe, Rev. M. J. Berkeley; Oswestry, Rev. T.

Salwey ; Cheshunt, Mr. Hassall ; Penzance, St. Ives, Tavistock, Dol-

gelley, Caernarvon.

This forms a fringe on aquatic plants or a mucous stratum on

wet rocks. It is hyaline with a brown tinge and becomes green

in drying. In a young state, when the frustules are solitary or

binate and attached to a loose mucous base, it is liable to be mis-

taken for a species of Styllaria; afterwards however, as its frustules

repeatedly divide longitudinally without separatmg, they are ar-

ranged in segments of circles. I have never seen more than half

a circle formed in this way, which consisted of from twenty-two

to twenty-six frustules. Kutzing figures a complete circle with-

out a break, but he is evidently wrong ; for if the regular line of

frustules was extended until the ends met they would not unite,

but overlap or form a spiral, as figured by Ehrenberg*.

The frustules vary much in length ; they have in front two con-

spicuous puncta at the upper end and from five to twelve along

each lateral margin, which produces a beaded appearance. These

puncta are largest towards the upper end, and gradually become

less evident as they are placed lower down, and generally are not

visible near the lower end. The endochrome in drying generally

retires to the margins, leaving the centre colourless ; it is at first

homogeneous, but finally becomes granular. Lateral surfaces nar-

row, clavate, with a few distant, strongly marked, transverse strize,

which are most evident near the upper end and wanting near the

base.

Puate XVIII. fig. 1. Meridion circulare.

2. M. constrictum. Lateral surfaces constricted below the apex,

transversely striated ; the ends of the striz forming puncta along

the margins of the front view.

This is one of the additions to our flora, for which I am in-

debted to Mr. Jenner, whose discoveries have added so largely to

the Sussex Cryptogamia, and who is as indefatigable in his re-

searches as he is accurate in his observations. Mr. Jenner finds

it rather plentifully in the Cold Bath Spring, Tunbridge Wells,

* Since the above was written I have gathered specimens at Dolgelley

which formed a spiral as — by Ehrenberg.

Ann & Mag Nab Hist Vo12P1 XVI

Meridion.

avesecenesernccapesesnce 7 es semneneamt

Gomphonema.

LD.C.Sowerby, fe.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema. 459

growing on Fragilaria virescens ; I have received from him both

dried and recent specimens ; in the latter I find the frustules so-

litary or binate, the circles being entirely broken up before the

specimens reached me; but Mr. Jenner informs me that when

gathered they are united together so as nearly to form a circle.

As however they are not arranged on a plane as in Meridion cir-

culare, but stand nearly erect, somewhat like the staves of a tub,

which is broader above than below, when they dry and fall down

they necessarily separate, and gaps are produced in the circular

outline. In the dried specimens I find some of the frustules ar-

ranged in a circle, which however exhibits the gaps already no-

ticed, whilst others seem to be fasciculated.

The front view cannot be distinguished from a frustule of Me-

ridion circulare, with which it agrees in size and form, and also in

having two conspicuous terminal puncta and a series along the

lateral margins. As in Meridion circulare, the lateral surfaces

have a few distant, strongly marked, transverse strie ; but they

differ from it most remarkably in the constriction below the apex.

Puate XVIII, fig. 2. Meridion constrictum.

GompHoneMa, Ag. (Eh.)

Frustules cuneate, solitary or geminate, terminating a simple or

~ branched filiform stipes.

The species with cymbiform frustules have very properly been

separated by Ehrenberg from Gomphonema, and now form his

genus Cocconema, the British species of which I intend to describe

in a future paper.

The genus as thus restricted borders closely upon Styl/aria and

Laicmophora, and as it were forms a connecting link between them.

It is only in the young state that in a few instances its frustules

are sessile and resemble those of Styllaria, the frustules of which

however are always sessile; whilst in Gomphonema, although some-

times they are at first nearly or quite sessile, yet ultimately they

have an evident stipes, and in most specimens some frustules

may be observed thus elevated. Its connexion is still more inti-

mate with Licmophora, which indeed Kutzmg unites with this

genus. Mr. Borrer suggests the propriety of making Licmophora

a section of Gomphonema. Mr. Berkeley observes, that “in Lic-

mophora the frustules again divide, which is the sole difference

between the two genera, as I many years ago pointed out to Dr,

Greville.” I am by no means sure that. Kutzing is wrong in uni;

ting Licmophora with Gomphonema, but I have not ventured to

unite them, as the habit of Licmophora is somewhat different.

In Gomphonema the stipes is branched in a dichotomous man-

ner, and in all the species with which I am acquainted the frus-

212

460 Mr.J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema.

tules are terminal. They are generally simple or binate ; I have

never seen more than six frustules from the same point, and even

when more than two frustules are thus occasionally combined,

they are usually im contact only at the base; on most of the

branches also the frustules are only binate.

In Licmophora the stipes is irregularly branched, each branch

being terminated by several frustules, often ten or more, united

by their sides into a fan-like form. Besides these terminal clus-

ters, the main trunks of the stipes have binate or ternate frustules,

sessile or nearly so along their margins, and either opposite or

alternate. :

The species of Gomphonema are commonly found in fresh water.

The frustules are cuneate, and at their upper margin have two

notches which look like puncta; as these are in some species

very evident and in others scarcely discernible, they assist in

forming the specific characters.

There are two obscure puncta at the base, and generally a sin-

gle slight notch near the middle of each lateral margin.

The lateral surfaces are generally transversely striated, and have

a longitudinal pellucid line running down the centre.

* Lateral view constricted beneath the apex so as to appear urn-shaped.

1. G. geminatum, Ag. Densely tufted; frustules narrow, cuneate,

the puncta at the end wanting or nearly so; lateral surfaces urn-

shaped, striated. Ag. Syst. p. 12; Consp. Diatom. p. 35; Grev.

Crypt. Fl. t. 244. f. 2; Kutz. Synop. Diatom. in Linnea 1833,

p. 569; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 207. Gomph. ampullaceum, Grev. in

Hook. Br. Fl. p. 410.

On rocks in subalpine streams. Scotland, Dr. Greville. North

of Ireland, Mr. D. Moore ; near Bandon, county Cork, Mr. Allman;

on dripping rocks near a waterfall at Carnlough, co. Antrim, Mr. W.

Thompson. Rapid streams at base of Cader Idris, and in the river

above Dolgelley, N. Wales.

This plant forms large cushion-like tufts on the rocks in rapid

streams. It is not in the least mucous, but is of a spongy tex-

ture, being composed of the densely interwoven filaments: in a

young state its colour is brownish from the frustules covering the

surface, but as these fall off it becomes whitish, and indeed not

unlike a tuft of wool. Filaments repeatedly dichotomous ; frus-

tules much larger than in any of the following species, simple or

binate, linear-cuneate, without puncta at the upper end ; portions

of the lateral surfaces are frequently visible along the sides. La-

teral surfaces urn-shaped, broader than the front, with numerous

transverse dotted strie. There is a central longitudinal pellucid

line slightly dilated at each end, with a larger dilatation in the

centre ; the latter at first sight may be taken for a perforation,

Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema. 461

which it undoubtedly is not ; from this central punctum the striz

are somewhat radiant : the pellucid line does not quite extend to

the upper end.

I have drawn up the description of this plant from a specimen

of Dr. Greville’s given to me by Mr. Harvey, to whom I feel much

indebted for his kind communications, as well as for the liberality

with which he has added numerous most valuable specimens of

Algee to my collection.

I regret that I have been unable to obtain an authentic speci-

men of Dr. Greville’s Gomphonema ampullaceum, but from the de-

scription I have little hesitation in uniting it with this species.

Mr. Moore, who considers it distinct from Gomphonema gemina-

tum, has sent me specimens under both names, but I cannot dis-

cover any essential difference between them. Mr. Moore makes

the following observations on Gomph. ampullaceum :—<“ This, be-

sides growing in much larger tufts than G. geminatum, is of a

much greener colour when recent, resembling some Vaucherie

going into decay. The frustules are much constricted below the

apex, and have generally a more pellucid line running down the

centre.”

Puate XVIII. fig. 3. Gomphonema geminatum.

2. G. pohlieforme, Kutz. Very minute; frustules cuneate, with two

evident puncta at the upper end; lateral surfaces urn-shaped,

striated. Kutz. Synop. Diatom. p. 570. f.50. ‘Gomph. truncatum,

Eh. Die Infus. p. 216. t. 18. f. 1; Pritch. Infus. p. 227. f. 187—

190. Gomph. pohlieforme, Kutz. Alg. aq. dulce. No. 25! (young.)

Gomph. subramosum, Kutz. Synop. Diatom. p. 570. fig. 44. Alg.

aq. dule. No. 152! (mixed with Gomph. minutum).

On aquatic plants in freshwater pools and ditches: autumn and

spring. Near Henfield, Mr. Borrer; Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Jenner ;

Cheshunt, Mr. A. H. Hassall; Oswestry, Rev. T. Salwey ; Ilfra-

combe, Swansea, Dolgelley and Bangor, N. Wales.

This is a very minute species, which to the naked eye seems

only a brownish discoloration of the plant on which it grows.

At. first the frustules are frequently quite sessile, but ultimately

they become elevated on a simple or slightly branched stipes, when

they are sometimes clustered four or six together; they are cu-

neate with two evident puncta at the upper end. The lateral sur-

faces are constricted below the apex so as to be urn-shaped, and

are attenuated at the base. When young the frustules are short

and the lateral view is but little constricted, but when mature

they are longer and the lateral view becomes more completely

urn-shaped. In the former state it is figured by Kutzing and

Ehrenberg ; in the more perfect form it resembles Ehrenberg’s

figure of Gomphonema capitatum, nor is there any character in -his

description to distinguish the latter from this species.

462 Mr.J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema.

Ehrenberg appears to have confounded this plant with Gom-

phonema geminatum, Ag., which species, as well as the Gomph.

pohlieforme of Kutzing, he appends as synonyms to his Gomph.

truncatum*, If he had seen the true Gomph. geminatum he could

not have fallen into this mistake, for besides the immense differ-

ence between these plants in size and habit, their frustules possess

sufficient marks of distinction. In Gomph. geminatum the front

view is very narrow, sometimes nearly linear ; in this species they

are distinctly cuneate, and notwithstanding their much smaller

size, have two evident notches at the upper end, which are want-

ing in Gomph. geminatum. 'The lateral surfaces too are more at-

tenuated at the base, and they are about as broad as the front,

whereas in Gomph. geminatum they are much broader.

Puate XVIII. fig. 4. Gomphonema pohlieforme.

3. G. minutum, Ag. Minute; frustules with a terminal crest ; la-

teral surfaces striated, constricted below the apex; laterally viewed,

the end of the crest appears like a terminal point. Ag. Consp.

Diatom. p. 34; Grev. in Hook. Br. Fl. vol. ii. p.410. Gomph.

acuminatum, Eh. Die Infus. p. 217. t. 18. f.4; Pritch. Infus. p. 228.

On aquatic plants in ponds and ditches. Sussex, Mr. Jenner ;

Herts, Mr. Hassall; Barmouth, Rev. T. Salwey; Trengwainton

ponds near Penzance, and pond on Towednack Moor near St. Ives,

Dolgelley.

This species, which forms a brownish mucous fringe on the

* Tt is greatly to be regretted that Ehrenberg has in so many instances

disregarded the names previously affixed by Agardh and Kutzing. To alter

aname once bestowed is not only discourteous to the first describer, but

creates confusion and tends to encumber the science with synonyms; for if

it be allowable for one writer to alter a name because he fancies that a new

one is more appropriate, succeeding writers have an equal right to alter his

names, and in the absence of a recognised rule, some naturalists may prefer

one name and some another.

