{st (ao )

THE ANNALS” «&

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

INCLUDING

ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, ann GEOLOGY.

(BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE ‘ ANNALS ’ COMBINED WITH LOUDON AND

CHARLESWORTH 'S ‘MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, )

CONDUCTED BY

PRIDEAUX JOHN SELBY, Eso., LS,

CHARLES C. BABINGTON, Ese., M.A., F.BS., F.LS.,F.G.S.,

JOHN EDWARD GRAY, PbD., PRS PLS, V.P.Z.S. &e.,

AND

WILLIAM FRANCIS, Ph.D., F.LS.

30 o”

VOL, XI.—THIRD SERIES.

LONDON:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS.

SOLD BY LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS}; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL,

AND CO.; PIPER AND CO.; BAILLIERE, REGENT STREET, AND PARIS:

LIZARS, AND MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH:

HODGES AND SMITH, DUBLIN: AND ASHER, BERLIN.

1863.

**Omnes res create sunt divine sapientie et potentie testes, divitie felicitatis

humane :—ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini;

_ €x ceconomia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet.

' Earum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper zstimata; a veré eruditis

et sapientibus semper exculta; malé doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit.”—

LINNZvs. i

* Quel que soit le principe de la vie animale, il ne faut qu’ouvrir les yeux pour voir

qu’elle est le chef-d’ceuvre de la Toute-puissance, et le but auquel se rapportent

toutes ses opérations.” BRUCKNER, Théorie du Systéme Animal, Leyden, 1767.

Sieg ha sR) ee pie in y's) wie A Ne SY VAs wers

Obey our summons ; from their deepest dells

The Dryads come, and throw their garlands wild

And odorous branches at our feet ; the Nymphs

That press with nimble step the mountain thyme

And purple heath-flower come not empty-handed,

But scatter round ten thousand forms minute

Of velvet moss or lichen, torn from rock

Or rifted oak or cavern deep: the Naiads too

Quit their loved native stream, from whose smooth face

They crop the lily, and each sedge and rush

That drinks the rippling tide: the frozen poles,

-._-Whete peril waits the bold adventurer’s tread,

ee The burning sands of Borneo and Cayenne,

~All, all to us unlock their secret stores

And pay their cheerful tribute.

J. Taytor, Norwich, 1818.

CONTENTS OF VOL. XI.

[THIRD SERIES.]

NUMBER LXI. Pes

I. Notes on the Hydroida. By Prof. ALLMAN secccccossessecseeeree Lb

II. On the Raphides of British Plants. By Gzorez GuLLivErR,

F.R.S., Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology to the

Royal College of Surgeons .........ss00+ dbdsadandadsde dace coue@bedans Be AS A

III. On the proposed Change i in Name of Gracula pectoralis. By

ALFRED R. WALLACE ....cccceceesssocecees [email protected] ceeees LO

IV. Descriptions of Five new Genera of Mollusca. By Henry _

and ARTHUR ADAMS eecssscesessseesessseresceneesensecs ansaneesaode eccesere, 18

V. On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Mu-

seum. By Aubert GinTHER, M.A., M.D., Ph.D. (Plate IIL.)...... 20

VI. On new Species of Batrachians from Australia. By ALBERT

See, MLA. MLD, PhD. | CPlate-EV.) on. .i0.. 0s esececsescceestee 26

VII. Descriptions of newly discovered Spiders captured in Rio

Janeiro by John Gray, Esq., and the Rev. Hamlet Clark. By JoHn

TPIAMORCWTA LL, F128, cccccooes scence = ERR a aes 29

VII. On some new British Hydroids. By the Rev. THomas

Sa RSRESESMET te) Premed Seach a, 6 ee erm nae pie aeenicig wee 45

IX. On the Transformations of the Porcellane. By Dr. Fritz

Meni, Of Desterro. (Plate Ly geste. cccsccccsscecsscccncscensecece Pe Y §

New Books :—The Student’s Manual of Geology, by J. Beete Jukes,

M.A., F.R.S.—The Coal-fields of Great Britain: their History,

Structure, and Resources; with Notices of the Coal-fields of

other parts of the World, by Edward Hull, B.A. ............ 51—55

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ............sssceessseeeceeees 55—71

Use of the Weights and Measures of the Metric System in Scientific

Pursuits; The Unicorn of the Ancients, by Dr. A. E. Brehm... 71, 72

iv CONTENTS.

NUMBER LXITI.

Page

X. Observations on some of the Fossil Fishes of Dura Den. By

ROBERT WADE Be, CEO LI.) esessocccescecsssatvassacctevsenca sie Singvesl- 99

XI. On Indian Species of Land-Shells belonging to the Genera

Helix, Linn., and Nanina, Gray. By W.T. Buanrorp, A.R.S.M.,

F.G.S. Pee cerccereceeeceseereeseeseseeesccneseees COecn ees eeeescccece eeesceesece eoosee 81

XII. Characters of new Land-Shells of the Genera Helix, Clausilia,

and Spiraxis, from the Andamans, Moulmein, Northern India, and

Ceylonja By W: H. Benson, Enq. ......000.scccescseesssosgi Eaasveccsens » Oe

XIII. On the Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. By W. K.

ParkKER, M. Micr. Soc., and T. R. JoNES, F.G.S. ...ccccsccscccesseese IL

XIV. On the Genera and Species of Recent Brachiopods found in

the Seas of Japan. By ARTHUR ADAMS, F.L.S. &. ...scereeeereeeene 98

XV. A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Tenie. By Lupwica

STIEDA . s-csscsoesess Pov sgh peaiete nos: anbssoeqevensocuntas Gan ecUsasdemeaionsee + 101

XVI. Remarks on some Coal-measure Crustacea belonging to the

Genus Belinurus, Konig; with Descriptions of two new Species from

Queen’s County, Ireland. By Wiutiam HeEuuier Baty, F.G.S.

RN 2) cals 0 ccs PO UME cg neo so cevcecsccnsecesesed@hindacssocecseens 107

XVII. On new Species of Fishes from Victoria, South Australia.

By Dr. ALBERT GUNTHER «+e...0000 signs eee kscoceall See » 114

New Books :—The Flora of Essex, by G. 8. Gibson, F.L.S.—A Ma-

nual of European Butterflies, by W. F. Kirby......... soooee 117—122

Proceedings of the Royal Society; Zoological Society ......... 122—148

Pliocene Fossil Fauna of the Niobrara River, in Nebraska, by Joseph

Leidy, M.D.; On a remarkable Form of Rotation in the Pith-

cells of Saururus cernuus, by George C. Schaeffer, M.D.; Appli-

cation of Magenta Dye in Microscopical Investigations; Ona

new Phyllodactylus from Guayaquil, by W. Peters ......... 148—152

NUMBER LAXIIIL.

XVIII. Observations on the British Tunicata, with Descriptions of

several new Species. By JosHua ALDER. (Plate VII.) ............ 153

XIX. On the Composition ofthe Head, and on the Number of

Abdominal Segments, in Insects. By Dr. H. Scuaum of Berlin.

CRE EY dicts pecccsecccconscocsesccconccecesusassocessesansseseunasesbesnsesaves 173

XX. Note on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea. By H. J.

Arar se FTN. Shas dilniinldehsinnicins inllee dais aids ddahiods sBenheea RUS erty ae 182

Ce ee en ee ee ee a

—— ll

CONTENTS, v

| Page

XXI. On the Contractile Tissue of Plants. By Prof. Ferpinanp

CoHN POSSESS ORE TE SRO TE OME Hee TOT ee HR Oe PPP SET OT ORD CORE HT COREE ESS 188

XXII. On the Japanese Species of Siphonalia, a proposed new

Genus of Gasteropodous Mollusca. By Arruur Apams, F.LS. &e. 202

XXIII. On the Higher Subdivisions in the Classification of Mam-

mals. By JAMES D. DANA...sse...soreeeseneretsensenees eevedeases eeceeeees 207

XXIV. Diagnostic Notices of new Canarian Coleoptera. By T.

VERNON WOLLASTON, M.A., F.L.S. ..0...ccccccccececceccscese eaacceaes sae; Dit

New Book :—Qutlines of Botany, designed for Schools and Colleges,

by J. H. Balfour, M.D., Prof. of Botany in the University of

Edinburgh ......-+:+-+++ slic sthalaa pennies tap +—nshe vlnts ananppeiie cabipeds ae k

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ....0-scerssaes-srsccersssesee 222—228

Notice of a Flycatcher new to the Fauna of Great Britain, by G. R.

Gray; On the Development, Structure, and Functions of the

Tissues of the Anther, by A. Chatin; Ona new Pteropus from

New Holland, by W. Peters ....c.ceccsccecessesessececcesecece 228—232

NUMBER LXIV.

XXV. On the Classification of the Brachyura, and on the Homo-

logies of the Antennary Joints in Decapod Crustacea. By Wm.

eemereon, MD. - ..0.2....00.00000502. ablvapulduvaaeelvasibnent weeesditstehea oes a

XXVI. Notes on rare and little-known Fishes taken at Madeira.

No. Il. By James Yate Jonnson, Cor. Mem. Z.S. ...........000 237

XXVIII. On Ephedra. By Joun Mizrs, F.RS., F.L.S. &e. ... 248

XXVIII. On the Raphides of Isnardia. By Prof. GuLLiver ... 263

XXIX. On some new Genera and Species of Umboniide from the

Seas of Japan. By ArrHur Apams, F.L.S. Xe. ......00..000 SUES 264

XXX. Notice of the Occurrence of a rare Cetacean (Lagenorhyn-

chus albirostris, Gray) at the Mouth of the Dee. By THomas J.

RNIN isin cans.scsscnsesessi OS A ot OPER sion sgesnbopbecaunag MENG

XXXI. On the Geographical Distribution and Varieties of the

Honey-Bee, with Remarks upon the Exotic Honey-Bees of the Old

World. By Dr. A. GERSTACKER -.....seceeceeescseceeee Oecececercccvesens 270

XXXII. On some Species of Tree-Snakes (Ahetulla). By Dr.

PRIMI CRUNTHE Dore canons coscassenceycassounece abana tnd soaiguiap nines tipbcale 283

XXXIII. On an Undescribed Indigenous Form of Ameba. By

G. C. Wauuicu, M.D., F.L.S, &c. (Plate VILL.) ...00-.-..e00e eoeees 287

V1 CONTENTS.

Page

New Books :—The Land and Freshwater Mollusks indigenous to, or

naturalized in, the British Isles, by Lovell Reeve, F.L.S.—Geo-

logical Observations in South Australia; principally in the Dis-

trict south-east of Adelaide, by the Rev. Julian Edmund Woods,

F.G.S. &c.—Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.

VOR: AXIVs POG. LOMCOS © acne rye... cooccenstueMMmbers seu savace 291—296

Proceedings of the Royal Society; Zoological Society ......... 297—308

On Chlamyphorus, by Dr. Burmeister; On the Action of Magenta

upon Vegetable Tissue, by J. G. Lynde, F.G.S., M. Inst. C.E. ;

Capture of the Ringed Seal (Phoca fetida), by Dr. J. E. Gray;

On the Nature of the Gas produced from the Decomposition of

Carbonic Acid by Leaves exposed to the Light, by M. Boussin-

gault ; On a new Species of Ophiura (O. Normani) found on the

Coast of Northumberland and Durham, by George Hodge 308—312

NUMBER LXV.

XXXIV. A Novel Instance of the Production of Fermentation by

the Presence of Infusoria capable of existing without free Oxygen and

deprived of all Access of Atmospheric Air. By M. L. Pasteour...... 313

XXXV. Characters of new Land-Shells from the Andaman Islands,

Burmah, and Ceylon; and of the Animal of Sophina. By W. H.

RNB CR: Sone wocnsysbacesevansceppasersarvescesssveneeeea sob bediesemnneriee 318

XXXVI. On Natural and Artificial Section in some Chetopod —

Aanelids. .. By W Oc MINOR. poy scsoscnsvernse's anvest seengomneeeipansesab tes 323

XXXVII. On the Geographical Distribution and Varieties of the

Honey-Bee, with Remarks upon the Exotic Honey-Bees of the Old

Nrond.- By DR. A. GERSTACKER 2. ....cc0...cccossecoecssenshanesaressbons 333

XXXVIII. On Microstelma and Onoba, two Forms of Rissoid

Gasteropods; with Notices of new Species of the latter from Japan.

By ARTHUR ADAMS, FLL.S.i&6. 3. sis.issiesecnccdscccbscseccscessasovossenade 347

XXXIX. On the Genera and Species of Lacunide found in Japan.

Me ARTHUR ADAMS, FILS. S06. 0... .ccctassicescsecscnuscties deakeaeatans 350

XL. On the Structure of the Valves of Pleurosigma and other

Diatoms. By G.C. Wauuicn, M.D., F.L.S., F.G.S. &e. ,...,.+-000, 351

XLI. Further Observations on an undescribed indigenous Amoeba,

with Notices on remarkable forms of Actinophrys and Difflugia. By

G. C. Wauuicn, M.D., F.L.S., F.G.S. &c. (Plate [X.) ..........0000. 365

New Book:—On the Geology and Natural History of the Upper .

eS ee ee

aE eS ae

a er

—— ss

—— as a... ss Se

= Se a

CONTENTS. vu

; Pare

Missouri: being the substance of a Report made to Lieut. G. K.

Warren, T.E.U.S.A., by Dr. F. V. Hayden, &c. &c. ........-000--- 371

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ......-sssesssssseeeeeeeeeeee 380—389

‘The Land and Freshwater Mollusks of the British Isles;? On the

true Nature of Pleurodyctium problematicum, by Carl Rominger,

M.D.; Piedmontese Plants; Obituary Notice—William Groves

DN cn cad aaa dc kes Ventag tas 0 kad vacpiveseexcudauteuteseces eee 389—392 -

NUMBER LXVI.

XLII. On the Capitelle and their Position in the System of the

Annelida. By Epwarp GruBE......... back canpeanadssvenkecnnies Prasat 393

XLIII. Remarks on the Vessels of the Latex, the Vasa propria,

and the Receptacles of the elaborated Juices of Plants. By M.

IIIIEIISUIS 5.55... 0ssc<cuo-eaccacocacseoysadaccaasnontens cncpuetaséapsessaneae 402

XLIV. On Acantholeberis (Lilljeborg), a Genus of Entomostraca

new to Great Britain. By the Rev. ALFRED MERLE NorMAN, M.A.

XLV. On the Form of the Cells made by various Wasps and by

the Honey Bee; with an Appendix on the Origin of Species. By

the Rev. SamueLt Havucuron, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin... 415

XLVI. On the former Connexion of North Africa with South

- Europe. By Prof. EDWARD SUESS «.+.cseesssssseeeeeeeecesesens cveerepee 429

XLVII. Further Observations on Ameba villosa and other indi-

genous Rhizopods. By G. C. Wauuicu, M.D., F.LS., F.G:S. &e.

(Plate X.) ...000...seee0e picaeaaee slintagadascatsseninosaiagubtnscacugnBivecenee tal 434

New Books :—A History of British Sessile-eyed Crustacea, by C.

Spence Bate, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c., and J. O. Westwood, M.A.,

F.L.S. (Parts I—XI.).—The Tropical World: a Popular Scientific

Account of the Natural History of the Animal and Vegetable .

Kingdoms in the Equatorial Regions, by Dr. G. Hartwig.—..

Phosphorescence, or the Emission of Light by Minerals, Plants,

and Animals, by T. L. Phipson, Ph.D., F.C.S.. .........++ 454—457

Notice of three Wombats in the Zoological Gardens ; on two Forms of

Anthriscus sylvestris; on the Change in Form of the Teeth of

the Susu (Platanista), by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c. ; On the Oc-

currence of living Water-Beetles in the Intestines of the Common

Trout, by the Rey. W. Houghton ; Pretended “ Parthenogenesis ”

Vili CONTENTS.

: Page

of the Bernhard Crab; On a new American Otter, by Mr. G.

Barnston ; On Planorbis crista, by Lovell Reeve, F.L.S, ; On the

Occurrence of Lymnea stagnalis in Scotland, by Robert O.

Cunningham, Esq.; Descriptions of two new Species of Pye-

nogonoidea, by George Hodge; On Aquatic Hymenoptera, by

Mr. J. Lubbock; On the Appearances of Cotton-fibre during

Solution and Disintegration, by Charles ONeill, F.C.S.; On a

singular Malformation of the Beak and Foot in the Young of the

Domestic Fowl, by Mr. W. Horn .........ecsccecssescsececceee 457—467

PLATES IN VOL. XI.

Puate I. Transformations of the Porcellane.

Il. Glyptolepis of Dura Den.

III. Cercocalamus collaris.—Brachyurophis semifasciata.—Teleur-

aspis nummifera.

IV. Platyplectrum marmoratum.—Cryptotis brevis.—Hyla Krefftii.

V. Coal-Measure Crustacea.

VI. Composition of the Head, &c., in Insects.

VII. Ascidia parallelogramma.—Molgula arenosa.

Ls Structure and Development of Ameeba villosa and other Rhizo-

Fy Bete

XI. New British Species of Acantholeberis.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

(THIRD SERIES.]

seseeeracecerecees perlitora spargite muscum,

Naiades, et circdm vitreos considite fontes :_

Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores :

Floribus et pictum, dive, replete canistrum.

At vos, o Nymphz Craterides, ite sub undas ;

Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco

es og Tien cobeet rupibus, et eceirs conchas ve

erte, Dex i, et pingui conchylia succo.

N. Parthenii Giannettasii Ecl, 1,

No. 61. JANUARY 1863.

I.—Notes on the Hydroida. By Prof. Atuman.

I. On the Structure of Corymorpha nutans.

T AM indebted to one of my pupils, Mr. John W. Macfie, for my

attention having been called to the occurrence of specimens of

a Corymorpha among the contents of a dredge brought up from

about 14 fathoms’ depth, during a dredging expedition in the

Firth of Forth with the Natural-History Class of the University of

Edinburgh. Though the species found does not entirely agree

with the diagnosis proposed by Sars (Wieg. Arch. 1860, transl. in

Ann. Nat. Hist. 1861, vol. viii.) for his C. nutans, I believe never-

theless that it must be regarded as identical with the C. nutans

of the eminent Norwegian zoologist. A considerable number of

specimens were obtained, and thus this interesting Tubularidan

has been for the first time added to the recorded fauna of the

Forth.

The largest specimens found were about 2 inches in height,

the polype measuring from tip to tip of its extended tentacula

about # of an inch.

Corymorpha presents among the Hydroida the very unusual

condition of a solitary polype, the complication from budding

being confined to the production of gonophores. For greater

facility of description, it will be convenient, in the following ac-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol, xi. 1

2 Prof. Allman on the Hydroida.

count of the structure of this Hydroid, to divide the animal into

the polype, the stem, and the gonophores.

The Polype.—The polype may be described as flask-shaped ;

it bears towards its base a zone of about thirty-two long and

imperfectly contractile tentacula arranged in a single series,

_ while at a considerable interval in front of this zone, and a little

behind the oral extremity, is a brush-like group of about eighty

very contractile tentacula, much smaller and finer than the

posterior, and arranged in six or seven closely placed alternate

series.

Immediately within the zone of posterior tentacula are the

branched stalks of the gonophores; their axis is occupied by a

continuous tube, which communicates freely with the cavity of

the polype, and they carry the gonophores in clusters upon the

extremities of the branches. They are usually from fifteen to

twenty in number, arranged in two alternate series. The gono-

phores will be afterwards described.

When a longitudinal section is made through the polype from

the mouth to the stem, it will be seen that the body, as far back

as the zone of posterior tentacula, presents a continuous cavity,

with the endodermal lining of the narrow anterior portion thrown

into prominent ruge, and with the floor of the cavity projecting

as a broad conical elevation into the wide posterior portion.

This conical projection consists of a very much vacuolated endo-

derm ; and the same vacuolated structure is continued backwards

as far as the origin of the stem, giving to the whole of the pos-

terior part of the polype the appearance of being filled with the

vacuolated tissue, and destitute of any distinct cavity. A care-

ful examination, however, will show that this vacuolated mass is

perforated in its axis by a tubular prolongation of the cavity of

the polype, though, in consequence of temporary obliteration by

the approximation of its walls, this continuation of the polype-

cavity is usually very difficult to detect. It is continued to the

summit of the stem, and then, becoming somewhat wider, re-

ceives the longitudinal canals of the stem, to be presently de-

scribed.

The posterior tentacula are destitute of any trace of a cavity,

and consist of a simple prolongation of the vacuolated endoderm

of the body, surrounded by a layer of ectoderm, the endoderm

becoming somewhat closer in texture as it enters the tentacula.

The anterior tentacula seem to admit the cavity of the polype

for a short distance into their interior; but their tube soon be-

comes obliterated by the vacuolation of their endoderm, which

assumes the usual septate appearance. For some distance from

their extremities the ectoderm is thrown into slightly elevated

verruce in which minute thread-cells are accumulated, but to-

Prof. Allman on the Hydroida. 8

wards the base it becomes smooth. An accumulation of thread-

cells takes place also at the tip of the tentacle, where they seem

to indicate a tendency to the formation of capitula, as in Coryne,

&c. The anterior tentacula, both by their structure and their

disposition in alternate series, remind us of the tentacula of

Coryne; and I believe that we must regard them as the true

equivalents of the latter, while the posterior set must be viewed

as superadded structures.

The endodermal lining of the polype-cavity, as far back as the

vacuolated portion, contains great abundance of brownish-red

pigment-granules, which are included in the inner cells of the

endoderm. The same pigment is continued into the stalks of

the gonophores, from which it may be traced into the manubrium

of the medusoids, and, in their young state, into the radiating

canals. The whole of that portion of the body of the polype

which lies behind the posterior tentacula is destitute of pigment-

granules, and is accordingly colourless.

The Stem.—The form of the stem is subcylindrical, usually,

however, enlarging towards the base, and again contracting and

tapering away to a blunt point. I have always found this

pointed posterior part of the stem bent at nearly a right angle

to the rest, and, when the animal is in its natural position,

plunged into the sandy sea-bottom.

To the naked eye, the stem is seen to be traversed from one

extremity to the other by narrow longitudinal bands or striz,

Under a low magnifying power, these bands are seen to inoscu-

late here and there with one another, while towards the base of

the stem they usually become broader and fewer by coalescence.

They owe their distinctness to the accumulation in them of

opake corpuscles.

I have satisfied myself that the longitudinal bands represent

canals excavated in the endoderm of the stem. They lie just

within the ectoderm, while the whole of the axis of the stem is

oceupied by a sort of pith composed of a large-celled, or, per-

haps, more correctly speaking, vacuolated tissue. Occasionally,

very distinct currents may be seen in the canals; so that the

whole structure and phenomena presented by these parts closely

correspond to what we meet with in the stem of different species

of Tubularia.

Under a high power of the microscope, delicate parallel longi-

tudinal striz may be detected lying external to the canals just

described. They are situated between the ectoderm and endo-

derm, apparently more intimatély connected with the former,

and may be traced upwards on the body of the polype as far at

least as the zone of posterior tentacula. They seem to consist

of fine tubular fibres, and are apparently the equivalents of the

4, Prof. Allman on the Hydroida. °

fibres (muscular?) visible beneath the ectoderm of Clava, Co-

ryne, &e.

Still finer striz may also be occasionaliy witnessed running

in a circular direction round the stem; but I have not been able

to determine whether these represent fibres or mere ruge in the

ectoderm.

Peculiar processes are given off from the stem towards its

posterior end. They are in the form of short blunt cones, and

are arranged in longitudinal series, which follow the course of

the canals, the stem immediately over each canal bearing two

alternating rows. They are tubular, with the cavity apparently

communicating with the canal, and with the free extremity im-

perforate. They appear to be extensile, for they may occasion-

ally be here and there seen much elongated, and then with their

extremities slightly clavate. In the form now described they

are confined to a region of the stem at some distance from its

lower end. They do not seem to be here employed as organs of

adhesion ; and I am unable to throw any further light upon their

nature. When, however, a specimen of Corymorpha, after being

captured, has the lower end of its stem free from sand, and is

then transferred to a jar of sea-water, it soon begins to fix itself

to the bottom of the vessel, and at the end of about twenty-four

hours its base is seen to be surrounded by a delicate web, which

closely adheres to the vessel, and in a few days has spread itself

over a surface of a square inch or more in extent. Under the

microscope this web is found to be composed of a multitude of

fine tubular filaments, which are given off from the stem all

round, close to its lower end; and after repeatedly crossing one

another so as to form an entangled web-like tissue, they termi-

nate each in a slightly expanded or clavate and imperforate ex-

tremity. The filaments are composed of a granular substance,

which, as it continues to elongate, invests itself with an exceed-

ingly delicate structureless tube or polypary. In these filaments

of adhesion it is impossible not to recognize structures essentially

similar to the conical tubular processes given off from the stem

a little higher up.

The entire stem is invested by a very delicate, colourless, and

transparent polypary. For the greater part of the length of the

stem the polypary lies close to it, and may be easily overlooked;

but further down it becomes separated by a considerable interval,

and here constitutes a loose corrugated sac, in which the lower

end of the stem is enveloped.

- Gonophores.—The gonophores are borne on the extremities of

the branched tubular stalks already mentioned, where they are

grouped in compact clusters consisting of buds in every stage of

development, from the minute tubercle in which no medusoid

Se ee

eS a Lg ee, ee

Prof. Allman on the Hydroida. P,

structure can as yet be detected, to the completely formed ac-

tively contracting medusoid on the point of becoming free.

I have been unable to demonstrate in the gonophores any

trace of an ectotheca. They are thus truly naked medusoids.

When arrived at that stage in which they detach themselves

from the stalk and become free, they present a deep umbrella

(nectocalyx, Huxley), becoming slightly narrower towards the

aperture, and having its summit continued into a short conical

projection traversed by a narrow canal which had kept the cavity

of the manubrium in communication with that of the stalk.

There are four radiating canals, each of which expands into a

bulb at the point where it enters the circular canal. Of these

bulbs one is much larger than any of the other three ; this bulb

is continued into a tentacle, while none of the others present

any trace of such an appendage: they all contain reddish-brown

pigment-granules ; and an obscure ocellus may generally be re-

cognized in a little accumulation of granules of a somewhat

redder colour situated beneath the ectoderm of the outer side of

the bulb. There is a broad velum.

The solitary tentacle is largely developed, and consists of a

very extensile moniliform cord, presenting, when extended, the

appearance of ten or twelve little spherules distributed at equal

distances upon a cylindrical string: the last of these spherules

exactly terminates the string, and is larger than the others,

while one or two situated near the proximal end are smaller and

less distinct. The spherules are composed of accumulations of

thread-cells; and the connecting cord seems to have its axis

occupied by an uninterrupted tube directly prolonged from the

cavity of the bulb at its root. During contraction, the spherules

assume the form of circular disks ; and in extreme contraction,

the connecting cord disappears, and the surfaces of the disks

are brought into contact.

The manubrium is large and subcylindrical, and the mouth is

without tentacula or lobes.

From the above description it will be at once apparent that

the medusoid of Corymorpha nutans belongs to a form to which

Edward Forbes has given the generic name of Steenstrupia. Of

this relation between Seenstrupia and Corymorpha Forbes him-

self had a suspicion ; indeed, he expresses a belief that his Steen-

strupia rubra will turn out to be the free medusoid of Corymorpha

nutans.

The medusoids, when they beconie free, are about 2 inch in

diameter, and as yet show no trace of generative elements ; and

though I kept them alive for more than a week, they scarcely

increased in size, and never showed any appearance of ova or

spermatozoa,

6 Prof. Allman on the Hydroida.’

I obtained, however, by means of the towing-net, in the

neighbourhood of the locality which produced the Corymorpha,

a little Medusa regarding which there can be no doubt that it

is a more advanced stage of the medusoid of our Corymorpha,

with which in all essential points it is identical. It was about

four times the size of the newly liberated medusoid; and the

tentacle had proportionately increased in length, and presented

upwards of forty spherules, while the radiating canals at their

origin curved upwards towards the summit more decidedly than

in the younger form. The generative elements (not yet, how-

ever, fully developed, and apparently male, though, from their

immature condition, no active spermatozoa could be detected) were

very distinctly visible as a pale yellow mass between the endo-

derm and ectoderm of the manubrium, which was rendered tumid

by their presence. In all other respects the little Medusa was

identical with the younger ones, and continued to present the

acuminated summit, which was even still traversed by the canal

which originally maintained a communication between the tube

of the supporting stalk and the cavity of the manubrium.

Development of the Medusoid-bud.—The medusoid first shows

itself as a minute tubercle consisting of ectoderm and endoderm,

and containing a simple diverticulum from the cavity of the

supporting stalk. It is very difficult to follow satisfactorily the

several steps by which this primordial tubercle becomes ulti-

mately converted into the complete medusoid ; but if I am right

in my interpretation of the appearances which I have observed

during a laborious examination of the bud in its different stages,

the steps of its development would seem to be as follows :—

First, a differentiation takes place in the ectoderm of the

summit or distal portion of the bud, by which this layer becomes

here divided into two lamin, an outer and an inner—the latter

remaining adherent to the endoderm.

Next, the cavity of the bud extends itself upwards in the form

of four thick cecal processes occupying a peripheral position

and placed symmetrically round the axis. They are composed

of the endodermal lining of the bud-cavity, having outside of it

the general ectoderm of the bud; while the inner of the two

laminz into which this ectoderm splits at the summit extends

itself downwards as the processes continue to elongate, and in-

vests them on the inner side, or that turned towards the axis of

the bud, the space between the two laminz becoming at the

same time larger and larger, and ultimately forming the cavity

of the nectocalyx.

The four processes are destined to form the four radiating

canals of the medusoid; and shortly after their first appearance

another cecal process has begun to grow up between them, in

Prof. Allman on the Hydroida. 7

the axis of the bud; it gradually elongates itself, and is to be-

come the manubrium of the medusoid.

The four peripheral processes continue to elongate, and are

soon seen'to be dilated into bulb-like expansions at their extre-

mities. The bulbs increase in size, and come in contact by their

sides; while one of them, enlarging much more rapidly than the

other three, gives a marked preponderance to its side of the bud,

and makes the distal end of the bud appear as if obliquely trun-

eated. It then begins to extend itself beyond this distal end

into a thick hollow tentacle.

In the mean time the four bulbs which had come in contact

have coalesced, and their cavities now communicate with one

another; but by the gradual enlargement of the distal end of

the bud the bulbous ends of the radiating canals are again drawn

away from one another; the communication, however, between

their cavities is not thereby interrupted, but continues to be

maintained by a tubular elongation of their original points of

union; and in this tube we now recognize the circular canal of

the medusoid. y

The cavity of the nectocalyx is still closed by the more ex-

ternal of the two laminz into which the ectoderm had originally

split at the distal end of the bud. In the final stage this lamina

becomes perforated in the centre, and forms the velum of the ©

medusoid; while the manubrium, previously imperforate, acquires

a mouth at its extremity. The solitary tentacle, too, has now

become elongated, and presents its characteristic moniliform

structure ; the nectocalyx rapidly contracts and expands with

vigorous systole and diastole ; and the medusoid at last hangs

upon its stalk, a true Steenstrupia, ready to break away from the

restraint of its fostermg polype and enter upon an independent

existence.

Besides the production of medusoid sexual buds, I have also

witnessed in Corymorpha nutans another process of reproduction,

very remarkable, but of whose exact significance I am unable to

speak with entire confidence. In a glass jar containing living

specimens of Corymorpha, which had been in my possession for

more than a fortnight, I observed attached here and there to the

surface of the glass minute oblong bodies, about 4 a line in their

longer diameter, and 3 line in the shorter. They appeared to

be composed of a soft, minutely granular, white substance ; and

their interior was occupied by a very distinct cavity. They were

destitute of cilia, and were invested by an extremely delicate

membranous or mucous tube, quite structureless, which extended

for some distance beyond their ends, and adhered for its whole

length to the sides of the jar.

- Besides these little bodies, others, which I do not hesitate to.

8 Prof. Allman on the Hydroida.

regard as the same bodies in a more advanced stage, were also

found attached to the sides of the jar. They consisted of a white

tubular filament, about 4 lines in length, attached to the glass

by one extremity, and developed at the opposite into a minute

polype having a general resemblance to the polype of Corymorpha,

but with only six or eight tentacles composing the posterior

yerticil, while the anterior tentacles were about the same in

number, thicker and shorter than the posterior, with blunt,

almost capitate extremities, and, like the posterior tentacula,

disposed in a single verticil.

Other still more advanced stages were also found attached to

the sides of the jar. They had attained to about double the size

of the last, had the posterior tentacles composed of a verticil of

sixteen or twenty, while the anterior tentacles, though still dis-

posed in a single verticil, had become multiplied to about the

same extent.

Beyond these three stages I was unable to trace the develop-

ment through any further steps; the last of them, however,

manifestly requires little to convert it into the form of the adult

Corymorpha.

If it were not that the medusoids thrown off from the adult

polype in my jars had, so far as I could find, all perished before

the formation in them of generative elements, I should have

regarded the little organisms just described as presenting three

stages in the development of the embryo from the ovum. In

the absence, however, of all evidence of the presence of ova, I

believe it will be safer to view them as different stages in the

development of a gemmule liberated, in some way unknown,

from the adult specimens in the jar.

II. Diagnoses of new Species of Tubularidee obtained, during the

Autumn of 1862, on the Coasts of Shetland and Devonshire.

Clava diffusa, mihi.

Polypes about } inch in height, light rose-colour, developed

at intervals upon a creeping reticulated stolon ; tentacula about.

twenty.

Gonophores scattered, commencing just behind the posterior

tentacula, and thence extending singly or in small clusters for

some distance backwards upon the body of the polype.

In rock-pools at low-water spring-tides, Out Skerries, Shet-

land Isles. ;

The present species differs from all other described species of

Clava in the gonophores being scattered and extending for some

distance backwards, instead of being aggregated in closely ap-

proximated clusters immediately behind the posterior tentacula.

Prof. Allman on the Hydroida. 9

TUBICLAVA, mihi, nov. gen.

Polype claviform, supported on the summit of free stems,

which rise at mtervals from a creeping stolon, and are invested

by a chitinous polypary. Tentacula filiform, scattered.

Gonophores dense clusters of sporosacs aggregated imme~

diately behind the posterior tentacula.

T. lucerna, mihi.

Zoophyte about two lines in height ; stems quite simple, or

rarely with a short lateral branch; polypary clothing the stem,

corrugated, dilated at the base of the polype, pale yellowish-

brown. Polype,when extended, about equal to the stem in height,

white, with pale ochreous centre ; tentacula about twenty, con-

fined to the anterior third of the polype.

Creeping over the surface of loose stones in the bottom of a

rock-pool, Torquay. On stones between tide-marks, Dublin

Bay.

in none of the Torquay specimens were gonophores present ;

but I do not hesitate to identify the present species with a Tu-

bularidan obtained several years ago in Dublin Bay, and which

I had carefully figured at the time, though I never published a

description of it. In the Dublin Bay specimens the gonophores

were present, and exactly resembled in structure and position

those of Clava multicornis.

The genus Tubiclava differs from Clava in the fact that the

polypes are no longer sessile upon the basal stolon, but borne

upon distinct branches enveloped by a polypary. This character,

taken in connexion with the form of the polypes, shows an affinity

also with Cordylophora, from which, however, it is separated by

the entirely different plan and position of the gonophores.

Eudendrium humile, mihi.

Zoophyte delicate, rising to about 2 inch in height, much and

irregularly branched ; main stems and branches distinctly annu-

lated throughout. Polype yellowish-vermilion, vase-shaped, with

a circular groove near its base, and a trumpet-shaped proboscis ;

tentacula twenty or twenty-three, with the alternate ones elevated

and depressed in extension.

Gonophores (male) surrounding the body of the polype, and

springing each by.a short stalk from the circular groove which

passes round the polype near its base, each gonophore consisting

of two superimposed chambers. Female gonophores consisting

of a single chamber, borne both by the base of the polype and

by the ccenosarc immediately behind it.

Rooted to the bottom of rock-pools near low-water spring-

tides, Torquay.

10 Prof. Allman on the Hydroida.

Male specimens of a Zoophyte closely resembling the above,

but rather more delicate, and with the polypes which bear the

gonophores all destitute of tentacula and mouth, so that they

become converted into gonoblastidia, have also occurred to me

in a rock-pool near Torquay. Though I am tempted to regard

this as a distinct species, I believe it will be safer for the present

to view it as a variety of Hudendrium humile. I shall therefore

provisionally designate it as EL. humile, var. corymbifera.

Eudendrium vaginatum, mihi.

Zoophyte much branched, rising to about 1} inch in height ;

polypary deeply and regularly annulated throughout. Polypes

vermilion, with about eighteen tentacula, and having the body

as far as the origin of the tentacula enveloped in a loose corru-

gated membranous sheath, which loses itself posteriorly upon

the polypary.

Gonophores not known.

In rock-pools at extreme low-water spring-tides, Shetland.

This beautiful little Hudendrium, though in considerable abun-

dance, had, at the time of my finding it (August), evidently

aang the period of its greatest perfection, gonophores having

een in no instance present, while in many specimens the po-

lypes had fallen from the branches. In the absence of all know-

ledge of the gonophores, the above diagnosis must accordingly

be regarded as incomplete.

Perigonymus serpens, mihi*.

Zoophyte consisting of short simple erect stems, about 2 lines

in height, terminated by the polypes, and rising at short intervals

from a creeping stolon, which forms an irregular network upon

the surface of other bodies; the whole of the stems and stolon

occupied by a reddish-orange coenosare and clothed with a deli-

cate transparent polypary, which does not form a cup-like dila-

tation at the base of the polypes. Polypes reddish-orange, with

about twelve or fourteen tentacula, so disposed that, in complete

* The dismemberment of Ehrenberg’s genus Eudendrium into two ge-

nera, Eudendrium and Atractylis, was proposed some years ago by Dr. T.

Strethill Wright. Dr.Wright was apparently not aware, when he gave the

name of Atractylis to one of these subdivisions, that Sars had already pro-

posed the name of Perigonymus for a genus identical with the Atractylis

of Wright. Dr. Wright had undoubtedly a more accurate appreciation

than Sars of the characters on which the separated genus should be based,

finding these characters mainly in the form of the polype, rather than in

the position of the gonophores; but the laws of priority render necessary

the retention of the original name of Perigonymus dtl than the later

one of Atractylis. ;

‘

Prof. Allman on the Hydroida. 11

extension, they are held with alternate tentacula elevated and

depressed ; body of polype oval, with proboscis conical.

_ Gonophores medusiferous, borne by the creeping stolon and

elevated each upon a rather long peduncle. Medusotds dome-

shaped, with the vertical slightly exceeding the transverse dia-

meter; manubrium reaching to about one-half the depth of the

bell, with a simple mouth destitute of tentacula; marginal ten-

tacula two, opposite, very extensile, and with large reddish-orange

bulbous bases, without evident ocelli, the intermediate radiating

canals terminating each in a very small bulbous dilatation.

_ Growing over the stems of Plumularia setacea, dredged from

about 12 fathoms, Torbay.

Perigonymus minutus, mihi.

Zoophyte very minute, consisting of simple stems rising to the

height of about 14 line from a creeping stolon, and bearing

the polypes upon their summit ; polypary dilated round the base

of the polype. Polypes ash-brown, with seven or eight, rarely

twelve, tentacula, held irregularly during extension, and with

little or no curvature.

Gonophores pyriform, medusiferous, borne at various heights

upon the stem, and supported on rather long peduncles. Me-

dusoid with the summit suddenly contracted, so as to give a

somewhat conical form to the nectocalyx, and having two opposite

radiating canals terminating each in a pale brown bulb which is

continued into a very extensile filiform tentaculum, and two alter-

nate canals terminating each in a much smaller bulb without

tentacle ; no evident ocellus ; manubrium short, with a four-lobed

lip, but without oral tentacula.

Forming a fringe round the edge of the opereulum of Turritella

communis dredged in Busta Voe, Shetland. Out of between twenty

and thirty specimens of living Turritella examined, not one was

free from this remarkable little Zoophyte.

The present species manifestly comes very near to Aéractylis

repens of Dr. T.S. Wright. Judging, however, from Dr. Wright’s

description and figures (Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edinb. 1858, p.450,

pl. 22. figs. 4,5), Perigonymus minutus differs from A. repens,

Wright, in the form of the umbrella of the medusoid, which in

A. repens shows no approach to the conical figure presented by

the species here described, and in the entire absence from the

medusoid (at least at the time of its liberation) of the small inter-

mediate tentacula, It also comes very near to the Eudendrium

pusillum of the same author (op, cit. 1857, p. 231, pl. 11. figs. 8

& 9); but the conical form of the medusoid separates it also

from this species, from which it still further differs in the much

longer peduncles of its gonophores,

12 Prof, Allman on the Hydroida.

Perigonymus Muscus, mihi.

Zoophyte consisting of numerous erect stems, about half an

inch in height, not composed of coalesced tubes, springing at in-

tervals from a creeping stolon, and sending off short branches,

which are themselves for the most part without further ramifica-

tion; polypary light brown, slightly corrugated, and with a

well-marked cup-like dilatation at the base of the polype. Po-

lypes semi-retractile, light reddish-brown, with about sixteen

tentacula directed, in extension, alternately backwards and for-

wards.

Gonophores medusiferous, borne upon a rather long peduncle,

and springing from the branches at a short distance behind the

polype. Medusoid dome-shaped, with the four radiating canals

terminating below, each in a large reddish bulb, which sends off

two very extensile filiform tentacula, having an ocellus at the

base of each; manubrium extending to about a third of the

entire depth of the umbrella, and with four short oral tentacula.

The medusoid is thus in all points undistinguishable from that

of Perigonymus ramosus, Van Beneden.

In a rock-pool, Torquay, where it occurred abundantly, creep-

ing over the bottom in small moss-like tufts.

The small size and general habit of the present species, its

more simple ramification, and the fact that its stems consist of

a single tube, instead of being composed of numerous tubes

coalesced into a dense bundle, at once separate it from P. ramosus,

Van Beneden, notwithstanding the fact that the medusoids of

the two species are indistinguishable.

Tubularia Bellis, mihi.

Basal portion of canosarc prostrate, creeping, and sending up

short, free, sparingly branched stems, which rise to ? inch or

1 inch in height; polypary, where it covers the lower part of the

upright stems, and the whole of the prostrate portion, marked

by wide but distinct annulations; ccenosare orange, deepening

in tint towards the base, expanding into a collar immediately —

below the polypes. Polypes measuring, in full-sized specimens,

about 5 lines from tip to tip of the extended tentacula; body

of polype scarlet.

Gonophores borne upon short, erect, branched peduncles ;

each gonophore with four well-marked tentaculoid tubercles on

its summit; peduncles and spadix scarlet.

A beautiful little Zoophyte, conspicuous by the bright colour

and large size of its polypes. It occurs attached to the bottom

of rock-pools at extreme low-water spring-tides, Shetland.

Prof. G. Gulliver on the Raphides of British Plants. 13

II.—On the Raphides of British Plants. By Greorce GULLIVER,

_ F.R.S., Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology to

the Royal College of Surgeons.

Ir appears to me that these Raphides are deserving of more

attention than they have yet received, both in relation to the

structure and economy of vegetables, and as affording a wide,

interesting, and scarcely cultivated field of research for the

chemical phytologist. The raphides may also be often useful as

diagnostic characters in systematic botany when others are not

available ; for example, a mere fragment of one of the Onagracez

or of the Lemnacee may be so surely distinguished, simply by

its raphides, from some of its near allies in other orders, that

this fact ought henceforth to be added to the description of the

orders just mentioned, independently of its value in other

respects. At present, I believe, the raphides have not thus been

used; nor, indeed, do I know that they have been described in

the majority of the British plants in which they occur, or even

mentioned in Lemnacee and Epilobium before my notice of

them *. Though common in some orders, it is remarkable that

the raphides are so rare where they might be most expected,

that I have not a single note of their presence in young parts

of the stem, leaves, and flowers of British Oxalidaceze, Umbelli-

ferze, Labiate, Euphorbiacee, or Polygonacez ; and even among

Crassulacee, no crystals were found in Sedum Telephium and

S. acre. In old decaying or diseased portions of Polygonacezx,

and in many other orders, crystals are frequent; but on the

present occasion they are only noticed in young growing or

healthy structures.

That raphides are part of the regular structure, useful in

the economy of certain plants, and by no means only a result of

chemical changes connected with decay, would appear from the

present observations. The remarkably constant abundance and

situation of the raphides in some species supports this view.

Thus, in Lemna trisulca the bundles of crystals are contained

within the cells of the parenchyma, but are so much longer in

LL. minor as to extend beyond the cell-wall, and are very abun-

dant in both species ; while in L. polyrrhiza and in L. gibba the

raphides are comparatively scanty. They occur, too, in growing

parts of other plants, either in the cells or intervening spaces of

young leaves and of the pistils. In some orders, as Composite,

the crystals are chiefly confined to the ovary and testa ; while they

occur indiscriminately in all parts of the plant in other orders, as

Onagracexe and Orchidaces. Further research is much required

as to their precise office in the vegetable economy, though no

* Ann. Nat. Hist. May 1861.

14 Prof. G. Guiliver on the Raphides of British Plants.

doubt they are of use both for food and manure. In such plants

as Lemna minor there is a store of phosphate of lime and starch,

just the kind of nutriment that young growing animals would

want; and the abundance of crystals in the ovary and testa

of Composite seems to be connected with the nutritious properties

of the seeds. Thus we perceive one of the means by which such

humble plants are important in nature. It has long been known

how greedily water-fowl feed on the common duck-weed ; and,

making sure of the identity of this plant by the raphides, I have

found it in the stomach of young water-rats.

Though the term ‘raphides’ has been used indiscriminately

for all kinds of crystals in the tissues of plants, it will be confined

below, in accordance with its etymological import, to the acicular

or needle-like forms, and all the others will be noted simply as

“erystals.” The former are known to be composed chiefly of

phosphate of lime, and some of the latter of oxalate of lime; but

we are still ignorant of the composition of a great number of

these crystals.

From my notes, extending over six years, of dissections of

several hundred plants, I find that raphides or crystals were

seen in the following Phanerogamia, but not in a much larger

number; so that they were not detected, though often looked

for, in many other orders which are not mentioned here. The

names of the plants are taken from the fourth edition of Prof.

Babington’s excellent ‘ Manual of British Botany.’

CaryoruyLiacea&.—Silene Armeria. Square or cubic crystals,

in clumps +3;3 inch diameter, in the ovary. The only plant of

the order in which I have seen crystals.

Onacracez.—True raphides occur in such abundance as to

be quite characteristic of this order among the net-veined class.

All parts of the plant abound in them; so that by these alone

a minute fragment of it may be easily distinguished from

Lythracee and Haloragacee. ‘There were examined seven spe-

cies of Epilobium, three garden ones of Ginothera, and Circea

lutetiana. The willow-herbs should be useful and often easily

available for manure.

Rusiace£.—Raphides common in this order, but less plenti-

ful than in Onagraceze. They may be generally seen in the ovary,

and occur in the corolla, leaves, and other parts ; and were found

in Sherardia, Asperula, and in six species of Galium, which in-

clude all that were examined. It is remarkable that raphides

- are common in the corolla and young fruit and scanty in other

parts of Galium Mollugo, though plentiful also in the leaves of

its variety 8 scabrum.

Comrosir#.—Raphides are less common in this order than

other crystals, and 1 have only found them in the ovary or

On the proposed Change in Name of Gracula pectoralis. 15

fruit. They were seen in Corymbiferee, Cynarocephalex, and

Cichoriacez. In Pulicaria dysenterica, single oblong crystals with

angular pointed ends; in Senecio Jacobea and S. aquaticus, short

acicular crystals ; in Arctium intermedium and two other species,

cubical crystals 5,455 inch diameter ; in Centaurea nigra, single

and double crystals shaped like those of Pulicaria; in Carduus

lanceolatus, C. palustris, and C. acaulis, some acicular forms anda

greater number like those of Pulicaria and Centaurea ; in Hypo-

cheris radicata, Apargia autumnalis, and Crepis virens, minute

square or cubical crystals.

Dioscorzaces%.—Tamus communis. Raphides plentiful in the

stem and leaves, and still more so in the perianth and stamens.

Orcuipacex.—The only species examined were Orchis Morio,

O. mascula, O. maculata, and Habenaria chlorantha, in every

one of which raphides were abundant in all parts of the plant.

Ir1pacex.—Iris Pseud-acorus. Long, prismatic, slender, and

blunt crystals, generally occurring singly, in the leaves.

Liniacez,—Endymion nutans. Kaphides. abundant in all

parts of this plant, from the perianth to the bulb; though not

found at all in Allium ursinum.

TypHacex.—Sparganium ramosum and S. simplex. Raphides

abundant in the perianth, fruit, stem, and leaves, though not

found at all in Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia.

Arace£.—Arum maculatum. Raphides throughout the plant.

Lemnacex.—Raphides (as described in Ann. Nat. Hist. for

May 1861) in all our plants, most abundant in Lemna trisulea

and L. minor, and comparatively scanty in L. polyrrhiza and L,

i In L, minor the raphides (phosphate of lime) are plenti-

fully associated with starch-granules—thus indicating the valu-

able fertilizing and nutritious properties of this most common,

abject, and despised weed.

III.—On the proposed Change in Name of Gracula pectoralis.

By Aurrep R. Wattace.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

May I be permitted to make a few remarks on Mr. G. R. Gray’s

proposal (in the ‘ Annals’ for December 1862, p. 472) to change

the name of my Gracula pectoralis, described and figured in the

‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for June last, into

Gracula Anais, that name having been given by Lesson to a bird

which Mr. Gray believes to be the same species.

I am far from denying, or even doubting, that Lesson’s bird

16 Mr. A. R. Wallace on the proposed

was in part the same as mine; but I wish to inquire if the name

given to any part of a bird, or to a manufactured bird in which

more is false than genuine (and the description of which must

therefore be quite unrecognizable), can claim priority over that

given to the first specimens obtained of the perfect bird.

Mr. G. R. Gray believes that the wings and feet of Lesson’s

bird were “restorations ;” I believe that the head and tail were

also “ restorations,’’—and for this reason: Lesson describes the

whole head as “ noi7-velours,” in contradistinction to the back

and belly, which he terms “noir-bronzées.” In my bird there

is no such distinction; the head is the same metallic blue-and-

greenish-black as the other parts. Bonaparte, in the ‘ Comptes

Rendus,’ also says, “capite nigro-holosericeo,’ but the other

parts “ nigro-eneis,” showing that it was no mistake of Lesson’s

description.

Now for the tail. One of the most characteristic features of

my bird is its white under tail-coverts, which are tinged with

yellow only at the base, where the vent for a small extent is also

yellow. Now, both Lesson and Bonaparte describe this patch

of orange on the vent, but neither say a word about the white

under tail-coverts, which are very ample and cover the tail to

within an inch of its extremity. If, now, we conclude that the

wings were false, from the conspicuous white band across them

not being mentioned by either author, the absence of any men-

tion of the equally conspicuous white under tail-coverts must

also lead us to conclude that the tail had been replaced by that

of some other bird; and every one who has seen much of the

native New-Guinea skins must know that the tails are very

liable to come off.

It seems probable, therefore, that Lesson’s specimen was

made up of the trunk of my bird, with the head, wings, tail, and

legs of one or more other birds; and the name given to this

ingenious work of art (the description of which is of course

inapplicable to any natural object) must, it is said, be retained

according to the law of priority, and that given for the first time.

to the perfect bird be quoted as a synonym. Now, I contend

_ that this is not a case for the application of the law of priority,

and would inevitably lead to further confusion ; for an inquirer

possessing the bird is sent back to Lesson for a description of

the species, and finding a palpable disagreement, unhesitatingly

describes his specimen as new; and we must always be liable to

such mistakes if descriptions acknowledged to be not merely

insufficient, but false, are allowed to be quoted as the authority

for specific names.

Turning now to Mr. Cassin’s description, we find that his

‘specimen is fairly stated to have been a mutilated one—the legs

Change in Name of Gracula pectoralis. 17

and wings wanting, and the head much injured ; yet his deserip-

tion is recognizable if we allow for the absence of the wings.

His name, however, is very faulty, as black is the colour of fully

two-thirds of the perfect bird, the yellow appearing only as a

band round the body and a patch on the rump and vent: Juteo-

cinctus would therefore have been appropriate ; nigrocinctus is a

complete misnomer; and, in fact, it was that very name which

prevented me from inquiring further about the bird, which I

ne long seen included in Dr. Sclater’s list of New-Guinea

irds.

The question, then, is, Shall a name, given to a mutilated

skin, and which is erroneous and inapplicable as regards the

perfect bird, be perpetuated by the law of priority? Many

- naturalists are now of opinion that where a description is pal-

pably incorrect or insufficient to distinguish a species among its

allies, or when a name is plainly inapplicable to the species to

which it has been applied, such names and descriptions should

be passed over as altogether void; for it is evidently more to

the interest of our science that the inquirer should be at once

referred to a good description, which will settle his doubts, than

to an imperfect or incorrect one, which must only increase his

difficulties. A general conflagration of every work describing

species, published more than fifty years back, would be an un-

mixed blessing to zoology.

In this case we have, first, a name and description of a made-up

specimen, of which probably one-fifth part only is genuine, and,

secondly, a specimen confessedly mutilated in its most important

parts, and the name given to which is inapplicable to the entire

bird; and in both cases the absence of the legs and wings has

led to the species being placed in a wrong genus. I now leave

ornithologists to decide, in the interest of science, by what name

this bird shall be called ; and I would further beg to suggest, as

a useful and necessary supplement to the law of priority, that it

be decreed that where the first description of a species is abso-

lutely insufficient to determine the same, and a new name has,

owing to such insufficiency, been given to the species, with a good

and sufficient description attached, such new name shall be for

ever retained, notwithstanding at any future time the former name

may be proved to have been applied to the same species.

I remain, Gentlemen,

Your most obedient Servant,

Axrrep R. Wa..ace.

_ Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi, 2

18 Messrs. H. & A. Adams on new Genera of Mollusca.

IV.—Descriptions of Five New Genera of Mollusca.

By Heyry and Arrnur Apams,

Many interesting forms of Mollusca have been made known

since the publication of their ‘Genera’ by the authors; and

many, doubtless, yet remain undiscovered. Several entirely new

types from Japan have recently been described in the ‘ Annals’

by one of the authors ; and in this communication will be found

notices of five others, which are also supposed to be forms new

to science. Some of these, unfortunately, are from localities at

present unknown to us. ;

Genus Levconyx, H. & A, Adams.

Testa interna? unguiformis, spathulacea, alba, extus convexa, intus .

concava, impressione musculari nulla, marginibus inflexis, apice invo-

luto, uncinato, producto, cryptiformi.

This genus is founded on a remarkable shell in the possession

of R. Tyler, Hsq., and appears at first sight to belong to Capu-

lide. The interior, however, is not marked by any horse-shoe

muscular impression. After repeated examination and compa-

rison, we have arrived at the conclusion that its real affinities

are with Aplysiide, and especially with the genus Dolabella,

from which it differs principally in the contorted unguiculate

apex, which forms a cryptiform cavity somewhat similar to that

of Navicella and Crypta (Crepidula of Lamarck). On account

of its colour, form, and texture, we may consider it to have heen

an internal shell, and covered by the mantle of the animal.

Leuconyx Tyleriana, H. & A. Adams.

Z, testa spathuliformi, antice dilatata, postice unguiculata, alba,

tenui, superficie longitudinaliter substriata lineisque concentricis

incrementi insculpta; margine dextro concavo, breviore, sinistro

rectiusculo, longiore ; apice intorto, intus concamerato,

Hab. ?

Genus Bacura, H. & A. Adams.

Testa subulata, claviformis, imperforata, tortuosa, solida, tota trans-

versim striata. Apertura ovata, antice integra, producta; labio in-

crassato, calloso; labro simplici, margine acuto, in medio producto.

In its subulate form and tortuosity this little genus resembles

Eulima, all the species of which, however, are glabrous or po-

lished. In Bacula the whorls are transversely striated, and the

inner lip is circumscribed and callous.

Bacula striolata, H. & A. Adams.

B, testa subulato-claviformi, imperforata, sordide alba, tota transver-

sim striata; anfractibus circa duodecim, planatis, ultimo ad peri-

ie ST ye Sy aac ”

SUING Veet eatin AER a a Daan

ee ee ee

Messrs. H. & A. Adams on new Genera of Mollusca. 19

eriam vix angulato ; apertura acuminato-ovata; labio arcuato,

incrassato ; labro in medio subproducto.

Hab, China Sea.

Se Genus Lrropyrea, H. & A. Adams,

_ Testa turbinato-turrita, perforato-umbilicata, tenuis, porcellana,

leevsi, nitida. Apertura subcircularis, spira brevior ; labio tenui ;

columella angusta, excavata, incurvata; labro simplici, margine

acuto.

This genus is established on a shell which by some would be

regarded as a thin, umbilicated Phasianella or Eutropia. It has,

indeed, somewhat of the aspect of Bankivia, the interior of the

aperture not being nacreous ; but the columella does not end in

the Achatinoid truncation peculiar to that genus. The animal

and operculum of Leiopyrga are unknown.

Leiopyrga picturata, H. & A, Adams.

L. testa subturrita, perforata, tenui, levi, lineolis longitudinalibus

undulatis, rufescentibus, ad suturas saturatioribus et punctatis pul-

cherrime picta; anfractibus 63, convexis, subimbricatis, longitudi-

naliter substriatis, transversim obsolete sulcatis ; suturis profundis,

marginatis.

Hab. ?

The shell is thin, porcellanous, shining, and very prettily

marked with red-brown wavy lines, which assume, at the sutures

and at the periphery of the last whorl, the appearance of dark

round spots. The specimen from which our description is taken

is in the collection of R. Tyler, Esq.

Genus Tanerria, H. & A. Adams.

Testa elongata, subcylindrica, decollata; anfractibus longitudina-

liter costellatis. Apertura ovata, anfractu penultimo late sejuncta ;

peristomate continuo, extrorsum expanso.

Operculum testaceum, laminis erectis, radiantibus, excentricis in-

structum.

We have considered it necessary to distinguish this remark-

able Taheitian shell from the other species of Truncatella on

aecount of the shelly operculum, which is furnished with erect,

radiating lamellz, The last whorl is curiously porrected, as is

the case in the genus Cylindrella.

Taheitia porrecta, Gould.

Truncatella porrecta, Gould, Otia Conch. p. 40.

Genus Curomoris, H. & A. Adams.

Testa ovata, auriformis, imperforata, tenuis, levis, polita ; spira ob-

20 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

tusa, brevissima; anfractibus rapide crescentibus, ultimo magno.

Apertura elliptica; columella complanata.

Operculum calcareum.

Chromotis neritina, Dunker.

Phasianella neritina, Dkr. Zeitschr. fiir Malakoz. 1846, p. 110; Krauss,

Siidafrik. Moll. tab. 7. f.6; Phil. Kuster’s Chem. Conch. Cab., Phasia-

nella, taf. 5. f. 6.

Gena lineata, A. Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1850; Sow. Thesaur. Conch.,

Stomatelline, pl. 178. f. 26, 27.

Hab. Cape of Good Hope.

Dr. Krauss observes that the operculum is the same as that

of Phasianella capensis, Dkr.

V.—On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British

Museum. By Auburt Giwruer, M.A., M.D., Ph.D.

[Plate III.]

Tue following species of Ophidians, previously desiderata in the

Collection of the British Museum, have been procured since the

publication of a paper on the same subject in this Journal (January

1862, p.52). The total number of species in that collection

is now raised to 627, and that of the typical specimens to 189.

Those marked with an asterisk (*) are new.

*Cercocalamus collaris. Central America. A. Giinther.

*Brachyurophis semifasciata. Baranquilla, at the mouth of the

River Magdalena (New Granada). Purchased.

*Leptodira leucocephala. Bahia, Dr. O. Wucherer.

Leptognathus variegatus, Schleg. British Guiana.

Hoplocephalus bitorquatus (Alecto bitorquata, Jan). Clarence

River. This snake is rare. Two specimens were contained in

the collection sent by Mr. Krefft to the International Exhibi-

tion,

Hoplocephalus signatus (Alecto signata, Jan). Clarence River.

Sent by Mr. Krefft.

Furina bimaculata, D. & B. Western Australia. Purchased.

Neelaps calonotus (Furina calonotus, D. & B.). Baranquilla. Pur-

chased.

Bothrops pictus (Lachesis pictus, T'schudi). Peru. Presented by

Professor Nation, of Lima.

Teleuraspis brachystoma (Bothriechis brachystoma, Cope, Proc.

Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1861, p. 295). Lower Vera Paz. Messrs.

‘Godman & Salvin.

—— nummifera, Riipp. Lower Vera Paz. Messrs. Godman &

Salvin.

*Poecilostolus Burtonii. West Africa. Major Burton.

in the Collection of the British Museum. 21

Fam. Calamaride.

CErRCOCALAMUS.

Body rounded, of moderate length; head rather narrow, de-

pressed, not distinct from the neck; tail of moderate length.

Rostral shield low; two pairs of frontals; one nasal ; loreal

none, replaced by nasal, anteorbital, second labial, and post-

frontal. Scales smooth, rhombic, without groove, in fifteen

rows ; anal and subcaudals entire. Eye small, with elliptical

pupil ; the posterior maxillary tooth longest, grooved.

Cercocalamus collaris. FP. III. fig. A.

This snake has the habit of Geophis lineata. Its rostral shield

is much broader than high, not recurved backwards ; prefrontals

half as large as postfrontals, which are bent downwards on the

side ; vertical not quite twice as long as broad, hexagonal, with an

obtuse angle in front, and with an acute one behind. Occipitals

tapering behind, somewhat longer than the vertical. The single

nasal is elongate, touching the preorbital, which is not raised to

the upper surface of the head; one postorbital. Seven upper

labials, the third and fourth of which enter the orbit. The fifth

upper labial is in immediate contact with the occipital, separating

the anterior temporal from the postorbital. There is a large ©

elongate posterior temporal shield (probably formed by two con-

fluent shields) on the side of each occipital. Six lower labials ;

the first pair do not form a suture together behind the median

labial shield, as is the case in almost all other snakes. Two

pairs of elongate head-shields. Ventral shields 142, subcaudals

46. Upper parts brownish-olive; a broad black collar across

the neck ; a very narrow indistinct blackish vertebral line on

the anterior part of the trunk.

Length of head $ inch, of trunk 9 inches, of tail 2 inches.

This snake is said to have come from Central America. It

appears to be allied to Olisthenes, Cope!

The figure represents the head twice its natural size.

BRACHYUROPHIS. :

Body rounded ; head short, not distinct from neck ; tail short.

Rostral shield large, as in Rhinostoma, with a sharp anterior

edge, but not recurved; two pairs of frontals; one nasal ; no

loreal, replaced by the hinder portion of the nasal. Scales

smooth, rhombic, without groove, in seventeen rows ; anal bifid,

subcaudals two-rowed. ye small, with circular pupil; the

posterior maxillary tooth longest, grooved.

Brachyurophis semifasciata, PI. III. fig. B.

Yellowish-white, with sixty or seventy dark brown cross bars on

22. Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

the head, trunk, and tail; they do not extend downwards on the

sides of the trunk ; each occupies two cross series of scales, and

is as broad as the interspaces of the ground-colour ; the first

occupies the end of the snout, the second covers the interocular

and occipital regions, and is separated from the third by a narrow

white collar.

This snake has the physiognomy of a Rhinostoma; its rostral

shield is produced, with a sharp anterior edge, a convex upper

and a slightly concave lower surface ; its posterior angle extends

far between the prefrontals, without entirely separating them ;

prefrontals rather smaller than postfrontals. Vertical five-

sided, as broad as long; occipitals not much longer than vertical.

Nasal shield single, elongate, replacing the loreal; the single

preorbital extends nearly to the vertical ; two small postorbitals

in contact with the anterior temporal ; temporals three, the two

posterior scale-like ; five upper labials, the third and fourth

entering the orbit, the last sometimes separated into two; seven

lower labials ; chin-shields very small, scale-like. Ventral plates

148, anal 1/1, subcaudals 22-24.

Headlis scsi txraacuvces vebwens . 5 lines

THONK ih paie eho bee een ies Cb ehES 132: 5

PA 5 GAGs leche b 4Ad PS AN Palen e OS Laas

otal length . oj se keene ie peegns 13 inches

Two specimens from Baranquilla (New Granada) are in the

British Museum.

Dryophis Kirtlandii.

Hallowell, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. vii. 1854, p. 100.

Rostral angular in front, slightly reverted on the upper side

of the head; anterior frontals not much smaller than posterior ;

occipitals rather longer than the vertical, obtusely rounded be-

hind,-and with a pair of large nuchal scales, which are larger

than the hinder temporal. Nasal single, oblong, pierced on the’

middle by: the round nostril ; loreal single, very long; one ante-

orbital, reaching the upper surface of the head, but not ex-

tending on to the vertical. The anteorbital region deeply con-

cave. Three postorbitals; four temporals, the anterior of which

is in contact with the postorbitals. Eight upper labials, the

fourth and fifth entering the orbit; ten pairs of lower labials,

six of which are in contact with the chin-shields. Scales (in

nineteen series) very narrow, long, imbricate, disposed in cross

series, with a single groove at the apex, those of the vertebral

series slightly grooved, not larger than the others.

Uniform olive-green above, yellowish on the lower parts of

the sides and on the belly.

in the Collection of the British Museum. 23°

Specimens of this snake were found by Major Burton, H. M.

Consul at Fernando Po, during an excursion on the Camaroon

Mountains.

Leptodira leucocephala.

Anal entire ; scales in nineteen rows. Posterior mazillary tooth

longest, grooved. White (in spirits), with large rhomboid black

blotches ; head and nape of the neck white, with black dots.

One specimen, sent by Dr. O. Wucherer from Bahia.

Head rather broad and depressed, distinct from neck ; body

compressed, with the ventrals angularly bent upwards; tail

slender. Snout rounded, depressed, short; eye of moderate

size, with elliptical pupil. Rostral broader than high, reaching

the upper surface of the head ; anterior frontals nearly square,

one-third as large as the posterior, which are slightly bent down-

wards to the side of the snout ; the vertical is pentagonal, much

longer than broad, but shorter than the. occipitals, which are

rounded posteriorly. Nostril between two small plates ; loreal

a little longer than high ; one anterior and two posterior oculars.

Eight upper labials, the third, fourth, and fifth of which enter

the orbit. Eight scale-like temporal shields, the two anterior

of which are in contact with the oculars. Five of the lower

labials are in contact with the chin-shields. Scales in nineteen

rows, each of those on the back with two grooves. Ventral —

shields 230; one anal; 114 subcaudals.

Ground-colour white, with twenty-five large, irregularly rhom-

bie black blotches ; they extend downwards on the ventrals; the

first is behind the nape; those on the tail are rather irregular.

and partly confluent ; the head is white, with small black dots,

those on the temple confluent into an obsolete band.

DOME MOONE, cco he eee ie ees 314 inches.

Length of head .. 2.6665 206s sae . aoe

v CRONE a 3556 Seaew Saks 214 +»

Ee ea | aay en eto ae are | 9. &

Brachysoma diadema.

Calamaria diadema, Schleg. Ess. ii. p. 35.

Elaps ornata, Gray, Zool. Mise. p. 55.

Brachysoma diadema, Fitz. Syst. Rept. p. 25 (not Gthr.).

Furina diadema, Dum. & Bib. p 1239.

Rabdion occipitale, Girard, U.S. Explor. Exp. Rept. p. 120.

Glyphodon ornatus, Gthr. Colubr. Snakes, p. 210.

I have formerly confounded this snake with Furina bimacu-

lata, D.& B. The genus, which has been characterized by my-

self with the name of Giyphodon, is valid, but must bear the

name of Brachysoma ; whilst for Brachysoma, Gthr., the name of

Furina, D. & B., may be substituted.

Mr. Krefft’s collection contained several very fine examples of

24 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

this species, which has only one congener, viz. Brachysoma

triste= Glyphodon tristis, Gthr.

Furina bimaculata.

Furina bimaculata, Dum. & Bib. p. 1240.

Brachysoma diadema, Gthr. Colubr. Snakes, p. 229 (not Schleg., Fitz.).

This is the type of a distinct genus, for which I had formerly

adopted the name of Brachysoma, but for which that of Furina

is better retained. It is readily distinguished by its protruding

rostral shield, The species is a native of Western Australia.

Diemansia cucullata.

Giinth. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862, p. 52.

Mr. Krefft has sent two other specimens of this species ; they

have the scales in fifteen rows.

Diemansia annulata.

Giinth., Colubr. Snakes, p. 2138.

This is the snake which Mr. Krefft has recognized as the

young of a very large species, and to which he has applied the

name of Furina textilis*. Both species, however, are distinct, and

may be readily distinguished by the number of the postorbitals,

which is two in four examples of D. annulata examined by my-

self, whilst Furina textilis has three of those shields. Mr. Krefft

has sent a stuffed example, 6 feet long, in which the dark cross

bands have nearly entirely disappeared. This species has not

the large rostral shield of Pseudonaja nuchalis.

Fam, Elapide.

NEELAPS.

No other teeth behind the fang. Scales smooth, polished,

without a groove at the apex, of equal size, in fifteen rows.

Rostral shield large, broad, depressed, rounded behind; nasal

single, long, replacing the loreal. Two postoculars, the upper

sometimes confluent with the superciliary. Ornamental colours

arranged in longitudinal bands.

Central America.

Neelaps calonotus.

Furina calonotus, Dum, Bibr. Erpét. Génér. vii. p. 1241, pl. 75 (bis).

This snake has been described and figured in the work quoted,

where it is said to be a native of Tasmania. However, we have

received a specimen from Baranquilla, at the mouth of the River

Magdalena, in New Granada, with the same collection which

contained the genus Brachyurophis, described above. It must.

pres * Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 149.

in the Collection of the British Museum. 25

be removed from the Australian genera Furina and Brachysoma,

which have. a series of small teeth behind the fang.

Teleuraspis nummifera. PI. III. fig. C.

Atropos nummifer, Riipp. Verzeichn. Senckenb. Mus., Rept. p. 21.

— mezicanus, Dum. & Bibr. vii. p. 1521, pl. 83 dis.

Teleuraspis nummifer, Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Se. Phil. 1859, p. 339.

Bothriéchis mexicanus, Cope, l. c. 1861, p. 294.

Riippell first noticed this snake: “Head that of a viper; a

depression between the eye and nostril, as in Trigonocephalus ;

subcaudals entire, as in Echis; the anterior mandibulary teeth

rather long. Perhaps it is merely a young Crotalus with the

rattle not developed. Habitat unknown.”

It being impossible to recognize the species or even the genus

from this description, Duméril describes it for the second time

as new, erroneously referring it to a genus “ a urostéges doubles,

et & surciliaires nulles” (p. 1370). In the figure the subcaudals

are correctly represented as simple, and the supraorbitals are

present ; but, being drawn from a young individual, the figure

is rather indifferent.

Cope is quite right in considering the snakes described by

Riippell and Duméril as identical, and refers them to his genus

Teleuraspis.

Messrs. Salvin and Godman have collected splendid specimens

in Lower Vera Paz. The species attains to a length of thirty

inches.

The figure represents the head, of the natural size.

Fam. Viperidz.

PecILOSTOLUS.

Head thick, broad, covered above with strongly keeled scales ;

body compressed ; tail prehensile. Subcaudal shields entire.

This genus differs from Echis in its compressed body, prehen-

sile tail, and bright colours. Whilst Echis is confined to dry,

sandy plains, Pecilostolus inhabits trees or bushes. Vipera

chloroéchis, Schleg., probably belongs to the same genus.

Pecilostolus Burtonii.

Scales strongly keeled, in nineteen rows; upper labials nine,

none of which enter the orbit. Rostral shield very low, linear,

with other scale-like shields above. Entirely bright yellow;

single scales green.

This beautiful species was discovered by Major Burton, in the

Camaroon country. It appears to be very scarce, as only one

specimen, 14 inches long, has been found. We intend to give

a figure of it in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’

26 Dr, A. Giinther on new Species of

VI.—On new Species of Batrachians from Australia.

By Ausert Ginruer, M.A., M.D., Ph.D.

[Plate IV.]

In a paper on new species of Snakes, I have frequently had oc-

casion to mention a collection of reptiles sent by G. Krefft,

Hsq., Curator of the South Australian Museum at Sydney, to

the International Exhibition. Although, in consequence of a

want of the necessary literature, Mr. Krefft could not determine

all the species collected by him, the collection nevertheless

proved to be one of the most valuable contributions to zoology ;

the specimens are beautifully preserved ; and all of them being

collected by the exhibitor himself, we are thus supplied with most

reliable information on the habitat of many species, particularly

of the reptiles found in the neighbourhood of Sydney. We have

seen that many of the species of snakes sent by Mr. Krefft have

been known only for a very short period, and were previously

not represented, or only very scantily, by specimens in the

British Museum. We give in the present paper the descriptions

of the new Batrachians, and intend to publish a similar report

on the Saurians at a future time.

Limnodynastes Krefftit.

This species is very closely allied to L. tasmaniensis, from

which it will be readily distinguished by the presence of only

one tubercle on the metatarsus.

No large gland on the hinder extremity ; skin of the back smooth;

metatarsus with a single tubercle. Greenish-olive, spotted with

blackish ; the lower parts whitish.

In habit this Frog is entirely similar to ZL. tasmaniensis, a

figure of which may be found in the ‘ Batrach. Salient.’ pl. 2.

fig. B; also the tongue, teeth, nasal openings, &c., are the same

as in that species ; but the carpus has only two tubercles below,

and the metatarsus only one. A whitish vertebral line is scarcely

indicated ; the blackish spots on the back are more or less con-

fluent into irregular longitudinal bands ; a black band along the -

canthus rostralis, continued behind the eye, towards the shoulder;

its postocular portion is edged with white below ; legs with short

blackish cross bands. Young specimens have a brighter colora-

tion, their ground-colour being yellowish or yellowish-olive, and

the black band behind the eye having a rose-coloured inferior

margin.

_ An adult male and female, and several half-grown and young

specimens, were in the collection, It appears to be a rather

common species in the neighbourhood of Sydney.

_ Length of the body (male) 28 lines, of the hind leg 42 lines,

of the fore leg 18 lines, of the fourth hind toe 13 lines. '

Batrachians from Australia. 27

Limnodynastes affinis.

This species also is very closely allied to L. ¢asmaniensis and

L. Krefftii, but is distinguished by the following characters :—

’ No large gland on the hinder extremities; skin of the

back smooth; carpus and metatarsus each with two tubercles.

Brownish-olive, with a few brown blotches on the back ; a whitish

vertebral line is scarcely indicated; a brown streak along the

canthus rostralis, continued behind the eye towards the shoulder,

its hinder portion having a whitish inferior edge; lower parts

uniform whitish.

A single female specimen, from the Clarence River, is in the

collection.

Length of the body 15 lines, of the fore leg 8 lines, of the

hind leg 21 lines, of the fourth toe 7 lines.

PLATYPLECTRUM.

(Fam. Cystignathidz.)

Fingers and toes tapering, free, the latter with a very narrow

fringe of a web; maxillary teeth ; vomerine teeth in a straight

transverse line. The internal openings of the nostrils and of the

eustachian tubes very small; tympanum covered by the skin.

Tongue circular. No parotids. The transverse process of the

sacral vertebra not dilated. Metatarsus with a flat sharp-edged

spur (as in Spherotheca).

_ This genus is distinct from Limnodynastes, which has only

one or two small tubercles on the metatarsus.

Platyplectrum marmoratum. PI. IV. fig. A.

' Habit stout; snout as long as the eye, with the canthus

rostralis very obtuse; nostril on the canthus rostralis, in the

middle between the eye and end of the snout; upper parts with

very small smooth tubercles; legs short. Olive, the upper parts

marbled with brown; a narrow light cross band between the

orbits, edged with brown in front and behind; the lower parts

uniform whitish.

Length of the body 18 lines, of the fore leg 9 lines, of the

hind leg 24 lines, of the fourth toe 7 lines, of the fifth 5 lines.

A single specimen, from the Clarence River, is in the collec-

tion ; it is a male, with a wide slit on each side of the tongue

for the vocal sac.

Cryproris.

(Fam. Asterophrydidz.)

Fingers and toes tapering, free to the base; maxillary teeth ;

98 Dr. A. Giinther on new Batrachians from Australia.

a pair of long, tooth-like, erect processes at the symphysis of the

lower jaw. The internal openings of the nostrils and of the

eustachian tubes very small; tympanum small, entirely covered

by the skin, situated behind and above the angle of the mouth.

No parotids. The transverse process of the sacral vertebra

slightly dilated. Vomerine teeth present; the upper eyelid

without appendages.

Cryptotis brevis. Pl. IV. fig. B.

Habit stout ; head rather large ; snout of moderate extent, much

longer than the eye, which is rather small; canthus rostralis

very obtuse ; the nostril is on the canthus rostralis, in the middle

between the eye and end of the snout. The mandibulary processes

at the symphysis are not true teeth, but are covered with the

mucous membrane, one line long, and slightly bent inwards ;

vomerine teeth in two very short oblique groups situated behind

the inner nostrils. All the upper parts with numerous small

and smooth tubercles. Legs rather short; carpus with two,

metatarsus with one small tubercle. Grey, upper and lower

parts marbled with brownish ; a brown streak along the canthus

rostralis. A whitish cross band between the eyes, bordered b

a large brown spot behind. An opening on each side of the

tongue for the vocal sac in the male.

Length of the body 20 lines, of the fore leg 10 lines; of the

hind leg 26 lines, of the fourth toe 9 lines, of the fifth 7 lines,

A single specimen, from the Clarence River, is in the collec-

tion.

Hyla Krefftti. Pl. IV. fig. C.

Vomerine teeth in two short transverse groups, situated be-

’ tween the inner nostrils; snout rather short, rounded, a little

longer than the eye; canthus rostralis obtuse, loreal region

slightly concave. ‘Tongue with a very small notch behind; the

inner nostrils small; tympanum distinct, half as large as the

eye. Back smooth; a very distinct fold across the chest. Fingers

one-fourth webbed, with the disks of moderate size; toes broadly

webbed. Reddish-olive, with a very broad dark dorsal band,

commencing between the eyes and extending on to the vent.

This band is much more distinct in young specimens than in

adult ones.

Length of the body 22 lines, of the fore leg 13 lines, of the

hind leg 33 lines, of the fourth toe 8 lines, of the fifth 64 lines.

Sydney.

Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders. 29

VII.—Descriptions of newly discovered Spiders captured in Rio

Janeiro by John Gray, Esq., and the Rev. Hamlet Clark.

By Joun Brackwatt, F.L.S.

[Concluded from vol. x. p. 439.]

Epeira audaz.

Length of the female ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax 3,; breadth 3; breadth of the abdomen }; length of an

anterior leg 4; length of a leg of the third pair }.

The eyes are seated on the anterior part of the cephalothorax;

the four intermediate ones are placed on a prominence and form

a square, the two anterior ones being the largest of the eight ;

the eyes of each lateral pair are seated on a tubercle,'and are

near to each other, but not in contact. The cephalothorax is

compressed before, rounded on the sides, convex, particularly in

the cephalic region, immediately behind the eyes, glossy, thinly

clothed with whitish hairs, and has a large transverse indenta-

tion in the medial line; the falces are strong, conical, vertical,

convex in front, and armed with teeth on the inner surface.

These parts are of a brown colour, the latter being tinged with

yellow at the extremity, on the inner side. The maxille are

short, straight, powerful, and enlarged and rounded at the ex-

tremity ; the lip is semicircular, but slightly pointed at the

apex; and the sternum is heart-shaped, with small prominences

on the sides, opposite to the legs: the colour of these parts is

very dark brown, the extremity of the maxille and the apex of

the lip having a pale yellowish hue. The legs are moderately

long and robust, and are provided-with hairs and fine spines ;

the first and second pairs are of a yellowish-brown colour, the

metatarsi and tarsi being the darkest, and the tibiz are marked

with brown annuli, which are most conspicuous on their inferior

surface; the femora of the third and fourth pairs are of a

brownish-black colour, with the exception of the base, which

has a pale yellowish hue, and the genual joint, the base and

extremity of the tibize and of the metatarsi, and the whole of the

tarsi, have a dark brown colour, that of the intermediate space

of the tibize and metatarsi being yellowish-brown ; the first pair

is the longest, then the second, and the third pair is the shortest;

each tarsus is terminated by claws of the usual number and

structure. The palpi have a brown hue, the humeral and cubital

joints being tinged with yellow, and have a curved pectinated

claw at their extremity. The abdomen is triangular, with its

vertex directed backwards, and is sparingly clothed with whitish

hairs ; it has three tubercles at its anterior extremity, two con-

stituting the lateral angles and one intermediate, four disposed

on each side, and three in a vertical row at its posterior extre-

80 ‘Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

mity, fourteen in all; the upper part is of a dull yellow colour,

with three small dark brown depressions on pea side of the

medial line, forming an angle whose truncated extremity is

directed forwards; the anterior part, which projects over the

base of the cephalothorax, is of a brown colour ; a short fusiform

band of a brownish-black hue extends backwards from the an-

terior intermediate tubercle; it has an angular point on each

side, near the middle, and comprises six minute pale yellow

spots, two situated longitudinally between the lateral points,

and four at its posterior extremity, forming a small trapezium ;

the sides and under part have a brown-black colour; each of

the former is marked with three large, oblong, dull yellow spots,

and the anterior side of the four tubercles situated thereon has

a pale yellow hue; four obscure pale yellow lines extend along

the under part, and the two intermediate ones meet at the spin-

ners; the sexual organs are prominent, and have a long acute

process, connected with their anterior margin, which is directed

obliquely backwards and downwards; their colour is dark red-

dish-brown, and that of the branchial opercula is brown.

This spider is nearly allied to the Epetra mexicana of M. Lucas.

(See the ‘ Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt.’ of M. Walckenaer, tom. ii.

pp. 180, 131.)

Epeira edax.

Length of the female +3ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax +; breadth +; breadth of the abdomen 2; length of an

anterior leg 3%; length of a leg of the third pair $.

_ The cephalothorax is compressed before, rounded on the sides,

convex, pubescent, and has an indentation in the medial line;

the falces are powerful, conical, vertical, and armed with teeth

on the inner surface ; the maxille are strong, and enlarged and

rounded at the extremity; the lip is nearly semicircular, but

somewhat pointed at the apex; the sternum is heart-shaped,

with small eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs. ‘The

legs are long, and provided with hairs and spines; the first pair

is the longest, then the second, and the third pair is the shortest;

the tarsi are terminated by claws of the usual number and

structure; the palpi are short, and have a curved pectinated

claw at their extremity. These parts are of a dull yellow colour,

the falces having a tinge of brown at their extremity. The eyes

are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two

- transverse rows, those of the anterior row being the larger and

darker; the four intermediate ones are placed on a prominence

and nearly form a square, those of the anterior pair, which are

rather the largest of the eight, being a little wider apart than

those of the posterior pair; the eyes of each lateral pair are

captured in Rio Janeiro. 81

seated obliquely on a prominent tubercle, and are separated by

a moderately wide interval. The abdomen is broad, triangular,

_and terminates in a point situated high above the spinners; it

is clothed with light-coloured hairs, which are longest in front,

is convex above, projects over the base of the cephalothorax, and

is of a brownish-yellow colour, with a large brown triangular

mark on the upper part, comprising within its broad anterior

-base four indented spots, which nearly form a square; the two

posterior ones are larger and rather wider apart than the two

anterior ones, and there is a small glossy convexity near its

vertex, bearing a strong resemblance to a small eye; the sides

are marked with obscure, slightly oblique, brown lines, and on

the under part there is a large soot-coloured angular mark,

-whose vertex is near the spinners, which are encircled by pale

es spots; the sexual organs are highly developed, with a

ong, pointed, spine-like process directed downwards from their

anterior margin, and have a yellowish-brown hue.

The sexes bear a general resemblance to each other in colour;

but the male, which is the smaller, differs from the female in

various particulars, The anterior prominence of its cephalo-

thorax, on which the four intermediate eyes are seated, is nar-

rower and more protuberant. The legs are more abundantly

supplied with spines, those on the inner side of the somewhat

enlarged extremity of the slightly curved tibiz of the second pair

being the most numerous ; a transverse row of short spines occurs

at the extremity of the coxa of each posterior leg, on the under

side, and there is a short, curved, red-brown process on the under

side of the extremity of the coxa of each anterior leg : these limbs

are somewhat irregularly marked with dark brown. The falces

are slender, have a conical process at the base, in front, and are

not tinged with brown at the eftremity. The base of the maxille,

lip, and margins of the sternum have a brown hue. The abdo-

men has some long coarse hairs, more or less erect, on its upper

part, and the branchial opercula have a dark brown hue. The

palpi are short ; the cubital joint has a long bristle directed for-

wards from its extremity, and the radial joint is very protuberant

underneath ; the digital joint is large, of an oblong-oval form,

tapering to a point, and has a long process at its base, greatly

curved outwards, whose enlarged extremity has a dark red-brown

hue; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, and with

this concavity the palpal organs are connected; they are very

highly developed, very prominent and complicated in structure,

with a pale yellow transversely striated piece at the base, in

front, and a large slightly curved process extending along the

upper side, whose broad recurved extremity projects two short

strong processes curved towards each other; on the under side

32 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

there is a prominent obtuse process, and between these processes

there are the extremities of two others; the colour of these

organs is dark brown, red-brown, and pale yellow intermixed.

~ convex sides of the digital joints are directed towards each

other.

Epeira rapaz.

Length of the male 2,nds of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax 4, ; breadth 4; breadth of the abdomen $; length of an

anterior leg 31; length of a leg of the third pair }.

The four intermediate eyes, which are seated on a frontal

prominence of the cephalothorax, are nearly equal in size, and

almost form a square, the two anterior ones being slightly wider

apart than the posterior ones; the eyes of each lateral pair are

placed on a tubercle, in a horizontal line, and are separated by

a small space. The cephalothorax is compressed before, rounded

on the sides, somewhat pointed in front, convex, glossy, and has

a large indentation in the medial line; it is thinly clothed with

pale yellowish hairs, and is of a reddish-brown colour, with a

broad brown band extending along each side, whose margins are

somewhat sinuous. The falces are conical, vertical, and armed

with a few teeth on the inner surface; the maxille are short,

straight, and enlarged at the extremity, and the lip is semicir-

cular, but somewhat pointed at the apex. The colour of these

organs is brown, their extremities having a brownish-yellow hue.

The sternum is heart-shaped, with minute eminences on the

sides, opposite to the legs ; its colour is yellowish-brown, a few

obscure dark brown streaks passing from the lateral margins to

the medial line. The legs are robust, provided with hairs and

spines, the latter being strongest and most numerous on the

inferior surface of the somewhat* enlarged tibize of the second

pair, and there is a short spine-like process at the extremity of

the coxee of the first, third, and fourth pairs, on the under side ;

the first pair is the longest, then the second, and the third pair

is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by claws of the usual

number and structure: these limbs have a brownish-yellow hue,

and are marked with dark brown annuli. The palpi are short,

and of a brownish-yellow colour, a brown transverse bar occur-

ring near the middle of the digital joint; the cubital is smaller

than the radial joint, and has a long bristle in front; the radial

joint is protuberant on the inner and outer sides, and is supplied

with long hairs; the digital joint is oval, with a process at its

base, curved outwards, whose dark red-brown obtuse extremity

is glossy; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within,

comprising the palpal organs, which are highly developed, pro-

tuberant, complex in structure, with a large, prominent, curved,

Re er a ee ee

captured in Rio Janeiro. 33

inted process on the outer side ; and their colour is pale and

dark red-brown intermixed. The convex sides of the digital

joints are directed towards each other. The abdomen is oviform,

thinly clothed with hairs, convex above, projecting over the base of

the cephalothorax, and has a small conical prominence on each side

of its anterior extremity ; it is of a yellowish-brown colour, reti-

culated with fine brown lines ; a pale yellow longitudinal streak

in front of the upper part is followed by a large leaf-like band,

with sinuous margins, which tapers to the spinners; this band

is soot-coloured, freckled with yellowish-brown, and is marked

with black transverse lines, whose extremities are curved forwards;

the anterior part comprises a transverse pale yellow band, reti-

culated with brown, whose pointed extremities are in contact

with the lateral conical prominences, and on each side of the

medial line there are two dark brown indented spots, disposed

in pairs, which describe a quadrilateral figure whose posterior

side is the longest ; the sides are the darkest in the medial line,

and are marked with oblique black streaks ; the middle of the

under part is of a dark brown colour, freckled with yellowish-

white, and there are two conspicuous spots of the latter hue

placed transversely near the spinners.

Epeira munda.

Length of the male ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax +; breadth 3,; breadth of the abdomen 3; length of

an anterior leg ;4,; length of a leg of the third pair ;4.

The cephalothorax is compressed before, somewhat pointed in

front, rounded on the sides, thinly clothed with hairs, convex,

glossy, and has a large oblong indentation in the medial line ;

the falces are powerful, conical, vertical, convex in front, near

the base, and armed with a few teeth on the inner surface ; the

sternum is heart-shaped, with minute eminences on the sides,

opposite to the legs; the legs are robust, provided with hairs

and spines, the latter being the strongest and most abundant on

the inner surface of the tibiz of the second pair; the first pair

is the longest, the second and fourth pairs are equal in length,

and the third pair is the shortest ; the tarsi are terminated by

claws of the usual number and:structure. These parts are of a

brownish-red colour ; the sternum is the palest, and the extre-

tremity of the joints of the legs, the middle of the anterior part

of the cephalothorax, and the medial indentation have a brown

hne. The maxille are short, straight, and enlarged at the ex-

tremity; and the lip is semicircular, but somewhat pointed at

the apex. These organs have a reddish-brown hue at the base,

that of their extremities being brownish-yellow. The palpi are

short, and of a reddish-yellow colour, with the exception of the

Ann, & Mag, N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 3

34, Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

digital joint, which has a brown hue; the cubital joint has a

long bristle in front, and the radial joint is prominent on the

outer side; the digital joint is oval, with a-brownish-black,

glossy process at its base curved outwards; it is convex and

hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs,

which are highly developed, very protuberant, complex in strue-

ture, with two processes at their extremity, one of which is much

larger and more obtuse than the other, and two on the outer

side, the posterior one, which is somewhat convex, being much

the most prominent; the colour of these organs is dark and

light reddish-brown intermixed. The convex sides of the digital

joints are directed towards each other. The eyes are seated on

black spots on the anterior part of the cephalothorax; the four

intermediate ones are placed on a prominence, and nearly form

a square, the two anterior ones, which are the largest of the

eight, being rather wider apart than the two posterior ones; the

eyes of each lateral pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle, and

are near to each other, but not in contact. The abdomen is

oviform, hairy, moderately convex above, and projects over the

base of the cephalothorax; the upper part is soot-coloured, with

some dull yellow intermixed; it has three short yellow streaks

in front, and a row of depressed brownish-black spots on each

side of the medial line ; the sides, which are soot-coloured, are

palest in the medial line, and a yellow band, comprising a series

of somewhat triangular black spots, extends along the upper

part of each ; the under part has a brownish-yellow hue; a large

brownish-black quadrilateral mark, surrounded by a pale yellow

border, occurs in the middle, and there are a few pale yellow

spots about the base of the spinners.

Epeira Grayit.

Length of the female 2ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax 4; breadth 4; breadth of the abdomen 3, ; length of an

anterior leg 4; length of a leg of the third pair ;4.

The legs are moderately long, slender, provided with hairs

and fine spines, and are of a brownish-yellow hue, with black

annuli; the first pair is the longest, then the fourth, and the

third pair is the shortest ; the tarsi are terminated by claws of

the usual number and structure. The palpi, which are short,

resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved pectinated claw

at their extremity. The cephalothorax is compressed before,

rounded on the sides, truncated in front, sparingly clothed with

short grey hairs, convex, glossy, and marked with furrows on

the sides, which converge towards a large indentation in the

medial line; the falces are powerful, conical, vertical, and armed

with teeth on the inner surface, These parts have a brownish-

captured in Rio Janeiro. 35

red colour, that of the extremity of the falees being brownish-

black. The maxille are short, strong, straight, and greatly en-

larged and rounded at the extremity; the lip is semicircular,

but somewhat pointed at the apex; and the sternum is heart-

shaped, with small prominences on the sides, opposite to the

legs. These parts are of a brownish-black colour, the extremity

of the maxillz and the apex of the lip having a pale yellowish-

brown tint. The eyes are seated on black spots on the anterior.

part of the cephalothorax; the four intermediate dnes are placed

on a prominence and nearly form a square, the two posterior

ones being the largest of the eight ; the eyes of each lateral pair

are seated on,a small tubercle, and are near to each other, but

not in contact. The figure of the abdomen is oblong-oviform,

with three conical protuberances at the anterior extremity of the

upper part, the intermediate one of which is much the largest,

and is directed forwards; the posterior extremity is rounded,

and extends considerably beyond the spinners; it is glossy,

thinly clothed with short hairs, and projects greatly over the

base of the cephalothorax ; the colour of the upper part is black,

a longitudinal pale yellow band extending from the point of each

tuberance to its posterior extremity; the intermediate band

is the broadest, and in the black space on each side of it there

is a longitudinal row of orange-brown spots; the sides are black,

with a row of orange-brown spots extending along their upper

part, and immediately below it there is a parallel row of minute

pale yellow spots; the inferior surface of the anterior extremity

has an orange-red hue, and the under part is of a pale yellow

colour, with a broad black band, including the sexual organs and

spinners, extending along the middle; beyond the spinners

three transverse pale yellow spots occur; the branchial opercula

have a brown hue, and the sexual organs, which are prominent

and glossy, have a small, obtuse, slightly curved process, con-

nected with their posterior margin, which is directed backwards.

Some individuals have a short yellow streak in the medial line

of the anterior part of the sternum.

The male is smaller and Jess distinctly marked than the female,

but the design formed by the distribution of their colours is

similar in both sexes. The legs of the only male I have seen

were mutilated, but judging from the dimensions of the femora,

which remained entire, it would appear that in their relative

length they do not differ from those of the female: the colour of

the femora of the first and second pairs is brownish-black, with

the exception of the base, which has a brownish-yellow hue. The

palpi are short, and of a brownish-yellow colour, the digital

joint excepted, which has a brown-black hue; the radial is

stronger than the cubital joint, and is prominent on the outer

36 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

side; the digital joint is oval, with an obtuse, glossy, black.

process at its base curved outwards; it is convex and hairy ex-

ternally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which

are highly developed, prominent, complicated in structure, with

several obtuse and acute processes at their extremity, the most

conspicuous of which is crescent-shaped, and are of a dark red-

dish-brown colour intermixed with yellowish-brown. The convex

sides of the digital joints are directed towards each other.

I have much pleasure in connecting the name of that enter-

prising traveller and zealous naturalist, John Gray, Esq., of

Bolton, with this elegant Epetra, which is remarkable for having

the fourth pair of legs longer than the second pair.

Epetra astuta.

Length of the female ;>,ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax ;; breadth 4,; breadth of the abdomen ,};; length of

an anterior leg 33; length of a leg of the third pair 74.

The eyes are seated on black spots on the anterior part of the

cephalothorax; the four intermediate ones form a square, the

two anterior ones, which are placed on a prominence, being

rather the largest and darkest of the eight; the eyes of each

lateral pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle, and are near to

each other, but not in contact. The cephalothorax is compressed.

before, rounded on the sides, sparingly clothed with whitish

hairs, convex, glossy, and has an indentation in the medial line ;

the falees are powerful, conical, convex in front, vertical, and

armed with a few teeth on the inner surface. These parts have

a brownish-red colour, a brown band extending along the middle,

and another, of the same hue, above each lateral margin of the

former. The maxille are short, straight, and enlarged and

rounded at the extremity; and the lip is semicircular, but some-

what pointed at the apex. These organs are of a dark brown

colour, their extremities having a yellowish-white hue. The

sternum is heart-shaped, with small eminences on the sides,

opposite to the legs, and has a reddish-brown hue, with a tinge

of yellow in the medial line. The legs are long, provided with

hairs and spines, and have a brownish-yellow hue, the extremity

of the joints being tinged with brown ; the first pair is the longest,

then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest ; the tarsi are

terminated by claws of the usual number and structure. The palpi

resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved pectinated claw at

their extremity. The abdomen is oviform, moderately hairy, convex

above, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax and slightly

beyond the spinners ; the upper part is of a yellowish-brown co-

lour; a yellowish-white medial band, whose sinuous margins

are finely bordered with black, tapers from the anterior to the

captured in Rio Janeiro. 37

posterior extremity, and comprises a pale brown dentated band,

tinged with dull yellow in the medial line; a series of minute

oblong black spots, bordered externally with yellowish-white,

extends along each side of the medial band; and the sides,

which are marked with numerous longitudinal black streaks,

have a yellowish-white band extending along their upper part ;

the colour of the under part is brownish-black ; there is a pale

yellowish-white band on each side, whose posterior extremity is

enlarged, and a spot of the same hue occurs on each side of the

dark brown inferior pair of spinners; the sexual organs, which

are well developed, and of a dark red-brown colour, have a strong

process connected with their anterior margin, which is directed

downwards, slightly curved backwards, and is hollowed at its

extremity.

Epeira scitula,

Length of the female ith of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax ;4,; breadth j,; breadth of the abdomen ,; length of

a posterior leg }; length of a leg of the third pair 4.

The legs are slender, provided with hairs, and have a yellowish-

brown hue, with black annuli ; the fourth pair is the longest, then

the first, and the third pair is the shortest ; the tarsi are termi-

nated by claws of the usual number and structure. The palpi

_ resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved slightly pectinated

claw at their extremity. The cephalothorax is compressed be-

fore, rounded in front and on the sides, thinly clothed with short

hairs, convex, glossy, and has an indentation in the medial line ;

the falces are powerful, conical, vertical, convex at the base in

front, and armed with teeth on the inner surface. These parts

have a brownish-red hue, the falces being soot-coloured at the

extremity. The maxille are short, straight, and enlarged and

rounded at the extremity ; the lip is semicircular, but somewhat

pointed at the apex; and the sternum is heart-shaped, with small

eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs. These parts are of

a red-brown colour; the lip is the brownest, and obscure brown

lines converge from the margins of the sternum to its centre.

The eyes are seated on black spots on the anterior part of the

cephalothorax ; the four intermediate ones are placed on a pro-

minence, and form a square, those of the posterior pair being

the largest of the eight ; the eyes of each lateral pair are seated

obliquely on a small tubercle, and are near to each other, but

not in contact. The abdomen is somewhat oviform, terminating

in a conical protuberance situated high above the spinners; it is

thinly clothed with hairs, convex above, and projects over the

base of the cephalothorax ; it is of a yellowish-olive colour, with

a few black spots distributed irregularly; a yellowish-white

38 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

band, comprising several longitudinal and transverse dark-

coloured streaks, tapers from the anterior extremity of the upper

part to the posterior conical protuberance; a yellowish-white

band extends along the upper part of each side, and a line of

the same hue passes from each red-brown branchial operculum

nearly to the spinners, which are of a dark brown colour, and

have at their base yellowish-white spots on the sides and under-

neath ; the sexual organs are highly developed, prominent, of a

dark brown colour, slightly tinged with red, and have in con-

nexion with their anterior margin a short, somewhat pointed

process, hollowed on the outer side, which is directed obliquely

downwards and backwards.

« This species differs remarkably from the more typical forms

of its congeners in having the posterior legs the longest,

The genus Epeira, as at present characterized, requires

amending with regard to the relative length of the legs, which

is now known to vary in different species.

Genus Piectrana, Walck.

Plectana tricuspidata.

Length of the female 3th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax !,; breadth .,; breadth of the abdomen +%,; length of

a posterior leg ;3.; length of a leg of the third pair 3.

The cephalothorax, which is nearly concealed by the project-

ing abdomen, is slightly compressed before, rounded on the

sides, depressed in the posterior and convex in the cephalic re-

gion ; the falces are small, conical, and vertical; the maxille are

short, straight, powerful, and greatly enlarged and rounded at

the extremity ; the lip is semicircular, and the sternum is heart-

shaped; the legs are short and sparingly provided with hairs ;

the fourth pair is the longest, then the first, and the third pair

is the shortest; the palpi are short and slender. These parts

are glossy and of a. dark brown colour, tinged with red, the

cephalothorax being the darkest, and the palpi and sternum

much the palest. The eyes are situated on the anterior part of

the cephalothorax, and are nearly equal in size; the four inter-

mediate ones almost form a square, but the two posterior eyes

are rather wider apart than the anterior ones, which are seated

on a tubercle and are prominent; those of each lateral pair are

_ placed obliquely on a tubercle, and are nearly in contact. The

abdomen is triangular, with its vertex directed backwards; its

integument is corneous and glossy, and a long acute spine pro-

jects obliquely upwards from each angle of the upper part, that

at the vertex being rather the longest; it is depressed above,

convex underneath, where the spinners are situated, and has’

OE LT Set

captured in Rio Janeiro. 89

‘several deep furrows on the sides and posterior part ; the colour

of the upper part is dull yellow, the spines having a reddish

tint, which is darkest at their point; a fine ramified dark brown

-line extends along the middle, on each side of the anterior part

of which three parallel, minute, dark brown depressions are dis-

posed longitudinally ; four similar depressions extend in a row

along the posterior part of each side, which is obscurely reticu-

lated throughout its entire length with fine dark lines; the

under part has a brownish-black hue ; a dull yellow spot occurs

on each side of its anterior extremity, near the cephalothorax,

and a space of a similar colour surrounds the prominent black

rim which encircles the spinners, except at its posterior part,

from which a brownish-black band extends along the under side

of the long spine at the vertex of the triangle formed by the ab-

domen, where it terminates in a point; the sexual organs have

a brownish-black hue, and that of the branchial opercula is

reddish-brown.

Genus Gaena, Koch.

Galena zonata.

Galena zonata, Koch, Die Arachn., Band xii. p. 105, tab. 419. fig. 1032,

Epeira galena, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. iv. p. 562.

Length of the female 1th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax 1; breadth +,; breadth of the abdomen 3; length of an

anterior leg 3; length of a leg of the third pair 74.

The legs are very long, the first and second pairs in particular,

and are provided with hairs and spines; on the anterior side of

the tibize and metatarsi of the first and second pairs a series of

long, prominent, slightly curved spines occurs, and in each of

the rather wide intervals by which they are separated a row of

shorter curved spines is situated, which gradually increase in

length as they extend down the limb; the femora, genua, extre-

’ mity of the tibie, metatarsi, and tarsi of the first and second

srt are of a reddish-brown colour, the metatarsi and tarsi

ing the palest, and the tibie, with the exception of their ex-

tremity, have a dull yellow hue; the third and fourth pairs are

slender, and of a dull yellow colour; a fine reddish-brown line

extends along the upper surface of the anterior part of the fe-

mora. and the entire length of the tibie of both pairs, and one

of the same hue passes along the superior surface of the meta-

tarsi of the fourth pair; each tarsus is terminated by three

claws ; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the

inferior one is inflected near its base. The palpi are slender,

and have a curved pectinated claw at their extremity ; they are

of a dull yellow colour, the cubital joint being the palest, and

have a fine reddish-brown line extending along the upper part

40 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

of the humeral and radial joints. The cephalothorax is long,

compressed before, rounded on the sides, gibbous in the middle,

glossy, and has a small circular indentation in-the medial line;

the colour of the anterior part is red-brown, diminishing gra-

dually in breadth towards the medial indentation, near which it

terminates in a point; the sides are tinged with the same hue,

and the colour of the remaining portion is yellow-brown. The

falces are long, conical, vertical, and armed with a curved fang

and some long and very fine teeth near the extremity, on the

inner surface; the maxille are straight, except at the extremity,

which is somewhat enlarged, obliquely truncated on the inner

side, and curved upon the lip; the lip is large, longer than

broad, and rounded at the apex. These parts are of a red-brown

colour, the extremity of the maxille and lip having a yellow-

brown hue. The sternum is heart-shaped, and of a pale reddish-

brown colour, with a transverse dark red-brown line between the

coxze of the second pair of legs. The eyes are disposed on the

anterior part of the cephalothorax, and are unequal in size; the

two anterior eyes of the four intermediate ones are the largest

of the eight, are seated on a prominent tubercle, and are wider

apart than the two posterior ones, and those of each lateral pair,

which are the smallest, are placed obliquely on a minute tubercle,

and are contiguous. The. abdomen is short, broad, thinly clothed

with hairs, convex above, and projects over the base of the ce-

phalothorax ; the upper part is of a pale-yellow colour, finely

reticulated with reddish-brown ; on each side of the anterior part

there is a conspicuous, oval, yellowish-white spot bordered with

reddish-brown ; to these spots succeed four pale, narrow, trans-

verse, bands bordered by fine reddish-brown lines which are

confluent in the medial line; and a large triangular reddish-

brown spot, having its vertex directed forwards, and comprising

near its base a small spot of a dull yellowish hue, is situated

immediately above the spinners; at the extremity of the under |

part there is a large, reddish-brown, and somewhat crescent-

shaped mark whose extremities extend to the sides ; the sexual

organs are rather prominent, and of a dark reddish-brown co-

lolour, with a longitudinal yellowish-brown septum in the

middle.

The male differs from the female in several particulars : it is

smaller, the cephalothorax.is shorter, and, with the falces and

sternum, is of a pale dull-yellow. colour; a transverse red-brown

line occurs on its gibbosity, and there is a fine line of the same

hue across the sternum, between the coxe of the second pair of

legs. The maxille and lip have a yellowish-brown hue. The

colours of the abdomen are paler in the male than in the female,

but the design formed by their distribution is the same in both

captured in Rio Janeiro. 41

sexes. The palpi are remarkably long, measuring 2 inch, very

slender, and of a yellowish-brown colour, the radial joint being

the brownest; this joint greatly exceeds the cubital in length,

and is somewhat enlarged at its extremity, which is supplied

with several long and fine spines; the digital joint is short and

of an irregular figure ; the extremity is depressed, with a trans-

verse, curved, dark red-brown rib underneath, terminating in a

protuberance on the outer side, and is much broader than the

base, which is convex and hairy externally, concave within,

and comprises the palpal organs ; these organs are highly deve-

loped, prominent, and consist of a red-brown spiral process,

whose pointed termination is black, and has some pale yellowish-

brown membrane contiguous to it.

The collection of Araneidea made in Rio Janeiro by Measrs.

Gray and Clark contained three adult females and one male of

this handsome and remarkable spider, which appears to be most

nearly allied to the Epetride by its organization; but I am not

able to state in what degree its habits and economy tend to

establish this relation of affinity.

An imperfect description and figure of the male have been

given by M. Koch from a specimen in the museum at Berlin,

probably the only one then known to arachnologists; but he ~

has fallen into the error of supposing it to be indigenous to

Africa. Walckenaer has evidently made his brief description of

this species from Koch’s figure of the male.

Genus TetTracnatua, Latr.

Tetragnatha splendens.

Length of the female 54 ths of an inch ; length of the cephalo-

thorax ; breadth ;4,; breadth of the abdomen ,/,; length of

an anterior leg ;/,; length of a leg of the third pair 4.

The eyes, which are seated on black spots, and are nearly

equal in size, are disposed in two transverse rows on the anterior

part of the cephalothorax; the four intermediate ones form a

trapezoid whose anterior side is rather the shortest, and those of

each lateral pair are placed on a small tubercle and are nearly

in contact. The cephalothorax is compressed before, rounded

on the sides, truncated in front, moderately convex, glossy, with

slight furrows on the sides converging towards a large indenta-

tion in the medial line; the falces are short, strong, conical,

vertical, and armed with a few teeth on the inner surface; the

sternum is heart-shaped; the legs are long, slender, and pro-

vided with hairs and fine spines; the first pair is the longest,

then the second, and the third pair is much the shortest; each

tarsus is terminated by claws of the usual number and structure;

42 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

the palpi are slender, and have a curved slightly pectinated claw

at their extremity. These parts are of a dull yellow colour, the

metatarsal and tarsal joints of the legs and the digital joint of

the palpi being tinged with brown. The maxille are slightly

divergent, and increase in breadth from the base to the extre-

mity, which is somewhat angular on the outer side; and the lip

is semicircular. These organs are of a red-brown colour. The

‘abdomen is subcylindrical, sparingly clothed with short hairs,

‘and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax; the

upper part and sides have a bright silvery lustre, with a slight

golden tinge, which is deepest on the latter, and a dark brown

‘ramified band extends along the middle of the former; the pos-

terior extremity, which projects considerably beyond the spinners,

has a yellowish-brown colour, and comprises two parallel spots

of a silvery lustre placed transversely; the under part has a

yellowish-brown hue, with minute spots and a somewhat semi-

circular transverse band of a silvery lustre with a slight golden

tinge ; the sexual organs are small, and of a dark reddish-brown

colour, with a yellowish-brown longitudinal septum in the mid-

dle; and the branchial opercula have a dull yellow hue.

Tetragnatha formosa.

Length of the female }th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax 4, ; breadth +; ; breadth of the abdomen ;/;; length of

an anterior leg $; length of a leg of the third pair 7y. ;

The abdomen is robust, subcylindrical, very prominent at the

anterior extremity, and projects greatly over the base of the

cephalothorax ; the upper and sides have a bright silvery

lustre, the latter having a slight golden tinge ; along the middle

of the former a black band extends, which is crossed near its

anterior extremity by a strongly curved brownish-black line,

within whose curvature there is a short transverse line of the

same hue; on each side of the medial band a shorter parallel

black band occurs; these bands, which commence near the ex-

tremities of the curved line, are connected anteriorly by a trans-

verse black line, and laterally by four oblique lines of the same

hue, disposed in pairs and inclined towards each other; on each

side there are two longitudinal brownish-black bands, the supe-

rior one of which is connected at its posterior extremity with

the lateral band of the upper part by a black bar; the posterior

extremity of the abdomen is black, and comprises eight silvery

spots disposed in pairs, which diminish in size as they approach

the spinners, towards which they converge; the under part is of

a brown colour, with minute spots, a short streak directed back-

wards from the posterior margin of each branchial operculum,

and a somewhat semicircular band, of a silvery lustre, with a

Te as ee

Oa tlie

EE Oe ee ee OS ee re Ne eres ve

captured in Rio Janeiro, =» 43

slight golden tinge; the space comprised within the semicircle

and the spinners has a brown-black hue, and a minute silvery

spot occurs on each side of the latter, at their base ; the sexual

organs are moderately developed, with a longitudinal septum in

the middle, and are of a dark reddish-brown colour, that of the

branchial opercula being yellow-brown. The cephalothorax is

compressed before, rounded on the sides, truncated in front,

slightly convex, glossy, with furrows on the sides, converging

towards a large indentation in the medial line; it is of a dull

yellow colour, the lateral margins and a small cruciform spot in

the medial indentation having a brown hue. The falces are

short, powerful, conical, vertical, armed with a few teeth on the

inner surface, and of a dull yellow colour, tinged with brown

towards the outer side, and of a dark brown hue at the extremity.

The maxille are divergent, and increase in breadth from the base

to the extremity, which is angular on the outer side ; and the lip

is semicircular and prominent at its apex. These organs have a

brown-black hue. The sternum is heart-shaped, with small

oo on the sides, opposite to the legs, and is of a red-

rown colour. The legs are long, slender, provided with hairs

and are of a dull yellow colour; the joints have a dark brown

hue at the extremity, and the metatarsi and tarsi are tinged.

with brown ; the first pair is the longest, then the second, and

the third pair is much the shortest ; the tarsi are terminated by

claws of the usual number and structure. The palpi are slender,

and have a curved slightly pectinated claw at their extremity;

po resemble the legs in colour, but the joints are not marked

with dark brown at the extremity. The eyes are seated on black

spots, and are disposed in two transverse rows on the anterior

part of the cephalothorax; the four intermediate ones form a

trapezoid whose anterior side is rather the shortest, and those of

each lateral pair are placed on a small tubercle, and are nearly

in contact; the two anterior eyes of the trapezoid are somewhat

the largest and darkest of the eight.

- This and the-preceding species of Tefragnatha belong to M.

Walckenaer’s second family of the genus, the Coadunate, and

bear a marked resemblance to certain spiders of the genus

Nephila.

Tribe Senoculina.

Family DyspERip2.

Genus Dyspera, Latr.

Dysdera crassipalpus.

Length of the male gths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

44 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders.

thorax 4; breadth ;4,; breadth of the abdomen +; length of an

anterior leg 7’,; length of a leg of the third pair 2.

The cephalothorax is large, oval, glossy, moderately convex,

with slight furrows on the sides converging towards a small

indentation in the medial line, and is of a dark brown colour

tingedwith red. The eyes are nearly equal in size, and are grouped

on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in the form of a small

oval open in front; the two intermediate ones are near to each

other, and those of each lateral pair are seated obliquely on a

tubercle, and are almost in contact. The falces are small, coni-

cal, rather prominent, and are armed with a short curved fang

at the extremity, but have no teeth on the inner surface ; the

maxille are straight, greatly dilated at the base, where the palpi —

are inserted, and somewhat enlarged at the extremity, which is

rounded on the outer side; the lip is long and truncated at the

apex; the sternum, which has an oval form, is narrower at its

anterior than at its posterior extremity, and has small promi-

nences on the sides, opposite to the legs. These parts have a

red-brown hue, the sternum and the base of the lip bemg much

the darkest. The legs are robust, provided with hairs and with

sessile spines on the inferior surface of the tibize and metatarsi

of all except those of the posterior pair, and are of a yellowish-

brown colour ; the first pair is the longest, then the second, and

the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by three

claws ; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the

inferior one is small and inflected near its base. The palpi are

strong and of a yellowish-white colour, with the exception of the

axillary joint, which has a red-brown hue; the radial is very

much larger than the cubital joint, and has the appearance of

being swollen; the digital joint is short, oval, convex and hairy

externally, and the palpal organs are connected with its inferior

surface by a short pedicle; these organs are highly developed,

and somewhat resemble Rupert’s drops in form, being sub-

globose at the base and terminating in a long curved process

gradually tapering to a point ; they are of a pale red-brown co-

lour, with a transverse yellowish-white band extending from the

base of the subglobose part to its extremity. The abdomen is

short, oviform, convex above, thinly clothed with fine hairs, and

of a dull olive-green hue; a large semicircular mark at its ante-

rior extremity, from which a fusiform band, bifid at its termina-

tion, extends along the middle of the upper part rather more

than a third of its length, and a series of short transverse curved

bars between this band and the spinners are of a dark puce-

colour; an oblong spot of the same hue is directed forwards

from each side of the spinners, which have a pale yellowish-

brown tint ; the branchial opercula and tracheal stigmata are of

eae a a ee

eR Sa eee eA ee ee ee ee ee Pee

—

Rev. T. Hincks on new British Hydroids. 45

a pale dull yellow colour; an obscure line of the same hue ex-

tends from each of the latter nearly to the spinners, where the

two meet, and between the former a reddish-brown protuberance

is situated.

VIIT.—On some new British Hydroids.

By the Rev. Tuomas Hincxs, B.A.

[Plate IX. vol. x. figs. 3, 4.]

Fam. Tubulariade.

Genus Arracty.is, Strethill Wright.

A. margarica, n. sp. Pi. IX. fig. 4.

Polypary a network of delicate anastomosing tubes, from

which rise at intervals small chitinous cups, somewhat funnel-

shaped, which invest the base of the polypes and of the gono-

phores. Polypes white, scattered, slightly retractile; the body

elongate, expanding towards the upper extremity, which is

encircled by a verticil of about twenty-four muricate tentacles,

alternately erect and depressed. Half of them are furnished

near the base with a prominent cluster of large bean-shaped

thread-cells, which projects outwards as a pearly boss or tubercle.

This gem-like setting round the tentacular ring gives a very

beautiful and distinctive appearance to the species. Gonophores

produced on the creeping stem, close to a polype, either singly

or in pairs, of large size, pedunculate, the pedicle tapering to-

wards the point of attachment, and=sheathed at the base in a

chitinous tube, sub-globular, crowned by a kind of lid (PI. IX.

fig. 4 6), which seems to be cast off as development proceeds.

From the bottom of the sporosac, which occupies the whole

interior of the gonophore, rise four branched processes, of an

orange-colour (representatives of the gastrovascular canals),

which, as it were, embrace the ova. The latter are produced in

great numbers (300 in a single gonophore), and exhibit a very

distinct vesicle and spot.

Hatitat. Ilfracombe ; abundant on Flustra foliacea, and on

this only, from about 10 fathoms,

In this very singular and: beautiful species, the character

which at once attracts attention is the series of projecting bosses

round the base of the tentacular ring. When examined with

the microscope, these are seen to consist of a number of elongate

bean-shaped thread-cells (fig. 4), which are piled together so

as to form silvery-white prominences on the lower side of the

tentacles. They occur, I believe, only on the alternate arms,

and constitute a unique garniture.

46 Rey. T. Hincks on new British Hydroids.

The polypes, with their numerous tentacles, of moderate

length, surrounding a large and expanded oral disk, bear some

resemblance to a full-blown flower. When withdrawn, the arms

bend inwards. :

The gonophores, which are produced on the creeping stolon

(fig. 4e), rise, as the polypes do, from within a cup-like extension

of the polypary. They are supported on a peduncle of some

length, and, when fully developed, exceed the polypes consider-

ably in size. I have not succeeded in making out all the details

of the structure, nor in tracing the whole course of development.

The sac which immediately contains the ova is enclosed in a

more or less transparent envelope, which, at a certain stage,

exhibits at the summit the appearance of a ribbed covering or

lid. I conjecture that this lid is cast off, and that the outer

envelope: sloughs away, leaving the inner sac free for the

discharge of the generative products, From the base of the

sporosac proceed four much-branched vessels, terminating near

the top of it in blind extremities, and immediately enclosing the

ova, which fill with a dense mass the interior of the cavity, I

have counted about 300, which had been pressed out of a single

gonophore. The ovum consists of a cream-coloured granular

substance, the germinal vesicle showing as a depression, and the

spot as a circle with a raised rim.

I could detect no trace of a manubrium, nor did I witness the

liberation of the reproductive elements.

The outer envelope of the gonophore is filled with the long

bean-shaped thread-cells, which are also present in amazing

numbers in the ectoderm of the coenosare.

All the known members of the genus Aéractylis ave propa-

gated by means of free gonozooids, with the exception of A. are-

nosa and the present species.

Fam. Campanulariade.

Genus Laomepra, Lamouroux.

L. fragilis, n. sp. Pl. IX. fig. 3.

Polypary very minute and delicate. Stem flexuose, giving off

a branch at every flexure, which is annulated and tapers up-

wards, terminating in a much elongated and very narrow cell,

with an even rim. The stem exhibits three or four rings (often

very indistinct) above the origin of each branch.

Height about 3 inch.

Habitat. In pools on the lower ledges of the Capstone, Ilfra-

combe, forming miniature groves on the under side of stones.

This species is smaller and more delicate in habit even than

Dr. F, Miiller on the Transformations of the Porcellane. 47.

the L. neglecta of Alder, and is as graceful in form as it is fairy-

like in size. The markedly flexuose character of the stem, the

great length and narrowness of the cells, the plain margin, and

the Lilliputian size, are the distinctive points.

IX.—On the Transformations of the Porcellanz.

By Dr. Fritz Mixer, of Desterro*.

[Plate I.]

For two years I have been acquainted with a Zoéa which is

distinguished from its allies by the want of the dorsal spine and

the unusual length of the straightly extended frontal horn; but

it is only a few months since I found it to be the offspring of

the same Porcellana whose extraordinary parasites I described

in my recent memoirst. In the mean time I met with oppor-

tunities of examining the young brood of two other Porcellanide.

One of these is a smaller Porcellana with a nearly circular

carapace, which occurs rarely on rocks amongst Polypes and

Polyzoa; the other (Pl. I. figs. 1-3) lives parasitically upon some

species of Starfishes, and differs so much from the true Por-

eellane in its whole appearance, in its claws, and especially in

the shortness of the external antennz, that I regard it as the

representative of a peculiar genus, and call it Porcellina stelli-

colat.

As these Porcellana-larve agree in all essential characters with

the Zoéa-form’ of the young Crabs, I leave their detailed de-

scription for a larger work on the young state of the Crabs, for

which I have long been collecting materials, and confine myself

at present to a superficial description of their structure.

The carapace is of an oval form, and covers not only the upper

part and sides of the anterior unsegmented part of the body,

but also the first five segments of the abdomen. From its

anterior margin issues a straight spine or horn, which is as

much as five times the length of the carapace (three times in the

smaller Porcellana). Two similar spines extend straight back-

wards from the hinder margin of the carapace ; these are usually

parallel, but sometimes divergent in Porcellina; in the smaller

Porcellana (fig. 10), in which they attain only two-thirds the

length of the carapace, they are slightly bent downwards at the

apex, and bear, near their origin, a considerable spine directed

ee by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1862,

p- :

T See Annals, July and August 1862,

ft Another Porcellana (P. Creplinii, n. sp.) is still more singular in its

mode of life ; it resides in pairs in the tube of Chetopterus pergamentaceus,

48 Dr. F. Miiller on the Transformations of the Porcellane.

obliquely forwards and downwards ; in the common Porcellana

they are beset beneath with an entire series of small spines, and

exceed the carapace in length; in Porcellina they attain more

than three times the length of the carapace. Thus, in the latter

species, the carapace of the newly-hatched young, with its pro-

cesses, is twice as long as that of the mother.

Besides this remarkable carapace, the only structure which

differs remarkably from other young Crabs is that of the last

segment, which is dilated into a fin. It is well known that the

last segment of the larve of Crabs is extended on each side into

a horn, often of considerable size, and that in the emargination

between these horns, three short plumose bristles usually stand

on each side. In the Porcellane the lateral horns are replaced

by inconspicuous spines, and the middle part projects so far

between them that the whole tail acquires nearly a rhomboid

form. In Porcellina this is particularly elongated, more than

twice as long as broad. On each of the two posterior sides of

the rhombus there are five long plumose bristles. (An inter-

mediate form, but approaching most closely to the Porcellane,

is presented by the tail of the young Paguri.)

In all other respects, in the structure of the eyes, antenne,

mouth, and feet, the young Porcellane agree entirely with the

young Crabs, and exhibit no greater difference from them than

the latter do among themselves.

In both, the anterior antenne (PI. I. fig. 5 a) are not jointed,

and have a strong nervous knot in the vicinity of their apex,

from which, besides a few minute bristles, two (three in Porcel-

lina) longer peculiar filaments issue. These are of uniform

thickness, or rarely a little tapering ; they terminate in a rounded

extremity, and are further distinguished from other bristles hy

their very delicate outline and dull turbidity. The same fila-

ments, however, recur on the anterior antenn of young Bopy-

ride (they are especially distinct in Entonites cancrorum, n. sp.)

and Cirripedes ; im the latter they spring singly from a minute

basal joint close to the eye.

The posterior antenne (fig. 5 6) in Porcellina stellicola already

exhibit a great resemblance to those of the mature animal (fig.2)

—the same inflated basal joint with the well-known opening of.

the still problematical sensorial organ, the same acutely trian-

gular second joint, from the outside and upper part of which

issues, in the one case, a multiarticulate flagellum, and in the

other a simple spine-like process. The same pieces occur in the

same form in the other species*.

* In the Zoéa of a small Xantho, the outer antennee (fig. 11) attain the

length of the frontal horn, and the future flagellum is so small as to be

almost imperceptible,

Dr. F. Miiller on the Transformations of the Porcellane. 49

The parts of the mouth (fig. 5) consist of a very large upper

lip (c), of two strong sharply toothed mandibles, apparently

without palpi (d), of a bipartite lower lip (e), and two pairs of

maxille (f, 7). The anterior maxilla (fig.8) is split up into three,

and the posterior one (fig. 9) into five leaves armed with strong

bristles, which are partially denticulated or feathered ; the latter

also bears on the outside a larger membranous plate, which is

produced posteriorly into a finger-like process ; the process bears —

one, and the plate itself anteriorly and at the margin six, plu-

mose bristles. This plate is bent upwards, and is in constant

motion between the body and the carapace.

The two pairs of natatory feet consist of a strong cylindrical

basal joint and two terminal rami; the inner ramus, which the

animal is fond of extending forward, has four joints, and the

outer one, which is usually turned outwards and upwards, two,

less distinctly separated. At the extremity of the outer ramus

stand four long plumose sete; a single plumose seta is at the

end of the third joint of the inner ramus of the last pair, and

there are simple bristles on all the joints of the inner ramus of

both pairs.

Behind the origin of the natatory feet commences the six-

jointed abdomen, which bears no appendages; this separates

from the carapace a little behind the middle of its upper part.

The stomach is somewhat dilated, and already exhibits (at

least in Porcellina) longitudinal ridges beset with bristles; close

to it on each side there are two hepatic ceca directed forwards,

and two others directed backwards ; the intestine has a straight

course, and opens a little before the-middle of the caudal seg-

ment.

The heart, situated at the posterior end of the thorax (in

young Crabs under the origin of the dorsal spine), appears to be

already formed exactly as in the mature animal, and to give off

the same vessels. The anterior single vessel may be readily

traced almost to the apex of the frontal horn, to the upper wall

of which it is applied. Blood-corpuscles are exceedingly few in

the first days (but this does not apply to all Zoée).

In each abdominal segment there is a ganglion of consider-

able size, united to its neighbours by two separate cords; in the

anterior part of the animal I could not quite clearly make out

the nervous system in its connexions.

If it be easy to procure in abundance the earliest stages of

the most various Crustacea, it is all the more difficult to obtain

a clue to their ultimate fate. Although the Porcellane are

among the most generally distributed of Crustacea, I only once

(in December of last year) met with an older larva (PI. I.figs. 6,7).

At the spot where I found it, neither Porcellina stellicola nor

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 4

50 Dr. F. Miiller on the Transformations of the Porcellane.

Porcellana Creplinii lived; but the larvee of the common and of

the smaller Porcellane are distinguishable at the first glance by

the posterior processes of the carapace ; and thus this larva may

without hesitation be referred to the former species, from the

earliest form of which it differs only by having twelve (instead

of ten) setee on the caudal segment, and by the presence of a

pair of short inarticulate appendages on each of the four pre-

ceding segments. This siugle larva was, fortunately, uncom-

monly instructive, inasmuch as, being near its change of skin,

it already showed the new limbs, with variable distinctness,

within the old ones.

The new external antenne had a multiarticulate flagellum ;

feet with large chele; and other members, which could not be

completely made out, were situated behind the natatory feet ;

and within the caudal segment was a fan-shaped fin (fig. 7).

Hence, although the larva itself approaches closely to the

earliest stage, the animal issuing from the next change of skin

could scarcely differ essentially from the mature Porcellana.

So far my observations adapted for a preliminary communi-

cation. Their results may be summed up in a few short pro-

positions :—

The Zoéa-form of the Crabs is completely destitute of the five

pairs of true feet, and even of the segments bearing these.

The natatory feet of the Zoéa become the foot-jaws of the

Crab.

The Porcellane are Crabs which have remained stationary at

the Megalops-stage*.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.

Fig. 1. Porcellina stellicola, n. g. and sp.; magnified 5 diameters.

Fig. 2. Its external antenna; magn. 25 diam.

Fig. 3. Fifth pair of feet of the male; magn. 45 diam.

Fig. 4. Its youngest Zoéa-form, from above; magn. 15 diam.

Fig. 5. Cephalic portion of the preceding, from below ; magn. 90 diam. :

a, anterior, and 4, posterior antenne; ¢, upper lip; d, mandible;

e, lower lip; f, first, and g, second pair of maxille.

Fig. 6. Older Zoéa-form of the common Porcellana of Santa Catharina ;

magn. 6 diam.

Fig. 7. Caudal extremity of the preceding; magn. 45 diam. In its in-

terior is seen the fan-like caudal fin of the next state.

Figs. 8 & 9. First and second maxille of the youngest Zoéa-form of the

common Porcellana.

Fig. 10. Posterior process of the carapace of the youngest Zoéa-form of a

smaller Porcellana.

Fig. 11. External antenna of the youngest Zoéa-form of a small Xantho :

' g, flagellum.

* Milne-Edwards even places Megalops and Porcellana in the same

family.

Pt tg

é oes

zs ie

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

The Student’s Manual of Geology. By J. Beete Juxes, M.A.,

F.R.S. New Edition. 1862.

Tue order of the subjects in this Manual is well adapted to the

requirements of the student. Firstly, we have the facts and princi-

ples respecting the internal structure of rocks, their mineral compo-

sition, texture, and other characters, such as may be recognized by

the aid of hand-specimens in the cabinet. This is the Lithological

division of the work. Under “ Petrology” the author arranges the

study of rock-masses, their strata and joints, and the mutual relations

of rocks ; this has reference to field-geology. Fossils, their relation

to living forms, and the distribution of life in time and space, are

next brought forward as Paleontology. The history of the forma-

tion of the crust of the globe, with the chronological classification of

rocks and fossils, forms the fourth and last division.

Each class of subjects above indicated is systematically and care-

fully treated, and the requirements of the student are kept well in

view. The chemical and mineralogical chapters, however, are not

intended to supersede special manuals on mineralogy. The chapters

on the formation of rocks, chemical, igneous, and aqueous, contain

much instructive matter, carefully arranged and digested from the

special works of Cotta, Durocher, Naumann, and others. But the

author’s genuine geological experience and personal acquaintance

with rocks of every kind enable him, in this as in other divisions of

the work, to present good and well-arranged material for the student.

There are few works (excepting perhaps Prof. Phillips’s Manual)

that treat so well of stratification and the nature of joints and cleavage

as this work ; and in this case also we have the advantage of the

author’s wide experience in the field: The paleontological portion

taken together with the concluding division, that relating to geo-

logical classification, is of itself a manual of much value; and these

chapters are the better on account of the diagrams, illustrative of the

geological order of the formations, being really sections, and the

figures of the fossils being newly and carefully selected by an ex-

perienced palzeontologist. Indeed, throughout his work Mr. Jukes

has availed himself (with full acknowledgments) of the friendly help

of his colleagues in the Geological Survey and the Museum of Irish

Industry, with the best results. The ‘Manual’ is greatly improved

in this second edition: the author has been able to work up more

closely to his original conception of what geological students now-a-

days require, and he has made those corrections which former over-

sight and the continual advance of geological observation have made

uisite.

The relations of granite both to metamorphic and to unaltered

strata have careful consideration in this Manual, and, when compared

with the teaching of older works, have a certain freshness of treat-

ment which is pleasant to find, and is redolent of truth as far as

observed facts go. Possibly, however, sufficient credit is not given

to the views of Naumann and Scrope on the original plasticity of

52 Bibhographical Notices.

some of the gneissic rocks associated with granite. The true rela-

tionship of granite, trap-rocks, and lava is another important point

prominently brought forward. The “form of ground,” or modifi-

cation of the surface, has also had much attention from the author,

who has just recently produced a masterly essay on the origin of the

great valley-systems of the South of Ireland, which he considers to

have been mainly produced by atmospheric agencies.

A large portion of the book is devoted to paleeontological subjects

(pp. 373-710) ; and the treatment of this branch of the science,

which is not one of the author’s “ specialties,’ and is itself far from

perfection, allows of critical animadversion to a greater extent than

any of the other chapters. Of the very numerous errors in the

orthography, especially of the technical terms, the author has cor-

rected many; we do not propose to point out any of the others,

excepting ‘‘ Emmonds,” a mis-spelling for Emmons, at pp. 438, 457,

&c., and especially “Guep,” disguising the good Viennese geologist

Suess (p.555). Mr. Jukes is usually careful to mention his autho-

rities and sources of information, and the discoverers of facts and

originators of good theories ; we regret, however, to see the omission,

no doubt inadvertent, of Hislop’s name in connexion with the coal-

bearing beds of Central India (p. 533), and of Harkness when the

Permian age of the Ichnites of Corncockle Muir are referred to

(p. 546). The chapter on the Triassic or New Red Sandstone

Period will require careful revision in a new edition of the Manual ;

for the reptilian Placodus is enumerated among the Fishes (page

548), and the Microlestes of Stuttgart is kept in the Keuper, though

stated in the same page (541) to have been found in an osseous

breccia equivalent (as is well known) to the infra-liassic Bone-bed

of England, which is duly assigned to the Rheetic Series at page

555. Not only the Microlestes, but the other osseous remains

from these bone-beds, English and German, are reckoned as truly

Triassic; and at pages 555 and 560, the mistaken position of

Microlestes is repeated, and said to be in the Keuper. Dr. Plie-

ninger found his specimens in the bone-bed above the Keuper;

and Mr. C. Moore found his in a cleft of the Mountain-lime-

stone filled with drifted material derived from the limestone, the

Rheetic bone-bed, and the Oolite.

Paleeontology (to say nothing of paleeobotany) now finds work for

very many separate naturalists, taking up their attention, more or

less fully, by this or that class of animal, recent and fossil; and it is

impossible for one man to construct a correct Paleontological Manual :

the latest English Manual of Paleontology proves our statement.

Let Mr. Jukes, therefore, in his next edition of his Manual, get the

combined assistance of his many paleontological friends to critically

examine his lists of fossils ; otherwise he may almost despair of ever

effecting more than a patchwork of chronological geology.

In the other parts of the Manual there are still a few things to be

noticed. At p. 174, flint and chert are said to be derived “ probably

from animals ;” certainly it should be animals and plants, if not

plants alone. At pp. 166 and 175, certain limestones are said to be

oad ese Ue

i Ni a el

ee eR TS Me UVR IR aR OTE ea ct OT me a nM TNR) OC ON Nelte he = Sie HME MRE oa?

Bibliographical Notices. 53

“saccharine ;”” the sugar-character of the rock being more readily

izable by the sight than the taste, we think the accepted term

“saccharoid”’ better in every respect. Lastly, we believe that, by

referring to some of the “ Explanations of Maps and Sections,” of

the Geological Survey, relating to Wilts and Oxfordshire, Mr. Jukes

will find that his proposed term “ Inlier” (p. 201) has already been

invented by some of his colleagues as a good and useful word for

valleys-of-elevation and such like.

Few of the foregoing remarks at all affect the intrinsic value of

the ‘Student’s Manual of Geology.’ It is a good work, already

enhanced by careful emendations and by the detersive process of

being re-edited by an author who has truth alone in view whilst

striving to serve the rising generation in mastering the intricate

history of the globe,—a task becoming more and more necessary for

the young, from the exigencies of the period, and more and more

wef to man in every part of the globe.

An Appendix “On Geological Surveying,” of considerable value,

and a full Index, which is also glossarial, complete the work. We

think that a careful pruning of the theoretical portions, and condensa-

tion of some descriptive parts, will be required to balance the addi-

tional information that the author must have accumulated, however

soon a new edition of this really serviceable Manual is called for.

The Coal-fields of Great Britain: their History, Structure, and

Resources. With Notices of the Coal-fields of other parts of the

World. By Epvwarp Hutt, B.A. With Map and Illustrations.

Second Edition, 1861.

The history of coal-mining affords an interesting chapter at the

commencement of this little volume. Possibly used by the abori-

gines, coal seems to have been worked in Britain by the Romans,

and was certainly in household use among the Saxons, and has con-

tinued to be an article of commerce, with a gradually increasing

consumption, until the quantity now annually raised from the British

area alone is nearly 80,000,000 tons. The difficulties in arriving at

exact information as to the quantity of coal raised in Great Britain

and Ireland are being mastered by the energy of the Mining Record

Office ; and an approach to an exact knowledge of the extent and

thickness of the available coal-seams is being gradually made by the

Geological Survey,—the labours of previous as well as contemporary

geologists, and the willing co-operation of coal-owners and practical

coal-workers, aiding these researches to a very great extent. To put

together in a tangible form the results of the elaborate coal-statistics

already made, and to define with anything like accuracy the coal-

areas, so that the scientifie geologist might have a useful work of

reference, and the public be supplied with a compendious and read-

able treatise, was a laudable and somewhat difficult undertaking.

Mr. E. Hull, one of the Geological Surveyors, and hence personally

acquainted with the real character and condition of some of the

English coal-fields, boldly took in hand the large and important

54 Bibliographical Notices.

subject of coal-resources, and has treated it very satisfactorily, bring-

ing to the task good geological knowledge and conscientious exacti-

tude. -

The second edition of this work has quickly followed on the first,

with additional information, partly derived from the experience of

others (chiefly colleagues in the Geological Survey), and partly

elaborated by the author.

The probable duration of our coal-supply is, of course, a most in-

teresting point of inquiry, and has been the subject of innumerable

treatises and newspaper articles. Mr. Hull, on careful consideration

of known facts, states that possibly, if the increase of coal-consump-

tion continue to enlarge in future years in the same ratio that it has

of late progressed, our coal will barely last for 325 years; but he

adds that various causes may interfere with this rapidly progressing

ratio, some, however, accelerating rather than diminishing it.

To the naturalist a wide field of research is opened by the working

of the coal-measures and the associated strata. The fossils, as the

paleontologist knows, are numerous and highly interesting. Besides

the plants, some are terrestrial, and many are referable to genera

that now inhabit the sea; others have apparently such close rela-

tionship to some existing fluviatile and estuarine animals that many

strata in the old Carboniferous Formation have been regarded as

having been formed in brackish, if not fresh, water. The wholly

marine condition, however, of the coal-beds is at present recognized

by several authoritative geologists ; and nowhere perhaps is this view

better supported than in H. D. Rogers’s great work on the Geology

of Pennsylvania. Mr. Binney, too, and Mr. Salter have their own

facts and arguments in support of the theory that coal-jungles grew

in shallow seas. The combination, however, of sea, estuary, lagoon,

and river in the formation of coal, on an oscillating sea-board, is

succinctly stated in Mr. Hull’s chapters (II. & III.) on the Formation

of Coal; but the possibly freshwater or brackish character of some

of the Mollusks found in certain beds (Anthracomya, Anthracosia,

&c.) is perhaps allowed to lapse too readily. The presence of

Estheria (whose existing species have freshwater habitats) in the

Coal-formation, as lately announced in the ‘ Neues Jahrbuch,’ 1861,

may also be found to influence opinions on this subject.

The fossil flora of the Coal is still imperfectly known. Geinitz, of

Dresden, has produced a work on the Carboniferous plants of Saxony,

which may well serve as a model for British paleeobotanists. Exact

observation on the relative distribution of the fossil plants and other

organisms, hitherto collected far too indiscriminately to serve the

purpose of exact geology, has already been insisted upon by Mr.

Salter and others. Many a good specimen of reptile, fish, crusta-

cean, mollusk, &c., has been stored, described, and figured, without

its position in the coal-measures having been noted with sufficient

exactness; and it has therefore proved of about as much use to the

geologist as a medal of unknown origin could be to a numismatist.

The physical structure of the Coal-fields is a life-study for any

geologist, The Geological Surveyors of Great Britain and Ireland

Zoological Society. 55

are steadily adding to the stock of knowledge on this subject, and

their maps, sections, and explanations are diffusing correct informa-

tion. They can work but slowly, however; and much can be done

by others : and of this the valuable and lucid memoir by Mr.Marcus

Scott, recently published in the Geological Society’s Journal, on the

unconformability of the Upper and the Lower Coal-measures of

Coalbrook Dale, is a striking example.

The study of coal and the coal-measures has been greatly ad-

vanced by Mr. Hull’s treatise; for the subject is therein carefully

and clearly presented in its many different aspects, with much light

derived from his own and others’ experience ; and his map and sec-

tions bring to the eye much valuable practical and theoretical in-

formation, in which the results of Mr. Hull’s own labours have a

conspicuous and most worthy standing*. Doubtless further editions

of the work before us will be called for. The increasing interest

shown by the public in geology, and the direct interest we all feel

in the coal-supply, will induce the author to still further improve his

work with amendments of condensed information. Even now, few

books are more worthy to bear the motto “scientia et utilitas.”

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

May 27, 1862.—Prof. Huxley, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

On a New Species or CHLAMYDERA, OR BoweErR-Birp.

By Joun Gow p, Esa., F.R.S., etc.

I am indebted to the researches of F. T. Gregory, Esq., the West

Australian explorer, for a knowledge-of a new species of this group

of birds, which are rendered remarkable by their habit of construct-

ing bowers or playing-places. It was collected by Mr. Gregory in

North-western Australia, and is doubtless the species which con-

structs the bowers described by Captain (now Sir George) Grey in the

first volume of his ‘ Travels,’ pp. 196 and 245, where he states that,

on gaining the summit of one of the sandstone ranges forming the

watershed of the streams flowing into the Glenelg and Prince Re-

gent’s Rivers, “we fell in with a very remarkable nest, or what

appeared to me to be such. We had previously seen several of them,

and they had always afforded us food for conjecture as to the agent

and purpose of such singular structures.” This “ very curious sort

of nest, which was frequently found by myself and other individuals

of the party, not only along the sea-shore, but in some instances at

a distance of six or seven miles from it, I once conceived must have

belonged to a Kangaroo-rat, until Mr. Gould informed me that it is

* Mr. Hull’s elaboration of the probable limits of the Carboniferous

deposits in England, and of the distribution of the sandstones, clays, and

limestones of that formation, is published, with a map, in the ‘ Journal of

the Geological Society,’ No. 70, May 1862.

56 Zoological Society :—

the run or playing-ground of the bird he has named Chlamydera

nuchalis. These nests were formed of dead grass and parts of bushes,

sunk a slight depth into two parallel furrows in sandy soil, and then

nicely arched above. But the most remarkable fact connected with

them was, that they were always full of broken shells, large heaps

of which protruded from each extremity of the nest ; these were in-

variably sea-shells. In one instance, in the nest the most remote

from the sea that we discovered, one of the men of the party found,

and brought to me, the stone of some fruit which had evidently been

rolled in the sea. These stones he found lying in a heap in the nest ;

and they are now in my possession.”

The specimen sent to me by Mr. Gregory bears a very general

resemblance to the Chlamydera maculata, being spotted all over like

that species; but it differs in the guttations of the upper surface

being of a larger size and much more distinct, in the abdomen being

buff, and in the shafts of the primaries being straw-yellow. In all

probability, the specimen is a female, since there is no trace of the

beautiful lilaceous nuchal mark seen in the males only of Chlamy-

dera maculata and C. nuchalis. Of this well-defined group there

are now known three very distinct species, viz., the C. maculata,

of the east coast; the C. nuchalis, which frequents the northern parts ;

and the C. guttata, of the north-western provinces of Australia.

CHLAMYDERA GUTTATA, Gould.

General tint of the upper surface and wings deep-brownish black,

with a spot of rich buff at the tip of each feather, those of the head

and nape being very small, while those on the body and wings are of

large size, accordant, in fact, with the increased size of the feathers ;

the spots on the tips of the greater wing-coverts are not so round as

those on the back; the primaries are very pale brown, fading into

white on the basal portion of their inner webs, which is yellow on the

under surface ; their shafts straw-yellow ; tail-feathers pale brown,

with buff shafts and white tips; throat-feathers brown at the base,

with an arrowhead-shaped mark of pale buff at the tip of each, the

buff tips becoming much larger on the chest ; centre of the abdomen

ale buff; flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts buff, barred with

fight brown ; bill black ; gape rich yellow; feet apparently very dark

olive.

Total length 114 inches; bill 1}; wing 6; tail 43; tarsi 14.

Hab. North-western Australia.

Remark.—The primaries of the specimen described are much worn ;

they are doubtless tipped with white in fresh-moulted specimens.

June 10, 1862.—Professor Busk, F.R.S., in the Chair.

On some New Anp Rare Birps rrom New Guinea.

By Atrrep Russet WALLACE.

