oad

{ee

THE ANNALS -S¥ )

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

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

JOHN EDWARD GRAY, Ph.D., F.R.S., F.LS., F.Z.S. &.,

WILLIAM S. DALLAS, F.LS.,

AND

WILLIAM FRANCIS, Ph.D., F.L.S.

es pot

y ~~ A a ere vay ~

\

| 9X MOL, XL—FOURTH SERIES.

ae aye

DANS

LONDON:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS.

SOLD BY LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL,

AND CO.; KENT AND CO.; WHITTAKER AND CO.: BAILLIERE, PARIS:

MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH :

HODGES, FOSTER, AND CO., DUBLIN: AND ASHER, BERLIN.

1873.

“Omnes res create sunt divine sapientiz et potenti testes, divitie felicitatis

humanze :—ex harum usu donitas Creatoris; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini;

ex ceconomia in conservatione, proportione, renoyatione, potentia majestatis

elucet. arum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper xstimata ;

a veré eruditis et sapientibus semper exculta; malé doctis et barbaris semper

inimica fuit.”—Linnavs.

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

voir qu’elle est le chef-d’eeuvre de la Toute-puissance, et le but auquel se rappor-

tent toutes ses opérations.’—Bruckner, Théorie du Systeme Animal, Leyden,

1767.

no oO 6 a6 fo. 6 The sylvan powers

Obey our summons; from their deepest dells

The Dryads come, and throw their garlands wild

And odorous branches at our feet; the Nymphs

That press with nimble step the mountain-thyme

And purple heath-flower come not empty-handed,

But scatter round ten thousand forms minute

Of velvet moss or lichen, torn from rock

Or rifted oak or cavern deep: the Naiads too

Quit their loved native stream, from whose smooth face

They crop the lily, and each sedge and rush

That drinks the rippling tide: the frozen poles,

Where peril waits the bold adventurer’s tread,

The burning sands of Borneo and Cayenne,

All, all to us unlock their secret stores

And pay their cheerful tribute.

J. Taytor, Norwich, 1818.

CONTENTS OF VOL. XI.

[FOURTH SERIES. ]

NUMBER LXI.

I. Transformation of an entire Shell into Chitinous Structure by

the Polype Hydractinia, with short Descriptions of the Polypidoms

of five other Species. By H. J. Carrer, F.R.S. &c. (Plate L) ..

Il. On a new Species of Nettapus (Cotton-Teal) from the River

Yangtsze, China. By R. Swinnor, H.M. Consul at Ningo ......

II. On Berardius and other Ziphioid Wales. By Dr. J. E. Gray,

Lon 2S a 0TH J 5S iS OO nia OI COOnMpiac OM ono tc oc an

IV. On the Peregrine Falcon from Sardinia. By R. BowpLeRr

Suarpg, F,L.S., F.Z.S., &c., Senior Assistant, Zoological Department,

eberetsin, Mineateriaaas vo. die fy s)halayeie o's ale oY ayaa si de Aaieiw ayete lve ewie's

V. Notes on the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. By

He ree Amp ey 51517... ciatats o)a/eis) ats: oie cloelelstalsiols shave wie’ a 6 aye eis

VI. Growth or Evolution of Structure in Seedlings. By Joun C,

Dnaren, MDs. itis sie e Rote eardelele okra Mere cinerea dae sada

VIL. Sequoia and its History. By Professor Asa Gray, President

of the American Association for the Advancement of Science......

VIII. Physico-chemical Investigations upon the Aquatic Articu-

Pinoy Ma herik PLATEAU.) bart My cen incon celeue snes

IX. Additional Notes on Spatulemys Lasale. By Dr. J. E. Gray,

HRs. we. (Plate Il)... See COM DE UO MOC aar On OC HORE ETC

X. On the Macleayius australiensis from New Zealand. By Dr. J.

EB Ye CCMEAN NE ERS GUC rect ors state Mt wrote orbiter ov cbShorhe oe ole ans corel alesis tates

On the Reproduction and Development of the Telescope-fish of China,

by M. Carbonnier; Additional Observations on Codiophyllum,

by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S, &e.; The Bell Collection of Reptiles ;

Answer to Herr Ritsema’s “ Note on Crinodes Sommeri” &c.,

by A. G. Butler, F.L.S. &c.; On a Mite in the Ear of the Ox;

The Horns of Antilocapra, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.; Notice

Page

of a new and remarkable Fossil Bird, by O. C. Marsh...... 76—80

1v CONTENTS.

NUMBER LXII.

Page

XI. Summary of Zoological Observations made at Naples in the

winter of 1871-72. By E. Ray Lanxestrr, M.A., Fellow and Lec-

turer of Exeter College; Oxford <3. ....02 50s 0) eee 81

XII. On the Geographical Distribution, Migration, and Occasional

Habitats of Whales and Dolphins (Céete). By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.RS.

XIII. Notes on the Whales and Dolphins of the New-Zealand

Seas. By Dr. James Hector, F.R.S. With Remarks by Dr. J. E.

GRANGE ASI RG. cpio siks doe Wald dete ee Cae ee ee eee 104

XIV. A Monographic List of the Species of the Genus Gonyleptes,

with Descriptions of three remarkable new Species. By ArnTHUR

GaRDINER BUTLER, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &e. (Plate TIL) ....5...00 112

XV. Notes on the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. By

BLOW. BATES, ELAS, i. 0204 also sislties eeletees eet aioe ee eee 117

XVI. On a new Species of Turkey Vulture from the Falkland

Islands and a new Genus of Old-World Vultures. By R. Bowpier

SHarpeé, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., Senior Assistant, Zoological Depart-

ment, British Museum: oseccc ect dve ce dd cd dd ddd de dee deen 133

XVII. On some Fossils from the Quebee Group of Point Lévis,

Quebec. By H. ALLEYNE Nicwotson, M.D., D.Sc., M.A., F.R.S.E.,

Professor of Natural History in University College, Toronto ...... wb.

XVIII. Notes on Tortoises. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &..... 143

New Books:—Records of the Rocks; or Notes on the Geology,

Natural History, and Antiquities of North and South Wales,

Devon, and Cornwall, by the Rev. W. 8S. Symonds, F.G.S. &c.

—A Manual of Palzeontology for the Use of Students, with a

General Introduction on the Principles of Paleontology, by H.

A; Nicholson; MDD Se, G0: iia etéais deste ee he ee 149—151

Anatomical Investigations on the Limuli, by A. Milne-Edwards; On

the Boomdas (Dendrohyrax arboreus), by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S.

&c. ; On Deep-sea Dredging in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, by J.

F. Whiteaves, F.G.S. &c.; Nitophyllum litteratum, a new Bri-

tish Alga, by Prof. T. G. Agardh; On a new Freshwater Tortoise

from Borneo (Orlitia borneensis), by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e. ;

Descriptions of three new Species of Crustacea parasitic on the

Cetacea of the N.W. coast of America, by W. H. Dall, U.S.

Coast Survey; Orca stenorhyncha (the Narrow-nosed Killer) ;

Preliminary Descriptions of new Species of Mollusks from the

North-west coast of America, by W. H. Dall, U.S. Coast Sur-

vey; Projectile Power of the Capsules of Hamamelis virginica,

py Mr.-T. Meehan}. .:...::4..6<i . dba dee eRe eee ae ek 152—160

CONTENTS. : v

NUMBER LXIZ.

Page

XIX. On the Original Form, Development, and Cohesion of the

Bones of the Sternum of Chelonians; with Notes on the Skeleton of

Sphargis. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &. (Plates IV., V., & VI.) 161

XX. On the Homologies of the Shoulder-girdle of the Dipnoans

and other Fishes. By THroporE Gitx, M.D., Ph.D., &c......... 173

XXI. Additions to the Australian Cureulionide. Part IV. By

Pa AG apes ASCO, Ech G61 vidiclals alale's!t oiets ale ola vieleje ove iess sie ere 178

XXII. On the Silurus and Glanis of the Ancient Greeks and

Romans. By the Rev. W. HoveurTon, M.A., F.LS..........-.. 199

XXIII. Remarks on certain Errors in Mr. Jeffreys’s Article on

“The Mollusca of Europe compared with those of Eastern North

America.” By A. E. Verrix1, Professor of Zoology in Yale College,

eum SIV ety CONT MISA wra.c<1c <i wel sole: aie. eralalelala ain orarelsleneale 2 at 206

XXIV. Remarks on Cervus chilensis and Cervus antisiensis. By

P. L. Sctarer, M.A., F.R.S., Secretary to the Zoological Society of

RAR Gaal Se, NaF h. oy 5 FICO 5%) ev oS ho Siete ont Ske fol la] rast alot abe, 218

XXV. Further Remarks on the Guémul of Patagonia (Huamela

Peco an by Dr: J. EGray, BOR.S. &e.. 2.2.5.2 2 2-0 seer tn tean 214

XXVI. On the Peregrine Falcon of the Magellan Straits. By R.

Bowo er Suarpe, F.LS., F.Z.8., &c., Senior Assistant, Zoological

Department, British Museum ..........cccsesseecccsvcerccces 220

New Book :—Dr. Ehrenberg’s Microgeological Studies ............ 224

Proceedings of the Royal Society. ............-seecereseeeseees 227

On Whales in the Indian Ocean, by H. J. Carter, F.R.S. &c.; Ona

new Subclass of Fossil Birds (Odontornithes), by O. C. Marsh ;

On two new Free Sponges from Singapore, by Dr. J. E. Gray,

F.R.S. &c.; On the “Capreolus”’ of Zonites algirus, by E. Du-

breuil; On the Developmental History of Petromyzon, by A.

Schneider; On the Parasites of the Cetaceans of the N.W.

Coast of America, with Descriptions of New Forms, by W. H.

Dall, U.S. Coast Survey .........ce cece eneeseesoees 231—238

NUMBER LXIV.

XXVIL. On the Calcispongie, their Position in the Animal King-

dom, and their Relation to the Theory of Descendence. By Pro-

PeSHOr PANST) EVACKEL © o.0 05 carth wh aes lel ntaa Relea ale oie vate 241

vi CONTENTS.

Page

XXVIII. Remarks on a few Species belonging to the Family

Terebride, and Descriptions of several new Forms in the Collection

of the British Museum. By Epe@ar A. Smiru, F.Z8., Zoological

Departaaent, British Museum 2.4...) tec. oct odes ou Eee Ae 262

XXIX. On the French Species of the Genus Geomalacus. By

D. F. Heynemann, President of the German Malacozoological

Society, Frankfort-on-Maine. . 3. coe eo wow e ny ees rea vw QU

XXX. Description of Labaria hemispherica, Gray, a new Species

of Hexactinellid Sponge, with Observations on it and the Sarco-

hexactinellid Sponges generally. By H. J. Canter, F.R.S. &c. .. 275

XXXI. On a Crustacean of the Genus Za. By the Rey. Toomas

IR. AR OTREBBING, MGA. eo ais vanes stejeisi.e ce) eiaisie syeiace eno er 286

XXXII. Description of a new Species belonging to the Genus

Vitrina. By Epa@ar A. Smit, F.Z.8., Zoological Department,

Britishy Museum 5 oo cic< ve ope soos meine pos. oes alte Ge 288

XXXII. Observations on Chelonians, with Descriptions of new

Genera and Species.. By Dr. J. HE. Gray, FURS. 6.) 05 jae ater 289

XXXIV, Additional Notes on the Guémul. By Dr. J. E. Gray,

BBS. 2G. false wid 5 shed in sine Sid ole ot ae ied tale he Sec 308

Proceedings of the Royal Society: 20. c... <5 «+ «sein <> de eo ae eee 310

Fabulous Australian Animals, by Gerard Krefft; Preliminary De-

scriptions of three new Species of Cetacea from the Coast of

California, by W. H. Dall, U.S. Coast Survey ; On Hyper-

metamorphosis in Palingenia virgo, and on the Analogies of its

Larva with the Crustacea, by M. N. Joly ; Deep-water Fauna

of Lake Michigan, by P. BR. Hoy, MD... ........00ssa0ee 315—319

NUMBER LXV.

XXXYV. On the Primitive Cell-layers of the Embryo as the Basis

of Genealogical Classitication of Animals, and on the Origin of Vas-

cular and Lymph Systems. By E. Ray Lanxester, M.A., Fellow

and Lecturer of Hxeter College, Oxford ......0..7.. «4nce eee 321

XXXVI. On a new Australian Species of Thyrsites. By Prof.

PREDERICK M‘CO¥- 55 ..cicsamelekiciay a vislacle cms «eon 8s ae 308

XXXVI. Notices of British Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. BerKELEY,

M.A., F.L.S., and C. E. Brooms, Esq., F.L.S. (Plates VII.-X.).. 389

XXXVIII. Description of two new Species of Frogs from Aus-

tralia. By Dr. ALBERT GUNTHER, F.R.S.........00000000 esas . 349

CONTENTS. ; vil

Page

XXXIX. Description of a new Saurian (Hyalosaurus) allied to

Pseudopus. By Dr. ALBERT GUNTHER, F.R.S. ......... 0.0 eee 351

XL. Points of Distinction between the Spongiadee and the Fora-

monies, (By TH. J.) Cantera, ERS, &el)) cit us .cculasbwh. 351

XLI. On the Dentition of Rhinoceroses (Rhinocerotes), and on the

Characters afforded by their Skulls. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

PEASE) cha Mahe DEE ae MRblsete Si<Lab YI HAS wholes Slevslels Uae 556

XLI. On some Works relating to a new Classification of Ammo-

FDOT RMNG TS WAVED ¢ cicidis orefars.o i s.calels cientinas teaetels cece s 562

XLUI. Description of a new Snake from Madagascar. By Dr. A.

Bea MeAey HEED ES ERD Soh tage 2e a alec 's (nto oy) cSer a) eve! tenes PN ciple aye Sy sy0's. «Py yess 4's # p, 2 374

XLIV. Reply to Professor Verrill’s “ Remarks on certain Errors

in Mr. Jeffreys’s Article on the Mollusca of Europe compared with

those of Eastern North America.” By J. Gwyn Jerrreys, F.R.S. 375

New Books :—Birds of the Humber District, by John Cordeaux.—

Lecture on the Fere Nature of the British Islands, by John

EDLC (LED 70S 2 ae ni I le eA te et Aa Repeat ir Mirae ara 3877—881

Proceedinesiof the Boyal Societys i. . .ec kw alece cet Seas wae 383—391

Preliminary Notice of some Extinct Tortoises from the Islands of

Rodriguez and Mauritius, by Dr. Albert Giinther, F.R.S, ; On

the Dorsal Shield of Tolypeutes, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e. ;

Observations on the Structure of the Proboscis of an Herma-

phrodite Nemertian from the Marseilles Coast, by M. E. Zeller ;

French Measures, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.,....... 397—400

NUMBER LXVI.

XLV. On the Advantage of a Dominant Language for Science.

By ALPHONSE DE CANDOLLE, Corresponding Member of the Aca-

démie des Sciences, Foreign Member of the Royal and Linnean

PIDELOUICR CN PRIS LION F% A1ats Wiel ehoar aces dolce did cube k ees creer 401

XLVI. Notes on the Paleozoic Bivalved Entomostraca. No. X,

Entomis and E£ntomidella. By Prof. T. Ruperr Jonrs, F.RS.,

LEAS JSR ee eS ese alae vin ig Siayns Sina pi eh a 413

XLVII. Contribution to our Knowledge of Ceratophrys and

Megalophrys. By Dr. ALBERT GUNTHER, F.R.S................. 417

XLVIII. Note on the Discovery of Zngidium agile, Persoon (= Zia

Saundersii, Stebbing), in Great Britain. By the Rev. A. M. Norman,

vill CONTENTS.

Page

XLIX. On the Calcispongie, their Position in the Animal King-

dom, and their Relation to the Theory of Descendence. By Pro-

fessor Ernst HACKEL

L. Observations on Pigs (Sus, Linneeus; Setifera, Iliger) and

their Skulls, with the Description of a new Species. By Dr. J. E.

GRAY, FIRS. B66... os winre.o «5 ereiemiole ele bc)a «0m toietar ep ee 451

LI. Note on the Appearance in Australia of the Danais Archippus.

By Freprrick M‘Coy, Professor of Natural Science in the Mel-

bourne University, and Director of the National Museum of Victoria,

LIT. Descriptions of new Species of Fossorial Hymenoptera in the

Collection of the British Museum. By FrEepERIcK SuitTH, Assistant

in the Zoological Department, British Museum

LIII. Observations on M. Favre’s Paper on a New,Classification

of Ammonites. By Dr. J. 1H. Gray, FR. &c. 20.201 «eer 451

Proceedings ‘of the Royal Society... .. 2. <1... nse hee eee 454

Habits of Xenurus unicinctus, or Cabassou, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S.,

F.Z.S., &e. ; On the Fauna of Nowaja-Semlja, by Prof. Ehlers ;

On “Le Rat de Madagascar,” by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c. ;

Note on the Anatomy of Comatula rosacea, by E. Perrier ; On

Mammalia from the Neighbourhood of Concordia, in New

Granada, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.; Additional Note on

Tolypeutes conurus, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c.; On the Re-

spiration of the Psammodromt, by M. J. Jullien; M. Gervais on

the Skeleton of the Luth (Sphargis coriacea); On an adult

Skeleton of Zyrse nilotica in the British Museum, by Dr. J. E.

Gray, F.R.S. &c.; Bryozoa of Florida; The late Robert

Mi Andrew, Eisq., BURUS! of. ...:.emctna +c «125 t ee 463—471

TU OK tis iosie's cio sire sine Eh aid SELLS 2c ee 472

PLATES IN VOL. XI.

PuaTeE I. Alteration of Shell-substance by Hydractinia.

II. Spatulemys Lasale.

II. New Gonyleptide.

DV

vt Development of the Sternum of Chelonians.

MAGE

“a New British Fungi.

X.

XI. Ceratorhinus niger.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[FOURTH SERIES. ]

ee EE erectceect per litora spargite muscum,

Naiades, et circiim vitreos considite fontes:

Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores:

Floribus et pictum, diye, replete canistrum.

At vos, o Nymphe Craterides, ite sub undas;

Ite, recuryato variata corallia trunco

Wen bee anaconie e rupibus, et mihi conchas

erte, Dez pelagi, et pi i conchylia succo.””

Herth "W. Parthenii Giannettasii Ecl. 1.

No. 61. JANUARY 1873.

_—>-——

I.—Transformation of an entire Shell into Chitinous Struc-

ture by the Polype Hydractinia, with short Descriptions of

the Polypidoms of jive other Species. By H.J. CARTER,

F.R.S. &e.

[Plate I.]

ALL who are acquainted with the Spongiade know that there

are certain species which enter the substance of shells and

there grow to such an extent that finally the whole shell which

they inhabit may become absorbed or destroyed, and the sponge

itself, thus left alone, become unattached ; after which it may

still go on increasing in size until, drifted about by the currents

in the sea, it may at last in some storm be thrown ashore

upon the beach. Cliona celata, which attacks the oyster-shell,

is one of these, and after having absorbed the whole valve

grows into ashapeless mass, which is brought up by the trawl-

or dredge-net, or cast ashore, as before stated, in which con-

dition it has been called “Raphyrus Griffithsii”’ by Dr. Bower-

bank. Halichondria suberea, Johnst., is a species which

attacks univalve shells—but often retains more or less of the

outward form of the shell, and almost always that of the in-

ternal cavity ; for a hermit crab (Pagurus) generally inhabits

the latter, and so prevents the sponge from encroaching in

this direction. Hence, if the outward form of the shell is lost,

the internal one is, for the most part, so perfectly preserved

that there is no difficulty whatever in concluding that it was

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xi.

2 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Alteration

once a Gasteropodous shell, although not a particle of the cal-

careous matter may remain, and the whole be transformed into

sponge-structure.

The same thing, mutatis mutandis, may take place with the

flexible polype called Hydractinia, which for the most part

also forms a parasitic crust on univalve shells.

Thus in the British Museum there is a specimen of

Hydractinia echinata covering a whelk-shell (Buceinum un-

datum) both inside and out; and the same was tenanted by a

Pagurus, now dead in situ; while the horny skeleton or m-

crustation of the polype, having shrunk by contraction .on

drying, has become cracked about the lip, and the pieces so

curled up that their edges have become exposed, and thus show

that, although the outer part presents its natural dark amber-

colour, the inner one becomes gradually whiter, until it appears

to differ very little from the shell itself.

Carrying on our examination with a simple lens, we observe

that the pieces have brought away with them a portion of the

shell-substance on which the crust grew ; and when both their

lower side and the corresponding surface of the shell are re-

spectively examined, it will be found that the former presents

a surface of whitish crystalline matter punctated by amber-

coloured points, which are connected above with the horny

structure of the Hydractinia, while the surface of the shell

opposite presents nothing of the kind, and is therefore uni-

formly white,—thus showing that the horny or chitinous in-

crustation has brought away with it just so much of the shell-

substance as the horny portion of the polype had penetrated.

Hydractinia echinata 1s so common on our coast that it does

not seem necessary for me to describe here more than the part

immediately connected with our subject, viz. the polypidom,

which includes the transformation of the substance of the shell

into the horny structure of the Hydractinia. For the rest I

refer the reader to the ample descriptions, illustrations, &e.

contained in Mr. Hincks’s ‘ History of the British Hydroid

Zoophytes,’ vol. i. p. 19 &e., and vol. 11. pl. 4 (1868).

The skeleton or polypidom of Hydractinia consists of a

clathrate mass of horny solid fibre (I use the word “ horny ”

here synonymously with “ chitinous,” as the most expressive

term, although chemically not so correct as the latter), which

spreads horizontally in a thin layer over the shell on which the

polype may be growing, rising above into a forest of pyramidal

serrated spines, averaging about one sixteenth of an inch high,

and descending below by simple advancement of the clathrate

fibre into the shell-substance, as before mentioned.

The insterstices of the clathrate network are filled by the

of Shell-substance by Hydractinia. 3

granular plasma called “ccenosare ;” and the external parts of

the skeleton serve to support the polype-mass; all of which,

being extremely delicate, fail, after being once dried, to present

under any circumstances a recognizable form.

If we now, with a very sharp and thin knife, cut off verti-

cally a slice of the dried curled-up crust above mentioned (PI. I.

fig. 8) and place it under a microscope, we may see the white

crystalline shell-substance (d d) gradually decreasing upwards

among the interstices of the chitinous network, until it gives

place entirely to the dark amber-colour of the latter and its

granular plasma (c, figs. 8 & 9) ; while in the opposite direction

the white substance increases to the confines of the lowermost

layer of the network, until it can hardly be distinguished from

the substance of the shell itself (fig. 8, 7).

Again, if we put a similar slice (fig. 9) into dilute nitric

acid, we shall not only observe an effervescence, but when

this slice is placed under the microscope we may also observe

that the whole of the white crystalline substance has dis-

appeared (fig. 9,dd), leaving nothing but the clathrate fibre

of the skeleton (fig. 9, e), of which the increasing thinness,

pale colour, and wide interstices towards the shell evince its

young or progressive stage of development.

It thus appears evident that Hydractinia echinata trans-

forms the calcareous shell on which it may be growing into

its own horn-like skeleton.

We have now to prove this more satisfactorily ; and this can

be done by another specimen in the British Museum, where

the whole of the shell has become transformed into the horn-

like skeleton of a Hydractinia.

The shell thus transformed was somewhat less in size than

a Buccinum, but of a totally different family, as may be seen

by the form of the aperture, which resembles that of some tur-

binated shell, though of course the species is now undeter-

minable, at least to one possessing such a limited knowledge

of conchology as myself (fig. 1, a,6). Nor is the Hydractinia

the same specifically as H. echinata; for all the spines are

smooth (fig. 3), and not, as in the latter, serrated (fig. 4).

Hence there is here a marked difference between the two

polypes, although in every other respect the skeleton-mass or

polypidom, which is the only part left in the transformed shell,

is almost identical with that of Hydractinia echinata.

As the transformed shell now exists, it is empty and entirely

composed of parallel layers of clathrate chitinous fibre (fig. 2,

a,b). ‘The internal cavity is smooth, and the columella pre-

served; so that we may fairly infer that the shell had been

originally tenanted by a Pagurus, which had remained there

1%

4 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Alteration

until the whole of the shell had become transformed into the

chitinous skeleton of a Hydractinia, when, probably finding it

too light for its purpose, the Pagurus betook itself to a heavier

habitation.

Although the internal surface of the transformed shell

remains smooth and perfect (fig. 2, a, 6), the external surface

has become changed into the peculiar growth of the Hydractinia,

which presents a more or less irregularly tubercled appearance,

each tubercle of which, being more or less separate from the

rest and varying in size and shape, consists of a little monti-

cule of clathrate fibre involving one or more of the smooth

erect spines which characterize the species (fig. 1, a, 2); whereas

in Hydractinia echinata there are no such tubercles, the sur-

face being for the most part even and equally spined throughout.

So much, then, for the internal and external surfaces re-

spectively of the transformation ; we have now to go to the

layers of which it is composed. And these together present a

thickness varying with that of the original shell, being in the

section (which was made for the purpose, and forms part of

the illustrations, fig. 2) 4-12ths of an inch thick at the base,

and 2-12ths in the parietes. Moreover these layers show, by

the presence of smooth spines upon them here and there (fig. 2,

dd), that the growth of the Hydractinia had been outwards as

well as inwards or towards the shell. Nor does it seem quite

clear how much of the shell has been absorbed by the layer of

the Hydractinia which lined its cavity (fig. 2, e e), smee im the

specimen of Hydractinia echinata betore me the polype-crust,

although smoothed by the Pagurus internally, covers the cavity

as well as the exterior of the shell. At the same time, in

the transformation, the presence and direction of the spines

on its layers (fig. 2, ec) point out, to a certain extent, the limit

of the crust vertically, leaving about one third of the thickness

of the transformation inside it for what may have been effected

by the lower part of the outer crust and that lining the cavity

respectively. In this case the original shell could not have

been very thick.

A microscopic examination of the structure gives the same

results, minus the soft substance and presence of calcareous

matter, as that of Hydractinia echinata; and thus it is satis-

factorily proved that this kind of polype can effect a change in

the composition of a shell analogous to that produced by the

sponges mentioned.

This is a point of interest to know, inasmuch as it bears on

fossilized as well as recent structure, and therefore every

clathrate structure of this kind ina fossil shell must not be too

hastily set down as sponge-transformation.

ae a le

am OC

of Shell-substance by Wydractinia. 5

The transformed shell bears the museum no. “ 2461,” which

appears to me to be preceded by a P; and the former shows

that it must have been in the museum for many years, since

for upwards of twenty this kind of numbering has been dis-

continued.

In its maximum measurements it is about two inches long

from apex to base, two inches broad, 7. e. from left to right

side, and one inch thick.

The outer layer is rendered more or less green by the

presence of the gonidia and thallus of a lichen, which here and

there appears in little groups of gymnocarpous apothecia all over

the surface. So it is just possible that, after the comparatively

heavy calcareous matter of the shell had been replaced by the

lighter chitinous structure, the Pagurus, as before stated, lett

his habitation ; and the latter, having floated into an estuary,

may have been left on its banks, where its surtace became in time

grown over by this lichen, and where, probably, it was found,

unless all this took place on the sea-shore, or the Pagurus carried

the transformed shell inland, as they appear to do in the island

of Cuba (Sir C. Lyell, Princip. Geol. vol. ii. 1872).

The largest apothecia are about 1-48th of an inch in diameter,

and more or less circular, the thalamium dark brown, and ex-

ciple white ; the spores ellipsoid, generally eight in the theca,

but varying in number, and for the most part confusedly

arranged.

My attention was first called to the specimen of Hydractinia

echinata above mentioned from its likeness to the figures of

the sponge named “ Terpios echinata” by De Fonbressin et

Michelotti (“Spongiaires de la Mer Caraibe,’ p. 102, pl. xxiv.

figs.4 & 5, Haarlem, 1864). And then, when I observed

coupled with it in the museum another shell like it, but entirely

transformed into horny structure, I began to think that the

skeleton of Hydractinia echinata must be a sponge, not being

aware at the time that any organism but a sponge could effect

such a transformation, and observing microscopically that the

horny substance was formed of concentric layers. However,

placing the specimens before my friend Mr. Parfitt for his

opinion as to the habitat and species of the lichen, this imtel-

ligent naturalist immediately recognized Hydractinia echinata,

and handed out from his cabinet a specimen dredged up off the

Otter-mouth, close to the place where am living. The nature

of the organism on the whelk-shell thus having become known

to me, that of the organism which had transformed the other

shell still remained enigmatical, but was subsequently worked

out in the way above mentioned.

It would appear from a section of the crust that the poly-

6 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Alteration

pidom of Hydractinia echinata is formed of horizontal layers

(figs. 8 & 9), each of which is marked by a row of knots

(e, figs. 8 & 9), which indicate the points of union of the

clathrate chitinous fibre, corresponding to the knots in network ;

and, judging from a microscopic examination of the part ad-

vancing into the shell, it would also seem that these knots first

appear in the form of separate cells (fig. 7,dd), which, gene-

rating concentric layers of chitine around them, may be termed

“horn-cells.”” The horn-cell then sends off two sets of

branches, one of which (fig. 7,¢e) becomes the clathrate chi-

tinous fibre, which is solid and formed of concentric layers, and

the other set (fig. 7, ff) spread out into a chitinous membrane

(fig. 7, 7) on the same plane as the horn-cells, which membrane

thus acts as a framework to the whole. These horn-cells

appear as dark points in the last layer of shell-substance that

is about to be absorbed, and which remains adherent to the

contracted and curled-up fragments of the dried and thus

broken-up polypidom, as above mentioned (fig. 5, a; fig. 8, g).

The chitinous membrane therefore lies above this (fig. 6, 0;

fig. 8,f). But if a fragment of these two layers, viz. the chi-

tinous and calcareous ones (which are of course very thin, but

can be occasionally picked off together), be mounted in Canada

balsam, it will be observed that the calcareous layer, which is

the undermost, presents a worm-eaten appearance (fig. 7, 7), as

if it had been subjected to the dissolving influence of a surface

formed of pseudopodial villi, about 1-6G000th inch in diameter.

In the layer lining the cavity of the wholly transformed shell

(fig. 2,ee), treated in a similar manner, we have the same cha-

racters, minus, of course, the calcareous layer, as in fig. 9, g,—

that is to say, the chitimous membrane alone, in which are set

the horn-cells and their clathrate structure, as in a, figs. 6 & 7.

How the absorption of the shell-substance is effected in

Hydractinia is unknown to me; but (referrmg to like phe-

nomena) when we observe that the protoplasm of the plant-cell

can, as required, work its way through the thick cellulose cell

(as in Spirogyra under conjugation), that the tender Amceba-

like entophyte Pythiwm (also an inhabitant of the cell of

Spirogyra) will do the same thing, &c., that the excavating

sponges, whose sarcode is equally soft and delicate, will do the

same in the oyster-shell as well as in limestone rock, it does

not appear strange that the coenosare of Hydractinia should be

able to perforate a whelk-shell under similar circumstances.

Also, when it is observed that, in the excavations made by

Cliona celata in the concretionary limestone formed and found

about the rocks of the New Red Sandstone on the shore here,

the siliceous grains which are mixed up with it still project

of Shell-substance by Hydractinia. 7

above the otherwise smooth surface of the excavation, it does

seem (as my friend Mr. Parfitt has sagaciously observed) that

these excavations are produced by an “ acid or erosive agent”

of a chemical rather than of a physical nature, which, not

being able to dissolve the silex, thus leaves the grains of

sand projecting into the excavation (Parfitt on the boring of

Mollusks, &c., Trans. Devon. Assoc. for Advancement of

Science, 1871).

May we not assume, then, that this process is one of animal

chemistry like that of digestion (wherein the gastric juice will

dissolve calcareous matter, but fails to affect a piece of glass)?—

the action in Hydractinia being produced not by cells but by

the intercellular sarcode, which, like that of the sponge, can

prolong itself into villous pseudopodial processes (fig. 7, ¢, 2),

which possibly may be the pioneers of all vital changes of this

kind, in exercising on their confines that catalytic power of

which life alone is capable.

Indeed Professor Allman has long since demonstrated the

existence of sarcode among the Hydroid polypes, which, to use

his own words, ‘‘ comports itself exactly like the pseudopodia

of an Amaba, which it also resembles in structure” (‘ Annals,’

1864, vol. xii. p. 204); so that the worm-eaten appearance

presented by the lowermost layer of the crust of Hydractinia

echinata (that is, in the calcareous surface of the shell just about

to become transformed) may be produced, as before stated, by

a villous layer of minute pseudopodial prolongations from the

coenosare.

Lastly, as regards the power of animal chemistry in these

operations, which is chemistry directed by an unknown agent,

as the production of alcohol by the yeast-plant, &c., it signifies

that there is an instinctive power acting here, which is far

beyond any possessed by the highest cerebrated being, if I

may use the expression.

When I observe the delicate mycelium of a minute fungus

growing or creeping (for the terms are synonymous here)

through the hard crystalline layers of the shell of a Bucetnwm—

when I observe on the surface of a lancet which has been care-

fully protected by a layer of animal fat a similar kind of my-

celium, which has wriggled its way not only over but 7m the

surface of the polished blade by oxidation of the iron in its

course, so as to leave a rusty image of itself—and when I ob-

serve a plant-like form of glauconite in the substance of an

agate which has been formed in a geode of an igneous rock,

so much like a Conferva that it might easily pass for one if

not otherwise understood, to say nothing of the dendritic

markings of rocks, &c.,—these facts, taken in connexion, seem

8 On the Alteration of Shell-substance by Hydractinia.

to signify not only that the law of form is the same both in

the vegetable and mineral kingdoms at least (for the glauconite

form in this respect is almost typically that of a Conferva),

but that vztal influence also is the primum mobile in all—that

indomitable power which rules the world independently of

man!

Having ascertained that the transformed shell, which had

been thrown in among the sponges, had been produced by a

polype and not by a sponge, I turned my attention to certain

branched organisms, or rather their skeletons, which had also

been placed among the sponges, and had therefore come be-

fore me for examination, when, noticing that they also pos-

sessed a clathrate chitinous structure closely allied to that of

the polypidom of Hydractinia (fig. 9), while the characteristic

feature of most sponges, viz. the branched system of canals

terminating externally in large outlets or oscula, was absent

from them, I submitted to microscopical examination a por-

tion of the stem of a beautiful form from New Zealand, which

had been presented to the museum by Sir G. Grey; and

I found not only that it was identical with the structure of

the polypidom of Hydractinia, but that attached to its fibre

internally, where the water had failed to destroy the whole of

the soft parts with which the clathrate structure had originally

been filled and covered, a few thread-cells still remained. I

then sought for the hydrothece, and found them also.

Next I took portions from two other species, which came from

the Cape of Good Hope—and obtained similar results, so satis-

factorily that in many of the thread-cells their contents had

become half extruded.

Finally I examined the two species from Australia which

Dr. J. E. Gray, under the family name of “Ceratellade,” had

described and figured provisionally as sponges in the ‘ Pro-

ceedings of the Zoological Society’ for November 26th, 1868

(p. 575), designated respectively Ceratella fusca and Dehitella

atrorubens ; and here, again, I met with similar results.

Hence it becomes necessary for me briefly to describe all

these polypidoms, beginning with that of the transformed shell,

in order that henceforth they may be relegated to their proper

place. Were they possessed of their soft parts, and pertect as

the Hydractinia of our own shores when carefully dredged up

from its natural abode can only be, I should have proposed

their being handed over to some one more conversant than

myself with this department of zoology: but who can say

when perfect specimens of the polypidoms of these species,

with all their soft parts recognizable, may be similarly taken,

when those we have come trom foreign shores, where they

On new Species of Hydractinide. 9

have apparently been washed about in the surf for years before

they were picked up for preservation? Meanwhile, as the

description of a polypidom alone is comparatively easy, as it

may be a long while before the soft parts can be obtained, and

as it is desirable at once to separate these skeletons from the

sponge-structures which I am examining, it is hoped that

the following diagnoses may not be unacceptable.

Hydractinia levispina, n.sp. (PI. I. fig. 1, a, b.)

Zoophyte incrusting and eroding univalve shells. Poly-

pidom formed of clathrate, subrectangularly meshed chitinous

fibre (as in fig. 9), solid, concentrically laminated, surmounted

by smooth, erect, conical spines (figs. 3 & 1, 6,e), grouped

together in the midst of proliferous tubercles (fig. 1, d,e),

seattered more or less over the surface. Increasing by layers,

so as finally to absorb the whole of the shell on which it grows

(fig. 2, a,b). Height of transformed shell 2 inches from apex

_ to base; extreme breadth, viz. from left side to margin of outer

_» lip, ldinch. Spine variable, about 1-30th inch high by 1-60th

inch diameter at the base.

Hab. Unknown.

Loc. Unknown.

Obs. This specimen, which is in the British Museum, bears

the number “2461,” which mode of marking, as before stated,

shows that it has been there for a very long time ; the number

also appears to be preceded by a “P.” ‘There is no further

history attached to it than that which its own structure reveals.

It evidently grew ona shell a little less im size than a Buccinum,

but of a totally different species, as the margin of the aperture

is continuous like that of the Turbinide. While there it

gradually transformed the whole of the shell imto its own

chitinous polypidom; meanwhile a Pagurus or hermit crab

inhabited the interior and so preserved the form of this part.

Subsequently it probably got into some tidal estuary, where,

having been left high and dry on its banks, a gymnospermous

lichen took up its habitation on its surface, and, spreading its

thallus throughout the external layer of the imperishable

chitine, at last threw up the groups of shield-like conceptacles

(apothecia) now scattered over the greater part of the shell-like

polypidom. Of course this might also have taken place on the

sea-shore, or the Pagurus itself might have carried it inland.

Hydractinia levispina differs trom H. echinata in the

tubercled state of its surface, but especially in the smoothness

of its spines (fig. 3); the latter possesses a more or less even

surface with serrated spines (fig. 4).

10 Mr. H.J. Carter on new Species of Hydractiniide.

Ceratella fusca,

Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Nov. 26, 1868, p. 579, fig. 2.

“Coral expanded, fan-shaped, forming an oblong frond ;

branches divergent from the base, with numerous lateral, sub-

alternate, subdichotomous branches; similar but smaller lateral

branches.

“Fab. Australia, New South Wales, at the head of Bondy

Bay.”

Dehitella atrorubens, ;

Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Nov. 26, 1868, p. 579, fig. 1.

“Sponge or coral dichotomously branched, expanded, growing

in a large tuft from a broad, tortuous, creeping base, of a dark

brown colour, and uniform hard rigid substance. Stem hard,

cylindrical, opake, smooth; branches and branchlets tapering

to a point, cylindrical, covered with tufts of projecting horny

spines on every side; those on the branches often placed in

sharp-edged, narrow, transverse ridges; those of the upper

branches and branchlets close but isolated, and divergent from -

the surface at nearly right angles.

“This genus is distinguishable from Ceratella by the greater

thickness and cylindrical form of the stem, by the more tufted

and irregular manner of growth, and by the tufts of spicules

(oscules or cells) being more abundant and equally dispersed

on all sides of the branches and branchlets.”

The above descriptions are copied from Dr. J. E. Gray’s

excellent account of these two organisms, published in the

‘Proc. Zool. Soc.’ for November 26, 1868 (p. 575), to which

the reader is referred for more extended descriptions of them,

and for equally excellent illustrations, which, being almost

typical forms of the following species from the Cape of Good

Hope, will, until the latter are also illustrated, very well serve

for their identification.

It will be observed that Dr. Gray was by no means satisfied

that they belonged to the Spongiadee, and therefore only pro-

visionally placed them among the sponges. Had he been aware

of what I have above stated, his views probably would have

been different, and the real nature of these organisms would

have been then told by him at once; and but for his encou-

ragement now, it would most probably have never been eluci-

dated by myself.

Ceratella procumbens, n. sp.

Zoophyte procumbent, compressed, thickly branched on the

same plane; the larger stems chiefly on one (the lower) side,

Ie

Mr. H. J. Carter on new Species of Hydractinude. 11

hard, flexible, of an ochre-brown colour, tinged here and there

with purple. Trunk short, solid, compact, compressed verti-

cally, soon dividing irregularly or subdichotomously into round

branches, which are confined to the lower surface, ending in

branchlets with subclavate ends, that appear on the upper or

opposite side, not reuniting or anastomosing. Hydrotheca

consisting of a little semitubular plate, extending outwards and

forwards from the side of the stem on the proximal border of

an aperture in the latter ; scattered thickly over all the branches,

but most prominent on the branchlets ; frequently represented

by the little hole alone in the stem where the projecting portion

has been worn off; scanty on the lower side of the main

stems. Minute structure: composed of clathrate chitinous

fibre throughout, whose meshes are subrectangular ; hydrotheca

formed of the semitubular scoop-like plate mentioned, sup-

ported on its proximal side by an extension of the clathrate

structure of the stem, and bordering the little hole also above

mentioned, which extends into the centre of the stem ; surface

of the larger stems bluntly microspined. Size of largest spe-

cimen 11 inches long by 5 inches broad, and about 1 inch thick,

or vertically.

Hab. Marine ; procumbent.

Loc. Cape of Good Hope and Port Natal.

Obs. ‘There are five specimens of this species in the British

Museum, viz. one with no. 67. 3. 22. 1, and “Cape of Good

Hope” written on it, and the others ticketed no. 72.8.1. 1, and

“Port Natal.” Friction among the sand and waves has worn

down some of them so much as to leave nothing but the fora-

mina in the stems; whereby the most worn might be looked upon

as a different species, did not the gradation from the more per-

fect ones point out that this is not the case, and thus that they all

belong to one and the same species. Some parts still retain a

purple colour both externally and internally, showing that, as

with the other species in some parts also, this has for the most

part been washed out, and that the brown colour has been de-

rived from the chitinous fibre alone. In most cf the specimens

thread-cells are numerous in the clathrate tissue, especially

towards the centre of the stems, where they can not only be

distinguished by their subconical form from other globular and

nucleated cells present (which appear like ova), but, by the

addition of liquor potasse, may be made to extrude the thick

portion of the thread. ‘Their procumbent habit has been inferred

from the main stem and its branches being flattened on one

side, while the branches and hydrothece are chiefly on the

other—much in the form of a wall fruit-tree, viz. with a flat

back.

12. Mr.H.J. Carter on new Species of Wydractinide.

Ceratella spinosa, n. sp.

Zoophyte procumbent, thickly branched, hard, flexible, of a

dark rich red-purple colour. Main branches round, brownish,

covered with small, smooth, often subspatulate, erect spines.

Stem dividing subdichotomously into purple branchlets, which

terminate in abruptly pointed extremities. Hydrothece the

same as in the foregoing species; most prominent over the

round branchlets, to which they give, en profil, a serrated,

somewhat Sertularian, appearance, the teeth of which are in-

clined forwards. Minute structure: main stems composed of |

clathrate chitinous fibre, of which the meshes are more or less

oblong, passing into prominent longitudinal lines on the

branchlets, where they terminate on the backs of the semi-

tubular plates which respectively form the floors of the hydro-

theese, to which they thus give support. Size of specimen,

which is merely a branch, 44 inches long by 2 broad.

Hab, Marine ; procumbent.

Loc. Port Natal.

Obs. The spines on the surface distinguish this from the

foregoing species, add to which its longer and more pointed

branches, longitudinally ridged clathrate fibre, and rich red-

purple colour. It bears the no. “72. 8.1.17, from Port Natal.”

In Dr. Gray’s two Australian species there are no actual

spines independently of the projecting portion of clathrate struc-

ture on the proximal sides of the hydrothece, and the “ spimu-

lose” little knobs on the surface of Ceratella fusca.

The hydrotheca in Dehitella atrorubens is formed of a simple

scoop-like projection of the subrectangular clathrate structure

of the stem, stopped at the bottom by a septum of the same ;

there is no decided hole there larger than the diameter of the

common mesh, for the ccenosare of the interior to communicate

with the sarcode of the polype, as in the Cape species; while

in Ceratella fusca, which is almost as delicate in its branches

as a Sertularia, and not unlike it in the alternate, but here

spiral not opposite, position of its hydrothece, the latter are

formed by a projection of the clathrate tissue in the shape of

a clam-shell, whose ribs, extended beyond the margin, end

respectively in an inflated tubercle of the same kind as that

which characterizes the surface of the stem, rising up like

little knobs on the knots of the clathrate network, to which

Dr. Gray (/. c.) has appropriately applied the term “spinulose;”’

the bottom of the hydrotheca is filled up with a clathrate

septum, in which there is no decided hole present as in the fore-

going species; and in this way both of these from Australia

differ trom those of the Cape of Good Hope.

Mr. H. J. Carter on new Species of Hydractiniide. 13

Chitina ericopsis, n. gen. et sp.

Zoophyte erect, bushy, fragili-flexible, fawn-coloured.

Trunk long, hard, irregularly round, composed of many stems

united clathrately and obliquely into a cord-like bundle, which

divides and subdivides irregularly into branches, that again

unite with each in substance (anastomose) when in contact,

and finally form a straggling bushy head. Hydrotheca long,

clathrate, tubular, terminating the ends of the branchlets or

prolonged from some of the proliferous tubercles which beset

the surface of the trunk and larger stems. Minute structure:

composed of clathrate chitinous fibre throughout, whose mesh-

work is subrectangular and massive in the stems, where there

is no difference between the centre and circumference, with the

exception that the fibre is stouter in the former or oldest part ;

hydrotheca composed of several longitudinal fibres or ridges lat-

tice-worked together transversely into a tubular form, somewhat

contracted at the extremity, in the centre of which is an aper-

ture of the meshwork a little larger than the rest. Height

of specimens about 14 inches, trunk about 1 inch in diameter ;

hydrotheca averaging 1-3rd of an inch long by 1-60th of an

inch in its broadest part, and the aperture 1-90th of an inch in

diameter.

Hab. Marine ; erect.

Loc. New Zealand.

Obs. There are several specimens of this beautiful polypidom

in the British Museum ; one of which (bearing the no. 57. 1. 2.

36) was presented by Dr. Sinclair, and the rest by Sir G.