There is an excellent paper on Nomenclature in the ‘ Annals of Natural

History,’ vol. xi. p. 259, which is deserving of consideration, not only be-

‘ause it was written at the request of the British Association, but also from

the celebrity of its authors. Although it is more particularly addressed to

zoologists, yet great part of it may be equally useful to botanists, and some

of the remarks are so appropriate to the present subject that I cannot forbear

quoting them.

‘“‘ The names originally given by the founder of a group, or the describer

of a species, should be permanently retained to the exclusion of all subse-

quent synonyms.

““No one person can subsequently claim an authority equal to that pos-

sessed by the person who is the first to define a new genus or describe a new

species, and hence it is that the name originally given, even though it may

be inferior in point of elegance or expressiveness to those subsequently pro-

posed, ought as a general principle to be permanently retained. To this

consideration we ought to add the injustice of erasing the name originally

selected by the person to whose labours we owe our first knowledge of the

subject.”

Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema. 463

leaves of aquatic plants, is very minute, but still distinctly visible

to the naked eye.

Stipes slender, branched ; frustules cuneate, varymg in length,

the shorter ones most decidedly cuneate, the more elongated ones

often nearly linear, slender ; the terminal crest is much more de-

veloped in some frustules than in others, and but rarely nearly

obsolete ; the terminal puncta wanting or very minute ; lateral

surfaces transversely striated with a central longitudinal pellucid

line. In a young state of this plant the frustules are short and

the constriction below the apex is but slight ; in its mature state

this constriction is more evident, and the lateral surfaces are of a

narrow urn-shaped figure, often much attenuated at the base: the

end. of the crest, appearing like a terminal point, adds greatly to

the beauty of this form.

This species is easily distinguished from all except the follow-

ing by the terminal crest; from Gomph. cristatum it differs in

being constricted below the apex and in its slender frustules.

Puate XVIII. fig.5. Gomphonema minutum.

** Lateral surfaces not constricted beneath the apex.

4. G. cristatum. Frustules crested; lateral surfaces striated, obo-

vate ; viewed laterally, the crest appears like a terminal point.

On Conferva glomerata in a stream near Shoreham, Kent, Mr.

Jenner. 3

Of this new and very distinct species I have only seen a soli-

tary specimen, found by Mr. Jenner in December last*. The

lateral view is very unlike that of any other species with which

Tam acquainted.

It is very minute; the stipes slender, simple, or rarely once

divided ; frustules cuneate, somewhat rounded at the angles and

terminated by a crest; the lateral surfaces are obovate, striated,

and the end of the crest appears like an apiculus.

This species somewhat resembles Gomph. minutum on a front

view, having, like that species, a terminal crest, but it is a smaller

plant, the frustules are shorter and their angles rounded. The

lateral view also is broader, and wants the constriction which oc-

curs in Gomph. minutum below the apex.

Prats XVIII. fig. 6. Gomphonema cristatum.

5. G. dichotomum, Kutz., forms a minute fringe on the leaves of

aquatic plants ; frustules linear-cuneate, terminal puncta very mi-

nute; lateral surfaces lanceolate, faintly striated. Kutz. Synop.

Diatom. p. 569.f.48. Gomph. gracile, Eh. Die Infus. p. 217. t.18.

f.3 ; Pritch. Infus. p. 227.

This species forms a minute brownish mucous frmge on the

* Mr, Jenner has since favoured me with specimens gathered by him near

Farnham in Surrey, where the plant is more abundant than at Shoreham.

464 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema.

leaves of aquatic plants in Tréngwainton ponds near Penzance,

where it grows with Gomph. minutum, which to the naked eye

much resembles it ; but the present is a taller plant, although its

frustules are considerably less.

The stipes is slender, much-branched ; the frustules minute,

narrow, often nearly linear, the terminal puncta very minute ;

lateral surfaces narrow-lanceolate, striated. :

The frustules somewhat resemble those of Gomph. Berkeleii,

but they are more elongated, much narrower, often nearly linear,

and their puncta are far less distinct ; the lateral view is also more

slender, and lanceolate not clavate.

Prate XVIII. fig. 7. Gomphonema dichotomum.

6. G. Berkeleii, Grev., forms rather large mucous masses; stipes

branched, entangled ; frustules short, triangular, with two conspi-

cuous puncta at the end; lateral surfaces obovate or subclavate,

striated. Grev. in Hook. Br. Fl. vol. ii. p. 409; Harv. Br. Alg.

p- 207. Gomph.? olivacea, Eh. Die Infus. p. 218. t. 18. f.9;

Pritch. Infus. p.228. Ezilaria minutissima, Berk. Br. Alg. p. 22.

t.7.f.1. Meridion vernale, Ag. Consp. Diatom. p.39. Frustulia

olivacea, Kutz. Syn. Diatom. p. 556. f. 31. Gomph. geminatum,

Kutz. Alg. aq. dule. No. 13. Gomph. Leibleini, Kutz. Synop.

Diatom. p. 568. fig. 46.

8. scattered, frustules more firmly attached to the stipes, which can

be detected without difficulty.

On stones, &c. in fresh water: spring. King’s Cliffe, Northampton-

shire, Rev. M. J. Berkeley ; Henfield, Sussex, Mr. Borrer ; Mayfield,

Sussex, Mr. Jenner ; Yarmouth, Mr. Dawson Turner (according to a

specimen from Mr. Borrer); river Severn near Shrewsbury, Mr.

Leighton; Cheshunt, Herts, and river Lea, Mr. A. H. Hassall. At

the base of Bandon mountains, Mr. Andrews.

{. Duddingston Loch, Dr. Greville.

This plant, which forms rather large mucous masses, is of a pale

hyaline brown, but when dried generally becomes of a pale green

with a granulated appearance. The stipes is hyaline and more

or less branched; frustules minute, short, triangular, easily de-

tached from the stipes ; puncta at the end strongly marked ; la-

teral surfaces striated, obovate in the shorter frustules, somewhat

clavate in the longer ones.

In general the frustules are easily detached from their stipes,

and as the latter are with difficulty distinguished from the gela-

tinous substance in which they are imbedded, they are very liable

to be overlooked, whence the plant has often been referred to an-

other genus.

In the spring of 1841, I applied to Mr. Borrer for information

respecting Meridion vernale, which Agardh in his ‘ Conspectus

Criticus Diatomacearum’ mentions as a British plant upon the

authority of a specimen received from Mr. Borrer, but which is

Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema. 465

unnoticed in our British works. Mr. Borrer, with his accustomed

kindness, sent me several specimens from Henfield, some of them

recent and others gathered formerly, and also one gathered near

Yarmouth by Mr. Dawson Turner. On examining the latter,

which was less gelatinous than those from Henfield, I was sur-

prised to find that the frustules were attached to a stipes. Al-

though I could not detect this stipes in the dried specimens from

Henfield, I discovered it in the recent ones, and also in some fine

specimens sent me from Shrewsbury by Mr. Leighton. Shortly

afterwards I received from Mr. Berkeley recent specimens of

Greville’s Gomph. Berkeleiit, which proved to be the same plant.

Mr. Berkeley writes, that, as far as he can judge without seeing

an authentic specimen, he considers it to be the Echinella olivacea

of Lyngbye, t. 70, as it certainly is of Jurgens, Dec. xvi. no. 9.

_Mr. Berkeley has also afforded me an opportunity of examining

Greville’s Gomph. minutissimum. In his specimen I find two spe-

cies mixed together; the more plentiful one has the frustules

similar to those deseribed above, and indeed differs from Gomph.

Berkelewi only in its scattered habit, and in the frustules being

attached more firmly to the stipes, which is more evident as the

plant does not form mucous masses. On these grounds, and as

I have since received from Mr. Hassall specimens of an interme-

diate character, | have been mduced to consider it a variety of the

present species. The other species in Dr. Greville’s specimen has

curved frustules, and as these are referred by Kutzing and Eh-

renberg to Gomph. minutissimum, I have described it below under

that name. ,

On a front view the frustules of Gomph. Berkeleii most resem-

ble those of Gomph. pohlieforme, but the lateral aspect is very

different. The variety 8. especially approaches nearer to Gomph.

dichotomum ; the frustules however are shorter, broader and more

decidedly cuneate; the lateral surfaces also are broader, being

frequently as broad as the front.

Prats XVIII. fig. 8. Gomphonema Berkeleii.

7. G. minutissimum, Grev. Frustules cuneate, curved; terminal

puncta conspicuous, a stria from each extending the entire length

of the frustule; lateral surfaces clavate or lanceolate, striated.

Kutz. Syn. Diatom. p. 567. f. 43; Eh. Die Infus. p. 219. t. 18.

f.5; Pritch. Infus. p. 228. Gomph. curvatum, Kutz. Syn. Diatom.

p. 567. f.51; Kutz. Alg. aq. dulc. No. 76!

6. marinum. Stipes more branched, the strize running down the frus-

tule more strongly marked.

In slow streams, Shrewsbury, Mr. Leighton; Shoreham, Kent,

Mr. Jenner; Cheshunt, Mr. Hassall; near Dublin, Mr. Allman.

Swansea.

6. On marine alge, Eastbourne, Sussex, M7. Jenner, and Ireland,

Mr. W. Thompson. Ilfracombe.

466 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British species of Gomphonema.

Very minute, brown; frustules cuneate, curved, often nearly ses-

sile ; sometimes, especially m the maritime variety,on an elongated

branched stipes, generally binate, though occasionally as many

as four frustules are united together. Termmal puncta large ;

each of the puncta at the base, which are more evident than in

the other species, is connected with the upper punctum on the

same side by a line passing down the frustule. A slight notch

or punctum is present at the centre of the concave but not of the

convex margin; lateral surfaces very narrow, generally clavate,

striated.

This species differs from all the foregomg in its curved frus-

tules, in having a notch on one only of the lateral margins, and

two striz passing down the frustule and connecting the upper

and lower puncta.

I have attempted im vain to find some specific character to di-

stinguish the maritime form. It is more branched, has a very

rigid appearance, looking indeed not unlike a zoophyte, and the

strie connecting the puncta on the front surface are strongly

marked ; but intermediate specimens are occasionally met with

in which all these differences vanish.

Prats XVIII. fig. 9. Gomphonema minutissimum.

8. G. paradorum, Ag. Frustules broadly cuneate, puncta at the

upper end strongly marked, with a stria from each passing down

the frustule ; lateral surfaces clavate, narrow, not striated. Ag.

Consp. Diatom. p.34; Harv. Br. Alg. p. 208 ; Kutz. Syn. Diatom.

p- 569. Echinella paradoxa, Grev. Crypt. Fl. t. 25; Eh. Die Infus.

p- 221; Pritch. Infus. p. 208.

On marine alge very common.

This species forms a brown gelatinous covering on the smaller

algze ; it turns green in drying. At first the frustules are nearly

sessile, but when mature they are attached to a more or less

branched stipes forming a fringe on the infected plant, which is

distinctly visible to the naked eye; the frustules are broadly cu-

neate, with two conspicuous puncta at the upper end, and two

strize extend the entire length of the frustule. There are no

puncta on the lateral margins ; the lateral surfaces are very nar-

row in comparison with the front, much more so in fact than in

any of the preceding species; they are clavate in form and not

striated. ;

I am not sufficiently acquainted with Gomph. majusculum,

Harv., to make any remarks upon it.

Pirate XVIALL. fig. 10. Gomphonema paradoxum.

Analysis.