The birds now brought before the Society were collected by my

assistant, Mr. Allen, on his last voyage. They comprise several in-

teresting species, hitherto only known by specimens in the French

a ee

ee Eg Se Oe

SP ak eae deal

Se ee

aT a ata De

ap OnE Sg a ee Co Te i pe ee ee ey ee

Mr. A. R. Wallace on Birds from New Guinea. 57

or Dutch collections, and now, I believe, for the first time exhibited

in England, viz. :—

Nasiterna pygmea, Q. & G. Remarkable as being the smallest

of the Psittaci, and for its curious, rigid, spined tail.

Tanysiptera nympha, G. R. Gray. This specimen decides the

locality of this interesting and beautiful bird to be the N. W. penin-

sula of New Guinea, in the interior.

Peltops Blainvillii, Garn. This rare bird also inhabits the island

of Mysol, where a single specimen was obtained by Herr Rosenberg.

Mine came from the N.W. of New Guinea.

Eupetes cerulescens, Temm. This bird and the last seem quite

out of place in New Guinea, as we must pass over all the Moluccas

and Celebes to find their nearest allies in Borneo, Java, and Su-

matra.

Ptilorhynchus buccoides, Mill.

HMierococcyz leucolophus, Mill.

Campephaga melas, Mill.

Besides these, adult specimens of the fine Talegalla Cuvieri were

also obtained, and Mr. Allen’s collection also comprises five new

species of great interest—a Pigeon, a Kingfisher, a Parrot, and two

Passeres, of which the descriptions follow.

1, CorIPHILUS RUBRONOTATUS.

Above dark green; beneath yellow green; a large spot on the

forehead, sides of the breast, and under wing-coverts bright red; a

spot on the upper tail-coverts dull red ; ear-coverts deep blue ; wings

and tail as in C. placentis. Bill and cere carmine-red ; feet pale red.

Total length 93 in. ; wing 3,3; in.

Allied to C. placentis, but smaller, and wants the red face and

blue rump which distinguish that species, as well as the yellow-

tinged crown, which is replaced by a red spot.

Hab. Salwatty, and the N.W. extremity of New Guinea.!

2. HaLcyon NIGROCYANEA.

Back, and sides of the head and neck, deep black ; throat, lower

part of the breast, and belly white; forehead and crown deep blue,

margined from the eyes round the nape with lighter blue; a band

across the breast, the shoulders, and wing-coverts deep blue; quills

dusky black, margined with blue to near the tips; middle of the

back narrowly white, shading into blue, which becomes dark on the

tail-coverts ; tail deep blue, inner margins of the feathers and be-

neath black ; under tail-coverts black, tipped with blue ; sides of the

breast and flanks black ; under wing-coverts black, with a white

central band. Bill black, pale in the centre beneath ; feet black.

Total length 9 in. ; wing 32 in.

The young bird has slightly rufous lores, and the pectoral band

rufous mingled with black and blue.

Hab. N.W. peninsula of New Guinea.

3. Toporsis Grayt.

Beneath bluish white, almost white on the throat; head light-

58 Zoological Society :—

greenish blue, the centre of the crown dusky; a black spot on the

ear-coverts extending towards the nape; back dusky, the feathers

margined with greenish blue; wings dusky, the. quills margined

with rufous olive, shoulder-coverts margined with greenish blue ; tail

dusky olive, with a minute whitish spot at the tips of the feathers ; ;

thighs rufous-tipped. Bill bank feet dusky.

Total length 52 in. ; wing 2} in. ; bill from gape 8, in.

The bill in this species is nearly as broad as in Macherirhynchus.

I have named this interesting bird after Mr. George Robert Gray,

who has described the other species of this genus sent home by me.

Hab. N.W. peninsula of New Guinea: Mountains of Sorong.

4. GRACULA PECTORALIS.

Black, the feathers broadly margined with metallic green and

purple; plumes of the neck and breast decomposed, and of a rich

orange-buff colour, as are also the vent, rump, and upper tail-coverts ;

on the nape a collar of whitish buff reaching round to the orange of

the throat; under tail-coverts cream-white, tinged with orange at

the base; a white band across the wings towards the tips. Iris

yellow ; bill and feet pale yellow.

Total length 10in.; wing 53 in.

The young bird has the breast and belly black, uniformly mar-

gined with light orange.

This species differs from the rest of the genus in having neither

wattles nor naked skin on the face, but in general structure and co-

loration closely resembles the other species.

Hab. N,W. peninsula of New Guinea: Sorong.

5. PT1LONOPUS HUMERALIS.

Very near P. tozonus, G. R. Gray, but a little larger, and at once

distinguished by the violet-grey patch on the shoulder haying its

lower half deep purple; the tail also wants the grey apical band of

that species, which is replaced by a subapical narrow one, only visi-

ble on the lateral feathers and beneath. The wing-coverts are all of

a rich violet grey, margined with green. Chin ashy; the rest as in

P.iozonus. Bill greenish, tipped with bright yellow, base above red

and swollen; feet purple-red.

Total length 83 in.; wing 47 in.

Hab. = aa and the adjacent coast of New Guinea.

DescrIPTIONS OF some New GENERA AND SPECIES OF FISHES

OBTAINED AT MaperraA. By JAmEes YATE JOHNSON, Corr.

Memo. Z. S.

Order MALACOPTERYGII APODES, Cuv.

Sect. PHANEROMYCTERES, Kaup.

Fam. Mur2&nip&.

PsEUDOMURZENA, gen. nov.

Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins united ; no pectoral fins; gill-open-

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Fishes from Madeira. 59

ings lateral; no teeth on the mesial line of the palate; in the jaws

uniserial serrate teeth, having a tubercle at the posterior base.

This genus differs from Murena in having no teeth on the mesial

line, and in the form of the jaw-teeth.

PsEUDOMURZENA MADERENSIS, Sp. nN.

Body anguilliform, attenuating backwards from the nape, which is

deep and thick. Skin soft, thick, scaleless. Colour a yellowish

brown, darker on the head; the anterior fourth of the body marked

with undulating lines, or narrow bands, of deeper brown, which are

arranged longitudinally before the gill-openings, and transversely

behind them, the change of direction being gradual.

The head is gibbous behind the small eyes, which are oval, covered

with skin, and placed over the middle of the upper jaw. The snout

is obtuse and rounded; the throat swollen. The posterior nostrils

are small, with slightly raised borders, and are placed a

little in front of the vertical through the middle of the

eye. The anterior nostrils issue in free tubes, which do

not quite reach to the tip of the snout. The jaws are

of moderate length and subequal; the lips moderately

thick ; the inside of the mouth fuscous. The teeth are “”

uniserial, rather stout, pointed, conico-compressed, with

serrate edges, and a tubercle at the posterior base. They are slightly

curved backwards, and are longer in front than behind. In the upper

jaw there are about 16; in the lower jaw from 24 to 34. No teeth

on the mesial line or on the vomer. Rictus moderate. No barbel.

Gill-openings small, round, placed at the sides of the body about the

middle of the height. No pectorals or visible lateral line. The dorsal

fin commences at the nape, in front of the gill-openings, and is con-

tinuous with the caudal and the anal fins ; it is higher behind than in

front. The vent is in the hinder half of the body, and about 1,th

of the total length behind the middle. The anal fin commences

within a short distance of the vent ; it is very low in front, where it

is cloaked by thick skin, and where there is a furrow at each side of

and parallel with its base; further behind, there are two parallel

furrows. The tail is compressed, the fin narrow and rounded. All

the fins are covered with a thick skin.

Although several specimens of this Eel have been obtained (some

of which have been sent to the British Museum), it must still be con-

sidered as a rare fish. In colouring it resembles Thyrsoidea unicolor,

Kaup, from which it differs generically in the uniserial dentition.

The following measurements were taken from a specimen having

a total length of 403 inches, with a depth, near the gill-openings, of

34 inches :—

Inches

I A a hak sites l ko ck uw ¢ + 4 254,

Gill-openings, distance from snout.......... 5

Vent, distance from snout ................ 222

Dorsal fin, distance from snout ............ 4}

In another specimen, 36} inches long, the longer axis of the eye

60 Zoological Society :—

measured +3; inch, and the longest teeth were less than }th of an

inch in length. The rictus was 1,5; inch in depth.

THYRSOIDEA ATLANTICA, Sp. 0.

Anguilliform, compressed; attenuate both ways from middle of

body. Skin smooth, scaleless, white, with one dusky oval blotch on

one side of body, and two or three such blotches on the other side,

unsymmetrically placed. The longer axis of these blotches is from

one-third to one-half an inch across. On the fins near the posterior

extremity of the body are several similar blotches.

A single specimen of this Eel has occurred, the dimensions of

which are embodied in this description.

Total length 23 inches; depth 1,54; inch, taken about an inch in

advance of the vent. ;

Head compressed, rising behind the eyes; depth through head

and swollen throat, 1,4; inch. Eyes covered with skin, placed a little

in advance of the middle of the upper jaw, rather less than one-fifth

of an inch in diameter. Hinder nostril-tubes shorter than anterior,

placed a little in front of the vertical from the anterior orbit of eye.

Front nostril-tubes reaching a little beyond lip. Mouth cleft rather

more than an inch deep. Jaws rather slender, somewhat curved,

and not capable of shutting closely on account of the length of the

front teeth and the curvature of the jaws. Lower jaw a little longer

than the upper, without a barbel. Teeth in both jaws slender,

pointed, somewhat compressed, curving backwards. In the upper

jaw there are-two rows at each side, those of the inner row being

longer. A row of seven teeth along the middle of the palate. The

longest teeth in the jaw are rather more than one-fifth of an inch in

length. In the lower jaw there is a single row at each side ; in front

there appear to be two rows. Gill-clefts ;4, mch long, narrow,

placed about the middle of the sides, a little posterior to commence-

ment of dorsal fin, and 24 inches from snout. The dorsal fin com-

mences at the nape, 2;), inches from snout, is lower in front than

behind, and unites with the caudal fin, like the anal fin, without a

break. Vent about 9 inches from tip of mandible, in anterior half

of body. Anal fin commences near vent, and is very low at first.

All the fins are covered with skin like that of the body.

The specimen was taken in the sea near Madeira, in the month of

June 1859, and has been deposited in the British Museum.

Fam. SyNAPHOBRANCHID.

SyNAPHOBRANC HUS, gen. nov.

Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins united. Pectoral fins present. Gill-

openings in close proximity on the under side of the body, having a

single external aperture, with an internal dividing membrane.

Branchiz four. A row of acute teeth in each jaw, with an external

band of minute teeth. Teeth on the vomer and on the mesial line

of the palate. Scales on the skin.

This genus forms the type of a new family of Malacopterygian

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Fishes from Madeira. 61

Apodals, which differs from all previously established families, except

the Symbranchide, in having the gill-openings close together on the

ventral aspect ; and from the Symbranchide it is distinguished by

the presence of fins. Moreover, from the Murenide it is separated

by the possession of pectoral fins, and from the Congride by the

ion of scales and by the vent being before the commencement

of the dorsal fin.

SyNAPHOBRANCHUS KavpPlil, sp. n.

illiform, compressed, attenuate in both directions from the

neighbourhood of the vent; of a dull brown colour, darker on the

belly. The skin contains small oval scales, set obliquely and at right

angles to each other.

The head is subcompressed, depressed, and flat above ; it exhibits

no gibbosity, nor is the throat swollen. The eye is covered with skin;

it is of moderate size, and placed at the side of the head, over the

middle of the oral cleft, three diameters distant from the tip of the

snout. The posterior nostril is in front of the eye and has a raised

border. The anterior nostril has a short tube, which does not quite

reach to the lip, and is attached in front to the snout, the orifice being

directed forwards. Rictus deep. The jaws are narrow, pointed, sub-

equal, and without barbels. The lips are cartilaginous, especially the

upper lip, which forms a conical snout, projecting much beyond the

jaw. There are teeth in both jaws, consisting of an inner row of short,

slender, conical, pointed, closely-set teeth, with an exterior band of

scobinate teeth, which become reduced to a single row in front. On

the vomer is a group of from nine to fifteen conical teeth, the first two

or three of which are short, the others rather longer than those in

the jaw. On the mesial line of the palate there is a row of minute,

sharp teeth curving backwards ; and-the pharyngeals are armed with

scobinate bands of teeth. The inside of the mouth is black, as well

as the tongue, which is small, toothless, and free at the tip. The

gill-openings are side by side on the ventral aspect of the body, in

advance of the pectoral fins; they are separated by a membrane

placed inside a single external aperture. The dorsal fin commences

behind the vent, a little posterior to the commencement of the second

third of the total length, and joins the caudal, like the anal fin,

without a break. It is higher behind, but is throughout much lower

than the anal; the greater part of it is covered with a scaly skin, as

is also the greater part of the anal fin. The pectoral fins are well

developed, pointed, and situate a little behind the gill-openings,

below the middle of the height. The ventral fins are wanting. The

vent is in the first third of the total length. The anal fin commences

62 Zoological Society :—

just behind the vent ; it is considerably higher about the middle and

behind than in front. The caudal is rounded. The lateral line is

distinctly marked; it falls gently from the shoulder, but for the

greater part of its length is straight along the middle of the body.

The air-bladder is long, being more than one-third of the length of

the body. The food found in the stomachs of dissected specimens

consisted of the remains of fishes and crustaceans. The peritoneal

lining is of a dark blue colour.

Dedicated to Dr. Kaup of Darmstadt, who has well studied this

order of fishes. Specimens have been sent to the British Museum.

The following figures give the dimensions in inches of one of the

larger examples :—

Total length... 2.2.2.0 .6 5 cece ee ee ee cece ence ee wees 32

Depth in the neighbourhood of the vent .............. 3

RURDOER ONT OL bee ee eee ESAs S ete Ce et eee 1,4;

Distance from snout to pectoral PR ee wes bree rae 4t

from snout to vertical of vent ...............- 93

from snout to vertical of commencement of dorsal ig

Pye nhineter, WaT he es cee cp aes ae eee

Mictns) depth ho eset... RAO 5c ow het Sa anes 24

o WH GC DOCK: Sates an, veces ip tet Cee pene es >

Length of bone of upper jaw 2. os ibaa .. 28

OE Wi Operas sis sas y save a eee es Ko

OF wertonl Fo. eos. to ccs cabs cee ee 13

Width of base of pectoral, nearly ..................-. $

Length of rays at middle of anal ...................- Le

op rays of pandal. oss oO eee oo)

Order ANACANTHINI, Mill.

Fam. GAapIp&.

LamoneMa, Giinther, MS,

The genus Lemonema, established by Dr. A. Giinther on a Me-

diterranean fish hitherto assigned to Phycis, is distinguished from

the latter genus by the shortness of the base of the first dorsal fin,

and by the rounded outline of the patch of vomerine teeth. A full

diagnosis of the genus will appear in the forthcoming fourth volume

of the ‘Catalogue of Fishes in the British Museum.’ <A second

species of the genus having occurred, I proceed to describe it.

La&MONEMA ROBUSTUM, Sp. Nl.

Iet.DJ5:3:; ) 2nd D.:50, 61.7: A. 48. 6 Viele a BieBat? On Fe;

M.B. 7. Scales of lateral line about 126.

Body Phycis-like, thick before, much compressed behind, of a

dull-brown colour; the rays of the dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins

being of a dull purplish-red. The scales are very small; between

the base of the first dorsal fin and the lateral line fifteen rows of

scales may be counted. The length of the head is equal to the height

of the body under the first dorsal fin, and, compared with the total

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Fishes from Madeira. 63

length of the fish, is as 1 to 4. It is depressed, unarmed, flat between

the eyes, with a longitudinal depression at the nape; the snout short

and rounded ; the cheeks convex and scaly. The round eye is placed

high up, so as to take part in the profile; it is contained four times

on the head, and is distant one and one-third of its diameter from

the tip of the snout; the space between the eyes is equal to one

diameter. The nostrils are rather small; at the posterior edge of

the anterior one there is a strap-shaped skinny appendage. The

mouth is wide, and when open the jaws form a broad oval ; its ante-

rior, as well as the tongue, is of a pale-grey colour. The upper

border of the mouth is formed by the premaxillary ; the maxillary

is broad below, and reaches back to the vertical from the middle of

the eye; the skin covering it is colourless, for when the mouth is

closed it slides underneath the skin covering the posterior bones.

The under jaw closes inside the upper one. There are scobinate

bands of conical teeth in both jaws, those of the outer rows being

rather larger. The band of the upper jaw is broader in front than

the band of the lower jaw, but it narrows behind. There is a small

round patch of similar teeth on the vomer, and also patches on the

pharyngeals ; but the palatines and the tongue are unarmed. The

tongue is thick, broad, and pointed.

The gill-openings are large. The edges of the opercle and pre-

opercle are rounded ; and the edge of the latter is distinctly visible,

not concealed by the skin. The chin carries abarbel. The first dorsal

fin is short, having only five rays, of which the first is elongate, its

upper part being setaceous; the length of this ray to the total

length of the body is as 1 to 53. The interval between the two

dorsal fins is short. The second dorsal fin has its base about 16 times

the length of the base of the first, and its highest portion is less than

half the length of the first ray of the first dorsal; it falls about the

middle, and then rises again, its termination being prolonged and

pointed. The specimen has been wounded in the back during its

life, and, though the wound has healed, a few (but probably not

more than two or three) of the rays have been carried away. The

remaining rays are forty-eight in number. None of the dorsal or

anal fins are fleshy, neither are there any scales upon them. The

pectoral fins are inserted a little in front of the first dorsal, and

rather above the middle of the height ; their apices are pointed, and

they are of moderate length, reaching back beyond the commence-

ment of the anal fin. The jugular ventral fins are forked, the longer

division becoming filiform and reaching back considerably beyond

the commencement of the anal fin, and a little beyond the tips of

the pectoral fins. These fins are longer than the head, and, compared

with the total length of the fish, they are as 1 to 34. The difference

between the lengths of the two divisions of the ray is to the length

of the longer as 1 to 43. The vent is surrounded by a black ring,

and is placed under the fourth ray of the second dorsal fin. The

anal fin commences under the seventh or eighth ray of the second

dorsal fin. It is highest in front; at the middle it falls in, and then

ends a short distance in front of the second dorsal with an acute

64 Zoological Society :—

prolongation. The caudal fin is truncate, and rather more than a

ninth of the total length. The tail is much compressed and atte-

nuate. The lateral line is a groove that forks above the opercle.

After the junction of the divisions it rises a little, and then falls gra-

dually ; but under the anterior portion of the second dorsal fin there

is a rapid descent, after which it is straight along the tail.

The single example on which this species has been founded was

taken near Madeira, in the month of March, and is now in the

British Museum. Its dimensions, expressed in inches, are given in

the following table :—

WE EDO hc bse eg ks oo cle ce beh ee see -ee 14

Heignt urnider fret dorsal oo. ete 33

Thickness near base of pectorals................ 2

RMR ore taiRin ye ots eis o0 vin ae idigo os 6 Ave wales 3h

WIVES CPIEIOR es ess ck coh eae epee ieee ete sy

Mouth, width from side to side ................ 14

BUOUPL MANIURE 36) ops pints ss 9 siete shore nee ih

First dorsal fin, distance from snout ........., .. 35

=~) Weneeh OL WESC TSY.. |’... ons vanes 2x5

—— —— —, length of second ray ............ 1,4

—— —— —, length of last ray .............. is

eer DONE OF Ds 54 ay te cb eae ee) ee

Second dorsal, distance from first dorsal ........

- eres ork) ah. AER ere earinte gl

— ——-, height in front .................. 14

Pectorals, distance from snout ................ 4

ARE Sat aes ain b nas bth e cy See 254;

——, width of base ...................... if

Ventrals, distance from tip of mandible, mouth open 2-8;

AMR oy eas on eae roit Rene eae ei

Anal, distance from tip of mandible, mouth open.. 63

OMI OR EROTIC oe. aan ls ee an it

DOUUMONBEN nc facet ies es: soe eee eee rh

Tail, height behind second dorsal .............. 9 7h

Order ACANTHOPTERYGII, Cuv.

Fam. TrRICHIURID.

NESIARCHUS, gen. nov.

Body elongate, covered with small scales. Cleft of mouth deep.

Several strong teeth in the jaws; none on the palatine bones or the

vomer. First dorsal not extending to the second. No finlets behind

either the dorsal or anal fin. Perfect thoracic ventral fins present.

Caudal fin well developed. A dagger-shaped spine behind the vent.

No keel on the tail. One lateral line. Seven branchiostegal rays.

An air-bladder. Pyloric ceeca in moderate number.

This genus may be entered in the Synopsis of Trichiuroid genera,

given in the Cat. of the Brit. Mus. Collection, thus :—

“‘Ventrals present: a dagger-shaped spine behind the vent.”’

ee te

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Fishes from Madeira. 65

‘NESIARCHUS NASUTUS, Sp. 1.

ist D. 20. 2nd D. 2.21. A. 22. P.13. V.1.4. C. vil. 8+7.

vii. M. B. 7.

This fish has much of the external aspect of Thyrsites Prometheus.

The body is very elongate, compressed, covered with small, deciduous,

cycloid scales, which are elegantly marked with concentric striz ;

the height of the body, compared with the total length, is as 1 to

13. The head is scaly in every part, but unarmed ; it is compressed,

and the cheeks are flat. There is a. broad groove between the eyes

and on the snout, as in Aphanopus. The length of the head, com-

pared with the total length, is as 1 to 4$. The round eye is placed

at the side of the head, amd does not quite reach to the outline; it

is contained 92 times in the head, is rather more than a diameter

distant from the other eye, and each is distant about 47 diameters

from the tip of the snout. The members of each pair of nostrils are

distant from each other, and the hinder one is a small oblique slit.

The bones of the scaly opercle and subopercle are thin and radiato-

striate; the border of the former has an angular projection. The

ill-openings are wide. The snout is long, and is terminated by a

et conical cartilaginous process, which projects much beyond the

jaw. The mandible has a similar but longer cartilaginous process.

These processes (some rudiments of which may be seen in Aphano-

pus) bestow on the head somewhat of the appearance of Sphyrena

vulgaris. The rictus is large. The upper border of the mouth is

formed entirely of the premaxillary, which is broad above and narrow

below. The scaly maxillary, which lies exposed behind, and is broad

below and narrow above, does not quite reach back to the vertical

irom the middle of the eye. The mandibular bones project a little

beyond those of the upper jaw.

The dentition bears much resemblatice to that of Aphanopus. In

each jaw there is a single series of moderately strong teeth, which

are pointed, compressed, and subtriangular ; those of the lower jaw

are about thirteen in number on each side, and are rather larger than

those of the upper jaw, where there are also thirteen on each side,

in addition to three pairs of considerably larger teeth, which stand a

little within the line of the others, near the fore end of the jaw.

These teeth increase in size backwards, the last pair being about

four-tenths of an inch long.

All these are pointed and compressed, and have a slight double

curvature. The three pairs stand opposite the second, third, and

fourth pairs of teeth on the lower jaw. There are no teeth on the

palatine bones or on the vomer. The tongue is smooth, narrow,

and black like the pharynx and the inside of the gill-covers.

The first dorsal fin commences at the nape in front of the root of

the pectoral fins. It rises. from a groove, is moderately high, and

its spines are weak, distant, and grooved, but not tuberculated. It

is rather higher behind than in front, and there is an interval equal

to about one-fifth of the length of the head between it and the second

dorsal, which is high in front, where it is subtriangular. The fourth

and fifth rays are the longest. The last four or five rays are short

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 5

66 Zoological Society :—

and much branched, the last ray being elongated*. The anal fin is

preceded by a stout broad two-edged spine, similar to that possessed

by Aphanopus. This. fin is opposite and similar in shape to the

second dorsal. The first ray is weak, but appears to be a simple

spine ; and the last ray is somewhat prolonged. The pectoral fins

are pointed, and inserted below the middle of the height. The ven-

tral fins are thoracic, being placed close together a little behind the

pectoral fins ; they are small, being only equal to one-eleventh of the

head, but consist of a spine, which is stout below and slender above,

and four soft rays connected by membrane. The ray next to the

spine is the longest. The caudal fin is well developed and deeply

cleft ; its tays are very broad below.

The unarmed lateral line falls gently from the shoulder to the

middle of the body, whence it is horizontal to the caudal fin. The

tail has no keel, and is not depressed behind the second dorsal.

There is no barbel nor any prominent papilla near the vent.

The body of the fish is uniformly lead-coloured, with black fins ;

its skin, when the scales have been removed, is black. .

The peritoneum is black ; the stomach long and simple ; the in-

testinal tube straight. There are about eight pyloric ceca, and a

long narrow air-bladder with thin walls.

Only a single specimen has occurred, and this was taken in the

month of April last. It had a length of 363 inches, a height at the

ventral fins of 2,8; inches, and a thickness at the same place of

1,3,inch. Decidedly Trichiuroid as it is, it differs from all the genera

of that family hitherto known, and a new genus must be established

for its reception. From Aphanopus, with which it agrees in having

a dagger-shaped spine behind the vent, it differs in being possessed

of scales and ventral fins; from Lepidopus it is distinguished by

having two dorsals and scales, and by the absence of teeth from the

palatine bones; from Trichiurus by having two dorsal fins, a well-

developed caudal fin, and many-rayed ventral fins ; from Lpinnula

by having a single lateral line, and by the separation of the dorsal

fins ; from Thyrsites by having no teeth on the palatine bones, and

by the separation of the dorsal fins; from Dicrotus in having scales

and many-rayed ventrals; and from Gempylus by the presence of

scales and the absence of finlets. Moreover in the two known species

of the last-named genus each ventral fin is represented by a spine. —

From the Sphyrenide, it may be mentioned in passing, it differs by

the ventral fins being thoracic, and by the proximity of the dorsal fins.

The following are the dimensions in inches of the principal parts

of the specimen, which has been added to the collection of fishes at

the British Museum :—

Rene of teat oS ei a eke ee i

Hives; diameter... 20... ER Ce ARS To

PRHMLANOD BDO Gs Lacey Cee ee eens iy

, distance from tip of snout............ 41

* The membrane connecting the last four or five rays of the second dorsal and

the last five or six rays of the anal fin is much torn in the specimen. In an older

fish they might possibly form detached finlets, the structure of the rays bearing

much resemblance to those of the finlets possessed by some Trichiuroid genera.

Se ae ee ee

ee te,

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Fishes from Madeira. 67

Ripper jaw bones, length 35).5 sci. '6 esis Gewese s ;

First dorsal, distance from tip of snout ........ 6

— » length of hae@- 22% 56.6. J sieesee 16

—— ——,, highest spimes ..............2--. 13

— -, interval between first and second dorsal 14

Second dorsal, length of base ............--.- 6

—— , length of fourth and fifth rays .... 2}

mecsraln, levigth: (oye sotess sas se tees oes

si Width of beaeitt si isk 6 es sedis 3

, distance from snout ..... mpvcsudis aul 73

Nonkines Mab iso a9 i ican SS aS Res is

Vent, distance of its vertical from tip of mandible 24

pamance from anal oo sc6 3b isdn cd sie ds a 1

Spine before anal, length................-.4. ra

Caudal, length of external rays ............-- bs 1S

Fam. ScoMBRID2.

SCHEDOPHILUS ELONGATUS, sp. 2.

D.39. As. P.21. V.t. C. ii. 947. iv. M.B. 7.

Uniformly purplish black, somewhat paler on the belly. The

body is elliptico-oblong and much compressed, the height, compared

with the total length, being as 1 to 43, and the length of the head

to the total length as 1 to 5.

The head is scaleless above, gelatinous, punctate, and arched.

The snout is abbreviate and abrupt, but does not form a quadrant

with the head, as is the case in S. Berthelotit. The opercle and sub-

opercle are scaly and striate, the strie ending at the margin in mi-

nute teeth. The preopercle is scaleless, the border being striate,

and the striz projecting as blunt teeth*. The eye is round, its

centre is placed about the middle of the height, and it is surrounded

by radiating grooves ; it is contained five times in the head; the

space between it and the tip of the snout is equal to a diameter and

a half. The mouth is of moderate size, and the jaws are equal ;

each is set with a single series of small sharp teeth. There are no

teeth on the palatines or the vomer. The tongue is broad, smooth,

and white.

The long scaly dorsal fin commences behind the root of. the pec-

toral fin ; it is low in front, highest at the middle, and has an angular

termination. The spinous rays are not to be distinguished from the

others. The pectoral fins are pointed, and have broad roots ; they

are inserted below the middle of the height, and their fourth and

fifth rays are the longest ; they scarcely reach more than halfway

to the vent. The pointed ventral fins are inserted near together,

just under the posterior angle of the root of the pectoral fins. The

second soft ray is the longest; this fin does not reach halfway to

the vent. The scaly anal fin is high in front and pointed behind ;

it terminates opposite, or perhaps a little behind, the termination of

* In describing S. Berthelotii (Ichth. Canarienne, p. 45), M. Valenciennes says

that the opercle, subopercle, and interopercle are not scaly, whereas all the oper-

cular pieces are most certainly scaly. ;

68 Zoological Society.

the dorsal; its base is about half as long as that of the dorsal fin.

The caudal fin is deeply emarginate ; its membrane has scales upon

it between the rays. :

The lateral. line rises slightly on the shoulder, then descends

gently to the middle of the height, and from a little behind the

middle of the total length it is horizontal. The scales are very small,

cycloid, and concentrically striate ; those of the lateral line are about

160 in number.

The single individual from which these characters have been drawn

up, though bearing considerable resemblance to S. Berthelotii (which

occasionally occurs at Madeira), is sufficiently distinct from that and

other known members of the genus to warrant the definition of a

new species. From S. Berthelotii it is easily distinguished by the

smaller scales, the longer body (height to length as 1 to 43, instead

of 1 to 3), the shorter head (head to length as 1 to 5, instead of 1 to 4),

the longer snout (equal to 14 diam. of the eye, whereas in S. Berthe-

loti it is less than one diameter of the eye), by the shorter pectoral

and ventral fins only reaching about halfway to the vent (whereas in

S. Berthelotii they extend backwards as far as the vent), and by the

commencement of the dorsal fin being placed behind the root of the

pectorals, whereas in S. Berthelotii that fin commences considerably

in front of that point. A thick purple fluid exuded from the vent of

the dead fish ; and the same thing has occurred in the case of all the

specimens of 8. Berthelotii that have occurred. The fishermen give

to both these species the name of “ Praga.”

The total length of the specimen (which was taken in the month

of April last) is 14,4 inches ; the height between the ventrals and

the vent is 3,5; inches, and its thickness thereabouts is +4 inch.

The dimensions of the principal parts are expressed in inches in the

following table :—

deeds 08 hapatl 2258 st i os BT Se ae

Diameter of eye, rather more than ..........

Dorsal, lengtiy of base 2.6.0 es oe ole

j height ab middle oi. 055 2. os ete :

» Gistance fromi SMOWE. 66 oss eee eee

Pavtoris; lengitle ii. 00.04 a coe ee

376

, een Of ase 6 Se ee

, distance from snout................

Wontrald) engi 7s asses SON

Vent, distance of its vertical from snout ......

» Gistancs from anal... 2.2.0. ee eke

Moat; engtle of base ss ee ee

y Henght im: fronts: oh. os os cv ees ee es

Caudal, length of longest rays ..............

Fam. TrigLip&.

SETARCHES, gen. nov.

Head and body compressed ; no transverse groove at the occiput ;

vertex without spines; preoperculum armed; body covered with

cycloid scales ; without skinny appendages. One dorsal fin, divided

by a notch into a spinous and a soft portion. No pectoral appendages.

—) 7 “ey

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Fishes from Madeira. 69

Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the vomer, and on the palatine bones.

Lateral line a broad scaleless groove. Six or seven branchi

rays. Pyloric appendages in small number. No air-bladder.

It will be observed that this new genus is closely related to Sebastes

and Scorpena, but more nearly to the former than to the latter.

From both it is distinguished by the cycloid scales, the scaleless

lateral line, and the absence of spines from the vertex. The single

individual on which it has been founded was taken in the month of

December 1861, and is now in the British Museum. It was at first

assigned to the genus Sebastes, but was at once discriminated from

all the species of that genus previously taken at Madeira. With these

species [ shall compare it throughout my description, with the view

of aiding other observers in identifying specimens, if they should occur.

Serarcues GUNTHERI, sp. n.

D.11%. A.3. P.22 V.z. C. iv. 747. iv.

The height, compared with the total length, is as 1 to4. The

head is large, being contained in the length only 23 times. It is

scaleless, and without prominent spines on the vertex ; the bones are

cavernous ; the space between the eyes is flat and marked by several

low ridges. At the back of the head are two broad flat spines point-

ing backwards.

The eye is contained 54 times in the head, and is distant from the

tip of the scaleless snout about a diameter and a half. The space be-

tween the eyes is considerably more than equal to the diameter, and is

to the length of the head as 1 to4}. There are no spines above the

postero-superior part of the orbit. The snout is rounded and trun-

cate; its length is equal to one-third of the length of the head.

There is a skinny appendage at the posterior margin of the anterior

nostril. The opercle is scaly, and is crossed by two strong crests

terminating in long spines, which reach up to its edge; the higher

of these spines is to the length of the head as tol to 7}. At the

border of the scaly preopercle there are five spines, pointing back-

wards, of which the three highest are long, narrow, and parallel, the

middle one of the three being equal in length to the larger of the

opercular spines: these five spines occupy the position of those of

Sebastes dactylopterus.

The mouth is moderately large. The maxillary is broad below, is

vertically truncate, and reaches back to the posterior margin of the

eye. The under jaw isa trifle longer than the upper, which is notched

in front. Both jaws, the palatines, and the vomer are set with bands

of villiform teeth. The tongue is free near the apex, is very thick,

and has a thin spatuliform projection in front similar to that seen in

front of the tongue of S. Kuhlit, which, however, does not reach so

far forward as in the case of the present species. The tongue and

pharynx are black. The branchiostegal membrane, when the mouth

is closed, is almost concealed by the opercular pieces and the very

broad mandibular bones.

The dorsal fin is long, commencing before the root of the pectoral ;

its spines are stout, and the soft portion rounded. The anal fin is

short, and terminates opposite the termination of the dorsal fin ; its

70 Zoological Society.

third spine is the longest, and is to the length of the head as 1 to 34,

but it is shorter than the first three soft rays. The pectoral fin is

broad and long, reaching back to the commencement of the anal fin,

its length being to the total length as 1 to 33. The first two and

the last five rays are simple, the others branched. ‘The tenth,

eleventh, and twelfth rays are the longest, and the last rays are the

shortest. None of them project beyond the membrane. The ventral

fins are placed together under the roots of the pectoral fins ; they are

pointed, and extend over rather more than half the distance between

their roots and the commencement of the anal fin. The spine is stout ;

the two first soft rays longer than the others. The caudal fin is

truncate, and is scaly only at the base. The vent is far back, being

under the base of the twelfth dorsal spine.

The scales are very small, and cycloid, offering no roughness to the

finger when drawn from tail to head. The broad and scaleless lateral

line descends gently from the shoulder to the tail, where it is straight;

its membrane has thirty divisions, but the rows of scales that abut

upon it are about eighty-six in number.

The czecal stomach was found to be of moderate length, and there

were only two pyloric ceca. The intestine was long, having one

convolution. No air-bladder was observed. Its colour was a uniform

pinky red, minutely dotted with black.

In consequence of the anterior part of the dorsal fin having been

injured, the comparative length of the spines could not be ascertained.

The number of the branchiostegal rays on one side is six, on the

other seven.

From Sebastes dactylopterus, S. Kuhlii, and 8. maderensis, the

only three Madeiran species of that genus hitherto known, it is well

distinguished by the flatness of the head between the eyes, by the

absence of prominent spines from the vertex, by the third (not the

second) anal spine being the longest, by the broad membranous lateral

line,sand by the cycloid scales. From the first-named species it is

further distinguished by the soft rays of the dorsal fin being nine in

number, in place of twelve; and from the two latter species by the

black pharynx. With Sebastes filifer, Val. (Ich. Can. p. 21, pl. 2.

fig. 2), this fish agrees in having scales with simple borders; but it

differs (in addition to the characters by which the genus Setarches

is separated from the genus Sebastes) in the number of the rays of

the pectoral fin (22 in place of 16), in having, not all, but only the

two first and the last five rays of that fin simple, in possessing five

in place of four preopercular spines, and in the smaller scales (86

in place of 62 along the lateral line).

Dedicated to my friend Dr. A. Giinther, the well-known ichthyo-

logist, to whom I am indebted for much valuable instruction.

The following are the dimensions in inches of the principal parts

of the specimen, which is now in the British Museum :—

MRR OMRER 051 E cio 2is 5 oles SAN SANG SUR 9

Pie Se cise ns Wo 6 sn naan sk Weve Wee

Duemieths of Head § asics! Sa lin dob eae sible 375

of second preopercular spine.......... ty

DiaMOher DT CYC ai. sik eae ese bina bisects oa

ee BT, Sah ee i, RE ee”

Miscellaneous. 71

Length of maxillary ...........2eceeeeeeee GS

of base of dorsal fin .............+.. 33

of pectoral fini sighed a6 os sew ssiecews 21

of base of pectoral fin ....... Secale

of ventral fing iocg cand ieiaidied cae «ce oe) 14

of base of anal: fitt . &:. 5 .<ccuieicis'e sic es

of third anal spine...... daub 43.5 ds oat

ofequdal fia sosdcies ees ia awe 155

Distance of vertical of vent from snout........ 5%

Fam. Percip2.

PRIACANTHUS INSULARUM, §p. 0.

“DD. 10.15. A. 3.15. Scales of lateral line, about 76.

This species has a close resemblance to P. macrophthalmus, from

which, however, the following differences distinguish it:—1. The

height of the body to the total length is as 1 to 32, not as 1 to 2.

2. The diameter of the eye is to the length of the head as 1 to 3,

not as 1 to 25. 3. The number of soft rays in the dorsal fin is 15,

not 13 or 14. 4. The length of the second dorsal spine is to the

last as 1 to 2, not as 1 to 13. 5. The edge of the opercle has one

flat spine, and above this there is a rounded plate ; whereas the edge

of the opercle of P. macrophthalmus has two flat spines. 6. In P.

macrophthalmus the two borders of the preopercle form a right angle,

and the margins are strongly denticulated. In the present species

the angle formed by the free borders of the preopercle is obtuse, and

the margins are very finely serrate. 7. The caudal is slightly emar-

ginate. 8. The fins have not black edges, as is the case with P.

macrophthalmus.

This species is established on a single specimen, taken last May,

which had a length of 143 inches, and a height of 32, the head being

32 inches long. The eye had a diameter of 1} inch. The example

was coloured a uniform red, and it is now in the British Museum.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Use of the Weights and Measures of the Metric System in Scientific

Pursuits.

On the 18th of November last, a numerous deputation, composed

of individuals of great eminence and belonging to various occupations

and professions, waited on the Rt. Hon. Milner Gibson, M.P., Pre-

sident of the Board of Trade, for the purpose of representing the

expediency of carrying into effect the recommendations of the Com-

mittee of the House of Commons which was appointed last session

to consider the advantages of an international system of weights and

measures. This Committee, after a long and careful investigation of

the whole question, had unanimously resolved to recommend the

adoption, for all purposes and throughout the British Empire, of the

weights and measures of the metric system. Mr. Wm. Ewart,

as Chairman of the Committee, introduced the deputation to the

minister, who listened to all the speakers with the greatest attention

and courtesy, and returned a very encouraging answer.

‘The claims of natural history were advocated by Professor Owen,

72 Miscellaneous.

who showed that the labours of British naturalists are to a great

degree frustrated, so far as regards weights and measures, by the

intricacy and inconvenience of the English method, and its limitation

to the British Islands. If an English anatomist gives the weight of

the brain or lungs, for example, of some newly discovered animal in

the terms of the national method, it may not be known whether he

uses troy weight or avoirdupois ; or if he gives the length of a bone

or any other part in “lines,” it is uncertain whether a “line” is the

tenth or the twelfth of an inch. On the other hand, the metre, the

litre, and the gramme, with their decimal multiples and subdivisions,

are not only accepted and understood by cultivated persons in almost

all foreign countries, but they are extensively used by British che-

mists and other men of science. They are learnt with the greatest

ease ; when once learnt, they cannot be forgotten, and their advan-

tages are found to be indisputable. Under present circumstances,

careful describers find themselves obliged to employ two systems, a

bad and a good one. Professor Owen has for some time used the

metric system in this way, appending the dimensions in decimal

parts of the metre to the denominations of the English method.

** Although,” as he stated, ‘‘ when the system of weight or measure

is noted by the observer, its reduction in a single instance may be a

small demand upon the time and attention of the reader, yet the

repetition of that act takes a serious amount from the working hours

of the individual; and, when multiplied by the number of students,

who are obstructed by conflicting systems of weights and measures,

the impediment to the progress of the sciences of observation becomes

so great as to render the subject quite worthy of the consideration of

legislative authority.”

The Unicorn of the Ancients.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,—Dr. A.E. Brehm has favoured me with the following

communication on the subject of the ‘‘ Unicorn.” As the remarks are

those of an African traveller, I think they are quite worth publishing

in your Magazine. Enough now of the Unicorn ; requiescat in pace!

Your obedient Servant,

Preston Rectory, Wellington, Salop. W. Hoveuron. |

Dec. 8, 1862.

“‘Srr,—In reference to your interesting paper in No. 59 of the

‘Annals of Natural History,’ I take the liberty to inform you that

also in the interior of Africa, where I have travelled, the ‘‘ Unicorn”

(Anasa of the natives) is nothing more than the Rhinoceros. It will

be interesting to you to learn that, at the present day, in the interior

of Africa—for example, at Carthum (Cartoum)—drinking-vessels and

cups are still made from the horn of the Rhinoceros, as they attri-

bute to it the very same properties which Ctesias did (page 367 of

your communication). They also use the horn for the purpose of

making sword-handles.

“I am, Sir, yours respectfully,

“ Leipzig, Dec. 2, 1862.” “A. E. BreuM.”

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES.]

No. 62. FEBRUARY 1863.

X.— Observations on some of the Fossil Fishes of Dura Den.

By Rosert Wa.kER*.

[Plate II.]

Tue following observations upon the Fossil Fishes of Dura Den

are mainly based upon the examination of the large and valuable

collection contained in the museum, for which we are much in-

debted to Mr. and Mrs. Dalgleish, on whose property they are.

found. I have endeavoured to make a careful examination of

their external structure, with a view to determine some points

regarding their generic and specific characters, which seemed to

me to require further elucidation.

Before entering on this subject, it may be necessary to say a

few words about some of the previous writings on this depart-

ment of paleontology. The scales of Holoptychius were first

described by the late Dr. Fleming, in ‘Cheek’s Edinburgh

Journal,’ 1831, as the scales of some “vertebrated animal,

probably those of a fish ;” they had been found, a year or two

before, in the yellow sandstones of Drumdryan, about a mile to

the west of Dura Den, by Dr.Fleming. A few years afterwards,

entire specimens of Holoptychius, Phaneropleuron, Pterichthys,

and some other fishes were found in the sandstones of Dura Den,

and some of these were for the first time brought into notice by

Dr. Anderson in his Geological Essay in ‘ Fife Illustrated” ~ It

was not, however, till some of these fishes were submitted to the

scrutiny of Agassiz that anything like correct generic and specific

characters were assigned to them. These, with figures, were

first published in the ‘ Poissons Fossiles du Vieux Grés Rouge,’ the

Holoptychii under the specific names of Andersoni and Flemingii.

* Communicated by the Author, having been read to the Literary and

Philosophical Society, St. Andrews.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 6

74 Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den.

To the description of H. Andersoni perhaps little can now be added

(what little may be hereafter added is more likely to affect its

generic than its specific character). An additional description

of this species has been given by Prof. Huxley in Dr. Anderson’s

‘Monograph of Dura Den,’ and more recently in the ‘ Tenth

Decade of the Geological Survey,’ lately published, which con-

tains a restoration of Holoptychius, and some descriptive remarks

on that genus comprised in Prof. Huxley’s excellent ‘ Preliminary

Essay’ on the Classification of the Devonian Fishes. The name

H. Flemingti was founded by Agassiz on a piece of a fish which

was found in Dura Den, I believe, by Dr. Fleming. It appears

to have belonged to a fish of some size—fully larger than most

fishes from that quarter. The same species, according to Agassiz,

was afterwards found in the “ Old Red of Russia.”

Notwithstanding the distinct figure and clear description of

the scales of this species given by Agassiz, it appears to have

been overlooked by some geologists, and altogether disregarded

as a distinct species by others. On the other hand, some pale-

ontologists, while recognizing the distinct character of the scales

of H. Flemingii, have asserted that they belonged to some part

of H. Andersoni: among the latter was Prof. M‘Coy, who was

perhaps led into what seems to me to be an error in consequence

of the fragmentary condition of his specimens; in his case,

however, it appears the more remarkable, inasmuch as he had

correctly observed and described the scales of H. Flemingii in

his ‘ Paleeozoic Fossils.’ It would seem, however, that he had

still doubts about the matter, as appears from the following

sentence in the same work, in his description of H. Sedgwickii :

“This species, like H. Flemingii, is remarkable for being found

on its side, indicating apparently a compressed instead of a de-

pressed form ; it also resembles that species in the sculpturing

of the scales.” Nevertheless it appears to me that H. Flemingit,

Agass., is not only a distinct species, but belongs also to another

genus, viz. Glyptolepis. In general form H. Flemingii appears

to have pretty closely resembled H. Andersoni; but in most

specimens, if not in all, it was considerably deeper in proportion

to the length. The pectoral and ventral fins appear to be

strongly lobated ; the latter, at any rate, in some specimens, were

placed fully half their own length in front of the anterior dorsal,

which was small, and placed far back. The caudal fin is not

very distinctly exhibited in any specimen, but, so far as shown,

it appears to be unequally lobed. The scales, as already de-

scribed by Agassiz, are, when entire, a good deal higher than

long, especially along the sides; on the dorsal and ventral areas

they assume a rounder form. The ornamental lines on the ex-

posed parts of the scales, on the sides, extend pretty horizontally

OPT TA ay ee aN ny MR erga Nae

Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den. 75

to the free edges, and seldom anastomose ; but along the belly

and towards the back, above the lateral line, where the sculp-

turing becomes bolder and sharply defined, anastomoses more

frequently take place between the lines or ridges.

So far as yet stated, there is nothing to indicate more than

specific differences ; but when these scales are closely examined,

a number of small and very distinct points or tubercles are seen,

which form a semilunar or crescentic area on the posterior part

of the first half of each scale, and immediately in front of the

exposed sculpture. These tubercles appear as radiating in

straight lmes from a centre, which is not itself apparent, and

are best seen on the scales that cover the sides of the fish. I

have found them, however, more or less distinctly indicated, on

well-preserved specimens, on nearly all parts of the body, from

the ventral to almost the extreme dorsal edge. When the scales

are entire, these crescentic areas are almost hidden by the over-

lapping of the anterior scales, and, excepting a very small part,

they may be said to be altogether concealed. When the scales

are not well preserved, of course these tubercles are obliterated

altogether ; but when well-preserved specimens are met with,

and the overlapping scales are absent or removed, then these

tubercles are very distinct and easily recognized (fig. 2); and

two inches behind the jugular plates; natural size.

when compared with specimens of undoubted Glyptolepis (for

which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Powrie), and then

with the figures and description of the scales of that genus in

Prof. Huxley’s essay, ‘ Decade X.,’ the resemblance is at once

apparent and unmistakeable. In some cases the resemblance is

even closer to the figure from Pander, given in the above decade,

than to that of the figures by Huxley, which were drawn (as he

says) from a scale of Glyptolepis from Wick. To Prof. Pander

is due the credit of having first discovered the true sculpture of

the scales of Glyptolepis, which he wrought out of a Lethan-Bur

nodule ; while Prof. Huxley has still further elucidated and con-

firmed the matter, which he says he did by “ scraping away the

inner layers of the scales of undoubted examples of this genus

76 Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den.

in the Museum of Practical Geology,” &c. He further states,

“The clear recognition of the fact that this elegant structure

really characterizes Glyptolepis is of great importance, for it en-

ables one to discriminate between Holoptychius (whose scales

have no semilunar area of backwardly-directed points) and Gly-

ptolepis.” As we have just seen, the scales of H. Flemingii, Agass.,

have the identical structure of the scales of undoubted specimens

of Glyptolepis, so far, at least, as the crescent of points is con-

cerned, which seems to be the only tangible difference between

them generically (Holoptychius and Glyptolepis). Such being

the case, we are warranted in pronouncing H. Flemingii to be a

true Glyptolepis.

The head of H. (G.) Flemingii is in length to that of the body

as 1 to 4 or 5, and is of a depressed roundish form, gradually

tapering towards the snout, which is blunt and round. The

head is covered with granulated plates of no great thickness ;

on the sides of the head they join each other by squamous su-

tures, extending inward and upward. In this way these bones

slightly overlap at the margins, without projecting externally.

When their granulated surfaces happen to be uninjured, it is

not always easy to determine where one bone ends and another

begins. The occipital region is covered over by a median and

two lateral bones; the median, or supra-occipital (s.o.), is trun-

cated in front and rounded behind, where it partly overlaps the

;

JU.

Side view of the head of H. Flemingit.

scales of the nape. The lateral or epiotic (zp.) extend back-

wards and downwards till they meet the operculum, their upper

ee Rr

Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den. 77

anterior edges projecting forward a little beyond the commence-

ment of the parietals. The parietals (pa.) are rather large

bones, and, like the frontals, join each other on the middle of

the cranium by a suture of square edges ; their posterior ends

are truncated where they meet the supra-occipital, the anterior

somewhat regularly rounded, the round terminating on the

antero-lateral edges in points, which are rendered more apparent

by their lateral margins being concave. Into these concave mar-

gins the upper edge of one of two bones, which may represent

the squamosal (s@.), is attached; they meet the epiotic poste-

riorly, and fill in the spaces between the parietals and operculum.

The operculum (or.) and sub-operculum (s.oP.) are distinct bones,

co-adapted, and look somewhat like a single rudely crescent-

shaped plate, with the concave edge turned upward, rounded

behind, and slightly so in front. The opercular and squamosal

bones are succeeded in front by two bones, the upper of which

may represent the supra-temporal (s.7.), and meets the lower

margin of the parieta! ; the lower bone, which may be the hyo-

mandibular (.m.?), fills in the space between the supra-temporal

and the maxilla. Both these bones have their exposed surfaces

ornamented by radiating strie; on the upper bone the strie

proceed from a raised horizontal centre, on the lower bone from.

a raised nearly vertical centre. The frontals (rr.) are about

half the length of the parietals, and not much more than half

their breadth ; the posterior margins, by which they meet the

parietals, are concave, the anterior somewhat convex. There is

a small bone on each side of the head, probably the post-frontal

(pt.F.), which fits in between the frontals and the supra-temporals.

The next bone in front is perhaps the post-orbital (pr.o.), which

forms the posterior boundary of the orbit; its margins unite

with the frontal, post-frontal, and supra-temporal; the lower

edges unite behind the middle of the orbit with the sub-orbital

bone (sB.0.), which thus forms the lower boundary of the orbit

behind and fills in the space between the post-orbital and the

maxilla. The bones in front of the orbits are not distinctly

defineable on any specimen that I have seen ; but it appears as-if

the lower edge of the pre-frontal passed back between the orbit

and the maxilla till it met the sub-orbital. Neither are the

bones before the frontals clearly legible ; the space seems to be

occupied by a number of small four- and five-sided plates, which

may represent the ethmoid, &c. The maxille (mx.) do not

appear to have been very strong; externally they were orna-

mented like the bones of the head, and had a row of small (as

far as I have seen) equal-sized teeth on their lower edges. There

appears to me to be a pretty distinct pre-maxilla (p.mx.), which

joins the maxilla under the anterior margin of the orbit, and

78 Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den.

there is a row of small slightly hooked teeth extending round

its lower border.

The lower jaws appear to be strong, and are somewhat power-

ful-looking bones: there are two distinct rows of plates on each

side between the rami and the two central jugular plates; the

Fig. 4.

Wp 7

Crushed head of H. Flemingii.

outermost row is the largest; their exterior margins seem to have

been overlapped a little by the inferior edge of the rami, while

they in turn overlapped the margins of the next; these plates

are longer than broad, and meet each other by oblique sutures

passing inwards. The inner row of plates is about half the

\: -

breadth of the outer, and they join together by more transverse -

sutures. These plates or bones are continued back, and turned

up, on the sides of the head, behind the articulation of the infe-

rior maxilla, till they terminate below the inferior margin of the

sub-operculum.

So far as I can perceive, the cranium above described does

not appear to differ in any respect from that of H. Ander- |

soni: the head of the latter species is not, in general, so well

preserved ; but so far as the bones are exposed, they seem to me

to be the same in number, arrangement, and shape. Neither

does it differ materially from the bones of the head of Glypto-

pomus, as figured by Prof. Huxley; in fact; the resemblance in ~

Aiea 9 Spgs) 2 he ‘

ci a nt ge SL a aS NO RE Se ee ree ae eS en Re

a ee

a ey ee ee

_ Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den. 79

this case is very close, which is not altogether what we might

expect: we should rather have expected to find the head of that

genus agreeing in this respect with Glyptolemus and Osteolepis.

There are some other specimens of Glyptolepis from Dura Den

in the museum, which now appear to me deserving of a more

particular notice than I at first thought. These fishes have

appeared to me for a considerable time to be only a variety of

H. Flemingii ; but a more careful examination of some of these

specimens has now convinced me that they are specifically di-

stinct : at least, the differences between these two forms are as

great as that which exists between many of our present species.

Upon comparing specimens of both forms, about the same size,

I find the following differences :—The fishes in question have the

head rather shorter in proportion to the whole length ; the first

dorsal and the ventral fins are placed an inch (in some cases

more) nearer the head ; the dorsal and anal fins are larger than

the same fins in any specimen of H. Flemingii that I have ever

seen; and the scales, which will be more particularly noticed

hereafter, have their external sculpture much finer.

The specimen figured in Plate I]. measures 10} inches in

length ; to this we may perhaps add another inch to complete

the caudal extremity. The head is to the whole length as 1 to 5

or 54. The greatest depth of the body is halfway between the

termination of the head and the commencement of the first dorsal

fin, where it attains to 3 inches, from which it gradually tapers

to the beginning of the caudal fin, where it is 1} inch deep.

The pectoral fins are not preserved on any specimen. The first

dorsal fin commences six inches behind the snout; its longest

rays are 1} inch in length; the second dorsal fin is inserted

about an inch behind the termination of the first: this appears

to have been a large fin, with a round free margin ; the longest

rays measure 1#inchinlength. The ventral fins are placed a little

further forward than the first dorsal; but they are not in a suffi-

cient state of preservation, on this or any other specimen, to show

their exact form. The anal fin is situated under the second

dorsal, and terminates in a somewhat pointed extremity ; its

longest rays are 14 inch in length. The tail appears to be

heterocercal : the lower lobe is well developed, but rather abruptly

truncated at its posterior margin ; its first rays originate about

3 inch behind the anal fin, where they are 1? inch in length;

from this point they become gradually shorter as they near the

distal end: the upper lobe consists of a number of short rays,

which form a kind of marginal fringe on the upper side of the

notochord. The scales are rounded, and appear to be rather

thin; but they have the crescentic area of tubercles on their an-

terior half very clearly exhibited (fig. 2). The exposed surfaces

80 Mr. R. Walker on Fossil Fishes of Dura Den.

of the scales have fine thread-like sculptured lines extending

from the tubercles to the free margin; these lines seldom ana-

stomose. :

Whether the preceding is a new species of Glyptolepis, or not,

would at present be rather premature to say. However this may

be, it has never been noticed before as occurring among the

Dura-Den fishes.

There is another specimen in the museum which shows the

Glyptolepis crescentic structure of scale on some parts; it

appears to have been a fish of some size, perhaps 2 feet or more

in length, and is altogether different from H. Flemingii or the

fish last noticed. The specimen is laid nearly on the back; the

head and a considerable portion of the anterior of the body are

wanting. The scales on the ventral surface and one of the sides

for about two or three inches above the lateral line are well ex-

posed, although not in a very good state of preservation. The

scales are about an inch, some of them rather more, in diameter,

and their external sculpture is more like the scales of H. gigan-

teus, Agass., than any other scales that I know: those on the

belly do not show the crescentic area of points ; whether the

points have never been there, or have been destroyed in lifting

the specimen, is not easy to determine ; but, on the flank and

above the lateral line, some of the scales exhibit the area of

points in front of the exposed sculpture very distinctly. From

what I recollect of the large fish found in Dura Den, last year,

by Dr. Anderson, I think it not unlikely that it and the large

specimen above noticed will yet be found to belong to the same

species.

If I am not greatly mistaken, Dr. Anderson’s specimen of last

year has the same form of tail as the Giyptolepis figured by

Miller in pl. 5 of the ‘Old Red Sandstone.’ The finding of the

crescent of points on the large specimen has made me look still

more closely to the scales of H. Andersoni; besides, it has often

appeared to me very probable that to whatever genus H. Fle-

mingii might be assigned, H. Anderson, from its close resem-

blance, must also be assigned: in accordance with this view, I

have carefully looked over every specimen and fragment in the

museum (and, thanks to the labours of Dr. Heddle, they are not

few) ; but as yet I have entirely failed in finding the charac-

teristic crescent of points on the scales of any undoubted speci-

men of H. Andersoni. But the further consideration of this

and some other matters connected with these Dura-Den fossil

fishes must be left for another paper, wherein I will also direct

attention to some specimens of fishes either new to Dura Den or

at least not well known.

Mr. W.T. Blanford on Indian Species of Land-Shells. 81

XI.—On Indian Species of Land-Shells belonging to the Genera

Helix, Linn., and Nanina, Gray. By W. T. Branrorp,

A.R.S.M., F.G.S.

In the course of the last few years, much has been published

concerning the distribution of Indian and Burmese land-shells,

and a large number of novel forms have been described, chiefly

by Mr. W. H. Benson. The greater portion of this information,

however, has necessarily been derived from an examination of the

- shells alone, and has left untouched the important question of

the forms of the soft parts in the species described. In the case

of forms referred to the genus Helix especially, the determina-

tion of the presence or absence of a mucous pore at or near the

posterior termination of the foot is essential for the natural

classification of the different species. I have had opportunities,

during the last few years, of collecting several Indian and Bur-

mese snails in various parts of the country; and, although my

notes on the forms of the animals occupying them are very im-

perfect, they may suffice to correct some of the errors which

prevail, in conchological works, in attributing various species to

the different subgenera of Heliz and Nanina*.

I hope to communicate longer notices of the species enume-

rated below at some future time; for the present I have not the

data at hand, and I therefore confine myself to a list of the

species actually observed, with the localities from which I have

obtained them; and I have added in italics the names of other

species so closely allied to those observed that no doubt can

exist as to their subgeneric affinity. “With one or two exceptions,

which are noted, the observations were made by myself on the

living animals. The subgenera in which I have classed the

species noted are those of Albers and Pfeiffer, somewhat modi-

fied, with a few necessary additions.

The genus Nanina is naturally divided into two groups of

subgenera by the structure of the mucous pore itself; and this

subdivision is fully borne out by the characters of the shells

belonging to the two groups, although, as is the case more or

less throughout the Helicide, there are some indications of a

passage from one group to the other. In the first of these

sections the foot is narrow, and more or less abruptly truncated

posteriorly ; the mucous pore is situated af the vertical or sub-

vertical posterior termination, and has above it a projecting

* Thus, by Albers, H. Huttoni, Pfr., H. capitium, Bens., and H. Guerini,

Pfr., are incorrectly classed under Nanina; while Nanina Tranquebarica,

Fabr., and N. ampulla, Bens., are arranged under Heliz. Adams and, I

think, Pfeiffer, fall into similar errors, which, indeed, can only be guarded

against by an examination of the animals.

82 Mr. W. T. Blanford on Indian Species of Land-Shells

horn-shaped lobe, of very variable length, and possessing a cer-

tain amount of contractility. Of this group, which is probably

allied to Stenopus* (if, indeed, that name ought not to be adopted

for it), some of the principal Indian types are N.vitrinoides, Desh.,

N. infula, Bens., N. pylaica, Bens., and N. ampulla, Bens. In

the other group the foot is broader, flatter, and rounded poste-

riorly, as in most of the true Helices. The mucous pore, gene-

rally of larger comparative size than in the first specified section,

is situated in a groove in the centre of the upper surface of the

foot, close to the posterior extremity, with no lobe whatever

above or in front of it. Amongst the principal types are N.

levipes, Mill., N. bistrialis, Beck, N. Tranquebarica, Fabr., N.

indica, Pfr., and N. Thyreus, Bens.

Before any complete list of Indian Naninas can be made,

several additional observations are necessary. Amongst the

species of which notices are especially desirable are the follow-

ing :—

Nanina? Basileus, Bens. Anamullay Hills, S. India.

N.? Cycloplax, Bens. Darjiling, in the Sikkim Himalaya.

N.? Oxytes, Bens. Cherra, in the Khasi Hills.

N.? Orobia, Bens. Daryjiling.

N.? serrulat, Bens. Khasi Hills.

N.? climacterica, Bens. Khasi Hills and Arakan.

N.? anceps, Gould. Tenasserim.

N.? infrendens, Gould. Molmain.

N.? Bombax, Bens. Molmain.

H.? radicicola, Bens. Landour and Darjiling.

H.? bifoveata, Bens. Tenasserim.

H.? monticola, Hutt. Western Himalaya.

The three species of Sophinat described by Mr. Benson, from Mol-

main, besides several of the species from Ceylon.

In the following list, all species of which I have neither seen

the animals myself, nor authentic drawings of them, are marked

by italics, as are also all localities not verified by myself,

by my brother, Mr. H. F. Blanford, or by Mr. W. Theobald,

* The name Nanina has been so generally employed by conchologists

for the great genus of shell-bearing Helicide characterized by the presence

of a mucous pore, that, although objectionable both on account of its

signification and of other terms having unquestionable priority, no good

purpose could now be served by attempting to change it.

+ H. Bensoni, v. d. Busch, is the same shell as N.? serrula, Bens., if the

specimen of the first-named in Mr. Cuming’s cabinet is authentic, which I

believe it is.

t I am inclined to anticipate that these may very possibly prove to be

Naninas.

belonging to the Genera Helix and Nanina. 83

Jun., to whom I am indebted for several of the shells men-

tioned *.

Genus Nanina, Gray.

Section A. Mucous pore at the truncated posterior extremity of

the foot, and with a lobe above. (?Stenopus, Guilding.)

Subgenus Macrocutamys, Bens.

Syn. Orobia, Albers; Xesta, Pfr.

. vitrinoides, Desh. Bengal.

semifusca, Desh. S. Arcot; Trichinopoly; var. from the Kola-

mullay Hills.

. Perrottetii, Pfr. Nilgiri Hills, S. India.

Todarum, W. §& H. Blanf. Nilgiri Hills, S. India.

pansa, Bens. Thayet Myo, Pegu; Ava.

- molecula, Bens. Rangoon; Ava.

. textrina, Bens. Arakan and Pegu.

. ligulata, Fér. Bengal; Madras.

N. subjecta, Bens. Rajmahal Hills, Bengal ; Orissa.

N. lecythis, Bens. Rajmahal Hills, Bengal; Orissa.

N. lubrica, Bens. Darjiling.

N. decussata, Bens. Khasi Hills (Theobald) ; E. Bengal.

N. sequar, Bens. Darjiling.

N. rorida, Bens. Darjiling.

N. Hodgsoni, Bens. Darjiling.

N. Patane, Bens. Darjiling.

NV. Petasus, Bens. Tenasserim (Theobald).

N. splendens, Hutt. Western Himalaya ; Parasnath Hill, in Bengal?

N. acerra, Bens. Molmain (Theobald).

N. pauzillula, Bens. Thayet Myo, Pegu.

I am unacquainted with N. resplendens, Philippi, from Mergui,

in the Tenasserim provinces. Specimens which I have seen so

marked from Bengal were N. vitrinoides, Desh.

The animal of N. ligulata differs in colour and somewhat in

shape from the other species above enumerated. I am indebted

to my brother, Mr. H. F. Blanford, for a drawing of it. It

shows a passage into the other section of Nanina.

toa tat ita et aa

Subgenus Kanre.ta, n. subg.

Syn. Trochomorpha, Albers, part.

N. fastigiata, Hutt.. Western Himalayas; Nilgiri Hills.

N. Barrakporensis, Pfr. Base of Sikkim Himalayas ; Kalryenmul-

lay Hills, near Salem, in S. India (Foote).

N. aspirans, W. § H. Blanf. Nilgiri Hills.

* Absence from any collections and from almost all books of reference,

at the time of writing, will render these lists less full than I could have

wished them to be. I trust to be able to supply omissions hereafter.

84 Mr. W.T.Blanford on Indian Species of Land-Shells

Subgenus Trocnomorpna, Albers (restricted).

N. attegia, Bens. Irawaddy Valley, near Prome; Ava.

N. infula, Bens. Lower Bengal; Orissa. :

N. cacuminifera, Bens. Nilgiri Hills.

N. are, Bens. Therabuin Hill, Tenasserim (Theobald).

Subgenus DurGELLA, n. subg.

N. levicula, Bens. Tenasserim (Theobald) ; Prome, in Pegu.

N. mucosa, W.& H. Blanf. Nilgiri Hills.

N. seposita, Bens. Darjiling.

Subgenus Hericarion ?, Fér.

N. ampulla*, Bens. Western slope of Nilgiris (Elliott) ; Malabar

(Jerdon).

Subgenus Sesarat, Albers.

Syn. Tridopsis, Pfr., part.

N. pylaica, Bens. Molmain.

NN. impendens, Gould. Molmain.

N. capessens, Bens. Molmain (Theobald).

Helix Tickelli, Theobald, is a variety of either of the two last-

named shells, with two of the teeth in the peristome blended

together.

Section B. Mucous pore above the flattened posterior extremity of

the foot, and without a lobe above it. (Ariophanta, Desmoulins.)

Subgenus Hemrruecra f{?, Albers.

N. Tranquebarica, Fabr. E. coast of Southern India.

N. Bombayana?, Grat. E. base of Nilgiri Hills.

N. Belangeri, Desh. Bombay?

N. Maderaspatana, Gray. Nilgiri and other hill-groups of Southern

India.

N. solata, Bens. Nilgiri Hills.

N. bistrialis, Beck. Madras and Trichinopoly.

N. semirugata, Beck, I have little doubt, is only a variety of

Tranquebarica. WN. vitellina, Pfr., is almost equally question-

able.

* T am indebted to Mr. Walter Elliott for a drawing of the animal of

Nanina ampulla, Bens., which I have not myself met with. It would

seem to be distinguished from Helicarion by the absence of the long

mantle-lobes reversed over the shell; but I hesitate to separate it without

further information. Vitrina irradians, Pfr., observed by my brother, I

believe to be a true Helicarion, as are probably several of the other Indian

Vitrinas, e.g. V. gigas, Bens.

+ Classed by Albers as a subgenus of Heliz.

{ The type of Albers’s subgenus Hemiplecta is H. Humphreysiana, Lea,

which is a very different shell from any of those here attributed to the

section. Perhaps also N. Tranquebarica and its allies should be separated

from the remainder.

Le eee

belonging to the Genera Helix and Nanina. 85

Subgenus Rotuna, Pfr. (? Albers).

N. indica, Pfr. Nilgiri Hills.

N. Shiplayi, Pfr. Nilgiri Hills.

Subgenus Ar1opHAntTA, Desmoulins.

N. interrupta, Bens. Bengal.

N. Laidlayana, Bens. Orissa.

N. Nicobarica, Chemn. Cuddapah (King).

N. leevipes, Mill. Bombay.

N. retrorsa, Gould. Molmain (Theobald).

N. Bajadera, Pfr. Nagpur, small typical var.; Bombay, large var.

(Theobald).

From an inspection of the type-specimens of both shells, I

have ascertained that N. ammonia, Val., is founded on the type-

variety of N. Bajadera, Pfr. I have but little doubt that N.

Himalayana, Lea, is N. interrupia, Bens., the Himalayan locality

being probably an error. WN. retrorsa, Gould, appears, on the

other hand, to be a good species.

Subgenus Oxytes, Pfr.

N. Thyreeus, Bens. Nilgiri Hills.

N. Cysis, Bens. Nilgiri Hills.

N. Cyeloplax, Bens. Darjiling.

N. Ozytes, Bens. Khasi Hills (Theobald).

Genus Hetrx, Linn.

Subgenus Tacuta, Albers.

H. fallaciosa, Fér. East coast of Southern India; Ceylon.

H. Nilagarica, Pfr. Nilgiri Hills.

HI. asperella, Pfr. Central India.

H. Helferi, Bens. Andaman Islands (Haughton).

H. yittata, Fér. East coast of Southern India; Ceylon.

H. proxima, Fér. Caroor, in Coimbatoor district (King).

H. delibrata, Bens. Base of Himalayas, in Sikkim; Khasi Hills

(Theobald) ; Arakan ; Pegu.

H. gabata, Gould. Molmain (Theobald).

HI. Merguiensis, Pfr. Molmain.

The last three should perhaps be separated as a distinct sub-

genus. 4H. ruginosa, Fér., ‘appears to be merely a variety of

H. fallaciosa, into which it passes by insensible gradations.

H. crassicostata, Bens., is more distinct ; but if it prove to be,

as Pfeiffer considers it, a variety of H: ruginosa, it must also fall

under fallaciosa. The animal of H. vittata shows no essential

distinction from that of fallaciosa; and I can see no cause for

its separation as a distinct subgenus, as suggested by Albers.

86 Mr. W.T. Blanford on Indian Species of Land-Shells.

Subgenus Dorcasia?, Gray.

H. similaris, Fér. Thayet Myo, in Pegu; Dacca.

H. bolus, Bens. Thayet Myo.

H. Peguensis, Bens. Pegu.

H. Huttoni, Pfr. Western Himalaya; Sikkim; Nilgiri Hills;

Puppa Hill, Ava.

Hi. tapeina, Bens. Khasi Hills (Theobald); Pegu.

°H. rotatoria, v.d. Busch. Pegu.

H. Akoutongensis, Theobald. Akoutoung, on the Irawaddy, Pegu ;

Thayet Myo.

H. Oldhami, Bens. Arakan Hills; Ava.

I doubt much the distinctness of H. sculpturita, Bens., from

H. similaris, Fér., of which the first-named appears to be a large

solid variety.

Subgenus SiveL.a, n. subg.

H. castra, Bens. Darjiling; Balasore in Orissa; Ceylon; Arakan

Hills.

H. lychnia, Bens. Singapore; Nilgiri Hills (H. F. Blanford).

Subgenus Tuysonora*, Albers.

H. Guerini, Pfr. Nilgiri Hills.

H. crinigera, Bens. Nilgiri Hills.

Subgenus GANESELLA, n. subg.

H. capitium, Bens. Rajmahal Hills, Bengal; Orissa (Theobald) ;

Ava.

H. variola, Bens. Thayet Myo; Pegu.

The distinctness of these two species appears very dubious.

Subgenus Piecropy.is, Bens.

H. achatina, Gray. Molmain.

H. anguina, Gould. Mergut.

H. leiophis, Bens. Akoutoung, near Prome, Pegu; Thayet Myo.

H. refuga, Gould. Tenasserim Valley (dextral var., Theobald) ;

Tavoy (sinistral var.).

H. plectostoma, Bens. Darjiling; Khasi Hills (Theobald); Arakan

Hills; Bassein, Pegu.

H. pinacis, Bens. Darjiling.

H. retifera, Pfr. Nilgiri Hills.

Type-specimens of Helix anguina, Gould, in Mr. Cuming’s

collection, show that the species is quite distinct from H. acha-

tina, Gray, with which, however, H. repercussa, Gould, is iden-

tical.

* Classed by Albers under Nanina.

Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land-Shells. 87

XII.—Characters of new Land-Shells of the Genera Helix, Clau-

silia, and Spiraxis, from the Andamans, Moulmein, Northern

India, and Ceylon. By W. H. Benson, Esq.

1. Helix Haughtont, B., n. sp.

H. testa perforata, subumbilicata, solidula, subtrochiformi, irregu-

lariter oblique obsolete plicatula, confertissime et minutissime

spiraliter striata, epidermide rubenti-olivacea; spira depresse

conoidea, apice valde obtuso, sutura impressa; anfractibus 43-9,

convexis, ultimo antice breviter vix descendente, ad peripheriam

angulato, subtus convexo, circa umbilicum intus callo arctatum

compressiusculo; apertura obliqua, subrotundato-lunata, sub-

quadrangulari, intus albida, peristomate recto, marginibus callo

tenuissimo junctis, dextro intus subincrassato, columellari superne

breviter reflexiusculo, subtus incrassato, intus dente calloso inter-

dum munito.

Diam. major 31, minor 27, axis 19 mill.

Habitat in insulis Andamanicis.

Detexit Major J. C. Haughton.

This is the largest Heliz, and the most peculiar in form and

in the formation of the aperture, yet received from these islands,

the columellar callus in one specimen recalling the appearance

observable in some Mauritian Helices. In a second specimen,

this protuberance is more slightly developed. I am indebted for

it to Major Haughton, late Superintendent of the Andaman

Colony, now Chief Commissioner in Assam, whose search for the

land-shells of the locality has added largely to our knowledge of

the island forms.

2. Helix Gordonia, B., un. sp.

H. testa perforata, orbiculata, depressa, tenui, superne oblique plica-

tula et minutissime striata, infra leviore, subpolita, confertissime

radiatim striatula, striis nonnullis distantibus decussata, albida,

epidermide pallide cornea induta; spira planulata, apice vix ele-

vato, obtuso, suturis impressis, late marginatis; anfractibus 7,

lente accrescentibus, vix convexiusculis, ultimo ad peripheriam

superne compresse carinato, antice non descendente; apertura

subobliqua, lata, angulato-lunata, peristomate vix reflexiusculo,

intus breviter incrassato, albo, margine superiore brevi, basali late

regulariter arcuato, prope umbilicum undulato.

Diam. major 33, minor 39, axis 11 mill.

Habitat in regione Birmanica prope Moulmein.

Two specimens of this beautiful and delicate species, one of

which was imperfect, were kindly sent to me from Moulmein by

Mrs. Gordon, wife of Major-General Gordon, of the Madras

rif with other shells previously found in that neighbour-

ood.

88 Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land-Shells

3. Helix Cyclotrema, B., n. sp.

H. testa sinistrorsa, obtecte umbilicata, conoideo-subglobosa, oblique

striatula, granulata, sub epidermide cornea, albida; spira conoidea,

apice obtuso, subfoveato, suturis impressis ; anfractibus 44, con-

vexis, gradatim crescentibus, ultimo ad peripheriam obtuse angu-

lato, unifasciato, antice lato, longe descendente, subtus convexo ;

apertura valde obliqua, rotundata, peristomate dilatato, reflexius-

culo, marginibus conniventibus, approximatis, callo brevi junctis,

columellari late auriculato umbilicum celante.

Diam. major 22, minor 18, axis 11 mill.

Habitat in montibus “‘Soomeysur” dictis, prope regionem Nipalensem.

Detexit W. Theobald jun.

This interesting shell is the first of the sinistrorse group allied

to H. trifasciata, Chemn., which has been hitherto proved to

inhabit the Himalayan region. A sinistrorse shell, alleged to

have been collected by Dr. Burroughs in the Himalaya, was

named H. Himalana by Dr. Lea, in a paper read before the Phil.

Soc. of Philadelphia, in Feb. 1832 (date of the dedication of the

printed volume, July 1834). In August 1834, the Southern

Chinese H. cicatricosa (H. Senegalensis) was considered to be

the shell indicated by Dr. Lea, in the opinion of the late Mr.

G. B. Sowerby, and was described by me, in the Zoological

Journal of that year, under Lea’s name, together with H. inter-

rupta, m., which occurs abundantly in the Rajmahal range,

south of the Ganges, and in the Botanic Gardens near Calcutta.

There is now little reason to doubt that H. interrupta is the

same as Lea’s original shell; and, even assuming that the latter

had the advantage of priority of publication, the locality wrongly

assigned by the name to the species should cause the abandon-

ment of the designation on the same ground,as that of the

Chinese species originally attributed by mistake to Senegal.

A single dead and imperfect specimen of H. interrupta was

sent to me from the station of Darjiling, where it was picked up

by Mr. Theobald near a European dwelling-house. It was pro-

bably thrown away by the late Dr. Pearson, who resided at that.

station for some months, and who had also collected the shell,

which I discovered in 1831, in the outliers of the Rajmahal

range. It is highly improbable that the numerous conchological

collectors who have lately explored Darjiling and other parts of

the Himalayan Mountains should have missed a shell so con-

spicuous and abundant where found; and when a ‘ Times’ edi-

torial notice could, in 1860, announce a spur of the Himalaya

as being visible from Calcutta, it is not a subject for wonder

that an American traveller should have mistaken a group of

hills south of the Ganges for an offset of the magnificent moun-

tains which form the northern boundary of Hindostan.

of the Genera Helix, Clausilia, and Spiraxis. 89

4. Helix hyptiocyclos, B., n. sp.

H., testa latissime umbilicata, orbiculato-planata, planorbiformi, de-

pressa, fragili, oblique striatula, translucente, polita, olivaceo-

cornea ; spira concaviuscula, apice foveolato, suturis profundis ;

anfractibus 43, gradatim increscentibus, utrinque convexis, ultimo

convexiusculo, peripheria subcarinata; apertura valde obliqua,

elliptico-lunata ; peristomate tenui, acuto, marginibus conniventi-

bus, callo tenui junctis.

Diam. major 6, minor 5, alt. 14 mill.

Habitat sub stercore bovillo ad latera collium prope Fort M‘Donald,

teste F. Layard.

This little shell resembles a Planorbis more closely than any

known species of Heliz. The specimens were taken in a living

state, and it is a matter for regret that the tentacula and eyes

were not examined and recorded at the time of capture. Mr.

Layard, however, states that, when placed under a glass, the

animals crept briskly on the interior surface, a fact which inva-

lidates the idea of the shell being possibly a Planorbis. It

occurred on a flat space on the side of the hills where a clearing

had been made for cultivation, and where no water lay. The

habits of the little Rohilkund Planorbis rotula, m., the temporary

inhabitant of a precarious pool, may be compared with those of

Helix hyptiocyclos, by referring to the ‘ Annals of Natural His-

tory’ for May 1850.

The Himalayan Helix Huttoni, Pfr., which was detected by

the Messrs. Blanford on the northern face of the Nilgiri range,

in Southern India, reappears in the central mountain-group of

Ceylon, where Mr. F. Layard took it near Fort M‘Donald.

5. Clausilia Ceylanica, B., n. sp.

C. testa vix rimata, fusiformi, oblique confertissime costulata, costulis

nonnullis undulatis, fuscescenti-olivacea; spira gradatim attenuata,

lateribus convexiusculis, apice obtusiusculo, sutura impressa ; an-

fractibus 8, convexiusculis, ultimo ad basin rotundato; apertura

subobliqua, pyriformi, lamellis contiguis, inferiore valde exserta,

torta, plicis palatalibus 2, subeequalibus, elongatis, columellari im-

mersa ; peristomate continuo, superne soluto, undique subexpanso,

reflexiusculo.

Long. 12, diam. 23 mill.; apert. long. 3, lat. 2 mill.

Habitat prope Fort M‘Donald.

Found by Mr. F. Layard at an altitude of 4500 feet on the

central mountain mass of the Island of Ceylon. Its nearest

Indian ally in form is the Darjiling C. Jos, from which it may

at once be distinguished by its sculpture, teeth, and internal

plice. This is the first species of the genus which has been

found in Ceylon. No representative has yet occurred in Southern

or Central India.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 7

90 Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land-Shells.

6. Spiraxis Haughtoni, B., n. sp.

S. testa imperforata, oblongo-conica, subturrita, solida, striata, versus

suturam et apicem costulato-striata, albida, epidermide olivacea

minutissime corrugata induta; spira elongato-conica, versus apicem

obtusiusculum subito attenuata, sutura impressa; anfractibus 7,

vix convexiusculis, subplanulatis, ultimo ad peripheriam subangu-

lato; apertura vix obliqua, ovato-elliptica, intus ceeruleo-albida,

margine dextro tenui, acuto, columellari calloso, planato, expansi-

usculo, versus basin leviter emarginato, marginibus callo, tenui

expanso junctis.

Long. 20-30, diam. 10-11 mill.; apert. long. 11, lat. 5 mill.

Var. oxynter testa elongato-turrita, graciliore.

Long. 30, diam. 8 mill. .

Habitat ad Portum Blair insularum Andamanicarum.

This species was, I believe, first discovered by Dr. Walker,

Superintendent of the Settlement; but the most perfect speci-

mens, with the epidermis in fine condition, were received from

his successor, Major Haughton.

There is a tendency in the stouter form to verge towards the

variety which I have called oxvynter, although the extreme spe-

cimens might be considered as separate species. A single spe-

cimen of this variety was sent by Major Haughton.

7. Spiraxis Walkeri, B., n. sp.

S. testa imperforata, cylindraceo-turrita, arcuato-striatissima, sub

epidermide albida; spira gracili, apice obtuso, sutura profundius-

cula; anfractibus 9, convexiusculis ; apertura obliqua, elliptica ;

margine dextro tenui, acuto, superne arcuato, columellari calloso,

subito revoluto.

Long. 14, diam. 3} mill.

Habitat ad Portum Blair.

None of the specimens sent by Major Haughton possess a

perfect epidermis, and all are more or less injured at the aper-

ture. je

8. Spiraxis Layardi, B., nu. sp.

S. testa imperforata, elongato-turrita, tenui, arcuato-striatula, albida,

epidermide tenui polita cornea induta; spira elongata, apice ob-

tuso, sutura profundiuscula, nonnunquam eroso-denticulata ; an-

fractibus 74, convexis, ultimo pone columellam impresso ; apertura

obliqua, elongato-ovata, superne angustata; peristomate tenui,

acuto; labro arcuato, margine columellari incrassato, modice torto.

Long. 124, diam. 4 mill.; apert. long. 4, diam. vix 2 mill.

Habitat ad Moopana, Bootelle, &c., insulee Ceylon.

This shell, the first of the genus noted from Ceylon, was col-

lected by Mr. Frederick Layard. Specimens with the polished

epidermis were very scarce.

Cheltenham, Jan. 5, 1863.

on ee ee ee ee

i. fo

On the Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 91

ADDENDUM.

9. Spiraxis Cingalensis, B., n. sp.

S. testa subrimata, subulato-turrita, gracili, solida, polita, striatula,

striis minutis confertissimis undulatis spiralibus decussata; spira

elongata, superne sensim attenuata, apice ? sutura vix im-

_ pressa, irregulari; anfractibus superstitibus 11 (apicalibus defi-

cientibus), planulatis, ultimo ad basin rotundato ; apertura sub-

obliqua, emarginato-elliptica ; peristomate recto, intus ad angulum

superiorem calloso ; margine dextro superne arcuato, basali incras-

sato, columellari calloso, expansiusculo, subreflexo, superne plica

obliqua spirali solida munito.

Long. 14, diam. 3 mill.; apert. long. 3, diam. 1} mill.

Habitat ad Weelgamoowe, Matelle, Ceylon.

A single specimen of this peculiar form is in Mr. F. Layard’s

collection. It is a dead shell, and is deficient in the superior

whorls. I had not seen it before the previous part of this paper

was in type.

January 8.

XIU1.— On the Nomenclature of the Foraminifera.

By W. K. Parxer, M. Micr. Soc., and T. R. Jonzs, F.G.S.

Part VIUI1—Teztularia.

As the typical Bulimine have a strong resemblance externally to

a Bulimus, so the large Textularia trochus, D’Orb., insensibly

losing itself in T. turris, D’Orb., brings to mind the shape of

the Trochus among Mollusca. The mimetic T. trochus, however,

can scarcely be considered as the type of this very variable spe-

cies; for the circularity of the transverse section or of the base

of the cone is rather to be regarded as an extreme condition,—

the conical forms of Textularia beg homomorphous with the

short forms of Bulimina variabilis and the broadly conical poly-

stomous Valvulina.

Textularia agglutinans, D’Orb., oval in its transverse section,

and with more or less irregular gibbosity of its chambers, gives,

in its ordinary and moderately developed condition, a fuller idea

of the species than any other variety. The T. sagittula of De-

france was the first to receive the generic name. It is smaller

than the foregoing, and more compressed, and leads down to the

most delicate variety, T. pygmea, D’Orb. It does not present the

mean of the specific characters, however, and thus does not

supply a fair type of the species.

Among the very minute organisms to be seen in marine de-

posits, recent and fossil (such as chalk-dust and the mud of the

Clam-beds of the East Indies), are tiny, delicate, translucent

92 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the

Foraminifers, consisting of symmetrically arranged globose cells,

alternately placed along the axis of the shell, and rapidly in-

creasing in size. These may be grouped in two sorts,—one

biserial (Textularia; T. globulosa, Ehrenberg), and the other

triserial (Verneuilina; V. pygmea, Egger, sp.): the former prevails

in the Chalk; and both kinds are abundant in deep seas (Red

Sea, &c.). These present conditions very analogous to what

obtains in other allied forms, and, like the small and delicate

varieties of Bulimina, Uvigerina, Globigerina, and Rotalia (espe-

cially R. Beccarii in shallow water), appear to owe their origin

to one or other of the following conditions :—an excessive abun-

dance of individuals, local brackishness of shallow water, or

extreme and abyssal depth. Such very simply constructed forms,

arrested at an early stage of growth, require great care in the

observer who would arrange them specifically; and unless the

little, almost transparent shell under the microscope be turned

in all directions, and compared with its homomorphs in other

groups, no certainty can be attained to: seen in Canada-balsam

or other liquids, or in transparent sections of rock-specimens,

its nature can only be guessed at.

Referring to Dr. Carpenter’s ‘Introduction to the Study of

Foraminifera’ (Ray Society), 1862, p. 190, &c., for an account

of the structure and relations of Textularia, we may state rig. 1.

that it is one of the most polymorphic and protean spe-

cies of Foraminifera. Its morphology is more complex

than that of Nodosarina. The first four or five chambers}

are often arranged in a flat Nautiloid spire (like that of \

Rotalia or Operculina); but this direction of the coil is

soon changed, and the long and more or less compressed

spire, with its biserial alternating chambers, is formed.

With an almost tendril-like freedom of growth, the spire

varies widely in its proportions in different varieties.

The nautiloid coil occurs in the flattened “ Bigenerine ”

condition of Textularia ; but here further licence is taken,

the shell finishing with a szngle series of chambers, and

thus presenting a Trigenerine state. This trimorphism

has been observed in certain individuals allied to 7.

prelonga, from the Gault ; for in some Gault-clays, pro-

bably of deep-sea origin, this variety commences with

a flat spiral coil, then becomes biserial with an alterna- *

tion of chambers (Textularian), and ends uniserially, Textularia

This Trigenerine variety occurs fossil also in the Oolite- ?.¢ J.”

clays.. As a useful varietal form, it deserves a distinguishing

name, and may be termed Textularia annectens (fig. 1).

Textularia prelonga, Reuss, has very often a coiled commence-

ment (it is figured thus in Eley’s ‘ Geology in the Garden,’ pl. 3.

Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 93

fig. 15, and pl. 9. fig. 15 c, p.196); and Bigenerine Textularie

with a coiled commencement occur in Baffin’s Bay. So also 7.

carinata, D’Orb., is often coiled in its early stage, especially the

specimens found in the London Clay; and the coiled condition

of Grammostomum capreolus, D’Orb., is well and boldly illus-

trated by Soldani in his ‘Testaceograph.’ vol. i. part 2, pl. 108.

G. capreolus and its subvarieties may be either coiled and bi-

serial, or coiled, biserial, and uniserial (offering a form equivalent

to Textularia annectens), or bi- and uniserial without the coil.

It is often sandy, and of a large relative size; it occurs in the

West Indies, and abounds in the Adriatic.

Some of the shells arranged as Gaudryina (for instance, G.

siphonella, Reuss) have their triple series of chambers so twisted

on the axis as to have a Buliminoid aspect. We possess a very

beautiful specimen of this kind from the Tertiary beds of San

Domingo. A slight approach to this condition occurs in the

Verneuilina polystropha (Bulimina polystropha, Reuss), which we

have found to be very common in the living state in Davis’s

Straits (Baffin’s Bay), St. George’s Bay (Beyrout), Syra (Greek

Archipelago), Abrolhos Bank, &c.

A large proportion of the Textularie may be clear-shelled and

tubuliferous, as the smaller individuals of Textularia proper,

Grammostomum, and Verneuilina. Others are opake-shelled,

because arenaceous. The calcareous cement of the shell-matter

in many (Verneuilina polystropha and Bigenerina digitata) is of a

ferruginous colour in the recent state, the substance of the shell

having the rusty-red colour of the recent Lituola—a colour

which, with other tints, occurs in both opake and clear-shelled

Foraminifers*.

All the larger varieties of Textularia are arenaceous ; but

there is a host of small forms (many of which have been ho-

noured by authors with specific appellations) entirely free from

foreign matter, the shell being composed of finely perforated

clear substance. These are at first sight often undistinguishable

from D’Orbigny’s Bolivine (which may be said to be Textulari-

form Bulimine). The larger forms, 7°. trochus, T. turris, T. ag-

glutinans, and T. gibbosa (essentially hyaline in their shell-

structure), strengthen themselves not only with sand-grains, but

* The same species of Foraminifera may be very variable in tint when

taken from different habitats. Orbitolites may be either rust-coloured,

livid, or pink (usually the last). In Miliola the aperture is sometimes

rusty; and sandy specimens are sometimes altogether rust-coloured, espe-

cially Quingueloculina agglutinans. Peneroplis is pink when alive. Alveo-

lina is sometimes pink, sometimes rusty. G/lobigerina has a beautiful pink

colour. Planorbulina farcta is livid or purplish in the Mediterranean,

P. vulgaris of Australia is livid; in the Indian Sea it is rosy pink; and

often it is destitute of colour.

94 Messrs. W.K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the

(as is also the habit of Valvulina) acquire some degree of rude

ornament from the accretion of smaller Foraminifers, sponge-

spicules, and prismatic fragments of molluscan shells. The

clear and porous shell, in small and medium-sized specimens,

occasionally has the pores projected as short tubes; this is well

shown in a little Bigenerine Textularia in the Eocene deposits

of Grignon, which is closely related to 7. pectinata, Reuss

(Denkschr. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1850, i. pl. 49. f. 2, 3), from

the Vienna Basin, but is characterized by its relatively few pseudo-

podian passages being elongated as short tubes all over the sur-

face (fig. 2). Planorbulina farcta has very small deep-sea varieties

with similar structure—for instance, Rotalia reticulata, Czjzek,

Haid. Nat. Abhandl. ii. 1848, pl.13. f.7-9 (= Siphonia fimbriata,

Reuss, Denks. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien, i. 1850, pl. 47. f. 6) (fig.3) :

these tubuliferous Planorbuline are not uncommon in the Red Sea

and elsewhere, and both recent and fossil in the Mediterranean

area.

Textularia (Bigenerina) Planorbulina fareta,

tubulifera, P. f J. var. reticulata, Czjzek.

Like some of the small varieties of Bulimina, the little, parti-

cularly clear Textularia frequently develope a crest with prickles,

as is well seen in the 7. carinata, D’Orb., so common in the

London and other Tertiary clays.

The large Textularia trochus of the Miocene Sands of San

Domingo adopts the habit of Zitwola in subdividing its cham-

bers; so that each lobule of sarcode must itself have been most

minutely lobulated. This labyrinthic condition is seen in a less

degree in the large 7. agglutinans* of the Suffolk Crag.

As in Bulimina, so in Textularia proper, the aperture is the

diagnostic mark. It is merely a low transverse arch having for

its base the middle of the septal plane of the penultimate

chamber: generally the aperture has not a thickened margin;

but sometimes it is slightly lipped. In many of the Textularian

varieties the aperture gets more and more in the substance of

the septal plane, passing upwards towards the apex of the con-

* For many splendid specimens of this shell, and also of T. turris and

T. gibbosa, from the same deposit, we are indebted to Searles Wood, Esq.,

F.G.S.

Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 95

vexity of the septum, and thus becoming terminal. In this way

it takes the form of a vertical slit-like aperture (generally with-

out a margin) in Grammostomum (a compressed Textularia) both

in the monomorphous and dimorphous forms, and especially in

the large individuals.

_ Ehrenberg’s Proroporus (as illustrated by Reuss, Sitzungsb.

Akad. Wiss. Wien, vol. xl. p. 231, pl. 12. fig. 5) is an elongate

Textularia with its aperture terminal or nearly so.

In Gaudryina and the sandy Sayrina the aperture is gene-

rally more or less margined and terminal. In Verneuilina

the later cells have the aperture more and more axial; the ter-

minal chamber in large specimens having a central aperture,

generally unlipped: these form Reuss’s genus Jritazia*. In

the bi- uniserial varieties, also, of Textularia the mouth becomes

central and pouting.

A most complete confluence of all these Textularian forms,

whether varying in the mode of growth, the size and shape of

chambers, or position of aperture, is proved by the countless

intermediate modifications yielded by most sea-bottoms, fossil

and recent.

The chief forms of Textularian growth may be thus enume-

rated :—

Texiularia proper. Biserial, with transverse aperture at the

base of the chamber.

Bigenerina. Biserial, becoming uniserial (bi- uniserial) ; with a

terminal, round, pouting aperture.

Grammostomum. Usually biserial,-extremely compressed ; with

simple slit-like aperture at the end of the chamber : occasion-

ally bimorphous or even trimorphous.

Sagrina (in part : S. rugosa+, D’Orb., sandy). Biserial and some-

times tri- biserial ; and then uniserial as far as one chamber ;

with a pouting, round terminal aperture.

Gaudryina begins triserially (Verneuiline), and generally ends

biserially, the last aperture being Textularian ; but it runs

insensibly into the foregoing. Some Gaudryine are twisted

and Buliminoid.

Verneuilina. Triserial. V. dubia (Reuss) = Uvigerina tricarinata,

D’Orb., takes in its last chamber a central aperture (Tritazia,

Reuss): another single chamber makes it Clavuline. In V.

dubia the aperture may be seen, in a series of specimens, to

creep up from the base of the cell to the top.

Clavulina (part). Those Verneuiline taking on a uniserial

* Sitzungsberichte Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1860, vol. xl. p. 83.

+ The other Sagrina (S. pulchella, D’Orb. For. Cuba, pl. 1. figs. 23,24)

(biserial, ribbed, and not sandy) is a Uvigerina.

96 Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. R. Jones on the

chamber, with a round, pouting, central aperture, and no

valve *,

Textularie are widely distributed: one and the same deposit

usually yields many varieties ; indeed, it is a world-wide species,

and it seems to thrive equally well off the North Cape and in

the East Indian Seas. The largest specimens are 7’. gibbosa,

T’. agglutinans, and the conical T. trochus and T. turris. Shelly

sands and shelly clays yield the largest Textularie at from 30 to

100 fathoms, 60 to 70 fathoms being the best depth (coast of

Sicily ; English Channel; off Vigo and Ushant; and Southern

Australia).

Textularia sagittula generally occurs in company with the

large-sized Textularig, and is very common in all seas at a

moderate depth. Remarkably large specimens of T. carinata

(which usually occurs of small size) are found in the rich Nodo-

sarian clay of the Vienna Basin; also recent in the line of

soundings off South Arabia, between Socotra and Kurachee.

The London Clay yields three varieties of Textularia—a glo-

bose-chambered form, a compressed carinate form, often with

a flat spiral commencement (7. carinata, D’Orb.), and the ‘tri-

uniserial form (Clavulina communist).

The Chalk and Chalk-marl are very rich in Textularian forms,

especially 7. trochus, T. turris, T. prelonga, and other true

Textulariea, as well as Verneuilina triquetra, V. dubia, &e. The

Gault of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, appears to have been depo-

sited in a deeper sea than the Gault of Kent was, if we judge by

the varieties of Textularia and other genera, compared with

recent conditions. It yields Textularie not only having the

coiled commencement, but becoming uniserial (7. annectens).

Textularia occurs in the Silurian greensand of St. Petersburg ;

in the Carboniferous and Permian limestones ; plentifully (usually

small, but large when Verneuiline) in some of the clays of the

Oolites; abundantly in the Cretaceous rocks; and plentifully

and varied in the Tertiary deposits.

A Last of some of the Textulariz proper.

1826. Textularia gibbosa, D’Orb. Modéles, No. 28; Ann. Se. Nat. vii.

p. 262. No. 6.

1826. Textularia pygmea, D’Orb. Modéles, No. 7; Ann. Se. Nat. vii.

p. 263. No. 15.

1828. Textularia sagittula, Defrance, Dict. Sc. Nat. vol. xxiii. p. 344,

pl. 13. f. 5.

* Clavulina Parisiensis, D’Orb., Modéles, No. 66, is certainly a tri-

uniserial Valvulina with the loss of the little lip—an accident common to

the brittle Grignon fossils. Clavulina nodosaria, D’Orb., is a Bigenerine

Textularia.

+ Nodosaria rustica, Jones, Morris, Catal. Brit. Foss. 1854, p. 38.

Nomenclature of the Foraminifera. 97

1839. Textularia agglutinans, D’Orb. For. Cuba, pl. 1. f. 32-34. [The type. }

1839. Textularia globulosa, Ehrenberg, Abhandl. Akad. Berlin (1838),

1839, pl. 4 (several figs.).

1840. Textularia trochus, D’Orb. M.S. G. Fr. iv. p. 45, pl. 4. £. 25, 26.

1840. Textularia turris, D’Orb. M.S. G. Fr. iv. p. 46, pl. 4. f. 27, 28.

1845. Textularia prelonga, Reuss, Bohm. Kreid. i. p. 39, pl. 1 ;

1846. Textularia carinata, D’Orb. For. Foss. Vien. p. 247, pl. 14. f. 32-34.

A List of several of the best-known Varieties, Passage-forms, or

Polymorphs of Textularia, with Remarks on their Synonymy.

1826. Vulvulina* capreolus, D’Orb. Modéles, No. 59; Ann. Se. Nat. vii.

. 264. No. 1, pl. 11. f. 5-7.

» Vulvulina elegans, D’Orb. Ann. Se. Nat. vii. p. 264. No. 3.

» Bigenerina nodosaria, D’Orb. Modéles, No. 57; Ann. Se. Nat. vii.

p- 261. No. 1, pl. 11. f. 9-12.

» Bigenerina digitata, D’Orb. Modéles, No. 58. [Gemmulina digitata,

D’Orb. Ann. Se. Nat. vii. p. 262. No. 4.]

1838. Textularia triquetra, Miinster, N. Jahrb. 1838, pl. 3. f. 19. [Ver-

neuilina. |

» Bigenerina pusilla, Roemer, N. Jahrb. 1838, pl. 3. f.20. [B. nodo-

saria, D’Orb.}

1839. Vulvulina gramen, D’Orbd. For. Cuba, pl. 1. f. 30, 31.

» Candeina nitida, D’Orbd. For. Cuba, pl. 2. f. 19, 20. [A small Ver-

neuilina, showing a few pseudopodial passages near the junctures

of the cells. }

», Clavulina nodosaria, D’Orb. For. Cuba, pl. 2. f. 19, 20. [Bigenerina

nodosaria, D’Orb. |

1840. Verneuilina tricarinata, D’Orb. Mém. Soc. Géol. France, iv. p. 39,

pl. 4. f. 3,4. [V. triquetra, Miinster. |

CIREN 2 ina tricarinata, D’Orb. M. S. G. Fr. iv. p. 42, pl. 4. f. 16, 17.

erneuilina (Tritaxia) dubia, Reuss. }

» Gaudryina rugosa, D’Orb. M. S. G. Fr. iv. p. 44, pl. 4. f. 20, 21.

» Gaudryina pupoides, D’Orb. M. SG. Fr. iv. p. 44, pl. 4. f. 22, 24.

e ina rugosa, D’Orb. M.S. G. Fr. iv. p. 47, pl. 4. f. 31, 32.

1845-Textularia triquetra, Miinst., Reuss, Bohm. Kreid. pl. 13. f. 77.

1846. _{ Verneuilina. ]

» Bulimina polystropha, Reuss, Bohm. Kreid. ii. p. 109, pl. 24, f. 53.

[ Verneuilina; sandy, swollen, twisted. ]

» Textularia tricarinata, Reuss, Bohm. Kreid. pl. 8. f. 60. [Verneui-

lina triquetra, Miinst. |

» Verneuilina Bronni, Reuss, Bohm. Kreid. pl. 12. f. 5. [V. triquetra,

Miinster.|

1846. Clavulina communis, D’Orbd. For. Foss. Vien. pl. 12. f. 1. [Verneui-

lina, tri- uniserial; or Clavuline Verneuilina. |

» Bigenerina agglutinans, D’Orb. For. Foss. Vien. pl. 14. f.8-10. [B.

nodosaria, D’Orb., elongate. |

» Verneuilina tricarinata, D’Orb. For. Foss. Vien. pl. 21. f. 26, 27.

[V. triquetra, Miinster.]

» Gaudryina pupoides, D’Ord. For. Foss. Vien. pl. 21. f. 34,35 [not 36].

», Vulvulina gramen, D’Orb. For. Foss. Vien. pl. 21. f. 46, 47.

1850. Verneuilina spinulosa, Reuss, Denkschr. Wien, i. pl. 47. f. 12.

» Gaudryina Badensis, Reuss, Denkschr. Wien, i. pl. 47. f. 14.

98 Mr. A. Adams on the Genera and Species of

1851. Verneuilina Bronni, Reuss. Nat. Abhandl. iv. pl. 5. f. 2. [V. tri-

quetra, Miinst. |

2 a ig dubia, Reuss, Nat. Abhandl. iv. pl.-5. f. 3. [Tritaxia,

euss.

i ay oe See Reuss, Nat. Abhandl. iv. pl. 5. f.4. [Sagrina,

Orb.

» Gaudryina siphonella, Reuss, Zeitsch. Deutsch. Geol. Ges. iii. pl. 5.

f. 40-42. [Sagrina, D’Orbd.|

» Grammostomum dilatatum, Reuss, Zeitsch. Deutsch. Geol. Ges. iii.

pl. 8. f. 8. [G. capreolus, D’Ord. |

1854. Nodosaria rustica, Jones, Morris’s Cat. Brit. Foss. 2nd. edit. p. 38.

[Clavulina communis, D’Orb.; a Clavuline Verneuilina. |

» Verneuilina Muensteri, Reuss, Denks. Wien, vii. pl. 26. f.5. [V.

triquetra, Miinst.]

s» Polymorphina silicea, Schultze, Org. Polyth. pl. 6. f. 10, 11. [Ver-

neuilina polystropha, Reuss. |

1857. Bulimina arenacea, Williamson, Brit. Foram. pl. 5. f. 136, 137.

[ Verneuilina polystropha, Reuss. |

»» Bulimina tuberculata, Egger, N. Jahrb. 1857, p. 284, pl. 12. f. 4-7.

[ Verneuilina polystropha, Reuss. |

» Bulimina pygmea, Egger, N. Jahrb. 1857, p. 284, pl. 12. f. 10, 11.

[ Verneuilina ; smooth, inflated, twisted. ]

1860. Tritaxia tricarinata, Reuss, Sitz. Akad. Wien, 1860, vol. xl. p. 83,

pl. 12. f. 1, 2. [Verneuilina, with central aperture. |

XIV.—On the Genera and Species of Recent Brachiopods found

in the Seas of Japan. By Arnruur Apams, F.L.S. &c.

Tue result of my investigations into the geographical distribu-

tion of the Terebratulide in Japanese waters shows that the

North-European, the North-Asiatic, and the Indo-Pacific pro-

vinces require to be united as regards these Mollusks. Besides

Waldheimia Grayi, Terebratulina Japonica, and Terebratella Co-

reanica, the North-Asiatic province yielded me Waldheimia cra-

nium, W. septigera, and Terebratulina caput-serpentis. I likewise

obtained Waldheimia picta, Terebratulina Cumingii, and Ismenia

sanguinea, which were supposed to be confined to the Indo-

Pacific province.

Fam. Terebratulide.

Subfam. TEREBRATULINA.

Genus TrereBratuLina, D’Orb.

1. Terebratulina Japonica, Sow.

Hab. Gotto; 48 fathoms. Tsusaki; 55 fathoms.

2. Terebratulina caput-serpentis, Linn.

Hab. Tsusaki; 55 fathoms. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms. Mino-

Sima; 63 fathoms.

ye a eS eee

‘Recent Brachiopods found in the Seas of Japan. 99

3. Terebratulina Cumingii, Davids.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

Genus WatpuHErm1A, King.

1. Waldheimia cranium, Gmel.

Hab. Kuro-Sima; 35 fathoms.

2. Waldheimia septigera, Lovén.

Hab. Satanomosaki; 55 fathoms.

3. Waldheimia picta, Chen.

Hab. Satanomosaki; 55 fathoms.

4. Waldheimia Grayi, Davids.

Hab. Hakodadi; Mososeki; 7 fathoms.

Subfam. MacasIn&.

Genus TEREBRATELLA, D’Orb.

1. Terebratella Coreanica, Adams & Reeve.

Hab. Hakodadi; 7 fathoms. Straits of Korea; 48 fathoms.

This is 7. miniata, Gould.

2. Terebratella Maria, A. Adams (‘ Annals,’ 1860).

Hab. Uraga; 21 fathoms. Gotto; 48 fathoms. Satanomosaki ;

55 fathoms.

The only species at all resembling this is 7. Spitzbergensis,

described by Davidson in the ‘ Annals’ for 1852, and founded

on a single specimen in the Cumingian collection.

Genus IsmEnta, Gray.

1. Ismenia sanguinea, Chem.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

2. Ismenia Reevei, A. Adams.

I. testa suborbiculari, globoso-lenticulari, punctata, alba, levi, nitida,

ad umbones acuminata, marginibus regulariter arcuatis; valva

ventrali ventricosa, dorsali planiuscula; foramine modico, integro,

circulari.

Hab. Gotto; 48 fathoms.

A large pure-white species, conspicuously punctate. The loop

is trebly attached, as in Megerlia; but the shell externally has

the aspect of Terebratella.

100 Mr. A. Adams on the Recent Japanese Brachiopods.

Fam. Rhynchonellide.

Genus RuyNcHONELLA, Fischer.

1. Rhynchonella lucida, Gould.

Hab. Satanomosaki; 55 fathoms. Gotto; 48 fathoms.

Dr. Gould observes that this species might be taken for a

small 7. vitrea, but is very thin and delicate, and further dis-

tinguished by the absence of punctures. His examples were

dredged off the Japan coast, 30° 35! N., 130° 40! E., in 110 fa-

thoms sand, by Capt. Stevens, of the ‘ Hancock.’

2. Rhynchonella Woodwardii, A. Adams.

R. testa subtrigonulari, tumida, nigricante, semiopaca; valvis sub-

eequalibus, impunctatis, concentrice striolatis ; umbone rostriformi,

parvo, curvato, apice acuto; margine ventrali rotundato, in medio

producto.

Hab. Rifunsiri; 35 fathoms. Gotto; 48 fathoms.

This species differs from R. psittacea in being concentrically

striolate instead of radiately grooved; the beak, moreover, is

smaller and less curved; the form is more broadly triangular,

and the ventral margin is rounded and produced in the middle.

The young possess the same characters seen in more adult

specimens.

Fam. Craniide.

Genus Cranta, Retzius.

Crania Japonica, A. Adams.

C. testa crassa, solida, suborbiculari; valva superiore convexa, ru-

gosa, apice elato, subcentrali; margine irregulari; impressionibus

muscularibus validis, rotundatis, apophysi interna bifureata, pro-

minente ; impressione pallii multilobata.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

A very distinct and well-marked species, with the bifurcate

process in the upper valve very prominent and conspicuous.

Fam. Discinide.

Genus Discina, Lamarck.

Discina stella, Gould.

Hab. Seto-Uchi (Akasi); 17 fathoms. Tsu-Sima; 17 fathoms.

Tabu-Sima; 26 fathoms, on coral. Tsu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

Fam. Lingulide.

Genus Lineuxa, Brug.

1. Lingula tumidula, Reeve, Conch. Icon. sp. 2.

Hab. Tsaulian; 7 fathoms, mud.

a ee

bal

ah at

are

Se eee

Se ee eee ee ie eh et ee ee ne nS RS ae ae

L. Stieda on the Teniz. 101

2. Lingula smaragdina, A. Adams.

L. testa oblonga, lateribus rectiusculis, ad umbones attenuata, ad

marginem ventralem subtruncata; carina dorsali valida, promi-

nente; glabra, nitente, viridissima.

Hab. Yobuko; 10 fathoms, mud.

_ Abright green species, found also in the China Sea, and most

nearly resembling L. hirundo, Reeve.

3. Lingula jaspidea, A. Adams.

L. testa oblongo-ovali, lateribus convexis, ad umbones subdilatata;

margine ventrali arcuato; carina dorsali mediocri, subdepressa ;

glabra, nitente, subviridi-lutescente, antice pallidiore, rufo-fusco

tincta.

Hab. Mososeki; 7 fathoms, mud.

4. Lingula lepidula, A. Adams.

L. testa oblongo-ovali, umbonibus acutis, productis, lateribus con-

- vexis, dilatatis, membranaceis ; margine ventrali rotundato ; carina

dorsali depressa ; glabra, nitente, luteo-cornea, in medio albida.

Hab. Seto-Uchi (Akasi) ; 10 fathoms, mud.

A species as small as L. semen, and shaped like L. ovalis.

XV.—A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Teniz.

By Lupwie Srrepa*.

Or the numerous Cestodea forming the group of the Tenioidea,

scarcely any except the cystic Tenié have hitherto been particu-

larly investigated in respect to the generative organs, the other

Tenie having received little attention. The different forms,

however, as has already been shown by Pagenstecher’s deserip-

tion of the several organs of Tenia microsomat, present very

peculiar structures, differing in many parts from the arrange-

ment of the sexual organs occurring in the cystic Teni@; and

these are of more importance inasmuch as the different structure

of the generative organs will enable us to found a more certain

and natural classification of the innumerable Tenioidea than has

hitherto been possible. For this reason I hope that the present

short communication, in which I have endeavoured to describe

the generative organs of certain Tenia, some of them unknown,

others imperfectly known, will not be entirely destitute of in-

terest.

In the small intestine of the Field-Mouse (Hypudeus arvalis)

ie Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1862,

Mt Zeitschr. fiir wiss. Zool. ix. p. 523.

102 L. Stieda on the Teniz.

there is frequently a Tapeworm of considerable size, which, ac-

cording to the character given by Dujardin* with especial refer-

ence to the habitat, I must regard as the Tenia omphalodes,

Hermann.

This Tenia is 120-160 mill. in length; the head is quadran-

gular, measures 1°5-2°5 mill., and is distinctly separated from

the body of the Tapeworm ; it possesses neither a proboscis nor

a circlet of hooks, but only four round sucking-disks, 0°35 mill.

in diameter. The so-called neck, on which no joints are per-

ceived, even by the microscope, is 1°5-2°5 mill. in length, and

1 mill. in breadth. The succeeding, distinctly recognizable

joints increase rapidly in breadth, so that at a distance of

25-35 mill. from the head the joints are already 4—5 mill. broad.

The joints do not, however, maintain this breadth, but diminish

in the lowest part of the worm to 3 mill. The length of the

joints increases very gradually, but constantly; the broadest

joints are 4-1 mill. in length, so that they are about five times

as broad as long; the last joits are about 2 mill. in length.

In consequence of this shortness of the joints, the Tapeworm, in

its upper parts, has a very finely striated appearance, whilst it

is only in the lower parts that, as the joints become longer, the

notched form more or less peculiar to the Tapeworms in general

manifests itself. The sexual orifices do not occur always upon

the same side, but, in irregular sections, sometimes on one and

sometimes on the other side. The number of joints forming the

Tapeworm may be ascertained to be 250-800 by direct count-

ing, which must be effected, on the parts nearest to the head, by

means of the microscope. A perfectly developed uterus, with

distinctly recognizable ova, is exhibited by the first joints of the

third hundred ; fully developed embryos occur about twenty-five

joints further on.

In the 40-50 joints lying nearest to the head no development

of sexual organs can be recognized, but in the part of each joint

in which the sexual organs are to be produced there is a greater

accumulation of cells. This becomes gradually differentiated in

this way :—a rounded mass, from which the female germ-pre-

paring organs are developed, becomes marked off in the middle

line of the joint, on the one side from a mass situated on the

lateral margin of the joint, and destined to produce the testes,

and on the other from a small elongated mass of cells deposited

on the opposite margin of the joint, and which serves for the

development of the germiducal organs.

In the following joints (40-80), which increase chiefly in

breadth, the testes are first of all developed. From the mass

which is situated on the side opposite to the genital pore a large

* Hist. Nat. des Helminthes, p. 578.

L. Stieda on the Teenie. 103

group of small roundish corpuscles, measuring 0-035-0-056 mill.,

is formed ; these, gradually increasing in size and number, soon

occupy one-half of the jomt. These corpuscles appear at first

finely granular, afterwards pale and transparent, and represent

the well-known testicular vesicles or testicular tubes of the

Tenia. Transverse sections show that these testicular vesicles

are enclosed by a fine structureless membrane, and still contain

in the interior a cellular mass, whilst the fine, delicate, very long

seminal filaments already occur rolled up at the margin. Some-

times a fine efferent duct may be detected on these corpuscles.

At the same time, on the side of the joint opposite to the testis,

an elongated vesicle is formed from the aggregation of cells

there occurring ; this is 0°210 mill. in length, and 0-070 mill.

in breadth at its widest part. This is the cirrus-pouch, which

is somewhat pointed at the extremity turned towards the median

line of the joint, and applies itself with the other (rounded) end

to the genital pore. It contains the penis or lemniscus, which

is 0-056 mill. in length, and 0°014 mill. in breadth. This is

continued into the vas deferens, which disappears behind the

cirrus-pouch, without forming any loops. In favourable trans-

verse sections, however, it may be traced beyond the median

line of the joint. I have never seen any connexion between it-

and the above-described fine efferent ducts of the testes.

In the following joints (80-100), whilst the testicular vesicles

and cirrus-pouch still further increase in size, the female organs

also make their appearance. While previously there was only

an indistinctly limited organ of undefined appearance between

the testes and cirrus-pouch, we may How distinguish two organs

distinctly separated from each other in form and contents. At

the lower margin of each joint there is an elliptical body, with

its longest axis placed in the transverse diameter of the joint;

this is the germ-stock, which measures 0-0280-0-0350 mill. in

length, and 0-210 mill. in breadth, and appears to be filled with

finely granular contents. Below, the germ-stock is pretty

sharply defined ; but above, its limits are not so distinctly marked,

because the yelk-stocks are situated upon it. The latter occupy

the space between the germ-stock and the upper margin of the

joint, spreading out right and left ; they appear as if composed

of a number of larger and smaller ceca, which seem to unite at

the median line of the joint. Their contents (as may be seen

by tearing them to pieces, and still more distinctly in transverse

sections) are coarsely granular, consisting of a quantity of very

small, homogeneous, strongly refractive corpuscles. At the

lower margin of the cirrus-pouch there is a more or less distinctly

projecting canal, which is somewhat dilated at its orifice in the

genital pore. This canal, which is 0-021 mill. in diameter at its

104 L. Stieda on the Teenie.

orifice, but subsequently only 0007-0014 mill., represents the

vagina. Close behind the end of the cirrus-pouch which is

turned towards the median line of the joint, this canal becomes

suddenly dilated to the considerable size of 0-070 mill.: the

limits of this dilatation escape detection in the vicinity of the

germ-stock and yelk-stock; so that it would appear as if the

dilatation pushed itself in between those organs. I have not

been able to discover any connexion between the dilatation of

the vaginal canal and the germ-producing organs. The con-

tents of this dilatation consist, as may easily be ascertained, of

seminal filaments; so that we have to do, according to this, only

with a remarkably extended seminal pouch of the vagina, or a

receptaculum seminis.

Whilst now the receptaculum seminis becomes more and more

filled by increased reception of semen, and the germ-stock and

yelk-stocks become more and more extended, the testes undergo

a retrograde metamorphosis, and gradually disappear.

At about the 150th joint the first indication of the uterus

makes its appearance. Both at the upper margin and at the

two lateral margins the uterus appears as a cavity in the paren-

chyma of the body, furnished with diverticula and filled with a

mass resembling the contents of the yelk-stocks. The following

joints present the different degrees of development of the uterus,

whilst the other organs gradually disappear. Towards the end

of the second hundred segments, in which the uterus is shown

in its full development, of the other organs only the cirrus-pouch

and vaginal canal, with the receptaculum seminis, are retained ;

the latter organs are completely pressed down to the lower mar-

gin of the joint, and have considerably diminished in extent.

The form of the uterus is characteristic, in that its principal

stem, corresponding with the short but broad form of the pro-

glottides, runs transversely, whilst the lateral branches or the

individual diverticula are arranged in the direction of the length

of the joint.

As the development of the ova was not sufficiently observed

by me, I only add a few words upon the mature ova found in

the last proglottides. These appear smooth and perfectly round;

they are 0:035-0-042 mill. in diameter, and possess two enve-

lopes, of which the outer one, 0:0035 mill. in thickness, presents

a stratified appearance, whilst the other, which is closely applied

to the embryo, on which the embryonal hooks are scarcely visi-

ble, appears to be very fine and structureless.

In the small intestines of the Field-Mouse there was some-

times, although but rarely, another Tenia, to which I here refer

because it perfectly agrees, in regard to the genital apparatus,

with the 7. omphalodes. Iam not in a position to make very

L. Stieda on the Tzeniz. - 405

accurate statements as to the length and size of this Tenia, as

the examples of it which I have seen were never quite perfect,

and, especially, never possessed maturely developed proglottides.

I mention only that this Tapeworm exactly resembles the 7.

omphalodes in regard to its head and upper part, although it is

of rather smaller dimensions; in the lower part, however, it

differs in that the joints, as they grow narrower, become con-

siderably elongated, so that the last joints are three times as

long as broad, and appear somewhat compressed laterally. I

regard this Tapeworm as identical with the Tenia pusilla, Goeze,

which, indeed, has hitherto only been mentioned as occurring in

the common mice and rats, but the description of which suits

very well with the present Tapeworm.

In the small intestine of the Shrew (Sorex araneus) I have

met with two Tapeworms distinctly differing from each other

both in size and in the form of the hooks, which, however, do

not agree with the characters given by Dujardin* of some Tenie

found by him in the Shrews. I regard them, therefore, as

hitherto unknown forms.

One of these two Tenia, which occurs very frequently, num-

bering from ten to twenty in each Shrew, and which I will de-

nominate 7’. uncinata, is 10-15 mill. in length. The head is

0-280 mill. in breadth, has four sucking-disks 0-056 mill. in

diameter, and a short proboscis, which has a simple circlet con-

sisting of fourteen to eighteen hooks. The head passes imme-

diately into the neck, which is but little narrower, and exhibits

no segmentation. The number of recognizable joints is about

120. The joints immediately following the neck are 0-182 mill.

in breadth; and as they advance they increase both in length

and breadth, so that the last joints are about 0°560 mill. broad

and 0-210 mill. long. The sexual orifices all occur upon one

side of the worm, each in the middle of the joint. The hooks

have a very characteristic form; they are very strongly curved,

and have a rather fine point. The extreme point of the hook is

distant from the extremity of the root-process 0-0175 mill., and

from that of the dental process only 00035 mill.; the two pro-

cesses are 00140 mill. apart.

The various stages of development of the sexual organs as

presented in the different joints are not so easy to observe in

this Tapeworm as in T. omphalodes. It appears only that in

this case also the development commences especially at three

points in each joint. One of these points is at the upper margin

of each joint, where the cirrus-pouch and vagina are formed,

whilst the germ-preparing organs are produced from two aggre-

gations of cells situated in the middle of the joint.

* Hist. Nat. des Helminthes, p. 562.

Ann, & Mag. N, Hist, Ser. 3, Vol. xi. 8

106 L. Stieda on the Teenie.

In a sexually mature segment the most striking organ is one

situated in the middle, which may be compared, as to its form,

with a retort. The neck of this, which is turned towards the

margin of the joint, opens into the genital pore, whilst the body

of the retort almost touches the lower margin of the joint, and

is surrounded here by two other organs. The diameter of the

tube at its external orifice is 0°0070 mill., and enlarges to

00105 mill.; the diameter of the body is 0°035-0°052 mill.

Its contents consist, as may easily be ascertained, of seminal

filaments. Below or above the tube, and often completely con-

cealed by it, there is a small vesicle, 0°042 mill. in length and

00105 mill. in breadth, pointed at both ends, which issues

above the orifice of the tube in the genital pore. This is the

cirrus-pouch, which contains the small, rarely protruded penis:

posteriorly the penis passes into the vas deferens, which here also

exhibits no loops, but disappears under the retort-like organ.

This retort-like organ occurs also, although not constantly, of

the same extent and form in other Tapeworms, and was not

unknown to previous observers, but has usually received an

erroneous signification. By Dujardin, as appears from his de-

scriptions and figures of the Tapeworms of the Shrews observed

by him (Tenia pistillum, T. tiara, T. scalaris, and T. murina*),

it was regarded as the testis opening into the cirrus-pouch—an

opinion which has also been expressed very recently by Wein-

land+ with regard to the same organ in Tenia flavopunctata.

On the other hand, Professor Leuckart, as I learn from his own

communication, long since recognized the corresponding organ

in Tenia nana as the vaginal canal, with a very greatly dilated

receptaculum seminis. From the description above given, no

further discussion is necessary as to whether here in Tenia unci-

nata we are to recognize in this organ the vagina and the seminal

receptacle formed out of it which particularly distinguish this

group from that of the cystic Tenia. On the portion of the

receptacle approximated to the lower margin of the segment lies

the elliptical germ-stock, filled with finely granular contents, and

measuring 0°025 mill. in length and 0-014 mill. in breadth,

and on each side the apparently coarsely granular yelk-stocks.

I could find no connexion between the germ-stock, yelk-stocks,

and receptaculum seminis. The remainder of the joint is occu-

pied by from three to five pale transparent testicular vesicles,

which are of a round form and 0-035 mill. in diameter. In the

segments presenting the next grades of development all the

organs, except the cirrus-pouch and the receptaculum seminis,

which has a distinct canaliform process to the lower margin of

* Helminthes, pp. 562 et seq.

+ Beschreibung zweier neuer Tanioiden des Menschen : Jena, 1861, p.9.

Mr. W. H. Baily on some Coal-measure Crustacea. 107

the joint, have disappeared ; on the other hand, the uterus, with

its ova, immediately makes its appearance. In this case, how-

ever, it does not present, as in other Tenia, the characteristic

form, already often compared to a stem and branches, but only

forms a sac densely filled with ova, and occupying the whole

joint. Each joint contains about 100-150 eggs. .The fully

developed ova are elliptical, 0-0560 mill. in length and 0°0455

mill. broad ; they present three envelopes, of which the outer-

most is smooth and transparent, the intermediate one very thin

and slightly folded, and the innermost one, which is closely ap-

plied to the embryo, 0°0035 mill. in thickness. The diameter

of the six-hooked embryo is 0°0315 mill.; the distinetly percep-

tible embryonal hooks are 0°0105 mill. in length.

The second Tenia met with in the Shrew, which I will call

T. furcata, on account of the forked form of its hooks, is very

rare. Its length is 8-10 mill.; the round head, distinctly

separated from the neck, is 0-151 mill. in breadth, and possesses

four sucking-disks and a short proboscis, which is furnished

with a cirelet of from twenty-two to twenty-eight hooks. The

neck is 0-210 mill. in breadth. The width of the segments

increases gradually with the length, so that the broadest seg-

ments are 0°56 mill. in breadth and 0°21 mill. in length: the

last joints, from which the ova are already removed, exhibit

aaa dimensions ; they are 0-280 mill. broad, and 0°105 mill.

long. The number of distinctly recognizable segments is 100.

The genital orifices are all on one side.

The hooks are distinguished by-atong and thin root-process,

which is clearly separated from the true hook-process. The

distance from the root-process to the apex of the hook is 0-024

mill.; the apex of the hook is distant 0-005 mill. from the distal

process, and the two processes are 0-0210 mill. apart.

_ With regard to the sexual organs and the ova, I have nothing

to add, as all that has been said of T. uncinata applies also to

this Tenia.

XVI.—Remarks on some Coal-measure Crustacea belonging to the

Genus Belinurus, Konig ; with Description of two new Species

—. County, Jreland. By Wixt14sm Hettier Batty,

. . *

[Plate V.]

Tue generic term Belinurus was applied by Kénig, in 1820, to a

peculiar Crustacean from the Coal-measures, figured and named

* An abstract of this paper was read at the Meeting of the British

Association in 1858.

108 Mr. W.H. Baily on some Coal-measure Crustacea.

by him Belinurus bellulus*; previous to this, Martin+ gave a

figure and short description of this species, which he called En-

tomolithus monoculites? (lunatus), including it with Trilobites

under the same generic term of Entomolithus, a name which

would therefore, according to the rules of nomenclature, be in-

admissible. Parkinson { figures a similar fossil from iron-

stone found in the Coal-measures of Dudley, which he includes

with the Trilobites, stating at the same time that it appeared to

be identical with that described by Martin. The same species

is figured and noticed by Dr. Buckland under the name of

Limulus trilobitoides§, and afterwards by Mr. Prestwich, in his

paper on the Geology of Coalbrook Dale, who adopts the same

name, giving a figure of this and other species belonging to

the genus, from the Ironstone found in the Coal-measures of

Coalbrook Dale||. Lastly, General Portlock figures a specimen,

said to be from Carboniferous shale (most probably, however,

Coal-measures), Maghera, co. Derry, which he doubtfully refers

to the same species.

Prof. Morris, in his Catalogue of British Fossils, ed. 2, 1854,

cites all the above authorities, except Parkinson, referring the

same species to Limulus trilobitoides, Buckland.

In a paper read by me before the Geological Society of Dublin**

a description was given of a specimen (the only one then ob-

tained) from Bilboa Colliery, Queen’s County, discovered by

Mr. G. H. Kinahan, of the Geological Survey of Ireland, in

débris derived from the three-foot bed of shale immediately over

the Coal No. III. of the section, Castlecomer district. The

accompanying fossils in the same bed of shale were a few scat-~

tered plant-remains and numerous small bivalve Unio-like shells

(probably Myacites), and others of a Mytiloid form, which may

be referred to Myalina. In this paper some remarks were offered

on the allied species from Coalbrook Dale, which had been in-

cluded with it in the genus Limulus ; and it was proposed, from

the characteristic differences they presented, and their greater

affinity with the Trilobites, to remove all these Coal-measure

Crustacea from that genus, and group them into a new one,

under the name of Steropis. Since then, more complete speci-

mens have been obtained from Bilboa Colliery, which have

* Tcones Fossilium sectiles, by Charles Konig, 1820, pl. 18. fig, 230.

+ Petrificata Derbiensia, 1809, pl. 45. fig. 4.

{ Organic Remains, 1811, vol. iii. p. 274, pl. 17. fig. 18.

§ Bridgewater Treatise, 1836, p. 396, vol.i., & vol. ii. p. 77, t. 46". fig. 3.

|| Trans. of Geol. Soc. of London, ser. 2, 1840, vol. v. pl. 41. fig. 8.

iy ee Pat the Geology of Londonderry and Tyrone, 1843, p. 316,

. 24, fig. 11.

. ** Journal of the Geological Society of Dublin, 1858, vol. viii, p. 89.

Sg ewe es

Mr. W. H. Baily on some Coal-measure Crustacea. 109

still further confirmed my views with regard to the advisability

of separating them from Limulus; and, on reconsideration, [

preferred adopting the appropriate name of Belinwrus, which was.

applied by K6nig to one of the most common species, in pre-

ference to that under which I had formerly proposed to group

them.

In the Explanation of Sheet 137 of the Maps of the Geological

Survey of Ireland*, I have given a short account of the fossils

from the Coal-measures of this district, which includes a notice

of these remarkable Crustacea from Bilboa, after visiting the

locality, when I was fortunate enough to obtain the very perfect

specimen named by me Belinurus Regine, and represented at

Pl. V. fig. 1 A.t

On another visit, a still more perfect specimen (fig. 1 B) was

obtained by the gentleman who accompanied me on that occa-

sion, Mr. John Edge, to whom I am indebted for that and the

loan of other specimens which have materially assisted me in

drawing up these descriptions.

CRUSTACEA. ENTOMOSTRACA,

Legion PHCILOPODA. Order Xiphosura.

Genus Be.invurvs, Konig.

Etym. Bédos, a dart; ovpa, the tail.

Gen. Char.—General form suborbicular. Head or cephalic

shield semicircular, slightly arched; the central portion (yla-

bella?) prominent and declining towards the circumference,

surrounded with a flattened margin, and terminating at its pos-

terior angles in long spines. Body composed of five segments,

which terminate in spines and diminish gradually towards the

* Explanation of Sheet 137, Geol. Survey of Ireland, Paleontological

Notes, pp. 12-14. 7

+ Since writing this paper for the British Association, I found that

Pictet, in his ‘ Traité de Paléontologie,’ ed. 2, 1854, had anticipated me by

removing these Crustacea (as I had proposed to do) from the genus Limulus,

restoring them to that of Belinurus, with the following remarks :—

“ Les Belinurus, Konig, différent des deux genres précédents par ’arti-

culation de la queue, et surtout parce que le bouclier abdominal présente

deux sillons longitudinaux qui lui donnent une ressemblance avec le corps

des Trilobites.” The following is from his classification of Crustacea :—

Order XIPHOSURA.

Genus 1. Limutvs. Genus 3. BELINURUS.

Genus 2. HALYCINE. Genus 4. PreryGorus.

{ Lalso take the opportunity to acknowledge the kind assistance I have

received from Benj. B. Edge, Esq., J. P., of Clonbrock House, Crettyard,

near Carlow, who has aided me, on the several occasions of my visits,

with valuable information and the loan of specimens.

110 Mr. W. H. Baily on new Species of Coal-measure Crustacea

posterior extremity, Tail or caudal portion small, with a few

slight radiating divisions, to which is articulated an elongated

spine (telson).

Belinurus Regine, u.sp. Pl. V. fig. 1 A-D.

Diagnosis.—B. latus, limbo scuti cephalici orbiculari, angulis longi-

spinosis; corpore decurtato; thorace quinque articulis longi-

spinosis munito ; pleuris sulco longitudinali, usque ad finem spinee

producto ; tripartita cauda, cui spina preelonga coaptatur.

Description.— General form broadly ovate, acuminate poste-

riorly ; axis convex. Cephalic shield three and a half times as

broad as long, bow-shaped anteriorly, and surrounded by a nar-

row and flattened margin; the posterior angles produced into

long spines, which are directed outwards; central portion, or

glabella, smooth and moderately convex, of the same breadth as

the axis of the thorax at its junction, but decreasing gradually

towards the anterior margin, having an arched division on each

side extending towards the anterior margin. yes central,

lunate, attached to these divisions. Thoracic rings (somites) five,

the lobes of the first twice as broad as the axis, those of the last

rather less in breadth than the axis, the lateral lobes extending

in a straight line, each being furrowed and terminating in a

spine, the length of which diminishes in regular gradation to-

wards the tail; each of the rings of the axis bears a moderate-

sized tubercle. Tail or caudal portion very small, having about

three slightly marked divisions on each side, to which is ap-

pended or articulated (?) an extremely long spine (telson), being

three times the length of the other portion of the animal, broad

at the base, and tapering gradually to a point.

Remarks.—The little Crustacean to which I have given the

above specific name (PI. V. fig. 1 A) was found by me in the débris

of the same coal-pit which yielded the next species; it is in a

very perfect condition, and exhibits in a remarkable manner the

extravagant development of its various segments into long spines —

spreading out on each side of the body, and gradually decreasing

as they approach the tail, from which proceeds an enormous

spine. These characters sufficiently distinguish it from any

other species. The head and body in the specimen figured ap-

pear to have been a little squeezed together. Another specimen

of what I believe to be the same species (fig. 1 B), obtained by

- Mr. John Edge, is still more perfect, with the exception of the tail-

spine, a portion of which has been broken away: this specimen is

enlarged at fig. 1 C, D, and shows a slight wrinkling or furrowing

of the expanded margin of the cephalic shield, as well as the

suleated pleure and single tubercle upon each ring of the axis

terminating in a larger and more obtuse prominence on the tail,

from Queen’s County, Ireland. = — ‘Al

The spine or telson which is attached to this portion exhibits a

central longitudinal ridge, having a membranous expansion on

each side similar to that noticed by Parkinson as occurring in

the species described by Martin, and which I have referred to

B. bellulus, Konig.

* The following are the measurements of fig. 1 A :—

[The line is considered as being the twelfth of an inch.]

Total length from anterior margin of

cephalic shield to point of telson.. 1 inch 1 line, or 27 mill.

Breadth at widest part of spines .. 7 lines or 15 ,;

a of cephalic shield ........ ae or 10 ,,

Length of telson ......-....+---- i eae or 20 ,,

Measurements of fig. 1 B:—

h of, from anterior margin of

cephalic shield to end of tail .... 5 lines or 10 mill.

Length from anterior to posterior

margin of cephalic shield ........ 22; 5 ss

Breadth of cephalic shield ........ } Spree Fa

Length of body amt SO ksh ns dks Zh ieee

Breadth of body at cephalic shield.. 4 _ ,, ee

Locality. From Coal-shale, Bilboa Colliery, Queen’s County.

_ Belinurus arcuatus,n.sp. PI. V. fig. 2 A-C.

Diagnosis.—B. \atus ; limbo scuti cephalici orbiculari, angulis longi-

spinosis ; glabella spinis duabus brevioribus munita; thorace quin-

que articulis brevispinosis; pleuris usque ad terminos sulcatis ;

tripartita cauda, cui spina longa coaptatur.

Description.—General form broadly ovate, acuminate poste-

riorly; axis convex. Cephalic shield semicircular, slightly ele-

vated, declining towards the circumference, and surrounded by

a narrow flattened margin ; the central portion or glabella havin

three ridges extending to about two-thirds the breadth of the

shield, rounded at their anterior extremity, and forming a double

arch, the central portion being broadest at its posterior extremity,

the two outermost ridges curving at about half their length to-

wards the very slightly raised semicircular eyes, and continuing

beyond the posterior extremity of the shield in two sharp straight

spines, which project over the body about one-tenth of an inch;

the posterior angles of the cephalic shield are produced into

long spines, as in the preceding species, three-tenths of an

inch in length, slightly curved, and spreading out on either

side from the body. Thoracic rings five, which, as in the pre-

ceding species, decrease in breadth towards the posterior extre-

mity ; the lateral lobes, extending in a straight line, terminate

in a short spine, and have an angular furrow, which proceeds to

the end, curving at the same angle to the point of each spine.

112 Mr. W. H. Baily on new Species of Coal-measure Crustacea

Caudal extremity small, with two or three radiating divisions, to

which is appended a spine about equal in length to the head

and body.

Remarks.—This Crustacean differs from the preceding one in

having much shorter spiny terminations to the pleura, and a much

shorter tail-spine. The detached head or cephalic shield (Pl. V.

fig. 2 A, B) is more orbicular, and the arched ridges proceeding

from the middle portion of the head (glabella) terminate on each

side in short spmes—a character not observed in any of the

specimens of B. Regine. I have not succeeded in obtaining

good specimens of this species with the body and tail entire:

an imperfect one (fig. 2 C) forms the centre of a concretion in

the shale, and exhibits a portion of the body with the tail-spine

uncompressed, showing distinctly the division of each thoracic

ring, with its grooved lateral angles as in the 7rilobites. In

another specimen, which was accidentally relieved from the

shale, exposing both sides, the body was found to be doubled

back upon the head, like an Ampyz or Trinucleus. This species

is allied to Belinurus bellulus, Konig, but differs from it in the

more orbicular form of the head, the spiny terminations of the

pleuree, and the greater proportion of the body to the cephalic

shield.

OCH TEMP sie iis ce sos ss ss «1 inch, or 25 mill.

apreadth' 21 oa. 3 253% 665 LD ee

Length of body > .. 0.20... ‘fore 1B i

Breadth of cephalic shield ...... 8 ,, ') eo

Length of cephalic shield ...... ee Bigs

be telson, about ........ inch 12:3.

Locality.—Found with the previous species at Bilboa Colliery,

Queen’s County.

A third species, closely allied, if not identical, with Belinurus

(Limulus) rotundus, Prestwich, sp., was also obtained at the same

locality ; but as it is scarcely perfect enough for description, I

have preferred referring it, with a doubt, to that species. A

figure, of the natural size and enlarged, is given on Plate V.

fig. 3 A, B.

The following is a list of the species of Belinurus, with their

synonyms and localities :—

1. Belinurus bellulus, Konig, Icon. Foss. Sect. pl. 18. fig. 230.

Coal-measures, Coalbrook Dale, Shropshire.

Syn. Entomolithus (monoculus) lunatus, Martin, Pet. Derb. pl. 45.

fig. 4. Near Mansfield, Nottingham.

—— ——, Parkinson, Org. Rem. vol. iii. pl. 17. fig. 18.

Dudley, Shropshire.

Limulus trilobitoides, Buckland, Bridg. Treat. pl. 46”. fig. 3.

, Prestwich, Geol. Trans. ser. 2. vol. y. pl. 41. fig. 8.

— —? Portlock, Geol. Report, pl. 24. fig. 11.

From Queen’s County, Ireland. 113

2. Belinurus arcuatus, un. sp., Baily. Bilboa Colliery, Queen’s

County, Ireland.

3. —— Regine, nu. sp., Baily. Bilboa Colliery, Queen’s County,

Ireland. ,

4, —— anthrax, Prestwich, Geol. Trans. vol. v. pl. 41. figs. 1-4.

~ Coalbrook Dale.

rotundus, Prestwich, ibid. Coalbrook Dale and ? Bilboa

Colliery, Queen’s County.

The discovery of these peculiar Coal-measure Crustacea in

Ireland, with associated shells and plants corresponding so re-

markably with those found in similar deposits at Coalbrook

Dale m Shropshire and other parts of the Midland counties in

England, is a point of great paleontological interest, showing

their distribution over a wide area, and indicating the prevalence

of the same conditions in both countries, although at localities so

widely distant. The great differences observable in some parts

of their structure to that of the more recent and living forms of

Limulus may be accounted for by the wide interval which sepa-

rates the Coal-measure strata in which their remains are found

from the Upper Jurassic formation, where those of true Limuli

first occur. There are, however, certain points in their structure

analogous to that of Limulus, which they somewhat resemble in

their general form and in being provided with a tail-spine that

was most probably (although the articulation is not clearly

shown), like that of Limulus, capable of mobility; on the other

hand, as we recede in time, we find_intermediate forms, such as

Pterygotus and Himantopterus, connecting them with the Trilo-

bites, to which they are also allied by the moveable nature of

their body-segments, and in other particulars. We have, there-

fore, in these Coal-measure Crustacea such a modification of

structure as may be considered sufficient to constitute them a —

distinct genus, and show them to be a link in the chain leading

from the important group of Trilobites, so characteristic of the

Palzozoic rocks, to the Oolitic Limuli, in which the whole body

is covered by a double shield, the segments of the abdominal

portion being merely rudimentary and immoveable, like those

of the existing species.

As to the question of the freshwater or marine habitat of these

Crustacea and their associated fossils, I am inclined to the

opinion that the deposits in which they occur were of freshwater

or estuary origin, from the abundance of small shells like Unio,

and others very similar to the freshwater Mytilus (Dreissena)

polymorpha, accompanied by the remains of succulent or marshy

plants. This opinion corresponds with the observations of

Martin and Prestwich. Other theories have been advanced

114 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Fishes

attributing a general marine origin to the Coal-beds, in support

of which great stress has been laid upon the fact of the occur-

rence of minute spiral bodies found attached to some of the

plant-remains, and formerly referred to Spirorbis, a marine

ey of Annelida common upon our shores at the present

ay, where it is generally attached to sea-weeds, and is well

known as Spirorbis nautiloides.. These little spiral bodies of

the Coal-measure plants have, however, been described by Gép-

pert as a Fungus, under the name of Gyromyces Ammonis, and

are figured by Geinitz in his fine work on the Coal-plants of

Saxony*. We have here, therefore, an instance of the great

caution required in drawing general conclusions from insufficient

data, and would rather concur with the remarks offered on the

subject at page 54 of this Journal, believing that the Coal-

measures afford evidence of having been deposited under both

freshwater and marine conditions.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE V.

Fig. 1 A-D. Belinurus Regine, n.sp.: A, B, natural size; C, D, enlarged

3 diameters. (The dotted lines represent the part restored.)

Fig. 2A, C. Belinurus arcuatus,n. sp. : A, detached cephalic shield, natural

size; B, the same, enlarged 2 diameters ; C, a small uncompressed

specimen from a concretion.

Fig. 3 A, B. Belinurus rotundus?, Prestwich: A, natural size; B, enlarged

3 diameters. (The dotted lines represent parts restored.)

XVII.—On new Species of Fishes from Victoria, South Australia.

By Dr. Atsert GUNTHER.

A couuecTIoN of fishes from Victoria, sent to the International

Exhibition, and procured for the British Museum, was distin-

guished by the unusually large size of the specimens. They are

all stuffed, and unfortunately not accompanied by smaller exam-

ples preserved in spirits, so that we are obliged to leave the de-

scriptions of the new species incomplete in some points, We

hope, however, soon to make up for this deficiency, as we may

expect further supplies from that colony.

Lates colonorum.

B.6. D.8{ 7p. A.2. L. lat. 55. L. transy. 8/21.

_. The specimen is 17 inches long, apparently a female, and

rather extended by stuffing; the length of the head, however,

appears to be a little less than one-third of the total (without

* Die Versteinerungen der Steinkohlenformation in Sachsen, pl. 34. figs.

1-3. Dr. Geinitz first called my attention to this little fossil on a Calamite-

stem from a neighbouring colliery, in Mr. B. Edge’s collection.

- from Victoria, South Australia, 115

the caudal). Teeth minute, villiform; the bands on the palate

are half as broad as those in the upper jaw; the vomerine band

short, crescent-shaped, separate from the palatine bands. Maxil-

broad, triangular. ‘The preopercular limb is naked, finely

serrated behind, and with coarse spinous teeth below, directed

forwards; no large spine at the angle. Operculum terminating

in a larger spine, with several smaller ones above ; preorbital,

sub-, and interoperculum finely serrated.

The dorsal fins are continuous at the base; the spines are

strong; the fourth is the longest, its length being contained

twice and a third in that of the head. Caudal fin slightly

emarginate. The third anal spine is rather longer than the

second, and as long as the sixth dorsal spine.

Uniform greenish-olive above, silvery on the sides and on the

“ Perch” of the colonists.

MELAMBAPHES.

Similar in general habit to Glyphidodon. Body covered with

small ciliated scales; cheeks, opercles, and the soft parts of the

vertical fins with very small scales. Of all the bones of the head,

only the preoperculum is slightly crenulated. Hach jaw with a

series of trenchant tricuspid teeth, and with a broad band of vil-

liform teeth behind ; no teeth on the palate. Fourteen or thirteen

spines in the dorsal fin, and three in the anal fin.

Having onlyone stuffed specimen for examination, we are unable

to say whether this fish belongs to the Acanthopterygians proper

or to the Pharyngognaths. If to the former, it is to be referred

to the group Cantharina, and to-the Pomacentride if it should

prove to haye the lower pharyngeals united. In either case it

appears to be the type of a distinct genus, which we have so

characterized that it may be readily distinguished from all the

other Sparoid and Labroid genera.

Melambaphes nigroris.

Glyphisodon nigroris, Cuv. & Val. v. p. 485.

D.i4. A.A. L. lat. 100.