Grey; all from New Zealand. From their worn state they

appear to have been long subjected to the friction of the waves

and beach before they were picked up for preservation. Hardly

any of the hydrothecee on them are perfect; and it is only by

looking carefully over the specimens that one can be found

answering the description above given; and then it requires to

be viewed with an inch compound power ‘end on” (as it is

termed) to see the aperture at the extremity; the least incli-

nation to one side will bring the surrounding network into

focus, and thus defeat the object of the observer. In some the

dried remains of the polype are still present, which mark the

position of the tubular cavity. Conical ovoid thread-cells may

be seen in the clathrate structure of the polypidom, which

hang about the fibre in a dried fleshy substance that appears also

to be the remains of the ccenosare ; and on some of the larger

stems there are little superficial holes, which appear to be the

remains of canals through which the ccenosare was continued

into the cavities of the hydrothece respectively, now worn

off. The specimen differs so markedly from all the rest in its

14 Mr.H.J. Carter on new Species of Hydractiniide.

erect habit, and in the form and position of its hydrothece, that

it must be considered the type of a new genus, to which I

have given the name of Chitina and designated the species

ericopsis, from its being so much like the stems of the common

heather here used for making brooms.

These species may be provisionally tabulated thus :—

Family Hydractiniide.

Incrusting species :—

Hydractinia echinata.

HZ, levispina.

Branched procumbent species :—

Ceratella fusca, Gray.

Dehitella atrorubens, Gray.

Ceratella procumbens, 0. sp.

C. spinosa, ni. sp.

Branched erect species :—

Chitina ericopsis, n. g. et sp.

In this way I hope to get rid of them from among the Spon-

giade, and to bring them to the notice of those who have

specially devoted their attention to the Hydroid Zoophytes.

EXPLANATION OF PLATEL

Fig. 1. Upper and lower surfaces respectively of a turbimated (?) shell

wholly transformed into clathrate chitinous fibre structure by

Hydractinia levispina (n. sp.): a, upperside; 6, lower side ; e,

smooth area on the latter, produced by friction during the time

the shell was tenanted by a Pagwrus; d, tubercular excrescences

of the chitinous structure involving one or more spines, which

the dark points (e) are intended to represent; ff, line of section.

Natural size.

Fig. 2. Section of the same through the line ff, fig. 1, showing that the

columella and every particle of the original shell-substance has

been replaced by the chitinous structure: a, right side; b, left

side ; ec, layer surmounted by spines (d d) projecting outwards ;

ee, surface-layer of the cavity. Natural size.

Fig. 3. Hydractinia levispina, n. sp., spine of, with portion of subjacent

clathrate structure at its base, showing that it is merely a conical

form of the latter; magnified. Real length of spine about

1-30th inch, diameter of base of spine 1-60th inch. To contrast

with the serrated form of the following figure.

Fig. 4. Hydractinia echinata, spine of, about the same size as the fore-

oing. To contrast with fig. 5.

Fig. 5. The same, incrusting Buccinum undatum, which contains the re-

mains of a Pagurus. Magnified portion of lower surface of a

fragment of the crust, raised by contraction and fracture from the

inner surface of the outer lip close to the canal, showing that it

is composed of calcareous matter, through which points of the

superincumbent chitinous structure (aa@) project. Horizontal

view.

Mr. R. Swinhoe on a new Species of Nettapus. 15

Fig. 6. The same, with the calcareous matter removed by acid, showing

that the “ points ” of the superincumbent chitinous structure are

the knots of the network, and continuous with or set in a chi-

tinous expansion or chitinous membraniform layer: a, chitinous

network; 5,chitinous membrane. Horizontal view.

Fig. 7. The same portion much more magnified, showing :—a, chitinous

structure and membrane, from which the calcareous matter

has been removed by acid,=fig. 6; 6, where the former is still

covered by the calcareous layer,=fig. 5; e, where the calcareous

layer alone remains; dd, points or knots (originally horn-cells)

in which the branches (ee) arise that {form the network; ff,

branches which are continuous with, and probably form by ex-

pansion, the chitinous membrane; g, points which project

through the calcareous layer; 4 (=fig. 5), peculiar worm-eaten

appearance of the calcareous layer, as if produced by a villous

surface of pseudopodia in connexion with the ccenosare (7).

Horizontal view.

Fig. 8. The same. Thin vertical section of same fragment of crust,

much magnified, showing that the ecenosare of the lower inter-

stices of the chitinous structure is charged with white calcareous

matter; the latter is here represented by the dark shade: a, free

surface formed of aborted or ill-developed spines, from being in

contact with the Pagurus; 6, surface next the shell; ce, older

chitinous structure without calcareous matter ; e, incised knots

of the chitinous network, showing that the latter is formed in

layers; f, chitinous membrane or layer, &c., =fig. 6 & fig. 7, a;

g, calcareous layer, =fig. 5 & fig. 7, b. Diagram.

Fig. 9. The same. Similar portion, from which the calcareous matter

has been removed by acid: a, free surface ; 6, surface next the

shell; c, older chitinous network, now much thickened ; d, in-

terstices of lower part emptied of their calcareous material by

the acid; e, chitinous network of the same, much thinner in fibre

than that above it, from being younger and therefore presenting

wider interstices ; f, chitinous membrane or layer ; g, points of

chitinous structure projecting through calcareous layer, =fig. 5

& fig. 7, c, the latter now removed by the acid. Diagram.

Il—On a new Species of Nettapus (Cotton-Teal) from the

River Yangtsze, China. By R. Swinnoe, H.M. Consul at

Ningpo.

In the Abbé Armand David’s “Catalogue d’Oiseaux de Chine,”

published in the ‘ Bulletin’ of the ‘ Nouvelles Archives du Mu-

séum d’ Histoire Naturelle de Paris,’ t. vill. (1871), is entered,

under number 442, Nettapus coromandelianus,Scop.,as occurring

on the Yangtsze. In 1869 I spent some months of the early

year on the Yangtsze and did not notice this bird; I therefore

made inquiries of my friends at Kiukiang and Chinkiang as to

whether they had seen such a bird. Mr. Russell (son of the

‘Times’ correspondent) said that last spring he had noticed a

pair of such birds as I described perch on the yard-arm of a

| gun-boat lying off the settlement, but that he was not allowed

| to shoot them. Mr. Kopsch, Commissioner of Customs at

16 Mr. R. Swinhoe on a new Species of Nettapus.

Kiukiang, gave me a more particular account of the species:

he said that in spring they are frequently seen perching on the

roof-tops of the houses in the place, that they were somewhat

tame, and that in summer he noticed a female and two or three

young ones paddling about in the patch of water behind their

houses ; he further stated that they were called by the French

priests there the ‘‘ Canard d’été,” and by the Chinese Yew Ya.

He was fortunate enough to procure two couples on the 25th

of September, and has sent me a male and two females. What

surprises me is the appearance of the male bird of this trio,

which, otherwise attired in the garb of a male, has the neck

and upper breast marked as in the female, and wanting the

pectoral collar. Can the species have a winter dress different

from that of summer ? if so, it would scarcely begin to acquire

it in September. I think, however, that the peculiarity is due

to its partially assuming after nidification the plumage of the

female, a strong anatine character, which shows its affinity

with the true ducks rather than with the geese. I would dedi-

cate this interesting novelty to Mr. Kopsch, who has taken

much pains to procure me specimens.

Nettapus Kopschit, n. sp.

Male. Crown of the head, upper back, and scapulars brown,

reflecting purple and green. (In a spring specimen in the col-

lection of Pere Heude at Shanghai the eyebrow, nape, throat,

cheeks, and lower neck were white, the back of the neck dingy,

with a collar on the lower neck, about a quarter of an inch broad,

of deep iridescent brown.) Our specimen has the white

markings dingy, the back of the neck brownish, the upper back

finely mottled with whitish, the lower neck and upper breast

waved with brown, each feather having two or three concentric

semicircles of wavy brown. These are the feminine peculiarities

it acquires after breeding; but the markings are dingier and

not so well-defined as in the female.

The rest of his dress, which I will now describe, is as in

spring. Back deep glossy green; tertiaries like scapulars, but

reflecting a brighter green ; coverts and secondaries deep duck-

green; primaries black, reflecting deep green; a broad bar of

white extends across the middle of the primaries, broadly

tipping the secondaries and edging the tertiaries; upper tail-

coverts yellowish grey, with brown stems; tail of twelve

feathers, angular at tips, 2°8 inches long, the outer quill ‘7 inch

shorter than the longest, greyish brown with green gloss; under-

parts dingy white, the feathers being brownish on their con-

cealed parts ; flanks light liver-brown ; under tail-coverts pure

white; axillaries and dark parts of underwing deep black.

Dr. J. HK. Gray on Ziphioid Whales. 17

Male: length 113, wing 6 inches. Female: length 13, wing

6:5, tail 3°2 inches.

The female has whitish eyebrows meeting at the occiput ;

her cheeks and throat are whitish; her neck all round and

upper breast are beautifully waved with blackish brown; her

upper parts are liver-brown, with a faint sheen of purple or

or green according to the fall of light; her upper tail-coverts

are lighter and mottled; her secondary coverts are lightly

tipped with whitish ; her secondaries broadly tipped, her ter-

tiaries edged, and a few of her inner primaries marked near

their tips with whitish ; her tail is coloured as her back; and

her underparts are dingy white, the feathers being brownish

at their hidden portions ; axillaries and underwings light liver-

brown. The soft parts I will leave till I get fresh specimens ;

they have changed much in colour in the dry skins before me.

The birds were extremely fat.

IlIl.—On Berardius and other Ziphioid Whales.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.B.S. &c.

ProressorR FLOWER has given an admirable description and

figures of the skeleton of Berardius Arnouxi sent to England

by Dr. Haast and purchased for the Museum of the Royal

College of Surgeons. It is very pleasant to see these excellent

and beautifully illustrated essays on the skeleton of Cetacea,

which Professor Flower is now publishing in the ‘ Transactions

of the Zoological Society.’

Professor Flower makes some observations on the other

ziphioid whales.

I. He observes that the small skull in the Museum at

Wellington, described and figured in the ‘ Trans. New-Zeal.

Inst.’ as the young of the Berardius Arnouxt, and which I

have called Berardius Hector’, belongs to a different section

of the group (Trans. Z. 8. vol. viii. p. 216)—which must be

stated on the authority of Dr. Hector’s figure, for the skull has

not been seen in Europe; and he speaks of it under the genus

Mesoplodon, observing (“‘from the conformation of the skull’)

that the position of the teeth on the side of the jaw is of “ little

importance as a generic character.” I think zoologists will

prefer to take their characters from the position of the teeth

rather than from a small modification in the form of the bones

of which the skull is composed, which no doubt varies more

or less in every species. At any rate, this is either a Berardius

with the bones of which the skull is composed more like in

shape to those of the skull of Mesoplodon, or a Mesoplodon with

the teeth of a Berardius.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xi. 2

18 Dr. J. E. Gray on Ziphioid Whales.

It makes very little difference which we choose; perhaps some

day it will be a genus; but zoologists and comparative anato-

mists, or rather osteologists, look at these things with very

different eyes: the one only knows the structure of a very limited

number of animals; and the other has to arrange and classify

all that come under his or others’ observation.

I always understood the name Mesodon or Mesoplodon was

given to the genus because the teeth were more or less in the

middle of the side of the jaw, which is the case in all the

species; but if Berardius Hector? be referred to it, this species

will be the ziphioid whale with the teeth in the middle of the

side of the jaw, with its teeth at the end of the jaw. To be

sure there are examples of such nomenclature as Chrysanthe-

mum (the golden flower) lewcanthemum (with white flowers) ;

but it is quoted as an example to be avoided.

II. Speaking of Petrorhynchus capensis, he observes :—

“A skull of this animal has been brought from the Cape of

Good Hope, of which an excellent description has been pub-

lished by Professor van Beneden, under the name of Ziphius

indicus ;”’ and he goes on to complain that I retain the name

of Petrorhynchus capensis, “ although its specific identity with

the last-named previously described specimen is admitted ” by

myself.

ee good may be M. van Beneden’s “ description,”’ his

figure is most inaccurate, both in form, proportion, and detail ;

and { could not have believed that it belonged to the same

species, or, scarcely, genus, until M. van Beneden sent me a

cast of the beak of his specimen. I do not see how we can

use the name dndicus for a species which has only been

found in the seas around the Cape of Good Hope. The

Indian zoologists object to our giving the name of India to

the whole of Hindostan ; but what would they say if we used

indicus for a species only found in Africa? I believe that

the name indicus was given under the belief that it was not

a native of Africa, but only “ brought from the Cape” as an

entrepot. I have a further objection: I am informed that

in the Indian seas a species of the genus is found which, from

the description I have received of it, is distinct.

Professor Flower says that the skeleton of the ‘ Hyperoodon

de Corse” of Doumet is preserved at Cette, and that the skull

is figured by M. Gervais in the ‘ Ostéographie des Cétacés,’

t. 21. f. 8,9, which certainly is called “ Ziphius de Corse ;”

but I was not quite sure that they were from M. Doumet’s

specimen. Mr. Flower, I suppose, has private information on

this head from M. Gervais, as M. Gervais’s text of these plates

has not been published yet.

Dr. J. E. Gray on Ziphioid Whales. 19

I also observe that Duvernoy gave the name of ‘‘ Hyperoodon

Gervaisti”” and Fischer’s “ Ziphius Gervaisii” to the skull

in the Paris Museum, from the Hérault, which I proposed, in

the ‘Annals,’ 1872, x. p. 469, should be called Hpiodon

Heraultit, but which I gladly change to that of Hpiodon Grer-

vaistt. I see Professor Flower erroneously refers to ‘ Ostéogr.

Cét.’ t. 21. f. 1-6 for this specimen ; it should be f. 1-4.

Mr. Krefft, some time ago, sent me a photograph of the

skeleton of a ziphioid whale which is in the Museum of

Sydney, and was obtained from an animal stranded in Little

Bay, about six miles from Sydney, which he marked as

Mesoplodon longirostris, Krefft. It appears to be, from the

scale appended, 18 feet long. The angle and symphysis of

the lower jaw appears to be rather elongate and attenuated in

front; and the beak is about twice and a half the length of the

brain-cavity, measuring from the notch; and the head is one

fifth of the entire length. The photograph does not show any

teeth ; and the skull resembles that of the figure of Berardius

Hectori ; but the beak is rather longer in proportion to the size

of the head.

In the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1871,’ vii.

p- 368, I published a note which I had received and the figure

from the photograph of a tooth which Mr. Krefft sent to me,

as “the photograph of the tooth of a new whale, 18 feet long,

caught in Little Bay. It is allied to the genus Mesoplodon ;

and I propose to call it Mesoplodon Giiinthert.” He says,

“ We have the entire skeleton ;”’ so that there can be no doubt

of its being the same as the one he named, but did not describe

or publish, as Mesoplodon longirostris, which Professor Flower

thinks is closely allied to, if not identical with, Ziphius Lay-

ardi. 'The form and surface of the tooth which is figured

from Mr. Krefft’s photograph appeared to me so unlike that

of any other ziphioid whale known that I regarded it as in-

dicating a new genus, which I proposed to call Callidon.

Dr. Krefft explains that the tooth is not visible from with-

out; it is imbedded in the mandible, and the tip is bent

towards the margin. It is as unlike the strap-shaped tooth of

Ziphius Layardi as it is possible to be ; and as longirostris has

not been published, I propose to call it Callidon Giinther?.

The skeleton seems, from the photograph, to be one of the

most perfect known.

9%

20 On the Peregrine Falcon from Sardinia.

IV.—On the Peregrine Falcon from Sardinia. By R.

BowDter SuHarpe, F.L.S., F.Z.8., &c., Senior Assistant,

Zoological Department, British Museum.

For the last two years I have been endeavouring to show

that, owing to the insulated position of our native land, a ten-

dency to vary from the continental forms exhibits itself more

or less in all our resident birds ; and that this will be found to

be more and more the case I am firmly convinced, if ornitho-

logists will view the matter calmly and endeavour to get

together good series for comparison. Great difficulty exists to

some minds in believing that our insular forms do really vary ;

and this scepticism is the more curious because, if we had been

considering the avifauna of some distant land, every one would

have expected, rather than otherwise, that an island lying off

the coast of a large continent would possess a more or less

modified fauna: but the difficulty consists in recognizing the

fact after it has been ignored for nearly a century by every

English writer on birds; and I have been called to task by

several ornithological friends because, as I contend, I refuse

to disbelieve the evidence of my own eyesight, which proves

to me the distinctness of some of the British birds from their

continental relations. What I do maintain is, that ornitholo-

gists commit an error in applying to our English birds the

titles which Linneus bestowed upon his Swedish species.

Whether the birds which I have from time to time named

with Mr. Dresser will ultimately be recognized ag distinct

species, or will merely be considered climatic races or sub-

species, the future will decide ; but as long as those differences

exist it will be wrong to affix “ Linneus” as the namer of

birds he never saw.

It is with regard to the differences exhibited in a like

degree by the avifauna of Sardinia that I have been led to

make the above remarks; and I believe that the latter island

will be found to contain a modified fauna from that of the

mainland. We know that it contains a species of Warbler

almost, if not quite, peculiar to itself. So nearly does Sylvia

melanocephala resemble the true Melizophilus sardus im some

of its plumages, that I have reason to believe that it has often

been mistaken for it. I myself have never seen an example

of the latter bird from any other locality but Sardinia; nor do

I know any one else who has done so. Until the fact of its

wandering is clearly proved, therefore, I think we may look upon

S. sarda as peculiar to the island of Sardinia; and we may

expect from this to find other modifications in its avifauna.

My friend Mr. A. Basil Brooke has lately lent me two

On the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 21

Falcons from Sardinia which can hardly be any thing but a

new species; for they differ from every other Peregrine which

I have ever seen from Europe, and more closely approach

the southern forms F. melanogenys and F. nigriceps. The

Sardinian birds, however, differ from these as well as the

common Peregrine in the very strongly marked oval or tear-

shaped spots on the chest, and the very broad and closely

marked bars on the breast. They approach /. melanogenys

in having a greater extent of black on the ear-coverts, which

nearly meets the cheek-stripe along the whole of its length.

Both specimens are fully adult females, and agree entirely ;

they were shot by Mr. Brooke in April 1869 and April 1871

respectively. I have no doubt that the characters above men-

tioned will be found to be constant, and therefore propose to

describe the Sardinian bird as

Falco Brooket, sp. n.

F, similis F. peregrino, sed statura paullo minore, facie laterali tota

nigricante, et pectore latissime nigro transfasciato distinguendus.

Hab. Sardinia (A. B. Brooke).

Mr. Brooke has very kindly presented one of the typical

specimens to the national collection; so that the species can

be examined by any one visiting the British Museum. The

measurements of /. Brooke (in skin) as compared with F.

peregrinus are as follows :—

Long. tot. culm. alee. caudee. tarsi.

F. peregrinus, 9 ad..... 19°0 1-45 13°8 76 2°15

F. Brooke, 9 ad....:.. 17:0 1:35 135 7:0 2-00

V.—Notes on the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America.

By H. W. Bates, Esq., F.L.S.

Subfamily RarworracivZ.

The “groupes,” corresponding to our subfamilies, under

which Lacordaire classed the genera of Longicorns, and of

which he established about eighty in the family Cerambycidee

alone, are seldom distinguished by definite group-characters.

The rule seems to be that in each “groupe” modifications of

form appear which do not occur in the same conjunction in

any other; but every single modification is liable to disappear

in some members of the “groupe.” Thus there is a looseness

and uncertainty of definition in the classification of this family

which cannot be agreeable to rigid systematists ; but they are

22 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

inevitable, and the more attentively the Longicorns are studied

the more hopeless rigid definitions of genera and subfamilies

appear. 2

The Rhinotragine are a subfamily of the same section of

the Cerambycide to which the familiar genera Callichroma,

Necydalis, &c. belong, 7. e. having finely faceted eyes. They

are remarkable for the very general abbreviation of the elytra

in the species, and the mimetic resemblances that many of them

bear to wasps, bees, Ichneumonidz, and so forth—aresemblance

which is much aided by the subrudimentary condition of the

elytra and the prevailing style of coloration. In the imago

state they frequent flowers, in company with the Hymenoptera

many of them resemble, and are very nimble fliers, probably

in consequence of the abbreviation of the elytra and great

development of the membranous wings. An almost universal

character of the group is the large volume of the eyes, especially

of the lower lobes, which in the males nearly meet in front :

this forms the nearest approach to an exclusive character of

the group; butit disappears in some few species. ‘The head,

too, is very generally elongated below the eyes, forming a

muzzle; but this character exists in several other subfamilies

of Cerambycide. The palpi are short, and their terminal joints

nearly cylindrical or cylindric-ovate, truncated at the apex.

The antenne are almost always more or less serrated from the

sixth jomt; and the third to sixth joimts are furnished with

setee on their outer sides. The thorax is cylindrical or ovate,

always unarmed at the sides. The prosternum forms a distinct,

though narrow, level plate between the anterior cox; and the

episterna of the metasternum are always triangular and very

broad in front. The anterior coxe are generally obliquely ex~

serted ; but this is an inconstant character.

In deciding whether a Cerambycid with finely faceted eyes

belongs to this group or not, the characters chiefly to be looked

to are (1) the volume of the lower lobe of the eyes and the

extent to which this has become frontal, (2) the presence of a

distinct prosternal process, and (3) the prolongation of the head

below the eyes. Species in which the eyes are lateral and the

prosternal process narrow or obsolete are either Necydaline or

Molorchine. 'The abbreviation of the elytra is not an essential

character. The triangular shape of the metasternal episterna

ought, however, I think, to be considered a sine gud non; this

would exclude Trichomesia, an Australian genus which La-

cordaire places in the “groupe,” and which is the only form in

it not belonging to Tropical America.

Although so forbidding to the pure systematist, the Rhino-

tragine are full of interest to the general naturalist, on account

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 23

of their mimetic disguises and the beautiful illustrations they

offer of the mode in which divergent modifications occur in

nature. For example, it is most instructive to observe, in forms

so very closely allied, that whilst some species have rudimentary

elytra, ample wings, and wasp-like bodies, or bee-like hind -

tibie (such as many of the species of Odontocera, Charis, and

Tomopterus), others have elytra developed to the opposite

extreme, and, aided by colours and facies, become the mimetic

analogues of various Coleoptera—such as Oxylymma_ (re-

sembling Galerucide), Aichmutes (resembling Lycidz), and

Erythroplatys (resembling Hispide). The lesson plainly taught

here, to those who believe in the origin of species by natural

variation and selection, is that the Rhinotragine have varied

in many directions, and that, a protective disguise of one kind

or other being necessary to the species, the variations have

been gradually drawn out in many different directions, ac-

cording as they resembled some object at hand which it was

advantageous to resemble. In the present stage it cannot be

said that the species are remarkable for variability in the parts

of their structure involved in the adaptations here mentioned :

but they are generally insects of great rarity ; and wherever a

large number of examples are at hand (e. g. Acyphoderes auru-

lentus, femoratus, and hirtipes, Ommata (Agaone) notabilis),

there is a large amount of variation in general form and colour.

If, however, we look at the differences between very closely

allied species the most abrupt changes are seen—such, for in-

stance, as those between Odontocera fasciata (resembling a wasp)

and O. compressipes (resembling a bee, with pollen-gathering

apparatus to the hind tibie). In fact the abruptness with

which important parts of structure change from species to

species renders the definition of genera impossible in this group;

almost every species offers structural characters sufficient in

amount to render generic separation plausible.

Genus OxyLymMa, Pascoe.

Pascoe, Trans. Ent. Soc. ser. 2, v. p. 21; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 500.

1. Oxylymma lepida, Pascoe, l. c. p. 22, pl. 11. f. 3.

Ega, Amazons.

2. Oxylymma telephorina, Bates.

Oxylymma telephorina, Bates, Trans, Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 516.

Ega, Amazons.

3. Oxylymma gibbicollis, n. sp.

O. flavo-testacea, erecte pilosa ; occipite, articulis antennarum 2°-5™

24 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

vittaque angusta laterali et suturali elytrorum, et metasterno,

nigris; thorace antice valde convexo, postice abrupte depresso, rufo,

maculis fuscis. Long. 4 lin.

Bahia (coll. W. W. Saunders).

Head with much-elongated muzzle, testaceous yellow, shi-

ning; occiput and neck black. Antenne with basal and fifth

and sixth joints yellowish, streaked with black exteriorly,

second to fourth joints shining black, rest yellowish. Thorax

strongly rounded on the sides, disk anteriorly gibbous, base

strongly depressed and constricted ; reddish, with four dusky

triangular spots on the anterior part, which spots have numerous

large circular punctures, the rest of the surface being smooth.

Elytra depressed, pale yellow, clothed with long, erect, pale

hairs, apex briefly sinuate-truncate, with acute angles to the

truncature; surface closely punctured. Body beneath and legs

waxy yellow, shining ; metasternum black. .

This species has a close resemblance to a species of Diabro-

tica (fam. Galerucide).

Genus RurwotraGcus, Germar.

Germar, Ins. Sp. Noy. p. 513; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 500.

1. Rhinotragus dorsiger, Germar, l. c.

Var. Rhinotragus marginatus, Perty, Del. An. Art. Bras.

pos, t, 194.1.

R. anceps, Newm. Ent. Mag. vy. p. 495.

8. Brazil.

f. marginatus is considered a distinct species by some ento-

mologists.

2. Rhinotragus apicalis, Guérin-Méneville.

Rhinotragus apicalis, Guérin-Méney. Icon. R. A. p. 236.

Bolivia. Prov. Parand, Brazil.

3. Rhinotragus analis, Serville.

Rhinotragus analis, Serv. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr, 1833, p. 550.

S. Brazil.

4. Rhinotraqus festivus, Perty.

Rhinotragus festivus, Perty, Del. An. Art. p. 94, t. 19. f. 2.

R. suturalis, Sery. Ann. Soe. Fr. 1833, p. 550.

S. Brazil.

5. Rhinotragus trilineatus, White.

Rhinotragus trilineatus, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p.

R. Amazons.

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 25

Genus EryTHRopLatys, White.

White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 201.

1. Erythroplatys corallifer, White, 1. c. p. 202, pl. v. f. 2.

Santarem, Amazons, on flowers. Resembles to deception

the Hispid Cephalodonta spinipes.

2. Erythroplatys rugosus, Lucas.

Rhinotragus rugosus, Lucas, Voyage de Castelnau, Entomologie, p. 182,

pliadiet. 7.

Interior of Brazil.

3. ?Hrythroplatys Lucasii, Thomson.

Rhinotragus Lucasit, Thoms, Classif. des Céramb. p. 178.

Interior of Guiana.

Genus AUCHMUTES, Bates.

Bates, Entom. Monthly Mag. iv. p. 23 (1867).

Syn. Ornistomus, Thoms. Syst. Ceramb. p. 166 (1864).

The differences between these two genera are too small to

}). warrant their separation. ‘Thomson’s genus is not mentioned

in Lacordaire’s great work ; but there can be no doubt that

| this is its right place, and not in the neighbourhood of Ptero-

| platus, with which it was possibly confounded by Lacordaire.

The species of the genera here united, although differing very

greatly in size and in the form of the apex of the elytra, both

resemble the Lycide. I hesitate to admit M. Thomson’s name,

as 1t may prove, when its faulty grammatical construction is

corrected (as it is sure to be by subsequent authors), to have

been already employed in zoology.

1. Aichmutes bicinctus, Thomson.

Ormstomus bicinctus, Thoms., J. e. p. 167.

8. Brazil.

2. dichmutes lycoides, Bates.

Aichmutes lycoides, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 382.

Ega, Amazons.

Genus OREGOSTOMA, Serville.

Serv. Ann. Soc. Fr. 1833, p. 551; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 501.

1. Oregostoma rubricorne, Serv. l. c.

Rhinotragus coccineus, Guérin-Méney. Icon. R, A., Ins. pl. 44. f. 7.

S. Brazil.

26 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

2. Oregostoma luridum, Klug.

Stenopterus luridus, Klug, Entom. Bras. Spec. alter. p. 470, pl. 44. f. 3.

S. Brazil.

Genus OmMATA, White.

White, Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 194; Lacord, Genera, vol. viii. p. 502.

White founded the genus Ommata on a species from Vene-

zuela, distinguished by its very long antenne, thickened and

not serrated towards the apex; with this character are associated

vitreous narrowed elytra and tufted hind tibie. Lacordaire

considers these features of less generic importance than the

normal relative forms of the metasternum and abdomen and

the exserted anterior cox. In these latter points White’s

insect agrees with a large number of species of the most diver-

sified forms and colours; and an examination of very copious

material has not yielded me any more definite generic distinc-

tions than those mentioned by Lacordaire. It is true that the

type, Ommata elegans, and a second species that may be asso-

ciated with it, O. Mara of Newman, differ from all the other

Ommate (sensu Lacord.) in their vitreous elytral surface ; but

O. clavicornis and some other species with opaque elytra come

very close to O. Maza, and the genus would have to be split up

into a large number of smaller genera if Ommata were to be

restricted to the two species here named. The genus com-

prehends a series of species which for the most part are at once

distinguishable by their facies from Odontocera ; and in cases

of doubt I have treated the opaque and punctured elytra as a

differential character.

The genus Agaone, Pascoe, which I formerly adopted, I find

on the examination of further material to be quite untenable ;

or if it be maintained, it must be restricted to the typical species,

A. notabilis.

I. Legs long and slender ; middle femora gradually and moderately

clavate.

A. Elytra entire or nearly so. (Pheenissa.)

1. Ommata (Phenissa) nigripes, Serville.

Oregostoma ngripes, Serv. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1833, p. 552.

8. Brazil.

2. Ommata (Phenissa) bipartita, n. sp.

O. nigripede gracilior, thorace magis cylindrico, elytrorum plus quam

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 27

dimidio apicali nigro; nigra, thorace et fere dimidio basali ely-

trorum coccineis. Long. 43-52 lin. 9°.

) Prov. Parané, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

|) Very closely allied to O. nigripes (Serv.). Smaller and

| narrower, thorax narrower and more regularly cylindrical, the

black portion of the elytra extending rather more than halfway

) towards the base. The head is coarsely scabrous-punctate as

in O. nigripes; the antenne are very slightly thickened

}towards the tips, with the third to fifth joints linear and the

) following moderately serrate. The thorax and elytra are

| closely reticulate-punctate, the latter more deeply so than in

| O.nigripes ; they are slightly narrowed in the middle, and reach

) the apex of the abdomen, with the tips broadly and obliquely

) truncate and the sutural angle briefly spinose. The abdomen

) is dark blue and shining.

3. Ommata (Phenissa) punicea, Newman.

Rhinotragus puniceus, Newm. Entom. Mag. v. p. 495.

S. Brazil.

There are many examples in the British-Museum collection,

j all distinguished from O. nigripes by their slenderer shape and

j)two small black spots placed transversely on the disk of the

| thorax.

4, Ommata (Phenissa?) discoidea, Serville.

Oregostoma discoidea, Serv. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1833, p. 552.

S. Brazil.

AA. Ktytra moderately narrowed posteriorly.

a. Elytra scarcely abbreviated, apex truncated. (Chrysaéthe.)

5. Ommata atrata, Bates.

Ommata atrata, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc, 1872, p. 184.

i (. Brazil.

| _— 6. Ommata asperiventris, Bates.

Ommata asperiventris, Bates, Trans, Ent. Soc. 1872, p. 184.

8. Brazil.

7. Ommata cyanipennis, Bates.

Ommata cyanipennis, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1872, p, 184.

Chontales, Nicaragua.

8. Ommata aurata, Bates.

Ommata aurata, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 320.

R. Amazons.

28° Mr. H. W. Bates on the

9. Ommata smaragdina, Bates.

Ommata smaragdina, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 320.

Rk. Amazons.

10. Ommata Beltiana, Bates.

Ommata Beltiana, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1872, p. 184.

Chontales, Nicaragua.

aa. Elytra narrowed and rounded at the tip ; antenne elongated and

thickened at apex, not serrated.

* Elytra shining or vitreous. (Ommata, typical.)

The elytra have an elevated line along their posterior part,

parallel to the outer margin.

11. Ommata elegans, White.

Ommata elegans, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 194, pl. v. f. 6.

Venezuela.

12. Ommata Maia, Newman.

Odontocera Maia, Newman, Entomologist, p. 92.

Rio Janeiro, Brazil. Not uncommon in collections. .

I have seen a third species of this group in Dr. Baden’s

collection, in which the antenne are half as long again as the

body ; but the specimen is.in too imperfect a state for description.

** Elytra opaque. (Rhopalessa.)

13. Ommata clavicornis, n. sp.

O. gracilis, nigra, longe erecte pubescens, thorace (marginibus antico

et postico nigris exceptis) sanguineo, breviter cylindrico, polito,

plagiatim punctato ; elytris integris, crebre punctatis; antennis

elongatis, articulis 3°-6™ linearibus,9°-11"™ valde dilatatis, leviter

serratis. Long.4lin. 9°.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W.

Bates).

Allied to the typical species, O. elegans, in the form of the

antenne, but differing in the elytra being very nearly entire

and without vitreous polish on their surface. The head has a

short muzzle, the eyes (female) widely distant, and the forehead

coarsely but sparsely punctured, with silvery pubescence. The

sixth to eighth antennal joints are pale at the base. The thorax

is short, smoothly convex and shining, with moderately small.

punctures in patches. The elytra are very little narrowed,

and reach to the middle of the pygidium, their apex being

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 29

very obtusely truncated, and their surface closely punctate-

rugose and clothed with curled whitish hairs. The under

surface is clothed with similar hairs. The legs are slender,

| the thighs somewhat suddenly clavate, and the hind legs

| distinctly elongated ; their colour is pitchy, with the base of

the hind thighs pale testaceous.

14. Ommata tenuis, Burmeister.

Rhinotragus tenuis, Burmeister, Stettin. ent. Zeit. 1865, p. 173.

Parana.

Burmeister describes the antenne as strongly thickened at

| the tip and the elytra punctured and opaque. As he does not

mention the form of the elytra, and places the species in Rh7-

| notragus, it is to be inferred they are subentire and perhaps

| truncated.

II. Legs slender ; middle femora abruptly but not very broadly

| clavate ; elytra with sides subparallel, apea truncated. (Kclipta.)

A. Elytra abbreviated.

15. Ommata Hirene, Newman.

Odontocera Eirene, Newman, Entomologist, p. 92.

8. Brazil.

| The elytra reach the middle of the third abdominal segment,

) and are obtusely truncated ; the antenne are thickened and

serrate from the seventh joint.

There is a sexual difference in coloration. The female,

| described by Newman, has unicolorous greenish-black elytra

| and white hind tarsi; the male has a pale testaceous vitta near

the suture, extending from the base to two thirds the length

| of the elytra, and the hind tarsi are black with cinereous hairs.

16. Ommata castanea, n. sp.

O. linearis, breviter pubescens, antennis basi pedibusque nigris;

elytris abbreviatis ad suturam dehiscentibus. Long. 5 lin. 9.

Proy. Rio Janeiro, Brazil (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W. Bates).

| Head thickly punctured, except the lower part of the fore-

| head; muzzle elongated, not narrowed. Antenne (female) three

| fourths the length of the body, thickened but scarcely serrate

towards the tips, joints 3 to 6 linear; basal joints black,

apical pale tawny. ‘Thorax elongate cylindrical, densely re-

| ticulate-punctate. Elytra considerably narrowed from near

| the base, but parallel afterwards to the apex, which is truncated

) and scarcely reaches the base of the penultimate ventral

30 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

segment; they are widely divergent at the suture. The legs

are black, the hind pair much elongated, with distinctly clavate

femora.

17. Ommata thoracica, n. sp.

O. elongata, angusta, plumbeo-nigra, cano breviter pubescens, thorace

angusto, rufo, crebre reticulato-punctato ; elytris paulo abbreviatis,

apice recte truncatis. Long. 4} lin.

Prov. Parané et Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. W. W.

Saunders, Dr. Baden, and H. W. Bates).

A slender, narrow species, with elytra very moderately

narrowed and parallel from a little beyond the base, and

reaching a little beyond the base of the penultimate segment,

their apices sharply truncate, and their suture slightly gaping.

Head rugose-punctate, with much-elongated muzzle. Antenne

(female) two thirds the length of the body, black ; third to

sixth joints linear, but rather short and stout, the following a

little thickened and but slightly serrated. Thorax elongate,

convex, uneven ; surface entirely covered with shallow circular

pits, leaving narrow reticulated interstices. Elytra closely

punctured. Legs rather slender, shining black; thighs some-

what abruptly clavate, hind legs elongated.

I have seen this species labelled O. collaris of Serv.; but

Serville says this species has the elytra “acuminées postérieure-

ment,” which character applies neither to this nor the following

similarly coloured species.

18. Ommata flavicollis, n. sp.

O. postice angustata, nigra, thorace flavo-aurantiaco, opaco, haud

distincte punctato; elytris abbreviatis, versus apicem paulo an-

gustatis, apice truncatis. Long. 4 lin. ¢ 9.

Prov. Parand, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Closely allied to the preceding, but the antenne shorter and

the elytra not reaching the apex of the antepenultimate ventral

segment. Head coarsely punctured ; muzzle much elongated ;

eyes (male) almost contiguous, (female) separated by only a

short distance. Antenne scarcely two thirds the length of the

body ; third to sixth joints linear but rather thick, and fifth and

sixth a little widened at apex; they are black, but in the male

the seventh to eleventh joints are pale at the base. Thorax

opaque, orange-yellow, without visible punctuation. Elytra

very closely subconfluent-punctate. The legs are moderately

slender, the thighs clongate-clavate.

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 31

19. Ommata Hunomia, Newman.

Odontocera Eunomia, Newman, Entomologist, p. 92.

8. Brazil.

Described by Newman from a single specimen. In colours

the species is variable—the upper surface of the thorax being

either wholly black, slightly embrowned in the centre, or

wholly fulvous; and the yellow vitta of the elytra sometimes

extends to the suture, and is sometimes confined to the disk, or

wholly wanting. ‘Throughout all the varieties, however, the

front of the head, the four anterior femora, and the basal half

of the hind pair are bright fulvous. The elytra scarcely pass

the base of the antepenultimate segment, and are sharply

sinuate-truncate at the apex. The antenne have the third to

sixth joimts linear; and the rest are not thickened, and only

slightly serrated. The thorax is somewhat irregularly reticu-

late-punctate. The elytra are closely punctate and obscured

by soft incumbent silky pile.

20. Ommata brachialis, n. sp.

O. gracilis, fusco-nigra, infra dense cano pubescens; femoribus

anticis fulvis, femoribus posticis basi albo-testaceis. Long. 3-4

lin. g.

Prov. Rio Janeiro, Brazil (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W. Bates).

Very closely allied to O. Hunomia. Elytra more elongate,

passing the base of the penultimate segment, and obtusely (not

sinuate) truncate at the apex. The head is wholly black; and

the anterior thighs only are fulvous, the extreme base of the

other pairs being whitish. The eyes (male) are separated by

a narrow space on the forehead. The antenne are three fourths

the length of the body, and thickened towards the apex; they

are dull black, with bases of seventh to eleventh joints

fulvous ; the third to fifth joints are long, slender, and linear.

The thorax is narrow, and reticulate-punctate in three longi-

tudinal patches, the interstices being scarcely punctured. The

elytra are closely punctured. The legs are long, especially

the hind pair, and the thighs distinctly clavate.

21. Ommata monostigma, Bates.

Agaone monostigma, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1869, p. 384.

Chontales, Nicaragua.

22. Ommata liturifera, n. sp.

O. linearis, angusta, fulvo-testacea; occipite lituraque magna pro-

32 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

thoracis (H simulante) nigris; elytris paulo abbreviatis, late

truncatis, crebre punctatis. Long. 27-4 lin. ¢ Q.

Prov. Rio Janeiro, Brazil (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W. Bates).

Head tawny testaceous; occiput, and in female a frontal

streak, black; coarsely punctured; muzzle moderately elongated,

not narrowed; eyes in male contiguous in front, in female

widely distant. Antennee rather short, filiform, serrate, joints

3-5 linear; tawny testaceous, tips of jomts brown. Thorax

cylindrical, a little constricted in front and behind, very coarsely

punctured; tawny, with two broad vitte on the disk, jomed

in the middle by a fascia, black, a black vitta also on each flank.

Elytra reaching to the middle of the penultimate ventral

segment, moderately narrowed from near the base and parallel,

apex sharply truncate ; colour light tawny brown, thickly but

separately punctured. Body beneath yellowish, breast and

middle of abdomen black. Legs slender, thighs rather abruptly

clavate, hind legs moderately elongate; testaceous yellow,

femoral clava ringed with black, tibize and tarsi also black.

AA. Elytra nearly reaching the tip of the abdomen.

23. Ommata prolixa, n. sp.

O. elongata, angusta, setosa, testaceo-rufa ; capite (epistomate ex-

cepto), maculis thoracis duabus dorsalibus alteraque utrinque

elytrorum humerali, pectore et pedibus nigris, femoribus basi

albo-testaceis ; elytris pallide fuscis postice obscurioribus ; an-

tennis modice elongatis apice vix incrassatis, nigris, articulis basi

pallidis ; thorace antice angustato, supra inzequali, grosse disperse

punctato ; elytris subintegris, crebre punctatis, apice oblique trun-

catis. Long.4 lin. 9.

Prov. Parand, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders).

Closely allied to O. ertbripennis, but more elongated,

especially the elytra. The eyes (female) are more distant on

the forehead, and the space between them is wide, plane, and

(like the rest of the head) coarsely punctured. The antenne

have the third to fifth joints lear, and the following very

gradually thickened, but not produced, at their inner apical

angles. The hind legs are very little elongated, and the thighs

moderately clubbed.

24. Ommata lanuginosa, n. sp.

O. linearis, fulvo-testacea, aureo breviter pubescens, opaca ; occipite,

thoracis disco femoribusque (partim) nigris; antennis filiformibus,

articulis 7°-10"™ yix serratis haud incrassatis ; thorace cylindrico,

supra longitudinaliter biimpresso, reticulato-punctato ; elytris

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 33

vix abbreviatis, acute truncatis, fulvo-fuscis, creberrime punctatis.

Long. 4 lin. ¢.

Prov. Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden).

Opaque, clothed with a fine incumbent golden pile, short on

the elytra, but longer and denser on the sides of the thorax, on

the breast, and in the middle of the abdominal segments. The

head is tawny testaceous, with the crown and occiput and part

of the epistome black ; the eyes (male) do not reach the median

line; the muzzle is much elongated. The antennz are dull

tawny brown. The thorax is cylindrical, almost bisulcate

along the disk, closely reticulate-punctate, with the whole disk

dull black, and margins (like the under surface) tawny testa-

ceous. The elytra reach the base of the terminal segment and

are sharply sinuate-truncate ; their surface is very regularly

and closely punctured and opaque. The legs are moderately

slender, the femora rather abruptly but not thickly clavate,

and the first joint of the hind tarsi is equal in length to the

remaining three ; the femora and tibie are indistinctly clouded

with blackish.

25. Ommata cribripennis, n. sp.

O. linearis, angusta, setosa, melleo-flava ; occipite supra maculaque

basali pronoti nigris ; antennis apicem versus vix incrassatis, nigris,

scapo infra articulisque 3°-10™ basi melleo-flavis ; elytris pallide

fuscis, subintegris, crebre sed discrete grosse punctatis, apice

oblique truncatis ; pedibus posticis elongatis, femoribus omnibus

clavatis. Long. 3 lin. ¢ Q.

Prov. Parana, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Closely allied to 0. (Agaone) malthinoides (Bates), but the

elytra less attenuated than in that species ; in fact these organs

are entire, with the exception of the narrowness of the epi-

pleure from a little beyond the base, and they leave only the

tip of the pygidium exposed. The eyes of the male do not

approach so closely on the forehead as in the allied species.

The third to fifth antennal joints are linear, and the rest are

only very slightly produced at their inner apical angles. The

thorax is cylindrical and very coarsely, but irregularly and not

closely, punctured. The legs are clear honey-yellow, with the

exception of a brown spot at the apex of the hind femora.

26. Ommata erythrodera, n. sp.

O. clavicorni simillima, differt antennis brevibus gracilibus, articulis

6°-11"™ basi flavis. Linearis, fusco-nigra nitida, sparsim pubes-

cens ; thorace cylindrico, angusto, supra conyexo, paulo inquali,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xi. 3

34 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

grossissime sparsim punctato, lete rufo nitido, marginibus anticis

et posticis nigris; elytris vix abbreviatis, acute truncatis, nigro-

fuscis, passim grosse regulariter punctatis, nitidis ; femoribus sub-

abrupte haud fortiter clavatis, basi albis. Long. 4 lin. 9.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden).

Deceptively similar to O. clavicornis in general form, colour,

and in the form and proportions of the legs ; but differs at once

in the moderately short slender antenne, ringed with pale tes-

taceous at the base of joints 6 to 11; this character would

bring it into a different genus were the antenne taken as

guides. The head is shining black, regularly punctured, with

much longer muzzle than in O. clavicornis and not pubescent ;

the space between the eyes on the front (female) is quite plane

and very moderate for this sex. The elytra reach beyond the

base of the terminal segment and are broadly and subsinuately

truncate ; their surface is shining, free from incumbent pubes-

cence, and covered with separate punctures decidedly larger

than those of O.clavicornis; in shape they are parallel-sided

from after the base. The underside of the body is shining black,

scantily clothed with grey pubescence. ‘The basal joint of the

posterior tarsi is narrow, but shorter than the remaining joints

taken together.

27. Ommata vitticollis, n. sp.

O. linearis, angusta, nigra; capite angusto, grosse punctato melleo-

flavo; thorace elongato antice angustato, supra inzequali, grosse

disperse ocellato-punctato, nigro, vitta dorsali etinfra melleo-flavis ;

elytris subintegris, apice obtuse truncatis, passim crebre ocellato-

punctatis. Long. 33 lin. 9°.