Lateral surfaces of the frustules constricted beneath the

1 apex so as to appear aR hp Lect edd TEN da teet tv ave 2

Lateral surfaces not urn-shape

Geological Society. 467

o,f Frustules with a terminal crest..s..2...eceseerecereesseneees minutum,

; { Frustules not crested .......ssssescvecereneeveserscvervececs 3

Forms large masses; frustules large without terminal

3 | PUNCEA .. ececcesccecrcccvsssececers teeeeeaeeeeaeeeeeeascnes geminatum. |

*) Very minute ; frustules minute with two conspicuous

teYMINGl PUNCH 6.565.063. isorees pce Eth tebasbivote boceseeen pohlieforme.

4 Frustules with a terminal crest..........:seeeeseseeves esses Cristatum.

. { ¥ FROME CS. TOE CPORCET So od ss inc ncdegesvses connenstacsecobaseses 5

5 { rrenain COEVE caps cssvhesscccvugdbebippsnnaneaewchsieperess minutissimum,

Fre stteles ROG CUFTE ’......seetsos sans opssedesatseabiecte dec a

Marine; lateral surfaces not striated, front with striz

6 extending from the terminal puncta............csseeee paradoxum.

‘| Fresh water; lateral surfaces striated, front surfaces

without longitudinal strize .......sssceesecsssceseseevees 7

Front view nearly linear; lateral surfaces lanceolate ... dichotomum.

7 { Front view broadly cuneate ; lateral surfaces obovate or

Chaevate! <.swasi evvsanal Gibunies pablus ater beoksebis one reeves Berkeleii.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Feb. 22, 1843.—A paper was read ‘“‘ On some new species of Fossil

Chimeeroid Fishes, with remarks on their general affinities,’ by Sir

Philip Grey Egerton, M.P., F.G.S.

The number of described species of Chimzera—soft-boned fishes

of singular forms—is very small, whether existing orextinct. They

were first recognised in a fossil state by Dr. Buckland in 1835.

The original memoir comprised descriptions of four species; two

others were added by Professor Agassiz. The list was soon after-

wards augmented by two species from the Stonesfield slate, con-

structed by Dr..Buckland from some enigmatical specimens forwarded

by the author under the impression that they had some resemblance

to the subjects he was engaged upon. A ninth species came from

the Caen oolite. A tenth has been described by Professor Owen in

his ‘ Odontography’ from specimens in the Hunterian collection, and

Professor Agassiz has named an eleventh in the museum of Lord

Enniskillen, from the gault. Sir P. Egerton, in the present memoir,

doubles the number. With one exception he founds his characters

on the lower jaws of the animals, avoiding the risk of ascribing spe-

cific differences to teeth derived from one and the same species,

varying in form according to their position in the mouth.

The characters of the new species areas follows :—

1. C. neglecta.—Maxillary plate, left lower jaw : length 6 lines ;

depth at the symphysis 2 lines; ditto at the medial angle of the

dental edge 3 lines; length of the dental edge 34 lines ; anterior

division of ditto 14 line; posterior ditto ditto 13 line; length of the

heel 24 lines; exterior convex ; exposed surface slightly furrowed ;

base expanded and vertically striated ; two depressions, the anterior

one broad, the posterior narrow and deep. Stratum, great oolite:

locality, Stonesfield.

468 Geological Society.

2. C. Bucklandi.—Maxillary plate, right lower jaw (imperfect):

length 2 inches 1 line; depth at the symphysis 1 inch 2 lines; ditto

at the medial angle of the dental edge 9 lines; length of the dental

edge 1 inch 6 lines; anterior division of ditto 1 inch; posterior ditto

mutilated ; exterior smooth and flat; inner surface rounded, dimi-

nishing in diameter towards the base; symphysis oblique and

rounded ; texture dense. Stratum, great oolite : locality, Stonesfield.

3. C. psittacina.— Maxillary plate, right lower jaw: length 8

lines; depth at the symphysis 4 lines; ditto at the medial angle of

the dental edge 4 lines; length of dental edge 4 lines; anterior

division of ditto 12 line; posterior ditto 2} lines; heel 33 lines;

exterior flat, marked by horizontal undulating bands on the base,

with a few vertical strie near the heel; two depressions, broad and

shallow ; anterior outline abruptly curved upwards to the point.

Stratum, great oolite: locality, Stonesfield.

4. C. curvidens.—-Maxillary plate, right lower jaw: length 1 inch;

depth at the symphysis 4 lines; ditto at the medial angle of the

dental edge 5 lines; dental edge 7 lines; anterior division of ditto

3 lines; posterior ditto ditto 4 lines; heel 3 lines; exterior convex,

curving rapidly inwards to the symphysis ; exposed portion invested

with a thick lustrous enamelloid coating, 3 lines in depth at the

symphysis; base expanded and closely striated ; one elongated depres-

sion near the heel; anterior division of the dental edge concave,

posterior ditto straight. Stratum, great oolite: locality, Stones-

field.

5. C. falcata.—Maxillary plate, left lower jaw: length 1 inch;

depth at the symphysis 34 lines; ditto at the medial parts of the

dental edge 4 lines; heel 4 lines; dental edge 6 lines; tooth elon-

gated, falcate, the point curved upwards; base shallow anteriorly,

expanded and traversed by a broad depression near the heel; ver-

tical strize indistinct ; horizontal bands broad and undulate; cutting

edge concave, forming a single curve without any medial angle from

the point to the heel. Stratum, great oolite : locality, Stonesfield.

6. C. emarginata.—Maxillary plate, left lower jaw: length 2 inches

5 lines ; depth at the symphysis l inch 8 lines; ditto at the medial

angle of the dental edge 1 inch 1 line; dental edge 1 inch 7 lines ;

anterior division 1 inch; posterior division 7 lines ; heel (mutilated)

7 lines ; exterior flat, marked by fine vertical strie; depression at

the heel circular, deep and broad; dental edge deeply indented in

the form of two semicircles; symphysis straight. Stratum, great

oolite: locality, Stonesfield.

7. C. rugulosa.—Maxillary plate, left lower jaw: length 1 inch ;

depth at the symphysis 4 lines; ditto at the medial angle of the

dental edge 3 lines; dental edge 64 lines; anterior division 3 lines ;

posterior ditto 35 lines; heel 34 lines; exterior rugose; one strong

depression near the heel striated vertically ; anterior division of the

dental edge concave ; posterior ditto ditto nearly straight. Inner

surface: triturating tubercles placed very obliquely. Stratum, great

oolite: locality, Stonesfield.

8. C. helvetica.—Maxillary plate, right lower jaw: length 2 inches

Geological Society. 469

5 lines; depth at the symphysis 1 inch 4 lines; anterior division of

the dental edge linch 4 lines; breadth of ditto 8lines. This spe-

cimen being much mutilated, the measurements are incomplete.

It approaches more nearly to C. Mantelli than to any other species.

Stratum, molasse: locality, G£tmaringen, canton of Argovie.

9. C. Dutetrii.—Maxillary plate, left lower jaw: length 4 inches ;

depth at the symphysis 2 inches 2 lines; breadth of ditto 7 lines ;

depth at the medial angle of the dental edge 2 inches 2 lines; dental

edge 3 inches 6 lines; anterior division of ditto 1 inch 8 lines; width

of ditto 8 lines; posterior division of ditto linch 8 lines. This tooth

is broad and strong; the exterior is marked with indistinct undu-

lations ; the depression at the heel is nearly horizontal. Inner sur-

face: symphysis rather oblique ; the triturating tubercles broad, and

worn down less obliquely than in C. Townsendi, to which species this

most nearly approximates. Stratum, Kimmeridge clay : locality,

Boulogne.

10. C. Beaumonti. —Maxillary plate, right upper jaw: length of

the outer margin 3 inches 5 lines; length of the inner ditto 2 inches

8 lines; breadth at the base 1 inch 6 lines; depth of the symphysis

5 lines ; breadth of the principal tubercle 6 lines ; the upper surface

is marked by a deep sulcus, 7 lines in width, running parallel with

the symphysis; the inner surface has four triturating prominences,

one anterior, two basal, and one intermediate. Stratum, Kimme-

ridge clay : locality, Boulogne.

11. C. Dufrenoyi.—Maxillary plate, left lower jaw: length 2 inches

4 lines ; depth at the symphysis 1 inch 1 line; ditto at the medial

angle of the dental edge 1 inch 4 lines; dental edge | inch 5 lines;

anterior division of ditto 7 lines; breadth of ditto 5 lines; posterior

division of ditto 8 lines ; heel 1 inch; exterior slightly concave and

uneven ; inner surface contracts rapidly in diameter in the direction

of the base ; anterior tubercle 1 inch 6 lines in length by 6 lines in

breadth, placed very obliquely ; posterior tubercle small and narrow.

Stratum, Kimmeridge : locality, Boulogne.

The author then enters into a detailed comparison of the fossil

Chimeroids with the recent genera Chimera and Callorhynchus, and

after pointing out the discrepancies both of form and structure which

they present, suggests the propriety of withdrawing them from the

genus Chimera, under which they have hitherto been arranged.

The remainder of the memoir is devoted to a comparison of the fossil

species with each other, and the author concludes by proposing to

class them under three genera, as shown in the following tabular

arrangement.

(1.) Ischyodus (icyvs robur, ddovs dens).

Two intermaxillary and two maxillary plates in the upper jaw;

two maxillary plates in the lower jaw; intermaxillaries thick and

strong, truncated more or less obliquely at their extremities. Struc-

ture : horizontal lamine inclosed by parietes of coarse fibrous dentine.

Upper maxillaries: triangular plates articulating with each other

and the intermaxillaries on the medial line of the palate; upper sur-

face provided with a deep sulcus parallel to the symphysis for attach-

ment to the jaw; under surface with four triturating prominences,

470 Geological Society.

one in advance, one on the outer margin, and two side by side near

the base, the larger one occupying the inner position; structure of

the tubercles coarse and tubular; the remainder of the teeth fibrous

and bony. Lower maxillaries: large and broad, formed for crushing

rather than cutting ; two tubercles, one at the heel, the other in ad-

vance ; symphysis broad; the base invested by the membrane of the

mouth, the crown by a coat of hard enamelloid dental substance ;

structure of the anterior angle as in the intermaxillaries, of the re-

mainder as in the upper maxillaries; position of the plates more or

less oblique.

SPECIES, STRATUM. LOCALITY.

Iscuyopvus, Egerton.

Agassizi, Buckl....... Chalk-marl ...... Hamsey.

Beaumonti, Egert..... Kimmeridge clay. .| Boulogne.

brevirostris, Agass.....| Gault .......... Folkstone.

Bucklandi, Egert. ....| Great oolite......| Stonesfield.

COOL, PECK bel adn g's cs OI che sus andes Ibid.

curvidens, Hgert,.....| ditto....... eo+| Ibid.

Dutetrii, Egert.......| Kimmeridge clay Boulogne.

Duvernoyi, Egert. ....| ditto.......... Ibid.

Rigertonigdicht.. se | GOL eo v's oo Shotover.

emarginatus, Egert....| Great oolite...... Stonesfield.

falcatus, Hgert....... rE ca eh ae eh Ibid.

helveticus, Egert. ....| Molasse ........ Argovie.

Mantelli, Buckl,..:...7 Chalk oo... -...| Lewes,

neglectus, Hgert......| Great oolite......}| Stonesfield.

Oweni, Buckl....... PR Wy 1 <7: GANSU Ibid,

psittacinus, E'gert..... es SOS aa Ibid.

rugulosus, Hgert......,| ditto. ,......., Ibid.

SESGOBL, FBCKL. 55 ¢ AMOMD, vans abe es Caen.

Townshendi, Buckl. ..| Portland ........ Milton.

Sedgwicki, Agass..... Greensand ...... Cambridge.

(2.) Elasmodus (€\acpa lamina, ddovs dens).

Two maxillary and two intermaxillary plates in the upper jaw ?