We have but little doubt that the “ Black Perch” of the

colonists is the Gljphisodon nigroris of Cuvier and Valenciennes,

although their description is extremely short, giving as the for-

mula of the fins, D. +3. A. 5%.

Glyphidodon Victoria.

D.43. A... L. lat. 30. L. transy. 4/10.

The height of the body is somewhat less than one-half of the

116 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Fishes.

total length (without the caudal). Teeth narrow, not emarginate,

twenty-one on each side of the upper jaw. Infraorbital scaly ;

the width of the preorbital is two-thirds of that of the orbit.

Five or six series of small scales on the cheek. Vertical fins

scaly nearly to their margins. The third to the seventh dorsal

spines are nearly of equal height, one-half of the length of the

head. Caudal forked. Reddish-violet (in a dried state); fins

blackish.

Nine inches long.

The “ Rock-Perch” of the colonists.

Labrichthys ephippium.

? Labrus ephippium, Cuy. & Val. xii. p. 96.

D.. A. 3. L. lat. 27. LU. transv. 3/10.

A posterior canine tooth. Cheek with three series of very

small scales. Base of the dorsal fin not scaly. Hach tube of

the scales of the lateral line with numerous branches.

Coloration in a dried specimen :—Back violet-olive to the end

of the spinous dorsal; head, belly, and tail reddish, the latter

with a broad violet-olive band between the posterior halves of

the soft dorsal and anal. A blackish spot behind the opercle ;

the pectoral, ventral, caudal, and spinous dorsal reddish or yel-

lowish, the first with a black spot superiorly in the axil. The

soft dorsal and the anal blackish-violet.

Seventeen inches long.

The “ Parrot-fish ” of the colonists.

Pseudophycis barbatus.

B. 7. °D.8 151... A. 58. V.5. Le dat, en. 180:

The ventral fin does not extend to the vent. Sixteen or eighteen

series of scales between the anterior dorsal and the lateral line.

This fish is similar to its congener, P. breviusculus, Richards.,

from New Zealand, but may be readily distinguished by the

characters given. We have received a specimen 17 inches long. |

The species is called “ Rock-Cod” by the colonists. With re-

gard to the characters of the genus Pseudophycis, we refer to

‘Catal. Fish.’ iv. p. 850.

Lotella callarias.

Bass Dv 1] 65.2 A S7.. ae. og

The two outer ventral rays produced into a filament. Uniform

brown.

Similar to L. fuliginosa, Giinth. (Catal. Fish. iv. p. 347), but

with a shorter head, the length of which is one-fifth of the total

(without the caudal). The ventrals, with the filament, are as long

al ml lar

Bibliographical Notices. 117

as the pectoral 3 the barbel is not quite half as long as the head.

The typical specimen is 19 inches long.

The fish is called “Cod” by the colonists.

Rhombosolea flesoides.

B. 6. ° D262." A. 4f.

Similar to R. leporina (Giinth. Catal. Fish. iv. p. 460), but

with the body more elevated. Its greatest depth is rather less

than one-half of the total length (without the caudal), the length

of the head two-sevenths. Eyes separated by a narrow, low,

naked ridge, the lower being in advance of the upper. A cuta~

neous flap is suspended from the maxillary, overhanging the

mouth. The gill-opening does not extend upwards beyond the

base of the pectoral. The dorsal fin terminates at a distance

from the caudal, which is one-fourth of the depth of the free

portion of the tail ; the first dorsal ray is inserted immediately be-

hind the maxillary appendage, and the four or five anterior rays

are produced beyond the connecting membrane, bat consider-

ably shorter than those behind the middle of the fin, which are

nearly half as long as the head. Caudal subtruncated, its

length being rather more than one-sixth of the total. The

length of the pectoral is somewhat more than one-half that of

the head. Ventral fins as in R. monopus and R. leporina. Uni-

form brown.

Length of the typical specimen 14 inches.

Called “ Flounder” by the colonists.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

The Flora of Essex. By G. S. Gisson, F.L.S.

12mo. London: Pamplin. 1862.

Mr. Watson justly remarks, in his valuable ‘Cybele Britannica,’

that his difficulties in discovering the geographical distribution of

plants in Great Britain have been greatly increased by the small

number of good county floras. The works produced by the last

generation of botanists are of course useless for his purpose, owing

to the want of exactness so prevalent at the time of their production.

Their authors had no idea that it was necessary, or even desirable,

to do more than compile a simple catalogue of the plants found in

their districts, and to record the localities of the rarer species. Doubt-

less such records as these are valuable, if the compilers were suffi-

ciently good botanists to render their determination of the species

trustworthy. Unfortunately, this was often not the case; and fre-

quently plants were marked as “common,” not from any certain

determination of their frequency, but from an impression that such

was the case. It thus became necessary for Watson to discover by

118 Bibliographical Notices.

some other means the correctness of these entries; for it not unfre-

quently happened that the so-marked “common” plant was an un-

likely species to be “common”’ in that particular district ; and even,

in a few cases, one or more of them has been found to be altogether

wanting in it. There is also another class of local “ Catalogues”

which is of very little use to the scientific botanical geographer. We

mean those which only profess to name the rarer species. These

books are often useful to collectors, and therefore deserve local en-

couragement; but as works of science they rank very low. Even

such books as Leighton’s ‘Shropshire’ and Bromfield’s ‘Isle of

Wight’ do not come up to the point now required. In the former

case the large county is not diyided into districts, as has now become

the habit ; and therefore the distribution and more or less frequency

of the plants is not easily discovered from it, even if discoverable

at all. Dr. Bromfield’s book relates to a very limited area, and

therefore division into districts was hardly called for; but it is a

posthumous work, not very well edited, and showing most manifest

signs of wanting the last touches of its author. Indeed, the chief

value (and it is great) of these two works is that they contain very

many useful descriptions of plants and much elaborate critical dis-

cussion. The date of Leighton’s work causes it to occupy a promi-

nent position in the history of the present movement for placing the

flora of Britain on a level with those of several of the Continental

nations. It was one of the first books where an attempt was made

to identify our plants with those of foreign botanists, and to submit

the names used by us to the laws which regulate botanical nomen-

clature. Previous to that time we were not much in the habit of

consulting the local floras of foreign countries ; and Fries’s writings

concerning the Phanerogamic plants of Scandinavia had attracted

very little attention in this country. We well remember the com-

motion which took place amongst the botanists attending the British

Association Meeting at Bristol (a.p. 1836), when the lamented Edw.

Forbes drew from his pocket Reichenbach’s ‘ Flora Excursoria.’ It

was like opening a new world to those who had been previously

satisfied with Smith’s ‘ English Flora’ and Hooker’s ‘ British Flora’

in its earlier form.

The discovery of Reichenbach was soon followed by that of Koch’s |

‘ Synopsis,’ and English works began immediately to show the results

of a study of Fries, Reichenbach, and Koch. We need not follow

this movement any further. It was strongly opposed in some quar-

ters, gained ground slowly but steadily, and is still, in spite even of

faintly continued opposition, making its way amongst those who

especially desiderate an accurate knowledge of their country’s plants.

But it may be asked, What has this to do with Gibson’s ‘ Flora of

Essex’? We answer, much; for without the knowledge attained,

and the exactness of observation acquired, by a study of the modern

local floras of Europe, such a work could not have been produced.

Mr. Gibson divides the county of Essex into eight districts, and

in effect gives a more or less complete flora of each of them. The

same plan had previously been followed by Babington for the county

Bibliographical Notices. 119

of Cambridge, and, at a still earlier date, by Webb and Coleman for

that of Essex. But possibly the very first attempt at recording the

plants of a province in this way was made in Babington’s ‘ Flora of

the Channel Islands.’ He there always records the presence of a

plant, when known to him, in each of the four principal islands, and

thus gives a tolerably complete flora, not only of the whole group,

but of the two larger islands, and less perfectly of two of the

smaller ones. We believe that there are no other books in which

this valuable mode of determining the frequency of each plant within

the range of a local flora is employed.

Mr. Gibson has manifestly taken much pains to render his book

as complete as possible. He records about 1120 plants as said to

have been found in Essex, but marks a considerable number as either

mistakes, naturalized, or otherwise more or less ambiguous as species

or as natives of the county. This weeding of the list seems to have

been done with care, and we very rarely see any reason for arriving

at a different opinion from that announced by the author. We may,

perhaps, instance as a few of these differences our doubt if Nymphea

alba can require the mark of doubtful nativity appended by Gibson;

and the same may perhaps be said of Rosa rubiginosa. On the

other hand, it seems nearly certain that Saponaria officinalis is a

naturalized plant in the east of England, whatever claims it may show

to be thought indigenous on the borders of Wales. But we will not

occupy valuable space by following up a subject so open to contro-

versy, and on which each careful observer must judge for himself.

We have said that the Essex flora contains an enumeration of

about 1120 plants, thus exceeding that of the adjoining county of

Cambridge by nearly 200 species. This is chiefly caused by the

extensive sea-coast which bounds Essex, and the almost total absence

of maritime plants from Cambridgeshire.

Very much addition is made to the value of this book by the ex-

ceedingly numerous, learned, and accurate remarks introduced into

it by the Rev. W. W. Newbould, one of our best botanists and a

gentleman especially conversant with contemporary foreign floras,

and also with the writers of the ante-Linnean period and their

herbaria. His remarks are usually (although, we think, not always)

pointed out by the letter N being appended to them. Mr. Gibson

observes in the Preface :—“ I cannot omit to refer more particularly

to my valued friend W. W. Newbould, to whom I am indebted for

the assistance which he has most kindly and freely rendered. In

addition to the time bestowed on ancient authorities and herbaria,

he has undertaken excursions into several districts, for the purpose of

noting localities ; and, besides offering various important suggestions,

he has revised the manuscript, assisted in correcting the proof-sheets

while they were passing through the press, and added many critical

notes. ‘The accuracy of the work has been much enhanced by

W. W. Newbould’s exertions.” This acknowledgment we consider

fully required ; for we have personal knowledge of the great labour

and care with which he treated the manuscript. Newbould makes

an interesting remark upon Carex ericetorum, which has been ree

120 Bibliographical Notices.

cently recorded as a British plant, and supposed to have been first

noticed by Messrs. Ball and Babington on the Gogmagog Hills, in

Cambridgeshire. He states that the original drawing published in

‘English Botany’ as C. precox, and made by the late James Sowerby,

represented C. ericetorum, but that ‘Smith saw that the glumes

were not those of C. precox, and the details were in consequence

altered.” Thus the plant was found by some botanist at least as

long since as the year 1802; but, unfortunately, the locality is not

recorded. His researches have shown that, unfortunately, such

alterations of the original drawings were not unfrequently made by

Smith, and that thus many of the difficulties have arisen which we

now meet with when endeavouring to identify plants with the other-

wise valuable plates in ‘ English Botany.’

Some interesting papers appear in the Appendix. First, a table

showing the dates of the earliest and latest notice of many plants in

Essex. Some few of these are as early as the sixteenth, and a good

many occur in the seventeenth century. Next we have a table of

the comparative abundance of each plant. They are arranged as

“common,” ‘rather local,’’ and ‘very local.” No.3 is a com-

parison of the floras of Essex, Cambridge, Hertford, and Kent,

No. 4 relates to the arrangement of the plants of Great Britain

according to their comparative frequency, as given in Watson’s

‘Cybele Britannica,’ vol.iv. No.5 gives a short list of plants not

unlikely to be found in Essex. No. 6 includes biographical sketches

of the celebrated John Ray, who commenced and ended his life in

Essex ; of Samuel Dale, Richard Warner, and the recently lost and

justly lamented Edw. Forster.

It will be seen by what we have said, that this is a work quite up

to the requirements of the present time, highly creditable to its

author, and well deserving of the attention of English botanists ; and

it is probably unnecessary to add that it does not contain descriptions

of the plants, but that the general floras of Britain are referred to

for information of that kind, as is now the usual and laudable custom

of writers on local botany.

A Manual of European Butterflies. By W. F. Kirpy.

Wilhams & Norgate. 1862.

A descriptive Manual of the Butterflies of Europe has long been

a desideratum with those of our travellers who, not caring to make

a close study of entomology, still take some interest in the more

conspicuous objects of natural history. Of these objects none are

more striking or beautiful than the numerous butterflies which, in

our Continental rambles, at once attract notice, whether they rise

from the rushes on the steep mountain-side, or on the sultry plain

flit lazily from flower to flower, a “‘ joy for ever”? to all whose hearts

sympathize with nature.

Mr. Kirby offers us descriptions of 321 species of Rhopalocera:

these descriptions are partly original, partly compiled or condensed

from the best foreign authorities. We may here be permitted to

Bibliographical Notices. 121

protest against the singular use which our author has made of the

sigus * and +, to indicate that specimens have been examined by

himself. Mr. Kirby is a young author, and we are sure that he will

forgive our pointing out that these signs are very perplexing to the

eye, and, besides, have been used for quite different purposes in

other scientific works. How much easier to have appended the

usual “8. mM.” or the marks “!!” or “vidi spec.” In the same

way, when the descriptions are quoted or abridged, how much more

satisfactory if these had been noted by inverted commas or an

abbreviated name.

At the head of each genus, we find an analysis of the species

comprised in it. Here we cannot but regret that Mr. Kirby has not

adopted the Lamarckian or dichotomous method. The use, also, of

italics for the more distinctive characters in the specific descriptions

would have been a great boon to the traveller, whose time is so

valuable.

We think that the authority should have followed the specific

names in the body of the book, as well as in the synonymic list

given in the Appendix. We say it with reluctance; but the care-

of entomologists is in this respect quite proverbial.

_ We could have wished that the best figure of each insect had been

quoted throughout ; and certainly some indication of the range might

have followed the specific descriptions. By using five capital letters

for “ North, Middle, South, East, and West” Europe, much informa-

tion might have been condensed ir a very short space. The alpine

or mountain insects might have been distinguished in a similar

manner, and the “ kind of station”’ would have been another welcome

addition.

Having relieved our mind by these-free remarks, we have no hesi-

tation in recommending Mr. Kirby’s handy-book to the notice of

our summer tourists. ‘Travellers are in these days \very apt to run

into zoological eccentricities. It is not at all uncommon to see blue

or green gauze nets waving on the Rhigi or from a passing carriage,

in many parts of the Continent. The ‘Manual of European

Butterflies’ is a work of good promise, and a proof of no small

diligence on the part of its author.

But why should entomologists have a monopoly? With the excep-

tion of Lord Clermont’s little book on the Mammals and Reptiles of

Europe, we know of no portable Manual for the English traveller of

zoological tastes, when he is starting for a six-weeks’ ramble on the

Continent. Have we not other naturalists who might give us the

digested results of their long study of different branches of the

European Fauna? Might we suggest to Mr. Alfred Newton how

useful would be a manual of the European birds? And will not Dr.

Giinther take pity on the poor fishes, all neglected since the illus-

trious Agassiz left Europe for his Transatlantic home?

A very useful feature of Mr. Kirby’s book is the table of geo-

graphical distribution, inserted as an Appendix. This table is

admirably constructed ; for Mr. Kirby has succeeded in showing not

ngs the country in which each insect has been found, but also the

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 9

122 Royal Society :—

name of the authority in every case. We commend this Appendix

as quite a model of how much information may be conveyed in a few

pages.

A second Appendix supplies a complete and partly synonymie

catalogue of all the European Butterflies, amounting, as we said

before, to 321 species. In his estimate of the number of species

Mr. Kirby has wisely contented himself with following a good recent

authority—Staudinger.

We must now leave the Butterflies of Europe in the hands of

Mr. Kirby and his fellow entomologists. We trust that enough has

been said to stimulate travellers to the contemplation, if not the

capture, of some of the 321 species.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 20, 1862.—Major-General Sabine, President, in the Chair.

“On the Fossil Remains of a long-tailed Bird (Archeopteryx

macrurus, Ow.) from the Lithographic Slate of Solenhofen.” By

Prof. Richard Owen, F.R.S.

The author details the circumstances connected with the discovery

of the fossil remains, with the impressions of feathers, in the Litho-

graphic slates of Solenhofen, of the Oxfordian or Corallian stage of

the Oolitic period, and of the acquisition for the British Museum of

the specimen which forms the subject of his paper.

The exposed parts of the skeleton are,—the lower portion of the

furculum ; part of the left os innominatum ; nineteen caudal vertebree in

a consecutive series ; several ribs, or portions of ribs ; the two scapule,

humeri, and antibrachial bones; parts of the carpus and metacarpus,

with two unguiculate phalanges, probably belonging to the right

wing; both femora and tibiee, and the bones of the right foot; im-

pressions of the quill-feathers radiating fan-wise from each carpus,

and diverging in pairs from each side of the long and slender tail.

The above parts indicate the size of the winged and feathered creature

to have been about that of a rook. The several bones, with their

impressions and those of the feathers, are described, and the bones.are

compared with their homologues in different Birds and in Pterodac-

tyles. Whence it appears that, with the exception of the caudal

region of the vertebral column, and apparently of a biunguiculate

manus, with less confluent condition of the metacarpus, the preserved

parts of the skeleton of the feathered animal accord with the ornithie

modifications of the vertebrate skeleton. ‘The main departure there-

from is in a part of that skeleton most subject to variety. Twenty

caudal vertebree extend from the sacrum in a consecutive and naturally

articulated series, resembling in structure and proportions those of a

squirrel. The tail-feathers are in pairs corresponding in number with

the vertebree, diverging therefrom at an angle of 45° backward, be-

Prof. Owen on the Archeopteryx macrurus. 123

coming more acute near the end, and the last pair extending nearly

parallel with and 33 inches beyond the last caudal vertebra. This

feathered tail is 11 inches long and 33 inches broad, with an obtusely

rounded end. This novel and unexpected character of the tail is

owing to the constancy with which all known existing and tertiary

birds have presented the short bony tail with the terminal modification

in most of them of the ploughshare bone.

Professor Owen next gives the results of investigations into the

osteogeny of embryo birds, showing the number of vertebrze corre-

sponding to the anterior caudals in Archeopteryx which coalesce with

the pelvis in the course of growth, and the degree to which the

posterior caudals retain a resemblance to those of Archeopteryz in

the Birds with rudimental wings. From eighteen to twenty caudal

vertebrae may be counted in the young Ostrich. In Archeopteryx

the embryonal separation persists, with such continued growth of

the individual caudal vertebree as is commonly seen in long-tailed

Vertebrates, whether Reptilian or Mammalian, The author remarks

that the modification and specialization of the terminal bones of the

spinal column in modern birds is closely analogous to that which

converts the long, slender, many-jointed tail of the modern embryo

fish into that short and deep symmetrical shape, with coalescence

of terminal vertebree into a compressed lamelliform bone, like the

‘os en charrue’ of birds, to which the term ‘ homogercal’ applies—

such extreme development and transformation usually passing through

the heterocercal stage, at which, in paleozoic and many mesozoie

fishes, it was arrested. Thus he discerns in the main differential

character of the mesozoic bird a retention of structure which is em-

bryonal and transitory in the modern representatives of the class,

and consequently a closer adhesion to the general vertebrate type.

The least equivocal parts of the present fossil declare it to be a

Bird, with rare peculiarities indicative of a distinct order in that class,

Although the head is absent, the author predicts, by the law of cor-

relation, a beak-shaped mouth for the preening of the plumage ; and

he also infers a broad and keeled sternum in correlation with the

remains of feathered organs of flight.

The paper is accompanied by drawings of the fossil and its parts,

and of homologous parts in Birds and Pterodactyles. The author as-

signs to the fossil animal the name of Archeopteryx macrurus.

Dec. 18, 1862.—Major-General Sabine, President, in the Chair.

* Description of a new Specimen of Glyptodon, recently acquired

by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.” By Thomas Henry

uxley, F.R.8., Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy at

the College.

Tn the present brief preliminary notice I propose to give an account

of the more remarkable features of the skeleton of a specimen of the

extinct genus G/yptodon, recently added to the Museum of the Royal

College of Surgeons,

The specimen was obtained in 1860, by Signor Maximo Terrero, on

124 Royal Society :—

the banks of the River Salado, and was presented to the College by

that gentleman, through the instrumentality of the -late President of

the College, J. F. South, Esq.

It arrived in England in an extremely broken and: mutilated con-

dition; but, by the exercise of great care and patience, Mr. Waterhouse

Hawkins, to whom the President and Council of the Royal College

of Surgeons entrusted the task of adjusting the scattered fragments,

has succeeded in restoring to their natural condition the greater part

of the vertebral column, the limbs, and much of the head. In the

execution of this laborious undertaking Mr. Hawkins has had, from

time to time, all the anatomical aid that Mr. Flower, the Conservator

of the College Museum, and I could afford him ; and the authorities

of the College have finally entrusted me, as one of the Professors of

the College, with the duty of describing the specimen.

This duty I propose to discharge by preparing a full description

of the skeleton in a memoir to,be presented (accompanied by a

draught of the requisite illustrations) to the Royal Society. But as

the preparation of such a memoir will require some time, I wish, at

present, to lay before the Royal Society a preliminary account of

those particulars in the structure of this animal which must interest

anatomists in general as much as the special student of the fossil

Edentata, in the hope that the notice may appear in the ‘ Proceed-

ings’ of the Society.

The mass of bony fragments which arrived from South America

has afforded material for the reconstruction of the carapace, and of

the following parts of the skeleton :—the anterior moiety of the skull

with the entire palate ; the mandible ; some of the cervical, and the

greater part of the dorsal, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal vertebree, with

vertebral and sternal ribs ; the pelvis and the hind limbs ; part of the

scapula, and an entire fore/limb.. And there can be no doubt that

all these remains belong to one and the same animal, as no duplicate

bones have been discovered, nor any which there is the least reason

to believe belong to a different individual. This circumstance gives

a particular value to the present specimen, apart from the fact that,

notwithstanding the researches of Professor Owen, of D’ Alton, of

Lund, and of Nodot, our knowledge of the structure of the anterior

part of the skull, of the vertebral column and pelvis, and of the fore

limb of Glyptodon and its immediate allies, is either nil or extremely

imperfect. I now proceed to note the more important and the novel

anatomical peculiarities which it reveals,

Of the skull the new specimen exhibits the anterior moiety, from

the anterior boundary of the cranial cavity to the anterior end of the

nasal bones, together with the almost entire bones of the face and

the lower jaw ; it thus furnishes a nearly complete supplement to the

fragmentary cranium, consisting of the brain-case and the nasal bones,

with the zygomatic processes, formerly described by Professor Owen

as a part of Glyptodon clavipes, and now set up in the College Mu-

seum, together with a carapace, a tail, and a hind foot, as the typical

example of that species*. In the form of the frontal bone, of the

* The parts thus combined together were not found so associated, and the

ag RR ae ie al

Prof. T. H. Huxley on a new Specimen of Glyptodon. 125

orbits, of the nasal bones, and of the zygomatic process, the skull of

the new specimen agrees very closely with that of Glyptodon clavipes.

From the slighter rugosity of the supraorbital region, the less deve-

lopment of the temporal ridges, and the fact that the nasal suture

persists in the new specimen, I conceive it to have been a younger

animal.

The anterior nasal aperture is trapezoidal, and narrower below

than above. The vomer is very thick and strong, and the turbinal

bones are well developed. The premaxillz, though small slender

bones, enter largely into the lateral boundary of the nasal aperture.

Inferiorly they are separated in the middle line by a narrow fissure,

which runs back into the crescentic anterior palatine foramen.

The maxillary bones are extremely elongated ; while the palatine

bones are small in proportion to them, and, like the premaxille, are

separated by a very narrow median fissure. The extreme length of

the roof of the palate, formed by these three pair of bones, is 10

inches ; while its width (between the inner edges of the teeth),

though rather greater in front than behind, nowhere exceeds 13 inch.

From before backwards the palate has a double curvature, being

concave downwards from the anterior end of the premaxilla to the

level of the third tooth, and convex thence to the end of the palate-

bones ; so that the posterior part of the palate has a very marked

inclination upwards and backwards.

There were eight teeth in each maxilla, all trilobed, the longitu

<A grooves separating the lobes being less marked in the anterior

teeth.

The mandible is represented by the two horizontal rami, with the

symphysis, the greater part of the right coronoid process, and the

entire right condyle, together with many of the sixteen teeth. It

very closely resembles the mandibles of Schistopleuron gemmatum, de-

scribed by Nodot, but is wholly unlike the restored jaw of Glyptodon

clavipes given (on the authority of a drawing) by Professor Owen*.

The articular surface is situated almost wholly upon the anterior

surface of the condyle of the mandible, looking but very slightly

upwards ; it is transversely elongated, slightly concave from side to

side, and convex from above downwards. In all these respects it

furnishes a counterpart to the glenoid articular surface of the tem-

_ bone of Glyptodon clavipes, already described by Professor

en. |

The length of the head of the present specimen, when entire, was

probably not less than 13 inches. The greatest depth of the

cranium, from the centre of the frontal bone to the middle of the

question may arise whether the skull, hind foot, and tail are really parts of the

animal to which the carapace (on whose characters the species is founded) be-

longed. Provisionally 1 assume that they are. But so many difficulties are in-

volved in the precise determination of the species of these extinct Armadillo-like

Edentata, that for the present I leave the question open.

* The mandible of the Turin Glyptodon, mentioned at the end of this paper,

is quite similar to that of the new specimen, and to that of M. Nodot’s Schisto-

126 Royal Society :—

palate, is about 6 inches ; the length of the mandible can hardly have

been less than 12 inches. ;

Of the vertebral column, the greater part of the sacral and dorsal

region, and some fragments of the cervical region, are preserved. The

latter show that the atlas was distinct, but that the axis was anchy-

losed with one or two succeeding vertebree, as in the Armadillos.

The fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae were probably free, but no traces

of them have been found. The anterior part of what remains of

the rest of the vertebral column consists of a very broad flat bone,

composed of three vertebree firmly anchylosed together, and having

their spinous processes represented by a short but very stout osseous

knob, which projects upwards and backwards. Anteriorly, these

anchylosed vertebra exhibit on each side of the neural canal an arti-

cular facet with a convex surface, resembling a segment of a horizontal

cylinder; posteriorly, articular surfaces of a similar character, but

concave, are situated in corresponding positions.

Each side of this ‘trivertebral bone’ presents two large and deep

articular cavities for the heads of ribs, fragments of which are still

preserved. The anterior rib, remarkable for its stout and massive

proportions, was undoubtedly the first ; and this cireumstance I believe

gives a clue to the precise character of the vertebree which are anchy-

losed together to form the trivertebral bone; for in the Armadillos

the head of the first rib is fitted into a deep fossa, formed partly by

the last cervical, and partly by the first dorsal vertebra. Furthermore,

the body and transverse processes of the last cervical vertebra in the

Armadillos present articular facets of an essentially similar character to

those observable on the anterior face of the bone under deseription* ;

and, finally, the last cervical vertebra is practically immoveable upon

the first dorsal in many Armadillos, while the two vertebra are com-

pletely anchylosed together in the priodont Armadillo. I conceive,

then, that this remarkable bone of the Glyptodon is formed by the

anchylosis of the last cervical and first and second dorsal vertebra.

Of the remainder of the spinal column thirteen consecutive ver-

tebree are preserved; and all of these were immoveablv united into

one long continuous tunnel or arched tubular bridge of bone, a strue-

ture which is without a parallel among the Mammalian Vertebrata.

Of these thirteen vertebra, the four anterior are so completely an-—

chylosed together, that the original lines of demarcation between

them are hardly discernible. Persistent sutures separate the fourth

from the fifth, and the latter from the sixth ; but all trace of the

primitive distinction of the sixth and seventh is lost. The other

vertebra are separated by sutures which become coarser and less close

posteriorly. In all but the first, second, third, eleventh, and thir-

teenth vertebree, the parts representing the vertebral centra are broken

away; but where they persist, they are so similar that they were

doubtless of similar form throughout. Each centrum is, in fact, a

* T may remark in passing, that all the cervical vertebre of the Armadillos,

from the third backwards, are articulated together by joints similar in principle

of construction to those which connected together the trivertebral bone of Giyp-

todon with the vertebre in front of and behind it. ‘

Prof. T. H. Huxley on a new Specimen of Glyptodon. 127

paratively thin bony plate, so curved as to form a segment of a

hollow cylinder of much larger diameter in the front than in the

hinder vertebre, the sides of which pass superiorly into the arches of

the vertebre.

The foremost vertebra of the thirteen is as broad as the posterior

part of the ‘trivertebral bone,’ and presents a couple of convex arti-

facets which articulate with the lateral articular concavities

described above in that bone. The vertebrae rapidly narrow, how-

ever, until the fourth is not more than three-fifths as wide as the

first, while it is proportionately wae and this increase of depth

relatively to width goes on until in the thirteenth vertebra the spinal

canal is deeper than it is wide.

The spinous processes of these vertebrze are all broken short off ;

but sufficient remains of their bases to make the following points

clear.

_ The spinous process of the first is almost obsolete, being a mere

ridge sloping back towards the second, with which it is continuous.

This appears to have been necessary to afford the requisite play for

the knob of the trivertebral bone in its movements of flexion and ex-

tension on the rest of the spinal column.

The spinous process of the second vertebra was long and thick,

and probably somewhat high. It appears to have been completely

distinct from the third, which was thinner, and was anchylosed with.

its successors (as far as that of the twelfth vertebra inclusive) into a

long continuous crest. The apices of the spinous processes may,

however, have been distinct. So much as is left of the base of this

crest shows that it was thickest at the sixth and seventh vertebre (of

the thirteen), and that it became thinner both anteriorly and pos-

teriorly.

_ The spinous process of the twelfth vertebra, forming the termina-

tion of the crest, appears to have ended ia a free, thin, but rounded

edge. What remains of the spinous process of the thirteenth ver-

tebra, on the other hand, thins off anteriorly to a natural edge, which

is inclined upwards and backwards. Posteriorly the spinous process

becomes very thick and stout, and appears to have had a considerable

height. It ends in a fractured hinder margin.

he broad wing-like plates which represent the coalesced trans- .

verse processes of the first, second, and third vertebre of the thirteen,

exhibit distinct articular surfaces for the capitula and tubercula of

ribs. Further back, the natural edges of the apophysial ridges

are broken away, up to the eighth vertebra. Here they are entire on

the left side and broken on the right; but, curiously enough, the

broken processes are higher than the entire ones, so that the transverse

sses in this region of the body must have been asymmetrically

developed. The thirteenth vertebra presents peculiarities which

could only be made intelligible by a lengthened description, and by

tures. The contours of the articular processes become first di-

es, traceable at the posterior part of the eleventh vertebra. They

aré better marked at the posterior part of the twelfth, and at the an-

terior part of the thirteenth vertebra.

128 Royal Society :-—

The nervous foramina are not intervertebral, but pierce the arches

of the vertebree throughout the series. In the thirteenth the outlet

of the foramen is separated, by a longitudinal bar of bone, into an

upper and a lower division.

The posterior part of the thirteenth vertebra is much injured, and

does not adjust itself naturally to the anterior end of that part of the

lumbar region of the vertebral column (consisting of two vertebra)

which remains continuously anchylosed with the sacrum. One or

two vertebrae may possibly be wanting, or even three; but I conceive

the last to be the extreme limit of the deficiency *.

The great Priodont Armadillo has twenty dorso-lumbar vertebree.

If the Glyptodon had the same number, there would be three missing ;

for there are two dorsal vertebree in the trivertebral plate, thirteen

follow it, and two lumbar are anchylosed with the sacral, making

altogether seventeen.

The ‘sacrum,’ composed of anchylosed lumbar, proper sacral, and

coccygeal vertebree, contains at fewest twelve, and perhaps thirteen

vertebree. The centra of the two lumbar vertebre and of the two

proper sacral vertebree which follow them are preserved. They are

thin and broad plates, flat above and slightly concave below, exhibit-

ing a most marked contrast with the half-cylinder of the hindermost

of the thirteen dorsal vertebree above described. It would seem to

require the interposition of at least two, if not three, vertebrae to

effect the transition of the one form of centrum into the other.

The last coccygeal is the only vertebra among all those preserved

the centrum of which exhibits characters at all like those of an or-

dinary mammal, its terminal face being a very broad oval, slightly

concave, disk. The centrum of the penultimate coccygeal is much

flatter and narrower ; and this flattening and narrowing predominates

still more in the antepenultimate and that vertebra which lies before

it, or the fourth from the end. From this point to the two anterior

sacrals the floor of the vertebral canal is completely broken away, but

there can be no doubt that the centra were represented by a thin

bony plate.

The line of the centra of the coccygeal vertebrae forms a very

marked arch behind the two sacral vertebrae, whose centra form a

nearly horizontal floor ; while the dorso-lumbar vertebree (including

‘the trivertebral bone) form a second arch, flatter than the first.

The spinous processes of all these lumbo-sacro-coccygeal vertebrae,

up to the fourth from the end inclusively, are anchylosed together

in a long and strong osseous crest, broad and extremely rugose above,

eight inches high in front, but slowly diminishing as it follows the

curve of the centra posteriorly to five inches.

The spinous process of the penultimate coccygeal vertebra is very

thick, but is broken short off. It was probably not less than 4 inches

high, and afforded a middle point of support for the carapace between

the ischial protuberances. The sides of the median crest, and of the

two vertebree which appear to constitute the true sacrum, are anchy-

* Unless I greatly err in my interpretation of the photographs, these three

missing vertebre are preserved in the Turin Glyptodon.

Prof. T. H. Huxley on a new Specimen of Glyptodon. 129

losed firmly with nearly the whole of the inner edge of the vast

ilium. Behind these the vertebree seem to have been devoid of

transverse processes, as far as the fourth from the’end. But the

antepenultimate had a long and slender transverse process on each

side; the penultimate has an equally long but much stouter process,

while the last coccygeal vertebra has transverse processes of no less

length, and extremely stout.

The expanded distal ends of these processes unite with one another,

and with the inner surfaces of the greatly expanded ischia.

The ilia are immense quadrate bones, slightly concave anteriorly

and posteriorly, with their planes so directed as to form rather less

than a right angle forwards with the vertebral column. The crest

of each iliac bone is thick, expanded, and rugose, and so arched as

evidently to have afforded attachment and support to the carapace ;

which therefore rested directly, partly on the three transversely

disposed pillars afforded by the coccygeal vertebrae and the two

ischia, partly on the longitudinally arched crests of the sacrum and

of the thirteen dorsal or dorso-lumbar vertebree, and partly on the

second great transverse support yielded by the arched crests of the

ilia. Apart from their anchylosis, the whole of the parts named

must have been practically fixtures in consequence of this arrange-

ment of the carapace; and the only moveable parts of the vertebral

column must have been the tail (of which unfortunately no portion.

has been found in the present specimen), posteriorly moveable on

the last coccygeal vertebra,—the trivertebral bone with its two pair of

ribs, capable of an up-and-down motion on the foremost of the thir-

teen vertebrze,—and then the cervicals, more or less moveable upon

the anterior part of the trivertebral bone and upon one another.

I am not aware of the existence of any mammal in which the ver-

tebral column presents characters of a similar singularity.

The mobility of the rib-bearing trivertebral bone, by a hinge-joint

upon the rest of the vertebral column, is peculiarly anomalous. How-

ever, if, as appears to have been the case, the heads of the ribs

attached to this bone were incapable of movement, and the first rib

was furthermore directly anchylosed with the sternum, respiration

must haye been carried on entirely by the diaphragm, if the anterior

dorsal vertebree had been immoveable on the posterior ones. The

hinge-like movement of the trivertebral bone, on the other hand, by

permitting the ribs and sternum to describe a longitudinal are alter-

nately downwards and forwards, and upwards and backwards, would

allow of a most efficient bellows-action of the thorax, similar in

principle to that effected by the ordinary movements of the ribs.

The trivertebral bone is about ............ 6 inches long.

The thirteen vertebree along their convexity .. 29} ,,

EM ee voce ccc e stan. Fe OOF 55

If three lumbar vertebree are wanting allow .. 9 ae

Judging by the analogy of the Armadillos with which the Glyp-

130 Royal Society.

todon presents such close resemblance, and from the shortness of

such cervical vertebrae of Glyptodon as can be reconstructed, the

neck did not exceed in length 4th of the length of the vertebral

column from the first dorsal to the last coccygeal. That would give

8 inches for the neck, and would give a grand total for the spinal

column, exclusive of the tail, of 88 inches, or 7 feet 4 inches. The

length of the carapace of Glyptodon clavipes in the Museum of the

Royal College of Surgeons is 5 feet 7 inches.

The carpus of G/yptodon is in some respects very like that of

Dasypus sexcinctus, but it consists of eight bones instead of seven,

the trapezium and trapezoid being perfectly distinct, instead of form-

ing a single bone as in Dasypus. The scaphoid articulates with the

os magnum, and the cuneiform with a metacarpal, as in Dasypus.

But it is not a little remarkable that, whereas in Dasypus it is the

fifth metacarpal whose proximal end partially articulates with the

cuneiform, in Glyptodon the corresponding bone articulated wholly

with the cuneiform, and not with any of the distal row of carpal

bones. The metacarpal articular end of that bone is, in fact, divided

into two facets—an inner, larger, which articulates with part of the

roximal end of the fourth metacarpal, and an outer, smaller, which

is appropriated by the proximal end of the fifth metacarpal.

hat the cuneiform should articulate with two metacarpal bones,

and that the unciform should not articulate with the fifth metacarpal

at all, are very remarkable peculiarities of the wrist of Glyptodon.

The pisiform is a large curved bone, the proximal end of which

articulates by a large facet with the ulna, and by a small one with a

facet on the palmar aspect of the cuneiform. It closely resembles

the same bone in Armadillos.

The trapezium and trapezoid, taken together, have a form closely

resembling that of the single trapezio-trapezoid of Dasypus. The

trapezium possesses only a very small double articular facet on its

palmar face. If this gives support to a metacarpal, it must have

been very small; and as at present neither it nor any of the hallucal

phalanges have been discovered, it is possible the pollex may have

been altogether rudimentary. In any case the pollex must have

been so much smaller and more slender in proportion than that of

Dasypus, that the animal must have hada practically tetradactyle

fore toot.

The second metacarpal is the longest of all which have been disco-

vered, but is not quite so thick as the third. Its proximal end arti-

culates with the trapezium, trapezoid, and magnum.

The third metacarpal, an almost cuboidal bone, but broader than

long, articulates with the magnum, the cuneiform, and the adjacent

metacarpals.

The fourth metacarpal, still shorter and broader in proportion,

articulates with the unciform and cuneiform, and with the adjacent

metacarpals.

The fifth metacarpal has not been found. The two proximal or

first and second phalanges are very short, broad, discoidal bones in

the second and in the third digits ; and the second, which alone exists,

REDON E RR Ce ee

RE EN eeu tery yen ee

Zoological Society. 131

in the fourth digit has the same character. The proximal phalanges

of the fifth digit have not been found.

The distal or third phalanx is a broad bone, squarely truncated at

the extremity, and longer than the rest of the digit, in the second,

third, and fourth, and presumably in the fifth digit. Each of these

phalanges is thicker on one side than on the other, so that the upper

surface, which is convex from side to side, and also from before

backwards, slopes from the thick towards the thin edge.

The distal phalanx of the second digit has its thick edge on its

ulnar side, but all the others have their thick edges radial. The

distal phalanx of the fifth digit is more pointed, smaller, and thicker

in proportion than the others.

The hind foot is quite normal in structure, possessing five toes

and the regular number and disposition of tarsal, metatarsal, and

phalangeal bones. The third or middle digit is the longest, and its

distal phalanx is the longest of all. It is eg 4 square, and its outer

and inner edges are almost equally thick. The distal phalanges of

the other toes are all thicker on the side turned towards the middle

toe. That of the second toe is almost as square as that of the third ;

but the distal angles of that of the third and fourth are bevelled off

on the fibular side, while the terminal phalanx of the hallux is

similarly bevelled off upon the tibial side. The metatarsal bones

have the same thick prismatic form, and the proximal phalanges the -

same discoidal character as in the fore foot.

The calcaneal process is directed outwards at an angle of 45° from

the axis of the foot, and must have been much raised in the natural

position.

- While the work of restoration,.whose results have just been briefly

detailed, was going on, we learned from Dr. Falconer that a nearly

entire specimen of a Glyptodon was exhibited in the Museum at

Turin. An application was at once made to the authorities of the

Museum for information, and, if possible, for photographs of this

skeleton, and was responded to with the most obliging readiness.

These photographs of a skeleton in some respects more, in others

less perfect than that of the College, have confirmed the conclusions

already arrived at in the most satisfactory manner; and I trust

before long to be in possession of descriptive details of parts of this

specimen which are wanting in our own, and which will enable me

to complete the anatomy of the skeleton of the gigantic extinct

Armadillo.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

June 10, 1862.—Professor Busk, F.R.S., in the Chair.

List or MAMMALIA FROM THE CAMAROON MounrTAINs, CoL-

LECTED BY Capt. Burton, H.M. Consut, Fernanpo Po.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S.

CROCIDURA MORIO, Sp. nov.

Uniform rather brownish black, rather paler and browner beneath,

132 Zoological Society :—

Teeth white. Feet very slender, weak. Tail nearly as long as the

body and head, very slender, annulated, covered with very short

closely adpressed hair. ‘

Length of body and head, dry, 2? inches ; tail, dry, 2 inches.

** Mole from Camaroon Mountains, 7000 feet above the level of

the sea, January 1862.”

Scrurus IsaBEL.a, sp. nov.

Yellowish brown, minutely grizzled, with four broad dorsal streaks

—the two central from the crown of the head to the base of the tail,

the side ones from the shoulder only ; the underside whitish grey.

Tail slightly annulated.

Length of body and head 7 inches ; tail 5 inches.

«Squirrel from the Camaroon Mountains, 7000 feet above the

level of the sea, January 1862.”

I have great pleasure in naming this beautiful new species after

Mrs. Isabel Burton,—her husband, the discoverer of it, having re-

quested that any novelty that might be in the list should be so

named.

AnNoMALURUS BeEcrorTil, Fraser.

“A Flying Squirrel, shot in the Camaroon Mountains, 7000 feet

above the level of the sea. Colour of the eyes dark grey. January

18, 1862.”

Mus MAURA, §p. nov.

Fur very soft and silky ; above black, slightly marked with brown

from the minute brown tips of the hairs ; beneath whitish—the hair of

the underside black, white-tipped. Teeth very narrow, orange.

Ears rounded, moderate. Sides of the nose and edge of the orbits

black. Eyes covered with very short close-pressed hairs. ‘Tail very

long, slender, closely annulated with very slender, very short ad-

pressed hair.

Length of body and head 44 inches; tail 5 inches; hind foot

very nearly 1 inch.

“*Camaroon Mountains, 7000 feet above the level of the sea.”’

EvuRYOTIS IRRORATA, Sp. nov.

** Rat from the Camaroon Mountains, 7000 feet above the level

of the sea. January 1862.”

I am not certain about this species until I can compare the skull

with those of the other species of the genus from Africa, as they are

all very similar externally.

With these animals was sent the skin of a Chimpanzee without

its skull, but with the bones of the hand and feet enclosed in the

skin. This skin differs from all the other specimens of this species

which I have seen, in being covered with much more abundant and

softer fur, and in the fur of the back being of a brown colour, from

the large brown tips to the blackish hair. It would seem to indicate

a distinct variety or species, which may be designated, until we re-

ceive better specimens and more particulars, 770glodytes vellerosus.

— ee l e Si

Mr. A. R. Wallace on new Species of Pitta. 133

June 24, 1862.—E. W. H. Holdsworth, Esq., F.L.S., in the

Chair.

Descriptions or THrer New Species or PitTa FROM THE

Mouvuccas. By Atrrep Russet WALLACE.

These birds are brought before the Society, detached from the

collections of which they form a part, because a Monograph of the

Pittide, by Mr. Elliot, is now in course of publication, and it is de-

sirable that they should be described in England before appearing

in a foreign work. :

They are interesting as showing the permanent modifications in

form of these semiterrestrial birds, in islands within sight of each

other. I may mention as a curious fact, that the great island of

Ceram appears to contain no Pitta, although one or two species

occur in almost all the other islands of the Moluccan group. I have

myself collected for several months in various parts of Ceram and

Amboyna, without seeing or hearing of the genus; and the natives

were positive no such bird was to be found in their country. The

naturalists collecting for the Leyden Museum were not more suc-

cessful; and recently a German ornithologist, M. Rosenberg, has

resided some years in the island, and up to the time of my departure

had seen no Pitta. This is the more remarkable, as in the little

island of Banda, within sight of Ceram, a species exists which, with ©

two others, I now proceed to describe.

Pirra RUBRINUCHA.

Head reddish brown, darker behind, where there is a subquadran-

gular spot of bright red, and above it an obscure blue vertical stripe ;

back dull olive-green, shading into slaty blue on the wings and tail ;

quills blackish, with a white spot on the third and fourth; a small

white spot on the shoulder; underside with the slaty-blue breast

and crimson belly, exactly as in P. celebensis, but the black line

separating the two colours is narrower. Bill blackish horn-colour ;

feet light dull blue; iris pale olive-brown.

Total length 7 inches ; wing 32 inches ; bill, from the gape, 1 inch.

Hab. Island of Bouru (Moluccas).

Remark.—This species is at once distinguished from its near

ally, P. celebensis, by the red nuchal spot, and by having much less

blue on the wing- and tail-coverts. It is also considerably smaller.

Pirra Vicorst.

Pitta Vigorsi, Gould, Birds of Australia, vol. iv. pl. 2.

I had proposed a name for this species, supposing it to be new, and

misled by Bonaparte’s ‘ Conspectus,’ which gives “‘ gula nigra” asa

character of Vigorsi. Having since, at Mr. Gould’s suggestion, com-

pared my bird with the type in the Museum of the Linnean Society,

I find it to be the same. My specimen is a fine adult male, and

differs from Gould’s figure and description in having the bill en

tirely black, and in the red of the under parts being much mixed

with black on the breast.

134 Zoological Society :—

Total length 7 inches ; wing 42 inches; bill, from gape, 1} inch.

Hab. Banda Island (Moluccas).

Remark.—The habitat “Australia” is probably a mistake, as the

birds of this genus are very local, and no well-authenticated speci-

men has ever been received from that country,

PITTA CRASSIROSTRIS.

Similar in colour to P. Vigorsi; but the superciliary stripes are

altogether pale rufous, the colour beneath is lighter (agreeing with

P. concinna), and the chin is black, which colour extends in a tri-

angle on to the throat, without being produced into a stripe, as in

P. coneinna. Bill black, with the hase of the lower mandible horny ;

feet very pale flesh-colour ; iris black.

Total length 7} inches ; wing 42 inches; bill, from gape, 13 inch.

Hab. Sula Island (Xulla of the English maps), E. of Celebes.

Remark.—This species differs from its nearest allies by its very

strong bill, as well as by the peculiarities of colouring above de-

scribed. It is very like Temminck’s figure of P. irena from Timor ;

but that species appears to have much more blue on the back, and

the bill entirely black, and not so strong. It is also highly impro-

bable that the same bird should be found in such distant localities,

when so many of the neighbouring islands have each their peculiar

species.

Descriptions or New Species or Reprites AND Fisues

IN THE COLLECTION OF THE Britisa Museum. By

AuBert Gintuer, M.A., M.D., Pa.D., F.Z.S8.

CHLOROSCARTES.

(Fam. AGAMID&.)

Head short, body and base of tail compressed, tail exceedingly

long. Head covered with numerous smooth, small shields; all the

scales keeled, small, those of the belly and tail being the larger ;

scales on the throat conical, Femoral pores very prominent, in a

longish series ; preeanal pores none. A low crest of triangular scales

on the neck ; a series of enlarged, sharp scales along the median line

of the back and tail. Fingers five, and toes five, all elongate, and

armed with sharp claws; the middle toe fringed along the basal

joints. Throat with a small pouch and cross fold. No prominent

seales at the ear.

CHLOROSCARTES FASCIATUS.

Grass-green, with three very broad dark-green cross bands,

Feejee Islands.

Description.— Head rather elevated and obtuse ; pouch below the

throat and transverse fold in front of the shoulder well developed ;

body and basal portion of the tail compressed, the latter rounded in

the middle and posteriorly, tapering, three or four times as long as

the body. ‘The fore limbs extend backwards to the loin; the third

and fourth fingers are equal in length, The hind limbs are as long

1 a a rie lee i at Nae i

Dr. A. Giinther on new Reptiles and Fishes. 135

as the trunk ; the third toe has a series of enlarged triangular scales

along its inner margin, forming a serrated edge.

Shields on the upper and lateral parts of the head very numerous

and smooth. Nostril in a single somewhat elevated shield, situated

above the second and third upper labials. Rostral shield much

broader than high, subtriangular; nine upper labials, the posterior

being considerably lower than the anterior; there are three or four

series of small shields between the labials and the eyelid; eyelids

entirely scaly. Seven lower labials; scales on the throat conically

elevated. Scales of the upper parts of the body very small, of equal

size, each with a short keel or conical protuberance. A low crest,

formed by compressed triangular scales, runs from the occiput to-

wards the middle of the tail, where it is gradually lost. Scales on

the belly in transverse, slightly oblique series, small, but much larger

than those on the sides, strongly keeled. Limbs with keeled scales

of moderate size. The scales of the middle and posterior parts of

the tail are much larger than those on its basal portion; all are

keeled, the keels forming continuous longitudinal ridges. Each

femur with a series of twelve to fourteen large pores filled with a

greasy substance ; preeanal pores none.

Tympanum larger than the eye.

Each jaw with eighteen to twenty teeth on each side; teeth tri-

cuspid, the lateral points being small; palatines with small teeth _

posteriorly.

Bright grass-green ; head and nape of the neck, three broad cross

bands on the trunk, and about fourteen broad rings round the tail

dark green. Nasal shield white.

inches. lines

ME NNN oS 1p Moka y eee cs O804ar Re

Length of head (to tympanum)=......... recy

Be trunk (from tympanum to vent). 4 5

e Ee ee ohare 1 eae

ba DOPE Gres oe vckscta ee ae

pi Rint tee er ek 2s

‘a i) et Cuts Aes pe Curae re

. Te ON a Ge ges chee. Bae

a Weert OE eT ois ee hehe nies a

PHRYNOBATRACHUS.

(Fam. Ranip2.)

Skin with large flat warts. Fingers quite free ; toes half-webbed ;

head pointed ; tongue elongate, deeply notched behind; vomerine

teeth none; eustachian tubes small, tympanum entirely hidden.

Port Natal.

PHRYNOBATRACHUS NATALENSIS.

A fold of the skin between the fore limbs ; greyish olive, marbled

with darker. Metatarsus with two tubercles, tarsus with a third on

the middle of its inner edge.

Deseription.— Forehead flattish, without canthus rostralis; sides

136 Zoological Society :—

of the head subvertical ; snout somewhat pointed and rather longer

than the eye ; eyes of moderate size, with round pupil, rather distant ;

a fold in front and behind the orbit. Inner nostrils and eustachian

openings small; lower jaw without prominences; tongue longish,

deeply nicked behind. Body and limbs rather stout ; back and sides

with numerous large, smooth glands; belly smooth; an indistinct

cross fold between the fore legs. ‘The fore leg, if laid backwards,

does not extend to the vent; fingers and toes tapering ; the first and

third fingers are equal in length, and longer than the. second and

fourth. Hind legs much longer than the body; toes two-thirds

webbed, the third a little longer than the fifth. Dark-greyish olive,

marbled with darker; an indistinct light streak between the eyes.

Lower parts dirty whitish ; throat with some obscure dark spots.

lines.

Length of the body ...... rye yer Te: ace. Aw

‘5 TOPE TO sa 5. is 01g si0 5-0 nae Ae SP

‘si ING AE cs we hy ck Gate ciehee oe

a tarsus with fourth toe.......... 74

A single specimen was in a collection sent by Mr. T. Ayres from

Port Natal.

CENTROPOGON MARMORATUS.

D. >. Az. V.1/5.. L. lat. 68.

_ The third to sixth dorsal spines are the longest, half as long as

the head; the second anal spine longer and stronger than the third.

Yellowish, marbled with brown.

Moreton Bay.

Description.—This species is similar to Cenéropogon australis,

from which it will be readily distinguished by the shorter third dorsal

spine, which in C.. australis is two-thirds as long as the head. The

height of the body is contained thrice and a half in the total length ;

the length of the head thrice and a quarter. Head slightly com-

pressed, with deep grooves along the interorbital space, which is

concave and much narrower than the orbit; there is a slight groove

behind the orbits, across the occiput. Snout shorter than the eye,

the diameter of which is scarcely more than one-third of the length

of the head. Cleft of the mouth slightly oblique, of moderate width,

the maxillary extending beyond the front margin of the orbit ; jaws

equal in length anteriorly. Each turbinal bone with an obtuse spine

superiorly; preeorbital spine strong ; preeoperculum with five spines,

the upper of which is the longest; operculum with two ridges;

spines on the occiput small and obtuse. Head naked, without cu-

taneous appendages ; vomerine teeth in a narrow angular band.

The dorsal fin commences immediately behind the occiput, its

spines are of moderate length and strength; the third to the sixth

are the longest, half as long as the head; the following decrease in

length, the last, again, being a little longer than the penultimate ; the

soft dorsal rather more elevated than the spinous, short, the length

of its base being contained thrice and a fifth in that of the spinous

aS ae ee ee ee ee

SE ae a ee ee Re,

Dr. A. Giinther on new Reptiles and Fishes. 137

dorsal. Caudal fin scaleless, rounded, contained four times and two-

thirds in the total length. The anal commences opposite the four-

teenth dorsal spine; its second spine is the longest, contained twice

and two-thirds in the length of the head. The pectoral has the rays

branched, and extends nearly as far backwards as the ventral, which

is composed of a strong spine and five soft rays; the region round

the base of the pectoral and ventral fins is naked, covered with soft

skin.

The gill-membranes are scarcely united below the throat. There

is a distinct cleft behind the fourth gill*.

Length of the specimen, 3 inches.

CaTOPRA SIAMENSIS.

D. 2. A.3. L. lat. 27. L. transy. 2.

The height of the body is contained twice and a third in the total

length. Cheek with six series of scales, the lower of which covers

the preopercular limb. Body with eight dark cross bands; scales

on the nape with some minute whitish dots; the outer edge of the

ventral white.

Siam.

Description.—The height of the body is contained twice and a

third in the total length, the length of the head thrice and a third; —

head as high as long. Snout rather shorter than the eye, the dia-

meter of which is one-fourth of the length of the head, and equal to

the width of the interorbital space. The lower jaw is scarcely longer

than the upper, and the maxillary extends slightly beyond the ante-

rior margin of the orbit. Two nostrils remote from each other, both

very small. Preeorbital and angle of the przeoperculum slightly ser-

rated ; opercles, throat, and isthmus éntirely scaly. The dorsal fin

commences above the end of the operculum, and terminates close by

the caudal ; its spines are very strong, and can be received in a

groove ; the fifth, sixth, and seventh are the longest, not quite half

as long as the head ; the last spine is shorter than the penultimate ;

the soft dorsal is elevated and scaly at the base. The second anal

spine is exceedingly strong, rather stronger and longer than the third,

and not quite half as long as the head ; the soft anal is similar to the

soft dorsal. Caudal fin rounded, slightly produced, one-fourth of

the total length ; its basal half is scaly. Pectoral rather narrow, as

long as the head without snout. The ventral is inserted immediately

behind the base of the pectoral; it has a strong spine, and extends

to the vent.

Scales minutely ciliated ; the upper part of the lateral line termi-

nates below the last dorsal rays, the lower commences above the

third anal spine.

Gill-membranes united below the throat, not attached to the

* I have been induced by that circumstance to re-examine C. australis, and.

have found a very small opening behind the fourth gill; so that the presence of

such a narrow cleft is to be introduced into the diagnosis of the genus Centro-

pogon (Catal. Fish. ii. p. 128).

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 10

138 Zoological Society :—

isthmus, sealy. Four gills, a slit behind the fourth ; pseudobranchize

none.

The jaws, vomer, palatines, and upper and lower pharyngeals are

armed with bands of small villiform teeth. Very remarkable are two

large, ovate, dentigerous plates, one at the roof, the other at the bot-

tom of the mouth, in front of the pharyngeals; these plates are

slightly concave in the middle, pavimentated with molar-like teeth,

and have evidently the same function as the pharyngeal dentigerous

plates of the true Pharyngognathi.

Total length 52 lines.

When I composed the generic characters of the genus Catopra from

Bleeker’s accounts, I had not seen a specimen of these fishes, and I

described their peculiar dentition in very indistinct terms. The

teeth ought to be described thus :—Villiform teeth in the jaws and

on the vomer and palatine bones; a large patch of molar-like teeth

on the preesphenoid and on the basihyal. .

CATOPRA TETRACANTHUS.

D. 7%. Alt. L. lat. 26. L. transv. 3/9.

The height of the body is nearly one-third of the total length.

Cheek with four series of scales, the lower preeopercular limb being

naked. Coloration uniform ?

East Indies.

Description.—The height of the body is nearly one-third of the

total length, the length of the head two-sevenths ; head a little longer

than high. The length of the snout equals the diameter of the eye,

which is contained thrice and two-thirds in the length of the head.

The width of the interorbital space is considerably less than that of

the orbit. The lower jaw is scarcely longer than the upper, and the

maxillary extends slightly beyond the anterior margin of the orbit.

Two nostrils remote from each other, the anterior minute. Pre-

orbital and angle of the preeoperculum slightly serrated ; opercles,

throat, and isthmus entirely scaly. The dorsal fin commences above

the root of the pectoral, and terminates at a short distance from the

caudal ; its spines are of moderate strength, those in the middle being

the longest, a little more than one-third of the length of the head ;

the last spine is a little longer than the penultimate ; the soft dorsal

is somewhat elevated and not scaly. The three posterior anal spines

are nearly of equal length and strength, two-fifths of the length of

the head. Caudal rounded, scaly at the base, one-fourth of the total

length.

Scales minutely ciliated.

The jaws, vomer, palatines, and upper and lower pharyngeals are

armed with bands of small, villiform teeth, the jaws having a pair

of small canine-like teeth anteriorly. The roof and the bottom of

the cavity of the mouth have an elongate band of granular teeth,

the lower not being confluent into one plate.

The coloration appears to have been uniform.

Two specimens, 54 lines long, were transferred from the collection

of the East India Company to the British Museum.

vee Tee

Se eee ee ee

Se ee ee Ge

ila ila al

Dr. A. Giinther on new Reptiles and Fishes. 1389

PsEUDOCHROMIS PERSPICILLATUS.

D.=. A. =. L. lat. 45.

25 14°

Reddish-olive (in spirits), with a chestnut-brown band running

from the extremity of the upper jaw through the middle of the eye

to the middle of the base of the dorsal fin; the band is very dark

and slender anteriorly, gradually becoming lighter and broader poste-

riorly.

China.

Desecription.—The height of the body equals the length of the

head, and is contained thrice and a third in the total (without caudal).

Head longer than high; cleft of the mouth oblique, with the jaws

subequal anteriorly, and with the maxillary extending to behind the

vertical from the front margin of the orbit. Snout a little longer

than the orbit, the diameter of which is one-fourth of the length of

the head. The width of the interorbital space, which is scaly, is less

than that of the orbit. The lower jaw with two, the upper with

three pairs of canine teeth. Scales on the cheek in six series.

Caudal fin subtruncated, with an upper and lower ray produced into

a filament.

Several specimens are in the collection of the British Museum ;

one of the largest is 42 lines long.

AMBLYOPUS SAGITTA.

6 1

D. x As

The height of the body is one-twelfth of the total length ; vertical

fins united; caudal very long, arrow-shaped ; teeth small, in a single

series ; eyes rudimentary.

California.

Description.—Body elongate, compressed, covered with small, im-

bricate, cycloid scales, which become larger posteriorly. Head elon-

gate, subquadrangular, one-seventh of the total length (with the

caudal), and two-thirds of the distance between the vent and the base

of the ventral fin. Teeth very small, subhorizontal, in a single series.

Cleft of the mouth oblique, rather wide, the maxillary extending to

behind the eye; lower jaw prominent; eye very small. Ventral

fins confluent ; caudal arrow-shaped, nearly one-fifth of the total.

Pectoral as long as the ventral, and half as long as the head. Upper

parts grey, lateral and lower silvery ; an ovate grey spot before each

dorsal ray ; caudal grey.

Four specimens of this fish have been procured for the British

Museum. The largest of them is 93 inches long.

This is the most aberrant form of the genus Amélyopus ; although

closely allied to 4. Broussonetii, it differs in its more feeble dentition

and in its larger scales. 4. Broussonetii has 11/16 vertebre, A. sa-

gitta 11/20. If the genus Gobioides of Lacépéde be adopted, another

oF be created for 4. sagitta, and the sections may be arranged as

ollows :—

10*

140 Zoological Society :—

AmBtyopus, Gthr.

A. Teeth in a band, with an outer series of stronger ones.

* More than twenty-five soft dorsal rays: Amblyopus, C. & V.

East Indies.

** Less than twenty soft dorsal rays: Gobioides, Lacép. Peru

and Guayaquil.

B. Teeth in a single series: T'yntlastes. California.

DescrIPTIONs OF SOME New Corats From MapEIRA.

By James Yare Jounson, Cor. Mem. ZS.

Fam. AcanrHocoraiab&, J. E. Gray.

ACANTHOGORGIA ATLANTICA, sp. n.

Since the occurrence of a specimen of Acanthogorgia Grayi, of

which I laid a description before the Society last year (Ann. Nat. Hist.

1862, ix. 75), another form of the genus has been discovered. This

was brought up from deep water at Madeira, having become entangled

in a fisherman’s line. As there are obvious distinctions from the

two other species of this genus, I shall venture to describe it as new.

It is of a dark-brown colour, and is very sparingly branched in

one plane. The base spreads out in thin branching sheets amongst

small shells and fragments of stone which adhere to it. The stem

and branches, with their closely packed cells, are cylindrical, the

former not much thicker than the latter. The branches are rounded

at their extremities. The cells are short, cylindrical, sessile, and so

crowded on all sides of the stem that they conceal it from view ;

whilst in the two other species of this genus the cells are widely

separated, and the bark is seen between them. When the polypi-

dom is dry, a brown, slender, horny axis, without spinule, stands

distinct from the bark, as in the other species. This axis, when soft-

ened and submitted under pressure to the microscope, is seen to

consist of fibres bearing a general similarity to those composing the

axis of Antipathes. Round the orifice of each cell project large

spicula, and smaller spicula strengthen the sides of the cells and the

bark. The spicula are intermediate in character between those of

A. hirsuta and A. Grayi, being less slender than those of the first

species, and less stout than those of the second. ‘The great spicula

round the mouth of the cell have their exposed portions spinulose or

tuberculated (not smooth as in J. hirsuta) ; their bases are branched

(as in A. Grayi), and they are much less marked with the tubercles

which roughen the bases of the last-named species so remarkably.

This species is distinguishable from the other two by the greater

crowding of the cells, by the cells themselves being sessile and being

therefore less prominent, by the paucity of the ramifications, and by

the differences in the spicula already pointed out. In habit it is

very distinct.

The specimen (which is now in the British Museum) has a height

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on new Corals from Madeira. 141

142 Zoological Society :--

of 13 inches, and its branches have a spread of about 11 inches.

The stem, with its cells, has a diameter of 375; of an inch, and the

branches with their cells are only reduced to two-thirds of that dia-

meter. Near the base are the stumps of two branches which have

been broken off. Above, on one side, are two simple branches, and

on the other a single forking branch. These three branches are

placed not far apart near the middle of the main stem.

It ought to have been mentioned, with reference to the woodcuts

of 4. Grayi and A. hirsuta (Ann. Nat. Hist. 1862, ix. 75,76), that

the figures are considerably larger than the natural size.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

Acanthogorgia atlantica.

Fig. 1. Outline of the entire specimen, on a reduced scale.

Fig. 2. Portion of a branch, enlarged.

Fig. 3. A cell more highly enlarged.

Fig. 4. A spiculum from the edge of a cell.

Fig. 5. A spiculum from the side of a cell.

Acanthogorgia Grayt.

Fig. 6. Outline of a portion of the coral, on a reduced scale.

Fig. 7. A branch, enlarged, for comparison with fig. 2.

Figs. 8, 9. Spicula from the edge and side of a cell.

Acanthogorgia hirsuta.

Figs. 10, 11. Spicula from the edge and side of a cell.

Fam. STYLASTERID&.

ALLOPORA MADERENSIS, Sp. n.

Opake white. Much and closely branching nearly in one plane,

the branches becoming gradually of less diameter, and sometimes

anastomosing. They zigzag from cell to cell; and the surface is

finely reticulato-striate, but is without any tubercles. The cells are

oblong, sessile, and always placed transversely to the branch, upon

one face of the plane. The terminating cells, with their pedicels, are

trumpet-shaped, but with oblong mouths, which are much wider than

the stalk below. The margin of each cell is elegantly notched with

from twelve to sixteen notches, with laminze between.

The dimensions of the single specimen that has occurred (now in

the British Museum) were 3} inches high and 2} inches across.

The base had been broken away, and the thickest part of the remain-

ing stem was 1th of an inch in diameter. The longer axis of the

terminal cells measured the twentieth of an inch.

The specimen was brought up by a long fishing-line on the coast

of Madeira. Two examples of that curious patelliform shell the

Pedicularia sicula were found seated on the branches. With re-

spect to this circumstance, I may mention that Mr. 8. P. Woodward

has shown me a coral from the coast of Sicily, belonging to a totally

distinct genus, with Pedicularie upon it; and in the Coral Room

at the British Museum there is another coral with the same shell

still adhering to it.

“

er nee tae al ean

Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on new Species of Corals. 143

- The present form, though at the first glance t seems to have a

general resemblance to 4. fabelliformis, is quite distinct from that

species, having the cells much larger and transversely oblong, not

round. Moreover, the zigzag character of the branches is much

more marked. It may, however, be worth inquiry whether it may

not be the A. infundibulifera of Lamarck.

A. maderensis appears to show that the genera Stylaster and Al-

Allopora maderensis.

Fig. 1. A branch, with its ramuli, of the natural size.

Fig. 2. A ramulus magnified.

Fig. 3. A cell more highly magnified.

lopora ought to be united ; for though there are no “ petites pointes ””

or “tubercules vésiculaires”’ upon this coral (M. Milne-Edwards

giving this as one of the characters of Stylaster), yet the gemma-

tion is alternate and distichal—the same writer saying of A/lopora

that its gemmation is “‘ tout-a-fait irréguliére.”

DescripTion or Two New Species or CorRALS BELONGING

To THE GENUS FLABELLUM. By E. W. H. Hotpsworrs,

F.LS., etc.

1. FLABELLUM CAMPANULATUM.

Compressed, campanulate; borders straight or slightly convex ;

without spines. Base usually terminating in a small pedicel, some-

times irregularly compressed. Superior margin slightly arched.

Cell deep and narrow. Border of lamelle entire, sloping inwards

from the apex for about one-third of their length, thence continuing

straight to the bottom of the cell. Columella indistinct. Five prin-

cipal lamellz in half an inch. Height 14 lines; breadth 16 lines ;

proportion of axes 7 : 16.

Specimens in the British Museum are rather longer in proportion

than those in my possession ; but the variation is not very great.

Had. Philippines.

144 Zoological Society :—

This coral is very neat and symmetrical, and can hardly be con-

founded with any other species.

2. FLABELLUM NOBILE.

Much compressed throughout, elongated. Borders rather con-

cave, with four or five root-like appendages more or less distant from

the base, but closely united throughout their length to the lower

half of the coral. These appendages spring from and are continuous

with the transverse epithecal ridges which mark the successive

periods of increase in the coral, and, although now intimately united

to the main stem, are evidently of extraneous growth, corresponding

in origin and nature with the ordinary form of spines, but taking a

downward direction to increase the basal area. Upper margin of

the coral slightly arched. Cell very deep and narrow. Margin of

lamellee entire, and gradually curving from apex to base, at which

point opposite series of the» larger plates almost unite. No colu-

mella perceptible. Four principal lamellee in half an inch.

The two specimens which have furnished the above description

are of different ages. The smaller and more perfect example is at-

tached to the upper margin of the flat side of the larger one, and has

grown in nearly the same vertical direction. It measures 2 inches

6 lines in height, and 1 inch 10 lines in greatest breadth. The older

example is 2 inches 6 lines in the long diameter, and 1 inch 3 lines

in the short. The base of this specimen is imperfect ; so that the

original length of the coral cannot be certainly ascertained.

This species is intermediate between the genera Flabellum and

Rhizotrochus, having the usual compressed shape of the former, with

a partial development of the radiciform appendages of the latter re-

markable genus. The peculiar situation of the smaller specimen is

perhaps worthy of notice, as being one in which the supplemental

props are especially useful in aiding the attenuated base to support

the long and heavy coral. A similar tendency to parasitic growth,

or rather adhesion to another individual of its own species, may be

observed in Milne-Edwards’s figure of the type-specimen of Rhzzo-

trochus*. The species now under consideration should, I think, be

placed in the genus Flabellum, although differing in some of its cha-

racters from most of the typical forms ; and as it is the largest mem-

ber of the genus, I propose to call it nodile.

The precise habitat of this coral is unknown. It was brought to

this country by the late Sir Everard Home ; and as that gentleman’s

collections were principally made in the neighbourhood of Australia

and New Zealand, these corals were probably obtained from the same

part of the world.

The specimens are now in the Museum of the Royal College of

Surgeons of England.

* Milne-Edwards et J. Haime, Ann. des Sc. Nat. 3¢ sér. t. ix. p. 282, pl. 8. f. 16,

848.

Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Caryophyllia clavus. 145

On THE OccURRENCE OF CARYOPHYLLIA CLAVUS ON THE

Coasts oF BRITAIN, WITH SOME REMARKS ON THE CiRCUM-

STANCES AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION OF CORALS AROUND

THE BritisH Isuanps. By E. W. H. Hotpsworrs, F.L.S.,

F.Z.S., ETC.

By the kindness of the Rev. Thomas Hincks of Leeds, I have re-

cently been enabled to examine some specimens of coral which had

been forwarded to him from Shetland, and from Loch Fyne on the east

coast of Scotland. They prove to be new to Britain, and are iden-

tical with the Caryophyllia clavus of the Mediterranean, first described

as a fossil by Scacchi in 1833, and figured and described from recent

specimens under the name of Cyathina turbinata by Philippi in his

‘Catalogue of Sicilian Mollusca,’ published in 1836. Several ex-

amples of this coral have been obtained from deep water in the above-

mentioned localities ; and an examination of characteristic specimens

of different ages has enabled me also to identify with this species two

small and much-worn corals which, in June 1857, were dredged

from a depth of 60 fathoms, about forty miles west of Scilly, by

Mr. 8. P. Woodward of the British Museum, and kindly placed in

my hands a short time ago by that gentleman.

This species of Caryophyllia may be readily distinguished from its

near ally, our common C. Smithii, by its conical form and finel

pointed base, as well as by the thinness of its walls and lamelle.

The general character of the polype, as described by Philippi*, agrees

with that of C. Smithii; the integuments, however, are said to be

excessively delicate and transparent, so that the borders of the

lamellz can be seen through them. The body is of an orange-colour,

and the capitate tentacles whitish with metallic-green reflections.

The coral is frequently attached to a tube of Ditrupa, or the shell of

some deep-water univalve, or, in some cases, is entirely free. In

the British Museum are several specimens of this coral which were

brought from Sicily. These are all attached to a species of Turri-

tella. The occurrence of this second species of Caryophyllia in

three distinct localities on our coasts entitles it to a place among our

British corals ; and further investigation will probably show it to be

generally distributed in the deep water along our western shores.

It may not be uninteresting to inquire here into the distribution

of corals around the British Islands, and to trace, as far as possible,

the cause of their frequenting only particular lines of coast.

The existence of the coral-polype in our seas is mainly dependent

on the warmth and purity of the water. A tolerably high tempera-

ture is undoubtedly one of the most necessary conditions for the well-

being of the delicate polypes whose calcareous lamellated skeletons

constitute the true stony corals. Only within the Tropics do we meet

with those vast reefs and extensive accumulations of coral-growth

which form so characteristic a feature of the seas in those warm lati-

tudes. The surface-water there becomes heated by the direct influ-

* Arch. fiir Naturgesch. t. i. p. 42, 1842.

146 Zoological Society :—

ence of the sun, and, in those regions, few coral-polypes carry on

their ceaseless work at a greater depth than 30 fathoms, thence

building upward to the lowest tide-mark. As we come towards more

temperate regions, the species diminish both in size and number ;

simple forms become proportionately more numerous, and their ba-

thymetrical range is greatly increased.

The waters of north-western Europe might be expected generally

to be too much within the influence of Polar temperature to be fitted

for coral-life, even in its simplest form; yet in our own seas, and

extending far into the Arctic Ocean, are found some few species

vying with the productions of the Tropics in brilliancy of colouring

and delicacy of structure. Here, however, we have a peculiar and

extraneous source of warmth in the Gulf Stream, whose waters, now

becoming widely diffused, but still retaining some portion of their

original excessive temperature and motion, exercise a sensible influ-

ence on the coast-productions of the western side of the British

islands. The course of the current in the neighbourhood of our

shores is marked sparingly, but distinctly, by the presence of eight or

ten species of living coral.

The long list of habitats recorded by Mr. Gosse in his valuable

‘ Actinologia Britannica’ has been of great use to me in tracing the

range of our native species; and although many parts of the coast

have been but little worked, enough has been done to furnish a

tolerably clear outline of the distribution of the coralligenous polypes.

From the writings of Maury and others, it appears that the Guif

Stream is divided by the British Islands; one portion going south-

ward to the Bay of Biscay, the other and main body of the current

sweeping away to the north by the Orkneys and Shetland. The

entrance of the English Channel and the Irish Sea would thus be

under the most direct influence of the warm current ; and it is in these

waters we find corals most abundant. Devonshire and Cornwall are

extremely rich in these productions ; and, including Weymouth Bay

(the only recognized locality for Hoplangia durotriz), the south-

western promontory of England can boast of five out of the eight

undoubted British species. They consist of two Caryophyllia, one

Sphenotrochus, Balanophyllia, and Hoplangia. Of these species,

Guernsey produces two. Caryophyllia Smithii, the commonest species

in the West of England, where it is found close to low-tide mark, —

ranges along the eastern and northern coasts of Ireland and the

West of Scotland as far as Shetland, gradually increasing its depth

of water as it proceeds north. It has also been met with on the

western coast of Ireland; but very little has been done as yet in

exploring the Atlantic sea-board of that island. Among the Hebrides

and Orkneys, the fine branching coral Oculina prolifera has on rare

occasions been met with, but only in deep water. Two species of Ca-

ryophyllia and the large scarlet Ulocyathus arcticus have been ob-

tained in 80 or 90 fathoms near Shetland ; the last-mentioned coral

has also been taken by Sars at a depth of nearly 200 fathoms near the

North Cape. Three other little corals have been dredged in the

Moray Frith, and placed by Mr. Gosse in the genus Paracyathus of

SSL RE pet ae Se ee ee

Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on the Distribution of Corals. 147

Milne-Edwards. The specimens, however, are so young and imper-

fect that it is difficult to determine their specific characters.

If we now turn to the eastern side of Great Britain, and inquire

whence come the waters of the German Ocean, we find them to be

mainly of Polar origin, brought from the far north by the great

surface-current which washes all the Norwegian and our own eastern

coasts. To this must be added the comparatively fresh water which

pours through the Sound, loaded with all the drainage of the Baltic.

How does this cold and impure water affect the production of corals ?

Its influence is not less marked than that of the warmer western

current. Through the entire length of the North Sea, from the

north-eastern point of Scotland to near the Isle of Wight, I have

been unable to ascertain that a single specimen of coral has ever

been taken. That line of coast is also very deficient in Actinie;

and of the few that are found there, most are of the commonest spe-

cies. This cold water from the north, however, also skirts the western

coast of Scotland and Ireland ; but it is only as a narrow superficial

current ; and when corals are found in its neighbourhood, they are

only in the deep water of the great Atlantic stream, which, still re-

taining some of its excess of saline matter, sinks deeper and deeper

as it meets the fresher and lighter, although colder, water from the

north. Thus, as has been observed, all the northern corals are found

in deep water, even the same species which on the Devonshire coast

is abundant at low-water mark. The late Edward Forbes, in his -

‘Natural History of the European Seas,’ remarks that the charac-

teristic fauna of the “ Arctic province”’ is only to be observed in the

littoral regions, and the animals from deep water are all of them

southern forms.

What has been pointed out as to the causes of the particular dis-

tribution of the British corals, namely; the effect of warm and cold

currents, equally applies to the formation of coral-reefs within the

Tropics. A comparison of Maury’s Chart of the “Sea-drift”’ with

Darwin’s Map of the Distribution of Coral-reefs would lead one

to suppose they had been prepared by the same hand. I will men-

tion two remarkable cases as illustrations. A well-known barrier-

reef extends some hundreds of miles along the north-east coast of

Australia; its southern limit is near Moreton Bay ; and a reference to

Maury’s Chart shows this to be the precise point at which a cold cur-

rent from the South Pole meets the warm equatorial current from the

east. Again, it appears somewhat remarkable that along the whole

western coast of North and South America no vestige of coral has

been found. Mr. H. Cuming informs me that he has dredged in

vain for specimens of these characteristic tropical productions in the

Bay of Panama and at the Galapagos; but the chart shows that

cold currents from the north and south sweep the whole western

coasts of America, meeting at the Equator, and then turning away

into the Pacific, where, under a vertical sun, the water soon becomes

warm enough for the growth of the various coral-reefs scattered

about in that ocean. Fresh water and sediment of any kind being

present act as fatal barriers to the growth of coral; and to these

148 Miscellaneous.

causes may generally be traced gaps in reefs, and waste places of

limited extent in those seas which especially abound in corals. Dana

has recognized the effect of warm and cold currents in the general

distribution of corals throughout the warmer seas; and the fact of

the same influences being at work, and easily recognized, in the

waters surrounding the British Islands appears sufficiently interest-

ing to justify me in bringing the subject before this Society.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Pliocene Fossil Fauna of the Niobrara River, in Nebraska.

By Josep Lerpy, M.D.

Tue researches of Dr. Leidy upon the Lower Miocene Fauna of the

Mauvaises Terres are well known through his important memoir on

the “Ancient Fauna of Nebraska,’ published in vol. vi. of the

‘Smithsonian Contributions.’ But the results of the geological

survey, by Dr. F. V. Hayden, of the Pliocene deposits along the

Valley of the Niobrara are less generally known. We have hitherto

deferred noticing them, in the expectation that a detailed memoir,

with illustrations, would have appeared on the subject by Dr. Leidy,

as in the case of the Nebraska fauna above referred to; but as that

has not yet taken place, a brief account of the results may be of

interest.

The following is a list of the fossil Mammalia discovered in the

Pliocene beds of the Nebraska, as determined by Dr. Leidy :—

RUMINANTIA. Hippeton Sip eee

Merycodus necatus, Leid. eid. ec neg ;

Megalomeryx niobrahensis, Leid. | Merychippus insignis, Leid.

Procamelus occidentalis, Leid. —— mirabilis, Leid.

—— gracilis, Leid. Equus excelsus, Leid.

robustus, Leid. (Protohippus) perditus, Leid.

Merychyus elegans, Leid. RopENTIA.

cones, eet Hystrix (Hystricops) venustus, Leid.

C seine Wacken Leid Castor (Eucastor) tostus, Leid.

MULTUNGULA. CARNIVORA.

: . Leptarctus primus, Leid.

Rhinoceros crassus, Leid. Pp p be : J

Mastodon (Tetraloph.)mirifiens, Leid. o's iy 3. anecepacton, ii

Elephas (Eueleph.) imperator, Leid. Canis eves, Eel

SoLIDUNGULA. temerarius, Leid.

Hipparion (Hippotherium) occiden- vafer, Leid.

tale, Leid. —— epicyon, Leid.

The first point of general interest in the above list is the entire

absence of Edentate forms in the Niobrara fauna. The same ob-

servation applies to the Miocene fauna of the “ Mauvaises Terres,”

while Megatherium, Megalonyx, and Mylodon occur extensively in

the United States ; and the leading characteristic of the fossil fauna

i Ne ee eT

a ee ee ee ee

Miscellaneous. 149

of the Pampean deposits of South America is the abundance and

variety of the Edentata. a

The next most remarkable feature in the Niobrara fauna is its

marvellous richness in Solidungula, both genera and species. Making

allowance for doubles emplois, consequent upon the imperfection of

the materials, there will still remain a very large number of Equine

forms. The valley of the Missouri River, near the Rocky Mountains,

appears to have been the head-quarters of the Horses, during the

Pliocene period, very much after the manner in which India was the

head-quarters of the Proboscidea during the Miocene period. Ac-

cording to Dr. Leidy’s determinations, it supported not less than

four generic or subgeneric types of Equus, namely, Hipparion, 2 sp. ;

Merychippus, 2 sp.; Protohippus, 1 sp.; Equus, 1 sp.; and it is

further to be borne in mind that the subjacent Upper Miocene de-

posits of the same region have yielded two Anchitheroid forms,—

A. (Hypohippus) affinis and A. (Parahippus) cognatus ; while the

wer Miocenes of the “ Mauvaises Terres” contain Anchitherium

Bairdi, Leid. The post-Pliocene deposits of the littoral and central

States S.E. of the Mississippi have, in addition, furnished fossil

remnants which Dr. Leidy refers to Hipparion venustum, Leid.,

Equus complicatus, Leid., and E. fraternus, Leid., the last two re-

presenting the post-Pliocene fossil species of Europe. The whole

make up a series of twelve North-American species, Anchitheroid

Hippotherian, and Equine proper.

One statement is so unexpected that we quote it in the words of

the author. Dr. Leidy observed that, “‘ among all the Mammalian re-

mains brought by Dr. Hayden from the Niobrara River, none were

more remarkable than those which he now exhibited. They belong

to an Equine animal which has the puny teeth of Anchitherium

and the permanent teeth of Equus. In both these genera the per-

manent and deciduous teeth are alike; but the new genus in early

life is an Anchitherium, and later in life a true Horse.” The form

in question appears to be Merychippus mirabilis, Leid.

The results yielded by the Niobrara fossil Pachydermata are equally

unexpected. Rhinoceros crassus, Leid., is described as a species

“which appears to have had almost the same size and formula of

dentition as the recent Indian Rhinoceros.” In Mastodon mirificus,

belonging to the group Tetralophodon, “the form of the jaw is like

that of the existing Elephant of India ; a single tooth, the last molar,

occupies each side of it, and resembles the corresponding one of M.

angustidens of Europe or of M. Sivalensis of the Sivalik Hills of

India.” Elephas imperator, Leid., was a colossal species, charac-

terized by molars nearly five inches broad, with unusually thick

plates, there being only eight bands of wear within a space of

seven inches,—a character which at once distinguishes this species

“en the Mammoth of the United States, Elephas Americanus of

Dr. Leidy’s determinations will probably undergo considerable

modification before their final adoption by paleontologists ; but the

single fact of an American Rhinoceros, in Pliocene deposits, approach-

150 Miscellaneous.

ing the characters of the existing Indian species is of weighty import

in the geographical distribution of Mammalia.

Dr. Leidy, in his general remarks upon the characteristics of the

Niobrara fauna, observes that ‘‘One of the most remarkable circum-

stances, in relation with this extinct fauna, is that it is more nearly

allied to the present recent one of the old world than to that of our

own continent. From a comparison of our recent fauna and flora

with that of the eastern continent, the deduction has been made,

that the western continent is the older of the two, geologically speak-

ing; whereas the Niobrara fauna would indicate just the reverse

relationship of age. A number of similar instances show that totally

different faunze and floree may be cotemporaneous, and do not neces-

sarily indicate different periods of existence.”

Dr. Leidy’s enumeration and brief description of the genera and

species (op. cit. pp. 20-29) is not in exact accordance with the

tabular list given by Dr. Hayden, indicating their stratigraphical

position (op. cit. p. 157). The Ruminant forms Procamelus robustus

and P. gracilis, and the carnivorous Leptarctus primus, included by

the latter, are omitted by the former. The list given above is founded

on Dr. Hayden’s enumeration, as being the later in date of publica-

tion, and probably embracing additional materials.—Proc. Acad.

Nat. Science of Philadelphia, 1858.

On a remarkable Form of Rotation in the Pith-cells of Saururus

cernuus. By Grorce C. Scuarrrer, M.D.

Wuite examining the intimate structure of various plants, I dis-

covered, in the year 1854, a peculiar motion in some of the pith-cells

of Saururus cernuus, which was so different from anything before

described that it seemed to be quite abnormal. Continued observa-

tion for eight years has shown however that, for this plant at least,

the phenomenon is constant, while an equally long-continued ex-

amination of the writers on such subjects has proved that no record

of this appearance has ever been made. As a mere microscopical

curiosity the fact might be deemed worthy of notice; but the

remarkable similarity to a motion which has been considered as

invariably connected with a distinct and peculiar vegetable function -

seems to render its record needful for the true advancement of

vegetable physiology.

The Saururus cernuus, like many other aquatic or marsh plants,

has a pith the cells of which are not in complete juxtaposition, but

separated in part by vertical air-passages which are as regularly built

around by the cells as a chimney is by its bricks, with this difference,

however, that the cells are arranged directly one above another, and

do not “ break joint”’ as the bricks would in any properly constructed

chimney: no fault in Nature’s workmanship, we should remark,

since the pith is a mere filling in, surrounded by a much denser and

more solidly built structure.

The cells in which the above-mentioned motion occurs are not

those from which the party-walls of each air-passage diverge, but

Lg oe ne

Soe ee eee oe ae

wi es ees “tiled dani) Hl

ea ee ee

Miscellaneous. 151

those forming the middle of the wall between any two contiguous

channels ; they seem to be smaller and younger cells than the others.

In all ordinary cases of cyclosis the motion is along the walls of

the cell, coming and going in paths which are, for the time at least,

permanent. But in the Saururus the granules lie in the centre of

the cells above described, and their motion is of a quite different

character. To those familiar with microscopic observations, we may

best describe this motion as perfectly identical with that seen in the

so-called vesicles in the ends of Closterium, which has been aptly

styled ‘‘swarming” by the English and Germans. The granules

are quite minute, rounded in form, and rather unequal in size.

Sometimes a cell is seen in which all motion has ceased; in such

ceases the granules are always closely crowded together in the centre

of the cell.

The time during which this motion continues is quite remarkable.

Specimens of the plant kept for several days in water never fail to

show it; while the proper pith-cells of all parts of the plant, even of

the blanched portions of the stem growing beneath the mud, seem

equally active. Indeed, no form of cyclosis, of which this is un-

doubtedly one, is so easily demonstrated.

The nature of the granules, however, is not so readily determined ;

for they do not show the starch-reaction with tincture of iodine,

neither are they coloured as proteine-compounds (and such I had at _

first supposed them to be) would be under this reagent. There is,

however, a remarkable difficulty, common also to many others, in

applying chemical tests to sections of this plant ; and this consists in

the rapid discoloration of the specimens, owing to the presence of

tannic acid, which acts upon the iron of the cutting instrument. It

is quite certain, however, that the granules are neither starch nor

proteine ; whether they are the so-called aleurone I am unable to say.

To those familiar with the microscopic examination of freshwater

algee, this “ swarming,’ apart from the best-known case of the

Closterium, must be quite familiar ; but such motions have always

been considered as in some way connected with sexual reproduction.

In the case in question, however, nothing of the kind can possibly

occur ; for the Saururus is, beyond a doubt, not only a pheenoga-

mous, but even a dicotyledonous plant, closely allied to the Pepper

family. The cells in which this motion is seen are evidently smaller

and younger than those in their immediate vicinity. Sometimes,

indeed, two vertical rows of small cells show the same motion. The

phenomenon in question would therefore merely indicate active cell-

multiplication, and not plant-reproduction, to which similar appear-

ances have always been referred. With a somewhat extensive

experience I am able to say that nothing of the kind has before been

observed in phzenogamous plants; yet it must be admitted that one

single instance among them is sufficient to invalidate the inferences

formerly drawn from alge, as to the true meaning of this peculiar

kind of motion.

Iam more earnestly disposed to insist upon this apparently ex-

ceptional case, because it confirms views long held and taught by

152 Miscellaneous.

myself as to the purely physico-chemical interpretation of most of

the phenomena of vegetable life.—Silliman’s Journal for Nov. 1862.

Washington, D. C., September, 1862.

Application of Magenta Dye in Microscopical Investigations.

At a recent meeting of the Microscopical Section of the Literary

and Philosophical Society of Manchester, Dr. Roberts called atten-

tion to the aid that might be received in the examination of the struc-

ture of animal and vegetable tissue by the use of colouring materials.

Magenta is peculiarly adapted for this purpose, in consequence of its

solubility in simple water and its inert chemical character. The

nuclear structures of animal cells are deeply.tinted by magenta; and

by its use the nuclei of the pale blood-corpuscles, of pus-globules, of

the renal and hepatic cells, and of all epithelial structures are brought

out in great beauty, tinted of a bright carbuncle-red. The red

blood-disks are tinted of a faint rose-colour, and a darker red speck,

not hitherto noticed, is to be observed on the periphery of the cor-

puscle ; it undergoes some changes when treated with tannin and sub-

sequently with caustic potash, but this point is still under investigation.

On a new Phyllodactylus from Guayaquil. By W. Prrers.

Phyllodactylus Reissii, n. sp.

P. tuberculorum dorsalium seriebus quatuordecim, granulis occipitis

miuoribus quam sincipitis, scutello infralabiali primo mentali paulo

minore ; griseus, transversim nigro maculatus.

This species approaches very closely to Phyllodactylus tubercu-

losus of Wiegmann, from California, but differs from it in that, 1. the

tubercles of the back, which are also triangular and keeled, stand in

regular, not alternating, series; the interspace between these longi-

tudinal series in the middle of the body is always greater than the

tubercles themselves: 2. the occipital region does not, as in that

species, exhibit roundish granules, larger than those upon the snout

and between the eyes, but is covered by very small granules of uni-

form size: and, 3. the mentale lies almost entirely between the first

dilated pair of infralabialia, whilst in both specimens of P. tubercu-

losus the first infralabiale is not broader than the following one, and

two large, roundish, polygonal swbmentalia bound the posterior half

of the mentale. In this new species, behind the mentale and be-

tween the first pair of infralabialia, there is a pair of small roundish

scales, followed by a third small, median, round scale. In colour the

two species appear to agree. The colour is grey, with irregular

black spots, which, in a young specimen, form bowed transverse

bands on the neck, and broad half-rings on the tail.

This species was discovered in the vicinity of Guayaquil, by the

Prussian Consul, M. Carl Reiss, who has collected other remarkable

reptiles in that locality. It is known by the Spanish name of

* Salamanquesa.’—Monatsber. der Akad. der Wiss. zu Berlin,

November 1862.

THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

7 [THIRD SERIES. ]

No. 63. MARCH 1863.

XVIII.—Observations on the British Tunicata, with Descriptions

of several new Species. By JosHus ALDER.

[Plate VII.]

Auraoven much has been done towards the investigation of our:

marine zoology of late years, few British naturalists have paid

- any attention to the Tunicata. The unattractive appearance of

many of the species, and the difficulty of finding characters to

distinguish them, have probably deterred zoologists from under-

taking the task. The first objection undoubtedly holds good

with respect to most of the simple“Ascidians ; but many of the

compound species are eminently beautiful and attractive, though

the difficulty of discriminating these is even greater than in the

more simple forms. Whatever be the cause, it is certain that

the study of the British Ascidians has been very much neglected.

The interesting account of this class given by Professor Edward

Forbes in the ‘ History of British Mollusca’ is, however, an ex-

ception to the general neglect; and had that distinguished na-

turalist lived to fulfil his intention of writing, in conjunction

with Prof. Goodsir, a monograph of the British Tunicata, such a

work would undoubtedly have left little further to desire. The

lamented death of Prof. Forbes has, however, prevented this

project being carried out.

For several years I have incidentally paid a little attention to

this tribe, and, having lately had occasion to investigate the sub-

ject more closely, I purpose in the present communication to

describe such new species as have come under my notice since

the publication of the ‘ British Mollusca,’ as well as to illustrate

some obscure forms that have previously been imperfectly under-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Voi. xi. ll

154 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

Ascidia pustulosa, n. sp.

Body ovate, rugose, horn-coloured, adhering towards the base.

Apertures sessile, strongly tuberculated or echinated, reddish ;

the anal one terminal, the branchial nearly one-third down the

side. Test rather thick, semitransparent, coriaceous, covered

with irregular-sized warty or pustulose. tubercles, principally on

the upper or left side*; these generally bear smaller tubercles

or echinations on their surface: the lower or recumbent side is

nearly smooth. Manile yellowish, blotched with red, especially

towards the apertures, and sprinkled with opake white. Tenta-

cular filaments few.and stout. Branchial sac with rather small

papille: ventral plait smooth. Length about 3 inches.

I dredged a single specimen of this new species in Fowey

Harbour, Cornwall, in the summer of 1847 ; and two specimens,

now in the Edinburgh Museum, were got in Lamlash Bay by

Prof. Allman. It is readily distinguished from A. mentula by

its pustulose tubercles, as well as by its more ovate form.

Ascidia obliqua, n. sp.

Body transversely ovate, light horn-coloured?, rather rugose

when old, but not tuberculated, nearly smooth when young ;

attached diagonally at the base and partially at the side, leaning

over towards the dorsal aspect. Apertures not far apart, conical,

with longitudinal grooves corresponding to the angles of the

lobes; the branchial aperture not quite terminal, the anal

median: ocelli inconspicuous. Zest rather thin, transparent,

sometimes a good deal covered with zoophytes. Tentacular fila-

ments slender. Branchial sac with large subclavate papille:

ventral plait transversely ribbed. Length about two inches.

Three examples of this Ascidian in different stages of growth

were dredged by my friend the Rey. A. M. Norman in 40 to 50

fathoms water, off the Outer Haaf, Shetland. he largest of

these measured a little above two inches. A somewhat larger

specimen was sent to me from Sweden by Prof. Lovén, with the

name of Ascidia mentula attached. It has probably hitherto been

overlooked as a variety of that species, but it is perfectly distinct :

the form is more ovate, the transverse diameter being generally

* Some difference of opinion exists with regard to the positions of the

organs in the Ascidians. I here follow the view adopted by Savigny,

Huxley, and others, who consider the side on which the anal aperture is

situated to be ventral, and the opposite side dorsal. The right side, on

this view, is that on which the viscera are placed. In the Ascidie proper

the animal always adheres more or less by the right side, thus affording

protection to these organs. M. Milne-Edwards considers the vent to be

placed on the dorsal aspect: the names of right and left side are con-

sequently, in his nomenclature, reversed.

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 155

a little the broader ; the test is very much thinner, and attached

obliquely at the base ; the apertures are more distinctly grooved

and less distant ; and the branchial sac has not the intermediate

papillz, nor is it reflected upwards as in A. mentula. It appears

to be a northern species.

_ The longitudinal strands of the branchial meshes in this

species are very tender, and are often found broken in spirit

specimens, and contracted towards the papille, giving the latter

the appearance of being tricuspidate.

Ascidia rudis, n. sp.

- Body oblong or ovate, rather irregular, depressed, greenish,

attached Jargely by the side. Apertures distant, the branchial

terminal, the anal generally about halfway down: ocelli red,

reniform. Test thick, coriaceous, coarse, wrinkled, and ve

slightly tuberculated, sometimes nearly smooth. Mantle bluish-

green, with a yellowish tinge towards the upper part; the aper-

tures distinctly tubular; the anal tube often much extended,

and entering into a sheath in the substance of the test. Tenta-

cular filaments few and slender. Branchial sac green, with stout

papillz at the intersections of the meshes, and frequently with .

intermediate ones on the longitudinal strands: ventral plait

transversely ribbed. Length about 24 inches.

Several specimens were obtained by Mr. Norman, at low-

water mark, near the Whalsey Lighthouse, Outer Skerries, Shet-

land, in company with a large variety of A. depressa, to which

externally it bears some resemblance; but it has a much closer

affinity with A. mentula, and has probably hitherto been taken

for a variety of that species. There are, however, sufficient

grounds to consider it distinct. A. rudis never reaches the size

of A. mentula, and is of a different colour; it is much more

largely attached, and bears small, distant tubercles.’ The tubular

form of the anal orifice in the mantle, too, is characteristic,

though this is not conspicuous outside, the tube being imbedded

in the thickening of the test, and the external aperture varying

in position in proportion to its length. In a variety from

Hastings, which I owe to the kindness of Mrs. Blackett, the

tube is very much elongated within the test, and opens at a very

short distance from the branchial aperture. Usually, however,

it is situated about halfway down, pretty near to the position it

occupies in the mantle.

Ascidia plebeia, n. sp.

Body oblong, slightly scabrous, attached for nearly its whole

length, greenish. Branchial aperture terminal, produced, conical;

anal aperture about two-thirds down, slightly raised : ocelli small,

11*

156 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

red. Test thin,- transparent, roughish with small papille, and:

slightly covered with fragments of shell and sand, especially to-.

wards the attached part. Mantle yellowish green. Tentacular.

filaments numerous and stout. Branchial sac with papille at

the intersections of the meshes, and occasional small inter-

mediate ones on the longitudinal strands: ventral plait plicated.

Length about two inches.

Examples of this species were dredged on the Outer Haaf,

Shetland, by the Rev. A. M. Norman and J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq.

I have also met with one or two Ascidie from the coasts of

Northumberland and Durham, which I am inclined to refer to

the same. It has affinities with A. aculeata and A. depressa.

From the first it may be known by its more elongated form, its

more prominent apertures, and by the papille of the test being

smaller, fewer, and not echinated ; from the latter by its thinner

test and less area of attachment, as well as by the absence of the

thickened margin or disk that divides the upper from the under

surface in that species ; from both it may be distinguished by

the fragments of shells with which it is more or less covered.

Ascidia aculeata, n. sp.

Body ovate, depressed, greenish, more or less attached by the

side to sea-weeds or zoophytes. Apertures nearly sessile, acu-

leated, the branchial terminal, the anal about one-third down

the side. Test thin, transparent, greenish or nearly colourless, -

covered with aculeated tubercles most prominent on the upper

or left side. Mantle greenish, transparent, showing the reticu-

lations of the branchial sac and sigmoid intestine. Tentacular

filaments small. Branchial sac with moderate-sized papille at

the intersections; the stomata elliptical: ventral plait smooth.

Length an inch to an inch and a half.

I first met with this species, many years ago, in Torbay. It

has since been found at Bantry Bay and Guernsey, by Mr. Nor-.

man, and by Dr. W. B. Carpenter in Lamlash Bay, Arran. It is

usually attached to sea-weeds, and appears to inhabit shallow

water.

This species comes nearest to A. depressa, but is less depressed,

less largely attached, and without the marginal disk dividing the

upper from the under surface; the test is more uniformly thin,

and has stronger and more sharply pointed tubercles. The,

apertures are also less distant. The tubercles are frequently

compound, bearing several aculeations. This is probably the

“ Ascidia mammillaris, Delle Chiaje” of Thompson’s ‘ Natural -

History of Ireland, but, I think, not of Delle Chiaje, judging

‘rom his figure.

;

PE Ee OI eee Bev eae

ae eae

TN ns Min tee a

Rar

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.” I57

Ascidia pulchella, n. sp.

Body elongate, cylindrical, reddish, pale yellow or hyaline

white, attached by a rounded base, and capable of great retrac-

tion. Apertures tubular, terminal; the branchial much the

longer, nearly one-third the length of the body, and continuous

in outline with it; the anal aperture about half as long as

the branchial, and a little narrower, projecting diagonally; both

orifices with bright crimson ocelli. A deeply impressed line

runs from between the terminal tubes to nearly the base of the

body. Test soft, smooth, hyaline, and transparent. Mantle

yellowish, passing to red above, or sometimes colourless, with

longitudinal muscular bands, narrower than in A. intestinalis.

Tentacular filaments stout. Branchial sac with rather broad

papille: ventral line with long filaments. Length an inch, or

a little upwards.

Procured at Fowey Harbour by Mr. Peach, from whom I have

drawings. The Rev. T. Hincks has also obtained it in Saleombe

Estuary, and has favoured me with his manuscript notes and a

pencil sketch. The description of the internal parts is taken

from specimens dredged by the Rev.A.M. Norman in Guernsey.

This pretty Ascidia belongs to the section of the genus which

Savigny has called “ Phallusie Cione,’”’ and which constitute the

genus Ciona of Fleming. They are distinguished by having the

viscera extended below the branchial sac, and by the softness

and flexibility of the test, the upper part of which can be with-

drawn within the lower, concealing the orifices. This species

comes very near to A. intestinalis, but may be distinguished from

it by its smaller size and its much more elongated and unequal

tubular orifices, as well as by the colour, which is never tinged

with green as in that species, but is generally more or less marked

with red, though it is occasionally colourless. The longitudinal

bands of the mantle are much narrower than in A. intestinalis.

The figure given in Blainville’s ‘ Malacologie’ under the latter

name seems to be taken from an individual of this species.

Ascidia parallelogramma, Miiller.

This lovely Ascidian is distinguished from all its congeners by

several interesting characters which may perhaps be considered

sufficient to raise it to the rank of a separate genus. It agrees

with the genus Ascidia, as at present characterized, in having

the apertures divided into the same number of segments (8 and

6), in having the test united to the mantle at the orifices

oe and in having the branchial sac with papilla and without

folds. All the true Ascidie with which we are acquainted, how-

ever, are attached more or less by the right side, on which are

158 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

placed the viscera; the smaller branchial meshes, moreover, are

rectilmear., In the present species the animal is attached by the

base, near which the viscera are placed, but on the left side.

There is another peculiarity attending this species, namely, that

the flexure of the intestine is in a contrary direction to what is

usual in the genus. The intestine, after leaving the stomach,

usually rises upwards on the right side of the branchial sac, and,

afterwards bending downwards, forms a sigmoid curve, rising

again towards the anal orifice. In this species the intestine,

after leaving the stomach, bends immediately downwards on the

left side, and, running along the base, rises towards the anal

orifice*, It will be seen from these details that A. parallelo-

gramma is a true sinistral species. But the chief peculiarity of

this interesting Ascidian is in the meshes of the branchial sac,

which are beautifully convoluted in a spiral direction on a flat sur-

face (PI. VII. figs.1& 2). From the centre of each spiral, smaller

bands radiate to the circumference, which serve to hold the

spiral vessels in their places. This delicate and complicated

system of vessels is traversed by larger longitudinal vessels,

which are on a different plane, and internal in position to the

other portions of the sac, to which they are united by broad

transverse vessels, that rise to them in a kind of loop, the apex

of which forms the papilla. The spiral vessels are thus set in a

square frame, the only part that is visible until a high magnifier

is applied. This is perhaps the reason why this beautiful struc-

ture has hitherto escaped observation, as the species is pretty

enerally diffused, and from its beauty usually attracts attention.

his species also differs from the other Ascidie in having the

anal tube much the longer—a character only to be observed in

the living animal. A variety of it is the Ascidia virginea of

Forbes, but not of Miiller.

The Phallusia Turcica of Savigny is a sinistral species, having

a flexure of the intestine in the same direction as this; but the

branchial sac, though peculiar, has the meshes rectilinear, and

not convoluted.

Genus Moteuta, Forbes.

The Molgula of Forbes was founded on external characters

only, the principal one being the number of segments in the

apertures—a character which has been taken by common con-

sent for generic distinction in this tribe, and, though of little

physiological importance, generally carries with it others of

greater functional value, so that the genera founded upon it

have usually been found to be natural. This has fortunately

been the case with the present genus, the internal characters

* Both flexures are dorsal, but in different directions.

‘

;

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 159

fully bearing out the propriety of its separation from the allied

genera Ascidia and Cynthia, between which it is somewhat in-

termediate, and though more nearly allied to the latter, yet at

the same time possessing characters distinct from beth. Where

external characters can be found to distinguish genera and spe-

cies, it is always desirable that they should be adopted in descrip-

tion, though, of course, the whole structure of the animal must

be studied in order to assign it its proper place in a natural

arrangement. To any one conversant with the Tunicata, it must

be obvious that external characters are often insufficient to de-

termine the species, or sometimes even the genus, of many of

the simple Ascidians. Internal characters must therefore be

resorted to; and of these the structure of the branchial sac and

the tentacular filaments are not only of most importance, but of

most easy access for examination. The branchial sac of Molgula

is very peculiar, the meshes being convoluted in an irregular

manner, differing from any other with which I am acquainted. I

propose, therefore, to re-define Molgula in the following manner :

Animal generally free, or only slightly attached by glandular

hairs. Test thin and membranous, often covered with sand or

fragments of shells, very slightly attached to the mantle except

at the two apertures. Branchial aperture 6-lobed, anal 4-lobed ;

ocelli inconspicuous or none. Tentacular filaments branched,

Branchial sac with longitudinal folds ; the meshes more or less

convoluted, without papille. Ovaries on both sides of the body,

that on the right situated outside the flexure of the intestine.

Stomach and intestine lateral and dextral, the latter bending

upwards as in Ascidia, but with the flexure more compressed.

Molgula socialis, n. sp.

Body ovate, covered with fine sand, adhering by a small base.

Apertures terminal, approximated, rather small, tubercular.

Test greenish, thin, soft, covered with longish, unbranched,

rather rugged, glandular hairs. Mantle greenish, soft. Tenta-

cular filaments large, much branched, tripimnate. Branchial sac

with six folds on each side, the meshes irregular and imperfectly

convoluted. Height about half an inch. Densely gregarious.

For a knowledge of this species I am indebted to Dr. Bower-

bank, who obtained it from the fishermen at Hastings. The

specimens were attached to Pecten maximus, from the Diamond

trawling-ground, about twelve miles from that place.

Unlike the other species of this genus, which are generally

solitary, this Molgula is associated in dense masses, firmly ad-

hering to each other, and so closely as often to press the sides

mto a square or hexagonal form. The tentacular filaments are

in proportion to the animal, and beautifully arborescent-

160 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

I am now acquainted with seven British species of this genus;

including the Ascidia conchilega of Miller (which is a Molgula)

and the following species, whose internal characters, however,

show a considerable departure from the type of the genus.

Molgula arenosa, Alder & Hancock.

Body globular, hyaline, unattached, closely covered with sand;

excepting generally a bright smooth area on one side. Apertures

nearly terminal, approximated, not much produced, conical or.

slightly tubular, retractile, set in a small circumscribed area

with a raised rim, appearing like a slit when contracted. Test

soft, glossy, transparent, and colourless, with delicate slender

hairs, sometimes a little branched. Mantle very thin, soft, and

transparent, showing the viscera very distinctly through. Ten-

tacular filaments bipinnate, beautifully spotted with bright opake

‘see -Branchial sac with six longitudinal bands on each side,

etween which are six rows of conical eminences formed of a

double: spiral coil of delicate vessels meeting at the apex, and

giving the sac a festooned appearance (PI. VII. figs. 3 & 4).

There are also transverse bands. Ovaries double, that on the

right side lying within the loop of the intestine. Diameter half

to three-quarters of an inch.

This species was described in the Transactions of the Tyneside

Naturalists’ Club (vol. i. p. 197), and is also the Molgula tubu-

losa of Forbes in the ‘ British Mollusca, who referred it (we

think erroneously) to the Ascidia tubularis of Rathke in ‘ Zoo-

logia Danica.’ It is probable, however, that he may have in-

cluded more than one species under this name, as there are

several sand-coloured Ascidians that are with difficulty distin-

guished on a superficial examination. His description belongs

to M. arenosa, but the figure represents the tubes much longer

and more cylindrical than the usual form.

Externally WM. arenosa does not materially differ from the other

Molgule, and it has the apertures divided into the same number

of segments; but the branchial sac presents very marked cha-

racters in the beautiful spiral cones of which it is composed, and

in the absence of regular folds. Besides the spiral vessels of the

cones, others, less conspicuous, but of equal, if not greater width,

pass downwards from the apex to the circumference. The whole

structure is extremely delicate, and its fragility renders it diffi-

cult to preserve it entire for examination. A further difference

between this and the other Molgule is observable in the position

of the right ovary, which is situated within, and not outside, the

intestinal loop.

The Cynthia Dione of Savigny has a branchial sac of a struc-

ture apparently similar to this, and, were it not for its four-cleft

Fe ee ee Oe ae Oe Te ae Oe ee ee ee seen

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 161

apertures fringed with small filaments, might have belonged to

the same genus. The right ovary in that species is placed out-

side the intestinal flexure.

Ascidia parallelogramma on the one hand and Molgula arenosa

on the other, form two links in the chain of affinities uniting

Ascidia and Cynthia, while each at the same time possesses

characters peculiar to itself.

Genus Cynruia, Savigny.

Savigny has divided Cynthia into four sections, which he

names Cynthie simplices, C. Cesire, C. Styele, and C. Pandocie.

The first and third of these only are represented in the British

fauna, unless the second (containing one species only, C. Dione)

may be considered congeneric with the Molgula arenosa already

described. The fourth section * agrees in all respects with the

third, excepting in the position of the ovary, which is confined

to the right side of the body. The genus Dendrodoa of M‘Leay

also possesses similar characters, but with ovaries on the left

side only. The form and position of the ovaries are very variable

in the genus Cynthia, and, though affording good specific distinc-

tions, can scarcely be considered of generic value.

Cynthia squamulosa, n. sp.

Body ovate or subglobose, of a pinkish hue, tinged with lilac,

attached by a broad base. Apertures a little apart, rather large

and conical, but not much produced ; the branchial one terminal,

the anal nearly so; each margined and rayed with violet. Test

tough, smooth or slightly mammillated, covered with small scaly

plates marked with concentric lines. Tentacular filaments slen-

der, simply pinnate. Branchial sac with six folds on each side.

Ovaries forming a double, linear, perpendicular series on each

side, with a fimbriated mass of sperm-cells(?) between. Dia-

meter about half an inch.

This species, which I first met with in Guernsey, in 1853,

where several specimens occurred on oysters dredged in about

fifteen fathoms, has since been sent me from Lulworth Cove by

my friend Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys. It appears to be a southern

form.

Cynthia rosea, n. sp.

Body cylindrical, short, nearly as broad as high, adhering to

shells by a tolerably broad base. Apertures on large mammille,

yellowish, with four double stripes of red, and covered with mi-

* The Pandocia conchilega of Dr. Fleming (Brit. Anim. p. 463), the

mye character of which appears to be taken from this section of Savigny’s

hia, is probably referred to it by some ‘mistake.

162 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

nute, crystalline, pointed spicula. Test thick, tough, opake,

smooth, rose-coloured, closely adhering to the mantle. Mantle

flesh-coloured, opake. Tentacular filaments large, bipinnate.

Branchial sac with seven deep folds on each side ; ventral plait

smooth, undulated above. Length about half an inch.

A single specimen of this beautiful Cynthia was procured by

Dr. Bowerbank from the Diamond trawling-ground near Hastings.

In some of its characters it approaches the C. microcosmus of

Savigny, which Prof. Milne-Edwards informs me is distinct from

the C. microcosmus of Cuvier; but its smooth test, without

corrugations, and the absence of any parasitic growth over the

surface, forbid our referring it to that species. The small cry-

stalline spicula surrounding the apertures are very curious and

peculiar.

Cynthia echinata, Miller.

Prof. E. Forbes has referred this species by mistake to Ascidia,

and the apertures in his figure (Brit. Moll. vol.i. pl. c. fig. 4) are

erroneously represented with six and eight lobes. They are both

decidedly quadrate. The branchial sac has six folds on each side,

and the smaller meshes have the peculiarity of being transverse

instead of longitudinal as in the other species. The tentacular

filaments are branched.

Cynthia mammillaris, Pallas.

The Ascidia mammillaris of Pallas does not appear to have

been recognized by later naturalists. A Cynthia sent me by

Mr. Spence Bate from Plymouth, by Mr. Jeffreys from Lulworth

Cove, and by Dr. Bowerbank from Hastings, must, I think, be

referred to this species, found “on submarine rocks in Corn-

wall” by Gertner nearly a hundred years ago. It is very irre-

gular in form, generally transversely ovate, deeply wrinkled, and

strongly lobated. The test is tough, thick, and of a dirty yel-

lowish colour, generally covered with small Zoophytes and other

parasites, and with stones and fragments of shells adhering near

the base. The apertures are not far apart, and rayed with red

internally : the tentacular filaments are linear ; and the branchial

sac has four folds on each side. It therefore belongs, like the

majority of our British species, to the third section of Savigny.

It appears to be not uncommon on the south coast of England,

and may perhaps be the species alluded to by Forbes under the

head of C. microcosmus, to which in external appearance it bears

some resemblance.

Cynthia sulcatula, n. sp.

Body subcylindrical when extended, hemispherical when con-

tracted, attached by a broad base. Apertures terminal, on long

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 163

tubes (about one-third the length of the body), approximated

at the base, and nearly disappearing on contraction; they are

margined with a red line, or entirely crimson. Test dark red-

dish brown, rough with longitudinal and transverse furrows,

giving the surface a beaded appearance. Mantle bright crimson

or scarlet. Tentacular filaments lmear. Branchial sae with four

folds on each side. Ovaries scarlet, disposed in spherical masses

over the inner surface of the mantle. Length half to three-

quarters of an inch.

This species is found on C. tuberosa, and on the roots of

Laminarie at Cullercoats. Mr. George Hodge has also sent it

me from Seaham Harbour.

The approximated tubular apertures, regularly furrowed sur-

face, and great contractility distinguish this species from the

young of C. tuberosa; the character of the surface likewise di-

stinguishes it from C. coriacea and C. granulata, to which it is

more nearly allied. In a contracted state, the test becomes

much corrugated, and the apertures then appear large and

four-cleft.

Cynthia granulata, n. sp.

Body cylindrical when extended, nearly hemispherical when

contracted, reddish, adhering at the base. Apertures terminal,

slightly tubular, approximated; reddish, with a dark red line

round the margin. Test tough, finely shagreened or granulated,

but appearing nearly smooth to the naked eye, yellowish or

brownish red. Mantle crimson above, passing to orange or

ellow below. Tentacular filaments lear. Branchial sae with

our folds on each side. Length about half an inch.

This species appears to be pretty widely distributed on the

British coast. I have met with it on shells or on other Ascidie,

from moderately deep water, on the coasts of Northumberland

and Durham, as well as at Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Mr.

Jeffreys has also got it at Lulworth Cove.

This Cynthia somewhat resembles the last, and is occasionally

associated with it on the test of C. tuberosa. It may, however,

be at once distinguished by the shagreening of the test, which

is best seen when the surface is dry, it then appearing covered

with minute shining facets. C. granulata may also be distin-

guished from C. sulcatula by its shorter tubes and smaller aper-

tures.

Cynthia comata, Alder.

Cynthia ampulla, Forbes & Hanl. Brit. Moll. vol. i. p.40; Alder & Hane.

in Tynes. Club Trans. vol. i. p. 197.

A more careful examination of this species, and a comparison

of it with the original description and figure of Baster, convince

164 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

me that it has been erroneously referred to his Ascidium (the

Ascidia ampulla of Bruguiére). That species is described to be

thickly covered with minute hairs hooked at the points, and has

the tubes granulated or shagreened, in neither of which cha-

racters does the present species agree with it: nor does Baster’s

Ascidium appear to be coated with sand—a character so remark-

able in C. comata, from the depth to which it is generally co-

vered. This arises from the great length of the glandular hairs,

and is especially the case in old individuals, where the hairs are

much branched and become thickened at the base, giving the

test a peculiar appearance when the sand is removed.

This and the following species belong to the Glandula of

Stimpson*, a genus separated from Cynthia on account of the

individuals being unattached. As this character, however, is not

corroborated by any structural difference, and is also found in

some species of other genera, we have not thought it desirable

to give it generic rank.

Cynthia glacialis, Sars.

Body orbicular or ovate, a little compressed, unattached, and

entirely covered with sand and fragments of shells. 4pertures

approximated and slightly tubular when expanded, inconspicuous

when withdrawn, of a dull, semitransparent white. Test smooth,

whitish, soft and rather thin, a little wrinkled towards the

apertures, apparently without hairs, the shelly fragments ad-

hering directly to the skin. Mantle transparent and nearly co-

lourless. Tentacular filaments simple, linear. Branchial sac with

four folds on each side. Ovaries in parallel cylindrical masses,

extending transversely, about four on each side. Diameter

rather more than half an inch.

Two specimens were obtained from the fishing-boats at Craster,

Northumberland, by Mr. J. Stanger, in 1860; and it has since

been dredged on the northern part of the same coast.

Believing this species to be undescribed, I had proposed for it

the name of C. vestita, under which appellation its discovery was

announced by Mr. Stanger in the ‘ Transactions of the Tyneside

Naturalists’ Field Club’ (vol. iv. p. 835). I have since found

that Prof. Sars had previously met with it on the coast of Nor-

way, and had published a notice of it under the name of Glandula

glacialis (Forhandl. 1 Vidensk. Selsk. i Christiania for 1858).

Cynthia opalina, un. sp.

Body transversely ovate, strongly but irregularly mammillated,

opaline white, attached by a broad base. Apertures not far

apart, rather large; the branchial one placed not far from the

* Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History for June 1852.

= Ee aye

PRIN AS ONT a Te ee

ol les

Dees subhy

ee Le

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 165

anterior end.. Test thick, smooth, white, semitransparent, ad-

hering strongly to the mantle throughout. Mantle opake white,

with one or two blotches of red near the apertures. Tentacular

Jilaments linear (?). Branchial sac with four folds on each side (?);

ventral line smooth, inconspicuous. Breadth three-quarters of

an inch; height one-third less, rising a little towards the ante-~

rior end.

A single specimen of this pretty species was obtained by Dr.

Bowerbank from the Diamond fishing-ground, near Hastings.

As the internal parts were partially decomposed, their character.

could not be very satisfactorily made out. We know of no other

Cynthia, however, with which it can be confounded. In its

opaline and mammillated test it somewhat resembles a miniature

Ascidia mammillata; but, besides its generic difference, it like-

wise differs in form, and in the more numerous and smaller

mamunille.

Cynthia violacea, n. sp.

Body very much depressed or nearly flat, transversely ovate

or rounded in outline, and adhering by a broad expanded base.

Test slightly hispid, and completely covered with small grains

of sand. Apertures on rather long and slender tubes of a violet '

colour, set very little apart, and nearly equally distant from both

ends. Diameter a quarter of an inch.

Two specimens occurred to me on an old shell of Pecten mazi-

mus among the rocks on Mrs. Hughes’s Island, Menai Straits,

in 1852.

Although, from its minuteness and delicacy, the internal parts

of this species could not be examined, there can be little doubt

of its distinctness from any other described Cynthia. The grains

of sand adhere so closely that they can scarcely be removed

without tearing the test, which is very thin.

Cynthia grossularia, Van Beneden.

The Ascidia rustica figured and described by Miiller in ‘ Zoo-

logia Danica’ contains two, if not three species, supposed by

him to be different stages of growth of one and the same animal.

Continental authors have (and, I think, rightly) considered the

largest or adult form to be the Ascidia rustica of Linneus,

agreeing with his description “corpus oblongum, subcylindricum,

brunneum.” The supposed youngest form of Miiller is un-

doubtedly distinct, and is the species which English authors

have hitherto called Cynthia rustica. Having ascertained, how-

ever, from specimens sent me by the accomplished author, that

Prof. Van Beneden’s Cynthia grossularia is identical with our

166 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

British form, I do not hesitate to adopt his name. It appears

also to be the Cynthia gutta of Stimpson. The true Ascidia

rustica has not yet been met with in this country; but I have

lately found, in the collection of the late Mr.Wm. Thompson, of

Belfast, a Cynthia from Killery Bay, on the west coast of Ireland,

which appears to be the second form figured by Miiller, and

which is probably also distinct from the C. rustica. It is nearly

spherical, with a thin delicately wrinkled test, and is about

three-quarters of an inch in diameter.

Cynthia grossularia is an extremely variable species, changing

its appearance so much in different situations and under different

circumstances, that we have sometimes been induced to think

that more than one species might be included in it. When

growing singly, it is rather depressed, and the test spreads into

a thin membrane round the base; but, in sheltered situations,

as under shelving rocks, the individuals accumulate in compact

masses, so closely packed as to allow of growth only upwards,

and adhering very firmly to each other at the sides. The young

in such cases often attach themselves to the surface of the

parent, so as, at first sight, to appear as if budding from it. In

the more free state, likewise, the spreading bases of several indi-

viduals sometimes come into contact and unite; but, on careful

inspection, the line of union can generally be detected. The

test, viewed as a transparent object under the microscope, always

shows transverse anastomosing corrugations ; but it often appears

smooth to the naked eye, especially in the young state.

Cynthia glomerata, n. sp.

Body ovate or subglobose, smooth, cherry-red, the individuals

crowded into closely adherent clusters. Apertures rather small,

not far apart, very slightly prominent, quadrate, but sometimes

appearing as a simple slit when closed. Test tough, rather

shining, smooth, or sometimes very slightly wrinkled in old in-

dividuals, closely adherent to the mantle. Manile bright crim-

son. Tentacular filaments slender. Branchial sac red, with one

large fold, and a smaller one on the left side, and two or three

obscure ones on the right: the largest folds are near the ventral

plait, which is smooth. Ovaries disposed in small crimson pel-

lets over the inside of the mantle. Height from a quarter to

nearly half an inch.

This interesting species was found cast up, after a storm, at

Wick, by Mr. C. W. Peach. It differs from most of its con-

geners in the smoothness of its test and the little prominence of

its apertures, which are generally level with the surface when

closed. The beautiful group from which the description is taken,

St ph baie Ms

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 167

kindly forwarded to me by Mr. Peach, consists of a globular

mass of individuals of all ages and sizes, piled upon each other

so as to resemble a large fruit of the Rubus tribe. The extra-

neous substance to which they are attached is so completel

covered as not to be discernible; and the individuals themselves

adhere so closely that, at first sight, they appear to form one

compound animal. That this is not the case, however, may be

seen by a more minute inspection, when the line of junction

between each can generally be detected, and, with a little care,

an individual may be detached entire, showing no point of

organic junction with the rest. The young fix themselves on

all parts of the older ones, and in the spaces between them, so

that, in process of time, a globular mass such as here described

is the result.

Genus Tuyxactum, Victor Carus.

“Common base a broad fleshy structure supporting closely-

set individuals; outer tunic coriaceous; both orifices with four

lobes ; abdomen as long as the thorax.”

Dr. T. Victor Carus thus characterizes a genus established by

him in the ‘Proceedings of the Ashmolean Society’ (vol. iu. -

p- 266) for the reception of an Ascidian found in the Scilly

Islands. The connexion of the individuals of this genus by a

solid fleshy base has induced the learned author to include it in

the family Clavelinide. It has, however, a much closer affinity

with the Ascidiade, especially with the two small gregarious

species of Cynthia just described. Dr. Carus considers that this

genus is propagated by gemmation as well as by ova. Further

observations are desirable on this point.

Thylacium Normani, n. sp.

Body subclavate, rounded above and contracted a little below,

reddish, firmly fixed in groups to a common fleshy base. Ayper-

tures rather large and prominent, set considerably apart at the

upper end, quadrate, or nearly circular when expanded, some-

times appearing as a single slit when closed. Test strongly

wrinkled or subtuberculated, rather smoother near the apertures,

Tentacular filaments linear, very slender. Branchial sac with

two or three (?) folds on each side. Height about two-tenths of

an inch.

Mr. Norman, to whom I am indebted for the knowledge of

this species, found it studding the roof and sides of the cele-

brated Gouliot Caves, Isle of Sark. It is much smaller than the

T. Sylvani of Carus, of a different form, and appears to spread

more horizontally.

168 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

Thylacium variegatum, n. sp.?

Body (in each individual) transversely ovate, depressed, doridi-

form, shaded with flesh-colour and red. Apertures not much

apart on the upper surface, the branchial rather nearer the end.

Test slightly wrinkled, or nearly smooth, generally red towards

the anterior, and paler towards the opposite end, with a paler

raised circle round each aperture, that of the branchial largest,

and radiated with red. Tentacular filaments linear, stout.

Branchial sac with folds. The individuals are connected by a

membranous expansion at the base, of a paler colour. Length

(transverse) of individuals about one-eighth of an inch. Diameter

of the general mass one-half to three-quarters of an inch.

One or two specimens of this curious species were kindly sent

me by Mr. Jeffreys, along with other Ascidians, from Lulworth

Cove. Iam much inclined to believe that this is the true Di-

stomus variolosus of Gertner, judging from the figures copied

in Blainville’s ‘ Manuel de Malacologie,’ which greatly resemble

our Ascidian, the only material difference being that the aper-

tures are represented six-cleft. On turning to Gertner’s de-

scription, quoted in Savigny’s ‘ Mémoire,’ p. 38, we find it to

agree even more closely with this species. The individuals

(verruce seu tubercula) are “ ovalia et ex croceo rubra,’ and the

apertures are surrounded by a swollen margin with six rays,

“quasi in tot discissus fuerit dentes.”” If we may understand this

to apply to the coloured markings, giving the apertures the ap-

pearance as if cut into six segments, the description agrees with

what is seen in the branchial aperture of the Lulworth-Cove

specimens, which have the paler area surrounding it often di-

vided into rays like the leaves of a flower; these rays are fre-

quently six, though the aperture, which is small and inconspi-

cuous when closed, is obscurely quadrate. Should this conjec-

ture prove correct, Gertner’s Distomus has been entirely mis-

understood by Savigny, as the present species has no relation-

ship with the genus Distoma of the latter, founded upon the.

species he has so well described under the name of D. rubrum.

Further investigation, however, is necessary; and the suggestion

is now thrown out to induce naturalists who may meet with

this Ascidian in a living state to examine it more carefully.

The specimens sent by Mr. Jeffreys are parasitical upon the

test of Cynthia mammillaris, another lost species of Gertner

which has been already alluded to.

I lately received from Mr. George Hodge specimens of a Thy-

lacium that may possibly be identical with this, though rather

larger and of a deeper red. They were found on the fronds of

Laminaria digitata cast ashore at the Island of Herm.

CFL eT TT

ra,

Pp TE ee ee Ee Mee TT eR eS ey ee a

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. 169

Diazona Hebridica, Forbes & Goodsir.

Syntethys Hebridicus, Forbes & Goods. in Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb. vol. xx.

_ p. 307; Forbes & Hanl. Brit. Moll. vol. iv. p. 244.

That the Syntethys Hebridicus of Forbes and Goodsir is really

a Diazona will be obvious to any one who has the opportunity

of carefully investigating its characters, one or two of which

appear to have escaped the observation of the distinguished na-

turalists who first described it. The division of the apertures

into six lobes is very difficult to make out, except in well-pre-

served specimens; and the elongated and pedunculated form

of the abdomen is a character varying exceedingly according to

the degree of contraction in which the animal is seen. I was

so fortunate as to dredge large masses of this remarkable Asci-

dian at Guernsey in 1853, and had the opportunity of examining

it in a living state, when it was at once recognized as.the Syn-

tethys Hebridicus of Forbes and Goodsir ; but on placing speci-

mens in spirits, the apple-green colour of the living animals

began to change into a delicate violet, and the whole put on the

appearance of Diazona violacea of Savigny. This author, whose

anatomical details are admirable, has failed to give a good general |

representation of the animal, from having had access only to

spirit specimens. His generic and specific names are in conse-

quence somewhat of misnomers, as the flattening of the surface,

from the individuals falling from the centre in dying, gives more

of a circular arrangement than really exists in nature.

The change of colour has already been remarked upon. The

question arises, therefore, whether Diazona violacea and Syn-

tethys Hebridicus are not one and the same animal. The only

difference I can find is that the papille of the branchial sac in

the latter are stout and obtuse, very different from the slender,

pointed form represented by Savigny; I have therefore deter-

mined to consider them distinct until further observations decide

the point. Prof. Goodsir has kindly supplied me with a portion

of a specimen from the original habitat, and, I believe, comcides

in the view of its generic relation here taken. I am also in-

debted for specimens to Mr. M‘Andrew.

Its vitreous transparency and the opake white lines of the

thorax give this remarkable species very much the appearance

of a huge group of Claveling cemented together at the base.

Poiyclinum succineum, nu. sp.

Common body subglobose, a little depressed, very transparent,

amber-coloured, attached by a broad base, the surface slightly

lobated. Individuals disposed over the surface without apparent

order, forming numerous systems, each with a prominent funnel-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 12

170 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

shaped common exeretory orifice, of great transparency. Branchial

apertures six-rayed. Thorax cylindrical, occupying more than

one-third of the length of the body. Abdomen rounded, simple ;

postabdomen about the same length as the thorax, slightly

pedunculated, and ending in a point below. Diameter of the

mass about three-quarters of an inch.

_ This species was dredged by Mr. Norman on the haddock-

ground about six miles north of the Whalsey Lighthouse, Shet-

land. It is remarkable on account of its great delicacy and the

transparent funnel-shaped excretory orifices, which rise consider-

ably above the surface.

Polyclinum cerebriforme, x. sp.

Common body transversely ovate; depressed, pretty largely at-

tached, yellowish, the surface corrugated into folds like those of

the surface of the brain. Individuals irregularly disposed over the

surface ; systems few; the excretory orifices rather small, circu-

lar, with the margin very slightly produced. Longest diameter

of the mass three-quarters of an inch; shortest, about half an

inch. ;

This is another of the species for which I am indebted to my

friend Mr. Norman, who procured two specimens, between tide-

marks, on the south side of Bantry Bay, in October 1858. It

is distinguished from Polyclinum aurantium by the folds of the

surface, as well as by its smaller and more circular common

apertures. The character of the individuals could not be satis-

factorily made out.

Amarecium pomum, Sars.

Amaroucium pomum, Sars in Nyt Magaz. for Naturv. vol. vii. p. 155.

Common body globose, subcartilaginous, yellowish-grey, sessile,

attached by a spreading base. Individuals straw-coloured, rather

large, set in numerous regular systems of from six to twelve, in.

single series, round a prominent central orifice with a lobed

margin ; the lobes corresponding to the number of individuals.

Thoraz yellow, pellucid. Branchial sac with ten to eighteen rows

of stigmata. Abdomen shorter than the thorax, oval; stomach

brownish-yellow, areolated: postabdomen long, cylindrical, acu-

minated below. Diameter of mass various. Length of indivi-

duals nearly half an inch.

A specimen of this fine species was sent to me by Mr. Mac-

donald, of Elgin, obtained from deep water in the Moray Firth.

It was much smaller than the Norwegian specimens described

by Prof. Sars, the mass not measuring more than an inch and a

quarter in diameter; but the agreement of its characters in

———-—- * |. |?

ees Ee ee

OS Se

A OE

Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata. i7i

other respects leaves little doubt of its identity with his species.

The size of the mass is always variable, depending upon the age

and other circumstances. Amarecium pomum comes very near

to the A. Nordmanni of Milne-Edwards; but it differs in colour,

in the size of the individuals, and in the greater length of the

postabdomen.

Amarecium papillosum, un. sp.

Common body depressed, sessile, yellowish fawn-coloured. In-

dividuals prominent, rising into distinct papille over the surface,

and forming numerous, irregular, close-set, ill-defined systems,

set round wide common orifices. Branchial aperture with six

obtuse lobes. Thorax brownish fawn-coloured. Abdomen rather

darker: postabdomen longish, cylindrical. Diameter of mass

about an inch; height about one-third as much.

Two specimens of this Amarecium were obtained by dredging

in shallow water, Menai Straits, in 1852.

Sidnyum turbinatum, Savigny.

A compound Ascidian sent by Dr. Leach to Savigny, from the —

English coast, is described under this name by the latter, in a

short Appendix to his Mémoire. Two different species have

been referred to it by British authors, but, I think, erroneously.

Dr. Fleming found what he was “inclined to consider” the S.

turbinatum on the rocks of the Isle of May. His description in

‘British Animals’ is compounded of the characters of Savigny’s

genus combined with those of his own recent specimen. What

we consider to be Dr. Fleming’s species is not uncommon on

the eastern coast. Prof. Edward Forbes, again, has described

another species as the Sidnyum turbinatum of Savigny, and has

altered the generic character to suit it. It is only necessary,

however, to pay a little attention to Savigny’s description to be

conyinced that our distinguished English naturalist was under

a mistake, and that his species, which is composed of short,

cylindrical, truncated masses, nearly as broad below as above,

the individuals of which have a branchial aperture of eight rays

and a broad postabdomen (see Brit. Moll. pl. s. f.2), cannot be

the animal described by Savigny with a turbinated common

body, contracted below, the indjviduals having a branchial aper-

ture with six rays, and a pedunculated postabdomen, dilated

and filiform (mince comme un fil) ; besides which, Forbes’s spe-

cies has a common excretory orifice (mentioned only as a depres-

sion in the description), removing it to a different section from

Savigny’s Sidnyum, which, like Aplidium, is without this cha-

racter. Add to which, the individuals of Sidnyum are arranged

in narrow ellipses radiating from the centre to the cireumference,

12%

172 Mr. J. Alder on the British Tunicata.

like the plates of a Madrepore, while Forbes’s species has the

individuals arranged circularly round the common centre. Both

the species described by British authors belong to the genus (or

subgenus*) Parascidia of Milne-Kdwards, which has been sepa-

rated from Amarecium on account of having eight lobes to the

branchial aperture, none of the other genera of compound Tunica-

ries having more than six. I propose naming these two species

Parascidia Flemingii and P. Forbesti. The Sidnyum turbinatum

remains yet to be recognized.

Parascidia flabellata, n. sp.

Common body elongate, lobulated, transparent, consisting be-

low of a very much produced peduncle, which is divided above

into several oblong branches, variously lobed, forming a some-

what fan-shaped expansion at the free end; many orange masses

or spots in the interior give an orange hue to the whole. Indi-

viduals elongate. Branchial apertures eight-lobed, tinged with

orange. Postabdomen longish, linear, and rather thin. The

whole mass is prettily and minutely speckled with orange.

The above account of a very interesting little Parascidia is

extracted from the Rev.T. Hincks’s manuscript notes of Tunicata

obtained in Salcombe Bay in 1848, kindly placed at my disposal.

Mr. Hincks met with this species hanging about a Ced/ularia in

little orange transparent tufts. There can be no doubt of its

distinctness from any species yet described.

Distoma vitreum, Sars.

Distomum vitreum, Sars in Nyt Mag. for Naturv. vol. vi. p. 154.

Christiania, 1851.

Common body greyish-white, hyaline, subcartilaginous, clavate

or fusiform, adhering by a narrow base. Individuals white or

yellowish, irregularly disposed. Branchicl and anal apertures

each with six blunt ilobes. Abdomen ovate-oblong, united to the

thorax by a thickish peduncle; the stomach brownish and lon-

gitudinally plicated. Length of mass a quarter to half an inch.

A cluster of specimens of different sizes (mostly young), ad-

hering to the stem of a Zoophyte, was dredged by Mr. Norman

in the Channel Islands.

Botrylloides sparsa, n. Sp.

Common body rather thick, encrusting, semitransparent, of a

yellowish-brown colour. Individuals rather small, yellowish-

brown, thickly sprinkled with dark brown spots, with a circle of

* Prof. Milne-Edwards makes both Amarecium and Parascidia sub-

genera of Polyclinum, 1 prefer considering them genera,

Dr. H. Schaum on the Head and Segments in Insects. 173

sulphur-yellow round the branchial orifice, continuous with a

stripe or blotch of the same colour above ; they are arranged in

short, ill-defined, branching systems, with the common orifices

indistinct. Diameter of mass two to two and a half inches.

I met with this species on the under side of stones within

tide-marks, St. Peter’s Port, Guernsey, in 1853. This and the

following species have the individuals more minute than is usual

in the genus.

Botrylloides pusilla, u. sp.

Common body encrusting, semitransparent, orange-flesh-co-

loured, with yellow marginal tubes. Individuals small, bright

orange-scarlet, consisting of a minute sprinkling of scarlet on a

yellow ground ; there is a yellow spot behind the branchial aper-

ture, and the anal aperture is also yellow; the individuals are

set in crowded double or treble rows, forming ill-defined systems.

Branchial sac with ten rows of stigmata. Diameter of mass

nearly two inches. Length of individuals half a line.

A single specimen of this beautiful and very distinct Botryl-

loides was got on the under side of a stone at Grand Havre,

Guernsey, in 1853.

Figures of most of the species here described, along with

others not previously or hitherto imperfectly figured, will be

given in an illustrated Catalogue of British Tunicata, now pre-

paring for the British Museum.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII.

Fig. 1. A portion of the branchial sac of Ascidia parallelogramma, highly

magnified.

Fig. 2. Two spiral coils of the same, more highly magnified.

Fig. 3. A small portion of the branchial sac of Molgula arenosa, showing

the cones in profile.

Fig. 4. Two of the cones seen in front.

XIX.—On the Composition of the Head, and on the Number of

Abdominal Seymenis, in Insects. By Dr. H. Scuaum.

[Plate VI.]

As the opinion has lately gained much ground among the com-

parative anatomists of England, chiefly through the embryo-

logical researches of Prof. Huxley, that the head of the Arthro-

poda is made up of a number of segments, I desire to draw

attention to some facts which seem to militate against this view.

Prof. Huxley * admits, with regard to the greatest number of

* “On the Agamic Reproduction and Morphology of Aphis,” Trans.

Linn. Soc. xxii. p. 229 &e. ese

174 | Dr, H, Schaum on the Composition of the Head, —

appendages attached to the head in any case (in Crustacea), six

segments composing the head of Arthropoda,—the first bear-

ing the eyes, the second and third the two pair of antenne, and

the fourth, fifth, and sixth the three pairs of maxille (the third

of which is soldered to the lower lip in insects). For insects, he

reduces the number to five, as they have never more than one

pair of antenne.

In seeking for some arguments against this conclusion, I may

be allowed to start, not from the head provided with the greatest

number of appendages, but from the head of insects,—first, be-

cause the statement that a pair of appendages is the exponent

of a separate segment may be considered as a petitio principii

by one who desires to disprove it; and secondly, because it is

only in insects that the head is a section of the body into which

nothing but the head itself enters, In Crustacea, either a part

of the thorax (as in Isopoda) or the whole thorax (as in Deca-

poda) is intimately united with the head into one portion; and

in Arachnida there is no proper head at all.

In the head of insects we have five pairs of appendages, if we

admit, from the analogy of the moveable eyes in the Podoph-

thalmous Crustacea, that the sessile eyes are appendages com-

parable to the antennz and maxille. As it is proved, by the

second and third thoracic segments bearing wings and legs at

the same time, that the same segment may he provided with a

pair of both tergal and ventral appendages, we might at first

conclude that the eyes and antenne are the tergal appendages

of the same segments which bear maxille as their sternal ones.

The number of the segments of the head would thus be reduced

to three, which is, indeed, a conclusion admitted by some ento-

mologists*. But Prof. Huxley has been led, by his observations

on the development of Aphis, to the conclusion that both eyes

and antenne are also sternal, and not tergal appendages,

With regard to these observations, I cannot refrain from men-

tioning that scarcely any object could be chosen which offers a -

greater difficulty to the observer for seizing clearly this fact

than Aphis; for the Aphides not only leave the egg in a com-

paratively perfect state, undergoing afterwards scarcely any

metamorphosis, but they have also the front and even the vertex

bent downwards, so as to be visible on the underside of the head.

How is it to be decided, in such an embryo, which is the sternal

_ and which the tergal part of the two segments, which, according

* The labrum is considered by some entomologists, as by Brullé (Ann.

des Se. Nat. 1844, p. 345), as representing also a pair of soldered maxille

lying above the mandibles: this analogy is, however, completely rejected

by Prof. Huxley, on the ground that the labrum is developed in the medial

line of the body (J. c. p. 232. 9). Blas wild

ET ES ET ee A ae

TE ee ae eae ee EE Cee ae EY

and on the Number of Abdominal Segments, in Insects. 175

to Prof. Huxley, are situated before the mouth? We get no in-

formation from the author, as the terga of these segments are

not traced by him.

But leaving the point whether the eyes and antenne are ter-

gal or sternal appendages in Aphis, sufficient proof can be given

that it is inaccurate to state that a pair of appendages is always

dependent upon a separate segment. It is a general law, that

insects leave the egg with the full number of their segments,

and that no segment is ever added during the metamorphosis,

though some of the abdominal ones may disappear externally in

the perfect state. A great number of larve, however, leave the

egg completely blind, and even destitute of antenne, with a head

on which no trace whatever of a division into subsegments can

be discovered. How, in this case, can the subsequently deve-

loped eyes (which are here certainly tergal, and not sternal ap-

pendages) be considered as appendages of a proper segment

which has never existed? And how are the ocelli to be accounted

for, which, like the wings, make their appearance first in the

perfect state, but which cannot, like the wings, be referred to a

proper pre-existing segment ?

The abdominal segments of Julide, provided with a double -

pair of legs, furnish us with another proof that the same seg-

ment may bear more than one pair even of ventral appendages.

To dispose of this proof it is usually asserted that there are two

segments united into one; but not a single observation on the

production of these segments during the growth of the animal

has been made which supports that theory. On the contrary,

I conclude, from Newport’s observations and figures, that the

new segments which are added to the abdomen appear always

from the first with two pairs of legs, and never show a division

into two.

If, therefore, the number of appendages is not a just test of

the number of segments entering into a part, we have to inquire

what are the requisites of a segment, when we undertake to settle

the question whether the head is made up of one or of several

segments, It will meet with no opposition when, in the first

instance, we require that a segment must be marked by a trans-

verse line of demarcation on the integument of the animal, at

least in an early stage of its development. Another requisite of

asegment is, that it must constitute a ring composed of a dorsal

and a ventral arcus, A segment requires, further, normally, a

set of proper muscles and a ganglion. A ganglion need not be

traced m each segment of the perfect insect, where a number of

Segments are united to a greater section of the body (thorax or

abdomen) ; but in the larva, with homonomous segments, the

nervous system forms regularly a chain of ganglia corresponding

176 = Dr. H. Schaum on the Composition of the Head,

to the segments. We find no trace of subsegments on the in-

tegument of the headin any stage of the development ; we find

no sets of different muscles, and never more than one ganglion

infracwsophageum in the head. Are we not therefore entitled to

draw from these facts the conclusion that the head of insects

constitutes but a single segment, especially since we may trace

in many Coleoptera a dorsal and a ventral arcus of it, united in

two deep lines corresponding to sutures on the jugulum? It is

certainly a segment more complicated than the others; but

should we not expect this, since it contains the ganglion supra-

cesophageum, the principal organs of the senses, and the mouth*?

Applying the same views to the Crustacea, we are not entitled

to admit there, any more than in the Insecta, different segments

of the head for the different appendages,—not even in Squilla,

where the eyes and interior antenne are inserted, it is true, on

a separate plate, though a plate which is not analogous to a

true segment Tf.

Keeping in view the requisites of a segment, we may also

arrive at a positive and satisfactory result as to the normal num-

ber of segments composing the abdomen of insects, which has

also been a subject of discussion in the memoir of Prof. Huxley

on the development of Aphis. This result is, that in no case

does the number of abdominal segments exceed nine. In insects

which undergo a complete metamorphosis, this is satisfactorily

proved by the fact that no larva has more than thirteen seg-

ments {,—the first being the head, the three following consti-

tuting the thorax, and the last nine the abdomen. Newport

(Todd’s Cyclopedia) and Westwood (Introd. to the Modern

Classif. of Insects, i. p. 194, and i. p. 240) speak, indeed, of a

fourteenth segment of the body in the larve of aculeate Hy-

menoptera and of the Scarabeide, in lke manner as some

lepidopterologists speak of a fourteenth (anal) segment of cater-

pillars; but it has long ago been proved by Erichson and Stein §

that this supposed tenth segment of the abdomen is nothing.

but the externally protruded anus, analogous to the anal proleg

of the larve of many Coleoptera (which no one ever thought of

considerirg a segment). As the number of segments does not

increase after the larva has escaped from the egg, we cannot

have more{ than nine segments in any insect undergoing a

* T may also mention that those who admit several segments have never

undertaken to state the position which the ganglion suprawsophageum oc~

cupies with regard to these segments.