Prov. Parand, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Differs in form from the allied species, the head and thorax

being small in proportion to the elytra, and the thorax narrowed

anteriorly. ‘The antenne are three fourths the length of the

body, and scarcely thickened towards the tips; the third to

sixth joints are linear; they are black, with the exception of

the pale bases of joimts ninth to eleventh. The femora are

distinctly clavate and the hind legs elongated, as in the typical

forms of the genus.

28. Ommata malthinoides, Bates.

Agaone malthinoides, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 319.

R. Amazons.

29. Ommata ruficollis, Bates.

Agaone ruficollis, Bates, Trans, Ent. Soe. 1870, p. 319.

R. Amazons.

—a4 jT— => ce. £

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 35

30. Ommata anoguttata, n. sp.

O. elongato-linearis, supra plana, subtiliter pubescens, fusca, elytris

apice macula transversa flava. Long. 5lin. 9.

Prov. Parandé, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Head fulvo-testaceous, shining, thickly punctured, muzzle

elongated ; space between the eyes (female) in front moderate ;

occiput black. Antenne more than three fourths the length

of the body, slightly thickened and serrate towards the tips,

joints three to five linear; colour pitchy testaceous, basal joints

beneath paler. Thorax elongate cylindrical, disk with four

tubercles and a median raised wheal, rest of surface ocellate-

punctate, black above, central line and sides fulvous. Elytra

elongate-linear and plane, leaving the pygidium uncovered,

not dehiscent ; apex truncate and tumid on the surface where

lies the pale transverse spot; the surface rather finely and

closely rugose-punctate, with soft, inclined, and curly pubes-

cense ; colour brown, suture paler. Body beneath dark brown,

with golden pubescence; abdominal segments ringed with

yellow. Legs tawny testaceous, base of thighs blackish ;

hind legs moderately elongated, thighs rather abruptly clavate.

31. Ommata egrota, Bates.

Odontocera egrota, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1872, p. 288.

Chontales, Nicaragua.

I described this species as an Odontocera, following Lacor-

daire’s definition of the genus; but the closely punctured and

non-vitreous elytra bring it within the genus Ommata, ac-

cording to the classification here adopted.

32. Ommata Xantho, n. sp.

O. robustior, pallide flava; capite, elytris, tibiis, tarsis femoribusque

supra nigris, fronte flava; antennis filiformibus, nigris, articulis

6°-10"™ basi pallidis ; thorace lateribus paulo rotundatis, margine

antico crasso, reticulato-punctato opaco ; elytris subintegris re-

ticulato-punctatis, apice oblique truncatis angulo exteriore longe

spinoso ; metasterno late nigro-fasciato ; pedibus robustis, femori-

bus elongato-clavatis. Long. 4} lin. ¢.

Prov. Parandé, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders).

A robust species, with hind legs not disproportionately elon-

gated, and filiform antenne, of which the third to fifth joints

are linear.

33. Ommata pecila, n. sp.

O. linearis, pallide flava, thoracis macula dorsali, elytrorum macula

36 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

quadrata humerali, fascia mediana alteraque apicali nigris; an-

tennis elongatis, apice gradatim incrassatis, nigris, flavo annulatis ;

thorace cylindrico, convexo, crebre reticulato-punctato; elytris

vix abbreviatis, basi excepta angustatis parallelis, apice oblique

truncatis, dense reticulato-punctatis. Long. 43 lin. ¢.

Prov. Parand, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Linear, thorax and elytra closely covered with round punc-

tures forming narrow reticulated interstices. Clear pale yellow,

with an irregular spot on the disk of the thorax, a belt across

the middle and apex of the elytra, and a square spot on the

shoulder black. The antenne (male) are nearly as long as

the body and considerably thickened towards the apex, the

third to fifth joints are linear; the colour is black, with the

base of fourth to tenth joints and first to fourth joints beneath

pale testaceous. Beneath there is a broad stripe on each

side of the metasternum and across the abdomen, black. The

legs have a streak on the upperside of the femoral clave, the

apex of the tibize and the tarsi black ; the hind legs are not elon-

gated ; all the femora are clavate, the anterior and middle pair

more abruptly so than the posterior. The elytra are moderately

narrowed trom a little behind the base, and are thence parallel

to the apex; they are not dehiscent at the suture; and the ex-

ternal angle of the apical truncature has a longish spine.

A variety occurs in which the middle and apical black fascie

of the elytra and the humeral spots are united, and the head

and whole apical half of the abdomen is black.

34. Ommata fenestrata, Lucas.

Oregostoma fenestratum, Lucas, Voyage de Castelnau, Ins. pl. 12. f. 8.

Interior of Brazil.

Ill. Legs robust ; middle femora abruptly and very thickly clavate ;

first joint of hind tarsi greatly elongated ; elytra entire. (Agaone,

Pascoe).

35. Ommata notabilis, White.

Rhinotragus notabilis, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 199.

R. Amazons.

Genus ODONTOCERA, Serv.

Serv. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1833, p. 546; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii.

p. 503.

[ have nothing to add to the definition of this genus given

by Lacordaire, except that I think it better to exclude every

species which has not a vitreous surface to the elytra. This

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 37

character, added to the enlarged metasternum, slender abdo-

men (often constricted at the base), subcylindrical or oval tho-

rax, and elytra never much abbreviated or subulate, will di-

stinguish Odontocera from all the allied genera. The antennz

vary in thickness and length; in most species they are short,

thick, and strongly serrated from the sixth or fifth joint ; but

many have very slender, filiform antenne. Some of these I

formerly placed in the genus Agaone, notwithstanding the

slender or constricted abdomen; but this course is the less

admissible, as the type of the genus Odontocera (O. vitrea of

Serville) is described as having slender antenne.

I. Antenne elongate, slender.

1. Odontocera molorchoides, White.

Rhinotragus molorchoides, White, Cat. Long, Col. Brit. Mus. p. 200.

R. Amazons.

2. Odontocera vittipennis, n, sp.

O. nigra, cano pubescens; thorace oblongo-oyato, rufo-aurantiaco,

reticulato-punctato, opaco; elytris nigris, vitta albo-testacea,

vitrea; tarsis posticis albis; antennis elongatis gracilibus, articu-

lis a sexto leviter serratis basi flavo-testaceis. Long. 4 lin. ¢.

Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders).

Head black, clothed with hoary pile; muzzle elongated ;

eyes (male) nearly touching the median line in front. Antenne

as long as the body, black ; joints sixth to eleventh yellow at

base, third to sixth linear, seventh to tenth elongate, moderately

dilated and serrate at their apices. Thorax rather broader

than the elytra, subovate, the sides being much rounded near

the middle; the surface is opaque, covered with shallow round

pits, and with the flanks light red. The elytra nearly reach

the apex of the penultimate segment; they are subparallel

from the middle, with tips obliquely and sharply truncated ;

their surface is very closely and coarsely punctured and deep

black, except a narrow well-defined central vitta from the base

to near the apex, which is whitish, faintly punctured, and

shining. ‘The legs are black, with the exception of the hind

tarsi, which are white, and have their basal joint longer than

the remaining three together, but not slender; the middle

femora are abruptly a | very broadly clavate; the hind legs

greatly elongated, and their femora very gradually and mode-

rately thickened. ‘The under surface of the body is densely

clothed with short hoary pile; the abdomen is moderately

slender, and the anterior coxe scarcely exserted. |

38 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

3. Odontocera clara, n. sp.

O. valde elongata, nigra; thorace aurantiaco-flayo, pectore abdo-

mineque cinereo-tomentosis; elytris disco omnino vitreo albo-

testaceo. Long. 54-73 lin. ¢ @.

Chontales, Nicaragua (coll. T. Belt and H. W. Bates).

An elongate narrow species, similar in form to O.chrysostetha,

but resembling O. vittipennis in colours. Head black, shining,

scabrous-punctate ; muzzle elongate and narrow. Antenne

long and filiform, moderately serrate from the sixth joint,

shining black; extreme base of joints 7 to 11 pallid,

especially in the male. Thorax long, cylindrical, gradually

narrowed in front, orange-testaceous, moderately shining,

closely subreticulate-punctate, with a short, smooth, raised

dorsal line on the fore part of the disk. Elytra reaching to

the middle of the fourth segment, moderately narrowed behind

the base, thence parallel to the apex, which is sharply truncate,

with the angles prominent ; surface pallid brownish and glassy,

faintly punctulate ; margins (except the basal) narrowly black

and coarsely punctured. Meso- and metasterna and abdomen

black, clothed with a laid ashy pile; metasternum moderately

voluminous, and abdomen linear, coarsely punctured. Legs

much elongated, black, shining; all the femora rather gradually

clavate; hind pair reaching the tip of the abdomen.

This is one of the latest discoveries of Mr. Thomas Belt.

4. Odontocera colon, Bates.

Agaone colon, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 319.

R. Amazons.

5. Odontocera monostigma, Bates.

Agaone monostigma, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1869, p. 384.

Chontales, Nicaragua.

6. Odontocera parallela, White.

Odontocera parallela, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 189.

R. Amazons.

7. Odontocera mellea, White.

Odontocera mellea, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus, p. 188.

R. Amazons.

8. Odontocera chrysostetha, Bates.

Odontocera chrysostetha, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 320.

R. Amazons.

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 39

9. Odontocera vitrea, Serville.

Odontocera vitrea, Serville, Ann. Ent. Soc. Fr. 1833, p. 547.

Cayenne.

Serville describes the antennz in his Odontocere as “ filifor-

mes, presque setacées, 5 ou 6 articles en scie.’’ His species

would therefore come in the present section.

10. Odontocera cylindrica, Serv. l.c. p. 548.

Brazil.

It is not stated in the description that the elytra have vitre-

ous disks; the position of the species is therefore doubtful.

Il. Antenne more or less abbreviated and dilated.

A. Thorax narrow, cylindrical.

a. Disk of thorax even.

* Antenne much thickened towards the apex.

11. Odontocera crocata, n. sp.

O. gracillima, postice attenuata, fusco-niger; antennis, pedibus et

elytris fulvo-croceis, his marginibus et apice late nigris, valde ab-

breviatis, apice late truncatis. Long. 3? lin. ¢.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W.

Bates).

Head coarsely punctured; eyes voluminous, contiguous in

front; muzzle moderate, narrow.. Antenne two thirds the

length of the body, thickened towards the tip, saffron tawny ;

third to fifth joimts slender, linear, seventh to tenth serrate.

Thorax very narrow, cylindrical, with longitudinal patches of

shallow circular punctures, the patches connected by transverse

wrinkles. Elytra just passing the base of the antepenultimate

segment, moderately narrowed from after the base, dehiscent

at the suture, sharply and broadly truncated at the apex ; sur-

face moderately punctured, very sparsely so on the disk, which

is shining. Body beneath rufous tawny; thorax, sides of

breast, and belt across middle of abdomen black. Legs saffron

tawny ; hind pair elongated; thighs distinctly clavate. Meta-

sternum (male) voluminous; abdomen slender, linear.

** Antenne robust, all joints thickened.

12. Odontocera sanguinolenta (Dej.), n. sp.

O. elongata, robusta, sanguinea; capite, antennis, vitta thoracis lata

dorsali pedibusque nigris; femoribus posticis annulo sanguineo;

40 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

elytris fere apicem abdominis attingentibus, angustis, testaceo-

flavis, vitreis, marginibus nigris, apice macula oblonga leete flava.

Long. 7-8 lin. ¢ @.

Rio Janeiro (coll. W. W. Saunders, Dr. Baden, and H. W.

Bates).

ne elongated and narrow but robust form. Head black,

coarsely punctured. Antenne about half the length of the

body, stout, of equal thickness to the apex, third to fifth

joints being much dilated, and the following serrated, dull

black. Thorax elongated, cylindrical, closely punctured, sides

broadly blood-red, the rest dull black. Scutellum white.

Elytra reaching nearly the tip of the body, narrow, and nearly

parallel from after the base; apex sharply truncated, with

angles somewhat produced; surface shining, black, with a

central vitta straw-colour and vitreous, the black borders

coarsely punctured; an elongate spot brighter yellow at apex.

Breast and abdomen sanguineous, the former black in the

middle, the latter with margins of the segments black. Legs

robust, black ; hind femora with a blood-red ring, and gradu-

ally clavate.

13. Odontocera apicalis, Klug.

Stenopterus apicalis, Klug, Entom. Bras. Specim. alter. p. 54, t. xliv.

f. 6.

Brazil.

Apparently allied to O. sanguinolenta.

aa. Disk of thorax tuberculated.

14. Odontocera gracilis, Klug.

Stenopterus gracilis, Klug, Entom. Bras. Spec. alt. p. 54, t. xliv. f. 7.

St. elegans, Guérin-Ménev. Icon. R. A. pl. 44. f. 9.

Brazil.

It has been suggested that this species should be excluded

from the genus Odontocera, on account of its tubercled thorax,

the great length of the peduncle of the hind femora, and other

characters. Its peculiar facies and metallic colouring ill consort

with the other congeners; but all its essential structural cha-

racters are shared in by one or other members of the genus.

For instance, the tuberculated thorax is possessed in still

higher development by O. flavicauda, which has nothing ab-

normal in its colouring, and quite moderately clavate and pe-

dunculate hind femora.

15. Odontocera flavicauda, n. sp.

O. elongata, linearis, castaneo-rufa; capite, antennis basi pedibus-

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 41

que nigris ; elytris pallide brunneis, vitreis, marginibus anguste

nigris, apice flavis. Long. 5-6lin. g Q.

Prov. Parandé, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Elongate and narrow in form. Head coarsely punctured.

Antennz rather more than half the length of the body, not

| thickened, regularly serrate from the sixth joint; fifth also a

| little dilated at the apex; basal half black, apical half cas-

_ taneous. Thorax rather short, cylindrical; surtace with four

tubercles and a central raised line; interstices with large,

circular, scattered punctures. LElytra reaching nearly the

| base of the pygidium, moderately narrow and subparallel

| from a little beyond the base; apex broadly sinuate-truncate ;

surface glassy, although finely and sparsely punctured and

| setose; margins coarsely rugose-punctate and black; disk

pale brown (palest near the base) ; apex with a longish yel-

low spot. Beneath shining chestnut-red; thorax blackish ;

| Legs black; hind pair much elongated; thighs abruptly

clavate. Abdomen of male slender and linear, of female sub-

| petiolated.

AA. Thorax subovate.

a. Hind legs elongate, slender ; femora abruptly clavate.

| 16. Odontocera nigriclavis, n. sp.

| O. elongata, nigra; pedibus posticis (clava femorali scapoque tibiali

nigris exceptis) et tarsis omnibus flavo-testaceis; vitta discoidali

elytrorum albo-testacea, vitrea. Long. 5-6 lin. ¢ @.

| Prov. Rio Janeiro and Parana, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders,

Dr. Baden, and H. W. Bates).

Closely allied to O. dispar (Bates), but having longer elytra,

yellow tarsi, and female concolorous with the male, &c. Head

with elongated muzzle. Antenne half the length of the body,

_ thickened from the fifth joint; black, bases of the joints testa-

/ceous tawny. Thorax elongate, gradually narrowed behind ;

| surface longitudinally impressed, clothed with long hairs, and

_ closely reticulate-punctate. Elytra reaching to middle of the

third segment, nearly parallel from after the base, truncate

at the apex, thickly punctured and black on the borders ;

disk occupied by a whitish vitreous vitta. Legs black; tarsi

testaceous yellow ; the hind legs moderately elongated ; femora

abruptly clavate; tibiz with a dense brush of black hairs

round the apical half; base of thighs and of tibiz testaceous

yellow.

42 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

17. Odontocera pecilopoda, White.

Odontocera pecilopoda, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 191.

Amazons.

18. Odontocera dispar, Bates.

Odontocera dispar, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 321.

Amazons.

19. Odontocera aurocincta, n. sp.

O. valde elongata, nigra; antennis, tibiis et tarsis fulvis; femoribus

basi et tibiis posticis dimidio basali albo-testaceis ; thorace breviter

cylindrico-ovato, grosse punctato, tomento aureo marginato; elytris

modice abbreviatis, angustis, apice obtuse truncatis, fulyo-testaceis,

vitreis. Long. 7 lin. 9.

Tehuantepec, Mexico (coll. H. W. Bates).

Closely allied to O. nigriclavis, but destitute of brush on

the hind femora. Head coarsely punctured, black. The an-

tenne are tawny, moderately short, thickened towards the

tips, serrate from the sixth joint. The elytra reach nearly to the

middle of the third segment, and are much narrowed but not

subuliform, being little dehiscent at the suture and truncated

at the tip; they are unicolorous pale tawny brown, with the

exception of a narrow blackish line along the anterior part of

the suture and of the lateral margins. ‘The underside of the

body is closely punctured ; it is black, becoming castaneous on

the abdomen, the two basal segments of which have a broad

pale testaceous belt. The hind legs are moderately elongated,

and the femora somewhat strongly clavate. The metasternum

is voluminous, and the abdomen very elongate and slender

towards the base.

20. Odontocera leucothea, n. sp.

O. albicanti (Klug) simillima; differt elytrorum margine suturali late

incurvo, maculaque triangulari circumscutellari nigra. Long. 7—

9ln. 9.

Novo Friburg (Rio Janeiro); Minas Geraes and Parand.

(coll. W. W. Saunders, Dr. Baden, and H. W. Bates).

Deceptively similar to O. albicans, Klug (Entom. Bras.

t. xliv. f. 5); colours the same, except a broad, triangular,

black spot in the scutellar region. The silvery pile of the

thorax, however, is concentrated in rounded spots, of which

there are four (in quadrangle) on the disk, and others more

irregular on the flanks; and there are slight differences in the

distribution of colours on the antenne and legs. The white

ring of the antenne in O. albicans embraces joints seventh to

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 43

ninth; in O. lewcothea joints sixth, seventh, and the apical half

of the fifth. In the anterior legs the femora are chestnut-red, and

| the tibia and tarsi testaceous yellow (in O. albicans these

| colours are exactly reversed); the middle tibize and base of the

| femora are testaceous yellow. Notwithstanding this close

| general similarity, it is likely the two insects belong to diffe-

| rent genera, the antenne (according to Klug’s figure) appear-

| ing to be simple, like the typical Ommate, and the elytra

parallel. In O.-leucothea the antenne are serrate from the

fifth joint, and the sutural margin of the elytra is strongly in-

) curved from before the middle. The disk of the elytra is

| vitreous. The abdomen is red, and in the female vespiform.

| Ihave seen four examples, all females, and exactly similar.

21. Odontocera? albicans, Klug.

Stenopterus albicans, Klug, Entom. Bras. Specim. alter. p. 53, t. xliv.

eee

Rio Janeiro.

aa. Hind femora gradually thickened.

22. Odontocera hilaris, n. sp.

O. nigra, thorace supra aurantiaco-rufo, elytrorum disco femoribus-

| que posticis basi flayo-testaceis. Long. 43 lin. 9°.

Odontocera punctata, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc, 1870, p. 823 (nec Klug).

R. Tapajos, Amazons (coll. H. W. Bates).

Short and rather robust. Head with broad and not very

elongate muzzle; the eyes in the unique specimen approach

| tolerably near to the median line in front, and seem to show it

|} to be a male; but the short and broad sessile abdomen is that

| of a female. The antenne are short, thickened and serrated

| from the fifth joint. The thorax is strongly rounded on the

| sides and constricted at the base, the surface closely reticulate-

| punctate. The elytra reach nearly to the middle of the third

| segment, with the suture dehiscent only from the middle, rapidly

| narrowed but truncated at the apex; the margins are narrowly

| deep black, leaving the whole disk pallid and vitreous, with-

| out visible punctures, except at the base. The hind legs are

| greatly elongated, the femora very gradually clavate, the tarsi

short and slender.

| Thaderroneously referred this species to O. punctata (Klug),

| with which it agrees in colour and general form ; but O. punc-

| tata (of which I have now an example before me) has longer

elytra, with their vitreous disks covered with strong dark

punctures. The eyes in the female approach the median

44. On the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America.

frontal line as closely as in O. hilaris; but the hind legs are

short and wholly black.

23. Odontocera punctata.

Stenopterus punctatus, Klug, Entom. Bras. Spec. alt. p. 53, t. xliv. f. 4.

Bahia (coll. Dr. Baden).

Klug gives the locality as “ Pard interior,” which is pro-

bably an error.

24. Odontocera ornaticollis.

Odontocera ornaticollis, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 323.

Tapajos, Amazons.

The abdomen in the male is very elongate, slender at the

base, and slightly thickened and curved downwards at the

tip.

25. Odontocera petiolata, n. sp.

O. elongata, fusco-nigra, pedibus fulvo-testaceis ; elytris elongatis

modice subuliformibus, apice subacute rotundatis, flavo-testaceis,

vitreis, marginibus anguste rufo-castaneis, fascilaque curvata pone

scutellum et vittula humerali nigris; abdomine utriusque sexus

valde petiolato. Long. 4-7 lin. ¢ Q.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W.

Bates).

Head above and down the middle of the forehead black, the

rest tawny testaceous; eyes in male not touching the median

line of forehead, in female a little more distant. Antenne

short and stout, black; apex tawny. Thorax ovate, much

narrowed behind and convex in front, densely pubescent,

coarsely and closely punctured. Elytra reaching nearly to the

apex of the penultimate segment, subulate, but not very nar-

row, parallel from after the base, obtusely pointed at the apex ;

the vitreous yellowish disk has a few very fine setiferous

punctures; a black fascia curves near the base behind the

scutellum, and joins on each side a short streak on the top of

the shoulder; the margins elsewhere are narrowly castaneous.

The legs are moderately stout; the hind thighs not clavate,

but gradually and moderately thickened. The petiolated

basal segment of the abdomen is partly yellow; the very convex

metasternum and margins of the ventral segments are clothed

with golden pile.

26. Odontocera fasciata, Newm.

Necydalis fasciata, Oliv. Ent. no. 74, p. 10, pl. 1. £9.

Odontocera chrysozone, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 192, pi. v. f. 5.

R. Amazons.

The abdomen is strongly vespiform, as in the two preceding

species.

On the Evolution of Structure in Seedlings. 45

27. ? Odontocera Dice, Newm.

? Odontocera Dice, Newm. Entom. p. 91.

Rio Janeiro.

aaa. Hind legs short and stout ; femora thickly clavate.

28. Odontocera triliturata, Bates.

Odontocera triliturata, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 324.

R. Amazons.

29. Odontocera compressipes, White.

Odontocera compressipes, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit, Mus. p. 191.

R. Amazons.

In this species the hind tibiz are much dilated exteriorly

near the apex and tufted with hairs, evidently an adaptation—

the result, combined with colour and shape, being a close imi-

ation of a common yellow species of Melipona bee.

30. Odontocera furcifera, Bates.

Odontocera furcifera, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 323.

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

In this species the elytra are of the same form as in the

ical Acyphoderes, 7. e. subulate and pointed at the apex.

31. Odontocera simplex, White.

Odontocera simplex, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 825.

R. Amazons.

32. Odontocera bisulcata, Bates.

Odontocera bisulcata, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 326.

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

[To be continued. |

VI.— Growth or Evolution of Structure in Seedlings.

By Joun C. Draper, M.D.*

HE continuous absorption of oxygen and formation of car-

onic acid is an essential condition of evolution of structure,

th in plants and in animals.

The above proposition, so far as it relates to animals, will

robably be admitted by all; the opposite opinion, however, is

* From the‘ American Journal of Science and Arts,’ vol. iv. November

872.

46 Dr. J. C. Draper on Peamiier

commonly held as regards plants. Yet we propose to show that

in these organisms, as in animals, growth, as applied to evolu-

tion of structure or organization of material provided, is inse-

parably connected with oxidation.

The discussion of the proposition in question necessarily

involves a preliminary review of the character of the gases ex-

haled from various plants. Commencing with the lower orga-_

nisms, as Fungi, the uniform testimony is that these plants at —

all times expire carbonic acid, while it is chiefly in the higher

plants, and especially in those which contain chlorophyl or

green colouring-matter, that carbonic acid is absorbed and oxy-

genexhaled. The inquiry, then, in reality narrows itself down

to the examination of the growth of chlorophyl-bearing plants.

Regarding these plants the statement is made and received

that they change their action according as they are examined

in the light or in the dark, exhaling oxygen under the first con-

dition, and carbonic acid under the second. Various explana-

tions of this change of action have been given, that generally

accepted accounting for it on the hypothesis of the absorption

of carbonic acid by the roots, and its exhalation by the leaves

when light is no longer present.

The change, on the contrary, appears to arise out of the

fact that two essentially different operations have been con-—

founded, viz. the actual growth or evolution of structures in the

plant, and the decomposition of carbonic acid by the leaves |

under the influence of the light, to provide the gum or other |

materials that are to be organized. These two factors are

separated by Prof. J. W. Draper in his discussion of the con-

ditions of growth in plants. We propose to show that, by |

adopting this proposition of two distinct operations in the higher |

plants, all the apparent discrepancies regarding the growth of

these plants are explained. |

The growth of seedlings in the dark offermg conditions in

which the act of growth or evolution of structure is accom-

plished without the collateral decomposition of carbonic acid,

I arranged two series of experiments in which growth under |

this condition might be studied and compared with a similar

growth in the light. That the experiments might continue

over a sufficient period of time to furnish reliable comparative |

results, I selected peas as the subject of trial, since these seeds

contain sufficient material to support the growth of seedlings’

for a couple of weeks.

To secure as far as possible uniformity of conditions between

the dark and light series, and also to facilitate the separation,

cleansing, and weighing of the roots, each pea was planted in a.

glass cylinder, 1 inch in diameter and 6 inches long. These

Evolution of Structure in Seedlings. 47

cylinders were loosely closed below by a cork, and filled to

within half an inch of the top with fine earth or vegetable

mould. They were then placed erect in a covered tin box or

tube-stand, in such a manner that the lower end dipped into

water contained in the box, while the whole of the cylinder

except the top was kept in the dark. Thus the first condition

for germination, viz. darkness, was secured; the second, warmth,

was supplied by the external temperature, which varied from

| 70° to 80° F.; while regularity and uniformity in the supply of

| moisture in both series was secured by having a box of cylin-

ders or tubes for each and keeping the level of the water the

| same in both. The supply of oxygen was also equal and

uniform, since the upper part of each tube presented a similar

| opening to the air.

Thus prepared, one box, containing five cylinders, was kept

mf in a dark closet, while a second, similar in all respects, was

.| placed in a window of the adjoining room, where it was ex-

_ posed to direct sunlight five or six hours every day. To each

| tube a light wooden rod thirty inches in length was attached ;

and on this the growth of the seedling was marked every

twelve hours. The hours selected were 7 A.M. and7 P.M. I

' thus obtained the night and day, or dark and light growth of

.| every seedling, as long as those in the dark grew. ‘The seeds

were planted on June Ist, and appeared above the ground on

| June 6th, when the measurements were commenced. In each

ile] Series one seed failed to germinate ; the record consequently is

| for four plants in each. ‘The history-of the evolution of

.) structures is as follows :—

_. Evolution of structure in the dark.—In Table I. the seeds are

designated as A, B, C, D; and each column shows the dates on

which leaves and lateral growths appeared. These constitute

| periods in the development of the plants, which are indicated

in} by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6. The weight of each seed is

| given in milligrammes.

a TABLE [.—Seedlings grown in the dark.

nl A. B. C. D.

inl) Weight of geed.... 431. 436. 456. 500.

a Period 1...... 7thday. 7thday. 7thday. 7th day.

BY a ae Sth sa eOths.« 1) SED satawenstibels

ae, 3.3 .- 10th ,, 10th , lth , 10th ,,

ee (oth. 19th. | 15th ieart BLSERY

| 14th ,, 15th ,, 15th , 14th ,.

de. 6...... 17th. sth sth ah

A glance at the above shows the uniformity as regards

48 Dr. J. C. Draper on Growth or

time with which the structures were evolved in each plant.

It also indicates for each plant an equality in the number of |

periods of evolution, viz. 6, notwithstanding the difference in

the weights of the seeds, and suggests that the power of

evolution of structure in seedlings resides in the germ alone.

The character of the evolution in the six periods shows a

steady improvement or progression.

In the first, the growth consists of the formation close to the

stem of two partially developed pale yellow leaves.

The second period is similar to the first, except that the

leaves are a little larger.

The third presents a pair of small yellow leaves close to the

main stem, from between which a lateral stem or twig about

one inch long projects, and bears at its extremity a second pair

of imperfectly developed yellow leaves, from between which a

small tendril about a sixteenth of an inch long is given off.

The fourth resembles the third, the lateral twig being longer,

and the tendril three times as long as in the third.

The fifth is like the fourth, except that the tendril bifurcates.

The sixth is similar to the fifth, except that the tendril

trifurcates.

Stem, leaves, twigs, tendrils of various degrees of complexity,

all are evolved by the force preexisting in the germ without

the assistance of light.

Evolution of structure in the light.—

TABLE I].—Seedlings grown in the light.

E. 1 G. iat

Weight of seed.... 288. 426. 462. 544,

Period 1. cre Sp 6th day. .. 6th day.

Bertin ely 7th day. 7th ,, ith day. ~" Vii

Bam hte. Sth™";; 8th ,, Sth" oth;

i ae ae ae L2th.;, Sth ,, - 10th ,; 9) a0teee

30 Dees 15th %; llth ,, - 14th.) seine

3 Oe ey ASth: 45 ee 14th ,,

Table II. was obtained in the same manner as Table I., the

columns representing the days on which lateral growths and

leaves appeared. Though there is not the same uniformity as

in Table I., the periods are identical in both as regards the

visible character of the evolution. Nothing appears in the

second that did not preexist in the first ; and im the case of the

seeds E and G the evolution is even deficient as regards the

first and the sixth periods.

While the general character of the evolution in both series

is similar, certain minor differences exist. In Table II. the

Wl

Evolution of Structure in Seedlings. 49

leaves and tendrils are many times larger than in Table L.,

and they with the whole plant are of a bright green colour,

instead of the sickly pale yellow of Table I. : but the light has

not developed any new structure; it has only perfected those

which preexisted, and converted other substances into chloro-

phyl, which is not an organized body.

Not only did the plants in the two series present similarities

in evolution of structure, but the average weight of dry plant

in each was very nearly the same; for

mer. mgr.

455 of seeds in the dark produced 184 of dry plant,

while 455 ie Rehiievegy f02la 4 '

A comparison of the parts below the ground with those

above (both being dried at 212° F.) shows that the proportion

of root to total weight of plant was also nearly identical,

being

| ° 25 of root for 100 of plant in the dark, and

23 ~ 100 Bs light.

The close similarity in the evolution of visible structure in

the light and in the dark, the small difference in the total

weights of the plants grown in the same time in both series,

and the close approximation in the proportional weight of root

to plant, all justify the conclusion that the growth in darkness

and in light closely resemble each other, and that it is proper

to reason, as regards the nature of the action, from the first to

the second.

Another interesting fact which lends support to the opinion

that the process of growth in seedlings developed in the dark

is very similar to that occurring in those grown in the light, is

the character of the excrements thrown out by the roots. It is

well known that many plants so poison the soil that the same

plants cannot be made to grow therein until the poisonous

excretions from the roots of the first crop have been destroyed

by oxidation. In the case of peas this poisoning of the soil

takes place ina very marked manner ; and I have found that in

the pots in which peas have been grown in the dark, the soil is

so poisoned by the excrements from the roots that a second

crop fails to sprout. Does it not follow that since, in the two

series with which I experimented, the excrements from the

roots possessed the same poisoning action, the processes in the

plants from which these excrements arose must have been

similar ?

There remains an important argument, concerning which

nothing has thus far been said. It is to be derived from the

“) consideration of the rate of growth in the light series during

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xi.

50 Dr. J.C. Draper on Growth or

various periods of the day of twenty-four hours. If the evolu-

tion of structure in a plant in daylight is the result of the

action of light, that evolution should occur entirely, or almost

entirely, during the day. If, on the contrary, it is independent —

of the light, it should go on at a uniform rate as in plants in

the dark.

For the elucidation of this portion of the subject, I present

the following tables; the first of which shows the growth by

night, 7 P.M. to 7 A.M., of the seedlings in the dark series, com-

pared with their growth by day, 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. The mea-

surements were taken from the sixth to the twentieth of the

month, the day on which growth ceased in the dark series.

TABLE III.—Seedlings grown in the dark.

Night growth. Day growth.

Nios ae 72. 122 inches. 14 inches,

Gio -teeke 13t" 33 TS nas

35 5S fate US Ss 11; Ae

pas. Gee 125 Te oy

5 3

Average.. 123 ,, Average.. 123 ,,

The total day growth and night growth under these cireum-

stances are nearly equal, though there is a shght excess in

favour of the night, amounting, as the table shows, to 2 of an

inch in 12 inches.

In Table IV. the growth of the light series is given in the

same manner, by day and by night, for the same time, viz. to

June 20th. The thermometric and hygrometric conditions in

both series were very similar, as indicated by the dry- and

wet-bulb thermometers suspended in the vicinity of each set

of tubes.

TABLE [V.—Seedlings grown in the light.

Night growth. Day growth.

NONE eee 37 inches. 4 inches.

Sp Ona ate see 8 ss iPad ce

PAA rier oF "5, Ap

Pe GRU s OAS tas

Averaper. G4) 91/55 Average. . a

In the average, and throughout the table, with a single ex-

ception, not only is the uniformity in the rate of growth during

the day and night shown, but the slight excess of night growth

found in the series kept in the dark is likewise copied. We

must therefore accept the conclusion, that the act of growth or

Evolution of Structure in Seedlings. 51

evolution of structure is independent of light, and that the

manner of growth during the day is similar to that at night.

It will be noticed that the total average height attained in

the light is only about half that in the dark series. ‘The ex-

planation of this we have already seen in the fact that.in the

former the leaves and tendrils were much larger than in the

latter, while the dry weights were nearly the same. The

material of the seed in the light series was consumed in ex-

tending these surfaces, while in the dark series it was spent in

lengthening the stem.

Having established the continuous character of growth in

seedlings, and the similarity of rate and nature of the process

by night and by day, and admitting that night plants throw

off carbonic acid, it is not improbable that this carbonic acid

arises, not from mechanical absorption by the roots and vapori-

zation by the leaves, but as a direct result or concomitant of

the act or process of evolution of structure.

To put the matter in the clearest form, let us first under-

stand what growth is. It appears in all cases to consist in the

evolution or production of cells from those already existing.

According as the circumstances under which the cells are pro-

duced vary, so does the tissue ultimately produced vary ; cells

formed in woody fibre become wood; cells formed in muscle

in their turn form muscles ; but the starting-point of the process

in every instance is the formation of new cells.

If, now, we examine the evolution of cells under the simplest

conditions, as, for example, in the fermentation that attends the

manufacture of alcohol, we find that with the evolution of the

Torula-cells carbonic acid is produced. The two results are

intimately connected ; and it is proper to suppose that since the

carbonic acid has arisen along with the new cells, the latter

operation must in some way involve a process of oxidation.

Accepting the hypothesis that oxidation is attendant on these

processes of cell-growth under the simplest conditions, we pass

to the examination of what occurs in the lower forms of veget-

able organisms found in the air.

The fungi, and, indeed, all plants that are not green, with a

few exceptions, exhale carbonic acid and never exhale oxygen.

In this case, in which cell-production often occurs with such

marvellous rapidity, the carbonic acid must have arisen as a

consequent of the cell-growth. It is improbable that it has

been absorbed by roots and exhaled from the structures, either

in these plants or in those produced during fermentation. In

the latter there never are any roots; and in the former, even

where roots are present, they bear a small proportion to the

whole plant. The quantity of moisture exhaled by such

4®

52 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History.

growths is also insignificant, and out of proportion to the car-

bonic acid evolved. We must therefore in this case decline

to accept the root-absorption hypothesis, and admit that the

carbonic acid has arisen as a result of the cell-growth in the

lant.

: Passing to the chlorophyl-bearing plants, we find that in the

Phanerogamia it is only the green parts that at any time exhale

oxygen, and then only under the influence of sunshine. The

other parts of the plant above the ground that are not green,

viz. the stem, twigs, flowers, &c., are at all times, day and

night, exhaling carbonic acid. The whole history of the plant,

from the time the seed is planted till its death, is a continuous

story of oxidation, except when sunlight is falling on the leaves.

The seed is put into the ground; and during germination oxygen

is absorbed and carbonic acid exhaled. If the seedling is kept

in the dark, oxygen is never exhaled, only carbonic acid, and

the plant not only grows, but all visible structures, except

flowers, are formed in a rudimentary condition. In the light,

the growth during the night time is attended by the evolution

of carbonic acid, while during the daytime the bark of the stem

and branches is throwing off carbonic acid. When flowers

and seeds form, the evolution of carbonic acid attending this

highest act of which the plant is capable is often greater than

that produced at any time in many animals.

Every thing in the history of plants therefore tends to show

that the evolution of their structures is inseparably attended

by the formation of carbonic acid; and it seems impossible,

when we consider the evolution alone, to arrive at any other

opinion than that already expressed—that all living things,

whether plant or animal, absorb oxygen and evolve carbonic

acid, or some other oxidized substance, as an essential condition

of the evolution of their structures.

College of the City of New York,

Sept. 12th, 1872.

VII.—Sequoia and its History. By Professor ASA Gray,

President of the American Association for the Advancement

of Science*.

THE session being now happily inaugurated, your presiding

officer of the last year has only one duty to perform before he

surrenders his chair to his successor. If allowed to borrow a

simile from the language of my own profession, I might liken

rok address delivered at the meeting held at Dubuque, Iowa, August

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 53

the President of this association to a biennial plant. He

flourishes for the year in which he comes into existence, and

performs his appropriate functions as presiding officer; when

the second year comes round, he is expected to blossom out

in an address and disappear. ach president, as he retires, is

naturally expected to contribute something from his own in-

vestigations or his own line of study, usually to discuss

some particular scientific topic.

Now, although I have cultivated the field of North-American

botany with some assiduity for more than forty years, have

reviewed our vegetable hosts, and assigned to no small number

of them their names and their place in the ranks, yet, so far as

our own wide country is concerned, I have been to a great

extent a closet botanist. Until this summer I had not seen

the Mississippi, nor set foot upon a prairie.

To gratify a natural interest, and to gain some title for ad-

dressing a body of practical naturalists and explorers, I have

made a pilgrimage across the continent. I have sought and

viewed in their native haunts many a plant and flower which

for me had long bloomed unseen, or only in the hortus siccus.

I have been able to see for myself what species and what forms

constitute the main features of the vegetation of each succes-

sive region, and record (as the vegetation unerringly does) the

permanent characteristics of its climate.

Passing on from the eastern district, marked by its equably

distributed rainfall, and therefore naturally forest-clad, | have

seen the trees diminish in number, give place to wide prairies,

restrict their growth to the borders of streams, and then dis-

appear from the boundless drier plains, have seen grassy

plains change into a brown and sere desert—desert in the

common sense, but hardly anywhere botanically so,—have seen

a fair growth of coniferous trees adorning the more favoured

slopes of a mountain-range high enough to compel summer

showers—have traversed that broad and bare elevated region

shut off on both sides by high mountains from the moisture

supplied by either ocean, and longitudinally intersected by

sierras which seemingly remain as naked as they were born—

and have reached at length the westward slopes of the high

mountain-barrier which, refreshed by the Pacific, bears the

noble forests of the Sierra Nevada and the coast-range, and

among them trees which are the wonder of the world. As I

stood in their shade in the groves of Mariposa and Calaveras,

and again under the canopy of the commoner redwood, raised

on columns of such majestic height and ample girth, it occurred

to me that I could not do better than to share with you, upon

this occasion, some of the thoughts which possessed my mind.

54 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History.

In their development they may, perhaps, lead us up to ques-

tions of considerable scientific interest.

I shall not detain you with any remarks (which would now

be trite) upon the size or longevity of these far-famed Sequoia

trees, or of the sugar-pines, incense-cedar, and firs associated

with them, of which even the prodigious bulk of the dominating

Sequoia does not sensibly diminish the grandeur. Although

no account and no photographic representation of either species

of the far-famed Sequoia trees give any adequate impression

of their singular majesty, still less of their beauty, yet my

interest in them did not culminate merely or mainly in con-

siderations of their size and age. Other trees in other parts of

the world may claim to be older ; certain Australian gum-trees

(Hucalypti) are said to be taller. Some, we are told, rise so

high that they might even cast a flicker of shadow upon the

summit of the pyramid of Cheops; yet the oldest of them

doubtless grew from seed which was shed long after the names

of the pyramid-builders had been forgotten. So far as we can

judge from the actual counting of the layers of several trees,

no Sequoia now alive can sensibly antedate the Christian era.

Nor was I much impressed with an attraction of man’s

adding. ‘That the more remarkable of these trees should bear

distinguishing appellations seems proper enough; but the

tablets of personal names which are affixed to many of them

in the most visited groves (as if the memory of more or less

notable people of our day might be made more enduring by

the juxtaposition) do suggest some incongruity. When we

consider that a hand’s breadth at the circumference of any one

of the venerable trunks so placarded has recorded in annual

lines the lifetime of the individual thus associated with it, one

may question whether the next hand’s breadth may not

measure the fame of some of the names thus ticketed for ad-

ventitious immortality. Whether it be the man or the tree

that is honoured in the connexion, probably either would live

as long, in fact and in memory, without it.

One notable thing about these Sequoia trees is their ¢solation.

Most of the trees associated with them are of peculiar species ;

and some of them are nearly as local. Yet every pine, fir,

and cypress in California is in some sort familiar, because it has

near relatives in other parts of the world; but the redwoods

have none. ‘The redwood (including in that name the two

species of “big trees”) belongs to the general cypress family,

but is su¢ generis. Thus isolated systematically, and extremely

isolated geographically, and so wonderful in size and port,

they, more than other trees, suggest questions.

Were they created thus local and lonely, denizens of Cali-

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History. 5d

fornia only—one in limited numbers in a few choice spots on

the Sierra Nevada, the other along the coast-range from the

Bay of Monterey to the frontiers of Oregon? Are they veri-

table Melchizedecs, without pedigree or early relationship, and

possibly fated to be without descent ?

Or are they now coming upon the stage (or rather were

they coming but for man’s interference) to play a part in the

future ?

Or are they remnants, sole and scanty survivors of a race

that has played a grander part in the past, but is now verging

to extinction? Have they had a career? and can that career

be ascertained or surmised, so that we may at least guess

whence they came, and how and when?

Time was, and not long ago, when such questions as these

were regarded as useless and vain, when students of natural

history, unmindful of what the name denotes, were content

with a knowledge of things as they now are, but gave little

heed as to how they came to be so. Now such questions are

held to be legitimate, and perhaps not wholly unanswerable. It

cannot now be said that these trees inhabit their present re-

stricted areas simply because they are there placed in the

climate and soil of all the world most congenial to them.

These must indeed be congenial or they would not survive.

But when we see how Australian Hucalyptus trees thrive upon

the Californian coast, and how these very redwoods flourish

upon another continent—how the so-called wild oat (Avena

sterilis) of the Old World has taken full possession of California

—how that cattle and horses, introduced by the Spaniard,

have spread as widely and made themselves as much at home

on the plains of La Plata as on those of Tartary, and that the

cardoon-thistle seeds, and others they brought with them, have

multiplied there into numbers probably much exceeding those

extant in their native lands; indeed, when we contemplate our

own race and our own particular stock taking such recent but

dominating possession of this New World—when we consider

how the indigenous flora of islands generally succumbs to the

foreigners which come in the train of man, and that most weeds

(7. e. the prepotent plants in open soil) of all temperate climates

are not ‘to the manor born,” but are self-invited intruders,

—we must needs abandon the notion of any primordial and

absolute adaptation of plants and animals to their habitats,

which may stand in lieu of explanation and so preclude our

inquiring any further. 'The harmony of Nature and its ad-

mirable perfection need not be regarded as inflexible and

changeless. Nor need Nature be likened to a statue or a cast

in rigid bronze, but rather to an organism with play and

56 Prof, Asa Gray on Sequoia and its {History.

adaptability of parts, and life and even soul informing the

whole. Under the former view Nature would be “ the faultless

monster which the world ne’er saw,” but inscrutable as the

Sphinx, whom it were vain, or worse, to question of the whence

and whither. Under the other, the perfection of nature, if

relative, is multifarious and ever renewed, and much that is

enigmatical now may find explanation in some record of the

ast.

P That the two species of redwood we are contemplating ori-

ginated as they are and where they are, and for the part they

are now playing, is, to say the least, not a scientific supposition,

nor in any sense a probable one. Nor is it more likely that

they are destined to play a conspicuous part in the future, or

that they would have done so, even if the Indian’s fires and

white man’s axe had spared them. The redwood of the coast

(Sequoia sempervirens) had the stronger hold upon existence,

forming as it did large forests throughout a narrow belt about

300 miles in length, and being so tenacious of life that every

large stump sprouts into a copse. But it does not pass the

Bay of Monterey, nor cross the line of Oregon, although so

grandly developed not far below it. The more remarkable

Sequova gigantea of the Sierra exists in numbers so limited that

the separate groves may be reckoned upon the fingers, and the

trees of most of them have been counted, except near their

southern limit, where they are said to be more copious. A

species limited in individuals holds its existence by a precarious

tenure ; and this has a foothold only in a few sheltered spots,

of a happy mean in temperature and locally favoured with

moisture in summer. Even there, for some reason or other,

the pines with which they are associated (Pinus Lambertiana

and P. ponderosa), the firs (Abies grandis and A. amabilis),

and even the incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens) possess a

great advantage, and, though they strive in vain to emulate

their size, wholly overpower the Sequoias in numbers. ‘ T'o

him that hath shall be given ;” the force of numbers eventually

wins. Atleast, in the commonly visited groves Sequoia gi-

gantea is invested in its last stronghold, can neither advance

into more exposed positions above, nor fall back into drier and

barer ground below, nor hold its own in the long run where it is,

under present conditions; and a little further drying of the

chmate, which must once have been much moister than now,

would precipitate its doom. Whatever theindividual longevity,

certain if not speedy is the decline of a race in which a high

death-rate afflicts the young. Seedlings of the big trees occur

not rarely, indeed, but in meagre proportion to those of asso-

ciated trees ; and small indeed is the chance that any of these

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 57

will attain to “the days of the years of their fathers.” “Few

and evil”’ are the days of all the forest likely to be, while man,

both barbarian and civilized, torments them with fires, fatal at

once to seedlings and at length to the aged also. ‘The forests

of California, proud as the State may be of them, are already

too scanty and insufficient for her uses ; two lines, such as may

be drawn with one sweep of a small brush over the map, would

cover them all. The coast redwood, the most important tree

in California, although a million times more numerous than its

relative of the Sierra, is too good to live long. Such is its value

for lumber and its accessibility that, judging the future by the

past, it is not likely in its primeval growth to outlast its rarer

fellow species. . ‘

Happily man preserves and desseminates as well as destroys.