Two maxillary plates in the lower jaw; lower maxillary thick and

strong; tubercle single, composed of a dental substance resembling

in structure a tritor of Psammodus; in advance of the tubercle the

tooth is composed of several series of lamine, arranged in juxta-

position and inclined downwards and outwards; behind the tubercle

the dental edge is notched, in consequence of a columnar structure

pervading this region of the tooth. The outer surface is enveloped

by a coat of dentine.

SPECIES. STRATUM. LOCALITY.

Exasmopus, Egerton.

1. Greenovi*, Egert.

2. Hunterit, Hgert. ..| London clay.

* Chimera Greenovii, Agassiz. + Chimera Hunteri, Owen.

Geological Society. 471

A single specimen in the Hunterian collection affords the type of

a third genus.

(3.) Psaliodus (Janis forfex, and ddovus dens).

Upper jaw ? Two maxillary plates in the lower jaw. Lower max-

illary like Chimera, but without a triturating tubercle ; structure

homogeneous ; outer surface reticulated. Sp. Psaliodus compressus,

Egerton. It is supposed to be from the London clay.

A paper was read ‘‘ On the Locomotive and Non-locomotive pow-

ers of the Family Crinoidea.” By J.C. Pearce, Esq., F.G.S.

The author is induced, from an examination of the various modes

of attachment among the Crinoidea, to separate those animals into

two great groups, the Non-locomotive and the Locomotive. ‘The

former, when once attached to any solid substance by their base or

foot, were immoveably fixed ; the latter possessed the power of grasp-

ing with the foot any substance, and again relaxing their hold at

pleasure. The non-locomotive Crinoidea he subdivides into solid-

footed and root-footed. In the solid-footed the foot is formed like

an irregular cone with the base downwards, and is composed of suc-

cessive laminz, which envelope the inferior part of the column and

increase in number as the animal advances in age. ‘This base or

foot is generally found firmly adhering to the rock in the fossil state,

although specimens are sometimes found detached which appears to

have been caused by violence during life. The columns of all the

species which Mr. Pearce has examined are very short and destitute

of side-arms. He enumerates Encrinites moniliformis from the Mus-

chelkalk, Apiocrinites rotundus from the Bradford clay, and Cyatho-

crinites tuberculatus from the Dudley limestone, as examples of this

group. In the non-locomotive root-footed Crinoids the base is com-

posed of many root-like branches, radiating in a more or less hori-

zontal or downward direction from the lower part of the column,

each branch bifurcating several times in an irregular manner. The

branches are perforated by a central foramen, and appear to be com-

posed in individuals of all ages, of a.solid calcareous substance in-

capable of motion.

Mr. Pearce divides his locomotive Crinoidea into two sections,

Branch-footed and Sucker-footed. The branch-footed are charac-

terised by the organ of attachment, or foot, being composed of a

number of jointed branches, in some species simple, in others bifur-

cating, or dividing in an irregular manner, and generally terminating

in a minute blunt point. Each joint has a central foramen, and is

articulated by alternate radiating ridges and grooves, admitting of

the greatest degree of flexibility, forming an organ which the author

regards as well adapted to crawl along the bottom of the ocean, or

to steady the animal against the motion of the water. The columns

of this group are generally furnished with side-arms, extending to a

greater or less distance from the foot, and sometimes the whole

length of the column. Examples are, Apiocrinites ellipticus from the

chalk, Pentacrinus Briareus from the has, Actinocrinites tessellatus,

Platycrinites gigas, and several undetermined species from the moun-

472 Geological Society.

tain limestone; also Cyathocrinites goniodactylus, and several unde-

termined species from the Dudley limestone.

The sucker-footed locomotive Crinoids have the column destitute

of side-arms, and terminating at its inferior extremity in a blunt

point. Mr. Pearce subdivides them into Crinoideform and Comatu-

liform.

The following table exhibits Mr. Pearce’s views of the classification

of the family Crinoidea.

Fam.}| Group. Division. Subdivision. Genus. Species.

Apiocrinites _|rotundus.

Encrinites moniliformis.

f Solid-footed gibeieeantdeve Cyathocrinites |tuberculatus.

Non-loco- Eugeniacrinites|nutans.

f motive | —————_ |quinqueangularis.

. RoOt-f00ted ....44]...seeceeeeeeeeees Cyathocrinites jrugosus.

= Apiocrinites _|ellipticus.

Ss Pentacrinus _|Briareus, jun.

i Branch-footed...|...cesseccerees Actinocrinites |tessellatus.

v Platycrinites gigas.

locomotive Cyathocrinites |goniodactylus.

. Salas ohtel { Crinoideform /|Actinocrinites jmoniliformis.

Comatuliform. |Apiocrinites _fusiformis.

plates of the head to its summit.”

«On an entirely new form of Encrinite from the Dudley Lime-

stone.” By J. Chaning Pearce, Esq., F.G.S.

The fossils described in this communication were discovered by

Mr. John Gray of Dudley. Mr. Pearce regards them as constitu-

ting a new genus which he proposes to name Pseudocrinites, inclu-

ding two species both having ‘‘the arms and fingers inserted in

bands, which commence just above the column and pass over the

The one form has two, the

other four ranges of ‘‘ fingers.” They resemble each other in

having “‘ the columns at their superior part composed of rings, gra-

dually increasing in size towards the head. The plates of the head

are thin and broad, and marked on their outer surface by lines of

growth, and radiating ridges resembling the plates of the marsupite.

They are also furnished with four orifices of a lozenge shape, most

singularly inserted in the plates of the head, and their arms and

fingers are exceedingly short. The fingers are composed of two

rows of bones, each bone on the one side being inserted between

two of the opposite. These fingers appear to be placed in four rows

on each of the hands, and pass off from the head in a radiating di-

rection, commencing at the column and uniting at the summit.”

Mr. Pearce names the first species Pseudocrinites bifasciatus, and the

second P. guadrifasciatus.

“On a Fossil Pine-forest at Kurrur-kurran, in the inlet of

Awaaba, on the eastern coast of Australia,” by the Rev. W. B.

Clarke, A.M., F.G.S.

Awaaba is one of those inlets which occur at frequent intervals

along the eastern coast of New South Wales, and which, from their

Geological Society. 473

sea-entrance heing usually narrow and blocked up with drifted sand,

are by the colonists termed ‘‘ Lakes.’’ Awaaba is called Lake Mac-

quarrie, and is the largest of the inlets of that description between

Port Stephen and Broken Bay. Its sea-entrance lies fourteen miles

i south of the mouth of the Hunter river. nearly in 33° south

atitude.

Kurrurkurran. 9

Fag 33° 8.

This inlet occupies a portion of that formation of conglomerate

and sandstone, with subordinate beds of lignite, which extends from

the Hunter river southwards towards Brisbane Water. The lignite

constitutes the so-called Australian coal. This formation, owing to

its beds along the shores of the inlet being placed horizontally, and

being divided by nearly vertical joints, gives rise to regular lines of

coast, both in a longitudinal and transverse direction.. It forms

along the coast a high range, which, except at the entrance, divides

the lake from the sea. Within the lake a series of extensive bays,

bounded to the water’s edge by steep cliffs, run out like fingers,

far up into the country. ‘The water of the inlet is for the most

part very deep.

On the western side of the lake, and nearly opposite its sea~

entrance, a promontory, bounded on either side by a bay, is formed

by the Tirabeenba mountain, which stretches from the S.E. to the

N.W., and in the latter direction ends abruptly in a lofty but not

very precipitous escarpment : this sudden termination is occasioned

by a fault. This mountain range then turns to the W., and after-

wards to the 8.W.; between it and the next range a wide valley

intervenes.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol.xii. Suppl. 2K

47 4 Geological Society.

The north-eastern flank of the north-western extremity of this

range swells out into a hill of low elevation, from the base of which

to the water’s edge a low flat extends; the flat is about fifty yards

broad, and is, in point of level, within a foot of the surface of the

water; it continues along the base of the slope for the space of about

half a mile: it is called by the aborigines Kurrur-kurran. To the

south and west of this flat the slopes of the mountain come down to

the margin of the lake. The surface of the flat is composed of black

sandy vegetable mould, and of detritus thickly interspersed with the

roots of plants and grasses; trees of large growth, which are prin-

cipally Eucalypti and Casuarine, together with some others of smaller

dimensions, stand at intervals upon it, and grow even close to

the water. Beneath the alluvial matter the rock occurs in situ: this

is a sandstone, which is for the most part of a compact and semi-

crystalline texture, approaching to chert ; its strata run out to some

distance, at a small depth below the surface of the water, and render

the lake in that part very shallow.

Throughout the whole of the alluvial flat, stumps and stools of

fossilized trees are seen standing out of the ground, and one can

form no better notion of their aspect, than by imagining what the

appearance of the existing living forest would be if the trees

were all cut down to a certain level. In the lake also, where it ad-

joins the flat, to the distance of from 80 to 200 feet from the shore,

numerous points are seen, like those of a reef of rocks, just peeping

above the surface of the water; these points are the fossilized stools

and stumps of tree, similar to those which are found on shore. The

greater part of these stems, both of those on land and in water, stand

vertically ; many of those on shore have remains of their roots in the

sandstone rock beneath the alluvial matter; and of those which stand

in the water, one at the distance of three feet from the shore has

portions of its roots imbedded in the sandstone on which it rests.

The rock immediately round the roots is not of so harsh a texture as

it is in other parts; in it, in the neighbourhood of the roots which

are in the water, there appear numerous white spots, which give the

stone a mottled appearance : this arises from a multitude of small

cavities which contain powdery silex, similar to what is often found

in the cavities of chalk-flints. On the shore, the surface of the rock

near the stems is worn into a number of little holes, which are owing

to the decay and removal of this powder. Mr. Clarke sees no other

explanation of these specks, than that they mark the situation of the

fibres which proceeded from the roots. The roots of the trees are

in some instances surrounded by an accumulation of sandy rock,

which forms a mound of a higher level than the rest of the stratum.

The roots do not descend, so far as has been ascertained, very far

into the substance of the rock. nor is there any appearance of a

dirt-bed. The stools stand from two to three feet above the surface

of the ground, and vary from two to four feet in diameter; but one in

the lake is at least four feet above the level of the water, and five or six

feet in diameter. In several of the stumps from 60 to 120 concen-

tric rings of growth may be counted: a few of the stools are hollow.

Geological Society. ATS

in the centre, but others are solid throughout: the wood appears to

be coniferous. Veins of chalcedony traverse the substance of the

trunks between the concentric rings, and also in the direction of the

radial lines.

Many of the stems at Kurrur-kurran have the bark adhering firmly

to the trunk, and the bark in one instance was of the thickness of

three inches. Its appearance in one or two cases was such as to

show that it had been partly torn from the tree while yet standing,

as if ithad been broken down and the bark had been rent by the fall.

The colour of the substance of the stems within varies from a

greyish white to a clouded grey, but their surfaces, when exposed to

the air, have become yellowish by weathering ; many are overgrown

by lichens, and have then exactly the appearance of the stumps of

recent trees. The upper extremities of the fossil stumps present

clean horizontal sections, which shows that they were not broken off

while recent, since no mode of fracturing recent pinewood could have

occasioned such neat, plain and parallel sections as the summits of

these stumps exhibit.

In a fragment of the sandstone from the base of one of the fossil

stumps, the silicified impression of part of the leaf of a Glossopteris

was found.

Immediately below the flinty stratum in which the trees are found

is a bed of lignite; above the level at which the trees occur,

there are found, imbedded in the sandstones and conglomerates,

immense quantities of broken fragments of trees, apparently stripped

of their boughs and branches. These fragments are generally di-

vested of their bark, and appear to have been drifted.