+ Erichson, Entomographien. Berlin, 1840, p. 17.

+ Some larva, as those of Dytiscide and Hydrophilide, have, however,

but twelve (eight being abdominal).

§ Vergleichende Anatomie der Insecten, i. p. 23, not. 4,

and on the Number of Abdominal Segmenis, in Insects. 177

complete metamorphosis. These nine segments are, however,

but seldom conspicuous in the perfect insects of this division,

and only their dorsal half-segments : the number of ventral half-

segments is always less than that of the dorsal ones, although

both half-segments are equally developed in the /arva. Of the

dorsal half-segments, the last, or even the last two, often disap-

pear at the apex of the abdomen, being retracted within its

cavity during the pupa state; of the ventral half-segments, not

only the last or the last two are retracted at the apex during the

transformation to the perfect state, but also the first, and often

the first and second, disappear externally at the base of the ab-

domen, being usually pushed inwards so as to form a kind of

phragma between the thorax and abdomen. The first conspi-

cuous ventral arcus in the perfect insect is, therefore, not the

one corresponding to the first, but the ventral arcus correspond-

ing to the second or third dorsal arcus*. In this way it is to be

explained how the number of visible ventral half-segments in

perfect insects is often reduced to five, six, or seven, while the

number of the dorsal ones amounts to seven, eight, or nine.

In counting the latter, we have always to begin with the one

which bears the pair of large spiracles, so characteristic already, —

for the first abdominal segment, in the larva, however intimate

the union of that half-segment with the metathorax may be. It

is, for instance, so intimate in the Staphylinide, that even Erich-

son, neglecting the stigmata, considered it for some time as a

part of their metathorax+. It is still more intimate in the Hy-

menoptera aculeata, where the first Segment is severed from the

rest of the abdomen by a more or less deep incision, and is

immoveably applied to the metathorax—constituting that part

which is called by MacLeay, Newport, and Westwood the post-

sentellum of the metathorax ft.

* Erichson, Archiv, 1848, ii. p. 61.

+ Erichson, Archiv, 1845, ii. pp. 80,81; Stein, Vergleichende Anatomie

d. Ins. p. 11.

{ That the so-called postscutellum of the metathorax in Hymenoptera

aculeata is in reality the first dorsal abdominal segment, as contended by

Audouin and Latreille, is not only proved by the size and position of its

stigmata, corresponding to those of the first abdominal segment of the

larva (while the metathorax has nowhere any stigmata), but also by the

changes which take place in the segments during the pupa state. It is the

sizth segment of the larva (second abdominal) which forms the petiolus, by

which what seems to be the whole abdomen is attached to the thoracic por-

tion, the fifth (first abdominal) applying itself intimately during these

changes to the metathorax (Cf. the figures of Ratzeburg, copied by West-

wood, Introd. ii. fig. 86.4 & 5). The three parts of the body, so conspi-

cuous in the Wasp, do not, therefore, as generally believed, exactly corre-

spond to the head, thorax, and abdomen; but the first to the head, the

second to the thorax + first abdominal segment, the third to the abdomen

— the first segment.

178 . Dr. H.Schaum on the Composition of the Head,

When we determine the number of abdominal segments in

those insects undergoing an incomplete metamorphosis*, we

cannot start from the simpler organization of the larva; but we

have here, as in the other section, a safe guide in the stigmata.

With the exception of the last, all the dorsal half-segments of the

abdomen are provided with a pair of spiracles in the soft mem-

brane which connects them with the ventral half-segments ; and

the first is usually remarkable from its large size and its position

on the back of the abdomen. Beginning with the arcus bearing

those stigmata, we count on the back of the abdomen, in both

sexes of Locusta, ten parts, which at first sight appear to be

segments ; but, on a closer examination, we are led to the con-

elusion that the tenth part (called Jamina supraanalis by ortho-

pterologists) is not to be considered as a segment. ‘The first

eight dorsal half-segments are easily identified by their stigmata

(Pl. VI. fig. 1. 1-8); the ninth has no stigmata, and is differently

shaped in both sexes (figs. 1. & 11.9), but is still united by a con-

nective membrane to the last ventral half-segment, while the

tenth (figs. 1. & 11. c), provided on its under side with a pair of

styli (d), and also differently shaped in both sexes, is not con-

nected by a membrane to the ventral segments. The number

of the latter amounts to eight in the male, and to seven in the fe-

male}, the last being differently shaped in both sexes, and bearing

in the male another pair of styli (fig. 1.e). With the last of these

(eighth in the male, seventh in the female), called Jamina sub-

genitalis by orthopterologists, the ninth dorsal half-segment

forms the apex of the abdomen and an involucrum both for the

anus and the sexual organs, the dorsal arcus (9) being the bearer

of the anus, and the ventral arcus (8 or 7) that of the sexual

organs (figs. 1.& 11.,—the position of the rectum in the abdomen

* With regard to the movements which some Neuroptera undergoing

a complete metamorphosis perform as pup, it has lately been denied by

some entomologists that a distinct limit could be traced between a com-

plete and incomplete metamorphosis when they approach the end of this

period: in denying this, however, they lose sight of a fundamental differ-

ence in the organization of the pupa, which does not even admit the pos-

sibility of a passage. In the true pupa, the skin shuts both the mouth

and anus, so that no food can be taken and no feces be discharged; whilst

in the pseudo-pupa of the hemimetabolous insects the mouth and anus are

n, as in the larva and in the perfect insect.

+ The posterior part of the metasternum (PI. VI. fig. 1. M, coloured blue),

expanded between the posterior cox, might easily be taken for the first

ventral segment, as it is separated from the anterior part of the metaster-

num by a deeply impressed line, by which the number of ventral segments

would be raised to nine in the male and to eight in the female. That it is,

however, in reality a part of the metasternum can be ascertained when we

compare it with the corresponding part in Pachytylus (fig. 111.) and Forfiewla

(fig. v.), where there can be no doubt as to its nature.

eae

ere eT eee Ne

and on the Number of Abdominal Segments, in Insects. 179

being indicated in fig. 11. by a double series of red, that of the

vagina by a double series of blue points), The ninth dorsal

segment is thus proved to be the last of the whole body; the

tenth part (c) is nothing but a plate which covers the anus, as

the upper lip covers the mouth, and can as little as the latter,

or the anal proleg of a larva, be considered as a segment,

In Pachytylus migratorius, also, we count nine dorsal segments

in both sexes, eight ventral segments in the male (fig. m1.), and

seven in the female (fig,1v.). The ninth dorsal segment is, in

both sexes, apparently divided by a transverse impressed line into

two; nevertheless in reality it is simple (figs. 11. B 9 & rv. a 9) ;

the lamina supraanalis (c) and the styli(d) are analogous to the

same parts in Locusta. In the male, the last ventral segment

has also on each side a transverse impressed line (fig. 111, B 8),

which might, as in the last dorsal segment, be considered (but

erroneously) as indicating the demarcation of two segments; the

last (seventh) ventral segment of the female (fig.1v. B) is without

any trace of such a line. The ninth dorsal and the last ventral

half-segment, forming the apex of the abdomen (figs. 111,B &ry.a),

involve, as in Locusta, the upper (9) the anus, shut by the /amina

supraanalis(c), the lower (fig. 111.8 8, fig.1v.47) the sexual organs,

which open in the female (fig. tv. 4) between the four parts consti-

tuting the ovipositor (fig. rv. a 0) (as in Locusta, between the four

lamine of the sword, fig. 11. 0), and which are separated in this

case from the anus by a transverse septum (fig. 1v. a d, where the

position of the rectum is, as in Locusta, indicated by a double

series of red, and the position of the-vagina by a double series

of blue points*).

* M. Lacaze Duthiers states, in his memoir on the female genital appa-

ratus of insects (Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1833, vol. xix.), that in Neuroptera,

sip. gp and Hemiptera, three segments (somites) intervene between

the a, which is said to open between the eighth and ninth abdominal

segments and the anus, said to be situated on the eleventh segment. I

have not been able to confirm these statements. In Hemiptera, in accord-

ance with the observations of Fieber (the best monographer of this order),

I never find more than eight dorsal segments. In the Neuroptera with

complete metamorphosis, there cannot be more than nine segments, as the

larve have but nine. In Orthoptera, where the anus and vulva open be-

tween the last dorsal and last ventral arcus, forming an involucrum (the

ninth dorsal and the seventh ventral where that number is greatest), I see

nowhere even the possibility of counting eleven segments, except in

Acridia (Pachytylus), if there the ninth dorsal segment be counted as

double and the /amina supraanalis as a segment, while the transverse

septum (Pl. VI. fig. rv. d) is considered as a venitral half-segment. As to the

view of M. Lacaze Duthiers, that the various female genital organs, such as

sting, borer, ovipositor, &c. (the analogous composition of which in Hymen-

optera had already been proved by Prof.Westwood), are the result of modi-

fications of the ninth abdominal segment, I doubt much whether observa-

tions on the changes of that segment during the pupa state will confirm this

180 Dr. H. Schaum on the Composition of the Head,

In the male of Forficula gigantea, and allied species, there are

also nine dorsal segments (PI. VI. fig. v. 1-9), a lamina supra-

analis (c), which attains here a great size, a pair of forceps ana-

logous to the style (d), and eight ventral segments ; while in the

female there are but seven dorsal and six ventral segments con-

spicuous externally. The lamina supraanalis has in this case

been counted by Prof. Westwood, in a paper on the external

anatomy of Forficula (Trans. Ent. Soc. i. p. 157, pl. 16. fig. 6),

as the ninth dorsal segment of the male, because he erroneously

considered the first abdominal segment (fig. v. 1 & fig. v1.1) as

a part of the metathorax (m), believing that it might thus be

proved that in Forficula at least the metathorax is provided with

a pair of spiracles (which is, however, nowhere the case). There

can be no doubt as to the nature of the part in the apterous genus

Chelidura corresponding to this in the Forficule. It fills there

the posterior sinus of the metathorax, being quite separated from

the latter, and covered at its sides by the produced angles of it,

beneath which the stigmata of the first segment are concealed.

In all these insects, as in all those undergoing a complete

metamorphosis, the number of ventral half-segments is less than

that of the dorsal ones, being eight in the male and seven in

the female of both Locusta and Pachytylus, and being also eight

in the male of Forficula*; and it is, as in the holometabolous

insects, the first dorsal arcus which has no corresponding ventral

arcus.

There remains, however, one group of insects in which, ac-

cording to the general opinion, ten segments of the abdomen,

both the dorsal and ventral half-segments, are fully developed,

view, which, however, could only be proved in that way. Observations

on the pupz of Coleoptera led Erichson to the conclusion that the horny

parts of the genital organs are not modifications of the last segments, but

are developed independently of them (Erichson, Archiv, 1848, ii. p. 62),

In trying to prove his thesis by the composition of those organs in perfect

insects, M. Lacaze Duthiers starts from a theoretical axiom, that each seg-

ment of insects is normally composed of six parts—three tergal ones (one

tergum and two epimera) and three sternal ones (one sternum and two

episterna),—and that it bears a pair of tergal and sternal appendages, called

by him “‘tergorhabdites ” and “sternorhabdites.” He then refers the parts

composing the genital organs to the tergum or epimera, or sternum or

episterna, or tergorhabdites or sternorhabdites of the ninth abdominal seg-

ment. It is, however, only in the wing-bearing segments that six parts

can be really distinguished, and that tergal appendages exist ; and here the

epimera are sternal, and not tergal parts, like the pieces designated by

M. Lacaze Duthiers the epimera of the ninth segment.

* By a mistake which I cannot explain, Prof. Westwood, in his paper on

Forficula (1. ¢. pl. 16. fig. 6), figures the metasternum (PI. VI. fig. v. m), to

which the posterior legs are attached, as the first ventral segment of the

abdomen, and thus enumerates nine ventral segments.

a A i ll ai ee il Rr en a

hee

“

and on the Number of Abdominal Segments, in Insects. 181

and in which the tenth bears the anal appendages—namely, the

Libellule. In these insects what is generally counted as the first

abdominal segment is, however, a posterior part of the meta-

thorax—separated, it is true, by a deep incision and a softer

membrane capable of some extension*, but not by a complete

articulation, from the anterior portion of it. There are two

reasons which seem to settle this point beyond doubt. In the

first place, this apparent segment is destitute of spiracles, the

first of the seven conspicuous pairs of spiracles lying in the con-

nective membrane of the dorsal and ventral arcus of the apparently

second segment}. A first abdominal segment destitute of spira-

cles is without any analogy in the Insecta, while, on the con-

trary, it is a characteristic feature of the metathorax that it never

has spiracles. A second argument in favour of this opinion is,

that the apparently first segment is developed, during the meta-

morphosis of Libellula, in proportion to the growth of the wings.

In the young larva we count only nine abdominal segments, of

which the ninth bears the anal plates; in a larva of moderate

size which has already undergone some moultings, and where

the future wings appear on the back of the thoracic segments,

that part begins to show itself; even in the pseudopupa, previous

to its last transformation, it is still but little developed ; and it

is only in the perfect insect that it completely assumes the shape

of an abdominal segment. The metathorax there attains an

unusual development, but a development quite im proportion to

the posterior wings, which are, in the Lidellule, of even a larger

size than the anterior ones, and which are moved during flight by a

system of proper muscles ; while in other orders, as, for instance,

m Hymenoptera, they are moved by the same system of muscles

as the anterior ones, being connected to them, during flight, by

the hooks of their anterior margin.

According to this view, the penis of the Libellule is situated,

not on the second, as usually stated, but on the first ventral

segment; and the outlets of the generative organs are, in both

sexes, on the eighth, and not on the ninth, ventral segment—

those of the male in the middle, those of the female at the base

of it. In this group the posterior part of the eighth and the

whole ninth ventral segment intervene between the vulva and

the anus, the latter occupying, as usual, the end of the ninth

segment, which bears the anal appendages; and in this group,

also, the nine ventral half-segments are all developed.

Having thus ascertained that in insects the abdomen is as

* A similar soft membrane exists between the anterior and posterior

portions of the mesothorax (scutellum and postscutellum) in the Hymeno-

pterous genus Eupelmus.

T Hagen, Stett. Entom, Zeit. 1853, p, 319.

182 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea.

well defined as is the thorax by the number of segments which

compose it, we may certainly take the three divisions of the body,

as they are constituted in insects, as the standard to which the

segments of the higher Crustacea are to be referred, if we desire

to settle what are their cephalic, thoracic, and abdominal seg-

ments. We will not state, then, that the thorax of Arthropoda

is normally composed of seven segments. In Isopoda and Am-

phipoda, where the part usually called the thorax is divided into

seven leg-bearing segments, the segment corresponding to the

‘prothorax of insects has completely disappeared, its legs being

added to the head in the shape of a lower lip with palpi; the

first and second of the seven leg-bearing segments are analogous

to the meso- and metathorax, and the five others, as well as the

segments of the so-called abdomen, to abdominal segments,—

the abdomen being here, as in all higher Crustacea, composed

of a greater number of segments than in insects, and divided

into an anterior (pectoral) and posterior (caudal) portion*. To

the five segments constituting the pectoral part of the abdomen

in Isopoda the five leg-bearing segments of Decapoda are ana-

logous, whose thoracic segments are all united to the head (their

legs constituting the three pair of accessory masticatory organs)

and whose pectoral portion also enters into the part usually

ealled the cephalothorax +.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VI.

Fig. 1. Locusta viridissima, $ , seen sideways.

Fig. u. The same, 2 ; apex of abdomen.

Fig. 111. A. Pachytylus migratorius, g , seen from beneath,

Fig. 111. 8. Terminal segments of the male of Pachytylus migratorius, seen

sideways.

Fig. tv. a. Pachytylus migratorius, ? ; last abdominal segments, seen side-

ways.

Fig. iv. B. The same, seen from betieath.

Fig. v. Forficula gigantea, 3 ; abdomen seen sideways.

Fig. vi. Forficula gigantea; metathorax (m) and first two abdominal seg-

ments.

XX.—Note on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea.

By H. J. Carrer, F.R.S. &e.

To those who have sought for all that has been published on

the colouring matter of the Red Sea, it will be well known that

the excellent memoirs on this subject by M. C. Montagne in

1844, and M.C. Dareste in 1855 (both in the ‘Ann. des Se.

Nat.,’ the former in sér. 3 (Bot.) t. ii. p. 331, and the latter in

* Erichson, Entomographien, PP. 14-16.

+ Brandt, Medic. Zoolog. ii. p. 58; Erichson, J. ¢. p. 19,

aN Re Pe ee ee Pe ee ee

Ce ee ee ae TT ay ee ee ee eS

Mr. H. J. Carter on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea. 183

sér, 4 (Zool.) t. iii. p. 179), are the most elaborate. But to

Ehrenberg is due the merit of having first described (in 1826)

the nature of the organism from which this colouring matter is

derived. He found it in the Bay of Tor itself, pronounced it to

be an Oscillatoria, and called it Trichodesmium erythreum, which

Montagne has advisedly changed to 7. Ehrenbergii.

No one who has read Montagne’s memoir, and seen his

illustration together with the organism itself, can doubt that the

chief source of the red colour of the Red Sea is owing to the

presence of this little Oscillatoria. Nor can any one doubt, who

who has read M. Dareste’s memoir, that this is not the only

organism which colours the sea red in different parts of the

world.

It was to confirm the observations of the latter, as well as to

record the fact itself, that I wrote the paper in these ‘ Annals”

for 1858 (vol. i. p. 258), entitled “‘ On the Red Colouring Matter

of the Sea on the Shores of the Island of Bombay,” wherein it

is shown that this colour depends on the presence of a Peridi-

nium (P. sanguineum, Cart.) in innumerable quantities, in which

the chlorophyll at first is green, then becomes yellow, and lastly

red, when the latter, mixing with the oil-globules generated

pari passu in the cell, gives rise together to greater opacity, and

thus reflecting more strongly, makes the presence of the Peri-

dinia more evident, and causes the sea in which they are contained

rapidly and almost suddenly to become of a vermilion or minium-

red colour ; after which, the Peridinium falls to the bottom and

thus disappears, as if this were the termination of a cycle in its

existence.

It was not, however (although I had formerly spent many

months on the coasts of Arabia), until returning to England in

June 1862, on board the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s

steamer ‘ Malta,’ that I had an opportunity of seeing the colour

of the Red Sea which is produced by Trichodesmium Ehrenbergit

—a circumstance to which I should not have alluded, had not

Montagne appended to his memoir certain queries which, in

part, I can answer, at the same time that, with much diffidence,

I offer a few remarks on Montagne’s generic characters of

this organism, which are repeated by Kiitzing in his ‘ Species

Algarum.’

Commencing, then, with a short account of my own experience

of Trichodesmium Ehrenbergit in the Red Sea, I would observe

that, on the 3lst of May 1862, when approaching Aden, we

passed through large areas of a yellowish-brown oily-looking

scum on the surface of the sea, and that on the 2nd of June,

when off the Arabian side of the first islands sighted in the

lower part of the Red Sea after leaving Aden, it again appeared,

184 Mr. H.J. Carter on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea.

and we frequently passed through large areas of it, sometimes

continuously for many miles, until we arrived. off Jubal, or the

last island in the upper part of the Red Sea, when, from a calm,

we steamed into a strong northerly breeze accompanied by heavy

sea, and saw no more of it. Once only I saw a portion of bril-

liant red and one of intense green together, in the midst of the

ellow.

; The odour which came from this scum was like that of putrid

chlorophyll, well known to those who have had much to do with

the filamentous Alge, both marine and freshwater, but more

familiarly, to those who have not had this experience, by that

which comes from water in which green vegetables have been

boiled,—and hence very disagreeable.

I drew up some of this scum in a bottle, and found it to be

composed of little short-cut bundles of filaments like Oscillatoria;

for I had only a Coddington lens with me for their observation ;

and on showing them to Mr. Latimer Clark, the well-known

Superintendent for laymg down the telegraph-cable through

the Red Sea, &c., to Kurrachee, who was on board, Mr. Clark

stated that he had observed the same phenomenon in the Sea

of Oman, where he had examined the filaments of the little

bundles with a microscope, and had found them to be “beaded,”

to use his expression, ‘ with rounded extremities.”

On arriving in England, I had no time for examining micro-

scopically the specimens which I had obtained, and which had

been preserved in an equal quantity of alcohol added to the sea-

water in which they had been taken, till January (1863), when

I found the little bundles, which were still just visible to the

unassisted eye, and like so much fine “ sawdust” (to which they

have been aptly and commonly compared by previous observers

who have seen them without knowing what they really were),

varying in point of measurement, although, on the average, per-

haps about 4, inch long by 3,5 broad, containing about twenty-

five to sixty filaments, each of which is about 54, inch long by

ztoo broad, their cells, which of course are so many disks,

being sometimes thinner, sometimes thicker, than the breadth of

the filament, with rounded cells terminately at the extremities

where entire, but square when the latter have been broken off

from the filament. The bundles bore no evidence of an invest-

ing sheath, but of the filaments being held together by mucus

secreted from them generally.

Further into this description I need not enter, except to state

that the cell was a true Oscillatorial one, charged with a few

granules suspended in its protoplasm, and that I saw nothing

like sporidification.

The colour of the bundles to the unassisted eye was still faint

eee te ee ee ee

ATS te ee

Mr. H.J. Carter on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea. 185

yellowish ; but the filaments, under the microscope, were faintly

reen.

: Of the questions proposed by Montagne (op. cit. p. 355), the

second calls for more information on the size of the bundles.

This has been supplied above, so far as my observation extends.

_ The third question calls for information respecting the pre-

sence of Trichodesmium in the Sea of Oman, &c., as bearing upon

the origin of the name “ Erythrean Sea,” applied by Herodotus

to all the seas washing the shores of Arabia.

I have already stated that I saw the scum in the Gulf of Aden,

also that Mr. Latimer Clark had seen it in the Sea of Oman;

and the following extract from the late Dr. Buist’s observa-

tions on the “ Luminous aud Coloured Appearances in the Sea”

(Proceedings of the Bombay Geographical Society for 1855,

p- 120) will show that it exists in the upper part of the Indian

Ocean. The account from which this is taken was communi-

eated to Dr. Buist by Dr. Haines, as witnessed on board the

* Maria Soames,’ in lat. 21° N. and long. 42° E., and it stands

thus :—

“In May 1840, when one-third across from Aden to Bombay,

the aspect of the sea suddenly changed upon us, and at once -

seemed as if oil had been poured upon its surface. It was still

as a mill-pond, and of a brownish, soapy hue. The water, on

being examined, was full of little fibrils, like horsehair cut

across, in lengths of the tenth of an inch or so. A wine-glass

full of it contained hundreds of them.... We sailed through

them for about five hours; so thatthey probably extended over

a surface of 500 miles.”

The occurrence, then, of Trichodesmium Ehrenbergii in the

Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, and the Sea of

Oman is so far substantiated; and as the yellow colour in all

instances probably passes into red, we have apparently the ex-

planation of the whole of these seas having been called by the

Greeks “Erythrean.” I have not, however, heard whether it

has been seen in the Persian Gulf.

Further, we learn from M. Dareste’s memoir (op. cit. p. 208)

that Joao de Castro, in July 1841, when off Cape Fartak, which

is about the middle of the south-east coast of Arabia, found the

sea so red that it appeared as if it had been coloured with bul-

locks’ blood.

In my own experience of the Sea of Oman and the whole

shore-sea of the south-east coast of Arabia from Muscat to Aden,

where, under its survey, I passed all the months of the years

1844-45 and of 1845-46, with the exception of those of the

stormy monsoon, viz. June, July, August, and September, the

presence of the scum above described never, to my knowledge,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 13

186 Mr. H.J. Carter on the Colouring Matter of the Red Sea.

was once observed. I am therefore inclined to infer that it is

chiefly confined to the sea some distance off shore. Yet Ehren-

berg, in 1823, saw the Bay of Tor covered with it, even up to

the sands.

Lastly, I would advert, but, as before stated, with much diffi-

dence, to that part of the generic characters of Trichodesmium

Ehrenbergii in which we find the expression “ prime rubro-san-

guinea, tandem virides,”’ first used by Montagne (/. ¢. p. 346),

and then repeated by Kiitzing in his ‘ Species Algarum,’ because

the facts connected with the accounts given of those who have

seen the scum formed by Trichodesmium, together with my own

experience of Alge generally, lead me to the opposite conclu-

sion, viz. that Trichodesmium is at first green, and subsequently

becomes red.

It is true that its chief colour in the Bay of Tor, when seen

by Ehrenberg, was red; it was red, like “red sawdust,” when

seen by M. E. Dupont in the Red Sea (ap. Montagne, /. ¢.) :

but, on the other hand, what I saw in the Gulf of Aden and in

the Red Sea, together with what Mr. Latimer Clark saw in the

Sea of Oman, and Dr. Haines, as above stated, in the Indian

Ocean, was nearly all of a yellow oily colour; and this is the

appearance that I have heard generally assigned to it by those

who have been in the habit of traversing the seas mentioned.

Next to the yellow colour, red is the most prevalent, and

green least of all. Some of that seen by Ehrenberg was in-

tensely green ; this was the case also with the green portion

that I saw with the red above noticed; while Ehrenberg saw

other portions of a less green colour. So much for what has

been stated respecting the colours under which Trichodesmium

has appeared.

We come now to the usual course presented by other Alge

in arriving at a red colour. If we take the Peridinium which

colours the sea red on the shores of the island of Bombay, we

shall find, as above stated, that it is at first green, then yellowish,

and lastly red. In the green stage, the contents of the cell are

so thin and watery that they easily allow the light to traverse

them, and thus the Peridinium passes unobserved; but as they

become inspissated, oil-globules generated, and the chlorophyll

changed first to yellow and lastly to red, these contents become

more opake; and thus the Peridinium, by reflecting much more

light than it did at first, comes rapidly into notice, and by its

numbers gives a general red colour to that part of the sea in

which it may be present. The same is frequently, indeed com-

monly, the course with Euglena in freshwater ponds. The little

Protococeus which colours the salt red in the salt-pans of the

Island of Bombay, is green in the active period of its existence,

Mr. H. J. Carter on the Colouring Matter of the Red Séa. 187

but becomes red, and settles down into the “ still form” of the

same colour ; while the common green Protococcus of the fresh-

water tanks loses its red spot in the still form, and gains it again

in the active or reproducing period of its existence. So red

Euglene often become green ; but the usual course appears to be

for the green to appear first.

The red colour also appears to herald the termination of

‘some period in the existence of the species. Thus the Peri-

dinitum above mentioned, after becoming red, loses its cilia,

assumes the still form, and sinks to the bottom. The same is

the case with the Protucoccus of the salt-pans of Bombay; but

instead of adhering to the salt, it seeks out and settles upon the

erystals of carbonate of lime that are among those of the salt.

The chlorophyll changes from green to red also in some of the

resting spores of the confervoid Algz, as in Spheroplea* and in

Protococcus pluvialis, where also in both it becomes green again

on germination, which led Cohn to state that the green colour

is connected with “ vegetation ” or the early part of the existence

of the individual, and the red with “ fructification ” or the ter-

mination}. So that, altogether, the passage of the colour from

green to red in the filament seems to be more likely than the -

opposite,

Thus, as the evidence regarding Trichodesmium in the seas above

mentioned is more, if anything, in favour of its yellow than its

red colour, and that it is also sometimes green, while, in the com-

mon course, where Algz present red and green colours in their

respective cycles of existence the latter appears first, and the

Peridimum above mentioned passes from green to yellow and

then to red, &c., it seems not unreasonable to infer that Tricho-

desmium Ehrenbergii does the same, and that, therefore, so

much of Montagne’s generic characters of Trichodesmium Ehren-

bergii as relate to its colour (viz. that it is “at first red and at

length green”’) should be reversed.

If it were desirable to adduce evidence of the faint green

colour which Trichodesmium probably presents in the first stage

of its existence, from the observation, too, of probably the same

organism in other parts of the world, one might cite those of

Péron, who likens it to “ poussiére grisatre,’ and of Darwin,

who compares it to “cut hay,” &c. (op. cit.); but it seems better

for this argument not to go beyond the seas washing the shores

of Arabia.

To what the “intense green,” under which this organism

sometimes presents itself in the Red Sea, owes its production I

am ignorant, unless it be indicative of sporidification, which,

* Cohn, Ann. des Sc. Nat. 4¢ sér. t. vy. p- 187.

+ Ray Soe. Vol, for 1853, p. 519,

13%

188 Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

from what I think that I have seen in Oscillatoria princeps,

seems to take place in this family, not from the conjugation of

its cells, but from the division of their contents into zoospores.

Much therefore remains to complete the history of this little

plant ; and this, unfortunately, can only be obtained by watching

it long and narrowly in its proper habitat.

XXI.—On the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

By Prof. Ferpinanp Conn*,

Pror. Coun commences his interesting essay by remarking that,

though modern discovery has rendered the boundary-line obscure

between the animal and the vegetable kingdoms, with respect

to the lowest organisms in each, yet the differential characters

between the higher forms of each subkingdom remain sufficiently

well marked. Nevertheless the phenomena of irritability and

of movement in parts of many higher plants bear a general re-

semblance to those presented by the tissues of the higher classes

of animals, though their active cause has been attributed to

mechanical forces in connexion with structural peculiarities.

Cohn addresses himself to the question whether these mechanical

hypotheses are sufficient and satisfactory, or whether the move-

ments and irritability of plants are not referable to structures

homologous with those concerned in their production and mani-

festation in animals.

To solve this interesting question, Cohn appeals to observa-

tions made by himself and by a talented pupil, M. Krabsch, who

was induced by the Professor to repeat, in the first instance, the

old experiments of Treviranus and Morren on the irritability of

the filaments of Centaurea, as a prelude to new researches.

Kohlreuter established the fact of the irritability of the stamens

of Scolymus hispanicus, Serratula arvensis, Cynara scolymus,

and C. cardunculus, Onopordum arabicum, Centaurea moschata,

C. mgra, C. spinosa, and C. ragusina, Cineraria, Scabiosa glasti-

folia, S. benedicta, 8. eriophora, and S. salmantica, Buphthalmium

maritimum, Cichorium intybus, and C. endivia, and Hieracium

sabaudum. Sowerby noticed the contractility of the anthers in

Centaurea Isnardi, and L. C. Trevtranus made a particular study

of the movements of the filaments of Centaurea pulchella, whilst

Morren did the same for those of the Centaurea ruthenica.

Krabsch especially studied the movements of the anthers of

Centaurea macrocephala.

* Translated, in abstract, from the ‘Abhandlungen der Schlesischen

Gesellschaft fiir vaterlindische Cultur,’ Heft i. 1861, by J.T, Arlidge, M.B.

& A.B. (Lond.).

ETE a Le ee Oe OE Ra TY re Oe eee ee ee ee ee es

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 189

To witness the phenomena of motion and irritability in the

stamens, it is only necessary to isolate a floret, as of Centaurea,

and to cut away one-half of the corolla im such a manner as to

expose the stamens, from their point of attachment, their whole

length. After a period of rest of a few minutes, the filaments,

which have hitherto been straight and in close apposition with

the central style, are seen to curve themselves outwards, leaving,

however, their terminal anthers still closely applied to the upper

part of the style. This bending proceeds until it reaches its

maximum, when each filament stands out in a half-circle from

the style. On now touching a filament with a needle, they all,

so to speak, collapse and resume their vertical direction and

close apposition with the style. Bearing in mind the fact that

the filaments are fixed at their two extremities (at the upper by

the anthers, which are immoveable, and at the lower by their

insertion into the receptacle of the floret), it becomes evident

that, to produce the remarkable curvature they exhibit, they

must undergo considerable elongation. Indeed, the degree of

curvature does not represent the whole amount of elongation ;

for the filaments necessarily affect the length of the anthers by |

the tension exercised upon them. The extent to which they pull

upon the anthers may be demonstrated by cutting across one or

more of them, when the lower half becomes drawn apart from

the upper, and thrust upwards above the line of section. The

maximum of this movement of the cut filament is stated to be

half a millimétre.

The movements of the filaments in two species of Centaurea

(viz. C. macrocephala and C. americana) were carefully measured

by means of the micrometer, due regard being given to the tem-

perature, time of day, and other conditions likely to influence

the phenomenon. These measurements are given in detail; but

it is unnecessary to copy them here, and we shall content our-

selves by stating the general results of Cohn’s inquiries.

1. The touching of a filament of Centaurea is at once followed

by shortening, which, in its extent, bears a direct relation to the

intensity of the irritation produced.

2. The irritated filament undergoes shortening in its entire

length. All other parts of the flower seem incapable of a similar

process.

8. The shortening commences from the moment of contact,

and proceeds rapidly (though not so much so as to appear in-

stantaneous) until it attains its maximum. A sudden act of

irritation, as with a needle, induces the most complete contraction.

4. Hence it also follows that the impulse to shortening is

transmitted from the point irritated to both ends of the filament,

or from one end to the other.

190 = Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

5. The degree of shortening varies according to the age of

the stamens, the temperature, and other influences which exalt

or reduce their irritability, as, for instance, the integrity of the

flower, and the condition of the other filaments when irritation

is applied to one of their number.

6. The medium degree of shortening, in thirty-one measure-

ments, was rather above twelve-thousandths of a Viennese line,

or about one-eighth of the length of the filaments. Thus, a fila-

ment which, when extended, is12 millimétres in length, shortens,

when touched, to 10°5 mill. This estimate is within the truth;

for the whole amount of contraction cannot be measured.

7. Immediately after the shortening has attained its maxi-

mum, elongation commences, and proceeds much more rapidl

at first than subsequently. The curve, consequently, is mue

more abrupt at first, and of a larger arc afterwards. The same

law obtains in the case of muscle after irritation.

8. The interval between the maximum contraction and the

maximum extension varies in length : the medium time is about

ten minutes; but in some instances only six, and in others fif-

teen, minutes elapse. The irritability depends greatly on the

age of the flower : it is greatest when the style has not yet fully

extended itself beyond the yet closed anthers encircling it; and

it is lost when the style has reached its maximum length and

the anther-cells are divergent, although the corolla do not then

show the least sign of withering. It therefore follows that the

period at which the stigma can be impregnated is subsequent to

the loss of irritability on the part of the stamens.

9. By repeated irritation, a maximum contraction may be ob-

tained and kept up for some time. Whether the irritability of

the organ undergoes diminution, and may be eventually de-

stroyed by long repeated excitation, is not determined. The de-

cision of this question is theoretically of much moment ; for if

such decrease and loss occur, then the phenomenon of fatigue,

as witnessed in muscular fibre, ranks also as a property of the

irritable substance of plants. To solve the question, an appeal

may be made to other plants exhibiting irritability, such as the

Berberis, Mimosa, Drosera, and Dionea; and in the two last-

named examples experiment has positively shown that too often

repeated contact paralyzes the irritability of their leaves.

10. By prolonged irritation of the stamens, their subsequent

extension is found to decrease progressively, both in degree and

in the rapidity with which it occurs.

11. The capacity of shortening themselves, even irrespectively

of the irritation of an external excitant, continues in the fila-

ments for a considerable time, though it gradually declines.

12. At first sight it might be supposed that the shortening

BAITED ee ae ee

pels

Ba a a i a

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 191

of the filaments independently of the operation of external ex-

citants is a consequence of the drying up of their tissue ; but

such is not the case.

- 18, 14. On the contrary, this shortening is a consequence of

an active process of contraction. That it does not depend on

desiccation of the organs, Cohn proved by contriving in some

experiments to keep them moist, and in others to immerse the

whole sexual apparatus in water. In the former series the

= of contractility remained, whilst in the latter their capa-

ility of rapidly shortening themselves on the application of an

excitant was almost instantaneously lost, though, after a time, it

gradually revived,

15. From these experiments it was undeniably established

that the filaments have their maximum length at the epoch of

their highest irritability, and that subsequently they con-

tinuously and gradually contract, and also that this phenome-

non is not dependent on the hygroscopic conditions of the parts.

These facts necessarily imply that a direct relation subsists be-

twixt the contractility of the filaments, the loss of their irritability,

and the gradual death of their tissue. To demonstrate this,

Cohn subjected the prepared sexual apparatus of a floret to

ether, with the view of destroying its vitality by the vapour,

when he found that the filaments shortened themselves greatly,

whilst the style remained unchanged. To obviate the desiccating

effects of the ether-vapour on the tissue in this experiment, he

introduced water so as to keep the parts moist.

- 16. Mechanical contact is not the only excitant to active con-

traction, but electricity is so likewise, and acts powerfully when

the current is transmitted through the sexual apparatus. More-

over, when the current is strong, the shortening is not succeeded,

as after ordinary stimulation of the filaments, by elongation ;

on the contrary, their irritability is destroyed, and they remain

shortened. Parallel phenomena have been noted by Schlacht

and Pfluger in the leaves of Mimosa pudica when an induction-

current traverses them; and by Nasse in the stamens of Ber-

beris. The effects of a continued constant current Cohn has not

yet been able to determine.

17. From the observations made, it is presumable that the

lasting and permanent shortening of the filaments, with loss of

irritability, is a symptom of its extinction, whether produced

rapidly by ether-vapour, by water, or by strong electrical action,

or whether it happens spontaneously and gradually. The short-

ening also appears in all cases, under similar circumstances, to

advance at a constant minimum rate, whatever may be the cause

of the extinction of irritability.

The proximate active agent in the process of shortening is the

192 Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

elasticity of the cell-tissue, or the property to which a structure

owes its permanence of form and its capability of renewing that

form after disturbance from any cause. Moreover, the elastic

powers of the stamens differ, as in muscle, under different cir-

cumstances. In the irritable stage the elasticity is great, but the

extensibility small; and on the contrary, when the irritability is

lost, the elasticity is decreased, and the filaments can then be

readily extended. Still the elasticity remains so far as to assert

its power by shortening the filaments when the extending force

is removed ; and this holds true even after their vitality has

ceased.

18. We may probably arrive at a better apprehension of the

phenomena detailed by endeavouring to discover in what tissues

the contracting and the extending forces of the irritable stamens

reside. The filaments of Centaurea are composed of very deli-

cate cells, mostly somewhat longer than broad. Their softness

or delicacy is so great that they are easily crushed by the glass

cover in a microscopical examination. They are cellulose in

chemical composition, and covered by an epidermis consisting of

still larger though very delicate cells, three to four times as long

as broad. Their outline is gently undulating, and their proto-

plasm is thick and coarsely granular; externally they give off

conical-cylindrical hairs from over the septa between adjoining

cells, so that these hairs are themselves divided by the longitu-

dinal septa, being, as it were, prolonged into them. A cuticle

encloses both the epidermic ‘or epithelial cells and the hairs

growing from them. In the interior of each filament is a bun-

dle of spiral vessels with prosenchyma-cells and air-passages.

The question is, whether the cellular structure possesses, as a

whole, the extending and contractile power, or whether the several

tissues distinguishable have different and special functions.

Microscopic examination can afford no positive answer to this

question ; but the following deductions may be made :—

a. The contraction proceeds in the cell-structure at large. If

not, contraction would involve folds or wrinkles at parts; and

such are not discoverable. ’ 4.: On the other hand, the vascular

bundle in the centre exhibits no activity in the process of con-

traction; for in a contracted filament the vessels are not in a

state of tension, but wavy. c. The stretching of the different

parts varies in degree'greatly ; for when a filament is slit longi-

tudinally, it curves itself: spirally, and so that the cut surface

occupies the convex side. This shows that the tissues nearest

the epidermis undergo greater shortening. Morren has made

the remark that the centre of motile stamens possesses contrac-

tile power, and that the superficial epidermis and cuticle consti-

tute the elastic portion; but Cohn inclines to the opinion that

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 198

the entire parenchyma possesses the properties of extensibility

and contractility, together with those of contractility and elasti-

city; but he would not deny that probably the different layers

of cells partake of these properties in various degrees.

19. Another question is, supposing contractility to reside in

the cells, whether the cell-membranes or their contents are the

active agents in its manifestation. Dutrochet’s hypothesis of

endosmose as the cause of plant-movements has given place to

the hypothesis of Hofmeister; and Cohn is disposed to believe

that the primordial layer or the proteme contents are endowed

with contractility, and that the enclosing cellulose membrane

gives the required elasticity to cells.

20. It is, again, necessary to determine whether the changes

in form of contractile cells are exclusively effected by the shorten-

ing of the long diameter which may be actually recognized,

Cohn can give no decisive opinion on this matter, but presumes

that the decrease in length must be followed by an increase in

the width of the cells. But, even after the solution of these

questions, the problem would remain unsolved, On what histo-

logical qualities and relations does the circumstance depend,

that cells should by irritation undergo a change of form, and, —

whilst contracting in one dimension, expand in another? But

the same difficulty prevails with regard to animal contractile

tissue on these physiological points.

21. On comparing together the several observations adduced,

two interpretations are possible. In the filament of Centaurea

two properties exist in a state of antagonism—-viz. elasticity, a

physical property independent of vitality, and seated in the cell-

wall, and an expansive power, associated with living action, and

probably referable to the cell-contents (the primordial lamina).

So long as the living filament retains its irritability, the property

of expansion predominates, and the filaments are consequently

extended and curved, and most so when they are exempt from

irritation, though still in a considerable degree after having been

temporarily shortened in consequence of irritation. Again, as

the expansive energy declines with the vitality of the filaments,

the elasticity comes more and more into play, and causes a pro-

gressive shortening of those organs. Irritation acts in a certain

measure as a momentary and partial death, and paralyzes the

expansive power ; and when the vitality of the stamens actually

vanishes, elasticity assumes the entire sway, and gives rise to

a maximum degree of shortening. Thus, according to this in-

terpretation, the shortening of the cells after an external irrita-

tion is peculiarly a passive phenomenon; and the active power

is displayed in their extension during life in general, and par-

ticularly during the period of elongation.

194 Prof. F.Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

22. Another interpretation offers itself when the above ob-

servations are viewed in comparison with those made respecting

the contractile tissue in animals; and although, in the higher

animals, contractility is found in association with highly organ-

ized muscular fibre and nerve-tissue, yet, in the lowest animal

organisms, contractility and irritability exist even without the

formation of distingt cells, as in the sarcode of Hydra, of Amebe,

&c. ; consequently these properties as exhibited in plants become

more correctly comparable with such similar endowments in the

animal kingdom. The comparison of vegetable contractile tissue

with true muscular structure can, indeed, be only by way of

analogy, and not of homology.

23. The greatest analogy obtains between the smooth organic

museles of animals and the contractile tissue of plants. The

effect of contraction on muscle is to shorten and thicken it:

this effect is speedy, but the subsequent elongation more gra-

dual; this latter likewise proceeds in a curvilinear manner,

similar to what may be seen in the contractile filament of the

plants. However, the contraction of muscular tissue exceeds in

extent that witnessed in the contractile substance of the plant.

Again, in muscle, contractility is opposed to elasticity; for,

like the filament, muscular fibre is endowed with a small amount

of elasticity. The degree of elasticity of muscle is smaller, and

the extensibility greater, in the contracted than in the extended

condition ; and, though not demonstrated, it appears probable

that the contracted filaments are more readily and largely ex-

tensible than the outstretched ones.

Further experiments are needed to decide whether the elastic

property of the contractile filaments in all cases follows the same

laws as Weber has clearly proved to exist in muscles.

The most powerful excitant of muscle is electricity, by the

medium, however, of the nerves. Its operation is nevertheless

similar in the case of the motile filaments. Mechanical con-

tact operates alike in the two structures, and affects the entire

length of the contractile organ. But, besides electricity, there

are several other stimulants of muscular energy, such as warm

and cold water, vegetable poisons, prussic acid, ether, and chlo-

roform, not yet experimented upon in the case of the stamens of

Centaurea, but which, judging from their action on Mimosa

pudica, may be presumed to react on their irritability much as

they do on that of muscles.

24, With the facts now advanced, the differences subsisting

between the motory phenomena of contractile filaments and of

muscular fibre may be examined and compared. Now, the ex-

tended condition is considered to represent the passive and

normal state of muscle,.and its contraction an active condition

PES, NN ee ee ee Ee EN ee Ney ae ee Se

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 195

opposed to the natural elasticity of its tissue. On the contrary,

in the filaments of the plant, elasticity seems to act as the

shortening agent, and to represent the passive condition, whilst

extension or elongation appears to be a state of activity. A

difference such as this implies in the active causes in operation

in the contractile parts of plants and animals is, however, not

probable. Indeed, presuming the physiology of museular action,

as generally taught, to be correct, we may still assume that the

eontraction of the filaments, like that in muscle, is a sequel to

the operation of an active force—of contractility—which has

been suspended in consequence of irritation, and also associated,

as is true of muscle at the moment of its activity, with a change

in the elasticity of the tissues.

25. We should be in a better position towards understanding

the true relations between the contractility of plant- and of ani-

mal tissue did we rightly comprehend the remarkable contrae-

tion which the withered filaments undergo. So far as concerns

the fact itself, it appears not to be without analogies in the

animal kingdom, among the lowest classes endowed with con-

tractile parenchyma. For instance, in Amcebee and Foramini- ©

fera, the contractile processes are retracted on the application of

an excitant, and also on the approach of death, and the whole

animal shrinks into a smaller compass. So it is in Vorticella

and in Stentor, and also in Hydra. Such analogy is more ob-

scure in the muscles of the higher animals ; yet Cohn believes

that the rigidity after death is a fact of the same class.

26. It is improbable that contractility as exhibited in the

stamens of Centaurea should be an isolated phenomenon in the

vegetable kingdom. On the contrary, a very large number of

facts are on record respecting many plants, parallel in kind to

those detailed. The peculiar phenomena attributed to vegetable

“irritability” are of this order: such are the movements of the

stamens of Berberis, Cactus, Cistus, &c., of the anthers of Ges-

neracez and of the Stylidez, of the labella of some Orchidez,

of the leaves of many Leguminose, Oxalidacee, Droseracee, &c.,

of the climbing stems and tendrils of many climbing plants and -

ereepers—all more or less affected by external excitants, electri-

eal, chemical, and mechanical, To the same category belong

also those phenomena described as the sleep of plants (regulated

by and dependent upon the intensity of light), the movements

of all younger parts of plants towards the light, and those

changes in form, lately remarked by Hofmeister, in all young

shoots and leaves, which become curved by mechanical shaking.

27. It has been generally assumed that these phenomena of ir-

ritability in plants have nothing in common with those witnessed

in animals, but are to be explained by the action of some me-

196 = Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

chanical forces. Hofmeister’s researches have sct aside the

hypothesis of Dutrochet, of endosmotic force called into play by

excitants ; but the theory advanced in its place, that the move-

ments are not dependent on shortening, but on an augmented

expansion or turgescence as the effect of excitation, cannot itself

be maintained. In this hypothesis, the pith, as being very full

of sap, is assumed to take the most important part in producing

the movements—an assumption which Cohn shows, from @ priorz

considerations, to be untenable. Moreover, the positive fact

above advanced, of the occurrence of shortening when a part is

irritated, stands in direct opposition to this general hypothesis

of Hofmeister; for, without doubt, the movements of the young

shoots are of a similar nature to those of the stamens exhibited

in Centaurea.

28. Cohn has, from the researches entered into, arrived at

the conviction that the accepted dogmas of physiology are erro-

neous in ascribing sensation and motion to animals as charac-

teristics—a conviction further strengthened by all the newly

observed facts relative to the lowest grades of animal life, and

the distinctions existing between animals and plants. Sensation

in the higher animals is linked with sensory perception or sensi-

bility, and with a medium of connexion between the sensorium

and surface in the system of nerves; but in the lowest animals

this complex apparatus is absent, and the whole tissue responds

to impressions from without, these latter operating by the exist-

ence of what is called “irritability,” or of a degraded sort of

sensation. This low form of sensation must be also attributed

to plants ; for these organisms exhibit it in a threefold manner :

1st, by the property of receiving impressions from without, 2. e.

by irritability; 2ndly, by the property of responding to such

impressions by internal movements and by changes in form, i. e.

by contractility; and 3rdly, by the power of propagating these

impressions from their point of contact to the tissues and parts

around, which are themselves, as a result, thrown into action,

i.e. by diffusibility of impressions. The action of excitants in

developing irritability and calling forth movements is not simply

and directly dependent on their mechanical, physical, or chemical

characters, but the organized tissue has an organic modifying

power upon them, and the irritation gives rise to internal move-

ments resulting in change of form, the suspension of elasticity,

or the production of heat, &c. This organic power is the vis

nervosa of Haller.

29. When an act of irritation is propagated within the tissue,

this again is dependent on an internal motor power, called into

activity by the external impression, without which the internal

movements necessary to diffusion could not take place. Thus,

eS st ae, ee ee oe

a ee a ae ee

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 197

when a nerve is mechanically, chemically, or electrically injured,

and the muscles in relation with it are thrown into activity, this

happens not by transmission of the mechanical or other force,

but by the calling forth of a motor nerve-force which propagates

itself along the nerves.

On applying flame to a leaflet in the compound leaf of Mimosa

pudica, it is not only that particular leaflet that is affected (for

if so, it might be fairly attributable to the direct effect of the

heat); but all the other leaflets, and the entire leaf, including its

attachment to the stem, are similarly affected, and collapse ; and

what is more, the direction of the propagation of the impulse

varies according to the point at which it impinges. Indeed, it

is impossible to reduce these movements to the level of mecha-

nical results ; and the same holds true when electrical is substi-

tuted for mechanical force.

All such facts and considerations concur in proving that the

propagation of external excitation in Mimosa proceeds in the

same mode as in animals; and there is little doubt that the

vascular bundles constitute the special tissue adapted for this

object, and that the phenomena of contractility depend upon a

muscular tissue.

Though not so perfectly, these properties are also displayed in

Dionea, Drosera, and the stamens of Centaurea. The filaments

of the last named contract themselves in their entire length

when only one point is touched; and the act of contraction

manifests itself by undulatory movements, just as in organic

muscle. This fact is best shown by preparing the flower of

Centaurea so that the filaments are left by themselves, attached

below, but set free above by having the anthers dissevered from

them. This done, the filaments curve themselves gently out-

wards, and look like the arms of a Hydra extended. In this

state any one of the filaments may be irritated (as by the point

of a needle), with the effect of inducing a series of movements ;

these at first being a bending of the fibre towards the side on

which it is touched, followed by curvature to the opposite side,

and, lastly, by undulatory movements along its entire length.

On irritating the five filaments on different aspects, they are

bent about in various directions, curving over and crossing one

another.

So far, however, as observation has extended, it would seem

that in Centaurea, Dionea, and Drosera the power of conduction

of external impressions is not located in any one tissue, but

equally partaken by all, as is seen in the instance of those lowest

animals that are destitute of definite nervous and muscular

tissue.

30. On now collecting the facts that energetic movements

198 ~— Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Planis.

as the result of irritation are seldom observed in the vegetable

kingdom, but that the anatomical structure of irritable tissues

presents no appreciable characteristic peculiarities not seen in

other vegetable tissue, and that the suceptibility to the excita-

tion of light, as well as to that of mechanical and probably of

electrical impulse, is possessed by all young vigorous tissues ;

and further, on comparing these phenomena with those of ani-

mal irritability, the conclusion forces itself upon us, that the

faculty of responding to external irritation by internal move-

ments and changes of form belongs to cells as such, and holds

good as well in the vegetable as in the animal kingdom. To be

irritable, to change its normal form as a result of excitation, and

to revert to it after a while by its inherent elasticity, are charac-

teristics of the living cell. In plants, these properties are met

with only when the vital processes are in full activity, and there«

fore are particularly noticed during the period of flowering,

when those processes are at their maximum. And here it may

be remarked that the stamens, in which irritability is more fre-

quently noticed, are the only organs in which an elevation of

temperature, measureable by the thermometer, occurs, although

doubtless a certain degree of heat is generated in all plant-cells

by the chemical processes going on within them. So soofi as

the processes of life in an organ begin to fail in power, so soon

also does their irritability decline, so far, at least, as its external

manifestations are concerned.

These circumstances suggest a reason for the rarity of the

phenomena of irritability and contractility existing in any con-

siderable degree in plant-cells; but they furnish no ground for

concluding that irritable tissues possess properties not to be

found in other vegetable tissues; on the contrary, it is to be

supposed that similar properties belong to all, but exist in an

intensified degree, and for a certain epoch, in those parts where

their results arrest observation. There is a difficulty in believing

that, in possessing the faculties of sensation and motion, the

animal kingdom, including its lowest and most simple repre-

sentatives, partakes of vital endowments entirely denied to

plants for the sole reason of their being plants.

There is a physiological differentiation in the organs and cells

of the higher animals, which progressively declines as we descend

the scale of animal life; and we find in the lower grades of ani-

mals the same tissue, and this, too, in a less elaborated form,

carrying on functions which, in the higher, are shared in by two

or more highly organized special structures. The same holds

good in a higher degree with respect to plants, in which, as @

rule, one and the same cell performs all the functions necessary

to life, though in some cases certain cells are constituted into

yt ee

i a Te. ee | a ee ee ee ey

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 199

a homogeneous tissue for the more special (but by no means the

exclusive) performance of one or other of those functions. The

hypothesis now contended for is, that plant-cells possess irrita-

bility and contractility as do animals, though in a much less

complete manner, and without the mechanism of the specially

devised tissues—muscle and nerve. And whoever will deny to

plants the property of responding by movements to the act of

irritation because they possess neither muscles nor nerves, by

similar reasoning should deny their capability of taking up

nourishment because they have neither mouth nor stomach, or

their power to circulate the sap because they have no heart,

or their faculty of respiration because they are destitute both of

lungs and gills. In short, the plant has, by the medium of the

simple cell alone, to accomplish all that is effected in the higher

animals by different organs in a more complete and efficient

manner. :

31. In the foregoing discussion, Cohn has contented himself

by assigning to vegetable tissue the property of irritability and

the power of responding to irritation, or the function of con-

tractility ; and he would leave to a more imaginative dissertation

the task of claiming for plants the possession of localized sensa-

tion, of consciousness, and of volition—properties which, in his

apprehension, are absent also in the lowest forms of animal

existence. ; :

If sensation, as manifested in animals, could be predicated of

tissues which respond by movements to external irritation and

in consequence of it, no difficulty would be found in proving its

existence in the vegetable kingdom, and particularly by reference

to the influence of light upon the green parts of plants, the

leaves and stems, in the production of correlative movements.

32. The movements of the contractile filaments of Centaurea

must be acknowledged as having a special purpose when the

process of fructification in this plant and its allies is studied.

The anthers in Cynaree reach maturity before the stigma.

When the apex of the style has as yet not advanced in length

beyond the surrounding ring of anthers, the pollen already dis-

tends, and exudes from, the cavities of the anthers. If at this

period, when the irritability of the filaments is at its maximum,

the floret be touched, the filaments are immediately shortened,

and the anthers, as a consequence, are simultaneously retracted;

a quantity of lumpy pollen is at the same time seen to be ex-

truded from the apices of the anthers. However, this pollen is

not in a condition to fructify the stigma, in consequence of the

peculiar disposition of hairs upon the nodule supporting the

fissured apex, which prevent the passage upwards of the pollen

to the yet closed stigma-orifice ; and it is not until after the

200 Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants.

filaments have lost their irritability that the stigma and pollen

are mutually fitted for the process of fructification. This extru-

sion of pollen on primary contact has, upon such grounds, been

designated * pollution” by Meyer. From the above facts, it

follows that the several florets in the flower of Centaurea, although

they have their anthers and stigma in immediate contact, are

nevertheless incapable of self-fructification, are only apparently

hermaphrodite, and, in point of fact, dichogamie.

It is further remarkable that the pollen-grains remain united’

in lumps, and therefore less diffusible in the currents of air as

dust ; and consequently the fructification, in these as in many

other plants, is effected by the agency of insects. When an

insect alights on a flower of Centawrea, it produces by its con-

tact a retraction of the irritable filament and anther, and at the

same moment a discharge of pollen from the apex of the latter,

which adheres to the legs of the insect, and serves to fructify,

not the stigma of that particular floret, which as yet is, in fact,

unfit for the process, but the female organ of some other floret,

arrived at maturity, in the same or, it may be, in some other

flower.

The researches of K6hlreuter and others prove that this process

prevails throughout the entire family of Cynarez, and affords an

explanation of the frequency of bastard forms in this section of

the Composit, and particularly in the genus Cirsiwn. Conrad

Sprengel has pointed out that the sexual organs in Carduus

nutans do not simultaneously reach maturity, and that therefore

the florets are dichogamic. K6hlreuter also states that the fila-

ments in Cichorium intybus and Hieracium sabaudum are equally

irritable with those of Centaurea; and the frequency of bastard

forms in the Hieracez renders it probable that their florets are also

dichogamic. The same condition is moreover presumable in the

ease of other plants with syngenetic stamens, particularly in that

of the Campanulacez, Lobeliaceze, Violacese, &c.

Kohlreuter has likewise announced the fact of the irritability

of the filaments in Cactez and Cistinez ; and those of the former

tribe offer themselves as peculiarly adapted to further researches

on this matter, and particularly with relation to the effects of

electricity on the contractile tissue of plants. The physiology of

contractile tissues is still in its infancy; but we anticipate that its

more profound investigation will only supply additional evidence

in favour of the proposition which we believe is the starting-

point for general physiology and the science of development,

viz., that the principle of life, both in the animal and vegetable

kingdom, is one and the same, multifariously diversified by dif-

ferent gradations in organization, and that all vital phenomena

of living organisms are referable to the life of the cell,

ae ee

“a SEE ES

Prof. F. Cohn on the Contractile Tissue of Plants. 201

33. The following is a summary of the foregoing researches

on the stamens of Centaurea :— -

1. The stamens shorten themselves, on mechanical contact,

instantaneously throughout their length. This holds true, also,

when only one point is touched, and also of all parts of those

organs. The contraction amounts to one-seventh of their length,

and, in certain conditions, to one-fourth. Simultaneously with

their contraction, the stamens also become thicker.

2. After the shortening has attained its maximum, the fila-

ments begin to extend themselves, and to acquire a curved con-

dition similar to what occurs in an irritated muscle. After the

lapse of ten minutes, they regain their former length.

3. Other excitants, especially a current of electricity trans-

mitted through the filaments, produce immediate contraction.

4. The irritability of the filaments vanishes spontaneously

after a while—in the living flower, about the time when the

segments of the style expand themselves and the-stigma is in a

condition for fertilization. But, coeval with these changes, the

stamens become progressively shorter, and, when completely de-

prived of their irritability, are only one-half the length they were

when in the full possession of that property.

5. This persistent shortening, which must not be confounded

with contraction resulting transiently from previous irritation, is

a symptom of death, not a hygroscopic phenomenon. At the

same time it is induced much more rapidly when the irritability

of the stamens is destroyed by the vapour of ether, by immersion

in water, or by strong electric discharges.

6. The shortening in death is chiefly an effect of elasticity,

which, in the irritable filaments, is subordinate to an expansive

power; but, in the dead or withered state, the antagonism of

this latter is withdrawn, and the filaments become shortened to

one-half their length, and are highly elastic, like threads of india-

rubber.

7. The property of shortening resides in the parenchyma of

the stamens, which presents no especial difference from ordinary

cell-structure ; and the vascular bundle is at least passive during

contraction.

8. The foregoing, along with other similar researches, go to

demonstrate that the cell-tissue of the filaments of Centaurea

‘possesses irritability (in the sense used by Haller) and likewise

an innate motor power, both these properties resembling in all

essential points their like as found in the contractile and irri-

table parts of animals. This analogy does not imply the exist-

ence of muscles and associated nerves, as found in the higher

animals, where a physiological differentiation of tissues prevails

in order to qualify for the performance of functions of the highest

Ann. § Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 14

202 Mr. A. Adams on the Japanese Species of Siphonalia,

order, but points much more precisely to the irritable and contrac-

tile tissue of the lowest animals, which possess neither muscles

nor nerves.

_ 9. As it is, on the one hand, most improbable that these con-

ditions should obtain in the tissue of the filaments of Centaurea

as a solitary instance, so, on the other, it is much more credible

that similar properties (motory phenomena consequent on irrita-

tion) prevail throughout the vegetable kingdom. That this is

so, is exemplified in all those movements which have a recog-

nized object, as those of the young parts of all plants towards

the light, and in the curved motions of such parts induced by

mechanical and electrical contact; and the conclusion is inevitable,

that irritability and contractility, or, in other words, the faculty

of undergoing changes in form or outline in response to external

excitation, are not restricted to the animal kingdom, but, like

assimilation, respiration, the distribution of nutritive juices, de-

velopment, &c., are the vital endowments of the cell simply

as such, and are manifested in plant-tissue only exceptionally

with less distinct energy by reason of a simpler organization and

weaker vital power.

10. Teleologically considered, the irritability of filaments 1s

subservient to the production of movements in the Cynaree and

the florets of probably all the other Composite, in connexion

with dichogamic fertilization, as the frequency of bastard forms

in Cirsium and Hieracium indicates. In this process insects

constitute the principal agents, causing by their contact the

contraction of the stamens and the consequent extrusion of

pollen from the anthers, and then carrying the pollen so dis-

charged to other florets, the stigmas of which are (unlike the

organ of the floret, with its highly irritable stamens, which has

furnished the fertilizing powder) in a condition to receive it.

XXII.—On the Japanese Species of Siphonalia, a proposed new

Genus of Gasteropodous Mollusca. By Artuur Apams,

F.L.S. &e.

Genus SrpHonaris, A. Adams,

Testa ovato-fusiformis, plerumque variegata, non epidermide in-

duta; anfractu ultimo ventricoso, plerumque nodoso-plicato, Aper-

tura antice in canalem curtum recurvatum desinens.

_ Most of the typical species comprising this group have been

described by Lovell Reeve in his Monograph of Buccinum.

They are, B. cassidarieforme, Rve., B. lineatum, Kien., B. signum,

Rve., B. modificatum, RKve., B. spadiceum, Rve., B. fusoides, Rve.,

B. hinnulus, Ad. & Rve. Their operculum, however, is fusoid,

. a proposed new Genus of Gasteropodous Mollusca, 203

and their shells more nearly resemble those of Neptunea than

of Buccinum. They appear to be principally from China and

Southern Japan, while the species of Neptunea are chiefly

northern shells, and are numerous in the northern parts of

Japan and Manchuria. The species of Siphonalia are commonly

variegated and destitute of epidermis, and are thin ventricose

shells; while the species of Cantharus and Cuma, which some-

what resemble them in form, are dense solid shells, and are

covered with a thick brown epidermis.

1. Siphonalia cassidarieformis, Reeve.

Buccinum cassidarieforme, Rve. Conch. Icon. sp. 11.

Hab. O-Sima; Simoda.

2. Siphonalia signum, Reeve.

Buccinum signum, Rve. Conch. Icon. sp. 6.

Hab. O-Sima; Hakodadi.

3. Siphonalia trochulus, Reeve.

Buccinum trochulus, Rve. Conch. Icon. sp. 7.

Hab, O-Sima.

4, Siphonalia fusoides, Reeve.

Buccinum fusoides, Rve. Conch. Icon. sp. 9.

Hab. Satanomosaki; Tsu-Sima.

5. Siphonalia fuscolineata, Pease.

Neptunea fuscolineata, Pease, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1860.

Hab. Mino-Sima.

6. Siphonalia modificata, Reeve.

Buccinum modificatum, Rve. Conch. Icon. sp. 67.

Hab, Kuro-Sima; 56 fathoms. Fatsijeu; 29 fathoms.

7. Stphonalia spadicea, Reeve.

Buccinum spadiceum, Rve. Conch. Icon. sp. 64.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms. '

8. Siphonalia hinnulus, Adams & Reeve.

: Buccinum hinnulus, Ad. & Rye. Moll. Voy. Sam. pl. 7. f. 10 a, b.

Hab. Tsusaki; 35 fathoms. Tatiyama.

9. Siphonalia commoda, A. Adams.

S. testa acuminato-ovata, sordide alba, epidermide tenui fugacea

obtecta; spira aperturam vix squante, conica; anfractibus 7,

planis, in medio subangulatis, obsolete nodoso-plicatis, transversim

tis; liris majoribus albidis, minoribus fuscis, alternantibus ;

14*

204 Mr, A. Adams on the Japanese Species of Siphonalia,

interstitiis longitudinalibus crebre striatis ; apertura oblongo-ovata,,

intus alba ; labio leevi, canali aperto, mediocri, reflexo; labro intus

levi, margine crenulato.

Hab. Tsaulian.

A very neatly-formed and modest-coloured shell, differing

from every species with which I have compared it.

10. Stphonalia corrugata, A. Adams.

S. testa acuminato-ovata; spira brevi, acuta; anfractibus 6, planis,

longitudinaliter rugoso-plicatis, plicis in medio anfractuum nodu-

losis, transversim liratis; liris rugulosis, griseis cum albidis alter-

nantibus, antice validioribus et distantioribus; anfractu ultimo mag-

no, plicis antice obsoletis ; apertura ovata, canali brevi, recurvato ;

labio leevi, calloso ; labro intus lirato, margine albo.

Hab. Kino-O-Sima.

A grey species, with transverse white lines alternating with

brown ones. It somewhat resembles S. trochulus, Reeve ; but in

that species the whorls are rugosely plicate.

11. Siphonalia conspersa, A. Adams.

S. testa acuminato-ovata; spira brevi, conica, lutescente, castaneo

variegata et rufo-fusco conspersa; anfractibus 6, longitudinaliter

plicatis, plicis postice nodulosis, in anfractu ultimo antice obso-

letis, transversim liratis, liris validis, equalibus; apertura ovata ;

labio leevi, calloso, incrassato, canali brevi, valde recurvo ; labro

intus sulcato.

Hab. Japan. Coll. Cuming.

A very pretty species, resembling in form S. cassidarieformis,

Reeve, but with very different colouring and sculpture.

12. Siphonalia concinna, A. Adams.

S. testa ovato-conica ; spira elata, quam apertura breviore, fulva, fasciis

duabus latis transversis albidis ornata; anfractibus 6, levibus, in

medio angulatis, longitudinaliter plicatis, plicis distantibus, postice

nodulosis, in anfractu ultimo obsoletis; anfractu ultimo antice

transversim sulcato; apertura ovata; labio leevi, tenui, canali

brevi, valde reflexo ; labro intus leevi.

Hab. Kuro-Sima.

A neatly-painted species, with smooth and. nodosely plicate

whorls,

13. Stphonalia ornata, A. Adams.

S. testa ovato-fusiformi; spira conica, quam apertura breviore, fulva,

lineis transversis rubris (in anfractu ultimo septem) ornata; an-

fractibus 6, planis, serie nodulorum in medio instructis, longitudi-

naliter striatis, transversim liratis; apertura ovata; labio cragso,

+ 4 ai

SSS SS eS

a Se gee ee ee ee a

ee eo +

en ae eee

ioe ae eee

a proposed new Genus of Gasteropodous Mollusca. 205

--ealloso, canali subproducto, ad sinistram inclinato, valde recurvo ;

labro intus valde lirato.

Hab. Japan. . Coll. Cuming.

An elegant lineated species, with a series of conspicuous no-

dules in the middle of the whorls.

14. Siphonalia filosa, A. Adams.

S. testa ovato-fusiformi; spira elata, acuta, aperturam eequante, pal-

lide fulva, lineis transversis filiformibus aurantiacis ornata ; anfrac-

tibus 8, convexis, longitudinaliter plicatis, plicis rotundis, vix no-

dulosis, in anfractu ultimo obsoletis, transversim liratis, liris con-

fertis, equalibus ; apertura ovata; labio callo levi instructo, ca-

nali mediocri, ad sinistram inclinato, recurvato ; labro intus levi.

Hab. China Sea; 14 fathoms. Coll. Cuming.

A slightly plicate subfusiform species, with the whorls adorned

with orange thread-like lines.

15. Siphonalia ligata, A. Adams.

S. testa acuminato-ovata ; spira conica, quam apertura breviore, alba,

lineis filiformibus pallide aurantiacis distantibus ornata;anfractibus -

6, planatis, postice angulatis, longitudinaliter subplicatis, trans-

versim valde liratis, liris ad plicas nodulosis, elevatis, distantibus,

regularibus ; apertura ovata; labio tenui, simplici, canali brevi,

lato, vix recurvato; labro postice angulato.

Hab. Japan. Coll. Cuming.

A delicate white species, adorned with elevated pale orange

transverse lines, and most nearly resembling S. Jineata, Kiener.

16. Siphonalia grisea, A. Adams.

S. testa acuminato-ovali, cinerea aut grisea; anfractibus 6, planis,

oblique nodoso-plicatis, transversim valde liratis ; liris eequalibus,

planis, interstitiis profunde exaratis ; anfractu ultimo magno, serie

nodulorum ad peripheriam instructo ; apertura ovata, canali brevi,

aperto, recurvato ; labio vix calloso; labro intus lirato.

Hab. Simidsu. .

An ashy-grey species, with a series of nodules in the middle

of the last whorl.

17. Siphonalia colus, A. Adams.

S. testa ovato-fusiformi, pallide fusca ; spira elata, aperturam zequante;

anfractibus 8, convexis, pestice excavatis, longitudinaliter obtusim

plicatis, plicis rotundis, transversim liratis; liris confertis, fili-

formibus, subzequalibus ; apertura ovata, canali elongato, aperto,

subrecurvato ; labio levi; labro intus sulcato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

An elegant fusiform species, with the whorls finely lirate, and

206 Mr. A. Adams on the Japanese Species of Siphonalia.

with the siphonal canal produced anteriorly into a somewhat long

recurved beak. :

18. Siphonalia acuminata, A. Adams.

S. testa ovato-fusiformi, pallide fulva aut alba, hic et illic rufo

tincta; spira acuminata, quam apertura longiore ; anfractibus 9,

convexis, postice excavatis, longitudinaliter plicatis, plicis rotundis,

regularibus, subconfertis, transversim striatis, in medio anfractuum

biliratis, liris ad plicas nodulosis ; anfractu ultimo liris 6 instructo;

apertura rotundato-ovata, canali subproducto, tortuoso, vix re-

curvo.

Hab. Gotto; 48 fathoms.

A light brown acuminate species, with the whorls nodosely

plicate, and with the siphonal canal rather produced and tor-

tuous.

19. Siphonalia pyramis, A. Adams.

S. testa pyramidato-fusiformi, pallide fusca ; spira elata; anfractibus 7,

subimbricatis, planis, longitudinaliter plicatis, transversim liratis,

liris confertis, eequalibus, ad plicas subnodulosis ; apertura ovata,

canali brevi, tortuoso, recurvo ; labio levi; labro intus sulcato.

Hab. Satanomosaki; 55 fathoms,

A somewhat pyramidal species, with an elevated conical spire,

subimbricate whorls, and a short, tortuous siphonal canal.

20. Siphonalia munda, A. Adams,

S. testa ovato-fusiformi, pallide fulva, hic et illic fusco tincta, maculis

subquadratis rufo-fuscis, in serie unica dispositis, in medio anfrac-

~ tuum ornata; spira producta, quam apertura longiore ; anfracti-

bus 9, convexis, postice excavatis, longitudinaliter nodoso-plicatis,

transversim crebre liratis, liris confertis, regularibus, sequalibus ;

apertura ovato-oblonga, canali subproducto, tortuoso ; labio leevi,

simplici.

Hab. Kuro-Sima; 35 fathoms.

A neat, fusiform, fulvous species, with a series of subquadrate

red-brown blotches in the middle of the whorls.

21. Stphonalia nodulosa, A. Adams.

S. testa ovato-fusiformi; spira acuminata, aperturam sequante, pal-

lide fusca; anfractibus 7, convexis, postice subexcavatis, longitu-

dinaliter valde plicatis, plicis distantibus, antice et postice obso-

letis, transversim liratis, liris confertis, regularibus; apertura

ovata; labio leevi, canali mediocri, tortuoso; labro in medio recto,

postice rotundato-angulato,

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

A somewhat fusiform species, with strongly nodulous plicate

whorls, Colour uniform pale brown.

ee ee Se ee ee ee

-Prof. J. D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals. 207

XXIII.—On the higher Subdivisions in the Classification of

Mammals. By James D. Dana*.

THE precise position of Man in the system of Mammals has

long been, and still remains, a subject of discussion. There are

those who regard him as too remote from all other species of the

class to be subject to ordinary principles of classification. But

zoologists generally place him either in an independent order (or

subclass, if the highest divisions be subclasses) or else at the head

of the order containing the Quadrumana. Science, in searching

out the system in nature, leaves psychical or intellectual quali-

ties out of view; and this is right. It is also safe; for these

immaterial characteristics have, in all cases, a material or struc-

tural expression ; and when this expression is apprehended, and

its true importance fully admitted, classification will not fail of

its duty in recognizing the distinctions they indicate.

_ Cuvier, in distinguishing Man as of the order Bimana, and the

Monkeys of the order Quadrumana, did not bring out to view

any profound difference between the groups. The relations of

the two are so close that Man, on this ground alone, would be

far from certain of his separate place. No reason can be derived -

from the study of other departments of the Mammals, or of the

animal kingdom, for considering the having of two hands a

mark of superior rank to the having of four. :

Prof. Owen, in his recent classification of Mammals +, makes

the characteristics of the brain the basis of the several grand

divisions. But, as he admits, the distinctions fail in many cases

of corresponding to the groups laid down; and although the

brain of Man (his group Archencephala) differs in some striking

points from that of the Quadrumana, yet no study of the brain

alone would suggest the real distinction between the groups, or

prove that Man was not coordinal with the Monkeys. In fact,

the nervous system is a very unsafe basis of classification below

the highest grade of subdivisions—that into subkingdoms. The

same subkingdom may contain species with, and without, a di-

stinct nervous system, and a class or order may present very

wide diversities as to its form and development, for the reason

that the system or plan of structure in species is far more

authoritative in classification than the condition of the nervous

system,

The fitness of the parts of the body of Man for intellectual

uses, and his erect position, have been considered zoological

* From the American Journal of Science and Arts, vol. xxxv. Jan. 1863.

Communicated by the Author.

+ Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, for

Feb. 17 and April 21, 1857. aun

208 = Prof. J.D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals.

characteristics of eminent importance, separating him from

other Mammals. But even these qualities, although admitted

to be of real weight, are not, to many zoologists, unquestionable

or authoritative evidence on this point.

But while the structural distinctions mentioned may fail to

establish Man’s independent ordinal rank, there is a character-

istic that appears to be decisive, one which has that deep founda-

tion in zoological science required to give it prominence and

authority.

The criterion referred to is this—that while all other Mam-

mals have both the anterior and posterior limbs organs of loco-

motion, in Man the anterior are transferred from the locomotive

to the cephalic series. They serve the purposes of the head, and

are not for locomotion. The cephalization of the body—that is,

the subordination of its members and structure to head-uses—

so variously exemplified in the animal kingdom, here reaches its

extreme limit. Man, in this, stands alone among Mammals.

The author has shown elsewhere* that this cephalization is a

fundamental principle, as respects grade, in zoological life. “He

has not only illustrated the fact that concentration of the anterior

extremity of the body and abbreviation of its posterior portion is a

mark of elevation, but, further than this, that the transfer of the

anterior members of the thorax to the cephalic series is the founda-

tion of rank among the orders of Crustaceans. In the highest

order of this class, that of the Decapods (containing crabs,

lobsters, shrimps, &c.), nine pairs of organs out of the fourteen

pertaining to the head and thorax belong to the head—that is,

to the senses and the mouth. In the second order, that of the

Tetradecapods, there are only seven pairs of organs, out of the

fourteen, thus devoted to the head, two of the pairs which are

mouth-organs in the Decapods being true legs in the Tetra-

decapods. In the third or lowest order, that of the Entomos-

tracans, there are only siz, five, or four pairs of cephalic organs;

and, besides, these in most species are partly pediform, even

the mandibles having often a long foot-like branch or extremity,

and the antenne being sometimes, also, organs of prehension or

locomotion.

Two of the laws bearing on grade, under this system of ce-

phalization or decephalization, have been stated—its connexion

with (1) a concentration of the anterior extremity and abbrevia-

tion of the posterior extremity, and the reverse, and with (2) a

* See his Report on Crustacea, the chapter on Classification, p. 1395 ;

also Silliman’s Journal, vol. xxii. p. 14, 1856, where the principles ex-

plained in this paper are illustrated by many examples, and with direct

reference to the general subject of classification,

Oe oh ld

Prof. J.D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals. 209

transfer of thoracic members to the cephalic series, and the re-

verse. There is a third law which should be mentioned to ex-

plain the relations of the Entomostracans to the other orders,

namely, (3) that a decline in grade, after the laxness and elonga-

tion of the anterior and posterior extremities have reached their

limit, is further exhibited by a degradation of the body, and

especially of its extremities.

In the step down from the Decapods to the Tetradecapods,

there is an illustration of this principle in the eyes of the latter

being imbedded in the head instead of being pedicellate. In the

Entomostracans (1) the elongated abdomen is destitute of all

but one or two of the normal pairs of members, not through a

system of abbreviation, as exhibited in crabs, but a system of

degradation; and in some species all the normal members are

wanting, and even the abdomen itself is nearly obsolete. Again,

(2) the two posterior pairs of thoracic legs are wanting in the

species, and sometimes more than two pairs. Again, (3) at the

anterior extremity, one pair of antennz is often obsolete, and

sometimes the second pair nearly or even quite so. The Limulus,

though so. large an animal, has the abdomen reduced to a

straight spine, and the antennz to a small pair of pincer legs,

while all the mouth-organs are true legs—the whole structure

indicating the extreme of degradation.

In the order of Decapods having nine as the normal number

of pairs of cephalic organs, the species of the highest group have

these organs compacted within the least space consistent with the

structure of the type; in those a grade lower, the posterior pair

is a little more remote from the others, and begins to be some-

what pediform ; a grade lower, this pair is really pediform, or

nearly like the other feet ; and still lower, two or three pairs are

pediform. Still lower in the series of Decapods (the Schizopods),

there are examples under the principle of degradation above ex-

plained—(1) in the absence of two or three pairs of the posterior

thoracic appendages, (2) in the absence or obsolescence of the

abdominal appendages, (3) in the Schizopod character of the

feet. These Decapods, thus degraded, approximate to the Ento-

mostracans, although true Decapods in type of structure. Thus

the principle is exemplified within the limits of a single order,

as well as in the range of orders.

This connexion of cephalization with rise of rank is also illus-

trated abundantly in embryonic development. It is one of the

fundamental principles in living nature*,

* In his ‘ Manual of Geology,’ just published, the writer, speaking of the

ancient Ganoids, has preferred to use the term vertebrated tails rather than

210 ~=—- Prof. J. D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals,

When, then, in a group like that of Mammals, in which two is

the prevailing number of pairs of locomotive organs, there is a

transfer of the anterior of these two from the locomotive to the

cephalic series, there is evidence, in this exalted cephalization

of the system, of a distinction of the very highest significance.

Moreover, it is of the more eminent value that it occurs in a

class in which the number of locomotive members is so nearly a

constant number. It places Man apart from the whole series

of Mammals, and does it on the basis of a character which is

fundamentally a criterion of grade. This extreme cephalization

of the system is, in fact, that material or structural expression

of the dominance of mind in the being, which meets the desire

both of the natural and intellectual philosopher.

This cephalization of the human system has been recognized

by Carus, but not in its connexion with a deep-rooted structural

law pervading the animal kingdom. It is the comprehensive-

ness of the law which gives the special fact its great weight,

Aristotle, in his three groups of Mammals, the Dipoda or two-

footed, the Tetrapoda or four-footed, and the Apoda or footless

species, expresses distinctions according with this law. The term

Dipoda, as applied to Man, is far better and more philosophical

than Bimana.

The erect form of the structure in Man, although less authori-

tative in classification, is a concomitant expression of this cepha-

lization ; for the body is thus placed directly beneath the brain

or the subordinating power, and no part of the structure is either

anterior or posterior to it. Two feet for locomotion is the

smallest possible number in an animal. Cephalic concentration

and posterior abbreviation are at their maximum. The charac-

ters of the brain distinguishing the Archencephala (Man) in

Prof. Owen’s system, so far as based on its general form or the

relative position of its parts, flow from the erect form.

Man’s title to a position by himself, separate from the other

Mammals in classification, appears hence to be fixed on struc-

tural as well as psychical grounds.

heterocercal, because this characteristic of a prolonged vertebral column is

a mark of inferiority of grade, on the principle explained; and the disap-

pearance of it, in the Mesozoic era, was an instance of that abbreviation of

the posterior extremity connected with a rise in grade. It is well exempli-

fied also, as Agassiz has made known, in the development of the modern

Ganoid, the young having a vertebrated upper lobe of the tail, which is

lost before reaching the adult size. Another reason for using the term

vertebrated is, that in some of the ancient Ganoids with vertebrated tails

the vertebral prolongation is central in the tail, and the form is therefore

not at all heterocercal. : aha

Prof.J.D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals. 211

The other Mammals are either true viviparous species, or semt-

arous.

The latter, including the Marsupials and Monotremes, con-

stitute a natural group, as usually so regarded, the most funda-

mental characteristic of which—the immaturity of the young at

birth, by which they are related to oviparous Vertebrates—

suggests the name Odficoids.

The viviparous species are variously arranged by different

zoologists*. Prof. Owen, basing his subdivisions largely, as has

been stated, on the characters of the brain, makes the two groups

Gyrencephala and Lissencephala, the former so named from

having, in general, the surface of the brain convoluted, and the

latter from its being, with some exceptions, smooth.

The Gyrencephala include, in Prof. Owen’s system, three

groups :—lI. the Unguiculata (consisting, as presented by him,

of the orders 1, Quadrumana, 2, Carnivora) ; II. the Ungulata

(1, Artiodactyla or Ruminantia; 2, Perissodactyla or Solidungu-

lata and Multungulata, 3, Proboscidia, 4, Toxodontia) ; III. the

Mutilata (1, Sirenia, 2, Cetacea). The Lissencephala comprise

four orders, arranged by him as follows: (1) Bruta or Edentata

(Sloth, &c:), (2) Cheiroptera or Bats, (3) Insectivora (Mole, ©

Hedgehog, &c.), (4) Rodentia.

Although the characteristics of the brain do not set forth

satisfactorily the distinctions between the Gyrencephala and

-Lissencephala, the groups themselves (first laid down with the

limits here assigned, as Prof. Owen states, by Jourdan) appear

to be founded in nature. In the arrangement of the groups

under these two divisions, however, the system proposed below

widely differs from the above.

The Crustaceans have here also afforded the writer the prin-

ciples of classification on which he rests his conclusionst+.

The orders among Crustaceans are based not only on a dif-

-ference of structure and cephalization, but also on a difference

* See Professor Owen’s memoir already referred to, for an account of

different earlier systems of the classification of Mammals.

+ Principles are none the less important because indicated among these

lower Articulates. The turns of a closed spiral are easily mistaken for

‘circles, as was long the case with those of flowers in plants; but if the

spire be drawn out long, it then exhibits its true characters, and may dis-

play details that are otherwise undiscoverable. The class of Crustaceans

is an example of a type of structure thus drawn out, its species ranging

from the microscopic memberless Rotifer to the highest crabs; and the

genera are distributed, so to speak, at distant intervals along the course of

the series, since they are comparatively few in number. Fundamental

_principles in zoological science are therefore exhibited in this class ona

magnified scale, easily perceived and understood.

212 ~=—- Prof. J.D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals.

in the normal magnitude of the life-system. The Decapods are

built on a life-system of large size as to plan-as compared with

that of the Tetradecapods. Deducing the relative size from the

mean dimensions of the active species under the two types, the

ratio is nearly as 4:1. (See the papers of the author already

referred to.) Moreover, while thus distinct, the subdivisions of

the two orders form parallel series,—the Brachyurans, Anomou-

rans and Macrourans running a close parallel with the Isopods,

Anisopods and Amphipods; for the Isopods are literally Bra-

chyural Tetradecapods, and the Amphipods Macroural*,

The life-system in the Entomostracans is on a still smaller

lan.

Among the viviparous Mammals (exclusive of Man) the first

group differs from the second on this same principle—the fact

of a larger and more powerful type of structure or life-system.

This fact stands out boldly to view on comparing active species

of each—the orang-outang with the largest bat, the tiger with

any Insectivore, the horse or elk with any Rodent, a Cetacean

with any Edentate. The species of the second division are rela-

tively small and feeble animals; and if they are sometimes of

great bulk, as some ancient sloths, it is an example, though

natural to the species, of vegetative overgrowth ; for the bodies

of the sloths, great and small, are, in fact, too bulky to be

wielded well by the small life-system within. |

Adopting this view as presenting the true basis for the sub-

division of the viviparous Mammals, the two groups are sig-

nificantly designated (1) Megasthenes (from peyas, great, and

aGevos, strength), and (2) Microsthenes (from pxpos, small, and

aGevos). Judging of the mean size of the life-system in the

two divisions from their more active as well.as powerful species,

the lineal ratio is not far from 4:1, as between the Decapods

and Tetradecapods.

The orders in these two groups, the Megasthenes and Micro-

sthenes, have throughout a precise parallelism. The Bats or

Chiropters in the latter represent the Monkeys or Quadrumanes

in the former, these orders having such close relations that they

are made to follow one another in Cuvier’s system; the Insecti-

vores represent the Carnivores ; the Rodents represent the Herbi-

vores ; and the Brutes or Edentates the Mutilates,

* The parallelism is complete; for the Amphipods differ from the Iso-

ods just as the Macrourans from the Brachyurans, in having a larger and

Nae compacted head, looser and larger mouth-organs, longer segments to

the body, and an elongated foot-bearing abdomen—all points of inferior

concentration and cephalization.

a a

Prof. J.D. Dana on the Classification of Mammals. 213

The classification indicated is then as follows :—

I. Arcuontia (vel Drropa)—Maw (alone).

II. MreGastHeEna. Ill. MicrostHena.

1. Quadrumana. 1. Cheiroptera.

2. Carnivora. 2. Insectivora.

3. Herbivora. | 3. Rodentia.

4, Mutilata. i 4. Bruta (Edentata).

IV. OdricorpEa.

1. Marsupialia.

2. Monotremata.

It is interesting to observe, also, that the four orders of Mega-

sthenes rise in grade, from the 4th to the 1st, on the principles of

cephalization stated ; and this affords other evidence, superadded

to that of higher importance based on difference in type of

structure, as to the naturalness of these subdivisions. The spe-

cies of the 4th (the Mutilates) are characterized by a degrada-

tion and partial obsolescence of the limbs, by the body being

massively prolonged behind, by a large part of the elongated

vertebral column being used for locomotion, by the form and

the low grade of structure of the head, and by the teeth, always

of extreme simplicity of form, in most species of one set only, in

some excessively multiplied in number, in others all wanting—

peculiarities indicating a very low degree of cephalization, and

even a degradation of the anterior as well as posterior extremity.

Those of the 3rd (the Herbivores) by a more abbreviated body,

by the two pairs of limbs being complete, but serving only for

locomotion, by an elongated head. Those of the 2nd (the

Carnivores) by the limbs being still more perfect, and serving,

the anterior especially, for grasping, by the head being shorter

and more compacted and, in general, more complete in the series

of teeth. Those of the Ist (the Quadrumanes) by the anterior

limbs serving still more perfectly as hands, by the cephalic

extremity being further shortened, also by the mamme being

pectoral, as in Man. There is, in the series of orders, an advance

by stages towards that acme of cephalization, Man.

Among the Microsthenes, the rise in rank on this principle is

no less apparent. It is well seen between the lowest (the Brutes)

and the others. These have posteriorly a remarkably lax verte-

bral column, but two or three of the vertebre being soldered

together to form the sacrum. The cephalic extremity exhibits, not

only a low grade of cephalic concentration, as shown in the larger

number of cervical vertebra in some species, the excessive num-

ber of teeth in some species, the characters of the skull, but

also a marked example of cephalic degradation in the jaws, in

214 Mr. T.V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera.

the very few teeth in most species and their total absence in

some, in the inferior character of the teeth and the growth of

but one set—in all of which characteristics, as well as their bulky

bodies, there is a close parallelism with the Mutilates, the lowest

of the Megasthenes.

XXIV.—Diagnostic Notices of New Canarian Coleoptera.

By T. Vernon Wo ttaston, M.A., F.L.S.

Havine been occupied for some time past in preparing a Cata-

logue of the Coleoptera of the Canarian Archipelago, and being

unavoidably delayed in the completion of it, the following dia-

gnoses of a few of the new forms which have long been described

at considerable length in my manuscript, and many of which

are now widely distributed in European collections, may serve

to secure the priority of the names which I have imposed upon

them. ;

Fam. Carabide.

Genus Mrrastetvs, Goebel.

1. Metabletus inequalis.

M. eneus, distincte alutaceus, sat nitidus; prothorace cordato ;

elytris plus minus inzequalibus, distincte striatis, utroque foveis 2

magnis notato; antennis femoribusque nigro-piceis, illis ad basin,

tibiis tarsisque plus minus piceo-fuscis.

Long. corp. lin. 14-12.

Habitat in Canaria, Teneriffa, Gomera et Palma, preesertim in syl-

vaticis degens.

Genus Tarvs, Clairv.

2. Tarus zargoides.

7’. subnitidus, fusco-piceus, pilis mollibus erectis brevissimis sat

dense vestitus ; capite prothoraceque dense et profunde scabroso-

punctatis, hoc cordato angulis ipsis posticis paulo exstantibus ;

elytris ovalibus, subconvexis et undulato-ineequalibus, profunde

(sed subirregulariter) punctato-striatis, interstitiis minute punctu-

latis, limbo vix rufescentiore ; antennis palpisque testaceis, pedibus

pallido-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 24-23.

Habitat in sylvaticis montosis Teneriffe, sub lapidibus rarissimus.

Genus Masorgvs, Dej.

3. Masoreus arenicola.

M. nigro-piceus, distincte (oculo armato) alutaceus; prothorace

transverso, subconvexo, postice in medio plus minus conspicue

transversim impresso sed vix rugato, canalicula centrali haud pro-

La een

Pe ea ee ee ee

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera. 215.

* funda necnon antice et postice plus minus sub-obsoleta ; elytris

leviter subcrenato-striatis, ad basin plus minus distincte rufescen-

tioribus ; antennis, palpis pedibusque piceo-testaceis ; unguiculis

leviter denticulatis.

Long. corp. lin. 2-24.

Habitat in arenosis:maritimis (plus minus salinis) Lanzarote et

Fuerteventuree, tempore hiberno et vernali, hinc inde vulgaris.

Genus Amara, Bon.

(Subgenus Lr1ocyemis, Zimm.)

4, Amara versuta.

A. breviter ovata, nigro-picea, seneo-micans, convexa; prothorace

brevi, transverso, ad latera marginato et equaliter rotundato, basi

vix punctato (interdum impunctato) sed utrinque foveis 2 (interna

sc. majore longiore, sed externa parva, minus profunda, subrotun-

data) notato, postice in medio transversim impresso ; elytris paulo

dilutioribus (fusco-piceis), crenato-striatis ; antennis, palpis pedi-

busque testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 2-24.

Habitat Lanzarotam et Fuerteventuram, sub lapidibus, passim.

Genus Cratoenatuts, Dej.

5. Cratognathus solitarius.

C. ater, subcylindrico-oblongus; capite magno; prothorace sub-

quadrato, postice vix angustiore, basi utrinque fovea sat profunda

punctata impresso ; elytris oblongis, profunde crenato-striatis, in-

terstitio septimo ad apicem ipsissimum punctulis circa 2-4 (inter-

dum indistinctis confusis) notato ; antennis, palpis tarsisque rufo-

ferrugineis, femoribus tibiisque piceis.

Long. corp. lin. 43-5:

Habitat Lanzarotam et Fuerteventuram, sub lapidibus in locis inter-

mediis et editioribus sat vulgaris.

6. Cratognathus fortunatus.

C. piceus, oblongus ; capite magno ; prothorace subquadrato, postice

subrecte angustiore, basi utrinque vix punctulato vix impresso ;

elytris subovato-oblongis, striatis, interstitio septimo ad apicem

punctis circa 2~4 notato; labro rufo-piceo; antennis, palpis pedi-

busque rufo-ferrugineis.

Long. corp. lin. 5-52.

Habitat montes Canariz Grandis, in pineto quodam regionis ** Tata-

jana”’ dictze mense Aprili a.p. 1858 sat copiose repertus.

7. Cratognathus micans.

C. preecedenti similis, sed paulo minor, in utroque sexu fere sequaliter

nitidus ; prothorace_ad latera paulo magis sinuato; elytris antice

216 = =Mr.T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera.

paulo magis truncatis (ergo vix brevioribus), interstitii septimi

punctis obsoletis ; pedibus paulo pallidioribus. .

Long. corp. lin. 44-5.

Habitat in Teneriffa et Gomera, hinc inde haud infrequens.

Genus Trecuus, Clairy.

8. Trechus flavolimbatus.

7’. niger, nitidus; prothorace transverso-subquadrato, postice paulo

angustiore, angulis ipsissimis posticis minutissime prominulis, basi

utrinque leviter foveolato ; elytris oblongo-ovalibus, subdepressis,

limbo plus minus flavo-testaceo, striatis (striis vix subcrenatis,

exterioribus obsoletis); antennis nigro-fuscescentibus, ad basin rufo-

testaceis ; pedibus pallido-testaceis, tibiis plus minus obscurioribus.

Long. corp. lin. 14-13.

Trechus flavolimbatus, Schaum, in litt.

Habitat in Canaria, Teneriffa, Gomera, Palma, et Hierro, vulgaris.

Genus Periteprus, Schaum.

9. Perileptus nigritulus.

P. omnino P. areolato similis, sed vix major minusque nitidus (oculo

fortissime armato grossius, preesertim in elytris, alutaceus), paulo

magis pubescens; capite postice dilute rufescentiore ; elytris

(limbo postico pallido excepto) totis nigris, paulo magis parallelis,

interstitiis vix minus convexis; antennis paulo longioribus, robus-

tioribus.

Long. corp. lin. 1-11.

Habitat Teneriffam, inter lapillos per marginem paludis cujusdam

_parvee prope urbem Sanctee Crucis sitze copiose deprehensus.

Fam. Dytiscide.

Genus Hatretvs, Lat.

10. Haliplus suffusus.

H. oblongus; capite nigro-piceo, latiusculo, punctato; prothorace

testaceo, antice, postice in medio, necnon in disco nigrescente,

basi lato (elytrorum basin paulo superante), ad latera oblique sub-

recto, in medio profunde punctato, postice utrinque linea curvata

abbreviata notato; elytris testaceis (preesertim pone discum), nigro

suffusis, antice subparallelis, punctato-striatis, interstitiis parce

punctatis ; antennis pedibusque testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 14-13.

Habitat in aquis Canarice et Gomeree, hine inde parum vulgaris.

Fam. Anisotomida.

Genus Antsotoma, III.

1]. Anisotoma canariensis.

-A, ovalis, convexa, nitida, nigro- vel fusco-picea ; capite prothoraceque

ae. eee ee

Be re as a

ES ee rN

AR NAS Ret

ek Tere

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera. 217

sat distincte punctatis ; elytris versus basin paulo rufescentioribus,

sat profunde punctato-striatis, interstitiis punctulatis ; antennis ad

basin pedibusque piceo-ferrugineis, femoribus muticis. Mas tibiis

posterioribus distinctius arcuatis.

Long. corp. lin. 1.

Habitat in Canaria et Hierro, rarissima.

Fam. Nitidulide.

Genus Bracuyprerus, Kugel.

12. Brachypterus velatus.

B. oblongo-ovatus, subconvexus, viridescenti-niger, nitidus, grosse

flavescenti-cinereo pubescens, dense punctatus; prothorace ad la-

tera subzequaliter rotundato, angulis posticis obtusis ; scutello ob-

tuse triangulari ; antennis pedibusque rufo-testaceis, illarum clava

tarsorumque apicibus ipsissimis nigrescentibus.

Long. corp. lin. 3-1.

Habitat in Lanzarota, Canaria, Teneriffa et Hierro, super folia

Urtice urentis, L., parum vulgaris.

Fam. Cucujide.

Genus Sytvanvs, Lat.

(Subgenus ARraruitus, Redt.)

13. Silvanus nubigena.

S. angusto-elongatus, subconvexus, fusco-niger, dense flavescenti-

cinereo pubescens; capite prothoraceque rugose punctatis, hoc

zequali, angusto, subcylindrico, postice vix angustiore, ad latera

subrecto ac distincte crenulato, angulis ipsis posticis obtusis sed

argute determinatis, penicillatis; elytris rugose et dense seriatim

punctatis, versus humeros interdum paulo fuscescentioribus ; fe-

moribus piceis ; antennis, tibiis tarsisque piceo-ferrugineis.

Long. corp. lin. 1-13.

Habitat in aridis excelsis Teneriffe, inter lapillos ramulosque emor-

tuos sub arbusculis Spartii nubigene humi jacentibus, velocissime

currens, necnon fere ad 9000' s. m. ascendens.

Fam. Cryptophagide.

Genus CrypropHacus, Herbst.

14. Cryptophagus hesperius.

C. fusiformi-oblongus, rufo-ferrugineus, pube brevi albida parce ves-

titus; prothorace profunde et dense punctato, postice angustato,

is anticis ampliatis, ad latera denticulis acutis cirea 4—5 ar-

mato ; elytris subfusiformibus, sat dense punctatis ; antennis pedi-

busque longiusculis, graciusculis, vix pallidioribus.

Long. corp. lin. 2-3.

Habitat in sylvaticis subsylvaticisque Canarize, Teneriffe, Gomere,

Palmee, et Hierro, v is.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 15

218 Mr. T.V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera.

Fam. Dermestide.

Genus TrLopzs, Redt.

15. Telopes multifasciatus.

T. ovalis, niger, nigrescente pubescens; prothorace utrinque et in

maculis 2 posticis elytrisque in fasciis 3, necnon ad apicem, pallido

pilosis ; antennis nigris, ad basin picescentibus, articulo ultimo (in

utroque sexu) parvo; pedibus piceis, tarsis vix pallidioribus.

Mas. Antennarum clava paulo longiore, articulis penultimo et

antepenultimo leviter elongatis.

Fem. Antennarum clava paulo breviore, articulis penultimo et

antepenultimo terminali vix (singulatim) majoribus.

Long. corp. lin. 14-12.

Habitat Canariam Grandem, ad flores varios tempore vernali frequens.

16. Telopes fasciatus.

T. breviter ovalis, niger, nigrescente pubescens ; prothorace utrinque

et in maculis 2 posticis elytrisque in fasciis 2 (postica subevanes-

cente), necnon mox ante apicem, pallido pilosis ; antennis nigris,

ad basin picescentibus ; pedibus piceis, tarsis vix pallidioribus.

Mas. Antennarum clava paulo longiore, articulo ultimo leviter

elongato.

Foem. Antennarum clava paulo breviore, articulis tribus inter se

subeequalibus.

Long. corp. lin. 14—vix 1}.

Habitat in floribus Teneriffee, Gomeree et Palmee, tempore vernali

frequens.

Fam. Elaterida.

Genus Coprostetuus, Woll.

17. Coptostethus brunneipennis.

C. elongatus, niger vel fusco-niger, elytris plus minus brunneis,

fulvo pubescens ; prothorace elongato, basi paulo angustato; ely-

tris pube suberecta tenui vestitis, sat profunde crenato-striatis,

interstitiis subconvexis ; antennis pedibusque elongatis, testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 22-33.

Habitat in Teneriffa, Palma et Hierro, sub lapidibus, passim.

Fam. Curculionide.

Genus Nanopuyes, Schon.

18. Nanophyes lunulatus.

N. ovatus, pallido-testaceus, flavescenti-albido pubescens; elytris

profunde subpunctato-striatis, fascia media parva subluniformi

utrinque valde abbreviata (interdum per suturam fracta), necnon

in interstitio quinto seepe maculis (una vel duabus) parvis, nigro

ornatis.

Long. corp. lin. 3-7.

Habitat Canariam Grandem, in foliis arbuscularum Tamaricis gal-

lice per margines rivuli ad Mogan crescentium deprehensus.

aaa ae Ce ee ee eS

pes

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera. 219

Genus Acattgs, Schon.

19. Acalles verrucosus.

A. lateraliter compressus, supra valde arcuatus, squamis nigrescenti-

bus densissime tectus et dilutioribus irroratus ; prothorace postice

paulo angustato, ad latera late albido squamoso, ante medium

setoso 4-tuberculato ; elytris postice paulo coarctatis sed ibidem

decurvis, nodulis plurimis setosis instructis, argute striato-punc-

tatis, mox pone medium macula parva obluniformi utrinque

valde abbreviata albido ornatis: pedibus tarsorumque articulo 1™°

elongatis, tibiarum squamis erectis elongatis.

Long. corp. lin. 24-3.

Habitat in elevatis sylvaticis Teneriffze et Palmee, rarissimus.

Genus Ecutnopera, Woll.

20. Echinodera crenata.

E. squamis fuscis nigrescentibusque dense variegata et cinereis plus

minus maculata, setis longiusculis suberectis obsita ; prothorace

profunde et dense punctato, setis apicalibus vix longioribus ; ely-

tris elongato-ovatis, ad humeros vix oblique truncatis, sat profunde

crenato-striatis, pone medium macula magna obluniformi (antice et

postice plus minus nigro terminata), necnon nebula (plus minus -

magna, suffusa) versus humeros, cinereo ornatis.

Long. corp. lin. 13-2.

Habitat in montibus editioribus Teneriffe, sub lapidibus inter 6000!

et 9000’ s. m., ultra regiones sylvaticas, occurrens.

Genus Atiantis, Woll.

21. Atlantis angustuia.

A. angustulo-subcylindrica, atra, subnitida, subtiliter pubescens pilis-

que elongatis erectis in elytris obsita ; rostro crassiusculo, punctato,

oculis rotundatis, prominentibus ; prothorace convexo, per basin

ipsissimam subsinuato et distincte marginato, sat profunde sub-

tuguloso-punctato punctulisque minutis intermediis valde distinctis

parum crebre irrorato ; elytris subcylindricis, profunde punctato-

striatis ; antennis tarsisque piceis ; femoribus tibiisque nigris.

Long. corp. lin. 3-4}.

Habitat Canariam Grandem, sub lapidibus in inferioribus et inter-

mediis late diffusa.

Genus Laparocervs, Schon.

22. Laparocerus excavatus.

L. niger, nitidus, fere calvus; prothorace convexo, minutissime,

dense et levissime punctulato punctisque majoribus sed vix pro-

fundis parce notato, fere simplici; elytris basi subbisinuato-trun-

eatis, callo humerali valde incrassato, profunde punctato-striatis,

interstitiis minutissime transversim substriguloso-rugatis et punctis

remote obsitis ; antennis rufo-ferrugineis, pedibus rufo-piceis.

15*

220 = =Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera.

Mas sepius nitidior, tibiis anticis intus versus apicem profunde

excavatis, posticis fortiter sed parce serratis.

Long. corp. lin. 4-54.

Habitat in montibus sylvaticis Teneriffe, preesertim inter muscos et

lichenes ad truncos arborum crescentes.

23. Laparocerus crassifrons.

L. niger vel piceo-niger, parum nitidus, plus minus dense et grosse

submetallico-squamoso tessellatus ; capite convexo, crasso, rostro

crasso subtriangulari grosse denseque punctato et profunde canali-

culato ; prothorace convexo, punctato punctulisque minutis inter-

mediis dense irrorato ; elytris oblongo-subovalibus, punctato-stri-

atis, interstitiis vix punctulatis et pilis brevibus suberectis remotis

preesertim postice obsitis ; antennis rufo-ferrugineis ; pedibus rufo-

piceis.

Long. corp. lin. 33-5.

Habitat sub lapidibus scoriisque in regionibus Teneriffe valde ele-

vatis, usque ad 8000! s. m. ascendens.

24. Laparocerus inequalis.

L, enescenti-niger, nitidus, parce submetallico-squamoso tessellatus

pilisque plus minus elongatis erectis fulvescentibus preesertim in

elytris parce obsitus; prothorace parvo, angusto, subcylindrico-

conico, sat grosse punctato punctulisque minutissimis intermediis

dense irrorato ; elytris latiusculis, subquadrato-oblongis, punctato-

striatis, interstitiis alternis valde tuberculato-inzequalibus, tuber-

culis paulo fulvescenti-squamoso fasciculatis ; antennis, tibiis tar-

sisque ferrugineis, femoribus ferrugineo-piceis.

Long. corp. lin. 3-4.

Habitat Teneriffam sylvaticam, in lauretis editioribus supra Tagana-

nam captus.

25. Laparocerus ellipticus.

L. ferrugineus, subnitidus, dense sericeo-metallico-squamoso tessel-

latus pilisque elongatis suberectis postice obsitus; rostro crasso,

oculis magnis; prothorace parvo, angusto, ruguloso-subalutaceo,

parce et leviter punctato, basi subemarginato; elytris ovato-ellip-

ticis, basi conjunctim trisinuatis, leviter punctato-striatis, inter-

stitiis alternis plus minus leete tessellatis.

Long. corp. lin. 4-5.

Habitat in sylvaticis excelsis Teneriffee et Palmee, vel inter muscos

lichenesque ad truncos arborum crescentes, vel sub cortice laxo

latitans.

Genus Srrongs, Germ.

26. Sitones punctiger.

- §. oblongus, squamis griseis cinereisque variegatus et setis piliformi-

bus demissis obsitus; capite prothoraceque profunde rugoso-

punctatis, illo postice punctis duobus cinereis ornato, oculis ob-

longis rotundatis valde prominentibus, hoc ad latera pallidiore

Bibliographical Notice. 221

. rotundato, linea media et punctis 2 vel 3 utrinque annexis pal-

| lidioribus ornato ; elytris cylindricis, per suturam obscure albidis,

interstitiis alternis lete fulvo nigroque tessellatis; antennis ad

basin pedibusque (squamosis) clarioribus.

4 Long. corp. lin. 23-3.

Habitat Lanzarotam et Fuerteventuram, sub lapidibus in aridis are-

nosis et calcariis degens.

, 27. Sitones setiger.

S. oblongus, squamis griseis ineequaliter vestitus ; capite prothorace-

que densissime et profunde rugoso-punctatis, illo oculis oblongo-

rotundatis prominentibus, hoc subcylindrico, intra apicem (sub-

elevatum) constricto, ad utrumque latus linea paulo albidiore

ornato; elytris profunde punctato-striatis, vel obscure variegatis

(interstitiis alternis obsolete tessellatis) vel dense fusco aut ochraceo-

fusco squamosis, seepius versus latera squamis albidioribus obscure

plagiatis, interstitiis setosis (setis nigrescentibus sed in interstitiis

alternis setis albidioribus distantibus commixtis); antennis brevi-

bus pedibusque rufo-ferrugineis, capitulo femoribusque obscu-

rioribus.

Long. corp. lin. 13-2.

Habitat in aridis insularum Canariensium, in Palma sola hactenus ©

haud detectus.

ST ee eee

i al

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.

Outlines of Botany, designed for Schools and Colleges. By J. H.

Batrour, M.D. &c., Prof. of Botany in the University of Edin-

burgh. 12mo, pp. 712. Black, Edinburgh, 1562.

Tue title of this book shows the intention of its author in the pre-

sent republication of the article “‘ Botany”’ from the ‘ Encyclopedia

Britannica.’ We are sorry to add that we look upon it as a mistake

to think that the book is well fitted for schools and colleges; for we

presume that here “colleges” is simply a synonym of “schools.” It

does not differ sufficiently from the same author’s valuable books en-

titled ‘ Manual’ and ‘Class Book’ to be suited to the inferior class of

teaching usually, and perhaps necessarily, given in those places. It

seems to us far too hard, much too long, and not sufficiently autho-

ritative for young scholars. In short, it is too good for its purpose.

If Dr. Balfour had allowed this treatise to continue in the position

for which it was written, and to which it is well fitted, and had

prepared a small—very much smaller—book containing the elements

of botany in simple language, he would have done more service to

science. Such simple elements should be written as by a master

stating his determinations, and usually omitting all notice of the

opinions of others (which are to be found properly in the larger

Class-books and Introductions), leaving out most of the chemistry

as unintelligible to the young student, and omitting the greater part

of the technicalities relating to the Natural Orders, but inserting in

ae Ep epee cen a eee

Sa eae

A |

222 Zoological Society :—

their place an outline of the natural arrangement adopted by De

Candolle and most modern systematic writers. - We think that

150 pages devoted to this latter part of the science is almost alto-

gether out of place in a book “intended to give the important facts

of botanical science as briefly and popularly as possible.”

But we must not be misunderstood. This is an excellent book,

and well fitted to follow a ‘brief and popular” primary volume,

such as Henfrey’s ‘ Rudiments.’ It will even, we suspect, supersede

Balfour’s ‘ Manual’ in many places where that has been usually em-

ployed: this is a misfortune; for the ‘Manual’ is far better fitted

for the more advanced student than are these ‘ Outlines.’

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

June 24, 1862.—E. W. H. Holdsworth, Esq., F.L.S., in the

Chair.

DescCRIPTION OF CrROCODILUS FRONTATUS, A New Croco-

DILE FROM Oxtp CaLaBaR River, West Arrica. By

ANDREW Murray, Assist. Secretary, Royat Horricut-

TURAL SOCIETY.

CROCODILUS FRONTATUS, NOV. sp.

Head broad and deep, much broader than in C. vulgaris, very flat

on the vertex, and with the margins of the flat portion slightly

raised ; the lateral margins very slightly curved ; the suture inside of

the lateral margin placed at rather more than a fourth of the breadth

of the vertex from its side. This suture is not throughout parallel

to the lateral margin; it is nearly so for about two-thirds of its

Fig. 1.

posterior length ; towards the front it bends a little outwards. Fig. 1

shows the form of the sutures in this species, while fig. 2 shows

their form in C. vulgaris, and fig. 3 in C. leptorhynchus. The ver-

Mr. A. Murray on a new Species of Crocodile. 223

tex in the two last, although flattened, is not so depressed, but is

slightly rounded, so as to be somewhat higher at the middle than at

Fig. 2. Fig. 3.

the margin. The colour in C. frontatus is yellowish with blackish

spots, instead of brown with blackish spots, as in C. vulgaris and C.

leptorhynchus. The muzzle is shorter than in either of the others,

deeper, and the front rises higher above it; the nostrils are more

224 Zoological Society :—

prominent and turned up. Both the head and the lower jaw are

deeper than in C. vulgaris and C. leptorhynchus. (See fig. 4, which

represents the head of C. frontatus seen in profile, and figs. 5 and 6,

which respectively represent the profiles of the head of C. vulgaris

and C. leptorhynchus.) The disposition of the scuta or plates along

Fig. 6.

the nose or muzzle is different in each species. Fig. 7 shows them

in C. frontatus ; fig. 8, in C. vulgaris; and fig. 9, in C. leptorhyn-

chus. It will be seen that the arrangement in C. frontatus is much

nearer that in C. vulgaris than that in C. leptorhynchus, which is upon

e as:

a totally different plan, the middle space in it being free from scuta,

soft, and smooth, with transverse wrinkles or lines, while in the other

two the space is covered with scuta, those in the middle being trans-

verse. The commencement of these transverse scuta between the

eyes is also different.

Mr. A. Murray on a new Species of Crocodile. 225

The scuta on the nape of the neck are differently proportioned and

placed in all three; and here the arrangement in C. frontatus bears

most affinity to that of C. leptorhynchus, instead of to that of C.

Fig. 8. Fig. 9.

a Pe Te. eT ee

vulgaris. Fig. 10 shows this arrangement in C. frontatus ; fig. 11,

in C. vulgaris; and fig. 12, in C. leptorhynchus. In C. frontatus

Fig. 10.

and C. leptorhynchus the four large scuta are of a subquadrate form ;

| in C. vulgaris they are irregularly subhexagonal. In the latter, not

| only these but also the scuta generally are flat, with a longitudinal

raised line or carina. In C. leptorhynchus, those in the neighbour-

226 Zoological Society :-—

hood of the four larger scuta bear a projecting oblong umbo; and

C. frontatus has this developed in a manner still more marked.

hig. Li, Fig, 12,

The same character prevails in the rest of the scuta. In all three

species there are six rows of large scuta down the back, varying in

width, diminishing to four rows in the lumbar region. In C. vulgaris

these scuta are flat, with only a slightly raised longitudinal line or

carina. In C. leptorhynchus this carina is much more raised, so as to

form regular crests. In C. frontatus some of them have an oblong

umbo, others a crest, and others only a raised line: the affinity in

this respect is greater with C. leptorhynchus than C. vulgaris. It is

the same with regard to the crest down the tail. In all three the

rows of dorsal scuta down the back become only four in number

after passing the hind legs, forming four raised lines, two on each

side of the spine; the inner crests or lines on each side then gra-

dually approximate (in C. vulgaris forming a narrow channel) and

thin off and become obliterated. The outer crest on each side, at

about the seventh or eighth joint behind the hind legs, becomes

broader and spreads out into a flat plate or leaf turned out horizon-

tally on each side. There are about seven joints in which this flat

table-shaped position of the scuta occurs, and about the same number

prevails in all three. As this disposition, however, does not com-

mence suddenly at any particular joint, but proceeds by gradations

out of the crest on the back, the number may be modified according

to the degree at which the observer reckons the horizontal leaf to

commence. The size of these scuta is proportionally larger in C.

frontatus and C. leptorhynchus than in C. vulgaris. These hori-

zontal thin scuta extend one on each side for a certain distance ; and

then all at once the double row ceases, and is replaced by a series of

single erect scuta running down the top of the tail. In my specimens

the number of joints before this single crest commences, reckoning

from immediately behind the hind legs, is as follows :—

2S ESS TERE aE eatee cae Rae aunty ae eer ee 18

SG ONG 5 oa kias wig oes ah mom ene 17

i ON She wh icin ats ols pas cece 13

Fee en ea a ee ee ee ee

Foal Sli aa

wer aay

“hae

eae

bat

Mr. A. D. Bartlett on the Habits and Affinities of the Kagu. 227

And the number of erect terminal joints is—

er, wungGres 2.55. SR eee UA ete oe 26

Wr. LODLOPRYRCRUS . oy dana we Gb ce vd wot des 19

sey 7 Mies of Pink ik Pa ee ee reat &

The colouring of C. frontatus is much nearer that of C. lepto-

rhynchus than C. vulgaris. The latter is coloured pale ashy brown,

blotched irregularly with dark brown. The other two have the dark

blotches distributed in transverse bands,—C. frontatus having every

alternate two rows of transverse scuta pale and dark—a disposition

followed in C. leptorhynchus, but not so regularly.

Total length of my specimen, 21 inches; total length of head,

from tip of snout to back of under jaw, 33 inches ; breadth of head,

13 inch; length of muzzle to front of eye, 1} inch; length of eye,

nearly 1 inch; height of head, 2 inches; length of body, from occi-

ut to back of hind legs, 8 inches; total length of tail, 12 inches ;

Tength of tail to commencement of single crest, 54 inches; length of

the part of it with single crest, 73 inches.

On the whole, this new species seems to combine many of the

characters both of C. vulgaris and C. leptorhynchus. In its head it

is nearest to C. vulgaris; in its colouring, scuta, and tail to C. lep-

torhynchus.

I owe this specimen to the kindness of the Rev. W. C. Thomson,

the accomplished missionary at Old Calabar. He wrote me word

long before I received it that there was another species of Crocodile

in the Old Calabar besides the two generally known, that it was ex-

tremely scarce, but that he would endeavour to procure a specimen

forme. He did so, and sent me the individual from which this de-

scription is taken, alive. It reached Liverpool in good health, but,

most unfortunately, was drowned on the railway on its passage to

Edinburgh. The gentleman who was kind enough to charge himself

with it thought it would not live unless brought in water, and he

put it in a foot-pail half full of water. The water was too deep to

allow the poor animal to rest on the bottom of the pail and stretch

up its head for breath; and when the jolting of the railway com-

menced, it was kept in a constant state of submersion. The con-

sequence which might have been anticipated ensued, and my Croco-

dile arrived dead. There is no doubt that it is a good species, half-

way between C. vulgaris and C. leptorhynchus.

Nore on THE Hasits AND AFFINITIES OF THE KaGu

(Rurnocuetus yupatus). By A. D. Barrier.

At the first sight of this bird, one is struck with its resemblance

to several different genera, and at once calls to mind Eurypyga, Edi-

enemus, Cariama, Psophia, Nycticorar, and Scopus: one and all

appear more or less represented in its singular combination of cha-

racters.

The actions and movements of the Kagu are generally quick and

lively, so opposite to the slow and chameleon-like movements of the

true Herons that one can hardly suspect it to be an Ardeine bird.

228 Zoological Society.

This, however, it doubtless will prove to be, but so modified and

adapted to a different kind of diet and mode of life, that its real affi-

nities are difficult to recognize.

With its crest erect, and wings spread out, the Kagu runs or skips

about, sometimes pursuing and driving before him all the birds that

are confined with him in the same aviary [among these are several

Blue Waterhens (Porphyrio)], evidently enjoying the fun of seeing

them frightened ; at other times he will seize the end of his wing or

tail and run round, holding it in his bill: from a piece of paper or

dry leaf he derives amusement by tossing it about and running after

it. During his frolic he will thrust his bill into the ground and

spread out his wings, kick his legs in the air, and then tumble about

as if ina fit. At other times he appears intent upon catching worms:

he steps slowly, his neck close to his body, his crest flat on his back,

all his feathers smooth and close ; he raises one foot, and with two or

three gentle strokes he paws the ground, swiftly he darts his bill into

the earth and draws forth a worm, a sudden shake and it is swallowed;

again he runs ; stopping suddenly, he makes another dart ; and thus

he continues to capture this kind of food. With respect to feeding,

this bird differs much from the Heron family, seeking out, in every

hole and corner, worms, snails, and other living things, whenever

they are not in motion: as soon as a snail is found, he breaks its

shell by repeated knocks upon the ground, and after shaking the

fragments of the broken shell off, the animal is swallowed. In no

instance, however, that I have observed, does this bird eat bread,

seed, or any kind of vegetable, but he strictly confines himself to in-

sects and other animal substances.

The skeleton and internal anatomy of the Kagu being entirely un-

known to me, I can only form an opinion of the affinities of this

bird by its external characters, habits, &c.; and I find that the re-

markable powder-down tufts, which are well developed in all the Ar-

deines, are carried to a greater extent in this bird; for above and

around the wings, on the breast beneath the wings, and on the back

and belly, this structure exists, and the enormous quantity of the white

powder given off is surprising. I have seen the bird enter the small

pond and attempt to wash; and upon dipping partly under water,

the whole surface of the water was covered with a white film, like

French chalk. The strong resemblance between this bird and Zury-

pyg4, even in the markings upon the wing- and tail-feathers, the mode

of spreading out the wings, and other resemblances, convince me

that I am right in considering the Kagu to be more closely allied to

Eurypyga than to any other bird that has come within my notice.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Notice of a Flycatcher new to the Fauna of Great Britain.

By G. R, Gray.

AN imperfect specimen of a bird in flesh has been received from

G. A. Copeland, Esq., of Carneythenack House, Constantine, near

Miscellaneous. 229

Falmouth, who informed me that it was shot, while resting on the

house, on Saturday the 24th of January last. Its imperfectness,

Mr. Copeland tells me, was occasioned by mice having carried off

the head. The rest of the bird, however, was in a sufficient state of

completeness for me to prove its identity with the Red-breasted Fly-

catcher, Muscicapa (Erythrosterna) parva, Bechst. I believe this

example is the first of that species which has been obtained in this

country. I have therefore thought that a notice of the capture of

so remarkable an insectorial bird at this season of the year might

interest some of the readers of the ‘Annals, and have therefore

sent it for insertion.

On the Development, Structure, and Functions of the Tissues of the

Anther. By A. Cuatin.

The successive investigations of Mirbel, Meyen, and Purkinje have

furnished the following data :—

The anther is divided at first into four and afterwards into two

cells (Mirbel).

The anther has its valves formed of two membranes, first distin-

guished by Mirbel, and denominated exothecium and endothecium

by Purkinje.

The endothecium, or internal membrane, is formed of cells called

fibrous by Purkinje, lobate by Mirbel, filamentous by A. DeCan-

dolle.

The filamentous cells are only produced towards the moment of

dehiscence (Mirbel).

The whole of the subepidermic tissue is converted into filamentous

cells. ‘

The conversion of the simple utricles into filamentous cells is so

rapid that the moment of its taking place cannot be perceived

(Mirbel).

There is a relation between the form of the cells of the endo-

thecium and the natural families (Purkinje).

These cells are the agent of dehiscence.

The vessels of the filament often pass into the connective (Mirbel);

they never penetrate there, but run through the whole filament (A.

Richard).

It may be added that the observations of M. Duchartre show that

the cells may be localized towards the line of dehiscence.

I. Development of the Tissues of the Anther.—The author’s ob-

servations, like those of M. Duchartre, confirm the following results

of Mirbel’s investigations :—Each of the two lobes of the anther is at

first'a homogeneous cellular mass; subsequently the utricles of the

middle of each half-lobe acquire a special development : these are

the pollinic utricles, which disappear after the grains of pollen are

produced in their interior.

His observations also agree generally with Mirbel’s upon this

point : towards the period of dehiscence, the partition of the cells

disappears. He has, however, seen numerous cases in which, by the

230 Miscellaneous.

persistence of this septum, the anther continues quadricellular. In

this case, usually (Lycopersicon, Tradescantia, &c.), two half-valves

rest by their commissure upon the septum, which, after their dehis-

cence, becomes contracted or destroyed; and at this moment it

might be supposed that the separation or destruction of the septum

preceded, instead of following, the dehiscence. A second type is

furnished by Achmea, in which each of the four loculi splits in its

median line. A third type of quadricellular anthers is presented in

Passiflora, Scabiosa, Schaueria, &c.: in these the subdivision of

each lobe is maintained until the dehiscence ; but this is less by the

septa, which are too short, than by the contiguous valves reflected

and applied against each other.

On the question whether all the subepidermic utricles become

changed into filamentous cells (as would appear to be the case from

the statements of Mirbel, Meyen, and Purkinje), the author says

that, by tracing the development of the tissues of the anther in

Tradescantia, it is distinctly seen that of two layers of utricles situ-

ated beneath the epidermis, only one (the outer) is converted into

filamentous cells, whilst the inner layer is destroyed. This tissue

within the endothecium of Purkinje was perceived in the young

anther by Mirbel and Meyen, who paid no further attention to it.

It is more distinct still in Passiflora, where its utricles, which alone

are tinted yellow, papilliform, and radiate, are already distinct at the

appearance of the pollinic utricles, and are developed parallelly to

these and the pollen, but disappear a little after the production of

the filaments in the utricles of the middle zone.

In Tradescantia and Passifiora, as in most plants observed by the

author, the internal tissue is not tranformed ; it is destroyed after a

transitory existence. In other plants also it is not transformed, but

persists until the dehiscence of the anther (Canna, Colchicum, Pedi-

cularis, &c.); and this persistence is general (?) in the anthers which

are destitute of filamentous cells (Pyrola, Melastoma, &c.).

The tissue indicated as being more interior than the membrane

called endothecium, and as lining the cavity of the cells, is not

only characterized by its position and evolution, but also frequently

by the form, consistence, and coloration of its utricles. It is

as distinct from the endothecium of Purkinje as the latter from the

exothecium, and is, in fact, a third membrane, which must hence-

forward be included in the general structure of the anther. This

third membrane, from its position, will be the true endothecium,

the membrane so named by Purkinje becoming the mesothecium ;

and thus the anther, at least when young, consists, not of two, but

of three membranes. Nevertheless, at the approach of dehiscence,

these membranes may be reduced to one in the anthers of some spe-

cies (Calendula, &c.) ; and in some plants even the young anthers

only contain two layers of utricles.

With regard to the conversion of the simple utricles into filamen-

tous cells, the author states that, although rapid, it may be followed,

and usually commences in the anther at its point of attachment and

at its line of dehiscence.

eae

aie

Miscellaneous. 231

_ The exothecium is at first confounded with the other membranes

in the homogeneous mass of primordial cellular tissues, and may re-

main for a long time, or even always, in an indistinct state; most

commonly, however, it gradually acquires its characters; its utricles,

which rise in papille, or even in hairs on some parts, sometimes

acquire an extraordinary development. The cuticle itself may form

a thick crust, which assists in limiting the phenomenon of dehis-

cence. tt

Lastly, as with the production of the filamentous cells and the

destruction of the third membrane, it is at the approach of the

dehiscence of the anther that the abnormal development, or even

the destruction, of the outer membrane takes place.—Comptes

Rendus, Dec. 22, 1862, p. 911. .

On a New Pteropus from New Holland. By W. Perers.

P. scapulatus, nu. sp.; auriculis elongatis, patagio anali ad coccygem

coarctato; facie ex fusco canescente, mento fusco, torque collari

tufo-ferrugineo ; macula scapulari utrinque ochraceo-flavida ; dorso

fusco-ferrugineo, obsolete fusco maculato ; pectore ventreque fusco-

ferrugineis, lateribus dilutioribus ; fasciculo pilorum suprahumerali

vellereque patagiali humeri et antibrachii fulvis.

Long. tota 0°230 metre ; cap. 0°065 ; auric. 0-030 ; antibrachii 0-137 ;

dig. 1.0°053; dig. 2.0°098; dig. 3. 0°265; dig. 5. 0°182; tibize

0-065; patag. analis medii 0-003.

Hab. Promontorium York, Nove Hollandiz.

The present species nearly approaches Pteropus medius in size,

and is very easily distinguished from all other species by the two

humeral spots, and also by the golden-yellow colour of the abundant

woolly hair on the ventral side of the wing-membranes, which appears

near the lumbar region, on the humeral membrane, and near the fore-

arm almost to its end.

The ears are about one-half longer than the distance between the

eyes and the apex of the muzzle. The upper incisors are of nearly

equal size, and stand at equal distances apart ; the lower ones, on the

contrary, stand in pairs, and the inner one on each side is scarcely

one-third of the size of the outer one, which, however, is much

smaller than the upper ones. The upper canines are slender and

pointed, furnished with a broad furrow in front, and about one-half

longer than the lower ones. The first upper false molar is not larger

than the outer lower incisor, it stands near the canine, and is separated

by a great space from the second caniniform false molar. The third

true molar is small, as also the molars in general, the series of the

three true and the hindermost false molar measuring 0-011 metre, and

the entire dental series to the anterior margin of the upper incisor

teeth only 0°020. The anterior lower false molar, which agrees

pretty nearly in size with the hindermost lower true molar, stands

scarcely the half of its diameter from the canine, but nearly twice its

diameter from the following caniniform false molar. The length of

232 Miscelianeous.

the dental series, composed of the three true and two false molars,

amounts to 0°0125 metre, and of the whole lower series of teeth 0°020.

The hair of the body is dense and lies smooth, and extends, gradually

becoming shorter, as far as the first third of the forearm ; and on the

hinder extremities, externally, to one-, and internally to scarcely two-

thirds of the shank. The hair of the coccygeal region is softer and

entirely covers the middle of the membrane, which is here very

narrow. The hair of the ventral surface is softer and more undu-

lating; the upper arm and thigh are here more sparingly clothed

with hair, and a long woolly clothing of the wing-membranes appears at

the sides of the lumbar region, on the humeral membrane, and below

the forearm nearly to itsend. The teats are situated, as always in

the genus Pteropus s. str., in the axilla; and in the lumbar region the

wing-membranes approach each other within about 0°025 metre.

The colour of the face is blackish brown, mixed with grey ; on the

forehead and crown the hairs are dark brown, with ochreous tips or

subapical rings of the same colour. The chin is blackish-brown.

The entire neck is reddish-brown, somewhat darker on the nape.

The back is dark rusty-brown, and this colour extends between and

round the two yellow humeral spots up to the middle of the nape.

The forepart of the back, below the two humeral spots, as also the

region of the upper arm, is sprinkled with grey; both here and on

the lower part of the back there are faint blackish-brown spots,

which, on the lumbar region, stand in about six or seven irregular

transverse rows. The breast and belly are dark rusty brown, the

former darker than the latter; the sides, especially before the teats,

appear much lighter and paler. The woolly hair of the ventral side

of the wing-membrane near the loins, and before and behind the arms,

and also a tuft of hair above and in front of the insertion of the

wings are of a fine yellow. The narrow margin of the femoral mem-

brane is free on the ventral side, and not covered with hairs.

The description is from the skin of a full-grown female specimen

recently obtained by the Museum from Mr. Frank.

A second new species, Pteropus chrysauchen, from the Island of

Batjan, has been obtained by the Museum from the same naturalist.

It has much resemblance to P. Alecto, Temm., the brownish-black

head, back, and belly being sprinkled with grey, the anal membrane

very narrow in the middle, and the woolly hair on the lower surface

of the wing-membranes blackish-brown. It is distinguished by its

narrower ears, by the greater approximation (0°036 metre) of the

wing-membranes on the back, and by the pale ochreous mark which

not only occupies the whole nape, but descends upon the sides of the

neck, and extends upwards between the ears to the vertex. The dor-

sal surface of the arms and the whole of the shanks are naked. Total

length of the skin of an old female 0°28 metre; head 0:080; ear

0:026; forearm 0°175; thumb 0:079; second finger 0-125; third

finger 0°325; tibia 0:080.—Monatsber. der Berl. Ahad. der Wiss.

August 1862, p. 574.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES. ]

No. 64. APRIL 1863.

XXV.—On the Classification of the Brachyura, and on the Homo-

logies of the Antennary Joints in Decapod Crustacea. By

Wa. Srimeson, M.D.*

Dr. Srraut has recently been making some carcinological in-

vestigations +t, which have led him to propose a new classification

of the higher Crustacea. He considers the characters of the -

external antenne, particularly of their second joint (basicerite)

of paramount importance, and would divide the suborder Bra-

chyura, in accordance with these characters, into four groups,

namely,

Orbata, with the first two joints of the antenna only present,

the rest wanting, as in Acanthocyclus.

Liberata, with the basicerite free, as in Oncinopus.

Incuneata, with the basicerite wedged in between the ptery-

gostomium and the epistome, as in Cancer.

Perfusa, with the basicerite completely united with the neigh-

bouring parts, as in Stenorhynchus.

These differences are certainly of great importance, and have

not generally received sufficient attention from carcinologists ;

but they can scarcely be used for the primary subdivisions, as

they are not coincident with characters of still higher value.

By their use we should be required to dismember well-marked

groups—to separate, for instance, Macrocheira from the Maioids,

and Gecarcinus from the Ocypodoids; while strange approxi-

mations would occur, as of Oncinopus with Myctyris. Experience

has long since shown us that it is impossible to group animals

upon the variations of a single organ.

_ Some of Dr. Strahl’s conclusions are so surprising that they

* From Silliman’s American Journal for January, 1863.

+ Monatsbericht der Konig]. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin,

1861; Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. ix. p. 299.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 16

234 Dr. W. Stimpson on the Classification of the Brachyura,

may well require the closest scrutiny before acceptation. For

example, he says, “The Leucosie I consider to include only

Dana’s Leucosidea, with Dorippe and Aithusa. I separate the

Calappide and Matutide from them, and unite them with the

Parthenopine rejected from the Ozyrhyncha.” This combination

is justified “ by the agreement in the situation of the afferent

canal of the branchial cavity and of the male sexual organs,” &c.

But the Calappide are entirely removed from the Parthenopine

in the structure of the mouth-parts; the buccal cavity is nar-

rowed anteriorly so that the efferent branchial ciinels termi-

nate at the middle instead of the sides of the endostome, and

are covered by the indurated summits of the lacinize of the

first pair of maxillipeds (tritocheirognathites). Like the Leuco-

sidea they are oxystomatous, as Milne-Edwards has shown.

They, ‘ndeed, differ from these latter in the situation of the

efferent canals, and should therefore be separated as a distinct

group; but they should no more be united to the Parthenopine

than should the Dorippide, which Dr. Strahl would unite with

the Leucosidea, although these are far more nearly allied to the

Calappide, not having the afferent canal covered by the exognath

of the outer maxillipeds, which is the case in all Leucosidea.

Again, Dr. Strahl remarks, “The genus Grapsus, limited by

the rejection of Leptograpsus, Metopograpsus, &c., and repre-

sented by the species Pharaonis, strigosus, Webbit, &c., must be

removed not only out of the Grapsoidea, but even entirely out

of the Brachyura, because the structure of the external an-

tennee differs completely from that which prevails amongst the

Brachyura. Grapsus, for instance, has no operculum at the base

of the external antenne, but a perforated tubercle, as in the

Macrura, and must therefore at least be placed among the

Anomura.” Here we would have Leptograpsus variegatus and

Grapsus strigosus, for instance—forms so closely allied that they

are placed in one and the same genus by so skilful a naturalist

as Dana—separated so widely from each other that the latter

species is placed among the Anomura! Let us examine fresh or

wet specimens to ascertain whether Grapsus in reality has, at the

base of the antennz, a structure so essentially differing from

that found in ordinary Brachyura. Dried specimens are too

commonly used in these investigations, and are very apt to lead

to error. The “operculum” spoken of above is the coxal joint

(coxocerite) of the external antenne, which is moveable in all

crabs, even where the next (basicerite) is not. In a Maia, for

example, this coxal joint may be raised a little, so that the mem-

branous areola* which occupies its postero-interior surface may

* The so-called tympanum. It is very doubtful whether the auditory

organ is ever here situated. Kroyer has demonstrated (Kongl. Danske

and on the Homologies of the Antennary Joints in Decapoda. 235

be partially seen. In Leptograpsus this areola is more exposed,

encroaching somewhat upon the margin or outer surface of the

coxal joint, or, in other words, this joint is kept permanently a

little raised. In Grapsus the coxal joint (here the “ perforated

tubercle ” of Strahl) is still more evolved, and its sides are folded

in, giving it a globular form, and contracting the areola, which

is thus placed in a slit, and becomes almost wholly external.

The different form of the coxocerite in Grapsus is therefore the

result of a simple modification, not of structural importance.

In Dromia the coxal joint is also slit at one side, but the areola

is on the inner surface. This joint in Dromia is not “so

shrunken that only the tubercle remains.” It is far larger in

- proportion than is usual in the higher Crustacea. Dr. Strahl

says that “if we imagine the slit in the tubercle of Dromia

carried out to one side, so that here the peripheral margin is

completely separated, we have the operculum of the Brachyura

in its perfect form.” But this prolongation of the slit would cut

the coxal joint in two, which is not the case in the “ operculum;”

for this “ operculum ” is truly the homologue of the coxocerite

of Dromia and Homarus in its entirety, as may be seen by com- -

parison with this part in Pi/umnus, for instance, where the basi-

cerite is not soldered to the contiguous parts as is usual in

Cancroids, but is free and articulated directly with the “ oper-

culum” in the same manner as it is with the coxal joint in the

other two genera named. Pilumnus, we may remark incident-

ally, would be classed with Parthenope by the character of its

antenne.

Dr. Strahl proposes new names for the first two joints of the

external antennz : the first (coxocerite) he would call intercalare ;

the second (basicerite) armiger, while the third (ischiocerite) he

calls the first jot of the antennz, which is certainly liable to

mislead. Prof. Milne-Edwards, who has done so much towards

elucidating the homologies of these joints, has given to them

the names in brackets, which are more appropriate ; for there is

undoubtedly a perfect correspondence between them and the

joints of the maxillz or feet. I believe it possible to carry the

homology even further than the celebrated French zoologist has

done, and that the antenna in question, like a foot or maxilliped,

consists normally of seven joints. In the embryo of Hippolyte,

as figured by Kroyer*, there are five distinct jomts beyond the

basicerite, which would make seven in all. Moreover, they can

be demonstrated in the adult Squilla, Azius, and Pagurus, and

Vidensk. Selskabs Skrifter, 1856, iv. 288) that a far more complicated

auditory apparatus exists at the base of the internal antennz.

* Monog. Fremst. af Hippolyte’s Nordiske Arter, &c. tab. vi. f, 121,

16%

236 Dr. W. Stimpson on the Classification of the Brachyura.

particularly well in Homarus, where the parts aré more distinct

from their large size. The “peduncle” of the antenna in the

Lobster is considered by Milne-Edwards to consist of five joints;

but a sixth is indicated at the base of the penult, on the lower

side of the member. Here there is a small triangular piece,

articulating with the second and third jomts as well as the

penult, perfectly mobile, and dependent upon no one of these

joints more than another. An additional evidence that this

piece is the representative of a distinct joint is furnished by the

fact that the articulations of the two proximate joints are in the

same plane, and not, as should be the case were they normally

contiguous, in planes perpendicular to each other. To complete

the number (seven) of joints, we have the flagellum, which cor-

responds to the dactylos or terminal joint of the thoracic mem-

bers. This homology is rendered probable by the occurrence,

in the remarkable Hippidean genus Mastigopus*, discovered by

‘me in the Chinese seas, of a multiarticulate dactylus to the

chelipeds perfectly similar to the flagelliform terminal appendage

of an antenna.

The squamiform appendix of the antenna is attached to the

second joint, and is homologous to the exopod of the feet, or the

exognath of the maxillipeds, which has the same position. It is

called scaphocerite by Milne-Edwards, but would be more ap-

propriately named exocerite, a term indicating its relations with

greater exactness, and corresponding in construction with that

of its homologues, This appendage is normally two-jointed, as

is seen in the embryo Homarus and in the adult Squilla; its

basal joint is obsolete or coalesced with the terminal squamiform

joint in adult Macrura and Anomura, while in Brachyura the

entire appendage disappears with perfect development. ‘The little

basal joint of the exocerite in the embryo Homarus is mistaken

for the “ armiger” (basicerite) by Dr. Strahl, who considers the

large joint which supports both branches of the antenna as the

“intercalare”’ (coxocerite), on the ground that in the adult the

third joint is articulated with both the coxocerite and the basi-

cerite. But this is so only in appearance: if the antenna in a

fresh Lobster or Cray-fish be bent outward, it will be seen that

the posterior condyle of the third joint articulates with the basi-

cerite alone. The basicerite, in the embryo Decapod, is far from

being the trifling joint seen at: the base of the scale-like append-

age, but is, in fact, that large; supporting joint which is the first

to make its appearance, and which often reaches, with its exo-

cerite, a large size before any trace of other joints, either coxal

or terminal, can be perceived. In the figures accompanying the

* Proc. Acad. Nat, Se. Philad, December 1858. Not the Mastigopus of

Lenckart, which is a Sergestes,

On rare and little-known Fishes from Madeira. 237

valuable observations of Mr. C. Spence Bate*, this character of

the basicerite is well shown in representations of the Zoea of

Carcinus menas. Here we have the joint in question very large,

armed with a long spine on one side and the exocerite on the

other, while the rest of the antenna is in a rudimentary condi-

tion, and there is no coxocerite visible. This latter joint, with

its areola, makes its appearance at a later date, at the base of the

basicerite.

The large comparative size of the exocerite in the embryo is in

accordance with what we observe in the gradations of adult

Crustacea. Those lowest in the series have generally the external

branch of their members most developed ; as we rise in the scale,

we observe the inner branch becoming more and more developed,

while the outer branch is reduced, and may disappear entirely.

Compare, for example, the thoracic feet of some Schizopods with

those of the Caridea and Brachyura. ;

XX VI.—WNotes on rare and litile-known Fishes taken at Madeira.

By James Yate Jounson, Cor. Mem. Z.8.

No. III.

Fam. Pleuronectide.

Solea oculata, Risso.

U, Go. As Ole: Petes Vets OC NS.

Left side white ; right side a pale brown, marbled with deeper

brown. On the anterior part of the body are five large patches

of very dark brown. The tail is also of this colour, and the

patch is divided from the paler colour of the body by a series of

six yellow spots. The most noticeable markings on the right

side of the body consist of four round or oval dark-brown, almost

black spots, each surrounded by a ring of small bright yellow

spots. These are arranged in two pairs, the members of each

pair being placed over against each other at the base of the

dorsal and anal fins respectively. A line drawn from one spot

of the first pair to the other would divide the fish into two nearly

equal portions. All the fins are edged with white. At the base

of the caudal fin there is a narrow band of pale brown ; the rest

of the fin is a darker brown. The irides of the eyes are bright

greenish-blue, surrounded by a ring of gold.

The length of the head, compared with the total length, is as

1 to 54; the height, to the total length, is as 1 to 3.

There are numerous soft papille in the neighbourhood of the

* Phil. Trans, 1858, pl. xl. f. B 3, &e.

238 _ Mr. J. ¥. Johnson on rare and little-known

mouth on the left side of the body, and this side of the body is

rough with ciliated scales. Both jaws are set with minute teeth,

but only on the left side.

The dorsal fin commences in front of the eyes, is rounded

behind, and is distinct from the caudal, which latter is slightly

rounded. The anal fin does not join the caudal, but terminates

over against the end of the dorsal. On both these fins a series

of small roughly ciliated scales extends along each ray. Both

are coloured pale brown, with dark brown spots forming irregular

lines. The left pectoral fin is shorter than the right in the pro-

portion of 2 to 3.

Between the opercle and the caudal fin 70 scales were counted,

and in the height about 44, The lateral line is straight through-

out.

A single example of this species has occurred, which was taken

in the month of February. It had a length of 5% inches, and a

height of 2 inches. The right pectoral fin was # inch long.

The fish took fifty inspirations per minute. This Mediterranean

species has been taken at the Canaries, and has been described

by M. Valenciennes in Webb and Berthelot’s ‘ Hist. Nat. des

Canaries.’ That naturalist assigns 50 rays to the dorsal fin;

but this may possibly be a mistake of the printer; and he says

that he found 50 rays in the anal fin, 8 rays in the pectoral fin,

and 5 in the ventral fin. He counted only 60 scales along the

flank.

Rhombus cristatus, Lowe, Trans. Zool. Soe. iii. p- 15.

D.94. P,10. V.6. A. 74.°°'C. 27,

Elliptico-oblong, sole-like; the right side white, the left side

a palish sepia-brown, faintly marbled with deeper brown. The

height of the body to the total length is as 1 to 24, and the

head to the total length is as 1 to 44. The oval eyes are close

together, being only separated by a simple crest. The hinder

one is distant by about its own longer axis from the snout. The

iris next the mesial line of the body is spotted with white, is

much wider than on the outer side, and makes an angular

projection upon the pupil. There are minute pointed ¢eeth on

both sides of both jaws; and I can only detect one row of

each, although Mr. Lowe says, “ dentibus in maxilla superiore.

uniseriatis, in inferiore anguste scobinatis.”

The dorsal fin commences, on the right side of the body, in

front of the eyes, and extends almost to the caudal fin. Some

of the rays at its fore end are produced (in the specimen the

second, third, fifth, and sixth), and these rays are free for much

of their length. The pointed pectoral fins are small, that on the

Fishes taken at Madeira. 239

left side being longer. They are inserted below the middle of

the height. The first ray is very short. The left ventral fin

commences much before the right fin, whilst it extends quite as

far back. They are inserted in front of the pectoral fins, and

are both short. The anal fin commences immediately behind

the vent, gradually decreases in height backwards, and termi-

nates opposite the end of the dorsal. The caudal fin is pointed,

and is about as long as the longer pectoral.

The scales are rather large, and have their free edges pecti-

nate. The /ateral line forms an arch over the root of the pectoral

fin, and is then straight along the middle of the body to the

base of the caudal fin. Its scales are about 62 in number; the

scales in the height are about 33, the number above being equal

to the number below the lateral line at the middle of the fish.