The species will probably be indefinitely preserved to science,

and for ornamental and other uses, in its own and other lands ;

and the more remarkable individuals of the present day are

likely to be sedulously cared for, all the more so as they become

scarce,

Our third question remains to be answered: Have these

famous Sequoias played in former times and upon a larger

stage a more imposing part, of which the present is but the

epilogue? We cannot gaze high up the huge and venerable

trunks, which one crosses the continent to behold, without

wishing that these patriarchs of the grove were able, like the

long-lived antediluvians of scripture, to hand down to us

through a few generations the traditions of centuries, and so

tell us somewhat of the history of theirrace. Fifteen hundred

annual layers have been counted, or satisfactorily made out,

upon one or two fallen trunks; it is probable that close to the

heart of some of the living trees may be found the circle that

records the year of our Saviour’s nativity. A few generations

of such trees might carry the history a long way back; but

the ground they stand upon, and the marks of very recent

geological change and vicissitude in the region around, testify

that not very many such generations can have flourished just

there, at least in an unbroken series. When their site was

covered by glaciers these Sequoias must have occupied other

stations, if, as there is reason to believe, they then existed in

the land.

I have said that the redwoods have no near relatives in the

country of their abode, and none of their genus anywhere else,

Perhaps something may be learned of their genealogy by in-

quiring of such relatives as they have. ‘There are only two

of any particular nearness of kin; and they are far away. One

is the bald cypress, our southern cypress ( Zaxodium), inhabiting

58 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History.

the swamps of the Atlantic coast from Maryland to Texas,

thence extending into Mexico: it is well known as one of the

largest trees of our Atlantic forest-district ; and although it

never (except perhaps in Mexico, and in rare instances) attains

the portliness of its western relatives, yet it may equal them

in longevity. The other relative is Glyptostrobus, a sort of

modified Taxodium, being about as much like our bald cypress

as one species of redwood is like the other.

Now species of the same type, especially when few and the

type peculiar, are in a general way associated geographically,

2.e. inhabit the same country or (in a large sense) the same

region. Where it is not so, where near relatives are separated,

there is usually something to be explained. Here is an instance.

These four trees, sole representatives of their tribe, dwell almost

in three separate quarters of the world—the two redwoods in

California, the bald cypress in Atlantic North America, its near

relative, Glyptostrobus, in China.

It was not always so. In the tertiary period, the geological

botanists assure us, our own very Taxodium, or bald cypress,

and a Glyptostrobus exceedingly like the present Chinese tree,

and more than one Sequota coexisted in a fourth quarter of the

globe, viz.in Europe! This brings up the question: Is it

possible to bridge over these four wide intervals of space and

the much vaster interval of time, so as to bring these extra-

ordinarily separated relatives into connexion? ‘The evidence

which may be brought to bear upon this question is various

and widely scattered. I bespeak your patience while I en-

deavour to bring together in an abstract the most important

points of it.

Some interesting facts may come out by comparing generally

the botany of the three remote regions, each of which is the

sole home of one of these three genera—i. e. Sequota in Cali-

fornia, Taxodium in the Atlantic United States, and G'lypto-

strobus in China, which compose the whole of the peculiar

tribe under consideration.

Note then, first, that there is another set of three or four

peculiar trees, in this case of the yew family, which has just

the same peculiar distribution, and which therefore may have

the same explanation, whatever that explanation be. The

genus Torreya, which commemorates our botanical Nestor and

a former president of this association (Dr. Torrey), was founded

upon a tree rather lately discovered (that is, about thirty-five

years ago) in northern Florida. It is a noble yew-like tree

and very local, being known only for a few miles along the

shores of a single river. It seems as if it had somehow been

crowded down out of the Alleghanies into its present limited

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 59

southern quarters; for in cultivation it evinces a northern

hardiness. Now another species of Zorreya is a characteristic

tree of Japan ; and the same, or one very like it indeed, inhabits

the Himalayas—belongs therefore to the Eastern Asiatic

temperate region, of which China is a part, and Japan, as we

shall see, the portion most interesting to us. ‘There is only

one more species of Torreya; and that is a companion of the

redwoods in California; it is the tree locally known under the

name of the California nutmeg. In this case the three are near

brethren, species of the same genus, known nowhere else than

in these three habitats.

Moreover the Yorreya of Florida has growing with it a

yew tree, and the trees of that grove are the only yew trees of

HKastern America; for the yew of our northern woods is a de-

cumbent shrub. The only other yew trees in America grow

with the redwoods and the other Torreya in California, and

more plentifully further north, in Oregon. A yew tree equally

accompanies the Torreya of Japan and the Himalayas; and

this is apparently the same as the common yew of Europe.

So we have three groups of trees of the great coniferous order

which agree in this peculiar geographical distribution :—the red-

woods and their relatives, which differ widely enough to be

termed a different genus in each region; the Torreyas, more

nearly akin, merely a different species in each region ; the yews,

perhaps all of the same species, perhaps not quite that (for

opinions differ and can hardly be brought to any decisive test).

The yews of the Old World, from Japan to Western Europe,

are considered the same; the very local one in Florida is

slightly different; that of California and Oregon differs a very

little more ; but all of them are within the limits of variation

of many a species. However that may be, it appears to me

that these several instances all raise the same question, only

with a different degree of emphasis, and, if to be explained at

all, will have the same kind of explanation. But the value of

_ the explanation will be in proportion to the number of facts it

_ will explain.

Continuing the comparison between the three regions with

which we are concerned, we note that each has its own species

of pines, firs, larches, &c., and of a few deciduous-leaved trees,

such as oaks and maples; all of which have no peculiar sig-

nificance for the present purpose, because they are of genera

which are common all round the northern hemisphere. Leaving

these out of view, the noticeable point is that the vegetation of

California is most strikingly unlike that of the Atlantic United

States. They possess some plants, and some peculiarly Ame-

rican plants, in common—enough to show, as I imagine, that

60 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History.

the difficulty was not in the getting from the one district to the

other, or into both from a common source, but in abiding there.

The primordially unbroken forest of Atlantic North America,

nourished by rainfall distributed throughout the year, is widely

separated from the western region of sparse and discontinuous

tree-belts of the same latitude on the western side of the con-

tinent, where summer rain is wanting or nearly so, by immense

treeless plains and plateaux of more or less aridity, traversed

by longitudinal mountain-ranges of a similar character. Their

nearest approach is at the north, in the latitude of Lake

Superior, where, on a more rainy line, trees of the Atlantic

forest and that of Oregon may be said to interchange. The

change of species and of the aspect of vegetation in crossing,

say on the forty-seventh parallel, is slight in comparison with

that on the thirty-seventh or near it. Confining our attention

to the lower latitude, and under the exceptions already specially

noted, we may say that almost every characteristic form in the

vegetation of the Atlantic States is wanting in California, and

the characteristic plants and trees of California are wanting

here.

California has no Magnolia, nor tulip-trees, nor star-anise

tree, no so-called papaw (As¢mina), no barberry of the common

single-leaved sort, no Podophyllum or other of the peculiar

associated genera, no Ne/wmbo nor white water-lily, no prickly

ash nor sumach, no loblolly-bay nor Stwartia, no basswood

or linden-trees, neither locust, honey-locust, coftee-trees

(Gymnocladus), nor yellow-wood (Cladrastis), nothing answer-

ing to Hydrangea or witch-hazel, to gum-trees (Nyssa and

Liquidambar), Viburnum or Diervilla; it has few asters and

golden-rods, no lobelias, no huckle-berries, and hardly any

blue-berries—no Epigea, charm of our earliest eastern spring,

tempering an icy April wind with a delicious wild fragrance—

no Kalmia, nor Clethra, nor holly, nor persimmon—no catalpa

tree, nor trumpet-creeper (Zecoma)—nothing answering to sas-

safras, or to benzoin tree, or to hickory—neither mulberry nor

elm—no beech, true chestnut, hornbeam, nor ironwood, nor a

proper birch tree; and the enumeration might be continued

very much further by naming herbaceous plants and others

familiar only to botanists.

In their place California is filled with plants of other types,

trees, shrubs, and herbs, of which I will only remark that they

are, with one or two exceptions, as different from the plants of

the eastern Asiatic region with which we are concerned (Japan,

China, and Mandchuria) as they are from those of Atlantic

North America. Their near relatives, when they have any in

other lands, are mostly southward, on the Mexican plateau, or

elas "5

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History. 61

many as far south as Chili. The same may be said of the

plants of the intervening great plains, except that northward

and in the subsaline vegetation there are some close alliances

with the flora of the steppes of Siberia. And along the crests

of high mountain-ranges the arctic alpine flora has sent south-

ward more or less numerous representatives through the whole

length of the country.

If we now compare, as to their flora generally, the Atlantic

United States with Japan, Mandchuria, and Northern China,

z. e. eastern North America with eastern North Asia (half the

earth’s circumference apart), we find an astonishing similarity.

The larger part of the genera of our own region which I have

enumerated as wanting in California are present in Japan or

Mandchuria, along with many other peculiar plants, divided

between the two. There are plants enough of the one region

which have no representatives in the other. There are types

which appear to have reached the Atlantic States from the

south ; and there is a larger infusion of subtropical Asiatic types

into temperate China and Japan: among these there is no re-

lationship between the two countries to speak of. There are

also, as I have already said, no small number of genera and

some species which, being common all round or partially round

the northern temperate zone, have no special significance

because of their occurrence in these two antipodal floras, al-

though they have testimony to bear upon the general question

of geographical distribution. The point to be remarked is that

many or even most of the genera and species which are peculiar

to North America as compared with Europe, and largely pecu-

liar to Atlantic North America as compared with the Califor-

nian region, are also represented in Japan and Mandchuria,

either by identical or by closely similar forms! The same

rule holds on a more northward line, although not so strikingly.

If we compare the plants, say of New England and Pennsyl-

vania (lat. 45°-47°), with those of Oregon, and then with those

of North-eastern Asia, we shall find many of our own curiously

repeated in the latter, while only a small number of them can

be traced along the route even so far as the western slope of the

Rocky Mountains. And these repetitions of Kastern American

types in Japan and neighbouring districts are in all degrees of

likeness. Sometimes the one is undistinguishable from the

other; sometimes there is a difference of aspect, but hardly of a

tangible character ; sometimes the two would be termed marked

varieties if they grew naturally in the same forest or in the

same region; sometimes they are what the botanist calls re-

presentative species, the one answering closely to the other,

but with some differences regarded as specific ; sometimes the

62 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History.

two are merely of the same genus, or not quite that, but of a

single or very few species in each country,—when the point

which interests us is that this peculiar limited type should

occur in two antipodal places, and nowhere else.

It would be tedious and, except to botanists, abstruse to

_ enumerate instances ; yet the whole strength of the case depends

upon the number of such instances. I propose, therefore, if

the Association does me the honour to print this discourse, to

append in a note a list of the more remarkable ones. But I

would here mention two or three cases as specimens.

Our Rhus toxicodendron, or poison-ivy, 18 very exactly re-

peated in Japan, but is found in no other part of the world,

although a species much like it abounds in California. Our

other poisonous Lhus (2. venenata), commonly called poison dog-

wood, is in no way represented in Western America, but has

so close an analogue in Japan that the two were taken for

the same by Thunberg and Linneus, who called them &.

vernix.

Our northern fox-grape (Vitis labrusca) is wholly confined

to the Atlantic States, except that it reappears in Japan and

that region.

The original Wistaria is a woody leguminous climber with

showy blossoms, native to the Middle Atlantic States ; the

other species, which we so much prize in cultivation, W. s7-

nensis, 1s from China, as its name denotes, or perhaps only from

Japan, where it is certainly indigenous.

Our yellow wood (Cladrastis) inhabits a very limited dis-

trict on the western slope of the Alleghanies. Its only and

very near relative (Maackia) is in Mandchuria.

The Hydrangeas have some species in our Alleghany region.

All the rest belong to the Chino-Japanese region and its con-

tinuation westward. The same may be said of Philadelphus,

except that there are one or two mostly very similar in Cali-

fornia and Oregon.

Our blue cohosh (Caulophyllum) is confined to the woods of

the Atlantic States, but has lately been discovered in Japan.

A peculiar relative of it, Diphylleta, confined to the higher

Alleghanies, is also repeated in Japan, with a slight difference,

so that it may barely be distinguished as another species.

Another relative is our twin leaf, Jeffersonia, of the Alleghany

region alone. A second species has lately turned up in Mand-

churia. A relative of this is Podophyllum, our mandrake, a

common inhabitant of the Atlantic United States, but found

nowhere else. ‘There is one other species of it; and that is in

the Himalayas. Here are four most peculiar genera of one

family, each of a single species in the Atlantic United States,

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 63

which are duplicated on the other side of the world, either in

identical or almost identical species, or in an analogous species,

while nothing else of the kind is known in any other part of

the world.

I ought not to omit ginseng, the root so prized by the Chi-

nese, which they obtained from their northern provinces and

Mandchuria, and which is now known to inhabit Corea and

Northern Japan. The Jesuit Fathers identified the plant

in Canada and the Atlantic States, brought over the Chinese

name by which we know it, and established the trade in it,

which was for many years most profitable. The exporta-

tion of ginseng to China has probably not yet entirely ceased.

Whether the Asiatic and the Atlantic American ginsengs are

exactly of the same species or not is somewhat uncertain ; but

they are hardly if at all distinguishable.

There is a shrub, Hiliott’a, which is so rare and local that

it is known only at two stations on the Savannah river in

Georgia. It is of peculiar structure, and was without near

relative until one was lately discovered in Japan (in Tripeta-

leia) so like it as hardly to be distinguishable except by having

the parts of the blossom in threes instead of fours, a difference

which is not uncommon in the same genus or even in the

same species.

Suppose Li/iottia had happened to be collected only once, a

good while ago, and all knowledge of the limited and obscure

locality was lost; and meanwhile the Japanese form came to

be known. Such a case would be parallel with an actual one.

A specimen of a peculiar plant, Shortia galacifolia, was de-

tected in the herbarium of the elder Michaux, who collected it

(as his autograph ticket shows) somewhere in the high Alle-

ghany mountains more than eighty years ago. No one has

seen the living plant since, or knows where to find it, if haply

it still flourishes in some secluded spot. At’ length it is found

in Japan; and I had the satisfaction of making the identifica-

tion*. One other relative is also known in Japan; and an-

other, still unpublished, has just been detected in Thibet.

Whether the Japanese and the Alleghanian plants are ex-

actly the same or not, it needs complete specimens of the two

to settle. So far as we know they are just alike. And even

if some difference were discerned between them, it would not

appreciably alter the question as to how such a result came to

pass. Each and every one of the analogous cases I have

been detailing (and very many more could be mentioned)

raises the same question and would be satisfied with the same

answer.

* Amer, Journ. Science, 1867, p. 402; Proc. Amer. Acad. viii. p. 244.

64 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History.

These singular relations attracted my curiosity early in the

course of my botanical studies, when comparatively few of

them were known, and my serious attention in later years,

when I had numerous and new Japanese plants to study in

the collections made by Messrs. Williams and Morrow dur-

ing Commodore Perry’s visit in 1853, and especially by Mr.

Charles Wright in Commodore Rodgers’s expedition in 1855,

I then discussed this subject somewhat fully, and tabulated

the facts within my reach*,

This was before Heer had developed the rich fossil botany

of the arctic zone, before the immense antiquity of existing

species of plants was recognized, and before the publication

of Darwin’s now famous volume on the Origin of Species

had introduced and familiarized the scientific world with those

now current ideas respecting the history and vicissitudes of

species, with which I attempted to deal in a tentative and

feeble way.

My speculation was based upon the former glaciation of the

northern temperate zone, and the inference of a warmer period

preceding (and perhaps following). I considered that our own

present vegetation, or its proximate ancestry, must have occu-

pied the arctic and subarctic regions in pliocene times, and

that it had been gradually pushed southward as the tempera-

ture lowered and the glaciation advanced even beyond its

present habitation—that plants of the same stock and kindred,

probably ranging round the arctic zone as the present arctic

species do, made their forced migration southward upon widely

different longitudes, and receded more or less as the climate

grew warmer—that the general difference of climate which

marks the eastern and the western sides of the continents

(the one extreme, the other mean) was doubtless even then

established, so that the same species and the same sorts of

species would be-likely to secure and retain foothold in the

similar climates of Japan and the Atlantic United States, but

not in intermediate regions of different distribution of heat and

moisture, so that different species of the same genus, as in

Torreya, or different genera of the same group, as Redwood,

Taxodium, and Glyptostrobus, or different associations of forest

trees, might establish themselves each in the region best suited

to its particular requirements, while they would fail to do

so in any other. These views implied that the sources of our

actual vegetation, and the explanation of these peculiarities,

were to be sought in and presupposed an ancestry in pliocene

or still earlier times occupying the high northern regions.

And it was thought that the occurrence of peculiarly North-

* Mem, Amer. Acad. vol. vi.

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 65

American genera in Europe in the tertiary period (such as

Taxodium, Carya, Liquidambar, Sassafras, Negundo, &c.)

might be best explained on the assumption of early inter-

change and diffusion through North Asia, rather than by that

of the fabled Atlantis.

The hypothesis supposed a gradual modification of species

in different directions under altering conditions, at least to the

extent of producing varieties, subspecies, and representative

species, as they may be variously regarded—likewise the sin-

gle and local origination of each type, which is now almost

universally taken for granted.

The remarkable facts in regard to the Hastern-American

and Asiatic floras, which these speculations were to explain,

have since increased in number—more especially through the

admirable collections of Dr. Maximowicz in Japan and adja-

cent countries, and the critical comparisons he has made and

is still engaged upon.

I am bound to state that in a recent general work* by a dis-

tinguished botanist, Professor Grisebach, of Géttingen, these

facts have been emptied of all special significance, and the

relations between the Japanese and the Atlantic United States

floras declared to be no more intimate than might be expected

from the situation, climate, and present opportunity of inter-

change. his extraordinary conclusion is reached by regard-

ing as distinct species all the plants common to both countries

between which any differences have been discerned, although

such differences would probably count for little if the two in-

habited the same country, thus transferring many of my list

of identical to that of representative species, and then by simply

, } eliminating from consideration the whole array of representa-

tive species, ¢.e. all cases in which the Japanese and the

American plant are not exactly alike,—as if, by pronouncing

the cabalistic word species, the question were settled, or rather

the greater part of it remanded out of the domain of science—

as if, while complete identity of forms implies community of

region, any thing short of it carries no presumption of the

kind—so leaving all these singular duplicates to be wondered

at, indeed, but wholly beyond the reach of inquiry.

_ Now the only known cause of such likeness is inheritance ;

, and as all transmission of likeness is with some difference in

individuals, and as changed conditions have resulted, as is well

known, in very considerable differences, it seems to me that if

the high antiquity of our actual vegetation could be rendered

| probable, not to say certain, and the former habitation of any

| of our species, or of very near relatives of them in high northern

| * Die Vegetation der Erde nach ihrer klimatischen Anordnung, 1871.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. x1. a

66 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and tts History.

regions could be ascertained, my whole case would be made

out. The needful facts, of which I was ignorant when my

essay was published, have now been for some years made

known, thanks mainly to the researches of Heer upon ample

collections of arctic fossil plants. These are confirmed and

extended through new investigations by Heer and Lesque-

reux, the results of which have been indicated to me by the

latter.

The Taxodium which everywhere abounds in the miocene

formations in Europe, has been specitically identified, first

by Goeppert, then by Heer, with our common cypress of the

Southern States. It has been found fossil in Spitzbergen,

Greenland, and Alaska, in the latter country along with the

remains of another form, distinguishable, but very like the

common species ; and this has been identified by Lesquereux

in the miocene of the Rocky Mountains. So there is one

species of tree which has come down essentially unchanged

from the tertiary period, which for a long while inhabited both

Europe and North America, and also at some part Sf the

period the region which geographically connects the two (once

doubtless much more closely than now), but has survived only

in the Atlantic United States and Mexico.

The same Sequoia which abounds in the same miocene for-

mations in Northern Europe has been abundantly found in

those of Iceland, Spitzbergen, Greenland, Mackenzie river, and

Alaska. It is named S. Langsdorgiz, but is pronounced to be

very much lke S. sempervirens, our living redwood of the

Californian coast, and to be the ancient representative of it.

Fossil specimens of a similar, if not the same, species have

been recently detected in the Rocky Mountains by Hayden,

and determined by our eminent paleontological botanist, Les-

quereux ; and he assures. me that he has the common redwood

itself from Oregon, in a deposit of tertiary age. Another

Sequoia (S. Sternbergii), discovered in miocene deposits im

Greenland, is pronounced to be the representative of S. gigan-

tea, the big tree of the Californian sierra. Ifthe Taxodium

of tertiary time in Europe and throughout the arctic regions

is the ancestor of our present bald cypress, which is assumed

in regarding them as specifically identical, then I thmk we

may, with our present light, fairly assume ‘that the two red-

woods of California are the direct or collateral descendents of

the two ancient species which so closely resemble them.

The forests of the arctic zone in tertiary times contained at

least three other species of Seguota, as determined by their re-

mains, one of which, from Spitzbergen, also much resembles the

common redwood of California. Another, “which appears to

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 67

have been the commonest coniferous tree on Disco,” was

common in England and some other parts of Europe. So the

Sequoias, now remarkable for their restricted station and num-

bers, as well as for their extraordinary size, are of an ancient

stock ; their ancestors and kindred formed a large part of the

forests which flourished throughout the polar regions, now

desolate and ice-clad, and which extended into low latitudes

in Europe. On this continent one species at least had reached

to the vicinity of its present habitat before the glaciation of

the region. Among the fossil specimens already found in

California, but which our trustworthy paleontological botanist

has not yet had time to examine, we may expect to find

evidence of the early arrival of these two redwoods upon the

ground which they now, after much vicissitude, scantily

oceupy.

Differences of climate, or circumstances of migration, or

both, must have determined the survival of Sequoia upon the

Pacific, and of Taxodium upon the Atlantic coast ; and still the

redwoods will not stand in the east, nor could our Taxodiwm

fmd a congenial station in California.

As to the remaining near relative of Sequoia, the Chinese

Glyptostrobus, a species of it, and its veritable representative,

Was contemporaneous with Sequoia and Taxodium, not only

in temperate Europe, but throughout the arctic regions from

Greenland to Alaska. Very similar would seem to have been

the fate of a more familiar gymnospermous tree, the gingko

or Salisburia. It is now indigenous to Japan only. Its an-

cestor, as we may fairly call it (since, according to Heer, “ it

corresponds so entirely with the living species that it can

scarcely be separated from it”), once inhabited Northern

Europe and the whole arctic region round to Alaska, and had

even a representative further south in our Rocky-Mountain

district. For some reason, this and Glyptostrobus survived

only on the shores of Eastern Asia. uh}

Libocedrus, on the other hand, appears to have cast 1n its

lot with the Sequoias. Two species, according to Heer, were

with them in Spitzbergen. Of the two now living, L. decur-

rens (the incense cedar) is one of the noblest associates of

the present redwoods ; the other is far south, in the Andes of

Chili.

The genealogy of the Torreyas is more obscure; yet it is

not unlikely that the yew-like trees named Yaaites, which

flourished with the Sequoias in the tertiary arctic forests, are

the remote ancestors of the three species of Torreya, now

-severally in Flomgda, in California, and in Japan.

As to the ning and firs, these were more numerously asso-

5e

68 Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History.

ciated with the ancient Sequoias of the polar forests than with

their present representatives, but in different species, apparently

more like those of Eastern than of Western North America.

They must have encircled the polar zone then, as they encircle

the present temperate zone now.

I must refrain from all enumeration of the angiospermous or

ordinary deciduous trees and shrubs which are now known by

their fossil remains to have flourished throughout the polar

regions when Greenland better deserved its name, and enjoyed

the present climate of New England and New Jersey. Then

Greenland and the rest of the north abounded with oaks, re-

presenting the several groups of species which now inhabit

both our eastern and western forest districts—several poplars,

one very like our balsam poplar or balm-of-Gilead tree—more

beeches than there are now, a hornbeam, and a hop hornbeam,

some birches, a persimmon, and a plane-tree, near represen-

tatives of those of the Old World, at least of Asia, as well as

of Atlantic North America, but all wanting in California—

one Juglans like the walnut of the Old World, and another

like our black walnut—two or three grape-vines, one near our

Southern fox grape or muscadine, the other near our Northern

frost grape—a Tilia very like our basswood of the Atlantic

States only, a Liguidambar, a Magnolia which recalls our

M. grandiflora, a Liriodendron, sole representative of our

tulip-tree, and a sassafras very like the living tree.

Most of these, it will be noticed, have their nearest or their

only living representatives in the Atlantic States—and when

elsewhere, mainly in Hastern Asia. Several of them, or of

species like them, have been detected in our tertiary deposits

west of the Mississippi, by Newberry and Lesquereux.

Herbaceous plants, as it happens, are rarely preserved in a

fossil state; else they would probably supply additional testi-

mony to the antiquity of our existing vegetation, its wide

diffusion over the northern and now frigid zone, and its enforced

migrations under changes of climate.

Concluding, then, as we must, that our existing vegetation,

as a whole, is a continuation of that of the tertiary period, may

we suppose that it absolutely originated then? Evidently not.

The preceding Cretaceous period has furnished to Carruthers

in Europe a fossil fruit like that of the Sequoia gigantea of the

famous groves, associated with pines of the same character as

those that accompany the present tree—has furnished to Heer,

from Greenland, two more Sequoias, one of them identical with

a tertiary species, and one nearly allied to Sequoia Langsdorfii,

which in turn is a probable ancestor of the common Californian

redwood—has furnished to Lesquereux in North America the

Prof. Asa Gray on Sequoia and its History. 69

remains of another ancient Sequota, a G'lyptostrobus, a Liquid-

ambar which well represents our sweet-gum tree, oaks analo-

gous to living ones, leaves of a plane-tree which are also in

the tertiary and are scarcely distinguishable from our own

Platanus occidentalis, of a magnolia and tulip-tree, and “ of

a sassafras undistinguishable from our living species.’ I need

not continue the enumeration. Suffice it to say that the facts

will justify the conclusion which Lesquereux (a very scrupu-

lous investigator) has already announced, ‘ That the essential

types of our actual flora are marked in the Cretaceous period,

and have come to us after passing, without notable changes,

through the tertiary formations of our continent.”

According to these views, as regards plants at least, the

adaptation to successive times and changed conditions has been

maintained, not by absolute renewals, but by gradual modifi-

cations. I, for one, cannot doubt that the present existing

species are the lineal successors of those that garnished the earth

in the old time before them, and that they were as well adapted

to their surroundings then as those which flourish and bloom

around us are to their conditions now. Order and exquisite

adaptation did not wait for man’s coming, nor were they ever

stereotyped. Organic Nature (by which I mean the system

and totality of living things, and their adaptation to each

other and to the world), with all its apparent and indeed real

stability, should be likened, not to the ocean, which varies

only by tidal oscillations from a fixed level to which it is

always returning, but rather to a river so vast that we can

neither discern its shores nor reach its sources, whose onward

flow is not less actual because too slow to be observed by the

Ephemeree which hover over its surface or are borne upon

its bosom,

Such ideas as these, though still repugnant to some, and

not long since to many, have so possessed the minds of the

naturalists of the present day that hardly a discourse can

be pronounced or an investigation prosecuted without refer-

ence to them. I suppose that the views here taken are little

if at all in advance of the average scientific mind of the day.

I cannot regard them as less noble than those which they are

succeeding,

An able philosophical writer, Miss Frances Power Cobbe,

has recently and truthfully said * :—

“Tt is a singular fact that when we can find out how an

thing is done, our first conclusion seems to be that God did

not do it. No matter how wonderful, how beautiful, how in-

timately complex and delicate has been the machinery which

* “ Darwinism in Morals,” in Theological Review, April 1871.

70 M. F. Plateau on the Aquatic Articulata.

has worked, perhaps for centuries, perhaps for millions of

ages, to bring about some beneficent result, if we can but catch

a glimpse of the wheels, its divine character disappears.”

I agree with the writer that this first conclusion is prema-

ture and unworthy; I will add, deplorable. Through what

faults or infirmities of dogmatism on the one hand and scepti-

cism on the other it came to be so thought, we need not here

consider. Let us hope, and I confidently expect, that it is not

to last—that the religious faith which survived without a

shock the notion of the fixity of the earth itself, may equally

outlast the notion of the absolute fixity of the species which

inhabit it—that, in the future even more than in the past,

faith in an order, which is the basis of science, will not (as it

cannot reasonably) be dissevered from faith in an Ordainer,

which is the basis of religion.

VILI.—Physico-chemical Investigations upon the Aquatic

Articulata. By M. Feirx Puatreav. Part I1.*

THE first part of my investigations, of which an abstract was

published in this Journal in 1871 (vol. vu. p. 862), contained

the results of my experiments on the causes of the death of

the freshwater Articulata in sea-water, and of the marine Ar-

ticulata in fresh water.

In the present memoir I take up three other interesting

questions connected with the life of the aquatic Articulata—

questions of detail indeed, the solution of which could not

open any new vista in comparative physiology, but which,

carefully treated, have led me by numerous experiments to

curious and sometimes unexpected results.

I. Experiments on the time during which the aquatic Articulata

can remain in the water without coming to the surface to breathe.

The swimming aquatic Articulata with aérial respiration

(Coleoptera in the perfect state and Hemiptera) come frequently

to the surface to renew their provision of air. If we pre-

vent them from performing this operation, what will be the

time during which they may with impunity be subjected to

submersion? Is their resistance to asphyxia greater than that

of terrestrial insects? or only equal or interior to it?

‘The experiments were effected as follows: at the bottom of

an open vase of the capacity of one litre, and full of ordinary

spring water aérated, a smaller vessel containing about 200

cubic centimetres is placed ; a piece of cotton net is stretched

* Bulletin de lAcad. Roy. de Belgique, 2° sér. tome xxxiy. nos.9&10, 7}

1872. From an Abstract by the Author.

aS

M. F. Plateau on the Aquatic Articulata. 71

over the orifice of the latter, in such a way that an insect placed

in this smaller vessel is actually in the general mass of water,

but cannot rise to its surface.

Terrestrial insects placed in these conditions ascend, carried

by their specific levity, till they rest against the lower surface

of the net; the movements of their feet soon cease, they do not

seem to suffer, and quickly become insensible. The aquatic

Coleoptera and Hemiptera on the contrary, instead of sub-

mitting passively to their fate, seek to escape from their prison,

swim about rapidly, endeavour to rise to the surface, and con-

tinue their agitation until their forces become weakened, and

they finally remain as if dead at the bottom.

‘To cause an insect which has been subjected to a prolonged

immersion torecover fromits state of insensibility, it is necessary,

after taking it out of the water, to dry it with bibulous paper.

If the duration of the submersion has not exceeded a certain

limit, the animal gradually recovers its original activity, the

trial it has undergone leaving no sensible traces upon it.

These experiments were of course repeated as much as

possible upon several individuals and with different durations,

so as to ascertain for each species the limit of time after which

the insect was actually dead. I have thus arrived at the fol-

lowing two curious conclusions, which are supported by a

great number of experiments.

1. Terrestrial Coleoptera resist complete submersion during

a very long time (from three to four days). For example,

Oryctes nasicornis resists a submersion of 96 hours.

Agelastica alni ip “3 tin) OF

Carabus auratus - 71h. 30m.

2. Natatory aquatic Coleoptera and Hemiptera, far from

presenting a greater resistance to asphyxia by submersion, are

no better endowed in this respect than terrestrial insects, and

even perish in most cases much more rapidly. I cite the fol-

lowing numbers from the tables in my memoir :-—

A Dytiscus marginalis g died at the end of 65 h. 80m.

An Acilius sulcatus 3 e * 24 hours.

A Nepa cinerea os =< BL yw sig

A. Notonecta glauca <3 59 we

The cause of this unexpected inferiority of the aquatic in-

sects seems to consist exclusively in their greater activity in

the water, and consequently in a more rapid expenditure of

oxygen.

II. Influence of cold: effects of congelation.

What is the lowest temperature that the aquatie Articulata

72 M. F. Plateau on the Aquatic Articulata.

that we meet with in winter in these regioas can endure? can

they remain with impunity fixed in the ice for a certain time ?

And, in the event of a negative answer, what is the cause of

the mischief observed ?

The aquatic Articulata of our latitudes exist indefinitely in

water kept by means of melting ice at a temperature of 32° F.

As soon as we have recourse to lower temperatures, the water

freezes, and the question then arises to ascertain how long the

animals can remain completely fixed in ice at 32° F.

All the experiments were made in winter upon the species

which are met with in Belgium in December and January.

They consisted in placing an aquatic insect or crustacean,

together with the bulb of a Centigrade thermometer, in a thin

glass tube containing a little water and surrounded by a freez-

ing-mixture intended to produce the complete congelation of

the liquid. Care was taken not to allow the temperature of

the ice formed ever to descend below 0° C. After the lapse

of a certain time the tube was taken out of the freezing-mix-

ture and immersed in water of the temperature of the room,

when, as soon as a commencement of fusion permitted, the

lump of ice was extracted from the tube and put directly into

water, in order to hasten the disengagement of the animal.

The analysis of the results which I have obtained shows

that the time during which the aquatic Articulata may be fixed

in ice without perishing is excessively short, the longest resis-

tance not having reached half an hour. The following num-

bers will give an idea of the rapidity with which death ensues

under these circumstances :—

Imprisonment in ice at 0° C. (52° F.).

Maximum period : 5

supported lan _ Period which

being followed by inevitably causes

immediate death. death.

minutes. sec. minutes.

Agabus bipustulatus ....| Between 15and20 0 25

Hydroporus lineatus .... “n 20) 5, 30) 0 30

Gyrinus natator ...... 10 Flora 15

Notonecta glauca ...... 10; 70 20

Coraatstriata 7 os ae oe 2 0 3

Asellus aquaticus ...... 10 yO 15

Cyclops quadricornis.... 1 30 2

I have endeavoured, by means of special experiments, to

explain the cause of the rapid death of animals imprisoned in

ice at 0° C.; but although these may, perhaps, be of a nature

Dr. J. E. Gray on Spatulemys Lasale. Ta

to interest the reader, I shall confine myself to referring for

their description to my memoir. The primary cause of rapid

death when Articulata are fixed in ice, seems to be the abso-

lute privation of movement and the consequent absorption of

the corporeal heat, without any possible restitution.

Ill. Action of heat: maximum temperature.

I have endeavoured to ascertain by experiment the highest

temperature which our freshwater insects, Arachnida, and

Crustacea can endure—in other words, what is the tempera-

ture of the hottest water in which they can live.

I have thus found that the highest temperatures endured

without serious accidents oscillate between 33°°5 and 46°2 C.

(=92° and 115° F.), and consequently between very narrow

limits.

These temperatures correspond with those of a certain num-

ber of known thermal springs, in the waters of which we may

meet with articulate animals wherever the salts or gases in

solution have no injurious action upon them.

If we compare the results with which the aquatic Articulata

have furnished me with those which have been obtained by

means of animals belonging to other groups, we find that the

highest temperature that aquatic animals, whether vertebrate,

articulate, or molluscous, are able to support probably does

not exceed 46° C. (115° F.).

1X.—Additional Notes on Spatulemys Lasale.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

[Plate II. ]

CoLoneL P. PEREZ DE LASALA has brought with him several

very interesting specimens from his museum, and has kindly

presented to the British Museum a fine adult broad-nosed

alligator, and a freshwater tortoise from Rio Paranda, Corrientes,

which is quite new to our collections, and the largest example

of the family that has yet been brought to Europe; I have

named it, from its very depressed form, Spatulemys, and

dedicated the species to the enterprising collector, by calling

it Spatulemys Lasale (Plate I1.).

This species was characterized in the ‘ Annals’ for 1872,

x. p. 463, to which I wish to add the following particulars

and comparisons with allied species, and also a figure of this

very interesting animal.

The genus has many similarities to Hydromedusa; and I

thought at one time that it might be the HZ tect/fera of Mr.

Cope, brought from the Parana or Uruguay river, and described

74 Dr. J. E. Gray on Spatulemys Lasale.

in the ‘ Proc. Amer. Phil. Soe.’ for 1869, p. 147; but it has a

nuchal plate in the margin, and only five vertebral plates, and

is quite distinct from the genus Hydromedusa.

The mouth is semicircular in front, with the gape wide.

The palate is broad, flat, with the internal nostrils oval, rather

near together, rather before the hinder end of the alveolar

surface. Alveolar surfaces flat, broad, well separated from

one another in front, broadest about one third their length from

the front, and rather more than half the width behind, with a

rounded outline. Lower jaw with a slightly concave alveolar

surface, which is of the same breadth the whole of its

length, and has a well developed raised sharp edge on the

outer circumference and a less developed one on the inner

margin. There is a well-marked conical tooth-like promi-

nence in the front of the middle of the outer edge.

The upper and lower jaws of The upper and lower jaws of

Spatulemys Lasale. Hydraspis raniceps.

The alveolar surface, as seen in the stuffed specimen, is very

like that of the skeleton of Hydraspis raniceps: but the alveo-

lar plates of the upper jaw of the latter species are well

separated in the middle, and the internal nostrils are much

further back in the palate; and the alveolar edge of the lower

jaw is even—and not with the rounded tubercle on each side,

rather behind the central tube.

In Hydraspis Gordonii (P. Z. 8. 1868, p. 563) the alveo-

lar plates of each side of the upper jaw are separated by a

narrow linear space ; they are moderately wide and nearly the

same width for the whole length, truncated at the front end,

and gradually rounded off at the hinder end. The internal

'

Wt

Dr. J. E. Gray on Macleayius australiensis. 75

nostrils are about opposite to the midddle of the length of the

alveolar plate. The alveolar surface of the lower jaw is slightly

concave, with a raised edge on the hinder side; it is rather

broader behind, and oradually slightly narrowed towards the

front, There is a large slightly elevated rounded tubercle

occupying the whole of the middle of the alveolar surfaces

between the two rami, and a slight elevation on the outer

margin on each side of the middle, giving the edge of the

jaws rather a sinuated appearance.

X.—On the Macleayius australiensis from New Zealand.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

Dr. Haast has sent the skeleton of a New-Zealand whale

to the British Museum as that of Caperea antipodarum; but

the examination of the bones led me at first to believe that

it was Hubalena australis. However, on further examination,

the cervical vertebre and the blade-bone show that it cannot

belong to either of those genera; for it has a broad upper

process to the atlas, while they have a small narrow one; and

it has an acromial process to the scapula, which is only very

rudimentary in Caperea, and is of very different shape in

Hubalena; like most whales, it has no coracoid. The form

of the lobes of the atlas are so like those figured from a pho-

tograph by Mr. Krefft, which I described and figured as

Macleayius australiensis in the ‘ Proc. Zool. Soc.’ 1864, and

. in the ‘Catalogue of Seals and Whales in the British

Museum,’ 1866, p. 105, f. 10, 11, and p. 372, f. 74, 75, that

I am inclined to consider it an example of that genus,

which was previously known only from a mass of cervical

vertebre in the Australian Museum at Sydney.

Upper jaw very narrow; the nasal bones oblong elongate,

arched out at the front end. Cervical vertebrae united into

one mass. Atlas very large and thick, with a very long upper

process forming a large keeled crest, which is united to the

upper process of the five following vertebre; the upper

lateral process of the atlas high, square, truncated at the end ;

the lower process twice as high as broad, with an oblong,

rounded end. The other cervical vertebra short, thin: the

second with slender upper and lower lateral processes; the

remainder with only descending superior processes (and no

indication of inferior), which are slender in all but the seventh

vertebra, where they are thick and truncated; and this is

the only vertebra that has the upper part distinct from

the bony crest. ‘The ear-bone is very like that of Hubalena.

The sternum is oblong, with two or three irregular tubercles at

the side. ‘The first rib, like the others, is simple. The blade-

76 Miscellaneous.

bone is triangular, rather wider than long. The acromial process

is compressed, attenuated at the end, and bent outwards.

The chief difference between the mass of the cervical ver-

tebre and the specimen in the Sydney Museum, according to

Mr. Krefft’s photograph, is that the lower process of the axis in

that figure appears to be rather longer and narrower at the end.

The mass of the cervical vertebra in some respects resembles

that of Balena mysticetus of the Arctic seas, but differs in

being much more united. It differs from Caperea and

Eubalena in having the lower lateral process of the second

cervical vertebra well developed.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On the Reproduction and Development of the Telescope-fish of

China. By M. Carponnier.

Tue telescope-carp (Cyprinus macrophthalmus, Bloch; in Chinese

Long-tsing-ya) is a native of the fresh waters of China and Japan. Its

conformation is remarkably anomalous. Its body is globular ; its

caudal and anal fins are doubled ; its eyes project from two to five

centimetres from its head; in fact the entire animal is the exact

model of those fishes, hitherto regarded as chimerical, that we meet

with in a great many Chinese paintings. ‘This fish seems to me to

be a monstrous goldfish, a monster designedly produced by means of

processes of breeding (in which the Chinese are very clever), so

powerful that the original anomaly has now become hereditary.

I have already, in goldfish, met with analogous partial monstro-

sities, especially the gemination of the caudal fin. M. G. Pouchet,

in a note presented to the Academy on the 30th May 1870, notices

a similar anomaly presented by two living specimens received by him

from China; but hitherto, so far as I am aware, no one has had the

opportunity of studying the variety of carp which I call telescope-fish.

By the kindness of a relation, I received twenty-four specimens,

all presenting the same modifications of structure; only three of

these died, the remainder have recovered sufficiently to allow me to

try to reproduce them since the first year.

The globular form of the body of the animal renders its equilibrium

extremely unstable, and it can swim only with difficulty ; hence,

whilst its congener the goldfish effects its spawning by rubbing itself

against aquatic plants, flexible bodies of little resistance, the

telescope-fish seeks a firmer point of support, opposing a direct

resistance to the impulse of the fins. It is at the bottom of the

water, on the ground, that it rubs its abdomen.

While the female acts thus in oviposition, the males, which are

exceedingly ardent in fecundation, pursue her several together, push

her with their heads, turn her over and roll her over and over, in-

flicting upon her an actual punishment.

Having deposited, in a basin containing 20 cubic metres of

water, four fishes belonging to a first lot, about a month afterwards

(on the 14th of September last) I saw the three males pursuing the

Miscellaneous. 77

female, roll her like a ball upon the ground for a distance of several

metres, and continue this conduct, without rest or relaxation, for two

days, until the poor female, who had not been able to recover her

equilibrium for a moment, had at last evacuated all her ova.

Being then obliged to suspend my observations, I returned a

fortnight afterwards, and, carefully examining the surface and the

edges of the basin, I had the satisfaction of discovering several

little embryos, which swam with considerable difficulty, and which

a more careful examination enabled me to recognize as the young

fry of the telescope-fish.

They had the same double caudal fin, and the same sinuosity of the

upper part of the back ; but the eyes were not yet very prominent.

Having brought them to Paris and observed them carefully, they

furt rished me witli the following results. At its earliest age the

telescope-fish has the elongated form of most of our young fishes ;

the transparency of the body allows us to distinguish plainly the

air-bladder, lodged in the upper part of the body, and the intestine,

forming a right angle, of which the apex is opposite to the bladder.

So long as the embryo lives at the expense of the umbilical vesicle,

it swims easily and in a horizontal position; but subsequently the

absorption of exterior aliment has for its result an abnormal and

irregular development, which, in nearly half the specimens, causes

a deviation from the normal position, and the animal holds itself

vertically, sometimes with the head upwards, but most frequently

with it downwards. The faulty position of the air-bladder and the

too slight development of the fins neutralize the intluence of these

directive agents; the want of equilibrium persists, the young animal

can no longer seek its nourishment, and it dies in two or three days.

I have scarcely been able to make them live for ten or twelve days

by mixing triturated animal matter with the water of my aquaria.

I have, however, no doubt that the rearing of the young fry which

remain will furnish me with some new facts.—Comptes Rendus,

November 4, 1872, tome Ixxy. p. 1127.

Additional Observations on Codiophyllum.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

More than one botanist has asked me for a specimen of Codio-

phyllum (described in the ‘ Annals,’ for August 1872), which they

wanted to examine microscopically and to unravel the fibre. The

very expression shows that I have not sufficiently explained the

structure of this very curious plant; but I believed that Mr, Ford’s

excellent figure would exhibit it better than I could explain it in

words. The frond of this curious Alga is not formed of continuous

fibres interlaced together, but of a number of oblong rings of a cylin-

drical tube, each gradually formed and all connected and anastomosed

together, so as to form an expanded frond: each ring is separately

formed; and when complete it sends from a part of its surface a tube

of the same form, size, and structure, which gradually lengthens,

after a time curves back, and unites itself to the ring from which it

sprung, thus forming another ring, and in time emitting a new ring

from its surface in the same manner.

Mr. Ford has attempted to show this development in his figure.

78 Miscellaneous.

The Bell Collection of Reptiles.

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

Oxford, Dec. 16, 1872.