Fossil trees are found in this formation at other places, and nearly

at the same level above the sea as at Kurrur-kurran; they occur in

sandstone simuar to that of Kurrur-kurran, at the southern extre-

mity of the Tirabeenba mountain, immediately above and below a

bed of lignite. At the spot referred to, pits have very recently been

opened for working the lignite, at the level of about four feet above

the surface of the lake. At the south head of Reid’s Mistake, which

is the name for the sea-entrance to the inlet of Awaaba, similar beds

of sandstone occur, and these are traversed vertically by the trunks

of trees, while other trees lie horizontally in the same beds. Lines

of division, which appear to be owing to the contraction of the whole

mass, intersect both the trees and their matrix: these trees are found

at a somewhat higher level than the sea. At nearly the same level

in Nirritinbali (or Mutton-bird Island), off the entrance to Awaaba,

large stools and stems of trees occur in conglomerate, which conglo-

merate reposes on beds of lignite. Fossil trees are also found in

conglomerate reposing on lignite on the coast north of the entrance

to Awaaba, at Redhead, at Newcastle, and at Nobby’s Island, off the

mouth of the Hunter river. At Nobby’s Island the treeslie in a

pebbly grit, passing into conglomerate, and are mineralized by hydrate

of iron ; they are from 10 to 150 feet long. At none of the above

places, however, do the trees occur in such profusion as at Kurrur-

kurran.

2K 2

476 Geological Society.

Fragments of roots and of the boughs of trees, divested of their

bark, are found at Munniwarrée, Wollogong and Mulibinbak, im-

bedded in beds of sandstone at a higher level than the beds which

contain the fossil trees. Similar fragments are found spread over

the surface at Wollon Hill, at Holworthy Down, and elsewhere in

the colony; it is probable therefore that the bed of sandstone con-

taining trees in a vertical position, which is found nearly at the same

level above the sea at Kurrur-kurraén and the other places above-

mentioned, is the true geological position of that ancient forest from

which the enormous quantities of the fragments of wood which occur

either spread over the surface, or imbedded in the sandstone above

and below the lignite, have been derived.

The sandstones of this formation, and in this vicinity, have been

powerfully affected by the action of intrusive rocks; they are tra-

versed, at Nobby’s Island and on the coast near Newcastle, by trap

dykes. The author refers to the ‘ Voyage’ of Flinders, page 131,

for an account of mineralized fossil wood found in Bass’s Straits, at

Reservation Island, which is composed of granite and of schist, tra-

versed by granite veins and trap dykes. He also refers to the ‘ ‘Tasma-

nian Journal,’ vol. i. p. 27, for an account, by the surgeon of H.M.S.

Erebus, Dr. M’Cormick, of silicified wood found in association with

trap rocks in Kerguelen’s Land; and to the same volume, p. 24, for

an account by Dr. T. D. Hooker, assistant-surgeon to H.M.S.

Erebus, of fossil wood found at Macquarrie plains, in ‘Tasmania.

The author infers, from the present position of the fossil trees at

Kurrur-kurran, that the land must have been alternately depressed

and elevated. He makes mention in the course of his paper of two

beds of lignite, one above the bed of fossil trees and one below it ;

but he does not describe the relative position and distance of these

two beds.

March 22.—A paper was read ‘“‘ On some Pleistocene Deposits near

Copford, Essex,” by John Brown, Esq.

The order of the component beds of these deposits was taken from

a cutting made for the Eastern Counties Railway. The lowest bed

noticed consists of blue clay, which the author refers to a great

detritie accumulation called ‘till,’ and which occurs extensively

over the northern portion of the county of Essex. The till varies

considerably in character and composition; at the N. extremity of

the section which the author exhibited, it was described as consist-

ing of a stiff tenacious clay, but within a short space it changed

to a sandy gravel, containing fishes’ teeth and corals in great abun-

dance: the rock fragments have been derived from basaltic and se-

condary beds; the latter afforded the fossils contained in the follow-

ing list, for the identification of which the author states that he

has been indebted to Mr. J. de C. Sowerby. Serpula illium, L. ;

S. tetragona, L.; S. articulata, G.8.; S. granulata, C.; Terebratula

rigida, U.Ch.; T. pisum, Ch. M.; T. striatula, L. Ch.; Gryphea in-

curva, L.; G. dilatata,K.C.; Inoceramus,C.; Avicula inequivalvis, L.;

Exogyra virgula,K.C.; Crania striata, C.; Pollicipes maximus, C. ;

Ammonites Leachit, K. C.; A. annulatus, L.; A. dentatus, G.; <A.

Zoological Society. 477

spinosus, K.C.; A. serratus, O.C.; Belemnites acutus, L.; B. pistil-

liformis, L.; Littorina carinata, G.S.; Pentacrinites basaltiformis, L. ;

Encrinites moniliformis,O. The remains of fishes were; Otodus appen-

diculatus, C.;,. Galeus pristodontus, C.; Notidanus pristis, C.; Odon-

taspis rhaphiodon, C.; Hybodus, U.O., which were determined for the

author by Mr. 8. P. Woodward.

The Pleistocene deposit at the Copford brick-field consists, in an

ascending order, of a bed of black vegetable matter, or peat, from

six Inches to one foot in thickness, resting immediately upon the

*till:” from this stratum the following shells were procured, which

were named for the author by Mr. S. P. Woodward :—Vertigo pa-

lustris; V. edentula; V. pusilla; V. pygmea; V. substriata; Azeca

tridens ; Acme fusca; Carychium minimum; Zua lubrica; Clausilia

rolphit; Cl. nigricans; Cl. bidens; Succinea pfeifferi; 8S. putris;

Aplexus hypnorum; Limnius palustris; L. truncatulus; Planorbis

sptrorbis; P. vortex; Pisidium pusillum; Helix nemoralis; H. hor-

tensis ; H. arbustorum; H. lapicida; H. rufescens; H. hispida; H.

pulchella; H. lamellata; H. spinulosa; H. fulva; Zonites rotunda-

tus; Z. ruderata; Z. cellarius; Z. radiatulus ; Z. nitidulus; Z, lu-

ridus; Z.crystallinus; Pupa anglica; P.umbilicata; P. marginata.

Above the peat is a bed of clay and detritus about one foot thick,

containing many of the land and freshwater shells cited above; next

above this is a second layer of peat with shells.

At the southern extremity of the author’s section, the order of the

beds was as follows:—1. Diluvial clay, 3 feet. 2. White sand with

shells, 3 feet. 3. White calcareous marl with shells, together with

the bones of the elephant, ox and deer. 4. Peat with shells (Val-

vata piscinalis), 6 inches. 5. Blue clay with freshwater shells.

The author suggests that this deposit is the bed of an ancient

pond, which occupied a depression on the surface of the till.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Feb. 14, 1843.— William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Mr. Gould exhibited and characterized the following two new

species of Birds, from the collection formed by Capt. Sir Edward

Belcher, R.N., during the voyage of Her Majesty’s Ship ‘ Sulphur.’

PreroGLossus ERYTHROPYGEIUS. Pt. vertice, facie, mento, et dorso

superiore nitide virescenti-nigris ; alis cauddque sordide fusce-

_ scenti-viridibus ; dorso. inferiore, uropygio, et caude tectricibus

splendid? sanguineis ; corpore inferiore flavo, pectore superiore

sanguineo tincto, inferiore vittd coloribus nigro et sanguineo com-

. mixtis, fasciato,

Crown of the head, sides of the face, chin, and upper part of the

back shining greenish black; wings and tail dull brownish green ;

lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts shining blood-

red ; under surface yellow, stained on the chest with blood-red, and

crossed on the breast by a band of mingled black and blood-red ; bill

bordered at the base by a narrow line of dull white; the remainder

of the bill yellowish horn colour, with a broad stripe of black along

478 Zoological Society.

the upper mandible near the cutting edge, and the tip of the under

mandible black ; feet greenish black.

Total length, 18 inches; bill, 5; wing, 64; tail, 74 ; tarsi, 1}.

Prerocies PERSONATUS. Pt. plumis a basi rostri, usque ad oculos,

intense nigris ; capitis reliquis partibus, collo, et pectore arenaceo-

cervinis, non sine tincturd vinosd ad basim colli; dorso vinoso-

Susco ; caude tectricibus pallide fuscis, notis irregularibus cervinis

per plumas in lineis obliquis ordinatis, crebré guttatis.

Femina facie nigra caret.

Male.—Feathers surrounding the base of the bill, as far as the

eyes, deep velvety black ; remainder of the head, as well as the neck

and chest, sandy buff, tinged with vinous at the base of the neck,

both above and below; back vinous brown; wings sandy buff, the

coverts tipped with dark brown, which colour forms three semicir-

cular fasciz across the wing; primaries and secondaries dark brown,

the latter marked irregularly with sandy buff on the basal half of

their outer margins; rump and upper tail-coverts light brown, with

numerous irregular marks of buff, arranged in oblique lines down

the length of the feathers ; tail-feathers deep brown, crossed on their

outer webs with decided, and on the inner with irregular, bars of buff,

all the feathers largely tipped with buffy white, all the under sur-

‘face crossed with small bars of dark brown, light brown, and buff;

under tail-coverts sandy buff.

The female differs in not having the black face, in having all the

upper as well as the under surface of the body barred, like the latter

part in the male; the wings numerously barred with brown, and the

under tail-coverts sandy red.

Total length, 13 inches.; bill, 4; wing, 8%; tail, 4; tarsi, 1.

_ Mr. Fraser laid before the Meeting eight new species of Birds

from Western Africa, which he thus characterizes :—

Cotiurio Smita. Coll. superne niger, plumis scapularibus, gutid

apud primarias, secundariarum nonnullarum apicibus sic et cor-

pore subtis, rectricumque caude quatuor externarum apicibus

albis ; rostro pedibusque nigris.

Long. tot. 8 poll: ; rostri, 3; ale, 34; caude, 44; tarsi, }.

Hab. Cape Coast.

This species is named in honour of Dr. Smith, the author of the

‘Tilustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.’

Drymoica MENTALIS. Drym. supra fusca, primariis ad marginem

pallidioribus, subtis rufescens, fronte genisque rufo-castaneis, guld

et lined angustd superciliari albis ; lined angustd nigrd inter gulam

albam, genasque castaneas; caudd?; rostri mandibuld superiore

nigrd, inferiore corned ; tarsis flavis.

Long. tot.? poll. ; rostri, 2; ale, 22; caude, ?; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Accra.

Drymoica Stranger. Drym. supra fusca, strigd superciliari et

corpore subtis albis; rectricibus caude subtis saturate cinereis,

guitd nigrd prope apices, apicibus albis.

Long. tot. 53 poll. ; rostri, 3; ale, 45; caude, 2; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Accra.

Zoological Society. : 479

‘I have ventured to name this species after Lieut. J. N. (now

Commander) Strange, R.N., to whom I was indebted for kindness

and assistance throughout the whole term of the expedition.”

Drymotica LATERALIS.. Drym. supra fusca, lateribus cinerascenti-

bus, subtis alba, femoribus rufis, rectricibus caudeé subtis satu-

rate cinereis, guttd nigrd prope apices, apicibus albis.

Long. tot. 54 poll. ; rostri, 2; ale, 25; caude, 2; tarsi, 3.

Hab. Cape Palmas.

Differt a Drym. Strangei corpore supra saturatiore, lateribus cine-

reis, cauda magis gradaté, cum colore albo apicali magis circum-

scripto, et obscuriore.

Drymoica RuFicaPitta. Drym. & vertice rufo, corpore supra sa-

turate fusco, corpore toto inferiore et guld albis, dimidio femorum

inferiore rufo; caudd ut in D. laterali, at-magis gradatd ; rostro

nigro.