This rare fish, of which only one example has occurred (taken

in the month of February, is easily distinguished from the much

eommoner Rhombus maderensis, Lowe, by its elongate sole-like

form, the approximate eyes, the produced rays at the fore end of

the dorsal fin, and the absence of pale annular markings on the

coloured side of the body.

inches.

UME UI on so ass om cee os nh aes 5,5,

MONET OEE co io og ge ve a ge ances 2

“ye ens Cee hee AE org 13;

Maye, BTONtee REI 8 eee eee ek tb

Dorsal, length of 2nd and 3rd rays ...... 1

Pectorals, length of left fin_..........-. 1

is distance from snout .......... 1

Ventrals, length of left fin.............. te

SSE ig 88 NAAR ici cee is

a9 MAS OF DONO: «5.55.0 ce Si wee et et ti

Order ACANTHOPTERYGII, Cuv.

Fam. Triglide.

Scorpena ustulata, Lowe,= Sc. scrofa, Linn.

There lately came into my hands three specimens of a Scor-

pena which seem to prove that the fishes from which Mr. Lowe

sketched a new species, that of Sc. ustulata (Proc. Zool. Soc.

1840, p. 36, and Trans. Zool. Soc. iii. p. 2), were merely young

specimens of Sc. scrofa, a common fish at Madeira. As it is of

much importance that all false species should be expunged from

our books, I will state the facts that have led me to conclude

that Se. ustulata falls into this category.

All three specimens have the occipital depression which Dr.

Giinther has pointed out as specially distinguishing the artificial

240 My. J. Y. Johnson on rare and little-known

genus Scorpena from that of Sebastes; and there can be no

hesitation in ascribing all three to the same-species, whatever

that may be. The longest has a total length of 7,8, inches, and

a height of 2} inches. The head measures 22 inches in length,

the eye ? inch in diameter. The distance from eye to eye is

z; inch. ‘The pectoral and ventral fins are respectively 13 and

13 inch long. These dimensions correspond closely with those

given from Mr. Lowe’s notes in Dr. Giinther’s ‘Catalogue of

Acanthopterygian Fishes,’ vol. 11. p. 112. The second specimen

is 6,5, inches long, and the third 64 inches.

The diagnosis of Sc. ustulata given in the Catalogue, and

there stated to have been drawn up from Mr. Lowe’s manu-

script notes, is this :—

€, 12 3

D. 9g. Avg. (I. lat. 24). Vert. 10/14.

“The height of the body is 32 in the total length, the length

of the head nearly three times. The head is scaleless, but the

cheeks and opercles are pustulate or granulated. The length of

the snout is one-fourth that of the head, the width of the space

between the orbits one-seventh or one-eighth. Space between the

orbits deeply concave (groove on the crown of the head as in

Sc. scrofa) ; orbital tentacles none or small. The fourth dorsal

spine is the longest ; the anal spines as in Se. scrofa (the second

the longest). A black blotch between the sixth and ninth dorsal

spines ; an irregular chestnut-brown and blackish mark behind

the eye, extending principally over the opercle.”

Now, turning to my. three specimens, I find that in the two

anal-fin formula is in‘all 2. ‘The head is scaleless, and destitute

of skinny appendages, except a tag at the posterior margin of

the anterior nostril, such as is seen in Sc. scrofa. The top of

the head, the cheeks, and opercles are without scales, and di-

stinctly pustulate or granulate. The muzzle is very short, broad,

and obtuse, extending only once the diameter of the eye before

it, as is stated with reference to Sc. ustulata. The length of the

muzzle is one-fourth that of the head, whilst the width of the

space between the eyes, which is deeply concave, is not quite

one-sixth the length of the head. In the largest specimen, the

fourth dorsal spine is the longest; in the second specimen, the

anterior dorsal spines have been broken; but in the third speci-

men the third, fourth, and fifth spines are of the same length,

as nearly as may be. Comparing the length of the head and

the height with the total length, the proportions in my speci-

mens are—

Fishes taken at Madeira. 241

Ae eect B. C.

Head in length 2°83 3 3

Height in length 3°77 3°55 3°6.

Mr. Lowe having stated that in Se. ustulata the lateral line

consists of 24: scales, each marked with a little tooth or point,

Dr. Giinther remarked that he had evidently counted the small

scales only by which the lateral line itself is constituted ; but it

was to be presumed that, if the transverse series of scales had

been counted, their number would be nearly the same as in Se.

scrofa, t. e. from 40 to 46. Now, in my specimens, the scales

furnished with a projecting duct (evidently the “little point or

tooth”) are 24 in number, whilst the rows of scales abutting on

the lateral line are about 45.

In regard to colour, the throat and belly are of a rich pinky

red; the body reddish-brown; with dark spots and pale dap-

plings; the dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins are washed with

orange and sprinkled with black spots, the ventral and anal fins

being nearly immaculate. In the largest specimen there is a

faint dark blotch between the eighth and ninth spines of the

dorsal. In the second specimen, there is a well-marked dark .

blotch between the eighth and ninth spines, and another similar

blotch between the ninth and tenth spines. In the third speci-

men, there is a large continuous deep black blotch extending

from near the seventh spine to beyond the tenth. It is evident

that there is considerable irregularity in the position and inten-

sity of the black blotch on the dorsal fin. In other respects,

the colours, as I have described them, agree sufficiently nearly

with those assigned by Mr. Lowe to the species Sc. ustulata.

But then he has stated that “the great peculiarity of that spe-

cies is an irregular chestnut-brown and blackish mark behind

the eye, extending principally over the opercle.” » Of this mark

I perceive not the slightest trace in any one of my specimens.

Looking, however, at the variations of colour which Mr. Lowe

has himself pointed out, it may well be doubted whether any

reliance can be placed upon this mark as a criterion of species.

After considermg the facts here stated, I venture to think

that ichthyologists will conclude that the supposed species

Scorpena ustulata must be erased, on the ground that the fishes

upon which it was founded were merely forms of Scorpena

scrofa.

Fam. Scombridz.

Echeneis brachyptera, Lowe,

Giinther’s Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. ii. 378.

An example of this species, 12 inches in length, had a sucto-

242 Mr. J. Y. Johnson on rare and little-known

rial disk of 16 pairs of lamin. The length of this disk, com-

pared with the total length, was as 1 to 33; and the width of

the body between the pectoral fins, compared with the total

length, was as 1 to 7-15. The lower jaw was rounded and

longer than the upper, which was angular, the premaxillaries

forming a somewhat obtuse angle with each other. The tongue

was rough at the middle with small teeth. The caudal fin was

truncate. The dorsal fin had 28 rays, the anal 23; they termi-

nate in the same vertical, short of the caudal fin. The colour

was a uniform brown, with a slight trace of a white edge to the

anal fin at the anterior end. The pectoral fins had rounded

apices. The lateral line was straight, save for a slight rise and

fall above the pectoral fins.

The following are the measurements of the principal parts in

inches :—

Width of body between pectorals............ 18

Dorsal, lenpth:of hase® 6. 6056.63 is Sadao 33

»» distance from tip of snout............ 62

Povtarala, length oss cs e's bdie paw oe a bebed 13

OMIA OBER oi 84 2:50 acing hea n ee 1i

Vent, distance from tip of mandible.......... 6

Anal, length of W086 v5. scsnis > enue ea tnee ae oe

Caudal, NOMLUS . y 455 s6.05. 62 2000 a0 ss: cena 3¢

TiVG, SOORCP OXIB soe va ce ce we ne ow epee gmeen ae

», distance from tip of snout.............. 155

Suctorial disk, length ............ccscecee SiG

re Wie s sss CU Ee Ue cccsccee 155

Cubiceps gracilis, Lowe,

Proc. Zool. Soc. 1843, p.82; Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. ii. 389.

Navarchus sulcatus, Filippi e your: a Acad. Torino, ser. 2. tom. xviii.

p- 187.

1 3 e

Dui, 5" A. 3° P.24 V.15. C.v.9+8.v. M.B. 6.

Elongate, fusiform, compressed. Dark purplish-grey, nearly

black on the back, the belly leaden-grey, the fins grey. Clothed

with moderately large cycloid scales, of which the exposed part is

diamond-shaped. ‘There is a furrow along the side at the mid-

dle of the height, and halfway between this and the line of the

belly there is another furrow not so long as the upper one.

The lateral line is distinct from these, and is placed high up,

following the curve of the back, and being straight along the

tail. At the sides of the head it is forked, the branches meeting

at the suprascapula. In addition to the straight longitudinal

furrows already mentioned, the sides of the body are marked

with transverse undulating parallel furrows, which at the middle

ye ee oe Por eee ee ery

Saad

yok Adele abn

aoe

Fishes taken at Madeira. . 243

of the height are convex towards the head. Of these, 27 were

counted between the opercle and the end of the dorsal fin.

The height compared with the total length is as 1 to 53; the

head compared with the total length is as 1 to43. The vertex,

opercles, and mandible of the unarmed head are scaly, Between

the eyes it is slightly arched, and there is a low ridge along the

nape and vertex, extending from the dorsal fin to the neighbour-

hood of the eyes. The short truncate snout is somewhat swollen

at the sides, and there is a triangular depression at each side in

the space between the eye, the upper jaw, and the snout. The

round eye does not reach to the profile, and its diameter com-

pared with the head is as 1 to43. It is distant about a dia-

meter from the snout, whilst the thickness of the head from eye

to eye is rather more. The nostrils are some distance from the

eye, and there are two small round openings into each sac. The

nasal region is marked by some conspicuous mucus-pores. The

mouth is small, the rictus being less than the width at the angle

of the jaws. The lower jaw shuts inside the upper; the maxil-

lary scarcely reaches back to the vertical from the anterior

border of the eye. When the mouth is closed, both the pre-

maxillary and the maxillary are covered by the broad thin bone

behind them. The upper side of the mouth is formed entirely

of the premaxillary, which, like the lower jaw, carries a single

row of minute sharp feeth. These are set close together, and are

rather longer in front. There is a large oval patch of minute

teeth on the roof of the mouth behind the vomer, which is also

armed with teeth, but there are none on the edge of the pala-

tines. The fore part of the tongue is thin and dilated, and the

hinder part is armed with a patch of teeth. The mouth, as well

as the inside of the gill-covers, is black. Pseudobranchie are

present. The rakers of the first pair of free gills have small

spines on their inner sides. There is a sinus at the posterior

edge of the opercle ; and the edge of the interopercle is minutely

denticulate. The lower border of the preopercle is striate, but

the edge is simple. -

The dorsal fin, which commences over the roots of the pectoral

fins, has no’ free spines before it. Its anterior portion consists

of twelve spines, but it is so deeply cleft between the eleventh

and twelfth spines as to be almost formed into two fins. The

spinous portion is triangular, and higher, though shorter, than

the rest. The spines are weak; the first very short, half the

length of the second. The longest spine is the fourth; the

eleventh is very small; and the twelfth is attached to the soft

portion of the fin, and almost equal to the ninth. The soft

portion is angular, and rather produced behind, the base being

scaly. The pointed pectoral fins are much longer than the

244, Mr. J. Y. Johnson on rare and little-known

ventral fins, reaching back to the commencement of the anal

fin. The ventral fins are inserted under the posterior angle of

the roots of the pectoral fins, and fold back into an abdominal

groove. They reach about halfway from their roots to the vent,

which is placed a little before the middle of the total length,

The spine is less than half the length of the next ray; the se-

cond branched ray is the longest. ‘The anal fin commences close

to the vent, under the fourth branched ray of the dorsal, the

shape of which it copies, and opposite to the end of which it

terminates. It is higher anteriorly, and it is angular and some-

what produced behind. Its three spines are short, and the base

of the fin is scaly. There are no finlets behind either the dorsal

or anal fins. The tail is longer than high, and its fin is deeply

furcate, without scales.

The scales of the unarmed Jateral line are about 60; and

there are 20 or 21 scales in the height of the body, of which

only four are above the lateral line.

Two. specimens of this rare fish have been obtained, both

taken in the month of January. There was only a difference of

2 inch between their respective lengths. The larger was an

adult female containing ova.

Filippi and Verany have described the species, from Medi-

terranean examples, under the name of Navarchus sulcatus; but

they have certainly committed a mistake in stating that there is

a furrow on the body above the lateral line, and another below

it. That line, as already described, is high up, and has two

furrows below it, the upper one of which has obviously been

taken by them for the lateral line. This explanation renders it

still more probable that there is no specific distinction between

Cubiceps gracilis and C. capensis, Smith, as Dr. Giinther has

suggested in his Catalogue.

The following are the dimensions of the principal parts of the

larger example :—

inches.

Total length . orrenr iy

Length to base of caudal ......... ‘viving seaiied 65

Height in the apatags mane pyr ee eT BS

Whines oe ce rae pie ccs ohn 8 cae en

BAMA 3b .d oso 65 9, AES tn bans Rone 2a oe it

Be Sites ws ap see os bess <s ve s ae eee tes

Mouth, width at the angle of the jaws........ ay

Dorsal, length of base .... 22... .s sees ecee 33

BENS 5 spinous portion............ ly

oo. alistamce from snout 5.'.86.. S aie 23

» length of 4th spine SRLS SCS ie te

» height of anterior ss of soft iyhrpes

Pectorals, length ede bia

yp bol

Sn ae a

i SRS ge pales ate ce ONES eye Ne ee

zee

Fishes taken at Madeira. 245

inches.

Pectorals, distance from snout ............+- 14%

2) SP edth of bases rin Ff. oe Ce de ve os $0

Meptrals, length. . 2... S002, cases ceesse se we

3 distance from snout ............-. 24

Anbl Aength of base oe si A coces eked Q

ss Metght anteriorly .i55.o.0:5.cise 7 PasteisNs ;

OG WROD. vos isc éiincs eR peam adaware SSP

” height Cede cc ow es cs es Socessesodee oe }°

Randal, lengthy: ook aig ser cg oe ote ea eevee 12

Zeus conchifer, Lowe,

Proc. Zool. Soe. vol. xiii. 1845 ; Aun. Nat. Hist. ser. 2. vol. x. 49.

Two examples of this rare fish, which have been recently pro-

cured, presented certain variations from the descriptions hitherto

published ; and these differences it may be desirable to mention.

The larger specimen had a length of 28} inches, with a height

of 113 inches; the smaller measured in length 274 inches, and

in height 103 inches.

The normal number of the branchiostegal rays of the genus

appears to be 7; but in one of my specimens there were 5 on -

one side and 6 on the other, in the second specimen 6 on each

side.

As to the bony plates or scutella found at the base of the

anal fin, Giinther’s Catalogue of the Collection at the British

Museum (vol. ii. p. 395) speaks of 6 on each side, whereas, in

one of my specimens, there were only 5, in the other 7, at each

side of that fin. In the former (the larger specimen) the plates

did not correspond on the two sides of the fin. On the right

side the last plate but two was the largest, and the last was

very small; on the left side the last but one was the largest, and

the last of moderate size. In the latter specimen the plates

corresponded on the two sides of the body, the last but two

being the largest, and the last the smallest of each series.

Between the ventral and anal fins there was, in the larger speci-

men, a series of 8 pairs of bony plates; in the smaller the series

consisted of 7 pairs only.

The filaments of the anterior spinous rays of the dorsal are

stated by Mr. Lowe to be very short ; but in my larger specimen

the filament of the first spine (itself 5} inches long) projected

24 inches beyond the tip of the spine, and those of the succeed-

ing two projected about 14 inch beyond their respective spines.

The dorsal and anal fin formula is given by Mr. Lowe thus :—

D. 9 or 10+ 25 or 26. A. 2+(1+25 or 26). In the larger of

my specimens the rays were, D.9+25. A.3+24; in the

smaller D.9+27. A. 3+26.

In the British Museum Catalogue it is stated, in the diagnosis

246 Mr. J. Y. Johnson on rare and little-known

of the genus, that there are no teeth on the palate. In both of

my specimens there was a small patch of minute teeth on each

palatine bone.

The “ thumb-mark ” on the sides of both specimens was nearly

obsolete. The colour. was a lilac-grey, deeper on the back, with

an iridescent lustre in various parts.

Cytius (Zeus) roseus, Lowe, sp.

The genus Cyttus was established by Dr. Giinther, in his

‘Catalogue of Fishes in the Collection of the British Museum’

(ii. p. 896) for the reception of fishes which are distinguishable

from those falling into the genus Zeus by the want of bony plates

along the base of the dorsal and anal fins, and by the spines of

the latter fin being limited to two. The present species had

been briefly defined by Mr. Lowe as a member of the genus Zeus

in the Proc. Zool. Soc. 1843, p. 85. Two examples having lately

occurred, taken in the months of February and March, I proceed

to give a fuller description of this very rare fish.

D. 7 or 8+28 or 29. A.1 or 2429. P.14. V.9. B.M. 7.

C.1v.5 +6. 1v.

The Dory-like body is compressed, elevated, and coloured a

pinky red, without macule, the sides, in certain lights, being

silvery, washed with red. Very small scales are imbedded in a

smooth shining skin, those of the lateral line being about 75 in

number. Between the throat and the vent there is a series of

five (Dr. Giinther says three) oval bony plates, each marked with

radiating strie, and having a median crest which becomes on

some of them a short spine directed backwards. In one speci-

men the third plate is the longest, in the other the fourth.

The height of the body is to the total length, the mouth being

closed, as 1 to 24. The head, when the mouth is closed, is to

the total length as 1 to 3%, and is therefore less than the height.

The thickness of the body behind the pectoral fins compared.

with the greatest height varied in the two specimens from | to 5

to 1 to 33, the larger being proportionally much thicker. The

vertex is covered with a smooth, transparent, scaleless skin.

Behind the eyes the sides of the head are striate, and at the

nape there is a broad transverse depression. The large eye is

round, or slightly oval, with a diameter which is contained in

the length of the head, the mouth being closed, about 23 times,

It is placed high up, and takes part in the profile. The border

of the frontal bone above it is toothed. The distance from eye

to eye is about equal to the diameter. The openings into each

pituitary sac are close together, above the anterior margin of the

eye. The outer and posterior one is large, and obliquely oval,

ee ee

RS ee

Se ae ad Rg pe 3

BS al

Fishes taken at Madeira. 247

In front of each smaller orifice there is a conspicuous mucus-

pore. The cheeks are flat, and covered with a smooth skin, in

which almost imperceptible scales are buried. The opercular

pieces are unarmed, but the border of the preperrie is strongly

striate, the striz parallel with the margin. e mouth is ex-

cessively protrusile, the pedicel of the premaxillary being very

long ; and the lips are furnished with thick skin. The ambit of

the open mouth is nearly circular. The maxillary is thin, trans-

parent, and much dilated below. The jaws are roughened with

bands of minute ¢eeth, that in the upper jaw being very broad

at the sides. There is a patch of similar teeth on the vomer,

but none on the palatines.

The branchiostegal membrane was furnished in both specimens

with seven rays on each side ; small pseudobranchiz are present.

The spimous portion of the dorsal fin is distinctly connected

with the soft portion, the former being shorter but higher than

the latter, which is more elevated behind than in front. The

stout spines are strongly striate at their sides, and carry short

filaments at their apices (Mr. Lowe says, “dorsali haud fila-

mentosa”). . The first spine-is only half as long as the third,

and the last spine is shorter than the first. This fin commences ©

considerably behind the root of the pectoral fin, and a space

equal to the diameter of the eye separates its termination from

the base of the caudal fin. None of the rays of the soft portion

are branched.

The pectoral fins are inserted about the middle of the height ;

they are rounded and much shorter than the ventral fins, reach-

ing back not quite so far as the vertical of the vent.

The rounded ventral fins are large, reaching back nearly to

the middle of the anal fin, and they are inserted under the roots

of the pectorals. The abdomen in front of their roots is flat.

The vent is placed under the middle of the spinous portion of

the dorsal fin.

The anal fin, like the soft portion of the dorsal fin, which it

resembles in shape, rises out of a deep groove, and has none of

the rays branched. It commences under the commencement of

the first dorsal, and terminates under or a little posterior to its

end. None of the rays are branched. The first spine is short,

stout, and subtriangular, with ribbed sides. The rounded caudal

fin has three short spinous rays at each side.

The dateral line is high up, and much arched, following pretty

nearly the curve of the back, and being straight on the tail,

None of the fins are scaly.

The larger of the two specimens afforded the admeasurements

set forth in the following table ;—

248 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

Total length, mouth open ...........2000 13zy

oc mouth closed [0545 ccsacn Ooi e ke

Height between vent and anal fin .......... 48

Head, length, mouth open .............+4. 5

Ss ‘6 > mouth closed ei. eee 355

Rove, diameter ii ..004 eG ES ee 1,5

Eyes, distance apart (5... eels eiee 1335

Nostrils, distance apart ic:.ic:sie's scsinwuals olek

Mouth, when open, 1,8; by............0005 iP

Premaxillary, length of pedicel ............ 255

Dorsal, length of base of spinous portion .... 2

3 A re soft portion.,..... o> ae

oy, _ xength of third spine ..... +4 ..0s 0s 1

Pectorals, length iso. 6 s'sa coe cy wee sees 13

= distance behind anterior marginofeye 2;%;

Venteala, length 42.505 0005, 2a ad ene pee 3

ADE tongth oe PEO AA ee 35°y

3) height posteriorly 0 5.5 5. So eg 1,5

Tail, height at middle .i 2.3.00. ue Soe Pin

Caudal; tength sy s% cis. ue sales 155

soit? SOPMMa Taal vlad +e 65 Lowe ee 375

XXVII.—On Ephedra. By Joun Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S. &e.

[Continued from vol. x. p. 140.]

Tue long interval that has clapsed since the appearance of the

former part of this paper demands a word in explanation. When

that portion was ready for the press, I was charged by the Go-

vernment of Brazil with duties arising out of the International

Exhibition, which required my undivided attention for many

months; and it is only now that I am able to complete the fol-

lowing description of all the South-American species of Ephedra

known to me.

In the mean time Dr. Hooker’s memoir on Welwitschia has

appeared in the Linnean Transactions, which renders it incum-

bent on me to reconsider my former views concerning Ephedra.

That memoir will claim attention from every botanist, not only

for the careful description of the structure of this remarkable

plant, but for the admirable manner in which the elaborate

details of its analyses are illustrated; and it is fortunate for

science that Dr. Hooker had at his command ample materials for

the investigation. For the present purpose it will be necessary

to refer only to such points in that memoir as may relate to

Ephedra.

In the absence of the smallest information concerning the

female flower and the ovary of Ephedra, and with the knowledge

ry: ee ee ee ee ee

las

ee ee

iba! UG ES Fe ee a ey ces ee ee

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 249

that in Gnetum the male and female flowers are found in distinct

whorls on the same node, I had suggested the possibility that

in Ephedra both sexes might prove to be developed in the same

common spikelet, in which the male flowers in the lower whorls

had fallen away before the female flowers became developed in

the terminal whorl—a supposition rendered more probable by

the fact that male and fructiferous spikelets are sometimes found

on the same plant. But the changes shown in the gradual

development of the ovary and fruit of Welwitschia render the

above supposition improbable; and by analogy we may now

form a tolerable conjecture of the nature of the female flower in

Ephedra. From these data we may infer that the two ovaria

developed in the terminal pair of involucels are deficient of a

corolla—a circumstance which sometimes occurs in Euphor-

biacee, where the male flowers are provided with both calyx and

corolla, while the ovary is destitute of any floral envelope.

The application of the term “cone” to the flowering heads of

Welwitschia and Ephedra is calculated to mislead many persons

in regard to the affinity of the Gnetacee; for they bear little

analogy to the cones of the Conifere. They are more properly

spikelets, because they bear regular petaloid sessile flowers along

a common axis, much after the manner of a spike of Plantago ;

and they offer more claims to this category than the spikelets

of Myrica, the aments of Betula, or the spicated inflorescence of

many other genera.

The structure of the male flowers_and the mode of inflores-

cence in Welwitschia present a striking resemblance to those in

Ephedra, both showing an advanced state of floral development.

Dr. Hooker considers the ovule in the female flower to be deficient

of any carpellary covering, and therefore gymnospermous; but

the circumstances he has demonstrated tend rather to evince

that it is enveloped in a distinct carpel. The important fact of

the existence of hermaphrodite or polygamous flowers in this

family serves to throw much light on this point. It is shown in

pl. 6. fig. 14 that Welwitschia (besides its floral envelopes) pre-

sents a monadelphous ring of regularly formed stamens sur-

rounding an ovary constituted in the usual manner of angio-

spermous plants—that is to say, with a simple style and stigma

surmounting an oblong 1-celled carpel containing a single erect

ovule, thus exhibiting a floral development and pointing to a

position in the system far higher than the gymnospermous

orders of Conifere and Cycadacee. But the ovule of the herma-

phrodite flower is always sterile, and it is only in such flowers

as are deficient of corolla and stamens that embryo-sacs are

formed in the ovule which admit of its fertilization ; and here it

is seen that the style becomes so far depressed that the stigma

Ann. & Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 17

250 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

remains sessile on the summit of the carpel, leaving the small

apical pervious aperture constantly found in the fruits of Wel-

witschia and its congeners. This depression of a pervious stigma

I have shown to exist in several other instances. The entire

development imparts a truly angiospermous character to the

Gnetacee, notwithstanding the pervious aperture in the carpel,

while the peculiar mode of fertilization, as Dr. Hooker seems to

indicate, is analogous to some instances in Santalacee and Lo-

ranthacee. I long ago pointed out the existence of vascular

threads in the viscous cap which crowns the seed in Loranthus

(Struthanthus), the nature of which I did not then understand,

but which may perhaps be analogous to the development shown

in Welwitschia.

The involucels in Ephedra, even in a young state, resemble

those of Welwitschia in this particular—that the margins are

simply reticulated and petaloid, while the central discoid portion

is formed of three easily separable lamine, the external plates

being simply reticulated and epidermoid, while the inner lamina

consists of numerous closely disposed spicular fibres shaped

like those shown in Welwitschia; these are imbedded in paren-

chyma, as well as two conspicuous distant and parallel nervures

which consist of bundles of ordinary spiral vessels.

The bilabiate perigonium in Ephedra is quite reticulated and

petaloid, and exhibits no trace of any similar fibres or vessels.

Its achenium bears all the usual features resulting from the

growth of a regular carpel: it is thick and coriaceous, containing

within its somewhat fleshy mesoderm a number of long hair-like

threads of pellucid woody fibres, nearly of its entire length ;

there is no resemblance in this structure to the perianth of the

male flowers. Dr. Hooker, however, considers the similar peri-

carp of Welwitschia to be the growth of a perianth surrounding

a gymnospermous ovule deficient of any true carpellary covering

—a conclusion apparently formed upon hypothetical grounds.

T have to make an essential correction in regard to the tubillus:

from recent examinations of the seeds of Ephedra dumosa (in

which the seminal integuments are somewhat thicker) and of

immature seeds of EH. Americana, lately obtained, it is seen that

the tubillus is expanded below, like an inverted funnel, quite

free from the apical gland, which it surrounds, and is continuous

with the outer integument, of which it is a simple extension.

In the cases previously observed, this dilated portion was so ex-

tremely delicate, and adhered so closely to the gland, that the

tubillus seemed to rise out of it. The fact, as above stated, is

now beyond all doubt.

I have again examined carefully the suspensor in Ephedra,

but can discover no trace of those embryo-sac-bearing filaments

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 251

which are found in Gnetum and Welwitschia. The tubillus, as

above stated, is a prolongation of the outer integument ; the red

fleshy gland is attached to and closes the mouth of the inner

integument. To a small point in the centre of this gland is

attached the white cylindrical-and tubular suspensor, hemi-

spherical at its apex, the lower extremity of which descends

upon and adheres firmly to the upper part of the albumen, thus

forming a kind of white cap upon it for a quarter of its length.

This suspensor is capable of considerable extension; and when

cut open along one side and examined under the microscope,

it is found to consist of a loose mass of condensed and extremely

fine flocculent tissue, confusedly huddled together like paper-

pulp, without the slightest trace of any of the coiled filaments

seen in Welwitschia and Gnetum, or any vessels whatever. The

albuminous mass is just the length of the embryo, and does not

extend over the summit of the radicle, which is quite naked

within the hollow cylinder, but it disappears gradually, and

becomes lost in the flocculent substance of the suspensor, be-

coming at last so far attenuated as to disappear in the form of

separate granular cells. From these facts we may infer that

this suspensor is only a portion of the amniotic body which has

not been obliterated, or in which albuminous grains have not

been deposited—a condition of development clearly indicated by

the acute sagacity of the late Mr. Robert Brown*.

We ought not, therefore, to attach much importance either to

the mere circumstance of a suspensor as a proof of the close

alliance of the Gnetacee with the Conifere and Cycadacee, seeing

that it is always diversified in the several genera, and different

from that structure in those families—or to the occasional pre-

sence of filaments bearing sterile embryo-sacs, for these never

occur in Ephedra, and not always in Gnetum—or to the exist-

ence of disciform dotted vessels in the wood, for they are found

only in Gnetum. These are only partial coincidences, and con-

sequently of little value in comparison with the strong evidence

showing a far more advanced perfection of floral structure in the

Gnetacee, and pointing to a much higher position in the system.

Other analogies remain to be discovered before this point can be

* “Tn other cases the albumen is formed by the deposition of granulated

matter in the cells of the nucleus. In some of these cases, the membrane

of the amnios seems to be persistent, forming, even in the ripe seed, a

proper coat for the embryo, the original attachment of whose radicle to

the apex of this coat may also continue.” (Gen. Rem. p. 57.) This view

applies as well to the origin of the vitellus in many seeds as to the peculiar

development existing in Ephedra; and it is probable that future researches

may show the existence of an analogous development in other cases, and

may lead to a knowledge of the true affinities of the Gnetacee, which we

have yet to learn,

17*

252 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

safely determined. I may here mention that all the details of

structure which I have observed will be minutely shown in the

drawings of the various analyses intended to illustrate the genus

Ephedra.

From the circumstances above stated, it is requisite to correct

the former diagnosis of Ephedra, as far as regards the female

plants, in the following manner :—

Flores 2 ignoti (forsan achlamydei). Achenia 2, distincta,

rarius abortu solitaria, summo spice amentiformis (ei d similis)

affixa, involucellis omnino vel semi-obtecta, oblonga, subtri-

gona, plano-convexa, collateralia, erecta. Pericarpium siccum,

coriaceum (mesocarpio fibrillifero), glaberrimum, indehiscens,

apice.glanduleformi pro tubilli transitu pervium, uniloculare.

Semen unicum, basi affixum, loculo paulo brevius, apicem

versus attenuatum ; integumenia 2, simplicia, ab imo usque

ad medium coalita, dehine superne libera et distincta; ezte-

rius tenuiter membranaceum, apice subito longe contractum

et in ¢ubillum persistentem tubulosum per foramen pericarpil

prolatum et spe longe exsertum attenuatum ; inferius cras-

sius, opacum, corrugato-plicatum, apice glandula subglobosa

majuscula carnosa clausum; hilum cum chalaza basali con-

fusum, substipitatum ; raphe nulla; albumen oblongum, sub-

compressum, obpyriforme, carnosulum, embryo equilongum,

apice suspensum ; suspensor brevis, cylindricus, opacus, floccu-

losus, ad imum glandule integumenti affixus, et ad partem

superiorem albuminis arcte adherens ; embryo carnosus albu-

mine equilongus et dimidio angustior; cotyledones lineari-

oblongze, semiteretes, parallelim collaterales (commissura spice

axin spectans), radicula iis equiiata et wquilonga, supera,

subcompressa, gradatim ad apicem obtusum angustata.

Ephedra Chilensis, n. sp.;—ramis ramulisque oppositis, vali-

diusculis, pallide viridulis, granuloso-striatellis, internodiis —

longiusculis vel mediocribus, axillis valde nodosis; foliis ru-

dimentariis, oppositis, crassiusculis, margine tenuibus, imo in

vaginam membranaceam serius ruptam connatis, laciniis li-

neari-acutis ; ramis floriferis axillaribus, brevibus vel brevis-

simis, apice spicellas 1-2-3 sessiles gerentibus; spicellis

ovatis vel oblongis, ex involucellis per paria 6, decussatim op-

positis et imbricatis; involucellis ovatis, obtusis, per paria

imo connatis: floribus ¢ in involucellis solitariis, hinc decus-

satim oppositis, perigonio incluso; antheris 6, in columna

subsessilibus et exsertis: fl. 2 pedunculo in axillis solitario,

elongato, supra medium 2-bracteolato, spicella solitaria termi-

nato, involucellis per paria 5 imo nexis; acheniis 2, termina-

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 253

libus, inclusis.—Chile, Prov. Valparaiso, v. v. in variis locis ;

v. s. in herb. Hook. et Mus. Brit. (Cuming, n. 372 ; Bridges).

A low shrub, with numerous virgate constantly dividing

branchlets, which are opposite in most of the nodes, more rarely

4, verticillate, from 1 to 14 lme m thickness, the internodes

being 14 to 2 inches apart; the opposite leaflets, 2 to 3 lines

long, are at first united for nearly their entire length into a

membranaceous vaginant sheath, which afterwards becomes torn,

by the swelling of the node, into two acute segments, coriaceous

at base. The male inflorescence consists of one to four crowded

spikelets upon a very short pedicel, thus forming almost glo-

merated heads on each side of every node: each spikelet is 3 lmes

long, 24 lines broad ; the petaloid perigonium in each involucel

is turbinately tubular, compressed, delicately membranaceous, of

an orange-yellow colour, 1 line long (thus somewhat exceeding

the length of its involucel), its border consisting of two rounded

concave, erect lobes, which are imbricated in estivation in the

manner before described ; the exserted anthers are subglobose,

of a bright yellow colour, opening by two pores in the apex.

The female peduncle is 10 lines long, bearing spikelets in which

the achenia were destroyed by insects*.

2. Ephedra bracteata, nob. Trav. 11. 531 ;—ramis erectis, ramulis

ternatim verticillatis aut oppositis, tenuioribus, divaricatis,

fusco-viridibus, minutissime granuloso-striatellis, internodiis

longiusculis ; foliis oppositis, rarius ternis, imo in vaginam

submembranaceam connatis, apicibus longissime et anguste

linearibus ; inflorescentia ¢ et 2 interdum in eadem planta;

spicellis ¢ 2-3 in quaque axilla subsessilibus, imo bracteatis,

involneellis 1-floris, per paria 6-8 imo connatis decussatim

imbricatis, perigonio involucello paulo longiore, flavido, peta-

loideo, antheris 6 sessilibus longe exsertis ; spicelle 9 involu-

cellis imbricatis, majoribus, coriaceis, marginellatis, achenia

2 collateraliter terminalia ultra medium velantibus.—Chile,

Prov. Valparaiso et Coquimbo, v.v. ad Concon; v.s. in herd.

Hook., Viiia de la Mar (¢ & 92 Bridges, No. 178), Vifia de la

Mar (Anderson, anno 1830), Coquimbo (Harvey ¢).

A shrub growing to the height of 2 to 5 feet, with the habit

of the preceding, from which it differs by several marked cha-

racters. The branches are more slender, darker, with internodes

1} inch apart ; the leaflets are opposite, sometiines ternate, 3 to

4 lines long, united at base into a vaginant tube 1 line in length,

the segments being somewhat erect and linearly setaceous. The

* A drawing of this species, with analytical details, will be given in the

‘Contributions to Botany,’ vol. ii. Plate 75 a. ’

254 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

male spikelets are 24 lines long, 14 line broad, formed of two

sets of basal bracts and six or eight pairs of floriferous decussately

imbricated involucels, united into as many vaginant sheaths at

their bases; the perigonium of each solitary opposite flower is

of a yellow colour, 1 line long, with a two-lobed erect border ;

the staminal tube is 14 line long, supporting the subsessile sub-

globose yellow anthers, which open by two pores in the apex.

The fructiferous spikelet is 3 lines long, 2 lines broad, formed

of four series of imbricated involucels void of flowers; they are

coriaceous, 14 line long, 14 line broad, each united with the oppo-

site one into a sheath at its base; the two terminal achenia, more

than half invested by the superior involucels, are 2 lines long,

1} line broad, flat on the contiguous faces, and convex externally,

of a somewhat glauco-fuscous colour, the summit being termi-

nated by an obtuse perforated gland, through which the shortly

exserted slender tubillus passes, which has a unilabiate termi-

nation. The pedicel supporting the fructiferous spikelet, which

in Bridges’s specimen is not fully grown, is 4 lines long, with a

pair of bracteoles a short distance below: in Anderson’s speci-

men the pedicel is 10 lines long, the bracteoles being at a dis-

tance of 2 lines, and the spikelet is double the size of the

former. It should be remarked that, in Bridges’s plant, a fructi-

ferous spikelet is found on one of the lower branches of the same

specimen the upper branches of which all bear male flowers *,

3. Ephedra monticola, n. sp.;—ramis oppositis, substrictis et

suberectis, valde ramosis, striatis, brunneis, ramulis junioribus

teneribus, imo in vaginam vix nexis ; pedunculis axillaribus in

flor. ¢ subbrevibus vel brevissimis, spicellam unicam ovatam

gerentibus; involucellis in paribus 83-5 decussatim imbricatis,

ovatis, obtusis vel mucronulatis, subcoriaceis, margine mem-

branaceo cinctis et floribus totidem includentibus ; perigonio

petaloideo, vix longiore ; columna staminifera 2-plo longiore ;

antheris 5-7, ovalibus, subsessilibus: spicellis fructiferis soli-

tariis, ovatis, pedunculo ramuliformi 2-bracteolato suffultis ;

acheniis 2, in involucellis supremis absconditis.—Chile, Cor-

dillera de los Andes, utroque latere; v. s. in herb. Hook.

(3 et 2 Bridges, No. 1210).

A shrub, from its very elevated locality, probably of low

growth, with more erect and more slender branches than the

preceding species, from which it differs in its general appearance,

in its much smaller bractiform leaflets, and in its achenia being

hidden by the last pair of involucels. Its branchlets are oppo-

site, but sometimes two superimposed grow out of each axil:

these are floriferous, nearly } line in diam., with internodes 9 to

* This species will be figured in the same work, Plate 75 B.

a TTT Pe Oe ee Se ee a es ee

‘

i |

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 255

11 lines apart. The peduncles are axillary, 1 to 2 lines long,

with a pair of bracteoles supporting them at their origin; and

they bear a solitary male spikelet, which is ovate, 23 to 3 lines

long, bracteated at base, with four pairs of imbricated involucels

briefly conjoined at their base into a sheath, subcoriaceous and

1 line long ; perigonium somewhat longer than its own involucel;

staminiferous column twice its length, bearing 5-7 sessile yel-

low anthers opening by two pores in their apex. The fructi-

ferous spikelets are on a distinct specimen: here the peduncle is

1 inch long, 2-bracteolate a little above the middle, bearing a

solitary oval spikelet 3 lines long, 2 lines broad; involucels

broadly ovate, gradually diminishing towards their summits,

coriaceous, with a narrow membranaceous border; two erect

achenia 14 line long, elliptic, plano-convex, perforated at the

apex, with no portion of the tubillus exserted*.

4. Ephedra Andina, Popp. ; Meyer, Mem. Acad, Petrop. v. 78;

—caulibus plurimis subhumifusis, ramis ramulisque ramosis-

simis adscendentibus, singulis ad pedem vaginatim foliosis,

flexuosis, nodosis, subarticulatis, internodiis subbreyibus, vi-

ridiusculis, granuloso-striatellis ; foliis minimis, oppositis, co- _

riaceis, acutis, imo vaginatim nexis, lobis in junioribus subu-

lato-acuminatis, mucronulatis, serius distinctis; spicellis ¢

axillaribus, breviter pedunculatis, solitariis vel binis glomeratis,

basi 2-bracteolatis ; involucellis per paria 6 decussatim oppo-

sitis et imbricatis, imo vaginatis, obovatis, primum submem-

branaceis et flavescentibus, serius subcoriaceis et membranaceo-

marginatis ; perigonio petaloideo, limbo 2-lobo; columna

staminifera longe exserta, antheras 5-6 sessiles apice 2-porosas

gerente: spicellis fructiferis axillaribus, solitariis, longe pe-

dunculatis; pedunculo in medio 2-bracteolato; involucellis

majoribus, magis coriaceis; acheniis 2, collateralibus, termi-

nalibus, glaucis, striatellis, imvolucello paulo longioribus,

apice perforatis; tubillo breviter exserto, apice inequaliter

fisso aut lacerato.—In Andibus Chilensibus; ». s. in herb. meo

et Hooker., 3 Cordillera de Maule (Germain) ; in herb. Hooker.,

2 Chile australis (Dr. Philippi).

In the memoir above cited, Meyer has confounded together

(but with some doubt) all the Chilean species of Ephedra. The

above-described plant, from the provinces south of the River

Maule, the region visited by Péppig, has been selected as the

type of EL. Andina, Pépp. It is a well-marked species. The

foregoing diagnosis, drawn wholly from it, should be substituted

for the more general character assigned by Meyer. It seems to

be avery bushy plant, its lower branches hanging on the ground,

* A figure of this plant will be seen in (Joc. cit.) Plate 76a.

256 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

and its ramifications rising upwards. In Germain’s specimens,

a cross section of its branches exhibits three or four distinet

annular zones, showing a solid white wood with close medullary

rays: these are 24 lines in diameter, and very flexuose ; its bark

is thick and of a brownish colour, but in the younger branchlets

of the last year’s growth it is of a yellowish green, the inter-

nodes being 14 to 2 inches apart. The axillary branchlets or

peduncles which bear the ¢ flowering spikelets are generally

half a line, seldom 2 lines, in length; these spikelets are 2-24

lines long, with six pairs of imbricated involucels ; the perigo-

nium is ? line long, and the staminal column, rising above it,

becomes 14 line in length. The fructiferous spikelets, upon a

distinct plant, supported by a peduncle 2 to 4 lines long, are 3

to 34 lines in length, and are formed of three pairs of imbricated

involucels, with a pair of bracts upon the peduncle. The two

terminal achenia, embraced by the last pair of involucels, which

are somewhat shorter than them, and subscarious, are plano-

convex, oblong, pointed towards the small perforated apex, where

they are marked by a small yellowish glandular ring which I

have considered to be the persistent sessile stigma; the exserted

portion of the tubillus is barely a line long, and is irregularly

lacerated and scarcely 2-lobed*.

5. Ephedra dumosa, nu. sp. ;—ramis arcuato-flexuosis, valde ra-

mosis et intricatis, internodiis subbrevibus aut mediocriter

distantibus ; ramulis divaricatis, striatellis, granuloso-scabri-

dulis, rufescentibus vel fuscis; foliis oppositis, coriaceis,

granuloso-striatulis, fusco-rubescentibus, imo in vaginam

amplam brevem connexis, vix marginatis, apicibus breviter

mucronato-acutis, vagina demum rupta linearibus: spicellis

fructiferis solitariis, brevissime pedicellatis ; involucellis per

paria imo nexis, imbricatis, ovatis, subcarnosis, rubescentibus,

achenia omnino amplectentibus; acheniis nigris, nitidis, tu-

billo breviter exserto, obsolete 2-lobo.—In Andibus Chilensi-

bus, v. v..ad Cortaderas costa orientali; v. s. in herb. meo et

Hook., Cuesta del Inca (Gillies).

A low bushy shrub, which I found growing near the Ladera

de las Cortaderas, on the eastern side of the Andes, and of which

I still preserve the ripe fruits, though my specimen was lost. Dr.

Gillies’s plant, from the eastern side of the Portillo Pass, is more

dwarfish, and is without flower or fruit. The branchlets are

opposite, the internodes being only 6 to 12 lines apart; the

vaginant portion of the combined opposite leaflets is 5 line long

and subcampanulate, the segments being of equal length, and

* A representation of this species, with ample details, will be seen in the

work before mentioned, Plate 76 B.

St ee ee ee

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 257

triangular. The fructiferous spikelets are solitary, 3 lines long,

2 lines in diameter; the involucels, broad and very fleshy, of a

dull dark ruddy hue, quite conceal the two terminal achenia

the latter are ovate, diminishing upwards, plano-convex, shining,

unevenly striated, each obtuse at its acumination, where it is per-

forated and surrounded by an apical annular gland ; the tubillus,

rising through this, is very little exserted, and very briefly bifid,

or rather lacerated into two very short, erect, concave, rounded,

unequal lobes*.

6. Ephedra ochreata, nu. sp. ;—suffruticosa, ramis virgatis ramu-

lisque validis adscendentibus, szepissime fusco-viridibus, stria-

tellis, granuloso-scabridulis, epidermide facile rimosa, inter-

nodiis remotiusculis; foliis 3-nis vel 4-nis, rigido-submem-

branaceis, in vaginam longiusculam striatellam connexis, api-

cibus subulatis, serius omnino disruptis, tunc liberis et reflexis:

spicellis ¢ oppositis, 3-nis vel 4-nis, in axillis sessilibus et

subglomeratis, oblongis, ad basin imbricato-bracteatis ; invo-

lucellis in seriebus ternatis 6—9, imo nexis et decussatim al-

ternantibus, ovatis, subcoriaceis, margine vix membranaceis,

perigonio subquilongis; antheris 5-6, exsertis: spicellis -

fructiferis 2—4, breviter pedicellatis, subverticillatis ; acheniis

2, oblongis, subacutis, ultra medium exsertis.—In Provinciis

Argentinis, Travesia de Mendosa 2 mihi lecta; v. s. in herb.

Hook. et Mus. Brit., § Patagones, Prov. Buenos Ayres (Twee-

die), Bahia Blanca (Darwin), Port S. Elena (Capt. King), Bahia

San Antonio. Var. striata ¢ et Mendosa (Gillies).

A very distinct species, with long virgated and somewhat

curving branches, which are striated, 1 to 2 lin. diam., the inter-

nodes being 2 inches apart; the younger ones are somewhat

fistulose, with a central pith, but the older branchlets are en-

tirely woody ; four branchlets issue from a node, two being su-

perposed in each opposite axil; or there are three verticillate

branchlets at a joint ; the leaves are 4 lines long, seldom oppo-

site, most frequently ternate, and united together as far as their

middle into a sheath which loosely embraces the stem ; they are

membranaceous, with a subulately acuminate apex terminating

in a long cuspidate point proceeding from the excurrent nerve;

four sessile male spikelets are placed verticillately round each

node within the ruptured sheath, the leaves now becoming re-

flexed and withered ; these spikelets are 2 lin. long, and 14 lin.

broad ; each consists of three series of imbricated bracts at base,

and nine other floriferous series closely imbricate and alternately

* This plant, with analyses of its carpological structure, will be shown

in Pl. 77 a.

258 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

decussate, each series consisting of three involucels vaginatel

united at base; the flowers, from twenty-five to thirty in re

spikelet, are therefore ternately verticillate in each series. The

perigonium is petaloid, of the usual form, of delicate reticulated

texture, the areoles being generally disposed in longitudinal

rows sometimes anastomosing with each other, each areole being

isolated and replete with a coloured fluid; there is no vestige of

any nervure or spicular cells as in Welwitschia. The involucels

are similarly reticulated, but they finally become thickened,

opake, and coriaceous, except round the margins; the coriaceous

portion is constituted in the manner described in a preceding page

(p. 250). The fructiferous spikelets, upon distinct but similar

plants, are two to four in each node, 4 to 44 lines long, 2 lines

broad, verticillately disposed, each upon a separate pedicel ;

their involucels, in about five gradually decreasing imbricated

pairs, are smooth, opake, subcoriaceous, with almost obsoletely

membranaceous margins. The two terminal achenia, half in-

vested by the last pair of involucels, are ovate, somewhat attenu-

ating upwards, trigonous, with an obtuse pallid perforated sum-

mit, the tubillus, with lacerated apex, being scarcely exserted*.

The variety striata of Gillies possesses all the specific features ;

but the branchlets are less than half the thickness, they are

glandularly scabrid, of a pallid colour; the internodes in the

male plant scarcely exceed an inch, while those of the fructiferous

plants are 1 to 14 inch apart; the leaves, 2}—3 lines long, are

united for above half their length into a 3-fid vaginant tube.

There are about six smaller glomerated heads around each node.

The fructiferous spikelets are 3 lines long, 2 lines broad, with

three pairs of subcoriaceous involucels with scarious margins,

the terminal pair enclosing two finely striated, opake, fuscous

achenia. It may probably form a distinct species; but there is

little that can be characterized.

7. Ephedra Americana, H. B. K. ii. 2; Rich. Conif. 31. tab. 29;

Meyer, Mem. Acad. Petrop. v. 100 ;—ramulis graciliusculis,

erectis, subflexuosis, striatellis, pallide virentibus, vix scabrel-

lis; foliis oppositis, imo ad nodos in vaginam brevem nexis,

lobis liberis longiusculis, linearibus, subulato-acuminatis,

erecto-patulis, submembranaceis, glaberrimis, crebre striatellis,

serius ruptis et divaricatis, linea transversali tune nexis: spi-

cellis ¢ axillaribus, sessilibus, subglobosis, oppositis vel 4-ver-

ticillatis; involucellis per paria 8-10, floriferis, imbricatis,

valde concavis; perigonio paulo longiore, petaloideo ; columna

* Ample details of structure, and a figure of the plant, will be given in

Plate 77 B. ;

aa" ta anaes

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 259

- gstaminali 7-nervi; antheris 5-7, exsertis: spicellis fructiferis

in quaque axilla solitariis vel binis, breviter pedicellatis ; in-

volucellis majoribus, glauco-opacis, marginibus anguste mem-

branaceis ; acheniis 2, terminalibus, subinclusis, apice calloso

oratis.—In Peruvia; v. s. in herb. Mus. Brit., 3 et 2;

in herb. Hook., 2 Chachapoyas (Mathews, 1838).

Kunth describes this as a somewhat erect or repent shrub,

very much branched ; the branchlets are slender, scarcely } line

diam., with internodes 1 to 1} inch apart. The leaves are 3 to

5 lines long, 1 line broad, setaceously acute, of a reddish colour,

and ultimately subreflexed. According to that botanist, the

male and female flowers are found on the same plant, in the pro-

portion of three of the former to one of the latter; but in the

instances I have seen, the sexes are on different specimens. The

male spikelets are solitary and sessile in each opposite axil ; they

are 2 lines long, 14 line broad, with six or eight series of flori-

ferous opposite involucels conjoined at base in alternating pairs,

and three series of basal bracts; the involucels are suborbicu-

lar, with a fleshy very concave centre and a simply reticulated

margin, the central portion being formed of three separable

lamine, as described in page 250. The perigonium is petaloid,

simply reticulated, with spotted areolz, but without vessels of

any kind. The fructiferous spikelets are elliptic, 3 lines long,

2 lines broad, supported on pedicels 1 line long. The mesocarp

of the pericarp is filled with numerous very long, and apparently

solid, filiform woody fibres imbedded in fleshy matter. Ina

half-ripe state, the tubillus is distinctly seen to be continuous

with the outer integument of the seed, a considerable space in-

tervening between it and the gland, and between it and a long

portion of the summit of the seed*,

8. Ephedra rupestris, Bth. Plant. Hartw. p. 253 ;—humilis, in-

tricato-ramosissima ; ramulis rectiusculis vel arcuatis, fusco-

opacis, valde striatis, granuloso-scabrellis, ad axillas paulo

nodosis ; foliis oppositis, imo in vaginam brevem nexis, su-

perne in lobos triangulares extus subcarinatos mucronatos

terminatis, minute granulosis, coriaceis, hematicis: spicellis

é axillaribus, solitariis vel binis, sessilibus ; involucellis oppo-

' sitis, imo nexis, 8—4-serialibus, imbricatis, carnosulis, fuscis,

‘ perigonio brevioribus; antheris circiter 5, sessilibus, longe

exsertis: spicellis fructiferis in axillis solitariis, breviter pedi-

cellatis; involucellis per paria 4-5, imbricatis, fuscis, carno-

sulis, minute granulosis; acheniis 2, terminalibus, inclusis ;

tubillo exserto, subtruncato, rubello.—Ecuador ; v. s. in herb,

Hooker., 3 Monte Pelzhum, altit. 12,000 ped. (Jameson),

* This plant, with full structural details, will be shown in Plate 78 a.

260 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

Monte Cotopaxi, altit. 12,000 ped. (Jameson), Monte Anti-

sana 2 (Hartwegg, No. 1394). ;

Apparently a shrub of stunted growth, found in the fissures

of rocks at a great elevation, the branchlets being 4 to 3 line

thick, with internodes 5 to 7 lines apart; opposite leaflets 1 line

Jong, which for half their length are united into a vaginant tube

round each node, becoming afterwards more or less torn to their

base. The male spikelets are 2 lines long, 1 line broad, with

involucels and perigonium 3 line long; staminiferous column

yellow, ? line long, bearing five clustered sessile anthers opening

by two pores in the apex. The fructiferous spikelets are 2} lines

long, 1} line diam.; the involucels are of a dark brassy metallic

hue, with a finely granulated surface.

The Ephedra humilis, Weddell (Ann. Se. Nat. sér. 3. xiii. 251),

from Puno in Bolivia, does not appear to be specifically distinct

from the above plant. The species is much allied to the Ephedra

dumosa described in a preceding page.

9. Ephedra Tweediana, Visch., Meyer, Mem. Acad. Petrop. v.

99. tab. 9;—ramis ramulisque oppositis, ramosis, erectius-

culis, teneribus, subvirgatis, pallidis, striatis, subgranulosis,

imo vaginatis, ad axillas nodosas subarticulatis, internodiis

subelongatis; foliis oppositis, aut rarius verticillatim ternis,

distinctis, imo linea transversali nexis, basi concavis, superne

hyalino-membranaceis, acuminatis, et in setam longissimam

filiformem terminatis: spicellis ¢ in quaque axilla solitariis,

vel 2-3-4 glomeratis, sessilibus, oblongis, acutis, basi 4-brac-

teatis; involucellis per paria 4-5, imo nexis, decussatim im-

bricatis, ovalibus, crassiusculis, margine membranaceis, peri-

gonio subequilongis ; antheris seepius 3, interdum 4-5, sessi-

libus, oblongis, vix exsertis: spicellis fructiferis similibus,

sed 2-plo majoribus, brevissime pedicellatis ; involucellis ma-

joribus et paulo crassioribus, pallidis, coriaceis, anguste mar-

ginatis ; acheniis 2, navicularibus, pallide opacis, oblongis,

gradatim angustioribus, apice obtuso perforatis, tubillo ex-

serto, irregulariter lacerato.—In Provinciis Argentinis, v. v.

Coro Corto (Prov. Mendosa) et Travesia de Mendosa, det 2

‘(mihi lecta, anno 1826); v. s. in herb. Hooker., Travesia de

Mendosa (sub &. Mendocensis) et in Pampas (sub titulo E.

australis) (Gillies); Patagones (Carmen, Rio Negro) in Proy.

Buenos Ayres, det? (Tweedie).

This species appears to have a wide range over the extent of

the Pampas, in localities which are more or less saline. It has

a branching ligneous root, from which numerous slender stem-

lets ascend, which throw off other occasional branchlets at the

nodes, forming a shrub 1 or 2 feet in height, with somewhat

ee See Oy ee ee ne ee ee ee ae ee ee ee ee

A AO ee ee ee ee

Tae ae ee er ye

pi Wi,

tL ca ei UL ao le

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 261

longer branches which run along the ground or trail upon

others for support. The opposite or verticillately disposed

branches are slender, subflexuose, of a pale greenish colour,

2 to 1 line diameter, with internodes 1 to 12 inch apart; the

nodes are somewhat swollen, often articulate, and embraced by

the bases of the leaves, which form opposite cup-shaped cartila-

ginous projections at each node, joined together by a transverse

line; the leaflets are 3 lines long, subulate, suberect, with hya-

line membranaceous margins, gradually diminishing into a long

curved setaceous point. The male spikelets generally abound in

the younger branchlets, where two or three are often crowded

together in each axil; these are oblong, somewhat tapered,

formed of about five pairs of decussately opposite involucels,

each pair united at base into a short vaginant tube; the mvo-

lucels are ovoid, slightly acute or obtuse, glaucescent, subfleshy,

with a narrow membranaceous margin, each enclosing a petaloid

perigonium of about their own length, which is campanulately

tubular, compressed, and expanded into two broad rounded erect

lobes, as long as the tube, imbricated in estivation; the stami-

niferous column, scarcely exceeding the length of the perigonium,

bears on its apex three to five crowded, erect, sessile anthers,

which are 2-celled and open by two pores in the apex. In the

specimen from Patagones, the number of anthers is constantly

three, which number occurs in the other localities, but only oc-

casionally. The fructiferous spikelets are on different specimens,

and vary only from those of the male flowers in being generally

solitary upon a very short pedicel in each axil, and are about

double their size, being 3 lines long, 2 lines broad, gradually

narrowing upwards, with about six pairs of involucels, the three

upper pairs being the largest, and all barren except the last pair,

which embraces ? of the length of the two terminal achenia;

these involucels are greenish, and ultimately brown, 2 lines long,

14 line broad, and pointed: the achenia are fuscous brown,

opake, broadest at base, gradually attenuated upwards, flat in-

side, with a somewhat sharp margin, rounded and carinated on

the opposite face, their section being somewhat trigonous, 3 lines

long, 13 line broad, the small obtuse apex being glandular and

perforated ; the tubillus is exserted, and irregularly lacerated,

not disciform as Meyer has stated, although he figures it as I

have described it*.

10. Ephedra scandens, n. sp. ;—scandens, vage ramosa ; ramis

strictis, ramulis junioribus floriferis sepe 4-12 verticillatis ex

quoque nodo, gracilibus, subflexuosis, pallidis, striatellis, fere

* A representation of this species, with structural details, will be seen in

Plate 78 B.

262 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

levibus, internodiis longiusculis, ad nodos subarticulatis ;

foliis in axillis oppositis, imo inter se nexis et vaginatis, lobis

brevibus, obtusis, membranaceis, serius disruptis et liberis :

spicellis ¢ in quaque axilla 1-2-3 glomerulatis, sphericis, ca-

pitulum globosum simulantibus ; involucellis rotundatis, con-

cavis, fusco-rubentibus, subcarnosulis; ramulis floriferis de-

mum elongatis: spicellis fructiferis 1 ad 3 ex quaque axilla,

longe pedicellatis ; acheniis semiinclusis—In Provincia Uru-

guay; v.s. in herb, Hook., Banda Oriental (Tweedie, Baird),

Parana et Entre Rios (Gibert, Nos. 9 et 75).

Tweedie describes this species as climbing to the tops of the

loftiest trees of the forest; and Baird saysit is used by the natives

for dyeing a fine scarlet colour. The branchlets are slender, of

a pallid green, not more than } to 2 line diameter, with inter-

nodes 13 to 2 inches apart. ‘The leaves are very small and

membranaceous, not exceeding 1 line in length. The male

spikelets, generally about six, are crowded together in a capitate

form around each node ; the spikelets are subglobose, 1 to 14 line

diam., composed of about five pairs of closely imbricated invo-

lucels, which are rounded above, and concave, somewhat fleshy,

of a dark ruddy colour, and opake ; the perigonium, of the same

size, is of a reddish hue, beyond which six to eight bright yellow

sessile anthers are exserted. The fructiferous spikelets, on

distinct specimens, are usually solitary in each axil; each

spikelet is supported on a very slender pedicel, 2 to 3 lines in

length, which is deflected; it is acutely elliptic, 8 lines long,

including the two terminal achenia, which are half-enclosed

within the last pair of involucels; the involucels are in three

imbricating pairs, with two pairs of bracts at base; they are ob-

long, rather obtuse, of a greenish-brown colour, becoming some-

what reddish, with a very narrow white margin: the achenia are

acuminately oblong, trigonous, 3 lines long, 14 line broad,

granularly striated, of a dark ruddy brown, with a somewhat

3-lobed white gland in the apex, which is perforated for the

passage of the tubillus, this being scarcely exserted and lace-

rated at its apex*.

11. Ephedra frustillata, n. sp.;—nana, ramosissima; ramis

ramulisque iterum ramosis, brevissimis, oppositis, vel spe

4-natim verticillatis, sulcatis, granuloso-asperatis, rufo-auran-

tiacis, singulis imo vaginatis; foliis axillaribus, oppositis,

' parvis, ovatis, concavis, rubescentibus, crassiusculis, margine

vix marginatis, primum usque ad medium in vaginam 2-den-

tatam connexis, serius disruptis: spicellis ¢ in apice ramu-

lorum ultimorum solitariis, sessilibus, subovatis ; involucellis

* This species will be shown in Plate 79 a.

wae

ti ae ee Tell

‘

Prof. G. Guiliver on the Raphides of Isnardia. 263

paria 4—6, decussatim oppositis, et basi nexis, erebre im-

ricatis; perigonio 2-labiato, involucello 2-plo longiore, la-

biis adpressis, rotundatis ; antheris 5, globosis, in columnam

exsertam crebriter sessilibus.— Patagonia ; v. s. in herb. Hook.

et Mus. Brit., Port Desire (Darwin).

A stunted shrub, apparently not more than 4 inches in height,

with a repent caudex, out of which the somewhat ascendent

branches originate, which immediately divide themselves at every

half-inch distance into verticillated ramifications round each

axil, the ultimate ones being floriferous, with a pair of short

vaginant bractiform leaflets round each node, and a similar sti-

puloid sheath round the base of each ramification. They are all

of a dull reddish orange-colour. The male spikelets are ovate,

2 lines long*.

XXVIII.—On the Raphides of Isnardia.

By Prof. GuLiiver.

Havine, through the kindness of Mr. W. H. Baxter, of the

Oxford Botanic Garden, received a fragment of a few leaves of

an old dried specimen of Isnardia palustris, I have examined it,

and find that, like its congeners Epilobium, Cinothera, and

Circea, it abounds in true raphides. They were easily detected,

in the form of bundles, under a magnifying power of about

one hundred and sixty, linear admeasurement, in bits of the

leaf which had been macerated in water; and the needle-like

crystals were also separately diffused through the water in which

the leaf had been comminuted. This plant was the only one

required to complete the series of observations on British

Onagracee formerly made by me; and now it is certain that

raphides are abundant and of similar shape in all our genera

of this order. How well it is thus characterized may at once

be seen by comparing a portion of Epilobium with a like part of

Lythrum, when the profusion of raphides in the one plant and

their absence in the other will plainly show the difference.

This observation, in connexion with others given in the ‘An-

nals’ for January last, pp. 13-15, would appear to warrant the

following conclusions :—

1. Raphides form a regular part of the healthy, growing, or

perfect structure of several plants—from the ovary to mature

parts, as stem, leaves, sepals, and testa,—contrary to the state-

ment of Schleiden that “crystals are rarely met with in cells in

a full state of vitality.”

2. Crystals resulting merely from chemical changes connected

* A representation of this plant will be given in Plate 79 B.

264 Mr. A. Adams on new Genera and Species of

with decay in the stem, bark, and other parts belong to a different

category.

3. Numerous species and orders of plants are nearly or quite

devoid of raphides as a regular part of the growing and healthy

structure.

4, Certain orders may be so readily distinguished from their

near allies by raphides alone, and this even in minute fragments

of the leaf and other healthy parts, whether in the fresh or dried

state, in the absence, too, of the flower and fruit, that the fact

should henceforth be comprised in the descriptive characters of

our plants of those orders.

5. Onagraceee and Lemnacee have now been proved, as far

as regards the British plants, to be such orders.

6. The common and abundant Willow-herbs and Duckweed,

being thus very laboratories for the formation and collection of

phosphate of lime, should be worthy of attention as valuable

manure.

Edenbridge, March 2, 1863.

XXIX.—On some new Genera and Species of Umboniide from

the Seas of Japan. By Artuur Apams, F.L.S. &c.

MM. Lesson and Vatencrennes have made known Umbonium

giganteum and U. costatum from Japan; and Gould has recently

described U. superbum, found by Stimpson at Kagosima Bay.

One species (U. moniliferum of Lamarck) is in estimation among

the Japanese for the superior lime it furnishes; and the same

species is sold in their shops, under the name of “ Aru,” for

ornamental purposes, such as the manufacture of bracelets. U.

vestiarium, L., so common in the north of China, is hardly met

with in Japan, a few dead examples only having been detected

by me at Tsaulian Harbour, which, although in the Sea of Japan,

more properly belongs to the Korea.

But although, very naturaily, the more conspicuous and bril-

liant species have been brought by travellers to Europe, yet

there remain still unknown many smaller and more obscure

forms of the family, some of which I now propose briefly to

elucidate.

Genus Umponium, Link.

1. Umbonium vestiarium, Linn.

Trochus vestiarius, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 12. p. 1230.

Rotella lineolata, Lamk.; Rot. rosea, Lamk.

Hab. Tsaulian.

ae ae a eee a Oe

Umboniide from the Seas of Japan. 265

2. Umbonium giganteum, Lesson.

Rotella gigantea, Less. lust. de Zool. pl. 17.

Globulus giganteus, Phil.

Rotella aucta, Sow.

Hab. O-Sima.

3. Umbonium costatum, Valenc.

Rotella costata, Val. Kien. Sp. Conch. viv. pl. 11. f. 5.

Globulus costatus, Phil. Conch. Cab. pl. 7. f. 15.

Hab. Simoda; Hakodadi; Tsu-Sima; Tsaulian.

4. Umbonium moniliferum, Lamk.

Rotella monilifera, Lamk. Hist. des Ann, s. Vert. vol. vii. p. 8.

Rotella javanica, Lamk.

Globulus monilifer, Phil.

Hab. Nagasaki; Simoda; Tatiyama; O-Sima; Tago.

5. Umbonium anguliferum, Phil.

Globulus anguliferus, Phil. Conch. Cab. pl. 8. f. 3.

Hab. Simoda.

6. Umbonium superbum, Gould.

Rotella superba, Gould, Otia Conch. p. 156.

Hab. Kagosima.

Genus Microtuyca, A. Adams.

Testa globoso-turbinata, late umbilicata, subporcellana, longitudi-

naliter rugoso-plicata; suturis canaliculatis; anfractibus ad suturas

crenulatis. Apertura semicircularis, “peritremate continuo; labio

incrassato, arcuato ; labro margine incrassato ; umbilico crenulato.

1. Microthyca crenellifera, A. Adams.

Isanda crenellifera, A. Adams, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862.

Hab. Gotto Islands, 71 fathoms; Seto-Uchi, 17 fathoms.

In this curious little form, which I referred to Jsanda (not

having the type of that genus to compare with it), the peritreme

is continuous, and the outer lip thickened—characters which

prevent its being referred to any existing genus.

Genus Umsonetta, A. Adams.

Testa globoso-conoidea, solida, porcellana, polita, anguste umbili-

cata. Apertura subquadrata; labio rectiusculo, antice dilatato ;

umbilico angusto, margine crenulato-rugoso.

1. Umbonella murrea, Reeve.

Turbo murreus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. sp. 54.

Isanda maculosa, A. Adams, Aun. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 18

266 Mr. A. Adams on new Genera and Species of

This genus is founded on a small, turbinate, porcellanous

shell, which I described under the name of Jsanda maculosa.

There is, however, a figure in Reeve’s Monograph of Turbo

which seems to represent the same shell, and is called 7. mur-

reus. The nearest genus appears to be Chrysostoma of Swainson;

but in that the aperture is circular, and the axis is imperforate.

Genus Ernatia, H. & A. Adams.

1, Ethalia perspicua, A. Adams.

Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1861.

Hab. Kino-O-Sima; Takano-Sima.

2. Ethalia sobrina, A. Adams.

Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1861.

Hab, Akasi, 17 fathoms; Tsu-Sima, 25 fathoms.

3. Ethalia candida, A. Adams.

Annals & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862.

Hab. Gotto Islands, 71 fathoms.

4. Ethalia polita, A. Adams.

Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862.

Hab. Gotto Islands, 71 fathoms.

5. Ethalia omphalotropis, A. Adams.

E. testa ovato-discoidali, alba, levi, nitida, semidiaphana; spira ela-

tiuscula ; anfractibus 34, convexis, rapide accrescentibus, suturis

impressis; anfractu ultimo ad peripheriam rotundato ; umbilico

aperto, margine valde carinato; apertura subcirculari; labio callo

parvo umbilicum partim tegente.

Hab. Yobuko, 17 fathoms.

This species has a peculiar sharp keel surrounding the umbi-

licus. Like all the other examples of the genus, it is entirely

devoid of coloured markings.

6. Kthalia nitida, A. Adams.

E. testa helicoidea, tenui, semiopaca, levi, nitida, sordide alba; an-

fractibus 24, convexis, ultimo antice subdilatato, ad peripheriam

rotundato ; apertura subcirculari; labio in medio indentato, sub-

calloso, peritremate in angulo postico producto.

Hab. Yobuko, 14 fathoms.

A thin helicoid species, with the whorls smooth and polished,

and the inner lip callous and indented, but not emitting a callus

sufficiently large to cover or conceal the umbilicus, The peri-

;

ee Te 7

eh eee

Umboniide from the Seas of Japan. 267

stome is produced into an angle, which ascends on the last

whorl.

Genus Te1nostoma, A. Adams.

1. Teinostoma concentricum, A. Adams.

T. testa orbiculato-ovata, superne convexa, alba, solida, semiopaca,

sulcis concentricis confertis concinne insculpta, lineisque incrementi

radiantibus subtilissime decussata ; anfractibus rapide crescentibus,

ultimo dilatato, ascendente, alios involyente vix usque ad apicem,

peripheria rotundata, basi convexo; umbilico callo convexo levi

omnino obtecto ; apertura subcirculari, antice vix producta.

Hab. O-Sima; Takano-Sima.

A solid, convex species, with the surface finely concentrically

grooved—a peculiarity which distinguishes it from any of the

species already known.

2. Teinostoma radiatum, A. Adams.

-T. testa orbiculata, depressa, superne convexiuscula, basi subplana,

semiopaca, alba, lineis incrementi radiantibus conspicue ornata ;

umbilico callo excavato angulato obtecto; anfractibus subito

crescentibus, ultimo alios involvente usque ad apicem; apertura ~

_ depressa, antice producta.

Hab. O-Sima.

This species is distinguished by its depressed form and the

conspicuous radiating lines which proceed from the axis towards

the periphery. The callus covering the umbilicus presents a

sharp angular excavated edge near the inner lip.

3. Teinostoma lucidum, A. Adams.

T. testa oblique ovata, depressa, superne convexa, inferne planiuscula,

alba, levi, pellucida, striolis incrementi obsolete radiata; umbi-

lico callo plano subcirculari opaco obtecto; anfractibus rapide

erescentibus, ultimo ascendente, alios involvente usque ad apicem ;

_ apertura subhorizontali, depressa, antice producta.

Hab. Simoda.

This species differs from the others already described in being

smooth and pellucid; the last whorl is also considerably more

dilated anteriorly. —

Genus Catcrorina, A. Adams.

Testa neritiniformis, oblonga, depressa; spira parva; anfractibus

rapide accrescentibus; regione umbilicali callosa. Apertura semi-

circularis, intus non margaritacea; labio callo magno-lato obtecto,

postice umbilicum tegente ; margine antico recto, simplici.

This little genus is established on a shell I found at Tanabe,

and which I believe to be the same as the Neritina pusilla of

18*

268 Mr. T. J. Moore on the Occurrence of

C. B. Adams. It seems to be most nearly allied to Teinostoma,

with which my brother and myself have placed it in our

‘Genera,’

Calceolina pusilla, C. B. Adams.

Neritina pusilla, C. B. Adams, Conch. Contrib. p. 112.

Teinostoma anomalum, H. & A. Adams, ‘Genera of Recent Mollusca,’

vol. i. p. 123. Teinost. pusillum, Append. p. 615.

C. testa albida, subopaca, superficie rugulis incrementi confertissimis

striata ; sutura valde impressa; anfractu ultimo depresso, magno,

ad peripheriam compresso.

Hab. Tanabe, in shell-sand.

XXX.—WNotice of the Occurrence of a rare Cetacean (Lageno-

rhynchus albirostris, Gray) at the Mouth of the Dee. By

Tuomas J. Moore.

On the 29th of December last, at daybreak, a fresh wind

blowing from W.S.W., and the tide being about quarter-ebb, a

large Cetacean was discovered stranded at Little Hilbre, one of

two closely contiguous islands at the mouth of the Dee. It was

observed by Mr. Barnett, Inspector of Buoys, who resides on the

larger island, and who had noticed others off the shore a few

days previously. I had urged Mr. Barnett, on the occurrence

of such creatures, to endeavour to secure examples for this Mu-

seum ; and he was, in consequence, kind enough immediately to

proceed to the mainland for a suitable conveyance, into which it

was carefully removed and brought to Birkenhead Ferry, and

thence across the Mersey to this building. The creature was

still living, spasmodically breathing at irregular intervals; the

body was warm to the hand; and tear-like moisture oozed from

its eyes as it lay quiescent in the cart.

I was desirous of giving it a fresh chance of life, and my first

anxiety was to obtain a vessel large enough to form a bath for

it. This I succeeded, after some delay, in securing; but, to my

great mortification, the creature gave up the ghost (with con-

siderable violence, too) at the very moment when we were pre-

pared to remove him into it. It was then getting dark, and the

poor animal had thus lived about eight hours out of water.

It was a male; and upon endeavouring to make out the spe-

cies, I was agreeably surprised.to find it approximate most

nearly to the description of the White-beaked Bottle-nose (La-

genorhynchus albirostris),.as given in Dr. Gray’s ‘Catalogue of

Cetacea in the British Museum,’ p. 99, and in the ‘ Zoology of

the Voyage of the Erebus and Terror,’ p. 35, the skull agreeing

well with the figures in the latter work, pl. 11.

ne ee ee ne a ee ee

Ee ee ee

a rare Cetacean at the Mouth of the Dee. 269

= I subsequently sent the skull to Dr. Gray for comparison ;

and he confirmed my supposition of its being an individual of

the species above named, namely, L. albirostris, which was

founded upon a specimen taken at Great Yarmouth in October

1845, and recorded by Mr. Brightwell in the ‘Annals’ for

1846 (vol. xvii. p. 21, pl. 2), under the name of Delphinus

tursio.

This addition to our local fauna is a matter of considerable

interest, as its place of capture comes within the range taken by

Mr. Byerley in his “Fauna of Liverpool,” published in the

‘Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liver-

pool,’ in 1854, and in which only two Cetaceans are recorded,

namely, Phocena communis and Hyperoodon Butzkopf..

The general colour is a rich black. A long and narrow greyish

streak extends on either side diagonally across the ribs; and a

similar greyish hue occurs on each side of the dorsal ridge,

extending nearly from the fluke to the tail. The beak white,

irregularly blotched with blackish, the white extending slightly

above the constriction of the beak. The under jaw and throat

milk-white, which colour extends along the belly, but becomes

rie clear as it approaches the vent. Its dimensions were as

ollows :—

feet. inches

Total length from snout to cleft of tail.... 9 0

NE I 6c ie ons owe eo 4 a come 0 103

ENR oe okie ok ec ecie a cs +s 0 ;

», of under jaw beyond the upper .. 0 t

7) wom snout to eye... 0... <'. 22 5. 1 i

ps Ss to blow-hole ........ : ag

- ‘a to commencement of |

dorsal fluke ...... koe 8 |

a me, to end of ditto ...... Roch

re 6 to pectoral fin ...... £339

NIRA SRE iio dal o Win nde a pssha'e « . ae

Deflection of cleft of tail from a line drawn

NT MO CI oo eran ncn os iu ohne ee 0 +

Girth in front of pectoral fin............ bee

re pe @otear MUkE oc. ce Ls ee

»» behind dorsal fluke .............. 4 °-3

The body becomes much attenuated towards the tail. Im-

mediately in front of the dorsal fluke, the vertical and transverse

diameters are nearly identical, the former being 314 inches, and

the latter 303. Halfway between the end of the fluke and the

commencement of the tail, the vertical diameter is 13 inches,

and the transverse 6} ; and immediately before the commence-

ment of it, the vertical diameter is 44 inches, and the transverse

24, or exactly one-half.

270. Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Geographical Distribution

‘The dorsal fluke measures 24 inches along its convexity, and

is 11 inches high. The pectoral fin, at its junction with the

trunk, is 7 inches across, and its greatest length (diagonal) is

19 inches; measured round the curve, it is 21.

The eye is $ inch long by 4 aninch. The orifice of the ear

is 24 inches behind the eye in a slightly diagonal direction, and

is less in diameter than a puncture by an ordinary pin. The

transverse diameter of the blow-hole is 1? inch, and the longi-

tudinal 1 inch, the points being directed forwards.

The skin has been stuffed, though with much difficulty, owing

to its want of tenacity ; and the contrast of colour is now almost

imperceptible.

The skeleton is in maceration, and will shortly be mounted.

The dimensions of the skull are as follows :—

inches.

SOU OORUD ids shine sh ene <n bye Ce 193

DRDGED DERMOID. 5 o's naps gainnh n 00s eanye heey ee

POUGGD BE DEG do bo sin. + 9:654 44.0% nea vee Ue

a TOIOE us = sss + o¥o bis she eee 5

AS PIAGGIO OF NOKS y: . « ss: +> cons sock ee 4}

RUwty OF LOWER TOW Ss sc oo sys ocr om nee 153

MW Wha Mt OMY IES «cass coco uy ever concen wm

Teeth 3 =; curved, and acute where not slightly worn.

Free Public and Derby Museum,

Liverpool, Feb. 17, 1863.

XXXI.—On the Geographical Distribution and Varieties of the

Honey-Bee, with Remarks upon the Exotic Honey-Bees of the

Old World, By Dr, A. Gurstickrr*,

Arter a few observations upon domestic animals in general, and

the difficulty attending their identification with any existing

wild species, the author remarks that the mutual relation of the

various races of Honey-Bees is less subject to doubt, since, not-

withstanding that they have been described as distinct species

by various authors, they really present no distinctive specific

characters. Nevertheless, as with the other domestic animals,

the native country of the Honey-Bee is unknown, as may be seen

from the opinions expressed by the various entomologists who

have written upon this subject. Latreille says of the supposed

species of Honey-Bees, “One (viz. Apis mellifica, Linn.), which

is predominant and most generally cultivated, probably origi-

nated in the north, also found in Barbary, &c.” +, and therefore

* Abstract of a paper read to the eleventh ‘ Wander-Versammlung

Deutscher Bienenwirthe,’ Potsdam, 1862.

+ Humboldt, Recueil d’Observations en Zoologie, p. 299,

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 271

believes that our northern Bee, from which he distinguishes the

Italian Bee (A. Ligustica, Spin.), is probably indigenous to the

North of Europe. This view is supported by Brun in his article

on “ Exotic Races of Bees”*, who regards the North of Africa

as the southern limit of the Honey-Bee, and the centre of

Europe as the centre of its existence. An opposite opinion was

held by Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeaut, who says, “A native

mae se of Greece, and perhaps also of Anatolia, it has been

transported over the whole of Europe, Northern Africa, &c.”

Kadent thinks “that the native country of our Honey-Bees is

to be sought under the hot zones, and that they have been in-

troduced into Europe with some trouble ;” and the latest writer

on Bees, Von Berlepsch, regards this opinion as firmly esta-

blished, saying §, ‘ Our Bee is demonstrably indigenous in the

hot southern countries of the Old World, where an almost per-

petually serene sky enables it to bustle about in balmy airs

through the whole year, with very little interruption. But at a

very early period human civilization carried it into northern

localities; and here, in consequence of the roughness and cold-

ness of the climate, it is often compelled to remain for from

three to six months in its dwelling,—contrary to its nature; for —

that so long a period of confinement is contrary to the mode of

life originally impressed upon the Bee, opposed to its innate

nature, is at once shown by the fact that it has no winter-sleep,

like other allied insects indigenous to this country.”

The grounds of these various opinions are easily discovered.

Latreille, regarding the different races of Bees as distinct spe-

cies, was evidently of opinion that each of these supposed spe-

cies was indigenous in the country where it occurred; and

Brun, following Latreille in considering the African Bees (Apis

fasciata, Latr., from Egypt, Apis Adansonii, Latr., from Senegal,

&c.) as distinct from Apis mellifica, Limn., erroneously placed

the southern limit of the latter on the north coast of Africa.

Lepelletier’s opinion is evidently derived from the direction of

European civilization; Kaden abstains from all evidence in sup-

port of his similar view ; whilst Von Berlepsch endeavours to

maintain it only by analogies which will not bear examination.

Because the Wasps and Hornets, of which only females survive

the winter, pass this season in a torpid state, there is no reason

that Bees should do the same. The Bee must pass the winter

in society, because the continuance of its existence depends upon

this ; hence it is impelled to lay up a supply of food against this

* Bienenzeitung, 1858, p. 37,

+ Hist. Nat. des Hyménoptéres, i. p. 401.

Tt Bienenzeitung, 1857, p- 214.

§ Die Bienen und die Bienenzucht : Miihlhausen, 1860, p. 461.

272 = Dr. A. Gerstacker on the Geographical Distribution

period, and is also endowed with the physical property of over-

coming the cold by the close approximatien of numerous indivi-

duals. What countries are particularly meant by Von Berlepsch

under the term “hot southern lands of the Old World” does

not appear: if Italy be one of them, we have the evidence of

Pliny * that in his time the Bees of Italy were quite inactive for

sixty days, that they became more lively after the rising of

Arcturus, but still fed for some time on their stores. Even if

the expression be intended to refer to the tropical regions of

Africa, the activity of the Bees would even here be interrupted,

or at least much hindered, for several weeks, by the rainy

season, which occurs twice in the year; so that the difference

between their existence in southern and northern latitudes would

consist solely in the different duration of the interruption of

their activity. That such climatal or local differences in the

mode of life of one and the same species are not necessarily to

be ascribed to its artificial dispersion. is shown by many insects

of all orders.

But although the long interruption to the activity of the Bees

in northern regions can furnish no sufficient reason for their not

being indigenous there, on the other hand it is difficult to prove

that they existed among us before the spread of civilization,

however probable this may be; at any rate, the expression that

the Bee has “ demonstrably ” been introduced here is certainly

not justified. The author considers that we are still to regard

this question of the origin of the Honey-Bee as in a state of

complete uncertainty. .

The solution of this question must be effected, if effected at

all, by the examination of historical data, coupled with the

investigation of the geographical distribution of the different

varieties of the Bee, the latter acquiring increased value when

the historical investigation leads only to negative results. If we

cannot prove historically the transportation of the Bee from one

country to another, neither have we the least certainty that no

such transportation took place; and we can by no means rest

contented with the assumption that the ancients never thought

of the transportation of such an animal as the Bee; for we know

that honey and wax were, among the ancients, indispensable

articles, and also that in Egypt, Attica, and Italy the hives

were carried from place to place, with the view of increasing

their weight. That the common Bee was the animal described

by the Greek and Roman authors under the names of pédAvcoa

and Apis cannot be doubted, as (with the exception of the

Bombi) this is the only social honey-gathering Bee found in the

parts of the Eastern hemisphere known to the ancients, the

* Hist. Nat. lib. xi. cap. 15; see also lib. xi. cap. 5.

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 2738

Bees found in Italy and Egypt, in Greece and Asia Minor, being

specifically identical with the Apis mellifica.

The intimate connexion of the Bee with the mythology of the

ancients, and especially with that of the Greeks, furnishes a

certain proof of the high value put upon this insect by them,

and at the same time demonstrates that it must have existed

amongst them from time immemorial. Of all those natural

products which the Greeks represented their deities as making

use of in Olympus, or regarded as direct presents from the

deities to mankind, we may be sure that they were not intro-

duced from without at any determinable historical period. The

origin of the Bee is carried back by Nicander of Colophon to the

age of Saturn, in which, as is well known, the earth ‘‘ flowed with

milk and honey.” By others it is brought into immediate con-

nexion with the youngest dynasty of deities, as especially in the

narrative of Euhemerus of Alexandria, according to whom, at

the birth of Jupiter, the Curetes performed an armed dance, by

the noise of which the Bees produced on the Island of Ceos by

the hornets and the sun were attracted into Crete, and induced

to feed the new-born god with honey, which they collected as |

the dew of heaven. In gratitude for this, according to Diodorus,

Jupiter afterwards gave them a bronze or golden-bronze colour ;

that is, he gave them the colour of the noblest metal. Ovid

applies a somewhat similar myth to Bacchus*.

_ Whatever value these myths may possess as historical docu-

ments, the customs founded upon them and continued for cen-

turies and perhaps thousands of years, and the representations

(such as sculptures and coins) which have come down to us,

may be taken as evidence of them. Thus we have, in historical

times, the Nephalia, in which honey was offered as one of the

costliest sacrifices ; and figures of the Bee occur upon the coins

of several Greek cities, and, amongst others, upon those of

the Island of Ceos. From Homer we learn that the Bee, by its

production of honey, was closely connected with daily life from

a period of high antiquity; and, from the fact that Homer enters

into such full details upon everything which appears somewhat

out of the ordinary way, we may be sure that he would not have

referred to honey so briefiy as he does+, if both it and the insect

producing it had not been of every-day occurrence, but intro-

duced shortly before his time. Against such an introduction,

which could only have taken place from Asia Minor or Egypt,

we have also Cicero’s statement that, in the time of Xerxes, the

Attic honey of Mount Hymettus was celebrated even in Asia;

and Xenophon’s narrative} of the poisoning of his soldiers by

* Fasti, lib. iii. vv. 739-744, T See Iliad, xi. vy. 630,

} Anabasis, lib. iv. cap. 8.

274 Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Geographical Distribution

honey “at Trebizond, where the people also had many bee-

hives,” seems to show that the Greek general was astonished at

finding Bees kept. by the barbarians. The antiquity of the

culture of the Bee amongst the Greeks is shown not only by the

laws of Solon, but also by an indirect reference in Hesiod, who,

in verses 594, 595 of his Theogony, speaks of the “evil-doers,”

the drones, which the bees nourish in their “ well-covered

baskets,” thus showing most clearly his acquaintance with the

culture of the Bee.

Passing to Egypt, it is very remarkable that the Bee was

either altogether omitted from the animal-worship of that coun-

try, or, at least, played a subordinate part in it. The Bee is not

mentioned in Prichard’s ‘ Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology.’

Nevertheless some antiquaries, amongst others, Keferstein*, are

of opinion that in the name Apis, given to the sacred Bull of the

Egyptians, the sacredness of the Bee is indirectly indicated.

However this may be, we know from the Old Testament that

honey was used in the heathen sacrifices of Egypt—a custom

which probably arose from the notion that it was necessary to

offer to the sacred Bull what came from the Bull, it being a

wide-spread superstition amongst the ancients that Bees were

produced from the decomposing carcases of oxen. The domes-

tication of the Honey-Bee in Egypt appears, at any rate, to be

as old as this sacrifice of honey; so that its introduction into

that country appears less probable than into Greece. The em-

ployment of the Nile by the Egyptians for obtaining an abun-

dant harvest, which extends, as regards corn, to the most ancient

periods, must have led to a similar proceeding in connexion with

the cultivation of Bees. De Maillet+ states, with regard to the

latter, that Bees are very numerous in Egypt, and that a custom

introduced by the ancients of sowing saintfoin as soon as the

waters of the Nile leave the land uncovered, and sending the

Bees from all parts of Egypt into Upper Egypt at the commence-

ment of the season of flowering of the saintfoin, is still prac-

tised. The hives are packed in a pyramidal form upon tor

specially adapted for their reception ; in these they are conveyed

up the river to the part where the flowers are earliest, and then

gradually brought down the stream, stopping every two or three

miles. As Greek civilization is generally supposed to have been

influenced by the older civilization of Egypt, we may suppose

that the custom prevalent in Attica in the time of Solon, of

sending the Bees into favourable localities, was derived from

Egypt; and upon this we may even found a second assumption,

namely, that the Bees themselves may have been transported

* Oken’s Isis, 1837, pp. 866 et seq.

+ Deser, de l’Egypte, ed. Le Mascrier: La Haye, 1740, p. 117.

ae ee ee

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 275

from Egypt into Greece in prehistoric times. These suppositions

can neither be confirmed nor refuted absolutely ; but, mdepen-

dently of the high antiquity of the Bee in Greece, the difference

between the Egyptian and Greek races of Bees is such that the

one could hardly have been derived from the other.

Among the Romans, according to Magerstedt*, the business

of Bee-keeping occurs only at a comparatively late period; so

that those who maintain the gradual transmission of the Honey-

Bee from the south and east might here assume a transportal

from Greece. This supposition may be supported by the fact

that the Roman poets, such as Ovid and Virgil, in their myths

place the origin of the Honey-Bee, not in Italy, but in Greece,

which it might be concluded would not have been the case if

the Bee had existed as long in Italy as in Greece. But such a

conclusion is not admissible; for, just as the worship of the

Romans accommodated itself to Greek views, and, indeed, based

itself upon the Greek worship, so the myths and poetry of the

Romans approached most closely to those of the Greeks. Nor

does the late occurrence of Bee-keeping among the Romans

furnish any support to the introduction of the Bee from Greece;

for the constant wars of the Romans must have kept back all

civilization even in Italy itself. It is, however, possible that the

ment of Bees, like many other occupations, may have

been taught to the Romans by the Greeks, and perhaps prac-

tised chiefly by the latter. If, as Magerstedt’s investigations

prove, there was no Bee-keeping in Italy before the end of the

second Punic war, and its considerable extension only dates

from the time of Varro (B.c. 116), it seems very probable that

it was introduced amongst the Romans by the Greeks, as the

subjugation of Greece occurred between these two dates. In

favour of this is Pliny’s statement (lib. xi. cap. 9) that two

Greeks, Aristomachus Solensis and Philiscus Thasius, busied

themselves for a long time with observations upon Bees, and

that the former did nothing for fifty-eight years but manage

Bees.

The occurrence of Bees simultaneously in the South of Europe,

Western Asia, and Egypt may not appear improbable to those

who are inclined to ascribe to the Bee a southern origin. The

comparatively slight diversity of climate in the above-mentioned

countries certainly renders possible its original existence in all

of them ; and the opinions of authors differ essentially only on

the one point, whether the Bee is indigenous to northern Jati-

tudes, or has been acclimatized under them. This question can-

not be historically decided with absolute certainty ; but it would

‘ae Bienenzucht der Vélker des Alterthums, insbesondere der Romer :

276 Dr. A. Gerstiacker on the Geographical Distribution

almost appear that the Bee existed in Northern Germany either

originally or at least before any known diréct intercourse of

that region with Rome. Unfortunately, nothing is to be learnt

upon this subject from Cesar or Tacitus ; but honey is mentioned

by Diodorus Siculus*, a contemporary of Cesar and Augustus,

as being employed among the Gauls in the preparation of a

beverage. Shortly after the time of Diodorus, we find in Pliny

statements which, as they indicate with some degree of certainty

the existence of wild Bees in Germany, are of more consequence

in the present investigation. Pliny mentions} a swarm of Bees

which settled in the camp of Drusus just before the successful

battle near Arbalo; and in another place {, when speaking of

the goodness of honey from different districts, he describes a

remarkably large honeycomb from Germany, which was 8 feet

in length. That the Bees producing this swarm and honeycomb

could have been introduced by the Romans is negatived by the

shortness of the time elapsed since their access to Germany, and

still more by the habits of the Romans themselves ; nor is any

such introduction of Bees mentioned by Pliny, whilst his

statements and those of Diodorus involuntarily show that the

Romans, on their first acquaintance with Gaul and Germany,

found the Bee already there. From the statements of Pytheas,

quoted by Strabo§, indeed, it would appear that honey was

known in Northern Germany (Thule) at a much earlier period,

namely, in the time of Alexander the Great (s.c. 800). The

position of Thule is doubtful; but Pytheas probably derived his

information from merchants of Marseilles, who visited the shores

of the Baltic in search of amber. The introduction of the Bee

into these northern regions by voyagers, whether Phoenician or

Massilian, although not impossible, is very improbable, from the

character of those people and the difficulty of transport. Hence,

weighing all the historical evidence, it seems more probable that

the Bee is indigenous in Germany than that it has been intro-

duced by civilization ; and this view is supported by a still more

important circumstance, namely, the difference of our northern

race of Bees from those of the southern and south-eastern parts

of Europe and the bordering parts of Asia and Africa. Since

the introduction of the Italian Bee into Germany, it has been

sufficiently proved that, when it does not mix with the dark-

coloured northern Bees, it remains perfectly constant in its cha-

racters: consequently it would be quite impossible that, even

after the lapse of many years, the unicolorous northern Bee

should have been developed from the variegated Italian form.

* Bibliothecee Historic lib. v. cap. 26.

+ Lib. xi, cap. 18. { Lib, xi. cap. 14.

§ Rerum Geographicarum lib. iv. § 5.

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 277

The necessity of such a development cannot be denied if the Bee

was introduced, in accordance with the spread of civilization,

into Germany from Italy. It is true that the dark-coloured

German form of Bee occurs in some parts of Italy, especially on

the east coast of central Italy opposite to Dalmatia; but as these

Bees are far less widely distributed in Italy, and even in ancient

times were much less valued than the variegated Bees, and as

the latter, being diffused over Liguria and Lombardy, would

have been most likely to be transported into Germany, there

seems to be the very smallest amount of probability that the

dark yariety which occurs only sporadically in Italy should have

been selected for transmission. The remarkable circumstance

that, before the introduction of the variegated Italian race

into North Germany, the two races were in contact in the

region of the Alps, may furnish the best proof against the

derivation of the dark from the light variety. Almost every-

where in Southern Europe, the Bees either (as in the south of

Spain) exhibit a nearly complete agreement in colour with the

German form or (as in Dalmatia, Greece, and Asia Minor) the

most gradual transitions from the German to the Italian race ; on

the other hand, exactly where a transference might most readily

be supposed, the differences of colour are most distinctly pre-

served. Hence the introduction of the Bee into Germany might

rather be supposed to have taken place from Greece or the south

of Spain than from Italy; but we have no proof of any traffic

between those countries in ancient times.

Amongst the reasons which might be adduced in favour of the

opinion that the Bee is not indigenous in Northern Europe, but

introduced from the south, the first to be noticed is the great

power of adaptation to external circumstances exhibited by the

Honey-Bee where it is known to have been introduced, as in

America, which renders the possibility of its southern origin and

northern acclimatization indisputable ; and had the Bee confined

itself within the limits of the warmer parts of America, this would

have been evidence in favour of that view. But, from the state-

ments of Barton, Josselyn, and others, it appears that the parts

of America which have proved most favourable to the spread of

the Bee, and in which it has even become wild, are those under

the same isothermal lines as Northern Europe (Germany and

Sweden), namely, the central and northern States, up to 47° N.

lat., showing that it cannot be regarded as peculiarly a native of

the south. —

As a second reason for the southern origin of our Bees, it may

be said that, in our northern regions, they are rarely, and in

many places never, met with in a wild state, whilst this is com-

monly the case in Southern Europe and also in Asia and Africa.

278 Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Geographical Distribution

This argument would be of force if our northern countries were

still in the same condition of cultivation as the more southern

parts of the Continent ; and we know from the Roman authors

that, in ancient times, wild Bees occurred in the forests of Ger-

many. As late as the year 1783, according to Kriinitz*, the

pursuit of the wild Bees was still followed in Neumark, Pome-

rania, Prussia, Lithuania, Courland, Livonia, Poland, &c., evi-

dently because favourable localities still existed in those coun-

tries. If it be urged that, notwithstanding the change produced

by cultivation, the Bees, if really indigenous to the north, might

still easily, like the Humble Bees and Wasps, find a sufficiency

of suitable localities for their hives, as well as of nourishment,

it may be replied, in the first place, that they do become wild,

although not frequently, under favourable circumstances ; and

in the second, that they are with us far more completely domes-

‘ticated than in southern regions. Hence there seems to be no

evidence, either historical or from the present distribution of the

varieties of Bees in the temperate parts of Europe, in favour of

their introduction into the latter from warmer regions.

The author next proceeds to the investigation of the geogra-

phical distribution of the Honey-Bee beyond the boundaries of

Europe. From the want of special knowledge on the part of

travellers, it is often impossible to determine from their writings

whether, in mentioning Bees, our Honey-Bee is intended; so

that an examination of specimens frequently becomes necessary.

It appears that our Honey-Bee does not occur, or, at least,

has not been discovered as yet, in India and the Sunda

Islands, but that over the whole of the rest of Asia, from the

coast of Asia Minor to China, no other species except the Apis

mellifica is found. The Honey-Bees mentioned in books of

travels in India, Ceylon, &c., belong to species differing from

the European Bee.

In Africa, on the contrary, Apis mellifica occurs in all parts,

but no other species which can be confounded with it ; a few

small black species of Melipona from the Guinea coast, which

also collect honey, differ so much from our Bee, both in size and

colour, that an uninformed traveller would hardly regard them

as Bees at all.

For the full elucidation of the geographical distribution of the

Honey-Bee in Asia the materials are but scanty. According to

Loew’s personal observations, the Bee is everywhere domesti-

cated, and at the same time very frequently found wild in trees,

on the islands and continent of Asia Minor. Hight workers col-

lected by him in Rhodes, and one from Ephesus, exhibit various

* Oekonomische Encyklopiidie, 4. Theil, p. 418.

ae ae eS ee

ee a

yh ee ee ese Te ee ee et he EN ee ee mn eee we

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 279

colorations, directly uniting our northern Bee with the Italian

race, and partly even show (by the pale scutellum) a tendency

towards the Egyptian race. Of two specimens collected by

Thirk, near Brussa in Asia Minor, one is dark-coloured and ap-

proaches the Greek form; the other, again, which is consider-

ably smaller and lighter in colour, resembles the Egyptian ;

and it is evidently to Bees resembling this that the statement of

Aristotle (Hist. Anim. v. 19) refers: ‘ In Pontus there are very

light-coloured Bees, which make honey twice in the month.”

This statement is repeated in nearly the same words by Pliny

(Hist. Nat. xi. cap. 19). With the last-mentioned specimen, one

collected by Pallas in the Caucasus also agrees.

The occurrence of the Honey-Bee in Arabia and Syria is

proved by five specimens collected in Syria and one in Arabia

Felix by Ehrenberg; the latter agrees exactly with the Egyptian

form ; and the others approach it very nearly, only differing in

being a little larger. The Bee described by Brun (Bienenzeitung,

1858, p. 38) as occurring domesticated im Circassia and Persia

is probably identical with ours, although, from want of speci-

mens, this cannot be stated with certainty, as the light-coloured

race of Bees occurs under a corresponding degree of latitude,

but much further to the east, namely on the Himalaya; this is

proved by a specimen taken there by Hoffmeister, which

in all essential characters with those from Syria. Lastly, the

extension of the Honey-Bee to the coasts of the Pacific is proved

by a specimen from China, which cannot be distinguished from

the Egyptian form except by the dark colour of all the hair on

the vertex. This is the Apis cerana, Fabr.

With regard to the northern extension of the Honey-Bee in

Asia, the author cites an oral statement of Ehrenberg’s, that,

during his journey through Siberia, he found Bees kept in hives

near Riddersk, in the Altai Mountains, lat. 51° N., long. 86° E.

The northern limit is still to be ascertained: it seems probable

that the Bee does not exist in the high northern latitudes of

Siberia, as it is not mentioned in Erichson’s catalogue of the

Hymenoptera collected by Middendorf on the Boganida*.

Admitting the difficulty of determining on historical grounds

whether the Honey-Bee is’ indigenous in those parts of Asia

where it is found, or whether it has been introduced from

the west, the author indicates that the forms of Bees there oc-

curring do not, at least, contradict the notion that they may

have been artificially dispersed. With the exception of Asia

Minor, where the Bees are evidently of a mixed race, we find,

over an extent of more than five thousand miles from west to

* Reise in den dussersten Norden und Osten Sibiriens, Zoologie, i,

pp- 60 et seq.

280 Dr. A. Gersticker on the Geographical Distribution

east, only one and the same form of Bee, showing in particular

places only extremely slight and probably accidental variations,

and resembling the Egyptian form so closely that it may without

difficulty be regarded as originating therefrom. Nevertheless

this resemblance does not necessarily indicate genealogical affi-

nity, as many other European insects (and, indeed, many Mam-

malia and birds) occur with a remarkably wide geographical

range in Asia.

In Africa very different conditions prevail with regard to the

races of Bees. Some districts lying under nearly the same lati-

tudes exhibit very different forms; whilst, on the other hand,

different varieties as to colour occur intermixed in the same lo-

calities. Thus in Algiers and Tangier, situated only about

three hundred miles to the north of Egypt, there occurs a Bee

perfectly identical in colour, hair, and size with that inhabiting

North Germany; whilst in Egypt the form which is most

distinguished from all others (Apis fasciata, Latr.) by its smaller

size and light colour occurs, and apparently remains very con-

stant in its characters. A form agreeing with the Egyptian in

size and body-colouring, but differing in its darker hair, appears

to be spread over the greater part of Central and Southern

Africa, extending on the east coast from Abyssinia, through

Mozambique and Caffraria, to the Cape of Good Hope, and oc-

curring also on the west coast at the Senegal (Apis Adansonii,

Lat.). It is very remarkable that at the Cape, together with

this variegated form, all transitions to a nearly uniform dark

one occur: the latter differ from the North German Bees only

in smaller size—a peculiarity appertaining more or less to all

the African Bees, with the exception of the Algerian. This

uniformly dark form also occurs in Guinea together with a

variety with light colour only on the anterior third of the abdo-

men, described by Lepelletier as Apis nigritarum, and, lastly, in

the Mauritius and Madagascar, where, according to Latreille, it

is constant in its dark colour (Apis unicolor, Lat.).

With regard to the diffusion of the Honey-Bee in Africa, the

author cites the following statements from the writings of va-

rious travellers. In Algiers, according to Lucas*, the form

agreeing with the northern one is everywhere abundantly dis-

tributed ; it is kept in hives by the natives, and especially by the

Kabyles. With respect to Egypt, the statement of De Maillet

has been already quoted (p. 274) with regard to the sending

the hives on boats along the Nile in search of a good store of

nourishment. Niebuhr describes the proceedings of the Egyp-

tian bee-keepers in precisely similar terms ; whilst neither Ehren-

berg nor Dr. Hartmann saw anything of the kind during their

* Explor. Scient. de Algérie, Zool. iii. p. 141.

-_ and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 281

travels in Egypt. The two latter agree in stating that in the

countries situated to the south of Egypt, namely Nubia, Abys-

sinia, Sennaar, and Dongola, the keeping of Bees is certainly not

extensively carried on, but that the honey and wax are taken

when wanted from the wild Bees which build everywhere in

abundance in clefts of rocks and hollow trees. On the other

hand, Barth* mentions that he repeatedly met at least with a

wild-bee keeping in the districts of Africa traversed by him.

The first passage, relating to the neighbourhood of Kussada

(between 12° and 13° N. lat., long. 8° E.), runs as follows :—

“Vast Adansonie rose on every side with their immense naked

branches, and also gave evidence of the industry of the inha-

bitants; for beehives, consisting of hollowed branches, were

fixed in the summits of the Kuka. For bee-keeping this region

appeared to be peculiarly adapted; for the pasture-ground,

spreading far around, was adorned with sweet-smelling shrubs,

which furnished nourishing food for the industrious Bees.” In

the second passage, describing the Mussgu-lands lying south-

west of Lake Tchad, Barth mentions the same practice as pre-

vailing in that district. Our information upon the occurrence

of the Bee upon the west coast of Africa relates chiefly to Sene-

gambia. Webb and Berthelot, indeed, mention the Honey-Bee

as inhabiting the Canary Islands}; and as they call it Apis

mellifica, without any further statement, ‘it may be concluded

that it agrees with the northern variety. Of the light-coloured

variety found in Senegambia, which he regarded as a distinct

species, named Apis Adansonii, Tatreille says :—‘ Adanson

found this insect on the Senegal, in the trunks of trees;” and

Adanson himself (Voyage au Sénégal) reports as follows upon

it:—“In the neighbourhood of Podor, I fully expected, every

day about noon, to be visited by one, two, or more swarms of

Bees, which made their way into the cabin and compelled me

to leave the ship. This occurred from October to December at

Podor ; probably in these three months the Bees quit the old

hives in order to construct new ones: hives are then found of

great size. Once I saw the roof of a negro hut, measuring six-

teen square feet, which was entirely covered more than four

fingers thick with inhabited combs. This is, it seems to me, a

sufficient proof of the incredible quantity of such insects in this

country. They build everywhere, but chiefly in the hollow

trunks of old trees. This year they had built three large hives

in our dwelling at Podor—one between the window-shutter and

* Reisen und Entdeckungen in Nord- und Central-Afrika, ii. p. 105,

and iii. p. 214.

T Hist. Nat. des fles Canaries, ii. 2; Entom. p. $4.

Ann. § Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 3, Vol. xi. id

282 Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Honey-Bee.

the window, and two upon the flat floors of small closets.”

Adanson adds that the honey of these Bees is peculiar, being

always fluid, and resembling a brown syrup.

Olivier * gives, from the MS. notes of Geoffroy de Villeneuve,

son of the author of the ‘ Histoire Naturelle des Insectes de

Paris,’ the following account of the Bees of Senegambia. In

descending from Guisguis, according to that traveller, numerous

trees are seen bearing beehives, which are well made with straw,

and have only a very small opening. The negroes of this dis-

trict collect the honey twice in the year. The first harvest is

about the end of May, and is the richest ; the second takes place

at the beginning of December.

The occurrence of the Honey-Bee in the interior of South

Africa is proved by Andersson and Livingstone. The former

says t—“ Wild Bees very frequently build their nests in the

gigantic edifices of the White Ants; in many years they are

very numerous. The temper of these insects seems to be un-

usually peaceable and patient; for I have never observed that

the people, when robbing their nests, were stung by them. These

nests are usually smoked first of all; but I have often convinced

myself that the naked savages approach them without fear, and

remove them without any precautions.” Livingstone’s account

runs as follows :— Bee-keeping is practised in Londa; bee-

hives are there found set upon trees in the most solitary woods.

We often met waggons with large pieces of wax weighing from

80 to 100 pounds, and in every village such were offered to us

for sale; but here (namely, on the Zambesi, 16° S. lat.) we

never saw even a single beehive; the Bees were met with every-

where in natural cavities in the Mopané-trees. In many parts

of the Batoka country, Bees exist in great abundance; and

Sekeletu’s tribute was often paid in large vessels of honey. I

also saw a little wax in Quillimane, which was brought by the

natives of this district.”

The latter place is situated in Mozambique, which has already

been indicated by the author as inhabited by Bees, from some

specimens obtained there by Peters$. At the Oupe of Good Hope

“our Honey-Bee” was observed by Frauenfeld (Verhandl. der

Zool.-bot. Gesellsch. zu Wien, 1860, p. 85); and there is no

doubt that it is this species which is referred to in the following

statement of Lichtenstein’s, although he regards the Bee men-

tioned by him as belonging to a distinct species. He says—

* Enc. Méth., Insectes i., art. Abeille, p. 49.

+ Lake N’Gami, or Explorations and Discoveries, &c., p. 132.

{ Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, p. 614.

§ Peters, Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique, Zoologie, V.,

Insecten, p. 439,

Dr. A. Giinther on some Species of Tree-Snakes. 288

‘A peculiar species of Bee which inhabits these heights [near

Lange Kloof] prepares the most beautiful honey from the flowers

of the Brunia, and stores it in hollow trunks of trees and the

clefts of the rocks. The honey is perfectly white ; and the waxen

cells are so thin that during their collection they melt up with

the honey, which may then be conveniently poured into a bottle.

Its taste is so fine that I cannot imagine that of Hymettus to

have been better. It is often collected and used instead of

sugar by the colonists of Lange Kloof”*. Lastly, with regard to

the dark Bee occurring in the eastern islands of Africa, namely

Madagascar and the Mauritius, Latreille, who describes it as A.

unicolor, speaks as follows + :—‘ The honey of this species has

a greenish tinge when it is contained in the combs; its colour

and excellence depend upon the diversity of the plants of those

regions, and upon the temperature. The inhabitants of Mada-

gascar have understood how to avail themselves of the industry

of these insects; for we possess a memoir by M. dela Nux upon

the form of the beehives which are in use there.” Lepelletier’s

statement (Hist. Nat. Hyménoptéres, i. p. 403), that this Bee

has been introduced into the Mauritius, is contradicted by —

Grant’s assertion (Hist. of Mauritius, 1801, p. 67), that the

Mauritian Bee, which produces very fine honey, is indigenous

to the island.

[To be continued. }

XXXII.— On some Species of Tree-Snakes (Ahztulla).

By Dr. Atbert GUNTHER.

A. The Subgeneric Division PuitotHaMnvs, A. Smith.

Tue whole of Tropical Africa is inhabited by a group of Tree-

Snakes which are distinguished by a habit which is not exces-

sively slender ; by a normally shaped head; by smooth scales; by

posterior longer teeth, not separated from the others by an in-

terval, and not grooved ; by a round pupil of the eye; and by a

green coloration, almost always varied by the black skin be-

tween the scales, and by white dots placed at the base of each

scale. Species of this group have been named by Sir Andrew

Smith Philothamnus, and three different kinds were distinguished

by him—Ph. semivariegatus, Ph. albovariatus, Ph. natalensis.

There can be no doubt that the second of these species is iden-

tical with Dendrophis Chenonii, Reinhardt, or with Coluber irre-

gularis, Leach, of which we have the typical specimens.

At a later period, a similar Snake was described by Hallowell

as Chlorophis heterodermus.

* Reisen in siidlichen Afrika in den Jahren 1803 bis 1806, 1. Band, p. 355,

+ Annales du Muséum, v. p. 168. 19%

284 Dr. A. Giinther on some Species of Tree-Snakes.

The species named were evidently most closely allied to one

mother, and from the descriptions and figures alone it was

almost impossible to find out which of the differences were

of a really specific value ; hence, although, in the ‘ Catalogue of

Colubrine Snakes’ (p. 152), I could not hesitate to refer Ph. al-

bovariatus to its proper place as a synonym of A. irregularis, I

withheld my opinion as to Ph. semivariegatus and Chlorophis

heterodermus, of which I had seen no specimens, mistaking

altogether the Ph. natalensis, which I have since recognized.

M. A. Duméril was in a still more difficult position than

myself when he published his paper, “ Reptiles et Poissons de

Afrique Occidentale” (Archiv. Mus. t. x.), having for exami-

nation only the A. irregularis in the collection of the Paris

Museum. Therefore we can hardly be surprised to find that,

in his opinion, the three species of Smith would be distinct from

A. irregularis, whilst Chlorophis heterodermus would be only a

synonym.

In order to terminate this state of uncertainty, the attention

of travellers and collectors has been directed to these Snakes ;

and having brought together nearly 100 specimens, with the

localities whence they were obtained well marked, I have come

to the following conclusions :—

1. Coluber irregularis, Dendrophis Chenonii, and Philothamnus

albovariatus are synonyms of the same species, which is the

most common of all.

2. Philothamnus semivariegatus, Ph. natalensis, and Chlo-

rophis heterodermus are distinct species.

3. Ahetulla hoplogaster and A. heterolepidota are two new

species.

4, All these species are distinguished from one another by at

least two characters, which are constantly combined with each

other; the number and shape of the temporal shields is subject

to some variation, not only within the limits of the same apnea

but also on the two sides of the same individual.

Synopsis of the Species.

I. Ventral shields laterally keeled.

A. Upper labials nine, three entering the orbit.

a. Anal bifid; ventral shields 164-177.... A. irregularis.

b. Anal entire; ventral shields 150- 157. . A. heteroderma.

c. Ventral shields 207; trunk with black

cross-bands anteriorly........+++00+ A, semivariegata.

B. Upper labials eight (seven).

a. Two labials enter the orbit; ventral

RUIN yD LOWS is sha ein Sines wipcaiees 4 A. natalensis.

b. Three labials enter the orbit; ventral

WUPMME OS o 5s 86 wavs sve ck o's v5 oss A, heterolepidota.

II. Ventral shields without a touke of lateral keels.

PGC DPNG YS Cars 6 cen Meee Fee eh CC eehied A, hoplogaster.

Dr. A. Giinther on some Species of Tree-Snakes. 285

Ahetulla irregularis.

Coluber irregularis, Leach, in Bowdich, Ashantee, App. p. 494.

Dendrophis Chenonii, Reinh., in Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Afh. x. 1843, p. 246,

tab. 1. fig. 13, 14.

Dendrophis (Philothamnus) albovariata, Smith, Illustr. Zool. South Afr.,

Rept. pl. 65, and pl. 64. fig. 3.

Ventral shields with lateral keels ; upper labials nine, three

of which enter the orbit; temporal shields generally 1+2;

frequently one or two are broken up into two, or the two hinder

ones are united ; in this case the temporal shields are generally

not symmetrical on both sides. Anal bifid; ventral shields

164-167; subcaudals 108-126. Scales smooth, in fifteen

rows, apparently with one apical groove. Teeth longest behind,

in a continuous series. Green, skin between the scales black,

each scale with a white spot on the basal half of its outer margin.

Western coasts of Africa (Fantee, Gambia, MacCarthie Island) ;

Cape Colony. Two young specimens, which we refer to this

species, were sent by Consul J. Petherick from Central Africa,

500 miles south of Chartoum.

Ahetulla heteroderma.

Chlorophis heterodermus, Hallowell, Proc. Ac. Nat. Se. Philad. 1857, p. 52;

Cope, ibid. 1860, p. 559.

Ventral shields with lateral keels ; upper labials nine, three

of which enter the orbit; temporal shields 2+2+2. Anal

entire; ventral shields 150-157, subcaudals 83-92. Scales

smooth, in fifteen rows, some with two apical grooves. Teeth

longest behind, in a continuous series. Green, skin between the

scales black ; each scale with a white spot on the basal half of

its outer margin.

We have received several specimens of this Snake from the

Gold-coast.

Ahetulla semivariegata.

Dendrophis (Philothamnus)’semivariegata, Smith, Illustr. Zool. South Afr.

pl. 59, 60, and pl. 64. fig. 1.

Ventral shields with lateral keels; upper labials nine, three

of which enter the orbit ; temporal shields in two rather irregular

longitudinal series. Ventral shields 207 ; subcaudals 112. Scales

smooth, in fifteen rows. Green anteriorly, yellowish posteriorly ;

anterior part of the trunk with irregular, narrow, black trans-

yerse bars. Cape Colony (Bushman Flat).

Aheitulla natalensis.

page (Philothamnus) natalensis, Smith, Ilustr. Zool. South Africa,

pi- .

Ventral shields with lateral keels; upper labials eight*, the

* Eight specimens, examined by myself, have eight upper labials ; and

286. Dr. A. Giinther on some Species of Tree-Snakes..

fourth and fifth entering the orbit ; temporal shields 2+2+42;

two are sometimes united into one. Anal bifid; ventral shields

151-168 ; subcaudals 114-126. Scales smooth, in fifteen rows,

without apical groove. Teeth longest behind, in a continuous

series. Green, skin between the scales black, each scale with a

white spot on the basal half of its outer margin. Port Natal,

and probably Cape Colony.

Ahetulla heterolepidota.

Ventral shields with very faint lateral keels; upper labials

seven or eight, the third, fourth, and fifth, or the fourth, fifth,

and sixth, entering the orbit ; one anteocular, two postoculars ;

six of the lower labials are in contact with the chin-shields ;

temporal shields 1+1. Ventral shields 187; anal bifid; sub-

caudals 125. The scales are smooth, without groove, and with

minute longitudinal striz (these striz are lost when the epi-

dermis has gone off) ; they are arranged in fifteen series in the

anterior half of the trunk, and in eleven in the posterior. The

posterior maxillary teeth longest, in a subcontinuous series with

the others. Head small; neck very slender; body and tail

slender. Uniform greenish-olive.

A single specimen, marked “ Africa,” has been purchased ; it

is 26 inches long, the head measuring 3 in., the tail 83 in.

Ahetulla hoplogaster.

Ventral shields without any trace of lateral keels; upper

labials eight, the fourth and fifth entering the orbit; one ante-

ocular, two postoculars; six of the lower labials are in contact

with the chin-shields; temporal shields 1+1. Ventral shields

150-156; anal bifid; subcaudals 94-105. The scales are

smooth, without groove, arranged in fifteen series anteriorly,

and in eleven posteriorly. The posterior maxillary teeth longest,

in a continuous series with the others, Head rather small,

body and tail moderately slender. Green, skin between the

seales black, each scale with a white spot on the basal half of

its outer margin.

This Snake appears to be more common at Port Natal than

A. natalensis. An adult specimen is 26 inches long, the head

measuring 8 in., the tail 9 in.

B. On a new South American Species of Ahztulla.

Ahetulla nitida,

Scales in fifteen rows, smooth, minutely striated, without

this also is the number shown in the figure of the entire Snake contained

in Sir A. Smith’s work. On the same plate, however, a separate drawing

is given of the same specimen, showing nine opp labials: we cannot help

thinking that this was an accidental variation of the normal number, that

specimen having had eignt labials on one side, and nine on the other.

Dr. G. C. Wallich on an undescribed Form of Amceba. 287

apical groove. Head small, depressed, with the snout of mode-

rate length, subtruncated in front ; rostral shield rather broader

than high; loreal not quite twice as long as high; preorbital

reaching to, or nearly reaching to, the vertical; two post-

orbitals; nine upper labials, the fourth, fifth, and sixth of which

enter the orbit; temporals 1+2+2; occipitals rounded, each

with a larger rounded scale behind; six lower labials are in

contact with the chin-shields. Eye rather large, with round

pupil. Body very slender, compressed ; tail very long, angular.

Ventral shields 165, angularly bent on each side, the central

portion being not much broader than long; anal bifid; sub-

caudals 153, The posterior maxillary tooth is the longest, not

grooved, and is separated from the others by a short interspace,

Above uniform metallic brownish-green, below greenish ; scales

on the back narrowly edged with black ; one of the specimens

has blackish dots on the crown of the head. No band either on

the side of the head or of the body.

This species would enter the subgenus Uromacer of Duméril

and Bibron.

The British Museum possesses two examples of this species,

one from Demerara ; the origin of the other is not known. The -

latter is 32 inches long, the head measuring 7 lines, and the

tail 133 inches.

XXXIII.—On an undescribed Indigenous Form of Ameeba.

By G. C. Watticn, M.D., F.LS., &e. &e.

[Plate VIII.]

Tue occurrence of an undescribed variety of Ameba in the

immediate vicinity of the metropolis is of interest both on its own

account and from the indication it affords that the study of our

indigenous Rhizopodal fauna is still unexhausted. - The variety

in question was recently obtained, in considerable abundance,

from the ponds on Hampstead Heath; and inasmuch as every

specimen examined by me has presented the very singular cha-

racters to which I am now about to draw attention, there is every

reason to believe that these are normal, although perhaps not

permanent in their nature.

According to the descriptions of the commoner forms—as, for

example, A. princeps, A. diffluens, or A. radiosa*—it would ap-

that the sarcode substance is uniformly differentiated into

“ endosare” and “‘ectosarc.” In other words, setting aside the

elementary organs which may be said to be shadowed forth by

the contractile vesicle, the nucleus, and the protoplasmic granular

* It will, I think, eventually be found that all these are mere transitory

phases of one and the same species,

288. Dr. G. C. Wallich on an undescribed .

bodies, neither the outer layer of sarcode, nor the more viscid

mass within, is endowed with a more advanced degree of

developnient at one point than at another. And, in addition to

this, the creature possesses the power of moving with equal

facility in every direction, by means of pseudopodia projected

indiscriminately from any portion of its surface.

In the variety under notice (see Plate VIII.) this is not the case,

inasmuch as one portion of the ectosarc exhibits a structure

differing permanently from the remainder—being densely studded

with minute papille which, in the quiescent state of the creature,

are of nearly uniform aspect and size, and cause the surface

upon which they occur to resemble the villous structure of

mucous membrane in outward appearance. When the animal

moves, these papill or villi vary in length, and now and then

several coalesce so as to form processes more nearly approaching

the ordinary pseudopodial character, although still of minute

proportions. The villous patch, which occupies probably from

soth to 75th of the entire superficies, appears frequently to be

employed as a prehensile organ, the creature being enabled

through its agency to secure for itself a continuous point @apput

from which the rest of the body is pushed or flows onwards,

almost invariably in an opposite direction to that in which the

villous patch is itself situated. The true pseudopodia would

seem never to be projected from this area; but should a retro-

grade movement be about to take place, they are either thrown

out from the adjacent portion of the ectosare, or the main mass

of the organism flows altogether in a backward course, the villous

patch remaining fixed until it once more assumes its position at

the posterior part of the advancing mass.

So powerful is the prehensile power referred to, that some

of the papillze at times become stretched beyond their endurance

and are torn asunder ; minute shreds being left adherent to the

foreign bodies in the neighbourhood. Should the animal be

subjected to pressure between the slide and glass cover, the |

papille may occasionally be seen to adhere to the polished sur-

faces, some relaxing their hold and taking up a position in

advance, whilst those described as being stretched till they

detach or break asunder are, in turn, moved onwards until

they once more secure an attachment for themselves.

On the other hand, the pseudopodial processes and the rest of

the ectosare generally seem to exercise no prehensile power. In

the one case the marginal layer is broken up into a delicate

villous coat, the hyaline transparency of which is destroyed and

replaced by a pale cream-coloured opacity ; in the other it is

perfectly hyaline, clearly defined, and unbroken. I have only

in a yery few instances been enabled to trace an influx of granu-

Indigenous Form ef Amceba. 289

lar particles of endosare within such of the coalesced villi

as, from their size, rendered observation practicable.

As a general rule, the contractile vesicle and nucleus maintain

a position close to the villous patch, even whilst the animal is

moving—the former organ being in close proximity to it, and

sometimes appearing to discharge itself, by the usual systolic

action, at a spot within the villous surface. But now and then.

both nucleus and contractile vesicle move slowly round with the

mass of circulating particles. The villous area, however, retains

its position in relation to the rest of the body.

In some specimens the contractile vesicle presents an appear-

ance of the most delicate reticulation, resembling that described

as occurring on the external surface of Actinophrys, and depending

probably on a similar cause, namely, the occurrence of a number

of minute vacuoles. The contractile vesicles occasionally sub-

divide into several smaller cavities, as constantly happens in

other forms ; and these either coalesce prior to collapse, or they

collapse separately. But no sinuses of the kind described by

Carter in Paramecium aurelia and other Infusoria are discernible.

Vacuoles are frequent, and in some cases of sufficient size to

contain large diatoms.

The nucleus consists of a pale grey-coloured spherical mass of

granules, towards the centre of which may occasionally be de-

tected a minute clear nucleolus. It is contained within a hya-

line and somewhat elongated vesicular cavity, but never oc-

cupies the entire area of the latter.

Dilute alkaline and acid solutions cause the body at once to

assume a more or less spherical shape, and the granular contents

to close up into a central mass, leaving a broad hyaline border

around the entire surface, as described by Auerbach in Ame@ba

bilimbosa. But these reagents fail to render apparent anything

like the double outline, indicative of a definite membranous

envelope, alluded to by that author. It is worthy of note,

however, that, under imperfect adjustment of focus or want of

due care in illumination, the semblance of a double outline can

be evoked.

Some of the specimens of the Hampstead Ameba are of extra-

ordinary dimensions, the largest attaming a diameter of no less

than =;th of an inch. The villi, in their quiescent state, seem

to be about ;~+,,th of an inch in average length.

In a solitary example, the villous patch constituted a nearly

circular brush-like tuft at the extremity of a cylindrical pedicle

of hyaline sarcode; and at its centre was a minute vacuole-

like space. I kept my eye on this specimen for nearly a quarter

of an hour without perceiving this structure alter in anywise,—

the prehensile power of the villi seeming to be either suspended

290. Dr. G.C. Wallich on an undescribed Form of Amceba.

or destroyed, and both brush-like tuft and pedicle being

dragged behind the Ameba during the entire period. Unfor-

tunately the drying-up of the water on the slide put a stop to

my observation at this point.

With regard to the specific value of the characters of this

form, I think it unadvisable at present to express a decided

opinion. Several circumstances render it probable that it

may be a transient phase in the life-history of the common

Ameba. Amongst the principal of these I may mention having

detected traces of a like villous structure in specimens obtained

from other localities. But, whether the Hampstead form even-

tually proves to be a distinct permanent type or otherwise, the

characters referred to are of high interest as evincing a nearer

approach, than any heretofore noted amongst the Rhizopods,

to the structure of the ciliary legs of certain Infusoria, as, for

example, of Plesconia or Kerona*. They also tend to confirm

the view put forward by MM. Claparéde and Lachmann with

reference to the “ reptant”’ nature of the motion of Ameba, and

the consequent suggestion of Dr. Carpenter regarding the pro-

bable differentiation of the ectosarc into a ventral and dorsal

portion. According to present experience, “ reptation ” takes

place in forms endowed with this more highly developed state

of a portion of the ectosarc, whilst the motion is of a simple

“rolling” or flowing kind in those forms in which the ectosare

is uniformly developed at all points.

The Hampstead form corresponds in every important parti-

cular with one found by me in Lower Bengal in 1856, in

which the villous portion of the ectosare constitutes a means

of permanent attachment to foreign bodies such as Conferve or

the like; and the animal appears to be normally sessile in its

habitst.

In conclusion, I may mention that a week has passed since

the supply of these Amebe was obtained at Hampstead, and

that they retain the characters above described in an unim~-

paired degree to the hour at which I write.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIIL.

[Figures 1 to 5 magnified about 400 diameters. |

Fig. 1. Ameba in quiescent or nearly quiescent state: a, villous patch ;

n, nucleus; c, contractile vesicle; v, vacuoles.

* See Carter’s observations on these forms in the ‘Annals and Maga-

zine of Natural History, 3rd series, vol. iii. p. 241 et seq.

_ + This variety is figured in Part I. of my ‘North Atlantic Sea-Bed,’

pl. 4. figs. 13 & 14.

{ Each letter applies to the same portions of the structure in the several

figures. The arrows indicate the direction in which the animal is supposed

to be advancing. Peay a

Bibliographical Notices. 291

Fig. 2. Showing the appearance of the Ameba when moving slowly, the

: villi being employed as organs of prehension.

Fig. 3. The same, when advancing energetically, the villous patch being

aggregated into a subspherical tuft, and the contractile vesicle

and nucleus now sharing in the general protoplasmic circulation.

Fig. 4. A specimen with two large Pinnularie in its interior, the upper of

the two frustules being enclosed within a large vacuole.

Fig. 5, A specimen in which the villous patch has assumed a brush-like

shape, and is supported on an elongated pedicle of sarcode ;

5 2, an enlarged view of this tuft and its re pgp. | pedicle.

Fig. 6. Enlarged view of granular nucleus, nucleolus, and the nuclear

vesicle or cavity.

Fig. 7. Contractile vesicle, showing appearance of reticulation.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

The Land and Freshwater Mollusks indigenous to, or naturalized

_in, the British Isles. By Lovet. Reeve, F.L.S. Reeve & Co.,

1863.

On y a few months have elapsed since we had occasion to notice the

publication of the first volume of a new work by Mr. Jeffreys, on

British Conchology, which treats of the Inland Mollusca; and already -

another handbook on the same subject lies upon our table.

The valuable illustrated works on ‘Conchology’ by Mr. Reeve are

well known, and more especially his splendid ‘ Conchologia Iconica ;”

but, until we read the announcement of the intended publication of

the work which we are about to review, we were not aware that the

author had paid any special attention to the Mollusca of our Islands.

We cannot therefore expect to find in-this volume the same mass of

interesting detail which long years of patient and special study have

enabled Mr. Jeffreys to condense in the pages of ‘ British Concho-

logy.’ On the other hand, however, ‘The Land and Freshwater

Mollusks’ is more fully illustrated, and the woodcuts of all the species

offer an attraction which Mr. Jeffreys’s volume does not possess.

The animals are engraved by Mr. O. Jewett, some from original

drawings, while others are reproductions of previously published

. The original drawings from the life, which may be recog-

nized by Mr. Jewett’s autograph, are admirable. We were not pre-

viously acquainted with this artist’s name as a natural-histo

draughtsman ; but such life-like and characteristic figures as those

of Limaz Sowerbyi, flavus, and cinereus, Helix aspersa, Planorbis

corneus, Paludina- contecta, Dreissena polymorpha, Anodonta

eygnea, and Unio tumidus raise him to a high position among

delineators of Mollusca. Unfortunately the same praise cannot

be bestowed on Mr. Sowerby’s figures of the shells ; for while the

woodcuts of the larger species are generally good, no trouble appears

to have been bestowed upon the smaller and closely allied species ;

and thus in those very instances where accurate illustrations were

most desirable and would have been of most value, we meet with en-

gravings which are not only worthless, but caleulated to mislead.

292 Bibliographical Notices.

We may mention, as examples of this carelessness, all the Zonite,

but especially crystallinus, Helix pulchella, rupestris, pygmea, ro-

tundata, &e.

It is with much regret that we notice the numerous changes in

nomenclature which Mr. Reeve seeks to introduce, changes in almost

every instance uncalled for, in many cases actually wrong. Obsolete

names, originally appended to descriptions of Mollusca so loosely

and inaccurately defined as to apply with equal truth to many species,

are here dragged forward from their merited oblivion, and made to

supersede names which have been familiar to European conchologists

for the last half-century. It is impossible to criticise all the changes

thus made ; but let us examine those that are introduced into a single

genus: let it be Planorbis.

Planorbis imbricatus is changed to Planorbis crista, on the

authority of the following synonymy :—

Nautilus crista, Linneeus (1758), Syst. Nat. 10th edit. p. 709.

Turbo nautileus, Linneus (1767), Syst. Nat. 12th edit. p. 1241.

And the author remarks—* It may be observed on reference to the

synonymy, that Linneeus made two species of this.” But Linnzeus

did not make two species out of Planorbis nautileus. The facts are

that he described Nautilus crista in the tenth edition of the ‘Systema

Nature ;’ and in the twelfth edition changed the name of the species

to Turbo nautileus, and referred to his Nautilus crista of the tenth

edition as a synonym. We can only account for Mr. Reeve’s mistake

by supposing that he has never consulted the twelfth edition—a sup-

position which is confirmed by the fact that throughout his volume

the tenth edition is almost invariably referred to. It is the twelfth,

however, which embodies the most matured views of the great natu-

ralist, and has therefore always been justly held to be the standard

edition of his works ; and it is for this reason that the name nautileus

has universally been adopted. Few of Linneeus’s species are identi-

fied moreover with the same degree of certainty as this little shell ;

for specimens are still to be seen in the Linneean cabinet enclosed in

a small paper envelope on which the name is written at full length.

Planorbis marginatus (Drap.) is changed to P. complanatus (L.).

Yet no one, from Linnzeus’s time to our own, has been able to say to —

what species the brief description of Helix complanata was intended

to apply. Miller, in his description of Planorbis umbilicatus (P.

marginatus, Drap.), wrote in 1773 (only six years after the publi-

cation of ‘Syst. Nat.’ 12th edit.), “Satis diu hesito an hie Pla-

norbis Linneei, an complanatus auctorum dicatur, et descriptiones

me dubium adhuc relinquunt ; quid quod, hunc et Planorbem confu-

disse videntur, et sequens forte erit eorum complanatus. In tantis

difficultatibus has tricas solvendi, ipso Linneeo litteris frustra consulto.

Planorbem et complanatam, nomina generi toti propria, oblivioni

dandos, descriptiones et nomina aptiora magisque significantia effin-

genda reor.” And again, in the description of Planorbis nitidus,

the same author observes, ‘‘ An H. complanata Linnzi, haud liquet.”

Mr. Hanley, in his ‘Ipsa Linnei Conchylia,’ expresses his belief

ahs

Bibliographical Notices. 293

that Linnzus included both Planorbis carinatus and marginatus

under the name Helix planorbis, aud that Helir complanatus is

synonymous with Planorbis nitidus, Miller. “‘‘ Deorsum carinata,’”’

he observes, “is equally applicable to nitidus” as to marginatus ;

“whilst ‘supra convexa—subdiaphana—apertura semicordata’

(Fauna Suecica) is much more critically correct when affirmed of

that little shell than of its larger rival; and as ‘ parva admodum’ is

plied to it in the ‘ Fauna Suecica,’ in the contrast of its features

with those of the preceding species, I feel no hesitation in asserting

the identity of nitidus with the Linnzean Helix.” Surely Miller was

right, when he said of such names (impossible to be identified with the

species they were intended to represent), ‘ oblivioni dandos reor.”

The chief confusion, however, which Mr. Reeve introduces into

the genus Planorbis is by his adoption of the views of Moquin-

Tandon respecting the Planorbis nitidus of Miller. That name is

here applied to Planorbis (Segmentina) lineata (Walker) ; while the

shell which has hitherto been known to British conchologists as Pla-

norbis nitidus is called P. fontanus (Lightfoot). Now, on what

eons is this change made? Miiller’s description of the species in

is ‘ Historia Vermium’ is very full, and agrees most accurately with

P. fontanus until we reach, at the end, this sentence, ‘‘ Ultra quin-

quaginta examini subjeci, quorum quidam strigis duabus ligamen- _

torum instar in superna parte extime spire, forte ex restauratione

fractze teste, notantur.’”” Now what does this sentence prove, but

that the majority of the shells he examined were Planorbis fontanus?

to which species therefore his name should be applied. It is quite

possible, though far from certain, that the author confused the two

Species, and that ‘‘ quidam strigis duabus ligamentorum instar” has

reference to specimens of P. lineatus; but such specimens were de-

scribed as the variety, while P. fontanus is clearly the type of the

species. And this becomes more evident when we find all allusion

to the variety omitted in the subsequently published ‘ Zoologise

oaptan Prodromus,’ the description in which work applies only to

the type.

Mr. Reeve describes 128 species. His estimate of our land and

freshwater Mollusca differs from that of Forbes and Hanley in the

omission of Helix aperta, and the addition of Testacella Maugei,

Vertigo Moulinsiana, Conovulus Myosotis, Cyclas pisidioides and

C. ovalis. And as compared with the species described in Jeffreys’s

work, we find Anodonta anatina and Pisidium roseum omitted, and

Testacella Maugei, Pisidium obtusale, Casertanum (cinereum) and

Henslowianum, and Cyclas pisidioides added. Moreover Jeffreys

considers that Hydrobia ventrosa has a claim to be inserted asa

freshwater shell. But Reeve denies the species a place; while, on

the other hand, he admits the Conovuli and Assiminia Grayana,

which are rejected by the former author.

Mr. Reeve gives a map, in which, by a deeper or lighter tint of

colour, it is intended to show the boundary of the Caucasian province

of Mollusca, over which the British species range, and to indicate

the part in which the most characteristic of the genera and species

294 Bibliographical Notices.

congregate. ‘Two tables also show the distribution, in Great Britain

and abroad, of the several genera and species ; and a short chapter on

the “ Distribution and Origin of Species’ concludes the volume.

Geological Observations in South Australia ; principally in the Dis-

trict south-east of Adelaide. By the Rev. Jutian EpmMuND

Woops, F.G.8., &c. 8vo. Longman, 1862.

** Every country has its history, not alone the history of what its

inhabitants said and did, nor how its people lived, conspired,

quarrelled, fought, and died, but a history which stretches further

back and is buried in more remote antiquity. If it had not been so,

Australia might indeed be counted the youngest as well as the least

interesting of continents. She has had no people that could de-

scribe her vicissitudes, and there are no monuments left to chronicle

her changes ; but yet her history is written in an imperishable record.

Of old, when the first explorers came upon the coast of a newly disco-

vered territory, the rocks, the trees, the soil, and the verdure only spoke

to them of one thing, namely, of fertility, or richness, or special adapta-

tion to the wants of man. But now the very coast-line tells much more.

Not only is the fertility or barrenness of the place itself told by the

rocks, but the explorer is able to guess how far these appearances

extend, and whether the country is likely to be fitted for human

requirements in the present state of civilization.”

These are our author’s preliminary observations in his Chapter IL. ;

and he follows them up, Istly, by pointing out the evidences of

former and different physical conditions presented by the existing

geographical features of Australia generally; 2ndly, by giving in

detail an account of the limestone-beds that form the plains of a great

part of Southern Australia, and perhaps of Tasmania, describing their

probable origin in a sea occupied by reefs of Bryozoa, as some seas

now are by corals ; 3rdly, by treating of the extinct volcanos of Mount

Gambier and its vicinity, and of their individual and general history ;

Athly, by describing the caverns in the limestone of the district

under notice, and the undergound drainage in connexion therewith.

The conclusions that the author draws from his observations on

the geology of the colony are as follows :—

«J, There has been in Australia an immense area of subsidence during

the Pliocene period, at a time when Rome, parts of Italy, Vienna,

and parts of Austria, Piedmont, and Asia Minor were under the sea.

II. This subsidence was accompanied by a [moss-] coral formation,

very similar to the subsiding area of the Pacific at the present time ;

and although all the appearances are those of a reef of true zoophyte

corals, the predominent fossil is a massive Cellepora, while true corals

are rare. III. This gives rise to the suspicion that Bryozoa may

build reefs and atolls, as well as true Corals. IV. That the sub-

sidence ceased; and probably about that time volcanic disturbance

commenced, and gave rise to submarine craters. V. That, after the

cooling of the lava from these submarine craters, a deposit of small

fragments of shells was thrown down from an ocean-current. VI.

Bibliographical Notices. 295

That this beeame hardened into stone, and was then upheaved from

the sea; during which process large portions of it became washed

away. VII. That the latter part of the upheaval was separated by a

long lapse of time from the subsidence, because the latter strata show

some difference in their fauna. VIII. That while upheaval was going

on, until very recently, extensive volcanic disturbance took place,

giving rise to craters which are now all extinct. IX. That the up-

eaved [ Bryozoan] rock, when decomposed, has given rise to a very

different sort of soil, of a sandy character, which causes large tracts

of arid, useless country in this part of Australia. X. That the same

tock, being of a loose texture, easily allowed water to percolate

through, forming caves and underground passages, besides honey-

combing the ground in all directions. XI. That, while these opera-

tions proceeded, the animal life was of a slightly different character

from what is found in the same locality now, though probably the

land-animals were not specially different from individuals in other

parts of the Australian continent.” Lastly, that “these numerous

changes seem to have taken place without any vast convulsion of

nature, or phenomena different from what happen in the world

now.”

In discussing the many geological and natural-history points of

interest that occur in his work, the author, himself an amateur, often

freely explains the elementary basis of his several lines of argument,

quoting Lyell, Darwin, Jukes, and others, for the information of his

readers as to geological systems, the theories of coral-formations, the

nature of coral-reefs, &c.; and his book, thus popularly written, is

tendered more readable for the general public than if written with

strict technicality ; but at the same time we miss a requisite scientific

accuracy, especially as to zoological nomenclature and classification,

without which no geological work can have a high scientific value—

though certainly a hard-working amateur in so distant and isolated a

position as Penola must surely be excused for this short-coming.

Some observations by Mr. Woods on extensive recent accumula-

tions of minute organisms, such as Cypride, Diatomacee, and Chare,

and of mammalian bones and of lake-shells in South Australia, are to be

found inChapter III., and must prove highly suggestive to geologists.

The notes on the bone-breccia and accumulations of bones in caves, in

Chapter XI., will also attract attention. The author’s explanation

of the origin of the limestone “‘ Biscuits ”’ of the ‘‘ Honeysuckle flats ”

(pp. 43-45) is very ingenious; and his other numerous observations

on the physical features of the district, which have been ‘‘ the occupa-

tion of many a passing hour in the bush, where amusements are

otherwise few,” are full of interest and value.

In his Introductory Chapter and elsewhere, the author has taken

care to point out what others have already done in explaining the geo-

logical features of Southern Australia; but he has overlooked the

little work ‘On the Geology and Mineralogy of South Australia,’ by

Mr. T. Burr, published at Adelaide in 1846.

296 Bibliographical Notices.

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London,

Vol. xxiv. Part 1. 1863. ~

Tuanks to the exertions of its late excellent President (Prof. T.

Bell) and his successor (Mr. G. Bentham), the Linnean Society ap-

pears quite restored to its pristine activity. In addition to the usual

annual publication of the quarto ‘Transactions’ in the autumn of

1862, and the ordinary quarterly ‘ Journal,’ it has lately issued an-

other part of the ‘Transactions,’ in order to bring as quickly as

possible to the knowledge of botanists the exceedingly valuable

paper by Dr. Joseph D. Hooker “On Welwitschia, a new Genus of

Gnetacex.” This paper occupies the whole of the part, extends to

48 pages, and is illustrated by 14 plates. We think this proceeding

in the highest degree creditable to the Society. When such a paper

is brought before it, it does well to deviate from its usual course.

The present essay has attracted the utmost attention from botanists.

Probably nothing of equal botanical interest has appeared since the

publication of Robert Brown’s papers on Raffesia, in the thirteenth

and nineteenth volumes of the same ‘ Transactions.’

The first notice of Welwitschia was sent to Sir W. J. Hooker by

Dr. Fred. Welwitsch, its discoverer, in a letter from Loanda in South

Africa, dated Aug. 16, 1860, which was soon followed by the dis-

patch of specimens to Kew. This singular plant never possesses

more than the same two leaves, although it seems to be very long-

lived. These leaves appear to be the cotyledons, which, instead of

fading, as is usual, and giving place to ordinary leaves, are perma-

nent, and attain to a length of six feet and a breadth of two. They

are hard and leathery, and in the course of time split to longitu-

dinal strips. They spring from a groove situated between the crown

and stock of the plant, and lie flat, or nearly so, upon the ground.

This is the only example of a ‘ perennial flowering plant which

at no period has other vegetative organs than those proper to the

embryo itself, the main axis being represented by the radicle, which

becomes a gigantic caulicle, and developes a root from its base and

inflorescences from its plumulary end, and the leaves being the two

cotyledons in a very highly developed and specialized condition.”

The yenation of the leaves is ‘parallel and free, like that of Mono-

cotyledons in general appearance; but there is a total absence of

lateral vascular communications between the bundles,” as in many

Coniferze.

Its male flowers are structurally hermaphrodite, but their naked

ovule is always abortive. It seems therefore probable that the plant

is truly dicecious. Dr. Hooker considers its female flowers as gymno-

spermous, but that the plant is rather intermediate in character

between gymnospermous and angiospermous plants.

We feel sure that many of our botanical readers will hasten to

eruse this remarkable essay, which is a permanent monument of

the high attainments of its author, such as it seldom can fall to the

lot of even a Hooker to obtain,

Royal Society. 297

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

Feb. 5, 1863.—Major-General Sabine, Presidert, in the Chair.

“On the Embryogeny of Comatula rosacea (Linck).” By Prof.

Wyville Thomson, LL.D., F.R.S.E. &c.

After briefly abstracting Dr. W. Busch’s description of the early

stages in the growth of the young of Comatula, the author details

his own observations, carried on during the last four years, on the

development and subsequent changes of the larva. After complete

segmentation of the yelk, a more consistent nucleus appears within

the mulberry mass still contained within the vitelline membrane.

The external more transparent flocculent portion of the yelk liquefies

and is absorbed into this nucleus, which gradually assumes the form

of the embryo larva, a granular cylinder contracted at either end and

girded with four transverse bands of cilia. This cylinder increases

in size till it nearly fills the vitelline sac, gradually increasing in

transparency, and ultimately consisting of delicately vacuolated sar-

code, the external surface transparent and studded with pyriform

oil-cells, the inner portion semifluid and slightly granular.