GrnTLEMEN,—With reference to the correspondence which has

appeared in the recent numbers of the ‘ Annals’ relative to the Bell

Collection of Reptiles, and with the view of enabling your readers to

form a proper opinion upon the subject, I think it incumbent upon

me to state :—that the negotiation for the purchase of the entire col-

lection, on behalf of the Rev. F. W. Hope, was effected by myself

with Prof. Bell in 1862; that an estimation of the extent of the

collection and of the value thereof was made by Mr. 8. Stevens, the

Natural-History Agent; that the purchase comprised 288 specimens

of tortoises (either entire or shells), about 40 dried snakes and

lizards, and 1065 reptiles of various kinds in spirits; and that the

collection was immediately removed by Mr. Rowell to Oxford, where

it was partially arranged during the last year by Dr. Giinther, of the

British Museum.

I am, Gentlemen,

Your obedient Servant,

J. O. Westwoop.

Answer to Herr Ritsema’s “ Note on Crinodes Sommeri ” &e.

By A. G. Burzer, F.L.S. &e.

A simultaneous attack upon a new genus, in two different maga-

zines, is calculated to impress one with the idea that the discoverer

of the supposed error must have been anxious that his acumen should

be widely recognized. As an answer to the entirely unwarranted

supposition contained in the said paragraph, I need merely inform

Herr Ritsema of one or two facts, which, had he studied my writings,

he might have discovered for himself: Hiibner’s ‘Sammlung’ has

been almost constantly on my table for the last seven years; and I

know his figures as well as | know my own.

I do not make a practice of hunting up every conceivable resem- .

blance in pattern between a new genus and those previously figured

in works known to me; I content myself, at most, with a compa-

rison of structure between closely allied forms*.

I did refer in my paper to the genus Dudusa (inadvertently written

Duduna), a group to which C. Sommeri probably belongst; I had

examined two species of this genus, and therefore could speak with

confidence of its relationship to Tarsol pis.

If Hiibner was not attached to the “type system” there is no

reason why C. clara of Cramer should not stand as the type of the

genus Crino quite as much as C. Sommeri.

* When describing Zarsolepis, I knew for certain that the structure

before me was entirely new. I admit that I did not remember at the time

that Hubner’s Crino Sommeri was so similar in pattern; had I done so,

I might have referred to it as a moth resembling mine in pattern, although

clearly belonging to a different genus.

+ The females of Dudusa have a zone of spatulate scales round the tail,

but of only half the length of those in the males; the antenne are mode-

rately pectinated, more so than in Crinodes ; but there are no tufts of long

hairs at the base of the abdomen in either sex.

Miscellaneous. 79

The remainder of Herr Ritsema’s remarks being to a great extent

based upon suppositions, I shall content myself with answering his

direct statements. He says that the anal tuft entirely covers the

sexual organs; this is not the case with any of the specimens which

I have examined, whether of Crinodes, Dudusa, or Tarsolepis.

As to the probability ofa long curved brush of carmine hairs being

concealed about the body of a Crinodes, it is to my mind more pre-

posterous than it would be were our discussion respecting the iden-

tity of the Philippine Lusemia bambusina and the South- American

Limnas zoega, to suggest that the difference consisted in the Husemia

having concealed the red spots towards the base of the wings*.

If the size of the body is dependent upon sex, it is evident that

OC. Sommeri must be a male; but as Herr Ritsema is avowedly work-

ing principally with Mr. Snellen’s male, which agrees in all the most

important characters with Hiibner’s figure, it does not signify to

what sex the type of C. Sommerz belongs. It now seems highly pro-

bable that Herr Ritsema actually has the Hiibnerian species, whilst

it is more evident than ever that I have not.

The inaccuracies stated to exist in Hiibner’s figures are easily ex-

plicable when we know that figs. 1 and 2 represent the opposite

surfaces of C. Sommeri, and that in fig. 2 hardly any of the inner

margin is visible, so that it 1s impossible to decide whether it is

waved or not. The mention of differences in the hind wings of fig. 1

is mere carping.

I have now no more to say on this subject until I have seen Hiib-

ner’s type. If the two genera come from Java, they will probably

add another to the numerous illustrations of mimetic analogy already

on record; I shall not, therefore (until I have proof of some such

interesting fact, by a comparison of the actual type with Javan

specimens), encroach further upon the patience of the readers of

this magazine.

On a Mite in the Ear of the Ox.

Prof. Leidy remarked that he had received a letter from Dr. Charles

8. Turnbull, in which he stated that while studying the anatomy of

the ear he had discovered in several heads of steers, at the bottom

of the external auditory meatus, a number of small living parasites.

They were found attached to the surface of the membrana tympani.

Specimens of the parasite preserved in glycerine, and a petrosal bone

with the membrana tympani to which several of the parasites were

clinging, were also sent for examination. These prove to be a mite

or Acarus, apparently of the genus Gamasus. The body is ovoid,

translucent white, about three fifths of a line long, and two fifths of

a line wide. The limbs, jaws, and their appendages are brown and

bristled ; the body is smooth or devoid of bristles. The limbs are

from two fifths to half a line long. The feet are terminated by a

five-lobed disk and a pair of claws; the palpi are six-jointed; the

* In other respects these two insects are as much alike as in most cases

of actual mimicry.

80 Miscellaneous.

mandibles end in pincers or chel, resembling lobster-claws ; the

movable joint of the chelz has two teeth at the end; the opposed

extremity of the fixed joint of the chele is narrow, and ends in a

hook.

Dr. Turnbull had seen the cattle killed, and was positive that the

mites occupied the position in the ear of the steers while these were

alive; such being the case, the Acartis may be viewed as a parasite

of the ox, and may be specifically named Gamasus wuris.—Proc. Acad.

Nat. Sct. Philad. 1872.

The Horns of Antilocapra. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

The British Museum has purchased of Mr. E. Gerrard, junior, the

skin of an adult male Antilocapra which was just developing the

new horny sheath; and this was rather different from what, by ob-

serving the horns in a more deyeloped state, I had been led to

expect.

The core of the horns was covered with a thick skin, which in the

dried state is black; but the apex is covered with a small conical

sheath about 1? in. long and 4 in. wide at the base, hard and per-

fectly horny, very like the horn of cattle. It is black, with a white

acute tip about 4 in. long.

The horny sheath of a more developed specimen brought at the

same time has a similar hard horny tip; but the lower part of the

horn is less solid and more evidently formed of felted, matted hair,

which is more distinct and less compactly matted at its base or last

developed part ; so that it would appear that the skin of the core

first develops the horny tip, and then the more spongy part formed

of felted hair.

Notice of a new and remarkable Fossil Bird. By O, C. Marsa.

One of the most interesting of recent discoveries in paleontology

is the skeleton of a fossil bird, found during the past summer, in the

upper Cretaceous shale of Kansas, by Prof. B. F. Mudge, who has

kindly sent the specimen to me for examination. The remains in-

dicate an aquatic bird about as large as a pigeon, and differing

widely from all known birds in haying biconcave vertebra. The cer-

vical, dorsal, and caudal vertebre preserved all show this character,

the ends of the centra resembling those of Plesiosawrus. The rest

of the skeleton presents no marked deviation from the ordinary avian

type. The wings were large in proportion to the posterior extremi-

ties. The humerus is 68-6 millims. in length, and has the radial

crest strongly developed. The femur is small, and has the proximal

end compressed transversely. The tibia is slender and 44-5 millims.

long ; its distal end is incurved as in swimming birds, but has no

supratendinal bridge. This species may be called Jchthyornis dispar.

A more complete description will appear in an early number of

Silliman’s Journal.

Yale College, Sept. 26th, 1872.

THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[FOURTH SERIES. ]

No. 62. FEBRUARY 1873.

XI.—Summary of Zoological Observations made at Naples in

the winter of 1871-72. By E. Ray Lanxester, M.A.,

Fellow and Lecturer of Exeter College, Oxford.

My chief object during a recent stay of some months in Naples

was to commence a study of the general and histological de-

velopment of Mollusca, with the view of ascertaining what

significance is to be attributed to the various parts of their

organization in the light of the “germ-layer theory,” recently

extended with such convincing force by the admirable obser-

vations of Kowalewsky from the Vertebrata to various groups

of lower animals, such as the Vermes and the Insects.

I propose now to give a very short statement of some of

these observations, as well as of others made on some of the

innumerable interesting forms of marine invertebrates with

which the invaluable fishermen of Santa Lucia provided me.

Development of Loligo.

Since the time of K6lliker (1837) no contribution has been

made to our knowledge of the development of Cephalopoda. A

short note by Mecznikow on Sepzola contains very little and is

not illustrated. I obtained eggsof Loldgo first in January, and

subsequently with tolerable ee Mlniity until April: they are

better adapted for observation than those of Sepia.

The structure of the ovary is very similar to that of a bird.

The branched ovary contains eggs of all sizes enclosed in vas-

cular capsules. ‘The basketwork marking seen on the ovarian

egg is not a plication of the proper capsule, but of the surface

of the vitellus, where it is in contact with the inner cellular

lining of the capsule, which sends deeply penetrating ridges and

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.4. Vol. xi. 6

82 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

villi into the growing egg. This cellular lining of the capsule

grows very rapidly ; and its cells are continually being absorbed

or fused into the vitellus, whence the increase of this in size.

Some of the cells retain their form and are to be found floating

in the complex vitellus thus built up.

On attaming full size, the egg, having lost entirely its

large germinal vesicle, loses all the plications or basketwork

of its vitelline surface, and escapes from its capsule, which

remains on the branched ovary and undergoes a yellow dege-

neration. Passing as a free ovoid homogeneous mass of com-

plex yelk (protoplasm and deutoplasm, Van Beneden, com-

bined) into the oviduct, the egg is fertilized ; and then at one

pole a segregation of plastic yelk, or a germinal patch, occurs

in the form of a thin disk or cap. This exhibits subsequently

a faint nucleus and commences to divide into two, four, eight,

&c. arez, marked out by intercrossing grooves. In some

minor respects my observations differ from Kélliker’s, who -

appears to have represented the segmentation as more regular

than it is, and the resulting cells as becoming detached, which

they do not.

When this superficial layer of blastodermic cells has spread

over an area relatively as large as would be inclosed by the cir-

cumference of a half-crown drawn round the pole of a large hen’s

egg, an exceedingly remarkable fact presents itself, which has

not been observed before, and which has great importance in re-

gard to the various theories as to the origin of the ‘ mesoderm,”

or a portion of that layer. Outside the primitive segmentation-

area (fig. 1P), and quite unconnected with it, appears a ring of

very large pellucid nuclei, seven or eight in number (fig. 1D) ;

they increase in number, and a second, third, and fourth ring of

such large nuclei arise, till at last they spread over the whole

Fig. 1.

egg. Meanwhile the cells of the segmentation-area spread by

i; ie 1 — ie — ie — i — ee ee ee — 2

Ee Fes SO Ss eee

=

— a —— oe od

a. =

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 83

continual division at the free edge of the cap which they form ;

and they grow over the large nuclec, which are thus seen to lie

in a lower stratum of yelk than that along which the cap of

cells from the primitive segmentation is spreading. Both the

segmentation-cells and the large nuclei finally cover-in the

whole surface of the egg as two distinct layers. This process

I observed over and over again, and repeatedly observed that

the large nuclei arise, each one separately, by segregation from

the yelk-mass. They are products of free-cell formation, and

as such of the very highest interest in relation to histogenetic

doctrine. The cells which pass into the ovarian egg in such

enormous numbers to swell its vitelline mass become so much

altered and broken down that it is not possible to regard these

large nuclei as descendants from them, though no doubt they,

as well as the original egg-cell’s protoplasm and the fertilizing

male element, have contributed to form an organic “mixture,”

if one may use the term, from which these free nuclei, as well

as the polar segmentation-disk and nucleus, take origin.

The large pellucid nuclei subsequently become branched and

stellate; whether they give rise to the whole of the elements

of the layer immediately below the outer segmentation-layer it

is not possible to say. If they do, contractile muscular cells

must be regarded as one of their products. In any case they

form the great bulk of the subepidermal tissue, that which cor-

responds with the mesoderm of vertebrates.

Organs now begin to appear as thickenings on the sur-

face of the blastoderm: two eyes (the details of the primitive

development of which are remarkable), two ears (which I

repeatedly saw in their primitive state as two pits, holes, or

in-pushings of the surface ; subsequently they present the con-

dition of capsules, each with a narrow canal opening on the

surface of the head, which canal becomes eventually the little

ciliated cecum seen by Kdlliker), and a median semicircular

primitive mouth; besides these the mantle and arms—the

position of the latter marking off the blastodermic sac into two

parts, a great yelk-bag, and a smaller embryonic sac, which

gradually becomes more and more distinctly pinched off and

shaped out. It is not possible to say much of the further de-

velopment without illustration ; but I must mention two very

important facts. The primitive semicircular mouth is not the

real mouth. Itis at this point that an inward cellular growth

commences, which eats its way into the mass of homogeneous

yelk lying in the embryonic portion of the blastodermic sac,

and meets (how or where exactly my observations do not show)

a shorter ingrowth from the anal aperture, in connexion with

which is also developed the ink-bag, thus agreeing with the

G*

84 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

renal organ of Gasteropods. The first portion of the alimentary

tube (which early appears in connexion with the primitive

semicircular mouth) becomes the yelk-duct. The primitive

mouth sinks into the yelk-bag, by the growth of its margins,

in a peculiar manner ; and there appears at some distance along

the primitive alimentary tube a new mouth. It seems desirable

to speak of these apertures as primitive and secondary mouth,

for the sake of description; but it is a possibility that the

primitive mouth must be considered identical with the aper-

ture of blastodermic invagination of many Vermes and of

Amphioxus, discovered by Kowalewsky, and observed also by

me in several mollusks (Nudibranchs, Limax, Pisidium,

Mytilus).

The second fact of especial interest in the later development

of Loligo is the occurrence of an in-pushing from the surface

in the form of a groove just below (that is, posterior to) the

margin of each eye. A somewhat botryoidal mass of tissue is

the result of this ingrowth, and gives rise, I believe (though I

have not definitely followed out its growth), to the optic gan-

glion on each side. Lateral masses of tissue are seen to dif-

ferentiate below the surface on either side of the cesophagus, and

extend to the eyes—which may become ultimately other parts

of the nervous system. ‘The heart and large vessels develop

below the surface, also without any remarkable features. The

development of the mantle, gills, and cartilaginous skeleton

was accurately described by Kolliker.

The “pen” or shell of Loligo develops in a follicle which

begins to form at a very early period, and remains open

to the surface of the mantle until the embryo is nearly ready

to leave the egg-case.

An interesting phenomenon is the contractility of the walls

of the yelk-sac, which is observed at a very early period, as

soon as the first rudiments of eyes, ears, and mouth have

appeared. A rhythmic wave of contraction passes continually

along the wall of the sac, at that part immediately in front of

the alimentary tube, and doubtless acts so as to cause a circu-

lation of nutrient material in the direction of the young embryo.

The tissue which exhibits this contractility is of the same

structure (stellate cells) as that of the remarkable contractile

vesicle observed in the Pulmonate Gasteropods, and which I

have studied in Limax. It is probable that the two parts are

homogenous.

I should mention that I made frequent examination of eggs

of Sepia, but found those of Loligo the best fitted for study.

I was unable to obtain Argonauta at Naples; it is to be had

im quantity at Messina.

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 85

Development of Aplysia.

The development of two species of Aplysia was studied in

considerable detail as far as the completion of the velum-

bearing embryo and its escape from the egg-jelly. Various

devices failed of enabling me to observe the later development

of this or of several Nudibranchs which were also kept for

study.

The Aplysie were :—a larger species, in which each capsule

in the egg-coil contained from thirty to forty embryos ; and a

smaller species, in which the number was not more than seven,

usually less. ‘The germinal vesicle escapes previously to yelk-

cleavage as the “ Richtungsbliischen ;” the egg then divides

into two larger yellow masses and two smaller pale balls. The

pale balls now divide rapidly, and grow over and enclose the

larger yellow masses. By a process of multiplication (which

I could not satisfy myself was accompanied in Aplysia by

invagination, though there were indications of such a mode of

growth) the pale cells give rise, not to a single layer of cells

enclosing the yellow, but, at the pole whence they started,

to a considerable mass or thickness of cells. The deeper

of these work themselves in between the two large yellow cells

and give rise to the alimentary tract; the outermost cells form

epidermis, nerve, and shell-gland, whilst an intermediate por-

tion gives rise to muscles.

In the two species, however, there is a very curious difference:

for in the larger species the two yellow cells almost as soon as

they are enclosed lose their nuclei and definite outline, becoming

mere granular masses, which the deep layer of pale cells rapidly

invest and attach to themselves in an intimate manner; whilst

in the small species the two yellow cleavage-masses, each with

its large bright nucleus, retain their form to the last (that is,

as long as I studied the embryos), the deep pale cells (hypo-

derm, Darmdriisenblatt) only passing between the two masses,

and growing by absorption of the matter which they yielded,

as was evident by their gradual thinning out and shrinking,

but without being invested or themselves undergoing any for-

mative changes. ‘The liver-mass, and perhaps the genital

glands, subsequently appear in the position occupied by these

two big cells, probably growing out ¢nto them, not from them.

An important fact is the occurrence of cilia on tracts of the

pale cells, lying deeply within the segmentation mass ; this I

have also seen in the eggs of Pistdium pusillum.

The shell-gland is the first organ to appear in Aplysia, as

it is also in the freshwater Lamellibranch Pistdiwm, and occurs

as a groove on the surface, the cells in which take on a special

86 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

development. It is in this way also that the “cuttle-bone”’ of

Loligo takes its origin; and from the observation of this common

mode of origin of the shells of Lamellibranchs, Gasteropods,

and cuttlefish, I do not doubt that they are fundamentally

identical or homogenous—that is to say, have a common an-

cestral representative. The pharynx and cesophagus early

develop in Ap/ysia as in-pushings at the opposite pole to that

at which the shell-gland appears, which latter is the pole of

active segmentation in the first embryonal changes.

The supracesophageal ganglion is clearly seen to develop as

a thickening of the outer layer of cells in the prostomial region.

It sends branches downwards and forwards, and gave rise to

the suspicion that the subcesophageal nervous mass was but a

lobe of it.

Below the mouth, in a blunt process (which is the foot) the

pair of otolithic sacs (or otocysts, as M. de Lacaze-Duthiers

terms them) appear; I took great pains to ascertain their

earliest beginning. They certainly never communicate with the

exterior ; they have been erroneously supposed to do so in

Gasteropoda; and I have established the fact that they really do

soin Cephalopoda. The first appearance of each otocyst is,

betore any organs except the shell-gland are indicated, as a

faint vesicle, with no proper walls of its own, just below the

most superficial layer of cells ; and I believe that it really be-

longs to that layer. As the foot develops, the otocyst shifts

greatly its position, and acquires thicker walls and larger size.

The otolith develops within the cyst at a late period; often it

may be seen in one cyst and not in the other.

Development of Nudibranchs.

The eggs of species of Doris, of Tethys, Pleurobranchus, and

others were frequently studied. I found those of Polycera

quadrilineata and of Holis exigua the most favourable for study.

I was able to determine in these that the first step in develop-

ment, after the formation by cleavage of the mass of embryo-

cells or “polyblast,” is the invagination or in-pushing of these

cells at one pole, just as Kowalewsky has drawn it in Amphi-

oxus and Phallusia, and as seen also in the Heteropod mollusk

Atalanta. ‘The orifice of invagination is at one time large and

obvious enough, but closes entirely at a very early period.

The same invagination and orifice I have made out in the

Lamellibranch Pisidiwm, the development of which I studied

in the spring of 1871 at Jena. I also observed it in Lima ;

and its occurrence in a similar stage in certain marine Lamel-

libranchs is clear from Lovén’s admirable figures, though he

has mistaken its significance.

‘ij

| -—$—«

—s

—

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—— co fe a Se ee eS or. oa

— * =

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made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 87

Hence the two primitive layers of cells in the embryo mol-

lusk have the same origin as in Vermes and Vertebrata; and,

indeed, it would appear that the whole animal series above the

Protozoa agree in possessing these two primitive layers at one

time of their development. The addition to these of a third,

intermediate layer, or mesoderm, is the distinguishing feature

of another great branch or stem (Triploblastica), which has as

its base the Vermes, and from which diverge the Mollusks, the

Arthropods, the Vertebrates, the Echinoderms. That branch

which retains but two layers of cells through life, the endoderm

and ectoderm, includes the corals, polyps, and sponges (Diplo-

blastica). So far biologists seem to have arrived at very

promising results with the germ-layer theory. The great diffi-

culty at present lies in the question, Whence doesthis third layer,

or mesoderm, originate? There are a number of conflicting

replies to this question, which have yet to be reconciled.

Development of Terebella nebulosa.

An abundant supply of the eggs of this annelid enabled me

to follow its development as far as its opacity permits. A

delicate chorion forms round the egg after segmentation, on the

surface of the cleavage-cells, which are densely ciliated. I ob-

served that the chorion could be caused to separate from the

surface of the cells; and the cilia were then seen to be really

processes of the protoplasm of the cells, and to perforate this

cuticular exudation, since they did not break off with it, as often

happens, but were drawn through it, remaining fixed to the

cells. The development of the ciliated tracts, segments, ap-

pendages, and tubiparous glands was followed and drawn.

The young of this species has no otolithic sac.

Young Appendicularia furcata.

Numerous specimens of this most interesting form were ob-

tained in February. The recent memoir of Foll has given

very full and accurate information on the anatomy of the Ap-

pendicularie. I have still, however, something to add in this

case with regard to the cutaneous glands and the cellular out-

growths of the integument, and as to the heart. It is curious

that no one has yet drawn attention to the very remarkable

fact that the heart in A. furcata consists of but two cells—that

is to say, two nucleated histological units. ‘The small number

of histological units which build up the organs of an Appen-

dicularia is avery noticeable fact, and is parallelled in the case

of the Rotifera. The elaboration, however, of so important an

organ as the heart from but two units is quite unexampled.

88 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

The heart as known and described is an oval pellucid body,

with a dense mass at each pole. Durin

life it beats with marvellous rapidity, quite

unlike the action of a heart, and suggesting

(what I believe it is) a form of protoplasmic

movement allied to the ciliary. The mass

at each pole of the oval heart is seen in spe-

cimens about two thirds grown, when dilute

acid is added, to be a nucleated cell. From

each of these extends, not a contractile

membrane (as would appear from the figures

of Gegenbaur, Foll, and others), but from

twelve to twenty fine processes or filaments

joining one cell to the other, leaving open

spaces between them. The rapid contractions

of these processes of the cells, which are not

unlike (except in being fixed at both ends) those pro-

cesses known as cilia, agitate the blood in which the heart

is suspended ; but there is no trace of blood-vessels connected

with the heart. In specimens of Appendicularia furcata of

full size the heart was seen to be a little more complex in

structure; for at the base of each fibre or process of the

two original large conical cells (which still retain their form

and their large nuclei) is developed a small swelling with a nu-

cleus (fig. 2). Moreover each of the fibres is now seen (when

treated with picric acid) to possess a transverse striation, like

that of the muscular fibres of the great tail or flabellum. I

have specimens of Appendicularia furcata, treated with picric

acid and mounted in glycerine, which exhibit admirably at

the present moment this very remarkable structure of the

heart.

Histology of Sipunculus nudus.

Every naturalist who visits Naples studies this very in-

teresting and abundant worm more or less, and comes to a

conclusion respecting its generative organs differing from those

of his predecessors. [ can only briefly state on the present

occasion the results of my study of this worm, as to the his-

tology of which I have a mass of drawings and preparations.

First, as to the corpuscles of the perivisceral fluid. These

are the pink corpuscles, the amceboid, the mulberry corpuscles

of various sizes (usually regarded as testicular cell-masses), the

ova, and the detached portions of the peritoneal membrane, and

the “Tépfchen” or ciliated globes. hese last were especially

studied recently by Brandt; he did not ascertain their origin ;

he is mistaken in his statements as to “ciliz capitate.” The

ay

AN ERR

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 89

cilia of the “Tépfchen” are in no wise peculiar. What he

has supposed to be a head or knob on the end of the cilium is

really nothing but the bending over of the extremity of the

cilium under the influence of the dilute acetic acid which he

used. I convinced myself time after time that the cilia of the

Tépfchen are perfectly normal, by study, with Hartnack’s 10 a

immersion, of living specimens, and of others treated with

osmic acid. By the use of acetic acid I obtained the knob-like

appearance which deceived Alexander Brandt.

urther I have found out the source of the “ Tépfchen.”’

They are to be observed in great numbers attached within the

curious pair of tubes or vessels formed by duplicatures of the

peritoneal membrane, which lie on each side of the cesophagus,

and the connexion of which with the tentacle-crown was so

well shown by Brandt in his memoir. They develop as “ but-

tons ”’ on the cellular surface (fig. 3), which is throughout the

perivisceral cavity provided in parts with patches of cilia-bear-

ing protoplasm ; and then they become detached and swim off

into the fluid. The whole history of this beautiful peritoneal

Fig. 3.

tissue and its shedding of elements into the perivisceral fluid

is of extreme interest ; but I cannot go into it until my draw-

ings can be given. So much for the Tépfchen at present.

Next as to the ova. ‘These occur of all sizes in the perivisceral

liquid; and Brandt appears to have supposed that they take

origin in it. Various zoologists have tried to establish this or

that structure as the “ ovary.”” Some have assigned this nature

to the pair of large brown tubes opening to the exterior,

so paradoxical in character. MM. Keferstein and Ehlers

mistook the unicellular cutaneous glands and some vagrant ova

90 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

for the ovaries, which they actually located beneath the skin ;

this view I must most fully oppose, as a special study of the

integument of Sipunculus has shown me what structures these

authors have mistaken for ova. Others, again, have taken the

strange little diverticulum of the intestine placed near the rec-

tum for the ovary, but without offering proof. I have yet a

new view. I consider that the “bush-like processes”’ de-

scribed by Keferstein and Ehlers as occurring on each side of

the rectum are the ovarian villi. These arborescent tufts are

outgrowths of the cellular peritoneum and enclose the ova,

which become detached when very small (34 inch), either

in groups or singly, ensheathed in a portion of peritoneum,

and proceed to grow to full size in the perivisceral liquid. The

proot of this is in the structure of the villi, and in the structure

of floating masses of minute ova occasionally to be found in

the perivisceral liquid. The ova are detached from the villi

probably at certain seasons and as soon as developed; hence

I have never found the villi containing unmistakable ova,

when attached in place on the rectum.

The mulberry spheres are certainly not, as supposed by Brandt,

testicular. They have not the structure of such testicular mul-

berry masses in Annelids ; for in these of Sipunculus I have

made out what Brandt does not describe, viz. a membrane with

a distinct nucleus enveloping the aggregated spherules. They,

I believe, give rise to the abundant pink corpuscles of the peri-

visceral fluid, and are, like the ‘‘ Tépfchen,” detached from the

tentacular vessels originally. The true testis is still an open

question. I found that the curious little diverticulum of the in-

testine in several specimens examined in March had become

greatly dilated, attaining a full inch in length ; and it was filled

with a creamy fluid in which were a dense mass of motile fila-

ments. It is possible that these were bacterioid parasites, but

most unlikely when they recur in eight individuals examined

within two days. There were further appearances of the develop-

ment of these vibratile rods which tended to confirm the notion

that the wall of this diverticulum of the intestine becomes the

testis. On the other hand the structure of the great brown pair of

tubes was very carefully studied ; and I found that they develop

in their walls innumerable corpuscles which in spring (May)

take quite the form of the Mammalian spermatozoon, and abound

in immense number in the liquid fillmg the brown sacs. The

balance of evidence is on the whole in favour of the brown

tubes being testes. At the same time let me mention that

they become much dilated in May, and take into their cavity

large quantities of the perivisceral fluid, and with it the floating

ova, or the mulberry spheres, if they are present.

Sa, a eS Se ee

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 91

I should mention that one fact in favour of regarding the

mulberry spheres as testicular is that when they abound the

ova appear to be absent, and vice vers@. Thisis only apparently

the case ; for I have found numerous ova (though far less numer-

ous in proportion than elsewhere) in Stpunculi in which the

mulberry spheres were predominant, and I have noticed young

stages of the mulberry spheres present when ova abounded.

It should, however, be noticed that all the full-grown Sipun-

culi (some eighty-five in number) which I opened were di-

stinguishable as either “ ova-bearing ”’ or “ mulberry-sphere-

bearing.”

Brandt and, in earlier years, Krohn have been the supporters

of the view that the mulberry spheres are testicular; but

neither of them has seen the development of the component

spherules of the ane into tailed spermatozoa. Brandt states

that he found in May, in a Sipunculus of the mulberry-sphere

kind, tailed spermatozoa floating in the perivisceral fluid. But

he admits that such spermatozoon-like bodies are developed in

the brown tubes; and he has no evidence whatever to prove

that those he found in the perivisceral fluid had not come thence,

especially since he obtained the fluid by puncture and might

thus have wounded the brown tubes.

I must yet further mention with regard to the pink corpuscles,

that I sometimes found them of large size and containing crystals

—a fact not noticed by Brandt; also in May I noticed cases in

which they were all very small, and in which only a few loosely

aggregated mulberry spheres and no ovawere present. I believe

that the reason why mulberry spheres and ova are reciprocally

exclusive in the perivisceral fluid is this, that after the ex-

pulsion of the ova a renewal of the pink corpuscles is necessary,

and accordingly we get this development of mulberry spheres,

destined to break up into young pink corpuscles. It is not until

the spheres have fully developed and broken up into young

pink corpuscles that a new development of ova takes place, by

detachment from the rectal arborescent villi. The testis is either

the tissue on the intestinal diverticulum or the brown tubes ;

which of the two, my notes and drawings do not decide.

The termination of nerves in the skin, the cutaneous glands,

the minute structure of the nerve-chord, the structure and

varieties of connective tissue in various parts of the worm, and

the curious pink or red line on the intestinal wall, which is not

a vessel, were examined, and will be described and figured on

a future occasion.

Brandt’s description of the perforate structure of the egg-

envelope is perfectly correct.

92 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

Anatomy of Sternaspis.

Specimens of this interesting worm were from time to time

brought to me by the fishermen. Its structure presents no

special points of contact with the Gephyrea, but rather with

the capitibranchiate polychetous Annelids, such as Pherusia,

which certainly approach the Gephyrea in the condition of their

segment-organs. ‘The closed vascular system contains hemo-

globin i in solution, and presents an internal series of gills, the

structure of which is remarkable in many ways. It would be

difficult to make any account of the details of its organization

intelligible in this brief summary without illustration.

Notochordal rudiments in Glycera.

The observations of Claparéde on the “ drei riesige Réh-

renfaden ”’ lying above the nerve-cord in Lumbricus induced

me to search, by means of transparent transverse sections, for

evidences of a skeletal or supporting arrangement of the con-

nective tissue in immediate relation with the nerve-cord in

other Annelids. The disposition of the muscles in relation to the

sheath of the nerve-cord in Glycera has some interest in this

respect, since these parts are seen, in suitably prepared sec-

tions, to have generally the same relations as have the muscles

and neural sheath, including the notochord, of a vertebrate.

Terebratula vitrea.

These most beautiful Brachiopods were sometimes brought

in quantities by the deep-sea fishermen. I was not able to

obtain the ova in a developing condition.

There are still many points in doubt with regard to the

Brachiopoda, and especially as to the Terebratulide.

This species has not, I believe, been studied in the living

state. A young specimen, of the size of a pin’s head, exhibited

the ‘arms ”’ in a condition corresponding in general characters

with the lophophore of a Polyzoon, with which Mr. Morse’s

researches on Terebratulina also render it clear that the Bra-

chiopod arms are homologous (homogenous). Let me also

say here that a comparative study of the structure of the adult

arms of Terebratula and of the gill-lamelle of Lamellibranchs

leads to the conclusion that these are also homologous (homo-

genous) structures.

The observations of Mr. Barrett on Terebratulina, and of

M. de Lacaze-Duthiers on Thecidium, are the only ones at

present, I believe, as to the condition of the “arms” oy

Terebratulide in the living state.

The cirri are finely ciliated externally ; they are also in-

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 93

dividually movable, though rarely moved. ach cirrus

corresponds in essential structure as to its tubular character,

its horny and calcareous skeleton, and the circulation within

it of the blood, with a tube of certain Lamellibranchs’ gills. In

young Pisidium pusillum the gills originate as three (in-

creasing in number) pairs of tubular processes. In young

Anomia they equally retain their character as a series of

isolated tubules ciliated on the surface. In young Terebratula

vitrea I found nine pairs of tubular tentacles (wonderfully like

the tentacles of a Pedicellina) ; and in the adult we have an

immense series of them, which only require to become adhe-

rent in order to give the essential structure of the Lamelli-

branch’s gill-plate.

The blindness in relation to the intestine of Terebratula

vitrea is certainly in that Brachiopod’s rectum. There is no

anus, but a blunt cecal termination.

I entirely failed to convince myself that the organ regarded

by Mr. Hancock as a heart really has the function of one in

TL’. vitrea. I repeatedly opened fresh specimens with rapidity,

in order to witness its contractions, if any, but never saw such

contractions ; nor could I find vessels in connexion with it, nor

evidence that it had muscular walls. Dr. Krohn, of Bonn,

had equally been unable to obtain evidence that this curious

little dilatation has the function of a heart.

The “ segment-organs”’ or oviducts (hearts of Owen) pre-

sented a beautiful appearance in the living state, on account of

their ciliation. It was possible to preserve them mounted in

balsam and also in osmic acid.

The ovaries, lying as they do on the inner surface of the body-

wall (which is beautifully marked with calcareous spicula), may

be readily studied in various stages of development. The testes

are not known at present in any Brachiopod except the dicecious

Thecidium. 'The red matter suggested by Hancock as possibly

testicular in Lingula has its parallel in yellow matter which is

abundant amongst the ovarian ova of Terebratula. This yellow

matter is clearly due to degeneration of the envelopes of escaped

ova—is, in fact, a series of corpora lutea.

I think it has not yet been clearly pointed out that the ova

in Terebratula do not lie freely on the surface of the body-

wall ready to drop into the blood-sinus (perivisceral cavity),

into which the oviduct opens. Each ovum has really a very

delicate connective-tissue envelope; and it is only upon bursting

through that that it can escape. Sometimes the ovaries (in De-

cember) contain comparatively large eggs, which are readily

detached. In the spring, on the other hand, I found most with

moderate-sized ova, but some with no ova at all. The ovarian

94 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

tracts in the latter specimens were obvious enough, since

they form a reticulate arrangement of ridges, and the corpora

lutea marked these tracts also; but no cells which were dif-

ferentiated as ova were present. Some persons have been

inclined to regard these specimens as males; but I consider

this merely a temporary condition of the ovary. In some

ovaries, at intervals, large white spherical masses containing a ,

quantity of small cells were found; these were the most

likely indication of testicular organs which I succeeded in

finding. ‘The appearances of the ovary in various conditions,

and the structure of the mantle (in which I could not identify

the numerous layers distinguished in Waldheimia flavescens

by Mr. Hancock, in his great essay on Brachiopoda), require

illustrations for a fuller explanation.

Phyllirrhoé bucephala and Mnestra.

Perhaps the most charming of all the objects which the

Naples Bay affords to a zoologist of histological tendencies is

the curious little fish-shaped mollusk Phyllirrhoé. Its trans-

parency is perfect, at the same time that the tissue-elements

present definite outlines. Its anatomy and histology are well

enough known from Heinrich Miiller’s paper. The pulsating

heart—lying in the small pericardium which communicates by

a long partly ciliated tube (the representative of the organ of

Bojanus) with the exterior—is an object of intense interest.

It was easy to trace the connexion of the finest nerve-twigs

with muscular fibres and with various peculiar corpuscles.

Prof. Panceri discovered, whilst I was at Naples, that these

corpuscles, as well as the nerve-ganglia, are phosphorescent.

Krohn described, some thirty years ago, a medusoid which

presents the remarkable character of being parasitic on Phyllir-

rhoé. 1 obtained specimens of this, but have no indication of

the way in which it becomes attached. The tissue of the me-

dusoid’s disk appears to be fused at its middle aboral point with

the tissues of the Phyllirrhoé. It cannot be removed without

tearing, and always occurs just below the chin (if the term be

allowed) of the Phyllirrhoé. I made out (and have drawings

of) acircular and four radiating canals, four marginal tentacles,

abundance of thread-cells, and a central chamber.

Pyrosoma, Auginopsis, and Cercaria.

Prof. Panceri and his assistants were carrying on their valu-

able investigations on the embryology and phosphorescence

of Pyrosoma whilst I was staying at Naples. In December we

obtained a good supply of these most interesting Tunicates.

I directed my attention chiefly to the early changes in the

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 95

vvum, but, owing to the interest which the later development

also had for me and the impossibility of keeping specimens

alive, did not come to definite conclusions. The germinal

vesicle seems to disappear; and a cap of blastodermic cells

appears at one pole of the egg, somewhat as in Loligo, The

changes in the mass of the yelk whilst this goes on are re-

markable, and lead to the formation of corpuscles, which appear

to circulate subsequently in the embryonic blood-system. I

can confirm (if confirmation be wanting) Professor Panceri’s

and Pavyesi’s description of the heart and mouth of the cyatho-

zooid, and its mode of connexion with the four ascidiozooids.

Professor Panceri’s recently published figures (Academy of

Naples) are excellent. ‘The colonial muscular system described

by Panceri (see ‘Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.’ Jan. 1873) was also

examined; and I repeated the experiments which he had just

carried out, leading to the determination of certain granular

masses on the sides of the pharynx as the phosphorescent

organs of Pyrosoma.

Aiginopsis was found on one occasion in some water taken

from the surface. The structure of the arms was not given by

Johannes Miiller so fully as examination with a no. 10 Hart-

nack now allows.

Cercaria echinocerca was obtained and drawn from examina-

tion with the 10 immersion on several occasions. It is re-

markable for the flattened seta-like processes of the integument

of the tail.

The Parasite of the Renal Organ of Cephalopoda.

Dicyema sepie and D. eledone were first described by

Kdlliker. Claparéde afterwards found a species in the Eledone

norvegica, and referred Dicyema to the ciliate Infusoria.

Subsequently Guido Wagner described D. sepie and D. ele-

done in more detail than his predecessors.

There is probably no stranger parasite than the Dicyema.

The renal organ of most Sepre may be said to be literally

made up of these organisms in all stages of growth. They

are clearly not Infusoria, but adegraded form of worm, being mul-

ticellular in structure. They are, when typically grown, thread-

like bodies one third of an inch in length. There is no mouth,

but an axial tissue of scattered stellate cells, which is clothed

with large epithelial scales: these are at one time all ciliated ;

but after full growth the cilia only remain about the head.

The head is indicated by a knob, on which the epithelial scales

are very regularly disposed in two series. It is rare to find a

large Dicyema with this head well developed—the reason being

that the animals are continually dividing transversely, and a

96 Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s Zoological Observations

complete head with its symmetrically arranged scales never

grows at the surface of fission, but only a partially formed ill-

shapen head with two or four scales. _

In addition to transverse division, Décyema reproduces by two

kinds of internally produced embryos, as pointed out by pre-

vious writers. One kind is like the long worm-shaped parent ;

the other is oval, and ciliated at one extremity. No one has

succeeded in following out what becomes of this latter “infu-

sorian-like embryo ;”’ but the embryos resembling their parents

clearly grow up to the reproductive state within their host’s

kidney, and are to be seen in all stages.

I have made out, and hope to figure hereafter, the mode of

formation of these two kinds of embryos, which differs con-

siderably in the two cases. ach originates from a single

nucleated cell, which multiplies. Those cells, however, which

grow into infusorian embryos are contained at first in an oval

capsule or space, twenty or so together, and escape from this

capsule to undergo development in the axial tissue. The

worm-like embryos, on the contrary, arise from single cells

scattered at intervals in the axial parenchyma, which do not

at first present any special characters.

Dicyeme which are developing infusorian embryos do not

at the same time develop worm-embryos. No trace of male

reproductive organs is to be seen in these organisms. Their

structure admits of the most complete investigation, on account

of their small size and transparency.

New type of Infusorva.

Among some eggs of Terebella, associated with other Infu-

soria, I found several specimens of an altogether novel type.

The general form was oval ; above the mouth projected a small

cephalic tubercle ; round this oral extremity was raised up a

large collar or ruffle, which continually opened and shut with

a slight spiral twist, and caused the locomotion of the animal,

whilst at the same time food was brought into the region of

the mouth. This membranous vibratile collar or ruffle may be

compared to a blended crown of cilia. It forms one of the rare

examples of undulating membranes, similar to that of Undulina

(parasitic in the frog’s blood, ‘Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.’ October

1871), where, however, the membrane is in the form of a crest,

and not of a collar as here.

There is not a trace of a cilium on any part of this infuso-

rian, the whole work being done by the vibrating collar.

It is obvious that this form cannot be placed in any one of

Stein’s divisions of ciliate Infusoria, but must stand alone.

made at Naples in the winter of 1871-72. 97

Gregarina sipuncult.

I may refer here to a paper in the ‘Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.’

October 1872, in which I have described some facts relating to

the development of this form, and figured the pseudo-Navicula

or spore-form, the Moneran, pseudo-Cercarian, and Gregarina-

forms of this parasite.

Spectroscopic Observations.

Numerous observations with the spectroscope on a variety

of animal colouring-matters gave the following results.

Hemoglobin is present in the nerve-cord of Aphrodite acu-

leata, also in its pharyngeal muscular tissue, in muscles of the

dorsal fin of Hippocampus, in muscles of the pharynx of various

mollusks, in corpuscles in the blood of Solen legumen, in cor-

puscles in the perivisceral fluid of Glycera, of Capitella, of

Phoronis hippocrepia, and diffused in the perivisceral fluid of

Polia sanguirubra.

No characterizable absorption-bands could be obtained from

the blue pigment of Velella, from the blue pigment of Salpa

democratica, or from the red pigment of other Sa/pe, from the

red pigment of the foot of Cardium and other Lamellibranchs,

or trom the ved pigment of chromatophores of Loligo and other

red pigments of fish, &c., or from the madder-pink pigment

of the corpuscles of the perivisceral fluid of Sipunculus.

I cannot conclude this summary without pointing out how

great an advantage will be gained by zoologists in the station,

now nearly ready for work, which my friend Anton Dohrn has

erected on so magnificent a scale, by the devotion of his

private fortune and much energy and patience. It stands in

the Villa Reale, on the sea’s edge ; and there the naturalist will

not have to dispute and bargain with the intelligent but

rascally fishermen; all will be managed for him by the

employés of the station. Further, he will have the use of a

splendid library*, he will be able to keep his specimens with

ease in the tanks of the station, supplied with streams of sea-

water, and will have constantly the means of contemplating,

even when he may not wish to study minutely, those exquisite

forms which came in hundreds through my hands, but of which

I have here said nothing, with which the waters of the bay

are teeming.

* I take this opportunity of asking for contributions of zoological and

botanical books or papers to the library of the Naples station. Several

publishers in Germany have given valuable works; the Messrs, Engelmann

of Leipzig have presented the whole of their biological publications.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. x1. 7

98 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Geographical

XII.—On the Geographical Distribution, Migration, and Oc-

castonal Habitats of Whales and Dolphins (Cete). By Dr.

J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

Dampier long ago observed that seals did not occur within

the tropics ; and Capt. Maury, in his Whale-Charts, shows that

the Sperm-Whale inhabits a belt of sea in or on each side of ~

the tropics in the Atlantic and another in the Pacifie Ocean,

which was avoided by the Right Whales as if it were a belt

of fire. Both these observations are correct in the main—

though a seal has been found in the West Indies, and some

Humpbacked Whales inhabit near Bermuda, and they and the

Finner off the coast of Brazil. The Sperm-Whale wanders

away from its usual habitat, to its own destruction, on both

sides of the tropical belt, and is carried by currents like the

gulf-stream as far north as Shetland and Norway, and very

likely as far south in the Antarctic Ocean.

This observation about the tropics is important, as showing

that the whales of the northern seas must be of different species

from those that inhabit the southern oceans; and the examination

of the animals, and especially of their skeletons, has shown the

truth of this fact, which is universal as far as I have been able

to examine and compare the bones of the Whalebone- Whales,

Dolphins, and Ziphioid Whales of the northern and southern

hemispheres, and seems also to show that each species has

defined limits.

Most whalers, in their writings, state that the whales visit

their usual fishing-grounds at stated periods, and inhabit certain

bays during their breeding-season, showing that they make

migrations, each species within its own district.

Whales and dolphins always inhabit sheltered bays during

the breeding-season; and the Whalebone-Whales generally

live in shallow water, not very far from the shore or over

sunken banks.

Unfortunately our knowledge of these animals is very Incom-

plete, as, the observation of them being attended with so many

difficulties, we have very imperfect accounts of the his-

tory and habits of the species which inhabit the North and

South Pacific, the South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean.

Indeed it is only within the last few years that the species of

these seas have begun to be studied and determined. Before

that period they were confounded with the whales of the North

Atlantic, and included under general names (as Right Whales,

Finners, Humpbacks, Scrag-Whales, and Sulphur-bottoms)

which are now found to represent so many families or genera,

The study of the whales and dolphins of the North Atlantic

SIU Ss eS

Se ee ee

And la ase

S a

— ay

> oo <4

Ss

=

Distribution of Whales and Dolphins. 99

exhibits their geographical distribution and migrations, natural

or accidental, which give us some idea of what may be the

case with the whales of the other parts of the world, where

they are perhaps better developed than inthe North Atlantic ;

for there can be no doubt that commerce and, more especially,

steamboats in the North Atlantic have driven the northern

species further back and confined them more to the Arctic

regions, have destroyed many individuals, and limited the

breeding of the Mediterranean species and of those which in-

habit the southern districts of the North Atlantic, and that

several species that are now only found in a subfossil state,

imbedded in the alluvial soils of Sweden, Holland, and the

coasts of England, were formerly inhabitants of these seas.