Long. tot. 63 poll. ; rostri, 3; ale, 25; caude, 24; tarsi, .

Hab. River Nan, Western Africa.

This species differs from others of the genus here described in

having the white of the under parts extending to the nostrils, a ru-

fous crown to the head, and a black beak. It was shot near the

mouth of the above-mentioned river in the month of August.

Drymorca RuFA. Drym. supra rufa, subtis sordidé flava, rostro

tarsisque flavis.

Hab. River Quorra, opposite Iddah,

Drymoica RUFoGULARIS. Drym. 9 supra fuliginose fusca, leviter

viridi tincta ; guld pectoreque rufescentibus ; abdomine, tectricibus

alarum inferioribus et caudd utrinque rectricibus tribus externis

albis ; rostro supra nigro, subtis flavo; tarsis carneis, iridibus

pallide a bimini -fuscis.

Long. tot. 3% poll. ; rostri, 4; alee, 12; caude, 13; tarsi, 2.

Hab. Clarence, Fernando Po.

Drymoica uropyGiALis. Drym. supra fusca, singulis plumis pal-

lidiore marginatis, strigd superciliari et corpore subtis albis, late-

ribus et femoribus leviter rufo-lavatis, uropygio subrufo; cauda

saturate fusca, fascid perpallide rufa, alterd nigrd, et apice albo,

rostro fusco, tarsis flavis.

Long. tot. 4 poll.; rostri, 4; ale, 2; caude, 1}; tarsi, 7.

Hab. Accra.

A series of Shells were laid before the Meeting, upon which Mr.

Hinds observed that they constituted the first portion of a collection

which it is proposed, from time to time, to bring under the notice of

the Society. The collection was made by Captain Sir Edward Bel-

cher, R.N., C.B., during the late voyage of Her Majesty’s Ship

‘Sulphur,’ aided by the cooperation of Mr. Hinds, the surgeon of

the vessel. The following descriptions are by Mr. Hinds :—

TRICHOTROPIS CANCELLATA. Tri. testd oblongd ; anfractibus senis,

rotundatis, costatis, valde cancellatis; costis setosis; anfractu

ultimo infra subplanulato ; suturd profundd ; aperturd rotundatd,

ad basin truncatd ; umbilico parvo lineari, labio inferno fere oc-

culto. Axis 8 lin.

480 | Zoological Society.

Hab. Sitka, North-west America. Dredged in the harbour from

a sandy bottom, in from five to seven fathoms, together with T.

inermis.

Shell oblong, the spire more produced than in T. dicarinata; the

whorls separated by a deep suture, profoundly cancellated; many-

keeled, and furnished on the lines of the striz of increase with nu-

merous short bristles at regular intervals. ‘The aperture is rounded,

and truncated at the base; the canal so short as scarcely to exist.

Umbilicus small, and somewhat concealed by the inner lip, which is

slightly developed.

Three specimens are in the collection, and one, being a dead shell

and deprived of its epidermis, shows very distinctly the deep cancel-

lation of the whorls. A single specimen, and larger by two lines, is

in the possession of Mr. Cuming, who obtained it with some shells

from the north-west coast of America, the measurement of which I

have adopted.

TRICHOTROPIS INERMIS. Tri, testd ovatd, soliduld ; anfractibus

quaternis rotundatis, multicostatis, longitudinaliter levissimé stri-

atis; costulis subequalibus, planulatis, inermibus ; aperturd oblonga,

canali brevi desinente ; umbilico mediocri ; labio interno producto.

Axis 7% lin.

Hab. Sitka, North-west America. In company with the preceding.

In shape and outline this shell approaches T. borealis. It will be

readily distinguished from any hitherto known species hy the absence

of armature on the epidermis, in which we lose sight in the instance

before us of one of the characters of the genus. The whorls are

rounded and separated, as in the other species, by a deep suture.

The last whorl is remarkable for the strong ridges which it bears at

rather distant intervals, marking the termination or commencement

of the periodical stages of growth.

In the method of formation of the canal there is a close affinity in

this shell to some Cancellarie, particularly in the angular-mouthed

species, and the affinity is extended to the character of the whorls and

their connexion by the suture.

TRICHOTROPIS FLAVIDA. Trt. testd oblongd, tenui; spird elatd;

anfractibus septenis tricostatis, ultimo inferné quadricostato ; epi-

dermide pallide corned indutd ; aperturd angulatd, ad basin oblique

truncata ; Mo brevissimo ; umbilico parvo, lineari. Axis 8 lin.

Hab.

Allied to r. cancellata, but is a more delicate and elongated shell ;

and the epidermis, though having some shreds attached to it, is

destitute of the bristled armature. A single specimen is in the col-

lection of Mr. Cuming, without any history.

Typuis quapratus. Typ. testd subquadratd, fuscd vel albidd, lineis

pallidis transversis; quadrifariam varicosd; varicibus crassis,

acutis, ad spiram commixtis, superné nodulosis, in spinis appressis

desinentibus ; tubulis subrectis vel deorsdm inclinatis ; canali me-

diocri laterali. Axis 11 lin.

Hab. Gulf of Nicoya and the Bay of Guayaquil. Dredged from a

muddy bottom in from seven to eighteen fathoms.

Miscellaneous. 481

Allied to Typhis Sowerbii, but distinguished from it by its squarish

shape, thick and nodulous varices, closely appressed spines, and the

decided lateral direction of the canal.

Typuis arcuatus. Typ. testd corned, fusifor me ; peaiidvt fated va-

ricosd ; varicibus arcuatis, inermibus, ad spiram bene distinctis,

superne in tubulis desinentibus ; tubulis complanatis, ascendentibus;

canali mediocri recurvo. Axis 5% lin.

Hab. Cape of Good Hope. Dredged on the L’Agulhas Bank in

from forty to fifty-four fathoms.

Shell fusiform, of a horn-colour; the varices arcuate, terminating

in the tube, and ascending the spire even to the apex, giving it a

pyramidal shape. The character of the bowed spineless varices is

peculiar, and altogether it is a very distinct species.

Typuis nitens. Typ. testd ovali, albidd, levigatd, nitidd ; quadri-

fariam varicosd ; varicibus acutis in spinis excentricis desinentibus ;

tubulis rectis ; canali brevi recurvo. Axis 4 lin.

Hab. Straits of Macassar, Indian Archipelago. Dredged from

among gravel and coral in eighteen fathoms.

Looking from the apex, the spines and tubes will be seen to be

disposed in an elegant spiral manner about the spire. It is the first

species, as far as | am acquainted, that has hitherto been found in

the Indian seas, and is at the same time the smallest yet recorded.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ON THE MICROSCOPE. MEANS OF REMEDYING THE DEFECT OF

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. BY J. W. GRIFFITH, MD., F.L.S. *

It must have been repeatedly noticed by microscopic observers of

any experience, that the only agreeable time for making minute ob-

servations is during daylight, and that examinations made at this

time only can be relied on. The pure white daylight, furnished by

reflection of the sun’s rays from large floating cumuli, is that which

best illuminates microscopic objects; whilst the orange or reddish-

yellow light of a lamp or candle wearies the eye incomparably

more than the softness of daylight. There is also a marked glare

with candle or lamplight: this is very annoying to most observers;

so much so as to compel many to use the microscope by daylight

alone, which few can have the opportunity of doing. ‘To remedy

this defect of artificial light, by showing the method of rendering it

as white as daylight, is the object of the present communication.

The imperfections of lamp or candlelight appear to me to arise

mainly from two causes: Ist, its being monochromatic; 2ndly, the

colour in excess being that which is most intensely luminous, viz.

yellow. The first renders us totally unable to appreciate colour ;

the second causes a very unpleasant and injurious glare. It oc-

curred to me that these might be overcome from the following con-

siderations.

It is well known, that by the combination of a certain colour form-

* From the Medical Gazette, for Nov. 25, 1843.

482 Miscellaneous.

ed by the mixture of those existing in one portion of the spectrum

with that formed from the mixture of those remaining, that white

light is produced. ‘The two colours formed by these combinations,

each consisting of that colour which the other requires to compose

white light, are called, for that reason, complimentary to each other.

All we have to do, then, to render a reddish-yellow light white, is to

mix with that colour the complimentary one. The colour must vary

according to the nature of the light and the quality of the combus-

tible: if the light be reddish, a pale green glass, in addition to the

blue, will be requisite. The readiest mode of ascertaining the pro-

per tint is to fit the polariscope to the microscope; then to place in

the stage some crystallized salts belonging to any other system than

the cubic; next to arrange the analyzer and polarizer so that their

planes of polarization are at right angles: by examining thus several

crystalline specimens, a portion may be always found which is of ex-

actly the same colour as that of the flame (which must be found out

by comparison) ; by then turning round the analyzer, so that the

planes of polarization become parallel, the complimentary blue tint

will be found, and a piece of glass of this colour will be the requisite

one.

In applying this principle to the illumination of microscopic ob-

jects, I found that by passing the light, in its passage from the can-

dle or lamp, through a piece of deep-blue glass, I could render the

light, as I had anticipated, perfectly colourless. By this light bodies

can be examined by night with the same perfection and accuracy as

in daylight, without that fatigue occasioned by the monochromatic

light ; moreover, colours are distinctly recognised.

The modes of applying this contrivance are numerous: a sub-

stance soluble in tallow, and supplying the requisite tint during com-

bustion, may be added in the formation of candles ; or another head

may be added to the illuminator of opake objects, and a plate of glass

of the proper colour fixed in it, this being placed as near the light as

possible, and between it and the mirror of the microscope. Again,

a piece of the coloured glass may be fixed in the condenser ordina-

rily used for transparent objects, or the lamp-glass itself may be made

of the requisitely coloured material. ‘The method of effecting this

properly is to select the coloured glass by daylight, illuminating the

microscope by a candle or lamp, and then placing the glass between

the light and the mirror; the field will, if the glass be of a proper

colour, appear of the same tint as the cloud light.

[We are informed by our correspondent, that in the preserva-

tion of objects for the microscope in the liquid state, a solution of

Canada balsam in sulphuric ether, of such a state of viscidity as is

just sufficient to allow it to be laid on with a pen or stick, has an-

swered better than any of the means published in his former paper*. |

Another very excellent mode is using gold-size and white lead ; this is

an excellent compound for the same purpose.—Ep. Ann. Nat. Hist.)

* Page 113 of the present volume.

483

INDEX to VOL. XII.

ACARIDES, new species of, 312.

Actiniadz, new species of, 41.

Actiniz, on the existence of siliceous

spicule in, 38.

Addison, W., on the sacculi of the Poly-

gastrica, 101, 178.

Agate, on substances inclosed in, 148.

Alchemilla conjuncta and A. fissa, ob-

servations on, 74, 452.

Alder and Hancock, Messrs., on some

new British species of Calliopza and

Eolis, and on the development and

structure of the nudibranchiate Mol-

lusca, 233. 3

Algze, freshwater, on some points in the

anatomy and physiology of, 20; on

some new genera of, 180; on the ani-

mal nature of the spores of, 203; on

the locomotive organs of the spores of,

435.

Allecula, new species of, 360.

Amphitetras, on the British species of,

275.

Amphiura, description of the new genus,

211.

Anarrhicus lupus, on the capture of, 297.

Animalcule, parasitic, on the human skin,

description of an, 222.

Animalcules, on the oxygenation of water

by means of, 205,

Animals, vegetation upon living, 427.

Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1843,

review of the contents of, 433.

Annulosa, descriptions of some new spe-

cies and varieties of, 342.

Anomalurus, description of the genus, 52,

Anthoceros, on the formation of cyto-

blasts in the genus, 24.