The vitelline membrane now gives way, and, usually shortly after ~

the escape of the larva into the water, the third ciliated band from the

anterior extremity arches forwards at one point ; and in the space thus

left between it and the fourth band, a large pyriform depression indi-

cates the position of the larval mouth. At the same time a small

round aperture, merely separated from the posterior margin of the

mouth by the last ciliated band, becomes connected with the mouth

by a short loop-like canal passing under the band, and fulfils the

function of an excreting orifice. A tuft of long cilia, which have a

peculiar undulatory motion, is developed at the posterior extremity of

the body. The larva now increases rapidly in size, assuming some-

what the form of a kidney bean, the mouth answering in position

to the hilum. It swims freely in the water, with a swmging semi-

ree? motion, by means of its ciliated bands and posterior tuft

oO a

Shortly after the larva has attained its definite independent form,

ten minute calcareous spicula make their appearance, imbedded

within the external sarcode-layer of the expanded anterior portion of

the larva. The ten spicula are arranged in two transverse rings of

five, the spicula of the anterior row symmetrically superposed on those

of the posterior. By the extension of calcareous network, these spi-

cula rapidly expand into ten plates, which at length form a trellis

enclosing a dodecahedral space, open above and below, within the

anterior portion of the zooid. Simultaneously with the appearance

of these plates, a series of from seven to ten calcareous rings form a

chain passing from the base of the posterior row of plates backwards,

curving slightly to the left of the larval mouth, and ending by abut-

ting against the centre of a large cribriform plate, which is rapidly

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 20

298 Royal Society.

developed close to the posterior extremity of the larva. Delicate

sheaves of anastomosing calcareous trabeculee shortly arise within

these rings, and the series declares itself as the jointed stem of the

pentacrinoid stage, the basal and first interradial plates of the calyx

being represented by the already formed casket of calcareous network.

The skeleton of the Crinoid is thus completely mapped out within

the body of the larva, while the latter still retains its independent

form and special organs.

Within the plates of the calyx of the nascent Crinoid two hemi-

spherical or reniform masses may now be detected,—one superior, of a

yellowish, subsequently of a chocolate colour; the other inferior,

colourless and transparent. The lower hemisphere indicates the

permanent alimentary canal of the Crinoid, with its glandular follicle ;

the upper mass originates the central ring of the ambulacral system,

with its ceeca passing tothe arms. The body of the Crinoid is, how-

ever, at this stage entirely closed in by a dome of sarcode, formi

the anterior extremity of thelarva. After swimming about freely for

atime averaging from eight hours to a week, and increasing rapidly in

size till it has attained a length of from 1 to 2 millims., the larva becomes

sluggish, and its form is distorted by the growing Crinoid. The

mouth and alimentary canal of the larva disappear, and the external

sarcode-layer subsides round the calcareous framework of the included

embryo, forming for it a transparent perisome. The stem now lengthens

by additions of trabeculee to the ends of the joints. The posterior

extremity dilates into a disk of attachment. The anterior extremity

becomes expanded, then slightly cupped ; the lip of the cup is divided

into five crescentic lobes corresponding to the plates of the upper

ring; and finally five delicate tubes, ceeca from the ambulacral

circular canal, are protruded from the centre of the cup, the rudi-

ments of the arms of the Pentacrinoid. At some stage during the

pores of these later changes the embryo adheres, and at length

ecomes firmly cemented to some permanent point of attachment.

The author states his views as to the morphological and physio-

logical relations of the larval zooid. He believes that all the peculiar

independently organized zooids developed from the whole or from a

part of the segmented yelk in the Echinoderms, and which form no

stage in the development of the perfect form of the species, must

be regarded as assimilative extensions of sarcode, analogous in func-

tion to the embryonic absorbent appendages in the higher animals.

For such an organism the term “pseudembryo” is proposed. In

the Echinoderm subkingdom, although constructed apparently upon

a common plan, these pseudembryos present considerable range of

organization, from a somewhat complex zooid provided with elaborate

natatory fringes, with a system of vessels which are ultimately con-

nected with the ambulacral vascular system of the embryo, with a

well-developed digestive tract, and in some instances with special

nervous ganglia, to a simple layer of absorbent and irritable sarcode

which invests the nascent embryo, The pseudembryo of Comatula

holds an intermediate position. It resembles very closely in external

form and in subsequent metamorphosis the “pupa stage” of the

NE hi

pis

Zoological Society. 299

Holothuridz, the great distinction between them being that in the

Holothuride the pupa has already passed through the more active

“Auricularian” stage, while the analogous form in Oomatula has

been developed directly from the egg.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 11, 1862.—Prof. Huxley, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

Descriptions or Two Corats FROM MApEIRA, BELONGING TO

THE GENERA Primnoa AND Mopsea. By James YATE

Jounson, Corr. Mem. Z.S.

Fam. GORGONIID, M.-Edw.

Subfam. Gorconin#&, M.-Edw.

Sect. Primnoacez, M.-Edw.

PRIMNOA IMBRICATA, Sp. 1.

White, having a tendency to branch dichotomously in one plane ;

the branches slender, flexible, not plume-like, and not anastomosing.

Axis pale brownish yellow, spineless, obscurely striated, effervescing

in hydrochloric acid, coated with small white scales composed of

carbonate of lime. Over the lower coating of scales there is another

coating of larger scales, with a wide space between the two. The —

outer coat, which is easily removed, appears to be attached to the

peduncles of the cells. These peduncles are in elosely-set whorls of

three or four, each of which expands into a cup-like cell, having its

mouth closed in the dead coral with eight scales that have their

apices in contact. The peduncles project at right angles from the

stem, and are also clothed with scales,

This is a much more delicate form than Primnoa lepadifera, in

which species the pedunculated cells appear to be arranged spirally

on the branch.

Two specimens of this elegant Primnoa have been obtained, the

larger of which has a height of 84 inches, with a width of 11 inches.

It was attached to a piece of Lophohelia (Oculina) prolifera. The

whorls of the pedunculated cells are about three-twentieths of an

inch apart, and the peduncles about the same in height. The prin-

ope branch, near the base, has a diameter of one-fifth of an inch.

The smaller example has been deposited in the British Museum.

Subfam. Istpinz, M.-Edw.

MopsEA ARBUSCULUM, sp. n.

The whole coral is coated with a thin brown skin. When this

skin has been removed from the lower calcareous joints, they are

found to be stony, white, subcylindrical, but rather narrower at the

middle than at either end. They are finely striate longitudinally,

and the striz are parallel and straight. The interjoints do not

nearly equal the joints in length, being little more than discs, and

are somewhat less in diameter. They are striate, and from them

spring the branches. These branches are very numerous, diverging

20*

300 Zoological Society :—

in all directions subdichotomously, and making a tolerably thick

bush. They are much thinner than the main stem, and they become

gradually more slender upwards, the calcareous joints at the same

time becoming longer. Occasionally two of the ultimate branchlets

come into contact and are soldered together. Each branchlet bears

at its apex a cell of a shape between campanulate and infundibuli-

form, the margin of which bears eight pairs of long, upright, spine-

like spicula. There are also sessile cells at the sides of the ultimate

branchlets, one at each interjoint. All the cells are of a pale brown

colour. The pellicle covering the branchlets contains long spicula,

which are for the most part large and fusiform, whilst the smaller

ones are cylindrical, and all are brown and minutely tuberculated.

A single example of this Coral was obtained from a fisherman at

Cama de Lobos, Madeira, and it is now in the British Museum. Its

length, without the base, which is wanting, is 13 inches, and it is

7 inches across. The lower part of the main stem has a diameter of

three-tenths of an inch, and its calcareous joints are about three-

eighths of an inch in length. The branches are broken away from

this part of the stem; but there are remains to show that some of

the interjoints bore four branches, others only one. A cell, with its

marginal spines, measures the fifth of an inch.

This coral seems to be nearly related to Mopsea dichotoma; but

M. Milne-Edwards gives the Indian Ocean (with a mark of doubt)

as the habitat of that species. Strange to say, that writer, in his

work on Corals (‘Histoire Naturelle des Coralliaires,’ forming one

of the ‘ Nouvelles Suites 4 Buffon’), is altogether silent as to the cells

of Mopsea. lLamouroux says that the polypi (? cells) of M. dicho-

toma are mammiform on the higher, tuberculous on the middle, and

superficial on the lower branches. This would ill accord with the

Madeiran specimen. Little agreement can be made out between that

Seen and the figures of Esper, ‘“ Pflanzenthiere,”’ Isis, pl. 5,

gs. 1-5.

Nov. 25, 1862.—E. W. H. Holdsworth, F.Z.S., in the Chair.

' Mr. W. K. Parker read the following abstract of a Memoir on

the Osteology of the'genera Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, Hemipodius, and

Tinamus, intended for publication in the Society’s ‘ Transactions :’ —

“The classification of the gallinaceous birds would be easy enough

if it were not for certain outliers, which refuse to conform to that

particular plan of structure with which we are all so familiar in that

very convenient and natural type of the group, the Common Fowl.

* Agreeing with this bird in all essential respects are the genera

Phasianus, Polyplectron, Lophophorus, Tragopan, Pavo, Meleagris,

Numida, and many others, the species of which are in many instances

creatures of unsurpassed beauty. This properly typical group has,

amongst other characteristics, its species provided with a robust body,

short rounded wings, and very strong legs; whilst the tarsi are

naked, provided with one or two spurs, and having the generally

small heel elevated above the anterior toes.

“Notwithstanding the more subdued style of colouring, and

Mr. W. K. Parker on Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, and Tinamus. 301

the rudimentary condition of the spur, the Red Partridge (Perdix

rubra) ought to be placed with the Francolins in the typical group.

*« Still further, if we are to be guided by the structure of the ske-

leton, and especially by that of the skull, the dwarfs of the family,

the Quails (Coturniz), ought to stand in the same inner circle as the

gigantic species, the Turkey and the Peacock.

“In a subtypical group all those forms ought to be placed, in

which, besides the quiet style of colouring, we find feebler legs, often

with the tarsi feathered, a more depressed pigeon-like form of the

body, and a skull with thinner and more fibrous walls, combined with

a much enlarged tympanic cavity. The spur is also obsolete.

«The Grey Partridge (Perdix cinerea) should be classed with this

subfamily—the Tetraonide.

“This beautiful and valuable bird is, as is especially shown in the

structure of its skull, much more nearly related to the Ptarmigans

(Lagopus) than to Perdizx rubra, with its very thick-walled cellular

skull, small tympanic cavities, and rudimentary spur.

“There is a group of very majestic birds inhabiting the warmer

parts of the New World, which differs so much from the Galline

proper and from the Tetraonida, that it must be considered to be-

long to an outer or aberrant place in the great gallinaceous family.

I allude to the Cracide. :

** These birds, less ornate indeed than their normal relatives, are

nevertheless creatures of great interest, and of no little beauty,

whether we consider their form or their mode of colouring.

“In this outer circle we place the Guans (Penelope), the Curas-

sows (Crax), the genera Ortalida, Opisthocomus, and others.

“The mode in which the Cracide differ from their terrestrial

typical congeners is highly interesting ; but as the present paper is

only intended to be an introductory outline, I shall not ‘ bestow all

my tediousness’ upon the Society by going into details now: suffice

it to say that they appear to me to connect the Gallinacee quite as

much with the Plantain-eaters (Musophagide) as with the Pigeons.

“The habit, which has given the family-name Rasores to the

Fowl tribe, curiously enough, does not attain its highest degree in

the typical species, but is developed in certain subtypical genera

which are found ranging from the Philippines through the islands of

the Indian Archipelago to Australia: these birds are the Megapodes*.

Tn the ‘ Mound-maker’ we have a bird which, whilst marvel-

lously like the Common Hen in gentleness of expression and neatness

of contour, has also a most striking isomorphic resemblance to certain

members of a very distantly related family, viz. the Gallinules.

“* My acquaintance with the structure of Talegalla was made six-

teen or seventeen years ago; for at that time I met with and made

drawings of a precious skeleton of this bird in one of the drawers of

the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons ; it has not, however,

been noticed in the Catalogue.

“Being therefore well and safely possessed of the fact that the

Brush Turkey (Talegalla) does not, in any essential point of struc-

* Gould (see Penny Cyclop., art. “ Talegalla”).

302 Zoological Society :—

ture, differ from the Common and Ocellated Turkeys (Meleagris

Gallo-pavo and M. ocellata), I was indeed surprised to find that, as

late as last spring, Professor Owen had classed them with Cuvier’s

Macrodactyli.

‘In the report in the ‘ Medical Times and Gazette’ of the fourth

of Professor Owen’s Jermyn Street Lectures for this year, delivered

on the 23rd of May, I find the classification which he has adopted,

and in which the mound-making birds are placed between the Rail

and the Screamer.

‘As there are in the same system of classification several other

instances of what appear to me, to say the least, very odd and con-

fusing misplacements, I shall crave the liberty to point them out,

and to make my own remarks upon them, especially as the position

in nature of these birds is exactly what I have set myself to try and

find out. It is in Professor Owen’s Second, Third, and Fourth

Orders, viz. the ‘ Grallatores,’ ‘ Cursores,’ and ‘ Rasores,’ that I find

most to surprise and confuse me.

“The family Macrodactyli, of the Second Order, ‘ Grallatores,’

according to this eminent author contains the ‘Coot, Crane, Rail,

Megapode, Screamer,’ and ‘ Jacana.’

“The next family, or the ‘Cultrirostres,’ contains, we are told,

the ‘ Boat-bill, Adjutant, Heron, Ibis, Stork, Tantalus,’ and ‘Spoon-

bill.’

“The third family, or ‘ Longirostres,’ is said to be composed of

such forms as the ‘ ee Avocet, Snipe, Ruff, Turnstone, Curlew,

Sandpiper,’ and ‘ Godwit.’

“And the fourth, or the ‘ Pressirostres,’ the ‘Oyster-catcher,

Thick-knee, Plover, Lapwing, Bustard,’ and ‘ Courser.’

‘«Then in his Third Order, the Cursores, Professor Owen places

these genera, and in this succession, viz. :—

‘ Apteryz.

Didus, Pezophaps.

Ostrich, Emeu, Nandi.

Cassowary.

Notornis.

Dinornis, Palapteryz.’

“In the Order 4, ‘ Rasores,’ he gives us two families, viz. the

Gallinacei or Clamatores, and the Columbacei or Gemitores.

“The first of these is exemplified by the ‘ Pea-fowl, Partridge,

Quail, Pheasant, Ganga, Grouse, Pintado, Tinamu, Turkey, Curas-

sow,’ and ‘ Guan.’

«<The second is made to contain the ‘ Dove, Goura,’ and ‘ Vinago.’

** First, as to the Macrodactylous Grall@, the Porphyriine Notornis

is wanting ; and, besides the pease the Crane certainly has no

business there, being (as its embryology reveals) a gigantic special-

ized aberrant of the Pressirostral family.

’ As to the Cultrirostres, I feel pretty certain that the Spoonbill

and the Ibis will have to be placed in the next family, the Longi-

rostres, a group less specialized from the Plover type than the Cranes,

If this should turn out to be the truth, the ‘ Pressirostres’ and the -

a ae ae

Mr. W. K. Parker on Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, and Tinamus. 303

* Longirostres’ must receive accessions at the expense of the ‘ Cultri-

rostres,’ which family, however, possesses the Baleniceps, the Um-

bre, and the EZurypyga.

“With regard to the ‘ Cursores,’ it seems to me much better to

use the simple term Struthionide, and to let Didus and Pezophaps

abide where Messrs. Strickland and Melville most appropriately

placed them, viz. amongst the Ground-Pigeons; the Notornis being

marched back again to its proper place, between Tribonyz and Por-

io®

“<I hope to console the lover of the struthious tribe by compen-

sating him for the loss of the Dodo and the Notornis with the gain

of what has hitherto been considered as a true gallinaceous genus :

I refer to the Tmamou.

“The examples given of the gallinaceous genera in Professor

Owen’s classification are principally remarkable for want of order,

as the Ganga is not intermediate between the Pheasant and the

Grouse, but between the Grouse and the Pigeon, and the Timamou

inly has no place between the Pintado and the Turkey.

“‘ The Gemitores might stand as they are, as to the examples given;

but they are not Rasores.

“In the same lecture in which the ‘classification’ is given, the

Notornis is said to be ‘allied to the Coots,’ and the Cassowaries

* still more modified Coots.”

“This seems to me to be an inversion of the natural order of

things; for the Cassowary, every one knows, is in all respects typi-

cally struthious in its whole skeleton, but is most decisively seen to

be so in its cranium and facial bones ; and all the Struthiones are

low, embryonic, unspecialized forms.

“That there is a near relationship between the Rail-tribe and the

Ostriches I feel certain ; but the former seem to me to stand on the

same level typically (or in relation to the highest style of bird) as the

ial group, and in some respects on a higher one ; but I would

not press this too far, as the skulking habits of these birds seem to

point to a lower brain-development than even the Fowl possesses,

and to place them in near contiguity to the Ostriches: moreover

Brachypteryz is, in respect of its wings and sternum, but little in ad-

vance of the great ‘ Brevipennes.’ Cranially, however, it is in ad-

vance ; and it seems to be a more philosophical way of putting the

matter to say that a Coot is a modified Cassowary, than that a Cas-

sowary is a modified Coot. Whether Mr. Darwin is right in all

respects or not, yet we all believe with him that nature does not re-

trograde, but ascends from the simpler to the more highly specialized

‘] shall not take up either the Society’s time or my own in merely

arguing about these puzzling affinities, but hope soon to be able to

* Dr. Mantell (Petrifactions and their Teachings, page 125) says that “the

form of the skull” of Notornis Mantelli “ approaches nearest that of

;” whereas that of Tribonyx Mortieri (Osteol. Catal. Mus. Coll.

Chir. vol. i. p. 239, No. 1281) comes nearer. In the sternum, however, Notornis

is most like Brachypteryz.

304 Zoological Society :—

bring forward some simple drawings and descriptions, such as shall

enable any one to judge for himself to what type these birds really

do belong.

*T intend moreover in my larger paper to consider the relationships

of Oreophasis Derbianus.

** But the birds hitherto mentioned are all easily referred to their

proper zoological position ; those, however, of which it is my prin-

cipal business to speak stand just above the Struthionide, in such

a doubtful position that it is at first hard to say whether they have

declared for any one of the families by which they are surrounded.

**The Sand-Grouse, the Hemipodes, and the Tinamous have in

their composition such a mixture of characters, that they seem to be

the very birds which might in the lapse of ages, through climatal

change, a different diet, ‘the struggle for existence,’ and ‘natural

selection,’ give rise to such divaricating and dissimilar types as the

Pigeons, the Gallinaceous birds, and the Plovers.

** These last-mentioned families are those the characters of which

the osculant forms under consideration most affect, with, let it be

remembered, a more or less broad struthious basis.

‘* There are other genera, however, the osteology of which I long

to know, viz. Thinocorus, Attagis, and Chionis,

“‘Speaking of these birds, Mr. Darwin, in his most pleasant

‘Journal’ (ch. 5. p. 94), makes the following remarks :—

*** This small family of birds is one of those which, from its varied

relations to other families, although at present offering only diffi-

culties to the systematic naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing

the grand scheme, common to the present and past ages, on which

organized beings have been created.’

** Thinocorus rumicivorus partakes, according to this excellent

author, ‘of the characters, different as they are, of the Quail and the

Snipe’ (ibid. p. 94).

* As to the Attagis, Mr. Darwin says (p. 94), ‘The two species

of this genus are in almost every respect Ptarmigans in their habits ;”

and of Chionis alba, that it ‘is an inhabitant of the Antarctic re-

. gions,’ that ‘it feeds on sea-weed and shells on the tidal rocks,’ and

that, ‘although not web-footed, from some unaccountable habit, it is

frequently met with far out at sea’ (ibid. p. 94).

** Will some lover of ornithology be on the look-out to procure

something more than the skins of the birds of these three genera ? *

“Tt would tend towards our knowledge of the meaning of these

birds of mixed character and osculant relationship, if we knew how

long each type has been on the planet ; for if our Fowls and Pea-

cocks, Doves and Gouras, are really comparatively new importations

to the ‘ green earth,’ then there would be some colour and life in

- €Darwinism,’ and the Ostriches, Tinamous, and Sand-Grouse might

be looked upon as a remnant of the ‘ flint-folk’ of the bird-class.

“Tt is, however, almost impossible for the most devout believer in

separate creations to keep this idea of ‘ancestral relationship ’ alto-

* There is a skeleton of Chionis, I find, in the British Museum.

‘Mr. W. K. Parker on Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, and Tinamus. 305

gether out of his mind when considering such birds as those we are

ing of: at any rate, dogmatism on either side, on a subject so .

far beyond the reach of our feeble faculties and limited knowledge,

has in it something of profanity. I have, up to this time, only been

able to get a sight of the skeletons of Pterocles arenarius (see Osteol.

Cat. Mus. Coll. Chir. vol. i. p. 273, No. 1421), of Hemipodius varius —

(ibid. p. 274, No. 1423), of a specimen of an undetermined species

of Hemipodius (which died soon after its arrival at the Gardens, and

was lent to me by Mr. Gerrard), and of a Syrrhaptes paradoxus

and a Tinamus robustus, for which I am indebted to the Council of

this Society.

‘JT shall now merely indicate the curious composition, so to speak,

of these birds, and begin with that of the Sand-Grouse.

“These beautiful and gentle birds are seen at once to have in them

something both of the Ptarmigan and the Pigeon; but there is in

their physiognomy a marked inferiority of expression, quite in con-

trast with the sharp, intelligent look of the typical Fowls, and very

much below what we see in the Pigeon-tribe.

«This is exactly in harmony with what the skeleton reveals; for

whilst the characters of both these types are almost inextricably

interwoven, yet there is in many points a marked inferiority of cha-

racter—a less degree of elevation above the Struthious style of struc-

ture. What there is of the Bustard (O¢is) in them (which Pro-

fessor Owen, ‘ Osteol. Catal.’ p. 274, points out) is only part of their

general relationship to the Pluvialine type.

** It is in those parts of the skull and face which are first mapped

out in thickened blastema, and then differentiated into clear cartilage,

at some considerable period of the early embryonic life anterior to

the deposit of bone, that we find the most instructive modifications

of structure.

“T allude especially to the basis cranii and to the upper part of

the first facial arch, that is, to the occipital and sphenoidal regions,

and to the pterygoids, palatine bones, and vomer. Not only do these

bones (with the exception of the vomer, which is absent as in the

Pigeons) show a marked ‘struthious’ inferiority in the Syrrhaptes

(the culmination of the Pterocline type of structure), but the ster-

num, which literally unites that of the Ptarmigan with its counter-

part in the Pigeon, is inferior in one important point, not only to

this, but also to that of the whole Pluvialine group.

“The heel, which is a mere rudiment in Pterocles proper, is ab-

sent in the Syrrhaptes ; and the whole pelvic extremity is almost the

counterpart of that of the Swifts (Cypselus) in deficient growth. I

believe that it would take a very clever anatomist to detect any differ-

ence between the wing-bones of the ‘ Pterocline’ and those of a

typical Pigeon.

“The elongated feathers of the tail and wings of Syrrhaptes give

it one of its peculiarities of character: the two middle tail-feathers

have already become elongated in Pterocles setarius (the Pin-tailed

Sand-Grouse of Temminck), its nearest ally.

“T cannot conclude this rough outline of what I wish to say about

306 Zoological Society :—

the Sand-Grouse, without referring to what Dr. Andrew Smith tells

.us of Pterocles gutturalis, Sm., in his ‘ Illustrations of the Zoology

of South Africa.’

“ First, what must be considered a ‘ Pluvialine’ character, the eggs

are of a ‘ dirty- white or cream-colour, marked with irregular streaks

and blotches of a pale-rusty and pale-grey or ash-colour ;’ and the

second point is the careless habit of laying them upon the bare

ground*. This habit, so untypical ornithically, so unlike the almost

human family tenderness of their relatives, the Pigeons, is, however,

much like the. conduct of the unthinking ‘ giants’ that come next

below them in the zoological scale.

‘So that not only the Ostrich, but also the Sand-Grouse ‘leaveth

her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, and forgetteth

rive the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break

them.’

“If birds were intelligent in the Auman sense of the word, their

relationship to the reptiles would be as humiliating as our affinity to

the Simie ; but the fact is certain that these low types not merely

have in themselves obscure anatomical resemblances, but their instincts

and habits are plain, out-spoken evidences of their nearness in nature

to ‘the creeping things after their kind.’

**T now leave Syrrhaptes (which, at first sight, seems to run in

some mysterious way without the help of feet) to speak of the stilted

Hemipodius, an aberrant gallinaceous bird, which has escaped from

its more steady walking allies to join the true coursing birds.

Without heel, with not only naked tarsi, but with the lower half of

the tibiz bare ; what can these birds be but true essential ‘ Gralla.’

“They may be in a sense grallatorial, but are not really so, as we

shall see, if we work out their mixed affinities.

“The Hemipodii (some of which are very small, and, like some

other small creatures, very pugnacious) stand pretty exactly between

the Tinamous and the Quails ; but not quite so, for the Pigeon comes

in again, even here, with a touch of kinship, the connecting links

being the Didunculus and the dwarf Ground-Pigeons (Chamepelia).

“« The characters of head are almost equally divided between those

of the Ground-Pigeon and the Quail ; the sternum, between the Quail

and Tinamou ; yet the legs are those of a little Sand-Plover, although ~

they are hinged upon a pelvis which would require but little altering

to suit a Quail.

“I must ask for more time and space, if not to settle this diffi-

culty, yet to put it into a proper form for some fuller mind to ex-

plain ; for it seems to me that my position of ‘interpreter’ is in this

case more perplexing than that of the purblind patriarch, who found

the hands of his hairy son Esau combined with the vocal organs of

~ the smooth-limbed Jacob.

“T have now merely to speak of the Tinamous; and in their case

also I must merely indicate the kind of task they present to him

who would fairly work them out.

* Penny Cyclop., art. Tetraonide.

po ae ee ee ee eA Se ese ee

Mr. W. K. Parker on Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, and Tinamus. 307

«Tn the first place, let me at once say that they have no right to ~

the dignity of the gallinaceous title; they are little struthious birds, .

looking upwards from that simple rudimentary beginning of the

beautiful ornithic type.

“ Nearly all the specialization of this bird, by which it rises above

the Struthionide, is in the direction of the true or typical gallina-

ceous bird, and not towards the Ptarmigans, as is the case of the

Sand-Grouse.

“The Hemipodius rans upwards towards the little , flat-bodied

typical Quails; but there is no bird better for comparison with the

Tinamou than the common Hen. Nine-tenths of the characters of

the bony structures of the head in this bird are truly struthious:

the residuum belonging half to the Plover and half to the Fowl.

“Tt is not a little curious, however, that it outdoes the Plover in

one thing, viz. the structure of the supraorbital region ; for whilst

the nasal or supraorbital glands in the Pluvialine are protected by

a continuous beam of bone, the Tinamou has the unique character

of a series of those bones. In the young Ring-Dottrel I find a series

of square denticles growing out from the margin of the frontal below,

and external to the large gland; these exogenous processes fuse

together in the adult.

“I had racked my memory to find an instance of multiplied supra-

orbitals in a vertebrate skull, but in vain, when one turned up to —

me on examining the Reptilian skeletons in the Museum of the Col-

lege of Surgeons, a few months ago: this example is the skull of the

Trigonal Cayman.

“ There are three on each side in this latter creature, united by a

triradiate suture; in the Tinamou, however, there are six or seven

larger and several smaller ossicles-on each side. At first sight it

seems as though half the sclerotic ring had been attached there by

accident ; these supraorbitals are, however, much stronger than the

sclerotals.

_ «The sternum of the Tinamou is greatly differentiated when com-

pared with that of a Rhea or Emeu; but all the improvement is

i us. It is absolutely the most unique and wonderful of all

the sternums I have seen, the variations of which in the bird-class,

as is well known, are very great and very exquisite.

«The presence of a somewhat deep keel, so seemingly fatal to the

struthious theory of this bird’s relationship, strange to say, turns out

a good proof of its validity and truth. Every one who has watched

the larger-winged Ostriches must have noticed their habit of lifting

their wings—a motion performed by the middle pectoral muscles or

levatores of the humerus: to these muscles nearly all the keel of the

Tinamou’s sternum is devoted, a most narrow, small corner being

left for the thin abortive depressores—muscles which, not only in

picel birds, but also in the heavy Gallinacese, are of very large size.

e small ‘ furculum’ is Pluvialine; but the coracoids and scapulee

come very near to those of the common Fowl.

“The blending of the last cervical with three out of four of the

dorsal vertebree is gallinaceous ; but the absence of costal appendages,

308 Miscellaneous.

except a small one on the second true rib and a trace on the third,

is struthious enough. The pelvis looks, at first sight, but a few re-

moves from that of the Hen; and in so much as it differs from the

pelvis of the Emeu or the Apteryx (which have very compressed

pelves, whilst this is broad and gently arched), in the same degree

does it approach that of the Fowl. The preacetabular spur of the

ilium is there; but the postfemoral part of that bone looks as if it

had been pared away, leaving an enormous ischiadic notch, which is

a foramen in typical birds. The tail is a mere pretence (as Wagler’s

term Nothura well expresses); the caudal vertebree are therefore but

little better than those of an Ostrich. The strong legs leave us the

choice, at first sight, of referring them to either the Fowl or the

Ostrich ; and the heel, small and high up, is gallinaceous. But the

tarso-metatarsus, covered with transverse plates in front, has the

posterior two-thirds invested by an intensely strong imbrication of

horny scales; thus adapting the leg of the bird to that odd sitting

position (about as elegant as that of the Ass in the first stage of the

erect posture) in which the Struthionide delight.”

MISCELLANEOUS.

On Chlamyphorus. By Dr. BurMEIsTER.

Dr. BurmetstTer has sent from Buenos Ayres the description of a

second species of Chlamyphorus. He defines them thus :—

1. Chlamyphorus truncatus. Minor, chlamyde dorsali lateribus

libere dependente, subtus cum artubus vellere molli recto

subsericeo indutus; cauda thecaque anali perfecte cataphracte.

Hab. Mendoza.

2. Chlamyphorus retusus. Major, chlamyde dorsali lateralibus

corporis adnata, subtus cum artubus intus vellere undulato,

sat lanuginoso indutus; cauda thecaque anali imperfecte cata-

phractee.

Hab. Circa oppidum Stee. Crucis de la Sierra Bolivia.

He gives three figures of the species.

On the Action of Magenta upon Vegetable Tissue.

By J. G. Lynpg, F.G.S., M. Inst. C.E.

The author describes a series of experiments upon cuttings of

Vallisneria immersed in a solution of magenta in cells under the

microscope, and its effect upon the circulation in the plant. He

found that so long as the vital action continued, the cell-walls and

the moving chlorophyll retained their green colour, but the injured

cells were immediately deeply reddened, and their contents gradually

acquired the same colour, the intensity of which was in proportion

to the thickness or density of the tissue. Between the cell-walls it

would appear that there exists an intercellular membrane, devoid of

Miscellaneous. 309

vital action, which becomes rapidly coloured whilst the circulation

continues active. On the inner surface of the cell-wall, whilst rota-

tion is going on, the author observed a luminous stratum suggesting

the action of cilia, but in every observation, as the dye permeated

the tissue and the circulation ceased, the true cell-wall became

covered with irregular markings, either corrugated or having raised

exerescences, scarcely alike in any two cells; in no case were the

markings visible until the rotation had ceased, and they had the

appearance which would be produced by cilia falling against the cell-

wall in all positions upon the suspension of vital action.

The chlorophyll-vesicles appear in three forms—in a gelatinous

sac or mass rotating altogether in the cells, as independent vesicles

apparently homogeneous in their structure, rendered opake by colouring

matter, and, lastly, as independent vesicles somewhat increased in

size, of a pale green colour, almost transparent, containing nuclei,

one, two, or three in number, which in reality appear to be immature

vesicles within the parent, similar to Volvor globator, without rota-

tory motion. The chlorophyll-vesicles appear to resist the action of

the magenta for some time after their rotation has ceased, indicating

a vitality, at least to a certain extent, independent of that of the cell. In

some of the experiments a few of the cells assumed a purplish colour,

whilst in the adjoining cells the circulation was active and the chloro-

phyll green ; in those the chlorophyll appeared to be decomposed,

and the cell to be nearly full of very minute dots, swarming like the

granules in Closterium lunula. Upon this subject the author offered

no opinion. The observations were made with 1th and th ob-

jectives; and the paper contained minutize of several experiments,

with the hours of observation, temperature of the room, and other

particulars.—Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society

of Manchester, March 1863.

The Ringed Seal (Phoca feetida).

A specimen of this animal was caught at Aberystwith during last

month, and has been exhibited alive in London. It is now in the

Collection of the British Museum.—J. E. Gray.

On the Nature of the Gas produced from the Decomposition of

Carbonic Acid by Leaves exposed to the Light. By M. Bovus-

SINGAULT.

In an interesting paper in the ‘ Ann. Sc. Nat.’ (Bot.) sér. 4, vol. xvi.

pp- 1-27, 1862, referring to the history of discovery in respect to

the relations of plants to the atmosphere, Boussingault remarks that

Bonnet first took notice of the emission of air from the surface of

leaves. Priestley recognized this air to be oxygen; Ingenhous

showed the presence of light to be necessary; and Senebier proved

that the oxygen gas eliminated by leaves under the light of the sun

310 Miscellaneous.

came from the decomposition of carbonic acid gas. Théodore de

Saussure, nearly at the beginning of the present century, ascertained

the fact (which has since been often overlooked) that the volume of

oxygen gas produced was not quite equal to that of the carbonic acid

decomposed; and also that nitrogen gas was always evolved, to an

amount about equal to that of the oxygen gas which had somehow

disappeared. He supposed that this nitrogen came from the sub-

stance of the plant—not considering, what is now obvious, that the

substance of the plant did not contain, and therefore could not have

furnished, anything like this quantity of nitrogen.

In more recent times, Daubeny was unable to obtain from leaves

oxygen gas free from nitrogen ; and Draper states that he found the

astonishing amount of from 22 to 49 per cent. of the gas emitted

from the leaves of Pinus teda and Poa annua to be nitrogen. The

first step towards the elucidation of the matter was made by Cloéz

and Gratiolet, who, exposing the leaves of a common Pond-weed

(Potamogeton perfoliatus) in water slightly impregnated with car-

bonic acid, found that the first day 15°70 per cent. of the gas eliminated

was nitrogen; the second, 13°79; the third, 12°00; the fourth,

10°26; the fifth, 9°53; the sixth, 8°15; the seventh, 4°34; the

eighth, 2°90: that is, the oxygen gas grew purer and purer, exactly

as if the nitrogen retained in the tissues of the plant, or in the water,

was gradually expelled by the oxygen. Similar experiments were

made by Boussingault in 1844, confirming these results, and also

later a set of comparative experiments, with and without leaves,

which confirmed the truth of the conjecture as to the source of most

of the nitrogen. But, after all, he could not obtain any oxygen gas

free from nitrogen.

Boussingault now devised a new method of proceeding, by which

he avoided the difficulty about extraneous nitrogen, &e. The mean

results of 25 experiments (which are detailed particularly in the

memoir), made with a variety of plants, are, that 100 measures of

carbonic acid gas, decomposed by foliage under the light, gave 97-2

of oxygen gas; and that 1-11 of nitrogen had appeared, which, from

the plan of the experiments, could not have come from the water,

nor have been contained in the plant,

At this point, Boussingault raised the question whether this gas,

which remained after the absorption of the oxygen by the pyrogal-

late and the carbonic acid by potassa, was necessarily and really

nitrogen. A series of experiments, devised and executed with this

view, brought out the interesting result, that the supposed nitrogen

(which, moreover, corresponded very nearly with the amount of

oxygen gas that had disappeared) was oxide of carbon, ¢. e. carbonic

oxide! There is also a little protocarburet of hydrogen. So “ foliage,

during the decomposition of carbonic acid, does not really emit

nitrogen gas, but, with the oxygen gas, emits some oxide of carbon

and some protocarburet of hydrogen; and these combustible gases,

like the oxygen, are produced only under the light of the sun....

In other terms, to keep strictly within the conditions of the experi-

Miscellaneous. 311

ments, these gases constantly accompany the oxygen of which the

sun determines the production when it acts upon a vegetable sub-

merged in water impregnated with carbonic acid.” Is this also the

case when carbonic acid is decomposed by foliage in the air?

ingault concludes his paper with the remark that the earlier

observers looked at their discoveries rather from the hygienic than

the physiological point of view; that, while Priestley announced his

brilliant discovery by the statement that plants purify the air vitiated

by combustion or by the respiration of animals, it is curious enough

that, a century afterwards, it should come to be demonstrated before

the Academy of Sciences, that probably the leaves of all plants, and

certainly those of aquatic plants, while emitting oxygen gas, which

ameliorates the atmosphere, also emit one of the most deleterious of

known gases—carbonic oxide! He closes with the pregnant and

natural query, whether the unhealthiness of marshy districts is not

attributable, at least in part, to the disengagement of this pernicious

gas by plants?

[We add, that what strikes us with most surprise is to learn that,

if these results are true, the vegetable machinery would seem to work

at a loss, and with a real, though it be a small, waste of material.

When any carbonic acid taken into the leaves passes off unchanged,

so much work is not done, but there is no waste or loss in the process

of manufacture. But, looking at the food of plants and their pro- —

ducts—comparing the raw material with the manufactured article—

it seems apparent that any carbonic acid which is reduced to carbonic

oxide, and given off as such, is so much loss or waste. We may

avoid this unwelcome conclusion by the supposition that the carbonic

oxide and carburet of hydrogen are products of the decomposition of

some of the vegetable matter coétancous with vegetable assimilation,

but no part of that process itself. This is the more probable, since

it cannot reasonably be supposed that carbonic acid supplied to the

foliage is resolved into oxygen and carbonic oxide, and both set free,

which seems to be the alternative-—Asa Gray. |—Silliman’s Journal

for January 1863.

On a new Species of Ophiura (O. Normani) found on the Coast of

Northumberland and Durham. By Grorer Honce.

During the summer of 1861, whilst dredging at Seaham, upon a

vai bottom, in water varying from 6 to 25 fathoms, a number of

Sand-stars were brought up, associated with Ophiura textu-

rata and Ophiura albida. Their actions were so singular as to claim

a more than ordinary examination, when it was noticed that, although

resembling in some respects young forms of O. terturata and O. al-

bida, they presented features that at once distinguished them from

those species, the most striking of which were the longer and more

attenuated character of the rays, as compared with the size of the

disk, their excessively lively movements, and the wonderful pliability

312 Miscellaneous.

of the rays. These several circumstances caused them to be regarded

as distinct from the two well-known species above named: a careful

examination under more favourable circumstances confirmed this

opinion.

The surface of the disk is beautifully rosulated, a large plate being

in the centre, around which, at a little distance, are arranged five

other plates ; beyond these, other five plates, and so on, the inter-

spaces being filled in with circlets of little scales, producing an ap-

pearance not unlike that seen in Ophiocoma bellis.

At the base of the rays, close to the disk (upon the upper surface),

is a crescent of short spines, the concave side of the crescent being

outwards.

These are features entirely different from what we find in either

Ophiura texturata or O. albida; in both instances the upper sur-

faces of the disks present no trace of the beautiful and distinct rosu-

lated character here seen, neither do we find the crescentic arrange-

ment of spines upon the basal portion of the rays.

The characters of the species under consideration may be thus

defined :—

Disk either pentangular or round, the former pertaining to well-

grown individuals, the latter to young; upper surface of disk

rosulated ; under surface corresponding with the other members

of the genus. Two clasping scales at the origin of each ray, each

bearing above ten short spines. A crescent of eight or ten short

blunt spines on upper surface of rays, close to the disk. Lateral

ray-plates bearing five moderately long spines. Upper ray-scales

nearly square, slightly tapering towards the disk. Rays about

four times as long as the diameter of disk, which, in well-grown

individuals, measures about a quarter of an inch. Colour reddish-

yellow, occasionally of a pale sandy tint.

These features being so constant and distinct, there can be no

doubt of the species under consideration being new to our fauna ;

and as such, it affords me much pleasure to name it after my friend

the Rev. A. M. Norman, who is, in fact, the original discoverer,

having taken a single specimen some years ago in the Frith of

Clyde; and at Shetland, during 1861, he also took three or four ©

specimens. In both instances, however, they only received a glance,

and were assumed to be the young of O. tewturata, for which

they may easily be mistaken unless subjected to microscopical exa-

mination.

This species would appear to be generally distributed, having been

found at three widely different parts of our coasts. It is common

here, between sixty and seventy specimens having been dredged in

a few hours; owing, however, to their excessive fragility, few were

obtained perfect.—TZrans. Tynes. Nat. Field Club, 1863, vol. v.

p- 296.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES. ]

No, 65. MAY 1863.

XXXIV.—A Novel Instance of the Production of Fermentation

by the Presence of Infusoria capable of existing without free

Oxygen and deprived of all Access of Atmospheric Air. By

M. L. Pasrevr.

Sucu is the subject of a short paper addressed by M. Pasteur

to the French Academy of Sciences, and published in the ‘Comptes

Rendus’ for March 1863.

About two years previously, he communicated a note to the

same learned body respecting the existence of infusory ani-

malcules possessing the two properties of living without free

oxygen, and of acting as ferments*. ‘These were,” he says,

‘the first known examples of an animal ferment, as well as of

animals capable of living and of indefinite self-multiplication,

without contact with atmospheric air, whether in the gaseous

state or held in solution.

“The infusory animalcules in question constitute the ferment in

butyric fermentation, which has hitherto been explained to take

place by the agency of plastic azotized matters, more or less

changed by contact with the air, upon sugar or lactic acid, and

by the supervention of an internal molecular action giving rise

to the phenomena of fermentation.

“1 believe I have proved that such a theory, which is applied

indeed in explanation of all kinds of fermentation, properly so-

called, is inadmissible, and that an albuminoid matter never

constitutes a ferment, but that the true ferment (as in butyric

fermentation, for example) is an organized being belonging to

the Vibrios, derived from the air and present in the fermentable

substance.

*“T am now able to add another example—viz. the fermenta-

tion of tartrate of lime, determined in precisely the same way

* See Annals, April, 1861, p. 343.

Ann. & Mag. N, Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 21

314 M.L. Pasteur on the Production of Fermentation

by the presence of an infusory animalcule, existing without free

oxygen, belonging also to the genus Vibrio, though very dif-

ferent, at least in external aspect, from the animalcule of butyric

fermentation.

_ “To be brief, I will at once adduce a decisive experiment in

proof of this statement. I place in an aqueous solution of tar-

trate of lime a minute portion (some milliémes) of phosphate of

ammonia or of alkaline and earthy phosphates, either artificially

prepared, or derived from the ashes of the yeast of beer or the

ashes of infusory organisms. (I prefer the ashes obtained by the

combustion of organisms analogous.to those whose development

is sought, in order to be more certain that no useful principle,

known or unknown, is omitted. . It is probably as well to add

some traces of sulphate of lime and of ammonia.)

“The vessel used is a glass phial, flat at the bottom, and

having a curved glass tube fitted in its narrow neck. The tar-

trate of lime is introduced, the phial filled up with pure water,

and then placed in a chloride-of-calcium bath with the end of

the curved tube immersed in a vessel of boiling water. Its con-

tents are made to boil, in order to expel all the air held in solu-

tion ; and when this is effected, the surface of the water under

which the end of the curved tube opens is covered by a thick

layer of oil. The whole apparatus is then left to cool for some

hours. Under these conditions, the tartrate shows no sign of

fermentation ; but if a small quantity of the Infusoria obtained

from a spontaneously fermenting portion of tartrate of lime be

quickly introduced within the phial, and the little water dis-

placed in this process be as quickly replaced by some of the

water deprived of its air by boiling, then it is found that the

introduced Infusoria rapidly multiply, and the tartrate progres-

sively disappears until entirely removed, all air having been in

the meanwhile excluded by the curved tube of the phial being

kept under the water, or, better still, under the surface of a

mercury bath. ‘t

“The tartrate was replaced by a deposit consisting solely of

the bodies of Vibrios, of about +45, millimétre in diameter, but

so variable in length that some measured ,!, millimétre. Like

all Vibrios, they are reproduced by fission; and during the act

of fermentation, the minutest quantity of the deposit formed by

them showed them in more or less rapid and writhing move-

ment.

“The fermentation of tartrate of lime, therefore, whatever its

intimate cause may be, is set up by the presence of Infusoria

having the property of living without free oxygen and without

contact with atmospheric air.

“Tt may undoubtedly be objected that, at the moment when

Pee ST TP ee

by Infusoria capable of existing without free Oxygen. 815

the ferment has been added, I have failed to prevent the contact

of the air with the solution experimented upon. But I will now

demonstrate that thevery strict precautions I have taken to obviate

the contact of oxygen or of air are really uncalled for. The

following observations will also afford a reply to the question why

the germs of Infusoria which not only live without air, but are

actually destroyed by it (as happens also with the butyric Infu-

soria), may spontaneously originate in liquids which under the

circumstances of ordinary fermentation are exposed to the atmo-

sphere.

Pe Resuming the phial filled with water, and containing the

tartrate of lime and the phosphates, and having the bent tube

luted in its neck also filled with water (which I will suppose to

be ordinary distilled water undeprived of its air by boiling), and

with its free extremity plunged under mercury, it will be found

by experiment that, without adding any ferment, fermentation

of the tartrate of lime takes place at the end of a few days, and

that a multitude of animalcules are found living in the phial,

though deprived of oxygen.

“How this happens it is easy to conceive; for in all such |

cases the smallest Infusoria, such as Monas, Bacterium termo,

&c., develope themselves in the aérated distilled water, which

contains in solution traces of ammonia, of phosphate and

carbonate of lime, together with oxygen gas; this last they

appropriate to themselves with incredible rapidity, until it is

ultimately used up, replacing it by carbonic acid in somewhat

larger volume. This result is accomplished in from twenty-four

to thirty-six hours at most, at a temperature of 25° to 30° Cent. ;

and it is not till then that the Infusoria of fermentation make

their appearance, which have no need of oxygen for their exist-

ence. The question, therefore, why animalcules which do not

require oxygen to carry on life, and to which air is destructive,

should arise under the conditions assumed, is thus at once and

naturally answered. They originate in sequence to a former

generation of organisms which quickly abstract the relatively

considerable quantity of oxygen in the fluid, and leave it coms

pletely destitute of that element.

“J shall shortly revert to this very general fact of the success

sion of organisms which consume oxygen, and of such as do not,

at least in a free state. .

“Tn the instance under consideration, it is easy to comprehend

the facility with which spontaneous fermentation of tartrate of

lime may be set up, whenever special precautions are not take

to prevent the access of the germs disseminated through the air,

or those in the dust deposited from the air on all objects, It is

equally easy to understand the fermentation of tartrate of lime

21*

316 M.L. Pasteur on the Production of Fermentation |

in liquids freely exposed to the air, provided the layer of fluid is

of sufficient thickness. It may under such circumstances be

shown that those Infusoria which consume oxygen gas multiply

at the surface; whilst those are developed in the liquid strata

beneath which do not require this gas for their existence, and

these are at the same time preserved from its injurious contact

by the former class of beings.

“In fine, there is no need to resort to any artificial measures

to deprive fluids of their oxygen gas. All the precautions I

adopted in my experiments for this purpose were wholly super-

fluous. The abstraction of the oxygen is naturally effected, as a

matter of course, before fermentation begins, in every instance

of spontaneous fermentation.

“ The nature of the experiments above detailed, and the com-

position of the materials employed in them, deserve particular

notice when we come to inquire what may be the primary cause

of the fermentation. I have referred to the prevalent theories

as requiring, as indispensable for the act of fermentation, the

concurrence of albuminoid matter and of a ferment. For my

part, I recognize their presence to be not absolutely necessary,

but useful, inasmuch as they supply a certain material for

the action of the ferment, which is itself an organized being

whose germ cannot develope or reproduce itself except in the

presence of nitrogen and phosphates. These are especially

the kind of suitable materials that the ferment obtains from the

presence of albuminoid substances. This theory is so true in its

application, that, as before seen, the azotized plastic matter may

be entirely dispensed with, and its place supplied by an ammo-

niacal salt mingled with alkaline and earthy phosphates.

“But it further results from the composition of the fluid just

spoken of holding a tartrate in solution, that the sole carbona-

ceous material for fermentation is the tartaric acid, or the fer-

menting body itself. Hence this further result follows, that

at the least the animalcule derives in the first place all its

carbon from the fermentable matter. There is no question, if

preconceived notions relative to the cause of fermentation be

laid aside, that under the conditions which we have described,

the ferment obtains its nutrition at the expense of the fermenting

material, and that so long as the life of the infusory organism

lasts, so long does a transfer of matter go on from the ferment-

ing substance to that which provokes its transformation. The

hypothesis of a purely catalytic action, or of simple contact,

consequently cannot be admitted as true, any more than the

opinion, to be afterwards combated, that the nature of a fer-

ment is exclusively found in dead albuminoid matter.

“Tt must be granted that the fact of the nutrition of the fer-

att ee

by Infusoria capable of existing without free Oxygen. 317

ment advancing at the expense of the fermentable material does

not show why the Vibrios must be the ferment. We know, in-

deed, that the habitual mode of action of animals and plants on

the substances from which they directly derive their nourishment

is not associated with a process of fermentation, properly so called,

of those substances. Yet it must be borne in mind, in making

any comparison between organisms previously known and those

which I have for the first time described, that animalcular fer-

ments present this peculiar physiological property, heretofore

overlooked, that they live and multiply without the presence of

free oxygen.

“We are therefore led to associate the fact of nutrition at-

tended by fermentation with that of nutrition without the con-

sumption of free oxygen gas. Herein, no doubt, lies the

secret of the mysterious character of all fermentation, rightly so

called, and possibly also that of many normal and abnormal

actions in the organization of living bemgs. If any doubts yet

remain on these points, I trust to remove them by future re-

searches which I hope to lay before the Academy.

“ Henceforward it may be asserted that there are two modes

of life among inferior organisms—the one requiring the presence |

of free oxygen, the other carried on without contact with this

gas, and always attended by the phenomena of fermentation.

“ As to the number of organisms capable of living deprived

of air, and of setting up fermentation, I regard it as considerable,

whether we look to those having no imherent power of self-

movement, in other words, vegetable beings, or to those which

have apparent voluntary motions, or animals.

“J hope, in fact, to demonstrate in a subsequent communica-

tion, that infusory animalcules living without the access of free

oxygen are the ferments of putrefaction when this act proceeds

without contact with air; and that there are other animalcular

ferments of putrefaction under exposure to air, which are found

associated with Infusoria or Mucors, that consume the free

oxygen and fulfil the double purpose of agents of combustion

with reference to the organic material, and of agents of preserva-

tion for the infusorial ferments, by protecting them from the

contact of the oxygen of the air.”

The results now described apply exclusively to the case of the

simple tartrate of lime ; but the author has a series of researches

which extend them to the other combinations of lime and tartaric

acid, and which he promises shortly to send to the Academy of

Sciences.

J. T. ARvipes,

318 . Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land-Shells

XXXV.—Characters of new Land-Shells from the Andaman

Islands, Burmah, and Ceylon, and of the Animal of Sophina.

By W. H. Brnson, Esq.

1. Helix hemiopta, B., n. sp.

H. testa anguste umbilicata, depresso-conoidea, vix striatula, leevius-

cula, minutissime granulata, opaca, albida; anfractu ultimo su-

perne castaneo, versus peripheriam saturatiore; spira convexo-

conoidea, apice obtuso, sutura vix impressa ; anfractibus 43, con-

vexiusculis, sensim accrescentibus, ultimo superne prope peri-

pheriam obtuse angulatam concaviusculo, subtus convexiusculo ;

apertura obliqua, subquadrato-lunata, intus concolore, peristomate

expansiusculo, superne antice arcuato, subtus breviter reflexo,

marginibus remotis, columellari superne valde dilatato, umbilicum

subtegente.

Diam. major 16, minor 134, axis 10 mill.

Habitat ad Portum Blair Andamanicum.

Two dead specimens of this shell, only one of which has the

aperture complete, were collected by Major J. C. Haughton.

A nearly allied shell, with the surface in good condition,

obliquely substriated, shining, and sprinkled with minute in-

dentations, may possibly be a variety ; but the aperture is in a

state too imperfect to allow a satisfactory decision. It is milk-

white, with a single dark band above the periphery and running

along the edge of the upper whorls, which are slightly more

convex, and divided by a more depressed suture. A single spe-

cimen from Port Blair was received from Major Haughton.

2. Helix Aulopis, B., n. sp.

H. testa perforata, depresso-conoidea, oblique minute striatula, striis

confertissimis spiralibus decussata, pallide cornea, nitidula, trans-

lucente, versus apicem rubente; spira conoidea, apice acutiusculo,

sutura leviter impressa; anfractibus 5, superne subplanulatis, vix

convexiusculis, ultimo subtus convexiusculo, ad peripheriam cari-

nato; apertura obliqua, quadrato-lunata, peristomate recto, tenui, —

acuto, marginibus subremotis, callo tenui junctis, columellari su-

perne breviter dilatato.

Diam. major 12, minor 10, axis 6 mill.

Habitat ad Portum Blair. '

A single specimen of this shell, in good condition, was re-

ceived from Major Haughton. It has some affinity to the

Javanese H. helicinoides, Mousson.

A perfect example (from the same source) of Helix Helferi, m.,

described in the ‘ Annals’ for September 1860, has a dark cor-

neous epidermis, dull and lustreless, and the scattered hairs are

like short dark-coloured prickles. The peristome is liliaceous

white and polished. This and other specimens of the shell ob-

from the Andaman Islands, Burmah, and Ceylon. 319

tained from Port Blair fully bear out the distinctive characters

from H, asperella, Pfr., founded on the examination of a single

dead specimen.

3, Helix Scenoma, B., n. sp.

H. testa anguste infundibuliformi-umbilicata, subgloboso-conoidea,

oblique irregulariter striata, striis minutissimis spiralibus decus-

sata, sub epidermide cornea albida, carina interdum fascia rufo-

castanea ornata; spira conoidea, apice obtusiusculo, sutura im-

pressa ; anfractibus 6, convexiusculis, ultimo antice vix descen-

dente, ad peripheriam obtuse subcompresso-carinato, subtus con-

vexo, circa umbilicum compresso ; apertura obliqua, subquadrato-

lunata, peristomate expansiusculo, margine columellari reflexi-

usculo

Diam. major 16, minor 14, axis 11 mill.

Var. depressa: diam. major 17, minor 15, axis 103 mill,

Habitat prope Moulmein.

A single specimen, slightly worn, of the type was received

with Heliz Gordonia. Specimens of the depressed form were

collected by Col. Robert Gordon.

4, Helix brachyplecta, B., u. sp.

HI. testa dextrorsa, late umbilicata, discoidea, obesiuscula, minute

arcuato-striata, striis minutissimis spiralibus obsolete decussata,

opaca, non nitida, rubescenti-castanea, superne saturatiore, circum

apicem succinea ; spira planata, apice vix prominente, sutura im-

pressa; anfractibus 6, lente accrescentibus, convexiusculis, ultimo

rotundato, superne prope suturam subangulato, antice descendente ;

apertura obliqua, rotundato-lunari, subauriculata, intus lilacina ;

peristomate expansiusculo, reflexiusculo, rufo-castaneo, marginibus

remote convergentibus, plica arcuata prominente parietali junetis,

lamina longiuscula subascendente e medio plice intus recedente,

plicis 2 parietalibus remotis verticalibus, quarum externa arcuata

internaque curvata, laminis 6 remotioribus palatalibus, quarum

superiore et basali tenuibus et 4 medianis incrassatis, foveatis ;

umbilico lato, concavo. '

Diam. major 22, minor 18, axis 8 mill.

woe ad ripas fluvii Attaran prope Moulmein. Teste Col. R.

rdon.

An obese dextrorse Plectopylis, bearing, in some degree, the

same relation in form to H. refuga, Gould, that H. Charpentieri,

Pfr., does to H. Rivolii, Fér.; but the interior. parietal and pa-

latal laminz and plice differ widely from those of the shell from

Phye Than, referred to, in the ‘Annals’ for April 1860, as a

dextrorse variety of H. refuga, and from all the other species

which have come under my inspection, including two new forms

discovered by Mr. W. T. Blanford in Ava and Pegu.

320 Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land-Shells

5. Helix Aspides, B.,n. sp.

H., testa obtecte perforata, orbiculato-depressa, vix striatula, leevigata,

polita, cornea, subdiaphana ; spira convexiuscula, subplanata, apice

elevatiuscula, sutura leviter impressa, submarginata ; anfractibus 6,

vix convexiusculis, lente accrescentibus, ultimo demum latiore ;

apertura obliqua, late lunata, peristomate breviter patente, intus

incrassato albido, subtus latiore, margine superiore prominente

valde arcuato, basali arcuatim bisinuato, columellari brevissimo,

superne reflexiusculo, pariete tenuissime calloso.

Diam. major 11, minor 9, axis 5 mill.

Habitat 2

This shell may. at. once be distinguished from the Burmese

H. Petasus, B., and the allied forms, by the white, thickened,

and expanded inner edge of the peristome, the sinuate basal

margin, and the somewhat wide superior margin of the aperture.

A single specimen was sent by Mr. W. Theobald for examina-

tion, without any indication of the locality, which may possibly

be Burmese.

6. Helix fritillata, B., n. sp.

H. testa perspective umbilicata, depresso-subconoidea, arcuatim cos-

tulato-striata, subtus leeviore polita, superne striis confertis spirali-

bus impressis decussata, interstitiis conspicue quadrato-granulatis,

pallide cornea; spira convexa, subconoidea, apice obtuso, leevi-

gato, sutura profunda; anfractibus 6, angustis, lente accrescenti-

bus, convexis, ultimo demum latiusculo, extus depresso, antice vix

descendente, subtus valde convexo, circa umbilicum excavato ;

apertura obliqua, oblique semiovato-lunata, peristomate superne

tenui, valde arcuato, subtus breviter expansiusculo, arcuato, extus

marginato, marginibus remotioribus.

Diam. major 13, minor 12, axis 7 mill.

Habitat in regione Peguensi.

A single specimen, belonging to the Museum of the Asiatic

Society of Calcutta, was received for examination.

In the ‘Annals of Natural History’ for September 1860,

Helix consepta, B., was founded on a single specimen found at

Damatha, near Moulmein, by Major Haughton. I have since

found a specimen of the same shell in Col. Robert Gordon’s

collection, made at Moulmein ; and a dwarf variety from Pegu

belongs to the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.

7. Helix phyllophila, B., n. sp.

H. testa vix perforata, trochiformi, tenui, superne sericea, oblique stria-

tula, subtus subnitente, utrinque (sub lente) striis confertissimis

undulatis minutissime ornata, translucente, pallide cornea; spira

conica, apice acutiusculo, sutura impressiuscula; anfractibus 63,

convexiusculis, ultimo carmato; apertura obliqua, subquadrato-

from the Andaman Islands, Burmah, and Ceylon. 321

- lunari, peristomate simplici, recto, acuto, margine columellari ver-

ticali, reflexo, superne latiore, umbilicum subtegente.

Diam. major 5, minor 43, axis 5 mill.

Habitat ad Badulla, Ceylon. Teste F. Layard.

The fully grown shell was taken at Badulla, on Love-apple

leaves ; and a depressed form, which appears to me to be the

young, on those of Coffee-plants. A small specimen of a variety

occurred at Fort M‘Donald. The species comes very near H.

Infula, B., which inhabits the leaves of shrubs in Bengal and

Bahar; but the subremote spiral lines, elevated on the upper

and sharply impressed on the lower side in that species, are re-

placed on both sides, in the shell now described, by minute and

closely-set undulate striz.

Heliz Barrakporensis, Pfr., a shell which occurs in the Lower

Himalaya, from Dehra Dhoon to Sikkim, and which the Messrs.

Blanford, in a contribution to the Journal of the Asiatic Society

of Calcutta, No. 283, for 1861, notice as found by Mr. R. Bruce

Foote in the Kalryen Hills, near Salem, in Southern India, was

obtained by Mr. F. Layard at Kandookerre, in Lower Ourah,

Ceylon—a distribution equal in extent to that of Helix Hut- -

toni, Pfr.

Mr. W. T. Blanford, in page 86 of the ‘ Annals’ for February

1863, under the heading “ Ganesella,” includes Helix Capitium,

Bens., from the Rajmahal Hills, and H. variola, Bens., from

Thayet Mio and Pegu, adding that the distinctness of the two

species appears very dubious. On reference to the colouring

of the two forms it is evident that “ variola” is a misprint for

“‘ Hariola.” A comparison of the wide and depressed form of

H. Hariola, as figured in Pfeiffer’s ‘ Novitates Conchologice,’

pl. 36. f. 21, 22, with a perfect example of the high conical form

of H. Capitium, or with the well-drawn figures in Kiister’s edi-

tion of Chemnitz, pl. 125. f.3, 4, will at once satisfy the inquirer

that the two species are perfectly distinct. I feel assured that

Mr. W. T. Blanford has not examined a fully-grown example of

the Sicrigully shell discovered by Capt. Boys in the low ground

intervening between that detached hill and the main range of

the Rajmahal Hills.

8. Clausilia Bulbus, n. sp.

C. testa sinistrorsa, vix rimata, oblongo-obovata, pupiformi, regula-

riter oblique striata, rubenti-ferruginea; spira obovata, superne

yentricosa, versus apicem obtusum concamerata, sutura impressa ;

anfractibus 53, convexiusculis, primis rapide accrescentibus, ante-

penultimo tumido, penultimo decrescente, ultimo angustiore, pone

aperturam impresso, subangulato, infra rotundato ; apertura vix

obliqua, oblique auriformi, peristomate continuo, margine late

822 _ Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land-Shells.

~- expanso, reflexiusculo, albido-rubente, lamella superiore acuta,-pro-

minente, longe intus intrante, spirali, infera forti, oblique spiraliter

ascendente, subcolumellari immersa ; plicis palatalibus 7, superiore

valde elongata, late erecta, intus cum lamella superiore rimam

angustam efformante, 6 inferioribus brevibus, subparallelibus,

lunella nulla.

Diam. anfract. antepenultimi 9, ultimi supra aperturam 5, axis

23 mill. ; apert. (oblique) longa 8, lata 7 mill.

Habitat ad ripas fluvii Attaran, non procul ab urbe Moulmein.

This most singular form in the genus was found by Col. Robert

Gordon in the same locality as Opisthoporus Gordoni, Helix

brachyplecta, and H. Gordonie—shells which escaped the ob-

servation of former collectors in that rich district. The bul-

bous pupiform figure of the shell at once distinguishes it from

Cl. Philippiana, Pfr., an inhabitant of the Farm Caves, as well

as from any other known species. The upper lamella runs

spirally up the aperture, forming a narrow slit between it and

the upper knife-like plica,

9. Bulimus Staliz, B., n. sp.

B. testa rimato-perforata, oblongo-conica, solidiuscula, oblique irre-

gulariter plicatulato-striata, epidermide spiraliter confertissime

striatula, castanea, strigis obliquis, sutura, basi apiceque albidis ;

spira elongato-conica, apice obtusiusculo, sutura impressiuscula,

nonnunquam marginata; anfractibus 7, convexiusculis, ultimo ad

basin compressiusculo, antice vix ascendente ; apertura subobliqua,

anguste pyriformi, intus castanea, peristomate sensim dilatato, vix

reflexiusculo, albido, marginibus remotis, non conniventibus, co-

lumellari lato, callo obliquo superne castaneo junctis.

Long. 20, diam. 7 mill.

Habitat ad Boralande.

Found by Mr. F. Layard in the district of Upper Ourah, in

Ceylon. Its nearest ally is Bulimus proletarius, Pfr., which was

taken by Mr. Layard at Bootelle and Kaluganga.

10, Opisthoporus Gordoni, B., n. sp.

O. testa late et concave umbilicata, depressa, discoidea, confertim

striata, sub lente striis minutis spiralibus, nonnullis elevatiusculis,

decussata, albida, strigis fulguratis castaneis fasciaque fusca den-

tata ad peripheriam ornata; spira planata, apice non elevato ob-

tuso, sutura profunda, demum canaliculata; anfractibus 5, grada-

tim accrescentibus, convexis, ultimo rotundato, antice descendente,

pone alam breyiter solutg, 4 millim. pone aperturam spiraculo

suturali brevi retrorsum spectante, nonnunquam subobsoleto,

munito; apertura valde obliqua, circulari; peristomate duplici,

interno prope anfractum penultimum breviter inciso, exteriore

superne et ad dextram angulatim expanso, reflexiusculo, ala

On Natural and Artificial Section in some Chetopod Annelids. 323

intus concava insuper anfractum penultimum antrorsum ascendente

munito.

Diam, major 22-23, minor 17-19, axis 5-6 mill.

Habitat non procul ab urbe Moulmein. Invenit Col. R. Gordon.

- The last whorl is slightly solute behind the wing, which runs

forward up the penultimate whorl, to which it adheres. This is

the first species of the genus which has been discovered in Bur-

mah. Two specimens were found on the banks of the Attaran

River, near limestone rocks, fifteen miles from its mouth. In

one shell the sutural spiracle is worn down tothe surface. The

operculum was not obtained.

Animal of Sophina.

I am indebted to Col. R. Gordon for observations on the

animal of Sophina. It proves to be acrommatous, and allied to

Heliz, from which, with reference to the anomalous slit in the

columella, it may be separated on grounds as decided as those

which suffice for the distinction of the genera Achatina and

Streptazis.

Sophina.—Animal with four tentacula, two long and two

short; the eyes situated on the summits of the larger pair. ©

Colour greyish-blue, with a yellow tint, and a dark spot between

the greyish-blue tentacula, the dark colour extending along the

neck.

Cheltenham, April 6, 1863.

XXXVIL—On Natural and Artificial Section in some Chetopod

Annelids. By W.C. Mrxor*.

THE circumstances of spontaneous fission have been observed in

so few species of Annelids at present as to make every additional

observation of value, even though only confirmatory of what is

already known upon that subject. This consideration, and the

fact that all views of its nature in the Oligocheta seem to be

based upon the observation of one species (Stylaria proboscidea),

have tempted me to publish the following brief investigations,

however they may want any very special novelty to give them value.

It is now nearly one hundred years since the distinguished

Danish naturalist, Otto Fr. Miiller, studied the phenomena of

spontaneous fission in the freshwater Naids+; and his able little

* From Silliman’s American Journal for January 1863.

+ Trembley had discovered it long before this, as he observes in his

* Mémoires p. s. & hist. d’un genre de Polypes d’eau douce,’ 1744; and

Roesel, in his ‘ Insektenbelustigungen,’ describes the united parent and

bud; but the former did no more than observe the fact, and the latter

wholly misunderstood what he saw.

324 Mr. W.C. Minor on Natural and Artificial Section

work ‘von Wiirmern des siissen und salzigen Wassers,’ Kopen-

hagen, 1771, largely devoted to that subject, shows that he failed

only where the imperfect means at his command led him astray.

The multiplication by artificial section had been observed before

that, both in the Naids and other animals, and had awakened a

good deal of general interest ; but the multiplication by sponta-

neous fission seems to have been very nearly, if not wholly dis-

regarded at that time. Nor has its occurrence in the freshwater

worms received, since then, the investigation that it seems to de-

mand ; for, with the exception of a discussion by Schultze and

Leuckart upon some of the particulars, and the significance of

this phenomenon in relation to budding, some ten years ago,

and a sweeping denial of its occurrence, or, at least, of its vital

and systematic nature, by Dr.Williams, about the same time, no

one, so far as I am aware, has published any extended observa-

tions upon the fissiparity of the freshwater Naids since the time

of Miiller*. And yet the statements of Dr. Williams, in regard

to both artificial and spontaneous fission, are such as to suggest

at once the importance of a re-examination of the whole subject;

while the great interest given to this question by the remarkable

speculations of Steenstrup, together with the interesting varie-

ties of the phenomenon as observed in the marine worms by

Quatrefages, Edwards, Frey and Leuckart, and others, seem to

demand a more complete knowledge than we as yet possess of

its occurrence in the freshwater group.

I may here remark that the European species chiefly studied

hitherto, Stylaria proboscidea, has not come under my observa-

tion, nor am I aware that it has been found in America. Four

species of Naids common in this vicinity, Stylaria (Pristina)

longiseta, Nais rivulosa, and Dero limosa, found in fresh water,

and a marine Enchytreus (LE. triventralopectinatus) have been the

principal subjects of my investigation. In regard to the first of

these, it may be questioned whether our species is identical with

that described by Ehrenberg (‘Symbol Physice’) as Pristina.

longiseta ; for his description is too brief to be of specific value.

As, however, the characters given by D’ Udekem in his “Nouvelle

Classification des Annélides Sétigéres Abranches ” (Mémoires de

VAcad. Royale de Belgique,’ 1859, t. xxxi.) apply equally to the

American species, | am compelled to regard it as the same +.

* Gruithuisen remarks, in his “ Anatomie der geziingelten Naide” (Nov.

Act. Nat. Cur. t, xi. p. 243), only that it is uncommon to find a Naid with-

out buds of the second generation, and refers to Miiller for the details of

their formation. Since writing this, I have seen, in Leuckart’s valuable

yearly report in the Archiv f. Naturgeschichte for 1861, a notice of

Claus’s observations on fission in Chetogaster, which, so far as there given,

I can confirm.

+ D’Udekem remarks: “ Je n’ai pas adopté le genre Stylaria admis par

in some Chetopod Annelids. 325

The second species, Nais rivulosa, already described by Leidy

(Journal Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1850, vol. i. pt. 1. p. 43) very

closely resembles the European Nais elinguis, with which D’Ude-

kem regards it as identical. The third species, Dero limosa, has

also been described by Leidy (Proc. Acad. Philad. 1857, vol. v.

p- 226), and, though overlooked by D’Udekem, appears to be

distinct from the European form of the same genus. The fourth,

Enchytreus triventralopectinatus, 1 have not been able to identify

with any species described in works at my command, and have

therefore named from the three anterior pairs of ventral combs

_ after which the dorsal combs begin. This character appears to

distinguish it from LZ. socialis, if 1 may judge from the figure

given by Leidy (Journ. Acad. Philad.). It has no eyes. The

pharynx extends nearly to the fourth ventral or the first dorsal

combs, from which a narrow cesophagus continues to a little

back of the sixth ventral combs. Here a gradual enlargement

of the alimentary canal occurs, ending abruptly just back of the

eighth, in a narrow twisted tube ; and this last gradually enlarges,

at the ninth ventral combs, into a moderate-sized alimentary

canal, in which I observed nothing specially marked. The entire

length of this Naid was about # inch.

The occurrence of spontaneous fission in Stylaria (Nats) pro-

boscidea is described as follows by Miiller :—“ If a virgin Naid,

as I may call it, with 16 or more pairs of hair combs, or 20 or

more pairs of hook combs [there are 4 pairs of hook combs

anterior to the first hair or dorsal combs as in Nais and Dero],

be carefully observed, it will be seen that its anal ring slowly

elongates, and, after some days, appears to be transversely marked

within into rudiments of future rmgs*. In each of these divi-

Lamarck et Ehrenberg, parce que cette espéce ne différe des autres Nais

que par l’allongement trés grand de la lévre supérieure. Ce caractére

n’étant accompagné d’aucune modification importante dans la forme des

autres organes, je ne puis le considérer comme assez tranché pour servir &

former un genre nouveau.” There is, however, a marked difference in the

form and position of the cordiform anterior enlargement of the alimentary

canal, which even the statements and figures of Miiller and Gruithuisen

indicate, between the Naids with a long upper lip or proboscis and those

with a short one; and the manner of fission differs in these two groups, as

will be shown. Lamarck’s genus Stylaria is therefore a good one. Ehren-

berg’s division of this genus, however, based upon the absence of eyes, is

unfounded ; for I have seen Nais rivulosa lose them without any other

apparent change, and Agassiz has stated that this occurs as a part of the

normal development in many Naids.

* Schultze considers Miiller in error as to the position at which fission

takes place, because he describes it as occurring in a segment, and not

between two. The difference of statement, however, is simply verbal, as

Miller s of “die Zwischenraume der Borsten oder die Gelenke,”’

p- 26, and in many other places shows very plainly that such is his meaning.

326 Mr. W.C. Minor on Natural and Artificial Section

sions beneath the skin, germs of hooks and hairs appear ; and the

pulsations of the artery are evident while the food forces a way

through them. The hooks and hairs gradually come through

the skin in succession from before backward, while, the rings

enlarging, the Naid increases considerably in length. While in

this way new segments and their contents are forming within

the anal ring, on the other side [anteriorly] of it a strongly

marked transverse line, different from those just mentioned, ap-

pears, and extends across the whole width of the animal. The

angles formed at the sides of the body project, and on the top

a slight projection is evident, which gradually becomes a distinct

proboscis, while, finally, eyes appear back of this fission, Thus

the Naid becomes a mother.”’. . . . Frequently one may see in

the anterior half of the elongated anal ring of the mother Naid

a second ring-formation similar to the one just deseribed.”.

“This is not all. Hardly has the second bud acquired the length

of one mature ring than a third bud appears before it; and I

have even seen a fourth.”....“ Further, not only may a parent

and its four offspring thus appear, but the buds themselves may

give rise to new buds, their terminal joints forming new buds as

they themselves were formed. Hence we may find a parent with

its children and grandchildren attached to its body.” (Op. cit.

pp: 34, 36.)

Miller afterwards gives his observations upon a single Naid

from the 20th of May to the 9th of June. During this time it

gave off the buds observed posterior to the 17th pair of combs,

after which a formation of rings began, without any trace of

separation, until the body was elongated to over 40 pairs of

combs. About this time a fission occurred between the 21st

and 22nd pairs of combs. Fission occurring in this way after

an elongation of the body I shall speak of as the “renewal of

fission.” Further observation of individual Naids led him to

conclude that each bud is formed one joint anterior to its pre-

decessor, that there is thus a gradual reduction of the parent _

segments till a certain point; that then a re-formation of rings

takes place, and an elongation of the body of the Naid to re-

commence this circle of fission.

Schultze, in his article “ Ueber die Fortpflanzung durch Thei-

Jung bei Nais proboscidea” (Archiv f. Naturgeschichte, 1849,

t. xv. p. 293) confirms the statements of Miiller as to the passage

- over of one of the parental segments to each bud*, though he was

not fortunate enough to observe the recommencement of fission

in the elongated Naid. He observes also (p. 801) that, contrary

* Leuckart at first doubted the correctness of this view (“ Ueber die

ungeschlechtliche Vermehrung bei Nais proboscidea,” Wiegm. Arch,

1857), but has since been convinced of its justice.

in some Chetopod Annelids. . 827

to what Steenstrup had supposed from the analogy of marine

worms, there is‘no relation to metagenesis in the phenomena of

budding in this Naid; for he had never seen generative organs

in the separated buds. He had, however, never been able to

keep these buds long alive. He also had seen (p. 304) sexual

organs in the parent while budding, though he had never seen

well-developed sperm and ripe eggs present during this process.

- The phenomena of fission in Stylaria longiseta, so far as I have

observed them, confirm the statements of Miiller and Schultze

in substance; for there is nearly always a passage over of one

parental ring to each bud; and since fission takes place, as I

have seen, while the parent has eggs and sperm, and I have

never seen the fullest development of the latter in the buds, I

cannot believe that there is any such metagenetic relation in

this process as has been observed in Syilis and allied genera.

In Nais rivulosa, however, the facts are somewhat different ;

for in several continued observations of individual Naids, ex-

tending in one case over twelve weeks, I have known but once

or twice of a passage of the parental rings into the bud; while,

after an elongation of the parent body, I have very uniformly

seen fission recommence in the point at which buds were given

off before, or at some point posterior to it, and once anterior ;

and finally, although I have seen fission taking place between

each of the rings from the 15th to the 22nd, I have not been

able to discover that it does so in any order. But here, as in

Stylaria longiseta, 1 have found no metagenesis in the fission.

The facts obtained in regard to fission in Dero limosa are un-

fortunately meagre, the comparative slowness of the merismatic

function making the only two series of observations carried out

geempghee unfruitful. In none, however, of the succeeding

uds, from Aug. 15th to Oct. 10th, was there any carrying off

of parental segments by the separating parts, nor was there

anything like metagenesis observed.

My observations upon Enchytreus triventralopectinatus are

similarly scanty, but are just sufficient to confirm and extend

the facts observed in the two other short-lipped Naids. In all

the cases observed, the separation was of a part wholly new-

ee without inclusion of the older segments of the parental

dy.

_ It is evident, from the above facts, that in Stylaria longiseta,

as Miiller and Schultze have shown is the case in S. proboscidea,

the point of fission moves regularly forward, ring by ring, and

more commonly, in the former Naid, from the 16th to the 12th

pairs of hook combs, though the extremes between which I have

known it to occur are the 17th and 10th (to judge from

Miiller’s account, it occurs further back in the latter Naid);

328 Mr. W.C. Minor on Natural and Artificial Section

further, that in Nais rivulosa, and, as far as I know, in Dero

limosa and in Enchytreus triventralopectinatus, all of which have

short upper lips, the buds are given off at one point, though

that point may vary in different Naids of the same species, or

in one and the same Naid at different times. In the latter case,

the variation occurs as part of a peculiar form of fission of which

I shall speak again. Both ‘‘ parting” (Theilung) and “ budding”

(Knospenbildung) occur, then, in the Naids ; and it may be added

that the former appears to be peculiar to the genus Stylaria, or

to the proboscis-bearing forms.

I may here remark that the distinction made by Schultze and

others between “Theilung” and “ Knospenbildung,” though con-

venient, does not seem to me a fundamental one. The mere

inclusion of a portion of parental tissue in the bud does not of

itself make an essential distinction between this and a wholly

new-formed, but otherwise similar, bud; nor have I been able

to see any histological or functional differences. The very fact

that individuals having the same genetic relations to the parent

stock are in one Naid (N. rivulosa) always or commonly pro-

duced by the so-called “ budding,” and in another genus (Sty-

laria) by the so-called “ parting,” leads to this view. Nor, as I

think, though observations are largely wanting in that direction,

have the two yet been shown to be functionally different in true

metagenetic processes. They are two varieties of one process ;

and it would be interesting in many ways to know exactly how

the various species of Naids already known follow distinctly the

one or the other plan, or tend to merge them yet more com-

pletely as one*.

A little detail will show how closely identical the two forms of

bud-formation are. In “ parting ” (“ Theilung”’), as has already

to a great extent been described by Schultze, we find that, from

the parental ring as a fixed point, there is a continuous ring-

formation and elongation backward; and that anteriorly to it

there is a limited elongation of the general body, also by ring-

formation from before backwards. There is, then, unlimited

growth backward from the fixed point, and a limited or defined

growth backward toward the fixed point from the place of fission.

The parental included ring, the most anterior of the series, is

here the fixed point. In “budding” (“ Knospenbildung”’), the

most anterior ring of the series also, though a wholly new-formed.

one, becomes the fixed point, from which, by continuous ring-

formation, the Naid elongates backward, and towards which a

* T have known “ budding” to intercalate once in a series of fissions in

Stylaria longiseta (May 31), and I have also known “ parting” to interrupt

a series of buddings in Nats rivulosa (S»pt. 25), which leads me to expect

that in some Naids both processes may be regularly present.

in some Chetopod Annelids. 829

limited series of ring-formations proceed from the point of fis-

sion*. The resemblance between the two is perfect ; and as the

fixed point is not related to specializations of the alimentary

tube as I at first supposed, and is in Stylaria proboscidea, where

it occurs by “ parting,” four hook combs back of the mouth, as

it is in Nais and Dero, where it occurs by budding, while in S.

longiseta it is six hook combs back, the genetic relations of the

two processes, in these genera at least, are completely one. But,

as I have already said, though the distinction appears unessen-

tial in the genera I have examined, the terms are convenient,

and, as merely descriptive terms, are used here.

The “ commencement of fission” was observed in a large pro-

portion of the buds given off from the individuals of Stylaria

and Nais which were under observation, and the result is given

in the following table.

Stylaria. Nais.

Between 12-13th combs in none. Between 17-18th combs in 3

pa 13-14 ss 2 » 18-19 fa 3

eaciAdetG he) 12 rsd Me. = te ct

is 15-16 Ze 9 » 20-21 a 3

2 16-17 9 1 ” 21-22 2” 3

It is evident that fission does not begin at a fixed point; nor

have I been able to discover any relation between the place of

its occurrence and the time of the year, temperature, &c.

Now, while fission may take place by gradual reduction of the

Naid Stylaria, between the 10th and 11th hook combs, the com-

mencement of fission has not been-known forward of the 13th.

In Nais rivulosa, also, fission has been observed as far forward

as the 15—] 6th, while its commencement has not been noted an-

terior to the 17th hook combs. This is all the difference between

the commencement of fission and continued fission, notwith-

standing the fact that, whether the former is introductory to a

series of “ partings” or of “buddings,” its bud resembles that

produced by what I shall call the “ renewal of fission.”

That the “ renewal of fission,” in a Naid elongated after re-

duction by fission, is a somewhat peculiar form of fission would

hardly have been known from observations on Stylaria alonet.

* There is an interesting analogy between this process in the Naids and

the embryonic growth of Terebella, as described by Milne-Edwards. He

has remarked (‘‘ Obs. sur le Développement des Annélides,” Ann. des Sc.

Nat. 1845, sér. 3. t. iii.) that the first defined part is not the cephalic nor

the anal, but the oesophageal, and that growth takes place both anterior

and posterior to this by succession from before backward. Other specula-

tions and analogies suggest themselves here, but are, in our present know-

ledge, wholly premature.

+ Yet Miiller seems to notice these two forms of fission, and says that,

ig rena % first view different, they are fundamentally the same.” (Op.

cit. p. 38.

Ann. & Mag, N. Hist. Ser.3,. Vol. xi. 22

880 Mr. W.C. Minor on Natural and Artificial Section

The following summary will illustrate this. In Stylaria longiseta,

one example (April 16) was reduced to 10 rings, grew out but

little, and divided between the 12-13th. When again reduced

to 10 rings, it grew out much longer, but renewed fission at

the same point as before. It was then reduced to 1] rings, and,

growing out, again divided between the 12-13th. One of its

buds (May 14) began fission between the 15-16th, was reduced

to 12 rings, then grew out and recommenced fission between the

14-15th, and was being reduced again when lost. In another

case, the Naid was reduced to 12, grew out and renewed fission

at the 14—15th, was again reduced to 12, and, growing out again,

renewed fission at the same point. It was a third time reduced

to 12, and growing out again a third time, renewed fission be-

tween the 14-15th hook-combs. It was then reduced to 11,

when very unfortunately it was lost. In Nais rivulosa, an example

that had been giving off buds just back of the 19th ring, in-

creased to something like 33, and then again renewed fission

between the 19-20th. Another example, that had given off

buds at the 15th, grew out to over 35, and then renewed fission

at the 15-16th. After two or three buds had been given off, it

again elongated, and then renewed fission between the 20-21st

hook combs.

Now, while in Stylaria the “ renewal of fission” appears to

differ from the commencement of fission, with which I believe

it is essentially homologous (except by not occurring as far back),

which may be owing to the want of fuller observation, and while

in this genus it might be supposed to be merely a means of

continuing the process of “ parting,” which must otherwise soon

cease, we find that it occurs in Nais rivulosa without any change

of the point of budding, without any apparent necessity, without

performing the very function that we might judge from Stylaria

was its peculiarity. And what is more, it also occurs in Nais

rivulosa for the performance of this very function. This fact

suggests something more than a physiological meaning in the

“renewal of fission.” While the phenomena connected with it

seem to show that the distinction between this, the “ renewal of

fission,” and other forms of fission is more than a difference of

function, I am far from claiming that there is any fundamental

difference, like that between metagenetic and monogenetic fis-

sions. I may add that I have not been able to discover that the

point of its occurrence bears any relation to the number of buds

already given off *.

The sum of the preceding observations tends to show that the

“renewal of fission” has some special characters that suggest a

* There are some other differences to be considered in a future paper

upon the histological nature of fission,

Ky a Ay

in some Chetopod Annelids. 331

wider inquiry as to its true nature ; that the two forms of fission

already known as “ parting” and “ budding ” both occur in the

Naids, and occur so as to prove their morphologic and physio-

logic identity ; that “parting” appears to characterize the Naids

with a prolonged upper lip (the genus Stylaria), while “budding”

appears to characterize those with a short one (Nais, Dero,

Enchytreus, and Chetogaster, according to Claus) ; that the bud

produced by both these processes is identical with the parent ;

that as the buds are here, so far as I know, identical with their

parents in function and structure, there is no metagenetic fission ;

and that therefore fission in these Naids, whether by “ parting”

or by “budding,” is correlative to genesis in the great function

of maintenance of the species, and not a mere step in the history

of the individual*.

It may be worth while to refer briefly here to the power of

reproduction from injuries commonly attributed to these little

beings, especially as Dr. Williams, in his “ Report on the British

Annelida” (Rep. Brit. Ass. Adv. Se. 1851, p. 247), after quoting

a summary of Bonnet’s well-known experiments, says, “ On the

authority of hundreds of observations laboriously repeated at

every season, the author of this report can declare with deliberate

firmness that there is not one word of truth in the above state-

ment.” It may be presumed from this, that Dr. Williams felt

the necessity of thorough and very careful investigations before

contradicting the statements so often repeated upon this subject ;

and I cannot doubt that his experiments have uniformly failed.

But, from the almost uniform success of my own, I should won-

der that they have done so, had not others reported complete or

* “From the analogy of the two species (Arenicola and Nais) on which

the author’s observations have been chiefly conducted, the conclusion may

be deduced that the ‘fission of the body,’ in every other species of Anne-

lida in which it occurs, has for object in like manner to protect and incu-_

bate the ova.”....‘‘ It becomes the last act of the parental worm, since

the portions into which the body is subdivided by fission never take food.”

-.+. “It is a catastrophe in which every autumn involves the whole com-

munity.” (Williams, Rep. Brit. Annel. pp. 249, 250.) :

I should be far from wishing to extend the conclusions I have made to

all other Annelids by mere analogy; but my observations are, at ‘least,

wholly incompatible with a general application of Dr. Williams’s state-

ments to the Naids.

The exact circle of life and its duration I have not determined, nor do I

feel certain that any of the general statements (see Leidy, ‘ Flora and Fauna

within Living Animals,’ ‘On Stylaria fossularis, and Williams at large)

are absolutely correct ; for 1 have known the process of fission to go on in

winter, when the Naids were kept in a warm place, while I have also seen

what appeared to be a loss of this power, as shown in badly formed and

incomplete buds occurring in the warmer parts of the aa

332 On Natural and Artificial Section in some Chetopod Annelids.

partial failures in similar experiments. (See Dugés, Ann. des Sc.

1828, sér. 1. t. xv.) It must be remembered,- however, that

such evidence is wholly negative, and cannot weigh with the

positive statements of observers like Miiller, Réaumur, and

Dugés.

In regard to my own observations, I may state briefly that

in Stylaria, Nais, and Dero I have hardly ever failed to have

the head reproduced, and that the anal end has not only been

reproduced in these genera, but I have seen it reproduced in

Enchytreus, in Lumbricus, in Fabricia, and even in a Nereis

common on our coast* ; that in the vast majority of these cases

I have seen food taken again; and in all, I have seen the in-

current anal stream, which ceases while either end is closed,

recommence. From these and other observations, I am inclined

to believe that this power is far more general in the class than

is yet supposed.

That this power plays a part in the natural economy of life,

the healing fragments of Naids that I have found in our pools

is a proof. When saved from the attacks of Chetogaster, even

the shortest, headless and almost immoveable fragments may

go on to as full a recovery as when preserved by the observer.

In one instance I found (Aug. 21st) what were apparently five

segments of some Naid’s trunk, the two ends of which had

closed and elongated. This had been preserved for some time ;

for the sur-cesophageal brain was well-formed anteriorly, and

the germs of hook combs were well-defined posteriorly. It went

through a rapid growth, developed eyes about the 22nd, opened

the newly formed mouth about the 23rd, was supplied with food,

and, growing long, divided between the 15—16th hook combs, and

then gave off five buds in succession at that point till Oct. 8th,

when it was lost.

The thin film with which the Naids line the jars in which

they are kept may be seen to serve, there at least, as a protection

against the attacks of the prowling carnivorous Chetogasters; ©

and once beneath this, a fragment, like the one just referred to,

may be preserved till the eyes and mouth are formed—a period

usually of a fortnight. And though we should hardly have

* Careless observations, made a number of years ago, led me to think

that the Nereids are destitute of the power of recovery from injuries ; and

_ Williams states that they always sloughed away, ring after ring, in his ex-

periments. Réaumur remarks, “Les expériences que j’ai fait faire sur

des millepieds de mer, d’une toute autre longueur, sur de ces millepieds

longs de sept & huit pouces, n’ont pas eu le méme succés: mais les essais

n’ont peut-étre pas été encore assez répétés ni assez suivis.” (Mém. pour

s. a Vhist. des Insectes, t. vi. p.59.) Thinking the latter statement very

probable, I retried the experiments, during the past year, with more care,

and in every case with success, .

Dr. A. Gerstacker on the Honey-Bee. 333

expected a mere piece of five segments to be preserved as this

was, even though endowed with the power of recovery, yet we

cannot regard so extended and remarkable a function as this

appears to be as useless or inoperative in the natural course of

Naid-life.

XXXVII.— On the Geographical Distribution and Varieties of the

Honey-Bee, with Remarks upon the Exotic Honey-Bees of the

Old World. By Dr. A. GerstTAcKER.

[Concluded from p. 283. ]

Arter some remarks on the singular fact that, in Africa, which

generally exhibits such a remarkable uniformity in its insect-

fauna, the geographical distribution and varieties of the Honey-

Bee are more complicated than elsewhere, the author proceeds

to the consideration of the diffusion of the Bee in America.

The American form is identical with the dark-coloured North-

European one. In some American countries, for example, Brazil,

the Bee is known to have been introduced from Europe ; but it

has been questioned whether this applies equally to other regions,

such as North America, where the Honey-Bee has existed much

longer. With the exception of Olivier (Enc. Méth. Ins. i. p. 49),

who doubted the identity of the American Bee with the European

species, the best European entomologists have been in favour of

the introduction of this insect from Europe into America. Dr.

Gerstacker quotes Latreille*, St.-Fargeaut, Westwood{, and

Lacordaire § in support of this statement. Liatreille states, on

the authority of Bosc, that in North America “the savages know

that they are in proximity to the possessions of the Anglo-Ameri-

cans by the presence of the societies of these insects.” Among

the native American writers the author quotes Thomas Jefferson,

who, in his ‘ Notes on the State of Virginia’ (1787, p. 121),

speaks as follows :—“The Honey-Bee is not a native of our

continent. The Indians concur with us in the tradition that it

was brought from Europe; but when, and by whom, we know

not. The Bees have generally extended themselves into the

country a little m advance of the white settlers. The Indians

therefore call them ‘the white man’s fly,” and consider their

approach as indicating the approach of the settlements of the

whites.”

Prince Maximilian of Wied (Reise in Nord-Amerika, i. p. 180

& ii. p. 346) speaks in similar terms of the introduction of the

* Humboldt, Obs. Zool. p. 299, and Ann. Mus. p. 167.

+ Hist. Nat. Ins. Hymén. i. p. 401.

t Introd. ii. p. 285. § Introd. a l’Entom. p. 543,

334 Dr. A. Gerstacker on the Geographical Distribution

Honey-Bee into the United States, and adds that “it is now

diffused far up the Missouri, and its honey is eut out of the

hollow trees by Indians and whites.” John Josselyn (Voyage

to New England, 1663, p. 120) says, ‘‘ The Honey-Bees are car-

ried over by the English, and thrive there (in New England).

exceedingly ;” and Benjamin Smith Barton, in a learned and im-

partial memoir entitled “ An Inquiry into the Question whether

the Apis mellifica, or true Honey-Bee, is a native of America”

(Trans. Amer. Phil. Soe. iii. pp. 251-261, Philadelphia, 1793),

expresses himself decidedly in favour of the introduction of the

Bee from Europe, and supports his opinion by the most con-

vincing proofs.

Authors have not been wanting, however, especially among

the North Americans, who have endeavoured to give their country

the credit of the original possession of so valuable an insect as

the Bee. The arguments of Van der Heuvel, in his memoir

“On American Honey-Bees” (Silliman’s Journal, ii. pp. 79-

85, 1821), already sufficiently refuted by Brun (Bienenzeitung,

1858, pp. 37-44), are evidently chiefly derived from a treatise

by a Dr. Belknap, published in 1792, and entitled ‘ A Discourse

intended to commemorate the discovery of America by Christo-

pher Columbus.’ An appendix to this latter memoir contains an

argument against the European origin of the North American

Honey-Bees, supported on the following facts:—1. Columbus,

on his first return from the Antilles, when threatened with de-

struction in a storm, inclosed a report of his voyage in a capsule

of wax which he obtained at Hispaniola. 2. According to

Purchas, the Mexicans had to furnish a certain quantity of

honey yearly as tribute to their kings, even before the arrival of

the Spaniards. 3. Also according to Purchas, when Ferdinand

de Soto, in the year 1540, came to Chiaha in Florida, he found

amongst the stores of the Indians of that place a pot full of ©

Bees’ honey. At this time no Europeans were settled in America,

except in Mexico and Peru; whence the author concludes that,

before the arrival of Europeans, the Honey-Bee must have existed

as far north as Florida. With regard to the first case, as indi-

cated by Barton, the wax used by Columbus might have been

obtained from plants, such as Myrica cerifera; but indigenous

Honey-Bees of the genera Trigona and Melipona existed in the

_ Antilles before their discovery by Europeans. Clavigero was

acquainted with five Mexican species of Honey-Bees, and we

now know at least sixteen; so that the Mexicans could have had

no want of honey even before the arrival of Cortez. Thus both’

the first evidences adduced by Belknap come to nothing. An

apparently stronger proof of the early existence of the true

Honey-Bee in Mexico, which has escaped both Belknap and

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 335.

Barton, is to be found in the work of Hernandez on New Spain

(Franc. Hernandez, Rerum medicarum Nove Hispanie The-

saurus, Rome, 1648, lib. ix. p. 383. cap. 21). Hernandez says,

“Multa mellis genera in Nova Hispania mihi adhue observare

lieuit, non loco solum, veluti vetere orbe, verum ipsa materia et

apum diversis generibus distantia. Primum est Hispaniensi per

omnia simile idemque et quod ab apibus Hispanicis congeneribus

sponte in cavitatibus arborum fabricetur, quas Indi sectas in

apiaria reponunt ac congerunt.” Such evidence as this, from an

observer only seventy years later than the conquest of Mexico,

would almost seem to be convincing; but it may be urged, on

the one hand, that there had been time enough for the intro-

duction of the European Bee into the colony and for its disper-

sion, and on the other, with more probability, that, as Hernandez

had no pretensions to be a practised zoologist, he mistook one

of the native species for the true Honey-Bee. This is rendered

more probable by the existence in Mexico of a species of Me/t-

pona (still undescribed) intermediate between M. rufiventris and

bicolor, Lepel., which so closely resembles the European Honey-

Bee, at least in form and size, that an unpractised observer of

the sixteenth century might easily have confounded them.

With regard to Belknap’s third proof, Barton thinks that, on

account of the occurrence of indigenous Bees (Melipona, Tri-

gona), the pot of honey found by Ferdinand de Soto in Florida

has no more value as evidence than the Mexican tribute. But

this notion is without foundation, as we have no evidence of the

existence of such Bees in Florida It is, however, not impro-

bable ; for as only one species of Melipona (the Apis atrata, Fab.)

is known from North America, whilst the northern extension of

the Melipone and Trigone otherwise terminates with the Antilles

and Mexico, we may assume with great probability that this

single species, which extends beyond the proper district of its

group, will exist in the southernmost portion of North America.

But however this may be, Purchas’s statement ean by no means

lead to the assumption that the European Bee existed in Florida in

the time of Ferdimand de Soto, as is shown by another report,

by a Portuguese nobleman who accompanied that general (A

Relation of the Invasion and Conquest of Florida by the Spaniards

under Fernando de Soto). In this it is stated that “The In-

dians of Chiaha had a great quantity of butter or, rather, fat, in

pots, as fluid as oil; they said it was bear’s fat. We also found

there walnut-oil, as clear as the fat, and a pot of honey, although

neither before nor afterwards did we find either bees or honey in

the whole of Florida.” Barton also quotes a statement of Wil-

liam Bartram’s which directly proves the introduction of the

Honey-Bee into Florida. He says, “ When Bartram was in

386 Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Geographical Distribution

West Florida, in the year 1775, a beehive, the only one in the

eountry far or near, was shown to him as a curiosity; it had

been brought there from England when the English, in 1763,

took possession of Pensacola. In Hast Florida the Honey-Bee

is certainly now (in 1793) met with in a wild state, and it has

been known there for a long time, perhaps a hundred years ;”

but Bartram’s investigations convinced him that it was not in-

digenous there. Although the date of the introduction of the

Honey-Bee into North America cannot be fixed, two cireum-

stances mentioned by Barton indicate clearly that it must have

been introduced by the whites. One of these is the name of the

“white man’s fly,” given to the insect by the Indians; the

other the fact that when John Elliott was translating the Bible

into the language of the Indians, no expression existed in the

latter for either wax or honey.

However probable it may appear, from these considerations,

that the Honey-Bee was introduced into North America from

Europe, we still want the certain historical proof of the intro-

duction, and of the time when it took place; nevertheless the

following historical evidence renders the fact of the introduction

from Europe not in the least doubtful :—

1. According to Barton (Joc. cit. supra, p. 251), Penn, the

founder of Pennsylvania, does not mention the Bee in a letter of

details to his friends, in the year 1683; had it been a native of

Pennsylvania, he would not have omitted so useful an insect

from his catalogue of Pennsylvanian animals. ‘The older

Swedish writers upon Pennsylvania also do not mention the Bee.

2. Lawson (Voyage to Carolina, 1704) does not notice the Bee

amongst the animals indigenous to Carolina. 3. Barton (/oc.cit.

p- 258) says, “The Honey-Bee did not exist in Kentucky when

we first became acquainted with the country. But about 1780,

a beehive was brought by a Colonel Herrod to the Falls of the

Ohio, since when these insects have increased extraordinarily.

Not long since a hunter found thirty wild swarms in one day.” —

4. Barton further states that “ Honey-Bees were not found in

the Jenessie district of New York either at the time when it was

first visited or for a considerable time afterwards. Recently

(towards 1793) two beehives were introduced, and these will

undoubtedly soon spread over the neighbourhood.” 5. D. B.

Warden (Statistical, Political, and Historical Account of the

- United States, 1819, vol. iii. p. 189), quoting from Bradbury,

says, ‘‘ Before the year 1797 the Honey-Bee was not found to the

west of the Mississippi; they are now seen as high up as the Maha

nation on the Missouri, having proceeded westward 600 miles

in fourteen years.” 6, 7.. Humboldt, speaking of the wax pro-

duced in Cuba, says that it is produced chiefly by the European

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. ° 337

Bee, which has been much cultivated since the year 1772*. The

Bee was introduced from Florida. 8. According to Ramon de la

Sagra (Historia de la isla de Cuba, 1831, p. 80) the introduction

of the Honey-Bee into Cuba took place from Florida in 1764;

and in that author’s ‘ Natural History of Cuba’ (i. 7. p. 327)

Apis mellifica is mentioned as introduced into Cuba. 9. Ulloa, as

quoted by Olivier (Enc. méth. Insectes, i. p. 49), gives the date

1764 for the introduction of the Honey-Bee into Cuba, and de-

scribes the extraordinary rapidity with which the insects multi-

plied and spread themselves over the country. 10. Moreau de

Saint-Méry (Desc. de la partie Francaise de l’ile Saint- Domingue,

tome ii. p. 112, 1798) gives the date 1781 for the introduction

of the Honey-Bee into St. Domingo; he says it was brought

from Martinique by the Comte de la Croix.

From these various reports we gather that, in the most dif-

ferent parts of North America, where the Honey-Bee now exists,

it was wanting not very long since, and that in some of them

(e.g. in New York and to the west of the Mississippi) it was

only introduced about seventy or even sixty-five years ago. We

first find the Bee in West Florida in the year 1763; in 1780,

first in Kentucky; a little before 1793, first in New York ; since

1797, westward of the Mississippi. (In English North America,

according to Josselyn, it existed as early as the seventeenth cen-

tury, having been introduced there from England.) Thus the

diffusion of the Bee has taken place in North America in a

north-westerly direction. The introduction into West Florida

by the English took place in 1763; in 1764 the Bee was intro-

duced from Florida into Cuba, but from San Augustino in East

Florida, where, according to Bartram, the insect existed at the

end of the seventeenth century, having probably been intro-

duced by the Spaniards. This joint introduction by the English

and Spaniards is borne out by the fact that amongst both these

nations we find the dark form of the Honey-Bee, which also is

the one occurring in America; whereas the Asiatic form, from

which the American Bees would most probably have descended

had their migration taken place naturally, is the most light-

coloured.

The extraordinary manner in which the Honey-Bee has thriven

in America since its introduction is shown most strikingly by the

production of wax in Cuba, where the cultivation of Bees has

been carried on very extensively since 1772. According to

Humboldt (Essai polit. sur Cuba, i. p. 259), the average ex-

port of wax, between 1774 and 1779, was only 2700 arrobas

(=81,000 pounds); in 1803 it amounted to 42,700 arrobas

* Essai ‘as sur la Nouvelle Espagne, 1811, tome il. p.455; Essai

polit. sur Vile de Cuba, 1826, tome i. p. 259.

338 Dr. A. Gersticker on the Geographical Distribution

(= 1,281,000 pounds). In Ramon de la Sagra’s ‘ Historia

Fisica, &c., de la isla de Cuba (i. pp. 283 & 299) we find as the

average amount for the first thirty years of the present century,

69,476 arrobas (= 2,084,280 pounds) of wax, and 84,044 arrobas

(=2,521,320 pounds) of honey. The quantity has probably

increased considerably in the last twenty years.

Of the diffusion of the Honey-Bee in America south of the

Antilles and Mexico we know very little. It is found in Hon-

duras, according to Squier (Notes on Central America, particu-

larly the States of Honduras and San Salvador, 1855, p. 199),

but does not appear to have extended itself southwards from

that country, as it is not even mentioned as occurring in Costa

Rica by Wagner and Scherzer (Die Republik Costa Rica im

Central-Amerika, Leipzig, 1856), although we can hardly sup-

pose that Wagner would have passed it without notice had he seen

it there. According to oral communication from Prof. Karsten,

the Bee does not occur in New Granada and Venezuela; nor has

it been sent from those republics by Moritz. The introduction

of the Bee into Brazil (Minas Geraés) took place from Portugal

in 1845, according to Reinhardt (Brun, Bienenzeitung, 1858,

p. 43) ; and its great diffusion there is indirectly testified by

Burmeister (Reise nach Brasilien, p. 220). The absence of the

Bee in the States of La Plata and Chili appears from there

being no mention of it in the works of Burmeister and Claude

Gay (Reise durch die La Plata Staaten, Halle, 1861; Historia

fisica y politica de Chile, Zoologia, tom. ili.—vii.).

On the Australian continent the Honey-Bee does not yet

appear to exist; and Australia appears to be peculiarly poor in

honey-gathering insects, as we do not yet know even a Bombus

from that country. Only a small species of Trigona has lately

been described by Smith (Catal. Hymen. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 414).

With regard to the distinctions existing among the hive-bees

of different localities, upon which Latreille and others have —

founded specific characters, the author remarks that these con-

sist exclusively of differences of colour, and are so variable that

no dependence can be placed upon them. The colour of the

scutellum, upon which Latreille even based two groups of spe-

cies, has so little constancy that in three specimens from the

_ same locality as many gradations from light to dark may be de-

tected. The identity of the Italian with the northern Bee is

demonstrated by the perfect mutual fertility of the two forms ;

and the African form approaches much more closely to the

Italian than the latter does to the northern Bee. The author

describes the following forms of Bees as known to him, arranging

them according to the localities in which they occur ;—

SSSA sae ila eS 9 \.

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 339

1. Nort# Germany (Berlin, Neustadt -Eberswalde, Hartz,

Erzgebirge).—Numerous specimens: queens, drones, and

workers.

a. Unicolorous dark northern Bee. Seen on the crest of the

Erzgebirge, sparingly, at a height of 2800 feet ; in larger

quantity on the summit of the Brocken, at 3500 feet, in

August 1856.

b. One specimen of a worker, captured by Klug at the be-

ginning of this century, near Berlin, has on the second

abdominal segment a reddish-yellow basal band of one-

third of its length.

c. Italian Bee of very recent times (imported).

- d. Crosses of the northern and Italian Bees, of very recent

date.

2. Sour or France.—3 specimens of workers.

a. (2 sp.) Unicolorous northern Bee.

b. (1 sp.) of early date (beginning of this century) ; Italian

Bee, with a reddish-brown scutellum.

3. Anpausta (Staudinger, Waltl).—6 specimens of workers.

a. (5 sp.) Unicolorous northern Bee.

b. (1 sp.) More densely clothed with yellowish hair than the

northern Bee; a very small reddish-yellow point on each

side of the base of the second abdominal segment.

4. Portruear (Hoffmannsegg).—3 workers, 1 drone.

a. (2 sp.) Unicolorous northern Bee.

6. (1 sp.) A narrow, transverse, yellow spot on each side of

the base of the second abdominal segment ; scutellum with

a yellowish-red apex.

5. Lieurra (Spinola).—5 specimens, drones and workers.

Italian Bee (types of the Apis ligustica, Spin.).

6. Stcrry (Schultz).—1 worker.

Italian Bee with the scutellum almost entirely reddish-yellow.

7. VALTELINE (Italian Switzerland).—1 specimen*, of the year

1858. Italian Bee.

8. BorzEen 1n tHE Tyrot (Kahr).—2 specimens, 1861.

Somewhat smaller than the northern Bee; first abdominal

segment above, and the second to three-fifths of its length,

reddish yellow ; scutellum black. (At Trent the Italian Bee’

only is known. Near Botzen the German form begins to

occur.

9. Datmatra (Ehrenberg, Stein).—4 specimens.

a. (8 sp.) from Spalato, 1858. Unicolorous northern Bee.

5. (1 sp.) of earlier date. Somewhat smaller and more slender

than the German, more densely clothed with yellow hair ;

* When not otherwise stated, the following descriptions are all of

workers.

3840 Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Geographical Distribution

first abdominal segment above, second to three-fifths of its

length, and middle of scutellum reddish yellow.

10. Menapta in the Banat (Stein).—1 specimen.

Exactly like b. from Dalmatia.

11. Russta (Pallas).—1 specimen.

Unicolorous northern Bee; sent by Pallas as Apis cerifera, Pall.

12. Grexce (Kriiper).—1 specimen.

Scarcely smaller than the northern Bee; second abdominal

segment on each side at the base with a small reddish-

yellow point.

13. Crimea (Nordmann).—16 specimens.

a. (5 sp.) Unicolorous northern Bee.

b. (5 sp.) Similar, but the second abdominal segment with a

small yellow point on each side at the base.

c. (1 sp.) The yellow point extended into a transverse spot.

d. (4: sp.) Instead of the transverse spots, a reddish-yellow

band on the second segment, occupying progressively one-

fifth, one-third, and one-half of its length.

e. (1 sp.) First abdominal segment and second to two-thirds

of its length reddish yellow; scutellum reddish in the

middle.

14, Ruopes (Loew).—8 specimens.

a. (1 sp.) With a reddish-yellow transverse spot on each side

the base of the second segment; scutellum all black.

b. (1 sp.) Similar, but scutellum with a red apex.

c. (1 sp.) With a reddish-yellow transverse band occupying

one-third the length of the second segment; scutellum

with the apex red.

d. (5 sp.) Reddish-yellow band of second segment one-third

to two-thirds of its length; first segment above and the

whole or greater part of the scutellum yellowish red. All

the specimens of the same size as the northern Bee, but

more densely clothed with more intensely yellow hair.

15. Epnxsus (Loew).—1 specimen. ;

Like the northern Bee, but more densely clothed with paler

ereyish-yellow hair.

16. Brussa (Thirk).—2 specimens.

a. Size of the northern Bee, and similar in colour and clothing,

but with a yellow point on each side of the second abdo-

minal segment.

b. A little smaller than the northern Bee; first segment and

second to two-thirds of its length, and the entire scutellum

reddish yellow.

17. Caucasus (Pallas).—1 specimen.

Colouring as in J. from Brussa; size a little larger. (This

specimen sent by Pallas as his Apis remipes).

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 341

18. Eeyrt (Ehrenberg).—5 specimens.

Smaller and more slender than the northern Bee; both the

hairy and downy clothing whitish, sometimes yellowish on

the thorax; smoky brown only on each side of the vertex,

whitish in the middle. Apices of the mandibles and frontal

tubercles rusty red ; first and second abdominal segments

reddish yellow to the margin, third segment to half its

length; scutellum almost entirely reddish yellow. (Apis

fasciata, Lat.)

19. Arasia Ferix (Ehrenberg).—1 specimen.

Agreeing with the Egyptian Bee.

20. Syrra (Ehrenberg).—5 specimens.

Almost identical with the Egyptian Bee, but the thorax clad

all over with yellowish hair, and the yellow band of the

second abdominal segment varying between one-half and

four-fifths of its length; size a little larger.

21. Himataya (Hoffmeister).—1 specimen.

Size and colouring of the Syrian specimens, but the scutellum

brownish to the yellow apex.

22. Cuina (Colomb).—1 specimen.

Size and colouring of the Egyptian Bee, but the vertex en-

tirely clothed with fuliginous hair. (A. cerana, Fabr.)

23. SenecamsB1a (Mion).—1 specimen.

Size and colouring of the Egyptian Bee, but the hair more of

a greyish yellow. (A. Adansonii, Lat.)

24. Guinea (lsert).—2 specimens.

a. Size intermediate between that of the Egyptian and northern

Bees ; apices of the mandibles and frontal tubercles rusty

red; scutellum nearly all yellowish brown ; first abdominal

segment, and second as far as the half, yellowish red above.

(Apis nigritarum, Lep.)

b. Same size; colour uniform light brown.

25. Care or Goop Hore (Krebs).—10 specimens. All some-

what smaller than the northern Bee.

a. (4 sp.) Blackish brown, with only a narrow basal margin

of reddish yellow on the second segment; seutellum

black.

b. (1 sp.) Similar, but the yellow border of the second seg-

ment dilated on each side into a spot.

c. (2 sp.) Similar, but the second segment reddish yellow for

almost half its length; scutellum in one specimen reddish

brown. (A. caffra, Lep.)

d. (2 sp.) First segment to the margin, second to two-thirds,

and third to almost half its length yellowish red; scutellum

with the whole middle reddish.

e. (1 sp.) Similar, but the whole scutellum reddish yellow.

342 Dr. A. Gerstiicker on the Geographical Distribution

26. Port Narat (Wahlberg).—1 specimen.

_ Exactly like specimen e. from the Cape.

27. Mozambique (Peters).—4 specimens.

Exactly like specimen e. from the Cape.

28. Mavririus (Deyrolle).—1 specimen.

Similar in size to the Cape specimens; colour entirely dark,

almost black upon the abdomen ; hair scanty.

29. PennsyLvania (Zimmermann, Sommer).—4 workers, 1

drone.

Worker a little more slender than the northern Bee, like this

in colour and clothing, with only a narrow reddish-yellow

basal border on the second abdominal segment.

30. Mxrxico (Deppe).—4 workers, 1 drone.

Exactly like the northern Bee.

31. Cusa (Riehl).—1 worker, 1 drone. As Mexico.

32. Porro Rico (Moritz).—1 worker. As Mexico.

Of the colour-varieties here described, the most convincing

proof of the inconstancy of the colour, and consequently of a

probable intermixture of different varieties, is furnished by

Nos. 18, 14, and 25, which at the same time prove that not the

Teast dependence can be placed upon the coloration of the scu-

tellum. The variability of the coloration under the different

numbers gives transitions from one form to another ; aud thus it

becomes impossible to define clearly limited varieties. Latreille

and Lepelletier made 8 species out of the Honey-Bee; with

equal justice we might now, from the existing materials, make

20-30. But by referring those specimens which evidently form

transitions from one principal race to another to the race with

which they have most in common, we may get six principal

varieties, with the following geographical distribution :—

1. The unicolorous, dark northern Bee (including the most

neatly allied lighter varieties) occurs in Northern Europe,

where until very lately it was the only form; in the south ~

of France, Portugal, the south of Spain, and Algiers; like-

wise in some districts of Italy, in Dalmatia, Greece, the

Crimea, and on the islands and coast of Asia Minor;

lastly, in Guinea, at the Cape of Good Hope (probably in-

troduced), and in a great part of North America (certainly

introduced). |

~ 2. The Italian Bee (with a black scutellum) oceurs almost ex-

clusively in different districts of Italy, especially in the

northern parts, including the Tyrol and the Valteline.

Introduced lately into Northern Europe.

3. A variety differing from the Italian Bee in its yellow scutel-

_ Jum occurs in the south of France, in Sicily, Dalmatia,

ee ee er

PN a ee

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 343

the Banat, the Crimea, the islands and continent of Asia

Minor, and on the Caucasus.

4, The Egyptian Bee is diffused from Egypt, through Syria and

Arabia, and passes imperceptibly, through a lighter variety

occurring on the Himalaya and in China, into |

5. The specific African Bee, which extends over the whole of

Africa, from Abyssinia and Senegambia to the Cape.

6. The black Madagascar Bee is limited to Madagascar and the

Mauritius.

In the concluding portion of his paper the author treats of

the exotic Honey-Bees of the Old World distinct from Apis

mellifica. He confines his attention to the Old-World forms

because, although America possesses numerous species of honey-

gathering Bees, these belong to genera (Melipona and Trigona)

which differ greatly from the Hive-Bee both in characters and

in value; so that wherever the European Bee has been intro-

duced, they have lost their importance as producers of wax and

honey. Some of the Kast-Indian species, on the contrary, ap-

ear to be of great value; and their introduction into other suit-

able localities might be found useful. These Bees inhabiting

the continent and islands of India are also in considerable con-

fusion as regards their specific identity, too much stress having

been laid upon variations of colour in them, as in the varieties

of the Kuropean Bee: instead of thirteen species, described by

Fabricius, Latreille, Klug, Guérin, and Smith, the author con-

siders that there are only three, all-belonging to the genus Apis,

but forming the following two groups :—

Grovr I. Vertex distinctly narrowéd by the large compound

eyes, so that the posterior ocelli are more distant from each other

than from the eyes. Abdomen remarkably elongated, somewhat

flattened above ; metatarsus of the hind legs with thirteen trans-

verse rows of bristles on the inside. In the anterior wings the

recurrent nervure issues very near the apex in the third cu-

bital cell. Here belongs Apis dorsata, Fab. (nigripennis, Lat.),

with its two colour varieties, Apis zonata, Guér., and A. zonata,

Smith.

- Grovr II. Vertex not perceptibly narrowed, so that the hinder

ocelli are not more distant from each other than from the com-

pound eyes. Abdomen oval, convex above; metatarsus of the

hind legs with nine transverse rows of bristles on the inside.

Recurrent nervure issuing far from the apex in the third cubital

eell. Here belong, with Apis mellifica, the two smaller East-

Indian species,—1. Apis indica, Fab. (socialis, Lat.), with its

yarieties A, Peronti, Lat., A. Perrottetii, Guér., and A. nigro-

344 Dr. A. Gerstiacker on the Geographical Distribution

cincta, Smith ; 2. Apis florea, Fab. (indica, Lat.), with its drone,

A, lobata, Smith. :

The first of the three East-Indian species, Apis dorsata, Fab.,

is remarkable for its size, as dry specimens measure 72 to 84 lines

in length. Freshly developed specimens, sent from Luzon by

Jagor, are of a light pitchy-brown colour all over the body and

legs, and their clothing of hair everywhere brownish grey; the

wings are hyaline, with a distinctly greyish-brown tint. When

completely coloured, the head and antennz are shining pitchy

black; vertex clothed with long, erect, deep blackish-brown

hair; the border of the upper lip and mandibles has a reddish-

brown tint; the two frontal tubercles and the apices of the

scapes of the antenne pale rusty red. Ocelli remarkably large.

Thorax above, as far as the scutellum and sides of the breast,

with blackish-brown hairs; scutellum and metanotum with

tawny-yellow hairs. Anterior wings dark brown along the outer

margin, paler brown over the whole disk. Legs pitchy black,

fringed with hair of the same colour ; the brush on the inside of

the posterior tarsi cinnamon-red. The colouring of the abdomen

marks three varieties :—

a. Abdomen above clothed with densely adpressed hairs, of a

uniform yellow colour, or only a little more dusky, or rather

grey, at the apex; beneath pitchy brown, rusty yellow to-

wards the base. Indigenous in Java. Described by Fabri-

cius (Ent. Syst. ii. p. 323. 64), in 1798, as Apis dorsata ;

afterwards (1804) by Latreille (Ann. du Mus. y. p. 170, 4)

as A, nigripennis).

6. Abdomen with only the back of the first two segments yellow,

and the rest blackish brown or nearly black, or with the

middle of the third segment also yellowish, and the base of

this and the following segment adorned with a transverse

band sprinkled with white. Upon this variety, figured by

Latreille (loc. cit. pl. 13. fig. 7), Klug (Mag. Gesellsch.

naturf. Freunde, i. p. 264) founded his A. bicolor, and

Guérin (Bélanger’s Voyage, Insectes, p. 504) his A. zonata.

It occurs with the preceding in Java, and also in Ceylon

(Nietner).

e. Abdomen yellow only on the anterior part of the first seg-

ment; the remainder is deep black, with white-besprinkled

basal bands on the third, fourth, and fifth segments ; these

also pass to the lower surface. Examples of this variety

. from Celebes are the largest, and others from Luzon the

smallest of all. Smith described the former under the name

of A. zonata (Proc. Linn. Soc. ii. p. 8).

This is evidently the species mentioned by Knox, in his work

and Varieties of the Honey-Bee. 345

on Ceylon, under the name of Bamburos. He says, “ Their

honey is as clear as water ; they place their nests on the highest

branches of trees, and take no trouble to conceal them. Ata

certain season of the year, whole villages go out to collect their

honey.” The queen and drone of this species are still un-

known.

The second species, A. indica, Fab., most resembles our Eu-

ropean Bee in form and colouring, but is much smaller, dry

specimens measuring only 44 lines. This species is subject to

great variation of colour in most parts of the body, and even in

the wings. Adopting the coloration of the abdomen as a dis-

tinction, the following three chief varieties may be indicated :—

a. Abdomen either light rusty red as far as the last two pitchy-

brown segments, or the third and fourth segments from the

apex likewise show a slight brownish tinge at the base. The

scutellum is always pale reddish yellow, and the hair of the

head and thorax greyish yellow. The clypeus and scape are

seldom entirely pitchy brown ; the former is usually reddish

in its lower half, and the latter in the middle. This pale

variety appears to be chiefly indigenous to the continent of

India; it was first described by Fabricius (Ent. Syst. Suppl.

p. 274. 59) as Apis Indica; then by Latreille (loc. cit. p. 172.

7) as A. socialis; by Lepelletier (Hyménopt. i. pp. 404, 405)

as A. socialis and dorsata; and lastly by Guérin (Iconogr.

du Régne Anim. p. 461) as A. Delesserti.

6. Abdomen with the first two segments and the base of the third

reddish yellow, the remainder blackish brown, with bands of

light yellow hair. Scutellum generally pale, sometimes

blackish ; the hair of the thorax brownish yellow, that of the

vertex fuliginous. Clypeus generally all black, sometimes

reddish at the apex ; scape dark. Principally in Java; also

at Poona (Hope). Latreille (loc. cit. p. 173. 8) described this

form as A. Peronii.

ce. Abdomen with only the anterior part of the first and the basal

half of the second segment reddish yellow, the remainder

blackish brown. Clothing as in}; the scutellum partly

blackish, partly reddish yellow. With a black clypeus and

scape this variety is indigenous at Pondicherry and in Ceylon,

and has been described by Guérin (Iconog. p. 460, f.) as A.

Perrotteti ; with a red clypeus and paler scape it is A. nigro-

cincta, Smith (Proce. Linn. Soc. v. p. 93), from Macassar. The

latter has lately been received from Luzon, where it is mixed

in almost equal proportions with the other variety.

Knox, in his description of Ceylon, says, “The first kind of

Honey-Bees are the Memasses, which are exactly like our Bees

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 23

346 Dr. A. Gerstacker on the Honey-Bee.

which we have in England; they build in hollow trées, ‘into

which the people blow, and from which they take honey and

wax, without any dread of being stung.” Here he seems to

refer to the Apis indica, which he erroneously identifies with the

Kuropean Bee.

The third East-Indian species, incorrectly regarded by La-

treille as Apis indica, Fab., but which, from a comparison with

the original specimens of Fabricius, is the Anthophora florea of

that entomologist (Ent. Syst. ii, p. 341. 118), and must there-

fore be called Apis florea, Fab., is the smallest of all known

species, the workers measuring scarcely more than 34 lines,

The author has workers from Tranquebar, Java, and Poona,

and workers and drones from Ceylon. This species seems to

vary less than the others, although young workers may be re-

cognized by the light colour of the abdomen and the rusty-red

tint of the legs, scapes, and clypeus: The coloration, in fully

developed specimens, is as follows :—Head, including upper lip

and antennz, black, with only the frontal tubercles rusty red ;

thorax and legs likewise black, and, like the head, clothed with

white hairs. Abdomen generally with the first two segments

tile-red, the rest black, and with snow-white hair at the base ;

rarely the third segment shows some red, and still more rarely

the second some black. The wings are hyaline, with rusty-

yellow veins, The drones which are believed to belong to these

workers (Apis lobata, Smith, Catal. Apide, p. 416. 10) are con-

siderably larger than the workers, namely, 4? lines long. They

have the body black ; thorax and two basal segments of the

abdomen clothed with yellowish-grey hairs; the apex of the

abdomen clothed with black hair ; the third and fourth segments

naked, shining. Structural characters distinguishing these

drones from those of the European species are as follow :—

1, The head is more convex, and the eyes therefore larger ;

2. The antenne are very short, the flagellum scarcely double

the length of the scape; 8. The metatarsus of the posterior legs

is very peculiarly forked; the outer branch of this fork is the

thicker, inflated on the outside, hairy within, and bears at its

apex the following tarsal joints ; the inner one has somewhat the

form and position of a thumb, and is only two-thirds the length

of the outer. A comb unquestionably belonging to this species

has been described and figured by Latreille (Annales du Mus.

iy. p. 386, pl. 69, and Recueil d’Obs. de Zool. p. 302, pl. 21). In

its substance it agrees precisely with that of Apis mellifica ; its

cells are hexagonal, applied to each other back to back, and with

their bases alternating and interlocking. The difference in the

size of the cells is very great: 333 cells of A. florea occupy the

same-space as 183 of A. mellifica, The drone-cells found with

———

Mr. A: Adams on Microstelma and Onoba. 347°

worker-cells in the comb are much larger, much thicker in the

walls, and nearly cylindrical internally.

~ In conclusion, the author enters upon the question of the

acclimatization of new forms of Bees. For Europe, he thinks

the most valuable form would be the Egyptian, partly on account

of their beauty, and partly because of their unwillingness to use

their stings, which appears to be common to all African Bees,

and is also one of the recommendations of the Italian Bee. The

Syrian Bee agrees so closely with the Egyptian that it may

prove equally valuable ; and next to these in value, according to

the author, are the Bees of the coasts of Asia Minor. Of the

East-Indian Bees, the introduction of the fine Apis dorsata

would probably be most welcome to the European bee-keepers ;

but there are doubts whether it would bear a northern climate ;

and before it ean be introduced into Europe, it must be domes-

ticated in some of its native haunts. The author suggests that

some of the planters of Ceylon might succeed in effecting this

preliminary object,

XXXVIII.—On Microstelma and Onoba, two Forms of Rissoid

Gasteropods ; with Notices of new Species of the latter fr

Japan. By Artuur Apams, F.L.S. &e. i!

In addition to the new species of Rissoid genera which I have

recently published in the ‘ Annals,’ I beg to bring before the

notice of your readers au entirely new form and several new

species of Onoba, reserving my observations on the genus Ris-

soina for a future communication, which will complete my ex-

amination of the family Rissoide inhabiting the Seas of Japan.

Genus Microsterma, A. Adams.

Testa turrito-ovata, rimata; spira conica ; anfractibus longitudi-

naliter plicatis. Apertura oblonga, antice producta, subcanaliculata ;

labio incrassato, rectiusculo ; labro simplici.

This very pretty form, which most nearly resembles the genus

_ Rissoina, I obtained in the Gotto Islands, by a cast of the dredge,

in forty-eight fathoms water. The shell only was obtained; so

that our account of the genus, like that of many others proposed,

is necessarily very imperfect. Such must frequently be the case

with regard to very deep-water acquisitions from far-off and

little-known localities ; and such, of course, is always the case

with fossil or extinct forms.

_ In the sand from the same locality I fortunately obtained

living examples of the genus Verticordia, hitherto only known

23*

343° Mr. A. Adams on Microstelma and Onoba,

from its shell ; and I may here take the opportunity of stating

that the true position of the genus is in Anatinide, and not

with Jsocardia, with which, in a former communication, I had

associated it, My brother, in examining one of my fresh speci-

mens, has proved the existence of an ossicle in the hinge, very

similar to that in Chamostrea or Cleidotherus.

Microstelma Dedala, A. Adams.

M. testa ovata, rimata, solida, alba; anfractibus 54, planis, postice

angulatis et coronatis, longitudinaliter plicatis, plicis rectis, validis,

equalibus, interstitiis transversim striatis ; anfractu ultimo magno,

plicis, ultra peripheriam, evanidis ; labro margine. postice angu-

lato.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 48 fathoms.

The whorls are very prettily coronate at the hind part, which

suggested the generic name. In all essentials the shell appears

to be of a Rissoid character, reminding one somewhat of Ris-

soina. Had there been any indication of columellar plaits, it

might have been mistaken for a Pyramidellid.

Genus Onosa, H. & A. Adams.

1. Onoba elegans, A. Adams.

Rissoa elegans, A. Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1851. :

Hab. Seto-Uchi; 17 fathoms. Yara; 9 fathoms, mud.

2. Onoba procera, A. Adams.

Onoba procera, A. Adams,’Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1861.

Hab. Yara; 9 fathoms, mud. Mososeki; 7 fathoms.

3. Onoba mirifica, A. Adams.

O. testa subulato-turrita, alba, semipellucida; anfractibus 5, con-

vexiusculis, suturis profundis, transversim liratis, liris validis,

subdistantibus, interstitiis concinne cancellatis ; anfractu ultimo

costa basali instructo ; apertura ovata, antice integra ; peristomate

continuo ; labro subdilatato, margine extus varicoso.

Hab. Kino-O-Sima; Tanabe.

A small shell, but exquisite in form and sculpture.

4. Onoba bella, A. Adams.

_ Rissoa bella, A. Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1851, p. 267.

Hab. Yara; 9 fathoms, mud.

5. Onoba spirata, A. Adams.

O. testa ovato-turrita, subrimata, tenui, sordide alba; anfractibus 5,

two Forms of Rissoid Gasteropods. 349

planis, spiratis, ad suturas acute angulatis, costellis longitudinali-

bus tenuibus confertis, interstitiis lineis transversis elevatis decus-

satis instructis; apertura ovata; peritremate continuo; labro

margine anguste varicoso.

Hab. Mososeki; 7 fathoms.

In this rather thin species the whorls are spirate, sharply

angulate at the sutures, and furnished with longitudimal

riblets.

6. Onoba patula, A. Adams.

O. testa ovata, solida, rimata, sordide alba; spira brevi; anfrac-

tibus 33, postice acute angulatis, ultimo magno, costellis longi-

tudinalibus undulatis et lineis transversis elevatis concinne decus-

sato; apertura oblonga, antice dilatata; labro valde dilatato,

margine reflexo, undulato, postice libero et angulato.

Hab. Yobuko, west coast of Kiusu; 14 fathoms, mud.

In this species the lip is greatly dilated and reflexed; the

whorls are sharply angulated posteriorly, and there is an elon-

gate narrow umbilical chink.

7. Onoba egregia, A. Adams.

O. testa subulato-turrita, sordide alba; anfractibus 6, planiusculis,

spiratis, postice rotundate angulatis, lJamellis longitudinalibus

erectis undulatis, interstitiis transversim pulcherrime striolatis in-

structis; suturis profundis; apertura aperta, ovali; peritremate

tenui, continuo ; labro subdilatato, margine simplici, undulato.

Hab. Seto-Uchi; 17 fathoms. Yobuko; 10 fathoms.

A very charming species, with lamellar, undulating longitu-

dinal riblets, and the interstices crossed by fine spiral elevated

lines. The aperture is somewhat expanded, and there is no

external varix on the outer lip.

‘8. Onoba lucida, A. Adams.

O. testa turrito-subulata, alba, tenui, pellucida; anfractibus 4, con-

vexiusculis, lineolis transversis elevatis concentricis confertis or-

nata ; apertura ovali, antice integra; peritremate continuo; labro

margine tenui, varicoso.

Hab. O-Sima.

This species resembles O. bel/a inform and sculpture ; but it

wants the spiral callus at the base of the last whorl, and the

conspicuous varix on the outer lip; it is also much smaller and

more pellucid.

850 Mr. As Adams on the Japanese Lacunide.

~ XXXIX.—On the Genera and Species of Lacunide found in

Japan, By Axruur Avams, F.L.S. &c.

Tue Lacuna have been separated by Dr. Gray from the Littorina,

with which they are usually associated, on account of the peculiar

appendiculate opercular lobe, which is expanded at the sides and

furnished with two beards behind. The animal, moreover, has

no jaws, whereas in the Littorinide they are distinct and horny.

The Japanese seas furnish us with examples of all the known

generic and subgeneric forms, and likewise with a new and pe-

culiar type which I am inclined to refer to this family.

Fam. Lacunide.

Genus Lacuna, Turt.

Lacuna latifasciata, A. Adams.

Z. testa depresso-semiglobosa, tenui, late et profunde umbilicata ;

spira parva, laterali; alba, fascia lata rufo-fusca ornata; anfractibus 3,

planiusculis, rapide crescentibus ; apertura semiorbiculari, regione

umbilici rufo tincta; columella recta, angusta. .

Hab. Kino-O-Sima.

A species of the same form as L. pollidula, Da Costa, but of

much smaller size, and ornamented with a broad red-brown

band.

Subgenus Meporia, Leach.

Medoria turrita, A. Adams.

Lacuna turrita, A, Adams, Ann, & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1861.

Hab. Rifunsiri.

Subgenus Ernerta, Leach.

1. Epheria decorata, A. Adams.

Lacuna (Epheria) decorata, A. Adams, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1861. -

Hab. Rifunsiri. thee

2. Epheria inflata, A. Adams.

_ Lacuna inflata, A, Adams, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1861.

Hab. Rifunsiri.

3. Epheria carinifera, A. Adams.

Lacuna carinifera, A. Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1851, p. 225.

Hab. Takano-Sima.

4. Epheria lepidula, A. Adams:

E. testa depresso-conica, perobliqua, late umbilicata ; spira brevi,

acuta; alba, opaca ; anfractibus 3, convexiusculis, ultimo ad peri-

Dr. G. C. Wallich on the Structure of the Valves of Diatoms. 351

pheriam angulato; apertura semiovata; labio recto, acuto; ums

bilici margine carinula acuta cireumcincto.

Hab. Seto-Uchi; Akasi; 15 fathoms.

_ A small white species from the Inland Sea of Japan, with the

margin of the wide umbilicus encircled by a narrow elevated

keel.

Genus Srenoris, A. Adams.

- Testa compressa, elongato-ovata, auriformis ; spira brevi, acuta ;

anfractibus planis, simplicibus, ultimo sejuncto. Apertura oblonga,

postice angustata ; peritremate acuto, recto, continuo, integro.

I have founded this genus on a little shell which I obtained in

the Inland Sea of Japan, and also at Yobuko, a small harbour on

the west coast of Kiusu. It possesses some of the characters of

Fossar, and reminds one of Vanikoro: in form it resembles

somewhat a minute Naticina ; but perhaps its true relations are

with Lacuna, although the members of that family are littoral

in their habits.

Stenotis laxata, A. Adams.

S. testa elongato-ovali, compressa, tenui, sordide alba; spira parva,

acuta ; anfractibus 3, planiusculis, rapide crescentibus; anfractu

ultimo magno, soluto, antice dilatato; apertura auriformi, postice

angustata ; uinbilico patulo, margine angulato.

Hab. Idsuma-Nada; 17 fathoms. Yobuko, west coast of Kiusu;

14 fathoms, mud.

XL.—On the Structure of the Valves of Pleurosigma and other

Diatoms. By G. C. Waxuicu, M.D., F.LS., F.G.S., &e.

In a scientific point of view, it is obviously immaterial whether

the markings on a Diatom-valve present this or that configura-

tion, or whether minute points on its surface consist of eleva-

tions or of depressions. At all events, the physiology of the

Protophytes, so far as we have heretofore become acquainted

with it, does not appear to have been advanced a single step by

the fitful controversy that has taken place on the subject, with

no better result than that of rendering it distasteful to the

generality of scientific readers.

But, notwithstanding this, it cannot be denied that the

accurate determination of the nature of these markings is of

great importance indirectly, that is to say, by furnishing a

standard wherewith to gauge the powers of our highest optical

combinations, and enable us to pronounce with some approach

to confidence when minute appearances are, or are not, illusory.

In this sense the subject may be regarded as bearing coneakiall

352 Dr. G. C. Wallich on the Structure of

on every kind of microscopic research, and in this sense only do

I consider it worthy of serious investigation.

In a paper “ On the Structure of the Valve in the Diatomacez,

as compared with certain Siliceous Pellicles produced artiticially

by the Decomposition in moist Air of Fluosilicic Acid Gas

(Fluoride of Silicium) ”*, Prof. Max Schultze, after stating his

views regarding the mode of formation and intimate structure of

the pellicles referred to, enters on the special point towards which

his investigations seem to have been directed, namely, the deter-

mination of the true character of the markings in Pleurosigma

angulatum. Prof. Schultze alludes to the conflicting opinions

entertained by English microscopists on this subject, and, whilst

citing Carpenter (undoubtedly the highest of the British autho-

rities on any question of microscopy) and, with him, many other

observers who support the view that the markings of the valve of

this Diatom consist of hexagonal depressions, associates my name

with that of my friend Mr. Norman, of Hull, amongst the advo-

cates of the contrary opinion, namely, that these markings con-

sist of pyramidal elevations}. In the abstract of Prof. Schultze’s

paper already alluded to, it is stated that, ‘so far as the nature

of the markings on the Diatomacez is concerned, opinions may

not at the present day be so much divided in this country as that

author appears to think ;” and marked attention is for the

second time drawn, by the Editors of the ‘ Microscopical Journal,’

to an observation made by Mr. Wenham during the discussion of

my paper on these markings, read before the Microscopical So-

ciety in March 1860, to the effect “that, with an object-glass

of his own construction, having a focal distance of about .4,th of an

inch and a large aperture, he had ascertained beyond doubt that,

in P. angulatum and some others, the valves are composed wholly

of spherical particles of silex, possessing high refractive proper-

ties ; and that he showed how all the various optical appearances

in the valves of the Diatomaceze might be reconciled with the

supposition that their structure was universally the same” f{.

As the hexagonal-depression structure of the valve in P.angulatum

rested almost exclusively, up to that period, on evidence adduced

* Verhandl. d. Naturhist. Vereins der preussisch. Rheinlande u. West-

phal. Jahrg. xx. p. 1. See an abstract of this paper published in the

Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science for April 1863.

_. ¥ See papers “ On the Markings of the Diatomacez in common use as

Test-Objects,” published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History

for February 1860; and “On the Development of Structure of the Diatom-

Valve’? (read before the Microscopical Society in March 1860, and published

in the Transactions), by G. C. Wallich, M.D., &e.

t See note appended to abstract to Prof. Schultze’s paper, and note

appended to the above-named paper by me, published in the Transactions

of the Microscopical Society, Quart. Journ. M, S, vol. viii. p. 145.

the Valves of Pleurosigma and other Diatoms. 353:

by Mr. Wenham, it is somewhat difficult to gather from the

remarks of the Editors in question whether they accepted or

rejected my view. It is certain, however, that at the above period,

and indeed up to a very recent date, I stood alone in supporting

the pyramidal structure by evidence derived from the optical

appearances of the valve under high powers of the microscope,

and nearly alone as regards the secondary kind of evidence de-

rived from the direction of the lines of fracture and effects of

moisture. For although it was stated in the admirable work on

the microscope by the lamented Prof. Quekett, published in

- 1852, that, under an improved method of illumination and a

magnifying power of at least 1200 diameters, Mr. Gillett had

succeeded in showing “the lines on P. angulatum to be dots or

elevations from the surface,” this interpretation of the structure

was speedily set aside by subsequent writers, and principally in

consequence of the view put forward by Mr. Wenham with regard

to the hexagonal structure. Strange to say, Prof. Quekett was

himself amongst the first to repudiate Mr. Gillett’s observation.

In his ‘ Lectures on Histology’ (vol. i. p. 59) it is stated that,

by careful “ management of the light, Mr. Wenham has found

that the oblique lines on P. angulatum can be resolved into

hexagons, and that he has proved beyond doubt the structure by

means of photographs taken under a power of 15,000 diameters,

—all the parts accurately in focus exhibiting hexagons with a

white centre, but in those out of focus the centre being black.”

Mr. Wenham’s photographic figure is copied by Quekett, as also

a figure of the structure in the closely allied variety, P. formo-

sum, under a magnifying power of 5500 diameters, the lines

- being resolved, on the authority of the Rev. Mr. Kingsley of

Cambridge, “into dots, studs, or beads; ”? but, continues the

Professor, “‘ notwithstanding the enormous power employed on

this occasion, there are many observers who still regard these

markings as depressions, and not as elevations.”

_ In Carpenter’s work ‘ On the Microscope and its Revelations ”

(not the latest edition), at page 306, it is stated that if we examine

P. angulatum with an objective of }-inch focus and 75° aperture,

the valve presents a double series of somewhat interrupted

diagonal lines, inclosing between their intersections imperfectly

defined lozenge-shaped spaces; but that if the valve be viewed

under an objective of ;4,-inch focus and an angular aperture of

130°, “illuminated by oblique rays, its hexagonal areolation

becomes very distinct. And if a photographic representation

obtained by such a power be itself enlarged by photography, as

has been accomplished by Mr. Wenham, the appearance pre-

sented is in all respects comparable with that afforded under a

low power by the valve of Triceratium or Isthmia.” Here again

354, . Dr. G.C. Wallich on the Structure of

we have Mr. Wenham’s figure, with the remark that “ at the

upper part, which represents a portion of the object that was

accurately in focus, the hexagonal areas are seen to be light, and

the intervening spaces dark; the reverse being the case with the

lower portion which was out of focus; and a curious transition

from one condition to the other being seen in the intermediate

part.”

In a short paper by Dr. Hall, of Sheffield, “On an easy

Method of viewing certain of the Diatomacez,” published in the

Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, vol. iv. p. 205 e¢

seq., the structure of P. angulatum is described and figured as

consisting of “ dots ;” and reference is made, in confirmation of

it, to the “hexagonal areolation” supposed to have been de-

tected by Mr. Wenham under a power of 15,000 diameters, but

evidently under a misconception as to the elevation or depression

of the minute siliceous masses composing it, inasmuch as the

term “areolation,” in this case, evidently refers to depressions

with elevated sides, and it is quite clear that such was the gene-

rally adopted interpretation of Mr. Wenham’s observations, in-

asmuch as Dr. Carpenter, till very recently, laid stress on the

analogy between the appearance presented by the photographic

figure and the plainly discernible depressed areolar spaces of

Triceratium and Isthmia.

The late Rev. W. Smith, in the ‘ Synopsis of British Diato-

macez ’ (vol. i. p. 61), expressed himself as having for a time

coincided in the opinion of some observers that the appearances

of strize arose from rows of beads or minute elevations, and not

from depressions ; but that, with careful manipulation and more |

perfect optical apparatus, he was led to conclude “that the lines

arise from internal hexagonal structure, and that the semblance

both of perforations and elevations may be produced in the same

object by a slight alteration of focus, such appearances being

illusory and due merely to the reflection or refraction of the

rays passing through the minute cellular structure of the sili-

ceous epiderm.” He was also inclined to “ attribute the yellow

tint seen in the valves of some diatoms to distinct hexagonal

structure in their cellular condition, and a purple colour to an

absence of such character” (Synopsis, p. 63).

In the ‘ Micrographic Dictionary’ (p. 43) we find it stated

that “ Isthmia requires defining power” (in the lens employed),

_ “whilst Gyrosigma (= Pleurosigma) requires penetrating power

and large angular aperture to exhibit the markings; and yet the

structures differ only in size.’ And, further, “there can be no

doubt that if we could examine the valve of the Gyrosigma under

a power as high, relatively to the size of the depressions, as that

under which we can. examine the Jsthmia, the same relations.

the Valves of Pleurosigma and other Diatoms. 355

being preserved between the angle of aperture of the object-glass

and the angular inclination of the refracted rays, the various

parts of the depressions and the undepressed portions would be

equally recognizable in both cases.” Again, in the intro-

ductory chapter to the same volume (p. 16), the Editors express

their conviction that if Schleiden “ were to try to obtain a view

of the hexagonal structure of the dots on the valves of a Gyro-

sigma with his object-glasses, he would signally fail ; for the ex-

hibition of this structure requires a power of about 2000 diame-

ters to render it distinct beyond dispute, with the use of stops,”

&c. &., “and the fact of its impressing its own image upon

photographic paper at once shows its reality, and that its per-

ception is not the result of the imagination.”

Dr. Carpenter, in the latest edition of his invaluable treatise

on {The Microscope and its Revelations’ (1862), whilst seceding

from the opinion that any analogy necessarily exists between

the structure of the valve of Triceratium and that of Pleuro-

sigma, and stating that, although the idea of the valve of the latter

being composed of a series of hexagonal depressions at one time

received the sanction of Mr. Wenham, the later observations of

this gentleman, “with objectives of th, and even th of an

inch focus, have led him to concur with the view now more

generally accepted by microscopists, that the areole are minute

tubercular elevations, the intervening network being formed by

the thinner portion of the valve,’ then goes on to adduce

the evidence brought forward some years ago by Mr. Hunt

(Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, vol. iv. p. 175),

which shows that moisture insinuates itself in such a manner

between the strie and glass cover as to indicate that the

“dots” are elevations, and not depressions. Lastly, as if

to add to the apparent confusion of testimony, we find, in

the ‘Micrographic Dictionary’ (page xxxiii., last edition),

great stress laid on the fact that the line of “fracture of the

broken valves” (of Pleurosigma) “ passes through the rows of dots,

or the dark lines corresponding to them, showing that they are

thinner and weaker than the rest of the substance; for had

these dots represented elevations, the valves would have been

stronger at these parts;” whilst, in the Philosophical Maga-

zine for January 1855, in an abstract of a paper read before

the Royal Society “On the Structure of certain Microscopic

Test-Objects, and their action on the Transmitted Rays of

Light,” by Charles Brooke, F.R.S., it is stated with equal

certainty and, as I am still prepared to maintain, with perfect

correctness, that although “the dots have by some been sup-

posed to be depressions, this is clearly not the case, as fracture

is invariably observed to take place between the rows of dots, and

356 Dr. G, C, Wallich on the Structure of

not through them, as would naturally occur if they were depres~

sions.”