The species that are now found in the North Atlantic may

be divided into :—first, those that inhabit the Arctic seas and

migrate or are accidentally brought south; secondly, those

which chiefly live and are bred in the Mediterranean, or in the

bays of the southern parts of the North Atlantic, and which

migrate and follow the shoals of fish towards the north. There

are no doubt some species, as the common Porpoise, the Pike

Whale, the common Finner, and the Goose Whale (Hype-

roodon), that breed in the middle district (on the coasts of

Germany, Holland, and Great Britain), and are found in the

more northern and more southern seas. On the other hand,

the Ziphius Sowerbiensis has been found in the German Ocean

only in its southern part and off the north coast of Scotland,

but is most abundant on the west coast of Ireland, belonging

as it does to a Mediterranean group (though not yet observed

in the Mediterranean) and perhaps only carried north by the

Gulf-stream.

Some species are essentially Arctic, as the Beluga and the

Monodon ; but even they are sometimes driven south, perhaps

by storms. Others, as the Pilot Whale, always proceed south

in large ‘schools :’? some keep on the west side of the North

Atlantic and go to the east coast of America; others keep on

the east side and are found on the west coast of Europe, the

east and west coasts of great Britain, the coasts of France

and Spain, and some in the Mediterranean; but the Medi-

terranean species is generally smaller and may be distinct.

The voracious and destructive Orca, or Killer, lives in smaller

groups, and seems to follow the same course as the Pilot

Whale; that is to say, Orca are found, in the Arctic and other

seas, as far south as the Mediterranean ; and, like the Pilot

Whales, the southern specimens are much the smallest. I

determined that we had two species of Killer on the British

coast ; and by a photograph sent me by the Royal Academy of

fied

100 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Geographical

Sweden I see they have discovered and recognized my second

species in Swedish seas, showing that both the British species

probably migrate from the north. The skull of the Mediter-

ranean Orca, though so much smaller, is very like those of the

Arctic and British ones.

The Grey Finner ( Cuvierius) is doubtless a northern species

that sometimes comes south; but one is not so certain of the

Broad-headed Whale (udolphius) and the gigantic Flat-back

(Sibbaldius), which have only been found so seldom in the

south part of the North Sea or German Ocean that it is im-

possible to say if they are northern or southern species. At

any rate we may make sure that an animal upwards of one

hundred feet long does not breed in the much-frequented

German Ocean; and neither genus has been discovered in the

Arctie Ocean or in the Mediterranean sea. Perhaps they are

the last remains of their race.

Thus the Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the Grampus

(Grampus Cuviert), and the Petrorhynchus mediterraneus,

which are essentially Mediterranean species, following the fish

out from Gibraltar, come north down the coasts of Spain and

France, and impinge on the coasts of Hampshire, Devon, and

Cornwall along with the pilchards and mackerel. Some pro-

ceed to the left, up the German Ocean—and others to the nght,

either up the Irish Sea or the Atlantic Ocean on the west side

of Ireland, and they have rarely been found as far north as

Shetland or the coast of Norway ; but I am very doubtful if

these animals, like the Sperm-Whales, ever find their way

back.

A kind of whale exists in the Bay of Biscay: and we are

told that there was formerly a whale-fishery there ; but both it

and the Basque fisheries have long passed away. A whale at

distant periods has occurred, especially at the south-east corner,

which is probably the most quiet part of this stormy bay. The

occurrence of a specimen is a proof of the existence of enough

animals to carry on the race residing permanently in or occa-

sionally visiting the bay ; for we may make sure that it is not,

as some people seem to suppose, a spontaneous reproduction or

renewal of the species.

In January 1854 a cow whale and its calf were observed in

the Gulf of Gascony near San Sebastian : the calf was taken ;

but the mother escaped. The skeleton was preserved in sepa-

rate bones at Pampeluna; Eschricht obtaimed it by ex-

change for the museum at Copenhagen; and Professor

Reinhardt intends some day to describe and figure it. Itis said

to be quite different from the Greenland Whale; indeed Mr.

Flower informed me that it is a Zuntertus, with coarse whale-

Distribution of Whales and Dolphins. 101

bone and a bifid first rib. It has been called, but not described

as, Balena biscayensis by Eschricht. M. van Beneden has

made a species under this name from the cervical vertebree of a

whale found at Sainte Marguérite in the Mediterranean, the

subfossil cervical vertebree dredged up at Lyme Regis, and the

ear-bones of the Balena cisarctica trom the coast of North

America (!), never having seen either the skeleton at Copen-

hagen or a figure of it; and itis easy to see by the comparison

of the two cervical masses, which he gives on the same plate,

that they do not belong to the same species. It was possible

that this might be the same whale that occurs at Sainte Mar-

guérite in the Mediterranean, or might be the same as that

found at Lyme Regis, as that is consistent with what we know

of the habits of whales; but we have proof of its not being so ;

and it is not the one found in America, if Mr. Flower’s note is

correct.

The Arctic whales and dolphins on the western coast of the

Atlantic are numerous; Dr. Brown mentions two or three

Right Whales. Some of these migrate southwards down the

east coast of North America; and it is to be observed that some

of the Arctic species inhabit that side of the Atlantic which are

not found at all, or only as stragglers, on the north coast of

Europe. Some species, as Beluga, go much further south on

the coast of Labrador and Nova Scotia than they do on the

coast of Europe.

There were formerly whale-fisheries on the southern parts

of the west side of the Atlantic ; but, like those in the Bay of

Biscay, they no longer exist, the whales having been destroyed

or driven away by commerce. The south-western part of the

North Atlantic has forms peculiar to it, as is the case on the

eastern side; for as yet the Ziphioid Whales, the Grampi,

Delphinus, &c. have not been observed on the American coast,

nor does the Scrag-Whale (Agaphelus) occur on the coast of

Europe. This is very inconsistent with the theory that the

whales of the same species inhabit a belt across the Atlantic

and other oceans, each species occurring in a peculiar locality.

In the first volume of the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ (for

1665, p. 11) there is an account ‘fof the New American W hale-

fishing about Bermuda;” and at p. 132 there is ‘a further

Relation of the Whale-fishing about the Bermudas and the

Coast of New England and New Netherland ;” and it appears

that there then existed a Bermuda Company. ‘The writer ob-

serves, “these whales are met with between the coast of New

England and New Netherland, where they might be caught eight

or nine months in the year, whereas those about the Bermudas

are to be found there only in the months of February, March,

102 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Geographical

and April.” He particularly refers to the “'Trumpo,” which

is evidently the Sperm-Whale, one of which he says was

stranded in New England.

The Hon. Paul Dudley, in the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’

for 1724 (p. 256), writes an “Essay on the Natural History

of Whales . . . . found on the Coast of New England.”

He says he is particularly indebted to Mr. J.Coffin, some time at

the island of Nantucket, and Mr. Greenhouse, of Yarmouth near

Cape Cod, both of them places famous for the whale-fisheries.

These fisheries have now disappeared, the fisheries being now

carried on in the South Seas. He mentions :—

1. The Right or Whalebone Whale, which is probably a

true Balena.

2. The Scrag-Whale. This is evidently the Agaphelus

gibbosus of Cope, in character intermediate between the true

Whales and the Fin-backs. It has no dorsal fins or throat-folds.

This animal probably goes south, and is the ‘‘ Norwega” of

Bahia mentioned by Dr. Hartt.

3. The Fin-back Whale is most probably a Physalus ; but

the North-American Fin-backs have not been described. It

may be the same species that goes south as far as Bahia; and

they are called “ Mystica.”” They first appear, according to

Dr. Hartt, in the Abrolhos waters at the end of May, and stay

until November; the females often brmg their young calves

with them and seek the shelter of the reets.

4, The Bunch or Humpback-Whale is probably the JMega-

ptera osphyia of Cope, described from a skeleton in the museum

at Niagara, which he thinks is one of the largest species of

Balenide, and may be the same as Megaptera americana of

Bermuda.

5. The Sperma Cete Whale.

The same migrations or circummigrations appear in the

southern part of the Atlantic and the southern seas. Dr.

Dieffenbachinformsus that the Sperm- Whale, the Black Whale,

the Finner, and the Humpback are found in Cook’s Straits in

New Zealand. The Sperm-Whale inhabits the open sea and

does not approach shallow coasts and inlets, as is the habit of

the other whales. The Finner and Humpback are seldom

captured, on account of their wildness and celerity ; and they

contain only a small quantity of oil. Almost all the Black

Whales caught are females and their calves; indeed it is the

affection of the mother for her young that causes her sacri-

fice, the young being taken to secure the parent. The male

is very rarely caught; he never approaches the land so near

as the female, and is more shy and wild. The cows ap-

proach the shallow coast and smooth waters for the purpose

Distribution of Whales and Dolphins. 103

of bringing forth their young, and are generally accompanied

by the calf of the preceding year, called a“scrag,” which does

not leave its mother till it attains its full size. The Black

Whale is truly a migratory animal; it arrives in Cook’s

Straits from the northward at the beginning of May, then

passes along the coast of the northern island to Entry Island,

then sweeping into Cloudy Bay ; and then at the end of October

they go to the eastward or return to the northward; and many

whales are to be found in the “whaling-ground” which

extends from Chatham Island to the eastward of the north-

ern island of New Zealand and thence to Norfolk Island;

and the whalers say this district is a shoal. Besides this

migration, which rather ought to be called a circumnavigation

of a limited district, there exists a daily one; the whales ap-

proach the shores and bays with the flood tide and quit them

with the ebb; they are often seen in places where the depth

of water does not exceed their own breadth (Dieffenbach’s

Travels in New Zealand, vol. i. pp. 44-47). The whalers

thought they were the same species that were found at the Cape

of Good Hope, which are known to have similar habits, as

also have the Black Whales at Van Diemen’s Land; but I

now know, from the examination of the skeletons, that there

are two Black Whales im New Zealand, both of which are

quite different from the two Black Whales that inhabit the Cape

of Good Hope.

Mr. E. Hartt, in his ‘ Physical Geography of Brazil,’ ob-

serves :—The first whales (Physalus brasiliensis, Gray) appear

in the Abrolho waters at about the end of May, and they stay

till October. The females often bring their young calves with

them, and appear to seek the shelter of the rocks. ‘The fishery

begins at Bahia, according to Castelnau, at about the 13th of

June, and lasts till the 21st of September; at Caravellas I was

assured the whales always appeared later than at Bahia.”

Further south, the Finners in passing the Rio de la Plata

ascend that river ; and Professor Burmeister has described from

the skeletons of the whales in the museum of Buenos Ayres,

obtained near that city, no less than three distinct species of

Physalus (see Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1872, x. p. 413).

Wherever there are whale-fisheries (as in Walvisch Bay

near the Cape, Cook’s Straits at New Zealand, and Caravellas,

and especially Bahia) the bones of the whales killed form large

banks, as many as 500 to 1000 whales or more on the same

spot (indeed in Walvisch Bay the bank is said to be several

miles in length), showing great destruction of these animals in

these seas as well as in the northern ones.

In the ‘Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.’ 1870, vi. pp. 391-394, is

104 Dr. J. Hector on the Whales and

a list of the species of whales according to the countries in which

they have been observed.

XITI.— Notes on the Whales and Dolphins of the New-Zealand

Seas. By Dr. JAMes Hector, F.R.S. With Remarks by

Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

1. Neobalena marginata, Gray.

The tympanic bone of the type of this species in the Colonial

Museum agrees exactly with the ear-bone on which is founded

Caperea nove-zealandie, Gray (Cat. Seals & Whales, p. 101).

Practical whalers, after examining the baleen of this whale,

affirm that it is the Fin-fish or Sulphur-bottom, and that it

grows to an immense size. It is not the Finner, which has

the dorsal fin further back. They judge by the colour of the

baleen.

2. Eubalena australis, Gray. (The Black Whale.)

Balena antipodarum, Gray.

Whalers do not distinguish two species ; and if the tympanic

bone of the second species cited belongs to Neobalena mar-

ginata, there is no evidence that the Black Whale of New

Zealand is different from that of the Cape.

3. Megaptera nove-zealandie, Gray.

This species is also founded on a tympanic bone. A whale,

34 feet long, with a falcate dorsal fin, stranded in Wellington

Harbour, has a similar ear-bone, and may be this species.

The bones were unfortunately lost.

4, Physalus australis, Gray.

(The Southern Finner or Razor-back.)

Physalus antarcticus, Gray.

The only reason given for distinguishing the above is the

colour of the baleen. Whalers state the baleen of the Finner

to be very variable in colour, even from the same individual.

5. Catodon macrocephalus, Lacép. (The Sperm-W hale.)

Several varieties of teeth are in the museum, and must

belong to different species.

6. Delphinus novee-zealandie, Quoy & Gaim,

A skull of this species in the museum has the intermaxillary

Dolphins of the New-Zealand Seas. 105

plates united, so as to form the nasal groove into a tube through-

out two thirds of its length.

7. Delphinus Forstert, Gray.

A skull in the museum agrees in its dentition with this

species. It differs from the preceding species in the greater

proportional width of the beak and more perpendicular fore-

head, the width of the middle part of the beak being con-

tained four times in the length from the notch, while in D. nove-

zealandie it 1s six times.

8. Electra clancula, Gray.

The generic character requires to be amended by leaving out

the second dorsal lobe, which is not present in this species.

9. Pseudorca meridionalis, Flower. (Tasmanian Blackfish.)

An imperfect skull found in Lyall Bay appears to belong to

this species.

10. Grampus Richardsoni, Gray.

A lower jaw found on the Munawutu beach agrees with

this, except that it has only three instead of four teeth on each

side.

11. Beluga Kingii, Gray.

A very imperfect skull, in the collection of the late Mr.

Swainson, appears to resemble this species. A large white

Porpoise is frequently seen at certain seasons in Blind Bay,

and may be this species.

12. Globiocephalus macrorhynchus, Gray.

(New-Zealand Blackfish.)

Several skulls, more or less perfect, are in the museum, one

from the Chatham Islands.

The same trivial name (Blackfish) is also applied to a

small species of Sperm-Whale.

13. Epiodon chathamiensis, sp. nov.

Beak of skull tapering, callous, with a slight upward curve.

Vomer forming a posteriorly truncate callous ridge, depressed

between the intermaxillaries. Upper jaw toothless. Lower

jaw elongate, bent up, truncate, with two terminal, short, sub-

cylindrical teeth in shallow sockets, and in front of a long

dental groove.

106 Dr. J. Hector on the Whales and

Skull: Chatham Islands (coll. G. H. Travers).

Weight of teeth 817 and 836 grains.

inches

Total lengthy 156; 4 .oya 2. hades ete ot eee 36

Width-at orbits* “0. 3... coms 5.1c,- eee 20

: Hotel. 3. SARE eae eee 12

Length of beak.) 0)... sai. ld. ee eee 18

¥o|) “Deane cawaty 3 npt..teie- oe 6

47 ‘sperm=cayaby 9) .)fi21../c07 ey. see 12

si JOWOPAONG 15 ted) Pe ycioat ade gsm 30

Height: of ramis’t sti-s'c chet ee ee cf

The beak is trigonal, three times as long as the brain-cavity

measured internally. The vomer is not observed in the profile

as in Petrorhynchus capensis ; otherwise the general structure of

the skull agrees with that species. The teeth are ground down,

each with two lateral facets and a central ridge; as these

teeth, when the mouth is closed, are beyond the lower jaw,

there is probably a callosity on the upper lip against which

they are applied.

Two teeth of another individual are in the museum, with

triple facets.

This species may be the same as Epiodon australis, Burm.,

of which I have no description.

14. Mesoplodon Layardit.

Lower jaw with teeth: Chatham Islands (coll. G. H.

Travers).

Total length 33 inches ; symphysis one third of total length.

Hinder edge of the teeth is 18 inches from the condyle ; and

their length along the jaw is 5 inches, the anterior margin

being in advance of the commencement of the symphysis ; no

notch on the edge of the jaw posterior to the teeth. The teeth

are 6 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 3inch thick. ‘The acute

point in the upper and forward angle is very marked ; there is a

deep rough notch worn on the anterior margin ; and the com-

pressed root of the tooth shows seven distinct fangs. The teeth

are directed obliquely backwards and inwards, but do not

approach so as to close over the beak, as described in the type

of the species (Cat. Seals & Whales, p. 353).

15. Berardius Hector’, Gray. (Scamperdown Whale.)

Berardius Hectori, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. viii. p. 116 (August

1871).

Mesoplodon, sp., Flower, Nature, Dee. 7, 1871, p. 105.

Teeth 5. Body fusiform ; head rounded, beaked ; upper lip

long and flexible; eye halfway between angle of mouth and

wa

——

et — ee — ee ee

Dolphins of the New-Zealand Seas. 107

pectorals, which are small; dorsal over the tail; tail-lobes

large, faleate—Know.

Skull globular, with a slender conical beak. The intermaxil-

laries form thin linear callous plates, incurved over a deep groove

that extends back from the snout to the blow-holes, as in Dol-

phins; they then expand to form a flat lunate area in front of

the blow-holes, and rise behind to form moderate knob-like

crests that are separated by a notch, owing to the feeble de-

velopment of the nasals. ‘The maxillaries commence as lateral

plates some distance from the top of the beak, but expand

behind into slightly concave areas. The blowers are straight,

vertical, and almost equally developed.

Before I had seen Berardius Arnouxit I took this for the

young of that species ; but it differs in the presence of crests

over the blow-holes, feeble nasals, narrower beak, and more

compressed teeth.

The tympanic bones of the two species have a close resem-

blance.

A second, fragmentary skull, of exactly the same form and

dimensions as that described above (see also Trans. N.-Z. Inst.

vol. ili.), has been lately obtained in a sandy deposit near

Wanganui.

16. Berardius Arnouxti, Duv.

Ziphioid whale with skull like a Porpoise.

The specimen in the museum has the first three cervicals

united, and the fourth united by the neural arch.

The preceding species has the first two thoroughly united

and the third by its spines; the rest are free, not united, as

might be inferred from the description (Trans. N.-Z. Inst. in.

p- 129), where the term combined cervical vertebre referred

only to the manner in which they are sketched.

Remarks on some of the Species in the foregoing paper.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

This paper was received from Dr. Hector yesterday morning

(December 26, 1872). As it is marked ‘“‘abstract,” probably it

refers to a paper that he has sent to the New-Zealand Institute.

He does not say, in his letter on other subjects which accom-

panies it, what 1 am to do with it; but I suppose it is sent for

publication in the ‘Annals,’ as others received in the same way.

It contains many most valuable observations, and adds con-

siderably to our knowledge of the Cetacea of the southern

regions; it is very interesting as confirming the existence of

the genera Grampus and Beluga in the southern or Antarctic

108 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Whales and

seas. It is accompanied by tracings of the skull of Hpzodon

chathamiensis, of the lower jaw of Mesoplodon Layardit, of the

ear-bones (represented half the natural size) of Neobalena

marginata, Megaptera?, Berardius Arnouxii, and Berardius

Hectort.

1. Neobalena marginata.

The discovery that the baleen named Balena marginata,

and that the ear-bones on which I first established the genus

Caperea, belong to this whale is entirely due to Dr. Hector; and

I gladly accept the correction, although it has always appeared

to me that the baleen is very narrow and long for a whale with

such a broad upper jaw compared with that of the northern

Right Whale ; but that may be a peculiarity of the group. The

combination of characters thus brought together mdicates an

entirely new group of whales, which I propose to call Neoba-

lenide.

The form of the skull and ear-bones is peculiar and very

different from that of any known group of Cetacea; and I have

always found that the characters derived from these parts are

connected with peculiar modifications of the external form.

The removal of the ear-bone of Neobalena from the family

Balenide makes the character from that bone in that family

as uniform as it is in the other families of Balenoidea. In

form and structure the whalebone is finer, but very similar

to that of the Greenland Right Whale, and shows an affinity

of this family to the Baleenide ; but the structure of the head

is more like that of the Physalidee, as far as we can judge from

the figure, never having had an opportunity of seeing the skull

itself. The dilated character of the lower jaw is very peculiar,

and no doubt characteristic. The face, or rather maxille and

intermaxille, is broad for a whale having such long and slender

baleen,

We await the discovery and the description of the complete

Neobalena with great anxiety. If it is the Sulphur-bottom or

Fin-fish it will be even more interesting, as removing that

often-mentioned and hitherto undetermined whale from our

books.

The synonyms will therefore run thus :—

Balena marginata, Gray, Zool. Erebus & Terror, p. 48, t. 1. f. 1 (baleen

only).

Caperea antipodarum, Gray, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 202, fig.; Cat. Seals &

Whales, p. 101, f. 9 (ear-bone only); part only of Suppl. Cat.

Neobalena marginata, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, v. p. 221, vi.

p- 155, figs. 1 & 2; Suppl. Cat. p. 40, figs. 1 & 2 (skull only).

Tapplied the name of C. antipodarum tothis species, believing

it to be the Black Whale of New Zealand, of which Dr. Dief-

Dolphins of the New-Zealand Seas. 109

fenbach had brought such an accurate figure ; and I was con-

firmed in thinking that it was the same as the skeleton from

New Zealand which was in the Paris Museum, by the obser-

vations of Milne-Edwards, Professor Lilljeborg, and Van

Beneden, who, though the skeleton had lost its ear-bones,

seemed to feel no doubt that it was the skeleton of the whale

the ear-bones of which I figured. I have never seen the

skeleton myself; for when I was in Paris they considered the

skeleton a duplicate of the one they had set up, and not

worth my seeing.

I think it better to retain the name of Neobalena for this

genus. The genus Caperea, though first established on the

ear-bone of this genus, has had its character enlarged by the

study of the Paris skeleton ; and it would produce less change

of name to retain Caperea for the whale the skeleton of which

| is at Paris ; otherwise we should have to form a new name for

| that genus ; but doubtless there will be some one who, wishing

to append his name to a new-named old genus, will give it

another appellation.

As the specimen in the Paris Museum has lost its ear-bones,

M. van Beneden has added to the figure of that skeleton the

figure of some ear-bones, said to have come from New Zealand,

in the Belgian Museum. Now,as there are at least two Black or

Right Whales with very different shoulder-blades that inhabit

| the seas of New Zealand, it is not possible to say to which of

these species the specimens figured by M. van Beneden belong.

2. Hubalena australis.

There are at least two Black Whales in New Zealand ; and

| as yet I have no evidence that the Hubalena australis has been

| taken in New-Zealand seas. It is doubtful to which of the

two Right Whales the animal figured by Dr. Dieffenbach really

| belongs. I applied to this figure the names of Balena antip-

darum (Dieffenb. New Zeal. t.1) and Balena antarctica (Voy.

Erebus and Terror, t. 1); but as this has been applied to the

skeleton of the New-Zealand whale in the Paris Museum by

M. Milne-Edwards, Prof. Lilljeborg, myself, and M. van

Beneden in his ‘Ostéographie des Cétacés,’ I believe it will be

better to retain it for that species. The form of the bladebone,

which is different from that of all the other Right Whales

| known, is not likely to be connected with a change in the ex-

| ternal form of the animal.

The synonyms will run thus :—

Balena antipodarum, Gray, Dieffenb. New Zeal. tab. 1 (animal).

Balena antarctica, Gray, Zool. Erebus & Terror, Cet. p. 16, tab. 1 (ani-

mal, not Lesson nor Owen),

110 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Whales and

- Caperea antipodarum, Lilljeborg; Gray, Cat. Seals & Whales, p. 371,

Suppl. p. 45 (not ear-bones).

Balena antipodarum, Van Beneden, Ostéog. Cét. tab. 3 (skeleton; ear-

bones doubtful).

The second Black Whale is Macleayius australiensis, a

skeleton of which is in the British Museum (noticed in the

Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1873, vol. xi. p. 75), and which is de-

scribed and will be published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoolo-

gical Society’ for 1873. It was sent from the coast of Canter-

bury, New Zealand, as Balena antipodarum, by Dr. Haast.

T at first thought, from the similarity of the ear-bones, that it

was the Hubalena australis ; but it is extremely different from

this.

3. Megaptera novee-zealandie. °

The whale stranded at Wellington Harbour with “a falcate

dorsal” is most probably a Physalus ; for the peculiar character

of Megaptera is to have merely a hunch instead of a dorsal fin,

and elongate pectoral fins. ‘The ear-bones of Megaptera and

Physalus are nearly similar ; and therefore it is most probably

Physalus antarcticus. The colour of the baleen may vary, as

the whalers say the character and texture are very different—so

distinct that a dealer in these articles can distinguish the

baleen of the Finners of the different countries, and they fetch

different prices.

8. Electra clancula, Gray.

I do not know what Dr. Hector’s remark refers to; perhaps

it does not refer to my description. I published a description

and figure which Dr. Hector sent to me in the ‘Ann. & Mag.

Nat. Hist.’ 1872, ix. p. 436, fig.

10. Grampus Richardsoni.

The number of teeth varies in the different specimens of the

European species.

13. Epiodon chathamiensis, and

14. Mesoplodon Layardit.

I have not seen the skull of Zpiodon australis ; but as yet I

have never seen a species of whale or seal common to the coast

of South America and New Zealand. It may be different with

the Cape of Good Hope and Australia and New Zealand ; but

I have seen no decided instance of the same species occurring —

in two countries; therefore I can give no decided opinion re-

specting the jaw of Mesoplodon Layardii.

At the same time I may observe that the Mesoplodon

Layardti, or, as I should call it, Dolichodon Layardi, has a much

Dolphins of the New-Zealand Seas. 111

longer and more attenuated lower jaw, and much slenderer

teeth, than the Chatham-Island specimen, figured and described

by Dr. Hector under that name; and I have very little doubt

in my own mind that the Chatham-Island specimen will be

found, when more perfect specimens are obtained, to be the

representative of a very distinct species of Dolichodon, which

I would propose provisionally to designate as Dolichodon Tra-

versii—a curious comment on the comparative anatomists, who

think that Dolichodon Layardi of the Cape, Callidon Giintheri

of New South Wales, Petrorhynchus capensis of the Cape, &e.

‘all differ in so trifling a degree as not to exceed the range of

individual variations one often meets with in comparing a series

of skulls of the same species.” Surely the author means

of the same domestic animals, and entirely leaves out of the

question the experience gained by the study of wild ones and

the evidence afforded by the study of their geographical distri-

bution.

I must think that when these authors become more expe-

rienced they will wish their observations to have a “ tacit

burial and oblivion,” and perhaps themselves learn how to

define genera and species.

15. Berardius Hector.

I know nothing of this skull except from Dr. Hector’s

figures and description: and theskull hasnever been in England;

so that I do not think that any comparative anatomist has had

the opportunity of seeing it. Dr. Hector considered it the

young of B. Arnouxt. I at once saw that it was different ; but

as it has the teeth in the front of the jaw like Berardius, I

considered it best (and am still of the same opinion) to retain

it in that genus, with which it agrees in the position of its

teeth as developed in the adult animal, and in geographical

distribution ; and Dr. Hector’s tracings of the ear-bones of the

two species show that there is a great affinity between them in

the very peculiar manner in which those bones are dotted. I con-

sider the position of the teeth a more important zoological cha-

racter than a slight difference in the “conformation of the naso-

premaxillary region,” a part that, as every zoologist who has

examined several skulls of different ages in the same species

of Cetacea knows, is very apt to vary ; but when a comparative

anatomist draws his conclusions from figures, or the examination

of a single specimen of a group, he is often liable to be misled

as to the value of the characters to which he attaches much

importance. Nothing showed this better than the published

results of the labours of a comparative anatomist who has

named, but not defined, a multitude of species and genera from

112 Mr. A. G. Butler on the Genus Gonyleptes.

fragments of fossil bones, but who when he attempted to name

recent skulls, as of crocodiles (of which he has perfect specimens

under his eyes), named, described, and published what are now

regarded as three distinct species in one case, and two distinct

species in another, under the same name, and, on the other

hand, a series of skulls of the same species under three different

names (see Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. 1869, p. 127), and who mixes

up together under one name the skulls of two such large and

distinct animals as a one-horned and a two-horned rhinoceros

as a double-horned one (see Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 1015). I

need not (but could) refer to many more instances of the same

kind. Iam in the habit of estimating, from what is written

about what I know, the reliance I may place upon what is

written of what I do not know, and have thus lost my confidence

in this author’s writings on zoological questions.

It is an old complaint that persons will write about what they

have a limited knowledge of. Thus the comparative anatomists

are always giving their opinions on the limits and definitions

of genera and the names that ought to be used—subjects not

much in their way, and on which they have very crude ideas.

What would they say if a zoologist interfered with their ana-

tomical details, their confused nomenclature of bones, and their

much controverted homologies ? But it is the more remarkable,

when we consider how very few animals have been dissected,

and how imperfectly those that have been dissected have been

described, as is proved by their own papers (see for instance Mr.

Clark’s paper on the hippopotamus, ‘Proc. Zool. Soc.’ 1872,

p. 185), that an anatomist should leave his subject and diverge

to write upon the synonyma of species and the priority of names,

all of which is mere compilation on his part.

XIV.—A Monographie List of the Species of the Genus Gony-

leptes, with Descriptions of three remarkable new Species.

By ArTHUR GARDINER BUTLER, F.L.S., F.Z.8., &e.

[Plate III.]

Family Gonyleptide, Wood.

Genus GONYLEPTES *, Kirby.

1. Gonyleptes horridus.

Gonyleptes horridns, Kirby, Trans. Linn. Soe. xii. p. 452, pl. 22. fig. 16

(1818).

Gonyleptes curvipes ?, Koch (nec Guérin), Arachn, vii. pl. 224. fig. 555

(1839). ;

Hab. “Brazil” (Kirby); Surinam. One example. B.M.

* I take this genus in its restricted sense, as used by Gervais (‘Aptéres,’

iii. pp. 102-105). Wood, in his recent papers on Gonyleptide: and Pha-

langidee, applies it equally to Gontosoma and Cosmetus !

Mr. A. G. Butler on the Genus Gonyleptes. 113

2. Gonyleptes aculeatus.

Gonyleptes aculeatus, Kirby, Trans. Linn. See. xii. p. 452 (1818).

Var. ? Faucheur acanthure, Duméril, Dict. Sc. Nat., Ent. pl. 60. figs.

14-16 (1819).

Gonyleptes acanthurus, Gervais, Aptéres, iii. p. 105, pl. 46, fig. 2 (1844).

Hab. Monte Video (Darwin). 'Two examples. B.M.

3. Gonyleptes scaber.

Gonyleptes scaber, Kirby, Trans. Linn. Soe. xii. p. 453 (1818); Koch,

Arachn. vii, pl. 223. figs. 553, 554 (1889).

Hab. Monte Video?; Valdivia (Cuming). Three examples.

B.M.

4, Gonyleptes acanthopus.

Phalangium acanthopus, Quoy & Gaim. Voy. de l’Uranie, Zool. p. 546,

pl. 62. figs. 2, 5, 3, 9 (1824).

Eusarcus grandis, Perty, Del. Anim. p. 206, pl. 40. fig. 2, 2 (1830-34).

Gonyleptes horridus, Koch, Arachn. vii. pl. 222. figs. 551, 552 (1839).

Hab. Brazil. Five examples. B.M.

5. Gonyleptes asperatus.

Gonyleptes asperatus, Gervais, Gay’s Chili, Zool., ¢Arachn. pl. 1. fig. 9

(1849).

Hab. Chili.

6. Gonyleptes planiceps.

Gonyleptes planiceps, Gervais, Mag. de Zool., Arachn. pl. 2; Aptéres, iil.

p- 105 (1844); Gay’s Chili, Zool., Arachn. pl. 1. fig. 10 (1849).

Hab. Chili.

7. Gonyleptes pectinatus.

Gonyleptes pectinatus, Koch, Arachn. xii. pl. 402. fig. 971 (1845).

? Gonyleptes curvipes, Koch, Arachn. vii. pl. 224. fig. 555 (1839),

Hab. “Bahia” (Koch); near Rio Janeiro (A. Fry). One

example. B.M.

8. Gonyleptes curvipes.

Gonyleptes curvipes, Guérin, Icon. du Régne Anim., Arachn. pl. 4. fig. 5

1842-49); Gervais, Aptéres, iii. p. 104, pl. 46. fig. 1 (1844); Gay’s

hili, Zool., Arachn. pl. 1. fig. 6 (1849).

Gonyleptes chilensis, G. R Gray, Anim. Kingd., Arachn. pl. 20. fig. 2.

Hab. Chili. Four examples. B.M.

9. Gonyleptes armatus.

Gonyleptes armatus, Perty, Del. Anim. p. 205, pl. 39. fig. 18 (1830-34),

Hab. Rio Negro.

G. spinipes and asper of Perty are referred by Koch to his

enus Ampheres ; G. curvispina and elegans to his genus Ce-

us

‘Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xi. 8

114 Mr. A. G. Butler on the Genus Gonyleptes.

10. Gonyleptes acanthops.

Gonyleptes acanthops, Gervais, Gay’s Chili, Zool., Arachn. pl. 1, fig. 4

(1849).

Hab. Chili.

There is a species nearly allied to this in the British Museum.

11. Gonyleptes bicuspidatus.

Gonyleptes bicusprdatus, Koch, Arachn, vii. pl. 224. fig, 556 (1839).

Hab, Brazil (Koch).

12. Gonyleptes muticus.

Gonyleptes muticus, Koch, Arachn. vii. pl. 225. fig. 557 (1839).

Hab. Brazil (Koch).

13. Gonyleptes polyacanthus.

Gonyleptes polyacanthus, Gervais, Gay's Chili, Zool., Arachn. pl. 1. fig. 7

(1849).

Hab. “Chili” (Gervais); ——? One example. B.M.

14. Gonyleptes modestus.

Gonyleptes modestus, Gervais, Gay’s Chili, Zool., Arachn, in vol. iv.

p- 23. n. 4 (1849).

Hab. Chili? ; Valdivia (Cuming). Two examples. B.M.

15. Gonyleptes bicornis.

Gonyleptes bicornis, Gervais, Gay’s Chili, Zool., Arachn. in vol. iv. p. 21.

n. 2 (1849).

Hab. Chili.

16. Gonyleptes subsimilis.

Gonyleptes subsimilis, Gervais, Gay’s Chili, Zool., Arachn. pl. 1. fig. 8

(1849).

Gonyleptes polyacanthoides, Gervais, Aptéres, iv. p. 577 (1847 ?)*.

Hab. Chil.

Seems to be a female closely allied to G@. aculeatus ?;

several of the species at present referred to the genus Gloniosoma

have much the same aspect, and may possibly have to be re-

ferred to this genus when we know both sexes of them. The

two genera have been somewhat artificially separated; but I

have thought it better to leave them for the present as Gervais

left them.

G. ornatum of Say, recently figured and redescribed by

Wood as a Gonyleptes, in which genus Gervais also retained

it (Apt.iv.p. 344), belongs to the genus Cosmetus (Phalangide),

, nr reference is given at p. 576 to the pagination and plates of Gay’s

ili.’

Mr. A. G. Butler on the Genus Gonyleptes. 115

the palpi being unarmed. We have four examples from

Georgia, where the type also was taken; they agree closely

with Say’s description, but not with Wood’s.

With regard to the species recently described from Ecuador

(Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. n. s. xiii. 1869, pp. 435-440, pl. xxiv.),

G. predo, G. injucundus, and G. spinipalpus appear to be

Goniosomata, and G. multimaculatus a mutilated and greasy

example of Cosmetus cordatus; the species (O. marginatus)

forming the new genus Octophthalmus is unknown to me at

present ; O. bilunata®* and O. ferox, forming the genus Or-

tonia, are also unknown to me, although the latter appears to

be congeneric with Gloniosoma raptator of Gervais, which I

have always considered the type of a distinct genus.

The following are new species :—

17. Gonyleptes armillatus, n. sp. Pl. TIT. figs. 1, 2.

Colours: above pitchy, the marginal tubercles of cephalo-

thorax tawny in the centre ; tarsi ochraceous ; palpi olivaceous ;

below brownish in parts, the joints of the legs testaceous ;

mandibles or chele olivaceous, their pincers ferruginous.

Male. Above with oculiferous tubercle prominent, arched

forwards, and obtusely bifurcate ; immediately behind it and

in front of the transverse suture two groups of five to six

minute tubercles ; central atea of cephalothorax transversely

ovate, margined on either side by six gradually imcreasing

prominent tubercles, and in front of these to just above the

suture by a series of minute shining granules; bearing on

either side a robust obtuse incurved spine above base of cox

of hind legs; distinctly convex and crossed by six to seven

transverse irregular series of moderate-sized tubercles, besides

six prominent central ones placed longitudinally in pairs ;

posterior area trisegmented, tuberculate, second segmentation

bearing a prominent terminal spine: legs short, coarsely rugose,

spinous, pilose; hind legs with coxe obtusely spinous ; femora

coarsely tuberculate, externally obtusely dentate-spinous ;

tibie coarsely tuberculate: sternal surface entirely tuberculate

and pilose, as also the segments of the abdomen ; palpi (“‘ man-

dibules palpiformes” of Gervais) of moderatelength, compressed,

with slender spines ; cheliceres short, pilose, the chele cylin-

drical, pincers minutely serrated internally.

* This species has quite the aspect of a Cosmetus, so far as one can

judge by the figure; but the description says, “Palpi ... . penulti-

mate joint broadly dilated, somewhat triangular, thin, and armed with

minute slender spines on its margins, and a pair of larger ones on its distal

end; the distal article more cylindrical, with one or more acute spines,,

against which the movable claw works.”

8*

116 Mr. A. G. Butler on the Genus Gonyleptes.

Length of cephalothorax 4 lines ; relative length of legs 1,

3, 4, 2, the second pair being the longest.

Female. Differs chiefly in its narrower cephalothorax, which

has smaller tubercles and less strongly developed lateral spines ;

the legs also are much less spinose.

Hab. Ecuador (Buckley). g¢ 9. B.M.

Must be placed next to G. curvipes, but is a very distinct

and beautiful form.

18. Gonyleptes ancyrophorus, n. sp. Pl. III. figs. 5, 6.

Colours: cephalothorax above pitchy, becoming testaceous

at the margins; legs black-brown, with coxe ochraceous and

base of femora ferruginous; femora of hind legs entirely fer-

ruginous ; palpi blackish olivaceous, terminal claw and points

of spines ochraceous ; cheliceres olivaceous, with pincers ochra-

ceous; body below dirty testaceous, clouded with olivaceous,

and becoming blackish posteriorly.

Cephalothorax above with oculiferous tubercle prominent,

bearing two well-developed and moderately acute divergent

spines; entire dorsum unusually convex; posterior area tra-

pezoidal, and bearing on its hinder margin two slightly diver-

gent and well-developed acute spines ; legs long, smooth ; hind

legs irregularly spined along inner margin of femora; palpi

rather longer than cephalothorax, their joints more or less

cylindrical, irregular, coarsely spined; cheliceres with second

joint above trispinose behind ; chele rather large, fixed finger

with two obtuse teeth on its inner margin: inferior surface

smooth, the metasternum bearing on either side (about halfway

between the third and fourth pair of legs) a strong acute per-

pendicular spine, and on its outer margin, below the retracted

abdominal segments, a long, thick, incurved, and nearly per-

pendicular horny process, bifurcate at its tip.

Length of cephalothorax 4 lines; relative length of legs,

apparently, 1, 3, 2, 4.

Hab. Quito (W. C. Hewitson). B.M.

Not nearly allied to any described species.

19. Gonyleptes telifer,n. sp. Pl. III. figs. 3, 4.

Colours almost as in G. armillatus, but (with the exception

of the cheliceres) rather darker ; under surface of body pitchy.

Cephalothorax similar in general form to that of G. armil-

latus ; irregularly tuberculate, marginal tubercles smaller, some

of them obtusely spinose ; oculiferous tubercle very prominent,

bispinose ; six central tubercles of cephalothorax elongated into

obtuse spines, the hindmost pair being the longest; margin.

On the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 117

above base of coxee of hind legs bearing two widely divergent

obtuse spines ; posterior area trisegmented, tuberculate, second

segmentation bearing a prominent central acute spine, third

segmentation terminating in a long, feebly curved, and very

robust spine, three lines in length; legs long, rugose, denticu-

late; hind legs, with the exception of the femora, internally

dentated; body below, including abdomen, coarsely tuberculate;

palpi moderately long, subcylindrical, with slender spines ;

cheliceres small ; the chelee cylindrical, pilose, pincers crossing

at the tips and strongly denticulate internally.

Length of cephalothorax (excluding terminal spine) 44 lines ;

relative length of legs 1, 3, 2, 4.

Hab, Kga (Bates). One specimen. B.M.

Most nearly allied to G. armillatus, but in general appear-

ance utterly unlike any thing previously described: it reminds

me of a similarly ornamented fossil torm described by Mr.

Henry Woodward (Geol. Mag. vol. viii. p. 355, pl. xi. 1871)

as Hophrynus Prestvicti (Curculioides of Samouelle) ; the latter,

however, excepting in ornamentation, appears to come nearer

to Ischyropsalis of Koch.

XV.—WNotes on the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America.

By H. W. Bates, F.L.S.

[Continued from p. 45. |

Genus ACYPHODERES.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1838, p. 549; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 505.

The character given by Serville as distinguishing this genus

was the broadly ovate depressed uneven thorax. A more

constant feature is the rather abruptly subulate elytra. The

thorax is sometimes oblong-ovate and convex. The antenne

in all the species are robust and strongly serrated.

I. Apew of elytra entire.

A. Thorax without dorsal ridges.

1. Acyphoderes crinitus, Klug.

Stenopterus crintus, Klug, Entom. Bras, Specim. alter. p. 56, t. xliy.

fi.

Rio Janeiro,

2. Acyphoderes mestus, n. sp.

A, niger, velutinus, dense breviter hirsutus; thorace elongato, sub-

118 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

ovato, postice constricto; elytris disco fuscescenti-albis vitreis.

Long. 9 lin. ¢.

Prov. Parand, Brazil (coll. W.. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Allied to A. crinitus (Klug). More slender and elongate.

Hind tibie with the apical half dilated externally, and densely

clothed with rather short black hairs. Head slender; muzzle

greatly elongated and narrow; eyes (male) nearly approaching

in front the mesial line. Antenne rather slender ; jomts dilated

at the apex, and serrate from the fifth joint. Thorax similar in

form to thatof A.crinitus, but narrower, considerably constricted

near the base; disk depressed. LElytra subulate, reaching

scarcely the middle of the fourth segment; disk pale, vitreous ;

borders black, not clearly defined. Beneath, the breast clothed

in the middle with a dense woolly tawny-grey pubescence ;

metasternum very broad, keeled down the middle. Abdomen

(male) slender, cylindrical; terminal ventral segment with

two elevated ridges, with their anterior angles projecting and

pointed. Legs black; hind femora elongate, gradually clavate.

3. Acyphoderes femoratus, Klug.

Stenopterus femoratus, Klug, Entom. Bras. Specim. alter. p. 57, t. xliv.

f MONT Siz

Acyphoderes brachialis, Pascoe, Journ. of Entom. i. p. 3869, ¢.

Brazil.

Pascoe’s description agrees closely with that of Klug; and

the figure quoted represents clearly the singular form of the

anterior legs, which struck both Pascoe and Lacordaire, who

both appear to have overlooked Klug’s well-known figure.

AA. Thorax with dorsal ridges.

4, Acyphoderes hirtipes, Klug.

Stenopterus hirtipes, Klug, 1. c. p. 55, t. xliv. £9, 2.

S. Brazil.

The anterior legs of the male are very similar in form to

those of A. femoratus g.

In both these species the muzzle is intermediate, as to length

and narrowness, between A. crinitus and A. aurulentus. The

thorax is elongate and almost cylindrical in A. femoratus (al-

though showing faint dorsal ridges), a little more ovate in A.

hirtipes, differing much in shape according to sex in both spe-

cies. ‘T'his character, therefore, is of no avail as a generic

distinction.

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 119

5. Acyphoderes aurulentus, Kirby.

Necydalis aurulentus, Kirby, Trans. Linn. Soc. xii. 443 (1817); Dalm.

Anal. Entom. p. 71 (1823).

Acyphoderes sericinus, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 195.

Rio Janeiro, Bahia.

Kirby’s original description is made from the dark form of

this insect, in which the femora and tibie are black in the

middle, and the elytra have a furcate black streak on each

side. The type of White’s sericinus is a specimen of this

form.

6. Acyphoderes Olivieri, Bates.

Acyphoderes Oliviert, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 328.

Necydalis abdominalis, Oliv. no. 74, p. 8, pl. 1. f. 5 (?).

Amazons and Cayenne.

Olivier makes no mention of golden pubescence in his de-

scription; and the elytra in the figure have not the form of

those of the present species. Nevertheless it is probable his

species is the same as A. Oliviert.

7. Acyphoderes carinicollis, n. sp.

A. minor, fusco-niger, minus pubescens, femoribus lete rufis,

posticis basi flavo-testaceis ; thorace anguste oblongo-ovato, line-

atim aureo-tomentoso, carina levi mediana marginem anticum

attingente, altera utrinque latiore grosse punctata. Long. 6 lin. 2.

Prov. Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W. Bates).

Small and slender for this genus. Head punctate-scabrous,

partly golden tomentose ; muzzie moderate; eyes (female) not

widely distant in front. Antenne elongate, slightly thickened

towards apex; joints moderately dilated at apex, and serrate

from the fifth. Thorax oblong-ovate, as in Bromiades bra-

chyptera, sparsely hirsute, and appearing glabrous, except the

lines of golden tomentum, of which there are two dorsal (one

on each side the median line), one along the anterior and

posterior margin, and a short oblique one trending towards the

disk from the tomentose flanks. The three longitudinal ribs

of the disk are coarsely punctate, except the anterior part of

the middle one, which is smooth and extends to the fore mar-

gin. Scutellum golden tomentose. Elytra elongate, subulate;

margins deep black and clearly defined, and on each side emit-

ting a branch, which passes above the humeral angle to the

base; rest of surface yellow, vitreous. Body beneath pitchy

black; breast golden tomentose. Legs black; thighs red;

posterior pair at base pale, sometimes with a dusky ring at

commencement of the rather abrupt club.

120 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

8. Acyphoderes odyneroides, White.

Aepioderes odyneroides, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 196,

pl. o. I. oe

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

The apex of the elytra in this species is prolonged into a

very sharp point. The species is an exact mimic of the wasp

Polybia liliacea, ¥., found abundantly in the same localities

and frequenting the same flowers.

II. Apex of elytra emarginate-truncate. (Thorax with dorsal

ridges.)