Antilope Ogilbii, notice respecting, 57.

Arachnida, on the capture of small birds

by some species of, 81; on the struc-

ture and development of the nervous

and circulatory systems in, 223.

Argala migratoria, on the habits of the,

168.

Astacus fluviatilis, on the development

of, 148.

Atelecyclus, new species of, 345.

Auricula, description of new species of,

437.

Avicula, on the affinities of, 385.

Babington’s, Ch. C., British Botany, re-

viewed, 49; on Alchemilla conjuncta

and A. fissa, 452.

Baboons, new species of, 446.

Berensprung, Dr. von, Excerpta Zoolo-

gica, 427.

Bailey, G. W., on the existence of sili-

ceous spicule in Actinie, 38.

Ball, R., on the occurrence of the Cucu-

lus glandarius in Britain, 149,

perk Dr. M., on the blood-corpuscles,

Zi.

Barton, Bernard, lines addressed by, to

the Rev. W. Kirby, 76.

Biddulphia, on the British species of, 273,

Birds, of Ireland, 31, 254; new species

of Australian, 58; list of, obtained in

the vicinity of Calcutta, 90, 165, 229;

new species of, from Fernando Po, 131,

from the Niger, 133; list of Chinese,

220; occurrence of rare British, 297;

descriptions of new, 366, 440, 477,

478 ; on the blood-corpuscles of, 367.

Blood-corpuscles, on the, 130, 227, 367.

Blyth, E., on the affinities of Glareola

torquata, 74; list of birds obtained in

the vicinity of Calcutta, with remarks

on their habits, 90, 165, 229.

Bombycide, new species of, 344.

Bombyx, new species of, 264.

Bones, observations on some fossil, 70.

Botanical Society of Edinburgh, proceed-

ings of the, 130, 450.

Botanical Society of London, proceedings

of the, 68, 129, 212, 294, 449,

Botanical travellers, information respect-

ing, 352.

Bristol, on the mosses found in the

neighbourhood of, 213.

British plants, geographical distribution

of the, noticed, 50.

Bromfield, Dr., on the discovery of Cla-

thrus cancellatus in the Isle of Wight,

451.

Brown, J., on some Pleistocene deposits

near Copford, 476.

Brown, Capt. T., on some new species of

the genus Pachyodon, 390.

Bulimus, new species of, 140, 289, 365.

Buprestide, new species of, 342.

Bustard, little, notes on the, 258.

484

Byrrhus, on the geographical distribution

of the species of, 431.

Calcutta, list of birds obtained in the vi-

cinity of, 90, 165, 229.

Calliopza, on a new British species of,

233.

Callithrix, descriptions of new species of,

Calyptrea, on the anatomy of a species

of, 135.

Caridina, on the metamorphoses of, 433.

Carpenter, Dr. W. B., on the structure of

the shell in Mollusca, 228; on the

minute structure of the skeletons of

Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinoder-

mata, 377.

Cat, description of a new species of, 58.

Cells, on the supposed development of

animal tissues from, 228.

Cenomyce, description of a new species

of, 296.

Cercolabes, new species of, 44.

Chalcidites, descriptions of new species

of, 46, 103.

Chauvin’s, J. F., Essai d’une répartition

des Polypiers calciféres, noticed, 123.

Chimera, descriptions of new species of,

~ 467.

Chrysochroa, new species of, 342.

Chrysothrix, description of new species

of, 42.

Cirripede, description of a new fossil,

from the upper chalk, 260.

Clarke, Rev. B.J., on the species of Limax

occurring in Ireland, 332.

Clarke, Rev. W. B., on a fossil pine forest

-on the coast of Australia, 472.

Clathrus cancellatus, discovery of, in Bri-

tain, 451.

Cnodulon, new species of, 359.

Coleoptera, new species of, 258, 264,

342, 357, 363.

Conus, new species of, 449.

Cookson, G., on the assumption of the male

plumage by a female partridge, 453.

Cooper, J. H., on some fossil bones found

in Georgia, 70.

Copsychus macrourus, remarks on the

habits of, 98.

Corfu, catalogue of birds found in, 412.

Corvus splendens, remarks on the habits

of, 95.

Coryne Hassallii, description of, 189. _

Coryphilus, description of a new species

of, 219.

Cotton, Rev. W. C., on the remains of a

gigantic bird in New Zealand, 438.

Cray-fish, on the development of the,148.

Crete, list of birds found in the island of,

423.

Crinoidea, on the locomotive and non-

locomotive powers of the, 471.

Crustacea, on the organ of hearing in,

INDEX.

229; descriptions of new, 345; mi-

croscopic inquiries into the minute

structure of the skeletons of, 377.

Caskon) occurrence of the great spotted,

49,

Cytoblasts, existence of, in Alge, 20.

Dalton, Rev. J., notice of the late, 210.

Dasyprocta, new species of, 45.

DeCandolle, A. P., notice of the life and

labours of, 1.

Denny, H., on six new species of Para-

sites, 312.

Dentalium, new species of, 370.

Diatomacez, on the British, 104, 270,

346.

Dickie, Dr. G., on the inflorescence of

Fedia olitoria, 317.

Dicranum Dillenii, observations on, 129,

Didelphys, on several new species of, 43.

Dieffenbach’s, Dr., Travels in New Zea-

* land, noticed, 51.

Dinornis, observations on, 444.

Donax, new species of, 442.

Dorcus, new species of, 364.

Drummond, H. M., catalogue of birds

found in Corfu and the other Ionian

Islands, 412; list of the birds of the

island of Crete, 423.

Drymoica, new species of, 478.

Dugmore, J., on the occurrence of the

Italian firefly in Norfolk, 297.

Echinocorium, observations on the genus,

40, 117, 188.

Echinodermata, microscopic inquiries into

the minute structure of the skeletons

of, 377.

Edwardsia, description of the genus, and

of some new species of, 41.

Egerton, Sir P. G., on some new species

of fossil chimeroid fishes, with remarks

on their general affinities, 467.

Elasmatina, description of the new genus,

439.

Encrinite, description of a new form of,

from the Dudley limestone, 472.

Entomological Society, proceedings of

- the, 356.

Entophyta, upon the mucous membranes

of the dead and living human body,

429.

Entozoon folliculorum, on the structure

and development of, 222.

Eolis, on four new species of, 233.

Eolidina, description of the genus, 435.

Epidendrum, new species of, 397.

Essai d’une répartition des Polypiers cal-

ciféres, noticed, 123.

Farre, Dr. A., on the organ of hearing in

Crustacea, 229.

Fedia olitoria, on the inflorescence of,

317.

Fermentation, observations on, 300.

Fibre, observations on, 374.

INDEX.

Firefly, Italian, occurrence of, in Norfolk,

297; on the phosphorescence of the,

373.

Fish, description of a blind species of,298.

Fishes, on some new species of fossil, 467.

Forbes, J. E., observations on the genus

Echinocorium, 40, 117, 188; on the

genus Edwardsia, with descriptions of

new species, 41; on the phosphores-

cence of Zoophytes, 42, 188; Inau-

gural Lecture on Botany, noticed, 120;

on the Ophiuride of the Red Sea, 211.

Fossils, a catalogue of British, noticed, 22,

353.

Fossil pine-forest on the coast of Austra-

lia, on a, 472.

Fragilaria, on the British species of, 106.

Fraser, Mr., on some new species of birds,

131, 133, 366, 440, 478; on a new spe-

cies of Sorex, 436.

Fruits, description of some fossil, from the

chalk of the south-east of England, 71.

Fungi, on the production of diseases by,

86, 428

Fungus, on a species of, found imbedded

in peat, 130.

Galeodes, on the habits of a large species

of, 81.

Gallionella, on the British species of,

346.

Geological Society, proceedings of the,

' 70, 125, 290, 467.

Glareola torquata, on the affinities of, 74.

Glow-worm, on the phosphorescence of

the, 373.

Gomphonema, descriptions of the British

species of, 459.

Gould, Mr., on new species of Australian

birds, 58; on a new species of parrot,

219; on some new species of the genus

Ortyx, 284 ; on some new species of

birds, 477.

Gray, J. E., on an abnormal form of

Ophrys apifera, 213; on a new species

of Marmozette, 398.

Griffith, Dr. J. W., on the different modes

of preserving microscopic objects, 113;

on the polygastric sacculi, 178; on the

means of remedying the defect of ar-

tificial light in working with the mi-

croscope, 481.

Griffith, Dr., on the ovulum of Santalum,

Loranthus and Viscum, 207.

Griffithsia simplicifilum, observations on,

296

Grouse, on the habits of, 31.

Guiana, British, account of Chevalier

Schomburgk’s travels in, 190.

Gulliver, G., on the blood-corpuscles of

Mammalia and Birds, 130, 367.

Gyriosomus, on some new species of, 258.

Gyrophragmium, description of the new

genus, 111.

485

Haliaétus Pondicerianus, remarks on the

habits of, 91.

Hancock and Alder, Messrs., on some

new species of Eolis and Calliopza,

and on the development and structure

of the nudibranchiate Mollusca, 233.

Hanley, S., on some new species of Do-

nax, 442.

Hanover and Stilling, MM., on confer-

void formations on frogs and on the

water salamander, 428.

Hapale, on a new species of, 42.

Hassall, A. H., on the anatomy and phy-

siology of the freshwater Algz, 20,

180; on the production of diseases in

vegetables by Fungi, 86 ; on the genus

Echinocorium, and on the phosphores-

cence of Zoophytes, 117, 188.

Helicide, descriptions of new, 289.

Helix, new species of, 139, 365.

Hesperomys, new species of, 44.

Hinds, Mr., on some new species of

shells, 479.

Hippoboscidze, new species of, 314.

History of British Forest Trees, noticed,

50.

Hope, Rev. F. W., on new species of

Coleoptera, 357, 363.

Hutton, Capt. T., on the habits of a large

species of Galeodes, 81.

Bie ge description of the new genus,

Hypna, on some varieties of, 295.

Ichthyology, fossil, ubservations on Prof.

Agassiz’s discoveries in, 290.

Idarnes, characters of the new genus, 47.

Inaugural Lectureon Botany, noticed,120.

Insects, new, 258, 262; descriptions of

some new species and varieties of, 314,

ed on the habits of various Indian,

57.

Ionian Islands, catalogue of birds found

in, 412

Ireland, on the birds of, 31, 254; on the

species of Limax occurring in, 332.

Irrisor, on the structure and affinities of,

238.

Isthmia, descriptions of the British species

of, 270.

Ixodes, new species of, 312.

Jacchus, new species of, 398.

Joly, M., on the development of the

Cray-fish, 148 ; on the metamorphoses

of Caridina Desmarestii, 433.

Jonas, Dr. J. H., on some new species of

shells, 365.

Jungermanniz, on some new British

species of,-88, 172.

Kirby, the Rev. W., lines addressed to, 76.

Lamia, new species of, 365.

Lamppyris Italica, occurrence of, in Nor-

pone 297; on the phosphorescence of,

456

Latham, Dr. J., notice of the late, 210.

Lees, E., on the groups into which the

British fruticose Rubi are divisible, 68;

on a variety of Rosa sarmentacea,

212.

Lepidoptera, new species of, 344.

Lichen, on a new species of, 295.

Limax, on the Irish species of, 352.

Lindley, Prof., on some new genera and

species of Orchidaceous plants, 396.

Linnean Society, proceedings of the, 207.

Lipoptena, new species of, 314.

Loncheres, new species of, 44.

Lopez, Dr., on spiders discharged from

the eye, 454.

Loranthus, on the ovulum of, 207.

Loricula pulchella, description of, 260.

Lucanide, description of a new genus of,

362

Lucanus, new species of, 363.

Lucanus Cervus, lithic acid i in, 451.