Having thus endeavoured to show that Professor Schultze

was correct in asserting that great difference of opinion existed

in this country on the subject under discussion, it is necessary

to cite the evidence on which he gives his adhesion to the belief

still entertained, as he erroneously supposes, by Dr. Carpenter,

that the so-called “ dots” are depressed spaces on the valve of

Pleurosigma,

And first with regard to the electrotype metallic casts of

Pleurosigma, of which a notice is contained in the Quarterly

Journal of Microscopical Science, vol. iii. p. 244 et seg. Ina

note appended to Schultze’s paper (Quart. Journ. Mic. Se.

for April 1863, p. 128), the editors state that Mr. Wenham’s

experiments do not appear to have been limited to the two

species named, as he says that he had “ obtained distinct im-

pressions of the markings of some of the more difficult Diato-

macex, such as N. (Pleurosigma ?) balticum, P. hippocampus, &c.,

leaving, as he says, no doubt of their prominent nature. But

whether this prominence belongs to the areole or intermediate

lines does not appear.” Schultze, in the paper now under

notice, does not hesitate to characterize these experiments as

perfectly successful, and as having demonstrated that the im-

pressions represented “the systems of lines or dots,” thus

manifestly supporting the view entertained by Smith in the

Synopsis, and most other observers, namely, that the “ strize ”

are resolvable into “ dots,” an idea I cannot subscribe to, inas-

much as it shall presently be my endeavour to prove that the

appearance of striation in P. angulatum and the whole of the

forms combining diagonal with rectangular striation is engen-

dered at the thinnest portions of the valve, through which the

rays of light penetrate most readily, and along the lines of which

the valve almost invariably fractures ; whereas the so-called dots

are produced only when those lines are thrown partially out of

focus, the intervening elevated portions of the structure being as

partially brought into focus.

The main source of error and misunderstanding amongst pre-

vious writers is traceable to the supposition that the diagonal

and rectangular series of lines (as the case may be) constitute

the portions of the valves which, under the higher magnifying

‘powers of the microscope, become convertible into the so-termed

“dots,” “beads,” or ‘“ hexagons,”—the fact being that the

“ striee’”? seen under the lower powers, if properly exhibited,

are never convertible into anything but lines, whereas the dots,

beads, and hexagons are the imperfect expositions of the struc-

ture occurring in the spaces included between the intersections

the Valves of Pleurosigma and other Diatoms. 857

of those lines. This view of the structure I shall attempt to

prove to demonstration in a later portion of the present paper.

But it is necessary to state in this place that, whatever parts of

the valvular surfaces may have been represented as “ promi-

nences” in Mr. Wenham’s most interesting electrotype casts, in

his later observations on the photographic representation of

these structures no facts have been advanced to indicate that

the portions supposed to represent those in relief on the photo-

graphs are not identical with those actually in relief on the

casts; and hence it is reasonable to infer that the parts which

really are convertible into “ dots,” &c. (that is:the spaces be-

tween the intersections of the lines, and not the lines or strie

themselves), constitute the seat of the elevations as presented on

the casts*. But here, again, we are met with a further difficulty,

if my views be correct ; for whereas I am of opinion that the in-

tervening spaces in P. angulatum and its allies exhibit elevations,

I think it probable that in P. hippocampus and the rectangu-

larly marked series the intervening spaces between the lines, as

seen on the external surface of the valves, are occupied by de-

pressions.

Welcker’s system for determining whether minute points of

structure seen under the microscope consist of elevations or

depressions on the general surface, although of service where

these markings are scattered so as to leave well-defined intervals

between them, becomes practically useless in testing the confi-

guration of such objects as the Pleurosigmata, on the valves of

which the alternate elevations and depressions are in immediate

contiguity. Schultze fully recognizes this difficulty, but endea-

yours to explain it away, as I conceive, somewhat unsuccessfully.

He alludes to the appearance presented by the larger of the

artificially prepared conical papille of fluoride of silicium, and

inclines to the belief that the successively seen “ concentric

rings” are attributable to these papille being “composed of

superimposed laminz, gradually diminishing in size.”

The same appearance of concentric rings is observable, how-

ever, when any translucent uniformly curved projection or de-

pression is viewed under the microscope, the illusory effect being

much more marked where the penetrating power of the objective

employed is limited. The truth of this statement may readily

be put to the test by examining the valvular surface of some of

the Melosire (M. Westii, for example), in which a continuously

* For reasons which will presently become manifest, I would mention

that this remark applies only to the rectangularly lined series of the Pleuro-

sigmata. Mr. Wenham, in his paper on the electrotype experiments, makes

ial reference to P. balticum and P. hippocampus, but to none of the

y lined series—a fact of no little importance, for similar reasons,

transitional series of concentric rings is invariably engendered

as the focal distance is altered—showing clearly that these rings

are not the exponents of successive laminz of silex, or due to

the “sutural and median siliceous ring” adduced as character-

istie of that variety in the ‘Synopsis of British Diatomacez’;?

but that they are simply indicative of the successive horizons

(so to speak) of the conical-shaped valve, on reaching which the

rays of light are refracted in their passage to the eye of the

observer, and during the changes in the focal distance *.

Professor Schultze points out that the alternately luminous

and darkened aspect of minute elevations and depressions is

reversed according as the object is immersed in a medium of

higher or lower refractive power than itself. I may add two

still more perplexing difficulties which tend to render Welcker’s

system nugatory, namely, the impracticability of determining

at all times whether a Diatom-valve is placed with its external

or its internal surface towards the observer, and of ascertaining

when that precise amount of definition has been arrived at under

which the luminous or dark spots are to be regarded as charac-

teristic. In endeavouring to resolve the marking on Pleuro-

sigma angulatum by Welcker’s method, Schultze allows that he

signally failed, and that “the indistinct bright points” which

precede the dark points brought into view upon the accurate

focusing arrived at by the lowering of the tube “do not coin-

cide exactly with them in position, but may rather be said to be

contiguous to them, and to represent, consequently, the borders of

the depressions,’—the general conclusion adopted by him being,

“that neither spherical, conical, nor pyramidal elevations are

the cause of the punctated appearance on the surface of the

above-named species of Pleurosigma, although the decussating

sets of ridges, at the points of intersection, afford an appearance

resembling that of tubercular elevations;” and further, “in

cases where two sets of lines intersect each other at a right

angle, as in P. balticum, hippocampus, &c., the disposition of the

ridges at once suffices to account for the arrangement of the

quadrangular interspaces.. But it is not so easy, he adds, to ex-

plain the disposition of the hewagons produced by the three sets of

ridges intersecting each other at an angle of 60°, which exist in

P. anyulatum and its allies. It is most natural to suppose that they

would be arranged like the cells of a honeycomb, as figured in

the plate [appended to the abstract]. An arrangement of this

kind is figured, amongst others, by Carpenter and Mr. Charles

Hall.” * * * “That the hexagons are arranged as figured by

* In specimens of this Diatom collected near Guernsey, the raised sah.

described in the Synopsis are extremely faint, the outline according

presenting an unbroken series of curves, ;

the Valves of Pleurosigmia and other Diatoms. 859

Mr. Hall* is fullyestablished to the author’s (Professor Schultze’s)

satisfaction by some photographic representations procured by

the aid of Hartnack’s combination. According to these figures,

the lines in each set are not continuous in a straight direction, but

are bent at short intervals, at an angle of 120°. These bends

- are, however, so close together as to be imperceptible with the

- power usually employed in the examination of P. angulatum,

that is, with one of from 500 to 800 diameters. _ It is especially

by oblique light (under which only it is generally the case that

the sets of ridges appear as continuous striz) that the illu.

sion (?) becomes perfect that we are beholding sets of lines

running in a perfectly direct course ; whilst observations with

direct illumination, provided that the lenses have sufficient de-

fining power, discloses the true state of things” (?).

* It will be seen from the above extract (which I have deemed it

unavoidable to quote in detail) that Prof. Schultze bases his rea-

soning on a fundamental error, namely, the presence of only three

sets of decussating lines in Pleurosigma angulatum and its allies,

whereas they invariably present four: that is to say, two series

traversing the valve diagonally, so as to leave lozenge-shaped

between each of these intersections ; and two series, one

of which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the valve, whilst

the other crosses this at right angles. In the quincuncially

marked group the diagonal lines alone maintain one uniform

plane, and hence are invariably the most distinct; whilst the

ar lines, which again intersect the axes of the lozenge-

shaped spaces, follow the alternately ascending and descending

outline of the pyramidal projections by which these spaces are

occupied, and hence constitute a series of vertical zigzags, which

causes them to be defined with much greater difficulty.

In the rectangularly striated Pleurosigmata, of which P. balti-

eum is the type, the rectangular sets of lines are the most dis-

tinetly marked, for a similar reason. They are not only on the

same plane, however, as the diagonal lines are in the quincun-

cial group, but, as I have recently satisfied myself, they consti-

tute the actual surface of the valve, whilst the spaces bounded

by them are pyramidal depressions. In the one case, the frag-

ments of a comminuted valve, when viewed in section, show that

the apices of the pyramidal elevations are the most prominent

points on the external surface ; in the other, that. the ridges, or,

in other words, the rectangular striz, are the most prominent.

As stated by me in my former paper on this subject (Annals

and Magazine of Natural History, February 1860), analogy has

* Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, vol. iv. pl. 13. fig. 2; and

ie Dictionary, 1856, pl. 47. figs. 41 and 48 ; the former of which

is “ copied from a photograph by Mr. Wenham.”

360 Dr. G.C. Wallich on the Structure of

been strained a little too far in the attempt to deduce, from the

appearances presented by one group of Diatoms which happens

to furnish structure easily resolvable even with the lowest powers

of the microscope, and the least perfect optical combinations, the

nature of the markings in another group which happens to pre-

sent a structure that is resolvable with the utmost difficulty.

It is with no little satisfaction, therefore, that I find Dr. Carpen-

ter, in the recent edition of his work on the microscope (1862), has

relinquished the view formerly supported by him regarding the

analogy subsisting between such forms as Triceratium, Isthmia

and Pleurosigma, and that this eminent authority has given in

his adhesion to the opinion long advocated by me, namely, that

the valvular surface of P. angulatum is not studded with depres-

sions, but with elevations. Moreover it is a significant fact that

the woodcut representing the enlarged photographic view of this

Diatom inserted in previous editions of his work is altogether

omitted in the last one. Of this Prof. Schultze was obviously

ignorant when he penned his remarks. Dr. Carpenter does not

state, however, whether he considers these elevations as being

simply tubercular or formed with distinct sides, that is, with facets,

as suggested by me. Since writing my former paper, so far from

meeting with any appearances or facts to cause me to modify

the view then offered with regard to P. angulatum, that view has

derived the strongest confirmation from repeated and careful re-

examination of the structure under every condition capable of

throwing light upon its true nature. But, owing to the extreme

minuteness of the markings of this Diatom, it seemed almost

hopeless to render them amenable to anything approaching proof

until some closely allied variety should turn up, of sufficient size to

meet the requirements of the case. Fortunately some specimens

of P. formosum* supplied the necessary conditions. One valve

in my possession measures in length =4,th of an inch, the dia-

gonal striz being 25 in ‘001. Numerous other specimens mea-

sure as much as =4-th and ;},th of an inch, their striation being

only a slight degree finer. By means of these, I have been

enabled with ease to see the various series of lines, under a

Ross’s }-inch objective. With the same eminent maker’s lenses

of ith, Ath, 3th, and ;4,th focus, and with a Hartnack’s No. 10

immersion lens, whether employing direct or oblique, natural or

artificial light, and with either shallow or deep eye-pieces, not

only is the lozenge-shaped character of the interspaces unmis-

takeably determined, but the angulated structure of the elevations

* Dredged by me at Guernsey in about 15 fathoms of water. According

to the characters given in the Synopsis, this Diatom is intermediate be-

tween P. formosum and P. decorum. The distinction drawn between thesé

varieties, however, is too trivial to be tenable.

the Valves of Pleurosignia and other Diatoms. 361

occupying those spaces, and with it the character of the two re-

maining series of lines. In short, the appearance presented by

one of these valves, as seen under a Ross’s }-inch or }th inch

objective and a low eye-piece, differs only in the angles* formed

by the diagonal lines from what is seen on a valve of P. angu-

latum when examined under a jth or 4th. In both instances

hexagons may be evoked by dint of a laborious effort to detect

the precise error of focus essential for the production of this

illusory figure ; but it is impossible to witness the contrast be-

tween the perfect definition observable whilst the true structure

is visible and that presented when the hexagons or “dots ”’

are produced, without perceiving that a fictitious image is im-

pressed on the retina in one case, and a true one in the other.

But the question admits of demonstration in a very remark-

able manner. By inserting a delicately-hinged metallic scale

between the eye-piece and the tube of the microscope, so as to

form a goniometer, I was enabled with accuracy to measure

the two angles produced by the intersections of the diagonal

lines. These were respectively 83° and 97°. By means of a

piece of paper, carefully cut, so as to form a four-sided figure

presenting these angles, and gummed to the plane side of the

lens of the eye-piece nearest to the objective, I was subsequently

able to verify the first observation. The next step was to count

how many diagonal lines occupied a given number of divisions

of a Ross’s screw micrometer; and then, how many longitudinal

and transverse lines occupied the same space. This done, a

diagrammatic figure was prepared, the only essential condition

in its formation being that the recorded angles should be accu-

rately preserved. The two diagonal sets of lines being thus

laid down, parallel longitudinal lines were drawn passing through

the whole of the angles of 83°, and parallel transverse ones

through the whole of those of 97°. It now only remained to

count off as many of the diagonal series as were previously ob-

served to occupy the predetermined number of divisions of the

micrometer, and, employing these as a unit of comparison, to

ascertain if the longitudinal and transverse series of lines on the

diagram tallied in number with those occupying an equal space

on the valve itself. The result, which appears to me conclusively

to demonstrate the identity in the series and direction of the

lines on the valve itself and the diagram, was as follows ¢ :—

~ * The horizontal angles in P. angulatum are respectively 120° and 60°.

t It will at once be obvious that the degree of magnifying power em-

jloyed in this observation is quite immaterial, the relative number of

ines, longitudinal and transverse, in any given number of diagonals being

all that is requisite.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol, xi. 24

862 =) Dr. GC. Wallich on the Structure of

In five divisions of the micrometer, diagonal lines 10

FF ‘5 is longitudinal do, 15

Ps a ‘ transverse do. 125

In a space equal to ten of the dia- .

gonal lines on the diagram, longitudinal lines 14?

FF} » 3 transverse do. 13

It is perhaps necessary to add that, in speaking of lines, I

mean to convey the idea of perfectly clear and well-defined lines,

such as are visible on the finest kind of cut glass or crystal by

the naked eye—and further, that, with the highest powers, it

becomes perfectly manifest that the diagonal series which bound

the elevated portions of the structure are not ‘‘bent at short

intervals at an angle of 120°,” as supposed by Schultze and

others. On this head I may remark that if the sides of an

hexagonal figure, such as has been assumed to exist in P. angu-

latum, are resolvable, inasmuch as each of the sides must, @

priori, occupy the length of one of these “ bends,” it follows as

a necessary consequence that the same degree of magnifying

power, and the same adjustments of the microscope, ought to

render apparent the “bends” or zigzag formed by the succes-

sion of these deviations from a direct course. But inasmuch as

these powers and adjustments avowedly fail to do so, it seems

almost like an assumption unsupported by evidence of any direct

kind whatever to regard the lines otherwise than as they appear.

Again, assuming the lines to be resolvable into “ dots” or

hexagons, and accepting the estimate laid down in the ‘ Synopsis

of British Diatomacez’ as correct, namely, 52 in 001", and

further assuming the diameter of each of the hexagons to be

double the diameter of the “bent lines” by which they are

bounded (which is about the proportion deducible from Mr,

Wenham’s photographic representation), it is manifest that the

diameter of the “ bent lines” would be about one 100,000th of

an inch, and that this would also be an approximate estimate of

the length of each deviation to the right or left of the direct

line. Now, since it is well known that lines of this degree of

thickness can be clearly defined, and even counted, when not

closely aggregated together, it follows that the “bent” form

ought to be, and indeed would be, definable, did it really exist.

But, as candidly acknowledged by Schultze, “these bends are

imperceptible ” with powers even of 500 and up to 800 dia-

meters; and this being the case, the inference is surely war-

wanted, that no faith can be placed in the apparent outline of

the spaces said to be actually determined and defined by those

* bent lines.”

But, as I have formerly mentioned, in the Plewrosigmata there

°° the Valves of Pleurosignia and other Diatoms, ~ 363°

are -four sets of lines, and not three only, as stated by Pro-

fessor Schultze. This is a material point, for there are only

three sets necessary in the formation of a series of hexagons.

And, lastly, I have to repeat that, whereas a change in the

_ series which happens to be most distinct (owing to the direction

in which the light comes) takes place four times during a com-

plete revolution of the stage (that is to say, once in every 90°,

when P. angulatum is examined), the change would necessarily

take place six times, or once in every 60°, were the hexagonal

figure the true one.

Lastly, it is obvious that, if the striz or lines are those parts

of the valve which are “ resolyable into dots” or hexagons, two

of each of these lines ought to enter into the formation of op-

posite sides of each hexagon. In Schultze’s figure* two of each

series are actually represented as entering into the formation of

each hexagon. Henee, for every three hexagons there ought to be

four lines. But it is not the lines which, under the circum-

stances described, become resolvable into dots or hexagons, but

the spaces between the intersections of those lines ; and hence it

will be found that the number of “dots” occupying a given

number of divisions of the micrometer does not coincide with

the number of lines ascertained as occurring in a like space.

There is one point, however, on which I have found it neces-

sary to modify my previous opinions. To this I have already

eursorily referred, namely, the depressed interspaces on the

valvular surface of Pleurosigma balticum and the rest of the rectan-

gularly marked series, But I am by no means prepared to speak

positively regarding this or the difference presented between the

outer and inner surfaces of the rectangularly or quincuncially

arranged group. The existence ofa difference is extremely pro-

bable for several reasons. Thus the direction of the lines of frac-

ture characteristic of each group is hardly reconcileable with any

other hypothesis than that the lines constitute the thinnest and

weakest portions of the structure ; and assuming this as a gene-~

rally admitted fact, whether the interspaces are oceupied by

elevations or depressions, it follows that these cannot occur

equally on both sides, otherwise the entire substance would be

moniliform, which has never been asserted, to my knowledge.

It might naturally be supposed that elevated portions occur-

ring on one surface of a yalve would impart the appearance of

depressions when viewed from the opposite surface. But I have

failed to satisfy myself of any such distinction. In this dilemma

I caused to be prepared two models in plate glass, on one surface

of which were carefully imitated the markings of the two typical

forms, the other surface remaining plain. These were examined

* Journal of Microscopical Science for April 1863, ath fig. 11,

364° Dr. G.C. Wallich on the Structure of the Valves of Diatoms.

both by direct and oblique light, being placed within a box of:

sufficient length to exclude the rays coming in other directions,

and examined with the naked eye, an opera-glass, and a hand-

glass of long focus, at varying distances. The experiment was

quite satisfactory so far as the production of the appearances

visible under accurate and faulty focusing is concerned, even to

the creation of dots where there ought to be pyramidal four-

sided figures; but so identical are the appearances engendered,

from whichever side the plates are viewed, that it is almost im-

possible to determine, from mere eyesight, which surface is

nearest the observer. The same sort of difficulty may be noticed

in looking directly through a plano-convex lens held up to the

light at some distance from the eye. It is hardly to be wondered

at, therefore, that the Diatom-valve should be equally intractable

in this respect.

It is, I presume, quite unnecessary for me to enter into the con-

cluding question raised by Professor Schultze with regard to the

foraminated structure of certain Diatom-valves, and more especi-

ally of Isthmia and Coscinodiscus, since few, if any, microscopists in

this country will be found to coincide with the opinion he ex-

presses. That the thinning away of portions of the valvular

surface is sometimes extreme admits of no doubt; but that it

normally amounts to actual perforation is negatived by a number

of well-known facts and appearances. Under these circumstances

I only invite attention to the view he has hazarded, in order to

show the danger of reliance on Welcker’s test as applied to such

organisms as the most delicately sculptured of the Diatoms.

It only remains for me to express my conviction—one arrived

at under no undue bias in favour of lenses of British manufac-

ture—that the apparently unavoidable and repeated succession

of light and dark points, on which so much stress has been

laid by Welcker and Schultze, is indicative of a very limited

degree of penetrating power. Of the high qualities of the Hart-

nack combination I can speak with confidence from the perfor-

mance of one in my possession. It equals any lens I have ever

seen for clearness of definition as well as penetrating capacity ;

but the necessity for the employment of a drop of fluid between

the thin glass cover of the slide and the front combination must

always be regarded as an inconvenience and a drawback to its

employment, more especially since our first-rate English lenses

effect all that the Hartnack combination can effect, without any

such supplementary aid, and under a much lower degree of mag-

nifying power.

. Postscript.—The following is a statement of the experiments

conducted with a view to ascertain the relative thicknesses of

~ Dr. G. C. Wallich on an undescribed Form of Amceba. 365

different portions of the Diatom-valve under the action of fluorie

acid—assuming, as every portion is of precisely similar density,

that the thinner parts must be the first to succumb to the

eroding action. I may mention that the acid was very gradually

applied in fumes to the Diatoms previously dried and fixed on

slips of mica.

In the stouter and more coarsely marked Navicule, in which

the median line is surrounded by a broad unstriated area of silex,

from the outer margin of which the striation commences, the

striated portion was invariably destroyed first, the dotted points

being the foremost to yield, The median line and its adjoining

area yielded last.

In Cocconeis distans the dots at once yielded,and then increased

in size until the intervening portions of silex were altogether

eroded.

In Biddulphia, Triceratium, and Isthmia, the interspaces yielded

first. The coste of B. pulchella and B. regina yielded last.

In Pleurosigma formosum and P. balticum the action on the

entire structure was so instantaneous and complete that it was

difficult to apply the smallest quantity of the fumes without

altogether consuming the valves. But wherever portions re-

mained, the outline was identical with that shown when the

valves are fractured, thus clearly confirming the view that the

portions constituting the linear markings are the thinnest. In

these forms the median and terminal nodules were the last to

succumb.

Lastly, it is worthy of notice that in those portions of the

Diatom-valve which present a delicate pinkish tint the siliceous

structure is the thickest. Where the tint is grey or inclining

to green, the film may be regarded as being of extreme tenuity.

The same feature holds good amongst the Polycystina, and is

indeed more strikingly observable in that family, owing to their

superior size and solidity.

XLI.—Further Observations on an undescribed indigenous Ameba,

with Notices on remarkable forms of Actinophrys and Difflugia,

By G. C. Watuicu, M.D., F.L.S., F.G.S., &e,

[Plate IX,]

Tue very singular characters presented by the new form of

Ameba, to which attention was drawn by me in the last Number

of ‘The Annals,’ having induced me to keep it under constant

supervision during the bygone month, I am glad to be enabled

to confirm the description there given, and at the same time to

add several new facts regarding it and two other species of in-

866 Dr. G:C. Wallich on an undescribed Indigenous Ameeba.

digenous Rhizopods, which can hardly fail to excite interest.

I beg to state, however, that the present and former communi-

cation on this subject must only be regarded as of a preliminary

nature, and published with a view to afford naturalists an oppor-

tunity of personally investigating the organisms in question.

When it is borne in mind that we are now treating of creatures

holding the lowest position in the scale of being, and that it has

been customary to assign to them a degree of simplicity of struc-

ture wholly incompatible, so far as all analogy teaches, with the

vital functions they are known to perform, it will, I think, be

allowed that this unlooked-for phase in the history of the Rhi-

zopods cannot be too minutely scrutinized.

From a further supply of the material containing the Amebe

‘obtained towards the close of March, it would appear that the

form is tolerably plentiful—occurring, however, only in those

shallow pools, highly impregnated with ferruginous matter, that

are to be met with in certain parts of Hampstead Heath. In

the clear pools not a single specimen, having the novel characters

I have described, is to be found.

Out of the numerous individuals examined by me, I should say

that not more than 5 per cent. have been deficient in the villous

patch ; and from the mode in which some of the larger specimens

have been rent asunder by pressure whilst under observation,

so as to form two distinct beings, there seems every reason to

believe that these apparently exceptional specimens have been

produced by similar means. Under the circumstances, I think

the Ameba may safely be regarded as a well-marked species, and

I accordingly propose that it should be named A. villosa.

I mentioned in my former notice that the contractile vesicle

and nucleus were generally to be seen in the vicinity of the vil-

lous patch, and that, in a single example, the latter had assumed

‘the shape of a spherical tuft attached to the body by a cylindrical

pedicle of sarcode. During the past.month I have had ample

opportunity of verifying the observation that, in the majority of

specimens, so long as the villous patch is not being employed as

an organ of prehension, but is merely dragged along in rear of

_ the main bars, the nucleus and contractile vesicle retain their

position in its vicinity, but that they circulate with the other

contained matters whenever the prehensile action of the villi is

not in abeyance. Several specimens have exhibited the tuft and

pedicle, but not in so symmetrical a form as the first one ob-

‘served by me. These are very material points, inasmuch as they

tend to prove that some kind of consentaneous action takes place

between the contractile vesicle, the nucleus, and the villous area,

even independently of the appearances now about to be described.

In several specimens, a delicate funnel-shaped tubule was

Dr. G. C. Wallich on an undescribed Indigenous Ameeba. 367

visible passing longitudinally through the villous tuft (Plate

IX. fig. 3). When this occurred, the contractile vesicle was

not to be seen. Minute particles of effete matter, accompanied

at times by shreds of sarcode, were frequently extruded at the

infundibuliform orifice,—their passage outwards being slow till

the orifice was reached, when they seemed to be forced out with

a jerk. On three occasions, what appeared to be a minute

vacuole (for it did not pulsate) was similarly extruded, its sar-

codic investment assuming the shape of a minute villous tuft,

which remained adherent for a time to the main body by a

slender filament, but became eventually detached when the crea-

ture had advanced to a sufficient distance to overcome its exten-

sile powers (Plate IX. fig. 4).

It is a very curious fact that in one of the saucers into which

the material containing the Amebe was placed, and in which the

water had been purposely allowed to evaporate to a considerable

extent, the whole of the specimens seemed to undergo another

change. This consisted in the formation of a large subspherical

or ovate mass of homogeneous granular matter, which occupied

the entire posterior* fourth of the body, causing it to bulge,

with more or less regularity, around the base of the villous tuft,

and, like the latter, never quitting that position (figs. 1, 2, & 3).

In this phase of the Ameba the normal erratic pseudopodia

were hardly ever projected, but the body maintained an elon-

gated cylindrical shape, with comparatively rapid flowing move-

ments, during the occurrence of which the villous tuft was pas-

sively dragged along. This granular mass at first sight resem-

bled a much enlarged nucleus without its containing vesicle.

Although its boundaries were well defined posteriorly, the granules

seemed to amalgamate to some extent with the general endosarc

anteriorly, and at times a portion of the granules left the mass

and took part in the general cyclosis. But in some individuals

the true nucleus could be seen distinctly within the boundary

line of the granular mass, although it was impossible to deter-

mine whether it was actually imbedded in its centre, or occu-

pied a position externally to it but within the ectosarc. In

these specimens the contractile vesicle was not observed to

undergo its normal diastolic and systolic action ; and hence it is

ible that the vesicles seen may in reality have been vacuoles,

in this condition of the organism. At all ‘events, further infor-

mation is requisite before the point can be accurately ascertained.

It is highly probable, however, that the granular mass referred

* Reptation is so manifest in these Amebe, and the direction of their

‘movements is so uniformly opposite to that in which the villous area is

situated, that I have deemed it legitimate to employ the terms anterior and

posterior in my description of the parts.

368 Dr. G.C. Wallich on an undescribed Indigenous Amoeba.

to is of the nature of a nucleus. In appreciable characters, both

as to colour, form, and size, the component granules are identical

with those seen in the true nucleus. But the analogy is well

nigh confirmed from the circumstance that, at a still later period,

when evaporation of the water had gone on to a greater extent,

the entire granular mass referred to became segregated, as if by

a process of segmentation, into numerous distinct nuclei, amongst

which the true nucleus was not recognizable as a separate or

different structure. These multiple nuclei, varying in number

from five to about a dozen, were contained in no separate cavity

or cavities, but occupied the position previously occupied by the

single large granular mass. In the specimens exhibiting this

structure, the animal seemed inclined to assume an encysted

form, motion being almost totally suspended, and the short

conical pseudopodia projected from all parts of the surface except

the villous area, being withdrawn and re-extended with extreme

slowness, and only at long intervals (Plate IX. fig. 5). After

a time (whether from the pressure of the glass cover or other-

wise, I am as yet unable to determine), these multiple nuclei

were extruded, one by one, in the vicinity of the villous area.

During extrusion, and for several minutes subsequently, they

retained their spherical mulberry-like form. They then, one

after the other, fell asunder as it were,—the granular disruption

seeming to commence at a single central point, and afterwards to

extend equally on all sides. The granules, when released, formed

a delicate cloud, each granule maintaining a tremulous and

apparently molecular movement for a few seconds, and ulti-

mately assuming a condition of perfect rest. At fig. 5a I have

shown one of these nuclear masses as seen when first extruded.

In a single example, occurring in the material originally pro-

cured, a very distinct membranous capsule was observable (fig. 6).

This had all the appearance of being true ectosarc, inasmuch as

it not only closely invested the body, but the boundaries of the

villous area. I have already stated in my previous paper that

acid and alkaline reagents failed to render evident any such

membrane as is alluded to by Auerbach and Schneider. Re-

peated attempts with these reagents have since been made by

me to bring the membrane into view, but without success. In

the single specimen now under notice, all movement of the body

had entirely ceased, and it appeared to be strictly encysted. But

there still remained a slow cyclosis of the granular particles ; so

that life was not extinct. It is just possible, therefore, that the

membranous capsule may not have constituted an integral por-

tion of the Ameba in question, but that the latter may have

accidentally insinuated itself into the effete cell of some other

animal, It is a significant.fact, however, that the membrane

Dr. G. C. Wallich on an undescribed Indigenous Amccba. 369.

resisted pressure in a manner that showed its strength and at

the same time the probable absence of any aperture through.

which its contents, if not forming part and parcel of itself,

might have escaped. In short, disruption did not take place

until after the glass cover in use (measuring *008 of an inch in

thickness) had been broken. The wall then exhibited very dis-

tinct angular folds and a clear membranous outline, but of too

great tenuity to admit of the measurement of its thickness. In

this specimen the nucleus, probably owing to displacement by

the pressure, occupied a position at the centre of the body—

no contractile vesicle or larger granular mass being present, but

several vacuoles being scattered through its substance.

One of the most remarkable amongst the novel and varied

characters of these Amebe consists in the vesicle in which the

true nucleus is contained having been found to be distinctly

membranous in some individuals. In the figures appended to

my paper in the last Number of the ‘ Annals,’ I endeavoured to

show the definite appearance of the vesicular chamber of the

nucleus ; but at that time I had no idea of the peculiarity thereby

indicated, nor did I become aware of it, or indeed believe in it,

until I had seen several nuclei with their vesicular covering com-

pletely isolated from the main body by means of the compressor.

The fact, startling as it seems, is nevertheless certain, that in

these specimens the nucleus was contained in a distinct mem-

branous cell of its own, and that this cell admits of perfect

isolation without undergoing rupture. The cell-wall was sphe-

rical in its extruded state, perfectly hyaline, tough, and resisting,

and forming irregular folds under augmented pressure, as shown

in figures 7 and 76,—a clear nucleolus, as before described, being

visible in the interior of the granular nucleus, and the space be-

tween the nucleus and cell-wall being occupied by a still more

attenuated granular protoplasm. In contradistinction to this,

the multiple nuclei, already spoken of, had neither investing

membrane nor nucleolus. Can it be that the one phase repre-

sents the germ-cell, and the other the sperm-cells ?

Another fact is deducible from the appearances presented by

the sarcode-substance of the largest of these Amebe. The rush

of granules does not follow upon a previous contractile effort

exercised at the posterior portion. As the animal progresses,

occasionally altering its course, there are periods during which

perfect quiescence is maintained by the granules; and the rush

or flow of these seems to take place, as it were, to fill up the

vacuum engendered by the sudden projection of a portion of the

ectosare in the shape of a pseudopodium. Hence it would ap-

pear that motion is dependent on the contractile power of the

external sarcode-layer, and that the endosarc only passively par-

370° Dr..G. C. Wallich on.an undescribed Indigenous Amoeha,

ticipates in it. If this views correct, it involves a very import-

ant consideration; for it proves that the old German doctrine of

a “primary contractile mucus” is essentially correct, and that

the circulation is not dependent, even in part, on the alternate

expansion and collapse of the contractile vesicle. Further than

this, it affords the strongest confirmation of the high degree of

differentiation existing between the endosarc and ectosare of the

Amceban group. .

The mysterious faculty resident in the latter portion of the

structure, of forming extempore orifices for the inception or ex-

trusion of food-particles, &c., may be witnessed in these speci-

mens in avery singular manner, and one which, as far as I am

aware, has not hitherto attracted attention. I allude to the

projection of the ectosarc from some area of the general surface

in the form of a hemispherical mass with a broad base, only a

very small portion of the original contour line seeming to give

way at first, so as to admit of the passage of the endosare

and other granular contents into the newly projected part, but

its entire floor appearing to be gradually dissolved, as it were,

and free communication between the main body and the new

pseudopodial cavity not being established until the completion of

this process. Whilst it is progressing, the endosarc-granules seem

to rush round a corner into the cavity, the corner gradually re-

ceding, so to speak, and ultimately being altogether obliterated.

From these facts it is obvious that the ectosare and endosare

are not permanent portions of the Protean structure, but mutually

convertible one into the other; and that it is an essential feature

of sarcode that, whilst the outer layer for the time being becomes,

ipso facto, instantaneously differentiated into ectosarc, the same

layer reverts to the condition of endosarc under the circumstances

just described. In the latter part of the process, that is, the

reversion to the condition of endosare, the action is by no means

so instantaneous as when the converse takes place. In the

Actinophryans both processes are, comparatively speaking, slow. -

Lastly, I have to state that when the homogeneous sarcode is

poured forth from these Amabe under pressure, the globules

show no tendency whatever to coalesce. In general, the

masses of sarcode are expelled in irregular-oblong or ovate

portions of varying sizes, which rapidly detach themselves, and

_ then at once assume a perfect spherical form. It is very rarely

indeed that foreign bodies remain within these masses, or are

extruded as part of their contents. They are extruded separately

under these circumstances. The sarcode constituting the sphe-

cules, when first it escapes, appears perfectly homogeneous, and

s granules are extremely minute. After the lapse of a period

arying from a quarter tohalf an hour, this homogeneous cha-

Bibliographical Notice. 371

racter disappears, and a species of segmentation takes place, the

minute granules becoming more closely aggregated together, so

as to form. irregular and somewhat darker patches within the

spherule, whilst the form of the latter is in nowise modified. A

representation of these phenomena is given on a largely magnified

scale in figs. 8, 8a, and 8d.

[To be continued. ]

EXPLANATION OF PLATE IX.

Fig. 1. Ameba villosa, showing the position and appearance of the large

granular mass, with the true nucleus, and cylindrical form as-

sumed by the Amede.

Fig. 2. A specimen in which the contractile vesicle is apparently replaced

? by a conical-shaped vacuole.

Fig. 3. The granular mass and villous tuft, showing the infundibuliform

tubule.

Fig. 4. The villous tuft and infundibuliform tubule, with an extruded

-vacuole (?), and its investiture and sustaining filament of sarcode.

Fig. 5. An Amebda with multiple nuclear bodies.

Fig. 5a. One of these mulberry-shaped nuclei, as seen immediately after

extrusion.

Fig. 6. Encysted ? form, with distinct membranous envelope.

Fig. 7. One of the true nuclei after isolation from the parent body, show-

ing its membranous investiture.

. 7b. The same, as seen after augmented pressure.

Fig. 8. Largely magnified portion of an active Ameba, showing the appear-

ance of the sarcode-globules (8a, 85) isolated by pressure.

N.B. The whole of the specimens were more or less full of minute

Crumenule, with which the material in which they were found abounded.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.

On the Geology and Natural History of the Upper Missouri : being

the substance of a Report made to Lieut.G.K. Warren, T.E.U.S.A.

By Dr. F. V. Haypen, &c. &e. 4to, Philadelphia, 1862. (From

the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. xii.

Read July 19, 1861.)

Tuts valuable memoir comprises information collected on three oc-

casions :—Ist. An account of the geological observations made by

Dr. Hayden when associated with Lieut. Warren’s ition, in

the summer and autumn of 1657, from Bellevue on the Missouri

(about 41° lat., 96° long.) to the mouth of the Big Sioux and back,

and then across Nebraska to Fort Laramie, then northward across

the Black Hills to Bear Peak (about 44° 30! lat., 105° 20’ long.),

and then south-eastward through the Bad Lands to the Niobara

River, and along it to Fort Randall on the Missouri. 2ndly. Geo-

logical explorations, by Dr. Hayden and Mr. F. B. Meek, in the

north-eastern portion of Kansas territory (between 95° and 98° long.,

and 38° and 39° 30’ lat.), in 1858. 3rdly. Some results of an ex-

pedition to the north-west under Capt. W. F. Raynolds, in 1859-60.

372 Bibliographical Notice.

Information obtained by the author on this occasion is brought to-

bear on observations previously made, enabling Dr. Hayden to make,

in chapter xiii. of the memoir before us, ‘‘a condensed statement of

the leading geological discoveries up to the present time, and to

harmonize some of the conflicting opinions which may have been

advanced in regard to the age of the different deposits in the west.”

Without careful reference to this third portion of the memoir, the

reader will misapprehend the author’s views on several points, such

as the upheaval-era of the Rocky Mountains, the relations of the

Infrajurassic sandstones, the classification of the Tertiaries, &c.

The memoir is illustrated by a few woodcut sections (seriously

limited on account of the cost of publication), and by a coloured

geological map, based on Lieut. Warren’s survey. But this is a

mere sketch-map ; it does not include the Judith River (an important

locality), contains no indication of the ‘‘ superficial deposits,’ and

mainly represents the determinations arrived at in 1857; and the

names of places have been chosen for insertion with little reference

to the routes of 1857-58 ; so that it proves but a poor help to the

careful student of this interesting memoir.

In the “ Historical Introduction” a short account is given of

former explorations made in the north-west territories.

The rocks met with in the regions referred to, between the Missouri

and the Rocky Mountains, and on the western slopes of the Big Horn

and Wind River ranges, are :-—

I. Granitic, metamorphic, and eruptive rocks in the axes of the

Rocky Mountains, the Black Hills, and Bear Peak (pp. 33 & 117,

&c.). Some lofty and extensive ranges consist of basaltic and other

volcanic rocks.

II. Lower Silurian strata (referable to the Potsdam Sandstone),

consisting of siliceous limestone, micaceous sandstone, and calcareous

fossiliferous grit (with Lingula, Obolus, and Trilobites). This is

best seen in the Black Hills, where the upheaved strata engirdle the

metamorphic rocks. The author has found this fossiliferous primor-

dial sandstone along the eastern margin of the Big Horn range

(p- 120), and has recognized it in the Laramie Range ; and he thinks

that the sandstone and conglomerate of Stansbury Island and else-

where in the neighbourhood of the Great Salt Lake may be of the

same age, also the so-called “‘Old Red Sandstone”’ (Marcou) of the

Aztec Mountains in New Mexico.

III. Carboniferous rocks, of great thickness, belonging to the

upper part of the series, and possessing but little coal, in North-

eastern Kansas and South-eastern Nebraska; whilst about 100 feet

of fossiliferous limestone, turned up around the Black Hills and

- Bear Peak, and a variable group of sandy and calcareous strata, from

1000 to 1500 feet thick, with a few fossils, forming the western

outcrop of the great Carboniferous formation, where its edge is up-

raised along the Big Horn and the Laramie Mountains, and along

the Sweet-water and Wind River Mountains, represent perhaps both

the upper and lower members of the series (p. 121). Still further

north, the Carboniferous strata abound about the upper branches of

Bibliographical Notice. 378

the Missouri ; and they reoccur on the western slopes of the Rocky

Mountains, in South-eastern Oregon (p. 121). :

Notes on the fossils collected by the author from the Carboniferous

strata are given at pages 61-67. One of the most abundant is Fusu-

lina cylindrica, which abounds in Russia in the upper part of the

Lower Carboniferous series (Mountain-limestone) ; but in Kansas it

is found (F. cylindrica, var. ventricosa, Meek and Hayden) within

about 300 feet of the top of the Upper Carboniferous series (Coal-

measures), and occurs abundantly in numerous beds far down in

the series. In South-western Iowa and in Missouri it also abounds.

F. elongata, Shumard, belongs to the white limestone of the Guada-

lupe Mountains, New Mexico, which has been referred to the Per-

mian series by Dr. Shumard.

IV. In the Kansas Valley, the Coal-measures pass upwards con-

formably, from magnesian limestones alternating with clays, and

containing Solemya, Myalina, Pleurophorus? subcuneatus, Bake-

vellia parva, Euomphalus, Spirigera, Orthosina umbraculum(?),

O. Shumardianum, &c., into clays and magnesian limestone, with

Monotis Hawni, Myalina perattenuata, Pleurophorus? subcuneatus,

Edmondia? Calhounii, Pecten, Spirigera, Nautilus excentricus,

Bakevellia parva, Leda subscitula, Axinus rotundatus, Bellero-

phon, Murchisonia, &c. The latter set of beds are the first that

lose nearly all trace of Carboniferous forms; but the former are

not nearly the first that contain genera (such as Synocladia and

Bakevellia) peculiar to the Permian rocks of Europe. Here, then,

Dr. Hayden is inclined to draw a provisional and artificial line

between “Carboniferous”? and “ Permian,” if such be required ;

though apparently he would rather admit the existence, in this re-

gion, of an intermediate and transitional group of rocks. In Illinois,

however, there is an unconformity between the Carboniferous and

Permian beds, according to Dr. J.G. Norwood. In Kansas, above

the fossiliferous beds above mentioned, succeed calcareo-siliceous con-

glomerate (breccia ?), local and about 18 feet thick ; gypsiferous clays,

95 feet; red and variegated clays, with seams and veins of magnesian

limestone, 60 feet ; all unfossiliferous and doubtfully referred to the

- Permian series.

In the Black Hills, the limestone of the Carboniferous formation

is succeeded by about 400 feet of red, gypsiferous, calcareo-argilla-

ceous beds and sandstone, among which is a limestone, of variable

thickness, with Spirifer, Pleurotomaria, Macrocheili, and Bellero-

phon ; and cherty magnesian limestones, with Myalina perattenuata,

were found at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains, near the head of

Powder River. These are possibly Permian. They appear to have

been subjected to great denudation (together with the Carboniferous

rocks) previously to the deposition of the next series of deposits.

V. These are red arenaceous and gypsiferous marls, overlying the

- Carboniferous rocks along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains,

from lat. 49° southwards, also in the Laramie Plains, and on the

west side of the Wind River Mountains, and over a vast extent of

-country, including the Wasatch Mountains, south of Lake Utah, also

874 Biblioyrdphical Notice.

the Green River Valley down the Colorado into New Mexico, where

they have been noticed and described by various explorers. These

beds have usually been correlated with the European Trias ; and the

fossil plants found in them by Dr. Newberry in New Mexico appear

to favour that idea; but Dr. Hayden does not feel confident on the

subject, especially as he says, ‘‘On the west side of the Wind River

Mountains we have discovered fossils beneath the red beds, which

may include those in the Jurassic”’ (p. 123),

VI. The Jurassic rocks are everywhere revealed overlying the

red deposits just mentioned, and possess an equal cedateniieal ex-

tension.”” Around the Black Hills and along the flanks of the

-Rocky Mountains, they are upheaved in a zone from a quarter to

three miles wide, and consist of,—1st (lowest). Laminated sandstones

and shales, with Trigonia, Pecten, Mytilus, Serpula, Avicula (Mo-

notis) tenuicostata, Meek & Hayden, Pentacrinus astericus, M.&H.,

Lingula brevirostra, &c., 60 to 100 feet. 2nd. Marls, 30 to 40 feet.

3rd. Sandstones and marls, with Arca inornata, Panopea (Myacites)

subelliptica, M. & H., Avicula tenuicostata, Ostrea, Hettangia,

Ammonites cordiformis, M. & H., A. Henryi, and Belemnites densus,

M.&H.; and a calcareous grit, of freshwater origin [Wealden ?],

with Unio nucalis, Planorbis, and Paludina (?), altogether 50 to 80

feet (p. 42 & p. 123). These Jurassic strata are not the so-called

** Jurassic’? of Marcou,

VII. The Cretaceous system “ holds a very important position in

the North-west, not only from the vast area which it occupies, but

also from the number, variety, and beauty of its organic remains.”

‘It is divisible into five members. The lowest, No. 1, “is a well-

marked and distinct division along the Missouri River from De Soto

.to a point above the mouth of the Big Sioux River in the eastern

portions of Kansas and Nebraska, and in the south and south-west.”

Towards the north-west it seems to merge into No. 2 division. No.1

.is an important group of beds, sandy and argillaceous, about 200 feet

thick in Nebraska, and containing lignite, fossil wood, impressions of

Dicotyledonous leaves, Hquisetum (?), Pectunculus Siouwensis, H. &

.» &e,

At the mouth of the Judith River, the beds referred to the Creta-

‘eeous groups Nos. 1 & 2 are from 1500 to 2000 feet thick, and con-

tain lignite, Credneria, Inoceramus pertenuis, Mactra alta, Cardium

speciosum, Meretriz Owenana, Thracia subtortuosa, Ostrea glabra,

_Hettangia Americana, Panopea occidentalis, and Mactra formosa ;

also freshwater beds [Wealden ?], with Lepidotus, Uniones, Melania,

| Cyclas, and Helix (pp. 72, 125, 133).

The thick red sandstones of group No. | afford lofty vertical bluffs

in the Valley of the Elkhorn, which the Indians haye sculptured with

hieroglyphics. Blackbird Hill, on the Missouri, is a typical locality

: for this leaf-bearing Lower Cretaceous group, which here underlies a

_ soft whitish limestone containing Inoceramus problematicus and fish-

remains (group No. 3?, p. 10); on the Elkhorn it is overlain by

group No. 3 (p. 71) ; and, elsewhere, though sometimes hidden and

sometimes apparently wanting, it seems usually to hold a definite

Bibliographical Notice. 375

as the lowest Cretaceous rock. Considerable care appears to

been taken by Dr. Hayden in these observations, as it has been

supposed by Marcou that, in this zone of red leaf-bearing sandstone,

beds of Miocene and Jurassic age may have been confounded toge-

ther. In New Mexico, the equivalent of this group No, 1 has been

seen by Dr. Newberry to be overlain by Inoceramus-limestone con-

taining fossils thought by Marcou to be Jurassic! Cretaceous group

No. 2 consists of dark grey fossiliferous clays, in Nebraska, with a

thickness of 200 feet, and contains Ammonites Alpinianus, A. per-

carinatus, Serpula? tenuicarinata, Inoceramus problematicus, Ostrea,

Fish-remains, &c. (pp. 69 & 72). (In the table of fossils at p. 81,

Ammonites Vermilionensis only is quoted for this group.) Along

the Big Horn, Laramie, and Wind River Mountains, from 800 te

1000 feet of black plastic clay, with beds of calcareous sandstone,

represent. perhaps both No. 2 and No. 1 (p. 124). Group No. 3 in

Nebraska consists of Inoceramus-limestone (30 feet) passing upwards

into marl with Ostrea congesta (100 feet) ; fish-remains are abundant

throughout. In the west this group appears to be lost. Group

No. 4 is represented in Nebraska by dark fossiliferous clays, 350 feet

thick ; the lowest beds are locally lignitiferous ; and the lignites have

in some places been burnt, and the strata thereby altered (pp. 75 &

76, note). This group is widely extended, gives a sterile character to

the land, contains sandy seams impregnated with sulphate of soda,

and is rich in numerous well-preserved organic remains: of these

the chief are Mosasaurus, Nautilus Dekayi, Ammonites placenta,

A. Halli, Baculites ovatus, B. compressus, and very many other

Mollusks, &c. (See table of fossils, pp. 81 &c.): the only yet known

Echinoderm of the Cretaceous rocks of the north-west occurs in these

beds, on the Yellowstone River. Group No. 5 succeeds No. 4 with

but little alteration in its fossil fauna; it is about 150 feet thick,

eonsists of very fossiliferous clay and sandy beds, with much irony

matter and numerous concretions: Belemnitella bulbosa, Nautilus

Dekayi, Ammonites placenta, A. lobatus, Scaphites Conradi, Bacu-

lites ovatus, Ostrea subtrigonalis, and many other Mollusks, &e.

(pp- 69, 79, 81 &c.).

On the western slope of the Rocky Mountains the series is repre-

sented by 600 to 800 feet of black clays, sandy marls, sandstones,

and limestones, alternating, and containing some lignitie seams. In

the middle and towards the top of the series are some Inoceramus-

limestones. . The group has a general dip of about 20°, and passes

upwards imperceptibly into the great Lignitie Tertiary group.

- Some of the Cretaceous beds suffered erosion before the others

succeeded them; and in some cases it is evident that the groups

Nos. 5, 4, & 3 were denuded before the deposition of the Tertiary

beds (p. 125) ; but, on the other hand, the beds of group No. 5, after

having gradually changed from a mainly argillaceous to an arenaceous

condition (from deep to shallow-water formations), pass, in some

instances without any apparent break, into the superincumbent

* Estuarine Tertiaries”’ : indeed, were it not that Baculites, Ammo-

nites, Inoceramus, &c., which abound in group No. 5, “are everys

376 Bibliographical Notice.

where supposed to have become extinct at the close of the Cretaceous”

epoch, we would be in doubt whether to pronounce them Tertiary

or Cretaceous,” the associated fossils being ‘ more closely allied to

Tertiary types than Cretaceous” (pp. 30 & 128).

VIII. The Tertiary formations in the north-west are divisible into

1 (uppermost). Yellow marl (Loess).

2. White River group.

3. Wind River Valley group.

4. Lignitic group.

5. Estuary group.

The ‘ Estuary-group,” of which the Judith Basin may be regarded

as the type, is widely distributed (p. 126). These beds are found at

the sources of the Moreau, Grand, and Cannonball Rivers; and at

the mouth of the Big Horn they are 800 to 1000 feet thick. Similar

deposits occur on the west side of the mountains near Green River.

The “ Estuary Beds” pass up gradually into the Lignitiferous group,

the mingled brackish and freshwater shells giving place to terrestrial,

lacustrine, and fluviatile forms, which alone, without any marine

associates, are found in the Upper Tertiaries of these vast regions.

Some dicotyledonous leaves and silicified wood occur in some of the

Estuary-deposits, but are insufficient ‘‘to indicate the great luxu-

riance of vegetation which must have existed during the accumula-

tion of the Lignite-strata”’ (p. 126). In the body of the memoir

(p. 92) these two groups are described together under the heading

“Great Lignite Tertiary basin.” Silicified trunks of trees, 50 to

100 feet in length, occur abundantly over hundreds of square miles

along the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, in the Lignitic Tertia-

ries; and there are from thirty to fifty beds of lignite, varying in

thickness from 1 inch to 7 feet. The lignites on the Yellowstone

River and elsewhere have been much affected by spontaneous com-

bustion (p. 99). The Vertebrate remains as yet obtained from the

Estuary and Lignite groups belong to Thespesius occidentalis, Ischy-

votherium antiquum, Mylognathus priscus, Compsemys victus, and.

Emys obscurus, all described by Leidy in Proc. Acad. Se. Philad.

1856, and Trans. Americ. Phil. Soc. 1859. The list of the other

fossils is given in pages 101-103 of the memoir. These interesting

Tertiary beds have an enormous geographical extent. Dr. Hayden is

of opinion that they reach from the Arctic Sea to the Isthmus of

Darien along the Rocky Mountains, with the elevation of which they

have partaken (pp. 118 & 126).

' The Wind River group is from 1500 to 2000 feet thick, is inter-

mediate in character between the foregoing and the next group,

occurs on both sides of the mountains, and has partaken in the ele-

vating movements, but in a less degree, having probably been formed

whilst the uprising took place (p. 127).

The White River group is of great extent, on both sides of the

mountains, overlies the Lignite group, and has a nearly horizontal

postion, whilst the Lignitiferous beds are much inclined (pp. 127,

128): these facts were not clearly recognized when the first part of

Bibliographical Notice. 877

the Memoir was written. The White River group of Tertiary beds

forms the ‘‘ Mauvaises Terres’ on the White (or White Earth) and

Niobara Rivers. It is divisible into the (lowest) A. Titanotherium-

bed, 100 feet ; B. Oreodon-bed, 100 feet; C. sandy beds, with few

fossils, 80 feet; D. Grit and sand (few fossils), 400 feet ; E. Sand-

stone and conglomerate, 200 feet [A-E = Miocene (?). Marcou

thinks that some of these beds may be Jurassic or Triassic!] ;

F. Freshwater limestone, marls and sands, sand with Mastodon

and Elephas, altogether 200 feet [Pliocene]; surmounted with

Post-pliocene yellow siliceous marl, &c., with extinct and recent

Vertebrates and recent Mollusks. A list of the numerous Vertebrata,

described by Leidy, from these deposits, was lately given in the

‘Annals Nat. Hist.’ ser. 3. vol. xi. p. 148. The 63 extinct species

(20 Ruminantia, 12 Multungula, 9 Solidungula, 6 Rodentia, 14 Car-

nivora, and 2 Chelonia) are tabulated, with their stratigraphical

distribution, at p. 106 of the memoir before us.

The close physical and organic connexion between the Cretaceous

group, No. 5, and the “‘ Estuarine group” mduces Messrs. Hayden

and Meek to regard the latter as of Eocene age, and as having

‘ushered in the dawn of the Tertiary epoch ” with lakes and estua-

ries on the upraised Cretaceous area. ‘The estuary deposits soon

lose their marine and brackish character, and gradually pass up into

the true Lignite-strata of purely freshwater origin, thence by a slight

discordancy into the Wind River Valley beds, which give evidence of

being an intermediate deposit between the true Lignite and the White

River Tertiary beds. Then come the White River bone-beds, which

pass up into the Pliocene of the Niobara by a slight physical break,

and the latter are lost in the Yellow Marl or Loess deposits. I have

estimated the entire thickness of Tertiary rocks in the north-west at

from 5000 to 6000 feet; and their interest will be appreciated when

I venture to suggest that by thorough investigation they will doubt-

less reveal, step by step, in a most remarkably clear manner the

history of the physical growth and development of the central por-

tion of this continent” (p. 129).

The author remarks that in the north-west the Lower Silurian

beds indicate shallow water ; that in the Carboniferous epoch com-

paratively few deep-water deposits were formed there, arenaceous beds

predominating; that neither the Infrajurassic red sandstones nor

the Jurassic shales and sandstones represent deep water; and that only

in the middle Cretaceous strata is there much evidence of the preva-

lence of “long-continued periods of quiet water,’ and deep, in these

ancient western seas; and these were succeeded by shallow-water

conditions and dry land in Tertiary times, when the fluviatile Mollusea

were such as now live in Southern Africa, Asia, China, and Siam,

and when Palms, such as now exist in the tropics, flourished on the

low land now represented by the Rocky Mountains, which have

since formed a barrier to the moist west winds, and thus helped to

bring about the comparative sterility of the central plains (p. 131).

IX. The superficial deposits (p. 107, &e.) comprise, Ist (lowest),

the Drift, consisting of sand, pebbly clay, gravel, and boulders, and

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 25

378 Bibliographical Notice.

varying from 1 to 30 feet in thickness: this seems to extend under

all the vast table-land to the northward, is thicker, more constant,

and more apparent towards the base of the mountains, but inter-

calates with the next deposit in some places. 2nd. The yellow marl

or Bluff-formation is favourable for agriculture; consists of yellow

siliceous mar] with calcareous concretions, and with pebbly clays at

the base; sometimes attains a thickness of 300 feet, but is variable

over wide areas in the Missouri Valley. It seems to be locally syn-

chronous or continuous with the Drift, and is also, at places, seen

to succeed the Pliocene bone-bearing grits with imperceptible grada-

tions. It contains remains of recent Mammals, as well as of extinct

Mastodon, Elephas, &c., and large quantities of land and freshwater

shells, mostly, if not wholly, of living species. 3rd. Erratic blocks,

seldom exceeding four or five tons in weight, sometimes thickly

spread over large areas (in Dakota and Minnesota), sometimes form-

ing belts with a N.W.-S.E. range (near Fort Pierre and the Bijoux

Hills, on the Missouri (p.110). 4th. Bottom-prairies, or the broad,

fertile, old alluvial flats of the Missouri, were formed under other

conditions than those now existing, which produce the present allu-

vium (No. 5), of which numerous islands, sand-bars, &c., are con-

tinually being made and re-made. A steamer wrecked fifteen years

ago has given rise to Pilot Island, near the mouth of the Platte,

several acres in extent, with a thick growth of cottonwood-trees,

from 12 to 20 inches in diameter.

Lastly, the author briefly treats of the river-terraces, resulting

from the gradual elevation of the Rocky Mountains (p. 113). This

subject, with others referred to in this memoir, will be fully handled

in the forthcoming Report of Capt. Raynold’s Expedition.

Part III. (p. 138, &c.) comprises notes on the zoology and botany

of the Upper Missouri. Some interesting remarks are here made on

the Lynx, Wolves, Foxes, Beaver, Deer, Antelope, Mountain-sheep,

and Buffalo. Of the last we read (p. 150)—

“The Buffalo are confined to the country bordering upon the

eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. They occur in large bands

in the valley of the Yellowstone River, and also in the Blackfoot

country ; but their numbers are annually decreasing at a rapid rate.

Descending the Yellowstone, in the summer of 1854, from the Crow

country, we were not out of sight of large bands for a distance of

400 miles. In 1850 they were seen as low down the Missouri River

as the mouth of the Vermilion ; and in 1854 a few were killed near

Fort Pierre. But at the present time they seldom pass below the

47th parallel on the Missouri. Every year, as we ascend the river,

we can observe that they are retiring nearer and nearer the moun-

tainous portion. In Kansas, they are found at this time, at certain

seasons of the year, in immense droves on the Smoky Hill Fork of

the Kansas, within sixty or seventy miles of Fort Riley; and from

there to the South Pass they are distributed to a greater or less

extent. It is true that these animals are at all times on the move,

and frequent different portions of the West at different seasons of

the year, or as they are driven by the hunters and Indians; but

Bibliographical Notice. 379

there are certain parts of the country over which they formerly

roamed in immense herds, but are never or rarely seen at the present

time. The area over which the Buffalo graze is annually contracting

its geographical limits. As near as I could ascertain, about 250,000

individuals are destroyed every year, about 100,000 being killed for

robes. At the present time, the number of the males to the females

seems to be in the ratio of 10 to 1 ; and this fact is readily accounted

for from the fact that the males are seldom killed when the cows can

be obtained. Skins of females only are used for robes, and [the

females] are preferred for food. Besides the robes which are traded

to the whites by the Indians, each man, woman, and child requires

from one to three robes a year for clothing. A large quantity are

employed in the manufacture of lodges, and an immense number of

the animals, which would be difficult to estimate, are annually de-

stroyed by wolves and by accidents. The Buffaloes vary in colour,

white, cream, grey, sometimes spotted with white, with white feet

and legs, &c. These varieties are called by the Indians “ Medicine

Buffaloes,’ and are regarded of the greatest value, often bringing

several hundred dollars. About one in fifty thousand is an albino,

while one robe in one hundred thousand is called by the traders a

* silk robe,” and is usually valued at 100 to 200 dollars. Range:

formerly found throughout nearly the whole of North America, east

of the Rocky Mountains; now confined to the plains west of the

oo ao and along the slopes of the Rocky Mountains” (pp. 150,

151).

Catalogues of Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes follow, also of River and

Land Shells, with interesting remarks by Lea and Binney. Chap-

ter xviii., lastly, is occupied by a catalogue of Plants and a list of the

Carices of Nebraska. Messrs. Baird, Cope, Gill, Lea, Binney,

Engelmann, and Dewey have helped the author with the catalogues.

Mr. Meek has assisted him throughout.

There can be no doubt that Dr. Hayden’s observations on the

geological structure of the great north-west regions traversed by him

on several occasions indicate correctly the distribution of the Tertiary,

Cretaceous, Jurassic, Infrajurassic, Carboniferous, Silurian, Meta-

morphic, and Igneous rocks in that wide area, replacing hypothesis

with facts, and supplying us with clear notions of the exact characters

of the several formations there represented, and means of compar-

ing them with their equivalents in other parts of North America,

aud with their representatives in Europe and elsewhere. The geo-

logy of the region immediately to the north of the districts examined

by Dr. Hayden is described by Hind and Hector. The fossils col-

lected by Mr. Hind in the ‘“‘ Canadian Expedition’”’ were determined

by Messrs. Meek and Hayden; and Dr. Hector (Quart. Journ. Geol.

Soe. vol. xvii. p. 388 &c.) keeps well in view the important labours

of these gentlemen, especially in the Tertiary and Cretaceous geology

of the conterminous region.

25*

380 Zoological Society :—

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 25, 1862.—E. W. H. Holdsworth, Esq., F.Z.S., in the

Chair.

The following extracts were read from a letter addressed to the

Secretary by Dr. G, Bennett, F.Z.S., dated Sydney.

*“T have just received by Capt. M°Leod a rough-dried specimen

of a Megapodius, found abundantly over the New Hebrides and

other groups of islands of the Southern Pacific. My specimen

was procured from the island of Nua Fou, where it is named ‘ Mal-

low’ by the natives. It accords with the description of M. Freyei-

neti. The bird measures 14 inches from the tip of the beak to the

end of the tail ; the plumage is of an uniform blackish-brown colour,

the mandibles, feet, and legs yellow. At Tanna they gave it the

English name of ‘Bush Fowl;’ at Sandwich Island it was named

Tarboosh. At the island of Nua Fou, Capt. M*Leod says the bird

lives in the scrubs in the centre of the island, about a large lagoon of

brackish water, which has the appearance of an extinct crater; the

birds lay their eggs on one side only of this lagoon, where the soil is

composed of a sulphur-looking sand ; the eggs are deposited from 1

to 2 feet beneath the surface. The locality frequented by these

birds is, at this island, under the protection of the king or chief, and

by his permission only can the birds or eggs be procured. The num-

ber of eggs deposited in the mounds varies, as the eggs are laid by dif-

ferent birds in succession ; but as many as forty eggs are said to have

been procured from one mound. At the other islands the birds visit

the sandy beaches in retired localities near the sea about the months

of September and October, and deposit their eggs in mounds of sand

a short distance one from the other. Thus this bird has the habits

of the Freshwater Tortoises, which scoop a pit in the sand near a river,

deposit their eggs, and cover them up ; when hatched, the young force

their way out of the sand, and, guided by their instinct, make for the

river. Mr. Dawson, who procured living birds from the Island of

Sava or Russell Island, which unfortunately died on the passage

to Sydney, informs me that the female lays daily from two to four

eggs, and that the female on board laid two eggs daily until the time

of her death. The natives of the various islands inhabited by these

birds collect these eggs for sale (for they are richer and more deli-

cious than those of the fowl), in baskets of two dozen each. The

eggs are sometimes found fresh and good when opened, whilst others

contain partially-formed young in different stages, even to the full-

fledged bird just ready to emerge from the shell into active life.

This might be expected, considering the irregular intervals of time

the eggs are laid. The eggs I have vary slightly in size, but are

usually of a pale brownish-red colour, and measure, for the most

part, 3 inches in length and 1? inch in breadth.

* Our pair of Mooruks are thriving well in the Botanic Gardens :

we have placed them in a large grassed enclosure, 117 feet in length

Dr. G. Bennett on some Australian Birds. 381

and 45 feet broad, interspersed with a few trees and a small circular

pond of water about 2 feet deep, where they are very fond of bathing.

There is a thatched shed in the centre for further shelter, if required ;

and the whole is surrounded by a wire fence, 5 feet high. In this

enclosure with the Mooruks are two native companions, an Emu

and a sedate Jabiru. The latter is a very solitary, timid bird, always

seen by himself. He moves with stately strides, and, if pursued,

runs with great rapidity. When the Mooruks first arrived, they

were placed with the Water-fowl, in an enclosure where there was a

deep tank of water ; they are very fond of bathing (which, I also ob-

_ serve, obtains with the Emu), and one of them leaped, as usual, into

the water; but the sides being perpendicular and made of cut stone,

it could not get readily out of it. Finding itself getting exhausted,

it struggled against the edge of the tank, cut its face and severely

injured the throat, laying open the pharynx, through the gaping

wound of which the food passed; this was stitched, and the bird soon

got quite well. From the birds being nearly drowned several times,

they were removed to the enclosure before mentioned, with a more

shallow pond of water. Mr. Dawson (who has just returned from

New Britain) brought another young bird, but, from some cause or

other, it died a few days after its arrival. It is nowin the Australian

Museum. He says the natives pronounce the name of this bird as if

written ‘Moorup.’ Fifteen eggs, brought by Mr. Dawson, that I

have examined (of which he gave me two, and also a pair for the

Australian Museum) differ considerably in size and colour, They

have all been exposed more or less to the influence of heat and vari-

ous atmospheric influences ; so that none are seen of the beautiful

grass-green colour of the recently-laid eggs in the Zoological Gardens

in the Regent’s Park. One was.a_small abortive egg, barely one-

half of the natural size, but with similar markings. The birds are

brought off for sale by the natives in every stage of growth, from the

young chick to the full-grown bird, with its dark plumage, purple

neck, and trilobed crest. The medium of purchase is pipes and

tob a C C 0 i

The following letter, addressed by Dr. Bennett to the ‘Sydney

Herald’ of September 3rd, 1862, was also read to the meeting :—

** Since the publication of my observations on the Toothed-billed

Pigeon (Diduneulus strigirostris) in the ‘Sydney Herald’ of August

19th, 1862, I have received a communication from the secretary of

the Acclimatization Society of Victoria, enclosing some valuable notes

given to them, respecting this rare and extraordinary bird, by the

Rev. John B. Stair, of Broadmeadows, Victoria, who was formerly

resident for some time at the Samoan or Navigator group of islands,

considered the exclusive habitat of this singular bird. I have now

selected those portions relating to the bird which are either new to

science or will more fully add to its history, and complete, as far as

— our knowledge of this nearly extinct bird. Mr. Stair says

e has seen the Didunculus, and that it is named by the natives Manu

Mea, or red bird, from the most predominant colour of its plumage

382 Zoological Society :—

being chocolate-red. It was formerly found in great numbers; and

this assertion may excite some surprise that this remarkable form of

bird should not have been seen and procured by the early naviga-

tors. Now, Mr. Stair observes, as I have for some time suspected,

the bird is nearly, if not entirely, extinct. It feeds on plantains, and

is partial to the fruit of the ‘soi,’ a species of Dioscorea or yam, a

twining plant found abundant among the islands, and producing a

fruit resembling a small potatoe. The habits of this bird, Mr. Stair

observes, are exceedingly shy and timid. Like the Ground-Pigeons,

it roosts on bushes or stumps of trees, and feeds on the ground. It

also builds its nest in such situations. During the breeding-season

both parents aid in the duty of incubation, and relieve each other

with great regularity ; and so intent are they when sitting on the

eggs as to be easily captured. It was in this way two living speci-

mens were obtained for Mr. Stair. They are also captured by the

natives with bird-lime or springes, and shot with arrows—the sports-

man concealing himself near an open space in which some quantity

of the ‘soi,’ their favourite food, has been placed.

** The first living bird obtained was accidentally killed ; the second,

when placed in confinement, at first became sullen and refused food,

but soon became reconciled to captivity, and throve well. The natives

fed it upon boiled taro (the root of the Caladium esculentum) rolled

into oblong pellets, in the same manner as they feed their pet Wood-

Pigeons and Doves. On the departure of a friend for Sydney in 1843,

Mr. Stair availed himself of the opportunity of sending the bird here,

for the purpose of ascertaining if it was known, and, if so, with what

genus it was to be classed, and whether it was a new species. Some

natives on board the vessel paid great attention to it, and fed it care-

fully during the voyage, and it reached Sydney alive. His friend

informed him that he could obtain no information respecting the bird,

whether it was a new species or otherwise, but left it with some bird-

stuffer; and Mr. Stair heard nothing more respecting it until his

return to England in 1847 or 1848, when he mentioned the subject

to Mr. G. R. Gray of the British Museum, who showed him a

drawing of the bird, and told him the subsequent history of the

specimen he sent to Sydney.

“‘ The power of wing of most of the pigeon tribe is very great, and

it also obtains in this bird. It flies through the air with a loud

noise, like our Top-knot Pigeon (Lopholemus antarctieus), found in

the Illawarra district, and many other of our Australian Pigeons ;

and Mr. Stair describes it when rising as making so great a noise

with its wings, that, when heard at a distance, it resembles a rumbling

of distant thunder, for which it may be mistaken. Mr. Stair con-

cludes his remarks by observing that, when on the eve of departing

for England in 1845, although he made every effort to procure more

specimens of the bird, and offered what was then considered large

rewards, he could not succeed in obtaining any more specimens.

He considers they may perhaps yet be found at Savaii, the largest

and most mountainous island of the group ; but he does not think

they at present exist on the island of Upolu.”

ee ee eee ae

Sir R. Schomburgk on Diardigallus Crawfurdi. 383

A communication was also read from Sir Robert Schomburgk,

H.M. Consul-General for Siam, dated Bangkok, August 15th, stating

that a male of the splendid Pheasant Diardigallus Crawfurdi was

still alive in his possession, and in excellent health; and giving the

following description of the female bird, of which he also sent a

Chinese drawing and some feathers :—

** Cere oblong, of a bright-red colour, such as it is in the male, set

with short hair-like feathers of a blackish colour, disposed in rows

following the cere in its outline; eye black, with a golden-coloured

iris; bill horn-coloured. The crown of the head, and the short

feathers under the chin, of a slate-colour, but otherwise a reddish

brown is the prevailing colour; of such a tint is likewise the mantle,

only somewhat darker, and the feathers are speckled with black;

those of the throat and breast are lighter in tint, and frequently

margined at their ends with white to the extent of 2 lines.

«* Primaries and scapulars of a dark slate-colour, almost black,

barred transversely at intervals with bands of white speckled with

black. These bars do not possess regular outlines. The large or

middle tail-feathers are marked in a similar manner; the lower or

_ side tail-feathers are of a reddish brown.

“The thighs are clothed with dark-brown feathers; below the

knee the feet are naked and of a bright red colour, similar to the

cere. There is no trace of spurs upon the leg.

“<I give the measurements taken from what I believe to be the

oldest of the two hens in my possession :—

ft. in. tenths.

Length from tip of bill to end of middle tail-

MM OLY S 8 SS Sue Se eee hr reer ce Oe

Me ct Sess vay WeRecte ee seat es 010 5

oy, GT BCS ai ses gia ie et Pade 09 0

EG a veg te vee iee has | Gn Alar

from the foot or tarsus to thigh...... 0 4 0

Length of foot from the tip of the middle claw

to that of the hind toe.................. ors" 5

of the large or middle toe .......... 02 0

of wing from shoulder to end of largest

MER yee) sere c cee sy ae 010 0

Pe OE te rs or eS Re 0 4 2

Circumference over the crown of the head and

round the region of the eyes ............ 05 0

SMC OE ONG So ons see wade ee aU

BM vt dens COE Se ee eae eee

SEI O NUN os fb an a ye She sae ees ed seek

Sir Robert Schomburgk added that Crawfurd’s drawing of the

male bird alluded to by Mr. Gould in his account of this bird in

the ‘ Birds of Asia,’ “ although stiff, was otherwise good,” and that

the habitat of this Pheasant was now fully ascertained to be the Shan

States to the east of Kieng-mai, at Muang Nan, Muang Phi, &c.

The following letter, addressed to the Secretary by Dr. J. Shortt,

884. Zoological Society :—

F.ZS., dated Chingleput, 9th August, 1862, was read to the meet-

ing :— ‘

‘*S1r,—I have much pleasure in sending you a short account of

the Viper Daboia elegans (Vipera Russellii)—the Tamil name

being ‘ Kunuadi Vyrien,’ or ‘ Kuturee Pamhoo,’

** Since sending you the skin, with skull entire, I have succeeded in

procuring several specimens, alive and dead, both here and on the

Shervaroy Hills, during a recent stay there of two months. The

largest specimen in my collection at present measures 5 feet in length,

and 7 inches in circumference at the thickest part of its body. Its

head is large, elongate, depressed, rounded on the sides, and covered

with acutely and regularly-keeled scales; nostrils large, subsupe-

rior, anterior, and in the centre of a ring-like shield, edged with

a large scale above ; eyes convex, pupil round ; nasal shield smooth

in front ; superciliary shield narrow, elongate, and distinct in front ;

jaws weak, upper toothless, with large, slightly curved, double fangs ;

lower jaw toothed ; tongue long and forked: colour brown, with three

rows of oblong (in the young, circular or oval) white-edged brown

spots ; two brown spots on each side of the occiput, separated by a

narrow, oblique, yellow temporal streak, Scuta 168, subcaudals 52.

“From the three rows of white-edged spots being linked to each

other, it is commonly called the Chain Viper. The Tamil name of

‘Kunuadi Vyrien’ literally means Glass Viper; that of ‘ Kuturee

Pamhoo,’ Scissors Snake. This name it receives from having double

fangs, which are invariably present, of equal length, if not on both,

on one side at least: these the natives of Southern India fancy re-

semble a pair of scissors.

“It is very common in these parts, and also at an elevation of

4800 feet above the sea (Shervaroy Hills): at the latter place I

procured two specimens; the largest measured 43, and the other,

which was young, was 1 foot in length. These reptiles are generally

found under stones and in rocky places ; frequently in the low country

it is found in prickly-pear bushes (Opuntia vulgaris).

'* Tn their habits they are extremely active for their size, and live

on frogs, mice, birds, &c. On opening the Viper I procured on the

Shervaroy Hills, I removed from its inside a Mynah(Indian Grackle),

from a second in this place a field-rat, and from a third an immense

toad was taken, These Vipers are readily killed by the slightest

blow ; on one occasion I had one caught alive by fixing a noose

round its body, but raising it from the ground and suspending it by

the noose for a few seconds killed it.

**The natives dread these snakes greatly, as their bite is said to

prove rapidly fatal. Although they are common in this district, I

have not heard of an instance of this occurring during a residence of

five years at this place. Dr. A. Hunter, of our service, tells me that

when he was Zillah Surgeon here, some years ago, a sepoy was bitten

by one, and that the man’s life was saved by his sucking out the wound.

During my stay on the Shervaroys, the first specimen that was brought

to me was immediately recognized by my friend B. A, Daly, Esq.,

Dr. J. E. Gray on new Species of Mammalia. 385

a coffee-planter, who related the following circumstance that oc-

curred to him a few years ago. Mr. Daly was out shooting with a

few dogs (mongrel spaniels), when he came upon one of these Vipers,

and the dogs having attacked the snake before he could kill it, three

were bitten, one after the other; the first died almost instantly, the

second in about two hours after, whilst it was being carried home,

and the third lingered for nearly three months from emaciation,

general debility, loss of appetite, &c., and eventually made a good

recovery. This we can readily understand: the first dog bitten re-

ceived the largest quantity of poison, whilst the second received less,

and when it came to the third the supply was no doubt all but ex-

hausted, and the rapidity with which the wounds must have been

inflicted left no time for fresh poison to be secreted. This accounts

for the ultimate recovery of the dog.

“In January last a lady at this place was returning from a walk

with her child, followed by a bull-terrier puppy about six months

old; her house was situated some distance from the gate, and the

road on either side was covered with spear-grass. It was just dusk.

The puppy suddenly darted in front and began to bark vociferously.

Although the lady had seen nothing, she took alarm at the movements

of the puppy, and called out to me as I happened to be passing b

the gate at that moment. On going to see what was the matter, I

found a large Viper coiled up in the centre of the road, and the puppy

making a great noise from a respectful distance. The snake was

closely coiled up, with the neck bent abruptly backwards, and the

head fixed almost horizontally ; it began to puff itself out something

after the manner of the Puff-Adder, and hissed loudly, intently watch-

ing the movements of the dog, no doubt awaiting an opportunity to

strike it, when I called the puppy-away. The instant the puppy

turned its head, the snake glided with the rapidity of lightning into

the surrounding grass and disappeared. The next day it was killed

in the same garden, and brought to me; it measured 4 feet 6 inches

in length.

“These Snakes were formerly designated ‘Cobra Manil’ by the

Portuguese, in consequence of their bite proving as rapidly fatal as

that of the Cobra. The word Manil is a corruption of the Tamil word

Mannunippamhoo, which literally means Earth-eating Snake, and is

the name given by the natives to the Uropeltis grandis, commonly

termed ‘ Double-headed ’ Snake, and which they believe lives entirely

on earth, from its being frequently found underground.”

The following papers were read :—

DeEscriIPTION oF sOME New Species or MAMMALIA.

By Dr. Joun Epwarp Gray, F.R.S., F.L.S., ere.

Among some Mammalia which Mr. A. R. Wallace has lately sent

to the British Museum, which he collected in Morty Island in 1861,

are two species of a frugivorous Bat, which does not appear to have

been hitherto registered in the Catalogue. This Bat may be easily

known from all the other Cynopteri by the extraordinary length of

386 Zoological Society :—

its tail, which induces me to form for it a section or subgenus, which

I propose to call Uronycteris. :

Cynoprerus (URONYCTERIS) ALBIVENTER.

Tail elongate, free, produced beyond the narrow, short, interfemoral

membrane. Nostrils much produced, tubular, far apart at the base,

and diverging outwardly. Fur brown-olive, with greyer base to the

hairs. Face and throat only slightly hairy, grey. Sides of the neck

and breast yellow-brown. Side of the body brown. Chest and

middle of the belly white. Wings brown.

Hab. Morty Island (4. R. Wallace).

The length of the forearm-bone 2 inches ; length of the tail (dry)

nearly 2 of an inch.

The wing-bone, on the upper surface of the wing, of both speci-

mens is marked with some irregular white spots. These may be

only accidental, or even artificially produced in the process of pre-

servation or by carriage, as the spots on the two sides of the same

wings are more or less unlike, and those of the two specimens are

dissimilar.

Mr. Keilish, the furrier, has kindly sent to the British Museum

for examination the skin of a Leopard which he has received from

Japan. It is well tanned, and marked on the inner side with the

red impressions of two Japanese seals. The skin at first sight seemed

much like that of a fine-coloured Hunting Leopard, but it is at once

distinguished from that animal by the comparatively shorter legs, by

the larger size and brown centre of the black spots, and from all the

varieties of the Leopard by the linear spots on the nape and the

spots on the back not being formed of roses or groups of smaller

spots. I propose to call it

LEOPARDUS JAPONENSIS.

Fur fulvous, paler beneath. Back and limbs ornamented with

ovate or roundish unequal-sized black spots. The spots on the

shoulders, back, and sides converted into a ring by a single central

spot of the same colour as the fur. Spots on the back and legs large,

oblong, and transverse. Head with small, regularly disposed, black

spots. Nape with four series of narrow elongated black spots (the

outer ones sometimes confluent into lines), and with a series of large

black spots on each side of the back of the neck. Chest with a series

of larger spots, forming a kind of necklace. Tail elongate, very

hairy, spotted, paler, and with four black rings at the tip.

Hab. Japan.

The skin in its tanned state is 4 feet 6 inches, and the tail 2 feet

- 10 inches long.

Mr. W. Fosbrooke has kindly presented to the British Museum

a small and beautiful species of Boshbock, which was captured by

John Dunn, Esq., in the Ungo-zy Forest, between the Umbrelans

and Umblatore, in the country of the Amazula. Mr. Dunn could

not learn that the natives had any special name for this animal.

MA silt a ys aie he oo” ee)

ee a ee ee ee ee

Mr. A. D. Bartlett on the Habits of the Beaver. 387

It is a most peculiarly-marked species, and of a very small size.

The hunter mistook it for a young animal, and fed it with milk, on

which it died; but when it was examined, the mamme were found

dilated with milk, showing that it was approaching full age, and

probably had lately produced a fawn. It is the smallest species of

the genus, standing only 10 inches high to the top of its head, and

weighing not more than three pounds. It is most like Cephalophus

Whitfieldiz, figured in the Knowsley Menagerie, from a specimen in

the British Museum which was brought from the Gambia by Mr.

Whitfield. It differs from that species in the general shade of the

brown colour; and there is no white about that animal, which is so

prominent in the Natal specimens.

CEPHALOPHUS BICOLOR.

Fur soft, brown, with the rump, the whole of the hind legs, the

chin, throat, chest, belly, the inner side of the fore legs, a broad ring

over the fore hoofs, and a large spot occupying the front of the face

and forehead pure white. The ears blackish, white within. The

side of the forehead darker brown. The crumen on the side of the

face linear, well marked. Horns not present in the female sex.

Hab. Natal.

Mr. R. Swinhoe, having shown me a part of the collection of

mammals which he Ba while residing in the island of Formosa,

has kindly allowed me to describe a new specimen of Wild Goat or

Goat-Antelope.

This species agrees in all its characters with the Cambing-outang

(Capricornis sumatrana) of Sumatra, and the Capricornis crispa

of Japan, but is very distinct from either of them. In colour it more

nearly resembles the Japanese species, C. crispa, which has a white

face ; but it is easily distinguished from that species, which I only

know from a figure and very general description in Schegel’s ‘ Fauna

Japonica.’ I propose to call it, after its discoverer,

Capricornis SwINHOII.

The fur harsh and crisp, brown, with a narrow streak down the

back of the neck ; a spot on the knee and the front of the fore legs

below the knee black. The hind legs are bay. The sides of the chin

pale yellowish. The underside of the neck yellow-bay—this colour

being separated from the darker colour of the upper part of the neck

by a ridge of longer, more rigid hairs. The ears are long, brown,

paler internally. The horns are short and conical. The skull has a-

Ls wide concavity in front of the orbits, and a keeled ridge on

cheek.

Notes on THE BEAVER IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

By A. D. Barruerr.

During one of the heavy storms of wind and rain that prevailed

during the last month a large willow-tree was partly blown down.

The limbs and branches of this fallen tree were given to many of

the animals, and to them proved to be a very acceptable windfall.

388 Zoological Society.

To the Beaver, however, I wish to direct especial attention, as this ani-

mal has exhibited in a remarkable manner some of his natural habits

and intelligence. One of the largest limbs of the tree, upwards of

12 feet long, was firmly fixed in the ground, in the Beaver’s enclo-

sure, in a nearly upright position, at about twelve o’clock on Saturday

last. The Beaver visited the spot soon afterwards, and walking

round this large limb, which measured 30 inches circumference, com-

menced to bite off the bark about 12 inches above the ground, and

afterwards to gnaw into the wood itself. The rapid progress was

(to all who witnessed it) most astonishing. The animal laboured hard,

and appeared to exert his whole strength, leaving off for a few mi-

nutes apparently to rest and look upwards, as if to consider which

way the tree was to fall. Now and then he left off and went into his

pond, which was about 3 feet from the base of the tree, as if to take

a refreshing bath. Again he came out with renewed energy, and

with his powerful teeth gouged away all round the trunk. This

process continued till about four o’clock, when suddenly he left off

and came hastily towards the iron fence, to the surprise of those

who were watching his movements, The cause of this interruption

was soon explained; he had heard in the distance the sound of the

wheelbarrow, which, as usual, is brought daily to his paddock, and

from which he was anxiously waiting to receive his supper. Not

wishing to disappoint the animal, but at the same time regretting

that he was thus unexpectedly stopped in his determination to bring

down this massive piece of timber, his usual allowance of carrots and

bread were given to him; and from this time until half-past five he

was engaged in taking his meal and swimming about in his pond.

At half-past five, however, he returned to his tree, which by this time

was reduced in the centre to about 2 inches in diameter. To this

portion he applied his teeth with great earnestness, and in ten mi-

nutes afterwards it fell suddenly with great force upon the ground.

It was an interesting sight to witness the adroit and skilful man-

ner in which the last bite or two were given on the side on which

the tree fell, and the nimble movement of the animal to the opposite

side at the moment, evidently to avoid being crushed beneath it.

Upon examining the end of the separated tree, it was found that

only one inch in diameter was uncut; and it was of course due to

the nearly erect position in which the tree was put into the ground

that it stood balanced, as it were, upon this slender stem. After

carefully walking along its entire length as it lay on the ground, and

examining every part, he commenced to cut off about two feet of its

length, and by seven o’clock the next morning he had divided it into

three pieces: two of these he had removed into the pond, and one

was used in the under part of his house.

The Beaver, the subject of the foregoing remarks, was presented

to the Society by the Hudson’s Bay Company, in the autumn of

1861, and was probably then about six months old. It is, no doubt,

less vigorous than the large wild animals of this species, who would,

in all probability, bring down trees of much larger dimensions in a

shorter time. In fact, it was evident that our Beaver was a novice

in the undertaking, as he more than once slipped and rolled over on

a i a le i I Ol i

Miscellaneous. 389

his back in his eagerness to accomplish the task. It was impossible to

witness the actions of this animal without being struck by the amount

of skill and intelligence exhibited. When the space cut through

towards the centre was too narrow to admit its head, its teeth were

applied above and below so as to increase the width from the outside

towards the centre, until the remaining parts above and below formed

two cones, the apices of which joined in the middle. Again and again

the animal left off gnawing, and, standing upright on its hind legs,

rested its front feet on the upper part of the tree, as if to feel whether

it was on the move. This showed clearly that the creature knew

exactly what it was about.

MISCELLANEOUS.

* The Land and Freshwater Mollusks of the British Isles.’

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,—While thanking you for your notice of my little

book, ‘ The Land and Freshwater Mollusks of the British Isles,’ I

beg permission to offer a word of comment on some remarks therein

made on some changes in nomenclature. Your reviewer says :—

** Planorbis imbricatus is changed to Planorbis crista, on the

authority of the following synonymy :—

“‘ Nautilus ecrista, Linnzeus (1758), Syst. Nat. 10th edit. p. 709.

** Turbo nautileus, Linneeus (1767), Syst. Nat. 12th edit. p. 1241.

** And the author remarks,—‘ It may be observed, on reference to the

synonymy, that Linnzeus made two species of this.’ But Linnzeus

did not make two species out of Planorbis nautileus. The facts are

that he described Nautilus crista in the tenth edition of the ‘Systema

Naturee ;’ and in the twelfth edition changed the name of the species

to Turbo nautileus, and referred to his Nautilus crista of the tenth

edition as a synonym. We can only account for Mr. Reeve’s mistake

by supposing that he has never consulted the twelfth edition—a sup-

position which is confirmed by the fact that throughout his volume

the tenth edition is almost invariably referred to.”

As this declaration of opinion involves a principle in nomenclature

to which I cannot agree, I beg leave to state that I purposely referred

throughout my volume to the tenth edition of the ‘Systema Nature’

for the authority of the Linnzan species, after the example of M.

Moquin-Tandon, because it is the first edition in which the species

are established by the definition of specific names and characters. I

followed also Moquin-Tandon in adopting the name of crista given

to this Planorbis in the tenth edition of the ‘Systema Nature,’ be-

cause I agree with the learned author of the ‘Mollusques Terrestres

et Fluviatiles de France’ in thinking that Linneeus was not justified

in changing it, in his twelfth edition, to nautileus. An author is no

more justified in changing his own established name of a species than

any other writer would be.

With reference to your reviewer’s observations on my remark that

390 Miscellaneous.

Linnzeus made two species of this Planorbis, it is clear, from the

opening lines of the paragraph, that the sense intended to be con-

veyed is not that which he has presented. They are as follows :—

“The minute, semitransparent, horny shell of this species, more

generally known to collectors by the second name which Linneeus

gave to it, &c.” Iam, Gentlemen,

Your obedient Servant,

Lovett Reeve.

With reference to the foregoing letter, we may remark—

Ist. That what Mr. Reeve says respecting the tenth edition of the

‘Systema Naturee’ is totally at variance with the generally received

opinion of naturalists that the twelfth is the standard edition of

Linneeus’s work, which is to be referred to and followed.

2ndly. That we are fully aware how greatly Mr. Reeve is indebted

to the work of M. Moquin-Tandon, and regret that he has so im-

plicitly followed that author in numerous erroneous changes in

nomenclature.

8rdly. That Mr. Reeve, however, must not shift the adoption of

the name Planorbis crista on to his favourite author’s shoulders.

Among Mr. Reeve’s own synonymy of the species, we find “ Planorbis

(Gyraulis) nautileus, Moquin-Tandon (1855), Hist. Moll. vol. ii. p-438,

which is utterly irreconcileable with the statement in his letter that

he follows that author in the adoption of the name Planorbis crista.

4thly. That only one construction can be put upon the following

passage in his work :—“ It may be observed that Linneus and Dra-

parnaud both made two species of this. The names crista and eris-

tata have been given to young specimens, and nautileus and imbri-

catus to adult specimens.” What can this mean, but that, just as

Draparnaud made two species of the shell which he called cristatus

and imbricatus, so Linneeus made two species which he called crista

and nautileus ?—a statement at variance with the facts.

On the true Nature of Pleurodyctium problematicum.

By Cary Romincer, M.D.

Under the above name I have long kept in my cabinet a specimen

collected at Kirchweiler, in the Eifel Mountains. After havin

identified it with the fossil described by Goldfuss, I laid it aside ;

and only recently, twenty years afterwards, when I happened to look

over it again, the first glance convinced me that the Pleurodyctium

problematicum is merely the cap of a Favosites, or, more accuratel

speaking, of a Michelinia. I have subsequently found that Milne-

dwards had already recognized the family affinity between Favosites

and Pleurodyctium, without, however, suggesting a generic identity

of the two.

The fossil from Kirchweiler is represented by a lenticular cavity,

a little over one inch in diameter and scarcely half an inch deep.

To one side of this cavity are attached the bases of conical sub-

Miscellaneous. 391

angular columns, three or four millimetres thick at the lower ends ;

between these are interpolated a good many smaller and shorter

columns. They all rapidly converge toward the centre of the oppo-

site concavity. Their sides are longitudinally striated, and covered

with punctiform impressions. Numerous small cross-bars connect

the columns, which are otherwise isolated from each other by a

narrow intervening space.

The opposite side of the cavity, which forms the roof over the

convergent smaller ends of the columns, is free, but closely approxi-

mated to them, and bears the impression of fine concentric rings of

wth. This latter character is not very plain in my specimen, but

Goldfuss has given a very good figure of it. He thought it to be

the impression of the inner surface of a membranaceous envelope,

instead of taking it for what it is—the impression of the epitheca

surrounding the lower side of the corallum.

The vermicular body, frequently noticed adhering to or penetrating

the root end of Pleurodyctium, is also seen in my specimen.

I was greatly surprised at observing the same vermicular perfora-

tion in some small specimens of Michelinia, which also in all other

respects appear to be specifically identical with the coral of which

the European Pleurodyctium is a cap.

The specimens were found in the shales of the Hamilton group,

Cayuga county, New York, and are in the possession of Prof. Winchell,

of Ann Arbor. They form small cakes, not much over one inch in

diameter. The lower side is almost flat, covered with a concentrically

wrinkled epitheca: the upper side is semiglobular, and shows the

mouth-ends of conical subangular tubes, the larger ones of which

measure from four to five millimetres.

On the polished vertical sections of the coral, longitudinal striz

and rows of spinules, together with numerous side-pores, are visible

along the walls of the tubes.

The upper part of the tubes is generally filled with calcareous

matter, and shows no diaphragms, which are only preserved in the

lower ends, and are in part simple and straight, in part vesicular.

The vermicular channel traverses the substance of the corallum,

irrespective of the direction of the tubes, and seems to cut straight

through them. After some flexures, it ascends to the upper surface,

and opens there with a round mouth, while the other tubes are more

or less angular. It is improbable that this perforating channel has

anything to do with the organism of the coral, and is more likely

the work of a parasitic animal; but after all, it is still strange to see

the majority of specimens, from such distant localities, attacked in

the same way by a boring animal.

In the Corniferous Limestone at Port Colborne, on Lake Erie, I

lately found a cap exhibiting all the characters of Pleurodyctium.

In association with it numerous specimens of Michelinia favositoidea

(Billings) are found; and there remains no doubt that this cast

originates from a young specimen of this latter species. —Silliman’s

Journal for January, 1863.

392 Miscellaneous.

Piedmontese Plants.

Dr. Rostan, an excellent botanist, residing at Perrier, in one of the

Vaudois valleys in Piedmont, who, besides other additions to the

native flora, has rediscovered several plants not known to botanists

since the time of Allioni, proposes to publish a collection of 200 spe-

cies of dried plants, to include the greater part of the rare and less-

known species of Western Piedmont. In the list will be found

Arabis pedemontana, Boiss., Isatis alpina, All., Dianthus furcatus,

Balb., Cerastium lineare, All., Trifolium pannonicum, L., Ribes

purpureum, Rost., Saxifraga valdensis, DC., Centaurea Kotschyana,

Heuff., Campanula Elatines, L., Gentiana Rostani, Reut., Veronica

succulenta, All., Allium valdensium, Reut., and many other very rare

species.

PrThe parcels will be carefully made up, the specimens well dried,

and several will be given of each of the smaller species.

The price to subscribers who send their names to Dr. Rostan be-

fore the Ist of August, 1863, will be 40 francs=32 shillings. Price

to non-subscribers £2; in each case exclusive of carriage.

Address applications, post-paid, to Dr. Rostan, Perrier, vid Pignerol,

Piedmont. It will facilitate the transmission of the parcels if each

applicant will give an address in London to which they may be

forwarded.

Obituary Notice.—WiLi1aAM Groves Perry.

Died on the 25th of March, 1863, at his residence in New Street,

Warwick, Mr. William Groves Perry, at the age of sixty-seven. He

was one of the early contributors to Loudon’s ‘ Magazine of Natural

History,’ and a Fellow of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. In

1820 he published a work called ‘ Plantz Varvicenses Selecte,’ or

‘The Botanist’s Guide through the County of Warwick,’ which,

following the ‘Flora Midlandica’ of Dr. Purton, made considerable

additions to what related to the Warwickshire species included in

that work, more especially in noting the localities with greater pre-

cision. With a view to still greater exactness in this particular, a

table was added, showing the distance of the several localities from

the nearest market town. This little work was never so well known

as it deserved to be, owing probably to its having been published by

the author himself at Warwick : it has, however, been long since out of

print ; and a second edition was in progress at the time of Mr. Perry’s

death, which we hope some day to see completed and published.

In addition to his botanical studies, Mr. Perry possessed consider-

able antiquarian knowledge, and was for many years Honorary

Secretary of the Warwickshire Natural History and Archzeological

Society. As one of the early contributors to a periodical of which

the present may be regarded as the continuation, we think this no-

tice of his labeurs and of his death a proper introduction into our

pages; and we are sure that all those with whom he was acquainted,

and to whom his unvarying kindness of disposition and liberality in

imparting information were known, will feel grateful for its appear-

ance here.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES.]

No. 66. JUNE 1863.

XLII.—On the Capitell and their Position in the System of the

Annelida. By Epwarp Gruse*.

By the communications published by Van Beneden+ upon the

genus Capitella, Blainv. (Lumbriconais, Oerst.), and especially

upon C. capitata (Lumbricus capitatus, Fab.), our knowledge of

this very peculiar Annelide has been most essentially advanced.

These statements not only complete what has been ascertained

by A. S. Oersted{ and Leuckart§ as to the external structure

and the nature of the intestinal canal, but they also include the

whole remaining organization, the sexual relations (the divergence

of which from those of the Lumbrici was previously indicated by

Leuckart), and furnish results which are confirmed by investiga-

tions carried on independently. When I was at Copenhagen in

1856, Oersted laid before me a series of drawings relating to the

anatomy of the Capitelle, and incited me, during my stay there,

to convince myself of the many peculiarities which had occurred

to him in the course of his observations, and amongst which the

presence of numerous definitely formed and comparatively large

red corpuscles in the somatic cavity, the remarkable partial in-

flation of the body, and the entire deficiency of blood-vessels,

had most struck him. He had also learned how to distinguish

males and females by their external and internal structure,

and believed that he had recognized the anterior part of the

nervous system. The occurrence of these Annelides in the great

4 aerate by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1862,

F + “Hist. Nat. du genre Capitella,” Bull. de l’Acad. Roy. de Belgique,

sér. 2. iii. Nos. 9, 10 (1857).

i “Conspectus generum specierumque Naidum,” Kroyer’s Tidssk. iv.

1842, p. 128, pl. 3. figs. 6, 10, 11.

§ Beitrage zur Kenntniss wirbellos. Thiere (1847), p. 151; and Archiv

fiir Naturgeschichte, xv. (1849), p. 163.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 26

394 M. E. Grube on the Capitellee

channel of Copenhagen enabled me, in the few days of my resi-

dence there, to repeat these extremely interesting observations

on a series of specimens; but although we then (at the end of

July) still found ova in many females, we did not succeed in

detecting spermatozoa in the testes of the males: these Oersted

had represented of a more fusiform shape than Van Beneden,

and with a more acute anterior extremity and a shorter terminal

filament. That I did not at once comply with Oersted’s request

to make known these observations was due partly to the want

of a micrometer; for it appeared to me to be necessary to give

the diameter of the corpuscles which floated in the somatic ca-

vity. A second independent confirmation of Van Beneden’s in-

vestigations has lately been given by Claparéde*, who, without

any acquaintance with them, observed the same species in the

Hebrides, but was not able any more than myself to subject the

sexual peculiarities to a complete examination.

__ As regards the fluid of the somatic cavity and the red corpus-

cles contained in it in such abundance, Claparéde also expresses

himself in favour of its analogy with the blood. Van Beneden

describes the corpuscles as “ globules,” and says that their form is

lenticular ; I convinced myself, during their flow from a wound

in the wall of the body, that they are disciform and circular, as

they show to the observer sometimes their broad surface and

sometimes their margin. Claparéde also calls them “ disques,”

and I could almost think that they are biconcave like the blood-

corpuscles of the Mammalia: that they contain a true nucleus,

as stated by Van Beneden and Claparéde, could not be ascer-

tained positively by Prof. Reichert and myself—what might have

been taken for a nucleus appearing only to adhere accidentally,

and to be one of the corpuscles which also occur free in the so-

matic cavity ; and the employment of acetic acid did not succeed

in producing a more distinct appearance of a nucleus. By the

action of this reagent the disks scarcely became somewhat

smaller; and whilst their outer margin still remained circular,

their interior appeared as if crumpled or granulated, minute

sharply-defined granules heing distinguishable therein.

_ In ether they become decidedly more irregular, and the mar-

gin and interior become more shiecl discriminated. I must,

however, remark that I have observed all this only upon Capi-

telle which were sent to me in Breslau by the kindness of Prof.

Van Beneden, and which, being favoured by the December

‘weather, arrived indeed still living, but by no means lively in

appearance ; nevertheless even the broken or half-dead specimens

‘exhibited no essential difference in this respect. The diameter

" Mémoiies de la Soc. de Phys. et d’Hist. Nat. de Gendve, 1861, p. 110,

pl. 1. ay

and their Position in the System of the Annelida. 895

of the corpuscles is given by Claparéde at 0-010 mill. (=0-005

line); I found it to be greater, namely 0°006—0-008 line, or

about one-tenth of the length of the shorter uncini. As far as I

ean remember, those observed in Copenhagen presented a similar

proportion, although, from the small size of the animals exa-

mined by me (most of them measured only 5 lines), they ap-

peared to me to be uncommonly large. The corpuscles flowed,

with the fluid of the somatic cavity, from one segment into the

other, above and below the ligaments (or dissepiments, as Van

Beneden calls them) which fasten the wider portion of the ali-

mentary canal to the wall of the body. This occupied by far

the longest part of the body, and in a specimen of thirty-three

segments (such as most of those examined by me in Copenhagen)

extended through sixteen of them, increasing slowly in width

towards the middle. The cesophagus, about half the - size,

usually reached in repose, when it describes one or two curves,

into the ninth segment; the end of the intestinal canal, which,

again, is considerably thinner, and lies in short convolutions,

usually passed through from four to nine segments; but even

in the hindermost part of the wider division of the alimentary

canal I detected balls of excrement. In the extremely narrow

lumen of the very muscular cesophagus, which is linear in

repose, I repeatedly observed ciliary movement.

The uncini, which stand four or five together on the segments,

one or two on the hindermost segments, were moved, as far as I

could see, in the same way as the sete, single muscular threads

proceeding from the wall to attach themselves to the free end of

the bundle which projects into the ventral cavity. Sometimes

in one of the bundles of setz, which occur only on the first seven

segments (or eight, according to Van Beneden), and also con-

tain four or five sete, single sete were replaced by uncini, but

only in one, two, or three of the hindermost of them: Van

Beneden gives this as the rule. Oersted called my attention to

a flat, nearly oval body, running out, as it were, into two lobes,

which was discovered by him lying over the buccal cavity, and

which he thought to be the superior ganglionic mass of a buecal

nervous ring. I regard this interpretation as the more probable

because there was on each of the two lobes a well-defined black

point, having exactly the appearance of an eye-point. Claparéde

also notices these points, but adds that he could not detect a

lens in them.

Ova, which I observed in a specimen at Copenhagen, occurred

neither in paired sacs repeated in the segments nor in the so-

matic cavity, into which they get from these, according to Van

Beneden, but in two delicate-walled sacs situated at the sides of

the intestine, which commenced at the twelfth segment and

26*

396 ' ° M.E. Grube on the Capitellze

reached to the seventeenth, and the diameter of which was not

much greater than that of an ovum.

D’Udekem*, in his “ Classification,” also speaks only of two

ovaries. In one of the specimens from Ostend, sent to me in

March by Van Beneden, I likewise found ova; their diameter

was 0°05 line, and that of their germinal vesicle 0°0015 line.

Upon the organs secreting urine, which, according to d’Udekem,

are situated in almost all the segments of the body, I have made

no observations.

The remarkable anchor-shaped Gregarine which Oersted dis-

covered in the intestine of his Capitelle have also been found by

Van Beneden, Leuckart, Claparéde, and myself. Claparéde’s

figuret shows a completely developed form, in which the nucleus

is indicated merely by the pale spot in the foremost third of the

body. In younger animals, in which the body is not yet so

much filled with greenish mass,, this nucleus appears far more

distinctly : it is sometimes nearly circular, sometimes oval, con-

tains a nucleolus, and is situated nearly always in the same spot,

but sometimes more anteriorly, between the bases of the arms of

the anchor. As the median body increases in length and be-

comes more slender, these arms also gradually grow out ; they

are at first very short, like two mere teeth, and extended hori-

zontally ; and in still younger states, where the length of the

body is still scarcely one-fourth of that of the mature animal,

no trace of them is to be seen, the form of the animal being then

a rhomb with rounded angles, much produced posteriorly. This

entire: series of changes, of which I only saw a few, has been

observed by Oersted.

The next question which presses upon me is, whether the

Capitelle. observed in Copenhagen, and those found at Ostend,

on Heligoland, and on the Hebrides, belong to one and the

same species with the Lumbricus capitatus described by Fabricius.

The differences of size of sexually mature individuals are very

considerable : whilst Oersted states the length of his Lumbrico-

nais marina at. 10 or 12 lines, and I even had males of only

5 lines, Van Beneden found the males 24-27 lines and the

females as much as 4 inches long ; Claparéde sometimes found

them still longer, and Leuckart even met with specimens as

muchas 7 inches in length. The indication of Fabricius—

*jongitudine Lumbrici terrestris’”—shows that, although, ac-

cording to his statement, the Greenland animals of this species

do not attain such large dimensions as the Norwegian (amongst

which he mentions one a foot in length), his specimens were

certainly of the larger kind. The Capitelle from Greenland

* Mémoires de l’Acad. Roy. de Belgique, xxxi. 1859, p. 25.

+. Mémoires de la Soc. de Phys. et d’Hist. Nat. de Genéve, pl. 1. fig. 15.

er ae ng

and their Position in the System of the Annelida. 397

which I possess are 1°3 line in thickness and more than 2 inches

in length. In the same way the number of segments varies, in

accordance with the size, from thirty-three and forty-five (in the

small Copenhagen specimens) up to sixty and eighty-two; in

all the males examined by Van Beneden, Oersted, and myself,

it is on the eighth and ninth segments that the peculiar, large,

crooked ventral sete occur, and in the ninth that the sexual

orifice and the testis are situated*. In the number of bristles

there is a remarkable diversity. Van Beneden gives eight as the

normal number both in the bundles of setz and in the transverse

rows of uncini. I counted in the Copenhagen specimens never

more than four or five, in many Belgian ones twelve, and in the

Greenland specimens twelve or more setz, and far more than

twelve (even nearly thirty) uncini, of which, however, those

standing nearest to the median line of the ventral surface were

scarcely distinguishable, whilst in the opposite direction they

imerease considerably in length. As the smallest number of

bristles belongs to the smallest specimens, it may easily be sup-

posed that the number increases with the growth; and in these

diversities, as in those already mentioned, I see no inducement

to the assumption of two species, but rather believe that the

Capitelle of the Baltic, like many other animals which it has in

common with the North Sea, do not attain such large dimensions

as in the latter.

I must further indicate that Dalyell’s Lumbricus capitatus+

does not belong here, but that the Lumbricus capitatus described

by Johnston}, the length of which was from 3 to 6 inches, is the

same species, and that he also united with it his previously de-

scribed Lumbricus littoralis§, which he had characterized as

“aculeis uniserialibus.” That he assumed for the blood, the

very irregular ebb and flow and grumous masses of which

also struck him, two lateral vessels situated between the intes-

tine and the wall of the body, may be easily éxcused if he did

not perseveringly observe. He himself says that the movement

of the blood appears to depend upon the movements of the body

and the extension of its segments. The synonym of Lumbricus

fragilis, Mill., which is now recognized as a Scoloplos, is only

cited by him with doubt. Our Annelide is also regarded by

Fabricius as identical with Olaffsen’s L. littoralis minor from

* Van Beneden’s statement of the ninth and tenth segments (p. 17)

appears to be a mere printer’s error, his figure representing the eighth and

ninth as those in question. In a specimen from Greenland, I find these

bristles, singularly enough, not on the ventral, but on the dorsal surface!

+ The Powers of the Creator, vol. ii. 1853, pl. 17. figs. 8, 9.

{ Loudon’s Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. viii. p. 258,

§ Zool. Journ, ili. p. 328,

398i. M. E. Grube on the Capitelle

Iceland. But the distribution of Capitella capitata is not closed

with the Icelandic and Pnglish coasts; for the Lumbricus cana-

lium, mentioned en passant by Nardo as an inhabitant of some

of the shallower and less frequented canals of Venice*, is like-

wise nothing but our Capitella, as I have ascertained by the

examination of the spirit specimens captured by him. Whether

it also occurs on the French coast has not yet been ascertained.

The determination of the. position which the genus Capitella

should occupy in the system appears to Claparéde not to be

settled by the discussion with which Van Beneden closes his

memoir; and I am of the same opinion. Van Beneden comes

to the conclusion that the Capitelle are dicecious Lumbricine :

all that can be cited in favour of the supposition that they be-

long to the Polycheetz is limited to the mode of development, to

the form of the embryos, which escape into the world with a

globular body, with two eyes and two tufts of cilia close to these,

and then pass through a metamorphosis, a posterior circlet of

cilia being added to the ciliary circlet before the eyes, which

originates in the above-mentioned tufts, and the portion of the

body between these extending itself and dividing into rings;

the absence of vessels and the distribution of the male and

female sexual organs upon two individuals are not of sufficient

importance to have much stress laid upon them. But what is

there positively in favour of referring the Capitelle to the Lum-

bricine, and in what signification is this name taken? It does

not correspond with the family which I have established under

this name, as Van Beneden also refers to it Tubifex (Senuris),

Enchytreus, and Chetogaster, but rather to D’Udekem’s sub-

order of Agemmes, which forms the opposite to his Gemmipares

(the Naitdes). As the Lumbricine, in D’Udekem’s sense, in-

clude nothing but Annelides with series of but slightly project-

ing uncini standing singly or in pairs, Capitella would approxi-

mate to them less than to Tubifex, a genus three of the six spe-

cies of which occur in the sea; whilst for the Lumbrici the pro- —

portion of marine forms is far less favourable.

The organization of the Agemmes is expressed (besides the

occurrence of uncini, rarely also of sete) especially in the con-

centration of the genital organs in certain limited regions of the

body, in their hermaphrodism, and in the appearance of the so-

called loop-like organ ; whilst external organs of respiration never

appear (except in Alma nilotica). If, therefore, the Capitelle be,

as Van Beneden supposes, Lumbrici of a low degree of organiza-

tion, this degeneration of the type shows itself in the disap-

pearance of the blood-vessels and the simpler arrangement of

* Prospetto della Fauna marina volgare del Veneto estuario, 1847, p. 11.

and their Position in the System of the Annelida. 399

the generative organs. As something new added, we have the

large curved bristles at the orifice of the testis, the arrangement

of the bristles in lateral rows, the separate sexes, the different

structure of the ova, and the metamorphosis of the young ; but

it must certainly be admitted that we do not know the young

states of the marine forms of the Agemmes; and whether these

pass through a metamorphosis it is as impossible to predict as

it was to suppose, in the case of the Lobster, that it follows a

different course of development from that of its nearest ally the

river crayfish.

Turning to the Polychete, would it be more difficult to find

among them forms with which the Capitelle could be arranged ?

I admit that, however I was determined by Oersted’s first com-

munications, and before I had myself seen these animals, to

follow him and place them among the Naides, I afterwards hesi-

tated about leaving them in this position ; and at the first sight

of a large spirit specimen I thought no more either of the Naides

or of other Oligochete. In this specimen the segments were

proportionally considerably longer, in the anterior portion of the

body, furnished only with sete, half as long, in the posterior

portion, bearing uncini, one and a half times as long as broad ;

moreover the uncini were grouped in regular combs, and in-

serted in distinct ridges. This had also struck Claparéde, and

appeared to him so important that he approximated the Capi-

telle to the Maldanie*, which, indeed, stand near the Lumbri-

cinz, according to the views of Cuvier and Milne-Edwards, but

were placed by Savigny and Lamarck, with whom I agreed,

near the Arenicole and Terebelle. For my own part, I was

more vividly reminded of the genus Dasybranchus (olim Dasy-

mallus +) and of Notomastust. If Van Beneden only assumes

that the evolution of the organization in the Lumbricine may

retrograde, and the vascular system disappear, this decidedly

takes place among the Polychete. As regards the respiratory

organs, in the first place, we find, in the genus Eunice, together

with species with greatly developed branchiz (such as E. gigantea

and E. Harassii), others with very rudimentary branchize (such

as E. siciliensis), and, in the genus Lumbriconereis (in the wide

sense), species with very simple branchiz, and others with none

at all. Quatrefages§ has already shown by examples how, be-

sides the Polychete with a vascular system ramifying every-

where, others occur in which it is only partially developed, and

others, again, in which it is entirely wanting; and in the latter

* Mémoires de la Soc. de Phys. et d’Hist. Nat. de Genéve, 1861, p.110.

+ Archiv fiir Nat schichte, 1846, p. 166, tab. 5. fig. 3.

{ Sars, Fauna litt. Norveg. ii. p. 11, tab. 2. figs. 8-17.

§ Ann. Sc. Nat. sér. 3, Zool. xiv. pp. 268, 294, 296.

400 -M. E. Grube on the Capitellee

the corpuscles contained in the fluid of the somatic cavity appear

more numerous and more highly developed. I have hitherto

been unable to detect blood-vessels in the Dasybranchi, either in

the living state or in a spirit specimen; their branchize seem to

resemble those of the Glycere, forming a diverticulum of the

somatic cavity, and taking up its fluid when they extend them-

selves. Just as the Glycere stand near Polychete with vascular

branchie, I place the Dasybranchi near the Arenicole. The

Notomasti, however, agree so closely with the Dasybranchi that

they are essentially distinguished only by the want of branchie.

In them also I have hitherto detected no blood-vessels; but in

a living specimen, I distinctly saw a red fluid moving between

the intestine and the body-wall; its accumulation caused the

segments to dilate, and it consisted almost entirely of circular

corpuscles, 0-006 line in diameter; in a spirit specimen, which

wanted the posterior half, I found regular bells of apparently

similar corpuscles in the somatic cavity. With regard to the

alimentary canal, the same statements apply to both genera:

it commences with a rather short protrusible pharynx, surrounded

by pro- and re-tractor muscles, forming a proboscis; then

follows a narrow tube (cesophagus or stomach?); and about

where the change of bristles takes place this tube passes into an

intestine embraced by dissepiments, the anterior part of which, in

the spirit specimens examined, is not wider than the tube, and is

narrower than the posterior portion, which is usually filled with

much excrement. The distinctly double nervous cord, with se-

parated inflations, shows the greatest similarity to Lumbricus*,

and the arrangement of the muscular system to Arenicola.

I must further remark that in both genera the bristles are

grouped on each side in two rows; that on the anterior segments

only sete, and on the remainder, which are far more numerous,

only uncini, occur: the former stand in very short transverse

rows behind narrow and low ridges; the latter in combs upon

ridges. It is worthy of notice that the projecting part of both

kinds of bristles is bordered+—a peculiarity which occurs fre-

quently in the sete of the Polychetz, although very rarely in the

uncini (as in several genera of Eunicez, on individual segments

in Leucodore and Colobranchus among the Ariciade), but which

I have not met with among the Oligochetz..

If we return again to the Capitelle, everything that I have

just explained is repeated, leaving out of consideration the ge-

nerative organs and the sexual relations in general, as to which,

in Dasybranchus and Notomastus, I can say nothing; and in

treating of generic characters it would be difficult to state how

* See Cuvier, Régne Animal, Annelid. pl. 1, fig. 2.

t+ Van Beneden, /. c. pl. 1. figs. 8,9; Claparéde, J. ¢. pl. 1. fig. 12.

and their Position in the System of the Annelida, 401

the Notomasti are distinguished from the Capitelle. Nay, it

may even appear questionable whether Dasybranchus and Noto-

mastus are to be generically separated ; for if it be confirmed

that some Glycere are destitute of branchiz, and the presence

of these organs here furnishes no generic character, the same

thing might be applied to Dasybrarchus. In both, the superior

combs of uncini at the commencement of the posterior division

of the body are brought quite upon the back, and are much

narrower than the inferior ones, by which Notomastus acquires

a greater similarity to Dasybranchus than to Capitella; it is also

only in these two that a proboscis (protrusible pharynx) is ob-

served ; nevertheless, from what I have seen in the anatomy of

a Capitella, | must assert that in them also the commencement

of the alimentary canal can be turned out. The appareil sécré-

toire rénal, which D’Udekem describes in Capitella, I have

hitherto been unable to find in Dasybranchus and Notomastus ;

but the specimens examined by me were not in the best possible

condition ; and it would be very important, in future investiga-

tions, to pay attention to this point.

The large curved bristles which appear in a transverse series

before and behind the genital orifice of the male, and have their

apices directed towards each other, have hitherto only been ob-

served in the Capitelle; they may perhaps be regarded as a

transformation of the combs of small bordered uncini, which are

wanting on the segments in question. But are we acquainted

with the males of Dasybranchus and Notomastus? Perhaps they

may possess a similar character. At any rate, these organs

remind us of the two strong hook-like bristles (spicula) which

are so striking on the ventral surface of the Thalasseme, Echiuri,

and Bonellie, and are likewise placed before the paired and me-

dian genital orifices of these animals. In the Echiuri a posterior

pair is also concealed within the skin¥. The more distinct se-

paration or partial amalgamation of the genera Dasybranchus,

Notomastus, and Capitella must be left for further and more

accurate investigations; but I think I have demonstrated that

these three genera stand in a close relationship, and must be

referred to one family, the Capitellacee, which, in my opinion,

are related to the Arenicole in the same way as the Gephyrei

without vessels and with a highly developed fluid in the somatic

cavity to the Gephyrei with vessels. The development of the

Capiielle, upon which we have such interesting information from

Van Beneden, and which so much resembles that of the Arenicolet,

the form of the ova, and the separation of the sexes, all agree

* M. Miiller, Obs. Anat. de Verm. quibusd. marinis, 1843, p. 11.

+ Schultze, Ueber die Entwickelung von Arenicola piscatorum, Halle,

1856; transl. in Ann, Nat, Hist. ser. 2. vol. xviii. pp. 105 et seq.

402 .M. Lestiboudois on the Vessels of the Latex,

excellently with the rule in the section of the Polychete, and

would form an exception if we referred the Capitellacee to the

Oligochetz; this applies also to the absence of the vascular

system, and to the form of the bristles and their insertion in

ridges.

With regard to the distinctions between Dasybranchus and

Notomastus indicated by Sars’in addition to the occurrence and

want of branchiz, I will only remark that, in well-preserved

small spirit specimens of Dasybranchus caducus, the two-ringed

nature of the segments is very distinct, and the proboscis of

such a’specimen appears not so much scaly as covered with

papille.

XLII1.—Remarks on the Vessels of the Latex, the Vasa propria,

and the Receptacles of the elaborated Juices of Plants. By

M. Lestrzovpors*.

Tue older botanists looked upon the coloured fluids m vegetable

organisms as peculiar to certain plants, and called them “ proper

juices.” The vessels containing these juices they, moreover,

named “ proper vessels,” and the plants in which such secretions

were recognized, laticiferous or lactescent plants.

Besides coloured liquids, other juices, of a completely distinct

character, occur in plants, such as gum, resin, oil, &. Grew

termed the receptacles of resinous fluid in the Conifers “ tur-

pentine-vessels,” and those that contained a milky or white fluid

“ milk-vessels.” Linck designated all such organs by the name

of “reservoirs of special secretion.” Mirbel gave the title of

“proper vessels” to all receptacles of special secretion, whether

milky, resinous, or oily, calling those “solitary” which were

scattered throughout the tissues, and those “ fascicular” which

were aggregated together. In this latter category he placed the

textile fibres of Asclepias, of Hemp, &c., although such struc-

tures were destitute of laticiferous juices and were, in fact,

nothing more than the cortical fibres of those plants.

DeCandolle, whilst recognizing the heterogeneous nature of

special secretions, at first regarded them as the nutritive juices

of the plants, but subsequently abandoned this opinion (Organo-

graphie, 1827), and ranged all coloured fluids among secreted

- products, or those prepared by vesicular glands, and thus esta-

blished a distinction between them and the juices occupying the

lacunee of the cellular tissue. These latter cavities he agreed

with Linck in calling “ reservoirs of proper secretion.” In his

‘Physiologie végétale, published afterwards in 1882, although

’ * Translated by Dr. Arlidge from the ‘ Comptes Rendus ’ for March 1863.

¥ 8

the Vasa propria, and Receptacles of the Juices of Plants. 403

then acquainted with the earlier researches of M. Schultz, he

adhered to the opinion that the laticiferous juices are of the

nature of secretions.

M. Schultz specially studied the proper vessels of plants, and

enunciated various striking discoveries. He advanced the opinion

_ that the coloured juices of plants were no other than the nutritive

fluid ; that this fluid is coagulable, and characterized by the pre-

sence of granules floating in a transparent liquid; that it circu-

lates in thin, transparent, contractile vessels, without pores or

fissures, which ramify and anastomose together. The nutritive

fluid he called the /atex, its containing vessels /aticiferous véssels,

and its circulatory movement cyclosis. This movement he attri-

butes to the contractility of the walls of the vessels, and to the

properties of attraction and repulsion subsisting between the

granules and the walls of the vessels. The movement of attrac-

tion he terms autosyncrisis, and that of repulsion autodiacrisis.

Such plants as have no coloured sap have, he believes, a latex

analogous tv that found in laticiferous ones, differmg only

in its not possessing colouring granules. Moreover, he repre-

sents the laticiferous vessels as occurring in a state of expansion

when they are dilated and filled with granules, in a state of

contraction when they exhibit only a fine-granular streak, and in

a state of articulation when they are gorged with juices, but are

divided, in consequence of advancing age, into sections by com-

plete septa.

. According to these views, plants possess a fluid analogous to

blood, and a circulatory apparatus resembling the vascular system

of animals.

The statements of M. Schultz produced a great sensation at

the time of their publication among botanists, by many of whom

they were accepted as true. However, his hypothesis was very

soon keenly attacked, and its foundations disputed, by Mohl,

Meyer, Treviranus, and others. Mohl denied the existence of

the molecular movements of the globules of the latex (the auto-

syncrisis and autodiacrisis), and also the phenomenon of cyclosis.

According to him, any onward movement that may be observed

in the liquid within the proper vessels of a plant is not a normal

condition, but a consequence of a wound or section of the tissues

permitting an escape of their fluid, or else of pressure, of heat,

&c., whereby the liquid is driven from one vascular ramification

into another. Lastly, the very existence of vasa propria has

been denied, and the structures so called have been asserted to

be merely passages or channels which, as a secondary phase of

growth, acquire distinct walls; at the same time, the analogy

of the latex with the blood of animals has been disowned ; and

these various objections haye induced many botanists, who at

404 M. Lestiboudois on the Vessels of the Latex,

first accepted Schultz’s views, to abandon them more or less

completely. ;

Thus Adrien de Jussieu entirely accepted M. Schultz’s views

in the first edition of his ‘Cours élémentaire,’ but in the fifth

edition of that work omitted the description of laticiferous ves-

sels, referring to the channels so called by Schultz as lacune or

intercellular spaces which, as an effect of age, ultimately acquired

a special wall. He also no longer recognized cyclosis, nor the

nutritive nature of the coloured juices. M.A. Richard has like-

wise ceased to adopt Schultz’s opinions, and, instead of recog-

nizing an analogy between the special juices of plants contained

in vessels and the blood of animals, concludes that those juices

are rather of an excrementitious nature, more akin to bile or

saliva, or fluids which are only indirectly concerned in nutrition,

“The proper juices are not,” he writes (Elémens de Botanique,

7ieme dition, p. 253), “the same with the descending sap.”

M. Lestiboudois would endeavour to dispel the obscurity and

doubt which thus prevail respecting the existence and nature

of latex and laticiferous vessels. He wishes to determine whether

plants have a special vascular system for the circulation of a fluid

analogous to the blood of animals, or, in other words, whether

there is such a generally diffused nutritive fluid, called latex,

distributed to all the organs of a plant by a system of vessels

termed laticiferous vessels. With this object in view, he pro-

poses to study the question first in the case of plants furnished

with coloured juices, which have more particularly been com-

pared by analogy with blood, and next in respect to plants with

limpid juices; and he advances the following propositions for

solution :—

1. Are the coloured juices of plants analogous to blood ?

2. Are such juices distributed through the medium of vessels,

as in the vascular system of animals ?

- 8. Are such juices gifted with the movement of cyclosis ?

4, Are they met with in other reservoirs besides vessels ?

5. Can the coloured juices in different reservoirs be distin-

guished from one another ?

6. Are vessels of a similar character discoverable in the ge-

nerality of non-lactescent plants ?

7. In non-lactescent plants are reservoirs found analogous to

the non-vascular reservoirs of coloured fluids ?

8. Is there an organic apparatus in plants of a more general

character than that which encloses coloured juices, and which

may be considered to be intended to transport the nutritive

sap ?

iene with the first question, respecting the analogy of the

coloured fluids of plants with blood, he remarks that such fluids

the Vasa propria, and Receptacles of the Juices of Plants. 405

contain globules, that they coagulate by rest, and that in these

particulars they consequently present some features in common

with blood. Yet though the coloured liquids become inspissated,

they do not present the phenomena of blood-coagulation ; for in

this latter the fibrinous portion coagulates in a solid mass con-

taining the globules to form the clot, the other portion remain-

ing liquid in the form of serum; whilst in the case of coloured

vegetable juices, the globules are aggregated together in a thick

mass, and the liquid portion evaporates. In blood, again, the

globules have a determinate form and a special organization ;

while in the proper juices of plants they are often irregular in

form, without organization, and of very varied composition.

The composition of blood is in harmony with that of the tissues

of animals; it contains their elements : on the contrary, no such

analogy subsists between the proper juices of plants (the com-

position of which is very varied and complex) and the funda-

mental tissue of plants, constituted of cellulose. Lastly, the

proper juices are not found at every part, and indeed are gene-

rally absent from young tissues, in which the process of growth

principally proceeds.

- Therefore it may be said that the coloured juices of plants

neither resemble a fluid which has to furnish organs with the

materials of growth, in their physical properties, in their com-

position, or in the situations in which they are found.

In the next place, are the vessels in which the proper juices

are contained analogous to blood-vessels? Now, it must be

admitted that, in certain lactescent-plants, these fluids are con-

tained in ramifying and anastomosing vessels having simple

translucid walls without pores or fissures, just as Schultz has

represented them. To see such vessels, this observer recom-

mended the examination of the stipules of Ficus elastica, the

epidermis of which is very readily detached from the subjacent

tissue. On placing a portion of the tissue so prepared under

the microscope, the network of laticiferous vessels is at once

seen. If, again, of a large number of lactescent plants portions

be boiled, the vessels containing the coloured juices are readily

displayed, because the granules of those fluids are coagulated

into a more or less compact and continuous mass, filling the

tubes and rendering them very visible. By maceration for a

longer or shorter time, the surrounding cellular tissue becomes

broken up, and the ramifying tubules or vessels are left isolated

and open to the ready examination of their characters. Such

preparations may be made from the leaves, stems, or roots of

the plants, and among others from those of Campanula Medium,

C. pyramidalis, C.rapunculoides, Euphorbia sylvestris, E.Lathyris,

Cichorium Intybus, Lactuca sativa, Papaver somniferum, Ascle-

406 M. Lestiboudois on the Vessels of the Latex,

pias syriaca, Ficus elastica, Broussonetia papyrifera, and Cheli-

donium majus. :

In these plants, the reservoirs of the coloured juices clearly

constitute a vascular system such as one is accustomed to

conceive; there are tubes of more or less tenuity, frequently

isolated, though sometimes aggregated in bundles, which ana-

stomose and reunite to form larger trunks, are often flexuose,

with thin transparent walls, not lined by a lamina pierced by

fissures or pores, and without trace of a cellular organization.

They further contain a coloured fluid, varied in appearance by a

multitude of small granules held in suspension—these granules

being at times comparatively few, but at others so numerous as

to render the tubules altogether opake. After the granular

liquid is condensed by boiling, the granular matter is either

uniformly diffused through the tubes or agglomerated in irregular

masses. The tubules readily break across, and the disunited

fragments either remain in contact, giving rise to the semblance

of an articulation, or become detached and leave a thread of

the coagulated liquid they contained stretching between them

as an extensible connecting link.

In leaves, these vasa propria are generally situated externally

to the bundles of cortical fibres and spiral vessels; and they are

also met with alongside these bundles, either above or beneath

them, as, for example, in Ficus and Asclepias.

Their arrangement may be readily examined in Asclepias, for

instance, by preparing the leaves in the following manner :—

After boiling them and leaving them to macerate for some days,

the epidermis is removed from the veins on the under surface,

and the transparent fibrous tissue situated beneath the spiral

vessels is then to be separated. On placing a small portion of

that tissue under the microscope, the vasa propria are readily

distinguishable in the form of opake wavy and branching ves-

sels, whilst the neighbouring fibrous tissue is seen to be formed

of transparent, very slender, straight, simple tubes with more

or less acute extremities, either empty or occupied with more or

fewer granules.

The ramifications of the proper vessels are so disposed that

the several. branches follow the plan of venation of the leaf;

some of them, however, are given off in advance of the venous

branches, and have rather the appearance of collateral vessels

than of ramifications of the vasa propria. Sometimes, again,

vessels which have been given off in company with a branch in

the system of venation send back a recurrent branch, which re-

traces its course towards the original point of departure of the

vessel—a fact, like the two former, also illustrated in the struc-

ture of the leaves of Asclepias.

the Vasa propria, and Receptacles of the Juices of Plants. 407

' The remotest venules are accompanied by fine vascular branches;

for in the course of division the latter become more and more

attenuated. This circumstance is observable in Ficus and Che-

The vasa propria of stems appertain especially to the cortical

- system. Thus, in Papaver and Lactuca, the special juices are

seen, on section, not to flow from the central medulla ; or if they

do so at all, it is only in very minute quantity. Nevertheless

in some other plants, as Campanule and Chelidonium majus,

very many such special vessels occur in the woody lamina ; and

‘there are plants, indeed, in which such structures are more

abundant in the medulla than in the cortical zones; among

such is Asclepias syriaca. The vessels of stems may be detached

in considerable numbers, and isolated by maceration after pre-

vious boiling. The proper vessels of the cortex are distributed

in the different tissues of its layers: thus, in Campanula they

are diffused in the parenchyma and in the fibrous layer of the

bark ; in Chelidonium they lie outside the fibrous bundles. The

vasa propria of stems are generally but slightly ramified, though

not, indeed, devoid of frequent divisions. In Asclepias these

vessels anastomose at every node, in such a manner, too, as to

form a plexus and a kind of septum in the medulla. Some of the

branches emanating from this plexus are continued to the petiole

of the leaf at its junction with a node, and to the young branch

which springs from its axil; in this way they traverse the me-

dullary space left between the bundles of woody fibre, and anas-

tomose with the vasa propria of the-bark, thus establishing a

communication between the vascular network of the medulla

and that of the cortical system.

- The proper juices are in general more dense and of a deeper

colour in the lower and older parts of a plant. In young shoots

they are pale, and not thick; towards the base of the stem they

are habitually much more intense in colour. Thus, in Asclepias

syriaca, the juices, which are of a pure white colour in the upper

portions of the plant, are of a yellow colour near the base of

its stem. In Chelidonium the juices at the extremities of the

branches are of a very pale yellow, but of a deep yellow tint in

the main stem, and a reddish yellow in the root.

. These dispositions are reversed, however, in certain species :

in Papaver the proper juices are of a milky-white colour and

well marked in the capsules, though scarcely opaline in the root.

The proper juices of this plant seem to be derived principally

from the fruit, which gives off a white juice on incision in great

abundance: yet if the petiole be cut, little exudes; and if the

incision be low down in the stem, no escape at all will probably

take place.

408 M. Lestiboudois on the laticiferous Vessels of Plants.

In other plants where the juices are more coloured and denser

in their lower portions, they are there less abundant: thus, for

example, in Chelidonium, sections of the root are followed by a

very small discharge of laticiferous fluid. The Asclepias syriaca,

which possesses so many latex-vessels in its stem, has very few

such in its stock, and none at all in those parts which give off

no buds: for instance, the portions contiguous to the aérial

stems allow the escape of a coloured fluid; while the remoter

parts, together with the roots, give off a scarcely appreciable

quantity. I should state, however, that I have sometimes ob-

served a few isolated vessels in the roots. These radical vessels

are impregnated with a mucilaginous liquid, of thick consistence

‘and capable of coalescing in little globules of various diameters,

themselves sometimes becoming confluent, and apparently being

proper juices.

In certain plants the coloured fluids, instead of being less

abundant in the roots, accumulate there in a larger quantity

than in the aérial portions: thus, in the stem of Lactuca sativa

the vasa propria do not constitute the principal elements of the

cortical bundles, which are composed of woody fibres ; whilst in

the root they almost exclusively form the cortical bundles, into

the composition of which few fibres enter. Hence this portion

of the plant contains the largest proportion of the laticiferous

juices ; and on tearing the plant up by the roots, little drops of

white fluid are seen to escape from all the torn ends of the

fibrils.

Asa rule, the vasa propria are distinguishable from neigh-

bouring tissues, and particularly from cortical fibres, by the cir-

cumstance of their being filled with a granular fluid of some

particular colour, and by their flexuous, thin, branching, ana-

stomotic, and isolated form—the fibres being, on the contrary,

straight, parallel, closely packed, and often empty. However,

in certain plants these proper vessels are straight, very long,

with few ramifications, and contain excessively minute granules

few in number ; on the other hand, cortical fibres occur of very

fine calibre, of delicate form, and more or less filled with granular

matter, and therefore not so readily distinguishable from vasa

propria. This happens in Campanula Medium, C. rapuncu-

loides, and C. pyramidalis, in Euphorbia Lathyris, E. sylvatica, &e.

The distinction is rendered still more difficult when the vessels

are articulated. . According to Schultz, the articulations are not

primary, but are the consequence of age; on this point we shall

have something to say hereafter. The reported movements of

expansion and contraction we shall also defer, remarking here

only that though the difficulties in determining the existence

of proper vessels are often great, yet the plan of boiling the

Rev. A. M. Norman on Acantholeberis, Lilljeborg. | 409

parts to be examined, and thereby suddenly destroying vitality

and coagulating the proper juices, renders the existence of vasa

propria in certain parts clearly demonstrable.

XLIV.—On Acantholeberis (Lilljeborg), a Genus of Entomo-

straca new to Great Britain. By the Rey. Aurrep MERLE

Norman, M.A.

[Plate XI]

Fam. Daphniida.

Genus AcantHoxeBenris (Lilljeborg).

(Syn. Acanthocercus, Schédler.)

Anterior antenne large and conspicuous, porrected from the

front of the head. The upper branch of the posterior antenne

four-jointed, and bearing at its termination three plumose sete

and a spine: lower branch three-jointed, and having the first

joint provided with a remarkably long-spined seta, the second

also furnished with one very long seta, and the last jot termi-

nating in three sete anda spine. The postero-ventral angle of

the carapace is fringed with very long sete of a spine-like cha-

racter. Feet five pairs. Intestinal canal simple and straight at

first, but furnished with a loop near the anus.

The genus Acanthocercus was founded by Schédler, in the

remarkable Entomostracan which Miiller had described in the

“Zoologia Danica,’ under the name of Daphne curvirostris.

Fitzinger had, however, established a genus of reptiles under the

same name three years previously ; and Lilljeborg, therefore, in

his work on the Entomostraca (De Crustaceis ex ordinibus tribus

Cladocera, Ostracoda, et Copepoda in Scania occurrentibus)

changed the name of the genus to Acantholeberis.

In general characters Acantholeberis is closely —perhaps almost

too closely—allied to Macrothrix (Baird). The resemblance is

seen in the general form of the carapace and of the organs of the

body, but especially in the large size and position of the anterior

antennz, and in the peculiar and exceptional structure of the

long seta of the first joint of the lower branch of the posterior

antenne. The chief differences are to be found in the number

of setz on the upper branch of the posterior antennz, which in

Macrothriz are four, but in Acantholeberis only three ; and in

the fact that there is a loop in the intestinal canal of Acantho-

leberis towards the posterior extremity below the point of attach-

ment of the fifth feet ; while in Macrothriz there is no such fold,

the course of the canal being straight.

In 1858, Lievin described a second species of the genus; but

Ann. & Mag, N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 27

410 Rey. A.M. Norman on Acantholeberis, Lilijeborg,

his A. sordida shows such marked points of divergence from the

type as to make us doubt whether the genus has been founded

on sufficiently good grounds, and whether it should not rather

be united with Lathonura, Lilljeborg (= Pasithea, Koch), and

Macrothriz. A. curvirostris sit A. sordida are the only known

members of the genus, and both these species have now been

found in Great Britain.

Acantholeberis curvirostris (Miller). Pl. XI. figs. 1-5.

Daphne curvirostris, O. F. Miiller, Zool. Dan. Prod. p. 200. No. 2403.

Daphnia curvirostris, O. F. Miiller, Entomostraca, p. 93, pl. 13. f. 1 & 2.

Acanthocercus rigidus, Schédler, Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, 1846, B. i.

ie 301, pl.11& 12. Lievin, ‘‘ Die Branchiopoden der Danziger Gegend,”

' Neueste Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig, B. iv.

p- 33, pl. 8. f. 1-5. Leydig, Naturgeschichte der Daphniden, p. 195.

Acantholeberis curvirostris, Lilljeborg, De Crust. ex ord. Clad, Ostrac, et

Copep. p. 52, pl. 4. f. 3-7, & pl. 23. f. 10, 11,

The carapace is somewhat oblong in form, rather truncate

below, and with the hind margin nearly straight, since the ma-

trix is but little protuberant in the gravid female. The head

does not lean forward, as is usually the case among the Daph-

niide, but is remarkably upright. To the upper point of the

beak the anterior antenne (PI. XI. fig. 2) are attached, and from

it they are projected at nearly a right angle. These organs are

very large, and strap-shaped; they are slightly serrate on thé

upper margin, and gradually widen towards the extremity, which

is furnished with six or eight cylindrical tentaculiform filaments.

The supplemental eye-spot is situated close behind their bases,

and is very small,

The posterior antennz are long and slender; their peduncles

are not very muscular, are corrugated on the basal half, and bear

a few minute spines on the surface towards the distal extremity,

The upper and four-jointed branch of these antennz has the

first articulation very small, the second considerably longer, and

furnished with a spine on the upper margin, but no seta; the

third is unprovided with appendages ; the fourth terminates in

three two-jointed plumose sete and a spine, which does not equal

one-third of the basal portion of the sete in length. The first

joint of the lower branch bears an unusually long two-jointed

seta of remarkable character, and which, indeed, forms one of

the chief features in this interesting Entomostracan. The basal

portion of this seta is provided with short cilia on the outer or

upper margin, while the inner margin is smooth; the second

portion of the seta (Pl. XI. fig. 3) has a series of rather distant

spines upon the outer margin ; and between these spines a high

power of the microscope shows a fringe of short, closely-set cilia.

a Genus of Entomostraca new to Great Britain. 411

The second joint of the lower branch of the posterior antennz

bears another seta of great length, which differs, however, in its

armature from that of the first joint. This seta is plumose on

both margins throughout its entire length; and between the

longer hairs of the outer margin of the distal portion are short

closely-set cilia (fig. 4), similar in character to those between the

spines of the seta which is attached to the first joint. The third

joint ends in three two-jointed plumose cilia and a spine.

- The labrum has a large and conspicuous, much elevated,

acutely papilliform process in front. The terminal portion of

the abdomen is bordered with a closely-set array of spines, and

has the sides, moreover, thickly studded with an admixture of

slender spines and hairs. The abdominal sete are long, while

the terminal claws (fig. 5) are rather short, a little flattened,

and minutely pectinated along the edges. The ventral margin

of the carapace is fringed throughout its entire length with

plumose sete ; and these sete attain an extraordinary length at

the angle formed by the junction of the ventral and posterior

margins.

Acantholeberis curvirostris was discovered last summer by

Mr. D. Robertson, in the Isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde,

living in some abundance in a small shallow pond about 12 feet

square, which had been cut out of the sandstone rock, and was

covered at the bottom with moss and Conferve. Mr. Robertson

informs us that though the species seems fond of remaining

quietly among the weeds, it nevertlieless is tolerably active when

swimming, which it effects with a slight jerking motion, often in

curves. It has a habit of mounting to the surface of the water,

and then allowing itself passively and slowly to sink to the bot-

tom, with its antennz spread out on either side. It rarely re-

sumes active motion when in its downward course, unless it is

disturbed.

A second locality for the species is Crag Lake, Northumber-

land, where it has been met with, during the present spring, by

Mr. G. 8. Brady.

Acantholeberis sordida (Lievin). Pl. XI. figs. 6-9.

Acanthocercus sordidus, Lievin, “Die Branch. der Danziger Gegend,”

Neueste Schriften der naturf. Gesells. in Danzig, B. iv. p. 34, pl. 8.

f. 7-12. Fischer, Bull. de la Soc. Imp. des Nat. de Moscou, 1854.

Leydig, Naturgeschichte der Daphniden, p. 199.

Carapace nearly round, widest below, and slightly truncate on

the inferior margin, tumid, and having the surface clothed with

short hair. Anterior antenne largely developed, long, cylin-

drieal. Posterior antenne short and stout; their peduncles

27*

412 Rev. A.M. Norman on Acantholeberis, Lilljeborg,

very large, stout, and powerfully muscular. Both branches very

short, the separate articulations being scarcely longer than they

are broad, and the total length of the branches barely exceeding

the width of the bases of the enormously developed peduncles.

Upper and four-jointed branch terminating in three plumose

sete and a long spine, which equals two-thirds the length of the

basal portion of the sete. Lower and three-jointed branch

having a seta at the extremity of the first and second joints, and

three sete and a spine at the termination of the third joint.

The sete of the first two jomts do not differ materially in cha-

racter from those at the extremity. ‘The last portion of the

abdomen (Pl. XI. fig. 7) is in the form of a somewhat flattened

semicircular plate, margined with large spines. The claws are

large, produced, simple, and cylindrical. Just below their base

is a cluster of small spines, which are succeeded by some still

smaller spines; behind these the spines increase in size, becom-

ing both numerous and large. The abdominal sete are long and

slightly plumose. The ventral edge of the carapace is fringed

with plumose setz (fig. 8); but at the posteroventral angle

these setze become much longer, assume quite a spine-like cha-

racter, and bear, as it were, smaller spines attached to one side

(fig. 9). The entire animal is of a brilliant crimson colour.

This Daphnian is remarkable alike in history and in habits.

On examining with a hand-lens the vegetable matter in a

bottle of water brought home from ‘a clear pond which had

been cut out of the limestone rock, to contain water for the

supply of the engine at a now unworked colliery at Bishop

Middleham, in the county of Durham, a small blood-red Ento-

mostracan, which was lying upon its back in the water, attracted

attention; and on further search, two more individuals were

found in the same bottle. They at once became a source of

great interest ; for A. sordida is the most helpless animal possible.

It is totally unable either to swim or to walk. The setz of the

antenne are apparently of insufficient length to confer the power

of swimming; and the feet in this family, though valuable

agents in respiration, are totally unfitted in their structure for

purposes of locomotion, and, indeed, being contained within the

carapace, could not by any possibility be used for the support of

the body. The animal therefore lies upon its back, kicking and

struggling, swinging to and fro its brawny arms (the posterior

antenne), and thrusting in and out of the carapace-valves its

largely developed and strongly spined abdomen in the vain

attempt [to push itself from place to place; but the efforts,

though most vigorous, are of little avail, and its progress is

extremely slow.’ It is probably in consequence of these sluggish.

a Genus of Entomostraca new to Great Britain. 418

habits, and of the animal rolling itself in the mud, as well as

owing to the pilose covering of the shell, that it owes the coating

of mud, Diatoms, and Desmids which render it so difficult a

a matter to see the structure of the organs of the body contained

within the carapace. That the coating of extraneous matter is

the effect, and not the cause, of the ability of the animal to

swim is proved by the fact that one of the specimens obtained,

which was sent to Mr. G. S. Brady for the purpose of obtaining

his kindly extended and valuable aid in the delineation of the

species, gave birth to five young while in his possession ; and he

informed us that, though these young, when first born, were able -

to raise themselves slightly in the water, yet it was not more

than about half an inch, nor could this be effected without great

effort, or, apparently, without the assistance of the sides of the

vessel in which they were contained; and when two or three

days old, even this limited power of locomotion was lost. Mr.

Brady wrote to us the following vivid description of the motions

of these young specimens :—“ It is a sight to see the brutes

swim, or éry to swim, under the microscope. When a good view

from the dorsal aspect is obtained, one sees that they put their

two great antenne together, and strike out in a good bold sweep

like any Christian, the superior antenne working synchronously,

but in a smaller arc, inside the greater ones. The motion of

these lesser’ antenne is very beautiful; and the muscular con-

tractions in the basal joints of the greater ones are remarkably

plain, throwing the limb into great wrinkles. When the animal

is tired of this sort of exertion, it stops its arms, and begins

working its branchial apparatus at a great rate; but, so far as I

can see, the two systems are never in active motion together.

They seem to attract dust and parasitic growths; for, though

kept in simple water, they are surrounded with confervoid fila-

ments, Diatoms, Oscillatoriz, &c.”

Another remarkable feature in the history of this Daphnian

is the great scarcity of the species individually. As a rule, where

an Entomostracan occurs at all, it is to be met with in abund-

ance. This is very far from being the case with A. sordida.

Failing in the attempt to make out the structure of the three

specimens we had obtained in the Bishop-Middleham colliery

pond, and being unwilling to destroy them by attempted dissec-

tion, we hoped to render the dense character of the carapace-

valves more transparent by mounting them in Dean’s medium.