9. Acyphoderes acutipennis, Thomson.

Acyphoderes acutipennis, Thomson, Classif. des Céramb. p. 179.

Mexico.

Genus BROMIADES.

Thomson, Syst. Ceramb. p. 165; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 506.

This differs from Acyphoderes only in the short cuneiform

elytra, which barely pass the base of the first abdominal seg-

ment, and are scarcely dehiscent at the suture. B. brachypte-

rus bears the closest resemblance to Acyphoderes aurulentus,

even to the tubercle on the anterior part of the prosternum.

Lacordaire was unacquainted with the male, which differs from

the female only in the less dilated antenne and the eyes

reaching nearly to the median line of the forehead.

Bromiades brachypterus, Chevy.

Bromiades brachypterus, Chevrolat, Rey. Zool. 1838, p. 285.

Cuba and Sta. Marta, New Granada.

A specimen from the latter locality in my collection differs

from the Cuban form in having the hind legs wholly tawny

red, with the exception of the two apical joints of the tarsi,

which are black.

Genus SPHECOMORPHA.

Newman, Entom. Mag. v. p. 896; White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus.

197

Prod

Syn. Sphecogaster, Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 471.

Lacordaire placed this genus in his group Necydalides, al-

though its characters interfered much with the compactness of

his definition of the group, as shown by his citing it often as

an exception. In fact it is merely an extreme form of Rhino-

tragine much modified probably by mimetic adaptation. The

anterior coxe are certainly much exserted, but not more so

than in Jsthmiade and in many Odontocere and Ommate, in

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 121

some of which latter the prosternum between the coxe is also

reduced, as in Sphecomorpha, to a narrow thread. Stenopte-

rus murinus of Klug, which I venture to associate with the

typical species, bridges over the difference between it and

Odontocera and Acyphoderes. In both the narrowed part of

the subulate elytra is of extreme length and tenuity, ending in

a sharp point. The thorax in Sph. murina is not so broad as

in Sph. chalybea, but it is of similar shape ; and the third anten-

nal joint is relatively not so long.

1. Sphecomorpha chalybea, Newm.

Sphecomorpha chalybea, Newman, 1. c. p. 396.

S. biplagiatus, Lacord. 1. c. p. 472, note.

Amazons; Surinam; ‘ Brazil” (Newm.).

The species is deceptively similar to Syneca cyanea, F.,

oa wasp in the countries where the Sphecomorpha is

ound,

2. Sphecomorpha murina, Klug.

Stenopterus murinus, Klug, Entom. Bras. Specim. alter. p. 55, t. xliv. f. 8.

Rio Janeiro.

The abdomen is much attenuated at the base, and remark-

ably vespiform in both sexes.

Genus ISTHMIADE.

Thomson, System. Ceramb. p. 166; Lacord. Gen. vol. viii. p. 504.

The elytra are subulate (narrower than in Acyphoderes).

The antenne have all joints elongate and slender, strongly

serrate from the sixth joint. ‘The thorax is narrow, strongly

eee and tuberculate. All the species are mimics of

chneumon flies of the group Braconide.

1. Isthmiade braconides, Perty.

Stenopterus braconides, Perty, Del. An, Art. Bras, p. 94, t. 19. f. 3.

Isthmiade hephestionoides, Thoms. 1. c. p. 166,

South Brazil.

2. Isthmiade rubra, n. sp.

I, castaneo-rufa, nitida, vertice nigra; elytris disco pallide fuscis

vitreis; alis pallide fuscis, ante apicem fascia fulva. Long. 7-8

lin. ¢ Q.

Proy. Rio Janeiro et Parand, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders,

Dr. Baden, and H. W. Bates).

Very similar to J. braconides (Perty), differing in its bright

glossy chestnut-red colour, and especially its pale brown

122 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

wings. The thorax is smooth and glossy, with five promi-

nent tubercles on the disk. The eyes in the male do not reach

the median line of the front ; in the female they are separated

by a space about twice the width of that of the male. The

elytra are strongly subuliform. The metasternum is very

voluminous, and the abdomen very slender, especially at the

base, in both sexes. In the male the apical ventral segment

is concave in the middle and elevated at the sides.

A single male in Dr. Baden’s collection has two strong

spines at the apex of the fourth ventral segment, like the male

ot Acyphoderes femoratus. In two other males there is no trace

of this armature. The terminal ventral segment in the speci-

men mentioned has not the concavity and lateral wings of the

type. As the form and colours of all the specimens are

exactly similar, I do not venture to consider these sexual

differences specific.

3. Isthmiade ichneumoniformis.

Isthmiade ichneumoniformis, Bates, Trans, Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 826.

R. Amazons.

4, Isthmiade macilenta, un. sp.

I. rubre similis, at minor et multo angustior, thorace vix tubercu-

lato, ete. Valde angustata, rufo-castanea; antennis, elytris, pe-

dibus quatuor anticis, basique femorum posticorum pallidioribus ;

capite angusto nigro; thorace elongato, angusto, medio paulo

dilatato, polito, supra sparsim punctato, tuberculo mediano dorsali

parvo; elytris haud subito angustatis, apice late rotundatis, spar-

sim punctatis, nitidis. Long. 53 lin. Q.

S. Brazil (coll. Dr. Baden}.

Differs from all other species by its narrow elongate thorax,

destitute of tubercles except the small discoidal one, the rest

of the surface being simply uneven, and sprinkled with small

circular punctures; a lateral sulcus is very strongly marked

near the base. The antenne also differ in being distinctly

thickened towards the apex, with the joints compact and

moderately serrated. The elytra are subuliform, but not

suddenly narrowed, the lateral incurvature being much weaker

than in the other species. The wings also differ in not having

the yellow fascia which gives to the other species their strong

resemblance to the Braconide; they are very light brown,

and have only a faint indication of a yellow stigmoidal spot.

Genus ISCHASIA.

Thomson, Syst. Ceramb. p. 163; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p, 508.

This genus is distinguished by its short and broad cunei-

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 125

form elytra, not reaching the apex of the first abdominal seg-

ment and punctured throughout, the punctures being only a

little wider apart on the disk, with the interstices shining.

The muzzle is elongated, but rather broad. ‘The legs long

and slender, with the thighs rather abruptly clavate and the

hind tibie not tufted. The antenne are elongate-clavate ;

Thomson describes the joints (from the sixth) as ‘ paulo ser-

ratis,” which is nearer the fact than Lacordaire’s statement,

‘non dentées en scie.”” In the male the eyes do not reach the

median line of the front.

Ischasia rufina, 'Thoms. /. c.

Prov. Rio Janeiro and Parand (coll. W. Saunders, Dr.

Baden, and H. W. Bates).

The antennez and legs are sometimes more or less black.

Genus CHARIS, Newman.

Newman, Entom. p. 21; Lacord. Genera, vol. viii. p. 507.

Syn. Epimelitta, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 380.

Having had an opportunity of examining a considerable

series of species of these insects, so curiously modified to attain

a close resemblance to different species of hairy bees, I think

Epimelitta may be very well incorporated with Charis, the only

differences being the broader thorax and more hirsute body.

I. Elytra very short, cuneiform. Thorax broad, tumid on each side

near the hind angle.

1. Charis euphrosyne, Newman.

Charis euphrosyne, Newman, Entom. p. 21.

S. Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders).

2. Charis barbicrus, Kirby.

Necydalis barbicrus, Kirby, Trans. Linn. Soe. t. xii. p. 443.

Charis Aede, Newm. Entom. p. 91.

Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W. Bates).

The elytra in this species are strongly emarginate along

their sutural margin, and the lateral edge 1s very little incurved.

3. Charis scoparius, Klug.

Molorchus scoparius, Klug, Entom. Bras. Specim. alter. p. 51, t. xliy.

f, 2,

Cametid (Amazons).

4. Charis mimica, n. sp.

C. nigra, tibiis posticis apice et tarsis rufis, illis dense fulvo-penicil-

124 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

latis ; femoribus magnis, crassis, nigro-hirsutis et supra penicil-

latis. . Long. 5lin. ¢.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden).

Head coarsely punctured, black; mouth pitchy. Eyes

(male) nearly touching in front the median line. Antenne

very slightly thickened towards the tip; joints from the fifth

distinctly enlarged at apex and serrate. Thorax strongly

transverse, rounded, transversely convex in the middle, the

convexity clothed with long, erect, black hairs, partially gla-

brous and punctured behind. Elytra cuneiform, short, reach-

ing only halfway down the first abdominal segment, black,

brownish and punctured on the disk, with a line of long, erect,

black hairs curving from the base to the middle of the suture.

Legs pitchy black, hairy, short, except the elongated hind

pair, of which the femora are much thickened, and have a di-

stinct tuft of black hairs on their upper edge and a fringe be-

neath. The tibie have their apical half reddish, with two

tufts of tawny hairs on their outer edge, and a continuous

long fringe of similar hairs on their inner edge; the tarsi of

the same legs are also reddish ; the anterior femora are bearded

underneath with long black hairs. Body beneath black ; me-

tasternum voluminous, clothed with yellowish hairs ; abdomen

in male moderately slender.

This curious insect bears a striking resemblance to certain

bees of the Melipona group.

5. Charis meliponica, Bates.

Epimelitta meliponica, Bates, Trans, Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 331.

R. Amazons.

6. Charis rufiventris, Bates.

Epimelitta rufiventris, Bates, 1. ¢. p. 831.

R. Amazons.

7. Charis bicolor, n. sp.

C. niger, griseo-pubescens ; partibus oris, antennis basi, abdomine,

elytrisque dimidio apicali, fulvo-testaceis. Long. 44 lin. ¢ Q.

Resembles Ch. barbicrus, Kir. (= Aede, Newm.), but dif-

fers in the elytra not incurved along the sutural edge &c.

Head rugose-punctate, clothed with silvery-grey pile; muzzle

short; eyes in male not reaching the median frontal line, in

female rather more widely separated. Antenne half the length —

of the body (a little longer in male), thickened and strongly

serrated from the sixth joint, tawny testaceous; tips of apical

joints blackish. Thorax short, rounded, constricted at the base,

and slightly gibbous on each side above the constriction ; sur-

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 125

face longitudinally confluent-strigose, partially clothed with

silvery pile. Elytra short, cuneiform ; apex obtuse, sparingly

punctured, scarcely shining; basal half violet-black, apical

half tawny; tip convex and somewhat darker; a patch of

gold-coloured hairs on each side of the scutellum. Abdomen

fulyous, not disproportionate to the metasternum, or differing

much in form according to sex. Legs pitchy black, hairy ;

hind legs slightly elongated; tibize with a dense brush of

blackish hairs on the outer side of their apical haif.

The following species, unknown to me, belong possibly to

this section :—

8. Charis Erato, Newm. Entom. p. 21.

Brazil.

9. Charis Mneme, Newm. I. c. p. 90.

Brazil.

10. Charis Melete, Newm. l.c. p. 91.

Brazil.

The description in some respects applies to Tomopterus lati-

8. (King); but it is not sufficiently complete to enable one

to decide.

Il. Elytra narrowed and strongly divergent towards the apex (reach-

ing nearly to the apex of the second abdominal segment). Thorax

subcylindrical.

11. Charis Aglaia, Newm. Entom. p. 22.

Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W. Bates).

This species forms a transition to the genus Phygopoda.

Genus PuyGopropa, Thomson.

Thomson, Syst. Ceramb. p. 164.

Differs from Charis by the great length of the hind legs and

the more abruptly clavate hind femora. In the smaller and

narrower thorax and the narrowed and divergent apices of the

elytra it agrees with section II. of that genus.

1. Phygopoda albitarsis, Klug.

Stenopterus albitarsis, Klug, Entom. Bras. Specim. alter. p.57, t.xliv. f.12.

Phygopoda fugax, Thoms. 1. c. p. 164 (?).

Thomson’s description of his Ph. fugax agrees with small

examples of Ph. albitarsis, except the omission of mention of

the smooth raised dorsal line of the thorax.

R. Amazons. Abundant occasionally on flowers.

126 . Mr. H. W. Bates on the

2. Phygopoda subvestita, White.

Odontocera subvestita, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 190.

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

This species would be almost equally well placed in the

genus Charis, sect. 11. The hind thighs are longer and rather

more abruptly clavate than in any species of Charis, but they

are less so than in Phygopoda albitarsis.

ACORETHRA, Novy. gen.

Corpus, precipue abdomen valde elongatum. Caput parvum, rostro

paululum producto. Oculi g magni antice fere contigui, 9?

modice distantes. Antenne modice breves, articulis a sexto dila-

tatis, serratis. Thorax parvus, antice angustatus. Elytra cunei-

formia, obtusa, abdominis segmenti primi medium attingentia,

disco nitida. Pedes postici elongati; femora gradatim clavata ;

tibie haud scopifere ; tarsi breves. Metasternum haud distentum;

abdomen ¢ lineare, gracile, 9 sessile.

This genus is closely allied both to Charis and Phygopoda,

but cannot be united to either without rendering their defini-

tion impossible. The simple hind tibize and obtuse cuneiform

elytra distinguish it from Phygopoda; and the elongated hind

legs and abdomen separate it from Charis. The abdomen is

of disproportionate extension, exceeding by one half the length

of the rest of the body.

Acorethra chrysaspis, n. sp.

A, gracilis, fusco-eastanea, capite thoraceque obscurioribus, reticu-

lato-punctatis ; elytris cuneiformibus, disco pallide fuscis politis,

macula utrinque scutellari scutelloque aureo-tomentosis ; pectore

aureo-tomentoso; segmento primo ventrali testaceo, ceteris ( 2)

utrinque macula laterali aureo-tomentosa; pedibus fulvo-casta-

neis, posticis valde elongatis, tibiis longe hirsutis haud scopiferis,

femoribus gradatim clavatis, basi pallidis. Long. 5-7lin. ¢ 9.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W.

Bates).

Head narrow; muzzle as in Ph. albitarsis, moderately elon-

gated. Eyes, in male contiguous in front, in female moderately

distant. ‘Thorax gradually narrowed in front and slightly

constricted at the base. Elytra not reaching the apex of first

segment, dehiscent at suture, obtusely pointed at apex; disk

with a few scattered punctures, shining. Antenne rather

more than half the length of the body, thickened at the tips ;

third to fifth joints linear. The abdomen in the male is very

slender and linear, in the female sessile and not disproportioned.

to the metasternum.

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 127

PHESPIA, nov. gen.

Antenne breves, gradatim incrassate; articulo tertio cylindrico,

quarto et quinto trigonis, sexto usque decimum quadrato-dilatatis,

perfoliatis, nullo modo serratis. Zhoraw lateribus regulariter ro-

tundatus, supra convexus. /ytra abbreviata, gradatim attenuata,

apice acuminata, sutura prope apicem hiantia, supra vitta exteriore

subhyalina. Abdomen brevissimum, vespiforme. Pedes subgra-

ciles ; femora pedunculata, versus apicem clavata; tbie postice

apice scopiferee. Cetera ut in gen. Odontocera.

A genus formed for the reception of a small number of species,

differing in the form of the antennz and elytra too much from

Odontocera and Acyphoderes to be united to either. The en-

larged antennal joints are not serriform, but almost equally

dilated on each side, so as to form a quadrate or thick cylin-

drical figure; and the elytra are subuliform, in quite a dif-

ferent way from the same members in Acyphoderes, Isthmiade,

Sphecomorpha, or in Odontocera in the few species which as-

sume this form. They are narrowed almost from the base,

most so on their outer side, by which, when closed, the sides

of the metasternum and abdominal segments are visible from

above; along the suture they are straight until near the apex,

whence they taper obliquely and each forms a point at its apex :

above, the vitreous stripe runs obliquely from the shoulder,

and is interrupted by a dark bar before the apex. The abdo-

men is relatively very short, not much longer than the meso-

and metathorax together. In general appearance the species

mimic the species of the Cerceris group of solitary wasps.

The genus is no doubt closely allied to Tomopterus.

1. Phespia cercerina, Bates.

Odontocera cercerina, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 325,

R. Amazons.

2. Phespia simulans, n. sp.

Ph. cercerine similis, at elytris longioribus ; fulvo-brunnea vel nigro-

fusca; capite thoraceque nigris, tibiis posticis fere a basi dense

fusco-nigro hirsutis. Long. 4-5} lin. 9.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro, and Prov. Parand (coll. Dr.

Baden and W. W. Saunders). ;

Larger than Ph. cercerina. Head blackish, with stripe of

golden pile down each side of the forehead and round the eyes.

Antenne black, reddish at the base; sixth to tenth joints

thick, cylindrical, compact. Thorax closely but indistinctly

punctured, black; anterior and posterior margins golden pu-

bescent. Scutellum golden pubescent. Elytra longer than in

128 Mr. H. W. Bates on the’

Ph. cercerina, reaching to base of penultimate segment, blackish

at base and tawny reddish at apex, roughly punctured near

the base and shoulders; a line of golden pubescence on each

side of the scutellum and a narrow vitreous yellowish vitta

beginning near the shoulder and ending long before the apex,

with a transverse dusky spot across it before its termination.

The breast and abdominal segments have similar transverse

lines of pubescence (rich golden) as in Ph. cercerina. 'The

legs are reddish tawny, with the exception of the dense brush-

like pubescence of the hind tibiz reaching nearly to the base,

which is blackish.

3. Phespia corinna, Pascoe.

Charis corinna, Pascoe, Trans. Ent. Soc, ser, 3. vol. v. p. 290.

New Granada.

Genus TomorrTervs, Serville.

Serv. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1833, p. 544.

I. Elytra short, quadrate, not reaching the base of the abdomen.

1. Tomopterus staphylinus, Serv.

Tomopterus staphylinus, Serv, 1. c. p. 545.

Tomopterus pretiosus, Newm. Entom. p. 31 Ke),

Brazil.

The only character mentioned by Newman as distinguishing

his 7. pretiosus from T. staphylinus is its much larger size and

greater beauty ; but I have no doubt he had not the true 7.

staphylinus before him when he made the comparison, and was

misled by the 7. quadratipennis (described further on) being

named as Serville’s species. Serville gives his species as 6-7

lines in length, and as having the basal segment of the ab-

domen testaceous.

2. Tomopterus bispeculifera, White.

Odontocera bispeculifera,. White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 190;

Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 530,

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

3. Tomopterus quadratipennis, n. sp.

T. niger, opacus, thoracis marginibus anticis et posticis fasciaque

utrinque abbreviata laterali aureo-tomentosis ; elytris apice recte

truncatis, apud suturam leviter obliquis, vitta obliqua testacea ;

antennis (scapo nigro excepto) rufo-piceis. Long.4-5lin. ¢ 9.

Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden and H. W. Bates).

Differs trom 7’, staphylinus by its much smaller size, and from

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 129

T. obliquus by its more transversely truncated elytra, oblique

only at thesutural angle. Head with much elongated muzzle ;

front and emargination of the eyes clothed with golden pile.

Thorax quadrate, with sides slightly rounded ; surface convex,

regularly punctate-reticulate; the short lateral golden fascia

joins the anterior marginal one near the anterior coxe. Scu-

tellum black, with a spot of golden pile at the apex. Elytra

black, closely reticulate-punctate, the lateral margin as well

as oblique discal vitta rufo-testaceous. Body beneath finely

griseous pubescent ; a lateral stripe on mesosternum and meta-

sternum and apical margins of ventral segments golden tomen-

tose. The abdomen is slightly vespiform in both sexes, more

slender in the male. The antenne are pitchy red, the fifth

joint being dilated at apex and joints 6 to 10 serrate and

thickened; in 7. latécornis (Klug) the fifth joint is linear.

4. Tomopterus obliquus, Bates.

Tomopterus obliquus, Bates, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 329.

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

5. Tomopterus vespoides, White.

Tomopterus vespoides, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 176, pl. v.

f, 8.

Guatemala.

6. Tomopterus larroides, White.

Tomopterus larroides, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 177; Bates,

Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 380.

R. Tapajos, Amazons.

This species is an exact mimic of a small bee of the genus

Megachile (or allied thereto), which frequents the same flowers.

Il. Elytra cuneiform, reaching a little beyond the base of the

abdomen.

7. Tomopterus laticornis, Klug.

Molorchus laticornis, Klug, Entom. Bras. Spec. alter. p. 51, t. xiv. f. 1.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro (coll. Dr. Baden).

The resemblance in facies and colours between this and the

_ typical species of the genus is very great; but it differs in the

| elytra being a little prolonged, narrowed and rounded at the

) apex, and in the antenne having the sixth to eleventh joints

| very greatly compressed and dilated, with the fifth joint slender

) and linear.

The genus Pandrosos, Bates (Entom. Monthly Mag. 1867;

| Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4, Vol. xi. 9

130 Mr. H. W. Bates on the

vol. iv. p. 23), having parallel mesosternal episterna, must be

removed from the Fhinotragine, from which it also differs

in its lateral eyes, &c. Its proper place seems to be near

Coremia.

Pasiphile mystica, Thoms. Syst. Ceramb. p. 164 (Lacord.

Genera, vol. viii. p. 508), is unknown to me, both genus and

species. The descriptions of the two authors are scarcely recon-

cilable, Thomson stating the elytra to be “ punctata,” and

Lacordaire “ vitrées ;” the descriptions in other respects seem

scarcely to apply to the same species.

The following genera are closely allied to the Rhinotragine,

but differ in one or more of the essential characters of the sub-

family ; at the same time they do not quite agree with any of

the allied groupes established by Lacordaire.

APOSTROPHA, nov. gen.

g et 2. Modice elongata, linearis. Caput retractile, latum, genis

paululum elongatis. Oculi magni, convexi, laterales, antice valde

distantes. Palpi brevissimi, apice subovati, truncati. Antenne

(¢) corpore multo, ( 2 ) vixlongiores, filiformes, articulis a sexto

leviter serratis, tertio usque septimum extus sparsim setosis.

Thorax cylindricus. Elytra apicem segmenti secundi vix attin-

gentia, versus apicem extus curvata, apice late rotundata, supra

passim punctata. Pedes graciles, elongati; femora abrupte cla-

vata, intermedia et postica elongata; tibia lineares ; tars? postici

graciles, articulo primo ceteris longiore. Prosternum inter coxas

latiusculum ; cox vix exsertee. Mesosternum et abdomen normalia.

dsegmentum ultimum ventrale breve, apice late rotundato-emar-

ginatum; 2 modice elongatum, rotundatum.

A genus allied to Ommata, but differing in the widely sepa-

rated eyes (even in the male) from all the typical forms of

Rhinotragine. ‘The eyes, although lateral, are turned a little

towards the front ; and this character, taken together with the

distinct and moderately broad prosternal process, may bring the

genus within the limits of this subfamily. The external

margin of the elytra is very strongly incurved towards the apex,

and the suture widely dehiscent.

Apostropha curvipennis, n. sp.

A. rufo-castanea, vix pubescens, opaca; antennis dimidio basali,

capite et thorace obscurioribus, hoe utrinque griseo-lineato. Long.

3-31 lin. ¢ 9.

Prov. Parand, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Head punctured, opaque, blackish; front plane, griseo-pubes-

-l

Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 131

cent. Thorax very closely punctured, blackish, on each side

a narrow line of greyish hairs. Elytra tawny castancous,

rather thickly punctured, more sparsely on the disk, opaque.

Legs and underside of the body chestnut-red, base of thighs

paler; underside of prothorax and sides of abdomen with

patches of short hoary pubescence.

STENOPSEUSTES, nov. gen.

Facies gen. Ommate. Elongato-linearis, pubescens. Caput (db)

retractile, genis modice elongatis, parallelis. Ocul magni, distan-

tes, modice convexi, laterales, sed paulo versus frontem inflecti.

Antenne corpore vix breviores, apice paululum incrassatz, longe

sparsim setose, articulis omnibus elongatis, linearibus, ‘quarto

quam quinto paulo breviore. Thorax elongatus, cylindricus.

Elytra corpore paulo breviora, a medio paululum angustata, sutura

recta, apice singulatim acute rotundata, subtiliter pubescentia.

Prosternum inter coxas tenuissimum et subobsoletum; meso-

sternum angustum. Cow antice conico-cylindroides; acetabula

postice aperta. Metasternum convexum. Abdomen gracile, lineare.

Pedes elongati, graciles, postici longiores, passim longe setosi ;

femora omnia abrupte clavata.

Stenopseustes ceger, Ni. sp.

S. linearis, elongatus, pubescens, flavo-testaceus, thorace vitta dor-

sali fusco-nigra. Long. 5lin. ¢.

Prov. Parané, Brazil (coll. W. W. Saunders and H. W.

Bates).

Of similar elongate form to Ommata atrata, &c., but more

exactly linear, the thorax being scarcely narrower than the

elytra, and not attenuated in front or broader than the head.

The whole insect with fine decumbent golden pile, besides long,

erect, fine hairs, which are especially long all round the hind

legs. The head, legs, and sides of the thorax are waxy yellow ;

the antennz are of the same colour, but sometimes varied with

black ; the eyes in the male are widely distant both above and

below, but the large lower lobes are a little frontal. The

thorax is long and cylindrical, closely rugose and opaque, with

an indefinite black dorsal stripe. The elytra reach to the

base of the terminal segment, and are very minutely rugose

i) and opaque, with a few larger punctures.

The terminal ventral segment (male) is short, with the

| apical margin broadly and deeply notched.

XENOCRASIS, nov. gen.

Linearis, robusta. Caput valde retractile ; rostro modice clongato,

|

O*

1382 On the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America.

lato ; fronte lateraliter carinata. Oculi ( 2 ) laterales, haud magni.

Palpi breves, apice cylindrici, truncati. Mazille lobo exteriore

elongato, exserto. Antenne ( 2 ) corpore paulo breviores, apice in-

crassate, haud serrate; articulis tertio usque sextum extus

-setosis ; art. undecimo appendiculato. Thorax cylindricus, antice

paulo dilatatus, dorso valde convexo, margine antico medio pro-

ducto. Slytra fere ut in gen. Acyphoderes subulata, apice rotun-

data, disco toto levissime hyalino. Pedes elongati, postici valde

elongati; femora abrupte clavata ; tibie postice densissime longe

-hirsute; tarsi graciles, breves. Prosternum inter coxas angus-

tissimum ; cox@ subconice, exserte. Mesosternum angustum.

Metasterni episterna elongato-triangularia, antice lata; meta-

sternum pauloinflatum. Abdomen ( Q ) basi breviter constrictum ;

segmento ultimo ventrali elongato, angustato, semitubulari.

Xenocrasis presents a strange mixture of characters of true

Necydaline and Rhinotragine. Its distant and not enlarged

eyes, and laterally carinated forehead, remove it from the latter

group, to which it is nevertheless more nearly allied than any

genus of Necydaline with which I am acquainted.

Xenocrasis Badenii, n. sp.

X. elongata, robusta; capite thoraceque nigris ; pedibus fulvis, tarsis

posticis albis; antennis nigris, articulis octavo usque undecimum

albis. Long. 9 ln. 9.

Novo Friburg, Rio Janeiro, Brazil (coll. Dr. Ferd. Baden).

Robust. Head black, rather shining; occiput coarsely,

forehead sparsely punctured; sides of forehead and centre

line of occiput carinated. Antenne black, jomts 8 to 11

white and thickened. Thorax black, opaque, disk sprinkled

with small circular fovez, interstices very minutely punctulate ;

disk very convex and subcarinate ; sides each with an oblique

raised patch, smooth on its outer side; the whole surface has

an extremely fine silky hoary pile. Elytra with straight

suture; sides beyond the middle rather sharply and greatly n-

curved, leaving the apical third very narrow and nearly

parallel; apex obtuse; the whole disk is glassy and perfectly

transparent ; the extreme margins are black and punctured, and

the black colour extends for some distance over the apex and

base. Underside black; metasternum proper and abdomen

reddish tawny, with very little pubescence. Legs brighter

reddish tawny, including the pilosity of the hind tibie ; an-

terior and middle tarsi blackish ; hind tarsi white.

On some Fossils from the Quebec Group. 133

XVI.—On a new Species of Turkey Vulture from the Falkland

Islands and a new Genus of Old-World Vultures. By R.

Bownbier Suarpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., Senior Assistant,

Zoological Department, British Museum.

THE Catharista from the Falklands has always been referred

to C. aura, from which species it is obviously distinct, by

reason of the conspicuous grey shade on the secondaries. It

might be supposed to be the Catharista iota of Molina from

Chili; this species, however, is well represented by Mr. Cassin

(U. 8. Expl. Exp. pl. 1), and differs in its small size and black

coloration from both the North-American and the Falkland-

Islands bird. The latter is about the size of C. aura of North

America and by no means smaller.

Iam much indebted to the kindness of Mr. Reeve, of the

Norwich Museum, for examining the specimens therein con-

tained; and as he finds that the Turkey Vulture from the

Falklands presents the same differences as the birds in the

national collection, I have no hesitation in proposing the name

of Catharista falklandica for the aforesaid Vulture.

At the same time I may be permitted to inquire whether

there are two species of true Turkey Vulture of Jamaica. I

do not refer to C. atrata, which is now found there also. The

ordinary Turkey Vulture has always been set down as C. aura;

but the only specimen in the museum from Jamaica is C. Bur-

roviana (C. urubitinga, Pelz. ex Natt.). Do, therefore, C.

auraand C. Burroviana both inhabit the island ?

Passing to Old-World Vultures I would suggest that an end

should be put to the indefinite characters of the genus Gyps,

whose tail-feathers are ecther fourteen or twelve in number,

by relegating the two species which enjoy the latter quantity

to a separate genus, which may be called

PSEUDOGYPS, gen. nov.

Genus a genere ‘“‘Gyps” dicto, rectricibus 12 nec 14 distinguendum.

The two species to be included in it will be Pseudogyps ben-

galensis and Pseudogyps moschatus (africanus, Salvad.).

XVI.—On some Fossils from the Quebec Group of Point

Lévis, Quebec. By H. Atteyne Nicnorson, M.D., D.Sce.,

M.A., F.R.S.E., Professor of Natural History in University

College, Toronto.

Havine during the preceding summer had the opportunity of

paying a hurried visit to Quebec, I was enabled to collect a

.

134 Dr. H. A. Nicholson on some Fossils

considerable number of fossils from the Graptolitic Shales of

the Quebec group along the fine exposures of Point Lévis.

Most of these are, of course, familiar forms, which have been

previously described and figured by Hall in his beautiful

memoir on the Graptolites of the Quebec group (‘ Figures and

Descriptions of Canadian Organic Remains,’ Decade u1.). T'wo

or three, however, of the forms which I obtained are new to

science; and in characterizing these I shall at the same time

take the opportunity of making some remarks on some of the

already described species. The following list embraces the

species which I have determined from my collection :—

HyYDROZOA.

Callograpsus elegans, Hall.

Saltert, Hall.

Dictyonema grandis, Nich.

Clonograpsus flexilis, Hall.

rigidus, Hall.

Tetragrapsus (Graptolithus) bryonoides, Hall.

( ) fruticosus, Hall.

quadribrachiatus, Hall.

approximatus, Nich.

Didymograpsus (Graptolithus) nitidus, Hall.

) patulus, Hall.

) pennatulus, Hall.

Phyllograpsus typus, Hall.

Dawsonia acuminata, Nich.

rotunda, Nich.

tenuistriata, Nich.

Corynoides.

BRACHIOPODA.

Lingula irene, Billings.

CRUSTACEA.

Caryocaris.

Dictyonema grandis, Nich.

Frond conical or fan-shaped; branches very strong and

robust, diverging from the base, frequently and regularly bifur-

cating, and separated by interspaces which are about twice

their own width. Width of the branches from 5 to 6 hundredths

of aninch. Fenestrules oblong, from 8 to 10 hundredths of

an inch in width by from 5 to 6 hundredths of an inch in

length, rarely square or longer than broad. Connecting

filaments or dissepiments from 4 to 5 hundredths of an inch in

width ; sometimes narrower, generally widest in the middle,

from the Quebec Group of Point Lévis. 135

and often curved, with their convexities directed towards the

base of the frond. Cellules undetermined. Surface smooth.

Length of the largest frond observed (not a perfect one) a little

over two inches, breadth a little above the base about one fifth

of an inch, breadth at summit nearly two inches (fig. 1, a, 6).

Fig. 1.

Dictyonema grandis, Nich. : a, fragment of a frond, natural size, showing

the rapid divergence and bifurcation of the branches; 6, a fragment,

enlarged, to show the fenestrules and connecting filaments.

There can be no doubt as to the close alliance which subsists

between this species and the Dictyonema Murrayi described by

Hall from the shales of Point Lévis (Grapt. Quebec Group,

p- 138, pl. xx. figs. 6, 7). The following are the characters

ascribed to the latter :—‘‘ Frond very large, gradually spreading

from its origin. Branches strong, width from 5 to 8 hundredths

of an inch, infrequently bifurcating ; divisions little diverging,

the interspaces being little wider than the branches. The

fenestrules have a width of 8 by a length of 11 hundredths of

an inch. ‘The connecting filaments are wide at their origin or

union with the branch, and slender in the middle; from about

one third to one half as wide as the branches. Cellules un-

determined. Surface smooth.”

When we compare the above description with that of the

present species, the latter appears to be clearly separated by

the conical form of the frond, and the rapid divergence and

frequent bifurcation of the branches, whilst the fenestrules are

almost always markedly wider than they are long, the reverse

of this obtaining in D. Murrayt. These peculiarities along

with some other, minor differences, which will be sufficiently

136 Dr. H. A. Nicholson on some Fossils

evident on a comparison of the descriptions of the two forms,

seem to be quite constant, and appear to me to be quite sufficient

to establish the specific distinctness of D. grandis.

From D. quadrangularis, Hall (op. cit. supra, p. 138, pl. xx.

fig. 5), to which it also bears some resemblance, though not so

close a one, D. grandis is readily distinguished by the fact that

the branches of the former are nearly parallel and rarely bi-

furcate, whilst the fenestrules are very nearly square.

Loc. and Form. Common in a single stratum of greenish-

grey shale, Point Lévis, the fronds covering large surfaces of

the beds.

Tetragrapsus approximatus, Nich.

Frond consisting of four simple undivided stipes, arranged

bilaterally, two proceeding from each extremity of the funicle.

Regarding the funicle as horizontal, the stipes are as nearly

as possible at right angles to it; so that the two stipes on either

side of the funicle form nearly a straight line. Stipes curved

at their origin from the funicle, and then running nearly straight

and parallel to one another. The entire frond closely resembles

two examples of Didymograpsus (Graptolithus) patulus, Hall,

united back to back by their radicles (fig. 2, a).

Fig. 2.

Tetragrapsus approximatus, Nich.: a, a specimen nearly perfect, natural

nee paneer of one of the stipes, magnified, to show the form of

the cellules,

Dimensions of the frond in the largest specimen observed :

length of funicle one tenth of an inch; width of funicle one

from the Quebec Group of Point Lévis. 137

twentieth of an inch; width of stipe at commencement one

twenty-fifth of an inch, at widest portion about one line; total

length of frond unknown, but exceeding three inches and a

half; distance between the stipes on opposite sides of the frond

from one fifth to one fourth of an inch, except close to the

funicle.

Cellules about twenty-five in the space of an inch, inclined

to the axis at about 45°; the denticles prominent and sharply

pointed or submucronate; the cell-mouths curved at right

angles or nearly so to the cellules, and making an angle of

about 135° with the axis (fig. 2, 0).

Tetragrapsus approximatus is most nearly allied to 7. cru-

cialis, Salter (=Graptolithus quadribrachiatus, Hall), from

which, however, it is separated by several very important

peculiarities. Most striking amongst these is the very remark-

able shape of the frond. In 7. quadribrachiatus, Hall, when

undistorted, the stipes upon the same side of the funicle are nearly

at right angles to one another; so that (keeping the funicle

horizontal) the left-hand upper stipe forms nearly a straight

line with the right-hand lower stipe, and the other two stipes

similarly form a straight line. The whole frond, therefore,

has in this species very nearly the shape of the letter X ; and

it may be compared to what would result if two examples of

Didymograpsus serratulus, Hall, were united back to back by

their radicles. In Tetragrapsus approximatus, on the other

hand, the two stipes on the same side of the funicle (keeping

the funicle, as before, in a horizontal position) are nearly in the

same straight line, and the two stipes on the one side are, as

nearly as may be, parallel with those on the other side. Hence

the whole frond (and this is a fact worthy of notice) bears a

very close resemblance to two individuals of Didymograpsus

patulus, Hall, united back to back by their radicles, this re-

semblance being increased by the similarity in the shape of the

cellules in the two species.

Again, the cellules in Tetragrapsus approximatus are much

more highly inclined to the axis than they are in 7. quadri-

brachiatus, the denticles are much more prominent and pointed,

and the cell-mouths are markedly curved instead of being

straight. Asin 7. quadribrachiatus, the funicle does not appear

to have been embraced by a central corneous disk. The pecu-

liarities above mentioned as distinguishing 7. approximatus

are constant in a large number of individuals ; and therefore

no doubt can be entertained as to the distinctness of the

species.

Loc. and Form. Common in dark grey or greenish grey

shales of the Quebec group, Point Lévis.

138 Dr. H. A. Nicholson on some Fossils

CiLonocrapsus, Hall.

In the course of last winter, when preparing the first part of

my ‘Monograph of the British Graptolitide,’ I wrote to Prof.

Hall asking him to propose a generic name for forms like his

Graptolithus flexilis and G. rigidus, which are clearly entitled

to be placed in a separate genus. Prof. Hall’s reply unfortu-

nately reached me too late to be available in the above men-

tioned publication, and I therefore left these forms temporarily

in the genus Dichograpsus. I take the present opportunity,

however, of defining the species in question under the generic

name of Clonograpsus (khwv, a twig) proposed for them by

Prof. Hall.

The characters of the genus are as follows:—Frond composed

of numerous (more than eight) stipes proceeding from a common

funicle, on the two sides of which they are symmetrically

arranged ; the frond dividing dichotomously and the pro-

cess of division going on after the cellules are developed,

till ultimately there may be produced from sixty-four to one

hundred and forty-four simple celluliferous stipes. No central

disk.

The genus Dichograpsus, Salter, will now contain only those

Graptolites in which the frond consists of eight simple stipes

proceeding from a funicle, the divisions of which are some-

times enveloped in a corneous disk. The celluliferous stipes

in this genus do not subdivide or branch.

The genus Loganograpsus, Hall, again, will embrace those

compound Graptolites in which the frond consists of from eight

to twenty-five simple stipes which do not subdivide, and which

are sometimes united at their bases by a corneous disk.

From both of these genera Olonograpsus is distinguished by

the great number of stipes composing the frond (sixty-four to

one hundred and forty-four in the typical forms, but fewer in

others), by the fact that the celluliferous stipes themselves sub-

divide, and by the apparently uniform absence of a corneous

disk.

The only undoubted species of Clonograpsus from the Quebec

group are C. flewilis, Hall, and C. rigidus, Hall, both of which

occur in great plenty in the shales of Point Lévis. It is also

probable that the Graptolithus Richardsoni and G‘. ramulus of

the same author, from the same formation, likewise belong to

this genus. Of the Graptolites of the Skiddaw series of the

north of England, the Dichograpsus multiplex, Nich., un-

doubtedly belongs to Clonograpsus, and Dichograpsus reticu-

latus, Nich., may likewise, in all probability, be placed in this

genus.

from the Quebec Group of Point Lévis. 139

DawsontiA, Nich.

I propose this genus, named in honour of Principal Dawson

of Montreal, for the singular bodies which I have elsewhere

(Monograph Brit. Grapt. part i. p. 71, fig. 41) described as the

“ovarian vesicles”’ of Graptolites. I am led to this step by

the extreme inconvenience of applying a general name like

“ovarian capsules”’ to fossils which often present differences

of specific value, which cannot be properly described unless a

special name be adopted. Moreover good authorities are dis-

posed to doubt whether these bodies are truly to be compared

to the “ovarian capsules ”’ of the Graptolites ; and the name of

“ srapto-gonophores,” which I originally applied to them

(Geological Magazine, vol. i. p. 448), is open to other grave

objections as well. Upon the whole, therefore, it appears to

me best to found for these fossils the provisional genus Daw-

sonia, which implies no theory as to thew nature, and which

will enable us to specify and name such varieties as appear to

be distinct. In fact this course seems to me to be the best,

even whilst I retain my belief as to their truly being the

“ovarian capsules” of Graptolites; for it cannot be hoped

that we shall ever be able to refer each (or perhaps any) par-

ticular species of Dawsonia to the species of Graptolite by which

it was produced.

The characters of the genus are as follows :—Horny or chi-

tinous capsules of a rounded, oval, conical, or campanulate

shape, furnished in most cases with a little spine or mucro, and

having a marginal filament exactly resembling the solid axis

of a Graptolite. The marginal fibre sometimes complete,

sometimes ruptured opposite to the mucro. The mucro some-

times apparently wanting, sometimes marginal, submarginal,

subcentral, or central. The surface smooth or concentrically

striated.

I first discovered the bodies included under this head in the

Lower Silurian anthracitic shales of the south of Scotland,

where they occur in great numbers along with the Graptolites ;

and, as before remarked, I regarded them as bearing to the

Graptolites the same relation that the “ovarian capsules” do

to the colonies of the Sertularians. Subsequently I detected

similar bodies in the Graptolitic mudstones of the Coniston

series of the north of England, also associated with numerous

Graptolites. I consider it the very strongest confirmation of

my views as to the nature of these fossils that I have now dis-

covered them in vast numbers in the Quebee group, associated

with the Graptolites of that formation. Not only are they

very numerous, but there are at least three distinct forms of

140 Dr. H. A. Nicholson on some Fossils

them, as might be expected when we consider the number and

complexity of the Quebec Graptolites. It would seem, there-

fore, that the constant association of these fossils with Grapto-

lites (whenever these latter occur in any plenty), and their

constant absence from strata in which Graptolites are unknown,

constitute extremely strong proofs as to there being a natural

connexion between the two sets of organisms.

Without entering further into their nature at present, I shall

simply describe three well-marked forms of these bodies which

occur in the shales of the Quebee group, and which differ both

from one another and from the forms which are found in the

Graptolitiferous rocks of the south of Scotland and the north

of England.

Dawsonia acuminata, Nich.

Capsule of a long oval shape, having one extremity prolonged

gradually, and without any marked line of demarcation, into a

long acuminate mucro. The marginal fibre extremely delicate,

and not always to be detected. Often showing an impressed

line, which proceeds inwards from the mucro to a greater or

less distance within the sac. Dimensions variable; in the

Quebec specimens mostly about one fifth of an inch in length

by one tenth of an inch at the greatest width ; in English spe-

cimens the average dimensions as above, but large examples

showing a length of two fifths of an inch by a greatest width

of three twentieths of an inch. (Fig. 3, a, al.)

“4

a

Various forms of Dawsonia: 2, Dawsonia acuminata, natural size ; a', the

same, enlarged; 6, D. rotunda, natural size; b’, the same, enlarged ;

c, D. tenuistriata, natural size; c’, the same, enlarged; d, d’, another

variety of D. tenwstriata; e, f, forms of D. campanulata, enlarged.

Dawsonia acuminata is exceedingly abundant in some beds

of the Quebec group at Point Lévis, where it constitutes the

commonest form of the genus. The species also occurs not

uncommonly in the anthracitic shales of the south of Scotland

(Upper Llandeilo). The size of the Quebec specimens is ex-

ceedingly uniform, whereas English specimens vary extraordi-

from the Quebec Group of Point Lévis. 141

narily in their dimensions, examples apparently belonging

to this species ranging from about one line in length to more

than a quarter of an inch. It is probable therefore that,

in spite of the identity of shape, more than one form is included

under this head. The species to which D. acuminata is most

nearly allied is D. campanulata, from which it is distinguished

by the fact that the mucro is not sharply separated from the

body of the capsule, whilst its figure is quite different.

Dawsonia rotunda, Nich.

Capsule minute, oval or circular in outline, consisting of a

flattened marginal limb surrounding a central elevated seed-

like body (the cast of the interior of the capsule). The mar-

ginal limb is quite smooth and exhibits no structure ; but the

central rounded mass often exhibits strize or furrows, which are

disposed concentrically round a marginal point (fig. 3, 5, 0’).

Dimensions very constant, the circular specimens having a

diameter of a line or a little less, whilst the oval specimens

have a long diameter of about a line by a short diameter of

about one twentieth of an inch.

This exceedingly distinct form cannot be confounded with

any of the ordinary forms of Dawsonia. It is found very

abundantly in certain beds of the Point-Lévis shales. It is

curious to note how closely D. rotunda approximates in struc-

ture to the “statoblasts” of the Polyzoa, since the capsule,

according to all appearances, has been composed of two concavo-

convex disks united by their faces, the union being effected by

the adhesion of a broad marginal belt on each disk. I have

not as yet determined this species from any of the Graptoliti-

ferous strata of Britain.

Dawsonia tenuistriata, Nich.

Capsule oval, obtusely ovate, satchel-shaped, or nearly round,

covered with fine concentric strie, which surround a prominent

elevated point. ‘This point (the mucro) marginal, submarginal,

subcentral, or central. The striz differmg in closeness and

fineness, but always delicate and regular in their arrangement.

Dimensions, like the shape, very variable, but the length usually

Hikes from one tenth to one fifth of an inch. (Fig. 3, ¢, ¢,

d, d'.

The forms included under this head are extremely like small

Brachiopods of the genera Lingula, Obolella, and Discina ; and

it is difficult to convince one’s self that they do not truly belong

to this group. That they are not Brachiopods, however,

appears certain from the following considerations. They occur

in great plenty, along with the two previously described forms

142 On some Fossils from the Quebec Group.

of Dawsonia, in the shales of the Quebec group at Point Lévis.

They have exactly the same texture, and are in just the same

state of mineralization as the ordinary forms of Dawsonia.