Lumbricus, new species of, 432.

Lutra, on a new species of, 43.

Lyell, C., on the geological position of

the Mastodon giganteum, 125.

Macherium subducens, description of

the, 175.

Mackenzie, P., on a species of Fungus

found imbedded in peat, 130.

Mammalia, characters of new Brazilian,

42; on the blood-corpuscles of, 367;

on the classification of the, 399.

Mantell, Dr. G. A., on some fossil fruits

from the chalk, 71; on the fossilized

remains of the soft parts of Mollusca,

72.

Manual of British Botany, reviewed, 49.

Marmozette, on a new species of, 398.

Martius, Prof. von, on the life and labours

of DeCandolle, 1

Masdevallia, new species of, 396.

Mastodon giganteum, on the geological

position of the, 125.

Matteucci, M., on the phosphorescence

of the glow-worm, 373.

Matthews, A., notice of the late, 210.

Matzia, description of the new genus,

432.

Megachile, on the habits of some species

of, 356.

Meloseira, on the British species of, 346.

Meridion, descriptions of the British spe-

cies of, 457,

Meteorological observations, 79, 151,

231, 303, 375, 455.

Microscope, means of remedying the de-

fect of artificial light in working with

the, 481.

Microscopic objects, on the different

modes of preserving, 113, 482.

Microscopic researches into the minute

structure of the skeletons of Mollusca,

Crustacea and Echinodermata, 377

INDEX.

Milvus Cheele, on the habits of, 92.

Mitophyllus, description of the new ge-

nus, 362.

Mitscherlich, Prof., on fermentation, 300.

Modeccopsis, description of the new ge-

nus, 209.

Mohl, H., on the genus Anthoceros, 24 ;

on Dr. Barry’s memoir on fibre, 374.

Mollusca, on the fossilized remains of the

soft parts of, 72; on the structure of

the shell of, 228; nudibranchiate, on

the development and structure of the,

233; on the organs of hearing in, 237;

micrescopic inquiries into the minute

structure of the skeletons of, 377.

Montagne, M., on the Podaxinex, and

on the new genus Gyrophragmium, 111.

Morren’s, Messrs., Rubéfaction des Eaux

par les Animalcules et les Algues, no-

ticed, 205.

Morris, J., Catalogue of British fossils,

noticed, 353.

Mosses, catalogue of the, found in the

neighbourhood of Bristol, 213.

Mougeotia, observations on the genus,

80.

Mus, new species of, 134.

Mylodon, observations on the, 292.

Myriapoda, on the structure and develop-

ment of the nervous and circulatory

systems in the, 223.

Nautilus, on the structure of the 132,

173, 305.

Navicella, new species of, 141.

Nerites, new species of, 276.

Newport, G., on the structure and de-

velopment of the nervous and circula-

tory systems in the Myriapoda and

Macrourous Arachnida, 223; on the

habits of Megachile Willughbiella and.

M. centuncularis, 356.

Ogilby, M. on some new species of ba-

boons, 446.

Opatrum, new species of, 358.

Ophiuride of the Red Sea, on the, 211.

ht apifera, on an abnormal form of,

Oxbigny, M. de, on the paleontology of

South America, 434; on the Gastero-

poda of the cretaceous system, 436.

Orchidaceous plants, on some new ge-

nera and species of, 396.

Ortyx, new species of, 284.

Osyris, on the ovulum of, 208.

Owen, Prof., on the structure of the Pearly

Nautilus, 132, 305; on the anatomy

of Calyptrea, 135; on the anatomy of

Pholadomya candida, 138 ; on the My-

lodon, 292; description of a new spe-

cies of seal, 331; on the remains of a

gigantic struthious bird, 444.

Pachyodon, descriptions of new species of,

390.

INDEX.

Paleontology, observations on. 290; of

S. America, observations on the, 434.

Papilio, new species of, 262.

Parasites, on six new species of, 312.

Parrot, description of a new species of,

219.

Parry, Capt. F., on a new genus of Luca-

nide, 362.

Partridge, on the history and habits of

the, 254; assumption of the male

plumage by a female, 453.

Pearce, J. C., on the locomotive and

non-locomotive powers of the family

Crinoidea, 471; on a new encrinite

from the Dudley limestone, 472.

Pecten, descriptions of new species of,

Pepys, W. H., on the respiration of the

Pfeiffer, Dr., descriptions of new species

of shells, 138, 289.

Phalangium Opilio, on the anatomy of,

153, 243, 318.

Pholadomya candida, on the anatomy of,

138.

Phorus, observations on the genus, 214.

Phyllostoma, on a new species of, 43.

Plants, occurrence of rare British, 68 ; on

the respiration of the leaves of, 227.

Pleistocene deposits, near Copford, ob-

servations on some, 476.

Pleurorhynchus, on a remarkable struc-

ture in, 389.

Pleurothallis, new species of, 397.

Pleurotoma, new species of, 372.

Podaxinez, observations on the tribe, 111.

Polygastrica, on the sacculi of the, 101,

178.

Pulex, new species of, 315.

Pyramidella, new species of, 371.

Quail, history and habits of the, 254.

Quatrefages, M., on the Eolidina para-

doxum, 434,

Ralfs, J.. on the British Diatomacez,

104, 270, 346; on the British species

of Meridion and Gomphonema, 457.

Ray, J., letters from, to Sir Hans Sloane,

77; 150, 302.

Recherches sur Vorganisation &e. de

plusieurs genres d’Algues, reviewed,

123.

Récluz, C. A., on some species of Na-

vicella, 141; descriptions of new spe-

cies of Nerites, 276.

Reeve, L., on the genus Phorus, 214; on

some new species of Trochus and Tur-

bo, 286; on some new species of

Shells, 370; on some new species of

Conus, 449.

Repertorium Botanices Systematice, no-

ticed, 51.

Richardson, Dr. J., description of the

Lurking Machete, 175.

487

Rodentia, description of a new genus of,

52.

Rokewode, J. G., notice of the late, 210.

Rosa sarmentacea, on a variety of, 212.

Rostellaria, on a new species of, 219.

Royal Society, proceedings of the, 222.

Rubéfaction des Eaux par les Animalcules

et les Algues, noticed, 205.

Rubi, on the arrangement of the British

fruticose, 68.

Szenuris, description of the new genus,432.

Salix cuspidata, remarks on, 149.

Santalum, on the ovulum of, 207.

Saturniawnew species of, 344.

Saussaye, Petit de la, on some new spe-

cies of Auricula, 437 ; on a new genus

of shells, 430.

Scarabus, new species of, 440.

Schomburgk, Chevalier, narrative of his

travels in British Guiana, 190.

Scientific travellers, information respect-

ing, 190, 352.

Sciurus, descriptions of new species of,

44, 55

Seal, description of a new species of, 331.

Selby’s, P. J., History of British Forest

Trees, noticed, 50.

Serolis, new species of, 346.

Shells, new species of, 132, 138, 141, 214,

219, 276, 286, 289, 365, 370, 437, 439,

440, 442, 449, 479; on the crystalline

structure of, 377.

Shrew, on a new species of, 436.

Sloane, Sir Hans, letters from Ray to,

77, 150, 302.

Smicrornis, description of the new genus,

61.

Southby, A., on substances inclosed in

agate, 148.

Sowerby, G. B., Jun., on some new

species of Strombus, 132; on some

species of Pecten, 217; on a new spe-

cies of Rostellaria, 219; on a new

fossil Cirripede from the upper chalk,

260. -

Spheerocarpus, description of the new

genus, 185.

Spheroma, new species of, 345.

Spiders, on the capture of small birds by

certain species of, 81; discharged from

the eye, 454.

Squirrels, new species of, 44, 55.

Stark, Dr. J., on the development of the

animal tissues from cells, 228.

Staurocarpus, description of the new ge-

nus, 183

Steffani, M., on the geographical distri-

bution of the genus Byrrhus, 431.

Stelis, descriptions of new species of, 396.

Stenorhynchus, description of a new spe-

cies of, 331.

Sternocera, new species of, 266.

Stigmodera, new species of, 344.

488

Stilling and Hanover, MM., on confer-

void formations on frogs and on the

water salamander, 428.

Strickland, H. E., on some Chinese birds,

220; on the structure and affinities of

Upupa and Irrisor, 238; notes on a

catalogue of birds found in Corfu, 412;

notes on a list of birds found in the

island of Crete, 423.

Strombus, on two new species of, 132.

Struthionide, on the blood-corpuscles of

some of the, 130.

Succinea, new species of, 289.

Taylor, Dr. T., on some new species of

British Jungermannie, 88, 172; on

Dicranum Dillenii, 129; on some va-

rieties of Hypna, and on a new species

of Lichen, 295.

Tenebrio, new species of, 360.

Terebra, new species of, 373.

Tessella, on the British species of, 104.

Tetracyclus, on the British species of, 105.

Tetrao scoticus, on the habits of the, 31.

Thompson, W., on the birds of Ireland,

31, 254; on Griffithsia simplicifilum,

296.

Thuret, G., on the locomotive organs of

the spores of Algze, 435.

Thwaites, G. H. K., on the mosses found

near Bristol, 213.

Travels in New Zealand, noticed, 51.

Trevelyan, W. C., on Alchemilla fissa, 74.

Trichotropis, new species of, 480.

Trigonotarsus, description of the new ge-

nus, 357.

Trochus, new species of, 286.

Tulk, A., on the anatomy of Phalangium

Opilio, 153, 243, 318; occurrence of

lithic acid in Lucanus Cervus, 451.

Turbinacea, observations on the, 214.

Turbinellus, new species of, 371.

Turbo, new species of, 288.

Tyndaridea, descriptions of new species

of, 187.

Unger’s, Dr. F., Die Pflanze im Momente

der Thierwerdung, noticed, 202.

Upupa, on the structure and affinities of,

- 238.

INDEX.

Valenciennes, M., on the structure of the

Pearly Nautilus, 306.

Vaucheria clavata, on the peculiar mo-

tion of the spores of, 202.

Vegetables, on the production of diseases

in, by Fungi, 86.

Vegetation upon living animals, 427.

Vesiculifera, on the genus, 28.

Viscum, on the ovulum of, 267.

Vogt, C., on the genus Matzia, 432.

Vrolik, Prof. W., on the anatomy of the

Pearly Nautilus, 173, 305.

Wagner, Dr. A., on some new species of

Brazilian Mammalia, 42.

Walker, F., descriptions of Chalcidites

discovered by C. Darwin, 46, 103.

Walpers, G. C., Repertorium Botanices

Systematice, noticed, 51.

Wasp, notice of a species which collects

honey, 268.

Waterhouse, G. R., on a new genus of

Rodents, 52; on some new species of

squirrels, 55; on a new cat, 58; on

some new species of mouse, 134; on

some new species of the genus Gyrio-

somus, 258; on the classification of

Mammalia, 399.

Watson’s, H. C., Geographical Distribu-

tion of British Plants, noticed, 50.

Wetherell, N. T., on a new fossil Cirri-

pede from the upper chalk, 260.

White, A., description of some new in-

sects from the Congo, 262; on a wasp

which collects honey, 268; on some

new species of insects and other An- .

nulosa, 342.

Wilson, E., on the structure and develop-

ment of Entozoon folliculorum, 222.

Wolf-fish, note on the capture of a, 297.

Wombat, on the affinities of the, 404.

Wyman, Dr. J., description of a blind

fish from a cave in Kentucky, 298.

Zoological Society, proceedings of the,

52, 130, 214, 276, 365, 436, 477.

Zoophytes, on the phosphorescence of,

42, 118, 189. :

Zygnema, observations on the genus, 26.

END OF THE TWELFTH VOLUME.

PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, s

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