The result was far from satisfactory. The pond was therefore

revisited in the hope of again finding the species, and this not

once, but many times; but, though the greatest trouble and

care were taken, no further specimens could be met with. Sub-

sequently, however, a single example was obtained under pre-

414 Rey, A.M, Norman on Acantholeberis, Lilljeborg.

cisely similar circumstances to those under which the former

had been taken, among material collected in thé Forge Dam at

Sedgefield, a spot about two and a half miles distant from the

first locality. It is from this example that the figures and

description of this paper have principally been derived. All

after-attempts (and they were not a few) to take this species in

the Forge Dam were as unavailing as they had proved in the

ease of the colliery pond.

We had at first thought that this abnormal species might be

new to science; and when we found the description of this ani-

mal in Leydig’s work, we could not help being amused at the

remarkable parallelism between our own experience and that of

Fischer and Leydig; and we really are afraid that it was some

consolation, after the great trouble that had been taken in the

yain attempt to obtain additional specimens, that other natu-

ralists had suffered precisely similar disappointments. Fischer

says that he could only find a single specimen, and therefore is

obliged to content himself with referring to the description of

Lievin; and Leydig writes, “I have only once observed Acan-

thocercus sordidus, in a muddy lake at Tiibingen. It was a single

specimen, which struck me by its blood-red colour, and also by

the ample investiture of mud which surrounded the animal.

Added to that, it did not swim, but crept slowly along the bot-

tom of the vessel. Circumstances prevented my drawing the

animal, and every subsequent trouble I took to find the animal

again was in vain.”

We have already referred to the fact that this species does not

appear to embrace all the characters which are assigned to the

genus Acantholeberis. It agrees with A. eurvirostris in the

number of setze attached to the posterior antenne, and also in the

presence of setz of great length at the posterior ventral angle of

the carapace. It differs in the fact that the sete of the first two

joints of the lower branch of the posterior antenne are short,

and do not differ in character from the ordinary plumose sete of

the Daphniide. But a more important instance of divergence

would appear to exist in the structure of the intestinal canal,

which does not seem to possess a loop near the excretory ori-

fice, as in A, curvirostris; nevertheless a great dilatation of the

canal exists in an analogous position, forming apparently a

strong muscular rectum, At the same time, we speak with

hesitation on this point, and our opportunities of investigating

the structure of the species have not been sufficient to enable us

to speak with certainty on this and other points,

Sedgefield, county Durham.

“ May 18, 1863.

Rev..S, Haughton on the Cells of the Wasp and Bee. 415

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI.

Fig. 1. Acantholeberis curvirostris (Miller), ? .

Fig. 2. Anterior antenna of the same ies.

Fig. 3. Portion of the terminal half of the seta attached to the first joint

of the lower branch of the posterior antenne; greatly magnified.

Fig. 4. Portion of the terminal half of the seta attached to the second

joint of the lower branch of the posterior antennz, greatly en-

. 5. Abdominal claws.

6. Acantholeberis sordida (Lievin), 9 .

7. Abdomen of the same species.

8. Sete from the ventral margin of the carapace. _

Fig.

Fig. 9. Sete from the posteroventral angle of the carapace.

XLV.—On the Form of the Cells made by various Wasps and by

the Honey Bee; with an Appendix on the Pe ie Species.

By the Rev. Samuret Haveuton*, Fellow of Trinity College,

Dublin.

Tue geometrical form affected by the cells of various kinds of

-wasps and bees has attracted the attention, and called forth the

speculations, of naturalists and geometers from the earliest

periods. By one class of writers the geometrical properties of

these cells have been used as proofs, not so much of the skill

and instinct of the insects as of the wisdom and intelligence of

their Creator ; while, by the opposite class of writers, these same

geometrical properties of the cells are alleged as a sufficient

cause for the production of the insects that make them, from

the advantages which these forms of cells are supposed to possess

over other forms—advantages said to be so important as to de-

cide the battle of life in favour of the insects that adopt the

geometrical plan of making their cells.

I have for a long time felt convinced that both parties in this

controversy are in error, as men generally are when they attempt

to speculate on the reasons for the existence of things ; and that

the properties of the cells are only the necessary consequence of

their geometrical form, which form itself is the necessary con-

sequence of mechanical conditions totally unconnected with

design, and incapable of rendering an account of the origin of

the insects that make the cells.

The geometrical cell of the wasps and bees that I have had an

opportunity of examining may be divided into three classes.

- Ast. Hexagonal cells formed of adjomimg pyramidal figures,

with slightly curved axes, not termmating im a point, but ina

rounded extremity.

* Read before the Natural History Society of Dublin, November 21,

1862, {Reprinted from a separate pamphlet by permission of the author.]

416 Rey. S, Haughton on the Form of the Cells.

The British tree-wasp forms its pupa-cells in this manner, and,

in consequence of the pyramidal form of the hexagonal cells,

the comb opens out on the lower side, so as to present a larger

surface than on the upper side. .

2nd. Hexagonal cells formed of adjoining prismatic figures,

with rectilinear axes, terminated by a truncated plane, at right

angles to the axes of the prisms.

These cells are found in wasps’ nests from St. Lucia, in the

West Indies, and at Graham’s Town, in South Africa, which

were placed at my disposal for this investigation by Mr. Robert

J, Montgomery.

3rd. Hexagonal cells formed of adjoining prismatic figures,

with rectilinear axes, terminated by three faces of a rhombic

dodecahedron, which three faces also form each one-third of

the termination of a similar set of adjoming hexagonal prismatic

cells, placed end to end behind the first set of prisms.

This double comb is produced by the well-known form of the

cells of the honey-bee.

All these varieties of cells may be accounted for, simply by

the mechanical pressure of the insects against each other during

the formation of the cell. In consequence of the instinct that

compels them to work with reference to a plane, and of the

cylindrical form of the insects’ bodies, the cells must be hexa-

gons; and in consequence of the instinct that induces the bees

to form double combs, the mutual pressure of their heads

against each other compels the bottom of the cell to assume the

form of the rhombic dodecahedron. Ifwe could imagine spherical

insects endowed with the instinct of working from a point and

not a plane, their cells would cease to affect the forms of the

hexagon and rhombic dodecahedron, and would imitate the

totally different form of the pentagonal dodecahedron—instances

of which may be seen in the bubbles produced in the froth of an

organic solution, and in the shapes of the elementary cells of

vegetables, equally restricted in their growth in every direction—

and also in the pentagonal faces assumed by leaden bullets made

to fill completely the inside of a hollow shell, and then dis-

charged against a bank of earth, or a wall, from a mortar.

On this subject, I cannot do better than quote the words of

Buffon, who was the first person that put forward a rational

theory of the shape of the cells of bees. The passage which I

- quote may be found in his ‘ Histoire Naturelle,’ tom. iv. p. 99 :—

“ Dirai-je encore un mot; ces cellules des abeilles, ces hexa-

gones, tant vantés, tant admirés, me fournissent une preuve de

plus contre l’enthousiasme et Vadmiration: .cette figure, toute

géométrique et toute réguliére qu’elle nous paroit, et qu’elle est

en effet dans la spéculation, n’est ici qu’un résultat mécanique

made by various Wasps and by the Honey-Bee. 417

et assez imparfait qui se trouve souvent dans la nature, et que

Pon remarque méme dans ses productions les plus brutes; les

cristaux et plusieurs autres pierres, quelques sels, &c., prennent

constamment cette figure dans leur formation. Qu’on observe

les petites écailles de la peau d’une roussette, on verra qu’elles

sont hexagones, parce que chaque écaille croissant en méme

temps se fait obstacle, et tend 4 occuper le plus d’espace qu'il

est possible dans un espace donné: on voit ces mémes hexa-

gones dans le second estomac des animaux ruminans, on les

trouve dans les graines, dans leurs capsules, dans certaines

fleurs, &c. Qu’on remplisse un vaisseau de pois, ou plutét de

quelque autre graine cylindrique, et qu’on le ferme exactement

aprés y avoir versé autant d’eau que les intervalles qui restent

entre ces graines peuvent en recevoir; qu’on fasse bouillir cette

eau, tous ces cylindres deviendront de colonnes & six pans. On

en voit clairement la raison, qui est purement mécanique;

chaque graine, dont la figure est cylimdrique, tend par son ren-

flement a occuper le plus d’espace possible dans un espace

donné, elles deviennent donc toutes nécessairement hexagones

par la compression réciproque. Chaque abeille cherche a

occuper de méme le plus d’espace possible dans un espace

donné, il est donc nécessaire aussi puisque le corps des abeilles

est eylindrique, que leurs cellules soient hexagones,—par la

méme raison des obstacles réciproques. On donne plus d’esprit

aux mouches dont les ouvrages sont les plus réguliers; les

abeilles sont, dit-on, plus ingénieuses que les guépes, que les

frelons, &c., qui savent aussi V’architecture, mais dont les con-

structions sont plus grossiéres et plus irréguliéres que celles des

abeilles: on ne veut pas voir, ou l’on ne se doute pas que cette

régularité, plus ou moins grande, dépend uniquement du

nombre et de la figure, et nullement de V’intelligence de ces

petites bétes ; plus elles sont nombreuses, plus il y a des forces

qui agissent également et qui s’opposent de méme, plus il y a

par conséquent de contrainte mécanique, de régularité forcée,

et de perfection apparente dans leurs productions.” — Buffon.

The opinions of the older writers, especially of mathematicians,

on this subject, differ widely from those advanced by Buffon.

I shall here translate some of the most important of the pas-

sages bearing on this point.

The famous Pappus, of Alexandria, in the Introduction to

the Fifth Book of his Mathematical Collections, says :—

“God has imparted to men, indeed, the best and most perfect

knowledge of wisdom and discipline ; and has assigned to some

animals, devoid of reason, a certain portion. To men, there-

fore, as making use of reason, He has permitted that they should

do all things by reason and demonstration ; but to other animals

‘418 . Rey. 8, Haughton on the Form of the Cells .

without reason, He has given the possession of what is useful

and conducive to life, by a certain natural providence.

“Any one may understand this to be so, as well in many

other kinds of animals, and more especially in bees. For order,

and a certain admirable deference to those who rule in their

republic, ambition, moreover, and cleanliness, heap together an

abundance of honey; but their foresight and economy concern-

ing its conservation are much more admirable: for holding it

for certain, as is just, that they carry back some portion of

ambrosia from the gods to choice men, they pour out this, not

rashly on the ground, or into wood, or any other unformed and

misshapen matter; but collecting from the sweetest flowers

that grow in the earth, they form from them most excellent

vases as a receptacle for the honey (which the Greeks call «npia,

and the Latins favi), all indeed, equal, similar, and cohering

among themselves, of the hexagon species. Now it is thus

evident that they construct these by a certain geometrical fore-

sight ; for they consider it fit that all the figures should cohere

together and have common sides, lest anything, falling into the

intervening spaces, should spoil and corrupt their work.

“ Hence, three rectilinear and ordinate figures can effect what

is proposed—TI mean ordinate figures which are equilateral and

equiangular, for ordinate and dissimilar figures did not please

the bees themselves. Now, equilateral triangles, and squares,

and hexagons (neglecting other dissimilar figures filling space)

may be placed next each other, so as to have common sides—

other ordinate figures cannot; for the space about the same

point is filled, either by six equilateral triangles, or by four

squares, or by three hexagons; but three pentagons are less

than sufficient, and four are more than sufficient to fill the

space round a point, neither can three heptagons be established,

so as to fill the space round a point*. ’

“The same reasoning will apply much more to figures having

a greater number of sides. There being, then, three figures,

which, of themselves, can fill up the space round a point, viz.

the triangle, the square, and the hexagon; the bees have wisely

selected for their structure that which contains most angles,

suspecting, indeed, that it could hold more honey than either of

the others.

“The bees, forsooth, know only what is useful to themselves,

viz. that the hexagon is greater than the square or triangle, and

can hold more honey, an equal quantity of material being em-

ployed in the construction of each ; but we, who profess to have

more wisdom than the bees, will investigate something even

* The proofs of these assertions are omitted in this translation.

made by various Wasps and by the Honey-Bee. 419

more remarkable, viz. that, of plane figures, which are equi-

lateral and equiangular, and have equal perimeters, that is

always the greatest which consists of most angles, and the circle

is the greatest of all, provided it be: included in a perimeter

equal to theirs.” —Pappus.

In 1712, Maraldi published, in the ‘ Mémoires de l’Académie

des Sciences, Paris,’ 1712, p. 299, a remarkable paper, in which

is investigated, for the first time, the terminal pianes of the

bees’ cell, which are now well known to be formed of the faces

of the rhombic dodecahedron. He appears to have believed

that the object of having lozenges of the same form, as termi-

nating planes, was to enable the bees to carry in their mind the

_ idea of one geometrical form only, in addition to their original

idea of the hexagon. The angles of the lozenge are found by

him to be 110° and 70°, by observation; and 109° 28' and

70° 32’ by calculation. He gives, also, the following mean

measurements of the cells:—In a foot long of comb there are

from 60 to 66 cells, about two lines for each cell, and the depth

of the cell is five lines.

Réaumur appears to have been the first who introduced the

fantastic idea of economy of wax, as the motive cause of the

peculiar shape of the terminating planes, and, not being a geo-

meter, he obtained the assistance of Kénig to calculate the

angle of the lozenge which should give the least surface with a

given volume. Ko6nig determined this angle at 109° 26’, agree-

ing with Maraldi within two minutes.

MacLaurin published, in the ‘Philosophical Transactions,’

1743, p. 565, an elaborate geometrical paper on the subject, in

which he proves that the tangent of the angle in question is the

square root of 2, and that it is therefore equal to 109° 28' 16";

and he computes the saving of wax as “almost one-fourth part

of the pains and expense of wax they bestow, above what was

necessary for completing the parallelogram side of the cells.”

I/Haullier, in 1781, published, in the ‘ Berlin Memoirs,’ p. 277,

an elaborate discussion of the entire problem, in which he

arrived at the following results, already found by MacLaurin’s

geometrical method :—

a. That the economy of wax is less than one-fifth of what

would make a flat base.

_ b, That the economy of wax, referred to the total expenditure,

is #;st, so that the bees can make fifty-one cells, instead of fifty,

by the adoption of the rhombic dodecahedron,

He does not share, however, in the enthusiasm of the natu-

ralists, but maintains and proves that mathematicians could

make cells, of the same form as those of the bees, which, instead

of using only a minimum of wax, would use the minimum mini-

420 Rev. 8. Haughton on the Origin of Species.

morum, so that five cells could be made of less wax than that

which now makes only four, instead of fifty-one out of fifty.

Notwithstanding this conclusive decision in favour of the

mathematicians, the advocates of final cause, and those who

maintain that economy of wax can create a new species, have

both persisted in using the bees’ cell in illustration of their re-

spective theories, with a pertinacity that proves the persistent

vitality of an exploded theory. In illustration of this remark-

able tendency of false theories to reproduce themselves, I shall

here add, as an appendix to my account of the form of the

wasps’ and bees’ cells, some remarks on the origin of species,

the substance of which originally appeared in the ‘ Natural His-

tory Review’ of 1860.

Appendix on the Origin of Species.

The active and restless mind of man has never been content

with the knowledge of the present, but has always sought to

know the future and the past. The guesses of the ancients as

to the future of man are amongst the most interesting and, at

the same time, the most puerile of their philosophical specula-

tions. The reader of the Tusculan Disputations rises from his

task, charmed by the style of the writer, but thankful that a

certain revelation of the future renders him immeasurably su-

perior in knowledge to the weavers of these pleasant webs of

fiction ; and though he admires the skill of the ingenious sophists

who live again and dispute in the pages of Cicero, he would not

for an instant exchange his own position for theirs.

The moderns have resolved, by their speculations on the past,

to show that in ingenuity and oddness of conceit, and, probably,

also in wideness from the truth, they are in no respect inferior

to the ancients. The future being shut out from us, we are re-

solved to try what we can effect, in proof of our versatility of

imagination, by guessing at the history of the past.

To establish a character for subtlety and skill, in drawing

large conclusions on this subject from slender premises, the first

requisite is ignorance of what other speculators have attempted

before us in the same field ; and the second is, a firm confidence

in our own special theory. Neither of these requisites can be

considered wanting in those who are engaged in the task of

reproducing Lamarck’s theory of organic life, either as alto-

gether new, or with but a tattered and threadbare cloak thrown

over its original nakedness.

The sciences of geology and political economy are mainly

answerable for the revival of these exploded and forgotten

fancies,—geology, in supplying the lost history of organic life,

which could never be studied: profoundly from the creatures

ae ae

ee ee OTT Re ee ee

Rev. S. Haughton on the Origin of Species. 421

living at any given time; and political economy, in furnishing,

from its mean and sordid motives, a Malthusian force, supposed

to be sufficient to supply the wants of previous theories.

One of the earliest speculators on the origin of the diversified

forms of life we see around us, and class as varieties, species,

and genera, was Buffon, who published in 1766* his theory of

the derivation of all mammal forms by degradation, from fifteen

primary and perfect types, and nine special or isolated species.

This theory of Buoyéveois by degradation, although now

superseded by the theory of progression, has much to be said

in its favour, and derives additional importance from the facts

of the history of life made known since Buffon’s time, by the

science of geology. The principal of these additional facts are,

the degradation of fishes from their first introduction in the Old

Red Sandstone period to the present day; the corresponding

degradation of the Cephalopods, and, though in a somewhat

less degree, of the Reptiles.

Some of the classes given by Buffon are as old as the time of

Moses, who defines with accuracy the class Ruminantia, distin-

guishing it from the Pachydermata and Rodentia, in his classifi-

cation of “clean” and “ unclean” beastst.

Whatever may be thought by the more enlightened moderns

of the merits of this classification of mammals, Buffon certainly

agrees with them in one respect: he takes the non-reality of

species as the starting-poimt of his theory, and by a continued

degradation downwards, developes all the varieties of life we see

on the surface of the globe.

To those who love to dwell upon the past, this theory of

degradation will afford solace and consolation in the troubles of

the present, as they can reflect upon how good and excellent

their ancestors were, and congratulate each other upon their

superiority to those that will come after them. Every system

of philosophy provides its followers with a “ solatium doloris ; ””

the degradationists find it in the contemplation of the past, and

the progressionists in the prospect of the future; to those who

are contented with the present, and deny our knowledge of the

past or future, both theories appear as the idle dreams of child-

hood, the awakening from which will disclose a reality totally

different from the troubled fancies of the night.

Lamarck is the father of the progressionists ; and of the many

who quote his name as an authority in support of their systems,

or express their disapproval of his doctrine, few have taken the

trouble to understand his theory or trace it to its origin. It is

apparently founded on the confusion of species, like that of

Buffon ; but there is in reality an arriére-pensée, like an unseen

* Histoire Naturelle, tom. xiv. + Leviticus, xi. 2-8.

422 Rev. 8. Haughton on the Origin of Species.

presence, which corrupts his reasoning, and discloses the motive

force of his entire system. ‘This hidden spring of action and

theorizing is a profound and, as many think, a well-founded con-

tempt for humanity, which pervades his writings as: thoroughly

as it does the “ Voyage to the Houyhnhnms.” Lamarck was too

quick-witted and acute an observer, however deficient he may

have been as a reasoner, to have believed his own theory, the

real mainspring of which is the desire to degrade man into an

intelligent baboon or Yahoo ; what difference is there in a name !

In his desire to do so, he overlooks every fact at variance with

his foregone conclusion, and writes of mankind with a virulence

which, though devoid of the wit of Swift, springs from the same

profound and unalterable conviction of the worthlessness of the

creature he describes :—

“Si Newton, Bacon, Montesquieu, Voltaire, et tant d’autres

hommes ont honoré l’espéce humaine par l’étendue de leur

intelligence et de leur génie, combien ne la rapprochent pas de

Vanimal cette quantité d’>hommes bruts, ignorans, en proie aux

préjugés les plus absurdes, et constamment asservis par leurs

habitudes, qui cependant composent la masse principale chez

toutes les nations ?”*

Lamarck’s contempt for his species is again shown in the

strange list of resemblances he selects for his comparison between

man and the chimpanzee—a comparison fully as degrading as

Swift’s mock imitation of a naturalist’s description of a Yahoo.

Lamarck’s theory consists in the assertion of the following

laws, six in number, which he dignifies with the title of Laws of

Nature :—

I. Law of Specialization of Function, by which a function at

first general, or belonging to the whole body, is determined to

a particular organ.

II. Law of Nutrition producing Death by the forced inequality

between the materials fixed by assimilation and removed by

excretion. This law is intended to account for death, which is -

a puzzle to the naturalists.

III. Law of Movement of Complex Fluids in Canals. This

law I profess my inability to understand. In the statement of

it, Lamarck, who, like most naturalists, is unacquainted with

physics, and untrained in the severe discipline of mathematical

reasoning, attributes properties to fluids in motion which must

be considered by lookers-on as little short of miraculous.

IV. Law of Change of Composition of Fluids in Circulation.

This law is as obscure, and as miraculous in its results, as the

-* Recherches sur l’Organisation des Corps Vivans, p. 127. Paris,

27 Floréal, An X.

ee ee a ee ee

MG ae a Re ee

Rev. S. Haughton on the Origin of Species, 423

g. Natural religion, however, would appear to consider

herself entitled to her miracles, as well as revealed religion.

V. Organic Forms, acquired under the presiding influence of ex-

ternal circumstances, are transmitted by Generation. This law in-

volves the famous Law of Natural Selection, attributed within

the last few months to Mr. Darwin.

VI. By the concurrence of the preceding Laws, of a long lapse of

time, and an almost inconceivable diversity of surrounding circum-

stances, all Species have been formed in succession. Lamarck’s

theory is essentially one of progression, and is totally opposed

to that of Buffon, which is one of degradation; yet it is

remarkable that they both rest upon the same foundation—the

assumed non-reality of species. Like his successors in the Pro-

gression theory, Lamarck spent his life in the establishment of

the reality of species ; and it is a humiliating reflection, that, at

the close of it, he believed himself to have lived under a delusion.

Let us hear his confession :—

* J’ai long-temps pensé qu’il y avait des Espéces constantes

dans la nature, et qu’elles étoient constituées par les individus

qui appartiennent a chacune d’elles. Maintenant je suis con-

vyaineu que j’étois dans l’erreur & cet égard, et qu’il n’y a réelle-

ment dans la nature que des individus.”

What must we think of the principles that guide the specula-

tions of naturalists, when we find minds like those of Buffon and

Lamarck drawing opposite conclusions from the same premises ?

It matters little in this question whether the premises be true

or false, whether species be truly distinct or not; our surprise

at the logic of the naturalists is natural, and must border on a

courteous contempt.

The English revival of Lamarckianism, or “ Progress in

Organic Life,’ by Mr. Darwin, involves no idea in advance of

those contained in Lamarck’s six laws, but gives a greater pro-

minence to the law of Continuation of Peculiarities by Genera-

tion, by the assertion that such peculiarities, and such only, as

are useful to the creature, in its struggle for existence, will

become hereditary—the reason being, that animals provided with

such peculiarities will have the advantage in the battle of hfe

over their fellows in the competition for food, females, and other

necessaries for the preservation of the individual and species.

_ This notable argument is borrowed from Malthus’s doctrine of

population, and will, no doubt, find acceptance with those

: gg economists and pseudo-philosophers who reduce all the

law

s of action and human thought habitually to the lowest and

most sordid motives. It is dignified with the title of a Law of

Nature, called the Law of Natural Selection, and forms the only

bond fide addition made by Darwin to Lamarck’s famous

4.24 Rey. 8. Haughton on the Origin of Species.

theory of Progression, in which, however, it is implicitly in-

volved. :

I make no account of Mr. Darwin’s geological additions to

Lamarck, for two reasons. In the first place, the laws of geo-

graphical distribution explained by geological change are not ad

rem, and were previously fully treated of by Buffon and Forbes ;

and in the second place, Mr. Darwin admits that the facts of

geology are opposed to his (Lamarck’s) theory; and they are

pleasantly alluded to as the geological difficulty! So far as the

history of life on the globe indicates a progression, Lamarck is

entitled to the benefit of it—as in the case of mammals and

plants,—but certainly not to the exclusion of the facts in favour

of degradation—such as the case of Fishes, Reptiles, and Cepha-

lopods, which must be credited to the account of Buffon and his

followers.

Lamarck says distinctly —“ Ce ne sont pas les organes, c’est-

a-dire, la nature et la forme des parties du corps d’un animal, qui

ont donné lieu a ses habitudes et & ses facultés particuliéres ;

mais ce sont au contraire ses habitudes, sa maniére de vivre, et

les circonstances dans lesquelles se sont rencontrés les individus

dont il provient, qui ont avec le temps coustitué la forme de son

corps, le nombre et l’état de ses organes, enfin les facultés dont

il jouit.”

This statement implies all that is essential in Mr. Darwin’s

“Jaw of Natural Selection,” which, by its prominence, fills in

his system the place occupied by the law of Imitation in the

original theory of Lamarck. This difference arises from the

difference of the points of view of the Frenchman and the

Englishman—a difference characteristic of the two races. The

Frenchman, with the vivacity and perception of the ridiculous

belonging to his nation, seizes upon the quality most likely to

elevate a monkey into a man, selects the faculty of imitation,

and, with a bitter satire, endows his monkey with the human

desire to better his condition, and lift himself above his brother:

chatterers. He thus magnifies the monkey power of imita-

tion—which is truly wonderful, and extends to the most extra-

ordinary actions—into the position of a law of nature, sufficient

to create man! The Englishman, on the other hand, firmly

believes his theory, and, with a confident faith in the power of

food and comfort, equally characteristic of his country, elevates

the desire to supply the stomach into a law of sufficient force to

convert an eel into an elephant, or an oyster into an orang-

outan.

Other theorists, whose name is legion, have printed their

crude fancies, and have met with numerous readers among the

young and inexperienced, the sciolists of science. It is not to

Rev. S. Haughton on the Origin of Species. 425

be supposed that a public which accepted mesmerism and table-

turning could judge with accuracy of the pretensions of loose

and ill-reasoned speculations on the origin of life. It has rained,

hailed, and poured theories of life—religious, philosophical, and

pseudoscientific—with a marvellous rapidity within the last

few years. Some theorists have started from the nebular hypo-

thesis of Laplace; others have speculated on the results of

superfcetation ; and others on the brilliant and seductive theory

of the correlation of physical forces ; but they may all be classed

as, knowingly or not, the followers of Lamarck. Some have

taught that all the planets, being composed of the same mineral

constituents as the earth, must produce in succession the same

organic phenomena, and weary the reader with the idea of the

same Pterodactyles and Cetacea, the same monads and men, ap-

pearing on all the globes that circle round the sun! Others

have called to mind the loss of heat of our planet, and, by the

correlation of forces, have reproduced it in the increasing intelli-

gence of the successive forms of life that have peopled our

globe!! In a word, there is no folly that human fancy can

devise, when truth has ceased to be of primary importance, and

right reason and sound logic have been discarded, that has not

been produced and preached as a new revelation. Neither have

the disciples of Lamarck wanted the martyr spirit, i. e. the dis-

position to make martyrs of others, which is generally supposed

to be essential to the apostles of anew faith. They have courted

persecution, and reviled their opponents with bitter words, and

with such weapons as are permitted by the free civilization

under which we live. They argue, with a logic worthy of their

system, that because truth has been often in a minority, there-

fore minorities and theories in a minority must necessarily be

true.

It is curious to observe the natural instinct by which Lamarck

and his followers appeal from the judgment of their peers to the

young, the enthusiastic, and the inexperienced. I shall quote

but two instances of this necessary instinct of self-preservation :—

“Que de réflexions ces considérations pourront faire naitre

dans l’esprit du petit nombre de ceux qui en sont susceptibles et

qui sont lents & prononcer! les autres auront bientét fait & cet

égard: ils trancheront sans examen, et décideront d’aprés ce

qui leur conviendra le mieux, ou selon Ja portée de leurs con-

ceptions.” —Lamarck, p. 123.

“I by no means expect to convince experienced naturalists,

whose minds are stocked with a multitude of facts, all viewed,

during a long course of years, from a point of view directly

opposite to mine...... ; but I look with confidence to the

future, to young and rising naturalists, who will be able to view

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser, 3, Vol, xi. 28

426 Rev. 8. Haughton on the Origin of Species.

both sides of the question with impartiality.”—Darwin’s Origin

of Species, pp. 481-82. j

The theories of Boyéveois, already described, and many others,

are based upon the following three unwarrantable assumptions,

the denial of which, until proved, brings to the ground the

entire structure, like a child’s house of cards— .

I. The indefinite variation of species continuously in the one

direction.

II. That the causes of variation assigned, viz. cross-breeding

(Buffon), imitation (Lamarck), and natural advantage in the

struggle for existence (Darwin), are sufficient to account for the

effects asserted to be produced.

III. That succession implies causation.

On each of these a few words of explanation are necessary.

I. The indefinite variation of species continuously in the one

direction.

This has been expressed by some Lamarckians as a state

of unstable equilibrium of nature; but should we assume the

existence of a law which is contrary to all we know of every

other department of nature? If we must have a mechanical

analogy to fix our ideas, nature might be better compared to a

condition of dynamic equilibrium, in which all the parts are in

motion, and never return to precisely the same relative positions,

but, nevertheless, continually balance round certain definite

positions of equilibrium, which never change. What should we

think of the astronomer who, from a few years’ observation of

the precession of the equinoxes, should predict that in due time

the north pole of the earth’s axis would point to the same posi-

tion among the stars that the south pole now occupies? yet

this very species of assumption is made by Lamarck and Darwin,

in their appeal to the supposed influence of a long lapse of time.

Yet, in the writings of the latter progressionist there is this

singular inconsistency, that while he shows the utmost effects of

human breeding on domestic animals to be capable of produc-_

tion in ten or twenty years, he denies the right of his adversaries

to appeal to the unaltered condition of the ass, the ostrich, or

the cat for 3000 years as a proof that specific forms balance

round central types, and have no tendency to depart indefinitely

from them.

Is it rational to suppose that man can alter the head and neck

of a pigeon into any desired form in six years, and that nature,

with her greater skill, cannot in 8000 years lengthen the ostrich’s

wings by a single inch, although, according to the theory, it is

her evident wish to do so?

II. The causes of variation assigned are not. adequate to pro-

duce the effects assigned to them.—The discussion of the imade-

Rev. S. Haughton onthe Origin of Spectes, 427

nacy of the causes assigned would lead to a treatise longer than

that of Buffon, Lamarck, or Darwin; and I must therefore

content myself with an example. The humble bee and the hive-

bee coexist together, and the latter is supposed to be developed

from the former by the law of natural selection, breeding, in

succession, bees possessed of the talent of economizing more and

more of wax in the construction of their cells,

1. The humble bee constructs single cells and uses 100 units

of wax.

2. A bee (not known to science, but, doubtless, extinct) was

grown, that made cells in the form of equilateral triangles placed

in double combs, with flat bottoms to the cells. This bee used

only 50 units of wax.

3. A bee (also extinct) was grown, that built square cells in

double combs. This bee used only 412 units of wax.

4. A bee (also extinct) was grown, forming hexagonal cells

with flat bottoms, in double combs. This bee used 334 units

of wax.

5. The hive-bee (now living side by side with his humble

progenitor) was produced by natural selection dependent on the

economy of wax, arising from the contrivance of substituting for

the flat bottoms of the hexagonal cells the trihedral angles and

planes of the rhombic dodecahedron.

This bee (our bee) uses 322 units of wax.

6. The Bee of the Future (not yet produced), which shall

have learned how to construct the cell described by the mathe-

matician L/Hullier.

This bee will be broader and shorter than the present, the

breadth and length admitting of prediction to any degree of

approximation.

This Bee of the Future will only require 243 units of wax! !

Vivat Geometria |

Of these six species of bee (the first and the fifth are living),

No. 5 using only 323 lbs. of wax in the construction of its cells

for every 100 lbs. used by No. 1. According to the Malthusian

law, No. 5 has exterminated No. 4, by virtue of the trifling

advantage of rds of a pound of wax in every 100 lbs. ; and this

slight advantage is gravely alleged as the efficient cause of con-

verting one species of bee into another! This would be all very

well, if No. 1, the spendthrift humble bee, were not still living,

and holding his ground well against his enemies, to bear witness

against this silly theory.

In fact, the whole question of the economy of wax, and other

such questions, require a thorough sifting. To my mind, it is

evident that economy of wax has nothing whatever to do with:

the making of the bee’s cells, but that this and other properties, ,

28*

428 Rey. S. Haughton on the Origin of Species.

such as maximum resistance to fluid pressure, &c., necessarily

reside in the bee’s cell because they are the inherent properties

of the rhombic dodecahedron, which is the form affected by that

cell. The true cause of that shape is the crowding together of

the bees at work, jostling and elbowing each other, as was first

shown by Buffon. From this crowding together, they cannot

help making cells with the dihedral angles of 120° of the

rhombic dodecahedron; and the economy of wax has nothing

to do with the origin of the cell, but is a geometrical property

of the figure named.

III. The most serious logical blunder committed by all who

invent a theory of life from the geological succession is, that

Succession implies causation. It is agreed that the Paleozoic

Cephalopoda produced, in some way or other, the Red Sandstone

fishes; that these in turn gave birth to the Liassic reptiles ;

that the non-placental mammals of the Upper Oolite grew after

some fashion, and ultimately produced the Tertiary mammals,

some of which, in an unhappy hour, gave birth to man. The

only fact at the basis of this astonishing inverted cone of

reasoning is, that these creatures did succeed each other in the

manner described ; and from this, forsooth, it follows (post hoc,

ergo propter hoc) that they succeeded each other in the way of

cause and effect. I propose to test this strange theory by a cor-

responding theory of the mineralogical succession of igneous

rocks, which opens up a fertile field of speculation, hitherto un-

wrought. The igneous rocks of the Paleozoic period contain

abundance of felspar, whose principal constituent is potash ; the

Mesozoic igneous rocks abound in soda, replacing potash ; and

in the Tertiary period, soda itself gives way to lime and magnesia.

Viewed in the light of the Lamarckian philosophy, here is a

distinct indication that soda and lime are only allotropic condi-

tions of potash. We may read the history of their formation in

the crust of the globe, if we will only open our eyes and see it.

written. I may add, by the way, that this theory of the origin ~

of lime is more intelligible than that of many geologists, who

would attribute the greater accumulations of calcareous rocks in

ge and tertiary strata to the creation of lime by organic

orce.

If any chemist or mineralogist were to put forward such a

geological theory of the origin of soda and lime as the fore-

- going, he would be regarded as a lunatic by other chemists and

mineralogists.

How does it happen that a theory of the origin of species,

which rests on the same basis, is accepted by multitudes [?] of

naturalists as if it were a new gospel? I believe it is because

our naturalists, as a class, are untrained in the use of the logical

On the former Connexion of N. Africa with S. Europe. 429

faculties which they may be charitably supposed to possess in

common with other men. No progress in natural science is

possible as long as men will take their rude guesses at truth for

facts, and substitute the fancies of their imagination for the sober

rules of reasoning.

It has been well observed by the greatest of living palzonto-

logists, “that past experience of the chance aims of human

fancy, unchecked and unguided by observed facts, shows how

widely they have ever glanced away from the golden centre of

truth ! ”

XLVI.—On the former Connexion of North Africa with South

Europe. By Prof. Epwarp Svrss*,

A LetTeR lately received from M. Anca, of Palermo, addressed

to M. Senoner, induces me to return to a subject which I have

previously discussed, but the repeated consideration of which

appears to me adapted to show the value which is possessed by

the researches of M. Anca and some similar observations, even

in connexion with the investigations now being carried out at

Vienna,

On the former occasion, I mentioned, as having resulted

from the investigations of our distinguished Professor Hérnes

regarding the fossil Mollusca of the Vienna Basin, an unex-

pected identity of some species of our-marine strata with shells

now living on the coast of Senegambia.

I then named as examples Cyprea sanguinolenta, Buccinum

lyratum, and Oliva flammulata, and inferred, in accordance with

the descriptions we possess of the great Sahara, that a sea once

extended from the Gulf of Gabes to the region south of the

Idjil range in the province of Aderer uniting the Senegambian

shores with those of the Mediterranean. I appealed to the de-

tailed statements of Laurent, who was commissioned to execute

Artesian borings on the north border of the desert. In his

report, he represented the desert as once covered by a wide arm

of the sea which flowed in from the Gulf of Gabes, and of which

unmistakeable traces are to be seen in the repeated terraces along

the south border of the Aoures Mountains, where the former

positions of the sea-coasts are indicated also by one of the most

abundant inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast, Cardium edule,

the shells of which lie here strewn about in great quantities,

and which is even said to be still living in some pools of the

desert. I also added that, at present, considerable tracts of the

* From the Transactions of the Royal Imperial Geological Institution,

of Vienna, January 1863, Communicated by Mr. S. P. Woodward.

430 . Prof. E. Suess on the former Connexion

desert still lie far below the level of the sea, and that the wide-

spread saline incrustations have from the remotest times been

regarded as proofs of a former overflow of the sea.

With the progress of Hérnes’s investigations, indications of

the accuracy of this conclusion have increased. Not only have

we become acquainted with several species of bivalves whose

present distribution extends as far as the Senegal, such as Lu-

traria oblonga, Tellina crassa, T. lacunosa, Venus ovata, and three

of our four species of Artemis, namely, A. exoleta, A. lincta, and

A. Adansoni, but we now meet in our basin with some of the most

prominent of Adanson’s types, which at present are only to be

found living on the coast of Senegambia, namely, Adanson’s

*Tugon” (Tugonia anatina) and “ Vagal” (Tellina strigosa) :

the great Mactra Bucklandi, also, no longer living on European

shores, is met with still at the Senegal. All accounts of the

desert, however, agree so closely with the supposition of an

overflowing, that, independently of these paleontological indi-

cations, other observers as well as Laurent were led to it solely

by the form and constitution of the soil. Barth appears to

have kept to the old Roman road between Tripoli and Mourzuk,

almost always beyond the easterly margin of this ancient sea ;

and it would not be uninteresting to ascertain how far the out-

lines of this ‘sea agree with Duveyrier’s account of the boundaries

of the land.

The present land-fauna of Morocco and Algeria, as far as

Cyrenaica, agrees at the present time in its most essential

points entirely with that of South Europe—on the one hand

with that of the Pyrenean peninsula, and on the other with

that of South Italy ; whilst on the Senegal and Gambia, and the

other successive regions beyond the desert, as far as the Nile,

only the true African type appears. The elephant, rhinoceros,

hippopotamus, giraffe, crocodile, and many other important

members of the African fauna do not extend beyond the Sahara ; _

and the contrast of this Morocco-Algerian land-fauna is very

remarkable, as opposed to the true African fauna in most classes

of animals, whilst the connecting links with Europe are not to

be mistaken.

Moritz Wagner’s ‘ Journey in the Kingdom of Algeria’ con-

tains numerous proofs of this, and they increase with every

- comparison. The extension of the Jnuus ecaudatus to Gibraltar

is well known. The Sorex etruscus, an otherwise exclusively

Italian animal, is met with in Algiers. The fox, paler in

Italy than in Germany, appears in Algeria as a still lighter

variety. Of greater value for these investigations is the distri-

bution of reptiles, as they are very little influenced by man; and

it may be mentioned that the new ‘ Algerian Herpetology ’ of

of North Africa with South Europe. 431

Strauch contains most of the known reptiles of Southern Europe,

as Cistudo europea, Lacerta viridis, Tropidonotus natriz, Rana

esculenta, &c., and that others, as the Chameleo afri , are

known to occur in Spain and Sicily. Erichson, from the exa-

mination of Wagner’s collection, observes of the Coleoptera—“ A

certain number of species belong to the fauna of Middle Europe;

a greater portion is spread over all the coast-lands of the Medi-

terranean Sea; a few of these are, but the greater portion are

not, Egyptian, the Egyptian fauna partaking more of the character

of that of Central Africa. Algeria has most species in common

with the adjacent Italian islands, Sicily and Sardinia, but fewer

with the Italian mainland, as is the case with the Spanish pen-

insula and the proximate Morocco land; and it is often found

that Spanish-Moroccan and Italian-Algerian species stand to

each other in analogous relations.” ;

It is the same with the land-Mollusca. According to Forbes,

the agreement between the species of Morocco and Spain

is so great that, even upon the heights, the Spanish moun-

tain-snails reappear. Glandina algira occurs, in a slenderer

form, from Isonzothale to Constantinople, whilst the broader

variety unites Lower Italy, Sicily, and Algeria; other South-

European species, which appear to have come from the East, are,

on the contrary, absent in Algeria, as Cyclostoma elegans, whilst

Cyclostoma sulcatum is found upon the Italian islands and Malta,

in the South of France, and South-east Spain, and also in North

Africa. All the South-European freshwater bivalves are said to

occur in Algeria. In the vegetable kingdom, to avoid giving

superfluous examples, it may suffice to mention Chamerops humilis

and its distribution on the coast of the Mediterranean, After this

it will not be wondered at if, taking another line of argument,

Andrew Wagner wrote, in the year 1846, “ In a natural-history

point of view, the Mediterranean separates North Africa much

less from Europe than the Sahara separates it from the African

continent. According to all evidence, the Sahara was once

covered by the sea, and Barbary thus became an island in the -

Mediterranean.”

The present land-fauna also leads us to recognize a close con-

nexion between the Canary Islands, Morocco, Algiers, and South-

western Europe, the extension of which to Cornwall was rendered

— by the late Edward Forbes. This fauna is called the

itanian land-fauna.

Let us now proceed to the investigations of M. Anca. In June

1860, M. Anca succeeded in finding in the bone-caves of Sicily

a number of determinable remains accompanied by land- or sea-

shells, such as Helix aspersa and Cardium edule, which are living

at this day: the richest list, that of the Grotto of S. Teodoro, is

432 Prof, E. Suess on the former Connexion

as follows, according to Lartet:—the spotted hyena, a bear

(Ursus arctos ?), wolf, fox, porcupine, rabbit, Elephas antiquus ?,

E. africanus ?, hippopotamus (one or two species), Sus (probably

Sus scrofa) resembling the North-African, ass?, ox (two forms),

stag (one or two species), sheep or some similar animal, a large

toad, anda bird. The recent letter of M. Anca confirms the

occurrence, in this grotto, of Elephas africanus, while E. antiquus

belongs to deposits of another date. We have therefore here,

along with typical European forms, as, for example, stags and

bears, which are quite foreign to Southern and Eastern Africa,

and of which even Morocco and Algiers possess very few repre-

sentatives (bears, perhaps only fossil, in caves), a small number of

such animals as no longer pass beyond the region of the desert,

but are Nilotic and Abyssinian, the African elephant, species

of hippopotamus, and a hyzena, not the striped species which at

present lives in North Africa and frontier India, but the spotted

hyena which inhabits South and West Africa. These Sicilian

bone-caves prove, therefore, the existence of a close contact

between South-European and genuine African types, which is

nowhere seen in our day. This fact gains in importance if we

bear in mind that similar points of contact could also be pointed

out in Spain, at the time when the prevailing types of both the

faunas were living. It must not be overlooked that, at an earlier

period Cuvier sought the nearest representatives of our diluvial

fauna in Southern Africa, even at the Cape; and that our rich

antilopean fauna of Pikermi and Baltavar has a decided African

character.

At the present time it is scarcely possible even to conjecture in

what way and by what causes the disappearance from Europe of

the present African group of forms, which long had their home

in our part of the world, was brought about. M. Anca tells us

that, even during the existence of the present fauna, a connexion

has continued. As a first indication of a communication,

we regard the submarine ridge stretching from Sicily to the

opposite coast of Africa, and respecting which Admiral Smyth

has informed us that it comprises the extensive plateaux of the

“‘ Adventure Bank” and the Skirki Rocks, which must be the

sunken Are of Virgil. If, however, as stated, we are still igno-

rant of the causes of these changes, we are nevertheless already

able not only to distinguish in the present population of Europe

-acertain number of independent form-groups of faunas, out of

which the present population of Europe has sprung; but we can

even give the succession in which they have appeared. The first

still capable of being recognized is that which we call the African:

it has long since disappeared ; its last traces in Europe are made

known to us by M. Anca. The second is the northern, the

of North Africa with South Europe. 433

remnants of which still continue to exist on our high mountains,

like an elevated stratum overlying all the others which live be-

neath. These lowest are, on the one hand, the western fauna,

which we designate the Lusitanian, the types of which are the

forms common to the North of Africa and Europe ; on the other,

the eastern fauna, which we may perhaps venture to call the

Asiatic, and which is broken up into several members, depend-

ing on the physical differences existing, for example, between

the Caspian Steppes and Asia Minor.

It is not my intention here to point out what relations the

superposition of the individual faunas of the European seas bear

to this ; but we may draw attention to the fact that the Mollusca

which Vienna has in common with Senegambia (as Tugonia

anatina) were without doubt formerly inhabitants of some parts

of the present Mediterranean east of Sicily, probably became

extinct during the diluvial epoch, and were subsequently unable

to regain their former abode. M‘Andrew, it is true, informs

us that, favoured by the current, some tropical species, as,

for instance, Cymba olla, make their way through the Straits

of Gibraltar to the North-African coast ; but they do not pro-

ceed very far, and the character of the Mediterranean fauna

is totally distinct from the Senegambian. We are accustomed

to consider climatic variations as the essential cause of all these

displacements of land- and sea-faunas and floras; and some

distinguished naturalists in Switzerland, impressed with the

t effects which the sirocco produces on their glaciers, have

thought that they could explain the-greater extension of the ice-

masses in former times by its absence. In this way they have

arrived at the same result as that obtained by the study of

paleontology, geology, and geographical distribution—namely,

that the Sahara Desert, the source of the sirocco, was once co-

vered with water. Upon the heights of a continental Europe a

more severe climate may certainly have been produced by such

a cause; but for Europe, broken up into a sort of archipelago

(such as we must imagine it to have been at the time when the

Senegambian Mollusca of to-day were living near Vienna), no

great lowering of the temperature of the sea could have resulted,

and the whole archipelago had, without doubt, notwithstanding

the absence of the sirocco, a moderate sea-climate.

Questions and doubts still arise on all sides, but we are at

least able to form some idea of the path we have to pursue in

studying the origin of the present creation from the preceding,

and by which it will be possible to arrive at a more correct con-

ception of the repeated changes of the organic world,

434 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Ameeba villosa

XLVII.—Further Observations on Amceba villosa and other

indigenous Rhizopods. By G. C. Wauuicu, M.D., F.LS.,

F.G.S8., &c.

[Continued from p. 371.]

[Plate X.]

Berore proceeding to offer a few general remarks on the rela-

tions of Ameba villosa, and two other forms obtained from the

same locality, with the rest of the group to which they belong,

it is desirable that I should adduce some supplementary ob-

servations made by me during another month’s study of these

organisms.

In many specimens of the Ameba, and more especially such as

appear to be in full vigour of growth, the protoplasm is densely

charged with certain granules, of larger size than those mere

points which pervade it under all circumstances, but nevertheless

extremely small. If examined cursorily, these granules may rea-

dily be mistaken either for extraneous bodies derived from with-

out, or for mere consolidated particles of the sarcode itself. They

are sO minute as to render it difficult to trace any difference in

their dimensions, when seen under the medium powers of the

microscope. But their aspect when isolated along with a thin film

of their sustaining protoplasm, and examined under a power of

from four to five hundred diameters, at once led me to suspect

their crystalloid character ; and this view was fully borne out on

submitting them to a still higher degree of magnifying power ;

for whilst no analogous bodies, or, indeed, any insoluble saline

particles, were discoverable in the material in which the Amebe

were contained, these crystalloids proved to be distinct rhombo-

hedrons possessing a higher index of refraction than water. They

measure in length from ;53,,th to z;455th of an inch, with a

breadth of from . zospoth to syyqth of an inch. Their minute-

ness renders the precise definition of their angles a matter of con-

siderable difficulty; but nevertheless, by taking the mean of a

number of measurements, I found the more obtuse angle to be

about 140°, Hitherto I have been unable to determine their na-

ture by chemical tests, further than discovering that when a slide,

on which a number of the Amabe have been dried, is treated

with dilute hydrochloric acid, all trace of the crystals is entirely

lost. Coupling their rhombohedral figure with this fact, it seems

probable that they may consist of carbonate or some other salt

of lime. This, however, is a pot demanding further careful in-

vestigation. I may mention that precisely similar crystalloids

have also been detected by me in the sarcode of Huglypha, Ar-

cella, and Acanthometra. (See Pl. X. fig. 7.)*

* As is well known, “ prismatic crystals” were observed by Raier in

Thalassicolla.

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 435

_ Tn addition to these crystalloids, which seem to oecur more

largely in some individuals than in others, two other kinds of

corpuscles are to be found. Both have a spherical outline, and

are not discoidal, as may be seen on watching them roll over when

at the immediate extremity of a pseudopodium. They vary from

sx5pth to 55th of an inch in diameter, are devoid of any ap-

preciable cell-wall, even when examined under the higher powers

of the microscope, and are formed of a peripheral layer of pale,

nearly colourless, granular protoplasm surrounding a clear fluid

centre, the average diameter of which is about +;},5th of an inch

fig. 5). To these bodies (which are in all probability identical

with the “discoid ovules” described by Carter, in his admirable

observations on the Organization of the Infusoria of Bom-

bay *, as occurring in A. Gleichenii, and as also seen in A.

verrucosat) 1 have applied the term nucleated corpuscles, as not

involving a function which must still be regarded as only hypo-

thetical, although I fully agree with Mr. Carter in the view that

these bodies perform some important part in the process of

reproduction. The second kind of spherical corpuscle to which

allusion has been made, although not nucleated as in the former

case, appears destined to exercise the function of a true ovule in

some of the Rhizopods, if not in all, as shall presently be shown ;

and therefore, taking into consideration the very marked re-

semblance of the latter, in all save the trivial item of depth of

colour, to the “yellow bodies” met with in the Foraminifera,

Polycystina, Thalassicollide, Acanthometrina, and two new fami-

lies I propose to establish for the re¢eption of certain allied but

heretofore imperfectly understood pelagic genera, it appears

absolutely necessary to distinguish between the two kinds of

structure.

_ To these bodies I have accordingly given the name of Sarco-

blasts. In Ameba they are somewhat larger than the nucleated

corpuscles, being from ;,/,,th to -/,,th of an inch in diameter.

In their earlier stages they present a faint yellow tint, are some-

what oily-looking, but afterwards become almost colourless.

They are distinctly granular, nearly homogeneous throughout,

and, like the corpuscles, devoid of cell-wall (fig. 6). Both, how-

ever, are distributed equably through the endosare, and take an

equal share in the pseudocyclosis which involves ali foreign

matters and, under certain circumstances, the nucleus, con-

tractile vesicle, and vacuoles.

There seems reason to believe that all organic substances in-

tended for food are invariably subjected to the digestive process

through the medium of vacuolar cavities specially extemporized

.* Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 2. vol, xviii. pl. 5. fig. 5. + Ibid. vol, xx. p. 37.

436 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Ameeba villosa

for their reception. In the case of insoluble substances—such as

particles of mineral matter, many of which effect an entrance into

the endosare of the Ameebans, either along with alimentary

matter or accidentally—the vacuolar cavity is not necessarily

present, but the atom simply rests within the protoplasm. In

A. villosa the food-vacuoles are generally observable, although

with difficulty when the body is much distended by extraneous

substances and endogenous organic granules. In some speci-

mens they are very strikingly developed. For these vacuoles I

propose the term food-vacuoles, in contradistinction to the simple

vacuoles which form and disappear spontaneously within the

protoplasmic substance and, when in such great numbers as to

impart an almost parenchymatous character to portions of the

structure, apparently forebode its disruption or death.

From the manner in which the food-vacuoles are formed at

the surface—in Ameba by the coalescence of pseudopodia which

envelope the object about to be incepted, and in Actinophrys, by

the projection of a coarse irregular network of ectosare, aided by

the coalescence of the pseudopodia in the immediate vicinity—

it would appear that a certain quantity of the surrounding water

is always admitted into the newly formed cavity. This water is

probably essential to the due performance of the digestive process,

and in part enters into the composition of the alimentary fluid.

On the other hand, it is probable that, in certain cases, a portion

of the water becomes absorbed by endosmosis, without under-

going chemical change, more especially where the food-particles

have been completely dissolved through the digestive process.

In this condition, the vacuoles may frequently be seen sharing

in the pseudocyclosis, till by slow degrees they entirely dis-

appear,—the effete watery particles, as I have already stated,

being then poured exosmotically into the contractile vesicle, and

ultimately discharged.

In my previous notice I drew attention to the highly deve-

loped membranous capsule within which the nucleus of A. vil-

losa is contained. According to Carpenter (the latest authority

on the subject)*, the nucleus of Ameba presents ‘ the aspect of

a clear flattened vesicle surrounding a solid and usually spherical

nucleolus, and is adherent to the mner portion of the ectosare,

and projects from it into the general cavity.” Carter also de-

scribes it “as an organ situated on the outer portion of the

sarcode, which, when well marked, presents under the micro-

scope the appearance of a full moon (to use a familiar simile),

with similar slight cloudiness.” He adds, “ It is discoid in

shape, of a faint yellow colour, and fixed to one side of a trans~

- * Introduction to the Study of the Foraminifera, London, 1862, p, 24.

ee eee el

ee ee

i ™

i ee eee Se

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 437

parent capsule, which, being more or less larger than the nucleus

itself, causes the latter to appear as if surrounded by a narrow

pellucid ring”’*.

Now, whilst both these observers speak to a vesicular boun-

dary to the nucleus, it is evident, I think, that they do not

allude to that highly specialized membranous covering which

is so remarkably manifest in A. villosa, and is actually sepa-

rable from the body. The point is not so immaterial as it

would seem to be at the first glance, inasmuch as a definite

vesicular covering has also been supposed by Claparéde and

others to appertain to the contractile vesicle of Actinophrys,

whereas, as | shall presently endeavour to show, none is im

reality present either in the contractile vesicle of that genus or

of Ameba; and hence the character becomes to this extent a

distinctive one. Moreover it is important from its at once

stamping as complete the analogy I desire to draw between the

nucleus of Ameba and of Plagiocantha, Thalassicolla, Acantho-

metra, and Dictyocha, whereby the relation of the several parts

to each other in these genera although belonging to a distinct

order, becomes intelligible.

The position of the nucleus in Ameba villosa has already been

shown to be variable. I am not aware that, under any circum-

stances, the nucleus of this form can strictly be said to adhere

to the inner portion of the ectosarc, as indicated by Carpenter,

or to be situated on the outer portion of the endosare, as stated

by Carter—its temporary location in the vicinity of the villous

patch, spoken of in my former paper;being due, as I conceive, to

that more highly differentiated condition of the posterior part of

the organism which constitutes so striking a feature in A. villosa.

I have as yet been unable to ascertain positively the manner in

which both nucleus and contractile vesicle are periodically sus-

tained near the villous patch; but, from the constricted shape

frequently assumed in this region, and the tendency to project

the pseudopodia principally from the advanced or anterior pors

tions of the body, there can be little doubt that it is brought

about by the augmented contractile power of the posterior ex-

tremity. On the same hypothesis we may account for that

peculiar state in which a mass of granular matter, resembling

oS the Organization of the Infusoria, Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 2. vol. xviii.

Mr. Carter is of opinion that there is a central cavity in Ameba, at times

distensible with water. Thus he speaks of an “Amcebous cell under

spherical distension.” This may account for the view held by him with

regard to the position of the nucleus in the Bombay form; but I must

distinctly observe that no such cavity is present in A. villosa. (Ann. Nat.

Hist. vol. xviii. p. 223, and explanation appended to fig. 1. plate 5, accom-

panying his paper.)

438 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Amoeba villosa

that of the true nucleus, and which is derived in all probability

from the sarcoblasts already referred to, becomes first aggregated

in that region. It only remains to be further noticed regarding

the nucleus, that in that condition of the organism in which a

very limited quantity of foreign matter is present, and the crys-

talloids, nucleated corpuscles, and sarcoblasts are most abun-

dant, this organ frequently undergoes subdivision—two separate

nuclei occurring under these circumstances, and sometimes, but

much more rarely, three. Endogenous subdivision (that is,

endogenous with reference to the capsule) does not take place in

such cases, but nucleus and capsule both undergo complete and

simultaneous binary division. I am unable to say whether, in

those examples that present three nuclei, the whole of these be-

come separated by one duplicative act or by two. It has already

been shown that where the multiple nuclear bodies supervene

on the accumulation of granular matter at the posterior portion

of the Amebe, I failed to trace any capsular coverings. It

seems probable, therefore, that, in the former case, the process

may be regarded as one of simple fission, in the latter, of mole-

cular segregation*, But on this head anything like positive in-

formation is still wanting.

Great diversity of opinion seems to exist amongst naturalists

not only regarding the office, but also the actual structure of the

“contractile vesicle.” That misapprehension should exist on

the subject is by no means surprising, however, when we bear

in mind that the name has been indiscriminately applied both

to the rhythmically contracting organ of the Rhizopods and of

the true Infusoria, and that, under the supposition that identity

of action involves identity of conformation, a true vesicular wall

has been assigned by several of our most eminent writers to the

pulsating cavity of the former group of organisms. Without

entering at present upon the question whether the Rhizopods

ought to be regarded as unicellular, multicellular, or altogether

devoid of cell-structure, I would observe that, if the presence of

such structure within the substance of certain members of the

Ameeban group has not been already demonstrated by the per-

haps less definite examples adduced by Carter and others, the

indisputable envelopment of the nuclear body of Ameba villosa

by a distinct membranous capsule at once settles the point.

But, on the other hand, my own observations tend to prove that

this structure is only to be met with in the two higher orders of

the Rhizopods, and not in the lowest order, which, according to

* Carter describes a somewhat similar process as occurring in Ameba

radiosa, and “ending in the production of a mass of spherical, delicate,

transparent, granuliferous cells,” (See his paper on the Organization of In-

fusoria, Ann, Nat, Hist. ser. 2. vol. xviii. p. 225.)

_ and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 439

my arrangement, comprises the Gromida, Foraminifera, and

Polycystina. In these families, the nuclear granules are diffused,

and assume the multiple character of sarcoblasts, which, on

separation from the parent sarcode, constitute the rudiment or

‘primordial segment ” of the new brood.

In my experience, the contractile vesicle does not make its

appearance either in the Herrnemata (which constitute the first

or lowest order) or the ProroperMata or second order (which

comprises the Thalassicollide, Acanthometrina, and their allies),

but occurs, for the first time, in the third order or PRoTrerNa, in

which I associate the Actinophryna, Lagynide, and Amebina—

the name of this order being adopted from the classification of

MM. Claparéde and Lachmann, who, in like manner, associate

Actinophrys and Ameba, but on widely different grounds from

those that have led me to assume their ordinal unity.

In the third order both nucleus and contractile vesicle, I be-

lieve, are invariably present, although naturally difficult of detec-

tion in the testaceous genera. The latter organ, however, in so

far as my experience of living representatives of nearly every

important form enables me to arrive at a correct opinion on the

subject, ought not to be regarded as a definite-walled contractile

sac, distinct in composition from the remainder of the proto-

plasmic matter, but simply as a specialized vacuolar cavity formed

out of a portion of the ectosarc.

Mr. Carter, in his paper on the Organization of the Infusoria,

already referred to (/. c. p. 180), says, “That the vesicula is a

distinct organ, and not merely a space-like the digestive globule,

might be inferred from its always appearing in the same place

in the same species”*, For reasons already adduced, I am in-

clined to regard it in an opposite light—that is to say, as merely

a space bounded by a layer of ectosarc, and not by a membranous

wall of distinct origin and character. And I think my view will

be at once recognized as correct when it is taken into considera-

tion that we constantly see multiple contractile vesicles, not only

already formed, but actually forming under our eyes and again

* On reference to what has been stated in a preceding page, it will be

seen that Dr. Carpenter speaks of the nuclear capsule as “a clear flattened

vesicle ; ”” whilst he considers the contractile vesicle to be “ a vacuole with

a defined wall” (Introduction to the Study of the Foraminifera, p. 14).

Mr. Carter, again, describes the nucleus as discoid in shape, and fixed to

one side of a transparent capsule, whereas he refers to the contractile organ

as “distinct and not merely a space like a digestive globule.” In directing

attention to these definitions, t am desirous of showing that both these

authorities express their opinions on the subject with a degree of reserve

which was fully warranted under the circumstances, but which leaves the

proofs as to the existence of a true membranous vesicle in one case depend-

ent on equal proofs of its existence being forthcoming in the other,

440 Dr. G.C. Wallich on Ameeba villosa

coalescing to constitute a single cavity, or, as happens occasion-

ally, each undergoing a separate systole. This-I maintain could

not possibly take place except under the conditions I have en-

deavoured to describe.

The vacuoles within which organic substances, or animalcules,

incepted for food become amenable to the digestive process are

similarly constituted ; and if what has been advanced by me in

my previous paper be correct (that is to say, if endosare and

ectosare are not permanent portions of the Rhizopodal structure,

but mutually and temporarily convertible one into the other), it

is manifest that the higher state of differentiation exhibited by

the vacuolar wall is wholly due to a like cause, namely, contact

with a portion of the surrounding fluid.

IT am well aware that the permanently visible villous area of the

Hampstead Amba appears to militate in some measure against

the universal correctness of this hypothesis. But I have already

stated that this species can hardly fail to be regarded as em-

bodying the highest type of Rhizopod life, and as bridging over

the hiatus between true Rhizopod and true Infusorial organi-

zation. If a boundary exists at all between these two great

groups of the Protozoa, it will, I think, be found to consist in

this—that whereas in the Rhizopods there is no permanent

orifice for the inception and extrusion of foreign or effete matter,

and the endosare and ectosare are not permanent portions of the

organism, but, as already maintained, mutually convertible one

into the other, in all mature Infusorial forms permanent orifices

occur for the inception and extrusion of such matter, and there

is no convertibility of parts once established*. Hence, even

granting, for the sake of argument, that the villous patch im

Ameba villosa is not only permanent in position as regards the

rest of the body, but, in a like sense, permanent in composition

during the entire period of the individual’s existence, I contend

that we should not be warranted, on this ground alone, in press-

ing such an objection. But I am by no means prepared to allow

that such a permanent condition of the villous region does exist,

inasmuch as it appears to me to be far more probable and conform-

able with the phenomena referred to, to assume that a slow but

constant interchange of protoplasmic matter takes place there,

as it does, although more rapidly and perceptibly, in the other

portions of the structure.

During the bygone month I have seen numerous examples of

the infundibuliform excretory tubule of A. villosa. But I have

likewise been able to satisfy myself that this tubule is an extem-

* Asplanchna furnishes no valid objection to this generalization, even if

we hesitate to accept the most recent views promulgated regarding its

structure; for one orifice may serve both purposes.

_ and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 441

porized part of the organism, and that, in many cases, the layer

of protoplasm which constitutes it during the extrusion of effete

matter, and occasionally also of minute but perfectly formed

Amebe, is actually disengaged along with the object whose

egress from the main body it presides over and probably effects ;

so that even here we encounter phenomena which, although as

yet inexplicable, tend directly to prove the accuracy of the

views referred to. In short, the vacuolar sac becomes the

tubule, being in some cases reabsorbed into the substance of

the body, in others actually expelled entire, as shown in Pl. IX.

figs. 3 & 4.

Again, it appears to me that, assuming the hypothesis to be

admissible, we not only render intelligible the mysterious and

otherwise inexplicable properties of sarcode, but find a clue to

the determination of the function performed by the contractile

vesicle.

I am able fully to confirm the statement of Carter that this

body invariably discharges itself externally in the Rhizopods,

although aware that this view is opposed by M. Lachmann and

others. The orifice through which the discharge of its watery

contents is effected is not of a permanent nature, but, like the

tubule occasionally seen in the region of the villi, comes into

existence only under the operation of the force that distends the

wall and eventually bursts it. We frequently see that the systole

of the vesicle is mterrupted before the entire obliteration takes

place, which most commonly occurs. But it is a mistake to

suppose that the circular outline then left, and which forms the

basis, as it were, of the vesicle when renewed, represents the

orifice by which the contained fluid escaped. That orifice we

can very rarely detect, even under the highest powers of the

microscope*. I can personally speak to its subtle but neverthe-

less appreciable character, having watched its action for a con-

siderable period on two occasions, in Bengal—namely, in an

Ameba closely allied to, if not identical with, A. villosa, and in

a Kerona, its distinctness in the Infusorial animalcule being

only rendered greater by the greater ease with which the latter

was maintained in the position best fitted to carry on the ob-

servation.

Mr. Carter, in describing the contractile vesicle (loc. cit.), says

it is neither a circulatory nor a respiratory, but an excretory

organ, and, referring more particularly to Ameba and Actino-

phrys Sol, he adds,—“ During the act of dilatation, the vesicula

projects far above the level of the pellicula, even so much so as

* I would distinctly guard myself against appearing to convey the idea

of a valrular opening such as is supposed to exist by Weston in Actino-

phrys Sol (Quart. Journ. Micr. Soc. vol. iv. p. 116).

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 29

44.2 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Amoeba villosa

occasionally to form an elongated, transparent, mammilliform

eminence, which, at the moment of contraction, subsides pre-

cisely like a blister of some soft tenacious substance that has

been pricked with a pin”’*. Mr. Carter does not mention any

special excretion—that is to say, whether he means the excretion

of effete nutritious matter or water only. If the latter, I en-

tirely agree with him—my view being that, whilst the general

substance of the body absorbs water from the surrounding me-

dium by endosmotic action, and partly also by admission en

masse into the extemporized food-vacuoles; through the agency

of the opposite or exosmotic action the fluid is poured into the

contractile vesicle, gradually distending it, as described, until

rupture ensues. The moment that the tension on the most pro-

minent and, consequently, the most attenuated portion of the

vesicle is relieved by the escape of its contents, the orifice be-

comes obliterated by the union of its edges, and the process is

repeated. In this sense, then, the contractile vesicle may be

regarded as a true water-vascular and excretory organ. I need

only add that, according to my own experience, and in ac-

cordance with the opinion expressed by several eminent ob-

servers, the contractile vesicle takes no share, under any circum-

stances, in the capture, inception, or extrusion of any solid

substances.

In a former page, allusion has been made to a mode of repro-

duction which, although closely bordering on simple gemmation,

must, I think, rather be regarded in the light of viviparous

parturition. I had never noticed it prior to my recent and almost

continuous observation of the Hampstead Ameba, nor am I

aware that it has previously attracted the attention of other

naturalists, although M. Jules Haime records examples amongst

the Infusoria in which minute bodies ejected from the body of

the parent have become converted into young animals whilst

still under observationt. In Ameba, however, such an oversight

may easily be accounted for by the circumstance that the newly.

liberated individuals are so minute, in comparison with the

parent form, as to be barely distinguishable unless examined

under high powers and with a knowledge of their origin. They

rarely measure more than z;1,,th to ;¢4,5th of an inch in their

most extended state, and yet, when carefully analysed, exhibit

nucleus, contractile vesicle, villous tuft, and even protoplasmic

granules, with every distinctive character discernible in the parent

from which they sprang. It is also a very significant and re-

markable fact, that, even in this minute stage of their existence,

* Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 2. vol. xviii. p. 126.

+ Carter on the Organization of Infusoria (Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 2.

vol. xviii. p. 223.

Se ee ae ep ee,

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 443

they throw out pseudopodial processes so various in outline that,

were it legitimate to base specific distinctions on such variations,

we might have nearly every form heretofore regarded as spe-

cifically distinct by some observers produced from one parent

source. Indeed, coupling this fact with others bearing on the

same subject, although not prepared to affirm that the whole of

the varieties of Ameba are reducible to a single primary specific

type, I candidly confess that the balance of evidence appears to

me to point towards such a conclusion, and to indicate that the

divergences in form and outward characters may be wholly de-

pendent on the local and even temporary conditions of the me-

dium in which the young animal happens to make its appear-

ance in the world.

It is one of the most perplexing accompaniments of micro-

scopic research, that, in addition to the ordinary difficulties at-

tending the study of the reproductive phenomena in organisms

which admit of observation by the unaided vision or with the

aid of low magnifying powers, the chances are greatly against our

having the object under our eye at the exact moment that the

phenomena are taking place which we desire to witness. From

the extreme rapidity with which they are sometimes completed,

compared with analogous processes in the higher orders of

being, this result is scarcely surprising, even if we treat lightly

the difficulty imseparable from the survey of vital actions on

so minute a scale. On the other hand, there is reason to fear

that erroneous interpretations have often been put upon micro-

scopic phenomena in consequence of a failure on the part of the

observer to watch them from their commencement to their

termination*. The following instances, which are not the

only ones that have presented themselves to my notice during

my recent close scrutiny of the indigenous Rhizopods, will prove

the truth of this remark.

Fig. 11 represents an abortive effort at division taking place

in a specimen of Ameba radiosa. It will be seen that nothing

could be less conformable with the published descriptions and

figures of that form than the individual here portrayed. But

nevertheless I can vouch for its being the form which has

been so named, not only from the fact of the locality in which

it was found containing numerous specimens unmixed with

* The drying up of the minute portion of water in which living or-

ganisms are being submitted to long-continued observation under the

microscope may be very successfully obviated by resting the slide, when

not actually required, across the mouth of a wine-glass containing water,

and carefully placing a strip of fine calico across the thin cover, with its

ends hanging down into the fluid in such wise as to allow capillary attrac-

tion to do all that is requisite.

29*

444° Dr. G. C. Wallich on Ameceba villosa

other varieties, but from the specimen itself having ultimately

assumed all the characteristics of A. radiosa immediately after

the termination of the appearances depicted in the figure.

Judging from the appearances at first presented, I naturally

expected the occurrence of binary division—two lobes instead

of three being then only visible; and accordingly I directed

special attention to the share taken in the process by the nucleus

and contractile vesicle. But these bodies gave no sign of partici-

pation beyond passing several times, during the ordinary con-

tractile movements of the lobate masses, through the connecting

isthmuses, either into the same or into separate lobes. No

pressure was exerted, nor was the form assumed due to the

juxtaposition of foreign matters. Nevertheless fission did not

take place ; and after an hour’s apparently incessant struggle to

part company, during which period the lobes and isthmuses

did not materially alter their relative proportions, the three

portions gradually coalesced, and the specimen moved away

energetically, putting forth the tapering and radiate pseudopodia

supposed to be distinctive of Amewba radiosa.

It is no doubt true that the unity of the nucleus may have

interfered with the consummation of the process. But here, again,

generalization fails to some extent ; for on two occasions I have

seen Ameba villosa divide without the nucleus being involved.

In both cases the villous patch was nearly equally parted ; only

that half of the body, however, which retained the nucleus

moved about vigorously and exhibited the typical characters,

whilst the other half assumed a spherical shape, and merely

oscillated very slowly and steadily to and fro on the same spot,

without projecting pseudopodia, or materially altering its out-

line.

In these examples, also, all undue pressure was avoided ; and

the extrusion of nearly the whole of the effete alimentary par-

ticles by each half—which I have frequently found to be the

precursor of the process of fission—took place almost at its

commencement.

The third example I have to mention occurred in a large

specimen of Actinophrys Eichhornii which I disengaged from the

side of the vessel to which it was adhering, and carefully placed

for observation in a watch-glass. When removed, it was appa-

rently undergoing the common process of binary division. At

all events, whether that process was going on or the case was

one of “ zygosis ”’ or amalgamation of two individuals, it is quite

certain that there was a partial, but nevertheless effective,

fusion of the sarcode substance at the constricted portion. In

this species, as shall presently be shown, the nuclear bodies are

small and, generally speaking, multiple. Hence no informa-

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 445

tion was derivable from their distribution. The contractile

vesicles were multiple also, two being distinctly visible, and in

rhythmical action along the peripheral plane of each half;

whilst others may have been present, but obscured on the upper

-or under surfaces of the structure. When first seen, the well-

marked peripheral layer of protoplasmic cellules belonging to

each half was uninterrupted at the constricted portion; and

around the latter was a somewhat irregular zone of bubble-like

protoplasm, which merged into that of the masses on either side

of it. But soon the constriction became more and more com-

plete; and after a time the two halves were held together only

by a narrow isthmus of sarcode. At this stage, however, a re-

trogressive action commenced, and ultimately the two portions

became fused into a single Actinophrys. No movement was

observable except on the systole of the contractile vesicles, when

the half on which the vesicle was situated oscillated slightly, but

very perceptibly. I have only to add that no other specimen was

placed on the watch-glass during these appearances, which lasted

over a period of four hours. The single specimen then measured

7oth of an inch in diameter independently of the pseudopodia.

These examples are instructive for two reasons: firstly, be-

eause they tend directly to confirm the statement originally put

forward by Schneider with reference to the occasional zygosis or

coalescence of two previously distinct individuals ; and secondly,

because they indicate how much caution ought to be exercised

before an opinion is pronounced upon the nature of phenomena

the order of which has not been followed from their commence-

ment to their termination*.

It now remains for me to direct attention to forms of Actino-

* In my notes on the presence of animal life at great depths in the

ocean (published in November 1860), and also in a paper in the ‘ Annals

and Magazine of Natural History’ for July 1861, I directed attention, for

the first time, to the occurrence of the Coccoliths (minute discoidal struc-

tures previously detected by Huxley in the material of the soundings, but

by him as inorganic) in spherical cells, to which I accordingly

applied the name of Coccospheres ; and I further pointed out that as

entire Foraminiferous shells, and more especially those of Textularia and

Rotalia, are frequently met with in the soundings wholly made up of seg-

ments resembling these Coccospheres in every particular, these bodies

would appear to be connected with the reproductive process. Although I

have not had the opportunity of tracing the actual sequence, I think it highly

probable that the Sarcoblasts, to which I have alluded in a former page,

first become Coccospheres, and are then developed into the perfect shell

‘by the ordinary process of gemmation. Here, then, is a case in which the

difficulties attending the study of the reproductive phenomena in the

Rhizopods are yet further enhanced. I may take the opportunity of

' stating that I have recently met with Coccospheres in great abundance in

dredgings from the English Channel. The means of clearing up the point

"are therefore at hand.

446 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Amoeba villosa

phrys and Difflugia (also from Hampstead) which, although not

specifically new, offer some important and, if I mistake not,

hitherto unnoticed characters.

As is well known, in A. Sol the body consists of a spherica

or nearly spherical mass of sarcode, the external layer of which

is said to be permanently distinct from the endosare, notwith-

standing the admission that no definite boundary-line is traceable

between these two portions of the structure, and that they in-

sensibly merge one into the other. Carpenter* describes it as

follows :—‘‘The pseudopodia seem to be derived from the ectosare

alone, the endosarc not extending itself into them. They pos-

sess, moreover, a degree of consistence which usually prevents

them from coalescing when they come into contact with one

another ; and whenever such a coalescence does take place, it

is to a much smaller extent than is common among Foraminifera.”

And again, “‘ Although the existence of a nucleus in Actinophrys

has been denied, its presence (in certain species at least) must

be regarded as a well-established fact.” Speaking of the incep-

tion of food, he says, “ The body taken in as food is received

into one of the vacuoles of the endosare, where it lies, in the

first instance, surrounded by liquid.” .... ‘ Several vacuoles

may be occupied at one time by alimentary morsels ; frequently

from four to eight are seen thus filled, and occasionally ten or

twelve, Ehrenberg having in one instance counted as many as

sixteen.”

From what has been already advanced by me with regard to

Ameba, it almost follows that I should view with extreme doubt

the specific value of the characters assigned by different writers

to the various forms of Actinophrys that have been described as

distinct ; and, in addition to the reasons I shall adduce in support

of this view, I would call attention to the indirect evidence of

its correctness afforded in the errors of identification com-

mitted by some of the most acute observers with regard to the

forms looked upon as the most persistent and definite. Thus

Kolliker mistook A. Eichhornii for A. Sol. Claparéde wrote a

long paper on A. Eichhornii, and afterwards discovered he had

been describing A. Solt. Perty is of opinion that A. Hich-

hornii is an enlarged state of A. Sol, whilst Stein also affirms that

A, Eichhornii is no other than the latter species. 1 have only to

observe on this head, that it would indeed be surprising if the

confusion thus created were one whit less than it is, where such

characters as the length of the pseudopodia, the diameter of the |

* On the Study of the Foraminifera, p. 18.

+ See Prichard’s ‘ Infusoria,’ 4th ed. p. 560, and M. Claparéde’s paper

in the ‘ Annals,’ 2nd ser. vol. xv. pp. 211 and 285, These examples might,

however, be multiplied.

RIE ae ae SP ee ee

me en ee ee

De ee ae ee

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 447

body, the perfectly regular or irregular outline of the latter, and

even trifling modifications in its colour, have been accepted as

specifically valid*. ;

Why, then, it may be asked, have I referred the Hampstead

form to A. Eichhornii? I reply, solely because the characters

presented by this variety are those which appear to me to illus-

trate in the same individual the true offices and relations of the

several parts of the Actinophryan structure to each other and

to allied genera, and ought therefore to be regarded as typical

of that genus.

The Hampstead form, like the Ameba already described, is

unusually large, at times attaining a diameter of ;5th of an

inch, irrespectively of the pseudopodia. Whilst I write, I have

a number of liying specimens before me, obtained two months

ago, in which the entire structure is so pellucid and definite

that it ean be resolved with a common pocket-lens. The shape

is spherical, not discoidal, under ordinary conditions, even when

the creature is adherent to the sides of the glass vessel in which

it is contained,—this being reconcileable with a fact I can

attest, namely, that the surface of the body does not come in

contact with the glass, but is entirely supported by the tenacity

of the intervening pseudopodia. ‘The sarcode substance is

colourless, as is the sarcode of all Amabans and Actinophryans,

except under abnormal circumstances. The pseudopodia are

sometimes long, sometimes short ; at times perfectly rigid and

smooth, at times slightly tuberculated and sinuous. When

rigidly extended, they never coalesce; when bent and supple,

and more especially when about to encircle some food-particle in

their inevitable embrace, they coalesce as freely as those of the

Foraminifera. Now and then, but rarely, the vacuolation, so

universal and marked in the form as it most constantly occurs

at Hampstead (fig. 1), is partially superseded by the coalescence

of a number of the cell-like cavities, and the ectosare or endosare

exhibits the aspect of ordinary unvacuolated protoplasm, and we

may more legitimately apply the terms “ medullary ” and “ cor-

tical” to the inner and outer portions of the organism. But

physiologically there exists no such permanent distinction of

parts. There is invariably a line of demarcation between the

“cortical” and “medullary” portions; but the most careful

analysis of the structure, even when assisted by the highest

powers of the microscope, does not enable us to detect the

* If the characters of A. oculata are correctly drawn, and if, as asserted,

food does not pass into the “medullary ” substance, but remains during

the assimilative process within the “ cortical” layer, that form must not

only be regarded as specifically distinct, but as presenting a feature which

is quite anomalous in the group to which it belongs.

448 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Ameceba villosa

slightest appreciable difference between the intimate texture

and composition of the two parts, the figure of- their polygonal

cavities, the proportional thickness of the walls of the latter,

their optical characters, or the capability of the two portions to

coalesce *,—the fact being that each polygon is essentially com-

posed of both endosarc and ectosare, the latter being the necessary

result of the contact of its internal surface with its fluid contents,

which do not consist principally of protoplasm, but of water ;

whereas the former may be said to occupy the interval between

the wall of adjacent cavities, and is actually distinguishable

by its finely granular and viscid appearance wherever fusion

or coalescence has taken place to a certain extent. The pseudo-

podia and slightly thickened peripheral layer are also finely

granular. The former are given off from the external surface, it

is true; but, on the other hand, the walls of the polygonal

cavities present no appreciable differences in character from the

pseudopodia, beyond being flattened instead of filamentous ex-

pansions of the same tissue. And, lastly, I would lay special

stress on a phenomenon which this form of Actinophrys con-

stantly enables us to witness, namely, the absorption of the

vacuolar food-cavities, formed at the immediate surface of the

organism only at the period when required, and which are not

previously existing and persistent portions of the creature, as has

been supposed. As in Ameba, the process of inception of food

consists simply in the formation of an extemporized cavity,

partly derived from the coalescence of the pseudopodia that have

captured the object, partly from the portion of ectosare that

happens to be brought into contact with the object, and the

subsequent elimination of the nutrient matter by the vacuole

thus formed and now drawn into the centre of the body by

the inherent contractility of the surrounding protoplasm. If

this view of the phenomena be correct, we must either assume

that a constant diminution in bulk of the ectosare must take

place at each formation of a food-vacuole, or admit what I con- |

tend for, namely, that for every portion of the outer layer, con-

stituting the ectosare for the time being, which is so removed

from its position, a portion of the subjacent endosare forthwith

steps forward and fills up the vacant rank. Asis well known, the

organism captured for food is sometimes almost as large as the

Actinophrys itself (see fig. 4). Unless my hypothesis be admitted,

* There appears no good ground for supposing that the vacuolation

witnessed in A. Hichornii is anything more than an extreme example of

what takes place frequently in Amoeba to a great, but not so great an

extent. In Thalassicolla nucleata we have a near approach to the same

structure; and, as in the form under notice, the larger vacuoles are ex-

ternal, the smaller ones internal, with reference to each other.

Teen

ae ee ne ee ee ee

a ea ae

ee a

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 449

- if the vacuole for the reception of such particle is formed at the

surface (and it unquestionably is so), there is nothing for it but

to accord to Actinophrys the power of turning itself imside out

after the fashion of Hydra. But even assuming this incredible

explanation to be correct, we must remember that in Hydra,

after the operation, the external surface becomes differentiated

into the normal condition previously existing. In short, here,

as in Ameba, the portion of protoplasm in immediate contact

with the surrounding medium becomes ipso facto, and for the

time being only, ectosarc; and on no other supposition is it

possible rationally to account for the phenomena.

Thave stated that in Actinophrys Eichhornii there is invariably

present a line of demarcation between the external and internal—

or “cortical” and “ medullary’—portions of the structure.

This is not produced by any difference in the intimate composi-

tion of these two portions, but is entirely dependent on the

occurrence of a larger and more symmetrically arranged series of

polygonal vacuolated cavities around a smaller and irregular

central series. Owing to the uniform size of the former series,

and the union of such of their polygonal planes as are nearest

the centre of the body, the appearance of a distinct concentric

ring is produced. Sometimes, however, more than one ring is

observable. This is due to the formation of a second series of

symmetrical cavities in the protoplasm.

My reasons have already been given for discarding the view

that the outer and inner portions of A. Kichhornii represent

the ectosarc and endosare as separable from each other. On

what then, it may be asked, does the peculiarity referred to

depend? I would answer, on that manifest idiosyncrasy which

in one case leads to the formation of a symmetrically sculptured

test composed altogether of an exudation from the animal, and

in another of a test in which the animal exudation shows no

sculpturing, and is merely the basal matter into which mineral

or other foreign particles are impacted. And, lastly, I need

hardly remind the reader that, in the vegetable kingdom, we

constantly meet with manifestations of a like idiosyncrasy, in

similar lines of demarcation between the cells constituting the

external and internal layers of a leaf or a stem.

Taking all these circumstances into consideration, I think

there is sufficient ground for believing rather that A. Sol, A.

oculata, A. viridis, and A. Eichhornii are varietal forms of the

same species, at different periods of its history, or engendered

by the varying conditions of the medium in which it is found,

than that they are specifically distinct forms.

Allusion has been made to the multiple nuclei of A. Eichhornii.

Before briefly describing their appearance, it is desirable that I

450 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Ameeba villosa

should define the meaning of a term which has been so indis-

criminately applied to the most widely differing portions of the

Rhizopodal structure. Miiller* uses the term at one time to

signify the central or primordial chamber of the siliceous shell

of the Polycystina, and at another to distinguish the more

brilliantly coloured contents of that chamber from the otherwise

identical sarcode of those portions of the structure that are sub-

sequently developed. He also employs it in defining the central

point of union of the siliceous framework of Acanthometra. Stein,

it would appear, applies it to the entire “ medullary” portion of

Actinophrys oculata, which I regard as nothing more than a

small form of 4. Hichhornii ; whilst Carter and Carpenter em-

ploy it in its only legitimate sense—that is, to denote a perma-

nent part of the protoplasmic substance, more or less distinctly

granular when fully developed, having a definite outline, con-

tained within a definite-shaped cavity, often seen to undergo

binary division whilst the rest of the body still remains entire,

and apparently serving some important purpose in the reproduc-

tion of the individual. In the latter sense the term is used by

me in these pages.

In A. Eichhornii, the subdivision of the nuclear body seems to

keep pace with the extraordinary degree of vacuolation to which

reference has already been made. For instead of meeting with

it as a simple aggregated mass such as we find in Ameba, it is

split up into numerous minute spherical masses, each of which

presents the characters of a true nucleus on a reduced scale.

These multiple nuclei are distributed, here and there, through

the protoplasm—each occupying a spherical cavity which is

completely filled up by the granular matter, and quite distinet

in outward appearance from the polygonal soap-bubble-like mass

of which the rest of the body is constituted. Facts are, how-

ever, still wanting to show whether the subdivision of the nuclei

in A. Eichhornii is due to a repetition of the process which brings

about the double or treble nucleus of the Amebe, or whether it

is to be regarded as a normal and original condition in this form.

If normal, it would certainly furnish a substantial character

whereon to build a specific distinction. (See figs. 1 and 2.)

The hyaline transparence of the form under notice is admi-

rably suited for affording an unobstructed view of the structure

and mode of action of the contractile vesicles. As already

stated, these vary in number. I have counted as many as five in

the same specimen, all of which maintained a regular but per-

fectly independent rhythmical action. They never change their

position, nor do they produce any appreciable effect on the cellular-

* Uber die Thalass. Polycyst. und Acanthom. des Mittelmeeres. Berlin,

1858.

tN ee ee

Da ae

ee eee

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 451

looking protoplasm with which they are in immediate apposition,

beyond what would be produced were they solid substances

ressing mechanically on the structure with which they are in

contact. As before stated, they never take part in the capture

or inception of food, but continue their pulsations uninter-

ruptedly even when in close proximity to a food-particle which

is being dragged inwards. It is deserving of mention, that on

the completion of the systole of the vesicle a depression or pit

is temporarily formed, as shown in fig. 3, the surface of which

is studded with villous corrugations not unlike those seen in the

villous patch of Ameba villosa ; and further, that, previous to the

actual contact of the food-particle with the surface towards

which it is being drawn by the cooperation of the surrounding

pseudopodia, that portion of the surface, acting under an unex-

plained vital impulse, projects its irregular network of sarcode

often far beyond the peripheral outline, to assist in building up

the vacuolar cavity. This projection constitutes the ‘“ probosci-

diform”’ apparatus of Ehrenberg.

Lastly, I have to mention the existence, in the majority of the

polygonal cavities, of little clusters of the minutest granules,

which during the vigorous condition of the organism are freely

suspended by the watery contents, but fall down by their own

specific gravity on the death of the creature, and rest passively

on the most dependent planes of their polygons. Minute as are

the crystalloids of Amba, these are still more minute, and

hence I have heretofore been unable to determine if they are of

similar nature. However, from their appearance, their superad-

dition to the mere points that form an integral part of the pro-

toplasm, and their uniform size, it is not improbable that these

bodies will eventually turn out to be crystalloids also.

Rich as the Hampstead pools have thus been proved to be in

facts illustrative of the life-history of the Rhizopods, many others

remain to which my limits prevent any allusion being made on

the present occasion. I must, however, briefly call attention

to two forms of Diffugia that occur abundantly in the same ma-

terial as the Ameba, and which, in like manner, have their tale to

tell. Im the variety depicted in fig. 12, the test is sometimes

made up entirely, as there represented, of minute cylindrical

pellets, probably chitinous, but certainly of animal origin.

These are placed side by side in very regular order, resting, as it

would appear, ona delicate and continuous membranous layer of

the same substance. Sometimes, however, a part or the whole

of these pellets is superseded by angular particles of sand. So

far this form exhibits no novelty. But its new and unexpected

feature consists in the mouth of the flask-shaped test being de-

veloped into a distinct septum and tube, whereby its character at

once merges into that of a Dithalamous shell resembling those of

452 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Ameeba villosa

certain Foraminifera. In crushed specimens the septal plate, and

its aperture (which is situated at the dorsal side of the tubular

expansion) may readily be seen. Fig. 13 exhibits a somewhat

different shape, but no material difference in the composition or

general character of the test, as is evident from the construction

of that portion around the aperture, of chitinous pellets iden-

tical with those in the previously described variety. So that

whereas in one form we observe a decided tendency to assume a

character not ordinarily met with in any of the freshwater Rhi-

zopods, in the other we have presented to us, in the same indi-

vidual, a combination of characters on each of which it has been

thought expedient by some writers to found as many distinct

species. Nay, more than this, if the principles so admirably

enunciated by Dr. Carpenter * are those on which alone a na-

tural classification of the Rhizopods can be built up, we must at

once and for ever discard as Ordinally distinctive those differ-

ences which do not involve the animal that forms the test, but

only the test that is formed by it. It is, I conceive, impossible

to examine the pseudopodia and other soft parts of Arcella and

Difflugia, without at once perceiving their generic identity. It

is equally impossible to examine those of Huglypha, Lagynis +,

and some allied but less-known forms, without perceiving that

the animals producing them are also generically identical. At

most, mere modifications in the shape and proportionate quanti-

ties of the organic and inorganic elements that enter into the

formation of the shell ought only to be employed to discrimi-

nate between species. But even here we may go a step too far,

as is shown by the varieties of Dzfflugia, unless we start with the

admission that the separation of such forms is simply a matter

of convenience.

In conclusion, it only remains for me to state that, whilst

courting the scrutiny on which the acceptance of every new

scientific fact very properly depends, I have for the present pur-

posely abstained from the extension of my hypothesis beyond

those lowest forms of animal life to which reference has been

made—my desire in so doing having been to dispel, with as little

delay as possible, what I cannot regard otherwise than as a most

unsatisfactory and untenable view of the mystery of Sarcode.

* Introduction to the Study of the Foraminifera.

+ If we include those forms of decided Euglyphe to which Schlumberger

“has given the distinct specific appellations of Cyphoderia, Sphenoderia,

and Pseudodifflugia, the force of the observation becomes doubly manifest.

Errata in paper on Amceba in the ‘ Annals’ for May: p. 366.

Twelfth line from bottom, dele “ not.”

Eleventh line from bottom, instead of “ but is” read “and not.”

Seventh line from bottom, dele “‘ not.”

Page 369, end of twentieth line from top, dele “‘ comma.”

I a is a

and other Indigenous Rhizopods. 453

EXPLANATION OF PLATE X.

. 1. Actinophrys Eichhornii, showing the complete vacuolation of the

ms - ptt es and “ medullary sti A Macrobiotus and an

Astasia are seen undergoing digestive absorption within the body,

these organisms being enclosed within pe se food-vacuoles.

At m a second M iotus is in the act of being drawn into the

peripheral substance, and partially surrounded by the layer of

sarcode which especially constitutes its special vacuole: c »v,

cv, contractile vesicles. ;

Fig. 2. A portion of the same individual, more highly magnified, in order

to show more distinctly the vacuolation and polygonal character

of the protoplasmic matter in this species of Actinophrys: n, n,

nuclei; m, the Macrobdiotus now completely enveloped by the

layer of sarcode, and being slowly drawn into the endosare ; f, v,

a food-vacuole, either after its contents have been altogether

absorbed or after the excrementitious matter has been extruded.

Both the above organisms are shown as focused down to a hori-

zontal plane. f

Fig. 3. Showing the villous appearance of the depression produced on the

completion of the systole of the cag tas vesicle. bag Neve

. 4. Actinophrys Sol, containing a large Pinnularia within a -

Be cass Ai 0, 0, oily globules within the protoplasm of the latter.

This specimen, which was obtained from Hampstead also, is

figured with a view to show how impossible it would be to distin-

guish it from an Ameba when, as often happens, the pseudo-

podia are entirely retracted. The food-vacuole was here very

distinct.

Fig. 5. Nucleated corpuscles of Ameba villosa.

Fig. 6. Sarcoblasts or granular corpuscles of the same.

Fig. 7. Rhombohedral crystalloids of the same.

. 8. Detached gemmule of the same, after the pseudosegmentation of the

granular protoplasm of which it is composed ; p, its mamilliform

rocess.

Fig. 9. fining Ameba villosa, supposed to be the advanced stage of the

gemmule, fig. 8: a, its villous tuft; ¢ v, contractile vesicle; n,

nucleus.

Fig. 10. Minute viviparous forms of A. villosa.

Fig.11. Ameba princeps (var. radiosa), showing an abortive effort at

fission: ¢ v, contractile vesicle; 2, nucleus.

Fig. 12. Diffugia proteiformis (var. septifera), showing a dithalamous ten-

dency.

Fig. 13. Diffugia proteiformis (var. acuminata), showing transitionary ten-

dency towards the characters of Arcella aculeata; at c, the por-

tion of the test around the aperture built up entirely of chitinous

pellets. dd, terminal spine.

Fig. 14. Showing the configuration of the test in Arcella vulgaris, consisting

of hexagonal depressions, through which the line of fracture ge-

nerally passes.

Fig.15. Showing the configuration of the test of Euglypha ? from

Stony Stratford ; the chitinous pellets taking a perfectly symme-

trical form, namely, discoidal masses connected one with the other

by regularly disposed bands of the same material. The line of

fracture accordingly follows that of the thinnest portion of the

be neg is to say, the spaces intervening between the rows of

pellets.

454

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

A History of British Sessile-eyed Crustacea. By C. Spence Bate,

F.R.S., F.L.S. &c., and J. O. Wesrwoop, M.A., F.L.S. Parts

I.-XI, 8vo. London: Van Voorst, 1861-1863.

In a former Number of this Journal (January 1862) we called the

attention of our readers to the appearance of the first numbers of

this important work, and we have now to notice the completion of

its first volume with the eleventh number just published. This

volume contains the descriptions of nearly all the British Amphi-

poda—only the Hyperine forms and the Leemodipoda of Latreille

(which are included by Mr. Spence Bate among the Amphipoda)

being left for the second volume.

Being usually of small size, and destitute of that variety of form

which renders the Stalk-eyed Crustacea so interesting even to the

unscientific, the animals treated of in this volume would seem per-

haps to possess few attractions, except for the zealous student of

nature ; but this is far from being the case; for, notwithstanding a

general uniformity of structure, the different genera exhibit many

curious peculiarities in the various development of their parts; and

this will apply still more strongly to. numerous forms of Amphipoda

and Isopoda which still remain to be described. The importance of

these creatures in the economy of nature is also very great: making

up for the smallness of their size by the immense numbers in which

they exist and the ubiquity of their presence, they are ready at the

first moment to seize upon the dead animal matter which constitutes

their ordinary food, and thus to act their part as scavengers of the

ocean without the least delay, whilst in their turn they furnish an

abundance of excellent nourishment to fishes and other aquatic ani-

mals, some of which thrive better upon this Crustacean diet than

upon any other. Many of the species also (Podoceride) are preda-

ceous in their habits; and most of these form dwellings for them-

selves, the construction of which presents many singularities. Among

the forms still to be described, we have both terrestrial and aquatic,

herbivorous, carnivorous, and even parasitic species; so that, what-

ever might be our opinion at the first glance, we soon discover .

that the Sessile-eyed Crustacea really present a greater variety of

interest both in structure and habit than the more striking Podoph-

thalmous forms.

Under any circumstances, the Edriophthalma form a group which

the student of our marine zoology must not neglect; and he may

congratulate himself on the excellent guide through the intricacies

of a somewhat difficult branch of natural history which is afforded

- him by the joint work of Messrs. Spence Bate and Westwood. If

we had much pleasure in speaking in high terms of the first few

numbers, it is an equal gratification to be able to say, now that it

has advanced halfway on its course, that the excellent character of

the work has been maintained throughout, and that, notwithstanding

the limited public upon which such books depend for their support,

se ee

Bibliographical Notices. 455

both the authors and the publisher have used every effort to render

their ‘ History of British Sessile-eyed Crustacea’ as perfect as pos-

sible. It is a work to which we most heartily wish success, and

which we can warmly recommend to the notice of our readers.

The Tropical World : a Popular Scientific Account of the Natural

History of the Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms in the Equatorial

Regions. By Dr.G. Hartwic. With eight Chromoxylographic

Plates and numerous Woodcuts. 8vo. London, Longmans, 1863.

One of our ancient Universities is adorned by the presence of an

academic dignitary, of whom it has been somewhat irreverently said

that, while science is his forte, omniscience is his foible. It seems

to us that Dr. Hartwig’s talents entitle him to a remark exactly the

converse. Notwithstanding the expectation held out to us by his

title-page, we have been entirely at-a loss to discover the “ scientific ””

element in his work. It is completely swamped by the “ popular”

treatment. Moreover we do not see the advantage of culling, from

authors who have, in the best sense of the word, achieved “ popu-

larity,” passages which are as generally known to Englishmen as

the way from Hyde-Park Corner to the Mansion House. Nor, in

rags together these extracts, does the compiler anywhere exhibit

the ski art of the magician who, with one wave of his wand, re-

animates dry bones and calls up ideas that might otherwise remain

dormant even in the minds of the imaginative. Sir Emerson Ten-

nant has had his thousands of readers, and Dr. Livingstone his tens

of thousands. What, then, but the very demon of book-making has

Lahey ae the Heidelberg doctor to publish this exceedingly useless

work? We indeed admire his knowledge of our difficult idiom,

which he writes with scarcely a mistake, and generally with a purity

to which many of our countrymen are strangers ; but (and we say it

advisedly) his language never rises with his theme above the very

commonest of common-place expression. One chapter of the descrip-

tive portion of ‘Tom Cringle’s Log’ will give a person who has

never left the temperate zone a better notion of many physical aspects

of the tropical world than a perusal of the whole of this big octavo.

Thus we fully endorse the strictures that were passed upon Dr,

Hartwig’s former volume in these pages*. The two books are,

mutatis mutandis, as like one another as two peas. We have the

same abundant poverty of illustrations—woodcuts not better than

those which deface many a penny broad sheet, and,worse than these,

the marvellous tricoloured engravings dignified by the euphonious

designation of “chromoxylographic plates.” It is well, however, to

be thankful for small mercies: ‘The Sea and its Living Wonders’

was embellished by a dozen of these monstrous productions; in the

‘Tropical World’ the number is diminished by one-third. We have

been puzzling ourselves to no purpose by trying to account for the

insertion, among so much rubbish, of the figure of the Mongoose

* Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., January 1861, pp. 63-67.

456 Bibliographical Notices.

(p. 323), the very curve of whose tail enabled us to detect the true

value of the design, before we recognized in the corner the “ hall-

mark ”’ of Mr. Wolf’s initials.

Nothing disgusts a mechanic so much as to witness a loss of power

in an engine of any sort—a pulley unskilfully applied, a lever

acting at a manifest disadvantage, a pinion obviously misfitted. This,

then, is our feeling when we regard Dr. Hartwig’s works. Here is a

German gentleman with an amount of application uncommon among

any but those of his own nation, having the advantages of a very

accurate acquaintance with English and of scientific tastes, who yet

will insist upon fitting out our countrymen with a knowledge of what

they either know already or may easily know of themselves. On

the other hand is a vast mass of scientific literature in a language

which comparatively few Englishmen comprehend, and which it

would be of the greatest use for them to understand. Why should

not Dr. Hartwig employ his powers in aiding them in this respect ?

Why should he not publish, in London, translations of some of those

valuable treatises which are still sealed books to English naturalists ?

We are not defending our ordinary educational course, we are but

simply giving utterance to a fact, when we say that a large majority

of our fellow-labourers in this country are unable to become acquainted,

except at a great sacrifice of time, with much that has been already

worked out, and oftentimes admirably worked out, by the industrious

brains of our Teutonic neighbours.

Phosphorescence, or the Emission of Light by Minerals, Plants, and

Animals. By T. L. Pureson, Ph.D., F.C.S. London: Reeve

& Co., 1862. 12mo.

The phenomena referred to by Dr. Phipson, in the little work be-

fore us, under the general term “phosphorescence,” are of a very

varied nature, and can scarcely be regarded as all falling under one

category. ‘They include all emissions of light which cannot be ac-

counted for directly as phenomena of electricity or combustion ;

nay, some even of the latter, such as the luminosity of phosphorus,

are considered as examples of phosphorescence by our author. Cer-

tain cosmical and meteorological phenomena, such as the zodi-

acal light, the apparent train of light left in the track of many

aérolites, luminous fogs, &c., are also mentioned as examples of phos-

phorescence ; indeed the author seems to have been anxious to omit

noticing no luminous phenomenon the cause of which cannot readily

be explained. Apart from all these doubtful instances, we have, how-

ever, a large number of phenomena to which no other term than

that of phosphorescence can be applied : there are numerous mineral,

vegetable, and animal substances to which the name of “light-

bearers”? may with justice be applied, and the emission of light from

which is still entirely unexplamed. We have minerals which give

out light after exposure to the sun, and others which present similar

phenomena when heated to a temperature far below that of incan-

descence. From others light is given off when they are rubbed or

Miscellaneous. 457

violently fractured: the same thing is observed in other mine-

ral substances while undergoing particular chemical or molecular

c .

Of the phenomena described by the author as examples of phos-

phorescence in flowering plants, most, if not all, must be regarded as

originating in electrical action ; but the luminosity of certain Fungi

rests upon a good foundation. The catalogue of luminous animals

is a long one, and the chief points connected with them are well

discussed by Dr. Phipson, in whose pages the reader will find an

interesting account of a great number of curious phenomena.

In his theoretical view of the nature of phosphorescence, the author

endeavours to bring all these multifarious phenomena under the same

category ; and here, we think, he is scarcely successful. At the base

of his theory lies the correlation of the physical forces and their

mutual convertibility; such a conversion of forces into light he

assumes to take place in phosphorescent bodies, and thus thinks he

has accounted for their phosphorescence. Thus the insolation of

Bologna phosphorus, according to him, sets up certain vibrations

(electric, chemical, or magnetic) in that body, which cease on its

being removed into the dark, and, in ceasing, cause the emission of

a proportionate amount of light. In like manner, on the application

heat to a body which emits light at a comparatively low tempera-

ture, we should have a certain amount of heat converted into Ticht

when a given point is reached. In these cases, such an hypothesis

may certainly be the true one, but it is still far from explaining the

phenomena ; for a theory of phosphorescence ought at least to show

some plausible reason why light is emitted under certain conditions

by one body and not by others.

The luminosity of the Fungi is regarded by Dr. Phipson as due to

‘chemical action ; but, curiously enough, that of animals is ascribed

to the conversion of nerve-force into light, although the luminous

matter even of the higher forms of phosphoric animals (insects and

Myriapods) will continue shining when smeared over other objects.

Under these circumstances, and considering that decayed wood and

putrescent animal matter are often luminous in the dark, we should

prefer regarding the phosphorescence both of animals and plants as

due to a chemical action, the subjection of which to the will in the

former does not seem to present any special difficulty.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Notice of three Wombats in the Zoological Gardens.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S, &e.

THERE are at present in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s

Park three kinds of Wombats from Australia: two were sent from

the Acclimatization Society of South Australia, at Victoria ; but no-

thing is known of their peculiar habitat. They are evidently dis-

tinct from the common silver-grey Wombat, which we have long

had alive.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xi. 30

458 Miscellaneous.

Two of them are true Phascolomys, and have a blunt nose, with a

distinct, bald, rugose, callous muzzle; and they have moderate-sized

ears, which are usually bent back on the sides of the head. |

They differ considerably in colour and in the form of the muzzle.

1. Phascolomys ursinus.

Dark silver-grey ; middle of back, nose, and outside of limbs

blacker; fur very dense, rather curled and crisp, consisting of abun-

dance of under-fur and close-set, slender, very dark brown hair with

slender silver-white tips, and a few interspersed white and fewer

black, tapering, slender bristles; it has a subtrigonal muffle, pointed

behind, and almost as long as broad. The ears are rounded at the

tip.

This is the animal which is best known and usual in collections. .

Hab, Van Diemen’s Land.

2. Phascolomys Angasii.

The fur is blackish brown, nearly uniform ; the muffle is oblong,

transverse, rounded behind, and broader than long. The ears are

rather pointed at the tip.

_ Hab. South Australia.

' [have named this species after Mr. G. French Angas, who has paid

so much attention to Australian and African zoology.

The third specimen is certainly a distinct genus, as distinct from

Phascolomys as Halmaturus from Macropus, or Ovibos from Bos. It

may be called

LASIORHINUS.

The nose is truncate and hairy, with large open nostrils on the

sides, and without any naked muffle between them. The ears are

large, produced, erect, acute, covered externally with short fur.

Lasiorhinus M‘Coyi.

The fur is pale silver-grey, the hairs being black with silver-grey

tips ; the whiskers are long, strong, rigid, in a line on each side of

the nose; the ears elongate, acute.

This animal seems to be the Broad-nosed Wombat (P. latifrons) of

South Australia, described by Mr. G. F. Angas, in the ‘ Proceedings

of the Zoological Society,’ June 25, 1861, p. 268, from a specimen

then living in the Botanic Garden in Adelaide, caught near the Sawler

River, about thirty miles north of Adelaide.

It has just been figured as Phascolomys lasiorhinus by Mr.

Gould in his ‘ Australian Mammals ;’ but this name is applicable to

the genus.

I have named this species after Prof. M‘Coy, the Director of the

Melbourne Museum, who is forming a museum that is equalling, and,

I may say, rivalling the museums of several European or American

capitals.

Mr. Angas may possibly be correct in applying the specific name.

of latifrons to this species ; and the characters that Professor Owen .

pointed out may prove to be generic: but this can only be deter-

ae! eae ee ae ee

Miscellaneous. 459

mined when the skulls of these species can be compared with the

typical skull described in the Proc. Zool. Soc. 1845, p. 82.

In the British Museum there is a large specimen of a true

Phascolomys, which, from the colour and rigidity of the fur, appears

to be a third species. Unfortunately the skin is without any skull,

and has no reliable habitat attributed to it, as it was purchased of

Mr. Jamrach, in 1859, who received it from “Australia.” It is very

probably the “big yellow fellow,” or Wombat, that the natives say

is found on the banks of the Murray. (See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1861,

p- 271.)

Phascolomys setosus.

- Nearly uniform pale brown ; the fur rigid, with a small quantity

of under-fur on the shoulders and limbs, consisting almost entirely

of dark brown bristles with pale tips, and rather more rigid black-

brown longer bristles ; the muffle subtrigonal, as long as broad.

Hab. Australia.

This is the specimen figured by Mr. Gould, in Part xi. of his

* Mammalia of Australia,’ under the name of Phascolomys latifrons;

but how he determined that it was the P. latifrons of Owen I do not

know, as the only skin we have has no skull, and P. latifrons is only

described from a skull. The different character of the fur is the best

distinction. The young Tasmanian Wombat (P. ursinus) is dark,

like the adult.

On the Occurrence of living Water-Beetles in the Intestines of th

Common Trout.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

P Preston Rectory, Wellington, Salop,

May 21, 1863.

GENTLEMEN,— While examining the intestines of the common

Trout (Salmo fario, Linn.) for Echinorhynchi, I was surprised to

find, at the space of about half an inch from the anal orifice, two

specimens of a small brown water-beetle, alive and active, amongst

the contents of the intestine. I have not yet determined the species

of beetle, nor do I at all know whether the discovery of a living

non-parasitic animal in such a locality is a matter of ordinary occur-

rence. But in this case there is, it would seem, undoubted evidence

of the power of an insect to survive unharmed the digestive process

of afish. The beetles had been swallowed by the trout with other

food, and here they were quite lively and ready to be evacuated in a

very short time.

I have made no mistake in the matter is evident from the

fact, that attached to the underside of one of the beetles was a.

tity of mucus from the fish’s intestine, in which were imbedded

e proboscides of two or three specimens of Echinorhynchus Proteus.

I have examined the stomach and intestines of various freshwater

fish, but never before witnessed the occurrence of living forms of

30*

460 Miscellaneous.

non-parasitie animals in the locality indicated. Is there anything

remarkable in this, or is it an event of ordinary occurrence ?

There is only one other way of accounting for the insect’s admis-

sion—by se reer that it had entered the intestine through the

anal orifice (?). “ Sub judice lis est.”

I am, Gentlemen,

Yours very truly,

Ww. Radmtrch.

Pretended “* Parthenogenesis” of the Bernhard Crab.

“ Cornwall, Sept. 5, 1770.

“‘ Srr,—I pass a great deal of my time in walking on the cliffs and

by the sea-side in this county. As I was one day going over the

rocks at low water, I saw an infinite number of Periwinkles, out of

which projected two claws resembling those of a Lobster. Curiosity

induced me to break the shells of several, to discover, if I could,

how the little creature could introduce itself, as the body of the

Periwinkle generally filled its shell.

**I was soon satisfied in my searches, but, to my astonishment,

found that it was the body of the Periwinkle that was undergoing

this metamorphosis. This occasioned my breaking several shells

more, in all of which I found the same appearances, and had the

satisfaction of demonstrating to several gentlemen of undoubted

veracity that the body of the Periwinkle actually underwent this

change till it became a perfect Lobster. In some you might discern

the most minute change, others were half-formed, and some were

completely formed. I spread a dozen at least on a table at one

time, which they traversed many times, to the satisfaction of several

gentlemen present.

“It is a received opinion that the infant Lobster takes refuge in the

empty shell of a Periwinkle. I was one of.those who imbibed that

opinion before I made this discovery.

“‘As I am little versed in studies of this nature, I request the

thoughts of your ingenious correspondents on the subject. It seems

probable that the Periwinkles may be produced from the berries of

the Lobster, as it seems impossible that the Lobster can be produced

in the first state from the Periwinkle. .

“T am, Sir, yours, &c.,

“ CoRNUBIENSIS.” *

New American Otter.

In the ‘ Canadian Naturalist’ for June 1863, Mr. George Barnston

describes and figures the skull of a new North-American Otter,

which he calls Lutra destructor. He observes, “I propose to show

that there exists throughout a great portion of the British territory of

North America, if not further south, a smaller species of Otter, well

known to the aboriginal Ojibways and the Crees as the Pinaikewaw-

keck, the breaker of beaver-houses and the dams. He closely re-

* Extracted from a newspaper of the above date,

ae ee ae a

‘

Miscellaneous. 461

sembles the larger Otter in dentition, colour, and shape, but is of

more slender structure, and possesses marked differences in the pro-

portion of the coronoid bone. He has, besides, distinct habits and

modes of life, especially in his search for sustenance, which, I think,

altogether entitles us to consider him as specifically distinct from the

Lutra canadensis.”

On two Forms of Anthriscus sylvestris.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S.

On the banks of the Thames, between Kew and Richmond, there

are now to be seen growing in abundance, side by side, so close to-

r that their leaves are often to be seen intermixed, two very

istinct forms of Anthriscus sylvestris: at least, I consider they

are both that plant, as I cannot find any character in the flower, the

fruit, or the leaves by which I can separate them.

One is a large succulent plant, of a bright, rather palish green

colour, much branched, and with large broad leaves; the stem is

thick, and has a few large ridges, and the flowers are rather large.

The other is a slender rigid-stemmed plant, with comparatively few

and distant branches, and comparatively few and smaller leaves.

The stem has many small, subequal ridges. The stem and foliage

are always dark, and generally of a more or less purple shade; but

1 have seen a few plants in which the stem and leaves were dark

These differences cannot arise from soil or any difference of ex-

ternal circumstances, such as situation, exposure, &c., as they grow

side by side, and come into flower at the same time. a

I have observed a similar fact, but one not so strongly marked, of

two forms growing side by side and flowering at the same period, in

the Wood-Anemone (Anemone nemorosa), which I described a short

time ago.

Now, I wish some of your readers would explain to me, by any of

the modern or ancient theories of the origin of species, what we are

to learn from the existence of two forms of the same species in the

same locality, under the same circumstances, and occurring at the

same time. They cannot be regarded as varieties produced by soil

or external circumstances, or any of the other conditions that are

supposed to cause variation in species; and yet they are not species

as we commonly regard species, though, if such specimens were col-

lected in a foreign country, and only examined from the specimen in

an herbarium, one might be inclined to regard them as allied species

or very distinct varieties.

I do not find the two forms of this plant noticed in any of the

English works on botany, nor in any of the floras of France or Ger-

many that occur to me.

Indeed, what a wonderful thing it is to consider how plants of the

same kind flower at the same period! how one week the banks of

the railways are covered with one, and then with another kind, all the

plants of each in bloom at once, and that the different species follow

one after the other in the same succession year after year—varying,

462 Miscellaneous.

it is true, as the season is late or early, but yet each retaining its

general place in the succession, and each appearing at the same time.

The banks of the railway-cuttings, which some condemn as

being ugly, are the flower-gardens that gladden the eyes, especially

in early spring, of thousands who have been pent up in the smoke

of London for months. When first the golden coltsfoot spangles the

banks, I can scarcely resist the desire to be. moving along the lines.

These flowers come and go in a day, almost as if by magic. They are

followed, at least near London, by the lilac lady-smock ; then come

the cowslips, and in the copses which are often to be seen at the bot-

tom of the banks, and in the hedges by the field-sides, the primrose and

the wood-anemone, and, more obscure, but easily seen by sharp

eyes, the wood-sorrel; and the hyacinth forms a blue carpet in the

distance, and the beautiful golden broom and furze on the bank

itself. Then come the large white beds of the wild chervil (Anthris-

cus sylvestris); and these are followed by the ox-eye daisy, all

nearly of the same height, and each turning its little star-flower to-

wards the great luminary as the world moves. The plants of the

same kind being all nearly of the same height add much to the

beauty of their appearance. This is especially seen in the fields of

clover, which form a purple carpet ; but I was especially struck with

it in an alpine meadow that was just about to be cut down near the

hospital on the*Via Mala: there the flowers showed four beautifully

even carpets, each to be seen through the other. Just above the.

pale green herbage, chiefly composed of the alpine dandelion, came

the purple gentian, then the blue Phyteuma, and above all was the

beautiful golden Trollius, or globe-flower. It was a sight never to be

forgotten.

Planorbis crista.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,—Will you permit me to withdraw that portion of

my letter in your last Number which states that I followed M.

Moquin-Tandon in adopting the Linnean name Planorbis crista?

Having adopted it, as any reader of my book may see, in opposition

to the views of that author, it only remains for me to apologize to

you for my carelessness in making the statement.

I am, Gentlemen,

Your obedient Servant,

May 1, 1863. Lovey REeveE.

On the Occurrence of Lymneea stagnalis in Scotland.

By Rosert O. Cunninenam, Esq., Prestonpans.

Mr. Lovell Reeve, in his recently published valuable work on

the Land and Freshwater Mollusks of Great Britain, says, with

respect to Lymnea stagnalis, “This fine species stands alone among

the Lymneeacea of the Eastern hemisphere for the conspicuous pro-

minence of its size. In the Western hemisphere it is represented in

a: remarkable degree of parallelism by the Lymnea jugularis of

Miscellaneous. 463

Lake Superior, distinguished by the same prominent assemblage of

characters. It ranges, in this country, with L. auricularia, not

being found in Scotland, and appearing extremely rare and local in

England, north of the midland counties.”

_ In the summer of 1857, while engaged in looking over the collec-

tion of Mollusca of the late Prof. Fleming, of Edinburgh, he men-

tioned in the course of conversation that the Lymnea stagnalis was

reported to have been obtained by the late David Don, the botanist,

in Gulane Loch, between seventeen and eighteen miles to the east of

Edinburgh ; but that, so far as he was aware, its occurrence in the

aforesaid locality had not been confirmed by any subsequent ob-

server. At the same time, he strongly recommended me to attempt,

if possible, to ascertain the truth of the report. Accordingly, since

that time I kept a sharp look-out for this interesting species in the

habitat specified. It was not, however, until the 30th of April of

the present year that my efforts were crowned with success, when I.

succeeded in procuring abundance of excellent specimens.

Gulane Loch is a sheet of water of inconsiderable depth, but of -

some extent, in the sandy common of the same name, which slopes

gently downwards to the seashore in the neighbourhood of the small

village of Aberlady. Owing to the extent and variety of its surface,

this common has for a long time been known to the botanist as a

locality for rare plants, several of which occur in the loch itself,—

e. g. Utricularia vulgaris, Menyanthes trifoliata, Sium repens, and

other plants which are not commonly met with in the adjoining

district. Owing to the water being very much choked up with

aquatic plants, it becomes a matter of very considerable difficulty to

drag it with a net, more especially in the middle of summer, when

the plants have grown up; and to this-I attribute my want of success

hitherto ; for, on visiting the locality last month, which was much

earlier than my wont, and when most of the plants were yet beneath

the surface of the water, I easily procured the specimens already

mentioned. The animals were generally clinging to plants of the

genus Chara, near the surface of the water, and were associated with’

individuals of Lymnea peregra, L. palustris, Physa fontinalis,

Cyclas cornea, and various small species of Planorbis. I brought

home about two dozen specimens, the greater number of which are

at present in a state of captivity, and appear to be, on the whole,

very active. I think it of some importance to record this fact, be-

cause of its interesting relation to the geographical distribution of

this so much the finest species of our British Lymnee. Should

Mr. Reeve desire to possess Scotch specimens of it, I shall be only

too happy to furnish him with them.

Descriptions of two new Species of Pycnogonoidea.

. By Georce Hopce.

Pallene attenuata, n.sp., Hodge.

Rostrum thick, constricted at the base, swelled near the middle, and

rounded at the apex. Legs long, sparingly hispid ; first, second,

464 Miscellaneous.

and third joints short, the second the longest ; fourth rather stout,

and as long as second and third united; fifth and sixth slender,

and about the length of fourth ; seventh very short; eighth con-

vex on outer margin, straight on inner, with a few short hairs

scattered along both margins. A single claw at the extremity,

which, when pressed against the limb, reaches to junction of

seventh joint. Foot-jaws long and slender, projecting consider-

ably beyond end of rostrum. Anterior portion of thorax attenu-

ated, and advanced to nearly on a line with the tip of rostrum,

where it slightly bulges, and gives origin to foot-jaws; imme-

diately behind which is seated the oculiferous tubercle, which is

long and narrow. Abdomen long, rounded at apex, slightly taper-

ing to base. At the origin of each leg on the dorsal aspect is a

large wart-like protuberance,

One female of this species was taken near the Dogger Bank, in

25-30 fathoms, on an oozy bottom.

Nymphon brevirostre, nu. sp., Hodge.

Rostrum short and stout; foot-jaws thick, divergent; second joint

or hand nearly as long as first; palpi five-jointed, brush-like ; first

and second joints long and nearly of the same length, each of

which is equal to the three terminal, the last being the shortest.

Thorax robust. Abdomen stout and conical. Oculiferous tubercle

midway between first pair of legs. Legs stout, sparingly furnished

with stout spine-like hairs; first and third joints short; second

slender at origin, but swelling upwards; fourth and fifth each as

long as the three first ; sixth much longer, slender ; seventh short ;

eighth long, slightly bent, and furnished along its inner margin

with a few short spines, and terminating in one moderately large

claw and two small ones.

One female of this species was taken near the Dogger Bank, under

the same circumstances as the foregoing.—Trans. Tynes. Nat. Field

Club, 1863, p. 281.

On the Change in Form of the Teeth of the Susu (Platanista).

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

The front of the beak, in the younger specimens, is dilated and ob-

long, but it gradually becomes as compressed as the rest of the beak ;

and in the older specimens the end of the beak is turned up.

The teeth in the front half of the younger specimens are very long,

slender, subcylindrical, slightly arched, and more or less flattened on

the front and hinder side by the friction of the teeth of the other

jaw, which alternate and fit between them when the jaws are closed.

The hinder teeth of the animal at this age are short and cylindrical,

with a conical end; the hindermost ones are very short, scarcely

raised above the gums.

As the animal increases in age, the bases of the teeth increase in

longitudinal diameter, and the apices become worn off, until they be-

Miscellaneous. 465

come the short, compressed, conical teeth figured by Sir Everard

Home in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ for 1818-1820, where

they have a compressed, more or less hollow base ; but in the more

aged animal the bases of the teeth are solid, squarish, very rugose, or

divided into short tubercles or broader lobes.

In the Museum of the College of Surgeons there is the skull of a

young specimen, and another of an animal rather older than the one

above described; and in the British Museum there is one rather

older, showing the gradual change in the form of the teeth, and in-

termediate between the younger state and the jaws figured by Sir E.

Home, which are also to be seen in the College of Surgeons’ Museum.

In the British Museum there is the skull of an aged individual, in

which the teeth have solid rugose and lobed bases, as above described.

The change in form is so great that I was inclined at one time to

consider the skull of the young animal as forming a genus distinct

from Platanista, which is always characterized as having compressed

teeth ; and any one comparing the teeth of the old and young ani-

mals, without the intermediate gradations, might, at first sight, easily

come to the conclusion that they could scarcely pass from one form

to the other, as the long cylindrical front teeth of the young animal are

converted, in the older one, into short, conical, compressed ones, by

the wearing away of the tops and the alteration of the form of the

base.

The sutures of the skull of this animal seem to be soon knit, for

they are well closed in the skulls of the young animals.

Aquatic Hymenoptera.

At a recent meeting of the Linn#an Society, Mr. J. Lubbock read

a paper on two aquatic Hymenoptera, one of which uses its wings in

swimming. Till now, the author stated, no aquatic Hymenoptera or

Orthoptera had been discovered, though the former group alone has

been estimated as comprising some 50,000 species, 3500 of which

live in Great Brita. In a basin of pond-water, on an early day in

August last, he had been astonished to see one of these Hymenoptera

(Polynema natans) quite at ease in the watery element, and actually

swimming by means of its wings. At first he could hardly believe

his eyes; but having found several specimens, and shown them to

some friends, the fact was undoubted. The same phenomenon,

moreover, was again observed, within a week, by Mr. Duchess, of

Stepney. Another of the aquatic Hymenoptera, now first described

under the name of Walkeria aquatica, was found in the same pond;

but this, unlike the former, which swam by means of its wings, held

its wings motionless when under water, and used its legs only ; and

though these were neither flattened nor provided with any well-

developed fringe of setse, they seemed very well to serve this pur-

pose; indeed the motion of this species was more rapid than that of

the former. Both species are fond of creeping along the sides of the

vessel in which they are kept, or on the leaves and stems of aquatic

plants; but they frequently quit their support, and swim boldly out

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. xi. 31

466 Miscellaneous.

into the open water. In these insects respiration appears to take

place in the usual way, through spiracles. A common house-fly,

placed under water, ceased to move in half an hour, while the speci-

mens now referred to lived under water for several hours without

suffering any apparent inconvenience, and one was observed to be

quite lively after having been so placed at least twelve hours, which,

it was stated from further observation, is probably about the limit

of their endurance. Drawings of the two insects accompanied the

paper, which also contained an account of their organization.

On the Appearances of Cotton-fibre during Solution and Dis-

integration. By Cuaruzs O'NEILL, F.C.S.

These experiments referred to the application of Schweizer’s sol-

vent. ‘Two strengths were used: the weaker contained oxide of

copper equal to 4°3 grains metal per 1000, and 47 grs. dry ammonia;

the stronger contained 15°4 grs. metal and 77 grs. dry ammonia per

1000. The latter is about the most concentrated solution which can

be made. Referring to the researches of Payen, Frémy, Peligot,

Schlossberger, and others who have employed this solvent, the au-

thor said the only experimenter who seemed to have worked in the

same direction with himself, and that apparently only to a small

extent, was Dr. Cramer, whose paper he had only been able to see

in a translation appended as a note to a memoir of M. Payen in

‘Comptes Rendus,’ vol. xlviii. p. 319.

Mr. O'Neill considers that cotton exhibits, under the action of

this solvent (1) an external membrane distinct from the true cell-

wall or cellulose matter; (2) spiral vessels situated either in or out-

side the external membrane ; (3) the true cell-wall or cellulose ; and

(4) an inner medullary matter. The external membrane is insoluble

in the solvent, and may be obtained in short hollow cylinders by

first acting upon the cotton with the dilute solvent so as to gradually

remove the cellulose, and then dissolving all soluble matters by the

strong solvent. If the strong solution is first applied, the extra-

ordinary dilatation of the cellulose bursts the external membrane, and

reduces it to such a state of tenuity that it is invisible. This mem-

brane is very elastic, appears to be quite impermeable to the solvent,

and, when free from fissures, protects the enclosed matter from its

action. It is not seen in cotton which has been submitted to the

action of bleaching agents, being either chemically altered or, what

is most probable, entirely removed.

The spiral vessels are unmistakeably apparent, running round the

fibre in more or less close spirals, sometimes single, sometimes double

and parallel, and at other times double and in opposite directions, or

again seemingly wound close and tight round the cylinder. They

are well seen in the spherical swellings or beads, but are prominent

at the points of strangulation of long ovals formed when the ends

of the fibres are held tightly. They collect in a close mass, forming

a ligature, and are frequently ruptured, the ends projecting from the

side of the fibre.

oat we

Miscellaneous. 467

The cellulose is enormously dilated by the weaker solvent, and

expands the external membrane into beautiful beads, which are

doubtless the result of the spiral vessels acting as ligatures at the

points of strangulation; at the open end of a fibre it can be seen

oozing out as a mucilaginous substance. The stronger solution

bursts the beads, or dissolves all the cellulose into a homogeneous

mass, amidst which the empty cuticular membrane and the spiral

vessels remain nearly unacted upon.

The substance called medullary matter is seen occupying the axes

of the fibres; it is nearly insoluble in the solvents. It may be well

seen projecting from the open end of a fibre where the cellulose is

exuding, and often remains im situ when the fibre has quite disap-

peared. It has many appearances of being a distinct body, but the

author in some cases thought it might be only the thickened or

modified inner cell-wall ; in others it looked like a shrunk membrane,

probably the dried-up primordial utricle. It is generally absent or

indistinct in old cotton, or cotton which has been submitted to

bleaching agents.—Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical

Society of Manchester, April 1863.

On a singular Malformation of the Beak and Foot in the Young of

the Domestic Fowl.

“Dear S1r,—With this I send you the body of the chicken I

spoke to you about, the beak and feet of which bear a close resem-

blance to those of a Parrot, and I beg your acceptance of it.

**Tt may perhaps be as well if I state the circumstances which, it

has occurred to me, may account

for this freak of nature. I had

one of the Parrot tribe, which, on

account of the noise it made, was

frequently placed in the yard

where I kept a breed of white

bantam fowls. If any of these 7

came near the Parrot’s cage to 7p

pick up the food it scattered, it be- “@

came much enraged and screamed

violently. Soon after this I set

two hens on eggs, and in each brood I had one chicken of this

strange form. My impression at the time was, and now is, that one

of the hens had been frightened by the Parrot, and an effect thereby

roduced on some of her eggs.

“When I first mentioned it to you, I thought it had but three

toes; on closer inspection I perceive there is a fourth toe ; but the

form of the foot still very closely resembles that of a Parrot.

*< Yours very truly,

“Wan. Horn.”

*«“P.S. The Parrot was never let out of the cage, and was, I be-

lieve, a female.”

* J. E, Gray, Esq., British Museum.”

—Proc. Zool. Soc. Feb. 24, 1863.

31*

468

INDEX to VOL. XI.

Acauues, new species of, 219.

Acanthogorgia, new species of, 140.

Acantholeberis, on two British species

of, 409.

Adams, A., on new genera and spe-

cies of Brachiopods, 98; on the

Japanese species of Siphonalia, 202;

on new genera and species of Um-

boniide, 264; on Microstelma and

Onoba, 347; on the Japanese La-

cunide, 350.

Adams, H, and A., on some new ge-

nera of Mollusca, 18.

Aheetulla, on some species of, 283.

Alder, J., on the British Tunicata, 153.

Allman, Prof., on the Hydroida, 1.

Allopora, new species of, 142.

Amara, new species of, 215.

gL gaan new British species of,

Amblyopus, new species of, 139.

Ameeba, on an undescribed indigenous

form of, 287, 365, 434.

Anisotoma, new species of, 216.

Annelids, on natural and _ artificial

section in some Chetopod, 323;

on the position of the Capitelle in

the system of the, 393.

Anther, on the development, struc-

ture, and functions of the tissues of

the, 229.

Anthriscus sylvestris, on two forms

of, 461.

Archeopteryx macrurus, on the re-

mains of, 122.

Ascidia, new British species of, 154.

Atlantis, new species of, 219.

Atractylis, new British species of, 45.

ea characters of the new genus,

Baily, W. H., on some coal-measure

- Crustacea belonging to the genus

Belinurus, 107

Barnston, G., on a new species of

Otter, 460.

Bartlett, A. D., on the habits and

affinities of the Kagu, 227; on the

habits of the Beaver, 387.

Batrachians, descriptions of new, 26.

Beaver, on the habits of the, 387.

Bee, on the form of the cells made by

the, 415.

Belinurus, on two new species of, 107.

Bennett, Dr. G., on the habits of

Megapodius Freycineti, 380; on

the Mooruk and on the Didunculus

strigirostris, 381.

Benson, W. H., on new species of

Helix, Clausilia, and Spiraxis, 87 ; -

on new land-shells, and on the ani-

mal of Sophina, 318.

Blackwall, J., on new Spiders from

Rio Janeiro, 29.

Blanford, W. T., on the Indian spe-

cies of Helix and Nanina, 81.

Books, new: — Jukes’s Manual of

Geology, 51; Hull’s Coal-fields of

Great Britain, 53; Gibson’s Flora

of Essex, 117; Kirby’s European

Butterflies, 120; Balfour’s Outlines

of Botany, 221; Reeve’s Land and

Freshwater Mollusks, 291, 389;

Woods’s Geological Observations in

South Australia, 294 ; Transactions

of the Linnean Society of London,

296; Hayden’s Geology and Na-

tural History of the Upper Missouri,

371; Spence Bate and Westwood’s

British Sessile-eyed Crustacea, 454 ;

Hartwig’s. Tropical World, 455 ;

Phipson’s Phosphorescence, 456.

Botrylloides, new British species of,

172

Boussingault, M., on the nature of

the gas produced from the decom-

position of carbonic acid by leaves,

309.

Brachiopods, on new genera and spe-

cies of, 98.

Brachypterus, new species of, 217.

Brachysoma diadema, note on, 93;

Brachyura, on the classification of

the, 233.

Brachyurophis, description of the ge-

nus, 21.

Brehm, Dr. A. E., on the Unicorn of

the ancients, 72.

Bulimus, new species of, 322.

INDEX.

Burmeister, Dr., on a new species of

Chlamyphorus, 308.

Calceolina, characters of the genus,

267

Capitelle, on the position of the, in

the system of the Annelida, 393.

icornis, new species of, 387.

Carter, H. J., on the colouring matter

gf the Red Sea, 182.

Caryophyllia clavus,on the occurrence

of, on the coasts of iar 145.

Catopra, new species of, 137.

Centro m, new species of, 136.

Cephalophus, new species of, 387.

Cercocalamus, description of the ge-

nus, 21.

Chatin, A., on the structure and func-

tions of the tissues of the anther,

229.

Chlamydera, new species of, 55.

Chlamyphorus, new species of, 308.

Chloroscartes, characters of the ge-

nus, 134.

Chromotis, characters of the new ge-

nus, 19.

Clausilia, new species of, 89, 321.

Cjava, new species of, 8.

Cohn, Prof. F., on the contractile

tissue of plants, 188.

Coleoptera, new, 214; on the occur-

rence of, in the intestines of the

Trout, 459.

Comatula rosacea, on the embryogeny

of, 297.

Coptostethus, new species of, 218.

Corals, descriptions of new, 140, 143.

Coriphilus, new species of, 57.

Corymorpha nutans, on the structure

of, 1.

Cotton-fibre, on the appearance of,

during solution and disintegration,

466.

Crania, new species of, 100.

Cratognathus, new species of, 215.

Crocidura, new species of, 131.

Crocodilus, new species of, 222.

Crustacea, on the homologies of the

- gmaaed joints in the Decapod,

Cryptophagus, new species of, 217.

aie description of the genus,

Cubiceps gracilis, notes on, 242.

Cunningham, R. O., on the occur-

rence of Lymnza stagnalis in Scot-

land, 462.

469

Cynopterus, new species of, 386.

Cynthia, new British species of, 161.

Cytus roseus, notes on, 246.

Daboia elegans, note on, 384.

Dana, J. D., on the higher subdivi-

sions in the classification of mam-

mals, 207.

iardigallus Crawfurdi, note on, 383.

Diatoms, on the structure of the

valves of some, 351.

Diazona hebridica, notes on, 169.

Didunculus strigirostris, on the habits

of, 381.

Diemansia annulata, note on, 24.

Distoma, new British species of, 172.

Dryophis, new species of, 22.

Dysdera, new species of, 43.

Echeneis brachyptera, notes on, 241.

Echinodera, new species of, 219.

Epeira, new species of, 29.

Ephedra, observations on, 248.

Epheria, new species of, 350.

Ethalia, new species of, 266.

Eudendrium, new British species of, 9.

Euryotis, new species of, 132.

Fermentation, on the production of,

by Infusoria without access of atmo-

spheric air, 31].

Fishes, new, 58, 114, 134, 237; on

some fossil, from Dura Den, 73.

Flabellum, new species of, 143.

Foraminifera, on the nomenclature of

the, 91.

Fowl, on a singular malformation of

the beak and foot in the young of

the, 467.

Galena, new species of, 39.

Gerstacker, D., on the geographical

distribution and varieties of the

Honey-bee, with remarks on the

exotic Honey-bees of the Old

World, 270, 333.

Glyphisodon, new species of, 115.

Glyptodon, on the extinct genus, 123.

Glyptolepis, new species of, 73.

Gould, J., on a new species of Chla-

mydera, 55.

Gracula, new species of, 58.

Gracula pectoralis, notes on, 15.

Gray, G. R., on a Flycatcher new to

the fauna of Great Britain, 228.

Gray, Dr. J. E., on some new Mam-

malia, 131, 385, 457 ; on two forms

of Anthriscus sylvestris, 461; on

the change in form of the teeth of

the Susu, 464.

470

Grube, E., on the Capitelle, and their

position in the system of the Anne-

lida, 393.

Giimther, Dr. A., on new species of

Reptiles and Fishes, 20, 26, 114,

134, 283.

Gulliver, Prof. G., on the raphides of

British plants, 13, 263.

Halcyon, new species of, 57.

Haliplus, new species of, 216.

Haughton, Rev. S., on the form of the

cells made by various Wasps and

by the Honey-bee, 415; on the

origin of species, 420.

Helix, on the Indian species of, 81;

new species of, 87, 318.

Hemipodius, on the osteology of, 300.

Hincks, Rev. T., on new British Hy-

droids, 45.

Hodge, G., on a new species of Ophi-

ura, 311; on two new species of

Pycnogonoidea, 463.

Holdsworth, E. W. H., on two new

species of Flabellum, 143; on the

occurrence of Caryophyllia clavus

on the coasts of Britain, 145.

Honey-bee, on the geographical dis-

tribution and varieties of the, 270,

333.

Horn, W., on a malformation of the

beak and foot in the young of the

domestic Fowl, 467.

Houghton, Rev. W., on the occur-

rence of living Coleoptera in the

intestines of the Trout, 459.

Huxley, Prof., on a new specimen of

Glyptodon, 123.

Hydroida, notes on the, 1; new Brit-

ish, 45.

Hyla, new species of, 28.

Hymenoptera, on aquatic, 465.

Infusoria, on the production of fer-

mentation by, 311.

Insects, on the composition of the

head and the number of abdominal

segments in, 173.

Ismenia, new species of, 99.

Isnardia, on the raphides of, 263.

Johnson, J. Y., on new genera and

_ species of Fishes, 58, 237 ; on some

new Corals from Madeira, 140, 299.

Jones, T. R., on the Foraminifera, 91.

Labrichthys, new species of, 116.

Lacuna, new species of, 350.

Lamonema, new species of, 62.

Lagenorhynchus albirostris, on the

INDEX.

occurrence of, at the mouth of the

Dee, 268. i

Laomedea, new British species of, 46.

Laparocerus, new species of, 219.

Lasiorhinus, description of the new

genus, 458.

Lates, new species of, 114.

Latex, on the vessels of the, 402.

Leaves, on the nature of the gas pyo-

duced from the decomposition of

carbonic acid by, 309.

Leidy, Dr. J., on the Pliocene fauna

of the Niobrara river, 149.

Leiopyrga, characters of the new

genus, 19

Leopardus, new species of, 386.

Leptodira, new species of, 23.

Lestiboudois, M., on the vessels of

the latex and the receptacles of the

elaborated juices of plants, 402.

Leuconyx, characters of the new ge-

nus, 18

Lingula, new species of, 101.

Lotella, new species of, 116.

Lubbock, J., on two aquatic Hy-

menoptera, 465.

Lutra, new species of, 460.

Lymnza stagnalis, on the occurrence

of, in Scotland, 462,

Lymnodynastes, new species of, 26.

Lynde, J.G., on the action of magenta

on vegetable tissue, 308.

Mammals, on the higher subdivisions

in the classification of, 207.

Masoreus, new species of, 214.

Megapodius Freycineti, on the habits

of, 380.

Melambaphes, characters of the genus,

115.

Metabletus, new species of, 214.

Metric weights and measures, on the

use of, 71. ;

Microscopical investigations, on the

application of magenta dye in, 152.

Microstelma, characters of the genus,

Microthyea, characters of the genus,

265.

Miers, J., on Ephedra, 248.

Minor, W.C., on natural and artificial

section in some Cheetopod Annelids,

323.

Molgula, description of the genus,

158.

Mollusca, new genera and species of,

—s

ee, eee ee ee ee ee ee

INDEX. 471

Moore, T. J., on the occurrence of

ynchus albirostris at the

mouth of the Dee, 268.

psa on the habits of the, 380.

9 pian of, 299.

a F., on the transforma-

tions of the Porcellanz, 47.

Murray, A., on Crocodilus frontatus,

222.

Mus, new species of, 132.

Muscicapa parva, capture of, in Great

Britain, 228.

Nanina, on the Indian species of, 81.

Nanophyes, new species of, 218.

Neelaps, description of the genus, 24.

Neill, C. O’, on the appearance of

cotton-fibre during solution and

disintegration, 466.

Nesiarchus, characters of the new ge-

nus, 64.

Norman, Rev. A. M., on Acantho-

leberis, a genus of Entomostraca

new to Great Britain, 409.

i a new British species of,

Onoba, new species of, 348.

Ophiura, new British species of, 311.

Opisthoporus, new species of, 322.

Owen, Prof., on Archeopteryx ma-

crurus, 122.

Pallene, new British species of, 463.

Parascidia, new British species of,

172.

Parker, W.K., on the Foraminifera,

91; onthe osteology of the genera

Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, Hemipodius,

and Tinamus, 4

Parthenogenesis ofthe Bernhard Crab,

on the, 460.

Pasteur, L., on the production of

fermentation by the presence of

P. onsite British ies of,

us, new Bri es of,

a ae

Perileptus, new species of, 216.

Perry, W. G., notice of the late, 392.

Peters, Dr. W., on a new Phyllodac-

a 152; on a new Pteropus,

a lers, on some species of 457.

Phocea foetida, capture of, at Aberyst-

with, 309.

Phrynobatrachus, characters of the

genus, 135.

Phyllodactylus, new species of, 152.

Pitta, new species of, 133.

Planorbis crista, note on, 462.

Plants, on the raphides of British, 13,

263; on the contractile tissue of,

pad on the laticiferous vessels of,

Piecan on the change in form of

the teeth of, 464.

Platyplectrum, description of the ge-

nus, 27.

Plectana, new species of, 38.

Pleurodyctium problematicum, on the

true nature of, 390. C28

Pleurosigma, on the structure

valves of, 351.

Peecilostolus, description of thegenus,

25.

Polyclmum, new British species of,

169,

Porcellanz, on the metamorphoses of

the, 47.

Priacanthus, new species of, 71.

Primnoa, new species of, 299.

Pseudockromis, new species of, 139.

Pseudomurzna, new species of, 59.

Pseudophycis, new species of, 116.

Pterocles, on the osteology of, 300.

Pteropus, new species of, 231.

Ptilonopus, new species of, 58.

Pycnogonoidea, new species of, 463.

Raphides, notes on the, of British

plants, 13, 263.

Reeve, L., on Planorbis crista, 462.

Reptiles, descriptions of new, 134.

Rhmochetus jubatus, on the habits

and affinities of, 227.

sp ra observations on some,

Riovatbisasina: new species of, 117.

Rhombus cristatus, notes on, 238.

Rhynchonella, new species of, 100.

Roberts, Dr., on the application of

magenta dye i Pe microscopical in-

vestigations, 1 52.

Rominger, Dr., on the true nature of

pf leutodyetinm problematicum,390.

yal Society, of the,

19. S97. ety, proceedings

Saururus cernuus, on a remarkable

form of rotation in the pith-cells

of, 150.

Schaeffer, Dr. G. C., on a remarkable

form of rotation in the pith-cells of

Saururus cernuus, 150.

Schaum, Dr. H., on the composition

of the head, and on the number of

abdominal segments, in insects,173.

472 INDEX.

Schedophilus, new species of, 67.

Schomburgk, Sir R., on Diardigallus

Crawfurdi, 383.

Sciurus, new species of, 132.

Scorpena ustulata, notes on, 239.

Setarches, characters of the new ge-

nus, 68.

Shells, on the Indian species of land-,

Shortt, Dr., on the habits of Daboia

elegans, 384.

Silvanus, new species of, 217.

Siphonalia, on the Japanese species

of, 202.

Sitones, new species of, 220.

Snakes, descriptions of new, 20.

Solea oculata, notes on, 237.

Sophina, on the animal of, 323.

Species, on the origin of, 415.

Spiders, descriptions of new, 29.

Spiraxis, new species of, 90.

Stenotis, new species of, 351.

Stieda, L., on the Tzeniz, 101.

Stimpson, Dr. W., on the classification

of the Brachyura, and on the homo-

logies of the antennary joints in

the Decapod Crustacea, 233.

Suess, Prof. E., on the former con-

nexion of North Africa with South

Europe, 429.

Synaphobranchus, characters of the

new genus, 60.

Syrrhaptes, on the osteology of, 300.

Teenize, on the anatomy of the, 101.

Taheitia, characters of the new genus,

19.

Tarus, new species of, 214.

Teinostoma, new species of, 267.

Teleuraspis nummifera, notes on, 25.

Telopes, new species of, 218.

Tetragnatha, new species of, 41.

Textularize, on the, 91.

Thomson, Prof. W., on the embryo-

geny of Comatula rosacea, 297.

Thylacium, new British species of, 167.

Thyrsoidea, new species of, 60.

Tinamus, on the osteology of, 300.

Todopsis, new species of, 57.

Trechus, new species of, 216.

Trichodesmium Ehrenbergii, observa-

tions on, 182.

Tubiclava, characters of the new ge-

nus, 9

Tubularia, new species of, 12.

Tubularide, new British species of, 8.

Tunicata, on the British, with de-

scriptions of new species, 153.

se exe characters of the genus,

Umboniide, on new genera and spe-

cies of, 264.

here of the ancients, note on the,

Vegetable tissue, on the action of

magenta on, 308.

Walker, R., on some fossil fishes of

Dura Den, 73.

Wallace, A. R., on the proposed change

in name of Gracula pectoralis, 15 ;

on new birds from New Guinea, 56;

on three new species of Pitta, 133.

Wallich, Dr., on an undescribed indi-

genous form of Ameeba, 287, 365 ;

on the structure of the valves of

Pleurosigma and other Diatoms,

351; on Ameeba villosa and other

Rhizopods, 434.

Wasps, on the form of the cells made

by various, 415.

Wollaston, T. V., on new Canarian

Coleoptera, 214.

Zeus conchifer, notes on, 245.

Zoological Society, proceedings of the,

55, 131, 222, 299, 380.

END OF THE ELEVENTH VOLUME.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,

RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.