Their shape is so variable that we should have to believe that

there were at least four or five distinct species of small Brachi-

opods in these beds, which is very unlikely. Lastly, the

position of the elevated point, which would constitute the beak

if they were Brachiopods, is exceedingly variable, being most

commonly placed a little within the margin, but being at other

times subcentral or marginal. On the other hand all the re-

quirements of the case are met by the supposition that we have

in these singular fossils the horny capsules of a species of

Dawsonia, in which the capsule was furnished with striz con-

centric to the mucro. On this view the elevated point round

which the striz are disposed is the mucro; and its variable

position, as well as the variable shape of the capsule, can be

readily explained by supposing that it is due to the variable

direction in which the capsule has been compressed. When

compressed laterally the mucro will be marginal ; when com-

pressed from above downwards the mucro will be more or less

nearly central; when compressed obliquely the mucro will be

submarginal.

Dawsonia campanulata, Nich.

Capsule bell-shaped, with a very distinct marginal fibre and

a strong and distinct mucro. ‘The mucro does not pass insen-

sibly into the body of the capsule, but is sharply separated from

it. The surface of the capsule smooth. The marginal fibre

sometimes continuous, sometimes ruptured opposite to the

mucro (fig. 3, e, f). Dimensions extremely variable ; average

specimens about one fifth of an inch in length by three twen-

tieths of an inch in breadth.

Ordinary specimens of this form present the appearance

shown in fig. 3, e, where the capsule has been compressed

laterally and the mucro is marginal. Many specimens, how-

ever, present the appearance shown in fig. 3,7, in which the

compression has been directed from above downwards, and the

mucro forms an elevated point within the margin, surrounded

by a few concentric ridges. This appearance might lead to its

being confounded with Dawsonia tenuistriata ; but it is really

very different. In the latter the concentric strie which surround

themucro are really proper to the capsule, and they are extremely

fine, delicate, and regular; in vertically compressed specimens

of D. campanulata, on the other hand, the concentric ridges

which surround the mucro are truly foreign to the capsule,

being merely the result of the direction of the pressure, and

Dr. J. E. Gray on Tortoises. 143

being very irregular in size and number. In fact they are

not striz, properly speaking, at all, but simply concentric

crumplings or corrugations of the capsule.

I need not discuss here further the affinities and structure of

D. campanulata, as I have not yet detected the species in the

shales of the Quebec group. It is, however, the commonest

species which occurs in the anthracitic shales (Upper Llan-

deilo) of the south of Scotland.

Corynoides calicularis, Nich. (?)

Numerous examples of a species of Corynoides, Nich., occur

in a bed of black shale at Point Lévis ; but their state of pre-

servation is such as to render their specific determination

impossible. They agree very well in their dimensions with

C. calicularis, Nich. (Geological Magazine, vol. iv. p. 107,

pl. vii.), which is an abundant fossil in the Upper Llandeilo

shales of Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It is quite possible, however,

that more perfect examples will show that the Quebec species

is distinct.

Caryocaris, sp.

It is very interesting to notice the occurrence in the Point-

Lévis shales of a species of the Crustacean genus Caryocaris,

Salter, this genus being exceedingly characteristic of the cor-

responding formation of the Skiddaw Slates of the north of

England. The state of preservation of the Quebec specimens

is such as to render their specific determination hazardous and

uncertain; and I prefer therefore to leave them undescribed at

present. Upon the whole they closely resemble small speci-

mens of Caryocaris Wrightii, Salter (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.

vol. xix. p. 139); but it is probable that they will turn out to

be distinct. None of my specimens shows more than the cara-

pace, and that considerably crushed.

XVIII.—Notes on Tortoises. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

Testudinella Horsfieldit.

General Goldsmid has kindly presented to the British Mu-

seum a small and a larger specimen of the shell of a tortoise,

the large one wanting the front of the sternum, from Rud-I-

Mil, Chuh Suguti to Duruh, in Persia, which were collected

on March 23rd, 1871; they evidently belong to this species,

though we have not the animal to determine the number of its

claws.

The two specimens are exceedingly like Peltastes grecus in

general character, but are much more depressed, and the horny

144 Dr. J. E. Gray on Tortoises.

dorsal plates are pale, with a darker edge and a dark diffused

spot in the middle of the areola; the front sides of the upper

art of the marginal plates are brownish ; the sternum is varied

with diffused black marks ; the caudal marginal plate is marked

with a central groove.

RHINOCLEMMYS.

The species of this very natural genus may be thus divided:—

I. Shell black above and below ; sternum with a pale (when alive red ?)

lateral stripe. Costals not spotted. Head black, with a streak on

each side, sometimes united in front.

1. Rhinoclemmys melanosterna.

Head black, with a white streak on the side of the nose and

head. (Gray, P. Z.S. 1870, p. 722, fig. 1.)

Emys dorsalis, Spix (young) ?

2. Rhinoclemmys scabra.

Head black, with a small spot on each side of the nose

and of the crown, a diverging streak on each side of the

head, and a round spot on the occiput. (Gray, J. c. fig. 2.)

3. Rhinoclemmys lunata.

Head black, with a spot on each side of the nose and occiput,

and a streak on each side of the head, united across the fore-

head. (Gray, l. c. fig. 3.)

II. Shell blackish above and below ; sternum with pale lateral stripes,

with a spot on each side of the nose and numerous longitudinal

stripes on the side of the crown,

4, Rhinoclemmys callocephala.

Geoclemmys callocephala, Gray, P. Z.S. 1868, p. 254, fig. (head) ; Suppl.

Cat. Shield Rept. p. 23, fig. 10 (head). -

Hab. Tropical America.

III. Shell olive above, with a pale spot in the centre of the areola of

each costal, surrounded by pale rings in the young ; beneath black,

with a pale margin.

5. Rhinoclemmys frontalis, n. sp.

Head dark olive, nose with a narrow central streak above

and a narrow streak on the lateral margin extending to over

the orbits.

Hab. Tropical America.

An adult specimen was purchased from the Zoological Society

in the year 1864.

Dr. J. E. Gray on Tortoises. 145

Head olive, with a narrow longitudinal central streak on the

upper part of the nose, a narrow white streak from the upper

part of the nostrils to the front of the orbit, and a narrow white

streak from the upper part of the nose, continued along the

side of the crown over the orbit and the outer side of the tem-

poral muscles to over the tympanum.

The shell olive above, with a distinct oblong, broad, pale

streak over the middle of the areola of the costal plates. The

sternum and underside of margin blackish, with a broad yel-

lowish white band (perhaps bright red when alive) down each

side of the sternum. ‘There is a pale mark on the middle of

each marginal plate, more distinct on the hinder plates.

Under surface and side of face and neck whitish ; side of neck

punctulated with black. '

This species has the peculiar pale spot which was previously

regarded as characteristic of Rhinoclemmys mexicana; but it

has quite a different head.

6. Rhinoclemmys mexicana.

Rhinoclemmys mexicana, Gray, P.Z.S. 1870, p. 659, fig. (head), 1871,

p. 296, t. 28.

IV. Shell blackish, with more or less distinct pale rays ; underside black,

with a pale band round the margin, and pale triangular spots

on the underside of the front and hinder marginal plates ; nose with

a central longitudinal streak ; crown white-varied ; sides of head

with a dwerging black-edged streak.

7. Rhinoclemmys annulata, Gray, 1. c. fig. 5 (head).

Hab. Ecuador.

8. Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima.

I described and figured a young specimen of a freshwater

tortoise in the British Museum, said to have come from Mexico,

under the name of Hmys pulcherrima, Cat. Shield Rept. p. 25,

t. xxv. f.2. The large cavity in the centre of the sternal

bones, like what is found in the young Lhinoclemmys, and the

short scarcely webbed toes make me think that it is most likely

a Rhinoclemmys, or at least very nearly allied to it. The spe-

cimen is very young, the marginal bones being very rudi-

mentary and only slender, half-ovate. It must be the young

state of a very large species.

The alveolar surface of the jaws appears to be like that of

Rhinoclemmys ; but the colouring of the back is very different

from that of any known species, and may indicate a new genus.

9. Rhinoclemmys ventricosa.

Shell oblong, broad, ventricose. Back swollen on the sides.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xi. 10

146 Dr. J. E. Gray on Tortoises.

Vertebral plates keeled, more especially the three hinder ones.

Above black; under margin and sternum white, with a large

black blotch occupying the greater part of the middle of each

sternal shield. Sternum flat, rather convex, greatly bent up

in front. Shell 74 imches long, 54 inches wide.

Hab. Tropical America (Mus. Utrecht, no. 39).

This shell was at one time taken for a specimen of Hardella

Thurgi; but it is very unlike, and is at once known from that

genus by the peculiar triangular form of the first pair of mar-

ginal plates, as in the other species of this genus. The dorsal

and side of marginal plates have a more or less dark spot in

the centre of the areola.

Emys Fraser, n. sp.

Shell olive, minutely darker-spotted; underneath darker,

black-varied. Front legs with a series of four or five large

plates on the outer edge, and with two larger plates on the upper

part of the outer side of the front legs. Jaws strong, with a

rather broad alveolar surface.

Hab. Lake 'Tetzara, Algiers. Shell 8 inches long.

This species has much the appearance of Hryma laticeps,

with which it has been confounded; but the head is much

longer, and the alveolar surface of the two jaws narrower. It

agrees with Hmys caspica in the shape and proportions of its

head; but the alveolar surface of the jaws is much wider.

I donot know if Hmys caspica is also found in Algiers ; but

we have in the British Museum four very young Terrapins

(one brought by E. Doubleday, one by Canon Tristram, and

two by Mr. Fraser) from that country, which have a red stripe on

each costal plate, and a black sternum, like the young Hmys

caspica. Perhaps this character is common to the young of

the two species. One of these I have called Hmys Fraseri in the

‘Suppl. Cat. Shield Rept.’ p. 36.

CHRYSEMYS.

We have in the museum three distinct forms of this genus,

which in a large series do not appear to pass into each other,

and which have special localities.

1. Chrysemys picta.

Sternum one-coloured, pale edge of the front discal plate

broad ; lateral angles of the second, third, and fourth vertebral

plates anterior; marginal plates with a central spot and con-

centric rings above, and a yellow spot beneath.

Hab. North America, Eastern States.

Dr. J. E. Gray on Tortoises. 147

2. Chrysemys pulchra, n. sp.

Sternum with a large central blotch sinuated on the sides ;

pale edge to all the discal plates narrow, uniform; the outer

angle of the vertebral plates in the middle of their margin ; the

marginal plates with a small central marginal spot and two or

three interrupted pale rings above, and a large spot and pale

ring, with a broad black edge, beneath.

Hab. North America, Mississippi (Brandt).

The specimens in the museum have been called Emys ore-

gontensis (Fitzinger) by Brandt ; but they are not L. oregoniensis

of Harlan, which certainly is what I previously called C. Bell’.

They may be one of the four species that Agassiz names but

does not characterize.

ceo: Chrysemys Belliv.

Sternum with a blotch in the centre, which is longest over

the suture of the plates; the yellow edge of the discal plates

narrow, uniform; the outer angles of the vertebral plates in

the middle of the lateral margin; marginal plates with a pale

edge, and divided into halves by a pale cross band; costal

plates with a simple or forked subcentral pale cross band.

Emys Bellii, Gray, Syn. Rept.

Emys oregoniensis, Harlan, t. 31; Holbrook, t. 16.

Young. Actinemys marmorata, Lord.

Hab. West coast of North America; British Columbia.

Trachemys lineata, n. sp.

This species is very like 7. Holbrookii ; but the pale mark-

ings of the vertebral shields are quite different, they being

elongate and separate from each other—the lines of the different

plates nearly meeting together, forming a series of continuous,

more or less bent, lines on each side of the very narrow central

line; the black spots on the sternum are large and solid.

Hab.. North America.

There is a young specimen in the British Museum with fine,

slender, obscure markings on the vertebral plates, and numerous

regular black spots with pale centre on the sternum. This

specimen is somewhat like the young specimen figured by

Agassiz (Contrib. t. 3. fig. 9) as 7. elegans; but it is also like

the young specimen he has figured as 7. rugosa (t. 16. fig. 4),

but perhaps more like the former.

Trachemys lineata is at once known from 7. Holbrookii by

the slender lines on the vertebral plates. In the other species

of the genus the pale and dark lines are in more or less oblong

rings on each side of the vertebral plate, peculiar and complete

FOS

148 Dr. J. E. Gray on Tortoises.

in each plate. There is no doubt that the lines in 7. Iéneata

are a modification of this form: but the ends of the loops do

not exist; for they would be out of the margin of the plate.

Callichelys concinna, 0. sp.

Head elongate, chin convex. Shell very ventricose, longi-

tudinally rugose on the costal plates ; brownish olive, with a

roundish, dark, solid spot on the hinder angle of the fourth

costal, and on the suture of each marginal plate both above and

below.

Hab. San Mateo, Tehuantepec: freshwater lagoons.

Length of shell 12 or 114 inches.

This species is very like Callichelys ornata ; but the head is

longer, and neither of the two specimens has any dark areolar

spot on the hinder edge of the dorsal plates, and the spots on

the margin are solid and not ringed. ‘The upper jaw is notched

in front. The shell is ventricose like Pseudemys ventricosa,

but quite differently marked.

Damonia Reevesii. (Hairy Tortoise.)

Dr. William Lockhart in 1865 presented to the museum a

young freshwater tortoise, which is closely covered with a long,

simple, filiform species of Conferva, from the Kiu-Kiang

Yangtse.

These tortoises have excited considerable interest from their

having been figured by the Chinese in their books and on their

paper-hangings, and have been regarded by some naturalists

as a very peculiar animal,—in fact a hairy reptile. They

are figuied on the titlepage of Temminck and Schlegel’s ‘Fauna

Japonica ;’ but they are only a freshwater tortoise or terrapin,

with a species of simple Conferva parasitic on their backs.

They are collected and much esteemed in China; and an

account of them has been reprinted from Cooper’s travels in a

former volume of this Journal (1871, vol. vii. p. 72).

I have abstained from describing this species, in the hope

that I might obtain a more fully developed specimen ; but it is

of little consequence, as the characters of the genera do not

alter during age, though the species modifies its form ; but the

rules of these modifications are well understood, and the young

animal shows the markings of the head more distinetly. I

have no doubt that itis a very young state of a tortoise which

the late Mr. John Reeves brought from China many years ago,

and which I figured in the ‘Illustrations of Indian Zoology’

under the name of Emys Reevesi?. It is now called Damonia

Reevesti. We at first only received specimens about 3 inches

long; but now they are brought over nearly as large again.

Bibthiographical Notices. 149

The specimen we received from Dr. Lockhart is 12 inch

long. ‘The head is olive, with a short dark-edged white streak

from the middle of the hinder edge of the eye, and trom the

upper hinder edge of the eye a longer dark-edged white streak,

which is forked behind; the upper branch extends along the

side of the neck, and the lower one over the tympanum; on

the other side of the head the upper line is interrupted and

broken into three parts.

Dumerilia madagascariensis.

The British Museum has just received the skeleton of an

adult freshwater tortoise from Anuavandra (on the west coast of

Madagascar), which has been named Dumerilia madagascarien-

sis by Grandidier. It has been arranged with Pelomedusa. It

belongs to the tribe Peltocephalina of the family Peltocephalide,

which is essentially a South-American family, this genus being

the only exception. It chiefly differs from the genus Pelto-

cephalus in having, according to M. Grandidier (for, of course,

they are not to be seen in the skeleton), two short beards on the

chin, which are entirely wanting in that genus, and two series of

oblique lunate shields on the outer surface of the tail. The

alveolar surface of the upper jaw is broad, with an angular

ridge near and parallel to the sharply acute outer margin. The

alveolar surface of the lower jaw is narrow in front, much

broader behind, with a rather convex ridge, becoming broader

behind, occupying a great part of its surface, and with a groove

parallel and quite close to the outer edge.

The head is like that of Peltocephalus, but is more depressed

and the crown flat and broad. The nose is shorter, and the

lower jaw not with such an acute point; and the upper jaw is

not so sinuated in front. The frontal plate is hexangular,

elongated behind ; and the temporal plates are largeand meeting

in the centre behind the frontal one, whereas in Peltocephalus

the central plate is very large and separates the temporals to the

occiput ; but in other respects the two genera are very similar.

It is a much smaller species, the shell of the adult animal being

only 12 inches long.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Records of the Rocks ; or Notes on the Geology, Natural History, and

Antiquities of North and South Wales, Devon, and Cornwall. By

the Rev. W.S. Symonns, F.G.S. && 8vo. London, 1872.

Tue author says, “ This book . .. . is written for amateurs who,

like myself, enjoy passing their leisure hours among rocks, old castles,

old authors, and the wild flowers of strange wayside places. It does

150 Bibliographical Netices.

not assume to be a strictly scientific description of the geological

structure of the different tracts of country to which it alludes; but L

trust it is correct as far as it goes.” It begins with a general petro-

graphico-geological introduction, and proceeds with a dilettante

account of the districts mentioned in the titlepage, with the suc-

cessive geological formations as the basis for a systematic collocation

of every thing the author finds cause to put together, in a pleasant

talky style, from his note-books and his memory, from his geological

text-books and local guide-books, his county-histories and his library

in general, but more especially from the late Sir Roderick Murchison’s

standard work ‘ Srrvrza.’

In fact the ‘Records of the Rocks’ may be succinctly described as

consisting of ‘Siluria’ deeply diluted with antiquarian gossip, folk-

lore, local botany, and recent geological notings, the prominent per-

sonage in that book being replaced by the ego and his friends in this.

It is garnished with 82 woodcuts, of which 62 have been taken

bodily, descriptions and all, from ‘ Siluria’ without any special refer-

ences, but noticed generally in the preface only as an enrichment for

Mr. Symonds’s volume.

Although fully appreciating the advantage to the amateur geolo-

gist, whether indoor or out, of his having in his guide-book or

book of reference such good illustrations as those transferred from

‘Siluria’ to this general itinerary and field-book for Mr. Symonds’s

favourite districts, we must regret that their respective relationships

with the original are not carefully acknowledged by proper indica-

tions, and that their transference is not in every case unaccompanied

with avoidable mistakes.

Printed in good legible type, and with little pretence of indicating

technical words, this book is intended for easy-going amateurs

“round the Wrekin,” and will serve them for a pleasant book of

reference. The geologist, too, will find much readable information

here and there throughout its pages, if he cares to winnow it out

from among country-seats and personal history—such as the réswmé

of the Cambrian rocks and fossils at one end, and of the bone-cayes

at the other, also of the Drift observed in the Woolhope Valley

(p. 165), &c. There is, however, quite sufficient to bear out the

author’s statement that the book is not strictly scientific. Thus the

woodcut at p. 72 and its description are transferred from ‘ Siluria’

without the corrections from the list of errata of that work, and

the cut at p. 215, with the old references, instead of new ones to Mr.

Woodward's perfect monograph ; the descripi 01 of the cut at p. 261,

modified by an idea taken from the page opposite the cut in ‘ Siluria,’

carries more than the exact truth ; at p. 271 the asterisk left under

the cut finds its meaning only in ‘Siluria;’ at p. 281 the name of

fig. 1 has not been corrected, whilst the new name of fig. 2 is indi-

cated by an initial only, The supposition that Sequoia is a “fir”

(p. 289), and the making Mr. Lankester hold a fossil fish in two

genera at once (p. 184), are weak points ; and the misprints of names

of fossils are too frequent,—as “ Paloeopyge,” ‘“* Bowmannu,” “ as-

permus,” “ Illcenus,” ‘‘ hemispherica,” ‘ Platychisma,” “ Euglypha

Bibliographical Notices. 151

cardiola,” ‘‘ Paleaster,” “ Brodei,” “ Cronchii,” “crenistra.” We

imagine that ‘Heterostracon” and ‘‘ Osteostracon Cephaspide ”

(p. 219) should be either English, Heterostracous and Osteostracous

Cephalaspids, or properly converted into the Latin form.

The guidance of the Author, of Mr. Jones, gardener at Builth, and

other good people, is recommended passim to the reader ; and papers

in the ‘Geological Magazine’ and other useful periodicals are cited

for information old and new: but why the only perfect geological

work on North Wales (Geol. Surv. Mem. vol. ii.), the real basis of

Mr. Symonds’s country, should not have been kept well before the

reader, and why the guidance of the Geological Surveyors should

have been so little thought of, it is difficult to conjecture.

We have thus pointed out several matters for improvement in this

well-intentioned book, which we hope will be required in a new

edition. Written by one who has known his country-side, with cul-

tivated intelligence and an eye for nature, for many years, and who

has long enjoyed the companionship of good observers, thinkers, and

writers, the Rev. Mr. Symonds’s * Records of the Rocks,’ like his other

writings, is directed, with a good and useful aim, to the advance of

knowledge among the so-called “ educated,” but frequently little-

informed, class of society. Itis a learned and comprehensive guide-

book, thoroughly imbued with a love of nature in her many aspects,

and with a desire that all should benefit by an intelligent recognition

of the natural sciences and by scientific pursuits.

A Manual of Paleontology for the Use of Students, with a General

Introduction on the Principles of Paleontology. By H. A. Nicuo.-

son, M.D., D.Sc., &c. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1872.

ScHoors and colleges now find themselves better provided with

zoological and paleontological text-books than heretofore. Dr.

Nicholson’s ‘Manual of Palwontology’ has several good points.

Though very comprehensive it is not too diffuse (only to Graptolites,

a favourite subject, are a few extra pages given); it keeps the con-

ditions of fossilization and geological succession well before the reader

(especially in Parts I. and IV.)—and treats the Vertebrate remains

less in detail than the Invertebrate, in accordance with the larger

acquaintance the student has usually to make with the latter than

with the former..

Part III., on fossil Plants, treated of as the successive floras of

geological periods, is a useful addition to the palzozoology, and is

carefully worked as far as it goes; but unaccountably it makes no

mention of the Diatomacec and the Calciferous Algze (Lithothammium

&e.), which, like Chara, play such an important part in the consti-

tution of many strata.

The author judiciously handles fossils of obscure affinities, such as

Stromatopora, Receptaculites, Crossopodia, &c. But a study of Mr.

Albany Hancock’s memoir ‘on Vermiform Fossils,” in the ‘Annals

of Natural History’ for 1858, would have enlightened him on the

nature of the last-mentioned fossil and its innumerable allies, in-

152 Miscellaneous.

cluding even some of the Oldhamiae, Eophytons, and Fucoids. Nor

does he seem to be aware that two head-portions of Palewopyge

(p. 167) have been found and published, thus removing it from the

category of the doubtfuls.

Dr. Nicholson’s illustrations are numerous and apt. They have

been selected for the most part from such as the Geological Survey

of Canada, Principal Dawson (author of ‘Acadian Geology’), the

publishers of D’Orbigny’s ‘ Cours élémentaire,’ and, he might have

added, Page’s ‘ Text-book’ and his own ‘ Text-book of Zoology’ have

supplied him with. Why the wretched Ventriculite at p. 70 should

claim its paternity so boastfully from “ Lyell” is not clear. That the

authorship of some only, and not of all the cuts (often as they may

have been used before), should have been acknowledged is to be re-

gretted ; for if the real origin of all the figures were carefully indi-

cated, the student might have the opportunity of learning something

more of the history of genera and species by referring to the original

observers. Not but that many authors are mentioned in the text:

by following, however, a good example in this matter, such as

Dana’s excellent ‘Manual of Geology,’ Dr. Nicholson would have

improved his well-designed book ; and he would probably have been

reminded that the Russian Mammoth skeleton (p. 445) is always a

puzzle to tyros on account of its unexplained head-skin and shapeless

hoofs, that the Ichthyosaur at p. 369, with outlined body, ought to

have a fluked tail in the figure as well as in the text, and that Mr.

S. V. Wood’s fine Alligator-relic, at p. 367,is an upper and not a

lower jaw.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Anatomical Investigations on the Limuli. By A. Mrtye-Epwarps.

On June 26, 1869, I communicated to the Philomathic Society

the first part of an investigation which I had just made upon the

anatomy of the Limuli; and a short abstract of this communication

was inserted in the ‘ Bulletin’ of that learned Society and in the

‘Journal de l'Institut.’ This memoir, accompanied by numerous

figures, ought to have been printed soon afterwards ; but the unhappy

circumstances under which France laboured in 1870 and 1871

prevented its publication, and it is only now that I am able to bring

it out in its entirety.

The first notions that we possess as to the internal organization of

the Limuli date from 1828, and are due to Strauss-Diirckheim.

Ten years afterwards Van der Hoeven published on the whole group

a very carefully executed monograph ; but all the anatomical part of

his work, which was studied by means of individuals preserved in

spirit, leaves much to be desired, and we observe in it serious errors,

which, however, it was almost impossible to avoid under the

circumstances in which this author found himself.

About the same time Duvernoy added some details to what was

previously known as to the respiratory apparatus of the Zimuli. In

Miscellaneous. 153

1855, Professor Owen inserted in his ‘ Lectures on the Anatomy of

Invertebrata’ various facts with regard to the structure of these

singular Arthropoda; and quite recently an English journal an-

nounced that this illustrious naturalist had resumed the investigation

of the same subject; but his work is as yet known only by an

abstract published in 1871. Some points relating to the histology

of the Limuli have been treated by M. Gegenbaur; and works of

great interest on the habits of these animals, on their embryology,

and on their zoological affinities, have been published by MM.

Lockwood, Packard, Dohrn, and E. van Beneden. Finally, Mr.

Woodward, in several consecutive memoirs, has presented us with

very interesting observations upon the relations of the Limuli with

the Trilobites, the Pterygoti, and various articulate animals, the

remains of which occur in the fossil state in the Silurian, Devonian,

and Carboniferous formations.

I have no intention of discussing here the questions relating to

the zoological affinities which may exist between the Zimuli and the

extinct species of ancient geological periods. My observations relate

to the anatomy of these animals, and principally to the constitution

of their circulatory apparatus and to the structure of their nervous

system.

The circulatory apparatus of the Zimuli is more perfect and

complicated than that of any other articulate animal. The venous

blood, instead of being diffused through interorganic lacunze, as in

the Crustacea, is for a considerable portion of its course enclosed in

proper vessels with walls perfectly distinct from the adjacent organs,

originating frequently by ramifications of remarkable delicacy, and

opening into reservoirs which are for the most part well circum-

scribed. The nutritive liquid passes from these reservoirs into the

branchie, and, after having traversed these respiratory organs,

arrives, by a system of branchio-cardiac canals, in a pericardiac

chamber, then penetrates into the heart, of which the dimensions

are very considerable. It is then driven into tubular arteries with

resistant walls, the arrangement of which is exceedingly complex,

with frequent anastomoses, and of which the terminal ramifications

are of marvellous tenuity and abundance. By making use of the

microscope we can trace them, with their contours still well defined,

even into the substance of the finest and most transparent mem-

branes (for example, the intestinal coats and even the floor of the

pericardiac chamber); we see them also, by employing sufticient

magnifying-power, in the midst of the primitive muscular fibres,

which they do not even equal in diameter; and some of those which

I measured had a calibre of less than =, millim.

One of the most striking peculiaritics of this vascular apparatus

consists in its relations with the nervous system. Thus the ab-

dominal artery, formed by the union of the two aortic branches,

ensheathes the whole of the ganglionic chain: most of the nerves

are lodged in the branches which spring from this median vessel.

These relations of the apparatus of innervation with the arterial

system of the Limuli were perceived, although very imperfectly, by

154 Miscellaneous.

Prof. Owen, and are more intimate than that eminent anatomist

seems to think. In fact the nervous chain of these animals is not

simply enveloped by the ventral blood-reservoir, and fixed to it in

such a way as to be difficult to distinguish from it, but is enclosed

in it; and this reservoir does not consist of a simple interorganic

lacuna due to the disappearance of the arterial walls in this por-

tion of the animal economy. It is not a case of juxtaposition of

the nerves and arteries; it is a complete ensheathment of the

former by the latter. The nerves destined for the integuments

alone constitute an exception to this; they are free, and the vascu-

lar walls only accompany them to a small distance from their

origin.

The principal arterial trunks open freely into one another, in

such a manner that the blood can traverse a circulatory course

without passing through the veins. These ways of communication

are wide and easy; but there are others, formed by the terminal

capillaries of the arterial system, which are continuous with

the roots of the venous system. The latter is formed in part by

interorganic lacune, in part by tubular vessels with perfectly di-

stinct walls and presenting all the characters of true veins. This

last mode of organization exists throughout in the substance of the

liver. The hepatic veins open into a wide trunk situated on each

side at the ventral part of the body, and giving origin to the

afferent vessels of the branchie. The neighbourmg muscles are

arranged so as to act upon these venous trunks, and can cause alter-

nately their contraction or dilatation. The blood which, by means

of this mechanism, has traversed the respiratory apparatus, after-

wards passes into the pericardiac reservoir.

The origin of the nerves which go to the different appendages

enables us to determine the homologies of these parts, and to esta-

blish that in the Zimuli there are no antenne, as has been supposed

by some anatomists. Lastly, I shall add that the visceral ganglionic

system is not eomposed only of stomato-gastric and angeian ganglia

in connexion with the csophageal collar; there are also small

nervous centres attached to the ganglionic chain, and furnishing

branches to the terminal portion of the digestive tube.—Comptes

Rendus, Dec. 2, 1872, pp. 1486-1488.

On the Boomdas (Dendrohyrax arboreus).

By Dr. J. HE. Gray, F.R.S. &c.

The British Museum has lately received three skins, with their

skulls, of a species of Dendrohyrax from Elands-Post, South-east

Africa.

They appear to be the Boomdas, Dendrohyrax arboreus of my

monograph. ‘This species was first described by Dr. Andrew Smith

as Hyrax arboreus, and is known from the D. dorsalis of the west

coast of Africa by the fur being much longer and softer, and the

dorsal streak yellowish white ; but the great difference is to be ob-

served in the skull.

Miscellaneous. 155

The skull of Dendrohyrax dorsalis is elongate and depressed,

that of Dendrohyraw arboreus is short and high. The hinder part

of the lower jaw of D. dorsalis is moderately dilated, and the

back edge ascending from the condyle is gradually rounded off;

whereas in D. arboreus the hinder part is much more dilated, and

the ascending edge is straight nearly to the hinder end and then

rounded.

The following measurements show the most striking differences

between the skulls of the two species :—

D. dorsalis, D. arboreus.

inches. _ inches,

Length of adult skull .............. as 32

Heiehs of skulle... sae ois ie wis vi oes 22 211

Length of lower tooth-line .......... 14 es

Width of upper part of lower jaw . 1} 1,3;

The skull of D. arboreus is most like that of Hyrax Burtoni in its

height, but differs in the shape of the lower jaw and by the very

small diastemata, especially that of the lower jaw.

On Deep-sea Dredging in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

By J. F. Wurreaves, F.G.S. &e.

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

Montreal, Dee. 20, 1872.

GrntLemEeN,—As I did not see any proofs of my article on Deep-

sea dredging in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (published in the ‘ Annals,’

ser. 4, vol. x.no. 59), I should be glad if you would correct the fol-

lowing typographical and other errors which occur in it.

Page 343, lines 14 and 15 from the bottom of the page, for “ only a

portion of these have ” read “ only a few of these have.”

Page 347, at the bottom, it appears as if two species of Retepora were

collected; the specimens all belong to that form which Smitt calls

Retepora cellulosa, var. elongata.

Page 349. Under the head Dacrydium vitreum the phrase occurs,

«This and the preceding are new to America.” The words with

quotation marks belong to the preceding species, Yoldia frigida ;

Dacrydium vitreum is not new to America, but Yoldia frigida and

lucida are.

Page 350. The asterisk placed before Utriculus pertenuis belongs to

U. hyalinus ; specimens of the latter shell had been identified by

me as Bulla debilis, Gould. My intention was to give Mr. Jeffreys

as the authority for the statement that Bulla hyalina, Turton, and

B. debilis, Gould, are synonymous.

Page 352, lines 10 and 11 from the bottom. Strike out the words

‘if any such there are.”

Additions and Alterations.

Foramrnirera. The long-spined Marginulina described on page 343

is, I believe, Marginulina spinosa, M. Sars.

156 Miscellaneous.

Acrtnozoa. Prof. Verrill thinks (and I quite agree with him) that

the St.-Lawrence Pennatula is a well-marked variety of Pennatula

aculeata, Danielssen. This latter species he considers to be distinct

from P. phosphorea. My St.-Lawrence specimens vary so much in

their characters that I am not yet satisfied on this latter point.

For the present the St.-Lawrence specimens may be provisionally

called Pennatula aculeata, Danielssen, var. canadensis. Those who

accept Kdélliker’s views as to specific differences in this group

would regard the Canadian sea-pen as one of the many protean

forms of P. phosphorea.

Urticina digitata (Miill.). Recognized by Prof. Verrill among speci-

mens dredged in 120 fathoms off Bear Head, Anticosti.

Zoanthus (sp. i is Epizoanthus americanus, teste Verrill.

Motiusca. Dentalium abyssorum, Sars. Adult but dead specimens

of a Dentalium dredged last year were referred to this species.

Having since taken the same shell alive in all stages of growth,

I now doubt the correctness of this identification. It is never

pentagonal when young; and I believe it is the shell originally

described by Dr. Gould, though erroneously, as Dentaliwm dentale,

his specimens being few and very imperfect. Its proper name is

Dentalium occidentale, Stimpson, a perfectly good and distinct

species, nearly related to D. abyssorum—widely different from Hn-

talis striolata, which has not yet been found north of the Bay of

Chaleurs.

Sipho Sarsii, Jeffreys. The proper name of this shell seems to be

Sipho curtus (Jeftreys).

Nitophyllum litteratum, a new British Alga.

By Prof. T. G. Acarpu.

This seaweed was received from Mrs. Griffith as Nitophyllum

Hillie: but it is very different in the form of the leaflets ; the sori are

not dot-like and scattered as in that species, but linear-oblong or

variously shaped, scattered between the veins, looking, on the lower

lobes, like letters or signs.

“ N. litteratum, stipite brevi cuneato, in frondem venis dichotomo-

anastomosantibus obscuriusculis inferne venosam, cuneato-reni-

formem subpalmato-pinnatifidam abeunte lobis cuneato-linearibus

margine minute undulato-crenulatis, basi contractis, soris inter

venas seriatis figuras irregulares inter se plus minus confluentes

formantibus.

“ Hab. Ad littora meridionalia Angliz.”—Lunds Univ. Arsskrift,

t. vill. p. 49.

On a new Freshwater Tortoise from Borneo (Orlitia borneensis).

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

ORLITIA.

Head covered with large plates, plain-coloured ; lower jaw strong,

Miscellaneous. = TSF

acute, curved up at the tip ; alveolar plate of upper jaw narrow, with

a raised inner margin, of lower jaw narrow, sharp-edged. Toes short,

well webbed to the end ; claws 5. 4, short, acute. Thorax ovate, very

convex, shelving on the sides, with a blunt and interrupted vertebral

keel. Vertebral plates in the young as broad as long, front one

narrowed behind ; second, third, and fourth hexagonal; fifth much

smaller, square. First, second, and third costal plates large, angular

above ; the fourth very small, square, only as high as the small fifth

vertebral. Marginal plates broad, hinder four much narrower, with

a serratededge. Nuchal plate broad, well developed. All the discal

and upper part of the marginal plates in the young with a very large

punctate areola. Sternum flat, strongly keeled on the sides. Anal

shields small. Tail short.

The general form is very peculiar, somewhat like Cuora; but the

sternum is perfectly solid, and there is no indication of any mobility

of the two lobes. The animal differs externally in the head being

one-coloured, without any band over the eye.

Orlitia borneensis.

Cistudo borneensis, Bleeker.

Hab. Borneo (Bleeker).

T mentioned this specimen under Cuora amboinensis in the ‘ Suppl.

Cat. Shield Rept.’ p. 21; but on reexamination I am satisfied that it

has no relation to that species. It is evidently the young of a very

large and solid species ; for even this young specimen is well solidified,

though there is an oblong groove (the remains of the opening of the

yelk-bag) in the central suture of the abdominal and preanal plates.

Descriptions of three new Species of Crustacea parasitic on the

Cetacea of the N.W. Coast of America. By W. H. Datt, U.S. Coast

Survey.

Genus Cyamus, Lam.

Cyamus, Lam. Syst. An. s. Vert. p. 166; Bate & Westwood, ii. p. 80.

Larunda and Panope, Leach.

Cyamus Scammoni, n. sp.—Male. Body moderately depressed, of

an egg-ovate form; segments slightly separated ; third and fourth

segments furnished with a branchia at each side; this, near its base,

divides into two cylindrical filaments spirally coiled from mght to

left ; at the base of each branchia are two slender accessory filaments

not coiled, quite short, and situated one before and the other behind

the base of the main branchia; second pair of hands kidney-shaped,

with the carpal articulation halfway between the distal and proxi-

mal ends, and having two pointed tubercles on the inferior edge,

before the carpal joint ; third and fourth segments somewhat punctate

above, all the others smooth. the sixth and seventh slightly serrate

on the upper anterior edge, and without ventral spines. Colour yel-

lowish white. Long. -70, lat. ‘39 in., of largest specimen.

Female similar to the male in all respects, excepting in being a

153 Miscellaneous.

little more slender, and in wanting the accessory appendages to the

branchiz ; the ovigerous sacs are four in number, overlapping each

other.

Hab, On the California grey whale (Rhachianectes glaucus of Cope)

on the coast of California, very numerous. ‘This species is named in

honour of Capt. C. M. Scammon, U.S. Rev. Marine, well known by

his studies on the cetaceans. The specimens here described were

collected and submitted by him for description, and will be figured

in his forthcoming monograph of the West Coast whales. I may

remark here that these species are all so distinct from those figured

by Milne-Edwards, Gosse, Bate, and Westwood, that a comparative

description has seemed unnecessary—also that the species obtained

on different species of cetaceans have so far been found invariably

distinct. The inference is, of course, that each cetacean has its.

peculiar parasites, a supposition which agrees with our knowledge of

the facts in many groups of terrestrial animals.

Cyamus suffusus, n. sp.—Body flattened, elongate; segments sub-

equal, outer edges widely separated; branchie single, cylindrical,

slender, with a very short papilliform appendage before and behind

each branchia ; superior antennze unusually long and stout ; first pair

of hands quadrant-shaped; second pair slightly pufctate, arcuate,

emarginate on the inferior edge, with a pointed tubercle on each side

of the emargination; third joint of the posterior legs keeled above,

with a prong below ; pleon extremely minute; segments all smooth ;

no ventral lines on the posterior segments. Colour yellowish white,

suffused with rose-purple, strongest on the antenne and branchie.

Length -41, breadth (of body) -25 in. All the specimens which

have passed under my observation, some eight or ten in number,

were males.

Hab, On the “humpback” whale (Megaptera versabilis, Cope),

Monterey, California.

Cyamus mysticeti, n. sp.—Body flattened, subovate, segments ad-

jacent ; branchiz single, short, stout, pedunculated, a single papilli-

form appendage behind each ; head short and wide ; first pair of legs

very small; hands all simple and smooth, fingers greatly recurved ;

carpal articulation in the second pair of hands halfway between the

proximal and distal ends of the hand; pleon very minute. Colour

dark brownish yellow. Length -33 in., breadth (of body) -16 in.

Two female specimens.

Hab, On the northern “ bowhead” whale (probably Balena mys-

ticetus, Linn.), near Behring Strait.

This is the most compact of the three species, as well as the smallest.

I find, in comparing large series of C. Scammoni, that a considerable

variation in form obtains, so far as regards comparative length and

breadth, even in adult specimens, and these differences are greater

than those observed, in the same characters, between the sexes.—

Proc.. Calif. Acad. Sci., Nov. 1872.

Miscellaneous. 159

Orca stenorhyncha (the Narrow-nosed Killer).

I described a new Orca or Killer from a skeleton received by the

British Museum from Weymouth. The skull is figured in the ‘Suppl.

Cat. Seals and Whales,’ pp. 86-88, figs. 7-9.

The authorities at the Zoologiska Riks-Museum at Stockholm have

sent to the British Museum three large photographs of an animal

which they have determined to be this species, and which was

taken at Bohusliin in November 1871, showing that it is coloured

like the other Killers, and that it (like Orca latirostris) is an in-

habitant of the north seas,—J. E. Gray.

Preliminary Descriptions of new Species of Mollusks from the North-

west coast of America. By W. H. Dart, U. 8. Coast Survey.

Voluta (Scaphella) Stearnsii, Dall.—Shell large, slender, spindle-

shaped, moderately thick ; colour livid purple, more or less obscured

by an ashy-white outer layer, more conspicuous near the sutures and

on the callosity of the inner lip; exterior smooth (but not polished),

except for the strong lines of increase ; sutures appressed ; siphonal

fasciole strong ; nucleus small, white, mammillated ; aperture more

than half as long as the shell, white and livid purple, with a dash of

brighter purple at the posterior notch and on the anterior portion of

the callus; edge white; callus reflected, thick and strong, with a

chink behind the anterior portion; canal twisted to the right,

moderately deep; whorls 6-8, Long. 4:13 in., lat. 1-62 in., long.

apert. 2°59 in. ; defl. 40°. Living, from stomach of cod, Shumagin

Islands ; dead on beach, Gull rocks, Akutan Pass, and west side of

Amaknak Island, Captain’s Bay, Unalashka.

Nacella (?) rosea, Dall—Shell small, egg-ovate, of a deep rose-

colour, externally smooth, except for very faint radiating ridges

divaricating from the apex, and for lines of growth ; margin entire ;

apex minute, produced before the anterior margin ; interior smooth,

white, except the margins, which are polished and of the same colour

as the exterior ; nacre, especially when weathered, silvery. Long.

35 in., lat. -27 in., alt. -12 in., of largest specimen.

Dead on beach, east side of Simeonoff Island, Shumagins ; living,

probably on Fuei, off shore.

This, from its appearance, is probably a true Nacella, congeneric

with the Cape-Horn species, and the first described from the northern

hemisphere. Its occurrence with that of several other mollusks in

the Aleutian fauna is remarkable; and the facts, on further inspec-

tion, have developed a considerable resemblance between these an-

tipodal faunee.

Tittorina aleutica, Dall.—Shell depressed ; whorls 4, the nucleus

including one and a half, last whorl much the largest ; spire depressed

or nearly flattened ; colour variable, from dark brown or purple to

waxen white, or banded with white on a darker ground; nucleus

polished, dark brown, translucent; sculpture consisting of rather

160 Miscellaneous.

coarse lines of growth, and about six or eight nodulous revolving

ridges, more or less strongly elevated in different specimens, the

three middle ones being the most prominent, and faint revolving lines

being also traceable occasionally between the ridges; aperture very

oblique, smooth, white or purplish within ; outer lip sharp ; columella

broad, straight, generally with a chink behind it; anterior margin

a little produced. Long. ‘41 in., lat. -53.in., of an average specimen.

Animal and operculum precisely as in L. sitkana, which was abun-

dant on the same rocks.

Hab. Living at Gull rocks, Akutan Pass, Aleutian Islands, abun-

dantly (W. H. Dall).

This is a very remarkable and distinct species, resembling no other

on the west American coast.

Nores.—Buccinum Kennacottir, Dall, proves, on obtaining specimens

containing the soft parts and the operculum, to be a Chrysodomus.

It was originally described as a Buceinum, in deference to the opinion

of the late Dr. William Stimpson, who had recently monographed

the northern species of that group. Its distribution is from the

Shumagins eastward, not, as was originally reported, from Una-

lashka.

Buceinum Baeri, Midd., proves to be a very marked race of B. cya-

neum. B. Fischertanum, Dall, which was suspected at the time it

was described to be similarly related to B. cyaneum, proves to be

distinct.

Haliotis, which has long been tabulated as an inhabitant of the

Aleutian chain, does not exist in that part of the archipelago east of

Unalashka, and probably not in these islands at all—Proceedings of

the California Academy of Sciences, Oct. 8, 1872.

Projectile Power of the Capsules of Hamamelis virginica.

By Mr. T. Mrrnay.

The Author said that while travelling through a wood recently

he was struck in the face by some seeds of Hamamelis virginica, -

the common Witch-Hazel, with as much force as if these were

spent shot from a gun. Not aware before that these capsules

possessed any projecting-power, he gathered a quantity in order to

ascertain the cause of the projecting force, and the measure of its

power. Laying the capsules on the floor, he found the seeds were

thrown generally four or six feet, and in one instance as much as

twelve feet away. The cause of this immense projecting-power he

found to be simply the contraction of the horny albumen which

surrounded the seed. The seeds were oval, and in a smooth bony

envelope ; and when the albumen had burst and expanded enough

to get just beyond the middle (where the seed narrowed again), the

contraction of the albumen caused the seed to slip out with force,

just as we should squeeze out a smooth tapering stone between the

finger and thumb.—Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. part ii. p. 2385

(1872).

|

ft

THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[FOURTH SERIES.]

No. 63. MARCH 1873.

XIX.—On the Original Form, Development, and Cohesion of

the Bones of the Sternum of Chelonians ; with Notes on

the Skeleton of Sphargis. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &e.

[Plates IV., V., & VI.]

Ir has long been known that the sternum of all Chelonians is

formed of four pairs of bones with an odd one, which is always

attached to the centre of the inner edge, opposite the suture

between the front pair. In some Chelonians these bones

always remain of nearly the same form, and are more or less

separate from each other during the whole life of the animal.

In the land Tortoises and the freshwater Tortoises or Terrapins

the bones of the young become expanded as the animal grows,

coalesce, and at length form in the adult animal a single bony

disk.

Cuvier, in his chapter on the “ Ostéologie des Tortues,” in

the Oss. Foss. v. p. 204, observes :—

“‘ Dans les tortues de terre et d’eau douce, et dans les ché-

lydes, ils ne laissent de vides entre eux que dans le premier

age seulement, ot ils se forment de rayons osseux dirigés en

divers sens dans le disque encore cartilagineux du plastron,

comme les os du crane dans les fétus des mammiféres ; mais

avec l’Age ces rayons se joignent de toute part et forment un

disque compact dans toutes ses parties et qui s’unit par une

étendue plus ou moins considérable de chaque cété au bouclier

dorsal. Voyez pl. xii. f. 44, le plastron d’un jeune Testudo

scabra.”

The sternum figured is very like that here figured as belong-

ing to Emys concentrica, and is quite different from that of

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4, Vol. xi. 11